Hong Kong: SJ to visit Chengdu, Beijing

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam will lead a delegation from the Hong Kong legal and dispute resolution sector on a visit to Chengdu and Beijing from August 23 to 26.

The visit aims to further promote co-operation and exchange between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and to encourage Mainland enterprises to make use of Hong Kongs legal and dispute resolution professional services.

The delegation comprises more than 100 representatives from the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong, and legal enterprises, as well as other delegates.

Mr Lam and the delegation will visit Chengdu on Thursday to attend the sixth Hong Kong Legal Services Forum, organised by the Department of Justice.

The next day, in Beijing, the group will attend the second seminar on legal challenges relating to the Belt & Road Initiative.

Organised by the State Councils State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission, this years seminar will focus on discussing the strength of Hong Kongs common law system.

It will also highlight how Hong Kongs legal services can support Mainland enterprises to go global and help them to overcome the legal challenges and risks faced by such enterprises in expanding to overseas markets.

In addition to visiting the Tianfu Central Legal Services District in Chengdu, while in Beijing the justice chief will meet students and organising authorities participating in the Summer Attachment Programme for Hong Kong Law Students in the Mainland.

During Mr Lam's absence, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan will be Acting Secretary.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
We Are China

Tibetan folk dance contest held at local festival

Ecns.cn) 17:07, August 21, 2023

Tibetans perform traditional Guozhuang dance at a local festival in Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 20, 2023. (Photo/China News Service)

A total of 16 teams attended the dance contest on Sunday. Guozhuang in Tibetan is homophonic with Guozhuo, which means to sing and dance in a circle.

Tibetans perform traditional Guozhuang dance at a local festival in Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 20, 2023. (Photo/China News Service)

Tibetans pose for a photo during a traditional Guozhuang dance contest at a local festival in Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 20, 2023. (Photo/China News Service)

Tibetans perform traditional Guozhuang dance at a local festival in Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 20, 2023. (Photo/China News Service)

Tibetans put on makeup during a traditional Guozhuang dance contest at a local festival in Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 20, 2023. (Photo/China News Service)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Hongyu)
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The number of vehicles crossing the border between Macau, Hong Kong and Zhuhai over the period of the summer holidays has already exceeded 1 million, the Gongbei Customs District authority has said in a news release.

According to the same authority, the total number of customs clearance passenger vehicles traveling between the three regions passed the 1-million mark last Aug. 19, with an average daily figure exceeding 20,000 vehicles.

The figure represents a customs clearance volume increase of 83% when compared with the same period in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

On the line is the implementation of the Northbound Travel Scheme for both Macau and Hong Kong vehicles, which has led also to the increase of the border clearance of passenger vehicles at the Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to 366,400, twice the figure reached in the same period (July and August) in 2019.

In the same given period, some 382,600 cross-border passenger vehicles were also cleared at the Gongbei Port, which continues to rank as the number one border crossing point for vehicles between Macau and Zhuhai.

Hengqin Port registered the inspection and clearance of some 249,400 passenger vehicles, of which about 70% were vehicles from Macau with a single license plate.

The Gongbei Customs also said that the double-plated vehicles (Macau and Zhuhai) continue to cross the border mainly between the two sides via the Gongbei Port.
Thailands populist Pheu Thai party announced yesterday that it plans to form a new government with an 11-party coalition that includes two pro-military parties affiliated with outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Parliament is expected to confirm the countrys 30th prime minister on Tuesday after a three-month stalemate following elections in May. Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew said the coalition partners have agreed to nominate real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as the new leader.

Pheu Thai finished second in the elections but received a chance to form a government after members of the conservative unelected Senate repeatedly blocked the surprise winner, the progressive Move Forward Party. Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule.

Many Senate members, appointed by a Prayuth-led military government, opposed Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister because of his partys call for reform of a law that makes it illegal to defame Thailands royal family. Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, has been abused as a political weapon. Senators, like the army, see themselves as guardians of traditional conservative royalist values.

Pheu Thai then excluded Move Forward from its coalition, saying the partys call for a reform of the royal defamation law made it impossible to gather enough support from other parties and the Senate to approve a new prime minister.

The Pheu Thai-led coalition holds 314 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives and needs some support from the Senate to achieve a majority in the combined parliamentary vote.

Move Forward has said it will not support any prime ministerial candidate from a coalition that includes parties from the outgoing military-backed government.

Pheu Thai announced yesterday that its coalition includes two military-backed parties  Palang Pracharath with 40 seats, and United Thai Nation with 36 seats. Both are linked to Prayuth, who has remained in power since he led a 2014 military coup as army chief.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire populist who was ousted by a 2006 military coup. The coup triggered years of upheaval and division that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supports Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Pheu Thai has been heavily criticized by some of its supporters for backtracking on a pre-election pledge not to join hands with pro-military parties.

Thaksin and his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra said he plans to return to Thailand on Tuesday before Parliaments vote, ending years of self-imposed exile to escape prison terms in several criminal cases which he has decried as politically motivated.

Paetongtarn, a key Pheu Thai member, apologized on Sunday to people who were disappointed by Pheu Thais decision to form a coalition with pro-military parties. She said it was necessary because Pheu Thai was unable to achieve a landslide victory in the May polls.

Chonlanan, the Pheu Thai leader, said yesterday that the decision was made because the party and its coalition partners see a need to urgently solve the countrys problems, including improving the economy and ending political divisions.

He said the coalition agreed to support Pheu Thais platform of boosting the economy, increasing the minimum wage and ending mandatory conscription. JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI, BANGKOK, MDT/AP
A judge is set to sentence Lucy Letby, the most prolific child killer in modern U.K. history, for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others while working as a neonatal nurse at a hospital in northern England.

Justice James Goss could level the most severe sentence possible under British law by imposing multiple life terms to ensure that Letby will spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Following 22 days of deliberation, a jury at Manchester Crown Court convicted Letby, 33, of killing the babies over a yearlong period.

The victims died in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016.

Letby did not attend the hearing. That has fueled anger from the families of the victims, who wanted her to listen to statements read out in court by the parents of her victims about the devastation caused by her crimes.

You thought it was your right to play God with our childrens lives, the mother of twins, one of whom was murdered and the other whom Letby tried to kill, said in a statement to the court.
Starting Aug. 23, the Zhuhai Airport-Hengqin express route will be adjusted and a new stop at Hengqin Port will be added. Passengers will be able to buy tickets via WeChat or at the ticket counter. The first bus departs Zhuhai Airport at 9:33 a.m. with a 30-minute interval. The drop off stops at Chimelong Spacechip Hotel, Chimelong Circus Hotel, Hengqin Bay Hotel and Chimelong Penguin Hotel, with the last departure at 6:33 p.m. According to the timetable, the first bus that departs Hengqin Port to Zhuhai Airport is at 8:20 a.m, while the last stop is at 5:50 p.m.

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WISCONSIN | HEAT WAVE

A heat wave will slam Madison over the coming days, with the heat index at one point possibly hitting 110 degrees, a forecast that has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a series of warnings and advisories for this week.

Monday's high was expected to be only 82 degrees with a heat index of 87 but the following days could provide some of the hottest temperatures and indexes in more than a decade.

The Weather Service on Monday issued an excessive heat warning for Sauk, Iowa, and Lafayette counties from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday as the temperature could hit 93 degrees and the heat index could top 105 degrees. A heat advisory is in effect during that same time period for Dane, Green and Rock counties with a heat index ranging from 100 to 104 degrees.

An excessive heat watch will be in effect for all of southern Wisconsin from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Thursday. As of Monday night, the Weather Service was predicting a high temperature in Madison on Wednesday of 99 degrees, with heat indexes of up to 110 degrees. Thursday is predicted to be 96 degrees, the Weather Service said.

Despite the extreme heat, the temperature is not expected to set the state's all-time record of 114 degrees. That was recorded in Wisconsin Dells on July 13, 1936. The record low, by the way, was set on Feb. 4, 1996, when the mercury plunged in far northern Wisconsin to minus 55 in the Sawyer County village of Couderay, according to Weather Service data.

Madison last hit 100 degrees on July 17, 2012, and has hit above the century mark 29 times over the last 90 years. In 1934, the city hit 100 degrees on May 31 and June 1 but in 1936 hit 100 degrees or more seven times in July and August, including the all-time record of 107 degrees.

In 1988 there were five days of 100-degree or more temperatures, including Aug. 16 and 17 when the high hit 102 each day. More recently, in 2012, the temperature climbed to 100 degrees or more four times, the highest on Aug. 5, when it hit 104 degrees, according to the Weather Service.

August records

The heat this week also could break daily records set decades ago for this stretch of August.

The hottest Aug. 20 on record saw a high of 98 degrees. The record for Aug. 22 is 94 degrees set in 1976. On Aug. 23, 1947, the temperature hit 98 degrees  Wednesday's predicted high would break the record for that date  and Aug. 24 of the following year had a record of 98 degrees.

"Nearly our entire region will experience at or near historic high temperatures this week, but high heat index values will make for an extremely dangerous situation for many residents," said Tom Sivak, a Federal Emergency Management Agency regional administrator. "We all need to take precautions. Regularly check yourself and those you care about  especially children, older adults and pets  for the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses and be ready to respond to them."

On Sunday, Unity Point Health-Meriter lost its air conditioning from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. when a utility failure knocked out power to the hospital's chillers. At 6 p.m., the hospital was able to slowly start bringing the chillers back online, spokesperson Nicole Aimone said. In the meantime, the hospital activated its emergency response plans to purchase fans and expedite repairs, she said.

Cooling centers are among the options for getting out of the heat for those without home air conditioning. The no-cost options can include libraries, senior centers and other spaces in public buildings, while other potential respites from the heat include shopping malls.

Public Health Madison and Dane County has a list of cooling centers and other information on its website, publichealthmdc.com/ emergency.

Tips from FEMA for dealing with heat include:

 Be aware of heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke; stay indoors as much as possible and limit exposure to the sun. If you don't have access to air conditioning at home, find places in your community with AC, such as a local cooling center.

 Keep your home as cool as possible. For example, roughly 40% of unwanted heat buildup in our homes is through windows. Use awnings or curtains to keep the heat out, and check the weather stripping on doors and windows to keep the cool air in.

 If you must be outside, find shade. Avoid strenuous activity, cover your head with a hat wide enough to protect your face and wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.

 Drink plenty of water, even if you don't feel thirsty.

 Never leave people or pets in a parked car.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation is asking motorists to be on the lookout for buckled pavement which is caused in extreme heat by slabs of pavement expanding and pushing against each other.

The DOT said motorists should slow down, give their full attention to the roadway, watch for slowing traffic and be ready to move over for all roadside workers, including highway crews as they repair damaged pavement. And, if necessary, report serious pavement issues by calling 911.

State Journal reporter Lucas Robinson contributed to this report.
Can dogs tell who has COVID?

Do you have COVID-19? With a little training, your dog might be more effective at figuring that out than even at-home antigen or sophisticated hospital tests.

Dogs are so good at it, according to a new research review, that they may be ready for mainstream medical use if people didnt consider this a curiosity rather than a real possibility.

Mans best friend can be faster, more precise and less expensive at detecting COVID than standard tests, according to the review of a growing number of studies.

Over the past couple of years, it went from four papers to 29 peer-reviewed studies -- that includes more than 400 scientists from over 30 countries and 31,000 samples, said co-author Tommy Dickey, an emeritus professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Read more here:

Can aloe double as an insecticide?

While vast quantities of peels from the aloe vera plant are thrown out every year as agricultural waste, this natural ingredient has potential to be a powerful insecticide, new research suggests.

Its likely that millions of tons of aloe peels are disposed of globally every year, said principal investigator Debasish Bandyopadhyay, from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. We wanted to find a way to add value and make them useful.

The plants rinds can naturally ward off bugs because of several bioactive compounds found in extracts from the peels.

The researchers will present their results this week at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society, held online and in San Francisco.

Read more here:

Stem cells may someday create new tooth enamel

Damaged teeth could one day be repaired with living fillings created from stem cells, a new study reports.

In the lab, researchers induced stem cells to form small, multicellular mini-organs that secrete the proteins that form tooth enamel, according to a report published Aug. 14 in the journal Developmental Cell.

This is a critical first step to our long-term goal to develop stem cell-based treatments to repair damaged teeth and regenerate those that are lost, co-author Dr. Hai Zhang, a professor of restorative dentistry at the University of Washington School of Dentistry, said in a school news release.

Tooth enamel is the hardest tissue in the human body. It protects teeth from the mechanical stresses of chewing and helps them resist decay, researchers said in background notes.

Read more here:

Does smoking change the teenage brain?

Teens desire to start smoking, and later to keep smoking, may be linked to differences in gray matter in their brains, a new study reveals.

Researchers found that reduced gray matter in the left frontal lobe was found in kids who started smoking by age 14. This area is involved in decision-making and rule-breaking.

Once they started smoking, they also had reduced gray matter in the right frontal lobe, a region associated with seeking pleasure.

Smoking is perhaps the most common addictive behavior in the world, and a leading cause of adult mortality, said co-senior author Trevor Robbins, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the U.K.'s Cambridge University. The initiation of a smoking habit is most likely to occur during adolescence. Any way of detecting an increased chance of this, so we can target interventions, could help save millions of lives.

Read more here:

How kids are being injured by ceiling fans

Its fun to playfully toss a toddler into the air, or tote a kid piggyback-style on your shoulders.

But those delightful giggles may come with a risk of head injury from a typically overlooked hazard -- the rooms ceiling fan.

Each year U.S. emergency rooms treat about 2,300 children for head injuries caused by ceiling fans, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission data collected between 2013 through 2021.

These ER-treated injuries totaled more than 20,500 over the period, a new study in Pediatrics reports.

And there are probably a lot more that go uncounted, said lead researcher Dr. Holly Hughes Garza, an epidemiologist at Dell Childrens Trauma and Injury Research Center in Austin, Texas.

Read more here:

Women with larger breasts may be less likely to exercise

Women who have larger breasts tend to exercise less or less intensely, according to a new study that suggests having breast reduction surgery could be a game changer.

Australian researchers looking at exercise participation for women in this category called for more accessible, publicly funded breast reduction and other interventions.

The study used survey results from nearly 2,000 women who were in the involved in the Parkrun program, which promotes 5K running and walking events. Participants were in Australia, England and South Africa.

Women with bigger breasts reported that reducing their breast size would improve their exercise performance and frequency. And among the survey participants, the 56 women who had already undergone breast reduction surgery said they lead healthier and more active lifestyles.

Read more here:

How to stop muscle cramps fast, according to a doctor

Muscle cramps can be sudden and excruciating. What causes them and what will make them go away  fast?

An emergency room doctor offered tips on treating, preventing and stopping these painful episodes in their tracks.

Muscle cramps or excessive nerve stimulations in the muscles  are caused by stress to  the nerves within our muscles, said Dr. Patrick McHugh, a specialist in emergency medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Causes include conditions such as low magnesium, low calcium, low thyroid [activity] or the kidneys or the liver being affected by dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.

But that's not all, he added.

Read more here:

***

Get more recent health news from HealthDay here:

How your dog's nutritional needs change as they age How your dog's nutritional needs change as they age Puppies need more calories and protein than adult dogs Adult dogs' dietary needs largely depend on activity level Adult dogs can consume more fat than senior dogs, but levels should be monitored Senior dogs need fewer calories but more fiber and higher-quality protein. Nutrient levels of senior dogs must be monitored closely
A man was arrested in Poynette on Monday after a mini go-kart stolen in Madison was recovered, Madison police reported.

The mini go-kart, which is worth thousands of dollars, was stolen on Aug. 9 from a store in the 2200 block of South Stoughton Road then recovered outside Madison as part of a theft investigation, police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said in a statement.

Video showed two people cutting off a chain and stealing the go-kart, Fryer said.

Police were able to track the 35-year-old male suspect to an address in Poynette and he was arrested and taken to the Dane County Jail on a tentative charge of felony theft.
Amateur sleuths with a taste for the supernatural will be glued to their screens this weekend in a bid to try and discover the truth behind Scotlands biggest mystery.

Monster hunters from as far away as Japan and New Zealand will be tuning in to livestreams of Scotlands Loch Ness in the hope of settling a longstanding debate as to whether or not the famed monster, affectionately named Nessie, actually exists.

The legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back to ancient times, though the story really gathered momentum after 1933 when sightings of a dragon or prehistoric monster were reported in the Scottish press.

The news spurred a host of investigations, much of which has since been discredited as a hoax.

Paul Nixon, manager of the Loch Ness Centre, told CNN in an phone interview that about 100 volunteers will be looking out for signs of life on the banks of the loch itself, while about the same number again will be surveying the site remotely.

Volunteers, who can still sign up to participate online, will have to keep their eyes peeled as they focus on footage taken from four webcams at strategic points around the lake.

The volunteers are going to be watching the water, said Nixon. If they spot something, hopefully they will film it and then submit it to our online portal.

Loch Ness is one of the largest bodies of water in the British Isles, at 22 miles in length and more than 750 feet deep.

The center, which reopened earlier this year following a $1.9 million refurbishment project, sits on the site of the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, where 90 years ago its then manageress Aldie Mackay reported seeing a water beast.

Now the interactive attraction has joined forces with Loch Ness Exploration (LNE), an independent and voluntary research team, to scour the waters like never before in the hope of uncovering some answers.

Each morning volunteers will be briefed by Alan McKenna, LNEs founder, on what to look out for, including signs of red herrings and other marine movements that can be disregarded.

Organizers say it is the biggest surface watch since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau (LNIB) studied the Loch in 1972, when volunteers were also on the lookout for the mythical beast  but without the hi tech equipment.

Dubbed the quest, the event will involve surveying equipment that has never previously been used there, such as thermal drones to produce images from the air using infrared cameras and a hydrophone to detect acoustic signals under water.

Nixon said: Whats different about our search this time is that obviously our volunteers will be armed with mobile phones and will be able to capture any movement more accurately and more regularly.

McKenna said in a press release: Since starting LNE, its always been our goal to record, study and analyze all manner of natural behavior and phenomena that may be more challenging to explain.

Appealing to budding monster hunters to sign up, he added: Its our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts and by joining this large scale surface watch, youll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world.

Nixon said that once the weekend is over, the sightings will be collated and analyzed and the findings made public.

He said: I think theres a very strong possibility that something will be spotted this weekend but then, of course, it raises the question as to what it will be.

We will certainly have enough eyes on the water  we just need some good spotting conditions, he added.

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A motorcyclist taking part in the Wounded Veterans Ride out of Arcadia was killed and two more were injured in a crash in Trempealeau County on Saturday that happened when a vehicle failed to stop at an intersection and struck them, authorities reported.

The crash occurred just before 11 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway E in the town of Hale.

Police said a group of motorcycles were traveling north on Highway 93 and approaching the Highway E intersection when a westbound vehicle on Highway E failed to stop at the stop sign. The vehicle driven by 18-year-old Nadia Nguyen of Holmen entered the intersection where it crashed into the two motorcycles and ejected the riders.

Daniel Sonsalla, 55 of Arcadia, was thrown from his motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The other motorcycle driver and a passenger received non-life threatening injuries and were treated at the scene before being released.

Sonsalla and the other riders were a part of the Wounded Veterans Ride that started at Uncle Sams Two Bar and Grill in Arcadia and raised money for veterans suffering from PTSD.

Nguyen was not injured and released from the scene, police said. Nguyen told investigators her brakes failed as she approached the intersection.

Law enforcement are still investigating the crash and looking at evidence including cell phone data, vehicle data and inspections and roadway evidence.

Many agencies assisted at the crash scene Saturday, including the Independence, Hall and Eleva fire and first responders; Tri-County Ambulance; Mayo Air Ambulance; Whitehall Police Department; and Wisconsin State Patrol.
Wisconsins Democratic Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski said Tuesday there are no public records to provide to a conservative group suing her office for records related to the circumstances surrounding her March appointment.

Conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, on behalf of the Institute for Reforming Government, filed the lawsuit in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Tuesday, more than five months after IRG filed the initial public records request, according to court filings.

However, Godlewski said in a statement her office does not have any records responsive to the initial request, which was filed on March 17.

We do our best to respond to records requests as soon as practicable, and my office is seeking support from the Department of Justice to ensure this action is handled appropriately, Godlewski said. Despite this conspiracy fishing expedition from partisan groups, my office will continue to work diligently to modernize and best serve Wisconsinites.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers appointed Godlewski to the role in March after Wisconsins longest-serving secretary of state, Doug La Follette, resigned from the position just months after he was reelected to his 11th consecutive term in office.

The Secretary of States inability or unwillingness to fulfill a simple open records request despite having five months to do so is emblematic of the Evers Administrations shoddy record on transparency, Anthony LoCoco, IRG chief legal counsel and director of oversight, said in a statement.

Godlewski was appointed on March 17, the same day La Follette announced his resignation. La Follette was reelected in November in a narrow win against former Republican state Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, of Clinton.

Soon after Godlewskis appointment, LoCoco filed a records request with her office seeking a years worth of correspondence between La Follette, Evers, Godlewski and any secretary of state deputies. The request had not yet been fulfilled as of Tuesday, according to court filings.

Transparent and accountable government is not a suggestion, but a vital principle to preserving our democracy, WILL deputy counsel Lucas Vebber said in a statement.

The lawsuit states that Godlewski has effectively denied Petitioners public records request by unreasonably delaying access to the records. It seeks to compel Godlewski to immediately produce the requested documents, as well as attorneys fees and punitive damages.

The complaint alleges that, after the Secretary of States Office notified LoCoco that it had received the request on May 25, the office did not respond to multiple emails after that date.

Wisconsins open records law states that requests for records must be answered as soon as practicable and without delay. State law also states that an agency cannot fulfill a request for a record if the authority has no such record.

I cant imagine a good reason why these records, if any exist, have not been provided after more than five months, Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said before Godlewskis statement that no records exist. Its disappointing, and Secretary of State Godlewski needs to step up and explain why this request has gone unfulfilled.

Lueders said the request, which covers a one-year span ending on March 17, 2023, could be complicated by the fact that much of the request concerns records produced before Godlewski took office. However, he said Godlewskis office is nonetheless responsible for locating and providing them.

State Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said the appointment suggested premeditated action and called for the seat to be filled via special election. Evers has ignored the request.

Godlewski told The Capital Times earlier this year she was shocked by Evers appointment.

Rather than seek reelection for state treasurer last year, Godlewski opted to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ron Johnson, of Oshkosh, but dropped out of the race before the August primary. Johnson ultimately won a third term in office last fall against former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

La Follette, meanwhile, fended off a Republican push for his office last year that included GOP proposals to take the office and install into it more controls over state elections  powers that currently reside with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The bipartisan agency faced mounting criticism from Republicans over how it handled the 2020 election, despite no evidence of widespread fraud.

Godlewski will serve the remainder of La Follettes four-year term, which concludes in January 2027. She is the third woman in state history to hold the office, according to the governors office.
Since former President Donald Trump last won an election in Wisconsin, he has tried to overturn the states 2020 election results, soured his relationship with the Legislatures most powerful GOP member and been indicted four times.

Those developments, and the former presidents divisive nature, have led some prominent Wisconsin Republicans to call for a GOP presidential nominee besides Trump, whom they say cannot win again in Wisconsin given his political liabilities.

No matter, Trump has remained popular with grassroots Republicans across the state. In Wisconsins suburban and rural areas, Trump is viewed favorably by a large majority of Republicans, according to Marquette Law School polling data.

Now, as Milwaukee prepares to host the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday and Americans look toward battleground Wisconsin, Republicans face a dilemma: With less than a year and a half before the 2024 presidential election, Trump is by far the leading candidate to become the GOP nominee. And if he is, it will take just about all Republican voters to return him to the White House.

That may be particularly challenging in Wisconsin, a perpetual swing state that could decide the 2024 presidential election.

The establishment isnt too kind to Trump in Wisconsin at all, Dane County Republican Party chair Brandon Maly said. Ive looked at a lot of states  our Republican primary electorate is one of the most anti-Trump. But that doesnt mean he cant win a general here. Its going to be close.

Wisconsin Republicans have had a love-hate relationship with Trump, who said he isnt participating in Wednesdays debate, since he first announced his candidacy in 2015.

2016 election

Around the beginning of 2016, more Wisconsin Republicans viewed Trump unfavorably than favorably, according to the Marquette Law School Poll.

When then-Gov. Scott Walker dropped out of the race, he endorsed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for president, not Trump. Republican leaders across the state criticized Trump for the Access Hollywood recording in which he bragged about groping women, and other rhetoric he used on the campaign trail.

Trump lost to Cruz in the 2016 Wisconsin GOP primary, making the state among the last ones not to back the future president.

But any reluctance Wisconsin Republican leaders felt about backing Trump all but melted away ahead of the general election, when he faced Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

By November (2016) and after he was elected, Republicans really came around, UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said. The positive way to say it is, politicians are pretty flexible in their attitudes about candidates.

By 2020, about 90% of Wisconsin Republicans viewed Trump favorably, the Marquette poll found.

After 2020

Since Trump left office, Wisconsin conservatives have slightly soured again on the former president. In June, 72% of Republicans viewed the former president favorably and 25% did not, the Marquette poll showed. And across every region of the state, Republicans now view Trump more favorably than when he announced his candidacy eight years ago but less favorably than when he was in office, according to the Marquette poll.

Nationally, according to polling averages conducted by FiveThirtyEight in June, Trump is the clear frontrunner among Republicans, beating the second-place Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, 54% to 23%.

But in Wisconsin at that time, Republicans were equally split between Trump and DeSantis, with each candidate garnering support from around 30% of those polled, according to the Marquette poll.

Why is Trump only getting 31% of the first-choice primary vote here? Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin said. Thats a surprising weakness.

Republican nonvoters

While he may not be all of their first choice, Trump was still viewed favorably by a majority of Republicans in Wisconsin in June, with 65% of Wisconsin Republicans and independents leaning Republican viewing the former president favorably, compared to 33% who viewed him unfavorably.

That third of Republicans still are mostly going to vote for him rather than vote for Joe Biden, Franklin said. The open question is, will they vote at all? Or will they skip the presidential office and go on down (the ballot) to vote for Senate and Congress if Trump is the nominee?

In the June poll, 28% of independents, including those who lean to the left and the right, and 0% of Democrats had a favorable view of Trump.

Some Dane County Republicans have told canvassers theyd skip voting in the general election or at least on the presidential ballot if Trump is the nominee, said Maly, who added that many said the same in 2016 but still voted for Trump.

I think the dynamics are a little bit different this time around, he said. Trump is more of a known quantity. And he does have a lot of legal baggage, of course. So thats going to hurt him.

Maly said he suspects that most of the people who said they wont vote for Trump if hes the nominee are bluffing.

They want to seem like very loud voices in the party right now, Maly said. So, you build the narrative that Trump cant win or have the support necessary to win. And in the end, theyre going to be faced with a binary choice. ... Theyre going to vote for Trump.

Trump base

Since 2016, the Republican electorate has included a significant segment of Americans motivated almost exclusively by Trumps candidacy. That group may be critical to Republicans aspirations next year.

I have to give Trump credit, despite my concerns and misgivings about him, longtime Republican operative Mark Graul said. I have never seen a more loyal following for any political candidate at any level than he has.

Indeed, Maly said he expects more so-called only-Trumpers  people who will only vote if Trump is on the ballot  to skip the 2024 general election if Trump isnt the nominee than never-Trumpers skipping it if he is on the ballot.

But if Trump is not the nominee, Graul said, it opens up Republicans to voters that used to vote Republican, particularly in those suburban areas, but are trending very much in a Democratic direction.

Since Trump was elected in 2016, Graul said, Republicans have struggled in suburban areas.

As you think long term for the state of Wisconsin, were going to be in big trouble  the Republican Party  to win statewide races, if we dont reverse or at least slow down the slippage were seeing in suburban areas, Graul said. We need to stop that from happening. Otherwise, winning statewide is going to become next to impossible.

Electability concerns

Popular with the base, Trump would still need to pull in enough independents to win a general election, which is what worries GOP leaders in the state.

I do not believe Donald Trump can win the state of Wisconsin, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said at a Milwaukee Press Club luncheon in May.

Vos, who launched a review of the states 2020 presidential election at the former presidents behest before their relationship turned acrimonious, is among Trumps chief critics in Wisconsin.

Still, Republicans havent coalesced around any of Trumps many GOP challengers yet. That may change depending on how Wednesdays GOP debate in Milwaukee goes.

But if it doesnt, Burden said he expects Republicans will again rally around the former president, since most of their public concerns revolve around his electability, not his performance in office or his integrity.

The evidence from the last two presidential elections says just about all the Republicans are going to be with Trump in the end, Burden said.
Bicyclists give city a thumbs-up for accessibility

All things considered, Twin Falls isnt a bad place to get around on a bicycle, say a couple of cyclists who have logged many miles on the citys roads.

Doing so safely has a lot to do with common sense and having the right attitude.

Eighty-two-year-old Dave Nelson, who was injured in a bicycle crash two years ago when a vehicle turned into him, said that bicyclists need to realize that it is a cars world out there, and should take the attitude that they are guests, although the law is on our side  we have every right to be there.

Nelson, who raced bicycles for 17 years, doesnt ride a bicycle as much anymore but has found that through the years, he has had far more courtesies extended to him by motorists than rude behavior.

For example, many motorists have stopped to allow him to cross busy streets such as Addison Avenue, he said.

I think the people in Twin Falls are very accommodating to bicycles, but some of that depends on your attitude, Nelson said.

And through the years, motorists are getting more accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles, said Nate Rioux, co-owner of Bull Moose Bicycles in downtown Twin Falls.

We have seen an uptick here in Twin Falls, Rioux said. More families are on their bicycles, and there are more people commuting, whether for health reasons or financial reasons.

Rioux and the two other workers at the bike shop commute by bicycle to work, and, knock on wood, we have had good experiences as of late.

Bicyclists need to carefully consider which streets they ride, Nelson and Rioux say.

When choosing a route, taking the quickest way possible is probably not the safest thing to do, Rioux said.

Speed is never something you want to think about. Its about finding a safe route, he said. We like to go into residential neighborhoods and shy away from busy avenues such as Addison, Blue Lakes and Washington, due to how much traffic they get.

Nelson remembers a time years ago when he and his friends would ride down Blue Lakes Boulevard and across the Perrine Bridge.

We could do that because traffic wasnt that heavy, he said.

One philosophy he has taken is to never do anything that makes a motorist angry.

Other safety points he offered are to use turn signals and to make yourself visible.

Ironically, when he was in his 2021 crash, which put him in the hospital, he decided a short time before to always walk his bicycle across intersections. He decided to break that rule that evening.

Its a two-way street, Nelson said of the cooperation needed between bicyclists and motorists to ensure the safety of individuals.

Josh Baird, public works director in Twin Falls, said the city has accessibility goals for everyone, whether it be cyclists, pedestrians or motorists.

Weve made some good strides, Baird said.

The city has designated bicycle paths painted on some roads. One of the more popular ones is Harrison Street.

It seems to be a nice, low-volume road, he said, from which riders can access the College of Southern Idaho.

There are about 9.6 miles of bike lanes in Twin Falls, and 4 miles of shared-lane bike routes or sharrows, and 13.5 miles of multi-use paths, for a total of 27 miles.

Efforts have been underway in newer, northern Twin Falls subdivisions to have 10-foot-wide bicycle/pedestrian paths that are detached from city streets. One such path extends on the south side of Federation Road, from the intersection of Northern Sky Drive to Grandview Drive, and a similar path might be coming soon to the northern side of Federation Road.

The city hasnt released a bicycle path map since 2014, because it is focused on extending the canyon rim trail from Shoshone Falls to Auger Falls.

The effort has taken time, Baird said, and after that will turn more attention to the heart of Twin Falls.
TWIN FALLS  The Mayor of Main Street no longer has set working hours.

Dave Nelson has sold his business, Sav-Mor Drug, but that doesnt mean hes relinquished the mayoral title that was bestowed upon him by friends.

I am kind of trying to retire but it isnt going too well, explained Nelson, who purchased the drug store, a fixture along Twin Falls Main Avenue, from his father in 1974, because I have so much fun being here.

He now comes to the store around noon, often giving the pharmacist on duty a break so they can have lunch. He doesnt have any official duties but still spreads cheer around the store as only he can.

I love to greet people and visit with them if they are waiting for a prescription, he said.

Besides Nelsons skill as a pharmacist, he patiently helps customers and treats everyone equally.

He has a knack for making friends.

My philosophy of life is love, he said Friday as he stood near the drug stores doors, saying hello to customers as they came through the front door to pick up a prescription or a gift item the store offers for sale.

Many customers expressed concern, however, as Nelson recently had nose surgery and was wearing a white bandage to cover a couple of dozen stitches.

But Nelson remained his cheerful self, joking with customers about the reason for the facial alteration.

Change of ownership

Last year, Nelson sold the much-loved store to fellow pharmacist and former employee Karen Henry. She worked side by side with Nelson for 25 years before the transaction.

Henry is dedicated  and that trait was evident years ago when she started working for Nelson.

One week when Henry was about to give birth, Nelson was working pretty long hours alone, he said. He was especially tired at the end of one day and left a mess in the back room, thinking he would deal with it the next day.

But when he returned to the store the next morning, found the room clean.

It turned out Henry had stopped by the store on her way back from the hospital, with her new baby in tow.

Henry compares Nelson to a second father.

The first day when I started working here he gave me a key, she said, and he said he had my back.

Nelson is happy the store has a bright future. After all, the business has been a survivor ever since his father began running the store in 1939.

In the 1950s and 60s, six pharmacies dotted downtown Twin Falls. Sav-Mor is the last one standing.

Dont expect a lot at the store to change with new ownership. While the pharmacy is the backbone of the business, the store offers bunches of fun items, a lot of puzzles, and even old-time shaving equipment.

Henry said the store has a nostalgic feel and smell. Where else can you purchase an 8-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola out of a retro-looking vending machine?

The smash-up

Nelson, at 82 years old, has a right to slow down.

Two years ago, he was doing something else he loves  riding his bicycle  when he was struck by a pickup a short distance from his home.

Nelson tried hard to avoid a crash as the vehicle turned into him, clipping the back of his bicycle.

The result was a smash-up, Nelson said.

He deflects blame from the motorist, as her vision was impaired by glare.

Nelson tells humorous stories about the crash, which put him in the hospital for two days and another six days in its rehab unit, and he continues to undergo physical therapy.

When paramedics arrived at the scene, Nelson insisted that he needed to make arrangements for his bicycle, an e-bicycle that he had purchased just months before.

The paramedics took care of it. They loaded the bike on the ambulance and dropped it off at his house before proceeding to the hospital.

Nelson first took a liking to bicycles when he was 35 and he raced them for 17 years.

The crash took something out of him and he rides a stationary bicycle now. But, on occasion, he gets on the regular two-wheel variety, but only in parts of town where car traffic is slow and infrequent.

Once a racer, his official title has been toned down to that of a fair-weather recreational cyclist, he says.

Love of music

Nelson has another love, and its one of music. Whether its a banjo, ukulele, bugle or trumpet, he loves them all.

When he entered Idaho State University in Pocatello he intended to major in pharmacy and minor in music, but school officials said he couldnt do both because pharmacy school was too demanding.

He decided to pursue a pharmacy degree  something he knew could pay his expenses  he said, but his love of music never waned.

He tells of a time when he was attending a function in Boise with a group of Idaho State alumni. He was in charge of the music and he convinced the group to bestow an honorary music degree to him.

Nelson was successful in his request, and that night we sang like we have never sung.

Nelson formed the Sons of Knute, a group of fun-loving musicians who were famous for their float during the St. Patricks Day parade.

That group doesnt meet much anymore, but dont be surprised if you see Nelson and his friends playing Christmas carols when you are dining at the Buffalo Cafe.

Main Avenue friends

Nelson keeps a watch on Main Avenue and its changing. Instead of stores like Sears, JCPenney and Macys, now its specialty shops and eateries. There are eight restaurants on the same block as Sav-Mor.

He enjoys socializing and walking down the street to get some exercise since he doesnt bicycle as much anymore.

He has automatic conversation starters. Just complimenting someone on the dog they are walking is a sure bet to start a chat. Other times, when he sees someone eating in front of a restaurant he might be inclined to ask them if they can spare a few french fries, explaining that he needs to get to the street corner and hes kind of out of gas.

They look at me like Im nuts, Nelson smiled, but you can have fun interacting with people.

And he makes plenty of friends from the seat of his bicycle as well, as he waves to people and rings his bicycle bell. Those friendships would never happen if he was driving a car, he said.

He says hes just glad to be in a place where there is always someone to greet and say hello.

Thats just the type of person I am.
KABUL, Afghanistan  The Taliban have settled in as rulers of Afghanistan, two years after they seized power as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.

The Taliban face no significant opposition that could topple them. They have avoided internal divisions by falling in line behind their ideologically unbending leader. They have kept a struggling economy afloat, in part by holding investment talks with capital-rich regional countries, even as the international community withholds formal recognition. They have improved domestic security through crackdowns on armed groups such as the Islamic State, and say they are fighting corruption and opium production.

But it's their slew of bans on Afghan girls and women that dominated the Taliban's second year in charge. They barred them from parks, gyms, universities, and jobs at nongovernmental groups and the United Nations  all in the space of a few months  allegedly because they weren't wearing proper hijab  the Islamic head covering  or violated gender segregation rules. These orders followed a previous ban, issued in the first year of Taliban rule, on girls going to school beyond sixth grade.

Here is a closer look at Taliban rule and where they are headed.

WHY DID THEY EXCLUDE WOMEN FROM HIGHER EDUCATION, MOST JOBS AND PUBLIC SPACES?

The Taliban say they are committed to implementing their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in Afghanistan. This leaves no space for anything they think is foreign or secular, such as women working or studying. It's what drove them in the late 1990s, when they first seized power in Afghanistan, and it propels them now, ever since they took control again on Aug. 15, 2021.

Their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has praised the changes imposed since the takeover, claiming life improved for Afghan women after foreign troops left and the hijab became mandatory again.

WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO THESE BANS?

Foreign governments, rights groups, and global bodies condemned the restrictions. The U.N. said they were a major obstacle to the Taliban gaining international recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Overseas aid is drying up as major donors stop their funding, pulled in different directions by other crises and worried their money might fall into Taliban hands.

The lack of funds, as well as the exclusion of Afghan women from delivering essential humanitarian services, is hitting the population hard, pushing more people into poverty.

WHAT ARE LIVING CONDITIONS LIKE IN AFGHANISTAN?

Nearly 80% of the previous, Western-backed Afghan government's budget came from the international community. That money  now largely cut off  financed hospitals, schools, factories and government ministries. The COVID-19 pandemic, medical shortages, climate change and malnutrition have made life more desperate for Afghans. Aid agencies have stepped into the breach to provide basic services like health care.

Afghanistan is struggling with its third consecutive year of drought-like conditions, the ongoing collapse in families' income, and restrictions on international banking. It's also still suffering from decades of war and natural disasters.

HOW IS THE ECONOMY DOING?

The World Bank said last month that the local currency, the afghani, gained value against major currencies. Customers can withdraw more money from individual deposits made before August 2021 and most civil servants are being paid. The World Bank described revenue collection as "healthy" and said most basic items remained available, although demand is low.

The Taliban have held investment talks with countries in the region, including China and Kazakhstan. They want sanctions removed and billions of dollars in frozen funds to be released, saying these measures will alleviate the suffering of Afghans. But the international community will only take such steps once the Taliban take certain actions, including lifting restrictions on women and girls.

HOW LIKELY ARE THE TALIBAN TO CHANGE DIRECTION?

It's largely up to the Taliban leader, Akhundzada. The cleric counts like-minded government ministers and Islamic scholars among his circle. He is behind the decrees on women and girls. His edicts, framed in the language of Islamic law, are absolute. The bans will only be lifted if Akhundzada orders it. Some Taliban figures have spoken out against the way decisions are made, and there has been disagreement about the bans on women and girls. But the Taliban's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid slammed these reports as propaganda.

"The secret of their success is that they are united," Abdul Salam Zaeef, who served as the Taliban envoy to Pakistan when they ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, said. "If someone expresses his opinion or his thoughts, it doesn't mean someone is against the leadership or will go to another side," said Zaeef who spent several years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center after the 2001 U.S. invasion. "Disagreements are put in front of the emir (Akhundzada) and he decides. They follow his word."

WHAT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION?

Aid officials say the Taliban view recognition as an entitlement, not something to be negotiated. The officials also cite high-level meetings with powerful states like China and Russia as signs that the Taliban are building bilateral relations in their own way. Qatar's prime minister met Akhundzada in the southwestern Afghan city of Kandahar in June, the first-such publicly known meeting between the supreme leader and a foreign official.

Even though the Taliban are officially isolated on the global stage, they appear to have enough interactions and engagement for ties with countries to inch toward normalization. Cooperation with the Taliban on narcotics, refugees and counter-terrorism is of interest globally, including to the West. Countries like China, Russia and neighboring Pakistan want an end to sanctions.

"The political interactions are such that no country in the region is thinking of bringing Afghanistan under their power or control," said Zaeef. He said the Taliban's foreign outreach is hampered by blacklists preventing officials from traveling, and by lacking common ground with the rest of the world.

WHAT OPPOSITION IS THERE TO THE TALIBAN?

There's no armed or political opposition with enough domestic or foreign support to topple the Taliban. A fighting force resisting Taliban rule from the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul is being violently purged. Public protests are rare.

The Islamic State has struck high-profile targets in deadly bombings, including two government ministries, but the militants lack fighters, money and other resources to wage a major offensive against the Taliban.

Photos: Scenes from Kabul under Taliban control
When philosophy professor Darren Hick came across another case of cheating in his classroom at Furman University last semester, he posted an update to his followers on social media: "Aaaaand, I've caught my second ChatGPT plagiarist."

Friends and colleagues responded, some with wide-eyed emojis. Others expressed surprise.

"Only 2?! I've caught dozens," said Timothy Main, a writing professor at Conestoga College in Canada. "We're in full-on crisis mode."

Practically overnight, ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots have become the go-to source for cheating in college.

Now, educators are rethinking how they'll teach courses this fall from Writing 101 to computer science. Educators say they want to embrace the technology's potential to teach and learn in new ways, but when it comes to assessing students, they see a need to "ChatGPT-proof" test questions and assignments.

For some instructors that means a return to paper exams, after years of digital-only tests. Some professors will be requiring students to show editing history and drafts to prove their thought process. Other instructors are less concerned. Some students have always found ways to cheat, they say, and this is just the latest option.

An explosion of AI-generated chatbots including ChatGPT, which launched in November, has raised new questions for academics dedicated to making sure that students not only can get the right answer, but also understand how to do the work. Educators say there is agreement at least on some of the most pressing challenges.

Are AI detectors reliable?

Not yet, says Stephanie Laggini Fiore, associate vice provost at Temple University. This summer, Fiore was part of a team at Temple that tested the detector used by Turnitin, a popular plagiarism detection service, and found it to be "incredibly inaccurate." It worked best at confirming human work, she said, but was spotty in identifying chatbot-generated text and least reliable with hybrid work.

Will students get falsely accused of using artificial intelligence platforms to cheat?

Absolutely. In one case last semester, a Texas A&M professor wrongly accused an entire class of using ChatGPT on final assignments. Most of the class was subsequently exonerated.

So, how can educators be certain if a student has used an AI-powered chatbot dishonestly?

It's nearly impossible unless a student confesses, as both of Hicks' students did. Unlike old-school plagiarism where text matches the source it is lifted from, AI-generated text is unique each time.

In some cases, the cheating is obvious, says Main, the writing professor, who has had students turn in assignments that were clearly cut-and-paste jobs. "I had answers come in that said, 'I am just an AI language model, I don't have an opinion on that,'" he said.

In his first-year required writing class last semester, Main logged 57 academic integrity issues, an explosion of academic dishonesty compared to about eight cases in each of the two prior semesters. AI cheating accounted for about half of them.

What happens next?

This fall, Main and colleagues are overhauling the school's required freshman writing course. Writing assignments will be more personalized to encourage students to write about their own experiences, opinions and perspectives. All assignments and the course syllabi will have strict rules forbidding the use of artificial intelligence.

College administrators have been encouraging instructors to make the ground rules clear.

Many institutions are leaving the decision to use chatbots or not in the classroom to instructors, said Hiroano Okahana, the head of the Education Futures Lab at the American Council on Education.

At Michigan State University, faculty are being given "a small library of statements" to choose from and modify as they see fit on syllabi, said Bill Hart-Davidson, associate dean in MSU's College of Arts and Letters who is leading AI workshops for faculty to help shape new assignments and policy.

"Asking students questions like, 'Tell me in three sentences what is the Krebs cycle in chemistry?' That's not going to work anymore, because ChatGPT will spit out a perfectly fine answer to that question," said Hart-Davidson, who suggests asking questions differently. For example, give a description that has errors and ask students to point them out.

How AI impacts studying

Evidence is piling up that chatbots have changed study habits and how students seek information.

Chegg Inc., an online company that offers homework help and has been cited in numerous cheating cases, said in May its shares had tumbled nearly 50% in the first quarter of 2023 because of a spike in student usage of ChatGPT, according to Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig. He said students who normally pay for Chegg's service were now using the AI platform for free.

At Temple this spring, the use of research tools like library databases declined notably following the emergence of chatbots, said Joe Lucia, the university's dean of libraries.

"It seemed like students were seeing this as a quick way of finding information that didn't require the effort or time that it takes to go to a dedicated resource and work with it," he said.

Shortcuts like that are a concern partly because chatbots are prone to making things up, a glitch known as "hallucination." Developers say they are working to make their platforms more reliable but it's unclear when or if that will happen. Educators also worry about what students lose by skipping steps.

"There is going to be a big shift back to paper-based tests," said Bonnie MacKellar, a computer science professor at St. John's University in New York City. The discipline already had a "massive plagiarism problem" with students borrowing computer code from friends or cribbing it from the internet, said MacKellar. She worries intro-level students taking AI shortcuts are cheating themselves out of skills needed for upper-level classes.

"I hear colleagues in humanities courses saying the same thing: It's back to the blue books," MacKellar said. In addition to requiring students in her intro courses to handwrite their code, the paper exams will count for a higher percentage of the grade this fall, she said.

How students are responding

Ronan Takizawa, a sophomore at Colorado College, has never heard of a blue book. As a computer science major, that feels to him like going backward, but he agrees it would force students to learn the material. "Most students aren't disciplined enough to not use ChatGPT," he said. Paper exams "would really force you to understand and learn the concepts."

Takizawa said students are at times confused about when it's OK to use AI and when it's cheating. Using ChatGPT to help with certain homework like summarizing reading seems no different from going to YouTube or other sites that students have used for years, he said.

Other students say the arrival of ChatGPT has made them paranoid about being accused of cheating when they haven't.

Arizona State University sophomore Nathan LeVang says he doublechecks all assignments now by running them through an AI detector.

For one 2,000-word essay, the detector flagged certain paragraphs as "22% written by a human, with mostly AI voicing."

"I was like, 'That is definitely not true because I just sat here and wrote it word for word,'" LeVang said. But he rewrote those paragraphs anyway. "If it takes me 10 minutes after I write my essay to make sure everything checks out, that's fine. It's extra work, but I think that's the reality we live in."

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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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Growing demand for AI skills will transform these 10 jobs Growing demand for AI skills will transform these 10 jobs Quality assurance tester Investment specialist Business operations Solutions specialist Infrastructure engineer Product manager Application engineer Software engineer Scientist Data analyst
WASHINGTON  In a monthslong inquiry, which included reviewing tens of thousands of pages of documents from more than 100 public records requests, The Associated Press has examined what happens behind the scenes when Supreme Court justices travel to colleges and universities for lectures and other events.

The AP learned the identities of donors and politicians invited to events with justices, details about the perks that have accompanied the school visits and information about how school trips have helped advance books sales.

Some of the key takeaways:

BOOK SALES

The documents reveal how university visits are a convenient way for justices to sell their own books. That's especially true in the case of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a prolific author who has kept the court's most active travel schedule over the past decade, according to the records reviewed by the AP.

Emails and other documents show that Supreme Court staff members have been directly engaged in facilitating book sales by asking schools how many copies they want to buy and by helping to arrange the purchase of mass quantities.

At a 2019 event jointly hosted by the Multnomah County Library in Oregon and Portland Community College, a Sotomayor aide told organizers that "250 books is definitely not enough" for a program with an expected 1,000 guests in which people would be required to have a copy to meet the justice for a signing after the event.

Michigan State University purchased 11,000 copies to be distributed to incoming first-year students. When Clemson University in South Carolina worried that 60 copies might be too many for Sotomayor to sign, a staffer reassured the school that "most institutions order in the ranges of 400 and up."

And before a scheduled visit to the law school at the University of California, Davis, for the 2018 commencement, the court staff proposed using the event as an opportunity to distribute books.

In a statement, a Supreme Court spokesperson said that staff members work to follow judicial ethics guidance and that "at no time have attendees been required to buy a book in order to attend an event."

"Schools have occasionally invited Justice Sotomayor to take part in a program in which they select a book for an entire school or a freshman class, and the Justice gives a book talk," the statement said. "When she is invited to participate in a book program, Chambers staff recommends the number of books based on the size of the audience so as not to disappoint attendees who may anticipate books being available at an event, and they will put colleges or universities in touch with the Justice's publisher when asked to do so."

A LURE FOR MONEY

Supreme Court justices insist that they cannot and do not participate in fundraising events. But the emails obtained by the AP show that the court's definition of a fundraiser  an event that raises more than it costs or where guests are asked for contributions  excludes much of the work that typically goes into persuading a wealthy donor to cut a check.

That's given schools wide latitude to court rich patrons.

For instance, ahead of a 2017 event with Justice Clarence Thomas, officials at McLennan Community College in Texas worked with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr and his wife, Alice, to craft a guest list designed to reward school patrons and incentivize future contributions. In an interview, Starr's widow called it "friendraising."

In an email planning the event, the executive director of the college's foundation wrote that she had thoughts about whom to invite "mainly because they are wealthy conservative Catholics who would align with Clarence Thomas and who have not previously given."

Thomas isn't the only one whose status as a justice has been leveraged by schools eager to capitalize with donors. Before Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Colorado's law school, one official suggested a "larger donor to staff ratio" for a 2019 dinner with her, emails show. Another event organizer said the organizer was "open to suggestions about which VIP donors to cultivate relationships with." A school spokesperson said the attendees weren't asked for any donations connected to the event.

Clemson University in South Carolina hosted Sotomayor for a 2017 session with students and for a private luncheon. One official said it was hoped the events, which included donors, would "ultimately generate resources" for the university's Humanities Advancement Board that played a lead organizing role. As university officials devised a guest list, an alumni relations official wrote: "When you say $1M donors, please be sure to include our corporate donors at that level, too."

In a statement, a court spokesperson said it "routinely asks event organizers to confirm that an event at which a Justice will speak is not a fundraiser, and it provides a definition of 'fundraiser' in order to avoid misunderstandings." The spokesperson said justices have occasionally declined to attend events even after being told expressly that they were not fundraisers.

POLITICAL COMMINGLING

Visits to universities are promoted as academic in nature, but they also have facilitated encounters between justices and elected officials.

Months after he was seated on the Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch attended an event at the University of Kentucky with then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, hosted by a center to study the judiciary named after one of McConnell's closest friends, a former federal judge.

In 2020, after teaching a weeklong course at the University of Florida's law school, Thomas extended his stay in the state to attend a gathering of the regional branch of the Federalist Society, where he was introduced with effusive praise by Gov. Ron DeSantis, with whom he also had a private dinner.

Thomas also attended a private dinner during a visit to the University of Texas at Tyler that was sponsored by a group of donors to then-Rep. Louie Gohmert. Six years later, Gohmert would spearhead a lawsuit that sought to empower Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election that Donald Trump lost.

A court spokesperson said: "Justices exercise caution in attending events that might be described as political in nature, following guidance in the Code of Conduct which cautions judges against engaging in political activity. Merely attending an event where an elected official might also be in attendance  such as several of the events described in your email  does not necessarily render the event impermissibly political in nature."

NO ETHICS CODE

Some of the conduct revealed by the AP likely would run afoul of ethics rules that cover officials in other branches of government as well as lower federal court judges.

Lower court judges, for instance, are generally barred from engaging in fundraising, political activity and "lending the prestige of judicial office" to advance a judge's own "private interests." Supreme Court justices are asked only to adhere to what Chief Justice John Roberts referred to in April as a set of "foundational ethics principles and practices."

The information in this review comes at a time of plummeting confidence in the court, brought on in part by a succession of news media revelations about members of the court, including reports by ProPublica that Thomas repeatedly accepted luxury vacations, including a $500,000 trip to Indonesia in 2019, and sold property to and accepted school tuition for a nephew from Harlan Crow, a billionaire businessman, Republican donor and longtime friend.

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The 9 current justices of the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Justice Clarence Thomas Justice Samuel Alito Justice Sonia Sotomayor Justice Elena Kagan Justice Neil Gorsuch Justice Brett Kavanaugh Justice Amy Coney Barrett Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
While rescue and emergency operations continued Friday 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.

Webster also urged potential donors to support organizations with deep local ties and knowledge of the effected communities.

"To the extent that we can all slow down, wait a week, wait two weeks, to understand where the greatest needs are, and then look toward organizations that are really meeting those needs, again, prioritizing organizations with specific disaster expertise and organizations that are local in nature," Webster said.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement pledged to match donations  up to $100,000 initially, now increased to $1 million  for a campaign they began Wednesday, with initial support from the Alakaina Foundation Family of Companies. An online tracker shows that more than $750,000 has been given from 5,200 people as of Friday.

The crowdfunding site, GoFundMe, has vetted fundraisers for individuals and families who lost property or were injured in the fires. That means the site has taken steps to verify the identity of the organizer and has collected those campaigns on a hub on its website. GoFundMe will take additional verification steps before releasing the funds to the organizer, as well as deduct a transaction fee.

Direct donations to individuals or families can be a powerful way to make an impact, but potential donors should be careful in responding to appeals on social media for donations to individuals, through electronic payment apps like Venmo or Cash App, experts say.

Potential donors should also consider if it's important to them to claim a tax benefit for their donation. Only tax-exempt nonprofit organizations will provide a receipt that people who itemize their taxes can use to claim a deduction.

The Hawaii Community Foundation said it has raised $3 million for its Maui Strong Fund in 24 hours and is not collecting any fees on gifts to the fund.

"Funding is focused on basic necessities, including sheltering families who have lost homes, food and clothing. We are humbled by the support and aloha shared locally and across the globe for Maui families," said Michelle Kauhane, the foundation's senior vice president, in a statement.

The foundation is collaborating with other nonprofits and government officials to assess immediate needs, she said.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy will launch a fund specific to the Hawaii wildfires that prioritizes equity in recovery, Webster said.

"We actually will wait several months before we understand the full range of needs that exist on Maui and other islands that are also facing wildfires," she said. "And we will not invest our funds until such time as we understand what those medium- and long-term needs are."

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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Photos: Wildfires devastate the Hawaiian island of Maui
NEWPORT NEWS, Va.  Bystanders in Newport News rescued three children from a sinking vehicle Monday night after their mother reportedly drove into a retention pond, exited the vehicle and walked away.

Bystanders cut the seatbelts and got the children out of the vehicle. The children were taken to a hospital for evaluation and did not appear to have suffered injuries. All the children were under the age of 10.

Police responded to reports of a sinking car near the 1100 block of Arboretum Way, in the Oyster Point area, at around 9:30 pm. Officers were advised that a woman drove into the pond and exited the car while her kids were still inside.

Officers found the woman nearby. She was identified as Reality Nicole Goodwin, 27, of Hampton. Goodwin assaulted an officer when she was arrested, police said, and later assaulted another officer at a hospital where she was taken for evaluation.

Goodwin was charged with three counts of child endangerment, four counts of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, one count of reckless driving and one count of being drunk in public.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew commended the bystanders who rescued the children for quick thinking and bravery.
Last year, William Kip Thompson and his wife, Beni, began planning the vacation of a lifetime. It would be for themselves and their five offspring, the youngest of whom is 15.

Soon, the south Roanoke, Va., couple will have four in college at the same time, yikes. They figured summer 2023 would be their last chance in years to have an all-in-the-family vacation.

So they splurged. They booked a seven-day Alaska cruise package, in a luxurious three-bedroom suite, aboard the Norwegian Jewel. The package included five days of post-cruise land travel in Alaska, as well as air travel for all seven Thompsons.

They booked it through Norwegian Cruise Line, a well known Florida-based cruise operator. The trips cost was $60,619.17. Kip Thompson, a local eye surgeon, paid that fully five months in advance.

Some weeks before they were to leave, NCL sent the Thompsons their itinerary, including flights. Beni Thompson noticed a potential hitch almost immediately. They were flying on the same day they were supposed to board the Jewel. That made her nervous.

She said she contacted Norwegian Cruise Line twice by phone about that specific concern.

Everything Ive ever seen about cruises said, never travel on the same day youre boarding a ship, because of the potential for airline delays, Beni Thompson told me. She mentioned that to the NCL representatives as well.

Both reps assured her the family would make it to Vancouver in time, because we were leaving on the first flight of the day and hardly anything ever goes wrong with those, Beni told me. As a result, the family stuck with the original flights booked by Norwegian.

The big travel day was June 28. Early that morning, the Thompsons were to board a Delta flight in Greensboro that would fly them to Atlanta. There, theyd catch a connecting Delta flight to Vancouver, British Columbia, where the Norwegian Jewel would leave its dock at 4 p.m PDT.

The Thompsons first flight was scheduled to leave Greensboro at 5:41 a.m. The Thompsons were at the airport, but that airliner didnt take off. The fight was canceled because its crew, which had been delayed flying into Greensboro the night before, lacked the minimum number of required rest hours to fly early that morning to Atlanta, Kip Thompson told me.

The Thompsons called NCL. A rep informed them the cruise line could not rebook them on flights that would get them to Vancouver on time. The family should work with Delta, to see if there was another way to get them to Canada, NCL told them.

Another flight delay in Charlotte

According to Delta, there was a possibility.

Delta booked the family on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte that was supposed to arrive in Seattle shortly after noon. Then they could catch a short Delta flight to Vancouver, and make it to the Jewel on time. But it would be tight.

So the Thompsons hurriedly drove 90 minutes from the Greensboro airport to Charlotte, where they caught the American flight to Seattle. Unfortunately, it was delayed by more than an hour.

The American flight landed in Seattle around 1:30 p.m. PDT. By then, their Delta flight to Vancouver had left its gate. (The two cities are roughly 140 miles apart.)

In desperation, the family tried to hire an Uber to Vancouver. But none of the three Uber drivers they contacted had passports  which the driver would need to get the family across the Canadian border.

Kip Thompson contacted NCL again. Was it possible they could board the Jewel at its first stop in Ketchikan, Alaska? Kip said NCL told him a rule prevented the family from boarding at any port other than Vancouver.

The land package portion of their vacation would not begin until the cruise ended seven days later. Thompson inquired whether there was any way his family could do that part of the trip.

NCL replied no. Thompson said hes never gotten a decent explanation as to why.

2-day summer-travel nightmare

So on June 30 around 5:30 a.m., the Thompson clan landed home in Roanoke after a 48 very frustrating hours. They never took their planned Alaska trip-ofa-lifetime.

Shortly thereafter, Kip Thompson began asking Norwegian Cruise Line for a refund. He did that via email. Initially, an NCL guest experience coordinator sent Thompson a denial letter addressed to a different unhappy NCL customer, Monica DeGraff of Golden, Colorado. (This becomes noteworthy later in the narrative.)

Next, NCL sent Thompson a correctly addressed denial that was identical to DeGraffs  in other words, it was a form refund denial letter. Ultimately NCL offered Thompson $2,500 back. That constituted some taxes and service charges for dining and beverages that Thompson had paid as part of his $61,000 prepaid travel package.

Dissatisfied, Thompson escalated his refund request with the cruise operator. But that didnt do any good. The latest communication he received was Aug. 7 from Roger Farinas, the cruise operators guest experience supervisor.

After a review of your case at length, we have determined that your concerns have been addressed in accordance with our policies, Farinias wrote Thompson. While we are sorry to learn of your continued disappointment with our previous responses, our position in this matter remains firm.

I learned details about the botched vacation from the Thompsons last week. Tuesday, I wrote Katty Byrd, Norwegian Cruise Lines vice president of guest services, about the Thompsons issues with NCL.

It appears to me that Norwegian Cruise Lines policies have cost Dr. Thompson $58,300, because of canceled flights that Norwegian booked and for which the Thompson family was on-time. It wasnt their fault the flight NCL arranged for them was canceled, I wrote Byrd.

From that perspective, it seems less than fair that Dr. Thompson should have to eat that $58,300. Am I looking at this the wrong way? If so, please tell me how and why.

Norwegian Cruise Line responds

Byrd never replied. But Friday morning I received an unsigned email message from NCLs public relations department.

Although Norwegian Cruise Line offers flight arrangements as part of our cruise package, we do not have direct control over the operations of the airlines and are not responsible for their cancelations,[sic] the message said.

Per our air policy terms and conditions, If there are delays, cancelations, [sic] or any schedule changes within 72 hours of your departure time, you will need to work directly with your airline for re-accommodations. These changes are beyond the control of NCL.

Additionally, as a convenience to our guests we offer the option to deviate flights up to two days pre cruise, which the guest did not elect to do.

(Weeks before their travel, Beni Thompson tried to persuade NCL to book her family on earlier flights. But the NCL reps pooh-poohed her concerns, and assured her flying a day earlier was unnecessary.)

NCLs response continued: The guest is ineligible for a full refund as they did not purchase travel insurance. It is because of unexpected situations, such as this, that we strongly recommend guests obtain travel protection insurance. Without travel protection, we are unable to provide an exception to our cancelation [sic] fee policy.

Kip Thompson says he was offered travel insurance, by NCL, at the time he booked the cruise package. But he turned it down without inquiring as to the price.

That brings us back to Monica DeGraff, the other unhappy Norwegian Cruise Line traveler. Recall that when Thompson first asked NCL for a refund, the cruise operator replied to him with a letter addressed to DeGraff in Colorado.

NCLs letter also denied her a refund for a different Norwegian cruise. So I called DeGraff and asked for her travel story. Turns out it was very similar to the Thompsons nightmare.

She had trip-protection insurance

DeGraff bought a 10-day cruise in Italy and Greece for herself, her teenage daughter and her mom aboard Norwegians Breakaway Voyage. That ship departed May 26 from Rome. Norwegian arranged their flights for the same day as the cruises departure.

The DeGraffs missed the cruise because a flight NCL booked them on from Toronto  the second leg of their air travel to Rome  was delayed. That plane didnt arrive in Rome until the Breakaway Voyage already had left. The airliner was so late leaving Toronto that DeGraff and her family never got on it, because they knew they would miss the ships departure.

DeGraff had purchased trip-protection insurance offered by NCL as part of her vacation package. She told me it cost about $200 per person. Though she later made a claim for $11,000 (the amount she advance-paid for the missed cruise package) the insurance company denied it.

Instead, the insurer paid DeGraff, her mom and daughter $500 each, the maximum coverage in the insurance policy for airline flight delays, DeGraff said. That paid for their flights back to Colorado, but not much else.

DeGraff told me shes invested more than 50 hours trying to get an $11,000 refund, or a credit for future travel, but shes been stymied by NCL and the insurer that wrote the policy.

Collectively, the two families are out $72,000 because they could not take cruise vacations with Norwegian Cruise Line because of delays with flights booked by the cruise operator.

Everyone reading this will draw their own conclusions from these sad stories. Here are a few:

First, Ill never book anything on Norwegian Cruise Line because its refund policies seem unfavorably skewed against its customers. (It would seem less frustrating to flush the money down a toilet. At least with that, thered be no expectation of a vacation.)

Second, Ill never buy trip-protection insurance for a vacation unless Im absolutely certain itll fully cover my losses if the vacation doesnt happen because of airline delays. Those occur at every single airport, every single day. (In that respect, the policy Norwegian sold Monica DeGraff was almost worthless.)

Third, is the old saw about arriving at least a day early at the port of departure for any planned cruise. Its solid advice. Ill take that if I ever book a cruise.

Well wrap this up with the last sentence from the final, four-paragraph form letters Kip Thompson and Monica DeGraff each received from Roger Farinas, Norwegian Cruise Lines guest operations supervisor. Here it is:

It is our hope that over the course of time, you will consider Norwegian Cruise Line in your future travel plans, Farinas wrote to each.

Was he kidding?
Four people in Uganda have been arrested for performing homosexual acts, announced on Monday August 21 the police of this country, which at the end of May enacted an anti-homosexuality law considered to be one of the most repressive in the world.

The authorities arrested the four people, including two women, in a massage parlor in the eastern district of Buikwe, a police spokeswoman said.

The police operation was carried out following a tip-off from a woman that homosexual acts were taking place in the massage parlour, said Hellen Butoto. At the end of May, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni promulgated an anti-homosexuality law that provides for heavy penalties for people who have homosexual relations and promote homosexuality. The crime of aggravated homosexuality carries the death penalty, a sentence which has not been applied for years in Uganda.

This law has provoked outrage from the United Nations, human rights groups and many Western countries. In early August, the World Bank announced that it would no longer finance new projects in Uganda following the enactment of this law, deeming it fundamentally at odds with World Bank values.

US President Joe Biden called the law a tragic attack on human rights and threatened to suspend aid and investment in Uganda, while European diplomatic chief Josep Borrell called it contrary to human rights. Nevertheless, the new legislation received broad support in Uganda, a country with a conservative Christian majority, where legislators saw the text as a necessary bulwark against the alleged immorality of the West. President Museveni also accused the World Bank of trying to put pressure on his country. Ugandans will develop with or without loans, he said.
Angola and Cuba signed three memorandums of understanding in Luanda on Monday August 21 in the fields of tourism, the development of free zones and health, with the aim of solidifying bilateral relations that have lasted almost four decades and stimulating economic cooperation.

The legal instruments were signed at the Presidential Palace in the Angolan capital, in the presence of Angolan President Joao Lourenco and his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, who is on his first day of an official visit to Angola.

A memorandum of understanding between the Angolan Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Cuban Ministry of Tourism was signed by the Angolan Minister of Culture and Tourism, Filipe Zau, and the Cuban ambassador to Angola, Ester Cardenas.

The memorandum of understanding between Angolas Medicines Regulatory Agency (Armed) and Cubas State Control Center for Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices was signed by Armeds director, Katila Mangueira, and by Ester Cardenas.

The memorandum of understanding for the promotion of investments between the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone Development Company (ZEE) and the Office of the Mariel Special Zone of the Republic of Cuba was signed by the chairman of the ZEE board of directors, Manuel Pedro, and the Cuban ambassador to Angola.

The legal instruments were signed after a private meeting between Joao Lourenco and Miguel Diaz-Canel and a bilateral meeting between the Angolan and Cuban ministerial delegations.

The importance of the memorandums was highlighted on the occasion by the Angolan President and his Cuban counterpart, who agreed that they should consolidate relations between Luanda and Havana and stimulate economic cooperation.
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A new analysis in the BMJ argues that UK government opposition to drug consumption rooms is rooted in societal stigma

Dr. Andrew Guise has led on the publication in the British Medical Journal arguing that the UK government's opposition to drug consumption rooms is rooted in long running and societal-wide stigma towards people who use drugs.

Drug overdoses are a growing problem worldwide, in the UK the number of people dying from drug overdose is rising, with over 4000 deaths reported in 2021. In response to this issue, many countries have drug consumption rooms.

Drug consumption rooms are sites where people can use drugs within the facility and under the supervision of staff and volunteers trained to provide emergency care. These facilities provide a safe and accessible space to help reduce fatal overdose rates and enable further access to other health and social services.

A combination of an increase in drug overdose death and evidence of their success has led to calls for the UK to establish drug consumption rooms from activists, scientists and politicians. An unsanctioned mobile drug consumption room was opened in Glasgow between September 2020 and May 2021 without government support, which was found to reverse nine cases of overdose and support people in unstable housing.

"Drug Consumption Rooms are globally evidenced to prevent overdose deaths and so should be introduced in the UK. Yet UK Governments have long blocked the introduction of Drug Consumption Rooms. This opposition is underpinned by society wide stigma towards people who use drugs and needs to be challenged by medical authorities," says Guise, Senior lecturer in Social Science and Health

However, as argued by the authors, stigmatizing labels and assumptions from the UK government are part of widely circulating societal norms. The opposition to reforming current drug policy and introducing drug consumption rooms is supported by social and structural barriers, stopping such a program being initiated.

The article cites a range of studies conducted on drug consumption rooms throughout the globe, highlighting Canadian rooms as a well studied example, with one room based in Vancouver being associated with a 26% net reduction in the fatal overdose rate within its vicinity. A systematic review of drug consumption rooms also found them to be associated with reduced morbidity and mortality, alongside greater access to addiction treatment without increasing incidents of crime.

The authors call on medical and public health authorities to challenge stigmatization, change the language and framing used for people who use drugs and address gaps within our knowledge on effectiveness by establishing pilots for drug consumption rooms.

More information: Andy Guise et al, Stigma is stopping an evidence based response to drug overdose deaths in the UK, British Medical Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2023-074934 Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ)
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Annualised minimum incidence of notified invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) disease among children and young people aged less than 18 years, by yearly quarter, July 2018December 2022. Q3 (July to September) includes 2 months of winter and one month of spring in Victoria, Western Australia and Queesnland, and the dry season in the Northern Territory. Credit: The Lancet Regional HealthWestern Pacific (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100873

Australia has experienced an intense surge in severe Strep A cases, similar to the northern hemisphere wave, despite differences in seasons and circulating respiratory viruses, according to a new study.

The national research project, involving researchers from Murdoch Children's Research Institute and published in The Lancet Regional HealthWestern Pacific, highlighted how the unseasonal increase in case load across the southern hemisphere adds to the need for a safe and effective vaccine against Strep A.

The common deadly bacteria causes sore throats, scarlet fever and skin sores. Strep A infections affect about 750 million people and kills more than 500,000 globally every year, more than influenza, typhoid or whooping cough. Strep A can also cause severe life-threatening infections including toxic shock syndrome and flesh-eating disease as well as the post-infectious illnesses of acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and kidney disease.

Strep A infections disproportionately affect young children, the elderly, pregnant women and Indigenous Australians. Rates of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous populations in northern Australia are some of the highest in the world. Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent Strep A.

For the study, the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) Network collected data of children, under 18 years, admitted to five major Australian pediatric hospitals with severe Strep A infections. Strep A in Australia increased sharply from mid-2022 after a reduction in cases during 2020 and 2021. Cases jumped from 23 in 2020 to 107 by 2022. The incidence rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was twice that of non-indigenous children.

Murdoch Children's Dr. Yara-Natalie Abo said Australia had followed similar trends in the UK, US and western Europe during 2022, despite differences in climate, seasons and circulating viruses.

"Increases in Strep A cases have been reported around the world, occurring during, and outside of, typical spring peaks," she said. This increase is likely due to a combination of environmental factors and viruses in circulation and more research is needed into whether new strains might be responsible.

"Strep A most commonly causes mild symptoms like sore throat, but in some children it can cause life threatening sepsis which requires early recognition and treatment. The global burden of Strep A is an unmet public health challenge."

Dr. Abo said reduced social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic may have also impacted on children's immunity to Strep A.

"Children normally get seasonal exposures to colds and common infections like Strep A, but lockdowns and other restrictions such as mask mandates during the COVID pandemic limited social contact for almost three years," she said. "This may have contributed to a lowered immunity and a spike in invasive Strep A infections as we emerged from lockdowns."

The hospital data showed the extent of symptoms among children admitted with Strep A, including toxic shock syndrome and aggressive skin infections.

Sandeep Kaur's daughter, Gursirat, 1, spent almost two months in intensive care earlier this year after contracting a Strep A infection.

"Gursirat had a mild fever, but otherwise was fine, so we gave her pain relief and kept an eye on her," Sandeep said. "But three days later she fell suddenly very ill. Her hands, lips and feet turned blue and her skin was discolored."

Sandeep said after she was admitted to hospital, Gursirat's condition worsened. She was diagnosed with kidney failure, a liver infection, and necrosis on seven of her fingertips, all linked to the Strep A infection.

"It was such a difficult time, our baby had drains in her leg, needed two operations and required dialysis for 12 days," she said. "Thankfully, her fingertips were saved but she is yet to fully recover. I hope that a vaccine can be made for Strep A so no other child has to endure this."

Murdoch Children's Professor Andrew Steer said the study found more children were presenting with severe symptoms as a result of Strep A infections.

"More research is required into the causes of this spike and how we can prevent future surges," he said. "With ongoing funding, we can begin to answer some of these complex questions and work towards an effective and accessible Strep A vaccine."

Professor Steer and his team are testing candidate Strep A vaccines developed by researchers in Australia and overseas in a first of its kind human challenge model.

The trials, which are planned to be conducted in Melbourne, involve about 50 participants receiving a candidate vaccine or placebo and having Strep A applied on their throats in a controlled environment.

"We hope this research will accelerate the development of a vaccine and move things forward to bigger field trials," Professor Steer said. A vaccine for Strep A will save hundreds of thousands of lives every year and prevent millions of infections that send children and adults to the hospital or doctor."

More information: Yara-Natalie Abo et al, Increase in invasive group A streptococcal disease among Australian children coinciding with northern hemisphere surges, The Lancet Regional HealthWestern Pacific (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100873 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan  (23)00191-8/fulltext
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A strain of listeria bacteria found in milkshakes at a restaurant in Washington state has been linked to six hospitalizations and three deaths.

The milkshakes were sold at Frugals restaurant in Tacoma, Wash.

Only the Tacoma site of Frugals, a small fast-food chain in Washington and Montana, appears to have been affected, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

Investigators found listeria in the ice cream machines, which were not cleaned correctly, health officials said. The restaurant had stopped using its ice cream machines on Aug. 8, but it can take up to 70 days for a person to develop listeria symptoms.

People who are age 65 and older, have weakened immune systems or who are pregnant should call their health care provider if they had a Frugals Tacoma milkshake between May 29 and Aug. 7 and have symptoms of listeria.

Most people who eat listeria-contaminated food will not become seriously ill, but it can be dangerous for risk groups.

The infection can be treated with antibiotics.

Symptoms of listeria illness include fever, muscle aches and tiredness.

Affected pregnant women may also get a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or seizures.

Listeria can cause pregnancy loss. It may also lead to premature birth or serious illness or death in newborns.

Frugals Tacoma posted a statement Aug. 19 on its Instagram page. It said customers' trust was paramount and that it was cooperating with the investigation.

"We are heartbroken and deeply regret any harm our actions could have caused," the statement said.

Through genetic fingerprinting, health investigators found that the bacteria in this outbreak is same strain of listeria that hospitalized six people between Feb. 27 and July 22 in Washington's Pierce and Thurston counties. Three of those people died.

Two people who were hospitalized but survived said they consumed Frugals Tacoma milkshakes before becoming ill. All six of those sickened had conditions that made their immune systems less able to fight disease, health officials said.

More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on listeria.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Credit: Claudia Knorr/FMP

Our behavior is controlled through neural circuits in the brain. Molecular disturbances can lead to stereotypical behavior, as seen in neuropsychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive and autism spectrum disorders.

A research team has now demonstrated that the absence of two proteins, Intersectin1 and Intersectin2, in mice leads to disrupted neural signaling and compulsive repetitive behavior, which is also observed in patients with Intersectin 1 mutations. This supports the idea that such defects can cause neuropsychiatric diseases. The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Our brain is essentially our body's computer. Through a complex interplay of various nerve cells in different areas, it controls and regulates all vital functions, such as breathing, how we move and speak, and how we respond to environmental stimuli with specific behavioral patterns. The so-called cortico-striatal circuit, which connects the cortex and striatum, two parts of the cerebrum, plays a key role in guiding goal-directed behavior.

"We already know that human behavioral disorders, in which a specific behavior is compulsively repeated, are associated with this circuit or network," says Professor Dr. Tanja Maritzen, who studies nanophysiology at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU). However, much of what happens in this part of the brain at the molecular level remains a mystery to science.

In the current study, the team around Tanja Maritzen closely collaborated with the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Volker Haucke from Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut fur Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin and Freie Universitat Berlin. The researchers focused on two specific proteins that play a crucial role in this circuit.

"Intersectin 1 and Intersectin 2 are large scaffold proteins that have many interaction sites," says Professor Haucke. "Previous research has shown that their mutation in humans correlates with behavioral abnormalities."

To explore their exact role, the team inhibited the production of these proteins in mice. The results showed that the Intersectin proteins are vital for the organism, as some of the mice died early. A different subset displayed behavioral abnormalities: they stood on their hind legs in the corner and repeatedly jumped up and down.

"Such symptoms, where a particular, essentially pointless behavior is compulsively repeated, are also known in neuropsychiatric diseases," Professor Maritzen notes, citing autism spectrum disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders as examples.

But what goes wrong at the molecular level? The team specifically looked at the NMDA receptor. "We observed that the absence of the two proteins results in fewer of these receptors at the ends of nerve cells, the synapses," explains Professor Haucke. This is crucial for the transmission of signals from one nerve cell to another. Neurotransmitters, chemical messengers, carry the excitation between cells by binding to receptors. "The Intersectin proteins, as scaffold proteins, are important to stabilize the NMDA receptor at the synapse."

The deficiency of these proteins isn't solely responsible for the onset of behavioral abnormalities. It is rather one component in a complex molecular system. This study has helped us to understand a part of it better, reinforcing the notion that mutations in Intersectin can lead to neurological symptoms. Moreover, the study suggests that the NMDA receptor is a potential candidate for developing drug therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders.

More information: Dennis Vollweiter et al, Intersectin deficiency impairs cortico-striatal neurotransmission and causes obsessivecompulsive behaviors in mice, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304323120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Provided by Rheinland-Pfalzische Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern-Landau
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For adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), dupilumab treatment yields significant improvement in sleep quality and other AD-related signs and symptoms, according to a study published online Aug. 10 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Joseph F. Merola, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a phase 4 randomized, double-blind study to examine the impact of dupilumab treatment on sleep and other patient- and physician-reported outcomes. Adults with moderate-to-severe AD were randomly assigned to dupilumab 300 mg once every two weeks (q2w; 127 participants) or placebo (61 participants) for 12 weeks. Subsequently, patients entered an open-label phase and received dupilumab 300 mg q2w for 12 weeks. Using a novel numeric rating scale (NRS), the primary end point was the percentage change from baseline to week 12 in sleep quality.

The researchers found a significant improvement in the sleep quality NRS in dupilumab-treated patients versus those receiving placebo by week 12 (least-squares mean difference, 15.5 percent). With dupilumab versus placebo, there were also significant differences in the peak pruritus NRS, SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), SCORAD sleep visual analog scale, and Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System sleep-related impairment T-score. Compared with the placebo group, the dupilumab group had a lower overall percentage of patients reporting treatment-emergent adverse events.

"Future analyses will assess the persistence of dupilumab's effect on sleep disturbance through 24 weeks," the authors write.

More information: Joseph F Merola et al, Dupilumab significantly improves sleep in adults with atopic dermatitis: results from the 12-week placebo-controlled period of the 24-week phase 4 randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled DUPISTAD study, British Journal of Dermatology (2023). DOI: 10.1093/bjd/ljad284 Journal information: British Journal of Dermatology

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Research funding drives advances in research and leads to discoveries. In the field of basic research, research funds allocated to researchers by public organizations (in Japan, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research: KAKENHI) account for a large portion of research funds.

However, there is an ongoing debate about whether "distributing a small number of research funds to a large number of researchers" or "concentrating a large number of research funds on a small number of excellent researchers" produces more new results and leads to innovation, particularly Nobel-Prize-class discoveries.

A new study published in PLOS ONE comprehensively investigated the relationship between the research funds (amount and research category) and the research outcomes (number of publications, number of emerging topics created, and number of Nobel Prize topics created). It considered all Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research allocated to life sciences and medicine since 1991.

The findings show that the higher the amount of research funds received, the more the number of research results generated. However, the findings also highlighted that the generation of research results becomes stagnant at 50 million yen. In particular, the generation of Nobel Prize topics decreased compared to the number before the receipt of research funds.

In terms of the efficiency of research output creation based on the total amount of investment, it is clear that distributing smaller amounts of research funds of 5 million yen to a large number of researchers is more effective than distributing a higher amount of research funds to a limited number of researchers, who have excellent research records, in a limited number of research fields.

This research group has established a quantitative identification method for emerging topics and Nobel Prize topics and has also clarified the involvement of researchers in the generation of these topics. The results of this study are expected to provide fundamental insights that can contribute to research policy and research funding administration.

More information: Ryosuke L. Ohniwa et al, The effectiveness of Japanese public funding to generate emerging topics in life science and medicine, PLOS ONE (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290077
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When Lou Ellen Horwitz first learned that a gas station company was going to open a chain of urgent care clinics, she was skeptical.

As CEO of the Urgent Care Association, Horwitz knows the industry is booming. Its market size has doubled in 10 years, as patients, particularly younger ones, are drawn to the convenience of the same-day appointments and extended hours offered by the walk-in clinics.

"Urgent care is harder than it looks," Horwitz recalled thinking when the Tulsa-based gas station and convenience store company QuikTrip announced an urgent care venture called MedWise in late 2020. "And that's a whole different ballgame than selling Funyuns."

But Horwitz said the more she thought about it, the more she saw an overlap between the business models of QuikTrip and of successful urgent care clinics: setting up in easy-to-find locations, catering to walk-ins, and accepting multiple payment methods, for example. QuikTrip opening health clinics might just make sense, she thought, provided they could deliver quality medical care.

In fact, QuikTrip had been providing primary care services to its own employees for years, through third parties and eventually at its own clinics. Five years ago, longtime "QuikTripper" Brice Habeck was tasked with leading a team to figure out how the company could offer such medical services to the general public, too. His team quickly realized that urgent care had a lot in common with their retail spaces.

"It's about access. It's about convenience," said Habeck, who started his career as a clerk at a QT, as the stores are often branded, and is now the executive director of MedWise.

MedWise has opened 12 clinics so far, all in the Tulsa area, and now belongs to Horwitz's trade group. The company is owned by QuikTrip, but the two businesses don't share buildings or a name. As much as people love the gas station, Habeck said, company leaders didn't want patients to think the person checking their vitals had just wiped down a gas pump.

QuikTrip is not the first company to see potential in the urgent care industry. Private equity firms have been investing in urgent care's consumer-friendly niche for over a decade. And nearly half of urgent cares are affiliated with hospital systemswhich often see urgent care as a front door for bringing in new patients while also taking some burden off their busy emergency rooms.

Other retailers have also seen opportunities in expanding into patient care. Walmart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens have all opened what are called "retail clinics" in recent years, often in their existing stores and often partnering with local health systems to provide the actual medical care. Generally, the scope of services available at urgent care centers, such as MedWise clinics, is more robust than what's offered at those retail clinics, according to Horwitz.

But urgent care and retail clinics may not be a panacea for rising health care costs. A study co-authored by Harvard Medical School health policy professor Ateev Mehrotra shows urgent care clinics reduce less serious visits to the emergency room, yet 37 urgent care visits are needed to prevent a single trip to the ER, increasing total health care spending with all those trips.

And ongoing research by Vanderbilt University assistant professor Kevin Griffith suggests that newly constructed urgent care or retail clinics can decrease wait times at nearby private and public sector health centers initially. Eventually, however, the increased access provided by the new clinics increases demand as well, he is finding, and wait times creep back up.

"It's kind of like the 'build it and they will come' of health care," said Griffith, adding that even though the clinics may not decrease wait times long-term or reduce costs, they are getting patients seen. "There is a huge problem with unmet care in the United States. And so ostensibly, these clinics are making a dent into that problem as well."

The experience of some retail clinics is a cautionary tale for companies like MedWise, according to Mehrotra: Disrupting the health care industry is easier said than done, even for businesses with a successful track record of good customer service in a low-margin business such as gas stations.

"Generally people have been happy with the convenience," Mehrotra said, but the clinics have not been very profitable, prompting many closures over the years.

Gas stations are accustomed to competing over customers by offering something special. QuikTrip, for example, was recently ranked ninth on a list of best gas station brands in America that noted QT's "beloved" made-to-order food, such as breakfast tacos. Habeck said he thinks patients today are open to a more transactional approach in health care as well.

That doesn't mean offering roller-grill hot dogs and taquitos in urgent care waiting rooms, although Habeck joked that MedWise might have tried that if it hadn't launched during the pandemic. Rather, he said, the chain is banking on winning customer loyalty by offering patients consistent service without necessarily offering a consistent clinician.

And, Habeck said, even though MedWise and QTs are not in the same buildings, the parent company's experience finding prominent locations for gas stations is useful for placing urgent cares as well.

On a recent Friday afternoon, Billy Rohling and Amy Shaver stood waiting for their ride home in the mostly empty parking lot of a MedWise at the same exit as a QT off Interstate Highway 244 in Tulsa. Rohling, 56, remembers when this corner of Admiral Place and Sheridan Road was a shopping center with tenants like J.C. Penney Co. and a five-and-dime called TG&Y.

Those stores are long gone now, though. The couple came to MedWise because Shaver, 37, was having breathing problems. It was her second time visiting the clinic.

"They aren't busy at all," Rohling said. "It took 15 minutes to get an EKG."

Indeed, MedWise's patient visits have slowed since the unexpected "windfall volume" that came as a result of opening during the pandemic, Habeck said. At one point, MedWise clinics administered curbside COVID-19 tests to hundreds of patients a day, many of whom paid cash. The momentum from all those visits helped propel the clinics through abnormally low flu seasons in 2020 and 2021typically urgent care's bread and butter.

But Habeck said MedWise is still on track to expand. Four more locations are slated to open in northeastern Oklahoma this year, and the future should bring even more MedWise locations in QuikTrip's 17-state, 1,000-location footprint, in places such as Kansas City, Missouri, and Wichita, Kansas.

State health care rules, public insurance payment rates, and existing health system locations will all factor into where the new clinics are located, Habeck said, although expansion out of state is probably a couple of years away.

Horwitz said scaling up in the industry requires a degree of standardizationeverything from clinic layouts to staffing levels, and even where various supplies are storedthat can be hard to attain. But she said it's a trend, with more urgent care chains having a triple-digit number of locations than ever before.

"Nobody's at 1,000, but some are closing in on it," Horwitz said.

2023 KFF Health News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Earlier this year, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed a case of tick-borne encephalitisa potentially deadly virus carried by ticks that causes brain inflammation. A British man is also said to have contracted alpha-gal syndrome after being bitten by a tick. This condition can trigger a fatal allergy to red meat.

The ticks that carry these pathogens are already common in other parts of the world, including Europe and North America. But in light of these reports, many may be wondering whether ticks and tick-borne diseases are a growing risk in the U.K.

Are tick numbers increasing?

It's difficult to provide a straightforward answer as to whether tick populations are rising in the U.K. This is because tick abundance surveys tend to be fairly localized and only done during short, sporadic time frames.

This is important, as the tick lifecycle typically spans around two years, but may last several years depending on whether or not it feeds. Tick populations will also vary depending on the local populations of the animals they use as hosts (such as rodents and birds).

So given the sporadic data we have on tick density, it's difficult to estimate how much tick populations have really increased, and whether this is part of a long-term trend. But we are seeing both an upsurge of some species and the establishment of new ticks in the U.K. in recent years.

Why are things changing?

Climate change undoubtedly has had a huge impact on tick infestations.

This has been particularly noticeable in colder regions, such as in parts of Canada where ticks had not previously been recorded. In the U.K., recent milder winters mean ticks are being sighted earlier in the year than normal.

A push to build parks and green spaces, particularly in towns and cities, is another factor which can influence tick abundance. While green spaces have many benefits to human health and the environment, these can also provide a suitable habitat for tickswith a high risk of exposure to humans and their pets.

On farms, areas set aside to preserve wildlife also provide excellent tick habitats. These are often close to paths used by hikers.

Animals also drive up tick numbers. Deer, rodents and ground-foraging birds (such as blackbirds) are all important hosts. Migratory birds also aid in the spread of ticks in the U.K. as they carry them from other countries. Pets traveling from outside the U.K. are also responsible for the importation of at least ten tick species.

What health risks do ticks carry?

In the U.K., the most common tick species is the castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus). The red sheep tick (Haemaphysalis punctata) and the newly established ornate dog tick (Dermacentor reticulatus) are also becoming more common.

Ticks can carry harmful germs.

Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease) is one such example. In the U.K., this is spread by the castor bean tick. Symptoms of Lyme disease include a circular or oval rash around the bite area, as well as fatigue and flu-like symptoms that can become chronic if untreated.

The incidence of Lyme disease is fairly low in the U.K. (just under 3% of ticks carry it). But in other parts of Europe, between 9% and 22% of ticks carry Lyme diseaseand this number is rising.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus has also now become established in the U.K. This is also spread by the castor bean tick. It initially causes flu-like symptoms, but may lead to brain inflammation. Cases of tick-borne encephalitis virus are still rare in the U.K.

Ticks can also transmit a pathogen that causes babesiosis, which affects humans and animals. This illness attacks the red blood cells, leading to anemia.

Recently, some fatal cases in dogs were associated with the Dermacentor reticulatus tick. This tick isn't native to England but has now become established in Essex and the south-east coast.

The red sheep tick has also been reported in South Downs National Park. This carries bacteria called Borrelia miyamotoi, which causes tick-borne relapsing feveran infection characterized by recurrent bouts of chills, sweat, muscle aches and vomiting.

Public health officials are particularly concerned about the spread of the lethal viral infection Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. This disease causes fever, muscle aches and dizziness, which can rapidly progress to kidney deterioration or sudden liver failure in just a few days. It has a 10%40% fatality rate.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is transmitted by Hyalomma ticks, which are most common in the Mediterranean basin. Although this tick hasn't been detected in the U.K., cases have been spreading throughout Europe in recent yearswith recent cases reported in Spain.

Protecting yourself

The best way to prevent tick-borne diseases is by avoiding tick bites.

Avoid tall grasses and areas where ticks thrive (such as moorlands and woodlands), especially during the warmer months. If you planning on going outdoors, stay on marked paths and cover yourself with long clothing so ticks can't bite you. Insect repellents can also help.

If you find you've been bitten by a tick, you should remove it as soon as possible to avoid risk of infection. If you become unwell after being bitten by a tick, it's important to visit a GP as soon as possible.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Recognizing and acting on heart attack symptoms is linked with faster lifesaving treatment, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023.

"Patients with a repeat heart attack were more likely to know the symptoms than first-time sufferers, but recognition was low in both groups," said study author Dr. Kyehwan Kim of Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Republic of Korea. "Most patients could identify chest pain but less than one-third knew the other symptoms."

Heart attack symptoms can include chest pain, radiating pain to the arms, jaw and neck, dizziness, cold sweats, shortness of breath, feeling sick and loss of consciousness. It is crucial to call an ambulance immediately and get fast treatment to survive and make a full recovery. This study investigated the association between symptom recognition, time to treatment, and clinical outcomes.

The study used data from KRAMI-RCC, a registry of myocardial infarction patients in the Republic of Korea. Trained nurses asked survivors if they recognized the following myocardial infarction symptoms: 1) chest pain, 2) shortness of breath, 3) cold sweats, 4) radiating pain to the jaw, shoulder or arm 5) dizziness/vertigo/lightheadedness/loss of consciousness and 6) stomach ache.

Patients were classified as "recognized symptoms" if they could identify at least one symptom; otherwise they were classified as "did not recognize symptoms." The researchers compared patient characteristics, time to lifesaving treatment and survival between the two groups after adjusting for age 70 years and above, sex, education, living with a spouse, previous registration in KRAMI RCC, cancer, dyslipidemia, cardiogenic shock and presence of acute decompensated heart failure.

The study included 11,894 myocardial infarction patients, of whom 10,623 (90.4%) had a first-time event and 1,136 (9.6%) had a repeat event. Of the 1,136 patients with a repeat event, 118 were excluded due to missing data, failure to answer the survey about symptoms, or presentation with cardiac arrest, leaving 1,018 patients for the analyses.

Overall, just over half (52.3%) of patients recognized the symptoms of myocardial infarction. The majority of patients (92.9%) could identify chest pain as a symptom of myocardial infarction, while approximately one-third recognized shortness of breath (32.1%) and cold sweats (31.4%). Just over one in four recognized radiating pain (27.4%), while only 7.5% identified /vertigo/lightheadedness/loss of consciousness and 1.3% recognized stomach ache.

Regarding patient characteristics, men were more likely to recognize symptoms than women (79.3% of men vs. 69.0% of women identified symptoms). Other traits associated with symptom recognition were younger age, higher education level and living with a spouse.

The researchers also compared time to treatment and outcomes between the two groups. Some 57.4% of patients who correctly identified the symptoms of myocardial infarction received treatment to open the arteries and restore blood flow within two hours, compared to just 47.2% of those who did not recognize the symptoms. Patients who recognized symptoms had a lower in-hospital mortality rate (1.5%) compared with those who could not identify the symptoms of a heart attack (6.7%). The group who could not recognize symptoms more often had cardiogenic shock and heart failure.

Among patients with recurrent myocardial infarction, the symptom recognition rate was 57.5% for those previously enrolled in KRAMI-RCC and 43.2% for those not previously enrolled. Just 14.4% of patients with a first-time myocardial infarction could identify the symptoms.

Dr. Kim said, "The findings indicate that education is needed for the general public and heart attack survivors on the symptoms that should trigger calling an ambulance. In our study, patients who knew the symptoms of a heart attack were more likely to receive treatment quickly and subsequently survive. Women, older patients, those with a low level of education, and people living alone may particularly benefit from learning the symptoms to look out for."

More information: The abstract "Effect of symptoms recognition in patients with recurrent acute myocardial infarction: from KRAMI-RCC" will be presented during the session Risk stratification in acute coronary syndromes (1) which takes place on Friday 25 August from 13:15 to 14:00 CEST at Station 5.
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Los Angeles Fire Department personnel gather by the emergency entrance to the Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. A succession of power outages at the Los Angeles hospital prompted the evacuation of 28 patients in critical condition to other hospitals early Tuesday, while 213 other patients were moved to another building in the medical center, authorities said. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Vogel

A succession of power outages at a Los Angeles hospital prompted the evacuation of 28 patients in critical condition to other hospitals early Tuesday, while 213 other patients were moved to another building in the medical center, and a baby was delivered by flashlight, authorities said.

The power failure blacked out Adventist Health White Memorial's main six-story building, disabling elevators, said Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley. More than 100 firefighters and numerous ambulances were dispatched to the facility east of downtown.

The building includes OB-GYN and neonatal intensive care, Crowley said.

"All patients are safe," John Raffoul, the hospital president, said at a morning press conference.

Fire personnel remained at the hospital during the day.

Power was finally restored shortly before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and most patients were returned to their rooms, according to the hospital.

The hospital originally lost power at 3 a.m. Monday after Tropical Storm Hilary dumped record rainfall on the city, and backup generators that were supposed to last three days kicked in, Raffoul said.

But that power source was later either cut off or failed and another blackout was reported at 11:45 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

Firefighters were dispatched to evacuate patients, assisting them down flights of stairs in many cases, the Fire Department said.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel gather at the Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. A succession of power outages at a Los Angeles hospital prompted the evacuation of 28 patients in critical condition to other hospitals early Tuesday, while 213 other patients were moved to another building in the medical center, authorities said. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Vogel

A baby boy was born at the hospital after the emergency power failed.

"Our supervising nurses were there, physicians were attending, and what they ended up doing was putting together a whole bunch of flashlights and shining them up at the ceiling and illuminating the room so there was plenty of light," hospital spokesperson Grace Hauser said.

"They knew what to do. They kept us calm and we kept moving forward," the father, Justin Ugaldo, told KTLA.

Water may have short-circuited an electrical panel or system, severing it from the city's power supply, although the exact cause was still being investigated, authorities said.

"Environmental impacts" hit the hospital's "main bus and switch gear," Chief Financial Officer Chip Owens said in a statement released by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

"We don't know the cause of the double failure that we had here ... other than the fact that we had a major storm that hit us here in Southern California," Raffoul said earlier.

The emergency entrance is seen to the Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. A succession of power outages at the Los Angeles hospital prompted the evacuation of 28 patients in critical condition to other hospitals early Tuesday, while 213 other patients were moved to another building in the medical center, authorities said. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Vogel

"We must get to the bottom of what happened and ensure that lives are not put at risk in this way ever again," Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. "Many years ago, I worked at White Memorial in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A power outage risks the lives of all of those babiesand also the rest of the patients in critical care whose lives depend on respirators, ventilators and other critical life-sustaining equipment."

According to Raffoul, the generators were purchased in 2008 at the time the hospital was built, and they have been regularly tested since, the Los Angeles Times reported.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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A good night's sleep is essential for everyone. In individuals with Huntington's disease (HD), sleep disturbances constitute an additional burden that may exacerbate disease outcomes and impact patients' quality of life. In a special issue of the Journal of Huntington's Disease , researchers review what is, and perhaps more importantly, what is not known about sleep and circadian rhythms in HD.

Disrupted sleep can alter metabolism and increases vulnerability to infection. Many of us have experienced the increased irritability, sluggish thinking, and physical exhaustion that comes with a poor night's sleep. We take for granted that we will recover from such disruptions, and that they will leave no lasting effect.

In fact, the reversibility of the deleterious effects of short-term disturbances of both sleep and circadian rhythms in healthy individuals is a testament to the robust pathways and homeostatic mechanisms that underpin the survival of our species. There is emerging awareness that both sleep and circadian rhythms abnormalities are associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Guest Editor of this special issue Jenny Morton, Ph.D., ScD, professor of neurobiology, University of Cambridge, says, "Good quality sleep and healthy diurnal rhythms are fundamental to human health and wellness, although for the most part we greatly underappreciate the role they play in our lives. It is only when they become disordered that we pay attention.

"The critical question for the HD field is whether or not chronically disturbed sleep and/or circadian rhythms, that are so detrimental to the neurologically normal population, have a greater impact on people whose brains are rendered vulnerable by HD. We do not know the answer to this question, and it is time that we found out."

It remains unknown if sleep disorders precede pathogenesis (and thus represent a risk factor for the disease) or whether they only appear as a debilitating symptom of the pathophysiological alterations. Either way, the contributing authors to this special issue make the case that sleep disturbances constitute an additional burden in patients with HD that will probably exacerbate disease outcomes.

Prof. Morton says, "It is clear from the articles in this special Issue that sleep and circadian dysfunction in HD patients is an understudied, indeed neglected, field. Yet a lack of study is not the only issue. The lack of recognition of the problem is as great a barrier to progress.

"Sleep dysfunction in normal people is taken seriously, and it is recognized that it exacerbates a range of cognitive symptoms, including deficits in executive function, memory consolidation, attention, and processing speed, as well as affective features such as impulsivity and emotional liability. Notably, most if not all these symptoms are present in HD at some stage in the course of the disease, yet the impact of sleep dysfunction on HD patient symptoms is rarely considered."

There is growing evidence from both clinical and animal model studies that sleep changes occur early in the clinical course of the disease. Difficulties with sleep initiation and maintenance that lead not only to decreased sleep efficiency, but also to progressive deterioration of normal sleep architecture are recognized as symptoms of HD.

In "Sleep Disorders and Circadian Disruption in Huntington's Disease," Sandra Saade-Lemus, MD, and Aleksandar Videnovic, MD, both of the Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, point out that despite evidence of sleep and circadian abnormalities, sleep alterations are underreported by patients and underrecognized by health professionals. This may explain why available investigations of sleep in HD patients are sparse, with small cohorts, and varying methodologies.

"Treatment of sleep and circadian disturbances in HD represents a big unmet need in HD. Well-designed intervention studies aimed at the treatment of poor sleep associated with HD are very much needed. Noninvasive and low cost circadian-based therapies such as light therapy may be promising for the management of sleep-wake disturbances in HD," concludes Dr. Videnovic.

HD is an autosomal-dominant hereditary neurodegenerative condition, characterized by a triad of motor, cognitive, and psychiatric features resulting from a polyglutamine expansion mutation in exon 1 of the huntingtin gene. Because there is currently no treatment that slows or halts the progression of the disease, contemporary treatment approaches address symptoms. Sleep dysfunction represents one such highly prevalent symptom. Despite this, current HD treatment approaches neither consider the impact of commonly used medications on sleep, nor directly tackle sleep dysfunction.

In the review "Sleep Dysfunction in Huntington's Disease: Impacts of Current Medications and Prospects for Treatment," Natalia Owen, MPhil student, Roger Barker, MBBS, MRCP, Ph.D., and Zanna Voysey, Ph.D., from the John van Geest Center for Brain Repair, and Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Cambridge, discuss approaches to these two areas, evaluating not only literature from clinical studies in HD, but also parallel neurodegenerative conditions and preclinical models of HD.

Sleep disruption may not only exacerbate cognitive and affective symptoms, but also directly affect neurodegenerative processes by inducing neuroinflammation or impairing slow wave sleep-dependent glymphatic clearance of neurotoxic waste. If sleep deprivation is associated with an increase in neurotoxic proteins such as b-amyloid and tau, known contributors to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, it may also affect the HD brain. This is particularly relevant given the recent links between tau and HD disease progression.

Senior author Prof. Roger A. Barker notes, "Given this feedforward relationship, addressing sleep pathology in HD potentially offers a treatment approach that not only could alleviate motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms, but may also modify disease progression. Consistent with this, sleep interventions in preclinical models of HD have enhanced both behavioral and survival outcomes."

"The role of sleep and circadian disorders is an underappreciated but critically important aspect of HD. This special issue addresses gaps in our knowledge and expands our current understanding of how sleep dysfunction impacts individuals with HD," says JHD co-Editor-in-Chief Leslie M. Thompson, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine.

More information: Sandra Saade-Lemus et al, Sleep Disorders and Circadian Disruption in Huntington's Disease, Journal of Huntington's Disease (2023). DOI: 10.3233/JHD-230576 Natalia E. Owen et al, Sleep Dysfunction in Huntington's Disease: Impacts of Current Medications and Prospects for Treatment, Journal of Huntington's Disease (2023). DOI: 10.3233/JHD-230567 Journal information: Journal of Huntington\'s Disease
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Race-correction for spirometry, a type of pulmonary function test, is commonly done in medical institutions across the United States.

Recently, the American Thoracic Society released recommendations to remove race-correction from spirometry tests, which could change the way surgeons think about selecting surgical candidates.

Spirometry tests are a noninvasive test that assesses the function of the lungs when being evaluated for a chest or lung disease, including lung cancers. Within the United States, these exams offer adjustments for age, sex, and height as well as race-correction values for some racial and ethnic groups.

Currently, the use of race-correction for African Americans assumes a 10-15% deficiency in lung function compared to white Americans.

To date, the concern with race-correction in spirometry tests for African American patients has primarily centered on misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of medical diagnoses such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, limited research has focused on African Americans requiring surgery for lung cancer.

A recent study led by Sidra Bonner, M.D., M.P.H, M.S. a surgery resident at the University of Michigan Health, has now provided new information about the clinical impact of race-correction in pulmonary function tests for African American patients with lung cancer undergoing surgical evaluation. The findings are published in the journal JAMA Surgery.

In this study, most African American patients undergoing surgery currently had race-corrected values in spirometry testing before surgery. Additionally, the study found that the removal of race-correction caused a significant reduction in the estimation of lung function from the test.

The study presented cardiothoracic surgeons with hypothetical cases of African American patients, with and without race-corrected spirometry results. Research results found that the surgeons' treatment recommendations significantly varied between the two hypothetical cases.

"The removal of race correction for African American patients has the potential to change who surgeons consider to be candidates for surgical intervention and what type of surgery may be performed," said Bonner.

"It is important that race-correction in spirometry tests is removed given that it is based on the flawed concept of race as a biological factor. However, it is important to realize the implications of race-correction in spirometry tests differs between medical and surgical conditions. For African Americans with lung cancer being evaluated for surgery, this may exacerbate existing disparities in lung cancer care."

Considering the coming changes, Bonner encourages surgeons to do research about how the change of removing race-correction may impact their practice.

"The change in pulmonary function test numbers could lead surgeons to believe that patients are at a higher risk for post-operative complications or mortality than they actually are," said Bonner. "Therefore, there is a need for surgeons to educate themselves about anticipated changes to spirometry testing in their own clinical practices and a wider need for surgical societies to provide new recommendations about surgical candidacy for lung cancer surgical resection in the light of the end of race-correction in spirometry."

More information: Sidra N. Bonner et al, Clinical Implications of Removing Race-Corrected Pulmonary Function Tests for African American Patients Requiring Surgery for Lung Cancer, JAMA Surgery (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2023.3239 Journal information: JAMA Surgery
A man from out-of-state was convicted of child sex abuse in Missoula County District Court last week, according to county officials.

Jose Chavez, a Tampa, Florida, resident, was found guilty of two felony child sex abuse charges on Aug. 15, according to a news release from Missoula County.

Chavez was accused of contacting a fictitious minors social media account. The account, run by an undercover Missoula sheriffs detective, received messages from Chavez indicating he wanted to engage in sex with the minor, according to the news release.

During the online communications, Chavez arranged to meet the minor at a specific location in Missoula. On Sept. 22, 2022, Chavez arrived and was taken into custody without incident by members of the Missoula County Human Trafficking Task Force, the news release stated.

Methamphetamine was found on Chavez, according to the release. He was also convicted of a drug possession felony.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 27 in front of Missoula District Court Judge Shane Vannatta.
Missoula health officials will host a vaccine clinic on Wednesday, Aug. 23 to get kids up-to-date with immunizations as school resumes.

The Missoula City-County Health Department is scheduled to put on its first Back-to-School Immunization Clinic from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. All vaccinations required for Missoula County Public Schools kindergartners through seventh graders will be available at the clinic, according to a health department news release.

For kindergarten students, the list includes: DTaP, IPV (the polio vaccine), MMR (prevents measles, mumps and rubella) and the chickenpox vaccine. Seventh grader booster shots offered will include: Tdap, HPV and Meningitis.

COVID-19 and flu immunizations wont be available at Wednesdays clinic but will be offered in coming months. The Centers for Disease Control reported a slight uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalization this week, though overall levels are still low, according to Reuters.

For Missoulians without health insurance, the health department is part of the Vaccine for Children program, which offers those qualifying people a sliding fee scale for low- to no-cost vaccinations, the news release stated. Parents and guardians need to bring their photo ID, childs vaccination records and a health insurance card if they have one.

We recognize that the pandemic impacted families access to routine care, including routine immunizations, said Sara Heineman, director of Health Services at MCCHD, in the news release.

Its important to maintain certain thresholds of vaccine immunity as that is what provides herd immunity or community immunity. Lowering those protective thresholds puts everyone at risk of communicable diseases, such as measles and pertussis. This can result in lost school days for students and teachers, missed work for parents to care for sick children, and costs associated with medical care and sometimes hospitalization, she continued.

Those who are unable to attend the clinic this Wednesday can visit the health departments walk-in clinic Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment on Wednesdays. For questions, call the health department at 406-258-3363.
Fifty-five Intermountain employees have submitted a letter to their board of directors expressing a vote of no confidence in the board and its interim chief executive officer, saying that recent incidents at the facility have created a toxic atmosphere.

The letter, submitted Monday, asked for a response within 48 hours. That response was not provided as of Wednesday, an Intermountain employee said.

Intermountain, founded in 1909, provides outpatient services to children, adults and families with mental health needs in Billings, Bozeman and Helena. Its residential program serves as a national referral base for children with behavioral and mental health needs. Intermountains website states it is a nationally recognized nonprofit provided Hope & Healing to children, youth and families in need of improved mental and behavioral health.

We write to you to express concerns that impact our ability to serve our mission and take care of the children, families, and adults we serve, a copy of the letter provided to the Helena Independent Record states.

But today, our teams are gravely concerned and disheartened, despite our loyalty to Intermountain, the letter states.

They said they are informing the board of what is occurring, saying that what is now unfolding is one-sided and/or uninformed. They say Gary Larcenaire, the interim CEO, and the board are not following company policies. Larcenaire, according to his biography on the Intermountain website, created Project ItyA, a B2B business that provides a health care product or service to another business.

We have a vote of no confidence in the CEO and board leadership, the letter states.

Erin Benedict, chief communications officer for Intermountain, said Intermountain is going through a time of transformation and transition.

Change can be difficult, but as an organization that has changed and adapted several times over the course of its 115-year history, we pride ourselves on being adaptable and resilient, she said in an email.

Since Interim CEO Gary Larcenaire joined us in February, the primary focus of leadership has been to increase access and quality care for children, families, and adults in our community. Until recently, there was a one-year waitlist for our services. Now, we are accepting new clients for a variety of our outpatient services.

Benedict said this was accomplished by putting systems in place to track data and find efficiencies in our internal systems. To help with this transition to tracking data and establishing expectations, an incentive plan has been instituted, recognizing employees for their efforts.

Jim FitzGerald, a previous Intermountain CEO who had been with the nonprofit in one capacity or another for 44 years, said Thursday afternoon he was aware of the letter but had not seen it.

Im seriously concerned, FitzGerald said in a telephone interview. Its heartbreaking to watch what is going on.

The staff are very upset over being ignored and maligned, he said. They have a good reason to be upset. They have poured their heart and soul into it.

FitzGerald, who served as CEO for 21 years, said the current board has had a total abdication of a very transparent and democratic governance model it had used for 40 years.

FitzGerald said he and his wife removed Intermountain from their estate fund and I have informed staff of that.

He said when he retired 15 months ago, the chief financial officer projected a $1 million surplus.

When I left the ... organization and programs were strong, the partnerships were strong, we had 220 staff and very strong brand, FitzGerald said.

He said there is an absence of critical thinking and due diligence on the board.

But more than anything, there is an abandonment of the governance policy model and a tremendous lack of board leadership, FitzGerald said.

Ive tried to mind my own business, to be honest with you, but I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears in organization, he said. Its heartbreaking to watch.

There has been some turnaround at the agency as FitzGerald was replaced by Matt TeNyenhuis, who was dismissed by the Intermountain board several months later.

The letter, in which the signatures were removed, states Intermountain has lost 75 employees since Feb. 1, and 50 of those have been since June.

They said 55 of the vacancies were voluntary, but 45 of those worked directly with clients, were clinical leadership positions and revenue-producing jobs.

The Intermountain employees say they are seeing damage to their reputation, loss of business partnerships and loss of integrity to the effective clinical model under Larcenaires leadership.

The current workplace culture is toxic in nature, the letter states.

Gary asks for feedback, however when it is provided, he becomes reactive and blaming, the letter states. There is significant concern, from staff, that retribution occurs when honest feedback is given.

They said he shares information with the board and staff if it is to his benefit; otherwise he, and others at his directions, withhold information.

Benedict said Intermountain, like many other organizations, is dealing with staffing shortages.

The nature of our work can be especially stressful, she said. Our current leadership is dedicated to improving the work environment to retain current employees and recruit new employees.

She said pay increases have been given to all direct care staff at our residential program, as well as across other departments.

During this time of transition and change, feedback is welcomed and encouraged. Leadership sees constructive staff input as crucial to problem-solving as we address employees concerns, Benedict said.

She said every employee was recently given the opportunity to sit down with Larcenaire and voice their concerns.

Intermountain just completed an anonymous all-staff survey, she said.

These meetings and surveys are extremely valuable in helping the organization to begin making changes to improve, but change takes time, Benedict said.

The efforts to seek employee input and make employee-led changes that improve morale and increase engagement are just beginning, she said.

Benedict said Intermountain is hiring for a number of positions; once those are filled, it will be expanding services in the Flathead with an outpatient substance use disorder (SUD) clinic and an inpatient adolescent SUD facility.

We will also begin to reopen cottages on our residential campus in Helena, which have also felt the sting of staffing shortages, she said. Our goal is to move from two to five open cottages as staffing patterns and retention plans gain traction.

This transition period is just the latest in Intermountains long history, Benedict said.

Our team is comprised of inspirational people who wake up every day to help children, families and adults in our communities. Our staff is dedicated to our mission; and that mission is not changing, she said.

Crystal Amundson, a clinical supervisor who has been at Intermountain  on and off  since 2003 and on the board of directors for six years, is one of the employees who signed the letter.

She has resigned and Aug. 25 will be her last day.Amundson said Intermountain is switching from a clinical approach to another avenue she is not comfortable with. She voiced concerns about the integrity of the new model.

She said she could not risk losing her license.

Kitty Curtis recently resigned as a board member after serving 10 years.

I left because the board was not following policy and was creating situations that I felt werent ethical, she said.

She said she was to serve as the chief governance officer (board chair) in 2024.

I was really sad about leaving, Curtis said.

She said she believes Intermountain board members already knew staff were unhappy prior to the letter.

When we look at the staff we have lost, its clear there is dissatisfaction, Curtis said, adding she believed there is a need for new or different leadership.

Editors note: The following letter reportedly sent to the Intermountain board was given to the Helena Independent Record.

Dear Intermountain Board of Directors,

We write to you to express concerns that impact our ability to serve our mission and take care of the children, families, and adults we serve. We serve our mission with both pride and passion. But today, our teams are gravely concerned and disheartened, despite our loyalty to Intermountain. Weve come to clearly see that we must do something to inform the board of the realities of what is occurring in our organization that we love. We believe your understanding of the organization, and what is unfolding, is currently one sided, skewed, and/or uninformed. Both Gary, and you, as the board, are not following company and board policies. We have a vote of no confidence in the CEO and board leadership. Therefore, we ask that a speedy response and plan is provided as we are facing the following risks that are of a critical nature:

 We continue to lose experienced and skilled employees, we have lost 75 employees since 2/1/23. o 50 of those 75 have been since the beginning of June o 55 have been voluntary (73%) o 45 of the 55 voluntary terminations were client facing or clinical leaderships (82%)  Note that these are revenue producing positions.

 We are seeing damage to our reputation, and loss of business partnerships that have been thoughtfully and carefully developed.

 We are concerned for the integrity of our unique and effective clinical model under Garys leadership.

 The current workplace culture is toxic in nature. Gary asks for feedback, however when it is provided, he becomes reactive and blaming. There is significant concern, from staff, that retribution occurs when honest feedback is given.

Gary identifies the feedback as snarky and not productive. We believe this is a misrepresentation of staff being honest about things that are hard for Gary to look at.

 We have concern regarding the ethics in which Gary conducts business and the risks it puts the organization in. He shares information with the board and staff if it is to his benefit; otherwise he, and others at his directions, withholds. He himself is not fully informed on issues. Hiring a CFO from his own company to handle our finances is a conflict of interest. It creates risk of liability and is potentially unethical. The handling of our finances and our policies needs to be assured.

 Making important operational changes to impact the financial stability of the organization is key right now, however the implementation under Gary is often careless, and the treatment of staff is unacceptable. He touts that he is transparent, but that is not honest given the reality of what we, as staff, see. We can provide a number of examples of this throughout the organization.

 Garys experience with turnarounds in other states have been in larger and metropolitan populations to meet workforce demands as well as a lower cost of living, this is not comparable to the workforce realities in Montana, particularly post-pandemic. We are unable to hire staff at the rate they are leaving and our declining reputation is likely impacting this greatly. Montana is a small state and word gets around quickly.

While we know you genuinely care about what is happening to our organization, we also believe that the continued lack of understanding of broad employee experiences from the board has put Intermountain in a place of undesirable and irreparable change.

Continued lack of understanding of employees experiences will result in loss of integrity of the treatment model we are known for and dedicated to. We are grateful for your time and efforts as our beloved organization goes through so much. We believe you deserve, as the Board of Directors responsible for this organization, to know that things are not going well, and we all fear that the organization will quickly fail if action is not taken soon. We believe that it is in your best interest to be fully informed of the damage Gary is causing to our organization before it is too late to undo.

We, the 55 staff below, appreciate your quick action with us at this critical juncture.

Respectfully Signed:

(Names removed for confidentiality) 3 staff members expressed desire to sign because of their concerns, but declined to add their names due to fear of retribution.
Veterans are invited to join Montana VA online to discuss updates on policies, programs and services 5-6 p.m. Wednesday at a Virtual Veterans Town Hall.

The event is accessible either by calling in or livestreaming the town hall. To join, veterans and their families should call in at 866-478-3358 or livestream the townhall at www.access.live/MontanaVATownHall or from Montana VAs Facebook page.

This meeting will discuss a variety of issues from travel benefits to mental health resources, the PACT Act and more.

Duane Gill, Montana VAs acting executive director, will discuss how policies and programs have evolved and answer questions from veterans.

We are also excited to have a thoughtful conversation with Veterans to hear their feedback and address their questions and concerns," Gill said in an email.

Program representatives will share overviews of their services and resources for the first portion of the town hall. The final 30 minutes are reserved for a question-and-answer period.

Montana VA Health Care System serves over 47,000 enrolled veterans with a staff of 1,400 at 18 sites.
If youre still mourning the loss of Popeyes in Billings, the Los Angeles-based Daves Hot Chicken is on the way.

The popular hot wings and chicken sliders franchise is soon opening several locations in Montana, including one at Shiloh Crossing. Other franchise stores will open in Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, and Kalispell.

The Billings restaurant will be at 1020 Shiloh Crossing Blvd, Suite #1, near Scheels, the company said in a press release.

Were thrilled to introduce such an accomplished entrepreneurial group to Dave's Hot Chicken in Montana. Drawing from their past accomplishments in Massachusetts, Montana Chicken Company stands out as the perfect choice to guide our brand's progression into uncharted territory," said Bill Phelps, CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken.

Montana Chicken Company is comprised of Benjamin and Bob Quinlan, Wyatt and Luke Prime, and Al Graziano. Before Daves Hot Chicken, the group owned and operated several Jersey Mikes Subs in Massachusetts. Upon hearing about Daves Hot Chicken in early 2021, the group became the first to open locations on the East Coast in 2022. Now, they plan on bringing the Nashville-hot chicken brand all the way to the foothills of Montana through the multi-unit deal.

Weve had proven success in previous markets, so we want to bring that momentum into new territory. Daves Hot Chicken is the hottest brand in the country, and Im not just talking about the spice, so we know there is a great opportunity to grow in Montana, said Bob.

Founded by Arman Oganesyan and classically trained chef Dave Kopushyan, along with brothers, Tommy, and Gary Rubenyan in early 2017, Daves Hot Chicken initially opened as a parking lot pop-up, with lines quickly wrapping around the block. Since then, the brand has exploded in popularity and now has over 120 locations in the United States and Canada.

Specializing in hot chicken tenders and sliders, with spice levels ranging from No Spice to Reaper, each restaurant also serves sides of house-made Kale Slaw, creamy Mac & Cheese and crispy Fries or Cheese Fries.
The Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to implement a mandatory smallmouth bass catch/kill/report regulation for the entire stretch of the Bitterroot River effective immediately.

On July 5, an angler caught a smallmouth bass in the Bitterroot River, approximately 3.5 miles upstream from its confluence with the Clark Fork. Since then, a second report was confirmed earlier this month in the same area of the river. The fish was turned in to FWP officials and was verified by staff.

FWP staff have conducted sampling in the Bitterroot River since the reports using various techniques, including snorkeling, and have not found any other smallmouth bass in the river.

The initial proposal had only included implementation in the lower portion of the Bitterroot River. But after further questioning officials decided to expand the regulation to include the entire river.

One of the reasons we want to do immediate implementation on this catch, kill and report, is we think anglers could be a very efficient and effective method of getting us information on a very small population, said FWP Fisheries Administrator Eileen Ryce. This information and the samples we can gather from the fish, including information on sex, size, the otoliths  that can all give us more information on reproduction, how long the fish have been in there, where they potentially came from.

Anglers who catch a smallmouth bass in the Bitterroot River are now required to report the catch to FWP within 24 hours by calling 406-542-5500. The fish must be turned in whole to the agency within 10 days. Fish can be turned in frozen.

This method has been used in response to other unauthorized introductions of fish species in Montana, and FWP has found it to be very effective, Ryce said. On Feb. 19, 2022, a Bozeman angler caught a smallmouth bass in the Yellowstone River near the confluence of the Gardiner River. That incident led to a similar catch/kill/report rule for the Yellowstone and Shields rivers, approved in April 2022.

The regulation passed on Thursday is aimed at preventing smallmouth bass from gaining a leg up on Bitterroot trout populations. Bass prefer warmer water than the cold-water species normally found in the Bitterroot River, such as native westslope cutthroat trout and non-native rainbow trout. Bass thrive in water from the mid-60s to mid-70s. Trout, meanwhile prefer water from the low-40s up to low- or mid-60s.

The regulations are specific to smallmouth bass and do not effect largemouth bass, which have been in the Bitterroot for quite some time. Largemouth bass are less invasive than smallmouth bass, according to Ryce. Smallmouths are far more adaptable, and can endure a wider temperature range. They can also be more predatory than their largemouth cousins.

Representatives from Montana Trout Unlimited, the Montana Wildlife Federation and the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana all spoke in support of the measure at Thursdays meeting in Helena. Some suggested the commission look into implementing similar regulations on other waterways.

We should probably look at something like this for all cold-water rivers in Montana, said Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana spokesperson Mike Bias. Because I'm pretty sure there might be one popping up on some of these other lower rivers, as we have conditions like we're experiencing this week.

Jeff Lukas with the Montana Wildlife Federation also spoke in support of the measure.

We applaud FWPS quick reaction to this issue, Lukas said. The lower Bitterroot happens to be good habitat for smallmouth bass and if they get a foothold in that river it would have devastating consequences for a world-class fishery. We urge you to pass and implement this rule immediately, and we do support looking at the rest of the Clark Fork River for a similar recommendation as river temperatures come up. As we've seen over the last few years, the rest of the Clark Fork could potentially become smallmouth habitat. Because the lower Bitterroot is good habitat due mostly to its temperature regime.

The Bitterroot River registered a temperature reading of 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit on July 22 at the base of the river near Missoula, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The day-time temperature reading on Aug. 17 at the same location was 74.48 degrees. Water temperatures in the 75-77 degree range for extended periods of time can kill rainbow and brown trout. The lethal temperature for a cutthroat trout is 68.5 to 69 degrees.

Missoulian reporter Joshua Murdock contributed to this article.
If you use apps from world-leading technology companies such as OpenAI, Amazon, Microsoft or Google, there is a big chance you have already consumed services produced by online remote work  also known as cloudwork. Big and small organizations across the economy increasingly rely on outsourced labor available to them via platforms like Scale AI, Freelancer.com, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Fiverr and Upwork.

Recently, these platforms have become crucial for artificial intelligence (AI) companies to train their AI systems and ensure they operate correctly. OpenAI is a client of Scale AI and Remotasks, labeling data for their apps ChatGPT and DALL-E. Social networks hire platforms for content moderation. Beyond the tech world, universities, businesses and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) regularly use these platforms to hire translators, graphic designers or IT experts.

Cloudwork platforms have become an essential earning opportunity for a rising number of people. A breakout study by the University of Oxford scholars Otto Kassi, Vili Lehdonvirta and Fabian Stephany estimated that more than 163 million people have registered on those websites.

Freelancer.com alone has more than 67 million workers registered, the equivalent of the population of the United Kingdom. These workers, many of whom are based in low- and middle-income countries, work for clients who can be in the other corner of the world.

AI companies are using online labor to outsource the large amounts of hidden manual work needed to build their applications.

From the client perspective, the offer is hard to resist. Online labor platforms present them with a cheap, often skilled, workforce available 24/7. And the fierce competition for jobs on the platforms ensures the hiring company will have the upper hand in negotiating the conditions and pay. It is not surprising that AI companies are jumping on this opportunity to outsource the large amounts of hidden manual work needed to build their applications.

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But for the workers on the other side, the situation can be dire. They can spend large parts of their day searching and applying for jobs, time that is unpaid. For most platforms, there is no guarantee that the tasks offered will not fall below their minimum wage.

And if they have any problems with the client, there is not always a clear appeal process, putting them at risk of not getting paid at all.

For the third year, the Fairwork project, also based at the University of Oxford, evaluated 15 of these cloudwork platforms, such as Freelancer.com, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Fiverr and Upwork. Companies were scored on a scale of 0 to 10, according to the five principles of fair work  pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation.

The scoring criteria included, among other things, whether the platform paid workers on time, whether it mitigated health and safety risks, and whether there were clear communication channels and due process for decisions affecting workers. The results were based on a survey of 752 workers from 94 countries, as well as information gathered from platform managers.

None of the platforms met more than half of these basic standards of decent work. Popular freelance platforms like Fiverr and Freelancer.com scored 2 and 1 points, respectively.

Platforms focused on small tasks, like data labeling or content moderation, had among the worst scores: Appen (3), Clickworker (1), Scale/Remotasks (1), Microworkers (0), and Amazons Mechanical Turk (0). On average, workers surveyed were earning a dismal $2.15 USD for their working time on these platforms.

The results point to how many of these platforms are falling short of meeting basic workers rights and protections. Because of the international nature of this industry, cloudwork platforms can often circumvent national labor regulations, creating a sort of virtual Wild West where workers stand to lose.

Concerningly, this model is spreading fast  supercharged by demand from AI companies and the larger trend toward remote and flexible work following the pandemic.

Notably, some platforms in the study agreed to make some improvements, such as Terawork and Comeup, which implemented a minimum wage floor. However, the larger challenges in the industry can only be solved through regulations that ensure these companies are meeting the same labor standards as everyone else.

At the international level, the International Labour Organization is discussing the development of standards to ensure workers rights in the digital economy. This is a golden opportunity to address the problems faced by workers in cloudwork platforms. However, this will not be effective if national governments around the world do not get involved too.

Unfortunately, so far, discussions around regulating the platform economy have focused primarily on sectors like food delivery and ride-hailing. It is urgent that policymakers and regulators consider also the unique challenges faced by online remote workers, and put the same energy in finding solutions for this hidden, but very real, workforce.
Burke hears from new part-time celebrity (Monday, Aug. 20, 1973)

Move over Senator Sam, Art Linkletter is moving into your home territory.

In fact, last Friday and Saturday might have been unofficially called Art Linkletter Days in the Burke County area.

From the time the genial 61-year-old entertainer arrived in the area Friday until he left Sunday morning, he was involved in a whirlwind of activities  from business at Pine Mountain Lakes, where he is chair of the executive committee and building a vacation home, to pitching out the first ball at a mens softball game in Drexel, to crowning the new Miss Hildebran.

An ardent crusader in the fight against drug abuse since the drug-related death of his youngest daughter a few years ago, Linkletter took time out to talk about this vital subject and gave some timely advice to Burke County young people contemplating turning to drugs.

Drugs are for sick people, Linkletter said. They never really helped well persons. They dont make you happy and wont make you a better lover. Drugs are a temporary kind of Band-Aid and dont do anything constructive to help.

He urged youth instead to get high on life.

Find the thing you like to do and get interested in it, he said. This is more important than riches.

Lost man found watching TV (Thursday, Aug. 23, 1973)

While the Burke County Rescue Squad was dragging Lower Creek in search of a missing mans body, the supposed victim was lounging in a motel room in Morganton watching television.

Glenn Ritchey, 42, of NC 18 in Burke County, a heart patient who had been reported missing by his family since 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, has been the subject of an intensive, widespread search. He had last been seen walking down NC 18 toward Mabels Store. It was feared because of his severe heart condition that he may have suffered another heart attack, possibly wandering from the road in the process.

The Burke County Rescue Squad launched an intensive six-hour search for Ritchey starting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Six squad members resumed the search the following day, including dragging the creek, which is in the vicinity of Mabels Store.

Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a citizen called the Burke County Sheriffs Office and reported that Ritchey was registered at the Boxwood Motel on US 70 in the Carbon City area of Morganton. After he was located there, he told authorities that he just wanted two or three days of rest.

Burke man receives kidney transplant (Monday, Aug. 20, 1973)

The Rev. Rome Setzer, former pastor of Setzers Creek Baptist Church in Caldwell County and current member of Deatons Chapel Baptist Church of Morganton, has a new kidney.

He underwent a kidney transplant Tuesday at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham, and as of now, the doctors are pleased with his response. They said the new kidney is not working quite at full capacity, but they feel it will within a short time, according to Mrs. Setzer.

Prior to the surgery, Setzer, 42, of Connelly Springs, depended on a dialysis machine for the past year and a half. He has the type of kidney failure which is caused by hardening of the arteries.

His new kidney is reported to have come from a healthy 26-year-old-man.

Setzer remains in intensive care, and it is hoped he may return home within the next three weeks.

Foreign exchange

student finds Freedom High incredible (Friday, Aug. 24, 1973)

Judy Ferguson, 17, an American Field Service student from Lower Hutt, New Zealand, arrived in Morganton recently and said she is impressed with the new Freedom High School, where she will be attending for the next nine months.

I think its incredible, Ferguson said. Theres nothing like it in New Zealand.

The AFS student is being hosted by the Blanch Beam family of West Union Street in Morganton. She will be a senior at Freedom, while her host sister, Mary Alice Beam, 16, will be a junior.

Ferguson said she is looking forward to going to Freedom High and exploring the different type of curriculum available there. She explained that she had already completed most of her hard subjects for graduation and so is free to take subjects of her choice.

I hope to take play production, manual communications, house planning, crafts and federal, state and local government study the first quarter, she said. This is very different from our curriculum in New Zealand.

Two cited in garbage cart collision (Friday, Aug. 24, 1973)

Two Morganton city employees have been charged with failure to report an accident after their two city-owned garbage carts wrecked on South Green Street around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday.

One of the employees had reportedly stopped on South Green Street for the traffic in front of him when the other, following behind, failed to stop his cart before it rear-ended the other one. The incident was not discovered until later, when a member of the city sanitation department reported that two employees had been involved in a wreck which had not been reported to the police department.

Damage to the carts was estimated at $2,025.
Many residents of the Mill Creek community near Anaconda objected after the EPA concluded elevated levels of arsenic discovered in the urine of pre-schoolers in 1985 made relocation necessary.

Others were ready to flee once the risks of staying were clear.

The EPA and Centers for Disease Control said contamination from the nearby Anaconda Co. smelter stacks emissions had created an unsafe environment for the 37 families living in the unincorporated community of Mill Creek, roughly 1.5 miles east of Anaconda.

In October 1987, resident Peg Patterson told a reporter for The Montana Standard that she wasnt happy about being forced to move from a property homesteaded prior to 1900.

Im really ticked off, she said then.

Permanent relocation was completed in the early fall of 1988 and home demolition was wrapped up by the end of the year.

On Monday, some 35 years later, the EPA announced that the 160 acres that once included the Mill Creek community now pose no unacceptable risk to human health or the environment following remedial cleanup at the site.

As a result, EPA formally deleted Operable Unit 15 from the Anaconda Co. Smelter Superfund site.

In a press release, KC Becker, EPAs regional administrator, celebrated the news.

This deletion represents a major milestone in the transformation of the Superfund site, Becker said. The agency will conduct five-year reviews of the property to ensure that completed cleanup and response actions remain protective.

Carl Nyman, Superfund coordinator for Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, weighed in.

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County has been hopeful for a very long time that appropriate portions of the Superfund site would be delisted," he said. "Were happy to see this area delisted, and look forward to more to follow.

The EPA previously divided the smelter Superfund site into a number of distinct areas, referred to as operable units, to target cleanup activities according to specific complexities, geographic boundaries and more.

Other operable units have been at least partially deleted from the 300-square-mile Anaconda Co. Smelter Site. They include Operable Unit 9, Beryllium Removal; Operable Unit 11, Flue Dust; and Operable Unit, Arbiter Removal.

EPA said it deletes sites from the National Priorities List when no further cleanup is required to protect human health and the environment.

In the Anaconda region, nearly 100 years of smelting and mining activity resulted in the contamination of soils, surface water, sediments and groundwater. The primary contaminants of concern are arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc.
Draft resolution before Council of Commissioners

Here is a draft resolution that Commissioner Jim Fisher submitted to the full Council of Commissioners for its consideration:

Dear Commissioners:

Please see the following draft resolution to be considered for discussion and passage expressing the policy of Butte-Silver Bow regarding Consent Decree commitments, communications, and public transparency:

Resolution

A resolution expressing the policy of Butte-Silver Bow, including opposition to deviations from commitments made to the public and the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners relative to the Consent Decree for the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit and future cleanup activities.

Whereas, EPA filed a motion with the federal court in 2002 requesting to have all consent decree negotiations carried out confidentially, which limited the ability of the public and the Council of Commissioners to participate in crafting remedy, and

Whereas, scientific data demonstrated a need to remove contamination in the Silver Bow Creek Corridor to protect ground and surface water as noted by the state's position in the contingencies set forth in the 2020 Record of Decision Amendments, and

Whereas, the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners were presented with the Consent Decree which is a voluminous document to review and approve in a short timeframe with assurances from negotiators it would be protective of human health and the environment, and

Whereas, negotiators presented an agreement in principle to the public in 2018 accompanied by materials describing removals of waste and the possibility of leaving "uncontaminated" material, and

Whereas, negotiators committed to beginning construction as soon as possible in 2018 and have

subsequently presented depictions of community amenities through the center of Butte and have yet to begin or designate a waste repository; and

Whereas, citizens of Butte-Silver Bow are still deprived of the Montana Constitution's "right-to-know"

and "right to participate" due to closed door meetings proposing changes to the Consent Decree since at least October 2022 ; and

Whereas, the Council of Commissioners voted to approve the Consent Decree based on its contents and informed by commitments to the public made in print, online, and at various community presentations; and

Whereas, the BPSOU has been on the National Priorities List for four decades and the only removals under the Consent Decree to occur have been conducted by the Montana Natural Resource Damage Program following the standards outlined in the Consent Decree, and

Now, therefore, be it resolved the policy of Butte-Silver Bow, for the purposes of cleanup activities related to past mining and smelting in the community shall be:
Prosecutors say a 20-year-old Butte woman had been drinking and might also have smoked marijuana before a fatal hit-and-run in Uptown Butte on the night of July 3.

According to newly filed charging documents, witnesses said Shania Rose OBrien was drinking alcohol before and during a concert at the Original Mineyard that night and at a house party, and had potentially smoked marijuana.

Prosecutors say she then got behind the wheel of an orange Jeep with two female passengers and struck two men who were lighting fireworks on West Granite Street.

Austin Nieves, 23, was killed. His brother, 21-year-old Connor Nieves, landed on his back but got up immediately and chased the Jeep. He was later treated for minor injuries and released.

OBrien drove the Jeep to a site near the Mining Museum, parked and she and the passengers left on foot, prosecutors say. OBrien went to the police station at 1 p.m. the next day with her father and a public defender and was arrested.

Prosecutors charged her with vehicular homicide under the influence, or negligent homicide in the alternative, as well as criminal endangerment and failure to render aid in an accident involving death. All are felonies.

Vehicular homicide under the influence has a maximum 30-year prison term while negligent homicide has a 20-year maximum. The other charges are each punishable by up to 10 years.

OBrien posted a $200,000 bond and according to court records is being represented by Helena attorney Palmer Hoovestal. The Montana Standard left a voice mail with his office Tuesday seeking comment.

OBrien is scheduled to be arraigned and enter pleas in District Court in Butte on Thursday.

In an affidavit filed last week, prosecutors provide details of what they believe occurred that night.

They say witnesses told police that OBrien had been drinking and was driving when the hit-and-run occurred. One passenger in back said the front passenger grabbed the wheel and told OBrien to stop because she had hit someone.

OBrien sped off instead, parked the Jeep and all three took off. The two passengers got separated from OBrien and according to one, were crying and freaking out and trying to decide whether to return to the scene or call police.

OBrien called her father, prosecutors say, and he picked them up, drove them to his house and said they would take care of things in the morning.

After contacting police the next day, the father brought the Jeep to the police station. Blood evidence was found in three distinct locations.
WEST LIBERTY  Thanks to their newest pilot program, West Liberty students will soon have the chance to not only learn about the power and importance of philanthropy but also participate in the practice of it.

Starting this fall, the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine is going to be piloting Amplify Youth, a youth philanthropy program, with the West Liberty Community School District and its West Liberty Youth Dream Catchers, a mentoring program that provides academic support and scholarship opportunities.

Through the Amplify Youth program, these selected students will learn about current key issues, gain philanthropic skills related to topics like leadership and fundraising through various activities, and discover how they can made a true positive difference in their community as they foster a sense of responsibility.

Were really excited about the program, Moriah Ellis, Community Initiatives Coordinator said. Niki Moore Nienhaus (Programs Manager for Community Foundation) and I will be teaching a lot of the lessons to the kids, and were going to have one session every week this fall. The goal is just to teach them different things about philanthropy, what it means and how they can be charitable philanthropists as kids too and dont have to wait until theyre adults to start getting involved with their community.

Additionally, the students participating in the program will also get to practice philanthropy themselves by selected a West Liberty non-profit to receive a $5,000 grant.

To help kick off the Amplify Youth program  which will be held during the fall of this year  nine West Liberty Dream Catchers students participated in the Iowa Youth Philanthropy Conference on August 3 at the Iowa Valley Community College in Marshalltown.

During the event, participating youth philanthropy groups from across the state had the chance to learn from, network with and share their experiences with each other. Students at the conference also attended workshops and break-out sessions on various philanthropy topics, getting the chance to hear directly from other youth groups such as uVoice and Teen Trust. They also learned about how they could stay involved in philanthropy even after graduating from their youth program.

I think the philanthropy conference was a good experience because we were able to learn about different communities and how people work together to help each other out. I also learned about some of the ways I could help my town and community in the future, Vianney Hernandez, a ninth grade student, said in a provided statement.

For the time being, Ellis said that she and Nienhaus are going to use Amplify Youths first year to focus on what does and doesnt work with it in order to make whatever improvements necessary for the programs future. In addition to wanting to do it yearly, they also hope to eventually expand Amplify Youth to other Muscatine County schools.

For those wanting to learn more about the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatines various plans, grants and programs, residents can go to https://www.givinggreater.org.

Photos: West Liberty falls to Iowa City Regina, 2-1, in IHSAA boys soccer quarterfinal
Korkeasaari Zoo in Finland has an adorable new resident - a Pallass Cat kitten. The two-month-old is already moving briskly with its mother indoors and is gradually starting to go outside.
PALM DESERT, Calif.  Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, flooded roads, toppled trees and forced a rescue by bulldozer of more than a dozen older residents trapped by mud in a care home Monday as it marched northward, prompting flood watches and warnings in half a dozen states.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Hilary had lost much of its steam and only vestiges of the storm were heading over the Rocky Mountains, but it warned that continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding was expected over portions of the southwestern U.S., following record-breaking rainfall.

Forecasters said the threat for flooding in states farther north on Monday was highest across much of southeastern Oregon into the west-central mountains of Idaho, with potential thunderstorms and localized torrential rains on Tuesday.

Hilary first slammed into Mexicos arid Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane, causing one death and widespread flooding before becoming a tropical storm, one of several potentially catastrophic natural events affecting California on Sunday. Besides the tropical storm, which produced tornado warnings, there were wildfires and a moderate earthquake north of Los Angeles. So far, no deaths, serious injuries or extreme damages have been reported in the state, though officials warned that risks remain, especially in the mountainous regions where the wet hillsides could unleash mudslides.

In one dramatic scene, rescue officials in the desert community of Cathedral City, near Palm Springs, drove a bulldozer through mud to the swamped care home and rescued 14 residents by scooping them up and carrying them to safety, Fire Chief Michael Contreras said. They were among 46 rescues the city performed between late Sunday night and the next afternoon from mud and water standing up to 5 feet.

We were able to put the patients into the scoop. Its not something that Ive ever done in my 34 years as a firefighter, but disasters like this really cause us to have to look at those means of rescue that arent in the book and that we dont do everyday," he said at a news conference.

San Bernardino County first responders also were continuing to rescue some 30 people who became stranded when the Santa Ana River overflowed near the community of Seven Oaks. Authorities said boulders in the flow made it too dangerous to send boats so the people stayed overnight.

On Monday, a helicopter rescued one person with a leg injury and efforts to retrieve the others were expected to continue into Tuesday morning, although some people refused to fly out and wanted to wait for the floodwaters to recede, authorities said.

To the northwest in the San Bernardino Mountains, crews worked to clear mud that blocked the homes of about 800 residents, said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Alison Hesterly. In the mountain community of Oak Glen, Brooke Horspool helped dig out a home surrounded by about 4 feet of mud to free a couple, including an older man with medical issues.

Amid the storm Sunday in Palm Desert, Terry Flanigan heard a huge crash and then got a text from a neighbor that a Eucalyptus tree, more than 100 feet tall, fell onto a condo across the street. She later learned it landed on the bed of her neighbors 11-year-old son, who luckily was in another room.

It was very unnerving, Flanigan said, adding that the family had gone to stay with relatives while removal crews came Monday morning to remove the branches. Oh my gosh, what could have happened.

Hilary is just the latest major weather event to wreak havoc across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Hawaiis island of Maui is still reeling from a blaze that killed more than 100 people, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Firefighters in Canada are battling that nations worst fire season on record.

Hot water and hot air were both crucial factors that enabled Hilary's rapid growth  steering it on an unusual but not quite unprecedented path that dumped rain in some normally bone-dry places.

It shattered daily rain totals in places and likely dumped the equivalent of a full year's worth on Death Valley National Park, forcing the park to be closed indefinitely and leaving about 400 people sheltering at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs until roads could be made passable, park officials said.

Rain came in two bursts on Sunday  in the morning and evening  totaling 2.2 inches at a National Weather Service rain gauge at Furnace Creek. If verified, it would be the single-rainiest day in the area's history, beating its record of 1.7 inches set Aug. 5, 2022.

Park officials responded Monday to sewer line damage releasing raw sewage into the desert below Stovepipe Wells.

Sunday was the wettest day on record in San Diego with 1.82 inches, the NWS said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The previous record was on Aug. 17, 1977, when 1.8 inches of rain fell in the area post-Hurricane Doreen.

We basically blew all of our previous rainfall records out of the water, National Weather Service meteorologist Elizabeth Adams in San Diego said.

Scientists still dont know why some storms, like Hilary, get big and some stay small, said MIT hurricane scientist Kerry Emanuel.

In the Coachella Valley city of Desert Hot Springs, Steven Michael Chacon said the roads in the housing development where he and his husband live were impassable due to flooding and he was concerned emergency crews might not be able to reach people.

Basically everybodys got to stay put, theres no way in or out, he said Monday morning.

The center of Hilary passed over downtown Los Angeles at 7 p.m. Sunday, according to the regional weather office, which called it a day for the ages in Southern California.

As Hilary moved east into the neighboring state of Nevada, flooding was reported, power was out and a boil-water order was issued for about 400 households in the Mount Charleston area, where the only road in and out was washed out. The area is about 40 miles west of Las Vegas.
The National Dialogue Committee has provided an update on the ongoing bipartisan talks saying the discussions at Bomas of Kenya have been successful up to this point.

Both the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio leadership expressed contentment with the advancement of the talks, which entered the third day on Monday. All committee members, except for the leader of the Azimio faction, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Kenya Kwanzas Aaron Cheruiyot, attended the meeting.

The two(Kalonzo and Cheruiyot) will be joining us in subsequent meetings, National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi noted.

The Ugunja MP also explained that the Motion aiming to formally establish the committee has been presented to the Senate following the approval of the National Assembly.

The Senate will consider the Motion on Tuesday next week with the view of adopting it, he said as quoted by the Star.

Wandayi also disclosed that the technical teams will convene for discussions every day leading up to Thursday.

They will be framing the issues for discussions up to Thursday and then join us on Friday when we will convene, he said.

The Kenya Kwanza team on the other hand, led by Kimani Ichungwah, mentioned that since the Senate is currently on recess, the Speaker will organize a special session to deliberate on the motion.

We have 60 days within which we should have completed our work. I want to note that the 60 days will start counting when the Senate adopts the Motion, he said.

The Leader of Majority in the National Assembly assured that the committee will not be distracted by comments made by politicians.

What is being said out there will not determine our discourse. We will ignore all the noise, he said.

The committee is expected to propose suitable legal and policy reforms affecting Kenyans in line with the Constitution and respecting the functional and institutional integrity of state organs.

Also Read  Ndindi Nyoro: Terminate The Bipartisan Talks, Kenyans Dont Need Them
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked boda boda riders to guard the sector against infiltration by criminal gangs disguised as entrepreneurs.

Speaking Monday in Nairobi during the launch of Nyandarua Countys Boda Yangu Ofisi Yangu training programme, the Deputy President said the government is keen on supporting the boda boda subsector, which is a key driver of the countrys economy.

While asking the riders to obey the law, Mr Gachagua said the police have been asked to work with them in bringing sanity to the subsector.

We have told the police that bodaboda riders are not criminals; they are businessmen. They should be respected and not be harassed. But the riders should also follow the law and traffic rules. Let us not allow boda boda business to be infiltrated by criminal gangs. Dont allow criminal elements in your enterprise. Be your own policemen and be vigilant, said Mr Gachagua at the Kenya Methodist University, Nairobi Campus.

The programme, which is sponsored by the Nyandarua County Woman Representative Faith Gitau under the National Government Affirmative Action Fund will train 256 riders on savings and investment uptake of National Health Insurance Fund, road safety and etiquette, among other soft skills.

The Deputy President cautioned against attempts to allow criminal gangs, particularly in the Mt Kenya region, where he said attempts were made to revive the outlawed Mungiki criminal gang to wreak havoc during anti-government protests.

There were attempts to revive the outlawed group (Mungiki) and their leader was being used by Azimio to get support and cause chaos. This Government will not allow the revival of criminal gangs anywhere in this country even if they hide in Opposition politics. It was a ruthless gang as it did unthinkable things. That gang should not come anywhere near the bodaboda enterprise, said the Deputy President.

He stated that the Ruto Administration is investing in various ways in small-scale businesses such as the introduction of electric motorcycles and implementation of the Hustler Fund.

Boda Boda is a critical subsector to the economy of the country. Earning an average of Sh1,000 per day, the over 1.2 million riders are supporting up to six million people while injecting about Sh365 billion to our economy annually. The subsector has also provided job opportunities, with the youth being the most beneficiaries accounting for 75 per cent of the total riders, said Mr Gachagua.

He added that soon he will meet national leadership of the Bodaboda operators over the challenges the riders have been facing such as the lack of a database.

By DPCS
The Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) is undergoing renovations to enhance its appearance as the country prepares to commemorate its golden jubilee on September 11.

The facelift of the state-owned enterprise is expected to conclude later this month ahead of the upcoming heads of state conference on climate change scheduled for early next month.

Patricia Ondeng, the acting chief executive of KICC, reportedly told the Nation that the ongoing enhancement project is being carried out by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

Ms Ondeng said the facility is expected to regain its status as East Africas premier conference venue.

We want to see a KICC that is modernised to enhance its functionality as a convention centre as well as its aesthetic value to make it attractive to conference organisers and delegates from all over the world, she said.

Adding: No one really thinks of Kenyas capital city, Nairobi, without the iconic building dominating its skyline. It seems to have been part of the capital forever.

The planned upgrades include the primary conference facilities that will undergo significant enhancements in terms of mechanical, electrical, and technological upgrades. The fountains on the premises will also undergo rehabilitation as part of the renovation efforts.
UPDATE: Nancy Indoveria Kigunzu has since been arrested in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). Kigunzu was arrested Monday evening on accusations of engaging in drug trafficking and taken to the DCI headquarters in Kiambu for questioning.

Nancy Indoveria Kigunzu, the alleged marijuana peddler popularly known as Mathe wa Ngara, has moved to court to accuse investigative agencies of launching a manhunt for her on trumped charges.

In documents filed before the Milimani Law Courts, the businesswoman claims she is being used as a scapegoat over the recent drug bust in Ngara area of Nairobi. Kigunzu states that she abides by the law and is perplexed by the polices pursuit of her.

I have never committed any crime in Kenya nor have I been involved in any criminal activity in Kenya neither personally not jointly with others and I therefore do not understand why the police are looking to arrest me, read court papers.

Kigunzu additionally alleges that she is facing imminent arrest threats from both the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome. She accuses them of infringing upon her constitutional rights.

The powers of arrest by the 1st (DCI) and 2nd (IG Koome) respondents are being abused and misused to harass, intimidate and oppress the applicant, she said, adding that she is willing to avail herself to a just and fair legal system in which her fundamental rights are respected.

Mathe wa Ngara also accuses DCI and the Inspector General of Police of utilizing their positions to unlawfully apprehend and detain her two sons, aged 16 and 17, for a period of five days without any justifiable cause.

Kigunzu is therefore seeking an injunction to secure protection against arrest. She is also requesting the court to grant her anticipatory bail or bond.
Despite a government ban, Pastor Ezekiel Odero on Sunday defiantly carried on with activities at his New Life Prayer Centre and Church in Kilifi.

The government deregistered the televangelists church on May 19, 2023, along with alleged cult leader Paul Mackenzies Goodnews International, Bishop Thomas Wahomes Helicopter of Christ Church, Kings Outreach Church, and Theophilus Church in Nairobi.

On Sunday, however, Pastor Odero and his wife hosted a multitude at his church in Mavueni, Kilifi County.

We wont stop going to church because of the government. We will continue to pray and serve God, said a congregant, Martha Nekesa, as quoted by the Nation.

Business proprietors situated near the church also faulted the government for its decision to revoke the churchs registration.

I hope the government will take care of the hundreds of families who depend on the pastor for their livelihoods. Why target an innocent man? What mistake has he made? The church wars will affect many people, said Felistas Muthoki.

Meanwhile, Pastor Odero has since moved to court to appeal the Registrar of Societies decision to deregister his ministry.

In legal documents submitted to the Milimani Law Courts, Odero is appealing to have the decision reversed, arguing that it is impeding the freedom of worship for his congregation.

The televangelist claims he was not informed beforehand about the Registrars decision to revoke the churchs registration and was denied any chances to present his defense to prevent the deregistration.

It is increasingly disheartening of the numerous attempts by state organs to persecute me, frustrate my ministry and eventually not only shut down the New Life Prayer Centre & Church but also all my other projects, says Odero.

Through Lawyer Danstan Omari, Pastor Ezekiel Odero wants the court to suspend the registrars directive.
Popular female barber Mwende Frey has, once again, triggered a section of Twitter after she appeared to agree with the controversial, some may say, misogynistic teachings of Masculinity Saturday propagator, Amerix.

Mwende, who has been at the crosshairs of most women  and men  on Twitter (X), took to the microblogging platform to share her slimming journey, while claiming that, after being told to unfat, she literally did just that and not whine.

While sharing a video of her new, svelte figure, and a fuller derriere, Mwende boasted of her new look, while crediting it all to a diligent adherence to the gym.

You said I had a BIG TUMMY so I went to the GYM! I didnt play victim or make excusesthats the difference between me and most WOMEN! she proudly tweeted.

Being told to UNFAT isnt an insult, its motivation. You throw me lemons I make lemonade!

Unfat is an infamous, almost derogatory term popularized by Amerix, a heavyweight Twitter preacher who has, over the years, created something of a cult based on his chauvinistic teachings.

By constantly telling his followers, both male and female to unfat, Amerix has found controversy as well as praise.

Mwende seems to be a keen student of the Amerix teachings  but this came at a price.

Many Twitter (X) have, over the last month or so, been pressurising Mwende to lose her belly fat and bring back her sylphlike figure.

In a follow up tweet, Mwende credited Kenyans on Twitter for spurring her to change, saying that any woman can unfat if she is disciplined and focused.

I went to the gym after KOX/KOT called me fat! Any woman can UNFAT if shes disciplined and focused. Playing victim is for weak women! she tweeted.

YOU said I had a BIG TUMMY so I went to the GYM I didn't play victim or make excusesthat's the difference between me and most WOMEN..Being told to UNFAT isnt an insult it's motivation. You throw me lemons I make lemonade. pic.twitter.com/MkPyNnl0gp  Mwende Frey (@mwendefrey) August 17, 2023

And many appeared to be in her corner, rooting for her and egging her on.

Twitter user @hey_leex said, Keep winning babe! Dont mind about their hateful tongues

Not new to controversy, Mwende has, more often than not, managed to rile up the masses with her unconventional takes, unorthodox business practises and untamed tongue.

Not one to be boxed into a corner, the successful barbershop entrepreneur has, in a span of a year or so, seen her Mans Chamber barbershop become one of the most popular online businesses as well as one of the most patronised hair parlours in Nairobi.

To show that she means business and has no room for entertaining dissent, Mwende shoots sharp and fatally.

If you listen to your wife when she tells you not to come to Mans Chamber you are a lambistic simp and you need Kibe whips! You are the man you can do whatever you want, whenever you want! she tweeted.
Kenya will work on scaling up its ties with Indonesia to increase trade.

President William Ruto said investment scope will also be broadened to bring about a balance of trade that is in favour of the Southeast Asian country.

We will seize our energies and create the necessary environment for increased trade between our countries, he stated.

Investment and trade between the two countries was valued at more than $600 million last year.

The high-yielding areas of focus, the President highlighted, include textiles and apparel, energy, mining, and oil production and refining.

He made the remarks on Monday at State House, Nairobi, during a bilateral meeting with the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo on his State Visit to Kenya.

The two leaders also jointly addressed the media.

He said Kenya will be seeking the support of Indonesia to penetrate the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a fastgrowing trade bloc in Asia.

He explained that Kenya will also work with Indonesia to attract global firms to invest in value addition chains.

President Ruto stated that the move will help Kenya grow its industries and attain a trade balance with Indonesia.

He added that Kenya will cooperate with Indonesia in textiles and apparel, energy, mining, oil production and refining sectors.

These sectors will grow our bilateral investment portfolio and contribute to increased trade.

The President argued that the Government is particularly eager to facilitate Indonesian firms to invest in edible oil processing.

Indonesias investment will support the Governments efforts to ensure affordable and accessible edible oil for the majority of the Kenyan people, especially in rural areas, he said.

President Widodo pledged to work with Kenya for their shared prosperity.

He said his country was keen to ensure the partnership with Kenya was beneficial to the people.
After more than four hours of painstaking fine-tuning, the Planning Commission recommended Tuesday that the City Council approve an updated zoning code that would create new regulations for St. Helenas built environment.

The new code adds a mixed-use zoning destination for potential residential/commercial sites, expands the historic preservation overlay district protecting historic buildings, creates more objective design standards, and expands the range of businesses that are allowed without a use permit in commercial zoning districts.

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It also relaxes restrictions on St. Helenas small wineries, removing an on-site residency requirement and requiring merely that grapes be sourced from within the city limits, instead of 85% from the winery premises.

Two St. Helena residents told the commission they were concerned about their homes being added to the historic preservation overlay.

The list of properties on the overlay was actually approved with the 2019 General Plan, but the commission talked about ways for property owners to seek accommodations if their buildings were added to the list without notification or based on erroneous information.

Planning Director Maya DeRosa said the General Plan directed the city to expand the overlay because the city had been losing historic buildings.

She said the new code provides clearer standards for changes to historic buildings and streamlines the process for approving minor structural modifications.

Were saving people time and money  and creating more certitude, which was one of the objectives of this code, she said.

The council will review the proposed code at a future hearing.

Photos: Go inside the most expensive home sold in Napa County in June. 3880 Silverado Trail 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga 3880 Silverado Trail in Calistoga
Continuing our Porto adventure, we decided to spend a day two a bit closer to home. A short ride across the river brought us to Vila Nova de Gaia where the larger Port houses continue to age their wine in their centuries-old lodges. Today, smaller producers (such as Wine & Soul and Quinta de la Rosa) are allowed to age their wines at their respective production sites in the Douro Valley.

We first visited the time-honored lodge of Taylors where we were treated to an extensive educational tour of the production and aging cellars followed by a Tawny experience. The base wine for Taylors is vinified up valley near their various vineyards and then shipped by boat down the Douro to the lodge for aging and ultimate blending. Until the five locks and dams were constructed along the Douro between 1964 and 1971 under the direction of Prime Minister Salazar, this was a treacherous route resulting in the loss of hundreds of workers and thousands of barrels of wine.

After our tour, we were led across the magnificent grounds to a private tasting salon where we sampled five Tawnys: 10-Year, 20-Year, 30-Year, 40-Year and a surprise 50-Year. Although, I had previously tasted older Tawnys from barrel, I had never tasted a 50-year from bottle. This was a unique experience for everyone.

Port wines are fortified with distilled spirits (often called brandy) that serve to stop the fermentation at the desired level of residual sugar and adjust the alcohol content (abv) in a desired range from 18- to 22 % depending on house style.

This production method is quite tricky and differs greatly from the fermentation of a dry wine that normally proceeds on its own to dryness leaving little or no residual sugar. The Port winemaker's skill and tenacity are called into action throughout fermentation as the precise moment of the desired residual sugar concentration can occur any time of day or night. It is only at that moment when the brandy addition can occur as an hour or two of excess fermentation can make the difference whether the finished wine is acceptable or not.

The production of Tawny Port adds another level of challenge and complexity. While Vintage Port consists of wine from a specific vintage, Tawnys are the product of a complex formula based on blending multiple vintages (by volume) to average the age on the label.

In tasting the five wines from oldest to youngest (a normal progression so the attributes of age are not overshadowed by the tenacity of youth), I was able to understand the development curve with an historical perspective. But when tasting from youngest to oldest, the experience was reversed and I appreciated the growth and development in a more chronological order. Both were outstanding perspectives offering a unique experience for the group.

When our tasting was concluded we walked across the street to The Yeatman Hotel (also a Taylor-Fladgate property) for a buffet lunch paired to several dry wines from Taylor properties. The spectacular view across the Douro to Porto is unforgettable. Our next stop of the day was a visit and private tour of the renowned Cork Museum, and I invited Amorim Corks international director of marketing and communications Carlos de Jesus to join us for lunch and discuss the history and future of cork.

The Cork Museum (around the corner from the Yeatman) is part of the eight-museum complex of the World of Wine (WOW) and co-sponsored by Taylors and Amorim Cork, the worlds largest producer of wine corks and a broad range of other commercial products from clothing to aerospace and countless others.

Carlos shared little known and often forgotten virtues of cork. Portugal is the worlds largest producer of cork and cork products followed by Spain. Ecologically speaking, cork presents a net negative carbon footprint where the cork oak forests act as carbon sinks. One ton of cork produced captures 73 tons of CO2 and one cork stopper captures about 400 grams of CO2.

Cork oaks are harvested every nine years and live 200 years while sequestering CO2 at every level and all cork products are 100% recyclable. The scourge of corkiness or corked wines (TCA contamination) is largely behind us due to Amorims 300 million investment to identify the presence of TCA and develop cutting-edge methods for its removal.

Dinner that night at Ricardo Gracas second restaurant Mistu was one of the most memorable evenings of our Iberian adventure. In addition to the intriguing family-style menu and wine pairings I was able to plan with Ricardo and Mistu Manager Paulo, we were joined by a newly found friend (through his readership of this column) who had recently relocated from Southern California to Ukraine and is now living just north of Porto.

Dean Medeiros (born in Portugal and emigrated to the U.S. as a child) was a sommelier at a Southern California restaurant when COVID-19 hit and the restaurant was forced to close. His wife Julia is from Ukraine and they decided to relocate to Kiev where Julias family lived and resume their work there. They lived a nice life in Kiev with Julia designing clothes and Dean educating sommeliers for work in restaurants.

Just before the war began, Dean was part of a 900-person Zoom call to U.S. passport holders warning them to leave immediately. They moved to their summer house in Portugal where they now reside. The stories related by both Julia and Dean were sobering and at some point, very emotional as our entire group embraced them both.

Our final day in Porto took us back to the Douro Valley and Quinta do Crasto. There, we enjoyed a tour, tasting and lunch on the terrace overlooking the splendid river with Miguel Roquette who represents the fourth generation of his family leading the estate. Although Miguel states, We will always be Port Producers, he has led a clear path on the exploration and expansion of both white and red dry table wines beginning with the 1994 vintage.

The estate consists of 340 acres with 186 acres planted at a variety of altitudes (up to 500 meters) and exposures. The soils are primarily slate where a broad range of red varieties of varying ages grow, and the upper ridge of granite best suited to white varieties for the table wine programs. In addition, Crasto owns a 375-acre estate with 285 planted at altitudes from 130 to 450 meters in the Douro Superior region.

Our visit began near the main house where Miguel explained the history of the property dating back to Roman time. Their strategic fort at the top of the mountain with a 360-degree view of the river allowed them to track all traffic from any direction. An exhilarating hike through and around the steep rocky and slate vineyard gave us an understanding of the land and grape growing challenges.

We gathered around the infinity pool with sweeping views of the Douro Valley for small bites and a taste of three dry wines from magnum before adjourning to the terrace for a delightful lunch served both family-style and buffet with additional wines from Miguels portfolio and library.

We began with a 2019 Crasto Douro Superior Red and a surprise 2020 Crasto Superior Syrah from an experimental plot on the Douro Superior vineyard. Despite the heat in that area, this Syrah was more in the style of a Northern Rhone with bright acidity, a generous dose of red berries and the characteristic bacon-fat notes on the nose.

We continued our vinous adventure with a 2005 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines. As a piece de resistance we were treated to a 2006 Vina Maria Teresa in a 3.0L format from Miguels personal cellar. This rare wine is sourced from an exclusive small plot of centenary vines and is one of Quinta do Crastos oldest. What a delight! We finished the meal with a Late Bottled Vintage Port from the early 1990s and a 1987 Vintage Port. A beautiful finale to a magnificent day.

Our arrival in Porto was followed by some down time before walking through town for our closing dinner at Real at Casa da Calcada. During the planning process both Luis Moreira and Mariana Pinheiro were most helpful and the entire Real staff offered superb service during the dinner. As this was our closing dinner, I wanted to expand our experience by focusing on wines from areas we had not previously experienced.

Before being seated, we began with a creative selection of canapes and 2022 Portal da Calcada Vinho Verde in magnum. Our 1st Moment was a delicate seabass rice with seaweed and Salicornia paired to a lively 2020 Campolargo Bical de Sempre from Bairrada. Next, we were treated to sauteed chicken with aromatic herbs and seasonal vegetables paired to 2022 Paxa Negre from the Algarve region.

Our 3rd Moment featured a Sous vide black pork (from Alentejo and a local delicacy) with smoked corn and Portuguese cabbage. The pairing wine for this course was rare and not often seen in export markets: 2019 Quinta dos Tavores Reserva Vinhas Velhas from Tras-os-Montes in Portugals northeast mountains.

Dessert was a traditional Portuguese pudding with egg yolks, sugar, lard and Port wine. To match the dish, I wanted to feature the classic wine of the coastal Setubal region: 2004 Horacio Simones Moscatel Roxo. A very sweet ending for a magnificent culinary experience!

The Iberian Peninsula was a land of boundless surprises expressed through the individual personalities of Spain and Portugal. We await the opportunity of revisiting the area and continuing our exploration of her wines, cuisine and culture. Saude!
Two groups trying to save People's Park in Berkeley from the University of California's plans to build housing there may lose their bid if a bill introduced earlier this year passes the state Legislature.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, helped introduce Assembly Bill 1307, which takes aim at housing requirements in the state.

As currently proposed, the bill will eliminate the requirement to curb the effect of noise on other people caused by residents and guests of residential projects in California.

If passed, the bill will also eliminate the need for colleges and universities to consider, in an environmental impact report, alternative housing sites for a residential or mixed-use housing project if certain requirements are met.

According to a recent appeals court ruling, the need to mitigate noise by undergraduates and to consider alternatives must be considered under the California Environmental Quality Act, regulations that must be met by developers like UC Berkeley.

"We write to express our strong opposition to AB 1307," said leaders of both the People's Park Historic District Advocacy Group and the group Make UC a Good Neighbor in a letter Monday to Assembly members.

"This legislation effectively rewards the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) for its blatant failure to comply at the most basic level with the heart of the California Environmental Quality Act: the evaluation of alternatives for a project," leaders of the two groups said in the letter.

The groups and UC Berkeley are in litigation over noise and alternative sites for student housing, and Wicks' bill would sidestep the litigation.

The opposition groups argue the university can build student housing at other sites besides People's Park, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Unfortunately for the opposition groups, the historic designation does not prevent development of the park.

Still, the university has tried for decades to build housing at the park and failed because of community protests like one last August. Two law enforcement officers were injured in the protest and seven people were arrested before the university halted efforts to prepare the park for construction.

"UCB has identified and studied 13 locations for student housing that would avoid the negative impacts of its proposed project on People's Park, several of which would provide more units than are proposed for the park site," the letter says.

"There is no need for this legislation since there is a path forward for UCB to build the much-needed student and supportive housing on a site other than People's Park, thus preserving a nationally recognized historical resource and a valuable public open space," the letter says.

The groups say in the letter that Wicks has not communicated with them, even though many live in her district. Wicks' office did not respond to a request Monday for an interview.

While the two groups oppose housing at the park, they want to see the university building more housing for students and to recognize the need for more housing statewide.

Without the changes offered by Wicks' bill, "UC Berkeley's student housing program would be delayed indefinitely," said Michael Bedard, the University of California's senior legislative director in a June letter to state Sen. Scott Wiener, chair of the Senate Housing Committee.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof said Tuesday that "the campus is committed to full compliance with CEQA and never asked that the People's Park project be exempted from CEQA."

Photos: Napa Valley College's student housing complex is halfway home NVC student housing 4 NVC student housing 3 NVC student housing 2 NVC student housing 1 NVC student housing 9 NVC student housing 8 NVC student housing 7 NVC student housing 6 NVC student housing 5 NVC student housing construction NVC student housing construction
Samuel Chapman had no idea that drug dealers targeted teenagers on Snapchat until his 16-year-old son died from a fentanyl overdose.

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We thought it was like a playground for kids and didnt think of it, as I do now, as the dark web for kids, the Los Angeles resident said.

In 2021, a drug dealer reached out to his son, Sammy, on the disappearing messaging app and showed the teen a colorful drug menu that offered cocaine, Chapman said. After he and his wife fell asleep, the dealer delivered drugs to their house like a pizza. Sammy unknowingly took fentanyl and died in his bedroom.

For parents like Chapman, the horrific ordeal underscored social medias dangerous side. Tech platforms help people keep in touch with family and friends, but they also attract drug dealers, pedophiles and other predators. Plus, social media algorithms can steer young people to posts that could trigger eating disorders or self-harm.

Efforts by California lawmakers to crack down on social medias potential harms stalled in the past amid fierce opposition from multibillion-dollar tech giants, and renewed attempts could suffer the same fate. Last year, the tech industry used its lobbying power in Sacramento to kill one social media bill, and its deep pockets to block another by filing a lawsuit after it was signed into law.

This year, new social media bills face critical votes in the coming weeks as lawmakers race toward the end of the legislative session next month. Senate Bill 680 would allow the government to prosecute platforms for promoting harmful content about eating disorders, self-harm, illegal firearms and drugs like fentanyl. Lawmakers are trying to combat online child sex abuse material too, but theyre bracing for the possibility that tech companies will attempt to block new online safety laws like they have in the past.

Two arrested on suspicion of murder in 2022 fentanyl death of Napa teenager Napa County prosecutors charged two men with murder on suspicion of selling pills to a 17-year-old high schooler who died in 2022.

I want social media companies to take responsibility. I want to hold them accountable for the harm that theyre causing for our youth, said Sen. Nancy Skinner, the Berkeley Democrat who wrote SB 680.

Social media platforms such as Meta-owned Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok have removed some harmful content, but parents, teens and lawmakers say they need to do more to make their services safer for young people.

Chapman and his wife, TV relationship therapist Laura Berman, are among parents supporting legislation that would prohibit social media companies from using a design, algorithm or feature that the companies know or should have known causes a user under the age of 16 to harm themselves or others, develop an eating disorder or experience addiction. Chapman, who sued Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, along with other families, said drug dealers have used the apps features  location sharing and friends recommendations  to find teens.

The legislation is already facing pushback from tech industry groups and privacy advocates. Opponents say some of the bills would run afoul of the First Amendment and federal law, and argue that tech platforms already are taking safety issues seriously and offering parents the tools needed to protect their children.

NetChoice, a trade association whose members include Facebook parent Meta, Snap, Twitter, TikTok, Google and Pinterest, said legislators should focus on giving law enforcement the resources needed to fight crimes while tech companies should better educate parents and teens about their tools. Social media apps have parental controls and ways to limit screen time.

The last thing that we want is the government mandating that technology be responsible for educating and raising our children, because thats the role of parents and teachers, said Carl Szabo, NetChoices vice president and general counsel.

Snap said its taken several steps to combat drug sales on its platform, including using technology to detect drug activity before its reported, blocking search results for drug-related terms and making product changes aimed at making it tougher for strangers to connect with minors.

Fentanyl is finding its way into every major city across America, and our hearts go out to the thousands of families impacted by this growing national crisis. At Snap, we are working hard to stop dealers from abusing our platform, Rachel Racusen, a spokeswoman for the company, said in a statement.

But with concerns about social medias impact on mental health piling up, lawmakers are feeling a sense of urgency to act. In May, the U.S. surgeon general said there isnt enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents. While there may be benefits to social media, the platforms can also pose mental health risks, a 2021 surgeon generals advisory said.

Sophie Szew, a Stanford University student and activist, downloaded Instagram when she was 10 years old, unaware of how it would affect her mental health. Instagram requires users to be at least 13, but that hasnt stopped underage users from signing up.

On Instagram, Szew said she was bombarded with content that promoted and taught eating disorder behaviors. Szew, who was diagnosed with anorexia, said that while social media has allowed her to promote her advocacy work, she still comes across this harmful content.

Social media platforms use algorithms to determine what content users will see first, using a variety of signals such as how long they watch a video and whether they commented, shared or liked a post.

The algorithms are designed to trigger because triggering content is addictive, said Szew, who supports Skinners bill. We are likely to engage with content that shocks us, and we see this a lot with young people.

Instagram takes down content the company finds that promotes or encourages eating disorders, but the app allows people to share their own experiences around self-image and body acceptance.

Meanwhile, social media use among young people continues to grow. Google-owned YouTube is the most popular social media platform among U.S. teens, followed by TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. Almost 35% of U.S. teens reported being on at least one of the five apps almost constantly.

Knowing that her initial bill faced legal hurdles before the Senate voted on it, Skinner realized she needed to make more changes and decided to introduce another bill, SB 680. One of the changes included how the bill defined harm.

Under SB 680, a social media company would have caused a child harm if, as result of the platforms design, algorithm or feature, the app sends the child information about how to get a firearm, obtain a controlled substance or die by suicide. If the child gets or takes the controlled substance or kills themselves it would be considered harm.

To avoid liability, social media companies would have 60 days to correct a design, algorithm or feature that they discovered through a quarterly audit could pose a certain level of risk.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, said the onus should be on the companies, not parents, to make tech platforms safer, and regulation could force them to take responsibility. Wicks, a mother of two young children, said she doesnt want her kids on social media before theyre adults, but she could still face pressure to allow them on the platforms.

My hope is that when my child is banging down my door every day to get on Snapchat, TikTok or whatever the latest social media craze is, that theyre going to be safer places for kids, she said.

Wicks introduced Assembly Bill 1394, which requires social media companies to give California users a way to report child sexual abuse material theyre depicted in. The platform would be required to permanently block the material from being viewed. The bill also bars a social media company from knowingly facilitating, aiding, or abetting commercial sexual exploitation. A court would be required to award damages between $1 million and $4 million for each act of exploitation that the social media platform facilitated, aided, or abetted. The bill overwhelmingly cleared the Assembly and is now in the Senate.

From January to March, Facebook removed 8.9 million pieces of content that violated its rules against child sexual exploitation, most of which was taken down before people reported the content, according to the company. The social network says users who come across photos of videos of children being physically abused or sexually exploited should contact law enforcement, report the content to Facebook, notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and avoid sharing, downloading or commenting on the posts.

Because Wicks bill involves child sexual abuse materials, supporters say the content falls outside of the First Amendments free-speech protections. But business and technology groups say the bill still comes with constitutional concerns because companies afraid of getting sued will end up removing more lawful content, including news coverage and historical items.

Federal regulations also shield platforms from lawsuits over certain posts created by users. Part of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, Section 230, has some exemptions and doesnt apply to federal sex trafficking laws, however.

Even if new social media restrictions are signed into law this year, they may still face hurdles. Last year, NetChoice sued the state to prevent the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act from taking effect in 2024, stating it would pressure companies to over-moderate content and restrict resources that could help teens. Wicks and former Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, R-Paso Robles, introduced the measure, which includes protections for users under 18 such as having high privacy settings by default.

Efforts to protect children online also are being considered in other states and Congress. Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a pair of bills this year that require kids to get consent from their parents before they sign up for platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Chapman, the parent who lost his son to a fentanyl overdose, wants large social media companies to allow parents to monitor their childs online activity via third-party safety apps like Bark. The ability to do so can vary depending how much data access the platform will give a third-party app. Drug dealers and teens often use coded emojis to buy and sell drugs, making it tougher for parents to understand whats happening online.

My motivation is to save lives, said Chapman. I wake up every day since my son died and Ive devoted myself to warning other parents about this.
Overall 3342 children died in Gaza since start of war

Israel bombs areas near Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza

Palestinian Red Crescent: Israel demands evacuation of Gaza hospital

UN peacekeeper wounded in Lebanese shelling

Israel Armenians newspaper: Situation in Israel still difficult

Iran President: Zionists were defeated, forced to retreat

Death toll of Palestinians in Gaza exceeds 8000

Azerbaijani Defense Minister also visits China

Israeli airstrikes on two houses in Gaza kill 13 civilians

Israeli army names main priority

UN Secretary General criticizes Israel again

Building of Jewish cultural center is set on fire in Russia

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting

Russian MoD: Crimea was attacked by 36 Ukrainian drones at night

Armenian Defence Minister leaves for China

Forcibly displaced teachers from Artsakh can continue work in Armenia

Death toll of mine accident in Kazakhstan reaches 42

Israeli PM deletes controversial post from social media, apologizes

Israeli opposition leader, National Security Minister criticize PM

At least 331 Israeli soldiers killed since start of war with Hamas

Baku arrests Iranian spies who wanted to create Kerime state in Azerbaijan

Lemkin Institute calls on UN to prepare proper mission to Artsakh

Moscow, Ankara effectively coordinate efforts to tackle important regional issues

Israeli army boosts contingent in Gaza, enters deeper into enclave

Aide to Aliyev, Iran Ambassador discuss Azerbaijani-Armenian relations

US Eisenhower aircraft carrier enters Mediterranean Sea

Road accident in Armenia leaves 2 dead

Iranian President: Israel has crossed the red lines

Artsakh President: Russian side was in observers position

Armenia Security Council Secretary meets assistants to US Secretary of State, France President

Armenia PM sends condolences to Kazakh President over mine accident

Death toll of mine accident in Kazakhstan reaches 33

Russian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministries confirm the need for normalization between Baku and Yerevan

Hamas ready to release eight hostages at Russia's request

RA Economy Ministry, JP Morgan discuss international market accessibility

Hamas says there is no progress in hostage negotiations

Germany ready to send over 1 thousand military personnel to Middle East

Fatal car accident occurs in Yerevan

Tunis President says Palestinians have right to stand firm against Israel

Armenia Economy Minister, British Chamber of Commerce reps discuss coop

Israel promises to allow trucks carrying aid into Gaza

Erdogan: Israel should end madness and stop attacks on Gaza

If Gaza is destroyed, it will create catastrophe for decades, if not centuries

Palestinian Red Cross loses contact with all workers in Gaza

IDF expands area of ground operations in Gaza north

Moldovan President explains increasing of defense spending

US, Israeli defense ministers discuss military operations in Gaza

Chinese FM calls Taiwan independence biggest challenge for Sino-US relations

US may not have enough funds to help Ukraine, Israel at once

IDF expands ground operations in Gaza Strip

US calls its strikes on targets in Syria message for Iran

Iran warns of potential new fronts against US

Armenia says yes to UN resolution on Gaza truce

UN General Assembly adopts resolution on Israel-Hamas truce

UAVs, missiles attack US base in Syria

Israeli army says its actions are not ground invasion

Jordanian FM on Gaza ground war: Catastrophe for years to come

The Washington Post: US calls on Israel to rethink Gaza ground invasion

Georgia legislature head: There are positive developments for signing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement

CoE congress adopts declaration on humanitarian situation in Karabakh, neighbouring cities and regions

Lindsey Snell: Armenians who stayed in Karabakh aren't allowed to speak to their loved ones without being monitored

Charles Michel: EU leaders announced they intend to continue mediation on Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement

Armenia parliament speaker: Very possible that there will be some positive change soon in relations with Turkey

Eurasian Development Bank issued bonds on Armenia stock exchange for first time

Pashinyan to Szijjarto: Armenia-Hungary dialogue continuity is important

Hungary FM does not answer question about vetoing EU statement on Azerbaijan military aggression against Karabakh

Armenia official: I dont share assessment that we are further aggravating relations with Russia

Armenia deputy FM on Lavrov statement: Those maps were provided to parties by various mediators

Hungary FM speaks positively about Armenia's possible joining Black Sea electric cable project

Peter Szijjarto: Hungary is ready to contribute to protection of Christian heritage in Karabakh

Melanie Joly: EU monitoring mission in Armenia ensures vital stability in South Caucasus.

FM: Armenia's participation in Black Sea power cable project is under consideration

Canada FM: I was moved by strength, courage of Armenian women who fled Karabakh (PHOTOS)

Armenia FM, US official discuss regional security issues

Caucasian leopard spotted in Armenias Zangezur Biosphere Complex

Imedi TV: Armenia, Azerbaijan PMs meet in Georgia

Sanctions are only way to stop Azerbaijan aggression against Armenia, European Parliament member says

Armenia, Hungary FMs tete-a-tete kicks off in Yerevan

US State Dept.: Reaching of peace agreement not only in interests of Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also of broader world

Mijatovic: Azerbaijan must guarantee Armenians human rights, including to return to their homes in safety

Newspaper: There is deep disagreement in Armenia ruling party with PM's anti-Russian policies

Armenia ready to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan after resolving their political differences, deputy minister says

Kia updates K5 sedan

India considering possibility of delivering Armenia new batch of military equipment, media report

CoE Congress of Local and Regional Authorities condemns Azerbaijan over Karabakh, adopts declaration

Minister: Armenia's economy has doubled over past 3 years (PHOTOS)

Armenia official on EAEU energy market: Not all arrangements are carried out in full

Deputy PM: Armenia's trade with other CIS countries increased by 55%

Zakharova: EU monitoring mission in Armenia is gathering intelligence against Russia, Iran

Armen Grigoryan, Joshua Huck discuss security situation around Armenia

Russia MFA spox: Moscow ready to host Azerbaijan, Armenia FMs

Zakharova: Charge d'Affaires of Armenia was summoned to Russia MFA

Armenia former ambassador to US: Yerevan should increase Washington's attention on South Caucasus

Canada FM, ambassador visit EU civil monitoring mission in Armenia

Brussels to call on Armenia, Azerbaijan to complete normalization process by years end

Minister briefs Belgium envoy on Armenia high-tech infrastructure (PHOTOS)

Russia official: Armenia does not yet have final position on Zangezur corridor issue

Peskov: Russia intends to find out Armenia PMs words about diversification of security relations

Armenia President attends signing of EU statement on establishing SMART education centers in Syunik Province

Armenia, Georgia PMs discuss processes taking place in region
Armenia is interested in any impartial, neutral mediation, and we highly appreciate all efforts that are made based on these considerations. Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan said this in a joint press briefing with the visiting Belgian FM on Tuesday.

He reminded that many important meetings are held with the mediation of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, several meetings were held with the FM of Azerbaijan, also with the mediation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and that meetings at various levels are also held in Moscow and several other venues.

"It is important to us [Armenia] that the agreements reached on all platforms, without distinguishing between them, are brought to fruition. We witnessed several times how agreements were reached in meetings, but we never saw the implementation of these agreements on the ground.

"For example, we still haven't heard any public statements from the leadership of Azerbaijan regarding the recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia, while we hear such words during closed meetings. This worries us and may indicate that Azerbaijan has territorial claims against Armenia.

"Not only are the agreements not respected, but we also say that the solution to the issue of the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should become part of the settlement, and without it, it is impossible to expect lasting and stable peace in the South Caucasus. We see the [ongoing] blockade of the Lachin corridor [by Azerbaijan] and the [latters] blockade of an entire people [in Nagorno-Karabakh], which leads to starvation, including children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable cross-sections of the [Karabakh] population," Mirzoyan emphasized.

He clarified that Armenia places the difference not in the venues of the agreement, but in the methods and implementation.

Also, the Armenian FM underscored constructive participation in the peace talks with Azerbaijan.

"The mediators must make sure that the agreements reached through their mediation are brought to fruition," Ararat Mirzoyan concluded.
Our position in Baku will be the same as in Yerevan. The most important thing for us is to get out of this impasse, which has been going on for a long time, in order to improve the humanitarian situation and the living conditions of the Armenian population in Karabakh. Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium, stated this in a joint press briefing with Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Tuesday in Yerevan.

She called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to the negotiating table, be it in Washington or elsewhere.

"We welcomed the bold step of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, who publicly recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We call on the authorities of Azerbaijan to do the same at the highest level," added Lahbib.

She noted that there is no lack of negotiations at the highest level, but there is a lack of will to implement the agreements reached on the ground.

"At the meeting with our Armenian colleague, we noted the importance of the presence of experts and commissions, and I will talk about it in Baku as well. This will enable to put an end to the hostility and create opportunities to create conditions for real reconciliation. We are intensifying our participation in all these processes, including through the Belgian embassy, which will soon be opened in Yerevan," the Belgian FM emphasized.
Today, Azerbaijan is holding 120,000 people hostage in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan is first of all challenging the efforts of Armenia and the international community to establish real peace in the region. Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this at his joint press briefing with the visiting Belgian FM on Tuesday.

According to him, Armenia expects its international partners to show political will and take real steps to change Azerbaijan's warlike, inhumane, destructive behavior.

"We continue to state that Baku's actions are based on an open policy of [Armenian] ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"I told my [Belgian] colleague [today] that Azerbaijan violates the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on a regular basis and targets Armenian positions on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan; this was announced also by the EU [monitoring] mission in Armenia.

"Azerbaijan continues to violate all provisions of the [trilateral] statement of November 9, 2020, including the obligation to return Armenian prisoners of war, Armenian civilians arrested by it, and efforts to find out the fate of the missing.

"Armenia is committed to achieving long-term peace in the region through negotiations," added Mirzoyan.

He emphasized that at his meeting with the Belgian FM, the parties discussed the aggravated crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was created as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor and which continues for more than 8 months.

"We discussed the irreversible consequences in Nagorno-Karabakh. We reflected on the targeted assessments by Belgium and other EU countries, as well as international partners. Despite this, as well as the decision of the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan continues the blockade of the Lachin corridor," added the Armenian FM.

Furthermore, according to him, the high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Belgium countries was noted at the meeting, and the interlocutors reflected on the prospects of expanding bilateral partnership.

Also, willingness was expressed to intensify cooperation in economy, science, education, and high technology.

Mirzoyan welcomed the decision of the Belgian government to open an embassy in Yerevan, which will give a new boost to the dynamically developing relations between the two countries.

"We underscored cooperation also at the parliamentary level, taking into account the solidarity of the Belgian legislature on issues important to us.

"We discussed as well cooperation at the international level, Armenia-EU level. The range of interests here is also quite wide, starting from support for democratic reforms to economic development, as well as dialogue on security issues and the activities of the EU civilian [monitoring] mission in Armenia," Armenian FM emphasized.

Also, Ararat Mirzoyan thanked Belgium for participating in this mission.
Belgium fully shares the view of the European Union (EU) that it is Azerbaijan's obligation to ensure the safety and free movement of Karabakh residents through the Lachin corridor. Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium, stated this at the joint press briefing with Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Tuesday in Yerevan.

According to her, Belgium and the EU will continue to act to this end during their diplomatic contacts.

"I am here to express my support for the settlement of the conflict, which has not been resolved for more than 100 years and has caused many casualties," she added.

Also, Lahbib expressed Belgium's serious concern regarding the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"I clearly state that the only way out of this historical conflict is the way of negotiations and compromises, even if it is difficult to achieve it. The agreements reached during the meetings organized by the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, are progress. The leaders of the two countries reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries. The words by the prime minister of Armenia regarding the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are aimed at peace.

"The rights and security of the Armenian population must be respected; I will remind my Azerbaijani colleague about this.

"Belgium is worried about the humanitarian situation [in Nagorno-Karabakh] and its deterioration. Restricting movement through the Lachin corridor causes serious consequences, the risk of increased hunger and morbidity; this was confirmed also today during the meeting with ICRC representatives. The lives of Karabakh residents are in danger; this is unacceptable.

"We must not forget the Armenian Genocide, this tragic chapter of our history. We have to do everything so that history doesn't repeat itself," emphasized the Belgian FM.
We discussed Russia's aggression against Ukraine; Belgium and the EU condemn it. This conflict has a negative impact on this region [i.e., the South Caucasus], too. Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium, stated this at her joint press briefing with Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Tuesday in Yerevan.

"It is very important for us [i.e. Belgium] to continue to strengthen the sincere dialogue on all matters that connect us with Armenia. Belgium will take over the EU chairmanship from January 1, 2024. Armenia is an important partner for Europeans. In the conditions of instability all over the world, we want to strengthen our cooperation.

"We support the implementation of the North-South corridor project.

"At my suggestion, the Committee of Ministers of Belgium decided to open an embassy in Yerevan. This powerful gesture shows the importance we attach to political relations," she said, reminding that there are about 30,000 Armenians living in Belgium.

The Belgian FM noted that a number of Belgian companies want to establish cooperation with Armenian companies, and the Armenian side also shares this desire.

She announced that a Belgian trade mission will visit Armenia in October.

Also, Lahbib expressed satisfaction that the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the EU and Armenia is already beginning to bear its fruits.

She added that the EU will assist Armenia in the fight against discrimination and corruption.
Xi arrives in South Africa for 15th BRICS Summit, state visit

Xinhua) 08:07, August 22, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping is warmly greeted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa upon his arrival at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 21, 2023. Xi arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held here, and pay a state visit to South Africa. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held here, and pay a state visit to South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, together with South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor, and Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, warmly greeted Xi at the OR Tambo International Airport of Johannesburg.

A group of South African women presented Xi with flowers, honor guards saluted him, and people dressed in South African traditional costumes performed dances.

President Ramaphosa warmly welcomed Xi for his state visit to South Africa.

Xi said that he is very glad to visit South Africa again and looks forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with Ramaphosa on deepening China-South Africa relations and issues of common interest.

In a written speech, Xi extended heartfelt greetings and best wishes to the people of South Africa on behalf of the Chinese people. Noting that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa, Xi emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has entered a new stage.

A solid and growing China-South Africa relationship not only benefits the two peoples, but also brings more stability to a world which is undergoing transformation and turbulence, Xi said, adding that he believes with the two sides' concerted efforts, the visit will definitely be a complete success.

The BRICS cooperation mechanism, a key cooperation platform for emerging markets and major developing countries, has become a constructive force for the world's economic growth, better global governance and greater democracy in international relations, said Xi.

He is confident that the upcoming BRICS summit will become an important milestone in the development of the BRICS mechanism, and help take the unity and cooperation of developing countries to a higher level, Xi added.

Xi also noted that he looks forward to attending the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, where he will explore ways together with African leaders for closer cooperation, greater development and a more peaceful world.

Xi's entourage, including Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and foreign minister, arrived on the same plane.

Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong greeted the delegation at the airport.

At midnight, when Xi's motorcade was on its way from the airport to the hotel, overseas Chinese gathered on the streets along the way, waving national flags of the two countries and holding banners such as "Long live China-South Africa friendship" to warmly welcome Xi's visit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is warmly greeted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa upon his arrival at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 21, 2023. Xi arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held here, and pay a state visit to South Africa. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia on Tuesday received Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium, Armenian News-NEWS.am learns from the PM's office.

The PM attached importance to Lahbib's visit to Armenia and expressed confidence that it will give a new impetus to the further development and strengthening of Armenian-Belgian relations. Also, Pashinyan welcomed the decision of the Belgian government to open an embassy in Armenia, which, according to him, will contribute to the expansion of cooperation not only in the political, but also in the economic and cultural domains.

As per Hadja Lahbib, despite the intense bilateral relations, the visit of a Belgian FM to Armenia has not taken place in the last 8 years, and the purpose of her visit is to give new boost to Armenian-Belgian relations, including in economy and investments. She added that there is a great interest among Belgian businessmen to implement investment projects and deepen business ties in Armenia.

The interlocutors reflected on the developments taking place in the region, in particular, the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the ongoing illegal blockage of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan. The Armenian premier emphasized that the purpose of Azerbaijan's actions is to carry out Armenian ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan highlighted the emergency meeting recently held at the UN Security Council regarding the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the targeted reaction by international partners to Azerbaijan's actions. The PM stressed the need to take active steps to change Azerbaijan's way of working. At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan underscored the need for consistency in the implementation of the agreements reached so far in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels.

The Belgian FM, in turn, emphasized her country's support for the position of the European Union, according to which Azerbaijan must ensure the uninhibited movement of people and goods through the Lachin corridor and implement the decision made by the UN International Court of Justice.
21:45

The entire mission operations of Chandrayaan-3, right from the launch till landing, 'happened flawlessly' as per the timeline, the team that led India's third mission to the Moon said on Wednesday.





They credited the combined effort of the entire team during the past four years for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.





"It's a great moment of happiness. On behalf of the team it gives me immense satisfaction on achieving this goal as the project director of the mission. The entire mission operations right from launch till landing happened flawlessly as per the timeline," Project Director of Chandrayaan-3 P Veeramuthuvel said.





Addressing the Chandrayaan-3 team at the Mission Operations Complex, he said India has become the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon's surface and the first country to arrive at the south pole region of the Moon.





Thanking the navigation guidance and control team, propulsion team, sensors team and all the mainframe subsystems teams, who have brought success to the mission, Veeramuthuvel also expressed his gratitude to the critical operations review committee for thoroughly reviewing the mission operations right from launch till date.





"The target was on spot, because of the review process," he said, as he acknowledged the contribution of Chandrayaan-3 project executives working across various ISRO centres.





India on Wednesday scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.





The LM comprising the lander (Vikram) and the 26 kg rover (Pragyan), made the soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon this evening.





The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.





M Sankaran, Director of U R Rao Satellite Centre, where the satellite was built, said, "Today's success has put more responsibility on Team ISRO, because we have set the bar so high, and nothing less spectacular than this is going to be inspiring any of us in the future."





"As the prime minister mentioned, we will now be looking at putting man in space, putting spacecraft around Venus and landing a craft on Mars," he said, adding that work on all these activities have been going on for a few years and this success will inspire and spur the team to take those efforts strongly to make the country proud again and again.





Noting that today Team ISRO has achieved what it had set out to achieve in 2019, Sankaran said, 'it was delayed by about four years, but we have done it.'





Pointing out that the entire project team has been 'sleeping, eating and breathing' Chandrayaan for the past four years, he said, "As a person who has been watching their efforts for the past four years along with them, my heart goes out to them. The amount of effort is tremendous. That is what ISRO is all about and that is what our organisation has taught us to do."





Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe soft landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.





Chandrayaan-2 had failed in its lunar phase when its lander 'Vikram' crashed into the surface of the Moon minutes before the touchdown, following anomalies in the braking system in the module while attempting the landing on September 7, 2019.





Chandrayaan's maiden mission was in 2008, and its objective was to place an unmanned spacecraft in orbit around the Moon.





Chandrayaan-3 Mission Operations Director M Srikanth thanked the team and said all the mission operations were carried out 'flawlessly'.





Associate Project Director of Chandrayaan-3 Kalpana Kalahasti, who was visibly overjoyed by the success, said, "This will remain the most memorable and happiest moment for Team Chandrayaan-3.





"We have achieved our goal flawlessly. From the day we started rebuilding our spacecraft after the Chandrayaan-2 experience, it has been breathe in, breathe out Chandrayaan-3 for our team. Starting from the reconfiguration to all the special tests and the assimilation we have conducted meticulously, this has been possible because of the team effort and guidance from seniors," she added. -- PTI


Mainland hands over last of the 'Hong Kong 12'

Tang Kai-yin was taken to Tin Shui Wai Police Station upon being handed over to Hong Kong authorities. Photo: RTHK

The last of the so-called "Hong Kong 12" who were caught by the Guangdong coastguard during an alleged attempt to flee to Taiwan by speedboat has been brought back to the territory from the mainland.



Tang Kai-yin was jailed for three years after a mainland court found him guilty of organising the crossing in 2020.



The group was found to have entered mainland waters illegally.



On Tuesday, Tang was handed over to Hong Kong police and taken to Tin Shui Wai Police Station.



He's due to appear in the District Court on Wednesday in connection with being "re-arrested on warrant".



Some of the others in the group have been convicted over the 2019 protests and jailed again in Hong Kong since their return.



One of them, Andy Li, is awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security in a case that also involves former media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
Japanese seafood curbs to start on Thursday

Japanese seafood curbs to start on Thursday
Brics not a counterpoint to G7: Lula

Presidents Xi Jinping and Cyril Ramaphosa meet on the sidelines of the Brics summit.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday the Brics group of emerging countries is not meant to challenge other international coalitions, such as the G7 or the United States, but to "organise" the so-called Global South.



"We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States," Lula said in a live broadcast on social media as he attends the Brics summit in South Africa.



"We just want to organise ourselves."



The Brazilian leader again defended a common trading currency for Brics countries, saying the move would not be aimed at "rejecting" the US dollar but instead facilitating trade between the emerging nations in their own currencies.



He said he supported other countries joining Brics  currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  but with certain conditions, "so it does not become a Tower of Babel."



"We want Brics to be a multilateral institution, not an exclusive club," Lula said, adding he was particularly in favour of Argentina joining the group.



More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining Brics, according to South African officials.



President Xi Jinping, who's also in South Africa attending the Brics summit, said on Tuesday that he is willing to work with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, to push China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.



Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Ramaphosa after arriving on Monday for a state visit to South Africa, where he will also co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.



The key, Xi said, to the good relations between China and South Africa and their deep friendship lies in the fact that the two countries and the two parties share weal and woe on their respective development paths and have forged a profound friendship. (Xinhua/Reuters)
The actor and family members confirmed the news of his father's demise.

The family released a statement saying, "Its with a heavy heart to confirm that Pankaj Tripathis father, Pandit Banaras Tiwari is no more. He lived a wholesome life of 99 years. His last rites will be performed today amongst his close family. Pankaj Tripathi is currently on his way to his village in Gopalganj.

The actor was very close to his father, a farmer who also doubled up as a priest.

The actor left for his native village, Gopalgaj in Bihar, after receiving word of his father's demise.

On the work front, Tripathi's latest release, Akshay Kumar starrer OMG 2, has been garnering a good response from the audience post release.

He will be next seen portraying former Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 'Main Atal Hoon'.

On Vajpayee's birth anniversary, the actor shared his first look as the former PM in the upcoming biopic.(ANI)
Ahead of the much-awaited Chandrayaan-3 missions soft landing on the lunar surface, Hindustani classical vocalist and Padma Shri awardee Soma Ghosh shared her excitement and hoped that India will continue to make progress to become vishwa guru. Tomorrow Chandrayaan 3 will land on the moon and our India will take a step forward. I wish that may our country progress in this way and becomes a vishwa guru someday. We are very fortunate PM Modi is thinking so much for our country. Scientists of our country have made many big inventions and we are very proud of them, Soma Ghosh told ANI. Students offered namaz at the Islamic Centre of India in Lucknow for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3. We are very happy. We are praying for its success since the launch of the spacecraft. We are feeling happy that our country will earn glory. Many students here want to become scientists and we will make our country proud, a student said. Lucknow Eidgah Imam scholar Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali said that children offered namaz at the Islamic Centre madrasa and prayed for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3... They also study science here so they have a lot of curiosity regarding this. I extend my heartiest congratulations to all the scientists and officials of ISRO. If the landing is successful tomorrow on the unexplored lunar south pole, India will be the first country to successfully do this." ISRO has said that the mission is on schedule and systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing, The Mission Operations Complex (at ISRO) is buzzed with energy and excitement! ISRO posted on X, formerly Twitter. Along with the missions update, ISRO also released images of the moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km. (ANI)
According to new research, teaching creativity to primary school pupils may boost their resistance to issues in real life. In a short study, researchers taught third, fourth, and fifth graders how to employ literary devices like viewpoint shifting, hypothetical (what if) reasoning, and causal (why) thinking to increase their creativity when solving problems. As per Angus Fletcher, the study's principal author and an English professor at The Ohio State University who is also a part of the university's Project Narrative, the methods helped youngsters come up with fresh, imaginative, and useful solutions to challenges. There are concerns about the resiliency of American children in the wake of COVID-19 and this sense that many kids are having a hard time in school and in life, Fletcher said. Creativity training can help kids come up with a second plan when things arent working out for them. The study was published recently in the Journal of Creativity. Fletcher said the program used to help kids in this study was similar to one he and his colleagues used successfully with the U.S. Army and which resulted in Fletcher receiving the Public Service Commendation Medal, the fourth-highest public service decoration that the Army can bestow upon a civilian. The researchers did two separate studies involving students attending a summer camp in a Columbus suburb. In one study, 32 students were split into two groups. In the control condition, the children were told to identify a special quality about themselves. They were told this was a special power that could help them solve any problem. In the creative condition, the students were told to think of a friend who did something special and think of them as their creative friend who could help them solve any problem. This type of creativity training is called perspective-shifting, in which the kids look at a problem through the eyes of someone else. When you ask people to shift their perspective and imagine receiving advice from a friend, you get a lot more creative and effective solutions to problems than just trying to solve the problem yourself, Fletcher said. And thats what the study found. In one part of the study, teachers identified a problem that was challenging for their students for example, not being able to go to a friends birthday party because youre going to be out of town with your parents. Students also thought about a challenging problem in their own lives. Some problems that were mentioned included my brother has a communication disorder, my dad has to be away for two months and my sister bullies me. Results showed that without the perspective-shift training, fewer than half of the students were able to provide a solution to the age-typical problems and almost none were able to provide a solution to their own problems. But 94 per cent of those who were trained in perspective-shifting provided a solution to both. Judges (who were trained teachers) also rated the childrens solutions on creativity, as assessed by how surprising or unique the solutions were. With the intervention, the average creativity score was 6.44 out of 10 (moderate creativity) compared to 3.05 (low creativity) for those who did not receive the perspective-shifting intervention. These results showed how creativity training could boost childrens sense of self-efficacy the belief that they had some control and power over their own lives, Fletcher said. When considering their own problems, most of the children who received the intervention came up with a potential solution. But 15 of 16 children in the control group essentially gave up, Fletcher said. They either said they didnt know how to fix their problem, or displayed some version of magical thinking, such as saying they could become a superhero. A second longitudinal study involving 28 students in the same camp was designed to test the effects of a five-day, 10-hour narrative creativity curriculum on creativity, self-efficacy and resilience. In addition to perspective-shifting, the students were also trained in other narrative creativity techniques, such as causal thinking, Fletcher said. If children cant solve a problem, we train them to back up and think about what they are trying to accomplish the why problem, Fletcher said. Step back and say why does this matter? We often find that if you think more broadly about what you are trying to accomplish, and why it is so important, then you can see there are other ways of getting what you want. At the end of the curriculum, the students were presented with age-typical problems similar to the first study and also examined one of their own problems. In order to test resilience, the researchers provided an unexpected challenge when the children presented their proposed solution to their problems: they told the kids it wouldnt work. Results showed that every student who took the five-day curriculum was able to provide a second solution to both the age-typical and personal problems. With this training, the children were unfazed by being told their first solution didnt work. They came up with a second plan, which is a good test of resilience, Fletcher said. And the second solution to the problems averaged higher creativity scores from the judges 7.5, which indicated moderate to high creativity, compared to 5.45 for their first solution. Second solutions also scored higher on utility, which is how likely they are to succeed in the real world. Fletcher said this study provides a hopeful message: There are things we can do to help children cope with their problems. We are at this moment in our society where our kids need help. We found that before this training, kids had this propensity to just give up when faced with problems. That could lead them to get angry, or embarrassed that they cant solve their problems, or look for adults to offer solutions. What narrative creativity training can do is teach children there are ways to approach real-life problems that dont have easy answers, he said. Fletcher said that kids can learn creativity through the arts, such as literature and theater, if they are done the right way. Rather than just asking students to analyze works of art, teachers can have students imagine themselves as different characters, explore new perspectives and engage in why and what-if thinking. The ability to use this type of thinking cant be assessed via standardized tests. But it is still very important and can help children use and grow their creativity to solve real-world challenges, he said. Fletcher conducted the study with Ohio State colleagues Patricia Enciso, a professor of literature for children and young adults in the College of Education and Human Ecology, and Mike Benveniste, also of Project Narrative. (ANI)
Apologizing for his statement that Sharad Pawar "could not single-handedly bring the party to power in Maharashtra, "Former Home Minister of Maharashtra Dilip Walse Patil offered clarification, saying, the people of Maharashtra have not given the NCP a majority mandate to secure power independently. Instead, the NCP had to forge alliances with other political parties to create a coalition government. Saying that "his words were misconstrued without understanding its meaning", Walse Patil close aide of Sharad Pawar, "I feel that the media has gotten it wrong. In my speech yesterday, I did not criticize or say anything wrong about honorable Sharad Pawar saheb anywhere. The political analysis that I presented to the activists and the public in yesterday's speech, the media misconstrued the issue without understanding its meaning," Dilip Walse-Patil posted on X (formerly Twitter). Extending his apologies to Sharad Pawar, Patil said thatthe people of Maharashtra should have supported the NCP chief. "My point was that when we had such a great leader, the people of Maharashtra should have stood by him. Yesterday I expressed my regret that it did not happen. He has also spoken publicly in many party meetings and gatherings before. No criticism or wrong word is possible from me towards respected Pawar Sahib. However, I apologize for any misunderstanding that may have arisen," he said in a tweet. While addressing party workers at Ambegaon taluka, Patil said, "We always say that there is no big leader like Sharad Pawar in the country, but the people of Maharashtra have never given him a majority and never made him the Chief Minister on his own." Earlier, the former Home Minister also points out that other regional parties are moving ahead on their own, but NCP is lacking behind. Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati become the CM, but we have to form an alliance with someone or the other. The regional party is moving ahead on its own, but our 60 to 70 MLAs get elected and we have to form an alliance with others, Patil said. Dilip Walse Patil further said We have not joined BJP, NCP is our own party, we are in NCP only. The Election Commission will decide who will get the name and symbol of the party, after that, there can be a stir in the politics of the state. We had talked to Sharad Pawar twice before taking the decision to join the government, but when no response came from there, we had to take this step, Patil added. Moreover, Sharad Pawar earlier also alleged that some of the NCP leaders joined hands with the BJP since they were threatened by the "agencies". "Some of our associates joined BJP under the pressure of investigations by agencies. They were told if you join us (the BJP) then nothing will happen in your cases but if you don't join then you will be shown a different place (jail)," Sharad Pawar said on Sunday. The crisis in the NCP was triggered by Ajit Pawar (then Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly) switching sides and joining the Eknath Shinde-BJP government and taking oath as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, a few months back. Eight other NCP MLAs took oath as ministers with Ajit Pawar. (ANI)
Punjab Police have arrested Simranjit Singh alias Simmi, a key operative of the Bambiha gang from SAS Nagar, while on his way to deliver the weapon consignment, officials said. According to the police, the arrested, identified as Simranjit Singh alias Simmi, was accused in several criminal cases. "In an intelligence-led operation, Punjab Polices State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), SAS Nagar arrested a key operative of the Bambiha gang Simranjit Singh alias Simmi when he was on his way to deliver the weapon consignment. Simmi was a wanted accused in several criminal cases. One pistol and four live cartridges were also recovered," Punjab Police said in a statement. Earlier on August 17, thePunjabPolice arrested five people in connection with the Bambiha gang.Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bathinda, Gulneet Singh stated that these accused were continuously carrying out incidents of looting, due to which many cases have been registered against them earlier also. Earlier, When the police personnel tried to stop them in the past, the accused misbehaved with the policeman, snatched his SLR and ran away. After which, when the investigation was done by the police, it was found that the accused are an accomplice of the Bambiha gang.Police have taken action against the accused by registering a case and recovering weapons including SLR. (ANI)
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said that after security forces, his party workers have sacrificed their lives because of terrorism in the Kashmir valley. "We are also living here. The people who have misguided the people of J-K are the real culprits who brought the guns. Where you are standing is the National Conference office, our party has given the maximum sacrifices after security forces," Omar Abdullah said when asked about the LG's statement. Jammu and Kasmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that those who misguided the people of Jammu and Kashmir are responsible for the killing of 50,000 Kashmiris. "Our office is full of photographs of people who fell victim to the grenade attacks, mine attacks and bullets. You are asking me what is the impact of the killings (Tabahi) You should ask my friends, and family members we know. LG has come now and he will go tomorrow," he added. The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said that people taking guns into their hands is not in the interest of Kashmir which the NC has been saying since day one. "We know what is the impact of guns on the families of J-K, we have been saying for the very first day people have been misguided. People were given guns on the pretext of giving false dreams. Those dreams were never fulfilled but here the graveyards are full. Our rivers were flooded with blood. LG has not said something that we have not been raising since the first day," Omar Abdullah said. On the Ladakh administration's legal objection regarding the NC symbol in Hill Council elections in the Union Territory, he said that the administration is compelled to approach the court because of BJP's pressure. "We have now got used to fighting against this government. Due to BJP's pressure, the Ladakh administration is forced to approach the court again and again. We want our symbol on which we want to contest elections. Why does the Ladakh administration have an objection to it? We went to HC, and the single-judge bench decided in our favour. They filed a 300-page appeal before a Division Bench, we succeeded there as well. Now we hear that they are filing an SLP in the Supreme Court," he said. He asked whether the NC symbol in Hill Council elections had become such a big issue that the administration had to go to the SC. (ANI)
The identity of the deceased naxal of the banned left-wing outfit is being ascertained.

The incident occurred on Monday at 9:00 am.

Orchha police station received information about the presence of left-wing extremists in a village. A team comprising District Reserve Guard (DRG) and a party from Bastar was formed to launch an anti-naxal operation, the official said.

Following the operation, a combing operation was carried out in the area.

Speaking to ANI, Superintendent of Police, Narayanpur, Pushkar Sharma said, "The body of a Naxal was recovered following an encounter between Naxals and security forces under the Orchha Police Station area in the Narayanpur district".

The official said that arms and ammunition including a 315-bore rifle and a .12-bore rifle were recovered from the possession of the killed naxal.

There is the possibility of more naxals being injured during the operation, he said.

Earlier in August, a Naxal couple, one among whom was carrying a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to his capture, surrendered before security forces in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said.

According to the police, the couple surrendered after facing "discrimination" within the rank and file of the banned Left-wing outfit.

"The Naxal couple surrendered before security forces as part of an ongoing campaign named Puna Narkom (a term in the Gondi dialect meaning New Dawn). The campaign was launched by the Chhattisgarh government as part of its surrender and rehabilitation policy for Naxals," the SDOP had said. (ANI)
Hitting out at Janata Dal-United (JDU) President Lalan Singh for his "Prime Minister Narendra Modi scared of the INDIA bloc" remark, Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Tuesday said that it is not the PM but the joint opposition alliance, who is scared. The statement by the Union Minister came a day after JDU chief Lalan Singh said, "The country can see that PM Narendra Modi is scared. He is desperate and nervous after the formation of the INDIA alliance." Responding to it, Paras said, "Why will PM Modi be scared? It is the people in the Opposition who are scared, they are changing the name (of their alliance) every day. From UPA they have become INDIA. Why will the NDA or PM be scared?" He said that PM Modi believes in work. "He is the first Prime Minister of the country who speaks about the welfare of the poor, the youth, the unemployed, and the widows. He speaks about changes in education. Why will such a person be scared of this alliance (INDIA)?" the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party chief added. Earlier on Monday, while interacting with the media, Lalan Singh also mentioned PM Modis speech in the Parliament on the no-confidence motion. Whole country saw that when he was giving his speech on the confidence motion in the parliament, he spoke for one and a half hours on INDIA alliance. This shows his nervousness,Lalan Singhadded. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is an opposition alliance of 26 parties formed recently to take on the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 General Elections. The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Bihars Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Karnatakas Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting is slated to be in Maharashtra's Mumbai on August 31-September 1. (ANI)
Onion is the food of Poor. Farmers eat onion with roti which we call bhakri. Farmers of Maharashtra are not able to buy onions. People cannot eat onions, so this government has no right to be in power. This is not Maharashtra's culture, Sanjay Raut said.

Recently, the Central government imposed a 40 per cent export duty on the kitchen staple which prompted onion farmers in the state to stage a protest in Maharashtras Nashik district on Monday.

A notification issued by the Finance Ministry on August 19 stated that they have imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions till December 31, 2023.

"Government imposes 40 per cent duty on onion exports till December 31," the Ministry stated.

The export duty comes amid reports that onion prices are likely to rise in September.

Earlier on August 11, the central government started releasing the staple vegetable from its buffer stock.

The central government had earlier decided it will maintain 3 lakh tonne of onions in the 2023-24 season as buffer stock. In 2022-23, the government maintained 2.51 lakh tonne onion as buffer stock.

Buffer stock is maintained to meet any exigencies and for price stabilization, if rates go up significantly during the lean supply season.

The centre has also decided to procure and additional 2 Lakh tonne of onions from Maharashtra at a price of Rs 2410 per quintal. The procurement of the additional onion stock began today and the announcement was made at a meeting of Maharashtra Agirculture Minister Dhananjay Munde and Union Commerce Miniser Piyush Goyal in Delhi on Tuesday (ANI)
The Special Court of Delhi on Tuesday awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to Gautam Kumar Basak, former executive secretary of Joint Plant Committee (JPC), Ministry of Steel, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, in connection with a corruption case involving coal block allocation. The Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj on Tuesday awarded three years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh upon convict Basak. This was the 14th conviction in coal related matters. The trial of this case was conducted by Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Legal Advisor, CBI. The Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj last week had convicted Gautam Kumar Basak under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. According to the CBI, the Union Ministry of Coal (MOC) in November 2006 invited applications from the companies engaged in the generation of Power, Steel and cement for allocation of coal blocks for captive power plants/independent power plants. In response to the advertisement issued by MOC, a number of companies applied for coal blocks. M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. had applied for Vijay Central Coal Block situated in the state of Chhattisgarh. Earlier Chotia Coal Block was allocated to M/s Prakash Industries Ltd, said CBI. The CBI added that in the application dated January 12, 2007 submitted to MoC, M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. had claimed its sponge iron production capacity as 8 MTPA. Believing the claim made by M/s Prakash Industries Ltd., the Screening Committee of the Ministry of Coal recommended joint allocation of Vijay Central Coal Block in favour of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. and M/s SKS ISpat Ltd. & Ors. These recommendations were sent to the Prime Ministers Office for final approval. In the meantime, complaints were lodged by M/s SKS Ispat Ltd., M/s Youth Anti-Corruption Bureau, and Om Prakash, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party alleging that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. has secured a recommendation of the Screening Committee by furnishing false information about its capacity. In view of these complaints, the Ministry of Coal directed the Ministry of Steel to verify the claims made by M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. in its application. Accordingly, Ministry of Steel directed Gautam Kumar Basak, Executive Secretary, JPC, Ministry of Steel to conduct on the spot verification of the plant of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. at Champa, Raipur Chhattisgarh. On September 4, 2008, Gautam Kumar Basak alongwith Soumen Chatterjee Manager, JPC allegedly visited the plant of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. at Champa, Raipur Chhattisgarh and on September 5, 2008, submitted a false report supporting the claims of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. and mentioning that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. has four kilns and its spong iron production capacity is 8 MTPA. This false report submitted by G K Basak was forwarded by the Ministry of Steel to the Ministry of Coal and the Prime Ministers Office, said CBI. Again M/s SKS Ispat Ltd. and M/s Youth Anti-Corruption Bureau (NGO) lodged complaints with the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Coal. Ultimately one Inter-Ministerial committee was constituted by the Central government to find out the truth. This Inter-Ministerial committee conducted on-the-spot verification and concluded that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. had furnished false information about its capacity in its application and G K Basak submitted a false verification report to support the claims made by M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. In this matter, FIR was registered by CBI on April 7, 2010. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde welcomed the steps taken by the central government to procure an additional two lakh tonnes of onion from farmers in Maharashtra. In a joint press conference along with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Eknath Shinde said, "I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal as we requested them to take steps to give relief to onion cultivators. Even Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde went to Delhi yesterday. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Japan also discussed the issue along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar." "NAFED took the decision of procuring an additional 2 lakh tonnes of onion. We are getting help from the Centre. It is a new benchmark. As a state Chief Minister, I thank you again for this decision," he added. "The state government is standing behind the support of farmers. The Prime Minister went on a visit to South Africa. Before going he took this decision. There was a discussion about increasing onion prices, new technology will also be used. Farmers will get the benefit," Eknath Shinde said. Slamming Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's criticism of the centre imposing 40 per cent duty on onion exports, he said, "Pawar sahab needs to welcome it. He had been the Agriculture Minister earlier when similar circumstances in onion prices used to prevail." Asking all political parties not to "politicise" the issue, the Chief Minister said "No one needs to politicise this. They need to stand by Kisans and give suggestions to the state government. The central government has started the procurement of an additional two lakh tonnes of onion from farmers in Maharashtra on Tuesday. The decision to procure this additional stock comes as a relief to Maharashtra's farmers. The announcement of the start of procurement was made after a meeting between Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde in Delhi. The central government always works in the best interest of farmers and buys their produce from time to time NCCF and NAFED on the direction of central government had procured 3 lakh tonne onions from various parts of Maharashtra, which in the process increased the prices. To create a balance between farmers and consumers, the government has imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onion. This is to ensure domestic availability, Goyal told ANI. (ANI)
The rakhi prepared by the prisoners will be sold like other items made in the jail.

Giving further information, Central Jail Superintendent Dr Alka Sonkar told ANI, About 40 women prisoners are making rakhi here and they are also being trained for the same. This is an attempt to make the women self-reliant after they get released from the jail.

Earlier also, women have also been trained to make sweets and other products from time to time, so that they can lead their life like a good citizen after getting released from the jail instead of committing crime again, Sonkar said.

The products made in jail are sold by setting up shop outside the jail and these rakhis will also be sold there, the jail superintendent added.

Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana, which typically falls in August. The expression "Raksha Bandhan," Sanskrit, literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care," is now principally applied to this ritual. This year Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on August 30. (ANI)
Uproarious scenes unfolded in West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday after state Education Minister Bratya Basu laid the blame for the student death at Jadavpur University (JU) onGovernor CV Ananda Bose. The minister also linked the case with the ongoing tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the Trinamool Congress government over the appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities. Protests erupted in the Opposition benches as the minister dragged the Governor into the student death case and the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the House. A first-year undergraduate student, Swarnodip Kundu, died after falling from the second-floor balcony of the varsitys main hostel on August 9. His family alleged that he was a victim of ragging, evoking condemnation and outrage across the state. Hitting back at the minister over his remark in the Assembly, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul told ANI, "How can the Governor be responsible (for the JU incident)? He only took charge recently while (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee and the TMC have been in power for 12 years. Were they not aware that ragging was going on unabated at Jadavpur University? Students, who passed out from the university five years ago, are still occupying hostel rooms. Didn't they know all this?" Claiming that the Trinamool government only knows how to shift the blame on others, the BJP MLA added, "That's what Education Minister Bratya Basu did inside the Assembly today." She said, "If they have courage, let them brief the House on what measures have been taken to boost security on campus following the JU incident. But they won't as they know that they have done nothing." Meanwhile, the Education minister, at a meeting earlier in the day, said vice-chancellors of universities should have at least 10 years of experience in their chosen fields. "The Governor has been employing a pick-and-choose method to select vice-chancellors. Who are these VCs (being picked by the Governor)? Some are being brought from outside Bengal, some are saying they are retired IAS officers while some others are saying they are retired judges. A vice-chancellor should have at least 10 years of experience in his or her chosen field," the TMC spokesperson said. As many as 12 people have been arrested in connection with the JU student death case to date. Earlier, a four-member fact-finding committee was formed by the state government in light of the student's death. The committee was asked to submit its report within two weeks. (ANI)
Ahead of the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the Moon, astronomer Priya Hasan said the previous lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 has helped the ongoing mission. Speaking to ANI, she explained how the orbiter of the Chandrayaan-2, which is still orbiting around the moon, will help the crucial part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. So what happens in a soft landing is that the lander lands at a very large speed of about 6,000 km per hour. Suddenly, it has to be braked and dropped onto the surface. Now, we know the surface is full of craters...For Chandrayaan-2, also, a lot of things were done to ensure that, but obviously it did not work out. I mean, it did not work. It finally crashed onto the surface, she told ANI. And (now) the good advantage we have is that the orbiter has been working since 2019. And what the orbiter basically did, it has very well mapped up the whole surface of the Moon. We didn't have such perfect maps of the Moon earlier. Now we have that, thanks to Chandrayaan-2. And Chandrayaan-3 is basically going to complete the task of Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-3 does not have an orbiter because the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is still functional, she added. In a significant development, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter which was orbiting around the moon established a two-way connection with the lander module of Chandrayaan-3 on Monday. Welcome, buddy! Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM (lander module). Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX (Mission Operations Complex) has now more routes to reach the LM, ISRO had said. Growing up in Mumbai, Priya went to the erstwhile USSR to pursue her Integrated Masters in Physics at Moscow State University, Russia. She did her PhD in Astronomy at Osmania University, Hyderabad(2004). She did an Indo-French post-doctoral research project at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India (2004-2006) and worked as DST-Women Scientist in Osmania University (2006-2009).She taught at the Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad (2010-2015) and joined Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad in 2015. Speaking of Russias Luna-25 spacecraft which crashed into the mission in failure, she explained how difficult is the landing. So that's basically an indicator of how difficult this (landing) job is, she explained. So we are excited, but obviously at the same time also worried because it's a difficult job. We've learned from our mistakes. So, as I said, we have a better map of the surface. They've done things to strengthen the legs of the rover and do various things so it can do this job better. But obviously, it's a very complicated manoeuvre. It's the most crucial part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Sending it was not a problem because ISRO knows how to do that very well. So launching and all was not crucial or even getting it into lunar orbit was not crucial. The crucial part is tomorrow, she said. And like I said since there are many manoeuvres which will take place at that time (landing time). So let's hope because there are many things that can go wrong. Let's hope everything goes well, she added. She also delved into the fact that space programs of other big countries are backed by huge budgets in comparison to India. If you see the kind of budgets that ISRO works on in all these programs. ISRO has a budget which is like ten times lesser than the budget of other big countries, she said After Russia's Luna-25 mission failed, all eyes will be on India as its Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday), around 1804 IST. In its latest update on Chandrayaan-3 soft landing, ISRO meanwhile said the mission is on schedule and systems are undergoing regular checks. The live telecast of the landing operations will begin at 5:20 PM IST on Wednesday. Live actions of landing will be available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 5:27 PM IST on Aug 23, 2023. Along with the missions update, ISRO also released images of the moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km. These images assist the lander module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map. Notably, the 'Vikram' lander module of the spacecraft successfully separated from the propulsion module on Thursday, and subsequently underwent crucial deboosting manoeuvres and descended to a slightly lower orbit. The Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai (19191971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme. A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moons surface. It has been a month and eight days since the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradeshs Sriharikota. The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission, are safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover moving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments. India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole. (ANI)
Working towards the creation of three new Theatre Commands, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday began deliberations with top Military Commanders from the three services about nuances of Maritime Theatre Command and the related issues in the maritime domain. The meeting of the Chief of Defence Staff with the Commands deployed in the peninsular and Island territories of the country comes a few weeks after he had held a similar meeting with Military Commanders responsible for securing the borders with China. "CDS is meeting the senior Military Commanders from the three services including the Andaman and Nicobar Command, Southern Air and Naval Commands, and Navys Western and Eastern Commands to discuss the future structures and responsibilities of the Maritime Theatre Command being created to tackle the threats from that domain," top government sources said. The Maritime Theatre Command is envisaged to be responsible for tackling threats and security challenges from all sides encompassing the entire Indian Ocean and Pacific region where the activities of the Chinese military have increased in the last many years. The meetings involving top military commanders are taking place when the CDS is in the advanced stages of strengthening integration and jointness among the defence forces for setting up three new Theatre Commands which will look after threats from the Northern front, the Western front and the maritime domain. The top leadership of the country created the office of the Chief of Defence Staff over three years ago to enhance jointness and integration among the defence forces for tackling the threat from adversaries in future in a more robust way including the capabilities in both Cyber and Space domains. The Department of Military Affairs has been mulling over multiple issues including the one that whether the heads of these new formations should be three-star generals or four-star ones. Most of the suggestions in this regard have been in favour of appointing four-star officers to head these formations as the Theatre Commanders would have many Commander-in-Chief rank officers under them and it would be better that a four-star officer leads them to avoid issues over seniority amongst them and have proper command and control structures in place. It is also being felt that if the Theatre Commanders are at the three-star rank, the interference of their respective services headquarters may continue in their functioning. The Chief of Defence Staff along with the Service Chiefs is also ironing out issues of integration and looking at having common rules for discipline, intelligence gathering and operations. Studies have also been ordered under senior military officers to integrate intelligence gathering, common operations directorate, training, maintenance and logistics. The DMA is also looking at significant savings with the creation of new formations as a number of existing formations at the Services Headquarters level will get optimised with the raising of new centralised Tri-Services Commands. The CDS has been working towards achieving consensus amongst the three Service Chiefs regarding important policy aspects related to the Theatre Commands. The Chiefs are also moving ahead as per the government directives towards a joint and integrated future recently the Air Force Chief visited the Army Air Defence College in Gopalpur, Odisha and the Naval airfield near Visakhapatnam. The Navy Chief also met the senior JCOs of the Three Services as part of the efforts to promote a Tri-Service culture among the forces.The Navy has also started a service-neutral campaign to invite youth to join the forces from Hind Mahasagar to the Himalayas and Kutch to Kohima in this direction. As part of promoting the Tri-Service culture in the forces, the services are having cross postings of personnel from one force to the other as recently Army officers from Air Defence units are getting posted to the Air Force Surface to Air Missile (SAM) Squadrons. The joint acquisition of weapon systems has already started in the Armed Forces with the case of procurement of Predator drones from the US to be followed up by the Medium Altitude Long Endurance drones being next on the agenda. The Services will also have joint maintenance of their equipment like the Helicopters, Small Arms, Aircraft etc to make significant savings both monetarily as well as in time. (ANI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Canada-based NRI Rahul Gangal in the ongoing case related to defence espionage from Delhi on Tuesday. According to the CBI official, the agency has been tracking Rahul Gangals movements for several months. The accused arrived in India last week from Canada, where he obtained permanent resident status. After his arrival, his movements were tracked, and his place of stay in Delhi was located. Searches were conducted at the premises of the accused, which led to the recovery of incriminating documents and digital devices. A scrutiny of these documents and devices allegedly revealed the possession and sharing of incriminating secret documents by him with another accused (a journalist), an official said. The arrested accused was produced today before the competent court in Delhi and he was remanded to four days of police custody. An earlier investigation had revealed that the said accused had allegedly transmitted sensitive defence documents to another accused. (A journalist was earlier arrested in this case on May 17, 2023). The CBI registered the said case on December 9, 2022, against an accused on the allegations that the accused was involved in the illegal collection of sensitive information, including minute details of the DRDO defence projects and their progress, sensitive details about the future procurement of Indian armed forces, which reveal the strategic preparedness of the countrys classified communications/ information relating to national security, details of the strategic and diplomatic talks of India with friendly countries, and sharing such classified information with intelligence agencies of foreign countries, they added. Searches were earlier conducted at 15 locations in NCR and Jaipur, which led to the recovery of 48 electronic devices, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, hard discs, pen drives, etc., belonging to the named accused in the FIR and others associated with the said accused, during searches. Besides, a number of incriminating documents relating to Indian defence establishments have also been seized, they said. The data stored in cloud based accounts / emails / social media accounts belonging to the accused / others has also been recovered by digital forensic experts at the CBI. It was also alleged that the accused and his associate (an ex-Navy Commander presently working with a private firm) were in possession of classified secret documents related to Indian defence establishments. Both accused were arrested in May 2023, an official said. A Complaint or final report was also filed on July 12, 2023, against said Journalist and his Associate (an ex-Navy Commander). Both are in Judicial Custody, they said. (ANI)
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Tuesday emphasized that in matters related to public interest, the better approach is to take decisions after considering every aspect. While addressing the valedictory session of the 9th CPA Conference, which was organised in Udaipur, Rajasthan, Mishra acknowledged the time-consuming nature of parliamentary procedures but said that such deliberations ensure thoughtful decision-making on many occasions. He stressed the importance of adhering to the principles of the Constitution and upholding democracy's core values. Reflecting on the role of the Rajya Sabha and legislative bodies, he stressed on their role in representing citizens and their role in shaping the nation's progress. Highlighting India as the world's largest democracy, the Governor of Rajasthan acknowledged the vital role of strong parliamentary institutions in upholding democratic values and human rights. "Constitution is supreme in our country and it cannot be arbitrarily disregarded while following it. The beauty of democracy lies in the fact that even though there might be a majority, the Constitution prevents anyone from acting arbitrarily," the Rajasthan Governor said. "Democracy is strengthened by these constitutional institutions, which prioritize principles like civic equality, secularism, freedom and fraternity. They work not for the benefit of a single individual but for the broader public good, making decisions that are in the interest of the people as a whole," he added. Mishra further said that Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies and Legislative Councils are sacred institutions. "Their significant role lies in governing to ensure the security of citizens, education for all, healthcare and appropriate facilities through elected governments. This advancement propels the nation forward and fosters its development," he said. The Governor said that the CPA conference in Udaipur is a unique platform for discussing democracy and related institutions in the context of contemporary issues. The conference touched upon the empowerment of democracy and governance in the digital age, emphasizing the role of constitutional bodies and lawmakers in strengthening the nation's future. Mishra said that just two days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made significant announcements regarding 'Digital India' while discussing an integrated digital foundational framework in the country. "I understand that this will facilitate automation and e-strengthening of parliamentary institutions," he said. "Parliament and the Rajya Sabha represent people from all over the country. When individuals from different linguistic backgrounds express their opinions there, the creation of the language-translation platform 'Bhashini' will prove to be very useful. This will serve to enhance mutual understanding and camaraderie among members of constitutional institutions as well," Governor added. Governor Mishra also highlighted the challenges posed by artificial intelligence to democracy, expressing his belief that while technology is a tool, its implementation within constitutional bodies can help mitigate its negative consequences. He praised the move towards web-based software for legislative work and e-governance, which has been adopted by several states including Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, aiming to enhance transparency and accessibility. Mishra concluded by quoting Dr B. R. Ambedkar's view on the parliamentary system, stating that it is a unique framework that encompasses all aspects of governance and plays a pivotal role in ensuring unity and integrity within the nation. He urged parliamentarians and constitutional authorities to prioritize the welfare of the people and strengthen the ideals set forth by the Constitution. It is notable that the 9th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference was organised in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The conference served as a platform to discuss serious challenges facing legislators and reflect on the role of legislative bodies in promoting good governance. The two topics, i.e. "How to make public representatives more effective/efficient in encouraging good governance through digital empowerment"; and "Role of public representatives in strengthening the nation through democratic institutions" discussed in this conference. (ANI)
The Supreme Court will hear on August 25 the plea of the Tamil Nadu Government on the Cauvery River water-sharing dispute where the State has sought direction to Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of water daily for standing crops. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra will hear the application on Friday. On August 21, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that it will constitute a bench to hear the case after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, sought an urgent hearing of the case. The matter has been a controversial issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for decades and they have been locked in a battle over the sharing of water from the Cauvery River, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for millions of people in the region. The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry with respect to the water-sharing capacities. The government of Tamil Nadu has approached the apex court seeking fresh directions on the release of water. Tamil Nadu in its fresh application sought direction to the State of Karnataka to immediately release 24,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) from its reservoirs and ensure the availability of the specified quantity of water at Biligundlu on the inter-State border for the remainder of the month for meeting the pressing demands of the standing crops. It also urged the top court to direct Karnataka to ensure the release of 36.76 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) stipulated for September 2023 as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT)s final award of February 2007 that was modified by the Supreme Court in 2018. Tamil Nadu said that Karnataka should make good the shortfall of 28.849 TMC water during the current irrigation year for the period between June 1 to July 31. It further asked the apex court to direct the Cauvery Water Management Authority to ensure that the directions issued to Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu were fully implemented and the stipulated monthly releases during the remaining period of the current water year are fully given effect to by the State of Karnataka. The application said that a direction was given to Karnataka on August 10 to release from its reservoirs 15,000 cusecs at Billigundulu on August 11 for 15 days. Unfortunately, even this quantum of water was arbitrarily reduced to 10,000 cusecs by the CWMA in its 22nd meeting held on August 11 at the instance of Karnataka. Regretfully, even this amount of 10,000 cusecs to be ensured at Billigundulu by releasing such quantum of water from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs has not been complied with by Karnataka, it added. Karnataka failed to fully implement the directions for the release of the stipulated quantum of 10,000 cusecs (0.864 TMC per day) as directed by CWRC, it said. Karnataka is duty-bound to release the Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as per the final order passed by the Tribunal as modified by this Court, the application stated. (ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sounded an alarm on raids that are being carried out by central investigative agencies in the state, and queried what if officials kept an "explosive" in somebody house on the pretext of investigating. "I have a security problem. These agency officials break open locks to carry out raids if no one is present at the location. Let us imagine a situation. What if they place an explosive? Can anyone guarantee that?... What if they secretively keep a gun? Can anyone guarantee that they are not bringing in some crores in cash in secret?...This (raids) cannot be legal," the West Bengal Chief Minister said. Mamata Banerjee was attending a coordination meeting with organizers of Durga Puja in Netaji Indore Stadium here on Tuesday. Mamata said that her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee had returned two days ago to the city and "babus" (ED officials) were sent to various places to conduct "searching". "My boy (Abhishek) returned two days ago and they have already sent babus (ED officials) for searching," she said. Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mamata Banerjee said that the central government had attempted to collect "income tax" from Durga Puja committees. "They tried taking income tax from puja committees. They are taking GST from Bengal people. GST needs to be paid even if you buy a single 'nokuldana' (sugar balls). Someday they will charge GST from clubs. They do not know that there is something called humanity, culture which cannot be taken away," Mamata Banerjee said. Speaking about unity among various religions, Mamata Banerjee said, "Festivals are for individual, religion is for everyone. My parents have not taught me not to visit on Eid, not to visit gurudwaras, Jain mandirs, Gujarat mandirs..." The Bengal Chief Minister also pointed out that there are many Muslims who organise Durga Pujas. "Many Muslims give water, extend help...Do you have any idea how many Durga Puja committee presidents are Muslims...," she said. Speaking about ensuring security during Durga Puja, Mamata Banerjee said, "Many folk artists like those playing dhak, dhamsa will be coming during Puja. 40,000 Durga pujas are celebrated in the state, approximately 1000 pujas are celebrated in Kolkata alone." "Police should stay alert 24/7, they should pay special attention to women's security. Puja clubs should maintain security with the help of volunteers. Durga Puja will be celebrated in peace...Police should make sure that the airport is not disturbed," she added. The West Bengal Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 70,000 grant to each puja committee, which was increased from Rs 60,000 last year. She said that she will request the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation and West Bengal State Electric Development Corporation Limited to offer two third concessions to the puja committees. (ANI)
Farmers of Pimpalgaon in Maharashtra's Nashik district said that they are grateful to the Central Government for procuring an additional two lakh tonnes of onion from Maharashtra but the government needs to think about B-grade and C-grade quality onions as well. "I'm grateful to the central government for this decision. This price has been given for the A-grade onions, but the farmers have B-grade and C-grade quality onions as well. They should think about it too," one of the farmers, Sunil Haribabu More said on Tuesday. Speaking about the decision taken by the government on imposing 40 per cent tax on onion exports, Sunil Haribabu More said, "The government has declared a 40 per cent tax on export if the government thinks something about it and reduces it. Then businessmen will also buy onions at a good price..." Earlier in the day, the Chairman of the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF) Vishal Singh said that they have opened centres at 13 places in Maharashtra and will start two centres in Madhya Pradesh as well. "We have opened our centres at 13 places in Maharashtra and we will start two centres in MP also...We will buy onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal...," NCCF Chairman Vishal Singh said. Earlier in the day, in a joint press conference with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde welcomed the steps taken by the central government to procure an additional two lakh tonnes of onion from farmers in the state. The central government started the procurement of an additional two lakh tonnes of onion from farmers in Maharashtra on Tuesday. The decision to procure this additional stock comes as a relief to Maharashtra's farmers. The announcement of the start of procurement was made after a meeting between Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde in Delhi. The central government always works in the best interest of farmers and buys their produce from time to time NCCF and NAFED on the direction of the Central Government had procured 3 lakh tonne onions from various parts of Maharashtra, which in the process increased the prices. To create a balance between farmers and consumers, the government has imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions. This is to ensure domestic availability, Goyal told ANI. (ANI)
River drains are in spate in many districts of Uttarakhand, due to heavy rains since Monday night.

Pauri's Senior Superintendant of Police Shweta Choubey has appealed to people to get information about the weather and routes before travelling. She said that due to heavy rains, the river drains in the district were in spate.

A car stuck in the river was washed away in the strong current of water today morning in Kotdwar of Pauri district.

Shweta Choubey told ANI, "There was no casualty but a car got washed away in the strong current of the river."

Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Centre has asked all district magistrates to take precautions in their respective districts in view of the possibility of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar, officials said.

Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Centre is part of Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier forecast heavy rains in several Uttarakhand districts including Dehradun.

Heavy rains in Uttarakhand triggered landslides and flash floods in several places.

Dehradun India Meteorological Department Director Bikram Singh issued a two-day red alert in Uttarakhand on August 22.

He said the state will witness very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the coming days two to three days.

The IMD had issued an orange alert for Dehradun, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat and Bageshwar districts while a yellow alert has been issued for Haridwar, Tehri, Chamoli, Udham Singh Nagar and Pithoragarh districts.

An official estimate earlier put the toll from rain-related incidents in the state at 52 while 37 people were reported to have sustained injuries. (ANI)
The Apex Court of Pakistan has scheduled the hearing date of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman in the Toshakhana case on August 23, following the appeals made by the former prime minister Imran Khan against his conviction, The Express Tribune reported on Monday. The Express Tribune is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan The Express Tribune reported that the three members bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Mandokhel, will hear the petitions. The decision of the Islamabad High Court was challenged by the PTI Chairman on August 3. The IHC had referred the matter to district and sessions judge Humayun Dilawar the judge who convicted the former premier in the case. The move prompted Imrans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to file an appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court, reported The Express Tribune. Earlier, Pakistan district and sessions court on August 5, sentenced PTI Chairman Imran Khan to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case i.e. for illegally selling state gifts and he has been disqualified from politics for a period of five years, local media reported. The PTI Chairman was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore soon after being convicted in the Toshakhana case. The court also imposed a fine of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 100,000 on Imran Khan, Geo News reported. Khan, who has expressed his disappointment over being in jail and said that he doesn't want to stay there, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. While speaking to his lawyers in the Attock jail, Imran Khan said, "Take me out of here; I don't want to remain in jail," according to the officials. The PTI Chairman Imran Khan also stated that he remains holed up inside his prison cell in "distressing" conditions, as per the sources. (ANI)
A British nurse was on Monday sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of an early release for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at the UK hospital where she worked, according to CNN. The nurse, Lucy Letby, 33, was handed a whole life order by Manchester Crown Court in northern England. This implies that she will never be released. Letby refused to appear in the dock, prompting calls for laws to be changed so that defendants must attend their sentencing hearings. Letby was found guilty by the jury on Friday. Justice James Goss while explaining why he decided that Letby must spend the rest of her life in prison, said: This was a cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children. As per CNN, the judge addressed Letby as if she was in court during the sentencing. He ordered his remarks and the victim impact statements read in court earlier in the day to be handed to the convicted serial killer. There was a deep malevolence bordering on sadism. During the course of this trial, you have coldly denied any responsibility for your wrongdoing. You have no remorse. There are no mitigating factors, he said, according to CNN. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday condemned Letby for failing to appear in court. I think its cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear first-hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones, PA Media reported. Letby attacked babies in her care by administering air into their blood and stomachs, overfeeding them with milk, physically assaulting them and poisoning them with insulin, CNN reported. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a four-day visit to South Africa and Greece. In South Africa, PM Modi will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modi said that BRICS has been actively engaged in fostering a robust collaboration agenda across diverse sectors, and serves as a platform to deliberate upon issues of significance for the entire Global South. PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg". "BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism" This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The PM further said: During my stay in Johannesburg, I will also participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event. This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th BRICS Summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme Brics Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue. This is being organised after the BRICS Summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa. From South Africa, the PM will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, the PM said, according to the release. Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, the PM said on the civilizational ties between India and Greece. I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, he said. (ANI)
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Johannesburg, the Indian diaspora is not only excited but also hopeful of India helping South Africa in several sectors including health, and green energy. The Indian diaspora is waiting for PM Modis arrival in Johannesburg and is eager to take part in his anticipated interaction with them. Alpha Mehta, a native of Vadodara, has been residing in South Africa for the past 25 years and is working in the diamond business. She told ANI that in the mining industry already India and South Africa share great ties and India is also the biggest buyer. Mehta said that PM Modis visit to Johannesburg will help improve the relations further adding, India can also help South Africa in the health and green energy sectors. We are overwhelmed to welcome PM Modi, the businesswoman said. Another resident, Vibha Sharma, who is living in Johannesburg for the past 27 years extended her welcome to PM Modi. We are very happy and excited to welcome PM Modi here, she said. On being asked how the relations will improve further with PM Modis visit, Sharma said that last time when PM Modi came, a lot changed. Not to forget, Indian companies like TATA, Mahindra, and Vedanta are already contributing to the South African community. I am sure this visit will also help further the economy of both countries, she added. Moreover, other members of the Indian community said that PM Modis visit to the BRICS Summit will be highly beneficial for the Indian community, adding that the BRICS Summit holds the potential of enhancing bilateral trade and cooperation between South Africa and India. CEO of Concept Digicom Srishti Sumani said, "PM Modi's visit to South Africa is going to be a highly beneficial one because there are a lot of Indian communities here in South Africa, lots of expat Indians as well. The group of nations known as BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa represents a quarter of the worlds economy. She said, The Indian culture is just growing... I feel like all of his speeches and his thoughts are very futuristic and it's going to really help the Indian community here...We are excited about PM Modi's visit. We are going to organise a 'Rakhi' ceremony as well for PM Modi..." CEO of Alfeco Group Sachin Ahuja said " Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit is going to add to all the bilateral trade, and other agreements which are going to be beneficial for both countries- South Africa and India." We all welcome him... BRICS summit provides a platform for all the developing nation to boost their bilateral trade. If you look at the participant countries, they represent 60 per cent of the trade of the world. So we are quite optimistic that BRICS can provide a formidable platform for trade... he said. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa and is organising the first face-to-face summit since 2019 in Johannesburg. South Africa became Chair of BRICS on January 1 under the theme: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism." During his visit to South Africa, PM Modi will also participate in a special event "BRICS Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue" being organized after the BRICS Summit, which will include other nations invited by South Africa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in a press release. After wrapping up the BRICS meeting, PM Modi will travel to Greece on August 25. During his visit, he will hold a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis and discuss ways to further deepen the ties between the two nations. He will also interact with business leaders from both countries. He will also have an interaction with the Indian community in Greece. (ANI)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday landed in the South African city of Johannesburg to take part in the 15th BRICS Summit. As Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the summit via videoconference, Lavrov will personally represent Russia at the BRICS Summit. The Russian diplomat's aircraft touched down at the South African Air Force facility in Waterkloof, just like on his trip to Pretoria in January. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, will take part in the summit via videoconference. The Russian leader will brief the attendees on a variety of topics, including the goals of Russia's association presidency in 2024. Earlier, the South African government granted diplomatic immunity to all international participants, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, at BRICS-related events to be held in the country, as per local media. "Immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage, and, in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their capacity as representatives, immunity from legal process of every kind," the document reads. A warrant for Putin's arrest was issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in March, and since South Africa is a member of the formation, it is obliged to arrest Putin when he is in the country. Despite this, South Africa, as the current chair of the BRICS alliance, has officially invited Putin to the summit in August. The largest gathering of heads of state and government from the Global South in recent years will take place during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 2224. The 15th BRICS Summit's Johannesburg Declaration will include the final agreements, according to the Kremlin press office, as reported by Russian news agency TASS. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening, while the Chinese president Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Lula da Silva have arrived in Johannesburg. The BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa and is organising the first face-to-face summit since 2019 in Johannesburg. South Africa became Chair of BRICS on January 1 under the theme: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism." During his visit to South Africa, PM Modi will also participate in a special event "BRICS Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue" being organized after the BRICS Summit, which will include other nations invited by South Africa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in a press release. (ANI)
Security arrangements have been tightened at places near the convention centre and the city is decked up with posters and banners of the BRICS Summit.

Tall digital screens featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also been setup across the South African city, showcasing PM Modis global popularity. Around 10 such screens are placed across Johannesburg.

PM Modi will be arriving in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening to attend the BRICS Summit.

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Lula da Silva have arrived in Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, Executive Director, Vedanta Africa operations, Pushpender Singla expressed his excitement about PM Modis arrival in South Africa.

He told ANI, "...We are very excited about PM Modi's arrival in South Africa...I am looking forward that how our company Vedanta can also play a bigger part to bring South Africa and India together by bringing a lot of synergy in the business...The opportunities between South Africa and India are huge..."

The BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa and is organising the first face-to-face summit since 2019 in Johannesburg.

South Africa became Chair of BRICS on January 1 under the theme: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism."

During his visit to South Africa, PM Modi will also participate in a special event "BRICS Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue" being organized after the BRICS Summit, which will include other nations invited by South Africa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in a press release. (ANI)
Foreign Minister Park made these remarks during his meeting with Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri.

Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri called on Foreign Minister Park Jin of South Korea on Tuesday. Both reiterated the strong desire to further strengthen and enhance multifaceted bilateral relations.

Foreign Minister Park mentioned that President Yoon is looking forward to his first visit to India to participate in the G20 Summit in September and the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

Both agreed that Critical and Emerging Technologies is an area where both countries can enhance collaborations.

Deputy NSA Misri is in Seoul for the Fourth India- RoK Strategic Dialogue at the Deputy NSA- level. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still our brother and these are 'Rakhis' of protection for him, said an Indian diaspora member who prepared a 'Rakhi' Thali to welcome the Prime Minister in South Africa. Yashika Singh, the Indian community member who is also a media personnel of South African Broadcasting Corporation said that through the gesture of tying 'Rakhi' to Prime Minister Modi upon his arrival in Johannesburg, she, and the entire Indian community would like to remind him that "he is still our brother." "...The first rakhi is in the shape of Lord Ganesha. We pray that all obstacles are removed for PM Modi in his work. The second rakhi is in the shape of Kurma avatar...We would like to remind him that he is still our brother and these are rakhis of protection for him," Yashika Singh told ANI. Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Arthi Nanakchand Shanand, President of Arya Samaj South Africa, who will tie a 'Rakhi' to PM Modi in Johannesburg said that PM Modi sees the world as 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -One earth, one family. She said, "PM Modi is more like a father figure than a brother figure to us. I feel his presence here makes us feel that we belong...PM Modi sees the world as 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -One earth, one family. With his learnings from the Vedas, he is going to make a big change in South Africa.." Other than Arthi Nanakchand Shanand, a South African national will also tie a 'Rakhi' to PM Modi. Regarding the same, the South African national told ANI, "We have the utmost respect for PM Modi ji because he has certainly contributed towards many changes that will benefit not only India but also South Africa." PM Modi departed for South Africa earlier today, where he will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modisaid that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present inJohannesburg". "BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, andSouth Africa. The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency ofSouth Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism." This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. FromSouth Africa, the PM will travel to Athens,Greeceon Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister ofGreece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (ANI)
Members of the Indian community are waiting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival to welcome him with 'dhols' outside Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. The members of the Indian diaspora gathered inside the hotel in Johannesburg on his arrival on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the South African city of Johannesburg on Tuesday as he kickstarted the first leg of his two-nation visit. "It is an honour indeed to be in the presence of the Prime Minister. He is a wonderful man and my hero," says a woman of Indian origin in Johannesburg, South Africa. "PM Modi is taking India to new heights, so we welcome him here, said another Indian community member in South Africa, eagerly waiting for PM Modi at the hotel. PM Modi was welcomed by the Deputy President of South Africa Paul Shipokosa Mashatile at the airport. Moreover, a ceremonial welcome was also accorded to PM Modi. Following that, the South African dancers recieved Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a traditional dance performance. After receiving a grand welcome, PM Modi walked towards the members of the Indian diaspora who converged to welcome him. The members of the Indian diaspora could be heard chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', and 'Vande Matram'. Notably, PM Modi is in South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. Upon arrival at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, the Prime Minister received a ceremonial welcome. PM Modi will be addressing the BRICS business forum later today. Earlier Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that a business delegation from India is also travelling to the country to attend the Business Tracks meetings. "For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum" said Kwatra. The BRICS Business Leaders forum dialogue is taking place at Sandton Convention Centre later today. The programme director for the same is Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, South Africa, Ebrahim Patel. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa and is organising the first face-to-face summit since 2019 in Johannesburg. South Africa became Chair of BRICS on January 1 under the theme: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism." (ANI)
Notably, PM Modi is in South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.

Upon arrival at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, the Prime Minister received a ceremonial welcome.

Moreover, the members of the Indian diaspora could be heard chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Vande Matram' as PM Modi landed in Johannesburg.

The largest gathering of heads of state and government from the Global South in recent years will take place during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 2224.

BRICSis a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia,India,China, andSouth Africa.

The 15thBRICSSummit'sJohannesburgDeclaration will include the final agreements, according to the Kremlin press office, as reported by Russian news agency TASS.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Lula da Silva have arrived in Johannesburg.This will be Prime Minister Modi's third visit to South Africa.

The trip also marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between IndiaandSouth Africa.

The Prime Minister will also interact with the Indian diaspora members in South Africa.

After the interaction, PM Modi will be addressing the BRICS business forum later today. During a special presser yesterday, Foreign Secretary Kwatra stated that a business delegation from India is also travelling to the country to attend the Business Tracks meetings.

Sharing further details about PM Modi's trip, Kwatra said, "For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum."

"The Prime Minister's schedule in terms of bilateral meetings with those leaders who would be present inSouth Africais still being developed," he added.

The BRICS Business Leaders forum dialogue is taking place at Sandton Convention Centre today. The programme director for the same is Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, South Africa, Ebrahim Patel.

This year'sBRICSis under the presidency of South Africa and is organising the first face-to-face summit since 2019 inJohannesburg.

South Africa became Chair of BRICS on January 1 under the theme: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism." (ANI)
During the visit, Muraleedharan will hold high-level discussions with Kuwaiti Ministers and dignitaries.

He will also interact with various Indian community organisations and a wide cross-section of members of the community including from the fields of business, health, education, a Ministry of External Affairs release said.

India and Kuwait share historically warm and close bilateral ties and the relationship has been nourished by sustained cultural and civilizational linkages.There are around one million Indians in Kuwait.

India is amongst the largest trading partners of Kuwait and the Gulf country is a major supplier of oil.

The bilateral trade reached an all-time high of USD 13.8 billion in the last financial year.

This visit is expected to further deepen the strong partnership between the two countries, the release said. (ANI)
Women members of the Indian diaspora in South Africa's Johannesburg tied 'Rakhi' to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they welcomed him to the country on Tuesday. Arya Samaj South Africa President Arthi Nanakchand Shanand and a member of the Indian community along with Dr Sarres Padayachee, an author and Cultural Custodian tied 'Rakhi' to the Prime Minister. Out of the two, Padayachee is a South African citizen as she was born here. Ahead of PM Modi's arrival in South Africa, Arthi Nanakchand Shanand, President of Arya Samaj South Africa, earlier today had said that the PM sees the world as 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -One earth, one family. She said, "PM Modi is more like a father figure than a brother figure to us. I feel his presence here makes us feel that we belong...PM Modi sees the world as 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -One earth, one family. With his learnings from the Vedas, he is going to make a big change in South Africa.." Moreover, Padayachee, while speaking to ANI said, "We have the utmost respect for PM Modi ji because he has certainly contributed towards many changes that will benefit not only India but also South Africa." Not only the Indian community tied 'Rakhi' but Prime Minister Narendra Modi also received a very special spiritual welcome in South Africa today. PM Modi arrived in South Africa earlier today, where he will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modisaid that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present inJohannesburg". "BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, andSouth Africa.The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will bePM Modi's third visit toSouth Africaand the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India andSouth Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency ofSouth Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism." This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)
The World Health Organisation (WHO), Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted that around 11 million people suffering from hypertension and diabetes are on treatment in India. Ghebreyesus stressed that earlier this year, India set the target to treat 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes by 2025. Taking to his social media handle 'X', formerly known as Twitter, Dr Ghebreyesus said, "Earlier this year, #India set a target to reach 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes on treatment by 2025. This is based on @WHO's HEARTS technical package of interventions. This is the largest expansion of care for #noncommunicablediseases the world has seen." "Nearly 11 million people on treatment," the tweet added. https://twitter.com/drtedros/status/1693916248558510175?s=46&t=CaS1JqRQMT7Q25SSV16HeQ The tweet further said that more than 50 million with National Health ID cards are linked to the Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) portal. It also emphasized that 132 million people have been screened for hypertension, diabetes or cancer to date. Whereas, 150 million people screened through the e-Sanjeevani telemedicine platform through 188,000 providers. "132 million people screened for hypertension, diabetes or cancer. 150 million people served through the e-Sanjeevani telemedicine platform, through 188K providers," he added. Moreover, he said that out of 36 State and Union Territories, 27 had developed a treatment protocol for hypertension. "27 States/Union Territories (out of 36) have developed a treatment protocol for hypertension, and 17 have a treatment protocol for diabetes, based on HEARTS," it said. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched an initiative to screen and place 75 million people with hypertension or diabetes on Standard Care by 2025. "This announcement was made at a G20 co-branded event Accelerating the Prevention and Management of Hypertension and Diabetes which was organized jointly by the Union Health Ministry in collaboration with the WHO Country office in India to mark World Hypertension Day, 2023," a statement by World Health Organization said. To mark World Hypertension Day, Union Health Ministry on May 17 launched an ambitious initiative of screening and putting 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes on Standard Care by 2025. The '75/25' initiative was announced by Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog at the G20 co-branded event titled "Accelerating the Prevention and Management of Hypertension and Diabetes", organized by Union Health Ministry and World Health Organization (WHO) as part of World Hypertension Day. According to an official release, the Outcome Budget document of Union Budget 2023-2024 has for the first time introduced hypertension and diabetes treatment as output indicators reflecting the government's commitment to scale-up hypertension and diabetes coverage services. In her virtual address, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Director, WHO-SEARO also congratulated the Govt of India for launching ambitious healthcare initiatives. She applauded India's commitment to primary healthcare and highlighted the operationalization of more than 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres as a significant achievement. She also urged countries in the Southeast Asia region to create a new and effective regional roadmap to accelerate NCD control. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected a model of the Swaminarayan Temple in Johannesburg, South Africa, the construction of which will be completed by 2025. The temple is built on a 14.5-acre size plot of land, housing a 34,000 square metre cultural centre, 3000 seater auditorium, 2000 seater banquet hall, a research institute, classrooms, exhibition and recreational centres, among others. The under-construction temple once completed by 2025 will be the largest Hindu temple in Africa and Southern Hemisphere. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning embarked on a four-day visit to South Africa and Greece. In South Africa, PM Modi will attend the 15th BRICS Summit inJohannesburgfrom August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. Upon his arrival in Johannesburg, he was warmly welcomed by Deputy President of South Africa, Paul Shipokosa Mashatile, at the airport. A ceremonial welcome was also accorded to Prime Minister Modi. Following that, the South African dancers received Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a traditional dance performance. After receiving a grand welcome, PM Modi walked towards the members of the Indian diaspora who converged to welcome him. He also received a rousing welcome from the Indian diaspora chanting 'Vande Mataram' as he arrived at Sandton Sun Hotel here on Tuesday. Members of the Indian community were waiting forPM Modi's arrival to welcome him with 'dhols' outside Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg,South Africa. This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.PM Modi said that BRICS has been actively engaged in fostering a robust collaboration agenda across diverse sectors, and serves as a platform to deliberate upon issues of significance for the entire Global South. PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present inJohannesburg". "BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement before the departure. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism." (ANI)
In a special message at the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that mutual trust and transparency can help create a big impact, especially in the global south. In his address at the forum, PM Modi said, "Today highways are being constructed at high speed. Soon, India is set to become a hub in green hydrogen, and will also become a market for renewable energy. I invite you to be part of India's journey..mutual trust and transparency can see us make a big impact, especially in the global south..." The Prime Minister said that there is a special focus being laid on public sector delivery, and in the last few years, the ease of doing business in India has improved due to the work done in the mission mode. "In the last few years, the ease of doing business in India has improved due to the work done in the mission mode...We have focused on public service delivery and good governance...Today in India UPI is used at all levels...Today among all countries in the world, India is the country with the highest digital transaction," PM Modi said at BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa. He said that investor confidence has increased after the implementation of the GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in India. "Investor confidence has increased after the implementation of GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy code in India. Defence and Space sectors opened for the private sector...With the use of technology, we have taken a leap in financial inclusion...Today, UPI is being used by street vendors to shopping malls...We are actively taking steps to make India a manufacturing hub in the areas of solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles and green hydrogen," he added. He expressed gratitude towardsSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa for inviting him and organizing the meeting. "My heartiest congratulations on the 10th anniversary of theBRICSbusiness council. In the last 10 years, theBRICSBusiness Council has played a vital role in enhancing our economic cooperation,"PM Modisaid. BRICScame as a ray of hope for the world economy in 2009 when it was first held. "In 2009, when the firstBRICSSummit was held, the world was just coming out of a massive financial crisis. At that time,BRICSemerged as a ray of hope for the global economy. In the present times also, amongst the Covid pandemic, tensions and disputes, the world is dealing with economic challenges and in such times, once again the role ofBRICSis important," he added. PM Modisaid that India has converted the crisis into an opportunity. "We have enforced reforms in mission mode, removed the red tape and have seen a boost in investor confidence." Prime Minister Modi attendedBRICSBusiness Forum Leaders' Dialogue inJohannesburg,South Africaon Tuesday. Leaders ofBRICSCountries Brazil, Russia, India, China, andSouth Africawere also present at the Business Forum. PM Modiarrived inSouth Africaearlier today, where he will attend the 15thBRICSSummit inJohannesburgfrom August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys presidentMatamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modisaid he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present inJohannesburg". "BRICShas been pursuing a solid cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value thatBRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement. TheBRICSsummit is being held from August 22-24. This will bePM Modi's third visit toSouth Africaand the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India andSouth Africa. This year'sBRICSis under the presidency ofSouth Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICSand Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism." (ANI)
Artists from diverse backgrounds have congregated in the breathtaking expanse of S Ladakh to showcase their awe-inspiring creations at an exceptional art exhibition, situated at the highest elevation in South Asia. This remarkable event commenced on August 1, 2023. Focusing on climate, culture and community, the artists have harnessed the transformative potential of their artworks to spread a crucial message to conserve our precious natural resources and to instigate a profound appreciation for nature, which has been grappling with dire climatic upheavals, including the ominous spectre of global warming. The captivating site-specific art installations, cutting-edge video projections, and sculptures are being projected against the scenic Disko valley near Leh with Aritsts delving into the interpretation of climate optimism. S Ladakh is featuring works by Ladakhi, Indian, and international artists that include Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Phillip Frank, Sharbendu De, Jigmet Angmo, Vibha Galhotra, Skarma Sonam Tashi, Tsering Gurmet Kungyam, Sagardeep Singh and Tsering Motup. Founded in 2023 by Tenzing 'Jammy' Jamyang, Raki Nikahetiya and Sagadeep Singh, s Ladakh is a pioneering initiative that brings together artists, organizations, and communities to create South Asia's highest contemporary land art exhibition at an astounding altitude of 3600m and which inspires dialogue, foster creative solutions, and empower individuals to become catalysts for change. While speaking to ANI, Artist Vibha Galhotra who has been working in India and internationally has stressed the message of having an equality between nature and the human being. I work between India and internationally. Here I am invited by S Ladakh as an artist to do a land art project because I keep showing my land art. This is a text-based work that is in continuation with work that I have done in other countries like Mongolia where I am talking about ownership. Ownership of land, earth, and water. But here seeing the situation from the last three years, as we are going through the climatic crisis. That has made me think that nature is always going to be there with or without us. This work is voice of the nature itself, which says that you are the traveller here and not me. Thats what the work is about," she said. I always think that there should be equality between nature and the human. We have imbalanced the earth, so we need to create this balance and start living together, she added. While the other artist who is also a scholar and a writer, has been working on the climate concerns through his projections and showcases the narrative about people surging in the coming future rather than showing the physical catastrophic. My primary medium is photography. But within its domain, I do more staged and constructive work. Over the last many years, I have been working on climatic concerns. So the work that I am showing here in S Ladakh is projections, said Sharbendu De. I speculate the kind of future we might be cohabiting in the wake of the global climate crisis. So rather than showing the physical catastrophic visuals, my narrative is about people surviving the coming near future, he added. On August 23rd, which also marks the closing event of S Ladakh supported by the German Embassy, artists such as Philipp Frank from Germany, internationally known for his projections in nature, will be exploring connections between spirituality and the natural world. Raki Nikahetiya, the co-founder of s Ladakh, expressed their vision, stating, Our primary focus will be on a 20-acre expanse of land, where we will delve into our interpretation of climate optimism. Through the remarkable medium of land art, our aim is to foster an inclusive dialogue on climate-related issues, engaging and inspiring communities amidst the breathtaking yet delicate Himalayan landscape. As part of a series of workshops, students from the Islamia Public School in Leh participated voluntarily, gaining valuable exposure and developing a closer affinity to learning about climate change and the environment. Our children during the summer break had participated in the workshop. I was excited more than the children. It was all on a voluntary basis which collided with the summer breaks and lot of girls and boys were keen to participate. Ours was the first school to participate in, said Stanzin Norzum, Principal of an Islamic public school while speaking to ANI. I am nowadays very happy that generations these days are keen in doing and coming to do something with the environment. For that, I am thankful to S Ladakh and local futures and they are coming and sensitising fruitful steps related to the environment and global warming which is very helpful. Environment is being affected in a wrong way, but if all of us partner together and get into things together, then todays children too are very keen towards that, she added. The land art exhibition S Ladakh is Germanys cultural contribution to Indias G20 presidency.(ANI)
US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia from September 4-7 to attend the US-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit. She will also engage with leaders from the Indo-Pacific. During the visit, the Vice President and ASEAN leaders will review the unprecedented expansion in US-ASEAN relations under the Biden-Harris Administration and the Vice President will reaffirm the United States enduring commitment to Southeast Asia and ASEAN centrality, according to a statement from the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday (US local time). Throughout these Summits and her additional engagements, will advance initiatives to promote our shared prosperity and security, including by advancing our work on the climate crisis, maritime security, infrastructure, economic growth, efforts to uphold and strengthen international rules and norms in the region, and other regional and global challenges, Pierre said. This visit marks the Vice President's third trip to Southeast Asia within the past two years. It builds upon her trips in August 2021 to Singapore and Vietnam, as well as her visit in November 2022 to Thailand and the Philippines. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden will travel to India on a four-day visit to attend the G20 Leaders Summit in September in New Delhi during which he will discuss joint efforts to tackle global issues like climate change, including the Ukraine war with member nations, the White House confirmed on Tuesday. In a statement, the White House said Biden andG20partners will also discuss clean energy transition and combating climate change increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks. Indiais set to hostG20Summiton September 9 and 10. President Joseph R Biden, Jr will travel to New Delhi,India, from September 7-10 to attend theG20LeadersSummit, the White House statement read. President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putins war in Ukraine, and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges, it added. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived at the Summer Place in Johannesburg to participate in the BRICS Leaders Retreat where the leaders of the grouping will deliberate on global developments and explore how to utilize the BRICS platform effectively to address and resolve global challenges. PM Modi was welcomed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are attending the BRICS Leaders Retreat. During the ceremony, the leaders will deliberate on global developments and on leveraging the BRICS platform to find solutions to global challenges. PM @narendramodi arrives at the Summer Place to participate in the BRICS Leaders Retreat. Warmly greeted by the host, President @CyrilRamaphosa of South Africa. PM, along with other BRICS leaders will deliberate on global developments and leveraging the BRICS platform to find solutions to global challenges, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Tuesday. During the retreat ceremony, the heads of delegations of the BRICS member states posed for a group photograph. Meanwhile, PM Modi in a special message at the BRICS Business Forum said mutual trust and transparency can help create a big impact, especially in the Global South. "There is no doubt that India will become the world's growth engine. This is because India took challenges as an oppotunity for economic reforms," he said. "With the use of technology, India has made major leaps in financial inclusion, benefiting rural women the most. In the last 9 years, people's income has almost doubled...," the Prime Minister said in the short address. "Despite the global crisis,India is still the fastest-growing major economy and will soon be a USD 5 trillion economy. From street vendors to shopping malls, UPI is being utilised because of which India now has the most amonunt of digital transactions in the world. UPI is being used everywhere in India. India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world," the Prime Minister said. Pointing to the new investment opportunities opening up in the country, PM Modi said, "Today highways are being constructed at high speed. Soon, India is set to become a hub in green hydrogen, and will also become a market for renewable energy. I invite you to be part of India's journey..mutual trust and transparency can see us make a big impact, especially in the Global South..." The Prime Minister emphasized that there is a specific emphasis on enhancing public sector performance, and over the recent years, the ease of doing business in India has improved through mission-oriented endeavors "In the last few years, the ease of doing business in India has improved due to the work done in the mission mode...We have focused on public service delivery and good governance...Today in India UPI is used at all levels...Today among all countries in the world, India is the country with the highest digital transaction,"PM Modisaid atBRICSBusiness Forum Leaders' Dialogue inJohannesburg,South Africa. Despite the attendance of counterparts such as South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi was notably absent from the event. Russia foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was present at the event . PM Modi arrived in South Africa earlier on Tuesday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modisaid he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present inJohannesburg". "BRICShas been pursuing a solid cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value thatBRICShas become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism." (ANI)
Photo: Castanet/file

I always thought the disaster route signs posted beside some of our highways indicated the route that people would take if they had to evacuate during a disaster or major emergency. I was mistaken in my belief, as these signs actually indicate routes that may only be used by emergency services consisting of police, fire, ambulance and other responders that have been issued with placards to identify their vehicles.

The idea is to provide efficient response for resources to get to where they are needed the most. Disaster routes will be the first to be cleared in the event of an emergency. Police will limit their use to emergency responders only for the duration of the incident. As soon as possible, these routes will be re-opened for use by the general public.

Identified for overhaul in 2013, the original highway priority route concept has evolved to encompass all aspects of transportation and a renaming of the system to Disaster Response Transportation (DRT). The British Columbia Disaster Response Transportation Primer helps explain DRT strategy and terminology.

Currently disaster response routes have been established in the Lower Mainland and on southern Vancouver Island.

The entire system will not be automatically activated in the event of a disaster unless it is necessary. It is possible that only one route, or part of a route, will be needed and the rest will remain available for the use of the general public. Closure is meant to be flexible according to need and may change during an incident.

Prior to 2013, authorization stickers were issued to emergency responders. These are no longer valid. Today, at minimum authorized emergency personnel will be required to show government issued photo ID and some form of employer issued ID at minimum.

If you use a disaster response route in your daily travel, learn an alternate route that you can use if an emergency is declared. Should an emergency occur, listen to the local media services for information on which routes have been activated and use the alternate until advised otherwise. You will be helping others in time of need by taking this minor inconvenience on yourself.

Drivers who use a DRT route during a disaster when they have been activated are guilty of disobeying a traffic control device under the Motor Vehicle Act. The penalty is $121 and two penalty points.

Unless there is an immediate threat to you during the disaster, the Disaster Response Route web site says you are better off to spend the first 72 hours sheltered in your home. Please visit the Provincial Emergency Program web site for more information on how to prepare to do this.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
A house owned by Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley exploded Monday night in North Carolina, killing his father and injuring another person after a suspected gas-leak explosion.

First responders said Farley's father, Robert M. Farley, 61, was found in a bedroom area of the home in the Charlotte suburb of Mooresville, according to Kent Green, Director of Fire Services and Emergency Management for Iredell County, The Tennessean reported, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Farley, 24, was not in the home when it exploded, a Titans spokesperson told the publication.

The 6,391 square foot home is a total loss, the Iredell County Emergency Management said in a news release sent to USA TODAY.

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Farley purchased the four-bedroom, four-bath home in 2022 for $2.05 million, according to property records.

Multiple local agencies investigating the house explosion

First responders were sent to the home after a report of an explosion and a house collapsing, the emergency management said.

Responders said a victim was taken to a hospital in Charlotte with non-life threatening injuries. Rescuers found another victim dead while searching through debris. The victim was later identified as Farley's father.

BEFORE & AFTER: A Mooresville home collapsed around midnight. Weve been on scene all morning working to learn what caused this home to collapse and if anyone was inside. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/1Ioqhoesbl  Almiya White (@AlmiyaWhiteTV) August 22, 2023

Multiple local agencies are investigating the cause of the explosion, including the Iredell County Fire Marshals Office, the NC State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Dominion Energy, a utility service, said they are also investigating the explosion that occurred at a customer's residence, the company told USA TODAY.

Our prayers and sympathy are with the individuals impacted by this difficult event, Dominion Energy added.

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, Derrick Henry voice supports for Farley

Farley, who is a native of Maiden, North Carolina, was drafted with the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played in nine games in 2022 before being placed on injured reserve.

"What's most important is that we do everything we can to support him, emotionally," Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said at a press conference after practice Tuesday.

"Just praying for Caleb," Titans running back Derrick Henry said. "We were probably the last ones in the locker room last night just hanging around. We just found out the news. My prayers go out to him and his family."

Farley's mother, Robin Farley, died from breast cancer in 2018.

'This is a nightmare': Pennsylvania house explosion victims remembered by family, friends

Contributing: Juan Buitrago, Kirsten Fiscus, Sandy Mazza, Nashville Tennessean

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennessee Titans player Caleb Farley's dad killed in house explosion
Russian shelling of Komyshany settlement in Kherson Oblast on Aug. 22 killed one resident and injured another, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

A 71-year-old woman was killed and a 55-year-old man was injured while walking in the street, according to the report.

The Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office said that Russian forces carried out the attack at around 11:20 a.m., most likely using artillery. Residential buildings and a gas pipe were reportedly damaged.

Kherson Oblast, which remains partially occupied since the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion, suffers regular strikes against its territory.

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During the past day and overnight, Russian attacks injured four civilians in the oblast, Prokudin said.

This included a 43-year-old man injured in the village of Zolota Balka, a 79-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man injured in the strikes against Sofiivka, and a 48-year-old man injured in the attack against Beryslav, according to local officials.

Read also: Russian attacks kill 3, injure 6 over past day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Black people are two to three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Black people are two to three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth.

It is not an exaggeration to say that pregnancy is more dangerous for Black people. Articles, data and even political task forces underscore the issue, which is formally known as the Black maternal mortality crisis.

In short, Black women have a three to four times greater risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth than white women, and for Indigenous women and birthing people that number is equally high, if not higher, said Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OB-GYN in Washington, D.C., who also works in the areas of public policy and public health advocating for reproductive justice.

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This crisis affects Black folks across education levels, economic levels and care levels, added Dr. Tracey Sylvester, an OB-GYN in California who works with the Association of Black Women Physicians.

Though this isnt a new problem  Black people have been at higher risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth for generations  its recently received more press and attention from legislators.

Its good that at least were looking at the numbers and were talking about the numbers ... the hard part, though, is as weve been watching this and seeing more attention, weve seen those numbers get worse, Sylvester said. So the intention, the money, the focus, the awareness, its not exactly turning things around because its a much bigger problem.

There is one issue thats at the core of this crisis, doctors say.

Racism is what puts Black people at heightened risk of death during pregnancy.

So much of the conversation in the past has really been focused on personal responsibility and individual behavior, this idea that Black women have higher rates because we are sicker or make poor decisions or whatever, Perritt said.

What weve seen in the last certainly decade, led by advocates and activists and organizers ... is a shift in this conversation to really be very clear that it is not because I am Black that puts me at greater risk for morbidity and mortality during pregnancy but really the racialized experiences that I have within the health care system.

And so it is racism, not race, that puts me at risk, Perritt said.

This fact is unsettling, but to any Black person, its likely not surprising. Black people should not be tasked with weighing the risk and rewards of pregnancy. Black people should not have to take extra steps to protect themselves in a racist health care system. And Black people should be able to get pregnant and enjoy the journey, just like many white people.

Unfortunately, as with the racist systems in this world, the burden falls on the marginalized.

Solutions and safety precautions should not fall on the shoulders of Black birthing people  it is not our responsibility. Whats more, we are not able to just fix the racist systems that created this problem by checking a few things off a to-do list.

But for those, like me, who look at the staggering statistics and feel consumed with anxiety and fear, it can be hard not to wonder what you can do. Ultimately and unfortunately, it is largely out of your control, but some actions and decisions are proved to help pregnancy outcomes for Black people. Heres what they are, according to Black OB-GYNs:

Seek out a health care team you trust and can talk to about the risks of pregnancy for Black people.

I think one of the biggest recommendations I have is to make sure that you have a health care team that you can trust, said Dr. Erika Simpson, an OB-GYN in California.

This should be doctors who hear you, understand what you want out of your prenatal care, your delivery and your health in general, Simpson said.

Additionally, you should feel comfortable being honest with your doctors. Its OK to directly talk about the Black maternal mortality crisis and ask how they handle the health of their Black patients.

Get their viewpoints on the maternal health crisis, get their viewpoints on taking care of Black and brown women and how they show up for that or how thats different for them, Simpson said.

Their answers can help you decide if a doctor is a good fit. If theyre not, dont be afraid to go elsewhere for your care. Sylvester stressed that its important that your health care team validates your fear. The fear about this crisis is real.

Fear is a big information blocker, and I think acknowledging that and then learning how to work beyond that, like, Yes, I might be on edge; its because Im afraid or I might be short with you  but Im afraid. Its important to acknowledge that its part of the interaction, Sylvester said.

Physicians in this space are aware of the problem, no matter their race, Sylvester said. (Unless theyre hugely out of touch, which can happen and is definitely a red flag.)

There is space for some open dialogue for women to say  what steps are you taking as a doctor to combat these statistics? What can I do to better help myself as a Black woman? Sylvester noted.

It helps to be open and honest about the crisis and get insight from your doctor. And if they do act surprised or look at you like youre overreacting, its best to find a new doc.

Studies show that being paired with a Black doctor results in better outcomes for Black birthing people.

Studies show that being paired with a Black doctor results in better outcomes for Black birthing people.

Dont be afraid to specifically ask for a Black doctor.

Just as some people request a female primary care doctor, its perfectly OK to request a Black OB-GYN.

This doesnt mean that non-Black doctors cant be a fit for a Black pregnant person  or that all Black doctors are a good fit. But data shows that when paired with a Black doctor, Black people and Black babies have better outcomes.

It goes back to representation matters. Racism in this country is a big powerful enemy, and so its really hard. I cant fix all of that, but I can know what its like to be a Black woman talking to a Black woman, Sylvester said. I dont have to fix all of racism to have that connection or that kind of understanding of the value of a Black family because I have a Black family.

Its not to say that other people dont carry those values or appreciation, but we dont have to go over all the burdens of subconscious bias and disparities when were coming from a very similar place, Sylvester added.

For this reason, she said, when possible its important to get Black folks in the care of Black doctors to help make pregnancy and childbirth safer.

Its a hard one sometimes to talk about  if thats what the data shows, I feel like we have to listen to that. We cant be evidence-based only when it sounds good or only when it makes us all feel good, Sylvester explained.

You can specifically ask your hospital for a Black doctor or search Black OB-GYN and your city to find a new doctor.

If youre able, get a doula or midwife.

When you ask why arent the numbers getting better, I also think we might not be approaching it from the right direction. Were sort of doing the same things we always have done, Sylvester said. One of the things that I think could really benefit in this space is more things like birth support workers  so things like doulas and midwives who are culturally and in-tune with Black women who are going to provide care in a different avenue.

Though the terms doula and midwife are sometimes used interchangeably, Simpson said there are big and important differences between the two.

You have doulas, which are essentially birth support folks, and these are people that can be there for you during the birth experience  a lot of them actually will start with a birthing person during the pregnancy journey [and] help them get through the pregnancy journey, Simpson said. Doulas are birth support people who attend births, can communicate with doctors on a pregnant persons behalf but generally do not have medical training, Simpson noted.

Then you have your midwives. Midwives are nurses that went for midwifery school. They deliver babies, they have medical training and you can actually see a midwife for your prenatal care if thats what you choose, Simpson said. Theres been a really big push for doulas to be part of the prenatal care journey ... to make sure the patient has someone that they feel like can advocate for them in the medical space where they may not be quite as comfortable.

Doulas and perinatal support workers who partner with pregnant folks have been shown to improve outcomes for people during their pregnancy, and peripartum and postpartum period, Perritt added.

[I]t is not because I am Black that puts me at greater risk for morbidity and mortality during pregnancy but really the racialized experiences that I have within the health care system.Dr. Jamila Perritt

So theres no question that these are beneficial people to partner with, but these services can be expensive, often upwards of $2,000, which makes them impossible for many people to obtain.

For those who cant afford it but want doula support, Sylvester said there are certain programs that offer free doulas to Black people. Here are some organizations that offer free or low-cost doulas for Black pregnant people, but each has its own set of requirements and services:

Los Angeles African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative provides free doula services to Black birthing people.

Baltimore- and Washington-based Black Doula Project provides monetary support for doula services for Black pregnant people.

New York Citys Citywide Doula Initiative provides free doula services to people who meet income and neighborhood requirements.

Frontline Doulas has a no-cost video chat and phone service for Black pregnant folks.

Its also worth checking with your doctor or local health systems to see if they know of any free or low-cost doula services you can sign up for.

[Doulas are] a great additional support person who has some education who can advocate for you, Sylvester noted.

Also, Simpson said if you want to find a Black doctor, Black or brown midwives or doulas can be great resources for finding a Black physician.

Doulas are powerful advocates who work with Black people during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

Doulas are powerful advocates who work with Black people during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

Consider bringing a loved one to your appointment.

One of the things I recommend, too, to Black women nowadays is bring somebody with you to the visit, Sylvester said.

This can be your partner, of course, or your mom, sister or best friend  whoever you think can help support you best during this journey.

As Sylvester said, fear can be an information blocker, which means you may not be fully able to listen to your doctor if youre feeling scared. It can be helpful to have someone there to take notes or just hold your hand during stressful appointments.

Perritt added that this doesnt have to be just one person either  finding trusted partners, whether it is a sister or cousin or an auntie or someone ideally who was trained and doing advocacy in health care spaces, is critical.

So what does it look like to build a network of folks that you are in relationship with that can support you during this difficult time? Perritt added.

And Perritt noted that this network should support you during your pregnancy, peripartum period and postpartum period  not just up until you give birth.

Remember: What you do or dont do wont fix this monumental problem. Racism is at fault, not you.

A solution that I hear often is that people often tell pregnant folks: Just be sure to advocate for yourself. Well, we need to understand that medical systems in this country are designed to disempower people, Perritt said. So, saying that someone should be able to traverse that power dynamic or that divide all on their own is not just unreasonable, it is shortsighted and dangerous.

This underscores the importance of engaging with experts like doulas who are trained to talk to doctors and relay information to the patient  without the birthing person having to take on that additional burden.

With the right support, Sylvester said she thinks theres hope, whether thats support from loved ones, medical professionals or the larger system as a whole.

Most of these mortality events are preventable, and I think thats important for women to know, Sylvester said.

Though that certainly doesnt make this an easier pill to swallow, its helpful to know that the reasons behind the majority of these deaths is known: Experts know what went wrong and, hopefully, through health care changes and government support, these deaths can become fewer and fewer.

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Tinkerers. Innovators. Mavericks. What turns someone from a run-of-the-mill genius into a world-changing inventor? Its the willingness to take problem-solving skills and creativity and use them not to play it safe but to risk everything on a dream.

The subjects of these 10 books about inventors came from all sorts of different backgrounds, and they made their mark on the world in wildly different times, places, and ways. What do famous inventors like Alexander Graham Bell, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison all have in common? Their willingness to buck the status quo in the name of innovation. Inspired by gaps in scientific knowledge that begged to be filled, underserved populations just waiting for products designed for them, and at times nothing more than pure curiosity, these inventors dreamed up and built objects that changed the world forever.

Check out the 10 best books about inventors the next time youre looking for inspiration for your next creative project or entrepreneurial endeavor. Youll come away with a newfound appreciation for the unique minds and bold spirits behind some of your favorite devices.

'Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker' by A'Lelia Bundles

Sarah Breedlove never had anything handed to her. Born to parents who had formerly been enslaved, orphaned at just seven years old, and widowed by 20, she spent her early adulthood working as a washerwoman. But her innovation in Black hair care products  and her sharp business acumen  led to a meteoric rise. Self Made follows Breedloves journey to becoming Madam C.J. Walker, who holds the Guinness World Record for being Americas first self-made female millionaire.

Shop Now 'Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker' by A'Lelia Bundles amazon.com $14.58

'Alexander Graham Bell: The Reluctant Genius and His Passion for Invention' by Charlotte Gray

Most know Alexander Graham Bell for a single, albeit impactful, invention: the telephone. But the inventor also worked on early iterations of everything from compost toilets to metal detectors. In addition to surfacing some of Bells less commercially successful passion projects, this biography delves into his lifelong fascination with human hearing  largely fueled by his own mothers severe hearing impairment.

Shop Now 'Alexander Graham Bell: The Reluctant Genius and His Passion for Invention' by Charlotte Gray amazon.com $18.59

'The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World' by Randall Stross

Thomas Edison was almost certainly a technical genius. But how did he become synonymous with the idea of American innovation? Like so many technologists that would follow him, Edison built his brand as a master inventor and innovator on the backs of countless unsung assistants  and occasionally by stealing credit from his rivals.

Shop Now 'The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World' by Randall Stross amazon.com $17.00

'Hedy Lamarr's Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor' by Laurie Wallmark

This critically-acclaimed picture book introduces kids to Hedy Lamarr, a glamorous Hollywood film star and brilliant inventor. During World War II, Lamarr worked with composer George Antheil to design a secure torpedo guidance system using a trick called frequency-hopping. Ignored by the military and hidden as a classified document, their patent would later be used to fuel the 20th-century boom in wireless communication technologywithout Lamarr or Antheil getting any credit.

Shop Now 'Hedy Lamarr's Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor' by Laurie Wallmark amazon.com $17.99

' Alan Turing : The Enigma' by Andrew Hodges

It was only decades after Alan Turings tragic death that the public became aware of the extent of his contributions to modern computer science  and the code-breaking work he did to save countless lives during World War II. In life, Turing was legally prosecuted for his homosexuality. His fascinating and heartbreaking legacy is now the subject of a critically-acclaimed film starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Shop Now 'Alan Turing: The Enigma' by Andrew Hodges amazon.com $15.95

'Thunderstruck' by Erik Larson

Bestselling author Erik Larson is known for his uncanny ability to spin thrilling narratives out of historical fact. This ripping yarn of murder and invention weaves true crime into the saga of Guglielmo Marconis groundbreaking creation of the first effective radio communication system. Marconis wireless telegraph would eventually help save survivors of the Titanic and serve as a crucial step in the development of all radio technology.

Shop Now 'Thunderstruck' by Erik Larson amazon.com $13.49

'Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions' by Chris Barton

Most Americans have spent at least a few summer days playing with some version of the Super Soaker water gun, but few know the story of its inventor. Lonnie Johnson, who grew up in Alabama during the days of legal segregation, dreamed up the bestselling device when he wasnt busy working as a NASA engineer. This delightful picture book shows kids that you never know where your curiosity will take you.

Shop Now 'Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions' by Chris Barton amazon.com $7.92

'Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love' by Dava Sobel

While Galileo did not technically invent the first telescope, his redesign of the new magnifying device greatly improved its capabilities. The astronomical discoveries that followed famously put him at odds with the Catholic church. That makes this unique memoir  which pulls from Galileos correspondence with his daughter Suor Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun  all the more fascinating.

Shop Now 'Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love' by Dava Sobel amazon.com $10.49

'The Wright Brothers' by David McCullough

In 1903, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio risked their lives and changed the world with the first successful powered airplane flight. This #1 New York Times bestseller from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough explores how Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright became the fathers of aviation without a single college degree between them.

Shop Now 'The Wright Brothers' by David McCullough amazon.com $10.61

'Benjamin Franklin: An American Life' by Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson is known for bringing historical figures to life in his deeply-researched, award-winning slate of biographies. He brings his usual authority to the story of founding father, diplomat, writer, publisher, scientist, and inventor Benjamin Franklin. From the practical (bifocal lenses) to the whimsical (an eerie and surprisingly controversial instrument called the armonica), Franklins inventions color his legacy as an early American genius.

Shop Now 'Benjamin Franklin: An American Life' by Walter Isaacson amazon.com $19.29

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Three teachers from Marion County school districts are among the top 10 finalists for the 2024 Indiana Teacher of the Year award, the Indiana Department of Education announced Tuesday.

Brandon Denning from the Indianapolis Public Schools district, Callie Hoppes from the Warren Township school district and Jonee Sutton from Beech Grove City Schools were all chosen to be in the top 10 group that recognizes outstanding teachers across the state.

The Indiana Teacher of the Year program is meant to celebrate the teaching profession by recognizing existing teachers who excel in their field while also encouraging others to join the profession.

Becoming a teacher is a calling, driven by the desire to make a difference in the lives of students, said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education in a statement. The small, everyday actions of teachers have a profound impact, which can be felt for weeks, months and even years to come.

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More Ed News: IPS files case with Marion Superior Court on violating $1 charter law

School districts are encouraged to nominate their local teacher of the year and finalists are selected by a committee that is made up of former teacher of the year recipients, state department staff, educational organization leaders, business and community leaders and representatives from higher education.

Here is a complete list of the top 10 finalists:

Veronica Buckler, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation

Robi Davidson, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation

Brandon Denning, Indianapolis Public Schools

Callie Hoppes, MSD Warren Township

Gina Iacobucci, Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County

Eric Jenkins, Franklin Community Schools

Eric Phagan, Madison Consolidated Schools

Jonee Sutton, Beech Grove City Schools

Matt Thomas, Valparaiso Community Schools

Natalie Wheeler, Western School Corporation

Brandon Denning is a math teacher at the Center for Inquiry School 84 and was one of the winners of IPS's 2024 teacher of the year.

Callie Hoppes is a second-grade teacher at Lakeside Elementary in Warren Township and has been an educator in the township for 27 years.

Jonee Sutton is a visual arts education teacher at Beech Grove Middle School and just celebrated her 20th year teaching.

The winner of the 2024 Indiana Teacher of the Year award will be announced later this fall.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Carolines reporting is made possible by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education.

Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporters salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder.

To learn more about how you can support IndyStars partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Top 10 Indiana teacher of the year finalists announced
The leaders of 11 countries of southeastern Europe signed the Athens Declaration in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine during a summit on the Balkans.

Source: CNN Greece, European Pravda

Details: Under the declaration, the countries expressed their unwavering support for "Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, based on the values of democracy and the rule of law" in the face of Russian aggression.

The declaration also notes that the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova, which are all geographically adjacent to EU member states, share a common European heritage, and "as a strategic investment in peace, security and stability in Europe, it is important for these regions to be embraced as full-fledged members of the European family".

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The document was signed by: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Montenegro President Jakov Milatovic, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis , Romanian Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu, Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Borjana Kristo, North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in the presence of European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a pivotal moment for Europe, creating a new level of awareness of shared principles, unity and common future within the EU. This is a critical time for the security, peace and stability of our European continent.," the declaration reads.

The document also notes that "the laws and principles that contributed to a stable and predictable European security order for so long have been violated and we witness anew the manifestation of the disastrous effects of revisionism."

"We agreed that there can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities, such as attacks on civilians and the destruction of infrastructure and all those responsible must be held accountable," the declaration reads.

"We underlined the need for a re-energised and re-focused enlargement process that is tangible and credible, without shortcuts to the set conditions. We expressed our commitment to support Ukraine and Moldova to take the next steps in their accession process as soon as they have completed the necessary reforms," the document says.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed a joint declaration on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration in Athens.

The summit agreed to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan on Ukraine's path to the Alliance. At the same time, the allies made it clear that they would invite Ukraine to join NATO "when the conditions are met". The Annual National Programme (ANP) will become a tool for monitoring the reforms that Ukraine is implementing, a tool that is already at Ukraine's disposal.

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!
Housecleaners weigh in on their biggest won'ts.

Housecleaners weigh in on their biggest won'ts.

If youve ever tried to deep clean your house, you know that housecleaning is a profession that takes specialized knowledge, attention to detail and physical strength to tackle high or difficult spots.

Its also a profession that does not get enough respect for how hard it can be. A significant number of domestic workers in the U.S., including housecleaners, are paid under the table in informal arrangements, working without federal anti-discrimination and health and safety protections. And on TikTok, cleaners have been sharing some of the misconceptions about and boundaries they have around their work with hashtags like #thingsiwontdo #housecleaner.

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To separate general fact from fiction, we grabbed a few of these videos and also turned to the experts and asked other housecleaners about what they wont or wouldnt do after years of experience in the field:

1. Expect A Cleaner To Do A Pile Of Dishes Or Clean Up After A Pet

Cleaning litter boxes or cleaning up after pets who have accidents. Ive had people expect that, and that is just something I cant do. Ive been in houses where youre constantly stepping in urine and I just have to walk away from that type of situation.

When it comes to feces or anything, thats where it hits off-limits. Its not super common, but I have run into it where people think that is a thing, and Im just saying, Thats your pet, thats your baby, Ill leave that to you, and then Ill take care of everything else for you.

Dishes are a big one, too. I dont mind at all doing them for clients who need them done once in a while. But there have been people who try to take advantage and theyll leave you a huge pile of dishes and expect you to do them, which is time-consuming and not something normal housecleaners usually do. Its more housekeeping instead of housecleaning. Amber Elise, owner of Bubbles and Buckets in Otsego, Minnesota

2. Hover In The House While A Housecleaner Is Working

I would not stay at home while they are cleaning. A lot of my clients think they need to stay at home and help me clean. This couldnt be further from the truth, and it is very frustrating. Housecleaners do not need your help. Ive said this until I am blue in the face. You hire us for a service, and most of us are very good at what we do, so get out of the way and let us do our jobs.

Most of us clean two, three houses a day and are on a tight schedule. Clients that want to help usually slow us down. I cannot clean the kitchen while you are trying to rearrange your Tupperware.

I understand the trust issue, and if you have a new cleaning crew come in, or if you cant physically leave, by all means, stay at home. Just seclude yourself in one part of the house, like a bedroom, so they can clean the rest of the house. When it is time to clean that room, move on to another part of the house they have already done. Once you build trust with your cleaners, you can give them a key or stash it outside somewhere.

The best jobs that I go to are the ones where I know no one will be home. I can zip through the job while I crank my Beastie Boys Pandora. I cant do that with my little old ladies at home.  Sara San Angelo, The Cleaning Lady in Charleston, South Carolina



3. Leave The Thermostat Cranked High, Regardless Of A Housecleaners Comfort

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Housecleaner Sharel Moore posted a TikTok saying clients should turn down the thermostat for housecleaners. Were HOT!!! her caption said.

A critic in the comments replied, Their house, their temperature choice. You dont have to work there.

You are right! Moore shot back in a reply. Being my own boss I choose to work for people that treat me like a human! And not just hired help.

4. Befriend A Client

After being a housecleaner, the main thing that I would not do is cross the line from treating a client like friends or even family.

I have had some really bad experiences before that. Because they treated me like family or friends, they felt that they were entitled to certain benefits, almost as if my work was no longer valued the same because I had to give them a deal.

Also respect was no longer there, which led to several occasions where because those boundaries were crossed ... there was no clear line of This is the list of things I do and no more, it was like Can you also do ... ? Etc. The list can go on and on. I feel that it can be like this in many jobs, but I feel more so in a housecleaner situation as it is very personal as you are in their home.  Ileana Cabrera, a Los Angeles-based housecleaner

5. Have Blinds And Carpeted Stairs

Lisa Sosa of Clean Happy Company posted a TikTok explaining what she would not want in her own home after working as a professional cleaner for nine years:

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I am not going to have blinds in my future home. Those things just collect dust and they are a pain in the ass to wipe, so Im going either to have the Roman shades or no blinds at all, just really good curtains, she said, adding later that carpeted stairs are her other big no-no because they are a pain in the butt.

6. Use Chemical Or Strongly Scented Cleaners

I wont use strongly scented cleaning products, even if they are marketed as natural, because they give me headaches for two or three days after the job. Gail, a New York City-based housecleaner and member of We Dream in Black, an initiative of the National Domestic Workers Alliance that centers the voices of Black, Afro-Latina and Afro-descendant domestic workers

After working as a housecleaner for so many years, the main thing I do not do anymore is use cleaners with chemicals in my own home. Many of my clients insists on using toxic cleaners in their homes and as I get older, I am getting very concerned about breathing all those chemicals in as well as them absorbing through my skin.

I now wear gloves at those clients houses if I use anything with bleach in it or other harsh ingredients, and make sure to use them in a ventilated area.

In my own home, I basically make my own cleaners using vinegar, baking soda and maybe a little Dawn dish detergent. You really dont need cleaners that can take the chrome off a bumper to keep your house clean.  San Angelo

7. Stay At A Privately Owned Vacation Rental Like Airbnb

Tiffany Williams, a Granger, Indiana-based housecleaner, said on TikTok that one of the biggest things she will not do after working as a housecleaner is to stay at a privately owned vacation rental, like an Airbnb.

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Ive been in a lot of Airbnbs over my sixteen years of doing this. Ive seen a lot of neglected Airbnbs, Ive seen a lot of mold in dishwashers, coated ceiling fans, vent fans barely functioning, gross stuff on walls, boogers on bed skirts, Williams said. Ive seen it all, and I personally would never stay at a vacation rental.

8. Have Grout With Small Tiles In The Backsplash Of My Kitchen

Housecleaner Alyssa, who works in the Oakland, California, and Macomb County, Michigan, area, shared that after working as a housecleaner, she would not have many small tiles with a lot of grout in her ideal kitchen backsplash, because of how hard they are to clean.

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Grout is annoying, it requires maintenance, and its in your kitchen. Its going to get a lot of buildup and grease, Alyssa said, I would opt for a slab ... Theres no grout and you could match it with your countertops. Thats what I would opt for.



9. Get Paid Unfairly

I wont accept a job without agreeing on a minimum of five hours per cleaning and receiving a clear agreement of the clients housecleaning needs in order to quote a fair hourly rate. I wont work for less than $25 per hour.  Gail

10. Get Paid Later Instead Of Upfront

Ive had people say, I get paid on Friday, so Ill pay you on Friday. And thats just not how it works. When your cleaner gets there, have the payment ready to go.

It baffles me because I know I wouldnt be able to tell a cleaner, Hey, Ill pay you when I get paid in two weeks, and Ive experienced that, and thats not the way it works when youre cleaning someones house. Especially when you are self-employed and you might need that money by the end of the week for a certain bill.  Elise

11. Assume That Housecleaners Do Their Job Because They Have No Other Choice

If I were to ever hire a housecleaner I would 100% make sure I treat them with the utmost respect and never assume that they do not speak English or that they do not have an education.

I have a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics and speak perfect English and if I am cleaning houses, it is not because I have no other choice. It is because it is my choice. I earn more now than I ever did working in any office job I ever had, but never had the flexibility I now have and need for my family.  Cabrera

Some answers were edited for clarity and length.

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A teenage boy died after a handgun discharged while he was driving, Texas authorities said.

The boy, 16, was driving a sedan with three teenage passengers in Houston on Aug. 21 and was believed to have been handling a pistol at the time, according to a Harris County Sheriffs Office news conference and press release.

At one point, the gun went off, striking the boy, a spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriffs Office told McClatchy News. After he was hit, the car careened forward, crashing into another vehicle near a highway overpass.

The 16-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, was airlifted to a hospital in very critical condition, the sheriffs office said.

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He later died at the hospital, according to an Aug. 22 update from Gonzalez.

The other passengers were between 16 and 17 years old, according to preliminary reports, officials said.

At this point were trying to conduct the investigation, Gonzalez said during the news conference. We still want to again confirm some details and make sure that were getting the full story.

He said initial reports indicate the driver was handling the pistol when it went off but that could always change.

We may get additional information and determine that one of the other occupants may have discharged the weapon. So thats all under investigation, he said.

Deputies did not provide any updates when contacted by McClatchy News on Aug. 22.

Firearm-related injuries and motor vehicle crashes are the leading causes of death among adolescents in America, according to a 2022 study from the New England Journal of Medicine.

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The burned bodies of 18 people were found as wildfires ripped through Greece on Tuesday and countries across Europe sweltered under yet another extreme heat wave.

The dead, found near a village in northern Greece, may have been migrants, the fire brigade said Tuesday. Another person was killed in a fire northwest of the capital Athens on Monday.

As dozens of wildfires scorch Greece, other parts of the region are suffering under intense heat, as Europes summer of extremes continues. More than 20 countries are under heat warnings with temperatures reaching record-breaking levels in some areas.

Its like war conditions

Hundreds of firefighters in Greece are battling 65 wildfires that have broken out in the last few days, state-run ANMA news agency reported on Monday, citing Yiannis Artopios, an official from the Greek fire brigade.

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Some of the major ongoing wildfires are in the Greek northeastern town of Alexandroupolis where 13 communities have been evacuated since Saturday, according to the fire brigade.

Two hundred patients were evacuated from two hospitals in the town on Tuesday. An Alexandroupolis Hospital Nurse, Nikos Gioktsidis, compared the situation to war, telling Reuters, Ive been working for 27 years, Ive never seen anything like this. Its like war conditions, really.

As of Monday, fires have burned through more than 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres), according to the European Unions Copernicus Emergency Management Service.

Firefighters battle flames during a wildfire near Prodromos on August 21, 2023. - Spyros Bakalis/AFP/Getty Images

Firefighters battle a wildfire at Loutra Alexandroupolis, Thrace, northern Greece, on 19 August 2023. - Dimitris Alexoudis/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The European Union has deployed two firefighting aircraft from Cyprus and a team from Romania with 50 firefighters to help Greece control the fires.

We are in state of emergency of Category 5 as we will be also on Tuesday due to the very high temperatures and the gale force winds, Artopios from the Greek fire brigade said on Monday, according to ANMA.

Greece has had a devastating wildfire season this year  experiencing its worst recorded fires in July since at least 2003.

Last month, deadly wildfires tore through parts of the Greek island of Rhodes, forcing thousands of tourists to flee their hotels in what Greek officials said was the largest evacuation effort in the countrys history.

Out of control wildfires also continue to burn in Tenerife, in Spains Canary Islands, with more than 12,000 people forced to flee their homes.

The Spanish government will declare the areas affected by the wildfires in Tenerife as a disaster zone once the blaze is under control, the countrys Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday during a visit to the Spanish island.

Red heat warnings

As parts of Greece and Spain burn, temperatures are reaching record levels in other parts of Europe.

There are 21 countries across the continent under heat warnings, with six under red heat warnings  the highest level  said MeteoAlarm, a network of European national weather services.

France is one of the worst affected.

The countrys national meteorological agency Meteo France warned on Sunday that this weeks heatwave would be the hottest of summer 2023, adding that it is rare for a heatwave of such intensity to occur so late in the summer.

Red-level heat wave alerts have been declared in 19 French departments as of Tuesday, including Ardeche, Drome, Haute-Loire and Rhone.

These regions are all experiencing very high temperatures, with some pushing above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

A man wipes off sweat and rests during a heatwave. Meteo-France has issued red-level heat alerts for four departments in France. - Igor Ferreira/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

A paddleboat lies in the mud of the Montbel's lakebed, on August 18, 2023. Montbel is well below its normal level due to an unprecedented drought. - Alain Pitton/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Speaking to CNN affiliate BFMTV, French health minister Aurelien Rousseau said on Monday that France could reach temperatures never measured before.

Some records have already been broken, according to data from Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian.

All -time records were broken in three communes, he said, including Puy St. Martin, a commune in Drome, where temperatures reached 42.5 degrees Celsius (108.5 Fahrenheit) on Monday.

Rousseau warned French people to be extremely vigilant in the coming days, stressing that the protection of the elderly, young children, isolated and disabled people remains at the core of the governments concerns.

Temperatures are also high in Italy, which has grappled with several searing heat waves this year. Savona, in the northwest, saw an all-time record high of 39.1 degrees Celsius (102.4 Fahrenheit) on Monday.

Fears for Swiss glaciers

Switzerland, too, is experiencing high temperatures.

MeteoSchweiz, the Swiss weather service, said that a new record had been broken for the height of the freezing level  the point above the ground at which temperatures fall to 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit).

A weather balloon had to climb to a record 5,298 meters (17,381 feet) above sea level before the zero degree limit was reached, MeteoSchweiz posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday. This is the highest freezing level since records began in 1954.

There are serious concerns for what this means for the health of the countrys glaciers. Last year, Swiss glaciers recorded their worst melt rate since records began, losing 6% of their remaining volume.

Europes heat wave is expected to continue until at least Wednesday, before a cooling pattern brings some relief.

Scientists are clear that the kind of extreme weather Europe and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing this summer will only become more common and more severe as humans continue to burn planet-heating fossil fuels.

July was the planets hottest month on record and scientists found that the heat wave that scorched the Mediterranean, as well as parts of the US, would have been virtually impossible without the human-caused climate crisis.

CNNs Robert Shackelford, Niamh Kennedy, Pierre Bairin, Claudia Colliva, Claudia Rebaza, Alex Hardie, Maya Szaniecki, Jessie Gretener, Chris Liakos and Catherine Nicholls contributed reporting

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Photo: Contributed. The McDougall Creek Wildfire burns on a ridgeline overlooking Kelowna, B.C., Aug. 17, 2023

As firefighters hold fire lines and evacuees flee to safety across the B.C. Interior over the past several days, many British Columbians have been left wondering how they can help.

On Monday, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma pointed to a number of organizations ramping up efforts to help the 27,000 people now on evacuation order across the province.

Right now a lot of people have been asking how they can help. The outpouring of support from food banks, community organizations and non-governmental organizations has been nothing short of amazing and inspiring, Ma told reporters.

The minister urged British Columbians to look to registered charities, such as the Canadian Red Cross, which has put out an appeal for donations to help people affected by fire.

A full list of registered charities can be found at canadahelps.org.

United Way British Columbia, for example, has partnered with Interior Savings and Gulf & Fraser Credit Unions to match every dollar donated to wildfire victims up to $20,000. The money will go to make sure evacuees have their basic food and water. It will also back mental health supports, pop-up camps for kids, legal service for low-income families and grants to help people recover and rebuild.

And in the southern Interior, the YMCA of the Okanagan Association is also one of several community groups looking to support people evacuated from the path of wildfires. Donations will go to support displaced households by giving them free access to showers, fitness centres and swimming pools. They will also be offered "a place to spend time together to escape from the stress of displacement," according to the group.

Animals in need of money, volunteers

It's not just two-legged evacuees who need help.

On Monday, the BC SPCA said it has already supported care for hundreds of animals displaced by the fires, including 104 being cared for in the groups emergency boarding program.

Anyone who needs help supporting their pets is urged to call the BC SPCA Animal Helpline at 1-855-622-7722. Boarding will provided to pets at no cost to people displaced by fire. The group also helps people reunify with lost pets, and if safe, can aid in rescuing pets and animals that may have been left behind.

Whether it is providing a few bags of dog food and a crate to a family evacuating or bringing a beloved cat into our temporary emergency pet boarding, we want pet owners to know that the BC SPCA is here for them during this scary time, Gaelene Askeland, senior manager of the groups animal care services in Kelowna, said in a statement.

A BC SPCA volunteer prepares supplies to send to Vernon, B.C., as wildfire displaces more than 27,000 people and their animals in the province. . BC SPCA

Demand for the BC SPCAs services have grown since extreme fire activity swept through B.C.s southern Interior last week. The group says it needs more resources and people to help areas affected by wildfire. Potential volunteers can contact the organization by email at [email protected].

Those who want to help out financially can do so by backing the cost of one day of care for a single animal all the way up to funding the costs of a full evacuation unit.

We see people donating blankets, pet food to people that are in emergency shelters, in evacuation sites, looking after pets, looking after livestock, the premier said Monday. Its just so great to see British Columbians coming together like that.
A 19-year-old died after Massachusetts police said his car hit a mulch bed and went airborne, sending the engine flying through a house.

A state trooper tried to pull over a man who was driving a Nissan Altima at around 8:45 pm on Aug. 20, according to a news release from Massachusetts State Police. Troopers say he sped up, ran a red light and veered off the road while going around a curve.

He then hit a bed of mulch that sent his car into the air, police said in the release.

His vehicle hit a rock wall, a tree and a light post before striking a Jeep in the driveway of a Belchertown, Massachusetts, home, according to state police. A Buick parked next to the Jeep was also damaged.

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As a result of the impact, the Altimas engine block was launched out of the engine compartment and became airborne, officials said. The engine smashed through the second story of another house and ended up inside the home.

The car hit the outside of the first house and came to rest outside of the building, police said.

The Northwestern District Attorneys Office identified the driver as Miles Murray of Henniker, New Hampshire, according to WWLP.

Murray was ejected from the car and died, police say. No one else was injured, and no passengers were in the car.

The crash is under investigation.

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A 19-year-old woman who went missing after she was kidnapped from a California park has been found dead, police say.

Andrea Vazquez and a man were in the parking lot at Penn Park in Whittier when a man with a gun approached shortly after midnight Sunday, Aug. 20, Whittier police said in a news release, McClatchy News previously reported.

The man with Vazquez told officers he ran away after the man fired a shot in their direction, police said. When he returned, he found blood near his vehicle, and Vazquez was missing, according to police.

It seems that Vazquez and the man were randomly targeted, police said in an Aug. 22 Facebook post.

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After Vazquez went missing, police said they searched for her in large open land areas of Moreno Valley.

Vazquez was found dead in a vegetation field in Moreno Valley at about 11:50 p.m. Aug. 21, police said.

Gabriel Esparza, 20, of Whittier, was arrested at his Lakewood workplace Aug. 21, police said. He was booked into jail on counts of murder and kidnapping and is being held without bail.

Both the weapon believed to have been used during the shooting and Esparzas truck were recovered, according to police.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 562-567-9299.

Whittier is about 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

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Perusing old Enquirer pages on Newspapers.com, a headline from June 22, 1930, caught my eye: Robbers Kidnap Bank Cashier.  Time-Lock Stops Attempted Robbery At Reading.

So I followed the case through the newspaper coverage in The Enquirer and the Cincinnati Post.

It played out like a James Cagney gangster movie.

In the 1930s, bank robberies were something of a craze. Real-life bandits John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde captured the publics attention with daring hold-ups and violent shootouts.

For me, the story began with the news accounts of that robbery attempt.

The headline from The Cincinnati Enquirer on June 22, 1930, was the entry point to a story of a bank robbery gang in Cincinnati.

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Cashier kidnapped by bandits waiting for a vault time lock

For several hours in the early morning of Saturday, June 21, 1930, Harry A. Green, a cashier at the Reading Bank in Reading, Ohio, his wife and his daughter, Betty, 13, were held captive by a gang of bank robbers.

Just after midnight, four bandits brandishing pistols broke into the Green home in Pleasant Ridge and demanded, Stick em up or well kill you. The men wore handkerchief masks and dark glasses. Two were well-dressed, one in a Panama hat.

They ransacked the house, taking Greens pistol and $16 (just under $300 today).

At 3 a.m., three of the men took Green to the bank, first allowing him to give his wife and daughter a parting kiss.

One bandit stayed behind at the house to guard the family that was bound in electricians tape, neckties and a clothesline. He kept checking his watch, then left the house about 6 a.m. Within an hour, Mrs. Green managed to free herself and called the bank president.

The Cincinnati Post coverage on the Reading bank robbery on June 21, 1930, includes an illustration of the robbers keeping cashier Harry Green at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, the other robbers, with Green tied up, waited in the bank on Benson Street for the time lock on the vault to release at 7:55 a.m. But 15 minutes before that deadline, the telephone rang and spooked the bandits, who decided to leave with only Greens $16.

Alerted by the wifes alarm, police arrived at the bank right as three men exited the building, hopped into a blue Ford and drove away. The police did not fire on the robbers, thinking that in those nice clothes they might have been customers.

They had robbed the bank before

Green had recognized one man when his mask slipped as someone from the gang that had held up the same bank on April 4 of that year, escaping that time with $8,418, which would be $152,000 today. (That same day in April, robbers hit a Dayton, Ohio, bank for $33,000. It was free-for-all at the banks.)

That morning, Green had been talking to a salesman about a tear-gas apparatus for frustrating hold-ups when suddenly four robbers armed with revolvers and automatic pistols charged into the bank and stuffed the money in a bag.

Frank Gais, a grocer across the street, recognized a robbery was in progress. He grabbed his own revolver and fired at the robbers. A bandit fired back.

Theyre pecking at us; lets go, one said.

They hurried into a big car waiting for them. Gais emptied his gun at the escaping car, its occupants firing back at him through the rear window, which had been shot away.

The gang would be wanted for other bank robberies in Mason, Silverton, Hamilton and Amelia between January and June 1930.

They all get caught some time

On July 9, it was reported that Harry Zenz (known as Pete), 21, of Carthage, and Esther Genin, 20, of Elmwood Place, had been picked up.

Zenz was charged with kidnapping, accused of being the bandit who guarded Mrs. Green and her daughter. Authorities thought Genin drove the getaway car, but they ultimately released her, their reasoning unclear.

However, Genin had kept a diary that told of several robberies committed by the gang.

Lloyd Hebenstreit, the leader of the gang of bank robbers who hit the Cincinnati area in 1930, is pictured in a Cincinnati Post article from July 30, 1930.

On July 28, the leader of the gang, Lloyd A. Hebenstreit, 27, was arrested in Hamilton. He was identified by witnesses at several of the robberies and was sunk by Genins diary.

I always told her that book would cause trouble, he said.

I knew you fellows were after me, Hebenstreit told the Hamilton County sheriff, as quoted in the Post.  I knew I would get caught some day  they all get caught some time. Maybe I wouldnt be in now, if it wasnt for the break I got in Hamilton.

Monday, you remember, was hot. I stopped my machine and decided to take a little walk. I took off my coat, first putting my rod in the pocket of the machine, and started walking. It was the first time I was without my rod.

Then I saw the officers approach me. I turned to run back to get my gun, but they got the drop and I stopped. It was a tough break, for if I had had my gun I would have shot it out with them.

Hebenstreit was from a well-to-do Reading family. His mother was a stockholder in the Reading Bank he robbed.

Asked why he spurned a good family and home, Hebenstreit said he preferred his true friends he met in prison.

I expect to get enough years here to keep me in prison for life, but I dont care, for when I get to the penitentiary I will be among friends. I got a lot of friends up there in Columbus, he said.

Two sentenced to life in prison

Hebenstreit and Zenz were indicted in the robbery and kidnapping. Zenz was released on a $10,000 bond until trial. Hebenstreit tried to saw his way out of the county jail (Zenz was thought to have supplied the saws), and another time planned to smuggle weapons into the jail and shoot his way out, but the schemes were foiled.

In May 1931, Hebenstreit and Zenz were convicted under a new law at the time that sentenced life imprisonment for bank robbery. A third robber, Walter Flory, 20, was given mercy because of his young age and sentenced to 20 years in the Mansfield Reformatory.

Esther Genin, accused in the June 1930 bank robbery, was finally apprehended in December 1931, as seen in a Cincinnati Enquirer news story from Dec. 10, 1931.

Esther Genin evaded the police for 18 months. She was arrested in Ironton, Ohio, in December 1931, and was the first woman charged with bank robbery in Hamilton County.

Hebenstreit, described as Genins former sweetheart, wrote a note on a Christmas card to the prosecutor: If you want to give one the best Christmas present in the world, give it to me and never try Esther, and make a low bond so she can go home for Christmas. John, that kids innocent, so help her; dont prosecute her.

Charges against her were dropped. She later revealed that she and the other bandit, Zenz, were secretly married in October 1930.

The fate of the bandits

The fourth bandit, Ellis Delks, was never captured. He met his end in a shootout with police in South Bend, Indiana, after killing two patrolmen.

According to the South Bend Tribune, Delks, then known as Donald Murdock, was stopped by Patrolman Delbert Thompson near midnight on May 26, 1933. Delks struggled for the policemans gun, shot him five times and ran.

Patrolmen Charles Farkas and Daniel A. Martin spotted Delks, who opened fire on them. Farkas fell dead and Martin was shot in the shoulder, but returned fire with a shotgun until Delks was dead.

Hebenstreit, paroled in 1942, made headlines again in October 1946 when he was dumped in the parking lot of a Reading funeral home suffering from bullet, shotgun and knife wounds. His friends claimed he had been working as a dice dealer in a Northern Kentucky gambling casino, but he was mum about the men who jumped him.

He was killed in an auto accident in 1947.

Zenz escaped from a prison farm in London, Ohio, in 1938, then was convicted of burglary in Texas. His parole was rescinded in 1947 after the prosecutor protested. He was finally released in 1957 and died in 1983.

His death notice read dear husband of Esther Zenz (although they had divorced in 1941). In the death listing for Esther Bachman-Zenz (nee Genin) in 1985, she was beloved wife of the late Harry (Pete) Zenz. Neither listing mentioned their colorful past.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Move over Bonnie and Clyde, this Cincinnati bank robbery drops jaws
Mexico overtook Canada as the US' top trading partner at the start of 2023.

US trade with China has been edging lower since 2018, except for a spike during the pandemic.

US supply chains are changing after former President Trump launched a trade war against China.

Mexico has edged out China as the US' top trading partner.

In the first six months of the year, about $397 billion worth of goods moved between the US and Mexico  this is 44% higher than the $276 billion worth of goods that passed through the US and China, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau.

The shift came after years of changing supply chains after former President Donald Trump ignited a trade war against the East Asian giant around 2018. This, in turn, prompted investors to reassess their geopolitical risks, kicking off a shift in global supply chains.

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The shift accelerated since the start of 2020 as China's zero-COVID policy drove home the importance of not depending on one country for manufacturing needs.

These two charts show how US trade flows have changed over the last 20 years.

Mexico became US' top trading partner at the start of 2023

US's trade with major partners as percentage of total US trade. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Due to the tensions between Washington and Beijing, China wasn't actually the US' top trading partner when Mexico zoomed into the top spot  it was Canada.

Canada was the US' top trading partner since at least 2000 before being overtaken by China in 2014. The North American country was vying with Mexico for the top spot after 2018 following tariffs Trump levied on Chinese imports.

Chinese imports into the US did spike briefly in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted manufacturing and supply chains elsewhere, but they started trending lower later in the same year, the graph shows.

Now, Mexico's in the top position thanks to its manufacturing sector, Luis Torres, a senior business economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, wrote in a July 11 post.

"Mexico's gains mirror its rise in manufacturing, a key component of goods moving between it and the US," Torres added.

Mexico is China's top US manufacturing trading partner

Mexico is the US' top manufacturing trading partner Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Mexico's rise as a factory hub is apparent as it became the US' leading manufacturing trading partner in 2022 after knocking China off its perch.

"Mexico's expanding manufacturing base has offered an alternative to producing in China," Torres wrote in the note.

Mexico also has a geographical advance as an alternative to China in the trend for manufacturers to "nearshore" their operations to the US, a large consumer market. "Nearshoring" refers to sourcing or producing goods from a nearby country.

Top imports from Mexico include vehicles, machinery, and mineral fuels.

"The automotive industry is an especially active example of the cross-border manufacturing relationship," wrote Torres." A US plant typically produces an intermediate good that is then exported to Mexico where it becomes part of the assembly process before a final product is then imported back into the US.

In fact, even Chinese manufacturers are moving to Mexico to serve their US customers amid tensions between Washington and Beijing. They include TV set-maker Hisense and various car parts makers.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Tonna Marie Purnell Davis, 42, was last seen March 27, 2021, when she and a family member were at the Days Inn by Wyndham Black Bear on Motor Court in northeast Salem.

Two people were sentenced to prison Monday in connection to the murder of a Salem woman who disappeared in the spring of 2021.

Court records indicate Tonna Purnell Davis, 42, was shot and buried near a Dayton ranch following a dispute over stolen money in a Salem motel room.

A sentencing memorandum filed by a defense attorney claims Davis' actual murderer has yet to face any charges.

Jayda Denean Bailey, 25, of Salem, and Gustavo Ochoa-Valadez, 36, of Astoria, were initially charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the months that followed Davis' death.

Bailey on Monday pleaded guilty to the lesser counts of second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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Ochoa-Valadez pleaded guilty to the lesser counts of kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon and no contest to conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.

Investigation into missing woman

Davis' friends and family members reported her missing in March 2021.

Salem detectives began investigating her disappearance and friends took to social media to search for the longtime Salem resident. She was described as kind, caring and easygoing.

Friends and family members in March 2021 search for Tonna Marie Purnell, 42.

In a memo to the court, attorney Olcott Thompson argued that Ochoa-Valadez's sentence was disproportionate to Bailey's sentence, claiming his client was less culpable in the murder than Bailey and several other people involved.

The memo details the following events:

On March 30, 2021, Bailey and Davis were in a motel room in Salem with a man known as the "Joker" and another known as "Weto." While Joker slept, Bailey and Davis plotted and agreed to steal his money. When Bailey and Weto left to get food, Davis stole Joker's money and stashed it in Bailey's make-up bag.

When Joker awoke and found his money missing, he searched the room and ordered Ochoa-Valadez to come by with bags and some tools, including a shovel.

Weto found the money in Bailey's bag. When Bailey claimed to have no knowledge of why it was there, Joker ordered her to pistol whip Davis to show his allegiance to him. She did, and Joker then seized everyone's wallets and phones and ordered that Davis' hands be tied.

The group traveled to a ranch near Dayton and Joker directed another man to dispose of Davis' car. He told Ochoa-Valadez to follow him in another car.

"They both rapidly left as it appeared something bad was going to happen," Thompson said in the memo.

While holding them at gunpoint, Joker ordered Weto and Bailey to dig a hole. He made Davis stand in the hole and ordered Weto and Bailey to shoot her, then fill the hole.

"Everyone has said they and everyone else were scared of Joker and only did what they did because of his threats to them and their family," Thompson said.

He added that Bailey probably missed in shooting Davis, who was likely buried alive.

But he stressed that by plotting to steal the money, digging a hole and shooting at Davis, Bailey played a bigger role in her murder than Ochoa-Valadez.

No murder charges for other 2

According to the memo, Joker fled to Mexico and Weto has not been charged in Davis' murder.

No charges matching the names listed for Weto and Joker were listed in court records relating to the crime. Marion County District Attorney's Office officials did not immediately respond to inquiries on why the two individuals had not been charged.

A man matching the name listed for Joker was arrested in April 2021 for conspiracy to deliver heroin. After being arrested, he posted bail and failed to appear for a hearing the next month. A warrant remains active for his arrest.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Tonna Purnell Davis murder: 2 sentenced in 2021 Salem killing
Large numbers of Americans are unhappy with the idea of a Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump rematch, polls show, but both the Democratic and Republican parties appear to be paralyzed, unable to do anything about it.

Theres a reason why.

Both parties are shells of their former selves, and strong political parties are the foundation of a healthy democracy, many political experts agree.

Political parties are the infrastructure of modern mass democracy, just as roads and bridges and railways and airports and electricity grids are the infrastructure of a modern economy, wrote Lee Drutman , senior fellow at New America, in a recent study of modern parties.

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Drutman wants to break up the two-party system so that American can have three or four major parties, or more. He is proposing reforms to make that more possible.

But Drutman, and many other reformers, also want parties to be stronger. For too long, he argues, Americans have seen political parties as the villains, and individual politicians and voters as the heroes.

That thinking has to change, he argues, if American democracy is going to survive.

Who chooses the choices?

Political parties used to be truly powerful institutions that exercised veto power over nominees for office. During the past 50 years, however, Americans have moved nominations out of party control and into our modern primary process.

Most Americans see this as sensible and just: Primary voters choose the nominee state by state, and thats more democratic.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders appears at a New Hampshire primary night rally in Manchester in 2020. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)

Looking at the big picture, however, party primaries have become one of the biggest causes of extremism in American politics. The majority of voters end up with candidates who dont represent them because a much smaller number of fire-breathing partisans decide the menu for them in the primaries.

So while candidates like Biden and Trump are unpopular with the broader electorate, they could win their respective nominations by attracting a tiny subset of Americans: primary voters in a few states.

Voters have power, we tell ourselves, because voters ultimately make the choices. But who chooses the choices? Drutman wrote. Opening up the process is one thing. The power to shape the alternatives is always more consequential. Individual voters can decide among alternatives, but only organized groups can shape alternatives.

Very few people want to go back to the smoke-filled rooms wherein party bosses picked candidates with little input from voters. So that creates a challenge for reformers who want stronger parties. They need new, creative ways to create more muscular parties.

Vote for the party, not the person

But first, the way Americans think about parties  and power  has to shift. In Drutmans view, we are unbalanced: too focused on individuals.

Our dominant mental model as Americans is to hope for individual politicians to swoop in and save the day, and to rely on the wisdom and discernment of individual voters to combine in a hive mind of righteous judgment.

Supporters cheer at former President Donald Trump's rally for North Carolina Senate GOP candidate Ted Budd in Wilmington, N.C., in 2022. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

We also tend to distrust organized power, Drutman writes in his recent study. He says this is a key mistake.

Somebody has to have power, he writes. Drutman documents how the three major political reform periods in American history have all appeared to put voters first but only made it harder for individual voters to coordinate collectively.

Ultimately, small but well-organized interests triumphed because politics always rewards coordination and collective action, Drutman said. Decentralizing power does not equalize power. It just moves it elsewhere, where only the most engaged and well-connected can access it.

If we dont make parties stronger, in fact, we are making it more likely that American democracy will fracture, he said. The solution is the hard work of building political parties, which are the essential institutions of modern representative democracy.

Can the parties act as a unit?

The specific reforms proposed by Drutman and others wont necessarily do anything to break the Biden vs. Trump logjam this year or next. If either party wants someone else, it will have to figure out a way to unite and act together as a group.

For Republicans, this would mean uniting behind one alternative to Trump before he has sewn up the nomination. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu made a forceful case for this strategy in a New York Times op-ed on Monday.

For Democrats, the moment of truth would come if it became clear that the party needed someone other than Biden to run.

GOP presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks in Atlanta on Aug. 18. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

In th long term, reformers agree on what needs to happen: To change American politics, you have to change the system, not just vote in a new person or a new party.

Ranked-choice voting has been one popular option for reformers, and Alaska and Maine have implemented it with some success. This is a system where voters rank candidates in order of preference until one cobbles together a majority of the vote, which in theory dilutes the power of the most radical voters and empowers more moderate ones.

Drutman thinks that ranked-choice voting is more candidate-focused than it is on parties. He is pushing for something called fusion voting, and also for multimember congressional districts, in which smaller districts would be combined into larger ones to give the minority party in each state better representation in Congress.

For example, a state like Connecticut is roughly 60% Democratic and 40% Republican, but all five of its members of Congress are Democrats. And in Oklahoma, its 70% Republican and 30% Democratic, but all five of its members of Congress are Republican.

Multimember districts would theoretically push those states closer to an accurate representation in Congress. Drutman believes these changes would also make more political parties more likely.

Whatever the particular reforms, Drutman argues, stronger political parties are the key.

Parties are the institutions that organize democracy in a way that's most transparent, most engaging to citizens, and most broadly representative, he said. And if you make it harder for political parties to do those things, then other actors are gonna do those things with less transparency and much less political equality.

Elise Patton, first vice chair of the Sauk County Democratic Party, canvasses voters for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz in April. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
After spending decades writing self-help books, starting nonprofits dedicated to building peace, and serving as a self-described "spiritual thought leader," Marianne Williamson has pivoted to politics.

The 71-year-old is a two-time Democratic presidential candidate who first ran in 2020 and has now joined the 2024 race. When she announced her second long-shot bid in March 2023, Williamson said an outsider like her needed to participate in politics because "the status quo ... will not disrupt itself." She also vowed to end "a sociopathic economic system that in policy after policy after policy makes sure that those who already have will probably get more and those who do not have will have a hard time even surviving."

A book changes everything

Williamson has been fighting for the underdog since she was young and says that her liberal parents made her "deeply aware of issues of social justice." She was born in Houston to an immigration lawyer and stay-at-home mom, and was part of the "cultural and spiritual revolution" of the 1960s and 1970s. "I was every bit a child of my generation," she declared.

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She spent two years at Pomona College in California studying philosophy and theater before dropping out and working odd jobs. The trajectory of Williamson's life changed after she picked up a copy of "A Course in Miracles," a self-study program published in 1975 that seeks to help readers learn how to heal relationships "through the inspired practice of forgiveness." Williamson is Jewish, and this program  which was written by Helen Schucman, who said she was channeling Jesus Christ  further piqued her interest in spirituality.

This was Williamson's "path out of hell," she said. "Before the 'Course,' I felt like I was on a desperate journey to find God, but as much as I climbed up this huge flight of stone steps in front of a cathedral, my knees bloody and my elbows bloody, the cathedral door was locked," Williamson told The New York Times in 2019. "And when I read the 'Course,' I thought I understood the key." She started giving lectures on "A Course in Miracles," and as the AIDS epidemic began to rage, Williamson founded the nonprofit Project Angel Food, which delivered food to people dying of the disease.

"A Course of Miracles" continued to guide Williamson's path, and was the inspiration behind her first book, 1992's "A Return to Love." Oprah Winfrey read the book and loved it, declaring during an episode of her show that it sparked "157 miracles" in her own life. Williamson became close to Winfrey and was known as her spiritual advisor. The talk show host's huge audience boosted "A Return to Love," and Williamson went on to write 14 additional books.

A new path to politics

Williamson had detractors  in 1997, journalist Lynda Gorov called her a "high priestess of pop religion" whose writing is "hyperbolic and given to psychobabble"  but remained focused on the spiritual side of things, moving to the Detroit area in 1998 for a stint running a megachurch. Her first foray into politics came 16 years later when she ran as an independent in California's 33rd Congressional District and came in fourth place.

Williamson has long had relationships with celebrities  she officiated Elizabeth Taylor's 1991 wedding to Larry Fortensky at Neverland Ranch  and received donations from Jeff Bridges, Dave Navarro and Deepak Chopra when she announced she was entering the 2020 presidential race, Vanity Fair reported. Perhaps her most memorable moment from that campaign took place during a debate, when she earnestly delivered a plea to then-President Donald Trump, saying, "You have harnessed fear for political purposes, and only love can cast that out. I'm going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field. And sir, love will win."

Williamson exited the race early, but not before she started gaining traction with a younger audience that shared her messaging on social media. Now that she has embarked on her second quest for the White House, Williamson still has that pull; in April, an Echelon Insights poll showed her "hovering above 20% with voters under 30," The Intercept summarized. (A Times poll published Aug. 1 showed Williamson with 10% support among Democratic primary voters if the contest were held today.)

The candidate is calling for universal health care, maternal and paternal leave, free tuition to public colleges, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and an increase to the federal minimum wage. And these are all ideas that resonate, The Guardian's Arwa Mahdawi wrote. "Williamson's popularity on TikTok isn't some insignificant online phenomenon," she said. "It's a sign of how disillusioned young people feel with the current system."

Williamson wants to be the one to usher in change for the next generation, having told The Nation that her candidacy is "about ending a 50-year aberrational chapter of American history and beginning a new one. Neoliberalism has devastated not only our economy, creating the greatest income inequality in 100 years, it has infected every aspect of our culture with injustice and despair. It's time for us to recognize that, cut the cord, and begin again. It's going to take someone who is not afraid of that machine to smash it."

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A 22-year-old woman was killed Monday in a collision on Highway 99 near the Highway 50 junction in Sacramento, the California Highway Patrol said.

The woman was a passenger in a Toyota sedan traveling northbound on Highway 99 toward the interchange in Oak Park, CHP said in a news release. The driver of the Toyota became distracted and failed to see that traffic ahead had slowed.

The Toyota did not break in time to avoid colliding with a Peterbilt dump truck directly ahead of it, according to the release. The Toyota collided with the left rear of the dump truck, causing major intrusion to the sedan.

Officers from the South Sacramento CHP office and Sacramento Fire Department firefighters arrived on scene and provided life-saving measures. The driver and passenger of the Toyota were transported to hospital where the woman was pronounced dead. The driver, a 22-year-old man, suffered major injuries.

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The Sacramento County Coroners Office identified the woman as Araceli Giselle Ahumada Velazquez of Sacramento.

A 6-month-old infant and 1-year-old toddler that were in riding in the back seat were uninjured, the CHP said.
A 28-year-old man in Utah was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2018 shooting of another man, federal officials said.

Brandon Redfoot of Fort Duchesne is accused of firing at least 29 shots at the victim following a fight outside a store in June 2018, according to an Aug. 21 news release by the Utah District Attorneys Office.

The two men got into a fight outside the store before they got in separate vehicles and parted ways, federal officials said.

Redfoot is accused of threatening the driver of the vehicle he was in with a gun, firing it inside the vehicle, wanting the driver to turn around and head toward the direction of the victim, the release said.

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The driver turned around the vehicle and arrived outside a residence where Redfoot spotted the victim, officials said.

He then fired at least 29 shots with a folding rifle in the victims direction, hitting him in the back of the head and killing him, officials said.

The victim was identified as 24-year-old Julio Rodriguez, according to multiple outlets.

Officials didnt specify the cause of the fight.

Along with the murder charge, Redfoot was found guilty on a count of assault with a deadly weapon and three other charges, federal officials said.

Redfoot faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, the release said. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 27.

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Three people are dead and three others were hospitalized after a Listeria outbreak at the Frugals in Tacoma. Officials said the milkshake machines there were not cleaned properly.

I love their milkshakes to be honest especially with all the flavors they have, customer Wayne Holmquist said. I dont think it would deter me to be honest.

We spoke to another customer, Dustyn McGee, who said that the last time he ate at that Tacoma Frugals he got really sick. After hearing about the recent listeria outbreak, he was shocked.

Its pretty bad -- wow, he exclaimed.

Investigators said the genetic fingerprinting of bacteria in the milkshakes shows its the same strain of Listeria that hospitalized the six victims, three of whom later died. The health department said all six people were immunocompromised. If you had a milkshake between May 29th and August 7th from Frugals and have symptoms, you need to call your doctor immediately.

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If anyone has headaches, muscle aches, neck ache, pain in their arms, they need to go to the hospital immediately to get antibiotics on board, renown food safety lawyer Bill Marler told KIRO 7.

Marler says theres not much you can do to protect yourself when you eat at restaurants, but you can take steps at home.

My advice to people is you know keep your refrigerator cool you know below 40 degrees, and clean it frequently so Listeria doesnt have an opportunity to grow, Marler said. If you do buy deli meats, you do buy cheeses, you do buy fresh fruit and vegetables that are cut or that you cut yourself, use them quickly.




Photo: The Canadian Press Shoppers make their way through West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Three men were injured in a shooting Monday night at West Edmonton Mall, where those inside were locked down in stores and restaurants for two hours.

Police said in a news release that the men were taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

They said it's believed the shooting was targeted and that the shooter and victims are known to each other. There was no word on an arrest.

The lockdown was ordered for the safety of shoppers and staff, police added.

Vanessa Lewis said she was at Earl's restaurant when the lockdown was announced.

"It was very nerve-racking," she said. "Everyone was moved to the back of the restaurant."

She said she had just placed her order, then waited with everyone else for two hours. She didn't get her food.

"It's OK. I'm happy. We're safe," she said as she later left the mall.

An employee at the G-Star Raw clothing store said staff sheltered in a storage room waiting for word that it was safe to leave. Another woman said she spent her time in lockdown in an Indigo book store.

"Members of the (Edmonton Police Service) Tactical Unit responded and systematically cleared the facility to ensure it was safe prior to the lockdown being lifted," said the police release.

It said the shooting happened in Phase 3 of the mall and it would not be accessible during the police investigation.

The area is in the western half of the shopping centre and is home to a massive water park and the Marine Life aquarium, as well as large tenants Simons and London Drugs.

The mall, one of the largest in North America and a major tourist attraction, says on its website it that conducts lockdown drills four times a year to prepare for emergencies.

It tightened security in 2015 after it was named a potential target in a video attributed to al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al-Shabab.

The mall has more than 800 stores, 100 restaurants, an amusement park, a shooting range, a skating rink and a pirate ship. It sees about 30 million visitors a year.
When former President Donald Trump arrives at the Fulton County jail later this week to surrender in the criminal election subversion case, hell be able to choose between three different ways to pay the $200,000 bond that will keep him from being detained in the facility as his case unfolds.

Trump, like his 18 co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case brought last week by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, will have the option of paying the bond with cash, through a professional bonding company or by putting up just 10% of the total amount.

Willis has given the defendants until noon Friday to surrender at the jail and already, a number of them have negotiated so-called bond orders with her office to ensure a speedy surrender process.

As of Tuesday afternoon, just two of the defendants had surrendered, including Scott Hall, himself a professional bondsman in Atlanta, who was charged in the case with crimes related to his alleged involvement in the Coffee County, Georgia, voting systems breach.

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Heres what to know about paying a bond in Fulton County.

Three different ways to pay

In Fulton County, defendants have three ways to settle the bond amount spelled out in their consent bond order, which is essentially a stay-out-of-jail agreement outlining the amount of money they have to put up in order to avoid being detained as their criminal case unfolds.

The first is with cash, which would require the amount to be paid in full at the jail.

The second way is through commercial surety, in which a defendant would use a professional bonding company. The Fulton County Sheriffs Office publishes an approved bonding list for area companies it works with. If a defendant goes with this option, the company doesnt actually pay any money to the county, but the defendant would have to pay a fee to the company for using their services.

The third option available to defendants is the Fulton County Jail 10% program, which allows a defendant to pay just 10% of their total bond amount  plus fees and other associated costs.

Trump election attorney John Eastman, who also surrendered on Tuesday, went with the 10% option, as did Hall.

Bond amounts and other provisions

The consent bond orders being negotiated between the defendants attorneys and Willis spell out the conduct a defendant is prohibited from engaging in and specifies the amount of money they have to pay for each count brought against them in the case.

For Trump, who was charged with 13 crimes in the case, his $200,000 includes $80,000 for allegedly violating Georgias racketeering act and $10,000 for each of the remaining 12 counts brought against him.

Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is explicitly barred in his order from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses and the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.

The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time the release conditions for Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media.

The approval process

The approval process for consent bond orders involves prosecutors with Willis office and defense lawyers meeting and agreeing on the terms of the order. They then share the agreed upon order electronically with court staff of the judge assigned to the case.

The judge will look over the terms and if they agree with the framework, the judge will sign it and send the bond agreement to the clerks office before it is published publicly online.

If either prosecutors or defense lawyers cannot agree on a bond, a bond hearing with the judge would be scheduled.

Getting the funds back

Defendants are able to reclaim the cash they put up only if they satisfy the appearance requirements of the bond order, meaning they will show up to all of the court hearings they are required to attend. Even if a defendant is convicted of a crime, they can still recoup the money they paid if they met the court appearance requirement.

The same applies for the 10% program, though the defendant will not get back the fees and other costs associated with using that option.

In the case of a professional bonding company, the company can only be held financially liable if a defendant doesnt show up for a court appearance. And regardless of whether they abide by their bond order, the defendant does not get back the fee paid to the company to use it.

CNNs Zachary Cohen and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

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In this image taken from video, a cable car carrying six children and two adults dangles hundreds of meters above the ground in the remote Battagram district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. The cable car malfunctioned, trapping the occupants for hours before rescuers arrived in helicopters to try to free them. | Associated Press

An operation to rescue the eight people trapped in a cable car dangling 900 feet high in Pakistan proved successful, with crews rescuing all six children and two adults that had been trapped in the car.

The treacherous rescue took 14 hours and involved military helicopters and collaboration across rescue departments in the region.

Relieved to know that Alhamdolillah all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people, Pakistans caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said in a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, per CNN.

What happened to the cable car in Pakistan?

One of the cables snapped while the car was moving across a river canyon, creating a precarious situation for the eight people trapped inside as the group was traveling to school Tuesday morning. Children frequently use the cable cars to get to and from school in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to The Associated Press.

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The students are between the ages of 10 and 15 years old.

What made the Pakistan cable car rescue mission difficult?

The rescue mission was a delicate operation because of strong winds in the area and because the wind created by the helicopters blades could further weaken cables holding the car aloft, AP reported.

With each attempt to bring the rescuer closer to the cable car using the helicopter, the gusts of wind from the rotor would jolt and unsettle the chairlift, causing the children to cry out in fear, Mufti Ghulamullah, mayor of Allai borough, told The New York Times.

Some of the passengers had been in contact with relatives and the media using their cellphones from the cable car and reported that two of the students were slipping in and out of consciousness. They had no drinking water but were given nausea medication and heart related medications, per CNN.

What do we know about the Pashto village community?

The village region of Pashto is home to 30,000 people, and the situation has rocked the community as it watched to see if the people trapped inside wil be rescued.

They are in front of us but we are helpless  observing them and unable to provide any help, Mufti Hasan Zaib, the father of one of the children trapped in the cable car, told the Times.

Following the incident, Kakar demanded all dilapidated and noncompliant chairlifts to halt operations immediately, CNN reported.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
Four men from Houston, Texas pled guilty to stealing cash and damaging ATMs with hooks, chains, and stolen trucks in multiple states, according to federal law enforcement officials.

Jamarlon Butler, and co-defendants Marques Strambler, David Hill, and Traveon Odoms, entered pleas in the Middle District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, each man faces a maximum of five years in prison and three years of supervised release, plus a potential $250,000 fine.

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The DOJ, citing court documents, said the four Texas men stole cash from ATMs in Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana in the summer of 2021.

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DOJ said they used chains and hooks attached to stolen trucks to access the machines internal safe, taking $166,482.18 in cash and damages.

The first theft happened in the Middle District of Georgia on June 16, 2021.

The defendants stole a Ford F250 from Phenix City, Alabama, and targeted the SunTrust Bank on Courtyard Way in Columbus, Georgia, DOJ said. Ultimately, their attempt to access the money inside the ATM was unsuccessful but caused $12,727 in damage.

After the failed attempt, the four men tried again at a Phenix City bank on Highway 280, using the same stolen truck, DOJ said. The total in cash and damages was $129,804, according to officials.

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Police later found the abandoned truck half a mile from the second bank, a Phenix Girard Bank.

Surveillance footage showed the truck being abandoned behind a business and three individuals running toward another vehicle.

An employee at the business told law enforcement officers that he saw the truck traveling at a high speed and dragging something away, causing sparks and noise, before being abandoned in the parking lot.

DOJ said the still-attached tow chain and hook were the cause.

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It was reportedly the same truck used in the attempted robbery of the SunTrust ATM in Columbus.

Later, the defendants stole a truck in Louisiana and tried to rob an ATM at the Hancock Whitney Bank in Covington, La. around 4 a.m., though they were again unsuccessful.

According to DOJ, surveillance footage showed the defendants exiting a truck and attaching a tow chain and hook to an ATM to try and access the internal safe, causing nearly $24,000 in damage.

Butler, Strambler, Hill, and Odoms all pled guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense or to defraud the United States. Butler entered his guilty plea on Aug. 15, and the other three defendants pled guilty on Aug. 7, according to the Justice Department.

These defendants embraced lawlessness, stealing vehicles and mauling ATMs in numerous attempts to steal money in Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said in a statement. Our office will not hesitate to hold individuals accountable for criminal actions that cause loss and damage for people, their businesses and the broader communities we serve.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

OTHER NEWS:
Presidential primary debates can make or break a candidates run for the White House  either helping to clinch a nomination or stopping a campaign in its tracks.

The stakes are high for Wednesdays first GOP presidential primary debate as candidates vie for a breakout moment in a primary dominated by former President Trump, who is notably skipping the debate.

With Trump, the clear front-runner for the nomination, declining his invitation to participate, the eight other candidates who qualified will look to improve their standing in the polls and propel their candidacy with millions across the country watching.

Several debates throughout history have stood out as influencing the outcome of a race.

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Heres a look back on five memorable primary debate moments throughout history:

2016 Republican debate: Chris Christie on Marco Rubios memorized speech

Going into the February 2016 GOP debate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was coming off an impressive showing in the Iowa caucuses, finishing in a close third place to then-candidate Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Trumps eventual nomination was far from certain at this point, and Rubio was seen as a possible establishment alternative to him in the race.

But Rubios candidacy reached a turning point at the debate during a confrontation with then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). The two candidates discussed Rubios qualifications for the presidency as a first-term senator, partially in comparison to then-President Obama, who was elected president as a first-term senator.

Christie argued his experience as a governor focusing on solving problems for the people of his state qualified him more than Rubio as a senator.

But the viral moment came when Christie called Rubio out for repeating a line multiple times in a few minutes about the need to dispel the fiction that Barack Obama doesnt know what hes doing when he knows exactly what hes doing with a policy.

I want the people at home to think about this, Christie responded. Thats what Washington, D.C., does. The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him.

Christie received significant applause for his criticism of Rubios line. The moment was seen as notably hurting Rubios candidacy, and he never reached the momentum he had going into the debate again.

Rubio argued in June that the moment did not mean the end of his campaign, and he still won and was competitive in multiple primaries. But he was ultimately not able to keep up with Trump and Cruz in the race after the debate.

1992 Democratic debate: Bill Clinton vs. Jerry Brown

President George H.W. Bush enjoyed widespread popularity following the U.S. coalition victory in the Persian Gulf War and was seen as having a strong chance of reelection heading into the 1992 presidential race.

That caused a few high-profile Democrats to pass on running and led to a wide-open field, but Bill Clinton, then the governor of Arkansas, and then-California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) eventually rose to the top of the pack.

The competition between Clinton and Brown was intense and filled with bitter attacks from both sides.

The drama reached a boiling point during a debate in March 1992 in which Brown accused Clinton of funneling money to his wifes law firm for state business. Brown also alleged that Hillary Clintons law firm was representing clients before Arkansas state agencies.

Clinton denied the allegations and responded that he feels sorry for Brown, whom he argued reinvents himself every year or two. Clinton and Brown then more directly faced each other in a confrontation.

Let me tell you something, Jerry. I dont care what you say about me. I knew  that you were going to reinvent yourself and you were going to be somebody elses mouthpiece. You would say anything. But you ought to be ashamed of yourself for jumping on my wife, Clinton said.

Youre not worth being on the same platform as my wife, he continued, pointing at Brown.

Brown pointed back at Clinton, saying, I tell you something, Mr. Clinton. Dont try to escape it.

Clinton soon after won a major victory on Super Tuesday to start pulling away to clinch the nomination and eventually win the election.

1984 Democratic debate: Walter Mondales Wheres the beef line

Former Vice President Walter Mondale was initially the clear front-runner in a crowded field of Democrats seeking to challenge President Reagan for reelection in 1984. But Sen. Gary Harts (D-Colo.) upset win over him in the Democratic primary and the Rev. Jesse Jackson emerging as another challenger gaining increasing attention put that in jeopardy.

Hart tried to cast himself as a younger alternative to Mondale with a New Ideas platform that he viewed as more moderate than the New Deal era of the partys old guard. But he faced criticism over alleged vagueness and a lack of specificity in his platform.

Mondale challenged Hart head-on during a debate in March 1984 in questioning what new ideas he was proposing in calling for a restoration of entrepreneurship in the country.

When I hear your new ideas, Im reminded of that ad, Wheres the beef? Mondale said, referring to the famous Wendys ad of the 1980s. His comment was followed by laughter from the crowd.

The moment was considered a turning point in the Democratic nominating process, symbolic of Harts struggles in that race in convincing voters of his platform. Mondale began increasing his lead over Hart a bit after the debate and eventually clinched the nomination a few months later.

1980 Republican debate: Ronald Reagan-George Bush Nashua debate

Reagan, who was the former governor of California and runner-up for the GOP nomination in 1976, entered the 1980 presidential race as the presumed front-runner.

He began the race with a strategy of trying to stay above the fray of the other Republican candidates, like George H.W. Bush, Sen. Bob Dole (Kansas) and Texas Gov. John Connolly, avoiding candidate forums and the first primary debate in Iowa. The candidates who attended slammed Reagan for skipping the debate, and Bush scored an upset victory in the Iowa caucuses.

The loss caused Reagan to get more aggressive in campaigning and facing off against the other candidates, and an offer to host a debate from the New Hampshire-based Nashua Telegraph presented an opportunity. The outlet offered to host a one-on-one event in late February between the top two candidates, Bush and Reagan.

Reagan offered to fund the debate to avoid the newspaper violating Federal Election Commission regulations by excluding some candidates from the event. But the governor announced shortly before the debate was held that he was going to invite the other candidates to participate, too.

This frustrated Bush, causing him to announce he would not participate unless the debate was one-on-one as the outlet proposed. Reagan and Bush appeared on stage along with the other four candidates that Reagan invited, and Reagan attempted to address those in attendance to explain why all candidates should be included.

The moderator tried to stop Reagan from speaking and asked for his microphone to be muted, to which Reagan angrily replied, Im paying for this microphone. The crowd responded with thunderous applause and cheering.

The four other candidates eventually agreed to leave the stage. and the debate was only two candidates like Bush wanted, but Reagan came off appearing as strong.

Reagan went on to win the New Hampshire primary days later in a landslide and rode that to the nomination and eventually the presidency.

1948 Republican debate: Thomas Dewey vs. Harold Stassen

New York Gov. Thomas Dewey (R) was the front-runner for the GOP nomination for president going into 1948, having been the nominee four years earlier against Franklin Roosevelt and a leader of the moderate establishment wing of the party.

But former Minnesota Gov. Harold Stassen (R) threw his hat in the ring as a young liberal Republican and won surprise victories in the Wisconsin and Nebraska primaries, potentially threatening Deweys position as the favorite.

This led Dewey and Stassen to take part in what was the first audio-recorded presidential debate in U.S. history. Between 40 and 80 million people are estimated to have tuned in to listen to the candidates.

The topic of the debate was whether the Communist Party of the United States should be outlawed, with Stassen arguing in favor and Dewey arguing against it. The debate was just a few days before the Oregon primary.

Dewey argued that banning the Communist Party was wrong and totalitarian and was seen as the winner, helping him narrowly clinch the Oregon primary days later and the Republican nomination the next month.

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Four New Mexico teenagers have been charged after a young girl was killed in her sleep during a drive-by shooting, authorities announced Monday.

A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old were taken into custody on murder and other charges for allegedly stealing two Kia Souls and opening fire at the Vista Del Sol mobile home park on Aug. 13, unintentionally striking 5-year-old Galilea Samaniego, the Albuquerque Police Department said at a press conference.

Galilea Samaniego, via Gabaldon Mortuary.

Galilea Samaniego, via Gabaldon Mortuary.

Authorities are still searching for two brothers, ages 17 and 15, who also face charges for their alleged involvement.

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According to police, Galilea was sleeping overnight in a mobile home with her siblings and other children. The home belongs to a women living there with her two teenage grandsons, who are not related to Galilea. And one of them was the intended target of the drive-by, Deputy Chief Cecily Barker said at the press conference.

A bullet pierced the mobile home and hit Galilea in the head, police stated. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Following the shooting, authorities released surveillance footage of the two Kia Souls that they said were present during the shooting.

APD is looking for information about these two Kia Soul vehicles seen in the area at the time of Sunday's homicide where a 5-year-old girl was killed. Call 505-242-COPS or 505-843-STOP to provide an anonymous tip. This was Sunday around 6 a.m. pic.twitter.com/NuTKgOoUtM  Albuquerque Police Department (@ABQPOLICE) August 14, 2023

In a statement, Albuquerque Police said the teens were involved in a dispute over a girl that went back years, to when they were in middle school.

The feud escalated in recent months, allegedly resulting in drive-by shootings between the two teens and several friends, the statement said.

According to police, detectives linked bullet casings from the Vista Del Sol shooting to an incident in November 2022 that involved several teens, including two of the suspects in Galileas killing.

Authorities are not sure how the teenagers allegedly obtained firearms.

Four minutes after the Vista Del Sol incident, the teens who police said were driving the Kia Souls allegedly took part in another drive-by shooting at a separate home, with surveillance footage capturing the vehicles near the scene.

According to authorities, the family inside that residence were uninjured. However, they told police that this was not the first attack theyd seen.

The homeowner, his wife and 4-year-old son at that home escaped injury in that shooting, which was the second drive-by they experienced in recent weeks, police said.

A teen residing at the mobile home where Galilea was shot told officers that two of his friends lived at the second drive-by location, adding that they were involved in the dispute with the 17-year-old who remains at large.

Both Kia Souls were abandoned after the shootings, and one of them was set on fire, according to police.

The four teen suspects are charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy, shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, shooting at or from a motor vehicle and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.

The New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender, representing the two teens in custody, did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment on their cases.

In a GoFundMe campaign raising money for Galileas burial service, the girls mother said the family is heartbroken, adding that she never thought my little baby would die this way.

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children in the U.S., topping car accidents and cancer. A Pew Research Center analysis found that gun deaths increased by 50% among children and teens between 2019 and 2021.

Related...
The deadly fire that killed at least 114 people on the island of Maui represents the arrival of a new era of fire threat for the Hawaiian Islands  and beyond.

The ruins of Lahaina, the tourist town nestled against the Pacific Ocean that was leveled by the blaze, now stand as a grim monument to the expanding geography of American wildfire.

Were starting to see fires happen in more and more places that seem surprising to us  because our expectations are based on previous decades, said Philip Higuera, a fire ecologist at the University of Montana.

Higuera said that Americans view of fires  and fire risk  is heavily weighted toward where fires happened throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, which chiefly means the forested slopes of the Rocky and Cascade Mountains.

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For all their occasional immense size, those 20th century Western fires had certain core characteristics that limited how risky they were  mainly that they burned through wild lands far from settlements.

But as the climate warms, farmers leave the land and human settlements sprawl further into the surrounding wildlands, the area at risk for destructive wildfires is also expanding  even as the character of those fires is changing in ways that make them more dangerous.

Here are places outside the Western region where that risk is getting particularly pronounced.

Hawaiis feral fire

For the next four months, the five Hawaiian Islands will be under unusually high risk of significant fire  the federal name for a blaze severe enough to overwhelm local capacity and require outside help, Robyn Heffernan of the National Weather Service (NWS) told The Hill.

According to the Department of Agricultures (USDA) Wildfire Risk to Communities tool, the islands biggest settlements are under high risk of fire: the city of Honolulu at higher risk than 74 percent of U.S. counties, and the surrounding county at higher risk than almost 90 percent.

For other local communities, the risk is even greater: The nearly 40,000 people of Kualapuu are at higher risk than 94 percent of U.S. towns.

In Hawaii, much of the risk of fire is climate driven. The protracted influence of climate change, magnified under the new El Nino conditions, has contributed to curing the landscape like firewood, and to powerful storm winds from offshore to turning the comparatively small Lahaina Fire into a deadly firestorm.

But Lahaina shared one other key characteristic with the sites of deadly fires from Portugal to northern California: It is a place where the landscape has grown feral as former plantations of crops or timber  cleared more than a century ago from the forest  were abandoned in the mid-20th century in favor of the new tourist economy, Higuera said.

That retreat created an opportunity for invasive, fire-loving grasses  introduced a century ago as cattle feed  to colonize the fallow fields, creating avenues to bring fire down into the outskirts of Lahaina.

Fire returns to the Great Lakes

After Hawaii, the states west of the Great Lakes are at the most protracted risk of significant fire, with parts of Wisconsin under elevated danger until October and most of Minnesota under threat until November.

The danger here is native trees, not invasive grasses like in Hawaii. In particular, the risk is that the weather will still be hot and dry when deciduous trees drop their leaves  creating a ready store of tinder that allows forests to burn, Heffernan of the NWS said.

If that leaf drop of all this vegetation coincides with a very dry period, that can also be concerning, she said.

And theres another difference: While Higuera said that fires in the Great Lakes region are not on the radar for the general public, thats not because such disasters have historically been rare there like they have in Hawaii.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the booming timberlands and rising cities of the Upper Midwest burned frequently and lethally. One such complex of fires in 1871  which included the Peshtigo and Great Chicago Fires  killed thousands, and the Cloquet Fire of 1918 killed nearly 500.

Some of the conditions for those past great fires no longer hold, Higuera said: The woodlands surrounding the regions major cities have largely been replaced by nonflammable structures like parking lots.

But others do. Like the Lahaina fire, the deadly Midwestern fires of the past century were fanned to monstrous size by powerful winds from nearby bodies of water: in the latter case, from the Great Lakes.

Wind, Higuera said, is a deadly game changer. Thats what moves wildfires from something that can conceivably be controlled or fought  to something that you cannot fight.

Ignition risk in the mid-Atlantic

The National Interagency Fire Center has predicted an elevated risk of significant fire in October for mid-Atlantic communities from West Virginia to the Jersey Shore.

But for many of the regions smaller cities and suburbs, the risk is here already. That current danger is largely concentrated in coastal woodlands, like the region southeast of Philadelphia, or the steep forested valleys of the Ohio River basin.

The city of Absecon, N.J.  a town of about about 9,000 on the outskirts of Atlantic City  has a wildfire risk 84 percent higher than the rest of the country, according to the USDA.

On the other side of the region, the West Virginia capital of Charleston is at greater risk for destructive fire than 76 percent of U.S. communities.

The mid-Atlantic shares characteristics with other at-risk areas, like rising temperatures and drought; a vulnerability to fire-stoking coastal winds; and a slow but protracted legacy of abandoned farmland in a north-south belt stretching from eastern Virginia through New Jersey.

But the regions high population means an increase in fire risk all on its own.

Fire scientists have increasingly worried about the sprawl of American settlements into the wildland urban interface  the ragged fringe of increasingly fire-prone vegetation surrounding our communities.

That expansion represents a nasty double whammy of danger, Higuera said. The more structures in the interface, the greater the risk of an accidental spark, and the more money and lives at stake when that fire expands.

Humans, he noted, come with our own accidental ignition.

Phase change in the Pacific Northwest?

Near-perpetual mist and drizzle have historically kept the Pacific Northwests riotous vegetation from easily drying into fuel.

But since 2020, destructive fires have burned in the coastal strip between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

That has historically been a wetter climate area that is starting to dry out, and were seeing more emergence of wildfires in the area, Heffernan said.

The National Interagency Fire Center has predicted elevated risk of significant fire along that strip through October.

This could be a sign of a serious shift in the ecosystem, from temperate rainforest to something else. As The Hill reported last week, the Northwestern forest belt is the surviving half of what was once an Oregon-like band of forest extending from Canada to the Mexican border.

About 13,000 years ago, however, a perfect storm of changes  in part linked to burning by humans  seems to have flipped an ecological switch, leading to that forests collapse during decades of apocalyptic fire, according to a study in the journal Science.

That history makes the recent incidence of fires in the Northwest worrying, Robin OKeefe, co-author of the Science article, told The Hill.

But a few bad years do not make a trend, and its far too soon to say if the Northwests larger fires represent that kind of broader shift, Higuera said.

Fire, he noted, isnt unheard of in the coastal rainforest, its just rare. The amount of area burned in a single year is likely not unprecedented  its the way those systems burn, he said.

It just happens infrequently.

The Southeast holds risk in check

One area at rising risk is holding that danger in check.

The threat of destructive fire is growing in the humid forests of the Gulf Coasts for the same reason it is rising in regions like Hawaii, the Midwest or the mid-Atlantic: The regions dense forests are growing drier and more prone to burning under the pressure of climate change.

Thats caused the Gulf Coast region  from Central Texas to the Alabama border  to have unusually high risk of significant fire through September.

Some of the cities at risk are surprisingly large: Biloxi, Miss., is at higher risk than 89 percent of U.S. cities; Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is in the top 77 percent of cities, as is Mobile, Ala.; Miami is in the top 72 percent; and New Orleans is in the top 64 percent.

But in one important respect, the region represents a good outlier, Higuera said: Unlike virtually the whole rest of the country, the practice of deliberate burning to remove dangerous fuels  a common practice among Native nations before and during European settlement  were never suppressed there.

Theres a lot of fire, but it is not feral fire  its put on the landscape intentionally, Higuera said. As a result, the vegetation, likewise, is not feral.

Thats a practice the rest of the country is still struggling to readopt, Tim Brown of the Desert Research Institute told The Hill.

A lot of prescribed fire takes place  but we still need more, particularly over larger areas, if were going to help mitigate these higher severity fires, Brown said.

Is everywhere at risk?

While areas like those listed above are considered to be at especially heightened danger of fire, the question of where risk is increasing is a somewhat misleading one, experts told The Hill  because in a large sense, the answer is everywhere.

Thats not a reason to panic, Higuera stressed  destructive fire remains a very rare occurrence. But it is becoming less rare, and as such, it is also becoming less and less characteristic of any particular region.

As the climate is warming, he said, the conditions for extensive wildfires are just happening more and more often  and the places where fire is turning into human disasters are increasing.

That has immediate implications for emergency managers, he said. The Lahaina Fire was so deadly because the populace was unprepared  from the fire siren system that didnt work as intended to a populace tragically unaware that wildfire constituted a serious risk.

For emergency managers across the country, Higuera said, destructive fire sweeping in from the wildland urban interface now needs to be a possibility that they plan for, alongside other rare-but-potentially lethal disasters.

He offered a simple rule of thumb for those officials: If theres vegetation, and its warm and dry, and theres an ignition, and there is flammable vegetation, then it can happen in your community  whether or not that was the case for our parents or our grandparents.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Donald Trump s rivals in the Republican White House race are due to convene for the first debate of the campaign Wednesday, as they jostle for position behind the front-running former president.

Trump has said he will skip the Fox News showdown, joining Tucker Carlson for an interview in the same time slot and letting his commanding national lead do the rest of his talking.

Still, the debate in Milwaukee should allow a small army of long-shot contenders to sell their campaigns, with the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus more than four months away.

Here are five things to watch.

1. Will Trump show?

The wise-cracking, bomb-throwing Trump made a mark on the first GOP debate in 2015, attacking Rosie ODonnell when a moderator, Megyn Kelly, asked him about his history of sexist comments.

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This time around, it seems Trump will sit the debate out  a standard choice for a politician with a large polling lead. On Tuesday, a FiveThirty Eight average of primary polls put Trump up 38 percentage points over his closest competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.

The public knows who I am, Trump said on his Truth Social platform Sunday.

But an air of suspense still hangs. Mike Pence, Trumps one-time vice president and now a rival, has suggested he would not be surprised if the 45th president decides to show up at the last minute.

I served alongside the president for a long time, and one thing I realized about him is its not over till its over, Pence said in an ABC News interview that aired Sunday.

2. How will the pack handle Trump?

Trumps post-presidency  marked by a myriad of election lies, an assortment of endorsements of failed candidates and four criminal indictments  seems to provide plenty of fodder for rivals.

But some candidates have seemed to pull punches, a tacit acknowledgment of the stranglehold Trump has over the GOP electorate. Candidates like DeSantis have often seemed uncomfortable taking shots at Trump, fearing a backlash.

With Trump rising in the polls, though, more hopefuls may rip the band-aid. Earlier this month, DeSantis declared Trump did not win the 2020 presidential election.

I would expect Trumps name to be mentioned hundreds of times, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. If its not, the candidates are basically ceding the nomination to Trump.

3. Can Christie make a splash?

One candidate who seems unafraid to take on Trump is former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was criticized as a domineering force when he led New Jersey, but whose debate skills are hard to question.

On a debate stage in 2016, then-GOP presidential candidate Christie filleted a flustered Sen. Marco Rubio, functionally ending the Florida senators run in some peoples eyes.

Christie plainly craves a chance to carve up Trump, whom he once advised and supported. But if the former president does not attend the tilt Wednesday, Christie may be left to train his fire elsewhere.

Christies very good at the multi-candidate debates, said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist. Hes like a bumper car. Hell be bumping into anyone he can.

Christie is scoring about 3% of the vote nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight.

4. How much heat will DeSantis take?

DeSantis, long seen as the primary GOP threat to Trump, has been struggling throughout the summer and recently replaced his campaign manager. Opponents may smell blood.

A campaign memo circulated by his campaign said we are fully prepared for Gov. DeSantis to be the center of attacks.

A strong DeSantis performance could clarify his alternative-to-Trump status. A weak showing could open the field.

This is as close to a do-or-die moment as a candidate can have, Conant said of DeSantis.

5. Will candidates focus on immigration?

President Joe Bidens handling of Americas southwestern border has been a point of sharp Republican criticism over the last year, as waves of migrants have headed northward  stretching resources in places like New York City.

But Republican strategists suggested the debate is likely to offer more mudslinging than substantive policy debate from the candidates.

I havent seen any really robust policy discussions from any of them, said Jay Townsend, a New York political consultant who advises candidates from both parties.

The debate starts at 9 p.m. EST on the Fox News Channel.

_____
More than 8 in 10 New Yorkers said the recent migrant surge to the Big Apple is a serious problem, which comes as New York struggles to house the influx of asylum-seekers into the state, according to a new survey.

A poll published Tuesday from Siena College found 82 percent of New York voters surveyed said the recent influx of migrants to the state is a serious problem, and 54 percent of participants described it as very serious.

Furthermore, 46 percent of the respondents said migrants resettling in the state over the past 20 years are a burden not a benefit, while 58 percent said the state has already done enough and should slow the flow, rather than continue to accept and assimilate new migrants.

New Yorkers  including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, upstaters and downstaters  overwhelmingly say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem for the state, Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.

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While there is partisan agreement over the migrant surge being a serious problem, Greenberg said a plurality of Democrats see the resettlement of migrants in New York as a benefit, while a majority of independents and two-thirds of Republicans described it as a burden to the state.

More than three-quarters of Republicans and 60 percent of independent voters said New York has done enough and should slow the flow of migrants instead of accepting and assimilating them, while Democrats were more evenly divided, according to Greenberg.

The poll also found around 50 percent of voters support relocating new migrants from temporary accommodations to permanent housing in communities across the state, with strong support from Democrats and New York City voters. Greenberg said Republicans are strongly opposed to it, while independents and noncity voters are closely divided but lean toward opposition.

The poll comes as New York City has struggled to house the influx of asylum-seekers.

Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams renewed his calls for federal assistance for migrant housing. Adams said he is welcoming toward immigrants but believes the cost is not sustainable over the next three years.

The city has received around $140 million in federal funding for shelters, more than any other city away from the southwest border.

Last month, Adams announced new shelter limits for adult migrants in an effort to make room for families and children. Earlier in June, New York City filed a lawsuit against 30 New York counties over refusing asylum-seekers.

Nearly half  or 47 percent of participants surveyed  said they disapprove of the job Adams is doing with regards to migrants, compared to 31 percent who said they approved. Just more than half  51 percent of voters  said they disapproved of Gov. Kathy Hochuls (D) job, while 35 percent of voters said they approve.

The Siena College poll was conducted Aug. 13-16 among 803 New York state registered voters. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Eight people were stuck on a cable car in northeast Pakistan after a cable broke mid-journey.

Eight people were stuck on a cable car in northeast Pakistan after a cable broke mid-journey.

All eight people left stranded on a broken cable car in the mountains of Pakistan Tuesday have been rescued, the countrys caretaker prime minister shared on X, formerly Twitter.

Relieved to know that Alhamdolillah all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar wrote.

Seven schoolchildren and one adult were left hanging 900 feet above the ground in the Battagram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in northeast Pakistan after a cable broke around 8:30 a.m., according to Geo News, a Pakistani news channel.

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It remains unclear what caused the cable car, which is regularly used by local children to travel to school, to malfunction. Zafar Iqbal, a teacher, told Geo News 150 children come to school by cable car every day.

The Pakistani military was able to remove some passengers via helicopter, but was forced to reassess its efforts due to bad light once the sun set, and changed tactics to use a second, smaller cable car to rescue the remaining two passengers, according to Geo News.

Footage on social media showed one person being lifted to safety by rope to a helicopter above.

Members of media watch a news channel covering the eight people trapped in a cable car on Aug. 22 at an office in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Members of media watch a news channel covering the eight people trapped in a cable car on Aug. 22 at an office in Peshawar, Pakistan.

During the rescue, family members of the passengers could only look on.

They are in front of us but we are helpless  observing them and unable to provide any help, Mufti Hasan Zaib, a religious scholar whose son was among the passengers, said in a phone interview with The New York Times as he watched the helicopter mission from a hill.

We dont even have drinking water in the cable car, Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old passenger who confirmed that most of the commuters were students, told Geo News over the phone Tuesday while on the cable car. The first cable broke down after the cable car travelled a mile.

Gulfaraz said one of the passengers was 16 years old and has a heart condition, according to Geo News. The teenager, who was en route to a local hospital via the cable car when the incident occurred, fainted and remained unconscious for three hours at the time of Gulfarazs phone call.

My mobile phone battery is depleting fast, he told a local TV news channel, per the Times.

The incident has reminded locals like religious leader Maulana Qasim Mehmood of the importance of necessities like health care and transportation for the region  as a 2005 earthquake there killed more than 80,000 people and decimated infrastructure.

The villages in Allai are several decades behind the global development standards, he said, per the Times.

The nearest hospital and high school respectively lie 90 and four miles away, leading women in labor to often give birth en route and people who have fallen dangerously ill to die along the way, according to the Times, while children spend two to three hours daily to get to school.

That changed around five years ago when engineers from a nearby city built a cable car across the valley, cutting the lengthy commute for students down to 10 minutes.

Kakar said on X that the incident prompted him to direct authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use.

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The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced that eight GOP presidential candidates have officially qualified for the first primary debate slated for Wednesday evening in Milwaukee.

To qualify for the debate, candidates needed to meet polling and donor requirements set by the RNC, as well as sign a loyalty pledge vowing that they will support the eventual Republican nominee in 2024. The RNC said eight candidates met all three requirements as of Monday night, notably excluding former President Trump.

Those who qualified are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Despite appearing to met the polling and donor requirements needed for the debate, Trumps opposition to the loyalty pledge likely kept him from qualifying for the debate stage. The former president suggested for months that he would not attend the debate, pointing to his comfortable lead in the polls as reason for not attending.

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He confirmed that decision Sunday, floating the possibility that he will also skip future debates. His announcement came days after it was reported that the former president planned to sit for a pre-taped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead of joining his primary challengers.

There are a handful of other candidates who did not qualify for the debate stage, including former Texas Rep. Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Neither of them appeared to have met the polling requirements needed to qualify, and Hurd has also vowed to not sign any RNC loyalty pledge.

Businessman Perry Johnson, conservative radio host Larry Elder and pastor Ryan Binkley also did not qualify for the debate.

The debate will be hosted by Fox News and and is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Photo: The Canadian Press A Flair Airlines plane is seen in this undated handout photo.

Flair Airlines CEO Stephen Jones says his budget carrier is at last running a smooth operation propelled by high passenger numbers, despite "growing pains" at the debt-laden company that's still striving to gain consumer confidence.

In an interview, the chief executive said Flair topped the list of Canadian airlines in on-time performance over the summer as well as in load factors, with planes 90 per cent full on average last month.

We're very far from perfect, Jones qualified. Weve had tons of growing pains  some operationally, some financially, some CTA."

The latter refers to the Canadian Transportation Agency, which prompted Flair last year to rejig its board and revoke shareholder rights from key investor 777 Partners in order to comply with rules around domestic ownership.

Moreover, Flair must continue to make payments of more than US$7 million per month on its 21 Boeing 737 plane leases and manage loans amounting to between US$200 million and US$300 million, Jones said.

We do pay expensive debt," he said, citing rates of 18 per cent on loans from 777 Partners, the Miami-based company that owns one-quarter of the airline.

No one else was standing there willing, during COVID and during high oil prices, to say, You know what, we believe in the vision of a low-cost carrier in Canada, here's some 17 per cent money.

The balance sheet is not in great shape," Jones added, but noted the interest is "non-cash"  no monthly payments required  and merely adds to the principal. "At some point there will be some form of reckoning, whether it's a restructure or whatever."

Despite the debt burden, Flair's performance improvements mark a sharp shift from the frequent delays and frustrations that shrouded the Edmonton-based airline as recently as March, when a leasing company seized four its planes over claims of missed payments.

A Facebook page dedicated to Flair passenger woes continues to log issues, but features fewer complaints than a year ago, when travel chaos descended on a sector unprepared for the surge in post-pandemic demand.

Now, Flair plans to double down on its split emphasis of domestic trips in the summer and sun routes in the winter. It can also breathe a little easier as budget carrier Swoop prepares for shutdown and incorporation into WestJet, its parent company, following a fierce rivalry over routes and fares.

We are now shifting away from what has been a sort of brutal domestic fight," Jones said.

The operational improvements help too, he said.

Were actually running a decent airline now," he said. More and more, people are just connecting to the idea that they can travel around Canada affordably and have some fun."

Barry Prentice, who directs the University of Manitoba's transport institute, said it's the shoulder seasons of fall and spring that can hurt a carrier's bottom line, especially for leisure-focused airlines like Flair and Lynx Air, a low-cost carrier that launched last year in a now-crowded market.

Traditionally, fewer vacationers board planes in those months, and the larger carriers have higher-margin business travellers to fall back on  even if the corporate jet set has been slow to return amid the rise of videoconferencing.

"A lot of people, if they have a choice between flying with one of the big airlines or someone that they aren't quite as confident in, they'll take the big one," Prentice said.

"And if there's a problem, depending how hard they're pushing their fleet, they don't have the extra capacity to fill in," he said, referring to low-cost airlines' much smaller aircraft tallies.

Nonetheless, Prentice views the budget carrier business model of plane leases over purchases as allowing greater flexibility to respond to market conditions by cutting back in lean times.

The issue that always confronts the airlines is the market demand. When things are going great, theyre doing really well, and when the economy starts to falter, they really stumble," he said.
Nearly three weeks after a car slammed into an elderly couple while they were driving in Boynton Beach, authorities say, the husband died of his injuries.

Austin Granat, 88, of Lake Worth Beach, was heading north on Lyons Road about 4 p.m. on July 31 towards Venetian Isles Boulevard in a Honda CRV, with his 81-year-old wife, Pearl, as a passenger, according to a crash report from the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

Meanwhile, Sandy Cohen, 82, of Boynton Beach was in a Lexus E350, facing south in the left turn lane, waiting to turn east onto Venetian Isles Boulevard. He began to turn, failing to yield to oncoming traffic, according to the report, and the front of Granats Honda crashed into the right front of Cohens Lexus. The Lexus then swung around, its right rear crashing into the right rear of the Honda.

Cohen was not injured, according to Teri Barbera, a spokesperson for PBSO. Pearl Granat remains hospitalized with serious injuries.
Nine out of 10 Cal Poly alumni found jobs, enrolled in graduate studies or were otherwise engaged after graduating from the San Luis Obispo university, according to a new report.

According to Cal Polys latest Career Services Graduate Status Report, 91% of Cal Poly graduates from the 2021-2022 graduating class were positively engaged after graduation, the university said in a Tuesday news release, with the vast majority working or attending graduate schools in California.

Eight in 10 Cal Poly graduates accepted jobs in the Golden State, the release said, including 18% in San Luis Obispo County.

According to the release, Cal Polys Career Services annually surveys Cal Poly graduates to determine their post-commencement plans, top employers and locations, employment regions and starting median salaries. The most recent report looks at 2,232 graduates in the nine months following graduation.

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Employers tell us time and again that they seek to hire Cal Poly graduates because our grads are ready day one, Amie Hammond, executive director of Cal Poly Career Services, said in the release.

Report: Salaries for Cal Poly graduates on the rise

According to the release, 71% of recent graduates considered fully engaged were working full-time jobs, while 4% found part-time work and 14% were attending graduate school.

Around 9% of the graduates were still seeking employment, while around 2% were engaged in other pursuits, such as travel, a gap year or personal commitments, the release said.

Employers who have hired recent Cal Poly graduates include Abbot, Amazon, LinkedIn, Northrop Gruman and SpaceX, according to the release.

Graduates of Cal Poly College of Engineering were positively engaged 99% of the time, according to the release.

More than 90% of graduates of the colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; Architecture and Environmental Design; Engineering and Orfalea College of Business found jobs related to their majors, the release said.

Meanwhile, around 33% of graduates of the Baliley College of Science and Mathematics went to graduate school.

Members of Cal Polys 2021-2022 graduating class earned a median starting salary of $72,000 annually, rising from $68,000 the prior year, the release said.

Median starting salaries for Cal Poly graduates have grown 22% since the 2014-2015 survey, when graduates reported a median starting salary of $56,000, the release said.

Graduates of the College of Engineering reported an 18% median starting salary bump in that time, growing from $68,000 for the class of 2014-2015 to $83,500 for the class of 2021-2022.

The latest Graduate Status Report confirms that a Cal Poly degree continues to provide a strong return on investment, Hammond said in the release.
More than 2,000 family members of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks want President Biden to step in and stop any plea deal for the suspected architect of the plot and his fellow defendants.

The families sent a letter to the White House saying they received notification from the U.S. government informing them that plea deals are being considered for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others that would prevent a public trial and remove the possibility of the death penalty.

The five suspects have been held at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006. Numerous legal disputes and delays, however, has meant no trial date has yet been set for the men even after more than a year of military prosecutors and defense attorneys trying to find a negotiated end to the case.

While prosecutors have been considering the deal, no plea agreement has been decided. But that is not satisfying for families to the 9/11 victims, according to their Monday letter to Biden.

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The pain is all the worse as we learn from the Department of Justice, practically on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, in a form letter that it is proposing a deal with terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that will prevent a public trial and will continue to keep the information provided to his legal team . . . secret and hidden not only from the 9/11 Families but from the American public, the families write.

You are our President and we ask that you prioritize the interests of the victims of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks over those of [Mohammed] or other terrorists; that you not bow to the demands of any embarrassed government officials willing to sacrifice transparency, the letter adds.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11 when members of the al-Qaeda militant group took control of four passenger planes, with two hitting the World Trade Center towers in New York City and another striking the Pentagon. The fourth jet was headed toward Washington, D.C., but crew members and passengers attempted to storm the cockpit and the hijackers forced the plane down in a field in Pennsylvania, killing all onboard.

The U.S. 9/11 Commission later found that Mohammed presented the idea of the terrorist attacks to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, with the four other defendants thought to have supported the plot in various ways.

But the men have not yet stood trial as there has been uncertainty over the legality of using information pulled from the defendants using torture methods such as waterboarding, which Mohammed underwent 183 times while he was in CIA custody after being caught in the early 2000s.

CBS News reported last week that under the proposed deal, the five men would accept criminal responsibility for their actions and plead guilty in exchange for not receiving the death penalty.

But the victims families say the plea allows U.S. agencies to continue to withhold critical information about Saudi Arabias possible role in assisting hijackers.

It is our fervent hope you will once again stand up for the victims and immediately demand that your government release the evidence we have tirelessly fought for, which we believe will further reveal the role Saudi agents played in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, the letter states.

Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A man killed by police after he fatally shot a 66-year-old woman over her stores Pride flag has been identified, California officials reported.

Travis Ikeguchi, 27, of Cedar Glen died in a lethal force encounter with deputies following the slaying on Friday, Aug. 18, a San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office news release said.

Ikeguchi had no identification and investigators had a difficult time identifying him, the release said. He was carrying an unregistered 9mm handgun.

Little was known about Ikeguchi, but The Independent reported he had a history of anti-LGBTQ posts on Twitter, now rebranded as X, and other social media sites.

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66-year-old shot dead over Pride flag hanging outside her store, California officials say

Deputies responded to a reported shooting at the Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen near Lake Arrowhead at 5 p.m. Aug. 18, McClatchy News reported.

They found store owner Lauri Carleton, 66, of Cedar Glen dead at the scene, according to deputies and a statement San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe gave to KCAL.

Investigators learned a man made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton, officials said.

Armed with a handgun, the man, now identified by authorities as Ikeguchi, ran from the store and deputies found him nearby, the news release said.

Sheriffs officials said he opened fire on deputies, who fatally shot him, ABC News reported. Ikeguchis family had reported him missing a day earlier.

Carleton did not identify as LGBTQ+ but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community, Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+, who referred to her as Lauri, said on Instagram.

She will be truly missed, the post said.

Carleton had been married for 28 years and had nine children, the Los Angeles Blade reported.

Everyone deserves to live free of hate and discrimination and practice their constitutional right of freedom of speech. Lauri was a remarkable member of the community and I send my deepest condolences to her family in this time of grief, Rowe said in a statement to the publication.

This disgusting hate has no place in CA, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X. He called the shooting absolutely horrific.

In the past, when someone took down her flag or vandalized it, shed put up another one, actress Bridget Everett of the HBO Max series Somebody Somewhere, who knew Carleton, wrote on Instagram.

All that anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has a price, she wrote. And now, Lauris husband Bort, her daughters, friends and community are devastated. And for what?

Investigators ask anyone with information to call 909-890-4904 or leave an anonymous tip at 1-800-782-7463.

Cedar Glen and Lake Arrowhead are about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

Man flees gunshots, returns to find blood and woman missing from park, CA cops say

Scammer posing as Colorado sheriffs captain gets a call  from man hes impersonating

Officer discovers hit-and-run by running over body in street, California police say
[Source]

Chinese rights activist Kwon Pyong was arrested in South Korea while attempting to escape across the Yellow Sea on a jet ski.

Kwons escape: Kwon, 35, fled from Shandong province, China, on an 1800-cc jet ski towing five barrels of fuel, marking one of the more extreme escape attempts seen in modern times. Kwon had traveled about 186 miles using binoculars and a compass to navigate before encountering difficulties. According to South Korea's coast guard, Kwon called for help after his jet ski got stuck in tidal flats near the western port city of Incheons cruise terminal.

He refilled the petrol on the ride and dumped the empty barrels into the sea, the coast guard explained, according to BBC.

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The activist was detained last Wednesday for attempting to smuggle himself into the city. Authorities said they found no sign that Kwon could be a spy.

More from NextShark: Vaults for the dead smashed in North Dakota Muslim cemetery vandalism

About Kwon: Kwon, a critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping, had spent time in jail for subversion. His escape attempt reflects increased Chinese efforts to prevent activists from leaving through exit bans. Many Southeast Asia countries also no longer harbor asylum seekers, making it harder for dissidents to flee.

Refugee status: According to Lee Dae-seon, a South Korea-based campaigner of NGO Dialogue China, Kwon is considering whether to apply for refugee status in South Korea, which only grants a handful of refugees asylum each year.

While his means of entry into South Korea in violation of the law was wrong, surveillance of the Chinese authorities and political persecution of Kwon since 2016 are behind his life-risking crossing into South Korea, Lee said. He is now weighing whether to apply for refugee status in South Korea or choose a third country.

More from NextShark: Doomsday bunkers being built in Japan amid increased fear of war

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A second lawsuit has been filed against a local nurse and business owner, adding to a long list of legal troubles that includes accusations of prostitution and pimping.

A lawsuit filed Aug. 18 in Story County accuses Carl Markley, 44 of Ames, of using his status as a hiring manager at two Ames businesses, as well as his role as a registered nurse, to sexually assault, abuse and molest a person in Story County.

The suit requests a preliminary injunction and demands a jury trial. A motion for the preliminary injunction is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 25.

Markley previously operated the Wellness Clinic in Ankeny and also was co-owner of Inside Golf, Perfect Games and Time To Roll in Ames. Markley worked for Gold Medal Property, a property management company, and regularly conducted athletic physicals for the Ames Middle School and high school.

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Markley is charged with 10 counts of pimping and prostitution stemming from a months-long Ames Police Department investigation that uncovered several recording devices at properties owned by Markley. The evidence allegedly documented studies he conducted on various subjects. He was arrested in April for allegedly paying several juveniles money to perform sexual studies at properties under his ownership. He allegedly used his Ankeny clinic as cover on several occasions.

Additionally, a lawsuit was filed in July in Polk County accusing Markley of executing a fake sexual health study through his clinic.

More: Additional prostitution charges added to Markley's case of human trafficking

Markley accused of conducting "practice physicals" on his underage employee

The most recent lawsuit against Markley accuses the father of two of performing practice physicals on a person under the age of 18 over a four-year span, telling the subject the physicals were part of a class he had to take for research and for product testing, court documents said.

According to Story County court documents, Markley allegedly hired the person in July 2018. The victim claims they developed a "trustint" relationship with Markley, who later paid cash or sent money via the cash-exchange app Venmo to conduct practice physicals at Wellness Clinic in Ankeny, which included physical examinations and physical touch through the summer of 2022. The person was led to believe, according to court documents, that Markley was making payments through his Wellness Clinic. The suit also alleges Markley of offering additional money for male-specific physicals, which included Markley touching the subjects genitals.

The suit also claims Markley paid for gas for the victim to travel to and from Ankeny.

When the person turned 18, the suit alleges Markley offered to perform massage practices on the person in exchange for money, which was done at a residence owned by Markley at Twain Circle in Ames. The victim said Markley conducted fully nude massages twice a week. Markley is accused of asking to touch the subjects genitals, while at other times, permission allegedly was not sought.

More: Four new principals highlight new year in Ames Community School District

Court documents say Markley created a website after police searched his various properties called 21stcenturymale.com, a company that Markley described as a research group, specializing in male sexual health topics.

The lawsuit also claims Markley used his authority and position as a nurse practitioner, his practice at Back to Wellness, and his ownership and/or employment and/or agency of 21st Century Male Products to sexually assault, abuse, and molest plaintiff, and an unknown number of other individuals, minors, and young adults.

Carl Markley, 44 of Ames, charged with several prostitution and pimping infractions, was co-owner of Perfect Games, Inside Golf and Time to Roll in Ames.

Ames PD began investigating Markley last winter

The Ames Police Department launched an investigation in December 2022 into accusations of illegal sexual conduct between Markley and several juveniles. A handful of witnesses have accused Markley of offering money in exchange for sexual favors, according to court documents, while several recording devices found in Markley's possession contained images of a naked minor. The charges involve conduct in both Story and Polk counties.

Markley is accused of running several prostitution encounters out of various rental properties.

A witness who came forward in June, according to court documents, said Markley had asked the person to meet them at his study in the 4000 block of Twain Street on several occasions. The location was in a basement unit of an apartment complex owned by Markley. The interview subject accused Markley of allegedly conducting a sexual act on the person for which the subject was paid roughly $600 and $700 for four to five sessions, court documents said.

Markley also is accused of offering to pay a person to meet them at a rental property in the 3000 block of Marigold on March 21. Markley allegedly touched the subjects genitals and paid the witness cash for the sexual act.

Officers conducted a search warrant on Markleys businesses and home and uncovered a signed document dated March 21 that tied Markley to the alleged sexual act.

Additional search warrants revealed a hidden clock camera and pen camera. The devices contained images of a naked minor allegedly taken during a physical exam.

A jury trial for Markleys charges of prostitution, invasion of privacy and pimping is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 16. Markley pleaded not guilty to the 10 charges on July 26.

Polk County suit accuses Markley of running fake sexual health study

Accusations have continued to roll out following Markley's initial April arrest.

A lawsuit filed July 14 in Polk County accuses Markley of using his Wellness Clinic in Ankeny as a front to defraud and secretly record a couple. The suit, filed by Roxanne Conlin & Associates, P.C. in Des Moines, accuses Markley and his business, Wellness Clinic in Ankeny, of sexual battery, negligence, fraud, emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

The lawsuit accuses Markley of offering $400 to a couple to participate in a fraudulent study in 2020. The plaintiff, whose boyfriend worked for one of Markley's businesses, alleges he offered $400 to couples willing to participate in the study, which involved multiple visits and physical examinations at the clinic.

Markley surrenders nursing license

Markley surrendered his nursing license in July after prosecutors allege he had been operating a prostitution scheme for 15 years.

The Iowa Board of Nursing, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, claims Markley allegedly wrote prescriptions for more than 14,000 tablets of medication for a nonprofit pharmacy.

Embedded content: https://www.iowacourts.state.ia.us/ESAWebApp/DownloadFiling

Brandon Hurley is editor of the Ames Tribune and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at bhurley@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: New suit accuses Markley of sexually abusing underage employee
Ahsoka is both a spin-off of The Mandalorian, where its protagonist initially appeared in live-action form, and a direct follow-up to Star Wars Rebels , a four-season animated TV series that concluded in 2018. For those steeped in Star Wars lore, its an eagerly anticipated continuation of the story of Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), a Jedi who was trained by none other than Darth Vader himself, Anakin Skywalker. For everyone else, its premise alone likely ignites a desire for a roadmap and extensive time to study various Wikipedia pages.

As with more than a few of its Disney ancestors, Ahsoka is an attempt to expand the galaxy far, far away by honing in on its nooks and cranniesa paradoxical approach that has yet to truly make this universe seem as big as its inhabitants claim. Set between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, creator/writer/director Dave Filoni s eight-episode Disney+ affair (streaming August 23) is built upon a Rebels narrative and character foundation.

That it manages to also clue newbies into whats going on is rather impressive, but make no mistake about itunless youre already invested in the exploits of Ahsoka and her anti-Imperial cohorts, this tales interpersonal dynamics, fraught emotions and high-stakes drama will feel more conceptual than pressing. No matter how hard it strives for widespread accessibility, its a sequel that will be of primary interest to established fans.

(Warning: Minor spoilers follow.)

Lucasfilm/Disney+

Thats not to say, however, that Ahsoka is unduly baffling or uninvolving; rather, it simply works best with a degree of familiarity, and engagement, with its material. In the first of many nods to George Lucas original trilogy, whose style and atmosphere it faithfully channels, it begins with an expository text crawl that sets the proverbial scene: in this post-Empire period, evil forces are plotting to locate exiled Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), a Rebels Big Bad who seeks to restore the Empire. A secret map is the key to finding Thrawn, and its sought by one of his allies: Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), whos been captured and is being transported on a large vessel to the New Republic for trial.

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That ship is boarded by two individuals, Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), who purport to be Jedis. Despite the skepticism of the vessels captain, these two robed villains prove their Force-wielding mettle and successfully free Morgan, who promptly embarks on a quest to acquire the map.

Theyre not the only people looking for that chart. On a dusty planet, samurai-esque Ahsokashe of the long zebra-striped head-tails, white face paint, and humorless attitudediscovers its whereabouts, at which point shes attacked by droids who are no match for her dual-lightsaber skills. This is a standard means of demonstrating Ahsokas combat bona fides, and its staged with a clean, swift sharpness that characterizes the proceedings sturdy action.

Everything You Need to Know Before Watching Ahsoka

Far from her brattier adolescent origins, Dawsons adult Ahsoka is a stern and methodical warrior, and while that serves her well in battle, shes something of a bore in the early going, regardless of the fact that shes paired with her trusty droid Huang (voiced by David Tennant) and eventually reunites with her own former Padawan, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).

Having ditched her Jedi training (and been abandoned by Ahsoka), Sabine is mourning the supposed death of Rebels hero Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), who sacrificed himself in order to rid the galaxy of Thrawn. Shes roused out of her loner life, and into an uneasy alliance with Ahsoka, by the promise of using the map to find Ezra.

Disney+/Lucasfilm

Ahsokas first two episodes (which were all that were provided to press) spend considerable energy on explicating these relationships and backstoriesmuch of them having to do with Ahsoka and Sabines strained bondfor those not in the know. Moving forward while explaining the complicated past proves to be an inherently clunky balancing act, yet series mastermind Filoni pulls it off with reasonable aplomb. Although too many sequences feature characters taking their momentum-sapping time staring at objects in order to deduce their secrets, the show remains relatively lucid to newcomers, and is bolstered by an enlivening sense of mythic forces at play.

Ahsoka additionally features witchesnamely, the Nightsisters of Dathomir, who count Morgan among their members. This allows the material to lean into Star Wars more magical aspects, and not unpleasantly. More frustrating is Filonis dialogue, which can be clunky to the point of cartoonishness; You did good, says one character, indicating that these advanced societies grasp of grammar hasnt kept up with their technological innovations. Maintaining continuity with Rebels means that this live-action adventure occasionally flirts with childishness, and that impression is exacerbated by Filoni staging multiple scenes at a mural of Ezra and his compatriots thats been drawn in the style of Rebels animationjust in case anyone was confused about the franchise lineage thats persistently front and center.

Additional holdovers from its predecessor include Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a New Republic general who really, really wants to foster star peace between Ahsoka and Sabine; Chopper, Heras loyal bleep-blooping droid; and Thrawn, whos doesnt appear in the maiden two episodes. Also slated to pop up in Ahsoka are Hayden Christensens Anakin and Genevieve OReillys Mon Mothma, wholl undoubtedly further link this to its Star Wars forebearers.

Disney+/Lucasfilm

Such synergy is to be expected. Even so, the series is most assured when carving out a unique path; the late Stevensons rogue Jedi Baylan, and Sakhnos windswept-haired Shin, are a menacing and mysterious pair who turn out to be this undertakings most fascinating figures, their enigmatic histories and intentions far more intriguing than Ahsoka and Sabines estranged-buddies rapport.

With six episodes to go, its impossible to gauge whether Ahsoka stands on its own as a valuable addition to the Star Wars mythology or is merely a Rebels appendage that excavates micro chronological moments to trivial ends. For now, the former seems as possible as the latter. Still, doubts remainhere epitomized by Heras own pronouncement, Sometimes even the right reasons have the wrong consequences.

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Private equity firm Trive Capital has acquired Hypergiant Industries in a deal that will furnish the Texas-based AI company with capital to build even faster, Hypergiant CEO Mike Betzer told TechCrunch in a recent interview. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hypergiants core product is called CommandCenter, a geospatial data visualization platform designed to inform real-time decision-making. It does so by integrating many different sources of data and providing recommendations on the best course of action to the end user, whether that be to reposition a satellite or launch a missile.

That doesnt mean Hypergiant does analytics. Instead, CommandCenter uses artificial intelligence to generate real-time threat analysis and make recommendations, including by providing context like the probability of success or even whether a given decision would generate collateral damage.

Furnishing the Pentagon with these capabilities is paramount, Betzer said: In my opinion, look, we're already in World War 3. It is a war of data and the future will be controlled by the people who control the data, or can manipulate the data.

Hypergiant Command Center Common Operating Picture for Urban Protective Grid

Image Credits: Hypergiant Industries

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Hypergiant has not always been so laser-focused on defense and critical infrastructure. When TechCrunch first covered the company way back in 2018, it was working with large brands like TGI Fridays, Disney and Shell to provide bespoke AI solutions. Hypergiant founder Ben Lamm said this early work helped the company understand the various use cases and needs of different businesses.

Weve trended over the years more and more towards critical infrastructure, space and defense, based on the different technologies and use cases that we saw, he said. Lamm, who has since moved on to head another company, Colossal, which aims to use CRISPR to rebuild the DNA of extinct megafauna, still sits on Hypergiants board.

Just last month, Hypergiant announced it was awarded a $61 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to deliver a real-time command and control interface that will be the UX for the Pentagons Cloud-Based Command and Control (CBC2) program.

Hypergiant was fielding interest from multiple buyers, Betzer said, but he said it was immediately clear that Trive was set apart. They're a long-term player, they have a long-term vision of what we can do, he said.

Hypergiant will also work with other companies in Trives portfolio, including San Diego-based Forward Slope, which won a large contract from the U.S. Navy. Trive, which has over $4 billion assets under management, invests in companies in industries ranging from aerospace, to food and beverage, to healthcare.

[Forward Slope has] a huge contract with the Navy but their visualization of their data for the Navy is not optimal, Betzer said. We're already integrating our software with Forward Slopes software so that we can add ours on top of theirs to have a great visualization of what they're doing. Were in Space Force, were in Army, were in Air Force, [but] were not in Navy. This gets us a huge contract in Navy and it gets us across all aspects of the DOD.

Looking ahead, Hypergiant plans on growing its 200-person team and expanding its customer base, to work with branches of the military like the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the U.S. Central Command. The company will also continue developing its work on critical infrastructure.
Photo: Sebastian Kanally

Canada Post delivery service continues to be disrupted in the B.C. Interior and in particular the central and south Okanagan regions, with some communities on red alert.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 22, a new red alert has been issued in Penticton, Kelowna has been upgraded from yellow to red, and a yellow alert has been issued in Chase, Kaleden, Keremeos, Lake Country, Okanagan Falls, Osoyoos, Princeton and Summerland.

Red alert means there will not be any delivery in the community, whereas yellow means there may be some deliveries, but they will likely be delayed.

"Where delivery is not possible, all lettermail and parcels are being held securely. The safety of our employees is our number one priority," reads a press release from Canada Post issued Tuesday.

"We thank those affected for their patience in this difficult time."

Older alerts are still in place. Kamloops, Oliver, Peachland, Scotch Creek, Shalalth and Sorrento remain on red alert following an announcement Monday, and Boston Bar, Gold Bridge, Seton Portage and West Kelowna have been on red alert since Friday, Aug. 18.

Customer questions about mail service can be directed to Canada Post online here or via phone at 1-866-607-6301.
Russias Ministry of Defense said its air defense systems intercepted several Ukrainian drones early Tuesday.

This is the latest drone attack Russia has blamed on Kyiv. There were no reports of injuries, but the wreckage of one drone shattered an apartment complexs windows and damaged vehicles in suburbs outside Moscow.

Officials said flights at numerous airports near Moscow were temporarily suspended due to the attacks, which have come nearly every day over the past two weeks. The defense ministry also said two other drones were thwarted over the western Bryansk region that borders Ukraine.

Ukraine typically does not take responsibility for the drone attacks and has yet to acknowledge the latest strikes.

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Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported Tuesday that Ukrainian saboteurs  backed by Kyiv  carried out drone attacks at air bases inside Russia on Saturday and Monday, damaging two Russian bombers and two other aircraft.

The attacks took place at the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia and against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region. Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet that at least one warplane was damaged during the Shaikovka attack.

An Associated Press analysis of satellite images found that 10 Tupolev Tu-22M long-range bombers were parked on the apron of the Soltsy air base on Aug. 16, but they were all gone by Monday.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Air Force has conducted another live-fire test of the AGM-183 hypersonic missile, but has offered few details about it.

The Air Force has confirmed it recently conducted another launch of an AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, or ARRW, but has not said whether the test met all of its objectives. The service, which is no longer planning to field ARRW, did say that this latest round of live-fire testing provided data that will be useful for other hypersonic programs, including the now-in-development Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, or HACM. The launch also provided an opportunity to validate new tools for testing and evaluating hypersonic systems.

A spokesperson for the Air Force's 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida confirmed to The War Zone that a B-52H bomber had launched the ARRW "off the coast of southern California" on August 19.

AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) test articles are loaded on a B-52H bomber during a previous test. USAF

"This test launched a full prototype operational hypersonic missile and focused on the ARRW's end-to-end performance," the spokesperson added in their statement. "The Air Force gained valuable new insights into the capabilities of this new, cutting-edge technology."

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"While we won't discuss specific test objectives, this test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of programs such as ARRW and HACM," the statement continued. "We also validated and improved our test and evaluation capabilities for continued development of advanced hypersonic systems."

The AGM-183 consists primarily of a rocket booster and an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle contained inside the missile's nose cone. The booster is used to get the boost-glide vehicle to a desired speed and altitude, at which point it is released from the rest of the weapon.

A rendering depicting an ARRW hypersonic missile's nose cone breaking away to reveal the unpowered boost-glide vehicle inside. Lockheed Martin

The unpowered wedge-shaped boost-glide vehicle then proceeds along a relatively shallow, atmospheric flight path at hypersonic speeds, defined as anything above Mach 5, to its target. The vehicle is designed to have a relatively high degree of maneuverability, allowing it to make erratic course changes along the way. The combination of speed, maneuverability, and shallow atmospheric flight trajectory all make weapons of this type particularly hard for opponents to try to intercept or otherwise react to, including simply trying to relocate assets out of the target area or take cover.

A graphic offer a general look at the differences in flight trajectory between a traditional ballistic missile, an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle like ARRW, and an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile like HACM. GAO

The August 19 launch is the eighth known live-fire test of ARRW and the third one intended to involve a complete end-to-end flight. The first known end-to-end test, which occurred on December 9, 2022, was successful. The second, which took place on March 13 of this year, ended in failure.

Of the five initial, more limited AGM-183 live-fire tests, which were conducted between April 2021 and May 2022, the Air Force has categorized two as failures, one as a partial success, and two as full successes. The service also previously conducted a number of captive carry flight tests, where ARRW test articles were not actually launched from the B-52H bombers onto which they were loaded.

A low-quality image of an ARRW after launch during a previous live-fire flight test. USAF

Altogether, AGM-183's flight test record is checkered, at best. This was a major contributing factor in the Air Force's decision to cancel the project, which was announced earlier this year as part of its 2024 Fiscal Year budget proposal. Though the service had long-touted ARRW as being set to be its first operational air-launched hypersonic weapon and a critical additional to its arsenal, especially in the context of a potential future conflict against China, it has now shifted its focus to the air-breathing HACM.

The Air Force announced in 2022 that it had selected Raytheon as the prime contractor to design and build the HACM. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for ARRW and had previously announced the establishment a new facility that would be focused on the production of these missiles.

A Raytheon rendering of an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile. Raytheon

However, the Air Force has also stressed its intention to finish the already scheduled ARRW testing campaign to help support other endeavors.

There is inherent benefit to completing the All-Up Round (AUR) Test Flights (ATFs) to garner the learning and test data that will help inform future hypersonic programs, Andrew Hunter, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, explained to members of Congress in written testimony submitted for a hearing March.

It was in that same written testimony that it first emerged that the Air Force did not currently intend to pursue follow-on procurement of ARRW after the end of the remaining scheduled flight tests.

The Air Force has not elaborated on what kinds of data from ARRW tests might be relevant to HACM, which is a very different type of weapon. However, there are various areas where information gleaned from testing the former could be useful to the latter. For one, anything flying at extremely high speeds is subjected to a host of physical and thermal stresses that require components to be made of specialized materials and constructed in particular ways. ARRW and HACM may have certain degrees of commonality, at least in broad strokes, when it comes to their guidance, datalinks, and other key systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cZVeRScrQM

The statement The War Zone received today about the latest ARRW test also doesn't provide any more details about the "test and evaluation capabilities" that were validated. However, the Air Force has talked at length publicly in the past about the need for new and expanded testing infrastructure to support hypersonic programs. This has included the SkyRange project, which is turning retired RQ-4 Global Hawks drones into aerial test support assets, as you can read more about here.

The Air Force and other elements of the U.S. military have various sea and land-based testing capabilities at their disposal, as well, many of which are also being expanded or otherwise modernized to support hypersonic developments.

The speeds and distances involved in hypersonic flight testing present distinct challenges and requires a significant number of assets prepositioned positioned across broad areas to be able to collect different types of data at various points.

This briefing slide gives an overview of the test assets employed during the Air Force's two flight tests of the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) in 2010 and 2011. This gives a good sense of the significant test infrastructure requirements for hypersonic programs. USAF

Whatever contributions the AGM-183 program is still making to the rest of the U.S. military's hypersonic testing ecosystem, and projects within it like HACM, they are likely to soon come to an end. As of March, the Air Force said it had two more ARRW flight tests left on the schedule.

So, unless something has changed, after this past weekend's test, the Air Force should only have one ARRW left to fire.

Thomas Newdick contributed to this story.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
The Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency issued another air quality alert for Wednesday.

Affected areas include Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn County in Indiana.

Ozone levels will be in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" range. That includes young children, the elderly, those with respiratory conditions and others.

Wildfires in eastern Canada are to blame for the poor air quality entering the Ohio Valley this week, according to the country's smoke forecast. Wednesday, the smoke will completely cover Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania, as well as most of the East Coast and New England.

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Wednesday will be the third day this week the region has been under an air quality alert. An alert issued Sunday was extended to Monday.

Murky air conditions this week are coupled with humidity and high temperatures, according to the National Weather Service at Wilmington. Heat index values in the middle 90s to lower 100s are expected before temperatures drop to the 80s by the weekend.

What to do when an air quality alert is in effect

While the air quality alert is in effect, people are encouraged to:

Take the bus, carpool, bike or walk instead of driving.

Refuel their vehicles after 6 p.m.

Combine trips to eliminate unnecessary vehicle use.

Refrain from idling their vehicles as exhaust contributes considerably to ozone formation.

Avoid using gas-powered lawn equipment.

Conserve electricity by turning off lights and unplugging unused appliances and electronics.

Avoid using oil-based paints and stains.

Avoid using fire pits or fireplaces for nonessential home heating.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency issues third alert this week
Air travel in the United States is overwhelmingly safe. Compared with recent decades, air travel is shockingly safe. Think back to the 1990s, a decade studded with disasters:

1994: A USAir flight crashes while trying to land in Charlotte, killing 37. (Culprit: wind shear.) 1994: A USAir flight crashes while trying to land in Pittsburgh, killing 132. (Culprit: mechanical failure.)

1996: A ValuJet flight crashes into the Everglades, killing 110. (Culprit: cargo fire.)

1996: A TWA flight explodes after takeoff from JFK, killing 230. (Culprit: fuel-tank explosion.) 1999: An EgyptAir flight crashes into the sea south of Nantucket, killing 217. (Culprit: the first officer, it seems.)

Now, no one has died in a U.S. airline crash since 2009. But how long can the respite last? Mondays New York Times featured a blockbuster story about the frighteningly commonplace near misses plaguing the airline industry.* After telling the story of three almost disasters in July aloneincluding one in which a Frontier plane parked so close to an active runway that it was buzzed by two accelerating jets in a manner described by the Federal Aviation Administration as skin to skinthe Times pointed out that near misses happen much more frequently than most people understand. In the most recent 12-month period for which data was available, the Times noted of a public database of independently reported incidents, there were about 300 accounts of near collisions involving commercial airlines.

The Times story points out that only 43 of the more than 500 airports in the United States have surface-detection systems to alert the air traffic control tower to dangerous runway conditions. And those towers are underpopulated with hideously overworked controllers: Ninety-nine percent of the countrys air traffic control facilities are staffed under recommended levels, and controllers are regularly asked to work six days a week. (The Times found a number of controllers who had worked 400 hours of overtime already this year.)

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What does all this mean? After all, the nations commercial airlines have not suffered a fatal crash in more than 14 years, an unprecedented period of safety. But while no one wants to go on the record to the New York Times to say it, the story makes it very clear: The next big crash is coming. It is only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens, one unnamed controller wrote in a confidential FAA safety report last year.

Everyone Ive spoken to in commercial aviation recently about these near misses agreed. Theres a pulse in the industry that says were close to something happening, said a captain at a major airline. Were talking to controllers who are overwhelmed, a first officer at a different airline told me. Every captain has stories. Were asking too much of the system. Its not a matter of if something happens, but when.

Were overdue, another pilot told me. When it happens, the reaction is gonna be, Why didnt we see this coming?  But we do see it coming. Chronic underfunding and lack of prioritization mean that problems like missing surface detection systems go unaddressed. (The National Transportation Safety Board called for more such systems in 2017; none have been installed since then.) Overworked air traffic controllers quit and retire faster than the FAA can hire new ones; the agencys most recent budget requests funding to hire and train 1,800 new controllers, though it expects to lose more than 1,400 existing controllers next year alone.

And during the pandemic, airlines offered buyouts and early retirement, only to find themselves unprepared for the wide resumption of travel. The result: a pilot shortage, and Im told, major airlines putting less experienced pilots in charge of planes. Every time they put pilots through the system, all that generates training and change, a pilot told me. At the end of that, you spit out a 737 with someone whos only been here a year and a half as the captain, and a first officer whos brand new. Once upon a time, that was common at smaller, regional airlines; now even at major airlines, another veteran pilot told me, Were hiring pilots that only have, two, three thousand hours of experienceas opposed to the 6,000 hours he had when he was hired. He hastened to point out that the new pilots are still talented, but they need more training: You got a drivers license when you were 16, but you werent Dale Earnhardt yet.

Since the 1990s, air safety has been transformed by improved pilot training, revolutionary technology (wind shear detection, for example), and evolving attitudes toward discipline and data. That database the Times used in its story, for example, chronicles alarming incidents but is part of a culture of self-reporting that permeates the industry, and which multiple pilots told me is crucial to air safety. Airlines allow their employees to report incidents and errors without fear of repercussion, and the information thats collected reveals patterns and problems that can be fixed through training, redesign, or regulation. It might give you pause to hear that theres a whole system to ensure that pilots wont be punished for mistakes, but this collaboration between regulators, airlines, and pilot unions encourages people to report problems before they become catastrophes. People hear that and think Wait a minute all these guys are in bed with each other,  one pilot told me. But these self-reporting schemes have gone a long, long way toward making flying safer.

But it isnt only these changes in policy and advances in technology that have kept American airlines crash-free since 2009. Its good fortune. Any one of those near misses could have gone a different way. The Times report makes it clear that due to budget cuts, mismanagement, and complacency, the airlines and the FAA have been pushing their luck. If nothing changes, it wont be long until that luck runs out.
Jim Rauh talks about the wave of fentanyl that is overtaking the country on Saturday, August 12, 2023 in Akron.

Jim Rauh may not collect an $18 million judgment against the Chinese drug trafficking organization that he says caused his son's death, but that isn't stopping his campaign to have fentanyl declared a weapon of mass destruction.

Rauh, an Akron businessman who founded the nonprofit Families Against Fentanyl, filed a civil complaint in 2020 against a group of Chinese nationals and businesses that local law enforcement and federal investigations found supplied the drug that killed his son.

Opioids in Akron: Fentanyl, possibly mixed with tranq, still fueling opioid crisis as Summit deaths rise

In May, after the none of the defendants appeared in court, Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Kathryn Michael issued a default judgement in Rauh's favor.

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"Moving forward, now I'm pushing for (fentanyl) to be classified as a weapon of mass destruction so we can put together the right forces to stop the material from coming into the United States, "Rauh said. "We need to put an all-of-government approach to stopping this."

Weapon of mass destruction proposal gains high-level support

In referring to the drug as a chemical warfare agent, Rauh said fentanyl has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans since his son suffered a fatal overdose in 2015.

About 20,000 in Ohio have died from fentanyl since 2016, and more than 70,000 people across the nation died of synthetic opioids in 2021 alone. CDC data shows more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, mainly fentanyl, in 2022.

Although fentanyl is used legally to treat pain caused by trauma, surgery or long-term conditions such as cancer, Rauh and some senior government officials are also afraid fentanyl can be used to kill thousands of people at once.

As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl  equivalent to a few dozen grains of salt  can be fatal. Carfentanyl, an analog of fentanyl, is 100 times more potent. A gram of fentanyl can kill hundreds. Carfentanyl can kill even more.

On the left, a lethal dose of heroin; on the right, a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Rauh has been pushing for the weapon of mass destruction designation since 2021, when he outlined those concerns in a letter to President Joe Biden and convinced some high-profile experts to sign on. Among those signing were former CIA Director John O. Brennan and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

"U.S. policy toward illicit fentanyls cannot be based solely on the intent of drug traffickers," the letter states. "The entire federal government must acknowledge the risk that DOD has already recognized  fentanyls pose a substantial threat as Weapons of Mass Destruction used by foreign or domestic terrorists."

The letter was referring to a memorandum reported on in 2019 by the online military news outlet Task & Purpose. In the memorandum, a Department of Homeland Security official proposes using homeland security assets to combat fentanyl and states other federal agencies have considered the drug a WMD threat.

Fentanyl overdoses: Where are people are overdosing and dying in Summit County? 7 ZIP codes

In the letter to Biden, Rauh repeats the warning.

"The significant presence of illicitly manufactured fentanyls in our cities and neighborhoods places all of us in danger. These chemicals have the capacity for wide-scale devastation when distributed through our air, water systems, or other methods," Rauh's letter states.

Last September, attorneys general from 18 states delivered a similar letter to the president, stating a WMD declaration would require the Department of Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Agency to coordinate with other agencies in an all-out effort to fight the import and distribution of fentanyl.

And in May, U.S. Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) introduced the Stop Our Scourge Act of 2023 to designate illicit fentanyl entering the United States from foreign countries as a weapon of mass destruction. Other members of Congress have previously introduced similar resolutions, including former U.S. Rep Tim Ryan (D-OH).

Traffickers took orders by email, had U.S. Postal Service deliver

Rauh's civil complaint followed a federal investigation that was sparked by the death of his son Tommy Rauh, 37, who became addicted to painkillers after being prescribed opioids by a doctor following a rollerblading accident. Like many others at the time, Tommy Rauh eventually moved on to heroin and battled addiction for 10 years until he died in March 2015 after injecting fentanyl.

Raugh said he first realized how dangerous fentanyl can be after the county medical examiner told him that his son had overdosed before he could finish injecting the drug and that he had been in possession of enough fentanyl to kill "hundreds of people."

The resulting criminal investigation into the drug dealer who supplied Tommy Rauh with fentanyl, and a subsequent federal investigation, uncovered a Chinese organization that came to be identified in court papers as the Zheng Drug Trafficking Organization.

Jim Rauh with a photo of his son Thomas Rauh who died from a fentanyl overdose on Saturday, August 12, 2023 in Akron.

The Zheng DTO includes Shanghai members of a family surnamed Zheng, and the companies Qinsheng Pharmaceutical Technology Co. LTD., and Global United Biotechnology, Inc. It advertised hundreds of drugs for sale, including custom-made analogs meant to avoid detection and legal restrictions.

According to court documents, Akron resident Leroy Shuarod Steele purchased fentanyl from the Zheng DTO, which at the time was selling the drug for $860 per 100 grams, $3,600 for 500 grams and even offered a kilogram of fentanyl for $6,800. It would then take payment electronically and ship the product via U.S. Mail.

Steele was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Sentencing: Akron man sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling fentanyl to man who died after taking it

The Zheng group was charged in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland, but the case was dismissed after they failed to appear for trial. Members of the Zheng DTO were then sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. The sanctions mean the Zheng's property in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to Treasury officials.

Rauh said he believes the government is in the process of seeking those assets both in the United States and in Mexico, where a Drug Enforcement Administration report says precursor chemicals are shipped from China for final synthesis by drug cartels, who then smuggle the product north.

The U.S. government brought charges against the Zheng DTO to China, without success, as reported in a 2019 episode of the television news program "60 Minutes," "Deadly fentanyl bought online from China being shipped through the mail." The segment featured an interview with Rauh and others, including former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.

Other local fentanyl dealers caught

Steele was not the only person buying fentanyl from China at the time.

Donte and Audrey Gibson, an Akron couple busted in 2017, ran a thriving drug business courtesy of Chinese mail-order suppliers until they and accomplices including family members were arrested in 2018.

Gibsons arrested: Akron couple accused of running lucrative drug operation sentenced to federal prison

Authorities started investigating the two in 2016, the year carfentanyl arrived in the area. Though it was suspected of causing 236 overdoses in three weeks, including 14 deaths, the Gibsons were not linked to the increases.

However, the Gibson's 6-year-old daughter overdosed and was revived by Narcan. It is believed the girl was poisoned through contact with drugs that had spilled on the floor at home.

The Gibsons got rich, and were found to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, including $700,000 on luxury goods, in just a couple years.

Donte Gibson got a 25-year sentence and was later busted for smuggling and selling heroin in prison. Audrey Gibson was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months in prison.

The Zheng DTO is not the only supplier of fentanyl and related drugs into the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Cronin told 60 Minutes that federal investigators found dozens of Chinese suppliers online when they started investigating the death of Tommy Rauh, and that of another Akron resident, 23-year-old Carrie Dobbins.

Ryan Sumlin, 29, was sentenced to life in prison for Dobbins death after it was found he had been mixing fentanyl from China with heroin he was selling to customers. He had 220 grams of fentanyl in his home when arrested  enough to kill more than 100,000 people.

Jim Rauh with a photo of his son, Thomas Rauh, who died from a fentanyl overdose.

Facing son's addiction first-hand

Rauh described his son's experience with addiction as someone who can't objectively ask themselves, "should I do this or not?"

"(The addiction) becomes more than your desire to eat, more than your your need for water," Rauh said. "It doesn't leave you alone, even when you've recovered."

He said that's what happens when people relapse  that desire comes back when the person is dealing with anything that causes them anxiety or stress that makes them want to escape.

Summit County Public Health Department's harm reduction clinics provides free test strips like these which will show whether the street drugs you're taking, from cocaine and meth to marijuana and pills, contain fentanyl.

Nobody who uses illegal drugs is safe today, Rauh said, as fentanyl is being added to other street drugs, including cocaine and counterfeit prescription pills made with illegal pill pressing machines.

Fentanyl now comes from Mexican cartels, with the help of Chinese drug traffickers, he said.

"This is something that needs to be stopped," he said. "There's no $18 million that I know of anywhere, but if I ever find the $18 million, I'm gonna use it to fight against these evil people."

Amanda Garrett contributed to this report. Eric Marotta can be reached at emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron man works to make fentanyl labeled as weapon of mass destruction
A trio of appeals court judges on Monday allowed Alabamas ban on gender-affirming care for minors to go into effectand they justified the ruling by citing the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Alabama passed a law in April 2022 that made it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to transgender teenagers under the age of 19. This applied to puberty blockers, hormones, and medical procedures. A federal judge blocked the law the following month, ruling that parents have a fundamental right to direct the medical care of their children, including transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards.

The state appealed the ruling in November, and on Monday the three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Courtall of whom were appointed by Donald Trumpoverturned the injunction, arguing that the right to transition is not a fundamental one.

Citing Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health, the landmark Supreme Court case that rolled back the nationwide right to abortion, the appeals court said that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees people the rights listed in the Constitution, as well as some fundamental rights that are not mentioned in the document. It then quoted Dobbs directly:

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To determine whether a right at issue is one of the substantive rights guaranteed by the Due Process Clause, courts must look to whether the right is deeply rooted in [our] history and tradition and essential to our Nations scheme of ordered liberty.  Although there are records of transgender or otherwise gender nonconforming individuals from various points in history, the earliest-recorded uses of puberty blocking medication and cross-sex hormone treatment for the purposes of treating the discordance between an individuals biological sex and sense of gender identity did not occur until well into the twentieth century.

Essentially, because modern medicine has progressed, people do not have the right to bodily autonomy. Its also unclear how far back something has to go to be considered history. Puberty blockers were first used in the 1980s, which apparently is not far back enough for gender-affirming care to be considered tradition. But abortion was first recorded in 1550 BCE, and it would seem that doesnt count either.

The Eleventh Circuits ruling shows just how dangerous Dobbs is. It doesnt only affect abortion. Other courts can use its twisted logic to deny other rights.
Editors note: This story was updated on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, to reflect the names of the victims.

Cristiano Gray didnt know the three youths who lived in the duplex next to him beyond a passing wave or smile, but he may have been the last voice they heard.

The 17-year-old rushed into the flaming home  owned and maintained by Concord under the Fair Housing Act  at about midnight Sunday. Hed just got off his Saturday night shift at Sonic.

Is anybody in here? he called out over and over while smoke fogged his eyes and filled his lungs.

The unit remained silent. There wasnt a beep or a blare from the smoke detectors or fire alarms that should have been sounding, he said.

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With burnt hands, he stumbled out of the door and fumbled to called 911.

Concord Fire Department found two siblings, an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, dead inside. Their 16-year-old sister died at the hospital, officials said.

Their parents werent home during the fire. On Monday morning, their mother told The Charlotte Observer she wasnt ready to talk to media yet.

On Tuesday afternoon, authorities identified the victims as Daniella Kueviakoe, 16, Emmanuelle Kueviakoe, 11, and 15-year-old Stephen Kueviakoe.

Concord and the Logan community will host a prayer vigil in the citys Housing Departments courtyard at 283 Harold Goodman Circle SW. on Friday, Aug. 25, at 5:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Concord has partnered with Grace Lutheran Church in Concord to serve as the community-wide contact for donations. People wishing to offer support for the families may contact the Rev. Donald Anthony at 704-701-7167.

Cristiano Gray, 17, charged into the fire at Chapman Homes in Concord, N.C. on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. He said he didnt hear anything  no fire alarms or smoke detectors.

Did smoke alarms sound during the Concord house fire?

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. But neighbors are more concerned with why firetrucks  and not fire alarms  woke them up Sunday just after 1 a.m.

Theyre very loud, said Tyeshia Lyles, 33. Theres no way it could have been working when the fire was going on.

Any time a fire alarm sounds, she and her three children hear it. The sound travels whether its coming from next door or the other side of the playground that sits in the middle of Chapman Homes 174 units.

Yeah, we heard it just the other week, said a neighbor, hanging laundry on outdoor clotheslines Monday afternoon.

Firefighters were dispatched to a city-owned Chapman Homes property on Lincoln St. SW in Concord, N.C., at 1:08 a.m. Sunday, August 20, 2023. Three children died in the fire, officials said.

The propertys smoke detectors worked the last time they were tested in January, said city spokesperson Lindsay Manson.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the units last Real Estate Assessment Center inspection  which checks the communitys site, building exteriors, building systems, common areas and units  was in June 2022.

The inspections determine if communities qualify for continued benefits under its contract with the government, and subtractions may be made from the overall score based on any present health and safety deficiencies, according to the department.

Chapmans Homes barely passed its 2016 REAC inspection with a 60 out of 100 score. Thats 22.4 points worse than the average for North Carolina, according to ProPublicas 2019 HUD House of Cards project.

Gray didnt realize how important were working smoke detectors, which he said are rare around the neighborhood, until Sunday.

You realize... how many people would still be here right now if that one little sound would have went off, he said.

Its scary because it could have been anyones kids

A couple doors down from the now-charred unit sat the youths neighbors, including their babysitter.

For years, the trio would come knocking on their screen door looking for a Popsicle or someone to play with, said Jonnie Grady, 72.

The 11-year-old girl would then run off to play with Kayla Lawsons daughter on the neighborhoods green and purple playground.

An empty playground sits behind a unit that caught fire in Concord, N.C., on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Three children died inside the unit, which is owned and maintained by the city.

Its scary because it could have been anyones kids, Lyles said.

As Lyles 10-year-old son, Kaden, hung up a blanket with Disneys Frozen characters on it, a passing school bus floated a row of young childrens faces above the yellow tape surrounding the burnt unit and a melted Adirondack chair.

He said hadnt shared a bus with the 11-year-old girl since she graduated to middle school, but they still saw each other at the bus stop every morning.

Yeah... it was kinda weird not seeing her today, he said.
(KTLA)  Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight that landed at Californias John Wayne Airport late Sunday evening had to deplane on the taxiway after the plane sustained damage to its landing gear.

The flight landed at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana around 11:30 p.m., and the crew of the Boeing 737 reported issues with the planes landing gear as it was taxiing to the gate.

The Orange County Fire Authority responded to the John Wayne Airport Sunday evening after a plane sustained damage to its landing gear shortly after landing, Aug. 20, 2023. (Orange County Fire Authority)

The damaged landing gear led to the plane being stopped on the taxiway, where its passengers unloaded and then were shuttled to the terminal by bus. The plane parked on the taxiway, where it remained overnight, an official statement from Alaska Airlines read.

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Massive mudslide from Hilary buries mountain communities

The flight departed from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Alaska confirmed that there were 106 people on board, including passengers and crew, and no injuries were reported.

Its unclear if the landing gear was damaged during the landing or if it was caused by something else.

The Orange County Fire Authority responded to the John Wayne Airport Sunday evening after a plane sustained damage to its landing gear shortly after landing, Aug. 20, 2023. (Orange County Fire Authority)

The FAA is investigating, and Alaskas maintenance crews were inspecting the aircraft.

Our focus is taking care of our guests who were on board, including retrieving their checked bags. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate their patience during this situation, Alaska Airlines said in a statement. The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority. While this incident is a rare occurrence, our flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios.

The Orange County Fire Authority responded to the scene to assist with unloading the plane. Officials said regular training with the airport ensured that the incident response went smoothly.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Fruitful results seen in health cooperation

08:39, August 22, 2023 By WANG XIAOYU ( China Daily

Workers assemble vials of COVID-19 vaccines at the Butantan Institute in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, last August. The institute cooperated with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac in clinical trials, including a COVID-19 vaccine. XINHUA

Tackling of TB, COVID-19 among BRICS countries boosts universal healthcare

Cooperation between BRICS nations on health issues has yielded positive outcomes in tackling virus outbreaks and promoting exchanges of medical expertise in recent years, with collaboration including boosting universal healthcare and stepping up pandemic preparedness, said health authorities of the grouping.

"Over the years, BRICS countries have established a research network for tuberculosis, which has greatly promoted communication among policymakers and scientists and contributed to the global drive of ending TB," the National Health Commission, China's top health authority, said recently.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center was set up with a commitment to advance cooperation in creating vaccines and boosting their equitable access.

"The initiative is also aimed at helping protect healthcare systems, to aid economic recovery and tackle future pandemics," the commission said in a statement to China Daily.

Another highlight is the launch of a health journal issued jointly by the BRICS countries  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"The publication has offered a professional platform for BRICS and BRICS Plus countries to share research results and experiences in the fields of COVID-19 management and vaccination, digital health, antibiotic resistance, TB prevention and control, and maternal and child health," it said.

Health emerged as a major sector for BRICS cooperation in 2011 when the first meeting of health ministers from the five countries was held.

"Since then, health cooperation under the BRICS framework has been multilevel, all-around and wide-ranging, and shows broad promise," the commission said.

The 13th and latest meeting between health ministers was held in Durban, South Africa from Aug 1 to 4, ahead of the 15th BRICS Summit to be held in the country's capital Johannesburg this week.

The meeting discussed issues such as universal healthcare coverage, regulation of medical products, health emergency responses, TB prevention and control, and nuclear medicine and traditional medicine, according to a release on the commission's official website.

Joe Phaahla, South Africa's health minister, said the event looked into ways to strengthen early warning and information sharing systems to better handle future pandemics and the expansion of healthcare coverage through boosting access to medicines and diagnostics.

As South Africa works toward the goal of achieving universal healthcare by 2030, he said that it is worthwhile drawing on the experiences of the four other nations  all of which have a larger population than his country, including the two most populous countries in the world.

"What we are looking at here is sharing experiences in their systems of health delivery services in these countries," he said during an interview with Newzroom Afrika, a television program in South Africa.

"The systems will be different as the political systems are also different. But there is something in common regarding the access tools to affordable medicines and medical technologies, health information systems, and digital record systems that help roll out universal access to health services."

Sergey Glagolev, Russia's deputy minister of health, said during an interview with SABC News that it is essential to apply and expand health solutions created by BRICS countries to tackle the most urgent challenges such as preparing for new pandemics and addressing the threats of noncommunicable diseases.

"These countries possess significant competence in these areas," he said.

Among these are the experiences of South Africa and Russia in developing new vaccines, and shortening the time from the detection of a new pathogen to developing a treatment, he added.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
The owners of the Chicago Chop House have agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to Chicago real estate developer Sean Conlon for allegedly cutting him out of their 2017 purchase after a previous $5.9 million deal to buy the iconic River North steakhouse was terminated.

The agreement, filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, ends a lengthy legal odyssey that turned would-be restaurant partners into rival litigants, pending a final settlement payment, according to court filings.

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In April, the court issued a partial summary judgment in favor of Conlon and fellow Chicago real estate investor Steve Horvath, ruling their company, Wexford Property Consultants, was entitled to compensation from the Chop House owners for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement that precluded their direct purchase of the restaurant.

The Chicago Chop House. (Charles Cherney/Chicago Tribune)

Located in a 126-year-old Victorian brownstone on Ontario Street, the Chop House has been a Chicago steakhouse fixture since 1986. More recently, it has been serving up red meat for attorneys in the protracted ownership battle.

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Conlon, a high-profile entrepreneur and host of The Deed on CNBC, partnered with Horvath to buy the Chicago Chop House for $8.2 million in December 2016. They began several months of due diligence, negotiating the price down to $5.9 million and reaching out to potential co-investors.

One such potential co-investor was Chicago restaurateur Matthew McCahill, who then brought Nashville-based restaurateur Phil Martin into the mix. In March 2017, McCahill and Martin signed identical confidentiality agreements, which included a 36-month window preventing them from gaining an interest in the Chop House without appropriate compensation to Wexford, according to court filings.

The deal was structured to give Martin and McCahill a two-thirds stake, with Martin supplying the capital and McCahill operating the restaurant. Wexford would own one-third of the Chop House as a finders fee for bringing the deal to Martin and McCahill, according to court filings.

But in June 2017, Wexford terminated the purchase agreement after McCahill and Martin didnt provide the cash to close the deal.

There was a concern about the ability to close and so Conlon terminated the purchase contract, said Michael Forde, a Chicago attorney representing Wexford Properties. They didnt want to lose their earnest money, but Wexford was still interested in doing the deal.

Martin OHara, an attorney representing Martin, McCahill and Chop Hospitality, declined to comment on the settlement agreement.

Within days of the Wexford termination, Martin and McCahill began negotiating directly with Charles Patel, the then-owner of the Chop House. By August, they struck their own deal to purchase the Chop House for an undisclosed price, completing the acquisition three months later through their respective companies, 6058 Properties and Chop Hospitality, according to court filings.

The new purchase price was roughly the same as the original deal, Forde said, but essentially cut Wexford out of its one-third stake  without compensation.

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Launched in a renovated and expanded Victorian by veteran restaurateur Henry Norton in 1986, the Chicago Chop House  with its distinctive neon sign  quickly established itself as a significant player among the citys venerable steakhouses.

A 1987 Tribune review touted a serious downstairs bar where the crowd pounds down manhattans and martinis, proper steakhouse ambience and straightforward chop house fare, with meat and potatoes at the center of the menu.

The Chop House underwent a $1 million renovation under the new owners in 2018 and continues to feature the pricey fare of a signature Chicago steakhouse, from the $65 truffle mac and cheese side dish to the $129 tomahawk rib-eye.

While McCahill sold his interest in Chop Hospitality in January 2019, he and Martin remain bound by the confidentiality agreements, according to the April court ruling. The litigation, which did not determine damages, is on hold pending execution of the settlement.

The defendants made an initial settlement payment, and have until Nov. 10 to pay the balance in full, according to the agreement.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is endorsing Donald Trump , giving the former president the support of a governor whose state is expected to hold its nominating contest on the all-important Super Tuesday primary date.

The endorsement comes as Trump expands his broad lead in support from Republican governors and federal lawmakers over his rivals in the GOP presidential primary. With Dunleavys backing, Trump has earned the support of three of the five Republican governors who have endorsed in the race. Trump has also received the support of over 80 members of Congress, more than 16 times the amount of his nearest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis .

The former president has been aggressively courting the support of prospective endorsees; he recently spoke by phone with Dunleavy, whose state is expected to hold its primary on March 5, 2024, the same day that over a dozen states are expected to hold their nominating contests.

Trumps relationship with Dunleavy stretches back to 2018, when he endorsed his first race for governor. Trump endorsed Dunleavy again in 2019, when the governor was facing a recall attempt, and again in 2022, when Dunleavy was up for reelection. Trumps campaign plans to release a video on Tuesday thanking Dunleavy for his backing.

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Most Republican governors have been hesitant to endorse in the race. Of the 26 GOP governors, only five have weighed in. (Two, DeSantis and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, are running.) Trump has received the support of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, and Dunleavy. DeSantis has the backing of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, and former Vice President Mike Pence has the support of his home state governor, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Brian Jack, who served as Trumps White House political director, has been leading the former presidents endorsement push.
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis looks on during the arrival of Moldova's President Maia Sandu before their meeting at Maximou mansion in Athens Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

TIRANA, Albania (AP)  Albanias prime minister on Tuesday responded to not being invited by Greece to a dinner for top officials from nine Balkan nations and the European Union by saying that in such turbulent times Europes unity is larger than what divides us.

A day earlier, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hosted an informal dinner for nine Balkan leaders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel to discuss the regions European future.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was not invited in a protest over his country's jailing of ethnic Greek minority leader Fredi Beleri, who was arrested before a mayoral election in May on vote-buying allegations. Albanian President Bajram Begaj was invited to attend but declined.

Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said it was not possible to invite Mr. Rama to such an important initiative.

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The dinner was held on the 20th anniversary of an EU-Western Balkan summit in the Greek city of Thessaloniki as Balkan states sought to join the bloc.

Rama said he did not react a day earlier because he did not want to disturb the host and his guests, by adding to the noise before my good friends gathered in Athens finished their work.

Rama hailed Greeces efforts to discuss the European future of the Balkans against the backdrop of the Russian aggression."

"The region needs Greece to be more involved in our common path. he said.

In May, Greeces Foreign Ministry demanded Beleris immediate release, suggesting that the case could negatively impact Albanias application to join the European Union.

Rama said his government could do nothing while the countrys judiciary deals with Beleris case. On Monday, Beleri was denied release by a court.

Beleri belongs to the Human Rights Union Party of the ethnic Greek minority, but he was the candidate for a coalition that also included the center-left Freedom Party of former President Ilir Meta and a breakaway group from the center-right opposition Democratic Party.

Beleri, who won the election, cannot be sworn in as mayor while under arrest.

Albania plans to host an Oct. 16 summit on the Berlin Process, an initiative from Germany and France to encourage the six Western Balkans countries  Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania  which are at different stages of integration into the bloc and need to keep working to align their policies and practices with the blocs.

In a reconciliatory move, Rama said Mitsotakis has of course been invited to participate.

What should unite us in such turbulent times for the sake of our people, our countries, our region, our Europe is larger than what divides us, Rama said. Too much is at stake globally for us to become hostage of tribal domestic politics.
An alleged hit man who police say was hired by an ex-California corrections officer in a murder-for-hire plot was sentenced to three years probation Monday.

Bradley Beau Costill, 58, is accused of being recruited by Miguel Angel Corona, a military veteran and former corrections officer, to kill Christopher Schmall, the husband of the woman Corona was having an affair with.

But the plan unraveled in the fall of 2021 when Clovis police became aware of the plot and arrested Corona and Costill.

The men agreed to plea deals, but Judge James Kelley, rejected Coronas agreement and ordered he be put on trial. If he is convicted of all charges, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

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Costills agreement went forward Monday with Kelley suspending his prison sentence of three years and eight months, and instead giving him probation for three years. Costill must also complete a drug treatment program.

Costills attorney Rick Horowitz was satisfied with the deal, adding that if Costill violates his probation he will be sent to prison to serve out his sentence.

Schmall would have preferred Costill go to prison, but he did feel better that the judge prohibited Costill from contacting Schmall or his daughter for 10 years.

The Schmalls filed for divorce in March 2020 and it became final in August 2022, according to court records.

Costill was originally facing six felonies, including conspiring to commit a crime and possession of a firearm by a felon, until he agreed to a plea agreement. As part of the plea deal, Costill pleaded guilty to one count of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.

Corona is charged with conspiring to commit a crime and solicitation murder. He is due back in court on Aug. 30 for a pre-preliminary hearing.
Amanda Knox is expecting to add a new member to her family.

Knox, 36, posted a photo of herself showing off her growing baby bump in an Instagram photo shared on Monday. In the snap, Knox is seen sitting outdoors on a bench in a polkadot jumpsuit, her belly on full display.

TODAY.com confirmed that Knox is pregnant with her second child. Pregspreading, Knox captioned the photo and tagging @oxfordenglishdictionary.

Many people in the comments section congratulated Knox on her pregnancy news.

This will be Knoxs second child with husband Christopher Robinson. The couple got engaged in 2018 and married in 2020. The couple are already parents to daughter Eureka.

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In an October 2021 New York Times article, Knox revealed that she and Robinson welcomed their first child together months prior. At the time, she said she was worried about the paparazzi bounty on her daughters head if she announced the news earlier.

The concern came because of Knoxs own headline-making past. Knox was convicted and then acquitted for the 2007 murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher as a student in Italy.

She shared additional details about the birth of their daughter, including her name, on an episode of Labyrinths podcast, which is hosted by the couple.

While at the time she said she wouldnt post photos of her daughter, shes shared peeks at Eureka on her Instagram over the years.

Prior to welcoming her daughter, Knox revealed she experienced a miscarriage. On her podcast, she shared how she and Robinson conceived quickly after they started trying and began designing a nursery.

However, at their six-week ultrasound appointment, the technician was unable to find a heartbeat. While she was told to return the following for a second scan, she said, she knew something was wrong.

I did feel incredibly disappointed that that was the first story of my first-ever pregnancy. I thought, like, I knew exactly what I want to do with my first pregnancy, and to have it not come to fruition not through choice felt like a betrayal, Knox said.

By August of 2021, she would go on to announce that she was once again pregnant with baby Eureka.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Internet retailers are receiving questions over their approaches to recalled products. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has sent letters to Amazon, Ebay, Meta, Walmart and other online shopping portals asking about their efforts to thwart sales of recalled and banned goods on their platforms. They're particularly concerned that Meta allegedly failed to stop Facebook Marketplace sales of two recalled child products, the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play sleeper and Boppy Newborn Lounger.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled the Rock 'n Play in 2019, and the Newborn Lounger in 2021. However, it says the takedown request rate (an average of 1,000 per month) hasn't slowed, and that there haven't been any "proactive measures" to bar sales. The Rock 'n Play has been linked to roughly 100 baby deaths. The members of Congress, including committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, are concerned that online marketplaces may be putting children and all users at risk by doing too little to stop these sales.

The House representatives ask all the companies to detail their current efforts to block sales of recalled products, including the presence of dedicated staff. The politicians also want to know what the companies will do in the future and whether there's any legal uncertainty about how to tackle the problems. The letters ask if the companies are willing to work with the committee on a solution to the problem. The companies have been told to respond no later than August 31st.

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In a statement to Engadget, a Meta spokesperson says that sales of recalled goods aren't unique to Facebook Marketplace. The representative says Meta takes the issue "seriously" and pulls listings that violate its rules. Ebay tells Engadget it takes recalls "very seriously" and uses a combination of AI and investigators to spot potentially unsafe listings. It hoped to work with the House committee on these issues.

The enquiries come just as Amazon is facing a potential antitrust lawsuit over its sales practices, and amid greater effort to scrutinize tech giants' behavior. Meta has also been scaling back some of its shopping features, including the shutdowns of live shopping on Facebook and Instagram. Those closures are cost-cutting efforts, but they also leave the company's remaining commerce initiatives in a more fragile position.

Update 8/22 5PM ET: We've updated the story with a statement from Ebay.
An American Airlines flight was diverted after someone used pepper spray, the FAA confirmed.

The flight was headed to New York from Miami when it was diverted to Jacksonville, Florida.

The FAA said the spray had been "inadvertently" released in the cabin.

An American Airlines flight to New York was diverted to Jacksonville, Florida, after someone used pepper spray on board the plane.

American Airlines flight 1680 was diverted to Jacksonville on its way from Miami to New York, according to flight tracking service Flightradar 24.

The Federal Aviation Administration told Insider the plane was diverted "after a bottle of pepper spray was inadvertently sprayed in the cabin."

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"The aircraft was cleaned after diverting and continued to LaGuardia Airport in New York without further incident," the statement added. The FAA also said they would be investigating the incident.

The incident created a stir over on the subreddit r/americanairlines. People who claimed to be passengers flocked to the subreddit to talk about the chaos they said ensued on the flight after the pepper spray went off.

The person who started the Reddit thread said that their significant other was "confused" when the plane diverted to Jacksonville around half an hour into the flight, after "people in the back started coughing and couldn't see."

A Redditor with the user ID Lost_Ad_4562 claimed to also have been on the flight.

"People thought we were going to die," the Lost_Ad_4562 wrote on Monday.

"It was incredibly scary not being able to breathe, having burning skin/ eyes, having everyone panicking around, and being stuck in a small space," Lost_Ad_4562 added.

In an email to Insider, Lost_Ad_4562  who gave her name as Marie  said the plane had to be cleaned, and everyone had to switch to another aircraft to continue onward to LaGuardia.

Marie also disputed the FAA's conclusion that the pepper-spray incident had happened accidentally. She said she got a good view of the incident  and that the FAA's decision that the spray incident happened inadvertently "doesn't sit well" with her.



Marie told Insider that the passengers had to deplane and wait for another aircraft to arrive.

"We eventually flew out of Jacksonville at 10:29pm with a new crew and the plane wasn't ready for a food service," she told Insider.

Insider independently verified Marie's flight schedule and seat number. The FAA did not respond to follow-up questions from Insider on whether the pepper spray was set off by accident, or on purpose.

According to the Transportation Security Administration and American Airlines' guidelines, defense sprays like pepper spray aren't allowed in carry-on bags. But a single "4 fl. oz. (118 ml) container of mace or pepper spray is permitted in checked baggage provided it is equipped with a safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge."

Representatives for American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Insider
An American dentist has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife of 30 years while the couple was on a safari in Zambia, the US Attorneys Office for the District of Colorado said in a news release.

A jury last year found Lawrence Rudolph guilty of murdering his wife, Bianca, while they were on a hunting trip in the southern African country. Rudolph shot his wife through the heart with a 12-gauge shotgun on the last day of their hunt, scheming to make the murder look like an accident, Mondays release said.

Rudolph then filed over $4 million in fraudulent life insurance claims after returning to the US, the release said.

The defendant in this case thought he could murder his wife overseas and get away with it. He was wrong and will now be held accountable for his actions thanks to the relentless pursuit of justice by the dedicated men and women of the FBI, DOJ, and the family of Bianca Rudolph, who never lost faith in the judicial system, said Denver FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek.

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Rudolph maintained his innocence during his trial, saying he believed his wife accidentally fired the gun.

I did not kill my wife. I could not murder my wife. I would not murder my wife, Rudolph told jurors when he took the stand in his own defense.

Rudolphs attorneys plan to file an appeal in the case, they said in a statement Tuesday. Larry is innocent. He did not murder his wife. We are looking forward to the appeal in this matter, in which we have a number of very promising issues, the statement from lawyers David Oscar Markus, Margot Moss, and Lauren Doyle said.

Rudolph has also been ordered to pay back $4,877,744 in restitution as well as a fine of $2 million. He will serve a concurrent sentence of 20 years for defrauding insurance companies, according to the release.

The Phoenix couple shared a passion for big-game hunting and had traveled to Zambia in September 2016 so Bianca Rudolph could add a leopard to her collection of animal trophies.

As Bianca Rudolph was packing the following month for the couples return home, she suffered a fatal blast from a 12-gauge shotgun in their hunting cabin at Kafue National Park.

Rudolph told investigators he heard the shot at dawn while he was in the bathroom and believed the shotgun went off accidentally as his wife was putting it in its case, court documents said. He told investigators he found her bleeding on the floor.

But federal prosecutors at Rudolphs trial in Denver, where the insurance companies are based, described it as a premeditated crime. Rudolph killed his wife for insurance money and to be with his girlfriend, Lori Milliron, prosecutors argued.

The jury also found Milliron guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of justice and two counts of perjury based on her testimony before a grand jury, according to the Department of Justice. She was sentenced in June to 17 years in prison, court records show.

Milliron and Rudolph lived together from 2017 until his arrest last year, her attorney, John Dill, told CNN. We are disappointed in the jurys verdict, but that is our system, Dill said. Lori Milliron is innocent and we will continue to fight to exonerate her.

Markus had argued that Rudolph had no financial motive to kill his wife. In court documents, he noted Rudolph owns a dental practice near Pittsburgh valued at $10 million.

CNNs Faith Karimi contributed to this report.

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While the planet continues to endure scorching, unprecedented temperatures, a 60-square-foot shipping container is serving as a testing ground for passive, sustainable cooling solutions. As detailed in a new study published in the research journal Energies, an engineering team at Washington State University is utilizing the space to find and improve upon ancient cooling methods that dont generate any forms of greenhouse gasincluding water evaporation atop repurposed wind towers.

Buildings require roughly 60 percent of the entire worlds electricity, almost 20 percent of which is annually earmarked to keep those structures cool and comfortable. As society contends with climate changes most ravaging effects, air conditioning systems requirements are only expected to rise in the coming yearspotentially generating a feedback loop that could exacerbate carbon emission levels. Finding green ways to lower businesses and homes internal temperatures will therefore need solutions other than simply boosting wasteful AC units.

[Related: Moondust could chill out our overheated Earth, some scientists predict.]

This is especially vital as rising global populations require new construction, particularly within the developing world. According to Omar Al-Hassawi, lead author and assistant professor in WSUs School of Design and Construction, this push will be a major issue if designers continue to rely on mechanical systemssuch as traditional, electric AC units. Theres going to be a lot more air conditioning thats needed, especially with the population rise in the hotter regions of the world, Al-Hassawi said in a statement.

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There might be [some] inclusion of mechanical systems, but how can we cool buildings to begin withbefore relying on the mechanical systems? he adds.

By retrofitting their shipping container test chamber with off-the-grid, solar powered battery storage, AL-Hassawis team can heat their chamber to upwards of 130 degrees Fahrenheit to test out their solutions while measuring factors such as air velocity, temperature, and humidity. The team is particularly focused on optimizing a passive cooling method involving large towers and evaporative cooling that dates as far back as 2,500 BCE in ancient Egypt. In these designs, moisture evaporates at the towers top, which turns into cool, heavier air that then sinks down to the habitable space below. In the teams version, moisture could be generated via misting nozzles, shower heads, or simply water-soaked pads.

Its an older technology, but theres been an attempt to innovate and use a mix of new and existing technologies to improve performance and the cooling capacity of these systems, explained Al-Hassawi, who also envisions retrofitting smokestacks in older buildings to work as new cooling towers.

Thats why research like this would really help, he adds. How can we address building design, revive some of these more ancient strategies, and include them in contemporary building construction? The test chamber becomes a platform to do this.
A missing California teen has been found dead following a violent kidnapping, police said.

The remains of 19-year-old Andrea Vasquez were found in a vegetation field in Moreno Valley.

Vasquez had been kidnapped over the weekend during an attack that the Whittier Police Department previously described as random. Detectives combing the area of Moreno Valley made the gruesome discovery on Monday night.

At this time, it appears that Andrea Vasquez and her male companion were randomly targeted by the suspect at Penn Park, police said in a statement.

Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, has been arrested in connection with the crime. Mr Esparza is facing charges of murder and kidnapping and is currently being held without bail.

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Authorities said that Vasquez was shot at the parking stall area of Penn Park as she was sitting in a parked car with her boyfriend, who fled the gunfire.

When he returned to the vehicle, he discovered blood near it and Ms Vasquez was gone.

Arrest made in random killing of California teen

23:29 , Andrea Blanco

The body of 19-year-old Andrea Vasquez, 19, was discovered in an open field in Moreno Valley, not far from where her family say her phone last pinged.

Whitter Police Department say that they have arrested 20-year-old Gabriel Esparza as the main suspect in the case and charged him with murder and kidnapping.

Police said Mr Esparza, a Whittier resident, was arrested at his job Monday in the city of Lakewood. He has since been booked into the Whittier Police Department and is being held without bail.
Andrew Malkinson was cleared by the Court of Appeal last month - Jordan Pettitt/PA

Andrew Malkinson has been cut out of the inquiry into his wrongful conviction for rape, his lawyer has claimed.

Mr Malkinson, 57, spent 17 years in prison for a 2003 rape in Greater Manchester that he did not commit.

Emily Bolton, the director of Appeal, which led the campaign to secure his release, said Mr Malkinson had not been invited to contribute to the review being carried out into his case by the body for investigating miscarriages of justice.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) twice rejected his appeals to order further forensic tests or transfer the case to the Court of Appeal, despite the discovery of another mans DNA on the victims clothing in 2007.

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He was cleared by the Court of Appeal last month having spent years trying to convince the authorities that he was innocent after the fresh DNA testing linked another man to the crime.

Malkinson at heart of this case

On Monday, the CCRC announced that Chris Henley, a leading Kings Counsel (KC), would head the review of the three CCRC investigations into Mr Malkinsons case and would have sole responsibility for its findings and recommendations.

However, Ms Bolton told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that she and Mr Malkinson only learned about its scope through a press release. She said neither had communicated with the CCRC about the review.

It is said to be independent but so far as we can see, it is going to have input from the police and prosecutors and the CCRC, she said.

Andy Malkinson is the person at the heart of this case. Andy Malkinson is the person whose life was destroyed.

And I can assure you that after 20 years of being wrongfully convicted, he has a great deal he wants to bring to the attention of any review of what happened. He has not been asked for that.

Last week, Mr Malkinson called on Alex Chalk, the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, to open a broader public inquiry into his case.

In addition to standalone investigations by separate bodies, there is a need for a statutory public inquiry into the role of all state agencies in my case, he said.

I call on Alex Chalk to establish a public inquiry into the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, and their respective roles in my wrongful conviction as well as why it took so many years to overturn it.

The Ministry of Justice is currently considering what form any inquiry might take, with a decision expected to be announced imminently.

The criticism of the narrow CCRC review was backed by Sir Bob Neill, the chairman of the Commons justice committee, who criticised the CCRC for failing to consult with Mr Malkinson over the review.

He said the commissions review is too narrowly drawn, adding: It doesnt take on board the broader issues of failures not just by the CCRC but also by the police investigation and Crown Prosecution Service in the way evidence and disclosure of evidence was not properly handled.

CCRC chairman ought to leading from the front

He also attacked the failure of Helen Pitcher, the CCRCs chairman, to answer publicly to the criticism of the body.

The chair of any major publicly-funded body is there to be the public face of it, said Sir Bob.

They are the person who, if times are difficult, if there are controversial issues ought to be leading from the front.

I am very disappointed that has not been the case. I dont think that this is the sort of approach that suits it well.

CCRC sources said the review would be fully independent and that Mr Henley would be free to decide who to call as witnesses, including Mr Malkinson.

The sources also said the CCRC was constrained in what it could say publicly about its investigations under the Criminal Appeal Act of 1995.

A CCRC spokesman said: This is a fully independent review. The KC has a remit to consider any evidence or submissions, and how he does this is his choice.

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.
Nurses cross Madison Street following a news conference outside Ascension St. Joseph hospital in Joliet as the Illinois Nurses Association begins a four-day strike on Aug. 22, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

Five hundred and thirty nurses at Ascension St. Joseph hospital in Joliet went on strike Tuesday morning as contract negotiations between union nurses and Ascension remain stalled.

The strikers, who are represented by the Illinois Nurses Association, are seeking increased staffing and higher wages.

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The union has been negotiating for a new contract since May. Ascension canceled a bargaining session on Aug. 15, the day after the strike was announced. Ascension representatives have said they will not come back to the bargaining table until Sept. 8.

The picket line opened at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Nurses, union representatives and supporters will continue to picket daily from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. through Friday.

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Strikers held signs encouraging passing cars to honk if you love nurses. Some roared past the hospitals Madison Street entrance on motorcycles.

Ascension St. Joseph is the only major hospital in Joliet. When residents of the area are in critical condition, nurses are often on the front lines of emergency care, said St. Joseph nurse Pat Meade.

Nurse Rebekah Piunti, of Joliet, drums on a bucket as the Illinois Nurses Association begins a four-day strike at Ascension St. Joseph hospital in Joliet on Aug. 22, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

Nurses are the ones who call code blues to start lifesaving treatment when patients experience heart failure, among many other daily tasks, said Meade, who has worked at St. Joseph for 35 years.

We need Ascension to recognize who cares for their patients, Meade said at Tuesdays strike.

Ascension called the strike disheartening in a statement to the Chicago Tribune. The hospital will remain open during the duration of the strike, and Ascension said the hospital is following what it considers to be national best practices in the meantime.

Notwithstanding this disheartening strike, we will continue to negotiate in good faith to come to a mutually beneficial agreement on an initial contract that respects the human dignity and rights of all, Ascension said in the statement.

Joliet Mayor Terry DArcy was present at the strike Tuesday. At a Joliet City Council meeting last week, DArcy criticized Ascension for bringing an economic agenda to hospital operations, and for refusing to come to the bargaining table in the days leading up to the strike.

Theyve given their lives to our community, DArcy said of striking nurses.

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During contract negotiations, nurses have felt insulted by Ascension proposals to offer higher raises to newer nurses than older nurses, nurse Jeanine Johnson told the Tribune last week. Early versions proposed by Ascension excluded years spent working in other countries from a nurses work history when considering wages.

At the council meeting, DArcy said that the city reached out to Ascension during the negotiation process, to little effect.

The strike was initially set for two days. Plans for a four-day picket line arose after Ascension announced last week that union nurses would be locked out of St. Joseph for four days.

[ Ascension St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet to lock out nurses who threatened to strike as union negotiations continue ]

Nurses gathering on Tuesdays picket line were joined by several sneering iterations of Scabby the Rat. The 12-foot-tall inflatable rodent has become an iconic guest at union protests, particularly when nonunion contractors are used to temporarily replace strikers.

Union representatives speaking to the Joliet City Council estimated that each of the nonunion nurses brought in during the strike would be paid at least $7,000, plus meals, transportation and lodging.

I dont get $7,000 for even a month, Vera Appiah-Dankwah, who has worked as a nurse at St. Joseph for 12 years, told the council. Reimbursing us for what we are doing is not in the picture at all.

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Ascension, a Catholic nonprofit health care network, operates 2,600 health care sites, including 142 hospitals, across the country.

About 800 nurses were on staff at St. Joseph when Ascension acquired the hospital in 2018. Nearly 350 nurses have since left, 120 of whom worked in the intensive care unit, according to the union.

Some area hospitals offer upward of $15 an hour more than Ascension St. Joseph currently pays nurses, according to the union.

Jamie Brown, a nurse at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, told strikers that nurses at Ascension hospitals in Michigan have faced similar treatment and response from Ascension.

When the nurses are outside, theres a problem inside, Brown said, echoing a strike chant. Ascension nurses stand together.

[ How a sprawling hospital chain ignited its own staffing crisis ]

Nurses allege that several floors of the hospital are understaffed, with high patient-to-nurse ratios that present danger for the most critical cases. The surgery and telemetry floors, as well as the labor and delivery floor are particularly overwhelmed.

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The intensive care unit at St. Joseph has reduced its number of beds by half in recent years, and nurses have still been asked to triple up at times, ICU nurse Jeanine Johnson told the Tribune last week.

The first time that Ascension was responsible for renewing its contract with St. Joseph nurses, in 2020, negotiations took five months, culminating in a 16-day strike. St. Joseph nurses won their first-ever contract in 1993 after a 61-day strike.

Many union nurses at St. Joseph work alongside their parents, siblings and children on staff, Meade said. Meades own mother was one of the first Black nurses at St. Joseph and helped shape protocol in the hospitals labor and delivery unit.

Were taking care of each other on a family level, Meade said. This is not just a job, this is a profession that were proud of.
Another one of America's adversaries just unveiled a new drone that closely resembles the US military's combat-proven MQ-9 Reaper

This image released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, shows Iran's new drone in an undisclosed location. Iranian Defense Ministry via AP

Another US foe just revealed a drone that looks very similar to the American MQ-9 Reaper.

Iran unveiled its new Mohajer 10 aircraft on Tuesday. It follows a North Korean look-alike in July.

While the drones appear to resemble the US Reaper, they are presumed to lack the same operational abilities.

Iran unveiled a new drone this week that closely resembles the US military's MQ-9 Reaper, becoming the latest country to produce an aircraft that looks like the formidable American combat drone.

State-run media on Tuesday published a video unveiling Iran's new drone, called the "Mohajer 10," full of glitzy footage showcasing the aircraft alongside strobe lights and a fog machine, as well as shots of the drone taking off, flying, and landing back on a runway.

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Iran claims the Mohajer 10 can operate for 24 straight hours and has an operational range of over 1,200 miles, according to the government-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), putting Israel  Tehran's longstanding enemy and a key US ally  potentially within the aircraft's reach.

The Mohajer 10 can carry various armaments with a maximum bomb payload of over 650 pounds, is capable of flying at speeds up to 130 mph, and is outfitted with surveillance and electronic warfare capabilities, IRNA claims.

The Iranian drone was unveiled during a ceremony to mark the country's Defense Industry Day. State media said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also attended the event, where he announced the delivery of ballistic missiles to Iran's military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

One of the missiles is named after Qasem Soleimani, the former chief of the IRGC's elite Quds Force who was killed in a 2020 US military Reaper drone strike.

IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) August 22, 2023

Iran's drone programs have come under heavy scrutiny over the past year as US officials routinely accuse Tehran of providing Russia with several different types of drones to use in Ukraine. The new Mohajer 10 doesn't resemble any of those drones, but it does look similar in shape and size to the American MQ-9 Reaper.

Though Iran has managed to capture an American drone before, there is no obvious indication that Iran has ever gotten its hands on one of the General Atomics MQ-9s. Still, the design, at least, looks very familiar.

Well-armed and tested in combat, the powerful Reaper drone has operational experience around the world. It is capable of flying at an altitude of 50,000 feet, hailed for its ability to conduct long-endurance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, and can be equipped with as many as eight AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

Reaper drones see regular usage during US counterterrorism operations in the Middle East, where they have become the center of attention in recent months as Russian fighter jets routinely harass the aircraft while they're carrying out missions against the Islamic State.

The repeated incidents have frustrated US officials, who constantly criticize Moscow's pilots for performing dangerous and unprofessional maneuvers. War experts say the engagements may be attempts by the Kremlin to support Iran in its longstanding goal of ousting US forces from the region.

An MQ-9 Reaper drone on San Clemente Island in California on June 23. 2022. US Air National Guard/Staff Sgt. Joseph Pagan

Iran's Mohajer 10 is only the latest instance in which a US adversary has developed a Reaper look-alike drone. Last month, North Korea unveiled its own MQ-9 doppelganger at a high-profile military parade in Pyongyang, reflecting an effort by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to boost the status of his country's drone program.

North Korea also released images at the time of an aircraft that appeared similar to the US military's RQ-4 Global Hawk, which is larger than the Reaper and can fly lengthy ISR missions.

There are few details surrounding what North Korea's new Reaper-style attack drone, but the country released video footage in late July showing the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) firing an unspecified type of missile. Like the Mohajer 10, it hasn't seen any combat experience, and while it's unclear how similar both aircraft are to the Reaper from an operational standpoint, they both likely lack the same characteristics and capabilities.

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says an attack drone during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, July 27, 2023. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

"There is broad agreement among outside analysts that the North's new UAVs are highly unlikely to be as capable as those of the US," Vann Van Diepen, a former US State Department official, wrote in an early August article for the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center think tank. "Nonetheless, Pyongyang clearly is trying to show its technological prowess by unveiling look-alike UAVs."

Iran and North Korea have cooperated in the past on various military issues, including the development of long-range missiles. The two countries also back Russia during its ongoing war in Ukraine. Tehran has given Moscow thousands of explosive drones that have been used to attack Ukrainian cities while the Kremlin has sought ammunition and weaponry from Pyongyang.

White House officials have asserted that Moscow's quest for security assistance from pariah states like Iran and North Korea is a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin's desperation and highlights several issues plaguing his military on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A federal appeals court has lifted a block on most of the provisions of Alabamas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, citing the anti-abortion Dobbs Supreme Court ruling in doing so.

This means Alabama can enforce anti-trans law, which made it a felony to provide this care to trans minors, while a lawsuit against it proceeds.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued the unanimous ruling Monday. The three judges  Barbara Lagoa , Andrew Brasher, and J.P. Boulee  were all appointed by Donald Trump. Boulee is a judge on a lower court, but he participated in the 11th Circuit case under a process by which judges can be temporarily designated to serve on appellate courts.

The Alabama law took effect early in May 2022. Shortly thereafter, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke issued a temporary injunction blocking the provisions that ban the administration of hormones and puberty blockers to minors for the purpose of gender transition. The ruling came in a case brought by two doctors and families with trans children, who said the law violated various constitutional rights, including the right to due process of law. Burke found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on most of their claims at trial and that there was a threat of imminent harm to trans youth if those parts of the law were enforced.

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He left intact the provision banning gender-affirming surgeries, which are not taking place in the state, and one requiring school staffers to notify parents if a student comes out as trans. Violation of the law carries a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $15,000.

But Burke used the wrong legal standard in issuing the injunction, the 11th Circuit panel asserted. The plaintiffs have not presented any authority that supports the existence of a constitutional right to treat [ones] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards, the ruling states.

They cited Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, in which the Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade and its national guarantee of abortion rights. In Dobbs, the high court found that when determining if a right is a substantive one guaranteed by the due process clause, courts decide if it is deeply rooted in [our] history and tradition and essential to our Nations scheme of ordered liberty.

The 11th Circuit ruling quoted those passages and asserted that the use of these medications in general  let alone for children  almost certainly is not deeply rooted in our nations history and tradition. Although there are records of transgender or otherwise gender nonconforming individuals from various points in history, the earliest recorded uses of puberty blocking medication and cross-sex hormone treatment for purposes of treating the discordance between an individuals biological sex and sense of gender identity did not occur until well into the twentieth century. The ruling also said that the Alabama law does not amount to discrimination based on sex or transgender status and is therefore subject only to the lowest level of constitutional review.

The Alabama attorney general had cited the Dobbs ruling in arguing for the injunction to be lifted. This one of several instances in which right-wing attorneys had invoked Dobbs in seeking to undermine other bodily autonomy rights.

That argument hadnt succeeded until July, when U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit cited Dobbs in letting Tennessees gender-affirming care ban take effect. Shortly afterward, the Sixth Circuit did the same in a case involving Kentuckys ban.

Attorneys defending the right to gender-affirming care have noted that their opponents were frequently using Dobbs, but some are skeptical that this strategy will succeed in the long run.

The plaintiffs in this Alabama case, one of two filed against the ban, are represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign with King & Spalding LLP and Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC.

The attorneys issued this statement:

This is a deeply disappointing decision that is difficult to reconcile with the 11th Circuits prior rulings and with the Supreme Courts clear guidance that discrimination because a person is transgender is sex discrimination. Our clients are devastated by this decision, which leaves them vulnerable to what the district court  after hearing several days of testimony from parents, doctors, and experts  found to be irreparable harm as a result of losing the medical care they have been receiving and that has enabled them to thrive.

While this is a setback, we are confident that it is only a temporary one. Every federal district court that has heard the evidence presented in these cases has come to the same conclusion: these medical treatments are safe, effective, and lifesaving for some youth, and there is no legitimate reason to ban them. We believe that at the end of the day, our nations courts will protect these vulnerable youth and block these harmful laws, which serve no purpose other than to prevent parents from obtaining the medical care their children need. Parents, not the government, are best situated to make these medical decisions for their children. These laws are a shocking example of government overreach and a jarring intrusion into private family decisions. This case is far from over, and we will continue to aggressively seek legal protection for these families.
A federal panel Monday allowed Alabamas ban on medical care for transgender youth to go into effect, reversing a injunction from a lower court judge issued last year.

The plaintiffs have not presented any authority that supports the existence of a constitutional right to treat [ones] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards, said the opinion from U.S. Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Nor have they shown that (the law) classifies on the basis of sex or any other protected characteristic.

U.S. District Judge Jean-Paul Boulee joined the opinion. U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher, a former Alabama solicitor general, concurred in the ruling in a separate opinion. All three were appointed by former President Donald Trump.

More: Gov. Kay Ivey signs ban on transgender college athletes

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Alabamas 2022 ban makes it felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a physician to prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to a person under the age of 19. The law also bans genital surgeries on minors, which medical professionals repeatedly stressed were not performed in Alabama. A group of families and people who worked with transgender youth sued the state shortly after passage, saying the ban would harm their childrens lives.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement Monday that the ruling reinforced the states authority to safeguard the physical and psychological wellbeing of minors, even if the United States Attorney General and radical interest groups disapprove.

Alabama takes this responsibility seriously by forbidding doctors from prescribing minors sex-modification procedures that have permanent and often irreversible effects, the statement said. This a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.

Protestors in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, and Human Rights Campaign, representing the plaintiffs in the case, called the decision deeply disappointing and in conflict with prior decisions by the 11th Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Our clients are devastated by this decision, which leaves them vulnerable to what the district courtafter hearing several days of testimony from parents, doctors, and expertsfound to be irreparable harm as a result of losing the medical care they have been receiving and that has enabled them to thrive, the statement said. The groups said they would continue to fight in court.

The plaintiffs in the case include families of children receiving gender affirming care.

The opinion comes after Tennessees ban on care went into effect earlier this year, and after a federal judge blocked a similar ban on hormone therapy in Georgia on Sunday.

U.S. District Judge Liles Burke, a Trump appointee, blocked the medication ban last year after a hearing in the spring where physicians and those who worked with transgender youth said the treatments were safe and critical to their well-being.

The record shows that at least twenty-two major medical associations in the United States endorse transitioning medications as well-established, evidence-based treatments for gender dysphoria in minors, Burke wrote.

More: 'We matter': Protest against anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeps across downtown Montgomery

Lagoa wrote that previous due process cases do not establish a fundamental right to gender affirming care.

Those decisions applying the fundamental parental right in the context of medical decision-making do not establish that parents have a derivative fundamental right to obtain a particular medical treatment for their children as long as a critical mass of medical professionals approve, the judge wrote.

Lagoa also cited the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Medical Center, where Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not protect any right not deeply rooted in the nations history and traditions. The attorney generals office cited the ruling in appealing Burkes ruling, which came before Dobbs.

Dr. Morissa Ladinsky, an associate professor at the University of Alabama Birmingham who works with transgender children, said in a statement Monday that she knows firsthand the challenges trans young people and their families face and the benefits these treatments provide to youth who need them.

Gender-affirming care is safe, effective and established medical care, the statement said. It is encouraging that so far, every single court that has heard directly from the doctors, parents, and experts involved in this care has recognized that the fears and misconceptions underlying these laws have no basis in reality.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, an independent nonprofit website covering politics and policy in state capitals around the nation.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Court allows Alabama ban on medical care for transgender youth
The Community Foundation of WNC awarded 33 students across Buncombe County and Asheville City schools with scholarships for college in 2023.

ASHEVILLE - With all the challenges of transitioning from high school to the world of college, cost will not be one of them for Sophia Nash.

The recent Asheville High School graduate just received a full-ride scholarship to attend North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Her first day was Aug. 21, when she spoke with the Citizen Times in between dashing to classes. Nash is studying chemistry at N.C. State.

Over $100,000 in scholarships were awarded to four students in Buncombe County and Asheville City schools from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. Nash, who played volleyball all four years of high school, was the president of the Spanish Club, and started her own chess club as a junior, was one of these four.

Recent Asheville High graduate, Sophia Nash, receives $40,000 scholarship from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina to attend North Carolina State.

She was awarded the Marilyn Lester and William Lester Scholarship  receiving $40,000 over four years.

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"I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity I have. I'm super fortunate because I don't have to stress over financial burdens and I feel like this scholarship has opened the door to continue onto higher education debt free," Nash told the Citizen Times.

The CFWNC approved scholarships totaling $558,000 to 96 Western North Carolina students in 53 schools in 19 counties, according to a news release from the foundation. Each scholarship has different eligibility criteria and is offered to students who are going into a specific degree or who will attend a select college or university.

In total there were 33 students across Buncombe County and Asheville City schools who were awarded a scholarship for college from the CFWNC  with five of them being from Enka High School, four from Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. Discovery Academy and three from TC Roberson. Students who received scholarships also hail from Asheville High School, AC Reynolds and North Buncombe.

Another top recipient is Nancy Membreno, a first-generation college student, who graduated from School of Inquiry and Life Sciences in Asheville. Membreno is attending UNC Chapel Hill this fall and was also awarded a Marilyn Lester and William Lester Scholarship, for $40,000 over four years.

Nancy Membreno is a first-generation college student attending UNC Chapel Hill. She was awarded a Marilyn Lester and William Lester Scholarship, for $40,000 over four years.

"I found everything about college intimidating, but I wanted to prioritize scholarships. Receiving the Marilyn Lester and William Lester Scholarship, brought me relief over my financial situation and demonstrated that people believe I can succeed in college and beyond," Membreno told the Citizen Times in an Aug. 21 email.

The other top recipients who were granted the most money are as follows:

Ruby Blue from Martin L. Nesbitt Academy is attending N.C. State. Blue was awarded the Irving Jacob Reuter Award, which comes out to $40,000 over four years, and the Rotary Club of Asheville Harry R. Morrill Scholarship, for $5,000. To be eligible for the Reuter Award, a student had to show "superior academic achievement, strong moral character; community service, extracurricular activities and/or work experience; and success in dealing with life's challenges," according to the CFWNC website.

Julia Givens from Charles D. Owen High School. Givens is attending UNC Chapel Hill and was awarded $20,000 over four years from the Nelle Crowell Fletcher and G.L. Crowell Fund Scholarship. The criteria was based on academic achievement including GPA, SAT or ACT test scores, a need for financial help and community involvement.

More: Free tuition for some at Chapel Hill after Supreme Court ruling; What about WNC schools?

There were more than 60 volunteers from the community who worked to review applications and choose recipients, the release said.

"After reviewing these scholarship students through the lens of an alumnus, a parent, and now, a committee member, I can honestly say the caliber of students in our area is extraordinary and we, as a community, should be extremely proud to recognize and celebrate them," volunteer reviewer for the Irving Jacob Reuter Award, Leslie Berry said in the release.

CFWNC is a nonprofit, founded in 1978 that works with families, businesses and nonprofits to "strengthen communities through the creation of charitable funds and strategic grantmaking," according to their website.

More: Buncombe County, Asheville school speak out against voucher bill: 'It's a 'giveaway'

More: Asheville, Buncombe schools discuss ChatGPT as school year starts; What are policies?

McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKennna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Buncombe students earn full-ride college scholarships
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said he has asked for an investigation into the death of a 62-year-old father and deacon who died while in police custody last week.

Johnny Hollman was taken into custody after a minor traffic accident on August 10 at the intersection of Cunningham Place and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. Atlanta police said he became agitated and uncooperative and used a stun gun on him.

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Hollman was handcuffed and police later realized he was unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

On Tuesday, Dickens announced that he has asked Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbum to conduct an evaluation of the interaction with Hollman, including a review of the departments standard operating procedures and training curriculum.

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Dickens said the officer involved will receive due process. He has not been identified.

Every single life in Atlanta is important and matters to me. Every single death in this city weighs on my heart, Dickens said. I have been in touch with the family of Mr. Hollman to express my condolences and the City has provided assistance to them.

TRENDING STORIES:

Hollmans children told Channel 2s Ashli Lincoln that he called them shortly after the accident so that they could listen to how the officer was treating him.

I heard my daddy asking them, begging them, Arnitra 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 just laying out there in the street with no life in him, she said.

His children said he was a family man and a deacon at his church.








One of the lawyers for former President Donald Trump surrendered Tuesday morning one week after he was one of 19 defendants indicted in the Georgia election interference case.

Records confirm that John Eastman was booked into the Fulton County Jail this morning. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set bond for Eastman at $100,000, according to an agreement reached Monday with the DAs office.

BREAKING: Fulton County Sheriff's Office has just released mugshot of Former Pres. Trump Attorney John Eastman. >>> https://2wsb.tv/44fWC8t Posted by WSB-TV on Tuesday, August 22, 2023

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Eastman was among those who testified before a Georgia State Senate subcommittee making several claims of voter fraud.

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He was a key architect of the attempt to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the official Democratic electors in Georgia and other swing states in favor of alternate Trump electors.

Eastman was a key participant in the subsequent attempts to overturn the election. On January 6, 2021, Eastman presented a speech at the White House Trump rally that preceded the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Eastman subsequently implored Vice President Pence to violate the Electoral Count Act to delay certification of the election.

Eastman retired from the Chapman University faculty after the controversy created by his having spoken at the Trump rally. On March 28, 2022, federal judge David O. Carter found Eastman, along with Trump, was more likely than not to have dishonestly conspired to obstruct the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

In December 2022, the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack recommended Eastman be charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States, along with Trump and potentially others.

Eastman faces the following charges in the indictment: violation of the Georgia RICO Act, solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (two counts), conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (two counts), conspiracy to commit filing false documents and filing false documents.

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Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows quietly decided to cooperate with special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutors after they challenged former President Donald Trump's claims of executive privilege, according to The New York Times.

Meadows "commenced a delicate dance" with federal prosecutors after receiving a subpoena from a grand jury over the winter, the outlet reported. Meadows initially declined to answer questions, citing Trump's claims of executive privilege. But when Smith's prosecutors challenge Trump's claims, Meadows "pivoted" and "even though he risked enraging Trump," decided to "trust" Smith's team and quietly arranged to talk with them about both Trump's efforts to stay in power and the Mar-a-Lago documents case, according to the report.

It's unclear what Meadows told prosecutors and under what terms he was interviewed, though ABC News reported that Meadows undercut Trump's claim that he "declassified" the national security documents he took home before leaving office.

But while Meadows' cooperation prevented him from being named in the indictment in D.C., he was charged as a co-conspirator in the sprawling racketeering indictment in Georgia's Fulton County.

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Trump's team has been "deeply suspicious" of Meadows for months but the discovery materials turned over by Smith's team have given them visibility into what Meadows told prosecutors, according to the report.

"This witch hunt is nothing more than a desperate attempt to interfere in the 2024 election as President Trump dominates the polls and is the only person who will take back the White House," Trump spokesman Steve Cheung told the Times.

National security attorney Bradley Moss called the report "confirmation that, under court order, Meadows ratted out Trump to the Feds."

"What remains unclear is if he has some type of immunity deal," he added.

The Times report noted that Meadows' plan to be quietly cooperative with prosecutors without agreeing to a formal deal is "hardly a novel strategy" but carries risks for both Meadows and Trump.

While Meadows' goal was to provide information he believed he was legally obligated to disclose, he also used the law to push back on requests he considered "inappropriate or potentially dangerous to his own interests," a source told the Times.

The turn appears to have been part of Meadows attorney George Terwilliger's strategy for dealing with the legal threats.

"George believes witnesses are not owned by anybody," a source who has worked closely with the attorney told the Times. "They're not there for a person; they're not there against any person; they're not on one person's side. They're there to tell the truth."

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

After Meadows initially refused to answer certain questions during his first appearance before the grand jury, he gave an "unvarnished, privilege-free account" after he was ordered to return by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, according to the report.

But in Georgia, Meadows fought efforts to compel his testimony and invoked his rights against self-incrimination when he appeared before a grand jury, the report added. The Fulton County indictment alleges that Meadows played a key role in the fake elector scheme and other efforts to keep Trump in power.

Meadows has already filed to try to move the case from Georgia to a federal court and Terwilliger indicated that he plans to argue that Meadows is immune from prosecution because his actions were part of his official duties as chief of staff.

Former federal prosecutor Richard Signorelli predicted that Meadows will ultimately only have two options in the D.C. case: be an "indicted non-cooperating defendant for which conviction will mean lengthy incarceration" or a "fully cooperating defendant which will preserve all or most of his freedom."

"Not complicated," he added.

Read more

about Mark Meadows
A Wilmington attorney has released a three-page statement detailing what he says led to the investigation of multiple staff members following a May incident at Sussex Central High School.

Until recently, the Indian River School District had told the public only that Sussex Central staff members were placed on administrative leave May 22, while Delaware State Police said only that they were conducting a criminal investigation at the Georgetown school.

Then last week, the district announced it had named an acting principal at Sussex Central last week, indicating to the public that Sussex Central High School Principal Bradley Layfield was one of the staff members being investigated.

Thomas Neuberger, the attorney representing Layfield, released the lengthy statement Monday, revealing that the ongoing investigation centers on video footage of a May 17 fight between three females in which an 18-year-old's breast was briefly exposed.

Over 2,000 students attend Sussex Central High School in Georgetown.

When reached by phone, Neuberger also confirmed the identity of a second Sussex Central staff member being investigated by police: Assistant Principal Matt Jones. Jones is one of six assistant principals at Sussex Central, a school of over 2,000 students.

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The Indian River School District declined to comment on Neuberger's release.

DETAILS: What we know about Sussex Central High police investigation as acting principal named

What happened on May 17

Layfield was placed on leave mistakenly, according to Neuberger, because he exercised his discretion  in sharing a surveillance video with professional staff with a need to know of a dangerous school fight, with racial overtones, that erupted that day."

The release details a May 17 fight between three unidentified girls. Two seniors started a fight with a junior in a crowded hallway just before school began, according to Neuberger.

The junior was yelling at a boy who, according to Neuberger's release, "had deflated the tires of another student's auto in the parking lot, which she had videotaped." The senior girls "engaged her, told her to shut up, cursed her and started to attack her," before they were separated by a school constable, according to the release.

Assistant Principal Aerin Donovan held one senior while a custodian held the other, according to Neuberger. The senior Donovan was holding broke free "to jump back aggressively and dangerously into the fight," the release states.

Donovan grabbed her shirt, Neuberger said, accidentally "revealing one breast, for 1-2 seconds, for 2-3 steps," before the student covered up and again ran toward the junior.

Background: What we know about Sussex Central High police investigation as acting principal named

By the time Layfield arrived, the fight had ended. Layfield reviewed the footage multiple times that day with about a dozen staff members, which is common practice, according to Neuberger.

This was thought to be a serious fight, possibly with racial overtones," Neuberger said in the release, because staff made two radio calls for help during the fight. Neuberger also noted that the two senior girls were Black and the junior was white.

In addition, Dr. Layfield reports that there have been countless fights where surveillance camera footage is shared with staff members to keep the school safe and protect students from further fights, Neuberger said.

Layfield first showed the footage 2 or 3 times to about five teachers during first period, the release states. He then showed it to Assistant Principal Karen Oliphant and to a state trooper on-site for an unrelated matter.

Next, he showed it to three staff members, including an interventionist dealing with discipline, and a teacher along a hallway near the fight. The position of the third staff member was not mentioned in the news release and Neuberger could not recall when reached by phone.

Layfield wanted to keep them informed and safe about school dangers and dangerous individuals, the release says.

Attorney Thomas Neuberger speaks at a press conference in 2021.

Finally, Layfield showed the video to District Director of Secondary Education Renee Jerns and Assistant Principal Donovan, according to the release.

Jerns was on site for a discipline proceeding and was assisted by Donovan that day, who both came to Dr. Layfield to report on the discipline proceeding. Then Dr. Layfield told them to look here at another problem that broke out this very day, since the problem of dealing with fights is within Jerns job duties, the release states.

'Return him to his duties'

School fights are a "major unpublicized problem in this and other public school districts throughout the State of Delaware," Neuberger wrote in the release.

"If they try to terminate him, I can tell you thats gonna be part of the defense," Neuberger said in an interview with Delaware Online/The News Journal. "Here's a guy trying to make sure we keep a lid on fighting, on violence in schools."

More: Who killed Dioandre Gibbs? $12K offered for information on Frankford shooting

Neuberger said he does not believe sharing the video with staff is a fireable offense. He believes everyone Layfield showed the video had a right to view it but is willing to concede that a reasonable person might be able to say (Layfield) shouldve exercised more discretion due to the student exposure, Neuberger said by phone.

So write a letter and put it in his file, Neuberger said. The district has no written policies on who gets to see surveillance videos. There were no policies, no rules or regulations violated.

The news release from Neuberger's office put it more simply: Return him to his duties. And clear his good name. STOP THE RUMORS!

In the written release, Neuberger said he suspects the investigation is politically motivated either internally at the school or at the central office." By phone, he declined to comment further on possible political motivations.

Though the school did decline to comment Monday, school district spokesperson David Maull offered the following in July.

It is a regular practice of the Indian River School District to place employees on paid leave in many circumstances, including when there is an allegation, investigation, complaint, threat against the employee, or other instance warranting paid leave," Maull said. "When an employee is placed on paid leave, this should never be construed as expressing or implying that an employee will face employment action or that an employee may have engaged in any wrongful conduct (of any severity)."

He declined to comment further at the time, citing employee privacy laws.

How Jones is involved

Little is known about Jones involvement in the situation, which was previously unknown until Neuberger identified him. He could not immediately be reached by phone.

More: Millsboro sewage spill closes recreational clam and mussel harvesting in Indian River Bay

According to Neuberger's release, (Assistant Principal) Donovan advised (Layfield) that faculty member Matt Jones had pulled the surveillance footage on his desktop."

While Neuberger confirmed Jones is being investigated, he said neither he nor Layfield know why.

In July, Delaware State Police spokeswoman India Sturgis said her agency had a considerable witness list to sift through." Last week, she said the investigation was ongoing.

Parents at an Indian River Board of Education meeting last week urged the district to provide information about why staff members were on leave.

"If the administrators are allowed to get away with anything, then the students will think they can, too," parent Pam Long said.

Sussex Centrals school year begins Sept. 5 for freshmen and Sept. 6 for all other students.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Have a tip? Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Sussex Central High School investigation details revealed by attorney
Venezuelan migrants Carla Perez chats with Ronald Larez as they arrive for the first day of school and their parents talk with school administrators at Ogden International Elementary School on Aug. 21, 2023. Larez had to wait with other migrants while parents filled out additional paperwork. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

When more than 320,000 Chicago youths resumed classes Monday, the sense of renewal brought by a fresh school year was underscored by the presence of Chicagos new mayor, a former teacher who welcomed students and offered encouraging words at several stops around the district.

Yet the change at City Hall is also the beginning of a period of transition in Chicago Public Schools as it moves to an elected school board, and divorces itself from city oversight and funding, starting in 2024. The district will also be negotiating a new contract with the teachers union and will soon see the end of both COVID-19 relief funding and a moratorium on school closures  all while dealing with ongoing struggles such as chronic enrollment loss, a shortage of bus drivers and underpopulated, aging buildings.

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And following an increase of about 2,300 English learner enrollments last year, the states largest school system faces language barriers in attempting to meet the needs of hundreds of new students who are children of newly arrived migrants, many of whom have been staying in city-run shelters or police station lobbies for months.

Right before 8 a.m. Monday, a group of parents and their children gathered outside the Inn of Chicago Hotel downtown, one of the largest migrant shelters, ready to head to their first day of school.

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Estoy contento, said Ronald Larez, 9. He is happy that he will finally start school again, joining dozens of other children of asylum-seekers living in the shelter who began classes at The Ogden International School of Chicago.

Chicago Public Schools had been preparing to accommodate new English learner students, most of them children of migrants. About 1,000 enrolled through the summer, and officials said they anticipate about 1,000 more through the beginning of the school year.

Ronalds mother was excited to walk her son to school, but many other mothers from the shelter still needed to file paperwork to enroll their children in school, she said, including her sister. The two woke up early to rush to the school, she said.

When Ronald walked into the school, she felt relief. Gracias a dios ya esta en clase, she said. Thank God he is now in class.

Among schools that continue to receive newcomer students after the start of the year, CPS said it will allocate resources as necessary to support their enrollment, often as English learners.

We will always be here to support you and your family; the things that you will need. It is our responsibility to make sure we do that for you, Mayor Brandon Johnson said while visiting a bilingual homeroom Monday morning at Brighton Park Elementary School, where students were writing in their journals about activities they do well. Im looking forward to all of the incredible work that youre going to do this year, all the new friends and new ideas and concepts that youre going to develop.

Mayor Brandon Johnson receives high-fives from pre-kindergarten students on their first day of school at Chicago Public Schools' Brighton Park Elementary School on Monday. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

The school was one of several that the mayor  a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer and the parent of three CPS students  toured Monday. In stark contrast to his predecessor Lori Lightfoots years of rancor with the Chicago Teachers Union, amid a strike and then clashes over COVID-19 closures, Johnson was accompanied by not only CPS CEO Pedro Martinez but also CTU President Stacy Davis Gates in his tour of schools, along with Service Employees International Union President Dian Palmer, state Rep. Theresa Mah and Ald. Julia Ramirez.

Were going to have your backs, but youve got to do us a favor: to never stop learning, Johnson said. Raise your hand as many times as you possibly can  and not just to go to the bathroom. Raise your hand and ask as many questions as possible, because its through those questions that youre going to help change the community thats raising you.

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CPS said in a statement Monday that in addition to meeting its rapidly growing bilingual education needs, the district will continue efforts this school year to provide reasonable class sizes; expand pre-K, arts and college prep programs; and provide stronger social-emotional and mental health services to students and support for teachers.

Treat these two women well, Johnson told the students regarding their homeroom teacher and teacher assistant. Can you do that for us?

With a $9.4 billion budget for this school year, CPS said its hired nearly 500 more teachers and more than 700 more education support staff, such as teachers assistants, special education classroom assistants, counselors and nurses, than last school year.

The district continues to build on gains in literacy, graduation rates, capital investments, and college and career success, Martinez said in a CPS news release.

With temperatures in the 90s forecast later this week, some parents with children attending elementary schools where classrooms have broken ACs raised the need Monday for new, green schools or capital improvements to aging and inadequate HVAC systems  as climate change increases the number of school days requiring cooling.

Lets keep an eye on the AC systems today, Martinez said on his phone outside Brighton Park Elementary before the tour of classrooms began.

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CPS strives to ensure students in every neighborhood have access to safe, accessible, high-quality facilities where they can play and learn, the district said in its statement, noting its facilities team is in the process of completing 60 site improvement projects, including 55 new or renovated playgrounds. After passing a scaled-down $155 million capital budget this year, CPS said a supplemental capital budget will come later this year, shaped by robust community engagement.

At Brighton Park, Johnson thanked facility staff and struck up a conversation on green technology with pre-K students creating structures from magnetic tiles he said resembled solar panels. There are a lot of people that want to see more green technology utilized, he said. Youre gonna save my administration because people want me to hurry up. You know, Ive been here for a 100 days?

Other CPS challenges the Johnson administration faces include bus driver shortages that have seen the district prioritize transportation services for diverse learners and students in temporary living situations, while providing general education students in selective enrollment or magnet programs free CTA passes. As of Monday, the district provided transportation for more than 7,100 students, according to a CPS news release.

Diverse learners and students with the greatest needs will also receive targeted investments this year, CPS said.

A child skips to her first day of classes for Chicago Public Schools outside Carl Von Linne Elementary in Avondale on Aug. 21, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

Ace Romo, a parent of two Carl Von Linne School students, said hes glad to see the Avondale dual language school welcome nearly 100 migrant children from a nearby shelter this year.

I think its great the way the school has come together to help those children, Romo said while dropping off his kids for their first day of school.

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Right before his fifth grader walked into the building, he gave him a fist pump.

I love you, Im proud of you, have a great day, he told his son.

Romo said that back-to-school days are always special because they are a reminder for children that they can start fresh and set new goals.

If you start today on a good path, its going to be easier to stay on that path, he said.

smacaraeg@chicagotribune.com

larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
Iconic queer online magazine Autostraddle has been acquired by wellness company For Them, the companies announced Tuesday. The site will now become Autostraddle by For Them.

Autostraddle, which emerged in the late 2000s as the successor to an L Word blog, has become a leading lesbian-focused online outlet that has expanded its focus in recent years to be a community for LGBTQ+ and nonbinary people. Founded by Rises Bernard and Alexandra Vega, Autostraddle describes itself as the internets most popular, and oldest independently-owned, website for lesbian culture thats inclusive of trans and nonbinary people and all queer women.

The site sees more than 2.5 million views per month, according to the companies. It also won the 26th Annual GLAAD Award for Outstanding Blog in 2015.

In May of last year, Bernard, who is the current CEO of Autostraddle, announced that due to budget constraints, they had to suspend a search for a new art director and also terminate the contracts of their subject editors, who were freelancers.

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The acquisition is an all-equity deal, according to a news release.

For Thems CEO Kylo Freeman will lead Autostraddle by For Them with Bernard staying on in an editorial and development capacity. Freeman will become Autostraddles first Black CEO. For Thems CMO Em Chadwick will head the brand merger. Current Autostraddle editor in chief Carmen Phillips and the sites managing editor Kayla Kumari will both stay on, as will all full-time staff.

Autostraddle began as a spin-off of my personal blog and true labor of love  just me and my friends trying to fill what I saw as a void in the lesbian media landscape, said Bernard in the release. I wanted a publication that covered a full breadth of topics for a queer audience, to normalize being weird and gay, and to build a thriving community of confident, empowered, hungry queer people. Im so proud of the work weve done, but after bootstrapping this business for fourteen years  especially in a climate where independent media publications are shuttering and downsizing every day  Im looking forward to handing over the reins to Kylo and For Them to preserve and maintain Autostraddles legacy.

Freeman and Bernard have been in discussions since late last year. For Them, which initially began as a company selling chest binders, has grown into a company with a gender-tech focus. It also has a membership subscription similar to Autostraddles A+ that the company says works to help people explore their gender and identity while also connecting people.

Freeman told The Advocate that Autostraddle had a major impact on them when they were growing up in Liverpool, U.K.

Riece's work specifically really started to help me feel less alone, Freeman said, adding that the content on the original blog and then on Autostraddle helped them also start to understand themselves better  both about their sexuality and then later their gender.

They continue: I am a real fanboy of Autostraddle, [but] from a professional note, at For Them, we are trying to serve the queer and all things to make them feel authentically well. Content is an absolutely huge part of that.
Former Miss Texas Averie Bishop , left, sings a Christmas song with Miss Texas Outstanding Teen J-Belle Kimbrell at the Westgate Mall in Amarillo on Nov. 10, 2022. Credit: Michael Cuviello/Amarillo Globe-News/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS

Averie Bishop, the former Miss Texas who has spoken out against state GOP leaders, announced Tuesday she is challenging state Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson.

The 26-year-old Bishop said she would run as a Democrat for House District 112, a perennially competitive district in northeast Dallas County.

I know what its like to grow up in a small town and never see leaders who looked like me, let alone who fought for me, Bishop said in a statement. Its time for the next generation of Texans to lead  to protect our states environment and economy, to safeguard our schools and our right to education, and to truly represent the majority of this great state.

Bishop was the first Asian contestant to become Miss Texas in the pageants 85-year history. She said she would be the first Filipino American to serve in the Legislature.

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Button is also Asian American, an immigrant from Taiwan whose parents fled communist China.

As Miss Texas 2022, Bishop was unusually vocal for a pageant winner about the direction of the state, criticizing Republican leadership on issues of abortion, guns and race. She has amassed a large following on social media, boasting 841,000 followers on TikTok.

This appears to be Bishops first run for public office.

Bishop emerged as a likely candidate for District 112 last week, filing a campaign treasurer appointment for the seat that allowed her to start raising money.

Button, who has served in the House since 2009, is a veteran of tough campaigns. In 2020, she won reelection by less than 300 votes, while President Joe Biden carried her district by 9 percentage points.

Redistricting made the district redder. Under the new boundaries, Biden would have lost the district by less than 1 point. Even so, Button defeated her Democratic challenger last year by 10 points.

Button chairs the House International Relations and Economic Development Committee.

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.
Four Republican backbencher candidates who failed to qualify for the first 2024 GOP presidential debate this week slammed the Republican National Committee over its rules, with multiple contenders calling them rigged.

This is B.S., conservative radio host Larry Elder complained in a video he shared online. It is designed, in my opinion, to ensure that [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis is the nominee  anybody other than Donald Trump.

Elder, who mounted an unsuccessful bid to oust California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said he intended to file an emergency lawsuit to halt the debate from taking place. Businessman Perry Johnson, another GOP candidate, also said he intends to take legal action against the RNC.

The prime-time debate is scheduled for Wednesday in Milwaukee and will be aired by Fox News.

Radio host Larry Elder is among the candidates who failed to qualify for the first 2024 Republican presidential debate.

Radio host Larry Elder is among the candidates who failed to qualify for the first 2024 Republican presidential debate.

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The RNC announced in June that in order to qualify for the debate, each candidate had to hit at least 40,000 unique donors and register at least 1% in three national polls, or 1% in two national polls and 1% in one early state poll.

Few candidates had trouble reaching the donor threshold. Some of them even used creative and eyebrow-raising schemes to hit the mark. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum , for example, offered $20 gift cards to those who donated at least $1 to his campaign, a luxury available to a wealthy self-funding candidate.

But the polling mark proved to be a more difficult task for candidates with little name recognition in a race dominated by Trump. Elder complained the RNC wasnt counting polls from Rasmussen, a Trump-friendly polling firm, while former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas protested the committees decision not to include polls that surveyed independents and Democrats willing to vote for a Republican.

The lack of transparency and confusion around the RNCs debate requirements is antithetical to the democratic process. The American people deserve better, Hurd said in a statement Tuesday.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez similarly failed to make the cut. Suarez had previously said candidates who dont make the debate stage should drop out of the race  including himself.

Im running against [people] who have been national figures for years. Ive been a national figure for 60 days, Suarez said earlier this month. So, fortunately for me, youre sort of new so you have a different threshold, a different time frame and were going to have to compete at the same level.

The cost of not making the debate for backbencher candidates is extremely high. They already struggle to get attention, and now they have zero chance of getting a breakout moment on stage.

While Trump is skipping the debate  and has said hell also sit out all future GOP debates  eight of his Republican rivals will be vying for runner-up at the event in Milwaukee.

They include: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Our Columbus queen has found her king.

On last nights The Bachelorette finale, Charity Lawson, a Columbus, Georgia native, found love as she got engaged and gave the final rose to one very lucky man.

Ive been following this season very closely and I am so excited to report on this finale. As a fellow Georgia girl, I was so happy to see Charity as The Bachelorette this season and the finale did not disappoint.

Throughout this season, Charity has been nothing short of a strong, smart and kind Bachelorette; but, she also took no foolishness this season as well. And might I just add, her wardrobe this season has been incredible. My girl has been killing it since day one.

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So, what happened in the finale?

Charity got engaged

Well, as you have probably now guessed, Charity is engaged. But who did she say yes to?

She ended up saying yes to Dotun after he poured his heart out to her and got on one knee.

You have been able to make me feel so incredibly special, Dotun said to her. You have made me feel adored and validated and wanted. And to receive that from a woman of your caliber, Charity, I dont think you will ever understand what that means to me. But Im certain that I want to spend the rest of my life showing you.

Dotun proposed to Charity on the finale of The Bachelorette, season 20.

Hes got a way with words, am I right, ladies?

Charity nodded and shared how she felt in the moment. I want a forever future with you, she said.

Its impossible not to believe in love after watching these two together.

However, that means a couple men just didnt make the cut.

Aarons back and gone again

After coming back to win Charity over, Aaron was unfortunately sent home. He did get some closure as well as a little extra time with the woman he referred to as his wife, but sadly, it wasnt enough for Charity.

At the final rose ceremony, Charity sent him packing once again. They shared a tearful goodbye and kind words, so at least it wasnt all for nothing.

During the live finale, Jesse Palmer revealed that Aaron as well as a few others from Charitys season will appear on the new season of Bachelor in Paradise, so Aaron will get another shot at finding a wife.

Joeys goodbye

Charity chose Dotun, which means Joeys relationship with her had a heartbreaking end.

Joey was fully prepared to propose to Charity; he even had a beautiful ring designed. However, as he was dropping to one knee, Charity interrupted him with a wait. This is just never good news, guys.

Charity told him she loves him, but she has a deeper love with someone else (Dotun, of course).

My love for you is truly never going to go away, Charity said.

Then the breakup is sealed with Joey climbing in the car and riding away.

But when one door shuts, another opens, right Joey?

Who is Americas new Bachelor?

After getting heartbreakingly rejected by Charity, Joey left The Bachelorette single. But not for long because Joey is Americas new Bachelor.

Joey Graziadei is your new Bachelor, America.

He will be dating many women, including one that he met live on the finale stage with Jesse Palmer.

Score! I cannot wait to watch Joeys journey. I am super excited about seeing him have his own season.

I just really want someone I can do life with, Joey said after Jesse Palmer made the announcement.

Back to Charity and Dotun

Are Charity and Dotun still together?

Yes, they are. On last nights live finale, the newly engaged couple came out and shared their love for all to see.

Charity and Dotun are engaged and still together, as announced on the live finale of The Bachelorette, season 20.

We are feeling over the moon, Charity said. Weve wanted everyone to see our love.

The couple then revealed that they plan on getting married soon, but they arent exactly sure when.

With this, Jesse Palmer surprised the couple with a pre-honeymoon trip to Greece.

And then another bombshell: Dotun announced that Charity will be on the new season of Dancing with the Stars. You go, girl.

And with that, the finale came to an end.

What did you enjoy most about the finale? Comment below to let us know.
All students in the Fort Worth Independent School District will be eligible for free breakfast and lunch for the 2023-2024 school year, according to district officials.

The Community Eligibility Provision, a part of the federally funded National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, will be funding the meals, district spokesperson Cesar Padilla said in a news release.

Parents will not have to fill out applications for their children to receive these meals, but alternate income forms may be given so the district can collect income data required for other programs.

This innovative approach simplifies procedures for both families and school administrators, ultimately leading to improved meal accessibility and nutritional content for students, Padilla said.

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Aramark, a food service company that serves Fort Worth ISD, is also introducing programs to deliver fun, exciting and tasty experiences to students throughout the coming year, the release said. This includes new menu items, nutritional meals with fresh fruits and vegetables and globally-inspired foods like veggie chicken dumplings, Korean beef tacos, veggie baja salad and chicken tikka masala.

Daily menus can be viewed on the district website, and parents can reach the districts child nutrition services at 817-814-3500.
A New York bank manager allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill her brother-in-law, but things were swiftly derailed when the hired gun informed the manone day prior to when the deed was supposed to be donethat he was the target of an assassination plot.

Reshma Massarone, a 39-year-old mother of two, was arrested Monday and charged with racketeering/murder-for-hire, according to federal court filings unsealed Tuesday. She agreed to pay $10,000 to have the brother-in-law shot dead, locking it in with a $2,500 down payment sent from a suburban Walgreens, the criminal complaint against her states.

Massarone, nee Bhoopersaud, remained detained on a judges orders on Tuesday, as a danger to the community. Reached by phone, Massarones husband Jeffrey told The Daily Beast, You have to talk to my lawyer, before hanging up. Mark Gombiner, Massarones court-appointed federal defender, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union customers who visit Massarones branch webpage are greeted by her headshot, along with the quote, It is a pleasure assisting the MHV membership while working in Woodstock, the home of renowned artists, unique shops and specialty restaurants. As of Tuesday afternoon, the page was still live. MHV did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

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The case against Massarone can be traced back to July 20, when she got on Facebook Messenger and contacted a police officer she knew in Guyana, according to the complaint. The unidentified cop had known Massarones brother-in-law for years, and provided security for him and his family whenever they visited the South American country, the complaint says.

Massarone told the officer she wanted her brother-in-law dead, and that because of the preexisting friendship between [the officer] and [Massarones brother-in-law], Massarone believed that [her brother-in-law] and his wife would never expect that [the officer] would murder [the brother-in-law], according to the complaint.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

In conversations over Facebook and WhatsApp, Massarones police officer pal told her that he couldnt do the actual shooting himself, but that he knew a hitman who could get the job done, the complaint states.

You take care of business and you be a rich man, Massarone wrote to the officer, according to screenshots included in the complaint.

I do hope that when we get rid of [your brother-in-law] for you, you dont roll us over, the officer replied. Its all about trust.

Swear on my kids, Massarone wrote back.

On July 21, Massarone went to a Walgreens in Orange County, New York, and sent $2,500 to the officer in Guyana, via Western Union, the complaint states, noting that Massarone can be seen on store security video counting out 25 $100 bills and handing them to the Western Union clerk. She sent a photo of the transaction receipt to the officer, who wrote back, Delete my contact. Or store my name as fake name, suggesting, Officer Smith.

On July 24, Massarones brother-in-law and his wife went to the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana, where he accused Massarone of having taken a hit out on him, according to the complaint. He said he learned of the hit because [the officer] had told him about it, and that the hit was supposed to take place the next day, July 25, in Guyana, it states. Although the complaint against Massarone does not explicitly lay out a motive, it says the brother-in-law told embassy officials that he and Massarone had an ongoing civil litigation matter pending in New York.

In a July 25 phone call, the officer told Massarone that everything was set, that he had hired the hitman, and that he had secured a car to use for the job. He then checked one last time that she only wanted the brother-in-law killed.

Just he, just he, Massarone replied, according to a transcript included in the complaint.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2177371465764709&set=ecnf.100004756309437

The officer said the hitman was waiting for the brother-in-law to leave home.

We have to do it in a fast and smart way, the officer told Massarone. They shoot him from the road, you understand. So why I call you back, you understand, to make sure I let you know everything goes as planned and there is no turning back.

Right, Massarone replied, before asking the officer to delete her number. No turning back.

But there was a hitch in the plan, because the hit didnt happen. On July 27, the complaint says Massarone and the officer spoke again, gaming out their next move.

So, who there with them? Massarone asked.

Nobody there with them, the officer said. Everything stick the plan. Everything set for today. Everything planned already.

The officer told Massarone that the hitman would make the murder look like a robbery, the complaint states. Once its done, Massarone cant move wild, you understand? the officer warned. Watch the town.

Again, the hit didnt come to fruition, according to the complaint, which says Massarone and the officer, who appears to have in fact been working closely with police, continued to communicate as recently as August 16. According to the complaint, the officer turned his communications with Massarone over to U.S. law enforcement.

Five days later, Massarone would be in handcuffs. If convicted, she faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Massarone is due back in court on Sept. 5.

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From young adult novels turned into movies, to picture books about insects, the School District of Manatee County has submitted its list of banned or restricted books to the state after a new Florida law passed last year.

Parents or other members of the community have complained about 43 books  all of which were library books and not part of a curriculum.

All of the books were marked inappropriate for grade level and age group. None of the books were listed as pornographic, prohibited by the new law, or not suited to students needs and ability to comprehend.

Some of the books include well-known titles like Push which inspired the Academy Award-winning movie Precious, the book-turned-Netflix-series 13 Reasons Why which raised national controversy over its depiction of suicide, and the 2015 wide-release movie based on the book Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.

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Many of the 43 books have been listed as controversial in other parts of the country or on national websites that provide reports on books that may have content inappropriate for minors. Ten books are listed as inappropriate for minors by Moms For Liberty, a conservative organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center recently listed as an extremist group.

Educational standards have been politicized in Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis , particularly content involving Black history, sex and the LGBTQ+ community.

Bradenton Florida elementary, middle, high schools have new books restricted under new education laws endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Free books are on display at G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School in this file photo provided by the Florida Education Association in this file photo.

This week, protesters marched in Miami over the new standards for African American history. In Tampas Hillsborough County, Shakespeare works like Romeo and Juliet will only be taught in excerpts, not the full text, despite it being one of the state education commissioners books of the month for August. In Lake County near Orlando, the school district pulled a childrens book about a male penguin couple hatching a chick but later reversed the decision.

Manatee County made national headlines earlier this year when some schools interpreted the new law to mean all books had to be removed from classrooms and libraries until they were approved, which led to viral photos of bookshelves that were covered or empty.

Book complaints in Manatee County

On the Manatee County list of banned or restricted books, eight books have gay, transgender or gender-fluid characters, and three books are about families with LGBTQ+ parents.

Other content in some of the books include graphic language, incest, rape and sexual abuse, drug use, violence, animal abuse, underage drinking, prostitution, suicide, domestic violence, puberty, sexual harassment, racism or communism.

But some books dont appear to have any content related to recent hot-button topics, such as childrens picture books about insects and pangolins, and an illustrated childrens book about a hugging lion.

One complaint from an anonymous email claimed a short story and poem in a language arts textbook, Usula K. Le Guins She Unnames Them and W.B. Yeats The Second Coming, contradict the official word of the Bible and defame Christianity. Both are creative retellings of a part of the Bible.

Yeats is one of the most well-respected figures in literature, and the poem is an allegory for post-war Europe and considered a major work of modernist poetry. Teachers across the county should be instructed to skip this poem and it should not be assigned, the complaint said. The textbook is not on the restricted or banned list.

A few graphic novels are on the list, including two Japanese manga books and The Talk by Pulitzer-prize-winning editorial cartoonist Darrin Bell. One graphic novel, Friends Forever by Shannon Hale, is about an eighth-grader with depression learning to love herself.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, considered a modern classic of Chicano literature, was found to have a mild reference to violence. It was removed from K-5 libraries, restricted for grades 6-8 and remains available for grades 9-12.

Five books include either fiction or nonfiction accounts of racism, people of color being shot by police, or negative encounters with law enforcement, like The Hate U Give.

The complaints claimed the books have racist commentary and misrepresent history and policing in America, and one promotes BLM (Black Lives Matter)

At least two books include depictions of slavery, My Jim by Nancy Rawls and Sold by Patricia McCormick, which is written from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl from Nepal sold into sexual slavery.

However, on the countys required summer reading lists are books that deal with slavery, race and Black history, such as The Souls of Blacks Folks by W.E.B. DuBois, Negro Women by Condoleezza Rice, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs.

Also on the grades 9-12 summer reading list is Fahrenheit 451, about a version of American society where books are outlawed and burned. It was inspired by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and serves as a warning about state censorship.

Removed from all K-12 libraries

(Listed reason: Not grade appropriate for content in elementary and grade level expectations in high school.)

I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel

When Aiden Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart

What on Earth is a Pangolin by Edward Ricciuti

Friends Forever by Shannon Hale

Insect by Laurence Mound

(Listed reason: Not appropriate for school libraries due to mature content.)

Red Hood by Elana Arnold

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Push by Sapphire

L8r, G8r by Lauren Myracle

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

Sold by Patricia McCormick

The Talk by Darrin Bell

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions by Junji Ito

My Hero Academia Origin: Volume 5 by Kohei Horikoshi

Removed from K-3 libraries

The Family Book by Todd Parr

Mothers Are a Part of a Family by Lucia Raatma

In Our Mothers House by Patricia Polacco

Fathers are a Part of a Family by Lucia Raatma

Families, Families, Families by Suzanne and Max Lang

Removed from K-5 libraries

Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

Michelangelo (Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Artists) by Mike Venzia

Removed from K-5, Parent consent for 6-8, No restriction for 9-12

Mondays Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Removed from K-8, Parent consent for 9-12

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

Damsel by Elana Arnold

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

Parent consent for 9-12

Pet by Akwaeka Emezi

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

13 Reasons Why by Scott Menchin

Parent consent for 6-12

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Removal denied, accessible for grades 9-12

My Jim by Nancy Rawls

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

Light It Up by Kekla Magoon

Protesting Police Violence in Modern America by Duchess Harris

Race and Policing in America by Duchess Harris

Removal denied, accessible for K-12

Christian the Hugging Lion by Justin Richardson
Despite long hours, physical demands, and often unhygienic working conditions, the average salary of a janitor in the United States is less than $34,000. Somatic, a robotic cleaning service for commercial buildings founded in 2020, offers a robot that can do the job for barely a third of that wage.

We aim for customers to walk in and not be able to tell if a person or a robot cleaned the bathroom, Somatic CEO Michael Levy tells PopSci.

In time-lapsed video footage recently highlighted by New Atlas and elsewhere, a Somatic bathroom bot can be seen roaming the halls of a medical facility, entering both single and multi-stall restrooms, as well as attending to tasks like spraying disinfectant and vacuuming the floor. According to Levy, Less frequent tasks like restocking consumables (paper towels, toilet paper, and soap) and taking the trash out still require local staff input.

[Related: The germiest places you might not be cleaning.]

But although Levy assures customersand laborersthat its line of semi-autonomous machines first unveiled in 2020 are meant as an aid alongside sanitation workers, others arent so sure.

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For Paris Marx, a longtime tech industry critic and host of the podcast, Tech Wont Save Us, Somatics robots are another example of an engineering team believing they can understand and automate tasks when they really have no idea what a janitor (in this case) really does.

Marx notes the more pressing concerns in many automation drives are the scare tactics employed by managers, who often use the threat of new technologies to force workers into accepting lower wages, worse conditions, and consent to surveillance technologies on the job.

https://youtu.be/z96Qe8xTCZQ

Meanwhile, those within the janitorial and service industries echoed their concern about the rise of automated products like those offered by Somatic.

As we have seen during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes this summer, every industry is experiencing technological changes that may impact workers' lives, a spokesperson for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said. Whether it's actors, writers, or janitors, what is important is for employers to negotiate with workers through their unions how these technologies will be employed to ensure the best outcomesfor consumers, workers, their families, and our communities.

[Related: Study shows the impact of automation on worker pay.]

According to Marx, the current onslaught of AI-powered and robotic labor products are reminiscent of tech companies and medias job doomsday prophecies from the mid-2010s. [T]he reality was that while robots were trialed in everything from elder care to food service, very few of them actually stuck around because they simply didn't do the job as well as a human, says Marx. A decade later, we're repeating a similar cycle with generative AI and robots like Somatic's bathroom cleaning robot, but I don't expect the outcome to be any different than last time.

When you watch their demonstration video, the robot is only going over clean bathroomsit never shows us how it handles a real mess, says Marx, noting the robot appears slow, and doesnt seem to provide a deep clean most people might expect for a public restroom.

According to Levy, each initial setup of their bathroom bots is done virtually from Somatics office. We play the worst video game ever, he says. We clean the bathroom one time using software we built. That cleaning plan is then pushed to the robot via an [over the air] update.

For Marx, however, theres room for improvement. I also didn't see it touch the sinks, they note.
Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea has walked holding hands with her partner in the Tower District and gotten vulgar remarks.

Luckily, thats the extent to which Ive received hate, said Perea, the first openly LGBTQ+ member on the seven-member council.

Her response to such remarks is to simply recall the lines from poet Andrea Gibson, a strong advocate of the LGBTQ community: Fear is only a verb if you let it be. Dont you dare let go of my hand.

Perea recited those lines by memory during an half-hour interview last month.

Whether Im holding my partners hand in the Tower District or in north Fresno, I cannot let fear of the what ifs when it comes to bigotry in this community, said Perea, 36. I cannot let the fear stop me from showing my partner love. I never will.

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Unfortunately, the LGBTQ+ community hasnt been immune from attacks that go beyond hate speech. The 2022 hate crime report, released in June by the state Department of Justice, shows an increase in incidents against LGBTQ+ members, and local law enforcement have backed the data.

Perea sees opportunities to get the LGBTQ+ community to be more proactive in fighting hate crime, hate speech and discrimination that erase fear of reporting such incidents. Those who track hate crimes acknowledge many go unreported for various reasons, from distrust of police to self-isolation.

I want every person from the LGBTQ community to feel they shouldnt have to fear when it comes to holding their partners hand or showing any level of affection, said Perea.

Fresno is no home for hate crime

It doesnt take local incidents like the vandalizing of LGBTQ+-friendly Our Saviours Lutheran Church in central Fresno, or an assault two years ago of two men who were walking on Olive Avenue in the Tower District to realize hate crimes are real, said Perea.

There is a zero tolerance in our city when it comes to any level of hate crime, whether its LGBTQ related, whether its our Sikh community being targeted or the (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community being targeted, said Perea, who lauds the efforts of Mayor Jerry Dyer and Police Chief Paco Balderrama in tackling hate crimes.

Dyer  a former police chief and officer  and Balderrama have put a priority on hate crime.

The local LGBTQ+ community, said Perea, is aware of a rash of more than 500 pieces of legislation throughout the country that targets them. Even though California has been free of such bills, the mounting anti-gay rhetoric and shootings at LGBTQ+ nightclubs still stir fears locally, she said.

Its really sad to see that we are regressive as a nation when it comes to equality, said Perea.

Important for me to use my voice

Perea, who has followed in the footsteps of her father and brother into the council, represents District 1. The area includes the Tower District, host to the annual Rainbow Pride Parade and home to numerous businesses that cater to the LGBTQ+ community.

She was 20 when she came out, and encountered immediate support from family. Not everyone is so lucky, said Perea.

A lot of our younger individuals who come out are rejected by their family and they become homeless, said Perea. Thats why we talk a lot about homelessness within the LGBTQ community.

Perea sees her position on the council as an opportunity to help others. She is among 165 Latinos elected to local, state and federal levels who identify as LGBTQ+. Axios reports that is more than triple the 2017 figures.

I did not have a lot of people I could look up to when I came out in my early 20s, she said. Thats what makes it important for me to use my voice because I want to be a resource for someone who is having a hard time coming out or looking for resources.

That need is out there, said Perea. Suicide rates within the LGBTQ+ community are higher.

Thats because an (LGBTQ+) individual is led to believe that they are less than or that there is nowhere for them to go for assistance or resources, said Perea.

This is part of a series on Stop The Hate, a project funded by the California State Library.
Looking for a job, but need to find one that actually pays enough? Finding a job to support you and your family without a long list of requirements can be difficult.

The Bellingham Herald has searched the job website Indeed and local Craigslist listings to find positions with minimal requirements that are available as of Monday, Aug. 21, that advertise wages at or above living wages:

Restaurant Manager at Panda Express

 $22 - $40.60 per hour

 Full time

 A valid drivers license is required

Administrative Support at Compass Health

 $22.15 - $37.54 per hour

 Full time

 Requirements: high school diploma or equivalent and 1 year of related experience

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Bartender at Red Robin

 $27.74 - $49.10 per hour

 Full time or part time

 Must be at least 21 years old. Bartending experience is preferred, but not required.

Kitchen staff positions at Silver Reef Casino

 $23 - $25+ per hour depending on experience, plus a $500 hiring bonus

 Full-time

 No requirements listed

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology calculated the living wage by county by evaluating typical expenses to find how much an individual must make hourly to support themselves, or multiple children or dependents in a full-time job.

MIT records living wages for individuals, couples and families that vary based on the number of dependents, number of children and the number of adults who are working:

 Whatcom Countys living wage for an individual with no dependents is $17.47 per hour, working full time.

 For a household with two adults, no children, and only one individual working, a living wage in Whatcom County is $27.62 per hour.

 For a household with two adults, no children and both adults working, the living wage is $13.81 per hour.

 For a household with two adults, one child, and only one adult working, the living wage is $34.53 per hour. If this household had two children the living wage would be $39.51 an hour.

 For a household with two adults and two children and both adults working, the living wage is $25.98 per hour. If the family had three children, both individuals would need to make $32.10 per hour.

As Washington states minimum wage is $15.74 per hour, this amount is not considered a living wage in Whatcom County unless you have multiple adults working in a household with no dependents.
Ahsoka Tano pilots a flying quesadilla through an unsettled galaxy. As a member of the Togruta species, she is a native of the planet Shili, and not the Togruta colony found on the planet Kiros. (Such an easy mistake to make.) According to Wookiepedia  a product of the semi-sentient human species of the planet Earth  Togruta can be blue, purple, white, yellow or red. Ahsoka is sort of spray-tan hued, though a bit lighter. The Togruta are distinguished by their loyalty and their montrals, which Wookiepedia describes as cone-like horns jutting out of their temples, but, to humans, it looks like small octopuses passed out on their heads and the Togruta were totally cool with it.

How much of that did you already know?

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It might matter if you follow the new Star Wars: Ahsoka series on Disney+ into the darkest reaches of Star Wars lore. To put it in fluent George Lucas: Ahsoka is set on the outer rim of the galaxy. But if you come to Star Wars every decade or so? Ahsoka is about a Skywalker-adjacent figure with no presence in the films, though, because of animated shows and novels and other Disney+ Star Wars series, has become one of the most intriguing characters of a constantly thickening universe.

If anything I have said so far has already turned you off, I understand.

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Star Wars, like Marvel and DC and Harry Potter, has exhausted a lot of people who dont really care enough to splash around in the minutiae of their respective worlds  and plenty of those who do. For every C3PO you know like your own grandmother, there is always an Aldi-brand C1-10P. Thats why its hard to admit: Ahsoka is worth caring about. The first two episodes are perhaps overly pensive and sluggish but the heart is certain and the promise is often exciting. Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahsoka, struts through clash after clash with a self-possession typically reserved for male Mandalorians and Han Solos, and her crew, pilot Hera (a green Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and graffiti artist/demolition expert Sabine (a star-making turn by Natasha Liu Bordizzo), bring fire.

These first episodes also suffer from what the first episodes of nearly every TV series must endure: The band is being assembled. Except here, Ahsoka is putting the band back together. And the band has a history. If youve seen the animated Clone Wars and Rebels shows, youll be fine. If not, some background: Ahsoka was a brash padawan (aka protege) of even brasher Anakin Skywalker, who fell into a space fryolator one day and came out Darth Vader. Ahsoka watched Anakin losing faith in the Jedi, and the Jedis response to a struggling Anakin partly soured Ahsoka on the Jedi. She was a Jedi, yet a Dylan-esque one: She set out on her own, helped form a movement, but stayed a powerful enigma. In Rebels  also by Ahsoka co-creator Dave The Man Who Would Be Lucas Filoni  Ahsoka crossed paths with a group of nascent Empire agitators that included Sabine and Hera. A young Jedi named Ezra Bridger was the soul of the squad. But when that series ended in 2018, Ezra vanished  and their threat, Admiral Thrawn, vanished with him.

If that sounds like a lot to know, it is.

Ahsoka nods to reams of past history while setting up the series new mission: Find Ezra and, with him, Thrawn, aka The Man Who Could Be a New, Improved Darth Vader. Timeline-wise, all of this happens just after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi (making it contemporaneous to The Mandalorian). But pockets of Empire true believers linger through the galaxy, despite how many times its former leaders are indicted for subverting democracy. (Seriously.) Its a universe with a power vacuum, a conundrum that, to a certain extent, those recent Star Wars movies (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, etc.) took on.

Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) and Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) in a scene from Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: Ahsoka" series on the Disney+ platform. (Lucasfilm/HANDOUT)

The promise of Ahsoka is partly a redo, with even sharper heroes and more evocative villains. Thrawn  who doesnt appear in the first two episodes but is blue and suave and evil and played by Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen  would bring a different flavor to Star Wars, a bad guy more reliant on intelligence than armor and brawn. The character (first introduced 32 years ago in the Star Wars novels of Lombard native Timothy Zahn) wants to restore the Empire, without the arrogance and self-satisfaction that curdled it. Ahsoka, similarly, recognizes the need for a smarter Jedi order that doesnt shy from necessary shades of gray. After last years terrific Andor series on Disney+ upended the possibilities of live-action Star Wars  veering into genocide and systemic oppression with a startling anger (the show has been nominated for eight Emmy awards)  theres desire for fresh tones to emerge from a very old franchise.

Ahsoka looks eager to try its hand at revival. It is serious and almost entirely female-led  in front and (somewhat) behind the camera. That mirrors a fandom that, in recent years, has moved closer to gender parity, and given the Star Wars ecosystem new energy. But like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi  all cocreated by Filoni and Jon Favreau  Ahsoka, and the larger Star Wars biosphere, is still striving to balance the breezy nonchalance of 1977 alongside decades of legacy. It wants to be fun and thoughtful. Sometimes that means characters sigh a lot. Other times it results in a wonderful sequence in which Rosario Dawson is dropped into Ray Harryhausen-ish special-effect battles.

Sometimes I wonder if the people who create Star Wars today are the loneliest people around, both loved and hated by generations who cant decide what they want anymore. Ahsoka, so far, leaves us wondering where Star Wars is now. Do we still love it? Do we need it? Do we want more people to come in and fill the gaps of old stories? Or write new stories? Elevate new voices? My answer, I guess, is yes, yes, yes, but then again: Yes, we could all use a break. From Batman and Indiana Jones and Vin Diesel, too. Thats been the lesson of our Barbie summer, and its long been the lesson of Star Wars: Absence grows the heart.

Also, the montrals.

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cborrelli@chicagotribune.com
The Biden administration officially launched the new income-driven student loan repayment plan for borrowers Tuesday, ahead of repayments restarting this fall.

The official launch of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan comes just weeks before interest will begin to accrue on student loans for the first time in more than three years in September. Repayments will resume in October, although no financial consequences will come to borrowers if they are unable to pay for up to a year.

Starting today, millions of borrowers can reduce their monthly student loan bills by enrolling in the SAVE plan, the most affordable repayment plan in history, said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. The SAVE plan is another huge step forward in President Bidens tireless efforts to fix the broken student loan system, reduce the burden of student debt on working families, and put borrowers first.

Borrowers can visit a page on the Federal Student Aid website and find a quick application process that takes around 10 minutes to complete. Some information that may be difficult for borrowers to find for the application, such as tax returns, can automatically be inserted by the department due to information the government already has.

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What to know about the new SAVE student loan repayment plan before pandemic pause ends

The launch of the SAVE plan comes after it has been in a beta testing phase for almost a month for officials to work out the bugs on the website.

Those who are on the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan or applied for the SAVE plan during the beta testing period do not need to fill out the application. Borrowers who miss a certain number of payments will also automatically get enrolled in the SAVE plan.

A senior administration official said borrowers who want to see the benefit of the SAVE plan before payments restart should apply in the next few days. Applications will take around four weeks to process, the official said.

Its the most affordable student loan plan ever, President Biden said in a video Tuesday, adding that his administration will never stop fighting to deliver relief to borrowers and bring the promise of college to more Americans.

The administration also announced an outreach campaign to ensure borrowers are aware of the new plan, which officials say will save borrowers millions on monthly payments.

The campaign, called SAVE on Student Debt, will work in partnership with numerous grassroots organizations and have a SAVE on Student Debt Week of Action in September to make borrowers aware of the plan. The organizations will work to host phone banks, workshops, town halls and social media campaigns that explain the program and its benefits.

The plan will have a two-phase rollout, as some of the program will be implemented this year and other aspects will not go into effect until July 2024.

This year, the income exemption for monthly payments will be raised from 150 percent above the poverty line to 225 percent, meaning more borrowers will qualify for $0 monthly payments under this plan.

An individual borrower making up to $32,800 per year and a family of four making less than $67,500 per year will have $0 monthly payments. The federal government says the number of borrows eligible for those payments will total 1 million.

Other changes this year include that unpaid interest will not grow if borrowers are making their payments, and income for borrowers who are married but file separately will not be counted.

Multiple other changes will occur next July, such as cutting monthly payments from 10 percent to 5 percent of a persons discretionary income for undergraduate loans.

The new program comes after the Supreme Court over the summer struck down the Biden administrations plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student debt per borrower.

In the SAVE plan announcement, the administration highlighted that it has forgiven more than $116 billion in student loan debt for 3.4 million borrowers through different programs.

A universal student loan forgiveness program is still in the works as the Education Department has begun the negotiated rulemaking process to develop a new plan, but details on who will qualify and how much debt forgiveness would occur under such a program will not be available for months.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved a wind energy project off Rhode Island, the fourth major commercial-scale offshore wind energy project approved by the Biden Interior Department.

The Revolution Wind project is set to be located about 15 nautical miles southeast of the town of Point Judith, with a projected capacity of just more than 700 megawatts, the Interior Department said in an announcement Tuesday. It follows previously announced projects off Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey as well as another approved project off Rhode Island.

The administration has set a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity by the end of the decade, part of a broader goal of cutting U.S. carbon emissions in half by 2030. By the middle of the 2030s, the administration aims to deploy another 15 gigawatts of offshore wind through the use of floating turbines.

In a statement, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said she is more confident than ever that the U.S. will achieve the wind power goal.

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The Interior Department is committed to the Biden-Harris administrations all-of-government approach to the clean energy future and delivering clean, reliable renewable energy to help respond to the climate crisis, lower energy costs, and create good-paying union jobs across the manufacturing, shipbuilding and construction sectors, Haaland said. We will continue to maintain open communication and frequent collaboration with federal partners, Tribal Nations, states, industry and ocean users to address potential challenges to and identify opportunities for the continued success of the U.S. offshore wind industry.

The administrations goals for wind power installation call for eventual installations along both the east and west coasts and the Gulf of Mexico. In February, the Interior Department announced its first offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf, opening more than 300,000 acres for bid. An earlier lease sale for wind installation in the New York Bight brought a record $4.37 billion.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is unwilling to commit to debating Donald Trump next fall before the 2024 presidential election if the indicted former president is the Republican nominee in a Biden-Trump rematch.

"To be honest with you, we haven't really had any substantive conversations about that yet," Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director, told reporters Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee.

Trump, the Republican primary frontrunner, is skipping this week's primary debate, and the future of general-election debates is unclear.

The Republican National Committee last year voted to no longer take part in debates hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates, alleging left-wing bias from the historic organizer.

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Biden twice debated Trump in 2020. A third debate was canceled after Trump contracted COVID and his campaign refused a debate commission proposal to make the sparring match virtual.

Biden, who turns 81 in November, faces concerns from voters about his age as he seeks a second term. Trump turned 77 years old in June.

The Democratic National Committee is not holding any debates ahead of the 2024 Democratic primary as Biden faces nominal opposition from Democratic challengers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson.

President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden during the second and final presidential debate Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

Biden campaign sharpens attacks on abortion ahead of first Republican debate

As for Wednesday's Republican primary debate, the Biden campaign is using the moment to cast all the Republican candidates  not just Trump  as part of an extreme "MAGA" Republican Party that is hostile to democracy and opposes access to abortion.

"Whether he's on the stage or not, his extreme agenda will be," Cedric Richmond, a senior Biden campaign advisor, said in a call with reporters. "And the only thing that will be missed is the chaos, the disruption, the bullying, the name-calling of former President Trump."

The Biden campaign launched a $25 million television ad blitz  its largest since Biden announced his reelection bid in April  to coincide with the first Republican primary debate. The first ad, a 30-second spot airing in Wisconsin, frames Bidens domestic agenda as fighting for the middle class.

Democrats also previewed plans to aggressively attack Republican candidates' positions on abortion a year after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

"You will not hear a single one of these extreme candidates pledge to veto a national ban, said Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., a Biden campaign surrogate. "The reality is that none of these candidates trust women to make these decisions for themselves because they believe that they know better."

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison and Francesca Chambers @fran_chambers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden campaign unwilling to commit to debating Trump
The Biden-Harris campaign is adding a new hire to Vice President Kamala Harris' team.

Sergio Gonzales, who advised Harris on policy while she was a senator, will be counseling Harris on campaign strategy and traveling with her on the campaign trail beginning in early fall, CBS News has learned.

Gonzales will be based in the campaign's headquarters in Wilmington, Del.

In a statement to CBS News, Harris said Gonzales' experience would be an "invaluable asset" to her team. "Sergio was a leader in my U.S. Senate office, working on behalf of millions of Californians," Harris said. "Recently, his leadership and advocacy, as an external ally and trusted partner to the Biden-Harris Administration, has helped us to create opportunities for small businesses, and to ensure that all communities share in the economic recovery."

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Gonzales, currently the executive director of the Immigration Hub, an immigration advocacy group, worked in Harris' Senate office for two years. He was deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management during the Obama-Biden administration and worked on Secretary Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign as a regional director.

"[Vice President Harris] truly has a gift of being able to effectively engage and talk to the American people, and especially a lot of different constituencies that are going to be make-or-break voters in this coming election; Latino voters, Black voters, women, young voters," Gonzales told CBS News.

Gonzales is the grandson of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, the civil rights activist who was a leader in the Chicano Movement in the 1960s. Gonzales' family history of political activism is one that he shares with the Biden Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who is the granddaughter of civil rights and labor leader Cesar Chavez.

Harris has been active on the campaign trail in recent months, traveling to battleground states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In July, she visited Florida where she spoke out against the state's new Black history education standards, sparking a public feud with GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Harris will be campaigning more in the months ahead, addressing issues she is passionate about, including the economy, abortion rights and gun violence.

"She's going to be everywhere," Gonzales said. "This is just the hard work ethic of the vice president. She does not stop."

President Biden announced his reelection bid in May. Shortly afterward, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior White House official and former aide to Harris' 2020 presidential bid, was announced as Mr. Biden's campaign manager.

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(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Bidens security pledges with once feuding neighbors Japan and South Korea at historic talks bolstered US military power in Asia. Thats made China look increasingly isolated in its own backyard.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The landmark summit at the Camp David presidential retreat last week saw Japans Fumio Kishida and South Koreas Yoon Suk Yeol pledge to hold annual hold meetings with the US, establish a shared military hotline and strengthen ballistic missile defense cooperation.

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Those military agreements came as the White House pressures both Asian nations to support its tech curbs on China, amid a US push to clip President Xi Jinpings efforts to increase the nations military and economic might. Chinas Foreign Ministry on Monday criticized the summit, saying it would only start division and confrontation.

Bidens deepening diplomacy in Asia shows how the US is committed to strengthening relationships with longstanding allies to entrench its global influence. Beijings own regional diplomatic outreach has had limited success, particularly as military tensions increase with Taiwan: When Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi hosted a trilateral forum last month, Japan and South Koreas foreign ministers just sent video messages.

As Beijings had diplomatic spats with both nations this year and conducted military exercises near their territories, theres little sign their own once-annual leaders conference will take place for the first time since the pandemic. An official at South Koreas Foreign Ministry said this week they were still working to organize the trilateral meeting.

China is the true father of this deal, Richard McGregor, at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, said of Bidens landmark summit this month, adding that concerns over North Korea and Russia also played a role in motivating South Korea and Japan to join the agreement.

On the prospect of Beijing holding its own three-way talks, he added: China seems unable to reassure their neighbors in any real way, let alone seduce them.

Last weeks summit was the second trip for both Kishida and Yoon to the US this year, and came just months after Biden traveled to Japan for the Group of Seven summit. By contrast, Xi hasnt met his Japanese or South Korean counterparts this year, or sat down with Biden, instead watching from the sidelines as the three nations form stronger ties.

In that absence of dialogue, Chinas relationship with South Korea has deteriorated, with tensions spilling over this year when the Chinese ambassador in Seoul criticized South Korea for embracing pro-US policies, sparking a tit-for-tat exchange.

China summoned Japans ambassador in Beijing to lodge a solemn protest after the G-7 communique made reference to Chinas militarization activities and intentions toward Taiwan  the self-ruled democracy Beijing claims as its own territory and that Biden has said hed defend if invaded. Recently China has also been very critical of Japans plan to discharge nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday called the plan selfish and irresponsible and then called in Japans ambassador to protest the decision, which was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The statement from Camp David echoed some of those concerns, criticizing Chinese actions in the South China Sea and calling for a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue. The three leaders also pledged to fight economic coercion and supply chain disruptions, in veiled swipes at China.

The agreement to cooperate on missile defense was the latest sign Seoul is changing its diplomatic approach to Beijing. In 2016, China punished South Korea economically to try to stop it from deploying a US missile defense system known as Thaad to defend against North Koreas arsenal. China objects to the shield over concerns its powerful radar would allow spying on its own missile systems.

Beijings subsequent three conditions for mending ties were that Seoul would not join any US-led regional missile defense system, not form a trilateral alliance with the US and Japan, and not commit to any additional Thaad deployments.

Yoons conservative government has since said its not bound by those pledges made by its progressive predecessor, improved ties with Japan including by hosting Kishida in Seoul in May, and now looks to be moving toward closer defense ties with both Tokyo and Washington.

The high-profile statement from the presidential retreat pledging to cooperate on a striking array of issue areas was intended as a signal to Beijing and Pyongyang, said Adam Liff, visiting chair of Japanese politics and foreign policy at Georgetown University. The commitment to consult also reflected an unprecedented degree of shared concerns about regional and global challenges, he added.

If Japan and South Korea are still wedded to their trilateral with China this year, Beijing will now likely go through an agonizing time before it reaches a decision, as attending could legitimize their agreement with the US, said Moon Chung-in, a former South Korean national security adviser.

The folks in Beijing will be very much suspicious, said Moon, who has served in administrations seeking rapprochement with Pyongyang. China is not likely to take a permissive or tolerant posture on South Korea  a tough time awaits.

--With assistance from Sangmi Cha, Sam Kim and Dan Murtaugh.

(Updates with China calling in Japanese ambassador in 10th paragraph.)

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Its official: The administration of President Joe Biden launched a student loan repayment plan Tuesday that it describes as the most affordable option yet for reducing that debt.

Through the plan, called Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE), participating borrowers could see their payments cut in half, while some will see their amounts zero out.

Borrowers can begin enrolling at StudentAid.gov/SAVE as of Tuesday. Those who participated in the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan, the previous iteration of this option that generally capped payments at 10% of borrowers monthly discretionary income, will be automatically enrolled.

This plan is a game changer for millions of Americans, many of whom are putting off having children, buying their first home or even starting a business because they can't get out from under their student loans, said White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden in a call with reporters Monday. This administration is using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the help and the relief they need to reach their dreams and (Bidens) SAVE plan is the next step in this effort.

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As with REPAYE, the amount borrowers pay back through SAVE is based on their income and family size. Generally speaking, its not tied to their loan balance. After a certain number of years, borrowers who participate in SAVE will see their remaining balances cleared.

Here are some other specifics:

 For borrowers who have undergraduate loans only, their payments will now be capped at 5% of their discretionary income. (Those with graduate loans as well will pay between 5% and 10%, a weighted average based on their loans original principal balances.)

 Discretionary income in this case is defined as the difference between ones adjusted gross income and 225% of the federal poverty line as determined by a familys size. Borrowers who, per this formula, have zero discretionary income would pay nothing. A single borrower who makes roughly $15 an hour wouldnt have monthly payments, for example.

 As part of the plan, the Education Department will no longer charge monthly interest that isnt covered by the income-driven adjustments. A borrower who owes $50 in accumulating interest every month but just $30 per month under SAVE, for instance, wouldnt be charged the remaining $20 as long as she keeps up with her payments.

 Borrowers whose original principal balances were $12,000 or less will see their loans forgiven once theyve made 120 payments. Under other income-driven repayment options, even borrowers who only attended for a semester were subject to 20 or 25 years of repayments before being eligible for relief.

Best way to pay off student loans? Prepare. Here's what you should (and shouldn't) do.

SAVE: Latest Biden administration student loan forgiveness effort

The Biden administration is aiming to show Americans that it intends to make good on the presidents promises of widespread student loan forgiveness. Already, its forgiven $116 billion in student loans for 3.4 million borrowers, largely through targeted relief for people who work in public service, for example, or whove been defrauded by their colleges.

Lawsuit dismissed Student loan debt forgiveness begins for 800,000 borrowers

SAVE is one of several prongs the administration is now leveraging as it separately wades into a protracted rulemaking process in an attempt to salvage mass loan forgiveness. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Bidens Plan A for forgiveness, for which more than 40 million borrowers would have been eligible.

But if the Education Departments experiences with other income-driven repayment strategies are any indication, one key challenge will be the logistical feat of raising awareness and then facilitating enrollment.

The federal government has already made live a beta version of the SAVE plan, with prospective participants saying they were given processing times of nearly a year. Some components of the SAVE plan itself wont go into effect until next summer.

As part of Tuesdays launch, the department also announced it will partner with half a dozen or so advocacy groups and community partners to get the word out.

Meanwhile, some critics worry the SAVE plan will disproportionately benefit higher-income borrowers and amount to a handout.

The administration, however, stresses that low- and middle-income borrowers, including those who attended community college or now work in public service, will be among the plans biggest beneficiaries.

Contact Alia Wong at (202) 507-2256 or awong@usatoday.com. Follow her on X at @aliaemily.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: With loan forgiveness paused, Biden's new student debt plan steps in
President Joe Biden on Tuesday launched a promotional blitz for his new program that helps student loan borrowers repay their debt, just weeks before millions of Americans are set to receive a loan bill for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Biden administration is mobilizing to convince borrowers across the country to sign up for the new income-driven repayment program  dubbed the SAVE plan  which caps interest accrual and lowers the monthly payment amount for many borrowers.

Its the most affordable student loan plan ever, Biden said in a video released by the White House on Tuesday, describing the program as a major reform to a student loan system that hurt borrowers for much too long.

If youre eligible for the SAVE Plan, sign up now so you can lower your monthly payments in advance of payments resuming this fall, Biden said.



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As part of the outreach campaign, the Education Department plans to communicate directly with nearly 30 million borrowers about the repayment program. And the administration is also enlisting the help of several outside groups: Civic Nation, the NAACP, the National Urban League, Rise, the Student Debt Crisis Center, UnidosUS and Young Invincibles.

Those groups have committed to holding in-person and virtual briefings and town halls, hosting phone banks, and running social media campaigns to promote the repayment program in the coming weeks, officials said.

The effort to boost enrollment in the income-driven repayment program comes as the Biden administration faces the unprecedented task of turning on loan payments for the first time since March 2020.

Interest will resume on federal student loans Sept. 1, and the Education Department will begin collecting monthly payments from borrowers in October.

Some economic analysts have warned that the restart of student loan payments will be a drag on consumer spending and potentially chip away at economic growth. The political stakes for the Biden administration are also high.

The White House is trying to sell borrowers on a new program to repay their debt as it separately works on a Plan B to cancel student debt outright in the wake of the Supreme Court in June striking down Bidens first attempt at a mass debt relief program. That alternative program is expected to take months, if not longer, to be finalized.



Administration officials in the meantime are pitching the new repayment program as a way to help borrowers better manage the resumption of payments this fall.

This plan is a game-changer for millions of Americans, many of whom are putting off having children, buying their first home, or even starting a business because they can't get out from under their student loans, said Neera Tanden, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Student loans will be manageable.

The Education Department said that the online application for borrowers was officially live on its website, StudentAid.gov, though the agency has been accepting applications since earlier this month as part of a beta testing period.

But some of the elements of the program, including those that Biden touted in his video on Tuesday, have not been implemented by the Education Department yet. For example, a key part of the program  cutting in half the monthly payments that undergraduate borrowers must make  wont be available to borrowers until next summer, well after payments are scheduled resume.

Senior administration officials told reporters on Monday that borrowers who apply for the new program in the coming days should expect to have their applications processed by the time their monthly payments resume in October. But they did not offer any concrete cutoff date by which borrowers must apply.

While the Education Department accepts applications for the program, its up to the agencys contracted loan servicers to process the paperwork and actually adjust borrowers monthly payments.

The department expects servicers to process applications within about four weeks after they are received, one administration officials told reporters.

Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, the trade group representing student loan servicers, said that timeline was potentially feasible but dependent on the volume of applications received.

I dont think four weeks is unrealistic if theres a steady stream of volume, he said. If there are huge spikes or an incredible amount of people who enroll, that could delay things.



The new repayment plan also faces stiff opposition from congressional Republicans, who have blasted the policy as a backdoor loan forgiveness program that provides wasteful subsidies to millions of borrowers at taxpayer expense.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate education committee, plans to introduce legislation to repeal Bidens new income-driven repayment program when Congress returns in September, a spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO.

The resolution under the Congressional Review Act would allow Republicans to force a vote on the measure in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

After dragging their feet to formally submit the rule to Congress the administration is now rushing to implement this reckless plan to shift student debt onto taxpayers who chose not to go to college, or already paid off their loans, Ty Bofferding, the committee spokesperson, said in a statement.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, the chair of the House education committee, also plans to move forward with a companion resolution to overturn Bidens repayment program in the House, according to a spokesperson.

A similar GOP-led effort to repeal Bidens student debt relief program earlier this year, before the Supreme Court ruling, passed Congress with a handful of Democratic votes, though Biden swiftly vetoed the measure.
President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with community members impacted by the Maui wildfires at Lahaina Civic Center on August 21, 2023. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

President Joe Biden met with survivors of the Maui wildfires in Lahaina on Monday.

He told the audience that he could relate to them because his house caught on fire in 2004.

But according to news reports at the time, the blaze was small and contained to his kitchen.

When President Joe Biden met with survivors of the Maui wildfires on Monday, he told them that he could relate to them because he and First Lady Jill Biden knew what it was like to lose a home to a fire.

But the fire in question was described by the Associated Press at the time as "a small fire that was contained to the kitchen," with the Delaware fire chief indicating that it was under control in 20 minutes.

During Biden's visit to Maui, where the devastating wildfires have killed at least 114 people, he made a 13-minute speech to a group of survivors in Lahaina the city destroyed by flames, with nearly every building to ash and rubble.

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"I don't want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what it's like to lose a home," he said, according to remarks published by The White House.

He referred to an incident in 2004, when he was a senator for Delaware, and in Washington, DC, to appear on "Meet The Press." Biden described how lightning struck a pond by his Delaware home, hitting a wire, and coming up underneath his home into the heating and air conditioning ducts.

"To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my '67 Corvette, and my cat," Biden said. "But all kidding aside, I watched the firefighters, the way they responded."

Biden has in the past been accused of embellishing the house-fire story.

He once said that he knew what it was like to have "had a house burn down with my wife in it." Last year, he also told survivors of Hurricane Ian in Florida that he "lost an awful lot of" his Delaware home in the fire, per The New York Times.

But the Cranston Heights Fire Company, which responded to the 2004 blaze, described it to the New York Post as an "insignificant fire" that did not lead to multiple alarms or need a widespread incident response throughout the county.

The fire at Biden's home did not result in any injuries. Meanwhile, dozens have been injured by the fires in Maui, with some 850 people still missing and the death toll still slowly continuing to rise.

The White House did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
President Biden will travel to India early next month to attend the annual Group of 20 (G20) summit, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday.

Sullivan confirmed Biden would visit India from Sept. 7-10 for the summit, which is being held in New Delhi. Sullivan said the president would attend various bilateral meetings with other world leaders, but he did not disclose which leaders specifically.

In a separate statement, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden and other world leaders would cover a range of topics, including combating climate change, the global economy, the war in Ukraine and efforts to fight poverty.

In addition to Bidens trip to India, Vice President Harris will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia, from Sept. 4-7 to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit with leaders from the Indo-Pacific.

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Biden attended the ASEAN and East Asia summits in Cambodia in 2022 and met with ASEAN leaders last May at a U.S. gathering.

The presidents trip to India will mark his latest round of engagement with the country. He hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit in June, rolling out the red carpet despite concerns about Indias human rights record under Modi.

Taken together, the president and vice presidents travels next month are the latest example of the Biden administration seeking to increase cooperation with allies in the Indo-Pacific as a counterbalance to regional heavyweight China.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The sign above the highway-located Conoco gas station says it plainly: WELCOME TO MID-AMERICA.

Continuing its Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center through Aug. 30, writer-director Morrisa Maltzs eloquent debut feature, The Unknown Country, follows a woman, Tana, on a road trip shes mapping out as she goes, from Minnesota to South Dakota. There, in and around the reservation where her people live or used to, Tana re-connects after many years with various Oglala Lakota cousins and other relatives.

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Tanas invited to one cousins wedding, and much of the film centers on that milestone, the before and after of it, as experienced by a woman who has been away most of her life. Tana eventually heads south from there, down to Big Bend National Park, where her late grandmother  Tana carries a tiny black-and-white snapshot of her, labeled Texas 1940  spent some time, though no one seems to know much about it. That photo becomes Tanas compass to points unknown. And with Lily Gladstone playing her, Maltzs small but beautiful narrative accumulates a wealth of honest, unforced emotion and reflection.

Gladstone, who gets story credit (along with three others), already has made a huge impact in a separate, massively budgeted film coming out in October: Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon, a hit at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Shes wonderful, too, in Kelly Reichardts Certain Women, and has one of those faces born for the camera, and not only because she has a way of being, not acting. Tana is a reactive element in The Unknown Country; shes often seen, wordlessly, thinking back on her caregiving responsibilities with her grandmother, or simply ruminating over a cup of coffee in a roadside diner. But when she speaks, quietly, from the heart, we listen.

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One of the great strokes of luck, and of Maltzs postproduction assembly, involves all the voices we hear in addition to Tanas. Maltz shot The Unknown Country between 2017 and 2020, using nonactors to portray variations on themselves. In voice-over, we hear their stories, of growing up in South Dakota, working as a server or a motel proprietor. The blend of professional and nonprofessional performers resembles Chloe Zhaos approach in The Rider and Nomadland, films similarly curious about and devoted to parts of America ordinarily left off-screen.

Theres a dreamy and poetic side to the visual texture in The Unknown Country, as photographed, often gorgeously, by Andrew Hajek. The Badlands, the snakelike highways, the rippling sunsets step right up and strike their poses, but unselfconsciously. We intimate a lot about Tanas life and circumstance from little details, such as the way she tenses up each time a pair of vaguely or overtly predatory male eyes looks her way along her route. Where Tana is going is both stated and unstated. Im floatin, Tana says when shes asked what her plans involve. But inside shes making a parallel set of discoveries, as does the cinematic reverie were watching.

Hats off to Chicagos own Music Box Films for picking it up for distribution. I cant wait to see what Maltz does next.

The Unknown Country  3.5 stars (out of 4)

No MPA rating (smoking)

Running time: 1:26

How to watch: Through Aug. 30 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St; more information at siskelfilmcenter.org

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

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mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune
Using just their hands and small shovels to remove soil one scoop at a time, archaeologists have begun the arduous task of exhuming the remains of what may be up to 7,000 people buried at a largely forgotten cemetery near Jacksons Fondren neighborhood.

Called the Asylum Hill Project, the work is focused on property owned by the University of Mississippi Medical Center in the northeast part of their campus, south of Lakeland Drive.

Slated for redevelopment and future expansion by the medical center, the Mississippi Legislature in 2018 passed a bill allowing for exhumation and relocation of the remains located there and two years later $3.7 million was allocated to begin the project.

Jennifer Mack, Ph.D., who is serving as lead bioarchaeologist for the project, explained that the site was originally part of what was known as the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum, a 140-acre mental hospital operated between 1855 and 1935. It was the predecessor of what is now known as the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield in Rankin County.

Jennifer Mack, lead bioarcheologist for the Asylum Hill Project at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, explains the ongoing excavation of as many as 7,000 graves on Asylum Hill, the one remaining undeveloped area of the UMMC main campus in Jackson, Miss., Friday, August 18, 2023. A team of seven archelogists continue excavation work of the graves belonging to patients of the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum. The excavation focuses on study and respectfully memorializing those whose bodies were never claimed.

It is estimated the institution served approximately 30,000 patients for the 80 years it remained in the Fondren area and the cemetery was primarily reserved for patients who died at the hospital and whose bodies went unclaimed by family members.

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Originally there were wooden markers, Mack said, indicating the names of the deceased. At least one photograph from the early 1960s appears to show some of those original markers, she said, but eventually they deteriorated or were vandalized, and today they are all gone.

Mack said existence of the cemetery was all but forgotten until 2012 when a road crew doing some culvert work on the campus unexpectedly discovered a single grave just south of where the current work is ongoing. That find soon led to the discovery of 65 other graves in the same vicinity.

But, without markers and only scant historical records, how does Mack and her crew hope to identify the thousands of remains?

The state did not keep official death records until about 1912 but the Mississippi Department of Archives and History does have a searchable database for about 4,000 people buried here between 1912 and 1935, Mack said.

Additionally, modern DNA research and osteobiography science can be used for identification. Even the soil samples, wood samples and the types of nails used in the coffins can provide key evidence as to the approximate dates of the burials, Mack said.

Still, she describes the process of identification as complex, with the success rate anticipated as low. For remains that can be positively identified efforts will be made to contact surviving family members to see if they want to claim them, Mack said, while the unclaimed and unidentified remains will go to their final resting place at a new mausoleum to be constructed on the campus.

Mack said her team of archaeologists (and a group of college students studying archaeology who assisted as part of a field school July 10 through Aug. 4) have found all sorts of interesting items at the 12-acre gravesite: buttons, belt buckles, shoes, even a hair comb.

Archeologists Stacia Yoakam, center, of Marysville, Ohio, Gabby Lofland of Sussex County, Del., left, and from right, Dustin Clarke of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., and Moriah Baleigh of Lexington, Ky., use trowels to carefully scrape away the soil of gravesites at Asylum Hill at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. The ongoing excavation of the remains of patients who died at the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum focuses on study and respectfully memorializing the bodies of patients who were never claimed.

Most of the patients were buried in simple wooden coffins, made onsite, wearing a simple gown or shroud, Mack said.

A few appear to have been buried with their own personal clothing.

All personal items discovered in the graves along with the human remains are being taken to a lab where everything is cleaned and stored, awaiting a full analysis until the excavations end.

The student group, which included 20 undergraduates and two graduate students serving as teaching assistants, was chosen from a group of 45 applicants. The students represented both local colleges, including Millsaps and institutions from other states including California, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Field school experience is practically required for anyone who wants to get a job in the fields of anthropology and archaeology, Mack said. The scope of the Asylum Hill Project is also unusually large for the United States. Often students have to fly to Europe or some other overseas destination for their field credits, so the project here in Jackson provided a good opportunity for them, she said.

It is also interesting to note that the field of bioarchaeology, which is defined as the study of human remains in an archaeological context, is largely female dominated. Macks staff of professional archaeologists are primarily female and among the group of 45 students applying for the summer field school program, only three were male, Mack said.

An identification location marker sits near a gravesite at Asylum Hill at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., as archeologists continue excavation of the remains of unclaimed patients of the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum Friday, Aug.18, 2023. The ongoing excavation of the remains of as many as 7,000 patients of the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum focuses on study and respectfully memorializing bodies of those who were never claimed.

Current work is being conducted in what is called Block 12 of Asylum Hill. The blocks, or groups of burial sites, have been discovered through the use of magnetometry, a process of detecting magnetic fields caused by nails and other metal objects buried underground. Each block discovered thus far contains approximately 30 graves, Mack said.

As of late August, 265 of the estimated thousands of graves have been exhumed, and the work is expected to continue for at least the next seven years, Mack said.

A Pensacola, Florida, native, Mack completed her undergraduate work at Emory University in Atlanta, then spent several years working for private archaeology firms and state agencies, before obtaining her PhD from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

The overall project is being overseen by the Asylum Hill Research Consortium, a group of scholars from various disciplines formed in 2018 to ensure respectful exhumations and memorialize the lives of those buried on the grounds.

Members of the consortium include Eric Hospodor, Dr. Sara Gleason, Dr. Ralph Didlake (Director), Mary Ball Markow, Misti Thornton, Dr. Amy Wiese Forbes, Dr. Caroline Compretta, Dr. Veronique Belisle; Dr. Thomas Gregory, Dr. Tony Boudreaux, Dr. Patrick Hopkins, Dr. Janice Brockley, Dr. Shamsi Berry and Dr. Molly Zuckerman.

Lida Gibson, well known in the Jackson area as a successful filmmaker and multimedia producer before joining UMMC in 2018, is serving as the Asylum Hill Project Coordinator.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Bioarchaeologist project ummc jackson ms exhumes, identifies patients
Blac Youngsta Announces Death Of Brother And Sends Message To Whoever Is Behind It | Johnny Nunez via Getty Images

Sammie Benson, better known by his stage name Blac Youngsta, recently revealed that his brother Tomanuel Benson, one of three younger siblings, was murdered and he wants justice.

According to RDCNews, civilians who witnessed the crime shared that a drive-by shooting occurred Friday morning in close proximity to a Valero B.P. gas station. The suspects fired multiple shots out of their vehicle, striking Tomanuel with one bullet. He was taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead by the time he arrived.

On Saturday, the Memphis native took to Instagram stories to share the disheartening news that his younger brother unexpectedly passed away. The first story he posted addressing the matter expressed his love and devotion to making whoever did this pay for their actions.

I Love U My Baby Brother Rest Up. Im Gone Make The World Pay. I Swear To God. Nobody Safe. Standing Over Everybody. Everybody. #4LIFE, the Hip Hopper rapper wrote.

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He then told the public that he doesnt need their sympathy regarding this matter because hes ready for whatever comes with seeking justice, on his own, as he alluded to in the first post.

Im Ready For Whatever Come With This S***. Its Ok. Dont Feel Sorry For Me. Im Not Gone Feel Sorry For Nobody. Only God Knows, he added.

He continued, Gone Make Sure They Feel Me. I Promise.

Although he knows his faith will see him through, the CMG artist ended his heart-wrenching PSA by sharing that his life will forever be changed.

Life Will Never Be The Same. But God Got Me. Im The Strongest Man N The World.

Blac Youngsta Speaks out After his Brothers Death pic.twitter.com/BevX6pW0Qu  Beast Bizz (@BeastBizz) August 21, 2023

Unfortunately, Tomanuel is not the first sibling Blac Youngsta has lost due to senseless gun violence. In 2016, he publicly shared his feelings in a VLAD interview about the loss of his other little brother Ronnie B, who is one his three younger brothers that wasnt into the street and gang life. Three years later, his older brother HeavyChampTD who was killed in a Miami shootout.
Black FedEx Driver Fired More Than A Year After He Said White Men Attacked Him During A Delivery | Pexels

DMonterrio Gibson, a Black FedEx delivery driver who said two white men attacked him in Mississippi last year, has been fired from his job. He and his attorney confirmed his termination on Monday.

I honestly feel disrespected, Gibson told The Associated Press not long after learning hed been fired.

FedEx also confirmed Gibson had been let go. Meredith Miller, manager of global network communications, told The Associated Press the former driver is no longer employed at FedEx. According to the outlet, she did not answer any other questions about Gibson or the incident.

News of Gibsons termination comes less than a week after a Mississippi judge cited police errors and declared a mistrial for the father and son charged in the incident, NBC News reported. During the trial, a detective testified about neglecting to provide attorneys involved in the case with a copy of Gibsons recorded interview with police.

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Carlos Moore, an attorney for Gibson, shared a copy of Gibsons termination email with AP. It noted that his employment was terminated July 26, and also stated that FedEx tried to deliver a letter and documents to him about his firing July 31. Moore told AP that the company claims they fired the 25-year-old because he didnt accept a a part-time, non-courier position that FedEx offered earlier in July. Moore also said he does not know whether the company gave Gibson a deadline to accept their offer.

They cant tell me when I should be ready to come back, Gibson said.

Gibson said hes been surviving on workers compensation leave, which amounts to around one-third of his pay, since soon after he went to authorities about the attack, which occurred Jan. 24, 2022.

That night, Gibson made FedEx deliveries in a van with the Hertz logos on each of its sides. After dropping off a package at a home on a public road with a dead end, Gregory Case tried to block Gibsons van with a pickup truck. Brandon Case, Gregorys son, came outside with a gun. Gibson fled the scene, driving around the truck, and shots were fired. Three rounds hit the van and some of the packages inside the vehicle.

Gregorys defense attorney, Terrell Stubbs, told jurors during the trial that he saw what he thought was a rental van outside of his mother-in-laws unoccupied home after dark. Brandon planned to ask the van driver (Gibson) what was going on, but he didnt stop driving.

Gibsons legal team submitted a lawsuit asking for $5 million from FedEx. A federal judge dismissed it on Aug. 10, deciding the suit did not prove the company discriminated against him because of his race. The suit also mentioned the city of Brookhaven, where the incident occurred, the local police chief and Brandon and Gregory. Moore said hes gearing up to file a new civil suit in state court, seeking $10 million.

A report regarding the incident was issued by a grand jury last month. In it, the jury determined that Brookhaven Police Department officers poorly investigate their cases, AP reported. The grand jury, which consisted of local Brookhaven residents, wrote the department is complacent, does not complete investigations in a timely manner and shows a lack of professionalism. They also claimed the department has a habit of witness blaming. Over 60 criminal cases were referred to as the jury was making its decision.
A Black FedEx delivery driver who says two white men shot at and chased him in Mississippi in 2022 has now been fired from his job, he and his attorney said Monday.

I honestly feel disrespected, the former driver, DMonterrio Gibson, told The Associated Press shortly after he received an email from FedEx about his termination.

More: Grand jury cites shoddy investigations by Brookhaven Police Dept. at center of mistrial

Meredith Miller, manager of global network communications for FedEx, confirmed Monday that Mr. Gibson is no longer employed at FedEx, but did not respond to other questions from AP.

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Last Thursday, a Mississippi judge cited police errors in declaring a mistrial for the father and son charged in the attack. A detective testified about failing to give prosecutors and defense attorneys a copy of a videotaped police interview with Gibson.

Carlos Moore, an attorney who has represented Gibson in a civil lawsuit, provided AP with a copy of an email Gibson received from FedEx on Monday. It said Gibsons employment was terminated July 26, and the company attempted to deliver a letter and documents to him about the termination July 31.

FedEx driver D'Monterrio Gibson, speaks about his recent experience where he alleges he was fired upon and chased by a white father and son while delivering packages on his route in Brookhaven, at a news conference in Ridgeland, Miss., Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022.

FedEx fired Gibson because he did not accept a part-time, non-courier job that the company offered in mid-July, Moore said, adding that he did not know whether the company gave Gibson a deadline to accept.

They can't tell me when I should be ready to come back, Gibson said.

Gibson, 25, said he has been on worker's compensation leave, at about one-third of his pay, since shortly after he reported the attack to police in Brookhaven, Mississippi, on the night it happened, Jan. 24, 2022.

Gibson was not injured in the shooting or chase, but he said Monday that he has been in therapy to deal with anxiety because of it. He said he still has trouble sleeping.

Brandon Case and his father, Gregory Case, are charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy and shooting into the vehicle driven by Gibson. Prosecutors said they intend to schedule a new trial for the two men, who remain out on bond. A court official said the judges docket is full through December.

The chase and gunfire led to complaints on social media of racism in Brookhaven, about an hours drive south of the state capital, Jackson.

The encounter happened as Gibson made FedEx deliveries in a van with the Hertz logo on three sides. After he dropped off a package at a home on a dead-end public road, Gregory Case used a pickup truck to try to block the van from leaving, and Brandon Case came outside with a gun, District Attorney Dee Bates told jurors last week.

As Gibson drove the van around the pickup truck, shots were fired, with three rounds hitting the delivery van and some of the packages inside, Bates said.

Gregory Case saw a rental van with a Florida license plate outside his mother-in-laws unoccupied home after dark, defense attorney Terrell Stubbs told jurors. The elder Case was just going to ask the van driver what was going on, but the driver did not stop, Stubbs said.

On Aug. 10, a federal judge dismissed Gibsons federal lawsuit seeking $5 million from FedEx, writing that the lawsuit failed to prove the company discriminated against him because of his race. That litigation also named the city of Brookhaven, the police chief and the Cases. Moore said he plans to file a new civil suit in state court, seeking $10 million.

A grand jury issued a report last month saying that Brookhaven Police Department officers poorly investigate their cases." The grand jury, made up of local residents, considered more than 60 criminal cases., and wrote that the department is complacent, does not complete investigations in a timely manner, shows a lack of professionalism and has a habit of witness blaming."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Black FedEx driver loses job, over a year after white men attacked him
D'Monterrio Gibson speaks at a news conference in Ridgeland, Mississippi (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A Black Missippi FedEx driver who was chased and shot at by two white men while delivering packages has lost his job at the carrier, according to his attorney.

DMonterrio Gibson, 25, was delivering parcels in the city of Brookhaven last January, when father and son Gregory and Brandon Case blocked his delivery van with a pickup truck and began shooting at him as he drove away, according to prosecutors.

Mr Gibson, who said the incident left him with anxiety, trouble sleeping, and caused him to seek therapy, lost his job at the end of the this July, after refusing to accept a part-time, non-courier position at the company, according to an email from FedEx shared with The Associated Press.

I honestly feel disrespected, he told the AP. They cant tell me when I should be ready to come back.

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The company had been voluntarily paying for his therapy while he was away from the job on workers compensation leave, CNN reports.

Mr Gibson plans to file a state lawsuit against FedEx, after his $5m federal lawsuit against the delivery giant accusing them of racism was dismissed in August, with the court finding the Mississippi man hadnt proven he was discriminated against because of his race.

FedEx has shown its true colors, Mr Gibsons attorney, Carlos Moore, told the network. It has never cared about my clients Black life. How could any employer be so insensitive and tone deaf and fire a dedicated employee after he almost lost his life working for the company?

DMonterrio Gibson speaks at a news conference in Ridgeland, Mississippi (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The Independent has contacted FedEx for comment.

Gregory and Brandon Case were charged by local officials with attempted murder.

Last week, the case against them was declared a mistrial, after a police detective testified to not sharing a copy of a video interview with Mr Gibson after the shooting with either the prosecution or the defence.

The men, who say they were responding to an unknown van parked outside of a family members house on a public road, remain out on bond.

Mr Gibson was wearing his FedEx uniform when making the delivery that preceded the shooting on 24 January, 2022, driving a rental van with the Hertz logo on multiple sides, according to court documents.

As he went to leave the area, Gregory Case allegedly blocked the driver in with his pickup truck, causing Mr Gibson to dry around the truck and leave the area.

His van was struck with three rounds.

They came out of nowhere, Gibson said at a news conference last year. Even if [the van] was unmarked, civilians still cant take the law into their own hands.

Im thinking this is a racism thing, he said.

His attorney alleged that the Cases were seeking to emulate the Ahmaud Arbery incident, where a group of white men in Georgia pursued a Black jogger in 2020 in their pickup trucks then murdered him.

It was clearly a copycat crime, Mr Moore said during the 2022 news conference. These people tried to be copycats, and thats why we need full justice, not Mississippi justice. This man went to work, and they attacked him like he was a wild animal.
Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, Trump wrote on his social media network on Monday night, hours after court papers said his bond was set at $200,000.

Related: Trumps shadow hangs over Republican debates even as he refuses to attend

The Fulton county sheriffs office said in a news release on Monday afternoon that when Trump surrenders there will be a hard lockdown of the area surrounding the main county jail.

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In a court document posted online on Monday, bond amounts for the 13 charges against the former president ranged from $10,000, for counts including criminal conspiracy and filing false documents, to $80,000, for a violation of the Georgia Rico Act, often used against organised crime.

Terms included a prohibition of act[ing] to intimidate any person known to  be a codefendant or witness in this case, including in posts on social media.

Authorities in Georgia are investigating threats made to grand jurors.

The bond document also said Trump shall not communicate in any way, directly or indirectly, about the facts of this case with any person known to him to be a codefendant in this case except through his or her counsel.

The Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, has set a deadline of noon on Friday for Trump and his 18 co-defendants to turn themselves in to be booked. The prosecutor has proposed that arraignments for the defendants follow during the week of 5 September. She has said she wants to try the defendants collectively, and bring the case to trial in March of next year, which would put it in the heat of the presidential nominating season.

In Fulton county, when defendants are not in custody, their lawyers and the district attorneys office will often work out a bond amount before arraignment and the judge will sign off on it. The defendants will generally be booked at the Fulton county jail. During the booking process, they are typically photographed and fingerprinted and then they provide certain personal information. Since Trumps bond has already been set, he will be released from custody once the booking process is complete.

John Eastman, a law professor who advised Trump in his attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020, saw bond set at $100,000. Defendants also include the former New York mayor and Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.

The document concerning Trumps bond was signed by Scott McAfee, a superior court judge, three Trump lawyers and Willis, who last week secured indictments of Trump and 18 aides and allies.

Trump denies wrongdoing in Georgia and in three other indictments which have produced a total of 91 criminal charges.

The charges cover federal and state election subversion in 2020, the retention of classified information after leaving office, and hush-money payments to a porn star during the 2016 election.

Despite such unprecedented legal jeopardy  to which can be added civil investigations of Trumps business affairs and a defamation case in which a judge said Trump was adjudicated a rapist  the former president dominates the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Ahead of the first debate on Wednesday, which Trump will not attend, he leads his nearest challenger, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, by about 40 points in national polling averages and by wide margins in key states.

On social media on Monday, some observers doubted that Trump, notorious for attacking enemies on social media (which he did the same day, aiming at the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp), would abide by the terms of his bond.

Barring a real come-to-Jesus moment, said Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State law professor, the only way Trump doesnt violate his  conditions is if his lawyers confiscate his phone.

Others noted how Trump has leveraged his predicament to fund his campaign to return to the White House, widely seen as his best hope of avoiding prison.

Ron Filipkowski, a Florida attorney turned viral Trump critic, said it was time to shake down the donors.
Education

K&L Gates registered to lobby on issues related to education funding and Department of Education grants on behalf of Duquesne University, a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh. One of the lobbyists on the account is former Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat who retired at the end of the last Congress after 14 terms representing the Keystone State and joined K&L Gatess Pittsburgh office as a government affairs counselor.

As a former member of Congress, Doyle can lobby the executive branch and craft congressional lobbying strategies. But the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 imposed a one-year cooling-off period that bars members from communicating with members of Congress or their staff with the intent to influence them.

Internet safety

Google tapped Crossroads Strategies to lobby on online competition and privacy issues, including the Kids Online Safety Act. The bill aims to hold social media companies accountable for preventing harm to minors and requires an annual public report by independent, third-party auditors on platform risks including mental health disorders and sexual abuse and exploitation. Jason Gleason, former chief of staff and legislative director to Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), will work on the account.

Energy

Clark Street Associates hired Holland & Knight to work on federal funding for hydrogen fuel technology on behalf of Nel ASA, a Norwegian hydrogen fuel company. Elizabeth Craddock, former staff director of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, will work on the account.

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Teneo Strategy registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for public relations work on behalf of the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company, which is 80 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Teneo is tasked with developing a communications strategy including narrative development and tailored messaging to engage members of the media and business community, but not directly advocate with U.S. government officials, according to disclosures on file with the Justice Department.

Electric vehicles

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld registered to lobby on behalf of Ride Group LLC, an electric bus and vehicle manufacturer, on legislation including the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act that could limit use of federal funds to acquire certain electric buses. The lobbyist on the account is Hal Shapiro, a former senior adviser for international economic affairs to the director of the National Economic Council in the Clinton White House.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Travellers who are flying into the UK on an EU airline from a non-EU country will be affected by the judgment - E+

It looks as though Brexit may have delivered a new blow to consumer rights affecting British travellers. The problem stems from a judgment which was made by the European Court of Justice last year, but which has just been reported by the Independent.

It applies to travellers who are flying into the UK on an EU airline from a non-EU country and who are ticketed via a change of plane in the EU. If that sounds unusual or complicated, it is actually a fairly common occurrence which potentially applies to millions of passengers a year. Many people book to far-flung destinations with, for example, KLM, Air France or Lufthansa, taking a short hop to Amsterdam, Paris or Frankfurt and connecting to their long-haul flight from there. They then return via the same route. Its often one of the cheapest ways to get to destinations like South America or the Far East.

Passengers whose final destination is the UK don't have the same entitlements because of the 'third country' status that is a result of Brexit - Corbis RF Stills

Under EU membership, if your flight to the European country was disrupted, delayed or cancelled, you could claim for expenses (hotels and meals) from the airline and may be entitled to compensation of up to 500. But the court ruling means that those passengers whose final destination is the UK dont have the same entitlements. This is because of our third-country status which comes about as a result of Brexit. (It is only the return flight into the EU which is affected, outbound flights are still covered because UK legislation continues to apply to the airline since the initial flight is operating out of a British airport).

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The relevant part of the ruling says that the regulation enshrining compensation rights is not applicable to a flight with a connecting flight, booked under a single booking but consisting of two flights, both of which are operated by a Community air carrier, if both the departure airport of the first flight and the arrival airport of the second flight are in the territory of a third country [this includes the UK] and only the airport where the stopover takes place is in the territory of a Member State. So, in such cases, your claim against an EU airline will fail in the European Court.

'Compensation rules still apply to all international airlines operating direct point-to-point flights to and from Britain,' writes Trend - Michael England

The good news is that compensation rules still apply to all international airlines operating direct point-to-point flights to and from Britain. To make a successful claim, the hold-up or cancellation must have been the airlines fault and caused a delay of three hours or more beyond the scheduled arrival time. You will not normally be entitled to compensation for delays caused by bad or extreme weather or air traffic control problems. You may, however, be entitled to claim for the cost of meals and accommodation if your flight is delayed overnight.

The rules are a little complicated, so check our detailed guide here.

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.
Richard Hunts studio is a repository of creativity that can give one whiplash. Upon entering the Lill Avenue cavernous structure, one sees light, shadows, books, cardboard and metal ready to be metamorphosed into something transcendental. Artistic works are in progress, and an artist like Hunt is always in process amid pictures and maquettes of his earlier works with metal.

Visitors cant help but notice the books that sit on Hunts shelves in the office (ones that focus on art history, African American art) and his 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (the Oscars of sculpture). At the rear of the work floor is an enclosed loft space that Hunt used as his living area until a couple of years ago. In the front of the workspace rests a proclamation from the Commissioners Court of Bexar County, Texas, citing Hunts participation in integrating the San Antonio Woolworths lunch counter in 1960 (reportedly one of seven to do so peacefully and voluntarily).

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Hunt, an Englewood native, has made a mark on the world, as shown in the 2022 book, Richard Hunt by LeRonn Brooks, Jordan Carter, Adrienne Childs, Jon Ott and John Yau. The almost 400-page tome charts Hunts trajectory as an artistic force. He began taking formal art classes at the Junior School of the Art Institute and eventually became one of our greatest living artists, producing commissions for the Obama Presidential Center (Book Bird), creating The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument in Bronzeville and now a 15-foot stainless steel piece that will sit adjacent to the Emmett Till/Mamie Till-Mobley historic home.

Sculptor Richard Hunt works in his studio on Aug. 11, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Hunt has 16 honorary degrees, nine of which are from Illinois institutions, and now, he can add one more award to his 70-year career: the Chicago Public Library Foundation Arts Award, an honor that celebrates the power and impact of Chicagos artistic community.

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Richard Hunt has this amazing sculpture at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library called Jacobs Ladder, said Rica Estrada-Bouso, Chicago Public Library Foundations marketing director. Its an amazing focal point of the library. We recently had an arts award added to our lineup of honorees, expanding from literature, doing civic awards and arts awards. Obviously one of the foremost people we have is Richard Hunt, who has had sculptures all over the world and singularly made the most number of contributions in public art across America.

Hunts contribution to public art in the United States consists of over 150 public sculpture commissions. With names like Chi-Town Totem, Sculptural Enlightenment, We Will, and Uplifted, a tourist can get an education about Hunt just by traveling through Chicagoland. His Swing Low greets you when entering the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a gift to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Per Ott, Hunt has done works throughout his lifetime about freedom, emancipation, flight and ascension. Ott says Hunt is a bibliophile who collects and reads books voraciously. He also reads about five or six newspapers every day.

And his inspiration is music, which is primarily classical. Hes been a big fan of Baroque music his whole life, also jazz and has some pieces named after jazz movements, Ott said. Richard is the most academic, modern artist of his time. Theres nobody more academic than Richard Hunt. The guy is a lot more than just a sculptor. As a self-taught artist, he has one foot in the history of Western art and one foot in African art.

Richard did a piece on the Underground Railroad called Pass Thru at the University of Kentucky Art Museum in 1992. And its just a few blocks away from the underground railroad stop in Lexington, Kentucky, Ott said. If you look at Richards monuments, theyve been done all throughout his life, but you can trace the whole history of the African diaspora from pieces that he did ... Name an aspect of African American history, and hes done a monument on it in his life.

Detail of work in the studio of sculptor Richard Hunt. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Hunts prowess with bronze, brass, stainless steel, scrap metal and corten steel is so monumental, a book of the same name, Richard Hunt: Monumental was published this year. The hardback features the intense expression of Hunts face.

When asked about the visage, Hunt says: Well, it just happened to be one of those days.

87 years young, Hunts hands are a work of art. While the world is all about branding, Hunt is humble.

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As Hunt states in his monograph, Artists have a unique opportunity to make a difference ... to look and work toward the future. We have the job of creating new ideas and visions for the future and Im pleased to be a part of that.

This is an attempt to capture lightning in a bottle with an icon. He said in his artists statement: It is one thing to make art that is a portrait, but for something like the Middle Passage or Emmett Till, you want to develop art that is not a portrait of Emmett Till but something that projects his life, ideas and ideals beyond his lifetime. The following conversation with Hunt and Ott has been edited for length and clarity.

Sculptor Richard Hunt at work in his studio, Aug. 11, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Q: How are we just now getting a book about your life?

Hunt: Well, you have to live it first. Those things take time.

Q: Thoughts on your award from the Chicago Public Library?

Hunt: Its interesting because my mother was a librarian. A big, big thing for us was going to the library and getting books.

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Q: Youve done so many works. Do you have a favorite?

Hunt: When youve done a lot of things, its hard to say well, this is it. Im very interested to be doing the Emmett Till piece. The idea of  doing a piece to draw attention to him is important because it goes back to an earlier generation that we both came out of.

Q: How do you encapsulate monumental people like Ida B. Wells and Emmett Till in one piece?

Hunt: I would say it comes forward to me as Im working on it.

Ott: Richard does deep, deep readings. When he was doing The Ida B. Wells, Id come visit Richard and hed have a stack of seven different books on Ida B. Wells  lynching, photographs and history. Its the same thing with Emmett Till. If you were at his apartment, hes got a stack of books on Emmett Till and things because hes working on that piece. Hes in the moment but he has all that history in his head while his hands are touching the metal.

And during the pandemic, a book came out about Richard. It was the first time Richard talked about the fact that he was at the open-casket funeral. It also was the same summer that Richard learned how to weld. So Richards career started at the same time that he saw Emmett Till, who lived four blocks away from the house that Richard was born in in Woodlawn. Heroes Head, (welded steel) is the head of Emmett Till  he lost an eyeball, the skull is cracked, the face is smashed in on one side, he did this in 1956 a few months after he saw the open casket funeral of Emmett Till.

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One of the things that Richard said before is, that could have been Richard because Richard, just like Emmett, went back to Georgia, to see his fathers side of the family, who was raised up a sharecropper. Richard said that could have been me because Emmett was just going to a corner store like Richard did so many times. Richard was a young man trying to figure out what to do, he was 19 and saw this person mutilated, lynched, tortured and killed sitting in front of him. Wouldnt that change you if you were 19 and saw that face to face? It changed the world.

Some of his pieces are studied. For much of his career, he did many, many sketches. Hes also a draftsman and wonderful in two dimensions, which a lot of sculptors cannot say. He would plan his pieces that way, but sometimes he does pieces which he would call more improvisational, like jazz, where hes just picking up material. Hes inspired by the sculptural shapes and hes adding to them, putting them together, and thats why he uses this term hybrid throughout a lot of his work because hes hybridizing things, taking multiple different influences, putting them all together in the same piece. But even with all those influences, you look over the history, its about freedom, a lot of times its about flight which is freedom from gravity, which is freedom in the biblical sense, freedom, ascension. That all changed when he saw Emmett Tills funeral.

Q: Do you ever say Im retiring?

Hunt: No. I like coming here every day.

Q: Do you ever take a day off?

Hunt: Not if I dont have to.

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Q: Is there anything left on your to do list?

Hunt: Im just moving along, working on this one day and another piece another day 

Q: Any advice for the next round of artists?

Hunt: One of the things about being an artist is you can go your own way. Some people have a different approach to what they want to produce. They dont have the relationship to a plan where the sculpture relates to some environment. Me doing something for Emmett Till, thats one thing of putting something together and having a relationship with the environment. Its not just making a nice sculpture.

The Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards will be hosted by Bill Kurtis on Oct. 24, more information at cplfoundation.org. Highlights from the awards ceremony will be released on YouTube Nov. 1.

drockett@chicagotribune.com
Leaders of the BRICS nations  Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa  are gathering this week for a summit in Johannesburg focused on whether to expand the bloc to make it a stronger rival to the Group of Seven, made up of the world's largest developed economies, including the United States. "If we expand BRICS to account for a similar portion of world GDP as the G7, then our collective voice in the world will grow stronger," said one Chinese official quoted by The Financial Times.

South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said ahead of Tuesday's meetings that boosting BRICS' influence would fulfill "a common desire to have a more balanced global order." Russia, desperate for allies as the West opposes Moscow's war in Ukraine, and China, locked in escalating trade and diplomatic clashes with the United States, are particularly eager to strengthen BRICS.

China has long aimed to broaden membership in the bloc, which already accounts for about 40% of the world's population and a quarter of the global economy. But India and Brazil are wary of following Beijing's and Moscow's lead, for fear of losing their own influence and increasing China's dominance. Can BRICS unite and grow enough to seriously counter the G7?

BRICS is no G7, and never will be

BRICS is trying to convince everybody it's a "non- or anti-West geopolitical alternative to U.S. hegemony," said Andreas Kluth at Bloomberg. "But they're not, and never will be." Since the end of the Cold War's "bipolar world," a "dizzying array of blocs" has emerged. Africa has the African Union, of course, but also Comesa, Ecca, Ecowas, and more. Latin American has "SICA, Caricom, Mercosur, and what not." BRICS does boast something like 42% of the world's population, but next to the other groups the BRICS nations "arguably have the least in common, aside from a dislike of U.S. clout in global finance, economics and geopolitics." There's little chance this hodge-podge of "three democracies in different stages of backsliding and two increasingly repressive autocracies" will ever be able to cooperate as well as the G7, "a club of rich liberal democracies with a shared sense of custodianship for the world economy."

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Expansion might only weaken BRICS' hand, said Alexandra Wexler in The Wall Street Journal. "The group's size is matched by the scale of its disunity on political and security issues  including relations with the U.S." Expanding the bloc "could multiply those differences." It's true that a beefed-up BRICS "would likely give China another mechanism for exercising leadership of the developing world," and Russia access to new markets in Africa and cheerleaders on Ukraine. But analysts say New Delhi and Brasilia "share concerns that an expanded group could become too antagonistic toward the West and destabilize the bloc." And if the current members can't agree on expansion, their ability to "channel discontent and opposition toward the U.S. and its allies through a bloc aspiring to rival the Group of Seven major economies may be hampered."

Dismissing BRICS is a mistake

It's "a mistake" for the West to dismiss BRICS as "a talk shop with little impact on U.S. foreign policy," said Sarang Shidore at Responsible Statecraft. "BRICS is gradually making a mark." More than 20 countries have expressed interest in joining. "When a club has a waiting list for getting in, it is hard to characterize it as irrelevant." Prospective members see BRICS "as a serious attempt to fill a vacuum" in a U.S.-led global order that doesn't meet their needs on issues like development, or pressuring wealthy nations to take more responsibility for fighting climate change. These nations don't necessarily see the U.S. as the enemy. They just think Washington is constantly "impinging on their sovereignty" by insisting they fall in line with its policies. The U.S. should "take seriously" the gripes of smaller nations that are sick of feeling bullied.

This summit could be pivotal, said The Economist, and "the critical dissenting voice is likely to be India's." Early in the bloc's existence, New Delhi needed Russia to help serve as a counterbalance to China, but now it's wielding its own "growing economic and geopolitical" influence. And Moscow is of little help in the fight against Beijing's dominance now that it desperately needs China's cover during its war in Ukraine. India also "frets about some of the wannabes, such as Cuba and Belarus," fearing they "would be mini-Russias, repeating China's talking points" and derailing India's effort to present itself as "a rival to China for leadership of the global south." If China gets the expansion it desires it will prove its "sway on the scene. But if China is blocked it would underline the group's deep divisions."

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By Bhargav Acharya and Gabriel Araujo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -BRICS leaders met on Tuesday to plot the future course of the bloc of developing nations but divisions re-emerged ahead of a critical debate over a potential expansion of the group intended to boost its global clout.

Heightened tensions in the wake of the Ukraine war and Beijing's growing rivalry with the United States have pushed China and Russia - whose President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually - to seek to strengthen BRICS.

They are seeking to use the Aug. 22-24 summit in Johannesburg to forge the grouping, which also includes South Africa, Brazil and India, into a counterweight to Western dominance of global institutions.

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"Right now, changes in the world, in our times, and in history are unfolding in ways like never before, bringing human society to a critical juncture," China's President Xi Jinping said in remarks delivered at a BRICS business forum.

"The course of history will be shaped by the choices we make."

Xi skipped the event, despite the presence there of counterparts Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

His remarks were delivered by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and it was not immediately clear why Xi, who had a meeting with host Ramaphosa earlier in the day, did not attend.

Comments from Brazil's Lula pointed to a divergence of vision within the bloc, which political analysts say has long struggled to form a coherent view of its role in the global order.

"We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States," Brazil's Lula said on Tuesday during a social media broadcast from Johannesburg. "We just want to organise ourselves."

Beyond the enlargement question, boosting the use of member states' local currencies in trade and financial transactions to lessen dependency of the U.S. dollar is also on the summit agenda.

"The objective, irreversible process of de-dollarization of our economic ties is gaining momentum," Russia's Putin said in a pre-recorded statement.

Russia's economy is grappling with Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine. Putin is wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, and is being represented at the summit by his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

South African organisers say there will be no discussions however of a common BRICS currency, an idea floated by Brazil as an alternative to dollar-dependence.

POINT OF CONTENTION

BRICS remains a disparate group, ranging from China, the world's second biggest economy, to South Africa, a relative minnow which is nonetheless Africa's most developed economy.

Russia is keen to show the West it still has friends but India has increasingly reached out to the West, as has Brazil under its new leader.

India and China have also periodically clashed along their disputed border, adding to the challenge of decision-making in a group that relies on consensus.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Tuesday, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he did not see BRICS turning into a geopolitical rival of the United States.

"This is a very diverse collection of countries ... with differences of view on critical issues," he said.

Expansion has long been a goal of China, which hopes that broader membership will lend clout to a grouping already home to some 40% of the world's population and a quarter of global gross domestic product.

Russia is also keen to expand membership while South Africa's President Ramaphosa voiced support for the idea at the meeting with Xi.

The BRICS leaders will hold a mini-retreat and dinner on Tuesday evening where they are likely to discuss a framework and criteria for admitting new countries.

India, which is wary of Chinese dominance and has warned against rushing expansion, has "positive intent and an open mind", Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday. Brazil, meanwhile, is concerned that expanding BRICS will dilute its influence, though Lula reiterated on Tuesday his desire to see neighbour Argentina join the bloc.

An Argentine government source involved in the country's negotiations to join BRICS told Reuters that no new members were expected to be admitted to the bloc during the summit.

While a potential BRICS enlargement remains up in the air, the grouping's pledge to become a champion of the developing world and offer an alternative to a world order dominated by wealthy Western nations is already finding resonance.

Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials. Of them, nearly two dozen have formally asked to be admitted, with some expected to send delegations to Johannesburg.

(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis in Pretoria, Lucila Sigal in Buenos Aires, Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Andy Sullivan, William Maclean and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Peter Higgs was sacked by British Museum after being named in disappearance of artefacts - BBC/UNPIXS

Senior executives at the British Museum dismissed warnings of thefts from its collection as wholly unfounded when a whistleblower tipped them off two years ago, emails seen by The Telegraph show.

Hartwig Fischer, the museums director, said there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations that stolen objects were being sold on eBay. His deputy Jonathan Williams said a thorough investigation had found no suggestion of any wrongdoing and confidently stated that the collection is protected.

Ittai Gradel, the Danish art dealer who raised the alarm, said Dr Williams had basically told me to get lost.

The disclosure will heap further pressure on Dr Williams, seen as a contender to take over the top job from Dr Fischer when he steps down from his post next year. It is also likely to intensify calls for Dr Fischer to go immediately.

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The theft of more than 1,500 objects was finally discovered when Dr Gradel refused to be brushed off by the directors and contacted the museums chairman, George Osborne , who took personal charge of the matter.

British Museum: email extracts

Last week, the museum announced that a member of staff, now known to be former curator Peter Higgs, had been sacked following the discovery that jewellery dating as far back as 1,500BC had been stolen. Mr Higgs denies wrongdoing, according to his family. The thefts are being investigated by police. No arrests have been made.

Dr Williams was alerted to the thefts by Dr Gradel in February 2021, when the Dane sent him a 1,600-word email detailing the disturbing discovery he had made that a Roman cameo offered for sale on eBay, as well as other items, had come from the museums collection.

Museum pieces on eBay

Item one

Item two

He included a detailed description of detective work he had done to identify the seller, who he identified as Mr Higgs, and said that either Mr Higgs must be the culprit or someone with access to the museums vaults was stealing items and impersonating him online.

Dr Williams replied on Mar 1, 2021 saying that the matter would be investigated, but by the end of June that year Dr Gradel had heard nothing, so he sent a follow up email to Dr Williams and sent a copy of his original email to Dr Fischer.

On Jul 12, 2021 Dr Williams wrote back, saying that an investigation had found the objects concerned are all accounted for, and that a review of security had concluded procedures are robust and that the collection is protected. Later the same month, he confirmed that Dr Gradels allegations were wholly unfounded.

In October last year Dr Gradel wrote to Sir Paul Ruddock, one of the trustees of the museum, to tell him he had been tormented by his belief that the objects had been stolen and that the museum was sweeping it all under the carpet.

He said he had been brushed off by Dr Williams who had basically told me to get lost.

Seven unsolved museum mysteries

Sir Paul passed the email on to Mr Osborne, who responded the next day by emailing Dr Fischer, and demanding a detailed response to assure me that the matter has been thoroughly investigated, with a timeline.

Dr Fischer responded by telling Sir Paul: The case has been thoroughly investigated. There is no evidence to substantiate the allegations. The objects are in the collection.

Once again, Dr Gradel refused to take no for an answer, and contacted Mr Osborne directly in January this year, setting out the evidence he had gathered.

He told the former chancellor: I realise, of course, that the evidence I have found is embarrassing and can potentially cause immense damage to the institution: that is not what I want to do, if it can be avoided. But I will absolutely not accept once more to be simply told to get lost and mind my own business.

Mr Osborne replied that I have taken your comments very seriously and that his allegations were being looked at.

In his letter to Mr Osborne, Dr Gradel also accused the museums managers of treating him with the most appalling arrogance when he tried to help them by alerting them to the thefts.

A spokesman for the museum said it would not be adding to its previous statements.

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A brown spotless giraffe, the first known case in over 50 years, was born at a Tennessee zoo.

An expert said other giraffes might be surprised at its spotlessness, but likely won't reject it.

The zookeepers believe this is the fourth known case of a brown spotless giraffe.

On July 31, a family-owned Tennessee zoo welcomed a rare surprise  an all-brown giraffe born entirely without spots, thought to be the only one alive in the world.

The female baby giraffe is the second born at Brights Zoo in Limestone this year, yet unlike its peers, is a solid brown color. Already standing at 6 feet tall, the zoo's vet team hasn't observed any health concerns related to the lack of pattern.

"She is very inquisitive," David Bright, the zoo's director, told Insider. "She stays very tight with her mom, doesn't wander off too far, but she's very curious what's going on around her. She has a very positive personality when it comes to giraffes."

The spotless giraffe in Tennessee. Brights Zoo

Fred Bercovitch, a wildlife conservation biologist and professor who's been studying giraffes for over 20 years, told Insider that a brown spotless giraffe is extremely rare and "almost certainly due to a specific mutation."

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He explained that there have been some known instances of white spotless giraffes  which have a condition called leucism  spotted in the wild, but those are also rare. Before this birth at Brights Zoo, he had never heard of another brown spotless giraffe.

Bright told Insider that the most recent known example of a brown spotless giraffe was born at a Tokyo zoo in 1972. Her name was Toshiko. And she had an older sibling, born several years prior, that was also brown and spotless, Bright said.

But Bright said he only knows of one other instance of a brown spotless giraffe, in Uganda. Stephanie Fennessy, executive director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, said her organization has never seen such a giraffe in the wild, and they work in 20 African countries.

"What the birth does show is, in some ways, how little we know about animals," Bercovitch said. "There are exceptions to almost every rule in biology."

The spotless giraffe at the Brights Zoo. Brights Zoo

Not much research has been done on giraffes, Bercovitch said, and very little is known about their spot patterns. But we do know that every giraffe has a unique spot pattern, and that there is likely "some amount of heritability between mothers and calves to the spot pattern," Bercovitch said.

An expert said other giraffes might be surprised at its spotlessness, but likely won't reject it

Bercovitch said giraffes are highly visual creatures have a complex social system, and it's highly unlikely that the brown Tennessee giraffe will be ostracized from the community for her spotlessness.

"My guess is that they would do a double take," Bercovitch said. "But I don't see giraffes have this ability or culture to discriminate against one that happens to be a different color."

Bright said he hopes the unique giraffe will shine a light on conservation efforts that nonprofit organizations are making.

"If we can get people donating to things like Save Giraffes Now or the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, then we've truly helped this species," Bright said.

The Bright family researched "thousands" of names that best fit the giraffe's personality, and are asking the public to help them choose the winner.

The shortlist includes the Swahili names Kipekee, meaning "unique," and Firyali, which means "unusual" or "extraordinary"; the Arabic-originating name Jamella, which means "one of great beauty"; and Shakiri, a name meaning "she is most beautiful."

Read the original article on Insider
Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger was investigated and kicked out of a law enforcement high school programme after complaints from female students.

Mr Kohberger, 28, is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students as they slept at an off-campus house last November.

Now a former high school administrator has discussed issues with Mr Kohberger when he attended the programme at the Monroe Career and Technical Institute.

Tanya Carmella-Beers told The Idaho Massacre podcast that she could not go into specifics of the claims made against Mr Kohberger.

But she said that if a student did something that would get an adult fired in the professional world they lost their place in the programme.

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Ultimately what had him removed from the programme, when I look back on it now, makes sense... the fact that he wanted law enforcement more than anything else in the world, if you look at it from just that perspective alone not knowing what I know youd be like, Im so shocked, she said.

In that respect I am, but I know another little piece, which is the piece that occurred at the school... so that makes sense.

She told the podcast that Mr Kohberger took the programme extremely seriously but that an issue was reported to the school by a group of females.

A complaint was made, and the teacher reported it to me, and said, You know, this is not something we can have, said Ms Carmella-Beers.

An investigation needed to be conducted. Other students were interviewed. Bryan was interviewed. And there comes a time when decisions have to be made, whether its the decision the student wants or not.

Mr Kohberger was kicked out of the law enforcement programme and transferred to the heating, ventilation and air condition course instead before leaving the school.

I dont think that maybe he necessarily grasped the depth and breadth of the issue at hand, she added.

Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found murdered at their home on 13 November.

Mr Kohberger was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania on 30 December and was returned to Idaho.

A judge entered not guilty pleas to murder and burglary charges on his behalf during his May arraignment and he is set to go on trial on 2 October.
[Source]

A 66-year-old business owner and mother of nine was fatally shot by a man who had an issue with a Pride flag she displayed at her clothing store in Lake Arrowhead, California.

What happened: The shooter, identified as 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi, reportedly made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag before fatally shooting Laura Ann Carleton outside Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen on Friday, according to the San Bernardino Sheriffs Office.

Police responded to the incident at around 5 p.m., where they found Carleton suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

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About the shooter: Ikeguchi, who reportedly fled the scene by foot, was later located and killed during a lethal force encounter with deputies. According to investigators, Ikeguchi was a Cedar Glen resident who had been publicly vocal about his disapproval of the LGBTQ+ community. On X, Ikeguchi previously made several posts about his faith and his hate toward the LGBTQ+ community.

More from NextShark: Man Attacked by 12 in NYC Chinatown is a Gang Member With 43 Arrests, Police Sources Say

Abortion and same-sex marriage are both immoral and are design to destroy humanity one by one. So if someone is pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQP, they are at war against the foundation of family values, one of his tweets read.

Abortion and same-sex marriage are both immoral and are design to destroy humanity one by one. So if someone is pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQP, they are at war against the foundation of family values.

Travis Ikeguchi 6/23/2023 6:39am  Travis Ikeguchi (@TravisIkeguchi) June 28, 2023 More from NextShark: NY Congresswoman Grace Meng Tweets Photos of Office Barricade During Capitol Riots

In a pinned tweet, Ikeguchi posted a photo of a burning Pride flag with the caption, What to do with the [LGBTQ+] flag?

This was a hate crime: On Sunday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the shooting.

More from NextShark: Japanese authorities warn Ghibli Park visitors away from taking lewd photos with characters

This is absolutely horrific. ... This disgusting hate has no place in CA [California], Newsom tweeted.

This is absolutely horrific. A shop owner has been shot and killed by a man after he criticized the pride flag hanging outside her business. Lauri leaves behind her husband and 9 children. This disgusting hate has no place in CA. https://t.co/1Fk4IKnIRB  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 20, 2023

San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe also denounced the shooting.

Regardless of your color, your sexual orientation, your gender, your political party, there should be acceptance, love and tolerance for everybody in this world. And I say that as a white female heterosexual conservative, Rowe told NBC News.

Carleton's daughters, Ari and Kelsey, have also issued a joint statement on Instagram.

Make no mistake, this was a hate crime, they wrote. Her flags had been torn down before and she always responded by putting up a bigger one.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by RE Rose (@aricarleton)

LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD shared that it has tracked more than 350 anti-LGBTQ+ threats and attacks this year, along with a disturbing increase in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation across the country.

Lauris murder is the latest example of how anti-LGBTQ hatred hurts everyone, whether they are LGBTQ or not, Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of GLAAD, wrote in a statement. We know a supermajority of Americans support LGBTQ people, and this horrific act of violence is not indicative of American values.

Remembering Carleton: Ari and Kelsey described their mother in their Instagram post as a fearless, cool and compassionate woman who always put others first. While their family is devastated, the sisters note that they find peace in knowing she passed quickly in a place she cherished, doing what she loved while fiercely defending something she believed in.

Carletons death has also left her community devastated. Mountain Provisions Cooperative described Carleton as a pillar in our community who dedicated her life to upholding equality, love and justice.

"If you knew Lauri, you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about. She was a force, she loved to crack jokes and wanted to live as joyful of a life as possible. We will continue to stand for the values she so selflessly stood for. Her death will not be in vain. Lauri and her husband Bort were pivotal in organizing our Free Store which provided free food and supplies for 4 months after the blizzard. Lauri put her whole heart into keeping it going as long as we could. Pay an act of kindness forward in her honor. Our community needs as much love as we can get right now."

Celebrities have also spoken out about Carletons killing, including Hollywood director Paul Feig.

Feig, who is known for directing hit films such as Bridesmaids and The Heat, said Carleton was a wonderful friend in an Instagram post.

We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally, Feig wrote. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paul Feig (@paulfeig)
Migrants in the Rio Grande by a string of buoys intended to deter river crossing, in Eagle Pass, Texas, Aug. 8, 2023. (JORDAN VONDERHAAR/Jordan Vonderhaar/The New York Times)

EAGLE PASS, Texas  When Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas announced a multibillion-dollar initiative two years ago to deter migrants crossing from Mexico, the border city of Eagle Pass was seeing 1,200 people coming into town every day, and many residents welcomed the extra aid.

Hugo Urbina, who owns a pecan farm next to the Rio Grande, was unhappy with the constant foot traffic on his land, sometimes dozens of people a day. Jessie Fuentes, who owns a canoe and kayak business, did not want migrants to think America had an open border. The towns mayor, Rolando Salinas Jr., saw the Border Patrol being overwhelmed.

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People cannot be arriving by the thousands without consequence, Urbina said.

But over time, as Abbott has tested the legal limits of state action on immigration  sending the National Guard and scores of state troopers to the border, and installing razor wire and floating barriers along the river  some of that popular support appears to be waning.

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The recent reports of injuries and at least two deaths near the 1,000-foot string of river buoys has raised the level of concern. He went too far, Fuentes said.

The escalated tactics under what the state has called a hold the line operation has even drawn some criticism from within the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Border Patrol.

In interviews, some Eagle Pass residents said it has come to feel as if their own town is under siege, with state troopers stationed along the riverbanks warning those trying to cross to turn back.

A hearing is set for Tuesday in federal court in Austin, Texas, on a challenge to the river barrier from the Justice Department, which contends that it violates federal law.

The department argued that a significant portion of the buoy barrier was located in Mexican territory. A survey by the International Boundary and Water Commission found that about 787 out of the 1,000 feet rested on the Mexican side, and the Mexican government had objected to the barrier.

In a subsequent filing, the federal government reported that Texas sent a crew last week to move the buoys closer to U.S. territory.

The states Department of Public Safety has said the border control measures are intended to discourage migrants from crossing in dangerous sections of the river and entering the country without authorization to request asylum. Instead, department officials said, the state operation urges border crossers to enter more safely at a legal port of entry.

In a letter to President Joe Biden in July, Abbott said his officers were protecting against the threat of illegal drugs, human trafficking and cartel violence on the border, as well as ensuring that migrants cross more safely. Your open-border policies encourage migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the water, instead of safely and legally at a port of entry, he wrote.

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Lt. Christopher Olivarez, a spokesperson for the department, said landowners who agreed to cooperate with the border-enforcement initiative were expected to lend their land to the operation until it wound down. Plans for Operation Lone Star, as the state operation is known, are indefinite, Olivarez said.

But many residents who own land near the Rio Grande said the state law enforcement agents had already overstayed their welcome. While he initially agreed to cooperate, Urbina said he had watched in dismay as state troopers had completely taken over his land.

The local migrant shelter has reported that many migrants are arriving with serious lacerations from the razor-wire barriers, and Urbina is concerned that some of those injuries are occurring on his land. We dont want to see people get hurt, he said.

I want to be clear that we support the aspect that we need to have some kind of border control. But they have taken over this whole area, he said.

Fuentes, a fixture in Eagle Pass known for his Indiana Jones-style hat and large mustache, said he had been cautiously optimistic about Abbotts efforts two years ago, when Border Patrol processing centers and Eagle Pass lone migrant respite center were overloaded. But he said he had also become concerned as the states tactics for countering the migrants had escalated.

He said he felt heartbroken recently when he saw a group of women and children struggling to climb onto an island in the river that had been completely razed by heavy state equipment. They were desperate, trying to get to this side, he said. They had no place to turn to.

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Local residents expressed their frustration this month to a delegation of Democratic members of Congress and state elected officials who traveled to see the operation firsthand. Rep. Joaquin Castro, who represents San Antonio, said he was troubled to hear that Abbotts program was improperly interfering in an area that is under federal jurisdiction, using land that belongs to private citizens.

What he likes to do is scare Texans that theres a bunch of people coming across the river coming here to harm you, Castro said.

City officials have also become less welcoming of the state operation.

Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, who once publicly proclaimed his support for Operation Lone Star and still supports an increased law enforcement presence at the border, said he had soured on the more aggressive tactics lately on display.

Salinas said he initially agreed to allow state police to make many migrant arrests on city-owned land in Shelby Park. But local residents, fed up with the park being unavailable to them, pushed the Eagle Pass City Council recently to revoke that permission.

Salinas said he had declined a recent request from the state to construct a gate on a boat ramp near the river.

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They said, Well, we just wanted to ask you. We are going to put it in anyway because we are under an emergency declaration by the governor. Thats our authority, he said.

He said that decisions about immigration needed to come from Washington, not just the state, and that they were about more than providing additional security on the border.

We do not have the answers at the local level, he said. The federal government needs immigration reform. Thats been talked about for the last 30 years.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
As authorities continue to investigate the shooting death of a California woman linked to a confrontation over a Pride flag, members of the Cedar Glen community have placed hundreds more rainbow flags and flowers at the site of the shooting.

The violence at Laura Carleton's shop in Cedar Glen, about two hours east of Los Angeles, is the latest in a trend of attacks targeting rainbow LGBTQ Pride flags.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department identified the shooter as Travis Ikeguchi, 27, of Cedar Glen. Before fatally shooting 66-year-old Laura Carleton, Ikeguchi tore down her Pride flag and yelled "many homophobic slurs" toward her, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said at a Monday press conference.

Ikeguchi also "made several disparaging remarks" about the Pride flag hanging outside Carleton's clothing shop, Mag.Pi, before shooting Carleton, the Sheriff's Department said in a press release.

Mother and businesswoman Laura Ann Carleton, 66, of Cedar Glen, was fatally shot at her shop on Aug. 18, authorities said.

Daughters remember Carleton as 'fearless'

In an Instagram post, Ari and Kelsey Carleton remembered their mother as a courageous advocate who stood up for others, even in the face of setbacks. They also said her death occurred because of a "senseless act of violence."

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Our beautiful mommy was taken from us, they wrote. Our family is broken.

They called the shooting a hate crime and said their mothers Pride flags had repeatedly been torn down. Each time, Carleton always responded by putting up a bigger one, the post says.

She was fearless, cool and compassionate  always putting others first, they said of the mother of nine.

Carleton will be 'truly missed' by LGBTQ community

Members of the Cedar Glen community have taken to social media to say Carleton was an unwavering ally for LGBTQ people.

Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+, a local charity, said Carleton was a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights.

Today is a very sad day for Lake Arrowhead and for the LGBT community, the charity said on social media. Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+ but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community. She will be truly missed.

The group lists Carletons shop, Map.Pi, as an ally business on its website.

The message "We Love You Lauri " is seen on a Pride flag at a makeshift memorial outside the Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead, California, on Aug. 21, 2023.

A growing trend of attacks on Pride flags

Before Carleton was shot and killed Friday over a Pride flag hanging outside her shop, authorities across the country had been responding this summer to a growing number of attacks targeting LGBTQ flags.

Sarah Moore, an extremism analyst with the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, said she has in recent months tracked incidents across the country where people damage, burn or steal Pride flags hanging outside private residences, restaurants and other businesses. Earlier this year, there was an online hate campaign using a hashtag that advocated for a destroy-the-Pride-flag challenge.

There's definitely been an increase in attacks against Pride flags," Moore told USA TODAY.

Just in August, Moore has tracked attacks on Pride flags in Newtown, Connecticut; Capitola, California; Hamtramck, Michigan; Seattle and Houston.

In some instances, violence has also been directed against the perceived owners of the Pride flag, Moore said. But she said she's not aware of another instance where someone was killed over displaying a Pride flag.

What happened at the Mag.Pi shop?

On Friday, Ikeguchi ripped down an LGBTQ Pride flag outside Carleton's clothing shop, Mag.Pi.

Ikeguchi then shot Carleton and fled on foot. Carleton was pronounced dead at the shop, officials said.

When sheriff's deputies confronted Ikeguchi about a mile from the store Friday night, he opened fire on them, striking multiple squad cars, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Shannon Dicus said. Deputies returned fire and shot Ikeguchi, who died at the scene, Dicus said. No deputies were hurt.

The day before the shooting, Ikeguchi's family had reported him missing to the Sheriff's Department, officials said.

Shooter posted hateful content on social media

Ikeguchi, who lived in Cedar Glen, frequently posted hate-filled content on social media, sheriff's officials said.

Moore said she has been studying social media posts on accounts that appear to have belonged to Ikeguchi. The posts include images of a Pride flag burning and an anti-LGBTQ image showing someone holding a gun.

The images on the social media accounts of the burning Pride flag are in line with" other social media accounts from people espousing "anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theories and increasing calls for violence against the community," Moore said.

Besides posting anti-LGBTQ rhetoric on social media, the shooter's profile also included anti-Semitic, racist and misogynist posts, Moore said.

For that reason, the hate aimed at Carleton should not be solely remembered as anti-LGBTQ hate, she said.

"We need folks to realize that this stuff doesn't just impact the LGBTQ community," Moore said. "This is something that impacts so many different people and so many different intersections of identities."

Contributing: Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travis Ikeguchi named as Pride flag shooting suspect in California
Laura Carleton was shot and killed outside of her clothing store over a Pride flag she flew outside the shop. Mountain Provisions Cooperative

Officials are investigating a California shooting of a store owner as a possible hate crime.

Laura Carleton was shot and killed outside of her store on Friday over a Pride flag.

Her daughter told CNN's Anderson Cooper her mom was "fearless and confident."

Officials are now investigating the incident of a Southern California woman who was shot and killed outside her clothing store in Cedar Glen on Friday over a Pride flag as a possible hate crime, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told Insider on Tuesday.

"We continue the investigation, and this includes the possible motive for the crime," officials said Tuesday. "The possibility of this being a hate crime is part of the investigation."

Laura Carleton, 66, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was shot following a dispute with a man over the Pride flag she hung outside of her store, Mag Pi, officials said.

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The "Today" show reported that the suspect, who was shot and killed following a "lethal force encounter" with police, tore down the Pride flag and shouted anti-gay slurs outside the shop before shooting Carleton.

Speaking to CNN, Carleton's daughter said that her mom had just ordered a new Pride flag to hang outside of Mag Pi because the one flying over the store was starting to fade.

It arrived the day she died, Ari Carleton told Anderson Cooper on Monday night.

"When we arrived home on Friday night after the incident occurred there was a package on the doorstep, and it was a new flag," Ari Carleton said. "She had told my dad that she had ordered it because the one that had been hanging had naturally faded from the sun."

Ari Carleton said it was "hard and emotional" to see that package at her home on Friday.

She added that Pride flags outside of her mom's store had been torn down before, but that Carleton was never afraid.

"She was fearless, and she was confident, and she wasn't afraid to stand up to anybody," she said.

Read the original article on Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Cambodias parliament voted on Tuesday to approve a new government led by the son of outgoing leader Hun Sen following an election last month widely criticized as neither free nor fair.

Most Read from Bloomberg

West Point-educated Hun Manet officially assumed the role of prime minister, marking the conclusion of a political succession years in the making. The 45-year-old leads a new generation of ruling elite taking power from the old guard for the first time since a rebellion against the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

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Hun Sen, who steps aside as prime minister after more than 38 years, will continue on as president of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and a lawmaker.

Cambodia PM Hun Sen Hands Power to Son After Four Decades

Today is a historic day for Cambodia that the National Assembly voted for me to be the new Prime Minister, Hun Manet told lawmakers in his first remarks as prime minister. He said he would prioritize developing the economy, including small businesses and infrastructure projects.

The CPP nearly swept the vote last month, winning 120 of 125 seats up for grabs in the National Assembly, after the main opposition was barred from participating for a second time. The vote was criticized by some western nations, and prompted the US to impose visa restrictions on individuals who undermined democracy and implemented a pause of certain foreign assistance programs.

Hun Manet contested in the elections for the first time after rising through the armed forces ranks to become a four-star general. Little is known of how he plans to rule over the Southeast Asian nation that has drawn closer to China to shore up an economy that is on the mend following the pandemic.

The World Bank has forecast Cambodia to accelerate to 5.5% this year after China accounted for more 90% of the foreign direct investment in 2022.

(Updates with remarks from new prime minister in fourth paragraph)

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(Reuters) -Cambodia's newly elected parliament endorsed four-star military general Hun Manet as prime minister on Tuesday, completing a historic transfer of power in a fast-changing country led by his father Hun Sen for nearly four decades.

The Western-educated Hun Manet, 45, had the overwhelming backing of a National Assembly dominated by his Cambodian People's Party (CPP), following an election in July that was dismissed abroad as a sham that lacked any viable opposition.

Hun Manet told lawmakers that election was free and fair and promised he would implement the CPP's policies and ensure peace, economic growth, better infrastructure, and wage increases for civil servants and garment workers.

He lauded his father and the older generation of politicians for steering Cambodia from years of devastating civil war to an era of peace, growth and better living for its people.

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"The bright wisdom, diverse experiences, pragmatism, and the levels of adeptness, intelligence and savviness that (Hun Sen) and excellencies leaders have displayed ... is a mastery of the art of leadership, one that we as the future generation can only aspire to," Hun Manet said in a speech.

Hun Sen, 71, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla and self-styled strongman has pledged to remain in politics in other roles for at least a decade, in what experts see as a move to fend off potential challenges to his son.

One of the world's longest-serving leaders, Hun Sen has expressed desire to become president of the upper house Senate next year.

Until Tuesday's address to parliament, little was known about Hun Manet's vision for Cambodia, a country of 16 million people, few of whom have lived under a leader other than his father.

A graduate of the West Point military academy in the United States, Hun Manet rose fast through the ranks of Cambodia's armed forces and has served as head of counter-terrorism, deputy chief of his father's bodyguard unit, army chief and deputy military commander.

He is also highly educated, with a masters degree from New York University and a doctorate from Britain's Bristol University, both in economics, in stark contrast to his father, who had no formal education.

Hun Manet's first months in office will be watched by major powers for signs of whether he favours a more liberal approach and improving Cambodia's strained ties with the West, or plans to keep the authoritarian status quo of his father and remain in China's sphere of influence.

(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Stephen Coates and Michael Perry)
Former President Trumps expected absence at Wednesdays Republican primary debate in Milwaukee presents an opportunity to the candidates on stage as they look to boost their standing in the polls.

Even with Trump not participating, the debate will likely draw the largest national audience contenders have seen so far this cycle. Additionally, the debate is the first time most of the contenders will publicly interact with each other on stage.

Here are the five candidates who stand to benefit the most from Wednesdays debate.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamys national name ID has steadily risen since he jumped into the Republican primary in February. Once considered a lower-tier candidate, the entrepreneur has drawn more attention from donors in recent weeks. The latest Real Clear Politics polling average shows Ramaswamy in third place, trailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by roughly 8 points.

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And his opponents and their allies have taken note. Last week, the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down called on DeSantis in a leaked memo to attack Ramaswamy by dubbing him Fake Vivek or Vivek the Fake. And Monday, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley s campaign criticized his recent comments calling to reduce U.S. aid to Israel in the future.

Ramaswamy could face the biggest national audience in his career so far Wednesday amid signs that hes gaining traction in the primary. And if the telegraphing from Haley and DeSantiss allies is any indication, he will be one of the prime targets for attacks on stage; depending on how Ramaswamy handles the incoming fire, this could elevate his stock further going into the second debate.

Chris Christie

The former New Jersey governor and 2016 presidential candidate will likely feel right at home on Wednesdays debate stage. Christie is a formidable debater and famously showed off this skill in 2016 when he ripped into Sen. Marco Rubio on a New Hampshire stage, in what was seen as a massive blow to the Florida Republicans campaign. Trumps campaign took note of Christies talent on the debate stage, recruiting him to act as a stand-in for Trumps opponents at the time.

Christie has made no secret of the fact that he is running to take down Trump and often invokes his experience working for the former president and helping him with debate prep on the campaign trail. And before Trump shook up the political ecosystem in 2015, Christie was seen as one of the more bombastic rising GOP stars. Christies confrontational style coupled with his knowledge of working with the fields runaway frontrunner make him a candidate to watch Wednesday night.

I think Chris Christie is going to be the guy to watch. Hes the most skilled debater. Hes coming after Trump, DeSantis and Ramaswamy, and its going to be entertaining, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Sunday on CNN.

And like Ramaswamy, Christie was mentioned multiple times in the leaked memo from Never Back Down. The group called on DeSantis to use Christies likely attacks on Trump as an opportunity to defend the former president, a dynamic could lead to flare-ups between the two governors.

Ron DeSantis

The stakes are perhaps the highest for DeSantis going into the first debate. Late last year, the Florida governor was seen as the young, rising Republican star who could take on Trump in an intraparty contest. But since jumping into the GOP primary in May, DeSantis has remained stagnant in second place, while Trumps lead has only grown.

DeSantis arguably would be the No. 1 target on the debate stage with or without Trump present. The former president has launched a barrage of nonstop attacks against DeSantis, whom he and his team have dubbed DeSanctus. Without Trump on stage, DeSantis will still be a prime target for other candidates eyeing his second-place status. The leaked memo from Never Back Down highlighted other candidates for the governor to look out for, including Ramaswamy, Christie, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

But theres also the possibility that DeSantiss opponents could end up elevating the Florida governor by focusing their fire on him for the majority of the night. And depending on how DeSantis handles the attacks, his campaign could get a much-needed boost.

Tim Scott

While Scott has not seen the same kind of surge in the polls that Ramaswamy has seen, many high-dollar donors have expressed interest in his campaign. The senator has long been known as one of the most well-liked figures in the GOP and has run a largely positive campaign. Scott could use his happy-warrior persona to stand up on the debate stage if the other candidates take a negative tone and attack each other.

Scott will also be the only Black candidate on stage, highlighting a demographic that the GOP has long struggled to gain traction with. The senator could use this opportunity to highlight his perspective on race and cultural issues that have divided the country. This was notably on display late last month when Scott traded barbs with DeSantis over Floridas new standards on teaching Black history, which included language that students be taught enslaved people developed skills that benefited them under the system of American slavery.

If the subject is brought up on the debate stage, it would mark the first time Scott and DeSantis debated the issue face-to-face.

Nikki Haley

Haley is arguably one of the most qualified candidates on the debate stage, having served in South Carolinas state Legislature, as governor, and then in the Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Like many of the other candidates in the field, she has long been seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. And yet, though she had a successful campaign launch earlier this year, Haley has struggled to gain traction in the polls.

Wednesdays debate presents a major opportunity for Haley to get out in front of a large, national audience and tout her experience on domestic and international issues. However, Haley will also have the opportunity to stand out as the only woman and woman of color on the stage. Her perspective as a woman could play well not only with Republican women but also women and voters of color outside of the Republican ecosystem.

Do I happen to be a woman? Yes. Do I happen to be Indian? Yes. Do I happen to be a military spouse? Yes. Do I happen to be a mom? Yes. All those things are great, Haley told Politico last week. I think that when I become the first female president, it wont be because Im a woman. Itll be because Im the right person for the job.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Being owed money can be downright annoying, especially when the person who owes the debt is ignoring you.

Or worse yet, refuses to pay you back.

Take a deep breath  you have legal recourse. And you don't need a lawyer.

You can sue in Small Claims Court  America's legal intervention center for those looking to recover money without having to hire an attorney, whose costs can be exorbitant for those down on their luck: The average rate for Michigan lawyers in 2022 was $269 an hour, according to Law Pay and Statista.

But in Small Claims Court, you act as your own lawyer and can sue debtors of all sorts.

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Landlords. A boss who owes you a check. A car insurance company that didn't cover damages. Even a family that stiffed you on babysitting.

More than 32,000 Michiganders sought legal relief in Small Claims Court in 2021 over financial disputes. According to multiple lawyers, Michigan Legal Help and the State Court Administrative Office, here's what you need to know if you want to pursue a small claims case:

Money owed must be $6,500 or less

To file a Small Claims case in Michigan, the amount you are suing for which you are suing must be $6,500 or less. If it's more, you can still file a small claims case, but you cannot collect more than $6,500 if a judge rules in your favor.

The fee for filing a case in Small Claims Court is as follows:

$30 for claims up to $600

$50 for claims from $600-1,750

$70 for claims $1,750-6,500

The plaintiff is responsible for the filing fee, though if the judge rules in your favor, the fee may be added to the judgment against the defendant. You also have to pay to have the person served, which ranges from $15-$26  possibly more if you have to cover mileage.

'There are no lawyers ... don't be intimidated'

The Free Press interviewed multiple top-shelf lawyers who have been litigating cases for decades, and know firsthand how intimidating the courts can be. Though they encourage the public to use the small claims process, stressing it's less daunting and more user-friendly than the "regular" court system.

"Of course people are very intimidated. It's court. It's a real court with real paperwork. But the good thing is everyone is in the same court. There are no lawyers," said veteran employment and civil rights attorney Deb Gordon, who has encouraged numerous plaintiffs over the years to use Small Claims Court.

"Often they dont even know it exists," Gordon said. "I tell people, 'Go online, read about it. This is designed for you to be able to handle this, so dont feel intimidated."

'You've gotta have a compelling story'

Before filing a claim, Gordon advises people to consider if the person or entity they are suing has the ability to pay, and, if it's worth their time and the filing fee. If the answers are yes, she said, then get your evidence ready  be it a witness, documents or a letter to support your claim.

And don't go in with a weak story, warned Gordon, who in three decades of trying cases has won numerous multimillion verdicts against companies.

"You've gotta have a compelling story. It's gotta be, 'I was really wronged, and here's why I deserve a judgment, your honor,'" Gordon said. "If you think you weren't treated properly that's not going to get you anywhere."

Attorney Wade Fink, a criminal defense lawyer who has also successfully sued large corporations and banks in civil matters, also endorses the small claims avenue, noting the costs of normal litigation could very quickly put you in over your head compared with what you're actually owed.

But before heading to court, Wade advises, you should first try and work it out.

"The first thing you should do, if possible, is try to resolve it amicably between the parties," Fink said. "Were all human and sometimes if everyone just takes a breath and talks through an issue, it can get resolved."

But if that's not possible, Wade says, get your small claims forms ready.

Here's how to file

To start a case, you must first fill out an affidavit and claim, available here. You can also get the forms by going to your district court and telling the clerk you want to file a small claims case. When you fill out the form, leave the signature line blank. You must sign in front of a notary or court clerk. You can file your case with the district court clerk  either where the dispute took place or where the defendant lives or works. For example, if you're a landscaper in Warren, and you did yard work for someone in Birmingham and they didn't pay you, you can sue them in the district court in Birmingham. When you file with the clerk, you pay the filing fee. The clerk will give you a case number, assign a judge or magistrate and give you a hearing date notice. The hearing is when you appear before the judge and state your case. Notify the defendant. After you file your claim, the court will send a copy  or serve  the defendant. You pay for this service. You can tell the clerk when you file that you want the defendant served either by certified mail, which costs as little as $15, or by personal service, which is up to $26, plus mileage.

Prepare for the hearing. Gather your evidence.

Before your hearing date, make a list of evidence you plan to present. This can include:

A sales receipt.

A product guarantee.

A lease, contract or accident report.

A letter or affidavit from a witness. If the witness is willing to appear in court, bring them with you.

If a damaged article is too big to bring with you, you can present photos as evidence.

On the day of your hearing, arrive 10-15 minutes early and dress professionally.

Expert tips: Don't smirk. Be prepared.

Before heading into the courtroom, make sure to have your documents are organized and identified properly, advises seasoned attorney Shareef Akeel, who specializes in employment law, civil rights and personal injury, and has won numerous million-dollar verdicts and settlements over the years.

According to Akeel, small claims plaintiffs should present their cases in chronological order  it's simpler to understand that way  and having a timeline of the events is highly encouraged.

Akeel also offers the following courtroom etiquette tips:

Don't interrupt when the other person is talking, as much as you may disagree with what they are saying. In court, each person has their time to speak. Wait your turn.

Always be respectful to the judge and address them as "your honor."

Avoid suggestive, nonverbal cues, like nodding or smirking when the other person is talking.

"Showing respect for the other person will give you credibility as a person," Akeel said.

What you can  and cannot  sue for in Small Claims court

The only thing you recover in a small claims case is money. Examples of small claims cases include:

A dispute between a landlord and tenant about the return of a security deposit.

A contract dispute, such as a business not paying a publication for advertisements.

A car accident where the insurance company didnt cover the damages.

A bad check.

A recreational trespass, such as someone trespasses on your property to hunt or fish. You can collect damages for that, or if a snowmobiler trespasses on your property and damages your shrubs or plants.

Here are some examples of what you cannot sue for in Small Claims Court: Fraud, libel, assault and battery.

Here's what happens at your hearing

A district court judge or magistrate will hear your case. If a judge hears it and issues a decision, it's final. If a magistrate rules against you, you have seven days to appeal.

If you settle before going to court, put the agreement in writing, sign it and ask the judge to enter it as the judgment. Or, you can request that the case be dismissed. About two-thirds of all small claims cases filed in Michigan last year  or 20,500 cases  either settled out of court or were dismissed. A verdict was issued in 3,300 cases  or 10%  though the data does not show if it was for or against the plaintiff.

If you dismiss the case and the defendant doesnt honor the agreement, you have to start a new case. But if you ask the judge to enter what's known as a consent judgment, the court can order the defendant's wages garnisheed to get your money back.

There's also the option of removing the case and heading to district court. Both parties can request this, and both can have lawyers. But, attorneys note, it also means waiting much longer for an outcome because the rules for evidence and discovery are more complex and time-consuming there.

What happens if the defendant fails to show up?

One of three things could happen at your hearing if both you and the defendant show up.

The judge or magistrate might recommend mediation. Both sides agree and try to solve the problem.

Or, they disagree and the hearing starts. Plaintiff goes first.

Or, either party asks to move the case to district court.

If the plaintiff does not appear, the judge or magistrate may dismiss the case.

If the defendant fails to show up, the judge or magistrate may issue a default judgment, depending on what the plaintiff presents.

What if I win? What if I lose?

The judge or magistrate may issue a decision at the end of the hearing or may wait to decide. When a decision is made, the court gives each party a copy.

If you lose the case and the defendant had a counterclaim, you may have to pay the defendant.

If you win your case, here's how you can collect your money:

You can ask the judge to order a payment plan if your debtor cant pay it in full, and you must both agree to the payment plan.

If your debtor doesnt pay you as ordered by the judge  or falls behind on payments  the court can have their wages garnisheed or order the seizure of their property to satisfy a debt.

Small claims judgments expire after six years, so there's time to take action.

While the process doesn't guarantee a quick easy fix, legal experts note, the small claims avenue spares folks a hefty legal tab  which also comes with long delays  and gives them their day in court.

Jim Schaafsma, a housing attorney with the Michigan Poverty Law Program, views the small claims process as an important service, noting "a lot of people are very wary of the courts."

"I think that courts are becoming more sensitive to the needs of unrepresented litigants," said Schaafsma.

"I think theres a lot that people can do," he added. "But it doesnt mean that its easy to do."

For more information on how to file a claim in Small Claims Court, visit Michigan Legal Help at michiganlegalhelp.org, or the Michigan Supreme Court website at courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/.

Tresa Baldas is an award-winning courts and legal issues reporter and was awarded the 2023 Wade H. McCree Award for the Advancement of Justice by the Michigan Press Association. Contact her at tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How to file your own lawsuit in Small Claims Court, no lawyer needed
A Cape Coral man once facing homicide charges in New Jersey was sentenced in Lee County and will spend nearly two years in prison.

Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle on Monday sentenced Zachary Latham, 21, to 20 months in prison. He was adjudicated guilty on two aggravated assault counts after he pleaded no contest.

Latham, who had once been charged the fatal stabbing of a neighbor in New Jersey, an off-duty South Woods State Prison corrections officer, was exonerated on all counts related to that case April 13.

In the Lee County incident, which happened about 11 p.m. Jan. 23, 2021, a motorist waved down a trooper in Fort Myers, saying he was a victim of an assault. The motorist claimed another driver confronted him and brandished a firearm on Meridian Center Parkway, near Southwest Florida International Airport.

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Troopers found the vehicle, a Nissan Infinity driven by Latham, and stopped the car on Alico Road, beneath the Interstate 75 overpass.

Troopers found a black, airsoft BB gun resembling a real firearm  similar to an AK-47 in appearance  and placed Latham under arrest for felony aggravated assault. Latham was also charged with a second count of aggravated assault for attempting to intentionally ram the victims vehicle.

While troopers said Latham's driver's license listed a Cape Coral address, the Sheriff's Office arrest information listed him as living in Naples.

In New Jersey

In the 2020 incident, police responded the night of May 4 to a reported altercation and stabbing in a Vineland, New Jersey, neighborhood.

It was reported by witnesses that a confrontation had occurred moments earlier between Latham and his wife and Durham Sr. and his wife, Catherine T. Durham, a released statement from the prosecutor said at the time.

According to the prosecutor, the investigation revealed that Durham and his two sons, a 17-year-old, and William T. Durham Jr., 21, then responded to Lathams residence where Zachary Latham had armed himself with a knife and stun gun, the Cumberland County prosecutor stated.

The second altercation, unfolding in Lathams driveway, proceeded into his garage, the prosecutor stated.

Latham stabbed the elder Durham, "multiple times with a 4-inch fixed blade knife during a physical confrontation," and also attempted to stab Durham Jr., according to court documents.

Durham died that night.

Latham was taken to Atlantic City Medical Center for injuries he sustained and released. At Cumberland County Jail, he was also charged with second-degree aggravated assault and multiple weapons offenses.

Latham sustained a concussion and abrasions to his face, as well as neck and leg injuries, according to a complaint.

His out-of-state case centered on whether he legally defended himself against an attacker.

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: Cape Coral man sentenced in SWFL, exonerated in New Jersey homicide
Dozens of students had to be evacuated from a residence hall at Catawba College in Salisbury, school officials said Tuesday.

Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew over the college campus and spotted first responders alongside students around noon.

CHECK IT OUT: Catawba College announces 2023 athletic hall of fame class

A spokesperson with the school told Channel 9 that students reported they were experiencing health concerns Tuesday morning, and carbon monoxide was suspected.

Inspectors went into the Barger Zartman Hall boiler room and found a CO leak, according to the school. The cause of the leak hasnt been released.

The building was evacuated, and the students were being evaluated for medical issues.

(WATCH: Water leak leaves familys townhome unsafe)
The head of an Eastern Kentucky business who was accused of defrauding lenders and investors out of more than $2 million has been sentenced to 14 years and six months in prison.

Douglas William Vance, 54, was sentenced in federal court in Lexington on Monday.

A woman convicted with Vance, Molly McKinnon, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, according to a news release.

Vance, of Richlands, Va., was founder and chief executive office of a company called Nex-Gen that had a facility at the Coalfields Regional Industrial Park near Hazard, in Perry County. McKinnon was chief financial officer at the company, according to court records.

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The companys purported products included biochar, a charcoal-like substance that supporters say has uses that include improving soil quality.

Federal authorities charged that between August 2016 and December 2018, Vance and McKinnon used false paperwork, including bank statements, financial reports and purchase orders, to get money from investors and lenders.

The fake paperwork concealed that Vance and McKinnon misappropriated money, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV and Brian Jones, acting special agent in charge of the FBI in Kentucky.

A jury in federal court in Lexington convicted Vance and McKinnon on charges that included conspiracy and wire fraud.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Chapman said in a sentencing memorandum that the loss to a dozen individuals or companies totaled at least $2.3 million.

Several people testified they relied on Vances purported business expertise, Chapman wrote.

When the victims gave (Vance) money based on his representations, they made themselves vulnerable to his lies and fraud, and they ceded to him control over that portion of their financial affairs, Chapman wrote.

Vances attorney, Jeffrey Darling, said in a sentencing memo that McKinnon wrote a letter indicating she was the one who fabricated bank statements and sent them to people using Vances email account.

The letter as much as absolves Doug Vance of any guilt in much of the fraud that occurred in this case, Darling wrote.

However, the prosecutor pointed out examples in which Vance took part in creating or sending fake documents.

Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves sentenced Vance and McKinnon.
A man was seriously injured overnight when he was struck by a red sedan that fled the scene in the Stony Island Park neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago police said.

Shortly before 1:45 a.m., the victim, described as in his 50s, was attempting to cross the street in the 8600 block of South Stony Island Avenue. A sedan hit the man and kept going northbound on Stony Island, police said.

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The man was taken to UChicago Medicine with trauma to the body.

No one was in custody and detectives were investigating.
On August 19, the Russian Federation launched a ballistic missile attack on the center of Chernihiv

Chernihiv Oblast authorities have prohibited large public events in the run-up to Ukrainian Independence Day on Aug. 23-25, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus said in a post on his Telegram channel on Aug. 22.

The decision was made at a regional defense council meeting. Local councils were also advised to restrict public gatherings from Aug. 26 until Sept. 1.

Read also: Lviv hurts after Russian missile attack  15 injured, kindergarten destroyed, 100+ buildings damaged

The governor said that the Ukrainian military command had reported an increased risk of Russian missile strikes during this period.

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Russian forces struck a drama theater in Chernihiv city with an Iskander missile on Aug. 19, killing seven people, including a 6-year-old girl, and injuring 180 more. Ten administrative buildings and 66 residential buildings were damaged.

Prosecutor Generals Office official Yuriy Bielousov stated the missile strike had been aimed at the theater.

Read also: Russia might have targeted drone exhibition in Chernihiv, security service looking for insider

A closed drone-maker convention had been taking place inside at the time, with organizers keeping the location secret until the final few hours before it started.

All circumstances of the organization of the expo conference are being investigated, including the possibility of a strike coordinated by Russian agents inside Ukraine.

The regional defense council said the imposed restrictions are intended to protect civilians, following such targeted attacks.

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 Republican National Committee announced late Monday night that eight candidates qualified for a spot on the debate stage this week. But those left off the list have a bone to pick with the committee.

Businessperson Perry Johnson plans to take legal action. So does conservative radio host Larry Elder. And former Rep. Will Hurd says he thinks the RNC cherry-picks polls to count toward making the debate stage.

I'm tied with [Ambassador] Nikki [Haley]  and Vice President [Mike] Pence in New Hampshire. Im close to hitting the 50,000 threshold, but they cherry-pick because they don't want me on the stage, Hurd said during an interview at Chicagos OHare airport. The former Texas congressman had been in town to prepare for the Milwaukee debate but was leaving after learning the RNC axed him from the lineup.

This is not just about silencing me  it's silencing all the people that want to see someone like me up on stage, Hurd added.

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To qualify for the first GOP debate on Wednesday, candidates needed donations from at least 40,000 national contributors and to rank above 1 percent in three national polls or two national polls and a state poll.

Those who didnt make the debate  Johnson, Elder, Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez  appeared to lack the polling numbers the RNC deemed eligible to qualify.



Johnson seemed to have snagged an invitation to the debate on Friday but was excluded because one of the polls he tried to claim, a survey from the firm Victory Insights, did not meet the RNCs criteria because it surveyed Republican primary voters in only 38 states, according to a person with knowledge of the decision who wasnt authorized to speak publicly about it. Johnsons campaign, in a statement Tuesday morning, said the RNC did not inform them until Monday afternoon that the Victory Insights poll wouldnt count, calling the committees decision completely misguided.

And Ben Galbraith, a pollster at Victory Insights, said in a brief interview with POLITICO on Tuesday that its poll was a national survey, and that the reference to 38 states represented where respondents actually completed interviews. Its not unusual for a national poll of Republican primary voters to have few or no respondents from small, Democratic-leaning states like Vermont or Hawaii, though they are included in the sample, he said.

Johnson called the process to meet the criteria for the debate corrupted and said he plans to take legal action.

Hurd told POLITICO the RNC put in place the debate requirements because the committee wants to see a smaller field.

This is why so many Americans are frustrated. ... And this is another example of why the GOP hasn't won a national election in 20 freaking years, right? the normally mild-mannered Hurd told POLITICO. We should be the party of diverse ideas.

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel pushed back against the criticism.

Our rules were very clear. We put them out very early, and we abided by the rules, McDaniel told POLITICO in an interview. There's no favor, there's no bias. We really just stuck to our rules.

McDaniel said she called all the candidates who fell short of the stage Monday night  save for little-known Republican Ryan Brinkley  to let them know there would not be a podium for them at Fiserv Forum Wednesday night.

I have nothing against all four of these candidates. They are far better than Joe Biden. I wish them the best. Their campaigns can continue. They still have time to qualify for California. But the rules are the rules, McDaniel said.

Elder said he also plans to take legal action to halt the debate. Though Elder claims he earned a spot on stage, POLITICOs analysis of donors and polling did not find he met the requirements.

Suarez also claimed he met the polling requirements, in a tweet thats now deleted, but the RNC did not certify the polls he submitted. Suarez addressed the RNC's decision Tuesday afternoon.

"I am sorry that this debate will not include my perspectives from the largest growing voting block in our country  young, conservative Hispanics," Suarez wrote on social media.

At the Iowa State Fair earlier this month, Suarez told reporters that if a candidate doesnt make the debate stage, then its time to drop out. However, it wasn't clear Tuesday whether he would do so immediately. A spokesperson for Suarez did not respond to repeated inquires about the future of his campaign.

"I respect the rules and process set forth by the RNC, and I look forward to working with my party to ensure we win back the White House and restore the path to a brighter future for our country," Suarez said in the post.

Now we wait.

Zach Montellaro contributed to this report.
Chicago officials are preparing for the dangerous heat expected Wednesday and Thursday, reminding residents of the cooling centers around the city and assuring families of Chicago Public School students that all CPS classrooms are equipped with air conditioning.

National Weather Service officials are warning of hot conditions that will settle over Chicagoland for the next two days with a heat index, which measures what the temperature feels like, that could reach 115 degrees.

The excessive heat warning has been issued from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Wednesday for much of northern Illinois, including Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, McHenry, Iroquois, Kane, Kendall, Kankakee, Lake and Will counties. An excessive heat watch is in effect in the same areas from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening, officials said.

Nearly our entire region will experience at or near historic high temperatures this week, but high heat index values will make for an extremely dangerous situation for many residents, said Tom Sivak, FEMA Region 5 regional administrator in a statement. We all need to take precautions. Regularly check yourself and those you care about  especially children, older adults and pets  for the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses and be ready to respond to them.

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With a high of 96 expected in Chicago on Wednesday, CPS issued a statement that a heat action plan is in place to ensure students are safe, healthy and comfortable this week.

The district postponed all outdoor athletic events and, during the heat wave, the district will either be canceling practices or moving them indoors, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez wrote in an email to district families Tuesday.

CPS is working hand-in-hand with all of our city partners including the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) and our labor partners to keep students and staff healthy, safe, and comfortable, Martinez wrote, suggesting students bring full water bottles to school.

Students will have the opportunity to refill water bottles throughout the day, the statement said. Other measures planned for Wednesday and Thursday include opening windows and doors to keep air circulating; ensuring staff members and students are sufficiently hydrated; and closing shades, turning off overhead lights and limiting recess.

In his email to parents, Martinez wrote all CPS classrooms are equipped with air conditioning, and the CPS facilities team will be working with schools to fix any air conditioning systems that may encounter issues this week.

But Marcie Pedraza, chair of the George Washington Elementary School Local School Council is among parents concerned about adequate cooling at her daughters school, where the district has provided portable units in classrooms without operable ACs.

They always want 100% attendance, the first day, the first week, Pedraza said, of CPS. But some parents will be like, If its too hot, Im not sending my kid to school. 

Meanwhile, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications sent out a statement reminding residents and visitors that they could find relief from the heat at one of the citys 27 cooling centers or at Chicago Public Library locations and Chicago Park District field houses. Splash pads are also located throughout the city, the statement said.

When the temperatures climb to extreme levels, Chicagoans should monitor themselves and others for the telltale signs of heat-related illness, the statement said. Extreme sweating, intense thirst, nausea, fatigue or weakness, and dizziness or confusion can all be indicators of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Its also important to check on relatives, neighbors, seniors, and our vulnerable population.

Weather officials warned that the extreme heat combined with humidity increases the chance for heat-related illness, and officials recommend monitoring the latest forecast and warnings, drinking plenty of fluids and staying in air-conditioned rooms.

Young children and pets should not be left unattended in vehicles as temperatures in vehicles could reach lethal levels within minutes, officials said, and encouraged checking on elderly relatives and neighbors during the expected heat wave.

The Salvation Army announced it is opening its Community Centers as cooling centers this week across Chicago. To find your local Salvation Army Community Center, go to SalArmyChicago.org, and type your ZIP code, the statement said.

The Office of Emergency Management and Communications list Chicago cooling centers at six community service centers:

Englewood Center  1140 W. 79th St.

Garfield Center  10 S. Kedzie Ave. (24 Hours)

King Center  4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

North Area Center  845 W. Wilson Ave.

South Chicago Center  8650 S. Commercial Ave.

Trina Davila Center  4312 W. North Ave.

Additional locations will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the following locations:

Southeast  1767 E. 79th St.

Southwest  6117 S. Kedzie Ave.

Central West  2102 W. Ogden Ave.

Northeast  2019 W. Lawrence Ave.

Northwest  3160 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Renaissance Court  78 E. Washington St. (10 a.m.  5 p.m.)

Satellite Senior Centers

Pilsen  2121 S. Morgan St.

West Town  1615 W. Chicago Ave.

North Center  4040 N. Oakley Ave.

Norwood Park  5801 N. Natoma Ave.

Portage Park  4100 N. Long Ave.

Abbott Park  49 E. 95th St.

Chatham Park  8300 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

Roseland  10426 S. Michigan Ave.

Garfield Ridge  5674-B S. Archer Ave.

Kelvyn Park  2715 N. Cicero Ave.

Auburn Gresham  1040 W. 79th St.

Englewood  653-657 W. 63rd St.

Austin  5071 W. Congress Parkway

Edgewater  5917 N. Broadway Ave.

South Chicago  9233 S. Burley Ave.
A Chicago woman has been arrested by the Secret Service for allegedly threatening to kill Donald Trump and his teenage son Barron Trump, according to reports.

Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, was arrested on Monday after she emailed the alleged threats to a Florida school on 21 May. She was interviewed by federal agents on 14 June.

I will shoot Donald Trump Sr AND Barron Trump straight in the face at any opportunity that I get, Ms Fiorenza allegedly wrote in the email to the headmaster of a Palm Beach school, according to the affidavit submitted by a US Secret Service agent, reported by CBS News.

The woman has several Facebook posts that feature anti-Trump views and baseless conspiracy theories.

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She appeared in a Chicago court on Monday and will likely be sent to Florida where charges against her will be filed.

A hearing for her detention is scheduled for Wednesday.

Court documents said that while being questioned by federal agents, she admitted to writing and sending threatening messages from her home in Illinois.

Barron is Mr Trumps fifth child and Melania Trump s first. The 17-year-old was born on 20 March 2006.

Ms Fiorenzas arrest comes days after a Texas woman was arrested for sending a threatening voice note to federal judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over Mr Trumps indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington DC.

Abigail Jo Shry, 43, of Alvin, Texas, left a threatening voicemail message after calling judge Chutkans chambers on 5 August, according to court documents filed with the South District of Texas Court.

In recent years, political unrest and menacing incidents have surged within the US. A Reuters study published earlier this month indicated that this kind of violence had reached its most severe levels since the 1970s.
A windfall of Covid-19 relief money helped states boost the child care sector. Now state and federal officials are scrambling to support working parents as the cash peters out.

Missouri officials are betting on new government-supported partnerships between businesses and child care providers to launch more care facilities, while leaders in Connecticut are leaning on universities to help increase early learning centers.

With much of the federal funding for child care drying up in the fall, lawmakers are racing to build local, sustainable revenue streams. And congressional Democrats are betting on supplemental appropriations as a last ditch effort.

This is a crying need for kids, for parents, for child care providers, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in an interview. But it's also really connected to our economic productivity right now with the labor market being so tight.

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States have until Sept. 30 before roughly $4.1 billion in remaining child care stabilization funds Congress allocated through the American Rescue Plan expire and a year to spend another dwindling $12 billion in supplemental Child Care Development Fund dollars.

Kaine and dozens of other lawmakers in both chambers recently urged President Joe Biden to support $16 billion in emergency funding for child care. But in a supplemental funding request this month pressing Congress to continue funding child care programs, the White House fell short of making an official appeal for it  deflating the Democrats' latest push.

That shift from federally backed child care to state-led support highlights one of the lingering uncertainties from the end of a massive infusion of federal cash during the Covid emergency. Its also unclear what happens in a Congress deeply divided over spending.



The president is probably getting a lot of requests from members about things to put in the supplemental but I think this one kind of elbows its way above the pack because it speaks directly to the need that is maybe most acute in the economy right now, Kaine said, noting that lawmakers underemphasize the role that child care plays in the economy.

And state officials see reliable access to child care as a critical piece of their economic competitiveness and maintaining a strong workforce  letting the pandemic-era programs die off is not an option for them.

We have a 100,000 worker shortage, and it doesn't take the governor long to realize that child care is part of the strategy, Beth Bye, Connecticuts Office of Early Childhood commissioner, said in an interview.

About 70,000 child care programs are projected to close as stabilization money expires, according to the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank that launched a six-figure ad campaign in July ahead of the funding cliff.

The price that [child care] costs is not something that most families can afford and it's not about reducing costs to provide that care. It's about increasing investments in the child care sector, Womens Bureau Director for the Labor Department Wendy Chun-Hoon told POLITICO.

Missouri established grants aimed at expanding or creating new child care facilities using a one-time $60 million injection from federal American Rescue Plan dollars following Republican Gov. Mike Parsons 2023 budget request.

But the money is contingent on grantees having a business or community partner, like hospitals or colleges, match the money from the state. That partnership is how state officials see these child care facilities staying open once the grants end.

With any small business you need partners, and you need to have that business plan and you need to make sure that you have services available with that supply and demand, Assistant Commissioner of Missouris Office of Childhood Pam Thomas said. Having those community partners help with that cost  with that supply and demand so to speak  is going to set up our child care program for success.

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont approved a historic income tax cut this legislative session while also allocating $67.5 million to the states child care budget through fiscal 2025.

Connecticut has also put American Rescue Plan dollars toward an initiative that serves about 350 children across nine colleges and universities and was designed to give future educators hands-on experience. The state is working with the federal government on other funding streams they can use to continue this program.

The state has also used additional Covid relief money to expand its child care assistance program, Care 4 Kids, to include kids whose parents are attending school or workforce training.

Insufficient infant-toddler child care is costing $122 billion in lost earnings, according to the Council for a Strong Americas group Ready Nation, a nonprofit organization advocating for child care to build the workforce.

Wisconsins program Partner Up!, which provides businesses grant money to purchase child care slots for their employees, is a $10 million blend of Covid-19 aid from the American Rescue Plan, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act and money from the federal Preschool Development Grant.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, has also made her own calls for the federal government to bolster the workforce and child care sector.

Wisconsin has done well at using federal investments to connect businesses with child care needed for their workers, she said in a Senate HELP Committee hearing on child care in May. I am concerned about the ability of families and businesses in Wisconsin to continue to utilize these types of partnerships when the available funding runs out.

Several states have preemptively sought ways to boost the number of child centers without federal help.

GOP-led Kentucky and North Dakota launched programs in 2023 that divvy up the cost of child care between the state, employers and their employees. Both states allotted one-time funds to pilot these cost-sharing programs  $15 million in Kentucky and over $5 million in North Dakota.

These public-private partnerships follow Michigans lead which, with the backing of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, launched a cost-sharing program in 2021 that splits the cost of care equally between the employer, employee and the state. Michigan has allotted $7.6 million in the past two years for its program. Republican state Rep. Greg VanWoerkom, who pushed for the program, said that access to child care is an economic issue that businesses, government or families cant shoulder on their own.



Im going to look at this as a workforce issue  a lot of highly qualified individuals that are sitting on the sidelines because they cant afford to work, VanWoerkom said in an interview, noting that child care has often been seen as a health care or education issue.

In some blue states, lawmakers look at child care and early learning as a two-generation investment thats needed to counter languishing enrollment in higher education. Undergraduate enrollment nationwide fell by 15 percent between 2010 and 2021. For two-year institutions enrollment dropped by nearly 39 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

New York put roughly $20 million in 2022 toward child care access on State University of New York and City University of New York campuses, with some money going directly towards expanding services on campuses that dont have child care centers.

Some Capitol Hill lawmakers believe access to child care can be expanded without spending large amounts of federal dollars.

For Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) her experience trying to find access to care is why she wants to do something about it in Congress  but it doesnt need to necessarily cost the federal government a whole lot of money, she said.

Hinson, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, suggested in an interview that lawmakers could expand the uses of existing funding streams like the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

We might not even need to grow government. We may need to think about doing things differently, Hinson said.
In classic Leninist fashion Xi Jinping has put party politics first and the economy and the people second - FLORENCE LO/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The West is waking up, as usual late in the day, to the fact that the post-Covid economic rebound that Beijing has stridently heralded since the start of 2023 is simply not going to happen.

Headwinds that have been worsening gradually for at least a decade are now turning into a perfect storm that even the most ardent Peoples Republic of China apologist can no longer ignore.

What should have been the mainstays of a vibrant market-linked Chinese economy have snapped; the eyes of the world, which stands to suffer as a result, are fixed on what could be a mighty shipwreck in the offing.

What has gone wrong, and what are the likely results for China and its globalised economic connections?

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To find the answer, we must look back to 2013, when at the end of his first year as Chinas supreme leader Xi Jinping launched a programme of fundamental economic reforms that would reduce interventionist government control over key economic drivers, limiting the state apparatus to a mainly regulatory function, and bring renewed prospects for sustainable growth.

Foreign commentators applauded loudly. They noted Xis bold assertion of personal authority, and judged that he had the vision needed to lift China out of the morass of inefficiency and nepotism overseen by his predecessors.

The most senior Chinese official I have ever talked with was more sanguine. After an excellent dinner, I was told with high authority that China was at an economic and political cliff-edge as dangerous as that confronting Deng Xiaoping when he took power.

Xis programme must succeed; and as all of its strands were interlinked, if any one failed, the rest risked crashing down together.

And that is precisely what has happened.

Yet Xi has doubled down on centralised economic authority, re-empowered the State-owned sector, interfered with the conduct of fintech and other entrepreneurs whose stellar success outshone the Chinese Communist Party, and fallen back on the discredited ploy of constructing his way out of nascent recession.

The economy was already stagnating well before Covid hit. As well as all the other more Davos-friendly objectives of Xis plan for economic globalisation, the Belt and Road initiative, core aims were to export Chinas over-reliance on concrete and steel, and to build debt traps wherever China felt the need of coercive political and military traction.

Trade tension with the US and general Western dismay at abuses in Xinjiang wore away the facade of China as the benign promoter of world-wide win-win. Since the pandemic, that part of the China Dream has gone forever.

When Xi Jinping was forced to abandon his obviously ineffective lockdown policy at the end of last year, it seems that this was spurred by recognition of the dreadful harm it was doing to the economy, combined with signs that the Chinese people simply could not bear being locked down much longer.

According to the Party, business as usual and vibrant growth would soon return. It has not.

Exports, on which the economy still greatly relies on, have been eroded by foreign alarms over dependence on Chinese sourcing chains which, disrupted by lockdown, are in domestic disarray anyway.

New, politicised regulatory lawfare harasses and deters the most loyal foreign business partners.

Erstwhile aspirational Chinese home-buyers have lost their appetite for risking their savings on millions of houses that most likely will never be built.

Youngsters who might have once hoped for decent jobs that played to their skills, including in (relatively) private areas of the fintech world, found these prospects had faded due to Xis political putsch against Chinas best-known entrepreneurs.

Many have given up all hope of marriage, children and a better future. The Chinese government looks on as youth unemployment has steadied at over 20%, with little prospect of improvement.

Xis strange Dual Cycle formulation for building growth on self-reliance at home and commanding domination in global markets for new technology, is patently now as impracticable as it looks on paper.

Domestic consumer confidence is hitting record lows. The yuan, badly undermined during Covid, continues to spiral down, as do its chances of ever becoming a world reserve currency.

The political and economic reforms needed to reverse this are simply not deliverable by the Chinese Communist Party-state.

Misled by Vladimir Putin into sharing Russia risk over Ukraine, Beijing has moved fast to secure the huge energy supplies needed to revive anything like steady growth by bailing out its proxy with suitably low-priced, strategic-scale Russian gas and oil contracts  carefully balanced elsewhere to avoid the risk of over-dependence on Russia alone.

Tensions over both Ukraine and Taiwan may further alienate China from Western liberal economies  including Europe  on which it has always relied far more for export profits than Russia and a few other authoritarian dystopias with which Beijing is now closely aligned.

In parallel, recent attempts by China to mould Brics into a new multipolar spearhead against US economic hegemony look hopeless, since Chinas dominance of the group is irredeemably asymmetric and its aims self-interested.

But the biggest problem boils down to the Chinese Communist leader himself. The motto over his elite precinct next to the Forbidden City is Maos dictum Serve the People.

Never has this been further from the truth. Xi is Leninist to the core; Party politics first, economics and the people second.

But can he truly imagine that stepping up war-mongering over Taiwan, threatening Japan and South Korea, squandering billions of redundant nuclear warheads and propping up Putins wickedness in Ukraine will assure the eternal obedience of the younger, educated generation on whom Chinas Great Rejuvenation actually depends?

They are unlikely to take solace in such futile, risk-laden distractions. Cries of desperation echoing in Shanghai speeded the end of lockdown. What other, more transformational protests may yet lie in store?

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(Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinping failed to attend a business forum in South Africa where he was expected to deliver a speech defending Chinas economy and its support for emerging markets, as fears mount that the Asian nations struggles could cause global turbulence.

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According to a public schedule, the Chinese leader was set to address the BRICS Business Forum on Tuesday, after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier that day. Instead, delegates were greeted on stage by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who read the speech without giving an explanation for Xis absence.

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The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality. The fundamentals sustaining Chinas long-term growth will remain unchanged, according to the remarks read by Wang. The giant ship of the Chinese economy will continue to cleave waves and sail ahead.

Hours later, Xi attended a dinner with the leaders of South Africa, Brazil and India, and Russias foreign minister, who are in Johannesburg for the annual BRICS summit of emerging market powers.

Xis decision to skip delivering a bullish economic message in person comes as his nation face intense global scrutiny over its struggles with falling prices, a faltering property market and soaring local government debt. President Joe Biden has labeled those economic woes a ticking time bomb for the world, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called them a risk factor for the US.

Read More: Chinas Economy Is Weakening. Heres Why That Matters: QuickTake

As China confronts those concerns, the South Africa summit will bring Xi into the orbit of leaders he hasnt seen in months, including a bilateral meeting with Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi that is expected to take place on the sidelines of the summit.

Its clear that Xi Jinping places a higher priority on political issues, security issues, than he does on business and the economy, said Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official and businessman in China who is now a senior fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. So if he is in a position where he has to prioritize and skip one meeting, it would not surprise me that he favors the political and security topics over the economic ones.

China is unlikely to clarify the reasons for Xis decision: The nation rarely answers questions on the movements of its leaders or clarifies their health status. When Qin Gang was removed from his post as foreign minister this year, no explanation was provided. That highlighted a lack of transparency from the Chinese government that has spooked investors in recent months, as data that was once publicly available becomes harder to find.

Xis speech would have been his first public remarks delivered abroad this year. Prior to South Africa, the Chinese leader had spent just two days overseas in 2023, when he visited Russia.

The trip to South Africa gives Xi an opportunity to court countries from the Global South, after a trilateral summit held by President Joe Biden with the leaders of South Korea and Japan last week left the Chinese leader looking increasingly isolated in his backyard.

During a state visit with Ramaphosa earlier Tuesday, Xi called on the two men to boost their combined influence on international affairs in the Global South. The leaders also pledged cooperation in electricity, new energy and scientific and technological innovation.

We support substantive progress in the G20 and support South Africa employing a greater role, Xi said at a joint press conference in Pretoria, adding that China will continue to encourage its companies to invest and operate in South Africa.

Beijing has been pushing to expand the five-nation group that also includes Brazil, Russia and India, with more than 20 nations reported to have applied to join, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Egypt. While South Africa and Russia back the addition of new members, India is wary of the group becoming a mouthpiece for China, and Brazil is worried about alienating the West.

State Media

If forum delegates in South Africa were left wondering where Xi was, Chinese-language state media reports Wednesday made no mention of his absence, instead saying he delivered the speech without referencing Wang  although the official Xinhua News Agencys English report noted the remarks were read on his behalf.

While Chinese politicians do sometimes read out messages from Xi at events  Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang delivered one at the China Development Forum in March, for example  normally that takes place when the Chinese leader isnt physically in attendance.

The speech, part of which was written in the first person, said China was focused on achieving high-quality development, a phrase used to signal Beijings pivot from debt-fueled growth, touted the nations super-size market as a unique advantage, and stressed that barriers to foreign investment would ease.

The text also laid out Chinas commitment to an independent foreign policy of peace and criticized hegemonic acts of other nations in a veiled swipe at the US, areas normally outside the purview of the commerce minister.

Chinas Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying also neglected to mention Xi had enlisted a messenger when she posted a picture of the forums closing ceremony on X, the site previously known as Twitter, with a caption saying the Chinese leader had delivered an address.

Xi said changes in our world, in our history and in our times are unfolding in ways like never before, she wrote, next to the picture of the stage that only showed silhouettes.

--With assistance from S'thembile Cele, Larry Liebert and Colum Murphy.

(An earlier version of this story had an incorrect reference to President Xis title)

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California Highway Patrol will hold DUI checkpoints on back-to-back Fridays in Sacramento County.

CHP officers will be stationed at an undisclosed location within the unincorporated area of eastern Sacramento County between 8 p.m. and midnight, according to a news release from the CHPs East Sacramento office, which patrols areas east of Sacramento along the Highway 50 corridor.

The CHPs goal is to ensure the safe passage of each and every motorist by targeting roads where there is a high frequency of impaired driving-related arrests or crashes, the CHP said in the release.

The DUI checkpoint has proven an effective tool for achieving this goal, officers said.

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A grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety is funding DUI checkpoints.

Next Friday, CHP will hold another DUI checkpoint in northern Sacramento County.

The checkpoint will be from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Sept. 1 at an undisclosed location by the CHPs North Sacramento office.

Both checkpoints will be staffed by CHP officers who are trained in the detection of alcohol- or drug-impaired drivers. CHP Drug Recognition Experts will test drivers suspected of drug use.

Officers will be equipped with hand-held breath testing devices to provide accurate measures of blood alcohol concentrations in suspected drunk drivers.

Drivers charged with a first-time DUI can face a license suspension and an average of $13,500 in fines, according to previous Bee reporting.

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.
The city of Massillon has approved renaming a street to honor the late U.S. Army Sgt. Cory Endlich, a 2003 graduate of Washington High School. He died June 9, 2007, in Taji, Iraq.

MASSILLON  A street on the city's west side has a new name, honoring a fallen U.S. Army sergeant and lifelong resident.

Massillon City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a resolution for the renaming of Lincoln Park Drive NW to SGT Cory M. Endlich Parkway, as a way to recognize the Army soldier who died June 9, 2007, in Taji, Iraq, from wounds he suffered in enemy fire.

A few members of the Endlich family were present at Monday's council meeting for the vote making the road's name change official.

Endlich was a 2003 graduate of Washington High School. He had been in Iraq about two months before he was killed in action. He was 23.

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'They gave their lives for us': Banners along Lincoln Way honor western Stark County military vets

The city of Massillon agreed Monday night to rename Lincoln Park Drive NW in honor of the late Army Sgt. Cory Endlich. The street's new name is SGT Cory M. Endlich Parkway.

City Councilman Michael Snee, R-Ward 6, who chairs council's Streets and Highways Committee, worked with the mayor's office, fellow Councilman Ed Lewis IV, R-at large, and members of the Endlich family on the effort.

"This is the road that went to his home (while he was growing up), and so it's fitting," said Snee, noting that SGT Cory M. Endlich Parkway runs about 1,000 feet, or two blocks, between 17th Street NW and 19th Street NW.

Kevin Endlich, Cory's brother, said the two enlisted in the Army around the same time, but were not serving together at the time of Cory's death. He said he thinks of his brother on a daily basis.

Special duty: Stark County honors Vietnam War-era veterans with tribute at WHS

"I just miss being with him and spending time with him," Kevin Endlich said.

He said he's appreciative of the work done by city officials, especially Snee, to rename the street for his brother.

Erin Endlich, Kevin's wife, mentioned that the memory of Cory lives on with her family.

"Our family talks about uncle Cory with our girls daily," she said.

Reach Steven at steven.grazier@indeonline.com. On Twitter: @sgrazierINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Massillon council votes to rename street after Army Sgt. Cory Endlich
The back and forth between Shanna Gardner and the late Jared Bridegan has been playing out in St. Johns County courts since 2015.

The 800-plus-page divorce and custody file showed the parties used the court system for the majority of their communications.

Inside, it said the parties clearly have extensive litigation history with each one filing multiple motions and petitions. Gardners attorney recommended a parenting coordinator to help resolve disputes without having to resort to litigation.

Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said this can intensify a relationship.

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RELATED: Jared Bridegan murder: Docs show hostile relationship between former Microsoft executive, ex-wife

Their only resolution comes from a judges order, Carson said. It seems to magnify the situation and make for more hostility for the warring parties.

Some other disagreements include traveling with the kids. Documents showed Gardner requested Bridegan provide minimal and reasonable information regarding his travel with the children out of state. Gardner wanted to know the location and approximate time of leaving and returning. Documents said, the father is refusing.

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Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach after taking his twins he shared with Gardner, who also goes by Gardner-Fernandez, and his then-2-year-old Bexley, his daughter with wife Kirsten Bridegan, to dinner.

The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at Gardners house when he encountered a tire in Sanctuary Boulevard, a one-way road. He was headed home to his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he shared children Bexley and London.

Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said during the announcement of the first arrest in Bridegans murder in January, that the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop which he did.

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Gardner, her estranged husband Mario Fernandez Saldana, and Henry Tenon, a tenant of Fernandez Saldana, are all facing charges in Bridegans murder.

Carson said while the custody documents will likely be used in Gardners murder trial, as well as the case against Fernandez Saldana, it is not the main argument for the state in court.

Depending on who is willing to testify for government, for the state attorneys office, to suggest that there was criminal conduct between these 3 individuals, thats the key to this case, Carson said.

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A deputy was assaulted Monday while on the way to a call in Cleveland County, the sheriffs office said.

It happened around 11:45 p.m. while the deputy was on Cleveland Avenue in Grover, near Kim Drive. He was trying to find a suspicious person who was involved in an assault on Cleveland Ave at Mallard Drive.

The Cleveland County Sheriffs Office said the original call was for someone who had been shot. On the way, he found Brandon Rashay Roseboro, who matched the assault suspects description.

ALSO READ: Deputy who was attacked known for being part of close-knit Cleveland County community

Roseboro grew aggressive with the deputy, the sheriffs office said, and hit the deputy several times. Someone passing by who was related to Roseboro helped the deputy handcuff him.

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The victim of the original assault was seriously hurt and is in critical condition but was not shot, the sheriffs office said.

In connection to the Cleveland Avenue investigation, Roseboro has been charged with:

Assault on a law enforcement officer (felony), two counts

Assault inflicting serious bodily harm (felony), one count

Assault on EMS personnel (felony), one count

Assault inflicting serious injury (felony), two counts

Assault on government official, one count

Simple possession of marijuana

Communicating threats

We appreciate the care and concern for a bystander who took immediate action in helping one of my deputies, Sheriff Alan Norman said in a statement. Public support is vitally important to my office.

(WATCH BELOW: 1 arrested, 1 more wanted after Carowinds security guard assaulted by mob)
The influence of climate change made the dangerous fire weather conditions that fueled Quebecs 2023 fire season at least twice as likely, according to new research from the World Weather Attribution group.

Smoke from the wildfires burning in Quebec traveled to New York and other U.S. cities in the Midwest and along the Eastern Seaboard in spring and early summer. By early July, smoke was so thick in the U.S. that researchers found it already qualified as the worst season on record for smoke exposure per U.S. resident.

Scientists have been evaluating factors that might have contributed to the devastating fire season in Canada. More than twice as many acres have burned so far this year than the previous highest year on record.

The new research, released Tuesday, lays some of the blame at the hands of human-caused climate change and societys continued use of fossil fuels. Climate change boosted the likelihood of dangerous fire weather, the researchers found.

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We can say with confidence  an event of this severity has been made at least twice as likely and at least 20% more intense by human-induced warming, said Clair Barnes, a research associate at the Grantham Institute  Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London.

The research evaluated fire weather conditions using an index that accounts for temperature, wind speed, humidity and precipitation. Then, researchers used climate models to determine how likely the conditions were.

Even in todays climate, which is more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer on average than in preindustrial times, the fire season was unlikely.

Eastern Canada had a 4-5% chance of experiencing a fire weather season this severe with temperatures today, Barnes said. More use of fossil fuels will increase temperatures and increase the risk of a fire season like the one this year.

The World Weather Attribution group is a consortium of climate researchers who study extreme weather events and attempt to understand how much human-caused warming has increased or changed the odds of those extremes. The group doesnt have a fixed membership, but it allows local and international climate scientists to partner and rapidly evaluate individual events with climate modeling and statistical analyses.

The groups research methods are published and peer-reviewed, but this specific rapid analysis has not yet undergone a typical academic review process. Previous rapid research reports from the group have withstood academic scrutiny after their initial release and were ultimately published in major journals.

The frequency and intensity of wildfire is determined by fire suppression practices, land use and many other factors. Climate change is only one shift that is driving increasing fire behavior.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Facing an imminent employee walkout, Americano Media, a struggling company that styles itself as a version of Fox News in Spanish, has until Friday to find an investor to keep the Miami-based enterprise afloat, but conversations with a potential buyer are still in its initial stages and the parties have yet to agree on how much the operation is worth.

When the heads of Americano Media and Voz Media met on Thursday, Voz owner Orlando Salazar presented an offer in which his company would absorb Americanos heavy debt burden while making a symbolic $1 payment to its owner, Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo.

But Garcia-Hidalgo, who founded Americano Media in March 2022 as a conservative news and commentary site, found those terms unacceptable even though his operation is on the verge of bankruptcy and he appears to be running out of time to save it. Americano staffers who have not been paid for more than two months say they will leave Friday if no agreement to save the company and pay their back salaries is reached.

The offer is for a dollar, so its not a serious offer, Garcia-Hidalgo told the Herald. However, we have met with Orlando and did have a conversation with him, and we have agreed for us to send him a proposal on what a real offer would look like.

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Garcia-Hidalgo said that the offer was so low that it would only cover one fifth of the money owed to employees.

Some of the companys staffers told the Herald they believe the hold-up to an agreement is Garcia-Hidalgos insistence on not walking away from the company empty-handed.

As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Texas-based Voz Media, which owns Miamis Mega TV, had not received Garcia-Hidalgos counteroffer.

An official with Voz Media said the company was ready to explore a new proposal that would save Americano Media from disappearing, and would compensate more than one hundred employees who have worked without pay. But the official, who asked that his name not be used, stressed that there are limits to what his company is willing to pay.

We are willing to help, but we dont have a blank check, the official said. We are not in a situation to just blatantly write whatever number [Garcia-Hidalgo] wants, or that he needs, because it is a big number.

The company official said that while Voz Media had yet to receive the counter offer, the chances of the parties reaching a deal before the Friday deadline really depends on Garcia-Hidalgo.

Garcia-Hidalgo said that his team has also been talking to other potential investors to see if they would be willing to come to the rescue.

Friday is crucial because a large number of employees had agreed to keep the radio operations going for one more week while waiting for a deal to come through. Americano Media airs its radio programs in Miami on 790 AM.

Other areas of operations, online TV and online news, have already ceased their activities, with employees agreeing to take a furlough, but radio is key because if its microphones go silent, a number of deals made to broadcast its signal nationally could unravel.

Desperate to get paid, employees were working on a petition asking Garcia-Hidalgo to make all efforts to reach a deal with Voz Media. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 40 employees had signed the petition.

Employees told the Miami Herald that this situation has left most of them with severe financial difficulties, with some unable to make rent or mortgage payments, and others going without health insurance.

Some of the staffers said they were angry because they felt used, accusing Garcia-Hidalgo of tricking them into working without pay while promising on different occasions that the company was about to get, or had already secured, the money to make payroll. Company emails shared with the Miami Herald confirmed this.

In an email sent to the Herald after the initial posting of this story, Garcia-Hidalgo said that he always told employees that he did not expect anyone to work unless they got paid and that when the emails were sent the company had secured the funding, but that the money fell through.

Orlando Avendano, digital deputy editor of the online operations, urged Garcia-Hidalgo not to waste more time.

Delaying the sale or an agreement that allows the payment of employees is cruel and unacceptable. The priority of the CEO of Americano should not be his own interests or even the continuity of the company, which can no longer continue, but the urgent search for a way to pay off its debt, Avendano said in a text message.

More than 100 families have suffered a great deal, he said, adding that Americanos problems are not the result of the projects potential but rather its management. Lets be clear: The potential has not been lost and is still intact. It just has to be in the right hands.

While it has not been made public how much money the company owes, observers said it is substantial as the company spent heavily to acquire a top-of-the-line TV and radio operation.

Americano Media was launched in March 2022 with a $1 million investment, and the company later got another $20 million through equity and debt from investors backing Garcia-Hidalgos vision to build a Fox News-like network in Spanish. The company sought to build a vast syndication platform across key political markets nationally ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections.

Speaking to the Washington Post in April, Garcia-Hidalgo said that he aimed to have those stations running by the end of the year to potentially reach 10 million listeners and boost the percentage of Latinos voting Republican in the 2024 presidential election.

While agreeing that there is still promise for the development of a conservative network for the Spanish-speaking audience in the U.S., Americano Media employees told the Herald there were flaws in the plans execution.

What happened in Americano is due to bad management on the part of its president, and not, whatsoever, on the idea that conservative news media does not have potential in Spanish, said Alfonso Aguilar, former senior vice president and political director of the company who said that he resigned a few days ago because he was not satisfied with the media groups business plan and the CEOs vision.

This is a great tragedy, he added, because we have here more than 100 employees who have not received salaries for more than two months and the problem during all that period is that we kept on being told to relax because the money was about to come in.
An air traffic controller directed a United flight dangerously close to an American plane in July.

The American pilot yanked the plane up to avoid a possible collision, The New York Times reported.

The Times said it was just one of several recent collision close-calls involving major US airlines.

An American Airlines pilot had to yank his plane upward 700 feet to avoid colliding with a United flight in July, according to an investigation published Monday by The New York Times.

The Times found collision close-calls were happening several times a week in the US  far more than was publicly known. The report raised concerns about the American airline industry, which has a reputation for being safe. One air traffic controller told the outlet, "It is only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens."

Graphics included in the report demonstrated just how close some of these incidents have been.

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For the incident involving the American and United flights, the Times reported an air traffic controller had directed the United flight to go "dangerously close" to the American plane by mistake. A collision warning alarm went off in the cockpit of the American plane, an Airbus A321.

The accompanying graphic showed each plane was on a straight trajectory to potentially collide when the American flight rose higher into the air. The American plane then flew above the potential point of contact, with the United flight passing below shortly after.

It was one of several collision close-call incidents that the Times said occurred this summer that involved major US airlines, several of which told the outlet they are committed to safety and touted the lack of crashes in the industry.

When reached by Insider, United acknowledged the incident, saying the planes were "more than three miles apart when this situation was resolved." The Times said the American flight was traveling 500 mph  or about 8.3 miles per minute  when the incident occurred.

United also noted the Federal Aviation Administration defines a "near midair collision" as when aircraft come within 500 feet of each other, or when "a report is received from a pilot or a flight crewmember stating that a collision hazard existed between two or more aircraft."

American did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The Times investigation said human error is often the cause of collision close-calls, citing mistakes made by air traffic controllers as one issue.

The US air travel industry has been facing a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, with a government report released in June finding 77% of critical air traffic control facilities were understaffed, Insider's Hannah Towey previously reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Prefix Coffee has two locations in the southern part of the metro. Now it has expanded into midtown Kansas City.

Made in KC, which owns several coffee shops in addition to its local gift stores, opted not to renew its lease at 325 E. 31st St., and Grandview-based Prefix officially took over the space Aug. 1.

Were using Notion Coffee, which is our sister company that we roast under, and we have pastries from Fox and Bull, said Prefix co-owner Joel Friedrich. We just want to continue making coffee products people love.

Prefix and Notion are owned jointly by three families: Joel and Lindsay Friedrich, Jonathan and Sarah Friedrich, and Colin and Melissa Dwyer.

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It has two other metro outposts, both in buildings owned by the International House of Prayer: 3523 E. Red Bridge Road in Kansas City, and 12905 S U.S. 71 Highway in Grandview (which is also where Notion roasts its coffee).

Friedrich said the companies are not affiliated with IHOP.

I have my own religious affiliations, of course, but were our own business entity, he said.

Prefix, which is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., is serving more food than the Made in KC Cafe did, including breakfast burritos and sandwiches. Friedrich said a popular drink this summer has been the Toddy Palmer, a mix of cold brew, lemonade and specialty syrup.

Made in KC recently offloaded a cafe location in the River Market to Donutology. Tyler Enders, co-owner of Made in KC, told The Star the company may transition out of one more cafe location, but other than that, there are no other Made in KC leases we plan not to renew. (Though Prefix took over the midtown coffee shop, the Made in KC store in the same building remains open.)

Enders also said it was important to him that they find a quality tenant to replace their cafe.

We office out of that building still, he said. I wanted to make sure I still had a good daily cup of coffee.

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Michael Cohen, who served as former President Trumps personal attorney, called the former president an idiot for not paying his alleged co-conspirators legal bills in the Georgia election case.

Cohen questioned Monday why Trump would not pay the legal bills for his other co-defendants who were indicted in Fulton County, Ga.  such as attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis .

Donalds an idiot, Cohen told CNNs Kaitlan Collins on The Source. Let me just be very clear: When it comes to paying money, he is truly an idiot. He has not learned yet that  three people you dont want to throw under the bus like that: your lawyer, your doctor and your mechanic. Because one way or the other, youre going to go down the hill and therell be no brakes.

He added that he believes Trump should absolutely be paying the legal bills for Giuliani.

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Allegedly, from Rudys own mouth, he claims that he has smoking gun information about Donald, Cohen said. Well, if thats true, I strongly suggest Rudy  I dont have to suggest anything to Rudy.

Hes the one that basically came up with this concept of strong-arming when he was the head of the Southern District of New York, he added, Hes going to need to speak, and hes going to need to speak before everybody else does.

Cohens comments came after Ellis publicly questioned Monday why the super PAC MAGA Inc. is not paying for her defense.

I was reliably informed Trump isnt funding any of us who are indicted, Ellis wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Would this change if he becomes the nominee? Why then, not now? I totally agree this has become a bigger principle than just one man. So why isnt MAGA, Inc. funding everyones defense?

Trump and 18 other defendants were charged last week in Georgia related to their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. Like Trump, Giuliani faces 13 charges, including six charges in connection with a scheme to submit the false slate of pro-Trump electors, as well as a racketeering charge.

Ellis faces two charges over her alleged role in the effort: racketeering and socializing a public officer to violate their oath, in connection with her attendance at a Dec. 3 Georgia Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
This is an excerpt from our true crime newsletter, Suspicious Circumstances, which sends the biggest unsolved mysteries, white collar scandals, and captivating cases straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here.

You may not recognize Bill Kurtis  name or face, but if you watch true crime shows, you definitely know his iconic voice. The veteran Chicago TV journalist has been the host, narrator and producer for some of the most popular and longest-running true crime docuseries: A&Es Investigative Reports, American Justice and  Cold Case Files , which was nominated for two primetime Emmy Awards in 2004 and 2005.

Cold Case Files has been revived both on A&E and Netflix, and now Kurtis is back again, this time on Hulu, with Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks. Each episode of the 10-part docuseries features a decadesold case that was solved using DNA evidence  some of it collected long before investigators had the technology to analyze it and identify a suspect.

Kurtis, whom you might also recognize as the narrator of the Anchorman films and the announcer for NPRs Wait Wait Dont Tell Me!, told HuffPost last week about some of the most memorable crimes hes covered  some that still keep him awake at night  and whether he thinks a life sentence is harsh enough punishment for some killers.

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He noted that most cold cases that are solved share a common denominator: loved ones never-ending pursuit of justice for the victims, and investigators dedication to finding closure for those families.

In these cases, theres always someone waiting for it to be solved, Kurtis told HuffPost. I call these the grandmother solutions  family members who regularly check in with police, contact news outlets and hold public memorials to make sure the murder victims arent forgotten.

Acquanellia Smith appears in an episode of 'Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks'; Nacole Smith is shown in an undated photo.

Acquanellia Smith appears in an episode of 'Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks'; Nacole Smith is shown in an undated photo.

The first episode of the new Cold Case Files is about the 1995 murder of a 14-year-old Atlanta girl, Nacole Smith, who took a shortcut through a wooded path after she realized shed forgotten her homework on the way to school. She was sexually assaulted and shot twice in the face.

In the years following Nacoles murder, investigators identified several potential suspects, but their DNA didnt match her attackers profile. Nearly 20 years later, investigators linked DNA from the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in 2004 to Nacoles case. Genetic genealogy narrowed down a suspect, whose DNA was obtained from a cigarette detectives picked up after detectives surveilling him saw him smoking.

There are two sides to this story, Kurtis said. One is the mother [Acquanellia Smith], who is distraught and looking for justice for 20 years. The other are the detectives. And the detectives will very likely  its so long, 20, 30, 40 years  they will turn over. But this one detective was haunted for 20 years.

The suspect in this case, Kelvin Arnold, died from liver and kidney failure before he could be prosecuted.

When asked how he feels when a suspect is identified after they die, Kurtis said, Well, Im thrilled. You know the detectives are not, the family is not. They want to be able to face him, talk to him, find out why. Why would you do this? For me? Im glad that the dark hand of justice, you know, came down. Thats ultimately the justice.

Kurtis has been a fierce opponent of the death penalty, arguing in his 2004 book The Death Penalty on Trial that it should be abolished because so many innocent people had been wrongly convicted and condemned to death.

But it was 20 years ago, and I have to admit Im making some exceptions, Kurtis said, when he thinks about particularly horrendous killings.

Oh, my God, he said. Every time you think, OK, well, life in prison without parole is OK, [theres a] new terrible one. Several weeks ago, authorities charged a Chicago man with deliberately shooting and killing a 9-year-old girl. Witnesses said he had complained about the noise she and other children made while playing in their neighborhood.

Now, you have to wonder what kind of a human being or monster would do that, Kurtis said. Well, you say mentally ill. Well, is a serial killer mentally ill? Theyre obviously wired in a different way.

Bill Kurtis, host of

Bill Kurtis, host of "Cold Case Files."

Kurtis said he is still haunted by the first episode (after the pilot) of Cold Case Files, which aired in January 1999. The victim, Doris McLeod, was a runaway who had been sex-trafficked by gang members. Her brutally beaten body was found in a field and her hands had been severed; hunters discovered her hands, without fingertips, and her identity remained unknown until someone recognized her from a facial reconstruction image. Her killer was apprehended due to, in part, his own 3-year-old son, who is seen in police footage played on Cold Case Files showing investigators where her body had hung in the basement after being killed by the monster  his own father, Joseph White. White was sentenced to life in prison for the killing.

Each [episode of Cold Case Files] has its own frightening moments, Kurtis said, but you know, being the first, that one I remember.

It also caught the attention of the people White was incarcerated with.

In the prison, everybody was watching Cold Case Files, and they had to move [White] because they wanted to kill him, Kurtis said. And I said, Well, why move him? Just let life take its course.

Kurtis got too close for comfort to two notorious killers: Richard Speck, who killed eight nurses in their Chicago townhouse in 1966, and Charles Manson.

For the nurse killings, Speck was sentenced to death, then resentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in 1991. Several years later, Kurtis received a videotape from an attorney, who asked to remain anonymous, purportedly filmed in 1988 inside the Stateville, Illinois, maximum security prison, showing Speck having sex with another inmate, doing drugs, flashing $100 bills and saying, If they only knew how much fun I was having, they would turn me loose.

In the video, he also casually confirmed to the person filming that he had killed the eight women  Sure I did  and when asked why, he responded, It just wasnt their night.

Bill Kurtis on the set of

Bill Kurtis on the set of "The CBS Morning News" on Jan. 18, 1985.

Kurtis, who was also a TV news anchor, included excerpts of the tape for a weeklong investigation for Chicagos WBBM and on an episode of Investigative Reports on A&E, which sparked outrage and calls for prison reform and was even reviewed by the Illinois legislature after Kurtis agreed to share the tape with them.

When Manson went on trial for the 1969 killings of seven people, Kurtis sat close to him in the courtroom in Los Angeles. He looked like a monster, Kurtis said, recalling the cult leaders piercing eyes, but added, He did have a personality that was captivating.

For months, Kurtis listened to witnesses testify about the gruesome murders committed by Mansons followers. They thought he was Jesus. Manson  Son of Man, he said. The details of the killings, including pregnant actor Sharon Tate, haunt me late at night, when I cant sleep, Kurtis said. Ive had a few dreams about it.

Like Speck, Manson died of natural causes in prison.

But I would have pulled the trigger or release the chemical  an exception to my rule that we should eliminate the death penalty, Kurtis said.

When I thanked Kurtis for being part of our true crime lives all these years, he responded with sage advice: I want you to have a good nights sleep. And if you get a phone call at midnight: Dont answer it.

Related...
TOPEKA (KSNT)  A woman who was convicted of killing her 11-year-old stepson in Colorado and dumping his body over a bridge in Florida has been moved to Kansas.

Annie Skinner with the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) told KSNT 27 News that Letecia Stauch has been moved out of Colorado and is currently in Kansas. Skinner said the CDOC uses interstate transfers on a regular basis to manage its population and for safety and security reasons. The facility Letecia was moved to was not released.

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Letecia was sentenced in May, 2023 on first-degree murder and other charges in connection to the death of her stepson, Gannon Stauchs killing in January, 2020, according to a report from The Associated Press. During her court trial, authorities claimed Letecia killed Gannon in his bedroom a few hours before reporting him as missing on Jan. 27, 2020. It was suggested during her trial by prosecutors that she killed Gannon as a way to hurt his father, Al Stauch, who was away on a National Guard deployment at the time.

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What to expect from Evergy with extreme heat in Kansas City area

Another report from The Associated Press said Stauch stabbed Gannon 18 times before shooting him in the head and driving to Florida to dump a suitcase with his remains over a bridge. Stauch did not deny killing Gannon, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. She received a sentence of life in prison without parole.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Two drivers have been sentenced to prison for convictions on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide for killing other people with vehicles in separate, unrelated cases in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

A Columbus man was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for causing a four-vehicle, chain-reaction crash in 2019 along Route 315 on the city's Northwest Side that killed a Delaware woman.

Cody J. Troilo, 32, of Columbus' Northwest Side, pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated vehicular homicide in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in connection with the death of Martha Manee, 65, of Delaware. Judge Dan Hawkins immediately sentenced Troilo and suspended his driver's license for life.

Troilo has a record of bad driving, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records, and he was driving with a suspended license on the day of the crash, Sept. 17, 2019.

Troilo was driving a pickup truck south on Route 315 when he rear-ended Manee's Honda Element SUV from behind near West North Broadway, according to city police. The impact pushed Manee's vehicle into the rear of a Cadillac SRX driven by Clyde Cole Jr., 63, of Toledo. Cole's crossover SUV then crashed into a fourth vehicle driven by Jermaine Burge, 42, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, police said.

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Manee was critically injured and taken to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where she died the next day, Sept. 18, 2019.

Troilo and two child passengers in his vehicle sustained minor injuries. Trolio was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center and his two children were treated at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and all were later released.

Cole and two other adults in the vehicle Manees Honda Element SUV struck were also treated for minor injuries and Riverside Methodist Hospital, according to police.

Manee, known to her family and friends as "Marty," had bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Ohio State University and had worked as an elementary school teacher for 14 years. She later worked for the Delaware County District Library, where she could continue to spend her time around children, according to her obituary.

Steve Palmer, Troilos defense attorney, told The Dispatch that Troilo is taking responsibility by pleading guilty.

This was a tragedy of the highest order all around, Palmer said.

More court news: Columbus man identified through CrimeStoppers sentenced to prison for 2019 fatal stabbing

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man sentenced for fatal crash, license suspended for life
For decades, Columbus firefighters and EMTs have done the yard work around their stations because they havent been on the list for the crews maintaining the grounds of the citys other properties.

That strange situation is changing.

At its July 25 meeting, Columbus Council unanimously approved Councilor Judy Thomas motion to add $100,000 to this years budget so the citys 14 fire stations could be on that list.

Thomas, who has been one of the 10-member councils two citywide representatives for 12 years, said during the meeting she was concerned to recently learn that firefighters and EMTs are doing this task every Friday while on duty. They often buy lawnmower gas and pay for fixing lawn equipment or bring their own, she said.

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Its quite unacceptable, Thomas said.  In (the fiscal year 2024 city government) $334 million budget that has over 100 days in the fund balance, it seems to me we would have enough funding so the firefighters dont have to cut the grass and do all the other yard maintenance.  Weve got to fix this, and weve got to fix it right away.

City manager Isaiah Hugley told the council that Columbus firefighters and EMTs have been cutting their stations grass for more than 40 years, and the city hadnt received a request to change that procedure.

It would just take a motion to add that to the budget, he said.

So thats what Thomas did, seconded by Councilor Pops Barnes of District 1.

For decades, Columbus firefighters and EMTs have done the yard work around their stations because they havent been on the list for the crews maintaining the grounds of the citys other properties. Thats changing. At its July 25 meeting, Columbus Council unanimously approved Councilor Judy Thomas motion to add $100,000 to this years budget so the citys 14 fire stations could be on that list. 08/18/2023

During discussion of the motion, Columbus Fire & EMS Chief Sal Scarpa told the council, after he was hired here three years ago from Shawnee, Kansas, where he was deputy chief, he thought it was odd for Columbus firefighters and EMTs to do their stations yard work. When he asked his staff why, Scarpa said, They said thats what weve always done.

Scarpa noted his departments fiscal year 2022 request for $50,000 to replace lawn equipment wasnt approved.

They dont complain about it, he said, referring to his staff.  They would appreciate somebody else doing it.  It would look pretty poor showing up at someones home (to answer an emergency call) covered in grass clippings.

The council voted 9-0 to approve the motion. Councilor Bruce Huff of District 3 was absent.

Scarpa told the Ledger-Enquirer this change is in the best interest of his department and the citizens.

We are greatly appreciative of the councils support in taking on the lawn maintenance at all the fire stations and all our department facilities, he said.  Our firefighters have a lot of responsibilities. I think theyll feel a lot better when somebody else is doing that.

The chief emphasized the firefighters and EMTs havent been required to bring their own equipment to maintain their stations grounds.

For decades, Columbus firefighters and EMTs have done the yard work around their stations because they havent been on the list for the crews maintaining the grounds of the citys other properties. Thats changing. At its July 25 meeting, Columbus Council unanimously approved Councilor Judy Thomas motion to add $100,000 to this years budget so the citys 14 fire stations could be on that list. 08/18/2023

Sometimes the lawn equipment we have isnt really the best,  he said. So a lot of the firefighters who have their own lawn maintenance business on the side, instead of waiting for the citys equipment to be repaired  and they take a lot of pride in their stations  they just bring their own equipment.

Scarpa said he isnt sure when the stations will be included among the city properties maintained by the landscaping crews, but he expects that transition to be finalized by next month.
So, Ron DeSantis gets it after all.

A movement cant be about the personality of one individual, DeSantis told the Florida Standard. If all we are is listless vessels thats just supposed to follow, you know, whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, thats not going to be a durable movement.

He prefaced his listless vessel line, by noting that the case for Trump has been totally detached from any type of substance. Conservatism and the Republican Party have got to be about the question, What are you trying to achieve on behalf of the American people? And thats got to be based in principle.

Read more: Goldberg: How small donors have become a destructive, dividing force in American politics

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Its a bit frustrating that DeSantis is only saying this now, as some of us have been saying this for the better part of a decade. Years of listlessness have created an environment where Republican voters now say they think Trump tells the truth more than religious leaders or their own families. Im not convinced they actually believe this, but the response certainly speaks to the dysfunction on the right.

Even more annoying: DeSantis is himself a recovering listless vessel. His most famous ad in his 2018 bid for governor showed him reading bedtime stories to his baby about Donald Trump and teaching his daughter to read with Trumps Make America Great Again yard signs.

The Trump worlds response to DeSantis listless vessel line  which was clearly not intended as an insult, given that he referred to we  was not only predictably whiny, it largely proved his point. All weekend, with ample boosting from Fox News, Trump surrogates tried to spin the comments as a replay of Hillary Clintons deplorables moment. The spokesperson for the aptly named MAGA Inc. declared, DeSantis must immediately apologize for his disgraceful insult.

Read more: Column: Is there any way to shift the bizarre Republican conviction that only Trump will save them?

Given that DeSantis campaign motto is Never Back Down one would hope he wont give in to Trumps patented crybullying.

But thats not assured. A debate prep memo from a super PAC supporting DeSantis was made public last week (super PACs cant directly coordinate with campaigns, so this was apparently seen as a clever work around).

In the hothouse world of campaign nerds, it has already earned a spot in the Hall of Fame of unforced errors, given that its a pas de deux of banality and listlessness. Drafted by the shop of Never Back Down PACs chief strategist Jeff Roe, it advised DeSantis to: 1. Attack Joe Biden and the media 3-5 times. 2. State [DeSantis] positive vision 2-3 times. 3. Hammer Vivek Ramaswamy in a response. 4. Defend Donald Trump in absentia in response to a Chris Christie attack.

The first problem is that by making this advice public, its much harder for DeSantis to follow it. Its almost an in-kind donation to Christie, who will surely monitor DeSantis attacks and sarcastically point them out.

Read more: Column: Trump's indictment reflects the failures of our populist passions

Second, DeSantis shouldnt need to be told points 1 and 2, while points 3 and 4 reveal how scared his campaign is of Trump.

Of course, DeSantis is not alone. With the exception of Christie, Asa Hutchinson and the underrated Will Hurd, the other candidates are all desperately running to come in second to Trump. Hence the advice to DeSantis to defend Trump and take a sledge-hammer to Ramaswamy, preferably with Trumpy nicknames like Fake Vivek or Vivek the Fake.

Mike Pence, by his own book-length eyewitness account of the events that led to Trumps federal and state criminal indictments, argues that Trump tried to violate the Constitution and overturn the election. Yet now he says Trump should be given the presumption of innocence and that he would have preferred that these matters be left to the judgment of the American people. Thats fine for legal punditry, but rhetorically weird for someone running against the quarce-indicted Trump.

Read more: Goldberg: Why July is the cruelest month for GOP presidential candidates  unless they're Donald Trump

To one extent or another, all of the candidates  Christie included  have been complicit in turning the GOP into a vast armada of listless vessels. But at least Christies trying to atone by honestly, and full-throatedly, addressing Trumps unfitness for office.

The rest are waiting for a deus ex machina to remove the runaway front-runner for them. Its the only way to explain why DeSantis brain trust wants him hammer Vivek the Fake while defending Trump. Of course, the only plausible mechanism for that deus ex machina is the criminal justice system, which all of the candidates have spent their days attacking and delegitimizing.

Im glad DeSantis sees the mess he helped create so clearly, but identifying the problem is only the first step to remedying it. Whats required is more truth-telling and listfulness than the GOP crowd wants, which is why both qualities are in such short supply.

@JonahDispatch





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.
Its official: Matteo Lane is a married man.

Over the weekend, the comedian shared the news of this joyous occasion by posting a reel of himself and his now husband, dancer Rodrigo Aburto, kissing and tossing confetti. The caption was just a series of emoji: two men and a wedding ring. Nuff said.

www.instagram.com

Aburto was a little more forthcoming when he posted a few photos of the couple on their big day to his Instagram. Thank u Instagram, now Im married, he wrote.

www.instagram.com

Friends and fans were delighted by the news and shared their excitement in the comments.

PRE-NUP!!! I mean, CONGRATULATIONS!!! wrote fellow comic Alex Mapa.

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Congrats!!! added Gus Kentworthy.

Nicole Byer added a series of hearts to the comments.

Crying tears of joy, commented Michelle Buteau

Aweee, added Jonathan Van Ness.

Previously, Lane dished on his romance with Aburton on an episode of Sibling Rivalry. I have not felt this way in a very long time, I am very happy, he told hosts Bob the Drag Queen and Monet X Change.

Lane and Aburto first met on Instagram, where Lane says they flirted in the DMs before moving to FaceTime where the two would talk all day. Eventually, Lane says, Aburto said he wanted to meet in person. Matteo had a few days off, so Aburto flew in from Mexico City. In the moments before they met, Lane says he started having second thoughts about having a strange man in his house, but that quickly changed. The second I met him, I literally thought to myself, Oh this man is going to be in my life for a very long time, he shared.

Turns out he was right. Congrats to the happy couple!

www.instagram.com
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China next week amid heightened tensions between the two countries, the Department of Commerce announced Tuesday.

Raimondos trip follows visits by President Biden and other top U.S. officials and aims to deepen communication between the U.S. and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on a range of issues.

Raimondo will depart Sunday and will travel to Beijing and Shanghai. She will meet with senior officials of the PRC and with U.S. business leaders, the statement said. She will return the following Wednesday, Aug. 30.

While in the PRC, Secretary Raimondo looks forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation, the statement read.

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Raimondo is the latest member of Bidens cabinet to travel to China in an effort to ease tensions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled to China in July, following Secretary of State Antony Blinkens trip in June, which had been postponed from February due to a controversy around a Chinese spy balloon that flew over much of the country and was ultimately shot down by the U.S. military.

Tensions with China have risen in the past few years, prompted in part by economic tariffs, trade and the relationship between China and Russia as Moscow wages war in Ukraine. Chinas aggression in the South China Sea has also been met with U.S. condemnation.

Biden has taken several steps to boost domestic production of certain technologies, while also curbing military capabilities in China. Earlier this month, he issued an executive order blocking Americans from investing in certain Chinese sectors, citing the risk that the investments could lead to military or intelligence capabilities.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Interior Department announced its fourth approval for a commercial offshore wind project, located 15 miles southeast of Point Judith, R.I., which will have the capacity to power nearly 250,000 homes. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The Interior Department announced its fourth approval for a commercial offshore wind project, located 15 miles southeast of Point Judith, R.I., which will have the capacity to power nearly 250,000 homes.

The Revolution Wind project will create 1,200 local jobs during its construction and, when finished, would generate 703 megawatts of clean energy, the Interior Department said.

Revolution Winds joins the Vineyard Wind project offshore Massachusetts, the South Fork Wind project offshore Rhode Island and New York, and the Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey.

"President Biden has set an ambitious goal of achieving 30 [gigawatts] of offshore wind by 2030 -- and I am more confident than ever that we will meet it," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement. "Together with industry, labor and partners from coast to coast, we are building an entirely new industry off the east and west and Gulf coasts.

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The Biden administration said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and federal partners are engaged in an all-of-government approach to collaborating on issues like ocean co-use and efficient permitting to build a robust offshore wind industry that benefits communities and co-exists with other ocean users with minimal effects.

"Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration's historic climate and clean energy agenda, companies have quadrupled their U.S. offshore wind investments to over $20 billion, representing thousands of good-paying union jobs," said Assistant to the President and National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi.

Biden has set a goal of having 30 gigawatts of offshore energy on the grid by 2030, even though he currently has only two facilities -- Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pilot Project -- in commercial service.
Concord leaders will host a vigil Friday for the three youths who died after a home owned and maintained by the city caught fire over the weekend, a city spokeswoman announced Tuesday afternoon.

The flames began early Sunday while two girls  Daniella Kueviakoe, 16, and Emmanuelle Kueviakoe, 11  and their 15-year-old brother Stephen Kueviakoe, were home alone, Lindsay Manson stated in a news release.

With 3 youths dead in fire, NC public housing residents ask: Where were the alarms?

Concord and the Logan community will host a prayer vigil in the citys Housing Departments courtyard at 283 Harold Goodman Circle SW. on Friday, Aug. 25, at 5:30 p.m.

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Meanwhile, Concord has partnered with Grace Lutheran Church in Concord to serve as the community-wide contact for donations. People wishing to offer support for the families may contact the Rev. Donald Anthony at 704-701-7167.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Firefighters were dispatched to a city-owned Chapman Homes property on Lincoln Street SW in Concord, N.C., on Sunday, August 20, 2023 at 1:08 a.m. Three youths died in the fire, and they have now been identified.

NC neighbors concerned in wake of fatal fire

Neighbors are still left with questions about Chapman Homes safety. Fire trucks, not fire alarms, woke them up Sunday just after 1 a.m.

The 174 units are owned and maintained by Concord under the Fair Housing Act, and inspections determine if they qualify for renewed benefits from the government.

Public housing authorities must perform housekeeping inspections at least annually or more frequently, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson said.

The complex barely passed its 2016 REAC inspection with a 60 out of 100 score. Thats 22.4 points worse than the average for North Carolina, according to ProPublicas 2019 HUD House of Cards project.

Concord Housing Department employees declined to talk to The Charlotte Observer Monday afternoon, but Manson said the propertys smoke detectors worked the last time they were tested in January.

Deadly home fires in NC

Forty-four youths 16 years old and younger have died in house fires in North Carolina since 2016, state data show.

The youngest victims were 9 months old, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Two were 16 years old.

The data does not include the deaths of the three youths from Concord who died Sunday.

Guilford County led all counties with five deaths, followed by Mecklenburg with four.

Database editor Gavin Off contributed
Beijing denounces Taiwan's deputy leader for 'Taiwan independence' remarks

08:40, August 22, 2023 By Jiang Chenglong ( Chinadaily.com.cn

The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Southeast China's Taiwan. [Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing on Monday denounced Taiwan's deputy leader, Lai Ching-te, for his "Taiwan independence" remarks in a recent interview and during a stopover in the United States.

Lai, who is the 2024 leadership candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan, said in the interview with Bloomberg that Taiwan is already an independent sovereign country and does not need to declare independence separately. He also said that Taiwan is "not a part of the People's Republic of China" and "the two sides are not subordinate to each other."

The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said Lai's remarks were "blatant lies and provocations". He said that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is part of China. He also said that China's sovereignty over Taiwan has never changed and will never be changed.

Wang said that Lai's remarks "fully expose the extreme danger of him as a 'Taiwan independence' separatist."

He said that China will join the international community to firmly uphold the one-China principle, defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatism and external forces' indulgence and support for it.

Lai seeks to cover up his "Taiwan independence" intentions by using "pragmatism", whitewashing it with "democracy", and disguising it with "peace", he said, pointing out that however, Lai cannot hide his latent agenda of promoting "Taiwan independence".

This will only bring great harm to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, push Taiwan into a dangerous situation, and bring severe calamity to the people of Taiwan, Wang said.

"Taiwan independence" is a dead-end, and the "Taiwan independence" separatists cannot succeed, he emphasized.

"The solving the Taiwan question and realizing complete reunification of the motherland are the common aspirations of all Chinese people and an irreversible historical trend," said the spokesman, stressing that China must be and will be definitely reunified.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Organizations opposed to gender-affirming care for youths and a group of parents are suing Washington to challenge a new law meant to help transgender teens experiencing homelessness or fleeing hostile family conditions.

Senate Bill 5599, which was signed into law this year and took effect last month, exempts youth shelters and state-funded host homes from contacting parents directly if a child age 13 to 18 is seeking or receiving gender-affirming treatment or reproductive care.

Supporters say the law, the first such protection of its kind in the country, helps kids in crisis remain indoors and safe while seeking life-saving health care. Opponents argue it infringes on parents rights to oversee the care and upbringing of their children.

America First Legal, a conservative legal group headed by former Donald Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller, filed the federal suit Wednesday. The group represents eight Washington parents and two organizations  Illinois-based International Partners for Ethical Care Inc. and Virginia-based Advocates Protecting Children.

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America First Legal is leading the courtroom charge against radical transgenderism and the sexual exploitation of our children by militant gender activists, Miller said in a statement. No state action more frighteningly illustrates the threat to our children than this law.

The plaintiffs argue SB 5599 discriminatorily deprives certain parents  but not all parents  of their fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution to direct the care and upbringing of their children, as well as their rights to the free exercise of religion, due process, free speech and equal protection.

The lawsuit names Gov. Jay Inslee, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and state Department of Children, Youth and Families Secretary Ross Hunter as defendants in their capacity as state officials.

Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for Inslees office, said in a statement the lawsuit seems to be based on the same basic falsehoods that anti-trans groups have been pushing since the law was proposed.

The purpose of the bill is to keep youth safe and off the streets, he said.

In a statement, Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for the state Attorney Generals Office, said Our office defends laws passed by the people and their representatives in the Legislature. We generally prevail in these cases.

State law previously required shelters notify parents within 72 hours when a child arrives, except when theres evidence of abuse or neglect. SB 5599 added another exemption  if the child is seeking or receiving protected health care services including abortions, reproductive medicine and gender-affirming treatment.

The state defines gender-affirming treatment as a service or product that a health care provider prescribes to an individual to support and affirm the individuals gender identity.

SB 5599 doesnt change existing medical consent laws in the state. Washingtons age of consent for gender-affirming surgery without approval from a parent or guardian is 18. Under state law, any child 13 or older can receive mental health care without an adults permission.

Under the new law, instead of directly notifying parents, shelter staff in these cases must notify the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, which must then make a good faith attempt to notify parents, according to the law. The law does not prohibit the department from sharing information with a parent or guardian.

State social workers can then offer to make referrals on behalf of the child for mental health services, and offer services to facilitate a reunification, if possible.

It allows DCYF to talk to the child, to do an evaluation of what the degree of their physical safety is, said Denise Diskin, litigation and sustainability director of the QLaw Foundation of Washington.

Prior to the law being passed, shelter staff said LGBTQ+ kids and pregnant children would sometimes leave after the 72 hours were up because they didnt want to reconnect with their family, Diskin said. That meant children living on the street, or finding precarious and dangerous living conditions.

Thats a terrifying prospect for a 13-, 14-, 15-, 16-year-old to be facing, Diskin said. Kids deserve an opportunity to get access to supportive services and reunification.

Plaintiffs argued the law incentivizes children to run away because they can obtain health care services they desire without parental permission. Several of the plaintiffs have dealt with potential runaway children, according to the suit.

In one case detailed in the lawsuit, two plaintiffs, a mother and father, say they have two transgender children who have threatened to run away, in large part because the parents do not use the childrens preferred names and pronouns, the lawsuit stated.

In another case, a couple who are also plaintiffs say their child was encouraged at school to transition, in part because of a meeting their child had with a school counselor, the lawsuit stated. After the parents pulled the child out of public school, the child de-transitioned, according to the suit. The parents believe when they send their child back to school in the fall, they will transition again and run away from home.

Those situations are exactly why the new law is necessary in the first place, said Jaelynn Scott, executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, a Seattle-based LGBTQ+ legal advocacy organization. The law provides a layer of scrutiny and care for children, protecting vulnerable youths from experiencing homelessness or risking self-harm, Scott said.

If a child is leaving their homes and running away, its an indication of trouble, Scott said. Its up to all of us to ensure that children who take the serious step, and the extreme step, of running away from home [are] living in a safe environment.

LGBTQ+ youths disproportionately experience homelessness. A 2018 study from the University of Chicago found young adults ages 18 to 25 who identify as LGBTQ experienced homelessness within the last year at over twice the rate of their heterosexual, cisgender peers.

A 2022 survey from the Trevor Project found among people ages 13 to 24, 38% of transgender girls and women, 39% of transgender boys and men, and 35% of nonbinary people reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives.

That study also found 16% of LGBTQ teens and young adults reported having run away from home, with more than half reporting they ran away because of mistreatment or fear of mistreatment due to their LGBTQ identity. About one in seven reported they had been kicked out or abandoned, with 40% reporting it was because of their LGBTQ identity.
Conservatives are behind the times as per usual.

Despite the fact that Skittles has been supporting the LGBTQ+ community for yearsand did so again during Pride 2023right-wingers are just now calling for a boycott of the company.

This year during Pride Month, Skittles continued their tradition of featuring colorless bags of Skittles as a way of standing with the queer community and showing that at this time of year there is "only one rainbow matters.

From May to mid-July of this year, the candy brand introduced gray colorless Skittles with limited-edition packaging covered in designs made by five different LGBTQ+ artists.

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Shanee Benjamin, Mady G, Symone Salib, Bianca Xunise, and Zipeng Zhu all created beautiful pieces of artwork for the packaging, emblazoned with phrases like Express yourself, Be generous with your love, Black trans lives matter, and Joy is resistance.

For every Pride pack of Skittles sold this year through May and June, the company donated $1 to GLAAD. And the company also curated a collection of queer stories on Audible to celebrate Pride Month.

But even though the beloved candy brand has been doing this same campaign since 2016, conservative bigots have only just now noticed and decided its a problem.

With a slogan like Taste the rainbow what were they expecting?

Earlier this month, anti-trans advocate and British influencer Oli London took to X (formerly Twitter) to complain about Skittles celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ artists on their packaging.

Skittles is raising money with each sale of their new Pride it Forward kids candies for notorious LGBTQI+ lobby group GLAAD, London wrote. The organization is one of the leading and most powerful LGBT groups pushing for medical transitions on children.

Skittles is raising money with each sale of their new Pride it Forward kids candies for notorious LGBTQI+ lobby group GLAAD.



The organization is one of the leading and most powerful LGBT groups pushing for medical transitions on children. pic.twitter.com/UwgdcUBo34  Oli London (@OliLondonTV) August 12, 2023

Other people on X agreed with this hateful rhetoric, calling for a boycott on yet another brand conservatives deem to be woke or supporting queer causes.

One person wrote, whats more toxic: colorful candy dye or child cross hormone injections?

Another commented, Well let's add this to my not buying list. It's getting longer each month, while another wrote, Taste the indoctrination.

@MarsGlobal



whats more toxic: colorful candy dye or child cross hormone injections?  Sowell Trumpet (@alot_of_almosts) August 12, 2023

Well let's add this to my not buying list. It's getting longer each month  szil75 (@szil75) August 13, 2023

The hate continued on Instagram where homophobic and transphobic conservatives commented under Skittles Pride post. One person commented, Wheres the straight skittles? Or traditional family values marriage & Christ skittles?

Another person wrote, Stop pushing trans agenda down my throat...hope the same as budweiser will happen to you

Luckily none of this hateful rhetoric made the Skittles brand back down which hopefully means well get more amazing queer artwork next year!
Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. was named Tuesday as the next president of Ohio State University by university trustees.

Carter, 64, has served as president of the University of Nebraska system since January 2020, and will start his new role at the helm of Ohio State on Jan. 1. His annual base salary will be $1.1 million and his term will run through Dec. 31, 2028.

Carter rose to the top of a field of Ohio State presidential candidates that included at least 50 people identified by a search firm and 100 others nominated through the university, said board of trustees chair Hiroyuki Fujita, who also led the presidential selection subcommittee. Fujita described the search as exhaustive, and said the board was excited to bring Carter to Ohio State.

President Carter brings an unparalleled combination of strategic leadership and true service, and we could not be more thrilled to welcome him and his family to Ohio State, Fujita said.

Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr., reacts to applause Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 from Ohio State board of trustees and the audience after he was named the university's 17th president. Carter is currently president of the University of Nebraska, and will assume his new role in Columbus in January.

Until Carter arrives, Peter Mohler, vice president for research at Ohio State, will serve as acting president, according to the university. Carter replaces Kristina M. Johnson , who stepped down in May as Ohio State's president.

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Ohio State, Carter said, has an "unparalleled opportunity" to take on the world's challenges moving forward. Carter said he was drawn to Ohio State because it is large, complex and operates at the highest levels of academia.

"I feel like I have been preparing my entire life for an event that I honestly did not see coming," he said of the Ohio State job.

After trustees approved his hiring, Carter said that he believes higher education itself is somewhat under attack at the moment. Ohio State, he said, can "change the course of that dialogue."

Throughout his career, Carter said he's maintained good working relationships with leaders on both sides of the political spectrum and he plans to do the same in Ohio. Carter said his motto in working with legislators and state leaders is, "I do not write state laws, I follow them."

"I had a good relationship with everyone who sat on the left, who sat on the right because I am a straight shooter," he said.

As president of the University of Nebraska system the last few years, Carter has overseen four campuses of almost 70,000 students, faculty and staff and an academic medical center. Ohio State University, with well over 65,000 students and 50,000 employees across all campuses, is the states largest university. In addition to the main Columbus campus, the university maintains four other regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Newark and Marion.

While at Nebraska, Carter launched the "Nebraska Promise," a financial aid program guaranteeing full tuition coverage for low-income and middle-income students. He also implemented a budget plan that included a two-year tuition freeze.

Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr. speaks to reporters on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 after the Ohio State University Board of Trustees named him the schools 17th president.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the Navy Fighter Weapons School  known as Top Gun  he holds educational credentials from the Navy Nuclear Power School, the U.S. Air Force Air War College, the Naval War College and the Armed Forces Staff College, according to Ohio State.

In 2022, Carter received the U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award, the highest honor bestowed upon academy graduates. The award has been given to just 110 individuals, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late Sen. John McCain.

Ohio State students Incoming president Carter should prioritize diversity, public interest

After his appointment, Carter took questions on a variety of issues impacting Ohio State right now.

When asked about the accusations of sexual abuse against former university physician Dr. Richard Strauss, Carter said he was aware of the matter, but said he needed to learn more before extensively commenting. He did take the opportunity to apologize to Strauss' victims who have come forward in the last few years.

Carter was also asked how he would conduct a search for Ohio State's next athletic director. Gene Smith announced earlier this month that he will retire at the end of June after 19 years in that position.

Carter said he has plenty of experience hiring in athletics. But, he added, "there is no replacing a legend like Gene Smith."

After former president Johnson stepped down in May, Ohio State's board of trustees at the time chose not to appoint an interim president, instead opting to have senior and executive vice presidents report directly to the trustees.

Walter "Ted" Carter , Jr., was named president of Ohio State University on Tuesday. Carter, who currently serves as president of the University of Nebraska system, will start his new post at Ohio State on Jan. 1.

In February, Ohio State formed a presidential search committee and hired Education Executives  a Santa Barbara, California-based firm  to lead the search.

The search committee held three public forums during spring semester to hear from the campus community about what it wants in a new president. Some attendees told The Dispatch they want Ohio State's next president to carry on initiatives that Johnson began during her tenure, including hiring more tenure-track faculty under the Race, Inclusion and Social Equity Initiative, a focus on sustainability and net-zero carbon emissions, and a commitment to fundraising.

"I love students, they're the whole reason we exist..." Carter said. "What our students will find is that I will engage. I hope they will think that I am approachable and I will listen."

Dispatch reporter Sheridan Hendrix contributed to this story.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State names University of Nebraska's Ted Carter as 17th president
A federal appeals court Monday reversed an injunction against Alabamas law banning gender-affirming care for people under 19, allowing enforcement of the ban to take effect in the state.

A three-judge panel on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court judges temporary injunction against the law, which bans the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender children. The judge had set a trial date for April 2 to determine whether the law would be permanently blocked.

The injunction will remain in place until the court issues the official mandate, which could take days, but once the injunction is officially lifted, the ban on gender-affirming care can be enforced. This marks the second such appellate victory against gender-affirming care restrictions, which have been adopted by a growing number of conservative states.

The judges wrote that, in reversing the injunction, states have a compelling interest in protecting children from drugs, particularly those for which there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects.

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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the ruling represents a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense, adding, The Eleventh Circuit reinforced that the State has the authority to safeguard the physical and psychological wellbeing of minors.

Many medical groups push back on the idea that banning gender-affirming care safeguards childrens well-being. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics both oppose such bans and say the treatments are safe if administered properly.

Opponents of the ban publicly condemned the ruling Monday.

In a joint statement, the groups representing the Alabama families challenging the states law issued a statement saying their clients are devastated by this decision, and called the ban a shocking example of government overreach and a jarring intrusion into private family decisions.

Our clients are devastated by this decision, which leaves them vulnerable to what the district courtafter hearing several days of testimony from parents, doctors, and expertsfound to be irreparable harm as a result of losing the medical care they have been receiving and that has enabled them to thrive, read the statement, issued by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Human Rights Campaign.

While this is a setback, we are confident that it is only a temporary one. Every federal district court that has heard the evidence presented in these cases has come to the same conclusion: these medical treatments are safe, effective, and lifesaving for some youth, and there is no legitimate reason to ban them. We believe that at the end of the day, our nations courts will protect these vulnerable youth and block these harmful laws, which serve no purpose other than to prevent parents from obtaining the medical care their children need, the statement continued.

Parents, not the government, are best situated to make these medical decisions for their children. These laws are a shocking example of government overreach and a jarring intrusion into private family decisions. This case is far from over, and we will continue to aggressively seek legal protection for these families, the statement concluded.

The ruling follows several other similar decisions in recent weeks against bans in other states, including a federal judge in June striking down a similar law in Arkansas, which was the first state to enact a ban. At least 20 state have enacted similar laws restricting such care for minors.

Alabamas Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act was signed into law in 2022, making it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison to treat people under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A new COVID strain has spurred an uptick in hospital admissions and possibly includes a new symptom not seen in previous strains, doctors say.

XBB.1.5  a subvariant of the COVID-19 Omicron variant  has landed a few South Carolinians in the hospital with some complaining of severe headaches, according to Dr. Helmut Albrecht, medical director of the Center of Infectious Diseases Research and Policy for Prisma Health and the University of South Carolina.

The uptick in hospitalizations comes ahead of a new COVID vaccine booster tailored to combat XBB.1.5, which Albrecht said he expects to be available next month.

Were clearly seeing more cases, Albrecht said. The vast majority has mild disease as usual, but we now live in a time where 90% of the population has some sort of immunity, either by having had (COVID), having had some vaccines or both. But a handful of patients now, is a handful more than we had a couple of months ago.

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Albrecht said while symptoms related to XBB.1.5 are similar to previous strains, headaches are likely a specific symptom of the subvariant.

At least two of my patients said thats the worst headache theyve ever had, Albrecht said. But other than that, it can certainly cause severe disease, including pneumonia, especially non-immune patients.

As of Tuesday, Prisma Health reported a total of 50 COVID patients across all of its facilities, 17 of whom were non-infectious.

Albrecht noted that there are likely more cases than medical professionals and hospitals are aware because the majority of COVID testing now occurs in the home and results are never reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beyond certain labs that are in certain locations that report positive cases to the CDC, Albrecht said measuring the virus in wastewater is the next best source of data.

Wastewater surveillance data maintained by the CDC shows whether COVID levels at a treatment site are currently higher or lower than past historical levels at the same site. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 15, levels measured in Charleston County were 80% to 100% higher than ever before. Beaufort County saw a 40% to 59% increase, while Richland County only saw a 0% to 19% increase.

Albrecht said measures of prevention for XBB.1.5 are the same as with other strains.

Youve got to be good about assessing your own risk and the people that you live with, Albrecht said. Its not a sign of weakness to wear a mask. Most of us dont. But I can afford it. I had (COVID) once and I have four vaccines now. I know I will not die of this. If you know that, fine. If you dont, better protect yourself.

In addition to XBB.1.5, the World Health Organization and the CDC are tracking an even newer strain dubbed BA.2.86. The variant has 36 mutations distinct from XBB.1.5.

BA.2.86 has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel, the CDC said in a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) last week. CDC is gathering more information and will share more about this lineage as we learn it.

With COVID cases on the rise, Albrecht advised that South Carolinians should contemplate getting the booster set to come out next month.

An uptick is never great, Albrecht said. And as a 23-year-old in one of our hospitals recently saw, you can still die of this. Its not the norm, but it can still happen.
One person is dead following a two-vehicle collision near Antelope, the Placer County Sheriffs Office said Tuesday.

The crash stemmed from a conflict between two motorists, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office, which is also investigating the incident along with the California Highway Patrol.

Gandhi said detectives determined there was a shooting prior to the crash based on witness accounts from passengers. He said two firearms were also recovered at the scene and Gandhi said the drivers  a man and a woman  were known to each other. There was also a passenger in the vehicle that crashed, Gandhi said.

There was a shooting, he said. No one got shot, but it sort of precipitated the whole thing.

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The drivers traveled from Sacramento County to Placer County where the conflict escalated to a collision near the intersection of Walerga and PFE roads in Antelope, Gandhi said. But deputies are still piecing together where the shooting occurred.

Placer County deputies responded to the crash site and one of the vehicle occupants was pronounced dead at the scene, said Angela Musallam, spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriffs Office. Gandhi said it wasnt known if the person who died was behind the wheel.

The two other people involved were hospitalized.

A photo of the scene showed a vehicle had exited the roadway and come to rest on its side near a power pole.

Musallam said the Placer County Sheriffs Office had no other details to release.

The Placer County Coroner will release the identity of the deceased.
Russian President Vladimir Putin won't be shaking hands at a major international summit in South Africa, discouraged from attending in person because of criminal charges linked to his invasion of Ukraine.

The BRICS summit, which opened Tuesday, normally draws the heads of state for the five member nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. But host South Africa is a member of the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to steal Ukrainian children and bring them to Russia for adoption. South Africa would be obliged to arrest the Russian leader if he traveled to the meeting in Johannesburg.

Putin has pledged to fully participate remotely, and in a video statement he blamed the West for Russia pulling out of the deal that allowed Ukrainian cargo ships safe passage to export grain through the Black Sea, a topic of particular interest for African nations.

Putin has a big stake in the conference as the leaders decide on plans to expand the bloc, already home to 40% of the worlds population and about one-third of global economic output. More than 20 countries have inquired about joining, South African officials said.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are attending the summit.

Ukrainian supporters protest near the venue of the BRICS Summit in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Aug. 22, 2023.

War developments:

 The Ukraine Defense Ministry said the Russian military is sinking civilian ferries in the Kerch Strait and plans to install barriers between them to protect Russia's "illegal" Crimean Bridge. The ministry called the effort a "hysterical reaction" to a series of attacks on the bridge since the invasion in February 2022.

 The U.S. would be willing to train Ukrainian pilots in F-16 fighter jets if demand for the training exceeds what Europeans can provide, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said. Denmark and the Netherlands are leading the training and have agreed to give dozens of the planes to Ukraine.

 Polands President Andrzej Duda confirmed Russia has begun shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, which he said will change the security architecture of the region and the entire NATO military alliance.

 The U.S. Embassy in the Belarusian capital of Minsk advised American citizens to "depart immediately'' from the country and strongly discouraged fellow citizens from traveling there because of the government's support of Russia's war.

 National Security chief Oleksiy Danilov said Ukraine's military would most likely liberate Crimea "if the aggressor country does not understand by that time that it needs to leave our territory. We have no other option."

Ukraine changing misguided tactics at West's urging, report says

The wrong focus and allocation of troops have contributed significantly to the slow progress of Ukraine's counteroffensive, which appears ready to shift gears at the urging of Western military leaders, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Ukraine has split its forces nearly evenly between the southern and eastern fronts instead of dedicating most of its efforts and top combatants to breaking through toward Melitopol in the south, which may allow it to sever Russia's supply lines, the newspaper said.

Western officials seem to have persuaded Ukraine's top military commander, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyiian, to change tactics, thanks in large part to his close ties with his British counterpart, Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, the newspaper reported.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Tuesday that Kyiv's troops have entered the southeastern village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia province and started evacuating civilians. Driving the Russians out of Robotyne could provide opportunities for the push toward Melitopol.

Maliar also rejected the notion that Ukraine had not recaptured enough territory nearly three months into the counteroffensive, telling Reuters: "It's incorrect to measure this advance by meters or kilometers. What's important is the very fact that, despite everything, we're moving forward even though we have fewer people and fewer weapons."

War is not at a 'stalemate,' Jake Sullivan says

In a briefing with reporters Tuesday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan backed up Maliar's contention that Ukraine has been making progress, even if it's incremental.

Sullivan pointed out the dynamic nature of the battles and said Ukraine has been "methodical, systematic'' in reclaiming territory.

We do not assess that the conflict is a stalemate, Sullivan said in response to a question. Ukrainians are operating according to their tactics and their timetable, making progress according to the strategic and operational decisions of their commanders and their leadership, and well continue to support that.

Russian Gen. Surovikin, suspected in Wagner rebellion, has been fired, reports say

Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin, the former top commander of Moscow's troops in Ukraine who was later suspected of collaborating with the brief Wagner Group insurrection in June, has been fired as head of aerospace forces, Russian media reported Tuesday.

Surovikin, known as General Armageddon for his go-for-broke tactics in other wars, has not been seen in public since June 24. Previous reports indicated he had been detained.

Surovikin's fate will be decided by the Ministry of Defense, according to the RBC news outlet, which quoted a source saying the general "is currently on a short vacation.

Preparation for F-16s will take at least six months

It will take at least six to seven months for the Ukrainian Air Force to be ready to fly the F-16s multiple European nations have promised Kyiv, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday.

Reznikov told Ukraine TV the pilots have already demonstrated their ability to be ready in six months, "but the technicians and engineers  we don't know yet." He said the F-16 systems and repair protocols are complex. But he said bright, dedicated technicians learned Patriot missile systems in 10 weeks rather than the 10 months that had been expected.

"That's why I am convinced that F-16s will be in Ukrainian skies to liberate Ukrainian territories," Reznikov said.

Ukraine attacks on Moscow are fair play, German officials says

Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow are legitimate tactics "within the framework of international law," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told journalists. At a joint news conference in Berlin, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and Baerbock said Russia bears responsibility for everything that happens stemming from the war.

Although drone attacks have become common in Moscow, the Kyiv government has hedged on its involvement. Estonia has been among Ukraine's most ardent supporters in the war. Germany has also provided military and humanitarian aid but has drawn criticism for being at times hesitant to provide Ukraine with high-tech military support.

"Russia is bombing civilian targets in Ukraine relentlessly, targeting grain silos, hospitals and churches," Baerbock said. "Ukraine is defending itself."

Kyiv ordered blasts at Russian bases, reports say

Recent drone attacks that battered Russian bombers in bases far from the Ukraine border were the work of saboteurs directed by Kyivs military intelligence services, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday. The strikes were conducted Saturday on the Soltsy air base, more than 360 miles north of the Ukraine border, and the Shaikovka air base about 200 miles from Ukraine.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet Monday that at least one Russian warplane was damaged in the attack on Shaikovka. The Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported the attacks destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft. The Russian Defense Ministry said only that the Soltsy strike damaged one aircraft.

Contributing: The Associated Press

l

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine Russia war updates: Putin not attending summit in person
Croatia will provide a new military assistance package worth EUR 30 million ($33 million) to Ukraine, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Aug. 22.

Plenkovic also announced an international security conference dedicated to Ukraine to be held in October, where Croatia, in association with EU member states and other international organizations, will begin assisting Kyiv with sweeping liberated territories for landmines.

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The PM stated that thousands of tons of Ukrainian grain have already been exported from Croatian ports. Most of the shipments went to Italy and some  to North Africa. While safety and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea remains compromised, Plenkovic said, Croatia can serve as part of an alternative export route for Ukrainian produce.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
State Rep. Peter Durant, R-Spencer, has filed the necessary paperwork to local and state officials to have his name included on the Republican primary ballot.

With an Aug. 29 deadline looming for candidates seeking to fill the Massachusetts senate seat vacated by Anne Gobi when she accepted a post with the Healey Administration, theres only one candidate whose name is sure to appear on a ballot: Rep. Peter Durant, R-Spencer.

Durant, who was first elected in 2011 in a special election to represent Spencer, has collected the necessary 300 nomination signatures and presented them to his local election officials for certification. Durant has also already presented those names to the Secretary of State William Galvin for approval.

His spot on the primary ballot , if the others running on the Republican ticket are also certified, is assured. Durant will retain his seat in the House through the election process and beyond if he is unsuccessful against the other challengers.

Election dates

A primary for the election has been scheduled for Oct. 10, if needed. The special election has been scheduled for Nov. 7, a date that coincides with municipal elections that will be held in Gardner and Worcester.

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Four other people who have announced their intention of running for the vacant seat have yet to present their nomination papers to their local election officials.

The lone Democrat, Jonathan Zlotnik , D-Gardner, was first elected in 2012 and in his sixth term in the House. He announced his intention to run for the vacant senate seat just days after Gobi was named director of Rural Affairs by Gov. Maura Healey in May. As she left the legislature, Gobi charged Zlotnik to press forward on certain legislation she initiated including measures to address the problem of crumbling foundations plaguing homeowners in central Massachusetts.

Two other Republicans also announced declared their intentions to run: Republican Bruce Chester, a Gardner resident, retired U.S. Army captain and veteran of the Iraq War. Chester currently works in transportation and serves as an adjunct professor at Fitchburg State University.

Chester ran against Zlotnik in the last election, challenging the incumbent to the seat representing the 2nd Worcester District.

If Chesters nomination papers are certified and if he wins the primary, it will be the second time the two square off in a political contest.

Rebekah Etique, a Leicester paralegal and former campaign worker for James Amorello, the candidate who challenged Gobi for her senate seat in November 2022, also announced her intention to run on the Republican ticket. Etique, who announced her intended candidacy in June, has yet to create a profile with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Calls to her campaign to determine whether she still intends to run for the vacant seat were not returned.

Janel Holmes, a member of the Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts, launched her bid late in July for the open senate seat, vacated by Spencer Democrat Anne Gobi.

Libertarian Janel Holmes, of Spencer, a member of the Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts, announced her intention of seeking the seat late last month.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. Aug. 29 to present their 300-plus signatures to local election officials. Once the signatures have been deemed acceptable, candidates must then present the paperwork, along with a State Ethics Commission receipt to Galvins office by 5 p.m. Sept. 5. Sept. 30 is the last day voters can register to participate in the primary.

By far the richest candidate, to date, is Zlotnik with some $47,000 in his campaign chest, followed by Durant who has reported receiving more than $19,000. Chester has a reported a balance of $2,191, according to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Holmes has created a financial profile with the office but has yet to file any reports.

The latest filings were dated Aug. 2; they detail donations and expenditures through July 31.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 3 GOP politicians could face off Oct. 10 for vacant senate seat
The grieving parents of children who were massacred at The Covenant School in March or whose children were forced to hide as the shooter smashed their way through were among dozens of spectators that were booted out of a Tennessee subcommittee meeting about a new law that would allow for more guns on school campuses.

The chaotic scene was compounded by parents bursting into tears as troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol forced them out of the same meeting theyd been called to testify in, according to reports from the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.

Lowell Russell, a Republican state representative that oversaw the meeting, justified the mass ejection by claiming that spectators had continued clapping, yelling, and holding signs after being ordered to stop.

Legislators adopted new rules for attending subcommittee meetings on Monday, banning the public from holding signs in galleries and committees. Come Tuesday, some members of the public skirted the rules by holding up a book titled Joaquins First School Shooting and a Covenant Strong scarf. Others still held up signs in favor of gun restrictionsclearly to Russells ire.

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Three women who held up signs were the first to be booted from the meeting. One woman yelled this is not what democracy looks like as a trooper walked her out of the meeting with his hands on her back. She was holding a small sign that read 1 Kid > All The Guns.

This lady refused to put down her sign and was removed from the committee. Some in the crowd asked, is this what democracy looks like. pic.twitter.com/mz8tpA6noG  Blaise L Gainey (@BlaiseGainey) August 22, 2023

The first to be thrown out, Allison Polidor, of Nashville, called her removal an infringement on her first amendment rights, telling The Tennessean through tears that weve come to a point where you cant hold up a sign. Thats not okay. Thats not democracy.

As the room was cleared, The Tennessean reported that the crying of multiple Covenant School parents could be heard along with the shouts from angry protesters.

After the public was expelled, including those whod sat quietly, state legislators went on to pass House Bill 7064. The bill allows enhanced gun permit holders, cops, and military membersboth active duty and retired, on-duty and off-dutyto be able to possess and carry a handgun at any public school building, bus, campus, or grounds.

Some of the guests were Covenant School parents. They are now forced to leave as well. However those who will be speaking on bills will be called back in to talk when that time comes. pic.twitter.com/uKBIv36ZNz  Blaise L Gainey (@BlaiseGainey) August 22, 2023

The legislation was passed in response to the shooting at The Covenant School, which left three staff members and three young students dead after Audrey Hale, a former student, went on a rampagearmed with an AR-style rifle, an AR-style pistol, and a handgunbefore being shot dead by police.

Tuesday was the second day of a special legislative session called by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, to pass gun reform laws thatd make it harder for mentally ill people to buy a gun.

Lees efforts to restrict access to guns were quickly thwarted by Tennessees deep-red state legislature, however, who instead passed HB 7064 against the pleas of Sarah Shoop Neumann, the mother of a survivor of the school shooting, and others who testified through tears.

The presence of firearms in schools is something I cannot speak against more strongly, Neumann said, according to The Tennessean. Teachers in this state already lack support in the state in terms of funding, staffing and being overwhelmed. And you want to arm them?

Neumann said she spoke on behalf of herself, the Covenant Families Action Fund and a number of teachers at The Covenant School. She added that having guns on campus the day of the shooting wouldve likely made it a more severe tragedy.

I dont think they get what this means, Neumann told WKRN about the Republican legislature. Were here for six people who were killed in our school. Were just trying to do somethingIts hard to be here. Its overwhelming.

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Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, right, and Troels Lund Poulsen attend a press conference in the Ministry of Defense in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday Aug. 22, 2023. Jakob Ellemann-Jensen  the deputy prime minister in the Danish three-party coalition  said he will act as economy minister while Troels Lund Poulsen who acted as defense minister while Ellemann-Jensen was on a five-month leave of absence for health reasons, returned to the defense ministry. (Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  The defense and economy ministers in Denmarks centrist government swapped places Tuesday, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers for providing Kyiv with F-16 warplanes.

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen who is also deputy prime minister in Denmark's three-party coalition and head of the Liberal Party, became economy minister. Troels Lund Poulsen who acted as defense minister while Ellemann-Jensen was on a five-month leave of absence for health reasons, now takes over full-time at the defense ministry.

Ellemann-Jensen told a news conference that he took the decision to swap places after returning to office Aug. 1 but only announced it Tuesday following the Zelenskyy visit.

Lund Poulsen was considered the architect behind the donation of the F-16 to Ukraine and was at helm in May, when Denmark announced it will invest some 143 billion kroner ($21 billion) in the countrys defense over the next decade.

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The Netherlands and Denmark announced Sunday they will give F-16 warplanes to Ukraine, a long-awaited announcement that Zelenskyy called an important motivation for his countrys forces, embroiled in a difficult counteroffensive against Russia.

Ellemann-Jensen has apologized for misinforming parliament over a rushed Israeli arms deal to replace Denmarks howitzers that were donated to Ukraine in January.
Lars von Trier , the famous Danish film director who was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease last year, has posted a controversial statement on his Instagram account, speaking out against Denmarks decision to hand over F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and expressing regret over the deaths of the Russian occupation troops.

Source: Lars von Trier on Instagram; Meduza

Quote from von Trier: "By the way: To Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin and, last but not least, Ms Frederiksen [i.e., Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen  ed.] (who yesterday posed, beaming, inside of one of todays most horrifying killing machines, as if she was head over heels in love):

Russian lives matter also! Best regards, Lars."

Background: Lars von Trier is a Danish director, screenwriter and actor. He is known for his prolific and controversial career which spans almost four decades. He has received more than 100 awards and nominations at film festivals around the world, including the Palme d'Or (Dancing in the Dark) and the Grand Prix (Breaking the Waves). He also received the Cesar, David di Donatello, Goya, Independent Spirit, Sputnik, and other awards.

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Debbie Mucarsel-Powell announced a Senate run against Sen. Rick Scott of Florida on Tuesday in a long-shot bid for Democrats who are teetering on the brink of extinction in the sunshine state.

Im an immigrant, a Latina, a mother, she said in her video announcement. And we made history together when I became the first South American immigrant ever elected to Congress. Ive already fought guys like Rick Scott and beat them.

In a video announcing her candidacy, Mucarsel-Powell attacked Scotts economic agenda, which has come under scrutiny for its plan to raise taxes and sunset all federal legislation in five years, including social services  a politically risky proposal in senior-heavy Florida.

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Mucarsel-Powell is the first Ecuadorian-born American elected to Congress. She served one term in office after besting veteran Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Floridas 26th congressional district in 2017 when Democrats swept Republicans in the House two years into Donald Trumps presidency. Two years later, she lost to Rep. Carlos Gimenez after her district swung Republican, a loss she attributed to factors such as a targeted disinformation campaign to Latinos, fears of socialism, and an electorate desperate to re-open after the pandemic.

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Democrats have become more optimistic after an unexpected mayoral victory in Jacksonville last May. After the win, State Democratic Chair Nikki Fried told Politico, Everybody is really excited. They feel that this is a great signal and that there is something to invest in Florida. Democrats launched a $1 million voter registration push last month.

But Scott is the top 2024 target. The senator and former two-term governor has never won an election by more than 1.2 points, and in 2018, he won by a razor-slim margin  just 0.2 percent separated him and former Senator Bill Nelson.

Rick Scott is highly vulnerable, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a statement.  Debbie Mucarsel-Powell would be a strong candidate to defeat him.

Mucarsel-Powell will face nine other Democrats in an August 2024 primary.

The View From Rick Scott's Campaign

Scotts campaign released a statement in response to Mucarsel-Powells announcement stoking the same socialism fears she said contributed to her 2020 loss.

Wed like to welcome yet another failed congressional candidate to the crowded Democrat primary, Priscilla Ivasco, Scotts campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. Former Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell is a radical socialist who voted 100% of the time with Nancy Pelosi during her short tenure in Congress, which is why the voters of South Florida booted her out of office the first chance they got. Floridians already rejected her once and they will reject her again.
Oleksii Reznikov , Ukraine's Minister of Defence, has said Ukrainian Defence Forces top priority is reinforcing the air defence, adding that the country needs more ammunition and all types of armoured vehicles.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine news outlet, citing Reznikov during a joint press conference with Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev in Odesa

Quote: "What weapons are we still expecting? The priorities have not changed. The top item is air defence. We must expand the defence network of the Ukrainian sky."

Details: The second priority, Reznikov said, was "ammunition, ammunition and more ammunition". Reznikov particularly mentioned the Bulgarian government's decision to join the EU programme on supplying Ukraine with 155-mm artillery ammunition.

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Various kinds of armoured vehicles are the third thing the Ukrainian Armed Forces need.

Quote: "Armoured personnel carriers, armoured vehicles, tanks, etc. And a crucial element would be armoured vehicles to evacuate our wounded from the battlefield."

Details: Reznikov also stressed the significance of training Ukrainian servicemen in a range of areas.

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Last week, ex-president Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants were indicted in Fulton County, Georgia for a range of serious crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 coup attempt and larger nationwide plot to overturn the 2020 election. Trump and his co-defendants are being charged under Georgia's racketeering laws, which are typically used to combat organized crime and other complex criminal organizations. If convicted of violating Georgia's RICO laws, Trump and his codefendants will have to serve a minimum of five years in prison. The charges in Georgia come after Trump was indicted and arrested in Washington, D.C. for his alleged crimes in connection to Jan. 6. In total, Trump faces hundreds of years in prison for the range of crimes he has now been charged with.

Pro-democracy Americans were jubilant in response to these events. With the criminal indictments in Georgia, those jubilant voices were even louder and more joyous and rapturous.

But with the indictment in Georgia, where are we really in the ongoing story that is the Age of Trump? Are the news media and political class  and many among the general public  so desperate to escape the Age of Trump that they are possessed by wish-casting, denial, and other forms of unhealthy optimism, seeing what they want to see instead of what is actually there because the latter is too frightening and upsetting?

Or are the walls truly closing in on Donald Trump? Is the nightmare that is the Trumpocene finally nearing its end?

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In an attempt to make sense of what comes next in this truly historic and unprecedented moment with Donald Trump and the future of American democracy, I recently asked a range of experts for their thoughts and insights.

Their answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Katherine Stewart is an investigative reporter and author who has covered religious liberty, politics, policy, and education for over a decade. Her latest book is "The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism". Stewart's journalism has been featured at the New York Times, NBC, the New Republic, and the New York Review of Books.

The crisis we face today is a crisis of American democracy and specifically a crisis of the Republican Party. Part of what makes the crisis very difficult to address is that attempts to call out the problem  like this  are often characterized as partisan, "shrill," or one-sided, and thereby relativized and minimized. But the fact remains that a substantial part of the population is made up of essentially authoritarian voters  people who, having witnessed the corruption, the coup attempt, and the ongoing festival of criminality that is Trump, continue to support him. And that's a real problem. It's not easy to understand how you can have a functioning democracy when a substantial part of the population is essentially prepared to dynamite it.

Democracy needs its gatekeepers, and it needs leaders in all parties who are willing to stand for principle and defend institutions. The leadership of the Republican Party has demonstrated a degree of corruption, hypocrisy, and cravenness in its quest for power that many would not have anticipated but that now stares us in the face.

This betrayal of America's democratic ideals will be an enduring legacy of this period. But unfortunately, history won't take care of itself. The big question for the coming year is whether the Republican Party digs even further into the dirt with Trump in this election cycle, or if it finds some ignominious way of separating him from the nomination. (The noble pathrejecting his candidacy on principleis inconceivable in today's Republican Party and has in any case already been foreclosed.)

Certainly, Republicans appear to be in denial about the actual crisis in their party. Some seem to think that it's just about Trump, a single bad actor. In fact, at this point the GOP has proven itself to be profoundly un-American in its current form. It is viciously anti-democratic and committed to engineering and entrenching minority rule. It is dependent on dark money and its alliances with ideological extremists, and it knows it doesn't have a chance of winning elections without systematically targeting its base of voters with disinformation and conspiracies.

The GOP shows signs of being every bit as toxic after Trump. The fact that Ron DeSantis is the runner-up for the nomination makes the case. Banning books, banning the teaching of subjects, demonizing groups of people, replacing democratically elected officials with political cronies, platforming racists and misogynists  that is the DeSantis program. It is what Trump did, and arguably a little bit sharper in its realization.

Thanks to the GOP's embrace of conspiracies and disinformation, we are unable to achieve the kind of consensus about basic facts and assumptions that allows for meaningful debate. This is evidenced by the fact that the Republican Party and its captive Supreme Court is consistently pushing policies that do not have popular support, such as restrictions on reproductive medicine, absence of gun safety laws, and tax cuts aimed primarily at the rich  and yet we are unable to deal with these challenges.

This points, again, to the crisis of the Republican Party. On most substantive policy issues having to do with economics, taxation, defense, reproductive rights, gun safety and others, Democrats are staking out positions that are not just in the mainstream but command significant majorities in most cases. Republicans, meanwhile, continue to talk about further attacks on reproductive healthcare rights, cuts in Social Security and Medicare, continue to side with gun manufacturers over children and their parents, continue to favor tax cuts for the wealthy, and push a range of other positions that are intrinsically unpopular.

Whatever the explanation for their electoral success, such as it is, the bottom line is that they have in one way or another coopted a democratic form of government to achieve undemocratic ends. Donald Trump didn't invent this crisis, but he embodies it, and he made it dramatically worse.

David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, and former elected official. His new book is "Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American".

I continue to assume Trump will win the GOP nomination with little trouble. While legal accountability for all he has done is absolutely critical, I think the real demise of Trump will only come when the people soundly reject him for the second time. With all his lawbreaking, that's not how this should be settled in a country that abides by the rule of law. But given where things stand today, I believe that's how it will have to be settled.

The Trump lens remains a too narrow way to view today's politics. The bigger picture is that we are engaged in a deeper struggle for democracy itself. The attack on democracy we are undergoing began before Trump ever announced for president the first time. If he were locked up tomorrow, it would continue. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, blunt-force attacks like Ohio's Issue 1, and increasing attacks on the rule of law: all are part of a deeper, state-based attack on democracy that is fraying the core principles of our nation.

And while this deeper and wider attack on democracy explains the downward spiral of extremism and anti-democracy we see in so many states, I agree that too few still see that THIS is the bigger picture reality we must contend with. And until we see it that way, we won't overcome it in a sustained way.

Cheri Jacobus is a former media spokesperson at the Republican National Committee and founder and president of the political consulting and PR firm Capitol Strategies PR.

I'm rarely an optimist, but I see the Age of Trump hitting the downslide. But it may get worse before it gets better.

Rabid MAGA Trump cultists who think they also wear that cloak of immunity if they hitch their wagon to him, are waking up to the shock of being held accountable. Be it Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, or the rank-and-file MAGA threatening the lives of those who hold Trump accountable, they are finding out what the term "FAFO" means. The violence Trump is urging is being dealt with immediately, tamping it down, and sending a message that this particular aspect of the "era of Trump" is no longer tolerated. From the FBI Utah assassination raid to the arrest of a woman threatening the life of the randomly-appointed judge in the Trump case in DC, that invincibility that Trump has engendered in his cult following is diminishing.

I suspect cameras in the courtroom will further erode the sheen his MAGA followers see in him, as they will see he is treated as any other criminal defendant in the American justice system. The somewhat pedantic but necessary details and finer points of the process will apply to Donald J. Trump, just as they applied to each January 6th defendant, and each of Trump's 18 fellow defendants in Georgia.

Similarly, with the RICO charges in Georgia helping to set the stage for charges in other states where Trump and his fake electors tried to steal the election, each defendant that arrogantly believed Trump  and therefore also they  were above the law  will be smaller. Diminished. And treated like any other common criminal. The death knell of the cult.

I disagree that the media is eager to turn the page on Trump. Gorging on Trump ratings is one reason we got Trump in the first place. Now, it's merely a matter of which way each network scores those ratings. In terms of supporting Trump, the worm doesn't actually turn until Rupert Murdoch says so. That MSNBC ratings topped FOX News and CNN combined on "indictment night" may trigger FOX into creating a bit of distance from Trump. Their 2015-2016 Trump ratings helped put Trump in the White House. The weakening of those ratings may be what ensures he never returns.

Wajahat Ali is the author of "Go Back To Where You Came From." He is also a columnist for The Daily Beast, MSNBC Daily and co-host of the Democracy-Ish Podcast.

I hope we're in the Return of the Jedi phase, but without Ewoks. The MAGA empire will try to the end to defend their withered, desiccated, golden calf but the walls are caving, the resistance is strengthening, accountability looms around the corner, and a few of his allies will definitely betray him because these porcelain dolls are too fragile to spend a day in prison. 91 counts is a lot of bullets to dodge, but if anyone could escape accountability, it would be Trump, a man who has been cocooned, privileged, sheltered and elevated his entire life due to his wealth, Whiteness, celebrity. Now, he has his own weaponized and radicalized cult army in the form of the GOP and right-wing media. I remain both hopeful and skeptical that justice will be served, but I still can't imagine this man spending a day in prison. I just hope it's enough to deter enough voters in 2024.

There's a blind side in America when it comes to acknowledging the primary role of racism and white supremacy that drives Trump's base and the right-wing ecosystem. For nearly seven years we've read study after study that has revealed that it's primarily cultural anxiety and not economic anxiety that binds MAGA to Trump and yet the zombie narrative still persists. If institutional power and its stenographer actually confronted this reality, they'd have to admit there are double standards in place - top down - that create unfair advantages that benefit those with wealth and light skin. That shattered the nonsense myth of "pulling yourself up from your bootstraps" and "trickle-down economics" and forces us to confront our role in perpetuating injustice and inequities. It also means we have to actually confront white supremacist extremism, the number one domestic threat in America. Instead, we infantilize, coddle, normalize and excuse white rage, and by extension, MAGA. We still haven't learned.

Rick Wilson is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project, a former leading Republican strategist, and author of two books, "Everything Trump Touches Dies" and "Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America from Trump - and Democrats from Themselves".

Trump is the frontrunner and the eventual GOP nominee for President. He has a commanding lead, controls the levers of power within the party, and is only gaining ground. None of the other candidates have exhibited any ability to cut into his lead and bring the MAGA cult members who dominate the party into their campaign.

The indictment in Georgia is sweeping in its scope and details how Trump has turned the GOP into his own personal crime family. But the trial will take years to resolve itself. MAGA will not be stopped in a courtroom, only through the ballot box.

The nation is facing a serious crisis. Trump is leading a crime family masquerading as a political party. He empowers individuals who believe violence is a political tool, support racism and misogyny, and don't want anything to do with governing - only obtaining power.

Trump has completely and utterly destroyed the Republican Party. The party of Reagan is no longer a legitimate party concerned about policy. It is an authoritarian force with designs on taking control of the nation and destroying any opposition to its bankrupt vision.

There is only one party that believes in the rule of law and supports democracy - and that is the Democratic Party led by President Biden. If we are to turn the page on this dark moment in American history, then MAGA must be defeated and a new party must take the place of the Republican party.

Democrats need to come to the realization the election will be contested between President Biden and Donald Trump, and that Trump can win. This will be a close election and no one can afford to sit it out because they want different choices. Anyone who cares about democracy needs to be working to re-elect President Biden.

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about Trump's impact
Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell jumped into the U.S. Senate race in Florida on Tuesday, becoming the highest-profile Democrat yet to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott for his seat.

Mucarsel-Powells announcement came after months of discussions with top Senate Democrats and Democratic-aligned groups, who sought to coax Mucarsel-Powell into the race, arguing that her past experience running in a South Florida battleground district and her fundraising track record would make her an automatic top-tier challenger to Scott.

Mucarsel-Powell, who was born in Ecuador and moved to the U.S. as a teenager, flipped control of a key South Florida U.S. House seat in 2018 when she defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo. She lost reelection two years later to then-Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, and afterward took a job as a senior adviser for the anti-gun violence group Giffords.

In her kick-off announcement on Tuesday, Mucarsel-Powell made clear that she would lean on her immigrant roots and prior congressional experience on the campaign trail. She also homed in on a series of issues, like abortion rights and the ballooning cost of property insurance in Florida, that Democrats are hoping to use in 2024 to trip up Republicans.

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Im an immigrant, a Latina, a mother and we made history together when I became the first South American immigrant ever elected to Congress, she said in a video posted online on Tuesday morning. Ive already fought guys like Rick Scott and beat them.

She also signaled a focus on gun violence, pointing to her work with Giffords and the death of her father, who was shot and killed at his home in Ecuador when Mucarsel-Powell was 24.

Before she can train her full focus on Scott, shell likely have to make it first through a Democratic primary. If she emerges from that race, taking on Scott wont be easy.

Miami, Florida, January 26, 2022 - Senator Rick Scott answers questions from the press during a press conference in front of Mondongos restaurant in Doral, Florida.

The former two-term governor is a multimillionaire and has shown a willingness to pour his personal fortune into his political campaigns. He and his allies are also quick to note that hes never lost a bid for public office.

Despite winning his 2018 Senate bid over then-Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by just a fraction of a percentage point  or about 10,000 votes  Scott also has the political headwinds blowing in his favor. Florida has lurched to the right in recent years, delivering Republicans key victories, even in once-Democratic-leaning areas.

In 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio carried both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties, where Democrats often look to bank large amounts of votes. That same year, Republicans won supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature and took control of every statewide elected office.

The GOP has also managed to score a significant voter registration edge in Florida in recent years. As of June 30, registered Republican voters in the state outnumbered Democrats by more than 500,000, according to data from the Florida Division of Elections.

In an interview with the Miami Herald on Monday ahead of her campaign launch, Mucarsel-Powell acknowledged Democrats recent struggles in South Florida, but said that she has been feeling a change in the state over the past several months and believes that Democrats have an opening in Florida in 2024.

She blamed other factors, as well, for Democrats recent troubles in Florida: gerrymandering by Republicans, alleged voter suppression tactics and poor Democratic turnout in the 2022 midterm elections.

If we can work closely together and build the infrastructure that is needed, I am very, very much positive and I am very optimistic that we can make the changes we need, she said.

Mucarsel-Powell isnt the only Democrat running to take on Scott next year. Navy veteran Phil Ehr, who ran an unsuccessful campaign to oust Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in 2020, entered the Senate race in July, while former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has filed paperwork to run.

Ehr welcomed Mucarsel-Powell into the race on Tuesday, but noted that he doesnt have any plans to clear the way for the former congresswoman to take the Democratic nomination.

This important choice is going to be made by Floridians, not Washington insiders, and Im confident that they will recognize that Ive been on the front lines fighting for democracy and working to hold corrupt MAGA politicians like Rick Scott accountable, Ehr said.

Florida state House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, who had been weighing a campaign for Senate, announced on Monday that she would not challenge Scott in 2024, attributing her decision to unfinished business in Tallahassee.

Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins has also said that shes considering a run for Senate, though she hasnt made a formal announcement about her plans.

Democrats say theres at least some reason to be optimistic about their chances in Florida in 2024. For one, Scott has never run for office in a presidential election year, when Democratic turnout tends to be somewhat higher and down-ballot candidates prospects are often tied to those of their partys White House hopefuls.

He has also faced criticism for a 12-point policy plan he released last year that included a proposal to sunset all federal programs, including Medicare and Social Security. He later reversed course, carving out exemptions for those programs.

Scotts campaign dismissed Mucarsel-Powells announcement on Tuesday, calling her a failed congressional candidate who had aligned herself with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her time in Washington.

Former Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell is a radical socialist who voted 100% of the time with Nancy Pelosi during her short tenure in Congress, which is why the voters of South Florida booted her out of office the first chance they got, Priscilla Ivasco, the communications director for Scotts campaign, said. Floridians already rejected her once and they will reject her again.

Mucarsel-Powell and other Florida Democrats said that theyve received assurances from national Democrats that the party still sees Florida as a competitive battleground, despite its rocky recent track record.

Floridas a bright purple state, Mucarsel-Powell told the Herald. Theres so much more that unites us than divides us.

This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Rick Scott Communications Director Priscilla Ivascos name.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) was on an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel when it emerged that AIPAC planned to challenge two Democratic incumbents.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) was on an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel when it emerged that AIPAC planned to challenge two Democratic incumbents.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), a staunch ally of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, affirmed his support for the reelection bids of progressive Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), whom AIPAC is hoping to oust.

Leader Hakeem Jeffries intends to continue his practice of supporting the reelection of every single House Democratic incumbent, from the most progressive to the most centrist, and all points in between, Christie Stephenson, Jeffries spokesperson, said in a statement.

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House Democrats campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, did not comment for this story but emphasized its policy of supporting incumbent Democrats regardless of their ideology.

Jeffries has been supportive of Bowman and Omar, bitter AIPAC foes, in the past. His political action committee, the Jobs, Education, and Families First (JEFF) PAC, gave $5,000 each to Bowman, Omar and Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.), who is also a left-wing Israel critic, ahead of their primary races in 2022. JEFF PAC also gave $5,000 to Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) last October during a general election fight in which AIPACs super PAC spent a significant sum against her.

HuffPost reached out to Jeffries team about his position because AIPAC is in the process of actively recruiting candidates to run against Omar and Bowman, according to a Jewish Insider report on Aug. 9. Omar and Bowman support imposing stricter conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, a stance that AIPAC sees as a threat to Israels security. They were also among the progressive lawmakers who declined to attend Israeli President Isaac Herzogs speech to Congress in July.

The same day that the Jewish Insider report came out, AIPAC posted a video of Jeffries from an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel in which he extols the special relationship that exists between the United States and Israel.

Technically speaking, AIPAC uses its main nonprofit arm for lobbying on Capitol Hill and funds its congressional delegation trips to Israel through an affiliated philanthropy, the American Israel Education Foundation.

The pro-Israel group uses separate entities to engage in electioneering. AIPAC uses its political action committee, a separate arm of the organization, to endorse candidates and uses an affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, to conduct major spending in competitive elections. It launched both entities in December 2021.

In the 2022 election cycle, United Democracy Project spent about $4 million trying to defeat Lee in the primary and general elections, and quietly spent $350,000 backing Omars primary challenger. Omar narrowly survived that race.

Despite the apparent difference between the branch of AIPAC that sent Jeffries to Israel and the affiliated groups that get involved in campaigns, HuffPost wanted to get Jeffries on the record about Omar and Bowman, given his passionate opposition to primary challenges on the one hand and his particular contempt for what he calls the extreme left on the other.

Ahead of the 2022 elections, Jeffries co-founded Team Blue, a PAC for defending incumbent Democrats against primary challenges. The group endorsed only a handful of incumbents last cycle, all of whom were mainstream Democrats facing left-wing challenges.

HuffPost also inquired about whether Jeffries had spoken with Rep. Dean Phillips, a moderate Minnesota Democrat, about his flirtation with a presidential run and his insistence that President Joe Biden should not seek a second term due to his age. As a co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), Phillips is a member of House Democrats leadership team.

Stephenson provided a statement to The Hill last Thursday announcing that Jeffries planned to speak to Phillips about the matter.

Dean Phillips was independently elected to a leadership position in the House Democratic Caucus, she said. He is ultimately accountable to his House colleagues, who have not been bashful in sharing their views.

On Monday, Stephenson confirmed to HuffPost that Jeffries and Phillips had a productive, private conversation late last week.

We have no further comment at this moment, she added.

Related...
DENVER  As a wealthy dentist convicted of killing his wife at the end of an African safari listened in court, her brother vowed on Monday to move her remains to a place that Larry Rudolph would never discover.

Shortly before a judge sentenced Rudolph to life in prison in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph, Vincent Finizio also predicted Larry Rudolph would die alone and unmourned and that his future grandchildren will never know he existed.

Even Judas would be afraid to be in your company, Finizio said, referencing the home of Jesus traitor  the worst circle of hell imagined by Dante.

U.S. District Judge William Martinez also imposed over an estimated $15 million in financial penalties against Rudolph, who was also convicted of mail fraud for cashing in nearly $5 million in insurance policies for his wife as he began a new life with his longtime girlfriend.

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Rudolph has claimed throughout the case that his wifes death in the southern African nation of Zambia was an accident. His lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said he and fellow defense lawyer, Margot Moss, were hopeful they would win an appeal.

LUCY LETBY: British neonatal nurse Lucy Letby sentenced to life for 'sadistic' murders of 7 babies

And well be back to get a fair trial and then Larry can walk out of here a free man, Markus said.

Prosecutors say Rudolph, who owned a Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, shot his wife of 34 years in the heart with a shotgun on her last morning in Zambia, and then put the gun in its soft case to make it look like she had accidentally shot herself while packing. The couple had been hunting game during their trip.

They also claim the setting, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the nearest police station, was the perfect place to try to get away with the crime, where they say he rushed to have his wife cremated and intimidated officials investigating her death.

They allege the goal was to live a lavish retirement with his longtime girlfriend, Lori Milliron, with the help of the insurance money. Milliron was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June after being convicted of being an accessory. She has filed an appeal.

The son, left, and daughter, back right, of Pittsburgh dentist Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph head into federal court for the afternoon session of the trial, Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Denver.

The penalties for Rudolph include a combination of restitution, fines and property forfeiture. Rudolph also got a 20-year prison term to be served at the same time as his life sentence for his mail fraud conviction. Martinez ordered Rudolph serve his sentence at a prison with health care facilities because of his unspecified heart problems.

With a life sentence required under federal sentencing rules, Mondays hearing focused mostly on the the financial penalties facing Rudolph, with pages after pages of financial charts tracking the movement of the insurance payouts discussed. Some was used to build two homes, one in Arizona and another in Pennsylvania, as well as for two luxury cars, an Aston Martin DB-11 and a Bentley Bentayga.

Martinez ordered Rudolph pay $4.9 million in restitution to the insurance companies and a $2 million fine. He also approved the forfeiture of the homes and cars as well other assets linked to the insurance proceeds, which the defense says totaled over $9 million. The government did not provide an estimate of their worth.

In a case where prosecutors argued that Bianca Rudolphs murder was a culmination of a lifetime spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power, prosecutors had urged Martinez to impose a $10 million fine against Rudolph.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Fields argued the steep penalty was necessary to ensure he does not have the ability to seek revenge  whether through frivolous lawsuits or hiring hit men  from behind bars.

But Rudolphs lawyers argued a fine that high would deny Rudolphs two adult children, Julian and AnaBianca Rudolph, money they would inherit from their late mothers estate. They also said Larry Rudolph, who estimated he was worth $27 million when he was arrested in 2021, was now only worth about $3 million. They said he did not have enough money to also pay a fine on top of the resititution to the insurance companies.

Martinez said he was persuaded by a letter from Julian Rudolph that a $10 million fine would further punish him and his sister.

DONE IN BY A DIARY: In the 1930s, bank robberies were a craze. This one out of Cincinnati may take the cake.

The children have so far opted not to speak much publicly about the death, although AnaBianca Rudolph testified against Milliron, her fathers longtime girlfriend, at her sentencing. They did not appear at their fathers sentencing hearing.

Investigators in Zambia and for the insurers concluded Bianca Rudolphs death was an accident. The insurance companies, some based in Colorado, then paid out the life insurance, according to the defense in court documents.

Larry Rudolph was arrested nearly five years after her death following an FBI investigation that sent agents traveling around the world to collect evidence and interview witnesses.

Prosecutors allege Rudolph built his wealth on fraud. In a document laying out the facts of the case, which is disputed by the defense, they say he shot off his thumb during a previous visit to Zambia to collect millions in disability insurance money; they also allege he cheated his dental patients, creating the need for root canals by not doing fillings or drilling holes in their teeth while they were asleep.

Today points out that no matter how wealthy you are, no matter how prestigious you are, no matter how well connected you are, the long arm of the law will find you and justice will arrive for you, Cole Finegan, the U.S. Attorney for Colorado, said after the sentencing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dentist convicted of killing wife on African safari gets life sentence
DENVER  As a wealthy dentist convicted of killing his wife at the end of an African safari listened in court, her brother vowed on Monday to move her remains to a place that Larry Rudolph would never discover.

Shortly before a judge sentenced Rudolph to life in prison in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph, Vincent Finizio also predicted Larry Rudolph would die alone and unmourned and that his future grandchildren will never know he existed.

Even Judas would be afraid to be in your company, Finizio said, referencing the home of Jesus traitor  the worst circle of hell imagined by Dante.

U.S. District Judge William Martinez also imposed an estimated $15 million in financial penalties against Rudolph, who was also convicted of mail fraud for cashing in nearly $5 million in insurance policies for his wife as he began a new life with his longtime girlfriend.

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Rudolph has claimed throughout the case that his wifes death in the southern African nation of Zambia was an accident. His lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said he and fellow defense lawyer, Margot Moss, were hopeful they would win an appeal.

And well be back to get a fair trial and then Larry can walk out of here a free man," Markus said.

The son, left, and daughter, back right, of Pittsburgh dentist Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph head into federal court for the afternoon session of the trial, Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Denver.

Prosecutors say Rudolph, who owned a Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, shot his wife of 34 years in the heart with a shotgun on her last morning in Zambia, and then put the gun in its soft case to make it look like she had accidentally shot herself while packing. The couple had been hunting game during their trip.

They also claim the setting, about 80 miles from the nearest police station, was the perfect place to try to get away with the crime, where they say he rushed to have his wife cremated and intimidated officials investigating her death.

They allege the goal was to live a lavish retirement with his longtime girlfriend, Lori Milliron, with the help of the insurance money. Milliron was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June after being convicted of being an accessory. She has filed an appeal.

The penalties for Rudolph include a combination of restitution, fines and property forfeiture. Rudolph also received a 20-year prison term to be served at the same time as his life sentence for his mail fraud conviction. Martinez ordered Rudolph to serve his sentence at a prison with health care facilities because of his unspecified heart problems.

With a life sentence required under federal sentencing rules, Monday's hearing focused mostly on the financial penalties facing Rudolph, with pages after pages of financial charts tracking the movement of the insurance payouts discussed. Some was used to build two homes, one in Arizona and another in Pennsylvania, as well as for two luxury cars, an Aston Martin DB-11 and a Bentley Bentayga.

Martinez ordered Rudolph pay $4.9 million in restitution to the insurance companies and a $2 million fine. He also approved the forfeiture of the homes and cars as well other assets linked to the insurance proceeds, which the defense says totaled over $9 million. The government did not provide an estimate of their worth.

In a case where prosecutors argued that Bianca Rudolph's murder was a culmination of a lifetime spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power, prosecutors had urged Martinez to impose a $10 million fine against Rudolph.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Fields argued the steep penalty was necessary to ensure he does not have the ability to seek revenge  whether through frivolous lawsuits or hiring hit men  from behind bars.

But Rudolph's lawyers argued a fine that high would deny Rudolph's two adult children, Julian and AnaBianca Rudolph, money they would inherit from their late mother's estate. They also said Larry Rudolph, who estimated he was worth $27 million when he was arrested in 2021, was now only worth about $3 million. They said he did not have enough money to also pay a fine on top of the resititution to the insurance companies.

Martinez said he was persuaded by a letter from Julian Rudolph that a $10 million fine would further punish him and his sister.

The children have so far opted not to speak much publicly about the death, although AnaBianca Rudolph testified against Milliron, her father's longtime girlfriend, at her sentencing. They did not appear at their father's sentencing hearing.

Investigators in Zambia and for the insurers concluded Bianca Rudolph's death was an accident. The insurance companies, some based in Colorado, then paid out the life insurance, according to the defense in court documents.

Larry Rudolph was arrested nearly five years after her death following an FBI investigation that sent agents traveling around the world to collect evidence and interview witnesses.

Prosecutors allege Rudolph built his wealth on fraud. In a document laying out the facts of the case, which is disputed by the defense, they say he shot off his thumb during a previous visit to Zambia to collect millions in disability insurance money; they also allege he cheated his dental patients, creating the need for root canals by not doing fillings or drilling holes in their teeth while they were asleep.

Today points out that no matter how wealthy you are, no matter how prestigious you are, no matter how well connected you are, the long arm of the law will find you and justice will arrive for you, Cole Finegan, the U.S. Attorney for Colorado, said after the sentencing.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Larry Rudolph given life sentence after killing wife on safari
Marion County deputies said theyve evacuated a Walmart store after a bomb threat was found on a wall.

Deputies said the store, which is located at 34 Bahia Ave. in Ocala, is closed due to the threat, which was found written on the wall near the womens restroom.

Investigators are asking people to avoid the area, and Greenway Elementary has been placed on a Code Yellow as a precaution.

Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for updates.

Read: Sheriff: Woman admits to strangling her son, 13, at their home near St. Cloud

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Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee has lined up a new comedy series for Channel 4.

The writer is re-teaming with the channel behind Derry Girls for How To Get To Heaven From Belfast, a sitcom with a thriller edge about friends reuniting to solve a mystery.

The series is based around three former teenage friends, now in their 30s, receiving shocking news that one of their former classmates has died in tragic fashion.

Antony Jones/BAFTA - Getty Images

Related: BAFTA winner Derry Girls' Siobhan McSweeney reflects on her role as Sister Michael

Successful writer Saoirse, stressed mother-of-three Robyn and full-time carer Dara reunite for their late friend's wake, only to discover there are some dark secrets behind the sad death.

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The trio are suddenly thrust into the role of amateur detectives in a case that takes them from Belfast to the wilderness of Iceland in search for answers.

McGee teased: "I feel so incredibly lucky to be making another show for the phenomenal Channel 4 and to be doing it with Hat Trick Productions again and the creative team behind Derry Girls, the mighty Liz Lewin and Caroline Leddy, is just a dream. I've wanted to make a comedy thriller set in Northern Ireland for SUCH a long time. I cannot wait to share these flawed funny women with everyone.

Channel 4 has ordered eight 60-minute episodes of How To Get To Heaven From Belfast, which will unveil casting and additional information as production gets closer.

Jeff Spicer - Getty Images

Related: Derry Girls and Ted Lasso stars team up for new comedy

The new commission comes on the heels of Derry Girls coming to an end in 2022, with cast member Siobhan McSweeney recently casting doubt that a movie spinoff could be in the works.

"I think the thing that makes shows great is that you want to end them, and don't ruin them by dragging them out for years and years and years," McSweeney told Digital Spy.

"So I think we've left the characters in a good place, a good place of hope, a place of peace. So why not leave them there for the time being? I see Sister Michael every time I open my eyes anyway. She's always with me."

The final season of Derry Girls had huge success at the recent BAFTA TV Awards, where McGee won Best Scripted Comedy and Siobhan McSweeney won for Best Female Comedy Performance.

How To Get To Heaven From Belfast is coming soon to Channel 4.

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Two Des Moines residents scolded City Council members Monday for voting to keep a third driveway entrance into a strip mall on the city's northwest side  a decision, residents said, that prioritizes cars over pedestrians and bicyclists.

Rich Eychaner, the owner of Midwest Radio, Inc., which owns the Merle Hay Mart at 3839 Merle Hay Road, asked the City Council to reconsider a decision by the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission last month that would have stripped away one of three access driveways to the strip mall along Merle Hay Road.

Eychaner said the entrance the commission had planned to get rid of was the only "unique" entrance to the building, while the others are shared with neighboring businesses. He also said that he eliminated nearly 20 driveway entrances around the property since buying it in 2006.

But residents like Alec Davis, founder of the political action committee Momentum DSM, said a City Council decision to keep the driveway would signal to the community that the city doesn't care about traffic safety.

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Davis also reminded council members of their adoption of Vision Zero, a plan to overhaul the city's road system to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Preliminary findings in the plan identified Merle Hay Road as one of the city's so-called high injury networks  segments with the greatest crash risk.

"The rules that are put in place to reduce the number of curb cuts and driveways and minimize conflict points between pedestrians and drivers are not imposed haphazardly, they're done because they're proven ways to make our streets safer for all road users," Davis said.

"You don't have to be a pedestrian or a bicyclist to know that Merle Hay Road is dangerous," added Carol Maher, a resident and Plan and Zoning commissioner. "Closing curb cuts through the site plan process is a creative way to address these hazards."

Council ultimately approved Eychaner's appeal with six votes and the driveway will remain in place.

During public comment on the next agenda item  a similar issue related to curb cuts on Southeast 14th Street  Maher made her voice heard on the previous decision: "Shame," she said.

Also on the agenda, the City Council voted to start acquiring properties that are along the future Central Place Levee Trail. Council also voted to approve an application for an Iowa Department of Natural Resources grant to help pay for a $2 million overhaul of the Gray's Lake Park boat ramp and approved $900,000 for a community recreation center on the city's north side.

Here's what you need to know about Monday's council meeting:

2 property owners likely impacted by Central Place Levee Trail

Two commercial property owners may need to hand over some of their land to the city to make way for the first phase of the $2.1 million Central Place Levee Trail along the Des Moines River.

More: Many of Des Moines' low-income neighborhoods lack bike trails. How a new link could help:

City engineer Steve Naber told the Des Moines Register the bulk of the trail is built on top of the Central Place Levee, but there are two trail connections that likely will cut into properties. One is at the intersection of Second and Franklin avenues, which would impact L & K Services, and the other is a connection from the trail to University Avenue, which would cut through Eldridge Welding & Machine Co.'s land.

Naber emphasized that the work would not kick property owners out.

"This will just require us working with them because the trail would cross over to their property," he said. Land could be gifted, sold or acquired through eminent domain.

Additionally, the Iowa Department of Transportation will have to grant a permit to allow a portion of the trail to be constructed within state property right-of-way along West River Drive, under the Interstate 235 bridge, according to a memo to the City Council.

The Central Place Levee Trail will run from the Rotary Riverwalk Park in downtown Des Moines north to Euclid Avenue.

The 3.7-mile Central Place Levee Trail will trace the west side of the Des Moines River and wind through neighborhoods like River Bend, King Irving, Chautauqua Park, Prospect Park and Cheatom Park  some of the areas with the highest proportion of low-income families and non-white households in the metro, U.S. Census Bureau data shows.

The link will cater to residents that may lack easy and safe access to outdoor transportation and recreation, something that could lead to healthier lifestyles and give people, especially children, a chance to explore and experience nature in an urban setting.

The affected property owners were given an opportunity at Monday's council meeting to voice concerns or objections to the proposed acquisitions, but none showed. Naber said the city would work with owners during the design process to minimize the impacts.

More: See where Des Moines plans to add new multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trails

Des Moines wants to overhaul Gray's Lake Park boat ramp

The city wants to give the Gray's Lake Park boat ramp a $2 million makeover.

The existing paddle craft marina located at the southwest corner of Grays Lake Park is a launching site for people who want to take rental canoes, kayaks and paddleboards for a spin on the lake. But city officials say the dock wasn't built with the "environmental resilience" necessary for long-term, water-adjacent development, according to a council communication memo.

The dock was further damaged and distressed by winter weather in 2022. And though the city has made multiple short-term repairs, officials say the dock's serviceability is in decline.

The city's Grays Lake Paddlecraft Marina Development Project would replace the current infrastructure with features including an upland bypass trail, elevation adjustments to the Kruidenier Trail, entry drive and parking pavement repairs, an upland viewing deck and floodable storage for additional paddle craft, and ADA-compliant pathways. It also would have paddle craft dockage, a gangway and shoreline improvements.

The updates are part of a larger master plan that seeks to improve several areas of Gray's Lake.

City Council voted to submit a grant funding application to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Resource Enhancement and Protection program for $300,000 in grant funding toward the project.

Reichardt Community Recreation Center gets $900,000 in donations

Council members approved another $900,000 donation for a community recreation center to replace the aging John Grubb YMCA on the city' north side.

The estimated $18 million facility, which will be renamed the Reichardt Community Recreation Center, already has received a combined $3.6 million dollars from six community donors. The latest donations of $750,000 and $150,000 were gifted from Prairie Meadows and Principal Financial Group, respectively, according to a council communications memo. The pool will be named the Prairie Meadows Pool.

More: The Des Moines north side rec center has a name

Des Moines has committed to pay $12 million toward the project, $9.5 million of which will come from its allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The community center was developed over the course of six public meetings and more than 200 community conversations, where one central theme emerged: Des Moines' north side residents want access to the same state-of-the-art community facilities as their suburban peers. The city has community centers on the south and east sides and the new complex, which eventually will replace the Grubb YMCA at 1611 11th St., is meant to fill gaps on the north and central parts of Des Moines.

The 40,000-square-foot recreation center will house the first city-owned indoor pool, as well as a gymnasium, fitness space, community room and a track. Its full scope will be determined by the amount of money raised for the project.

The rec center is expected to open late in 2025 or early in 2026.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines plans Gray's Lake boat ramp overhaul, new bike trail
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will take the center spot at the first Republican primary debate Wednesday evening in Milwaukee, Fox News announced Tuesday.

Among the candidates who will attend the event, DeSantis leads across most GOP primary polls.

Former President Trump, the front-runner for the nomination who is polling well ahead of DeSantis and the rest of the field, announced late Sunday he would not attend Wednesdays debate.

Trump has instead agreed to sit for an interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson that is expected to publish Wednesday as he looks to upstage the network and the rest of the GOP field.

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The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

Flanking DeSantis will be entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Vice President Mike Pence, followed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Rounding out the debate stage will be Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Daokta Gov. Doug Burgum.

Among the long-shot candidates who failed to make the stage are Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Satellite imagery The War Zone obtained from Planet Labs shows the aftermath of the Aug. 19 Ukrainian drone attack on the Soltsy-2 airbase in Russia that destroyed at least one Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber.

The images, taken Monday, show the scorched remains of a Backfire in a revetment where examples of the type had been parked at least since Aug. 16, the last time high-resolution images of that base were taken by a Planet Labs satellite before today.

A close-up of a Planet Labs satellite image showing the burned remains of a Russian Tu-22M Backfire bomber destroyed during a Ukrainian drone attack last week at the Stoltsy-2 airbase in Russia. PHOTO  2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

A comparison between a satellite image of the base taken today (top) and the one taken on the 16th of August (bottom). PHOTO  2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

Addition prior images, taken by a Maxar Technologies satellite, show a large contingent of Backfires at the base on Aug. 10.

An overview of the Soltsy-2 airfield taken Aug., 10 shows at least Backfire bombers. (Maxar Technologies satellite image)

A closer view of two of those bombers taken Aug. 10 (Maxar Technolgies satellite image)

Soltsy-2 is located about 100 miles from the Estonian border. (Google Earth image)

In the wake of that attack, vivid images emerged on social media of a Backfire engulfed in flames. The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) on Sunday claimed that a drone was detected by the airfields observation post and that it was hit by small arms fire. A fire broke out as the result of the terrorist attack and one airplane was damaged, the Russian MoD claimed. A spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) told The War Zone on Monday that one Backfire was destroyed Saturday in the attack on the Soltsy-2 airbase and two others were damaged.

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https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1693238607417676133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1693238607417676133%7Ctwgr%5Ec1ca24de52e54360b88cf4119d835c44e2142e70%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Ftu-22-backfire-destroyed-in-drone-strike-deep-inside-russia

Aside from showing the burned aircraft, the satellite images also show that Russia has since evacuated all other Backfires that had been parked at Soltsy-2 - which is about 415 miles north of the Ukrainian border - on Aug. 16. A total of 10 Tu-22M3s were seen at the base on the 16th, as well as an Il-76 transport and a Il-18 or derivative turboprop aircraft. All are gone now. That is something of a remarkable feat considering often times aircraft are broken on the ground and cannot immediately sortie, especially complex military types.

A side-by-side comparison of Planet Labs satellite images taken on Aug. 21 (top) and Aug. 16 (bottom) shows not only the damaged Backfire, but that at least nine others have since been moved. PHOTO  2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

While the bombers were no longer present in the most recent Planet Labs imagery, there was at least one Russian helicopter seen after the attack, as well as peculiar action on a central taxiway connecting the apron to the runway.

A Russian helicopter was visible at the Soltsy-2 airfield in a Planet Labs satellite image taken on Aug. 21. PHOTO  2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

Russian media claimed there was another Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian airbase Monday, this time at the Shaykovka airfield in Kaluga Oblast. That the home of the 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment.

There were conflicting reports about the damage, with the MASH media outlet saying there was none and the Baza media outlet saying an unused aircraft located at the airfield was damaged as a result of the fall of the drone. You can read more about here.

The drone used in Mondays attack was a civilian copter, retrofitted with IEDs and a reinforced battery, MASH reported. The Russian Defense Ministry, as we reported on Sunday, said Soltsy-2 was attacked by a copter-type UAV.

Tu-22M3 with a Kh-22/32 under its wing. (Dmitriy Pichugin via Wikicommons)

On Sunday, we concluded that the attack on Soltsy-2 was likely conducted from inside Russia, a hypothesis since validated by Ukraine and the U.K.

Andrii Yusov, the GUR spokesman, told us on Monday that it was responsible for both attacks, which were carried out by people inside Russia at the direction of his agency.

People recruited by the GUR came from central Russia, did their work and went back to their place, GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov told The War Zone Monday. GUR continues operations in Russia. In the border regions, in the deep rear and in Moscow.

The Shaykovka airfield, about 130 miles north of the Ukrainian border, was attacked by drones on Monday. (Google Earth image)

On Tuesday, the U.K. Defense Ministry said that Russias claim about a copter-style drone hitting Soltsy-2 adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia.

This is at least the third successful attack on [Long Range Aviation] LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russias ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country, the U.K. MoD added.

https://twitter.com/defencehq/status/1693864216107643122?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

In addition to these two most recent attacks, Ukraine had in the past prosecuted multiple attacks on Russian bomber bases using long-range drones, although those operations tapered off in recent months. Kyiv seemed to have turned its increasingly far reaching drone capabilities on Moscow, but these latest attacks from inside Russia point to a new trend of targeting Russia long-range airpower via localized drone strikes.

The security situation must remain quite precarious to evacuate Soltsy-2 of all fixed-wing aircraft.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
At least 115 people are dead and hundreds are still missing after deadly wildfires raged through the Hawaiian island of Maui.

The fires, which are now the deadliest in the US in the last century, erupted on three of Hawaiis islands forcing visitors to flee and residents to seek emergency shelter.

Photos and videos from Maui show the destruction the fires have caused, with some neighbourhoods including the historic town of Lahaina, nearly burned to ash.

Search and recovery efforts then began as firefighters worked to contain and put out the fires.

On 21 August, President Joe Biden travelled to the Hawaiian island to meet with first responders and survivors as the state begins efforts to rebuild in the wake of the disaster.

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But a frenzy of questions still remain about how the fires started in the first place and how disasters like this can be prevented in the future.

Heres everything we know about how the Hawaii wildfires started.

How did the wildfires start?

August is part of Hawaiis typical dry season when parts of the island experience abnormal to severe droughts.

Since the beginning of August, most of Maui has been under an abnormally dry level of drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.

But beginning on Tuesday, 8 August, a portion of Maui escalated to a severe drought level making the area more susceptible to wildfires.

Though the islands 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.

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 (AP)

The invasive grasses, which grew tall during the wet season, quickly dried out during the dry season  making them extremely flammable.

The dry vegetation combined with the drought conditions made for the perfect environment for wildfires.

But what may have caused the explosion in wildfire conditions is the strong winds brought on by Hurricane Dora, a Category 5 hurricane located several hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a red flag warning to the Hawaii National Guard due to the high winds, low humidity and drought, according to The Washington Post.

This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii (AP)

The biggest utility company in Hawaii is now coming under scrutiny as questions mount if it took enough precautions to prevent a wildfire as the heavy winds began to hit Maui last week.

Attorneys representing Lahaina residents are suing Hawaiian Electric, claiming that its equipment wasnt strong enough to handle the winds coming in over the island, adding that the company should have shut down the power before the winds struck the area, according to The New York Times.

Wildfire experts who have looked into the fires in California over the last 20 years see problems with Hawaiian Electric.

Officials on the state and local levels have not yet determined a cause for the fire almost a week after they began, but the conditions were similar to other parts of the US where wildfires have been started by electrical equipment, namely old infrastructure, high winds, and dry, easily flammable brush.

Many US wildfires start when powerlines are blown down, or when branches or other things land on powerlines leading to flashes of electricity, prompting some utility companies to shut power down ahead of strong winds.

The chief executive of the Frantz Law Group, James Frantz, told The Times that we allege that many of the regulatory laws that require maintenance of equipment were broken.

The group is one of several firms going up against Hawaiian Electric.

Theres got to be some accountability, he said.

Investors in the utility company appear to be concerned as its share price dropped more than a third of its value on Monday 14 August. The company may have to pay large amounts to settle lawsuits from homeowners and businesses, and also invest in fireproofing its current infrastructure.

Stock analyst Shahriar Pourreza told The Times that the issue becomes whether they did everything they could that was reasonable to prevent this incident.

Was there gross negligence, was there imprudence? he added.

The CEO of Hawaiian Electric, Shelee Kimura, said during a press conference on 14 August that they didnt have a shutdown programme and that shutting down the power may have led to problems for people using certain kinds of medical equipment.

She noted that turning the power off would have required coordination with the emergency services.

In Lahaina, the electricity powers the pumps that provide the water and so that was also a critical need during that time, she said. There are choices that need to be made and all of those factors play into it.

A home burned to ashes is seen in foreground as the sunset colors the sky in Kula, Hawaii, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, (AP)

Mr Pourreza noted that Hawaiian Electric could be liable for more than $4bn. In June, the company had $314m in cash.

Whisker Labs is a private firm that monitors the electrical grid in cities for issues that may lead to a home fire. Its data seems to show major incidents on powerlines close to where the fire is thought to have begun, according to The Times.

Late on 7 August and into the early hours of 8 August, the data shows that power lines started to lose voltage, which can occur when branches and other types of vegetation begin to affect wires, lines, poles, or other types of equipment.

The firm said it has nearly 1,000 sensors in Hawaii and around 70 on Maui. While all of the sensors on Maui sensed a fault, the strongest one was near Lahaina. Its co-founder and chief executive Bob Marshall told The Times: Something on the grid was very unhappy for eight seconds and trying to recover from a shock.

In a 2022 regulatory filing, Hawaiian Electric outlined efforts to reduce the risk of fires. It stated that the firm was hardening poles to be able to handle strong winds and that it was removing vegetation, citing Lahaina as a priority area.

Safety measures take time and may be expensive for a company to carry out.

Standford climate and energy policy scholar Michael Wara told The Times that burying power lines costs between $3m and $5m for every mile, with those costs usually added to bills for customers. The rates for electricity in Hawaii are already the highest in the US, the US Energy Information Administration states.

Why did they not do the cheap thing, turn the power off? Mr Wara asked.

Where did the wildfires start?

The fires broke out on three islands: Hawaii, Maui and Oahu with the deadliest fires being on Maui.

It is unclear where the fires first began but from the time they started, they moved extremely quickly.

The town of Lahaina, located in western Maui, was seemingly hit the hardest with the speed at which the fire moved on making it difficult for firefighters to contain the massive blaze.
Home values in Hamilton County have soared, based on the latest reappraisals from the auditor.

Many property owners in Hamilton County received a shock in the mail in the past week when they opened the latest reappraisals of their homes from the county auditor.

Home values have soared, meaning homeowners might pay more in property taxes. But many levies don't simply rise with assessments, so any tax increase will depend on where the home is located.

The reappraisals done by the Hamilton County auditor show overall residential property values jumped 32.7% compared to three years earlier.

Here's what that means.

How unusual is the increase?

A 32% increase in home values in a three-year period is the largest in recent memory, said Hamilton County Auditor Brigid Kelly. The former county auditor, Dusty Rhodes, who served as auditor for 30 years, said he doesn't remember such a large jump.

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It's significantly higher than the increase in value during the last updated valuation in 2020, when property values in Hamilton County increased 11% compared to three years earlier.

"The real estate market is moving in a way it hasnt always," Kelly said. "The market is crazy."

What is a reappraisal?

County auditors conduct a full reappraisal of properties every six years for tax purposes and update each appraisal every three years based on market data. The 2023 appraisal in Hamilton County is the full reappraisal, which includes the auditor's staff viewing the outside of properties as well as using market data.

Counties have to use guidance provided by Ohio's Tax Commissioner. The commissioner issues recommended property valuation increases for counties using the last year of its home sale data.

What about other counties?

It's not just Hamilton County. Historic increases in property values are expected across Ohio as home prices soar. Not every county is going through a reappraisal this year. And some are just going through the less comprehensive update.

Residential property values would jump 38% in Butler County north of Cincinnati and 23% in Clermont County to the east, according to the latest figures by the Ohio Department of Taxation. The county auditors send their appraisals to the Ohio Tax Commissioner, who then must approve the increase or decide it's too much or too little. Auditors and the tax commissioner then negotiate an assessment.

The tax commissioner has approved the values in Hamilton and Butler while Clermont County's is not final, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

The state has either approved or recommended value increases in 23 counties across Ohio, with the lowest being 15% in Noble County and the highest being 42% in Franklin County in Columbus. That's according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Does this reflect actual value increases?

The jump in home values reflects the market, based on the real estate site Redfin. The median home price in Hamilton County rose 37.5% from $200,000 in June 2020 to $275,000 in June 2023, according to Redfin.

What does this mean for your taxes?

Ohio property owners pay taxes on 35% of the appraised value of the property. While higher property values could mean higher taxes, a 32% increase in value doesn't necessarily mean a 32% increase in property taxes. That will vary from area to area, each with different tax districts and rates.

And many property taxes do not go up with higher property values. Ohio law fixes many of the voted tax levies to bring in a set amount of money, meaning tax rates go down as home values get higher. For instance, the Hamilton County Zoo levy is set to bring in $7 million each year for animal care. The amount of revenue it brings in doesn't go up with additional home value.

Should you be alarmed?

Rhodes, the former Hamilton County auditor, said for many homeowners, an increase in value won't mean a large jump in taxes because of the reduction of tax rates required by Ohio law. It's about equity to make sure all properties are taxed fairly, he said.

"These reappraisals arent done to raise taxes," Rhodes said. "While it looks scary to see houses go up that much, taxes wont ... Dont be alarmed is the message."

What's next?

The values are tentative and could change between now and the end of the year, according to the Hamilton County auditor. Any property owner whose value changes between now and the fall will receive a second letter from the auditor.

The final values will be posted on the Hamilton County auditor's website in December.

How can you challenge the appraisal?

If you disagree with your property's final value, you can file a complaint with the Hamilton County Board of Revision from Jan. 1 through March 31 of 2024. The Hamilton County Auditor's Board of Revision site lists the process and types of evidence needed for homeowners to make their case.

Do you have more questions?

Email reporter Scott Wartman at swartman@enquirer.com or leave your question in the comments.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What does the large property value hike mean for your taxes?
It was the first day of school Monday, but 6-year-old Hassly Cespedes stood in line at a soup kitchen instead of in a cafeteria lunch line.

With her hair tied up in two buns and wearing a floral jumpsuit, the young girl had been excited for her first day of school at Emmett Louis Till Math and Science Academy, said her mother, 26-year-old Eliany Pina, as they waited for a meal at Martin Temple AME Zion Church in Woodlawn. The family had arrived in Chicago from Venezuela 10 days ago.

But instead, Hassly was turned away from the school Monday morning with seven other elementary school-aged kids who are staying with their migrant families at the 3rd District police station, despite filling out paperwork, according to Britt Hodgdon, a volunteer at the 2nd and 3rd District police stations.

Kids are showing up with rotting teeth and active fevers and malnutrition and theyre not receiving care here, said Hodgdon. And then on top of that were now refusing them education and all of the things that come with that.

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In a statement Monday evening, Chicago Public Schools said that migrants arrived at Emmett Till with outdated enrollment forms not provided by Till staff.

The Till principal proceeded to inquire about a meeting to organize the enrollment information and provide updated enrollment forms in Spanish, the district said in a statement. The principal collected everyones name, phone number and any email addresses and provided enrollment forms in Spanish.

CPS had been preparing this summer for the throng of new English learner students, most of them migrant children, with about 1,000 of them enrolling prior to the start of school Monday. The district anticipates another 1,000 from temporary shelters and police stations to enroll throughout the beginning of the school year.

The District was provided with information about children staying at police stations within the past few business days and is developing a plan to incorporate enrollment procedures for those families who are staying at police stations. We consider those families to be part of the estimated 1,000 students that we are in the process of enrolling, the statement said. We are working with urgency and are dedicated to enrolling as many families as quickly as we can. This includes deploying mobile units to local police stations and other temporary shelters this week to ensure all children are provided access to our services.

But Hodgdon said the 3rd District has received no help or outreach from the city of Chicago to enroll children at police districts or to educate volunteers about providing educational services. Yesterday, volunteers took matters into their own hands and printed the enrollment packet for children like Hassly, Hodgdon said.

Just before lunchtime, Pina and her husband, Jonni Cespedes, lay on a cardboard box in the grass outside the 3rd District police station.

Cespedes, Hasslys father, touched his daughters hair as he remembered the harrowing journey the family took from Venezuela to New Mexico, through the notorious jungle known as the Darien Gap. They fled their country to escape violence, he said, riding a dangerous train known as La Bestia.

It was a nightmare, he said in Spanish.

Hassly used a purple crayon to fill in the lines of a coloring sheet with a princess.

I like to draw, she said in Spanish. I want to be an artist.

A socio-political and economic crisis in Venezuela has displaced more than 7 million people as refugees and migrants, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. While most of them have resettled in Central America, more than 500,000 have made their way into the United States and make up many of the 13,000 migrants who have come to Chicago in the past year. The migrants began coming to Chicago last fall sent on buses by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

In response to the swelling new English learner population, CPS has increased funding for bilingual instruction by $15 million in its 2023-24 budget. The money is for additional staff members at schools that received new English learners after school began in 2022, a spokesperson told the Tribune last week.

CPS said in its statement Monday they prioritize Students in Temporary Living Situations. STLS students can immediately enroll in school, even if he or she lacks health, immunization, or school records, proof of guardianship, proof of residency, or any other documentation normally required for school enrollment, CPS said.

Cespedes said his daughter Hassly and 9-year-old son Hassler were excited Sunday night to go to school. They left for Emmett Till at 7:40 in the morning on Monday, but neither child was allowed to enroll.

They didnt have people who spoke Spanish, so they turned them away, said Pina in Spanish.

Two high school students staying at the police station tried to attend Emil G. Hirsch Metropolitan High School, and though they werent turned away, they were given no language support, according to Zachary Goldstein, a volunteer at the 3rd District who lives in Woodlawn.

Goldstein said Hirsch staff told the two students there was a gym teacher and language arts teacher who spoke Spanish and could help them settle at the beginning of the day tomorrow.

But for most of the day, they will be on their own, using Google Translate, he said.

CPS acknowledged that the students attended Hirsch Monday, and said in a statement they were able to enroll with the support of CPS staff and the families translator.

Hirsch has identified the students are in need of English Learner services and is working with the Districts Talent Office to ensure staff are at Hirsch to provide services to new students this week, the district said in the statement.

At lunchtime, children and parents sleeping at the 3rd District walked through the humidity to the church, where volunteers wearing aprons that read Spoonful of Hope directed them in English.

Martin Temple volunteers asked Goldstein if he could stay and help translate. Hed already spent the morning walking with the families to school and handling their paperwork. He said he could spend a few minutes at the soup kitchen, but couldnt stay all day.

A 55-year-old man named Mike Jackson stood in line. He said he had also experienced homelessness, and wondered why the city hadnt stepped up to provide help for him and his community.

Ive been on the streets, he said. Nothing against them, but (the city) should have taken care of us first.

Hodgdon, who specializes in trauma and childrens mental health, said no child should have to deal with the logistics of navigating a new school with no language support.

And were talking about some of Chicagos toughest schools on top of that, she said.

Ald. William Hall, 6th, where the 3rd District police station is located, said if hed known what happened to the children, he would have gone there immediately.

I will reach out to as many people involved as possible and begin to work closely with CPS to make sure were not excluding anyone from the opportunity to learn, he said. This is the ward of scholars.

Just after 3 p.m. at Emmett Till on Monday, children got out of school, wearing matching yellow polos and holding pizzas provided by the Chicago Police Department. Emmett Till staff declined to comment about what they were doing to support migrants.

Cars honked as children joyously reunited with their parents.

An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the train the migrant family rode through Mexico.

nsalzman@chicagotribune.com
Petersburg Police and Virginia State Police block off Wagner Road near U.S. Route 460 Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, during a standoff with a driver who attempted to elude state police in Chesterfield County. The driver was eventualy taken into custody and the road reopened.

PETERSBURG  A Dinwiddie County man is in custody after eluding state police and forcing a standoff with authorities that blocked off a portion of Wagner Road for a few hours Tuesday.

Using tear gas, police were able to get the man out of the car, which had been reported stolen by a local auto-rental agency. He was taken to Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County during the investigation into the on-again, off-again pursuit that began at a hotel on Willis Road, state police Sgt. Jessica Shehan said.

According to state police, the incident began around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday when a VSP agent working on auto-theft detail was told a Cadillac outside the Sleep Inn on Willis Road belonged to a car agency and had reported it stolen. The agency used the cars GPS to track it.

When the agent tried to intervene, the driver of the Cadillac sped off toward Route 1.

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Troopers chased the car south on Route 1 but eventually lost sight of it. It was spotted again on Interstate 295, and the pursuit started again.

Shehan said the car sped off I-295 onto Interstate 95 north toward Wagner Road, where it got off and rammed a VSP vehicle carrying both a trooper and a Petersburg Police officer. Neither was hurt.

The pursuit ended on Wagner Road less than tenth of a mile from County Drive. State and Petersburg police surrounded the vehicle and ordered the driver out, but he refused, claimed he was armed and drove the car further into a wooded area.

For the next hour and a half, authorities blocked off an almost two-mile stretch of Wagner Road between Normandy Drive at I-95 and County Drive while the standoff continued.

An apparent tear-gas cloud emits from the area where a suspect was holed up in a car Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, along Wagner Road in Petersburg. A driver who eluded state police from Chesterfield into Petersburg was stopped by state and Petersburg police, and drove his car into the woods after refusing to get out.

It ended with police using tear gas to subdue the driver. A 30-second horn blast was heard from the area where the car was, followed by a gaseous cloud coming from the trees. Shortly thereafter, officers were seen walking the suspect to a waiting car while other officers stood by and wiped their eyes.

The suspect was identified as Derrick Chandler, 45, of DeWitt in Dinwiddie County. He was wanted on a grand larceny charge in Chesterfield County and had a protective order issued against him.

The incident remains under investigation. Shehan said charges are pending against Chandler In the pursuit and standoff.

One driver posted on The Progress-Index's Facebook page about seeing the pursuit.

They blew my doors off, Courtney Anderson wrote.

Wagner Road was reopened to traffic around 2:30 p.m.

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 X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Dinwiddie man in custody after pursuit, standoff in Petersburg
Already-disgraced ex-Suffolk County police chief James Burke was arrested Tuesday morning for soliciting a sex worker inside a Farmingville park, Long Island officials announced.

Burke, who joined the county police department in 1986, was busted by county police, with the Suffolk County district attorneys office saying he was charged with public lewdness and exposure of a person. Suffolk County executive spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said hed face charges of soliciting a sex act and criminal solicitation, too.

Additional possible charges were pending against the ex-lawman.

The one-time county chief of department pleaded guilty in 2016 after resigning his police position for assaulting a suspect in custody after the man broke into his department vehicle. He admitted to violating the civil rights of the victim and then orchestrating the cover-up of his crime.

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The 59-year-old Burke, who was promoted to the high-ranking position in 2012, tried to avoid jail by claiming he needed to assist his cancer-stricken mom. He was a 31-year veteran of the department.

Officials say the new arrest came at 10:15 a.m., with Burke taken into custody at the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. Suffolk County Park Rangers placed Burke under arrest, authorities said.

Rangers had been monitoring the site in the wake of complaints people had been soliciting sex there when Burke allegedly attempted to do so with a plainclothes officer.

Due to actions which I am not going to share, this individual was placed under arrest, Suffolk County Commissioner Rodney Harrison said at a press conference.

He identified himself and said who he was, Do you know who I am? another official said of Burke.

He was expressing to us how this would be a public embarassment to him, a third official added.

Burke was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after his convictions in the Dec. 14, 2012 beating of the Smithtown man who was handcuffed and in custody at the Fourth Precinct in Suffolk County. He faced a possible sentence of 20 years at his Feb. 26, 2016 court appearance.

Critics also questioned Burkes handling of the Gilgo Beach killings, with the first three victims discovered in late 2010 on Long Island. Not long after he was appointed chief of police in 2011, Burke cut ties with FBI investigators assisting in the probe of the killing spree.

The cases went unsolved until earlier this year ,when Massapequa Park man Rex Heuermann was arrested for the killings.

Prosecutors said at the time of Burkes 2012 arrest that they had 11 cooperating police officers who witnessed the beatdown. Burke admitted to beating heroin addict Christopher Loeb after the man broke into his department SUV outside the officers home.

The thief made off with a duffel bag holding a gun belt, ammunition, handcuffs, several sex toys and a box of cigars.

Loeb reached a $1.5 million federal court settlement with Suffolk County after bringing a lawsuit in the case.
Faith Roska, systems advocate with People of Progression, is spearheading a project on racial justice reform in the county's criminal legal system.

APPLETON  Despite making up just 1% of the county population, Black people account for 17.5% of the Outagamie County Jail's population, according to a 2021 study.

In an effort to curb this trend, an Appleton nonprofit that offers support to Black residents has started a research project looking into how county law enforcement interacts with people of color in hopes of minimizing disparities before they reach the criminal legal system.

People of Progression's project is one of 25 underway nationwide as part of the Catalyst Grant Program, a collaboration between the Urban Institute and the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative that provides recipients with funding, data and technology to advance racial equity in the criminal legal system.

Faith Roska, systems advocate for People of Progression, is spearheading the project plans to speak directly with Black people who have interacted with officers in the county as well as review law enforcement's traffic data and service calls. The hope is to figure out why these interactions are leading to arrests and jail bookings.

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"We're not trying to figure out if (disparities are) happening, because we already know it's happening," Roska said. "We're trying to figure out why and where the bulk of these interactions are stemming from."

Black jail population disparities seen statewide

Matt Richie, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh department of criminal justice, conducted the 2021 study on Outagamie County Jail's population. He also compared the jail's Black and white populations on one day in 2019 with the same date in 2021 to measure any changes.

Richie, who is partnering with People of Progression on the research project, found that Black individuals made up 17.5% of the county's jail population in 2021  a decrease from 22% in 2019.

The percentage of Black people in the county jail is significantly higher than the county's Black population, where 1.6% of Outagamie County residents identified themselves as Black, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Those disparities correlate with statewide numbers.

Black people are jailed in disproportionately high numbers across Wisconsin, according to a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin analysis of booking records from sheriff's offices across the state.

Black Wisconsinites have accounted for 6% of the state's overall population but 38% of all the people in jails and prisons, according to Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that examines mass incarceration.

Related: New committee to tackle staggering racial disparities in Outagamie County Jail inmates

Related: Nearly half of Black inmates in Outagamie County Jail are not county residents, according to survey

People of Progression's project gives Black residents opportunity to share experiences with law enforcement

To get to the center of why there is a high percentage of Black Outagamie County Jail inmates, the group is looking at the disproportionate number of contacts between police departments and people of color.

"We're trying to find what's the common catalyst of these events in our community and trying to find ways to negate that," Roska said.

The group will look into interactions Black people have with law enforcement before arrests or charges are made, which means looking at data from law enforcement service calls, as well as talking with people who have interacted with officers.

The project already has buy-in from all law enforcement departments in Outagamie County, as every department has provided the data for all calls for service in 2021  meaning information related to more than 200,000 calls to law enforcement.

"All of the chiefs and the sheriff in Outagamie County all agree this was a very worthwhile project to participate in," Grand Chute Police Chief Greg Peterson told The Post-Crescent.

As far as analyzing law enforcement data, the group is interested in looking into calls for "suspicious behavior," which Richie said can often involve "nervous people that are worried about people of color in their area, and they don't know what's going on, so they call the cops."

Richie said for many people of color, their first interaction with the criminal legal system is police response to suspicious behavior calls for their innocuous behavior, which makes Black people feel targeted in their own neighborhood.

Within his department, Peterson said, he's witnessed these types of calls where the behaviors the person is describing aren't necessarily suspicious but may be a byproduct of how they perceive the person's race or ethnicity.

"I was intrigued by the research proposal because I thought here's an opportunity to empirically demonstrate if that is, in fact, the case," Peterson said.

But police data on service calls doesn't specify race, so the group will triangulate department data with conversations with residents to hear about their experiences with law enforcement.

The goal is to learn if certain slices of the public are more subjected to these calls and determine if there are different ways police can handle suspicious behavior calls.

Throughout the fall, Roska and Jesus Smith, Lawrence University professor of ethnic studies, will conduct listening sessions, surveys and one-on-one conversations with residents to give them an opportunity to talk about their experiences.

Minimizing police interactions to reduce systemic racial disparities

The goal of the project is to understand and reduce disparities in policing in the hopes of bringing long-term improvements to the criminal justice system.

"The thing about racial disparities across the criminal justice system is that those things trickle down," Richie said. "If there are racial disparities in policing, they're going to continue throughout the courts and correctional system and they just get worse."

By December, the group plans to analyze the data and turn it into an educational tool for the public and law enforcement departments in the county.

This could look like recommendations for law enforcement on how to handle suspicious-person calls or change records to include the race of people officers interacted with, Roska said. Ultimately, the final recommendations will be determined by what her team finds through its research.

Any changes would require further buy-in from departments and systemic changes to policing based on any recommendations the group comes up with.

Peterson said he was eager to participate in the project to learn if his department is taking the best course of action in responding to suspicious behavior calls or if his department may need to find better ways of responding.

People of Progression's Executive Director Kristen Gondek has more general goals for the research project as well  she hopes the project will bring the nonprofit insight on how to further empower the Black community.

"We want to use the tools from this grant to learn how we can be a more helpful organization," Gondek said. "From there, we can educate stakeholders and community leaders on how to further empower the Black community in our area."

Sophia Voight is a local government and political reporter with The Post-Crescent. She can be reached with tips and feedback at svoight@postcrescent.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton nonprofit starts research on racial disparities in policing
Since Colorado Springs began electing mayors in 1979, it had never not elected a Republican. The city is historically conservative and proud of it. Over 53 % of El Paso County residents voted for Donald Trump in 2020. But Mayor Yemi Mobolade, a Nigerian immigrant and local restaurateur, bucked the trend by running as an independent and building a broad coalition. In the midst of national partisan culture wars, his 2023 victory has served as a nationwide shocker. The local newspaper called it a seismic shift in local politics. Alayna Alvarez wrote for Axios that his win ushers in a new era for a city that has borne some of the largest political movements in the country.

Colorado Springs, nicknamed the evangelical Vatican, was the birthplace of the culture wars of the 1980s and 90s. Voters in what once ranked among the most conservative cities in America electing a Black man running on an aggressively nonpartisan, independent ticket means something. But is this phenomenon something unique to Colorado Springs? Or, based on what history has shown us, could it be something bigger for the nation?

Some forecasters think so. A lot of people want the partisan temperature to drop, says Vanderbilt political science professor and nationally renowned political observer John Geer. I think there is an appetite for it. Nearly half of all Colorados active voters are currently registered as unaffiliated, totaling over 45%, according to the secretary of state. This is a marked increase from 40% just a few years ago. Those numbers are perfectly in step with a Gallup poll counting a record-breaking 49% of Americans identifying as politically independent in March. And on a warm morning in June, Mobolade addresses his constituents with a vision of where he believes those steps are headed.

Stephanie Bassos for the Deseret News

Our city reflects the true spirit of the West, Mobolade says from the stage at the 87th annual Western Street Breakfast in downtown Colorado Springs, dressed in a vest and a black cowboy hat he brought from home. And as we look to the future, let us cherish the traditions of the past while embracing the opportunities that lie ahead of us. May we commit ourselves to building a city that is inclusive, culturally rich, economically prosperous, safe and vibrant.

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That last line came straight from his inaugural speech, given just two weeks prior, where his main theme was unity. It is the only way forward; the only way to advance our quality of life; and the only way we get things done, he said then. He cited Abraham Lincoln, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ, who in the Gospel of Matthew told the Pharisees, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined.

History of conservatism in Colorado Springs

Conservatism in Colorado Springs has had many branches over the decades, and its roots arent easy to dig up. Matt Mayberry, the director of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, points to the citys founding  with significant development funded by Spencer Penrose, a devout Republican and the Colorado president of the American Liberty League. But perhaps more notably, the arrival of the military in the 1940s and the 1956 establishment of Robert LeFevres education project, The Freedom School (which called the future Republican megadonors Charles and David Koch students) set the tone.

Weve been able to prove that we can transcend political leadership and can transcend party boundaries. I know theres a hunger and appetite for this around the country.

The Freedom School was a sort of capitalist boot camp to explore the true meaning of liberty, writes University of Colorado-Colorado Springs geography professor John Harner. To a certain degree, it became a magnet for what political scientists Christopher Ellis and James Stimson called symbolic conservatism. Harner writes that symbolic conservatism is much more than  and fundamentally different from  culturally conservative politics as defined by the religious right. It is respect for basic values: hard work, striving, caution, prudence, family, tradition, God, citizenship, and the American flag. And the ranks of Americans who cherish these values is no fringe activist minority; it is the mainstream of American culture. It is also not explicitly political except in the sense that strategic political elites have tried to make it so.

Those values, plus an economic crash in the town, opened the door to the business of evangelical ministries. Between 1980 and 1995, more than 60 evangelical Christian ministries moved their headquarters to the city, including the notable move-in of Focus on the Family, an organization that promotes traditional evangelical views of marriage and sexuality.

Related

Soon after these ministries arrived in Colorado Springs, the citys national identity became political. Colorado for Family Values, one of the many evangelical organizations, proposed and campaigned for Amendment 2, an amendment to the Colorado constitution that would eliminate gay rights laws in the state and prevent the passage of new ones in defense of religious freedom. When Colorado voters approved Amendment 2 in November 1992  stripping Coloradoans of gay, lesbian and bisexual orientation of claims to discrimination and minority status  legal historian William Eskridge wrote that the country had seen nothing this broadly exclusionary since the slavery era. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, called the city the Gettysburg in the civil war of values. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time and Newsweek all published profiles of the city, while PBS featured an hourlong special titled The New Holy War, documenting the now-politically-charged evangelical movement in Colorado Springs.

Although the movement was undoubtedly effective and intense, it was somewhat short-lived. Amendment 2 was overturned in the courts in 1996, and bankruptcy and scandal in the years to come foiled many of the ministries that called Colorado Springs home.

While the presence of evangelical ministries became less palpable, the conservative culture of Colorado Springs remained intact. In fact, Schultz writes that the city is probably more conservative now than in the 1990s. In the 2016 presidential election, as Colorado voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a five-point margin, El Paso County (home of Colorado Springs) voted for Trump by a 20-point margin.

Mobolade campaigned during a time when many voters on the left and right are exhausted by polarizing debates, especially around identity politics. He believes his victory in Colorado Springs could be a bellwether for other purple states, maybe even the nation.

Weve been able to prove that we can transcend political leadership and can transcend party boundaries, he says. And Im not the only one. I know theres a hunger and appetite for this around the country.

The Vanderbilt Unity Index, which measures the countrys political unity, actually showed a slight uptick in the first quarter of 2023, driven by a decrease in extremely conservative and extremely liberal survey respondents. Moderate Democrats generally performed well against very right-wing Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, and MAGA-despised Republican Brian Kemp beat Stacey Abrams in the Georgia governors race. A desire for more middle ground is also reflected in the emergence of third-party movements, like Andrew Yangs Forward Party and the Joe Lieberman-founded group No Labels. So, as Mobolade says, there does seem to be a growing appetite for turning down the partisan volume.

How Yemi Mobolade came to Colorado Springs

Sitting in a cafe after his Street Breakfast speech, I ask Mobolade, 44, why hes right for this moment  why he feels that, in an era of intense polarization, his nonpartisan approach offers a way forward.

His answer goes back to his 1980s childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, where he lived until he was 17. Among his three siblings, he always felt like the one who didnt fit in. I was a misfit, he says. In a culture where you did things as you were told, and your life was pretty much set and designed for you, I pushed against it. He always asked questions, always wanted to know why  much to the consternation of his father. His siblings called him the adopted one.

Mobolade wants to represent a new brand of politics  one that doesnt go low. | Stephanie Bassos for the Deseret News

Growing up in a devoutly evangelical family, he thought his vocational calling pointed toward ministry, but in his late 20s he experienced a faith crisis spurred by a bad leader. It was abuse, he says. Hed discovered the pastor of his church taking advantage of his power. He stopped attending and says I almost lost my faith  but, over time, he came to realize that it wasnt Christianity he had a problem with; it was the abuses and exclusionary practices promulgated by some of his churchs leaders. Thats what led him to Colorado Springs in 2010. As a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical protestant denomination that was headquartered in the area at the time, he attended a conference and fell in love with the city. He decided to move to Colorado Springs and start a church that would explore the question, How can we transform from a religious experience on a Sunday morning to really transforming hearts and lives, and being a part of doing good in the community?

A record-breaking 49% of Americans identify as politically independent, according to a Gallup poll in March.

His church didnt take off as he had hoped. So, he joined the First Presbyterian Church congregation, started two restaurants and took a job working for the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. He became the citys small business development administrator in 2019 before deciding to run for mayor.

During his campaign, he didnt sound like any mainstream Republican or Democrat. He talks, often, about his support for police, entrepreneurship and Christianity, but he also regularly touts the importance of diversity and inclusion; both of the restaurants he founded, Good Neighbors Meeting House and Wild Goose, display a progress pride flag in the window.

His Republican opponent seized on those latter tendencies to tar him as too liberal for Colorado Springs. In an ad campaign that labeled him liberal Yemi Mobolade, his opponent Wayne Williams accused Mobolade of supporting a vague policy that sounds exactly like socialism and urged voters to protect your city, vote conservative Republican. Mobolade responded by calling Williams posturing desperation  and that was about as negative as his campaign ever got.

Some political experts are hopeful that Mobolades win will mark the beginning of a national shift. Mayor Mobolade might be just what the doctor ordered, says Sara Hagedorn, a political science professor at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. Maybe, a few years from now, itll become common to see a nonpartisan candidate win a local election. Or a regional one. Perhaps even a national one.

This story appears in the September issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.
On a split vote, the Leawood City Council approved plans for the next phases of a massive development near 135th Street and State Line Road, a project that has sparked strong opposition from neighbors.

The council on Monday evening voted 6-3 to grant final approval to the third and fourth phases of the East Village of Leawood project, with apartments, retail, restaurants and a park on 116 vacant acres. Mayor Peggy Dunn cast the deciding vote, since approval needed six yes votes.

Lenexa-based Oddo Development is building the $300 million project in six phases, with more than 600 luxury apartments, million-dollar homes, duplexes, an assisted living facility, a grocery store, retail, restaurants, offices and green space. And its stirred up controversy over the past few years, with neighbors and homeowner associations showing up in force to oppose the project due to concerns over traffic, density, building heights and aesthetics.

After making several adjustments, the developer last year won rezoning and preliminary approval from a split, 5-4 City Council vote, with the tie broken by the mayor. And this past March, the council voted 5-3 to grant final approval to the first two phases of construction, which will feature 26 single-family homes, 12 luxury duplexes and 26 apartment buildings.

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The third and fourth phases, south of 133rd Street and east of Pawnee Lane, include 36 brownstone rowhouses, 327 apartments in four buildings, as well as retail, restaurant and office space. Plans also include a a nearly two-acre park with an amphitheater. And residents will have access to a rooftop pool, dog park and community garden.

Hundreds of apartments, as well as luxury homes, duplexes, restaurants, retail, a rooftop pool and a park are planned for Leawood, near 135th Street and State Line Road, as shown in this screenshot of a planning commission meeting.

Patrick Reuter, with Klover Architects, told the council that the development team is looking at events for the amphitheater, such as movie nights or theater programs.

As later phases of the project move through City Hall, officials have noted that they arent hearing from concerned residents as much. On Monday evening, Leawood homeowner Rachel Rubin said residents are very discouraged.

We wrote in before, so many letters, so many emails. We had petitions. And people felt like our concerns were not listened to, as far as how people voted on the council. So I think that is why people are not writing in, Rubin said. Residents are still opposed to this project.

Curtis Holland, attorney representing the developers, said the team has made several adjustments to the project over the months to address concerns, including surrounding traffic and the sites layout.

But council members on Monday were divided, with some raising concerns over parking and the addition of apartments.

My hang-up is ownership versus rental. I really feel strongly about Leawood residents being invested in our community, Councilwoman Mary Larson said. And for phases three and four, I love the brownstone concept. I think the price point is a good price point. I just wish there were a whole bunch more of them.  And just in general in Johnson County, theres a growing concern about the number of apartments that are going in in Johnson County.

The developer previously said apartments would rent for a starting price of $1,800 a month for a one bedroom. And on Monday, developers said they expect the brownstone rowhouses to sell for about $550,000.

Councilwoman Julie Cain said she remains fundamentally opposed to the project, adding that she disagrees with the location of the four-story apartment buildings. City officials have been debating whether to limit the height of mixed-use buildings to four stories, a discussion raised during arguments over the East Village project.

One sticking point on Monday was the number of parking spots planned for the third and fourth phases. The developer plans to add nearly 800 spaces, but will wait to add 80 of those, keeping them as green space until they are needed. Some council members felt the development would need those parking spaces, especially around the park, which could draw crowds.

I want those built now, Councilwoman Lisa Harrison said. I dont want to have to fight in five years about there not being enough parking.  I think if youre going to have all these great amenities, this great park, and youre going to have luxury townhomes and people are going to entertain in these beautiful places, these green spaces and these fire pits, I think you need the parking.

The developers said they moved more parking closer to the park and retail, and they would fill in more spots if needed. But they felt keeping green space would be more important, because you cant recoup it later.

Councilman Andrew Osman said he would rather have the green space for now, rather than a sea of parking or asphalt.

The developers said Monday that they are working on securing building permits for the first phase of construction, as well as gathering interest from potential retailers for later phases. Single-family homes are expected to be built first.
A Durham man is accused of breaking into a womans home and raping her 32 years ago.

Kenneth Lunsford, 60, was arrested by the Durham Police Departments Cold Case Unit on Aug. 17 through the states Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), which matched his DNA to evidence collected from a sexual assault kit.

Lunsford is charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree rape and attempted first-degree sexual offense. He is currently being held in Durham County jail under a $1.5 million secured bond, police said in a Tuesday news release.

On July 27, 1991, a female victim reported that an unknown man broke into her home and assaulted her near Clarendon and Green streets north of Duke Universitys East Campus.

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In 2018, the North Carolina Department of Justice was awarded a $2-million SAKI grant to complete the states sexual assault kit inventory, go through untested kits and make arrests in sexual assault cold cases.

On March 17, Raleigh Police also arrested a man in a 32-year-old rape and burglary case using DNA analysis through SAKI. The victim was a 73-year-old woman who died in 1992.

Durham police made an arrest last December for two sexual assaults that occurred in 1993 also through SAKI.

On Tuesday, District Attorney Satana Deberry announced that her office convicted Jorge Martinez Flores, 43, last week of two felony counts of attempted statutory rape.

Flores was previously arrested on drug charges in Durham. He was charged in 2004 with statutory rape but fled the countys jurisdiction.

This led the District Attorney to prosecute him for that case, which caused a second victim to report her 2004 assault by Flores for the first time in June.

Anyone with information on Lunfords case is asked to call Investigator H. Brown at (919) 560-4440, ext. 29461 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrest in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
Chiropractic care is one of the most popular yet hotly contested forms of medicine out there. Countless people say the practice, which involves adjusting the spine and neck into various positions, has alleviated musculoskeletal issues that other, more traditional treatments couldnt help. But many health care providers warn people to think twice before heading to a chiropractor for neck pain.

Last week, a tweet from an emergency medicine doctor highlighted how a specific element of chiropractic care  so-called rapid neck manipulation  may lead to devastating strokes, even in young people who dont have any apparent cardiovascular risk factors. The post, shared by Dr. Emily Porter, garnered a ton of attention, leading hundreds of people to weigh in with their own experiences of how chiropractic treatment changed their life  for better or worse.

According to Dr. Charles R. Wira III, an internal and emergency medicine physician at Yale Medicine who specializes in stroke and emergency critical care, theres a well-known link between chiropractic neck manipulations and cerebrovascular dissection, a tear in a major artery that can trigger a stroke.

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Thankfully, overall the incidence of neck dissections are small, Wira told HuffPost. But intentional and aggressive manipulations of the neck merits strong consideration for concern.

How Certain Chiropractic Neck Adjustments May Lead To Stroke

The neck contains four of the most important arteries in the body  two carotid arteries and two vertebral arteries  that pump blood from the heart to the brain. These give the brain oxygen, nutrients and everything it needs to sustain life, according to Dr. Leah Croll, an assistant professor of clinical neurology at Temple Universitys Lewis Katz School of Medicine and a neurologist at Temple University Hospital.

When the neck experiences a sudden, powerful movement  as it can during certain chiropractic adjustments  these arteries can get injured. Having your neck manipulated, particularly when its being moved at high speeds or with a lot of force, can increase your risk of something called arterial dissection, which is a tear in the wall of one of your arteries, Croll said. Arterial dissections present with a bad headache or neck pain, and they can lead to the formation of blood clots. These clots can travel to the brain, interrupt blood flow and cause a stroke.

Typically, such strokes occur one to four weeks after chiropractic adjustment and, in some cases, can be devastating, said Wira. The first signs of stroke may include facial droop, difficulty with language, dizziness, and weakness or numbness on one side of the body. Some people may experience long-term complications, including paralysis, memory loss, vision problems or speech and language issues. Larger clots that cut off blood supply to the back of the brain may have a 90% mortality rate, Wira said.

Chiropractic neck adjustments arent the only potential cause of arterial dissections. They can also occur after experiencing whiplash in a car crash or riding a roller coaster, or even from severe coughing or vomiting. Its rare for this to happen  weve all coughed intensely at some point and been totally fine  but really anything that puts a lot of stress on the neck can increase the risk for a dissection, Croll said.

Theres some research suggesting that chiropractic care doesnt directly cause strokes, but that certain patients who go to the chiropractor for headache and neck pain may already have a dissection  hence the pain  that heightens their risk for stroke. People who are predisposed to artery dissection, and in turn strokes, are more susceptible to trauma from cervical adjustments, said Anjali Agrawal, a family chiropractor and founder of Back in Balance Health in Los Altos, California.

How Likely Are You To Experience A Stroke After Going To The Chiropractor?

The overall risk of having a stroke after visiting the chiropractor is thought to be low, but the evidence is all over the place.

One paper estimated the risk of serious adverse events, including stroke, to be anywhere from 0.05 to 1.46 per 10 million manipulations among Medicare recipients ages 66 to 99. A report published in 2018 found that 1 in 48 chiropractors have had a patient experience a vertebral artery dissection. Older research suggests that people under the age of 45 who experienced a posterior circulation stroke were five times more likely to have recently visited a chiropractor. The bottom line is, we really dont know how common this is after going to the chiropractor, said Croll.

What we do know is that it can happen to anyone. Certain people are more at risk, including those with connective tissue disorders  like Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome  and people who have anatomical abnormalities in their neck or a recent injury or illness. Sometimes, there is no clear risk factor.

I have seen patients, including young patients, who have presented with strokes after having had neck manipulations from chiropractors, Wira said. Croll, who sees multiple stroke patients every day, said she treats a couple of patients each year whove had a stroke after receiving a neck manipulation from a chiropractor.

How To Make Your Chiropractic Care As Safe As Possible

This doesnt mean you need to write off visits to the chiropractor, but you may want to take a few extra steps to minimize your risk.

First, find a chiropractor who has had proper training, adheres to current guidelines and is aware of the potential risks. It can also help to find a provider who uses low-force techniques. Many chiropractors, including Agrawal, use gentle techniques that dont involve high-velocity, forceful adjustments of the neck.

Talk to your chiropractor about your concerns, and tell them about your medical history and preexisting conditions. Share your preferences and consider asking them to use a gentler approach or to skip the neck altogether, especially if you have any risk factors. Your chiropractor will use this information to tailor their approach to your needs, Agrawal said.

On top of that, make a point to be rested and well hydrated ahead of your appointment. Dehydration and fatigue can impact the elasticity of blood vessels, Agrawal added.

Lastly, check in with your doctor. Let them know that you want to see a chiropractor, and discuss any extra precautions that you may need to take.

As long as people are keeping their doctors in the loop about what theyre doing, I dont think theres anything wrong with going to the chiropractor, Croll said. Its just that when you go, you want to be smart about the risks youre taking.

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A rural county in Iowa is at the center of a study analyzing the impact of immigrants on communities that have long seen their populations decline.

Sioux County  one of the state's largest corn producers and home to several meatpacking plants  is one of three counties featured in a new report that shows how immigrants have helped revitalize small towns and strengthen its workforce. FWD, a bipartisan political organization in Washington, D.C., released the 35-page report, claiming that an influx of immigrants  even as small as 100 to 200 a year  could rebuild rural America.

Phillip Connor, senior demographer at FWD, said the number of residents living in rural counties has continued to decrease in the last two decades. The people are leaving often in their "prime working years," and their reasons differ: work, education, family or other business opportunities, the report said.

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That loss is tough.

"This is not only a population loss, but also a real loss of people, deeply felt by communities in which they had lived much of their lives," the report stated.

But who they leave behind leads to another issue.

According to the report, 77% of the nation's rural counties have fewer "working-age people"  those between the ages of 15 to 64  than 20 years ago. And the gap will continue to widen unless a demographic change occurs, Connor told the Des Moines Register.

What happened in Sioux County?

Take Sioux County for example.

The northwest Iowa county  which is home to about 36,000 residents  experienced a dip in its population in the 1980s and 1990s, its numbers largely stagnant by 2000. But that changed as nearly 4,000 Latino immigrants arrived in the area between 2000 and 2020. Many of them came from Mexico and Central America and decided to settle in the county because they found work and found the cost of living affordable. They also thought the county was a good place to raise their children, the report said.

Last year, 36% of students in the Sioux Center Community School District identified as Hispanic, according to the Iowa School Performance Profile. The district even built a new high school and an intermediate school just to accommodate its rising number of students. And while rural churches are disappearing, there was community demand to launch a new Catholic church for Spanish-speaking residents, the report noted.

But Connor said the county's growth isn't unique. It plays into a historical pattern.

Many of the county's communities were founded by Dutch immigrants at the end of the 19th century, and by 1920, immigrants made up 22% of the county's population, the report said.

"So the movement of just a hundred or so immigrants each year fits the countys long history as a close-knit community built by immigrants," the report said.

What can be done to bring immigrants to rural counties?

State and federal leaders could boost existing pathways like refugee resettlement or humanitarian relief to help lead immigrants to rural areas, the report suggested. It also said that Congress could support American industries and expand and increase the efficiency of their visa programs.

"One of the things that we hear continually from rural leaders is that they're not looking just for forever guests that come temporarily," Connor said. They want people to stay  for families to grow up in the communities.

Connor told the Register there needs to be more advocacy for immigration and America's rural counties.

"Rural America has a population need. (It has) an economic need, not just the continuance of their communities but in some cases even the economic survivability of some of their communities," he explained.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: New study shows impact of immigrants on Iowas rural communities
Two major generic drug companies Monday settled charges of criminal price fixing with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The U.S. division of Israel-based Teva will pay a $225 million criminal penalty over five years, and the U.S. division of India-based Glenmark will pay a $30 million criminal penalty, the DOJ announced.

The two companies entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, in which they admitted to participating in antitrust conspiracies and paid penalties in exchange for not being charged.

The DOJ said both companies will also divest from making pravastatin, a widely used cholesterol medicine that lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.

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Both companies will face prosecution if they violate the terms of the agreements, and if convicted, they would likely face mandatory removal from federal health care programs.

Teva must also donate $50 million worth of two additional drugs to humanitarian organizations that provide medication to Americans in need.

Today, the Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners hold two more pharmaceutical companies accountable for raising prices of essential medicines and depriving Americans of affordable access to prescription drugs, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division said in a statement. Companies in heavily regulated industries are on notice that the division will not hesitate to hold them accountable and will not tolerate recidivism.

As part of the agreements, Teva admitted to participating in three antitrust conspiracies that affected pravastatin, the antifungal medication clotrimazole, and tobramycin, an antibiotic used to treat a variety of infections, including lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients.

Glenmark admitted to participating in a conspiracy to fix the price of pravastatin.

Glenmark is committed to being a socially and ethically responsible company. We have devoted considerable resources to strengthen our compliance practices, ensuring the highest ethical operating standards. We will continue to conduct our business with the utmost transparency and integrity, Sanjeev Krishan, president of Glenmarks U.S. division said in a statement.

In a statement, Teva said that a single former employee who left the company in 2016 was responsible for the scheme in three separate instances between 2013 and 2015.

In an unsigned statement, Teva said it was pleased to put these charges behind us and believe that we remain well-positioned to defend against related civil claims.

The DOJ has been conducting a probe of generic drug companies since 2014. Five other companies have entered into deferred prosecution agreements and paid nearly $430 million in fines, the agency said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The master franchiser for Domino's Pizza in Russia said Monday it is declaring bankruptcy and closing all of its 142 locations in the country. File Photo courtesy of Domino's Pizza Inc.

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The franchiser that operates Domino's Pizza locations in Russia indicated Monday it is closing all of its outlets in the country, following other U.S.-based brands such as McDonald's and Starbucks.

DP Eurasia, the master franchiser for Domino's in Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, said in a regulatory filing on the London Stock Exchange that its Russian subsidiary, known as DPRussia, intends to file for bankruptcy and discontinue operations in the country.

The company said the move "will bring about the termination of the attempted sale process of DPRussia as a going concern and, inevitably, the group's presence in Russia."

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The franchiser says it operates 142 pizza delivery and takeaway/eat-in facilities in Russia, where the authorities have greatly tightened rules governing Western businesses as the United States, the European Union and NATO allies have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.

The decision by the Domino's franchiser to pull out of Russia mirrors that of McDonald's, which sold its restaurant operations in Russia in May 2022, and Starbucks, which ended its franchising agreements there the same month.

Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, more than 1,000 companies have exited the Russian market, according to the Yale School of Management. However, Dominos' exit is the first by a U.S. fast-food chain in the 15 months since that initial wave.

The slowed pace could be attributable to Russian countermoves meant to stem the tide of fleeing companies.

The Kremlin has erected barriers meant to block Western companies from selling their assets in the country, including the enactment of a secret law under which the government has the right to buy any Western asset for sale at a "significant discount" so they can later be sold at a profit, The Financial Times reported in June.
The reputed patriarch of a family-run Mexican drug cartel organization associated with the assassination of a Chihuahua journalist has been extradited to the United States.

Adan Salazar Zamorano, who is approximately 79 years old, was listed among the most-wanted fugitives sought in the El Paso Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Reputed drug trafficker Adan Salazar Zamorano, known as "Don Adan," was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico over the weekend.

"Don Adan" is the reputed patriarch of Los Salazar, a faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel's Gente Nueva in the state of Chihuahua. Los Salazar are suspected of being behind the killing of investigative journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea in Chihuahua City in 2017.

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More: 'Crime never stops.' Departing El Paso FBI leader Jeffrey Downey talks of threats, closure

Salazar, who is a Mexican citizen, faces charges in the U.S. for allegedly trafficking large quantities of cocaine into the Western District of Texas, according to a DEA wanted-person bulletin and Mexico's Attorney General's Office.

The DEA described Salazar as "armed and dangerous," adding that he was known to travel on private aircraft throughout Mexico.

A DEA wanted bulletin shows Adan Salazar Zamorano, known as "Don Adan," the patriarch and reputed leader of the family-run Los Salazar drug-trafficking organization in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Mexico's Attorney General's Office said that Salazar was incarcerated at a federal prison in Veracruz on various charges before he was handed to U.S. federal agents at the Mexico City International Airport over the weekend.

Mexican drug cartels: El Chapo sons charged with smuggling cheap fentanyl to US

It has not been disclosed where in the U.S. Salazar was flown to or where he is being held. The Western District of Texas includes U.S. courthouses in El Paso, San Antonio and Austin.

The murder of a Mexican journalist

Breach, 54, was a longtime journalist with the Norte newspaper in Juarez and was a correspondent for La Jornada national newspaper.

Breach was driving her 14-year-old son to school when she was gunned down as she was leaving her Chihuahua City home on March 23, 2017. Her son was not injured.

Breach was targeted for reporting collusion between politicians and drug cartels, including attempts by organized crime groups to field political candidates and police chiefs linked to drug trafficking.

Breach's reporting had supposedly derailed the mayoral campaign of a Salazar relative in the rural town of Chinipas de Almada near the southwestern Chihuahua-Sonora state line.

On Christmas Day 2017, Mexican federal police arrested Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa, alias "El Larry," who was later convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison for plotting the journalist's murder.

Federal police said that Moreno was a boss for a drug trafficking group in Chinipas and was allegedly the "jefe de pistoleros," or the leader of gunmen, for Los Salazar.

Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa, alias "El Larry," was convicted in the murder of Mexican journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea.

Breach was allegedly killed as a "birthday present" from Moreno to reputed Salazar patriarch "Don Adan" Salazar Zamorano.

A witness testified that Moreno told suspected drug-trafficker Crispin Salazar that the murder was a gift during an annual birthday celebration in Chinipas in honor of "El Muneco" (The Doll) Jesus Alfredo Salazar, a reputed Sinaloa cartel lieutenant of convicted kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Mexico is among the most-dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Nearly 150 journalists have been murdered in Mexico since 2000 and 28 have gone missing, according to Reporters Without Borders.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Reputed Mexican drug cartel capo 'Don Adan' extradited to US
It seems like no matter what I write about these days, be it the destruction of a nature preserve in Stafford or a police raid on the newspaper in Marion, the conversation in online comments always seems to turn to Hunter Biden s laptop  as in, Why dont you ever write about that?

The answer, of course, is that I am primarily a local and regional columnist, and theres usually plenty going on in Wichita and Kansas to keep me plenty busy.

But, I like to respond to readers, so today, I am going to write about Hunter Bidens laptop.

Its actually more interesting than it sounds like, because Hunter Bidens laptop is arguably the worst laptop Apple ever made. It was such a hunk of junk that it eventually cost Apple a $50 million settlement (more about that later).

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If you havent been following this, Hunter Biden is a guy who made a lot of money and took a lot of drugs  sort of like Kid Rock without the hat.

Hes also the son of President Joe Biden , or no one would give a flyin fig about his laptop.

But apparently, some people do, because there have been entire books written about it.

In fact, one of them, Laptop from Hell by Miranda Devine, is the official sponsor of the Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, that says how much of the country likes Joe Biden on any given day.

The presidential poll rating Joe Bidens approval rating on a daily basis is sponsored by the book Laptop from Hell, with his son Hunters picture on the cover.

So lets take a deep dive into Hunter Bidens laptop.

The laptop in question is an Apple MacBook Pro, which, according to Justice Department records is serial No. FVFXC2MMHV29.

Before I started researching this column, I didnt know there are websites around the world where you can plug in an Apple serial number and get back the specs.

According to Techable.com, Hunter Bidens laptop is a 2017 MacBook Pro, with a screen size of 13 inches, an Intel Core i5 processor with a CPU frequency of 2.3 gigahertz and eight gigabytes of RAM.

Not the best specs, but more than adequate for most users. Industry reviewers mostly gave it a 4 out of 5, praising its Retina display screen and thinness of the overall package.

But that thinness was to be the laptops downfall. To get there, Apple used what are called butterfly keys on the keyboard.

Most keyboards use scissor keys, where the internal mechanism is shaped like an X; butterfly keys are more like a V.

Butterfly keys were an elegant solution in a design lab in Cupertino, California. Problem was, most people dont use their laptops in a design lab in Cupertino.

They use them at home, at job sites, in restaurants and a whole lot of other not-so-clean environments, and butterfly keys became notorious for going negative-function if you got any dust, crumbs or other daily detritus in them.

A class-action lawsuit was filed and to settle it, Apple agreed to spend up to $50 million to reimburse customers who had had their keyboards or keys replaced at Apple stores and authorized dealers.

As usual in such scenarios, the company admitted neither wrongdoing nor putting a defective product on the market. Customers who had their computers fixed by someone other than Apple were out of luck, and those who were eligible had to actually apply for compensation before the settlement was finalized.

But the lawyers who brought the suit cleaned up on legal fees, so thats something, I guess.

Overall, I cant say Id recommend Hunter Biden laptops.

Theyre still kind of expensive  about $400 to $600 is what Im seeing  and six years havent improved the butterfly keyboard, which Apple quit using in 2020. Plus, 2017 MacBooks are getting a bit long in the tooth and Apple has this annoying habit of rendering their equipment useless when they decide its time for you to buy new.

My own MacBook Pro, circa 2007, still runs like a champ, as Joe Biden might say.

But I cant update it to the version of Google Chrome I need to use it for work anymore.

That would require an update to the operating system that Apple wont let me have because of its corporate policy which can best be summed up as: Buy a new computer, you cheapskate.

So there you have it. My story on Hunter Bidens laptop.

To my frequent online commenters, you can now quit complaining about my alleged dereliction and maybe engage on local and Kansas issues that I write about regularly.

And to the rest of my readers, when you have your Labor Day picnic and crazy Aunt Agnes  whose lifestyle mainly consists of watching Newsmax all day  starts going off about Hunter Bidens laptop, youll be able to wow her with a bunch of facts that she doesnt know.

So this column isnt a wretched waste of space after all.
Al Capone and Mick Jagger have both famously had their mugshots taken

Mick Jagger. Al Capone. Martin Luther King.

Ever since he was indicted, speculation has swirled about whether Donald Trump would join the gallery of politicians, celebrities and infamous villains with a police mug shot.

In theory everyone arrested in the United States has their photograph taken.

It is part of a ritual of arrest - including being handcuffed and subject to what Americans call a perp walk, or being led into custody - that mixes public humiliation with a demonstration that everyone, rich or poor, is equal before the law.

Famous political mugshots include that of Rosa Parks , after her famous bus ride in 1955. Martin Luther King was arrested dozens of times, but his most iconic mugshot is from 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was arrested for involvement in the bus boycott.

Mug shot of Martin Luther king taken following his arrest with activist Rosa Parks for disorderly conduct in Montgomery in February 1956. - ARCHIVIO GBB / Alamy Stock Photo

Mugshot of H.R Haldeman during his Watergate conviction in 1975

H. R. Haldeman, Richard Nixons chief of staff, stands straight backed and immaculately dressed in his shirt sleeves after he was arrested following the Watergate scandal.

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Theres one of a young Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, with a cheery grin on his face after being caught driving without a licence in 1977, and American gangster Al Capone looks similarly relaxed in his mug shot from the 1920s.

Bill Gates after being caught driving without a licence in 1977 - Albuquerque, New Mexico Police Department

Mug shot of Al Capone smiling circa 1925. - Hulton Archive

Some musicians have found their rock star credentials burnished by a good mugshot.

David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix all look fairly unimpressed in separate arrests for narcotics possession.

Mick Jagger's mug shot after being arrested for drug possession in 1967 - Kypros/REX

Jimi Hendrix following his arrest on charges of possessing drugs in 1969 - Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

David Bowie after being arrested for drug possession in 1976 - Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

Not everyone wears their mugshot so lightly though.

British actor Hugh Grant looks visibly uncomfortable in his after he was arrested in 1995 for having sex in his car with prostitute Divine Brown.

Hugh Grant's mugshot after being arrested for lewd conduct in Los Angeles. - Dave Lewis / Rex Features

Mr Trump could make history as the first US president to have his mugshot taken when he surrenders at Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Thursday.

During his previous indictments in Washington DC, Florida and New York, officials opted to use existing photographs of the former president, rather than taking their own.

But in Georgia, where the 77-year-old arguably faces his most legally treacherous case to date, Pat Labat, the Fulton County Sheriff, has indicated that Mr Trump will be treated like anyone else.

It doesnt matter your status, well have a mugshot ready for you, Mr Labat said earlier this month. Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York on Monday ahead of his arraignment. - Bryan Woolston/AP

Would the sympathy and outrage elicited in his base by the sight of a former president in handcuffs outweigh the distaste of swing voters? If he is photographed, should he frown or smirk?

One Republican strategist who knows Mr Trump told the BBC in April that the former president would have considered all those fine details, including facial expression and what he should wear on the perp walk.

Ty Cobb, an ex White House attorney, predicted that the former president will use any mugshot to boost fundraising efforts as he eyes a return to the White House in next years election.

I dont think hell be subjected to any physical search, personally, by the sheriffs office, but I do think they will insist on the mugshot and the fingerprinting, Mr Cobb told CNN.

I would expect the mugshot will be forwarded to Trumps PR [public relations] people and theyll be raising money off of it before he leaves the jail, he added.

This article was originally published on April 4, 2023, and has been updated.

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Donald Trump Jr. said he and his fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle, will attend the first GOP primary debate, which his father, Donald Trump, has decided to skip.

Were excited to see all of our friends in Milwaukee who want to Make America Great Again!!! Trump Jr. wrote on social media, sharing a link to a Daily Caller article about the news.

According to the conservative news site, the pair will be promoting their Rumble shows and doing media appearances for the former president.

The Trump campaign confirmed Trump Jr. will go to Milwaukee as a surrogate for the Republican front-runner, according to The Hill.

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The announcement came before Axios reported that Fox News had restricted access to the media area and would offer automatic credentials to the post-debate spin room only to surrogates for candidates who take part in the debate.

Its not clear how this will affect Trumps son. Representatives of candidates not in the debate could still enter the area if invited by a media organization, according to Axios.

Trump said Sunday he would not participate in the GOP debates, suggesting he will skip Wednesdays event and potentially also future ones. He cited his lead in the polls, writing on social media, the public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had.

He will reportedly appear instead in a pretaped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which is scheduled to air at the same time as the debate.

The Republican National Committee announced Monday that eight candidates are scheduled to appear in the debate, which will be hosted by Fox News.

Those planning to participate are: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referred to Kimberly Guilfoyle as Donald Trump Jr.s wife; she is his fiancee.

Related...
Over three years after the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, educational mask and vaccine mandates are increasingly uncommon. However, as the new school year is set to begin, a handful of colleges remain holdouts, especially when it comes to COVID vaccine mandates for incoming students.

While several states had plans to enact perpetual COVID-19 vaccine mandates for some students, all appear to have dropped those proposals. In October 2021, California announced it would require COVID vaccinations for middle and high school grades. However, officials scrapped the mandate in February 2023. Illinois ditched a college studentspecific mandate in 2022, and D.C. public schools, after pushing back the start date of a COVID vaccine mandate for students 12 and older several times, appears to have quietly abandoned the proposal.

However, while state governments have stopped attempts to mandate masking and vaccines in schools, a handful of individual colleges are still holding onto restrictive pandemic-era policies.

According to No College Mandates, a website that tracks COVID-related mandates on college campuses, over 60 universities require a COVID-19 vaccine to attend, including Harvard University, Rutgers University, and Johns Hopkins University.

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"Harvard requires all students who will be on campus to have primary vaccination for COVID-19," reads Harvard's website. "As we work to continue the high levels of vaccination needed to protect our community, Harvard highly recommends being up-to-date per the CDC definition for all Harvard community members."

Just how many colleges still mandate masks remains much less clear. While many colleges affiliated with hospital systems have mask mandates related to students and staff working in health care settings, it's not obvious how many schools still mandate masks in classrooms or other non-health-care-related student events.

However, at least one college is enforcing draconian COVID restrictions. This week, Atlanta-based Morris Brown College announced a battery of COVID-19 mitigation policies for the next two weeks, "due to reports of positive cases." These mandates include a broad mask mandate, physical distancing, a ban on on-campus parties and large gatherings, and "temperature checks" when students arrive on campus.

The post Dozens of Colleges Still Require COVID Vaccines for Students appeared first on Reason.com.
By Alexandros Avramidis and Alkis Konstantinidis

ALEXANDROUPOLIS, Greece (Reuters) -Eighteen burned bodies, possibly migrants, were found on Tuesday in a rural area in northern Greece where wildfires were burning out of control for a fourth day, authorities said, as gale force winds fanned blazes across the country.

In the nearby port town of Alexandroupolis, dozens of hospital patients were evacuated onto a ferry earlier on Tuesday, while a blaze on the foothills of Mount Parnitha on the outskirts of Athens sent thick clouds of smoke over the capital.

The bodies were found near the sprawling Dadia forest in the northeastern Evros region, a popular route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia crossing the river from Turkey into the European Union. An uptick in crossings was reported this month.

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The fire brigade said authorities were investigating the possibility that the bodies were of migrants who entered the country illegally because no residents in the area had been reported missing.

The government expressed its "deepest sorrow" over the deaths, its spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. "Unfortunately, their stay in the forest of Dadia proved fatal," he said.

Another body thought to belong to a migrant was found on Monday in a rural area some 40 km (25 miles) away.

Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis said "tragedy confirms, once more, the dangers of irregular migration," and accused smuggling rings of putting migrants' lives at risk.

In the nearby village of Avantas, fires swept through a number of homes overnight.

"It has reached the entire village," said Alexandros Chrisoulidis, a 19-year-old Avantas resident. "Our own house up there, where the fire started, has completely burned down. There is nothing."

A 23-year-old resident who gave his name as Nikos said: "The situation is tragic. All that is needed right now are prayers and rain."

A satellite image broadcast on state television showed that smoke from the Evros fires had drifted across the country to the Ionian islands in the northwest, not far from Italy.

Fires near Athens in the southeast burned homes and cars and forced residents to flee on foot. Some covered their faces with their clothes as smoke thickened the air.

Volunteers loaded sheep in the trunks of cars to save them from the flames, while another man tried to rescue a horse.

"The winds are very strong ... It is a very difficult firefighting task. God help us," said Sotiris Masouris, a 50-year-old resident of Hasia, west of Athens.

In the industrial town of Aspropyrgos near Athens, factories were destroyed as a blaze burned unabated.

Southern Europe has been hit by a new heatwave with temperatures reaching or exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts. Fires were also burning in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Summer wildfires in Greece are common but have been exacerbated in recent years by unusually hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.

More than 20,000 foreign tourists were evacuated from resorts on the Aegean holiday island of Rhodes in July as wildfires burned for a week, destroying homes and hotels.

HOSPITAL EVACUATED

Dozens of hospital patients, including newborn babies, were evacuated on Tuesday onto a ferry as hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain the blaze that broke out on Saturday near Alexandroupolis.

It spread quickly, fanned by high winds, sending plumes of smoke above the port city and turning the night sky red.

By early Tuesday, authorities said 65 patients at the University Hospital of Alexandroupolis had been evacuated as a precaution onto a ferry in the port.

The ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital. Elderly patients lay on mattresses on the cafeteria floor, paramedics attended to others on stretchers and a woman held a man resting on a sofa, an IV drip attached to his hand.

"I've been working for 27 years, I've never seen anything like this," said nurse Nikos Gioktsidis. "Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there ... it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded."

The ferry later sailed to the nearby port of Kavala, state broadcaster ERT said.

Overnight, as flames approached another clinic at the premises of the Alexandroupolis Metropolitan Church Foundation, staff carried a man on a wheelchair to an ambulance, while others were evacuated on stretchers.

Father Christodoulos Karathanasis, director of the Holy Metropolis of Alexandroupolis, said 200 patients from both facilities had been evacuated in just over four hours.

Fire brigade spokesperson Ioanis Artopios said the risk of fire remained high in the coming days.

Fifty-six firefighters arrived in Greece from Romania on Tuesday and Athens was expecting further assistance from the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Sweden with 64 more firefighters, 19 fire engines, seven planes and one helicopter, the fire brigade said.

(Additional reporting by Karolina Tagaris, Lefteris Papadimas, Stamos Prousalis in Athens; writing by Karolina Tagaris; editing by Janet Lawrence, Conor Humphries, Mark Heinrich and David Gregorio)
Doctoral students at Duke University overwhelming voted to unionize Tuesday, giving 2,500 academic employees at the prestigious Durham school the right to have their pay and working conditions collectively bargained.

Ballots in the mail-in election heavily favored the union, with 1,000 votes in support to 131 votes against.

Duke Ph.D. students, who commonly work as teaching and research assistants, will be represented by the Service Employees International Union. Once certified, the new union will be one the largest in North Carolina and one of the only representing graduate students in the South.

WE WON OUR UNION, wrote the Duke Graduate Students Union (DGSU) on X, formerly Twitter, minutes after the final tally was announced.

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North Carolina has the second lowest unionization rate in the country, with only 2.8% of workers in unions according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Because it is a Right-to-Work state, Duke doctoral students can choose whether to pay dues if they choose to not join the union.

Pay was a prominent issue in the months-long union campaign.

with Duke Graduate Students Union (DGSU) spearheading

Duke Ph.D. students do not owe tuition and receive a 12-month stipend of $38,600. This is a few hundred dollars above the local minimum living wage, which the City of Durham calculates to be $38,400 a year for a 40-hour work week.

A higher stipend isnt the only benefit the union can deliver, said RP Pornmongkolsuk, a third-year Duke doctoral student studying genetics and genomics.

A lot of times people dont feel like theres an established outlet for giving grievances, he said. And as an international student, Pornmongkolsuk believes the union will support those who must navigate often-byzantine visa application programs.

Having that immediate support is going to help a lot of grad students here, he said.

Second union attempt at Duke

This was the second attempt to organize Ph.D. students at Duke; a previous bid to have Duke academic workers join the SEIU fell significantly short in 2017.

Since then, more doctoral student workforces have embraced unions, often by wide margins, including at Boston University, Yale University, and the University of Southern California. Kickstarting this trend was a 2016 National Labor Relations Board ruling clarified that research and teaching assistants at private universities could formally organize.

You have an age demographic of employees who are already primed to unionize, said Jeff Hirsch, a labor law professor at the UNC School of Law. Theres an upsurge of interest in unions, particularly with the kind of 20-something crowd that were seeing with Starbucks and all kinds of post-pandemic changes in the labor market.

This years union campaign at Duke formally launched in early March.

Pro-union advocates rally on Dukes campus.

Later that month, Duke challenged its graduate students right to form a union, contending they were not employees. The NLRB rejected that argument in July, setting the stage for the mail-in vote.

Next comes a first contract ... eventually

With the election campaign concluded, union and university leaders will now turn to negotiating a first contract.

An election win is a very important step, but it is just one step, Hirsch said. Its not even near the end of the process.

In an analysis last year, Bloomberg Law found 465 days lapsed on average between an election and a first contract.

Duke University could begin bargaining with the union at any time. But the school can also take steps that protract the process  perhaps by years. Hirsch explained there are multiple opportunities for the school administration to challenge the election results or the unions right to represent the 2,500 academic employees.

For a workforce that graduates members annually, Hirsch said it will be essential for SEIU to maintain interest in their union through the first contract and beyond.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren arrived in Kyiv on Aug. 22 and spoke at the VI International Veterans Forum called "Ukraine. Defenders. The Future."

"We want to help, we want to do everything we can. We feel that this is our responsibility, our task as well," Ollongren said at the event broadcasted on Facebook by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.

You are fighting at the front, but it is our war too."

The official spoke about the Netherlands involvement in international efforts to train Ukrainian soldiers and support war veterans.

According to Ollongren, the Netherlands and other allies are working to expand medical rehabilitation capacities in Ukraine, sharing their experience with Ukrainian specialists in the field.

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When we set up this system, we will have a whole network of medical centers in Ukraine based on regional centers for veterans with the best possible care, she added.

On Aug. 20, the Netherlands and Denmark announced they would provide Ukraine with U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

After meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Eindhoven, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would receive 42 F-16 jets from the Netherlands in a "breakthrough arrangement.

Denmark pledged to deliver 19 planes, with the first six to arrive before the New Year, according to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Read also: Reznikov: At least 6-7 months before Ukraine obtains F-16s

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A Tri-Cities Jan. 6 insurrection defendant, jailed for threatening former President Obama and other lawmakers, remains behind bars as the widow of an officer he is accused of attacking wins her long fight for death benefits.

Taylor Taranto, who is currently in the D.C. Metropolitan Jail after threatening Obama and other lawmakers, and David Walls-Kaufman are being sued in the wrongful death of D.C. Metropolitan Officer Jeffrey Smith.

Tarantos appeal to be granted bail so that he could return to his Eastern Washington hometown, was denied Monday morning, according to court documents.

The court brief also said his right to speedy trial was excluded in the interest of justice.

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Tarantos alleged role in the attack on Officer Smith was featured prominently in arguments that he was too dangerous to be granted bail. Walls-Kaufman was recently sentenced to two months in jail.

Taylor Taranto is seen clashing with Capitol police during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in this image included in court documents. Taranto is circled in yellow. David Walls-Kaufman, his codefendant in a lawsuit for wrongful death of MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith is circled in red.

Officers death

After a two-year fight to have her husbands death recognized as happening in the line of duty, Erin Smith has been awarded death benefits, according to NBC News.

Court documents show photos of Taranto and Walls-Kaufman grappling with Smith inside the capitol during the Jan. 6 attack.

Walls-Kaufman allegedly hit Smith in the head and face with a Ka-Bar defense cane given to him by Taranto. Smith also was hit with a metal pole that was thrown later outside of the building, according to NBC News.

Smith died by suicide as he was scheduled to return to duty nine days later.

Smiths widow said in an Op-Ed in the Washington Post, published in January 2022, that two medical examiners have testified that post-concussive syndrome and brain injury were the real causes of (her husbands) death because the concussion he suffered led to severe depression and suicide.

She had been fighting to have his death recognized as in the line of duty for more than two years. She told NBC News that she will now fight to have her husband inurned in Arlington National Cemetery. Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from strokes related to injuries he sustained in the riot, is also buried in the national cemetery.

Taranto was named in the wrongful death lawsuit after outing himself by posting video from inside the Capitol building on social media. Online sleuths then found photos that linked Taranto to the attack.

Taranto has questioned why he wasnt arrested sooner.

Livestreamed threats

Taranto was arrested at the end of June 2023 by Secret Service and federal agents while allegedly trying to find access points to Obamas Kaloroma neighborhood property after days of livestreaming threats that included using his van to blow up House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and a federal building.

During a June 2023 livestream, Taylor Taranto identified himself in footage of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents.

The attempt to find tunnels under Obamas property came after former President Donald Trump posted the address on social media in reference to the conspiracy theories.

Trump has attempted to distance himself from Taranto, taking exception to news reports using a photo of Taranto with a cardboard cutout of Trump. That photo was taken at a Franklin County Republican Party event. He said they have never met.

Taranto is also accused of trespassing on school campuses in the D.C. area filming children and projecting Jan. 6 footage in an attempt to intimidate congressman Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland.

According to court documents, Taylor Taranto identified himself in this photo during a livestream. Taranto is speaking in the bottom left.

Two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found in his van near where he was arrested.

Tarantos public defender had argued that he was not a danger to the community, and should be released to his wife in the Tri-Cities in order to receive mental healthcare.

They proposed the judge require him to seek inpatient treatment and ongoing outpatient treatment as part of the terms of release.

The lawyers said that the Navy veteran had been receiving mental healthcare from a VA hospital in the Seattle area that specializes in PTSD treatment.
Former Trump attorney John Eastman stood by false claims that the 2020 election was stolen after he surrendered to authorities in Fulton County over efforts to overturn the Georgia election.

Absolutely, Eastman said after NBC Newss Ali Vitali asked him whether he still believes the 2020 election was stolen. No question. No question about it.

There has been no evidence of widespread fraud during the 2020 election despite former President Trump and his allies claiming it was rigged.

Eastman declined to answer Vitalis questions about whether he had a mug shot and fingerprints taken, or whether he would seek immunity from prosecution.

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Trump and 18 others, including Eastman, were charged last week in Fulton County related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Eastman surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning, making him the second defendant to do so.

I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought, Eastman said in a statement posted to his attorneys website. It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

He was released on a $100,000 bond after he was processed at the Fulton County jail. While Vitali reported that Eastman said the proceedings were typical, the former Trump attorney would not comment on whether he took a mug shot.

He faces nine charges connected to the state investigation, ranging from conspiring to commit false statements, writings and forgery, to state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges. He is accused of designing and helping push a legal strategy in attempt to overturn the 2020 election, which used slates of fake electors in battleground states to swing the elections outcome in Trumps favor.

District Attorney Fani Willis (D) said defendants have until Friday at noon to voluntarily surrender themselves. Trump said Monday he plans to turn himself in Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ecuadorians voted Sunday to end oil drilling in a protected area of the Amazon, with about 60 percent of voters rejecting a referendum on oil exploration in Block 43, which is part of the Yasuni National Park.

As of early Monday, more than 90 percent of the votes had been counted, and about 6 in 10 rejected the measure. Rejection of the measure would mean the state oil company, Petroecuador, will be required to dismantle its drilling operations in the next months.

In a statement, Petroecuador said it would refrain from commenting on the referendum until the ballots are all counted, but that the company plans to comply with the decision of the Ecuadorian people.

The vote is a significant blow to President Guillermo Lasso, who has supported oil drilling efforts, noting that its revenue is important to the countrys economy. Petroecuador produces nearly 60,000 barrels a day in the Yasuni National Park, and Block 43 alone contributes $1.2 billion to the countrys annual federal budget.

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The vote also marks a significant step toward safeguarding a region thats home to several indigenous groups, including the Tagaeri and Taromenane, who live in voluntary isolation, and is a hotspot of biodiversity.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the Yasuni National Park and nearby areas a world biosphere reserve in 1989. The area encompasses about 2.5 million acres and includes 610 bird species, 139 amphibian species and 121 reptile species. At least three are endemic.

Ecuadorians have come together for this cause to provide a life opportunity for our Indigenous brothers and sisters and also to show the entire world, amidst these challenging times of climate change, that we stand in support of the rainforest, Nemo Guiquita, a leader of the Waorani tribe, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

The vote also only applies to a section of the Amazon region. Oil production continues in other sections of the Yasuni National Park and other indigenous territories.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The scandal-plagued, corruption-prone Los Angeles City Council has struck again. Youd think a body that has had four members charged with corruption in three years would be eager to demonstrate its commitment to ethics and government oversight.

But last Friday, without any public discussion or reason given, the council unanimously rejected a seemingly well-qualified nominee to the Ethics Commission, which is the watchdog over the citys elected officials.

Its rare for the council to block a nominee to a city commission  appointments are typically approved without controversy. Its even more unusual when the nominee has widespread support from neighborhood councils: Jamie York is a member of the Reseda Neighborhood Council and advocate for ethics and political reform who has worked in the past on political campaigns and as a fundraiser. She was nominated to the commission by City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Read more: Fixing City Hall

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What makes this rejection especially galling is that the failure to fill the seat makes it impossible for the Ethics Commission to do its work, which includes enforcing campaign finance, contracting, lobbying and conflict of interest laws. The commission canceled its August meeting and will not be able to decide enforcement cases or move forward policy proposals because there are three vacancies on the five-member panel.

The mayor, city attorney, controller, council president and council president pro tempore each get to choose a commissioner, and the full council confirms the appointments. Council leadership hasnt nominated commissioners for their two open seats (one has been open since December). Those vacancies along with York's rejection mean the commission does not have a quorum to conduct business. The council must fill its two positions immediately.

As for the York nomination, there were no concerns raised publicly or privately with Mejia or York. At the council meeting on Friday, there no discussion, just a vote to disapprove the nomination initiated on the floor by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and seconded by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

Read more: Editorial: L.A. is finally cracking down on stealth lobbying

In the days after the vote, some information has trickled out. On Tuesday, Council President Paul Krekorian said in a statement that he had reservations about appointing an outspoken advocate to the Ethics Commission  a quasi-judicial panel that makes enforcement decisions and metes out penalties when elected officials and candidates run afoul of ethics laws. The controller "certainly should have known that the job of an Ethics Commissioner is fundamentally different from that of an advocate, Krekorian said.

York said she was told that organized labor groups lobbied against her appointment in part because she led the push for stronger regulations over  wait for it  lobbying by labor unions and others.

There was indeed a behind-the-scenes push from labor to oppose York, according to council staff. Asked about his vote against York at a neighborhood council meeting Monday, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said he didn't support her because she opposes efforts to exempt union employees from having to register as lobbyists, Knock L.A. journalist Jon Peltz reported .

Read more: Editorial: L.A.'s labor unions are major political influencers. Why shouldn't they be considered lobbyists?

That labor groups were able to quietly kill an Ethics Commission appointment with no debate or discussion speaks to the power and influence of labor in L.A. politics, which is exactly why York and the Times editorial board oppose exempting union leaders from the more stringent lobbying disclosure rules.

If council members were concerned about York's position on this issue, they should have aired those concerns publicly before taking the vote. Or at least given Mejia and York the opportunity to respond. Instead, the nomination was summarily tanked with no transparency.

This only builds the case for giving the Ethics Commission more independence from the politicians its supposed to regulate. There are too many examples of elected officials manipulating or trying to suppress the Ethics Commission. The City Council and mayor control the commissions budget , which determines the size of its staff of investigators and enforcers. In 2018, a former Ethics Commission staffer filed a whistleblower complaint after being told by commission management that a council member had threatened to cut the department's budget if it didn't soften rules on gifts for politicians, according to a Times story.

The City Council can also refuse to act on the commissions recommended changes in ethics law. The Ethics Commission has been trying for 15 years to pass revisions to the city's lobbying law to make paid advocacy more transparent and the rules easier to enforce. The council repeatedly refused to consider the proposals, and they died.

The commission itself has recommended a dozen changes to the City Charter that would give it more independence, including setting a minimum budget so politicians cant cut funding to pressure ethics staff. The LA Governance Reform Project, a group of political science scholars, has also recommended giving the commission power to bypass the City Council to put proposed policies on the ballot for voters to decide.

The latest controversy shows its time to reconsider the size and appointment process for commissioners. Other cities, such as Long Beach, have some ethics commission seats reserved for nonpolitical appointments who are not chosen and confirmed by the people they regulate.

For all the talk from City Council leaders that theyre pro-reform, incidents like this is more evidence that L.A.'s political culture is broken and needs a complete overhaul.

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.
WASHINGTON  Eight presidential hopefuls officially qualified for Wednesday's GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, the Republican National Committee confirmed Monday night.

While former President Donald Trump appeared to have met the party's polling and fundraising thresholds, he won't be on the stage, as he has refused to sign the RNC's pledge to support the eventual nominee and announced he would skip the debate.

The candidates who qualified and opted to participate are:

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Former Vice President Mike Pence

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina

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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez , former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, businessmen Perry Johnson and radio host Larry Elder were left out.

Follow our live coverage of tonights Republican debate

The Hurd campaign appeared to take issue with the RNCs requirement that qualifying polls survey likely Republican voters. Hurd hadn't been expected to qualify for the debate even if he hit the polling threshold because of his public refusal to sign the party's pledge.

If the GOP is looking to grow our electorate and beat Joe Biden, then we better have a clear understanding of what qualifies as a likely Republican voter. Anyone, regardless of party, who is willing to check the box for a Republican should be considered a 'likely Republican voter.' Expanding our party should be applauded, not penalized," Hurd communications director Natalie Johnson said.

Hurd also said Tuesday morning he wouldn't drop out in a statement criticizing the RNC's criteria and arguing he's the only candidate who has "never bent the knee to Trump."

Johnson tweeted his frustration at being left out, calling the process "corrupted."

The debate process has been corrupted, plain and simple. Our campaign hit every metric put forward by the RNC and we have qualified for the debate. Well be in Milwaukee Wednesday and will have more to say tomorrow.  Perry Johnson (@PJQualityGuru) August 22, 2023

A source familiar with the RNC's criteria said the party took issue with two polls in which Johnson and Suarez hit 1%.

A poll from Victory Insights, in which Johnson finished at 1%, included 38 states as part of its "national" sample, which meant the sample didn't include participants from some states where significant proportions of GOP primary and caucus voters live.

The source added that the RNC also took issue with the likely voter screen in a poll from McShane LLC and American Wire News, in which Suarez finished over 1%.

While Elder claimed Monday night he had qualified, one of the polls he pointed to on social media had too small a sample size to meet the RNCs long-stated criteria.

Trump will undoubtedly loom large  he's the clear front-runner, and he leads in every recent national and state poll of Republican voters.

But his absence gives his rivals a high-profile opportunity to take their messages to a broad national audience  the debate will be broadcast on Fox News and Rumble, the online video and livestreaming website that's a favorite of many conservatives  and to show how they fare in the crowded field.

Candidates had to meet the party's polling and unique donor thresholds, as well as sign a pledge saying they'd support the eventual Republican nominee and not participate in any unsanctioned debates this cycle.

Those who struggled to make the first debate may have a steeper hill to climb to make the next one in September. While the unique donor threshold goes up only from 40,000 to 50,000, candidates will need to register 3% in a handful of qualifying polls, up from 1% for the first debate.

The majority of the field  including Trump, DeSantis, Scott, Haley, Christie and Ramaswamy  met the polling and donor criteria for the first debate with relative ease. But for others, hitting the thresholds proved more challenging.

Burgum spent furiously on advertising to accumulate the needed donors and support in the polls.

Pence easily hit the party's polling criteria but needed until this month to amass the required donors. Hutchinson, too, needed more time to meet the unique donor threshold, and his campaign said he hit the 40,000 requirement only days before.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Johannes Birkebaek

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots in flying F-16 fighter jets as part of its commitment to donate aircraft to Ukraine, the Danish armed forces said on Tuesday.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding wish by Ukraine that it says will help strengthen air defences and help its counter-offensive against Russia's 2022 invasion.

The eight pilots have arrived at the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup along with 65 personnel who will be trained in maintaining and servicing the jets, the Danish armed forces said in a statement.

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Greece will also take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.

Denmark will supply Ukraine with 19 F-16 jets and will deliver the first six jets around New Year.

The Netherlands, which has 42 F-16s, has yet to decide how many jets it will supply to Ukraine.

Denmark currently has 43 F-16 jets and will for safety reasons not disclose how many of them are active, the Danish statement said.

(Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, William Maclean)
Denmark has initiated training for eight Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 fighter jets, Reuters reported on Aug. 22, citing a statement by the Danish Armed Forces.

The eight pilots arrived at Denmarks Skrydstrup military airbase along with 65 other Ukrainian servicemen who will service the aircraft, according to the statement from the Danish military.

During President Volodymyr Zelenskyys visits to the Netherlands and Denmark on Aug. 20, both Amsterdam and Copenhagen pledged to transfer a total of 61 F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv  42 from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark, respectively.

Read also: Poland pledges its infrastructure to help train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

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Ukrainian military personnel are also undergoing testing on Swedish Gripen fighter jets.

NV

Greece announced that it would also take part in the training of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets after Zelenskyys visit to Athens on Aug. 22, Al Jazeera reported.

Read also: Ukrainian pilots to begin F-16 training in Denmark in August  Lockheed Martin

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk stated that the pilots are currently undergoing F-16 training in the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Read also: Ukrainian pilots to begin training on F-16s in August  report

The United States is also prepared to train Ukrainian pilots for F-16 flights, should European countries fall behind in the training process.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Greece and 10 other Balkan countries signed the Athens Declaration in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity at the Ukraine-Balkans Summit on August 21, according to the Office of the President of Ukraine.

The list of countries includes Serbia, which is traditionally viewed as Russias closest ally in the region.

President Zelenskyy arrived in Greece on August 21 to participate directly in the summit.

Read also: Zelenskyy calls on Greece to help with Black Sea security

Earlier, Greece reiterated its full support for Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO when the necessary conditions are met.

The Athens Summit Declaration  Full Text

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a pivotal moment for Europe, creating a new level of awareness of shared principles, unity, and a common future within the EU. This is a critical time for the security, peace, and stability of our European continent. The laws and principles that contributed to a stable and predictable European security order for so long have been violated, and we witness once again the manifestation of the disastrous effects of revisionism. In the face of Russian aggression, we express our unwavering support for Ukraines independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, based on the values of democracy and the rule of law. In our discussions in Athens today, we expressed support and appreciation for the earnest efforts of Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in setting out the principles for peace in line with the UN Charter. We also welcomed the efforts of the UN General Assembly to promote a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine. We agreed that there can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities, such as attacks against civilians and the destruction of infrastructure, and all those responsible must be held accountable. Twenty years ago, the Thessaloniki Summit acknowledged that the Western Balkans belong to the European Union. We firmly believe that today this statement remains more relevant than ever. The escalating war of aggression against Ukraine has revealed the urgent need for a strong, resilient, and inclusive EU as a cornerstone of peace and prosperity among our peoples during these challenging times. We stressed that the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova, geographically adjacent to the EU Member States, share a common European heritage, history, and a future defined by shared opportunities and challenges. As a strategic investment in peace, security, and stability in Europe, it is important for these regions to be embraced as full-fledged members of the European family. Today in Athens, we discussed the way forward in order to make this vision of Europe a reality. We underlined the importance of setting ourselves a target for the completion of the vision of an EU enriched with the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova. We underlined the need for a re-energized and re-focused enlargement process that is tangible and credible, without shortcuts to the set conditions. We expressed our commitment to support Ukraine and Moldova to take the next steps in their accession process as soon as they have completed the necessary reforms. We firmly believe that 20 years after the Thessaloniki Summit, and in light of the new geopolitical reality, the time has come to adopt a bold and ambitious end goal that will serve as a guide, inspiration, and context.

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The Declaration was signed by:

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic

President of Moldova Maia Sandu,

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic,

Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis,

Prime Minister of Romania Ion-Marcel Ciolacu,

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti,

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo,

Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski,

Prime Minister of Bulgaria Nikolay Denkov,

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic.

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Elon Musk said he could see the 'entire war unfolding' through a map of Starlink activity - ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk pondered pulling Starlink satellite internet from Ukraine because he feared being perceived as a warmonger in Russia, a former Pentagon official has said.

The 52 year-old South African-born billionaire expressed his concerns after Ukrainian forces reported network outages close to the front lines separating them from their Russian occupiers.

Colin Kahl, a US undersecretary of defence for policy until last month, was charged with brokering a deal to prevent Mr Musk from turning the system off altogether.

If you turn this off, it doesnt end the war, Mr Kahl recalled telling the SpaceX chief, in an interview with The New Yorker.

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My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlinks involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns, the former US official added.

Ukrainian Territorial Defence near Kherson Front using the Starlink system - JULIAN SIMMONDS

Last year, Mr Musk was accused of publishing a Kremlin-friendly peace proposal, suggesting Ukraine should mirror sovereignty referendums organised by Russia in regions it occupied.

The outages were felt hardest in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The four Ukrainian oblasts, parts of which were occupied by Russian forces, were all claimed as part of Russia after referendums staged by Kremlin proxies.

Mr Musk told Pentagon officials during negotiations over Starlink that he had held personal talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin, the New Yorker reported.

Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musks SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors, have become vital to Ukrainian military communications.

The constellation of satellites, operated by Mr Musks SpaceX firm, are used to coordinate drone and artillery strikes, stream live video from the battlefield and gather intelligence.

Ukraine says the communications system is vital to their defence networks - ArmyInform

Mr Musk boasted that he could see the entire war unfolding through a map of Starlink activity. He told Mr Kahl that live information had made him hesitate over whether his satellite internet system was being used for peaceful means or to wage war.

This was, like, three minutes before he said, well, I had this great conversation with Putin, Mr Kahl said.

Offensive capabilities

The technology entrepreneur has long-held reservations over his system being used for offensive capabilities. It was recently reported he had forced Ukraine to drop a planned naval drone strike in the Black Sea by refusing access to the Starlink network around occupied Crimea.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraines top general, has said his militarys success was dependent on continued access to the system.

Aides to Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky have previously attempted to ease Mr Musks concerns by telling him the system is about defence, advancement, and survival, a source told The Telegraph.

Mr Musk has also baulked at the cost of providing the system, which was estimated at nearly $400 million (310 million) for a 12-month period, according to a report by CNN.

In June, the Pentagon announced it had reached a deal with SpaceX to maintain the systems use in Ukraine, without disclosing the terms of the agreement.

The pact, which is believed to give Ukraine unabridged access to the system, is seen as a step away from Mr Musk having a significant role in the battlefield as Kyivs counter-offensive continues.

The Telegraph has approached representatives of Mr Musk and SpaceX for comment.

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Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk might be in competition with Ford, but he recently praised the automaker for its electric vehicle strategy.

In response to a recent post on Twitter that compared Fords net EV income (minus-40%) and projected net EV income (minus-20%) to Teslas net margin (plus-11.4%), Musk said: Always tough with margins for new vehicle lines, especially when there are major technology shifts. I think Fords overall strategy with EVs is smart. The electric F-150 (Lightning) has high demand.

Ford had planned to manufacture 600,000 EVs by the end of 2023 but in July pushed back that timeline to 2024. Musks comments did come before the delay, but the companies have a mutual respect and have even signed a charger deal.

The No. 2-ranked EV brand in the United States, Ford in the last three years has debuted the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning to much fanfare.

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The companys transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones is important in driving down emissions, as rising global temperatures must be kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels to substantially reduce the probability of extreme drought, precipitation deficits, and risks associated with water availability (i.e., water stress) in some regions, among other hazards, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

EVs can make a big impact as part of that undertaking  which includes the United States goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050  but manufacturers likely wont continue to invest in such products if they dont make money as well.

While virtually all legacy automakers have started on a path to switch to electric vehicles, most of them struggle to make money selling them, Electrek reported. Ford expects its EV business to lose $4.5 billion this year, viewing it more as an investment for the future.

Transportation is the United States largest greenhouse gas-emitting sector, but driving an EV instead of a gas-powered vehicle  cuts your climate pollution by about two-thirds over your cars life span, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

GreenCars noted EVs emit 4,100 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per year (inclusive of production, processing, and ongoing electricity power sources) compared to 11,435 pounds for traditional gasoline vehicles. A recent study showed EVs have already had a positive effect in California, improving air quality and leading to fewer asthma-related hospital visits.

Another study from this year evaluated the potential impact of large-scale EV adoption within 30 metropolitan areas in the U.S. For example, EVs by 2050 will annually prevent 1,163 premature deaths in Los Angeles, saving citizens $12.6 billion in aggregate health care costs.

The proliferation of clean energy means EVs should continue to become less expensive as well, closing the gap between the price of gas-powered vehicles. (EVs are already cheaper in the long run.)

Ford is investing more than $50 billion in electric vehicles globally through 2026 to develop breakthrough EVs, the company stated on its website.  Ford, as of summer 2022, had already secured 100% of the annual battery cell capacity needed to support the 2023 target and 70% needed to support the 2026 target [of 2 million EVs manufactured globally].

Even though those objectives have been pushed back, Ford CEO Jim Farley is still optimistic.

The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected, which is going to benefit early movers like Ford, he stated. While others are trying to catch up, we have clean-sheet, next-generation products in advanced development that will blow people away.

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Elon Musk said he had engaged in direct conversation with Vladimir Putin, according to a former Pentagon official.

Mr Musks comments had been made in a discussion the billionaire had with Pentagon officials in October last year about the satellite-based internet provided by SpaceX to Ukraines military.

The billionaire had told Colin Kahl, then the under-secretary of defence for policy at the Pentagon, that he had spoken to Mr Putin personally, according a report on Monday in the New Yorker.

Even though Musk is not technically a diplomat or statesman, I felt it was important to treat him as such, given the influence he had on this issue, Mr Kahl is quoted as saying.

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The conversation between Mr Musk and the then-Pentagon official occurred while Ukrainian forces were experiencing a disruption in their connection to Space Exploration Technologies Corps (SpaceX) Starlink service, coinciding with their entry into territory contested by Russia.

My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlinks involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns, Mr Kahl told the outlet.

Another source told the New Yorker that Mr Musk had previously expressed the same assertion in the weeks leading up to his tweet about a pro-Russia peace plan. He mentioned that his consultations with the Kremlin were occurring regularly.

But he later denied having spoken to Mr Putin about Ukraine.

A senior official is quoted as saying that on the phone call, Mr Musk said he was looking at his laptop and could see the entire war unfolding through a map of Starlink activity.

This was, like, three minutes before he said, Well, I had this great conversation with Putin, the senior defence official was quoted as saying.

And we were, like, Oh, dear, this is not good.

SpaceX had put forward a request for the US and its allies to bear a larger portion of the expenses for Starlink in Ukraine.

As per the unclassified talking points for the call, during the conversation, Mr Musk was reportedly appreciated for his endeavours in Ukraine, and the considerable expenses he had shouldered were acknowledged.

Additionally, Mr Kahl said there was a plea made for a brief extension of a few weeks to formulate a contract.

If you cut this off, it doesnt end the war, Mr Kahl recalled telling Mr Musk.

After a 15-minute call, Mr Musk reportedly agreed to give the Pentagon more time. Later though, in response to public backlash, he retracted his earlier statements of discontinuing the service.

The hell with it, Mr Musk tweeted. Even though Starlink is still losing money and other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, well just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.

In June this year, the Department of Defence disclosed that it had successfully reached an agreement with SpaceX.

We continue to work with a range of global partners to ensure Ukraine has the resilient satellite and communication capabilities they need. Satellite communications constitute a vital layer in Ukraines overall communications network and the department contracts with Starlink for services of this type, the Pentagon said in a statement at the time.
Nicholas Olenik says hed never experienced grief and depression until his brother and father died in the span of less than two years.

It was just a little much. I never felt that low before, so I was looking for anything (to help), Olenik, 41, who lives in the Kempsville neighborhood of Virginia Beach, Virginia, tells TODAY.com.

What finally helped was an emotional support animal in the form of an emu, the large flightless bird, prescribed to him by a local psychotherapist, he says. Olenik raised the bird from a tiny chick at his suburban home and felt his mental health improve.

It brought me back to life, he notes. It gave me a reason to wake up in the morning.

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But when a neighbor complained he was keeping an emu, it set off a legal fight with city officials. The emu industry also cautions against the practice. The American Emu Association doesnt support keeping emus as pets, warning suburban environments are inadequate for the birds. It also doesnt consider them emotional support or therapy animals.

Emu are horrible pets, Kymara Lonergan, vice president of the American Emu Association, and an emu owner, handler and educator in Ulster Park, New York, tells TODAY.com. Shes concerned people see the LiMu Emu in TV ads and get the idea all emu act like CGI-generated cartoon birds.

'She lessened my anxiety'

But Olenik says emus are better than dogs.

After his brother died of a heart attack in 2019 and his father passed away of lung cancer in 2021, Olenik didnt know how to cope. At the same time, his home maintenance business didnt survive the pandemic, so hed just sleep in late and watch TV as his wife went to work and his teenage daughter went to school. He says he was "down and depressed."

Every doctor just wanted to give me drugs, and I didnt want them, Olenik recalls, noting he doesnt even like taking Tylenol.

When a friend and his wife retired from the military and started a farm in Tennessee to help with their PTSD, they got an emu. Thats how Olenik first got the idea to get one, too. He says his psychotherapist supported the idea.

He bought an egg at an emu farm near his house and brought the chick home in January 2023 after it hatched.

Emus start out as tiny chicks, but grow quickly and can weigh up to 100 pounds and stand almost 6 feet tall as adults. (Courtesy Nicholas Olenik)

Like the rest of the animals in his household, which include turtles, dogs and cats, the tiny female bird was named after a character in Dragon Ball Z, an anime TV series, and became known as Nimbus.

The emu lived in the house with the family, and used a doggy door to go outside as she pleased.

The emu got along well with the family's other animals. (Courtesy Nicholas Olenik)

When she grew bigger, the family would open the screen door for her to let her out into the backyard. The houses in the area, including his, sit on about a quarter acre of land, Olenik says. The emu had a harness and a leash for when he took her on walks around the neighborhood.

With Nimbus, he found a purpose and a friend.

She lessened my anxiety, she calmed me, Olenik says. She would notice me being down and just come snuggle on me. She brought me back to communicating more.  She pestered me, she got in my face. She wanted me to be active and follow her.

Emus can cause 'horrendous injuries'

In February 2023, a neighbor complained the family was keeping an emu. Virginia Beach Animal Control then cited Olenik for violating city code, and a judge fined him $50. While Olenik considered Nimbus a companion animal, the city called the emu livestock.

Nimbus the emu roams the backyard. (Courtesy Nicholas Olenik)

The American Emu Association, a nonprofit that represents the emu industry, says the birds should be raised for agricultural purposes  such as meat, leather, oil, feathers and eggs  in a proper, safe environment.

They can weigh up to 100 pounds, grow to almost 6 feet tall and sprint more than 30 miles per hour, so they need an adequate amount of fenced space to walk, run and forage, it notes.

People dont need a license to buy an emu, but its completely unhealthy for the bird to be kept alone with only human companionship, the association says. Emus are not safe pets for children, it warns.

They have razor sharp claws that could easily slice an artery or cause horrendous injuries if they are not properly handled. I would never allow a child or an inexperienced person near my emu, Lonergan says.

They are not an animal that people with no livestock handling experience can simply own.

Theres currently a huge demand for white and blond emus driven by social media, Lonergan notes. A pet emu named Emmanuel became a TikTok sensation in 2022.

She worries emus kept as pets by inexperienced owners will have to suffer through bizarre feeds, wearing diapers, having improper footing in a house, being placed in chlorinated deep family swimming pools and taunting by children.

Judge rules on 'highly unusual' case

Olenik appealed his case to a higher court. He testified how Nimbus is a companion animal who helps his mental health; explained he wasnt keeping the emu for food or fiber; and presented a letter from his therapist who wrote Olenik should continue his therapy with an emotional support animal unencumbered.

The judge ruled in his favor. While it is highly unusual that someone would keep an emu as a pet  or as a companion animal  while also residing in the heart of suburbia, Defendant has shown that it is not impossible, Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Kevin Duffan wrote in his decision on July 27, 2023.

He found Olenik not guilty of violating city code and permanently dismissed the case.

Still, Nimbus wont be coming back to the household. Before the judges decision, Olenik says the city required him to remove the emu from his home, so he sent her to his friends ranch in Tennessee in June. There, she met Oreo, a male emu, and the two have become bonded. Olenik didn't want to separate the pair and decided to let her stay. He plans to get another emu chick this winter.

The whole experience inspired him to run for office. Hes running as an independent in the upcoming election for Virginia House of Delegates 96th District.

I asked every single politician in my area for help with my emu, and they laughed at me, Olenik says, noting he has a simple message for voters.

You like how hard I fought for an emu? Wait 'til I fight for you, my constituent, even harder. Im tired of a tyrannical government.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Russia to meet with dictator Vladimir Putin to discuss the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The meeting was initially expected to take place in Ankara.

Source: Yeni Safak, a Turkish news outlet

Details: The outlet cites sources close to the Erdogan administration as saying that the Turkish president's visit to Russia is supposedly being prepared and is "critical" for reaching an agreement with Russia on the continuation of the grain initiative.

As the sources said, Ankara is of the opinion that creating a new route for grain exports by sea without Russia's participation is not a good idea.

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Possible dates of Erdogans visit to Russia are not specified.

The media also reported that Erdogans chief adviser Akif Cagatay Klc is heading to Ukraine and that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is also expected to visit Ukraine and Russia.

Background:

Earlier, it was reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin might personally visit Ankara. The visit was expected to take place in the second half of August, and in the middle of the month, rumours were unofficially circulating that it could take place "in the coming days".

It was reported earlier that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may meet with Putin's representative, Tatarstan President Ruslan Minnikhanov, and allegedly conclude an agreement on the transit of Russian grain in exchange for Moscow's return to the grain deal.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Russia to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin , Turkeys Yeni Safak newspaper reported on Aug. 22, citing sources in Turkeys presidential administration.

Erdogan's upcoming trip to Russia could be "critically important" and a "most significant step" in resuming the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the newspaper said.

Following Russias withdrawal from the grain agreement on July 17, Turkish presidential sources said that serious progress had been made in talks to restore the initiative.

Read also: Erdogan confirms Putin's August visit to Turkey

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Previously, Erdogan had said his meeting with Putin had been delayed until September at the earliest.

On July 28, the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin was ignoring Erdogan's requests to negotiate an extension of the grain deal.

Read also: Poland wants EU help to build agro-ports to help ship Ukraines grain

Putin said it was impossible to hold a bilateral telephone conversation because the Turkish president had chosen an "inconvenient time."

For his part, Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to contribute to ending Russia's war against Ukraine.

Erdogan said on Aug. 9 that he intended to revive the agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea and that he previously discussed the issue with the Russian dictator during a telephone conversation.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
3D model shows the migration route from the migrant camp of Al Thabit in Saada Governorate, of Yemen into Saudi Arabia

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia will work with Saudi Arabian authorities to investigate allegations made by a human rights group that hundreds of Ethiopian migrants have been killed by the kingdom's border guards, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabian officials did not respond to a request for comment about the investigation. A Saudi official said on Monday that the allegations made in the report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) were "unfounded".

"The Government of Ethiopia will promptly investigate the incident in tandem with Saudi Authorities," the foreign ministry statement said, emphasizing the strong relations between the two governments.

"It is highly advised to exercise utmost restraint from making unnecessary speculations until investigation is complete," the statement said.

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In a 73-page report released on Monday, Human Rights Watch accused Saudi guards posted along the Yemen border of "widespread and systematic" attacks on migrants, who use remote mountain tracks to cross the frontier by foot.

HRW said the guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range.

The European Commission said on Tuesday it would raise the report's findings with the Saudi government and the Houthi authorities in Yemen.

"We welcome the announcement by the government of Ethiopia specifically to investigate the whole issue together with the authorities in Saudi Arabia," Commission spokesman Peter Stano told a daily press conference.

The U.S. government and the United Nations have also called for a thorough investigation. U.N. officials in 2022 alleged that Saudi border guards were systematically killing migrants last year; an accusation that Saudi authorities strongly denied.

The migration route from the Horn of Africa, across the Gulf of Aden, through Yemen and into Saudi Arabia - one of the richest countries in the Arab world - is a well-established corridor for Ethiopian migrants.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
Ukraine's progress in implementing reforms outlined in the conditions for admission to the European Union has been impressive, EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said on Aug. 21, as reported by Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.

Read also: Ukraine claims significant progress in southern counteroffensive

Today, the progress can be assessed as impressive, because let's not forget that Ukraine's most important priority is, of course, to win, end the war, win back the territories, and at the same time, it is successfully carrying out reforms, said Sinkevicius.

Sinkevicius added that the reforms already undertaken by Kyiv, concerning the judicial system and media freedom, are "very important, almost fundamental, like the glue that holds the EU together."

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He nevertheless expressed that further progress, particularly in the fight against corruption and curtailing the influence of oligarchs, pose more complex challenges that will take more time to resolve.

Read also: Member of Central Election Commission fled to US before invasion, hasnt returned since

"The European Commission promises to present a full detailed assessment at the beginning of October, to present updated recommendations to Ukraine and I have no doubt that, seeing as it is now the Government of Ukraine is working, they will try to implement it quite quickly," the commissioner added.

Read also: EU Commission readies 50 billion relief fund for Ukraine

He noted that it's not enough to simply check off a passed law, it needs to be properly implemented.

Read also: Zelenskyy signs decree dismissing all regional draft commissioners, appoints ex-combat officers

"And the European Commission will also assess the implementation of these laws to ensure they are effective," he concludes.

On June 22, EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi stated that Ukraine had fulfilled two out of seven of the European Commission's recommendations for initiating accession talks to the EU, and the rest of the recommendations were still under implementation.

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On the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes, the European Commission has made serious accusations against Russian President Vladimir Putin .

Source: ntv, reported by European Pravda

Details: Vice President of the European Commission Vera Jourova and Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said that Putin had brought war, persecution and illegal occupation back to the continent.

The Russian state apparatus is also falsifying history and spreading conspiracy theories to poison EU democracies with malicious disinformation.

"We will not stop our efforts to promote historical awareness and debunk this distortion of historical facts wherever we encounter it," said leading European Commission officials.

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Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, will be supported as long as necessary, they stressed.

Jourova and Reynders believe that history offers some hope. "After World War II, we built a peaceful Europe, an alliance of democracies. We have created stable democratic institutions in countries that not so long ago were under the crushing yoke of authoritarianism," they say.

The European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes has been celebrated on 23 August since 2009. It also reminds everyone of the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, signed on 23 August 1939, is considered to be the document that paved the way for the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.

Background: Last weekend, Josep Borrell, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called Russia a "petrol station" with a nuclear bomb.

In May, Poland's ambassador to Budapest criticised the Hungarian army commander for actually advocating "appeasement" of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Ambassador Sebastian Kieczek shared a letter addressed to Lieutenant General Gabor Borondi, who said that World War II could have been prevented if Western powers had supported peace talks with Nazi Germany after Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939.

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The Evanston Health and Human Services Department has placed emergency opioid overdose boxes at five locations across the city in an effort to combat overdose deaths in the city.

Boxes have been placed at the Evanston Main Library, Robert Crown Community Center, Evanston Ecology Center, Levy Senior Center and Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center in a partnership with the citys public library and parks and recreation department. Each box contains six kits with two doses of Naloxone, also known as Narcan, to be used in the event of an opioid overdose.

The boxes are in well traveled areas and open to the public so they can be reached quickly in the case of an emergency.

This is something that we felt is necessary. We dont want to wait until there is an epidemic to do something about it, Evanston Health and Human Services Department Director Ike Ogbo said. We dont want to get to a point where it is overwhelming when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths.

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The city isnt currently facing an opioid epidemic but, according to Ogbo, there was a small uptick in overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a news release by the city, the city saw a total of 174 emergency room visits by Evanston residents as a result of opioid overdoses between Jan. 2022 and July 2023.

The Health and Human Services Department is tracking the data on opioid overdoses to remain on top of the issue. Ogbo credits residents knowledge of the dangers of opioid use to the low number of overdoses compared to other parts of the country, even with the presence of college students at Northwestern University.

In the event someone is experiencing an opioid overdose, 911 should be called immediately and Naloxone should be administered if possible. After administering the medication, stay on scene until paramedics arrive.

Naloxone can also be purchased at pharmacies and is available without prescription.

We want to make sure that people have the kits that they need in order to improve, Ogbo said. We simply do not want to see our numbers rise, as a matter of fact, we want to see a reduction in numbers.

For those struggling with opioid addiction, the Illinois Department of Human Services provides a 24/7 hotline at 833-234-6343 and additional resources can be found at ilhelpline.org.
Eight Republican hopefuls will take the stage Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the first GOP primary debate for the 2024 election cycleabsent Donald Trump, the partys far-and-away frontrunner despite a quartet of criminal indictments stacked against him.

An internal memo and public jabs in the days leading up to the debate have given a glimpse into whats to come, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy expected to be at each others throats.

Heres everything you need to know ahead of debate time.

Where to watch

Wednesdays debate at Fiserv Forum will begin at 9 p.m. EST on the Fox News Channel with live coverage commencing an hour prior.

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The event will also be available on a Fox Business Network simulcast, as well as on foxnews.com and Rumble, a video platform thats an official partner of the Republican National Committee.

Grab some coffeeWednesdays primetime event is expected to wrap up at 11 p.m., but early-primary debates are notorious for running later than planned.

Who will be on stage

As notable as those who will be on stage is who isnt attending at all. Trump, the Republican frontrunner, says he wont participate in any primary debates.

Instead, Wednesdays clash will feature eight other hopefuls: DeSantis, Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former vice president Mike Pence, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

The debate will be moderated by Fox News Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

Fox & Friends Host Claims Trump Skipping GOP Debates Is Helping Biden

While Trump wont be in attendance, his presence will be felt. He reportedly pre-recorded an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson thats scheduled to go live online Wednesday night around the time of the debate, and hes sure to be the center of discussion among candidates hoping to unseat him from his perch.

Trump planned to send top advisers to the debates spin room, but Fox News said only debate-participating candidates would be given credentials.

What to watch for

DeSantis campaign has been faltering for months, plagued by a string of layoffs, a dizzying fight against Disney, and his struggles with connecting with voters on the ground in key early-voting states. Despite a lackluster summer, hes still polling in second behind Trump, but it's becoming an increasingly-distant second.

A cringey internal memo from DeSantis Super PAC didnt help matters last week. It indicated that DeSantis would try to differentiate himself from Trump in Wednesdays debate without alienating the former presidents rabid right-wing base. The memo also advised DeSantis to take a sledgehammer to Ramaswamy by calling him Fake Vivek or Vivek the Fake.

On Twitter, Ramaswamy mocked the strategy as boring, calling DeSantis Robot Ron for taking lame, pre-programmed attack lines against me.

Ramaswamy has grabbed headlines for his far-out proposals like raising the voting age to 25. Hes a staunch Trump defender and political outsider who said he skipped formal debate practice sessions because he doesnt want to be overly prepared.

CNN Brutally Mocks Clown Vivek Ramaswamys Topless Tennis Debate Prep

Only Christie and Pence have participated in a presidential-level debate before, possibly giving them a leg up as they battle for speaking time. Debate strategy for the duo is expected to center around the same point theyve used to solicit donations: that Trump and his growing list of criminal charges arent fit for the white house.

Christie, a Trump ally turned antagonist, called the former president a certified loser and verified coward for refusing to debate.

How candidates qualified

With every Republican candidate not named Trump dragging in polls, the RNC established fairly lax requirements to qualify for the debate.

Candidates had to poll at just one percent in three national polls, or at one percent in two national polls plus the same in at least one early-state poll. They had to have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors, including at least 200 unique donors per state. Each candidate was also ordered to sign a pledge agreeing that theyd support the eventual party nominee.

Reaching the qualifications was a struggle for some. Pence only made it after a surge of donations following Trumps indictment in Georgia, qualifying a month later than Christie despite announcing his candidacy just a day later.

Hutchinson didnt eclipse the required 40,000 unique donors until Saturday night while became eligible after he promised $20 gift cards to any donor that helped him qualifyno matter how small their donation was.

Inside the GOP Presidential Candidate Gift Card Ploy Turning Campaign Finance Upside Down

Among the candidates who didnt make the cut were Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, businessman Perry Johnson, pastor and business executive Ryan Binkley, and talk show host Larry Elder.

Suarez said earlier this month that anyone who didnt qualify should drop out of the race entirely.

If you can't meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn't be trying to take the time involved away from being productive, Suarez said at the Iowa State Fair. He later added, I don't think candidates should just sort of linger around.

Debate format and topics

There will be no opening statements from each candidate, with the debate moving to questions directly after introductions.

Candidates will be given one minute to respond to questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups. The debate will close with brief closing statements capped at 45 seconds per candidate.

Best efforts will be made to ensure a fair and robust discussion, giving every candidate the opportunity to answer questions and react to others, said a memo from Fox News given to debate participants.

Fox News Fully Pivots to Vivek Ramaswamy

While a list of debate topics has not been published by Fox News, moderator Baier told Deadline that it will be interesting to see how candidates react to questions about Trumps indictments.

In the GOP primary, we have seen these indictments increase his polling numbers, increase his fundraising, he said. How others react to it and how differently they approach it will be a part of this primary and this debate.

MacCallum, the debates second moderator, told TVNewser that they also have questions lined up about abortion and the countrys role in assisting Ukraine fight against Russian invaders.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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By Supantha Mukherjee and Simon Jessop

STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt has raised $1.2 billion from investors including BlackRock and several Canadian pension plans as it prepares to build new factories in Europe and North America, its finance chief told Reuters.

The fresh funding, through a convertible note, comes as investor demand for companies set to benefit from the move to a low-carbon economy picks up pace, aided by policy initiatives in both regions to accelerate the transition.

"It's a very capital intensive industry... finding the right mix is always hard in this new greenfield kind of transitional projects," Chief Financial Officer Alexander Hartman said in an interview.

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Leading the round alongside BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, were Canada Pension Plan, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and, as previously reported, pension investor Investment Management Corporation of Ontario.

"The battery manufacturing sector has attractive growth potential driven by the accelerating adoption of battery storage and electric vehicles," said David Giordano, global head of climate infrastructure at BlackRock.

"As a leading investor in the energy transition, we look forward to supporting their continued growth."

Other investors to take part included Goldman Sachs, Volkswagen, Baillie Gifford, Swedbank Robur, Singapore's GIC and Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.

A number of funds to invest in the note were classed as 'dark green' under the European Union's sustainable finance framework, a stamp of environmental approval that bodes well for future interest in the company, which ultimately hopes to list, Hartman said.

The fresh funds will help the firm expand its factory footprint, Hartman said. The firm currently has several factories across Europe with the latest a 600 million euros ($654 million) investment to build a plant in Germany, announced in May.

While the company has a facility in the United States, sources said the company is close to finalising plans to build a multibillion-dollar battery factory in Canada that will be announced later this year.

Northvolt declined to comment on the factory plans.

With the latest round, Northvolt has raised more than $9 billion in debt and equity since 2017 in its bid to become Europe's biggest battery manufacturer, including $1.1 billion in convertible notes last year from multiple investors.

It has secured orders of over $55 billion from customers such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen.

Separately, Northvolt has assembled its first energy storage system products in Poland and expects to start customer deliveries from later this year.

"We have a business plan... we always want to make sure we have access to the markets," Hartman said.

He declined to comment on whether the company was preparing to go public.

Reuters has previously reported, citing sources, that Northvolt was preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at more than $20 billion.

($1 = 0.9176 euros)

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Simon Jessop in London; editing by Mark Potter)
Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok on August 22, 2023. Credit - Sirachai ArunrugstichaiGetty Images

For more than 15 years, one mans shadow has loomed over Thailand from afar. Billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra may have lived in exile following his ouster in a 2006 coup detat and subsequent corruption convictions, but the levers of power were never far from his grasp. Populist parties he backed had won every election since 2001 only to be repeatedly ousted by judicial and military coupsturmoil interspersed by bouts of often deadly street protests.

But Thaksins grip loosened following Mays general election, when his Pheu Thai party was bested by the upstart Move Forward Party, which secured 38% of the vote with its radical agenda to bridle the nations military and monarchy. Pheu Thai briefly allied with Move Forward, but after the coalitions candidate for Prime Minister was rejected by the military-appointed Senate, the Thaksin proxy instead struck a deal with 10 establishment-leaning parties, including two directly responsible for his sisters ouster in 2014.

At 9:25 a.m. on Tuesday, Thaksin returned to Thailand for the first time since 2008, arriving at Bangkoks Don Mueang Airport wearing a navy blue suit and pink necktie. Posting on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, before his arrival, Thaksin said he wanted to live on the land of Thailand and share the air with my Thai brothers and sisters. He landed just hours before a scheduled parliamentary vote that looks likely to return a Pheu Thai candidate, property tycoon Srettha Thavisin, as Prime Minister. Pheu Thai insists that the timing of his return has nothing to do with the vote but was determined as auspicious according to astrological charts.

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The truth is far less lofty. After two decades of battling the Thai establishment, urging fervent supporters onto the street and into often deadly confrontation with rivals and security forces, Thaksin has abandoned them to secure his return home. He was arrested after stepping off his private Gulfstream jet and transported to the Supreme Court and then to Bangkok Remand Prison, though nobody expects him to serve anything like the eight years that three of his in absentia convictions warrant. Rumors of a royal pardon continue to swirl.

That Thaksin did a deal with Thailands elite power nexus that effectively keeps the democratically elected Move Forward Party out of power has incensed many of his erstwhile supporters. While a raucous crowd of thousands greeted Thaksin at the terminal, social media is filled with outpourings of scorned former acolytes, some of whom have burned Pheu Thai shirts and banners in protest. Memories are seared deep of numerous bloody encounters with Thaksins new coalition bedfellowsnot least the at least 90 Thaksin supporters killed in 2010 following a police crackdown on a protest in central Bangkok.

Pheu Thai will pay a heavy price, says Aim Sinpeng, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney. Because their stance for decades is that they're not going to be with the old elites, and now they are.

Its a cynical marriage of convenience between two camps that remain sworn enemies. But in Move Forward, the Thai elite found itself facing something far scarier than a brash, ambitious tycoon. If Thaksin tried to co-opt existing institutions for his own ends, Move Forward sought to upend them altogether, vowing to abolish Thailands controversial royal defamation law, military conscription, and its unelected Senate.

The resounding victory for Move Forwards bold manifesto spooked the elites into doing a deal with their archnemesis. Thaksin, for his part, saw that his popularity would only wane further before the next election and, with Pheu Thai desperately running out of funds, it was essentially now or never. Its his last chance with Pheu Thai in shambles and his own credibility damaged, says Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. But his reputation as a pro-democracy figure has crumbled.

Its certainly a dark day for Thailands democracy movement, which was dancing in the street following Move Forwards stunning victory. Since then, however, party leader Pita Limjaroenrat has been barred from serving as a lawmaker over allegations that he held shares in a defunct media company, contravening byzantine parliamentary rules. (He denies any wrongdoing). There are fears that he will be barred from politics and the party dissolved, just like its progenitor Future Forward Party, and various former iterations of Pheu Thai before.

At the very least, the hope is that the selection of a Prime Minister after three months of political limbo can get the country of 70 million back on track. GDP growth in Thailand slowed to just 0.2% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 1.7% in the previous. The tourism-reliant economy desperately needs stability and leadership.

As for democracy, thanks to Thaksin, the wait goes on.

We're sick and tired of these shenanigans, says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. We want to have a democratically elected government moving the country forward. And Thaksin now is an obstacle.

Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com.
More actions to expel Russia from the occupied Crimean Peninsula can be expected in the next few days, according to Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (HUR).

Kyrylo Budanov made his comments during an interview with the ITV news agency in the formerly occupied town of Irpen, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on August 22.

Read also: Threat of losing Crimea might force Putin to back down  report

Budanov spoke during a ceremony to raise the Crimean Tatar flag ahead of the third Crimean Platform summit, scheduled to start on August 23.

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Budanov stated that while there are individuals who are "very afraid" of the de-occupation of Crimea, there are also "a lot of people on the peninsula who are eagerly anticipating this outcome.

Read also: Intel chief Budanov addresses pressure on Ukraine to agree to cease-fire

"We need to instill confidence that their hopes are not in vain," Budanov said.

"That is why initiatives like the Crimean Platform are crucial. This involves resistance in the temporarily occupied territories and the removal of occupiers from our Crimea. Our actions are apparent now, with more to come in the next few days."

Read also: Explosions heard across Ukraines Crimea as 20 drones reportedly target Russian-occupied peninsula

Explosions have become a regular occurrence in Crimea. While the Russian occupation authorities typically claim the blasts are the sounds of "anti-aircraft defense systems" in action, video and photographic evidence indicates that ammunition storage facilities on the peninsula have been frequently targeted.

Interruptions to traffic on the Crimean Bridge  the vital road and rail link illegally built by Russia to connect the peninsular with the mainland  are now also common.

The head of Ukraines SBU security service, Vasyl Maliuk, revealed for the first time on August 16 that an explosion on July 17, which damaged part of the road section of the bridge, was caused by an attack from a Ukrainian "SeaBaby" marine attack drone.

He disclosed that the attack was a joint operation involving the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Talks about peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are ongoing in the West.

Many people in Ukraine have recently seen some hint of peace talks in almost every news item from abroad. For some, these expectations are driven by the hope for a quick peace (well, if there is no quick victory). Ukrainians are deeply concerned that peace will be imposed on us on unfavorable terms. It seems to me that there is even some obsession with the topic of negotiations.

So will there be peace talks?

Read also:

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I will disappoint those who hope for quick peace and those who fear a disadvantageous peace will be imposed on us. There will be no quick peace, but peace talks (or attempts to negotiate them) are inevitable. Not now, but later, in about six months, but not earlier than 3-4 months, and possibly not earlier than the end of 2024. At the same time, reaching any agreements will take a long time, even just a ceasefire. The upcoming negotiation process may drag on for many months, and even more than one year.

When it comes to statements about peace, we should pay attention not to the words of a NATO official who does not make decisions, has little knowledge of the situation, and is forced to make excuses and apologize; but to more serious people who have real power and direct influence on us and the international situation.

unless the situation inside Russia changes dramatically.

For example, the US President said: "Russia has already lost the war. This is not the first such statement from Biden. According to this logic, if Russia has already lost, it is time to end the war and negotiate. But it is unlikely that Russia agrees that they have lost. They are unlikely to negotiate on the terms of the United States and Ukraine.

Lukashenko also seems to hint at the need for peace in the context of Russia's victory, which allegedly "achieved the goals of the SMO." The Belarusian dictator does not provide any serious arguments in favor of this thesis, but he clearly favors ending the war and sends his hints toward the Kremlin.

The Kremlin is talking not so much about peace as about the possibility of a new wave of mobilization (the legal framework is already in place) and preparing a major offensive next spring. Let me remind you that in the spring of 2024, there will be presidential elections in Russia, and the scenario of an attempted offensive by Russian troops in Ukraine during Putin's election (as a military and political PR campaign) looks entirely plausible. It is also clear that Russia intends to drag out the war against Ukraine at least until the US presidential election, hoping for Trump's victory and the depletion of Ukraine's military potential.

Read also: Putin tells African leaders Russia ready to enter negotiations to end war

It is unacceptable for Ukraine to negotiate on Russia's terms. It is also unacceptable for the West because it will look like a political defeat. And such a scenario will only push Russia to further military expansion and increase pressure on the West.

Therefore, in the political sense, the potential negotiation situation remains a dead end.

There is constant talk in the West about peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the West continues to say that it is up to Ukraine to decide when and on what terms to start negotiations with Russia. This is nothing new. And delays in arms deliveries are far from a new trend. Instead, it is a regular practice. We are already experiencing a shortage of certain types of weapons and ammunition that were previously in Western arsenals but have already been used in the war against Russia. At the same time, I would like to draw attention to the decision to supply Ukraine with F-16s after the training of our pilots is completed and to the negotiations on providing Ukraine with long-range missiles. These are preventive signals from the West to Russia that in the event of an escalation of the war, military and technical support for Ukraine will not only continue, but can be strengthened.

Therefore, as far as trends are concerned, I would pay attention primarily to movements in the military situation. And these trends are very contradictory. On the one hand, hostilities are escalating on both sides. Meanwhile, the military situation looks like an approximate balance ("equilibrium") in the military potential of both sides.

Read also: Progress on peace talks made in Saudi Arabia  Fesenko, political scientist

We see two directly opposite reactions in the West to this "military equilibrium" in Ukraine. Some statesmen, politicians, and experts advocate for a qualitative strengthening of military and technical support for Ukraine so that we can turn the military situation in our favor. On the other hand, the so-called "party of peace" has become more active, and its supporters are convinced that the military situation in Ukraine will not change significantly, that we will not be able to defeat Russia by military means, and that we should gradually start negotiations with Russia. The debate between these two camps has intensified, but the West's strategy regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine has remained the same.

So far, Russia has relied on dragging out the war with elements of escalation. However, it has its own hidden "peace party" as well. There is a very high risk that in the coming months or next year, we will see a qualitatively new round of warfare - the war of drones (massive use of drones in air and sea attacks on a much larger scale than now).

The criterion for Russia's readiness for peace talks will be the situation with the possibility of resuming the grain deal. If Russia comes to a mutually acceptable compromise on resuming the grain deal, it will be a prelude to future peace talks. If not, it will mean that Putin has set a course to prolong the war, and there will be no real peace talks until the end of 2024.

Read also:

Only after the current stage of escalation of the war, and possibly the upcoming "drone war," will real peace talks begin. These negotiations will not be about peace, but rather about ending hostilities on a certain front line. The domestic political situation will influence the readiness for these negotiations in Russia, the United States (presidential elections and their results), Ukraine, and the EU. This is not about today but about "tomorrow" - next year, perhaps even 2025, unless the situation inside Russia changes dramatically.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Cybersecurity experts say artificial intelligence may be the key to preventing some ransomware attacks at K-12 schools.

This comes as school systems have reported roughly 1,619 ransomware attacks between 2016 and 2022, according to K12 Security Information Exchange (K12 SIX) which is a national cybersecurity non-profit organization.

Officials say these attacks led to more than just canceled classes and financial losses.

Theyve resulted in the publication of some incredibly sensitive information about students, about parents and about educators themselves, said Doug Levin, Director of K12 SIX.

Levin said artificial intelligence is a promising new solution.

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One of the benefits of AI is that they can be that set of virtual eyes on the school networks when the IT staff are not able to do that, he said.

He explains that some vendors are incorporating AI into tools that schools are already using.

Not only can [AI] keep their eyes on the network, they can actually take proactive steps to help defend those networks from cyber criminals who are trying to penetrate their systems and steal valuable data about students and teachers, said Levin.

But he warns some of these high-tech upgrades may come at a major cost.

In some ways, its going to save schools for having to invest maybe in more IT professionals dedicated to security, he said. At another level, I wouldnt be surprised to see the prices for these solutions to continue to rise.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education created a new federal council to help school districts prepare for, respond to and recover from cybersecurity attacks.
By Martin Petty

(Reuters) - Cambodia's newly elected national assembly on Tuesday endorsed Hun Manet as the country's new prime minister, ending the nearly four-decade rule of his father Hun Sen .

Will Hun Manet continue his father's strongman style of leadership or offer Cambodia democratic reforms and improve ties with the West?

WHAT IS HUN MANET'S BACKGROUND?

The eldest of Hun Sen's five children, Hun Manet was born in 1977 in rural Cambodia. His father said his son was born from a spirit that emerged from a banyan tree in a flash of light.

Hun Manet is married to Pich Chanmony, the daughter of a prominent Cambodian politician and has three children.

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Unlike his father, who had no formal schooling, Hun Manet had a privileged education in which he earned a masters degree from New York University and a doctorate from Britain's Bristol University, both in economics.

WHAT EXPERIENCE DOES HE HAVE?

A graduate of the West Point military academy in the United States, Hun Manet, 45, has risen quickly through the ranks of Cambodia's armed forces, leading a counter-terrorism team and serving as deputy chief of his father's bodyguard unit, as well as army chief and deputy military commander.

On the political front, he led the youth wing of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and a member of its standing committee - incremental moves that raised his profile among younger generations.

In late 2021, Hun Sen declared Hun Manet his anointed successor and he was later endorsed by the CPP as "future prime minister". He was a candidate in an election last month that was widely dismissed as flawed due to the absence of any meaningful opposition to CPP.

WHAT HAS BEEN HUN SEN'S SUCCESSION STRATEGY?

After keeping at bay internal and external challenges during his 38 years in power, Hun Sen has ensured his son had unrivalled education and military training, a move political analysts say was to ensure the succession was legitimate among the public, CPP and the country's elite, and not seen only as nepotism.

Undeterred by Western criticism, Hun Sen has orchestrated a years-long crackdown on his rivals, with scores arrested or jailed in absentia, effectively eliminating his opposition and clearing the path for a smooth succession.

Hun Sen intends to play an active political role for at least a decade, likely aimed at insulating his son from internal challenges to allow him to build his own power base. The former premier plans to become president of the upper house Senate.

WHAT KIND OF LEADER WILL HUN MANET BE?

Little is known about Hun Manet's vision for Cambodia. He has kept a low international profile and has rarely given interviews.

Many public appearances in recent years were restricted to meet-and-greets, posing for selfies with supporters and waving and smiling before crowds.

Some remarks during election campaigning were similar to the vitriol of his father, including calling overseas-based opponents "extremists".

WILL HE RULE DIFFERENTLY?

Major powers will be watching closely for signs of whether Hun Manet will maintain the authoritarian status quo or pursue greater liberalisation and a more Western style of democracy.

Democratic reforms are unlikely anytime soon and might require him to relinquish some of CPP's control over key independent institutions, and reopen political space to opponents and trade unions.

Such moves could expose his government to unfamiliar public scrutiny and risk upending patronage networks and a balance of power that Hun Sen had successfully managed for years.

Hun Manet declined to answer a question from a reporter during the election on whether he would rule differently to his father. In his remarks after becoming premier, he promised to improve the economy, rule of law and social justice, as well as develop human resources and infrastructure, fight climate change and boost wages for factory workers and civil servants.

WHAT ABOUT HIS INTERNATIONAL PROFILE?

Foreign powers will be looking for clues as to whether his experiences living in Britain and the United States might lead to improvements in Cambodia's testy ties with the West, or an effort to reduce its economic dependence and political reliance on China.

The president of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council earlier this month told Reuters the body is hoping to host Hun Manet soon in New York, noting he was "a different person" to his father.

(Editing by Michael Perry)
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan is set to begin pumping more than a million tonnes of treated water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Aug. 24, a process that will take decades to complete.

The water was distilled after being contaminated from contact with fuel rods at the reactor, destroyed in a 2011 earthquake.

Tanks on the site now hold about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water - enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Here is how Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) plans to deal with it:

WHAT IS JAPAN'S WATER RELEASE PLAN?

Tepco has been filtering the contaminated water to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate. Tepco will dilute the water until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits before pumping it into the ocean from the coastal site.

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Water containing tritium is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world, and regulatory authorities support dealing with the Fukushima water in this way.

Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because its radiation is not energetic enough to penetrate human skin. When ingested at levels above those in the released water it can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article said in 2014.

The water disposal will take decades to complete, with ongoing filtering and dilution, alongside the planned decommissioning of the plant.

IS THE WATER SAFE?

Japan and scientific organisations say the released water is safe, but environmental activists argue that all the possible impacts have not been studied. Japan says it needs to start releasing the water as storage tanks are full.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".

Greenpeace said on Tuesday that the radiological risks have not been fully assessed, and that the biological impacts of tritium, carbon-14, strontium-90 and iodine-129 - to be released with the water - 'have been ignored'.

The filtering process will remove strontium-90 and iodine-129, and the concentration of carbon-14 in the contaminated water is far lower than its regulatory standard for discharge, according to Tepco and Japanese government documents.

Japan said tritium levels in the water will be below those considered safe for drinking under World Health Organization standards.

"Meanwhile, it is not the practice of any country to drink the water discharged from nuclear facilities," Japan's mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency said last week.

The government will take "appropriate measures, including immediate suspension of the discharge" if unusually high concentrations of radioactive materials are detected, the document said.

The South Korean government has concluded from its own study that the water release meets international standards and said it respects the IAEA's assessment.

HOW HAVE PEOPLE REACTED?

Tepco has been engaging with fishing communities and other stakeholders and is promoting agriculture, fishery and forest products in stores and restaurants to reduce any reputational harm to produce from the area.

Fishing unions in Fukushima have urged the government for years not to release the water, arguing it would undo work to restore the damaged reputation of their fisheries.

Masanobu Sakamoto, the head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, said on Monday the group understood the release could be scientifically safe but still feared reputational damage.

Neighbouring countries have also expressed concern. China has been the most vocal, calling Japan's plan irresponsible, unpopular and unilateral. China is the biggest importer of Japanese seafood.

Shortly after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake damaged the Fukushima plant, China banned imports of food and agricultural products from five Japanese prefectures. China later widened its ban to cover 10 out of Japan's 47 prefectures.

The latest import restrictions were imposed in July after the IAEA approved Japan's plans to discharge the treated water.

(Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom, editing by Katya Golubkova)
Explosions were heard in Moscow and the surrounding region during the night of August 21-22 as the Russian capital appeared to suffer yet another drone attack.

Blasts were heard in the Strogino district of Moscow and in the city of Krasnogorsk in Moscow Oblast, according to Russian media reports.

Read also: Russian propaganda chief Simonyan claims Ukrainian drone downed near her Moscow Oblast residence

Reportedly, a residential building on Krasnogorsky Boulevard was damaged as a result of the drone attack. Debris also damaged several cars parked near the building.

Meanwhile, Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports were once again placed under a security lockdown and temporarily closed, which typically happens when unidentified drones are detected in the area.

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Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later stated that Russian air defense systems had shot down two attack drones  one near Krasnogorsk and the other near the village of Chastsy.

The Russian Defense Ministry also asserted that the "Ukrainian drones" detected by air defense systems and suppressed by electronic warfare systems crashed over Bryansk Oblast, which borders Ukrainian territory. It also claimed that two UAVs had been detected and destroyed by air defense systems over Moscow Oblast.

Read also: Russian air defenses reportedly intercept two drones outside Moscow

The Russian authorities usually claim that all attacking drones are shot down or disabled by electronic warfare systems, but several of them appear to have struck their intended targets  notably one of the domes of the Kremlin and a skyscraper in the west of Moscow that houses offices of Russian government ministries, both of which have been hit twice.

Drones, thought to be Ukrainian, although Ukraine typically denies this, have also struck Russian air bases several times, damaging some of the strategic bombers that Russia uses to attack Ukraine.

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Eye scan data -- a field called "oculomics" -- have previously revealed signs of other neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia, as well as risk of high blood pressure; heart disease, including strokes, and diabetes. Photo by Paul Diaconu/Pixabay

British researchers may have found a way to diagnose Parkinson's disease several years sooner.

Researchers at University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital say that eye scans may be able to detect signs of Parkinson's up to seven years before diagnosis.

"I continue to be amazed by what we can discover through eye scans. While we are not yet ready to predict whether an individual will develop Parkinson's, we hope that this method could soon become a pre-screening tool for people at risk of disease," said lead author Dr. Siegfried Wagner, of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

"Finding signs of a number of diseases before symptoms emerge means that, in the future, people could have the time to make lifestyle changes to prevent some conditions arising, and clinicians could delay the onset and impact of life-changing neurodegenerative disorders," Wagner said in a university news release.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the analysis of the AlzEye dataset and the wider U.K. Biobank. AlzEye is believed to be the world's largest single-institution retinal imaging information database.

Even though Parkinson's has a relatively low prevalence in the population -- about 0.1% to 0.2% -- these data sets helped identify these subtle markers.

Eye scan data -- a field called "oculomics" -- have previously revealed signs of other neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia, as well as risk of high blood pressure; heart disease, including strokes, and diabetes.

"This work demonstrates the potential for eye data, harnessed by the technology to pick up signs and changes too subtle for humans to see. We can now detect very early signs of Parkinson's, opening up new possibilities for treatment," Alastair Denniston, consultant ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Birmingham, said in the release.

High-resolution images of the retina are now a routine part of eye care, including a type of 3D scan known as optical coherence tomography, or OCT.

An OCT scan can quickly produce a cross-section of the retina in detail down to a thousandth of a millimeter.

A retina scan is the only non-intrusive way to view layers of cells below the skin's surface, according to the study. Using a type of AI known as machine learning, computers can quickly analyze large numbers of OCTs and other eye images for research.

"Increasing imaging across a wider population will have a huge impact on public health in the future, and will eventually lead to predictive analysis," said Dr. Louisa Wickham, Moorfields' medical director. "OCT scans are more scalable, non-invasive, lower cost and quicker than brain scans for this purpose."

The findings were published Monday in Neurology, journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

More information

The National Institute on Aging has more on Parkinson's disease.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
The sea has long inspired a human attraction, perhaps even a compulsion, to be as close to the edge as possible. Its sheer power captivates us, even on its most turbulent days, and we cant help but dream of calling the shore our own. To be out by the surf, to sense the very limits of where land can go, to feel the rise and fall of each wave like our own breath is to reckon with a force so alive it feels otherworldly. But the ocean is not "out there" beyond the shore, it is upon us, carving away at the coast each day despite our best efforts to keep the water at bay. We thought that with enough ingenuity we could contain the sea, but the rising tide is proving otherwise.

Studying this confluence of land, people and sea has kept Gary Griggs busy for much of his life. Seventy-six years old, with a shock of white hair and a long stride, Griggs has spent decades examining every inch of the California coast. An oceanographer, coastal geologist and longtime professor at UC Santa Cruz, he has a way of explaining erosion with the excitement of someone whos seeing everything for the first time. The coast is always, has always been, changing, he likes to say. Every high and low tide brings new surprises.

On a quiet foggy morning in early March 2020, the tide was going out when Griggs set off for a stroll in Capitola. Reminiscent of an idyllic village on the Mediterranean, with pops of vintage California, this colorful little beach town on the northeast shore of Monterey Bay amuses him every time he swings by. The buildings and shingled cottages are bright pastel, the waterfront dotted with cafes and patio umbrellas. Palm trees and art galleries line the streets downtown, where tourists stop for trinkets and ice cream. On an old wooden wharf that juts 800-some feet into the water, kayakers can step from a tiny dock and paddle out to sea.

Griggs made his way to a set of townhouses that had been planted right on the sand, reportedly one of the first condominium complexes to have been built on the coast. Purple, pink and teal, with whimsical rococo plasterwork, the Venetian Court homes are an indelible snapshot of 1920s California. Steps from the wharf, they serve mostly as private vacation rentals today. A low concrete seawall  so low you could sit on it  is all that holds back the sea.

(Heyday Books)

He stooped down, placed his hand on the concrete and noticed it was damp. The ocean often surges over this wall and can flood the entire complex with debris. Poking around, he pointed to piles of sandbags and plywood propped against a number of front doors  humble defenses against the water that had already arrived. Patio chairs, also damp, were stacked into a corner next to a grill covered by a heavy-duty tarp. He pulled out a recent real estate advertisement and read it out loud:

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Iconic home on the beach. 1st time on market in almost 50 years. 3 bed, 2, bath, offsite parking. Updated kitchen and baths. Stunning! Price Reduced | $4,800,000

"On the sand, on the sand, on the sand," Griggs said. "Everybody wants to live on the sand." He understands this pull to the water, a mark of wealth and well-being that goes hand in hand with todays notion of the California dream. But by romanticizing the coast in all its vast and freeing splendor, we blind ourselves to the very forces that created this landscape in the first place.

He craned his head to inspect the colorful condo in front of him. Whenever the beach goes underwater and the waves move in, this corner building looks like the prow of a ship lost at sea. Griggs has photos of whitewash splashing halfway up the first row of windows. Next door, the aging wharf also braces against tempestuous surf. Big waves, just a few months prior, had shredded two pilings below the boat hoist. Even the concrete ballast broke. Officials scrambled together $25,000 for emergency repair work to keep the pier open. Rehabilitating the entire structure would cost on the order of $5 million to $7 million, and even that might not be enough to withstand the ocean in the hotter years to come.

In his more than 50 years of research, Griggs has examined every kind of human defense against the sea and documented both their successes and their many failures. When people seek his guidance on confronting the water, he has no easy answers. There are only so many ways to separate the ocean from what we want to call land, he said. And the true cost of forcing an unmoving line in the sand is proving to be magnitudes more than what California seems willing to pay.

People walk through a storm-damaged section of Capitola, Calif., in January, after a series of storms blasted the state. (Haven Daley / Associated Press)

Just south of here, at Seacliff State Beach, an elaborate barricade built in 1926 was destroyed the very next winter and has since been rebuilt  and then damaged or destroyed  eight more times. The version in 1982 cost more than $1.5 million and lasted six weeks (it was designed to last 20 years). These cycles of wishful engineering and natural destruction have only continued to intensify. The observations Griggs jotted down on his walk, in fact, would become even more prescient than imagined. In less than three years' time, barely a week into January 2023, huge swells, compounded by a series of record-breaking storms, would once again undermine the wall at Seacliff, pummel the Venetian condos and even tear Capitolas wharf in two.

Griggs took another glance at all the plywood and sandbags in front of him and shook his head. Within just a few decades, Californians have managed to alter the shoreline in such a way that the realities of climate change seem unimaginably daunting. Collapsed buildings, flooded roads, shattered seawalls  all the problems that make the coast so fragile today are not by some fault of nature. A problem exists because our human-built world keeps getting in the way of the rising sea. But this current story of our coast does not have to end in disaster. We can choose to act, to reconsider, to determine a more sensible future. How we proceed can make all the difference, and it's on all of us to forge a new ending.

Stripes of color representing the rising temperatures in California between 1850 to 2020

There are only so many ways to face the rising sea. Seawalls are one option, but they come with hidden consequences. These hard-fought lines of defense force the sand before them to drown or wash away. For every new seawall protecting a home or a road, a beach for the people is sacrificed. Few issues today along the coast are as divisive and as misunderstood as seawalls, Griggs often explains. "All things being equal, responding to coastal erosion with a hard structure parallel to the shoreline is a decision or choice not to protect the beach at that location."

Adding sand to disappearing beaches is another tactic. Dredges whir to life and idyllic coastlines from Santa Cruz to San Diego routinely turn into construction zones, with dump trucks and sand dozers pushing sediment for hours across the starving shore. This race against nature, however, lasts only so long as there's money and enough sand. Elevating homes and roads is perhaps another option, but this, too, costs money  and requires reconfiguring entire communities in dramatic and unfamiliar ways.

Then there's what scientists and economists and number-crunching consultants call "managed retreat": move back, relocate, essentially cede the land to nature. These words alone have roiled the few cities and state agencies bold enough to utter them. Mayors have been ousted, planning documents rewritten, campaigns waged over the very thought of turning prime real estate back into dunes and wetlands. Many declared retreat un-American. To win, California must defend.

But at what cost? The California coast itself is a series of engineered landscapes  home today to almost 27 million people and all the ports, harbors and major cities that support a state that, if it were its own country, would be the fourth-largest economy in the world. There are limits, however, to this built environment, especially as the realities of sea-level rise force a more collective reckoning. Should California become one long wall of concrete against the ocean? Will there still be sandy beaches or surf breaks to cherish in the future, coastal road trips and oceanfront homes left to dream about? If business continues as usual and global temperatures continue to rise, more than $370 billion in property could be at risk of coastal flooding by the end of the century, the economic damage far more devastating than the state's worst earthquakes and wildfires. Salt marshes  home to spawning fish, weary shorebirds and many of the worlds most endangered species  face complete extinction. Trapped between rising water on one side, pavement on the other, there's little room left for these precious ecosystems. In just a few more decades, two-thirds of the beaches in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego  so deeply tied to the states heart and soul  could also be no more.

However you cut it, Griggs said, sacrifices lie ahead. In a world as finite as this one, every decision, big or seemingly small, is a choice to preserve one resource at the cost of another. So, when all that we treasure can no longer be saved, what becomes the priority?

Stripes of color representing the rising temperatures in California between 1850 to 2020

Griggs still has to pinch himself sometimes, stunned by what he gets to do every day for a living. He's often out examining the juts and crannies of the coast, usually with a binder of notes in hand. It still felt like winter that morning in March 2020 when he zipped up his Timberland vest, rolled up his sleeves, and went for a brisk walk to check out the shore. He had timed low tide just right at Capitola Beach, a flattened, manicured patch of sand along the mouth of Soquel Creek that is bookended by 90-foot cliffs. As the waves receded toward the fog-draped horizon, the water made room for a thin stretch of damp sand below the bluffs.

He walked past a red-lettered sign warning "DANGEROUS CLIFFS. Proceed at your own risk," and hopped down to the wet, pebbled sand that had just emerged at low tide. He likes coming down here to see what new stories might be revealed in these ancient layers of rock. Inching his way toward the towering bluffs, Griggs explained how this area is a geologic microcosm of everything that could be possible on the coast. He paused at a large mound of broken sandstone and compacted mud. "This wasnt here two weeks ago," he said, craning his neck to see what section of the cliff must have collapsed. He pointed to a cavernous undercut that likely destabilized the bluff and noted the clusters of pampas grass, a fluffy, straw-colored weed that wedges its roots into the rocky cracks and joints. Whenever water makes its way into these cracks  from rain or big waves during high tide  the pressure builds until entire slabs of the cliff come crashing down.

He squatted down to take a closer look, brushing his hand over a slab of dark-gray mudrock embedded with a wallpaper-like print of white shells. These compacted layers of mollusk fossils always amaze his students, another humble reminder that everything California is standing and building on was underwater in a previous chapter of this planet's history. He took a photo, then nudged aside another pile of sandstone. "Look," he said, "these are all bone fragments. This one seems to be a piece of vertebra."

Griggs stood up and took a mental assessment of the jumble of rocks. This is all part of nature's process, he explained. The next high tide will sweep this huge pile of geological history into the ocean, where it will be ground down and eventually returned to the shore as fresh sand. Cliff erosion, and the occasional collapse, helps replenish beaches, but modern coastal living has disrupted this ancient process. Griggs motioned to the row of homes and apartment buildings at the top of the bluff: Engineers have tried all sorts of ways to hold back these cliffs, he said, but it's not easy slowing down the forces of coastal erosion. "There used to be two rows of pine trees and a sidewalk with benches. It was called Lovers Lane. There were all these pictures of people sitting out there," he said. "Well, the trees are gone, the path's gone, the road's gone." Several homes have also had to move over the years  from earthquakes, from coastal erosion, sometimes both  but the people still living up there want to hold on to as much time as possible.

Time is funny like that. It can take tens of thousands of years to cycle through a geological epoch, just a couple of hundred for industrialization to make a mess of the planet, and only a decade or two to delude people into making decisions based on flawed time frames  whether it's a 30-year mortgage or a political term that resets every four years. And in this moment when inconvenient realities like climate change have become so politicized, shortsighted individualism has further clouded our ability to plan ahead. We seem to have both no time and too much time to act, and so we spiral into paralyzing battles over the why, who, when and how.

Scientists by now have a fairly firm grasp of the geologic and climate pressures looming over the shore. What's less predictable, Griggs said, is how people will choose to respond.

All this engineering, all this sacrifice: How many times will we try to overcome a force as vast as the sea? People spend years fighting to maintain a wishful line in the sand, yet a few extra feet of water here or there is hardly a shrug for the ocean. When you look at the coast with wise enough eyes, you can almost see the high-water lines of floods and disasters past ... lines foretelling the history were doomed to keep repeating, if we keep closing ourselves off to change.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Claim:

Viral video authentically shows that U.S. President Joe Biden fell asleep during a meeting with victims of the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

Rating:

Rating: False

On Aug. 22, 2023, a dubious user on X (formerly Twitter) posted a low-quality, edited video and falsely claimed it showed that U.S. President Joe Biden had fallen asleep while meeting with victims impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

The fires that scourged the island of Maui were the deadliest U.S. wildfires in more than a century. As of Aug. 22, authorities were reporting that hundreds of people were still unaccounted for.

The video in question was recorded inside of the Lahaina Civic Center and was one of several stops for the president and the first lady, Jill Biden , during their visit to the island on Aug. 21.

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The caption of the post read, "Joe Biden just fell asleep in the middle of his meeting with victims of the Maui fires." As of this writing, this post had been viewed around 6 million times.

Joe Biden just fell asleep in the middle of his meeting with victims of the Maui fires pic.twitter.com/YxDneHVuWL  Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) August 22, 2023

The user who made this post is known for spreading baseless conspiracy theories about the Maui wildfires and has bragged about making money on X based on promoting such false rumors.

Fox News host Sean Hannity tweeted a similar video of Biden supposedly dozing off, with the caption, "Biden appears to fall asleep during a ceremony in Hawaii honoring the hundreds of Americans killed by the fires."

Biden appears to fall asleep during a ceremony in Hawaii honoring the hundreds of Americans killed by the fires pic.twitter.com/epLCJ01B0J  Sean Hannity  (@seanhannity) August 22, 2023

Other users promoted the same video and rumor about Biden purportedly nodding off, such as this post that read, "Joe Biden falling asleep in Maui whilst meeting local survivors of one of the worst Human Tragedies in American History. Impeach this child sniffing corrupted criminal NOW."

Joe Biden falling asleep in Maui whilst meeting local survivors of one of the worst Human Tragedies in American History. Impeach this child sniffing corrupted criminal NOW. pic.twitter.com/1v1GflvQ3y  Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) August 22, 2023

A quick and simple check of C-SPAN's broadcast of this gathering in Maui (full video on C-SPAN) revealed that Biden's eyes were open, not closed, during the portion of the clip that was promoted by dubious users on X. (The moment begins at around the 19:28 mark in the video.)

In other words, no, Biden had not fallen asleep while meeting with the victims, as evidenced by this high-definition clip that was captured from C-SPAN's broadcast:

We previously reported about other times users had claimed Biden fell asleep during various engagements. In those cases, we found that the rumors were either false or that they lacked enough evidence to make a firm determination of whether or not he had dozed off.

Sources:

Evon, Dan. "Does This Video Show Biden Falling Asleep in an Interview?" Snopes, 31 Aug. 2020, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-fall-asleep-during-interview/.

Ibrahim, Nur. "Does Video Show Joe Biden Falling Asleep in Meeting with Israeli PM?" Snopes, 30 Aug. 2021, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-asleep-meeting-israeli-pm/.

Lee, Jessica. "Does Vid Show Biden Dozing off at Climate Change Summit?" Snopes, 1 Nov. 2021, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-sleep-climate-summit/.

McAvoy, Audrey, et al. "Maui Confronts the Challenge of Finding More than 800 Missing People after the Deadly Wildfires." The Associated Press, 22 Aug. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/maui-fire-missing-list-lahaina-e6909a2be7860fc7f9062c886a15f979.

Min Kim, Seung. "Biden Says Federal Government Will Help Maui 'for as Long as It Takes' to Recover from Wildfire." The Associated Press, 21 Aug. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/biden-hawaii-wildfires-maui-7f3cd7b227ae397f164f0f6f9e26c9e7.

"President Biden Attends Community Engagement Event in Lahaina, Hawaii." C-SPAN.org, 21 Aug. 2023, https://www.c-span.org/video/?530006-1/president-biden-attends-community-engagement-event-lahaina-hawaii.
An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima, Japan

(Reuters) -Japan said late on Monday it had responded to inquiries from China and Russia about the ocean discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power station, owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco).

The Japanese government has shared its responses to the two neighbouring countries in a document dated Aug. 18 and posted on the International Atomic Energy Agency's website.

Tepco has been filtering the contaminated water, using machines called Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate from water. Tepco will dilute the water until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits before pumping it into the ocean from the coastal site.

Below are key extracts from the Japan's response:

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DISPOSAL OF FUKUSHIMA WATER

"The ALPS treated water will meet both Japanese regulatory standards based on relevant international standards. In other words, tritium levels in the treated water and diluted water will be below those considered safe for drinking."

"Meanwhile, it is not the practice of any country to drink the water discharged from nuclear facilities."

"The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded... that the approach to the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea and the associated activities by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) and the government of Japan, are consistent with relevant international safety standards and the discharge... will have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."

RELEASE OPTION

"There is insufficient additional storage capacity in existing tanks (97% full); constructing more storage tanks is not feasible at the FDNPS (Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station), as all available space for tanks at the site is already occupied."

"Use of storage tanks in the long term is dangerous, as the surrounding areas are prone to earthquakes, which would put tank integrity at risk."

"The discharge into the sea was selected because it can be implemented more reliably as it has a proven track record in domestic and overseas nuclear facilities, it is easy to forecast the diffusion behaviour, and it is the easiest for monitoring of any potential impact on the environment."

NORMAL OPERATION AND WATER FROM A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT

"International safety standards do not distinguish between water released from normal operation, and water from a facility that has suffered an accident. This is because what matters is the content of the water to be discharged, not its source.

The IAEA has confirmed... that the planned discharge of the ALPS treated water... will not harm people or the environment, including the marine environment."

ANNUAL DISCHARGE LIMITS

"Japan does not consider it necessary to set such limits because Japan will ensure that the ALPS system reliably removes nuclides other than tritium below the regulatory standards before any individual batch of ALPS treated water is discharged.

This will be ensured through comprehensively sampling each batch of ALPS treated water prior to beginning the dilution and discharge of that water."

RELIABILITY OF ALPS SYSTEM

"The ALPS performance has been approved by the NRA (the Nuclear Regulation Authority), an independent regulator of Japan. Since 2019, the ALPS system has functioned stably and effectively enough to purify the water to meet the regulatory standards."

"No discharges of ALPS treated water will be made from any tank to the sea unless the water from that tank meets the discharge standards instituted by the NRA and reviewed by the IAEA as part of its safety review.

Because every batch will be tested, and actual concentration levels will be determined, there will be no need to estimate or project the nuclide concentrations in any batch before discharge."

CREDIBILITY OF MONITORING RESULTS

"The IAEA and several third-country laboratories selected by the IAEA analyzed the samples of treated water taken in March 2022... these findings provide confidence in Tepco's capability for undertaking accurate and precise measurements related to the discharge of ALPS treated water.

Furthermore, based on the observations of the IAEA, Tepco has demonstrated that it has a sustainable and robust analytical system in place to support the ongoing technical needs at the Fukushima facilities during the discharge."

EXTERNAL SUPERVISION IN MONITORING

"The Government of Japan is of the view that the participation of the third-country laboratories as part of the IAEA review will ensure the credibility and transparency of Japan's monitoring.

Japan respects the IAEA's decision in this regard, and therefore is of the view that Japan's individual invitation of stakeholders for monitoring is unnecessary."

DIRECT PARTICIPATION BY CHINA AND RUSSIA IN THIRD-PARTY MONITORING

"The Government of Japan is of the view that the independent analysis and corroboration activities by the IAEA and third-country laboratories will assure the quality of, and provide confidence in, the results of Japan's source monitoring and environmental monitoring."

"Japan repeatedly proposed individual briefing sessions to Chinese nuclear experts as well as government officials with a view to engaging in scientific discussion and promoting China's understanding of the matter.

These offers are in line with Japan's commitment to ensuring maximum transparency with regard to the safety of the planned discharge. It is regrettable that such meetings have yet to be realized."

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

"Should a problem be detected during the monitoring process such as detection of unusual value of concentration of the radioactive materials, Japan will take appropriate measures, including immediate suspension of the discharge."

PARTICIPATION BY CHINA AND RUSSIA IN DECISION-MAKING OF WATER RELEASE

"The IAEA in its Comprehensive Report positively noted the efforts that Japan has made to provide information to and engage in consultations with the interested parties including both international and domestic ones, and to conduct significant outreach activities to ensure transparency."

TERM OF ALPS TREATED WATER

"The ALPS treated water is not 'contaminated water' as the concentration of radioactive materials is far below the regulatory standards. These two terms should not be mixed up."

(Reporting by Yuka ObayashiEditing by Katya Golubkova and Gerry Doyle)
In this photo released by the Roscosmos State Space Corporation, the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station is seen inside a plant shop at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russia's Far East, on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after it spun into an uncontrolled orbit, the country's Roscosmos space agency said Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Centre for Operation of Space Ground-Based Infrastructure-Roscosmos State Space Corporation via AP)

An ambitious but failed attempt by Russia to return to the moon after nearly half a century has exposed the massive challenges faced by Moscow's once-proud space program.

The destruction of the robotic Luna-25 probe, which crashed onto the surface of the moon over the weekend, reflects the endemic problems that have dogged the Russian space industry since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Those include the loss of key technologies in the post-Soviet industrial meltdown, the bruising impact of recent Western sanctions, a huge brain drain and widespread corruption.

Yuri Borisov, the head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

The priceless experience that our predecessors earned in the 1960-70s was effectively lost, Borisov said. The link between generations has been cut.

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While the USSR lost the race to the United States to land humans on the moon, the Soviet lunar program had more than a dozen successful pioneering robotic missions, some of which featured lunar rovers and brought soil samples back to Earth. The proud Soviet space history includes launching the first satellite in space in 1957 and the first human in space in 1961.

Mikhail Marov, a 90-year-old scientist who played a prominent role in planning the earlier lunar missions and worked on the Luna-25 project, was hospitalized after its failure.

It was very hard. Its the work of all my life, Marov said in remarks carried by Russian media. For me, it was the last chance to see the revival of our lunar program.

Borisov said the spacecrafts thruster fired for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84 seconds, causing it to crash, and a government commission will investigate the glitch.

Natan Eismont, a leading researcher with the Moscow-based Institute for Space Research, told the state RIA Novosti agency said that signs of equipment problems had appeared even before the crash, but space officials still gave the go for landing.

Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space blogger, noted that Roscosmos may have neglected the warnings in a rush to be the first to land on the lunar south pole ahead of an Indian spacecraft that has been orbiting the moon ahead of a planned landing.

It looks like things werent going according to plan, but they decided not to change the schedule to prevent the Indians from coming first, he said.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain frozen water in the rocks that future explorers could transform into air and rocket fuel.

A major factor exacerbating Russia's space woes that could have played a role in the Luna-25 failure has been the Western sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Those penalties have blocked imports of microchips and other key Western components and restricted scientific exchanges.

While working on the Luna-25 project, Roscosmos partnered with the European Space Agency that was to provide a camera to facilitate the landing. The ESA halted the partnership soon after the February 2022 invasion and requested Roscosmos to remove its camera from the spacecraft.

Years earlier, Russia hoped to buy the main navigation device for the lunar mission from Airbus, but couldnt due to restrictions blocking the technology transfer. In the end, it developed its own equipment that delayed the project and weighed twice as much, reducing the scientific payload for the spacecraft that weighed 1,750 kilograms (over 3,800 pounds).

Many industry experts note that even before the latest Western sanctions, the use of substandard components led to the collapse of an ambitious mission to send a probe to Mars' moon Phobos in 2011. The spacecraft's thrusters failed to send it on a path toward Mars and it burned in the Earth's atmosphere  a problem that investigators attributed to using cheap commercial microchips that were unfit for the harsh conditions in space.

Some observers speculated that using the cheap components could have stemmed from a scheme to embezzle government funds, rather than importing the specialized equipment for the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, which was designed by the NPO Lavochkin, the same company that developed Luna-25.

NPO Lavochkin designed fighter planes during World War II and was the main developer of Soviet robotic missions to the moon, Venus and Mars. Several top Lavochkin managers have been arrested on charges of abusing their office in recent years.

Following the Phobos failure, space officials talked about conducting a thorough revision of the lunar spacecraft design to avoid using similar substandard components. Its unclear whether such work ever happened.

Russian state television had hailed Luna-25 as the countrys triumphant entry into a new moon race, but since the crash, the broadcasters have tried to play down the loss of the spacecraft. Some argued the mission wasn't a complete failure because it sent back pictures of the lunar surface from orbit and other data.

Borisov tried to stay optimistic, arguing it achieved some important results.

He insisted that taking part in lunar research not only means prestige or achieving geopolitical goals, it is necessary to ensure defense capability and technological sovereignty.

I hope that the next missions  will be successful, Borisov said, adding that Roscosmos will intensify work on future moon missions, the next of which is planned for 2027.

Under no circumstances we should interrupt our lunar program. It would be an utterly wrong decision, he said.

Amid the finger-pointing, some argued the failure could cost Borisov his job. Others predicted he probably would avoid the dismissal, noting President Vladimir Putins record of avoiding quick ousters of officials in response to incidents.

Borisov, who previously served as a deputy prime minister in charge of arms industries, became Roscosmos chief a year ago, succeeding Dmitry Rogozin , who was widely blamed for some earlier space mishaps. Rogozin, who has joined the fighting in Ukraine as a volunteer, has not commented on the failed Luna-25 mission.

Under Rogozin, Roscosmos suffered a series of failed satellite launches. Combined with the growing role of private companies like Elon Musks SpaceX, those failures have cost Russia its once-sizable niche in the lucrative global space launch market.

Rogozin was widely criticized for failing to root out endemic graft, including funds embezzled during the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russias Far East, which was used to launch the latest moon mission.

Some commentators said the Luna-25 crash dented Russian prestige and raised new doubts about its technological prowess following military blunders in Ukraine.

The consequences of the Luna-25 catastrophe are enormous, pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov said.

It raises doubts about Russias claims of a great power status in the eyes of the global community. Many would decide that Russia cant fulfill its ambitions either in Ukraine or on the moon because it lives not by its modest current capability but rather fantasies about its great past," he said. "People as well as countries want to side with the strong who win, not the weak who keep making excuses about their defeats.
Family members of a 3-year-old girl who was killed in a crash say they still trying to process her sudden death.

The crash that claimed the life of Ema Gutierez occurred Sunday afternoon in Rowan County.

Gutierezs uncle Roberto Mendoza said her mother was driving to the river when she lost control of her car causing it to flip three times along White Road near Highway 150.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 3-year-old girl killed, 3 others hurt in Rowan County crash, troopers say

Mendoza said she was in a child safety seat but died from her injuries. Three other people were also injured in the crash but they are all recovering.

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It was terrible. When I got the call it was like are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Mendoza told Channel 9.

Mendoza said Gutierez and her mother had just moved to North Carolina from Honduras five months ago for one main reason.

She wanted a better life for herself and for the baby, Mendoza explained.

Now, Gutierezs mother and other family members are trying to figure out how they will pay for the funeral.

Family members said they are paying theyll get the help they need, as well as the answers they are desperately looking for.

Trying to understand god, why? When you see the baby, you dream that youre gonna see her married and graduate from school. I mean living in a wonderful country, living a different life, Mendoza said.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family of the 3-year-old. Click here to donate.

VIDEO: 3-year-old girl killed, 3 others hurt in Rowan County crash, troopers say




In the spring of 1967, John Echohawk  a 1963 Farmington High School graduate who had just earned his bachelors degree from the University of New Mexico  paid a visit to the UNM School of Law to make sure his application for admittance had been received and to check on scholarship information.

When he got there, he was surprised, and somewhat dismayed, to be told the dean of the school wished to speak with him.

I thought, Im not even admitted to law school yet, and Im already in trouble, Echohawk said.

As it turns out, Echohawk had nothing to worry about. The dean only hoped to alert him to the existence of a new scholarship program run by the federal Office of Economic Opportunity  part of President Lyndon Johnsons Great Society program  that was designed to encourage young Native American students to go to law school in preparation for practicing tribal law.

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There was a woeful lack of Indigenous lawyers in the United States in those days, Echohawk said, explaining that, by one estimate, there were only 25 of them. An estimated 1,000 were needed simply to handle the amount of litigation in which Native tribes and individuals were involved, he said.

Native American Rights Fund co-founders John Echohawk, left, and David Getches discuss strategy in this undated photo.

Echohawk was among a group of seven Native students who enrolled in the UNM School of Law that fall, and three years later, he walked out with his degree, ready to embark on a career that would see him land at the forefront of many of the nations more significant legal battles involving tribal rights over the next half century.

Last week, Echohawk  a member of the Pawnee Nation who has spent the last 50 years as the executive director and cofounder of the Native American Rights Fund, a Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit organization that works to ensure that the U.S. and state governments live up to their obligations to Native people guaranteed under laws and treaties  was recognized for his work when he was awarded the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award by the American Bar Association.

The award was established to honor the legacy of the late civil rights advocate and activist who became the first African-American Supreme Court justice in 1967. It is designed to recognize those who have served as lifelong champions of civil and human rights.

John Echohawk

I was very surprised and overwhelmed by the honor, Echohawk said during an Aug. 18 telephone interview from his NARF office. Its just great to have that kind of recognition from the American Bar Association not only for me, but for this organization.

Upon graduating law school, Echohawk first accepted a job with California Indian Legal Services. But only months later, a bigger opportunity came knocking  an invitation to help launch a Ford Foundation-funded initiative designed to offer legal services to federally recognized tribes across the country.

Echohawk jumped at the opportunity and helped fund the organization that would come to be known as NARF. Hes been leading the group ever since.

Almost immediately, Echohawk and NARF became involved in a lawsuit filed by a handful of tribes in western Washington who were being denied the salmon fishing rights they had been guaranteed under an 1855 treaty. State officials claimed the treaty did not specifically provide the tribes with special status and that their members needed to buy a fishing license and could fish only under the same conditions as anyone else.

John Echohawk, right, explains the opportunity to create a national Indian legal defense fund and requesting feedback on how the organization could best serve Native people during a 1970 meeting in Black Mesa, Ariz.

This is what they had lived on for centuries, Echohawk said of the salmon. It was the basis of their culture and their religion. They were being deprived of that resource by the state of Washington.

Echohawk and other NARF lawyers successfully argued the tribes case, winning a judgment in district court in late 1973. A appeals court later upheld that verdict, and the tribes eventually prevailed when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

Echohawk said it was the first domino in a series of legal victories by tribes in the 1970s and 1980s that helped them re-establish their sovereignty, which had been under attack for generations in the United States.

It illustrated to everybody that the treaties were not some ancient agreement  they were still the law of the land, he said, noting the decision was considered such a significant victory, its 50th anniversary will be celebrated by the victorious tribes in an event later this year.

Other wins for indigenous plaintiffs would follow over the next 20 years, and Echohawk was there for many of them. He recalled that NARF became deeply involved in the effort to reverse a U.S. government policy that prevailed throughout the 1950s and 1960s that effectively disbanded many tribes, with indigenous people who still lived on reservations being relocated to cities in an effort to assimilate them into mainstream American culture.

John Echohawk, second from left, takes part in a Native American Rights Fund meeting in the 1980s, when the organization helped tribes across the country win several significant court victories.

Echohawk said the policy was a product of 1950s McCarthyism, with some politicians considering the communal lifestyle that many Native people still led too close to communism.

They started terminating tribal rights and selling their land, he said.

A Wisconsin tribe, the Menominee Nation, that had been disbanded approached NARF officials and asked the organization to take up its cause. Echohawk said NARF again was successful in court, demonstrating that the federal policy had been devastating to the tribe and reinstating its status as a federally recognized nation.

NARF also was instrumental in helping the unrecognized Penobscot Nation earn another pivotal Native rights victory later in the 1970s. The Maine tribe, which had been disbanded, prevailed in district court and at the appeals court level in its attempts to regain federally recognized status and reclaim much of its ancestral lands.

With a possible date in the U.S. Supreme Court looming, Echohawk said NARF and the tribe, along with state officials, were brought to the White House at the invitation of President Jimmy Carter and encouraged to hammer out a settlement, which they did.

Native American Rights Fund co-founder and executive director John Echohawk shakes hands with President Carter during a late-1970s meeting.

The tribe came away with a lot of land back and some compensation, along with federal recognition of the tribe, Echohawk said, noting that other disbanded tribes in the eastern United States took note of that victory and started bringing similar court claims in their own states.

Those were heady times for Echohawk and NARF, but they werent to last. In the 1990s, he said, the makeup of the Supreme Court changed dramatically, with many of the justices who had been sympathetic to Native arguments over the years retiring and being replaced by those who took a different view.

In 2001 alone, he said, Native plaintiffs lost four cases they believed they should have won.

The Supreme Court was reinterpreting law against the tribes, he said.

These days, things have become somewhat more balanced, Echohawk said, although his organization largely has adopted a strategy of trying to resolve tribal legal issues before they get to the Supreme Court.

Its still a very difficult situation, he said.

The last year has seen the court rule on two significant cases involving Native rights, Echohawk said, referring to Arizona vs. Navajo Nation and Haaland v. Brackeen. The former served as a test of the Navajo Nations water rights, and the court ruled in favor of the Arizona government, a sobering defeat for Native rights advocates. The latter served as a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law that seeks to keep Native American children with Native American families. By a count of 7-2, the court ruled the law constitutional.

NARF filed amicus briefs in support of the Native position in both cases, Echohawk said.

These issues go on, and we do the best we can, he said, adding that over the 53 years, NARF has been in existence, it has had a profound impact. The social and economic and political conditions of tribes have really improved. Theres been a recognition that tribal governments are part of the system of governments (in the United States).

And that Office of Economic Opportunity program that allowed Echohawk to study law at UNM and earn his degree has had far-reaching consequences, as well, he noted.

These days, there are 2,500 Native American lawyers, he said. Were fully proportionately represented in the legal profession.

Echohawk, who served as president of the Class of 1963 at FHS, credits many of the teachers at his old high school for encouraging him to pursue a career in law. Though he has no surviving family members in Farmington, he visited the city just last weekend to take part in his class 50th anniversary reunion and still holds fond memories of his upbringing here.

Thats why I decided to become a lawyer, he said of the support he received in Farmington during his formative years.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: John Echohawk wins American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award
A fast-growing, fast-casual restaurant  one that tops gourmet French fries with famous Latin-inspired dishes  is opening its first location in Miami.

Buena Papa Fry Bar, a concept from husband-and-wife team James and Johanna Windon, is opening inside The Dirty Rabbit lounge in Wynwood in September.

The restaurant, which tops hot crunchy fries with a variety of Colombian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Italian and Greek dishes, began in North Carolina, with locations in Raleigh and Durham. Its popularity has extended so far that its fries have earned the distinction of being the official loaded fries of the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes.

Buena Papa  the name translates to good potato  was inspired by Johanna Windons favorite dish from her home country of Colombia: bandeja paisa, which traditionally includes beans, chorizo, chicharron and avocado. James Windon contributed every Americans favorite food (French fries) to the dish, and thus the couple created the brands first signature meal.

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The Windons went on to create the Mexicano, with carne asada, guacamole and sour cream, and the Boricua, with pulled pork and guacamole.

James and Johanna Windon created the Buena Papa Fry Bar in North Carolina.

The Miami opening has inspired a couple of new dishes: El Cubano, a take on the Cuban sandwich, with fries tossed in spices and mojo topped with garlicky roast pork, Jamon, pickle and Cubano sauce, and El Miami, with pulled pork, guava barbecue sauce, queso fresco and crispy yuca chips. The spot will also offer El Japones, a Japanese-style dish with teriyaki beef or pork katsu strips, scallions, eel sauce and pickled carrots.

The Windons said they felt Miami was a good fit for a franchise.

Miami is renowned as a top city for cuisine, and the citys diverse culinary landscape and enthusiastic food culture perfectly align with our mission to introduce people to the beauty of different flavors and cultures, they said in a statement.

On opening day, the restaurant will unveil a new mural by Nicaraguan artist Luis Valle and offer free French fry and merch giveaways. The first 10 customers get a free signature dish.

The El Cubano dish at Buena Papa Fry Bar includes ham and roast pork and was created for the Miami launch.

Buena Papa Fry Bar

Where: Inside The Dirty Rabbit Wynwood, 151 NW 24th St., Miami

Opening: Sept. 1

Hours: 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday; 5 p.m.-4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday

More information: www.buenapapa.com

The El Colombiano at Buena Papa Fry Bar includes chicharron, chorizo, beans and guacamole.
Murder defendant Roger Dale Nobles Sr. testified at his trial on Monday that when he drew his gun on a motorcyclist during a road-rage incident in Fayetteville, he had no intention of shooting anyone, and he believed the guns safety switch would prevent him from squeezing the trigger.

And, Nobles testified, he believed he was pointing the gun in a direction away from people.

But Nobles did squeeze the trigger and fire the gun. At that instant, the gun was pointed at the chest of 32-year-old Stephen Trey Perry Addison. The bullet struck Addisons heart, lung and aorta and killed him.

An undated photo of Stephen Perry Addison, who lived in Fayetteville and was shot to death in a road-rage incident on Skibo Road on Jan. 3, 2022.

The homicide was on Skibo Road as Addison and Nobles son, Roger Dale Nobles Jr., stood in the street and argued with each other. Nobles fired the gun from the driver seat of his pickup truck. Addisons death on Jan. 3, 2022, was recorded by two video cameras. One of those videos circulated on social media.

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Nobles attorney Coy Brewer rested his case after Nobles testified. The jury is scheduled to deliberate Tuesday and decide whether it believes Nobles testimony, and whether he is guilty of a crime.

The potential convictions are involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, B2 second-degree murder, B1 second-degree murder, and first-degree murder.

B1 and B2 refer to a chart that lists the punishments for crimes in North Carolina. B1 crimes are punished more severely than B2 crimes. State law says under some circumstances, second-degree murder is a B1 felony, and in other circumstances, it is a B2 felony.

A sentence for involuntary manslaughter could be less than a year; the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder is life without parole. Nobles is 53.

Trial day 1 Did Fayetteville road-rage killer discharge his gun by accident? Cumberland jury to decide

The Band-Aid didnt do it

When Nobles was interviewed by a Fayetteville police detective in 2022 following the shooting, Nobles said his gun had discharged unintentionally because a bandage on his finger got caught on the trigger. A video of the interview with this claim was presented to the jury last week.

On the stand Monday, Nobles walked back that assertion.

He told the jury he had a bandage on his finger earlier that day because he had four blisters, but the bandage was gone when he and his son encountered Addison around 12:30 that afternoon.

Trial day 2: Shooter in deadly Fayetteville road-rage incident: I did it

Argument escalates to fatal confrontation

Nobles, dressed in a burgundy polo-type shirt and khaki pants, appeared calm and attentive to the lawyers as he testified. He said he and his son first saw Addison when they were in their pickup truck at a stoplight on Skibo Road at Red Tip Road, on their way to the Home Depot store down the street.

Me and my son was sitting there talking, and this guy pulled up on the motorcycle, Nobles said from the witness stand in Cumberland County Superior Court.

Addison had ridden up between the vehicles in the travel lanes to the front of the traffic at the light and was to the left of the pickup truck, according to previous testimony and evidence. When motorcycles ride in between the lanes, it is commonly called lane splitting.

Nobles said he rolled down his window and told Addison, Youre breaking the law, sitting there in between two cars.

Addison cussed him out, Nobles said, called him names, used a gay epithet and called him a racist. Addison was Black, Nobles is white.

Nobles said Roger Nobles Jr. began yelling back at Addison with the same kind of language, so he rolled up the window to try to stop the arguing.

He said he was nervous because there are lots of crashes on Skibo Road. He was getting real scared and everything. I started hurting in my chest, he said.

The Nobleses and Addison proceeded down Skibo toward Cliffdale when the light turned green. Addison was still riding on the white line in front of me instead of in a lane, Nobles said, then suddenly swerved in front of the pickup truck.

I had to slam on brakes to keep from hitting him so he could get into the right lane, Nobles said.

Trial day 3: Shooter in Fayetteville road-rage killing says gun fired because Band-Aid snagged trigger

They stopped at the red light on Skibo Road at Cliffdale Road, with Addison in the right-hand lane.

Nobles said his son and Addison continued to yell at each other, and then his son got out of the truck and confronted Addison, who was sitting on his motorcycle.

Addison pushed Roger Nobles Jr., Nobles Sr. said. Thats when the elder Nobles drew his pistol from the holster on his left hip to show it to Addison.

I wanted him to see it so he would back off and both of them would stop, Nobles Sr. said. He worried his son would try to hurt Addison, he said.

Nobles put the gun away, then brought it out again, he said.

A still from a cellphone video that captured the shooting death of Stephen Addison, shows Addison, right, seconds before police say he was shot by the driver of the pickup truck in the left of the photo.

He was not intending to shoot, he said. He thought he was not pointing the gun at anyone, he said, and he believed a safety switch on the gun was engaged and would not allow him to pull the trigger.

Nobles hands were shaking, he said, and they have permanent numbness from an injury he suffered when he worked at the Black & Decker factory in Fayetteville.

My finger was on the trigger, so my finger was numb  well, my whole hand was numb  so I could have squeezed the trigger and made it go off.

It was the first time Nobles ever shot a gun, he testified.

The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. in room 3C of the Cumberland County Courthouse. The prosecution and defense lawyers are scheduled to make closing arguments to the jury, Superior Court Judge Gale M. Adams will then give the jury its instructions, and jury deliberations will get underway.

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@fayobserver.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Shooter in Fayetteville road-rage homicide denies he intended to kill
SPRING VALLEY - On an early Saturday morning in September 1987, 19-year-old Glennise "Gamma" Stroud was found strangled to death in the woods behind the apartment house at 244 North Main Street

Nearly 36 years later, the FBI has joined the cold case with the village police by offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person who murdered Stroud, known as "Gamma."

Stroud's is one of the unresolved homicides in the violence-prone village over the decades. Police reported at the time of Stroud's death she had been choked during sex and potentially raped by someone she knew from the streets. Police suspected drugs were involved.

FBI flyer seeking information on 1987 murder victim Glennise "Gamma" Stroud in Spring Valley

The FBI New York Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and the Spring Valley Police Department are asking the public for assistance in identifying the person or persons responsible for killing Stroud. A police detective had been assigned to the task force, which assists local police departments.

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Spring Valley police referred questions to the FBI, which didn't immediately respond.

The FBI acknowledges in a news release that there are few leads after nearly four decades. The bureau is distributing an informational flyer with Stroud's photo nationwide hoping to get leads to arrest and conviction.

"We understand that the information provided is extremely limited, but we ask that the flyer linked below be distributed to the public, with hope that a lead is developed and justice be provided for the family," the bureau said in a statement.

Glennise Gamma Stroud: Journal News 1994 article on her death

Gamma remembered fondly

Homicides are never closed until police make an arrest. Over the years, Spring Valley police detectives have delved into the Stroud homicide, retired Detective Reginald Anderson said. Anderson is the godfather to Stroud's daughter. Anderson, who just retired after 36 years, had just joined the force in 1987.

"I knew her before I became a cop," Anderson said on Monday. "She was a bubbly person who always had a smile on her face. She hung out with the other kids in the area. Nobody minded being around her. She always was a happy-go-lucky person."

Stroud's case was never buried by the Spring Valley police. The later chief, Clifford Tallman, knew her and her family and took her death to heart.

The village had a cold case squad at one point.

"Our cold cases are never closed cases," Anderson said. "Every new detective looked at the case with a new set of eyes. I went over the case. Unfortunately, the investigation remains active."

Anderson said he keeps in periodic touch with Stroud's daughter, Keondra, who turned one when her mother was killed. Stroud had a brother Doremus.

Anderson said Keondra would check in with police about the investigation into her mother's death.

"She thought we had given up," Anderson said. "We showed her didn't. I was planning to help close the case before I retired. I am still willing to help, if needed."

Submit a tip

Anyone with information concerning the Stroud case, can contact the FBI's New York Field Office at 212-384-1000 or the Spring Valley Police Department at 845-356-7400. People also can contact their local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.

Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Glennise 'Gamma' Stroud's Spring Valley cold case murder gets FBI help
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved the first vaccine meant to prevent infections in infants, with the new drug designed to be administered to pregnant mothers in their third trimester so their newborn infants can have protection from the moment theyre born.

The single-dose injections called Abrysvo is made by Pfizer and has been approved for use between 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy. The FDAs Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted in favor of recommending the drug in May.

Abrysvo has already been approved for use in preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.

RSV is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those at highest risk for severe disease, which can lead to hospitalization, Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

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This approval provides an option for healthcare providers and pregnant individuals to protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease, Marks said.

When advisory committee reviewed Abrysvo in May, Pfizer presented data that found neutralizing antibodies against RSV were higher in infants whose mothers received the vaccine through 6 months of age. Infants under the age of 6 months are at a particularly high risk of developing severe cases of RSV.

The FDA noted in its announcement Monday that in one clincial study Abrysvo reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract disease by about 82 percent in the first 90 days after birth and about 70 percent in the first 180 days.

We are incredibly grateful to the clinical trial participants and study investigator teams around the world, as well as our Pfizer colleagues, for their commitment to making this vaccine available, Pfizer Senior Vice President Annaliesa Anderson said in a statement.

Today, a long-sought-after goal to deliver a maternal vaccine that will help protect infants six months of age or younger  when they are at greatest risk of possible serious consequences from RSV  has been achieved.

Like with other respiratory viruses, RSV cases usually start to rise in the fall, typically peaking in the winter.

High numbers of infants and toddlers were hospitalized last winter due to RSV, with many hospitals reaching capacity and some running low on ventilators as facilities also sought to take care of patients with COVID-19 and the flu.

The majority of children will be exposed to RSV  known as a common daycare disease  before the age of 2. COVID-19 quarantines are thought to have possibly limited exposure, contributing to a harsher RSV season, though clinicians have noted that higher than normal case rates occurred even before the pandemic.

Apart from a monoclonal antibody given to extremely high-risk cases, there were no effective treatments specifically geared toward RSV until this year. Two RSV vaccines for older adults were approved by the FDA this year and a preventive monoclonal antibody against the virus was approved for infants and toddlers last month.

When the FDA approved Abrysvo for older adults earlier this year, Pfizer said it anticipated the drug to be available some time during the third quarter of this year, before the expected RSV season.

The most common side effects that were reported were injection site pain, headache, muscle pain and nausea. One issue that came up during the FDA panels review of the drug was the observation that preterm births were numerically higher in the group that received the vaccine compared to the placebo group, though this difference was not found to be statistically meaningful.

Preeclampsia also occurred at a slightly higher rate among those who received the vaccine in studies and the FDA noted that birth weight and jaundice in infants occurred at a higher rate among the vaccine recipients.

The FDA said Monday that the available data was insufficient to establish or exclude a causal relationship between preterm birth and Abrysvo. The agency said it will be requiring Pfizer to conduct postmarketing studies to evaluate the serious risk of preterm birth and other conditions like preeclampsia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a vaccine that is administered to pregnant people to protect their babies from RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, through their first six months.

The single-dose shot, made by Pfizer, spurs the production of protective antibodies that transfer from mother to infant through the placenta. Its the first vaccine that can protect babies from RSV, which causes a lower respiratory illness that can be severe in infants.

However, last month the FDA also approved an injectable RSV drug for infants that delivers a dose of antibodies directly to the bloodstream.

Before Pfizers shot can be distributed to the public, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must still recommend who should receive it. After that, it's up to CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen to officially recommend the vaccine.

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Pfizer said that the CDC advisory committee will most likely meet by early October and that the company plans to make the vaccine publicly available shortly after it is officially recommended.

The new shot, called Abrysvo, is approved for pregnant people at 32 to 36 weeks gestation. The same vaccine was approved in late May for people ages 60 and up and is already available at certain Walgreens locations.

RSV overall is mild, and most children have been infected by age 2. In serious cases, however, an infection can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis, which inflames airways and clogs them with mucus. Older adults and babies are particularly susceptible: RSV leads to up to 300 deaths a year among those under 5 in the U.S. and up to 160,000 hospitalizations among people 65 and up.

Last years RSV season brought a dramatic spike in severe illness that overwhelmed childrens hospitals. According to a study published this month, most babies who ended up in the intensive care unit with RSV in late 2022 were previously healthy and born full term.

Strong protection against severe disease  but for how long?

Tamara Zangrilli was among the first people to take Abrysvo while pregnant  she signed up for Pfizer's clinical trial in 2021.

Zangrilli works as an operations coordinator at Childrens Hospital Colorado and was aware of the health risks of RSV among infants. Still, she said she thought carefully about whether to get an experimental vaccine.

"We really, really, really discussed it. My husband and I spent like three days just deciding on whether or not we wanted to do it, Zangrilli said.

Ultimately, she said, her worry about her baby getting RSV won out.

In that clinical trial, which included nearly 7,400 participants, Abrysvo was found to lower the risk of severe disease from RSV among infants by 82% within roughly three months after birth. By around six months, the efficacy was around 69%.

If brought into broad use, there will be children who otherwise would have been hospitalized, otherwise would have ended up on ventilators this winter, that wont, said Dr. Bill Gruber, senior vice president of clinical research and development for Pfizer.

The most common side effects reported among pregnant women who got the shot were fatigue, headache, injection site pain, muscle pain, nausea, joint pain and diarrhea.

In May, an FDA advisory committee reviewed data on the vaccine, and though the group generally praised its efficacy, there were some reservations about the duration of protection and a potential risk of preterm birth. In the trial, there was a slightly higher rate of births before 37 weeks gestation among people who got the vaccine (5.7%) than among those who got a placebo (4.7%).

Although the difference wasnt statistically significant, the prescribing label for the vaccine will come with a warning not to administer Abrysvo before 32 weeks' gestation because of that numerical imbalance. Both of those observed rates were lower than the rate of preterm births in the general population: around 10%, according to the CDC. Pfizer has said it will continue to monitor the risk of preterm birth among vaccine recipients.

Trial participants weren't told whether they received the vaccine or a placebo, but Zangrilli said she didnt experience any side effects. She gave birth to her son, Harrison, when he was full term.

Whether its pertussis, influenza, tetanus, theres a long track record of safety for administering vaccines to pregnant women," Gruber said.

Two new options for infants: A vaccine and an antibody drug

Unlike past RSV seasons, expectant parents and those with young babies now have two ways to protect their children.

The antibody injection, called Beyfortus, is CDC-recommended for babies up to 8 months old who are born during or entering their first RSV season, which typically starts around October. Its also recommended for infants 8 to 19 months old who are at increased risk of severe disease and entering their second season.

Gruber said Abrysvo might produce a broader antibody response, however, since the process the vaccine spurs is closer to how the body would naturally defend itself against a virus. That may lower the chances that RSV escapes immunity from the vaccine relative to the antibody shot. But no data directly comparing the two exists yet.

Health authorities have not yet weighed in on whether pregnant mothers who plan to immunize their babies with Beyfortus should get the Abrysvo vaccine, but it may be a topic of discussion for the CDC's advisory committee.

Zangrilli said Harrison is now 18 months old and has not tested positive for RSV thus far. She's open to getting the vaccine again if health authorities suggest it for subsequent pregnancies, she said.

"The hope is in the next year to have another child and if this vaccine is available, and theyre like we recommended it, I would absolutely do it," she said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Charlotte Greenfield

JARANWALA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Eighteen-year-old Kanwal had just returned from hospital with her newborn baby, Samuel, when a vigilante mob launched a violent attack on their home in a Christian area of eastern Pakistan.

Terrified, she swept up the baby and fled barefoot with the rest of her family, narrowly escaping the mob that torched their house last week, causing the loss of their pet birds and all their belongings.

"We are very scared of our neighbours ... we don't want them to destroy whatever little we have left," said Kanwal, cradling Samuel as she sat in a school classroom converted into a makeshift dormitory in the bustling market town of Jaranwala.

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"We should be shifted somewhere else," she added. Her 11-year-old brother and sisters aged seven and 11 are too scared to return to school, where they are among a tiny minority of Christian students.

"Today was the first day of school after summer vacations but I did not send them because of fear," said their mother, Kiran. "I told them, 'You will get an education if you stay alive.'"

Nearly 160 people have been arrested over Wednesday's hours-long rampage by a mob that residents said consisted of people carrying iron rods, knives and sticks, and which set fire to churches and scores of homes.

Police and residents said the attack started after someone took allegedly desecrated pages of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, to a mosque prayer leader, which was followed by announcements calling for punishment.

Police have arrested two Christian men accused of blasphemy and are investigating.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan but no one has ever been executed, although numerous people accused of blasphemy have been lynched by outraged mobs in the past.

A former provincial governor and a minister for minorities were shot dead for trying to reform the blasphemy law.

A large contingent of armed paramilitary troopers has fanned out to restore calm in Jaranwala, set in the rural heartland of Pakistan's Punjab province, amid farms growing wheat, rice and sugarcane.

Provincial and federal authorities have pledged financial help for the Christian community, which forms less than 2% of Pakistan's population of 241 million, many of whom live in poverty, to help pick up their lives.

Caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar visited the area on Monday, announcing relief for affected families, calling the attack an atrocity and promising Pakistan's minority religious communities that the government would protect them.

But community members and advocates say the trauma and fear will be tough to heal and their safety is not assured. Many are afraid to return home but, still in shock, do not know where to rebuild their lives.

"Everyone is focusing on giving them food, giving them shelter, but what they are feeling, how they are broken from the inside, how they will accept that they are equal citizens, this is the (important) thing," said Naseem Anthony, a member of a rights group, Awam.

"There is very serious concern from the civil society side about the psychological damage," added Anthony, speaking outside a gathering of civil society organisations held near a salmon-pink church, its insides blackened with soot.

A few streets away about 240 people live in the makeshift shelter in the school along with Kanwal's family.

String and wood cots have been set up among classroom walls still plastered with charts showing the alphabet and how to count.

Many here spent the first few days after the attack living outside, in fields and roads in sweltering heat.

They described feelings of depression and anxiety, a fear of open spaces, trouble sleeping and frequent outbursts of weeping when they recall Wednesday's events.

"Most of the people from the Christian colony in Jaranwala are afraid of returning home because of the unrest and uncertainty about their protections," said community leader Akmal Bhatti.

"All this is triggering a sense of fear," he added. "The majority of children are suffering psychological issues ... Now, children and girls are afraid of people, they don't want to go out in markets and crowded places."

Government officials at the heavily-guarded shelter said they would let people stay as long as needed, adding that it has been staffed with doctors and nurses to provide support.

Non-government organisations estimate hundreds of people have been physically displaced with thousands of Christians in the area affected by the violence. Some are staying in makeshift shelters nearby, and others with relatives.

Kanwal and her mother, Kiran, are not sure how long the family will stay.

"My greatest wish now is that I want security," said Kiran. "I want a safe place for my family to live in. The fear that has got embedded in my heart and my children's minds is just not going away."

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Mubasher Bukhari; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
FILE - The United States Coast Guard Academy is seen, Sept. 14, 2020, in New London, Conn. Bipartisan federal legislation was introduced Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, that would protect cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy who report a sexual assault from being disciplined for minor collateral misconduct, such as underage drinking. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP)  Bipartisan federal legislation was introduced Tuesday that would protect cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy who report a sexual assault from being disciplined for minor collateral misconduct, such as underage drinking.

The change would put the Connecticut service academy in line with policies at Department of Defense military academies. The U.S. Coast Guard is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.

The legislation comes amid recent revelations that the service did not widely disclose a six-year internal investigation it conducted, known as Operation Fouled Anchor, into dozens of cases of sexual assault and misconduct between 1988 and 2006. The Coast Guard also apologized for not taking appropriate action years ago when it failed to adequately handle cases of sexual assault and harassment at the academy in New London.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, whose district includes the academy, noted in a statement how the Department of Defense swiftly implemented a policy change preventing cadets at its service academies from receiving punishment for minor offenses when they report sexual assault or harassment. He said such protections must be extended to the Coast Guard Academy cadets as well.

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This is one step in the process to care for our cadets as I continue to engage with Coast Guard leadership on the path forward following its failure to disclose the investigation into its history of sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy, said Courtney, the bill's lead proponent.

His co-sponsors include Republican U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi and Democratic Reps. Rick Larsen of Washington and Salud Carbajal and Nanette Diaz Barragan of California.

I know how important it is for our Coasties to have the same rights and protections against sexual misconduct as other members of our military," Carbajal, a veteran and the top Democrat on the House subcommittee overseeing the U.S. Coast Guard, said in a statement. This bill is simple and straightforward, bringing all military service academies under the same umbrella of safety and accountability to protect the next generation of servicemembers.

The National Defense Authorization Act in 2021 required the Department of Defense to implement the Safe-to-Report Policy for a midshipman or cadet who is a victim of an alleged sexual assault at a DOD military academy and has committed a minor offense such as underage drinking or violating curfew.

In June, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which has oversight of the Coast Guard, was not informed of the probe until an informal briefing with Senate staff. They demanded documents and records related to the investigation, which identified 62 substantiated incidents of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment that occurred at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy or by academy cadets.

The internal Coast Guard investigation was first reported by CNN.
The Federal Trade Commission is expected to open an in-depth probe on Wednesday of Qualcomms purchase of an Israeli chipmaker focused on auto safety, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Qualcomm announced in May that it is buying Autotalks, which makes chips for so-called vehicle-to-everything communications, known as V2X. The technology allows both traditional and self-driving cars to communicate with their surroundings. Qualcomm also offers the technology through its Snapdragon Digital Chassis product for assisted and autonomous driving.

Lengthy antitrust reviews can delay acquisitions by a year or more. The FTC and its sister agency the Department of Justice have been intently focused on corporate consolidation involving emerging technologies, but have fared poorly in court. The FTC this year has failed to block acquisitions by Meta and Microsoft involving the nascent markets of virtual reality and cloud gaming.

The FTC is not the only agency probing the Qualcomm deal. The European Commission last week said it would also need to approve the deal after more than a dozen member states asked it to investigate. The deal would combine two of the main suppliers of V2X semiconductors in the [European Economic Area], according to a commission statement.

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In order to head off potential concerns about the deal, the companies highlighted support from a number of third parties when announcing the acquisition, including automakers Volkswagen, General Motors and Renault, parts maker Continental and Samsungs Harman International, a vehicle-to-everything rival.

Still, the deal has faced opposition from anonymous complainants, according to the legal news service Global Competition Review. One of the complainants is chipmaker MediaTek, according to the people, who are not authorized to speak publicly.

The V2X technology is key to improving road safety, traffic management and reducing CO2 emissions as well as for the deployment of autonomous vehicles, the European Commission said in its statement. It is therefore important to ensure that customers such as original equipment manufacturers or infrastructure managers retain access to V2X technology at competitive prices and conditions.

Autotalks has highly promising technologies and products for further developing traffic-safety systems in vehicles, Martijn Snoep, who leads the Dutch antitrust regulator in a statement supporting the European Commissions review. As a result of the acquisition, Qualcomm can become so dominant in this area that they can easily push competitors and alternative systems out of the market.

According to the Dutch agencys statement, there are two technical standards for microchips used in driving-assistance systems and Autotalks is the only company whose chips are compatible with both. The agency said the deal could lead to higher prices, reduced quality, or less innovation for traffic-safety systems in vehicles.

Mlex, an antitrust news service, previously reported that the FTC is planning to open an investigation.

Qualcomm is no stranger to antitrust scrutiny. The company fought a years-long battle with the FTC over how it licenses its cellular communications patents, an essential technology for all mobile phone makers. The FTC contended that Qualcomm used its monopoly control of critical technology to charge anticompetitive licensing fees and block out competing chipmakers. An appeals court ultimately sided with Qualcomm in 2020, ending the case.

Qualcomm declined to comment. Autotalks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FTC declined to comment. A spokesperson for MediaTek did not immediately respond for comment.
It was early one Thursday morning in 2021 when Suzy Pereira woke, walked to her son Tristans room to wake him up and found him lying on the floor.

Suzy Pereira, founder and chair of The Blue Plaid Society, lost her son Tristan, seen at right, to the fentanyl epidemic in 2021. His photo was part of a display of some of the victims of fentanyl. at the 2023 Central Florida Fentanyl Summit, held at Space Coast Health Foundation Center for Collaboration, In Rockledge.

My first thought was he was such a hard sleeper. But I looked closer, Pereira said, recalling how that fleeting thought vanished as she saw his face. A trickle of blood ran from his nose; his skin was splotched. A call to 911 brought help, but it was too late for her son.

The detective told me that she thought he had got a bad batch," she said. "I said, A bad batch of what? It was cocaine with meth and fentanyl. He had enough fentanyl in the syringe to kill 12 people.

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Monday, the Blue Plaid Society, a nonprofit organization founded by Pereira with a mission of providing education on fentanyl, held its second annual Central Florida Fentanyl Summit. Experts, law enforcement and others gathered to discuss the impact of fentanyl  which is 50 times more powerful than heroin  and other synthetic drugs on Brevard and communities across the state and nation.

Suzy Pereira, founder and chair of The Blue Plaid Society, lost her son Tristan to the fentanyl epidemic in 2021. She was one of the speakers at the 2023 Central Florida Fentanyl Summit, held at Space Coast Health Foundation Center for Collaboration, In Rockledge.

The conference  held on National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day  was presented at the Center for Collaboration in Rockledge and came even as Satellite Beach police investigated a suspected overdose involving a 15-year-old on Sunday, records show.

More: Fentanyl is a poison destroying communities in Central Florida | Opinion

Across the room, a range of professionals in attendance included doctors, teachers, recovery specialists, parents who've lost children, counselors and law enforcement officers. The reason behind the gathering: to talk about the deadly impact of fentanyl, once relegated to treating end-stage cancer victims and others in severe pain. In the lobby, sponsors provided brochures and books about drug use and offering boxes of Narcan nasal spray, a life-saving medication used to treat overdoses.

Suzy Pereira, founder and chairman of The Blue Plaid Society, lost her son Tristan to the fentanyl epidemic in 2021. She was one of the speakers at the 2023 Central Florida Fentanyl Summit, held at Space Coast Health Foundation Center for Collaboration, In Rockledge.

Brevard County Medical Examiner Sajid Qaiser's office has been overwhelmed with a steady stream of hundreds of accidental overdose and drug poisoning deaths involving fentanyl and other opioid-related drugs.

His office has seen fentanyl-related deaths involving victims as young as 2 years old.

It has increased sharply from 2014, said Qaiser, one of the guest panelists at Mondays conference.

This is much needed."

Quaiser said he often tells students visiting his office that the fentanyl crisis is something that they will need to aware of if they're going into the world of forensics. Fentanyl is seen as a major contributor to the deaths of nearly 110,000 people across the U.S., with law enforcement warning that dealers are lacing other drugs, from heroin to cocaine and street marijuana, with the synthetic opioid.

The stories and statistics are haunting.

Fentanyl-related deaths on the Space Coast remain among the highest in the state, FDLE reported. In 2021, the latest year for statistics on drug-connected deaths, Brevard recorded 304 drug overdose deaths, including 262 opioid-related deaths, FDLE said.

More: 'Enough fentanyl to kill 302,500' people seized in West Melbourne raid

Every day more fentanyl flows into Brevard County, said Vic DeSantis, commander of the Brevard County Sheriffs Offices criminal investigative division. Any given weekend, the office works deadly fentanyl-related poisoning cases.

During one 90-day period during Operation United Front, a multiagency investigation involving law enforcement agencies from across Central Florida recovered 7,743 grams of pure fentanyl, DeSantis said. In July, West Melbourne Police recovered 605 grams during a raid, enough, police said, to kill half of Brevard County's population of over 600,000 people. The state attorney's office has also stepped up its pursuit of dealers in death cases involving fentanyl poisoning.

Panelist Helen J. Bruso, special agent for the Orlando District Office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said that 60% of the pills recovered by agents carry a lethal dose of the deadly manmade drug. She also pointed out that young people are using social media and payment apps on their phones to order the drugs from dealers.

Its not just the drug addict that people think about. This affects everyone. This is affecting families across the nation, she said.

She urged parents to keep track of their children's social media usage: "Keep up to date," Bruso said.

Pereira advised conference-goers to engage in the lives of their children and the community to combat fentanyl's deadly reach.

This is not going away, Pereira said.

We have to do something.

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jdgallop@floridatodan.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Fentanyl crisis 'not going away,' say organizers of Space Coast conference
Train cars with graffiti are parked on Old Telegraph Road in unincorporated Fillmore on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

A group of Fillmore-area residents expressed frustration that 84 train cars parked on a rail near Old Telegraph Road have become targets for graffiti and are bringing what they described as an increased presence of gangs to the area.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission hosted an informational meeting Aug. 15 at Fillmore City Hall with officials, including from the transportation commission and Sierra Northern Railway. The rail company is contracted by the commission to operate and maintain what's called the Santa Paula Branch line where the rail cars sit.

Officials listened to residents complaints about the parked rail cars and other concerns.

"If Sierra Northern continues to demonstrate that they are unwilling to listen or make changes to move these rail cars, I ask that we start the steps to terminate this contract before it goes any further," said resident Susan Jolley.

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Tracy Stewart said the rail cars have changed a beautiful, agricultural neighborhood into a railyard.

We now experience a major problem with unsightly rail cars full of blight, graffiti throughout the neighborhood, and an overall devaluation of our community, Stewart said. You and the VCTC are responsible for that, and were not going to accept it.

The train cars sit idle because Sierra Northern signed a confidential agreement with a customer to store empty, non-hazardous rail cars on the line, said Kennan Beard, president and CEO of Sacramento-based rail company in an email.

The rail cars were originally destined for the rural tracks near Piru but a train bridge over Sespe Creek in the Fillmore area washed away after the cars arrived in mid to late January, he said.

Amanda Fagan, Ventura County Transportation Commission's planning and sustainability director, said repairs for the bridge would be finished in the summer of 2024.

Beard said Sierra Northern does not have the "locomotive horsepower" to move all 84 cars out of sight of Old Telegraph Road, which would take two to three locomotives to handle the entire train at once.

He said they could move 30 to 40 train cars about a mile or 2 to the west but the remaining cars can't be pulled.

The cars came into town in batches 20 to 30 at a time so Sierra Northern was able to put them where they sit, he said.

Beard said the cars can be moved if the bridge is fixed or if the rail customer requests the parked cars be put back into service.

If the rail customer calls the cars back into service, they will be hauled through Santa Paula to Ventura where Sierra Northern interchanges with Union Pacific, he said.

Ventura County Supervisor Kelly Long, who also attended Tuesday's meeting, said she was sympathetic and wanted to work with everyone.

"I want to apologize to all of you who have to see that," said Long, adding she was apologizing for herself. "I take this fully at heart and my office will definitely be following up on this. We're trying to work together."

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Fillmore residents take issue with 84-rail car eyesore
China contributes strength to BRICS partnership for win-win cooperation

Xinhua) 08:41, August 22, 2023

This aerial photo taken on May 4, 2023 shows a cargo ship carrying corn imported from South Africa at a port in south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

BEIJING/JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China is playing an important role in driving mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation, said experts, noting that further developments are expected to emerge as the 15th BRICS Summit takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Aug. 22 to 24.

Guided by the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, member nations have enhanced cooperation to promote economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the experts.

China's foreign trade with other BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa -- soared 19.1 percent year on year to 2.38 trillion yuan (about 330.62 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Monday. This accounted for 10.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value during the period, marking a rise of 1.6 percentage points.

Specifically, China's exports to these countries totaled 1.23 trillion yuan, up 23.9 percent year on year, while its imports reached 1.15 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 14.3 percent.

According to Dr. Kenneth Creamer, an economist from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, "the main objective of BRICS is to encourage increased levels of trade and cooperation among member countries and BRICS has been successful in advancing this objective since its first meeting."

"Increased cooperation in sectors such as energy and agriculture can play an important role in lifting levels of economic growth and employment in BRICS member countries. Increased trade and cooperation among BRICS countries can also assist in promoting economic recovery after the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Creamer, who is also a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

Regarding the China-South Africa cooperation, Dr. Creamer said China and South Africa should build on existing strong relations to seek to better integrate the countries' manufacturing and supply chains to aid development and opportunity in both countries.

In the first half of the year, bilateral trade between China and South Africa reached 28.25 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.7 percent year on year, official data showed. China has maintained its position as South Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, while South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years.

"Chinese enterprises should be encouraged to use South Africa as a base country from which to manufacture, assemble and deliver products and services for sale in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa," Dr. Creamer said.

China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. The two sides have together constructed and commissioned over 10,000 km of railway, nearly 100,000 km of highway, and an array of important infrastructure projects, including airports, docks, bridges and power plants, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

Speaking to Xinhua, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, said they are looking at the BRICS summit to bring in more tourists. "It's a major event. We're expecting it to boost our tourism."

"We need to focus on countries like China to bring more tourists to the country. That's where our growth in terms of tourists will come from; we need to look beyond the traditional areas," Tshivhengwa added.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist and researcher at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, pointed out that China has one of the biggest markets in the world in terms of agricultural products.

"South Africa is one of the countries that is also trying to deepen its exports into China, which is something that is part and parcel of the discussions that are happening within the various BRICS business working groups," Sihlobo said.

Themed "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism," this summit will carry forward the sound momentum of cooperation from the BRICS "China Year" 2022 and chart a brighter future for BRICS.

"The summit is of great significance for advancing practical cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries in various fields, promoting global governance reform, and enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries," said Li Wentao, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Li added that against the backdrop of major global changes, the solidarity and cooperation among BRICS countries will bring more certainty to an uncertain world.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Fintech startup Ramp has raised $300 million in a funding round co-led by existing backer Thrive Capital and new investor Sands Capital at a post-money valuation of $5.8 billion.

The Information reported last week that spend management company Ramp was raising several hundred million dollars at a $5.5 billion valuation. Ramp last raised in March 2022 -- raising $200 million in equity funding at an $8.1 billion valuation. In total, the company has secured $970 million in equity financing and $700 million in committed debt funding since its 2019 inception.

Other investors participating in the latest financing include General Catalyst, Founders Fund and other existing backers. Ken Chenault, chairman and managing director of General Catalyst and former chairman and CEO of American Express, was said to be involved in the investment decision.

The company is using its new capital to accelerate product development, expand into adjacent categories and hire significantly in the second half of this year.

Join the club

Ramp is not the only fintech startup to see a valuation drop in the past 18 months. Many of the larger private companies in the space have seen steep declines in valuation, including Stripe and Klarna, among others. And if secondary activity is any indication, Ramps current valuation is not far off from projections made by Notice.co, a company that has built a pricing tool for the private markets. Notice founder Tyson Hendricksen told TechCrunch in July that based on secondary share trading, Ramp was estimated to be valued at $4.8 billion.

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In March, co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman told TechCrunch that the company saw its revenue grow by 4x last year -- led by its fastest-growing segment of bill pay -- but was not yet profitable. The company had crossed $100 million in annualized revenue before its third birthday in March of 2022 and says now it has passed $300 million in annualized revenue.

Notably, the executive at that time also claimed that the startup still had the vast majority of [equity] funds it has ever received still on its balance sheet.

Either way, raising $300 million in today's current environment is no easy feat. Global funding in the fintech space plunged by nearly half to $7.8 billion in the second quarter, its lowest level since 2017, according to CB Insights. Also, during the three-month period, funding from $100M+ mega-rounds totaled just $2 billion  a six-year low.

Expanding in more ways than one

Ramp has been vocal about its desire to grow -- in terms of both products and customers. In June, TechCrunch exclusively reported that Ramp had acquired Cohere.io, a startup that built an AI-powered customer support tool. Earlier this month, Ramp announced that it was entering the procurement space as it focused more on complex enterprises, and that it had landed a new customer in Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify.

Over time, Ramp has continued to add on to its offerings  having started out as a corporate card startup company and gradually over time adding features such as bill pay, vendor management and travel expense management, among others.

And while the startup started out focused on small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), it now works with businesses of all sizes  from startups to multibillion-dollar enterprises to potato farmers. As of early August, more than 15,000 businesses used Ramp, compared to 5,000 in March of 2022, the company said.

Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up for The Interchange here.
A power outage overnight at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles prompted the evacuation of more than 200 patients from a building housing neonatal intensive care and OBGYN units, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and hospital officials.

All patients are safe, including a baby who was born after the hospitals main, six-story building lost power during Tropical Storm Hilary and generators subsequently failed, Adventist Health White Memorial President John Raffoul said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

Doctors and nurses used flashlights to illuminate the room while the mother gave birth, Grace Hauser, a spokesperson for the hospital, said. Mother and baby were transferred to another hospital.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday commended the LAFD and hospital staff for swiftly evacuating the patients in critical care.

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We must get to the bottom of what happened and ensure that lives are not put at risk in this way ever again, Bass said in a statement, noting that she once worked in the NICU at White Memorial. A power outage risks the lives of all of those babies  and also the rest of the patients in critical care whose lives depend on respirators, ventilators and other critical life-sustaining equipment. Angelenos deserve a thorough examination of this incident.

White Memorial first lost its main power early Monday at the height of the storm before its backup generators failed around 1 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Raffoul said. Hilary struck Southern California on Sunday as a tropical storm, bringing heavy rain and flooding before it weakened to a post-tropical cyclone.

LAFD responded to find 241 patients were impacted by the outage, 28 of whom were considered critical and moved to other hospitals, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at the news conference. Other patients were moved to another building on the hospitals campus that still had power, Raffoul added.

The final noncritical patient had been moved by midday Tuesday, according to LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart, who said fire officials would begin the process of demobilizing.

LA City Fire Capt. Cody Weireter previously said 271 patients, 21 of them critical, were affected.

LAFD firefighters and paramedics had to work in a coordinated effort to transport (patients) down the stairs and the stairwells to awaiting ambulances, Weireter said in an earlier news conference.

Five of those evacuated were patients on ventilators, including two whose ventilators had just an hour left of backup battery power, according to dispatch audio recorded by Broadcastify, which captured firefighters efforts to coordinate the evacuation.

We have three patients that are going to be critical, two that are on ventilators, one firefighter is heard saying, calling for at least three engine companies. Were going to have to move them down manually without the elevator.

Copy, Ive asked for a bunch of additional resources, the dispatcher responded. I understand you got one patient up there thats the priority, and Ill throw engines your way when they get here.

Affirmative, the first responded. Two have about an hour left on battery, and the one is immediate that would have to be moved.

Okay, start packing up the patient for immediate move.

The failure of the backup generators will be investigated, Raffoul said, adding an emergency generator is being brought to the hospital in the meantime. Regular maintenance and testing are done on the trio of backup generators, he said, but he did not know when that testing had last occurred.

CNNs Jamiel Lynch and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.

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The first two defendants in the Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and 18 other defendants have been booked in the Fulton county jail, according to its online database.

Scott Hall, an Atlanta-area bail bondsman, was booked at the Rice Street jail on Tuesday. John Eastman , a Trump attorney and allegedly one of the main architects of Trumps plan to halt the certification of Bidens victory, also voluntarily turned himself in later on Tuesday morning.

Related: Donald Trump says he will surrender to Fulton county authorities on Thursday

They are expected to undergo fingerprinting, submit personal information and potentially take a mugshot.

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In a statement, Eastman said: My legal team and I will vigorously contest every count of the indictment in which I am named, and also every count in which others are named, for which my knowledge of the relevant facts, law, and constitutional provisions may prove helpful. I am confident that, when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated.

In December 2020, Eastman reportedly helped orchestrate the plan for Georgia Republican electors to meet and sign a fraudulent certificate that said Trump won the election in what is now known as the fake electors scheme. He also drafted a six-point memo that directed the former vice-president Mike Pence to refuse to certify electoral votes on 6 January 2021.

Eastman, alongside the Trump attorney and disgraced former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani , spoke at a rally near the US Capitol on the day of the insurrection where he spread baseless claims of election fraud. Kenneth Chesebro, another Trump attorney who worked closely with Eastman, Trump and Giuliani to halt the electoral certification and is a named defendant, was also at the Capitol that day.

Hall was charged with seven felony counts, including six criminal conspiracy charges and with violating the Rico Act. His bond is set at $10,000, according to a consent bond order posted to the Fulton county courts website on Monday.

Eastman was charged with nine felony counts, including criminal conspiracy, solicitation, filing false documents and violating the Rico Act. Eastmans bond is set at $100,000.

After Trumps 2020 loss, Hall allegedly sought illegal access to voting machines in Coffee county, Georgia, to search for evidence they were rigged. According to the indictment, he allegedly traveled to the Coffee county elections office to copy voter data from Dominion Voting Systems machines, which was a breach of privacy and unlawful.

He was charged alongside the Coffee county officials Misty Hampton and Cathy Latham, as well as Trump-aligned attorney Sidney Powell, for willfully and unlawfully tampering with electronic ballot markers and tabulating machines, which was an act of conspiracy to commit election fraud.

Hall also placed several phone calls to the individuals who were involved with intimidating Georgia poll workers to allegedly coerce false testimony about election security, according to the indictment.

The district attorney, Fani Willis, who delivered the sweeping indictment last week, has given all 19 defendants until noon this Friday, 25 August, to voluntarily surrender. Trump, whose bond has been set at $200,000 and was charged with 13 felony counts, said he plans to turn himself in on Thursday.
The 2024 presidential campaign is finally hitting its stride, with the first Republican debate happening Wednesday night in Milwaukee. While (most) of the top contenders for the Republican nomination will hit the debate stage, there will be one towering figure noticeably absent.

Eight candidates have qualified for the debate out of the 12 Republicans who have announced theyre running for the GOP nomination. That includes Donald Trump, who is planning on skipping the Milwaukee event, despite Fox News best efforts to sway the former president into participating. Instead, Trump intends to release an exclusive interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (the timing and platform of its release arent yet known). To Trump, addressing his four current criminal indictments with his opponents on national television isnt necessary because, as he wrote on Truth Social, People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate?

Per the Republican National Committees rules, candidates have until 48 hours before Wednesdays debate to potentially qualify. And they have to meet some pretty strict requirements: a donor threshold of 40,000 individual contributors, 200 of which have to come from 20 states, and a polling threshold of at least 1 percent in three qualifying national polls, or two qualifying national polls plus qualifying polls from two early-voting statesIowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. The RNC has also tacked on a new must-have this year: Each candidate must sign a pledge to not participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate during the election cycle and to support the eventual nominee (yes, that includes Trump, who has not signed the pledge).

With the front-runner sitting out, here is who you can expect to see on Wednesday night.

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The governor of Florida, who is Trumps biggest threat to the GOP nomination, will be front and center. Despite multiple campaign reboots, trailing Trump by 23 percentage points, and ongoing legal drama with Disney, DeSantis is expected to come out swinging against his biggest rival, the formal president Vivek Ramaswamy and President Joe Biden.

The former vice president, who made several recurring appearances in Trumps third indictment by the Department of Justice thanks to his scrupulous note-taking, is currently polling at about 5 percent. Pence finally managed to meet the RNCs debate eligibility requirements despite at one point struggling to earn enough donor supporters.

The 37-year-old businessman and author turned presidential candidate will also be on stage Wednesday night. Hes currently polling ahead of the former vice presidentat 7 percentmaking surprising inroads among Republicans by calling himself the new daddy in town. Just days ago, the millennial candidate also stunned crowds at the Iowa State Fair by rapping Eminems Lose Yourself.

Haley will be the only woman on the stage on Wednesday. She was the first candidate to announce her campaign after Trump, but is currently polling at just about 2 percent. Shes the former governor of South Carolina and was chosen to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by the former Trump administration. Since then, shes tried to straddle the line between staying in Trumps good graces and presenting herself as a saner alternative. In the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, she went from describing Trumps involvement as making her angry and disgusted to telling Fox News the former president deserved to be given a break. What it has added up to is that her political identity has become a bit of a mystery.

Currently a senator for the state of South Carolina, Scott is also the Republican Partys only Black lawmaker in the Senate. Hes a prolific fundraiser among his presidential rivals, even attracting some of Trumps former donors, yet is only currently polling at about 3 percent. Scott is also the only unmarried candidate, and famously used to proclaim his persistent virginity while running for public office.

The former New Jersey governor will be debating Wednesday night as the anti-Trump candidate. He tried running for president back in 2016, and that did not go well. This time around, he intends to go full scorched-earth on Trump. While announcing his candidacy at a New Hampshire town hall, Christie described the former president as someone who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault, and who always finds someone elseand something elseto blame for whatever goes wrong, but finds every reason to take credit for anything that goes right.

Hutchinson is a two-term governor of Arkansas and he just barely scraped by the RNCs requirements to qualify for Wednesday night. He told CNN on Sunday that he had finally met the donor criteria, and is polling right at 1 percent. His campaign put up a fight over signing the RNCs new loyalty pledge, telling Politico they wanted the language adjusted because Hutchinson does not want to support Trump if hes a convicted felon.

Burgum is currently governor of North Dakota and acknowledged that basically nobody knows who he is. Nevertheless, hes become notorious for avoiding any questions related to Trump and for offering up gift cards to anyone who donates to his campaign, an extreme yet legal effort to qualify for the first debate.
In The Know by Yahoo

If you've never cleaned your washing machine filter before, you may be surprised to find what's lurking in there.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith on Face the Nation in Washington. Credit - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

The first televised presidential debate may not be the one you think it is.

Many Americans think of the famous 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate as the advent of televised debates. But the first time a presidential debatealbeit featuring surrogates for the candidates was broadcast on television came four years earlier.

Historian of the United States Senate Betty Koed cites the November 4, 1956 debate between former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith, acting as surrogates for former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson and President Dwight Eisenhower respectively, as the first televised presidential debate.

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The debate was a big deal, says Allida M. Black, distinguished visiting scholar at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. Photographs of the debate were nationally syndicated through the wire services and the Stevensons campaign highlighted it. Its hard for people today with all the social media algorithms to understand the import and impact this had. There was no national outreach other than television. It was a brand new medium for presidential politics to use.

In Margaret Chase Smith's autobiography Declaration of Conscience, she wrote that she was contacted by the womens division of the Republican National Committee (RNC) in early October 1956 and asked to represent Eisenhower at a debate to be broadcast by CBS on Face the Nation on the Sunday evening before election day. The Democratic National Committee offered Roosevelt as the surrogate for Stevenson. It would be the first time that a womanlet alone two womenhad appeared on the program.

Both women were stalwarts and leaders in their political parties, known for taking difficult, principled stands. Smith at first hesitated to accept the debate invitation. But when the alternate debaters she suggested turned down the job, and an RNC official informed her that Eisenhower personally asked for her to be the Republican debater, she accepted.

Black says Roosevelt was the obvious choice to be Stevensons advocate. She understood media and she was not going to blow this, says Black. Even though she had fierce critics and high negatives, she continued to be the most admired woman in the U.S. and the world, and she was the outspoken practical conscience of the Democratic Party. There was no woman in the U.S. or the party that could rival her in stature.

Smith felt that she was no match for Mrs. Roosevelt in debating and in the breadth and knowledge of issues, according to her autobiography, so she methodically planned for the questions that would come up and began detailed and meticulous homework." Smith also carefully chose both a sartorial and speaking style. This was staged like a scene, she wrote. What would I wear? How would my hair be styled? Smith concluded: The reason for this type of analysis and anticipation was to achieve a favorably sharp contrast between Mrs. Roosevelt and me. I felt that this would be as important, if not more important, than whatever we said in the debate.

Smiths autobiography detailed the thinking behind her choices. She noted Roosevelts taller height, hair style, and manner of dress. Smith thought about the former first ladys full-bodied hair style, rather loosely rolled and pinned back. Her top aide even offered speculation on the oppositions millinery. Bill Lewis asked if there was not a good chance that she would wear a hat. November 4 meant cool weather. If so, such a hair style plus a hat would tend to give her a top-heavy appearance. It was decided, for maximum contrast, I would not wear a hat and I would wear my white hair in the usual soft waves, at medium length. No special change there.

Next Smith guessed about her opponents clothing and threw a bit of shade her way. My memory of Mrs. Roosevelts clothes led us to think that with her crowded schedule and personal temperament, she probably would not dress especially for the program. Noting that this was black and white television, Smith decided on a dark dress, simple with three-quarter length sleeves, a strand of pearls, and her trademark red rose pinned to her dress. (In the end, Smith was right about the hat: Roosevelt wore one, and a "loose-fitting beige shantung suit," Smith recounts.)

Smith planned to keep her comments short and polite. But at first that didn't provide the drama that CBS had hoped for. Her aide, Bill Lewis, reported that the director of the program moaned off stage, Talk more, Senator Smith. Eleanor is monopolizing the discussion. Indeed, Roosevelt spoke twice as many words as Smith.

Roosevelt was harshly critical of the Eisenhower Administration. Topics covered in the debate ranged from the H-bomb tests to the economy to civil rights and foreign policy. In a discussion of the Suez Canal crisis, Roosevelt declared, "We have allowed the Soviet Unionto achieve what Czarist Russia had tried to achieve for years. They have their foothold in an Arab State. They have free access to Africa. They will control the Near East unless our policies change they have also succeeded in separating us from our allies in NATO, with the result that that is probably what gave the Soviet Union the feeling that she could now move on Hungary.

Despite one participant using fewer words to make her points, there were sharp exchanges and stark policy disputes. Historian Black describes the tenor of the debate: Eleanor is testy. These two were outspoken, nationally known for their commitment to principles. You have the two consciences of the parties duking it out on TV and the gloves came off.

The Associated Press reported after the debate that United States policy in the Middle East was a topic of lively television debate yesterday between Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine). The Portland Press Herald captured the tension, stating that the two had disagreed sharply today on the wisdom of U.S. policies in the Middle East and their effect on the presidential election.

The most painful sting came with Smiths final words: Democratic Presidents, together with leaders of our Allies, chose Dwight D. Eisenhower to lead our nation to victory in World War II It is strange to see and hear Democratic leaders now accusing him of not being a leader. Why the difference? It is clearly the difference between principles and policies. At the conclusion of the debate, Roosevelt turned away from Smiths offer of a handshake and reportedly said to her companions, Did you hear what she said?

The day after the historic and unprecedented debate, Smith received a congratulatory wire from Maine Governor Carl Milliken and a Steuben glass crystal cigarette box from CBS president Frank Stanton. Eleanor Roosevelt was back to producing her 'My Day' column, which did not mention the debate. The next day, Eisenhower won re-election by 15 points.

Julian Zelizer, Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, calls the debate an event of great importance and a firstthough obviously different than 1960, when the candidates themselves debated. Surrogates debating is not the same as the candidates debating, since one of the things being evaluated is how voters see the performance of the candidates in this environment. The substance is only part of the exercise.

Still, says Zelizer, This was historically important and significant in that two extraordinarily influential women in public life took to the national stage, two decades before most Americans talk about the impact of feminism. It is an important reminder of the immense influence women have had in politics throughout the twentieth century.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
The first of former President Donald Trumps 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election case turned himself in at the Fulton County jail on Tuesday, a process that will be an early signal around how other surrenders are handled.

Scott Hall, who works as a bail bondsman in Atlanta, was charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with crimes related to his alleged involvement in the Coffee County, Georgia, voting systems breach.

His experience will likely demonstrate how most defendants in the case are treated. He had signed a bond agreement with Willis on Monday, then was given an inmate identification number and released after spending roughly an hour at the jail on Tuesday.

The Fulton County grand jury indictment accuses Hall of conspiring to unlawfully access voter data and ballot counting machines at the Coffee County election office on January 7, 2021. Hall is facing seven charges, including the racketeering count thats central to Willis prosecution, as well as several charges stemming from the Coffee County allegations.

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He spent hours inside a restricted area of the Coffee County election office when voting systems were breached in January 2021. The breach was connected to efforts by pro-Trump conspiracy theorists to find voter fraud. Hall was captured on surveillance video at the office, on the day of the breach. He testified before the grand jury in the Fulton County case and acknowledged that he gained access to a voting machine.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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A Vistara Airlines flight attendant accidentally burned a 10-year-old girl after spilling a hot beverage.

Rachna Gupta, the child's mother, said the cabin crew did not assist or apologize.

Vistara said it was the child's "playful behavior" that caused the attendant to spill the beverage.

A flight attendant on a Vistara Airlines flight spilled a hot beverage on a 10-year-old passenger. The spill caused her to suffer second-degree burns, the child's mother said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rachna Gupta, the child's mother, said in a series of posts that her daughter had asked a flight attendant for two cups of hot chocolate on a flight from New Delhi, India, to Frankfurt, Germany. But when the flight attendant opened the service tray, one of the cups spilled on her daughter.

"An unfortunate accident poorly handled . Vistara hostess didn't apologize , captain or crew members didn't apologize . After basic first aid on flt my daughter and I were left in an ambulance," Gupta wrote in a post on August 13.

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Gupta said she had to pay for her daughter's ambulance in Germany, and that Vistara only offered her "a standard scripted apology." She added that the cabin crew "lacked basic first-aid knowledge."

"Thank god I can afford to pay, wonder what would happen to people without resources," she wrote in another post.

Gupta told Insider that Vistara's CEO later reached out to her and offered to pay for her daughter's medical expenses.

"They provided first aid kit to a passenger (doctor) when he volunteered to help. They also called an ambulance on landing . One of the male crew members was helpful as well. They didn't get in touch with us for the next 31 hours till we took to social media," Gupta said in an email.

Vistara confirmed the incident to the Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News in a statement, adding that the child's behavior had caused the hot beverage to be spilled.

"An unfortunate occurrence transpired on flight UK25 from Delhi to Frankfurt on August 11, 2023. A child sustained injuries due to the spillage of hot beverage on her body. The cabin crew had served hot chocolate to the child upon the parents' request. However, due to the child's playful behavior during the service, the hot water accidentally spilled," Vistara said in the statement.

Vistara claims that the airline tended to the child's injuries.

"As per our established protocols, our crew promptly administered first aid for the spillage and enlisted the assistance of an onboard paramedic, who volunteered to aid until the flight landed in Frankfurt," Vistara said in the statement, adding that the airline has been in contact with Gupta and arranged their flight back to India.

In a statement to Insider, Vistara said Gupta's daughter "sustained injuries due to spillage of hot beverage on the body."

"Our cabin crew had served hot chocolate to the child on the request of her parents, however, the hot water spilled on her since the child was playful during the service and her hand accidentally hit the tray that caused toppling of the mug," Vistara added.

Vistara, a joint venture between Indian company Tata and Singapore Airlines, is no stranger to controversy. In June last year, Bloomberg reported that Vistara used untrained pilots to fly its planes, which resulted in a fine of one million rupees, or around $12,000.



August 22, 2023  The story has been updated with additional comments from Gupta and Vistara.

Read the original article on Insider
Florida state officials are set to discuss a proposed rule regarding restroom and changing facility designations at colleges, as part of a larger legal effort to restrict bathroom use based on assigned sex at birth.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The proposal, which the State Board of Education will consider during a meeting in Collier County, would carry out a law (HB 1521) approved by the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis in May.

The proposed rule would require state colleges to update policies and procedures pertaining to the use of restrooms and changing facilities by males or females, based on biological sex at birth.

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It includes requirements that restrooms and changing facilities be designated for exclusive use by males or females or that there are unisex restrooms or changing facilities.

The measure would require that colleges establish procedures for when any person, not a student or employee of the institution, improperly enters a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex on the institutions premises and refuses to depart when asked to do so by administrative personnel, faculty, security personnel or law enforcement.

The bill does contain some exemptions. For example, it would, for instance, exclude chaperones for young kids, custodial workers, as well as cops and emergency medical workers who are also entering for work-related reasons.

READ: Florida lawmakers pass bill banning transgender people from using bathrooms not matching birth sex

Colleges also would be required to establish disciplinary policies for administrators and instructional personnel who attempt to violate the law.

Disciplinary actions may utilize a progressive discipline process that includes verbal warnings, written reprimands, suspension without pay and termination, the proposed rule said. Second documented offenses would result in employees being terminated.

The Republican-controlled Legislature and DeSantis approved the law as part of a series of controversial moves directed towards restricting transgender people.

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Ensnared in a legal dilemma over his dual roles as Florida's ethics commission chair and head of Gov. Ron DeSantis ' Disney district, Glen Gilzean Jr. chose to keep his district position and the $400,000 salary that comes with it.

He announced his resignation as chair of the Florida Commission on Ethics in a Tuesday letter obtained by The Messenger. It's a prestigious but unpaid position, one he was appointed to by DeSantis.

While the commission's own website says "No member may hold any public employment," Gilzean said he was unaware of any possible conflict.

"Regrettably, if I had been aware of any issue presented by serving in the two positions, I would have addressed it immediately," Gilzean said.

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That puts him at even more odds with the commission's general counsel, Steven Zuilkowski.

Gilzean requested a legal opinion from the counsel last week, after questions had been raised about him having both positions.

"Based on our conversations from a few months ago, I remained on the Commission on Ethics after starting employment with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District," Gilzean wrote in his request.

Glenton Gilzean Jr.

In the opinion, Zuilkowski advised Gilzean he would have to resign from one of his positions, since him being the Disney district administrator counted as "public employment." He also denied being part of any conversation where Gilzean was told he was OK doing both jobs.

"You informed us that you had received legal advice elsewhere about holding both positions," Zuilkowski wrote "You stated you would contact me if you wanted my legal opinion... I was not present for any other conversations you may have had with [Kerrie Stillman, the commission's executive director]."

That prompted a brief, bickering back-and-forth over email between Stillman, Zuilkowski and Gilzean that was obtained by The Florida Bulldog, the online news source that first reported the conflicting roles.

"I also came to learn that the legal opinion I requested from the Commissions General Counsel was simultaneously released to the media," he said in his resignation letter. "The Commission General Counsel also decided in the memorandum, unnecessarily, to disclose and mischaracterize previous communications I had with him while seeking legal advice relating to my service on the Commission on Ethics."

The DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board unanimously approved Gilzean as administrator in May. His $400,000 salary is $45,000 more than the last administrator got, but the board said the new role came with more responsibilities and the knowledge the person filling it would have to deal with litigation from Disney.

Gilzean, ethics lawyer at odds: 'Conflict': DeSantis ally can't lead both ethics board and Disney district, lawyer says

Questions over dual roles rise: DeSantis ethics appointee, Disney district head faces ethics questions for dual roles

Back story: How the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District came to be

Disney used to control the district, which takes care of roads, construction permits, fire protection, water and waste collection and other infrastructure needs across 25,000 acres of property in Orange and Osceola counties.

But that was back when it was called the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Last year, Disney spoke out spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by critics, which restricts instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in schools.

DeSantis and his GOP legislative allies responded with actions Disney says were retaliatory and a violation of its free speech rights, such as stripping Disney's control of the district, renaming it and giving it to the governor.

In April, the theme park giant filed a federal lawsuit against the governor.

Gilzean and the board, along with acting Secretary of the Department of Economic Opportunity Meredith Ivey, are also named in the suit. The board filed a legal salvo of its own against Disney in state court.

In interviews, writings and at the podium, DeSantis has repeatedly connected the legislative crackdown on Disney with what he calls their "woke" criticism of his signature parents rights law. But at other times and in his legal arguments, he said those efforts were focused on fairness, putting Disney on "a level playing field with every other business in Florida."

Ramifications of the takeover are still far from settled, even outside the courts.

Last month, the board, encumbered with litigation costs due to the Disney dispute and other start-up expenses, said it's eyeing cutting $8 million used to pay off-duty law enforcement officers who exclusively patrol Disney properties. Chairman Martin Garcia called it "wasteful spending."

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. Twitter: @DouglasSoule.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida ethics chair resigns to keep DeSantis Disney district role
There is power in coming together as a community in the face of immense hardship and challenges.

One Arkansas community is feeling that for a local food bank that saved and distributed over 60,000 meals to area residents who lost power during severe storms earlier this summer.

The Arkansas Foodbank recovered the food after a Kroger in North Little Rock lost power. This included perishable foods in the freezer and refrigerator sections at risk of spoiling. In two days, the bank recovered 76,833 pounds of food, which it was able to give to communities in Central Arkansas.

Although the food bank does not solve food insecurity or the persistent inaccessibility to foods that help ensure a healthy, active life, it can relieve immediate hunger in the wake of disasters. This is an immediate need for many individuals who have experienced displacement or, in this case, have their food go bad due to power outages.

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The food recovery efforts also direct food that may have otherwise been thrown into a landfill into the hands (and mouths) of people who can use it.

When food waste is deposited into a landfill, it releases planet-warming methane gas as it decomposes. In addition, food loss and waste release an estimated 187 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere each year  which is about the annual pollution of 45 coal-burning power plants.

Although Krogers donation was perceived as generous on the food banks social media, it was not specified if the company received any tax write-off for its donation. These incentives encourage companies to donate the food they could not otherwise profit from  and puts the accountability and capacity needed to move the food to the food bank rather than the corporation.

Individuals who viewed the food banks TikTok applauded both their efforts, as well as Krogers willingness to donate the soon-to-be-spoiled food.

Thats the way it should be done!!! one viewer said. Love seeing a community come together to help each other!!

Thats awesome! I love that store, another commented.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Then-Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell at a House Judiciary Committee meeting on April 3, 2019. She lost her seat in 2020 to Republican Carlos Gimenez after a single term.

Then-Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell at a House Judiciary Committee meeting on April 3, 2019. She lost her seat in 2020 to Republican Carlos Gimenez after a single term.

Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) is launching a campaign to oust Republican Sen. Rick Scott , she announced Tuesday morning, becoming the highest-profile Democrat to announce a Senate bid in Republican-trending Florida.

Her entry into the race marks an attempt by Democrats to make Florida a major Senate battleground in 2024, a year when keeping their 51-seat majority in Congress upper chamber intact depends on defending a number of seats in deep-red political territory, and their offensive opportunities are limited to Florida and Texas, another large and expensive state where Democrats have struggled.

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A poll commissioned by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and released last week showed Scotts approval rating was underwater in Florida and argued that Mucarsel-Powell has a path to victory. Florida Democrats, however, are on a lengthy statewide losing streak as Latino voters in South Florida  Mucarsel-Powells home turf  desert the party for the GOP.

Mucarsel-Powell, a fundraising executive and native of Ecuador, was the first South American immigrant elected to Congress when she won a House seat in 2018. In her launch video, she emphasized Scotts opposition to abortion rights and gun control and reiterated many attacks the White House and other top Democrats launched against a policy agenda Scott rolled out when he chaired Senate Republicans campaign arm during the 2022 midterm elections.

He cut taxes for himself, but hed raise them on you, Mucarsel-Powell says in the ad. He wrote the plan that could take away the Social Security and Medicare you worked and paid for.

Mucarsel-Powell aims to contrast her own humble origins  she notes she worked in a doughnut shop for minimum wage after immigrating to the United States when she was 14  with Scotts career as a CEO at a company that made a fortune robbing Medicare, as she puts it in her launch video.

Scott is known for spending heavily to boost his own campaigns  hes poured hundred of millions of dollars into two winning runs for governor and a winning Senate campaign in 2018  and Mucarsel-Powell will need significant fundraising to keep up and have a shot at winning in Florida, whose multiple massive media markets make it one of the most expensive states in the country to campaign in.

Mucarsel-Powell lost her seat in 2020 to Republican Carlos Gimenez after a single term in Congress, as then-President Donald Trump romped in Florida, including making unprecedented gains in Latino-heavy South Florida.

Since leaving office, Mucarsel-Powell has worked as an adviser to Giffords, the gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Mucarsel-Powell, at the moment, will be a heavy favorite in the primary against a variety of lesser-known candidate and potentially former Rep. Alan Grayson, a scandal-plagued progressive who has filed paperwork to run for the Senate but has not actually announced a bid yet.
Thaksin Shinawatra , the ousted fugitive former prime minister of Thailand, returned to the country Tuesday for the first time after more than 15 years in self-exile, reintroducing a towering and divisive figure at a time when the kingdoms often fraught political scene is in a fresh state of flux.

Thaksin, the head of a famed political dynasty and a former owner of Manchester City Football Club, was prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006 while in New York attending a UN meeting.

He returned to Thailand briefly before fleeing the country in 2008 over a corruption conviction and upon his arrival Tuesday the Supreme Court sentenced him to eight years in prison. However, analysts say it is unclear whether he will serve that time.

Thaksins return after so many years coincides with a parliamentary vote for a new prime minister, with lawmakers hoping to break a political deadlock more than three months after elections were won by a popular progressive party that has been stymied by the kingdoms political elites.

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For weeks, Thaksin, 74, has hinted at his homecoming but the first real sign came Tuesday morning when videos showed his sister Yingluck Shinawatra , also a former prime minister who lives in self-exile, hugging her brother before he boarded a plane in Singapore.

Thousands of people tracked Thaksins private jet as it landed at Bangkoks Don Mueang International Airport at 9 a.m. (10 p.m. ET Monday). He exited the airports private jet terminal some 90 minutes later alongside his children and greeted a crowd of supporters before bowing to a portrait of Thailands king.

Thaksins daughter Paetongtarn posted a photo of her father meeting his infant granddaughter for the first time.

Thaksin was taken into custody and is now under the care of Thailands Corrections Department. Following a medical check-up, doctors assessed him to be in a fragile group and his health condition  a record of heart disease and a lung infection from Covid-19  means he will be held in a separate room with 24-hour surveillance, Corrections Department spokesperson Sitthi Sutivong said at a press conference.

Thaksin can apply for a royal pardon but no requests have been made so far by the former prime minister or his family, Sitthi said. Due to the large number of guests wishing to visit Thaksin, a special visiting room will also be arranged for him, he added.

Divided nation

With his populist policies that appealed to Thailands rural and working class, Thaksin created a political juggernaut that has dominated Thai politics in some form for the past 20 years.

His return came on the same day Thailands parliament voted for real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin to become the countrys next prime minister as the head of a coalition led by the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party, which came second in the May election.

In a stunning about-face, Pheu Thai on Monday struck a deal with its former military rivals in a bid to secure enough parliamentary votes to form a government.

Though its election campaign included keeping the military out of power, its 11-party alliance includes military-backed parties Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation Party.

Both those parties are affiliated with coup leader and outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, and linked to the military junta that toppled a democratically elected government headed by Thaksins sister Yingluck.

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while flanked by his son Panthongtae Shinawatra and daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand on August 22. - Athit Perawongmetha

The move also subverts the will of millions of Thais who voted overwhelmingly for progressive parties in the May election, delivering a powerful rebuke to the countrys military-backed establishment that has ruled Thailand since the coup.

Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew said in a statement Monday that the coalition would not include Move Forward Party, which won the most votes in the election.

Move Forward won on a platform of radical change and had pledged to introduce royal reform  a taboo topic in Thailand, where any frank discussion of the monarchy is fraught with the threat of prison because of strict lese majeste laws, known as Article 112.

With Move Forward now in the opposition, the alliance is likely to add fuel to the fire of the progressive movements young support base with the potential for mass street protests.

A survey by the National Institute of Development Administration found about 64% of 1,310 respondents disagreed or totally disagreed with the idea of the Pheu Thai party forming a special government with military-backed rivals, according to Reuters.

Who is Thaksin Shinawatra?

It is into the febrile political atmosphere that Thaksins return now adds a further layer of the unknown.

A telecommunications billionaire, Thaksin rose to power after a landslide election win in 2001. He grew hugely popular with the rural poor thanks to his offers of affordable medical care, debt relief and his anti-establishment stance  and eventually businesses warmed to him too, largely due to his trademark Thaksinomics that ushered in an era of economic success.

The policies, which included loans and debt moratoriums for farmers as well as subsidized fuel prices and greater access to healthcare and education were aimed at rural Thais, who make up the majority of the countrys population  but they were anathema to the countrys rich elites and conservatives who accused Thaksin of being a dangerous and corrupt populist.

Thailands military has a long track record of seizing power with more than a dozen successful coups since 1932.

In 2006, Thaksin was ousted and, facing a potential prison sentence over corruption charges, went into self-imposed exile.

Thaksin Shinawatra pictured inside a plane at an unknown location in this still image released on August 22. - Yingluck Shinawatra/Facebook/Reuters

He became a threat because his popularity was competing against the establishment, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science and senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.

Despite Thaksins physical absence, he has retained an outsized influence on Thai politics. Until this year, political parties allied to Thaksin had won the most seats in every election since 2001, but have struggled to hold on to power due to the military exerting its influence, whether through coups or other means.

For instance, Thaksins sister Yingluck became the countrys first female prime minister in 2011  but she was dismissed from office in 2014 after the Constitutional Court ruled she had abused her position.

Former army chief Prayut then seized power from the Pheu Thai government, and Yingluck followed Thaksin into self-imposed exile. Prayut has ruled Thailand since, announcing in July that he would not seek re-election and will retire from politics.

His opponents and enemies have done everything to (Thaksin), including overthrowing him in the military coup, not once but twice  in 2006 against him, in 2014 against his sister. They have dissolved his parties twice, said Thitinan. Weve gone through so much in Thailand.

Thaksins daughter Paetongtarn stepped into the limelight this year, selected by the Pheu Thai party as one of three prime ministerial candidates for the May election  before the Move Forward Party swept to its unexpected victory.

Among the supporters who turned up to welcome the former prime minster home was 77-year-old Jumrad Thanomsap.

I have missed so much. I wish him all good things, I wish he will live long and be our guiding light, Thanomsap told CNN. Although he is no longer a prime minister, I wish he will continue taking care Pheu Thai party and be a moral support for Thai people. Farmers, vendors are thinking of him.

Kanita Thichote, a 51-year-old who flew to Bangkok from southern Thailand for Thaksins return said it was finally the day I have been waiting for 17 years.

He is always a prime minister in my heart. His policies are touchable by laymen, and he made everyone equal. During his time, grassroot people were living good well, she said, adding that she believes Thaksins return will help make the country stronger.

I have been waiting for today for such a long time. I was speechless, and even cried. The feeling I had today is like I won a lotto.

But some young Thais are less sure of what the future will bring. Twenty-five-year-old Move Forward supporter Onnicha Pinthong said she was disappointed the opposition party had been blocked from government by the conservative establishment.

She added: I had high hope that our future - my childrens future - they would have better lives. I feel quite disappointed. I still dont what is going to happen.

A window of opportunity

The meteoric rise of Move Forward could have provided an opportunity for Thaksins long-awaited return to Thailand, analysts say.

The party goes further than even Pheu Thai ever had in calling for reform, including proposed changes to the military, the economy, the decentralization of power, and reforms to the previously untouchable monarchy.

Its backed by many young people who saw that Thailand was going nowhere, said Thitinan. The military, the royalist conservative establishment was keeping Thailand down and squandering their future.

But that agenda poses a risk to the establishment  a powerful clique that maintains deep ties to the military, royalist and business establishments. It also takes the heat off Thaksin, who for years had posed the biggest obstacle to Thailands leaders, said Thitinan.

This is now a window for Thaksin to make a deal because he no longer is the threat, he said. Hes 74 years old, his party lost the election for the first time  Move Forward is the real threat, and therefore Thaksin is making a move to come back.

Political observers have speculated that Thaksin may have struck some kind of deal with Thai authorities for his return, given his court convictions and the charges against him.

Thaksin still enjoys solid support from a loyal base that may celebrate his homecoming  but he also has his fair share of critics who point to his alleged corruption, massive wealth and autocratic style.

And the nation he will return to is very different from the one he left. The rising discontent, especially among the younger generation, has seen previously unthinkable shows of dissent  including mass protests in 2020 demanding reform of the monarchy.

To me, Thai politics has moved beyond Thaksin, said Thitinan. Its no longer about Thaksin populism in Thailand  its about institutional reforms of the royalist establishment that the Move Forward Party is proposing.

Any agreement Thaksin strikes with the Thai establishment could be seen as a betrayal of the principles he had once championed.

Pheu Thai has been a victim of the royalist establishment for two decades, and now theyre making a deal with them to keep Move Forward away and out, Thitinan said.

CNNs Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this report.

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A rendering of the luxury Alba Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, which has units starting at less than $3 million. It is scheduled to open in 2025.

Welcome to The Dirt! Im real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.

The luxury condominium Alba Palm Beach, which is really in West Palm Beach but does have a view of Palm Beach, held a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month at 3 p.m. when the temperature was 94 degrees but felt like Death Valley if Death Valley was wrapped in a wet wool blanket.

That didn't deter local dignitaries like West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James from attending in a full suit and tie and jacket. Politicians' superhero strength must include the ability to toss a ceremonial shovel of dirt without dissolving into a puddle in weather that is hotter than the surface of the sun.

Stay up to date on South Florida's sizzling real estate market and sign up for The Dirt weekly newsletter, delivered every Tuesday! Exclusively for Palm Beach Post subscribers.

On the island, one former president is getting a doozy of a tax bill, according to Palm Beach Daily News reporter Darrell Hofheinz.

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And I just can't anymore with Banyan Cay. Seriously folks, this saga has got to end, which is exactly what an attorney said following the failed bankruptcy sale and a hearing last week. This is like a bad television series that should have called it quits after Season 7 when Fox Mulder got abducted by aliens.

Judge calls arguments in Banyan Cay hearing 'absurd'

Banyan Cay Resort under construction June 7, 2022 in West Palm Beach. MEGHAN MCCARTHY/The Palm Beach Daily News

The Dirt has it on good authority that the Banyan Cay drama is not over. There's a Season 8 in the works but for now we'll focus on the hearing last week where a very patient federal judge wasn't having it with the argument that a new buyer was waiting in the wings to snap up the project.

Lender U.S. Real Estate Credit Holdings said the Banyan Cay saga needs to end, and it be allowed to purchase the project with a $96.9 million credit bid slated to kick in if the previous sale went kaput. The judge agreed, but....to be continued.

Former President Donald Trump likely to see nearly $2 million property tax bill

The exterior of Mar-A-Lago on Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Donald Trump is a billionaire presidential candidate, a former president and, most importantly, a resident of the Town of Palm Beach. (Sarcasm here folks, please stop the rage-typing). But it is his residences, and businesses, that are going to cost a pretty penny in taxes this year.

Here's the kicker though, the potential $1.84 million bill is less than last year's estimated bill. Find out why in luxury real estate reporter Darrell Hofheinz's story.

New luxe waterfront condominium in West Palm Beach has supercalifragilistic porches

A rendering of a terrace view from the luxury condominium Alba Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, which has units starting at less than $3 million. It is slated open in 2025.

The Alba Palm Beach is going up along North Flagler in West Palm Beach with luxury amenities, yadda, yadda, yadda. Right? Every condo is luxe now. But, the Alba has a few unique benefits. It's truly waterfront with the Lake Worth Lagoon providing easy access to the Atlantic.

It also has oversized patios with outdoor kitchens, which apparently is a rarity in the new luxury condo market. What about a bounce house? I can work the gate. I have experience. No, really.

The Alba is already 40% sold so don't muck around yadda, yadda, yaddaing if you want a unit.

A breadfruit tree grows in Loxahatchee Groves, which is weird

Bobby Biswas' wife Mas Biswas and their daughter Jessica in front of what is believed to be the northernmost fruiting outdoor breadfruit tree in the U.S., if not the world.

There's a breadfruit tree growing in Loxahatchee Groves, which is unusual because they are very cold sensitive and haven't been able to survive long north of the Keys. But, some scientists think breadfruit, which is a staple in the Caribbean, may be creeping north because of climate change.

Is breadfruit an invasive species? I don't know, but you can make vodka out of it. It also is a staple food source in the Caribbean. Why is this a real estate story? It's the intersection of real estate, landscaping and climate change. And it's just fun.

Live lightly.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump property tax bill is a doozy and West Palm Beach waterfront condo breaks ground
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) will challenge incumbent GOP Sen. Rick Scott in a race that could prove pivotal in attempts by Democrats to retain control of the U.S. Senate.

Mucarsel-Powell, who immigrated from Ecuador at the age of 14, is a Spanish-speaking Hispanic candidate from Miami-Dade who gives Democrats an opportunity to reassert themselves in one of the most crucial counties in the state. Shes jumping into the race amid a steady stream of encouragement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others.

Ive been hearing from a lot of Florida families and they are ready for new leadership, for a change, said Mucarsel-Powell in an interview, where she lashed out at Scott as a complete fraud who has failed Floridians.

Mucarsel-Powell, who officially entered the race on Tuesday, said she came to her decision after lengthy conversations with family members about what could be an expensive and difficult race, especially since Scott has shown a willingness to spend tens of millions of his own money in past elections.

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I dont make any assumptions or underestimate how difficult it is going to be, Mucarsel-Powell said. This is a divided country. Its a divided state. But what I have realized, what I have learned is that when you listen to Floridians across the state and you put their interests first, no amount of money is going to stop them from sending the right person to serve them.

Many have viewed Florida as a battleground state for the past two decades, but it has been trending more and more Republican in recent elections. Former President Donald Trump won the state in 2020  and Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection by more than 19 points last year. National Democratic groups last year did not invest large amounts of money in either the governors race or the Senate race between former Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

Still, Democrats contend that Scott is vulnerable. He has narrowly won all three of his races for office, including his razor-thin victory over then-incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in 2018. Scott has never run during a presidential election year when turnout is expected to be higher.

Scott has also gained outsized attention  and criticism from fellow Republicans  for his Rescue America plan. The proposal initially called for all Americans to pay income tax and for federal legislation to sunset in five years, including social security. Scott wound up backtracking his proposal and has insisted he would never support getting rid of social security.

Wed like to welcome yet another failed congressional candidate to the crowded Democrat primary, said Priscilla Ivasco, Scotts communications director, in a statement Tuesday.

NRSC spokesperson Philip Letsou also criticized Mucarsel-Powell in a statement Tuesday, calling her a socialist and saying Florida voters will reject her again.



During the interview, Mucarsel-Powell brought up Scotts convoluted positions on entitlement programs, but also took aim at his business past by noting his ouster as CEO of a company that later paid a $1.7 billion fine to settle allegations of Medicare fraud. Scott was not personally charged with any wrongdoing.

When asked whether national Democratic groups will bolster her campaign, Mucarsel-Powell said that Im not naive at all to think everyone is going to come to our rescue here in the state of Florida. She added, however, that shell work to show that this is a race worth investing in.

Scotts campaign has already been openly dismissive of Mucarsel-Powells candidacy, saying even before she entered the race that she was a failed congressional candidate and too liberal for Florida voters. Scott has already been actively campaigning and has promised to visit all 67 counties ahead of next years elections. Over the last few months, he has also been showing up at county GOP fundraising dinners, a move that Republican leaders have hailed.

Mucarsel-Powell will likely have to deal with a Democratic primary ahead of a November 2024 election. Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is already in the race, as is Navy veteran Phil Ehr, who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in 2020.

But state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the lead Democrat in the state House, announced on Monday that she will not challenge Scott. Driskell, whose decision was first reported by NBC News, said in a statement that while Scott does not deserve to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate, she added she realized that my work in the Florida House is not done yet.

Driskell said she needs to continue to fight against policies she said have eroded education, taken away womens freedoms, and doing nothing as Florida become too expensive for Floridians.

Scott will likely have to run in a primary as well, although no well-established Republicans have declared their intention to challenge him. Keith Gross, an attorney and businessman, has raised nearly $700,000 for his GOP primary challenge.
NEW CITY  Michael Bongiorno has worked as a prosecutor and defense attorney, making cases before judges and juries for several decades.

Bongiorno, 67, will now sit on the bench making case decisions and casting verdicts and sentences as Clarkstown town justice. The Town Board appointed Bongiorno as a judge on Tuesday night.

Bongiorno said Tuesday that he will run for a four-year term on Nov. 7 among five candidates seeking three seats on the court.

Former Rockland District Attorney Michael Bongiorno is being appointed Clarkstown justice on Aug. 22, 2023

Justice courts handle misdemeanor criminal cases, felony arraignments, and civil cases, such as landlord-tenant issues, small claims disputes, traffic tickets, and zoning violations. The part-time position pays $93,063, according to the town's salary schedule for 2023.

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Bongiorno, a Republican, succeeds Republican Scott Ugell, who sat on the bench for three decades before announcing his retirement on June 25 in the face of an investigation into improprieties by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Bongiorno, however, can put on the black robes after board members appointed him and he took the oath of office from Orangetown Justice Patrick Loftus. He will start a regular court schedule in September.

"I am honored the Town Board has given me this opportunity to continue my career-long involvement in public service," Bongiorno said. "It's important for attorneys and others to commit to public service. This is a chance for me to use my extensive experience in the law to serve the public."

Clarkstown consider several candidates

Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann said several attorneys sought the position but Bongiorno's career credentials and reputation for integrity won out. Hoehmann said the board needed to appoint a third justice to ease a backlog of cases that have developed since Ugell resigned in June.

The board voted 3-1 with one abstention to appoint Bongiorno. Hoehman, Michael Graziano, and Donald Franchino. all Republicans, supported Bongiorno's appointment. Democrat Patrick Carroll voted against the appointment. GOP Councilman Frank Borelli abstained.

"Hes eminently qualified," Hoehmann said. "He's someone, as a three-term district attorney and defense attorney, who has a highly respected reputation. The voters will decide but in the short term, I don't think we could pick anyone more qualified."

Clarkstown Town Board, from left, Patrick Carroll, Michael Graziano, Supervisor George Hoehmann, Frank Borelli and Donald Franchino listening to residents speak about repealing term limits during Town Hall public hearing on Jan. 4, 2023

The Clarkstown Republican Committee chose Bongiorno for justice to succeed Ugell, whose term would have expired in December 2025. The party's executive committee could place a candidate on the ballot because Ugell announced he was leaving office after the June primary.

On the ballot in November are Bongiorno, Democratic justices Howard Gerber and David Ascher, along with Democrat Aimee Pollak, and Republican Kevin Hobbs.

Bongiorno said he expects a slight learning curve in some legal areas since he's not totally familiar with all civil procedures, such as landlord-tenant issues. The state provides attorneys to advise justices on issues and the law.

Bongiorno said he would continue his private practice, noting he still represents people charged with homicides and other crimes. He can practice in all courts except local justice courts, unless the judge is a non-lawyer.

Bongiorno handles what are called 18B cases, representing clients under specific financial levels who can't be represented by the Rockland Public Defender's Office.

"I don't have to give up my private practice and I will continue to take cases, but I will be limited," he said.

Bongiorno's experience included prosecuting from 1981 to 1995 for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. He received a gubernatorial appointment as Rockland district attorney in 1995 after Kenneth Gribetz resigned after pleading guilty to two federal misdemeanor charges.

Bongiorno won two four-year terms as district attorney, losing to Thomas Zugibe by a razor-thin margin in 2007. He then became an attorney for the New York State Attorney General's Office Organized Crime Task Force from 2008-2011.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.

Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Ex-DA Michael Bongiorno gets Clarkstown nod for judge pending election
In a grim development, Seth Estes Vanover, a 51-year-old resident of Diana, Texas, has pleaded guilty to attempting to entice an 11-year-old child from Florida into engaging in sexual activity through an online social messaging application.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the guilty plea, which could lead to a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years imprisonment, up to life, and a potential life term of supervised release.

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The arrest of Vanover took place on October 12, 2022, at the Longview Police Department in Texas, where he was employed as a sworn law enforcement officer. The suspect currently remains detained, awaiting his sentencing hearing.

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The alarming case came to light when an undercover FBI agent initiated an online operation on July 25, 2022, designed to identify adults seeking inappropriate contact with minors. Posing as the parent of an 11-year-old child, the agent posted a notice in a public chat room on an online social messaging app. Responding to the notice, Vanover, using the pseudonym jattleson, reached out to the agent via private messaging on the app. Shockingly, Vanover confirmed his interest in minors and sent explicit materials, including child erotica, to the agent. The discussions escalated further, as Vanover expressed his intentions to meet the purported child for sexual activity.

Subsequent conversations between Vanover and the undercover agent occurred on August 8 and 10, 2022, as well as September 19, 2022. During these exchanges, the two discussed their plans to meet in Florida, where Vanover intended to engage in sexual activity with the child.

Disturbingly, Vanover confirmed that the child was open to such acts and even provided explicit instructions on the intended sexual activity.

The case took a decisive turn on October 12, 2022, when FBI agents apprehended Vanover at the Longview Police Department. On the same day, Vanover resigned from his position. Law enforcement officers discovered a cell phone in a patrol vehicle used by Vanover.

An examination of the device revealed a horrifying cache of over 230 videos and 130 photos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants, toddlers, and young children. Furthermore, the phone contained explicit written conversations Vanover had with other app users, along with child sexual abuse materials.

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The investigation was carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with cooperation from the Longview Police Department. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

The alarming incident underscores the urgency of combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. This case was brought to light under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 to address the escalating issue.

The initiative unites federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute individuals involved in child sexual exploitation, while also focusing on rescuing victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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Late last month, Rosmira Dalena Garcia Dominguez was riding her motorcycle to work when it collided with a truck attempting to turn at Prospect Road and Lemay Avenue.

When Fort Collins police and EMTs arrived to the early morning July 28 crash, Dominguez was unresponsive. She was later pronounced dead at the scene. The crash was still under investigation as of Friday, according to police.

The tragedy of Dominguez's death would soon unfold into another. The 35-year-old single mother had come to the U.S. from Colombia less than a month before, seeking asylum with her 9-year-old daughter, Cora.

Later that day, Fort Collins Police Lt. Jerrod Kinsman heard of the crash and Cora's situation. She was suddenly alone, without her only parent and in an unfamiliar place 1,500 miles away from her extended family in Colombia. She had only been in Fort Collins for a few weeks and didn't speak English.

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"We're both parents and just picturing our kids going through that was just heart-wrenching," said Paulina Campis, Kinsman's partner.

After learning about Cora's situation, Campis contacted the caseworker assigned to the girls case. Her family wanted to take Cora in, Campis told her.

"Just knowing that I speak Spanish and we could provide a caring, loving home for however long she needed  it wasnt even a question," Campis said. "We just knew it was the right thing to offer."

The following two weeks were a whirlwind marked by tremendous grief, slivers of joy and several governmental hurdles stretching from Northern Colorado to Colombia  where Campis and Kinsman ultimately returned Cora to her family last weekend.

Jerrod Kinsman and Paulina Campis with Cora in Colombia.

From strangers to foster parents

After Dominguez's motorcycle crash, Cora was picked up by child protective services and placed with Campis and Kinsman later that evening.

"That first night, she tried to blame herself for what happened," said Kinsman, adding that Cora believed her mom would still be alive if she hadn't come to Fort Collins looking for a better life for her daughter.

Campis put Cora to bed, but quickly realized how scared and lonely she was.

"She said it was the first night ever that she would sleep alone without her mom," Campis said.

That night, and every night for the next two weeks, Campis stayed with Cora until she fell asleep.

During her time with Campis, Kinsman and their kids, the family sought to give Cora a glimpse of their life.

"We try to fill our time with happiness and joy," Kinsman said. "The whole time she was here  except at night  you saw a 9-year-old girl being a 9-year-old girl."

After her mother's July 28 death, 9-year-old Cora lived with Fort Collins Police Lieutenant Jerrod Kinsman and his partner, Paulina Campis, for two weeks.

In the weeks after her mother's death, Campis said Cora was in constant touch with her family in Colombia. She had a phone and was always making video calls to her grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins.

With a loving family waiting for her, Campis said the plan to get Cora back to them was set in motion.

Due to Cora's asylum status, Campis, Kinsman and Cora's caseworker had a two-week deadline to make it happen. Cora's family wasn't able to get the visas necessary to travel to the U.S., so Campis and Kinsman would accompany her home.

Cora's caseworker coordinated her return with the Colombian child protection system while Campis and Kinsman planned a local memorial service for Dominguez and tried to figure out how to get her body back to her family.

The couple set up an account at Fort Collins' Alpine Bank to cover the costs of sending Dominguez's body to Colombia. Ultimately, her family agreed to her being cremated instead and Allnutt Funeral Service donated their services, Kinsman said.

Donations made to Dominguez's fund will now go to Cora, Kinsman said, adding that several donations to the roughly $3,500 fund came from members of The Colombian Foundation in Colorado, who sprang into action when they heard of Dominguez's death. The fund was still accepting donations as of Friday. Anyone interested can contact Alpine Bank or Venmo a donation to @FBO_Cora.

On Aug. 10, members of the foundation  as well as Fort Collins community members  attended Dominguez's memorial service, which was held Aug. 10 at Timberline Church. The service was livestreamed so Dominguez's family could watch it in Colombia, Campis said.

The journey from Colorado to Colombia

With their deadline looming, things fell into place for Cora's return to Colombia at the last minute, Kinsman said.

Knowing that Cora's aunt was approved to take her once they got to Colombia, Campis, Kinsman and Cora's caseworker flew with her to Bucaramanga earlier this month.

While waiting in baggage claim at the airport, Cora got the first glimpse of her family, who were waiting with balloons and signs behind a set of sliding doors.

At her first chance, "she just ran to her aunt," Campis said. "It was such a big moment."

The family invited them back to their home in Giron, where they cooked a giant meal. There, Kinsman handed the urn of Dominguez's cremains to her mother. He'd been carefully guarding it in his backpack throughout the long journey.

"Delivering Cora was such a happy moment for them. They were crying happy tears," Campis said. "But this was the moment we were all dreading a little bit."

"They said, 'we can finally start grieving now,' " she added.

Paulina Campis and Jerrod Kinsman pose with Cora and her family after returning the girl to Colombia.

Campis said the couple experienced every emotion you can imagine when they left Cora with her family and headed back to Colorado Aug. 12.

They were happy she was home with her family again, but angry at the hand Cora was dealt.

"They were in Colombia and came to the U.S. and now shes back home," Campis said. "It makes me so angry that she had to go through all of that and then go back in the end without her mom."

"It was later that we really processed that together," Kinsman added. "You can see the sacrifice that her mom was willing to make, and her mom worked so hard to get her into this country. She risked everything knowing this would be a better life for her and her daughter."

Cora's aunt is awaiting one final custody hearing in Colombia this fall. After that, the two plan on moving to Lima, Peru, where Cora will grow up.

Like she did in Fort Collins, Campis said Cora has been making a lot of video calls since she got home. Only now, they're to Campis and Kinsman.

"We know its a relationship were going to have probably forever," Campis said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins couple steps in to help girl orphaned by motorcycle crash
Geraldine Williams family has lived in Fort Worths Historic Southside neighborhood since the early 1960s. Three generations of her family have grown up on East Broadway Avenue.

Williams remembers walking to James E. Guinn school on the other side of the freeway and enjoying the neighborhood stores along Evans Avenue. Most of the homes are single story bungalows built on 5,000-square foot lots, but there are some older two story Victorian homes that date to the 1920s.

You used to see people walking around all the time, but not anymore, she said. The area struggles with illegal dumping, drug use, and people camping in empty lots or on peoples doorsteps.

Even with these challenges, home values in Historic Southside increased over 80% in 2021, according to a recent report from the city of Fort Worth called the Neighborhood Conservation Plan and Housing Affordability Strategy.

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The report was created as a road map for how the city could add affordable housing, and protect longtime residents from getting pushed out due to rising rents and increasing home values that bring higher property taxes.

The goal is to have every Fort Worth resident live in a decent, safe and affordable housing regardless of what neighborhood they live in, said Victor Turner, director of the citys neighborhood services department.

Sharon Armstrong, a lifelong Stop Six resident, talks about the importance of home ownership in Fort Worths Black community.

The report also shows areas of the city where residents could already be getting pushed out due to increasing home values and rising rents. Most of the residents in these areas identify as Hispanic or Black, according to the report.

Fort Worth is also adding jobs at a faster rate than it is adding housing, which is increasing home values and putting ownership out of reach for most residents. The income required to buy a home in Fort Worth has roughly doubled in the last 10 years.

The city identified three indicators that might make a neighborhood unaffordable for longtime residents: Rising home values, rapidly declining poverty, and an increase in college educated residents.

The report lists of strategies to help people stay in their homes, but some residents said they are skeptical the city will take steps to put those recommendations into action.

Whos at risk?

The report looked at homeowner age, income, education and home value to determine the neighborhoods where rising costs might push out longtime residents.

Areas where more than a third of households were led by someone older than 55 and where home values were rising faster than incomes were marked as high risk.

Areas with a rapid increase in household income combined with a rapid increase in the number of residents with bachelors degrees were marked as places where longtime residents may already be getting pushed out, according to the citys report.

Neighborhoods in both categories were almost entirely in neighborhoods where the majority of the population identifies as non-white.

A family earning Fort Worths 2021 median income of $64,576 could not afford to buy a home priced at the median $296,000, according to the report. The only neighborhoods where housing remains affordable are mostly in southeast Fort Worth, east of Interstate 35W and south of Interstate 30.

There are also some affordable areas around Como, Las Vegas Trail and the north side around Meacham International Airport, according to the report.

That puts pressure on those neighborhoods, which have lower housing costs but also higher concentrations of families living in poverty.

New homes in Historic Southside, where the median household income is $31,442, are selling for an unheard of $250,000 to $350,000.

Houses in the area used to sell for between $50,000 to $100,000, said Demetria Elisher, a home builder who grew up in the Historic Southside.

Some of the increase is the result of rising land prices combined with added costs for labor and materials, Elisher said.

She paid $5,000 for her first lot in the area in 2017, and $60,000 for her most recent project in 2022.

She also acknowledged her high standards for home building have contributed to higher prices.

Does that affect people having a place to stay sometime? Yes, but thats not my intention, she said.

Help for neighborhoods

The report put forth a series of strategies to increase the amount of affordable housing and help protect neighborhoods.

Some are things Fort Worth is doing already, like the neighborhood improvement program, which targets city funds to a single neighborhood to clear vacant lots, fix sidewalks and install streetlights.

Lifelong Stop Six resident Sharon Armstrong has been impressed by the effect of the program on her neighborhood, saying it finally feels like the city is listening to residents when before they would hear you, but they wouldnt hear you.

Lifelong Stop Six resident Sharon Armstrong said she was impressed with the citys efforts to improve her neighborhood.

Armstrong remembers the dirt roads, running to get drinking water from a well, and the underdeveloped rural community that was Stop Six in the 1960s. She lived on the corner of Village Creek Street and Cottey Street where her father bought his first cow across the street, the site of a dairy farm and oil well.

One thing thats important back in those days, African-Americans couldnt own. They wouldnt sell to African-Americans, Armstrong said. So by us having our own house that actually sheltered us from a lot of the racism that occurred.

The city is proposing doubling the size of that program in the 2024 budget to be able to target two neighborhoods instead of one.

Help for housing

The reports strategies around housing call for attacking both the costs of building new homes and the cost of ownership.

It proposes establishing a land bank in which the city would sell tax foreclosed or other city owned properties at lower prices to cut down on new home costs. The city could also require these properties be used for affordable housing.

The city of Dallas established its program in 2004, which led to the construction of 674 units of housing for low income home owners.

The city of Fort Worth has 200 properties that could be used in a future land bank, according to the report.

People need help fixing up their homes, said home builder Elisher.

If you dont offer them help, and just ticket, ticket, ticket through Code Compliance, youre not going to change their minds and hearts to want to bring the neighborhood up a level, she said.

The city has a program for residents in targeted areas inside Loop 820 in which they can get a five-year city property tax break to fix up their houses. The report calls for working with Tarrant County and the Fort Worth school district to expand that tax break.

More money will be needed for Fort Worth to have enough housing thats affordable for residents across the income spectrum.

The report recommended the city invest $100 million over a five year period. This money could be used to encourage affordable development, fund programs that help residents stay in their homes, and build up services to reduce homelessness.

In return for the $100 million, Fort Worth could see as much as $200 million to $300 million in outside investment, which could build as many as 3,000 houses to help keep housing affordable for everyone.

The money could come from federal grants, local partnerships, city bonds, or the general fund, but that would have to be worked out by the City Council, said neighborhood services director Turner.

He urged those gathered at an Aug. 16 meeting to discuss the report to lobby the City Council to make this funding a priority.

As a home builder, Elisher said shes ready to help.

Im looking forward to seeing this with my eyes, and not on a sheet of paper and in a book, she said.
The Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to purchase 140 dorm units from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary that it will use for affordable housing.

The city plans to hold onto the 15-acre property at West Drew Street and McCart Avenue until early 2024 before selling it to a nonprofit that will run the citys first community land trust. The trust will hold the land indefinitely with the goal of using it for affordable housing.

The city had expected nonprofits and Tarrant County to cover $7 million of the $11 million cost, but that funding fell through, so the city is using a portion of surplus interest income to make up the difference.

Using the extra interest income to purchase the land gives the city the time it needs to hold the land while properly setting up the community land trust, said Mayor Mattie Parker at a meeting of the citys housing finance corporation Tuesday.

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She called the model an innovative solution to the citys affordable housing shortage, in a press statement released after the meeting.

Dallas has land trust program that partners with nonprofits that sell houses built on the land to low-income and moderate-income residents.

It is one of the strategies recommended in a recent report by the citys neighborhood services department. That report found a family making the citys median income cannot afford to buy a median priced home. It also showed a lack of affordable housing is putting pressure on low income residents as rising home values and increasing taxes force people from their homes.

District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck thanked Parker for her efforts to secure the purchase of the seminary housing.

It has not been an easy process, but I think where we are now provides us the most latitude to do real lasting good for our community, Beck said.

There has been some concern from neighboring residents about a lack of communication from the city about what it intends to do with the seminary property.

Community engagement will be a part of any land trust development, the city said in a press release Tuesday, vowing to work with residents to make sure any development will fit with the surrounding neighborhoods.

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An elementary school teacher has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of her wife, according to Oklahoma police and news reports.

The shooting happened Sunday, Aug. 20, at a home in Owasso, a suburb of Tulsa.

The Owasso Police Department called the shooting domestic violence related. The victim, identified as 26-year-old Atia Kamare Fields, died after being taken to a hospital, police said.

My wife hit me, and I shot her, Essence Fields told dispatchers after calling 911, according to an arrest report obtained by KOTV.

Police said in the arrest report the couple was arguing and Essence Fields told officers she shot her wife when she thought she was reaching for a gun, according to KRMG. Officers found the pistol used in the shooting, as well as an unloaded gun under the bed, the publication reported.

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A 10-year-old child was home at the time of the shooting, police said, but its unclear if the child is their own.

Essence Fields, who reportedly is a fourth-grade teacher at Mills Elementary School in Owasso, was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder, police said.

She was entering her second year teaching in the district, KOTV reported.

Late last night, Owasso Public Schools was made aware of a legal situation involving one of its teachers that has resulted in their removal from the classroom, the district said in a statement to multiple news outlets, including KTUL. The district will have additional counselors available to students and staff members should they need support as we navigate the situation. Due to the ongoing police investigation, we are unable to comment further.

Man kills 3 women, including ex-girlfriend holding their baby, Oklahoma police say

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Grocery store worker is killed when ex-husband shoots her and himself, Ohio cops say
A Wisconsin resident is one of two men charged in an elaborate plot to defraud donors of tens of millions of dollars they thought they were giving money to charitable causes.

Federal authorities say Robert Piaro, 73, of Fredonia, and Richard Zeitlin, 53, of Las Vegas, lied to thousands of donors who believed their money would support groups that help veterans, law enforcement officers, and efforts to fight breast cancer.

More: CEO of Milwaukee-based Exit 7c gets more than four years for fraud

It wasn't used for those purposes, prosecutors allege.

Piaro and Zeitlin were indicted and arrested Thursday, and now face decades in prison time.

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"(They) allegedly exploited these important causes and the good intentions of everyday citizens to steal millions of dollars in small donations," Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

Zeitlin is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and one count of wire fraud in connection with telemarketing.

More: Milwaukee woman gets prison sentence for stealing nearly $500,000 in unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic

Piaro is charged with one count of wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and one count of mail fraud in connection with telemarketing.

Piaro controlled and served as the treasurer of four political action committees based in Wisconsin - Americans for the Cure of Breast Cancer, the Association for Emergency Responders & Firefighters, the US Veterans Assistance Foundation, and Standing By Veterans.

Federal investigators believe Piaro's PACs raised more than $28 million from thousands of donors nationwide who were duped into believing their money would be used to advance specific legislation, educate lawmakers, and conduct and fund research, according to a federal indictment that was unsealed Thursday.

Instead, Zeitlin Entities kept about 90% of the donations, with the rest disbursed to the respective PAC, prosecutors say.

More: Minocqua man sentenced for trying to hide 'Dukes of Hazzard' replica car in bankruptcy case

Piaro paid himself about $526,000 from money raised by the PACs he controlled, according to his indictment.

Prosecutors allege Zeitlin used his telemarketing call center business and various associated entities to defraud donors by instructing his employees to lie about how donors money would be spent and the nature of the organizations to which they were giving. This occurred from about 2017 to 2020, they allege in court documents.

Zeitlin started getting complaints from donors.

Instead, he made his employees delete electronic messages relating to his businesses after learning he and his business were under federal investigation, court documents say.

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: Fredonia man indicted in plot to defraud national charity donors
The infusion of millions in state funding into Fresnos downtown has placed the city in a national spotlight.

The city began to see a spike in interest from developers and investment firms from across the country after the announcement of the states $250 million investment for improvements to the citys downtown infrastructure, a city official told The Bee.

Multiple experts who spoke with The Bee say the investment will help cut down on development costs, making downtown more attractive and leading to more private investment. But some also warned that careful attention needs to be given to the long-term viability of the state money and that planning has to be done right.

Lance Lippincott, director of economic development for the city, said Fresno has gone from a few leads per month to up to 10 from developers and investment firms outside the area following the announcement of the state money. He would not provide details, but said, in general, the interest has included brokers calling the city to request information about available land or asking for information on historical buildings.

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We are starting to see quite a rise, he said. A lot of them are out-of-area investors, which is pretty cool.

The leads have also included interest in rehabilitating vacancies. Although, theres not much commercial vacant space downtown. The downtown area has a 4% vacancy rate for retail space and a 6.1% vacancy rate for office space, according to figures from the city provided to The Bee.

Lippincott wouldnt release the identity of any of the developers or investment firms, but he said the city has seen interest from across the country, and as far away as New York.

Fresno is a hot market right now, he said. Theres a ton of opportunities.

That means growth for Fresno in the long run, and more jobs and recreation for its residents, he said.

Theres no timeline for when the infrastructure improvements are expected to be completed. Nonetheless, Lippincott said the state investment and the private dollars and development it attracts, will transform downtown.

I think its going to be a more modern downtown, he said.

Its time to start rethinking downtowns in North America, said Karen Chapple, a professor of city and regional planning at UC Berkeley.

This is very exciting and could be transformational for Fresno, she said.

Will Oliver, vice president of business services for the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, said he believes the growing outside interest is jet fuel for downtown revitalization and the ability to create more workforce housing and jobs.

A big chunk  $80 million  of the $250 million is for overall infrastructure investments to promote housing development for 10,000 residents and other neighborhood revitalization efforts.

I do believe the momentum for downtown with this investment is palpable, Oliver said, and I think that folks are taking notice and wanting to know more, and I think it will lead to a series of private investment to follow suit.

Dwight Kroll, president of Kroll & Associates LLC in Clovis, which focuses on downtown revitalization programs, among other planning projects and processes, agreed that the $250 million investment makes downtown investments more attractive.

If developers are on the fence about projects because theyre unsure whether theyll get a return, Kroll said, such funding might make projects more affordable for developers.

It might get them off the fence, and go, Oh, OK, maybe Ill take a little better look at this site, said Kroll, who served as the planning director for the city of Clovis from 2009 to 2020.

From a city standpoint, he said, if you help a developer get to that point, its beneficial because they will then invest additional funding that will help increase employment and it will increase the taxable returns for the city  particularly if its retail.

Maybe thats enough to kind of get the ball rolling, he said.

Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at the Anne T. and Robbert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro, said an issue that has been a barrier for development in Fresno is the age and capacity of the infrastructure.

This investment from the state is going to solve that infrastructure problem, she said, and so, that increases the attractiveness of the market to capital.

But bottomline, she said, the build environment changes very slowly, and its difficult to tell what the impact is going to be.

Officials need to be able to produce housing and jobs, he said, ahead of the high speed rail and Fresnos downtown station becoming operational.

I think thats going to be key, Oliver said, for residents and for our economy.

Kroll said it will also be critical for city officials to pay attention to the long-term vitality of the states investment.

Anytime a community gets a grant like that its very important that they look at the long-term viability of it because $250 million sounds like a lot of money, Kroll said, but you can run through that pretty quickly, and at the end of it, if its not generating an economic return, you havent accomplished what youd hoped to.

Downtown Fresno, Kroll said, is worth preserving and revitalizing. What a vibrant downtown does, is it strengthens the economy because bringing so many people and jobs into proximity with each other boosts productivity, Loh said, and a stronger economy has benefits for all workers and firms.

There are also benefits for residents quality of life , Loh said, besides economic prosperity.

The social and civic opportunities that a vibrant downtown can offer, she said. A place where people can be together, whether thats for a celebration or whether its for a demonstration.
South Carolinas two presidential candidates, former Gov. Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott , will be on stage with six other candidates Wednesday looking to gain traction and a springboard in the polls as they vie for the Republican nomination.

As the two hopefuls have been speaking at town halls in early voting states, Wednesdays debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee will be televised on Fox News to an audience of thousands, if not millions.

So far polling as underdogs in the crowded Republican field, both Scott and Haley will be looking for a breakout moment on the national stage Wednesday to help raise the profile of their candidacies.

Haley and Scott are scheduled to be on stage with former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as they aim to show their candidacies are viable.

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Former President Donald Trump , who has a double-digit lead in the polls, wont be on the debate stage Wednesday, instead opting to release a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

It remains to be seen which of the candidates outside of Christie and Hutchinson will go on the attack against Trump. The other main target for most candidates most likely will be DeSantis. Aiming to usurp DeSantis from second place is a key step in moving on in the race.

They got to do something to sort of break out. Whether its making an argument about electability, taking on President Trump, there needs to be something people remember them for in the debate, said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.

The South Carolinians in the race are polling in single digits nationally and will look to have a positive memorable moment, while avoiding making mistakes. However, they are performing better in polls taken in the early-voting Palmetto State, which have shown Haley and Scott in double digits.

The making of the moment is having a good one-liner, have a good comeback to somebody. Its going to be really hard because theres going to be a decent number of people on the stage, Knotts said.

Expect Scott to promote his conservative voting record and his personal story, and Haley to highlight her executive experience and foreign policy experience serving as the ambassador to the United Nations, Knotts said.

The race for the GOP nomination for president cant be won at the first debate  but it can be lost. The minimal goal will be to survive and advance.

Candidates will be looking to avoid a Rick Perry-type oops moment, such when the former Texas governor said in a 2011 debate he wanted to cut three federal agencies but only named two.

You dont want to blow it in a debate either (with) some gaffe that you kind of become known for. You want to make sure you do everything you can to minimize that, Knotts said.

How theyre preparing

Scott has been preparing for the debate with a small circle of people: Republican adviser Mari Will, Campaign Manager Jennifer DeCasper, Communications Director Nathan Brand and Blake Harris, a Scott campaign adviser.

The most important thing you can do to be ready for the debate stage is to be comfortable in your own skin, know what you want to talk about in advance, certainly, but focus not on trying to make points but focus on sharing the philosophy that has driven this nation to be the only city on the hill, the beacon in the midst of the storm, Scott said during a recent Fox News interview.

Expect Scott to bring his optimistic message to the stage.

Tim Scott will share his positive, conservative message on the debate stage in Milwaukee, a Scott campaign spokeswoman said in a statement. This debate is another opportunity to connect with millions of voters across the country and show why Tim has faith in America and why he is the strongest candidate to beat Joe Biden.

Haley has been holding town halls in early primary states, where in addition to her standard stump speech, she has taken questions from voters.

Nikkis been preparing for six months on the campaign trail answering unscripted questions from voters across New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, a Haley adviser said. Shes not afraid of the hard questions. Shell always fight for what she believes in.

It may take a week or two to judge how well the presidential hopefuls connected with viewers, such as through fundraising bumps or a change the polls in the days or immediate week after the debate.

In recent appearances, Haley has been telling voters not to worry about the summer polling numbers.

When you look at the numbers in the polls, I am very comfortable with where we are because we havent spent anything. Because everybodys on vacation and their kids are out of school. Guess what? The first debate is in August, Haley said at a July stop in Greenville. Aug. 23, weve got our first debate in Wisconsin. In September, weve got our second debate at Reagan Library. You will start to see things shift post Labor Day.
(KTLA)  Having a high student loan debt could equal free Frontier Airline miles.

The budget airline launched a sweepstakes that will give 100 people free miles equal to their current student loan balance, up to 100,000 miles per person, the company announced.

To enter the contest, student loan borrowers can fill out this online form anytime before August 27, when the sweepstakes closes. Bonus entries can be earned when people share the sweepstakes page on their social media accounts.

New Frontier Airlines policy requires you to drop off bags sooner

A Frontier account and membership are needed to participate in the sweepstakes. Prospective winners can sign up for an account for free here.

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While its not the same as having student loan balances forgiven, winners can save money on airfare when planning their next getaway.

With Frontier, a one-way domestic flight can be booked for 10,000 miles and round trips can be booked for 20,000 miles, not including taxes and fees, according to the company website.

Were thrilled to spread a little joy among education borrowers and offer an opportunity to win free flights through this special mileage giveaway, Tyri Squyres, Frontiers vice president of marketing, said in a statement.

With flights available for as little as 10,000 miles, Frontier Miles is a great way to take advantage of Frontiers expansive network and enjoy a getaway to explore someplace new or visit family and friends.

JetBlue slashing airfare prices for some fall travel. Heres when to buy

Frontier says grand prize winners will receive the amount they owed in student loan debt up to 100,000 miles.

News of the promotion comes as student loan payments are set to resume in October, following a years-long pause, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interest accrual has also been paused but is set to resume in September.

The restart of interest and payments comes after Congress passed a law preventing further payment extensions.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Japanese imports of seafood are seen in a supermarket in Hong Kong

By Akiko Okamoto, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Tom Bateman

SOMA, Japan (Reuters) - On a recent Wednesday morning, supermarket owner Takashi Nakajima expertly sliced into slabs of raw sea bream and horse mackerel, placing the thin wedges of the local Fukushima catch on a plate to be sold in the store he inherited from his father.

It's been a long battle to get radiation-wary customers back to the seafood from waters near the Fukushima nuclear power plant that was wrecked in the 2011 tsunami, Nakajima says. Now, with the imminent release of treated radioactive water from the plant into the Pacific, he fears a return to square one.

"This can't be happening," the 67-year-old said in the backyard kitchen of his supermarket in Soma city, just 45 km (28 miles) north of the stricken power plant.

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"If diluted with a large volume of sea water, it wouldnaturally be thinned out enough to be considered safe. Theproblem is, this water release will go on for at least 30 years."

Japan said on Tuesday it would start discharging more than 1 million metric tonnes of the treated water on Aug. 24. The plan, which the U.N. nuclear regulatory body considers safe, has alarmed the local fishing industry as well as neighbouring countries, especially China.

The government says the water has been filtered to removemost radioactive elements except for tritium, levels of which would be well below internationally approved levels after dilution.

Nakajima recalls the discouragement he felt in the months following the nuclear disaster, which spewed radiation into the atmosphere for hundreds of miles. Customers shunned the produce that was the source of their own community's livelihood, leaving him to wonder whether he should be selling it at all.

"I lost confidence right then," he said.

NEW BATTLE

Over the years, customers slowly returned as food safety tests came back negative for abnormal radiation levels. Encouragement also came from long-time customers like former fisherman Yasutaka Shishido, who had no qualms about buying local fish and vegetables.

Still, with so many unknowns, Nakajima, who also heads a group suing the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power for compensation, said the day of the water release could mark the beginning of a new battle.

"No scientific research has been conducted as to what would happen as a result of the discharge of all the water over the 30 years," said Nakajima, adding he may take fresh legal action to stop the plan.

"The release is unscientific in the extreme, and will surely dampen fish sales."

To help the fishing industry cope with possible reputational damage such as slow sales from the water release, the government has set up funds totalling 80 billion yen ($550 million) to help develop new sales channels and keep excess fish frozen until they can be sold when demand recovers, among other measures.

For Nakajima, the stakes are high not just for today's fishermen but for those that will come down the road.

"If we remain uninterested, take no action and look theother way, we will inevitably become the target of criticism from later generations. If we are to avoid that situation, the day will come where we will have to fight."

($1 = 145.4100 yen)

(Reporting by Akiko Okamoto, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Tom Bateman; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Stephen Coates)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave final approval Tuesday to begin a plan for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to release treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean as early as Thursday.

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Kishida described the controversial move as an important step in the plant decommissioning and in the Fukushima prefectures recovery process after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed the plants cooling systems, causing three of the reactors to melt and contaminate the cooling water.

About 1.34 million tons of the water have now been collected and filtered, and its now being stored in about 1,000 tanks. But the tanks are near capacity and will likely be full in early 2024.

The Japanese government, along with the plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), have said if the water is not removed, there are risks of accidental leaks from the tanks. They also must make room for the plants decommissioning. Kishida has instructed TEPCO to prepare to begin the process of releasing the filtered water off the coast Thursday, as long as weather and sea conditions allow it.

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At the cabinet meeting, Kishida provided reassurances that the government has done everything it can to ensure the plans safety and to explain the science behind their plan. He said the government will continue to push these efforts forward until the decommissioning and water release is finished, which could take decades. Kishida also said the government has tried to protect the reputation of the fishing industry, which it will also continue doing.

The government will take responsibility until the disposal of ALPS-treated water is completed, even if it takes several decades, Kishida said at the meeting.

Scientists largely support the view that the plan, if conducted as designed, is safe. The Japanese government and TEPCO say the plan is to treat the water and then dilute it with seawater to levels that are safer than the international standards.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) determined in a final report issued in July that the plan, if followed precisely, will cause negligible impact on the environment and on human health.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement Tuesday that the U.N. agency office, which opened last month at the plant, will continue working to monitor the release to ensure the water continues to abide by safety standards. Grossi also said the agency will publish information, including real-time monitoring data.

The government and TEPCO will also publish results of the regular tests of seawater and marine life on their websites.

Still, some questions remain about the long-term effect of low doses of radioactivity in the water. Neighboring countries, too, have responded harshly to this move, expressing concerns about the safety of the seawater.

South Korea, a key ally, said officials confirmed that Japan intends to discharge the water in accordance to the initial plan, but if it does not, the first vice minister of South Koreas Office of Government Policy Coordination, Park Ku-yeon, said it would request that Japan stop the discharge of water. Hong Kong and Macau announced they were banning products from Fukushima and nine neighboring prefectures as a result of the Tuesday news, and China moved to increase radiation testing on Japanese fishery products.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Furloughs. Layoffs. State budget cuts. Campus closures.

There's been a flurry of headlines throughout the summer about the University of Wisconsin System's finances. It culminated Tuesday with the UW Board of Regents unanimously approving a budget that has 10 of the 13 campuses projected to run deficits this school year.

Here are five takeaways:

UW-Madison to bear the brunt of state budget cut

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had proposed a $305 million increase for the UW System over the next two school years.

Republican lawmakers instead cut state funding for campuses by $32 million in an effort to defund diversity offices, which they see as a waste of money.

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UW-Madison will bear the brunt, losing $7 million, or 44%, of this year's $16 million cut. The university enrolls about one-third of UW System students. UW-Madison declined to comment on the cut.

UW System administration's budget will be cut by $1.1 million.

Administrators used a performance-based funding formula approved by the Legislature a couple years ago to distribute the rest of the cut among other campuses. UW-Milwaukee will lose $1.8 million, while UW-Superior will lose $80,000.

UW System might get some money back, but some Republicans don't seem on board

UW System has a chance to recoup the $32 million budget cut. Officials must present a plan to the Republican-controlled budget-writing committee on how campuses would spend the money on workforce development.

The Regents will receive a preview of the plan in October, said UW System chief finance officer Sean Nelson. Spending will focus on engineering, data, science and nursing programs.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the UW System won't get its money back unless it eliminates diversity and equity programs  an idea UW officials have previously shot down.

Lets hope these campuses start by eliminating their unnecessary (diversity, equity and inclusion) positions," he said in a statement responding to the latest furlough news. "It would be a first step in showing theyre serious about cutting wasteful spending, shoring up their deficits, and working with the Legislature to develop sustainable long-term funding solutions.

Rep. Mark Born, one of the co-chairs on the budget committee, left the door open to releasing the money.

"The Legislature remains ready to partner with the UW System on workforce initiatives with the $32 million that was set aside for supporting our states workforce needs," he said in a statement.

University of Wisconsin campuses trying variety of strategies to balance budget

The budget pressures facing most UW campuses are real. Costs keep increasing. Enrollment keeps declining.

It's a "recipe for serious financial issues," UW System President Jay Rothman told the board Tuesday.

The UW System finished the 2023 fiscal year $33 million in the red, according to budget documents. Just two universities, Madison and La Crosse, ended the year without a deficit.

Ten of the 13 universities are projecting deficits this year, too, and many are taking significant action to rein in spending. UW-Oshkosh is laying off 200 employees and mandating furloughs for all other staff. UW-Parkside and UW-Platteville are considering similar measures.

Most campuses are using money from a tuition increase to offset their deficits. The Regents voted earlier this year to increase in-state undergraduate tuition across all 13 universities by about 5%. It was the first time since 2012.

Many campuses are also tapping tuition balances, which is what campuses carry over as their main source of reserves. They've been spending down their reserves for more than a decade. UW-Oshkosh, for example, said it expects to deplete its balances by the end of this school year.

"This is not sustainable," Rothman put it plainly.

Enrollment projections for UW branch campuses indicate further decline

One of UW System's biggest struggles in recent years has been what to do with its branch campuses. The campuses have been hemorrhaging students but serve as access points in areas across Wisconsin. Most offer a more affordable tuition rate than four-year campuses.

UW-Platteville Richland essentially closed at the end of last school year with less than 60 students enrolled.

Enrollment at the 11 other branch campuses haven't dipped that low and aren't projected to this school year, according to budget documents. But most are forecasting continued decline.

UW-Milwaukee projects a 10% drop between its two branches in Waukesha and Washington counties.

UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County projects enrollment of 120 to 150 students, down from about 500 in the year when UW-Platteville absorbed the campus as part of a restructuring.

Democrats point fingers at GOP

Democrats blame Republicans for the state of Wisconsin's public universities, which is eighth worst funded in the country according to a nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum report.

In the most recent state budget, Wisconsin had a record surplus of nearly $7 billion. Rothman warned of increased tuition rates and potentially more campus closures if funding for universities was cut.

"Republicans in the Legislature need to focus more time and effort on growing our economy by supporting higher education, and less on blowing up our institutions for political gain," said Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee.

Born and his budget committee co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein, whose district includes UW-Platteville, countered that a declining number of students should lead to "right-sizing" of budgets.

Spending should reflect the reality of enrollment," Marklein said.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about University of Wisconsin System budget for 2023-24
Former "Bachelorette" Gabby Windey has a new relationship.

Windey, who co-starred in season 19 of the ABC dating show alongside Rachel Recchia , announced Aug. 2 on Instagram that she is dating writer and comedian Robby Hoffman . She is among a growing group of former "Bachelor" contestants who have come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Colorado-based ICU nurse posted a carousel of photos showing the two women kissing and hugging.

"Told you Im a girls girl!!" she cheekily captioned it.

Several Bachelor Nation stars, including Windey's former co-star Recchia, congratulated Windey for finding love.

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"Love you with my entire heart and soul," Recchia commented, adding several heart emoji.

"Needed this love story!!" wrote former "Bachelorette" Kaitlyn Bristowe. Former "Bachelor" Ben Higgins added, "Well son of a biscuit this is real beautiful. Congrats gabby."

Windeys coming-out post came shortly after she revealed Aug. 2 on The View that she was dating a girl. They were spotted together during the live "Bachelorette" finale in August 2023.

Windey shared details about her new romance in a video

The former Denver Broncos cheerleader shared more details about her and Hoffman's budding romance in a selfie video posted to her Instagram story.

"You know I love to stir the pot and tease, but I did want to wait until I was ready because it is a larger conversation because I'm dating a girl," she said excitedly.

ABC's

"It's been honestly, truly, really the best experience over these last three months. I've been in a relationship like I feel like I've never had before," she continued.

She added, "I wanted to tell you guys because I always just want to live my life honestly and have you all along with me."

Windey then shared a photo of herself and Hoffman kissing while embracing in a chair.

Hoffman, who already publicly identified as queer, re-shared the photo to her own Instagram story and jokingly wrote on it, "Guys some news ... I am gay."

Here's everything to know about Hoffman.

Robby Hoffman and Gabby Windey share a kiss. (Instagram)

Hoffman was born in Brooklyn and raised in Montreal

Hoffman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and later raised in Montreal, Canada, by a single mom who had nine other children, according to Forbes.

Im a nomad, Hoffman told the publication. I feel most at home when the lights are on me and Im dancing around on stage.

By 2020, she had been living in Los Angeles for several years, according to the Jewish Journal.

Hoffman describes herself as very Jewish and very gay

While speaking to the Jewish Journal in 2020, Hoffman, whose mother raised her in a strict Hasidic Jewish home, revealed that she felt alienated at her Jewish school as a young person because she was gay.

Though she walked away from Judaism, she said at the time that she identifies as very Jewish and very gay and incorporates her religious upbringing in her standup routines.

She's an Emmy-winning writer and comedian

Hoffman is a writer and comedian who is developing a comedy called "Rivkah," inspired by her own life, for Showtime, according to a 2021 report from Deadline.

She wrote for the PBS childrens show Odd Squad, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2019.

She has also written for "The Chris Gethard Show" (TruTV), "Workin Moms" (Netflix) and "Baroness Von Sketch Show" (IFC).

Hoffman was a Comic to Watch at the New York Comedy Festival and one of Vultures Comedians You Should Know in 2020," reported Deadline. Her first comedy special, "Im Nervous," was filmed in Canada.

She loves the mix of writing and performing live

Hoffman has previously said that she loves juggling writing and performing live onstage.

I called them my day shift and my night shift, she told Forbes in 2019. I would go to a show and be there from 10 to 7, then go home for two hours for supper, and then Id hit the stage at 9 in the evening.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The first of the 18 co-defendants alongside former President Trump in the Georgia case over his efforts to subvert the states election results has surrendered at the Fulton County jail, records showed Tuesday morning.

Scott Hall, a bail bond business owner, was booked by the Fulton County Sheriffs Office. He was given a prisoner identification number and is detained, the records show.

Hall faces seven criminal charges linked to his alleged role in the Coffee County election equipment breach, including conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to defraud the state and violation of Georgias Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

He was reportedly one of the individuals welcomed into the election office on the day of the breach by Cathy Latham, a retired teacher who served as the chairwoman of the Coffee County Republican Party.

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Hall is the first of the 19 people charged in the case to turn himself in. He signed a $10,000 bond agreement Monday with the Fulton County district attorneys office.

District Attorney Fani Willis (D) gave the defendants until Friday at noon to surrender themselves. Trump said Monday evening that he plans to turn himself in Thursday.

The Hill requested comment from the Fulton County Sheriffs Office on the surrender.

Updated at 9:58 a.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is urging residents to be careful as high heat levels and high humidity sweep across the state.

According to the Georgia DPH, temperatures are expected to remain in the high 90s throughout the state for several days, at times feeling closer to 100 degrees or higher due to humidity.

As a result, the department is warning Georgians to avoid prolonged time in the sun and heat and limit outdoor activities.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

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DPH said extreme heat can lead to heat-related illness, which can cause confusion or loss of consciousness.

The department said children, especially infants, young children, those older than 65 years of age, people who are overweight, or those with heart disease, high blood pressure, or take medication for depression, insomnia or poor circulation are at greater risk for heat illness.

For pets, DPH said to ensure your furry friends have protection from the sun and heat, and plenty of fresh, cold water, including adding ice to water to keep it cool.

DPH said to use tree shade or tarps, rather than doghouses because they do not obstruct airflow.

The DPH put out a few tips for how to stay cool during the heat wave, including:

Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothes

Stay in a place with air conditioning. If your house or home doesnt have A/C, go to a mall or public library or a friends house that does have air conditioning

Take cool showers or baths to cool down, fans wont stop heat illness with temperatures in the high 90s

Do not leave infants, children, adults, or pets in a parked car, even with the windows cracked

Call 911 if you see someone locked in a hot vehicle

Try not to use the stove or oven, and avoid hot and heavy meals that only add heat to the body

Limit outdoor activity to morning and evening and exercise less

Stay hydrated and drink water even if you arent thirsty

Avoid sugary or alcoholic beverages that cause the body to lose body fluid

Keep an eye on local weather forecasts and prepare for extreme heat

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Editors Note: This story contains disturbing content.

A Georgia sheriff resigned and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual battery charge Monday after he grabbed TVs Judge Glenda Hatchetts chest in January 2022, his attorney said.

Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody was sentenced to 12 months probation and was also ordered to complete community service. He must also pay a $500 fine and was ordered to complete an alcohol and drug evaluation, his attorney Joel Pugh told CNN.

Hatchett, a former chief presiding judge in Georgia and the star of TV shows  Judge Hatchett  and The Verdict With Judge Hatchett, thanked her attorneys during a news conference Monday and recounted what happened.

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Hatchett said she was attending a reception and the sheriff came up to her uninvited. During introductions, the sheriff poked her briefly in the chest after the judge said she was not familiar with Bleckley County, and he said it was right in the heart of Georgia, Hatchett said Monday.

But then he grabbed my breast. He grabbed my left breast. He squeezed it, he then started rubbing on my breast, until someone removed Coodys hand and pushed him away, Hatchett said.

Former DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, who witnessed the incident, previously told CNN affiliate WSB he intervened when he saw Coody grab the judges breast.

I grabbed his arm threw it off of her chest, Brown told the news station, adding he asked Coody what he was doing and the interaction ended.

Glenda Hatchett speaks with the press on Monday, August 21. - WSB

I am a very strong woman, I pride myself on being strong and I really thought I was fine, Hatchett said Monday during the news conference.

But in the days after the incident, Hatchett said she could not stop crying, could not get out of bed and went to therapy.

I needed help. My life had been changed. And as I said to the judge in the court this morning that I never expected that I would be so deeply affected by this, she said. I cried and cried and cried in court.

There is a scar that he left and what I really resent is that someone could have that kind of power over me. That somebody could make me, in that moment, feel helpless. Ive never felt so helpless in my entire life. And I was angry, Hatchett said. I was absolutely frozen.

In a letter addressed to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Coody resigned as sheriff Monday morning.

He resigned because he is taking full responsibility for his actions. He regrets them and he thought it was the correct thing to do, Pugh, his attorney, said.

He has a distinguished career in law enforcement. Unfortunately, thats over and I dont know what he plans to do next, Pugh added.

Coody was serving his second term as the countys sheriff, a position he had been in since January 2017, according to Terry Norris, executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs Association.

Bleckley County is in central Georgia, and about 120 miles southeast of Atlanta.

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Three members of the demographic group that has been most disoriented by the rise of social media and unreliable (or completely fraudulent) news sources. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, Mario Tama/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images, and Getty Images Plus.

Among the many alleged co-conspirators accused in Fulton County, Georgia, last week of helping Donald Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 election, two stand out: Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell .

Both are attorneys who were once competent and reasonably well respected. Both urged Trump to continue fighting to remain in office even as his other allies were abandoning that possibilityarguably making them the two people, besides Trump himself, without whom Jan. 6 wouldnt have taken place. And they are both members of the baby boom generation who exemplify its disproportionate willingness to read and share completely made-up things on the internet.

By mid-December 2020, most figures in the Republican Party, and even within Trumps own campaign and administration, had accepted the results of the November election. Thenattorney general William Barr told an Associated Press reporter on Dec. 1 that the Department of Justice had not found evidence of widespread voter fraud. On Dec. 15, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell signaled his position by congratulating Joe Biden on becoming the next president. According to testimony given to the Houses Jan. 6 committee, Trumps campaign managers, campaign lawyers, and White House lawyers all told him at various points that the allegations on which he was basing his contention that the election was rigged against him could not be substantiated and/or were bullshit (Barrs phrasing, according to his testimony).

Giuliani and Powell did not agree with that assessment. They could not get enough of the bullshit. More bullshit, they said! Lets bring it all to the Supreme Court!

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Giuliani had endorsed Trump during the 2016 primary, then served in a kind of loose lawyer/fixer role for him during his first term, most notably by attempting to persuade the Ukrainian government to announce a corruption investigation into Hunter and Joe Biden. Powell became part of Trumps orbit because he liked her appearances on Lou Dobbs Fox Business talk show; she represented former national security adviser Michael Flynn while he was being prosecuted for lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russias ambassador to the U.S.

After the 2020 election, Giuliani and Powell helped launch a legal and political campaign on Trumps behalf that was independent of the work being done by the lawyers for his 2020 campaign and the White House counsels office. While Trumps campaign attorneys generally challenged the validity of state-level voting results and election procedures without alleging fraud, Giuliani and Powell conducted a parallel effort in imaginaryland.

Most prominently, they were two main speakers at an instantly legendary Nov. 18 press conference during which a black streak began to leak down the side of Giulianis face while Powell alleged that the voting machine company Dominion, along with the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and the government of Cuba, had collaborated to rig ballot counts in Bidens favor using a sinister algorithm. Giuliani said, at the same press conference, that he could smell crime but that so much of it had taken place during the election that he didnt even need his sense of smell to prove it.

Their detective work didnt end there. Giuliani toured the country to meet with Republican legislators in swing states that Biden had won, hoping to persuade them to invalidate results. In Michigan, he said voting data may have been routed (for purposes of fraud, obviously) through Frankfurt, Germany, and Barcelona, Spain. In Georgia, he claimed that two election workers in Atlanta had been caught on video handling USB ports that they were using to change votes. (He meant USB drives, but in any case was misidentifying what the workers in question say was actually a ginger mint.) He also introduced Georgia lawmakers to a lawyer who said shed identified footage of suitcases stuffed with fake ballots being taken out from under a table at a vote-counting center. (They were normal crates filled with real ballots.)

Powell filed a lawsuit in Georgia that claimed, among other things, that Dominion was founded by oligarchs and dictators (it was founded in Canada by a guy working in his basement), that it has financial ties to China and Iran (no), that it was owned by another voting machine company called Smartmatic (no), and that it has an office in Germany (nein). On Dec. 18, she, Giuliani, Flynn, andfor some reasonthe former CEO of Overstock.com were able to secure an unscheduled meeting with Trump at the White House at which they showed him evidence that Nest-brand thermostats had been used to hack election data. They also asked Trump to appoint Powell as a special counsel who would have the authority to order the military to seize voting machines, and called the White House attorneys pussies and quitters. Early the next morning, Trump sent a tweet urging his supporters to gather at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Be there, will be wild! it said.

Many of the claims presented by Giuliani and Powell in these endeavors filtered into circulation through the internet and the right-wing news networks that treat unverified online claims as factual information. Some of the ornate claims regarding Dominion, for example, appear to have originated on 8kun, the message board that also birthed the QAnon conspiracy theory. Other conspiracy theories were promoted by the far-right network OAN, which in its broadcasts takes unsubstantiated posts from message boards and social media accounts and describes them as reports. The notion of suspicious servers located in Germany and Spain appears to have begun on Twitter and was amplified on the Gateway Pundit site; claims about the Georgia suitcases and poll workers circulated on Instagram, Facebook, and Gateway Pundit and were discussed on right-wing cable networks, including OAN and Fox. Some of Powells claims, litigation pursued by Dominion later revealed, originated in an email that was sent to her directly by a woman in Minnesota who says she gathers information by speaking to dead people and the wind.

Giuliani and Powell were both familiar, at some point, with standards for what constitutes credible evidencenot just in public discourse but in court. Giuliani attended the New York University School of Law and was a successful federal prosecutor. Powell made local news in her native North Carolina for the speed with which she graduated from the University of North Carolina and its law school, and then she became a federal prosecutor herself. At one point, she was the president of the federal 5th Circuits bar association.

They are also members of the demographic group that has been most disoriented by the rise of social media and unreliable (or completely fraudulent) news sources. Comedy writer Daniel Kibblesmith put it thus in a 2016 tweet that has only gained poignance with the passage of time:

Your parents in 1996: Don't trust ANYONE on the Internet.



Your parents in 2016: Freedom Eagle dot Facebook says Hillary invented AIDS.  Daniel Kibblesmith (@kibblesmith) November 19, 2016

(Reached by email, Kibblesmith wrote, I dont think of it as being especially prescient, because the reason it took off is that we were fully already there. The fact that Im still getting notifications about a seven year old tweet does confirm that we havent begun addressing the problem at all.)

Generation-wide stereotypes arent always based on robust, peer-reviewed data, but research supports this one. One academic study found that individuals 65 and older who used Twitter were twice as likely to see fake news from sites like Alex Jones InfoWars as those age 18 to 29, for example. Another found that individuals 65 and older shared seven times as many fake-news links as those 18 to 29. One explanation thats been suggested for this phenomenon is the general susceptibility of older adults to memory problems; another is digital illiteracy created by the late adoption of computers and smartphones. (A wide majority of older Facebook users dont realize that an algorithm customizes their feed for them; a third believe that posts are selected by journalists and editors that work for Facebook. If only, folks!) Other studies have found that conservative-skewing falsehoods online are more abundant than liberal ones and that individuals who lean conservative and have hostile feelings toward social and political institutions are more likely to share them.

Giuliani and Powell are basically the prototypical Freedom Eagle dot Facebook readers. Theyre older; theyre conservative; they enjoy being online. Theyve also both been gradually alienated from institutions that once celebrated them. Giuliani was arguably at one point the most respected person in the United States, and since then he has: caused major embarrassment for the George W. Bush administration by recommending that nowconvicted felon Bernard Kerik become the secretary of homeland security; run a failed presidential campaign; been rejected by Trump for a role in his own Cabinet; and gotten into what appears to be serious financial trouble because of his legal bills. According to a 2020 Washington Post profile, Powells career began swerving toward the fringe when she defended a bank executive accused of fraud related to the Enron collapse; she came to believe that the Department of Justice, where shed once worked, had conspired against her client. That perspective gradually escalated to the belief that the DOJ is part of a string-pulling deep state apparatus that extends, apparently, across the world.

And then theres Trump, whose entire biography has been interpreted by some as a campaign against wealthy Manhattan blue bloods and other cultural elites who treated him as a gauche tabloid novelty. His own social media feed is a fire hose of conspiracies. In a way, its his insistence on the supremacy of the credulous, angry, and incessant right-wing online experience that will be on trial in Georgia (and in the District of Columbia, where special counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with, among other things, disseminating false claims about the election).

Although online disorientation may be disproportionately experienced by baby boomers, we would be remiss (and liable to hearing about it from our older relatives) not to acknowledge that each member of that generation is their own individual person, that manyso many!are capable of separating fact from wishful thinking, and that some have never even heard of the Gateway Pundit.

Some, indeed, are greatly enjoying the Trump indictments. Those would be the Resistance Libsthe counter-movement of boomers whove responded to Trumps presidency and alleged criminality by binging on left-leaning media outlets, fetishizing their supposed objectivity, and arguing with their right-wing age group peers in social media reply threads across the country. Its the salad days for those folks.

Resist libs are cooking with induction pic.twitter.com/L6Xai93BS0  Arsenal of Dememecracy (@gaymergir) August 15, 2023

One can only imagine how heated things will get in the livestream comments section of a televised Georgia Trump trial, should they be able to figure out how to use it. (Joking, joking.) Lets get ready to rumble!
Annalena Baerbock , German Foreign Minister, believes that the frequent drone strikes on the Russian capital of Moscow, of which Russia accuses Ukraine, are legitimate.

Source: European Pravda, citing Tagesschau

Details: Russia has attacked Ukraine, and Ukraine is defending itself "under international law", Baerbock said during a joint press conference with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.

Meanwhile, the Estonian minister stressed that Russia bears responsibility for everything going on in Ukraine.

The German foreign minister added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, first and foremost, needed supplies and equipment as part of a counteroffensive to overcome Russian minefields. There are "huge mine belts, especially in Ukraine's east" that are roughly the size of western Germany, Baerbock said.

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"We are working on this in full swing," the minister added.

Background: On the night of 21-22 August, drones once again attacked Moscow and Moscow Oblast. All airports in the Russian capital were closed for take-offs and landings.

The UK MoD has also reportedly suggested that the drone attack on the airfield in Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast, that destroyed the Tu-22M3 strategic nuclear bomber may have been carried out from Russian territory.

"Strikes deep inside Russia are strategically important because President Putin almost certainly invaded Ukraine on the assumption that it would have little direct effect on Russians," the UK Defence Intelligence pointed out.

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!
By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday China posed a challenge to the "fundamentals of how we live together in this world" and Germany would work with mid-sized nations like Australia to de-escalate tension in the Indo-Pacific.

In a video address to an Australian foreign policy think tank, Baerbock said Australia's experience of trade bans imposed by China had influenced Germany's shift in policy towards Beijing.

"China has changed, and that's why our policy towards China also needs to change," she told the Lowy Institute.

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While China was a partner on climate change, trade and investment, it was "a rival when it comes to the very fundamentals of how we live together in this world," she said.

"What we see is the emergence of a world of increasing systemic rivalry, in which some autocratic regimes seek to bend the international order to increase their spheres of influence, using not only military might but also economic clout."

Numerous countries were pivoting to China because they lacked alternatives, and Germany wanted to change this, she said.

Germany would not promote new confrontation between blocs, but would diversify its trading partners and de-risk, she said.

"We learned painfully how vulnerable our one-sided dependencies on Russian energy imports made us. We dont want to repeat that mistake," she said.

Germany wanted to establish direct supply of rare earths and lithium mined in Australia, but the "risky detour" most Australian lithium took to be processed in China needed to be reduced, she said. "Mining and processing is geopolitical," she said.

Australia, which produces half of the world's lithium, is seeking foreign investment to establish local processing; it also blocked two Chinese investments in rare earths companies this year.

Highlighting the economic importance of the Indo Pacific to Europe, Baerbock said half of all container ships pass through the Taiwan Strait.

"Any unilateral change in the status quo across the Taiwan Strait would be unacceptable, even more so if this were to include coercive or military means," she added.

Germany participated in the 13-nation Talisman Sabre military exercises in Australia last month, and opened its first Pacific Islands embassy in Fiji on Saturday.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Giles Elgood)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended Ukraines right to strike targets on Russian soil, saying that Kyiv acts within international law, Anadolu news agency reported on Aug. 22.

Russia has attacked Ukraine, and therefore Ukraine has a right enshrined in the UN Charter to defend its country, to defend its people, Baerbock told a joint press conference with her Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna, as cited by Anadolu.

Russia is bombing civilian targets in Ukraine relentlessly, targeting grain silos, hospitals, and churches. Ukraine is defending itself within the framework of international law, Baerbock said, responding to a question on recent drone attacks on Moscow.

According to the media outlet, Estonias Tsahkna backed Ukraines ongoing counteroffensive against Russian forces and emphasized that Kyivs military operations are within the framework of international law.

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Read also: Zaluzhnyi on Ukrainian strikes inside Russia: It is up to us to decide how to kill this enemy

Russia is responsible for starting the aggression. Russia is responsible for starting genocide. Russia is responsible for everything that its doing in Ukraine, the Estonian foreign minister said.

We must push Russia back to Russia. We must use every kind of opportunity for that.

Earlier the same day, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defense forces shot down two attack drones near Moscow, damaging buildings.

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.

Russia usually blames the Ukrainian military for strikes on Russian soil, while Ukraine rarely claims direct responsibility.

In a video message on July 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it's natural and fair that the war is returning to Russian territory.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
FILE PHOTO: A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT READS A NEWSPAPER IN THE BUNDESTAG IN BERLIN.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German publishing magnate Axel Springer has agreed to an out-of-court settlement in a civil lawsuit against Julian Reichelt , the former editor-in-chief of Germany's top-selling Bild tabloid, the company said on Tuesday.

Axel Springer has been in dispute with the right-wing media figure since October 2021, when the paper fired Reichelt over affairs he had with female staff members.

Reichelt has admitted to affairs but denied that his relations with female staff involved any wrong-doing.

An internal compliance committee initially cleared him of abuse of power but Axel Springer, which bought Politico in August 2021, came under renewed pressure to address the scandal after U.S. media began reporting on it.

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Tuesday's deal settles a separate civil lawsuit centred on allegations from Axel Springer that Reichelt violated the terms of his severance package with the publisher, which sought repayment of 2 million euros ($2.18 million) plus damages.

In the suit, Axel Springer management had accused Reichelt of passing on internal company information to the Berliner Zeitung.

Reichelt regrets passing on information to the publisher of the newspaper, a statement from Axel Springer said.

A lawyer representing Reichelt confirmed the statement without commenting further. No financial details of the agreement were disclosed.

Reichelt faces a separate criminal case brought by Axel Springer for alleged fraud.

($1 = 0.9186 euros)

(Reporting by Klaus Lauer; writing by Rachel More; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Rudy Giuliani , an attorney for former President Trump, has not found a Georgia-based lawyer to represent him in the states prosecution on claims that he assisted a scheme to overturn the 2020 election, according to CNN reports.

The former New York City mayor is among the 19 defendants charged in the states sprawling racketeering case against Trump and his associates.

Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor himself, was charged with solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and other crimes related to a fake elector scheme, which attempted to construct a slate of fraudulent electoral college votes to elect Trump in 2020 after he lost the election.

He is relying on the assistance of one of the cases unindicted co-conspirators, Bernie Kerik, to negotiate his bail and surrender terms with Georgia prosecutors, CNN reports. Kerik is not an attorney himself but has worked with Giuliani on election fraud claims in the past.

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Giuliani must negotiate bail and turn himself in to Georgia authorities by the Friday deadline and will require a Georgia-licensed attorney to sign off on any bail agreements.

Kerik is unindicted Co-conspirator 5 in the Trump indictment, his attorneys confirmed. According to prosecutors, he spoke with politicians about the fake elector scheme in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

The Hill has reached out to Giuliani and Kerik for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Gladstone 's in Pacific Palisades is set to close sometime before chef Wolfgang Puck breaks ground on a new restaurant and public visitors deck. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

After more than 50 years in service, iconic oceanfront restaurant Gladstones is slated to close within the next year, making way for a long-anticipated restaurant from some of L.A.s most recognizable names.

In 2024, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck expects to break ground on a new, Frank Gehry-designed, two-pronged project that will rise in its place.

Gladstones opened in 1972 in Santa Monica Canyon before moving to the scenic intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway in 1981, where the seafood-focused restaurant has drawn locals and tourists with its bowls of chowder and ocean views. The Pacific Palisades establishment perches over Will Rogers State Beach on a nearly three-acre site owned by Los Angeles County, which oversees its operations arrangements.

The most recent owner of Gladstone's was former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. When Riordan died in April , his long-running concessions agreement passed to his estate; according to Los Angeles County officials, Riordan's arrangement with Gladstone's will end Sept. 15. The restaurant will cease operations under his ownership, but should the county find an interim restaurant operator, it could continue to operate as Gladstones until Puck and his partners break ground.

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A second Gladstone's, under separate ownership, continues to operate in Long Beach.

Read more: Summer of Ice Cream: All you need to know about the best frozen treats in L.A.

We are working to make sure that there is no break in operations, if possible, said Nicole Mooradian, a representative of the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

The department has overseen the restaurant's lease since at least the 1990s.

In 2017, the county issued a request for proposals to improve the Gladstones site with a new restaurant. In 2018, Puck  the well-known chef and operator of L.A. restaurants Spago, Cut and Merois  and his wife, Gelila Assefa, formed a partnership with developer Tom Tellefsen and proposed plans for a building designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, eventually beating three other proposals for the site.

Wolfgang Puck, pictured at Spago in 2012, hopes to open a new restaurant and public observation deck on the former site of Gladstone's in 2025. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Pucks new project is slated to include one full-service restaurant, which has yet to be named, and will sit alongside a separate deck dedicated to public use. Currently, the Gladstones restaurant deck acts as a shared space for customers and non-customers. Pucks separate deck will offer some sort of food and beverage outlet for those simply visiting the beach.

The location is so iconic that really, for me, its the last iconic place I will do, Puck said in 2018 shortly after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize negotiations on the chefs plans.

Puck, Assefa and Tellefsen entered an option agreement with the county, which, should all conditions be met, will be signed into a 50-year concessions arrangement, per county officials. A report from Deadline , which first announced the closure of Gladstones, said a competitive bidding process is expected to open soon for the site. Tellefsen said the report was inaccurate, which Mooradian confirmed. Representatives of Gladstones could not be reached for comment.

Puck has yet to determine the menu or broader cuisine focus of his new restaurant, which will have a smaller footprint and fewer seats than Gladstones currently offers, though still "a meaningful number, his business partner said. The Gladstones parking lot is slated for demolition, with a portion to serve as a Big Blue Bus stop for the public in an effort to provide more access to the state beach.

Read more: 15 nostalgic New York-inspired restaurants for a slice of the Big Apple in L.A.

We think it'll relieve a lot of traffic as well as be more economical for people to get there, said Tellefsen, who says the owners are planning to subsidize bus fare for their employees.

The new operators plan to break ground in early to mid 2024 and expect at least 18 months of construction before a 2025 debut.

We're anticipating a very, very exciting replacement for Gladstones, Tellefsen said. There's a lot of memory with Gladstones but it's a tired memory, or people are now disappointed with the existing Gladstones relative to what it was.

"So what Wolfgang and I contemplated is replacing a tired memory with the brand new memory," he said. "That's what our intent is.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics suggests there is a link between more screen time for babies and developmental delays.

Researchers in Japan looked at survey data collected from over 7,000 kids who were 1 year old and found that those who were exposed to screens  defined in the study as "watching television, playing video games, and using mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices"  for more than one hour per day appeared to have more delays in developing communication, fine motor skills and problem-solving skills by the time they were 2, 3 or 4 years old.

The study didn't differentiate between screen time for entertainment or for educational purposes and doesn't show cause and effect, but showed a dose-response relationship between screen time and development.

"The more screen time these babies had at 1 year of age, the worse their developmental milestones were at 2 years of age, particularly in the realm of communication," ABC News' chief health and medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton told "Good Morning America." "Some of those developmental issues, like fine and gross motor skills and problem-solving skills, may have shown a ding at age 2 but then kind of compensated and recovered by age four. But again, this showed that more screen time [is] not good for a one-year-old brain."

PHOTO: A mother and daughter use a smartphone in this undated stock photo. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)

MORE: New guidelines for kids' screen time

What parents should know about screen time for babies

"Babies at 1 year of age need face-to-face communication, Ashton said. "They need that for their social development. They need that for their language development and you can't sub that out with a screen."

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Lowering overall screen exposure may be beneficial for kids in the long run.

Screen time for babies

The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children under a year old should not have any screen time exposure, including watching TV or playing games.

MORE: Excessive screen time during infancy may be linked to lower cognitive skills later in childhood

Screen time for older children

Not all screen time for kids is negative. There are possible benefits of screen time for older children, which can include the development of communication and language skills, problem-solving skills, and social and emotional range.

MORE: Drew Barrymore reveals how she manages screen time with her daughters

"I think it's really important to remember this is age-dependent and it's based on the content not just the quantity," Ashton said. "Children can learn with screen time. It's just a matter of what the content is and how much they're getting."

Study suggests link between screen time and delayed development in babies originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
For nearly two agonizing weeks, Dana Condrey said she and her parents lived in horror as they watched the death toll climb from the wildfire that devastated the Hawaiian Island of Maui and not knowing if her big brother perished or survived.

Her brother, 56-year-old Phillip Hudelson, who lived and worked in hard-hit Lahaina, vanished when the deadliest U.S. blaze in more than 100 years destroyed his residence and the restaurant where he worked as a bartender.

Instead of sitting by the phone waiting for news of her brother's fate, Condrey, a married mother of two, booked a flight to Hawaii from her home in California and set out on a long-shot mission to find her only sibling, telling ABC News, "I told my mother I'd find him."

Thanks to the information, including a DNA sample, she gave the Red Cross soon after arriving on Sunday in Maui, Condrey was reunited with her brother, finding him at a hotel resort where emergency workers had sheltered him, she said.

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"I didn't know I had so much love out there. I really didn't," Hudelson told ABC News on Monday, just three hours after being reunited with Condrey and wearing the same clothes he said he had on when he escaped the flames that leveled his neighborhood.

PHOTO: Phillip Hudelson and his sister, Dana Condrey (ABC News)

As search-and-rescue officials said there are still hundreds of people unaccounted for, Hudelson's story of survival is providing a glimmer of hope for the families still looking for their loved ones.

"Don't give up. Have faith," Hudelson said in his message to those searching for relatives and friends.

On Tuesday, his mother, Laura Hudelson of Arizona, told ABC News, "My prayers were answered."

"It just lifted a thousand pounds off my head," she said of finally speaking to her son by phone on Monday. "I know what every mother, father, sibling of someone who hasn't been found, is going through."

Phillip Hudelson said his terrifying experience began Aug. 8 when he fled the fire that consumed his neighborhood in the hills above Lahaina, leveling his home and those of his neighbors.

MORE: Lingering questions as Maui wildfire response faces criticism

"The fire happened so fast. We had to get off the mountain where I was living and it followed me," he said of the fire.

Hudelson said he initially evacuated to the beach in Lahaina, but soon found himself on the move again when the intense flames and smoke caught up to him. He said he left his home on a scooter with just the clothes on his back and his cellphone, but no charger.

Forced to keep moving away from the fire, he said he found a safe haven on a beach in the neighboring town of Kaanapali, where he bedded down in a lounge chair he found at one of the hotels. By then, his cellphone battery was dead because power was out in the area, and he had no way of recharging his device, which contained the unmemorized phone numbers of his family members.

He said the next day when the fire died down, he drove his scooter back to Lahaina, but the town was barely recognizable with nearly every structure, including the restaurant where he worked, Cheeseburger in Paradise, burned to the ground. He said he saw a body on the ground.

MORE: Maui teacher helps former student escape deadly fire: 'Who knows if I would have made it'

"I knew my mother was dying to hear from me and I really wanted to get access to a phone, but there was no way to do it," said Hudelson, adding that the remaining businesses still standing were all closed and everyone he encountered was in a similar situation -- cut off from any kind of electronic communication.

Hudelson said he stayed at the beach in Kaanapali for 10 days, living off cans of soup he was able to purchase at the only grocery store in the area still open.

"They were ringing stuff up on a calculator because they had no power," he said of the grocery store workers.

PHOTO: A general view shows the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 21, 2023. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

He said eventually two men camping out on the beach near him, informed him that the Red Cross was giving out hotel rooms to evacuees at a hotel close by.

"I jumped right up and went over there and by the grace of God, they gave me a room," Hudelson said.

He said the hotel also directed him to Red Cross workers, who took his personal information. He said he had no idea his family had put him on a missing persons list.

MORE: 1st reported Maui fire may have been caused by damaged power lines, independent report claims

Condrey said she and her family worked the phones calling authorities and acquaintances in Maui, trying desperately to locate Hudelson and chasing down every tip from afar to no avail.

"There was a social media post from Cheeseburger in Paradise for him to pick up his paycheck and then when I found out he didn't pick that up that day, that night I booked a flight here," Condrey told ABC News.

She said a high school girlfriend's brother's wife who lives in Maui heard of her plight and reached out, inviting her to stay with her as she searched for her brother.

Condrey said she hit the ground running once she reached Maui, passing out flyers and putting up posters of her missing brother.

She said that when she contacted the Red Cross, they asked for a DNA sample.

"I gave my DNA, which I didn't want to do because it made me feel like he's dead," Condrey said.

Following her first day of searching, she said she felt "defeated."

Then a Red Cross worker called her out of the blue that same night and informed her, "'We found your brother.'"

MORE: Timeline: How the deadly wildfires took over Maui day by day

Condrey said she called her parents right away, but her father told her he couldn't believe the promising news until she actually saw him in person.

She said the next morning, she went to the hotel where she was informed her brother was staying, but the staff stopped her from going directly to his room, citing the hotel's rules.

We had to wait an hour for security to come and bang on his door," Condrey said.

Hudelson said when he heard the knock at his door, he looked through the peephole and heard a security guard saying, "'Your sister is downstairs."

"I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'My sister is downstairs? I felt overwhelmed," Hudelson said. "I walked through the lobby and she was out on a lounge chair, and I looked at her and said, 'Oh my gosh.'"

Condrey said she started to cry and called their mother, putting her brother on the phone.

"He said to me, 'Now mom, you didn't think a little fire is going to hurt me?'" Laura Hudelson told ABC News.

She added, "My son's a survivor and I knew that about him. He's been through a lot. He went to Hawaii to get his life back."

Phillip Hudelson said he's lived in Maui for four years and plans to stay.

"I love this place," he said.

ABC News' Ashley Riegle and Maria Villalobos contributed to this report.

Sister says her enduring love drove her to find brother missing after Maui wildfire originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A good deed likely spared a South Carolina couple charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot from serving a stint in jail, one of their lawyers said late Monday.

Instead of getting the 15 days in jail sought by the prosecutor, William Gallman, 39, and his wife, Joei Gallman, 43, of Fountain Inn, wound up getting 18 months probation, a $1,000 fine, and 50 hours of community service. Each Gallman must also pay a $500 general restitution fee for the nearly $3 million in damages that the mob did to the Capitol building,

I pointed out to the judge that the video showed he even picked up some velvet rope and poles that others had knocked over and put them back upright, said Ryan Beasley, attorney for William Gallman, in an interview.

Beasley and Cindy Crick, attorney for Joei Gallman, also stressed to Judge Amy Berman Jackson that the Gallmans had not been violent during their 35 minutes inside the Capitol while it was under assault by a mob seeking to stop Congress from ratifying President Joe Bidens victory in the November 2020 election.

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Evidence against the Gallmans included multiple videos and photos of them inside the Capitol taken by themselves and others, including police on duty that day wearing body cameras.

LIke most people involved in the Capitol breach, the Gallmans were supporters of former President Donald Trump , who had staged a rally before the riot and falsely told thousands that he had won the 2020 presidential election. Trump now faces state and federal criminal charges related to allegedly trying to overthrow the presidential election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

Numerous federal and state investigations, as well as some 60 court cases, have produced no evidence that Trump won the 2020 election.

He (William Gallman) is extremely remorseful for his involvement in the instant offense, Beasley wrote in a sentencing memo. He certainly would do things differently if he had the opportunity. John simply wants to put this criminal matter behind him and move forward.

Beasley also told the judge that Gallman had a difficult life, struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, but now, along with his wife, owns a small but growing fabrication business. He has many years experience in welding and computer aided design... (and) is essentially self-taught. The Defendant works hard. His small business is an asset to his family and community. He employs three full-time workers and contracts additional workers as needed. He is a tax-paying business owner with a bright future.

Crick wrote that Joei Gallman attended a rally in Washington, D.C. which was organized to challenge the presidential election. Although she did not follow politics closely at the time, Ms. Gallman went to the rally with her husband and believed she would be participating in a historical protest event. After listening to speeches at the Ellipse, Ms. Gallman and her husband followed the massive crowd to the Capitol and eventually entered the Capitol.

At the time, Joei Gallman viewed the event as something that might be historically similar to Woodstock (a huge outdoor rock concert in 1969 during the Vietnam War). Ms. Gallman was present on the Capitol grounds in her everyday attire and had no intention of entering the Capitol until others began doing so, Crick wrote.

Ms. Gallman was initially amazed and enthralled with the Capitol building interior because she had never visited. She took pictures while her husband picked up velvet rope barricades knocked over by others in the building, Crick wrote.

At some point, the Gallmans began seeing people dressed in riot gear and other odd attire. Ms. Gallman remembers thinking those were not normal people and that she was now caught up in the wrong thing. It was at this point they realized the gravity of the situation and began looking for an exit, Crick wrote.

Michael Gordon, assistant U.S. Attorney and prosecutor on the case, noted the seriousness of the Capitol attack in his sentencing memo.

The breach was a violent attack that forced an interruption of Congresss certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count, threatened the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 Presidential election, injured more than one hundred police officers, and resulted in more than $2.9 million in losses., he wrote.

The Gallmans should have known they werent supposed to be in the Capitol, Gordon wrote, because they entered the building on the Senate side while alarms blared and other rioters were entering the building, saw broken windows, posed for photographs and took photographs of other rioters and observed violent clashes between rioters and police.

They stayed in the Capitol 35 minutes and only left because they and other people who broke into the Capitol were pushed from the hallway by a phalanx of police executing a crowd-control maneuver, Gordon wrote.

Gordon also wrote that the Gallmans entered the Capitol building just seven minutes after a door was breached, making them part of the initial wave of rioters that quickly overwhelmed police officers and provided the rioters with nearly unfettered access to the Capitols chambers, offices, hallways, and other sensitive areas....

While the Gallmans did not wear tactical gear or engage in violence, the true strength of the rioters was in the mobs sheer numbers, and they added to that power, Gordon wrote.

The charge against the Gallmans  parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building  was a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum of six months in prison and a fine of not more than $5,000.

More than 1,106 defendants have been charged in nearly every state and the District of Columbia in connection with the breach, according to the District of Columbia U.S. Attorneys office. Approximately 632 have pleaded guilty so far.

Seventeen of 23 people from South Carolina charged in the Jan. 6 riot have been convicted. Of those who have been convicted, all but three have gotten prison time ranging from two weeks to several years.
Just a day before the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is caught up in a controversy over recent remarks about the 9/11 terror attacks that could stall his momentum.

In a Monday profile in The Atlantic, Ramaswamy is quoted comparing the federal governments supposed lies about the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to alleged deceits about the origins of the mass-casualty terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The comments, which the candidate has since argued were taken out of context, are sure to become fodder for attacks in Wednesdays debate as more experienced Republican contenders seek to arrest Ramaswamys rise in the polls.

Ramaswamy, a political newcomer from Ohio who made a fortune founding a biotechnology company, appeared to suggest that federal law enforcement officials may have been secretly involved in the Sept. 11 plane hijackings.

I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero, Ramaswamy said. But if were doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to.

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Well, if were doing a January 6 commission, absolutely, those should be questions that we should get to the bottom of, he continued. Here are the people who were armed. Here are the people who are unarmed. What percentage of the people who were armed were federal law-enforcement officers? I think it was probably high, actually. Right?

Like many other Republicans, Ramaswamy maintains that the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies have not been honest about how many of their undercover agents were involved in the Jan. 6 riot aimed at stopping the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

But Ramaswamy acknowledged to The Atlantic that Jan. 6 and Sept. 11 are not comparable in scope or character.

Its a ridiculous comparison. But I brought it up only because it was invoked as a basis for the January 6 commission, said Ramaswamy, noting that the 9/11 Commission was cited as a model for a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

In the day since the Atlantic article came out, Ramaswamys efforts at damage control have only compounded the impact of his original gaffe. Facing criticism for his apparent openness to the idea that there were U.S. federal agents on the planes that hit the World Trade Center, Ramaswamy claimed in a Monday evening interview on CNN that he had never made the remarks.

I asked that reporter to send the recording because it was on the record, Ramaswamy told CNNs Kaitlan Collins, referring to The Atlantic reporter John Hendrickson. He refused to do it.

On Monday evening, Collins also pressed Ramaswamy to explain his recent comments on a right-wing talk show hosted by Alex Stein, who had asked the candidate whether 9/11 was an inside job or exactly how the government tells us.

What Ive seen in the last several years is: we have to be skeptical of what the government does tell us. I havent seen evidence to the contrary, Ramaswamy told Stein in early August, implying that he had no reason to question the fundamental facts about who perpetrated the attack. But do I believe everything the government told us about it? Absolutely not. Do I believe the 9/11 Commission? Absolutely not.

Ramaswamy told CNN that he does not believe that 9/11 was an inside job perpetrated by the U.S. government. He insisted instead that when he refers to the U.S. governments lies about 9/11, he means that officials have not been honest about the alleged role of the Saudi Arabian government in the terror attacks.

It is absolutely true that Saudi Arabia was involved in 9/11, Ramaswamy said.

Although many would disagree with Ramaswamys exact claims about Saudi involvement, that part of his remarks is rooted in fact. President Joe Biden declassified FBI documents in September 2021 that detail the law enforcement agencys strong suspicion that two Saudi nationals living in the U.S. at the time of the attacks  a diplomat and a Saudi intelligence agent  played a significant role in helping the perpetrators of the 9/11 hijacking attacks. The new documents diverge from previous assurances by the FBI and the 9/11 Commission that the two Saudis were not involved in the attacks. The declassified materials do not, however, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Saudi government as a whole, or higher-ranking Saudi officials, orchestrated the two mens participation.

The audio clearly demonstrates that Vivek was taken badly out of context and even this small snippet proves that.Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson, Ramaswamy campaign

National scrutiny of Ramaswamys comments about 9/11 has not let up since Monday. Less than 24 hours after Ramaswamy dared Hendrickson to release audio of their conversation, The Atlantic reporter obliged with a new story containing a link to the relevant audio and a transcript of their comments. The audio confirmed that Ramaswamy had sketched the hypothetical about federal agents on the Sept. 11 planes in an apparent attempt to explain why it might be reasonable to wonder if the government was lying about federal agents role in the mob violence of Jan. 6.

Ramaswamys campaign told HuffPost that the audio recording shows that he never intended to suggest that federal agents might have been involved in the 9/11 attacks.

We are grateful that the Atlantic released the audio after we repeatedly asked them to do so. The audio clearly demonstrates that Vivek was taken badly out of context and even this small snippet proves that, Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamys communication director, said in a statement. We continue to encourage the Atlantic to release more of the recording, rather than their carefully selected snippet, so that full context and reality is exposed.

Regardless, the dust-up over Ramswamys comments is likely to play a major role in Wednesdays televised Republican presidential debate.

Former President Donald Trump, far ahead in the primary polls, is skipping the debate. In his absence, Ramaswamy, who is nipping at the heels of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the polls, is expected to be both an outsize stage presence and the object of attacks from rival candidates.

Last week, a memo authored by a DeSantis-aligned super PAC recommended that DeSantis hammer Ramaswamy for his past deviations from conservative orthodoxy and dub him Vivek the Fake. And former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has already blasted Ramaswamy for outlining a goal of phasing out U.S. aid to Israel by 2028. Ramaswamy has said that he would build upon the Abraham Accords  U.S.-brokered treaties between Israel and several Arab nations  to such a degree that Israel would no longer need the same military assistance from the U.S.

Ramaswamy, a ubiquitous presence on the campaign trail and in media outlets, has surprised some observers with the traction he is getting relative to more seasoned candidates like Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). He trails only Trump and DeSantis in several national polls, though his standing in early primary states is less formidable thus far.

But Ramaswamys Republican detractors see his 9/11 comments as a reflection of his lack of seriousness as a candidate.

Hes the flavor of the month, said a Republican consultant affiliated with DeSantis. He seems exciting, but he is now getting the scrutiny of the bright lights and the attention that comes with that.

Mocking the Ramaswamy campaigns daily podcast and the candidates past interest in becoming a talk show host, the consultant added, This isnt a podcast. This is a presidential campaign.

Other Republicans see Ramaswamys unpolished style as refreshing.

He has this air of authenticity even if you disagree with him, said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who met with Ramaswamy and remains neutral in the presidential race. He doesnt come across as poll-tested. Thats his attraction.

Ramaswamy himself has dismissed negative media coverage and rivals criticism by comparing it to the reaction that Trump provoked in 2016.

I am guilty as charged that I do not follow the establishment super PAC donor-approved script on these questions, but Im speaking truth grounded in fact, at every step of the way, he said during the CNN interview Monday. And thats whats really elicited something of an anaphylactic reaction of the kind we saw in 2016 against a different candidate.

Ramaswamy, who has rallied to Trumps side amid the rash of criminal indictments against the former president, also highlighted what he sees as his departure from Trumps style.

But this time, Im going to be grounded in principles and conviction, not just vengeance and grievance, he concluded.
GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder filed his financial disclosure on Monday, three months late.

He reported earning between $1 million and $5 million from the far-right newspaper, The Epoch Times.

The paper has close ties with the Chinese Falun Gong religious sect and spent millions in pro-Trump Facebook ads in 2020.

The financial disclosure filed by GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder shows he's made millions from far-right newspaper, The Epoch Times.

Elder filed the disclosure on Monday, three months after he was formally required to do so. Raw Story first reported on the disclosure.

In the disclosure, Elder said he made between $1 million and $5 million from The Epoch Times. He also reported income of between $100,001 and $1 million from the anti-inflammatory supplement Relief Factor.

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As Politico's Kimberly Leonard noted on Twitter, Elder's disclosure violates guidance from the Office of Government Ethics which requires candidates to provide their exact income, not in ranges as he did.

Founded in 2000, The Epoch Times is a nonprofit publication with close ties to the Chinese religious sect, Falun Gong.

The Epoch Times was the second-biggest spender on pro-Trump Facebook ads in the 2020 presidential election, behind only the Trump campaign itself. Facebook later banned The Epoch Times from distributing paid advertisements for violating ad policies.

The newspaper has also made headlines for spreading conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, claiming that Chinese Communists were behind the viral outbreak.

Joan Donovan, a nationally-recognized misinformation and disinformation expert, said in an interview with NBC News that The Epoch Times was "a known disinformation operation."

Per his author profile page on The Epoch Times' website, Elder produced content for the publication for several years including "The Larry Elder Show," which he at one point hosted three times a week.

The Republican National Convention announced on Monday that Elder did not qualify for the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On Tuesday, Elder said that he plans to sue the RNC to "halt" the debate as he claims he's unjustly being excluded despite meeting the committee's standards.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Eight candidates are set to appear onstage this week in the battleground state of Wisconsin for the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 presidential cycle.

Not one of them is named Donald Trump , the indicted former president leading the race by a mile. He intends to skip the Milwaukee event  as well as all future debates  robbing his rivals of the opportunity to confront him in person Wednesday.

That means candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy , as well as the six others who met the Republican National Committees debate criteria, could have a breakout moment that has nothing to do with Trump. But without him there, it all feels a bit like a consolation match, with candidates competing to make up massive ground and no real way to get there.

Everybodys still trying to make a horse race out of horse manure, Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said in a Monday video. The fact that Donald Trump will not be on that stage just means that this debate means nothing to anyone. It is sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Also participating in this weeks prime-time event, hosted by Fox News: former Vice President Mike Pence , Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley , North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Trump seemingly hopes to draw attention away from the debate by sitting down for an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson that will air simultaneously Wednesday on the social media network formerly known as Twitter. He is also set to turn himself in at Georgias Fulton County Jail on Thursday for the criminal charges he faces there, virtually ensuring that the media fixates on him instead of airing clips of his rivals.

Only in todays Republican Party is getting arrested to step on your opponents coverage considered a smart political move.

A few GOP candidates have previewed their debate strategies, but with the exception of Trump antagonist Christie, these dont entail attacking the races front-runner. Advisers affiliated with Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis super PAC that is legally barred from coordinating with the candidate, last week posted debate tips online, suggesting that DeSantis go after Ramaswamy instead of Trump.

Haley, who also served as South Carolinas governor in the past, has similarly previewed potential attacks against Ramaswamy. The biotech millionaire is the only GOP hopeful  besides Trump, of course  who appears to be gaining in polls, making the political newcomer an easy target. Ramaswamy is coming off a tough week in which hes had to defend comments on 9/11 and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol  remarks that his rivals are likely to bring up onstage.

Though many of the candidates are expected to focus on bashing President Joe Biden, there is little daylight between the Republicans in terms of policy  except on the topic of aid to Ukraine. DeSantis and Ramaswamy have sided with Trump in questioning U.S. support for defending the country against Russian aggression. Pence, Haley and the others back continued aid for Ukraine, putting them more in line with traditional GOP orthodoxy.

Four backbencher candidates didnt make the cut for the debate: former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, conservative radio host Larry Elder and businessman Perry Johnson. Elder has threatened to sue the Republican National Committee  which set the polling and donor requirements to appear onstage  and Hurd has complained about the process.

The lack of transparency and confusion around the RNCs debate requirements is antithetical to the democratic process, Hurd said in a statement Tuesday. The American people deserve better.

No word yet from Suarez, who previously said that candidates who dont make the debate stage should drop out of the race.
A seven-member commission on Tuesday nominated three appeals court judges to fill the vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court left by Judge George W. Draper III, who retired earlier this month.

After interviewing more than 20 applicants, the Appellate Judicial Commission unanimously selected Kelly C. Broniec, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District in St. Louis; Michael E. Gardner, who also serves as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District in St. Louis; and Ginger K. Gooch, a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District in Springfield.

Gov. Mike Parson , a Republican, has the power to appoint one of the three judges to fill the vacancy left by Draper within 60 days. If he does not make a pick, the commission will select the appointee.

The appointment will mark the second time that Parson has named a judge to the states highest court. He did so in 2021 when he appointed Judge Robin Ransom. Later this year, the Republican governor will make his third appointment when Judge Patricia Breckenridge retires after turning 70, the courts mandatory retirement age.

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The seven-member commission, chaired by Chief Justice Mary R. Russell, announced the three nominations after nearly eight hours of interviews over the past two days and deliberating for roughly three hours on Tuesday.

Broniec, who lives in Montgomery City, earned a degree in business administration from Williams Woods University in Fulton and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1996.

Gardner, who lives in Cape Girardeau, earned a political science degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2001 and graduated with a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 2004.

Gooch, who lives in Springfield, earned a degree in English and philosophy, law and rhetoric from Stephens College in Columbia in 1997. She also received a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 2000.

Tuesdays announcement means that Parson will not be able to consider any applicants from the Kansas City area for the vacancy on the court. One of the applicants was state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican who successfully passed legislation last year to force Kansas City to spend more on police.

Jackson County Judge Kenneth R. Garrett III, who hails from Kansas City, also was one of the applicants and was the only Black person to apply.

Garrett, through a spokesperson, declined comment on Tuesday. Luetkemeyer did not respond to a request for comment.
A group of conservative lawmakers is vowing to oppose any federal budget extension and risk a partial government shutdown unless congressional leaders promise to end all woke military policies and agree to other political concessions.

The move heightens already growing fears that troops and Defense Department civilians could see their paychecks stopped and their job responsibilities paused at the start of October because of political infighting. Government appropriations for the current fiscal year run out on Sept. 30.

On Monday, members of the influential House Freedom Caucus released a statement outlining demands for upcoming negotiations on the federal budget. House Republican leaders will need to appease some or all of the caucuss 45 members to pass any budget deal, or get cooperation from Democrats on a spending plan.

Without a short-term extension of current spending levels or a long-term budget deal, numerous federal agencies  including the Department of Defense  would be forced to stop paying employees and shutter most activities.

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In the past, that has meant closures for military commissaries, cancellation of non-essential military travel and training, and shuttering of most family support programs. Troops would still be required to report for duty, but non-essential Defense Department civilian workers would be sent home until a new budget deal is completed.

Reaching a short-term budget deal was expected to be Congress top priority when lawmakers return from their late-summer break in early September. But the process was already expected to be contentious, given strong disagreements between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on spending priorities. The Caucus demands further add to that challenge.

In a statement, caucus members said they will support a short-term budget extension only if it includes plans to end the Lefts cancerous woke policies in the Pentagon undermining our militarys core warfighting mission. Group members did not specify what policies or programs that would specifically entail.

GOP lawmakers target diversity training, COVID rules in defense bill

As part of the annual defense authorization bill debate earlier this summer, House Republicans passed measures that would roll back diversity and inclusion training in military units, ban the teaching of critical race theory at service academies, and prohibit drag shows and other LGBTQ+ support events at military bases.

Those provisions were met with opposition from House Democrats. In the Senate, where Democratic lawmakers have a majority, leaders said they would not allow such provisions to move ahead.

The House Freedom Caucus is also demanding new border security legislation and restrictions on the Justice Department as part of any short-term budget extension. Members also said they will oppose any blank check for Ukraine in any supplemental appropriations bill.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has publicly promised not to allow any budget extension to go past early December, vowing to complete a full-year budget plan for fiscal 2024 before the end of the calendar year.

The last partial government shutdown began in December 2018 and lasted 35 days. But Defense Department personnel were largely exempt from the effects of that stalemate, because funding for military operations had been approved by Congress separate from other agencies.

The last time Defense Department civilians were furloughed for a significant stretch because of partial shutdown was in 2013. During that 13-day impasse, troops missed one paycheck, but were awarded retroactive pay after a deal was reached.
Russian forces shelled Donetsk Oblasts Lyman district on Aug. 22, killing five people and injuring three, reported Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko .

Three residents were killed, and one was wounded in the village of Torske, while another was injured in Zakitne, Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram.

Earlier the same day, he said on national television that Russian shelling had killed two civilians and wounded another in Yampil.

Russia also reportedly launched an air strike on the village of New York in Donetsk Oblast, using aerial bombs that weigh 250 kilograms each. There were no casualties, according to the governor.

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The enemy is targeting civilians in Donetsk Oblast every day, especially in frontline communities, Kyrylenko told TV reporters.

Read also: Stranded civilians brave shelling, return to Ukraines front-line towns

The official added that 171 children remain on the front-line territories of Donetsk Oblast, but local authorities plan to evacuate them with their parents in the next two weeks forcibly.

The mandatory evacuations from settlements located near active hostilities began on April 7. Local officials are responsible for implementing the policy, and all children evacuated from active combat zones must be accompanied by a relative or a legal guardian.

A total of 492,000 people remain in Donetsk Oblast following Ukraines evacuation efforts, according to Kyrylenko.

Consistently the site of the heaviest fighting of the full-scale war, the eastern region regularly sees civilian casualties from Russian strikes across the front line.

Read also: Its a lottery: How Ukraines assault brigade counterattacks near Bakhmut

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Scientists developing more sensitive next-generation gravitational wave detectors struggle with technical challenges that might be easily overcome by putting such detectors on the moon. Here is why a gravitational wave observatory on Earth's natural companion might be a good idea.

Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime triggered by collisions between the most massive objects known to exist in the universe  black holes and neutron stars , the odd leftovers birthed from the deaths of the most giant stars .

First detected in 2015, these cosmic signals can be picked up by sophisticated detectors such as the U.S. Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) or the European VIRGO detector in Italy. But the current detectors only detect the most powerful and relatively nearby collisions that occurred within 7 billion light-years from Earth, according to Einstein Online .

Scientists are already developing larger, more sensitive machines that would be able to detect even the most distant cosmic clashes, as well as those caused by collisions between smaller black holes and lighter neutron stars. There's one issue: We have yet to figure out how to eliminate the ever-present background noise produced by our planet. One researcher thinks that the problem could be solved by putting a gravitational wave detector on the moon .

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Related: We could hunt gravitational waves on the moon if this wild idea takes off

Speaking at the Astronomy from the Moon conference held earlier this year in London, professor Jan Harms, a gravitational wave-detection expert at Italy's Gran Sasso Science Institute, said that since these next-generation detectors want to provide much better sensitivity than LIGO and VIRGO, they need to be not only larger, but also better protected from seismic noise, the constant hum of our planet and the life it harbors.

"Gravitational-wave detectors are sensitive to tiny forces that no other experiment can see, which makes them very susceptible to their environment (even in space and on the moon)," Harms told Space.com in an email. "The moon offers ideal conditions, and we are very lucky that it is so close to Earth. For example, we know that the moon is seismically extremely quiet, above all because of the lack of ocean and atmosphere, but also because moonquakes are less frequent and weaker compared to earthquakes."

Moreover, to maximize the sensitivity of these devices, the next-generation gravitational-wave detectors should be cooled to extremely low temperatures close to absolute zero, the temperature equivalent to minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius) at which point atoms stop moving. But the cooling technologies required to reach such temperatures create vibrations, which then make it more difficult to detect the subtle space-time ripples.

Inside the moon's permanently shadowed polar craters, on the other hand, temperatures are naturally extremely cold and stable enough to host such sensitive equipment.

"Exploiting these physical conditions on the moon will make it possible to open an important frequency band from 0.1Hz to 1Hz to gravitational-wave observations, which cannot be observed on Earth," Harms explained. "There is a lot of breakthrough science we expect to be able to do with observations in this band."

In addition to sensing merging black holes and neutron stars, a gravitational-wave detector on the moon could be able to spot collisions of smaller, less massive objects, such as white dwarfs , the cooling remnants of smaller stars such as our sun , Harms wrote. Scientists think that such collisions are responsible for certain types of supernovas , the most powerful explosions known to occur in the universe, but they don't yet have any evidence of that.

By being able to observe mergers of smaller black holes at the most distant reaches of the universe, scientists would also be able to fill gaps in their understanding of the formation of supermassive black holes , the gaping monsters devouring matter at the center of galaxies .

"At the moment, we do not have a unique and fully satisfactory answer to how supermassive black holes were formed," Harms added.

Related stories:

 Inflatable moon telescope could peer into universe's Dark Ages

 China wants to launch a moon-orbiting telescope array as soon as 2026

 The moon's far side could offer a view of the universe even deeper than the James Webb Space Telescope

Harms and his team are already developing a concept of a lunar gravitational-wave detector, which, Harms believes, could launch to the moon within the next decade. Called the Lunar Gravitational Wave Antenna , the detector would use the entire moon as a giant receptor of gravitational waves. A sensitive sensor placed inside one of the cold, shaded lunar craters would then measure the minuscule vibrations of the moon caused by passing gravitational waves.

"There are no major technological hurdles to overcome to realize this detector," Harms wrote.

Scientists from other astronomy disciplines are looking at the moon and its polar craters as well, seeing them as the best destination that could allow them to push the boundaries of what is possible with existing ground and space-based telescopes. If all these ideas come to fruition, it might soon get a little crowded in those frosty, eternally quiet moon craters.
When the United States entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor , Hawaii, in December 1941, all military services needed to slam their training into high gear. For the U.S. Navy, there was a real quandary of where to conduct sea-going training with real and perceived enemy threats on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. Later in December 1941, a Japanese submarine surfaced off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and shelled an oil storage facility with its deck gun. In the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, German Navy U-boats were sinking U.S. and British merchant ships at will, often within sight of American civilians on shore.

The answer to the Navys training dilemma came from one of Americas greatest national resources: the Great Lakes in the northern Midwest of the United States, along the border with Canada. To provide a safe location for efficient naval training operations, two ad hoc training aircraft carriers were constructed and operated on the Great Lakes, part of what was jokingly called the Cornbelt Fleet.

The U.S.S. Wolverine (IX-64) was the first of the ad hoc aircraft carriers. The ship started its maritime life in 1913 as the paddle-wheel steamer Seeandbee, a Lake Erie luxury cruise liner . The coal-fired ship was capable of carrying 1,500 passengers on its Buffalo, New York to Cleveland, Ohio run, in five hundred private cabins, a saloon, and a large formal dining hall, complete with an orchestra providing music during meals.

After the ship was purchased by the Navy, it only took four months to convert the liner into a training aircraft carrier with a 500-foot wooden landing deck. Since the ship did not need to be combat capable and was not intended to make long open sea voyages, much of the equipment needed for those functions, and otherwise necessary redundant systems, could be dispensed with. The new Navy ship was placed in commission in August 1942 and immediately began training fliers and carrier deck crews for the combat fleet.

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In 1943, another Lake Erie paddle-wheel liner, the Greater Buffalo, was similarly converted, but with a steel flight deck, for service as a second training carrier, the U.S.S. Sable (IX-81). The two freshwater flattops'' carriers of the Cornbelt fleet operated primarily on Lake Michigan. While safe from lurking Japanese or Nazi submarines, the calmer weather and sea conditions presented some problems for flight training. For both takeoff and landing, most carrier-based aircraft needed some stiff wind beneath their wings, which comes from both the forward motion of the ship and sea breezes blowing down the flight deck once the ship turns into the wind for flight activities. Often what would otherwise be considered calm good weather meant no flight operations could take place, occasionally for days at a time.

Greater Buffalo underway in 1942.

Nearly 18,000 fliers conducted more than 116,000 landings and take-offs on the two vessels between 1943 and 1945. During that period, approximately three hundred planes were lost. Several have been salvaged over the years for restoration and museum display. One of the naval aviators that became qualified on a Great Lakes carrier was future president George H.W. Bush , who went on to fly 58 combat missions in the Pacific in a TBM Avenger torpedo bomber.

The two Great Lakes carriers helped qualify Naval aviators as Landing Signals Officers (LSOs), who stood on the carrier deck with various forms of paddles to visually guide their fellow aviators to either a safe landing or a wave off to go around for another landing attempt. While Naval aviators and LSOs are the tip of the spear when it comes to carrier flight operations, it also takes hundreds of specially trained sailors to operate the busy, chaotic flight deck. These are the sailors seen wearing different distinctive colored shirts and during the World War II era, caps that reflected their specific duties on the carriers.

Yellow- Aircraft handling officer, Catapult and arresting gear officer, Plane director  responsible for all movement of all aircraft on the flight/hangar deck

Green- Catapult and arresting gear crew, Visual landing aid electrician, Air wing maintainer, Air wing quality controller, Cargo-handler, Ground support equipment (GSE) troubleshooter, Hook runner, Photographer's mate

Red- Ordnance handler, Crash and salvage crew, Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), Firefighter, and damage control party

Purple- Aviation fuel handler

Young sailors entering these fields in World War II needed a live, operating carrier deck to receive the realistic training to become qualified and immediately effective when they got to the combat fleets sailing in harms way.

Both ships ceased operations when the war ended in 1945 and were soon decommissioned. Unsuccessful attempts were made to turn the Sable into a museum, and both ships were eventually scrapped.
Greece wants to help Ukraine rebuild Odesa's historic urban center, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Athens on Aug. 21.

President Zelensky arrived in Athens on Aug. 21 to attend a Ukraine-Balkan summit hosted by Greece.

"Mr. President, Greece will be present in the titanic efforts to reconstruct and rebuild your country," Mitsotakis said. He specified that Greece would lend its experience in restoring cultural monuments "with a special focus on Odesa."

Downtown Odesa, deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site, sustained severe damage from repeated attacks in July. Russian strikes hit the historic Transfiguration Cathedral along with dozens of other buildings.

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During the briefing, Mitsotakis also mentioned that the city of Mariupol holds special significance for Greece.

Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast is the center of the Ukrainian Greek community.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Greece to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s; Ukraine advances southeast of Robotyne

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Poll working, not watching, is the goal for a group of former troops and military family members seeking to get the nation's veterans to staff the polls this year, next year and beyond.

Ahead of National Poll Worker Recruitment Day on Wednesday, organizers for We the Veterans and Military Families, a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to strengthen the nation's bedrock principles through civic duty and collaboration, announced it is expanding its effort to attract veterans to serve as poll workers. It will add education programs in several states to build a foundation of trust in the voting system.

Ellen Gustafson, a Navy spouse and the group's executive director, said the Vet the Vote 2023/2024 campaign will include a tour for veteran leaders and military family advocates in Maricopa County, Arizona, of the ballot-processing facility, as well as events for veterans in New Hampshire, Los Angeles County and Las Vegas to teach them about the voting process.

Read Next: Guardsmen Were Attacked by Coyotes During a Training Rotation in Louisiana

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Maricopa County is home to the second-largest veteran population in the U.S. behind Los Angeles, according to Gustafson. It also was the site of mass protests by supporters of then-President Donald Trump the evening of and days following the 2020 presidential election.

In Las Vegas that year, GOP attorneys filed a lawsuit over more than 3,000 absentee ballots -- many of which were from military personnel, serving elsewhere in the country or overseas, who are allowed to vote in their home of record -- alleging they were wrongfully submitted.

Gustafson said the idea of these events is to provide "voting education" so military personnel, veterans and family members understand the process, have faith in it and spread the word about the integrity of the election system in the U.S.

"A great way to destabilize our democracy, if you're a foreign adversary, is to get people to not trust our elections -- the foundation of our democracy," Gustafson said in a roundtable with reporters Tuesday. "So, what we're addressing is that while foreign adversaries are trying to get to the hearts and minds of this incredibly trusted group, if we don't fight it for those hearts and minds, we're going to lose them."

In 2022, We the Veterans brought together a coalition of military and veteran organizations to promote Vet the Vote, an effort to get former service members and military families to volunteer on Election Day.

The campaign resulted in 63,500 veterans and family members volunteering last Nov. 8 in an effort to help fill roughly 130,000 poll worker positions left vacant as the result of retirements and the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept many older workers home on election day.

Gustafson did not give a goal for the number of poll workers the group hopes to sign up for the 2024 election, but said states need workers throughout the process -- for special elections and primaries in addition to the general election.

And in some states, she added, new rules have meant that election officials need to have their full complement of workers for the November 2024 vote at the start of the year, as early as January.

"That means that in November or December of this year, we're going to have to do big pushes in states like Florida, which I know has one of those rules," Gustafson said.

In 2020, Trump refused to concede the election and made false allegations over election results in several states, taking issue with electronic voting machines he claimed had erased votes for him and alleging that votes were lost.

His own attorney general, Bill Barr, said the Justice Department did not find any evidence of widespread fraud, and recounts conducted in the disputed states did not change the election results.

Trump and 18 others have now been indicted in Georgia for their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. The former president announced on his Truth Social network that he planned to turn himself in on Thursday.

Gustafson said the Vet the Votes campaign is apolitical and noted that working the polls is a "democratic and citizen" job that meshes well with service members' and veterans' desire to serve.

Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel who serves as a We the Veterans board member and has volunteered as a poll worker in Charles County, Maryland, and Warren County, Virginia, said that throughout the process, poll workers leave their politics at the door.

"It is considered really bad form for election poll workers to discuss politics at all," Plenzler said.

"You get to know your community ... show me another place in American society where Republicans, Democrats and independents are all coming together to work together to do something productive for the country."

Tina Barton, an elections expert with The Elections Group -- a consulting company that provides guidance to local, state and federal election organizations -- and former senior program adviser to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission executive director, said that now, more than ever, the nation's election boards need volunteers who believe in the system.

With the average age of poll workers at or above retirement age (60% of poll workers are 61 or older), and some facing intimidation and threats as well as concerns over COVID-19 and other contagious illnesses, the need is tremendous.

And that gap, she said, "is ready to be filled by groups" like young people who have specific skill sets -- those who value teamwork and those who are dedicated and prize the democratic process.

To We the Veterans and Military Families and those considering volunteering, Barton said the effort is admirable.

"On behalf of all the election administrators in our country, I want to say a huge thank you. Thank you, thank you for your service to our government and to our country. But also thank you for filling this gap for us," she said.

For more information on becoming a poll worker, a paid position that requires a day of training, depending on location, followed by work on Election Day, contact your local election office or reach out to Vet the Vote.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: New Executive Order Requires Pentagon to Track Military Absentee Ballots
AVON  Warrant Officer Kort Plantenberg, who died in the 2019 helicopter crash with two fellow Minnesota National Guardsmen, used to mail packages to brothers-in-arms in Kuwait from the Avon post office.

After a ceremony Thursday that included top military brass and state and federal lawmakers, the building will forever be named for him. A plaque bearing Plantenbergs name will be mounted in the entryway after Congress voted in December for the change. The plaque replaces one that is original to the buildings construction in 2000 which dedicates it to public service.

Plantenbergs life was also dedicated to serving the people around him, according to speakers at the ceremony Thursday morning. He joined the National Guard in 2016 and was deployed to Kuwait aiding in medical evacuations. Before that he was a correctional officer with the Stearns County Sherriff's Department and he also worked as a lifeguard, National Ski Patrolman and worked with the county water patrol.

Kort Plantenberg

He was one of those individuals always willing to help friend and family and ddeply cared about the wellbeing of others, Plantenbergs father, Stephen Plantenberg, said. ... From a very young age, Kort found his own way to incorporate his passions with his commitment to the service of others.

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Kort Plantenberg was a crew member on the Dec. 5, 2019, flight that killed him and pilots Chief Warrant Officer James A. Rogers Jr. (28), of Winsted, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charles P. Nord (30), of Perham. An Avon native, Kort Plantenberg graduated from Albany Area High School in 2009 and joined the Guard in 2016. He was a member of the Minnesota National Guard biathlon team and was preparing to start the state warrant officer program and flight school before the crash. He was awarded the rank posthumously.

A photo taken in April in Iraq shows James Rogers, Charles Nord and Kort Plantenberg while deployed. The photo was on display during a press conference Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, at the Army Aviation Support Facility in St. Cloud. The three were killed Thursday when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed near Marty.

Avon Mayor Jeff Manthe spoke at the ceremony and called Plantenberg a friend to everyone. He said several people knew Kort Plantenberg as DeWalt because of his handiness with tools and hard work ethic.

A meditation by John Henry Newman is inscribed on Kort Plantenbergs tombstone and on a memorial bench at the crash site memorial near Kimball. It describes service in the way he thought of it, according to Kort Plantenbergs father. The meditation was also read at the dedication.

He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another, it reads. I have my mission  I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.

Renaming a post office requires an act of Congress and the signature of the president. House District 6, which previously included Avon, representative Tom Emmer (R) introduced the legislation that is cosponsored by every Minnesota representative. An identical bill was introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) and sponsored by Sen. Tina Smith (D). The post offices in Winstead and Perham will also be renamed Rogers and Nord.

Emmer and current Avon representative Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7) spoke in person at the ceremony at the post office Thursday. Klobuchar spoke via phone. Emmer called Kort Plantenberg a true Minnesotan and said filing the legislation was a no-brainer. He was proud of the bipartisan support for the bill, which passed unanimously.

I cant tell you how thrilled I am to see Korts hometown finally have a permanent reminder of him and his service, Emmer said.

Fischbach agreed, adding we can never do enough to honor Kort Plantenberg.

You can tell that he loved his friends and his family and they loved him, because of the turnout today, she said. I look around and I see so many people and I saw so many hugs and well-wishes before the ceremony started so you can really feel that.

Stephen and Laura Plantenberg, Kort Plantenberg's mom, said they knew nearly all of the several dozen people gathered for the dedication ceremony. Laura Plantenberg said she regulary uses the post office and the rededication had not quite sunk in.

They said it is easy to take for granted the quality of life in central Minnesota, but that they hit the jackpot in living in Avon. Thousands of people attended Kort Plantenbergs funeral and several memorial ceremonies following the tragedy. The Plantenbergs stayed for more than an hour after Thursdays ceremony visiting and thanking members of the community.

We all have a mission in our lives, Stephen Plantenberg said. I share (Newmans) reflections as all of our hearts should be filled with gratitude for the privilege of being here in this moment. It is imperative that we honor all that have and currently serve our country and community.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Avon post office renamed for Kort Plantenberg, who died in helicopter crash
Guatemala's President-elect Bernardo Arevalo attends an interview with Reuters, at his home in Guatemala City

Guatemala's President-elect Bernardo Arevalo attends an interview with Reuters, at his home in Guatemala City

By Cassandra Garrison and Sofia Menchu

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -Bernardo Arevalo, who won Sunday's Guatemalan presidential runoff by a landslide, said he wants to work with the U.S. to expand temporary work programs for migrants there, while also increasing investment in his country's poorest areas to reduce departures.

In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, the 64-year-old center-left anti-corruption crusader said the U.S. and Guatemala must sit down to "find ways to influence a phenomenon that we share."

"We want to have a very serious discussion around a very significant expansion of the temporary work programs," Arevalo said at his home in Guatemala City.

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"Managed in a way where access is expanded to (poverty-stricken) places, they can become an additional measure to mitigate the pressure on people to leave."

More migrants have left from Guatemala for the U.S. border than from any other "Northern Triangle" country in recent years. Over 233,000 Guatemalans arrived at U.S. borders in 2022, about 8.4% of all arrivals.

Arevalo, an ex-diplomat and son of a former president, rose speedily from relative obscurity to win the presidency as support surged for his anti-establishment, reformist message.

Arevalo said he sees his mandate as having three pillars: addressing a culture of mistrust; creating more economic opportunities; and expanding access to healthcare and education.

He said his government will focus on expanding development to combat malnutrition and unemployment in Guatemala's Dry Corridor, an area that stretches across Central America and is particularly vulnerable to climate change and drought.

Many analysts regard Arevalo's victory as a potentially definitive moment for Guatemala, with voters rejecting a powerful status quo dogged by allegations of widespread corruption.

Arevalo said fighting graft and restoring confidence in democracy will be at the forefront of his administration and that he will seek a foreign agenda that supports these goals.

CHINA AND TAIWAN

Guatemala, Central America's most populous country, has for decades maintained formal ties with Taiwan. Arevalo wants to maintain those ties - but he also wants to improve relations with China.

It would be an act of foreign policy gymnastics, given China's position that countries it has relations with cut off ties with Taipei.

"We believe it is perfectly feasible to have good relations with both the (People's) Republic of China and Taiwan," said Arevalo.

Guatemala's private sector was interested in expanding relations with China, which counts the Central American country as its main trade partner in the region, Arevalo added.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said it was confident of continued cooperation with Guatemala's new government on the basis of existing good foundations, noting relations were broadly supported in the Central American country.

A day after the Guatemalan presidential runoff, the six-nation Central American Parliament known as the Parlacen voted to expel Taiwan after more than two decades as a permanent observer and replace it with China, whose growing economic influence in Latin America has increasingly marginalized Taipei.

Guatemala is the only Parlacen member that still recognizes Taiwan.

In the run-up to Sunday's election, Arevalo and his Semilla party had faced legal challenges over alleged registration irregularities and the party was briefly suspended at the request of a prominent prosecutor before Guatemala's top court reversed the ban.

International experts have speculated the attorney general could continue to launch legal challenges that threaten the transition of power.

But after securing more than 58% of the vote in the runoff, Arevalo said he was confident he will assume office as planned on Jan. 14.

"The people of Guatemala spoke, and spoke very clearly and forcefully, and that is a fact that is going to weigh heavily on those who are still trying to derail this election," he said.

He said he was realistic about what can be achieved in four years, however.

"We do not believe that the people of Guatemala at this moment are waiting (for us) to arrive with a magic wand," he said.

"What they want to see ... is authorities that finally assume the commitment to work for development and to work for the people, and that is what we are going to do."

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Rosalba O'Brien and Cynthia Osterman)
Guns, racism and Donald Trump were discussed during jury selection Monday for the trial of a Topeka man charged in the Halloween night 2020 shootings of three youths he suspected of stealing Trump signs.

A jury was impaneled late Monday afternoon to try Robert Sinner Jr., 42, who is charged with three counts of aggravated battery and one count of discharging a weapon at an occupied vehicle with great bodily harm.

The trial is expected to last five days, said Shawnee County District Court Judge Brett Watson, who is presiding. Opening arguments are to be made Tuesday morning.

A Topeka police report indicated this property at 1312 N.W. Eugene was linked to a triple shooting that occurred Oct. 31, 2020. Topekan Robert Sinner is being tried this week on criminal charges linked to that situation.

What is Robert Sinner Jr. accused of?

Authorities allege Sinner fired shots that struck three teenaged, Hispanic occupants of a car late Oct. 31, 2020, in North Topeka.

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All three wounded teens survived. One  driver Jose Garcia, who was 17 at the time  was charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault. The Shawnee County District Attorney's office subsequently dropped that charge.

Sinner said he fired only after Garcia tried to try to run down Sinner's brother, Justin Sinner, then 34.

Court records said the Sinners suspected the youths had been responsible for the theft the previous evening from a neighbor of signs promoting what turned out to be Trump's unsuccessful run that year for re-election to the presidency.

The property owners involved chose not to pursue charges related to the theft.

What steps were taken Monday to come up with a jury?

A pool of more than 60 jurors was present and available for Monday's proceedings, Watson said.

Thirty-four were picked randomly to be considered for jury duty.

Ten of those were dismissed and replaced by other potential jurors, six because personal circumstances would have caused them great hardship and four for cause, because they were considered unable to be fair and impartial.

Each person who was dismissed was then replaced by someone else from the pool of prospective jurors.

Thirty-four jurors remained once Shawnee County deputy district attorney Steven Karrer and Sinner's defense attorney, Kevin Shepherd, finished questioning potential jurors to determine if they should be removed for cause.

Twenty were then dismissed using peremptory challenges, leaving 14 on the jury. Attorneys use peremptory challenges to have proposed jurors removed without needing to give a reason.

The jury selected consists of six men and eight women, with all appearing to be white.

Two will be alternates, with those being randomly selected as alternates at the end of the trial, Watson said.

Guns, racism and media stories led to dismissal from jury consideration

Seven of the 44 people considered for jury duty said they had read or watched media reports about the case.

None of those ended up on the jury.

One of those seven, a white man, was dismissed for cause after he acknowledged the media accounts he'd seen left him feeling "prejudiced" and unable to render a fair and impartial verdict.

Others dismissed for cause were as follows:

 A Black man who gave Trump a score of "1" in terms of how much he likes him, gave law enforcement here an effectiveness score of "1" on a scale of 1 to 10 and said minority victims are usually treated worse in U.S. courts than white victims. "The Mexican guy's going to get screwed," he said. "Especially when it's an all-white jury."

 A white woman who said she was "really anti-gun" and described herself as being "possibly the only Democrat in my whole neighborhood."

 A white man who was dismissed after coming to the bench to talk privately with Watson about why he didn't think he could be fair and impartial. That discussion came at a point during jury selection when jurors were being asked about Trump.

Prospective jurors asked to say how much they liked Donald Trump 1-10

Karrer asked prospective jurors to tell him how much they like Trump on a score of 1 to 10. Prospective jurors who gave Trump the highest and lowest scores ended up being less likely than the others to end up on the jury.

Karrer also asked prospective jurors for their thoughts about vigilante justice and pranks. He asked if they'd ever played a prank, or been a victim of one.

One prospective juror, a white man, said pranks are played by friends on each other.

"It's not a prank if it's somebody you don't know," he said.

That man was removed soon afterward through a peremptory challenge.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Prospective jurors in Topeka trial asked about racism and Donald Trump
STAUNTON  A Saturday morning incident on Old Greenville Road involving a juvenile allegedly armed with a knife and a teenager who reportedly fired gunshots resulted in multiple charges, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office reported.

Troubles even spilled over again at Augusta Health in Fishersville, a press release said.

At about 11 a.m. on Saturday, deputies were called to the 800 block of Old Greenville Road just outside of Staunton concerning a juvenile armed with a knife who was trying to enter a residence.

Minutes later, a second 911 call was received "that shots had been fired," the release said.

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The sheriff's office said the residence in question was occupied by a 19-year-old man and a female juvenile. An initial investigation revealed threats were being made over the phone prior to the incident, and a male juvenile with a knife showed up at the residence. He was accompanied by a female juvenile, according to the release.

The 19-year-old man allegedly fired gunshots into the ground during the incident.

When deputies arrived at the scene, a physical altercation between the male juvenile and multiple deputies took place. Details concerning the altercation were not divulged, but the juvenile was released to a parent to seek medical attention.

Jason Monahan, 19, of Roseland, reportedly fired the gunshots. He was charged with reckless handling of a firearm and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Monahan was released on bond, the release said.

The male juvenile was charged as a juvenile with attempted felonious assault, assault and battery of a police officer, breaking and entering, destruction of property, and obstruction of justice.

The criminal petitions were obtained while the juvenile was seeking medical attention. When additional deputies attempted to serve them on him at Augusta Health, a second altercation ensued, resulting in additional charges against Leslie A. Martin, 42, of Waynesboro, who is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice.

Thankfully no one was seriously hurt during this incident. At no time was there a danger to our community," Augusta County Sheriff Donald L. Smith said.

Augusta County jury rules in favor of emergency room doctor, defendants, in lawsuit

Staunton, JMU graduate composes music for Shelburne Middle School's award-winning band

Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Gunshots fired, arrests made in Saturday morning incident in Aug. Co.
Fuzzy dice. The classic evergreen tree air freshener. A graduation tassle.

Youve probably seen decorations like these hanging from a cars rearview mirror  if not in your own car, then likely in someone elses.

In some states, these common hanging items are no big deal. But in at least seven others, including California, Pennsylvania and Arizona, they can get you pulled over for safety reasons.

State laws also vary: In Virginia, hanging objects are not allowed, but police cant pull you over for that reason alone.

But what about in Kansas and Missouri?

Heres a closer look at the laws in these two states about hanging items in your car.

Can I hang items from my rearview mirror in Missouri?

Technically, its not illegal to hang small items inside your car in Missouri. However, its discouraged  especially for larger items that can potentially obstruct a drivers view out the front windshield.

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Missouri statute also specifies that drivers with disabled parking placards should only display them when parked.

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or drive a motor vehicle with a windshield hanging placard hanging from the inside rearview mirror, the statute states. However, state law doesnt mention similar restrictions for other items.

In order for a vehicle to be operated on Missouri roads, it must have a windshield with no coatings or damaged spots within the drivers line of vision. It must also have working windshield wipers. These requirements are the only ones listed in state law.

Kansas City gets a little more specific: The citys municipal code specifies that windshields must be unobstructed, which some could interpret to mean that large decorations arent allowed.

No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster, snow, ice or other nontransparent material upon the front windshield which interferes with the drivers normal view of the street or highway, the ordinance reads.

However, it doesnt specifically mention items hanging from the rearview mirror.

Can I hang objects from my rearview mirror in Kansas?

Kansas law doesnt explicitly state that drivers arent allowed to hang decorations or other items from their rearview mirrors.

However, the Kansas Department of Transportation recommends removing these items before you drive.

Objects hanging from your rearview mirror or stacked on your dashboard will block you from seeing everything in front of your vehicle, the departments Drive Safe Kansas program wrote in a 2020 social media post.

The post included a graphic that read, Clear your view. Declutter your windshield.

Kansas statute only specifies that drivers cant have posters or decals affixed to the windshield itself, or have damage to the windshield that substantially obstructs the drivers clear view of the highway or any intersecting highway.

Do you have more questions about driving laws in Missouri or Kansas? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
People walk across the street in downtown Ojai, where a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck in the middle of Tropical Storm Hilary, a phenomenon locals are calling the "hurriquake." (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The 400-pound Buddha hanging askew on the wall was the only sign Dharma & Dog, a purveyor of raw pet foods and metaphysical gifts, had gone through two natural disasters in one afternoon.

"It takes four men to move it," store manager Carol Crosby said of the stone tablet. Or, as she learned Sunday, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake.

Residents of the Ojai Valley over the weekend found themselves in the unexpected position of preparing for one disaster and getting another.

A Buddha stone wall hanging that weighs 400 pounds was knocked crooked Monday after a 5.1 earthquake at Dharma & Dog, an Ojai store that sells healthy pet food and spiritual gifts. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

As Tropical Storm Hilary bore down on Southern California, Ojai was jolted by an earthquake, shaking homes and businesses like a bomb going off.

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Neither disaster did much damage in the town of about 7,600 people about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The tropical storm weakened to a steady rain, and though books tumbled off shelves and several stores mopped up broken bottles of wine, there were no reports of deaths, serious injuries or structural damage as a result of the quake.

By Monday, most evidence of the earthquake was gone from downtown Ojai. On the quaint main street, a few candles and paintings were tipped over in display windows in a Spanish Colonial Revival arcade. With the cleanup mostly done, the disaster double-feature had become something for Ojai to laugh about.

"Everybody is calling it the 'hurriquake,'" said Nate Howard, manager of the Ojai Beverage Co., a liquor store on the main drag.

Push notifications began to warn Southern California residents of the risk of flash flooding just a few hours before alerts about the earthquake arrived. Memes began to circulate instantly, as well as a T-shirt that read: "I Survived Hurriquake Hilary."

But before it was a joke, Sunday's earthquake was strong enough to be scary. The temblor jolted the Ojai Beverage Co. building with such force that Howard thought someone had yanked his desk chair out from under him.

As the shelves swayed, a $900 bottle of tequila slid off a top shelf. The bottle didn't break, Howard said, but the cork popped out, and the contents spilled across the floor.

As the employees cleaned up, they realized there was enough left in the bottle for everyone to "get just a little sip," Howard said. (And how does $900 tequila taste? "Pretty good.")

Terilyn Ford, night manager, of Westridge Market & Fine Foods, restocks wine and cleans up thousands of dollars of wine, spirits that fell off shelves and broke during a 5.1 earthquake that occurred amid historic tropical storm Hilary in Ojai on Monday. "It scared the living daylight out of me" Ford said. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The store also lost more than a dozen bottles of wine, four cases of beer and about five other bottles of spirits, Howard estimated, though with less-notable price tags. Many other bottles were intact but had stained labels. It was unclear whether those bottles could be sold.

"Who pissed off Mother Nature?" asked Jillian Furino, 38, manager of the Westridge Market & Fine Foods, a local grocery store on the eastern edge of downtown, closer to the epicenter. "A hurricane and an earthquake  what are the odds?"

Furino was working Sunday afternoon, taking inventory of milk cartons, when the store started to shake. She grabbed the edge of the deli case for support, and shouted to her team, "Everybody, stay still!"

Jillian Furino, manager of Westridge Market & Fine Foods, talks about cleaning up thousands of dollars of wine and spirits that fell off shelves and broke during a 5.1 earthquake in Ojai on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

When the shaking stopped, she locked the store's doors and began to film the damage. "Oh my GOD," she said, the frustration evident in her voice, as she walked across the liquor section.

People think about the sounds and feelings of an earthquake, Furino said. But in the aftermath, it was the smell that was overwhelming.

Liquor bottles had smashed. A river of wine flowed across the tile floor and puddled in the condiment aisle, merging with a multicultural mush of olive oil, soy sauce and horseradish.

The employees used shovels and trash bins to clean up the mess, filling the store's trash bin. By Monday afternoon, after hours of mopping, the only sign of the chaos was a faint whiff of tequila in the liquor section. (Their most expensive bottles rode out the quake, unscathed, in a locked cabinet.)

Furino had spent Sunday morning worrying that their back room could flood if the rain got too heavy, but it was "not the problem we ended up having," she said.

It is a metaphor for something, although she wasn't sure what.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said. "In a bad way."

People walk across the street downtown Ojai, where a 5.1 earthquake occurred Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Ojai has been a bohemian and spiritual retreat for wealthy residents of Southern California for more than a hundred years. That energy is still palpable in town, where visitors and residents can visit meditation centers, psychics and stores that sell crystals and other metaphysical items.

At Dharma & Dog, singing bowls and tarot cards were laid out in neat rows. A refrigerated case held raw pheasant and venison dog food. Rows of tables displayed a wide array of crystals, including smoky quartz, said to provide protection and survival instincts.

The shaking, Crosby said, had dislodged some glassware and plates and left a few other frames on the wall askew. But all things considered, she said, it could have been worse.

"There are a lot of energies in here," she said.

Crosby was followed everywhere by her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Anaiya. The dog, whose name means "freedom" in Sanskrit, hadn't left her side since Sunday afternoon.

Anaiya, who was shaken up after feeling a 5.1 earthquake at Dharma & Dog, a store that sells healthy pet food and spiritual gifts, in Ojai on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Anaiya calmed down when a customer walked in with a puppy named Magic. The two dogs, who are cousins, happily sniffed each other, as a cashier who declined to give her name said she wasn't quite sure how to feel about the earthquake and the tropical storm.

"I'm doing some of my own research," she said. "I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist."

Anaiya, left, shown greeting Magic and V. Pappas of Ojai, was shaken up after feeling a 5.1 earthquake at Dharma & Dog. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

She wasn't the only one.

Next door at the Rainbow Bridge Market, cashier Amy Allen, 42, said she wondered whether the earthquake was caused by a Doppler radar tower on top of a mountain east of town.

She said she learned about the conspiracy theory through a YouTube channel. But the 98-foot tower, which the National Weather Service uses to forecast severe storms, has been a source of local controversy since its installation in 1993.

A group of residents led by the now-deceased actor Larry Hagman (known for his roles in "Dallas" and "I Dream of Jeannie") fought for years against the tower's placement on Sulphur Mountain Road, saying it was an eyesore and posed health risks.

Government studies have concluded the radar is not dangerous, and there is no evidence it caused the Ojai earthquake.

Andrew Shaw, left, manager, and Amy Allen, cashier, at Rainbow Bridge Natural Foods, talk about their experience during a 5.1 earthquake that occurred amid historic tropical storm Hilary in Ojai on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Allen, 42, said she spent her Sunday morning shift  hours before the shaking started  talking about earthquakes. In retrospect, she realized why.

"It was a gut feeling," Allen said. "I felt it, the energy of it. The ions in the air were shifting."

As the earthquake hit, the metal ducts hanging from the market's ceiling began to sway back and forth. Allen threw herself over her co-worker to try and shield her. Soon, bottles were tipping off the shaking shelves, and the floors were doused in olive oil and wine.

Dana Smith, a citrus grower in Ojai, said he'd just plugged in his electric guitar and strummed the first note when he felt a "concussive" impact on his house.

The quake, with no rolling or shaking, was like none he'd felt before, he said. At first, he thought an oak tree had fallen on the house. He walked outside to check.

Heavy machinery drives down the street in downtown Ojai, where a 5.1 earthquake occurred amid a historic tropical storm in Ojai on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

"I saw the trees were fine, and I thought, 'Far out," Smith said. "Then I saw waves in the swimming pool."

Yes, he said, it was weird to have a tropical storm and an earthquake at the same time. But the wild weather weekend had created one bright spot: Because of the rain, he didn't have to irrigate his Valencia orange trees.

"I love it," he said, "because I don't have to work."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A teenager convicted of killing two people after a judge found she intentionally slammed her car into a commercial building at 100 mph in northeastern Ohio was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on Monday.

Following a bench trial last week, a Cuyahoga County judge found 19-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla guilty of multiple charges, including two counts of murder in the July 31, 2022 single-vehicle crash in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville.

The early-morning wreck killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, the Strongsville Police Department said.

Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, who is not related to the victim, also found Shirilla guilty of other charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and drug possession.

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Regarding Shirilla's two counts of murder, the judge spared the teen consecutive potential life sentences in both men's deaths, court spokesperson Deena Lucci told USA TODAY. The judge told Shirilla she would likely remain in prison for at least 15 years  the minimum time allowed served until she is eligible to go before a parole board.

"I am relieved its over just because of how stressful and sad it all was," Dominic Russo's 34-year-old sister, Christine Russo of Cleveland, told USA TODAY on Tuesday. "It was terribly emotional. I am shocked and saddened that (the judge) ran the sentences concurrently and not consecutively. Mackenzie took two innocent young mens lives and I believe she should have to serve the rest of hers in prison."

Prosecutor: No charges for officers in Lebanon police shooting where man shot himself

'A tumultuous relatoinship'

During the trial, prosecutor Tim Troup argued Shirilla had "a tumultuous relationship" with her boyfriend and planned to end the lives of her passengers, Lucci said.

Shirilla's lawyer, James McDonnell, could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY.

But at trial, The Associated Press reported, McDonnell argued the state had no proof his client deliberately meant to kill the men and that no one knew what was going on inside the Toyota Camry in the seconds leading up to the wreck.

Judge Russo disagreed.

Her actions were controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional and purposeful," the judge said. "This was murder."

Davion Flanagan, 19 (at left) and Dominic Russo, 20 (at right) in a photo taken weeks before the July 31, 2022 crash that killed them. Mackenzie Shirilla was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on August 21, 2023 after being convicted of multiple charges including two counts of murder in the July 31, 2022 single-vehicle crash in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville.n(Credit: Christine Russo)

Shirilla did not testify at trial, officials said, and cried during her sentencing hearing as she read a statement.

I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose," Shrilla's statement read, according to the AP. "I wish I could remember what happened. I'm just so sorry. I'm heartbroken. I wish I could take all your pain away.

Following her Aug. 14 conviction, Shirilla was immediately taken to jail and was set to be transferred to the Ohio Department of Corrections, a court spokesperson told USA TODAY.

Police: 22-year-old dead after Westwood crash

'A brick wall'

The wreck took place about 5:30 a.m. after prosecutors and police said Shirilla  17 at the time  intentionally slammed her Camry into the brick wall of a commercial building.

The area where the wreck took place is about 20 mile southwest of downtown Cleveland.

The judge said final seconds of video recorded of the crash from a nearby business was "key to her verdict," Cleveland.com reported,

"She morphs from responsible driver to literal hell on wheels," Russo said from the bench after the trial ended.

Prosecutors said those moments were also why prosecutors chose to try Shirilla as an adult.

When you drive for four or five seconds with the pedal all the way down until you hit 100 mph into a building, we felt the charge was appropriate, Cuyahoga County District Attorney Michael OMalley said.

Davion Flanagan, 19 (at left) and Dominic Russo, 20 (at right) both musicians at heart, died on July 31, 2022. Russo's girlfriend, Mackenzie Shirilla, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on August 21, 2023 after being convicted of multiple charges including two counts of murder in the July 31, 2022 single-vehicle crash in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville.

'Forever broken'

During sentencing, Flanagan's mother called her son a gifted athlete who was a friend to all. She said he had plans attend barber school and later open his own shop.

Jamie Flanagan said her son was adopted with his biological sisters from foster care.

"My girls lost their best friend ... who had been by their side since day one," she said. "We are honored to be chose or to have been chosen to be their parents. They're forever family ... I am devastated."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76TFrbC6Fhk

Dominic Russo's sister said her brother loved singing and writing music and had just started his own clothing line.

"Dominic always had the cutest voice. Ever since he was young," she said.

His mother, also named Christine Russo, read an impact statement on Monday, saying "evidence and science proved that Mackenzie Shirilla murdered my son Dominic as well as Davion."

"We all know what happened in that car that day. What we don't know is why," she said in video footage captured by Court TV. "I lost three children in that crash."

"My heart is forever broken," she continued. "Mackenzie Shirilla had a choice. Dom and Davion did not. Mackenzie, you're going to prison because you did this. Be thankful you are still alive and have a future whatever that may be  Dom and Davion were robbed of their futures.

"Only God at this time can have mercy on her soul," she added.

Contributing: Associated Press

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mackenzie Shirilla crash sentence is 15 years to life, judge rules
A romantic film about two young lovers, "Just For Meeting You," is leading the Qixi Festival film market.

Cast and crew of "Just For Meeting You" pose for a photo at the movie's premiere in Beijing, Aug. 18, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Dark Horse]

Directed by Liu Yulin and starring Liu Haocun and Song Weilong, the film tells the wholesome love story of high school students Xu Niannian (Liu) and Yang Yi (Song) as they meet and form an unforgettable relationship. The film is filled with nostalgic details and looks set to resonate strongly with young moviegoers.

"Just For Meeting You" is adapted from a short story by Zhang Haochen. The process of turning it into a film took eight years, with numerous revisions before it was finally presented on the screen. It is worth mentioning that unlike the unresolved ending in the original story, the film offers a beautiful ending, which has satisfied many fans of the original.

At the movie's premiere on Aug. 18, writer and executive producer Zhang Haochen discussed the ideas behind the adaptation, saying: "The original story was written eight or nine years ago, and over time, I've experienced many changes. Life often presents us with unresolved matters. Therefore, I decided to leave the bittersweet ending in the original work, and hope that the film's conclusion can serve as a delightful indulgence for the audience."

Director Liu also expressed her desire to create the film as a blessing for everyone. She said, "My hope is that this movie can inspire courage in people, empowering them to express the words they've kept hidden in their hearts and reunite with the person they've yearned to meet."

A movie poster for "Just For Meeting You." [Image courtesy of PMF Pictures]

"Just For Meeting You" is scheduled for release on Aug. 22 to coincide with the Qixi Festival, also known as China's Valentine's Day, a traditional celebration of love. The film is currently leading in presales among all movies on the day, including other romance movies such as "The Breaking Ice" and "Waiting for My Cup of Tea."
The Ohio teenager dubbed hell on wheels  who was convicted of intentionally crashing her car at 100 mph into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend  was sentenced two concurrent 15 years to life sentences Monday.

Mackenzie Shirilla, 19, faced life in prison after she was convicted in a bench trial on Aug. 14 on 12 counts, including murder, for the July 2022 crash.

Shirilla, then 17, drove without braking into a brick building in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville. Her boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and his friend Davion Flanagan, 19, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret said at Shirillas verdict: She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was death.

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Shirilla, who did not testify in the case, spoke before the court before the sentence was read.

The families of Dominic, Davion, Im so deeply sorry I hope one day youll see that I could never let this happen or do this on purpose, she said crying.

We were all friends and Dom was my soul mate, she said. I wish I could take all your pain away. And to my family, thank you for the support and all the love you guys give. I love you all so much.

Frank Russo, the father of Dominic Russo, told NBC News last week that he didnt want Shirilla to spend her life in jail despite her actions.

Its horrible for everybody. Yeah, I lost my son, its harder on our family, but I dont want the rest of her life ruined too. It isnt going to make me feel any better, he said.

The crash happened around 5:30 a.m. on July 31, 2022, when Shirilla accelerated her Toyota Camry into the Plidco Building, a large brick building at the intersection of Progress and Alameda drives in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville, police and prosecutors said.

Police arrived to the scene around 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan were pronounced deceased at the scene; Shirilla was hospitalized.

Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan (via WKYC)

Judge Russo said in handing down her verdict remarks that Shirilla was literal hell on wheels, saying she intentionally drove at an hour when not many witnesses would be around, on a path she didnt routinely use but had visited days before.

Prosecutors argued in the trial that Shirilla had become turbulent and threatening towards her boyfriend and crashed to end their relationship.

Prosecutors argued that Shirilla had a toxic relationship with Russo and had threatened him before.

Two weeks before the crash, she allegedly threatened to crash her vehicle when she was driving with Russo because she was upset over a disagreement they had. Russo called his mother and asked to be picked up, and a friend ended up retrieving him. In a phone call with Russo, the friend allegedly overheard Shirilla say, I will crash this car right now, prosecutors said in court documents.

The month of the crash, Shirilla allegedly made multiple threats toward Russo. Videos recovered from his phone reveal an altercation in which she was heard repeatedly degrading Dominic, threatening him, and damaging his property, prosecutors said in court documents. She allegedly threatened to key his car and to break the handle off a door after he refused to let her into his home, the filings said.

The trial featured surveillance video played in court showing the moment Shirilla accelerated towards the building without stopping, until a gut-wrenching crash is heard.

Shirilla cried in court as the judge read out that she was guilty on four counts of felonious assault, two of aggravated vehicular homicide, one of drug possession and one of possessing criminal tools, in addition to four counts of murder.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Eight Republican presidential hopefuls have qualified for the first primary debate on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, the Republican National Committee announced Tuesday.

The participants who will square off against each other are: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum , former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley , former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson , former Vice President Mike Pence , biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy , and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

All the participating candidates met polling and donor requirements laid out by the RNC and had to sign a loyalty pledge in which they agreed to support the 2024 GOP nominee.

The 2024 Republican hopeful who notably wont be on stage Wednesday is former president Donald Trump , who confirmed on his social media site Sunday that he would be skipping this debate, citing his lead in the polls over the rest of the GOP candidates.

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The former president is facing a total of 91 felony charges across four criminal investigations. This week hes expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he faces 13 felony counts related to alleged election fraud in the state.

Its perhaps the most consequential case for Trump in the long term, as he faces a minimum of five years in prison if found guilty of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges in Georgia. He also wouldnt be able to be pardoned by a U.S. president or by Georgia Republican governor Brian Kemp. The former president would have to complete the prison sentence first before being considered by the states parole board.

However, in the two federal cases against Trump that involve election fraud and classified documents, a Republican president could, theoretically, pardon him. Heres where the eight GOP presidential hopefuls who qualified for the debate stand on the hypothetical scenario.

Chris Christie: Leaning against a pardon

Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, during a campaign event in Florida. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who back in 2016 was the first prominent Republican politician to endorse Trump, is now one of Trumps most vocal critics. He said on The Brian Kilmeade Show in June, I can't imagine if he gets a fair trial that I would pardon him." Christie added, "To accept a pardon, you have to admit your guilt."

Asa Hutchinson: Leaning against a pardon

Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, speaks at the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)

Since the former president was indicted the first time, the former Arkansas governor has called on Trump to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. Hutchinson told Scripps News that if Trump were to be pardoned, it would be a "misuse of the pardon power."

Ron DeSantis: Leaning toward a pardon

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 presidential candidate, at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

On Megyn Kellys podcast, the Florida governor pointed to the historical example of President Gerald Ford pardoning President Richard Nixon over his role in the Watergate scandal. DeSantis told Time, When Im President, we need a fresh start, he said. Just like Ford pardoned Nixon, we are going to move on from the Trump controversies.

Nikki Haley: Leaning toward a pardon

Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a fundraising event in Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

The former South Carolina Governor and former U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration said she would be inclined in favor of a pardon, during a June interview on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Haley explained: When you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt and more about whats good for the country.

At the same time, Haley also notably said on CBSs Face the Nation that if the accusations against Trump are true, it would be incredibly dangerous to our national security.

Mike Pence: Leaning toward a pardon

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, at the Iowa State Fair. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Trumps former VP, who previously skirted around the pardon question, was asked about the issue during a July campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa. "Ive been a governor; Ive actually pardoned people," Pence said, "and I think any pardon that you could conduct would only be appropriate to consider after somebody has been found guilty. And I dont know why some of my competitors in the Republican primary assume the presidents going to be found guilty." Pence has also indicated he would clean house in the Justice Department if elected.

Vivek Ramaswamy: Leaning toward a pardon

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at CPAC 2023 in Oxon Hill, Md. (Alex Brandon/AP)

The biotech executive has been one of Trumps staunchest supporters when it comes to pardoning the former president. In fact, Ramaswamy pledged that it would be one of his first orders of business if he were elected to the White House.

"This is my commitment, on Jan. 20, 2025  if I'm elected the next U.S. president  to pardon Donald J. Trump for these offenses in this federal case," Ramaswamy said outside the Miami federal courthouse when Trump was arraigned in the classified documents case in June.

Doug Burgum: No position on a pardon

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks during a fundraising event in Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

The North Dakota governor repeatedly dodged the question when he appeared on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.

"Whether it's for Hunter Biden, Joe Biden or Donald Trump, everybody is innocent until proven guilty in this country," Burgum said. "But if somebody came up and said this person's been accused, there hasn't been evidence  there hasn't been one day of a trial in 2025, would you pardon them? Those kind of hypothetical questions  any governor that understands his role would never speculate on that because it hasn't played out."

Tim Scott: No position on a pardon

Sen Tim Scott, R-S.C., announces his bid for the presidency at Charleston Southern University on May 22, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The senator from South Carolina has avoided answering the question of a Trump pardon. Im not going to deal with the hypotheticals, but I will say that every American is innocent until proven guilty, Scott told Fox News Sunday in June. Like Pence, Scott has also said that, if elected president, hed want to clean out the Department of Justice.

Wednesdays debate, hosted by Fox News, is set to start at 9 p.m. ET. You can follow along with Yahoo News planned liveblog coverage.
When Cameron Keys was a teen living in Chicago, he was the victim of a random drive-by shooting. Despite being hit by 16 bullets, he survived. But he needed a change, and found his way to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Homeless for two months, in and out of shelters, he was introduced by a shelter coordinator to Charlnitta Ellis.

Charlnitta Ellis  also known as Mama Chi and the sister of David T.C. Ellis, who founded High School for Recording Arts  encouraged Keys to come to the school.

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This place is a safe haven, said Tracy Seller, the parent of former HSRA students. A lot of times, these kids get given up on.

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HSRA, nicknamed Hip Hop High, is a public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. T.C. Ellis, who had a long, storied music career growing up and recording with Prince, sought to connect with at-risk students through music  something that is deeply rooted in the culture of the Twin Cities. HSRA teaches core subjects through a musical lens, helping students develop skills and agency to tackle real-world issues.

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Keys credits HSRA with saving his life, and for putting him on a pathway to be where he is in life now  living in Tennessee with his wife, and working a stable job as a Walmart manager.

What high school that you know can make you take out all your anger on a beat? Keys said. There aint nobody getting hurt, thats amazing to me.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said that a third-party candidate is very likely if the current Democratic and Republican front-runners  President Biden and former President Trump  are the only other options.

But theyre only willing to consider this if the nominees are Biden and Trump and 70 percent of Americans do not want those choices, Hogan said on CBS News.

Hogan is the honorary chairman of No Labels, a nonpartisan political group that has been preparing to launch a third-party candidate.

Democrats fear such a run would pull votes from Biden and make a second Trump presidency more likely. David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Obama, called out Hogan on the repercussions of a third-party candidate during a Sunday appearance on CNN.

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Honestly, doesnt that pave the way for Donald Trump? Doesnt that siphon votes from Joe Biden and elect the person that you have criticized so heavily? Axelrod said.

Hogan said the third-party candidate would pull just as many votes from Donald Trump as Joe Biden.

And if most of the voters dont want A or B, we have an obligation to give them C, I mean, for the good of the country, he added to CNN.

During his CBS interview Tuesday, the former governor also weighed in on the first 2024 Republican presidential debate scheduled for Wednesday, which Trump said this weekend he would skip. Hogan said Trumps absence gives other candidates a chance to talk about important issues.

Most people in the country want to hear about the economy, they want to hear about crime in our cities, they want to hear about improving education, Hogan said. Theyre concerned about the war in Ukraine. There are a lot of important issues out there.

Hogan added that he is not personally focused on any kind of independent run. Im focused on trying to get a Republican to win that nomination.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hollywood studio Lionsgate is returning to mask mandates for many of its employees amid rising COVID-19 cases reported in Los Angeles.

In an internal email obtained by Deadline, response manager for Lionsgate/Starz Sommer McElroy said that employees at its flagship office in Santa Monica will be required to wear a medical grade face covering, such as a surgical mask or a KN95 or N95 mask.

Employees must wear the mask unless they are alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their work area, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace, according to the emailed memo.

Studio employees must also perform a daily self-screening prior to coming to the office. If the employee is showing symptoms of COVID-19, they are required to stay home and notify McElroy. They must also stay home if they have traveled internationally in the last 10 days.

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The memo comes amid rising cases in Los Angeles in recent weeks. Last month, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported small increases in COVID-19 indicators.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MUNCIE, Ind.  Delaware County Commissioners were enlisted Monday in a campaign to help develop a temporary emergency home for children awaiting foster care in Delaware County.

Kimberlie Hall, with Isaiah 117  a group that works across Indiana and other states to develop care for children who can no longer stay at their homes  is trying to find a local place for sheltering children.

More: Delaware County man charged in block-party shootings receives January trial date

Hall said that children removed from a home in the county by the Indiana Department of Child Services have no where but DCS offices to stay until a foster home becomes available.

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"They have a couple of conference room and a basket of toys," Hall said of the office.

The children are often brought to the office in the middle of the night, she said.

"They usually don't have any possessions. Some don't even have clothes. They are scared and confused. They don't know what is going to happen next," Hall said.

The declared mission of the organization is to reduce trauma for children entering foster care, ease the burden on the Department of Child Services and support placement families.

Commissioners were sympathetic.

"We will work to try to find something," promised Delaware County Commissioner Sherry Riggin.

Hall told Commissioner King that the group was now looking for two lots.

Jeff Hansard, chief probation officer in Delaware County, came to the commissioners meeting to discuss another matter but backed up Hall concerning the need for children taken out of a home in emergency circumstances to have an emergency home after they've been removed from their home by DCS.

"They have to sleep in an office building sometimes for a few days until a placement can be secured for them," Hansard said. "It's totally unacceptable. It's totally inappropriate. People within the system are just doing the best they can with what they've got."

More: 14-year-old New Castle boy to face murder charge as an adult

Hall showed slides of the local DCS office, which is a common room of cubicles where children are kept.

"There is no emergency care in Delaware County" she said.

Hansard said that the county used to have an emergency shelter for juveniles in need.

"We had it 20 years ago. We don't have it now," he said.

Hall said an emergency shelter home was opened recently in Marion County.

Isaiah 117 in Delaware County is looking for sponsors for a planned fundraising luncheon and also a dinner in November. The luncheon is set for Nov. 16.

"We are looking for property and spreading the word," Hall said.

Hall said got involved with the group through the local office of the Court Appointed Special Advocates. Hall is a member of the CASA staff.

"I have seen how much we need this in Delaware County," she said.

But she said other counties nearby are in a similar situation and the shelter developed here would be made available for kids from other counties if room exists.

Isaiah 117 takes its name from the Bible verse from the Book of Isaiah, chapter one, verse 17, which says: "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."

Hannah Coffman, Isaiah II7 coordinator in Delaware County, said that ideally the house would be located with 10 to 15 minutes from the Department of Child Services for the county, which is at 3600 W Kilgore Ave.

The Isaiah 117 program started in Tennessee in 2018. It now has 19 open homes and 30 homes being developed.

For more information, Coffman can be contacted at hannah.coffman@isaiah117house.com.

David Penticuff is a reporter with The Star Press. He can be contacted at dpenticuff@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Need for home to house children ahead of foster placement discussed
House Republicans are asking the Department of Justices (DOJ) inspector general to clarify the scope of his review into complaints from two IRS whistleblowers about the handling of the Hunter Biden investigation.

The letter, sent by the heads of the Houses Judiciary, Oversight, and Ways and Means committees, comes after Inspector General Michael Horowitz told the three chairs any review would be done alongside the Justice Departments Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), a common practice when there is alleged misconduct.

The letter asks Horowitz to explain whether your office is (1) limited in any way from fully investigating the whistleblowers disclosures and if you are limited, how and why your office is limited.

Horowitz earlier this summer said he has taken a number of steps to assess the information provided by IRS investigator Gary Shapley, who alleged that the DOJ slow-walked the investigation into Biden and showed him preferential treatment throughout the process.

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He also noted the need to do his work in conjunction with OPR.

In undertaking this assessment, however, we are mindful of the potential limitation on the [Office of Inspector Generals] jurisdiction as a result of Section 8E(b)(3) of the Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C.  413(b)(3), which requires my office to refer to DOJs Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) allegations of misconduct involving Department attorneys, investigators, or law enforcement personnel, where the allegations relate to the exercise of the authority of an attorney to investigate, litigate, or provide legal advice, Horowitz wrote in the July letter.

Consistent with our usual practice when such a potential jurisdictional issue arises, we consult with OPR about the matter.

Horowitzs office declined to comment on the Monday letter, as did the Justice Department.

The letter is the latest in a series of moves by House Republicans to highlight and push forward their investigation into Hunter Biden as they aim to draw a connection to President Biden.

Public testimony from Shapley and another agent was followed by numerous developments in Hunter Bidens case, including a plea deal on two tax charges falling apart.

The top prosecutor on the case, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, has since asked for and been granted special counsel status in order to potentially bring charges against Biden in California or Washington, D.C.  the two locations where Shapley said investigators found the strongest evidence in the case.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Artists perform during the inauguration of the House of Heritage in Cairo, Egypt, Aug. 20, 2023. Egypt's Ministry of Culture inaugurated on Sunday evening a new venue to showcase and preserve the country's rich intangible cultural heritage with a ceremony featuring traditional music and dance. The venue, named the House of Heritage, is located inside the Foustat Traditional Crafts Center in Cairo and was inaugurated by Egyptian Minister of Culture Neveen Al-Kilany and representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Egypt's Ministry of Culture inaugurated on Sunday evening a new venue to showcase and preserve the country's rich intangible cultural heritage with a ceremony featuring traditional music and dance.

The venue, named the House of Heritage, is located inside the Foustat Traditional Crafts Center in Cairo and was inaugurated by Egyptian Minister of Culture Neveen Al-Kilany and representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The house, which is part of Egypt's program to mark the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, will be a venue for preserving and promoting the country's intangible cultural heritage, in addition to hosting many heritage-related workshops and events.

"The House of Heritage includes shops for selling handmade products, a museum for showcasing traditional crafts, and places for organizing a variety of heritage-related cultural activities throughout the year," Al-Kilany told reporters.

For her part, Nuria Sanz, director of the UNESCO Cairo Office, said the House of Heritage is a way to integrate all kinds of Egyptian heritage, tangible and intangible, noting that its inauguration is a kick-off event of the UNESCO's joint celebrations with Egypt that will continue till the end of the year.

"The role of Egypt has always been pivotal vis-a-vis all the UNESCO conventions," Sanz said, stressing that Egyptian officials, academics and experts contributed actively to the preparatory work for ratification of the UNESCO convention 20 years ago.

During the celebration, a number of Egyptian artisans showcased their craftsmanship in front of visitors, including weaving, copper engraving, wood carving, pottery making, drawing on ceramics, etc.

Fatma Al-Hawary, a trainee in a handicraft workshop at Foustat Traditional Crafts Center, was shaping a circular copper sheet into an artistic decoration.

"The House of Heritage is a very good initiative because we need to preserve our heritage. These traditional handicrafts are declining, so we revive them and bring our heritage to light," the craftswoman told Xinhua.

Egypt boasts a vibrant and rich living heritage, with multiple elements of intangible cultural heritage already inscribed on UNESCO's lists, including distinctive practices like "Aragouz," a traditional form of hand puppetry, the singular stick-based dance game "Tahteeb," and the art of hand-weaving in Upper Egypt.
The Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where the first Republican presidential debate will take place Wednesday night. (Morry Gash/AP Photo)

When Republican candidates for president take the stage Wednesday night in Milwaukee for the first primary debate  which will be televised on Fox News at 9 p.m. ET  they wont be trying to win over most Americans.

In fact, theyll be aiming their statements at a very small group of people: conservative voters in states like Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first Republican primary contests will be held early next year.

That thinking informs their TV ads and other public statements too. Former President Donald Trump , Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the rest of the candidates in the party primary contest are talking directly to just a sliver of the electorate in a few states.

Their message is aimed at a tiny minority of Americans who will decide next winter  in contests that most people dont participate in  who the rest of us get to choose from in the fall election of 2024, more than a year from now.

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Expect the primary debate to favor the bomb throwers and sideline the problem solvers, Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, a group working to reduce radicalization on both sides in U.S. politics, told Yahoo News.

We already know what the candidates will do, because weve seen this movie before, Troiano said. Theyll take positions popular with the fringes of the party  because all the system requires for them to win is a small percentage of Republican voters in a handful of early primary states. Many of those same positions, though, are drastically out of step with a majority of voters.

The tiny group that chooses your choices

There's a reason that Republican presidential candidates like Nikki Haley, here at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 12, are in Iowa a lot and not in other states. Iowa is one of a few states that largely determine who the Republican nominee will be. (Scott Morgan/Reuters)

In 2016, the last competitive Republican primary, only 1.3 million voters decided the first four state contests. The primary was not technically over at that point, but those first few states traditionally have given one candidate a boost of momentum and set him up to win the nomination, and 2016 was no different. These primary voters have been shown to be more hard-line and partisan than the average voter.

By comparison, almost 137 million Americans voted in the fall election to decide between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes but lost in the Electoral College count, 227 to Trumps 304.

In other words, 1.3 million voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada decided in the winter of 2016 who tens of millions of Americans got to choose from several months later in the fall.

The same system is in place now. So to win the Republican nomination, presidential hopefuls have to contort themselves to win over a sliver of the country that happens to be far more conservative than most Americans. (Democrats face a similar issue with left-wing voters in their primary system.)

Heres how this shapes what these Republicans say, and dont say, on the debate stage and elsewhere.

Ron DeSantis will punch down a lot and punch up a little

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis prepares meals as he campaigns at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 12. (Scott Morgan/Reuters)

Elections are math problems. Its not just about adding to your total vote number. Its also about subtracting from your opponents.

The goal right now for Republican candidates not named Donald Trump is to win the contest to be his rival in the primary. That means knocking down others who might be gaining traction.

So DeSantis, who has been the second-place candidate for months, is trying to hold on to that spot. A memo from the super-PAC supporting him encouraged DeSantis to go after entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy  to hammer the upstart candidate who has been creeping up in the polls behind him.

Ramaswamy has added to his numbers by subtracting from DeSantiss. To reverse that trend, DeSantis needs to dispatch other non-Trump candidates while also cutting into Trumps support.

The DeSantis super-PAC memo urged the Florida governor to both defend and criticize Trump. Its a fine line: DeSantiss advisers dont want him to alienate hard-core Trump fans with personal attacks.

But they want DeSantis to persuade Republican primary voters  who, again, are among the most conservative Americans in the country  that Trump has so many distractions that its almost impossible for him to focus on moving the country forward, as the memo said.

The DeSantis super-PAC also saw attacks on Trump from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as an opportunity for DeSantis to both defend Trump and ridicule him in the same breath as weak for failing to show up and debate.

Trump isnt here so lets just leave him alone. Hes too weak to defend himself here, the memo advised DeSantis to say.

Hyperbolic attacks on Democrats please partisans and attract attention

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Watch for how often debate participants use words and phrases that paint President Biden and Democrats as more than political opponents, but as dangerous and even evil.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is no fire-breathing partisan. His main campaign message is one of optimism and positivity. He rarely criticizes his fellow Republicans.

But as a presidential candidate, Scott often refers to Biden and Democrats as the radical left. Biden, of course, won the 2020 Democratic primary because his party didnt want the more liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to win the nomination.

Scotts portrayal of Biden as radical is a way for him to show the most conservative Republicans  that is, the most dependable primary voters  that he objects to Democrats as much as they do.

And hyperbole on the debate stage will be one way to produce what the DeSantis memo called orchestra pit moments. These are moments that stick out, that are memorable, even if they are absurd  such as someone falling into an orchestra pit.

DeSantiss debate memo also prescribed a specific number of times that the Florida governor needed to attack Joe Biden and the media: at least 3-5 times.

Sen. Tim Scott and Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 15. (Scott Morgan/Reuters)
An officer of the Warren County Common Pleas Court's community corrections department wears a wristband electronic monitoring device. The department is piloting the wristbands from an e-monitoring company, BI Inc., and plans to replace ankle monitors with them. Judge Robert Peeler says the less conspicuous wrist device helps reduce stigma for people in his Recovery Court.

Christian Hebenstreit spent 60 days with an electronic monitor affixed to his ankle as a condition of being in Warren County Recovery Court. Along with that came sideways glances in a TJ Maxx when the device beeped, personal affronts from strangers and a constant struggle to sleep.

It was worth it, he said, because he has a substance use disorder and the monitor helped keep him accountable for his behavior. But he couldn't help thinking there was a better way than wearing the clunky, always-visible ankle monitor.

Obviously," he said, "theres a stigma.

That's about to end for recovery court participants and a lot of nonviolent, low-risk people who are sentenced to electronic monitoring in Warren County, said Judge Robert Peeler, a common pleas and recovery court judge.

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The southwest Ohio county court system is among the first in the nation to exchange ankle monitors for a smartwatch called the VeriWatch that's similar to other GPS and Wi-Fi smartwatches that hundreds of thousands of people across the United States wear every day.

To me, this is huge, Peeler said. "Theres this stigma thats associated with monitoring people for doing things that we normally do in life. And doing those things helps them progress."

"For people going to work, there's interference with wearing boots, and some other types of clothing. Going into someones house  for example, delivering furniture  its a scary thing in a sense to see that big box on someones ankle."

That fear isn't warranted for his court-monitored participants, Peeler said. Recovery Court is a way to get people with addiction the treatment they need and to help them regain normal life experiences, including working, he said.

"Theres a stigma associated with the disease," Peeler said. "We try to eliminate the obstacles."

Leasing the smartwatch for electronic monitoring wasn't Peeler's idea, though. It came from the Warren County Common Pleas Community Corrections Director Mike Steele.

What is the VeriWatch?

Steele has worked with Business Intelligence Inc., known as BI Inc., a company that offers government agencies electronic monitoring technologies and services, for years. The court department leases equipment from BI, and as the relationship cemented, Steele said, he asked to be at the forefront of trying new technologies.

So when Steele learned of e-monitoring via wristband, he jumped at the chance to pilot its use.

"Myself and a few other officers are wearing the devices now, he said in late July.

They've tried to tamper with them and remove them, just as defendants might. "We try to shield them with tin foil. Everything that we see them do, we do," Steele said. The officers have tried out all of the smartwatch features.

"The ankle monitors call out every two minutes; these, about every five minutes," Steele said. The sound can come from the monitor vibrating as it takes a reading, of the location of the wearer, for example.

He expects that by early fall, low- to mid-risk, nonviolent Warren County Common Pleas community control clients who get court-ordered monitoring will be wearing the wrist devices rather than the ankle monitors. That includes Peeler's Recovery Court participants.

In a statement, BI Incorporated said it's "pleased" that Warren County Recovery Court is among the first to pilot the VeriWatch.

Here are some features of the watch:

Proximity and other sensors that can detect attempts at its removal.

Biometric facial comparison that confirms the user's identity.

A system allowing officers to send messages to users and letting users confirm them.

A calendar that provides real-time updates to help with compliance.

What's the cost and who pays for it?

A Warren County Recovery Court participant wears an ankle monitor.

The smartwatches  like the current, e-monitoring ankle devices  will be paid for daily by the people who wear them, unless the wearers can't afford them, Steele said.

The Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provides grants for those who are indigent, and money collected for those who pay goes to that cost, too, Steele said.

The ankle device costs a wearer $7 per day. The new smartwatch will cost just less than $5, he said.

Out-of-jail monitoring is popular in the criminal justice system due to the costs of incarcerating people. In Warren County, the typical cost of keeping an inmate is $92.50 a day.

The practice of having those on the monitoring devices pay their cost is routine across the nation. It is criticized by harm reduction and civil rights groups.

Court-ordered, out-of-jail monitoring has exploded in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic required people to leave jail to be safe from the virus. The American Civil Liberties Union in a 2022 report said the e-monitoring of would-be inmates is not an acceptable justice reform, that it is often an invasion of privacy, those subjected to it often aren't given enough information about their sentence and defendants never should have to pay to use a monitor.

"No person should be required to pay for their own confinement or conditions ofrelease," the ACLU says in its report, "Rethinking Electronic Monitoring, a Harm Reduction Guide."

Some of the ACLU guidelines for use of the devices are already in place in Warren County Recovery Court.

Judge is trailblazer in court-ordered treatment for people with substance use disorder

Peeler's enthusiasm for the more discreet and comfortable monitoring device is in line with his history as a judge dealing with people who struggle with addiction disorder. In 2021, the judge changed the name of his program to Warren County Recovery Court  an Ohio special dockets program  "to reduce stigma and focus in a more positive manner."

In 2013, he became one of the first judges in the country to embrace the science-driven use of medication, which is the best practice to treat people who use opioids, for those in his then-Warren County Drug Court.

More: Judge: Jail isn't only solution to addiction

As a drug court judge, Peeler had watched people who didn't have medication leave the program, overdose and die, and he said he wanted to get them the gold standard care for opioid use disorder.

Warren County Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler on the bench.

Hebenstreit said the ankle monitoring during his first months in Peeler's recovery court made sense for him. "It helped me commit myself to going to meetings and with seeing my therapist. The more you do right things, then they really open the opportunities to do other things.

He thinks the smartwatch is a far better way to go. "It's way more precise," he said. Beyond that, he doesn't want others with addiction to have to deal with the stares and comments he got when he was out wearing the ankle monitor.

"I went to return some items at TJ Maxx and even though it was a standard thing, I definitely felt like I got a negative reaction from those behind me once my ankle monitor went off," he said. "The extra eyes on me definitely flustered me and dropped my perceived self-value."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: There's a stigma around GPS ankle monitors. A watch could change that
Hungarian President Katalin Novak has arrived in Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast, meeting local officials and leaders of the local Hungarian ethnic community, the Hungarian news portal Telex reported on Aug. 22.

The visit comes ahead of the third Crimean Platform summit in Kyiv, where Novak has been invited to participate by her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

"The head of the neighboring country met with the leadership of Zakarpattia Oblast, the oblast council, (the city of) Berehove, and the district," the Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration reported.

"Together, they discussed the results and the prospects of strengthening cross-border cooperation, including the projects launched during the full-scale Russian invasion."

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According to Telex, Novak's itinerary includes meeting Zakarpattia Oblast Governor Viktor Mykyta, political, religious, and education leaders of the local Hungarian community, and families of ethnic Hungarians who died while serving in the Ukrainian military.

The Hungarian president previously visited Ukraine in November 2022 to participate in the meeting of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Hungary has been at odds with Ukraine and the West over its amicable stance towards Russia even amid the full-scale war. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proclaimed that Ukraine is a financially "non-existent" and "no longer sovereign" state due to its "dependence" on international support.

Using its membership in Western political structures, Budapest has repeatedly obstructed aid for Ukraine, as well as sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast plays a major role in the strained relationship between the two countries. The region, bordering Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, is home to around 150,000 ethnic Hungarians, of which roughly 400 serve in the Ukrainian military.

Budapest has accused Kyiv of alleged discrimination against ethnic Hungarians in Zakarpattia Oblast. Ukrainian officials rebuked the concerns, saying that Hungarian and Romanian communities in Zakarpattia have the full support of the local government.

In the most recent scandal between the two nations, Hungarian officials cooperated with the Kremlin-controlled Russian Orthodox Church on the transfer of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war of Hungarian ethnic background to Hungary without Kyiv's involvement.

While some of the POWs have already been retrieved by Ukraine, Ukrainian military intelligence warned that another such transfer is being prepared by Hungary and Russia.

Read also: Exclusive: New insights point to Hungarys collaboration with Moscow on transfer of Ukrainian POWs

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Katalin Novak, President of Hungary, has arrived in Zakarpattia Oblast on the morning of 22 August.

Source: European Pravda citing Telex; Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration.

Details: Katalin Novak has arrived in Ukraine on the eve of the third International Summit of the Crimea Platform; her visit was announced in advance. Telex reports that she arrived in Berehove at around 09:00.

The President of Hungary met with the leadership of the Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration, the Oblast Council, the city of Berehove and its district.

Photo: Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration

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The meeting attendees discussed the results and prospects of strengthening cross-border cooperation, in particular those projects that were initiated after the start of the full-scale war.

Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration reports that humanitarian aid, support for Ukrainian refugees and forced migrants in Zakarpattia and summer holidays for Ukrainian children in Hungary were among the issues discussed at the meeting.

Novak will also meet with church representatives, talk with the family of one of the ethnic Hungarians who died defending Ukraine, and children of large families.

After that, the president will go to Kyiv. This will be her second trip during the full-scale war in Ukraine following her first visit on 26 November 2022.

Background:

As reported, Katalin Novak believes that the world should prevent Russia from realising its military goals in Ukraine, but at the same time, she is against Budapest helping Kyiv with weapons and considers sanctions ineffective.

In March, the Hungarian president declared her support for a peace plan for Ukraine , which does not foresee victory for Russia and at the same time is based on "realistic goals".

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has approved the decision to accept the credentials of Fedir Shandor, Ukraines newly appointed ambassador to Budapest, a Professor of Uzhhorod National University and a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, speaks at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 22, 2022. Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune

WASHINGTON  Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd did not qualify for the first Republican presidential debate this Wednesday as the Texan continues to struggle to build momentum.

Hurds performance in a series of polls fell short of requirements for getting on the debate stage. But he also refused to pledge his support for the eventual Republican nominee, another prerequisite.

Hurd has long been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump , the Republican frontrunner who said on his social media platform that he will not participate in the debate.

I have said from day one of my candidacy that I will not sign a blood oath to Donald Trump, Hurd said in a Tuesday statement. The biggest difference between me and every single candidate who will be on the debate stage in Milwaukee is that I never bent the knee to Trump.

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Hurd, a former border-district representative running as a moderate, acknowledged early that he was a dark horse candidate in a primary filled with big-name conservatives.

To participate in Wednesdays debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have support from at least 1% of participants in a series of qualifying polls since July 1, have at least 40,000 unique donors and agree to support the Republican nominee.

Hurd criticized the standards as arbitrary, unclear and inconsistent.

The RNC discounted polls that included independents and Democrats willing to vote for a Republican, he said. If the GOP is looking to grow our electorate and beat Joe Biden, then we better have a clear understanding of what qualifies as a likely Republican voter.

Wednesdays debate stage will feature Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and four others who met participation requirements set by the Republican National Committee.

Hurd is the only Texan with experience in elected office to have formally announced a campaign for the White House. Other early potential contenders, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott, allowed the speculation to fizzle out, focusing instead on their current offices. Dallas-area businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley also announced his candidacy last spring.

Hurd came close to making the debate threshold, tweeting last Thursday that he had reached the donor requirement.

He had also hoped the RNC would reconsider the loyalty pledge given Trumps own refusal to sign it.

A lot can happen in the next 10 days, and so I want to be able to force that conversation and see what happens, Hurd said in an Aug. 13 CNN interview. And if Donald Trump doesnt participate, what is the RNC going to do? So theres a lot of variables at play here.

Hurd remains far behind Trump, who has maintained a firm grip on his party despite criminal indictments in four cases. Among Republican voters, Trump steadily polls above 50%, according to a FiveThirtyEight polling aggregate. Hurd, meanwhile, has not topped 0.3%.

But Hurd projected confidence in the weeks leading up to the debate, imploring voters during interviews to donate $1 to help him meet the donor threshold. He pointed to his competitive 2014 race for the 23rd Congressional District, which he won by just over 2 percentage points against Democratic incumbent Rep. Pete Gallego, as proof that he could be a viable candidate.

Anybody who thinks that these are overwhelming odds, I would tell them I disagree with them. Nobody thought a Black Republican could win in a 72% Latino district on 820 miles of the border, Hurd said in the CBS interview. But it happened, because I showed up to places that people didn't expect me to be.

Hurd entered the presidential race in June as a moderate alternative to the leading Republican contenders, leaning into his national security experience as an undercover CIA operative for 10 years before running for Congress. He was also noted for his bipartisanship in Congress, particularly with a livestreamed drive with Democratic Rep. Beto ORourke from Texas to Washington in 2017.

In one of his qualifying polls, 8% of respondents identifying as Democrats or independents said they had a favorable opinion of Hurd, while 7% of Republicans said the same. That poll was conducted last month in New Hampshire, where Hurd has been aggressively campaigning ahead of the states primary.

Hurd argues that his support will increase in the general election, telling NPR last month that Republicans have pushed the lunatic fringes to the fore, but that strategy doesnt reflect most voters.

Only 23% of Americans vote in primaries. The other 77%  part of them are like, Were sick and tired of everybody. Everybody are a bunch of morons, and theyre not being spoken to about their issues, he told NPR.

Patrick Svitek contributed reporting.

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.
Hilary will go down in the record books as the most impactful tropical system to impact California in recent history, retired AccuWeather Expert Meteorologist Ken Clark, a California native, said. Here's why.

As AccuWeather accurately predicted days in advance and ahead of other sources, Hilary brought widespread flooding through Southern California, washing out roads and bridges in many areas, flooding cars and homes and shutting down businesses and governments, including in Los Angeles and San Diego.

AccuWeather's preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Hilary in the United States is $7-9 billion .

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"As Hilary's rain moved into the U.S., the storm was moving along swiftly at 20 mph or greater but still produced widespread heavy rain and flash flooding, especially in the mountains and the deserts," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter explained. "Had the storm been moving along at a more typical forward speed for tropical storms, such as 10-12 mph, rainfall could have been much worse than it was, with even more severe impacts."

Hilary brought the wettest summer day on record to at least 16 cities in California. An entire year's worth of rain fell in one day in some areas. Death Valley, California, broke its all-time record daily rainfall of 2.20 inches. The previous record was set just last summer when 1.70 inches of rain was measured on Aug. 5, 2022.

The heaviest rain was reported in the mountains, with Mt. San Jacinto reporting 11.74 inches. Hilary's rainfall then moved northeastward, where new state records were established for tropical cyclone rainfall in Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

A fire truck pulls away after a motorist became stranded in rising floodwaters caused by torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP/Mark J. Terrill) A fire truck pulls away after a motorist became stranded in rising floodwaters caused by torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP/Mark J. Terrill)

Tropical-storm-force winds from Hilary howled across most of the mountains in Southern California, a stark comparison to Kathleen or Nora, Clark explained. The peak gust from Hilary recorded by National Weather Service stations was 87 mph at Magic Mountain, with several gusts over 80 mph at other locations.

Almost no weather stations measured wind gusts on California mountains before 2000, so the best wind gust comparison is with Tropical Storm Kay in 2022. Wind gusts during Kay were higher, peaking at 109 mph on Cuyamaca Peak, California, with several readings in the region over 90 mph.

A worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. Tropical Storm Hilary swirled northward Sunday just off the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, no longer a hurricane but still carrying so much rain that forecasters said "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding is likely across a broad region of the southwestern U.S. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) A worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. Tropical Storm Hilary swirled northward Sunday just off the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, no longer a hurricane but still carrying so much rain that forecasters said "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding is likely across a broad region of the southwestern U.S. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Tropical Storm Kay last year is the only previous storm in the area that can be compared by the lens of power outages since it was the first tropical storm to affect Southern California in more than 25 years.

Power outages during Hilary in southern California were greater than those during Tropical Storm Kay in 2022, peaking at around 24,000 customers, according to Jason Robinson from PowerOutage.US. During Kay, outages were closer to 5,000, and not all could be attributed to weather. Additional outages that were unrelated to Hilary happened in northern California over the weekend.

Tropical cyclone tracks approaching southern California since 1949. Tropical cyclone tracks approaching southern California since 1949.

Hilary made landfall in Mexico's Baja California Peninsula on Aug. 20, 2023, and tracked east of San Diego as a tropical storm. No system has made landfall in California at tropical storm strength since record-keeping began in 1949.

Weather impacts from storms that were once tropical in nature have affected the state in the past, but it's been a very long time since a tropical storm hit the state directly.

"Hilary will go down as much more impactful for California than Kathleen (1976) or Nora (1997), as both of those storms' greatest impact was limited to the southeast part of the state," Clarks said.

California was just impacted by Tropical Storm Fay just a year ago, but Clark says Hilary won the award for the most rain "hands down in the San Diego area and over all of Southern California from the border north to the Southern Sierra, including of course the astounding Death Valley record."

Ten years before official National Hurricane Center records began, most meteorologists agree that a tropical storm landed at Long Beach, California, in 1939. It remains the only landfalling tropical storm in the state because Hilary made landfall in the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico.

In 1858, a hurricane moved just offshore from Los Angeles but never made landfall. Very little data is available for these storms, which would have had a much more pronounced effect today due to an explosion in people and infrastructure. San Diego's population in 1858 was around 4,000 while it is 1.4 million today.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare failed to follow state law when it distributed millions in federal child care grants, according to an audit released Monday.

The grant program has been the center of a legal battle between the health department and Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador. State lawmakers called for an audit earlier this year after a lobbyist raised concerns that the health agency didnt properly distribute $72 million in Community Partner grants, which addressed learning loss among children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers had previously dictated that the federal funding go to programs serving kids 5 to 13. State health officials failed to follow those instructions, according to a 55-page report released Monday. Auditors with the Idaho Legislative Services Office found that nearly 30% of grant applicants planned to use the funds on programs that served children outside that age range.

Based on the evidence available, the lack of controls related to expenditures of public funds allowed for grant recipients to use the funds for ineligible purposes and for ineligible age groups that did not meet the purposes specifically defined in the appropriation laws, the report said.

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Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen rejected all of the audits findings.

All along, we have welcomed independent, unbiased review of the departments administration of the Community Partner grants, Jeppesen said in a Monday news release. We will meet any review, audit or investigation with cooperation because we stand by our work.

DHW officials say they followed laws

Health officials said in the report that they complied with lawmakers age requirements. Legislation authorizing the grants said that they shall be used for serving school-aged participants ages 5 through 13 years, as allowable by federal guidance.

Federal guidance allowed the grants to be used on programs serving children up to 13 years old, and state lawmakers should have included the word only in their legislation if they wanted to preclude the funds from going to children younger than 5, the health officials said.

According to the report, the Department of Health and Welfare also didnt keep sufficient documentation of the grants; some grant recipients received more than the maximum amount allowed; the department provided no evidence that it ensured the age requirements were followed; and the department didnt properly review applications to verify eligible grant expenses.

The auditors identified a lack of internal controls throughout the program that resulted in several deficiencies, and the findings were serious enough to report to the Idaho attorney general, the report said.

Labrador, the first-term Republican attorney general, is separately investigating the grants and in March issued investigative demands to Jeppesen, two other high-ranking department officials and dozens of Community Partner grant recipients. The health officials and grant recipients sued to block the investigative demands.

Sadly, it seems that the auditors adopted the same flawed interpretation of the law that the attorney general has embraced in the last few months, Greg Chaney, a Caldwell attorney and former Idaho House member who is representing the grant recipients, said in a news release Tuesday.

The health officials also pointed to 4th Judicial District Judge Lynn Nortons recent decision in their case against Labrador. A former deputy attorney general assigned to the Department of Health and Welfare twice issued a legal opinion that said the department followed the law while distributing the grants. Nortion ruled this month that health officials were justified in relying on those opinions.

We await the (attorney generals) next step with confidence knowing the grants were distributed legally, as affirmed by his office, Jeppesen said.
In high school, Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the slaying of four University of Idaho students in Moscow, was kicked out of his law enforcement training program after a complaint was made about him stemming from an incident involving other students, according to a former administrator at the countys technical school.

An ensuing investigation took place into the incident, which Tanya Carmella-Beers labeled pretty serious in an interview with The Idaho Massacre podcast. She declined to elaborate because of federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protections, but the investigation led to Kohbergers removal his sophomore year from the law enforcement focus at Monroe Career & Technical Institute (MCTI) in eastern Pennsylvania, she confirmed in a phone interview Tuesday with the Idaho Statesman.

Carmella-Beers, who oversaw the technical schools student mental health and discipline, reiterated that she could not divulge details of the incident. However, she said it was not drug- or alcohol-related, not violent in nature, nor did it involve academic integrity or cheating issues. She declined to identify the number of people involved, but said the complaint about Kohberger was not filed by a group of individuals.

The podcast reported that the complaint involved female students.

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Kohberger denied the allegation against him, Carmella-Beers added.

He was steadfast that he didnt do it, she told the Statesman.

Kohberger then switched to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) program at the half-day technical school for his junior year, the Statesman previously reported. There were no additional incidents or complaints filed against Kohberger that next year, Carmella-Beers said.

In February, Carmella-Beers declined to tell the Statesman about her specific interactions with Kohberger, now 28, who is charged with the murders of the four U of I students last fall. Instead, she spoke at that time about the general circumstances that could lead to students removal against their preference from the technical schools law enforcement program, which had heightened requirements.

Ultimately, what had him removed from the program, when I look back on it now, makes sense, Carmella-Beers told the podcast in light of the murder allegations. Not knowing what I know, then yeah, youd be like, I cant Im so shocked. And in that respect I am, but then I know another little piece, which is the piece that occurred at the school. And so then, Im like, Oh, but see, that makes sense. 

The four U of I students were stabbed to death at an off-campus home on King Road in Moscow in November. They were seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, each 21; and junior Xana Kernodle and freshman Ethan Chapin, each 20.

Kohberger is featured in a photo in Pleasant Valley High Schools yearbook from his sophomore year wearing a police-like uniform and doing a pushup while still enrolled in the law enforcement program. Kohberger aimed to become an Army Ranger, the photos caption read, but his primary interest was law enforcement, his former friend, Thomas Arntz, told the Statesman earlier this year.

Bryan Kohberger, upper left, pictured in a 2010-11 Pleasant Valley High School yearbook photo as a sophomore, participates in a law enforcement class at the Monroe Career & Technical Institute in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.

After being dropped from the law enforcement focus and a year in the HVAC program, Kohberger chose not to attend the technical school for his senior year, Carmella-Beers told the podcast. He instead completed his diploma requirements through Pleasant Valleys online program, telling Arntzs sister, Casey Arntz, in March 2013 that he finished high school early, the Statesman previously reported.

But Carmella-Beers recalled that pursuing law enforcement was Kohbergers dream, she said. And he stood out as an exceptional applicant for the highly competitive program, she told the Statesman.

He appeared to be the total package, and he was, Carmella-Beers said. Other than that incident, Bryan was a very strong student, performed well and he took his program very seriously. His uniform was immaculate every day, everything about him was perfect, so to speak  everything.

She acknowledged in her podcast interview the impact getting kicked out of the program had on Kohberger.

The reason that I remember his application was because of the way the guidance counselor just really played it up, how it was all he wanted, Camella-Beers said on the podcast. So my feeling was that he was defeated, you know, because its the only thing he ever wanted in life, and you have it, and now thats falling through.

Donna Yozwiak, Kohbergers guidance counselor for most of high school, confirmed to the Statesman how excited he was for the technical schools law enforcement focus.

He wanted to explore that line of work as a possible career choice, Yozwiak said by email. Many students switch career paths. I was surprised, however, when he left MCTI in his senior year.

School complaint leads to investigation

Warning signs emerged after Kohberger joined the law enforcement program at the countys technical program, Carmella-Beers said in the podcast interview.

There were some circumstances that led us to believe that maybe there were going to be some difficulties in Bryans life that werent going to  contribute to him having an easy time of it, she said. Just, it wasnt going to be just ending up in the police academy kind of thing for him. It was going to be a little bit more of a challenge for him to get there.

She described a complaint being made, a teacher bringing it to Carmella-Beers attention, and that leading to an investigation of the incident. Kohberger and other students were interviewed in the process, she said, and a decision was made about his future in the law enforcement program  whether its the decision the student wants or not.

I dont think that maybe he necessarily grasped the depth and breadth of the issue at hand, she said on the podcast. So I think there was frustration as to not really understanding  I dont understand what the problem is. This is not a big deal, or, you know, This didnt happen.  It was just like, Seriously? kind of thing.

High school also is when Kohberger began using heroin, the Arntzes and another of his former friends, Jack Baylis, previously told the Statesman in interviews. Addiction issues eventually led Kohberger to drug rehab.

In February 2014, at 19 years old, Kohberger was arrested and charged with misdemeanor theft, ABC News reported on the podcast The King Road Killings. Kohberger had recently returned from rehab and was living back with his family, his father told police, according to court records obtained by ABC, when he allegedly stole his older sisters cellphone and sold it at a local mall.

Before ABCs report, Kohberger had no known criminal record leading up to his December arrest in the student homicide investigation. Kohberger served no jail time, ABC reported, and there is no public record of Kohbergers arrest or the result of that case.

Bryan Kohberger is escorted out of the courtroom following his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, on May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.

In May 2018, Kohberger told Baylis in a Facebook message, first reported by The New York Times and since reviewed by the Statesman, that he hadnt used drugs in two years. By that time, Kohberger was attending Northampton Community College in eastern Pennsylvania and graduated that year as a psychology major. He then transferred to DeSales University, where he earned a bachelors degree in 2020.

From 2016 to 2021, Kohberger also was employed as a weekend security officer at the Pleasant Valley School District, where his parents also worked, the Statesman previously reported. He resigned from the position in June 2021, according to district employment records obtained through a public records request.

George Curcio, a former New York City police officer who was Kohbergers security supervisor, previously told the Statesman he didnt remember ever receiving a complaint about Kohberger during his years working at the district.

Yeah, he seemed a little odd, but nothing I ever picked up on, and didnt seem like a violent person or anything like that, Curcio said by phone in April.

When Kohberger resigned from the school district, Curcio said, Kohberger told him he planned to go back to school full time. Kohberger finished his masters degree at DeSales in June 2022 and eventually left Pennsylvania for a Ph.D. in the criminal justice and criminology department at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, roughly 9 miles away from Moscow.

Bryan Kohberger listens to court proceedings during a pretrial hearing Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. In an alibi filing earlier this month, Kohbergers public defender said he was out driving his car alone, as he long had a habit of doing, overnight from Nov. 12 to Nov. 13, at the time of the student slayings.

Kohbergers trial is scheduled to start Oct. 2 in Latah County. Prosecutors announced in June that they intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
As kids head back to school, families like mine feel the promise of the year ahead  a promise that depends on our dedicated teachers. Currently, teachers are putting in extra hours and digging into their own pockets to ready their classrooms and, too often, facing a heavier workload and less pay than the Legislature promised. Sadly, they are also bracing for harassment from far-right agitators.

Its therefore not surprising we see growing teacher turnover and schools with hundreds of vacancies. We must better support teachers to deliver the education we want for our children and the working conditions teachers deserve.

Two recent news stories illustrate what we are up against. The first was an article in the Boston Globe about 2023 Idaho Teacher of the Year Karen Lauritzen who left our state. The second was a KMVT piece about unfilled teaching vacancies in the Twin Falls District less than a week before the start of school. Many districts face the same challenge and larger class sizes are the most likely fix when vacancies go unfilled.

Karen Lauritzen was nationally recognized for excellent instruction and her passion for student learning. Receiving this prestigious award should have been cause for celebration in her community. Unfortunately, the opposite occurred. Far-right conflict profiteers picked her part online, criticizing her personal social media posts expressing support for the LGBTQ+ community and opposition to excessive police violence against Black people. Despite having zero evidence that her personal views had any bearing on classroom instruction, parents started questioning her every move, even discussions of topics like world cultures and the United Nations.

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The harassment took its toll. Ultimately, Ms. Lauritzen  like thousands of other Idaho teachers  made the difficult decision not to return.

When educators exit the classroom, we pay a high price. Student achievement suffers in schools with more turnover. Attrition costs rural districts up to $9,000 per educator and $20,000 in urban districts.

Alarmingly, an Idaho Education Association survey found that 51% of Idaho educators are considering early retirement or leaving the profession. Lack of funding, salaries that fall behind the cost of living, and a worsening anti-educator climate are driving qualified teachers from the classroom.

Extreme Republican politicians have been deliberately sowing the seeds of doubt in public education for decades. They ignore the needs of students, parents, and educators and instead try to distract voters by politicizing our classrooms.

Instead of censoring books and curricula, Idaho Democrats are working to support our educators. We are advocating for the things schools need, like reasonable class sizes and professional development. If we focus on delivering excellent educational opportunities to every child, we can build a bright future for Idaho.

Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, represents District 19 in the Idaho Legislature and is the chair of the Idaho Democratic Party.
The clear sound of a whistle instantly captured the attention of curious onlookers, as they turned their gaze toward the small object in Yang Fan's hand.

This is a clay whistle, said Yang, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, explaining the history of the art of "fish-shaped clay whistling" to the visitors at the 10th West China Culture Industries Expo that concluded Sunday in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

In the winter of 2019, Yang relocated his urban workshop to Xiaoyukou Village in Xi'an, nestled at the foot of the Qinling Mountains. He skillfully shaped clay into various objects in the quaint courtyard to pass on the craft.

Since opening its doors to visitors, Yang's workshop has welcomed hundreds of tourists almost every day eager to experience the immersive craft of making clay whistles. This influx of visitors has further boosted the income of the villagers in Xiaoyukou.

"Villages are fertile ground for intangible heritage, and the fusion of culture and tourism propels rural prosperity," Yang said.

Through his participation in the expo, Yang shone a spotlight on how cultural industry can drive rural revitalization.

Beyond the echoes of the clay whistle, the exquisite tea gifts from Fujian Province and the insights into the region's famed tea culture also garnered considerable attention during the expo.

"In Fujian's Chixi Village, visitors can not only engage in tea picking and tasting but they can also enjoy various immersive activities including cultural workshops," said Yu Lihui, a tea brand owner from Chixi.

"In the past, the goal behind learning a craft was to escape from the mountains, but today, the purpose of mastering a craft is to return to my hometown in the mountains," said Wang Xingbi, a craftsman from Sichuan's Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County dedicated to preserving the art of grass weaving.

Wang, who was also a participant in the expo, recounted how a childhood accident left her with a disabled leg and plunged her into poverty.

With the support of local disability organizations, she began to learn grass weaving in 2013. Over the past decade, Wang not only mastered this craft but also emerged as a mentor, imparting her skills to more than 20 apprentices in her hometown.

In recent years, many grass and bamboo weaving workshops have been set up in the county. To date, these initiatives have benefitted more than 5,000 residents through vocational training, and over 200 left-behind women and people with disabilities have secured flexible and home-based employment.

Wang's story was among the myriad of examples showcased at the expo, all of which emphasized the vital role of advancing rural development.

Numerous institutions are also broadening their range of tourism offerings by providing technical training, immersive learning experiences, and integrated online and offline marketing strategies to boost the cultural and tourism industry networks.

The rural landscape, with thriving industries, harmonious ecosystems, effective governance and flourishing livelihoods, is increasingly drawing people who seek to experience its charm and embrace a more poetic way of life, according to experts.
A proposal by a Republican lawmaker to consolidate some judicial circuits in Florida could upend decades-old jurisdiction boundaries across the state  a move that critics say is designed to stack the deck with more conservative prosecutors.

House Speaker Paul Renner in June asked the Florida Supreme Court to consider shrinking the number of circuits, which he said could save money and make the system more efficient. The court appointed a committee to make a recommendation in December. The Legislature, controlled by a Republican supermajority, will then decide.

State Rep. Michele Rayner, a Democrat and attorney whose district includes portions of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, called consolidation purely politically motivated.

This is really more about the governor wanting to ensure that Democratic or progressive prosecutors are not elected, Rayner said. Weve already seen that he has removed Andrew Warren and Monique Worrell, and so I think that this is a bigger play.

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Of Floridas 20 state attorneys, six were Democrats and 14 were Republicans before Gov. Ron DeSantis removed State Attorney Warren in Hillsborough County last year and Worrell in Orlando on Aug. 9. Both are Democrats, and members of their party fear that shrinking the number of districts will end up in a redrawn map that will further favor Republicans.

But many stakeholders across the state and here in Tampa Bay are opposed to the idea for different reasons  and that includes Republicans who would otherwise support their party and governors agenda.

Prosecutors, public defenders, private attorneys and judges cite concerns such as a loss of local control over the courts system, longer trips to courthouses and huge logistical hurdles.

Bipartisan concerns

In a June 15 letter to Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muniz, Renner noted that the state has had the same 20 judicial circuits since 1969 and that their populations vary widely, from less than 100,000 people in the circuit that includes Monroe County to roughly 2.7 million people in the circuit that includes Miami.

I believe that the consolidation of circuits might lead to greater efficiencies and uniformity in the judicial process, thereby increasing public trust and confidence, Renner wrote, adding that improved economies of scale in the judiciarys back-office operations would lead to cost savings.

Muniz in an order later that month said the idea deserves thoughtful consideration and careful study. He formed a 14-member committee composed of judges, attorneys and other officials from circuits across the state. The chairperson is Jonathan Gerber, a judge for the West Palm Beach-based 4th District Court of Appeal.

Muniz asked the committee to query chief judges, other court officials and the public before submitting recommendations by Dec. 1. The committee has held two meetings. A third is set for Friday in Orlando. The meeting will be webcast and the agenda includes time for public comment.

In an emailed statement to the Times, Renner noted that the states population has tripled and shifted geographically since the circuits were last reviewed in 1969. Renner said cost savings from consolidation could be used to increase wages and resources for court personnel and the offices of prosecutors and public defenders.

This request for review is a responsible, first step to understanding whether we can optimize our court system to best serve Floridians in the 21st Century, Renner said.

The statement did not address suspicions about gerrymandering or concerns raised by prosecutors, public defenders, judges and others.

DeSantis office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Eighteen of the states 20 prosecutors have submitted letters to the committee. None said they supported the idea. Several voiced opposition.

In the Tampa Bay area, Hillsborough County makes up the entirety of the 13th Circuit and Pinellas and Pasco counties comprise the 6th Circuit.

Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bruce Bartlett , a Republican, wrote a letter to the committee describing his circuit as a well oiled machine that doesnt need change.

DeSantis appointed Bartlett as the 6th Circuits interim top prosecutor in 2021 after the death of Bartletts predecessor, Bernie McCabe. Bartlett was elected to serve the rest of McCabes term last year after he ran a tough-on-crime platform.

If anything, they should be breaking up some of these other circuits that are real, real large and spread them out and create a new circuit, Bartlett said in an interview.

Two state attorneys did not write letters: Melissa Nelson of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties, who is serving on the committee; and Susan Lopez, the former Hillsborough prosecutor and county judge whom DeSantis picked to replace Warren. Lopez has announced that she will run for the seat in 2024.

Instead of a signed letter, Lopezs office submitted a one-page sheet with a few sentences accompanying a map of the 13th Circuit. The Times asked Lopez what she thought of the idea of consolidation.

It is always a good idea to assess what is happening in our state, and that is what this committee is doing, Lopez said.

Both Hillsborough Public Defender Julianne Holt and Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Sara Mollo declined to comment, referring Times reporters to the Florida Public Defender Association. Holt is the associations secretary.

In a letter dated Aug. 11, the associations board wrote that it is gravely concerned that a rushed effort to determine if consolidation of circuits is warranted could lead to massive delays and disruption in the system.

If our smaller multi-county circuits were consolidated into large ones, their uniqueness would be diluted, their voices drowned out by the din of the larger urban circuits, the letter says. Many citizens would lose faith in their representation in our judicial process as a result.

Some Hillsborough County judges have also shared concerns.

County Judge Frances M. Perrone, who is the administrative judge for the countys civil division, sent the committee a letter co-signed by four of her colleagues. It cited a variety of potential problems, including longer travel times to courthouses and the effect on judicial elections that could see circuit judge candidates in smaller counties placed at a disadvantage against a Goliath opponent from a larger county.

Hillsborough Judge Christopher Sabella, the 13th Circuits chief judge, said he hasnt heard of anyone locally who is in favor of consolidating circuits.

Hillsborough is unique, he said. We are a very populated county. So I just dont see how consolidation will create any enhancements to effectiveness or efficiency for the 13th Circuit.

Political impact

None of the official correspondence to the committee posted online has raised the prospect of gerrymandering, but some others have, including both of the state attorneys DeSantis removed.

Last month, Warren on social media went further, calling consolidation another nail in democracys coffin.

If youre not outraged, youre not paying attention, Worrell, the Orange-Osceola state attorney, said in her own social media post.

Soon after, on Aug. 9, DeSantis suspended Worrell, claiming neglect of duty and incompetence. The governor replaced her with Orlando Judge Andrew Bain, whom DeSantis had appointed to the bench in 2020. Worrell has vowed to run for reelection next year.

Warren is awaiting an appellate court decision on his removal but has not ruled out running next year. In a phone interview, he called the consolidation proposal a partisan power grab.

Neil Skene, a Florida author and legal historian, said there has not been a line-drawing episode in Florida in the last 100 years that has not had a significant political dynamic to it.

Particularly in the current, highly partisan environment, once you start messing around with boundaries, youre inevitably going to mess around with them in a way that increases the political advantage for the dominant party, Skene said.

Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of government at the University of South Florida, said it wouldnt be difficult, at least on paper, to change the political leanings of the 13th Circuit by combining Hillsborough with, say, Polk or Manatee counties, both of which DeSantis won by wide margins.

The Legislature having the final determination raises concerns about separation of powers and political independence, Paulson said.

That just opens a whole can of worms where the Legislatures going to turn their eyes toward the governors mansion and say, What would you like? Paulson said.

Rep. Dianne Hart, a Tampa Democrat, said shes also convinced part of the goal is to gerrymander circuits. Hart said she believes the consolidation would reduce some citizens access to the court system, delay cases and have a disproportionate effect on people of color.

She noted that the Legislature could make changes in the January session.

I can guarantee you theyre working right now trying to determine how do they make this happen, Hart said.

The Times asked Lopez to comment on concerns that the push for consolidation is driven by a desire to benefit Republican candidates, including her.

People will say all kinds of things positive and negative, Lopez said. It is the role of the prosecutor to assess the facts. We would encourage people to read the assessment committees report in December and reach out to the committee directly with their thoughts and feelings regarding the outcome.

Times staff writer Dan Sullivan contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated 4th District Court of Appeal Judge Jonathan Gerbers name and title due to a reporting error.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill this month intended to improve the process of returning native remains and cultural artifacts to their nations of origin.

Its part of a yearslong, statewide effort to improve the states poor track record with repatriation.

According to ProPublicas The Repatriation Project, Illinois has the countrys second-largest collection of unrepatriated Native American remains, more than 30 years after the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed to facilitate returns.

Many of these remains, including those found at Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, belong to the Osage Nation, which was forced out of the state in the 19th century.

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Illinois is finally agreeing to respect the already established sovereignty of these tribes, said Sarah ODonnell, NAGPRA coordinator for the Osage Nations historic preservation office. We finally will have an opportunity to, you know, hold the State of Illinois to their word here and make sure that there is a change.

The bill amends the states existing Human Remains Protection Act, which was written without tribal consultation. It adds a number of measures to facilitate better communication between Illinois and tribal nations, including a requirement for institutions to properly notify and consult tribes about repatriation.

Previous iterations of the state law did not require institutions to notify tribal nations when ancestral remains were inadvertently discovered in the state, nor did they define the consultation process. As a result, ODonnell said many institutions sent public notices to nations but did not initiate formal conversations about returning remains.

ODonnell said the law is a step in the right direction, but the states museums and universities will need to prove their commitment to the law by looking for tribal input at every stage of the process.

In terms of the overarching history of how the State of Illinois has treated tribes and treated their cultural resources ... I think we still need to just see how this plays out, she said.

Illinois museums have historically been more concerned with building collections and accolades than repatriation, ODonnell said.

In past generations of archaeologists, historians and those folks who were writing the history and informing decisions about burial laws  it was advantageous to remove modern tribes connection to their cultural resources, she said.

At the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois State Museum, new leadership has played a significant role in making sure this changed. ODonnell said the museums late director, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, was one of the first people from Illinois to ask tribal nations for input on updating repatriation law.

Now, Logan Pappenfort, the curator of anthropology at the Illinois State Museums Dickson Mounds branch, has taken a leading role in working with tribal nations on repatriation.

Its a long process, but its one that is good and frankly, needs to be done and has been too long coming, said Pappenfort, who is also a member of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, which was removed from Illinois in 1818.

With more than 7,000 remains held by the museum and only 2% made available for return, Pappenfort said it will take awhile for the museum to fully complete its repatriation efforts.

We are still planning on moving forward with repatriation of all the ancestors and objects that need to return to descendant communities, and we are committed to making that happen in as expedient of a way as we can, he said.

For ODonnell, Pappenforts work is encouraging.

We need collaboration. We need open, transparent communication, she said. As long as those things continue to be true for this new generation of folks who are now in positions within the State of Illinois government and institutions, I think were on a better path, she said.
I'm an American who visited Hagkaup, the one-stop shop known as the 'Walmart of Iceland,' and I wish we had one in the US

On a recent trip to Iceland, I visited Hagkaup, an Icelandic grocery chain and retailer.

American travelers often compare Hagkaup to Walmart because it has a little bit of everything.

I wish we had similar stores with salad bars, pick-your-own candy, clothes, and home goods.

Founded in 1959, Hagkaup (pronounced HOW-kup) is an Icelandic retailer with seven locations across the country.

Travel bloggers, Iceland travel guides, and sites like Globe City Guide have compared Hagkaup to Walmart for its wide-ranging selection of food, housewares, clothes, cosmetics, crafts, toys, and other items.

But as I found out during a recent trip to Iceland, the chain also offers items and experiences I've never seen in a US store before, like an entire section filled with pick-your-own candy.

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I visited a Hagkaup in Kopavogur, Iceland, about 5 miles outside of Reykjavik. Take a look inside.

There are seven Hagkaup stores throughout Iceland.

Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I visited a Hagkaup located inside the Smaralind shopping center in Kopavogur.

Inside the Smaralind shopping mall in Kopavogur, Iceland. Talia Lakritz/Insider

The store was easy to spot with its orange color scheme.

The entrance to Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

A lemon-themed cafe located at the entrance to Hagkaup sold smoothies and juices.

A cafe inside Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Then, I followed the orange arrows into the store itself.

Walking into Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I picked up an orange basket for easy shopping.

An orange basket in Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

To the left of the entrance, the cosmetics and fragrances section featured familiar brands such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, and Ralph Lauren.

Cosmetics and fragrances in Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

There were also plenty of toiletries and skincare products. If I'd forgotten to pack anything for my trip, I would have found it here.

Skincare products at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Further inside the store, a full produce section displayed fresh fruits and vegetables.

The produce section at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

There was even a box of free fruit for kids to enjoy, a common feature in Nordic supermarkets.

Free fruit for children at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

A salad bar with prepared foods such as chicken, meatballs, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs cost 1,999 ISK, or about $15, per kilogram, or about 2.2 pounds.

The salad bar at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

A small cheese section offered wheels of Brie and wedges of Cheddar.

Cheese at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Hagkaup also sold a range of Icelandic salmon, one of the island country's specialties.

Salmon at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

One liter, or about a quart, of milk cost 219 ISK, or about $1.66. It was cheaper than my local Walmart, where a quart of milk costs $1.98.

Milk at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I felt right at home when I noticed American brands like Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, and Kellogg's Corn Flakes in the grocery aisles.

Cereal at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

The snack aisle featured Lay's chips, another familiar brand to me as an American, for 429 ISK, or about $3.25. At my local Walmart, a bag of chips costs $3.68.

Snacks at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I also spotted some Oreos among British treats like Cadbury chocolates and Hobnob biscuits.

Oreos and other cookies at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

The bakery section sold breads, cakes, and pastries.

The bakery at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I thought the colorful birthday cakes appeared fancier than grocery-store sheet cakes I've seen at bakery counters in the US.

Cakes at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

The sweets didn't end there. I was surprised to find a full candy store called Nammiland at Hagkaup, as well.

Nammiland at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Customers could take a paper bag and scoop out gummies, chocolates, sour belts, and other candies from giant bins.

A Nammiland candy bag. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I soon learned that "leikfong" means "toys" in Icelandic in a section full of hula hoops, stuffed animals, and other amusements.

Toys at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

For older kids, Hagkaup sold various sizes of bikes.

Bikes at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I was impressed by the arts-and-crafts section with shelves of colorful alpaca yarn. It reminded me of Michael's craft stores in the US.

Yarn at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

I visited Iceland in June, when boots are still necessary with fast-changing weather. Hagkaup had a large selection to choose from.

Boots at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

With plentiful party supplies, I could imagine running out to Hagkaup to pick up a beautiful cake from the bakery and everything I'd need to host a birthday party.

Party supplies at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Like Walmart stores, Hagkaup had a scanner to check prices as I shopped.

A price scanner at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Hagkaup had both self-checkout and staffed cashiers. Magazines and candy at the checkout appeared to be a universal phenomenon, regardless of country.

Self-checkout at Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

While Hagkaup's wide array of items at affordable prices felt similar to Walmart, it was missing the pharmacy, optical, and auto sections found at many US Walmart stores.

Aisles in Hagkaup. Talia Lakritz/Insider

Still, Hagkaup's robust grocery section, including a salad bar and full candy store, made me wish I could shop there more often.

Outside Hagkaup in Kopavogur, Iceland. Talia Lakritz/Insider

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EAST LANSING  Thousands of new Michigan State University students, with help from their parents and others, moved into their new dorms Tuesday, ready to adapt to campus life still reeling from February's on-campus tragedy.

As pickup trucks and U-Hauls overtook MSUs roads, students wrangled the university's classic green-and-white moving carts to begin their new chapter of higher education.

Prolonged waits for elevator space were punctuated by emotional goodbyes and tearful sendoffs that left students and parents alike feeling excited and anxious for the future.

They mainly stayed focused on the schools iconic history and campus life.

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"I'm really excited to see what the world has to offer," said Marco Vanoni, a freshman from California. "I'm a little nervous, but that's good."

Vanoni said he was looking forward to meeting new people, getting connected with various groups and college athletics.

I really like the big school vibe and just the sports  all the other schools that I had options to go to werent as big, and when I came to visit it just felt really cool to be here, he said.

Kyla Zhou, a freshman from Ann Arbor said she too was looking forward to campus events like football games.

I can't say I've been to a single football game in my life, but I'm excited to try it out," she said.

Michigan State University freshman Breanna Sepanski, left, of South Lyon, and her mother Amy, right, watch as Breanna's brother Drew and her father Chris unload a carpet from the car while moving in at East Wilson Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, on the MSU campus in East Lansing.

Around 5,000, mostly first-year students, moved in Tuesday, while about 4,800 more students are expected to arrive Wednesday. Combined with around 2,000 late move-ins and international students who moved in last week, the on-campus student total is just under 16,000, putting the universitys dorms at 99% capacity.

Teresa Woodruff , interim president of MSU, welcomed students.

We are eager to welcome this new class of Spartans to Michigan State and to prepare them to identify and pursue their lifes missions, she said in a statement. There are so many exciting paths before them and so much they can do to make a difference.

Bethany Balks, associate director of communications for residence education and housing services, said the university would not require any transitional housing like it did last year.

Students will be treated to various welcome week events as administrators adapt to classes starting Monday. Classes previously started the Wednesday before Labor Day until a change made earlier this year.

Michigan State University freshman Reginald Noble, right, of Warren, and his mother Tameka Jackson go over Noble's items while moving in at East Wilson Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, on the MSU campus in East Lansing.

Dan Olsen, deputy spokesperson for MSU, said the university remains the top Michigan university choice for in-state first-year students, with more than 8,000 of the university's 11,000 new incoming students. The incoming class size is about average compared to previous years, Olsen said.

Olsen also highlighted an increase in students of color, with 11% more Black students attending and 7% more Hispanic students compared to last year.

Malachy Rouse, a freshman studying engineering from the Jackson area, said he wanted MSUs educational experience while remaining close to home. He was also looking forward to staying in touch with his high school friends and making new connections in the engineering program.

Students move in at South Case Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, on the MSU campus in East Lansing.

Administrators took time Tuesday to reassure students and parents concerned about on-campus safety following Februarys shooting that killed three students and left five wounded.

Previously detailed physical security changes include the installation of internally operated classroom door locks, keycard access into buildings after business hours and increasing security monitoring capabilities. Administrators had originally planned to have door locks installed by the time classes began, but later said all locks wouldn't be in place until later this year.

Woodruff stressed that MSU community members were still grappling with the aftermath of the shooting in various ways. She encouraged all community members to understand that different individuals may have different needs and she said the university will continue to adapt.

People are on not just different paces on the same path, but there are people on different paths, she said to reporters gathered outside Wonders Hall. There are students that are new to our community, and there are those that were here and had different relationships to the to the violent acts.

Vennie Gore, senior vice president for student life and engagement, said the university is also trying to accommodate students who may not be ready to return to standard campus life.

You got to do it at your own pace, he said. We're a safe welcoming environment. We've done a lot of things with our staff, with our police all the things to create this safe environment. That's ultimately a personal choice and that's a family choice, but we're gonna love you regardless of whether you're here or not.

Zhou, who was moving into campus's south neighborhood, said the changes in campus security have made her feel better about safety at the university.

I feel like they've really cracked down on that since last year, she said. But I think I feel okay.

Vanoni echoed this sentiment, saying he doesnt have particular concerns about his own safety.

I think I feel very safe on campus personally, he said. I understand people's concerns, but I feel really safe on campus.

Move-in also comes two days after Woodruff announced that she would not seek a permanent appointment to the presidency.

Woodruff said Tuesday that she came to the decision after talking with her family and colleagues and prioritizing the interests of the university.

It was important to make a decision that was in the best interest of the institution, she said. That's the way I've always tried to make decisions, to be thoughtful about what MSU needs  what does MSU need at this time? What can I do to enable MSUs goals? And that's really what went into the thought experiment.

Woodruff said any timeline on her eventual replacement would be decided by the Board of Trustees.

Contact Sheldon Krause at skrause@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @sheldonjkrause.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 'I'm a little nervous:' New crop of Michigan State students move in
An independent news outlet in Indian-administered Kashmir says it has been evicted from its office after Indian authorities blocked access to its website and social media accounts, adding to concerns about press freedom in the disputed region.

The Kashmir Walla, based in the capital, Srinagar, said it had lived a horrifying nightmare since February 2022, when its founder and editor, Fahad Shah , was arrested under anti-terrorism and sedition laws.

On Saturday, it said in a statement, we woke up to another deadly blow of finding access to our website and social media accounts blocked.

The outlet said its service provider told it that the website had been blocked on government orders. Its Facebook page, on which it has almost 500,000 followers, is also no longer available in India, while its account on X, formerly known as Twitter, appears with a message saying it has been blocked in response to a legal demand.

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The outlet added that it was vacating its office after the landlord served an eviction notice.

This opaque censorship is gut-wrenching, said the outlet, which was founded more than a decade ago. There isnt a lot left for us to say anymore.

Critics have accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a highly popular Hindu nationalist who is expected to seek a third term in elections next year, of cracking down on press freedom, particularly in Kashmir, Indias only Muslim-majority region. The highly militarized Himalayan region is also claimed by neighboring Pakistan, which controls part of it.

In August 2019, Modi revoked the limited autonomy that Indian-administered Kashmir had enjoyed for 70 years and put it under federal control, an order that was followed by a monthslong internet blackout. Rights advocates say civil liberties in Kashmir have been curbed since the order, which is being challenged at Indias top court.

Government officials have not commented on The Kashmir Wallas closure.

'The Kashmir Walla' reporters seen removing the office board (Faisal Bashir / SOPA / Lightrocket via Getty Images)

Indian news organizations and other supporters criticized the actions against the outlet.

The Kashmir Walla was one of the few portals that dared to speak truth to power, Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of Kashmir, said on X.

The Digipub News India Foundation, a group of digital media organizations that promotes a healthy news environment, said in a statement on X that The Kashmir Wallas sudden closure was yet another act of intimidation of journalists in Kashmir who have been facing threats, harassment and arrests at a growing pace since August 2019.

Human Rights Watch reported last year that since 2019, at least 35 journalists in Kashmir had faced police interrogation, raids, threats, physical assault or criminal cases over their reporting. They include Sajad Gul, a trainee reporter with The Kashmir Walla who was arrested in January 2022 and, like Shah, remains in prison.

Also in January 2022, the Kashmir Press Club, the largest media organization in Indian-administered Kashmir, was forcibly shut down after armed police raided it, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

India, the worlds largest democracy, ranks 161st out of 180 countries on this years World Press Freedom Index, down from 150th last year.

Disclosure: Kashmir Walla interim editor Yashraj Sharma has reported for NBC News.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Nimesh Vora

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian exporters are hedging far more of their future foreign currency receipts as they cash in on the rupee's decline to near record low levels, data shows.

Last Monday, the rupee slipped below the psychological level of 83 per U.S. dollar for the first time since October 2022, when it hit a record low of 83.29.

Indian exporters last Monday and Thursday hedged a total $3.6 billion via forwards, data from clearing house CCIL shows. The forex markets were off on Tuesday and Wednesday.

That means exporters hedged an average of $1.8 billion in two sessions, a 60% jump from how much they hedged in August prior to rupee's decline below the 83 level.

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Exporters use forward contracts to manage their exchange risks. A fall in the rupee allows them to lock in a better rate for their foreign currency receivables.

CCIL publishes corporate data on hedging with a two-day lag and transactions beyond the spot date are considered forwards.

The daily average dollar sales by exporters in June and July in forwards was much lower at $1.1 billion.

"Exporters who were choosing to not hedge have come back to the market post the breach of the 83 level," said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO of forex and treasury management firm IFA Global.

"Importers' activity too has picked up, but panic buying is likely only after 83.50 breaches."

Importers hedged a total of $3.1 billion in forwards last Monday and Thursday. On a daily average basis, that is a modest 16% increase from how much they hedged in August prior to rupee's decline below the 83 level.

Whether this pickup in export hedging will sustain will depend on "the price action and the RBI (Reserve Bank of India)," a banker said.

"After the initial flurry (from exporters), I would expect hedging volumes to normalize if RBI manages to hold the rupee in and around 83," said the head of forex sales at a mid-sized private sector bank.

The RBI has been intervening in the non-deliverable forward and over-the-counter markets to prevent the rupee from hitting a record low, according to several traders.

A record low "would obviously invite" more interest from both importers and exporters, the forex sales head said.

(Reporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
India's Chandrayaan-3 probe has been testing out its landing optics by imaging the far side of the moon.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released the images via X, the social media service formerly named Twitter, on Monday (Aug. 21).

The series of four Chandrayaan-3 images were taken on Saturday (Aug. 19) and show a range of geological features, including vast impact craters that cast varying degrees of shadows and lunar mare, or "seas" of cooled moon lava.

Related: Chandrayaan-3: A guide to India's third mission to the moon

closeup of the moon's surface, showing numerous craters

The far side of the moon never faces Earth because of "tidal locking," with our planet's gravity having slowed the rotation of its natural satellite over billions of years. The moon completes one rotation on its axis in the same amount of time it takes to orbit Earth.

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The new images were captured by Chandrayaan-3's Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). The camera is designed to help guide the mission's Vikram lander to a safe landing site during its descent onto the lunar surface.

"This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area  without boulders or deep trenches  during the descent is developed by ISRO at SAC," ISRO stated.

Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land around 8:34 a.m. EDT (1234 GMT and 18:04 India time) on Wednesday (Aug. 23). The spacecraft is targeting a landing site at 69.37 degrees south latitude and 32.35 degrees east longitude, near the lunar south pole. A live telecast of the attempt will begin around 45 minutes earlier, according to ISRO. You can watch that webcast here at Space.com.

Chandrayaan-3 is now aiming to be the first probe ever to make a soft landing in the vicinity of the lunar south pole. It was considered by many to be in a race with Russia's Luna-25 lander, but the latter spacecraft crashed into the moon following a failed orbital maneuver on Saturday (Aug. 19).

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:Here are the images of Lunar far side area captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area -- without boulders or deep trenches -- during the descent is developed by ISRO pic.twitter.com/rwWhrNFhHBAugust 21, 2023

See more

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India's first attempt to land on the moon came in 2019. The Chandrayaan-2 lander experienced errors during the latter part of its descent and made a hard impact with the lunar surface. ISRO stated on Monday that the Chandrayaan-3 lander established two-way communications with the orbiter from the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

Chandrayaan-3 launched into a highly elliptical Earth orbit on July 14, before gradually raising its orbit and firing itself into a lunar trajectory. It entered lunar orbit on Aug. 5 before conducting a series of engine burns to circularize its orbit.

The Vikram lander, which also carries a small rover named Pragyan, separated from the mission's propulsion module on Aug. 17. If they land successfully, Vikram and Pragyan will spend almost a full lunar daytime (roughly 14 Earth days) conducting science experiments on the moon.

A soft landing would make India only the fourth country, after the United States, the former Soviet Union and China, to achieve such a feat. But that list could soon get bigger. Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is scheduled to lift off on a H-2A rocket on Aug. 26 from Tanegashima Space Center.
 Copyright 2023, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.

As former President Donald Trump faces 91 felony counts in four criminal cases, a plurality of Iowa Republican caucusgoers say Trump should continue to lead the Republican Party.

A new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll asked likely Republican caucus participants to share their opinion regarding Trump and the future of the Republican Party.

Forty-one percent of respondents say the Republican Party should continue to be led by Trump. Thats about the same as the 42% of likely caucusgoers who say Trump is their first choice for president.

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About a quarter of respondents, 26%, say Trump was a good president, but it is time to consider other leaders.

Thirty-one percent of respondents say the Republican Party needs a new leader with better personal behavior and a different approach.

The poll of 406 likely Republican caucusgoers was conducted from Aug. 13 to Aug. 17. During that time, a grand jury in Georgia indicted the former president, accusing him of trying to steal President Joe Bidens win in the state during the 2020 presidential election.

Trump now faces four sets of criminal charges, including indictments relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, improper storage of classified documents, and falsifying business records.

Several likely Republican caucusgoers told the Des Moines Register in follow-up interviews that they believe Trump has faced unfair opposition from Democrats and the media. Some respondents say theyre ready to retire the former president and elect someone with less legal baggage, while others have doubled down on their commitment to Trump.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump stand as the national anthem is performed during the Ashley's BBQ Bash fundraiser, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Connie Goedert, a 67-year-old poll respondent living in Dubuque, wants Trump to remain the leader of the party. In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Goedert said Trump was a wonderful president and he kept his promises in office.

More: How is the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted? Let us explain.

Goedert says she isnt deterred by the criminal charges facing Trump.

I think the Democrats have made all this stuff up, she said. I feel that, things that President Biden has done, theyve just swept under the rug.

Carey Umbarger, a 56-year-old poll respondent from Mason City, said he thinks Biden has weaponized the federal government.

A lot of this stuff that's being thrown at (Trump) is just to keep him in the negative eye of the public and to try and prevent him from being able to actually run again, Umbarger said.

However, Umbarger said its time to consider other leaders who can continue Trump-era policies. His top choice is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

At some point, if all this stuff continues with (Trump) and he's not able to get free of it, he's just gonna have to concede and throw his allegiance and help DeSantis be the guy, Umbarger said. Weve got to find somebody whos electable, you know?

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump greets former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker during a visit to the Iowa State Fair, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Scott Johnson, a 63-year-old poll respondent from Carroll, said the media has won against Trump.

The media has dug (Trump) in a hole, and he keeps fighting back. Im not sure that hole isnt getting deeper, Johnson said. I dont think its a fight he can win.

In a follow-up interview with the Register, Johnson didnt say Trump has committed crimes, but he said the former president has done enough to make him unelectable.

Johnson said its time for the party to elect a new leader with better personal behavior and a new approach  and his top choice is Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and political newcomer.

His stance on everything 100% aligns with my values as a conservative, as a Christian and as an American, Johnson said.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

About the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted Aug. 13-17, 2023, for The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 406 registered voters in Iowa who say they will definitely or probably attend the 2024 Republican caucuses.

Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted 2,953 randomly selected voters from the Iowa secretary of states voter registration list by telephone. The sample was supplemented with additional phone number lookups. Interviews were administered in English. Responses for all contacts were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect their proportions among voters in the list.

Questions based on the sample of 406 voters likely to attend the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents  such as by gender or age  have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom is prohibited.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll shows plurality of GOP caucusgoers want Trump to lead party
The Battle of Kamdesh stands as a harrowing testament to the valor and sacrifice of American soldiers amid the rugged landscapes of Afghanistan. Nestled within the restless Nuristan Province, Kamdesh was home to Combat Outpost (COP) Keating, a remote outpost surrounded by towering mountains and treacherous terrain. This fateful encounter would define the indomitable spirit of those who faced overwhelming odds.

Kamdesh's crucial role

In 2006, the Kamdesh region gained strategic importance as Allied commanders sought to disrupt the anti-coalition militia's access to crucial supply lines between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Provincial reconstruction team (PRT) bases extended into Nuristan, a remote Afghan province. The goal here was to establish government control and credibility. Colonel John W. Nicholson Jr., leading the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, recognized Kamdesh's significance due to its position at the convergence of three valleys from the Pakistan border. This junction, coupled with local leadership, inspired the establishment of the Nuristan PRT base.

Governor Tamim Nuristani's endorsement further supported the base's creation. The camp was constructed by 3-71 Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division. Later, it was named Camp Keating in honor of Executive Officer Benjamin Keating, who fell in combat south of the camp in November 2006.

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The region had seen limited U.S. forces presence, mainly through Special Operations, until 3-71 Cavalry took charge. Intense fighting in the region eventually meant the camp transitioned from its PRT designation. Over time, Camp Keating stood as a fire base, enduring numerous attacks while executing successful combat missions in the vicinity.

Terrain difficulties

The Kamdesh village, nestled in the lofty Hindu Kush mountain range, featured steep slopes and narrow valleys defined by swift rivers and granite boulders. The region's volatile climate ranges from hot summers to cold, snow-covered winters. In turn, this made travel and daily life difficult. During the course of the war, the Kamdesh area was seen as critical to help disrupt anti-coalition militia's supply lines between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Operation Deep Strike, launched in May 2006, saw a re-deployment to Kamdesh. Once again, service members found themselves facing familiar difficulties. Namely, the area's treacherous terrain hampered movements and posed constant challenges. The base's footprint was less than ideal. A boulder in the site's center prevented helicopter landings, and an alternative landing zone across the river had a rocky terrain and encircled mountains, hindering effective defense.

Kamdesh's insurgency backdrop was intricately tied to the region's distinct population. Nuristan's ethnic divisions fueled conflicts over water rights, pasture, and religious beliefs among the Kom, Kata, Kushtoz, and Kalasha groups. Language diversity complicated matters, as translation barriers hindered communication. The Nuristanis' history of resistance, from opposing Islam in 1895 to their past as a Hindu nation, painted a picture of deep-rooted defiance against outsiders. This cultural fabric added complexity to the insurgency landscape played out within Kamdesh's rugged terrain.

In this file photo dated July 27, 2009, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Clinton L. Romesha patrols near Combat Outpost Keating in Kamdesh, Nuristan province, Afghanistan. (Courtesy photo/Released)

Camp Keating's deterioration

During the summer of 2009, Camp Keating found itself increasingly isolated. The terrain's limited roads and insurgent threats made ground resupply nearly impossible. Situated amidst encircling mountains, the camp's position exposed it to insurgent fire, even during helicopter flights for resupply. As conditions worsened, resupply flights were restricted to moonless nights to mitigate the risk. Complicating matters, the nearest attack helicopters were a 30-minute flight away in Jalalabad.

Overwatch Post (OP) Fritsche established a joint contingent of U.S. and Afghan national forces to bolster the defense of Camp Keating. Afghan leaders received evacuation plans. The outpost's garrison prepared for the eventual closure of both COP Keating and OP Fritsche. While waiting for it to close, Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron "Destroyers," 61st Cavalry Regiment manned COP Keating. Afghan national forces supervised checkpoints and roadblocks. Members of the Latvian Operational Mentor Liaison Teams were there with them, too.

COP Keating was slated for closure in August 2009. But ongoing military operations in a neighboring district delayed the shutdown. With its impending closure, there was very little fortification investment. When the COP received human-source intelligence reports that indicated an impending attack, it was nearly dismissed due to a lack of corroborating evidence. This decision proved to be fateful.

Insurgent onslaught

At around 3:00 a.m. on October 3, over 350 Taliban-backed insurgents ordered Kamdesh villagers to evacuate, setting the stage for a pivotal battle. The attack commenced at 6:00 a.m., with insurgents launching mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire from all sides of the outpost. The assault immediately disabled the American mortar pit. Within minutes, the first American service member died. Simultaneously, Observation Post Fritsche came under attack, limiting available support.

About 48 minutes into the battle, the attackers breached Keating's perimeter defenses, exploiting vulnerabilities at multiple points. Breaches occurred at the latrine area, the main entrance guarded by Afghan security personnel, and the eastern side defended by Afghan National Army soldiers. Despite the efforts of two Latvian military advisors, Afghan defenders broke and fled. The Afghan soldiers failed to hold their ground, even looting items from American soldiers during and after the battle. The attackers penetrated the base, setting fire to most of the barracks.

Defense and air support

Amidst the chaos, American and Latvian defenders regrouped within a tight internal perimeter around unburned buildings. They launched counterattacks to retake key areas, expanding the perimeter toward the entry control point and western buildings. U.S. air support targeted insurgent positions and destroyed the local mosque, a source of intense enemy fire. As the soldiers of OP Fritsche gained control of their mortar pit, they directed support to defend COP Keating.

As the day progressed, insurgents began to retreat. Quick reaction forces (QRF) from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment quickly reached the outpost, encountering remaining insurgents within the outpost for several hours. Relief efforts were hindered by terrain and aircraft availability. Members of the QRF were air lifted to OP Fritsche, then descended on foot to COP Keating. On their descent, they encountered an ambush resulting in enemy casualties. Once inside the outpost, they confirmed the death of a missing soldier and repelled follow-up attacks attempted by Taliban forces. U.S. aircraft played a crucial role in thwarting these subsequent assaults.

Bravery amid chaos

Within the compact confines of COP Keating, American soldiers fiercely contested the enemy onslaught. Under the leadership of Captain Robert Yllescas and Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha , they orchestrated a desperate yet valiant defense. Braving a ceaseless barrage of gunfire, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars, the defenders stood united against the onslaught.

The heart of the resistance lay with "Red Platoon," a group of gallant soldiers who defiantly held their ground against relentless assaults. Amid the chaos, Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha emerged as an embodiment of courage, rallying his comrades and orchestrating counterattacks that inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy.

The battle reached a pivotal juncture when a machine gun position manned by Specialist Ty Carter and Sergeant Bradley Larson came under particularly ferocious assault. In the face of overwhelming odds, Carter and Larson displayed extraordinary valor, thwarting the enemy onslaught while sustaining injuries. Their actions not only stemmed the tide of the attack but also provided a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.

A costly triumph

The battle inflicted heavy casualties on both sides. Eight U.S. soldiers lost their lives . Another 27 sustained injuries, along with eight Afghan soldiers and two Afghan private security guards. The U.S. military estimated that around 150 Taliban insurgents were killed in the aftermath of the repulsed assault.

The attack expedited these plans because American forces were planning to withdraw from the area as part of a broader strategic shift. The base's closure was imminent, and the hasty exit resulted in some abandoned munitions. The insurgents looted the depot and attempted to destroy the remaining munitions through a B-1 bomber strike on October 6.

Following the attack, Coalition troops launched operations on October 5 and 6 to locate and eliminate the Taliban forces responsible for the assault. During these operations, an additional 10 Afghan soldiers and several Taliban insurgents were killed.

Kamdesh investigation

In the aftermath of the battle, the U.S. Central Command initiated an investigation led by U.S. Army General Guy Swan . The investigation report, made public in June 2011, highlighted "inadequate measures taken by the chain of command" that contributed to the attack. The report led to admonishments and reprimands for four U.S. Army officers while commending the efforts of those who helped keep service members safe.

Staff Sgt. Ty Carter speaks during his Hall of Heroes induction ceremony at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Va., Aug. 27, 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Laura Buchta)

Reflecting on sacrifice

In the aftermath of the Battle of Kamdesh, the human toll was sobering. Eight American soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice, while more than 20 were wounded. The valor displayed by these men, however, was immeasurable. The battle's legacy resonates as a testament to the fierce determination of American forces and a stark reminder of the challenges faced in asymmetric warfare .
A F-15EX assigned to the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, flies behind a KC-135 assigned to the 465th Air Refueling Squadron, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, Oct. 15, 2021. In-air refueling allows fighter aircraft to stay airborne for longer periods of time without having to land to refuel. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Mary Begy)

Indonesia is set to be the first export operator of the F-15EX Eagle II multirole fighter, after formally committing to buying up to 24 of the jets from Boeing. While the deal still needs to be signed off by the U.S. government, that will likely be a formality, since the U.S. State Department previously approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Indonesia of an F-15EX derivative known as the F-15ID, as you can read more about here. The version now has been renamed F-15IND, although its unclear if this configuration involves any differences, significant or otherwise, beyond some U.S. specific equipment being removed.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the purchase of up to 24 F-15IND jets was signed in St. Louis, Missouri yesterday  the location of the F-15 production facility  by Air Vice Marshal Yusuf Jauhari, the Head of Defense Facilities Agency at the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, and Mark Sears, Boeing Fighters vice president and program manager.

https://twitter.com/BoeingDefense/status/1693795647428714515?s=20

Also in attendance was Indonesias Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, who had a tour of the F-15 production line. This included a photo opportunity in the cockpit of an F-15 carrying his name below the cockpit.

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https://twitter.com/Jatosint/status/1693787120400498723?s=20

We are pleased to announce our commitment to procure the critical F-15EX fighter capability for Indonesia, Subianto said. He added: This state-of-the-art fighter will protect and secure our nation with its advanced capabilities.

As for the configuration of the F-15IND, its noteworthy that Boeing and Indonesian officials speak of this version and the F-15EX interchangeably.

In its press release, Boeing describes the F-15EX as the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, with digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, an all-glass digital cockpit, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities, before noting that these will all be leveraged in delivering the new F-15IDN.

An Indonesian delegation, led by Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto (center) during the recent visit to Boeings St. Louis facility. Boeing



We have invested years of expertise into developing the F-15EX capabilities. There is no other fighter like the F-15 in the world, and this platform will put Indonesia at the top of air dominance capabilities, Mark Sears said. Boeing is ready to support this effort and remains a committed partner to the U.S. government in advancing international security objectives with allies and partners around the world.

Indonesia was, until early last year, an outside candidate to join the F-15 operators club, which currently numbers just seven countries around the world. None of these have so far bought the latest F-15EX model, although Qatars earlier F-15QA version is what the F-15EX is based on.

In February 2022, however, only hours after Indonesias announcement that it would be buying 42 of Frances Dassault Rafale fighters, the U.S. State Department confirmed that it had approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Indonesia of what were then known as F-15ID aircraft.

https://twitter.com/SAFRAN/status/1491710799169130496?s=20

Under the original proposed package, the United States would supply up to 36 jets, valued at around $13.9 billion. Other equipment specified in that package included AN/APG-82(v)1 Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability Systems (EPAWSS), Advanced Display Core Processor (ADCP) II computers, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS), and Embedded Global Positioning Systems (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (EGI) security devices.

The jets would furthermore be outfitted with AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pods and AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods. Also included were MS-110 reconnaissance pods, AN/ASG-34 Infrared Search and Track International, and AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispensers.

A 40th Flight Test Squadron F-15EX prepares to fire an AIM-120D missile during a Weapons System Evaluation Program mission near Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, in January 2022. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John Raven

That announcement suggested that Washington was making a last-ditch effort to persuade Jakarta to opt for a mixed fleet of F-15 and Rafale jets. That pitch now seems to have paid off, albeit for a smaller number of the Boeing jets than originally approved.

For the time being, though, we dont know whether Indonesia will buy the full 24 F-15IND jets outlined in the MoU, nor do we know what kinds of weapons and support will be included. The overall cost of the deal is also unclear, as is the timeline for when they might be delivered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J-C0yK9i0Y

Ultimately, however, the Indonesian Air Force should end up with the most modern and capable fighter fleet in Southeast Asia, with a potent mix of F-15IND and Rafale jets.

In the meantime, Jakarta has also apparently secured 12 second-hand Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighters from Qatar, in a deal announced in June and valued at around $735 million. This is apparently an urgent measure to modernize the fighter fleet pending the deliveries of new Rafales  and now also F-15s.

Qatari Mirage 2000-5 fighters at Souda Air Base on the southern Greek island of Crete during the coalition air campaign over Libya, in March 2011. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images

Currently, the Indonesian Air Force operates a mix of U.S. and Russian fighters.

However, the fleet is aging, and Jakarta has long been weighing up options to modernize it. Prior to selecting the Rafale, the countrys search for new fighters produced reports about potential purchases of Sukhoi Su-35 Flankers from Russia and second-hand Eurofighter Typhoons from Austria. Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin pitched its F-16 Block 72 to Indonesia and there were also reports that Jakarta was also interested in the same companys F-35A stealth fighter.

As well as older airframes, the Indonesian Air Force faces the issue of a very diverse fighter fleet, which makes maintenance a challenge. Currently, the fighter force comprises around eight survivors from the 12 F-16A/B Block 15OCU fighters delivered beginning in 1989, plus 23 upgraded F-16C/Ds.

A U.S. test pilot conducts a functional check flight in an Indonesian Air Force F-16C at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in 2017. The jet was the last of a batch of 24 F-16C/Ds to be delivered to Indonesia, one of which has since been lost. U.S. Air Force/Alex R. Lloyd



Alongside this U.S.-supplied equipment, the Indonesian Air Force also operates different versions of the Russian-made Flanker, consisting of five single-seat Su-27SKs and a pair of two-seat Su-30MKs, deliveries of which started in 2003, along with nine two-seat Su-30MK2s, the first of which touched down in the country in 2008. While the Su-30 variants are small in number, these are currently among its most capable fighters, although its highly likely that sanctions on Russia now make it much harder to support them.

Two Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18As escort Indonesian Air Force Su-27 and Su-30 Flankers during Exercise Pitch Black 2012. Commonwealth of Australia

Beyond these types, Indonesia was also expected to buy 50 examples of the KF-21 new-generation fighter that the country is developing jointly with South Korea. Indonesias PT DI is an industry partner in the KF-21 alongside Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), with a 20 percent share of the project. In the past, however, Jakarta has failed to make payments to secure its stake in the program and its long-term commitment to the program is at least questionable.

A video showing the first flight of the KF-21 next-generation fighter in July 2022:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTXeFY0YVs0

Should Indonesias commitment to the KF-21 be fulfilled, this type is expected to enter production sometime between 2026 and 2028. That could mean that the air force receives KF-21s, Rafales, and F-15IND jets all in broadly the same timeframe. As well as the enormous cost involved, this will place a significant burden in terms of training and support.

The costs involved in these procurements, even if the KF-21 is abandoned, could mean particular difficulties for Jakarta, based on previous experience.

In the past, Indonesia has struggled with tight defense budgets. One effect of this was seen in Moscows proposed deal to sell Su-35s to Jakarta. Had that sale gone ahead, Russia would have received half its payments in the form of exports of palm oil, rubber, and other commodities. While Russia has traditionally been more amenable to these kinds of deals  thats not the case with the United States. Meanwhile, the 12 ex-Qatari MIrages are reportedly being funded using foreign loans.

Other problems could emerge, too, not least the concerns over human rights that saw a U.S. arms embargo imposed on Indonesia between 1999 and 2005. This was a result of human rights violations in East Timor and led to delays in F-16 deliveries.

A member of the Indonesian Mobile Police Brigade tries to stop a photographer from taking pictures of his troops boarding an Indonesian Air Force transport plane at Dili Airport in October 1999. At the time, around 100 Indonesian troops were departing for Jakarta, as part of troop withdrawal after East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. Photo by ROMEO GACAD/AFP via Getty Images

Nevertheless, if Indonesia does receive the F-15s that it has now committed to, it is a clear demonstration of the serious efforts its now undertaking to ensure its status as a major regional airpower player. This is driven by Indonesias strategic position at the southern end of the South China Sea, as well as an ongoing maritime dispute with China. This has manifested itself in incidents in which Chinese fishing boats accompanied by Chinese Coast Guard vessels have entered Indonesias exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

With the South China Sea an obvious regional flashpoint, its no surprise that Jakarta is looking at better ways of projecting power over this huge area. As well as long-range fighters, Jakarta is buying two French-made Scorpene class submarines, which will be built in Indonesia, and which will also be used to patrol these waters, which are home to valuable fishing stocks and natural resources.

An Indonesian Air Force F-16 prepares to take off from an airbase in Pekanbaru, Riau, in January 2020. Indonesia had deployed fighters and warships to patrol islands near the disputed South China Sea, during escalating tensions with Beijing over trespassing Chinese vessels. Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images

Finally, the deal is also good news for Boeing, especially as questions emerge about the U.S. Air Forces own commitment to the F-15EX. As we have explored in the past, the Air Force has been weighing up just how many F-15EXs it wants to buy, especially as it eyes investment in the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.

While the U.S. Air Forces current plans call for 104 F-15EX aircraft, this is a reduction from the previously planned total of 144, although an improvement on the 80 that it had said it wanted to buy just last year.

An F-15EX Eagle II from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, 96th Test Wing out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, flies in formation during an aerial refueling operation above the skies of Northern California in May 2021. Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner



At the same time, the U.S. Air Force continues to move away from earlier plans for the large-scale replacement of Air National Guard F-15C/Ds with F-15EXs. Its still unclear, however, to what degree these changes are intertwined with the Air Forces plans for the F-15E fleet.

https://twitter.com/AviationWeek/status/1692639004770873522?s=20

All told, the prospect of a first foreign sale of an F-15EX variant will come as a boost to Boeing at a time when the long-term status of the aircraft in the U.S. Air Forces plans remains somewhat unclear.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji celebrates 3rd birthday at U.S. zoo

Xinhua) 08:45, August 22, 2023

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji celebrated his third birthday at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

Animal care staff presented Xiao Qi Ji with a special panda-friendly fruitsicle cake made by the zoo's nutritionists in the morning.

Keepers crafted the multi-tiered cake and "3" topper using frozen diluted apple and pineapple juices and decorated the tiers with apples, sweet potatoes, carrots and bamboo sprigs.

Many visitors came to the giant panda habitat early in the morning for Xiao Qi Ji's birthday celebration and sang the birthday song together as the male cub ate the cake.

"Happy third birthday, Xiao Qi Ji, and I love you," Jamie Quick from Virginia Beach, Virginia, told Xinhua.

This photo taken on April 19, 2023 shows giant panda Xiao Qi Ji at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"They're adorable. I love them. They have helped me through trying times in my life," Quick said of giant pandas. "I love all animals but pandas especially, and Xiao Qi Ji is my favorite."

Wearing a T-shirt printed with a picture of Xiao Qi Ji eating bamboo, Quick added that she would love to go to China to see giant pandas there.

Xiao Qi Ji, who weighs a little over 200 pounds, is "very healthy" and "very happy," according to Brandie Smith, director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Smith also lauded the collaboration between American and Chinese experts and scientists to study and save the species.

Xiao Qi Ji's mother, Mei Xiang, turned 25 years old in July. Tian Tian, the cub's biological father, will mark his 26th birthday later this month.

The three pandas will leave the United States by December, according to the zoo. A farewell celebration will be held from Sept. 23 to Oct 1.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
This aerial photo taken on May 4, 2023 shows a cargo ship carrying corn imported from South Africa at a port in south China's Guangdong Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is playing an important role in driving mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation, said experts, noting that further developments are expected to emerge as the 15th BRICS Summit takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Aug. 22 to 24.

Guided by the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, member nations have enhanced cooperation to promote economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the experts.

China's foreign trade with other BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa -- soared 19.1 percent year on year to 2.38 trillion yuan (about 330.62 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Monday. This accounted for 10.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value during the period, marking a rise of 1.6 percentage points.

Specifically, China's exports to these countries totaled 1.23 trillion yuan, up 23.9 percent year on year, while its imports reached 1.15 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 14.3 percent.

According to Dr. Kenneth Creamer, an economist from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, "the main objective of BRICS is to encourage increased levels of trade and cooperation among member countries and BRICS has been successful in advancing this objective since its first meeting."

"Increased cooperation in sectors such as energy and agriculture can play an important role in lifting levels of economic growth and employment in BRICS member countries. Increased trade and cooperation among BRICS countries can also assist in promoting economic recovery after the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Creamer, who is also a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

Regarding the China-South Africa cooperation, Dr. Creamer said China and South Africa should build on existing strong relations to seek to better integrate the countries' manufacturing and supply chains to aid development and opportunity in both countries.

In the first half of the year, bilateral trade between China and South Africa reached 28.25 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.7 percent year on year, official data showed. China has maintained its position as South Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, while South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years.

"Chinese enterprises should be encouraged to use South Africa as a base country from which to manufacture, assemble and deliver products and services for sale in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa," Dr. Creamer said.

China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. The two sides have together constructed and commissioned over 10,000 km of railway, nearly 100,000 km of highway, and an array of important infrastructure projects, including airports, docks, bridges and power plants, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

Speaking to Xinhua, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, said they are looking at the BRICS summit to bring in more tourists. "It's a major event. We're expecting it to boost our tourism."

"We need to focus on countries like China to bring more tourists to the country. That's where our growth in terms of tourists will come from; we need to look beyond the traditional areas," Tshivhengwa added.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist and researcher at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, pointed out that China has one of the biggest markets in the world in terms of agricultural products.

"South Africa is one of the countries that is also trying to deepen its exports into China, which is something that is part and parcel of the discussions that are happening within the various BRICS business working groups," Sihlobo said.

Themed "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism," this summit will carry forward the sound momentum of cooperation from the BRICS "China Year" 2022 and chart a brighter future for BRICS.

"The summit is of great significance for advancing practical cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries in various fields, promoting global governance reform, and enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries," said Li Wentao, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Li added that against the backdrop of major global changes, the solidarity and cooperation among BRICS countries will bring more certainty to an uncertain world.
When Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel formed an RNC Advisory Council to help guide the GOPs 2024 campaign strategy, no one envisioned it would become a flashpoint between freshman Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), Donald Trump, and the right-wing news site Breitbart.

And yet, miraculously, more than eight months into Britts tenure on this new RNC board, her position on the counciland refusal to endorse Trump because shes on the boardhas become a real headache.

In recent weeks, according to a source familiar with the matter, Breitbart noticed that Britt was the only member of the Alabama congressional delegation that hadnt endorsed Trump. So when the news site approached the senators team asking about her endorsement, it left Britt in a pickle, as another source put it to The Daily Beast.

Disaster!: Trumps Latest Endorsement Sparks Backlash in Trumpworld

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According to three sources familiar with the situation, Britt was supposed to remain neutral in the GOP primary.

When Ronna approached Senator Britt about joining the council, she asked Senator Britt to remain neutral in the primaries while the council conducts its work, a source close to Britt told The Daily Beast.

That could be true. But it also could be a story. As Breitbart has noticed, other members on the RNC council have endorsed.

Among the ranks of this RNC advisory councilwhich has met only a handful of timeswere Reps. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) and John James (R-MI). Both Gimenez and James have endorsed Trump. So when Britt argued to Breitbart that she couldnt endorse Trump because she was on the council, it seemed to ring hollow.

Enter Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

Theres no legitimate excuse for Sen. Katie Britt to be the only federal elected official from Alabama not endorsing Donald Trump, especially when he went to bat for her in the primary and especially when Trump, the rule of law, and our entire country are under assault, Kirk wrote on Twitter in early August.

And with Breitbart pressing the matter, Britts explanation has seemed to lose credibilityso much so that the far-right news site has pressured the RNC into seemingly a new stance.

When we launched the Republican Party Advisory Council to help us chart the best path forward to win in 2024, we asked members to remain neutral in the Republican presidential primary, RNC spokesperson Keith Schipper told The Daily Beast. Now that were in the advanced stages of the race, all members of the council are welcome to continue their work regardless of whether they are backing a Republican presidential candidate or not, to help us make Joe Biden a one-term president.

Here is where the backstory really gets interesting. According to a source familiar with the matter, the RNC has only changed its position on members endorsing Trump because Breitbart started asking about the policy. Essentially, the GOP committee wanted to avoid fire for potentially blocking Republicans from endorsing Trump, even though thats precisely what Britts aides are claiming the RNC was unofficially demanding of members of this new council.

The situation has a certain damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-dont ring to it. Either Britt has been avoiding a Trump endorsement because shes not supposed to back the former president prematurely, or shes playing her political cards like a skilled operator.

The situation is reminiscent to then-Speaker Paul Ryans delayed endorsement of Trump in 2016, with Ryan noting that he technically presides over the GOP convention and therefore felt it wouldnt be appropriate to endorse Trump prematurely. The excuse lasted about a month.

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The RNC supposedly didnt want members of this council to endorse Trump too early, but the organization is also fine with members now endorsing Trump a year out from the convention. (Breitbart, the right-wing news site that first started asking about Britts endorsement, is expected to come out with a story about the endorsement brouhaha later this week.)

The reality may be far more complicated. An RNC source suggested to The Daily Beast that Britts explanation as to why she couldnt endorse Trumpnamely, her presence on this councilwas entirely concocted.

The Britt people send us out there to defend this lie, and nobody seems to realize that were dealing with rabid dogs at Breitbart, a senior RNC source told The Daily Beast. They dont give a shit. Theyre not just going to accept her off-the-record explanation, and they start demanding all kinds of statements about us preventing people from endorsing Trump and threatening to kick Trump supporters off this Council.

Craig Hudson/Reuters

At some point, its like, were not about to have Trump sending Truths about us, this source added, referring to the former presidents new social site. Fuck that.

That allegation did not sit well with RNC brass.

The anonymous source is flat out wrong. The Chairwoman asked all members of the advisory council to remain neutral when it began, RNC Chief of Staff Mike Reed told The Daily Beast, following publication. This supposed source has concocted a fantasy that never took place, and they clearly dont know what theyre talking about.

After Breitbart began inquiring about Britts endorsements, an unlikely ally took to the phones to support the young Alabama senator: Steve Bannon.

The longtime Breitbart executive turned Trump administration official has been defending Britt, according to a previously mentioned source.

Bannon supposedly called all over the place trying to get them to stand down, but it didnt seem to work because the Britt people were still freaking out about Breitbart blowing them up, this source said. But, like, what bizarre world are we living in when Steve Bannon and the RNC are joined at the hip to defend a McConnell acolyte?

Bannon nonetheless defended Britt in a statement to The Daily Beast.

Katie Britt is politically savvy and a fighter for the America First agenda, Bannon said Wednesday in a statement. I think its crucialgiven her unique perspective, profile, and platformthat her endorsement is rolled out when it will make the biggest impact to defeat Joe Biden.

As for Trump, hes been in touch with Brittbut he remains somewhat indifferent on the topic of an endorsement.

This is a lot of heartburn to get to an endorsement, a source close to Trump told The Daily Beast.

Another source close to Trump stressed they have great respect for Britt but think an endorsement now would be more helpful than waiting, possibly months, for her backing.

I am looking forward to helping Trump win suburban women, one previously mentioned source close to Britt told The Daily Beast as to what the senator has been sharing with allies in recent weeks.

There isnt widespread agreement in Trumpworld about when Britt should endorse Trumpa twice-impeached, four-times-indicted former president.

Some Republican operatives believe Britt could have more impact by waiting to endorse Trump, while others think shes long overdue.

Not all endorsements are equal; some carry more weight. As the only Republican female senator with school-aged children, Senator Britt is the future of our Party, a senior GOP operative told The Daily Beast. Her ability to connect suburban swing voters with America First policies is unique and makes the timing of her endorsement an important strategic decision as we work to make sure Joe Biden is a one-term President.

The Stunning Place Where Trump Is Beating DeSantis the Worst

A spokesperson for Britt said the senator appreciated Trumps well wishes and kind words during a recent call with Trump, following a health scare that resulted in facial numbness.

While she continues to rest and recover at home, spokesperson Sean Ross said, the senators husband and parents were excited to be there in Montgomery to welcome President Trump back to Alabama for his record-shattering, standing-room-only speech.

Meanwhile, those inside Trumps orbit are hoping a Britt endorsement comes sooner rather than laterthough they also dont think Breitbarts inquiries are helpful.

All of this started with a lie, then got blown up by a psychotic Charlie Kirk tweet, and ended in a U.S. senator panicking, said another previously mentioned source familiar with the drama. Whatever, thats fine. And Britt doesnt have to run for re-election until 2028 anyway, so shes confident shell be fine regardless. But all I know is that the RNC isnt getting the blame for this shit show, and none of this is worth having Breitbart trying to torpedo us all.

Britts pro-Trump criticsand Trump himself have long taken issue with her close relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), as well as Britts status as a former top staffer for longtime McConnell ally Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).

During her primary race this past election cycle, Britt took early arrows from Trump, only for the former president to later endorse her against MAGA Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL).

For Mitch McConnell to be wasting money on her campaign is absolutely outrageous, Trump said of Britts run, prior to later offering the now-senator an endorsement.

Now, it seems like its only a matter of time until Britt pays back the favor.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Live from a Des Moines television studio, Asa Hutchinson , the longshot presidential candidate, looked into the camera and made his case to the Friday night audience of MSNBC viewers.

He had until Monday, close of business, to qualify for the first Republican debate, and he needed everyone to go to his website to donate. After the former Arkansas governor vowed he would prosecute Trump onstage and would tell the truth about Jan. 6, his campaign said 4,000 new donors rolled in.

But before Hutchinsons appearance on Chris Hayes primetime show, part of a mid-August media blitz, there was a more consequential, little-noticed effort afoot to keep the Reagan-era Republican in the running for 2024 and get him on the debate stage  one that ultimately brought in nearly half of his campaigns first 40,000 donors.

It involved hundreds of college students who were paid $20 a pop for every family member, friend or acquaintance they could persuade to donate $1 to Hutchinson this summer.

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The texting-for-pay plan was one of several efforts by Republican contenders to beef up their number of unique donors by paying for them. Doug Burgum, the North Dakota governor, handed out $20 gift cards for $1 donations. Vivek Ramaswamy offered supporters a 10 percent cut of any money they raise for him, and Francis Suarezs super PAC promoted the raffling off of a $15,000 college scholarship for a donation. For some Republicans, like Hutchinson, it was a workaround to the Republican National Committees requirement that candidates amass 40,000 donors to qualify for the debate, a measure of grassroots support. The texting program dreamed up by Republican strategist Austin Barbour, who helps run the pro-Hutchinson super PAC America Strong & Free Action, played a major role in helping him qualify.

Not long ago, it looked like Hutchinson wouldnt make it. The former Arkansas governor had worked his own contacts for months, struggling to even hit the 5,000-donor mark halfway through the year.

Nothing the candidate or his aligned super PAC did was working. The groups attempt at a text campaign in early June had failed, Barbour said (The returns were miniscule, and thats being kind), and neither they nor Hutchinsons campaign had the type of cash that other candidates did to keep spamming random voters.

The super PAC tried running an ad on Fox News and MSNBC, a clip that featured former President Ronald Reagan in 1986 endorsing Hutchinson, that time for a Senate bid. People loved the ad, Barbour said, but it was a complete bust, bringing in fewer than 100 new donors after running more than 40 times on the networks.

They tried two tele-town halls with Hutchinson as their special guest. He was fantastic, Barbour said. But we got no donors. (Again, less than 100 people signed up to give between the two phone events.)

Awake in the middle of the night on June 14, Barbour and Conrad Lucas, the former West Virginia GOP chair who is also helping on the Hutchinson super PAC, racked their brains. Inspired by the grassroots campaigns he worked on while growing up in Mississippi, Barbour, the nephew of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour , got the idea. He was due in a couple days to interview a recent college graduate about doing some political work.

My thought was, if you get somebody to call their friends, family, somebody they know  all theyre asking for is $1  certainly theyre going to say yes, Barbour said.

That first recent college graduate agreed, and recruited 11 of his friends from universities in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. They could tell people they were doing an internship with the super PAC, as long as they were certain to mention that they were sending the text on behalf of America Strong & Free Action. And it didnt matter if they got someone to give $1 or $100, theyd get paid $20 for every new donor, Barbour instructed them.

The test with the original dozen college-age students yielded 607 donors in about a week. Barbour came up with a PowerPoint presentation about the plan, which he dubbed the American Outreach Team, and convinced a donor based in Arkansas to give $250,000 to fund an expanded effort.

Eventually, by word of mouth, they had enrolled 700 people to scour their contact lists to recruit new Hutchinson donors, all earning $20 a piece. Some were in-state Hutchinson supporters, though the majority were young adults with downtime over the summer, Barbour said. His son, an 18-year-old high school senior, found 100 donors. And a couple young, enterprising team members starting their own political firm even sub-contracted out work to others.

The super PACs conduit program routed 99 percent of each donation that came in to Hutchinsons campaign.

After Hutchinson qualified over the weekend, a few of the young men on the super PACs original donor recruitment team were given tickets to attend Wednesdays debate, Barbour said.

Theres nothing wrong with what everyone else was doing, he said of other campaigns donor-building strategies. We just knew we couldnt afford it. Like the candidates own operation, the super PAC is relatively small and operates on little money. It includes Jon Gilmore, the super PACs chair and a longtime political adviser to the former governor; Molly Donlin, who has overseen America Strong & Free Actions Iowa field program; and Paul Smith, the super PACs digital consultant.

As for the TV appearances that ultimately put Hutchinson over the RNCs donor requirement Saturday, campaign manager Rob Burgess, who has made earned media a central component of Hutchinsons campaign strategy, said he called in as many favors as (he) could in recent weeks to keep his boss on the air.

Since the start of August, the former Arkansas governor has appeared more than 30 times on television, not including his radio or print interviews.

Hutchinson still barely registers in national polls and lags far behind most other candidates in fundraising. And he had been warned for months that he needed to be more direct in asking viewers to go to his website and donate, according to a person with knowledge of the campaigns operations. He finally began implementing the strategy in earnest over the last two weeks.

Hutchinson racked up 2,800 donors after appearing on MSNBCs Morning Joe recently, Burgess said, and another 2,200 after Kaitlan Collins CNN primetime show last week.

It resonated, Burgess said.
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week.

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Top investigative stories

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Bihus.Info: Top officials brother allegedly swindles millions from state budget

Since the summer of 2022, the Ukrainian government paid up to Hr 320 million ($8.7 million) for solar energy it couldnt possibly receive, Bihus.Info reported.



The companies that got this money paid are inside occupied territory. Two of them are co-owned by Oleh Shurma, a brother of Rostyslav Shurma, a deputy for the head of the Presidents Office.

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Another company, co-owned by the deputys former business partner, also received Hr 134 million ($3.6 million) in payment for solar energy while operating under occupation.

UkrEnergo, the state energy company, told Bihus.Info that the solar farms had been disconnected from Ukraines power grid from July 1, 2022.

Oleh Shurmas business partner Serhiy Dyadechko claimed to Bihus.Info that the plants produced electricity and it was sold to Ukrainian consumers.

Ukrainian officials told Bihus.Info that cant be, because there are supposedly no power lines running from these generators and the main Ukrainian grid.

UkrEnergo alerted the state energy regulator about power plants operating in occupied territories in November 2022. While the alert was bogged down in government bureaucracy, the state kept paying energy producers based in the occupied territory. It stopped paying them in July 2023.

Recovering the already paid millions remains a thorny issue. According to the regulator, many energy producers refused to return the funds on request from Ukrainian authorities.

The Shurma brothers did not respond to requests for comment.

Watch the full report in the Ukrainian language with English subtitles here.

Washington Post: Russian intelligence recruits Ukrainian refugees for sabotage operations in Poland

Russian intelligence recruited Ukrainian refugees through social media to carry out sabotage operations in Poland  that includes disrupting the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, according to the Washington Post.

Journalists at the Post interviewed a dozen Polish security officials, gaining exclusive insight into what officials called the most serious Russian threat on NATO soil since the full-scale invasion.

Agencja Bezpieczenstwa Wewnetrznego (ABW), Polands internal security service, detailed their operation to the Russian network which resulted in 16 arrests. Twelve of the suspects were reportedly Ukrainian nationals. They were recruited through Ukrainian language Telegram channels helping people find housing and work in Poland. These recruits were primarily motivated by money, not ideology, according to ABW.

At first, Russian intelligence agents allegedly assigned innocuous tasks to recruits, like spraying anti-NATO graffiti. Once they proved their loyalty by completing tasks, they were instructed to buy burner cell phones and cameras and moved on to more dangerous assignments, the Post reported citing Polish intelligence sources. One such task was to install cameras to monitor trains delivering critical supplies to Ukraine.

According to the spreadsheet detailing pay rates that Polish intelligence recovered, Russian recruits were promised several hundred dollars for assassinations, arson attacks, and train derailment.

Eighty percent of weapons deliveries to Ukraine pass through Poland, according to the Washington Post. Western military experts say that Russia understands the importance of the arms pipeline and tries to stem the flow.

According to the Post, the cell-structure of the network and outsourcing sabotage operations to civilians through social media resembles techniques used by terrorist organizations. Western officials say the approach reveals Russias growing frustration and the rise of novel, unpredictable threats.

Polish authorities admit that they are far from a comprehensive understanding of the network. Trials against the suspects are ongoing though in the utmost secrecy, with officials declining to comment on specifics.

Read the full story in English here.

Journalists identify soldiers fighting on Russias side in Kherson Oblast

Ukrainian journalists with the Center for Investigative Journalism identified three soldiers, including a Ukrainian citizen, as members of the Margelov Battalion, a fighting unit formed by Russian occupiers in Kherson Oblast. The battalion isnt a part of the Russian armed forces.

Journalists identified one of the fighters in the battalion as Oleksandr Tiurev, a Ukrainian citizen from Poltava Oblast. Proof of his willing service for Russia can land him a treason charge under Ukrainian law.

Vladimir Saldo, the head of Russian occupation authorities in Kherson, launched the Margelov Battalion back in October 2022. Military occupiers have been creating and overseeing military units on the seized territories since 2014.

International humanitarian law prohibits occupying powers from compelling people to serve in their militaries. Russia has already mobilized people by force in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

Read the full story in Ukrainian here.

Telegraph: China triples shipments of raw materials to Russia for war effort

Key companies within the Russian military-industrial complex have tripled their imports from China since June 2022, according to trade data analyzed by the Telegraph, independent Ukrainian OSINT collective Molfar and the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a data visualization site for international trade data.

China classifies these exports as dual-use, masking their actual use in the Russian war effort. According to the Telegraph, this is part of an ongoing campaign to position themselves as a neutral arbiter between Ukraine and Russia.

Open-source information obtained by Molfar shows that the goods like optical sights coming from China are being supplied directly to Russian military companies.

The primary importer of optical sights from China is the Russian firm CEK Group, which supplies goods to the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry. The ministry controls the National Guard (Rosgvardiya). Survivors across Ukraine reported Rosgvardiyas involvement in war crimes, including the Bucha massacre.

Raw materials such as titanium and magnesium are shipped from China to companies such as Tupolev, according to trade data reviewed by Telegraph. Tupolev is responsible for building and maintaining the long-range bombers that launch missiles at Ukrainian cities and kill civilians.

According to the investigation, China is also helping Russia evade sanctions by creating back channels for key military supplies. Turbojets and radar navigation systems are sent from China to third countries before being exported to Russia. China may be facilitating talks with Iran to secure Russia's supply of missile propellant, according to the report.

Earlier this year, China published a vague peace plan which would see Ukraine cede a large part of its sovereign territory to Russia. Ukraine has consistently maintained that it will not accept any peace proposal involving territorial concessions.

Read the full investigation in English here.

Meanwhile, in Russia

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BBC: Russian forces systematically torture Ukrainian POWs in notorious detention center

Russian guards regularly torture Ukrainian prisoners of war at an infamous brutal pre-trial detention center in the Russian city of Taganrog, in violation of international law, according to the BBC.

Former Ukrainian captives told the BBC that Russian guards interrogated them twice a day, trying to extract confessions by beating them, subjecting them to electric shocks, and depriving them of food.

One detainee said his cellmate had suffered a heart attack after constant abuse and was left to die. At least three people have died at the Taganrog facility, according to The Media Initiative for Human Rights as cited by the BBC.

A female captive testified about beatings and routine sexual humiliation. According to her, women were dragged by their hair to inspections and forced to strip naked in front of male guards.

According to several captives, the guards were influenced by Putins de-Nazification of Ukraine propaganda. Any tattoo was interpreted by guards as being pro-Nazi. Guards reportedly targeted Ukrainian captives with tattoos of national symbols like the trident specifically.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights flagged a pattern of mistreatment at the Taganrog detention facility, emblematic of the widespread reports of abuses against Ukrainian POWs and civilian detainees.

Unlike Ukraine, Russia seldom gives international observers access to its detention centers. The testimony of former captives provides a rare glimpse into the harrowing conditions in the facilities. According to human rights groups, up to 10,000 Ukrainian captives remain in Russian custody.

The torture and mistreatment of prisoners of war amounts to a violation of international humanitarian law that applies in armed conflict.

Read the full investigation in English here.

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A search was conducted in Peabody on Tuesday while awaiting DNA evidence in connection with the disappearance and murder of Cohasset mother Ana Walshe, law enforcement officials said.

Ana Walshe murder: An in-depth look into where the case stands and what comes next

A Massachusetts State Police SERT team descended upon Bourbon Street near Interstate 95 after two community members with no connection to the prosecution of Brian Walshe, Anas husband, contacted investigators and told them that the area may be of investigative interest, according to a spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorneys Office.

The spokesperson noted that a thorough search of the area yielded nothing related to the case, which generated national interest earlier this year.

According to newly obtained court documents, Walshes pretrial hearing was rescheduled from August 23 to November 2 as both prosecutors and defense are expecting to have DNA results from an independent laboratory in approximately two weeks.

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In March, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Brian Walshe, 48, on charges of murder, misleading a police investigation, and improper conveyance of a human body in the death of his wife, 39-year-old Ana Walshe.

Prosecutors have alleged that Brian Walshe killed his wife in their Cohasset home on New Years Day, dismembered her body, and dumped her remains at multiple transfer stations. The couples three young boys were reportedly home at the time.

Investigators suspect that Anas discarded remains may have been incinerated in a trash facility. Tuesdays search comes more than eight months after investigators scoured a nearby dumpster transfer station, where a hacksaw and a blood-soaked rug believed to contain biological evidence were recovered.

Other evidence was said to be collected from 10 trash bags that were disposed of in a dumpster at the Swampscott apartment complex of Brian Walshes mother.

Some of that evidence included a piece of a necklace that Ana had been wearing, a Prada purse, a COVID vaccine card with her name, and other items containing both Brian and Anas DNA.

After the alleged murder, Brian Walshe made more than a dozen disturbing Google searches on his sons iPad, including 10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to and how to stop a body from decomposing, prosecutors said.

DA: Brian Walshe indicted on murder charges of wife Ana Walshe

25 Investigates: Brian Walshes damaging digital footprint

Brian Walshe appears at Quincy District Court on a charge of murdering his wife (inset),Ana Walshe, in Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. on January 18, 2023. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Craig F. Walker/Pool via Reuters, Facebook)

Brian Walshe escorted into court for murder arraignment

Brian Walshe appears in court for allegedly misleading police

The dumpsters taken away from Brian Walshe's mothers apartment. Taken to Peabody for investigation

Brian Walshe spotted at juice bar day after wife disappears

Authorities search North Shore dumpster station for evidence in disappearance of Ana Walshe

Brian Walshe kisses his new bride, Ana Walshe, on their wedding day. (Facebook photo)

Ana Walshe

Ana Walshe

Ana Walshe and her husband Brian Walshe

Police investigating the area near Ana Walshe's home

Police investigating the area near Ana Walshe's home

Police investigating Ana Walshe's home

Police investigating outside of Ana Walshe's Cohasset home

Ana Walshe and her husband Brian Walshe

Police investigating Ana Walshe's home

Ana Walshe and her husband Brian Walshe

Ana Walshe

Ana Walshe

The pool that was drained outside the Walshe home

Brian Walshe, the husband of Ana Walshe

The Ana Walshe case underscores the importance and need for domestic violence resources

The Walshe children remain in DCF custody after their father is charged with mothers murder

List of 21 Google searches Brian Walshe allegedly made before, after his wifes death

25 Investigates: Brian Walshes damaging digital footprint, according to prosecutors

Brian Walshe: How investigators use digital evidence to crack complicated cases

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

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By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of 32 investors managing $7.3 trillion in assets have urged the G20 group of wealthier countries to align agricultural subsidies with their climate and nature goals by the end of the decade, a statement seen by Reuters showed.

The group, which includes Britain's biggest asset manager Legal & General Investment Managers and the fund arm of BNP Paribas, issued their first ever call to the countries' finance chiefs ahead of a G20 summit in September in India.

The intervention marks the first time investors have grouped together to tackle global subsidies in this way, they said, and follows a narrower 2021 request to the European Union, amid concern about the risks to investment portfolios of inaction.

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A 2021 United Nations report said around 87% of the $540 billion in total annual subsidies to agricultural producers included measures that were price distorting and potentially harmful to nature and human health.

In addition, subsidies caused $4-$6 trillion in damage to nature each year, a landmark 2021 UK report on the economics of biodiversity said.

While a global deal to preserve biodiversity, including reform of subsidies, was struck in December in Montreal, it was crucial that richer countries acted quickly, said Helena Wright, policy director at the FAIRR Initiative, a grouping of investors managing $70 trillion focused on farming issues.

"Investors are calling on the G20 to lead by example and ensure these commitments are met  to the benefit of the climate and nature."

To help fix the issue, the investors called for governments to link their financial support to the sector with their environmental obligations, including the Paris Agreement on climate change and the pledge to protect biodiversity.

They should also shift incentives to focus on sustainable agriculture; remove subsidies from products with a high impact on climate-damaging emissions, such as dairy or red meat; and increase funding to help workers impacted by the switch.

"We need wholesale transformation of the food system, because it's one of the most-damaging systems of all to the climate and nature," Rachel Crossley, head of stewardship for Europe at BNP Paribas Asset Management told Reuters.

Launched in 2016, the FAIRR Initiative provides data, research and advocacy initiatives that address the risks and opportunities in the food sector.

Among its most high-profile wins was the successful lobbying of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization to create a global roadmap for the food sector out to 2050, with the results due to be released at November's COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

A call two years ago for G20 nations to disclose targets to reduce agricultural emissions in their national net-zero plans was also picked up by the COP28 hosts, who are asking governments to sign a declaration that includes such a pledge.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Iran has unveiled a new drone, the Mohajer-10, which is capable of flying non-stop for 24 hours, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA on August 21.

The drone can operate at an altitude of up to 7,000 meters and can reportedly carry a payload of up to 300 kg.

The IRNA said that the drone's maximum fuel capacity is 450 liters, and it can achieve a top speed of 210 kilometers per hour.

Read also: US pressing Iran to stop selling drones to Russia  FT

Reports indicate that the drone is equipped to carry missiles, bombs, and hand grenades. It is also outfitted with electronic warfare and reconnaissance systems.

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Earlier, Iranian military scientists claimed to have developed a missile designed to reach hypersonic speeds.

This missile, part of a "new generation" of Iranian guided missiles, is expected to mark a new advancement in Iran's defense technology, as per IRNA.

Iran's Role in the Russian War against Ukraine

Since the initiation of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Iran has officially taken a stance of "neutrality" and has called for a ceasefire and peace negotiations. However, the country has been providing Russian forces with kamikaze drones, which the Russian military actively employs in Ukraine.

Read also: Iran sold Russia ammunition worth over $1 million for Ukraine war  media reports

Formally, Iran denies these allegations, and the Russians have attempted to conceal Iranian Shahed drones by affixing markings with the Russian name Geran-2 to them.

In late April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had delivered over 300,000 artillery shells and approximately a million rounds of ammunition to Russia over the past six months.

In exchange for arms to support the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia reportedly supplies Iran with cyber weaponry, Western armaments "captured on the battlefield," and assistance in developing its missile program.

A joint investigation by the publication Protokol and the RZVRT YouTube channel revealed that Russia is producing Iranian kamikaze drones within the special economic zone in Alabuga, Tatarstan.

Read also: Iran likely supplies new batch of suicide drones to Russia

Sources close to the journalists suggest that the contract with Iran could be valued at RUR 115-130 billion (up to $1.45 billion).

Currently, drone components are being supplied from Iran and assembled in Alabuga.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
By Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraq's oil minister and his Turkish counterpart did not reach an agreement to immediately resume Iraq's northern oil exports but agreed to hold more talks in the future, said two energy sources with knowledge of the ministers' meeting in Ankara on Tuesday.

Turkey halted flows on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion for unauthorised exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018.

The block consists mainly of oil originating from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

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The results of the meeting were to allow Turkey and Iraq to finalise pipeline maintenance before resuming oil flow, said an oil ministry statement.

Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani had arrived in the Turkish capital to discuss issues including the resumption of oil exports through the Ceyhan oil terminal, a source in the minister's office told Reuters earlier.

An Iraqi oil ministry official who is close to the northern oil exports operations said on Tuesday that the Turkish energy ministry informed Iraq's state-owned marketer SOMO last month that it needed more time to check the technical feasibility of the pipeline to resume flows.

"Turkish energy ministry informed SOMO last month that more time is needed to check the pipeline and crude storage tanks in Ceyhan for any damages resulting from the earthquake-hit Turkey," said the Iraqi official.

Iraqi energy officials said on Tuesday that the visit of the their oil minister is aimed at reaching common ground with Turkey to agree on a clear date when oil exports should be resumed.

"It's not an easy job to reach an agreement soon and we have a lot of thorny issues. Turkey has demands and conditions that require further talks to allow oil flow restart," said an oil ministry official with knowledge of Tuesday's meeting.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Giles Elgood and Devika Syamnath)
Over 2,000 Ukrainians have been denied entry into Israel so far in the second half of 2023 and the situation is now critical, the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel told Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Aug. 22.

All in all, 2,705 Ukrainian citizens were denied entry in 2022, while 2,037 Ukrainians received refusals in the first half of 2023, Ukrainian diplomats said.

The diplomats claimed that Israel is deliberately manipulating statistics, claiming that only 5% out of 40,000 Ukrainians who sought to enter the country after the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion had been denied entry.

Read also: Ukraine may suspend visa-free deal for Israelis, not terminate it  UA Ambassador to Israel

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However, most of these 40,000 people had the right to Israeli citizenship, so they could not be denied entry a priori, the embassy stressed. Refusal only applies to Ukrainian citizens who are not eligible for an Israeli passport and are traveling to the country as tourists.

The situation is escalating, with the number of refusals increasing. At the same time, were recording improper treatment of our citizens by Israeli migration service personnel, the embassy said.

Read also: Israel to extend health and social benefits for Ukrainian refugees

Meanwhile, Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel has refused to meet with the Ukrainian Ambassador, Yevgen Korniychuk, to discuss the situation, for over six months.

Ukraines diplomats in Tel Aviv have claimed they had twice turned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry seeking consultations on the implementation of the visa-free agreement, but all our requests were ignored.

As a result, Kyiv might suspend its visa-free travel regime with Israel in the coming days Korniychuk said on Aug. 21.

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
Mayor Eric Adams of New York, center, kneels before the spot where Jesus is said to have been anointed before burial in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Adams spent the second day of his visit to Israel touring holy sites before a planned meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he sought to avoid publicly weighing into the political crises plaguing the nation. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

JERUSALEM (AP)  New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited Jerusalem holy sites and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, continuing a three-day official trip to Israel at one of the most tumultuous times in the country's 75-year history.

Adams sought to perform a delicate balancing act between appealing to Israel's supporters at home and angering fellow Democrats for meeting a prime minister embroiled in controversy over a planned overhaul of the country's judiciary.

Adams entourage flooded the narrow streets of Jerusalems Old City as he headed first to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, before visiting the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.

Adams said that he visited the wall to show respect for the rich culture, faith and belief that surrounds this amazing, amazing country.

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Adams three-day trip comes as Israel is deeply polarized over the Netanyahu government's proposed changes to Israel's judiciary, a plan that has triggered months of mass protests. Critics say the plan, which seeks to weaken the countrys Supreme Court and transfer more powers to the parliament, will push the country toward autocratic rule. Supporters say Israels unelected judges wield too much power.

Adams met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, but sidestepped commenting publicly on the overhaul.

The people of Israel will make the determination on how they want to move forward, said Adams, I have lots of challenges in my city, and I wouldnt want someone to come in and interfere with how Im running things.

Brad Lander, New York City's comptroller and its highest elected Jewish official, said he hoped Adams would seek out voices beyond Netanyahu's.

With Israeli democracy in peril, the Mayor cannot only listen to the person doing the most to undermine it. I hope hes also meeting with some of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been out every week protesting Netanyahus judicial coup, he said.

The mayor's team said Adams met with leaders of the protest movement, but that meeting was closed to the media and his office did not specify with whom he met.

It was also unclear whether Adams would visit the occupied West Bank, where the combustible mix of armed Palestinians carrying out shooting attacks and near-nightly  and often deadly  raids by the Israeli army to arrest militants has fueled the worst fighting in the West Bank in nearly two decades.

Netanyahus ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist coalition has advanced West Bank settlement construction that is deemed illegal under international law. Adams met with Israel Ganz, a settler leader, who said the mayor showed great interest in Jewish settlement growth.

Adams said he did not broach the subject with Netanyahu: Thats not why Im here."

Instead, Adams said his focus was strengthening ties with Israel and combatting antisemitism. Antisemitic attacks in New York increased by 39% from 2021 to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Meeting with the mayor, Netanyahu called Adams a great friend to Israel." The Prime Minister's Office said they discussed collaboration between New York and Israel in technology and tourism.

New York City is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel, and visiting the country is seen as a rite of passage for the citys mayors. Every mayor has visited Israel since it became an independent state in 1948.

Adams, 62, enjoys a close relationship with New Yorks ultra-Orthodox community  a voting base which helped him secure the mayoralty. New York Citys second Black mayor, Adams was a police captain before he entered politics. He has staked out center-left political ground since taking office last year.

Hes advocated for a strong police department, cultivated support from labor unions and promised a business-friendly City Hall while acting as a cheerleader for the citys nightlife scene after the shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, his administration has struggled to house tens of thousands of international migrants who have come to the city after crossing the southern U.S. border.
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People visit the booth of Chinese battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) during the 22nd China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 8, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 23rd China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) will be held from Sept. 8 to 11 in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, the organizer said Tuesday.



Covering more than 120,000 square meters, the four-day event will hold fairs on topics including intelligent manufacturing, digital economy, green and low-carbon, and rural revitalization, said Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, at a press conference.

The fair is expected to attract about 80,000 merchants from nearly 100 countries and regions, Chen said.

Various research reports will be released, and activities on promoting trade and investment will take place during the event. Brazil, Serbia and Qatar will be present as the guest countries of honor at this year's fair.

Taking place every September in Xiamen, the CIFIT is jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce, several associations and international organizations including the World Trade Organization, to boost international investment activities.
Jackson County will spend more than $1.5 million to prevent a potential infrastructure failure that could wreak havoc on Kansas Citys ability to dispatch officers to 911 calls.

County legislators voted unanimously Monday to issue a $1.5 million check to the Kansas City Police Department so the agency can replace its aging computer-aided dispatching system, which is used to process 911 calls and track where officers have been sent.

The resolution is not a fix to the growing problem of Kansas Citys lengthy 911 hold times, but instead averts a dire situation in the future, as one police official put it. Without the funding, KCPD leaders warned, its communications unit would shut down digitally, forcing dispatchers to document calls by hand on note cards and significantly slowing down response times.

That happened a month ago when the outdated computer system  bought 10 years ago with a recommended five-year lifespan  faltered temporarily for eight hours.

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The money will come from a taxpayer-funded pool that, as of July, had $2.4 million left for improvements for 911 issues. KCPD said it made the request to Jackson County after the city could not provide the money.

Legislator Sean Smith, of the countys southeast 6th District, asked about requesting that Kansas City cover some of the expense. He did not like passing the resolution without a match from the city, he said, but also called the situation an emergency.

Jackson County Administrator Troy Schulte said he will speak with KCPD and see if we can work something out.

At a meeting of the countys 911 Oversight Committee earlier Monday, Legislator Jalen Anderson, 1st District at-large, asked if KCPD requested funding from Clay, Platte or Cass counties. Kansas City includes parts of all four counties.

Derek McCollum, deputy chief of KCPDs executive services bureau, reached out to Clay County but said unfortunately the county only taxes landlines, not cellphones, so there isnt enough money. Same goes for Platte County, he said. KCPD did not ask Cass County.

The revenue they bring in isnt even enough to cover the services that they provide for Clay County, McCollum said, adding that Clay County dipped into its general fund to support 911 infrastructure there.

Police Chief Stacey Graves was present, along with a handful of KCPD employees, as legislators cast their votes.

The additional funding will not vastly improve 911 wait times in Kansas City, which Mayor Quinton Lucas has said are longer than ever. Wait times in Kansas City remain well below the national average, which Lucas and other officials have called a public safety crisis.

Kansas City is considering running its own call center instead of sharing one with the rest of the metro through the Mid-America Regional Council, known as MARC.

Motorola, which makes the equipment used in the regional 911 system, is separately researching and developing a way to set up an auto-attendant in Kansas City, as requested this year by the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners. The police board hopes that will decrease the amount of time callers wait and improve officer response times.

If that technology is eventually implemented, residents will be able to select, through an automated call attendant, if they are trying to reach police, fire department, emergency medical services or non-emergency assistance.
Florida state lawmakers that represent the Jacksonville area are calling for a Department of Justice investigation into Duval County Jail deaths.

Sen. Tracie Davis (D-Jacksonville) and Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, referencing a lack of necessary medication for inmates.

Action News Jax told you in July when the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office terminated its contract with Armor Health, which had been providing medical services since 2017.

Since the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office ended its in-house medical care in October 2017 and hired a for-profit private company to provide health care services in jails, deaths have tripled, Nixon and Davis letter said.

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Davis and Nixon said in their letter that the contract only ended after a high-profile death and media scrutiny.

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Nixon issued the following statement about the letter to Garland:

No matter who we are, or what we look like, everyone is entitled to due process of the law. Incarcerated or not, every person must be treated humanely, with decency and respect, and that includes access to medical care and having your basic needs met. Sadly, private companies see human beings as generators of profit to help their bottom line and nothing more. This is wrong and it must end. JSO has a duty to protect our communityincluding their officers and the people in their charge who are their responsibility. Anything less is unacceptable.

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Davis said the following of the letter:

The pattern of failure to care for human lives is abhorrent and irresponsible. The actions by Armor warrant investigation and correction. Regardless of how a person ended up in the penal system, they have basic rights - that should never be forgotten or ignored by the people overseeing them.

READ THEIR FULL LETTER BELOW:

Nixon USDOJ Jail Deaths Letter & Release on Letterhead PDF by ActionNewsJax on Scribd

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A Jacksonville man pleaded guilty to destroying records after FBI agents were investigating a terrorism case against people of Jewish faith.

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According to the Department of Justice, the FBI was investigating Christopher Raymond Josephs, 19, Jacksonville, possible involvement in an antisemitic threat to conduct a violent attack against Jewish individuals and synagogues.

Joseph was interviewed if he had knowledge or involvement in this threat.

Read: On the run for 5 years; Jacksonville fugitive pleads guilty to possession of counterfeit check

During the investigation, FBI special agents specifically requested that Joseph preserve certain records of communications on his cellphone with a suspect in another district, a statement issued by the Department of Justice said. Within moments of their departure from his residence, Joseph deleted one of the records that the FBI had discussed with him.

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On Tues., Aug. 22, United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Joseph had pleaded guilty to destroying records with the intent to impede or obstruct a federal investigation. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years n federal prison.

No sentencing date has been announced yet.

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Approximately 2,200 light-years from where you're sitting lie the Cheerio-shaped remains of a dying star  remnants that form a structure famously known as the Ring Nebula. And on Monday (Aug. 21), scientists announced the James Webb Space Telescope has struck gold once again, earning a rather beautiful new view on this iconic cosmic halo.

"When we first saw the images, we were stunned by the amount of detail in them. The bright ring that gives the nebula its name is composed of about 20,000 individual clumps of dense molecular hydrogen gas, each of them about as massive as the Earth," Roger Wesson of Cardiff University said in a statement.

Not to be confused with one of the JWST's very first images, the Southern Ring Nebula, the Ring Nebula (also known as Messier 57) is considered one of the greatest examples of a planetary nebula we have so far. One might argue, however, that "planetary nebula" is a bit of a misleading term for this light-year-wide spectacle. It has nothing to do with planets, really. Planetary nebulas are basically regions of cosmic gas and dust formed from the outer shells of dying stars, in this case a quite spherical and sun-like one.

"Planetary nebulas were once thought to be simple, round objects with a single dying star at the center. They were named for their fuzzy, planet-like appearance through small telescopes," Wesson said. "Only a few thousand years ago, that star was still a red giant that was shedding most of its mass. As a last farewell, the hot core now ionizes, or heats up, this expelled gas, and the nebula responds with colorful emission of light."

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Related: James Webb Space Telescope reveals the colorful Ring Nebula in exquisite detail (photos, video)

What did the JWST find?

If you're wondering what you're looking at here, first of all, the European Space Agency (ESA) painted a wonderful picture of the angle at which we see the Ring Nebula.

In this new image, we're gazing almost directly down one of the structure's poles, the agency explained, and the brightly colored barrel of material is pointed away from it. Keep in mind that, in reality, this scene is in three dimensions. So at the center of this nebula, which ESA likens to a "distorted doughnut," there's a ton of lower density material packed within. That stuff is also pointed away from us.

In the middle of the whole structure lies a star on its way to its ultimate fate. It will soon become a white dwarf , also known as a corpse star. White dwarfs get that grim name because they represent the final stage of stellar evolution.

While this stellar death process is happening, the dying star sort of seems to be ejecting its outer shells of gas, which is what's causing the vibrant "ring" part of the Ring Nebula seen in the new JWST image.

With its state-of-the-art army of infrared sensors, the JWST managed to obtain images that provide "unprecedented spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity" regarding all that cosmic chaos, according to ESA's statement. What this means is the spaceborne telescope, which sits about a million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth , was able to reveal details about the Ring Nebula's intricate structure that scientists simply haven't parsed before.

Side-by-side images of the Ring Nebula where the nebula appears as a distorted doughnut. On the right, the nebulas inner cavity hosts shades of blue and green, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of orange in the inner regions and pink in the outer region. On the left, the nebulas inner cavity hosts shades of red and orange, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of yellow in the inner regions and blue/purple in the outer region. The rings inner region has distinct filament elements.

For instance, by capturing infrared light wavelengths emitted by the nebula, otherwise known as light wavelengths invisible to the human eye, the JWST unveiled information about the inner ring's filament structure as well as approximately ten concentric "arcs" in outer regions of the phenomenon. Those target-shaped features actually came as a surprise.

"These arcs must have formed about every 280 years as the central star was shedding its outer layers," Wesson said. "When a single star evolves into a planetary nebula, there is no process that we know of that has that kind of time period. Instead, these rings suggest that there must be a companion star in the system, orbiting about as far away from the central star as Pluto does from our sun."

"As the dying star was throwing off its atmosphere, the companion star shaped the outflow and sculpted it," Wesson offered as an explanation, highlighting that "no previous telescope had the sensitivity and the spatial resolution to uncover this subtle effect."

The JWST's superpowers

On that note, these findings nicely emphasize that the promise of this machine, once an ambitious dream, has absolutely been realized.

In a nutshell, the JWST's job is to show us things in the universe illuminated in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum; things far beyond the capacity of our unaided eyes and, actually, beyond some of our most powerful instruments.

"We realized that Webb observations would provide us with invaluable insights, since the Ring Nebula fits nicely in the field of view of Webbs NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) instruments," Wesson said.

With the JWST, the team was able to notice some "curious spikes" pointing directly away from the central star within the ring. These so-called spikes were apparently only faintly visible in images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. "We think these could be due to molecules that can form in the shadows of the densest parts of the ring, where they are shielded from the direct, intense radiation from the hot central star," Wesson said.

To get into some more technical aspects of the findings, Wesson explains that the team identified a narrow band of emission coming from some molecules within the ring known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. PAHs are basically carbon-bearing molecules, but importantly for these new JWST results, they were not expected to form within the nebula studied.

It's also worth noting that this isn't the first time the JWST has pointed its hexagonal gold eyes toward the Ring Nebula. Very recently, the machine imaged this pocket of the universe in high-resolution, and scientists added mesmerizing green and purple filters to create a pretty glorious scene for us to admire.

Such imaging also helped experts learn more about the nebula's intricate details

As for what's next, Wesson says a big question that has risen from these new JWST observations is how a regular old, spherical star managed to form a nebula as ornate as this one. Wesson's theory about the star having a companion object helper seems to be a good one so far  but only time will tell whether that's truly the case. The JWST certainly has its hands full.
The town of Jamestown violated the state's public records law when it refused to release unredacted copies of Sabina Matos' congressional nomination papers, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha ruled Monday in response to complaints by The Providence Journal and WPRI-TV.

Jamestown election officials' suspicion that nomination signatures turned in by the Matos campaign might be fraudulent triggered an ongoing state police investigation that's been a high-profile issue in this year's special election campaign.

But while the Jamestown Canvassing Authority was diligent in its signature verification, after it referred the matter to police the town delayed the release of normally public nomination sheets  and when it did release them redacted the signatures and street addresses on those papers. The town cited privacy concerns and potential identity theft as reasons to keep the signatures and addresses secret.

After The Journal and WPRI appealed this decision, Neronha's office Monday ruled that the public interest in providing access to the records outweighed any hypothetical privacy concerns and ordered the town to turn over unredacted copies.

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The decision, against Neronha's hometown, helps keep nomination signatures public at a time when agencies at several levels of government are restricting access to information, citing identity-theft concerns.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha

What the decision says

In the decision, Special Assistant Attorney General Patrick Reynolds noted that those who sign a candidate's nomination papers do so voluntarily and the process "is necessary to show 'a significant modicum of support before' a candidates name is placed on the ballot."

Additionally, state law specifies that voter registration cards, including addresses and signatures, are public records and the town did not cite any law shielding that information from release, the ruling said.

When Jamestown provided The Journal a redacted copy of the nomination papers, it wrote that members of the public could view the complete nomination papers in Town Hall, but could not make copies. At an earlier date, a Journal reporter had asked in person to see the papers and was denied access.

Secretary of State Gregg Amore's office released unredacted 1st District special election nomination signatures from communities across the state, except for the Matos Jamestown signatures, the only nomination papers it said it did not receive.

"The verification of nominating signatures is an important part of the electoral process in Rhode Island," Reynolds wrote in the decision. "And public disclosure 'promotes transparency and accountability  related to the important interest of preserving the integrity of the electoral process ... ' Here, the complainants requests were made in the context of allegations that irregularities existed in the names and signatures on the nomination paper at issue. The public release of the information implicated by this narrowly tailored request can reasonably be expected to shed light on this important public interest."

What happens now

Neronha's office did not find that the town was willful, knowing or reckless, and as a result did not issue a fine.

The town was given two business days to provide an unredacted copy of the Matos nomination papers.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Attorney General finds Jamestown violated records law on Matos signatures
Paul Feig and Jamie Lee Curtis have reacted after a woman was shot dead outside her clothing shop in Cedar Glen, California.

Laura Ann Carleton, 66, who was married with nine children, was killed after the gunman reportedly took issue with a large LGBT+ Pride flag that was hanging outside her shop, according to police.

The alleged shooter, a 27-year-old man, was subsequently shot dead by law enforcement.

Feig, the director of 2016s Ghostbusters and the hit comedy Bridesmaids, shared a photo of himself and Carlton on Instagram, alongside a written tribute.

Our wonderful friend Lauri Carleton (seen in this picture) was murdered yesterday in her store @magpi_shop in Lake Arrowhead by a 27 year old man who didnt like that she had a large pride flag hanging outside of her shop, he wrote.

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He ripped it down and when she confronted him about it he shot and killed her. We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally. Her alleged murderer was later shot and killed by the San Bernardino police and so no longer poses a threat to the community. But this intolerance has to end.

He continued: Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realise their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain.

Many of Feigs celebrity friends and followers also paid tribute in the comments under his post.

Hollywood star Charlize Theron said Carletons death was heartbreaking, while The Office star Kate Flannery wrote: Paul! Im so sorry for your loss. And Im sorry for the state of the world.

Truly heartbreaking, wrote One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush. US actor Timothy Omundson wrote: It is so horrific that an expression of love and support for a marginalised community, should lead to such radicalized hatred and violence every shop in Arrowhead village should hang a pride flag to honor this brave wife and mother.

In her own Instagram tribute, Curtis wrote: My hand in yours @alokvmenon.

I feel deeply saddened by this, the caption continued. This is our country now and we cant look away. Rest in peace Laura Ann Carleton, a mother of nine. Thank you for your allyship. Thank you for your love. Ill never forget you.

The Oscar-winning actor, 64, has been a fierce supporter of transgender rights ever since her daughter Ruby came out as trans in 2020.

Comedian Bridget Everett noted that Carleton and her shop had been harassed over the Pride flag before, but had refused to be cowed and would always replace it whenever someone tried to tear it down.

She recalled how the last time she saw Carleton was at Lake Arrowheads Pride parade.

All that anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has a price she said. Now, Lauris husband Bort, her daughter, friends, and community are devastated. And for what?

Comedian and writer Mae Martin, US journalist Katie Couric, Andy Cohen and comedian Abbi Jacobson were among those to express their heartbreak and distress in the comments under Everetts post.

The investgation into the shooting is still ongoing.

Police revealed in a statment that the suspect, a 27-year-old man, had fled the crime scene on foot, before being found by authorities in a nearby location. After refusing to lay down his handgun in a confrontation with sheriffs deputies, the suspect was fatally shot.

When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, a lethal force encounter occurred and the suspect was pronounced deceased, a sheriffs office statement reported.

Through further investigation, detectives learned the suspect made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton.

The killing was condemneed by a local LGBT+ organisation for the Lake Arrowhead area, where the Ceder Glen community is situated.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ group shared a message on Facebook page praising Carleton and her support for LGBT+ rights.

Today was a very sad day for Lake Arrowhead and for the LGBTQ community, they wrote. Our friend and supporter Lauri Carleton... was murdered defending her lgbtq+ Pride flags in front of her store in Cedar Glen, California.

Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+ but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community. She will be truly missed.

The killing was also addressed in a statement from San Bernardino county supervisor Dawn Rowe, who said: This senseless act of hate and violence is unthinkable.

I stand with my mountain communities as we mourn this incredible loss. Everyone deserves to live free of hate and discrimination and practice their constitutional right of freedom of speech. Lauri was a remarkable member of the community and I send my deepest condolences to her family in this time of grief.
By Sakura Murakami and Tom Bateman

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it will start releasing into the sea more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24, going ahead with a plan heavily criticised by China.

The plan, approved two years ago by the Japanese government as crucial to decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), has also faced criticism from local fishing groups fearing reputational damage.

"I expect the water release to start on August 24, weather conditions permitting," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

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The announcement comes a day after the government said it had won "a degree of understanding" from the fishing industry over the release of the water into the Pacific Ocean, even as fishing groups said they still feared the reputational damage would ruin their livelihood.

The water will initially be released in smaller portions and with extra checks, with the first discharge totalling 7,800 cubic metres over about 17 days starting Thursday, Tepco said.

That water will contain about 190 becquerels of tritium per litre, below the World Health Organisation drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per litre, according to Tepco. A becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.

Japan has said that the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".

About 56% of respondents to a survey conducted by Japanese broadcaster FNN over the weekend said they supported the release, while 37% opposed.

"The IAEA and many other countries have said it's safe, so I believe it is. But fishermen are facing so many problems so the Japanese government needs to do something to convince them," said 77-year-old NGO worker Hiroko Hashimoto.

SCEPTICISM ABROAD

Despite assurances, some neighbouring countries have also expressed scepticism over the safety of the plan, with Beijing the biggest critic.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the move "extremely selfish". He said China was deeply concerned about the decision and had lodged a formal complaint.

Wang said China "will take all necessary measures to protect the marine environment, food safety, and public health," but did not mention any specific measures.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee called the discharge "irresponsible" and said the city would "immediately activate" import controls on Japanese seafood from regions including capital Tokyo and Fukushima starting Thursday.

The ban, which will also be implemented by Macau, would cover live, frozen, refrigerated, dried seafood, as well as sea salt and seaweed.

South Korea said in a statement released Tuesday that it sees no problem with the scientific or technical aspects of the plan, but did not necessarily agree with or support it.

The matter has required President Yoon Suk Yeol to strike a balance as he seeks better relations with Japan while risking consumer backlash at home.

Despite the unease abroad, Kishida said he believed an "accurate understanding" of the matter was spreading in the international community.

Japan says it will remove most radioactive elements from the water except for tritium, a hydrogen isotope that must be diluted because it is difficult to filter.

"Nuclear power plants worldwide have routinely discharged water containing tritium for over 60 years without harm to people or the environment, most at higher levels than the 22 TBq per year planned for Fukushima," Tony Irwin, an honorary associate professor at the Australian National University, said in a note.

A Japanese official said the first test results of the seawater after the discharge may be available at the start of September. Japan will also test fish in the waters near the plant, and make the test results available on the agriculture ministry's website.

(This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of 'tons' in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami, Tim Kelly, and Tom Bateman in Tokyo; Martin Pollard in Beijing; Farah Master and Twinnie Siu in Hong Kong; Hyonhee Shin and Ju-min Park in Seoul; David Stanway in Singapore; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Gerry Doyle and Giles Elgood)
[Source]

Japan will begin releasing 1.34 million tons of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday.

What caused this: The plant was struck by a 14-meter tsunami that followed the Tohoku earthquake  also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake  on March 11, 2011. This resulted in a nuclear accident that has progressively contaminated groundwater.

Release plan: The initial discharge, which will be released within a period of 17 days, will have a volume of 7,800 cubic meters. The rest will be discharged over the next 30 years.

Treatment process: The wastewater is being treated under the Advanced Liquid Processing System, which removes all radionuclides save for tritium. There is currently no technology to isolate it.

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Radioactive content: The discharge will reportedly contain 190 becquerels of tritium per liter. This is far below the World Health Organizations drinking water limit of 10,000.

Approval: Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority approved the discharge on July 7, shortly after the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that the treated water would have negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final greenlight on Tuesday, instructing TEPCO to start the release Thursday if weather conditions permit.

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Local response: A majority of Japanese citizens (55.8%) have expressed support for the discharge, according to a recent survey by Japanese news outlet FNN. Local fishing groups have been the most vocal critics of the plan, but the government claims an understanding is being reached.

International response: The discharge plan has drawn mixed reactions from world governments. Particular attention is being paid to China and South Korea, Japans immediate neighbors.

South Korea released a statement on Tuesday saying that it sees no problem with the scientific or technical aspects of the discharge plan. However, it also pointed out that it does not necessarily agree with or support the plan.

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China remains the plans most vocal foreign opposition, vowing to take necessary measures to safeguard the marine environment, food safety and public health. Hong Kong, a special administrative region, said it will immediately activate import control measures.

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Japanese restaurant owners in Hong Kong are grappling with a looming ban on seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures because of Tokyo's plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the sea from Aug. 24.

Japan gave the date on Tuesday for discharging the wastewater after first announcing the move in July. Approved by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Japan's plan has faced opposition at home and abroad over concerns of food safety. The country says releases will be safe and meet global standards.

Hong Kong is Japan's second largest market, after mainland China, for agricultural and fisheries exports. Japanese restaurants are popular in the special administrative region and Japan is a favourite holiday destination for many residents.

Although the details of Hong Kong's ban remains unclear, Halry Yu, 42, owner of Japanese restaurant Hassun, said more than 90% of seafood sent to Hong Kong is gathered in Tokyo.

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If they ban imports that come via Tokyo, I think all sushi restaurants in Hong Kong will be in trouble. There are some seafood supplies from Osaka, but variety is limited.

Yu expects a loss of up to 40% for his restaurant from the ban and said he would try to salvage business by adding more meat to the menu.

"Meat will become the main theme of the menu. We will start putting barbecued skewers and fried food on our menu that we never had before, to keep the operation running," Yu said.

Hong Kong said the ban would apply to imported aquatic products from Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama.

It includes live, frozen, refrigerated, dried aquatic products, including sea salt and seaweed.

Many Hong Kong customers dining in Japanese restaurants did not know about the ban.

Advertising executive Hilda Lee, 30, said she enjoys eating Japanese seafood, and dines at Japanese restaurants two to three times each month.

"I am a bit worried. But I will choose to still eat it. The Hong Kong government should have very strict control over the imports of seafood," Lee said. "They will conduct a lot of testing and ban those deemed problematic."

Japan has asked Hong Kong officials not to tighten restrictions on food imports. In 2022, Japan exported 75.5 billion yen ($536 million) of fishery products to Hong Kong, according to government statistics.

Jim Smith, professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth, said controlled waste release from nuclear sites is common around the world and there had not been any significant impacts on people or the environment.

"The science has been misunderstood and there's been a very effective lobbying campaign against this release by anti-nuclear groups and also in some countries ... there's been political backlash," Smith said.

Some customers remained cautious. Dino Leung, 30, a lifeguard who was eating at a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district, said he would eat other cuisines instead.

"I'm afraid," Leung said. "I will try to consume less, but Japanese food is really good."

(Reporting by Edmond Ng and Joyce Zhou; writing by Farah Master; editing by Gerry Doyle)
Japan is to release over 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, officials announced on Tuesday. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said wastewater would be released as soon as Thursday, if authorities encountered no obstacles. Over the last two years, plans to release the wastewater have been heavily criticized by Japans local fishing industry, environmentalists and Chinese officials.

Releasing radioactive wastewater into the ocean might sound like a disastrous idea, but the United Nations has signed off on the plan. Below is everything you need to know.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan after a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami, March 14, 2011. (DigitalGlobe/Getty Images)

What happened at Fukushima?

In March 2011, Japan was struck by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake with tremors so powerful that it forced the Earth off its axis. Massive waves, some three stories high, made landfall between 10 and 30 minutes after the earthquake. While some emergency protection had been in place, the power plant became flooded, resulting in a nuclear meltdown. As radiation leaked from the destroyed plant, authorities established an exclusion zone and 470,000 people were forced to evacuate. It is regarded as the worlds worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, when an explosion there destroyed a reactor, emitting large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

Why is the water being released?

Over the last 12 years, the plant has accumulated 1.34 million tons of contaminated water and has slowly begun to run out of storage space. The water was used to cool reactors that were damaged during the tsunami. As part of the plants decommissioning, the water has to be released to prevent any accidental leaks. The contaminated water will be released only after heavy filtration. It will take over 30 years for all of it to be completely released.

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Read more on Yahoo News:

Reuters: South Korea sees no scientific problem with Fukushima water release plan

Bloomberg: The science behind Japan's plan to empty nuclear wastewater into Pacific

Sky News: Releasing nuclear waste from Fukushima is safe  but it's destroyed the livelihood of fishermen

Reuters: Hong Kong to ban some Japanese seafood starting Aug. 24

Storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima power plant. (Kyodo/Reuters)

Is it safe?

The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), concluded on Monday that Japans plans to release the treated radioactive water met international safety standards. Following the IAEAs report, Japans industry minister was forced to deny allegations that his government had pressured IAEA officials to provide a favorable outcome.

How far will the water travel?

The diluted water will be released about half a mile off the coast of Japan through an underground tunnel. Its not known how far it will travel once it is discharged into the ocean.

A ruined house near the Fukushima plant in 2016. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Why have there been objections?

Though the release is scientifically safe, there has been ongoing concern over the levels of tritium in the contaminated water. Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is carcinogenic at high concentrations. However, the water being released into the ocean will be diluted and filtered with very low levels of tritium in it. This is standard practice for nuclear plants around the world, including in the U.S.

With the strong public reaction over radioactivity, the head of Japans fisheries told Kishida on Monday that although the wastewater is safe, it will not stop reputational damage to fishing groups across the country. In reaction to Tuesdays news, Hong Kong, Japan's second-largest market, has banned seafood imports over concerns about food safety. The ban is due to begin on Thursday. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee called the release irresponsible and said he opposed the "impossible risks to food safety and the irreparable pollution and destruction of the marine environment.

South Korea said that although it did not necessarily agree with or support the plan, it did not find any scientific or technical problems with the release. Along with China, it too has banned imports from fisheries located near the Fukushima plant. In the run-up to the release, South Koreans have been stockpiling sea salt and other goods over safety fears.

South Koreans push back against the Japanese government's plan to release treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, Aug. 12. (Lee Jin-man/AP)
Jennifer Aniston is still the subject of unfavorable comments from Jamie Foxxs fanbase, almost two weeks after she accused the star of being anti-Semitic. Ironically, it now seems as though new comments from the actress have reinvigorated the criticism.

Im so over cancel culture, said Aniston in a Wall Street Journal article published on Aug. 22, though it is unclear when the interview took place.

Jamie Foxx fans say Jennifer Anniston still owes him an apology for unsubstantiated anti-Semitism; this comes after she slams cancel culture. (Photo:@Iamjamiefoxx/Instagram; @Jenniferaniston/Instagram)

I probably just got canceled by saying that. I just dont understand what it means. Is there no redemption? she asked before stating that not everyone can be categorized as disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein.

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Related: Fans Say Jennifer Anniston Owes Jamie Foxx an Apology After She Weaponized His Fake Friends Post with Ignorant Claims of Anti-Semitism

The cancel culture movement was popularized around 2017. Several celebrities have been targeted by the movement after being called out for problematic behavior  to include both current and past situations that have resurfaced. Aniston faced a dogpile of people calling for her ruins after she was accused of weaponizing a cryptic post shared by Foxx on Aug. 4.

THEY KILLED THIS DUDE NAME JESUS WHAT DO YOU THINK THEYLL DO TO YOU???! #fakefriends #fakelove, he wrote in his Instagram Story. The following day, the Friends star slammed Foxxs message after it appeared as though she engaged with a separate account that shared his post with claims that he expressed hostility toward the Jewish community.

Jennifer Aniston owes Jamie Foxx an apology because this is just silly pic.twitter.com/2JztPYgSIB  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 5, 2023

This really makes me sick. I did not like this post on purpose or by accident. 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 dont tolerate HATE of any kind. Period, she wrote in a since-deleted post of her own.

Soon afterward, The Good Girl actress disabled her comments. Foxx issued an apology to those who misconstrued his message and added clarity, stating that he had been betrayed by someone he believed to be a close friend. Despite demands for Aniston to publicly apologize to her peer, she has remained silent on the matter.

Her perspective on cancel culture, though, instead has been perceived as an indication of her character as it pertains to the controversial snafu. Shes dodging accountability for Jamie Foxx, assumed one person.

Wtf is Jennifer Aniston talking about smh go apologize to Jamie Foxx and stop saying dumb st, wrote another individual.

Foxx, 55, has been on the mend for months after experiencing an undisclosed health scare in April. In a July Instagram message, he spoke out to fans for the first time.

During a recent vacation trip to Tulum, Mexico, he updated his followers again, stating that he was finally beginning to feel like himself again.

Click here to read the full story.
Just days before his 99th birthday, Jimmy Carter made a public appearance in Georgia to celebrate the Plains Peanut Festival.

The Carter Center re-posted a video of the former president and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, riding in a black SUV driving through the annual festival set in his hometown.

"Beautiful day for President & Mrs. Carter to enjoy a ride through the Plains Peanut Festival! And just a week before he turns 99," the center wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Beautiful day for President & Mrs. Carter to enjoy a ride through the Plains Peanut Festival! And just a week before he turns 99.



Were betting peanut butter ice cream is on the menu for lunch!#JimmyCarter99 https://t.co/c3b9OqzjXU  The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) September 23, 2023

Jimmy Carter turns 99 on Oct. 1.

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Presently at age 98, Jimmy Carter is the longest-living U.S. president in history. In recent years especially, Jimmy Carter's health has made headlines, and his grandson Josh Carter recently shared an update on how hes doing after entering hospice care earlier this year.

Jimmy Carter is the first president to live until 95 or older and the only one to live to see the 40th anniversary of his inauguration. Here's what to know about Jimmy Carter's health history.

Jimmy Carter health update

Jimmy Carter today is living at home in hospice care with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who was recently diagnosed with dementia.

His grandson Jason Carter, chairperson of the Carter Center's Board of Trustees, says the couple are "coming to the end."

Hes been in hospice now for several months, but they are happy, he told USA Today Sept. 14. They are together. They are at home. Theyre in love, and I dont think anyone gets more than that. I mean, its a perfect situation for this time in their lives.

Jimmy Carter faces "really significant physical challenges," and he spends his time watching baseball and seeing family members, Jason Carter added.

Josh Carter, another of the former president's 11 surviving grandchildren, told People in August that he's is in the final chapter of his life, but "he's still fully Jimmy Carter.

Hes just tired. I mean hes almost 99 years old, but he fully understands (how many well wishes hes received) and has felt the love.

Cincinnati Bengals v Atlanta Falcons (Scott Cunningham / Getty Images)

Josh Carter added that there's always someone at his grandparents' home, usually one of their four kids: Amy Carter , 55, Jack Carter, 75, James Carter, 72, and Donnel Carter, 70. Recently, visitors to the home have only been caregivers and family, Josh Carter said.

Rosalynn Carter is also navigating her dementia well, he said. She still knows who we are, for the most part  that we are family. ... My grandmother is still able to form new memories.

A few months after his 98th birthday, in February 2023, Jimmy Carter announced through his foundation, the Carter Center, that he'd be stopping medical intervention and only receiving hospice care. The news came after he'd survived a series of hospital stays.

Over the past several years, Jimmy Carter has survived cancer and multiple falls, among other illnesses.

In 2015, Jimmy Carter was diagnosed with and treated for metastatic melanoma.

In August 2015, Jimmy Carter underwent surgery to remove a small mass from his liver. At the time, the Carter Center called the procedure "elective "and said he'd make a full recovery.

Soon after, it was revealed that the mass on Jimmy Carter's liver was metastatic melanoma, and later on in August 2015, it was announced that Jimmy Carter's melanoma had spread to his brain, and he was preparing to undergo radiation treatment.

But by December 2015, he seemed to be cancer free. An MRI scan on Jimmy Carter's brain at the time did not show "any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones," according to a Carter Center statement. Afterward, he continued to receive immunotherapy treatments

Jimmy Carter has a family history with cancer. His father, brother and both of his sisters died of pancreatic cancer. His mother was also diagnosed with it, NBC News reported.

A few years later, during a 2019 church service, Jimmy Carter reflected on his cancer scare and the possibility he was going to die. He said he was absolutely and completely at ease with death.

I assumed, naturally, that I was going to die very quickly, he said. I obviously prayed about it. I didnt ask God to let me live, but I asked God to give me a proper attitude toward death, and I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death.

In 2019, Jimmy Carter had a series of falls and needed surgery.

In May 2019, Jimmy Carter fell at his Georgia home and broke his hip. Shortly afterward, he underwent surgery.

The injury occurred when he was getting ready to leave for a turkey hunting trip. The Carter Center shared a statement with NBC News at the time, proving that he was in good spirits.

President Carter said his main concern is that turkey season ends this week, and he has not reached his limit, the statement read. He hopes the State of Georgia will allow him to rollover the unused limit to next year.

In October 2019, Jimmy Carter fell again and needed 14 stitches in his forehead. Despite the injury and a black eye, he still traveled to Nashville to speak at a Habitat for Humanity event.

"I fell down and hit my forehead on a sharp edge and had to go to the hospital," he told the audience. "But I had a No. 1 one priority, and that was to come to Nashville and build houses."That same month, Jimmy Carter suffered a fractured pelvis from another fall at home. The Carter Center said in a statement at the time: He has been admitted to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center for observation and treatment of a minor pelvic fracture. He is in good spirits and is looking forward to recovering at home.

In November 2019, Jimmy Carter spent two weeks in the hospital in recovering from a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding from several falls. Following the surgery, the Carter Center revealed that there were "no complications."

In October 2022, Jimmy Carter turned 98 and was still "with it."

As Jimmy Carter prepared to celebrate his 98th birthday in October 2022, his grandson Jason Carter shared some thoughts about the former president's life.

He is looking at his 98th birthday with faith in Gods plan for him, he told the Associated Press. Thats just a beautiful blessing for all of us to know, personally, that he is at peace and happy with where he has been and where hes going.

Jason Carter described his grandfather as still being 100% with it but acknowledged that daily life things are a lot harder now.

In February 2023, Jimmy Carter entered hospice care.

In February 2023, the Carter Center revealed that Jimmy Carter would soon commence in-home hospice care.

After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention, the statement read. He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.

The center did not share any details about his hospitalizations at the time.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
John Eastman , the former Trump lawyer who led efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has surrendered at the Fulton County jail. He was the second of 19 defendants to turn himself in Tuesday morning.

I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought, Eastman said in a statement posted to his attorneys website. It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Eastman designed and helped push a legal strategy attempting to overturn the 2020 election, which used slates of fake electors in battleground states to swing the elections outcome in Trumps favor. The plan also relied on then-Vice President Mike Pence tossing out the real electors.

The lawyer faces nine charges linked to the Georgia probe, ranging from from conspiring to commit false statements and writings, and forgery, to state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges. He was given a prisoner identification number Tuesday and is currently detained.

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Meet the 18 people charged with Trump in Georgia indictment

On Monday, Eastman signed a $100,000 bond agreement with the Fulton County district attorneys office.

Scott Hall, a bail bond business owner, was the first defendant in the case to be booked by the Fulton County Sheriffs Office. His role in the alleged enterprise stems from the Coffee County election equipment breach.

District Attorney Fani Willis (D) gave the defendants until Friday at noon to surrender themselves. Trump said Monday evening that he plans to turn himself in Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BALTIMORE  A Baltimore judge has ordered the release of most of the redacted names in the attorney generals report on the Archdiocese of Baltimores history of child sexual abuse, according to court records unsealed Tuesday.

The order allows for the release Sept. 26 of 43 of 46 blacked-out names, including those of five high-ranking church officials who contributed to the cover-up, and nine of 10 alleged abusers. The people to be named will have an opportunity to appeal the order before the attorney generals office would publish a version of the report with far fewer redactions than its initial version, which came out in April.

Its not clear if any appeals would take place in open court; the hearings thus far have been behind closed doors. Records of previous hearings and filings in the matter will remain sealed, the judge ruled.

The courts order enables my office to continue to lift the veil of secrecy over decades of horrifying abuse suffered by the survivors, Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a news release.

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The Baltimore Sun identified the five officials, who include the bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, W. Francis Malooly, in a May 4 article. When The Sun revealed the names of those clerics, one resigned from a hospital board and the archdiocese canceled the transfer of another, the Rev. J. Bruce Jarboe, to a prominent parish in Towson after backlash from parishioners and families with children at its parochial school. Jarboe and the former University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center board member, Monsignor Richard Rick Woy, remain in active ministry.

In his opinion explaining his decision to release names, Circuit Judge Robert Taylor wrote that the officials argued the report mischaracterized their actions and insinuated sinister motives when they were blameless, or at least justified, in their actions. Taylor wrote that the five officials are free to make those claims in a public manner, but this is an argument for more transparency, not less.

To continue to hide their identities does not advance that interest in public discourse; just the opposite, he wrote. It allows the most negative possible inferences to be drawn, while continuing to shroud this troubling history in secrecy.

The Sun also either originally identified or confirmed the names of the 10 alleged abusers in subsequent articles, including a sitting Episcopal priest, the Rev. Thomas Hudson, and Frank Cimino Jr., the founder and president of the Maryland State Boychoir. Hudson was placed on indefinite leave after The Sun determined his identity and contacted the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Cimino resigned from the choir shortly after the newspaper named him.

Taylor wrote in his opinion that Cimino, identified in the report as abuser No. 147, told the court the accusations against him were investigated, referred to city prosecutors in 1987 and he was not charged. Cimino denies the allegations as hearsay and says they are defamatory, according to Taylors opinion. Cimino did not return a message Tuesday seeking comment.

Brown said the report is not a criminal indictment and does not constitute a legal finding of guilt for anyone named in it.

Taylor determined that the name of former Rev. Joseph F. OBrien, No. 154 on the reports List of Abusers, would remain redacted for the time being because the attorney generals office was unable to notify him about his inclusion in the report. That meant he was not afforded an opportunity to participate in a July hearing to argue against his name being made public.

The Sun identified OBrien in May and located him in Newport News, Virginia. He told a reporter for the Daily Press, one of the Suns sister papers, that he could not have committed the abuse because the girl who accused him of unwanted kissing and fondling didnt wear dresses and was gay.

The other unredacted names are lesser players in the larger, systemic cover-up of abuse  Taylor described them in his opinion as having played relatively minor roles  and have largely avoided public scrutiny thus far.

The attorney generals 463-page report describes how 156 clergy, teachers and other church staff abused at least 600 children and young adults throughout the 20th century. It also lays bare the lengths the Catholic Church went to hide the abuse. Clerics and church attorneys leaned on judges, prosecutors and police, using their political influence and positions in the community to keep cases out of the courts. Victims were silenced or lied to, and oftentimes an abusive priest was sent to a new parish after an allegation was made.

In some ways, the redactions in the attorney generals report mirrored those cover-up efforts, said abuse survivors Jean Wehner and Teresa Lancaster. They filed a motion to participate in the court process surrounding the reports initial release and pushed for an unredacted version to be made public.

The redactions are just another way of saying, We are hiding this from you, Wehner said Tuesday. I dont even know how they can face themselves in a mirror and say, This makes perfect sense and were just going to black it out and they wont notice.

Echoing Wehner, Lancaster added that she believes the only reason the names are set to become public is because of pressure from survivors.

If you dont make [the church] do something, then they wont do it, Lancaster said.

Both women expressed content with the judges decision, and their attorney, Kurt Wolfgang, said the ruling represents the idea that government is no longer ensnared in the grasp of the Catholic Church.

In a statement, Archdiocese of Baltimore officials asked the public to join them in prayer for all abuse victims and anyone else affected by the scourge of child sexual abuse.

The Archdiocese has not opposed the release of the Attorney Generals report, just as it has continued its long-standing policy of making public credible allegations of child sexual abuse involving its personnel, church spokesman Christian Kendzierski wrote in an email to The Sun. We are committed to continuing all of our efforts to keep safe the children in our care, and we recognize that the Attorney Generals report is a reminder of a sad and deeply painful history tied to the tremendous harm caused to innocent children and young people by some ministers of the Church.

While the archdiocese committed to a public release of the report in November after the attorney generals office finished its four-year investigation, it also paid the legal fees of a group of its employees and clerics that sought to challenge their inclusion in the report on the basis that they didnt commit abuse, so their names should not be public. The members of that group remain anonymous.

The report was based largely on the churchs records, which the attorney generals investigators obtained through a grand jury subpoena. Because grand jury proceedings are secret under Maryland law, attorneys representing the anonymous group sought to have proceedings about the report placed under seal and a judge who initially oversaw the case issued a gag order. The attorneys representing that initial group, William J. Murphy and former Baltimore States Attorney Gregg Bernstein, declined Tuesday to comment.

In his opinion, Taylor avoided prescribing any wrongdoing to the archdiocese itself, writing instead that the litany of abuses and their subsequent cover-up were the actions of individuals, and the church began handling reports of child sexual abuse differently in the 21st century.

These names are being released because the key to understanding the report is understanding that this did not happen because of anything the Archdiocese did or did not do. It happened because of the choices made by specific individuals at specific times, Taylor wrote.

-------
Following the release of tens of thousands of text messages purported to be from Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh's personal phone, a U.S. magistrate judge is weighing whether attorneys suing the county on behalf of a former employee should be allowed to review them.

The county's former medical director, Dr. Rayme Edler, is in a legal battle with the county over allegations that the county provided ambulance services without properly certified personnel as required by Medicare and up-coded service claims to more expensive ones than were actually provided. Edler, who says her position was eliminated while she was on protected leave in 2021, also claims she was a victim of retaliation.

In the course of the litigation, Edler's attorneys received a spreadsheet of more than 52,000 text messages that had allegedly been downloaded from Bergosh's phone. The attorneys alerted the county and the court they were in possession of the texts, but said they had not looked at them to avoid accessing privileged information.

Our review of the texts: Leaked Bergosh text messages mention EMS doctor who is suing Escambia County 102 times

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Previously: Escambia's fighting for control of 60,000 texts a commissioner claims were 'stolen' by a rival

Attorneys for the county quickly sought a protective order directing Edler and her counsel to "destroy any and all copies of the improper, unauthorized, and potentially illegally acquired text messages."

"We don't know where this spreadsheet came from, who accessed it or whether it's been altered," Stephanie Pidermann, an attorney representing the county, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Hope Cannon in a hearing on the matter Monday morning.

Another former county employee, Jonathan Owens, said the texts had been anonymously left in his county office on a thumb drive. He told the News Journal that after being interviewed by Edler's attorneys, he gave them the files because he thought they would be helpful.

The county has contended the texts were obtained illegally, and Pidermann said that the FBI is investigating the circumstances of their dissemination, although the FBI has not confirmed that.

Pidermann told the judge that obtaining a legitimate record of the texts would have been as simple as requesting them from Bergosh, who has the "only true and authentic version," and that they could have been provided to Edler's team once private matters like family communications, medical data and banking information were redacted out.

She questioned why those leaked, unredacted texts should be used if there is an "alternative, better source."

Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh

Rebekah Bailey, one of Edler's attorneys, said the leaked texts were already in the public sphere. She said the court, the media, Owens and likely others already had the texts, and as Edler's counsel their interest was to read them and determine if they might be relevant to matters such as discovery and depositions.

"We're officers of court," Bailey said. "We're not going to go out and share them with anyone ... to me the damage has already been done."

The News Journal recieved a copy of the spreadsheets from an anonymous source, and Owens verified they were the same documents that had been provided to him via thumbdrive. Using keyword searches related to public business, the News Journal reviewed the texts and reported that Bergosh referenced Edler more than 100 times in texts that seemingly should have been released as a matter of public record under Florida Sunshine Law, but were not.

In a response to the county's motion for a protective order, Edler's attorneys wrote the county has "long maintained that responsive text messages relating to public business do not exist on County employees personal cell phones."

Some of the texts seem to indicate that Bergosh had discussed ousting Edler in July, several weeks before she was fired in September.

Cannon raised, and Bailey affirmed, that one conceivable concern of having Bergosh release his version of the texts in lieu of the leaked ones was the potential that they, too, could be altered.

The background: Escambia County turning to University of Florida for new EMS medical director

From the archives: FDLE raids Escambia County Public Safety office as part of ongoing investigation

Bailey said with a little technical know-how it would be a relatively simple matter to use computer coding to cross check the two sets of spreadsheets against one another to tell if anything had been added or deleted. From there, it would be on them to investigate the discrepancies.

Pidermann said there had not been an attempt to compare the two sets of texts.

All parties involved said they had been unable to find legal precedent for this specific set of circumstances.

Responding to questions from Cannon, Bailey said her stance on the matter would not change even if it is ultimately determined the texts were acquired illegally. She said there is a concept of the "fruit of a poisonous tree" in criminal law, which says evidence is inadmissible in court if it was derived from evidence that was illegally obtained.

She said that concept doesn't apply in civil court, and even so, the discussion Monday was about "whether we get to read it (the texts), not whether we get to use it."

Cannon concluded the hearing by saying she would make her decision in a written order. She did not give a timeline for the final decision.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Jeff Bergosh texts in Rayme Edler lawsuit go before federal judge
A local church must be given a second chance to determine its future with the United Methodist Church, a judge said on Monday.

Oklahoma County District Court Judge Aletia Timmons ordered the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference to allow Church of the Servant, 14343 N MacArthur, an opportunity to hold a second congregational disaffiliation vote, a key aspect of the disaffiliation process.

In her ruling, Timmons said Church of the Servant's efforts to consider disaffiliation were "tainted" by a conference leader whose bias against church exits amounted to him placing a "chokehold" on the process. She also said it didn't seem to be a coincidence that a conference deadline imposed on churches hoping to disaffiliate in October would effectively prevent Church of the Servant from disaffiliating.

"It completely cuts them out of their ability to disaffiliate," she said.

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The hearing on the disaffiliation dispute began Friday, with Timmons rejecting the regional conference's request to have the case dismissed. Conference leaders said they planned to appeal her ruling handed down Monday. In a statement, they said that the civil court has no jurisdiction over United Methodist Church matters, including disaffiliation.

More: Trust issues: Does Oklahoma United Methodist property dispute have historical basis?

"As was the case with previous rulings regarding United Methodist churches' documented processes and polity, the ruling today blatantly interferes with an internal matter of church self-governance and should be protected under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."

The conference stated it will "continue to defend its right as a religious organization and the rights of its members and local churches to the free exercise of their religion without interference from secular courts."

Timmons disagreed, saying that her ruling was based on neutral contract principles

Monica Wittrock, a member of the Church of the Servant church council, said some members felt that conference leaders' decision to deny the church another vote was because if the congregation ends its affiliation with the United Methodist Church, the regional United Methodist affiliate stands to lose an average of $500,000 in annual apportionments from Church of the Servant, along with the church's building and property, which Wittrock said had an estimated value of between $25 million and $30 million.

On Monday, Wittrock said the church council would be working to set a date for another congregational disaffiliation vote, per Timmons' ruling in the church's favor.

"It really is just about allowing the church to decide what's best for us by allowing our members to be in discussions with each other about the the benefits and burdens of being affiliated or not affiliated with the United Methodist Church," Wittrock said.

More: What we know about Oklahoma United Methodist disaffiliation court cases

Schism affects Oklahoma churches

Church of the Servant is the second house of worship to file suit against the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference regarding disaffiliation matters. First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, 131 NW 4, also took its disaffiliation disagreement to civil court. The conference is appealing Timmons' ruling in First Church's favor.

Both disaffiliation disputes are among the latest developments in an ongoing schism in the United Methodist Church over disagreements about the spiritual compatibility of same-sex marriage and gay ordination. So far, 84 Oklahoma churches have cut ties with the denomination since 2022. The vast majority of the Oklahoma houses of worship headed for the exit because, although they agree with the United Methodist Church's current prohibition on same-sex marriage and gay ordination, they think the denomination is headed in a liberal direction. These conservative churches generally are known in the United Methodist realm as traditionalist churches. Church of the Servant's congregation includes traditionalists, but it is unclear how many members are a part of this faction.

In 2019, a special provision was added to the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline by the denomination's General Conference. Known as Paragraph 2553, the special provision was approved to give a "gracious exit" to churches in disagreement over human sexuality. As part of this special provision, churches wishing to exit have until Dec. 31 to take part in a special disaffiliation process allowing them to sever ties and take their church properties and assets with them.

A statue of Jesus stands inside Church of the Servant, 14343 N MacArthur, in Oklahoma City.

What's at the heart of Church of Servant's case?

In a lawsuit filed in July, Church of the Servant's church council claimed regional conference leaders, were singling out the church by intentionally preventing the congregation from having a second exit vote and possibly disaffiliating and taking their property and assets with them.

The dispute that spilled over into the courts hinged on Church of the Servant members' understanding that they would be able to have a disaffiliation vote in 2023. Several church members testified that a regional conference district superintendent, the Rev. Sam Powers, assured them they would have a second opportunity to consider an exit after their first disaffiliation vote in 2022 failed to get the required a two-thirds majority to disaffiliate.

Powers' unfavorable thoughts about disaffiliation appeared to play a key role in Timmons' favorable ruling for Church of the Servant.

"If you had a district superintendent who had an animus toward disaffiliation, they could use their position as a chokehold and any churches underneath them would not be able to disaffiliate," she said. "That's not the tenor and the tone of section 2553."

Conference leaders in their testimony said Church of the Servant had an opportunity in 2022 to vote on disaffiliation and they also had a second vote on that same day because the disaffiliation rules allowed them to have a vote of reconsideration if a member requested it. And that way, conference leaders contended that Church of the Servant already had two votes.

In a statement on Monday, Oklahoma United Methodist Bishop Jimmy Nunn said he supports Powers' decisions regarding Church of the Servant.

"He has demonstrated his commitment to the process and has not singled out any church in his district," Nunn said of Powers. "In contrast with how he was portrayed in the court hearings, Reverend Powers has followed the Book of Discipline and the disaffiliation agreement required of him. Reverend Powers continues to enjoy my full trust and confidence.

Meanwhile, a certain disaffiliation deadline also proved to be an integral part of Church of the Servant's case.

The conference has given congregations until Sept. 6 to hold the required discernment meetings and congregational disaffiliation votes in order to have their exit requests ratified by delegates at a special conference meeting set for Oct. 13-14. But Church of the Servant's attorneys said this deadline seemed arbitrary and Timmons agreed. The date was key because conference leaders informed Church of the Servant that they must wait 12 months before holding another congregational vote because their first vote fell shy of the required two-thirds majority. Under this requirement, Church of the Servant would have to wait until Sept. 11, 2023  one year from its 2022 congregational vote  to hold another vote, which would mean the church would miss the conference's Sept. 6 deadline.

Conference leaders testified that the deadlines for churches to have their disaffiliation votes conducted were determined to give conference staff time to review the documents and to prepare for the special disaffiliation gatherings.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Judge says Church of the Servant must get second vote in exit dispute
The News

Vivek Ramaswamy got his 5,000-word Atlantic profile Tuesday, but one passage raised eyebrows around Washington  the one where suddenly, he was talking about 9/11.

From the piece:

The Atlantics John Hendrickson writes that when pressed, the bold teller of truths was just asking questions. And that 9/11, Ramaswamy said, isnt something Im staking anything out on.

Its the second 9/11-related flap for Ramaswamy, who earlier this year entertained an interviewers question about whether the attacks were an inside job before telling Semaforthat he was actually referring to questions about the Saudis role in the attacks.

The View From Vivek Ramaswamy

So what Ramaswamy mean by wondering how many federal agents were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers? The 38-year-old  who was in high school during the terrorist attacks  first told Semafor in a text message that he was referring to Jan. 6, not 9/11.

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It was a very free flowing conversation, so Im not blaming the reporter  but the real question I have about undercover federal agents is on Jan. 6, 2021, not 9/11, Ramaswamy wrote, adding that he was surprised to see that quote printed.

When pressed further about what the reference to the Twin Towers and planes was supposed to be  and what the broader 9/11 reference meant  Ramaswamy said in a brief call that the quote in The Atlantic wasnt exactly what I said. He reiterated that the conversation was free-flowing and ranged from government lies surrounding 9/11 to January 6. Ramaswamy added that he does believe the government is lying about the number of federal agents who were in the field on January 6.

I stand by the spirit of it, but it turns out thats not exactly what I told the guy, Ramaswamy said. (Anna Bross, the SVP of communications for The Atlantic, said the quotes are accurate. Their interview was recorded and fact-checked, she said.)
A person stands in front of a Meta sign outside of the companys headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Canadian authorities are asking Facebook to reverse a ban on news content in the face of wildfires in the country. | Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials are calling on Facebooks parent company Meta to reverse its recent ban on news content in the country so Canadians can get updates and reporting about wildfires and evacuations.

Tens of thousands of residents of British Columbia were under evacuation orders due to wildfires as of Sunday, according to The Associated Press, and while people there could get information from friends and government accounts on Facebook and Instagram, news outlets are blocked on Metas social media sites in Canada following the passage of a new law.

Meta began blocking news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada earlier this month rather than comply with the new Online News Act, which requires the company to pay news publishers for content it links to or repurposes.

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Trudeau said at a news conference Monday that Facebook had chosen to put corporate profits ahead of insuring that local news organizations can get up to date information to Canadians.

Right now, in an emergency situation where up to date local information is more important than ever, Facebook is putting corporate profits ahead of peoples safety, Trudeau said. Instead of making sure that local journalists are fairly paid for keeping Canadians informed on things like wildfires, Facebook is blocking news from its sites. In a larger picture, thats bad for democracy.

Metas news ban has also been criticized by Canadian Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez and Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge. Ollie Williams, the editor of Cabin Radio, a broadcaster in Yellowknife, Canada, blamed the government for picking a fight but said the ban is stupid and dangerous and clearly should not be in place, in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Company, or CBC.

Instead of seeing posts from news outlets, Canadian viewers blocked from the content see a note that reads, People in Canada cant see this content: In response to Canadian government legislation, news content cant be viewed in Canada. Learn more.

In a statement to CBC, Meta spokesperson Lisa Laventure said ending news availability was the only way the company could comply with the new law.

The Online News Act is based on the incorrect premise that social media companies benefit unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, but the reverse is true, Laventure said. News outlets voluntarily share content on social media to expand their audiences and help their bottom line. Unfortunately, the only way we can reasonably comply with this legislation is to end news availability for people in Canada in the coming weeks.

Related

Social media has become an important news source, and in the U.S., 48% of adults say they get news from social media often or sometimes, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center study. Social media sites have become less friendly towards publishers, though.

Metas new Threads app doesnt prioritize news content because its not worth the scrutiny and negativity, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said, and X, the app formerly known as Twitter, reportedly briefly slowed load times to The New York Times, Reuters and the newsletter publishing site Substack, among other sites.

Social media has become a less reliable traffic source at the top 100 news and media sites, where organic referrals from social media fell 53% in three years, according to information from the data company SimilarWeb reported by Axios. Meta has reduced traffic to media outlets from Facebook in the past several months, with some publishers seeing drops between 30% to 40% in year-over-year referral traffic or higher, according to CNN.

Meta temporarily blocked access to news content in Australia in 2021 but lifted the ban after reaching a deal with the Australian government and publishers.
The iconic Hamburg Inn is alive but will soon operate under new ownership.

Gold Cap Hospitality, headed by former NFL kicker and Iowa Hawkeye Nate Kaeding , will take over control of the 90-year-old Iowa City staple with plans to reopen in October.

Gold Cap owns Pullman Bar & Diner and St. Burch Tavern in downtown Iowa City. Kaeding said he plans to operate the Hamburg Inn like normal, continuing a tradition that dates back nearly 100 years.

We believe The Burg matters because it became a place for everyone in Iowa City, Kaeding wrote in a statement on the restaurants website and social media that began appearing Monday alongside a redesigned site.

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We want to keep it that way, he continued.

A sign announcing the reopening of the Hamburg Inn No. 2 is seen on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. The new ownership took over on Monday after a turbulent year for the nearly 90-year-old business.

A redesign of Hamburg Inn's website was also recently unveiled, departing from the traditional black and gold, a staple of the buildings signage for decades, to a more red-orange color scheme. The site still features the long-running, well-known logo.

Gold Cap and Kaeding plan to sprinkle in a few updates, though what exactly was not detailed in the company's statement Monday.

After almost 90 years, The Burg needs some fixing up, Kaeding wrote. Were taking stock of the things that are broken along with the things that arent. The Burg doesnt need new ideas. At least, we dont think it does. It just needs to remember who it was.

A general view of the outside of the Hamburg Inn No. 2 on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. The nearly 90-year-old Iowa City staple was purchased by Gold Cap Hospitality, led by Nate Kaeding.

A long history in Iowa City

Michael Lee, a University of Iowa graduate and businessman, owned Hamburg and its building at 214 N. Linn St. since 2016. Lee purchased it from David Panther, whose father, Joe, originally founded the diner in 1935. Lee was the first owner outside of the Panther family.

Hamburg Inn No. 2 was a key destination for presidential candidates on their trips through Iowa, beginning with former president Ronald Reagans stop in 1992. The establishment also played host to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in addition to Mitt Romney.

More: Hamburg Inn No. 2 is temporarily closed again, marking third shutdown of turbulent year

Hamburg Inn grew notoriety thanks to its Coffee Bean Caucus, allowing visitors to caucus for presidential candidates with coffee beans. The Hamburg even appeared on an episode of NBCs hit 1990s political show, The West Wing.

Hamburg Inn has also faced its fair share of challenges, outlasting a pair of fires and a global pandemic in addition to sudden closures within the last year.

Kaeding, a Coralville native, recalled his childhood venturing throughout Iowa City and stopping for a Hamburg staple  the pie shake. He's continued to shop local, regularly visiting several of the neighborhood's long-standing businesses.

Im just as excited today for my family to be part of this neighborhood as Ive ever been. We buy our beer at Johns, shop at Artifacts, grab lunch at Oasis, spend the evening at Georges, and now well help lead The Burg [through] this next chapter, Kaeding wrote in a release. With some luck, well be able to write a successful next chapter or two in the restaurants story, and then itll be our time to pass it along to the next group."

A sign on the door of the Hamburg Inn No. 2 indicates the restaurant's temporary closure on Friday, July 21, 2023.

New ownership could provide stability after a rocky year

Gold Caps purchase of the diner, finalized Monday, continues a turbulent last nine months for the Hamburg Inn, which was periodically closed throughout the year due to staffing issues and other controversy.

News broke in December that Hamburg would be closing in 2023, which was quickly refuted by an attorney representing Lee, the then-owner. Staff said they had been informed the restaurant would not continue operations into 2023, while the lawyer representing Lee said the closure would only be temporary while maintenance and renovations took place.

A pipe had burst inside the restaurant during Christmas week and required repairs. That was about all that was clear in the situation.

Rumors also swirled that employees and managers had not been paid in December, though Lee said that any unpaid wages resulted from accounting errors, not intentional malice.

Uncertainty brewed as the restaurant closed for maintenance in the first week of 2023.

The Press-Citizen reported that Joseph Mulvihill stepped into the role of corporate facilitator and revealed that Lee had been stuck in China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The restaurant was closed for nearly two months at the start of the year, reopening with nearly entirely new stuff. General manager Briana Dawson spoke with the Press-Citizen at the time, saying the restaurant had 12 people on staff. She had worked at the restaurant for a few years before helping lead the reopening.

"Same good quality, same great service," she told the Press-Citizen in February. "We're going to keep with the tradition as we bring back that family vibe that we've been missing in here for awhile."

However, staffing did not persist through the summer, and the Hamburg closed briefly in June. It reopened for a few weeks, then again shut down in mid-July and has been closed ever since.

More: Iowa City's Hamburg Inn No. 2 to close in 2023 after 85 years in business, manager says. Not so, lawyer says

When the Hamburg Inn No. 2 reopens in October, as Gold Cap and Kaeding projected, the diner will have been closed for five full months in 2023.

Sure, we might try a new thing or two. Were still figuring that out. A little change can be good, Kaeding wrote on Monday. But just know well be open first thing in the morning, serving breakfast all day like we always have. See you in the neighborhood.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Hamburg Inn purchased by Nate Kaeding, Gold Cap Hospitality
PRATT, Kan.  State wildlife officials have decided to prohibit trail cameras on Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks land and waters on Friday.

The KDWP said in a press release that the decision to ban trail cameras came after seven public meetings over the course of two years, KSNT reports.

Dont fish with a gun in Kansas, game wardens say

The decision was reached following increasing amounts of public concerns brought to the KDWP on the use of trail or game cameras on public lands. Past concerns the KDWP referenced included the ethics of fair chase, issues of theft and privacy concerns.

As the number of trail cameras on the landscape increased, so did the number of reports made by constituents citing camera theft and misuse, Ryan Stucky, KDWP Public Lands assistant director said. There were also concerns about trail camera users disturbing wildlife with frequent visits to check on those cameras.

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Top 5 most popular Kansas state parks revealed

KDWP staff and commissioners agreed that the regulation change, now in effect, should state that no person shall place, maintain or use a trail or game camera on department lands, or use any images or video from a trail or game camera including location, time or date, for any purpose on KDWP lands and waters, according to the press release. The use of mapping systems or programs remains a legal activity.

The full regulation can be found by clicking here or in the document below:

R-08-25 by Matthew Self on Scribd

This embedded content is not available in your region.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A Kansas City man was sentenced Monday to spend a little more than three years in federal prison for aiding the escape of two inmates from the Cass County jail.

Steven Williams Sr., 64, was sentenced to 40 months for his role in the Dec. 5 escapes of Trevor Sparks, 33, and Sergio Perez Martinez, 44. He pleaded guilty in April to one felony count of aiding escape after authorities determined Williams drove to a Harrisonville gas station to pick them up after they broke out.

Sparks and Martinez escaped the county jail through damage of the facility, according to authorities. Martinez, who was awaiting sentencing for meth distribution and money laundering, is still wanted by the FBI.

Sparks, who had been found guilty at trial of leading a multi-million-dollar Missouri meth ring linked to two murders, was arrested in the backyard of a Blue Springs residence three weeks after the escape.

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On the night of the escape, Sparks called Williams from a jail phone telling him to be at the Caseys gas station and convenience store, a short distance from the Cass County jail, according to court documents. Prosecutors say Williams brought Sparks and Martinez to his Kansas City apartment, where they were clothed and fed.

Williams was arrested shortly after they parted ways.

At the time, Sparks was awaiting sentencing as the alleged leader of a meth ring authorities said stretched from Kansas City to St. Louis.

Tied to that organization were the killings of two people: James Hampton, whose body was found in the trunk of a burned-out car in Bates City, and Brittanie Broyles, who was shot to death in a Kansas City flea market parking lot.

Still facing federal charges in aiding the escape are Sparks mother, Dawn Branstietter, 55, her husband John Baxter, 57, and another alleged associate, Nicholas Parris, 38.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Kansas City leaders say theyre determined to plant more trees to increase the citys tree canopy.

The fiscal year 2023-2024 budget includes $1 million to add 10,000 trees across the city over the next three years.

Mahomes, Kelce invest in popular Kansas City-area pickleball concept

That includes providing free trees for Kansas City residents and business owners to plant on their properties. Kansas City said this is the first time Kansas City will plant trees on private property with city-funded support.

As part of the Canopy Cover KC initiative, the city will provide up to two trees and help residents better understand where to plant them for maximum energy savings.

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It only takes a few minutes to reserve your free trees online, and there are options to have them dropped off this fall or pick them up at a special event. You must have a Kansas City address.

Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android

The city said there are still over 200 trees available in the fall campaign, but the citys website shows the species left are limited.

If you miss out this fall, dont worry. A city spokesperson said there will be future rounds of free trees each spring and fall through 2026, pending council approval for funding.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Wyatt Maxey and friends at his Cornelius apartment complex love kayaking on a hidden-in-plain-sight waterway that locals call Lake Cornelius  one of North Carolinas tiniest lakes.

On any given day, truckers on nearby Interstate 77 honk-honk friendly hellos.

Drivers in stopped traffic roll down their windows and ask, Can I have a ride?

Maxey instantly fell in love with the 125-acre Lake Cornelius when he moved to an apartment complex along its shores, off I-77, Exit 28.

The 27-year-old Charlotte native invited this Charlotte Observer reporter to kayak the lake after reading my Aug. 2 article about neighboring 341-acre Lake Davidson.

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Is Lake Davidson part of Lake Norman? the headline asked. Contrasts abound.

The same question could be posed for Lake Cornelius, I quickly concluded after launching onto the lake, with Maxey and his friends who live there too, on a bright, 95-degree Sunday earlier in August. A slight breeze cooled us.

First, I was astounded to meet someone in their 20s who considers this nationally award-winning hometown newspaper an essential daily read. We hire only the best, I said.

Second, hes a native Charlottean, just like my brother Jimmy, who was born at the old Mercy Hospital way back in 1955, making my brother older than these lakes!

Youre as rare as that bald eagle I saw above Lake Davidson, I told Maxey.

But back to the story.

Like Lake Davidson, Lake Cornelius is separated from massive Lake Norman by Interstate 77.

Maxey has kayaked through the tunnel-like culvert that connects Lake Cornelius with boat-packed Lake Norman and then through a separate tunnel to Lake Davidson, a roughly 2-mile trip.

Wyatt Maxey kayaks through the tunnel-like culvert under Interstate 77 that connects Lake Cornelius with Lake Norman. WYATT MAXEY/WYATT MAXEY

Duke Energy says Lake Davidson and Lake Cornelius are part of Lake Norman, which at 32,475 acres is the states the largest human-made lake.

Under federal license, the company manages the lakes it formed along the Catawba River last century. So Duke Energy, more than anyone, should know if the smaller lakes are sections of the larger one.

Kayaker Wyatt Maxey approaches the tunnel-like culvert beneath Interstate 77 that connects Lake Cornelius with Lake Norman. WYATT MAXEY/WYATT MAXEY

Still ...

More wildlife than humans

Lake Norman seemed a world apart when I kayaked the calm waters of Lake Davidson and Lake Cornelius this month.

I saw more wildlife than humans on each of the smaller lakes and only a couple of motor boats.

And thats what Maxey and friends admire about their little lake, too.

I love the quietness, Macey Hess, a 24-year-old registered nurse at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, told me on Lake Cornelius that Sunday. Its calm. I just like to be with our little group here.

Lake Cornelius has no public boat launch, only a town of Davidson kayak launch located on the Davidson part of the lake, Maxey said. The lake is about half in Cornelius and half in Davidson, he said.

Hess boyfriend, 23-year-old Jonathan Nagle, highlighted the wildlife on Lake Cornelius.

Anything from deer on the (unpaved) trail that rings Lake Cornelius for 1 1/2 miles, to owls, to osprey diving down into the water picking up fish, said Nagle, who works for custom home builder CBUSA.

Plus turtles and herons, he said.

Nagle and Hess moved from her hometown of Harrisonburg, Virginia, exactly a four-hour drive from Lake Norman  after Nagle visited here on a job assignment.

Theres a lot of great wildlife out here, Nagle said after the group hooked their kayaks to a floating dock they installed on the lake. And a lot of fish, for humans and for birds.

The herons will stand on the shore as stealthy as can be until they see something in the water to lunge for and devour, said Patrick Rallings, a 29-year-old software engineer at Ally Financial in uptown Charlotte.

Rallings joined us with his girlfriend, Emily Naviganuparp.

And a beaver has flapped its tail swimming past their dock to its home in another part of Lake Cornelius.

The animal inspired the name of their dock: Beaver Island, Maxey said.

We like to sit out here on the lake, drink beer and watch people stuck in traffic, Rallings quipped at the dock.

Said Nagle: Im glad that were cut off by 77, because we couldnt do this right here if there were boats. And everyone could just come over here (from Lake Norman). It would just be part of the bigger lake.

Maxey said hes also enjoyed learning the history of his lake, including through chats with longtime homeowners.

Two bridges and a couple of road beds lie at the bottom of Lake Cornelius, his research revealed.

Is Lake Cornelius really Lake Norman?

The kayakers met for the first time while standing outside their complex after an apartment fire in May.

They all kayaked, they discovered.

And Rallings and Maxey learned they worked for the same company. Maxey is a data engineer at Ally Financial.

Maxey graduated from Providence High School in 2014 and North Carolina State University in 2018. He ran cross country for N.C. State.

Like most who live in the Lake Norman area, he wondered when he moved here whether Lake Cornelius was its own lake or part of Lake Norman.

Lake Cornelius sure seemed different than Lake Norman, he said. And it connected with Lake Norman only through the culvert beneath I-77.

How do you get a boat from side to side? Because I just assumed (this section) was an arm of Lake Norman, Maxey said. But you notice theres no bridge to drive over it. I just never quite understood.

Before 77, it was Lake Norman. But now? he said.

Water in the culvert flows from Lake Cornelius to Lake Norman, not vice-versa, he observed.

Still, his apartment complex, while on Lake Cornelius, is named Bexley Lake Norman.

Live Life by the Lake, Bexley Lake Norman touts on its website. Luxury Apartments on Lake Norman in Cornelius NC.

So Maxey was curious what I thought: Is Lake Cornelius really Lake Norman, or not?

Ive wondered the same thing since moving to the Lake Norman area in 1989  actually, well to the west for my first seven years here in Lincolnton.

I figured a quick Google search would settle the issue before this months expedition, but no.

Only one of the first nine sites that surfaced when I plugged Lake Cornelius into my search acknowledged its existence.

And that was in a headline of part of a Duke Energy federal re-licensing document.

The other sites ignored Lake Cornelius, mentioning Lake Norman instead.

In the eye of the beholder

As we kayaked silent Lake Cornelius and then relaxed on Beaver Island, I blurted out my opinion on whether the lake was Lake Norman.

By then, I had temporarily blinded myself when I scratched an itch on an eyelid and inadvertently smeared sunscreen lotion onto my eyes. It stung big-time for several hours, but I tried to remain coherent.

I think its its own lake, but I think its whatever you want it to be, I told the gang, prompting chuckles. Thats what I concluded with Lake Davidson, but even more so with this.

I was about to elaborate when I spotted something rare on Lake Cornelius despite my burning eyes.

Look, I said. A boat!
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks after being sworn in to office on Jan. 10 at the Capitol. Behind him are state Sen. Angela Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune

Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting to stay off of the witness stand during his September impeachment trial, but prosecutors oppose the move, hoping to have the option of forcing Paxton to testify under oath.

Paxtons legal team has asked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will preside over the trial in the Texas Senate, to forbid the House impeachment team from issuing a subpoena that would compel Paxtons testimony.

Paxtons lawyers argue that impeachment is a criminal proceeding, so Paxton is entitled to the same legal protections  namely, not being forced to testify  as any criminal defendant.

Given that an impeachment trial is legally considered to be a criminal proceeding, there can only be one conclusion: the Attorney General may, but cannot be forced to, testify, Paxtons lawyers wrote in a July 7 filing to the court of impeachment.

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Heading toward Paxtons trial, set to begin Sept. 5, House impeachment managers argue that senators drafted and approved trial rules that give them the power to compel Paxton to appear as a witness.

No rule limits the individuals who may be summoned to testify before the Senate. Specifically, [no rule] excludes Paxton from those persons who must appear and testify if subpoenaed, they argued in a response filed with the court of impeachment.

While Paxton has a Fifth Amendment right to decline to provide incriminating testimony, he must assert that right specifically from the witness stand, impeachment managers argued.

Many of the articles of impeachment  approved 121-23 by the Texas House in May, setting course for the states third impeachment trial since 1876  accused Paxton of abusing his office to repeatedly help a friend and campaign donor, Austin real estate investor Nate Paul.

Federal investigators have been looking into Paxtons ties to Paul since 2020, when top executives in the state attorney generals office accused Paxton of accepting bribes and misusing his authority to help Paul. In June, Paul was charged with eight felony counts of lying to financial institutions to obtain business loans.

Paxtons misdeeds with Paul are, in large part, the basis of this impeachment trial, impeachment managers argued. Given these circumstances, it is understandable why Paxton may think some of his answers to questions in the impeachment trial would in themselves support a conviction or furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute, the standard necessary to invoke his right against self-incrimination.

Whether Paxton can be compelled to take the stand is expected to be settled in the opening phase of trial when Patrick, in his capacity as judge, rules on pretrial motions or asks senators to decide pretrial issues by a majority vote that would be taken without discussion or debate.

The fight over Paxtons testimony has emerged as a mini-drama within the larger impeachment saga  and the outcome of the fight could affect his legal battles outside of the impeachment proceedings, legal experts said.

Paxton has been under indictment on state securities fraud felony charges since 2015. He also faces a whistleblower lawsuit from former lieutenants who claim they were improperly fired in retaliation for reporting Paxton to the FBI and other law enforcement. That led to an FBI investigation that was transferred earlier this year to the U.S. Department of Justice  and reports that a federal grand jury in San Antonio is looking into details of Paxtons relationship with Paul.

Not having to testify before the Senate means Paxton would have fewer opportunities to reveal information that could be used against him in those proceedings, legal experts said. If Paxton pleads the Fifth while on the stand, for example, lawyers in the whistleblower lawsuit could point to that as an indication of guilt.

The same is true of the impeachment trial. Senators could interpret Paxtons refusal to answer questions on the stand as a sign of guilt, said Michael Smith, a professor at St. Marys University School of Law who specializes in criminal and constitutional law.

Paxtons team is trying to prevent that, too. Theyve asked Patrick to tell senators they cant infer guilt if Paxton chooses not to testify.

There are implications to pleading the Fifth, both on the civil side of things as well as potentially in the impeachment itself, Smith said. But then theres just the optics.

Paxton is trying to avoid those complications.

The order [Paxton] would like from Dan Patrick is an order saying you dont have to testify in front of the Senate in this impeachment proceeding, said Mike Golden, a former trial lawyer and director of advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law. And were going to tell the lawyers for the impeachment managers that they cant argue that your refusal to testify should somehow be held against you.

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 U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Richland. (Tri-City Herald File)

When a ring of Benton County con artists began to suspect police were closing in, they concocted a plan.

They would claim that an FBI agent offered to make the case go away for $20,000.

The attempt to discredit a police informant failed because the conspirators picked the wrong person to frame.

And this week, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Dimke sentenced Mohammed N. Al-Jibory, 54, of Kennewick, to 10 months in prison for conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding.

Al-Jibory was one of 23 people, including 11 from the Tri-Cities, accused in a plot to fraudulently collect nearly $1 million in car insurance payments.

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So far, 13 have pleaded guilty for their roles in staging a 14 car crashes in Benton County between 2017 and 2020, or lying about a $20,000 bribe for a FBI agent, according to court records. That included Ali Abed Yaser, the leader of the plot.

The defendants included four married couples, three sets of siblings and a father and son.

Much of the scam involved two vehicles being driven to remote roads at night when the only witnesses to the staged accidents were the conspirators, say investigators.

The suspects used hammers to damage windows and mirrors and in one case used weights to trigger the airbags to deploy.

They would lie to police and insurance companies about the crashes to collect the insurance money and then they lied about the bribe attempt, say officials.

Fraud schemes impact the vitality of our entire community, Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said in a news release. Obstructing official proceedings by falsely accusing a federal agent of bribery and interfering with federal investigations will not be tolerated.

Distracting investigators

The FBI started investigating the fraud ring in February 2019, working with an informant referred to as John Doe.

He secretly recorded events at two of the crashes, and provided information about the scam.

Then in May 2020, the FBI served warrants on the homes of 12 suspects.

One defendant suspected someone in the group was tipping off the FBI and held a meeting that included John Doe where Yaser accused a different co-defendant, Seifeddine A. Al-Kinani, of being the informant.

Over the course of the summer, Yaser rolled out a plan that would frame Al-Kinani for the fraud. The plan would have Yaser go to the FBI and claim his family in Iraq was being threatened.

As part of the story, he would claim he met with Al-Kinani and the FBI special agent. Over the course of the fictitious meeting, the Al-Kinani said that he wanted $22,000, including $20,000 for this guy, of Seattle, of the FBI, the case manager.

Al-Jibory played the part of a witness to the meeting to add credibility to the story.

Yaser put the plan into motion in August 2020, when he called Kennewick police and said he needed to talk to someone. Yasers son, one of the co-defendants, helped file the report and Al-Jibory backed up the story during a meeting in September.
A Western Kentucky woman has been charged with animal cruelty after it was discovered she was inhumanely possessing two dozen Alaskan Malamute dogs, Kentucky State Police announced Tuesday.

KSP collaborated with the Hopkins County Humane Society for an investigation that lasted nearly a month. KSP said the investigation revealed that 58-year-old Nina Holm of Dawson Springs had 24 Alaskan Malamutes which were unvaccinated and living in deplorable conditions.

Many of the dogs were kept outside in a metal building that featured little to no ventilation and extreme heat, according to KSP. The dogs did not have access to water and were covered in feces.

Five puppies were locked inside a small cage inside the home, also covered in feces, according to KSP.

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Holm was charged with 24 counts of second-degree cruelty to animals, KSP said. She voluntarily surrendered the dogs to the Hopkins County Humane Society.

Alaskan Malamutes are typically about 2 feet tall and weigh 75 to 85 pounds, according to the American Kennel Club. Theyre recognizable for their thick, weatherproof coat of fur, which suggests they originate as an arctic sled dog, the American Kennel Club says.

The dogs also require frequent exercise, socialization and upkeep, including daily brushing, consistent baths and regular nail trimmings, according to the American Kennel Club.
Members of the BRICS economic group of major emerging economies are meeting this week in South Africa for a summit that could determine the future of the bloc  and how hard it pushes back against a world order it sees as unfairly dominated by the West.

The group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has never been more prominent on the world stage. But the BRICS themselves are complicated.

Russias leader cant attend the summit because host country South Africa would be obliged to arrest him for alleged war crimes. Two other members, India and China, have a simmering border conflict. And while Beijing is locked in a rivalry with the United States, New Delhi has close ties with Washington.

Its not the happiest of families. But nonetheless that family is now entertaining formal bids from nearly two dozen countries to join their bloc of major emerging economies.

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Discussions around adding new members are expected to figure high on the agenda of the three-day summit beginning Tuesday, where BRICS leaders  with the exception of Russias Vladimir Putin  will gather in-person for the first time since the pandemic.

Putin, who has an International Criminal Court warrant out for his arrest linked to his brutal invasion of Ukraine, will attend virtually.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday threw his support behind BRICS expansion, saying a larger body would represent a diverse group of nations that share a common desire to have a more balanced global order in a increasingly complex and fractured world.

At stake in decisions around expanding is the direction and identity of the group, whose members aim for more say in an international system they see as favoring the West and Group of Seven (G7) nations, despite a shift in who dominates the global economy over recent decades.

The bloc risks becoming more pointedly geopolitical in its bid to rebalance global power, analysts say, especially as China and Russia seek to bring it on side against rising tensions with the West  something its expansion could facilitate.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of the summit last week, Chinas envoy in South Africa said more and more countries hoped to join BRICS to safeguard their legitimate interests.

In the face of some countries wielding the big stick of unilateral sanctions and engaging in long-arm jurisdiction, the BRICS countries insist on equal dialogue and consultation, Ambassador Chen Xiaodong said, using Beijings typical language to criticize what it sees as US policy.

The issue of expansion may be the associations first stress test in its near decade-and-a-half of existence, according to Bhaso Ndzendze, an associate professor of politics and international relations at the University of Johannesburg.

Adding members would expand the groups global presence and increase buy-in for its agenda to counter Western political dominance, he said.

But there are differences in opinion on whether to expand, and certainly not all (members) would support entry by the same countries.

Joining the club

Whether Putin, Chinas Xi Jinping, Indias Narendra Modi, Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and their host, South Africas Cyril Ramaphosa, decide to add to their bloc  and how they choose those potential members  will have significant global implications, analysts say.

An expansion would only be the second in the history of the group, which focuses on economic development and increasing its members voice in global forums.

Built off a term originally coined by former Goldman Sachs economist Jim ONeill to describe investment opportunities in key emerging markets, the group has persisted despite deep differences in political and economic systems between its members.

It held its first summit in 2009 with four members and then added South Africa the following year. The BRICS launched its New Development Bank in 2015.

Now, 22 countries have formally expressed an interest in joining the bloc, while that many have also made informal inquiries, South African ambassador to BRICS Anil Sooklal said last month.

Those who formally applied include Argentina, Mexico, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Nigeria and Bangladesh, South African officials have said.

The countries have a range of reasons for applying, from interest in specific economic initiatives such as transitioning to local currencies to challenging the US, according to Mihaela Papa, a senior fellow in the Rising Power Alliances Project at Tufts University in the US.

Then there are those who want easier access to China or other BRICS countries or more control during major power tensions and uncertainty, she said, adding that for members, deciding on expansion means deciding on the future direction of the group.

New joiners with economic clout could catalyze the groups ability to reshape or create alternatives to existing global institutions of power.

Choosing to include countries that are openly antagonistic toward the West, like Iran, could swing it further toward becoming an anti-Western bloc, experts say.

Adding new members is likely to have at least some positive knock-on effects for the groups most powerful member, China, especially as Xi tries to position his country as a leader in overhauling a US-led system he sees as bent on constraining his countrys rise.

The broader its members, the stronger they can claim a collective voice, and the more China as the largest economy will claim leadership and representation of the developing world, said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

Countries wide interest in joining BRICS is also a boost for Putin  who remains welcome in the bloc despite being seen as a pariah and war criminal in the West. It also points to a widening gap between the priorities of those countries lining up for BRICS and the wealthy Western nations that have united against him in support of Ukraine, analysts say.

Bangalore-based analyst Manoj Kewalramani pointed to a view across the developing world. There is a lot of frustration that Russia initiated the war, but there is (also) this acknowledgment that you need two hands to clap and there are things which NATO and the United States did to spark or prolong the conflict, he said.

When it comes to these countries interest in seeing the war end, they will see that isolating Russia doesnt help them, said Kewalramani, who heads Indo-Pacific studies at the Takshashila Institution research center.

Countries instead are looking at BRICS as a means to deal with challenges like climate change and limited access to capital and technology, and are deciding to move toward it as the West seems to be closing in on itself, he said.

Dividing lines

But even as Xi, Modi, Lula, Ramaphosa and a beamed-in Putin gather in Johannesburg for talks, divisions within the existing group of five may be a barrier to any breakthrough decisions on the issue.

Leaders are expected to review criteria for how to select new members  perhaps rather than name who gets to join the club.

The Russian leaders virtual presence will be the most obvious indication of awkwardness within the group  whose members include those who have condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations, like Brazil, and those who have abstained  China, South Africa and India.

But Moscows influence in Africa was underscored as video emerged showing Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary group Wagner who launched an abortive mutiny against the Kremlins military leadership in June, claiming to be in Africa and talking about making Russia greater on all continents.

When it comes to BRICS expansion, each of the countries have their own reasons to be circumspect about who to let in, since the issue was raised during South Africas last chairship in 2018 and then countries decided to explore it further after last years virtual summit hosted by China.

For India, which has a border dispute with China and finds itself increasingly drawn to the US over their shared concerns about an assertive Beijing, a strident, anti-US bloc would not be desirable, analysts say.

India finds itself in a difficult spot, because the groups identity is shifting, and it does not want that shift, said Kewalramani, who noted that New Delhi is seen as having slowed the introduction of new members last year by calling first for the creation of criteria.

But how long and to what extent and to what effect (India can guide the bloc in certain directions)  is not going to be easy, because China is the biggest actor and its aligned with Russia much more, he said.

An expansion, instead of making the group more potent, could also make it more unwieldy and ineffective with more contrasting positions between members, he added.

Brazil and South Africa, too, could be open to potential expansion, but would be more cautious in welcoming clearly anti-US countries to the bloc, according to Rubens Duarte, coordinator of LABMUNDO, a Brazil-based research center for international relations.

Such a shift might not be what the group seeks, however, he said, and having more members could help bring more diversity of perspective into the discussion on global issues.

But if BRICS does decide to expand and then steps up its global role, this could push larger change that impacts the international influence of Europe and the US, he said.

The more BRICS becomes active, the more other countries will lose power, he said.

CNNs Nectar Gan contributed reporting.

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Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin made global headlines in June, reappeared in Africa on Monday with a brief video message. In it, he claimed that Wagner is making Russia even greater on all continents, and making Africa even more free. We bring justice and happiness to the African people.

The mercenary boss return coincided with the emergence of a new campaign on Russian state media programs, where pro-Kremlin pundits and lawmakers have been pushing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to go global with his special military operation in Ukraine.

During his Monday appearance on 60 Minutes, State Duma member Andrey Gurulyov declared that Today, the whole world is a special military operation! Throughout the segment, the lawmaker and other panelists claimed that Russia is not interested in peace accordsa view that is frequently echoed on many pro-government TV and radio programs.

Referring to recent comments by General Mark Milleythe U.S.s highest-ranking military officer, who recently suggested that a peace deal might be one of the ways of ending Russias invasion of UkraineKorotchenko stressed: General Milley included diplomacy as one of the options, meaning the signing of a peace deal on conditions that are not acceptable to Russia: return to the borders of 1991 and reparations that will have to be paid by generations of Russians to the Kyiv regime. Would this option suit us? I think not.

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Instead, according to the Putin loyalists, the Kremlin intends to expand its horizons far beyond Ukraine, undermining and confronting the West at every turn. Gurulyov laid out what he sees as the Kremlins potential course of actionnot just in Ukraine, but across the world.

Putins Dystopian Plan for Post-Mutiny Russia Revealed

I would like to turn our attention to the Asia-Pacific region. The issue of Taiwan is there, it isnt going to disappear. Americans said they will first contain China and then North Korea, but now theyre in a situation where they have to contain both! he said. Based on the statements made by North Koreans, including the ones they made here, nuclear war is inevitableits only a matter of who and where will start it! Its crystal clear that if a conflict starts, the United States will get involved This will 100 percent include the sinking of the US Navy in the Pacific Ocean. There is no other way! This is an achievable goal, even if China acts alone.

For the Russian politician, there was no question about which side Russia would take in the impending global crises.

Of course, North Koreas goal is the unification with South Korea and the disappearance of the border that separates one people. People ask, What if they lose? What is our part in this situation? For us, its not acceptable for the North Koreans to lose. Otherwise, NATO forces will be stationed across from our Vladivostok! he said. For us, there is no other option but to get prepared for the challenges that are happening in the Asia-Pacific region. These challenges are already happening, we should be preparing today, right now and figuring out how to solve this problem!

During his appearance, the lawmaker claimed that Russias Pacific Fleet is actively preparing for such a conflictand predicted that the the first strike will be against the oldest enemy of Koreans, Japan, accompanied by supportive hooting from South Korea.

The Mystery Behind Russias Secret VIP Flight to North Korea

Citing the recent coup in Niger, Gurulyov said Russias position was crystal clear.

Were with those who fight against colonialism, he said, emphasizing that Russias special military operation is global and not limited to Ukraine. Here you have all of the elements of World War III that are currently emerging. Im not even mentioning the Persian problem, the threats in the Arctic and Afghanistan. We should be ready to deal with all of these challenges.

On Tuesday, Marina Kim, one of the hosts of Russias Channel 1, appeared on Vladimir Solovyovs show Full Contact, where she talked about her role in the soon to be released TV project, The New World. Kim said it would be aimed at forecasting what the new world order will look like in the coming decades, considering Russia efforts to undermine the U.S. dollar as a currency and Western influence as a whole. Arguing that Russian experts are so highly intellectual that they know more about China than the Chinese, Kim noted that even those superb intellectuals are not sure what the map of the world will look like in 2073.

Solovyov, who frequently threatens the West with nuclear strikes, asked an uncharacteristically sobering question: Will Russia even exist in the future? Kim cheerfully assured him that Russias destiny is to keep leading the worldbut acknowledged that it can do so only in concert with China.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) chastised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) after the governor sent a busload of migrants toward the city while it was bearing the brunt of its first tropical storm in more than 80 years over the weekend.

It is evil to endanger the lives of vulnerable migrants by sending a bus with families and toddlers on board to a city that at the time was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning, Bass said in a statement Monday.

The bus departed Texas Sunday, hours before Tropical Storm Hilary swept over Southern California, and arrived in Los Angeles Monday evening, Basss office said.

As I stood with state and local leaders warning Angelenos to stay safe and brace themselves for the worst of the coming storm, the Governor of Texas sent families and toddlers straight for us on a path through extreme weather conditions, Bass continued.

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If anybody understands the danger of hurricanes and thunderstorms, its the Governor of Texas  who has to deal with this threat on an annual basis. This is a despicable act beyond politics, she said.

The Hill reached out to Abbott for comment.

Abbott has sent eight buses carrying migrants to the city before, each of them with little warning, Basss office said.

In a press release in June, Abbott justified the busing policy by saying it was in response to the Biden administrations lack of action on the border. Texas has sent busloads of migrants to Denver, New York City, Chicago, and Vice President Harriss house in Washington, D.C.

Texas small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Bidens refusal to secure the border, Abbotts office said in a June release.

Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the frontlines of President Bidens border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border, he added.

The busing system has been derided by Democrats nationally, and Bass has previously said she doesnt plan to change her citys policy.

Los Angeles is not a city motivated by hate or fear and we absolutely will not be swayed or moved by petty politicians playing with human lives, she said in June.

Hurricane Hilary weakened to a tropical storm before it crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into California on Sunday, becoming the first tropical storm to hit the Golden State since 1939. It caused massive flooding in Southern California and southern Nevada, with San Diego and the Sierra Nevada getting the worst of the storm.

Hilary is now classified as a tropical depression, and its path continues north through rural central Nevada toward the Oregon-Idaho border.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A photo of a man in a suit with a sign in the foreground that says "principal"

Teachers and education support workers are represented at the bargaining table by an entire alphabet soup of labor unions, such as NEA, AFT, SEIU, AFSCME, IBT, et al.

Parents and the public are represented by superintendents and school boards, but at school sites they rely on principals and other supervisors. However, in many of the largest districts, these school managers are also union members.

Having seen the gains teachers unions made for their members both in salary and working conditions, administrators unions would like to copy that success.

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There are 92,000 principals working in the public schools, and another 100,000 assistant principals. The vast majority have long backgrounds in teaching. The average principal had 12 years in the classroom before moving to an administrative role.

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In many states, public school teachers are banned or restricted from bargaining collectively, and the hurdles are even higher for administrators, who can be viewed as both labor and management.

Principals unions were originally formed along with teachers unions in the 1960s and 1970s, but it wasnt just superintendents and other district managers who found the event problematic. The American Federation of Teachers passed a resolution in 1977 demanding the ouster of school administrators from the AFL-CIO, with which both are affiliated, citing their managerial responsibilities. AFT also claimed the administrators would subvert collective bargaining achievements of organized teachers and cast teachers in an anti-union role.

Despite these differences, principals unions mirrored AFT in policies, structure and composition. The American Federation of School Administrators is the national umbrella union for five state chapters and 85 local affiliates. Its small, with a budget of just $1.5 million, and acts primarily as a federal lobbying arm. The unions priorities are very similar to those of the teachers unions.

Last month, union President Leonard Pugliese sent a letter to President Joe Biden, calling on him to develop and implement a Marshall Plan for public education. This is something both NEA and AFT have advocated.

Its resolutions from last year supported legislation to mandate an assistant principal in every public school and to integrate social-emotional learning concepts into pre-K-12 education.

Naturally, it wants to expand its membership as well. In districts without school leader unions, the workload has increased, but the compensation hasnt moved accordingly. We need to help organize the unorganized school leaders, so they can protect themselves, too, said Pugliese.

As with the AFT, by far the largest portion of federation membership works in the New York City Public Schools, represented by the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators. The New York City administrators account for more than 63% of the national unions 22,000 members.

The council has an additional quirk that may be unique among all labor unions: More than 53% of its total membership are retirees. While the national union operates on a shoestring, the New York City branch collects $18.4 million in dues, and its president was paid more than $287,000 in 2022.

Principals unions tend to form in large cities. AFSA has locals in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Oakland, San Diego, Denver, Seattle, Portland and Washington, D.C. Los Angeles also has an administrators union, but it is independent.

While some of these unions have existed for many years, they cant all bargain collectively. The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association only just won that right earlier this year.

Acting alone, administrators unions have no more power or influence than any other small advocacy group. But when they act in concert with teachers unions, they can leave school sites with all labor and no management. Without it, parents and the public lose much of their influence over their schools.

Mike Antonuccis Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.
Lacey police are looking for a homicide suspect after a man was found shot to death Monday morning, the department announced.

About 8:50 a.m., police were dispatched to the 5500 block of Chelan Lane Southeast after a report of gunshots being fired. Chelan Lane is north of Yelm Highway and east of College Street in Lacey.

Police arrived to find a 43-year-old man with several gunshot wounds who later died at the scene.

Police have identified the suspect. The Olympian typically does not name suspects until they have appeared in court; however, in this case the suspect is still at large.

He has been identified as 42-year-old Scott Matthew Brodrick. He is described by police as white, 5-foot-11, with brown hair and brown eyes.

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Police say Brodrick is associated with a 2014 gray-colored Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk with the Washington state license plate number ASG4385. The man is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, according to police.

Anyone who sees the suspect is asked to call 911.
MAUI, Hawaii  Jordan Saribay can't shake the image of his beloved hometown, Lahaina, Hawaii, engulfed in flames. But he's fortunate he and his family escaped the inferno alive, having merely lost items that can be replaced  including his home.

As Saribay fled wildfires raging across the island of Maui late Tuesday, he saw his own home and the home of his grandmother engulfed. Walls of flame "as tall as the buildings" and debris turned into dangerous projectiles surrounded him at every turn.

"Everything is gone, every single one of our family homes," Saribay said. The entire Lahaina Town and the entire subdivision of Lahaina  gone."

Wind-whipped wildfires scorched the main heart of Maui, reducing homes and businesses in historic Lahaina Town to ashes and forcing people to jump into the ocean to escape the flames and smoke. At least 36 people have died.

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The flames grew much faster than anyone could have imagined. In a few hours, the wind-driven blaze tore through popular Front Street and decimated a town center that traced its roots to the 1700s and was on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jordan Saribay and his mom, Melissa Bailey. Photo provided by Jordan Saribay

Getting out of the danger zone made for a surreal journey as he tried to find an unclogged escape route amid blistering heat.

"While driving through the neighborhood, it looked like a war zone," Saribay said. "Houses throughout that neighborhood were already on fire. Im driving through the thickest black smoke, and I dont know whats on the other side or whats in front of me."

When he made it out, Saribay felt a pang of emotion seeing Lahaina in his rearview mirror, wondering what would be left to go back to. "Just praying that a miracle happens," he said.

'PROVIDING SHELTER AND COMFORT': Maui wildfires leave wake of devastation in Hawaii. How you can donate or volunteer.

'This fire  it just hit so fast'

Heidi Denecke, owner of the Maui Animal Farm, spent Tuesday night awake in her truck at her farm in Lahaina watching the fires with friends before being evacuated early Wednesday.

"It was very, very frightening. We all sat together and watched (the fire) because we were concerned about the animals," Denecke said. "You can't sleep during those times."

Denecke and her neighbors spent Tuesday evening attaching phone numbers on their horses' backs in case they had to be let loose. Once she was evacuated, Denecke drove six cages of bunnies and guinea pigs to the Hawaii Animal Foundation.

"I was standing at the top of my driveway and (the fire) was right below us and it was so frightening," Denecke said. "This fire  it just hit so fast, and it devastated a lot of people. We didn't really get a chance to get things set up because it came on so fast."

The animal farm has survived the fire, but the roofing was torn up, Denecke said. She doesn't know the extent of the damage because she has not been allowed back to her farm.

HOW DID THE MAUI FIRES START? What we know about humans making disasters worse

'Everything was burning'

Beatrice Hoopai drove for hours in the middle of the night trying to find shelter before ending up at the Warm Memorial Gymnasium. She, her husband, disabled son and two infants were living at Ka Hale A Ke Ola (KHAKO), which is low-income housing, in Lahaina waiting to be told to evacuate as the fires were approaching. A friend told Hoopai a nearby transformer caught on fire and to leave as soon as possible.

We packed up what we could and left, she said. KHAKO didnt turn on their evacuation, we didnt know we were going to be evacuated. Nobody told us nothing.

The family got in Hoopais car and started driving but kept going around in circles as roads were closed. Branches were catching on fire and tin roofs blew past the car, she said. You could see black smoke, the flames, everything was falling down, she said. If you looked back in the mirror, everything was burning.

Hoopai has lived on Maui for her entire life and just moved to Lahaina in May. This is the first time Ive ever seen anything like this. Tourists, she said, can lose their luggage but still return back to their homes. But local residents lose their homes.

Shes worried about whats next now that the shelter is gone but shes thankful for her familys safety.

You can lose everything but you cannot replace a life," she said.

Contributing: Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii wildfires: Victims, survivors recall 'frightening' escape
The morning after Hilary passed through Tijuana, life for most of the citys residents was largely back to normal. Commuters clogged mostly clear highways and even on side roads, deep pools of standing water were an uncommon sight.

Despite hours of rain and doomsday forecasts, the storm had done little damage to the city of about 2 million people.

For many Tijuanans, its no surprise that the weakened storm took a path that ultimately spared the city from devastation. Major storm systems have a way of missing Tijuana, said taxi driver Erick Machado Gonzalez.

Thats why people come to Tijuana. We dont have hurricanes and those things, he said. God knows we cant handle them here.

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This time, fortunately, most people in this city on the Mexico-U.S. border didnt have to.

Gerardo Lopez, the Tijuana secretary of welfare, praised the efforts of Mayor Montserrat Caballero, saying her preventative efforts helped the city avoid some misfortune.

Several cats can be seen in a room after a wall collapsed in Tijuana after Hilary passed through. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

More than 1,000 troops fanned out across Tijuana and the rest of Baja California on Sunday, clearing road hazards and rescuing people from floodwaters. Rock slides, flooding and washouts closed some highways and roads late Sunday, and video from the coast showed submerged cars and trucks stuck on roads south of the city.

Authorities responded to dozens of emergency calls, mostly reports of power outages and street flooding. But officials said there were no major incidents or mudslides stemming from the storm, and only a couple of dozen traffic accidents.

Some people in the border city and along the nearby coast reported cellphone and internet outages, and officials in Baja Californias harder-hit capital city  Mexicali  warned Sunday of power outages and water problems.

It was still raining Sunday when authorities canceled classes across the state for the following day. But by daybreak, the skies had cleared over Tijuana and many of the roads were dry.

Rigoberto Cano is a construction worker originally from Chiapas who lives in a shanty town by the highway in an impoverished section of Tijuanas east side. He said that as Hilary made its way up the Baja California peninsula, he was a little bit worried and a little bit not.

He stocked up on toilet paper and water before the storm hit, but he said he didnt take any other precautions.

Despite the fact that the ramshackle home he rents sits in a low-lying area, he said it was unscathed.

We didnt lose power, he said. There was a little bit of floodwater but not too bad. Back to normal now.

On Monday morning, Tijuana city officials shuttered the temporary shelters theyd opened days earlier before the storm. The few dozen people living in high-risk areas who had come in to wait out the bad weather on dry cots returned home by midday.

Yet many residents know their homes still face threats from future storms in this hilly, mudslide-prone city.

Oscar Soto looked out over a shopping mall from a tall cliff on Tijuanas east side Monday morning. The 74-year-old pointed down at a massive concrete retaining wall that was badly damaged by Hilarys torrential rains.

The wall was built to protect several condo complexes perched on the cliffs edge from landslides. And in the wake of the storm, the wall was buckling under the weight of the earthen mass, threatening dozens of residents.

Look at this, Soto said. These houses might fall down.

The precarious scene is not an uncommon one in Tijuana, where the wreckage of several buildings that were destroyed during previous storms can be seen from a crosstown highway. Its a result of homes being built too close to the edges of cliffs with insufficient support.

Sotos condo is set back farther from the edge, which he said provides a measure of comfort. But he still took precautions before Hilary arrived.

We covered everything and blocked the windows, Soto said. We prepared, but nothing happened. It rained and that was about it.

Even in coastal areas to the south of Tijuana  places where cars and trucks had been submerged less than a day earlier  the sun was shining and life was returning to normal for many.

A hillside damaged by Hilary is topped with buildings appearing precariously perched. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

But for some Tijuanans, Hilary was not the disaster most on their minds this week. During a shopping run midday on Monday, Montserrat Guzman said she had weathered the storm at her mother-in-laws home  which is where she and her children have been living since a mudslide hit their development six months ago.

Theyd been hoping to move back in by now, but in July they had to move out all their belongings after contractors working in the area set off a landslide.

Now, her home is still standing, but uninhabitable  just like those of many of her former neighbors. Theyre hoping authorities will offer them a solution.

We need to see whats going to happen, she said, before turning from hope back to worry. We are about to lose our houses.

Sign up for Essential California for the L.A. Times biggest news, features and recommendations in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The last defendant in the January 2021 death of Ball resident Deven Slade Brooks, Tremaine Lavalais, pleaded guilty Aug. 22 during jury selection for his trial.

As jurors were being selected Tuesday afternoon for his trial on a charge of second-degree murder, Tremaine Deshun Veal changed his mind and pleaded guilty in the January 2021 death of Deven Slade Brooks, 27.

Veal, 21, was sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison at hard labor by 9th Judicial District Court Judge Greg Beard. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, as well as felony armed robbery.

He was sentenced to 40 years on the manslaughter conviction, which is the maximum, and 60 years on the armed robbery conviction. The sentences are to be served consecutively. Both were designated as crimes of violence and are to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Brooks was kidnapped from his Ball apartment by Veal, his cousin, Jamaria Xavier Randle; and Randle 's husband, Terrance Lavalais. Randle was painted as the force behind a plot to steal money Brooks had inherited during her trial by Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Lea Hall, who also prosecuted the other two cases.

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Prosecutors: Motive in Deven Brooks' fatal shooting was greed, not jealousy

Jamaria Randle trial: Jurors hear conflicting testimony from husband and wife about Deven Brooks' slaying

She was found guilty by a jury in February and later was sentenced to life in prison. Lavalais pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, but he has not been sentenced yet.

After trying to gain access to that money through Brooks' iPhone, he was taken to Alexandria's Levee Park near the Red River. He was bound with steel cables, Gorilla Tape and zip ties and then shot once in his head.

A sentencing date for Lavalais has not been set yet.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Tremaine Veal pleads guilty to Deven Brooks' murder, gets 100 years
Law enforcement agencies have simultaneously conducted hundreds of searches at enlistment offices and military medical commissions across Ukraine, revealing large-scale corruption schemes.

Officials in all Ukrainian regions are involved in the schemes, the National Police reported after carrying out over 200 searches on Aug. 22 together with prosecutors.

Among other misdeeds, suspects helped draft-age men obtain fake documents on having a disability or being temporarily unfit for military service in exchange for a financial reward, according to the report.

The National Police added it had opened criminal cases against all suspects and would publish the pre-trial investigations' results separately.

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Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation reported carrying out searches at military medical commissions in Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Kyiv oblasts.

A total of 388 people are suspected of illegally issuing documents of unfitness for service, the Bureau wrote.

Read also: Donetsk Oblast enlistment office head charged with corruption, aiding criminals

The law enforcement body reportedly opened multiple criminal cases, including for power abuse committed by a military official under martial law.

Last week, the State Bureau of Investigation searched 15 military enlistment offices in Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson oblasts.

"Institutions are checked for possible corrupt actions of personnel during general mobilization, illegal 'exemption' from the mobilization of reserve officers and other conscripts," the agency added. "Such actions pose a direct threat to the national security of Ukraine and undermine trust in state institutions."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 11 that the heads of all regional military enlistment offices across Ukraine would be dismissed.

The decision came after a nationwide inspection of Ukraine's recruitment offices revealed multiple violations, including corruption, power abuse, and fraud.

Ukrainian authorities launched the country-wide inspection after journalists discovered that the family of Yevhen Borysov, the former head of the Odesa Oblast military enlistment office, had acquired property worth $4.5 million in Spain during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
[Source]

A legal activist group has petitioned the Supreme Court to hear a case involving race-based admissions policies at an elite public high school in Virginia.

What the case is about: The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is challenging the admissions policies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which adopts what the school board claims to be race-neutral criteria to achieve a diverse student body. The PLF is representing the Coalition for TJ, a group consisting of mostly Asian American parents, for free. In its case filing on Monday, the group alleges the schools new admissions plan was designed to "achieve the same results as overt racial discrimination," echoing the recent Supreme Court decision against race-conscious admissions practices by colleges.

How it began: The case stems from changes the school made to its admissions process in late 2020 in response to concerns about an underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic students. Officials in Fairfax County, Virginia, decided to alter admissions standards, including eliminating a rigorous entry exam and offering admission to top students from each middle school in the area, rather than the top applicants overall.



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The Coalition for TJ first filed a lawsuit against the Fairfax school board over its alleged discrimination against Asian American student applicants in January 2022. While a federal judge ruled the following month that the admissions policy was indeed illegal and discriminatory, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond overturned the decision in May. The PLF now wants to overturn that decision in their favor in their new filing.

More from NextShark: LA County reports 76% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the past year

The broader debate: The Supreme Court's landmark decision on affirmative action in June, which ruled against Harvard and the University of North Carolina's use of race-conscious admissions, has sparked discussions about the constitutionality of race-neutral practices designed to achieve diversity. Advocates of the PLF's stance claim that allowing such practices to stand could encourage school districts and universities to develop workarounds that enable them to discriminate without using explicit racial classifications.

What comes next: With the Supreme Court's three conservative justices already expressing sympathy toward the PLF's arguments, the case presents an opportunity for the Court to further define the boundaries of race-related policies in education. Observers note that the outcome of this case could set a precedent for how admissions policies are approached not only at high schools but also at colleges and universities across the country.

More from NextShark: Instagrammer Reveals Why He Called Out Bully Harassing Asian in SF

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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are looking to expand their investigative power following their July hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), or UFOs, which they say left more questions than answers.

Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) joined The Hills event last week, The Truth Is Out There: UFOs & National Security.

They emphasized the hearing only scratched the surface of existing intelligence on UFOs, partly because former intelligence official David Grusch, their star whistleblower, said he was unable to present classified evidence to substantiate his claims.

The trio of lawmakers are among those now leading a push for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) to appoint a select committee on UAPs, though they have not yet heard back on the request.

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Burchett said such a panel would allow lawmakers to subpoena people to speak on UAPs in an open setting.

When you subpoena these folks, theyll have their lawyers there, but they will not be prosecuted under law, Burchett told The Hills congressional reporter Mychael Schnell, who moderated the virtual event.

Burchett said the expanded powers would help overcome roadblocks theyve run into when trying to secure a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), in which they could hear the rest of Gruschs testimony.

Luna said Congress is actively being stonewalled in its efforts to ensure Grusch has the security clearance he needs to brief them.

It just creates more and more conspiracy theories because our federal government is so arrogant and so bloated, Burchett said of the roadblocks. Theyll just run out the clock.

The Pentagons All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which Congress established to investigate the incidents, has investigated roughly 800 reports of UAPs as of May. While military officials have said most cases have innocuous origins, many others remain unexplained.

Lawmakers have proposed creating a centralized database of UAP incidents that would pull information across agencies. And they want more of that information made available to the public.

Moskowitz and Luna proposed using Congresss power of the purse by deploying the Holman rule to that end, which allows Congress to amend appropriations legislation and reduce the salary of or terminate specific federal employees.

Lets say we go to Eglin Air Force Base and they dont bring the information forward that they showed us. We know its not classified and that we can bring it forward, Luna said. Thats an instance where we would actually bring forward that legislation for the appropriations to defund those positions.

The lawmakers, however, recognized that in declassifying UAP-related information, they must walk the line between transparency and national security.

While the nations military capabilities should be kept confidential to maintain superiority, Moskowitz said, the American people should not be kept in the dark about the possibility of extraterrestrial life UFOs.

If were reverse-engineering technology based on stuff that has crashed landed here from other civilizations, we cant just tell the American people thats not true forever, Moskowitz said. The American people deserve to know.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A contentious libel suit against Black Lives Matter Sacramento by a capital region businesswoman was dismissed late Monday after the plaintiff decided not to pursue the case any longer.

Real estate investor Karra Crowleys lawsuit against BLM Sacramento and its founder, Tanya Faison, appeared to have been settled last week after an agreement under which Faison posted an apology video after BLM Sacramentos Facebook page accused Crowley of racist posts that had been sent by someone impersonating her more than two years ago.

But questions arose over whether Crowley would allow the suit to be dismissed after Faison issued a news release saying BLM Sacramento had been bullied into the apology.

It is not heartfelt, Faison said in a second video posted after the apology. I dont think that its even warranted, but its something I had to do to get past ... and move on to the work and keep focused on the work and not worry about this case anymore.

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Crowley attorney Jeffrey Ochrach said last week that the news release completely violates the spirit of our settlement agreement and that Crowley was reconsidering whether to pursue the lawsuit further.

Monday afternoon, however, court filings showed the case had been closed, and Ochrach confirmed in an email that Crowley had decided not to go any further with the dispute.

The lawsuit stemmed from a series of racist messages sent to BLM Sacramento by someone using Crowleys name and a burner email account that appeared to belong to her. Officials later determined the sender was a former tenant of Crowleys who had been evicted, court papers and Crowley said.
Lobbyists in the UKs energy sector say that rules pushing for more heat pumps are a pipe dream.

The Guardian, reporting on leaked documents the newspaper reviewed, wrote that gas boiler industry officials are working to halt rules that would quicken the installation of efficient heat pumps as early as next year.

Theyd like the measure to be delayed until 2026, while also pushing for hydrogen alternatives, according to the report.

Whats happening?

The proposed rules would require that, starting in 2024, makers of dirty-energy-burning furnaces need to install more heat pumps as part of a quota system. Fines would be levied for failure.

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The UKs Energy and Utilities Alliance claimed that the rules are unrealistic and that potential fines could be burdensome at hundreds of millions of pounds (or dollars), all per The Guardian.

The central proposal that boiler manufacturers are able to dictate the products homeowners install in their homes is flawed, the Alliance wrote in a document cited by The Guardian.

The report said the Alliance (a nonprofit trade association working toward a sustainable, energy secure future) is touting hydrogen as an alternative to gas. Hydrogen supporters claimed the transition would be easier to pull off than moving to heat pumps, as gas boilers could be refitted.

Critics in The Guardian report counter that hydrogen is unsuitable for home heating.

[H]eating with hydrogen is a lot less efficient and more expensive than alternatives such as heat pumps, district heating and solar thermal, Jan Rosenow, Europes director at the Regulatory Assistance Project think tank, told The Guardian.

For the Alliances part, chief executive Mike Foster sees a future with a variety of systems.

I am clear that three [technologies] will be needed: heat pumps, distributed heat networks, and hydrogen for home heating, he told The Guardian.

Why is it important?

Heat pumps are an efficient way to both heat and cool homes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that, on average, heat pumps use about half the energy of other electric heat sources. The U.S. Department of Energy lists the pumps as an energy-saving alternative to furnaces and air conditioners in all climates.

Other sources claim the pumps are up to four times more efficient than furnaces. Laws mandating heat pumps in new construction are starting to be passed in the U.S., as well.

International consensus on their use would be a boon in the effort for more efficient and planet-friendly home heating and cooling.

How to be heat-pump efficient

Keep an eye out for government rebates, which can be worth thousands of dollars for heat pump upgrades. Companies, including Airbnb, have offered incentives to hosts who install the energy-efficient tech.

Before buying a new furnace, research the cleaner alternatives. Twenty minutes of online reading could save you money for decades.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Providence Journal, in partnership with The Public's Radio, Rhode Island College and Rhode Island PBS, is hosting the 2023 Rhode Island CD1 Special Election Candidate Forum Tuesday night.

The forum will take place at Rhode Island College.

What's the format of the event? Is it a debate or forum?

The format will be as follows: two one-hour sessions, with five Democratic candidates each hour. The sessions have been set up in reverse alphabetical order. Ten candidates in total met the criteria for inclusion in the forums.

Group 1

Regunberg

Quezada

Matos

Goncalves

Casey

Group 2

Carlson

Cano

Berbrick

Beaute

Amo

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The forum partners looked at a variety of factors including campaign activity, endorsements, the size of donor lists, ethics and financial disclosures to decide which campaigns had met the minimum threshold of effort to be included in this event.

The candidates will field questions from moderator Ian Donnis, political reporter for The Public's Radio, and from Journal political reporter Patrick Anderson. The event will be hosted by Luis Hernandez of The Publics Radio.

Candidates take the state during the candidate forum on August 22nd

How can I watch the event?

The Rhode Island CD1 Special Election Candidate Forum will be livestreamed on The Providence Journal's website, Youtube and Facebook pages. Additionally, interested parties can listen live on The Public's Radio. The forum will also be broadcast on RI PBS at a later date.

Will the Republican candidates have a forum?

A forum featuring the GOP candidates for RI's CD1 special election will be prerecorded and released on The Publics Radio, Rhode Island PBS and on The Providence Journal website later this week.

Where can you learn more about the CD1 race, voting and why Rhode Island is having a special election?

The Providence Journal's 'Voter Guide for RI's Special Election: 2023 Congressional District 1' is the perfect resource to answer all your questions about the race.

It covers key points like:

Why is Rhode Island having a special election?

Who is running for Rhode Island's first Congressional District?

Why did David Cicilline retire?

When will Rhode Island have the special election for CD1?

Do I live in Congressional District 1 and can I vote in the special election?

Where can I learn more about the candidate?

Voter Guide for RI's Special Election: 2023 Congressional District 1 Race

Where can I learn about where the candidates stand on all the major issues before the Sept. 5 primary?

Need help deciding who to vote for in RI's Special Election Primary in September? Use this guide to help distinguish between the Democratic candidates and see where they stand on key issues.

The Providence Journal posed 13 questions, about key topics like the environment, the economy, student loan debt and more, to each candidate who will appear on the Democratic primary ballot. You'll find their written responses, presented in alphabetical order by last name. (One candidate, Spencer Dickinson, did not respond to the questionnaire.

Answers have been edited only to conform with AP style, and not for spelling or grammar. Additionally, each candidate was informed that they would have no more than 75 words to answer each question.

A separate questionnaire has been distributed to the two candidates who will appear on the Republican primary ballot. Their responses will appear online next week.

Key Issues: Democrats in the CD1 Special Election explain where stand on major issues

How can I learn more about the candidate?

First, be sure to sign up for our morning newsletter . We're following this race closely so you'll get the most recent news directly to your inbox, every day.

With every twist and turn of the campaign, we update our story: The latest from the 1st Congressional District election. That includes endorsements, scandals, campaign advertising and financial disclosures of campaigns.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI's Special Election CD1 2023: How to watch Journal's candidate forum
A wildfire burns a house in Avantas village, near Alexandroupolis town, in the northeastern Evros region, Greece, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Gale-force winds are fanning the flames of wildfires across Greece, including 53 new blazes that broke out early Monday amid hot, dry and windy weather that has sucked moisture from vegetation. | Achilleas Chiras, Associated Press

Massive wildfires are raging across Greece, causing mass evacuations and burning homes across the country.

Northwestern Turkey near the Greek border has also been affected by the fires while Spains Tenerife in the Canary Islands recovers from a wildfire that authorities believe was started deliberately by a tourist.

Here are the latest updates:

Wildfires burn out of control for fifth day in a row

Wednesday, Aug. 23

Firefighters across Greece are trying to put out wildfires that have burned out of control in the country for the fifth day in a row.

The largest fire is burning near the countrys northeast, near the city of Alexandroupolis. Meanwhile, another massive fire to the northwest of Athens on Wednesday was torching homes and heading into Parnitha national park, one of the last green areas near the Greek capital, ABC News reported.

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On Wednesday morning, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias stated that over the course of 48 hours, there had been 209 wildfires across the country.

Conditions remain difficult and in many cases extreme, Ioannis Artopios, a fire department spokesman, said.

Wildfires leave at least 20 dead

Tuesday, Aug. 22

As a massive wildfire in northern Greece burns for the fourth day in a row, firefighters have found the burned bodies of 18 people, Greek authorities announced Tuesday.

The bodies were found in the Evros region in northeastern Greece near the city of Alexandroupolis. Authorities are investigating whether the people were migrants as they were found near the border of Turkey and Evros, an area known as a crossing point for thousands of migrants seeking to enter Europe through Greece, The New York Times reported.

No other details about the 18 dead have been released.

The wildfire near Alexandroupolis is one of dozens of major wildfires devastating Greece.

At least two other people have died and two firefighters were injured in different wildfires in northern and central Greece on Monday, according to The Associated Press.

The scope of the wildfires across the country is massive; the fires have burned over 21,000 acres in Greece as of Monday morning, according to Copernicus Emergency Management Service.

The deadly wildfires in Greece come as Hawaii reels from the Maui wildfire that left at least 114 people dead, with over 850 still missing.

This story will be updated.
The FBI has joined Miami detectives in the search of a 4-year-old girl who investigators believe is in danger after her birth mother, who once abandoned her at a hospital, interfered with the childs custody, police say.

Carolina Rodriguez Vizcarra was 3 when she was last seen in the 200 block of Northwest 15th Street in Miami on Dec. 28. It was the last time the Florida Department of Children and Families had contact with her birth mother Carolina Vizcarra Olvera, 34, authorities say.

Police told the Miami Herald it wasnt until July that DCF contacted law enforcement in reference to a court order the state agency obtained.

Due to various dates listed on the court order, we wanted to verify the facts, Officer Kiara Delva, a police spokeswoman, told the Miami Herald in an email Wednesday. MPD received confirmation of the court order in August referencing the mother being in violation of criminal Florida Statute - Interference with Custody.

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DCF didnt immediately respond on Wednesday to the Heralds request for comment.

On Tuesday evening, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a Missing Child Alert in hopes that the public can help investigators find Rodriguez Vizcarra.

A Florida MISSING CHILD Alert has been issued for Carolina Rodriguez Vizcarra, a white-Hisp. fem. 4 y/o, 3' 1", 27 lbs. brn hair and eyes, last seen NW 15th Street in Miami. May be with Carolina Vizcarra Olvera. May be in danger. Call MPD 305-579-6111 or 911. pic.twitter.com/voi2Gm4oQe  FDLE (@fdlepio) August 22, 2023

Due to an on-going investigation, the City of Miami Police Department believes Carolina may be in danger of death or serious bodily injury, the alert said.

Rodriguez Vizcarra is 3-feet 1-inch tall and weighs about 27 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Meanwhile, Vizcarra Olvera, the suspect, is 5-feet-7 and weighs about 150 lbs. She also has brown hair and brown eyes.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Abandoned at a hospital

This is not the first time Vizcarra Olvera has made headlines.

In 2021, she was arrested after Miami police accused her of dropping off her daughter, who was 2 years old at the time, to an off-duty plain-clothed officer and another person near the Mercy Hospital complex.

The police report says Vizcarra Olvera, a North Miami resident at the time, asked the other person to watch her daughter so she could use the bathroom and gave them her childs social security card before walking away. Several hours later, police received a call saying the mother was at the hospital looking for her daughter.

Miami cops working with FBI to find endangered 4-year-old taken by mother, police say

Its not like I just left her, its a hospital and I was worried for her. I was thinking I am about to sleep on the streets, but not her, Vizcarra Olvera told responding officers.

Vizcarra Olvera was charged with child abandonment but state prosecutors declined to prosecute after she entered and successfully finished a pre-trial diversion program, court records show.

If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of this person, you are encouraged to contact FDLE or the Miami Police Department at 305-579-6111 or call 911.
Lionsgate has told nearly half of its employees to wear masks in the workplace as Covid cases rise in the United States.

The entertainment production company, which has a London-based film division, recently told staff at their flagship quarters in Santa Monica, California that those on the third and fifth floors of the five-storey building must use medical-grade protection.

Workers must remain masked up while working amongst colleagues, and can only be removed for specific tasks such as eating.

This follows several employees testing positive for Covid in recent days and weeks, and the national rise in people being admitted to hospital for the virus.

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The email was delivered by Sommer McElroy, Response Manager for Lionsgate/Starz.

Employees must wear a medical grade face covering (surgical mask, KN95 or N95) when indoors except when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace, McElroy said in the memo, first reported by Deadline.

The mandate will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

As well as this, every Lionsgate employee is required to complete a self-screening test ahead of arriving at the office. Staff returning from international travel in the last 10 days must work from home.

Los Angeles, California has seen a recent noticeable rise in Covid cases, the publication reported, noting that some experienced virus symptoms after attending Taylor Swifts sold-out stadium shows earlier this month.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The EG5 Covid variant is now the dominant strain of the virus in the US and accounts for almost one-fifth of cases across the country. The rate of people being admitted to hospital for Covid is having its first significant uptick since December 2022.

However, experts have suggested that it is not any more concerning than other types of Covid.

Many Hollywood work environments relaxed the mandate for Covid last May. In January, Lionsgate announced its office structure of staff being in the office four days a week, with Friday being a work-from-home day that finishes at 1pm.

The same Monday-to-Thursday office structure has been present at Disney since March. CEO Bob Iger told workers in a memo of his belief that working together more in-person will benefit the Companys creativity, culture, and our employees careers.
Editor's note: This story contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some readers related to child abuse, sexual abuse, animal abuse and murder.

Editor's note: Check back often for live updates and catch-up entries on this blog covering the murder trial for a drifter accused of killing an 11-year-old boy in Wichita Falls. The child's mother is also charged with his murder.

Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023  The day started with opening arguments for the murder trial of Corey Allen Trumbull. He is accused of beating to death Logan Cline, 11, on Dec. 14, 2019, and dumping his body in an abandoned car.

Logan's mother, Stormy Johnson, is also accused of murdering him at the Red Roof Inn off Interstate Highway 44 and helping dump his body, which was found Feb. 27, 2020, about a half block from the hotel.

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Trumbull is charged with capital murder of a person 10 or older but younger than 15. He is also charged with murder and tampering with evidence. Johnson is charged with murder and tampering with evidence.

Logan's father was in the 78th District Courtroom Tuesday, and he could be heard weeping softly when photos of his child's body were displayed on a large screen for the jury to see.

The photos are graphic and at times close up of the clothed body found decomposing in the backseat of a car parked in the 1200 block of Kenley near a derelict house.

After opening arguments, prosecutors began presenting their case against Trumbull.

Corey Trumbull, charged in the slaying of an 11-year-old boy in Texas, appears in court at the Regional Justice Center on Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Las Vegas. Trumbull was arrested in Las Vegas after police responded to a call about a domestic violence attack on Boulder Highway on Feb. 25, 2020. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye

4:58 p.m.  Thirtieth District Judge Jeff McKnight recessed the trial for the day. It is to resume at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

4:31 p.m.  Wichita County Assistant Public Defender Will Hull began cross-examining Logan's sister about the visit from Child Protective Services in Chillicothe.

She confirmed that CPS visited because she and her brother were not attending school, and that she was using meth then.

Logan's sister testified that her mother beat him before she met Trumbull and handled discipline, but then Trumbull made the rules when he came on the scene.

"It sounds like Logan was treated differently and not a part of the adult stuff that was going on," Hull said. "But you were allowed in some of those adult conversations and those adult behaviors."

Logan's sister confirms that was true.

"When you told CPS you felt safe, you felt safe then?" Hull said.

"No," Logan's sister said.

She confirms that she didn't tell the truth to CPS because she didn't feel safe, and Logan also told the CPS he felt safe when he didn't.

3:48 p.m.  The break is over, and Logan's sister resumes her testimony.

She testified about life with Trumbull. She described assaults from Chaos on Logan. Her mom laughed while they were happening. The assaults took place from five to 10 times in Wichita Falls, and they hurt and humiliated Logan.

Trumbull treated the 11-year-old like a dog and called him a demeaning name, his sister testified. Trumbull kicked Logan into the wall at one point because the boy displeased him.

Logan was under the sink in the bathroom when Trumbull stomped on his head and knocked him unconscious, Logan's sister testified.

After the beatings, she noticed that one of Logan's eyes was "completely lazy," and he couldn't move it, she testified. He also couldn't talk, communicating with noises such as hums.

It was clear to his sister that he needed emergency medical treatment, but Trumbull mentioned going to jail if help was called.

After Trumbull stomped on Logan's head, he apologized to the boy and told him that he wouldn't do it again. There were multiple days when Logan couldn't talk or walk.

His sister testified calmly, but it was clear she was working hard to maintain her composure and continue testifying about the details of horrific treatment she contends Trumbull and her mother dealt out to the boy,

It became clear to Logan's sister that he was going to die. She apologized to him for failing him.

"I told him I loved him. He hugged me and told me he loved me, too. He told me to get away," she testified.

She tried to rub his feet to comfort him, but Trumbull stopped her. Johnson tried to feed Logan chicken noodle soup while he was on the bed farthest from the room door.

"Logan started coughing up blood. The defendant tried to give Logan CPR, but it wasn't working," she told the jury.

Logan did not have a pulse, and Trumbull put a bedsheet around him. Eventually, Trumbull said they had to do something. He carried Logan's body to the bathtub.

Trumbull told her mother they needed ice and cleaning supplies. She bought three bags of ice back to the room, and a container of bleach. The ice put in the bathtub was to keep Logan's body from decomposing.

Trumbull told Logan's sister to clean up blood on the floor and walls in the hotel room. She and her mother cleaned it up, and she still remembers the smell of the bleach.

Logan's sister asked to say goodbye to her brother, whose body was in the bathtub, and Trumbull allowed it.

"The bathroom was very cold. I was sitting on the toilet, and I was too scared to open the (shower) curtain. I told him I loved him and how sorry I was, and I hoped he was in a better place," she testified.

Johnson told her daughter that Johnson and Trumbull were going to scrub Logan's body with bleach. They got rid of Logan's bloody clothes at some point and dressed him in clean clothes, Logan's sister testified. She did not go with Trumbull and Johnson to get rid of Logan's body.

When they returned from dumping the body, they acted "proud and like they had had a night out." They were also laughing, doing drugs and watching the cartoon show, "Futurama," Logan's sister testified.

Trumbull was Logan's primary abuser, but his mother joined in at times, his sister told the jury.

3:24 p.m.  The judge sent the jury out for a 15-minute break, and Logan's sister got a break from testifying.

2:44 p.m.  Before Logan's 18-year-old sister is called to testify, Judge Jeff McKnight instructed the jury that her testimony regards circumstances outside the indictments against Trumbull.

The testimony is supposed to speak to the character of Trumbull and other issues.

Logan's sister testified that she would like to be a cosmetologist when she grows up and has lived in Europe. She lived overseas because her father was stationed overseas in the Army.

Wichita Falls police investigate after 11-year-old Logan Cline's body was found inside an abandoned vehicle Feb. 27, 2020, in the 1200 block of Kenley Avenue.

She said Logan was very energetic and could get on her nerves. Her mother had two other kids besides her and Logan.

The other two children are from another marriage.

The sister testifies that Logan was three years younger than her. She loved Logan, and he loved her. She had just finished seventh grade and Logan had finished fourth grade in 2019. They lived in Midland with their mom and grandmother, Dorothy Holland.

The sister testified that they moved to Midland because of "drugs." When her grandmother was away on a trip, Johnson moved them from their grandmother's to a "filthy, small" room in the Midland Hotel.

Trumbull moved in, too, and immediately wanted her and Logan to call him, "Daddy." He had a male German shepherd-bully named Chaos, a female mutt named Aphrodite and a third dog.

She and her brother were afraid of Trumbull. She had a cell phone and her brother had an iPad. They were taken away from them.

She was close to her "PawPaw" and her step-grandmother, but Trumbull determined when she could speak with them.

Child Protective Services came to their room at the Midland. After that, her mother talked about moving. They moved to a trailer in Chillicothe.

The kids were in the trailer all day long, and they weren't being homeschooled, she testified. Logan's sister knew her mother and Trumbull were snorting or ingesting meth.

In Chillicothe, Trumbull offered her meth, and she got high and felt as if she couldn't sit still. Logan was also given meth.

When taking meth, his sister could stay awake longer and felt less pain, but she also felt discombobulated.

Trumbull grew violent in Chillicothe, and Logan was made to sleep on the floor in a bedroom where the bed had a dirty covering, soiled with dog feces. Trumbull decided when he could come out, and he would get aggressive toward Logan when he came out of the room.,

"He hit him anywhere ultimately," Logan's sister said.

One night, Trumbull hit him the face, and his nose bleed, she testified. Trumbull hit Logan on the stomach, back and legs, and he kicked Logan.

Trumbull would find small to large branches, smooth them down with sandpaper and treat them with epoxy to make them stronger, she testified. He would hit Logan with the sticks, and Logan would beg him to stop.

Logan "was not allowed to eat unless told to" by Trumbull, and her brother got very hungry and tried to sneak food.

Trumbull caught Logan sneaking food and put a knife on his food, she testified. He told Logan if he did it again, "it was going to come off for real."

Wichita County DA John Gillespie puts a photo onscreen of a treated stick leaning on the backseat of the car Logan was found in.

Logan and his sister were very isolated in Chillicothe and not allowed to leave the trailer often.

She dabbed at her eyes with tissues while she testified.

Sometimes, Johnson joined in on beating Logan although Trumbull mainly initiated the beatings, Logan's sister testified. She felt completely under Trumbull's control in Chillicothe, and Logan also seemed to be.

He was beaten nearly every day by Trumbull, who always made sure he was wearing a skull ring during the beatings, she testified.

Logan's sister heard an audio recording on Sunday provided by the DA's Office. She recognized the voices of Johnson, Trumbull and Logan.

They lived in the trailer for a few weeks before being evicted. Their next stop was a room at the Red Roof Inn in Wichita Falls where they lived in the fall and early winter of 2019.

Logan was made to sleep on the floor.

1:47 p.m. The jury selected Tuesday came back in, and an evidence technician with the Wichita Falls Police Department began testifying about documenting evidence after Logan's body was found.

1:24 p.m. Tuesday  Logan's 18-year-old sister took the stand for a hearing outside the presence of the jury.

She testified that Trumbull and her mother, Johnson, used methamphetamine and also gave the drug to her and her brother.

She testified that her perception of time was affected by the ingestion of meth and that she crashed out.

In addition, Trumbull began treating Logan in a dehumanizing way at a trailer in Chillicothe where the four of them were living, she said. Trumbull made Logan endure an assault from one of Trumbull's dogs, a German shepherd named Chaos, for instance.

Logan's sister heard his screams when her mother and Trumbull brutally tortured him, she testified. Trumbull had domination and control over her brother by maltreating him.

Thirtieth District Judge Jeff McKnight ruled that Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie can ask Logan's sister specific questions before the jury as he did during the hearing.

McKnight is presiding over the trial in the 78th District Courtroom because the 30th District Courtroom suffered water damage.

More: Police: Domestic violence investigation led to discovery of 11-year-old's body in car

12:01 p.m.  McKnight dismissed the jury for lunch and instructed them to return at 1:30 p.m.

11:33 a.m.  The general manager of the Red Roof Inn took the stand to describe what happened as time passed during the stay of Logan, his big sister, Trumbull and Johnson from Oct. 2, 2019, to Dec. 27, 2019.

Nitin Patel rented room 239 to them. It faces the street and not I-44. Patel rents those rooms to longer-term tenants.

Nitin Patel testified that at first, the couple and the two children came down for breakfast.

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: Live blog for Corey Allen Trumbull's murder trial: Day one
Humans have learned to fear wildfire. It can destroy communities, torch pristine forests and choke even faraway cities with toxic smoke.

Wildfire is scary for good reason, and over a century of fire suppression efforts has conditioned people to expect wildland firefighters to snuff it out. But as journalist Nick Mott and I explore our new book, This Is Wildfire: How to Protect Your Home, Yourself, and Your Community in the Age of Heat, and in our podcast Fireline, this expectation and the approach to wildfire will have to change.

Over time, extensive fire suppression has set the stage for the increasingly destructive wildfires we see today.

The problem with fighting every fire

The way the U.S. deals with wildfires today dates back to around 1910, when the Great Burn torched some 3 million acres across Washington, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. After watching the fires swift and unstoppable spread, the fledgling Forest Service developed a military-style apparatus built to eradicate wildfire.

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The U.S. got really good at putting out fires. So good that citizens grew to accept fire suppression as something the government simply does.

A ranger and forest guard on fire patrol duty near Thompson Falls, Mont., in 1909. Forest Service photo by W.J. Lubken

Today, state, federal and private firefighters deploy across the country when fires break out, along with tankers, bulldozers, helicopters and planes. The Forest Service touts a record of snuffing out 98% of wildfires before they reach 100 acres (40 hectares).

As a result, many forest ecosystems that would have periodically burned have become clogged with underbrush, new growth and woody debris that can easily ignite. Efforts by the Forest Service to adopt a more selective policy have run into opposition from Western politicians.

At the same time, people have built more homes and cities in fire-prone areas. And the greenhouse gases released by decades of increasingly burning fossil fuels have caused global temperatures to rise.

The wildland-urban interface starts on the edges of cities where homes are built closer to forests and grasslands. Courtesy of Jessy Stevenson

Climate change and wildfires

The relationship between climate and wildfire is fairly simple: Higher temperatures lead to more fire. Higher temperatures increase moisture evaporation, drying out plants and soil and making them more likely to burn. When hot, dry winds are blowing, a spark in an already dry area can quickly blow up into dangerous wildfire.

Given the rise in global temperatures that the world has already experienced, much of the Western U.S. is actually in a fire deficit because of the practice of suppressing most fires. That means that, based on historical data, we should expect far more fire than were actually seeing.

Fortunately, there are things everyone can do to break this cycle.

What fire managers can do

First, everyone can accept that firefighters cant and shouldnt put out every low-risk wildfire.

Remote fires that pose little threat to communities and property can breathe life into ecosystems. Low-level fires that clear out undergrowth but dont kill the trees create space for trees, plants and wildlife species to thrive, and they return nutrients to the soil. Some tree and plant species depend on fires to open their seeds to reproduce.

Natural fires can also help avoid catastrophic fires that occur when too much underbrush has built up for fuel. And they create fuel breaks on the landscape that could halt the advance of future flames.

Controlled burns are used to clear out undergrowth that can fuel catastrophic blazes under dry, windy conditions. U.S. Forest Service

Fire managers have advanced mapping technology that can help them decide when and where forests can burn safely. Thoughtful prescribed burning  meaning low-intensity fires intentionally set by professionals  can offer many of the same benefits as the flames that historically burned in forests and grasslands.

The Forest Service is aiming to ramp up its prescribed burning on more acres in more areas across the country. However, the agency struggles to train adequate staff and pay for the projects, and environmental reviews sometimes cause yearslong delays. Other groups offer beacons of hope. Indigenous groups across the country, for example, are returning fire to the landscape.

Adapting homes to fire risk

For decades, scientists have understood the relationship between wildfire and community destruction. However, little has been done to live safely with fire on the ground. More than one-third of U.S. homes are in whats known as the wildland-urban interface  the zone where houses and other structures intermingle with flammable vegetation.

The biggest risk to homes comes from burning embers blowing on the wind and landing in weak spots that can set a house ablaze. Those embers can travel over a miles to nestle in dry leaves or pine needles clogging a gutter, a wood-shingle roof or shrubs, trees and other flammable vegetation close to a structure.

Owning a home in the wildland-urban interface means paying attention to fire risks. Risks are highlighted on the left and solutions on the right. Courtesy of Jessy Stevenson

Some of these vulnerabilities are easy to fix. Cleaning a homes gutters or trimming back too-close vegetation requires little effort and tools already around the house.

Grant programs exist to help harden homes against wildfire. But enormous investment is needed to get the work done at the scale the fire risk requires. For example, nearly 1 million U.S. homes in wildfire-prone areas have highly combustible wooden roofs. Retrofitting those roofs will cost an estimated US$6 billion, but that investment could both saves lives and property and reduce wildfire management costs in the future.

Homeowners can look to resources like Firewise USA to learn about the home ignition zone. It describes the types of vegetation and other flammable objects that become high risks at different distances from a structure and steps to make properties more fire resilient.

For example, homes should not have flammable plants, firewood, dried leaves or needles, or anything burnable, on or under decks and porches within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of the house. Between 5 and 30 feet (9 meters), grasses should be mowed short, tree branches should be pruned to at least 6 feet (2 meters) from the ground, and the tree canopy should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the structure.

What communities can do

Many counties and cities have their own wildfire programs to educate homeowners and connect them with resources. Some have started tool libraries to help anyone begin the necessary work on their property.

Beyond individual actions, states and communities can enact forward-looking wildfire resilience policies.

These can include developing zoning rules and regulations that require developers to build with fire-resistant materials and designs or might even prohibit building in areas where the risk is too high. The International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which provides guidance for safeguarding homes and communities from wildfire, has been adopted in jurisdictions in at least 24 states.

Protecting homes from wildfires includes maintaining a safe perimeter clear of potential fuel for a fire. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Living in a world with wildfire

Prevention and suppression will always be critical pieces of wildfire strategy, but adapting to our fiery future means everyone has a role.

Educate yourself on proposed forest projects in your area. Understand and address risks to your home and community. Help your neighbors. Advocate for better wildfire planning, policy and resources.

Living in a world where more wildfire is inevitable requires that everyone see themselves as part of solving the problem. Wildfire can be terrifying, but also natural and essential. Embracing both isnt always easy, but I believe it is the only way forward.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Justin Angle, University of Montana.

Read more:



Justin Angle is under contract with Bloomsbury to publish the forthcoming "This is Wildfire: How to Protect Your Home, Yourself and Your Community in the Age of Heat."
A lobsterman found a body in the water off the coast of Maine and it is awaiting identification, according to Maine Marine Patrol.

The man, of Jonesport, came across the body around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, near the coastal town of Addison, about 145 miles northeast of Augusta, Maine Marine Patrol spokesperson Jeff Nichols confirmed to McClatchy News in a statement on Aug. 22.

The body was found near where lobsterman Tylar Michaud, 18, of Steuben, vanished on July 21, according to the Portland Press Herald.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta hasnt confirmed the identification of the body as of the morning of Aug. 22, Nichols said.

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The evening Michaud disappeared, a fisherman discovered his empty boat near Petit Manan Point after he spent the day hauling and setting his traps, Maine Marine Patrol wrote in a July 23 news release. Petit Manan Point is a part of the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge.

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The search for the commercial lobsterman has taken place in the Atlantic Ocean, on land and in the air and has involved his family and friends, Maine Marine Patrol, the Maine Army National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Marine Patrol said in a July 31 news release.

On Aug. 20, a celebration of life service was held for Michaud at Sumner Memorial High School in Sullivan, where he graduated from this year, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Hundreds of people were in attendance for the service, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Another lobsterman, Charles Kelley, who is also a pastor, led the service and told the Bangor Daily News that people believe the body is Michauds.

Everybody is pretty sure it is Tylar that theyve found, Kelley told the newspaper. No one else has gone missing.

Two lost tourists from Minnesota found miles down dark Arizona trail, rescuers say

Bystanders try to save 16-year-old who vanished during swim with family, Texas cops say

Man fishing on pond with fiancee dies after canoe flips, New Hampshire police say
Tornado in Como, Mississippi (Photo: Stan Dorroh and the North Mississippi Storm Chasers and Spotters)

In late March, at least 27 tornadoes hit Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama in the southern U.S., resulting in numerous casualties and injuries.

And while many think of tornado season as being in the spring and summer, more than 300 tornadoes struck 16 states last winter, as temperatures continue to climb and impact everyday life. Those tornadoes are striking states in the southeast more frequently, tooas far east as Georgia, some 400-500 miles east of the Tornado Alley of Oklahoma and Texas.

That Tornado Alley is seeing the risk of wildfires is rising, while studies show that tornadoes are growing in intensity and are more likely to develop as clusters rather than singular spin-up events, posing an even greater risk to residents.

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Our region has always experienced tornadoes, but over the last five to six years, we have seen an increased trend in the frequency of storms with more distinctive tornadic activity, April Sells, Poarch Band of Creek Indians (Alabama), Tribal Emergency Management Administrator (EMA) Director, told Native News Online. Our tornado season used to just occur in the Spring between May through June, but now we are seeing these severe weather systems almost quarterly.

Poarch Band has worked hard to establish a close relationship with the National Weather Service (NWS), a crucial partnership which aids the Poarch Bands severe weather preparations. The alliance represents a vital safeguard against the dangers of unpredictable weather patterns, ensuring that they remain prepared and vigilant in the face of any potential threats.

We have relationships with both locations because the Mobile branch covers the Poarch reservation as well as our Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore, said Sells. The Birmingham office provides weather updates for our casino operations in Wetumpka and Montgomery. These partnerships with NWS allow us access to their annual meetings which provide storm predictions.

In 2011, Alabama was hit by over 65 tornadoes in a single day, causing severe damage and loss of life, particularly in Tuscaloosa. Republican then-governor Robert Bentley declared a state of emergency, authorizing emergency funds for severe weather programs and recovery effortssome of which were dedicated to mitigating future severe weather events, including constructing public tornado shelters on the Poarch Band of Creek Indians' reservation. As a result, the tribe is now better equipped to face future storms.

The Poarch Band also established a reimbursement program for tribal members to purchase personal storm shelters. It implemented an outdoor notification system to alert them, employees, and casino guests of severe weather within a 10-mile radius. They also use software to send instant alerts via text, automated phone calls, and emails when severe weather is imminent. With the state of Alabamas dedicated computer and radar tracking program, the Tribal EMA Team can monitor severe weather situations and report potential issues through various communication platforms.

The statistics do show that this is happening, said Howard Bluestein, a research professor at the University of Oklahoma. But he cautioned that given the historic rarity of tornadoes in the southeast, more research there needs to be done.If the Earths climate warms, especially with warming occurring more at high latitudes than warming at low latitudes, then the jet stream pattern, which controls our day-to-day weather, may change, said Bluestein.

Bluestein suggests people listen to weather forecasts in the morning and be aware of what might happen later in the day. If a tornado watch is issued, be sure to monitor TV, radio, NOAA weather radio, and online weather bulletins, especially warnings. If a tornado warning is issued, go to a nearby shelter or an underground basement. He also recommends having a plan ready in advance on what to do. In case of a tornado, go to an interior room, away from windows in the lowest part of the building. Protect yourself from flying debris and keep your head and neck safe. If you're outside or in a car, find a low area like a ditch to lie down and keep safe. If in a mobile home, it is advised to leave immediately and seek sturdier shelter.

And consult with your Tribes Emergency Management department for more information on preparedness in your community.

About the Author: "Ben Pryor (Choctaw) is a contributing writer to Native News Online and a contributor to several other national and regional publications. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Associated Press, Newsweek, The New Republic, Scientific American, and others. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, his writing interests include politics, the environment, and sports."

Contact: ben.pryor@okstate.edu
Actions in the nations two largest school districts are testing the idea that charter and traditional schools can exist under one roof.

In Los Angeles, the school board is expected to vote this fall on a measure that could significantly limit the practice, known as co-location.

And in New York, the United Federation of Teachers plans to appeal a judges Aug. 11 decision that allowed Success Academy, a large and high-performing charter network, to open new schools in two district facilities.

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In both New York City and L.A., the general relationship between traditional public and charter schools is not great, so asking schools from these two different sectors to share a building could be contentious, Sarah Cordes, an associate professor at Temple University who has studied co-location, told The 74. If schools view each other as competitors rather than collaborators, it will make co-location challenging.

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Charter schools have long faced challenges securing facilities and financing renovations. California voters passed a law in 2000 that requires districts to provide facilities for charters, including through co-location. Research shows the policy can work if district and charter leaders are willing to compromise, and can even benefit district students. But such partnerships are hard to come by in cities with strong teachers unions, where disputes over issues like parking and access to the gym can spark resentment between charter and district families.

Co-location bubbled up as a major issue in United Teachers Los Angeless strike against the district in 2019. Following the strike, board President Jackie Goldberg and fellow Board Member Nick Melvoin pushed through a $5.5 million pilot program on facility upgrades that could make co-location more tolerable, such as designated entrances for charter students and staff and separate drop-off and pick-up areas. But that wasnt enough to overcome the unions argument that charters take space away from district students.

For Board Member Rocio Rivas, who wrote the proposed resolution with Goldberg, the current proposal is a step toward fulfilling a promise to her supporters during last years campaign. In an interview for Jacobin, a left-wing website, she called co-location a cancer that comes in and then metastasizes and spreads.

Rocio Rivas, center, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Education, demonstrated with United Teachers Los Angeles in October over contract demands. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

A draft of the resolution says the practice has a tangible negative impact and would require Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to write a new policy that would prohibit co-locations at the districts 55 community schools, which offer food pantries, health clinics and other services for families. The resolution, which the board is expected to discuss Sept. 19, would further bar co-location at the districts 100 low-performing priority schools and those targeted by the Black Student Achievement Plan.

Those special programs shouldnt displace charter students who need classrooms for core educational coursework, wrote the California Charter School Association. The group would consider suing the district if it moves forward with the policy. The association has taken the district to court over the issue before. The proposal, the group says, would lock charters out of at least 236 schools and impact 28 facilities that are currently co-located.

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Charter parents said animosity toward their schools, including protests outside the school gates in recent years, has affected students.

Its simmered over into the community, said Angelica Solis-Montero, who has two children at Gabriella Charter School, which shares a campus with Logan Elementary in the Echo Park neighborhood. These families shop in the same places; they access the same public resources. One group of students has been pitted against another group of students.

Logan Academy, a district school in Los Angeles, shares space with Gabriella Charter School. (Angelica Solis-Montero)

But charter advocates arent the only ones opposed to the proposal as currently written. Twenty-six organizations, including Educators for Excellence Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Urban League, wrote a letter to the board, saying the resolution is filled with hateful rhetoric.

The charter fight is over. [Charters are] under enrolled. Theyre not growing, said Ana Teresa Dahan, managing director of GPSN, one of the nonprofits that signed the letter. We need to really focus on improving the experience for kids in all our public schools.

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In limbo

Co-location is a more recent policy in New York. A 2014 law permits new charters or those adding grade levels to access space in district buildings. But in allowing Success Academy to move into those two buildings, UFT said New York Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank didnt consider a new state law that sets caps on class sizes, putting an even greater premium on available classrooms.

While the dispute focuses on just two schools, it exemplifies the challenges that arise when multiple schools occupy the same building.

Students at Success Academy Sheepshead Bay arrived for the new school year last week after a judge threw out a lawsuit filed by the United Federation of Teachers. (Success Academy)

Ken Zhang, principal at Success Academy Rockaway Park Middle School, said its taken about four years to get a permanent site. Until this year, his students shared a building with another Success Academy elementary and two district schools. Now theyve moved into P.S. 225 in Queens, site of the districts Waterside Leadership School.

We were in limbo at every turn, he said. Co-location can work, he said, when principals are clear about whats important to them  for him, its access to the stage for his theater students  but are willing to bend in other areas. Im not going into these meetings looking to take space away from their kids.

But Elli Weinert, a district music teacher and one of the plaintiffs in the UFT lawsuit, said just because a building has unused space doesnt mean its suitable for young students. She teaches at Professional Pathways High, one of three small schools serving high school students or adults in the Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex in Brooklyn.

Success Academy Sheepshead Bay, a K-4, moved into a space in the Macchiarola complex previously occupied by another high school.

We do need something in that space, said Weinert. But it was built for the young adults in that neighborhood.

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Shes not opposed to co-location in general. Staff and students from the four schools within the Macchiarola complex, she said, learned to accommodate each other like roommates.

At first it wasnt easy  four different schools with four different visions, she said. Weve been able to work through some difficult stuff.

Sharing space with a charter can actually boost math and reading performance among students in traditional schools, according to research Cordes published in 2017.

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But she agreed that given the practical challenges co-located schools face, it can be hard to maintain a unique school climate.

Im not sure anyone has created a framework for how to make this kind of arrangement successful, she said. There needs to be a lot more work done in this area.
Unlucky the first time he purchased lottery tickets during the week, a mans return trip to a Missouri convenience store paid off in a big way.

But his friend wasnt too happy.

Missouri Lottery officials said in an Aug. 22 news release the man went to Chucks Short Stop in Fredericktown on consecutive days to buy 500X scratch-off tickets.

I had actually bought one for myself and a friend the day before, but it wasnt a winner, he told lottery officials. When I was driving by the next day, I thought, You know what? This one might hit, so I bought another one.

His hunch was right. The scratch-off ticket was a $50,000 winner.

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Except this time he didnt purchase one for his friend.

He was mad! the winner said. He was like, That could have been me!

The 500X game offers three top prizes of $5 million, as well as six tickets worth $1 million.

Fredericktown is about 90 miles south of St. Louis.

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Jurors were seated Monday to hear testimony in the murder trial of a local rapper accused of gunning down a homeless man walking in a neighborhood near downtown Lubbock two years ago.

Prosecutors in the 364th District Court are also expected to play during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial lyric's of a song that featured 23-year-old Tazmin Paul, who performs under the alias of 806Taz, rapping about killing someone walking on the street.

Paul has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since his Aug. 11, 2021 arrest, in connection with the deadly shooting of 41-year-old Seattle Salazar near the intersection of 16th Street and Avenue U.

1 arrested in deadly Central Lubbock shooting

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He is one of two people facing a murder charge for their roles in the deadly shooting. Murder carries a punishment of five years to life in prison.

Jesus Tijerina, 26, is being held at the Lubbock County Detention Center while he awaits trial.

Deadly shooting in central Lubbock

Their charge stems from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes investigation that began about 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2021, when police officers were called to the intersection for reports of shots fired.

Responding officers found Salazar in the south east corner of the intersection.

Witnesses at the scene told officers they saw two Hispanic men in an older model white Chevrolet SUV circling the 2100 block of 16th Street before multiple gunshots rang out in the neighborhood.

Officers found videos from security cameras they believed recorded the vehicle used in the shooting and identified Tiejerina as one of the occupants.

Tijerina told investigators the day after the shooting that he was driving the vehicle, a 1999 white Chevrolet Suburban, which was owned by his employer but that he was allowed to use.

A search of the vehicle yielded two .22 shell casings, which resembled the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting.

He said Paul was his passenger and he was giving him a ride home after work.

He said as they approached Lubbock High school, Paul repeatedly claimed that someone was following him.

Tijerina said they were traveling west and stopped at a stop sign when Paul drew a pistol and fired several rounds.

They continued westbound, turned southbound on the next street, then turned east on the next street where he told Paul to get out of the vehicle.

Tijerina reportedly said Paul exited the vehicle and walked away.

He reportedly said that after the shooting, Paul sent him text messages including instructions for disposing the murder weapon. Another text message included a screen shot from local news about the shooting.

Murder trial proceeds

Prosecutors and defense attorneys worked most of Monday paring a pool of 63 potential jurors into a 12-member panel with one alternate juror.

On Friday, District Judge William Eichman ruled that Paul's rap lyrics in the song, "Man Down," will be admissible in the guilt-innocence phase of the trial if prosecutors could show the lyrics describe the way Salazar was shot and killed.

In the song, Paul sings: "Know this [expletive] is going to be shocking/if I catch a [expletive] walking/he trying to play me like I'm a [expletive]/you know how I rock it/I pull up on a [expletive] quick with that [expletive] stick/get that [expletive] hit for a couple of bricks."

A video for the song was uploaded about five days before the deadly shooting.

Under Texas law, character evidence is generally inadmissible in the guilt-innocence phase of a trial.

However, an exception could be made if the evidence can prove the defendant's motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identify, absence of mistake or lack of accident.

Eichman said during the hearing that he understood many lyrics depicting violence and murder are solely artistic expressions. He cited artists including Johnny Cash who sang about shooting a man in Reno "Just to watch him die" and Freddie Mercury, whose lyrics in "Bohemian Rhapsody" described killing a man.

But neither musicians were accused of killing people in the ways they sang about - or at all.

In Paul's case, he said prosecutors would have to link him to Salazar's homicide then show that his raps were based on reality.

"But you got to show that first ... If it is shown that this murder was committed this way, then it's admissible," he said. "It's a fact issue for the jury to decide at that point."

Prosecutors also plan to play a portion of Paul's interview posted on the 806er, a YouTube Channel that interviews local hip-hop artists, in which he says, "I'm rapping about how I'm living, so you can feel my emotion on that ho."

Paul's defense attorney, Michael King, argued that the lyrics prosecutors plan to prejudice jurors against his client.

"... the introduction of the video and lyrics serve one purpose: to demonstrate to the jury that Tazmin Paul wrote explicit and violent lyrics, which consequently, and would enable the jury to view him as a violent and aggressive individual."

In his motion to exclude the lyrics, King referred to a trial in which Eichman presided over also involving Treshon Stokes, a local rapper charged with trafficking cocaine.

"While the lyrics to Tazmin Paul's songs are incredibly violent, as are the lyrics to many rap songs, the instant case is distinguishable from (Stoke's case) in that crucial way: Tazmin Paul's lyrics are a fictional account of the 'gangsta' lifestyle, while Stokes' lyrics described his day-to-day events," King wrote.

In Stokes' case, Eichman also allowed prosecutors to present Stoke's lyrics to jurors.

To prove Stokes intent to sell drugs, prosecutors published a redacted video of Stokes song, Juice in the Da City that was posted on YouTube and viewed more than 100,000 times.

In the video, which was shot a month before his arrest, Stokes rapped about drug trafficking with a crew. The video also featured four of the five men arrested with Stokes.

Put a cookie in the pot and white that ----- into a lobster, was one of the lyrics jurors heard.

An expert witness said "cookie" was a reference to crack cocaine and the lyric was about making money selling drugs.

Stokes' defense attorney, Charles Chambers, told the white, mostly middle-aged jurors that his client was an artist putting on the persona of a drug dealer in his music and was singing about what hes observed on the streets in the east side of Lubbock.

It just happens to be what's popular, Chambers said. And a person has a right to sing what they want to without it being used to send them to the pen.

A jury found Stokes guilty as charged and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

Paul's trial continues this week in Lubbock County court.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Trial begins for man accused in 2021 Central Lubbock deadly shooting
A senior NHS manager who allegedly ignored warnings over serial baby killer Lucy Letby has been referred to the nursing watchdog.

Alison Kelly was accused in court of failing to act when doctors raised serious concerns about the nurse during her tenure as the Countess of Chester Hospitals director of nursing and quality.

The Telegraph can now disclose that Ms Kelly, who has been suspended from her current NHS job, was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in January 2021 by consultants including Dr Stephen Brearey  one of the whistleblowers who repeatedly raised concerns over the number of neonatal deaths.

However, the NMC was asked by the police to pause its examination of her case until Letbys trial concluded. It has now resumed its enquiries.

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A spokesman said: We can confirm that Alison Kelly has been referred to our fitness to practise process. At the request of the police we had paused this referral pending the outcome of the criminal trial of Lucy Letby. Now theres a verdict, well move forward and look at the concerns raised with us very carefully, and take regulatory action if we need to. This is an ongoing case, so were unable to discuss it further at this time.

On Sunday, The Telegraph revealed that she has been suspended from that position over several allegations that emerged during the court case.

Before Ms Kelly left the Countess of Chester, she was promoted to deputy chief executive then became director of nursing at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust in the Manchester area.

During the trial, the court heard that doctors had raised concerns with Ms Kelly and other senior staff about unexplained collapses of babies on the neonatal ward.

Dr Stephen Brearey, one of the lead paediatricians, had carried out a review into the circumstances around an infants death and met with Ms Kelly to discuss his findings in June or July 2015.

Staff had noticed that Letby was on duty when infants died, but at that point they struggled to believe it was anything more than an association.

Letby would go on to murder four more babies after concerns were raised with Ms Kelly, the first just one month after she received a report from lead consultant Dr Brearey.

Ms Kelly was contacted again in February 2016 by Dr Brearey who, as part of a review, found common links in nine deaths stretching back to mid-2015.

Executives only launched a formal investigation in July 2016. Although Letby was then removed from the unit, the police were not contacted until May 2017.

The nurse, now 33, murdered seven babies and attempted to kill another six. She is the worst child serial killer in modern Britain.

Reports over the weekend claimed Letby may have harmed dozens more children while working in two hospitals in the North-West.

Ms Kelly has previously said in a statement to The Telegraph: It is impossible to imagine the heartache suffered by the families involved and my thoughts are very much with them. These are truly terrible crimes and I am deeply sorry that this happened to them.

We owe it to the babies and their families to learn lessons and I will fully cooperate with the independent inquiry announced.

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.
Attorney John Eastman , one of the legal minds behind Donald Trump s scheme to stay in office, surrendered to Georgia authorities on Tuesday for his arrest and arraignment on charges related to the efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

While leaving the courthouse, Eastman reportedly resisted his attorneys efforts to steer him away from an awaiting gaggle of reporters. Eastman then doubled down on the election lie used to justify the allegedly illegal effort to keep Trump in office, telling a reporter that there was no question in his mind that the 2020 election had been stolen from Donald Trump.

I am confident that, when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated, Eastman added in a statement he read to reporters.

John Eastman, after turning himself in over his Georgia election interference case indictment, vows to contest every count of the indictment:



I am confident that when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated. pic.twitter.com/Dlsvrn4YHj  The Recount (@therecount) August 22, 2023

Eastman was the mastermind behind a plot to undermine the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6. Eastman attempted to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence into using a fake slate of pro-Trump electors to block Bidens certification, making a dubious argument that he had the constitutional authority to do so. The attorney is currently facing disbarment over his role in efforts to disrupt the peaceful transition of power in 2020.

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Eastman also argued on Tuesday that the indictment against him, Trump, and their 17 co-defendants constituted a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances. As troubling, it targets attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients, something attorneys are ethically bound to provide and which was attempted here by formally challeng[ing] the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means.

Defendants in the Georgia case have until Friday at noon to surrender for their arrest and arraignment. So far, only Eastman and Scott Hall  a bail bondsman, ironically  have presented themselves in court.

On Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he plans to surrender on Thursday afternoon.

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History, Trump wrote. In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for Murder, but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL! She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Bidens DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Earlier that morning, Trumps attorneys met with Fulton County prosecutors to determine the conditions of his bail agreement. The former president will be required to pay a $200,000 in bond, promise to not commit any further crimes, appear in court when required to, and refrain from making any direct or indirect threat of any nature against any co-defendant, unindicted co-conspirator, witness, or victim.

Well see if he can stick to it.

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Click here to read the full article.
A forest on fire in the village of Dikela, near Alexandroupolis town, in the northeastern Evros region, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Firefighters scouring the area of a major wildfire in northeastern Greece have found the bodies of over 10 people thought to have been migrants who entered the country from Turkey. (AP Photo/Achilleas Chiras)

ALEXANDROUPOLIS, Greece (AP)  Firefighters on Tuesday found the burnt bodies of 18 people believed to have been migrants who had crossed the Turkish border into an area of northeastern Greece where wildfires have raged for days.

The discovery near the city of Alexandroupolis came as hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires across the country amid gale-force winds. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece.

With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires. Another major blaze has been burning across Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands for a week, although no injuries or damage to homes was reported.

European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.

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In Greece, police activated the countrys Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the 18 bodies, which were found near a shack in the Avantas area, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios said.

Given that there have been no reports of a missing person or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility is being investigated that these are people who had entered the country illegally, Artopios said.

Alexandroupolis is near the border with Turkey, along a route often taken by people fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and seeking to enter the European Union.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou expressed sorrow at the deaths in a statement.

We must urgently take effective initiatives to ensure that this bleak reality does not become the new normality, she added, referring to the recurrent wildfires.

Avantas, like many nearby villages and settlements, had been under evacuation orders, with push alerts in Greek and English sent to all mobile phones in the region.

The fire service said it was investigating the causes of the blazes, in coordination with the police and secret service. In recent days, several people have been arrested or fined for accidentally starting fires.

But the discovery of the 18 bodies triggered a backlash by some who accused migrants of starting fires.

Late Monday, police said they detained three men in Alexandroupolis suspected of kidnapping and illegally holding 13 migrants. One of the suspects was a man seen in video posted on social media shutting a group of migrants in a trailer and accusing them of intending to burn us, a statement from national police headquarters said.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis issued a statement condemning vigilante acts.

Overnight, a massive wall of flames raced through forests toward Alexandroupolis, prompting authorities to evacuate eight more villages and the citys hospital as flames reddened the sky.

Deputy Health Minister Dimitris Vartzopoulos, speaking on Greeces Skai television, said smoke and ash in the air around the hospital were the main reasons behind the decision to evacuate the facility.

The coast guard said patrol boats and private vessels evacuated an additional 40 people by sea from beaches near Alexandroupolis.

In the northeastern Evros border region, a fire was burning through forest in a protected national park, with satellite imagery showing smoke blanketing much of northern and western Greece.

New fires broke out in several parts of the country Tuesday, including in woodland northwest of Athens and an industrial area on the capital's western fringes.

Small explosions echoed from the industrial area of Aspropyrgos as flames reached warehouses and factories. Authorities shut down a highway and ordered the evacuation of nearby settlements.

With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece appealed for help from the European Unions civil protection mechanism.

Five water-dropping planes from Croatia, Germany and Sweden, and a helicopter, 58 firefighters and nine water tanks from the Czech Republic flew to Greece Tuesday, while 56 Romanian firefighters and two aircraft from Cyprus arrived Monday. French firefighters helped tackle a blaze on the island of Evia on Monday.

We are mobilizing actually almost one-third of the aircraft we have in the rescEU fleet, said EU spokesman Balazs Ujvari.

The fire risk level for several regions, including the wider Athens area, was listed as extreme for a second day Tuesday. Authorities banned public access to mountains and forests in those regions until at least Wednesday morning and ordered military patrols.

In Spain, firefighters battled to control a wildfire burning for a week on the popular Canary Islands tourist destination of Tenerife. It is estimated that the blaze, which has scorched 150 square kilometers (59 square miles), has already burnt a third of Tenerifes woodlands.

More than 12,000 people were evacuated during the past week. Authorities said Tuesday that 1,500 have been able to return to their homes. Authorities have described the fire as the worst in decades on the Atlantic archipelago.

Large parts of Spain were under alert for wildfires as temperatures exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). While Spains south often has extremely high temperatures, the country's weather agency issued an alert for the northern Basque Country, where temperatures were forecast to reach 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday.

Greece's deadliest wildfire killed 104 people in 2018, at a seaside resort near Athens that residents had not been warned to evacuate. Authorities have since erred on the side of caution, issuing swift mass evacuation orders whenever inhabited areas are threatened.

Last month, a wildfire on the island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of some 20,000 tourists. Days later, two air force pilots were killed when their water-dropping plane crashed while diving low to tackle a blaze on Evia.

In Italy, authorities evacuated 700 people from homes and a campsite on the Tuscan island of Elba after a fire broke out late Monday, while in Turkey authorities evacuated nine villages in the northwestern Canakkale province. Turkish media also said that authorities reduced maritime traffic in the Dardanelles Strait in case firefighting vessels need to be deployed to the area.

According to the Italian Society of Environmental Geology, more than 1,100 fires in Europe this summer have consumed 2,842 square kilometers (about 1,100 square miles), well above an average of 724 fires a year recorded from 2006-2022. The fires have removed wooded areas capable of absorbing 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

When we add the fires in Canada, the United States, Africa, Asia and Australia to those in Europe, it seems that the situation is getting worse every year, said SIGEA president Antonello Fiore.

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Nicholas Paphitis in Athens, Joe Wilson in Barcelona, Colleen Barry in Milan, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

___

Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

___

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.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a visit to the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 12, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa.

 Copyright 2023, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.

A majority of voters likely to attend the Iowa Republican caucuses believe that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election over President Joe Biden , a new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.

Asked whether you believe or not believe Donald Trumps claims he won the 2020 presidential election, 51% of likely Republican caucusgoers say they believe them, 41% do not and 8% are unsure.

Among self-identified Republicans, factoring out the independents, Democrats and members of other parties who say they plan to caucus with the GOP, the portion who believe Trumps claims is even higher, 60%, while 33% do not.

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Those beliefs linger despite the lack of evidence of substantial voter fraud in the 2020 election and dozens of court cases in which judges, some of whom Trump appointed, threw out fraud claims.

Trump continues to push those unsupported claims of a stolen contest and now faces two criminal indictments accusing him and his allies of trying to overturn the results.

The polling shows that the proportion of likely Republican caucusgoers who believe Trump won the 2020 election increased after he was indicted in Georgia on conspiracy charges to overturn election results there.

In the two days of polling before the Georgia indictment, 47% of likely GOP caucusgoers said they believed Trumps claims he won the 2020 election. In the three days of polling after the indictment, those who believed he won rose to 53%.

Poll respondent Diane Bird, a 55-year-old from Fort Madison, said she will support Trump in the caucuses and doesnt believe the results of the 2020 election.

That election so discouraged her that she briefly decided she would no longer vote, she said, before later changing her mind.

I do believe that (Trump) was cheated, Bird said. Theres many people that I know that call Biden the illegitimate president, that he cheated. And I believe that because I saw it on TV.

Mike Brennaman, a 55-year-old retiree from Kalona, previously backed Trump but has moved on, now looking at North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

He said he was exasperated by Trumps continual claims about 2020, saying he should go away.

He says he won. He lost, Brennaman said. I mean, come on, accept it.

The poll of 406 likely Republican caucusgoers was conducted Aug. 13 through 17 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The findings indicate that Trumps frequent though baseless accusations since November 2020 of a stolen election and widespread fraud have left an imprint on much of the Republican Party in Iowa  particularly those who continue to prefer Trump in the 2024 campaign cycle.

Among respondents who name Trump as their first-choice candidate, 83% say they believe his claims of winning the 2020 election.

Other groups that saw high support for Trumps 2020 claims include those with an income less than $70,000 (69%), evangelical Christians (62%) and women aged 55 and over (63%).

But majorities in several demographic groups do not believe his claims about the 2020 election: 52% of independents and 52% of those with a college degree or more education.

J. Ann Selzer, who conducted the Iowa Poll, said although some of those groups are small, theyre worth monitoring to see if support for the former presidents claims wavers in the future.

Its always interesting to see if they stay there or move in and out of alignment with the trend, Selzer said.

After the 2020 election, Trump and his allies filed upward of 60 lawsuits in state and federal courts aiming to overturn results, according to USA TODAY. Almost all of them were defeated.

In the years since, Trump has continued to assert with no evidence that the election was rigged and is now charged in two criminal cases connected to his efforts to overturn the results.

In Washington, D.C., Trump is accused of derailing the federal transfer of power between November 2020 and Jan. 6, 2021; and in Georgia, of urging officials to overturn the states results in his favor.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

About the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted Aug. 13-17, 2023, for The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 406 registered voters in Iowa who say they will definitely or probably attend the 2024 Republican caucuses.

Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted 2,953 randomly selected voters from the Iowa secretary of states voter registration list by telephone. The sample was supplemented with additional phone number lookups. Interviews were administered in English. Responses for all contacts were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect their proportions among voters in the list.

Questions based on the sample of 406 voters likely to attend the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents  such as by gender or age  have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom is prohibited.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Most likely GOP caucusgoers think Trump won in 2020, Iowa Poll finds
Locally acquired malaria, which hadnt been seen in the United States for two decades until earlier this summer, has now been reported in a third state.

Maryland officials announced late last week that a case had been confirmed in a resident living in the Washington, D.C., area who had not traveled recently outside the country or to the other states where malaria has been transmitted, Florida and Texas.

The patient, whose age and gender were not made public, was hospitalized and is now recovering from the deadly mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite, according to a news release from the Maryland Department of Health.

Dr. David Blythe, director of the departments Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Outbreak Response Bureau, said the patient had gone to the hospital because of a fever and sweating, NBC Washington reported.

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Related

Blythe said the patient may have gotten malaria after being bitten by a mosquito that had picked up the parasite by biting a recent traveler whod returned with the disease. He said the strain is different from the locally acquired Florida and Texas cases.

One of the ways that this could happen is that a person who has traveled to somewhere where malaria is more common gets the infection and comes back to Maryland, a mosquito bites that person and then bites someone else who hasnt traveled, he said.

Maryland Department of Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott said in a statement that officials are taking this very seriously and are working with local and federal health officials to investigate the case.

Malaria was once common in the United States, including in Maryland, but we have not seen a case in Maryland that was not related to travel in over 40 years, the health secretary said.

About 2,000 cases of malaria are diagnosed annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, usually in travelers or immigrants coming from places where transmission occurs, particularly parts of Africa and Asia.

Starting in May, malaria has spread in the United States for the first time since 2003. The CDC said in late July there is no reason to believe the seven locally-acquired cases in Florida and one in Texas are related.

Is there malaria in Utah?

There are still no confirmed locally acquired malaria cases in Utah, Kacy Nowak, a zoonotic and vector-borne disease epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, told the Deseret News.

But Nowak said as of Monday there have been eight reported cases of malaria in Utah this year. Thats two additional cases since mid-July, when state public health officials said there had been six cases of malaria in Utah, all contracted during overseas travel.

Five of the earlier Utah patients had traveled to Africa and one to Central and South America. She said one of the new cases also had a travel history in multiple Central and South American countries, while the other is still under investigation.

Utahs risk of locally-acquired malaria remains very low, and our response remains the same, Nowak said, citing the states low numbers of both the Anopheles mosquito that spreads malaria and cases of the disease.

She said for malaria transmission to happen in Utah, the specific species of mosquito would first have to bite someone infected with the disease and then survive the roughly two weeks it takes for the malaria parasite to develop before biting someone else.

Such a perfect storm sequence is a very low risk in Utah, Nowak said, noting state and local experts including mosquito abatement districts continue to be in regular communication to survey for any possible risk of disease transmission that may occur.

How Utahns can protect themselves against mosquitoes

Nowak offered a list of simple precautions Utahns can take to avoid all mosquito bites:

Anopheles mosquitoes bite in the evening (6-10 p.m.) and the early morning (3-5 a.m). Outside during these times? Then wear long sleeves, long pants and covered shoes, and use an insect repellent with 20% to 30% DEET, which is safe to use during pregnancy. Repellents are not recommended for children younger than 2 months of age.

Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur in the evening or early morning.

Anopheles mosquitoes prefer to lay their eggs in clean, unpolluted water such as fresh- or salt-water marshes, grassy ditches, the edges of streams and rivers and small, temporary rain pools. Remove any puddles of water or standing water including in pet dishes, flower pots, wading and swimming pools, buckets, tarps and tires.

Report bodies of stagnant water or densely populated mosquito areas to your local mosquito abatement district. Go to http://www.umaa.org/ for a list.

Keep doors, windows and screens in good condition and make sure they fit tightly.

Before traveling to areas that may have malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses such as Zika or dengue, consult with an immunization travel clinic and take the necessary precautions.
A suspect has been arrested in Roseville following a sexual assault that occurred last week in the town of Cool, El Dorado County authorities said.

A woman reported to deputies on Aug. 14 that she had allegedly been severely beaten, held against her will and sexually assaulted, according to a social media post by the El Dorado County Sheriffs Office.

From her report, detectives with the Sheriffs Office executed a search warrant at multiple locations including a residence in Roseville, authorities said.

Authorities located a 29-year-old man at the residence and arrested him in connection with sexual assault and domestic violence charges, according to law enforcement.

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He was booked into El Dorado County Jail and faces five felony charges including rape, abuse and false imprisonment, jail records show.

Authorities said they believe the suspect may have connections to additional sexual assault cases.

Anyone who has information regarding the case can contact Detective Parker Driscoll at 530-642-4709 or driscollp@edso.org.
A Missouri man bought several lottery tickets at a local convenience store  but its the one he saved for last that had him shouting in his car.

When he finally got to scratching his $2,000,000 Sizzling Riches game ticket, the Creve Coeur man realized he had won at least $100,000, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the Missouri Lottery.

But he wasnt done scratching yet.

I started scratching all the other numbers and was just ecstatic! the man told lottery officials.

He had won $2 million, according to the release.

I couldnt stop yelling and screaming in the car, he said when claiming his huge prize.

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The winning $20 ticket was sold at On The Run in Creve Coeur, part of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

Lottery player wins big in Missouri  but makes friend mad. That could have been me!

Lottery player overheard idea from woman in line and good luck arrived. He won big

Look at this! Look at this! Woman wakes husband with news of huge Mega Millions win
ST. CHARLES, Mo.  A Florissant man is facing charges after a child was killed in a drunk driving crash. Dioavian Cook is charged with driving while intoxicated and in the death of the 7-year-old.

Cook is not currently in police custody, but his bond is set at $100,000. Police say he is still in the hospital, recovering from his injuries.

Police say that Cook was driving the wrong way on I-70 at 100 mph on August 12, just east of David Hoekel Parkway. That is when he struck another vehicle, which resulted in the death of the child. The 24-year-old driver of that vehicle was also injured.

Cooks blood alcohol content was tested two hours after the crash. At that time, it was .20%. The legal limit to drive in the state of Missouri is .08%.

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The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the boy was from Kansas City, Missouri, and he was riding in a car with two others during the crash.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Thirty-two years ago, Patricia Moreno was found with a gunshot wound to the head on a third-floor apartment fire escape in Massachusetts, prosecutors say.

The 17-year-old had been shot outside the Malden foster home where she had been living, the Middlesex District Attorneys Office said in an Aug. 16 news release.

Now, a jury has found Rodney Daniels guilty of first-degree murder in connection with Morenos death, prosecutors said.

An attorney for Daniels did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on Aug. 22.

Daniels pleaded not guilty after his 2021 arraignment, The Associated Press reported.

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When a family loses a loved one in a homicide, even the passage of time never fully heals that wound, District Attorney Marian Ryan said in the release. Those who knew and loved Tricia have been waiting over three decades for answers.

Not enough evidence for arrest

Prior to her death, Moreno was living with her foster mother, along with the mothers two teenage daughters, prosecutors said. Daniels, one of the daughters boyfriend, also lived at the apartment.

On the night of the shooting, July 20, 1991, Moreno was taken to a hospital, where she later died, prosecutors said.

Though detectives searched for a weapon or cartridge casing, prosecutors said nothing was found on scene.

A projectile was found in Morenos body during an autopsy and was determined to be from a .38-caliber gun, according to prosecutors.

All those who lived in the apartment, which had no signs of forced entry, told detectives they had heard a pair of gunshots but had no information about the shooter, prosecutors said.

Daniels told police he was sleeping in an armchair in the living room when he was awakened by the sound of two gunshots, the district attorneys office said.

Daniels told police Morenos mother called police after he found her on the fire escape, prosecutors said.

Police later learned Daniels had multiple handguns, including one that was consistent with a .38 caliber revolver, prosecutors said.

Daniels had also threatened Moreno in the weeks leading to the shooting, the district attorneys office said.

However, despite numerous interviews over many years, prosecutors said there was not enough sufficient evidence to make an arrest.

Reexamining the case

The district attorneys office said it took another look at the case in 2020.

Investigators returned to the crime scene and reconstructed the position of Tricia on the third-floor fire escape, prosecutors said.

Based on this, prosecutors said investigators determined Moreno was shot by someone standing in the area of the doorway of the apartment.

Next, investigators interviewed witnesses again, prosecutors said.

Investigators spoke with a former resident of the apartment complex who had lived on the second floor, prosecutors said.

After being awaken by a loud noise, he looked up through the third-floor fire escape to see a young woman, Moreno, struggling to breathe with a male standing over her, the district attorneys office said. The witness said the man then ran into the apartment.

The witnesss physical description of the man matched that of Daniels, prosecutors said.

Investigators also learned an alibi witness, who has since died, had lied to investigators and an investigating grand jury in 1991, prosecutors said.

She told family and friends Daniels had killed Moreno and that he hid the weapon inside an armchair, then got rid of it, the district attorneys office said.

Based on the new evidence, investigators were able to get a warrant for Daniels arrest, prosecutors said.

He was arrested at his Georgia home on Sept. 27, 2021, prosecutors said.

Malden is about 5 miles north of downtown Boston.

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Electronic screens of the 15th BRICS summit are seen at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 16, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The upcoming 2023 BRICS summit logo features a sun that beams light in five colors: green, blue, orange, red and yellow, representing the current five members of the group.

This year's summit, to be held in South Africa from Aug. 22 to 24, champions the theme "Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism."

That spirit, BRICS officials say, has sparked the interest of some 40 countries from the Global South in joining the group.

Growing interest

At the forthcoming summit, leaders are expected to discuss the BRICS group's expansion, including the admission criteria and the guiding principles, Carlos Maria Correa, executive director of the South Center, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Twenty-two countries have formally approached BRICS countries to become full members. There's an equal number of countries that have been informally asking about becoming BRICS members," said Anil Sooklal, South Africa's BRICS ambassador.

Algeria is among the latest countries to show their interest. "We officially applied to join the BRICS group, and we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank (New Development Bank)," Ennahar TV, an Arabic broadcaster, quoted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying on July 22.

According to Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese daily, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and other oil-producing countries have also made applications. Once approved, the BRICS members will cover over half of the world's oil and gas resources.

"Many countries in the Global South have sought to come together in order to work towards a more just and inclusive world order ... BRICS inspires many countries to come together again in order to advance this vision," said Kenneth Creamer, a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, during a recent interview with Xinhua.

Charm of BRICS

In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron once voiced his intention to attend the upcoming summit following his talks with South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor.

This is where the charm of BRICS lies. The bloc has become a positive, stable and constructive force in international affairs.

Several emerging economies, for instance, are financially distressed due to the IMF's stringent economic policies, said Deutsche Welle, Germany's state-owned broadcaster. It noted that the New Development Bank and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement could support economies with payment difficulties.

"The New Development Bank is the most prominent achievement. It's also led to some increased trade between the countries, and won some international attention," said Daniel Bradlow, a University of Pretoria professor who has studied the group.

Above all, BRICS defends multipolarity and multilateralism, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said. By doing so, "BRICS countries are countering the concept of the Cold War and opening up the possibility of a more equitable and just international order that benefits the world."

"In an increasingly polarised world, BRICS is creating an enabling avenue for countries to fashion a more inclusive political and economic order," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations scholar.

Many countries are tired of the United States' virtual domination of the global economy for decades, the Spanish website Rebelion said. Failure to comply with Washington's directives results in sanctions and financial blackmail.

Broader prospects

With potential members down the road, cross-border trade within the group would become more efficient and catch the eye of more investors. The prospect of a BRICS-issued currency is a possibility.

"Its members would likely be able to produce a wider range of goods than any existing monetary union," said Foreign Policy, an American news publication, while remarking on the prospective currency. "Because each member of the BRICS grouping is an economic heavyweight in its own region, countries around the world would likely be willing to do business in the hypothetical money."

As Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay were added as new members of the BRICS New Development Bank, there's bound to be even fairer and more accessible international trade as the four countries lie on three continents.

"For new entrants, being part of BRICS could expand their diplomatic influence and open up lucrative trade and investment opportunities," the Washington Post said in a recent article.

In an interview with the TASS news agency, Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko, South Africa's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said BRICS is happy to accept new members who express interest in joining.

"BRICS is committed to upholding multilateralism, reforming the global governance system and has consistently advocated for the developing countries to be fairly treated in the international arena," Gerald Mbanda, an Africa-China cooperation expert, told Xinhua.

"This is the reason I believe that the BRICS is undoubtedly an avenue for accelerated growth with increased trade and investment opportunities," Mbanda said.
A man was arrested after Louisiana deputies say he drove around with a womans body for a month after killing her.

Christopher Cater, 41, was arrested on Aug. 21 and charged with second-degree murder, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs Office said in a news release. Deputies say he was an acquaintance of 72-year-old Sheila Ortega, who family members hadnt seen in a month.

Deputies said they spoke with the family of Ortega, from Lake Charles, and began a missing person investigation on Aug. 20.

The next day, detectives found her SUV in a mall parking lot, with her body inside.

Investigators located Cater in a nearby business, according to the release. They said after speaking with Cater, he told them he had killed Ortega about a month earlier.

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We have seen some strange cases here in Calcasieu Parish, but this case is definitely an unusual one for us, Calcasieu Sheriff Tony Mancuso said. We have never seen someone drive around with a dead body in the SUV for 30 days.

Cater, also of Lake Charles, told detectives he took out loans using Ortegas information after her death, according to the release.

My prayers go out to the family and friends of Mrs. Sheila, this is a senseless and inhumane tragedy, Mancuso said. The body has been sent off for further testing and to determine the cause of death. The investigation is continuing.

In addition to second-degree murder, Cater was charged with unlawful disposal of human remains and identity theft, according to court records.

Lake Charles is about 200 miles west of New Orleans.

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A man was sentenced last week to more than two years in prison for sexual assault and battery committed last year at local businesses, Sacramento County District Attorneys Office said.

Marvin Bell, 31, was sentenced Friday in Sacramento Superior Court for crimes he committed Oct. 29, 2022, when a woman and her friend were at a theater waiting for a movie. Bell, a stranger to the two women, began talking to them. Without the victims consent, Bell kissed her, according to a District Attorneys Office news release.

The woman went to the bathroom to escape Bells advances, but he followed her into the stall. He proceeded to lock the door and demand sexual acts while touching her, officials said.

The victim was able to push past Bell, stopping the sexual assault, and ran for help, prosecutors said. Bell then fled to another business where he made advances on another woman, an employee. He put his arm around her and pulled her against him. She, too, was able to pull away and get help, authorities said.

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Law enforcement officers were able to capture Bell a short time later at another nearby business. DNA collected from the first victim helped prove that Bell had sexually assaulted her, the news release said.

On July 23, a jury convicted Bell of assault with intent to commit oral copulation, false imprisonment, sexual battery and battery.

Judge Alexander Pal sentenced Bell to 2 years, 6 months in state prison for the crimes he committed in October.

Deputy District Attorney Denise Halstead, of the adult sexual assault unit, served as the prosecutor in Bells case.
Two people are in the hospital after a domestic dispute led to a man being stabbed, according to police.

Gainesville police officers were called to the Hollywood Cinemas on Green Hill Circle and a second scene on Shallowford Road, just a few blocks away.

Investigators say a man and woman got into a domestic dispute and the man was stabbed in the parking lot of the movie theater.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Both people were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. He is currently in critical condition.

Its unclear how the woman was injured, but she is currently listed as stable.

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Neither persons identity has been released and no arrests have been made.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
A man stranded for 3 days on a remote Bahamas island was rescued by the Coast Guard after he fired flares

A photo from the US coast guard shows the disabled sailboat near Cay Sal in The Bahamas. US Coast Guard Photo

A man was stranded on an isolated Bahamas island for three days after his sailboat became disabled.

The US Coast Guard rescued him on Friday, it said in a news release.

They said that they would not have spotted the man without him firing red flares from his vessel.

A man who was stranded for three days on an isolated Bahamas island was rescued Friday after he fired flares from his sailboat, the US Coast Guard said in a news release.

The Coast Guard received an alert from its aircrew of a "disabled sailboat firing flares near Cay Sal," officials said in the news release.

Cay Sal is a tiny island which no longer has anybody living on it. It is Bahamian territory, but is closer to Cuba and Florida than any of the major Bahamas islands.

Cay Sal, an uninhabited island of The Bahamas, is marked on a map. It's in between Florida, The Bahamas, and Cuba. Google Maps

The US Coast Guard has an agreement with The Bahamas to regularly fly over Cay Sal to look for people potentially stranded there, according to the Florida Keys News.

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In this instance, the Coast Guard dropped supplies to the man after spotting him, including food, water, and a radio to establish communication, officials said in the news release.

The man told the crew that he had been stranded for three days after his vessel became disabled, the Coast Guard said. The agency didn't specify what went wrong.

A crew later retrieved him from the island, transferring him to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in "good health," officials said, per the news release.

"We're proud to have saved this man's life. This case serves as a perfect example of why you must have the proper safety equipment on your vessel," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Dev Craig, a Coast Guard official, in the news release.

"Without seeing the flare, the case may not have had a successful outcome," Craig added.

In the past, the US Coast Guard has come across migrant vessels in the vicinity of Cay Sal. People from Haiti and Cuba have on occasion become stranded there trying to make it to the US.

Read the original article on Insider
SOS signal seen from Miami U.S. Coast Guard aircrew on Cay Sal, where a man had been stranded for three days.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man Friday after he had been stranded for three days on an uninhabited island south of Florida.

An auxiliarist aircrew out of the Miami Coast Guard station was patrolling the Florida straits when the crew spotted a boat firing flares near Cay Sal, an island that is part of the Bahamas but located between the Florida Keys and Cuba. They notified the USCG Key West Sector, according to the USCG news release.

After locating the man who was sending the flares, another USCG Miami aircrew dropped supplies including food, water and a radio. With the radio, the man told the crew he had been stranded on the island for three days after his sailboat was became inoperable.

'Craziest experience of my life': Pilot survives crash in waters off Florida Keys

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The USCG Cutter Paul Clark crew rescued the man from the island and transported him to Royal Bahamas Defence Force in good health.

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The identity of the man has not been released. A spokesperson for the USCG Seventh District originally said he is a 64-year-old Bahamian man, but later confirmed that he is of German nationality.

Were proud to have saved this mans life. This case serves as a perfect example of why you must have the proper safety equipment on your vessel, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Dev Craig, a Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstander. Without seeing the flare, the case may not have had a successful outcome.

A Miami U.S. Coast Guard auxiliarist aircrew captured this photo from Cay Sal, where a man was stranded for three days.

Scene where German man had been stranded for three days before the U.S. Coast Guard rescued him.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man stranded on Cay Sal island near Bahamas rescued after 3 days
Frank Cavalluzzi, 57, who faces up to 25 years in prison for each of the nine attempted murder counts on which he was convicted, learns his fate in October.

A man who threatened a group of nonviolent Black Lives Matter protestors with a bladed glove before driving his car into them has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Frank Cavalluzzi, 57, was found guilty following a two-week jury trial and now faces up to 25 years in prison on each of the nine attempted murder counts, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz shared in a statement. According to The New York Times, Cavalluzzi will learn his fate in October.

A dangerous man is going to jail, Katz said. Its a good day for New York and the First Amendment.

Frank Cavalluzzi (left), 57, has been found guilty on nine counts of attempted murder three years after he interrupted a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest while wearing a bladed glove. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/The Damage Report)

Protests against systemic racism and police brutality erupted in New York and other American cities in late May 2020 after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, a Black man.

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Court records state that Cavalluzzi saw demonstrators holding placards supporting the Black Lives Matter movement at an intersection on June 2, 2020, one week after Floyds murder, as he drove his SUV through the Whitestone area of Queens.

Cavalluzzi reportedly parked his car across the street and started yelling profanities and racial slurs at the protesters. His remarks included, You are in the wrong neighborhood, according to court records.

Prosecutors said he made a U-turn and exited his SUV while wearing on his right arm a leather glove with four serrated blades, calling it a device that looked like it belonged in a horror film. They accused Cavalluzzi of swinging the bladed glove as he pursued some of the protesters.

I will kill you, he shouted, before returning to his car. At that time, Cavalluzzi steered onto the sidewalk and headed straight toward the protesters, who fled to escape getting struck.

It was an extremely scary incident, recalled Lorraine McShea, 22, one of the individuals Cavalluzzi attacked. She and her brother, Donald, 19, said they were satisfied with the verdict.

McShea, who attended the protests with both her brother and sister, acknowledged that some locals in Queens opposed the demonstrators. Still, she expressed surprise that the altercation with Cavalluzzi had turned so violent.

She recalled the worst part was not knowing if her siblings were dead or alive in the split second before she sprinted from Cavalluzzis approaching vehicle.

It was Donald McSheas first protest, and he described being shocked by how it played out.

The generally peaceful protests continued for weeks, and as they did, the number of motorists plowing into demonstrators increased.

Cavalluzzis attorney, Michael D. Horn, ascribed Cavalluzzis actions to mental illness and his clients unease with the state of New York City.

The world will see this case as about politics, Horn said, The Times reported. But I see it as a single man, with mental health challenges, struggling to understand the evolving city where he lives.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Man waving bladed glove at BLM protesters found guilty of attempted murder appeared first on TheGrio.
A 25-year-old Manville man has been arrested and charged with starting a fire at a borough home three months ago.

Paul Basta was arrested Aug. 16 at his home and charged with two counts of aggravated arson, a second-degree crime, the Somerset County Prosecutors Office announced.

Basta was being held in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Manville police responded about 3:43 a.m. May 15 to a 911 call about a residential fire, according to the Prosecutor's Office, which did not provide the street, citing privacy concerns and the ongoing investigation. The Manville Fire Department responded to extinguish the blaze.

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The Manville Police Department requested the assistance of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Fire Investigation Unit, and an investigation by detectives from that unit, as well as the Major Crimes Unit, Manville police detectives and the Ocean County Fire Marshal's Office K-9 unit indicated Basta was suspected of intentionally setting fire to the home.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Manville Police Department at 908-725-1900 or via the STOPit app Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports, and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Manville NJ man charged with residential arson
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) said that children are among the 850 residents who are still reported missing as authorities continue to search for causalities in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires.

In an appearance on CBSs Face The Nation, Green told moderator Margaret Brennan that more than 100 residents were killed in the Lahaina wildfire. Green noted that there is a possibility that many of the children who are missing were at home due to school closures when the fires happened.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said Monday that 850 individuals are still missing, noting that this is a decrease from the 2,000 missing individuals who were initially reported. Bissen also said 27 of the 114 confirmed deceased victims have been identified.

That is possible. And thats  thats what were sharing here internally, that its possible that there will be many children, Green told Brennan. This is the largest catastrophe and disaster thats ever hit Maui, probably thats ever hit Hawaii outside of wartime events.

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Green also said that children who survived the wildfires will be returning to school later in the week, noting theres already necessities and resources in place to help families get back on their feet.

You have to remember this is a very rural part of Hawaii. And thats one of the challenges. So schools are far apart, Green added. Weve authorized other means of transportation, you know, vans and things to help families get farther distances to school.

This comes as Maui County officials said a day before that an estimated 2,170 acres of land in Lahaina was burnt, with thousands of structures being damaged or destroyed.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled Monday to Maui to meet with first responders and tour the damaged island, also announcing the appointment of a federal coordinator to oversee long-term recovery efforts in Maui.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The tip that led to a series of events culminating in the raid of a Kansas newspaper was first sent to the Marion County Record through a Facebook message. That message contained a document with the name, date of birth and drivers license number for a local restaurateur.

The source of the information was Pam Maag, a former emergency dispatcher and the wife of a retired state trooper, who spoke with The Star on Monday. Court records show she initially reached out to the Record and to a local councilwoman with concerns about local business owner Kari Newells driving records. Maag, 53, confirmed this to The Star.

What followed was a raid on the Records office, the home of its publisher and the home of Councilwoman Ruth Herbel as police asserted they were searching for proof of identity theft and unlawful acts concerning computers.

No law enforcement reached out to Maag before the raid, and none have contacted her since, she said, adding that if her name is on the affidavits, which it is, someone should have contacted her.

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This is just one incident of some of the stuff that goes on in a small town and what people dont know, she said. Its sad that this had to get to this point. I still question how much of it really had to do with the drivers license piece of paper that I sent to the newspaper.

The raid quickly drew widespread criticism and outrage, sparking a discussion about the freedom of the press that reached audiences nationally and even globally.

As more information is released on what led to the raid in a town of fewer than 2,000 people about 60 miles north of Wichita, the Records publisher Eric Meyer said there are still other people he believes should be investigated, like Maag.

Unlike Maag, Meyer said, the paper did not obtain the document with the intent of damaging somebodys reputation.

Maag said her decision to leak the document had nothing to do with Newells reputation. Instead, she contended, it had to do with law enforcement not doing their job.

But Maag is also surprised no authorities have tried to learn more from her. Had Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, who applied for the search warrant, first called her, the raid might never have happened, she speculated.

It goes back again to lack of police work, she said.

Spouses Pam and Roger Maag, of Marion County, are pictured together on July 4, 2023. Pam Maag initially sent a document to a reporter at the Marion County Record revealing that a local restaurant owner had a suspended drivers license.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey has since withdrawn the search warrant used to justify the raid, citing insufficient evidence linking the seized items to alleged crimes. Law enforcement has since returned the computers, phones and other devices taken during the search.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is now leading the investigation. The KBI said it plans to then turn its findings over to Ensey, who will then decide whether to file charges. Ensey is the brother of Jeremy Ensey, who along with his wife Tammy Ensey owns Marions Historic Elgin Hotel, which houses the restaurant Chefs Plate at Parlour 1886, which is owned by Newell.

As other media outlets, including The Star, have rushed to report on what some are calling a gross injustice directed at journalists, investigations have highlighted the DUI arrest history of the judge who signed the search warrant and the checkered past in Kansas City law enforcement of the police chief who executed it.

Journalists from the Record have said they were also investigating Codys past in Kansas City at the time of the raid.

This is just this spaghetti bowl of things and you dont even know where it begins and where it ends, Meyer said Friday.

The Star established the following timeline of events, including Maags involvement, based on the affidavit and interviews with Maag, Meyer and Kari Newells husband Ryan, whom shes separated from.

Aug. 1

On Aug. 1, Newell, the owner of Chefs Plate at Parlour 1886 restaurant and Karis Kitchen, a coffee shop and cafe that Newell opened in June across the street, hosted a meet-and-greet with U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner and other officials at the latter. Three members of the Marion County Commission were also in attendance.

The three commissioners represented a majority of the five county commissioners, which meant the gathering was an open meeting under Kansas law.

Marion restaurateur Kari Newell (center) hosted U.S. Rep Jake LaTurner at her coffee shop in early August. During the meet-and-greet, she asked that two journalists with the Marion County Record be escorted out. The Records newsroom was raided by police days later.

Law enforcement, including Marion Police Chief Gideon, were invited and in attendance.

The police chief, who filed the affidavit, confirmed that he attended the gathering and removed Meyer and reporter Phyllis Zorn from the cafe at Newells request.

I was standing in line waiting to get a drink at the coffee shop where we were and the police chief came up to us and said youve been asked to leave by the coffee shop owner, Meyer told CNN. She said we dont want the media in here, so they threw us out.

Newell told CNN that she had the journalists removed because the newspaper has a long-standing reputation for twisting and contorting comments within our community.

Aug. 2

Ryan and Kari Newell separated in September, he told The Star Monday. Their divorce proceedings are ongoing.

In early August, the 38-year-old Army veteran and Marion resident said he received a text from an anonymous number with a photo of a document showing that Kari Newells drivers license was still suspended, despite some rumors otherwise, Ryan Newell said.

A few months earlier, a judge in their divorce proceedings had temporarily ordered that Kari Newell would get their vehicle and Ryan Newell would pay the insurance and vehicle payment.

None of this was done out of malice, he said, later adding: If she got into a wreck and had a suspended drivers license, Im the one that would be on the hook for it. My insurance company wouldnt cover anything, period.

Concerned with this finding, Ryan Newell said he shared the document with his best friends, Pam and Roger Maag. He, too, said hes never been contacted by law enforcement about the investigation.

Pam Maag said she did not search the Department of Revenue website for the record herself, nor did she ask anyone in law enforcement to run the search. She said she would never ask someone to risk their job over that.

Maag said it wasnt news to her that Newell was driving on a suspended license. Until recently, the two had been longtime friends before the divorce proceedings began, Maag said.

With physical proof of the suspended license in her hands for the first time, Maag sent the screenshot over Facebook messenger to the councilwoman and a reporter.

Our law enforcement was turning a blind eye to her driving suspended, Maag said. Not just 90 days, 120. Were talking 15 years of this.

Like any reporter would, Zorn scrutinized the tip she received on Aug. 2 over Facebook, which came through as a screenshot of a document, Meyer said.

The document from the Kansas Drivers License Status Check website showed Newell could not have a drivers license because of a 2008 drunk driving conviction.

Despite this, Maag told the reporter, Newell had been driving on a suspended license for 14 years. Newell confirmed this to the Washington Post last week. Meyer, in an interview with The Star, said a former sheriffs deputy and a former Marion police officer told him theyd long known Newell was driving unlicensed.

But when the local paper received the tip, far less information was yet known.

We had reason to believe that this may have been a forged document, Meyer said. We wanted to determine whether the document was forged or not.

Meyer said he and Zorn also kept in mind that Maag had connections with law enforcement. When they asked Maag how she obtained the document, she directed them to the Department of Revenue search link that Zorn eventually used, Meyer said.

Zorn also reached out to the Department of Revenue to ask how to obtain the information and they also pointed her to the same link which was later used by Cody to justify the police raid, Meyer said.

If it was something that was super secret, and we werent supposed to get, I dont know why the Department of Revenue told us how to get it, Meyer said.

Zach Denney, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Revenue, said while he didnt have a record of Zorn calling KDOR, that does not eliminate the possibility that she did call to ask how to check the status of a drivers license.

As long as the requestor has the required information, this information is public record and available online, he said.

In short, the search Zorn proceeded to make was legal, according to the Department of Revenue.

Meyer said Zorn proceeded to pull up Newells driving record and confirmed the information leaked to them was accurate. The paper never distributed the record, he said.

We werent intending to steal anything, Meyer said. We were trying to verify a document that they already knew where it came from, and that we had it.

The papers attorney, Bernie Rhodes, who has also represented The Star, continues to insist that the reporter never broke the law, adding that all motor vehicle records are open records under Kansas law.

As I have said numerous times in the last week, it is not a crime in America to be a reporter, he said in a statement Saturday, when the affidavits were finally made public. These affidavits prove that the only so-called crime Chief Cody was investigating was being a reporter.

Aug. 4

On Aug. 4, Cody said he received an email from Meyer who said he received a copy of someones private Department of Revenue records. Meyer told the police chief in that email that he had concerns about possible police misconduct in how the records were initially obtained.

The Star has not reviewed a copy of the email, but Meyer said he told the police chief and sheriffs office that the paper did not intend to write anything after verifying the document. Instead, Meyer said he was concerned the document may have been obtained illegally through law enforcement sources.

Meyer said he ended the note by offering to cooperate with law enforcement if they believed an investigation into the original source of the document was justified.

Marion city administrator Brogan Jones was forwarded concerns about Newell from Councilwoman Herbel. Jones then emailed the concerns to Marion Mayor David Mayfield on Aug. 4, according to the affidavit.

First I want to state that Chief/PO will not be looking into this, Jones wrote. Secondly the State is the oversight for this and will conduct all this type of research. We as a city need to stay out of this hear say or whatever else you want to call it, he wrote, according to the affidavit.

Eric Meyer, the editor and publisher of the Marion County Record, stands outside the newspapers office on Monday. The office and Meyers home were raided by police on Friday.

Aug. 7

Cody said he read the email on Aug. 7, then contacted the Marion city administrator, Brogan Jones, to suggest an internal investigation be done. Jones said he was aware of the record because Herbel forwarded him a screenshot from Maag. Jones said Herbel sent the email because she wanted to reject Newells request for a liquor/caterers license which was on that days city council agenda.

The tip sent to Zorn didnt mention that Newell was also applying for a liquor license, Meyer said. No one at the paper knew, since the upcoming city council agenda was still unpublished, Meyer said.

Meyer said theyve done some investigating in the days since. As far as he could tell, Newell does not have a license for the restaurant housed inside the Historic Elgin Hotel. Instead, the license is held by building owner Tammy Ensey, who is also the sister-in-law of the county attorney.

The Star confirmed that the Historic Elgin Hotel, where Chefs Plate at Parlour 1886 is located, has an on-premise drinking establishment liquor license that was issued on Aug. 28, 2021, in Enseys name. Ensey was the previous owner of the restaurant, which used to be called Parlour 1886.

In Kansas, liquor licenses are valid for two years at a time. According to the Chefs Plate at Parlour 1886 website, the restaurant currently has a full-service bar. But the liquor license is set to expire on Aug. 28, according to state records.

(Newell) operated for 14 years without a drivers license. She may have been operating since February without a liquor or restaurant license, Meyer said in explaining why the newspaper has continued reporting on the issue, which was brought back to the publics attention at an Aug. 7 council meeting.

The Star was not able to independently confirm whether or not Newells license was still suspended as of Monday.

Newell took to a public podium during the meeting to accuse a Record journalist of illegally obtaining her personal information.

What she did was negligent, reckless and unnecessary, and it was a violation of my personal privacy and information, Newell said of Zorn, who she did not name at the council meeting.

Meyer in the same meeting countered that the paper had done nothing illegal, that the personal information Newell was referencing  a past DUI  had been shared with them on social media by an outside source.

Meyer said he and Newell got into a very heated discussion after the meeting. Newell told police that Meyer threatened her. He denies that, instead saying that he told her that if she continued insisting that the paper stole her information, then the information would eventually come out.

He said he also told Newell her statements were false and damaging to the paper.

If you continue to do this, we will have to sue you and we will own your restaurant, he recalled saying to her.

Aug. 9

Meyer attempted to set the record straight in an Aug. 9 newspaper article outlining how the paper obtained the information on Newells driving record, and how they went about verifying it.

In the story, headlined Restaurateur accuses paper, councilwoman, Meyer wrote that Maag had bragged about retaining connections despite no longer working in law enforcement, though he did not name Maag as their source at the time.

Meyer wrote that after verifying the information was accurate, the Record decided not to publish a story. That changed after Newell spoke out at a recorded public meeting.

Contrary to what (Newell) told the council, she indicated that she thought the information had been supplied to the source, whose identity she speculated about, by her estranged husband as part of an attempt in divorce proceedings to retain ownership of vehicles on grounds that she did not possess a license, the article read.

Meyer later told The Star that Newell had speculated correctly that the papers source was Maag, though Meyer did not confirm it to Newell at the time.

Maag said that before Ryan Newell sent her the document, he had told her the judge in the divorce proceeding granted Kari Newell custody of their vehicle, even though she didnt have a valid drivers license.

Aug. 11

The affidavit directing the Aug. 11 search of the newsroom, Meyers home and Herbels home, filed by the police chief, said law enforcement were looking in part for documents and records pertaining to Kari Newell.

When law enforcement raided the newspaper office, a printout of the Facebook message tip from Maag was sitting on Meyers desk, he said. It was still there when Meyer returned to work.

Meyers mother and the papers co-owner, Joan Meyer, died the day after the raid on her newsroom and her home, at the age 98 after condemning the search as Hitler tactics.

Joan Meyer, 98, is seen in her home during a raid by Marion, Kansas police. Meyer died the next day of a heart attack after the incredibly upsetting event.

Maag said she never would have imagined her tip to a reporter and a councilwoman would lead to such chaos.

This was something that got way out of control, and you would have to ask Chief Cody how and why it got to the point it did, because its on him.

Cody has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Star over several days.

Ryan Newell, whos lived in Marion since 2010, said its troubling to him how everything turned out.

Its unfortunate for Mr. Meyer and his family, to put his mother through that for no reason at all. But he said he doesnt feel one bit bad that its shined light on questions about Codys integrity. It just kind of makes your mind all jumbled with everything thats gone on in the past few weeks.

If seems like its the good ole boys system that makes me not even proud to be from a small town anymore because the corruption from big towns has now spread into the little towns, he said.

On Monday afternoon, the Marion City Council met for the first time since the search warrants were executed.

At the bottom of the agenda, in all capitalized letters and punctuated by 47 exclamation points, city officials said they will not be commenting on the ongoing investigation.
The Marion Police Department seized computer towers, phones and other equipment from a Kansas newspaper, according to property lists released by the court.

Search warrants were executed Aug. 11 at the Marion County Record, the home of Joan Meyer and her son Eric Meyer, who own the newspaper and the residence of City Councilwoman Ruth Herbel.

The Aug. 11 raid was quickly met with condemnation from free speech advocates around the country and even internationally.

According to documents published Friday by the 8th Judicial District, police seized 18 items. That included the computer towers of publisher Eric Meyer and reporters Phyllis Zorn and Deb Gruver, a server tower, two phones and a Kansas Department of Revenue record, all of which were removed from the newspaper. Police also seized laptops, phones, a computer tower, router, external drive and another KDOR record from the two private residences.

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The property receipts said the items were being used as evidence. An offense field on the form was left blank. The documents were signed by Officer Zachariah Hudlin, who has been with the Marion Police Department since October 2017, according to records from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training.

The devices were returned five days after the search after Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey concluded that insufficient evidence existed to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.

The items were released to a forensic expert who is in the process of conducting an examination to see if any of them had been accessed while under police control.

The Marion County Records computers were handed over to a forensic expert, right, hired by the papers attorney.

In the search warrant for the newspaper, Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody said his department was investigating Zorn for identity theft and unlawful acts concerning computers.

Meyer said the reporter received the driving history of Kari Newell, a local businesswoman who lost her drivers license over a DUI in 2008 and was applying for a liquor license for her restaurant. Zorn then went onto the Kansas Drivers License Status Check website to verify the information she had received from a source. The site requires a persons name, license number and date of birth, which had been provided.

As long as the requestor has the required information, this information is public record and available online, said Zach Denney, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Revenue, which administers drivers licenses.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate the case.

The newspaper and its attorney said they are exploring their options in filing a lawsuit.

A property receipt listing items seized in the newspaper raid carried out by the Marion Police Department was released.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a visit to Greece on Monday, where he met with European leaders, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported.

During his visit, Zelensky met separately with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

He also joined an informal meeting of European leaders on enlargement of the European Union (EU) in Athens.

The invitation was made on the occasion of the 20-year anniversary of the EU-Western Balkans summit hosted in the city port of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

The Ukrainian leader's visit to Greece was announced after his arrival.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asked a federal judge in Georgia to block state authorities from arresting him if he fails to surrender by Aug. 25 on charges that he conspired with his ex-boss to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election.

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be barred from having Meadows arrested while he fights to have the state case moved to federal court and dismissed, his lawyer said Tuesday in an emergency filing in Atlanta.

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Meadows argues his surrender should be put off until after an Aug. 28 hearing on his request to transfer the case to federal court. He argues hes protected from state prosecution under the US Constitution because he was an employee of the federal government during the alleged misconduct.

Willis refused to grant Meadows an extension, telling his lawyer in an email Tuesday that Meadows is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction and that the two-week window provided for surrender was a tremendous courtesy, according to the filing.

The resistance by Meadows puts him in stark contrast to Trump, who grudgingly agreed to a $200,000 bond with the district attorney and announced that he is planning to appear in Atlanta on Aug. 24 to be booked at the Fulton County Jail  the fourth time hell be processed as a criminal defendant this year.

Willis indicted Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators earlier this month, alleging they participated in a criminal enterprise to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. She gave all the defendants until Aug. 25 to surrender.

Unfortunately, the state is set on subjecting Mr. Meadows to criminal process in Georgia as quickly as it can and without regard to his pending efforts to remove the case to federal court, Meadowss lawyer said in the filing.

Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who is charged in the case, has also asked to have his case moved to federal court and on Monday night sought a court order barring his arrest.

US District Judge Judge Steve C. Jones gave Willis until 3 p.m. on Aug. 23 to respond to the filing by Meadows.

Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for Willis, didnt immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the filing.

Trumps co-defendants have been securing bond agreements this week as they prepare to voluntarily surrender. John Eastman, a lawyer in Trumps orbit who helped devise a plan to keep him in office, turned himself in earlier Tuesday.

--With assistance from David Voreacos.

(Updates with detail from the court filing.)

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A Washington County man received a suspended sentence Monday in an appeal over a Hancock-area animal cruelty case that led to more than 100 dogs and cats being removed from the home over two years ago.

Barry Wayne Powell, 54, entered an Alford plea Monday morning in Washington County Circuit Court to 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty for failing to provide proper space to 10 animals in a Hancock-area home in June 2021.

An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction.

Fish kill investigation ongoing: Md. DNR proposes ban on keeping brown trout from Beaver Creek section after fish kill

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Powell's wife, Kelly Elizabeth Powell, entered a similar plea in the appeal of her case and received a suspended sentence in May.

The couple, in their original cases in Washington County District Court, had each been sentenced last October to six months in jail for the 2021 charges.

They also both had animal cruelty charges filed against them in 2022 stemming from Humane Society of Washington County officials visiting the home that February and finding more animals there and the home's conditions "appeared untouched" since June 2021, according to charging documents.

A dog with unhealthy skin rests its head Wednesday morning on the back of another of the 91 dogs the Humane Society of Washington County rescued Tuesday from unsanitary conditions at a Hancock-area home.

Barry Powell's sentencing Monday wrapped up what Circuit Court Judge Brett R. Wilson called "a very sad state of affairs."

Kelly Powell paid $5,000 restitution to the humane society in May, so Barry Powell had no restitution to pay Monday in court.

Crystal Mowery, the humane society's field services director, said after the May hearing that the immediate medical care needed for the dogs and cats cost more than $10,000.

"We are glad that after two long years, this case has finally come to a close," Mowery said in an email to The Herald-Mail on Monday. "We appreciate the State's enormous amount of work that they put into this.

"With this closure, the animals and those that cared for them ... and their new families can finally move on. While some of the dogs are still learning to adapt to what a real family is, they are well cared for and very much loved in their new homes," Mowery wrote.

Defense attorney David Pembroke, who represented Barry Powell, had no comment after the plea hearing.

What led to the animal cruelty charges

The plea stems from the humane society's field services staff visiting the Hancock-area home in June 2021 and removing 113 dogs and cats. The counts to which Powell entered an Alford plea focus specifically on the lack of proper space provided.

Assistant State's Attorney Dakota Parrish said the 112 animals initially removed all had been deprived of proper space due to the sheer number of animals in the home and the conditions in the home.

Among the details Mowery included in her original charging documents against the Powells was that, "Over half of the dogs in the home had dried feces caked to their fur, which is indicative of not having proper space to get away form their own feces."

Several of the 91 dogs rescued Tuesday from unsanitary living conditions at a Hancock-area home huddled together in outdoor kennels Wednesday morning at the Humane Society of Washington County. Humane society officials also evacuated 21 cats.

Five dogs and 11 cats were euthanized and a 12th cat died, Mowery has said.

All of the surviving animals had been adopted, Human Society Executive Director Colin Berry said in May.

Plea deal in Hancock-area animal cruelty case from 2021

As part of his plea deal Monday, the other counts in the case are being dismissed, said Parrish, who was filling in for Assistant State's Attorney Danielle Lackovic.

According to court records, Powell had been facing 108 misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after the state dismissed four other counts earlier this year.

Per the plea deal, Wilson sentenced Powell to 90 days, consecutive, on each of the 10 counts he pleaded to on Monday but suspended all but the three days Powell had already served in jail.

Powell will be on supervised probation for three years.

His probation conditions include not having custody or control of any animals and giving the human society reasonable access to check for animals, Wilson said.

Wilson said Powell is to continue the mental health treatment he had already started receiving.

As long as Powell successfully completes his probation, the state will dismiss a 2022 animal cruelty case against him, Parrish said. That 2022 case was previously placed on the inactive docket.

During her plea hearing in May, Kelly Powell said she realized then that she should have done something sooner, "But I felt trapped between my father telling me I wouldn't have a place to live ... and knowing I was the only one who could take care of him."

Garrett Byron, one of her public defenders at the hearing, said Kelly Powell's father had hoarding symptoms and there was a power struggle between the Powells and her father. Within five to six days of her father having a stroke, the animals were removed from the home, he said.

Kelly Powell agreed during a June 7, 2021, humane society visit to her home to allow the humane society to remove the animals and sign ownership of them over to the nonprofit, according to charging documents.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County man sentenced in appeal of animal cruelty case
People hold hands around the State Capitol during a prayer session before a special session of the state legislature on public safety Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee's Republican-led Legislature is meeting in special session this week to consider a package of public safety proposals, including some stemming from a deadly shooting at a Nashville elementary school earlier this year.

Though the session is not expected to result in any new firearms restrictions, it nonetheless highlights the widely divergent response among states to a spate of mass shootings across the U.S.

More than half the states have enacted substantive new laws this year regarding gun policies or school safety measures  most often tightening firearm restrictions in Democratic-led states and loosening them in Republican-led ones. Some states also have pumped money into efforts to secure schools or to train teachers and staff how to respond in shootings.

WHAT IS TENNESSEE DOING?

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Republican Gov. Bill Lee has outlined an 18-prong agenda for Tennessee lawmakers to consider during their special session.

The proposal that has gotten the most public attention also appears among the least likely to pass. It would allow judges to order the temporary removal of guns from people determined to be a risk of killing themselves or others.

Laws allowing extreme risk protection orders already are in place 21 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. That includes Michigan and Minnesota, where new Democratic legislative majorities passed so-called red flag laws this year.

Lee has shied away from referring to his proposal as a red flag law, emphasizing that it would allow guns to be removed only upon clear and convincing evidence during a court proceeding  and not before the person's court appearance.

The shooter that killed six people, including three students, at The Covenant School in Nashville had been under a doctors care for an emotional disorder, police said, but there were no legal steps to prevent the person from buying guns.

Tennessee's special session agenda also includes legislation regarding mental health resources, school safety plans and tougher penalties for some crimes.

WHAT HAVE DEMOCRATIC STATES DONE LATELY?

The number of states enacting firearms legislation has climbed steadily this year. The most recent action occurred in Delaware, where Democratic Gov. John Carney signed legislation Friday expanding restrictions on guns at election polling places and school property.

Less than a week earlier, fellow Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law making Illinois the eighth state to roll back legal protections for firearms manufacturers and distributors. The new law bans firearms advertising that officials determine produces a public safety threat or appeals to children, militants or others who might later use the weapons illegally.

Pritzker signed the bill alongside attendees of an annual conference hosted by the gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety. The group said 2023 has been a historic year for gun safety in the states.

In addition to Illinois, Democratic-led legislatures in Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington all passed multiple gun control provisions this year. Among other things, those laws have strengthened background checks, banned certain semi-automatic weapons and restricted so-called ghost guns," which lack serial numbers.

WHAT HAVE REPUBLICAN STATES DONE LATELY?

By contrast, some states have strengthened gun rights. One of the most recent laws got signed just weeks ago by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, of Alaska.

The new Alaska law bars state and local officials from restricting the sale or possession of guns and ammunition during disasters  a response to mandatory business closures during the coronavirus pandemic. The law will mean gun stores can't be closed in emergencies unless all commerce is shut down. The National Rifle Association described it as the first major pro-Second Amendment legislation passed in Alaska in a decade.

Several Republican-led states also made it easier for people to carry concealed handguns. A Florida law allowing concealed guns without needing a permit took effect July 1. North Dakota expanded a similar law Aug. 1. And Nebraska will become the 26th state with such a law on Sept. 10.

Texas responded to last year's deadly Uvalde school shooting with new laws this year that require armed security officers at every school and silent panic buttons in every classroom. The state also provided additional funding to improve the physical safety of schools.

WHAT HAVE THE COURTS SAID ABOUT GUNS?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. The ruling provided a new precedent for challenging state gun-control policies and sent some states scrambling to replace their former laws with newly reworded gun restrictions.

Most state gun laws get challenged in court, often triggering years of legal wrangling.

The most recent court ruling on guns came last week, when a federal appeals panel rejected a challenge to a 2022 New Jersey law allowing the state attorney general to bring public nuisance claims against gun manufacturers.

Connecticut provides another example of how the court battles can seem continuous. Earlier this month, a federal judge rejected a request to temporarily block a 2013 Connecticut law  passed after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting  that added more than 100 firearms to the states assault weapons ban and prohibited ammunition magazines holding over 10 rounds.

But before that ruling came down, another lawsuit already had been filed against Connecticut's latest gun restrictions, which were signed in June by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. The new law expands the assault weapons ban even further, stiffens penalties for large-capacity ammunition magazines and bans the open carrying of firearms, among other things. Gun-rights advocates sued the same day the law was signed.
Secret, disappearing web pages. Illicit push polls. Debate-stage deception. The Sabina Matos and Aaron Regunberg campaigns Monday traded new accusations of political chicanery in the increasingly testy 1st District special election primary.

A few days after filing a campaign finance complaint against Regunberg, accusing him of coordinating with a family funded Super PAC, Matos' campaign said it had found online evidence of a hidden web page it says was used to communicate with that PAC, whose donors are Regunberg's father-in-law and mother.

The page, recovered from an online archive after being removed from Regunberg's website, includes talking points similar to those used in mailers from Progress Rhode Island calling Regunberg a "progressive fighter." The mailer uses photos of Regunberg that are different from what is publicly available, the Matos campaign said, and may have come from a now-disabled drop box behind the hidden link.

It is illegal for campaigns to coordinate messaging with Super PACs, which operate outside political contribution limits.

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"This discovery shows Aaron Regunbergs directions to his family-funded Super PAC appeared on a secret link with the heading 'Communicating to Voters,' the Matos campaign said in a news release. "Regunbergs instructions include specific voter targets and messaging that was followed word-for-word in the mailers distributed by his family-funded Super PAC."

Matos, whose campaign has received the most help from outside groups in the race, first accused Regunberg of coordinating with Progress Rhode Island in last Thursday's Roger Williams University/Association of City and Towns Chair debate.

She asked him if his website has or had a "red box," the term for online messages to Super PACS communicating the message a campaign would like help getting out to voters, which in the recent past were literally outlined by red rectangles.

Regunberg said he does not and did not employ a red box, but the question did not tease out whether messages without a literal red box count.

The day after the debate, the Matos campaign produced screen shots of a tiny, difficult-to-read "overview" link at the bottom of Regunberg's website. It has since been removed, but Matos campaign said the archived web pages it published Monday contain information directed at Super PACs.

"Voters should see and see while on the go that while there are many candidates in this race, Aaron Regunberg is the only proven progressive with a record of building an economy that works for everybody," the archived web page said.

"As early voting begins, medium-to-high propensity Democratic primary voters, particularly liberals, women and 50+ voters across RI-01 need to read the following":

"Aaron Regunberg is the only candidate with a track record of fighting against special interests like Big Pharma and Exxon to give our working families a fair shot."

"These are blatant voter-targeting instructions that go far beyond what the Regunberg team has hypocritically criticized others for doing," Matos campaign manager Brexton Isaacs wrote. "Clearly, Aarons campaign thought they could get away with hiding their coordination from voters."

In response, the Regunberg campaign accused Matos of sending lightly coded messages to Super PAC supporters in a memo released after last Thursday's debate, which the Regunberg campaign believes triggered a poll with Matos attack lines.

"On Friday, the Matos campaign released a memo to her Super PAC clearly calling on them to attack Aaron and turn this into a negative smear campaign," Regunberg campaign spokesperson Matt DaSilva wrote. "And those Super PACs responded instantly, with a poll out within 24 hours exactly mirroring all the different lies and bad-faith attacks from the lieutenant governors flailing campaign.

"That is a shockingly brazen level of coordination from a candidate who seems desperate to distract from the fact that her campaign, which is under criminal investigation by our Democratic attorney general, is spiraling," he added, referring to the investigation into falsified nomination signatures.

Asked if he had any evidence the poll came from a Matos aligned Super PAC, DaSilva said "the poll tested every negative that Sabina's team put in their memo on Friday, so we feel pretty safe in our assumption that it's from the Matos [independent expenditure] groups."

The Matos campaign has a link to its own "overview" page at the bottom of its website.

"Democratic primary voters need to see Lt. Governor Sabina Matos strong record of leadership protecting peoples rights and freedoms," the page says before listing Matos talking points.

Has Matos at any point in the campaign employed a red box?

"Nothing on our website instructs an outside organization to communicate in the race," Matos campaign spokesman Evan England wrote The Journal.

With a little over two weeks until the Sept. 5 Democratic primary, Matos has benefited from roughly $801,000 in spending from outside groups including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Bold PAC, $400,353; the Latino Victory Fund, at least $975; Women Vote (an affiliate of Emily's List), $249,932; and Elect Democratic Women, $149,931.

Progress Rhode Island has spent about $118,840 so far on mailers touting Regunberg out of the $130,000 it has raised ($125,000 from his father in law and $5,000 from his mother).

The PAC controlled by the Working Families Party, which has endorsed Regunberg, is getting involved in the race and on Friday reported $150,000 in spending for the former Providence state representative.

The only other Democrat to have outside help in the race is Gabe Amo. Democrats Serve has spent at least $46,463 so far to help the former White House staffer.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Matos campaign says it found secret Regunberg 'red box' web page
Shortly after the wildfires on Maui, residents said realtors and investors were making calls offering to buy land (AP/AFP)

Just days after fast-moving wildfires broke out in Maui, Hawaii, residents were heartbroken to see the remainder of their homes, businesses and lives turned to ash.

Thousands are without shelter and their possessions, as nearly 80 per cent of structures in the town of Lahaina have been damaged or completely destroyed.

Even worse are the scores of people forced to mourn the untimely loss of loved ones who were unable to escape the blazes before they engulfed neighbourhoods.

But the same people who are trying to grapple with the immense loss and figure out how to move forward, are reportedly being forced to defend what they have left of their land and grief as investors and realtors try to captalise on the disaster.

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I am so frustrated with inventors and realtors calling the families who lost their home offering to buy their land, Lahaina resident Tiare Lawrence said in a video on KAkoo HaleakalA.

KAkoo HaleakalA, a nonprofit organisation aiming to protect and preserve Hawaiian land and native species, was just one of the many that sounded alarms about investors efforts.

How dare you do that to our community right now, Ms Lawrence said.

More people have come forward saying real estate agents and investors have called them inquiring if they would sell their land, not even one week after the wildfires.

Though Hawaii governor Josh Green has insisted he will not allow investors to take land, some are worried it is inevitable because Maui is so expensive to build on and the federal governments payments may not be enough to cover everyones rebuilding efforts.

Fear of being erased

Six days after the Lahaina fire, KeEeaumoku Kapu, a Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiians) community leader, told CBC that he was contacted by a realtor asking to buy his burned property.

"Because our island is now turned into a cheaper commodity because theres nothing more important to save here, you have people coming in willing to buy burned-out places, Mr Kapu told CBC.

Destroyed buildings and cars are pictured in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 16, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Kapu said he has urged people not to sell their land but he fears the price will motivate people to leave.

Im hoping that we can get over this hurdle but at the same time the fear of being erased, he added.

Mark Stefl told USA Today he, too, was approached by developers to buy his land.

Im not gonna sell it, Mr Stefl told the news outlet

Mr Stefl said hes lived in the area for 24 years and already has to rebuild two homes  one that burned in a fire and one that was destroyed during a hurricane.

He added: Im going to stay here. I love it here, as messed up as it is.

Kaniela Ing, a Native Hawaiian community organiser, told CNN that predatory land grabbers have been eyeing the island for generations.

Fear of predatory land grabbers coming in is legitimate because its already happening, its been happening for generations now, Mr Ing said.

Mr Ing has been on Maui for seven generations.

He added: And every time theres a crisis, it accelerates.

Activists, including the organisation KAkoo HaleakalA, have encouraged residents to report the names of realtors and investors who are trying to buy their land.

Keoni, a Kanaka Maoli Kiai (Native Hawaiian Activist) tweeted asking people who are receiving calls from realtors to take down their names so they could expose them.

Residents and activists quickly called on the government to issue a land block to prevent people from grabbing land while the federal government figured out payments, which Mr Green responded to in agreement.

Maui is not for sale

Governor Green told reporters on 14 August that he spoke directly with the attorney general to try and issue a moratorium on any sales of properties that have been damaged or destroyed.

Mr Green reiterated the importance of keeping land to its rightful owners and scolded realtors and investors for trying to capitalise on traumatised families.

Additionally, Mr Green said that realtors will likely not be offering Hawaiians what their properties are valued at.

I would caution people that its going to be a very long time before any growth or housing can be built and so you will be pretty poorly informed if you try to steal land from our people and then build here, Mr Green said.

One realtor in Hawaii, named Ashley Correa, told NewsNation she heard some people were offering $100,000 for burned land.

Its so insensitive and just despicable, Ms Correa said.

More than 2,000 structures have been burned in Lahaina alone. Mr Green said he estimates it will cost $5 billion to rebuild parts of Maui.

Wildfire wreckage is shown Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Mr Green said that the housing moratorium doesnt mean that we dont want people to come and invest in Hawaii and travel to Hawaii away from the impact zone. But it is a way to protect Native Hawaiians and residents first and foremost.

That first step will be getting people housing, food and clean water first.

Mr Green has enlisted the help of the federal government, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to begin issuing payments to those affected by the wildfires to help rebuild their homes.

To start, residents in need of food, water and clothing are getting a one-time payment of $700. On top of that, the agency is paying to house people in hotels and motels until they can find more permanent housing.

FEMA will also help survivors repair their homes and reimburse them for personal property needs that may not be covered by insurance.

As for those who had their entire house burned down, the agency is also offering disaster loans of up to $500,000 for homeowners to repair or replace their real estate. Another loan of up to $100,000 is available to renters and homeowners.

Nonprofit organisations as well as personal fundraisers like GoFundMe can be used to help repair or replace homes that were burned in the wildfires.

But waiting for the payouts may take a while as the disaster zone has not even begun to be cleared.

Officials are still looking for approximately 850 missing people and the bodies of those who did not make it.

Given FEMAs response history with other disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there is a fear that government payouts will not be enough to help those who lost everything.

Rebuilding without selling

Hawaii is one of the most expensive states to live in, partially due to its remote location, which can require a lot of goods to be flown in.

The average home in Lahaina is valued at around $1m, according to Zillow  almost double the price of the average home in America, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data.

But the rise of hotels, resorts and condos on Maui, has made it a favourite, and more affordable option, for tourists and people looking to move.

(AP)

Richy Palalay, a 25-year-old who was born in raised in Lahaina told the Associated Press that the is worried that investors will seize the opportunity to pay a lower price for the land locals live on to build expensive resorts.

Im more concerned of big land developed coming in and seeing this charred land as an opportunity to rebuild, Mr Palalay told Associated Press on Saturday.

Mr Palalay said his workplace, his neighbourhood, his friends homes and potentially his own home were burned down in the fire.

Archie Kalepa, a longtime resident of Lahaina told The Washington Post, he similarly is worried that big investors will make deals that desperate survivors have no choice but to take.

One of the things that we as a community and as a state is going to be faced with, is how do we begin to address the long-term recovery, rebuilding, keeping people here and not selling off what losses they had and moving, Mr Kalepa, said

We want to make sure we keep Lahaina, Lahaina.
President Joe Biden met with first responders and survivors in Maui as he surveys the damage wrought by the devastating wildfires which have so far claimed 115 victims.

After facing criticism for his response to the disaster, the president and First Lady Jill Biden travelled from Nevada to Hawaii.

There, Mr Biden promised the people of Lahaina the government would be with them for as long as it takes.

He added: "May God bless all those weve lost, may God find those who we havent determined yet, and may God bless you all."

Richard Bissen, the mayor of Maui said around 850 people are still missing.

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The search to find and identify victims remains painstakingly slow  only 27 victims have so far been identified, with families of 16 of those yet to be notified.

While Maui turns to efforts to rebuild the community, locals are now bracing for potential storm effects as the remnants of post-tropical cyclone Fernanda head to the state.

Heavy rainfall is expected between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Key points

Biden heads to Maui to meet wildfires survivors

How did Maui wildfires start?

Maui officials say 100 per cent of residential properties searched

Biden tells Hawaii that the US grieves with you as he surveys Maui wildfire devastation

Biden appoints new FEMA administrator to Maui

Who are the victims of the Maui wildfires?

15:45 , Ariana Baio

More victims of the Maui wildfires are expected to publicly identified in the coming days as officials use DNA to match survivors and family members to those who have died.

Who are the Maui wildfire victims?

Maui residents are still reeling from wildfire devastation. Now investors and relators are trying to cash in

15:00 , Ariana Baio

Just days after fast-moving wildfires broke out in Maui, Hawaii, residents were heartbroken to see the remainder of their homes, businesses and lives turned to ash.

Thousands are without shelter and their possessions, as nearly 80 per cent of structures in the town of Lahaina have been damaged or completely destroyed.

Even worse are the scores of people forced to mourn the untimely loss of loved ones who were unable to escape the blazes before they engulfed neighbourhoods.

But the same people who are trying to grapple with the immense loss and figure out how to move forward, are reportedly being forced to defend what they have left of their land and grief as investors and relators try to captalise on the disaster.

Ariana Baio reports:

Days after wildfires ravaged Maui, investors and realtors try to take advantage

Eight more victim identified from Maui wildfires

14:30 , Ariana Baio

Officials in the County of Maui have identified eight more victims who were killed in the wildfires that broke out on 8 August.

Those people include Clyde Wakida, 74, Todd Yamafuji, 68, Antonia Molina, 64, Freeman Tam Lung, 59, Theresa Cook, 72, Joseph Schilling, 67, Narcios Baylosis Jr, 67, and Vanessa Baylosis, 67.

All of the victims were from Lahaina.

GOP criticised for trying to make news out of Biden petting a dog in Hawaii

14:00 , Ariana Baio

After a Republican National Committee social media account tried to make a big deal out of President Joe Biden petting a dog during his Hawaii visit, the White House bit back.

On Monday, RNC Research tweeted: Biden gets distracted by a dog: Thats some hot ground, man! The tweet was posted alongside a video of the president petting a golden retriever while talking to a FEMA worker in Hawaii amid the fatal wildfires.

In response, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates called out the Republican account in defence of Mr Biden, writing: Hes petting one of the dogs thats working hard searching for remains so survivors whove lost loved ones can have closure.

This criticism is classless and stupid, Mr Bates added.

He's petting one of the dogs that's working hard searching for remains so survivors who've lost loved ones can have closure.



This criticism is classless and stupid. https://t.co/uJf99LxT1U  Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) August 21, 2023

FBI ask those submitting missing persons reports to follow-up

13:30 , Ariana Baio

After the number of missing people in Maui rose to over 1,000, the FBI based on Honolulu are asking those who submitted complaints to follow up with authorities.

If you have already submitted complaints to the Maui Police Department about a missing person, or to the FBI, or anyone else, please follow back up to ensure that they have the most up-to-date and accurate information, including dates of birth, what they look like, who theyre related to, further contact information, Steven Merrill, the FBI Special Agent in charge, said.

Speaking with Maui survivors, Biden likens wildfires to almost losing his Corvette in small blaze at his home

13:00 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden drew criticism after tried to empathise with survivors of the Maui wildfires on Monday by sharing his own story of overcoming a small house fire where, luckily, nobody was hurt and nothing of considerable value was lost.

At the Lahaina Civic Center, Mr Biden addressed a crowd of residents who are still reeling from a raging wildfire that spread across their community on 8 August  causing at least 115 people to die and 80 per cent of the towns structures to be damaged or destroyed.

I dont want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what its like to lose a home, Mr Biden told the crowd.

Speaking with Maui survivors, Biden likens wildfires to a small kitchen blaze

Number of missing rises to 1,100

12:49 , Rachel Sharp

The number of people still missing in the Maui wildfires has now risen to 1,100  more than two weeks after a deadly blaze tore through the historic town of Lahaina.

Maui County officials announced on Tuesday that between 1,000 and 1,100 remain unaccounted for while 1,400 have been located.

At the weekend, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said around 850 people were still missing.

Steven Merrill, the special agent in charge of the FBIs Honolulu field office, said on Tuesday: Every day the numbers will change.

That being said, the number that were most concerned about is, obviously, trying to clear people from the list. And that has reliably gone down every day.

How to help victims of Hawaii wildfires

12:00 , Ariana Baio

Thousands of Hawaii citizens have been displaced following wildfires that devastated the historic town of Lahaina in Maui.

Hawaiis governor Josh Green has estimated that billions of dollars will be needed to fully recover.

Here is a list of resources to help those impacted by the natural disaster.

How to help victims of Hawaii wildfires

Concerns over climate gentrification rise after devastating Maui fires

11:00 , Ariana Baio

More than 3,000 buildings in Lahaina were damaged by fire, smoke or both. Insured property losses alone already total some $3.2 billion, according to Karen Clark & Company, a prominent disaster and risk modeling firm.

With a housing crisis that has priced out many Native Hawaiians as well as families that have been there for decades, concerns are rising that the state could become the latest example of climate gentrification, when it becomes harder for local people to afford housing in safer areas after a climate-amped disaster.

Jennifer Gray Thompson is CEO of After the Fire USA, a wildfire recovery and resiliency organization in the western U.S., and worked for Sonoma County during the destructive Tubbs Fire in October 2017. Thompson said Maui is one of the scariest opportunities for gentrification that shes seen because of the very high land values and the intense level of trauma and the people who are unscrupulous who will come in to try to take advantage of that.

Thompson predicted potential developers and investors will research who has mortgages and said Maui residents should expect cold calls. You wont be able to go to a grocery store without a flyer attached to your car, she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Nearly 2000 residents taking shelter at various hotels

10:00 , Ariana Baio

More than 1,9000 Maui residents are currently sheltering at several different hotels around Maui.

Those hotels include the Hyatt Regency Maui, Outrigger KaEanapali Beach Resort, Royal Lahaina, Honua Kai Outrigger, Maui Seaside Hotel and the Westin Maui.

Maui guest interrupts Steve Bannon broadcast to rail against politicisation of wildfire coverage

09:00 , Ariana Baio

Steve Bannons War Room podcast had an unexpected guest show up mid-broadcast when the former Trump aides interview subject was confronted by a Maui resident who accused him of politically exploiting the islands wildfires.

Nick Sortor, an independent journalist who has been featured on Fox News, Newsmax and OAN, has been covering the Maui wildfires. While talking to Bannon, he was interrupted by a man who popped up behind him on camera.

Kelly Rissman reports:

Maui guest interrupts Steve Bannon show over politicisation of fires

Officials take preventative measures over toxins spreading to ocean

07:00 , Ariana Baio

Officials in Maui are preparing for mudslides or possibly flooding as remnants of tropical cyclone Fernanda is expected to hit parts of Hawaii.

The National Weather Service predicted parts of Maui could receive one to three inches and warned residents to be aware of flooding as burned land can not soak up rainwater.

But another issue is the potential of toxins, released from houses and businesses burning down, running off into the ocean.

Federal and local officials said they were trying to prevent the toxins from spilling into the ocean by using a glue-like material to bind ash and debris.

Fences will be built near the coast and hay bales will be placed near storm drains to reduce the spread of pollution as well.

Biden tells Hawaii that the US grieves with you as he surveys Maui wildfire devastation

05:00 , Ariana Baio

Joe Biden told Hawaii that the rest of the United States grieves with you as he and the first lady surveyed the devastation of the Maui wildfires.

Mr Biden, who has been criticised for his administrations response to the historic blaze, met with first responders in Lahaina before making remarks next to the famed and still-standing banyan tree.

The country grieves with you, stands with you and will help do everything to help you rebuild, the president said.

Graeme Massie reports:

Biden tells Hawaii that the US grieves with you as he surveys Maui devastation

Mauis wildfire victims in full

03:00 , Ariana Baio

Who are the Maui wildfire victims?

ICYMI: Mayor of Maui says 850 people are still missing

01:00 , Ariana Baio

Nearly two weeks after fast-moving wildfires engulfed several neighbourhoods in Maui, there are still 850 people missing.

Richard Bissen, the mayor of Maui, said in a Facebook video post that officials in the American Red Cross, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) based in Honolulu and Maui Police Department have combined and refined a list of names of the missing individuals.

The number is a decline from the 2,000+ names it contained when the search for missing residents first began last week.

Mr Bissen said he was both saddened and relieved about the numbers, saying that over 1,287 people have been located safe.

Of the original missing list, 11t have been declared deceased as of Monday morning, with most of those identifications pending.

Online posts spread misinformation about FEMA aid following Maui wildfires

Wednesday 23 August 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

In the aftermath of the deadly Maui wildfires, some social media users are discouraging residents from accepting disaster aid by falsely claiming the Federal Emergency Management Agency could seize their property if they do.

If you own land in Lahaina, do not sign anything for FEMA, a woman says on a video circulating widely on social media. That is why theyre holding back all of the donations and saying, Hey, you want food come sign this?

But disaster recovery experts and lawyers stress accepting aid doesnt give FEMA any such powers to take private lands and that the posts are misrepresenting federal law. Here are the facts.

CLAIM: FEMA can seize the private property of any Maui resident that signs up for disaster assistance.

THE FACTS: The federal agency says the claims are absolutely false and encourages Hawaiians to visit a website it launched recently to address rumors and frequently asked questions in the aftermath of the fires, which have claimed more than 100 lives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Watch: Biden visits Maui to survey destruction from devastating wildfires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

GOP under fire for trying to make news out of Biden petting a dog in Hawaii

Tuesday 22 August 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

After a Republican National Committee social media account tried to make a big deal out of President Joe Biden petting a dog during his Hawaii visit, the White House bit back.

On Monday, RNC Research tweeted: Biden gets distracted by a dog: Thats some hot ground, man! The tweet was posted alongside a video of the president petting a golden retriever while talking to a FEMA worker in Hawaii amid the fatal wildfires.

Kelly Rissman reports:

GOP under fire for trying to make news out of Biden petting a dog in Hawaii

Over 1800 Lahaina customers still without power

Tuesday 22 August 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

The County of Maui said that over 1,800 customers in Lahaina were still without power as of Monday evening.

Hawaiian Electric crew were working to restore critical circuits in West Maui that served essential locations like grocery stores, pharmacies and a wastewater pumping facility.

Once that circuit is restored, coordination between county response teams, individual businesses and private properties will determine next steps toward respective reopening at these commercial facilities, the County said.

Maui residents are still reeling from wildfire devastation. Now investors and relators are trying to cash in

Tuesday 22 August 2023 21:30 , Ariana Baio

Days after wildfires ravaged Maui, investors and relators tried to take advantage of residents striking fear that towns will lose its history and roots.

Ariana Baio reports:

Days after wildfires ravaged Maui, investors and relators try to take advantage

Biden compares Maui wildfires to a kitchen fire he experienced

Tuesday 22 August 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden tried to empathise with survivors of the Maui wildfires on Monday by sharing his own story of overcoming a small house fire where, luckily, nobody was hurt and nothing of considerable value was burned.

At the Lahaina Civic Center, Mr Biden addressed a crowd of residents who are still reeling from a raging wildfire that spread across their community on 8 August.

I dont want to compare difficulties but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what its like to lose a home, Mr Biden told the crowd.

The President went on to share a story from 2004 when lightning struck a wire that ran underneath his home and caused a small fire that was contained to the kitchen according to an Associated Press report.

To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my 67 Corvette and my cat, Mr Biden said.

The President then clarified he was kidding and praised firefighters for their brave work to save his family during the 2004 kitchen fire.

We were insured, we did not have any problem, but being out of our home for a better part of a year was difficult. I can only imagine what its like to lose your home completely. Burned to the ground. And more importantly, all the things that matter to you, Mr Biden continued.

President Biden in Maui on Monday night relayed a story of a kitchen fire sparked by a lightning strike in 2004:



"I don't want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I ... Make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my '67 Corvette, and my cat." pic.twitter.com/XlKJkVMOit  The Recount (@therecount) August 22, 2023

Watch: Biden pets emergency response dog in Maui

Tuesday 22 August 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

Maui mother holds 15th memorial birthday party for son who died in wildfires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

Among the 114 victims of the devastating wildfires in Maui is Kenyero Fuentes, whose family was getting ready to celebrate his birthday before the fire engulfed his home.

Fuentes was relaxing at his familys home with their dog in Lahaina on 8 August. He was getting ready for classes to start at Lahainaluna High School the next day, his mother, Luz Vargas, told NPR.

Maui mother holds 15th memorial birthday party for son who died in wildfires

FEMA numbers to date

Tuesday 22 August 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved about $8 million in aid to nearly 2,000 households in Hawaii.

They have also made $3.6 million in rental assistance available to households.

The agency has also made more than 50,000 meals available and some 75,000 liters of water.

More than 1,000 FEMA officials are on the ground in Hawaii to assist in recovery efforts.

Voices: How Bidens response to Hawaii wildfire disaster went so wrong

Tuesday 22 August 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

An off-hand remark has landed the president in trouble  but occupants of the White House need to remember that they are always in the spotlight

John Bowden writes:

How Bidens response to Hawaii wildfire disaster went so wrong

PGA will play opening event in Maui

Tuesday 22 August 2023 18:30 , Ariana Baio

Jay Monahan, the Professional Golf Association (PGA) commissioner said they plan to host their season-opening event in Maui, despite the wildfires.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Monahan said he hopes the PGA golf tour can be a source of inspiration for the great people of Maui and Lahaina.

The event, called The Sentry, is slated to happen in January, leaving some time for officials and residents to begin clean-up and rebuilding efforts.

When Mr Monahan was asked, on Tuesday, about hosting the event in Maui, he said absolutely would still host the event there.

But I think at this point theres so many unknowns, and we want to be respectful of the challenges. We want to help be a part of the revitalization. There are a lot of considerations. Were committed, you know, if were allowed to, if were invited, if were embraced, given all that needs to be accomplished, we will be there 100 per cent, Mr Monahan added.

In Photos: Bidens trip to Hawaii

Tuesday 22 August 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden meet first responders and a rescue dog in the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina (REUTERS)

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green hugs President Joe Biden before he speaks after touring areas devastated by the Maui wildfires (AP)

President Joe Biden hugs a child as he meets with community members impacted by the Maui wildfires at Lahaina Civic Center, (AP)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk to board Air Force One after visiting the site of the devastating Maui wildfires (AP)

Hawaii governor thanks Joe Biden for visit to Hawaii

Tuesday 22 August 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii Governor Josh Green posted on Twitter, thanking President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for visiting Maui to survey the damage caused by fast-moving wildfires.

Jaime and I want to deeply thank President Biden and Dr Jill Biden for their unwavering commitment of support to the people of LAhainA as they heal and recover from the largest tragedy our state has ever experienced, Mr Green wrote in a post.

He continued: Hawai`i and the world will rally around the community of LAhainA, and we will rise from this together - hand in hand.

Jaime and I want to deeply thank President Biden @POTUS and Dr. Jill Biden @FLOTUS for their unwavering commitment of support to the people of Lahaina as they heal and recover from the largest tragedy our state has ever experienced. pic.twitter.com/lkygMTHCOi  Governor Josh Green (@GovJoshGreenMD) August 21, 2023

Officials take preventative measures over toxins spreading to ocean

Tuesday 22 August 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

Officials in Maui are preparing for mudslides or possibly flooding as remnants of tropical cyclone Fernanda is expected to hit parts of Hawaii.

The National Weather Service predicted parts of Maui could receive one to three inches and warned residents to be aware of flooding as burned land can not soak up rainwater.

But another issue is the potential of toxins, released from houses and businesses burning down, running off into the ocean.

Federal and local officials said they were trying to prevent the toxins from spilling into the ocean by using a glue-like material to bind ash and debris.

Fences will be built near the coast and hay bales will be placed near storm drains to reduce the spread of pollution as well.

How did the Hawaii wildfires start?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio

At least 115 people are dead and hundreds are still missing after deadly wildfires raged through the Hawaiian island of Maui.

The fires, which are now the deadliest in the US in the last century, erupted on three of Hawaiis islands forcing visitors to flee and residents to seek emergency shelter.

Photos and videos from Maui show the destruction the fires have caused, with some neighbourhoods including the historic town of Lahaina, nearly burned to ash.

Search and recovery efforts then began as firefighters worked to contain and put out the fires.

How did the Hawaii wildfires start?

Maui Fire Department says no active threat at this time despite burning fires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Although the wildfires in Olinda, Kula, Lahaina and Pulehu/Kihei are not extinguished, the Maui Fire Department reassured the public that there were no active fire threats at this time.

The fires in Olinda and Kula were approximately 85 per cent contained with over 1,200 acres of land burned thus far.

The Lahaina fire was 90 per cent contained with more than 2,100 acres of land burned.

The Pulehu / Kihei fire is 100 per cent contained as of 12 August  though this does not mean they are extinguished just that firefighters have completely surrounded the perimeter of the fire.

The fires are not advancing, but full containment can be more difficult to establish and determine in urban settings.

The Maui Fire Department is continuing to use infrared technology, water drops and firefighters to locate hot spots.

ICYMI: Biden appoints new FEMA administrator to Maui

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

While visiting Lahaina on Monday, President Joe Biden announced he was appointing Bob Fenton, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regional administrator responsible for Hawaii, to lead the federal response to Maui.

Mr Biden said that while it may take a while to rebuild he intends to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild.

He noted the importance of respecting the traditions, cultures and history of Native Hawaiians.

More than 80 per cent of structures in Lahaina were damaged or destroyed in the wildfire.

First Lady Jill Biden sends message to survivors of Maui

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:10 , Ariana Baio

To the people of Maui, Joe and I grieve with you.



We stand with you today and always. pic.twitter.com/0d6lZt1BJM  Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) August 22, 2023

Maui officials say 100 per cent of residential properties searched

Tuesday 22 August 2023 14:30 , Ariana Baio

The death toll in Maui is at 115 as of Monday night, officials in Maui confirmed.

That comes after 100 per cent of residential properties have been searched in the wildfire disaster area.

Officials in search and recovery teams, along with cadaver dogs, will now search multi-story residential and commercial properties.

A brief history of natural disasters blighting the tropical paradise

Tuesday 22 August 2023 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Climate crisis and agricultural neglect are blamed for the Pacific states increasing vulnerability to fires, which were until recently considered a rare occurrence on the islands

Joe Sommerlad reports:

A brief history of natural disasters in Hawaii, from tsunamis to wildfires

Two more victims identified

Tuesday 22 August 2023 13:30 , Ariana Baio

The County of Maui identified two more victims of the Maui wildfires in a post on 21 August.

Douglas Gloege, 59, of Lahaina and Juan Deleon, 45, of Lahaina are among the victims.

Watch: Biden promises Maui residents he will stand beside them

Tuesday 22 August 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii wildfires death toll rises to 114

Tuesday 22 August 2023 12:00 , Ariana Baio

The death toll from the Maui wildfires has reached 114 as survivors and city officials grapple with the devastating aftermath of the days-long blaze that turned the historical town into ashes.

Families in the once vibrant cultural hub of Lahaina are mourning the loss of loved ones and searching for the many still missing amid fears that real estate developers are already seizing on the tragedy for land grabs.

At least 114 people lost their lives in the deadliest wildfire in America in the last century, as first responders continue to search for 1,000 missing in the fire-ravaged landscape.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said he plans to give survivors time to mourn and make them a central part of the process of rebuilding Lahaina. An early estimate suggests that nearly 3,000 homes and buildings burned to the ground or were damaged, and losses are around $6bn.

Maui water is unsafe even with filters

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:00 , Ariana Baio

People in torched areas of Maui should not try to filter their own drinking water because there is no way to make it safe, Maui County posted on its Instagram account this week.

Brita filters, devices connected to refrigerators or sinks and even robust, whole-home systems are unlikely to address the extreme contamination that can happen after a fire.

Hundreds of people in the Lahaina and Upper Kula areas have been told to minimize any contact with county water including showers. In Lahaina alone, aerial imagery and damage assessment data generated by Vexcel Data show 460 buildings apparently undamaged by the fires. These are places where people are returning.

For now, the county has told people to use bottled water for all their needs or to fill jugs at tankers called water buffalos, which have been brought in near the burns.

The state health departments environmental health division told Maui County, which operates water delivery systems for most residents, to test for 23 chemicals. Those are just the ones for which the federal government has set limits for drinking water.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

What we know about the victims of the Maui wildfire

Tuesday 22 August 2023 10:00 , Ariana Baio

Who are the Maui wildfire victims?

Approximately 85 per cent of burned are search

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:00 , Ariana Baio

The County of Maui has found 114 remains of people in the burned area of Lahaina in Maui.

In an official statement, the county said that 85 per cent of the search area has been probed by rescue and recovery teams as well as cadaver dogs.

The search will continue on Monday morning local time.

Beanie Babies creates new Aloha bear in support of Hawaii wildfire victims

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:00 , Ariana Baio

The creator of Beanie Babies has created a new bear amid the ongoing devastation caused by thewildfires in Hawaii.

Ty Warner, the creator and founder of Beanie Babies, announced on 17 August in a press release the introduction of what Warners Ty Inc is calling the Aloha bear. All of the profits from the limited time sale will be donated to the American Red Cross and their efforts to help victims of the wildfires.

The stuffed animal itself is a burnt orange bear with a rainbow ribbon tied around its neck into a bow with an inscription on the right side of its chest that reads Maui Strong.

Brittany Miller reports:

Beanie Babies creates new Aloha bear in support of Hawaii wildfire victims

Watch: Hawaii gov says state suffered $5.6bn losses in harrowing wildfires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:00 , Ariana Baio

Highly flammable grasses in Hawaii fueled spread of deadly Maui wildfires, experts say

Tuesday 22 August 2023 06:00 , Ariana Baio

Highly flammable grass is believed to have fuelled the rapid spread of the deadly wildfires in Maui that have killed at least 111 people and destroyed the islands historic town of Lahaina.

Experts say the invasive, non-native grassland that covers a quarter of the Hawaii islands has been a major fire risk they have been warning about for years.

The types of grass, including guinea grass, molasses grass and buffel grass, originated in Africa but were brought to Hawaii for livestock because it proved drought-resistant.

These grasses are highly aggressive, grow very fast and are highly flammable, Melissa Chimera, who coordinates the Pacific Fire Exchange, a Hawaii-based project sharing fire science among Pacific island governments, told The New York Times.

Thats a recipe for fires that are a lot larger and a lot more destructive, Ms Chimera added. Her grandmother lived on the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.s plantation in Maui after emigrating from the Philippines.

Maui residents search for pets left behind as wildfires swept in

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:00 , Ariana Baio

Facebook groups have been inundated with photos of cats, dogs, rabbits, horses and exotic birds, and many remain missing nearly one week on from the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.

I am absolutely heartbroken, one pet owner wrote on the Lost & Found Animals of Maui Fires group along with photos of her cats Lily Jupiter, Puma and Tiger.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Maui residents desperately search for pets left behind as wildfires swept in

Maui homeowner reveals property upgrades that left her house the only one spared by wildfires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:00 , Ariana Baio

The once-colourful homes along the coast of historic Maui town of Lahaina are now mostly obliterated, leaving a series of ruins covered in a layer of grey soot and ash from the devastating wildfires that ravaged the area.

Except for one.

Aerial photos of destroyed properties show a red-roofed home with a pristine white facade and red roof still standing, seemingly untouched by the blazes.

A photo of the scene immediately went viral, with some wondering if it could be Photoshopped or if it was part of a larger conspiracy, like many images that have circulated online in the wake of the disaster.

Ariana Baio reports:

Maui homeowner reveals property upgrades that left her house spared in wildfires

Wedding photographer criticises tone-deaf brides asking for refunds after Maui wildfires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 03:00 , Ariana Baio

A wedding videographer has candidly criticised brides for worrying about their big days and asking for refunds amid relief efforts for the Maui wildfires.

Shayna Kiesler couldnt believe how many requests shed received from individuals looking to get their non-refundable deposits back from her company, Portola Wedding Films in Maui, because they would no longer be able to host their nuptials on the island.

Kieslers sister, Reyna Edmonds, posted a TikTok on 14 August urging brides to stop making these monetary demands, as she noted conditions on the island are horrific. The Seattle-based wedding photographer attempted to appeal to the frustrated individuals, while also opening their eyes to the realities of Maui residents right now.

While I realise to brides this is the most important day of their life, it is extremely tone-deaf for what is going on on the island of Maui, she said. Please be patient, please give them their time that they need to figure out what is going on, and only reach out if youre actually willing to help.

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Biden tells Hawaii that the US grieves with you as he surveys Maui wildfire devastation

Tuesday 22 August 2023 02:28 , Graeme Massie

President praised the residents of Hawaii for showing absolute incredible courage in the face of tragedy.

Biden tells Hawaii that the US grieves with you as he surveys Maui devastation

Watch: Maui Mayor says 850 people are still missing after wildfires

Tuesday 22 August 2023 02:00 , Ariana Baio

FEMA warns Maui residents to beware of scams

Tuesday 22 August 2023 01:00 , Ariana Baio

Those left without homes and their possessions are at risk of being targetted by scammers and fraudulent schemes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said.

FEMA warned survivors of the Maui wildfires to beware of scammers and to report any suspicious activity to StopFEMAfraud@fema.dhs.gov or call 1-866-223-0814.

Unfortunately, after a disaster like the Maui Fires, scam artists, identity thieves, and other criminals may attempt to take advantage of survivors, the government organisation wrote on Twitter.

Hawaii wildfire survivors slam warning system failures

Tuesday 22 August 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

The wildfires in Hawaii are some of the deadliest to occur in the United States and one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaiis history.

More than 2,800 acres of land have been burned and firefighters are still working to extinguish flames and contain smaller fires throughout Maui.

Part of the reason the fires were so deadly was the lack of preparation and a warning that many residents were given before the flames engulfed entire towns like Lahaina.

Shortly after midnight on 8 August, smaller wildfires began breaking out but quickly turned into massive blazes  in part due to 60 miles-in-hour winds caused by a hurricane hundreds of miles off the coast of Hawaii.

From the time the wildfires were recognised on Tuesday evening until the morning when they spiraled out of control, residents say they were given little information.

JD Hessemer, a business owner in Lahaina, told CBS News last week that he received nothing on his phone regarding an emergency alert system. He made the decision to evacuate early on Tuesday himself.

I received nothing at no point in time, Mr Hessemer said. I got nothing on my phone, he told the network.

Initially, officials told news outlets that they sounded alarms indicating residents should look to their phones, radio or television for further instruction. But later a spokesperson for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency confirmed to NPR that officials chose not activate the system.

President Biden and First Lady arrive in Maui

Monday 21 August 2023 23:51 , Graeme Massie

Joe Biden surveys damage in Maui

Monday 21 August 2023 23:39 , Graeme Massie

US President Joe Biden (L), US First Lady Jill Biden (R), Hawaii Governor Josh Green (2nd R) and Jaime Green, First Lady of Hawaii, take part in an operational briefing on response and recovery efforts following wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Audiences praise Good Morning America reporter Gio Benitez for Emmy-worthy coverage of the Maui wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

Good Morning America host Gio Benitez recently opened up about his harrowing experience covering the Maui wildfires on Instagram. In his comment section, there was an outpour of support from audiences and fans alike, with some hailing the hosts coverage as Emmy-worthy.

Beneath a photo of a Maui sunset taken on 8 August, Benitez wrote that he had taken the photo at 6.46 pm that day, and that he and his husband ExtraTV correspondent, Tommy DiDario, had been on vacation and like so many on the island, were unaware that Maui was on fire.

Olivia Hebert reports:

Audiences praise reporter Gio Benitez for Emmy-worthy coverage of Maui wildfires

Maui resident interrupts Steve Bannon guest and slates politicised coverage of wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 22:46 , Graeme Massie

Biden greeted by Hawaii governor as he lands in state

Monday 21 August 2023 22:35 , Graeme Massie

US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden greet Hawaii Governor Josh Green (L) upon arrival at Kahului Airport in Kahului, Hawaii, on August 21, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)

Biden goes west for his second vacation of the month

Monday 21 August 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Nevada late Friday for more rest and relaxation.

The first couple is renting a private home on Lake Tahoe, the massive alpine lake that abuts California and Nevada and is a tourist attraction, particularly in the winter for its ski resorts.

The home in the Glenbrook community belongs to Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor. Steyer is an investor, climate activist and Democratic donor. He ran for president in 2020.

The Bidens are renting the home for fair market value, the White House said, and will spend about a week in the area.

The Bidens will halt their vacation for a day on Monday to visit Maui.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Watch: Joe Biden meets Maui wildfire survivors and surveys damage

Monday 21 August 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

Live: Joe Biden meets Maui wildfire survivors and surveys damage

Watch live: Biden departs to Maui to meet wildfire survivors

Monday 21 August 2023 21:30 , Ariana Baio

Watch live: Biden visits Maui to meet wildfire survivors

Hawaiian officials delayed request to divert water to firefighters battling Maui wildfire, report claims

Monday 21 August 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

New documents allege that state authorities in Hawaii delayed a water management companys request to divert water to Maui to help fight wildfires that ripped through the island earlier this month.

The allegations were reportedly detailed in a letter obtained by CNN.

Glenn Tremble of the West Maui Land Company  which manages the states water supply companies  expressed his frustration in a letter to the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management, reportedly claiming the agency failed to approve his companys request to move water to reservoirs to help firefighting capabilities during the wildfire.

He was told that the company had to consider the impact such a diversion would take on downstream users, according to the report.

State officials announced they will investigate the emergency response to the wildfire, which killed more than 100 people earlier this month.

It is unclear if the diversion would have made a notable difference in the firefighting capabilities of responders battling the blaze.

Over 1800 people are in hotels

Monday 21 August 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

In an update, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said more than 1800 people who lost their homes in the Maui wildfire are currently residing in hotel rooms.

For those remaining people in shelters, the director of human services for the state of Hawaii said they were working around the clock to find a semi-permanent place to live

08/20/23  Current Situation



85% of the impact zone has been searched. pic.twitter.com/An8j7WYLZY  Governor Josh Green (@GovJoshGreenMD) August 20, 2023

Wedding photographer criticises tone-deaf brides asking for refunds after Maui wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

A wedding videographer has candidly criticised brides for worrying about their big days and asking for refunds amid relief efforts for the Maui wildfires.

Shayna Kiesler couldnt believe how many requests shed received from individuals looking to get their non-refundable deposits back from her company, Portola Wedding Films in Maui, because they would no longer be able to host their nuptials on the island. The community is being forced to not only deal with the loss of loved ones, landmarks, homes, businesses, and crops, but as she noted, brides-to-be are also worried about their personal fortunes too.

Kayleigh Werner reports:

Wedding photographer criticises brides asking for refunds after Maui wildfires

Maui Mayor thanks Joe Biden for coming to Hawaii

Monday 21 August 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

In a pre-recorded message, mayor of Maui, Richard Bissen, thanked President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for coming to visit Maui after the wildfires.

I thank our countries leader for traveling here to see first hand the catastrophic destruction our people are facing, Mr Bissen said in the video message.

Maui prepares for flooding after tropical cyclone

Monday 21 August 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

The National Weather Service forecasted that much of Maui will see rain from tropical cyclone Fernanda on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The County of Maui is warning residents to be mindful of flooding and mudslides around terrain that has been recently burned.

Landscapes that have been severely impacted by wildfires are also at heightened risk of flooding during periods of heavy rain as vegetation that would typically absorb rainfall has been burned away, increasing the possibility of flash flooding or mudslides.

Officials are asking people to remain vigilant and avoid brown ocean water.

Verified GoFundMe fundraisers for victims of Maui wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 18:30 , Ariana Baio

GoFundMe has created a page of verified fundraisers so people can donate money if they feel like directly assisting families who have lost loved ones or their homes in the fires.

The page includes a section for memorials and other types of fundraisers for businesses, individuals, nonprofits and more.

Visit the page here.

Wildfires in Washington: Two people killed in Washington state as wildfires explode

Monday 21 August 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

Two people have been killed by wildfires in Washington and a state of emergency was declared after major blazes erupted this weekend.

Two large fires broke out in the US Northwest region, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported on Monday, close to the city of Spokane.

One person died due to the Oregon Road Fire in Spokane County, according to the local sheriffs office. A separate fatality was linked to the Grays Fire, which ignited close to the community of Cheney on Friday afternoon. Hundreds of people were evacuated from the blaze which has engulfed more than 10,000 acres and also threatened the towns of Medical Lake and Four Lakes.

The Grays Fire was only 10 per cent contained, Spokane County Emergency Management reported on Sunday, but did not appear to be growing towards Medical Lake or Four Lakes.

Louise Boyle reports:

Two people killed in Washington state as wildfires explode

US Department of Transportation providing $3m in infrastructure relief to Maui

Monday 21 August 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

The Us Department of Transportations Federal Highway Administration is immediately sending $3 million in emergency funding requested by the Hawaii Department of Transportation to help with costs after the devastating wildfires.

The department will make the funds quick release to Maui so they can be used in recovery or to replace destroyed infrastructure, including traffic signals, erosion of damaged areas, guardrails, signs, and more.

The nation watched with broken hearts as wildfires took lives and livelihoods in Maui  and the nation will stand with Maui as it rebuilds, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. This emergency funding will help residents get transportation networksaback up and running with traffic signal replacements, erosion control, guardrails, and more  and we will continue work to protect communities against these increasingly frequent climate disasters.

Maui mother holds 15th memorial birthday party for son who died in wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

Among the 114 victims of the devastating wildfires in Maui is Kenyero Fuentes, whose family was getting ready to celebrate his birthday before the fire engulfed his home.

Fuentes was relaxing at his familys home with their dog in Lahaina on 8 August. He was getting ready for classes to start at Lahainaluna High School the next day, his mother, Luz Vargas, told NPR.

Ms Vargas, her husband Andres and their eldest son Josue were at work at the time. They operate a local cleaning business in Honokowai.

Before the fires, Ms Vargas was planning Fuentes 15th birthday party for the coming Sunday. She said planned to include a vanilla cake and pork tacos.

But when they heard and saw wildfires quickly heading toward their home and son they rushed to save Fuentes.

Everyone was running away from the flames, but we were all running toward them, Ms Vargas, who only speaks Spanish, told NPR.

Maui mother holds 15th memorial birthday party for son who died in wildfires

President Biden to visit Maui today

Monday 21 August 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio

This recovery will be long and challenging.



But well continue to be on the ground, providing support to the people of Hawaii for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/mPJK8P0Sh5  President Biden (@POTUS) August 21, 2023

Approximately 85 per cent of burned are search

Monday 21 August 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

The County of Maui has found 114 remains of people in the burned area of Lahaina in Maui.

In an official statement, the county said that 85 per cent of the search area has been probed by rescue and recovery teams as well as cadaver dogs.

The search will continue on Monday morning local time.

Five more victims identified

Monday 21 August 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

The County of Maui released the names of five more victims identified from the wildfires on 20 August.

Conchita Sagudang, 75, of Lahaina.

Sagudang died alongside her son, Danilo Sagudang, her sister wrote in a Facebook post.

There are no words to express the pain of this type of tragedy, Nemi Bandayrel wrote.

Danilo Sagudang, 55, of Lahaina.

Sagudangs sibling wrote in a Facebook post that he and his mother were trying to escape the fires near the Paunau subdivision in Lahaina.

They are forever in our hearts and we will miss them dearly. Mom and Danilo were our family, our support, our mentors, our friends, Edna Sagudang wrote.

Rodolfo Rocutan, 76, of Lahaina,

In a GoFundMe, one of Rocutans family members said he was living in Lahaina with his sister who survived. According to the description, Rocutans wife died in 2021.

He is wise, friendly, caring and loving Father and Grandfather, the creator of the fundraiser wrote.

Jonathan Jon Somaoang, 76, of Lahaina.

Somaoang was a veteran and retired wood crafter, according to a missing poster.

Angelita Vasquez, 88, of Lahaina.

Maui mayor says over 800 people still missing

Monday 21 August 2023 15:00 , Ariana Baio

Richard Bissen, the Mayor of Maui, said there are still 850 people missing in Maui in a Facebook post.

Mr Bissen said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) based in Honolulu has combined and refined a list of names that it has received from the American Red Cross, the Emergency Management Agency, the FBI Honolulu and Maui Police Department.

That list now has 850 people still missing.

There is positive news in this number because when this process began the missing person lists contained over 2000 names, Mr Bissen said.

Over 1,287 individuals have been located safe.

Officials explain how DNA is used to match victims to family

Monday 21 August 2023 14:30 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii wildfires death toll rises to 114 as governor pledges to rebuild fire-ravaged Maui

Monday 21 August 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco

The death toll from the Maui wildfires has reached 114 as survivors and city officials grapple with the devastating aftermath of the days-long blaze that turned the historical town into ashes.

Families in the once vibrant cultural hub of Lahaina are mourning the loss of loved ones and searching for the many still missing amid fears that real estate developers are already seizing on the tragedy for land grabs.

At least 114 people lost their lives in the deadliest wildfire in America in the last century, as first responders continue to search for 1,000 missing in the fire-ravaged landscape.

Read more:

Hawaii wildfires death toll rises to 114 as governor pledges to rebuild community

Maui mayor says 850 people still missing

Monday 21 August 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen has revealed that around 850 people are still missing following the devastating wildfires that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina and left at least 114 dead.

On Sunday night, the mayor said it was feared that up to 2,000 people were still unaccounted for.

But now, 1,285 people have now been found safe leaving around 850 missing.

He said he was both saddened and relieved about these numbers.

WATCH: Maui survivor reveals harrowing details of dead babies in the ocean

Monday 21 August 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

Maui homeowner reveals property upgrades that left her house the only one spared by wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

The once-colourful homes along the coast of historic Maui town of Lahaina are now mostly obliterated, leaving a series of ruins covered in a layer of grey soot and ash from the devastating wildfires that ravaged the area.

Except for one.

Ariana Baio reports:

Maui homeowner reveals property upgrades that left her house spared in wildfires

Maui business owner says he hopes tourists return to Hawaii soon

Monday 21 August 2023 12:40 , Rachel Sharp

A Maui business owner has said that he hopes tourists will return to the Hawaiian island soon.

While residents have lost loved ones, homes and businesses to the wildfires, those who are left behind are now facing concerns about their future livelihoods, which largely rely on the tourist industry.

Coconuts Fish Cafe owner Michael Phillips told Business Insider that he is praying visitors will start to come back soon .

We literally have no tourism now as the fire has scared everyone off, he said.

This time of year we normally have about 8,000 visitors arrive every single day, and I think its down to 1,500 now.

PICTURED: Volunteers work to help Maui survivors

Monday 21 August 2023 12:22 , Rachel Sharp

Hawaii Fires Water Lessons (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A group of volunteers who sailed from Maalaea Bay, Maui, form an assembly line on Kaanapali Beach (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Hawaii Fires Water Lessons (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Biden to appoint FEMA chief federal response coordinator to help Maui

Monday 21 August 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp

The White House announced on Monday morning that President Joe Biden plans to appoint FEMA Regional Administrator for Region 9 Bob Fenton as the Chief Federal Response Coordinator for Maui to oversee the long-term coordinated federal recovery as Hawaii rebuilds after the wildfires. As the recovery moves into the next phase, President Biden, alongside FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, will announce that he is appointing FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton as the Federal governments Chief Federal Response Coordinator for Maui, read the announcement.

Mr. Fenton is one of the nations most experienced disaster response-and-recovery officials who has been on the ground in Hawaii from the day the wildfires started. In this role, Fenton will oversee the Federal governments long-term recovery work on the ground for Maui.

President Biden is directing Chief Federal Response Coordinator Fenton to ensure that every Federal asset is provided to help the community rebuild as fast as possible in Maui.

More than 1,000 federal personnel are currently on the ground in Maui helping with rescue and recovery efforts following the devastating wildfires.

Devastated mother holds 15th birthday party for son killed shielding pet dog from Maui wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 11:37 , Rachel Sharp

A devastated mother held a 15th birthday party for her son after he was killed in the Maui wildfires.

Kenyero Fuentes should have celebrated his birthday on Sunday with his family.

Instead, he is one of at least 114 victims who died when the horrific wildfires tore through the historic town of Lahaina in Maui.

His body was found inside the bedroom of his home, shielding his pet dog from the flames and smoke.

Kenyero Fuente (Family)

Fox News criticised for using disgraced ex-FEMA head to attack Bidens response to Hawaii wildfires

Monday 21 August 2023 11:20 , Rachel Sharp

The former FEMA administrator who was critcised for slow rescue efforts amid the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has been accused of hypocrisy after he called President Joe Bidens response to the Maui wildfires an abject failure.

Despite facing his own barrage of criticism when he headed FEMA, Michael D Brown lambasted the presidents response to the fatal fires on Fox News The Ingraham Angle. The fires have claimed the lives of at least 111 people, while thousands more have been displaced.

If he wants to go to Honolulu and meet with the governor, thats fine. But I can tell you from personal experience that if he goes to Maui, it will interrupt operations because the United States Secret Service will put an air cap over Maui, Mr Brown said. They wont let any helicopters fly. It will be a complete disaster, he added.

Read more:

Fox News blasted for using ex-FEMA head to attack Bidens response to Maui wildfires

WATCH: Video shows falling tree striking power line ahead of Maui wildfire

Monday 21 August 2023 10:40 , Rachel Sharp

Maui wildfires map

Monday 21 August 2023 10:20 , Rachel Sharp

Check out this map to see which areas have been affected by the wildfires:

Maui wildfires map: Where are the Hawaii fires?

Maui residents now brace for storm

Monday 21 August 2023 10:00 , Rachel Sharp

While Maui turns to efforts to rebuild the community, locals are now bracing for potential storm effects as the remnants of post-tropical cyclone Fernanda head to the state.

Remnant moisture from Fernanda is forecasted to approach the state starting late on Sunday, with the highest rainfall totals for Maui County expected to occur between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Showers are forecasted to be brief and primarily focused over windward and mauka areas.

In preparation, emergency response crews have worked to deploy inlet protection devices at all street-level storm drain catch basins in the Lahaina disaster area, Maui County reported.

Absorbent booms have also been installed by the US Coast Guard at eight storm drain outfalls entering the ocean within the impacted areas of Lahaina town.

The county warned that areas ravaged by the wildfires are at greater risk of flash flooding and mudslides.

Biden heads to Maui to meet wildfires survivors

Monday 21 August 2023 09:40 , Rachel Sharp

President Joe Biden is heading to Hawaii on Monday to survey the damage wrought by the devastating wildfires which have so far claimed 114 victims in Maui.

After facing criticism for his response to the disaster, the president and First Lady Jill Biden will travel from Reno, Nevada, to Maui on Monday morning.

There, they will meet with federal, state, and local leaders and see firsthand the impacts of the devastating wildfires as well as discuss the recovery effort.

They will also speak to survivors and first responders who battled the blaze.

Mr Biden has faced criticism over his public handling of the disaster.

While he deployed FEMA resources as soon as requested by state officials, he came under fire for giving a blase response to questions from reporters.

Maui water is unsafe even with filters, officials say

Monday 21 August 2023 09:00 , Stuti Mishra

The language is stark: People in torched areas of Maui should not try to filter their own drinking water because there is no way to make it safe, Maui County posted on its Instagram account this week.

The Maui fires damaged hundreds of drinking water pipes, resulting in a loss of pressure that can allow toxic chemicals along with metals and bacteria into water lines.

Brita filters, devices connected to refrigerators or sinks and even robust, whole-home systems are unlikely to address the extreme contamination that can happen after a fire.

Read more:

Maui water is unsafe even with filters, one of the lessons learned from fires in California
The list of the people still "not located" in the wake of the deadly Maui wildfires begins, in alphabetical order, with Fred Abad, Louise Abihai and Kristell Acacia.

Nearly 800 names later, the final entry posted as of Monday afternoon on a Google spreadsheet created by Maui resident Ellie Erickson  which has become one of the island's most visited and most heartbreaking clearinghouses of information  is Richard Zubaty.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in Instagram and Facebook updates posted overnight that, in addition to the 114 people confirmed dead as a result of the blazes, there are now 850 people unaccounted for.

It was the first official number of missing persons released by the authorities since the inferno that reduced a large swath of Maui to ashes erupted on Aug. 8. And the number emerged after the FBI combed through various databases and lists like Erickson's that are hurriedly being compiled by local relief groups and volunteers.

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The wildfires that scorched Maui were the deadliest in modern U.S. history and sparked an exodus of tourists as many locals, fearful of losing their ancestral homes, tried to find shelter on their home island.

The inferno also prompted members of the Maui diaspora  like 27-year-old Sydnie Lynn Ouano-Faias, who left Maui when she was 10 and now lives in Washington state  to pack her bags and return home.

Ouano-Faias said she bought a plane ticket for Maui when she realized her father, Jay Ouano, was missing. She said she called all the hospitals, shelters and jails and even posted about her father on TikTok in hopes that someone might report seeing him.

Sydnie Lynn Ouano-Faias, pictured as a baby, said she was beginning to fear her father had died in the Maui fires until they finally made contact Sunday. (Courtesy of Sydnie Lynn Ouano-Faias)

But before she boarded the plane, Ouano-Faias said she got a call on Sunday from the Red Cross saying that her father had been found. Soon afterward she was chatting with him via a video call.

Im very overwhelmed with happiness and relief; I cried the whole time I video-chatted him, Ouano-Faias said. Im going home to see my dad, not bury him.

For others, the search for missing loved ones continues.

I never thought that I would have to come home for something like this, said Kuulei Barut, who flew into Hawaii from Pennsylvania to help look for her brother, 28-year-old Poomaikai Estores-Losano.

Estores-Losano lived along Lahainaluna Road, one of the areas destroyed by the Maui fires, and has not been heard from since he spoke with his grandmother by phone on Aug. 8 at 9 a.m.

Im trying to play like positive scenarios that could lead to him still coming home to us alive, the missing man's mother, Leona Castillo, said. But with not hearing from him for so long, like, how do you hold on to that hope?

Estores-Losanos two children, ages 5 and 6, who escaped with their mother, have begun to ask about their father.

Castillo said her grandson recently asked her, If my daddy lived in Lahaina and Lahaina burned down, then where is my daddy?"

"We just got quiet," she said.

Missing 28-year-old Poomaikai Estores-Losano, right, with his two younger siblings, Kuulei and Braeden. (Courtesy of Kuulei Barut)

Eighty-five percent of the disaster area has been searched with no new positive identifications of the deceased, according to an update provided by Maui Countys Saturday evening.

But Castillo said they will cling to hope until the entire disaster area has been searched.

His ohana (family) is looking for him and we havent stopped," Castillo said. "Were not gonna stop until we hear anything.

It was this dogged refusal to give up that prompted Erickson to find a better way to search for the missing.

Erickson, 27, who lives in the central Maui community of Kihei, said she found herself initially stymied as she searched for a 65-year-old friend who lived alone in the now almost completely destroyed city of Lahaina.

Eventually, Erickson found her friend when she went on Facebook and stumbled across someone else looking for the same person. But the experience, she said, made her realize that this was not an efficient way for people to share information on survivors and victims.

So Erickson started a Google spreadsheet and invited people to add names of those who had been found and the names of people still unaccounted for.

The names began piling up fast. In fact, the sheet grew so quickly that Erickson had to restrict editing access to a group of volunteers, some from as far away as Australia, who helped her organize the flood of information pouring in.

One of the volunteers, Erickson said, helped create a Google form that people could fill out to have their loved ones information automatically posted to the sheet. That form can be found on the teams Facebook page.

Several more volunteers are now working to turn the sheet into a website and an app that could be used in future disasters, Erickson said.

Ellie Erickson, 27, who lives in the central Maui community of Kihei, started a Google spreadsheet and invited people to add names of those who had been found and the names of people still unaccounted for. (Brock Stoneham / NBC News)

As of Monday, the list of entries on the sheet had grown to about 6,000, including their figure of 799 still unaccounted for as of Monday, Erickson said.

It has also provided a measure of solace to the community, she said.

Everybody in the group is doing the work theyre doing because it helps them feel that theyre giving back, Erickson said. A lot of volunteers are struggling with [their] own grief and in helping others they havent been able to process those emotions fully.

Ericksons team gets most of its information from Facebook posts sharing details of missing loved ones. The volunteers also glean information from social media searches, news reports, and a network of relief center volunteers who share information about people theyve identified as alive.

Some team members also reach out to individuals searching for loved ones, Erickson said.

Meanwhile, Maui County officials posted a video to the county's Facebook and Instagram pages with directions of how local residents can submit a DNA sample and hopefully identify some of the remains.

DNA is a critical tool in doing those comparisons and identifications, Julie French of ANDE, a company specializing in rapid DNA analysis, said in the video.

But researchers and forensics experts have already warned that it could take months and even years to identify the victims of a destructive force like a wildfire. And some victims might not ever be identified, making an accurate count of the death toll all but impossible, they said.

In addition, finding missing or dead homeless residents is especially tricky because they do not always carry cellphones or have dedicated groups of people checking in on them.

Amid the ever-growing sadness, Keyiro Fuentes family held a 15th birthday party for him. But the guest of honor was not there.

Keyiros body was found in the ruins of Lahaina, in what had been his bedroom, his family said.

Now hes looking down from heaven, his mother, Luz, said in Spanish.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Mark Meadows is urging a federal judge to step in before Georgia prosecutors arrest him this week on charges that he conspired with Donald Trump to subvert the 2020 election.

The former Trump White House chief of staff is racing to move the state criminal case into federal court and ultimately have the charges dismissed. He says the charges against him in Georgia stem from his work as Trumps chief of staff, a federal role that should make him immune to the local charges.

Absent this Courts intervention, Mr. Meadows will be denied the protection from arrest that federal law affords former federal officials, Meadows attorneys wrote to U.S. District Court Judge Steven Jones, who is weighing Meadows urgent request to transfer the sprawling racketeering case to federal court.

Meadows urgency was sparked by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis rejection of his request to delay his arrest until Jones has a chance to make a ruling, expected next week.

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I am not granting any extensions, Willis wrote in an email to Meadows attorneys Tuesday morning. I gave 2 weeks for people to surrender themselves to the court. Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction. The two weeks was a tremendous courtesy.

At 12:30 pm on Friday I shall file warrants in the system, Willis added.

Willis firm deadline puts Meadows in a race against the clock. He has urged Jones to quickly determine that he is immune from the Georgia prosecution by virtue of his federal role. Jones quickly agreed to hold a hearing on the matter, setting an evidentiary session for Aug. 28. Meadows indicated in his Tuesday court filing that Willis refused to delay the timeline to accommodate the federal hearing.

Hes not the only one of Trumps 18 co-defendants seeking Jones urgent protection. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark has similarly asked Jones to prohibit Willis from arresting him by Friday, contending that his role in Trumps administration should also make him immune from the state-level charges. He has filed a motion for an emergency stay from Jones, who is also handling a related third effort by former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer.

Trump himself has yet to try to remove his case to federal court, but hes widely expected to pursue the gambit as well.

At the heart of Meadows plea is the long-standing legal principle that state courts have no ability to interfere with federal officials carrying out their official duties. Courts typically take a deferential view to current and former federal officials who seek to remove local cases to federal court, so long as they can plausibly argue that the actions in question were related to their official duties.



Meadows and Clark argue that the charges against them in Georgia were purely rooted in their Trump administration roles. Meadows arranged phone calls and meetings for Trump with officials in Georgia about the 2020 election results, and he visited Georgia after the election to review audit proceedings as they were underway. Clark drafted a letter to the states that would have advised them to convene their legislatures to consider appointing alternate slates of presidential electors  part of an effort by Trump to deploy the Justice Department in service of his bid to stay in power. The letter, however, was never sent amid resistance from top Justice Department and White House attorneys.

Both men face charges that they entered into a racketeering conspiracy with Trump premised on subverting the 2020 election  a goal that could not be construed as part of their official responsibilities. Jones has asked Willis to respond to Clarks and Meadows efforts by Wednesday afternoon, and her filing should lay bare her rationale for bringing charges against the high-ranking Trump administration officials.
 Flash

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned envoys of Denmark and the Netherlands over the continued desecration of the Islamic holy book of Quran, Turkiye's semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

The ministry voiced its dissatisfaction with the "vile attacks" to the charge d'affaires of the Danish Embassy to Turkiye and the minister counselor of the Netherlands in Ankara, the agency quoted Turkish diplomatic sources as saying.

The move came after recent burnings of Quran in front of Turkish embassies in the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Dutch city of The Hague, as well as the embassies of other Muslim countries, according to the report.

Over the past months, copies of the Quran have been repeatedly desecrated by anti-Islam individuals or groups in Sweden and Denmark, sparking outrage and criticism in Muslim-majority countries worldwide.
Meadows seeks to block arrest as he tries to move Georgia charges to federal court

Mark Meadows , the former Trump White House chief of staff, asked a federal judge Tuesday to block his arrest over Georgia election charges as he tries to move his case to federal court.

In a court filing Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Meadowss lawyers filed an emergency motion for either an immediate ruling on moving his case to federal court or for an order to prohibit Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from seeking his arrest if he does not surrender to the Fulton County jail by Friday at noon, the deadline Willis set.

District Attorney Fani Willis has made clear that she intends to arrest Mr. Meadows before this Courts Monday hearing and has rejected out of hand a reasonable request to defer one business day until after this Courts hearing, the filings said.

Later Tuesday, a judge ordered Willis to respond to Meadowss requests in writing by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

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A federal judge ordered a hearing for Monday over Meadowss request to move his case.

The court documents exhibit includes an email exchange Tuesday morning between Meadowss attorney  John Moran  and Willis, in which Willis said she is not granting any extensions.

Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction. The two weeks was a tremendous courtesy, she wrote in the email. At 12:30 p.m., I shall file warrants in the system.

Meadows and 18 co-defendants, including former President Trump, were charged last week in Georgia for an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Shortly after the indictment, Meadows attorneys attempted to move his case to federal court and then over the weekend asked a judge to dismiss the charges against him. Meadows claims he is immune from Williss indictment because the accusations are connected to his role as a federal official.

Meadows faces two charges including racketeering and solicitation of violating an oath by a public officer. Last year, the former chief of staff was ordered by a judge to speak before the Georgia special grand jury. Before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, Meadows joked about false claims of voter fraud related to votes cast in the name of dead voters, The Washington Post reported.

Meadows has been largely out of the public eye since the Jan. 6 attack, amid damning testimony about his actions that day. That has led to speculation about Meadows potentially cooperating in special counsel Jack Smiths federal investigation into Trumps actions after he lost the 2020 election.

At least two of the 19 co-defendants have already surrendered  former Trump lawyer John Eastman and Scott Hall, a bail bond business owner.

Trump said Monday evening he plans to turn himself in Thursday, the day after the first GOP presidential debate, which he has said he will skip.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Georgia man persuaded Medicare patients to take medically unnecessary genetic tests, then billed nearly half a million dollars to the insurance program, prosecutors say.

Minal Patel was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Aug. 18 in connection with the scheme that involved his company submitting $463 million in claims to Medicare for cancer genetic tests that were procured through the payment of kickbacks and bribes, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Patel, 44, owned LabSolutions in Atlanta. Officials say he worked with other entities to target people on Medicare with telemarketing calls and falsely told them they could take expensive cancer genetic tests that were covered by Medicare.

After the Medicare beneficiaries agreed to take a test, Patel paid kickbacks and bribes to patient brokers to obtain signed doctors orders authorizing the tests from telemedicine companies, the release said.

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Patel knew the telemedicine companies robo-signed prescriptions ordering the genetic tests without evaluating the patients, prosecutors say.

Cancer genetic testing looks at patients genes to see if they carry certain mutations linked with cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The scheme targeted Medicare beneficiaries, which include people over 65 and people with disabilities.

Patels counsel, Tama Kudman and Kevin Raphael, told McClatchy News the sentencing was notable because the court declined to utilize intended loss in calculating Mr. Patels base offense level under the Guidelines.

In the Third Circuit case U.S. v. Frederick H. Banks, which the lawyers said Patels case adopted the reasoning of, the court ruled that Banks did not actually cause loss to the financial institution that prosecutors say he defrauded, only that he intended to.

Lawyers for Patel said the judge discussed the scope of the conspiracy in terms of intended loss.

LabSolutions submitted $463 million in claims to Medicare from July 2016 to August 2019, prosecutors say. In the end, the insurance program paid $187 million in claims.

Patel got more than $21 million, according to the release.

Deception, kickbacks and bribes have no place in the provision of legitimate genetic testing and telemedicine services to patients who need them, said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office. Patel bilked hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicare through a complex testing fraud scheme.

The case against LabSolutions, which has since shut down, was prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida, according to court records.

A Ferrari and a Range Rover were among the assets the government seized from Patel, according to a 2019 announcement from the DOJ.

Patel was among 35 people charged across the country who investigators say were involved in billing billions of dollars in fraudulent genetic testing to Medicare, the release said.

Man bought 3 cars using peoples identities  and helped others do the same, feds say

Traffic stop leads to $200,000 in gold bars from an elder fraud scheme, NY cops say

Mom, daughter stole over $500,000 from 92-year-old with dementia in Florida, feds say

Driving school owner bribed test examiner with $17,000 to pass his students, feds say
A group that integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957 when it was segregated by race has come out to decry Arkansas barring AP African American studies from counting toward credit for graduation.

Arkansas has not banned AP African American studies from its schools but said the class will not count for credit toward graduation for high school students as it reviews the material.

Until its determined whether it violates state law and teaches or trains teachers in CRT and indoctrination, the state will not move forward, the Arkansas Department of Education said, referring to critical race theory.

Little Rock Nine members interviewed with NBC News and said they were not surprised but are disappointed at the move by the state.

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Terrence Roberts, a member of the group who is now 81 years old, said there shouldnt be laws restricting their ability to learn, or what they could learn and called it ridiculous that Arkansas banned critical race theory from its schools.

I think the attempts to erase history is working for the Republican Party, Elizabeth Eckford, another member of Little Rock Nine, told NBC News. They have some bogeymen that are really popular with their supporters.

Six schools in Arkansas said they will still keep the pilot class in their curriculum despite it not counting as credit toward graduation

I know there are voices pushing back, Roberts said. The question is, will they be successful?

Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva wrote to the six schools involved in the pilot program for AP African American studies asking for materials to be given to the state and detailing some of the states specific concerns.

Given some of the themes included in the pilot, including intersections of identity and resistance and resilience, the Department is concerned the pilot may not comply with Arkansas law, which does not permit teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory (CRT), Oliva said.

The College Board hit back Tuesday with a statement saying the course is not indoctrination and the state has had plenty of time to review the materials.

The pilot course framework has been available for public review since February 1, 2023; the Arkansas Department of Education was informed of the framework then, following its October 2022 approval of the pilot course code, the College Board said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Every major crisis has a moment that jerks people awake, that knocks them from their slumber and forces them to focus.

We may have had such a moment with fentanyl in Arizona.

A Mesa police officer overdosed on the drug in his patrol car and was found unconscious with his engine running and doors locked.

The car was in the middle of the street. Rescuers had to bust a window to save his life.

It was a story like this that grabbed a nations attention in 2017.

A West Virginia story shook us awake

In her groundbreaking report on the opioid crisis, The New Yorkers Margaret Talbot went to ground zero  rural West Virginia  to comprehend it.

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In the first words of her highly touted essay The Addicts Next Door, she described a Little League softball game that ended when a couple watching the game fell unconscious, suffering simultaneous drug overdoses.

Paramedics rushed to save the man and woman as the children they brought with them grew hysterical, screaming, Wake up! Wake up!

What Talbot had described was a society ripping at the seams with all the telltale signs of despair and decline.

At this stage of the American opioid epidemic, many addicts are collapsing in public  in gas stations, in restaurant bathrooms, in the aisles of big-box stores, she explained.

That was seven years ago.

America's opioid crisis never ended

Since then, the opioid crisis has provoked enormous public scrutiny  congressional hearings and legal proceedings. Government regulators and prosecutors have cracked down on Big Pharma and the doctors who overwrote prescriptions.

But the crisis isnt over. And its roaring in Arizona.

Since 1999, more than a million Americans have died from overdose deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What was a prescription opioid crisis in 2017 is now a synthetic opioid crisis dominated by the deadly street drug fentanyl.

Today nearly 88% of opioid-involved overdose deaths are caused by synthetic opioids, the CDC reports.

It is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told a U.S. Senate hearing in February.

Arizona is a hub for fentanyl trafficking

West Virginia continues to lead the nation in overdose mortality, with 91 deaths per 100,000 population, according to CDC rankings. (Arizona is 17th with 39 deaths per 100,000.)

But Arizona has become its own kind of ground zero given its proximity to Mexico, where most U.S. fentanyl is cooked.

Both News Nation and Fox News report that Arizona is the hub of fentanyl smuggling in the United States, with more than 51% of the drug passing through our state.

With numbers like that, it is no surprise that Arizona would see absurd examples of social breakdown that shook West Virginia and the nation.

On Friday we learned a bystander found Mesa Police Officer Christopher Jenkins unconscious in his patrol car and apparently suffering a seizure.

Jenkins car was in the middle of the street, as reported by The Arizona Republics Ellie Willard. His doors were locked and his foot was on the brake with the engine idling.

Mesa officer had 3 drugs in his system

A Mesa Police Department officer overdosed in his patrol car in May. He is now under investigation.

Jenkins fellow officers arrived and had to bust through the window to get to him. They administered CPR and Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote, until they were finally able to bring him back to consciousness, Willard reported.

At first, Mesa Police feared Jenkins had been exposed to fentanyl confiscated in a bust that same day. Jenkins had placed some of the fentanyl from the arrest into evidence but still had powdered fentanyl in the passenger compartment in his car, Willard reported.

Eventually, hospital tests revealed Jenkins had not only fentanyl, but cocaine and marijuana in his system. Soon he was under investigation.

All of this happened in May.

What will Phoenix do: With millions in opioid settlement cash?

Not long after, Jenkins was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors and made his first court appearance.

Mesa P.D. reassigned him on May 25, and he formally resigned from the police force on June 1.

Officer Jenkins actions are shocking and in direct conflict with the morals, ethics and integrity expected from members of the Mesa Police Department, wrote Mesa Police Cmdr. Anthony Abalos.

Not even police can escape its snare

Jenkins is a symbol of an opioid epidemic that is threatening the lives of thousands in this state and killing nearly five Arizonans every day, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Already this year, some 850 Arizonans have lost their lives to opioid addiction, DHS reports.

New Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has made fentanyl a priority.

We need to throw everything we can at this crisis  new technology at the border, enhanced and strengthened partnerships, and access to more funding, she said. I stand ready to work with anyone committed to solving this.

In July, U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema held a tele-town hall with 5,000 people, in which she discussed the fentanyl epidemic and explained two bipartisan bills she has introduced to try to stop the flow of fentanyl into Arizona.

Over the past two decades calamities have come and gone. The Great Recession is in our past. COVID-19 is a shadow. But the opioid crisis grinds on.

Now an epidemic largely centered on fentanyl, it is the deadliest threat facing our country today, added DEAs Milgram.

And even police officers cant escape its snare.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa police officer overdoses on duty. Arizona's opioid crisis remains
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday publicly attacked a Reuters report published last week detailing how organized crime groups disguised drug profits as routine remittances to move money from the United States to Mexico.

The story, published Friday, was based on interviews with two dozen Mexico residents who said they had been paid by the Sinaloa Cartel to receive remittances sent by the syndicate's operatives in the United States, then turn those drug proceeds over to cartel members in Mexico. The Reuters report also drew on records from eight U.S. federal court cases and interviews with dozens of sources, including industry insiders, analysts and law enforcement agents on both sides of the border to paint a detailed picture of how the criminal venture works.

"Reuters, they are some deceivers, liars," Lopez Obrador said during his regular news conference, which is held every weekday morning.

A Reuters spokesperson said: "We stand by our reporting."

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Remittances - money transfers favored by migrant workers - have soared on Lopez Obrador's watch as Mexico's economy faltered and migration to the United States increased. As legitimate remittances have ballooned, it has become ever easier for cartels to disguise their ill-gotten gains in small transfers sent to average people across Mexico who have no obvious links to organized crime, according to four U.S. and Mexican security officials who spoke with Reuters for its report.

The president said the Reuters story stated that "the majority of remittances are linked to the sale of drugs." In fact, the news agency reported that between 7.5% and 10% of all remittances could come from illegal activity, according to a U.S. official who works on illicit finance and a March report by Mexico think tank Signos Vitales cited in the story.

Lopez Obrador also said the Reuters story was based "on one or two interviews" and suggested that the main source of the article was Signos Vitales. The report, however, drew on interviews with more than 60 people.

Signos Vitales did not respond to a request for comment about the presidents remarks. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the organization stood by its report and said that the president had not "presented any arguments that prove the contrary."

Remittances to Mexico, nearly all of which come from the United States, hit a record $58.5 billion last year, according to data from Mexicos central bank. That is an increase of $25 billion, or 74%, compared to 2018, when Lopez Obrador came to power.

The president has celebrated this increase and praised migrant workers for sending remittances, which last year accounted for 4.3% of Mexico's GDP.

(Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Marla Dickerson)
Immigrants are a vital part of Florida and Miami-Dade Countys social and economic fabric, and local communities and governments should support and foster their development and contributions, a group of business owners, county officials, social service providers, and community leaders said Tuesday.

Lets embrace our new neighbors as assets. Were going to uplift their talents, and were going to pave the way for a more inclusive and prosperous Miami-Dade County, Vanessa Joseph, attorney at Catholic Legal Services and elected clerk of the City of North Miami, said at the Miami Opportunity Summit.

The conference held in downtown Miami brought together public and private sector leaders in conversations about the countys immigrant communities as well as to help resolve job vacancies across Florida and the U.S., organizers said. For every 100 open jobs in Florida, there are 57 available workers to fill the positions, according to data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The event also comes seven weeks after a state immigration law that cracks down on undocumented labor went into effect. Business owners and immigration advocates have said the legislation has stoked panic even among immigrants with lawful status and exacerbated work shortages across several industries. The law was a focus of the summits discussions. .

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What we are doing as a state is turning people back, and we are all going to pay the consequences, said Samuel Vilchez, Florida State Director for the American Business Immigration Coalition.

The bipartisan group focused on pro-immigration business policies and Miami-based service provider Catholic Legal Services hosted the conference. Representatives and leaders from faith-based organizations, nonprofit groups, service providers, business owners and local and county governments attended the summit. Several of the speakers were immigrants or had been formerly undocumented.

Participants of the keynote panel  focused on reframing public narratives of new immigrant arrivals to South Florida included Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava , Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski , Beacon Council CEO Rodrick Miller and Miami businessman Miguel Fernandez. CBS4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez moderated the conversation.

The panelists kicked off the conversation by sharing stories about their own immigrant background. The mayor spoke of how her great-great-grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Eastern Europe, escaping the violence Jewish communities faced in the region. She emphasized Miamis historical role as a place that receives immigrants and refugees seeking a better life in the United States.

We understand their suffering and respond with compassion, because we know that when people are given a second chance at life, they give it their all to succeed, build a legacy for their families and contribute to their community, said Levine Cava.

Archbishop Wenski echoed the mayors words.

We are a dynamic, prosperous and resilient community here in South Florida not in spite of immigration but because of it, he said

Mike Fernandez, the Cuba-born chairman of MBF Healthcare Partners, a private investment firm focused on healthcare services, described immigrants as risk takers willing to take on new ventures and challenges.

Immigrants leave their home, their land, their friends, language, money. They leave everything behind in order to have a better future. And in that process, theyre willing to do the work that many of us are not willing to do, said Fernandez, Immigrants are go-getters. They build companies and they build communities.

The conversation quickly turned to the new state law, which requires companies with 25 or more employees to check through a federal platform whether their new workers are able to legally work. Starting in July 2024, daily fines of $1,000 for businesses that dont comply with using E-verify will come into effect. Employers could also see their licenses suspended after multiple findings of noncompliance, according to the law.

When asked about the legislation, economist Rodrick Miller, who heads the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, said he has been hearing stories of people leaving the state over fears surrounding the law.

A failure to aggressively confront this could have, will have, a negative reverberating impact on our economy, said Miller. Huge segments of our economy are built around things such as hospitality, construction, and agriculture, and have an outsize number of immigrants working in them.

Levine Cava condemned the legislation, describing the law as punitive and lacking in common sense. She said the county continues providing essential services to new arrivals through its collaborations with local organizations, the federal government and the local school and healthcare systems.

We work as best we can to help people recognize that were here for them, we support them, we want them to be legal, we dont want them to to operate under the radar. And we will do everything in our power to petition the government and our elected officials to support us, she said.

In a separate panel, Hector Mujica, the Venezuelan-born head of Economic Opportunity for the Americas at Google, and Jeff Lozama, CEO of Miami-based construction company CMS group, highlighted the negative consequences of labor shortages in the U.S. and the economic contributions of immigrants in the United States.

Immigrants contributed nearly $104 billion to Miami-Dades GDP, according to 2021 data from Miami-Dade Countys Office of New Americans. The agency also reported immigrants made up nearly 87% of both the essential manufacturing and agricultural industries, as well as over three quarters of all workers in essential services, construction and food manufacturing.

Lozama zeroed in on the substantial percentage of his industry that is made up of immigrants who work on a range of projects, from high-rise commercial buildings to affordable housing. He also said that they bring in skills from their own countries, citing Guatemalan craftsmen who work in carpentry and finish work. He added that immigrants end up establishing their own businesses that subcontract across the industry.

Theres no way the construction industry can be at the state that it is right now without the contribution of the immigrant population, he said.

During the summits lunch break, Oliver Gilbert, the chairman of the Miami-Dade County Commission, encouraged participants of the summit to push for public policy solutions and hold elected officials accountable. He called Miami-Dade an economic anchor for the state of Florida and said it was senseless that the legislators we send to Tallahassee support legislation that would be disastrous for us.

We dont have people to do the jobs. And we cant replace the money that immigrants put into our economy, he said. The basic economics of this and the morality of this both lead you to the same point. The question is can we make them hear us? And that starts with us.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wont be onstage Wednesday night for the first Republican presidential primary debate  a potentially fatal setback to a fledgling campaign that just days ago claimed hed qualified to participate.

Suarez, who before launching his campaign pointed to the debate as an early make-or-break moment, failed to meet the Republican National Committees benchmarks to qualify for the event, despite a series of gimmicks and gambits to boost his standing in the GOP field.

To meet the RNCs 40,000-donor threshold, he raffled off tickets to see Lionel Messis MLS debut and offered $20 gift cards in exchange for $1 campaign contributions. He accepted donations in Bitcoin and suggested to Politico he might do a political ad while shirtless.

And when it looked like he wouldnt meet the RNCs meager requirement that candidates register at least 1% support in viable polls, he announced in a video that he had, in fact, qualified to make the debate.

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He was wrong.

When the RNC released its list on Monday night of candidates who would be on the debate stage in Milwaukee, Suarez was conspicuously missing, raising the question of whether Miamis mayor would follow his own advice: that candidates who couldnt muster the support to make the debate should drop out.

Read more: RNC advisers shoot down Suarezs claim he qualified for the GOP debate in Milwaukee

McDaniel also confirmed to me that, despite claims, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has not yet qualified for next week's GOP primary debate in #Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/oJbS3pbIy6  Anthony DaBruzzi (@AnthonyDaBruzzi) August 18, 2023

For 16 hours, Suarez remained publicly silent. Tuesday afternoon, he released a statement on social media where he said that polls he believed would help him qualify were not accepted by the RNC.

I respect the rules and process set forth by the RNC, and I look forward to working with my party to ensure we win back the White House and restore the path to a brighter future for our country, wrote Suarez, who had previously complained that pollsters were leaving him out of their surveys.

He did not address whether he would end his campaign. Attempts to reach his spokeswoman were unsuccessful.

Francis Suarez has said previously that candidates who dont make the debate stage should drop out. When I asked if that applied to him too, he said yes. https://t.co/uhLHNuybHF  Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 22, 2023

While the mayor had hoped that making the debate stage would amplify his message, missing the event also brought him attention, though not necessarily the kind he wanted.

On Tuesday,



U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, blasted Suarez for keeping a post pinned to the top his profile on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that featured a picture of the mayor with the phrase See you in Milwaukee!

Imagine how low a candidates self awareness must be to post this, and keep it pinned, when they didnt make the debate, Gaetz wrote in this post.

Hours later, Suarezs post was deleted. So was his video announcing that he had made the debate.

Imagine how low a candidates self awareness must be to post this, and keep it pinned, when they didnt make the debate. https://t.co/qZcdmQj4HC  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) August 22, 2023

Former Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo, who has been a political consultant for Suarez in the past, told the Herald that it was unfortunate that the RNC decided that Suarez hadnt met muster. He said a distinctive voice will be missing from the debate.

I think the RNC will miss out on a unique perspective and voice given that he was the only Hispanic candidate and the only successful big city mayor in the race, he said.

Another consultant, Mike Hernandez, said the campaign has been marred by mistakes from the beginning, from a late launch in June to political baggage that carried over from the mayors previous stances.

Hernandez, a political analyst for NBC and Telemundo, said Suarezs votes against president Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 has likely hurt him, as has his decision to vote for Gov. Ron DeSantis gubernatorial opponent in 2018.

Polls show Trump, who has said he is skipping Wednesdays debate, as the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination. DeSantis is in a distant second place.

Read more: Suarezs VIP appearances at F1, World Cup spark complaint to state ethics commission

Hernandez said Suarezs message, which focused on Miamis low crime, low taxes and a business-friendly brand hes worked to burnish, might have had a chance to resonate with voters. But he said local controversies didnt help the mayor either.

Suarez, for instance, entered the race days after the Miami Herald reported that the FBI was investigating his business relationship with beleaguered real estate developer Rishi Kapoor. The developer paid the mayor $170,000 in consulting fees while seeking City Hall approvals to overcome a significant permitting hurdle that threatened the viability of $70 million Coconut Grove development.

There are a couple of efforts working against him, Hernandez said. The city of Miami has its own political drama, and youre the mayor of it. Theres no escaping that.

Miami Herald staff writers Sarah Blaskey and Tess Riski contribute to this report.
CHICAGO -- It was the first day of school Monday, but 6-year-old Hassly Cespedes stood in line at a soup kitchen instead of in a cafeteria lunch line.

With her hair tied up in two buns and wearing a floral jumpsuit, the young girl had been excited for her first day of school at Emmett Louis Till Math and Science Academy, said her mother, 26-year-old Eliany Pina, as they waited for a meal at Martin Temple AME Zion Church in Woodlawn. The family had arrived in Chicago from Venezuela 10 days ago.

But instead, Hassly was turned away from the school Monday morning with seven other elementary school-aged kids who are staying with their migrant families at the 3rd District police station, despite filling out paperwork, according to Britt Hodgdon, a volunteer at the 2nd and 3rd District police stations.

Kids are showing up with rotting teeth and active fevers and malnutrition and theyre not receiving care here, said Hodgdon. And then on top of that were now refusing them education and all of the things that come with that.

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In a statement Monday evening, Chicago Public Schools said that migrants arrived at Emmett Till with outdated enrollment forms not provided by Till staff.

The Till principal proceeded to inquire about a meeting to organize the enrollment information and provide updated enrollment forms in Spanish, the district said in a statement. The principal collected everyones name, phone number and any email addresses and provided enrollment forms in Spanish.

CPS had been preparing this summer for the throng of new English learner students, most of them migrant children, with about 1,000 of them enrolling prior to the start of school Monday. The district anticipates another 1,000 from temporary shelters and police stations to enroll throughout the beginning of the school year.

The District was provided with information about children staying at police stations within the past few business days and is developing a plan to incorporate enrollment procedures for those families who are staying at police stations. We consider those families to be part of the estimated 1,000 students that we are in the process of enrolling, the statement said. We are working with urgency and are dedicated to enrolling as many families as quickly as we can. This includes deploying mobile units to local police stations and other temporary shelters this week to ensure all children are provided access to our services.

But Hodgdon said the 3rd District has received no help or outreach from the city of Chicago to enroll children at police districts or to educate volunteers about providing educational services. Yesterday, volunteers took matters into their own hands and printed the enrollment packet for children like Hassly, Hodgdon said.

Just before lunchtime, Pina and her husband, Jonni Cespedes, lay on a cardboard box in the grass outside the 3rd District police station.

Cespedes, Hasslys father, touched his daughters hair as he remembered the harrowing journey the family took from Venezuela to New Mexico, through the notorious jungle known as the Darien Gap. They fled their country to escape violence, he said, riding a dangerous train known as La Migra.

It was a nightmare, he said in Spanish.

Hassly used a purple crayon to fill in the lines of a coloring sheet with a princess.

I like to draw, she said in Spanish. I want to be an artist.

A socio-political and economic crisis in Venezuela has displaced more than 7 million people as refugees and migrants, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. While most of them have resettled in Central America, more than 500,000 have made their way into the United States and make up many of the 13,000 migrants who have come to Chicago in the past year. The migrants began coming to Chicago last fall sent on buses by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

In response to the swelling new English learner population, CPS has increased funding for bilingual instruction by $15 million in its 2023-24 budget. The money is for additional staff members at schools that received new English learners after school began in 2022, a spokesperson told the Tribune last week.

CPS said in its statement Monday they prioritize Students in Temporary Living Situations. STLS students can immediately enroll in school, even if he or she lacks health, immunization, or school records, proof of guardianship, proof of residency, or any other documentation normally required for school enrollment, CPS said.

Cespedes said his daughter Hassly and 9-year-old son Hassler were excited Sunday night to go to school. They left for Emmett Till at 7:40 in the morning on Monday, but neither child was allowed to enroll.

They didnt have people who spoke Spanish, so they turned them away, said Pina in Spanish.

Two high school students staying at the police station tried to attend Emil G. Hirsch Metropolitan High School, and though they werent turned away, they were given no language support, according to Zachary Goldstein, a volunteer at the 3rd District who lives in Woodlawn.

Goldstein said Hirsch staff told the two students there was a gym teacher and language arts teacher who spoke Spanish and could help them settle at the beginning of the day tomorrow.

But for most of the day, they will be on their own, using Google Translate, he said.

CPS acknowledged that the students attended Hirsch Monday, and said in a statement they were able to enroll with the support of CPS staff and the families translator.

Hirsch has identified the students are in need of English Learner services and is working with the Districts Talent Office to ensure staff are at Hirsch to provide services to new students this week, the district said in the statement.

At lunchtime, children and parents sleeping at the 3rd District walked through the humidity to the church, where volunteers wearing aprons that read Spoonful of Hope directed them in English.

Martin Temple volunteers asked Goldstein if he could stay and help translate. Hed already spent the morning walking with the families to school and handling their paperwork. He said he could spend a few minutes at the soup kitchen, but couldnt stay all day.

A 55-year-old man named Mike Jackson stood in line. He said he had also experienced homelessness, and wondered why the city hadnt stepped up to provide help for him and his community.

Ive been on the streets, he said. Nothing against them, but (the city) should have taken care of us first.

Hodgdon, who specializes in trauma and childrens mental health, said no child should have to deal with the logistics of navigating a new school with no language support.

And were talking about some of Chicagos toughest schools on top of that, she said.

Ald. William Hall, 6th, where the 3rd District police station is located, said if hed known what happened to the children, he would have gone there immediately.

I will reach out to as many people involved as possible and begin to work closely with CPS to make sure were not excluding anyone from the opportunity to learn, he said. This is the ward of scholars.

Just after 3 p.m. at Emmett Till on Monday, children got out of school, wearing matching yellow polos and holding pizzas provided by the Chicago Police Department. Emmett Till staff declined to comment about what they were doing to support migrants.

Cars honked as children joyously reunited with their parents.

____
China to deepen solidarity, cooperation with other emerging markets, developing countries

09:04, August 22, 2023 By He Yin ( People's Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 15th BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa and pays a state visit to South Africa from Aug. 21 to 24. While in South Africa, President Xi Jinping will co-chair with President Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.

It is believed that Xi's visit will contribute Chinese plans and wisdom to deepening the partnership among BRICS countries and improving the BRICS cooperation mechanism. This visit is expected to draw a blueprint for the development of China-South Africa relations and China-Africa ties, making the pie of cooperation bigger and the force of progress stronger.

Photo shows the BRICS Future Innovation Park in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province. (Photo/Liu Xiaoyu and Chen Jiaxin)

Since its establishment, BRICS has remained true to its founding purpose of seeking strength through solidarity, upheld the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and deepened practical cooperation in various fields. It has become an important force driving global governance reform with increasing international influence.

China attaches high importance to the BRICS mechanism.

Since 2013, Xi has put forward a series of important proposals and initiatives during his meeting with other BRICS leaders, charting the course and providing guidelines for promoting deeper and more practical BRICS cooperation, as well as building a closer and more pragmatic partnership.

In 2017, Xi chaired the ninth BRICS Summit in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province, ushering in the second golden decade of BRICS cooperation. He proposed the groundbreaking "BRICS Plus" cooperation model, and for the first time invited representatives from other emerging economies and developing countries to attend dialogues.

Last year, China once again assumed the BRICS chairmanship and hosted over 170 activities in various fields, promoting important progress in the BRICS cooperation.

The first "BRICS Plus" dialogue at the foreign minister level was held, and the "BRICS Plus" events were expanded to multiple areas including sci-tech innovation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and sustainable development, leaving a deep China imprint on BRICS cooperation.

It is believed that the 15th BRICS Summit will carry forward the sound momentum of cooperation from the BRICS "China Year" 2022 and chart a brighter future for BRICS.

After decades of development, the significance of the BRICS cooperation has gone beyond the five countries. The mechanism has become an important platform promoting common development and prosperity for emerging markets and developing countries.

At the High-level Dialogue on Global Development held last year, Xi proposed to foster a development paradigm featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity, and announced a series of important measures in implementing the Global Development Initiative, leading the international community, including the BRICS countries, to seek global development with a broad vision and a long-term perspective, and to promote common development with pragmatic actions and forceful measures.

Photo shows the Pinghai bay offshore wind power project in Putian, southeast China's Fujian Province. The New Development Bank approved a 2-billion-yuan ($276.81 million) sovereign loan for the second phase of the project in November 2016. (Photo from the New Development Bank)

In multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the Group of 20 (G20), the BRICS countries have practiced true multilateralism and worked to make the system of global governance fairer and more equitable.

South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal recently noted that more than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS mechanism, and over 20 of them have already submitted official applications.

This fully proves that the BRICS mechanism is broadly recognized and supported by the international community, demonstrating greater vitality and appeal.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and South Africa. Over the past 25 years, the bilateral relations of the two countries have made historic leaps forward from partnership, strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership.

Xi, who pays his first state visit to South Africa in the recent 5 years, will exchange views with his South African counterpart Ramaphosa on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest, and draw a blueprint for the growth of bilateral relations. The visit will provide a strong impetus for building a high-level China-South Africa community with a shared future.

The two heads of state will also jointly chair the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, where China and African countries will discuss under the theme of "Promoting African integration and jointly building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future." They will have in-depth exchanges on working together to advance their modernization and foster a peaceful, just and open environment for development.

China and Africa will firmly carry forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, fully implement the "nine programs" for China-Africa practical cooperation, join hands in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and steadily promote China-Africa friendship and upgrade China-Africa cooperation.

Profound changes unseen in a century are evolving rapidly, and tremendous changes are taking place in the international landscape. Gaining a growing sense of strategic autonomy, emerging markets and developing countries are playing a more and more important role on the international stage.

China will work together with relevant countries to continuously deepen solidarity and cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries, promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind with responsible actions, and work together to create a better future for humanity.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
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Nigerian President Bola Tinubu administered the oath of office to the newly appointed cabinet members on Monday, emphasizing the critical role they play in restoring public trust and driving the nation's progress.

Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony in the capital of Abuja, Tinubu urged the 45 newly appointed ministers to bring their diverse expertise and insights to the table, emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach in tackling the nation's most pressing issues.

"Your highest obligation is to restore public faith in government so that our people can once again believe that government can be a positive force for transformation and a vehicle for collective progress of all citizens of this great country," the president said.

He underscored the immense responsibility the ministers now bear in shaping policies that will significantly influence the lives of hundreds of millions of Nigerians.

While invoking a metaphor of a journey, in which he is the vehicle's driver, along with all Nigerians as passengers, Tinubu charged the officials to prioritize the interests and welfare of the entire nation and its diverse population above any regional or state-specific considerations.

"The entire nation sits watchful, as you and I navigate this vehicle," the Nigerian leader said.

Wale Edun, one of Tinubu's closest advisers, was named the finance minister. Other cabinet members include Yusuf Tuggar, foreign affairs minister; Mohammed Badaru, minister of defense; and Adegboyega Oyetola, the country's first minister of marine and blue economy.

The cabinet also includes opposition members in line with the president's promise of "a government of national unity and competence."

The ministers had earlier undergone screening by the Nigerian senate, in line with the country's constitutional provision.
Air Force and Space Force leaders are being called to testify publicly before Congress as an outraged House chairman investigates the decision to keep the U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado rather than moving it to his home state of Alabama.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., announced Tuesday that he has invited Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, Space Command chief Gen. James Dickinson and Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to testify before his committee about the Space Command basing decision.

The invitation is the latest step in an investigation Rogers first opened in May as the decision on where to base Space Command's headquarters languished for more than two years after the Air Force first said Huntsville, Alabama, was the "preferred" location.

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"When the secretary of the Air Force finally made a decision, he upheld his predecessors' decision to base U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama," Rogers contended in his statement Tuesday. "President Biden then usurped the Air Force secretary's authority and named Colorado Springs the permanent basing site for U.S. Space Command in order to improve his political standing for next year's re-election.

"We will get answers on President Biden's political manipulation of the selection process," he added.

Kendall had said for months prior to Biden's announcement that additional analysis was needed to decide whether U.S. Space Command should move to Alabama or remain in Colorado -- and that the decision was his to make.

When the announcement was made, Kendall said in a statement, "I fully support the president's decision."

The Air Force did not respond to a request for comment by Military.com's deadline on whether officials would accept Rogers' invitation to testify or on the allegation that Biden overruled Kendall.

The Pentagon announced late last month that Biden decided to base Space Command at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, keeping the command where it has been temporarily based since launching in 2019. That overturned an announcement made in the waning days of the Trump administration that it would move to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

The Biden administration maintains that the decision was about avoiding disruptions to Space Command's operations during a time of global instability, steadfastly denying any accusations of political interference.

In choosing Colorado over Alabama, the administration made powerful enemies among Alabama's congressional delegation. In addition to Rogers using his perch atop the Armed Services Committee to investigate the decision, Alabama lawmakers on the House Appropriations and Oversight committees have also vowed to use their positions to try to reverse the decision.

Rogers' invitation for public testimony comes after he threatened to issue a subpoena if the Air Force did not hand over documents about the Space Command decision and Kendall and Dickinson did not sit for closed-door testimony.

It's unclear if a subpoena is still a possibility or if Rogers sees the Air Force as being cooperative now. A committee spokesperson has not commented on the record in response to Military.com's questions about the status of a subpoena.

Rogers isn't the only one probing the circumstances of U.S. Space Command's basing decision.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office on Thursday where he called on the congressional watchdog agency to "investigate the process to select the Colorado location with at least as much thoroughness as you did with the initial selection of the Huntsville location."

Marshall also included an allegation that Dickinson may have had personal motivations tied into the basing decision, citing the deed to a $1.5 million ranch in Colorado that Alabama officials were not aware of.

"In April 2023, Gen. Dickinson registered a deed to a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado headquarters location," Marshall's letter states. "It is unknown whether General Dickinson disclosed his personal interests in the Colorado site to President Biden or any other superiors."

Dickinson, who is from Estes Park, Colorado, is a 1985 graduate of Colorado State University and also earned a master's degree from the Colorado School of Mines, according to an Army biography.

U.S. Space Command's public affairs office did not immediately return a request for comment by Military.coms deadline asking about the allegation in Marshall's letter.

Biden has already nominated Dickinson's successor, Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, as the new chief of U.S. Space Command. He awaits confirmation, alongside more than 300 officers who are all stymied by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has continued a hold on all high-level officer promotions in the Senate in protest of the Pentagon's policy allowing troops leave for civilian abortion services, leading to uncertainty when the Space Force officer will be approved for his next post.

The fight to claim Space Command -- and the 1,400 jobs and millions of dollars of economic boon that come with housing a major military command -- has grown into an increasingly bitter competition between the Alabama and Colorado congressional delegations.

While the fight has tinges of red state vs. blue state politics, it has also transcended party lines as parochial interests outweigh partisan loyalties. The lone Democrat on Alabama's congressional delegation, Rep. Terri Sewell, has expressed disappointment in Biden's decision, while Republicans in Colorado who are typically harsh Biden critics have praised it.

Alabama lawmakers' charge of political interference in the basing decision echoes the arguments of Colorado lawmakers who pushed Biden to reverse the Trump administration's decision.

Colorado lawmakers alleged that former President Donald Trump gave Space Command to Alabama as a reward for supporting him. Trump himself said in 2021 that he "single-handedly" chose Alabama.

Two government watchdog investigations into the Trump administration's decision did not uncover or identify any major issues with Huntsville as a location for the base, though they did critique the Air Force's decision-making process.

Now, Alabama lawmakers' allegations of political interference revolve around abortion politics. Alabama almost entirely outlaws abortion, while Colorado has no restrictions on abortion access.

Colorado Democrats had pointed to abortion access as part of their arguments for keeping Space Command in their state, but the Air Force has denied state laws on reproductive health care factored into the decision.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

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

Related: Space Command Pick Gave Military Families an Answer, But Worries of a Continuing Fight Persist
Larry Rudolph has been sentenced to life in prison (Facebook )

A millionaire dentist who murdered his wife on an African safari so he could claim a multi-million-dollar life insurance payout has been sentenced to life in prison and hit with a $15m fine.

Larry Rudolph killed his wife Bianca Rudolph in October 2016 while they were on a trip to a remote cabin at the Kafue National Park in Zambia where Bianca wanted to fulfil her goal of hunting a leopard.

The 67-year-old dentist shot his wife in the heart before putting the gun in its soft case to make it look like she had accidentally shot herself while packing their cases to return home to the US.

He later exclaimed to his longtime lover, Lori Milliron: I killed my f***ing wife for you.

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Following his wifes death, prosecutors said Rudolph cashed in nearly $5m in insurance policies so he could live a lavish retirement with his lover.

Rudolph, 67, was sentenced on Monday in a Denver federal court for murder as well as for mail fraud.

Milliron, 65, was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June for being an accessory to murder after the fact and obstructing a grand jury.

Both have said they plan to appeal their convictions.

The married dentist has always denied being responsible for his wifes 2016 death.

He initially told authorities in Zambia that he was in the bathroom when his wife accidentally shot herself as she packed a shotgun while the couple were preparing to return to the US.

Investigators there concluded Bianca Rudolphs death was an accident, and insurance investigators also later reached the same conclusion.

Five years later, the former dentist was arrested following an FBI investigation into her killing.

A bartender at a steakhouse in Phoenix had told investigators he overheard Rudolph saying I killed my f*****g wife for you! during an argument with Milliron at the steakhouse in early 2020.

Defence attorneys for Pittsburgh dentist Lawrence Larry Rudolph (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Rudolph has claimed this alleged admission of guilt had been heard incorrectly by a witness and that he had actually said: Theyre saying I killed my f***ing wife for you.

Court filings show prosecutors believe the murder was the culmination of a lifetime spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power.

The couples adult children now claim they have suffered considerable financial harm due to the financial penalties against their father and are entitled to restitution.

Prosectors have ordered the 67-year-old to pay $4.9m in restitution to the insurance companies, and forfeit $4.8m from bank accounts, as well as real estate in Arizona and Pennsylvania and two luxury vehicles  an Aston Martin DB-11 and a Bentley Bentayga, according to court filings.

Rudolphs lawyers claim he cannot afford the penalties because he no longer controls his dental practice and has significant debts.

But prosecutors say Rudolph is worth $27m and would still have millions of dollars after paying restitution, the fine and having the property seized.

Rudolph met his wife at the University of Pittsburgh and the couple married in 1982 before having two children together.
Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain talks about the arrest of Daryl Ray Stagg during a June 12 press conference while standing with Rapides Sheriff Mark Wood (left) and Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates (right). Stagg was arraigned on formal charges on Aug. 11.

Daryl Ray Stagg, a ministerial leader arrested in June on child sex charges, has pleaded not guilty to formal charges in Grant Parish.

Stagg, who turns 61 on Aug. 23, was formally charged with four counts of aggravated crime against nature and three counts of sexual battery. He was arraigned on Aug. 11, and Pineville attorney George Higgins III enrolled as his defense attorney, according to online Grant Parish Clerk of Court records.

A pretrial conference has been set for Oct. 5, while his trial was set for Dec. 11.

Grant Parish Assistant District Attorney Renee Nugent is prosecuting the case.

After Stagg's June 8 arrest, Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain held a news conference with the sheriffs of Rapides and Union parishes, Mark Wood and Dusty Gates, to issue a call for other potential victims to contact them.

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Nothing additional has developed from that, according to McCain.

Stagg was arrested on charges in Union Parish, too. The Grant Parish charges stem from a report initially made to Rapides officials.

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McCain said evidence they had led him to believe there could be other victims locally or in other states where Stagg had worked as a church leader. At the time, McCain said that included Wisconsin, but Stagg also has worked in Minnesota, Missouri and the Chicago area.

"From my experience in law enforcement, somebody doesn't develop this behavior at the age of 60 years old," he said.

Stagg was arrested in both Grant and Union parishes on charges of oral sexual battery, first-degree rape, aggravated crimes against nature and indecent behavior with juveniles  three counts on each charge in Grant and one count on each in Union.

Stagg worked since 2018 as an associational mission strategist with the Baptist Mission Center, which includes the Big Creek Association and the CenLa Association. There are about 92 churches and ministries included between the two groups.

Sheriff Gates was in court Tuesday morning, and a message left for him at his Farmerville office wasn't immediately returned.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Baptist ministerial leader facing child sex charges pleads not guilty
It has been 42 years since Maria Angelica Gonzalez saw her son.

He was a newborn. A nurse told Gonzalez he needed to be put in an incubator because he was premature. Not long after, she returned with devastating news: The baby was dead.

For 42 years, that's what Gonzalez believed. For 42 years, it has been a lie.

Gonzalez's son, Jimmy Lippert Thyden, was stolen from Gonzalez, adopted out to unwitting parents in the United States and raised in Arlington, Virginia. For 42 years, Thyden believed he had no living relatives in Chile, where he was born.

Then one day in April, Thyden read a USA TODAY story about a California man who had learned he was stolen from his mother in Chile and illegally adopted out to an American couple. It got Thyden thinking: Could the same thing have happened to him?

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Within weeks, Thyden learned the truth. And last week, Gonzalez finally got to hug her son.

Jimmy Lippert Thyden's birth mother, Maria Angelica Gonzalez, holds him tight on the day they were reunited in Valdivia, Chile on Aug. 17, 2023.

'Hola, Mama'

As Thyden walked up to Gonzalez outside her home in Valdivia, Chile, the heartbroken mother could barely look at her son.

Wracked with sobs, Gonzalez covered her face with her hands as the space between them vanished. Thyden's voice cracked, "Hola, Mama."

They fiercely hugged each other, swayed side to side and sobbed.

Watch the emotional reunion below.

"Te amo mucho," Thyden cried. "I love you so much."

"It's a miracle from God," Gonzalez, 69, told USA TODAY during a video chat in Spanish as she sat with Thyden on Saturday. "When I learned that he was alive, I couldn't believe it."

Thyden, who lives with his wife and two daughters in Ashburn, Virginia, told USA TODAY that meeting his mother was incredible but that it's a complicated time for him as he gets to know her and the rest of the family, including a sister and four brothers.

I am happy for the moments we're getting right now, but I lament the loss of 42 years of time with my family, with my siblings, with her," he said. "It's the frustration of losing my culture and the frustration of losing so much time, to not have the built memories together, to not have the experiences of a shared lifetime."

Jimmy Lippert Thyden kisses his mama, Maria Angelica Gonzalez, at her home in Valdivia, Chile on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. The pair were reunited last week after being separated for 42 years.

Chile's stolen children

USA TODAY has been writing about Chile's stolen children since April.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, human rights groups believe that more than 20,000 babies were taken from mostly low-income mothers in Chile and adopted out to unsuspecting parents in foreign countries.

The practice amounted to an elaborate human trafficking operation that involved a network of midwives, doctors, social workers, nuns, priests and judges, many of whom got rich off the scheme while fulfilling a key goal of Gen. Augusto Pinochets regime to make Chile an economic success.

The practice came to light in 2014, when an investigative news agency called CIPER wrote about some cases involving a priest and a doctor. Thats also when the stolen babies, now adults, started learning that they werent voluntarily given up like they always believed.

Nonprofits say that since 2014 they have helped reunite at least 650 people who were taken from their Chilean mothers and adopted to families in the U.S., Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Peru and Australia.

Scott Lieberman hugs his big sister Jenny Escalona Mardones for the first time in Chile on April 11, 2023.

Most of Chiles stolen children in the U.S. have found out about their pasts by stumbling across news stories. USA TODAY's story in April led six people to find out the truth about their pasts, said Constanza del Rio, founder and president of Nos Buscamos, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to reuniting the families ripped apart during Pinochet's regime.

Donated DNA tests from MyHeritage are helping connect the dots and speed up the process. Before, Chilean families would have to travel to Santiago to submit a DNA test. Now, Nos Buscamos can travel to them with MyHeritage tests.

The company has donated more than 20,000 DNA kits globally, company spokeswoman Sarah Vanunu said in a statement.

"In Chile specifically, the stories are especially poignant as we're in a race against time," she said. "These families were tragically separated. Most of the adoptees are in their 40s today, mainly living in the U.S. and Europe, and the mothers in Chile are aging. Most don't even realize that this is their story."

Home: 'Where I was supposed to be': US man taken as infant in illegal Chilean adoption meets lost family

How it worked: Chile's stolen children: How they were taken and adopted to families in the US and beyond

'I lived'

Thyden is now part of a growing community of people who have learned the truth about their adoptions in Chile and reconnected with their birth families.

In the U.S., more than 40 of the adoptees have formed a support network where they can share their pasts and their pain, and find comfort in knowing theyre not alone.

Jimmy Lippert Thyden cries as he hugs one of his brothers for the first time in Valdivia, Chile, on Aug. 17, 2023.

The past few months have been a lot for Thyden, who was reluctant to take a DNA test when Nos Buscamos told him that's how they confirm an adoptee's background.

But then Thyden thought of his twin daughters, whom his wife miscarried in April 2022.

"The loss of my girls was so traumatic to me, it almost took me out of this world," he said. "All I could think about is, if there's a woman in this world that suffered that anguish that I just suffered and she suffered it for no other reason than someone's greed, then I would be a monster on par with the perpetrators of this act to deny the truth of letting this woman know I lived."

All that time, Gonzalez said, she never told her other four sons and daughter about the baby she thought had died.

I closed myself off to the world with my problems and I suffered a lot," she said. "They told me he died. ... You trust the word of the doctors and nurses because theyre the authorities of the hospital. You cant imagine how someone can do something so awful.

Jimmy Lippert Thyden cries as he holds his mama, Maria Angelica Gonzalez, shortly after their reunion on Aug. 17, 2023, in Valdivia, Chile.

Watch: Chile remembers dictatorship victims in procession in Santiago

Accountability

So far, its only nonprofit groups like Nos Buscamos and Hijos y Madres del Silencio that are working to reconnect adoptees with their birth families.

Nos Buscamos, for example, gets no government funding and relies on volunteers for the often lengthy work involved in confirming relationships with DNA tests.

Del Rio said the Chilean government has done virtually nothing to help and has failed to acknowledge what happened or apologize for it.

We have been working with the last three presidents, and all of them have congratulated us because of what we are doing, but still the government or the state of Chile hasnt recognized this as a historical thing that really happened, she said.

Constanza del Rio, the founder and president of Nos Buscamos, is pictured.

Thyden, a criminal defense attorney who served in the U.S. Marines for 19 years, said the accountability needs to begin now.

For starters, he wants the Chilean government to recognize the harm that has been done and do everything it can to help identify separated families and reunite them, including paying for travel. He wants them to pay for counseling and to prosecute anybody who helped traffic Chilean babies.

Finding support: US adoptees stolen as babies from Chile find families, each other in growing support network

In the meantime, Thyden said, he'll continue bonding with his Chilean family and creating their first shared memories.

Just after he met the whole family, they sang "Happy birthday" to him in Spanish and had him pop 42 balloons representing the 42 years they missed together.

Some of the balloons had personal messages on them, like "I love you," and "Welcome to our home."

One was written by his mama: "You're the most beautiful chapter of my story."

Maria Angelica Gonzalez is beaming after reuniting with her son, Jimmy Lippert Thyden, in Valdivia, Chile on Aug. 17, 2023.

Amanda Lee Myers covers news and human-interest stories at USA TODAY. She can be reached at AmandaMyers@usatoday.com and found on X, formerly Twitter, at @AmandaLeeAP.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia man's journey to Chile latest stolen-child reunion
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  Mid-Missouri residents will start seeing a new area code soon.

In February 2022, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator informed the Missouri Public Service Commission of the need for a new area code in the current 573 region due to an increase in residential and commercial phone numbers.

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The 573 area code was implemented in January 1996 to split away from the 314 code. It runs from the Missouri Bootheel, around the St. Louis region (314 and 636 codes), and up to the northeast beyond Hannibal and Quincy.

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The biggest cities in the current 573 area code are Columbia, Jefferson City, Rolla, and Cape Girardeau.

A new 235 area code will be given to customers in the 573 region who request new service or additional phone lines. This is known as an overlay.

To be clear, the 235 code is not replacing the 573 code. The chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission said existing customers with a 573 area code will not lose or have to change their phone number.

Instead, customers in the 573 region will have to dial 10 digits when the 235 area code is activated.

Beginning Saturday, Aug. 26, customers with a 573 area code will have whats known as a permissive dialing period, in which local calls can be made with either seven or 10 digits. This is being done to get people used to dialing with the area code.

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Then starting on Feb. 24, 2024, all local calls in the 573 region must be made using 10 digits (area code plus the seven-digit telephone number).

On March 24, 2024, all new telephone lines and services will be assigned the 235 area code.

The Missouri Public Service Commission said the price of a call, coverage area and other rates and services will not change with the 235 overlay.

Using three digits to reach 911 or 988 services will remain unaffected.

New Kansas City area code

The Kansas City area will also soon get a new area code.

The Missouri Public Service Commission announced back in January that it will soon begin to implement the new area code of 975 in the existing 816 region.

The 816 area code serves communities like Kansas City, St. Joseph, Blue Springs, Odessa, Harrisonville, Parkville and more.

Like the 573 area code, all existing 816 area code customers will still keep their current area code, and their phone numbers will not change.

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Also like the 573 region, the Missouri Public Service Commission said this change is happening because the 816 area code will soon exhaust available phone numbers.

The North American Numbering Plan Administrator projects that the Kansas City area will run out of 816 phone numbers by the second quarter of 2024.

However, the Missouri Public Service Commission has not set a timeline for when it will start assigning new 975 area codes, but they could roll out as early as this fall.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
FILE - The Rev. Martin Luther King, center, speaks with the media at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference convention in Savannah, Ga., on Sept. 29, 1964. The March on Washington of 1963 was the product of sustained activism by broad coalition. The Black Church was not monolithic then nor now. (Savannah Morning News via AP, File)

The March on Washington of 1963 is remembered most for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 's I Have a Dream speech  and thus as a crowning moment for the long-term civil rights activism of what is sometimes referred to as the Black Church.

At the march, King indeed represented numerous other Black clergy who were his colleagues in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. But the march was the product of sustained activism by a broader coalition. Black and white labor leaders, as well as white clergy, played pivotal roles over many months ahead of the event.

Moreover, the Black Church was not monolithic then  nor is it now. Many Black pastors and their congregations steered clear of civil disobedience and other nonviolent confrontational tactics in the civil rights era, just as some now steer clear of the Black Lives Matter movement and shun progressive Black pastors engagement on behalf of abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

The issues are multiracial. Its too simplistic now to say, Black church/white church,' said the Rev. William Barber, who in 2018 became co-chair of a national anti-poverty initiative called The Poor Peoples Campaign. It took its name from a movement launched by King and other SCLC leaders in 1968 shortly before Kings assassination.

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Barber, now director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, admires King immensely yet is critical of those who water down the March on Washington to one man, one speech.

Thats a political strategy to undermine the purpose of mass protest, he said. It must be a mass movement, not just a mass moment.

Barber said the new manifestation of the Poor Peoples Campaign has drawn active support from thousands of clergy of different races and faiths.

There are Jews, Quakers, some predominantly white congregations that are pro-civil rights and pro-LGBT community  that care about immigrants and women's rights and voting rights, he said. Any efforts today that are not engaging all these issues on an every day basis is not truly moving in the spirit of the March on Washington.

In the decades before and after 1963, Black churches and denominations have had diverse priorities and political approaches.

Many Black faith leaders in the early 1900s supported Booker T. Washington's call for Black progress to occur through education and economic self-sufficiency, rather than through direct challenges to segregation laws. In later decades, self-sufficiency was touted by the Nation of Islam as part of its advocacy of Black Nationalism. Some other Black pastors  notably Father Divine and Reverend Ike  became wealthy with optimistic promises of heaven-on-earth prosperity for their followers.

Currently, there are large numbers of Black pastors in two different categories, according to Robert Franklin, professor of moral leadership at Emory University's Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. Some of them, Franklin says, engage energetically in social-justice activism, envisioning themselves as prophetic radicals in the tradition of King.

Others have a more conservative, individualistic outlook, Franklin said. They are a little mushy on the activism and the risk-taking.

In many respects, they have declared victory, purchased their own buildings, he said. There are fewer prophetic sermons and more concern with institutional maintenance. How to do we keep the lights on, pay the bills.

One notable trend in recent decades has been a rise in the number of multiracial congregations across the country. King's former church in Atlanta, Ebenezer Baptist Church, is among them, drawing increasing numbers of white and Hispanic worshippers.

Barber suggested King would be pleased by that.

Dr. King was fighting for the beloved community which included all people regardless of race, Barber said. He brought in everybody from different faiths and traditions.

In New York City, one of the oldest Protestant churches, Middle Collegiate Church, is now a politically progressive, thoroughly multiethnic congregation. Its senior minister, the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, is a Black woman proud to be carrying on her family's tradition of civil rights activism.

There's something in our blood that will never release us from our responsibility to make heaven here on earth, she said.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was not just Black male clergy in the south, she said. It was women who decided to march and not get on the buses (during the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56 ). It was white people who decided to pick up Black people in their cars and drive them to work. All the everyday, ordinary people who participated in this southern freedom movement.

Lewis agreed that the Black Church  as an umbrella term  may be of limited use now.

Let's look at 'Black faith' instead," she said. It's both inside and outside the church. Black Church is standing in the streets for abortion rights, for immigrants. If there are two Black people in the streets chanting We shall overcome, thats Black Church.

It is perhaps a sign of the times that there is no single faith-based group listed among the organizations serving as co-chairs of the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington that will be celebrated on Aug. 26. Among the co-chairs are the NAACP, the National Urban League, the Anti-Defamation League and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

However, the nations six largest historically Black denominations  partners in the Conference of National Black Churches  will be participating in the anniversary events.

The Black Church was the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement, which is why we are resolved to play a continued role in the fight for equality, said the CNBC board. While we have made strides over the decades, recent events threatened to impact the right to vote, to quality education, and to good-paying jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic was a reminder that we have a long way to go, in so many aspects of life, as we strive for equality and justice.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
A family is mourning after a mother of three was fatally shot by her husband at her Michigan home.

Alicia Lofton died from her injuries after she was shot multiple times in Grand Rapids on Aug. 17, just one day after serving her husband with divorce papers, according to court records.

Her estranged husband, Marcus Lofton, was free on bond from a domestic violence incident with his wife, which officials say happened in May. Part of the condition of his bond was that he was to have no contact with Alicia Lofton.

A probable cause affidavit states that on Aug. 17, police were called to Alicia Loftons home after a neighbor heard gunfire. The neighbor told police he heard arguing and gunshots, police say, then saw a man get into a maroon SUV and leave.

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When police arrived, they found Alicia Lofton lying next to the home with multiple gunshot wounds.

Officers determined that Marcus Lofton drove a similar vehicle. When police went to his listed address, they found him walking and detained him.

According to court records, Marcus Lofton confessed to killing Alicia Lofton.

Marcus Lofton is accused of telling police he and Alicia Lofton were arguing when he grabbed her pistol out of a drawer and tried to strike her with it, causing the gun to go off.

He said that, after the gun went off, Alicia Lofton ran into her room and locked the door, according to officials. Marcus Lofton said he forced the door open and saw Alicia Lofton trying to climb out of the window when he shot her multiple times, records show.

The two had been married since February. On May 18, Marcus Lofton was arrested on domestic violence charges , according to police. He was scheduled to return to court in September in that case.

Alicia Loftons family told Fox 17 that her three children are taking it the hardest. All three were getting ready to start school and will now have to go on without their mother.

My oldest niece is graduating college next year. Her moms not going to be there. Shes going to be looking in the crowd to see her mom, relative Faustino Garcia told the TV station. Its going to suck that my nephew is going to Grand Valley for his first year, and hes looking for his mom to be there. Its going to suck for my youngest niece, whos in high school, whos not going to have a mom there to pick out her prom dress.

Marcus Lofton faces one count of murder and is scheduled to return to court at the end of August.

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If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
Airport personnel transfer a survivor of a deadly migration attempt into an ambulance at a military base in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. A few dozen survivors were repatriated from Cape Verde to Senegal and reunited with their families, a week after they were found adrift in the Atlantic, as they tried to reach Spain's Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Zane Irwin)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  A few dozen survivors of a deadly sea attempt to migrate to Europe reunited with their tearful families in Senegal, a week after they were found adrift off the Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde.

A boat carrying more than 100 people is believed to have set off from Senegal toward Spains Canary Islands on July 10 but never reached its destination. More than 60 migrants are feared dead from the ill-fated voyage.

Last week, a Spanish fishing vessel rescued 38 people who were brought to Cape Verde before being returned to Senegal.

Senegalese officials said a military plane repatriated 37 men, including five minors and a citizen from neighboring Guinea-Bissau, from Cape Verdes Sal Island on Monday. Associated Press journalists saw some of the survivors getting carried into ambulances at the airport in Senegal's capital, Dakar. One survivor remained hospitalized in the Cape Verdean capital of Praia, according to the local Red Cross.

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The migration route from West Africa to Spain is one of the worlds most dangerous, yet the number of migrants leaving from Senegal on rickety wooden boats has surged over the past year. The boats try to reach Spains Canary Islands, an archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa that has been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.

In the first six months of 2023, nearly 800 people have died or gone missing in the Atlantic trying to reach the Canary Islands, according to Spanish rights group Walking Borders.

Worsening youth unemployment, political unrest, violence by armed groups and climate change push migrants across West Africa to risk their lives on overcrowded boats.

On Monday, family members from Fass Boye, a coastal fishing town in Senegal where many of the migrants had left from, made the three-hour drive south to a military airstrip in Dakar to welcome their surviving relatives. Some were brought to greet their families at the airport on a government-chartered bus.

Abdoulaye Gote Kangui was in the western city of Touba on Tuesday when his son More called him from a borrowed phone at the hospital in Cape Verde to tell him that he was still alive. When he got the call, Kangui scrambled to top up the credit on his phone.

Still, the reunification was shadowed by the loss of more than 60 people who are missing and presumed dead. Among them was 18-year-old Papa Sow, More's adoptive brother, who made a last-minute decision to join him on the journey.

Its Gods will. Whether you accept it or not," Kangui said.

Annette Seck, minister for Senegalese living abroad, said in a news conference that the remains of seven people found on the boat were buried on-site in Cape Verde. She thanked Cape Verde authorities for coming to the migrants aid and offered her condolences to bereaved Senegalese families.

Fishermen and farmers in Fass Boye blame a lack of employment prospects for pushing young men to risk their lives on the deadly migration journey.

Head fisherman Cheikh Seck said on Friday that profits have nosedived since the Senegalese government began selling contracts to foreign companies, who use larger boats and more expensive machinery to deplete the fish stock at alarming rates.

According to Seck, at least 20 large fishing boats called pirogues full of hopeful migrants have left the town over the last two decades.

For Fass Boye, the dangerous sea crossings have never ended in a tragedy like this, he said.

___

Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
As Kansas first-ever express toll lanes are under construction on U.S. 69 in Overland Park, the state is now considering adding more to ease congestion on another highway in Johnson County: Kansas 10.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is studying how to address traffic and safety issues on the 17-mile stretch from the interchange with Interstates 435 and 35 in Lenexa, west through Olathe and De Soto to the Douglas County line. And officials said one option could be widening the highway with one express toll lane in each direction. The other lanes would remain free.

Expanding K-10 with express lanes is one option being considered, Steven Cross, KDOT project manager, told the Star in an email. This can be a good solution for addressing long term congestion especially on corridors like K-10 which are anticipated to experience continued growth in traffic.

Officials presented the idea to the Olathe City Council last week, and plan to provide similar information to the Lenexa City Council on Sept. 5. While the express lanes are being discussed at length, KDOT is considering several other options, Cross said, including a traditional widening project without tolls, expanding alternate routes or adding technology to better manage traffic.

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As western Johnson County continues to grow, with major projects such as the development of the $4 billion Panasonic plant in De Soto, the state has prioritized improving K-10. Officials have been analyzing solutions since last fall.

Traffic on K-10 varies from about 30,000 vehicles per day at the western limits, to more than 80,000 where K-10 meets I-435, Cross said. That causes routine daily congestion, particularly east of K-7, he said, as well as higher crash rates than the statewide average for comparable roadways.

KDOT also plans to address deteriorating pavement and bridges, constructed in the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as safety concerns in areas with higher crash rates and sharp curves in the highway.

The state wants to decide how to expand the highway by next spring.

KDOT is completing a study to explore widening K10 to three lanes in each direction, with express toll lanes, from Cedar Creek Parkway to I435.

U.S. 69 is getting the first express toll lanes in Kansas, from 103rd Street to 151st Street in Overland Park. The model can be found in other metro areas, like Denver and Dallas. Typically, the far left lane is the only one tolled. Tolls will be collected digitally, with drivers charged after their K-Tag or license plate is scanned. Rates will fluctuate, rising during rush hour.

KDOT has estimated that toll rates on U.S. 69 will vary from 30 cents to $1.75 per trip, depending on how far the driver travels in the lane and the time of day.

The idea came with mixed reactions in Overland Park, with those in favor arguing that its equitable for drivers who use the highway and want to pay for a speedier trip to help fund the work. They say using toll revenue to fund the citys portion of construction was a way to fast-track the project.

But others raised concerns that toll lanes prioritize the wealthy, dubbing them Lexus lanes.

The Overland Park City Council approved the plan with a 10-2 vote, and in August 2021, a panel of Kansas lawmakers and Gov. Laura Kelly granted final approval.The tolls are expected to pay for Overland Parks $20 million contribution to the first phase of construction.

The toll lanes on U.S. 69 are expected to open in 2025.

If officials were to move forward with adding toll lanes on K-10, Olathe and Lenexa would go through a similar process.

Both of those cities would be asked to enter into a joint proposal with KDOT, using the revenue generated from the tolls to help fund the project. The state would need to grant final approval.

Cross said complete reconstruction of the 17-mile highway is estimated to cost $1.6 billion. But that work would be constructed in phases over time, as needed.

For more information and project updates, visit k10.ksdot.gov.
Two teenagers were sentenced to decades in prison for murder last week, the latest young men to receive long prison sentences in the state's cases against the NorthPak gang.

Jacari Robinson, 19, and Julius Smith Jr., 18 both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of Dakevis Reed, a 29-year-old who was fatally shot in December 2020 near New Castle. A teen who Reed was walking with was also hit by the gunfire but survived.

Robinson was 17 years old at the time of the shooting and last week was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Smith was 15 years old at the time of the shooting and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The two also pleaded guilty to gang participation and other charges.

They had initially been charged with first-degree murder as part of a sprawling indictment of Wilmington-area youths that prosecutors accused of several murders and illegal participation in the NorthPak gang.

The scene where Dakevis Reed was shot.

So far, the cases against NorthPak have brought murder convictions in the deaths of five mostly young men and other cases remain pending.

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RECENT: 2 young men sentenced to life for gang-related murders, shootings in Wilmington

Where do the rest of the cases stand?

Robinson and Smith pleaded guilty days after a judge put life sentences on two other accused NorthPak members convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for fatally shooting 17-year-old Ollier Slim Henry, 19-year-old Taquan Tink Davis and 21-year-old Shareef Hamilton in 2020.

At trial earlier this year, a jury convicted 20-year-old Elijah Coffield of killing Henry and Hamilton, and 21-year-old Gregory Wing for killing Henry and Davis along with multiple nonfatal shootings. Markel Richards, 21, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter for Hamilton's killing and was sentenced to 21 years for that and other charges.

RECENT: 'Revenge, rep chasing and reputation': How prosecutors used Instagram in gang murder trial

Murder charges remain pending against J'Shawn Edwards for Hamilton's death.

Markevis Clark, 21, and Zymir Hynson, 20, both pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder for the 2020 shooting death of 17-year-old Taron Whaley. Clark was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Hynson was sentenced to 18 years.

New Castle County Police Chief Col. Vaughn Bond speaks with members of murder victims' families after 120 indictments, including charges in the murders of six people, were announced against 14 members of the Wilmington-area NorthPak gang Monday, June 21, 2021 at the Carvel State Office Building in Wilmington.

Israel Lecompte, 20, awaits trial on murder charges for the deaths of Quinton Dorsey and Matima Miller in 2021. Trial is scheduled for March.

First-degree murder charges also remain pending for Davine Boyce, 24, for the 2019 death of 19-year-old Stephan Price in Wilmington's Eastlake neighborhood.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: More Delaware teens plead guilty to murder in Wilmington gang case
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U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 8, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump leads comfortably in a poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers, whose results were released on Monday.

A new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows that 42 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers would support Trump as president in 2024, compared with 19 percent for his closest challenger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

In third place is Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina with 9 percent. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Trump's Vice President Mike Pence both are at 6 percent. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is at 5 percent, followed by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with 4 percent.

Seven other candidates are polling at 2 percent or lower.

The first-in-the-nation caucuses will take place in Iowa on Jan. 15, 2024.

The Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll of 406 likely Republican caucusgoers was conducted between Aug. 13 and 17, with a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.
The Moscow First Appellate Court has upheld a decision by Russian authorities to sentence Ukrainian human rights defender and soldier Maxim Butkevych to 13 years in prison, the Graty Telegram channel reported on Aug. 22.

In March, sham courts in the Russian-occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk handed down a 13-year sentence to Butkevych for his alleged involvement in shelling the entrance of a residential building in Severodonetsk, resulting in injuries to two civilians.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian journalists uncovered evidence indicating that Butkevych was not present in the Donbas region on the day of the incident, June 4, 2022.

Read also: Russia sentences captured Ukrainian human rights activist to 13 years in prison

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Ukraines Foreign Ministry has denounced the verdict as illegitimate and baseless.

Butkevych is accused of violating the rules of war. The court took into account the time he spent in pretrial detention in Luhansk Oblast from Aug. 19, 2022. He participated in the trial via video link and delivered his final statement from the occupied city.

Read also: Russia arrests 25-year-old Crimean Tatar woman on charges of espionage

I would like to express gratitude to all those individuals who care about my fate and the fate of all Ukrainian prisoners of war who are currently in dire circumstances, stated Butkevych.

People who are either prisoners of war or already convicted individuals constantly think not only about their families and loved ones, but also about all those who remain free, those who are in Ukraine, and everyone hopes that prisoners of war will be released.

Read also: Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza sentenced to 25 years in prison

According to Butkevych, he receives no news updates or newspapers, and his exposure to television has been restricted. His reading material consists solely of the New Testament and Psalms.

Butkevych, a human rights defender and co-founder of Hromadske Radio, joined the ranks of Ukraines defenders in early March 2022.

He has been held captive by Russian forces since at least June 24, following the release of a video interrogation by Russian propagandists on that day.

The Russian Ministry of Defense in August 2022 acknowledged Butkevych had been captured.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Moscow court considered the appeal and upheld the decision on 13 years in prison for Maksym Butkevych, the Ukrainian human rights activist, who was taken prisoner last summer.

Source: Suspilne; Mediazona

Details: The judges decided to count the actual time of detention from 19 August 2022  that is, from the moment when the Russian Ministry of Defence recognised the fact of Butkevych's imprisonment.

Butkevych attended the meeting remotely via video link from temporarily occupied Luhansk and said his last words:

Quote: "I would only like to express my gratitude to all those people who care about my fate and all Ukrainian prisoners of war who are now in a difficult situation. People who are in the status of prisoners of war, or already convicted, or also the ones who think constantly not only about relatives and friends but also about all those who remained at large, who are in Ukraine, and everyone hopes that prisoners of war will be released."

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Details: He reported not receiving news or books. He watched TV for four months, and it was only Russian television. During all his time in detention he received just one letter, one that contained congratulations on his birthday. He added that other prisoners also do not receive parcels.

Employees of the consulates of Germany, the United Kingdom and France, as well as human rights activists of Memorial Oleg Orlov and Svetlana Ganushkina, came to court to support Butkevych.

Quote: "I am now interested even more in human rights topics, the penitentiary system and Article 3 of the European Convention. There will be a lot of work when, God willing, I am set free."

Background:

Butkevych was captured by Russian forces in July 2022. The detention of Butkevych was reported by Russian propagandists by publishing a video of the interrogation. It was claimed that the Ukrainian servicemen, among them Butkevych, "surrendered near Hirske."

On 23 February, at the Berlin Film Festival, representatives of the Ukrainian film industry called on the international cultural community to demand the release of Butkevych from Russian captivity.

In March, a "court" in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts "sentenced" him to 13 years in a maximum security colony for allegedly shelling the entrance to Severodonetsk and injuring two civilians.

They claim that Butkevych pleaded guilty. However, independent lawyers, both on the Russian and Ukrainian sides, do not have access to the case file.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that the entire trial is a hoax and was staged to legalise political reprisals against Ukrainians.

The announced sentences against Butkevych are legally null and void.

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 majority of likely Iowa Republican caucus attendees said they believe former President Trump won the 2020 election, according to a new poll.

The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll found that 51 percent of likely caucusgoers  which includes Republicans and independents  said they believe Trumps unproven claims that he won the 2020 election. Forty-one percent said they do not believe him, while 8 percent said they are not sure.

Sixty percent of self-identified Republicans said they believed Trumps claims. Of those who listed the former president as their first-choice candidate, 83 percent said they believed Trump won the election in 2020 over President Biden.

Those who do not support Trump are also less likely to say he won the 2020 election. The poll found 29 percent of those who do not support the former president in 2024 believe he won the 2020 election.

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The poll also found nearly two-thirds of likely caucus attendees believed Trump has not committed serious crimes, despite him being indicted four times over the past year.

According to the poll, 42 percent of likely caucusgoers said Trump was their first-choice candidate for the 2024 GOP primary. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received 19 percent of the vote, while South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott received 9 percent support.

The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

Even though Trump maintains a strong lead among likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers, most of the respondents added they have not made up their minds on a 2024 candidate, and they could be persuaded to support someone else.

The poll was conducted between Aug. 13-17 among 406 Iowa voters likely to attend the 2024 Republican caucus and has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- More than half of voters likely to attend Iowas Republican caucuses believe former President Donald Trump s false claims that he won the 2020 election, according to a new poll.

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The survey by NBC News and the Des Moines Register found that 51% of respondents believe Trump, 41% do not and 8% say they are not sure.

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The numbers were even higher among some of Trumps strongest groups of supporters. Two-thirds of respondents making less than $70,000 a year believe Trumps false claims, as did 62% of evangelicals and 59% of those without college degrees.

Trump also held the lead in the poll, with 42% saying he was their first choice, 19% picking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and 9% choosing South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

The poll of 406 voters likely to attend Republican caucuses was conducted Aug. 13-17, just as Trump and 18 allies were indicted by an Atlanta prosecutor over efforts to overturn his loss in Georgia. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.9 percentage points.

Read more: Trump to Surrender Aug. 24 for Booking in Georgia Election Case

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A majority of New Jersey residents said they think middle and high schools should notify parents if their children ask to be identified by a different gender from the one on their school registration, according to a new poll.

The Monmouth University poll found that 77 percent of adults in New Jersey think the parental notification should be required, while 55 percent said parents should be notified even if it is not required.

Among parents of minors, 81 percent said schools should be required to notify them, and 59 percent said they should notify them even if it is not required. While majorities of both Republicans and Democrats supported parental notification, the numbers were higher among Republicans.

Ninety-two percent of Republicans said schools should be required to notify parents if their child asks to be identified as a different gender, while 61 percent of Democrats said the same thing.

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Just under half of New Jersey residents said they think schools are doing too much when teaching about gender identity, while 23 percent said they are doing the right amount and 16 percent said they are not doing enough.

New Jersey earlier this year sued three school districts over their parental notification policies.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination flatly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression, and we are firmly committed to taking swift action in response to any policy that violates that prohibition, the state attorney generals office said in a statement.

The new poll was conducted between Aug. 10-14 among 814 New Jersey adults and has a margin of error of 5.4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Typically mellow mountain goats have mercilessly killed three dogs in a string of unusual attacks at a popular hiking and camping destination in Utah, officials said.

The most recent attack took place Saturday, Aug. 19, when a dog was harassing a mother mountain goat and her two babies on Mount Timpanogos, Sgt. Spencer Cannon told McClatchy News in a phone interview. Cannon is a spokesperson for the Utah County Sheriffs Office where the popular summit is located in Provo, just south of Salt Lake City.

Mama mountain goat decided: Im done with this, hooked him and pushed it over a cliff and the dog died, Cannon said in the interview.

Mountain goats gored the other two dogs in the three weeks prior to the Aug. 19 attack, Cannon said. Those goats may have been defending their territory or otherwise felt threatened in some way.

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We dont have a lot of experiences where mountain goats come at people or animals like this. They typically tend to shy away, he said. So to have three (incidents) in three weeks where dogs were killed during the interaction is unusual.

All three dogs were unleashed during the attack  and hikers often dont leash their dogs when they take them up on the mountain, Cannon said.

Most of the time theyre just fine, he said. So this seems unusual.

While the incidents are tragic, officials with the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team reminded hikers its their responsibility to keep animals safe.





Allowing your dogs to chase goats carries fines akin to poaching, officials with the team said in an Aug. 20 post on Facebook. Both dogs and people need to pay attention while on the trails.

Mountain goats have attacked dogs on the trail before, officials said.

In 2021, Ruby the dog rounded a corner of the Emerald Lake shelter at the same moment a goat appeared from the other side, officials said. She tried to run, but the goat ran her down and threw her in the air.

Rubys hip was punctured, but she was able to recover with veterinary care, officials said.

On the mountain, goats and wildlife have right of way. We are guests in their space, officials said. The mountain goats on Timp are usually very mellow and will walk fairly close to people. Please keep your distance, even if it means delays on your hike.

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Freshman Solimar Matos, of Chicago, puts away her things after moving into her dorm room at Lincoln Hall at the University of Illinois Springfield Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

About 185 University of Illinois Springfield freshmen were expected to move into residence halls on Tuesday as the school gears up for the start of classes on Friday.

Last year, UIS reversed a five-year downward trend in enrollment, though the 6.4% overall increase was due to the growth of graduate students.

UIS officials said on Tuesday that numbers for this fall were expected to be released on Sept. 11.

At 100, Evelyn Brandt Thomas reflects on working every day and her company's early days

"We're very optimistic about our enrollment this year," said UIS Chancellor Janet Gooch, Tuesday. "I think things are looking good on all fronts and we all have our fingers crossed for a very successful enrollment year."

Freshman Dove Soki of Aurora unloads her belongings from a U-Haul truck as she moves into Founders Hall at the University of Illinois Springfield Tuesday.

Gooch said enrollment managers at UIS are looking at a cross-section of data, including the number of applications, number of commitments, and number of students who attend orientation.

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"All that data we use to inform where we might be once census happens, but we have to be careful in making any kind of announcement because students do make different decisions once it's time to actually move in," she said.

Overall, UIS had 4,198 students last fall, marked by a 25% increase in graduate students. The number of undergraduate students decreased from 2,503 to 2,393.

"I'm confident we will see growth in all areas," Gooch added. "To predict on the actual percentage of growth in each of those categories is too difficult at this point in time, but we are hopeful we are going to be up in all of our student populations, international students, graduate students, undergraduate students, etc."

Springfield is the only campus in the University of Illinois System starting classes Friday. Both Urbana-Champaign and Chicago schools started Monday.

Blake Wood, a spokesman for UIS, said the campus sets the academic calendar for the year.

"It is typical, and it has been in past years, that we haven't started on the same date as (Urbana-Champaign)," Wood said.

The students moved into Lincoln and Founders residence halls Tuesday, Wood said. Both dorms are co-ed.

University of Illinois Springfield volunteers help students moving into Lincoln Hall unpack their vehicles Tuesday.

This is Gooch's second Move-In Day as UIS chancellor.

"It's always great to welcome our new students to campus and see their excitement level and you can just see the possibility on their faces," she said. "We love to go down there and interact with them and visit with their families and let them know they're welcome here and we're so excited to have them on campus."

Gooch recalled being nervous and excited when she moved into her dorm as an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas.

"I'm sure that's how our students feel and I remember my parents being both happy and sad because I was moving and I'm sure that's how the parents feel today," she said. "But we're going to do everything we can to make the students and parents feel their student will be successful here and finds a great place to live and learn the next years they're with us."

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

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Undergrads move into University of Illinois Springfield dorms
Who said spooky season has to wait until October? Halloween comes early next month with the return of two iconic horror franchises and even a spooky murder mystery. But for non-horror fans, there are still plenty of options, including two big action flicks, a romantic comedy sequel, and a sci-fi epic that's actually  gasp  not based on a pre-existing intellectual property. These are the most anticipated new movies debuting in September 2023:

'The Equalizer 3' (Sept. 1)

Who better to kick off a strong September movie line-up than Denzel Washington ? The actor returns as Robert McCall in the third and allegedly final "Equalizer" film, which Antoine Fuqua once again directs. After giving up his life as an assassin, McCall is living in Southern Italy, where he "discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses," per Sony. "As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the mafia." Dakota Fanning also stars, reuniting with Washington nearly 20 years after "Man on Fire." Feeling old yet?

'The Nun II' (Sept. 8)

The "Conjuring" franchise remains one of Hollywood's most successful cinematic universes outside of Marvel, and its creators are back to give us more nightmares. In this follow-up to "The Nun," which was itself a spin-off of "The Conjuring 2," Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is again terrorized by the demon Valak, which takes the form of a nun, after the murder of a priest in France. Storm Reid joins the cast for the sequel, which comes from the director of "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It." The project was co-written by Akela Cooper, who penned this year's "M3GAN." Hopefully, that means Valak will bust out a TikTok-ready dance.

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' (Sept. 8)

Hollywood's most important film trilogies include "The Lord of the Rings," "Star Wars," and, soon, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The third entry in the romantic comedy series sees the Portokalos family reunite for a trip to Greece. After the death of actor Michael Constantine in 2021, his character, Gus, has also died, so the rest of the family visits his childhood village to fulfill his final wishes. Star Nia Vardalos previously said that Constantine already wasn't going to be able to return, but he gave the film his blessing.

'Dumb Money' (Sept. 15)

Remember in early 2021 when no one could stop talking about Wall Street's GameStop saga, and Hollywood immediately rushed several projects about it into development? Well, one of them is here, and it could be the next "The Big Short." Paul Dano stars in this film based on the true story of retail traders from Reddit who boosted GameStop's stock and stuck it to hedge funds that bet against the company. Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Sebastian Stan also star, and Craig Gillespie ("I, Tonya") directs. The movie is based on the book "The Antisocial Network" by Ben Mezrich, who wrote the book that inspired "The Social Network." Considering the talent behind "Dumb Money," we're placing stock in this one.

'A Haunting in Venice' (Sept. 15)

Hercule Poirot's latest case might just scare the mustache off him. Kenneth Branagh returns for another Agatha Christie murder mystery, continuing the series that also includes 2017's "Murder on the Orient Express" and 2022's "Death on the Nile." Based on Christie's "Hallowe'en Party," this film sees Poirot, now retired, attend a seance, only to have to solve the murder of one of the guests. Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, and Michelle Yeoh flesh out the cast. Together, they'll give spooky season a classy start.

'Expend4bles' (Sept. 22)

You know the 2010s are making a comeback when Taylor Swift is re-releasing "1989" and movie titles are once again replacing letters with numbers. The "Expendables" franchise, essentially "The Avengers" for iconic action stars, returns with this new entry mixing an old and new cast. Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone return, while the new stars include Megan Fox and 50 Cent. Good news for fans of over-the-top violence: The film is once again rated R after the third installment controversially bumped things down to a PG-13. Oh yes  there will be blood.

'Spy Kids: Armageddon' (Sept. 22)

It isn't game over for "Spy Kids." Robert Rodriguez returns to revive his family comedy franchise with this Netflix reboot centering on a new generation. "When the children of the world's greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, they must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world," the streamer said. Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi step in as the parents, while newcomers Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla play the kids. Give us a Fegan Floop cameo or we riot!

'Flora and Son' (Sept. 29)

Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in

Apple TV+

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The director of "Once" is once again going to make us cry with a music-themed film. John Carney, whose other movies include "Begin Again" and "Sing Street," directs this dramedy picked up by Apple after a strong Sundance debut. Starring Bono's daughter, Eve Hewson, the film follows a single mother and her rebellious teenage son, who together "discover the transformative power of music," per Apple. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also stars. Apple previously crashed the Best Picture race with "CODA," another music-themed Sundance movie could history repeat itself?

'The Creator' (Sept. 29)

The creator of "Rogue One" will soon return with a new sci-fi film about artificial intelligence, assuming AI hasn't killed us all by then. In his follow-up to the acclaimed "Star Wars" film, Gareth Edwards directs this original sci-fi movie starring John David Washington that's set amid a war between humans and AI. Joshua, an ex-special forces agent played by Washington, "is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war," only to discover this weapon is "an AI in the form of a young child," the synopsis says. Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, and Allison Janney also star in the film, which re-teams Edwards with "Rogue One" co-writer Chris Weitz. Fingers crossed for another hallway scene.

'Saw X' (Sept. 29)

If it's Halloween  or at least Sept. 29  it must be "Saw." The grisly horror franchise returns with this tenth entry, which, in keeping with the series' convoluted timeline shenanigans, takes place between the first and second films. That means Tobin Bell is back as his deceased character, John Kramer. The film sees the Jigsaw Killer travel to Mexico to undergo an experimental medical procedure to cure his cancer, only to find out it was a scam. So John exacts his revenge, subjecting those who tried to con him to a deadly game. According to the trailer, the torture traps this time include forcing a man to perform his own brain surgery. It may be wise to bring a barf bag to the theater.

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Ms Lauryn Hill is embarking on a global tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her seminal album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Hills debut solo record earned her five Grammy Awards at the 1999 ceremony, making her the first woman to win that many in one night and the first hip-hop artist to win Album of the Year.

The singers anniversary tour will be co-headlined by her band, the Fugees, reuniting for the first time in years.

In a press release, Hill said: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is and was a love song to my parents, my family, my people, my musical and cultural forebears, my teachers, my loves, my Creator. I wrote love songs and protest songs  (still love songs) about the subjects and interests that inspired and moved me. I was confident that what inspired me would resonate with an audience that had been led to believe that songs of that kind could only live in the past.

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She continued: I loved music, I loved people, I truly felt grateful to God for my life, and genuinely blessed to have a platform where I could share wisdom and perspective through music. I felt a charge to challenge the idea that certain kinds of expression and/or certain kinds of people didnt belong in certain places. I loved showing what could work or happen provided there was imagination, creativity, and LOVE leading the way.

The tour begins at Mystic Lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 8 September, before moving on to New York and then Australia and New Zealand for four dates, where shell be joined by Jamaican singer Koffee.

Lauryn Hill (Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Shell then return to North America for 11 more gigs, including dates at Los Angeles Kia Forum and the United Center in Chicago.

Hill formed the Fugees with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel in the early Nineties. Michel is currently awaiting sentencing after being convicted on charges of conspiracy, witness tampering, and failing to register as an agent of China earlier this year. Hills announcement did not clarify whether Michel would be involved in the tour.

Tickets go on sale Friday, 25 August at 10am local time via Ticketmaster. Live Nation is offering pre-sale access to fans on Thursday, 25 August, using the access code TRACK.
ANDERSON, Ind.  A Muncie woman faces drug dealing charges after a traffic stop in southern Madison County.

Olivia Louise Larue, 39, was arrested by Madison County sheriff's deputies on Aug. 15 after a pickup truck she was driving was pulled over along Ind. 13 near the Love's Travel Stop in rural Pendleton.

A deputy said Larue at first purported to be another person, but then gave her real name after learning the woman she had claimed to be was the target of an arrest warrant issued in Blackford County.

Among the items seized from the truck were more than 16 grams of cocaine, 12.5 grams of heroin, a large amount of cash, five syringes and a glass smoking pipe.

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Larue said she had cashed out her 401(k) retirement account, collecting about $3,000, to purchase the heroin and cocaine in Muncie a few hours earlier.

More: Muncie man charged in interstate drug case strikes deal with feds

She was later charged in Madison Circuit Court 3 with dealing in cocaine and dealing in a narcotic drug, both Level 2 felonies carrying up to 30 years in prison.

She is also charged with identity deception, a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence.

Larue was released after posting a $10,000 bond at the Madison County jail.

At the time of her latest arrest, the Muncie woman already faced nine charges  dealing in cocaine, dealing in a narcotic drug, possession of marijuana, driving while suspended, two counts of possession of paraphernalia and three counts of possession of a narcotic drug  in two cases pending in Delaware Circuit Court 2.

She has been convicted of auto theft and theft.

A passenger in Larue's pickup truck who was also arrested on Aug. 15, 38-year-old Linnie Bee Balfour Jr., is charged in Madison Circuit Court 3 with possession of meth, possession of a narcotic drug, unlawful possession of a syringe and identity deception.

Deputies said Balfour  listed at an Indianapolis address, but formerly of Muncie  at first tried to persuade them he was another member of his family.

He continued to be held in the Madison County jail on Tuesday under a $10,000 bond.

At the time of last week's arrest, Balfour already faced seven charges in five cases pending in Muncie City Court  three counts of false informing, along with false identity statement, possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia and driving without ever receiving a license.

Bafour's record includes convictions for possession of meth, unlawful possession of a syringe, possession of marijuana and disobeying a declaration of disaster,

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: Muncie woman faces drug dealing charges in Madison County
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Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that he is willing to work with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, to push China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

At a new historical starting point, Xi said, carrying forward friendship, deepening cooperation and strengthening coordination are the common aspiration of the two countries and the task entrusted by the times.

Xi made the remarks in a meeting here with Ramaphosa after arriving on Monday for a state visit to South Africa, where he will also attend the 15th BRICS Summit and co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.




The killing of Laura Ann Lauri Carleton over the display of a rainbow Pride flag outside her store in San Bernardino County is a horrific reminder of the deadly fear queer people and our allies live with every day.

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Carleton, 66, was shot and killed on August 18 after an argument with a stranger about the rainbow Pride flag she had hung outside her boutique store in the small Southern California town of Cedar Glen, which is roughly 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

Though not a member of the LGTBQ+ community herself, Carleton was reportedly a vocal advocate and ally to the queer community. The suspect made several disparaging remarks about the flag before shooting Carleton, according to a police press release. The suspect fled the scene and was later killed by police in a standoff.

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The dimensions of tragedy in this story begin and end with hatred for our LGTBQ+ neighbors across America, even within a state as progressive as California.

According to a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, LGBTQ+ people are nine times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to be victims of violent hate crimes.

Its tragic that the support Carleton showed our community symbolizes the kind of acceptance and fellowship that can make queer youth feel safer and more welcome, and yet she was killed for showing that kindness. In a 2019 Journal of Youth and Adolescence article, Family Science Assistant Professor Dr. Jessica Fish found that LGBTQ+ youth who participated in community-based support programs report having better mental health and are less likely to fall victim to substance abuse.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which this year declared a national state of emergency for the LGBTQ+ community, reported that a record 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in U.S. state legislatures in 2023, including more than 220 bills that specifically target transgender and non-binary people.

The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived  they are real, tangible and dangerous, HRC President Kelley Robinson said. In many cases, they are resulting in violence against LGBTQ+ people, forcing families to uproot their lives and flee their homes in search of safer states, and triggering a tidal wave of increased homophobia and transphobia that puts the safety of each and every one of us at risk.

In the state capitol just last June, Republicans walked out of the legislature during a Pride Month celebration. In July, the Chino Hills Unified School District voted to forcibly out transgender students to the entire student body and their parents; and that same month, protestors violently stormed a Woodland bar making threats and canceling a drag event.

Hate crimes were happening in 2012 when Brandy Martell, a 37-year-old transgender woman, was fatally shot in a car in Oakland, and back in 2008, when a 14-year-old boy shot his openly gay 15-year-old classmate in the head while they were at school in Oxnard. More than 20 years ago, the double murder of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder shocked the state when they were killed by Christian extremists simply for living openly as gay men in Shasta County.

Tragically, that danger has not ended. The killing of Carleton in California last weekend demonstrates the ongoing threats to queer people and their allies today.

A frightening consequence of Carletons murder now, in the face of these increasing attacks, would be if it causes potential allies to take a neutral stance or refrain from continuing the necessary cultural conversations around these topics. Hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community occur every day and have for decades; it is dangerous for us every day. Your continued allyship not only merits our deepest gratitude, but also means the most to us during the times it is most dangerous for you, too.
City leaders deny knowing about the Christian youth ministry Ground Zeros anti-LGBTQ views before promoting the organization on the social media of the taxpayer-funded Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance.

Ground Zero has received financial benefits from the city, including $1 a year rent and free services for their annual Dragon Boat Festival.

On Aug. 12, a post on Ground Zero was published on the Facebook and Instagram pages of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance. The text, taken from the organizations website, said Ground Zero is a place where every teenager can go, belong and grow. As of Aug. 22, over a week after it was brought to the Downtown Alliances attention, the post is still visible on social media.

The ministry, whose mission is to transform teenagers lives through Jesus Christ, publicly shares its homophobic beliefs.

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The ministry see around 125 middle and high schoolers every week, according to Stephanie Sebring, Ground Zeros advancement director.

Ground Zeros website includes statements and Bible verses against gay marriage and homosexuality under the Biblical Positions section  We believe marriage is between one man and one woman and We believe God calls Christ-followers to abstain from sexual relationships or marriage with members of the same sex.

Other entries on that section say Ground Zero believes sex is only for marriage and life begins at conception.

Adult volunteers are asked to agree with the organizations biblical positions. Language against gay marriage and homosexuality has been present on the organizations website since at least August 2015, according to the Wayback Machine.

Sebring said in an Aug. 16 phone interview that the organization has students who identify as gay or lesbian, but no homosexual staff members.

While we welcome any and all teenagers, regardless of their sexual orientation, to come to Ground Zero, we do hope to be able to share the gospel with them, Sebring said.

Area LGBTQ advocates said letting gay or lesbian teens participate with conditions of celibacy does not make them fully included.

If youre going to welcome people that are LGBTQ, you need to affirm their lives, said Craig McGee, director of Pride Myrtle Beach, in an Aug. 22 phone interview.

Adam Hayes, chair of the volunteer Human Rights Commission and volunteer with Grand Strand Pride, said Aug. 22, I would never go there as an LGBTQ+ teen.

Its very disheartening to have public tax dollars go to something that does not support people for who they are, and does not truly love people for who they are.

Chase Masters, a member of the LGBTQ community and co-owner of Lucid Coast Candle Bar in downtown Myrtle Beach, said he felt the social media feature was frustrating. On Aug. 16, inside his pop and pop shop, Masters said after the citys new DEI office, It seemed like we were heading in the right direction.

Downtown Alliance dragged feet upon learning about anti-LGBTQ stance

In an Aug. 15 phone interview, Downtown Alliance CEO Jason Greene said he didnt know of Ground Zeros homophobic views. Greene said hes primarily the one who decides which organizations to feature on the Downtown Alliances social media, which is executed by Myrtle Beach-based Element Marketing Company. The Downtown Alliance has an estimate to pay Element Marketing Company approximately $37,000 to manage their social media for six-months and build them a new website.

The Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance has had some recent missteps with hiring a new executive director.

Greene said he would go to the Downtown Alliances board of directors to discuss the post. The boards next meeting is Thursday at 9 a.m. at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce conference room at 1200 North Oak Street.

The goal of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance is to promote equity and inclusivity in the downtownWe believe that we should be able to promote everybody in downtown thats serving the community, Greene said.

The Facebook post uses the term we when promoting the ministry.

I dont think the [Downtown Alliance] or the city was aware of the extended text on Ground Zeros webpage which staked out religious preferences, wrote city spokesperson Mark Kruea in an Aug. 16 email.

The Downtown Alliances 2024 $1.5 million budget calls for $1.2 million from the City of Myrtle Beach in taxpayer dollars. The rest of the funding is also taxpayer-funded through a tax on downtown property owners.

Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune is a board member for the Downtown Alliance. The Sun News contacted her for comment starting Aug. 16. Bethune repeatedly referred questions to the Downtown Alliance and Ground Zero.

The City of Myrtle Beach also supports anti-gay ministry by leasing a building for $1 a year

The 2016 Ground Zero Dragon boat races were held at Grand Park at Market Common. Saturday, April 30, 2016.

For over a decade, Ground Zero, a religious organization, has received financial benefits from the City of Myrtle Beach, including $1 a year rent and free city services for their Dragon Boat Festival.

The youth ministry has a 20-year lease at the city-owned historic Rivoli Theatre, across the street from the Pavilion parking garage. Ground Zero renovated the building and in 2014, opened their doors in downtown Myrtle Beach.

In June 2011, the Myrtle Beach City Council approved Ground Zeros $1 a year lease of the crumbling Rivoli Theatre, which the ministry was tasked with renovating, according to a lease agreement obtained by The Sun News. Kruea wrote in an email Aug. 21 that Ground Zero and the Myrtle Beach Art Museum are the citys only tenants that have the $1 a year lease agreement.

North Carolina native Scott Payseur started Ground Zero in 1998 in northeastern Tennessee. In the mid-2000s, Payseur moved the youth ministry to Myrtle Beach, where he had previously worked. Payseur was not available for an interview at the time of publication.

On April 25, 2014, The Sun News reported that the organization had completed $1.5 million worth of renovations and repairs, according to Payseur, which he said mostly came in the form of volunteer hours and donated building materials.

The city council approved its co-sponsorship of the 2020 Dragon Boat Festival, Ground Zeros largest fundraiser. The City of Myrtle Beach waived the stage and park rental fees, which totaled $4,500.
NASA Armstrongs ER-2 aircraft deploys for a mission to fly at high altitudes above the Floridian coastline to collect data about the energetic characteristics and behavior of lightning and thunderclouds. A NASA pilot operated the aircraft while scientists from the University of Bergen, Norway interpreted the data from the ground.

Storm-chasing NASA pilots recently spent weeks flying an aircraft not unlike a spy plane directly into thunderstorms in an effort to gain new insights about lightning and severe weather.

Lightning has historically only been researched by low-flying aircraft or ground observers who are too far from thunderclouds to examine their detailed characteristics. Conversely, NASA's many satellites, such as the imaging sensor on the International Space Station, are attempting to measure lightning and related energy discharges from hundreds or even thousands of miles above.

But as the highest flying plane in the space agency's Airborne Science Program, the ER-2 aircraft was able to literally fly into the eye of the storm itself. The 60 hours of flight its pilots logged over the course of a month provided previously inaccessible observations that NASA hopes will help scientists better predict when storms could turn severe.

This is a mission to go into the microphysics of what is going on in the enormous electric field above our heads, principal investigator Nikolai Ostgaard from the University of Bergen said in a written statement.

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How often do lightning strikes occur?

About 40 million lightning strikes hit the ground in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are less than one in a million, and almost 90% of all lightning strike victims survive, the CDC said.

Though it's rare that people are struck by lightning, the lingering threat is still a major cause of storm related deaths in the U.S. In the last three decades, the U.S. has averaged 43 reported lightning fatalities per year, according to the National Weather Service.

A lightning strike can result in a cardiac arrest, which can lead to irreversible brain damage for those who survive if they're not resuscitated in a timely manner, the weather service said.

How the experiment worked

Thunderstorms can emit two different types of gamma-ray radiation from their electric fields: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and gamma-ray glows. While the flashes are brief (albeit intense) bursts of radiation that occur from specific points within the thundercloud, the glows are longer than the flashing and can last from minutes to hours.

In an effort to determine how long these glows last on average, an international group of scientists from the University of Bergen in Norway, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and three NASA centers spent a month conducting and overseeing flights in thunderstorm hotspots.

With operations based in Tampa, Florida, researchers hoped to learn more about lightning and the vast energy fields around thunderclouds in Earth's atmosphere. As a result of their experiments, NASA said in a news release that researchers were able to capture the most detailed airborne analysis of gamma-rays and thunderclouds ever recorded.

The research was part of what's known as the ALOFT project, or Airborne Lightning Observatory for Flys Eye Simulator and Terrestrial Gamma Rays. The acronym may sound like a mouthful, but the mission was essentially to fly NASA's ER-2 aircraft above storms in Central America, the Caribbean, and off the coast of Florida.

The airplane is capable of flying at about 60,000 feet, an ideal altitude for flying in the proximity of thunderclouds. While airborne, the plane was fitted with instruments mounted on the aircraft to measure the brightness of gamma rays while flying as close as safely possible to thunderclouds as tall as 10 miles in altitude.

The ALOFT team on the ground was able to receive the data in real time, which allowed them to instruct pilots to circle and fly over any electrically glowing thundercloud detected for as long as possible.

The data collected allowed the team to understand more about under just what conditions terrestrial gamma-ray flashes are produced, as well as the behavior of gamma-ray glows in thunderclouds.

If that sounds hard to decipher, Timothy Lang, lead research aerospace technologist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, put it this way: The data the program has gathered could "help scientists see when storms are strengthening and provide extra lead time of information to keep the public safe from the threat of lightning.

'Internet apocalypse:' How NASA's solar-storm studies could help save the web

About the aircraft

The high-altitude Lockheed ER-2 aircraft used in the study is one of two NASA operates as "flying laboratories" based at the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California.

The craft were acquired in 1981 and 1989 to replace two Lockheed U-2 aircraft that NASA was using since 1971 to collect science data, according to a NASA fact sheet about the aircraft. Combined, the U-2s and ER-2s have flown more than 4,500 data missions and test flights since the Airborne Science Program's inaugural flight in 1971.

An invaluable tool for scientific research, the craft have been used to study Earth's oceanic processes, make celestial observation and now, to study weather.

It will open doors to understanding lightning," Ostgaard said. "We do not really understand how these gamma-ray flashes and glows are related to thunderclouds and lightning."

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA flew a high-altitude airplane into storms to study lightning
James Hansen, who was a NASA climate scientist when he first warned the world that the planet was heating in 1988, is back with another stark warning  this time hoping for different results.

When Hansen appeared before the United States Senate in June of 1988, the world had just experienced the warmest first five months of any year in recorded history, The New York Times reported at the time.

Up until that time, scientists had been cautious about blaming the warming of the planet on pollutants put into the air by human activity. But Hansen told the committee that NASA was 99% certain that the warming trend was caused by the buildup of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere.

Sadly, the problem has continuously gotten worse worldwide in the decades since. And Hansen has continued his fight to bring attention to the issue. In 2011, he was one of 140 people to be arrested while protesting the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

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In a recent statement released by Hansen alongside two other scientists, Hansen predicted the warming of the planet to accelerate in the coming years, musing about a new climate frontier.

Theres a lot more in the pipeline, unless we reduce the greenhouse gas amounts, Hansen told the Guardian. These superstorms are a taste of the storms of my grandchildren. We are headed wittingly into the new reality  we knew it was coming.

Speaking of the heat waves that have ravaged much of the Northern Hemisphere recently, Hansen told the Guardian he cannot help but feel a sense of disappointment that we scientists did not communicate more clearly and that we did not elect leaders capable of a more intelligent response.

Of the lack of response by humanity as a whole, Hansen added, It means we are damned fools. We have to taste it to believe it.

Though its been 35 years since Hansen first warned the world in Senate testimony about what were now seeing with our own eyes, there is reason for optimism.

The move away from dirty energy is kicking into high gear. Sales of electric cars continue to rise, with an expected growth of 35% from 2022 to 2023, electric boats with solar-powered charging stations are now available, and grassroots efforts to make renewable energy more widely available are underway.

Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it threatened to open fire on U.S. Marine Corps and Navy helicopters covering a group of American warships as they passed through the volatile Strait of Hormuz recently, prompting them to land. The U.S. Navy told The War Zone that no U.S. helicopters headed back to their ships while supporting the transit for any other reason than to refuel.

Pictures and video footage Iran released via the semi-official Tasnim News Agency yesterday show one of the country's new sea base-esque vessels, the Shahid Mahdavi, and other vessels, supported by drones flying above, very closely shadowing the U.S. naval contingent as it passed into the Persian Gulf last week. The actual transit occurred on August 17.

Only the U.S. Navy's Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Thomas Hudner are visible in the Iranian pictures and videos. However, USNI News reported last week that the Harpers Ferry class amphibious warship USS Carter Hall had also sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on or about August 17.

A view across the flight deck of the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan as it sailed in the Gulf of Oman on August 17, 2023. The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Thomas Hudner is seen out in front to the right. USN

At one point in the Iranian video clips of the transit, seen below, a member of the IRGC-N can be heard hailing the U.S. Navy vessels in English.

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https://twitter.com/mhmiranusa/status/1693221610617020437?s=20

"This is coalition warship. I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law. Over," an apparent U.S. Navy sailor is then heard saying in response.

"Your helicopters is in vicinity [sic] of my vessel and also sometimes going into [over] Iranian territorial waters," the IRGC-N member is heard later in the video saying, again in English. "Advise you to take them on your boat and do not enter in Iranian territorial waters. If you do not obey my orders, we will open fire on your helicopters. Over."

It is worth noting that the Strait of Hormuz is so narrow that much of it is territorial waters belonging to either Iran or Oman. During routine transits into the Persian Gulf, U.S. naval vessels use the same shipping lane as commercial vessels, which passes through Iranian waters. They do so under the international rules of innocent passage, which allow warships from one country to sail through the maritime territory of another with certain restrictions.

Bataan and Carter Hall arrived in the region earlier this month and are carrying elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Group (MEU). This includes an air component with AV-8B Harrier jump jets, MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors, CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift helicopters, AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, and UH-1Y Venom armed utility helicopters. The complete U.S. naval force also includes MH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

The Iranian imagery shows at least one AH-1Z, UH-1Y, and MH-60 were airborne for a time during the transit. This is typical of U.S. force protection measures for ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which also includes personnel up on the decks making use of various weapon systems, including Stinger shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, also known as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

One of video clips Iran released looks to show a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS) on Bataan's deck. This is an anti-drone electronic warfare jamming system and has been another standard force protection measure for years now.

A view of the USS Bataan in the Strait of Hormuz on August 17, 2023, which appears to have been shot by an Iranian drone. Clearly visible on its deck are AV-8B Harriers, MV-22 Ospreys, CH-53E Super Stallions. Other clips from the footage the Iranians released show that the three helicopters positioned along the port side of the flight deck are an AH-1Z Viper, a UH-1Y Venom, and an MH-60 Sea Hawk. Toward the bow on the port side there is what may be a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS) country-drone system. IRGC capture via Tasnim News Agency

From the grainy footage Iran has released, it's hard to tell how any of the U.S. helicopters may have been armed during the transit. The Navy did release pictures of the Bataan and Carter Hall operating in the Gulf of Oman prior to their transit into the Persian Gulf showing aircraft with live ordinance. This included AV-8Bs armed with AIM-9M Sidewinder and AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and AH-1Zs carrying AIM-9Ms, as well as AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) and AIM-114P Hellfire air-to-surface missiles. The AIM-114P and AGM-179A can be employed against various maritime threats, like small boats, as well as different types of targets on land.

A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jump jet armed with one AIM-9M Sidewinder (under its left wing) and one AIM-120 AMRAAM (under its right wing) hovers over the deck of the US Bataan as it sails in the Gulf of Oman on August 14, 2023. USMC

A US Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter armed with AIM-9M Sidewinder, AGM-114P Hellfire, and AGM-179A JAGM missiles on the deck of the USS Carter Hall in the Gulf of Oman on August 14, 2023. USN

Tasnim's report claimed that during the IRGC-N "forced it [the U.S. contingent] to heed Irans orders" and that "choppers flew off the US helicopter carrier's [USS Bataan's] flight deck, but were forced to land shortly afterwards."

There is nothing in the Iranian video clips to corroborate the assertion that the U.S. helicopters landed back on the Bataan in direct response to Iranian instructions.

"The story is untrue. No helo returned early to deck during the transit, other than to refuel," U.S. Navy Cdr. Rick Chernitzer, a spokesperson for U.S. Fifth Fleet, headquartered in Bahrain, told The War Zone in a statement. "The US Navy will continue to fly and sail where international law allows."

"We interact with Iran at sea every day," Chernitzer added. "The overwhelming majority of interactions are safe and professional. This was the case last week."

A screengrab from one of the video clips Iran released showing a U.S. helicopter appearing to land aboard the USS Bataan as it transited the Strait of Hormuz on August 17, 2023. IRGC capture via Tasnim News Agency

At a press gaggle earlier today, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also pushed back against Iran's claims.

"That is not true... We've seen In this from them [the Iranians] before, pushing out, I don't know if it's propaganda, but I would say untrue statements, and that just is not accurate," she said. "have not seen the video... but I can just tell you that the reports that there was some type of intercept of a U.S. helicopter is just not true."

Is unclear whether or not these statements about Iran's claims being untrue extend to the explicit threat contained in the video released through Tasnim, and The War Zone has reached back out to U.S. Fifth Fleet for clarification.

When it comes to the actual capabilities of the Iranian force shadowing the U.S. warships on August 17, the largest ship in the contingent by far was the roughly 787-feet (240-meter) long Shahid Mahdavi, which the IRGC-N only took delivery of in March. The ship was converted from an Iranian state-owned and operated container ship known as the Sarvin, which had been previously sanctioned by the United States. It reportedly has a top speed of 18 knots and can sail up to 18,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel.

The Shahid Mahdavi taking part in the shadowing of US naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz on August 17, 2023. IRGC capture via Tasnim News Agency

Imagery of the Shahid Mahdavi that the Iranians released at the time of delivery showed two Russian-made Mi-8/Mi-17 Hip-type helicopters and various uncrewed aerial vehicles on a new flight deck of sorts installed forward of the main superstructure. Two small boats and what appeared to be launchers for four anti-ship missiles were also seen on the aft deck behind the superstructure. The ship was also armed with four twin 23mm automatic cannons and various mounted heavy machine guns.

https://twitter.com/JanR210/status/1633840974920306695

The IRGC-N's Commander, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, has previously claimed that the Shahid Mahdavi has a phased array radar, but there is no actual evidence of this.

In addition to the Shahid Mahdavi, the Iranian imagery from last week shows one of the IRGC-N's curious catamaran naval vessels, likely the lightly-armed Shahid Nazeri based on its largely open rear end and centrally located helipad, along with multiple small boats, also being used to monitor American vessels.

One of the IRGC-N's unusual catamaran vessels, likely the Shahid Nazeri, taking part in the response to the US warships in the Strait of Hormuz on August 17, 2023. IRGC capture via Tasnim News Agency

A stock picture of the Shahid Nazeri. Iranian State Media

In addition, some of the Iranian video clips look to have been captured by drones orbiting above the Strait, something that Iran does regularly during U.S. Navy transits of the Strait of Hormuz. Whether U.S. forces used LMADISs or any other electronic warfare systems to try to prevent those drones from recording what was happening or otherwise hamper their activities is unknown.

Beyond the immediate shadowing force, the IRGC also directly controls various shore-based anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles that it could bring to bear. Swarms of small boats, like the ones that were present near the Bataan and other U.S. Navy vessels last week, and that the Shahid Nazeri looks designed in part to support, as well as aerial drones, explosive-laden drone boats, and naval mines could present additional threats.

A grainy screen capture showing an Iranian boat zipping around near the USS Bataan in the Strait of Hormuz on August 17, 2023. IRGC capture via Tasnim News Agency

The Iranians have previously shown a willingness to engage American drones in the region, mostly pointedly with the shootdown of a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D) uncrewed aircraft in 2019. The risks associated with destroying uncrewed aircraft are, of course, very different from engaging crewed aircraft, including helicopters, since the former do not carry any personnel who could be killed or injured as a result.

Iranian vessels also have a long history of harassing U.S. Navy warships, as well as commercial vessels. Those incidents sometimes lead to more dangerous altercations. Just last month, Iranian personnel in small boats opened fire on a commercial tanker off the coast of Oman. American naval forces intervened to prevent its capture and thankfully the tanker's crew was unharmed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFYGbTNBepw

The reason Bataan, Carter Hall, Thomas Hudner, and the 26th MEU are even in the region at the moment is to respond to an uptick in Iranian aggression that includes the seizure or attempted seizure of multiple commercial ships in recent months. There were reports earlier this month that the U.S. government was considering making Marines contingents available to embark on commercial ships to help protect them from Iran's forces.

U.S. Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and F-16 Vipers have also been deployed to the region for the same reason and have been helping to patrol areas around the Strait of Hormuz. Pictures the Navy previously released show a pair of F-35As flying over the Bataan and the Thomas Hudner in the Gulf of Oman on August 17, 2023. However, it is unclear where those jets were during the actual transit through the Strait of Hormuz that day and whether any other aircraft were scrambled in response to the appearance of IRGC forces.

Sailors onboard the USS Thomas Hudner watch a pair of US Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters fly overhead in the Gul of Oman on August 17, 2023. The USS Bataan is seen to the left. USN

As already noted, Iranian maritime forces very closely shadowing U.S. naval vessels in the Strait of Hormuz is routine. In one particularly notable example, in 2019, satellite imagery showed as many as 18 small Iranian boats alongside the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships from its strike group as it headed toward the Gulf of Oman. At the time, U.S. Navy officials said this reflected "normal behavior patterns" for Iran.

A filtered and enhanced version of the Planet Labs satellite image showing the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships in its strike group, as well as a commercial tanker at top right, sailing through the Strait of Hormuz while being closely shadowed by a large group of small Iranian boats in 2019. PHOTO  2019 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

That being said, the IRGC-N's deployment of the Shahid Mahdavi in this recent instance already reflects a more robust Iranian response. In the past, Iran has typically used smaller vessels for shadowing and harassment activities.

The Shahid Mahdavi reflects a broader trend in Iranian naval capacity. Iran has already converted two other commercial vessels into sea base-like naval platforms, with a heavy emphasis on drone and missile capabilities. It is in the process of creating another ship in this general vein, which looks to have an angled aircraft carrier-like flight deck, possibly with a ski jump toward the bow. It remains to be seen what kind of aircraft will be able to operate from it.

https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1652985051829682177

All of this is part of broader efforts on the part of the IRGC-N, as well as the Iranian Navy, to expand their abilities to project naval power on at least a more regional basis. The Iranians certainly have ambitions to demonstrate that capacity well beyond the Middle East, but so far they have only demonstrated a limited ability to do so.

For the moment, however, it seems more likely that we will see more of the Shahid Mahdavi, as well as Iran's other sea base-like ships, supporting more typical Iranian maritime activities in the Strait of Hormuz  including the confrontational operations that often dominate them.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
A man beat his uncle to death with a wood splitter and buried his body in a friends backyard after the uncle insisted he was the mans true father, federal prosecutors said.

About one year after Edmond Shelendewa was killed in Indian Country in New Mexico, 44-year-old Brian Wallace has been sentenced to federal prison, according to prosecutors.

Ahead of sentencing, Wallace requested federal court in Albuquerque to consider a seven-year prison sentence for him, arguing he became enraged upon hearing (Shelendewa) insult (his) mother, a sentencing memorandum filed Aug. 1 says. This came after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in May, prosecutors said.

Days later, prosecutors wrote there was no excuse for (Wallaces) behavior and argued in support of a lengthier sentence of about nine years in prison in their sentencing memo submitted Aug. 7.

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Now, a judge has sentenced Wallace to nine years in prison, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Mexico announced in an Aug. 21 news release.

McClatchy News contacted Esperanza S. Lujan, a federal public defender representing Wallace, for comment Aug. 22 and didnt receive an immediate response.

In the sentencing memo Lujan submitted on Wallaces behalf, Lujan argued Wallaces actions were carried out during an alcohol and methamphetamine-induced rage, and he acted in the heat of passion.

According to prosecutors, sometime between July 5, 2022, and Aug. 9, 2022, Wallace and his uncle were using methamphetamine and drinking together when Shelendewa said he had sex with Wallaces mother and was his father.

Wallace felt (Shelendewa) was speaking ill of (his mother), instigated a fight and began beating him with his fists before hitting him in the chest with a wood splitter, according to the governments sentencing memo and release.

Instead of calling for help, Wallace left Shelendewa before returning to bury his body in a shallow grave with his friends help, according to the sentencing memo.

Prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo that methamphetamine abuse likely contributed to the offense, but the death arose merely out of some inappropriate jokes.

Clearly the jokes were upsetting, but (Wallace) could have walked away, even after beating him up with his fists, and Mr. Shelendewa would still be alive today, prosecutors wrote.

They accused Wallace of having an extreme level of indifference over whether his uncle lived or died.

In October, Wallace notified authorities of Shelendewas death and told them where to find his body, according to the release.

The Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque determined Shelendewa died from blunt force trauma to his chest, prosecutors said.

His death has damaged familial relationships and put Shelendewas family through financial hardship, the governments sentencing memo says.

Despite this, Shelendewas family doesnt seek restitution in connection with his death, as accepting money related to death is against Zuni cultural practices, according to the sentencing memo. Wallace lives in Zuni and is an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, officials said. The Zuni have lived in the southwest region of the U.S. for thousands of years, according to the Pueblo of Zuni.

The cultural practice prevents them from appearing to profit from the death especially from the offender, as that is tainted and would be bad spiritually for them, the sentencing memo says.

Wallaces prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to prosecutors.

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The Netherlands has decided to provide Ukraine with nearly a thousand portable charges for remote mine clearance, which can be used to carve out passages in dense military fortifications, Ukraines Defense Ministry said in a message on its website Aug. 22.

The announcement came after Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov met with his Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren.

"There is a decision to provide nearly a thousand portable charges for remote demining, which can create passages in engineered barriers," said Ollongren.

Read also: IAEA mission interrupted by discovery of two Russian anti-personnel mines  video

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She also emphasized that the Netherlands will continue to work on meeting all of Ukraine's needs, particularly with respect to air defense measures, which are critically important for safeguarding the lives of Ukrainians and the countrys infrastructure.

We were very pleased to announce the next step in strengthening air defense, specifically the transfer of F-16 fighter jets, the Dutch minister added.

Read also: Eight Ukrainian pilots begin F-16 training in Denmark

We have already agreed on the training programs for Ukrainian pilots This is not just a matter of training  it also concerns capabilities and technical support. But we are working on this. We have made a commitment. As soon as possible, everything will be done.

Read also: Dutch judge dismissed for attempting to influence MH17 investigation

Ollongren thanked Reznikov for his tireless efforts in encouraging foreign partners to do increase military aid to Ukraine. In particular, she expressed gratitude for transparency and clarity in identifying Kyivs needs and creative approaches to the problem-solving process.

In his turn, Reznikov stressed that "the F-16 is a powerful step; the significance of this decision made by the Dutch government cannot be overestimated."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
One newlywed is disclosing the ways she incorporated her Filipino culture into her wedding.

On Aug. 19, Kristina Rodulfo (@kristinarodulfo), a Filipino American woman based in New York City, posted a video on TikTok that shared the ways she included updated cultural traditions in her wedding. Rodulfo, whose husband is Australian, wanted to ensure that she acknowledged her heritage.

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First, at our welcome party, we had guests fill gift bags with an assortment of Filipino snacks, like polvoron, Chippy and dried mango, she says.

Polvoron is a traditional Filipino-style shortbread, Chippy is a Filipino brand of corn chips, and dried mangoes are a staple in the country.

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Celebrating Filipino-owned businesses is another way Rodulfo paid homage to her culture.

At our rehearsal dinner, I wore earrings by a Filipino-owned brand called Mestiza New York, and on the actual wedding, we did the veil and cord ceremony, she explains. We used the non-denominational script, and instead of Titos or Titas [uncles or aunts], we had close friends and family act as sponsors.

The veil and cord ceremony is among the most recognized rituals of a Filipino wedding, and involves participation from the godfathers and godmothers, or ninongs and ninangs, who are chosen specifically by the bride and groom. During the ritual, the couple is draped with a lace veil and white cord.

The veil and cord is still a tradition that we see today, Percy Sales, a wedding planner and owner of Percy Sales Events, tells The Knot. The veil symbolizes oneness and protection for your marriage, while the cord symbolizes eternity and unity.

In addition to serving drinks infused with calamansi, a lime native to the Philippines, Rodulfo made sure to serve a full lechon with bao buns during cocktail hour.

Derived from the Spanish word for roast suckling pig, lechon is one of the most popular dishes in the country. Per the Wall Street Journal, its possible that the dish, now a staple in the Philippines, was first introduced by Spanish colonizers when they arrived in the country in the 16th century.

Rodulfo then opted for the addition of detachable terno sleeves designed by Niana Collection. Terno sleeves are traditional butterfly sleeves found on the Filipiniana costume, and are distinguished by their flattened, pleated construction, which creates a semicircle above the shoulder.

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In recent years, Filipino bridal designers, like Jillian Joy San Juan of Toronto, Ontario, have ushered in a modernized take on traditional Filipino garments that appeals to brides like Rodulfo, who are inclined to connect with their culture by way of a modernized sartorial twist. San Juan, who founded a bridal line with an emphasis on Filipiniana fashion, creates dresses that come with detachable terno sleeves.

It turned into something bigger, San Juan told the New York Times. I was able to find that connection with my heritage and culture and find more of an identity as a Filipino woman.

Finally, Rodulfo made sure to include popular traditional dances. In the money dance, the guests line up in front of the bride and groom and pin money to their clothing before dancing with them. The Filipino custom, according to The Knot, represents the financial abundance of the happy couple and helps them build a strong financial future together.

Rodulfo and her husband then surprised their guests with a performance of the pantomina, a synchronized folk dance native to the Bicol region of the Philippines.

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Love how you embraced our culture

Filipino and Filipino American creators, many of whom were also inspired by Rodulfos creative ideas, were impressed by the way she wove reminders of their culture into her wedding.

Im so excited to get married and incorporate some of these as well, @nflxwers wrote.

The pantomina dance unlocked a memory from my elementary school days, @kireidesune wrote.

Love how you embraced our culture, @alyssa.apacible commented, to which Rodulfo replied, It was really important to us.

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The post Newlywed shares ways she honored her Filipino culture at her wedding: It was really important to us appeared first on In The Know.

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Chapman School of Law professor John Eastman testifies on Capitol Hill in 2017. Eastman was also a former lawyer for former President Donald Trump.

John Eastman, the conservative attorney who masterminded a legal strategy to attempt to overturn the 2020 election, surrendered to authorities Tuesday on charges in Georgia.

He was indicted last week alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others accused of a scheme to steal the 2020 election from President Joe Biden in the Peach State. He faces charges on conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings and other charges.

Following the 2020 election, the onetime Trump lawyer was accused of promoting a strategy of finding Trump-supporting electors in battleground states and tasking former Vice President Mike Pence with disqualifying the real electors or delaying the counting of Biden's electoral votes.

Eastman on Tuesday was released by authorities after being booked in the Fulton County Jail. He will enter a plea at an arraignment in the coming weeks.

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The attorney protested the indictment in a statement through his lawyers on Tuesday, saying it should never have been brought. He also alleged that officials have targeted attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients

From Mark Meadows to Trevian Kutti: Meet the people named in the Georgia Trump indictment

But Eastman isnt only involved in Trumps indictment in Georgia. An attorney for Eastman previously told USA TODAY that hes most likely the second of six co-conspirators listed in the federal indictment against Trump over his alleged effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Scott Hall, other Trump allies in Georgia

Eastman was not Trumps only co-defendant who surrendered on Tuesday. Bail bondsman Scott Hall also turned himself in to authorities, after he was accused of participating in an election equipment breach in Coffee County, Georgia.

All of the defendants in the Georgia case are expected to turn themselves in by Friday afternoon.

Trump has not turned himself in to authorities yet, but his bail has been set at $200,000. He shared on his Truth Social platform on Monday that he is planning to surrender on Thursday.

Contributing: Associated Press; Miles J. Herszenhorn, Sudiksha Kochi and David Jackson, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-Trump lawyer who tried to overturn election surrenders in Georgia
Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering a large number of French-made Dassault Rafale fighter jets.

Such a purchase would be a break from Saudi Arabia's long history of buying US and British jets.

This suggests Riyadh doesn't think its traditional partners will be as reliable in the future.

Saudi Arabia has spent decades building an enormous air force composed exclusively of advanced US and British fighter jets. But Riyadh's reported interest in potentially purchasing a large number of French jets may be a sign it doesn't think its longtime patrons are as reliable as before.

In December, France's La Tribune financial newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that Saudi Arabia was considering acquiring 100 to 200 Dassault Rafale fighters. The report came amid developments suggesting that the US and other nations might not provide military equipment to Riyadh in the future.

After Riyadh cut oil production in October, US lawmakers proposed legislation freezing all American arms sales to the kingdom, which could have grounded most of the Saudi air force and would further fray already strained US-Saudi relations.

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In July, Germany announced it would not allow additional Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to be delivered to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi air force has 72 Eurofighters, second only to the number of US-made F-15s it has.

Saudi Arabia's neighbors in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have built up large fleets of Western-made jets that include dozens of Rafales. The La Tribune report, while unconfirmed, suggests political and practical concerns are pushing the Saudis toward the French jet.

French appeal

A French Dassault Rafale flying near Salon-de-Provence in May 2022. Toni Anne Barson/Getty Images

Buying more Typhoons would be "the sensible move" since the Saudis have the infrastructure to train pilots and operate that jet, "but a German block prevents that," said Sebastien Roblin, a widely published military-aviation journalist.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is "not currently inclined to throw Washington any free bones by ordering F-15EXs," and despite an "about-face" by President Joe Biden, Roblin said, the Saudis know that future jet sales "could be disrupted by domestic political revulsion for Riyadh's actions domestically or the war in Yemen."

As bin Salman pursues a detente with his main rival, Iran, and improves relations with China, opposition to such sales may only increase.

Roblin noted that France has sold armored vehicles, helicopters, artillery, air-to-ground Damocles targeting pods, and SCALP cruise missiles to Riyadh and that French political culture values having "a diversified, independent defense sector" and is therefore "much less susceptible to human-rights-based misgivings, which has enabled sustained arms sales to a wider stable of clients in the Middle East."

Saudi Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets near Riyadh in January 2017. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Consequently, Saudi Arabia buying 100 or more Rafales would be a big "economic win" that would "score Riyadh an upgraded strategic partner outside of Washington or London," Roblin said, though he pointed out that Gulf states have a habit of hyping arms buys from new sources, including Russia or China, to elicit "jealous counteroffers from their 'main' strategic partners."

Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk-intelligence company RANE, said Rafales could be an "attractive option" to Riyadh, considering the sanctions the US and Germany imposed on it after the assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

French jets are also modern and built by a NATO country, potentially reducing issues with integrating the jets with the Saudis' other Western aircraft. France's less restrictive end-user agreements "underlines this attractiveness," Bohl added.

Riyadh's non-NATO options for jets are relatively limited, and buying Russian or Chinese jets would likely incur US sanctions, which makes Saudi interest in the Rafale seem "realistic," Bohl said. "Saudi Arabia wants to diversify its air force so that if it has an interruption with one of its arm suppliers, like the United States, its air wing doesn't grind to a halt."

Shifting US-Saudi ties

President Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July 2022. Bandar Algaloud/Reuters

In the near term, Saudi Arabia may find Rafales more burdensome than beneficial, given its extensive investment in US and British aircraft.

"I would be surprised if the Royal Saudi Air Force procured Rafale, given the size and well-established state of its F-15 and Typhoon fleets," Justin Bronk, an expert on airpower at the Royal United Services Institute, told Insider.

Such pragmatic concerns have kept Saudi Arabia from buying French fighters in the past. After all, Bohl said, it's much easier to build an air force with pilots who train on a single system or with systems from a single country of origin. And despite the sophistication of French military hardware, it hasn't been used in battle as much as US equipment has and therefore lacks a "combat record as a selling point" like US-made weapons, Bohl added.

Limits on the Rafale's technology and availability may also deter Riyadh.

A Saudi Air Force F-15 taxis for takeoff at King Faisal Air Base in February 2021. US Air Force/Staff Sgt. Katherine Walters

While the Rafale F4 is "one of the most advanced and versatile of the 4.5-generation fighters on the market," it is "not a true stealth fighter" with the advanced capabilities Saudi Arabia wants, Roblin said.

Even if Riyadh ordered Rafales tomorrow, they would take at least several years to arrive. "Right now, a big problem is Dassault's factory is already booked with orders for over a hundred additional aircraft for Croatia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates," Roblin said.

The strength of US-Saudi relations has kept Riyadh firmly in the US camp for decades, but Bohl said that relationship has "fundamentally shifted" and the US is no longer "as expansive of a defense partner" as in the past, a trend that may add to the appeal of other countries' weapons.

"Under previous kings, Saudi Arabia saw the United States as a reliable protector of its security and was willing to do favors through energy policy and arms deals for Washington in exchange for this guarantee," Bohl told Insider. "That led to Riyadh being less willing to do special favors for the United States, like going to it exclusively for arms purchases."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russia's limited use of its air force in Ukraine has surprised US Air Force leaders.

Those leaders are surprised largely because Ukraine is using air defenses that Russians designed.

Those defenses are vital to fending off Russian jets, and Western countries are focused on supplying them.

One of the most surprising aspects of Russia's war in Ukraine has been Moscow's limited use of its larger and more advanced air force over Ukrainian territory. For senior US Air Force leaders, Russia's decision to hold its airpower back is all the more surprising because many of the air-defense systems that Ukraine is using were originally designed by the Russians.

"As far as the Russian Air Force, I think that most everybody thought that they would be able to take out" Ukraine's air-defense systems early in the war, Gen. James Hecker, commander of US Air Forces in Europe, said during a Defense Writers Group event on Friday.

"They weren't able to do that. I know it's a hard task to do, because it's hard for us to do, but it seems like they kind of gave up on that pretty early on," Hecker told reporters at the event.

A Russian Su-25 at its base after being hit by a shoulder-fired missile over Ukraine in March 2022. Russian Ministry of Defense

Shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022, military experts noted that the hundreds of combat jets that it had massed around northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine mostly stayed on the ground during the first several days of the war, depriving Russian troops of air cover and allowing Ukrainian jets to continue flying.

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Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank, pointed to several factors to explain Russia's reluctance to use its airpower, including a lack of precision-guided munitions, a limited ability to coordinate large-scale combat operations, and a dearth of experienced pilots.

Whatever the reasoning, Russia's decision not to make wider use of its air force caught US military leaders off guard, especially since Ukraine's antiaircraft weapons were largely of Soviet origin and overlapped with much of what Russia has in its own arsenal.

"I would say that I was somewhat surprised" by Russia's inability to control the air and knock out Ukrainian air defenses, Hecker said. "I know how hard it is to take down some of these systems, but I thought since the Russians built these systems that they would have some insight and a better way to figure out how to get around these systems."

An image of a crashed Russian Sukhoi jet released by Ukraine's Defense Ministry. Ukrainian Defense Ministry

Hecker echoed Gen. Charles Brown Jr., the Air Force chief of staff, who said in June 2022 that he was surprised by the Russian air force's failings in Ukraine. "The systems they're going against are their own systems," he said. "They should know them fairly well and how to defeat them."

"It kind of begs a real question for me: How come they don't understand their own systems and how they might defeat their own systems?" Brown added. (Brown has been selected to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but his nomination and hundreds of other military promotions are being held by Sen. Tommy Tuberville.)

Prior to Russia's invasion last year, Ukraine had pursued a yearslong military modernization effort. Changes to how Ukraine trained and equipped its troops and structured its armed forces made it better prepared to fend off Russia's attack, but the Ukrainian military still entered the conflict using an array of Soviet-designed hardware, particularly in its aviation fleet and air-defense forces.

Ukraine still uses Soviet-era surface-to-air missiles, including S-300Vs for long-range defense, Tor-Ms for short-range defense, and a number of missiles for the defense of fixed sites, such as Igla shoulder-fired missiles, according to The Military Balance 2023, published by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in February.

Ukrainian troops fire a Soviet-era 9K35 Strela-10 surface-to-air missile at a Russian surveillance drone in July. Ed Ram for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Intense air-defense operations and the rapid influx of Western-made arms mean that the arsenal is now a multinational one. Ukrainian forces are now using US-made Patriot missiles and the US-Norwegian-designed NASAMS to defend against long-range threats as well as several Western-designed systems for short-range air defense. US-made Stinger shoulder-fired missiles and German-built Gepard antiaircraft cannons have also been put to high-profile use against Russian helicopters and drones.

A chief concern for the countries supporting Ukraine has been making sure those air-defense weapons have enough ammunition to fend off Russia's aerial attacks, which have shifted in form and intensity but have not stopped during the 18-month war.

US intelligence assessments leaked online this spring suggested Ukraine could expend its supply of surface-to-air missiles for several systems by mid-year. A lack of Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles is one thing that could allow Russian aircraft to dominate the skies, Hecker said Friday, and ensuring Kyiv has enough of them is an ongoing focus of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which meets monthly to coordinate military aid to Ukraine.

"Typically we have over 50 nations that participate" in those meetings, Hecker said. "The number-one thing that is brought up every time that Ukraine needs is surface-to-air missiles."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukraine's use of US cluster bombs is deterring Russian attacks, The Washington Post reported.

The US decision to provide Ukraine with the weapon was controversial.

The weapons disperse bombs and shrapnel over a wide area.

Ukraine says that controversial cluster munitions supplied by the US are proving important for stopping Russian attacks on its positions, The Washington Post reported.

President Joe Biden's decision to send the weapons to Ukraine in July attracted criticism, with allies including France, Germany, and Canada expressing concern over potential civilian casualties.

The weapons differ from normal munitions, which land and create a single explosion.

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Cluster munitions break apart above their target, dispersing large numbers of small bombs over a wide area.

The smaller bombs often don't detonate properly, and can lie unexploded for years, posing a lasting threat to local populations.

Ukrainian officials told the Post that the weapons were having an important impact on the front line, helping to slow and deter Russian attacks.

"The main benefit is that the enemy is now very scared to go on assault," said Stanislav, a Ukrainian military official whom The Post identified only by his call sign for security reasons. "They even recognize the cluster bombs by the whistle they make when headed their way," Stanislav said.

When Biden agreed to Ukrainian requests for the weapons, analysts said their main use would be to help Ukraine break through Russia's formidable defenses as part of its counteroffensive.

The Post reported that they have been useful defensively too. While Ukraine is attacking, Russian troops can shelter in their trenches and avoid much of the damage. But if the Russians are advancing over open ground, then the weapons can be devastating.

Officials said the offensive use of the cluster munitions has been in pinning down Russian troops, meaning they stay sheltering as Ukraine advances. The Rand think tank said that the munitions were especially useful given that Ukraine's regular artillery stocks were badly depleted.

More than 100 countries are signatories to the the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use and stockpiling of the weapon. US allies like the UK, Germany and France have agreed not the use them, but the US, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories of the convention.

Both Ukraine and Russia have used the munitions during the Ukraine conflict, with Russia accused of using the weapons in attacks on civilian targets.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Walmart's delivery platform, Spark, has tripled its delivery-driver workforce over the past year.

But employees and drivers say the platform has an issue with drivers posing under multiple names.

Walmart is rolling out a facial-recognition and ID-scan system to verify identities and prevent fraud.

When Mike Del Rio began delivering orders for Walmart's in-house delivery platform, Spark, about a year ago, the money was good.

At the time, Del Rio said he was making about $150 during a five-hour shift delivering groceries for Walmart stores in northern Utah. As with any delivery platform, groceries could be heavy and tips unpredictable, but the pay was much better than what he'd been making as a driver for platforms like Uber and Instacart, he said.

But around the start of this year, things began to change.

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Del Rio said that over the past few months, he's found himself sitting in his car for hours without a single delivery. Meanwhile, he's been seeing the same handful of drivers coming in and out of the parking lot, receiving and delivering order after order.

At first, it was unclear what was going on, but soon enough, Del Rio learned that some drivers who were delivering under one name one day were picking up orders under a different name the next, he said. The same drivers would also have two phones open with the Spark app as they picked up orders in front of Walmart employees, he said. (Insider has verified Del Rio's employment as a Spark driver.)

Del Rio isn't the only driver who began to notice this change. Several Spark drivers across the US told Insider that over the past year and a half, they've seen an increasing number of drivers use multiple accounts to receive more orders and make more money on the Spark app.

Walmart has been focused on growing Spark over the past few years. But drivers and employees say the company has faltered in combating a colossal issue plaguing not just other drivers but the safety of customers: drivers who aren't who they say they are.

Insider spoke to six Spark drivers across the US and a Walmart employee who works with Spark drivers. Some asked not to be identified, citing fear of retaliation by Walmart, including deactivation. They described pockets of drivers delivering for Spark under multiple names, using multiple phones.

Spark is rolling out a facial-recognition system on its app, which is expected to be in place nationwide in the next month. Scott Olson/Getty Images

In a statement to Insider, a Walmart spokesperson said that Spark "takes any reports of fraudulent activity seriously and has deployed many of the same enhancements other platforms have introduced to identify and prevent fraudulent activity, including process improvements, product, and technical solutions and confirming the identity of drivers picking up and delivering orders."

"We actively monitor and deactivate accounts whenever we become aware of fraud and are continuously rolling out new features and solutions to further prevent this activity," the spokesperson added. "We encourage drivers to report any concerns to Spark Driver platform driver support so we can investigate and take the appropriate action."

Some Spark drivers are delivering under multiple names and phones to grab more orders

Launched in 2018, Walmart originally described Spark as a "crowdsourced delivery platform" that offered grocery deliveries directly to customers' doorsteps. As home deliveries of groceries grew with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Walmart ended partnerships with platforms like DoorDash, Uber, and Lyft to focus on delivering its products to customers' doorsteps directly.

And it's only continued to grow: Walmart says that over the past year, it's tripled the number of drivers on its Spark platform.

During an earnings call in late 2022, Walmart's chief financial officer, John David Rainey, said Spark served customers in all 50 states at over 10,000 pickup points. While it still works with some third-party apps, Spark has grown to become Walmart's largest local-delivery-service provider.

But amid the growth, Walmart has had to combat a ballooning issue.

Joseph, a Spark driver in New Jersey who asked to be identified by only his first name, told Insider that over the past year, he's seen how other drivers use multiple phones to get more orders on the Spark app. At the same time, he's seen his pay drop drastically, he said.

"To be honest with you, I do this to try and keep in some kind of decent shape. It keeps me moving, it keeps my steps going when I'm shopping, and I enjoy doing it," he said, but added: "It's not fun anymore when you're going uphill, and there's no way of making it."

Gregory Carr, a Spark driver in Mississippi, told Insider that he used to drive for Spark full time, working up to 60 hours a week. "For me, this job was supposed to represent being your own boss, making decent money without problems." But now he's pivoted to driving an armored money truck as pay from the platform has dwindled.

"I have to go to work with a bulletproof vest on every day. I have to put my life at risk just to try to make ends meet for my family because Walmart Spark failed me," he added. "If they fire me because I talked to you, so be it. It can't hurt me because I don't make money anyway."

A Walmart supervisor in Texas who oversees online pickup and delivery orders said that of the 20 or so Spark drivers that pick up regularly at his store, he estimates that about half of them are working under names that aren't their own.

"It just became obvious through the natural process of the business that this was happening," he said. "When somebody shows up under three different names, it's just sort of like, OK, what's going on here?"

Spark has tripled the number of drivers on its platform over the past year. Yeji Jesse Lee/Insider

Spark's Terms of Use prohibit "sharing accounts, using another person's account, activating multiple accounts, or entering false information into the Spark Driver App."

Many drivers Insider spoke to said they had reported fraudulent drivers to Spark to no avail. "We need some sort of intervention or help with this," one report reviewed by Insider said.

A Walmart spokesperson told Insider that "complaints related to potential or suspected fraudulent activity are investigated and our team takes the appropriate action." The spokesperson added that while Walmart doesn't share personnel decisions related to drivers, it takes driver feedback seriously and uses it to "inform platform enhancements, including trust- and safety-related updates."

Spark has been accused of another issue related to its drivers. Earlier this year, Spark drivers protested at a Walmart Supercenter in Illinois over what they described as a prevalence of drivers who use bots on Spark. The protestors said that some drivers use third-party code or apps to automatically claim orders, making it harder for other drivers to get them. Other platforms, like DoorDash and Instacart, have faced similar complaints about bot usage over the past few years.

There's no consistent company policy to verify drivers' identities, but a new rollout may change that

Drivers told Insider that inconsistent policies across Walmart stores have only exacerbated the issue of drivers posing under multiple names.

Several drivers said that while some stores check drivers' IDs before dispensing orders, others don't, and have said they are not allowed to do so.

One Spark driver in Illinois told Insider that orders available to her began to decline this spring. Then, on the Fourth of July, one of the stores she frequents for deliveries started asking drivers to show their IDs to pick up an order.

The driver said she noticed fewer people showing up to the store to pick up and deliver orders after that. "We had no problem receiving orders" after the ID requirement took effect, she told Insider.

Several Spark drivers said that different stores they deliver for have different policies for checking drivers' IDs before dispensing orders. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The online pickup and delivery supervisor in Texas told Insider that earlier this year when he tried to implement ID checks at his store, he was told by a superior that he was not allowed to do so.

"Walmart just wants the orders delivered, and they don't seem to really care how," he said. "They're just not tackling this issue fast enough."

Recently though, Walmart started rolling out a new verification process for Spark drivers. The process requires drivers to take pictures of themselves periodically using the Spark app on their phones to ensure it matches their photo ID.

"As we continue to scale, we're focused on bringing drivers more opportunities to earn and making it easier for drivers to earn, while preventing fraudulent activity on the platform," a spokesperson for the company told Insider.

Other delivery platforms like DoorDash and Instacart already require this sort of periodic identification and take action against workers who cannot confirm their identity.

Walmart began asking more Spark drivers to complete the verification process last week, according to the Walmart supervisor in North Texas. On Monday, a Facebook group for Spark drivers included several posts asking about the new verification requirements.

Last week, drivers at the supervisor's store told him that they were prompted by the app to verify their identity each time they picked up an order. But by Friday, some drivers told the supervisor that the Spark app had already stopped asking them to verify themselves.

Walmart declined to comment on the record on the pause in the area.

"Based on our initial findings, the tool is effective and we are seeing positive results," a spokesperson told Insider in an email. "We'll continue to listen to driver feedback and evolve the platform to give drivers a better experience."

'It's really a safety issue,' a Spark driver said

While Walmart offers in-home delivery by associates employed by the company, Spark drivers only deliver to customers' doorsteps, and the platform's Terms of Use prohibit drivers from entering homes. But several drivers told Insider they fear fraudulent drivers on Spark could pose a safety issue for consumers who disclose their home addresses to receive deliveries.

If a driver delivers orders under an account that doesn't belong to them, they may not have undergone the criminal background and motor-vehicle-report checks that Spark requires of new drivers.

Jessica, a Spark driver in Florida who has been driving for the platform for about two years and asked to be identified by only her first name, told Insider that one of her main concerns is the safety of customers who likely aren't aware that some drivers on the platform have not been properly vetted.

"We have full access. We go through security, we have access to their codes to get into their property," she said. "Walmart is allowing all this. Walmart's allowing all these people access to their customers."

The Spark driver in Illinois called the lack of verification "a real safety issue." Many of the customers they deliver to are older people, she added.

"I hope that Walmart can acknowledge that there's a huge issue with public trust," she said. "People believe that all of us drivers have been verified."

Do you work at Walmart or Spark and have a story idea to share? Reach out to Alex Bitter at abitter@insider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

CITY, COUNTY LEADERS URGE FOR MORE MONEY IN BOND BILL

Via Maggie Angst...

As Gov. Gavin Newsom pushes to get his $4.68 billion mental health bond on the March 2024 ballot, mayors from Californias largest cities are calling for more cash.

The mayors, including Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and Karen Bass of Los Angeles, penned a letter to the governor and legislative leaders on Monday requesting that they increase the bond amount to $6.2 billion  a hike of more than $1.5 billion.

Under the mayors plan, the original $4.68 billion would go toward building 10,000 new mental health treatment beds, while the additional funds would be set aside for cities and counties to decide how best to deploy new housing and treatment services in their communities.

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We have reached a crisis point, the letter read. Seriously mentally ill and addicted Californians are languishing in our communities in dangerous encampments. ... We assure you that our communities stand at the ready to utilize these funds to support the needs of our most vulnerable residents.

In addition to the bond measure, Newsom also crafted a plan to overhaul how counties across California pay for mental health care. That proposal would make a series of changes to the 2004 voter-approved Mental Health Services Act in order to direct more funds into housing and treatment for unhoused residents diagnosed with mental illnesses.

The two proposals are moving through the legislature as SB 326, authored by Sen. Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, and AB 531, from Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin. SB 326, which would reform the Mental Health Services Act, is scheduled for a vote in the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday.

WOMENS CAUCUS DEFENDS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS

Domestic violence restraining orders are an effective tool for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals, argues the California Legislative Womens Caucus in a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is weighing whether such measures pass constitutional muster.

The friend of the court brief urges the SCOTUS to overturn a lower court decision that invalidated the federal law aimed at reducing gun violence. According to a statement from the caucus, its the first amicus brief ever to be filed by a state-level womens caucus.

More than half of women killed by gun violence are killed by intimate partners or other family members, and when its a domestic violence situation, the presence of a gun increases the risk of homicide for women by 500%. Restraining orders that can remove guns from those who present a threat to themselves or others are highly effective in preventing gun violence, said caucus chair Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, in a statement.

She went on to say that if the Supreme Court overturns the law, untold numbers of people, especially women, will die.

Caucus vice-chair Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, said that the gun safety law wasnt passed to infringe on the Second Amendment.

Theyre passed by a large majority to protect people from those who abuse firearms or should not have access to them in the first place, she said.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Lets be clear  Lauri Carleton was a victim of the hate-filled calls to action made by politicians and extremists that continue to push false narratives and misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community. Her unwavering commitment to standing for the dignity and respect of LGBTQ+ people is a testament to her kindness and humanity, and will always be remembered.

- Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang, issuing a statement in response to the killing of a Lake Arrowhead woman over a LGBTQ Pride flag.

Best of The Bee:

Members of state worker unions arent the only ones that need to ratify their contracts. Before civil service employees can see raises in their paychecks, theyll need the California Legislature to vote on a set of budget trailer bills to fund the new agreements, via Maya Miller .

Adam Schiff is famous for fighting Donald Trump. Why hes not dominating California Senate race, via Lindsey Holden and David Lightman .

After four months of bargaining, dozens of labor actions and eight arrests, Californias largest state employee union has reached a tentative contract agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration, via Maya Miller.
An earlier busload of asylum seekers arrives in Los Angeles from Brownsville, Texas, last month at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott . Another bus from Brownsville arrived at Union Station around 6:45 p.m. Monday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

As Los Angeles was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning and officials were urging residents not to travel, Texas dispatched its latest bus of migrants to the city.

The bus  the ninth sent by Texas since mid-June  arrived at Union Station around 6:45 p.m. Monday carrying 37 migrants. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott afterward, calling the move "evil."

As I stood with state and local leaders warning Angelenos to stay safe and brace themselves for the worst of the coming storm," Bass said in a news release, "the Governor of Texas sent families and toddlers straight for us on a path through extreme weather conditions."

She continued: "If anybody understands the danger of hurricanes and thunderstorms, its the Governor of Texas  who has to deal with this threat on an annual basis. This is a despicable act beyond politics.

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Read more: Hilary leaves massive flooding, mudslides, upheaval across Southern California

Aboard the bus were 16 families, including 14 children and an infant, according to the immigrant rights group the L.A. Welcomes Collective. Twenty of the migrants came from Venezuela, with the others hailing from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Ecuador.

"Migrants were immediately taken to a receiving site in Chinatown where they were offered urgent humanitarian support services, including food, clothing, hygiene kits, health checkups, and immigration-specific legal orientations," the collective said.

Some of the passengers were reunited with family members or sponsors.

Activists echoed Bass on Monday, calling the transportation of migrants during the region's recovery from Hilary "reprehensible."

"It displays a complete and total lack of common humanity," Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said in a release.

On Sunday evening, Tropical Storm Hilary battered the region with torrential rain, toppling trees, damaging roads and downing power lines in parts of Los Angeles, and causing major flooding and marooning communities in other areas of Southern California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Southern California before the storm made landfall.

Since mid-June, 360 people have arrived in Los Angeles on buses sent from Texas with the support of Abbott.

The last bus, which carried 40 asylum seekers including a 9-month-old infant, arrived in L.A. last week.

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Saying that residents have asked about keeping backyard chickens, bees and perhaps other animals in Park Ridge, City Council members discussed the topic at a City of the Whole meeting Aug. 21 and leaned more towards honey than eggs.

In a non-binding vote meant to gauge initial interest, council members voted 4-2 in favor of pursuing the topic of allowing apiaries, or bee colonies, in residential areas.

Community Preservation and Development Director Drew Awsumb presented a memorandum to the city council providing general information on allowing residents to have chickens, bees and pigs in their yards, including how neighboring communities handle the issue.

Fred Sanchez, the 2nd ward alderperson, was not present at the meeting.

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The council also considered the prospect of allowing residents to set up chicken coops, and a non-binding vote resulted in a 3-3 tie.

Current city ordinances do not allow for residential areas to harbor cattle, goats, swine, horses, poultry, fowl and pigeons.

Mayor Marty Maloney clarified that the votes would not be binding. If there isnt a consensus here tonight, then we kind of put it on the back burner. Maybe not literal in the case of swine, he quipped, but we put it on the back burner for a year.

Pigs were left completely off the table, so to speak, with all the alderpersons agreeing they were not in favor of allowing them in residential areas.

Park Ridge, which shares a border with Chicago, where chicken coops are allowed, has seen waves of interest when it comes to backyard coops. A 2020 Change.org petition racked up over 1,100 signatures to allow for hens in Park Ridge, pointing out that Evanston, Highland Park and Des Plaines allow their residents to have chickens.

In his dissenting vote against backyard coops, 1st ward alderperson John Moran said the citys role of enforcing city standards on residential chicken coops would be a bigger issue than allowing for residences to have coops.

Its just not worth it for the few people who want this right now, he said.

If you dont maintain [coops] properly, there will be a terrible smell. The last thing the city needs to be involved in is ...proper maintenance of chicken coops.

Bees, on the other hand, I guess would be okay. I would like more research on that, Moran added.

Moran added that he would be open to a referendum vote in which residents could weigh in directly on whether they would like chicken coops in residential areas.

5th ward alderperson Joseph Steinfels voted yes on chickens and said he would be interested in a pilot program in which chicken coops could be allowed. Steinfels says that as a father of four children, he knows there is an educational experience to having chickens, even for only one season. He also added that the benefits of having chickens would outweigh the potential problems.

There are neighbors who are certainly concerned about the nuisance and I am receptive and I respect that, said Steinfels. But I mean, a noisy dog or a neighbor who doesnt pick up after the dog is also a nuisance.

Evanston, Glenview and Niles allow for beekeeping, according to the memorandum.
The claim: Maui wildfires were intentionally set in a land grab

An Aug. 15 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) includes a video of victims fleeing the wildfires in Maui.

"You just witnessed the biggest land grab of your lifetime," reads the text in the post.

It goes on to make an array of other claims, about school being canceled, alarms not sounding, phone alert systems not being used, donations being confiscated and officials denying aid to those who were "not compliant."

The post garnered more than 400 likes in five days. Other versions of the post continue to circulate on Instagram.

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Our rating: False

The post gets multiple elements of the claim wrong. There is no evidence that the Maui wildfires were intentionally set  as part of a "land grab" effort or otherwise. The cause of the fires has not yet been determined, but officials say red flag conditions and strong winds from nearby Hurricane Dora are likely factors.

Red Flag conditions created fire risk, fueled blazed

Wildfires on Maui, Hawaiis second largest island, have killed at least 114 people and destroyed upwards of 2,800 structures across the island since Aug. 8.

The blaze  now the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century  prompted Hawaii to declare a state of emergency on Aug. 9.

USA TODAY has previously reported that a combination of weather and climate-related factors created what the National Weather Service calls red flag conditions that can lead to an increased risk of fires. Those factors include gusting winds (fueled by nearby Hurricane Dora), low humidity, lack of rainfall and dry vegetation.

Fact check: No, Maui fires not linked to energy weapons, AI, smart cities, weather modification

The exact impetus of the fires is still being investigated, according to Hawaii Department of Defense spokesperson Jeffrey Hickman. But Hickman told USA TODAY in an email the claim that the fires were deliberately set is a baseless social media narrative.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Greens office previously told the Associated Press there is no truth to the horrendous assertion that the fires were deliberately set. Green has also vowed to protect residents from predatory land grabs, urging outsiders not to try purchasing properties damaged by the fire and pursuing a moratorium on land transactions.

Local conditions not evidence of 'land grab'

The minute-long video included numerous other false and misleading claims:

Claim: School was canceled | Missing context  The Hawaii State Department of Education closed four schools in West Maui on Aug. 8 due to unsafe conditions caused by heavy winds, including flying debris, downed power poles and trees, according to a press release.

Claim: Officials didnt utilize alarm system | Missing context  Then-administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency Herman Andaya previously told USA TODAY he decided not to sound the sirens because he feared residents would have fled inland toward the flames. Andaya told USA TODAY the sirens are mostly used to signal a tsunami and that the public is trained to seek higher ground in the event that the siren is sounded." Andaya has since resigned.

Claim: Officials didnt utilize phone alert systems | False  NBC News reported that residents were notified by emergency warnings sent to mobile devices. Other alerts were broadcast on local radio and television stations and sent through Maui Countys opt-in resident notification system.

Claim: Donations were confiscated and withheld from fire victims | False  Jeremy Edwards, spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the claim was absolutely false. Hickman also confirmed the state had not heard any reports of donations being confiscated. FEMA is coordinating donations with an array of other nonprofits and volunteer groups, including the Red Cross.

Claim: FEMA is denying aid and shelter to those who are not compliant | False  Edwards said the claim was absolutely false. FEMA has created a webpage for victims addressing other misinformation circulating online after the fires.

Fact check: Obama's Hawaii estate untouched by Maui fire because it's in Oahu

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post but did not receive an immediate response.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Hawaii wildfires intentionally set | Fact check
Anthony Brooks is one of thousands of North Carolinians on Medicaid set to lose health insurance with the end of a federal pandemic-relief rule, with many more at risk.

The 58-year-old Washington, North Carolina, resident says his loss of insurance could be deadly. He suffers from heart failure and wont be able to get needed care without finding a way to pay.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states which accepted increased amounts of federal matching funds for Medicaid service costs could not kick people off of Medicaid, a federal-state insurance program that covers certain low-income and needy individuals.

Typically, states are federally required to renew everyones enrollment in Medicaid once or twice a year.

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Once this non-withdrawal requirement expired, starting April 1, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services began the yearlong process of reviewing the eligibility of the over 2.9 million beneficiaries on Medicaid.

As of July 31, there have been 330,591 renewals completed. Those renewals resulted in over 20% of people of people reviewed, or 68,399, losing their coverage. If this pace were to continue, almost 600,000 people could lose coverage, more than the 300,000 estimated by DHHS.

Of those who have lost coverage, data shows that the majority, or over 87%, lost their coverage due to procedural reasons, while the remaining 8,637 were deemed ineligible.

A procedural reason, according to DHHS, is a situation in which a caseworker could not get necessary information to confirm someones eligibility due to a lack of response or an inability to reach them via phone, text, address or other communication methods. The vast majority of renewals done by DHHS were completed without any information needed from the beneficiary, according to DHHS.

DHHS told The News & Observer that it, alongside local social services agencies, have made many efforts to contact people enrolled in Medicaid to get their information. After a person is removed for procedural reasons, local health organizations and partners in the state reach out once more, DHHS said.

Before the renewal process began, the agency told The N&O it was also informing people about other health insurance coverage options, such as the federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

People who lose coverage due to making too much money could become eligible for federal marketplace aid. Still, many who lose coverage may still make too little to receive subsidies. Making too much for Medicaid but too little to get subsidies is what is often dubbed the coverage gap.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper speaks to a crowd of people outside the Executive Mansion shortly before signing Medicaid expansion into law Monday, March 27, 2023.. He was joined by a bipartisan group of legislators.

After years of stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, the state passed Medicaid expansion into law in late June. But enactment of the expanded parameters has been delayed as Republicans tied the bill to the state budget, which means if the budget does not pass, neither does expansion.

Under those parameters, health insurance coverage under Medicaid would increase to all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level, opening the door for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians to gain eligibility. Many of those who gain eligibility would include people who were removed under the required federal unwinding.

Im $7 from keeping my Medicaid

Brooks is one of the 8,637 who lost coverage due to eligibility issues.

Last year, Brooks was at work when his face swelled up. He took some medicine and took the next day off of his job as a certified nurse assistant in case the inflammation was due to stress or food poisoning.

Anthony Brooks in Washington County, North Carolina.

But it didnt get better, and on April 14 he landed in the emergency room.

After hours of waiting, doctors told him he had had a silent heart attack. His heart failure is caused by atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular and often fast heartbeat and can lead to blood clots and more.

Because of this, he can no longer work and lost his health insurance, which he had obtained through the federal marketplace. Now he is on disability benefits, through which he gets just over $1,200 a month. Qualifying for disability allowed him to get on Medicaid.

Anthony Brooks with his grandmother, Thelma Mack, in 2013.

In North Carolina, the income limit eligibility under Medicaid for a parent or caretaker is currently 41% of the federal poverty level. Adults without children, save for those with disabilities or other qualifying exceptions, have no coverage.

The monthly income limit this year for a single person to qualify for Medicaid for the blind and disabled is $1,215, or 100% of the federal poverty level.

Brooks said in April of this year, he got the renewal notice and shortly afterward was denied eligibility for being $7 over the income threshold. Now he is set to lose his coverage as soon as the end of August, unless an appeal he has filed is approved, he said.

DHHS told The N&O in an email that since June 1, at least 18,000 people have lost health care coverage who likely would have been able to keep it under Medicaid expansion, and an estimated 9,000 people will continue losing coverage each month. They wrote that of the 300,000 they estimate will lose full coverage, a third of those will likely qualify for Medicaid expansion over the next year.

Im $7 from keeping my Medicaid, I have heart conditions. And my doctors bills are really expensive. My prescriptions are expensive. I mean, Im used to making $4,000, $5,000 a month. You can imagine what Im going through. Its unreal, Brooks said.

Medicaid expansion delayed

Once Medicaid expansion kick starts, there will be a special enrollment period and individuals who were previously removed can apply for Medicaid at healthcare.gov or epass.nc.gov, or through their local social services agencies, DHHS previously told The N&O.

Top leadership in the House and Senate, which both have a Republican supermajority, have struggled to find a compromise on the budget  which was supposed to pass by June 30  and have said that one wont be ready by Sept. 1.

The health and human services department, in an attempt to bypass delays, said in a news release in late July that it had reached an agreement with the federal government to move forward with Medicaid expansion, with an anticipated start date by Oct. 1. But this would require the legislature to pass a budget or separate expansion from it by Sept. 1. Otherwise, the earliest fallback date was Dec. 1 or later, wrote NC DHHS.

Medicaid expansion will be transformative for access to health care for more than 600,000 North Carolinians, especially those in rural areas, for better mental health and for veterans, working adults and their families, DHHS told The N&O.

For Brooks, these delays place his life in a tail spin.

If Medicaid expansion had gone live, he would have been able to continue his treatments without stressing and scrambling, he said. He takes medications to regulate his blood pressure, hypertension and cholesterol. Doctors have told him he should get a $180,000 surgery to get a defibrillator in his heart by October.

If he loses his coverage, he said he would be unable to pay for this surgery or for medications and treatment and could die.

He has considered applying for charity care, in which hospitals provide treatment to the uninsured for free or for discounted prices, but he worries he would take on debt that would ruin him.

At this point, he plans to wait and see if he can win the appeal.

I dont have any other choices. I dont have any money. I really dont, he said.
(Bloomberg) -- North Korea plans to launch a satellite later this month, according to Japanese media, firing off a space rocket as South Korea and the US conduct joint military drills that have riled Pyongyang.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Japanese government received notification from North Korea that it intends to launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31, officials said Tuesday. The Japanese Coast Guard was notified of three possible maritime danger zones pertaining to the launch  two west of the Korean Peninsula and the third east of the Philippines island of Luzon.

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This would indicate that North Korea intends a similar, southernly flight path as was used in a failed attempt to put a satellite into orbit on May 31. In that instance, the country fired off its Chollima-1 rocket in its first space launch in about seven years, which failed a few minutes after takeoff due to apparent problems with the ignition of its second stage, sending debris into the Yellow Sea.

Japan and South Korea called on North Korea to halt its plans for a launch, saying the move would violate United Nations resolutions. Our government, in close coordination with the US and Japan, will work with the international community to decisively respond to North Koreas illegal provocations, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk told reporters.

North Korea has bristled for decades at joint military drills between the US and South Korea. Its state media blasted the latest exercises, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, that started Monday and which are set to run through the end of the month.

Pyongyang threatened to punish the hostile forces threatening the sovereignty of our state, the states official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday, calling the drills a prelude to an invasion aimed at taking out its leaders  a refrain it has often used.

It also slammed a meeting held Friday among Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Camp David US presidential retreat in rural Maryland. KCNA said the three leaders met to detail, plan and formulate the nuclear war provocation on the Korean Peninsula.

Read: Five Takeaways From the US, Japan and South Korea Summit

The landmark meeting brought about steps to counter threats by North Korea through the real-time sharing of information on its missile launches as well as plans to bolster joint military training among the three, which in recent months has included drills to shoot down missiles and hunt for submarines.

North Korea is barred by United Nations Security Council resolutions from conducting ballistic missile tests, but Pyongyang has long claimed its entitled to a civilian space program for satellite launches. The US and its partners have warned that technology derived from North Koreas space program could be used to advance its ballistic missiles.

Leader Kim Jong Un has said he wants to put a spy satellite into orbit to keep an eye on US forces deployed in the region. While Seoul believes such a satellite would be rudimentary at best, it could still help Pyongyang refine its targeting lists as it rolls out new missiles designed to deliver nuclear strikes in South Korea and Japan, which host the bulk of Americas military personnel in the region.

After Pyongyangs failed launch on May 31, South Korea salvaged the spy satellite from the sea, giving it a rare direct look at Pyongyangs capabilities even as it concluded that the technology had little military value.

Pyongyangs space program has diminished in importance over the years as the state greatly enhanced its ability to build intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads that could strike the US.

--With assistance from Sangmi Cha.

(Updates with comments from Japan, South Korea)

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FILE- Objects salvaged by South Korea's military that are presumed to be parts of the North Korean space-launch vehicle that crashed into sea following a launch failure, are displayed at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, June 16, 2023. North Korea has told Japan it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, a possible second try to put a military spy satellite into orbit, Japanese media said Tuesday, Aug. 22. (Yonhap via AP, File)

TOKYO (AP)  North Korea told Japan on Tuesday it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, possibly a second try to put a military spy satellite into orbit three months after its first effort failed, Japanese officials said.

In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un 's push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had vowed to make a second attempt after studying what went wrong with the first launch.

Japan's coast guard said North Korean authorities notified it about a plan to launch a satellite from Aug. 24 and the end of Aug. 30. Coast guard spokesperson Hiromune Kikuchi said that the notice didn't specify what type of satellite North Korea intends to launch but that he believes it possibly refers to one similar to the spy satellite in the May launch.

The North Korean notice mentioned three maritime zones that could be affected by its launch  off the Korean Peninsula's west coast, in the East China Sea and east of the Philippine island of Luzon. Japan issued safety warnings for vessels passing through the three areas, according to the website of the Japanese coast guard.

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed officials to do their utmost to gather and analyze any information about the launch and to prepare for any emergencies, according to his office. He also called for cooperation with the U.S., South Korea and other concerned countries to demand North Korea not conduct the launch.

South Korea's Unification Ministry called the North's planned satellite launch an illegal provocation because it would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the country from committing any launch involving ballistic activities. A ministry statement said that South Korea will sternly deal with the North's launch in close coordination with the U.S. and Japan.

The launch plan comes during annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that began Monday. North Korea views the regular U.S.-South Korean military exercises as a rehearsal for invading it and is expected to extend its provocative run of missile tests in reaction to the exercises.

The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are computer-simulated command post training. During this years training period, the U.S. and South Korean militaries also plan more than 30 field training exercises.

On Friday, the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan met for their first stand-alone trilateral summit at Camp David and agreed to increase their defense cooperation to deal with North Koreas increasing nuclear and military threats. Among the steps announced by the leaders were holding annual trilateral exercises and putting into operation by years end the sharing of real-time missile warning data on North Korea.

North Koreas state media warned Tuesday that its rivals drills are deepening the danger of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.

If the agreements fabricated at the Camp David Resort are additionally put into practice in the war drill ..., the possibility of outbreak of a thermonuclear war on the Korean Peninsula will become more realistic, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

It said the current, prevailing situation is compelling North Korea to take offensive, overwhelming steps, but didnt elaborate.

On Monday, KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un had watched the test launches of strategic cruise missiles and underscored the need to bolster efforts to modernize naval weapons systems.

Since the start of 2022, North Korea has carried out more than 100 weapons tests, some of them involving nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the U.S. mainland, South Korea and Japan. North Korea says it had no other option than to boost weapons testing activities as a response to the expansion of U.S.-South Korea military training. Washington and Seoul say their drills are defensive in nature.

South Koreas spy agency said last week that North Korea was taking steps needed for the test flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles as well as a spy satellite launch.

South Korea retrieved wreckage from North Korea's first attempt to put a spy satellite into space. South Korea's military said in July its study of the debris showed the satellite wasn't advanced enough to conduct reconnaissance from space as North Korea claimed.

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Hyung-jin Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea.

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Find more of AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
By Soo-hyang Choi

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lashed out at top officials for their "irresponsible" response to flood damage, saying they had "spoiled" the national economy, state media reported on Tuesday.

Kim inspected a tideland on the west coast on Monday after seawater recently destroyed an embankment with inadequate drainage system, flooding more than 560 hectares of land, including over 270 hectares of rice paddies, news agency KCNA said.

Chastising officials for their "very irresponsible" neglect of duties, Kim singled out Kim Tok Hun, premier of the cabinet, for inspecting the destroyed site once or twice "with the attitude of an onlooker".

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"He said ... in recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.

Such irresponsibility and lack of discipline from officials is "mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong viewpoint of the premier of the cabinet," Kim said.

This week's visit is the latest in a series of inspections the North Korean leader has made of flood-hit farmlands amid mounting concerns over a food crisis in the reclusive country.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University, said Kim's harsh criticism could herald a cabinet reshuffle. It also demonstrates that the economy is not developing as planned, Lim added.

"After all, Kim appears to be furious over the national economy not improving as much as he wants," Lim said.

The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened matters.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; editing by Miral Fahmy)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely rebuked his premier and other senior officials over what he called their irresponsible response to recent flooding of farmlands along the country's western coast, state media reported Tuesday.

Summer floods in North Korea often cause serious damage to farmlands due to poor drainage and deforestation. Observers say Kims lambasting of top officials likely aims to shift blame to them for the countrys economic hardships and food insecurity, or could set the stage for a reshuffling of senior leadership.

Kim on Monday visited a western coastal tideland where seawater recently destroyed the embankment, flooding more than 270 hectares of rice paddies. After inspecting the situation, Kim accused officials of very irresponsible neglect of duties, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim criticized Premier Kim Tok Hun for showing the attitude of an onlooker," KCNA said. He berated the vice premier for failing to perform his duties faithfully, and he accused the director of the tideland reclamation bureau of concealing fuel oil that was supposed to be used for construction projects.

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In recent years the administrative and economic discipline of Kim Tok Hun's Cabinet has become seriously out of order, and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with an irresponsible work manner, Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.

Kim called the recent flooding a man-made disaster, citing a botched construction project that was supposed to improve drainage in the area. Kim said the project went forward even though a substantial leak was discovered. He ordered stern disciplinary steps for those responsible for the flooding damage.

North Korea watchers say Kim Jong Un's moves are unusually strong given there were no reports of human casualties. They say Kim could use the flooding as a chance to reshuffle top officials in a bid to reinforce public confidence in his government as he struggles to revive an economy reeling from COVID-19.

Kim Jong Un appears to be searching for extreme steps to divert public complaints that have been heightened due to worsened public livelihoods and economic situations, said Tae Yongho, a South Korean lawmaker, who served as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London before his defection in 2016.

Outside experts believe North Koreas current food shortages and economic troubles have deepened due to draconian pandemic curbs, U.N. sanctions and North Korea's own mismanagement. But there are no signs of an imminent famine or major public unrest that could threaten Kims grip on his 26 million people.
The Grand Prairie Independent School District is being sued by a former employee who alleges she was forced to resign after reporting a teacher who called a student a racial slur and pulled a chair out from under him.

Gabriana Clay-White, a former guidance counselor with Grand Prairie ISD, filed a lawsuit Thursday in a Dallas County district court against the school district, alleging administrators pressured her to quit her job after she reported the teacher to Texas Child Protective Services and to the assistant principals of the school.

The suit does not name the school or the teacher.

Grand Prairie ISD did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

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According to the lawsuit, Clay-White was assisting a teacher with a student who had special needs on May 18, 2022. When the counselor asked what the problem was, the student replied with, She took my chips and shes dumb, referring to the teacher, the suit states.

The teacher responded to the student, Oh Im dumb? and pulled his chair out from under him, causing the student to fall to the ground, the suit alleges.

The teacher then used a racial slur toward the student and pulled the chair out from under the student a second time, according to the suit. Clay-White said that she got in between the two and told the teacher that she was removing the student from the classroom, the suit states.

As Clay-White was walking the student to the door, the student began to yell at the teacher and the teacher made an advance toward him, Clay-White alleges. The student swung first, but Clay-White was able to stop him from hitting the teacher, the suit states.

The student then fell to the ground and the teacher put her boot on his chest, stepping on him, and pushed down, causing Clay-White to have to remove the teachers foot off of the child, she said. The teacher continued to curse and make profane remarks toward the student, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit does not say how old the student was.

Clay-White said she reported the incident the following day, May 19, 2022, to Vice Principals Lisa Hilbert, Candice McCartney and Beatriz Flores, and Child Protective Services, but was told on June 2, 2022, that she violated the districts ethics code and could either resign or be terminated, according to the suit.

She was effectively terminated in retaliation for reporting the incident to Child Protective Services, the suit said.

She is suing the district for allegedly violating section 261.110 of the Texas Family Code, which prohibits an employer from firing a person who reports child abuse or neglect.

The actions of the district have caused Clay-White to suffer damages including past and future mental anguish, the suit claims.

Clay-White is seeking monetary relief of over $250,000 but no more than $1 million.
NORTHBRIDGE  Police say a man wanted on several outstanding warrants crashed into the police chief's cruiser and assaulted two officers Monday before being placed under arrest.

According to a news release, Police Chief Timothy Labrie and Officer Levon Derkosrofian went to 434 Church St. at 2:44 p.m. after receiving a call that John Edward Hilditch, who was wanted on seven outstanding warrants, was outside.

Labrie and Derkosrofian found Hilditch sitting in a Ford F-150. According to the police news release, Hilditch did not comply with their verbal commands and drove away, striking Labrie's cruiser.

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Later, Hilditch's truck was reported parked at the Heritage Park housing complex. Labrie saw Hilditch in the area and chased him on foot, according to the news release.

During the chase, the release said, Hilditch broke into two homes in the condominium complex, assaulted two police officers and attempted to steal a cruiser before finally being taken into custody by Derkosrofian and Officer Anthony Ciccone.

In addition to the outstanding warrants, Hilditch is charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident, driving with a license suspended for drinking while driving, reckless driving, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (trash can), three counts of assault and battery on a police officer, two counts of breaking and entering into a building in the daytime for felony, breaking into a vehicle in the daytime for felony and larceny from a building.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Northbridge police charge suspect with assaulting 2 officers
Two physicians are suing multiple members of the Medical Board of California to halt regulation that requires continuing medical education courses in the state to include discussion of implicit bias, according to court documents.

The doctors, Dr. Azadeh Khatibi and Dr. Marilyn M. Singleton, as well as Virginia-based nonprofit, Do No Harm, filed the lawsuit against the board that enforces the law in the US District Court in the Central District of California on Aug. 1. The lawsuit argues that AB 241, which went into effect in January 2022, violates their First Amendment rights.

Azadeh Khatibi(left) and Marilyn Singleton(right) claim that the implicit bias training requirement violates their first amendment rights. (Instagram/@drazadehkhatibi/Screenshot) (Twitter/@MSingletonMDJD/Screenshot)

There is inconsistent evidence that implicit bias in healthcare is prevalent and results in disparate treatment outcomes, the lawsuit states. Even assuming sufficient evidence exists that implicit bias in healthcare is prevalent and results in disparate treatment outcomes, there is no evidence-based consensus that trainings intended to reduce implicit bias are effective.

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Related: Yale Physician Wants Doctors to Wear Body Cameras After Witnessing Hospital Staff Laughing At a Black Teen Dying from a Gunshot Wound: Hes Just Another Criminal

According to reports, physicians are mandated to review the topic when taking 50 hours of continuing medical education courses. They must complete the courses when renewing their license every two years.

Both Khatibi, an ophthalmologist, and Singleton, an anesthesiologist, have taught and organized medical education courses in the state, according to the complaint. They said they want to continue teaching classes but avoid inserting the topic of implicit bias when its irrelevant to their respective subjects.

The lawsuit says if they both opted out of the discussion, their course would not qualify for continuing medical education credit. This could result in physicians choosing not to take their course.

Imagine Im talking about muscle relaxants, pancuronium versus rocuronium. Where does implicit bias fit in there? Singleton told MedPageToday. I am certainly not naive. I grew up in a Black neighborhood and have been Black all my life. And I have not had any of my complaints as a patient or my advice as a doctor discounted because of my race.

Do No Harm, an organization made up of physicians, healthcare professionals, and other individuals that focus on protecting healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology, is also included in the lawsuit.

Per the lawsuit, at least one of its members does not want to conduct the training citing that it has not been shown to successfully reduce barriers to healthcare, and instead risk infecting healthcare decisions with divisive and discriminatory ideas.

Incurrences of medical racism, whether through health disparities or experimentation, have been documented throughout history. The American Medical Association, the nations largest professional association of physicians, has created a strategic plan for racial justice and health equity.

Im sure there are outliers, she continued. But the problem with doing something for the masses is you insult the masses just to get to the outliers. And guess what? We all know the outliers arent going to change. Taking some dippy course is not going to change a hardened racist.

Per the lawsuit, the plaintiffs request an injunction to keep the board from enforcing the requirement. In addition, they are also seeking legal-related fees and other relief deemed necessary by the court.

Khatibi said in an Instagram post that other physicians told her theyre afraid to speak, and the situation is bizarre and dangerous.'

Click here to read more.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams outlined a proposal to convert office buildings into affordable homes.

Adams said the goal is to create as many as 20,000 homes to help solve the city's housing crisis.

The rise of remote work has meant some companies are scaling back or closing their office spaces entirely.

New York City officials are kicking off a proposal to convert empty office buildings into affordable housing units as remote work continues after the pandemic.

Mayor Eric Adams and New York's Department of City Planning director Dan Garodnick outlined the next steps of their "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity," initiative on Thursday 17 August at a news briefing, according to a press release on the city's website.

The proposal includes producing as many as 20,000 homes for 40,000 New Yorkers, amid a growing housing crisis. Adams has already committed $24 billion to create affordable housing, but his plans still require state approval to produce a substantial number of affordable homes.

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Housing construction in the city is growing at a slow pace, city leaders say, with the borough of Manhattan approving no new units of housing in the past month. Just 10 buildings with 279 units in total were approved across the city's other four boroughs during that time. As a result, demand for housing is outstripping supply, leading to rising rent and house prices. Adams previously announced his "moonshot" goal to build 500,000 homes to address the issue.

"Today, as part of our 'City of Yes for Housing Opportunity' plan, we are throwing open the door to more housing  with a proposal that will allow us to create as many as 20,000 new homes where the building owner wants to convert offices into housing but needs help cutting through the red tape," Adams said at the briefing.

To speed up the process, Adams launched an Office Conversation Accelerator  a process that convenes various experts from government organizations including the New York City Department of Buildings and the Board of Standard and Appeals to help building owners determine how feasible projects are and secure the necessary permits.

"It makes no sense to allow office buildings to sit empty while New Yorkers struggle to find housing. By enabling office conversions, New York will reinvigorate its business districts and deliver new homes near jobs and transit," Maria Torres-Springer, deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce said in the release.

Major companies like Salesforce and Meta that have offices in cities like New York and San Francisco have experienced a lower office occupancy rate in recent years as many employees have opted to work from home since the pandemic.

Meta said it would not renew its lease for two of its New York offices in Hudson Yards in December 2022, this was partly driven by the rise in remote work and its wider cost-cutting measures.

The amount of office space available to rent in Manhattan reached a record high during the first part of 2023, according to data from real estate firm Colliers which started tracking New York's office market in 2000, per The New York Times.

Empty office buildings are an issue across US cities including San Francisco and Chicago. A recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that over 2,000 US office buildings could be transformed into as many as 400,000 apartment units.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The boys mother, Latonya Eason, says her son has been traumatized.

An officer involved in the arrest of a 10-year-old boy in a small Mississippi town is no longer employed, and the boys mother says he remains traumatized by the incident.

Hes not coping with it well, Latonya Eason said of her son, Quantavious Eason. She told theGrio that before attending a recent football game with her son, he told her he didnt want to go because These policemen, they might take me to jail.'

Police took 10-year-old Quantavious Eason to jail. (YouTube screenshot via Fox 13 Memphis)

The Senatobia Police Department incident is yet another example of police admitting they overstepped and offering an apology or regrets that dont erase the trauma of the incident.

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In Michigan, a white police offer handcuffed 12-year-old Tashawn Bernard outside his Lansing home as cops were looking for a suspect in a series of car thefts. Police said Tashawn was in the wrong place (at the) wrong time. Police in Syracuse, New York, pulled an 8-year-old Black boy, suspected in a theft, by his hoodie and ordered him off his bike. Florida police handcuffed a 6-year-old girl for acting out in class.

The Mississippi incident has also left Latonya Eason scarred.

Im burnt out mentally and physically, she said. I dont have energy and havent been getting any sleep. Its been terrible.

On Aug. 10, officers arrested her son, Quantavious, after he urinated behind his mothers car. While the officers said they did not immediately see his mother in the area, they located her at a nearby business. Police told her they would take her son to the police station to process paperwork for a youth court referral, according to a statement by police.

The officers transported the boy to the police station and released him in the care of his mother. After the incident, Police Chief Richard Chandler, in a statement, called taking the boy to the police station an error in judgment.

Chandlers office didnt respond to a request for comment.

In the latest police statement, released on Aug. 21, the police department said it investigated an internal complaint related to the incident.

The officers decisions violated our written policy and went against our prior training on how to deal with these situations, the statement said. As a result of this investigation, one of the officers involved is no longer employed, and others will be disciplined.

For his part, Quantavious Eason still carries the scars of his experience.

Latonya Eason recalled an incident where she pulled up to a four-way stop, and an officer pulled up next to her. Her son became frightened.

He started shaking and kind of crying like he was nervous, she said. Her son asked, Are they going to take me to jail? I had to keep convincing him he wasnt going to jail.

The release also said Latonya Eason had been taken into custody for an outstanding warrant by the Tate County Sheriffs office. She said the warrant involves unpaid fines.

Senatobia, located 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, is the county seat of Tate County.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Officer involved in the arrest of 10-year-old is no longer on the force appeared first on TheGrio.
An Oklahoma woman accused of killing a woman in a drunk driving accident in Wichita Falls pleaded guilty to an Intoxication Manslaughter charge on Tuesday. Now a jury will decide her punishment.

Justine Gallegos pleaded guilty to a charge of Intoxicated Manslaughter Tuesday. A jury in 89th District Court will assess her punishment after hearing testimony about the wreck that killed a Burkburnett woman.

Justine Brittany Gallegos, 33, was charged with killing 28-year-old Pimporn C. Kasemthaveetsak of Burkburnett in a crash Sept. 28, 2019, on Kell Freeway.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Shelton quizzed the security chief of the now-defunct Boulevard nightclub on Kell Boulevard about the night of Sept. 27, 2019.

Daniel Tenbrink said he saw Gallegos swaying as she walked across the parking lot of the club and he attempted to keep her from driving away. He said she sped off as he tried to get her tag number. Tenbrink said he called 911 to alert police about a possible drunk driver getting onto Kell Freeway eastbound.

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The prosecution also called motorists who were witnesses to the crash at Kell Boulevard near Taft Boulevard. Both said they saw a white Chrysler speed across the median and crash into a small blue car. They said the impact slammed the smaller car into a tree in the median.

Wichita Falls Police Officer Jeremy Miser said he arrived on the scene and attempted to help Kasemthaveetsak, but found her unresponsive and without a pulse. He also said Gallegos was uncooperative when officers tried to get her out of her car for medical treatment of her injuries.

Gallegos, 33, has a drunk driving conviction in Oklahoma that led to jail time. The Texas charge can lead to imprisonment of up to 20 years. She is free on bail on the Texas charges.

Testimony will resume Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Oklahoma woman pleads guilty to fatal drunk driving wreck
OTTAWA COUNTY  A local man was sentenced Monday, Aug. 21, to 36 to 60 years in prison for the murder of his wife last year.

Matthew Hallacy of Olive Township has spent 406 days in jail since the "acts of terror" he committed when he killed his wife, Quinn.

"I know their childhoods ended when they (saw) their mother being murdered by the man whom they have loved and respected in the role of father," Heidi Koehler, the victim's mother, said in an impact statement in Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court.

She was referring to Quinn's sons, 7 and 10 at the time, who were home during the murder. Hallacy's 10-year-old son was also there.

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"(They) fought to save their mom, a role no child should have to assume, that of your mother's protector," Koehler said. "... Matt's acts of terror took away our sense of safety."

Quinn's sister and brother also gave victim impact statements to the court. Family and friends in the gallery were emotional throughout.

"Regardless of mental health issues and regardless of what reasons Mr. Hallacy believes he had committing this crime, when it comes down to it, he's a killer," said assistant prosecuting attorney Cara Wilkinson.

"This type of crime has the ability to tear families apart  and this family, Quinn's family, have actually been resilient, they've bounced back, they've come together as a family to display a united front to show their support and love for the victim in this case."

Hallacy was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years and up to 60 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections.

"He will be under lock and key into his 80s," Wilkinson said.

Hallacy spoke of his remorse and said he hopes to study divinity and sociology while in prison.

"Every day, now and forever, I beg God and Quinn for forgiveness," he said.

Hallacy was originally scheduled for trial in September.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Olive Township man sentenced to 36-60 years for uxoricide
The mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel said her heart goes out to the families of Lucy Letbys victims after the killer nurse did not appear in court for her sentencing.

Cheryl Korbel has been campaigning for a change in the law to force criminals to appear in court for sentencing after Thomas Cashman, who shot her nine-year-old daughter, refused to come to the dock when he was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years.

On the first anniversary of Olivias death, which happened when Cashman chased a fellow drug dealer into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, Ms Korbel said her heart would go out to the families of the babies attacked by Letby at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby, 33, who was found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others, stopped appearing in the dock at Manchester Crown Court part way through the jurys deliberations and indicated that she did not intend to return to the dock or follow the sentencing hearing by video link.

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She was sentenced to a whole life order in her absence on Monday.

Ms Korbel, who read an impact statement at Cashmans sentencing, said: Its important for the families. Writing the impact statement was really hard. It wasnt going to take minutes. It was days, over a matter of weeks.

Its important for the offenders to listen to the pain that theyve caused, the pain that is ongoing.

Going to prison is supposed to be a rehabilitation. That first port of call of rehabilitation should be in that courtroom and standing there listening to the judge and listening to the families impact statements.

Antonia Elverson, Ms Korbels cousin, said Letbys failure to appear at her sentencing was soul-destroying for the families.

Judges have powers to order defendants to come to court prior to verdicts being delivered. If they fail to obey, they can be found in contempt of court and face up to two years in prison, but the law does not extend to sentencing hearings.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has said the Government is looking at changing the law so criminals are compelled to attend their sentencing hearings.

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.
One student was killed and 23 were hurt in a school bus crash outside of Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday, according to officials.

A bus taking elementary school students to the first day of classes in Clark County, 30 miles northeast of Dayton, flipped over as its driver tried to avoid a van that swerved into oncoming traffic, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The bus had no seatbeats, Tyler Ross of the highway patrol told ABC News.

The accident occured around 8.16 on Ohio 41 near Lawrencevill Road in German Township, WXIX reports.

Fifty-two students were onboard when the bus flipped over. Twenty-two of those injured had non-life-threatening injuries, and one of those injured suffered serious injuries, according to police.

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The state patrol said bus driver Alfred E Collier, 68, suffered minor injuries and was not transported to the hospital, while the driver of the minivan, Hermanio Joseph, 35, and a passenger, Robert Mompremier, 37, were taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
A week after a federal judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a Collier County man convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, they continue to seek answers. The Tampa-based U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday shared a social media statement from the FBI's Tampa office saying they are still searching for Christopher Worrell, 52, of East Naples.

A week after a federal judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a Collier County man convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, they continue to seek answers.

The Tampa-based U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday shared a social media statement from the FBI's Tampa office saying they are still searching for Christopher Worrell, 52, of East Naples.

Worrell was convicted of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection with his sentencing scheduled for Friday, which was canceled last week, days prior to the scheduled date.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia officials on Thursday unsealed the bench warrant, which was issued Aug. 15. It did not include details related to his disappearance.

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The FBI did not respond as to how long Worrell has been missing or what prompted the search. Worrell had been on house arrest in East Naples since he was released from custody November 2021 in Washington, D.C.

On Jan. 6, 2021, after President Donald Trump's reelection loss, a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. The mob hoped to prevent Congress from counting electoral college votes and keep then-President-elect Joe Biden from power.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found Worrell guilty of:

Obstruction of an official proceeding.

Entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Act of physical violence in the U.S. Capitol grounds or buildings.

Civil disorder.

Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.

His girlfriend and court-appointed guardian, Trish Priller, who used to work for the Naples Daily News, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The courts gave Priller the responsibility to watch over Worrell after his release from custody in Washington, D.C.

The FBI has issued a warrant for violated conditions of release pending sentencing. He's one of six people wanted by federal authorities related to the mob.

Aprea said they aren't offering a reward yet.

The Department of Justice has asked Lamberth to sentence Worrell to 14 years years in prison; three years of supervised release; $2,000 in restitution; a fine of up to $181,000; and $610 in mandatory special assessments, which are imposed on defendants convicted of federal crimes.

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: Search for Christopher Worrell reaches one week; authorities seek tips
The OnePlus Open is now expected to launch in September, according to a new report. Alongside the Open, parent company Oppo is rumored to be launching the OnePlus Find N3 Flip in China.

Starting with the OnePlus Open, the report comes from Yogesh Brar and follows earlier reports that the OnePlus foldable phone had been delayed for a few months. The so-called OnePlus Open is expected to launch between September and October, with the delay attributed to the patent case between Oppo and Nokia in Germany. This case has resulted in Oppo withdrawing from Europe in some capacity. It could even potentially play a part in restricting products like the Oppo Find X6 Pro from launching in places like the UK. OnePlus is affected through its relationship with Oppo.

Though OnePlus has confirmed the name of the foldable, it has not shared any details other than a launch sometime this year.

OPPO Find N3 Flip China launch is scheduled for end of August.OnePlus Open Global launch is expected to happen by late September - early October.Apparently the delay is not just due to display switch but also due to the Nokia - OPPO royalty case.August 16, 2023

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As for the Oppo Find N3 Flip, it is rumored to be launching in China on August 29. We reported on earlier leaks purporting to show renders and drawings of the upcoming foldable. These renders showcased the device with multiple cameras, including a telephoto lens. It would be the first clamshell-style foldable from Oppo (or anyone, really) with a telephoto lens if these renders turn out to be accurate depictions.

Hot foldable summer gets hotter

Coming after the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Google Pixel Fold launches, Oppo's entries continue what has been dubbed 'Hot Foldable Summer' by some tech writers.

These join other foldables from the likes of Motorola with the Razr 40 and 40 Ultra (or Razr 2023 and Razr Plus), while China sees a lot more like the Honor Magic V2, an incredibly thin foldable, as well as Galaxy Z Fold 5-rival options from the likes of Xiaomi.

Zeroing in on OnePlus specifically, the brand has made some good devices this year, and we've been impressed by the OnePlus 11 and the OnePlus Pad. Should that same excellence carry on to the OnePlus Open, the foldable market could be ready for upheaval.
Emily Autenrieth believes that shopping local is a form of activism  and as the indie bookstore that she founded and owns struggles to stay afloat, shes hoping her small business is a cause the Elk Grove community will get behind.

A Seat at the Table Books  the only bookstore in Elk Grove  is located just off Highway 99 and was designed to support the community in ways that go beyond being a place to pick up a copy of the latest bestseller or BookTok phenomenon. The location also features a cafe and espresso bar, a conference room, a play area for kids and a quiet room for people with sensory needs or nursing mothers.

The store hosts weekly events ranging from book clubs, to a Lego Club led by Autenrieths 8-year-old daughter, to a Conquering Parenthood support group, as well as acting as a central meeting location for various community organizations.

Autenrieth said she and the rest of her staff are now hoping the community that has formed around the store will decide the location is worth saving.

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Facing business struggles exacerbated by launching during the COVID-19 pandemic, theyre turning to a Save Our Store Sponsorship program to boost their bottom line.

How does the program work?

The idea is this: Community members who are already frequent users of the space can help to make sure that space continues to be available to them, while gaining some exclusive perks. Theres a monthly sponsorship option for $50 per month and annual sponsorship levels that range from $200 to $1,000.

Sponsorship privileges at the various levels include perks like personally curated advance reader copies, an annual sponsor party, free conference room rentals, reserved seating at author events and free after-hours event rentals.

Autenrieth said that the store already has around 30 sponsors, but that the program is officially being launched at a bookstore mixer open to both current and potential sponsors this Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The event will feature live acoustic music from local musician Scott Semple; wine from Michael David Winery in Lodi; an informational session about sponsorship benefits and the state of the stores finances; and a community discussion and Q&A.

Also in attendance at the sponsor mixer, according to a news release for the event, will be a filmmaker working on a documentary project about the struggles of independent bookstores in the modern age.

Autenrieth said she is hoping the sponsorship program can tide Seat at the Table over until the documentary is released, and that once it is, the spotlight on the store will increase visibility and regular customer base.

A Seat at the Table Books in Elk Grove has a full cafe/espresso bar, in addition to regular bookstore offerings. On Wednesday, the store was preparing to launch a community sponsorship program in order to help it stay afloat after business troubles exacerbated by the pandemic.

How can independent bookstores compete with corporations?

Running into your elementary school teacher at Target or an estranged high school friend at Starbucks may be a classically awkward experience, but Autenrieth wants that opportunity to interact with customers outside of the store, to let people know that the stores staff members are part of the community in ways besides selling them something.

Autenrieth said that this is, in large part, why she believes local bookstores are important: as compared to retail book chains, she feels that Seat at the Table earns their space in the community.

We live here and our kids go to school here, Autenrieth said. We are a member of the community, as well as trying to lead change in the community. We know this community in a way that a corporation does not.

Amazon is often cited as a contributing factor to the changing world of book sales, holding a market share of at least 40% of physical books sold in the United States and more than 80% of e-books sold, according to an analysis released by data and analytics group WordsRated in early 2023. Online shopping, free Amazon Prime shipping, cheaper prices, e-books and more all make purchasing books from the online retailer a tempting choice.

But a 2022 survey by the American Booksellers Association seemed to show a surprising trend for independent bookstores: nearly 70% of respondents said their sales were higher in 2021 than in 2019, even after a pandemic that shut down many brick-and-mortar storefronts for months on end.

So what could be convincing readers to put in the extra effort and money to shop local?

Autenrieth knows her answer: All small businesses add something to their community that cant be replicated by anyone else.

A Seat at the Table Books is located in Elk Grove, just off of Highway 99. On Wednesday, the location had a sign outside its door advertising an upcoming poetry night.

A goal to give everyone in Elk Grove a seat at the table

Autenrieth brought her family, including two kids, to Elk Grove six years ago, seeking family connection and community building.

It has over a hundred parks, and its very family-oriented. We saw the way the school district was regarded and thought, this is exactly where we want to be, Autenrieth said. And then we drove across Highway 99 on our first day and saw Confederate flags, and we werent sure what wed gotten ourselves into.

Soon after, Autenrieth had the idea to open a bookstore. In January 2020, Autenrieth launched a book-selling pop-up, and she opened Seat at the Tables physical storefront in November 2021 with the goal of creating a third space for Elk Grove residents, or a physical location other than work or home where the primary activity is simply to spend time talking with other people.

Books helped me open my mind to my own identity and the experiences of others, Autenrieth said. And because of the way that coffee shops bring communities together, this (combination) seemed like a natural way to achieve that mission.

She said she felt at the time like the community was ready for something like this.

We have the kind of small town values that lead people to want to support each other, Autenrieth said. And we have the access to larger city resources that can make a difference.

Amanda Scott, the store manager, joined the business about a year ago after connecting with Autenrieth at one of her early pop-ups. Scott said that the store has helped her to develop community not just for herself, but also for her kids.

As someone who is autistic and has ADHD herself, and who is the parent of autistic children, she said that the store has given her a space to celebrate those identities. She spearheaded an autism acceptance event at the store in April that included story time in which employees read picture books featuring autistic characters. Scott has also hosted an art fair, where she invited autistic-owned businesses, vendors and artists to sell their work.

Scott is specifically passionate about the autism community, but said she thinks A Seat at the Table Books has allowed other groups of people to find that same kind of community in different ways.

Autenrieth agreed.

Its an opportunity to try and humanize each other, she said. We wanted to create that space where we will welcome you for who you are, and we want to give you a seat at the table.
Congress created the Space Force four years ago in recognition of the growing importance of space  not only as a warfighting domain but as an enabler of our economic power and influence. Since its formation, the U.S. Space Force  and Air Force Space Command before it  has worked hard to counteract the growing threats in space, especially in this era of great power competition from Russia and China.

Assured access to space  through having multiple ways to achieve different orbits and lift different types of satellites  is a key component of our strategy, one that occupied a great deal of my time when I served as secretary of the Air Force. We were searching for the right balance between speed, innovation, mission assurance, competition and cost. Thats no easy deal.

Most importantly, we could not afford to lose a billion-dollar satellite dedicated to surveillance, missile warning or other missions critical to the national security of the U.S.

Before Congress created the Space Force, in 2015, I  acting as the secretary of the Air Force  opened up (through a rigorous certification process) the National Security Space Launch business to an additional vendor (for a total of two), both of whom were able to convince our experts that they could reliably lift our most precious space assets into orbit safely. This move saved the government $7 billion over time and has worked well to ensure assured access to space.

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Unfortunately, however, the Space Force is now considering opening our most difficult and precious category of launch to a third vendor. Although Im all for competition  and I applaud the Space Force for opening the more risk-tolerant launch categories to many new space firms  Im flatly against lowering the standards of the certification process for high-risk launches. And Im also against allowing a vendor who has not yet successfully launched to compete on the basis of a paper proposal alone. Such a move would endanger the very assured access to space for our most critical and expensive satellites.

The Space Force specified that adding an additional provider to service the second lanes missions could increase costs by over $5 billion while decreasing the incentive for contractors to provide price-competitive bids. These realities have not changed over the last six months, so neither should Space System Commands procurement strategy.

In advance of a May hearing on the fiscal 2024 U.S. Space Force budget request, the U.S. Air Forces assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, Frank Calvelli, and the Space Forces vice chief of space operations, Gen. David Thompson, stated that using two fully certified launch service providers in one lane while allowing emerging providers to compete, when ready, for the [Department of Defenses] more risk-tolerant missions in another lane will provide Assured Access to Space and protect capacity for the DoDs less risk-tolerant missions.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall agreed in congressional testimony, remarking that the Air Forces NSSL strategy allows us to bring new entrants in early, fluidly, but it also gives us assured access for the higher risk missions.

While America is still the worlds leading space superpower, China and Russia are now years ahead of the rest of the globe in developing the technology needed to weaken, destroy or interfere with our space systems. We cant let that happen, nor should we rush to allow an unproven third entrant attempt to launch our most exquisite space assets.

With the Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Defense Innovation Unit and the Space Forces 2022 State of the Space Industrial Base report stating that Chinas space trajectory is more positive than the U.S., now is not the time to lower standards and take unnecessary risks with Americas premier space launch program. Rather, now is the time to prioritize reliability where it counts the most.

Deborah Lee James is a former secretary of the U.S. Air Force. She serves as chair of the Defense Business Board and is affiliated with several organizations and businesses.
James Ho being sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. (Associated Press)

Judge James Ho of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote an opinion last week that attracted a lot of attention. A three-judge panel that included Ho ruled in favor of further restrictions on access to mifepristone, the abortion pill, which will remain widely available under a Supreme Court order while litigation continues. But Ho also wrote a separate opinion contending that medical providers could further challenge the drug on the grounds of aesthetic injury, a concept he borrowed, strangely, from environmental law.

In what seemed a baffling argument, Ho wrote, Unborn babies are a source of profound joy for those who view them. Expectant parents eagerly share ultrasound photos with loved ones. Friends and family cheer at the sight of an unborn child. Doctors delight in working with their unborn patients  and experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted.

Hos opinion cited multiple cases involving attempts to protect either wildlife or natural landscapes from harms that would diminish the viewing pleasure of nature lovers. He cited, for example, the 1972 Supreme Court case Sierra Club vs. Morton , in which the environmental group sought to block construction of a ski resort in Californias Sequoia National Forest on the grounds that the resort would harm the areas aesthetics and ecology. He also cited the 1992 case Lujan vs. Defenders of Wildlife , which concerned standing to sue a government agency for spraying pesticides harmful to beetles and butterflies that plaintiffs intended to view.

Its well established, Ho wrote, that, if a plaintiff has concrete plans to visit an animals habitat and view that animal, that plaintiff suffers aesthetic injury when an agency has approved a project that threatens the animal.

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In Hos legal analogy, then, patients undergoing abortion are akin to damaged natural landscapes or wildlife sanctuaries. Antiabortion doctors, meanwhile, play the role of disappointed tourists missing out on expected vacation pleasures.

Read more: Opinion: A judge's attempt to restrict medication abortion nationwide shows extremists aren't done yet

Critics have noted the callous cynicism of Ho, a Trump appointee, draping his support for antiabortion activism in the mantle of purported environmental concern. Feminists have decried the demeaning paternalism implicit in likening pregnant women to animals.

Less examined has been the critical importance of the term aesthetic here. Unlike most arguments against abortion, which tend to equate it with murder, Ho criticizes it as causing aesthetic deprivation, denying doctors the pleasure they might derive from using medical imaging technology to peer into the interior of a womans body. His text makes frequent use of words like view, image and sight.

While this argument may have been advanced mainly as a legal maneuver to establish standing for the doctors trying to reverse mifepristones federal approval, it reveals a larger truth about the antiabortion movement. To construe abortion as a crime against the privilege of looking inside women is to construe them as objects offered up for the visual consumption, pleasure and, of course, control of others.

This is not a new concept. Psychoanalytic critics use the term scopophilia to refer to a presumably male audiences erotic viewing enjoyment of the prurient presentation of womens bodies in film or television, for example. Scopophilia objectifies women, turning them into visual surfaces to be looked at, embellished, augmented or reduced, perfected and consumed  in a word, commodified.

Hos opinion takes scopophilia to new depths, extending it below the surface of the skin into womens bodily interiors, which he treats here as yet another category of viewable commodity, more subject to the controlling, pleasure-seeking gaze of medical providers than to the volition of the women themselves.

Read more: Op-Ed: Abortion pills in pharmacies are the future. But the FDA should do more to expand access

Its no accident that this opinion pertains specifically to nonsurgical abortion. By virtue of being a pill, mifepristone can make abortion invisible, often obviating the need for medical imaging or pelvic exams and thereby eliminating visual access to the procedure. Mifepristone can also reduce or even eliminate visual access to patients themselves: In many cases, a woman can get a prescription without an office visit and take the pill in the privacy of her home.

Mifepristone in this way offers women a powerful mode of resistance to the kind of compulsory bodily visibility that Ho advocates. Perhaps thats why the judge chose the seemingly bizarre grounds of aesthetic injury to argue against access to the drug. It allows him to reposition abortion in the very realm from which mifepristone effectively frees it: that of prurient visual surveillance.

Rhonda Garelick is a distinguished professor of English and journalism at Southern Methodist University and the author of a forthcoming book on fashion and politics.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An early morning pedestrian is silhouetted against sunrise as he walks through the American flags on the National Mall with the U..S Capitol Building in the background in Washington on Nov. 7, 2022. | J. David Ake, Associated Press

Listen to regular folks in Sweden and Norway and you get an idea about what scares northern Europe.

A woman who specializes in foot care and who spoke Swedish with a Finnish accent came to the house of my wifes relative in a small Swedish town earlier this month. She was not afraid to tell me how much she dislikes Vladimir Putin. She has relatives in a remote part of northern Russia who, because of Putins control over the media, were unaware of the war in Ukraine.

But she also expressed her concerns about politics in the United States.

And yet, she was well aware of how some conservative American politicians favor reducing or ending aid to Ukraine in its war to repel Russian forces, thus strengthening Putin and his threat to the rest of Europe. She also expressed concern about what a second Donald Trump administration might mean for a newly strengthened NATO.

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Time and again during a recent family vacation to Scandinavia, I would drop a question or two about global security concerns to strangers. I speak Swedish and Norwegian, making it easier for locals to speak freely. Time and again, I heard the same concerns.

People are acutely aware of American politics and genuinely concerned.

NATO gives Russias northern neighbors a strong sense of security. Swedes I spoke with appeared happy to be approaching membership for the first time and to have newly accepted NATO member Finland as a buffer. But they understood that any weakening of that alliance would give a sense of anxiety, instead.

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Whether such a weakening would happen is unclear. Certainly, waning right-wing support for Ukraine is real. A recent CNN poll found that 71% of Republican respondents want Congress to end further funding, while 62% of Democrats said the exact opposite.

But future support for NATO seems less uncertain.

In a piece for The Atlantic last year, Tom McTague argued that NATO has come to resemble the type of organization Trump and right-wing Republicans want it to be.

NATOs European members are paying more for their own defense, the alliance is more Eastern European in its outlook and positioning, and, for the first time, it is explicitly focused on Americas great-power rivalry with China, he wrote. This came about more because of the fear of Putins belligerence than Trumps policies as president, he said, but the new shift signal(s) an important moment for the West, as Europe moves to more closely align itself with American domestic political concerns.

In contrast to waning support for Ukraine, recent polls show strong American support for NATO.

In the meantime, normally placid Scandinavia seems to be turning into a mini-cauldron of global events, bringing its freedoms and general openness into question.

The nations immigration laws have allowed large numbers of Muslims to enter the country in recent years. The influx has strained the nations politics and welfare state, even as it has given rise to a right-wing party the Brookings Institution said is attracting Swedes disgruntled by the establishment response to these concerns.

In recent weeks, several people have burned copies of the Quran as a protest in public places around Stockholm, a practice allowed under the countrys free-expression laws. But the Quran burnings have caught the attention of others around the world. Because of this, the head of the Swedish security service last Thursday announced that the nation was on a level-4 security threat risk, with 5 being the highest.

We have gone from being considered a legitimate target to a priority target for violent Islamism, the security chief said.

Reuters reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged severe punishment for those responsible for the burnings, and that he said Sweden was in battle mode against the Muslim world.

One man told me he found it ridiculous that the Swedish government allowed Quran burnings, given whats at stake. For a time, the Turkish government had threatened to withdraw its support for Swedens NATO membership over the burnings, but it has since backed down.

Still a recent Swedish television report said lawmakers are considering changes that would make such public burnings more difficult.

These troubles are, of course, not related to Ukraine or Russian belligerence. They are further evidence, however, of how the outside world is forcing difficult decisions on northern European nations.

In Norway, relatives told me they are slightly amused by outsiders who assume they feel the effects of the war in Ukraine. They dont. Indeed, the conflict feels as far away from Oslo as it does from the United States.

And yet, below the surface, people know that the world is much closer than ever before. The luxury of feeling secure against Russia will remain so only as long as the United States remains Europes closest ally.
Editors Note: Amanda Carpenter is an editor at Protect Democracy, a non-partisan anti-authoritarianism group, and was communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas.

Former President Donald Trumps empty podium at the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday should be interpreted as nothing short of a symbol of his contempt for the democratic process. He demands support from Republicans yet doesnt make himself available to them. He believes the rules dont apply to him.

Amanda Carpenter - Delane Rouse

Its a philosophy that extends beyond the campaign and into the courtroom. Trump is staking his 2024 campaign on his contempt for our political and legal systems. He sees the polls showing him demolishing his Republican primary opponents and believes he can skip the accountability and scrutiny that come with a public debate.

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Disturbingly, it appears Trump is gaining traction, promoting the notion that his impeachments and indictments are reasons why Republicans should restore him to power in 2024, rather than disqualifying events. (He denies any wrongdoing.)

A good Republican debate would challenge the dangerous idea that Trumps alleged criminal behavior makes him stronger. His rivals should reject Trump by uniting on the rule of law. Its not hard to explain to voters that when people vote, their votes must be counted, not overturned by corrupt politicians. And if politicians break the rules, the laws are applied to them as they are to everyone else. Even if that lawbreaker is a former president.

The problem, which extends well beyond Wednesdays debate, is that most of the field is reluctant to commit to our fundamental democratic principles as the central reason to move on from Trump. No doubt eying Trumps poll numbers, they agree with him that the Department of Justice is being unfairly weaponized against him.

Yet with this hesitancy to talk about Trump as an unprecedented threat to our democracy, they undermine their own candidacies. If Trumps opponents are only going to endorse, ignore or downplay his most malevolent acts, why are they running against him? Why have a GOP primary in the first place?

Somewhat helpfully, a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing the message that Trump is too weak to debate and that Republicans deserve a candidate who earns our vote  not one who demands it. But whats missing from that critique is any indication that DeSantis is willing to directly challenge Trump on these issues.

In fact, a leaked memo revealed that the same super PAC is advising DeSantis to Defend Donald Trump in absentia in a response to Chris Christie attack. DeSantis has since distanced himself from the memo, while reiterating calls for Trump to debate. Everybody has a responsibility to earn peoples votes, DeSantis said. Nobody is entitled to anything in this world, less of all, the Republican nomination for president.

Christie, the former New Jersey governor (and a Trump surrogate until he claimed the 2020 election was stolen), is defining his candidacy by attacking the former president for his false claims about the 2020 election. And, hes having some success, rising to second place in the polls in New Hampshire. The bad news is that hes still trailing Trump by 40 points.

Throughout his campaign, Christie has earned a lot of media attention and sought donations by promising to confront Trump on the debate stage. Now that Trump is depriving him of the opportunity, Christies backers may no longer see a reason to continue supporting him. And former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, whos also making tough arguments against Trump, is faring far worse in the polls. Not an encouraging sign.

At the same time, the other candidates best-positioned to take on Trump are essentially declining to. Thats part of the reason why hes able to skip the crucial first debate in the 2024 primary cycle; Trump doesnt feel seriously threatened by any of them.

Yet primary season is when Republican candidates should feel most free to talk about Trumps failings as a leader and explain why they are a positive alternative. If theyve made the calculation that it is too risky to take a stand against Trumps illiberalism now, they cant expect Republican voters to come up with their own reasons to vote against Trump when the primaries begin.

Trumps former Vice President Mike Pence, has all the reason and credibility to explain the harm his erstwhile boss has inflicted with his attempts to overthrow democracy  but he doesnt make it a priority.

After Trumps indictment over the events on January 6 was announced, and without naming the former president directly, Pence tweeted, anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. Instead, Pence seems more interested in talking about traditional Reagan conservatism and a national abortion ban.

Many conservatives wishing to move past Trump, meanwhile, hoped DeSantis, second in most polls, would be the candidate to help them do so. But DeSantis has decided to echo Trumpism. Ahead of the memo leak, the Florida governor was already zealously defending Trump from the election-related indictments instead of flagging them as reasons why he is more qualified. DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have all suggested they would pardon Trump. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, often described as a pragmatic, optimistic Republican, recently described the indictments as un-American and unacceptable.

See this plainly: Instead of competing over holding Trump accountable, the 2024 GOP cohort appears to be uniting on ways to exonerate him. Unfortunately, the dynamic is unlikely to change Wednesday, regardless of how many well-placed zingers Christie lands. As exciting as that might be for the media to cover, its the whole field rather than individual candidates that is most important.

Indeed, what matters far more than who wins or loses the debate by subjective performance standards is the bigger question of whether the GOP, as a party, is moving toward making our democracy more secure after the January 6 insurrection. Failing to broach these subjects would mean the GOP primary is only a long exercise in validating Trump and his eventual nomination rather than challenging him.

We should be alarmed by what Trump is promising to do in his second administration. Trump is openly campaigning on a retribution agenda to prosecute his political enemies, purge civil service experts, order widespread domestic military deployments and force independent government agencies to report to the White House.

Skipping the debate is a way for Trump to quash dissent in the ranks on all of these pressing subjects by taking away the ability to question him. Republicans who wish to become president themselves ought not to let him. Otherwise, the debate will amount to a coronation for Trumps return to the White House, where he surely will govern with even more contempt for our democracy in his second term.

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On August 4, 2023, one day after pleading not guilty to four federal criminal charges arising from special counsel Jack Smiths investigation into efforts to thwart the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald J. Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the Supreme Court must intercede. What he presumably means is that the Supreme Court, on appeal from motions that his trial team will undoubtedly file in all four criminal cases, should rule that his conduct is untouchable because it involved actions taken while he was still president of the United States.

Everything that President Trump did was while he was in office as president, one of Trumps attorneys, John Lauro, argued on NBCs Meet the Press. He is now immune from prosecution for acts that he takes in connection with those policy decisions.

Trump has raised broad claims of presidential immunity in litigation before, with mostly poor results. Still, the argument is not entirely frivolous, in part because the Supreme Court has only weighed in on presidential immunity in a handful of cases, and none of those involved indictments of a former president. Even if Trump loses his motions to toss out the indictments on immunity grounds at the trial court level, which is likely, the Supreme Court would almost certainly vote to hear the issue on appeal given the unprecedented nature of these cases and the stakes for the presidency and the country.



The issue of how much legal immunity a president or former president enjoys is a somewhat unsettled area of constitutional law. Unlike for members of Congress, who are expressly immune from civil or criminal liability for official acts under the Constitutions Speech or Debate Clause, the Constitution says nothing whatsoever about presidential immunity. And there are only a few Supreme Court decisions that provide precedent for deciding the issue.

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One of the first was a unanimous Supreme Court decision in Mississippi v. Johnson in 1867 which held that courts could not force the president to enforce the post-Civil War Reconstruction Acts, which then-President Andrew Johnson had vetoed. After Congress overrode the veto, the state of Mississippi asked the court to stop Johnson from enforcing the statutes, claiming they were unconstitutional and violated states rights. The court held that, because the presidents power to execute the law is foundational to the prerogative of the office under Article II of the Constitution, courts could not step in and direct Johnson how to do his job.

Since then, the Supreme Court has offered some additional guidelines for understanding presidential immunity, but none definitively resolve whether all of Trumps relevant conduct in office is fair game for the criminal justice system  or whether some sorts of decisions are immunized.

Going forward, the legal analysis will likely boil down to two questions. The first is whether, by asking DOJ officials to declare the 2020 election corrupt, for example, or by initiating catch and kill hush money payments from the Oval Office in order to bury negative publicity, Trump was acting within the outer boundaries of executive policy-making authority. If so, certain acts could conceivably be immune from prosecution or otherwise excised from the scope of the criminal indictments.

The second question is whether greenlighting criminal indictments that implicate even borderline conduct would set a bad precedent that could hamper future presidents from performing their constitutional duties. Even if what Trump did as president was unacceptable, in other words, if it fell within the discretion that presidents need in order to do their jobs, it could be protected.

These are issues that the Supreme Court can and probably should decide in the coming months or years as these four indictments proceed. The question will likely come down to balancing the constitutional interest in cementing expansive discretion and power in the presidency against a broader public interest in ensuring the rule of law applies to everyone, including the president. Because there are no clear lines for striking that balance, its impossible to rule out that politics and ideology could play a role in that assessment.

Heres what the Supreme Court will have to weigh in reaching a decision.

No Absolute Presidential Immunity

After Mississippi v. Johnson, the next major case on presidential immunity did not arise until 1974, when President Richard Nixon tried to halt a subpoena directing him to produce tape recordings of his Oval Office conversations. Special prosecutor Archibald Cox had indicted a slew of Nixons aides in connection with the Watergate probe. A unanimous Court rejected Nixons argument that the Constitution provides an absolute, unqualified presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances.

But, importantly, it left some wiggle room: A president and those who assist him must be free to explore alternatives in the process of shaping policies and making decisions, and to do so in a way many would be unwilling to express except privately. Balancing the publics interests in justice with the interests of the presidency has been the prevailing standard ever since.

In United States v. Nixon, the fact that Cox sought the information in connection with a criminal trial tipped the scales against the president, on the rationale that [t]he very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system must depend on full disclosure of all the facts. Back in 1807, Chief Justice John Marshall , similarly ruled in United States v. Burr that President Thomas Jefferson was susceptible to a subpoena for documents because the accused defendant had a right to prepare for his defense at trial. At the time, Marshall was serving as chief justice for Virginia in connection with the treason trial of Aaron Burr.

With the exception of the Manhattan case, all of the Trump indictments involve co-defendants whose right to erect a defense could overcome broad executive privilege or immunity claims regarding information held by Trump. The government could also argue more generally that under Nixon, the needs of the criminal justice system must outweigh theories of presidential immunity.

Official v. Unofficial Conduct

The next important decision came in 1982. In a case called Nixon v. Fitzgerald, the court rejected a lawsuit brought by a U.S. Air Force employee against Nixon challenging his termination after he testified before a congressional subcommittee regarding cost overruns. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the president is entitled to absolute immunity from damages predicated on his official acts because civil suits for damages could distract a president from his public duties.

The court refused, however, to list the kind of functions that were covered by this protection from civil liability, instead vaguely defining the presidents immunity as stretching to the outer perimeter of his official responsibility. The majority reasoned that Nixons ability to reorganize the personnel structure of the Air Force certainly fell within that boundary, establishing what might be characterized as a first prong of the presidential immunity test: whether the conduct in question was official and thus within the scope of the Constitution.

Accordingly, in 1997, the court in Clinton v. Jones qualified the scope of presidential immunity from civil lawsuits, holding unanimously that the Constitution did not protect President Bill Clinton from having to defend against a lawsuit for damages brought by a former employee, Paula Jones, over alleged sexual advances made while he was governor of Arkansas. The court held that Nixon v. Fitzgerald provides no support for an immunity for unofficial conduct. (Emphasis in original.) The allegations in the Jones case had nothing to do with official presidential acts, so immunity did not apply.

Hampering of Presidential Functions

The fifth and final relevant case came down in 2020, when a 7-2 majority effectively upheld Clinton v. Jones, rejecting Trumps attempt to halt then-Manhattan D.A. Cy Vances grand jury subpoena to a third-party accounting firm seeking Trumps financial records. In Trump v. Vance, all nine justices (including two Trump appointees) agreed that presidents do not have categorical immunity from state criminal subpoenas. Seven of them (including two Trump appointees) found that no immunity applied in that particular case.

In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts did not focus on whether Trumps personal and business records related to official presidential acts. (Obviously, they did not.) Rather, he underscoredconsistent with the Nixon and Burr casesthat the public has a right to every mans evidence in a criminal proceeding. Roberts then rejected Trumps claim that compliance with subpoenas would categorically impair a presidents performance of his Article II functions (which is the precise argument, by the way, that DOJ used to justify its internal policy memos forbidding indictments of sitting presidents). Avoiding a mere distraction from the duties of the Oval Office is not enough to justify broad immunity. In Vance, the majority concluded that a properly tailored criminal subpoena will not normally hamper the performance of the presidents constitutional duties.

Still, the Supreme Court might not reach the same conclusion about the threat of a criminal indictment.

Trumps Immunity Defense

For Trumps lawyers, the trick will be to paint the actions underpinning the various indictments as falling within the outer perimeter of legitimate presidential power, and then arguing that the threat of a criminal indictment stemming from that conduct would cause more than a mere distraction from the duties of the office.

In the defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll, for example, Trump argued in federal court (albeit unsuccessfully) that his public comments denying Carrolls sexual assault accusation were made because she had impugned his character and, in turn, threatened his ability to effectively govern the nation. And in Thompson v. Trump, the civil case brought by eleven members of the House of Representatives and two Capitol Police officers over Jan. 6th, Trump argued that his actions were constitutionally immune because he had an ever-present duty to ensure that the election laws were followed, including the certification process, and that the speech and social media posts falsely touting a stolen election all addressed matters of public concern.

Bear in mind, again, that all four criminal cases filed against Trump involve some (but not all) actions taken while he was still president. Teasing out which of these fell within the outer perimeter of legitimate discretion will entail a careful reading of the Take Care Clause and other relevant parts of Article II, for starters. Even for actions falling precariously along that thin line, the court will then most likely have to balance whether allowing a criminal indictment of Trump to go forward would, in the words of the Fitzgerald court, curtail future presidents maximum ability to deal fearlessly and impartially with the duties of his office.

The more compelling argument is that the exercise of legitimate presidential power cannot include the commission of crimes, and future presidents can avoid criminal liability by simply following the letter of law. Criminal convictions require evidentiary proof beyond a reasonable doubt, after all, so the suggestion that the Trump indictments will lead to willy-nilly prosecutions of future presidents for actions done with fidelity to the Constitution seems to be overblown.



Still, how a majority of justices will come down on this calculus is impossible to predict. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas both voted against allowing the Manhattan grand jury to subpoena Trumps financial records, and since that case, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has joined the courts conservative majority. Just last month, a Pennsylvania state court ruled that Trump enjoys broad presidential immunity from two of three claims raised in a 2021 lawsuit by James Savage, a voting-machine supervisor, alleging that Trump damaged his reputation by falsely accusing him of election tampering.

"The court made clear that it is well within the presidents discretion to address the integrity of our election without fear of liability, Trump lawyer Alina Habba said of the Pennsylvania ruling.

This is a question that strikes at the heart of the Jan. 6th indictment itself. And as has happened many times before, it is one that might not be decided by voters or jurors. Instead, the final answer might lie at the feet of the six conservatives on the court whose life tenure provides immunity from any review of their decision.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to John Marshall as the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The FTC and DOJ announced it would be sending $9 million in refunds to 22,000 student-loan borrowers.

It's a result of a company that was convicted of illegally charging borrowers for debt relief services.

Impacted borrowers will be getting payments via check or PayPal in the coming weeks.

The scams keep coming for student-loan borrowers  and federal watchdogs are cracking down.

On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice announced they will be sending over $9 million in refunds to student-loan borrowers who gave money to Ameritech Financial, which the agencies called a "student loan debt relief scheme" that the DOJ brought charges against in 2018.

Specifically, the FTC first filed a complaint in 2018 accusing Brandon Frere, who ran the company, of pretending to be affiliated with the Education Department and charging borrowers up to $800 in "illegal up-front fees" for debt relief services. The company also told borrowers that their $49-99 monthly membership fees would go toward their student-loan balances, but that was not the case. The FTC in 2020 banned the company from providing debt relief services, and the same year, a federal judge sentenced Frere to 42 months in prison.

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As a result of the legal proceedings, 22,562 borrowers who paid for Ameritech's services will receive refund checks in the mail, and those who do not have an address on file will receive a payment via PayPal. Those who have questions about the refunds can contact Rust Consulting, which contracts with the FTC to facilitate payments, at 1-833-579-3126.

The FTC wrote in its initial complaint that the company sent mailers to consumers expressing an urgency to sign up for debt relief services, and later pressured borrowers to "quickly click through the document and electronically sign multiple pages. In some instances, Defendants represent that consumers do not need to read the agreement carefully because the information contained in the contract was already discussed in the call. At the end of the calls, Defendants transfer consumers to the Verification Department where employees quickly read lengthy disclosures to consumers."

Scams have been increasingly scrutinized with the changing student-loan landscape. After President Joe Biden announced his broad debt relief plan nearly a year ago, the Education Department warned borrowers to be wary of any efforts that would require them to pay for debt relief services, given that any help with repayment is also free from the government. Most recently, the FTC announced on Monday that a federal court halted operations of two companies that misled borrowers into paying for debt relief services, scamming them out of $8.8 million.

And in June, an additional 37,000 borrowers began receiving $3.3 million in refunds following accusations of misleading debt relief behavior by separate companies.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Painting That Depicted Enslaved Teen From New Orleans Restored After He Was Removed; Portrait Will Show At The MET | Noam Galai via Getty Images

An 1837 portrait depicting but later concealing an enslaved teen boy with a white family from New Orleans has finally been restored.

According to the New York Post, the public will be able to see this piece of art titled Belizaire and the Frey Children at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting was completed in 1837 by Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans, a French neoclassical painter, for a banker named Frederick Frey to highlight his children. The Frey family purchased Belizaire, the Black 15-year-old etched on the canvas, at the age of six.

The Frey portrait shows a surprising intimacy between the four children, suggesting that Belizaire was a valued member of the household, despite his enslaved status, ArtNet stated on its website. But at some point around the turn of the century, someone painted over Belizaire, not only erasing him from the Frey family history, but obscuring a rare example from the era of a realistic portrait of an enslaved person.

Its said that the portrait remained in the family for more than a century until Coralie DAunoy Frey, a descendant from the matriarchs side, donated the art to the New Orleans Museum of Art and shared that Belizaire had been removed from the initial artwork, so it was never a secret. Instead of the museum restoring it themselves, they chose to do nothing with the information and hung it up as is. Since the kids in the painting were unknown to the public and the painting not being in exhibitable condition, the museums director John Bullard decided to remove it from the museum and sold it in an auction at Christies New York for $7,200 in 2005. Years later, Bullard admitted to the New York Times that it was a mistake.

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The painting made its rounds from Louisiana to New York to Virginia before making its way back to The Boot and in the hands of Jeremy K. Simien, an art collector of Creole descendants who lives in Baton Rouge for a confidential price in 2021. He is the person who fully restored the painting, which revealed Belizaire leaning on a tree in a white collard shirt and long tan jacket behind the Frey clan.

On August 14, the MET published a press release on their website to announce the portrait was now in their care and believe it showcases the complex truth of America during the Victorian Era.

The acquisition of this rare painting is transformative for the American Wing, representing our first naturalistic portrait of a named Black subject set in a Southern landscapea work that allows us to address many collection absences and asymmetries as we approach the 100th anniversary of the Wings founding in 2024, Sylvia Yount, Lawrence A. Fleischman Curator in Charge of the American Wing at The Met said.

Max Hollein, the METs Marina Kellen French Director and CEO, also explained why it was important to acquire.

The deeply compelling and rare painting carries immense historical and artistic significance and represents an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to sharing profound stories of identities and place, as well as memory and erasure, he said in a statement, according to the press release.

After some ancestry research was conducted, it was learned that Belizaire lived longer than the Frey children. The sisters, Elizabeth and Leontine, died the same year the painting was completed due to yellow fever while their brother, Fredrick, passed several years later. The enslaved teen lived through the Civil War and was documented on inventories in New Orleans not long ahead of Union forces seizing the city the following year. After that, theres no record of what happened to him.
Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The Pakistani military rescued six children and two adults from a disabled cable car perilously hanging 900 feet in a mountainous region of Pakistan on Tuesday.

The two adults were the last to be rescued, Bilal Faizi, an official with the Pakistan emergency service, told according to Al Jazeera.

The children were traveling to school in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when one of the chairlift cables snapped Tuesday morning. They were stranded for more than 15 hours. An aerial rescue operation was suspended after sunset, and a ground rescue was launched.

"Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people," caretaker Prime Minister Anwar Kakar said on X.

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Tanveer Ur Rehman, the deputy commissioner of Battagram district, said the cable car had completed multiple trips on Tuesday before the cable snapped. Strong winds slowed the delicate rescue efforts by the Army Special Services.

The chairlift hangs above a ravine. One helicopter conducted surveillance to help come up with a rescue plan. Officials said that while it was a delicate operation, they worked to move as quickly as possible.

      

               #Battagram pic.twitter.com/XN5wrTl6on Pakistan Tourism (@PakistanJannatt) August 22, 2023

"There is a possibility of bad weather in this area," retired Wing Commander Asim Nawaz said. "It is better if the helicopter is 60 to 80 feet away from the chairlift."

Authorities said that emergency personnel performed a "sling operation" to save the cable car passengers. That involves hoisting an emergency worker with a sling and approaching the car. The victim is tied with the rescuer or another sling to lift them to safety.

Officials said the helicopter pilot and rescuer had to be careful of downdrafts, air that is deflected toward the ground, which could be produced by the helicopter's propellers.
Youngsters, left, who were trapped in a broken cable car, receive first aid following their rescue, in Pashto village, a mountainous area of Battagram district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Army commandos using helicopters and a makeshift chairlift rescued eight people from a broken cable car dangling hundreds of meters (feet) above a canyon Tuesday in a remote part of Pakistan, authorities said. (AP Photo/Nasir Mahmood)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP)  Eight people who got trapped in a disabled cable car dangling high above a valley in Pakistan returned safely to the ground Tuesday after military commandos staged a daring and delicate rescue using helicopters and a makeshift chairlift.

The daylong ordeal began when six children got into the gondola for a trip to school. Two adults were with them. But then a cable snapped, bringing the car to a halt and trapping the group in midair. They were helpless, suspended hundreds of meters (feet) above a remote, mountainous landscape.

Six hours passed before a helicopter arrived. When the rescues began at last, at least one child who was plucked out of the car could be seen in video footage hanging at the end of a cable as he was winched up to the aircraft.

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But the choppers also added an element of danger. The air currents churned up by the whirling blades risked weakening the only cable holding the car aloft and preventing it from crashing to the bottom of the river canyon in the Battagram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Because helicopters could not fly after sunset, rescuers eventually shifted from an airborne effort to a risky operation that involved using one cable that was still intact to approach the car with the improvised chairlift.

Slowly, all eight people were brought down. Video from the final rescues showed a handful of people hanging from a cable as they were pulled to safety through a stand of trees to a waiting crowd.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar congratulated the military and other rescuers for the success. The drama transfixed the country for hours as Pakistanis crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants and hospitals.

Relieved to know that ... all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued, Kakar said on X, the service formerly known as Twitter. Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people."

In a statement, the military said the rescue involved the commandos, pilots from the army and air force and the support of local authorities.

As the children were handed over to their families, most burst into tears, said Nazir Ahmed, a senior police officer.

Everyone was praying for this moment, he said. He said villagers hugged the commandos and other rescuers.

According to Pakistani TV stations, some of those trapped were in contact with their families by cellphone. Authorities said the two adults were consoling the children, who were between 11 and 15 years old.

Food and water were supplied to the car earlier in the day, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for the state-run emergency service.

Villagers frequently use cable cars to get around Pakistans mountainous regions. But the cars are often poorly maintained, and every year people die or are injured while traveling in them.

Kakar said he ordered safety inspections of the countrys cable cars and chairlifts.

While awaiting help, the group hung precariously 350 meters (1,150 feet) above ground, according to Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the disaster management authority.

In 2017, 10 people were killed when a cable car fell into a ravine hundreds of meters (feet) deep in the popular mountain resort of Murree after its cable broke.

____

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.
PATERSON  A judge last week rejected the city's effort to obtain a dismissal in the freedom-of-speech lawsuit filed by Black Lives Matter leaders arrested during a January 2019 protest over Jameek Lowerys death.

What the judge said is, 'Let a jury decide,' stated Alexander Shalom, the lawyer representing the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey in the case. Thats a terrific decision for us. We think any jury will be compelled by the evidence to find in our favor.

Zellie Thomas leads a "Black Lives Matter!" chant as people walk down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, in Paterson, Tuesday May 25, 2021.

The citys lawyers had tried to convince the judge that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the officers who arrested Paterson Black Lives Matter founder Zellie Thomas and social justice activist Mark Hawk Newsome believed the two men were blocking traffic during the protest.

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But Superior Court Judge Bruno Mongiardo decided on Aug. 15 that the lawsuit against Paterson and its Police Department could proceed.

Najee Seabrooks case full coverage: From the Paterson police shooting, to Platkin's takeover

What did the judge do?

As part of his ruling, the judge dismissed the protesters complaints against two cops named in the lawsuit  Sean McIvor and Joel Santiago  and part of the complaint against a third officer, Heriberto Rodriguez. Mongiardo also ordered that the complaint against the arresting officer, Carlos Charon, should not be dismissed.

McIvor, Rodriguez and Charon have all retired in the years since the protest. Santiago is still working as a Paterson police officer.

City officials did not comment on the judges rulings in the protest case. The protest itself stemmed from the police-custody death of Lowery, an incident that prompted a separate lawsuit, one of more than a dozen civil complaints in federal and state courts pending against the Paterson Police Department.

The city has paid out several million dollars because of police-related litigation in the past decade, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Paterson Press in June asked the city how much Paterson has spent on its lawyers in the BLM protest arrests case. The city has not provided that information.

Thomas declined to comment on last weeks ruling until after he conferred with his lawyer.

More: Why is Paterson seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over Jameek Lowery protest arrests?

Earlier: How do Paterson cops deal with the emotionally disturbed? Jameek Lowery suit has new focus

The city's arguments

Legal arguments filed in the city's effort to get the protest lawsuit dismissed highlighted several disputes over the facts in the case:

The city says the protesters were in the street obstructing traffic, but the activists contend they were arrested while on the sidewalk.

The city says the police officers gave warnings before making arrests, but the protesters contend they received no warnings.

The city says Thomas was among the organizers of the protest, but his lawyers say he did not coordinate the rally.

The city says Thomas was told during a pre-rally meeting with police that people blocking traffic would be arrested, but the protesters contend that the information was not given by police to Thomas.

The obstruction charges filed against Thomas and Newsome eventually were dropped in Municipal Court.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: Bid to quash lawsuit in Jameek Lowery protests denied
A Pennsylvania State Trooper is charged with vehicular homicide after a crash in February that left a woman dead in Tioga County.

According to Attorney General Michelle Henry, Michael J. Brown attempted to pass a vehicle and illegally crossed the double yellow lines.

While Brown was on his way to work, his Jeep allegedly struck an oncoming vehicle. The driver of that vehicle, Christine Woodward, was killed.

This case involves the devastating loss of a mother and teacher, made even more tragic because it was entirely preventable, Attorney General Henry said. We must all remember to practice patience and abide by the laws of the Vehicle Code because, otherwise, we are capable of causing irreparable harm. "

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Brown is charged with homicide by vehicle and five related traffic violations. He turned himself in on Monday.

Browns bail was set at $50,000 unsecured.

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The U.S. is willing to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets if European partners do not have enough capacity to train as many as Kyiv wants, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said on Aug. 21.

"(We're) open to training existing pilots if capacity is reached in Europe," Singh said.

"That's the condition. So, if Denmark and the Netherlands are taking the lead on training, if they just do not have the capacity ... to train as many pilots as Ukraine wants to send or plans to send, then we will ... help train stateside."

The Pentagon spokesperson clarified that the total number of pilots who will undergo the training will be determined by Ukraine.

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However, she added that they all have to first receive "significant English-language training," which is expected to take some time.

After months of protracted discussions, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed on Aug. 19 that the first Ukrainian pilots, engineers, and technicians have started the six-month training session on F-16.

The training of Ukrainian pilots was previously announced to kick off in Denmark in late August, in partnership with the 11 nations included in the "fighter jet coalition," while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that some 70 Ukrainian pilots are currently preparing to start their training program in Denmark.

Upon President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Greece on Aug. 21, Ukraine's Head of State said that the Greek government has also pledged to assist Ukraine with training its pilots on the F-16s.

At the same time, the first NATO members have confirmed they would provide their own F-16 aircraft to Ukraine once conditions are met. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that Kyiv is to receive fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands, without specifying the number.

Zelensky however said after meeting Rutte that Ukraine will get 42 F-16s in a "breakthrough agreement."

The Danish prime minister also announced the provision of 19 F-16 fighter jets, with the first batch of six planes expected to arrive close to the New Year.

While Ukrainian pilots have reportedly begun test flights on the Swedish Gripen jets as well, Stockholm has stopped short of pledging the aircraft itself.

Ukraine's Air Force comprises Soviet-made aircraft and is outnumbered by Russia's larger air force, thwarting Ukraine's ability to conduct counter-offensives. Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said that the U.S.-made fighter jets have the potential to change the course of the war, providing Ukrainian troops with much-needed air superiority in occupied territories.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Greece to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s; Ukraine advances southeast of Robotyne

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The Statesville Police Department isnt blaming the Hyundai/Kia TikTok challenge for a recent increase in motor vehicle thefts. Instead, the department says many of the thefts were preventable.

SEE WHY: TikTok trend blamed for uptick in car thefts in Charlotte, CMPD says

According to SPD, police have responded to 75 reported stolen motor vehicles since January, which the department says is a notable rise in incidents.

Many of the thefts, SPD says, have been linked to easily preventable circumstances. Police say cars have been left unattended and running, or unlocked with the keys inside, or just unlocked altogether. Police said in some cases, the theft suspects forced their way into the car.

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In response, SPD said its urging people to take proactive measures to safeguard their vehicles and belongings. That includes removing valuables from cars and making sure all your doors are locked.

The police department did have a bit of good news, saying that officers have successfully recovered 43 out of the 75 reported stolen vehicles.

Police said five suspects have been arrested in connection with the thefts. Their names werent given in a news release issued Tuesday.

(WATCH: How social media likely fuels street takeovers)
People arrive for the womens session of the 192nd Annual General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 2, 2022. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

If a recent WalletHub study is accepted uncritically, then Utah is the worst state where women could live in the U.S. But thats just a single story about Utah. The real story is far more complicated.

While Utah, like many states, has room for improvement when it comes to addressing disparities, the Beehive State also offers women ample opportunity for affordable education, career choice, entrepreneurship and upward mobility, high social capital rates, low rates of poverty and positive family life.

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The WalletHub study evaluated womens equality based on three factors they characterize as workplace environment, education and health and political empowerment. The study highlighted some areas where Utah could improve, such as the average eighth grade math score (Utah girls scored above the national average, but lower than the average Utah boy) and representation of women in politics.

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But the study didnt show the complete picture of what its like to be a woman in Utah. For one, women in Utah are more likely than the average woman in the U.S. and Utah men to have a bachelors degree, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. And Utah offers more affordable higher education than most other states.

Utahs rate of educational attainment for women is lower when it comes to graduate school, but some women choose not to attend graduate school for a variety of personal reasons such as starting a family, and Utah has one of the highest rates of family formation in the country.

Women who choose different schooling based on deciding to start a family may also choose different careers, too. And these careers tend to come with more flexible schedules and on average lower salaries, Harvard economist Claudia Goldin told NPR.

Utah women also are more likely than women in any other state to choose part-time work, according to a report from the Institute for Womens Policy Research. While there should be ample opportunity for women who want to obtain graduate degrees and pursue various careers, it shouldnt be seen as a negative when women choose otherwise.

More often, Utahs thriving economy offers more choice to women. The state ranked in 2023 as the No. 1 state in the country overall and for economy and fiscal stability, according to USA Todays rankings. And on a variety of levels, U.S. News and World Report ranked Utah the best state overall in 2023.

While the WalletHub study was right to point out a gender wage gap like the rest of the country also has, the study didnt take into account Utahs success when it comes to upward mobility. In fact, if a girl grows up the greater Salt Lake City area, shes likely to make 15.3% more than a girl living elsewhere, per The Equality of Opportunity Project.

This makes Salt Lake City, Utah, one of the most upwardly mobile areas in the country for girls.

Women entrepreneurs in the Beehive State should also be given their due. Utah has been ranked No. 6 in the country for women-owned businesses and the states capital Salt Lake City has been ranked No. 1 in the growth of employment vitality in women-owned businesses, per a Utah Women & Leadership Project report.

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Furthermore, Utah ranks first in the nation for social capital, according to The Social Capital Index. Social capital is a way of measuring the health of relationships in society. Family formation, participation in congregations, volunteering and other community actives positively impact social capital rates. In turn, social capital can also contribute to increased social mobility.

Utah has a high social capital score due, in part, to high rates of family unity, social support, volunteerism and philanthropy. High social capital rates tend to improve overall wellbeing. Living in an area with health communities and strong families provides women (and men) with increased stability and greater opportunities.

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The strong families in Utah are critical for providing women (and men) with better lives. The Beehive State has the highest percentage of married couples in the country, Brad Wilcox, Patrick T. Brown and Jenet Erickson wrote for the Deseret News. The fertility rates are high and most children are raised in married-couple families, which benefits children as well as women.

Another reason for strong families and high social capital rates is due to the high rates of religiosity. Highly-religious marriages offers benefits to women, like men taking on a larger share of the housework and married religious women having more satisfaction in their relationships, even when it comes to physical intimacy.

Utahns also experience much lower rates of poverty (8.9% in Utah compared to 12.3% around the country). Stable marriages and families also correlate to higher rates of higher education, median income and employment rates for women, per a Pew Research report. Marriage also contributes to higher levels of lifetime happiness.

In fact, research indicates the most powerful predictor of adult happiness in America is the quality of mens and womens marriages, Wilcox, Brown and Erickson wrote.

Living in an area where families are the norm not only contributes to the immediate wellbeing of women and men, but it provides healthy life scripts that empower people to make choices supporting more positive outcomes, too.

So, perhaps its time to retire the limiting narrative that Utah is a bastion for womens inequality and instead, see the Beehive State for what it is  a place providing women and men with opportunity and choice in families and careers.
A new criminal case reveals a youth treatment center supervisor was under investigation for sexual misconduct with a teenage resident at the same time the facility's leaders were pushing for legislation to protect it from most lawsuits filed by victims of sexual abuse.

The case involves a former housing unit supervisor at Pierceton Woods Academy, a northern Indiana residential facility for troubled boys. The criminal charge represents at least the third time since 2019 that police or Indiana Department of Child Services investigators have concluded a staff member abused a resident at the faith-based facility.

Pierceton Woods Academy is located in Pierceton, Ind., about 40 miles northwest of Fort Wayne.

Authorities say the supervisor, Dena Sue Patel, 50, of Warsaw, engaged in sexual conduct with a male resident. She is charged with sexual misconduct by a service provider, a felony that carries a prison sentence of one to six years.

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Patel could not be reached for comment.

Pierceton Woods provides independent living skills, substance abuse treatment, behavioral therapy and a program for teens who exhibit sexually inappropriate behavior. Most residents are referred to the facility by DCS, the Indiana Department of Correction or county probation departments.

A spokesperson for Pierceton Woods said Monday the facility and its chief executive, Tim Smith, learned of the allegation on April 17. Pierceton Woods immediately alerted DCS and pulled Patel off her shift and suspended her, the spokesperson said.

Court record show a detective with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office began investigating on April 19.

The allegation came at a sensitive time for Pierceton Woods. Its parent organization, Lasting Change Inc.  which includes Lifeline Youth & Family Services, one of DCS's largest providers of homebased services for abused and neglected children across the state  was a leading promoter of the immunity legislation at the Statehouse. The proposal would have provided liability protections for child caring institutions and group homes that have contracts with DCS.

The proposal had failed to advance out of a Senate committee, but lawmakers attempted to attach the immunity provision to an unrelated bill as the legislative session drew to a close. They scrapped that plan on April 26, one day after an IndyStar story detailed previous allegations of sexual abuse at the facility.

Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D-Indianapolis, was one of four lawmakers assigned to hash out a final version of the bill during the closing days of session. She said Pierceton Woods never disclosed there was an active investigation of sexual misconduct at the facility  or that police or DCS had found enough evidence to move forward with previous allegations of sexual abuse involving two other staff members.

"I think that you have an ethical responsibility to disclose conflicts of interest at any time," she said during an interview Monday. "So whether that's in the Statehouse or at your place of business, we are held to that standard of making unbiased decisions and having the whole truth in front of us."

New allegations at Pierceton Woods

The allegations against Patel are not the first time an academy worker has been accused of misconduct with a resident.

Another former employee was accused of child seduction after authorities said she engaged in kissing and groping with a teenage boy in 2020. She pleaded guilty to lesser charges of obscene performance.

A third former employee was the subject of an investigation by the DCS that substantiated allegations she sexually abused a teenage boy in 2019. She has not been charged with any crime, but Pierceton Woods settled a lawsuit filed by the 17-year-old accuser and his father for $72,000 and a promise not to discuss it publicly.

A psychologist hired by the family's attorney said in a report compiled as part of the lawsuit that at least ten other staffers were known or suspected to have sexually abused boys at Pierceton Woods. The facility has denied allegations that it failed to protect minors or that it was aware of and covered up sexual assault allegations.

Police: Patel admitted to 'relationship' in text message

The probable cause affidavit submitted by a Kosciusko County sheriff's detective said the initial report about Patel alleged she entered into a "sexual relationship" with a teen identified only as A.A. on Dec. 12. Patel had been a housing unit supervisor since May 24, 2022, the affidavit said.

During the investigation, the detective said he found that Patel had shared a text message with another employee in which she "admitted to being in a romantic relationship" with the teen. A review of Patel's phone records revealed she also had been texting and speaking to the boy "and that he called her his girlfriend," the affidavit said.

Other residents and staff members told investigators Patel had a pattern of allowing juvenile residents to use her cellular device and access the internet. One juvenile reported that Patel had admitted to having a sexual relationship with A.A., the affidavit said.

Surveillance video showed that Patel used her key fob on her day off to enter A.A.'s building. The camera recorded them walking the grounds together for more than half an hour around 10 p.m. on April 8. During this time, they were off camera alone together two times for 10 to 15 minutes. Patel also used her fob three other times that week to enter A.A.'s building, the affidavit said.

In an interview with investigators, A.A. said he and Patel had a relationship for four to six weeks. He said they took about three or four walks together and would kiss. The affidavit appears to contain other information about the walks, but it is redacted.

Patel declined to give a statement to investigators, the affidavit said.

'If evidence exists, I haven't seen it'

Curtis Smith, a spokesperson for Pierceton Woods, said the resident with whom Patel is alleged to have committed sexual misconduct was 19 at the time. He acknowledged Patel took a walk with the resident outside the view of security cameras, but questioned whether anything sexual took place.

"As far as I know, to this day, there is no physical or video evidence of any sexual misconduct between Ms. Patel and any of our residents," he said. "If evidence exists, I havent seen it."

He said the facility established a policy more than a year earlier prohibiting one-on-one engagement between staff and residents, including walks. Both of the previous cases against former staffers involved allegations of abuse during one-on-one walks and other outings.

"The policy protects good actors but cannot forcibly constrain bad actors," Smith said. "I believe that our leadership team was unaware of the walks Ms. Patel took, as they are against our policy."

He did not directly answer questions about whether Lasting Change and Pierceton Woods officials informed lawmakers about the pending allegations as they lobbied for the immunity language. But he said CEO Tim Smith and leadership at Pierceton Woods did not publicly comment on the allegation against Patel, "as not to interfere with or color the investigation."

Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyStarTony.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Youth center supervisor accused of sexual misconduct with male teen
A 60-year-old pilot died after a small plane crashed into a field, trapping him in the wreckage, South Carolina officials said.

Another person on board also had to be pulled from the plane and was left with serious injuries, Deputy Fire Chief Richard Farr of the Reidville Area Fire District told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

Crews were called to the scene just after 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 20. The crash was reported in a field off S.C. Highway 101 in the Greer area, roughly 20 miles west of Spartanburg.

With help from the Trinity Fire Department, firefighters extracted the two people trapped at the crash site. Both were flown to a hospital, and the pilot died one day later, officials said.

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The Spartanburg County Coroners Office in a news release identified the pilot as Dan William Witt of Lancaster.

Witt was in a single-engine Beechcraft C23 plane when it reportedly took off from the Chandelle flying community airport. But soon after, the plane went down for unknown reasons, according to the coroners office and a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Video shared with WSPA shows the plane in the sky before it plunged into a field.

The FAA in an emailed statement to McClatchy News said it planned to look into the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board. As federal officials investigate, the coroners office said it will conduct a forensic exam of Witt.

35-year-old who made more than 1,000 jumps dies in skydiving accident, SC officials say

Boaters see spiraling plane plunge into lake, prompting a search in Georgia, cops say
WARNING: The following story contains graphic content that may be upsetting to readers.

A Pittsburgh woman was jailed after allegedly telling police she intentionally injured a dog because it was aggressive.

On Monday, a South Fayette Township police officer was flagged down by a motorist, who said she spoke with her mother, Crys Danielle Garry, 56, of Pittsburgh, on the phone.

Garry said their dog was attacked by an animal. The driver, who had not heard from Garry in hours, tracked her mothers phone to the area of the South Fayette Farmers Market on Parks Road.

The officer pulled over a vehicle near the farmers market and Garry got out covered in blood, according to court documents. She was taken into custody.

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A black-and-white beagle mix was found in the vehicle bleeding from several cuts, police said. There were two razor knives in the vehicle. Garry began uttering that the dog was aggressive and she did what she needed to do, according to court documents. She allegedly said putting the dog down was not financially feasible and the dog attacked people and animals.

The dog was taken to an emergency vet for treatment. Its current condition is not known.

Garry is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. She was placed in the Allegheny County Jail and was released. She is due back in court on Sept. 11.

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Black Hawk helicopters flying around Downtown Pittsburgh this morning. Heres why. Dicks Sporting Goods cuts hundreds of corporate jobs, reports say Man arrested after police say he was caught with a meth lab during probation officer visit VIDEO: Family still looking for answers 10 years after womans murder in McKeesport DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
After nearly 15 years perched on the Allegheny Riverfront at 225 North Shore Dr., PJ Dick Inc. has retained the Pittsburgh office of Avison Young to engage in a new office search in advance of the companys 2025 lease expiration in its current office.

Brad Totten, the managing director and principal of the Pittsburgh office of Avison Young, who is leading the assignment with colleague David Auel, said PJ Dick is scouting for about the same amount of space that it has now.

He said the firm is currently working out of about 60,000 square feet at its current space and is seeking about that size. A significant portion of its employees work on its construction crews at various off-site projects.

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Read more at Pittsburgh Business Times.

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Black Hawk helicopters flying around Downtown Pittsburgh this morning. Heres why. Dicks Sporting Goods cuts hundreds of corporate jobs, reports say Man arrested after police say he was caught with a meth lab during probation officer visit VIDEO: Family still looking for answers 10 years after womans murder in McKeesport DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts




A man who shot a woman during a road-rage incident that did not involve her last week was identified, in part, due to a handprint he left on the intended victim's truck, police said.

Rondel Jones, 21, was arrested Monday in connection with the Aug. 15 shooting. He was driving a dirt bike in Wilmington with several friends when the group encountered Tim Hetherington.

Hetherington, who gave Delaware Online/The News Journal permission to use his name, was driving his truck from work on the southeast side of Wilmington toward a physical therapy appointment near Little Italy a little after 2:30 p.m.

Wilmington police investigate an apparent shooting in the 2900 block of Lancaster Ave. that ended with victim at a performing arts school.

He told Delaware Online/The News Journal he ended up between a dirt bike and an ATV, and a second four-wheeler that was behind him. This, he said, angered Jones, who was on a black and green dirt bike, court records detail.

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Jones kicked, then banged on the passenger side of the truck with his hand, demanding Hetherington "get out," court documents say. Surveillance video and the handprint, found where Hetherington said Jones hit the truck, later corroborated Hetherington's story.

INTENDED VICTIM SPEAKS: The bullets were meant for him. Instead, an 'innocent' woman was shot in Wilmington

Hetherington, fearful at this point, tried to turn a corner but he was almost run off the road, he said. After trying to get away from the group, he heard several shots. Surveillance video showed Jones firing, police said.

Though Hetherington was not injured, a woman who was driving in the 2900 block of Lancaster Ave. was hit by the bullets.

She told police she heard several "bangs" and then "felt a throbbing sensation in her left arm, eventually realizing she'd been shot."

Wilmington police investigate a shooting that occurred Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in the 2900 block of Lancaster Ave. The victim drove to Cab Calloway School of the Arts, where she received first aid and was taken to the hospital.

She drove about a block-and-a-half away, ultimately pulling up outside Cab Calloway School of the Arts, which shares a building with Charter School of Wilmington. She received treatment for a gunshot wound to her arm there and was taken to the hospital.

Wilmington police arrested Jones on Monday, after receiving an analysis of the handprint.

The 21-year-old, who is known by police "to often illegally operate (off-highway vehicles) in a reckless manner within" Wilmington, was charged with assault, reckless endangering, wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony and several gun charges.

He's being held in prison on $142,000 cash bail.

Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_

INITIAL STORY: Lancaster Avenue shooting in Wilmington ends with victim at city arts school

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wilmington road-rage shooting that hurt innocent woman leads to arrest
Update: Joseph Vannauker was arraigned early Wednesday in Philadelphia on the following charges: Murder, accidents involving death or injury, homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment, reckless driving. His bail in that case was set at 10% of $1 million. He was also arraigned on separate charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment related to injuries suffered by Vannauker's 16-year-old passenger. Bail in that case was set at 10% of $100,000. Philadelphia police said Wednesday they have not yet identified the victim.

A 19-year-old Levittown man is accused of striking and killing a man while drag racing in Northeast Philadelphia shortly after midnight Tuesday.

Philadelphia police have charged Joseph Vannauker with homicide by vehicle, murder and reckless driving.

A 19-year-old Levittown man is charged in the Tuesday Aug. 22, 2023 hit and run death of a man in Philadelphia

Police allege Vannauker was racing on Castor Avenue with another vehicle when he struck a man as he walked across Aramingo Street. The victim, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

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After striking the man, police said that Vannauker allegedly sped off toward Richmond Avenue and continued over the Betsy Ross Bridge into Pennsauken, where police there detained him and a 16-year-old passenger.

They were brought back to Philadelphia and police confiscated the 2020 Dodge Charger Vannauker was driving for further investigation.

The passenger in the car injured his right hand and forearm and he was taken to St. Christophers Hospital for treatment and later released into the custody of his parents.

Investigation under way in death New Hope councilwoman killed. What we know about fatal crash in Buckingham

More Bucks County crime news Man, 86, could spend rest of life in prison for rape of Bucks County girls

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Levittown teen charged in fatal drag racing hit-and-run in Philadelphia
College Park Police have arrested a murder suspect wanted out of Florida.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

According to officials, on Aug. 14, College Park officers received a credible tip that a murder suspect was seen at the Comfort Inn Atlanta Airport Hotel on Sullivan Road.

Around 1:30 a.m., multiple agencies including College Park Police, Clayton County Sheriffs Office and Clayton County Police Department went to the hotel.

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Authorities said the suspect, identified as Jerome E. Henderson, 20, tried to run through various areas within the hotel to get away from police.

After pinpointing his exact location within one of the hotel rooms, he was arrested, according to College Park officials.

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Police learned that Henderson was wanted for murder out of Volusia County, Florida.

According to Floridas Seventh Circuit State Attorneys Office, Henderson is one of the accused shooters in a Daytona Beach, FL drive-by shooting.

He was indicted on Aug.16 for first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Police are being scrutinised after a video of a woman being arrested in Florida after she gave money to someone selling flowers in the median trended on social media.

Seemingly because a video is circulating on social media depicting the arrest of Annika Olson, the Lee County Sheriffs office detailed the incident in a statement two days after it transpired.

On 16 August, officials were conducting an investigation in Bonita Springs, involving Norma Garcia, who was selling merchandise in the median of Imperial Parkway, a violation of a county ordinance, the statement explained.

This ordinance, for the safety of pedestrians and motorists, prohibits the sale of merchandise from the median or in the roadway, the statement continued.

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According to the officials, Ms Garcia had been previously warned against peddling wares in the roadway.

As she was being investigated, another woman, Annika Olson, 24, was driving by the encounter and stopped her vehicle in the driving lane on Imperial Parkway.

The police said that since Ms Olsons car was blocking traffic, it created a safety hazard for other motorists, deputies, Ms. Garcia, and herself, so they asked her to move.

Ms Olson refused, approached the officers, and interfered with their investigation and Ms. Garcias arrest. The police then arrested the woman for refusing to comply with police and for resisting an officer without violence.

In the video footage of the incident, as she was being handcuffed, Ms Olson can be heard saying I was just trying to give her $20.

The 24-year-old told NBC2, I saw there were police [deputies] near her, but I did not understand that she was being arrested, adding that she just wanted to give someone 20 bucks because they were having a bad day.

I had no idea panhandling was illegal; people do it all the time, Ms Olson told the outlet. I understand that its dangerous for them, but if someones putting themselves in that situation in this summer heat, obviously, they are doing it out of desperation; they dont want to be there.

Ms Olson was both booked and released on 17 August, and is set to appear in court on 6 September, according to arrest records. The outlet reported that Ms Garcia was also charged with interfering in the public right of way.
Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a heavily hyped campaign reboot, in hopes of saving his struggling bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

It hasnt worked, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire on August 19, 2023. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

The survey of 1,665 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Aug. 17 to 21, shows that DeSantiss support among potential GOP primary voters has fallen farther  and faster  over the last few weeks than ever before, plummeting from his previous low of 23% in mid-July to just 12% today.

Vivek Ramaswamy surges

To put the governors 11-point collapse in perspective, DeSantis was actually leading former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup, by 45% to 41%, as recently as February. And while the governor's standing has steadily declined since then  a glitchy campaign announcement and a series of unforced errors havent helped matters  he has nonetheless tended to place a clear second in soundings of the full GOP field for much of the year.

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Not anymore, however. According to the new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, DeSantis is now just 4 points ahead of the tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (at 8%, up from 3% previously). For the first time, more Republican and Republican-leaning voters say theyre not sure whom they would support if their states primary were held today (14%) than say they would support DeSantis.

Trump, meanwhile, is lapping the field at 52%  up from 48% previously, and statistically tied with his highest number to date. His 40-point lead over DeSantis is also a new record. (Just last month, the former president led by 25.) No other GOP hopeful clears 5%, with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (4%), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (3%), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (2%) and former Vice President Mike Pence (2%) continuing to languish in the low single digits.

Will the debate make or break DeSantis?

DeSantiss free fall couldnt come at a more pivotal moment. On Wednesday, eight second-tier Republican candidates  a group that includes DeSantis and all of the Trump alternatives mentioned above, as well as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (0%) and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (0%)  will meet in Milwaukee for the partys first 2024 primary debate.

DeSantiss debate debut will give him a chance to re-establish his status as the GOPs top Trump challenger  or, if he stumbles, to solidify the growing impression that his moment has passed.

The Yahoo News/YouGov survey makes it painfully clear that non-Trump Republicans have soured on the governor. One measure is how he performs in a hypothetical two-way matchup with Trump. Here, DeSantis has lost 10 points since last month, slipping from 33% to 23%, while Trump has gained 6, climbing from 54% to 60%.

Whats striking is not just that DeSantis has sunk to a new low on this question (down from 31%) or that Trump has ascended to a new high (up from 57%). Its that Trumps support is so much higher head-to-head against DeSantis  8 points higher, to be exact  than it is against the full field, suggesting that many Republicans who are theoretically open to voting against Trump are not willing to do so if that specifically means voting for DeSantis.

More headwinds for DeSantis

Ultimately, its changing perceptions of DeSantis that account for this shift  not changing perceptions of Trump. Among potential Republican primary voters, the former presidents overall personal rating is now 75% favorable to 23% unfavorable, essentially matching last months result (76% favorable to 22% unfavorable). But over the same period, DeSantiss favorable rating has fallen by 4 points (from 71% to 67%) while his unfavorable rating has jumped by five (from 17% to 22%).

Today, just 24% of potential GOP primary voters give DeSantis a very favorable rating. Thats down 10 points since July  and down by more than half (from 51%) since last summer.

____________

The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,665 U.S. adults interviewed online from Aug. 17 to 21, 2023. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondents most recent answer given prior to March 15, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (32% Democratic, 27% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGovs opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 2.8%.
A partial power outage amid the record rain of Hilary at Los Angeles White Memorial Hospital led to the evacuations of at least 28 critical patients and left nearly 250 patients in the dark, fire officials said.

The outage was reported just after 11 p.m. Monday at the hospital's Specialty Care Center at its Boyle Heights campus. The tower houses a neonatal intensive care unit and obstetrics, gynecology and rehabilitation departments, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Cody Weireter told reporters overnight.

A total of 241 patients were affected by the outage, 28 of whom were deemed critical and taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a news briefing Tuesday morning.

The remaining 213 noncritical patients were to be moved to another building that had power.

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In a news release, the fire department said: Firefighters are bringing them down to the ground floor, assisting ventilations as required, for transport."

A power outage overnight at Los Angeles White Memorial Hospital led to evacuations of at least 30 critical patients and left nearly 250 patients in the dark, fire officials said. (TNLA)

Weireter said one of the issues in responding to the partial hospital blackout was no light, meaning zero visibility, and no working elevators. Firefighter paramedics had to assist patients down stairwells into ambulances.

Officials said Tuesday morning that all the critical patients had been moved to other hospitals and that evacuations of noncritical patients were still underway.

John Raffoul, the president of Adventist Health White Memorial, said the main power went out around 3 a.m. Monday at the height of Tropical Storm Hilary's downpour. The historic storm hit Southern California with record rainfall.

Emergency generators immediately kicked into gear, but they failed around 1 a.m. Tuesday, Raffoul said.

A baby was born after the emergency generator went out, hospital spokesperson Grace Hauser told reporters. Doctors and hospital personnel flashed a cluster of flashlights toward the ceiling to illuminate the room during the delivery. An ambulance ultimately took the baby and the mother to another hospital for care.

The cause of the outage is under investigation, and a new emergency generator is on its way to the hospital, estimated to arrive at 9 a.m.

Overnight Tuesday, at least 2,500 customers were without power in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us. At 5:30 a.m., about 1,500 were without power.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Czech law enforcement has seized the property of Rostislav Zorikov  the son-in-law of Russian oligarch Boris Obnosov, director of a major producer of missiles for the Russian military. The move was reported by Czech TV station C24 on Aug. 21, citing the Financial Analytical Office (FAU).

Read also: Czech Minister of European Integration optimistic about Ukraines EU membership prospects

According to the report, Zorikov lives in Prague, where at least 14 apartments belonging to him were seized by authorities.

As it stands, Zorikov is unable to sell or transfer two apartments in a luxury complex in Prague and another twelve apartments in a building in Zizkov.

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FAU has also frozen shares of his Czech leasing company Riomax. However, before sanctions were announced, he managed to transfer a stake in another Czech company, Altera, to his father.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala emphasized that the government is doing everything possible to punish those directly aiding the Kremlin in waging the war against Ukraine.

Read also: Czech Presidents statement at NATO event reveals Western secrets, claims Ukrainian diplomat

On Aug. 16, the Czech Republic imposed sanctions against Boris Obnosov and his family members.

Read also: Breaking  Russia hits the Chernihiv city center with ballistic missile, there are wounded and dead, threat remains

On July 9, Czech publication Novinky reported that the Obnosov family continues to live in Prague. At the time, Obnosov and his family have not been included in any of the EU's personal sanctions lists.

Obnosovs Tactical Missile Armament Corporation is Russia's largest manufacturer of missiles and aerial bombs. The corporation owns 40 factories, design bureaus, and other enterprises. He took over the holding in 2003.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Former Vice President Mike Pence has become much more emboldened in his criticism of his former boss, Donald Trump , in recent months, but has refused to stoop to Mr Trumps online admonishments and name-calling tactics.

Mr Pence is trying to pave a pathway back to the White House  without his name on a ballot next to Mr Trump. But its no secret that the former vice president isnt polling particularly well, with just over five per cent in the polls, putting him in fourth place in a crowded GOP field.

The man who was once described as cartoonishly loyal as Trumps vice president (and who once praised Trump every 12 seconds for three minutes straight during a 2017 Cabinet meeting) is now taking harsher stances and carefully distancing himself, at times, from the former president.

Mr Pence has a signature style, one that has been well curated from decades ago after losing a House race; in 1991, he vowed to avoid negative campaign attacks. This promise seemed to inform a lot of Mr Pences responses to significant events in which his former boss found himself in hot water. Rather than pointing fingers, the former Indiana governor tends to turn the conversation to the American public and tread diplomatically.

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Here are all of the things Mr Pence has said about Mr Trump, both while he was in office and after, showcasing his transformation from the former presidents right-hand man to Mr Trumps competitor for the Republican nomination.

On Access Hollywood Tape:

Mother is not going to like this, Mr Pence reportedly said, referring to his wife, after Mr Trump told him that the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape surfaced  months before the 2016 election  in which Mr Trump discusses his treatment of women. Grab them by the p****, he can be heard saying in the tape.

During the encounter, Mr Pence reportedly wrote in a letter to Mr Trump that he was ready to step in to replace the GOP nominee on the 2016 ticket. A day later, Mr Pence issued a statement.

As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday, the Indiana Republican said.

I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them, Mr Pence continued. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.

On Covid-19:

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic raging on and sparking lockdowns across the world, Mr Pence wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in June 2020 declaring There isnt a Coronavirus second wave. He defended his boss, who continued to downplay the tragic situation, writing, Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and the courage and compassion of the American people, our public health system is far stronger than it was four months ago, and we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.

The op-ed was written just days after the US death toll from the virus surpassed 110,000. A day before the op-ed came out, on 15 June 2020, Mr Trump said: Even without [widespread testing], you know, at some point this stuff goes away and its going away. Our numbers are much lower now. He later added, If we stopped testing right now, wed have very few cases, if any.

On Donald Trumps first impeachment:

On 18 December 2019, Mr Trump was impeached by the House for abuse of power  for withholding aid to Ukraine in exchange for the countrys investigation into his political adversaries.

During the Houses impeachment vote, MrTrump and Mr Pence were in Michigan for a Merry Christmas Rally. Mr Trump told the crowd, It doesnt really feel like were being impeached, apparently deflecting some of the blame onto Mr Pence, who replied, I know that here in Michigan and all across America, voters will remember in November.

One month after the Houses first impeachment of Mr Trump, in January, Mr Pence denied knowledge of Mr Trumps pressuring the Ukrainian president. But what Ive said over and over again, he said, is I was never aware of the allegations that there was some pressure campaign for investigations against the Bidens that was underway until those matters became public.

On January 6:

Mr Pence has repeatedly and steadfastly defended his efforts during the turbulent events on January 6, when a mob of rioters was chanting for him to be hanged. At times, though, he has spoken more pointedly than others about his former bosss actions on that same day.

In a letter to Congress, Mr Pence wrote that he lacked the authority to block the congressional certification of Joe Bidens electoral victory, rejecting Mr Trumps request. He penned, I do not believe that the founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted during the joint session of Congress, and no vice president in American history has ever asserted such authority.

One day later, he called the Capitol riot an unprecedented violence and vandalism.

To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: you did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins, he offered in the aftermath. And this is still the peoples house. And as we reconvene in this chamber the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy.

Months later, Mr Pence reflected at a Republican dinner in New Hampshire in June 2021, That day, January 6, was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol. He continued, But thanks to the swift action of the Capitol police and federal law enforcement, violence was quelled. The Capitol was secured. And that same day, we reconvened the Congress and did our duty under the constitution and the laws of the United States.

He concluded by saying: You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I dont know if well ever see eye to eye on that day.

Speaking to Sean Hannity the following October, Mr Pence seemed to downplay the events while discussing Mr Trump, Look, you cant spend almost five years in a political foxhole with somebody without developing a strong relationship. He then turned to January 6, calling it a tragic day in the history of our Capitol Building.

He added, But thanks to the efforts of Capitol Hill Police, federal officials, the Capitol was secured. We finished our work, and the president and I sat down a few days later and talked through all of it.

Mr Pence seemed to take a page out of Mr Trumps playbook, pivoting the conversation about the aftermath of the Capitol riot to attacking the press: I know the media wants to distract from the Biden administrations failed agenda by focusing on one day in January. He continued, They want to use that one day to try and demean the character and intentions of 74 million Americans who believed we could be strong again and prosperous again and supported our administration in 2016 and 2020.

But for our part, I truly believe we all ought to remain completely focused on the future. Thats where Im focused and I believe the future is bright, Mr Pence said.

A few months later, in February, he changed his tune a bit again, telling the conservative Federalist Society: I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.

More recently, the former Indiana governor campaigned for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, calling him one of the most successful conservative governors in America. Although he didnt mention Mr Trump explicitly, the move could have been interpreted as a not-so-subtle rebuke to the former president, who has an ongoing feud with Mr Kemp

Mr Kemp rejected Mr Trumps requests to help overturn the states 2020 election results , and then in 2022, the governor resoundingly defeated a Trump-backed opponent. The Georgia governor also testified in the states probe into the former presidents efforts in the wake of the 2020 electionfor which Mr Trump has now been indicted.

On Donald Trumps second impeachment:

Mr Trump was impeached again on 13 January 2021  this time for incitement of insurrection.

When asked if he would remove Mr Trump from office via the 25th Amendment, he wrote in a letter on 12 January to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi without addressing the impeachment efforts: I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution. He argued that using the process now would set a terrible precedent, adding that our Administrations energy is directed to ensuring an orderly transition to Bidens administration.

He did not call Mr Trump by name throughout the letter.

Months after the second impeachment, in March, Mr Pence reflected, President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election, and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.

On the hush money indictment:

After Mr Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury on 30 March 2023, Mr Pence reacted to the news, speaking defensively of his former boss and echoing frequent Republican reactions: I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage.

It appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution thats driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president, he continued. Mr Trumps former veep added that the decision is a great disservice to the country and the American people will look at this and see it as one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country.

On the E Jean Carroll case:

Mere hours after Mr Trump was found liable for sexual assault and defamation against former Elle columnist E Jean Carroll on 9 May, Mr Pence said, I would tell you, in my four-and-a-half years serving alongside the president, I never heard or witnessed behaviour of that nature.

He also added that most Americans probably dont care about the result of the case, predicting it wouldnt hurt Mr Trumps 2024 presidential run: At a time when American families are struggling, when our economy is hurting[its] just one more story focusing on my former running mate that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just dont think is where the American people are focused.

Pences campaign launch:

Whether it was due to the nature of the cases or due to Mr Pence announcing his presidential run on 7 June, the former vice president seemed to become more aggressive and political in his responses  and less wary to criticise his former boss. At his campaign launch, he discussed the Capitol riot  and Mr Trumps responsibility for the mob.

January 6 was a tragic day in the life of our nation, the Indiana Republican began. As Ive said many times, on that fateful day, president Trumps words were reckless. They endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol.

He continued, But the American people deserve to know that on that day, President Trump also demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. Now, voters will be faced with the same choice: I chose the Constitution and I always will.

On classified documents federal indictment:

Mr Pence also took a more political stance after his former boss was indicted in June related to the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. This indictment contains serious charges, and I cannot defend what is alleged, Mr Pence said on CNBC. The handling of classified materials is a very serious matter, he said, adding, the former president has a right to his day in court.

I cant believe that politics didnt play some role here, Mr Pence added. If I have the privilege to be president of the United States, were going to clean house at the Department of Justice. Were going to find men and women who are universally respected by both political parties, and were going to restore public confidence and equal treatment under the law.

During CNN town hall in June, Mr Pence also alluded to the classified documents found at Bidens private residence  yet made no reference to classified documents found at his Indiana home: President Biden had no business having him in his residence from when he was vice president as well, and the same with former President Trump. But I would just hope that there would be a way for them to move forward without the dramatic and drastic and divisive step of indicting a former president of the United States.

Earlier this week, Mr Pence may have weakened Mr Trumps defence in the classified documents case; the former president has repeatedly claimed that he declassified the material in question before leaving office. I was never made aware of any broad-based effort to declassify documents, he told ABCs This Week.

There is a process that the White House goes through to declassify materials, Mr Pence continued. Im aware of that occurring on several cases over the course of our four years. But I dont have any knowledge of any broad-based directive from the president. But that doesnt mean it didnt occur; its just not something that I ever heard about.

On 2020 election interference federal indictment:

One day after the former president was again federally indicted related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in early August, Mr Pence recycled his usual line from January 6: Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.

Although Mr Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, he added, the nation  is more important than one man.

When asked if he would testify in the former presidents criminal trial, Mr Pence explained, I testified under a subpoena before the grand jury. Im somebody that believes in the rule of law, but look, I have nothing to hide.

The Indiana Republican then added a political flair to his response. And I have seen the weaponization of the Justice Department, he continued, echoing a familiar line uttered by other members of the GOP. Id hope that on this matter of January 6, that it wouldnt come to this because I do believe that this is only going to kind of further ignite the divide in the country.

On the Georgia indictment:

After a Fulton County grand jury voted to indict the former president on 14 August, Mr Pence also stuck to his usual talking points related to all things related to the Capitol riot  while also giving a reminder about due process.

The Georgia election was not stolen and I had no right to overturn the election on Jan. 6, Mr Pence said on 16 August. No one is above law, he added, And the president and all those implicated are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

On Ukraine:

As part of his 2024 campaign, Mr Pence has made clear that he differed from his former bossand fellow Republican candidate Ron DeSantis  regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

With all due respect, I think the former president and the governor of Florida just dont understand Americans national interest in supporting the Ukrainian military in repelling the Russian military in Ukraine, he said in July during a campaign event in Sioux City.

If we dont stand apart, if we dont give the Ukrainian military what they need to defeat and repel the Russian invasion, Im convinced that the second half of the 21st century will look a great deal more like the first half of the 20th century.

He doubled down on his position during his CNN town hall. After host Dana Bash pointed out that Mr Trump dodged answering the question of whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war, Mr Pence said, Well, and frankly, when Vladimir Putin rolled into Ukraine, the former President called him a genius. I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal. And I know who needs to win in the war in Ukraine.

He continued, And its the people fighting for their freedom and fighting to restore their national sovereignty in Ukraine. And America, its not our war, but freedom is our fight. And we need to give the people of Ukraine the ability to fight and defend their freedom.

On abortion:

He has also called out Mr Trump regarding his stance on abortion. Mr Pence, an evangelical, born-again Christian, has made no secret of his views on the hot topic.

My former running mate, the governor of Florida and others are suggesting that the Supreme Court returned the question of abortion to the states, Pence said in August at the Iowa State Fair.

I truly do believe its vitally important that we seize the opportunity at the national level to advance protections for the right to life, and Ill do so as president, he added. This is a really big issue. It will be on the stage in Milwaukee, Mr Pence said, alluding to the first Republican debate, in which Mr Trump will not participate.

On pardoning Trump:

Ive been a governor, Ive actually pardoned people, said Mr Pence, according to the Des Moines Register. And I think any pardon that you could conduct would only be appropriate to consider after somebody has been found guilty. And I dont know why some of my competitors in the Republican primary assume the presidents going to be found guilty.

On negative attacks:

Mr Trump has slammed Pence as delusional and of having gone to the dark side online. Mr Trumps language has spread to his supporters, as one called Mr Pence a traitor while he visited the Iowa State Fair.

The former veep told ABC News that he was taking the opposite approach as his 2024 GOP rival: Look, I know the former president pretty well. I think more and more Americans every day are getting to know us, getting to know our lifetime of commitment to the conservative agenda. And Im very heartened by the fact  and you saw it at the Iowa State Fair this week  how many people come up to us on a regular basis and thank us for the stand that we took on that fateful day [on Jan. 6].

So Ill be taking my record to the American people, and the president can continue to do what he does: He can continue to hold forth and level his broadsides, Mr Pence continued. But for me, Im not going to engage in negative personal attacks.

On voting for Trump:

I dont think Ill have to, Mr Pence said firmly at the CNN town hall, before he indirectly denounced the former presidents former actions: Im running for president because I dont think anyone who ever puts himself over the Constitution should ever be president or should ever be president again.
Eight Tippecanoe County Jail inmates have died in custody since 2009. Three of those deaths happened in incidents on Jan. 12, 2019.

LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Tippecanoe County Jail inmate Cordarro Donta Curtis hanged himself inside a jail shower room Sunday afternoon, according to preliminary findings from Tuesday's autopsy released by Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello.

The manner of death was suicide, according to the preliminary autopsy, Costello said.

Final findings of the autopsy are pending toxicology reports, which is standard.

Inmates alerted jail officers about 4 p.m. Sunday that Curtis was in the shower, where officers found him unresponsive and suffering from self-inflicted injury, according to Indiana State Police.

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Jail officers attempted life-saving efforts, but failed to revive him, police said. Curtis, 29, of East Chicago, Indiana, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Indiana State Police.

No foul play is suspected, according to Indiana State Police.

Anyone who might feel overwhelmed or having thoughts of harming one's self or another may call or text 988, a crisis line staffed 24/7.

More: Tippecanoe County Jail inmate found dead Sunday afternoon

More: East Chicago man charged with attempted murder in assault on his ex-girlfriend

Curtis was booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail early May 7, according to jail records.

Prosecutors charged Curtis in May with seven charges, including attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery with serious bodily injury, battery with a deadly weapon, and two counts of criminal recklessness.

About 5:30 p.m. May 6, Curtis fired between two and four shots into a car parked in the 1200 block of Burberry Drive West in Lafayette, according to prosecutors.

One of the bullets struck Curtis' ex-girlfriend, shattering the bones in her arm, according to prosecutors who noted that she was transported to an Indianapolis hospital for surgery.

Curtis' ex-girlfriend was in the backseat on the passenger side of the car when Curtis approached the car from the passenger's side and shot at her, according to prosecutors.

Curtis left the scene after the shooting, and police arrested him later that night in the 1800 block of Shoshone Drive, according to Lafayette police.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Preliminary autopsy: Inmate hanged himself in shower in suicide
The man accused of fatally shooting a Southern California clothing store owner after an argument about a rainbow Pride flag hanging outside her business, had social media accounts containing anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-law-enforcement material, sheriffs office officials said in a Monday news conference.

Laura Ann Lauri Carleton, 66, died from a gunshot wound Friday evening at her store, Mag.Pi, in Cedar Glen, about 80 miles by car east of Los Angeles, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office said.

The suspected shooter, Travis Ikeguchi, 27, also died following a shootout with deputies after fleeing the first shooting, authorities said.

Ikeguchi had torn down the flag and yelled many homophobic slurs toward Carleton and shot Carleton when she confronted him, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. Ikeguchi had also made several disparaging remarks about the flag before shooting Carleton, the sheriffs office said in a news release.

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The stores flag has been torn down several times before, but it was always replaced with a bigger flag, Carletons daughter, Ari Carleton told CNNs Anderson Cooper on Monday.

Carleton, who did not identify as LGBTQ+, advocated for everyone in the community, Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+, an organization with which she worked closely and to which she was a large donor, said in a statement.

The attack comes as LGBTQ+ people and their supporters have faced threats and acts of violence alongside an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in 2023, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

LGBTQ+ Americans are living in a state of emergency. The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived  they are real, tangible and dangerous, the groups president, Kelley Robinson, said in June when it declared a national state of emergency for the community.

This is absolutely horrific, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a social media post about the shooting. This disgusting hate has no place in California.

A photograph of Laura Ann Carleton, who was kiled Friday, is part a makeshift memorial. - OnSceneTV

Suspect posted anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric online

When deputies tried to apprehend Ikeguchi, the suspect shot at San Bernardino County sheriffs deputies, striking several of their vehicles, the deputies returned fire and shot Ikeguchi, who died at the scene, Dicus said. A gun recovered where Ikeguchi died appears to be the same gun used to shoot Carleton, according to the sheriff.

Investigators still are investigating the motive in Carletons killing, Dicus said.

Ikeguchi, who lived in Cedar Glen, had social media accounts containing anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-law enforcement material, sheriff officials said in a news conference late Monday.

Platforms used by the suspect included Twitter, recently rebranded as X; as well as Gab, a platform popular among far-right extremists.

Authorities were aware of an X account belonging to the suspect that contained a burning Pride flag as its pinned post, Dicus said Monday.

An X account appearing to belong to Ikeguchi contained numerous anti-LGBTQ+ posts, according to a review by CNN. Another post was critical of abortion and same-sex marriage, describing both as a war against family values.

In a post critical of law enforcement, the user accused officers of using sociopathic schemes.

A fearless and selfless community advocate

She was so fearless, and any negative reaction she just powered through, Ari Carleton said, adding her mom was never afraid for her safety and wasnt afraid to stand up to anybody.

When Lauri Carletons family returned home after the shooting Friday night, a package with a new Pride flag was waiting at their doorstep to replace the existing one since it had faded from the sun, Ari Carleton said.

She described her mother as selfless, kind and compassionate. During the winter when people in San Bernardino County were impacted by heavy snowfall, her parents opened a storefront next to Mag.Pi, to hand out food and supplies.

I know that she passed standing up for something she believed in, Ari Carleton said.

Countless people have reached out to the family to share what her mom and the flag meant to them, including a family friend who said the flag inspired that person several weeks ago to come out to her family, Ari Carleton said.

I want to make sure that  we just focus on who she was as a person  just beautiful inside and out  and that we all move forward by preaching love and acceptance and equality in her honor, Ari Carleton said.

Hollywood director Paul Feig paid tribute to Lauri Carleton, calling her a wonderful friend.

We are all devastated for her husband, Bort, and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally, Feig wrote in an Instagram post.

This intolerance has to end, he said. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love.

Lauri Carletons boutique sells shoes, clothing, jewelry, vintage items and gifts.

A career in fashion began early in Lauri Carletons life as she worked in her familys clothing shop and attended ArtCenter College of Design, a private university in Pasadena, California, according to the stores website.

Lauri Carleton and her husband were married for 28 years and share a blended family of nine children, according to the website. The couples interests included traveling, architecture, design, fine art, food and fashion.

Lauri was the gap between the LGBT community and everyone up here, Matthew Clevenger, friend and co-founder of Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ said on CNN This Morning on Tuesday. She was security for a lot of people because of these flags, she was the brave one.

It is not a shock that this occurred in this area, nobody is shocked that gun violence occurred because of somebody having a gay flag up, Clevenger said. Its just that we didnt expect it to happen to someone that was an ally like Lauri, a woman married to a man with a blended family of nine children.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Mercenary group Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has shared his first video address two months after he launched a failed coup attempt against Vladimir Putin.

Mr Prigozhin is seen in the video toting an assault rifle and wearing military fatigues, with his comments suggesting the clip was shot in an unnamed African country.

The Wagner boss says during the clip that he is recruiting strongmen and said the group will fulfil the tasks that were set by the Russian government.

The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, as Mr Prigozhin said the mercenary group was making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.

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The temperature is +50 (122 degrees Fahrenheit)  everything as we like. The Wagner PMC [private military company] makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa  more free. Justice and happiness  for the African people, were making life a nightmare for Isis and al-Qaeda and other bandits, he said in the video.

In the background of the video, pickup trucks and other people dressed in fatigues could be seen. A telephone number was displayed as well for those who wanted to join the group.

The Independent could not verify the date and exact location of the video, but Mr Prigozhins comments and posts on Telegram channels have hinted that it was shot in Africa.

According to the Russian social media channels affiliated with the mercenary leader, the Wagner leader is recruiting fighters to work in the continent. He is inviting investors from Russia to put money in the Central African Republic through Russian House, a cultural centre in the African nations capital, they suggested.

Mr Prigozhin was last seen in a video in July shot in Belarus shortly after his attempt to stir mutiny against the Kremlin failed, sparking speculation that he was taking refuge in the Russian ally nation as part of a deal to broker peace.

He was later photographed on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

There is no official announcement of his current whereabouts. But one of the most prominent sites is the Central African Republic, where Wagners troops for hire have been active and accused of committing gross human rights abuses.

Till June this year, the Wagner leader and his mercenary fighters, comprising mostly prison convicts, spent months fiercely fighting Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern region, mostly Bakhmut.

Mr Prigozhin staunchly criticised Russias military performance and the top brass of the Russian defence ministry before he called for an armed uprising on 23 June to oust the defence minister and marched from Ukraine toward Moscow with his mercenaries.

The hours-long mutiny ended after a deal was brokered by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, following which Mr Prigozhin agreed to end his rebellion in exchange for amnesty for him and his fighters and permission to relocate to Belarus.

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 celebrity sightseeing tour that promises to take passengers within feet of Prince Harry and Meghan Markles Montecito home has sparked backlash over privacy concerns.

The bus tour - advertised as the Royal Celebrity Tour of Los Angeles and Montecito - is being led by photographer Karl Larsen, a close friend of Meghans estranged father, Thomas Markle. According to The Mirror, each tour costs $1,200 (958.84) for a group of six.

A listing for the sightseeing tour first popped up on the site Tripening, where it was advertised alongside a photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sharing a kiss at a polo match in Santa Barbara. The description for the Royal Celebrity Tour, written by Larsen, read: Im the world-famous celebrity photographer Karl Larsen, a best friend of Thomas Markle (Meghans father) and the guy with a stunning exclusive portfolio of pictures of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle together in Montecito.

Larsen described himself as the only person in the world who knows the truth about what happened between Meghan Markle and her father ahead of her marriage to Prince Harry in May 2018. I am the only person who has an open communication pathway between Meghans camp and the rest of the Markle family, he wrote. There is nobody on the planet that knows more info that [sic] me and Im the only person thats qualified to put on such a tour.

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The listing promised that passengers would get an in-depth tour of where Meghan grew up and the beachside California town where Harry and Meghan and an army of other A-listers call home.

The tour aims to take tourists to Harry and Meghans favourite Montecito hangouts, the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club where the royals shared a kiss last year, Meghans old homes and schools in Los Angeles, and a road close to the Sussexes Montecito estate. There are also plans, according to the Mirror, to expand the trip to Rosarito, Mexico - where fans can meet Thomas Markle.

As fans caught wind of the Royal Celebrity Tour, many people took to social media to share their disapproval of the bus tour. Christopher Bouzy, a tech entrepreneur who appeared in Netflixs Harry and Meghan docuseries, expressed his concerns that the tour could open the couple up to harassment from tourists. His tech firm, Bot Sentinel, led research into online trolls targeting the Sussexes.

The harassment of Harry and Meghan is escalating, and now these deranged people are taking their harassment offline while trying to profit off their harassment. This is sick, he wrote on his social networking site, Spoutible.

This is sick, one user replied, while another said: Craziness indeed.

In response to the backlash, the official account for Tripening posted on X - formally known as Twitter - that they removed the Royal Celebrity Tour listing from its website. Thanks for the heads up! We removed that tour from sale, Tripening said.

Meanwhile, Larsen launched a YouTube channel with Meghans father, called Remarkable Friendship, in March 2022. In one episode, the photographer reportedly suggested that Thomas should buy the house next door to Meghans mother Doria Ragland, which was on sale at the time.

Speaking to Newsweek about the Royal Celebrity Tour, Larsen clarified that he had no intentions of going past Harry and Meghans house, just where the actor grew up in Los Angeles. I want to have the tour be available where she grew up. Were going to go to Montecito but just places they go to, restaurants they go to, he told the outlet. Its a custom tour so if people want to go see other sights thats what were going to do but we will not go past Dorias house and we will not go past Harry and Meghans.

He added that the online backlash to the tour will not stop it from going ahead, saying: This is not going to be the end of the tour.

After stepping down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan briefly relocated to Canada with their son, Archie, before finding a permanent residence in Montecito, California. At the time, Harry said he hoped their decision would lead to a quieter life as they continue to raise their four-year-old son and their two-year-old daughter, Lilibet, in the states.

The backlash to the Royal Celebrity Tour comes amid Harrys ongoing legal battle against a number of UK newspapers for an alleged invasion of privacy. During the couples bombshell sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan also spoke of a desire for privacy. I think everyone has a basic right to privacy. Basic. Were not talking about anything that anybody else wouldnt expect, she said.

However, the Sussexes thoughts about privacy were infamously parodied in a recent episode of South Park. A spokesperson for the royal couple previously refuted claims that Harry and Meghan stepped back from the royal family because they wanted privacy, pointing out that the duke and duchess never said a desire for privacy was a factor in their decision.

Their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties, Ashley Hansen, the couples global press secretary, told the New York Times. They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them.

The Independent has contacted Larsen and the Sussexes for comment.
Photos show a Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber destroyed at a base deep inside Russia, the BBC reported.

Russia said an aircraft was damaged by a copter-style drone, which tends to have limited range.

The UK MOD said the attack likely came from within Russia as the drone could not fly all the way from Ukraine.

A prized supersonic Russian bomber was blown up in an audacious attack over the weekend.

The attack was striking because the plane was being kept where Russia likely thought it would be safe  an air base some 400 miles behind Russia's border with Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry said an attack by a Ukrainian copter-style drone damaged a plane at "a military airfield in the Novgorod region" on Saturday night, the BBC reported.

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UK intelligence analysts concluded that the type of drone, paired with the location, meant the attack likely originated from hostile units within Russia itself.

The plane in question was a Tupolev Tu-22, the BBC said, citing photos of the plane on fire at Russia's Soltsky-2 airbase in the Novgorod region, not far from St Petersburg.

The aircraft type has been used by frequently Russia to attack Ukrainian cities, the BBC and the UK Ministry of Defense said.

This includes firing anti-ship missiles at Ukraine and bombing the city of Mariupol, the MOD said.

The MOD said in its intelligence update on Tuesday that a Tupolev Tu-22 was "highly likely destroyed" at the airbase .

It said that if Russia's claim a copter-style copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible is true, it "adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory."

It said copter-style drones "are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia."

Ukrainian news outlet New Voice of Ukraine reported that agents cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence were responsible for the attack. It claimed that they destroyed two further aircraft as well as the Tu-22.

The incident raised questions about Russia's ability to defend its aircraft even on home turf, the UK MOD said.

"This is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russia's ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country."

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a small number of attacks have taken place inside Russia. Ukraine has hinted at being responsible for some, and Russian separatists who oppose President Vladimir Putin have taken responsibility for others

Ukraine's military has not commented on the attack.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Luck of the Draw

America's presidential election is just next year, but the competitive ugliness on display on social media leading up to it is already making any sane person want to dip their head into boiling acid.

Fortunately, according to a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School, there could be a better way: eliminate elections altogether and pick our leaders by lottery. Say what?!

"In the United States, we already use a version of a lottery to select jurors," Adam Grant wrote in The New York Times. "What if we did the same with mayors, governors, legislators, justices and even presidents?"

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Grant makes a persuasive case for picking our leaders randomly from a pool of candidates by pointing to research by Alexander Haslam, another psychologist, who's run experiments that show that better decisions are made when the group leader is chosen by lottery essentially versus if the group leader is chosen for their leadership skills or if elected by their peers

"'Systematically selected leaders can undermine group goals,' Dr. Haslam and his colleagues suggest, because they have a tendency to 'assert their personal superiority.' When youre anointed by the group, it can quickly go to your head: Im the chosen one," writes Grant.

Better Way

Electing leaders by lottery, he points out, does have some historical precedent.

"The ancient Greeks invented democracy, and in Athens many government officials were selected through sortition  a random lottery from a pool of candidates," says Grant, who says he's been suggesting the idea to US Congress members.

Grant says that pool of candidates in Ancient Athens had to take a test "of their capacity to exercise public rights and duties," and perhaps America can have the same thing, a civics test essentially.

"A lottery would also improve our odds of avoiding the worst candidates in the first place," Grant writes. "Thats because the people most drawn to power are usually the least fit to wield it."

Other contemporary countries have been experimenting with this form of democracy as well. Grant points out to instances in Europe and Canada where government officials have held lotteries to pick citizens to work on a variety of issues, such as climate change.

Let's be clear: the concept is a long shot to the point of near impossibility in American politics, and it would presumably require basically shredding the Constitution. But still, it's tantalizing to imagine not only picking better leaders, but eliminating the ugliness of election politicking and the bloated capital geared towards campaigning.

More on elections: Sam Altman Fears AIs Effect on Elections
General Sergei Surovikin visits the Joint Headquarters of the Russian armed forces, in an unknown location

(Reuters) - A prominent Russian journalist on Tuesday said General Sergei Surovikin, who at one time was commander of Moscow's war effort in Ukraine, has been dismissed as head of the country's aerospace forces.

There was no official confirmation of the report by Alexei Venediktov , the well-connected former head of the now-defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Venediktov on his Telegram channel said Surovikin had been removed by official decree, without providing any further details.

The RBC media outlet later on Tuesday also reported that Venediktov has been dismissed, citing its own sources.

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"Army General Sergei Surovikin has been relieved of his post in connection with the transition to another job and is at the disposal of (the Ministry of Defence)," RBC said.

One of the paper's sources said Surovikin "is currently on short-term leave."

The general has not been seen in public since a short-lived mutiny in June by the Wagner mercenary group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, against Russia's defence establishment.

During the revolt, Surovikin appeared in a video urging Prigozhin to stand down. Since the mutiny, Russian and foreign news reports have said that Surovikin was being investigated for possible complicity in it.

Surovikin earned the nickname "General Armageddon" during Russia's military intervention in Syria's civil war.

In October he was placed in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine, but in January that role was handed to General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Surovikin was made a deputy to Gerasimov.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Porter)
CHICAGO  Prosecutors rested their case Monday in the perjury trial of Tim Mapes, the former chief of staff to Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan accused of lying to a federal grand jury investigating his longtime boss.

Over eight days of testimony, prosecutors presented 15 witnesses and dozens of wiretapped phone conversations, emails, and other documents in an effort to prove that Mapes was lying when he said he was unaware that Madigans close confidant, Michael McClain was doing sensitive assignments for the speaker.

The prosecutions case has also included the audio of Mapes entire grand jury testimony, offering a rare glimpse into a secretive process and illuminating how big-time political corruption investigations play out behind the scenes.

Mapes, 68, of Springfield, is charged with perjury and attempted obstruction of justice, accused in an indictment of lying in answers to seven questions during his appearance before the grand jury investigating Madigan and his vaunted political operation.

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He faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction count, while the perjury charges carry up to five years behind bars.

Mapes, who served for more than 25 years as Madigans chief of staff as well as stints as executive director of the state Democratic Party and the clerk of the House, has denied making any false statements.

His attorneys have argued that he did his level best to provide truthful answers. They also accused prosecutors of asking open-ended questions and failing to provide Mapes with any corroborating materials that might refresh his recollection of years-old conversations.

The defense has said its case will last only about a day and will include an expert witness who will testify on the faults of human memory. They have also said they want to call Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, who conducted the questioning of Mapes at the grand jury, as well as possibly Mapes wife and a former employee.

Mapes, meanwhile, has not said whether he will testify, though its considered a long shot given his previous track record and the general risks involved.

While the charges against Mapes are fairly straightforward, the trial has been anything but ordinary, especially given the backdrop of the political corruption scandal that roiled Illinois politics and helped end Madigans record, decadeslong run as speaker.

A slew of Democratic Springfield insiders lined up to testify for the prosecution, including state Rep. Bob Ritacq, ex-legislators Lou Lang and Greg Harris, and former top aides to Madigan such as Tom Cullen, Will Cousineau, and Craig Willert.

Prosecutors ended their case in chief by playing a string of recordings made in the months after Mapes abrupt resignation in June 2018, as a sexual harassment scandal was threatening to end Madigans record reign as speaker.

In his grand jury testimony, Mapes claimed that he didnt see all that much of McClain after McClain retired from lobbying in 2016.

I think he was (in Springfield) occasionally, but I dont really know his schedule because he wasnt there much, Mapes testified. From what he had told me when he was going to retire is that he was going to phase out some of his clients through the spring session. And I didnt  I never did have another discussion with him about it after that.

But the wiretapped conversations played by prosecutors showed Mapes and McClain were in frequent contact up until the time McClain was indicted on bribery conspiracy charges in late 2020.

Not only that, the men appeared in the calls to have a great affection for one each other. They talked about their families and the declining health of McClains mother. They ate meals together, joked about the perceived shortcomings of certain Madigan staffers, and worried about each others futures. At one point, McClain signed off by telling Mapes he loved him.

On the day Mapes resigned, McClain left him a voicemail that was played for the jury, saying, Tim, this is Mike. You know Im here for ya. So whatever I can do to help, all you gotta do is call on me. All you gotta do is call on me. God bless.

Mapes called McClain back and the two talked about the unfairness of Mapes forced exit. Youre the only person whos// made me cry today, McClain told Mapes.

In another call from June 2018, McClain told Mapes he still hadnt talked to Madigan about Mapes abrupt ouster.

I dont think I can contain myself right now around him, McClain said. I think I would say, I never thought youd be the one to leave the foxhole. But I just ... havent even wanted to talk to him. You know what I mean Tim?

McClain and three others were convicted earlier this year on charges alleging they conspired to steer bribes from Commonwealth Edison to Madigans cronies in exchange for the speakers assistance with the utilitys legislative agenda in Springfield.

____
WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants accused of trying to steal the 2020 presidential election are expected to be booked at the Fulton County Jail this week.

The facility is known for its poor conditions and management, and the Department of Justice is investigating the jail's living conditions, medical care and use of excessive force.

The jail is open 24 hours a day, and the former president and other defendants could show up at any time, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat's office announced last week. Trump and the defendants have until noon on Friday to surrender.

Trump isn't expected to spend a long time at the jail, but this booking process marks a stark contrast with how the former president has been processed in courthouses in the other criminal investigations he faces. Here's what you need to know.

Jail known for extreme conditions

Inmate LaShawn Thompson, 35, was found dead in his cell at the Fulton County Jail last year allegedly with his body dehydrated, malnourished and infested inside and out with insects."

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An independent autopsy report found that the cause of Thompsons death was complications due to severe neglect, among other factors including untreated schizophrenia, dehydration, malnutrition and severe body insect infestation.

The Southern Center for Human Rights found last year that the jail has been understaffed and mismanaged for decades, leading to multiple lawsuits." The facility also easily facilitated the spread of viruses such as the one that causes COVID-19.

"The jail is a public health nightmare," Terrica Ganzy, executive director of the Southern Center Human Rights, said in a statement.

A report released last year from the American Civil Liberties Union acknowledged overcrowding in the prison.

The Justice Department announced it would investigate conditions at the Fulton County Jail last month after Thompson's death. The investigation also comes after accusations that the jail is structurally unsafe, that prevalent violence has resulted in serious injuries and homicides, and its officers use excessive force, according to the department.

What will Trump's booking look like?

Labat told CNN that unless other authorities tell him differently, they will be following their normal practices  as if any other person were facing charges.

In a typical booking process, a defendant has their fingerprints and mugshot taken, according to Chris Timmons, a trial attorney at the Knowles Gallant Timmons law firm.

If the defendant is being taken into custody, they would be put in a holding cell, Timmons said. But defendants can have legal agreements that get them out of custody without having to post bail.

In this particular case, I don't expect anyone going into custody, Timmons told USA TODAY.

The time a booking takes depends on the person, Timmons added. Taking fingerprints takes about three minutes, and getting a mug shot taken takes a minute and a half to two minutes.

He explained that it may be a "logistical nightmare" for a former president to be booked because of his security needs.

I would assume if the former president of the United States (is) coming to the jail that they're going to be efficient  ready to go," Timmons said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump to be booked at Georgia's notorious Fulton County jail
Growing up in Pueblo, Nick Donovan's dream wasn't necessarily to work in radio  it was to work at KDZA.

A long-time personality on the station and the current host of "Mornings with Nick" on KDZA, Donovan was among those celebrating the return of the beloved radio station at a ribbon-cutting event at Pueblo Community College on Aug. 17.

KDZA became licensed in 1948 and broadcast Top 40 hits to Pueblo listeners from the early 1960s into the '80s. The original 1230 AM KDZA station was shut down in 1993. The Aug. 17 ceremony not only celebrated KDZA's return to its original 1230 AM frequency as a classic hits station, but also the station's new home on the lower level of the PCC Student Center.

"KDZA has had such great traditions... I think that is what made it so special. It was such a part of life. It was involved in everybody's life around here pretty much," Donovan said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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KDZA also is being broadcast at 101.9 FM. The FM frequency was previously home to a variety hits station, "The Lake," before Mountain Radio Group rebranded it as KDZA in May 2023 and brought the station's original call letters back, according to radioinsight.com.

Nick Donovan, host of 'Mornings with Nick' on KDZA, speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Pueblo Community College on August 17, 2023.

"Radio to me really was the first social media," said Dave West, chief operations officer of Mountain Radio Group. "It's where people came to know what was going on in their town, they shared stories with each other and it's really all about community. KDZA and this whole project is just all about Pueblo."

On its website, KDZA hails itself as a station playing the "greatest hits from the 60s, 70s, and 80s." Donovan's morning show airs on weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. and features local news and weather reports between classic songs.

"Vintage Vibes" with Caraigh Clarkson airs on KDZA from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features stories from across Colorado's Front Range. Guy Girtin shares KDZA music facts and "The Bad Dad Joke of the Day!" as the host of "Golden Afternoons" from 2 to 6 p.m.

"This is going to be an open door," Donovan said. "You want to stop by any time... We want to help you with your non-profit. We want to help you with your business. We want to entertain you. We want to play your favorite music."

Pueblo Pride 2023: Pueblo's LGBTQ+ community finds more support than ever at Pride festival

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: KDZA is back: Pueblo celebrates return of classic radio station
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has dismissed General Sergei Surovikin from the post of commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Media reports say Surovikin was detained by Russian counterintelligence in connection with the rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin; the general is known to be the latter's associate.

Source: Meduza, Russian news agency; Radio Liberty, with reference to Alexei Venediktov , former Editor-in-Chief of Echo of Moscow

Details: The journalists say Putin's decree also states that Surovikin will be left at the disposal of the Russian Ministry of Defence. This decree was not published officially.

A source of RBK confirmed the information about Surovikin's dismissal. "Army General Sergei Surovikin was relieved of his position in connection with the transition to another job and is at the disposal [of the Ministry of Defence  ed.]... Now he is on a short-term leave," one of the sources claimed.

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Background:

Surovikin headed the command of the Russian Aerospace Forces from 31 October 2017. In October 2022  January 2023, he commanded a joint group of Russian troops in Ukraine, and served as its deputy commander from 11 January 2023.

During the rebellion of the Wagner Private Military Group on 23-24 June 2023, Surovikin recorded a video message to the mercenaries urging them to return to their places of deployment. After that, he did not appear in the public field.

On 13 July, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that the Russian secret service detained at least 12 high-ranking military officers, including General Sergei Surovikin, in connection with the mutiny of Yevgeny Prigozhin; 15 officers have been suspended or fired.

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Cultural exchange activities on BRICS cooperation held in South Africa

Xinhua) 09:24, August 22, 2023

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A series of cultural and people-to-people exchange activities on BRICS cooperation were recently held in South Africa, with participants expressing the expectation that BRICS members can jointly contribute wisdom and strength to promoting a human community with a shared future through the implementation of the Global Civilization Initiative.

The BRICS is an acronym for five emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa assumed the BRICS presidency on Jan. 1, 2023, and the 15th BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held on Aug. 22-24 in Johannesburg, the largest city in the country.

The BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchange Forum 2023 was held in Johannesburg Saturday. Under the theme of "Implementing the Global Civilization Initiative, Joining Hands on the March Toward Modernization," the forum attracted more than 100 participants from all five BRICS countries.

Noting that global challenges are emerging one after another, experts and scholars present at the forum said there is an urgent need to strengthen global solidarity and cooperation and to reform and improve the global governance system.

The BRICS Summit is expected to promote the building of a high-quality partnership among member states, and pool more strength to advance South-South cooperation and build a human community with a shared future, said the participants.

Highlighting the importance of the Global Civilization Initiative, they said all the countries should uphold the vision of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and enhance international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, so as to advance humanity's modernization process toward a brighter future.

The Sixth BRICS Media Forum, co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the China Energy Investment Corporation as well as organizations from South Africa, was held in Johannesburg at the weekend. About 200 representatives from around 100 media outlets, think tanks and international organizations from about 30 countries participated and held discussions under the theme of "BRICS and Africa: Strengthening Media Dialogue for a Shared and Unbiased Future."

Since its establishment in 2015, the BRICS Media Forum has become an important platform to enhance the voice of BRICS countries, said the participants.

The diverse cultures of the BRICS nations enrich the global conversations, said the representatives, adding that the BRICS media have demonstrated that the media should be committed to promoting world development, jointly advancing the building of a more just and equitable international order.

Other cultural and people-to-people exchange activities, including the South Africa-China film festival and the launching ceremony of the BRICS TV "TV China Theater," were also held in South Africa from Thursday to Saturday.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said the BRICS grouping of countries was on course to meet the aspirations of most of the world's population, according to recorded remarks at a summit of the BRICS countries in South Africa on Tuesday.

"We cooperate on the principles of equality, partnership support, respect for each others interests, and this is the essence of the future-oriented strategic course of our association, a course that meets the aspirations of the main part of the world community, the so-called global majority," Putin said.

The BRICS members - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - represent more than 40% of the world's population and the summit is expected to discuss adding new members, but he did not address that question in his remarks.

Putin was unable to attend the summit in person because of an arrest warrant issued for him in March by the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine.

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Russia rejected the accusation as outrageous and said the move had no legal meaning because it is not a member of the ICC. South Africa is a member, however, meaning it would have been obliged to arrest him if he had travelled there.

Putin said the summit would discuss in detail the question of switching trade between member countries away from the U.S. dollar and into national currencies, a process in which the BRICS' New Development Bank would play a big role.

"The objective, irreversible process of de-dollarization of our economic ties is gaining momentum," he said.

TRADE ROUTES

BRICS is an increasingly important forum for Russia at a time when its economy is grappling with Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine and it is looking to build new diplomatic and trade relations with Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Putin said Russia was looking to develop two flagship projects in particular - a northern sea route with new ports, fuel terminals and an expanded icebreaker fleet, and a north-south corridor connecting Russian ports with sea terminals in the Gulf and in the Indian Ocean.

He said Russia would remain a reliable food supplier to Africa and was finalising talks on providing free grain to a group of African countries, as he promised at a summit in St Petersburg last month.

The promise came after Russia pulled out of a deal that had enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, and after it repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain stores, leading Kyiv and the West to accuse it of using food as a weapon of war.

(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has dismissed Gen. Sergey Surovikin from his post as the commander of Russias Air Force, former editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow radio station, Alexei Venediktov , said in a Telegram post on Aug. 22.

Read also: Poland nabs suspected Russian agent in Wagner recruitment poster saga  video

Venediktov referred to a supposedly unpublished decree issued by Putin. He also claims that Surovikin will remain serving at the discretion of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Meanwhile, another Russian news outlet RBC asserts that Surovikin was dismissed due to his transition to another post.

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One of the sources told RBC that Surovikin is currently on a short vacation.

On Aug. 15, Politico reported that Surovikin, who had disappeared from public life after the June Wagner mutiny, was under house arrest and stripped of his leading role in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Read also: Rumors of leadership purge in Russian military swirl after alleged detention of top general Surovikin

Days after the mutiny, The New York Times suggested that Surovikin knew about its preparation and may have even aided Wagner troops. On June 28, The Moscow Times confirmed the arrest of the general due to his connection with the mutiny.

Read also: Besides Surovikin, Moscow detained 13 high-ranking officers  report

On June 29, The Financial Times reported that Surovikin had indeed been arrested, although for what exact reason was unclear. The news was also confirmed by Bloomberg, stating that Surovikin was detained and interrogated over his involvement in the attempted coup.

According to The Wall Street Journal, after the Wagner mutiny, a total of 13 high-ranking Russian military officials were taken into custody for interrogation.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The late Queen Elizabeth II was shocked after she saw police charging into picketing miners at the Battle of Orgreave, it has been revealed.

The incident, one of the most violent clashes in British industrial history, unfolded when 5,000 picketing miners clashed with thousands of police officers at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham in 1984.

When picketers moved forward to stop the first convoy of lorries, the police force ordered a mounted charge against them. This resulted in an hours-long battle between picketers and officers, culminating in more than 90 arrests and multiple injuries among both picketers and police.

Julian Haviland, a former political editor of The Times, revealed the monarchs reaction to footage of the violence, in an interview given before his death earlier this month.

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Talking to Times Radio this summer, he said the Queen described the incident as awful and was appalled by the police response.

He said: When the horses rode through some of the miners and knocked a few down, the Queen said words [to the effect of], Oh, thats awful! Oh, we shouldnt do that!.

And for the Queen to make a political comment like that was news.

The Times reported that the journalist said he confirmed the Queens horrified reaction, but the story was dropped in order to protect his sources.

It turned out there were only two other people in the room when she had said it, he said. She had said it  I got that absolutely confirmed.

According to Haviland, the two people in the room with the Queen at the time were her private secretary, Robert Fellowes, and George Younger, secretary of state for Scotland.

The story was passed to Charles Douglas-Home, who was then-editor of The Times. He was also the nephew of former prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, and cousin to Princess Diana.

Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the Thames Flood Barrier, London, UK, 8th May 1984 (Getty Images)

He asked Haviland to verify the story but declined to write it himself. After confirming the details, Haviland raised the issue that it would incriminate the sources because there were only two other people who witnessed the Queens comments.

According to the newspaper, Douglas-Home decided to drop the story after being advised of this.

There has never been a formal inquiry into the alleged excessive police violence against miners at the Battle of Orgreave, despite calls for one over the years.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission reported in 2015 that it had found evidence of excessive police violence, as well as a false narrative peddled by the force that exaggerated violence by miners, among other allegations. However, it decided not to hold a full investigation due to the passage of time and lack of resources.

Haviland also said in the interview that former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was a prolific whisky drinker. He recalled sitting down with her in Downing Street and said: After she finished she took an extremely large scotch. Margaret had quite a capacity.

Former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher (R) greets HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as they arrive for Thatcher's 80th birthday party at the Mandarin Oriental on October 13, 2005 (Getty Images)

He added: It was Tuesday at 5pm and her next engagement was her weekly audience with the Queen The one person in the world of whom Margaret Thatcher was frightened was the Queen. Thats why she downed a lot.

Havilands journalistic career spanned more than 60 years. He was the political editor of The Times from 1981 to 1986, but started out as a reporter for the Surrey Advertiser, before moving to South Africa to work at the Johannesburg Star until 1959.

He was also a reporter at The Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard. Haviland went on to join Independent Television News as a reporter, before becoming its political correspondent and then political editor.

He died on 11 August at the age of 93. He was married to Caroline Victoria Barbour since 1959 and is survived by his three children, Richard, Peter and Charles.
Kansas Democrats want to limit who can issue search warrants after a central Kansas judge signed off on a warrant giving the Marion Police Department permission to raid the towns newspaper earlier this month.

House Minority Leader Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat, and Rep. Jason Probst , a Hutchinson Democrat and former journalist, announced Tuesday that they plan to introduce a bill that would prevent magistrate judges from issuing search warrants, instead reserving that power for district judges in Kansas. Magistrate judges tend to serve smaller counties in Kansas and face less strenuous requirements to sit on the bench.

We need to have a conversation about judicial review and search warrants, Probst said at a press conference. I spent 15 years working in journalism and I saw first hand that search warrants werent adequately reviewed by judges whenever they were brought in.

The proposal would strip power from Judge Laura Viar, the Kansas magistrate judge that authorized the Marion Police Departments raid. Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the warrant last week and said it was issued with insufficient evidence to establish a connection between the material seized and alleged crime.

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In an affidavit in support of the warrant, Police Chief Gideon Cody, who the newspaper had investigated, said he believed the staff broke the law when accessing Kansas Department of Revenue records to confirm a tip about a business owners DUI. The Kansas Department of Revenue has since said that information is public record.

Viar, who the Wichita Eagle reported had been arrested at least twice for DUI, was passed over for a district judge position in 2021 before becoming a magistrate judge.

The eligibility requirement for magistrate judges is that they are a resident of the county where they preside, that they have a high school diploma and that they either hold a law license or are able to pass a test given by the Kansas Supreme Court. District judges, on the other hand, must be at least 30 years old, have a law license and at least five years of experience practicing law.

Magistrate judges hold less power than district judges but they are able to sign search warrants and preside over low level hearings and minor charges.

Miller said the hope would be that judges with more qualifications may do more to vet a warrant application.

Its a very serious thing to issue a search warrant, not just as it relates to the media but individuals as well, its an absolute significant invasion of privacy and you dont do that unless you have substantial reason to proceed, he said.

Changing requirements for warrants, Miller said, was likely not the silver bullet to solve the situation and district judges could also issue warrants without adequate review. But he said he wanted to start a conversation about the Legislatures response to the raid in Marion.

Other issues will arise between now and January and I dont want to see this one fade away, Miller said.

Its unclear whether the proposal will gain traction when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said guardrails and an independent review are needed but did not specify what form that should take.

As more information has come out about the raid on the Marion County Reporter, its become clear that the search and seizure was a serious overreach, Kelly said in a statement. This incident not only shows why guardrails must be put in place to avoid such overreach from happening ever again, but also the importance of independent, thoughtful review of such matters.

Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, declined to answer questions on whether the Legislature should take action in response to the raid. In an email his spokesman said Masterson has not been briefed on the matter.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said he was confident the KBI will handle the case appropriately but did not answer questions about potential legislative action.

Its always concerning when constitutional rights are at issue and I know many are watching as more details emerge, he said.

Senate Vice President Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican whose district includes Marion County, said he believed Kansas laws were already sufficient. But in Marion County, he said, it appears the law was broken.

No matter how strong you make the law, people are going to break it, he said.

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, agreed.

What happens here is not a failure of statutory protections afforded to journalists doing their job, he said. What happened here appears to be a violation of a law by the chief of police of Marion, Kansas.

Exactly which law was broken, however, is not yet clear. Jeffery Jackson, interim dean of the Washburn Law School, said that if police truly believed the newspapers staff broke the law then the search warrant was likely unconstitutionally broad.

Prior cases, Jackson said, have determined that search warrants in newsrooms must be narrowly tailored to specific items related to the alleged crime. Otherwise, he said, it creates a chilling effect on the paper and their sources.

The problem is that then those officers may in fact have qualified immunity, Jackson said. Generally speaking in order to overcome the idea of qualified immunity you have to show that basically it was a clear violation of law that everyone would have known, theres no legal ambiguity around it.

If the police were truly using the warrant to find information about the papers investigation into Gideon, he said, then the department violated the Kansas Shield Law by failing to obtain a subpoena for the information they were seeking.

There are violations either way but it really depends on what the intent of getting that search warrant was, he said.

The Wichita Eagles Chance Swaim contributed to this report.
2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins a petulant teenager in a Tuesday post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to a Monday interview where she pressed him about topics including his recent comments on 9/11.

Hilarious interview with @CNN last night, Ramaswamy wrote in his post. Felt like I was talking to a petulant teenager.

In the interview Monday, Collins pressed Ramaswamy about comments he made in an article by The Atlantic released the same day. In the article, Ramaswamy questioned how many police or federal agents were on the planes that hit the twin towers. He told her that the article misquoted him.

What I said is on Jan. 6, I do believe that there were many federal agents in the field, and we deserve to know who they are, Ramaswamy said on CNNs The Source. On 9/11, what Ive said is that the government lied  and this is incontrovertible evidence, Kaitlan  the government lied about Saudi Arabias involvement.

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In response, Collins said she felt Ramaswamy is using his platform to push false claims with under the guise of just asking questions.

I think people look at those comments, they look at what you said in The Atlantic  what you say you were misquoted. They look at comments that youve made about the Federal Reserve adding zeros to media companies bank accounts, and I mean, it looks like youre floating conspiracy theories with this defense of, Im just asking questions, she said.

Collins also pressed Ramaswamy on comments he made about arming the Taiwanese people with guns to defend against a Chinese invasion. Ramaswamy fired back at Collins by stating she wasnt taking his whole plan to push back against Chinese attempts to take over Taiwan into account.

I will not allow someone to put words in my mouth, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Vivek Ramaswamy is seeking to clean up comments he made that appeared to cast doubt about the origins of the 9/11 attacks as part of an interview released just before the first GOP presidential debate.

Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old upstart GOP presidential candidate who had been riding a hot streak, said The Atlantic misquoted him and that he was referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and not the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when he spoke of the involvement of federal agents.

The truth is there are lies the government has told about 9/11, but its not the ones that somebody put in my mouth, he said during a contentious interview Monday evening with CNNs Kaitlan Collins.

He separately told the news outlet Semafor the quote mentioned in The Atlantic article wasnt exactly what I said.

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In the quote in question, Ramaswamy said: I think it is legitimate to say, How many police, how many federal agents were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers? Like, I think we want  maybe the answer is zero, probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if were doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to.

The context for that quote, part of an interview for The Atlantic conducted late last month but published Monday, was a discussion between Ramaswamy and reporter John Hendrickson that started with the GOP presidential candidate saying the public has not been told the truth about what happened during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Hendrickson then asked Ramaswamy if he was questioning if entrapment occurred during the riot. Ramaswamy said that he was and that the country should know if hundreds of our own government agents were present during the riot and played any role.

After Ramaswamy claimed he was misquoted, The Atlantic responded by saying that Ramaswamy was quoted correctly. It also released a recording of the interview showing the quote was correct.

A spokesperson for Ramaswamys campaign told The Hill his discussion with Hendrickson was a free-flowing conversation, and they are not blaming Hendrickson, but his questions were about Jan. 6 and not 9/11.

Ramaswamy told Collins he believes many federal agents were in the field during Jan. 6, and the public should know who they are. He reiterated that he was misquoted by The Atlantic and also argued the federal government lied to the American public regarding the role of Saudi Arabia in 9/11.

The report from the committee organized to investigate the attacks, known as the 9/11 Commission, stated that no evidence was found that the Saudi government or senior Saudi leaders were involved in funding al Qaeda, even though wealthy citizens in the country have been considered primary sponsors of the terrorist group.

The FBI released declassified documents in 2021 revealing the agency extensively investigated the amount of support that was given to Saudi nationals who participated in the attacks and alleged ties between the hijackers and Saudi nationals living in the U.S.

Ramaswamy later repeated his defense in an interview with Martha MacCallum on Fox News on Tuesday. He said he of course does not believe that federal agents were on the hijacked planes during 9/11, but he has a very different view of Jan. 6.

MacCallum pressed Ramaswamy on if he was equating 9/11 with Jan. 6, and he said he was not and that Hendrickson initiated the topic by asking him about the in a combined manner.

But the audio recording from The Atlantic shows that Ramaswamy was the first in the conversation to mention the attacks, not Hendrickson.

As you probably have experienced with the left-wing media as well, The Atlantic purposefully  really scripted out something that was taken in a very different context, he told MacCallum.

The controversy comes as he is set to face off against seven other Republican presidential candidates for the first primary debate of the 2024 race. The entrepreneur has seen his stock rise in recent weeks with polls showing him gaining support, closing the gap with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

An Emerson College poll over the weekend showed Ramaswamy tied with DeSantis for second place nationally at 10 percent.

It is way too early to tell whether the 9/11 remarks will hurt Ramaswamy, who has cast himself as a millennial version of former President Trump and was already expected to come under attack from DeSantis and others on the debate stage given his rise in polls.

The new controversy is likely to come up Wednesday, either from a question by one of the debates moderators or another candidate.

The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

This isnt the first time Ramaswamy has raised questions about the Sept. 11 attacks.

These more recent remarks come after Ramaswamy made other comments on 9/11 earlier this month to Blaze TV, saying he does not believe the government has told us the truth, adding, What Ive seen in the last several years is we have to be skeptical of what the government does tell us.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, one of Ramaswamys rivals, denounced the remarks in an interview with a New Hampshire news outlet, saying they deeply offended him.

Ramaswamy responded with a long post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he alleged the 9/11 Commission flatly lied about possible Saudi involvement in the attacks.

Updated at 3:45 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued with CNNs Kaitlan Collins over an interview published in The Atlantic where he appeared to float a conspiracy about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Collins pressed Ramaswamy on a quote he gave to The Atlantic for an article published Monday in which he seemed to question whether federal agents were involved in the 9/11 attacks that left nearly 3,000 people dead nearly 22 years ago. The White House hopeful attempted to walk back his comments, telling Collins that the article misquoted him.

What I said is on Jan. 6, I do believe that there were many federal agents in the field and we deserve to know who they are, Ramaswamy said on CNNs The Source. On 9/11, what Ive said is that the government lied and this is incontrovertible evidence, Kaitlan, the government lied about Saudi Arabias involvement.

Again, I asked that reporter to send a recording because it was on the record. He refused to do it, but we had a free flowing conversation, he told Collins when she pressed him further on the quotes. The truth is there are lies the government has told about 9/11, but its not the ones that somebody put in my mouth. Its the one that I articulated, which is that Saudi Arabia, absolutely their intelligence was involved in 9/11.

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Collins was referring to a statement Ramaswamy made to The Atlantic in which he reportedly said, I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero.

Collins then suggested that Ramaswamy was using his platform to spout unproven claims about the attacks, saying that it feels like he is towing the line when it comes to conspiracy theories.

I think people look at those comments, they look at what you said in The Atlantic  what you say you were misquoted. They look at comments that youve made about the Federal Reserve adding zeros to media companies bank accounts, and I mean, it looks like youre floating conspiracy theories with this defense of Im just asking questions, she said.

He said that he stands by his words when Collins quoted him, but that he has a problem with somebody else quoting me, putting words in my mouth.

When reached for comment, Ramaswamys campaign said that the businessman was referring to the Jan. 6 attacks, not the 9/11 attacks.

Vivek was referring to Jan. 6, not 9/11, as we have clarified with the Atlantic. It was a very free-flowing conversation, so we are not blaming the reporter, but the real question Vivek has is about undercover federal agents on Jan. 6, 2021, not 9/11, his campaign spokesperson told The Hill.

Anna Bross, a spokesperson for The Atlantic, told The Hill that the quote was accurate. The outlet also published the unedited audio of the interview.

Updated: 1:00 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
One of the worlds rarest giraffes was born at Brights Zoo in Limestone Tennessee, in July, zoo officials annunced.

Brights Zoo in Limestone welcomed the solid brown giraffe on July 31, ABC affiliate WJHL reported.

Giraffe experts believe she is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet, Brights Zoo stated in a release.

Zoo leaders say there are records of another giraffe without spots being born in Japan in the 1970s.

From day one weve been in contact with zoo professionals all over the country, said Brights Zoo director, David Bright. And especially the old timers, that have been around for a long time, Hey, have you seen this? Whats your thoughts? And nobodys seen it.

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Bright said this new giraffe will help with conservation, showing what could happen in the wild.

Its better shes born in captivity, said Bright. In the wild, they use those spots for camouflage By being solid colored, she may not be able to hide quite as well.

Brights Zoo is asking for the publics help in narrowing down the four chosen names for the unnamed baby giraffe.

Kipekee  Unique

Firyali  Unusual or Extraordinary

Shakiri  She is most beautiful

Jamella  One of great beauty

Bright said the names will be up on the zoos Facebook page Tuesday. Voting will last for two weeks.

The zoo Facebook page will officially start the naming votes tomorrow. Posted by Brights Zoo on Monday, August 21, 2023

The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation. Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last 3 decades, said Bright.

VIDEO: Fast Facts About Giraffes
The ongoing tension over city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez's ethics ordinance violation has led to a complaint being filed against El Paso Ethics Review Commission Chairman Casey Williams with the State Bar of New Mexico.

Williams is a lawyer by trade.

The complaint was filed by Jeremy Jordan, Hernandez's husband, a week before another letter was sent to city officials urging them to reconsider the recent reprimand against Hernandez over her use of a taxpayer-funded fuel card by the commission.

More: City Rep. Cassandra Hernandez clapping back after Ethics Review Commission reprimand

"I don't find it surprising that after that complaint had been filed, that an appeal had been made," Williams said.

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The bar complaint was dismissed in short order by the New Mexico Supreme Court's Disciplinary Board. The board stated that it had found "insufficient evidence to support (Jordan's) allegations that (Williams) has violated the rules of professional conduct."

Jordan's complaint listed allegations against Williams, which he called "libelous, maliciously false accusations," as making false statements, revealing confidences, having a conflict of interest and incompetence.

Ethics Review Commission Chairman Casey Williams leads the July 20, 2023, meeting to find whether East-Central city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez violated city ethics rules with the use of her gas card on July 20, 2023

The accusations in Jordan's complaint are similar to the arguments made in Hernandez's subsequent letter to city officials alleging that Williams, who ran a heated campaign against Hernandez for the East-Central District 3 seat in 2017 and two years later filed an ethics complaint against her, should have been recused from the ethics hearing.

His failure to recuse himself, the letter alleges, represents a breach of the city ethics code and therefore warrants a reconsideration of the commission's ruling.

Williams received a copy of the complaint and immediately filed his response online. He said Jordan likely filed the complaint because he was upset over the commission's July 20 decision.

More: Rep. Cassandra Hernandez reprimanded by ethics commission for her gas card usage

"When I responded to the state bar, I reminded them that this is a political appointment that I had received unanimously by the (El Paso City Council) twice and I was unanimously elected as the chair," Williams said. "And it's not for any compensation of any kind, I am a public servant that is volunteering his time."

He also described how he had conferred with City Attorney Karla Nieman and outside counsel Frank Garza ahead of Hernandez's ethics hearing about a possible conflict of interest and both attorneys advised him that his recusal was not necessary.

"Mr. Williams has provided a history of the (ethics hearing) proceedings and the determination of the Ethics Review Commission, both of which make clear that we would not be able to prove that Mr. Williams acted improperly in any regard," the disciplinary board's response stated. "Thus, the disciplinary board will take no further action."

Hernandez's appeal is set to go before the Ethics Review Commission on Wednesday, Aug. 23. Williams has agreed to recuse himself from that hearing, according to an email from Nieman.

More: El Paso City Council continues investigation into members' 'excessive' fuel card use

Hernandez opted to stay mum on the topic  when asked for comment on Jordan's complaint, she stated, "We don't work together in this fashion."

Jordan likewise declined to be interviewed but said the following in an emailed statement: "Since his 2017 electoral defeat to Rep. Hernandez, Mr. Williams has persistently targeted her, both in public forums and on his social media platforms.

"Given Mr. Williams past character attacks, it's almost inconceivable that he would impartially serve as chair of the Ethics Commission. The city's ethics ordinance is clear: a commissioner should recuse themselves even if there's merely a perception of bias. Mr. Williams's past attacks (against) Rep. Hernandez undeniably present such a perception. In recent hearings, his behavior seemed less about upholding standards and more about playing judge, jury and executioner. My faith in the city of El Paso's internal standards is shaken, prompting my decision to escalate this to a higher authority."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Rep. Hernadez's husband files bar complaint against Ethics chairman
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said Tuesday that his oldest daughter, Sydney Marie (Van Orden) Martenis, died after a yearlong battle with an aggressive form of cancer.

Van Orden said she died peacefully surrounded by her family and that they were heartbroken by the news.

It is with the most profound sense of grief and joy that Sara Jane and I announce the passing of our oldest daughter, Sydney Marie (Van Orden) Martenis after a year of battling a very aggressive form of cancer. She died peacefully surrounded by her family, the Republican congressman wrote in statement on social media.

We are heartbroken that we cannot share her smile and laugh in person any longer but are so thankful that she is resting with our Lord and that we were able to spend these years with her and her family, Van Ordens statement continued.

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Sydney is survived by grandma Virginia Whitelock, husband Chris, daughter Madelyn, sons, Charlie and Roman, father and mother Derrick and Sara Jane, Sister Abigail (Williams), brothers, Theodore and Daniel, and many uncles, aunts, and cousins, he wrote. Thank you for all of the tender mercies you have shown to our family. May God bless you all.

Fellow lawmakers expressed their condolences in statements.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) responded to Van Ordens post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said he was praying for their family.

No parent should have to experience this kind of heartbreak. Im praying for @RepVanOrden and his family during this tragic time, he wrote.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said in a statement responding to her Wisconsin colleagues announcement, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss, @RepVanOrden. My heart goes out to you and your loved ones grieving this loss and I am keeping you in my thoughts during this difficult time.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a post, Our hearts go out to the entire Van Orden family. Please join Jacquie and I in praying for them during this incredibly difficult time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ethiopian migrants walk on the shores of Ras al-Ara, Lahj, Yemen, after disembarking from a boat, July 26, 2019. | Nariman El-Mofty, File, Associated Press

A report from Human Rights Watch says that Saudi Arabian security forces shot down and killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrant people who were trying to cross into the Saudi border from Yemen in the last year.

Human Rights Watch claims that if the Saudi government was involved and aware of the killings, which involved shooting machine guns and explosive weapons, the systematic killings would be a crime against humanity.

What does the Human Rights Watch report say about Saudi security?

The 73-page report was released Monday and alleges that Saudi border guards first asked survivors in which limb of their body they preferred to be shot, before shooting them at close range.

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The shooting went on and on, 21-year-old Mustafa Soufia Mohammed told BBC. I didnt even notice I was shot, but when I tried to get up and walk, part of my leg was not with me.

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The report included testimony from 38 Ethiopians who attempted crossing the the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, as well as four relatives of people who tried to cross the border. Included with the witness testimony, the report also has 350 videos and photos of wounded and killed migrants, and satellite imagery showing the location of Saudi Arabian guard posts, Reuters reported.

What we documented are essentially mass killings, Nadia Hardman, the reports lead author, told BBC. People described sites that sound like killing fields  bodies strewn all over the hillside.

Whats going on in Ethiopia?

Ethiopia and Yemen are considered two of the poorest countries in the world, both of which have also been mired in conflict the last few years. The civil war is centered in the Tigray region where government troops are fighting against Tigrayan forces that are fighting for independence. The conflict has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, per BBC.

Ethiopian migrants have fled to escape war, poverty and hunger. Currently, Saudi Arabia has 750,000 Ethiopians living in the country  450,000 likely having entered the kingdom without authorization, according to Time.

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have partnered on trading and training in the past, with U.S. service personnel having trained Saudi security forces, including the border guard, as part of the long-standing security assistance mission there, The Washington Post reported.

Saudi government responded to the report with a statement that said, The allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources, per The New York Times.

Yemens Houthi rebels have not responded to requests for comment, and Ethiopia has not released an official response as of yet.

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Rescuers saved children from a cable car dangling over a ravine by sliding them to safety on zip lines

A helicopter hovers above the dangling cable car in Pakistan on Tuesday. AFP/Getty Images

Eight cable car passengers were saved after hours spent dangling 900 feet over a ravine in Pakistan.

At least one was rescued via helicopter and the rest were saved via zip line once darkness fell.

A local mayor told the New York Times it was a "delicate rescue operation."

Rescuers saved children from a dangling cable car in Pakistan with a risky operation that involved them sliding to safety on zip lines.

The eight cable car passengers  seven students and one teacher  had been traveling to school via cable car in a remote region of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan early Tuesday morning when two of the cables snapped, The New York Times reported.

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The passengers were trapped in the car, dangling about 900 feet above a mountainous ravine for more than six hours until authorities arrived to begin their hourslong rescue mission, the Times reported.

At least one of the students was rescued via helicopter, as seen in a terrifying video posted online of the passenger flying out of the car while attached to a rope and slowly being pulled up into the aircraft.

"It is a delicate rescue operation," the local mayor, Mufti Ghulamullah, told the New York Times. "With each attempt to bring the rescuer closer to the cable car using the helicopter, the gusts of wind from the rotor would jolt and unsettle the chairlift, causing the children to cry out in fear."

Once night fell, the helicopter rescue had to be called off in favor of a zip line, which was used to save the remaining passengers, the Times reported, citing the Pakistani military.

Local journalist Zahid Gishkori posted a video to X showing several of the students strapped to rescuers on the zip line as they're pulled to safety in the forested darkness, as onlookers cheer.

"It involved not just the military but the local expertise, including brave volunteers from the area as well," Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder said. "There is a sigh of relief across the country."

Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, has since called for an investigation into the safety of all private cable car operations in the country.

Read the original article on Insider
A popular chain of Southwest wellness restaurants plans to open its first North Carolina location in Raleigh.

True Food Kitchen, a Phoenix-based restaurant brand, will open a new location in Raleighs North Hills development next year. The restaurant will be part of North Hills Main District expansion, which is under construction and still months from completion.

True Food Kitchen was founded in 2008 and has grown to 44 locations across the country. The North Hills location will be the brand entry into North Carolina.

The incredible energy of North Hills and the vibrant Raleigh community are a perfect fit as we looked to expand our footprint into the wonderful state of North Carolina, said True Food Kitchen CEO, John Williams in a release. Our mission is to bring fresh, wholesome food to more people, and we feel confident the folks of Raleigh will love our chef-driven dishes, scratch cocktails and unwavering commitment to hospitality.

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The True Food Kitchen menu is aimed at the health conscious diner, built with grain and poke bowls, grass-fed burgers, pizzas, salads and chicken and mushroom lasagna.

The Raleigh location looks to open in the spring of 2024, according to North Hills owner Kane Realty.

We are thrilled to bring the first True Food Kitchen in North Carolina to North Hills, said Stacey Buescher, managing director of operations for Kane Realty in a release. True Food is an incredible restaurant concept centered around wellness that will provide a unique culinary experience for our community.

Joining True Food Kitchen in the Main District is the Raleigh location of the incredibly popular Winston-Salem brand Village Tavern, the RH Gallery rooftop wine bar, Limini Grille and Mias Bakery. Ruths Chris steakhouse, which closed temporarily during construction work at North Hills, will reopen.
By Devjyot Ghoshal

BANGKOK (Reuters) -When Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra went into self-imposed exile in 2008 facing a raft of corruption charges following his ouster in a military coup, he issued a hand-written note.

"If I am fortunate enough," wrote Thaksin, a deeply polarising telecoms billionaire who broke the mould of Thai politics, "I will return and die on Thai soil."

On Tuesday, the 74-year-old flew into Bangkok on a private jet, just hours before the latest incarnation of the populist party he founded was due to make a bid for power in an alliance with parties linked to the generals who ousted the last pro-Thaksin government in 2014.

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Thaksin has been Thailand's most prominent politician for decades, retaining outsized influence despite the years away.

"It closes a crucial chapter in Thailand's politics," Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said of Thaksin's return.

"He has been such a dominant force over the past two decades."

To the rural masses, Thaksin is loved as the first leader to pay attention to the needs of millions living beyond Bangkok's bright lights.

To many in the urban middle class and the royalist elite, Thaksin was a crony capitalist who plundered the economy while in power from 2001 until he was ousted in a 2006 military coup and later led a protest movement that reduced parts of Bangkok to smouldering ruins in 2010.

A government led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra , swept to power in a 2011 election, only to be ousted in a 2014 coup after relentless street protests led by his conservative enemies.

Thaksin's rivals accused him of winning power with handouts to rural voters. After his initial election win in 2001, he formed the first elected government to serve a full term, after which it was re-elected.

Critics accused him of abusing his electoral mandate to systematically dismantle constitutional checks and balances, while cementing his authoritarian rule.

Media watchdogs said he oversaw a steady erosion of press freedom. A 2003 war on drugs in which 2,500 people were killed boosted his image as a crime-buster but sparked outrage from human rights groups, who said he was riding roughshod over civil liberties.

'CEO PRIME MINISTER'

Born into a family of ethnic Chinese silk merchants in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin became a policeman in 1973 before pursuing graduate degrees in the United States.

On his return, he established a computer dealership that he grew into Thailand's largest mobile network, Shin Corporation, that laid the foundation for his rise to become one of the country's richest men.

A shrewd operator who rarely minces his words, an increasingly wealthy Thaksin entered politics in the mid-1990s, initially serving as foreign minister and then deputy prime minister.

In 1998, he founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) that led him to power, starting off a premiership in 2001 during which he expanded spending on healthcare, rural development and farming subsidies, his "Thaksinomics".

But the brash Thaksin, who called himself Thailand's first "CEO prime minister", faced royalist accusations that he was undermining the revered monarchy, which he denied.

Simmering anger exploded in 2006 when he sold his shares of Shin Corporation for 73.3 billion baht ($2.08 billion) to Singapore's Temasek.

His opponents complained of conflict of interest, alleging that the prime minister's family did not pay tax on capital gains from the deal.

The military leveraged middle class anger to stage a bloodless coup in September 2006 when Thaksin was abroad, but his loyalists kept winning general elections.

Instead of fighting the corruption charges, which he said were politically motivated, Thaksin skipped bail and went into self-exile initially in Britain, where he bought Premier League club Manchester City. His critics called the purchase a political gimmick.

He returned to Thailand in early 2008 to face the various legal charges filed against him but he went into self-exile months later.

Thaksin faces years in jail after convictions of graft and abuse of power.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal, Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panu Wongcha-um; editing by Robert Birsel)
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Aug. 22 that it will take at least six to seven months for Ukrainian staff and infrastructure to receive F-16 fighter jets pledged by Western allies.

Reznikov reminded that the planes themselves are simply a platform and that munitions and infrastructure needed to operate them must be also taken into account.

This means that it is necessary to train not only pilots but also engineers and technicians, he commented.

"This is a serious set of tasks and we have to train several hundred people to put the first birds in the Ukrainian sky," Reznikov said. The minister noted that Ukrainian pilots have already demonstrated the ability to complete their training within six months, but the timeframe for the technical staff is still unknown.

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"Objectively, without exaggerated expectations... I think that six to seven months is the minimal period that should be seriously taken into account," Reznikov said, adding that he will not be disappointed if it takes even slightly longer.

The minister emphasized that Ukrainian military staff have already exceeded expectations concerning their ability to learn to use Western hardware. For example, it took them only 10 weeks to be able to use Patriot air defense systems instead of 10 ten months, and three weeks to use Western 155mm artillery rather than three months, he said.

After months of protracted discussions, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed on Aug. 19 that the first Ukrainian pilots, engineers, and technicians have started their training on F-16s.

At the same time, Denmark and the Netherlands announced that they will provide the F-16 fighter jets from their own stocks to Ukrainian forces. Upon meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will receive 42 F-16s in a "breakthrough agreement."

The Danish prime minister also announced the provision of 19 F-16 fighter jets, with the first batch of six planes expected to arrive around to the New Year.

The transfer of U.S.-made F-16s will have to receive final approval by Washington. The White House said that it will greenlight third countries to provide the jets once the training of Ukrainian pilots is complete.

The training was previously announced to kick off in Denmark in late August, in partnership with the 11 nations included in the "fighter jet coalition." Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that some 70 Ukrainian pilots are currently preparing to start their training program in Denmark.

Read also: Pentagon: US ready to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s if Europe lacks capacity

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
RICHMOND, Ind.  A Richmond man whose driving privileges had been suspended for life is accused of leading a Wayne County sheriff's deputy on a chase that ended with a crash in Ohio.

James Edward Miller, 47, was arrested on Aug. 17 after his SUV left Upper Alexander Road  in Preble County, Ohio, east of Richmond  and crashed.

A deputy had pursued a Ford Explorer, driven by Miller, after observing it twice cross the center line on Porterfield Road. The deputy said he recognized the SUV's driver to be Miller, who he was aware had a suspended license,

The ensuing chase into Ohio eventually reached State Line Road before the Explorer turned onto Upper Arlington Road.

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Its speed was estimated at 55-60 mph when it entered a curve and crashed.

A female passenger and a dog were also in the SUV at the time. Miller tried to persuade authorities the woman had been driving the vehicle.

Preble County investigators said they found crystal meth, liquid meth and drug paraphernalia inside the Explorer.

The registered owners of the SUV said they had left it at an acquaintance's house for work on its brakes. They said Miller did not have permission to drive the vehicle.

Miller is charged, in Wayne Superior Court 3, with driving after a lifetime suspension, a Level 5 fleony carrying up to six years in prison,

He is also charged with two Level 6 felonies, both carrying a maximum 30-month sentence  auto theft and resisting law enforcement.

He was already set to stand trial Sept. 29 on a driving-after-a-lifetime-suspension count, also filed in Wayne Superior Court 3 on May 5.

According to Wayne County court records, the Richmond man has been convicted of driving after a lifetime suspension (at least three times), battery, driving while suspended (four times), forgery, possession of meth, possession of paraphernalia, receiving stolen auto parts and theft.

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: Deputy's pursuit of suspended driver from Richmond ends with Ohio crash
The field for the first Republican presidential primary debate is officially set.

And theres no Donald Trump .

The Republican National Committee announced late Monday evening the eight candidates who were officially invited to participate in the first GOP presidential primary debate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessperson Vivek Ramaswamy , former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Trump  the frontrunner for the nomination  announced over the weekend that he would skip the first debate, citing a recent national poll that showed him leading the field by legendary numbers.

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I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES! he wrote on Sunday.

Wednesdays showdown in Milwaukee, which will air on Fox News Channel at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, will likely draw far fewer eyeballs in Trump's absence.



But it will still be immensely important to the candidates that are there. DeSantis is looking to reestablish himself as the main contender to the former president after slipping in the polls, while other candidates may look to halt Ramaswamys steady climb in the polls.

The eight-candidate debate field is half the size of the first debate eight years ago, also airing on Fox News Channel, when 10 candidates appeared on the main stage, while another 7 debated earlier in the day in what was derided as a kiddie-table debate.

But its larger than the five candidates who debated in May 2011, when Fox News hosted a debate before some of the candidates, like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry, had even declared. Like this year, the polling frontrunner (and eventual nominee), Mitt Romney, declined to participate in the first debate in 2011.

Notably, the announcement excluded a handful of lesser candidates pining for an invite. Self-described quality guru Perry Johnson had appeared to meet the RNCs requirements after a whirlwind release of surveys from lesser-known (or less-reputable) pollsters in the closing days of the qualification period, according to POLITICOs tracking of the process. But the committee apparently disagreed.

Johnson called the process to meet the criteria for the debate corrupted.

The debate process has been corrupted, plain and simple, Johnson said Monday night on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Our campaign hit every metric put forward by the RNC and we have qualified for the debate. Well be in Milwaukee Wednesday and will have more to say tomorrow.



Similarly, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was left off the stage. His campaign claimed on Friday that he qualified  which POLITICOs analysis did not agree with at the time. His allies argued that surveys released in the subsequent days, including one sponsored by the PAC of a Miami-area state senator, earned him a spot on stage. But evidently, the RNC did not agree.

Also left off the stage are former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), conservative media personality Larry Elder  who also claimed to have qualified, citing a poll that plainly did not meet the requirements  and Texas businessperson Ryan Binkley.

The RNCs vague qualifying rules for polls led to a flood of surveys being released over the closing days of the qualification period, muddying the waters for who would actually appear on stage. All told, there were at least a dozen state and national surveys that were released since last Thursday that included at least 800 likely GOP primary voters in their sample  a key benchmark for apparent qualification polls laid out by the RNC  in addition to several other prominent polls that did not meet the qualification rules on their face.

The RNC ignored questions from POLITICO over the last month on which of these polls could qualify candidates, with candidates like Johnson and Suarez rushing in instead to assert their own status.

Republican operatives working for the campaigns privately discussed the uncertainty over the last week  an amusing parlor game for those already on stage, and the source of incredible frustration for those whose campaign lifeblood depends on the national attention afforded by a debate presence.
Roaches were found inside a McDonald's frappe machine in Jacksonville, Florida.

The location was temporarily closed.

Roaches are attracted to warm, dark places, which is why they sometimes inhabit coffeemakers.

Health inspectors found roaches inside a McDonald's frappe machine.



Earlier this month, officials in Jacksonville, Florida temporarily shut down a McDonald's location at 5320 Norwood Avenue after the disturbing discovery, according to a report from the local TV station Action News Jax. Health inspectors found three live roaches and a roach egg sac inside the frappe machine, as well as five dead roaches around and inside the machine, according to an inspection report viewed by Insider.

There have been other reports of bugs in McDonald's coffee and its machines.

In 2022, health inspectors found live roaches behind a McCafe machine and by the cooler at a McDonald's in Indianapolis, according to CBS4 News, a local news station in the area.

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And in 2017, a man in Thailand posted a photo of a cup of McDonald's coffee  sprinkled with cockroach legs  to Facebook, according to Mashable. McDonald's released an apology following the post.

Over the past few years, people have also posted to social media sites inlcuding X, formerly known as Twitter, and Reddit, stating they have found roaches in their McCafe beverages.

In a statement to Insider, Ryan Allman, the owner of the Jacksonville location said, "Operating a safe and clean restaurant is my top priority. Immediately after learning of this situation, we instituted more rigorous daily equipment checks and education for our crew to help make sure this does not happen again."

Roaches in coffee machines may not be so uncommon, according to Hawx Pest Control, a pest control company in Utah. Roaches tend to be attracted to warm, moist, dark places. This means the inside of a coffee machine may be the perfect environment for them. Nearby sugar or bits of food might attract the bugs into the machine.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers is asking three top Defense Department officials to testify before Congress after the Biden administration revoked a previous decision to place the Space Command headquarters in his home state of Alabama and instead designated Colorado as its home base.

The Alabama Republican on Tuesday invited Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall , Space Command leader Gen. James Dickinson and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman to testify on what he called President Joe Bidens politically motivated basing decision.

When the Secretary of the Air Force finally made a decision, he upheld his predecessors decision to base U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama, said Rogers. President Biden then usurped the Air Force Secretarys authority and named Colorado Springs the permanent basing site for U.S. Space Command in order to improve his political standing for next years re-election.

We will get answers on President Bidens political manipulation of the selection process, he added.

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White House and Pentagon officials have rejected those accusations.

After a two-year saga and an increasingly acrimonious fight between the Alabama and Colorado congressional delegations, the Biden administration finally announced in July that Colorado Springs would be the permanent home of the Space Command headquarters.

The Associated Press reported that Kendall preferred Huntsville  home to the Armys Redstone Arsenal and the Missile Defense Agency  as the permanent location, whereas Dickinson wanted it in Colorado Springs, which houses Space Commands temporary headquarters.

Bidens ultimate decision to place it in Colorado Springs drew sharp rebukes from the Alabama delegation, with Rogers noting the fight is far from over. Rogers threatened to subpoena the Defense Department earlier this month for documents and interview related to the decision.

Prior to the final announcement, Rogers vowed to use his position as Armed Services chairman to hold up Pentagon requests to reprogram funds  except for reprogramming requests that affect troop compensation  in protest of the overdue basing decision. He also added language to the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill that would freeze half of Kendalls travel budget and halt construction at the temporary facility in Colorado Springs until the Biden administration receives a justification for the final basing decision.

Rogers voted against certifying Bidens 2020 election victory, and his arguments that the final Space Command basing decision were politically motivated mirrors similar assertions from the Colorado delegation after the Pentagon announced Huntsville would be Space Commands home in January 2021 during the final days of the Trump administration.

After the outgoing Trump administration announced it would move the base to Huntsville from the provisional Colorado Springs location, Colorado Democrats argued it was an act of political retaliation because Biden won that swing state in the 2020 election.

A May 2022 report by the Defense Departments Office of Inspector General found the Air Force followed all relevant laws and policies when selecting Huntsville. But the report also found the rules themselves may have been flawed, resulting in a suboptimal decision.

A separate June 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office found the Air Force did not follow best practices when making the basing decision.

Kendall subsequently launched a months-long review of the dispute before Biden weighed in on the impasse in favor of Colorado Springs.

Rogers has two other Alabama allies on the House Armed Services Committee when he grills Kendall, Dickinson and Saltzman: Republican Rep. Dale Strong, who represents Huntsville, and Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell. The only Colorado lawmaker on the committee is Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, who chairs the strategic forces subcommittee and represents Colorado Springs. Like Rogers, Lamborn also voted against certifying the 2020 election results.
Ron DeSantis has faced a flurry of negative headlines in recent weeks as his poll numbers have declined and his campaign sheds staff.

But his supporters and other insiders say that it is too early to count out the Florida governor as he prepares to take the debate stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday. With former president Donald Trump electing to sit out of the first debate, Mr DeSantis will likely be the subject of most attacks given that he has consistently polled in second place behind the former president.

A recent NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll found that 42 per cent of Iowa caucus-goers prefer the former president as their first choice, with Mr DeSantis in a distant second at 19 per cent. At the same time, a combined 57 per cent of poll respondents said that the party needed new leadership, with 38 per cent of those caucus goers listing Mr DeSantis as their first choice.

With its heavy churchgoing population, Iowa offers Mr DeSantis his best position to beat Mr Trump, given his policies on attacking wokeness and restricting how sexual orientation, gender identity and race are taught in schools, as well as his signing of a six-week abortion ban.

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At the same time, hes faced negative headlines as his campaign has not raised as much money as Mr Trump. And last week, The New York Times reported on a memo from Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis super PAC, that outlined a plan for Mr DeSantis to focus on defending the former president while also attacking former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy .

But Ken Cuccinelli, the founder of Never Back Down, told The Independent that the memo was only advice since super PACs cannot coordinate with candidates. He also noted how there is still an opening for Mr DeSantis.

Republican US presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis jumps off the stage to greet supporters after speaking at an event hosted by Conservative radio host Erick Erickson on August 18, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia (Getty Images)

And in New Hampshire and Iowa, over half of Republican voters do not want Trump to be the nominee. And DeSantis continues to be in the strong position of the alternative, he said. Mr Cuccinelli said that conservatives would not lose anything should they defect from Mr Trump to Mr DeSantis, noting how he worked in the Trump administration but now supports DeSantis.

Going to DeSantis, in fact, you gain [a] more consistent, principled approach and a track record of success.

Mr Cuccinelli added that Never Back Down had contacted around 200,000 households in Iowa, along with rounding up 40 endorsements from state legislators. He said that those legislators would not waste their time if they didnt truly support Mr DeSantis.

Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy poses for a photo with Chuck Ellis, right, of Birmingham, Alabama, at the Iowa State Fair, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The people in our state state legislatures are not kamikaze pilots, Mr Cuccinelli said.

Many of Mr DeSantiss most ardent supporters, including Mr Cuccinelli, backed Sen Ted Cruz in 2016 when the Texas Republican beat Mr Trump in the Hawkeye State. Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the Iowa Family Leader who supported Mr Cruz in 2016 but has yet to endorse, toldThe Independent in an interview last week that Mr DeSantis still has an opportunity to break through.

I think it'd be a big mistake to count him out, he said. Mr Vander Plaats, who has expressed concern that Mr Trump could cost Republicans the 2024 general election, said that currently, Iowa voters are exploring different presidential candidates before the 15 January caucus.

But they break late, he said. So I would worry much more around Thanksgiving time, first of December than I would at state fair time and Labor Day.

Mr Cuccinelli said that Mr DeSantis offers Republicans an opportunity to do something new and noted how Mr Trump does not have the same appeal he did in the past.

People appreciated Trump arguing with the media, he said. There's name-calling, and hes still name-calling. And frankly, his name-calling has dropped off. And he isn't as energetic. He isn't as present. He's getting older. And DeSantis is running circles around him.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (L) hosts Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during one of her "Fair-Side Chats" at the Iowa State Fair on August 12, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa (Getty Images)

Not everyone is convinced Mr DeSantis could make a comeback though. Eric Levine, a Republican fundraiser, said that people who supported Mr DeSantis earlier have told him that they are concerned.

He's been running and (they) are worried that it's not going anywhere, he told The Independent. And I'm unaware of anybody who was not previously on the DeSantis bandwagon who were saying, Ive got to join the guy.

Mr Levine said that the debate will be his last opportunity to reintroduce himself to the electorate.

And if that falls flat, he may well be done, he said.

Specifically, Mr Levine criticised Mr DeSantiss focus on attacking Disney in response to legislation he signed restricting how gender identity and sexual orientation are taught in schools, and his comments calling the war in Ukraine a territorial dispute.

I don't think anyone has a sense that he understands at all. How to deal with Putin or Xi [Jinping] or the Ayatollah, or Kim Jong Un.

But Mr Cuccinelli said that the debate stage will offer Mr DeSantis the opportunity to present himself to a larger audience.

Yes, he has high name ID. Yes, he has high favourables, he said. But it doesn't have the depth of connection that Trump has because people feel after eight years that they know him even if they've never met him."

Mr DeSantis will take the stage with a slew of other candidates, including not just Mr Ramaswamy and Mr Christie, but also North Dakota Gov Doug Burgum, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and Sen Tim Scott (R-SC).

Mr Levine said that he will be watching to see if anyone else breaks out during the debate in hopes that someone can beat Mr Trump.

I'm really hoping that somebody distinguishes themselves and becomes the Trump alternative, he said.
On Tuesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Russia is already moving some of its nuclear weapons to Belarus.

Source: Duda, at a press conference with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa ; European Pravda, with reference to AP

Details: The Polish president told reporters that he told his Portuguese counterpart "about the implementation of Vladimir Putin 's statements that Russia's tactical nuclear weapons will be moved to the territory of Belarus."

"Indeed, this process is taking place, we are seeing that," Duda said, without giving any details.

At the same time, he added that the actions of Moscow and Minsk "in an obvious way is changing the architecture of security in our part of Europe."

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"It is changing the architecture of security in our immediate neighbourhood, but also of the eastern flank of NATO, at the same time. So, in fact, it is changing the situation for all of the alliance," the Polish president added.

De Sousa, in turn, noted that he "has duly taken note of the Polish concerns" and promised further support within NATO on behalf of Portugal.

Note: On 25 May, the defence ministers of Russia and Belarus signed documents on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. A month after that, Putin said some Russian nuclear weapons were already in Belarus.

And at the end of June, the self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko instructed the government to develop an "algorithm for use" of nuclear weapons deployed by Russia.

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Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defense forces shot down two attack drones on the night of Aug. 22.

The announcements followed reports that explosions had been heard in the city, forcing all Moscow's airports to close.

Sobyanin said that one drone was intercepted over Krasnogorsk and the other was shot down near Chastsy.

According to Sobyanin, emergency services are working at the scene. No casualties have been reported.

Russian media outlets published photos claiming to show damage caused by falling debris. The outlets said that the Krasnogorsk attack hit a 25-story apartment building near a government building, and reported that the blast shattered windows and damaged cars.

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The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for the attacks, and said that two additional drones were intercepted over Bryansk Oblast.

Earlier, on the morning of Aug. 21, Russia claimed it intercepted two drones flying over Moscow. Two people were allegedly injured.

Moscow has reported an increasing number of drone attacks over the past few weeks. An attempted strike on Aug. 18 allegedly caused debris to fall near the Moscow Expocentre.

Two drone strikes on July 30 and Aug. 1 caused damage to the high-rise "Moscow City" building, where several Russian ministries are located.

Read also: Philosopher Jason Stanley: Russia is explicitly fascist

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Russias Gen. Sergei Surovikin has officially been relieved of duty after reportedly spending weeks on house arrest over his suspected involvement in Junes deadly military coup.

The news was first announced Tuesday by journalist Alexei Venediktov, who posted the text from a presidential decree ordering Surovikins dismissal as the commander of the Aerospace Forces on Twitter. The decree was not publicly available.

Several pro-Kremlin Telegram channels also shared news of Surovikins firing, writing that President Vladimir Putin s decree was signed last week but kept under wraps.

Surovikin, who served as the deputy commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, has not been seen in public since June 24, when he was recorded pleading with the notorious Wagner Group to end their violent uprising against military leadership in Russia.

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Reports soon emerged that he may have had advance knowledge of the mutiny started by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, with whom he had close ties dating back to when they worked together in Syria. Prigozhin, for his part, had routinely praised Surovikins handling of the war against Ukraine even as he railed against other top military brass.

Speculation about Surovikins whereabouts has run rampant for months, with numerous reports saying hed been detained and interrogated over the brief-lived military coup. His disappearance led some to question if he was even still alive.

Last week, the well-connected Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU cited unnamed sources who said Surovikin had been urged to make sure he is simply forgotten amid the scandal. A decision on his fate must be made by one person, and the later this happens, the more he will cool down, a source was quoted saying of Putin.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A Russian spacecraft malfunctioned over the weekend, sending the vehicle crashing into the moon. The failed landing attempt has experts questioning the future of the countrys lunar exploration ambitions and the geopolitical dynamics that underpin modern space exploration efforts.

The spacecraft, Luna 25, lost contact with operators at Russias space agency, Roscosmos, on Saturday, August 19. By Sunday, the vehicle was declared dead.

Initial reports from the head of Roscosmos, Yury Borisov, indicate there was a problem with the vehicles engines, causing it to misfire as it attempted to adjust its orbit in the days before landing.

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The failure was a major blow to the space agencys ambitions. Russia had been seeking to prove that its civil space program, which analysts say has faced issues for decades, can still achieve the stunning feats it showcased during the 20th-century space race.

Russias Cold War legacy will be just that  a legacy  unless they can actually do this themselves, said Victoria Samson, the Washington office director for Secure World Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes the peaceful exploration of outer space.

Under the former Soviet Union, Russia managed to safely land seven spacecraft on the lunar surface, including the first-ever soft landing in 1966.

Borisov acknowledged that the Soviet successes of last century werent easily repeatable.

We have to essentially master all the technologies all over again  of course, at a new technical level, he said during an interview with Russian state media on Monday.

This photo released by the Roscosmos State Space Corporation on August 17, shows an image of the lunar south pole region on the far side of the moon captured by Russia's Luna 25 spacecraft before its failed attempt to land. - Roscosmos/AP

Borisov has offered assurance that Roscosmos can get back on track. He said the space agency will accelerate its next two moon missions: Luna 26 and Luna 27, which could give Roscosmos all the science it lost with the failure of Luna 25.

Still, space policy experts question whether the Russian government has the power or the will to make that happen, particularly as the country faces sanctions around the war in Ukraine and Roscosmos appears to be of diminishing importance to the Kremlin.

Even if they said they were going to continue (the Luna program), that doesnt necessarily mean anything at this point. And the question is: Can they continue? Do they have the capability to continue it? said Robert Pearson, a former ambassador to Turkey, former director general of the U.S. Foreign Service, and a founding member of Duke Universitys Space Diplomacy Lab.

The consequence of this failure, Pearson added, is that on the global stage, it raises the question of whether Russia is seriously in the space race at all.

A changing civil space landscape

Russias failed moon landing attempt comes amid a rush of other lunar exploration efforts, largely designed by countries that havent been seen as traditional space powers. Luna 25 was flying alongside Indias Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which will attempt to land on the moon as soon as Wednesday.

More than a dozen other countries also have plans for moon missions in the coming years, including the United States ambitious Artemis III, which could land astronauts on the lunar surface as soon as 2025.

I think it  speaks to how much the cost of space exploration has dropped, Samson said. Its still not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but its gotten a little more reasonable.  I think thats why more countries are able to (attempt) it.

But while the loss of Luna 25 may widely be seen as a setback for Russias space ambitions, its worth noting that putting a spacecraft on the moon remains an exceedingly difficult feat.

Indias last attempt, with the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, failed. And two other commercial spacecraft have also crash-landed since 2019.

Perhaps different expectations were placed on Russia, however, because of its extensive Soviet-era experience.

If Indias space agency manages to safely land its spacecraft, Pearson added, it could really outline the loss of prestige and influence and technological ability on the part of Russia.

The mission was also closely watched because of how the countrys civil space program has been evolving. In recent years, Roscosmos has been beleaguered by issues with funding, quality control issues and suspected corruption, Samson noted.

The space agency has also faced blowback from Western nations since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The European Space Agency, for example, was set to work with Roscosmos on the Luna 25 mission as well as several future exploration endeavors, but Europe pulled out of the partnership after the invasion of Ukraine.

Now, questions are swirling around how Russias closest modern space partner  China  might react to Luna 25s failure.

The two countries had announced they would work together to establish the International Lunar Research Station, a moon base to rival plans by the US and its allies to create a permanent lunar outpost under NASAs Artemis program.

Samson noted that China, which is so far the only country to soft-land spacecraft on the moon in the 21st century, has already been downplaying Russias role in the program.

Im sure China must be really wondering what they saddled themselves with after the Luna 25 mission, Samson said.

Still, Samson and Pearson both noted that Russia continues to play a key role on the international stage. The country is the United States primary partner on the International Space Station, though Russia previously threatened to pull out of that operation. For years, Russia was also the only country capable of getting astronauts to and from the space station after NASA retired its space shuttle program. (Today, SpaceX has taken over that function for the US.)

Why missions like Luna 25 matter

The Luna 25 spacecraft was intended to land on the moons south pole. Its the same region where India is aiming to put its Chandrayaan-3 lander and where NASA plans to put its astronauts as well as future robotic missions.

The widespread interest in the moons south pole can be attributed to one key feature: water ice. Scientists believe copious amounts of water are stored near the south pole, frozen solid in shadowy craters.

Water ice could be immensely valuable for the future of space exploration. The precious resource could be converted into rocket fuel for missions that explore deeper into the cosmos or turned into drinking water for astronauts on long-duration missions.

That is really the big driver for why we need to head to the south pole  and theyre in sort of part of a Space Race Part Two, said Dr. Angela Marusiak, an assistant research professor at the University of Arizonas Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, in an August 18 interview.

Because orbital dynamics make the south pole difficult to reach, it hasnt been as deeply explored as other areas. That gives Russia and every other nation with lunar ambitions a key reason to go: There is clear scientific  and strategic  interest.

But Pearson questioned why Russia chose to head straight for the south pole for its first lunar mission in nearly 50 years.

All they had to do was land (somewhere on the moon) and they would have shown the world that they were in the space race, Pearson said of Russia. They took a desperate measure  in my opinion  when they should have picked a safer option.

Which countries reach the moon, and when, could have implications for how scientists make use of the data gathered.

Exactly how information sharing will work is not exactly clear.

India, for example, is a signatory of NASAs Artemis Accords, a document mapping out agreed-upon rules for lunar exploration that includes a commitment to sharing scientific data.

Russia, on the other hand, is not a signatory.

But Samson cautioned against characterizing these lunar missions as a race, suggesting those involved are opponents. Though its difficult to know exactly what dynamics will arise, the moon is a big place  and there is room for everyone.

My concern is that if we look at this in an aggressive, adversarial manner, she said, then we will generate the exact circumstance were trying to avoid.

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Russian forces launched 12 attacks at communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Aug. 21, causing over 90 explosions, local military administration reported on Telegram.

The Russian military targeted five border communities, inlcuding Krasnopillia, Bilopillia, Khotin, Esman, and Velyka Pysarivka.

Multiple weapons were deployed against Sumy Oblast over the course of the day, including mortars, artillery, grenade launchers, and explosives, according to the military. Kransopillia community, located in the historic region of Sloboda Ukraine some 42 kilometers away from regional capital Sumy, was targeted the most on Aug. 21.

No casualties or damages to private property were reported.

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Sumy Oblast is located on Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia. It been the target of daily Russian shelling and attacks from across the border since parts of the oblast were liberated from Russian troops in early April 2022.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Greece to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s; Ukraine advances southeast of Robotyne

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Russia does not provide any information about the state of health of Bohdan Ziza, the Crimean political prisoner and artist, who was on hunger strike for 17 days.

Zizas relatives only know that Bohdan was being transferred to Novocherkassk, near Rostov, Russia.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner

Quote: "Relatives of the Crimean artist Bohdan Ziza, unjustly sentenced to 15 years in prison, are concerned about his health after a 17-day hunger strike, which ended on 27 June.

The family has no contact with him. Consequently, it is not known where exactly the guy is being held, under what conditions or whether he is being provided with the necessary medical assistance," Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner said.

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Earlier, human rights activists reported that Bohdan Ziza had lost 10 kg and was isolated in a separate cell with stricter supervision.

Bohdan Ziza, illegally imprisoned for 15 years, went on hunger strike for 17 days

28-year-old Crimean Tatar Bohdan Ziza poured blue and yellow paint on the "administration" of Yevpatoria in May 2022, for which the occupiers imprisoned him.

In early June, he was "sentenced" to 15 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony.

On June 19, Bohdan Ziza began a protest hunger strike, demanding to be stripped of his imposed Russian citizenship and to release all Ukrainian political prisoners.

WeBogdanZiza, the human rights project supporting the political prisoner, published letters that Bogdan managed to send from prison. The activist wrote that he felt well at the beginning of the hunger strike but had headaches. He was trying to sleep more, read and go for walks.

"Everyone who is not lazy tries to prove to me that no one needs my hunger strike; everyone doesn't care. I fully understand that my demands are unattainable here, now, but that is not my goal either. The main thing is to draw attention to the problem of political prisoners.

The news that reaches me from pre-trial detention centre 2 in Simferopol is simply terrible. I am asking society to pay attention to this, not to be silent and to spread the word. This will help! During the nine months that I spent in pre-trial detention centre 1 in Crimea, I saw first-hand how publicity about the ill-treatment of prisoners of war helped to improve their conditions," Ziza wrote a few months ago.

The political prisoner refused food from 10 to 27 June.

During the hunger strike, Bohdan reported dizziness and weakness, which worsened. He wrote in his last letter:

"Weakness is taking its toll, most of all in my arms and legs. I feel dizzy from any movement. I hardly get out of bed and I rarely go for walks. I only drink water from the tap, purified by a filter. For the last few days, my body has been rejecting it, so I drink it without wanting to because I have to.

I sleep intermittently; for some reason I wake up at night, but I try to sleep during the day because living in solitary confinement without the possibility of something to distract me is much harder at night. Some say that I am a hero in vain. Yes, I realise that I am a small grain of sand in the raging storm that is happening right now. But the more of us, such grains of sand, the louder we speak, the more influence we have."

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Russian troops hit the village of Mykolaivka in Kherson Oblast on Aug. 22, injuring a man, the regional administration reported.

The 66-year-old resident suffered a mine-explosive injury and was wounded in the hand, according to the report.

He was hospitalized in moderate condition, the authorities added.

There are two settlements in Kherson Oblast called Mykolaivka. The administration likely refers to the one located in the Kakhovka district on the west bank of the Dnipro River, as the other one lies on Russian-occupied territory.

A day before, Russian attacks against Kherson Oblast wounded four civilians, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram. Russia launched 76 strikes against the region, firing 356 projectiles from various weapons, according to Prokudin.

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Kherson and other regional settlements on the rivers west bank have been subjected to daily Russian attacks since they were liberated 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 3, injure 6 over past day

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Russian forces launched attacks against nine oblasts over the past day, killing at least three civilians and injuring at least six more, local officials reported early on Aug. 22.

In Chernihiv Oblast, Russian attacks killed one civilian, the Chernihiv Oblast State Administration reported.

Russian forces shelled the border settlement of Yanzhulivka in the Novhorod-Siverskyi district with mortars, reportedly killing one person.

A drone strike also damaged an administrative building and destroyed an infrastructure building in the town of Semenivka 12 kilometers from the Russo-Ukrainian border, the officials reported.

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In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, one person was injured in Russian attacks, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said that the city was targeted by a Russian missile strike at around 6:30 local time.

A man born in 1953 suffered light head injuries. He has received medical attention on the spot but refused hospitalization, the mayor clarified.

As a result of the strike, more than 20 buildings sustained damage, including private houses and energy infrastructure buildings, according to the report.

According to Lysak, Russian strikes also targeted the Synelnykove district with a drone, and Nikopol and the Marhanets community were shelled by Russian artillery. The attacks caused property damage but no further causalities were reported, Lysak said.

Russian strikes killed one person in Pobilske, Donetsk Oblast, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported.

The attacks damaged a school in Nykyforivka, as well as multiple private houses and other civilian infrastructure in the oblast, the governor added.

In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian strikes against Vovchansk in the Chuhuiv district damaged four residential buildings.

The emergency services rescued a 56-year-old woman from the rubble, who did not suffer serious injuries and did not require hospitalization, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Four people were injured in Russian strikes in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

This included a 43-year-old man injured in the village of Zolota Balka, a 79-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man injured in the strikes against Sofiivka, and a 48-year-old man injured in the attack against Beryslav, according to local officials.

The attacks damaged cottages in the Kherson district, and a farm and a national park in the Beryslav district, the governor added.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, one person died and another was injured in Russian strikes, Governor Yurii Malashko said.

Russian shelling of the village of Preobrazhenka killed a 51-year-old man and injured a 43-year-old man, who has been promptly hospitalized, the governor clarified.

The outskirts of the regional center of Zaporizhzhia also sustained two missile strikes, leading to the damage of four multi-story buildings, according to the city's Acting Mayor Anatolii Kurtiev. No casualties were reported.

In total, Russian forces targeted 30 cities, towns, and villages in the oblast, leading to 31 recorded cases of property damage, the governor said.

Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Sumy oblasts sustained attacks but local officials reported no casualties.

Read also: Escape from Kupiansk: How one cop tricked the Russians

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Shooting with firearms loaded with live cartridges has been included in the Russian school curriculum for basic military training for years 10-11.

Source: Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii with reference to the course syllabus

Details: The curriculum for Russian secondary school students states that live small-calibre bullets for firearms will be issued at specially equipped shooting ranges and shooting galleries under the guidance of "experienced military unit officers or instructors" and "only at the firing line".

The course envisions students learning how to fire small arms, perform initial firing exercises and throw simulated hand grenades, operate UAVs, equip trenches for prone firing positions, and classify types of nuclear explosions.

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The subject Basics of Safety and Protection of the Homeland will appear in Russian schools from 1 September, replacing the Basics of Life Safety and Health. Vazhnye Istorii said it will include a course on initial military training, which will be mandatory and which students cannot refuse to study.

The Russian Defence Ministry has supported the return to basic military training (BMT) in schools, recommending that at least 140 hours be allocated to it in high school. BMT will take up about 12% of total study time.

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Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has removed Army General Sergey Surovikin from his post of Air Force Commander, Russian media reported on Aug. 22. The general was also the deputy commander of the Russian invasion forces in Ukraine.

RBK reported that a source at the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that Surovikin was no longer Air Force Commander and is currently on a short vacation.

However, an official decree on the decision has not yet been made public.

Surovikin has not been seen in public since the Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin 's failed rebellion against the Kremlin on June 23-24.

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Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on July 18 that Surovikin had been effectively removed from his position but his fate remained undecided.

The military intelligence representative commented on television that infighting among Russia's elite began after the Wagner Group rebellion, during which Surovikin lost his position.

Multiple media reports claimed that the general had been arrested over siding with Prigozhin in the insurrection and is being interrogated by Russian security services.

Moscow has not confirmed these claims. State Duma Deputy Andrey Kartapolov only commented that Surovikin is currently "resting" and "so far unavailable."

According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, Surovikin's arrest would likely cause tensions among the Russian military leadership due to the general's popularity in the armed forces.

The general led Russian forces in Ukraine from October 2022 until his replacement by Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov in January 2022.

Read also: Philosopher Jason Stanley: Russia is explicitly fascist

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Consequences of the Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih on August 22

One civilian was injured in a Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, early on Aug. 22, regional governor Serhiy Lysak and head of the citys Defense Council, Oleksandr Vilkul , reported on Telegram.

The civilian suffered facial cuts as a result of the attack. He was provided with medical assistance and will undergo outpatient treatment.

Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

More than 20 private households and a power line were damaged, which resulted in several streets and electric transport lines being partially left without power in Kryvyi Rih, Vilkul said.

Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

Several hospitals had to switch to generators, but the electricity supply has already been restored there. The water supply system is also operating on generators and is currently being resumed.

Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

The Russians also attacked the Synelnykove district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a drone overnight, hitting a private enterprise. A fire broke out there, which has already been extinguished. There were no casualties as a result of the attack, the governor said.

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Read also: Casualties in Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih's exceeds 80, including seven children

Another attack on the district took place in the morning. The Russian attack damaged power lines and other civilian infrastructure, Lysak added.

Air raid alerts were triggered in several Ukrainian regions at night and early in the morning. In addition to Kryvyi Rih, Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhzhya, damaging four high-rise buildings.

There were no casualties in that attack either.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russia faces serious problems as it battles Ukraine's counteroffensive, reports say.

Its forces are low on morale and equipment, said the Institute for the Study of War.

Ukraine is trying to breach Russia's formidable defensive lines.

The Russian military is facing low morale, infighting, and equipment shortages as it battles Ukraine's counteroffensive, according to experts.

Citing Russian military bloggers, an important source of independent information about the Russian military, US think tank The Institute for the Study of War said that the problems extend "along the entire front line."

It reported that in one area, Russian forces lacked light vehicles essential for moving equipment around quickly.

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When soldiers register privately-owned vehicles with the Russian defense ministry for the job they "disappear or get transferred elsewhere."

"Russian commanders regularly punish servicemen who keep their vehicles for minor administrative violations and that Russian personnel feel that they are "at war" with their commanders," the ISW said, citing a miliblogger.

In the Kherson region in south Ukraine, Russian military requests for boats have not been met, the ISW said, as Ukraine launches attacks across the Dnipro River on Russian defensive positions.

It also reported on problems facing Russian artillery units engaged in "counterbattery operations," or targeting Ukrainian artillery and command and control centers.

Russian forces began experiencing artillery systems shortages and claimed that Russian forces began to receive "outdated" types of long-range gun, it said.

Russia has faced long-standing problems with equipment and ammunition shortages during its invasion of Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July admitting that Russia's equipment supplies had not kept up with demand.

"High-precision ammunition, communications equipment, drones etc... We have them, but unfortunately, there is not enough," said Putin.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo in February said that Russia was struggling to produce enough ammunition for its forces.

Ukraine is currently seeking to drive Russia out of positions it occupies along a 600-mile front line in east and south Ukraine. But it is facing strong Russian defenses protected by miles of minefields and is experiencing ammunition and equipment shortages of its own.

Some analysts believe that if Ukraine succeeds in achieving a decisive breakthrough, Russia's demoralized forces could begin to crack, and resistance collapse.

But the ISW, in a recent assessment, cautioned that it was unclear "if, when, or where" this might happen.

Russia's military is also riddled with infighting, reports suggest, with the Kremlin having launched a search for traitors in the military command after June's mutiny by the Wagner mercenary force, which sough the ouster of Russia's military leaders over failings in Ukraine.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russians began flooding ferries in the Kerch Strait to protect the Crimean Bridge from attacks; it is planned to flood at least six watercraft.

Source: press service Defence Intelligence

Quote: "Russian invaders are carrying out preparatory work to flood the second ferry, in the Kerch Strait area, near the illegal bridge between Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea (coordinates: 45.2432237; 36.5845773)."

Details: It is reported that Russians plan to flood at least six ferries to create a protective strip in front of the bridge.

At the same time, the Russians intend to install containment booms between the flooded ferries.

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Defence Intelligence notes that a simple measure of protection of the nineteen-kilometre bridge in the form of flooding ferries only indicates the feverish decisions of Russians and an intellectual crisis within the country's military and political leadership.

Background:

At least two successful attacks on the Crimean Bridge have been reported. The last time, on 17 July, Sergey Aksenov, the so-called "head" of the Russian-occupied Crimea, reported that an "emergency" had occurred on the Crimean Bridge. Russian Telegram channels reported that the span collapsed there.

Additionally, on 12 August, explosions were heard twice in occupied Crimea, near the Crimean Bridge.

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(NewsNation)  While nearly all universities and colleges across the country have dropped the strictest guidelines stemming from the pandemic, a few holdouts remain.

More than 100 schools still require students to be vaccinated in order to attend classes in person, according to No College Mandates, a group that tracks COVID-19 policies in higher education.

A smaller number of schools, including Rutgers and Georgetown, still require indoor masking.

As students are set to return to classes next month, many are wondering whether enrollment will be impacted.

What to expect from Evergy with extreme heat in Kansas City area

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In terms of COVID guidelines, the distinction between public and private schools is important. While private universities have more flexibility, public schools typically have to adhere to state guidelines.

Rutgers said incoming students must abide by a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to the school website. The mandate says there will be no exceptions, though it also says evaluation of exception requests will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Even if students are hypothetically granted an exemption to the vaccination rule, on-campus attendance is not guaranteed, and students will be required to undergo testing.

If their choice is that they cannot be here under these conditions, we understand that. We wanted to give them that  opportunity, though, to make that choice and not be rushed into that choice, said Antonio Calcado, chief operating officer at Rutgers University.

New Jersey Sen. Declan OScanlon told NewsNation that he is ready to stand with any student who may be disenrolled from the university over their vaccination status, going so far as to call Rutgers administrators cowards.

Missouris new texting and driving law even bans holding your phone

For Rutgers, which should be the preeminent scientific institution, public institution in New Jersey, to be clinging to this now anti-science and punishing students  life-changing punishment, by the way  is outrageous. The administrators at Rutgers should be ashamed of themselves, OScanlon said.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its most relaxed set of COVID guidelines since the pandemic began, reporting that the COVID-19 public health emergency is over. Across New Jersey, nearly all school districts have dropped all indoor mask requirements.

Nationally, the American College Health Association said 61% of all campuses recommend students receive a vaccine. Only about 18% of the 300 schools surveyed require students to be vaccinated.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Several people carried signs at Mondays Capitol rally. Stop the Democratic grooming of our children, said one.

My child is not your science experiment, said another.

But most prominent were the white buttons adorning dresses, shirts, and jackets that read: PROTECT PARENTS RIGHTS.

Summertime may be the carefree highlight of the year for school-aged children, but its been a turbulent season for local school boards, especially in Southern California.

Boards in Chino and Murrieta enacted policies requiring teachers and school staff to inform parents of changes in their childrens gender identity. An Orange County district may soon follow. The Temecula Valley Unified School District voted to reject curriculum that taught about Harvey Milk and the gay rights movement. It backed down and approved the plan after Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened a $1.5 million fine.

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On Monday, a group of 200 or so concerned parents, grandparents, and community members from up and down the state gathered to fight back against what they see as the attack on parents rights  led by Newsom  and to lobby against several bills making their way through the legislature.





Many of the states most outspoken supporters of the parents rights movement are newly elected school board members in the Sacramento region. They are confident that their cause  sparked by the lockdowns and mask mandates of the pandemic era and fed by the conviction that schools have become centers of leftist indoctrination  will only gain strength.

Theres this apparatus of power and were realizing where we have influence. And that influence is growing, said Jonathan Zachreson, who was elected to Roseville City Unified School District last November  one of 26 school board candidates from Colfax to Roseville who ran on a pro-parent platform and won in 2022.

Rocklin, Elk Grove school boards seek to strengthen parental rights

Sacramento area school districts could soon be confronted with proposals similar to those that roiled Chino and Temecula.

In Elk Grove Unified School District, the board is set to hear a presentation about parents rights at its next meeting on Sept. 5.

Given that there is a different understanding with respect to parental rights, I request that the Board of Education have an agenda item in which it receives a report on existing (state) ed code language with respect to parents rights, said Trustee Carmine Forcina at a July school board meeting. And include within that report any pertinent court cases that affirm the education code statements.

Forcina does not believe the request for a presentation is threatening.

The intent of having a report at a Board meeting is to give the public ... an opportunity to hear the What Is, he said at the July session.

At an Aug. 9 board meeting, Rocklin Unified School District Trustee Dereck Counter proposed creation of a subcommittee to consider strengthening parent notification policies. It is scheduled to present on the topic at its next session on Sept. 6.

Dereck Counter, a trustee of the Rocklin Unified School District Board of Education, attends a meeting in 2021.

I want to look at strengthening parents rights notifications with respect to some of our RUSD policies, Counter said.

Our teachers, our instructional aides, counselors, staff, all have positive connections with our students ... alongside with our great educators that we have, I want to increase the parent notifications, strengthen the parent rights, he said. We need to keep parents in all the conversations about substantial changes that would support the academic, social, emotional, and mental growth of our districts students.

Board President Julie Hupp seconded the motion to form a subcommittee, and placed herself on it.

Mike Murray, a Rocklin parent running to represent Placer Countys 3rd supervisorial district, is a strong supporter of Counters, and three other like-minded pro-parent RUSD trustees: Hupp, Tiffany Saathoff (a pastor at Destiny Church and Republican Assemblyman Joe Pattersons Chief of Staff), and Rachelle Price.

As a parent, all we want is transparency, Murray, who has two children enrolled in RUSD schools, said at the rally Monday.

Like Zachreson, he worries about the slate of state bills trying to take away local control from school boards. What works in some communities and local jurisdictions might not make sense in others, he said.

We want to be part of their lives, be there to help them. We dont want that taken away by the government.

Parents rights is a collaborative movement

Many who rallied in Sacramento Monday see their movement as a biblical calling  they answer to God, not the government  and believe that the state is undermining the bedrock principle of local control of schools.

It was the second such demonstration in just one week. Last Wednesday, Sonja Shaw, president of Chino Valley Unified School District, appeared at the Capitol with Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Riverside, a fellow champion of parents rights.

Shaw, a trainer who has become a heroine of the parents rights movement, was called by one pastor in attendance a true, modern day Deborah. She spoke Monday as well.

God is using California to guide the way, Shaw said, against the indoctrination of young kids, and against the political cartel of Newsom, Bonta and (State Superintendent Tony) Thurmond.

Thurmond showed up to a Chino Valley school board meeting last month  he says students in the district invited him  and was ousted after a verbal showdown with Shaw, who had him removed. To Thurmond, Shaw is an extremist. To Shaw and her supporters and colleagues, theres nothing extreme about protecting children.

School boards across even the bluest of states are increasingly made up of parents who see themselves on the front lines of what Shaw called a spiritual battle and a warfare.

And yet, at Mondays event, sponsored by the California Family Council with Turning Point USA members present, it would be easy to assume that all attendees are bedfellows in the conservative Christian movement. But activists maintain the parents rights movement transcends such identifiers as Republican or Democrat.

This is a collaborative movement, Zachreson said Monday.

Zachreson, who is not religious, was a lifelong No Party Preference voter until the COVID-19 pandemic when he changed his affiliation to Republican.

Prior to his election, Zacherson organized around reopening California schools during the COVID-19 shutdowns. He was an early objector to mask and vaccine mandates, school and business shutdowns, and what he calls violations of individual liberty where medical and educational decisions are concerned.

Now that they are turning their focus to class curriculum, parental notification, increased parental involvement in the classroom, and local control.

One target is Assemblyman Corey Jacksons AB 1078, which would require a two-thirds supermajority vote from a school board for removal of a book from a library or curriculum. Schools could also be fined if they do not supply enough diverse instructional materials, as required by the Department of Educations content standards.

The parents rights camp believes this will make it harder for local school boards to remove pornographic books and sexualized curriculum, per the California Family Council and Capitol Resource Institute.

The movement also opposes Burbank Sen. Anthony Portantinos SB 596, which would make it a misdemeanor offense to subject a school employee to threats or harassment for reasons related to their official duties while they are away from a school site or after school hours.

Zachreson, and other newly elected trustees like him, is not just a school board member  hes one of many activists participating in a broad, collaborative coalition of elected officials, lawyers, pastors, stay-at-home parents and lobbyists actively trying to change state legislation.

Parents realized where there were power voids, Zachreson told The Bee in an interview last week. He cites the California Teachers Association, the California School Board Association, and the state Department of Education for actively excluding parents from important policy decisions. School boards in Southern California, including Yorba Linda, where one board voted to leave the CSBA (96% of Californias schools are members), are moving in the right direction, he said.

And when it comes to coalition building, he and his fellow activists work with anyone across the political spectrum  including lawyer and activist Erin Friday, who spoke on Mondays rally about saving her daughter from trans ideology. Friday is a Democrat and told The Bee shes also not religious.

In other words: its not about politics or parish, its about parenting.

This is not a right-left issue, she said at the podium to a cheering crowd. Its easy to say its a right wing religious issue, but its a human issue, a family issue.

Jon Fenske, center, campaigns for the Dry Creek Elementary School Board in Placer County in 2022.

In red Placer County, its a larger movement to, as Dry Creek Elementary School Board Trustee Jon Fenske put it, protect the innocence of children.

Fenske ran with two other newbies in 2022: Jean Pagnone and Jason Walker. The three J Team candidates ran a joint campaign and successfully flipped the five-person school board to a majority pro-parent governing body.

If we did not have (these) changes in Dry Creek, we wouldnt have these discussions about parents rights, Fenske told The Bee last week. Ive been called a homophobe book banner, but Im just trying to do whats best for the kids.
A long-lasting relationship may be rare to come by these days, but Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson are celebrating 43 years of marriage.

According to People, one of the ways the Snakes On A Plane actor commemorated his 43rd year of marriage with his wife LaTanya is with a few stories on his Instagram. He first posted a black and white photo of the pair in a warm embrace holding hands with the words, Happy anniversary, across it and noted that it seems like they reached this monumental moment in the blink of the eye.

He then posted a cute picture in color joking that he was tested for 10 years before they officially tied the knot so theyve actually been together 53 years.

The couple met in college and have been inseparable ever since. They got married in 1980 and share one child Zoe, 41, who is a producer, People reported.

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He ended the sweet tribute by posting a video clip of them dancing together on a yacht enjoying each other with the words, I think we can make 43 more!!! Love everlasting!!!!!!

Black love is not pushed in mainstream media very much, so its always great to see couples, including Morris Chestnut and Pam Byse or Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, which the LaTanya spoke to during an interview with People in March 2022 when they revealed their secret for sustaining a marriage that has gone the distance theirs has. They disclosed they made a pact to stay together.

In the beginning, we always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together, raise their children with the nucleus of having a father and a mother, since everybody likes to pretend that thats not the dynamic of the African American family. That its just children out here being raised by women, which we know is false, the broadway actress told the publication.

Samuel credits his wife for saving his life and helping him become the recognized actor he is today due to her being a support system when he struggled with a drug addiction in the 90s prior to his role in Jungle Fever, which put him on the map and catapulted his career.

She gave me the chance to be the man I was supposed to be, he said.

The Kill Room star shared that a true union looks like two people who respect each other, love each other and look out for each other.

Congrats to the happy couple!
Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies are investigating a shooting that killed a woman following a dispute in the early hours of Sunday, according to a news release sent out to media.

Investigators are looking into a shooting that occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday in the 2600 block of Twin Drive in Sarasota. A Google search of the location reveals there is an apartment complex nearby, and a spokesperson with the Sheriff's Office confirmed the shooting happened near the complex.

According to the news release, one person was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Media Relations Specialist Dana Judge confirmed that there was an argument among acquaintances which led up to the shooting.

ICYMI: Sarasota man gets life in prison for shooting girlfriend in face and her daughter in back

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Legal news: From homicide prosecutor to chief judge: Charles Roberts reflects on 40-year legal career

All those involved in the shooting were accounted for when deputies arrived, according to the release, and deputies found that there was no present danger to the public at large at that time.

No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation is ongoing, Judge said in an email.

According to Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting, there have been at least 10 shootings in Sarasota County since the beginning of 2023 investigated by different police agencies, including the North Port Police Department, the Sarasota Police Department, and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

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 County Sheriff's Office investigating shooting, one dead
SBU detains woman in Sumy for spying on Ukrainian troops

Ukraines SBU security service has arrested a Kremlin sympathizer from Sumy Oblast who was caught providing intelligence to the Russian military, according to a press release on Aug. 22.

The woman helped to plan aerial attacks on Ukrainian troops and attemped to facilitate the entry of Russian saboteurs into the region.

According to the SBU, the woman, who resides in the Sumy District of the oblast, actively shared anti-Ukrainian posts on the banned Russian social network Odnoklassniki.

Read also: Russian GRU agent posing as a volunteer detained in Dnipro  SBU

This activity drew the attention of Russian intelligence agents, who then remotely recruited her. She was promised Russian citizenship and the possibility of relocating to Russia in return for her collaboration.

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The agents were interested in tracking the movements and locations of troops of the Ukrainian army and the State Border Guard Service.

Read also: Illia Kyva, Ex-MP Suspected of Treason, Accused of War Propaganda, Soliciting Violence

As a result, the woman discreetly observed Ukrainian military units while using public transport. Additionally, she sought information about Ukrainian soldiers from her acquaintances.

The SBU said it had found evidence on a mobile phone that confirmed her activities on behalf of Russia.

Investigators have now pressed charges against her for disseminating information about the location of Ukrainian military formations and justifying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

If found guilty, she could face up to eight years in prison.

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
CLARK COUNTY, Ohio (WDTN)  One child is dead and nearly two dozen were injured after a school bus crashed in Clark County, Ohio, on Tuesday morning, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Around 8:16 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, police were notified of an accident on State Route 41 west of Ballentine Pike, the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) reported.

Sgt. Tyler Ross, with the OSHP Public Affairs Unit, said the school bus was traveling west on SR-41 when an eastbound-traveling 2010 Honda Odyssey crossed into the path of the school bus.

Sgt. Ross reported that the school bus attempted to evade the Honda Odyssey, but made contact and then traveled off the right side of the road and overturned.

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One child was reportedly ejected from the bus and has succumbed to their injuries.

A total of 52 children were on the bus at the time of the crash. At least 23 of them were taken to area hospitals: 13 by ambulance and 10 by personal means. One child is said to have sustained serious injuries, while the other 22 are non-life-threatening.

The 68-year-old driver of the bus reportedly suffered minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital.

The 35-year-old driver of the van along with his 37-year-old passenger were transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Tourists to Alaska found safe after becoming lost in woods for a week

Northwestern Local Schools posted on social media that parents of students involved in the crash would be notified soon. They also reported that the crash happened on an elementary route.

A parent reunification center has been set up at the German Township Firehouse.

You can pick your child up once youve been contacted. More details to come, Northwestern Local Schools wrote in its post.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Joe Draeger poses for a portrait in the cockpit of a 1941 DC-3 cargo plane on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, north of Antigo, Wis. Draeger repurposed the plane to house an Airbnb. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

DEERBROOK, Wisc.  It was a two-engine cargo and passenger plane that shuttled supplies across the Pacific Ocean for the United States Marines during World War II.

Now, this 1941 DC-3 is the Antigo, Wisconsin, area's newest Airbnb.

The 70-foot-long plane also was owned by an Oshkosh aviation company that restores old warbirds for use in the modern era.

It now rests on specially made steel frames about a story high, nestled among trees on lakeside property a handful of miles north of Antigo. Instead of shuttling ammo, mail and other war supplies, it offers a place for small groups to stay at a rate of $349 per night.

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Antigo may not be at the top of most people's minds as a getaway destination, said Joe Draeger, the plane's owner, "but we get our share of tourists up here. Most of the people are coming up from Milwaukee and Chicago."

He hopes the unique nature of the DC-3 will lure even more people  and so far it has. The plane has been open to overnight guests for more than a month now, and Draeger said it had been booked every weekend.

"I don't know if it's historians," Draeger said. "Or maybe young people who are into this kind of stuff. ... They like to take pictures in unique places."

A 1941 DC-3 cargo plane is seen on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, north of Antigo, Wis. The plane has been converted into an Airbnb. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

How did the DC-3 end up in the Wisconsin countryside?

The DC-3 is the third Airbnb Draeger owns. He's converted a large barn/equipment shed into a Airbnb for larger groups. And another nearby getaway is a treehouse that he said is "really more of a cabin on stilts."

His daughter manages the properties, and he said the first two were popular. But they also got him itching to do more.

"After doing the treehouse, I was thinking to myself, 'I should do something a little more interesting than that,'" Draeger said. "I was thinking maybe a boat."

He started searching though the Airbnb website and came across a plane.

"But it wasn't real," he said. "They had a small cockpit and like half a wing. It was nice, but not really a full plane like this."

Draeger, who also runs the three-generation family business Draeger Propane and its related trucking company, knew of an Air Force boneyard in Arizona, the area where old surplus airplanes are junked.

"So I was thinking, 'I'm in trucking, I can go down to Arizona and pick one of them out of that boneyard," Draeger said.

Celeb accommodations: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher would like you as their guest. How to book their Airbnb.

Budget vacations: Airbnb launches new budget-friendly listing category, Airbnb Rooms

The cockpit of a 1941 DC-3 is seen on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, north of Antigo, Wis. The cockpit has been restored to look as the plane did when it shuttled supplies during World War II. But not all the equipment is original. The seats for example, were designed for a race car. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

What does an Oshkosh aviation company have to do with all this?

Draeger is not a pilot.

"I don't trust myself," he said, laughing.

But he is friends with one. After sharing his plans, his friend suggested he contact Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, before turning to the Arizona plane boneyard. It was good advice.

Basler Turbo Conversions restores old C-47 aircraft, the World War II military version of the DC-3. The company takes the basic framework of the old planes but adds modern equipment and conveniences, such as upgrading the interior, wiring and mechanics. Basler powers its planes, called BT-47s, with modern turboprop engines.

"The fuselage we sold to Joe was one that we could not use in our conversion process, as it was originally a 'Super DC-3' and not a C-47," said Joe Varkoly, president of Basler Turbo Conversions, in an email.

"It had been sitting in our boneyard for years, and all we would have been able to do with it is recycle the metal," Varokoly said. "Joe (Draeger) knocked on our door and asked us if we had anything we could sell him for his intended project. It was a chance meeting rather than a concerted sales effort."

Draeger said that connecting with Basler was a stroke of luck: Not only did he get the fuselage of the plane, but the company offered what it knew about the craft's history and equipment. The cockpit of Draeger's plane is not functional, but he was able to recreate the proper dials and mechanisms as they were when the DC-3 was flying across the Pacific.

To get Wisconsin stories sent directly to your inbox every week, subscribe to our Be Wisconsin newsletters.

The interior of a new Airbnb is seen on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, north of Antigo, Wis. The unit was furnished inside the fuselage of a 1941 DC-3 cargo plane. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

What place does the DC-3 have in history?

Draeger said his plane originally was used for the civilian passenger airline Trans World Airlines, or TWA.

"When war broke out, the government took over pretty much all passenger planes," he said.

The DC-3 "is really an iconic plane," Draeger said. "They could take off on a short runway, land on a short one. ... They were really one of the first dependable aircraft."

The Oshkosh Northwestern called the DC-3 a "game changer" in a story done in July 2010 in conjunction with Experimental Aircraft Association's annual Airventure fly-in convention.

"If you put 100 top aviation historians in a room together and tell them they have to choose the greatest airplane of all time, there's a pretty good chance they'd come back and say the DC-3," Adam Smith, then EAA's vice president for membership, told the newspaper.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower once reportedly said the C-47, the military version of the DC-3, was a key vehicle, along with the Jeep, that helped the Allies win World War II.

Contact Keith Uhlig at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Unique airbnb alert: Stay in a WWII-era plane turned vacation home.
Halls of Tennessee's Capitol were quiet on Tuesday morning, as the second day of a special legislative session focused on public safety got off to a slow start.

But by the afternoon, some committee meetings grew contentious.

In the House Civil Justice subcommittee, three people advocating for gun safety reform were removed after holding paper signs, which House Republicans banned in newly enacted special session rules on Monday night.

Allison Polidor is escorted out by State Troopers during a House Subcommittee meeting for holding a sign during the meeting at Cordell Hull State Office Building in Nashville , Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.

When someone in the audience applauded a bill action minutes later, Chair Lowell Russell, R-Vonore, closed the meeting, directing Tennessee Highway Patrol to kick everyone out, including a handful of Covenant School parents who are advocating for firearm safety.

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Outside the subcommittee room, Covenant mother Sarah Shoop Neumann broke down in sobs, saying she doesn't think lawmakers "understand the courage it takes to get up here and sit in those rooms and face those people, knowing they don't agree with you on it."

"We're here for six people who were killed in our school," she said. "We're just trying to do something. It's hard to be here. It's overwhelming. We walk past the Proud Boys. I'm sitting with the (Tennessee Firearm Association) in front of me. I'm just trying to be quiet. I already got told I can't have my sign that says I'm a Covenant mom. That dignity has been taken away. We're trying to testify for a bill, and we're kicked out of a room? It's really overwhelming."

By midday, one Senate committee meeting had been delayed, and another committee had met for just two minutes to scuttle a bill. By early afternoon, House committees began their work, but many bills were tabled or delayed until the regular session in January.

Then, the Senate Judiciary Committee killed all but three pieces of legislation it had on its afternoon agenda.

Sarah Shoop Neuman weeps while she and others are escorted out during a subcommittee meeting at Cordell Hull State Office Building in Nashville , Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.

In the morning, lawmakers entered the chambers without the loud ridicule of the crowds  a first so far for this legislative session.

Live Tuesday updates: House off to slow start, bills pushed to January

In the House, expelled and reelected Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, both got assigned to committee roles. They are Pearson's first committee assignments in his six-months in the legislature, as he was elected to the seat in a special election earlier this year and had not been assigned committees before he was expelled.

During the proceedings, spectators in the galleries above  barred by House rules adopted Monday from holding signs  found new ways to send their message to the representatives below. Some wore shirts with messages, others held up their phones with flashing text. Some had written words on their bodies.

David Morgan, holds his phone up with the words 2nd Amendment displayed while leaving the State Capitol Building in Nashville , Tenn., Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.

A group of parents whose children survived the Covenant shooting briefly held up a Covenant strong school scarf, which isn't expressly prohibited by the new rules.

In the Senate, Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Manchester, filed a resolution proposing to adjourn the special session, as she promised to do Monday evening. However, the resolution had not been filed in a timely manner, and was not heard.

State Senator Janice Bowling speaks before adjourning on the second day of Tennessees special legislative session called to address public safety issues on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Residents want gun laws reformed in the wake of the March mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville where 3 children and 3 adults were killed.

Later in the morning, bills began to trickle to committees, with a rush expected as the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to take up a calendar of 55 bills at 2 p.m. CT.

The question is, how many will actually move forward. So far, bills are moving slowly, or into the ground.

Senators tabled the first bill taken up in the Senate  a mental health bill that would require insurance carriers to cover mental health treatment to the same level as drug addiction  in a committee hearing that lasted less than two minutes.

Though the bill didnt address gun control, the Senate committee hearing room was filled with people backing stricter gun laws with signs that read I am a supporter of firearm safety," "It's the guns," and "what's more important?"

Attendees with "I am a supporter of firearm safety" signs fill the room for the Senate Commercde and Labor Committee meeting on August, 22, 2023.

It remains unclear when the session will wrap up, though there appears to be conflict between the House and Senate.

Senators on Tuesday morning scheduled an additional floor session for Wednesday afternoon, after committees finish  which could signal a move to adjourn Wednesday evening. Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, has filed resolutions to adjourn for each day this week, beginning Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the full House is not scheduled to meet until Thursday morning.

Angele Latham, and Kelly Puente contributed to this report.

Reach reporter Vivian Jones at vjones@tennessean.com or on X and Threads at @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: House, Senate slowly kick into gear as special session unfolds
Luxembourg became another signatory to the G7 declaration of support for Ukraine, which was adopted on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius and is conventionally called the "security guarantees" declaration.

Source: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X (Twitter), reported by European Pravda

Quote: "I am grateful to Luxembourg for joining the G7 Declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine.

I thank Luxembourg and its people for their unwavering support for Ukraine, which is based on shared democratic ideals and the common interests of our Euro-Atlantic family."

Background:

At the NATO summit in Vilnius, the 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.

On 21 August, Kosovo became the 26th state to join the G7 declaration on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.

In August, Ukraine began negotiations on security guarantees with the United States and the United Kingdom.

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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!
Seminole County commissioners on Tuesday considered urging Florida lawmakers in the coming weeks to adopt a statewide policy during next years legislative session that provides more protective standards for Floridas drinking water.

The move follows a recent investigative series by the Orlando Sentinel that reported an extensive contamination of the industrial chemical 1,4-dioxane in the underground Floridan Aquifer in Seminoles northwest side where some of the drinking water wells for Lake Mary, Sanford and Seminole have been located for years.

The contamination is alleged to have come from an old factory in Lake Mary just east of Interstate 4 that manufactured circuit boards for telephone systems from 1968 to 2003.

How a toxic chemical infiltrated the Floridan Aquifer, tainting Seminole County tap water

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The former owners of the plant have denied liability for the contaminants polluting the water supplies. But they are financially supporting efforts to clean up the property off Rinehart Road and financed a high-end water treatment plant for the city of Lake Mary.

But Seminole commissioners during their brief discussion did not mention the contamination or 1,4-dioxane. Nor did they provide any details as to the extent of any new and protective drinking water standards. Florida lacks any drinking water rules for 1,4-dioxane. The chemical is categorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as likely to cause cancer.

They noted that state Sen. Jason Brodeur , a Republican from Sanford, chairs the Senate appropriations committee on agriculture, environment and general government. His district represents all of Seminole and a portion of north Orange County.

This is the right time, being that he [Brodeur] is the chair of that particular committee, and I do understand how much power, especially with DEP [states Department of Environmental Protection], there is in that position, Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine said. The iron is hot.

Industrial chemical infiltrated Lake Mary, Sanford, Seminole water wells; few knew and there was no coordinated response

Last week, state Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat from east Orange County who also is a member of the same committee, asked for Floridas environmental agency and the legislatures research arm to provide an overview of the states awareness, investigation and transparency for the chemical contamination in Seminole County.

Stewart asked state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo to commission a study by the Office of Program Policy and Analysis to determine what steps, if any, the state of Florida should take to make sure we preserve the integrity of our drinking water supplies.

Tricia Johnson, Seminoles deputy county manager, told commissioners that it would be valuable to talk to Brodeur regarding state funding and to determine if there is more stringent legislation that should be drafted regarding cleaner drinking water.

After the county meeting, Zack Brodersen, an aide for Brodeur, said the senator was not available for comment regarding Seminole Countys discussion.

He noted that local state legislators, including Brodeur, plan to hold a public meeting on Oct. 30 in Sanford to hear from representatives from local groups and governments on their legislative priorities for next years session, which begins in January. And the topic of more protective measures for Floridas drinking water could be part of that discussion.

1,4-dioxane was typically used in manufacturing facilities like the one in Lake Mary from as early as the 1970s. The chemical was not tested for in Lake Mary, Sanford and northwest Seminoles drinking water until it was discovered in 2013.

At Sentinel forum, government officials, public discuss Seminole Countys tribulations with 1,4-dioxane

Seminole Commissioner Andria Herr said she would like to learn more about how to clean the contamination in Seminole.

For the record, our drinking water is clean, she said. Can there be improvements? Yes. Is there an area of opportunity with finding the plume and pulling the plume out? I dont know scientifically if thats even a reality or what the cost of it would be. So I really would like to know more about that before we simply do it, just so that were saying something that looks good. Quite honestly, I struggle with that.

Commission Chair Amy Lockhart said she would like to see more research into the extent of the contamination and its effects.

Because I feel like were still in the search and find out and educate and lets learn what our options are, phase of this, she said. We certainly dont have enough knowledge. My one takeaway from all of this is that everyone doesnt know everything about this yet. So I dont think we have a fix for whatever a fix may be, if a fix is even scientifically possible.

Seminole last month sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement and enforce regulations regarding 1,4-dioxane.

Q&A: What is 1,4-dioxane, is it safe to drink and how do you get rid of it?

County Manager Darren Gray noted that Carollo Engineers, an Orlando-based consulting firm hired by Seminole, provides the county with weekly reports on its drinking water. Carollo representatives plan to make a presentation before commissioners in the coming weeks regarding Seminoles water quality.

Lets hear from them and see what their assessments and recommendations are, Gray said in recommending that the county wait before urging state legislators to make any new policies or legislation regarding drinking water.

mcomas@orlandosentinel.com
Lake County officials want to improve and protect natural waterways throughout their county.

So theyre getting a new program off the ground that involves getting your septic tank out of the ground.

Commissioners announced Tuesday an initiative to help homeowners convert to sewer service.

READ: TS Harold makes landfall in Texas; TS Franklin to impact Haiti, Dominican Republic tonight

Residents may be eligible for funding to remove septic tanks from their yards and connect to the countys wastewater treatment system.

The conversion process would involve the installation of a small, underground wastewater treatment unit on a homeowners property.

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Residents would then be serviced by the county and pay a flat rate.

READ: Sheriff: Woman admits to strangling her son, 13, at their home near St. Cloud

The county said as long as funding is available, it would pay the initial costs for homeowners to hook up to the service.

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners has announced a new program to help protect and restore the county's iconic lakes and natural waterways by removing septic tanks that leech chemicals into surrounding soil.



For more information, visit: https://t.co/NDkvIYrmxC pic.twitter.com/Oc4gW9FNlT  Lake County, Florida (@lakegov) August 22, 2023

After installation, residents would pay $660 annually, a cost that would be included in the homes property tax assessment.

READ: Deputies search for man accused of sneaking into backyard of Seminole County home

Research by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection found that septic tanks cause significant nutrient pollution to the states natural waterways, county officials said.

For more information and to find out if youre eligible for the conversion program, click here.

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A high-pitched songa wail of pain and longingsounded through the hot, dark air outside of Brookings, South Dakota, Monday night.

It was a cry for a peaceful journey to the spirit world for Kyla Kyla Jo Mercy Red Bear, a 25-year-old Native American woman who disappeared earlier this month. Red Bears body was found in a wooded area on Aug. 8, six days after she was last heard from.

The Monday night vigil was held near the spot where Red Bears body was found. Brookings, the home of South Dakota State University, the largest college in the Dakotas, is one of the most diverse towns in the state, and the crowd of more than 100 people reflected that. Native Americans from tribes across the state were joined by white and Black people who call Brookings home.

Red Bears parents, Jen Red Bear and Brandon LeBeau, attended the event and were met with hugs from relatives and friends.

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Melanie His Law, of nearby Madison, was among the crowd. His Law, 25, said she and Red Bear were best friends who met while ice-skating as third-graders and talked every day.

Law enforcement has been tight-lipped about Red Bears death, not even using her name in the few brief statements that have been released of a recent death in Brookings County. But His Law is convinced a crime was committed.

I think she was murdered, she speculated. My friend would not kill herself. She did not kill herself. She was murdered.

Joseph Circle Bear, a Lakota elder, cultural teacher and spiritual leader, and Michael Toledo prepare for Monday nights vigil. Tom Lawrence

The disappearance and death of Native American women across the country was a topic many people touched on as they gathered at a convenience store Monday night. The group then drove and walked a couple miles to the place where Red Bears body was found. Her death is the latest example of a troubling epidemic of loss, several people said.

His Law said she last talked to Red Bear around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 2. Red Bear asked her friend to pick her up and allow her to stay with her and His Law said she would get her in a day or so when she returned from Rapid City, about 400 miles away on the other side of the state.

But His Law said she never heard from Red Bear again. His Law called and texted Red Bear and posted on social media, seeking some way to contact her. On Aug. 8, His Law learned Red Bears body had been discovered.

She deserves justice, she said. I dont want her swept under the rug.

The Brookings County Sheriffs Office and Brookings County States Attorney Dan Nelson have issued statements about a body found on the eastern edge of the city, but they have not identified the victim. The location listed is the same place where Red Bears body was found.

The Brookings County Sheriffs Office and South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation continue to investigate a death in Brookings County. All deaths are investigated thoroughly, and we want the public to know the investigation is ongoing, Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring said in a statement released on Aug. 18.

Due to this, further details cannot be released at this time, he added, while urging anyone with any information about the case to contact the Brookings County Sheriffs Office or to contact Crimestoppers.

Jen Red Bear, right, and other family members accepted hugs and expressions of sympathy from the scores of people who attended the vigil outside of Brookings, S.D., Monday night. Tom Lawrence

Nelson, meanwhile, reaffirmed the Brookings County State's Attorney position in a statement released that same day.

The Brookings County Sheriffs Office, Brookings Police Department - SD, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation continue to pursue multiple leads in the investigation. Until those leads have been investigated, the facts and circumstances surrounding the decedents death will remain undisclosed. Our local law enforcement agencies remain diligently focused on these efforts.

Nelson confirmed that forensic and digital evidence has been collected and is currently under review. Due to the multiple leads in this investigation, additional time and resources are required to ensure a complete and thorough investigation. On behalf of all law enforcement, we appreciate your patience in this matter.

On Monday, Nelson told The Daily Beast the investigation was ongoing and declined to confirm the identity of the deceased victim.

Its a current investigation that is ongoing, Nelson said. There has been public interest in it, I know. The sheriff and I have released our statements.

He was aware of the vigil, but said he did not plan to attend it. When asked about rumors about Red Bears death, he said they would not disclose any facts or circumstances around it.

Im not going to comment on that, Nelson said.

Three women light candles at the start of a vigil Monday night just east of Brookings, S.D., for Kyla Mercy Red Bear, whose body was found in a wooded area on Aug. 8, six days after she disappeared. Tom Lawrence

Lori Osterberg, 45, of Brookings, knew Red Bear well. Her son, AJ White, was the father of her two children, Anthony Joseph White IV and Zendeya. Osterberg said AJ was working in Mitchell, South Dakota, when Red Bear disappeared and when he came back to Brookings on Aug. 5 and could not locate her, he contacted authorities.

Tasha His Law of Crow Creek is Red Bears cousin. She recalled a person with a vibrant personality.

She was very free-spirited, Tasha His Law said. She had a beautiful soul.

Tasha His Law, who is an advocate for murdered and missing indigenous people, said law enforcement has been very open with the family, with Red Bears parents receiving regular updates from investigators, including Sheriffs Office Sgt. Kevin Murfield.

Its early, she said. I think its early and her mom and dad, they hear from the detectives and investigators often, every other day.

Erica Moore, a member of the Brookings Human Rights Commission, said the vigil was good for the family and community.

I think its very much important for the family to have a space to grieve and a place for the community to come together, Moore said.

Tasha His Law, a cousin of Kyla Mercy Red Bear, holds a memorial banner with Jen Red Bear, the mother of the woman found dead on Aug. 8. Tom Lawrence

The vigil was held on a sweltering night, after a day when temperatures approached triple-digits with high humidity that lingered after dark. Still, the ancient songs pierced the night and a steady drumbeat was sounded. A small boy carried a smudge pot through the crowd; a Lakota ritual to connect smoke and spirituality. Family members walked into the woods to gather at the spot where Red Bears body was found, while most people remained near an entrance.

As Circle Bear spoke about life, loss and love, wails of agony sounded from the woods. The Lakota elder said he understood the pain people were feeling.

I read about this young lady and it broke my heart, for her to leave like that, he said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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At 22 years old, Anika N. Duran went from facing a mandatory term of life in prison for second-degree murder to getting sentenced to six to 12 years of incarceration.

Duran and her lawyer achieved the reduced sentence, which an Erie County judge imposed on Tuesday, by emphasizing her cooperation and the unusual circumstances of her case.

Duran, who turns 23 on Thursday, was driving the car in which her boyfriend was unintentionally shot to death by his best friend during a botched robbery of an accused drug dealer. The killing occurred on Nov. 20, 2021, at about 11:30 p.m. in the area of West Eighth and Raspberry streets in Erie.

Duran admitted to helping plot the robbery with her boyfriend, 24-year-old Patel Grogan, and 26-year-old Adrian A. Thrower, Grogan's best friend. Thrower shot Grogan during a struggle with the marijuana dealer who was the target of the holdup, according to police.

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Erie police charged Thrower and Duran with second-degree murder, a killing committed during a robbery or another felony, no matter what the intent. Duran was charged as an accomplice and Thrower was charged as the shooter. Both faced an automatic sentence of life with no parole if convicted.

Thrower went to trial in May in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Duran was scheduled to be the star prosecution witness. Just as she was prepared to take the stand, the District Attorney's Office agreed to let Thrower plead guilty to third-degree murder, an unintentional killing with malice.

On Tuesday in Erie County Common Pleas Court, Anika N. Duran, 22, was sentenced to six to 12 years in state prison for third-degree murder.

Judge Erin Connelly Marucci, who presided over the murder case, immediately sentenced Grogan to 20 to 40 years in state prison, the maximum penalty for third-degree murder.

A mother's request echoes in court once more

The prosecution and the defense worked out the uncommon deal  guilty pleas rarely occur once a trial starts  at the request of Patel Grogan's mother, Carolyn Grogan. At the plea hearing and sentencing for Thrower, she said she believed in forgiveness and said third-degree murder was appropriate given how the killing of her son unfolded.

She focused on evidence that Thrower mistakenly shot her son in the head during the robbery. Her son, she said, was partly to blame.

"It was all a mistake," Grogan said in court of the killing of her son. "They were all wrong, Adrian and my son."

Carolyn Grogan was not present in court at Duran's sentencing on Tuesday. But the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Emily Downing, mentioned Grogan's sentiment in explaining how the District Attorney's Office also agreed to let Duran plead guilty to third-degree murder rather than take her to trial for second-degree murder.

The entire case, Downing said in court on Tuesday, "was greatly influenced by Carolyn Grogan."

Duran pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in July. The plea came with no sentencing recommendation.

Duran apologizes for taking part in fatal heist

On Tuesday, Duran's court-appointed lawyer, Brian Arrowsmith, asked Connelly Marucci to sentence Duran in the mitigated range of the state sentencing guidelines. The guidelines consider a defendant's prior record and guilty plea, among other factors.

Arrowsmith cited Duran's cooperation with police, her willingness to testify, her remorse and what he described as her giving character that allowed her to be manipulated to participate in the robbery attempt. He said she was so taken in by her boyfriend that she was paying his child support and driving him around to commit crimes.

"She is going to learn from this. You don't help someone you love sell drugs," Arrowsmith said. He also said: "She is caring. She is kind. She gives of herself to a fault."

Duran cried as she stood before the judge and apologized.

"I was stupid," she said. "I didn't know the street life. I didn't know what was going to happen. I was scared afterward. It is not excuse. But I have learned."

"I was scared to testify," Duran also said. "But I knew it would help the Grogan family."

Dowling, the prosecutor, said, "I don't disagree with much of what has been said by the defense." But she said Duran's participation in the fatally robbery warranted a sentence in the standard range of the guidelines for third-degree murder.

Judge imposes sentence on low end of standard range

Connelly Marucci sentenced Duran to six to 12 years. She said the sentence is on the low end of the standard range and only one year higher than a sentence in the mitigated range.

Connelly Marucci gave Duran nearly two years of credit for the time she has been in the Erie County Prison with no bond since her arrest days after the killing. Duran will be eligible for parole once she serves her minimum sentence of about four years, which accounts for the time served.

In imposing the sentence, Connelly Marucci cited Duran's cooperation and her potential, but also cited her complicity in her boyfriend's murder  a killing that resulted from the attempted robbery.

"You decided to drive the vehicle," Connelly Marucci said. "I know you didn't intend the outcome, but you intended to participate in the underlying crime."

A robbery is planned, and a murder occurs

According to police and testimony at Adrian Thrower's trial, Thrower, Patel Grogan and Duran were all part of the plot to rob the accused pot dealer, Oliver Williams, on the night of Nov. 21, 2021.

Duran, then 21, was driving a Chevrolet Equinox with Grogan in the front seat and Thrower in the back. Duran told police that Grogan called a marijuana dealer, later identified as Williams, and that Thrower and Grogan said they were going to "run his pockets" by robbing him.

Williams met the Equinox at West Fourth and Chestnut streets and again at West Eighth and Cascade streets, where Williams got into the back seat. Thrower, who was in the rear cargo area, put a chokehold on him, and Thrower moved to the back seat during the struggle, according to testimony and the police.

Williams, who talked to police and testified at Thrower's trial, told police that Thrower put a gun to his head and said, "give me everything." Grogan, he said, turned around from the front seat, punched him and took his wallet from his pants pocket. Williams said he fought with Thrower over the handgun and that Williams bit Thrower's arm.

The gun fired inside the SUV as it was near West Eighth and Raspberry streets. Grogan was shot in the head.

In reviewing the case on Tuesday, Connelly Marucci also mentioned Carolyn Grogan, and how her pleas for leniency had helped spare Thrower from going to prison for the rest of his life.

Grogan's plea, in the end, also aided Duran.

What most struck her about Carolyn Grogan, Connelly Marucci said, was her "impressive ability to forgive, to accept her son was accountable as well."

Unusual ending: Request from victim's mom spurs surprise guilty plea that ends Erie murder trial

Guilty plea: Erie woman pleads to 3rd-degree murder in fatal shooting of boyfriend during robbery try

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Girlfriend of murder victim gets prison for role in Erie fatal robbery
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office is planning to release footage from fatal police shootings faster in the future following a change to the office's practices.

Under the new plan, the office will release smaller clips of footage from body cameras, car cameras and any other device that may have captured footage. Previously, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Tuesday morning, the DA's office took so long releasing the footage because officials would prepare the entire footage.

"Prior practice had been to wait until the entire [Tennessee Bureau of Investigation] investigation was complete, which would sometimes take months, and then start the process of putting the TBI investigative file out there for the public to see," Mulroy said. "At that point, we would start the process of redacting what, in many cases, would be hours and hours of video, which itself would add further delay."

Mulroy said the shorter videos will still contextualize the shooting, even if small portions are being released initially.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is seen during a hearing in Shelby County Criminal Court.

According to Mulroy, his office has the ability to publicly share footage from fatal police shootings when they believe it is proper. For his office, that will be after "an internal checklist" is completed, such as interviewing relevant witnesses and consulting with the family.

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In cases where the shooting was not fatal, or falls into a separate category, such as 19-year-old Courtney Ross who died while he was in the Memphis Police Department's custody but was not shot, the discretion to release footage falls to the law enforcement agency.

"As a general matter, I think we should be as transparent as possible, which means that we should release the key parts of the video as soon as possible without compromising the investigation," Mulroy said. "I think that should be a general rule for everybody... I will use the example of the Tyre Nichols case, where the custodian of the records, MPD, was in favor of quick release. Now, they deferred to us on when we thought the investigation had gotten far enough along that it would be okay to release the video."

When will this take effect?

The first of those shortened videos to be released by the DA's office could come as early as the end of this week. That video will be from a late June shooting where a Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputy shot and killed 21-year-old Jarveon Hudspeth during a traffic stop.

Charlotte Haggett, the mother of Jarveon Hudspeth, who was shot and killed by a deputy from the Shelby County Sheriffs Office during a traffic stop on June 24, breaks down in tears while speaking at a press conference and is comforted by Attorney Ben Crump as they call for the release of footage of the shooting at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, July 10, 2023.

Hudspeth's family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who called for the sheriff's office to release footage from the shooting in early July.

"Don't play games with this family," Crump said at a July 10 press conference. "Release the video. We've heard all of the excuses, release the video."

Later that day, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner called the press conference a "cheap political" stunt.

"It has come to my attention that specific individuals, including Attorney Ben Crump, have made inciting claims regarding releasing video evidence related to this active investigation," Bonner, who is also a candidate for Memphis mayor, said in the statement. "I strongly condemn these cheap political stunts aimed at manipulating public opinion and causing distress for all involved."

Initial reports from SCSO on the Hudspeth shooting said the deputy, who has not been identified, pulled over Hudspeth while he was driving his car. According to SCSO, Hudspeth tried to leave the scene and dragged the deputy approximately 100 yards. The deputy was taken to Regional One Health in critical condition.

More: Tyre Nichols case: what to know about additional video, trial dates

Mulroy would not characterize the footage in its entirety, nor did he say if his office was planning to file any criminal charges against the deputy. He did, however, say that he did not think that the word "dragged" was "an accurate description, but I think once you see the video for yourself, you'll be able to draw your own conclusions."

Hudspeth's family has seen the footage, Mulroy said.

Other fatal police shootings, like 21-year-old Jaylin McKenzie, are still under review, but Mulroy said footage will be released as soon as possible from those investigations.

Footage will be posted to the DA's website when it is ready, Mulroy said.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County will release footage from fatal police shootings faster
A sheriff in Georgia pleaded guilty on Monday to groping a TV judge at a hotel bar last year while attending a law enforcement conference in the state.

Bleckley County Sheriff Kristopher Coody was sentenced to a year on probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery in Cobb County State Court in relation to the January 2022 incident in which he grabbed and squeezed the breast of Glenda Hatchett . He also formally resigned from his role.

Georgia Sheriff Hit With Sexual Battery Charge for Allegedly Groping Woman at Hotel Bar

He so violated me, and at that moment I felt so powerless, Hatchett told the Associated Press after the hearing Monday. I see myself as a strong woman. I have never been a victim, and I felt it was important for there to be accountability.

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Hatchett, an Atlanta attorney who starred in reality shows Judge Hatchett and The Verdict With Judge Hatchett, had attended a meeting of the Georgia Sheriffs Association in January last year. She went to the convention as the guest of former DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, who introduced her to colleaguesincluding Coody.

At the convention hotels bar outside Atlanta, Hatchett said she told Coody that she didnt know where his home county was located. She says he proceeded to point a finger at her chest and said: In the heart of Georgia. Hatchett says Coody then repeated the line and set about squeezing and rubbing her left breast. She said she froze in shock at Coodys actions, and it was Brown who grabbed Coodys arm and pulled him off her.

Hatchett said she could not get out of bed within two days of the incident and started counseling. She also reported what had happened to Cobb County authorities, who in turn obtained a warrant to arrest Coody.

As well as a year on probation, Judge Carl Bowers sentenced Coody to carry out community service and pay a $500 fine. Coodys attorney Joel Pugh said the sheriff on Monday morning sent a letter of resignation to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. He had served in the role since 2017.

I grieve for you, Judge Bowers told Hatchett, according to Macons WGXA. Im sorry that you had suffered from this in the community in which I serve. I respect the fact that you have come here today.

Hatchett said she wanted to speak out on the issue on behalf of other women who cant.

I dont want to be the poster woman for this, but I think its important for me to be very candid, she told the AP. Its important that other victims see me holding him accountable.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The identity of the suspect who allegedly shot and killed a 66-year-old Cedar Glen woman after he made disparaging remarks about a Pride flag at her business has been released.

The suspect has been identified as 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi of Cedar Glen, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department reported. He is accused of killing of Laura Ann Carleton.

Investigators determined that before the shooting, the suspect tore down a Pride, or rainbow, flag hanging in front of the store and yelled many homophobic slurs toward Carleton, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a Monday press conference.

The day before the Aug. 18 shooting, authorities said, Ikeguchi's family had reported him missing to the Twin Peaks sheriffs station.

Mother, wife and businesswoman, Laura Ann Carleton, 66, of Cedar Glen, was fatally shot at her shop on Friday, August 18, authorities said.

The incident

Sheriffs officials stated that at 5 p.m., deputies from the Twin Peaks sheriffs station responded to a report of a person shot at the Mag.Pi clothing store on Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen in the San Bernardino Mountains.

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When deputies arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Carleton, suffering from a gunshot wound. Carleton died at the scene, according to authorities.

During the initial response to the Hook Creek Road incident, deputies received updates from sheriffs dispatch indicating the suspect, who had not been identified at the time, ran away, and was seen about a mile away on Torrey Road, east of Highway 173.

Deputies found the suspect, armed with a handgun, near Torrey and Rause Rancho Road. The suspect fired at the deputies, who returned fire, killing Ikeguchi, sheriffs officials said.

No deputies were injured during the incident. The sheriffs specialized investigations division  homicide detail also responded and assumed the investigation.

Ikeguchi was not carrying identification, and investigators could not identify him immediately.

Based on a preliminary investigation, the firearm used in the shooting of Carleton is believed to be an unregistered Smith & Wesson, Model 6906, 9mm, semi-automatic handgun.

Investigators are currently working with other law enforcement partners to determine additional information related to the firearm.

She was so fearless

The stores Pride flag had been torn down several times, but was replaced with a bigger flag, Carletons daughter, Ari Carleton, told CNNs Anderson Cooper on Monday.

She was so fearless, and any negative reaction she just powered through, said Ari Carleton, who added that her mom wasnt afraid to stand up to anybody.

The Mag.Pi website states that Carleton began her career in the fashion industry when she was a teenager. She attended the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena before embarking on a career in fashion design.

Eventually, Carleton joined Kenneth Cole Productions almost from its inception in 1982 and worked for the company for more than 15 years, becoming an executive, the website said.

With a penchant for longevity, she has been married to the same man for 28 years and is the mother of a blended family of nine children, the youngest being identical twin girls, the website said. She and her husband have traveled the greater part of the US, Europe, and South America. From these travels, they have nourished a passion for architecture, design, fine art, food, fashion, and have consequently learned to drink in and appreciate the beauty, style, and brilliance of life.

Mountain Provisions Cooperative took to Facebook to say, "Lauri was a pillar in our community, an immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice. If you knew Lauri, you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about. She was a for. She loved to crack jokes and wanted to live as joyful of a life as possible. We will continue to stand for the values she so selflessly stood for. Her death will not be in vain."

Equality California, the nations largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, released a statement on Carleton's death.

We join countless others in mourning the loss of Lauri Carleton  wife, mother of nine, and business owner  who took particular pride in being an outspoken ally for the LGBTQ+ community. Our condolences are with her family and loved ones at this difficult time."

The civil rights group believes that Carleton was a victim of the hate-filled calls to action made by politicians and extremists that continue to push false narratives and misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to call the sheriffs homicide detail at 909-890-4904. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact the We-Tip Hotlinat 800-78-CRIMEME (27463) or wetip.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Police ID suspect who fatally shot store owner who displayed Pride flag
Forensic anthropologists identified the man whose skeletal remains discovered north of the town of Shasta Lake in June as a retired Oregon doctor who'd been missing for more than a decade, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.

On Tuesday morning, the sheriff's office announced the remains belonged to Max Eugene McIntosh of Medford, Oregon.

McIntosh was the director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinic until he retired in 2012, according to the Medford Mail Tribune. McIntosh was last seen in Medford on March 22, 2013, according to the California Department of Justice.

The retired doctor, then 75, had left his Medford home that day to visit a cousin in Missouri, but never showed up, according to relatives' statements taken by Medford police and reported in the Record Searchlight on March 28, 2013.

Dr. Max Eugene McIntosh, 75, of Medford, went missing on March 22, 2013.

Family members told police the McIntosh had no memory or mental issues, but may have showed signs he wasn't thinking clearly when he left his home because groceries were found sitting out on a counter to spoil, Medford Police Lt. Mike Budreau said in 2013.

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Police found no activity on McIntoshs cell phone after he called a family member at 11 a.m. on March 22, 2013. Budreau said McIntosh's credit cards weren't used.

Note to readers: If you appreciate the in-depth reporting found in the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.

Shasta County sheriffs deputies later found McIntosh's Ford Explorer near Lake Shasta on the Packers Bay access road. The vehicle had run out of gas, Budreau said.

In 2013, the Shasta County Sheriffs Office reported deputies found no clues where the man could be. There were no signs he was attacked or otherwise had become the victim of foul play.

If he is lost in the woods his chances of survival are slim, Budreau said a week after McIntosh vanished.

A decade later, on June 23, 2023, a deputy coroner arrived on Packers Bay Road at 3 p.m to examine skeletal remains found in the area, which is near the town of Shasta Lake, according to a report by Lt. Tyler Thompson, Shasta County's chief deputy coroner.

Packers Bay Road road winds for almost two miles north and northeast, from the Packers Bay Public Boat Ramp to where it merges with Northwoods Drive and then intersects with Interstate 5, west of the highway.

The county sent the remains to forensic anthropologists for analysis. They identified them as belonging to McIntosh, Thompson said in the report.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Skeletal remains of missing Medford, Oregon man found near Lake Shasta
Tomorrows first GOP debate promises to be a strange one. The top contender for the nomination, four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump , will not be participating. Instead, his sit-down with Tucker Carlson will air at the same time, which you can watch on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

So who should we be keeping an eye on? Nitish Pahwa makes the case for closely tracking Vivek Ramswamy, the 38-year-old running with no political experience, but plenty of desire to emulate Trump. Well see how it plays out on the big stage, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday.

Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, Mario Tama/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images, and Getty Images Plus.

What do Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell have in common? Both were once well-respected lawyers. Both have now been indicted alongside Donald Trump in Georgia. And, as Ben Mathis-Lilley puts it, they are both members of the baby boom generation who exemplify its disproportionate willingness to read and share completely made-up things on the internet. Lets look back at how we got here.

Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.

In the aftermath of the devastating Maui fires that destroyed so much of the island, an old conspiracy theory is back. The space laser conspiracy theory holds, in various iterations, that some of the deadliest fires in recent history were ignited by a villainous shadow entitysometimes its the government; sometimes its elites, writes Molly Olmstead. She unpacks why so many people feel compelled by such a theory.

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Earlier this month, something weird happened in Marion, Kansas: the cops raided the newspaper offices of the Marion Record, and the home of the ownerand the very next day, the owner herself dropped dead. Dan Kois talked to her son to get the story behind the story.

People used to die in random plane crashes due to strange mechanical failures all the time back in the day (in the 1990s). Now, no one has died in a weird plane failing since 2009. Dan Kois (hes a man of many talents) takes a look at what used to be, and what we have coming for us.

And it sure takes a lot of energy to make a brick. Thats the wisdom coming from a builder reporter Henry Grabar spoke with about why stone housing is coming back.

Thanks so much for reading, and well see you tomorrow!
A San Luis Obispo man accused of multiple counts of child molestation was arrested in Montana after more than two years in hiding, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office.

An arrest warrant was originally issued for David Paul Wilson in April 2021, the agency said in a news release Monday.

That February, detectives with the Sheriffs Offices Special Victims Unit received a report that Wilson had sexually assaulted a juvenile, the agency said then.

As detectives investigated, more juvenile victims were identified in connection to abuse happening over the span of several years, the Sheriffs Office said.

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Wilson fled the area before the arrest warrant was issued and was unable to be located, the Sheriffs Office said Monday.

On July 28, the Sheriffs Office learned that Wilson, now 41, was living in the Helena, Montana, area, the release said.

According to the release, Wilson was taken into custody by the Lewis and Clark County Sheriffs Office on July 30, and he was transported to San Luis Obispo County Jail on Aug. 17.

Wilson was arrested on suspicion of multiple charges of sexual acts with a child under the age of 10, aggravated sexual assault of a minor, and lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, the SLO County Sheriffs Office said.

In the release, the Sheriffs Office thanked the Lewis and Clark County Sheriffs Office and the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office for their assistance in apprehending Wilson and transporting him back to this jurisdiction.
MILLERSBURG  An entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with innovation and cooperation, have helped small businesses thrive in Holmes County, which is rated No. 1 in the state for small business owners, with Wayne County rated No. 4 according to a study by SmartAsset, a national investment firm.

Holmes County Economic Development Director Mark Leininger credits the entrepreneurial spirit of the community for the thriving small business community in Holmes County.

We have the good fortune to have a large number of entrepreneurial people in the community, Leininger said. If there is a need for a particular product, chances are there is a shop in Holmes County making it, or making some part of it.

Popular tourist stops like Boyd & Wurthmann Restaurant in Berlin are part of the small business success story that is Holmes County.

A small business ecosystem has developed around our entrepreneurs, the foundations of which are innovation, cooperation and initiative, he continued. These principles have translated into business success.

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In recognition of this fact, the county government has been careful to ensure there are few barriers to the creation and operation of small businesses, according to Leininger.

The approach of the county government has been to provide the infrastructure businesses need to operate, and to support business growth with resources, such as the enterprise zone program, he said. Otherwise, the approach is to remain hands off.

Holmes County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tiffany Gerber concurred.

"Small businesses are the bedrock of Holmes County. Our entrepreneurial spirit, especially in the Amish community, has led to incredible niche projects and meets supply needs of our larger businesses," she said. "The work ethic of both the plain community and the people of Appalachia converge here and it shows in the innovation that our small business owners lean on to create unique experiences and products."

A community of small businesses

Holmes County ranked No. 1 and Wayne County No. 4 in a study of small business based on several economic factors across Ohio. This chart shows the study results of the top 10 counties in Ohio.

Leininger pointed out the majority of business in the area is small business.

Nearly all of the businesses in Holmes County are considered to be small enterprises  businesses with fewer than 500 employees, Leininger said. In terms of total number of employment positions, manufacturing is the largest local industry sector, by a fairly significant margin. Manufacturing positions typically provide a higher level of compensation and benefits than other industry sectors.

As a result, the small business cycle in the manufacturing sector tends to self-perpetuate - the experience and wages gained by a production worker often provide the knowledge and capital needed for that worker to start his or her own small business, he added.

Coblentz Chocolates in Walnut Creek is one of the many thriving small businesses in Holmes County, which have helped make Holmes County No. 1 in the state for small business success.

Tourism is big for small business

Samira Zimmerly, president of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce acknowledged what a big role small business plays in the Wayne County economy.

"Small businesses play a vital role in driving innovation and economic growth and we are truly fortunate to have such a diverse small business community in Wayne County," she said. "Small business owners are the backbone of our economy. The success of our small businesses is essential to the vitality and health of our economy and community."

"Tourism definitely is a driving force in our small businesses as retail and tour and culture-based experiences make up a high percentage of our economy," Gerber said. "That same innovation coupled with non-traditional education paths translate to the success of our largest manufacturers as well."

The Ohio Floor Company near Holmesville is another Holmes County small business that has helped put Holmes County on the national map, and helped the county earn a No. 1 ranking in the state for small businesses.

Five factors used to calculate standings

Steve Sabato, a representative of SmartAsset, explained how the study was conducted.

Small businesses typically are incorporated as pass-through entities, meaning the business owners pay income taxes on the company profits rather than the company itself paying income tax, he said.

Because of this, income taxes can play a major role in determining the financial success of a small business. To determine income tax burdens across counties, we used the national median household income and then applied relevant deductions and exemptions before calculating federal, state and local income taxes for each location, he said.

To determine the best places for small business owners, the study measured five factors:

The proportion of people in a county with small business income.

The reported business income.

The amount of tax a potential resident must pay on income.

The five year change of small business tax returns.

The five year change of small business income.

To determine how attractive a region is for small business owners, a comparison of the number of tax returns that report small business income to the total tax-filing population of the region.

Next, we compared the total amount of small business income to the overall amount of income reported in each region, Sabato said. We then measured the change in these variables over a five-year period.

These five factors were indexed and equally weighted to yield the firm's Small Business Index. Places with the highest Small Business Index are the places that ranked the highest in the study.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Small businesses thrive in Holmes, Wayne County area
UK Defence Intelligence has suggested that the drone attack that destroyed a Tu-22M3 bomber at the Soltsy airfield in Russias Novgorod Oblast may have been carried out from Russian territory.

Source: UK Ministry of Defence, as reported by European Pravda

Details: As UK Defence Intelligence stated, "copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range" to reach the Soltsy facility from outside Russia.

Quote: "This is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russias ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country."

More details: UK Defence Intelligence also pointed out that Russia has frequently used Tu-22M3 bombers to launch inaccurate Kh-22 heavy anti-ship missiles at Ukraine, and has also conducted intensive bombardment of Mariupol with unguided bombs.

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Background:

Earlier it was reported that as a result of a drone attack on an airfield in Russian Novgorod Oblast, Ukraine was able to completely destroy a strategic nuclear bomber belonging to the Russian Armed Forces for the first time.

On the morning of 19 August, the Ukrainian Defence Forces attacked a military airfield in Novgorod Oblast of Russia with drones, damaging at least one aircraft.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
four astronauts in a row with flight suits on. one of them speaks at a microphone while three stand in the background. all are wearing sunglasses

Four astronauts from four countries touched down in Florida on Sunday (Aug. 20) ahead of their flight to space from the Sunshine State.

The SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to prepare for their launch to the International Space Station in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers and journalists.

They will launch on SpaceX's Crew-7 flight no earlier than Aug. 25 at 3:49 a.m. EDT (0749 GMT), and you can watch the whole thing live here at Space.com, via NASA TV.

Related: SpaceX's Crew-7 mission will launch international crew to ISS next week

four people in blue flight suits talk into microphones on an airport tarmac

Crew-7, as the name indicates, is the seventh operational commercial crew mission for NASA by SpaceX. It will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on top of a Falcon 9 rocket for a half-year sojourn on board the International Space Station.

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"There is always excitement in the air at KSC around launch time, but I have to admit I'm a bit more excited for this one," NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli said on X (formerly known as Twitter) with pictures of the arrival.

Moghbeli will be the second Iranian-American to reach space on Crew-7 and joining her is a fully international crew: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen.

four people smile in white spacesuits

Crew-7 is expected to stay about 190 days on the ISS, NASA officials said in a press conference in July. Another crew will rocket up soon to join them: A Soyuz spacecraft mission will launch in mid-September for its own 190-day mission, carrying Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, along with NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara.

Image 1 of 5

Crew-7 arrival KSC

SpaceX Crew-7 members arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 20, 2023. From left: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli.

Image 2 of 5

Crew-7 arrival KSC

SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts (lineup at right) meet with senior management of their respective agencies (lineup at left). At center is NASA administrator Bill Nelson, in blue shirt.

Crew-7 includes, from front to back: NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.

Image 3 of 5

Crew-7 arrival KSC

SpaceX Crew-7 during their arrival at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 20, 2023. From left to right: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen.

Image 4 of 5

Crew-7 arrival KSC

SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts stand beside a sign with their names and mission patch. From left: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.

Image 5 of 5

Crew-7 arrival KSC

RELATED STORIES:

 Meet the SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts launching to the ISS on Aug. 25

 SpaceX Crew-6 and Crew-7 astronaut mission: Live updates

 SpaceX Dragon capsule arrives at launch pad ahead of Crew-7 liftoff (photos)

Crew-7 will perform hundreds of experiments during its stay in space while taking on duties such as spacewalks, space station maintenance, capturing cargo ships and outreach with the public. (The operational needs aboard the ISS means it is hard to predict exactly what the crew will be tasked with doing, but their training is designed to be flexible for all types of situations.)

NASA has said Crew-7's mission will include a reboost of the ISS' orbit using an already docked Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft. This is the third time Cygnus has done so, as a backup to the main reboosting procedure that relies upon Russian Progress cargo spacecraft.
Spartanburg County Council voted unanimously Monday evening to approve new prosecutor and public defender positions, a move that seeks to help the local court system burdened by an excessive caseload.

The 7th judicial circuit, which covers Spartanburg and Cherokee County, will receive additional funding after the South Carolina state legislature earmarked money for local court systems statewide as part of the most recent annual budget.

The solicitor and public defender's offices have faced challenges filling staff vacancies and from a backlog of cases due to COVID-19.

Four new assistant solicitors positions and three new public defender attorney positions were greenlit and will be funded by pre-designated money from the South Carolina state budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

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Solicitor Barry Barnette and circuit public defender Michael Morin, representing both sides of the criminal justice system, addressed the County Personnel and Finance Committee. Both told the Herald-Journal the added resources will help their offices, which have struggled with an overload of cases and staffing vacancies.

"The main reason [for the budget funding] was because with COVID we lost basically two years of court," Barnette said. "We did as much as we could in Spartanburg through WebEx and everything, but throughout the whole state we can't handle that backlog, as well as the growth that is coming into the state."

Spartanburg County Council voted unanimously Monday evening to approve new prosecutor and public defender positions.

Public defenders in the 7th judicial circuit will be designated with $768,570. The solicitor's office will receive $888,000, $612,000 of which is allotted for Spartanburg County and $276,000 for Cherokee County.

Although four new assistant solicitor positions were approved, Barnette said that depending on the experience level of attorneys hired, he may be able to hire additional prosecutors. He also said that with the new jobs approved by the council Monday, at least six assistant solicitor positions still need to be filled.

"This has been an issue statewide, and our office has had trouble staying full," Barnette said.

Many attorneys opt to enter civil practice, making retention difficult, he said.

County Council: Some Spartanburg residents speak out against penny sales tax for roads. Voters will decide

Morin said he will likely delegate two of the new public defenders to Spartanburg County and one to Cherokee County. Filling positions in public defender's offices across the state has been "extremely challenging," Morin said.

"My goal would be to try to get all of my attorneys to have less than 200 defendants each. It'll help towards that, assuming that we can fill the positions, which is easier said than done," Morin said.

With the council's action Monday night, Morin told the Herald-Journal there will be fourteen public defender positions in Spartanburg County and five positions in Cherokee County. The additions make five jobs open in Spartanburg and three in Cherokee.

Morin said he recently hired a second public defender in Cherokee County after only having one "for a while," and recently filled a position in Spartanburg County that had been open for almost a year.

The Commission on Indigent Defense, the state agency responsible for individuals requiring legal defense, directed $11.2 million from General Funds statewide for additional public defenders as part of the most recent state budget.

Each of the 16 circuits across the state will receive $359,184 for three new public defenders and the remaining $5.4 million will be apportioned on a per capita basis using the most recent U.S. Census data. Morin said that Spartanburg public defenders will receive $349,487 of the per capita money, and Cherokee County will receive $59,899. That money will go to public defenders' salaries.

"I'm trying to lift the floor so I can attract candidates," Morin said. "The starting salary was too low. Once I did that, I had to raise some of the salaries in the office in a commensurable way."

Morin said that the money coming to the 7th circuit public defender's office  $768,570 in total  will come in quarterly installments, and he believes the first installment has already been received.

Solicitor Barry Barnette is shown in this Feb. 9, 2022 photo.

The 7th circuit solicitor's office will receive $888,216 from the state's Commission on Prosecution Coordination. According to a state budget proviso, each county will receive an automatic apportionment of funds, and the remaining monies will be dispersed using a calculation that assesses each county's incoming caseload.

Spartanburg County was allotted $612,315 and had a three-year case average of 8,017 cases between fiscal year 2021-23. Cherokee County had a three-year case average of 2,183 cases and received $275,900.

Each solicitor's and public defender's office in the state reported information to both commissions on pending and disposed warrants to calculate a given county's incoming caseload.

Barnette and county council members pointed to economic growth in Spartanburg County as another factor for additional resource needs. A recent U.S. News and World report listed Spartanburg as the 12th fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. Greenville metro also cracked the top 25.

"I thank the legislature, our local delegation, obviously county council and our Supreme Court for all supporting and doing this for us," Barnette said.

Chalmers Rogland covers public safety for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and USA Today Network. Reach him via email at crogland@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: New Spartanburg County prosecutor, public defender positions approved
Special Council Jack Smith argued against delaying former President Donald Trump 's federal election interference case until 2026 in a reply filed on Monday. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in former President Donald Trump's federal election interference case argued Monday the public would be denied "its right to a speedy trial" if the case were pushed to 2026 as sought by Trump.

In a sharply worded six-page reply filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to reject the former president's reasoning for delaying a potential trial in the landmark case, rather than commencing it on Jan. 2, 2024, as proposed by Smith.

Trump's lawyers argued last week that delaying the trial to 2026 is justified, among other reasons, because Chutkan has allowed longer pretrial periods in other cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol as well by the sheer volume of documents to be reviewed in the discovery process.

Additional time is also necessary, they asserted, because of the former president's busy legal schedule as he faces three other criminal indictments.

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In their reply, however, prosecutors attacked each of those arguments.

Assistant Special Counsels Molly Gaston and Thomas Windom countered in the filing that Trump's comparisons to the judge's other Jan. 6 cases is flawed because some of those cases were prolonged due to plea negotiations and happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when court schedules were elongated.

They also contended that Trump's argument on discovery documents "rests on the faulty assertion that it is necessary for a lawyer to conduct a page-by-page review of discovery for a defendant to receive a fair trial."

Rather, "the defendant can, should, and apparently will adopt the benefits of electronic review to reduce the volume of material needed to be searched and manually reviewed," they wrote.

Prosecutors also sought to counter the former president's contention that scheduling conflicts with his other legal cases necessitated a delay, such as the fact that the proposed start of jury selection on Dec. 11 conflicts with a motions hearing in Trump's other federal case involving retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"True" conflicts "are easily addressed," they argued, proposing that jury selection instead begin "later during the week of December 11 to accommodate the hearing date in the Florida case."
Julian Loeza, 33, of Ceres was sentenced Monday to more than 13 years in prison on drug charges for a crime he committed while still on supervised release for an earlier similar conviction.

Law enforcement agents learned that Loeza was involved in large-scale drug trafficking, according to the plea agreement, and cited a case on March 3, 2021, when he sold an individual 2 pounds of methamphetamine rendered into ice or crystal meth, which is more potent.

Loeza had been convicted of federal drug trafficking charges in 2016, for which he was sentenced to six years in prison. The new drug trafficking offense was committed while on federal supervised release from the earlier case. Loeza also was sentenced to 24 months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release, to run concurrently with his sentence for the new offense.

Loeza did not act alone this time. Victor Ramirez, 37, of Atwater also was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Like Loeza, Ramirez pleaded guilty to the charges and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Nov. 20.

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A team of local and federal law enforcement officers partnered in an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Loeza, Ramirez, and Esmerelda Ceja-Mendez, 43, of Ceres; and Sofia Cisneros-Noyola, 37, of Sacramento.

Ceja-Mendez and Cisneros-Noyola were also charged, but their cases have not gone to trial.
Starbucks is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Peter Dukes  known as the father of the PSL  told Insider the drink's origin story.

Starbucks came up with 100 ideas for its first fall drink, and the PSL almost didn't make the cut.

Twenty years ago, Starbucks released a new beverage that instantly captured the nation's attention.

That drink was the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

In honor of Starbucks' milestone anniversary, Insider recently sat down with Peter Dukes, the "Father of the PSL," to learn more about the drink's origin story  including the fall beverages that almost took its place on the chain's menu.

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Dukes told Insider that Starbucks got the idea to create a special fall drink following the successful launch of its peppermint mocha during the 2002 holiday season.

Early in 2003, Dukes and his team got together at the "Liquid Lab"  the former name of Starbucks' research and development space at its Seattle headquarters  and began brainstorming and came up with 100 different ideas for the company's first-ever fall drink.

Dukes said they narrowed that list down to 10 beverage concepts, which they polled their customers on.

"We asked our customers two questions," Dukes recalled. "How likely are you to buy this? And how unique is it?"

"We got back the results and, not too surprisingly, the flavors that had chocolate or caramel in them scored quite high in terms of 'how likely to buy,' but the unique levels were pretty flat," he said.

Also on the list was a pumpkin latte, which Dukes said scored "really high" in uniqueness but really low for likelihood to purchase.

Peter Dukes is considered the father of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Starbucks

Dukes said the team had approval to develop four of the 10 concepts into drinks with the help of Starbucks' food scientists. The team automatically knew what three of the four concepts would be: a maple pecan flavor, a honey nut drink, or a cranberry white chocolate mocha.

"There was a lot of debate about what the fourth flavor was going to be, and pumpkin was in that debate," Dukes said. "Go back 20 years. If you walked down the grocery aisle, there were only two things that were pumpkin  pumpkin puree and pumpkin-pie topping. Nothing else existed out there. There were no pumpkin beverages that existed."

It was a huge risk, but the team agreed it was one worth taking, Dukes said.

"We knew we had something that was pretty unique," he added. "And the rest from there is history."

Dukes, who still works at Starbucks, said it's been incredible to watch the Pumpkin Spice Latte continue to grow in popularity.

"Fall is my favorite time of year. I love how the leaves are changing colors. It's that time you're getting back into your rhythm and routine," he said. "And the Pumpkin Spice Latte helps capture that in a cup a little bit  it brings a smile to my face."

Read the original article on Insider
The NC Department of Labor cited Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity for violations after a workforce accident resulted in an employee's death in May.

Following an employees on-the-job death in May, the N.C. Department of Labor has cited and fined Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity.

The department issued a citation and notification of penalty to the company last week. According to the notification letter, the company is accused of violating labor laws outlined in chapter 95 of the North Carolina General Statutes and was fined more than $10,000 as a result.

According to the notification, the department's Occupational Safety and Health Division conducted an inspection of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 7330 Market Street in May after being notified that an employee died after sustaining an injury at work on May 12.

The investigation resulted in the company being cited for two violations: one marked 'serious' and one deemed 'non-serious.'

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Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. The company may contest the citations within 15 days of its receipt.

The company was first cited for alleged improper storage of materials. The Department of Labor's report alleges that in the building's supply warehouse, laminate countertops were stored vertically and held by shop-made dividers, which were insufficient to hold their weight.

"On or about May 12, 2023 an employee was fatally injured when a divider failed and a stack of countertops fell onto the employee," the letter states.

This alleged violation was marked serious and garnered a $7,812.50 fine.

In second citation, which was marked non-serious, the department alleges the company did not report the work-related death of an employee to OSHA within eight hours of the death. The department said the company did not report the fatality until May 15, two days after the employee's May 13 death.

The company was fined $3,000 for this alleged violation.

Reach reporter Jamey Cross at jbcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity cited after employees death
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration is extending for another year a ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel to North Korea, the State Department said Tuesday. The ban was imposed in 2017 and has been renewed every year since.

The latest extension comes as tensions with North Korea are rising over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the uncertain status of Travis King, a U.S. service member who last month entered the country through its heavily armed border.

The Department of State has determined there continues to be serious risk to U.S. citizens and nationals of arrest and long-term detention constituting imminent danger to their physical safety, the department said in a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday that was signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The ban makes it illegal to use a U.S. passport for travel to, from or through North Korea, unless it has been specifically validated in the case of a compelling national interest. It will remain in place until Aug. 31, 2024, unless it is extended or rescinded.

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The ban was first imposed during the Trump administration by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017 after the death of American student Otto Warmbier, who suffered grievous injuries while in North Korean custody.

Warmbier was part of a group tour of North Korea and was leaving the country in January 2016 when he was arrested for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster. He was later convicted of subversion and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Warmbier died in a Cincinnati hospital six days after his return to the U.S.

Humanitarian groups have expressed concern about the impact the initial ban and its extensions have had on providing relief to isolated North Korea, which is one of the worlds neediest countries.

There is no indication that King used a U.S. passport to enter North Korea when he crossed the border in July. The U.S. is seeking his return but has had limited success in querying North Korean officials about his case.

Last week, North Korea offered its first official confirmation of King's presence in the country, releasing a statement on Aug. 16 through its state media attributing statements to the Army private that criticized the United States.

There was no immediate verification that King actually made any of the comments. He had served in South Korea and sprinted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18, and became the first American confirmed to be detained in the North in nearly five years.
A 44-year-old Illinois State Police trooper has been arrested on charges of felony aggravated domestic battery and misdemeanor domestic battery in Marion County, according to court records and Illinois State Police.

Trooper John Q. Faulkner of Patoka was arrested Friday by officials with the Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation, Illinois State Police said in a news release.

Court records show that a $1,000 bond was posted for Faulkner to be released from the Marion County Jail.

WJBD radio station reported that in a bond hearing on Monday, Marion County States Attorney Timothy Hudspeth alleged Faulkner wrapped his arm around the neck of a 12-year-old child on Aug. 13 and that the juvenile reported this made him fall asleep.

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The station also reported that Hudspeth said after the hearing that the child did not need to be taken to a hospital.

Court records do not list an attorney for Faulkner but the records indicate he plans to have a private attorney represent him for a Sept. 6 hearing.

The Marion County Sheriffs Office on Friday notified Illinois State Police about an allegation against Faulkner.

After Illinois State Police agents gathered evidence, they arrested Faulkner.

Faulkner has been relieved of his police duties and equipment, the news release stated.

The investigation is continuing and no other details were released by Illinois State Police.
The state of Washington may have to pay $5.7 million to thrift store chain Value Village.

Earlier this year, a King County judge ruled that the state Attorney Generals Office violated the companys First Amendment rights when Attorney General Bob Ferguson alleged it was deceiving consumers by presenting itself as a charitable nonprofit organization when, in reality, it is a for-profit corporation.

Value Village allegedly spent $5.7 million on attorneys fees and, in a 27-page ruling recently released, state Superior Court judge David Whedbee said the stores will be able to recover those costs, as noted by the McClatchy Media Network.

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In the ruling, Whedbee also outlined that during the litigation the attorney generals office continued to send out press releases claiming Value Village was deceiving its customers.

According to court documents, the office would not meet with Value Village during the trial despite the stores efforts to do so.

The state continually requested reconsideration of rulings, despite unanimous opinions rejecting the states arguments and holding that the states actions violated established First Amendment principles, the ruling, via McClatchy, explained.

In 2019, the attorney generals office rejected an offer to settle the case for $475,000. That led to four more years of legal wrangling.

States claims under the Consumer Protection Act violated (Value Villages) First Amendment right to engage in constitutionally protected charitable solicitation, the ruling explained.

The attorney general failed to show that any shopper had in fact been deceived or otherwise injured by its advertising and marketing, the ruling said, according to McClatchy.

Whedbee agreed with Value Village, which said the lawsuit was needless.

The court has ruled it will consider a fee award. It has not yet determined an amount. The amount is in dispute. Our response is due at the end of August,, Brionna Aho, communications director for the attorney generals office, said to McClatchy. A decision is expected no earlier than the end of September, based on the briefing schedule.

Earlier this year, the Washington Supreme Court handed the thrift store chain a unanimous win in the long-running legal fight with Ferguson, finding that its marketing practices constitute protected free speech.

The attorney generals office began investigating the company eight years ago and, after the chain declined to pay millions of dollars to settle the investigation, Ferguson sued.

The state alleged the chain  which is based in Bellevue and operates 316 stores in the U.S., Canada and Australia  had created an impression that it was a nonprofit or charitable organization and that purchases at its stores directly benefited charities.

In reality, its a for-profit company that pays charitable organizations for donations, but it does not provide the charities a direct cut of retail sales. The justices ruled 9-0 in February the companys marketing practices were protected by the U.S. Constitution.

In 2021, a state appeals court overturned a 2019 ruling that found the company had misled customers.

This article was originally posted on MyNorthwest.
STAUNTON  A Staunton woman facing allegations she sexually abused a young girl was denied bond Monday afternoon as additional information regarding some of the accusations surfaced during the hearing.

Authorities arrested Sarah K. Snead, 46, in May in North Carolina, where she lived off and on. She is facing 11 charges of aggravated sexual battery and 11 charges of taking indecent liberties with a child in Staunton, police said. Snead is also charged with child abuse in Augusta County.

Earlier, she was denied bond in Staunton Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court and appealed that decision to the circuit court.

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Snead is accused of sexually abusing a young girl during a two-year period in Staunton beginning in 2018, police said at the time of her May arrest. The girl was under the age of 15, police said.

It was during the county investigation into the child abuse allegations when the sex assault accusations emerged, according to Staunton Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Joseph Perry. The prosecutor said the girl's father found a video on her cell phone that reportedly showed Snead giving her a shot of alcohol. Perry said during the same incident, the girl found a gun behind a couch and took a picture of it pointed at her head.

While being interviewed by Augusta County authorities about the video, the girl reported she'd been sexually abused by Snead, according to Perry. The girl said the alleged abuse stopped when she reached puberty and said Snead threatened to kill herself if she told anyone, which Perry labeled "psychological manipulation."

Following Monday's hearing in Staunton Circuit Court, Circuit Judge Anne Reed denied Snead's bond appeal.

Snead remains at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona.

After years of drug addiction, Stuarts Draft grad finds a new vision  behind camera

Gunshots fired, arrests made after Saturday morning incident in Augusta County

Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton woman denied bond in sex assault case involving girl
Store owners concerned after brick-wielding robbers target Beacon Hill businesses

Authorities are investigating after numerous businesses in Bostons Beacon Hill neighborhood were broken into over the weekend.

Boston police say there have been about a half dozen break-ins or attempted breaks on Charles Street in the last 48 hours.

Cell phone video from one business owner shows the front door of her store, Remys Creations, smashed and the inside ransacked.

Owner Remy Stressenger told Boston 25 News an iPad was taken among other valuables after a window was shattered to gain entry.

Persona Fine & Custom Jewelry was also among six businesses that were targeted by brick-wielding robbers. The storefront remains boarded up.

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The robbers also got it inside Sunys, making off with a cash register and jewelry, according to police.

Investigators noted that blood was found inside both Remys and Sunys.

It is unclear if the robberies are connected and police say no arrests have been made.

The investigation remains ongoing.

No further information was immediately available.

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

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

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According to a study, parental reliance on tablets and smartphones can have developmental effects on toddlers.

For the contemporary new parent, baby rattles and blocks have increasingly been replaced with tablets and smartphones. Although streaming an episode of Gracies Corner can be an ideal distraction for busy parents, a recent study found that screen time can be detrimental to a childs development. According to a study reported by CNN, a 1-year-old child experiencing one to four hours of daily screen time is at a higher risk of experiencing developmental delays in their communication, personal, problem-solving, social and fine motor skills by age 2.

Study finds that screen time can delay toddler development. (Photo: Abobe Stock)

One of the areas thats relatively understudied in the whole screen time literature is looking at impacts of screen exposure on very young kids, especially when screens are introduced to babies, said Dr. John Hutton, associate professor of general and community pediatrics at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, who wasnt involved in the study, per CNN. Its definitely a global concern, and I think the findings (here) should apply to, really, other countries as well.

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The study of 7,097 children published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics assessed childrens daily screen time at age 1, along with their performance in various developmental areas such as communication, fine motor skills, personal and social skills, and problem-solving at ages 2 and 4. Both assessments were based on self-reported data provided by the childrens mothers. Children who engaged with screens for four or more hours daily were 4.78 times more susceptible to having underdeveloped communication skills, 1.74 times more prone to subpar fine motor skills, and twice as likely to exhibit underdeveloped personal and social skills by age 2. By the time they turned 4, the risk persisted only in the communication and problem-solving domains.

What makes screen time so harmful to childrens development?

According to Dr. Hutton, a childs speech is developed when they are encouraged to speak and have opportunities to practice speaking. He emphasized that technology might detract from time spent building interpersonal relationships, which foster social skills since real people possess more dimensions than screen characters, and the brain learns through in-person interactions.

They may hear a lot of words, but theyre not practicing saying a lot of words or having a lot of that back-and-forth interaction, said Hutton. The other question thats always really important is, is the parent watching with the child? When a parent is watching with a child, that tends to mitigate a lot of the negatives.

Hutton also pointed out that our brains activate when we observe peoples faces, facilitating our understanding of how to engage with people through interactions.

To curb developmental risks, experts recommend parents resort to good old-fashioned toys, coloring books, and reading books. Should the need to use screens arise, follow The American Academy of Pediatrics rule of quality over quantity of screen time. According to Hutton, doctors recommend long-form educational content, as short videos can affect a childs attention span.

One issue with some online childrens content is that parents will think its educational because its marketed as such and has lots of information about the alphabet, colors, numbers or animals their children can see and hear, Hutton told CNN, explaining the real learning comes from content that goes beyond memorization.

Similarly, they recommend engaging the child in video chats with loved ones. That way, they can receive some form of social interaction while giving parents time to finish their tasks worry-free.

We need to just slow down and  be as careful and mindful as we can about keeping kids anchored in the real world, which is really how we evolved as humans, said Hutton. Theres going to be plenty of time for screen time later once we get a better sense of who the kids are and what they need.

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The post Study finds screen time can delay toddler development appeared first on TheGrio.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Sudanese military factions battled for a third day over an army base in the capital, eyewitnesses said on Tuesday, as both sides struggle for advantage in a more than four-month war that has devastated the country.

After the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) circulated video of its soldiers claiming to have entered the base and captured tanks, army sources said they had managed to drive them out.

If the army were to lose the Armoured Corps base, its last stronghold in the capital Khartoum would be the army headquarters in the centre of the city.

Residents' committees reported displacement and deaths among civilians during days of clashes.

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The RSF has dominated on the ground since war broke out in Sudan on April 15, while the army, which has warplanes and heavier artillery, has maintained control of its main bases in the capital and in central and eastern parts of the country.

The two forces have fought fiercely over bases and supply routes west of Khartoum in the Kordofan and Darfur regions.

The army launched heavy air strikes and was met with artillery fire as it tried to cut off an RSF supply line between Omdurman and Bahri, Khartoum's sister cities across the Nile.

Outside the capital, battles have centred on Nyala, which is the capital of South Darfur and one of the country's largest hubs.

At least 60 people had been killed and 50,000 have fled their homes between Aug. 11 and 17, according to the United Nations, as fighting raged in residential neighbourhoods and water and electrical services were cut off.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai and Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo; editing by Giles Elgood)
Sunbelt Rentals is looking to buy a former Lash Group property and, as part of the deal, inherit a pre-arranged tax incentives deal with York County.

State and local governments use tax incentive deals to attract businesses, bring in jobs, and raise revenue. One such strategy is to allow businesses to pay a lower fee instead of the standard corporate tax rate.

York County Council passed a resolution Monday night, signing off on a transfer that would move 2015 tax agreement conditions to Sunbelt Rentals  if the sale happens. The decision Monday night was part of a consent agenda, or a lumped-together group of decisions council passes without conversation or debate.

In this case, the site is 1799 Innovation Point, and would include almost 11 acres, a three-story office building at almost 175,000 square feet and a parking deck. According to county documents, the property owner, 1799 Innovation Point, would sell the site to Sunbelt by the end of the year.

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Sunbelt Rentals has a history of growth in the region. Sunbelt serves commercial, industrial and other rental users as one of the largest equipment rental companies in the country.

In 2016, the company announced it would expand its Deerfield Drive headquarters in Fort Mill with an $8 million investment. Sunbelt since has set up shop in the Kingsley location at 1799 Innovation Point, site of the ongoing deal.

The Lash Group incentives deal

In its 2015 agreement, Lash Group committed to minimums of 2,200 new jobs and $80 million of investment within five years.

Lash Group opened a building in 2016 for 1,600 workers. A second building, in 2018, added space for 1,300 more.

The 2015 fee deal with York County, which has come to include other companies, included 1799 Innovation Point.

The county approved a tax incentive agreement in 2015 with Lash Group and company Kingsley #9. The agreement was modified in 2016 to include Palmetto Funding Company and in 2017 to add company Kingsley #10. A 2018 update added property owner 1799 Innovation Point, affiliated with New York City group Sentinel Real Estate Corporation.

On Monday morning, prior to councils resolution vote later that day, Councilman Tom Audette said Sunbelt would be able to bring more new business in the area with the move.

They would be taking over the building, and (Lash Group) met all the qualifications to be able to continue that agreement, Audette said. Thats going to allow (Sunbelt) to have the space they need to continue to grow their business, which is a win for the county.

Relief from earlier agreement

Late last year, Lash Group asked York County to reduce the hiring requirement cited in the terms of the original tax incentive deal. The county agreed to reduce the new job threshold from 2,200 to 1,000 jobs because Lash had more than doubled its promised investment.

Many companies in the Rock Hill region got incentives, but have they kept their promises?

As of June 30, county documents show Lash created at least 1,643 jobs and more than $80 million in investment, based on the modified incentive deal. County council agreed to lower the job count last year, allowing Lash to factor in remote work after COVID-19 created hiring challenges. But council members also pointed out Lash Groups total investment of $167 million.

That far exceeds the expectation going in, Councilman William Bump Roddey said at the time.

New jobs and overall investment are the main cogs in state and county level tax incentive decisions. Both signal the level of new wealth a proposed project might add to a community.

Roddey said more investment means more tax revenue.

A major Fort Mill company may not have to hire half the workers as first promised

South Carolina companies that invest at least $2.5 million can negotiate agreements to pay fees rather than pay full tax amounts, according to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. Those fees can reduce the revenue paid to the county by up to 40%.

Larger investments and more jobs can mean lower fees for a company.

Fee agreements often last up to 40 years. When they expire, or if investment and job thresholds arent met, businesses must pay traditional corporate tax rates.
[Source]

The House of Suntory has partnered with Keanu Reeves on a special four-part video series to celebrate the Japanese whisky companys 100th anniversary.

About the series: The Roman Coppola-directed series, titled The Nature and Spirit of Japan: An Exploration of Monozukuri with Keanu Reeves, was posted on YouTube on July 24. Each episode gives Suntory fans a glimpse at the intricate process of making the companys famous whisky.

While narrating the series, Reeves, 58, explores the four important elements of Suntory: mizu (water), bi (beauty), kabuku (transform) and hibiki (resonance).

Several whisky experts give Reeves an inside look into their craft, such as when Shinji Fukuyo, a fifth-generation chief blender at Suntory, demonstrates his keen sense of smell and taste as he checks the products. Reeves also notably tries to make his own whisky, but that does not go as planned.

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More from NextShark: 3-year-old boy uncovers 20-year-old secret of Ghibli Museum entrance

About the company: The House of Suntory was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii, Japans first master blender, on the outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. Torri reportedly took up the challenge of making whisky in his country because no one else is even trying.

The company debuted Suntory Shirofuda, "Japan's first genuine whisky," in 1929. Since then, Suntory has become renowned in the whisky world, with its products being sold for thousands of dollars per bottle.

What people are saying: Several YouTube users praised the series in the episodes' comments sections, with one user writing, This beautiful documentary in which Keanu Reeves acts in the direction with R. Coppola is amazing!

More from NextShark: Japanese Academy Award-Winning Actress Yuko Takeuchi Passes Away at 40

Just like the whisky, this docuseries is wonderfully made. Cheers to all the staff at Suntory, Roman, and Keanu, another user commented.

More from NextShark: RBonney Gabriel, the first Filipino American Miss Texas USA, is crowned winner of Miss USA

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

BIGBANGs T.O.P might travel to outer space with Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa
A legal activist group is asking the Supreme Court to take up a new challenge to the role of race in school admissions, this time in one of the nations top high schools.

The libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation on Monday asked the high court to hear a case on how Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology selects its students. At the cases core is the school boards use of what it called race-neutral criteria to achieve a diverse student body, the group said in a statement.

In May, a three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., ruled 2-1 to uphold the constitutionality of the new admissions policy, which critics said discriminates against highly qualified Asian Americans.

Having spent decades telling school officials they must consider race neutral methods for ensuring a diverse student body before turning to race-conscious ones, it would be quite the judicial bait-and-switch to say such race-neutral efforts are also presumptively unconstitutional, Judge Toby Heytens wrote in a concurring opinion.

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The first freshman class under the schools new policy saw the share of Black students increase from 1 percent to 7 percent and Hispanic students from 3 percent to 11 percent, according to The Associated Press. But Asian American representation decreased from 73 percent to 54 percent.

In her dissenting opinion, Judge Allison Jones Rushing wrote that the decrease was no accident.

The Board intended to alter the racial composition of the school in exactly this way, she wrote.

Joshua Thompson, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a statement that Thomas Jefferson high schools admissions overhaul tried to hide its discriminatory purpose behind a patina of race-neutrality, but was really proxy discrimination.

He also pointed to the Supreme Courts June ruling severely limiting the use of race as a factor in college admissions as a reason for the high court to take up the case. The legal groups Monday filing heavily cites that case as a reason the Thomas Jefferson case should be considered.

The Supreme Court made clear in Students for Fair Admission that the Constitution bans discrimination based on race, full stop, Thompson said.

If the high court agrees to hear the case, narrower rules around using race as a factor for school admissions could be put in place.

The Thomas Jefferson case emerged in November 2020, after a summer of protests against police brutality and unequal treatment of Black Americans. The Fairfax County School Board eliminated its standardized testing requirement among other changes to its rigorous admissions process, leading a group of parents to create the Coalition for T.J. and sue the school board.

The Supreme Court previously denied an emergency request from the parents to stop the new admissions criteria from going into effect while the case progressed, though conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted the request.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department has identified the man who they believe shot and killed Laura Ann Carleton during a dispute over her display of a Pride flag at her shop in Cedar Glen, Calif.

The man, who was killed in a confrontation with deputies, is Travis Ikeguchi, 27, of Cedar Glen, according to the sheriffs department, which released his name Monday. Ikeguchi fled on foot after shooting Carleton Friday evening, and when the deputies caught up with him, he was carrying no identification, hence the delay in identifying him.

Carleton, 66, who was known as Lauri to her friends and family, was gunned down at her clothing store, Mag Pi. Sheriffs deputies were dispatched to the store after the shooting was reported, and emergency medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene.

Detectives learned the suspect made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton, a police statement said.

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Investigators determined that prior to the shooting the suspect tore down a Pride, or rainbow, flag that was hanging in front of the store and yelled many homophobic slurs toward Carleton, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a media briefing on Monday reported on by several local and national outlets.

Dicus added that Ikeguchi, who lived in Cedar Glen, had posted hate-filled, homophobic content on social media, including on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

Carleton was remembered as a fierce LGBTQ+ ally and an important member of the Cedar Glen community. Cedar Glen is located in the San Bernardino National Forest near Lake Arrowhead in Southern California.

Today was a very sad day for Lake Arrowhead and for the LGBTQ community. Our friend and supporter Lauri Carleton @magpi_shop was murdered defending her lgbtq+ Pride flags in front of her store in Cedar Glen California. Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+, but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community. She will be truly missed, the local group Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ wrote in a Facebook post.

No one should feel unsafe or be attacked for who they are or for simply supporting the LGBTQ community, said a statement from Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD. Lauris murder is the latest example of how anti-LGBTQ hatred hurts everyone, whether they are LGBTQ or not.

The California chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety grassroots networks, released the following statements.

We find ourselves yet again confronted with the pain brought about by an act of hate armed with a gun, said Rudy Espinoza, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. We are stuck in a vicious cycle where a dispute over a rainbow flag that represents equality and stands against injustice can swiftly escalate into a fatal tragedy. The queer community has lost an ally  but we wont be silenced. We refuse to accept this reality and we wont stop fighting until we eradicate hate and gun violence once and for all.

This is absolutely devastating. No one should die for who they love  or for standing in solidarity with love, said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. When hate is paired with a gun, the results are deadly. And when our elected leaders promote hateful rhetoric and push discriminatory policies, they foster a culture where this kind of violence is the result. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy. In their honor well continue to fight for a world where were all able to live and love freely without the threat of gun violence.

Several celebrities, including film director Paul Feig and Oscar-winning actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Charlize Theron, mourned Carleton as well. Feig, the director of Bridesmaids and the 2016 version of Ghostbusters, posted on Instagram:

Theron and actress Sophia Bush both commented on his post, calling Carletons death heartbreaking.

Curtis also posted on Instagram, referencing gender-nonconforming activist Alok Vaid-Menon:









California Gov. Gavin Newsom commented on X, formerly Twitter.

 (@)
Frank Almond, whose Stradivarius was stolen at Taser-point, and a close up of a Taser firing, showing the ejecting of tiny, "anti-felon ID" tags. Jennifer Brindley, left; Axon, right

When fired, Tasers eject a small cloud of confetti  tiny paper circles printed with an ID number.

A Milwaukee violinist says the ID tags helped cops recover his Stradivarius, stolen at Taser-point in 2014.

On Sunday, Insider revealed one ID tag could clinch the case of the murder-dismemberment of tech CEO Fahid Saleh.

In the moment before his $5 million Stradivarius was stolen in the parking lot of a Milwaukee concert hall, violinist Frank Almond didn't notice the spray of confetti that burst from the thief's Taser  the so-called "Anti-felon ID tags" that eject along with the weapon's 50,000 volts.

He was too busy collapsing onto the snow-covered pavement, and then  realizing the irreplaceable, 300-year-old instrument had been ripped from his hands  "running around the parking lot in circles, screaming."

"I thought, that's it. The violin is gone," Almond remembered of the 2014 theft. "My life is over. It was horrifying. It's a cliche, but it's like someone had taken away one of your kids," the dad of two told Insider.

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On Sunday, Insider told the story of how one, overlooked "AFID" tag, missed by the alleged killer's vacuum, may be the single most important piece of evidence in the 2020 Tasing, stabbing, and dismemberment of New York City tech CEO Fahim Saleh.

On Monday, the victim in the only other national, front-page story where Taser ID tags helped crack a case said he remains grateful, nine years later, that the tiny discs of paper helped the FBI and Milwaukee police find the thieves and the violin.

"This was really not public information at the time, that there's this sort of Taser chaff that comes out of the weapon" when it's fired, Almond said.

The spewed-out tags are each printed with a unique number that correlates to the specific Taser cartridge. "It was an industry secret that you could trace a Taser back with all this granular detail."

In the Saleh murder, Manhattan prosecutors say that the tag number was traced back to a weapon purchased by murder defendant Tyrese Haspil, the CEO's former personal assistant, who has pleaded not guilty and is in jail awaiting trial.

In the case of the stolen Stradivarius, the number on the scattered tags linked back to a Taser purchased by a local barbershop owner named Universal Knowledge Allah.

"That's the name he had his name changed to," some time back, Almond explained. "It had been purchased about seven months before," he said of the Taser that shocked him in the chest.

"He bought it under his own name and with his own credit card and had it sent to his own business, which was a barber shop," Almond added.

It was kind of like a Cohen brothers movie plot, the violinist joked about the idiocy of it all, though, thankfully, "not as violent as Fargo."

Rachel Maddow did a whole segment on AFID tags back when the little round specks led investigators to the violin  and to the door of Allah, and the triggerman, Salah Salahadyn. Both pleaded guilty to the theft and other charges in 2014. Salahadyn was sentenced to seven years in prison; Allah to three-and-a-half years in prison.

"The FBI and the Milwaukee police department were able to determine a great deal about the thieves from those tags," Almond noted, calling it, "a huge break in the case."

"Though I don't believe a lot of people in law enforcement were happy about that information becoming public," he said of the telltale tags and their crime-fighting significance.

Almond was concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at the time, and currently directs the acclaimed, Milwaukee-based Frankly Music chamber series. He doesn't own the instrument  he continues to play it on loan from its owners, close friends who have remained anonymous.

Despite the cold of the apartment attic where it was recovered, the so-called Lipinski Stradivarius, named for 19th-century Polish violinist Karol Lipinski, was basically in fine fiddle.

Reunited, Almond tilted it to his chin and played a few scales, and maybe some Bach just to be sure. But it was "not damaged in any meaningful way, outside of a few external bumps and bruises. I actually played a concert with it a few days later.

"In the end, it would have been better for them to just steal my wallet," Almond said.

Instead, within hours, "The whole world was looking for this violin."

Read the original article on Insider
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced Tuesday that workers voted overwhelmingly to ratify a historic collective bargaining agreement with UPS.

The powerful labor union and the major shipping company were locked in tense negotations throughout the summer, with more than 300,000 Teamsters ready to strike without a new deal.

UPS and the Teamsters announced a tenative deal in July.

The Teamsters voted to ratify the agreement with 86.3 percent of members in support. It was the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS, the union said.

The union said the new five-year contract includes wage increases for full- and part-time workers, secures more workplace protections like adding air conditioning to delivery trucks, and would lead to more full-time jobs.

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Teamsters General President Sean OBrien called the deal the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters have ever negotiated at UPS.

Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry. This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention, OBrien said.

The union, which represents over 300,000 UPS employees, said all supplemental agreements were also ratified, minus the Local 769 LAI supplement which covers 174 members in Florida.

It added the national master agreement would take effect as soon as this supplement is renegotiated and ratified.

Under the new deal, existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters would receive an additional $2.75 per hour this year, adding the negotiated increases will amount to an hourly $7.50 over the five-year period ending in 2028.

Existing part-timers will be raised to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment will still receive all new general wage increases, the union said among a list of highlights of the tentative deal.

Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour, the union also said.

The deal additionally makes Martin Luther King Day a full holiday for all UPS Teamsters, prohibits forced overtime on drivers days off and creates 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at the company, the union said.

The union said over 60 changes and improvements were made to the national master agreement, which it called more than any other time in Teamsters history.

Updated at 4:49 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Tejano music star Bobby Pulido is playing the biggest event on the Hispanic political calendar this year, and hes ready to talk politics.

I was a political science major at the University of St. Marys, and I am very, very up to date on everything that goes on, Pulido told The Hill in a recent interview.

He is the featured musical guest at the 2023 Awards Gala hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), an annual event that brings together Latinos in elected office, advocacy, lobbying and media.

Pulido, whose 1995 debut single Desvelado has aged into a classic, ubiquitous at public gatherings throughout Mexico and the Southwest, won Best Tejano Album at the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards for his album Para Que Baile Mi Pueblo.

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The Tejano stars appearance will highlight a large segment of the U.S. Hispanic community thats often overlooked politically and culturally.

He was actually my suggested nominee. Hes a great Tejano that really reflects the values of this region. Although I love them, It cant all be about California and New York, said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who represents the southernmost district of Texas.

As the educational arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the CHCIs main mission is to identify and prepare young Latinos for work in public service.

The whole spirit of the Congressional Hispanic Institute, its a big deal for me. Its a big deal for me; its not just another gig. Just the whole essence of what it represents to me, its one of the great achievements for me, Pulido said.

Until 2017, the gala had invited every sitting president since it started in 1979; only George H.W. Bush had been unable to appear due to scheduling conflicts.

In 2017, the CHCI withdrew then-President Trumps invitation, citing his rhetoric on the 2016 campaign trail.

Last year, President Biden appeared at the first in-person gala after a pandemic hiatus, and he sang Happy Birthday to Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-Calif.), the CHC chairwoman.

Biden is not yet confirmed to be attending this year.

While Pulido will be doing the singing, he said he will have some kind words for Biden if they cross paths onstage.

Thank you. Thank you for running and beating that guy, because I dont know what would have happened if he would have won, Pulido responded to a question on what he would say to Biden.

But he also has some harsh words to dole out to Biden and his fellow Democrats.

Im a Democrat. I believe you can criticize your own, and its perfectly legitimate. Its a big tent, but I think the party really has not done enough to show voters out there that we are not anti-business, said Pulido, who lives in Southern Texas.

Pulido said South Texas Latinos are increasingly gravitating toward the Republican Party, in large part because of Democratic taxation and economic proposals.

I personally know a lot of people that they dont mind Democrats, but they dont also want to vote for people that say, Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich, because a lot of the business owners that are there are Hispanic and theyre like, Man Im just getting a footing on my life here.'

Still, Pulido thinks its an easy lift for Democrats to appeal to second- and third-generation Texans who value hands-off fiscal policies but dislike the harsher elements of the GOPs political rhetoric.

I think Trump is not a hard guy to beat, said Pulido.

South Texas is one of the areas that has trended more Republican now, said Pulido. Growing up here in my district, it was always Democrat 80-20, man, and thats not the case anymore. And what we have to do is ask ourselves why.

For instance, Pulido says Democrats have missed the mark on the border, allowing Republicans to own the issue and set the agenda.

Well, it needs to get addressed. First of all, you cant  ignoring it is not an option, and it shouldnt be, for many reasons, right?

You dont do anything to fix it. Theres no proposals to fix it. And, and then it allows the other side to suck the oxygen out of that and use that as a tool for them against you, he said.

Still, the Tejano star, who regularly crosses into Mexico, said he wouldnt call the situation at the border a crisis.

But its something that has to get addressed, and it requires at least some type of focus on it.

He said migration will continue, and that workforce needs are not being filled in Texas and throughout the country, so Democrats could proactively seize the issue.

I voted for Joe Biden and I will vote for him again. But not having come over here to this, I think, has been a mistake, said Pulido.

Still, Pulido reserved his harshest criticism for extremism and the political divide in the United States.

I think the biggest pandemic we had in this country wasnt COVID, it was conspiracy theories.

I think thats a big part of whats going on is, it is kind of hard to fight people that live in a different reality. And social media has just kind of magnified all of that, and so I am worried for our country, to be honest with you, said Pulido.

But Pulido offered advice to getting along with friends and family on the other side of that split.

I think that social media has made us less social. And so if you talk to people and actually talk to them and listen to them, youd be surprised how much in common you would have, even if you sit on a different side of the political spectrum.

Politics aside, he said Hispanic culture is gaining a real foothold in American life.

I think youre starting to see that, where now our culture is becoming mainstream. And I think were on the cusp of that, he said.

Pulido recounted how Latinos in South Texas have embraced their heritage over his lifetime, with many now preferring to speak Spanish, a language that children were once discouraged from learning.

Were on the forefront of that change that I think is coming, and its a wave thats coming to the whole U.S., to be honest with you.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(The Hill)  Tejano music star Bobby Pulido is playing the biggest event on the Hispanic political calendar this year, and hes ready to talk politics.

I was a political science major at the University of St. Marys, and I am very, very up to date on everything that goes on, Pulido told The Hill in a recent interview.

He is the featured musical guest at the 2023 Awards Gala hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a yearly event that brings together Latinos in elected office, advocacy, lobbying and media.

Pulido, whose 1995 debut single Desvelado has aged into a classic, ubiquitous at public gatherings throughout Mexico and the Southwest, won Best Tejano Album at the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards for his album Para Que Baile Mi Pueblo.

ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement

The Tejano stars appearance will highlight a large segment of the U.S. Hispanic community thats often overlooked politically and culturally.

He was actually my suggested nominee. Hes a great Tejano that really reflects the values of this region. Although I love them, It cant all be about California and New York, said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who represents the southernmost district of Texas.

As the educational arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), CHCIs main mission is to identify and prepare young Latinos for work in public service.

The whole spirit of the Congressional Hispanic Institute, its a big deal for me. Its a big deal for me, its not just another gig. Just the whole essence of what it represents to me, its one of the great achievements for me, Pulido said.

Until 2017, the gala had invited every sitting president since it started in 1979; only George H.W. Bush had been unable to appear due to scheduling conflicts.

In 2017, CHCI withdrew President Donald Trumps invitation, citing his rhetoric on the 2016 campaign trail.

Last year, President Joe Biden appeared at the first in-person gala after a pandemic hiatus, where he sang Happy Birthday to Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), the CHC chair.

Biden is not yet confirmed to be attending this year.

While Pulido will be doing the singing, he said he will have some kind words for Biden if they cross paths onstage.

Thank you. Thank you for running and beating that guy, because I dont know what would have happened if he would have won, Pulido responded to a question on what he would say to Biden.

But he also has some harsh words to dole out to Biden and his fellow Democrats.

Im a Democrat. I believe you can criticize your own and its perfectly legitimate. Its a big tent, but I think the party really has not done enough to show voters out there that we are not anti-business, said Pulido, who lives in Southern Texas.

Pulido said South Texas Latinos are increasingly gravitating toward the Republican Party, in large part because of Democratic taxation and economic proposals.

I personally know a lot of people that they dont mind Democrats, but they dont also want to vote for people that say, Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich, because a lot of the business owners that are there are Hispanic and theyre like, Man Im just getting a footing on my life here.'

Still, Pulido thinks its an easy lift for Democrats to appeal to second and third-generation Texans who value hands-off fiscal policies but dislike the harsher elements of the GOPs political rhetoric.

I think Trump is not a hard guy to beat, said Pulido.

South Texas is one of the areas that has trended more Republican now, said Pulido. Growing up here in my district, it was always Democrat 80-20, man, and thats not the case anymore. And what we have to do is ask ourselves why.

Cuban president to address UN next month: report

For instance, Pulido says Democrats have missed the mark on the border, allowing Republicans to own the issue and set the agenda.

Well, it needs to get addressed. First of all, you cant  ignoring it is not an option and it shouldnt be, for many reasons, right?

You dont do anything to fix it. Theres no proposals to fix it. And, and then it allows the other side to suck the oxygen out of that and use that as a tool for them against you, he said.

Still, the Tejano star, who regularly crosses into Mexico, said he wouldnt call the situation at the border a crisis.

But its something that has to get addressed, and it requires at least some type of focus on it.

He said migration will continue, and workforce needs are not being filled in Texas and throughout the country, so Democrats could proactively seize the issue.

I voted for Joe Biden and I will vote for him again. But not having come over here to this, I think, has been a mistake, said Pulido.

Still, Pulido reserved his harshest criticism for extremism and the political divide in the United States.

I think the biggest pandemic we had in this country wasnt COVID, it was conspiracy theories.

I think thats a big part of whats going on is it is kind of hard to fight people that live in a different reality. And social media has just kind of magnified all of that and so I am worried for our country to be honest with you, said Pulido.

But Pulido offered advice for getting along with friends and family on the other side of that split.

I think that social media has made us less social. And so if you talk to people and actually talk to them and listen to them, youd be surprised how much in common you would have, even if you sit on a different side of the political spectrum.

Politics aside, he said Hispanic culture is gaining a real foothold in American life.

I think youre starting to see that, where now our culture is becoming mainstream. And I think were on the cusp of that, he said.

Pulido recounted how Latinos in South Texas have embraced their heritage over his lifetime, with many now preferring to speak Spanish, a language that children were once discouraged from learning.

Were on the forefront of that change that I think is coming, and its a wave thats coming to the whole U.S., to be honest with you.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Iran shut down government agencies, banks, and schools nationwide in early August, with temperatures soaring higher than 123 degrees Fahrenheit in places and the power grid struggling, The New York Times reported.

What happened?

Facing a heat wave that caused public health concerns, the Iranian government declared a two-day public holiday on Aug. 1 and recommended that children, people with health conditions, and older people stay indoors because of heat stroke risk, per the Times.

Due to the unprecedented heat  [and] in order to preserve the health of the citizens, the government board agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health to close on Wednesday and Thursday throughout the country, Ali Bahadori Jahromi (@alibahaadori), a government spokesperson, said, in a Google translation of a Twitter post.

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According to the Times, more than a dozen Iranian cities reached temperatures well above 104 degrees Fahrenheit on Aug. 1. Irans meteorological organization expected the capital, Tehran, to reach 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another suspected reason for the shutdown was that the government couldnt meet electricity demand, with record-high energy use expected as people turned to air-conditioners to stay cool and as aging infrastructure failed. Some equipment has been lacking updates since the U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran.

Why is a heat wave in Iran concerning?

Hot summers are common in parts of Iran, reported the Times, yet the government has not been known to shut down the country because of heat.

Even in areas accustomed to high temperatures, people have felt the effects of this years planet-sweeping heat. Irans shutdown immediately followed Earths hottest month, based on Julys global average temperatures confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The New York Times reported separately on this summers heat waves in North America and Europe being deemed by scientists as virtually impossible without the impact of humans releasing heat-trapping pollution that has warmed the globe.

Asia and the Middle East havent escaped the heat. Depleted water supplies make problems worse for many Iranians, as do poverty and poor infrastructure that leave some in rural areas without clean drinking water or AC. In a 2022 report, the WMO called Iran amongst the most vulnerable countries regarding the changing climate.

Whats being done about the heat?

The Iranian government shuttered activities in August, but many nations are also taking action to help protect citizens from extreme heat and weather while investing in renewable energy to reduce further warming caused by heat-trapping gas pollution.

Citizens worldwide continue to pressure governments like Irans to step up their efforts. We can also all work personally to reduce reliance on energy sources that drive more warming.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
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Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, who was expelled after joining a protest on the House floor following a school shooting, said Tuesday that Democrats were being silenced in a special session of the legislature called to address gun violence. File Photo courtesy of Justin Jones/Facebook

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Tennessee's General Assembly met for a second day Tuesday, with the discussion centering on strict rules for the special session instead of the gun violence it was called to address.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton , R-Crossville, called on law enforcement to bar the public from the Capitol rotunda as lawmakers discussed a controversial set of rules for the week.

Republicans enacted a rule to ban all signs and banners from the gallery after several women attended Monday's session holding signs that said "Covenant Mom for Firearm Safety."

During a House civil justice subcommittee on Tuesday afternoon, Chairman Lowell Russell had state troopers remove several people who had signs, including one woman who was holding up her phone displaying a message.

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"This is not what democracy looks like," the woman yelled as she was removed.

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson meets with President Joe Biden at the White House after he was expelled from the legislature over a protest on gun violence. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI

Republican Gov. Bill Lee called the special session after the regular legislative session ended with no action on gun policy in the wake of a shooting that killed six people in March at the Covenant School in Nashville.

A few members of the public had been allowed to sit on one side of the gallery, leaving the other side to lobbyists.

Cameron Sexton, the speaker of the Tennessee House, called for additional law enforcement at the state Capitol to block the public from assembling in the rotunda during a special session on gun violence. Photo courtesy of the Tennessee General Assembly

"Why are we scared of a sign?" Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, asked. He accused Sexton of silencing the public and Democrats.

"What is the sign going to do to you and our children? Nothing, because it's not about the sign. Just like some of these rules, it's not about keeping decorum. This is about power. This is the misuse of governmental power and the abuse of power of the minority, the minority power."

Republicans hold a supermajority in the House and Senate with 102 of 132 lawmakers.

It is not the first time Sexton has been accused of silencing political opponents. In April, he led the charge to expel Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, for protesting inaction on gun policy from the House floor.

During the hearings on the motion to dismiss them, they said Sexton often ignores bills submitted by Democrats and mutes their microphones.

On Tuesday, Sexton again muted microphones and called "order" on Democrats, particularly Jones and Pearson. During the unfinished business portion of the House session, Jones asked whether he and Pearson would have their committee assignments restored. The two were voted back to the Capitol in special elections after their expulsion.

Sexton quickly called Jones out of order, which the House clerk said Sexton had the authority to do.

The rules adopted by Republicans allow the House to mute a lawmaker and bar them from speaking if Sexton decides they are causing a disruption or if they "impugn the reputation" of other House members. The vague nature of the rule leaves enforcing the rule largely up to Sexton's discretion.

The rule also applies to committees. Bans may be extended to three days.

"We call this the people's house, but today we are keeping the people out of the people's house," Jones said in a video on Twitter. "This does not look like democracy. This looks like extremism and authoritarianism and fascism."

The Guns Over People (GOP) Caucus has put more work into limiting the voices of the People and keeping them out of the Tennessee Capitol then listening to their demands for common sense gun laws. Just beginning the special session. pic.twitter.com/ICTzvqmuZC Rep. Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) August 21, 2023

Jones also noted that while signs are not allowed in the Capitol during the special session, guns are.

After the discussion over rules on Tuesday, which lasted about an hour, the House assembly recessed. The first committee meeting, the Senate commerce and labor committee, was called to order, tabled its one bill and adjourned. House committees on education and transportation also met very briefly.

The session is expected to last through the week.

Lee called the session with the intention of proposing several bills to address gun violence. Among them: codification of an executive order to strengthen background checks by firearms dealers; eliminating taxes on firearm safes and other safety devices; providing free gun locks; asking the federal government to match funding for Medicaid for mental health and substance abuse services; and funding to train and retain mental health professionals.

For Lee, a Republican, the Covenant School tragedy hit close to home. He and his wife, Maria, had two friends who were killed in the mass shooting. Three children were also among the dead.
FILE - A Memphis Police officer walks on the scene of a shooting at Margolin Hebrew School, July 31, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. A Tennessee judge has ordered a mental evaluation for a man charged with trying to enter the Jewish school with a gun and firing it at a contractor there before he was shot by police, his defense lawyer said Tuesday, Aug. 22. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  A Tennessee judge has ordered a mental evaluation for a man charged with trying to enter a Jewish school with a gun and firing it at a contractor there before he was shot by police, his defense lawyer said Tuesday.

Judge Karen Massey issued an order for a psychological evaluation for Joel Bowman, who was released from a hospital Friday and was being held Tuesday in a medical ward at Shelby County Jail, said his lawyer, Mitch Wood.

Police said Bowman went on July 31 to Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South school in Memphis with a gun and tried to get inside, but he was denied entry. Class was not in session, but there were limited staff and construction workers there at the time.

In an affidavit, police said Bowman  who had attended the school  walked around its exterior and fired two shots at the contractor, who was not hit. Bowman, 33, then fired two more shots outside the school before driving away in a pickup truck, police said.

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Officers tracked down Bowman a short drive from the school, in a residential neighborhood. Bowman exited his truck with a gun in his right hand and pointed the weapon at an officer, who shot him, police said. Bowman was hospitalized in critical condition.

Bowman was charged with attempted second-degree murder, carrying a weapon on school property and other alleged offenses. He has pleaded not guilty.

Forensic specialists will determine whether Bowman is competent to stand trial and whether he was insane at the time of the alleged offense, Wood said. The judge set a September hearing to address findings from the evaluation.

A possible motive for the attempt to enter the school has not been disclosed. Security officials for the Jewish community declined to discuss what specific safety measures were in use at the school. But those officials did say that information from video cameras, a close relationship with police and years of work to bolster safety measures kept the man out of the school and helped officers find him.

Wood said Bowman was doing quite well, considering he was shot in the chest.

Health wise, it looks like he'll make as close to a full recovery as anybody can, Wood said.

Bowmans confrontation with police came 20 years after his father was fatally shot by officers while holding a gun during a mental health episode at the family home. Friends said Bowman was traumatized by his father's killing.
Members of the Tennessee Three, the group of Tennessee House Democrats who Republicans attempted to remove over a gun control protest earlier this year, railed against new House rules that limit what members can say on the House floor.

There was an article written called Is Tennessee a Democracy? and I believe today we are getting a very clear answer that it is not, Rep. Justin Pearson (D) said on the House floor Monday. The rules that are being put forward now are to limit freedom of speech.

The new disciplinary rules allow the House to block members from speaking if they cause disruption, speak off the topic of debate or impugn the reputation of another member. The rules also ban members of the public from carrying signs into the chamber galleries.

In late March, Pearson, alongside Reps. Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, interrupted House proceedings to protest for gun control after a mass shooting at a Nashville school. Republicans succeeded in expelling Pearson and Jones, who are Black, from the body, while Johnson, who is white, was allowed to stay in the Legislature.

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Both Pearson and Jones were reelected earlier this month and have rejoined the Legislature representing Memphis and Nashville, respectively.

The Tennessee Legislature began a special session to consider public safety and mental health legislation Monday in direct response to the March mass shooting. Democrats hope that the session will be used to again consider gun control legislation.

The House disciplinary change was the first move of the session, leading some to believe that it was targeted at creating more serious consequences if the Tennessee Three or others chose to protest again.

Republicans argued the new rules are necessary for the body to work smoothly over the coming days. Any violation of the new policies would silence the member for three days, with the special session expected to last until Friday.

What is considered a disruption is up to House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R), whom Jones has accused of discriminating against Black members of the chamber.

Jones questioned the new policy on the floor Monday, noting it has no way to hold Sexton accountable if he applies the rules incorrectly.

Where in these rules can you hold the Speaker accountable for abusing constitutional rights and misapplying the rules based upon a members skin color as opposed to treating every member of this body as an equal member? he said.

Republicans in the chamber derided Jones, but he doubled down, saying, You can boo, but the truth will be told today. Sexton then cut off Joness microphone while he continued to attempt to speak.

In session Tuesday, members of the public wrote flashing messages on phone screens or on clothing to skirt the rules against carrying signs, The Tennessean reported. No state House or Senate committees have yet considered gun control legislation during the session.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A baby giraffe was born without spots last month.

According to Brights Zoo, where the giraffe was born, she is the only known only solid-colored reticulated giraffe in the world.

Reticulated giraffes are a subspecies of giraffes.

Giraffe Conservation Foundation  an NGO that concentrates on the conservation and care of giraffes in the wild  did not immediately respond to TODAY.coms request to confirm this statement.

SPOTLESS GIRAFFE (Courtesy Brights Zoo)

Brights Zoo, located in Washington County, Tennessee, is a USDA-licensed, private institution accredited by the Zoological Association of America (ZAA).

The zoo says that the solid brown giraffe, born on July 31, already stands 6 feet tall.

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Giraffe experts believe she is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet, a press release shared with TODAY.com via email reads.

The zoo held a vote to decide the baby giraffe's name, which will be announced on TODAY on Sept. 5.

The zoo asked fans to vote between the following: Kipekee, the Swahili word for unique, Firyali, which means unusual or extraordinary, Shakiri which means she is most beautiful and Jamella, one of great beauty.

SPOTLESS GIRAFFE

This special giraffes birth is remarkable for many reasons, but maybe most importantly, it will help bring attention to the serious challenges the rest of her species face in the wild, the press release continued.

The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation. Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last 3 decades, the founder of Brights Zoo, Tony Bright, said in the release.

Video from the WPA Film Library captured in 1967 shows a spotless giraffe at a zoo in Tokyo, Japan.

SPOTLESS GIRAFFE (photo provided by Brights Zoo.)

In the wild, a giraffes coat is a form of camouflage, according to a 2018 research article published by the peer-reviewed journal Zoological Science.

The articles researchers analyzed the complex coat pattern traits of a subspecies of wild giraffes called Masai giraffes, native to East Africa. They found that the giraffes spots are likely to be heritable or transmissible from parent to offspring. According to the researchers, giraffes with larger spots and those with irregularly shaped or rounder spots might have greater chances of survival in the wild.

The spotted coat pattern of a giraffe provides more than just cover.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation says that each spot, or patch, has a system of blood vessels beneath the area that acts as a thermal window and allows the release of body heat.

In 2017, nearly 1.2 million people tuned into the live stream of a giraffe known as April the Giraffe while she gave birth. The reticulated giraffe gained international attention after her zoo residence in Harpursville, New York, set up a video stream of her in late pregnancy. She was euthanized in 2021 at the age of 20 as she dealt with advancing arthritis.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Texas is preparing for flash flooding, strong winds and dangerous weather conditions including possible tornadoes, as Tropical Storm Harold barrels towards the south central state.

The low pressure system known as Tropical Depression Nine  which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday afternoon  has now strengthened and developed into Tropical Storm Harold, an extreme weather event expected to cause heavy rain and high-force winds on Tuesday.

As recorded by the National Hurricane Center, Harold had already whipped up 45mph winds by 1am CDT, with 39mph winds being classifed as a tropical storm.

If it reaches 74pmh and above, Tropical Storm Harold will be classified as a hurricane.

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By 4am CDT the storms centre was 155 miles east-southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas.

Several weather alerts are in place, including a tropical storm warning for the mouth of Rio Grande to Port OConnor and a tropical storm watch from Port OConnor to Sargent.

A warning means a tropical storm is expected today, while a watch highlights it is possible.

At 4am CDT, the National Hurricane Center added that heavy rains and strong winds had begun to spread onshore in the warning area.

Storm Harold is expected to bring up to 3 inches of rain to southern Texas through Tuesday and Wednesday , while some areas may see as much as 5 to 7 inches.

The National Hurricane Center has also said that tornadoes could form in south Texas on Tuesday afternoon too.

Tropical Storm #Harold Advisory 3A: Depression Strengthens Into a Tropical Storm. Heavy Rains and Tropical-Storm-Force Winds Over Portions of South Texas Beginning Later This Morning. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ  National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 22, 2023

While the state has recently seen drought conditions, a storm surge of one to three feet along coastal areas such as Corpus Christi, Baffin Bay and Brownsville could lead to flash flooding.

The National Hurricane Center said: The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the north of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large waves.

Surf and rip tide conditions are also being described as life-threatening.

Residents in eastern Texas and northern Mexico are being urged to monitor the storms progress.

On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott instructed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to increase the preparedness of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center to level two ahead of Storm Harold arriving.

State emergency response resources have now been deployed, including a flood water boat squad, rescue boat teams and a search and rescue aircraft.

In a statement, Mr Abbott said: Texas stands ready to deploy all available resources to South Texas as tropical storm conditions impact the region this week.

Activated state emergency response resources ahead of tropical storms forecasted to impact South Texas.



Texas is prepared to swiftly deploy resources to impacted communities.



Remain weather aware, heed guidance from emergency officials, and stay safe. pic.twitter.com/mKBpG4eM9p  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 22, 2023

I encourage Texans to remain weather-aware and heed the guidance of state and local officials and emergency management personnel as they work together to keep communities safe.

Tropical Storm Harold is the latest in a series of extreme weather events to affect the US recently.

This week, Tropical Storm Hilary caused a years worth of rain to fall in a single day in California, leading to life-threatening flooding.

Tropical Storm Franklin is now nearing Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Tropical Storm Emily is also currently developing within the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, after wildfires in Maui, Hawaii claimed 114 lives at the beginning of August, 850 people are still unaccounted for and residents are now bracing for the potential effects of post-tropical cyclone Fernanda.
Austin, Texas  Lawyers for the state of Texas on Tuesday defended the state's decision to install a floating barrier in the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico, one day after Gov. Greg Abbott said the state had moved them following a federal government survey found that 80% of them were in Mexico.

The Justice Department sued Texas last month seeking to remove the barrier, arguing that the federal government should have been consulted before they were installed. Texas installed the buoys to deter migrants from crossing into the U.S. through the river, in between official ports of entry.

At a hearing in the case on Tuesday in the Texas capital, lawyers for both sides made their case before U.S. District Judge David Ezra. Lawyers for Texas argued the buoys are necessary to enforce border security, citing the more than 2.3 million border encounters so far this year. The Justice Department said the barrier has harmed the U.S. relationship with Mexico and should be dismantled.

What is the Justice Department's lawsuit?

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The Justice Department's lawsuit alleges the installation of the buoys violated a law known as the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act. Under the law, a permit is required to construct structures in U.S. waters that are "navigable," or able to be traversed by boat. The Justice Department says Texas did not seek the approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before installing the buoys, which would have allowed the federal government to assess whether they posed any potential environmental and safety risks.

Buoy barriers are installed and situated in the middle of the Rio Grande river on July 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. / Credit: Brandon Bell / Getty Images

At Tuesday's hearing, the Justice Department called a U.S. State Department official to testify that the U.S.-Mexico relationship has been damaged by the buoys. Mexico's top diplomat said last week that "it is essential to remove the buoys installed in Mexican territory in the Rio Grande."

The dozens of large orange buoys are connected to enormous concrete blocks lying on the riverbed using chains roughly 40 feet long, according to testimony from a contractor from Cochrane USA, the company that installed the barriers. The buoys stretch about 1,000 feet near the border crossing at Eagle Pass, which Texas Department of Public Safety has alleged is "the center of gravity for smuggling."

At least two bodies have been recovered near the buoys. A Biden administration official told CBS News last month that the floating barriers have interfered with Border Patrol efforts to patrol the river and process migrants who reach U.S. soil. In one week, the official added, Border Patrol encountered dozens of injured or drowned migrants, including babies.

What is Operation Lone Star?

Abbott installed the buoys along the border earlier this summer as part of a border mission known as Operation Lone Star. Abbott has insisted he has "sovereign authority" over the southern border, and held a press conference there on Monday with four fellow GOP governors and several public safety officials defending Operation Lone Star.

Abbott has slammed the Biden administration for what he calls a lack of action along the border, and has said he was compelled to act.

While Abbott says he has received support from 14 other states for Operation Lone Star, the mission has been controversial. A medic and trooper for the Texas Department of Public Safety recently raised concerns about the buoys and overall treatment of migrants in an internal message that became public last month.

"The wire and barrels in the river needs to be taken out as this is nothing but [an] in humane trap in high water and low visibility," he wrote. "Due to the extreme heat, the order to not give people water needs to be immediately reversed as well."

The Texas Department of Public Safety has denied the allegations.

Are the border buoys located in Mexico or the U.S.?

On Monday, Texas officials acknowledged that the buoys had been moved following a federal survey that found 80% of them were technically on Mexico's side of the river. Texas officials have denied that the buoys crossed the border, but Abbott said Monday that they were being moved "out of an abundance of caution."

Whether the buoys were in Mexico or not could end up being a central part of Ezra's ruling. He told the state's lawyers on Tuesday that either the state intentionally placed the buoys in Mexico or they could drift with the current, putting them in Mexico. The state called the contractor as a witness to dispute that they could drift with the tide or were in Mexico.

It's unclear when Ezra, a Reagan appointee, will rule on the Justice Department's lawsuit. Written closing arguments are due later this week. Despite the highly charged controversy surrounding the buoys, the judge insisted Tuesday that politics will not influence his ruling.

The district court "is not Congress and it is not the president," he said. "I am not here to engage in  nor do I have any inclination to engage in  any type of political comment."

Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.

Tennessee zoo welcomes rare spotless giraffe

NFL player's father killed in home explosion

New York City mayor responds to migrant crisis criticism
This story was produced in partnership with the Garrison Project, an independent, nonpartisan organization addressing the crisis of mass incarceration and policing.

On Sept. 1, a bill with the pithy title An Act Relating to State Preemption of and the Effect of Certain State or Federal Law on Certain Municipal and County Regulation will take effect in Texas. The bill signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in Junewas given a much zippier name by its opponents: Death Star, because it could obliterate whole swaths of city and county laws and regulations.

Basically, its the greatest transfer of power away from the public and into the hands of a few people in Austin that weve ever seen, said Texas state Rep. John Bryant. This handful of people that want to control our state do not want cities acting in their own interests. They do not want any city making policies that get in the way of their ideological and financial objectives. Maybe Bryant and other Death Star critics are rightbut well know how big the transfer of power truly is only after everyone figures out what the bill actually says and does, and only if it survives the legal challenges several of Texas biggest cities have already filed against it.

The goal of Death Star is simple. The deeply conservative Texas Legislature wants to effectively deny citiesthe states large Democratic-leaning cities, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin in particularthe ability to pass local laws and regulations in eight major policy areas: agriculture, business and commerce, finance, insurance, labor, natural resource law, occupational law, and property law. And it does all this in a bill that is 10 single-spaced pages long, nearly one page of which is legislative findings, not actual law. Which is where the problems begin.

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Death Star does not aim to affirmatively lay out regulations at the state level; it simply attempts to thwart local regulations. Thus, the entirely of the provision that denies local governments the ability to regulate the insurance industry is just this: Unless expressly authorized by another statute, a municipality or county may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct in a field of regulation that is occupied by a provision of this code. An ordinance, order, or rule that violates this section is void, unenforceable, and inconsistent with this code. Thats it. It then repeats this language across all the various other fields, although in a few cases it adds an extra clause or two to identify specific subfields it really wants to make sure are preempted.

Problematically, as the city of Houston points out in the lawsuit it filed last month challenging Death Star as violating the Texas Constitution, these provisions lack any clarity. The new law, for example, never defines what it means for state law to occup[y] a provision of this code outside of the few explicit provisions noted above, making it very hard for cities to know what regulations are at risk. Houston has argued that it is unconstitutionally vague and that the Texas Constitution and state Supreme Court decisions have made this sort of field preemptionin which the state does not replace local law with a state alternative but simply declares whole areas ineligible for local rule makingunconstitutional under Texas law. San Antonio joined the lawsuit late last month.

The sweeping language of Death Star is likely seen more as a feature than a bug by the bills drafter, state Rep. Dustin Burrows, who all but brags that it is going to fall to the courts to decide what regulations are actually preempted. Importantly, the bill contains a provision that allows any individual or trade association to challenge any local regulation in courtand, if they prevail, requires the county or city to pay all the challengers costs and reasonable legal fees. Those who challenge a regulation and lose have to pay those costs only if the court finds the challenge frivolous, leaving the city to pay its own costs (though not those of the challenger) if it wins cases the courts see as non-frivolous. So, county and city governments assume financial risk if they attempt to defend a regulation and clarify Death Stars reach.

Making local governments fear litigation costs is surely a goal of Death Stars drafters. Furthermore, targeting specific regulations in the bill one by one would have been costly and would almost surely have triggered interest-group squabbling over specifics (the bills surprisingly detailed focus on animal regulations suggests that this was a problem even here). And by delegating enforcement to private groups like the states abortion-ban bill, Death Stars litigation-based approach also farms the cost of enforcement out to private actors to sue rather than relying on the state to actand then forces local governments to pay when they lose.

The potential for chaos is evident. The city of Houston lawsuit quotes Burrows as pointing out that in the wake of a crisis like a hurricanewhen the speed and clarity of disaster response is of the essencecities would need to petition the courts to find out what sort of emergency regulations would be permissible under the Death Star law. Burrows added that they could not expect any clarity from the Texas Legislature, which meets for only a few months every other year as it is. And assuming that Death Star survives the direct legal challenges filed against it, it will take years of litigation to hammer out its exact contours, even outside the context of emergencies. Which lays bare the pretextual nature of the drafters claims that the law is necessary to smooth over a patchwork of local regulations stymying local business.

Death Star did not arise in a vacuum. Instead, its perhaps the most aggressive example to date of a push by Republican-dominated state governments to thwart policymaking they dislike in their states generally more Democratic cities. States have historically had a significant amount of power to overrule local decision making. The U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that the federal Constitution provides cities no protection from states, contrary to the way it shields states from federal intervention in certain areas.

Over time, however, states saw a growing push for home rule lawssome, like Texas, now enshrined in state constitutionsthat undermined that presumption, and cities and counties gained more freedom to pass legislation absent explicit state laws to the contrary. The nature and strength of these rules vary from state to state and are actually fairly hard to pin down. And although states would periodically preempt local rules by passing overriding state laws, it was not traditionally seen as a pressing issue in state-level politics.

The past decade or so, however, has seen the rise of what Columbia Law professor Richard Briffault has dubbed the new preemption, in which (generally speaking) Republican state legislatures have taken increasingly aggressive aim at local regulations across a wide range of issues. The causes for this new preemption are likely many: the dramatic shift in state-level control by Republicans across the country starting in 2010, which gave them substantially increasing power to override more-liberal cities. The ongoing Big Sort, which has seen a rise in geographic clustering by ideology (with urban areas becoming more Democratic and rural ones more Republican). A Republican Party that increasingly seems to see thwarting liberal goals as a policy goal in and of itself.

What makes Death Star particularly noteworthy is not so much its aggressive attempts to preempt local rules as the sheer breadth of the effort. Tellingly, this is the second Death Star bill to be enacted in the past decade, but the narrow focus of the earlier billpassed in Michigan in 2015 and targeting only some local employment regulationsmakes that one look like a TIE fighter in comparison. Republican states have already been steadily eroding local autonomy all across the country, but they usually stick to one or two issues at a time (like the way Texas, among other states, curtailed cities ability to reduce police budgets in the wake of nationwide racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd). If the Texas Legislature is successful hereor fails for very Texas lawspecific reasonswe should expect more Republican state legislatures to start passing sweeping bills like this.

At least in Texas, however, cities have some hope of courts pushing back thanks to fairly strong home rule laws, which are rooted at least in part in the states historical distrust of strong government power. These home rule protections cannot hold off the state from chiseling away at local autonomy, but they may be enough to block all-encompassing bills like Death Star. And smaller efforts take more time and are politically costlier. But home rule protections vary widely across states, and cities in many places have far fewer protections than those in Texas.

In 2019, Burrows, Death Stars author, was caught on a surreptitious recording saying We hate cities and counties. That attitude is not unique to Texas Republicans, and even if Death Star does not survive legal challenges, it likely represents the start of a new chapter of even more sweeping, aggressive efforts by state Republican officials to roll back local rules in Democratic cities that they simply do not like.
Thailands parliament on Tuesday voted for real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin to be the countrys next prime minister, bringing an end to three months of political deadlock.

Srettha, 60, was the sole candidate put forward by the populist Pheu Thai Party and received 482 votes out of a possible 747 in Thailands bicameral parliament.

His election comes the same day that Pheu Thai founder and divisive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the country after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile.

Thavisin - who still needs to be endorsed by King Maha Vajirilongkorn before he can officially take office - later vowed to work on improving the lives of Thais across the country.

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I feel greatly honored to be elected as the 30th prime minister of Thailand. I would like to thank every Thai, coalition parties, honorable members of the House of Representatives, every senator who joined the vote today. I will try my best in doing my duties tirelessly to elevate Thais lives, Thavisin said.

A political newbie with a track record in business, Srettha joined Pheu Thai in 2022 before being named one of the partys three prime ministerial candidates ahead of the election in May.

That poll was won by a popular progressive party, Move Forward, which had proposed radical reforms to capitalize on years of rising anger with how Thailand is governed. However, its efforts to form a government were later stymied by the kingdoms political elites.

Pheu Thai came second but led efforts to form a new alliance after parliament blocked Move Forwards leader from becoming prime minister over the partys pledge to amend Thailands strict royal defamation laws, known as Article 112.

In a bid to secure the needed votes, Pheu Thai struck a deal with its former military rivals and in doing so reneged on a promise that it would not work with pro-military parties.

Pheu Thai also campaigned on keeping the military out of politics, but under the new alliance the military-backed Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation Party will be awarded ministerial roles.

Both those parties are affiliated with coup leader and outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, and linked to the military junta that toppled Pheu Thais democratically elected government, led by Thaksins sister Yingluck Shinawatra, nearly a decade ago.

The move also subverts the will of millions of Thais who voted for progressive parties in the May election, delivering a powerful rebuke to the countrys military-backed establishment that has ruled Thailand since the 2014 coup.

With Move Forward now in the opposition, the formation of the new government is likely to add fuel to the fire of the progressive movements young support base with the potential for mass street protests.

A survey by the National Institute of Development Administration found about 64% of 1,310 respondents disagreed or totally disagreed with the idea of the Pheu Thai party forming a government with military-backed rivals, according to Reuters.

The return of Thaksin, a deeply divisive figure who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, now adds a further layer of uncertainty into this febrile political atmosphere.

Despite his physical absence from the country, Thaksin has retained an outsized influence on Thai politics.

Until this year, political parties allied to Thaksin had won the most seats in every election since 2001, but have struggled to hold on to power due to the military exerting its influence, whether through coups or other means.

Speaking to CNN before the May election, Srettha said he is not Thaksins man and was keen to focus on fixing Thailands income inequality, promote LGBTQ+ rights including same-sex marriage, root out corruption and put the country back on the world stage.

I want to be a prime minister who can make the difference, Srettha told CNN. We really need to be boosting foreign activities. We need to go out and talk to the world. We need to sell Thailand. What are the advantages of investing in Thailand? What do we have to offer the world?

He also vowed to fix Thailands economy. During campaigning, Pheu Thai pledged to give 10,000 baht (about $300) in a digital wallet to every citizen over the age of 16.

Thailand has been in a bad economic situation for the last five to eight years. We are kind of in a coma. You need a big economic stimulus policy just to get them back on their feet and start being economic producing members of society again, Srettha said.

But with an 11-member coalition that includes bitter military rivals, it is unclear whether Pheu Thai can govern effectively.

Srettha, who is not a member of parliament, was educated in the United Kingdom and the United States and received his masters in finance from Claremont Graduate School. He worked as an executive for Procter & Gamble in Thailand and later founded real estate company Sansiri with his brother.

CNNs Irene Nasser and Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this report.

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Concluding months of uncertainty, Thailand is finally getting a new prime minister: 60-year-old Srettha Thavisin was backed by votes from 482 out of 747 lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday after his party Pheu Thai cobbled together a controversial coalition to form a new government.

Sretthaa Bangkok-based real estate tycoon who, standing at six-foot-three-inches, is nicknamed Nid (little in Thai)is a relative newcomer to politics, holding strong support from businesses and known to be a vocal supporter of queer rights and environmental sustainability. (He is also facing allegations of tax evasionwhich some lawmakers brought up at the parliamentary debate on Tuesday.)

But Sretthas ascent marks less the start of a new era for Thai politics and more a last grasp at power by both the populist Pheu Thai party and the conservative establishment. When the country held its general election in May, the progressive, pro-democracy Move Forward Party came out on top, promising to turn the page from the military- and monarchy-aligned rule of the last decade. Initially, Pheu Thai, which finished second at the polls and had also opposed the military establishment that ousted its elected former leaders twice in coups, announced an alliance with Move Forward. However, when it eventually became clear that the establishment would block Move Forward from taking charge, Pheu Thai abandoned the alliance and joined forces with the military-aligned parties it had once forsworn.

We will translate disagreements into consensus, Pheu Thai wrote in a post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, on Tuesday evening when it became clear that Srettha would become the countrys next Prime Minister.

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That wont be easy though, experts warn. Pheu Thai is set to take the helm of a precarious coalition government of former enemies, betraying much of its own base as well as earning the ire of a large and growing progressive movement. Heres what to know about how Pheu Thai got to this pointand what it will have to grapple with going forward.

Moving forward without Move Forward

Going into Mays election, Pheu Thai was widely expected to perform best. Public dissatisfaction with the countrys tumultuous military-backed rule was clear, and Pheu Thai had long occupied the most prominent opposition role. Srettha was one of the partys three prime ministerial candidates, which also included Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister and de facto founder of Pheu Thai Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned from exile on Tuesday.

But the upstart Move Forward Partyled by the young and charismatic Pita Limjaroenrat and most known for its calls to amend Section 112, the controversial lese-majeste law wielded against pro-democracy activistsended up getting even more votes. Pheu Thai did not back Move Forwards royal defamation reform plan, but it partnered with the election winners anyway, united in their common promise to end the incumbent military-backed rule.

After Pita was blocked from becoming Prime Minister last month, Move Forward announced that it would support a Pheu Thai-led coalition, emphasizing that its goal was to form a government of the democracy side. But it had become clear that the royalist establishment forces that stood in Pitas way would not permit any new government with Move Forward involved. By early August, Pheu Thai announced it would seek a new coalition without Move Forward.

The next few weeks saw Pheu Thai welcome coalition partners from across the spectrum, including some of the explicitly military-aligned parties it had previously campaigned against. As a result, Move Forward declined to back the Pheu Thai-led coalition, saying that it distorts the will of the people in the elections.

Pheu Thais break with Move Forward may have enabled Srettha to win the necessary votes on Tuesday, but it will have serious long-term implications, experts warn. Perhaps most critical in this post-election melodrama is the damage that has been done to Pheu Thai in its relationship with Move Forward, Mark S. Cogan, an associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Japans Kansai Gaidai University, tells TIME. Its clear now that Pheu Thai is thinking too much in the short term, while the more idealistic Move Forward is thinking about the long-term health of a more progressive movement.

While Pheu Thai has said that it will continue to push for some of the policies outlined in its initial memorandum of understanding with Move Forwardincluding marriage equality and reforms to the police, military, and judiciaryits new 11-party coalition was built on the condition that there will be no amendments to the lese-majeste law and no involvement of Move Forward. Meanwhile, Move Forward, now forced into an opposition role despite its popularity in the polls, is poised to win even more public support, especially among Pheu Thai voters disappointed in their partys new choice of partners.

[Pheu Thais] collaboration with parties aligned with the military effectively closes the door on potential future cooperation with Move Forward in a pro-democracy coalition, Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, tells TIME. The partys standing has been tarnished in the eyes of liberal and pro-democracy voters.

A shaky government of reconciliation

If Pheu Thais broken alliance with Move Forward was a sharp disappointment for pro-democracy voters, the partys unlikely partnership with its former military-backed rivals is a slap in the face for its diehard Red Shirt supporters, for whom the memories of deadly protests against the military elite in the 2000s remains fresh.

Srettha himself said ahead of the election months ago that he would decline the top post if it meant Pheu Thai had to form a coalition with outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha or Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, two figures who represent the militarys stranglehold in Thai politics. The idea of me working with them in the same government, sitting in the same cabinet, he told VOA in May, I cant see myself doing that. This week, he argued the political maneuver to partner with both of their parties was necessary to implement Pheu Thais promised policies.

On the one hand, given the less-than-democratic system that produced this outcome, it is a pragmatic approach to salvaging a semi-democratic government that wont have all of the key line ministries controlled by conservatives, says Cogan.

On the other hand, Pheu Thai must know that is gambling with its future, as the most loyal of the Red Shirt movement will disavow a party leadership that made friends with the devil.

What Pheu Thai is calling a government of reconciliation has been met with dismal public support, with 64.5% of respondents in a public poll disagreeing with such a coalition government.

Adding to the tensions is the sensational return of former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was greeted by emotional Red Shirt supporters when he touched down in Bangkok on Tuesday morning, just hours before the Prime Minister vote, having spent over a decade in self-exile after he was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled the country in 2008 to avoid jail for corruption. The 74-year-old was taken to prison on Tuesday to serve his eight-year sentence, though its believed that Pheu Thai struck a deal to guarantee his early release.

By aligning itself with parties connected to the military and the conservative establishment, Pheu Thai has sacrificed whatever remains of its credibility as a party championing liberal and pro-democratic values in opposition to military rule, says Napon, adding that the coalition has also left Pheu Thai considerably constrained in its capacity to fulfill campaign promises and shape future government policies.

It remains to be seen just how well a government made up of members with vastly differentoften conflictinginterests can run, Napon explains. If effectiveness is measured in terms of the ability to fulfill campaign promises and implement policies, I believe that the new Pheu Thai-led coalition will not be very effective. Its policy priorities will be compromised by the need to maintain a shaky alliance involving other parties that make pressing demands in return for propping up the coalition.

According to an announcement by the coalition on Monday, Pheu Thai is set to have eight ministersincluding the Prime Ministerand nine deputy ministers. Bhumjaithai, the conservative party known for legalizing cannabis and the May elections third-highest vote-getter, will have four ministers and four deputy ministers. Meanwhile, the military-aligned United Thai Nation and Palang Pracharath will each have two ministers and two deputy ministers.

The devils bargain that Pheu Thai made to secure its place in a majority government, Napon says, appears to have set the party up to fail. Pheu Thais move amounted to a betrayal of the mandate of its supporters, he says. Any mismanagement or backlash from the public will likely be attributed to Pheu Thai, leaving it in a vulnerable position.

Protests against the new government seem inevitable. Already, over the past few weeks, pro-democracy activists and Red Shirts held demonstrations beggingunsuccessfullythat Pheu Thai not betray them by teaming up with their former political foes.

Meanwhile, despite being relegated to the opposition after its election victory, not all is lost for Move Forward or the progressive movement. Its only a matter of time, experts say, before the young, ambitious party, which has set itself apart with its unwavering commitment to its principles, returns even stronger to contest the countrys leadership again. Says Cogan, Its very likely that if and when Thailand holds another election, Move Forward will likely gain where Pheu Thai lost. While that means those that voted for Move Forward lose out in the short-term, they will ultimately gain.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
FILE - The Facebook logo is seen on a cell phone, on Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. A Thai Cabinet minister is threatening to try to shut down Facebook in the country, saying the social media platform does not do enough to screen the advertisements it runs, leaving people vulnerable to costly scams. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BANGKOK (AP)  A Thai Cabinet minister is threatening to try to shut down Facebook in the country, saying the social media platform does not do enough to screen the advertisements it runs, leaving people vulnerable to costly scams.

Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Thailand's minister of Digital Economy and Society, said in a statement Monday that he is ready to go to criminal court by the end of the month arguing for Facebook to be shut down in Thailand.

He said Thai authorities have already appealed to Facebook parent company Meta to take down fraudulent ads, leading to more than 5,000 being blocked, but that the problem persists.

He said ads or fake profiles on Facebook frequently purport to represent reputable financial and investment advisers offering high profits, luring people into scams in which they lose their money.

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Reached by phone on Tuesday, Meta in Thailand asked for queries to be sent by email to its press department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the minister's allegations.

It was not immediately clear how quickly the court might rule on the case if it is filed by the ministry.

Facebook is extremely popular in Thailand, with more than 50 million user accounts for the country's 66 million people.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra , who returned from self-exile on Tuesday, will serve a total of eight years in prison, according to a statement by the Supreme Court.

The jail term covers three different cases for abuse of power and malfeasance, illegally ordering a state-run bank to issue a foreign loan, and illegally holding shares via nominees. Thaksin was taken to the Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Martin Petty)
Workers shovel mud near the tavern at Riley's Farm in Yucaipa after Tropical Storm Hilary passed through, trapping some residents of the Inland Empire and the San Bernardino Mountains. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

With the sun shining and the rain brought on by Tropical Storm Hilary gone, Lucy Beeson peeked out of her Lancaster home and decided she could finally go outside.

The storm drenched Southern California with record rainfall, leaving behind residual floodwaters in the Antelope Valley that trapped Beeson, 78, in her home Sunday and Monday.

By Tuesday morning, looking out her front door, Beeson could see that the water had receded.

"I think I'll be able to get out today. I'm not sure," she said. "It was pretty bad. The water was all the way up to my neighbor's knees and he's a tall man. I was too afraid to go outside, but we saw some of the neighborhood kids playing in the water."

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In the aftermath of the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in decades, residents throughout the Inland Empire and the San Bernardino Mountains were beginning Tuesday to find their way out from behind the mud and debris flows and floodwaters that trapped many since the downpours began in earnest Sunday afternoon.

Authorities reported few injuries in the region, but several trapped residents had to be rescued by helicopter and a man who was caught in fast-moving waters in Chino Hills was plucked out by firefighters. As of Tuesday morning, rescue teams were still working to get access to some residents in hard-hit San Bernardino mountain communities. At least one woman remained unaccounted for in the Seven Oaks area, according to Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Read more: 116 degrees at night: Death Valley's extreme heat goes off the charts from climate change

Beeson said she got a call from the city Monday evening with an update on post-storm conditions in Lancaster, but she explained that flooding is nothing new in her neighborhood, where she has lived for 12 years.

"This happens every year," she said. "This years the worst. Every time we have a storm, we get flooded in. Every time we see that a storm is coming, my husband and I go out and get provisions."

Lancaster received 4 inches of rain, and spokesperson Brianne Terrell said the city identified three major areas that require debris removal, with cleanup and recovery efforts likely to take the rest of the week.

There were no reported injuries among the 170,000 residents, but a significant portion of the community has "experienced disruptions" due to the storm, Terrell said.

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris credited the city's public works department for preparing ahead of the storm and working to unclog drainage systems.

"With the spirit of collaboration and unity, I am confident we will shine brighter than ever," Parris said in a statement.

Read more: Photos: Clean up is underway after tropical Storm Hilary arrives in Southern California

Farther south, Palmdale received almost 4 inches of rain, which accounts for nearly half of the year's average total rainfall for the area, according to meteorologist Mike Woodruff of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

"It was a substantial storm, with significant flooding as a result," Woodruff said.

The downpour caused a large retaining wall in Palmdale to collapse Sunday evening, severely damaging multiple homes, said Capt. Sheila Kelliher with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Crews on Monday evening were moving large sections of dirt and mud from the damaged wall near 25th Street and Avenue S. There were no reported injuries.

"There is residual flooding in the Antelope Valley, but it's dissipating," Kelliher said. "You're still seeing that residual flooding in areas that is impacting access."

Overall, the region has fared well against the storm, she said, crediting emergency crews for being prepared and residents for heeding the warnings to stay out of dangerous situations.

Read more: Hilary was billed as a monster storm. Why it battered some areas but spared others

A man was rescued from the San Antonio River in Chino Hills on Sunday evening by a helicopter crew with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Officials received reports of a person in the water, and the rescue helicopter crew was able to hoist the man out of fast-moving water and transport him in critical condition to a local hospital, Kelliher said.

"The person was going fast in the water and the crew thought they lost him at one point, because he went under," she said. "It was a dramatic rescue."

Emergency responders working in the hard-hit San Bernardino mountain communities airlifted one woman with non-life-threatening injuries from the Seven Oaks area, and continued searching for the missing woman, who was reported in her mobile home before it was swept off its foundation by floodwaters, Sherwin said.

Seven Oaks, Forest Falls and Oak Glen experienced flooding and debris flows from the storm that marooned residents for at least two days. Several residents in the Seven Oaks mobile home community were cut off from outside access, without water or power and accessible only by helicopter, Sherwin said. He estimated there were 15 residents still stuck Tuesday; some were airlifted out Monday.

"With limited access, we're flying in there," Sherwin said Tuesday morning.

A 200-foot section of Glass Road, Seven Oaks' only connection to Highway 38  the region's main artery  was wiped out by flash flooding, Sherwin said. Firefighters are working to build a footbridge over the Santa Ana River to allow residents to leave, he said.

Read more: Trapped in Death Valley, hundreds wait for roads to be cleared

Officials were able to clear portions of the roadways that had cut off two other mountain communities  Forest Falls and Oak Glen  after flash flooding, Sherwin said, allowing single-lane or emergency traffic through.

A washout forced the California Department of Transportation to close a 15-mile stretch of Highway 38 near Seven Oaks toward Big Bear early Tuesday, the agency said in a news release.

Almost 50 miles of Highway 62, the main artery north of Joshua Tree National Park, remained closed because of debris flow and shoulder erosion. The national park opened for day use Tuesday, but some roads are still inaccessible and campgrounds remain closed as rangers continue to assess damage from heavy flooding.

In Inyo County, multiple roads in the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area remain closed from storm damage, according to the Bureau of Land Management, while all of Death Valley National Park remains closed after flash floods and mudflows washed through the area.

Read more: Full coverage of Hilary

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The heavy winds and torrential rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary have left Southern California dealing with widespread damage, and will probably still cause "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding" in portions of the Southwestern United States and the Baja California region in Mexico through Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

But in a part of the country that hadn't had a tropical storm hit in more than 80 years, health and safety experts are urging residents to get out of the floodwater and not swim in, touch or drink the contaminated water.

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A video shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, purportedly shows a few people in Southern California dancing, swimming in and jumping face-first into the floodwater. The video, which has been viewed tens of millions of times as of Monday morning, has brought about a consistent message from officials, health experts and journalists covering Hilary: "Please stay out of floodwater."

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"I wouldn't want to get into that floodwater right now," said Joan Rose, a Michigan State University professor specializing in microbiological water quality and public health safety.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have repeatedly warned people to "stay out of floodwater," noting that it can contain downed power lines, human and livestock waste and hazardous waste among other contaminants. The wide range of contaminants can lead to wound infections, skin rash and gastrointestinal illness, the CDC says.

"What we do know is floodwater has high levels of contaminants, and the fecal content is usually high," said Rose, who holds the Homer Nowlin endowed chair in water research at MSU. "We're always concerned with any ingestion, or when people in these floodwaters touch their food, face and eyes."

Hilary, the first tropical storm to enter the region in 84 years, made landfall on Sunday over the northern Baja California peninsula of Mexico with winds of 65 mph. Hilary was at one point a category 4 hurricane off the coast of Mexico before it weakened. The storm killed a man on Sunday in Mexico's Baja California Sur, authorities said, after water swept away his car. No deaths or significant injuries had been reported in Los Angeles County as of Monday morning following Hilary, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) said at a news conference.

Now a post-tropical cyclone, Hilary was traveling north through Nevada early Monday with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, according to the NHC. "A brief tornado or two will be possible" in southeastern California and parts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah, the NHC said.

Flash flood warnings for the cities of Los Angeles, Glendale and Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County were extended Monday until 8 a.m. local time, the National Weather Service said in an update. More than 7 million people live in the area that was affected by the warning.

Officials in San Diego urged people on Sunday to stay inside since "the worst of the storm has yet to come." As heavy rain and dangerous flooding were pounding Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Sunday night, the NWS also warned people to not go outside.

"PLEASE STAY HOME AND OFF THE ROADS," the agency wrote on X. "This is a DANGEROUS situation."

Floodwater poses a drowning risk for anyone swimming or driving through it, but health experts say the contaminated waters also "contain many things that may harm health."

"We don't know exactly what is in floodwater at any given point in time," the CDC says.

Some of the other items that can be found in floodwater include coal ash waste that can contain carcinogenic compounds such as arsenic, chromium and mercury; debris, lumber or vehicles; and wild or stray animals such as rodents and snakes. Exposure to the contaminated waters can also lead to tetanus and leptospirosis, a rare illness from floodwater that is a bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected animals, according to the CDC.

"It is important to protect yourself from exposure to floodwater regardless of the source of contamination," the agency said. "The best way to protect yourself is to stay out of the water."

The NWS added, "Standing water hides many dangers including toxins and chemicals. There may be sharp objects under the water or the road could have collapsed."

Experts say that if people must enter floodwater, they should be wearing rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles to protect from illness. People exposed to it should wash their hands with soap, wash all clothes that touched the contaminated waters and cover up any open wounds to prevent infection.

The country's awareness surrounding floodwater exposure has increased in the years since Hurricane Katrina crushed the Gulf Coast. The CDC determined that the number of cases of West Nile virus doubled in affected areas in Louisiana and Mississippi following the 2005 hurricane because of the mosquitoes that thrive in the presence of standing floodwater. Almost half of the inspected homes after Katrina had visible mold growth that put those residents at risk for developing respiratory problems, according to the CDC. A 2011 study of hundreds of rescued cats and dogs in the Gulf Coast after Katrina found that many of those pets had contracted infectious diseases from the floodwater.

Despite the public warnings from health officials over the years, some people have insisted on playing in it. In 2019, an Oklahoma man made light of the state's flooding in a viral video by dancing in the floodwater while Usher's "U Got It Bad" played in the background. In January, videos of people tubing, paddleboarding and "street surfing" in the San Francisco Bay Area amid flooding caused officials to urge residents to stop having fun in the floodwater, according to KRON, a San Francisco TV station.

Rose told The Post that people who insist on being in the floodwater when they don't have to be can mitigate some of the health risks. While water and rain should be celebrated by all, she emphasized that people need to be smart about willingly exposing themselves to floodwater.

"We need rain, but when it comes down in a heavy flooding situation like in California, that's when the risks get a little bit higher. They need to be careful, be cautious," she said. "You can mitigate some of the risks if you're in the floodwater, but people don't think of storm water as being as contaminated as it is."

- - -

The Washington Post's Maeve Reston, Lori Rozsa, Ian Livingston, Maham Javaid, Paulina Villegas and Leo Sands contributed to this report.

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Belief in misinformation about key health issues persists among a good chunk of adults, with false claims about COVID-19, vaccines and reproductive health garnering a substantial amount of support, a poll released Tuesday by KFF has found.

Whether or not they believed the claims, nearly all participants in the survey were aware of the misinformation, with 96 percent saying they had heard at least one of the 10 claims presented to them. The most widespread misinformation claims had to do with COVID-19 and vaccines.

The new polling data found that a third of adults believed the COVID-19 vaccines caused thousands of sudden deaths in otherwise healthy people, with 10 percent believing that claim to be definitely true and 23 percent saying it was probably true. Another 34 percent said it was probably false, and 31 percent said that claim was definitely false.

Nearly a third of people also said they believed the parasitic deworming medication ivermectin was an effective treatment for COVID-19. Among the naysayers, 44 percent said that claim was probably false and 22 percent said it was definitely false.

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Health experts and clinicians have repeatedly stressed that there is no evidence that ivermectin has any efficacy in treating or preventing COVID-19 infections, and the Food and Drug Administration has never authorized the drug for use in treating the coronavirus.

In the same poll, roughly a quarter of people said they believed vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella caused autism in children, and that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility. No evidence has so far been found to indicate that immunization against the coronavirus affects male or female fertility.

The claims that vaccines cause autism have long been refuted. Several studies, including one in Sweden published in 2020 that followed children exposed to flu vaccinations for several years, have found no link between vaccinations and autism.

The British physician Andrew Wakefield who originated the claim has since been barred from practicing medicine in the U.K., and the 1998 study he conducted that linked autism to vaccinations has been deemed fraudulent.

Regarding reproductive health, about a third of survey participants said they believed sex education would lead to teens being more sexually active, and also that birth control the pill or IUDs make it harder for women to get pregnant after they stop using those methods.

Even larger shares of participants believed in misinformation having to do with gun violence, with 60 percent saying they believed armed school police guards have been proven to prevent school shootings.

A 2021 analysis of 133 school shootings of 133 school shootings from 1980-2019 found that armed school police officers  who were present in nearly a quarter of school shootings included in the study  were not associated with a significant reduction in gun injuries.

Another 42 percent said they believed people who have firearms in their homes are less likely to be killed by a gun than people without guns at home. In fact, the opposite has been observed, with a 2022 analysis of California adults from 2004-16 finding that overall homicide rates were more than two times higher among people who lived with gun owners than those who didnt.

While these results indicate a sizable minority of adults believe in disproven claims about health, KFF noted that the rate of people who believe them to be definitely true was small overall. The majority of people fell in what the organization referred to as the malleable middle, merely being unsure about most of the claims presented to them.

KFF found that certain groups were more susceptible to misinformation than others, including those with lower levels of educational attainment, those who identify as Republican as well as Black and Hispanic adults.

The KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll Pilot that was conducted from May 23 to June 12. Pollsters included 2,007 adults in the survey and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
New data suggests threats against public officials are on the rise, and experts say theyre concerned the trends will only continue to worsen.

With 2024 rapidly nearing  where an already-heated presidential election is set to be coupled with multiple trials of former President Trump, who is also a candidate  the risk of menacing talk escalating into action could increase due to inflamed political rhetoric and increased media coverage, they said.

Data shows that since 2013, 501 threats against public officials have resulted in federal charges, according to a report by the University of Nebraska at Omahas National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center. Nearly 80 percent of those cases ended in convictions.

The threats sharply went up in 2017 and 2021, both years following pivotal U.S. elections. The COVID-19 pandemic and immigration policy changes also served as catalysts for increases in threats against public officials.

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According to the report, threats against law enforcement and the military  including judges and prosecutors  were the most common among public officials, but the targets recently have spanned multiple political offices, including in the White House.

Earlier this month, a Utah man was shot and killed during an FBI raid linked to threats against President Biden and other Democratic officials.

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty to sending a bomb threat to an election official in the Arizona Secretary of States office, and an Indiana man was charged with sending threats to a Michigan election worker.

An Illinois woman was accused of threatening to kill former President Trump and his teenage son, Barron, while a Michigan mother was charged with making false statements when purchasing firearms later found with her son  who is accused of threatening Biden and other Democrats.

And the judges and grand jurors tied to Trumps legal matters in Georgia and D.C. have faced increasing threats as those cases progressed  including as targets on Trumps social media account.

Threats to public officials are increasingly becoming a strategy or a tactic thats relied on, Chapman University sociologist Pete Simi, the studys principal investigator, told The Hill. As people develop grievances about various things, the idea of threatening a public official is becoming increasingly normalized.

Katherine Keneally, a senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said its very common for judges, public defenders and prosecutors to face threats from people involved in a case, like a defendants family member or a gang member during a gang-related case.

But more recently  especially following Trumps indictments in four criminal cases  threats by unrelated actors are increasing.

Whats separate with what were seeing now is that people are threatening judges, prosecutors  because those individuals are now being perceived as being representative of a very politicized government, Keneally said.

Last week, a Texas woman was charged with threatening to kill U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Trumps 2020 election case in Washington. She called Chutkans chambers five days after Trump was indicted, called her a racial slur and threatened to kill anyone who comes after Trump.

In the Georgia case, grand jurors who voted to indict Trump faced threats and a torrent of racist comments online. Their purported addresses were also posted on right-wing forums.

Most individuals menacing public officials have a criminal history and align with anti-government or racist ideologies, the report says.

Although the report found that phone calls are still the most likely method for communicating threats, social media has played a large role in making it harder for law enforcement to determine whether threats could result in real-world violence, according to Alex Friedfeld, an investigative researcher with the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism.

When you have lots of people in a space engaging this type of rhetoric, it becomes very hard to discern who is the real threat, which creates possibilities that someone slips through, Friedfeld said.

Justice Department prosecutors must find ample evidence before charging Americans for making threats because of the thin line between threats and protected speech, Keneally said.

Because of the First Amendment, its very difficult to charge someone for these threats, she said. I hope that we continue to see more charges, but I do not envy [the DOJs] position.

Still, an increase in federal charges for making threats against public figures has accompanied the rise in threats itself, the report found.

My concern is a lone individual who is in these spaces reading day in and day out that what has happened in this country is a threat to not just himself, but his family, his community and the country he loves, Friedfeld said.

He is watching people talk about this in ways that normalize violence  hang them, shoot them, kill the traitors, whatever it may be  and starts to internalize that, rationalize this rhetoric and start to believe that this is what is necessary, he continued. And, that that lone individual decides to act.

The Justice Department and FBI did not respond to The Hills requests for comment about increasing threats against public officials.

Politicians who amplify violent or hateful rhetoric online could also increase the likelihood of a bad actor taking their threats offline.

Powerful individuals are helping push these extremist beliefs into the mainstream and reaching a broader audience that they likely would not have previously, Keneally said. Theyre validating their causes, which is extremely dangerous.

But whether threats are acted upon at all doesnt diminish the harm they cause to Americas greater system of democracy, Simi said.

Sometimes we forget that the threats themselves  especially as their volume increases  have a very corrosive and damaging impact on our system of governance and society more broadly, he said. And thats something I think we really need to consider more carefully and seriously.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A police officer holds up crime scene tape after a shooting incident at the West Edmonton Mall

A police officer holds up crime scene tape after a shooting incident at the West Edmonton Mall

By Anirudh Saligrama and Kyaw Soe Oo

(Reuters) -Three people suffered serious injuries in a shooting incident at a mall in Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, city police said on Monday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The victims of Monday's incident at the West Edmonton mall have been taken to hospital for treatment, although the injuries are not life-threatening, the police said.

Preliminary investigations suggest the event was a targeted one in which the parties knew each other, police said, as they began to reverse the lockdown ordered in the wake of the shooting.

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"We do not believe there to be any further risk at this time," they added.

Details of the gunman were not immediately known.

Edmonton police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A visitor to the mall told Reuters the incident had been terrifying, spurring staff to lock doors, turned off lights and urge people to keep quiet.

Other staff asked people to gather in a safe area away from doors and windows, another mall visitor said.

The mall, which is home to more than 800 stores and receives average annual visits of nearly 31 million, holds quarterly lockdown drills to prepare guests and tenants for emergencies, it says on its website.

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama and Kyaw Soe Oo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)
Sebastian Soto spent most of his adulthood coming and going from jail due to an untreated alcohol addiction. Within 10 years, he said he got caught driving under the influence four times, making him a felon.

After his last release in December 2021, Soto entered a new Thurston County program that would help him get his life back on track.

The LEAD program became a vital aspect to my success in the community, Soto said. I knew I didnt ever want to return (to jail) but in doing so I needed help. Becoming sober, doing the right things and applying myself were just the beginning.

LEAD stands for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion. The county launched their version of this program in July 2021. With a small team in a county of over 300,000 people, the programs reach has been relatively limited. Yet, its still helped hundreds of people with unmet needs avoid prosecution and improve their lives in ways big and small.

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The program works by connecting people with peer case managers who help them overcome their personal challenges. In Sotos case, he said his case manager helped him set goals, get treatment for his alcohol addiction, apply for jobs and more.

Having someone there to help you and be a part of what you needed to get done, the support from that, the fellowship that you obtain, it makes a world of difference, Soto said.

At 37, Soto is still part of the LEAD program, but hes made progress. He said he has a fiance, two daughters and a seasonal maintenance job at the City of Olympia Public Works Department.

Soto said he used to feel like taking advantage of opportunities had a negative connotation, but hes since realized its OK to accept help.

You are allowed to take advantage of certain gifts to obtain goals in your life, that are going to put you in better places, Soto said. Absolutely, Im all for it. I never knew the difference until today.

LEAD Program Manager Jason Bean-Mortinson said most participants tend to stabilize and transition out of services in about six months, but others have stayed for longer or chosen to return.

The program is focused on a harm reduction approach, meaning they strive to limit any suffering by the participant or community. At the end of the day, he said its about saving peoples lives.

I think one of the goals is really to have no judgment, Bean-Mortinson said. Its about showing up where youre at and helping you get what you need.

Referrals to get someone into the program can come from various sources. Soto said his referral came from his probation officer, making it a criminal legal system referral.

Referrals also can be handed out by community partners and outreach services. Such was the case for Donald Collins, 54.

Collins said he felt like he hit rock bottom about two years ago. He was suffering from alcohol addiction and sleeping in his car after separating from his partner.

Over a year ago, he encountered a case manager for the LEAD program at a local recovery home. The case manager offered him a referral and in a few months time he was getting help.

Wed sit down, and wed discuss avenues like programs out there that would help, Collins said. You have to get a referral to get into these things. Its not easy sometimes. But what (LEAD) does, it helps you open up the door for those programs to get into.

Now, hes sober, living in group home and looking for work. However, it took some work to get there. Though hes relapsed a couple times, he said his case manager continued to encourage him.

If I didnt take advantage of it, I would have been in a worse place, he said.

As program case manager Nicole Smith listens during a Aug. 4, 2023 interview participant Donald Collins describes his personal challenges and how the LEAD program had assisted his recovery.The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) arrest diversion program is a collaborative community safety effort that offers law enforcement a credible alternative to booking people into jail for criminal activity that stems from unmet behavioral health needs or poverty.

The scale of caseload

Nicole Smith, 56, is a peer case manager who joined the program almost two years ago. Like others in her position, she has lived experience thats relatable to participants.

After coming into recovery myself, my life totally changed when I realized through that life event that I didnt have to live my old life again, Smith said.

Typically, she has between 15 and 25 people on her caseload who are at various stages of need. Some of them she only connects with weekly, while others need much more frequent contact.

She said the work is challenging and requires plenty of patience, especially given the limited resources in the community, but its still worth it.

I think its the greatest program because its life changing, Smith said. And it has that trickle-down effect. Its not just the person that were directly working with, but all the people that person comes in contact with, it benefits them as well.

The Thurston Mason Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organization manages the program and Olympic Health and Recovery Services provides case management services.

The program partners with local law enforcement and the Prosecuting Attorneys Office, which issue arrest diversion referrals. A Community Advisory Board, Steering Committee and Operations work group oversee the program.

Bean-Mortinson said the program has seven case managers and two substance use disorder professionals who help coordinate outreach, conduct intake and assess participants.

He acknowledged the staff is not large enough to support all the people in Thurston County who could benefit from the program. But he said they are able to make an amazing impact on those they can reach.

Weve kind of flowed close to being at max capacity but weve been able to bring on a new peer case manager here and there to allow for more referrals to keep coming, Bean-Mortinson said. If we had a larger team, there could definitely be more outreach.

Though the program has law enforcement in its name, arrest diversion referrals have fallen behind referrals from community service providers and outreach services, The Olympian previously reported.

Bean-Mortinson attributed this trend to police reform and accountability laws from the past few years as well as the 2021 Washington State v. Blake decision. That ruling struck down the states felony drug possession law.

In delayed response to the fallout from that decision, Gov. Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5536 into law on May 16. This bill makes knowingly possessing controlled substances a gross misdemeanor.

Additionally, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders decided to fully reopen the county jail on Aug. 1. This move removed pandemic-related booking restrictions that limited arrests for lower-level crimes.

Bean-Mortinson said he hasnt seen a significant uptick in arrest referrals yet, but that will likely change soon.

Were planning for and expecting an increase in those types of referrals later this month, but theres still a lot of unknowns about how thats actually going to go.

LEAD Program Manager Jason Bean-Mortinson
Lawyers for former Democratic insider Tim Mapes have rested their case after calling four witnesses in his perjury trial in an effort to attack allegations that he lied before a grand jury to protect his longtime boss, former House Speaker Michael Madigan .

Shortly before the defense rested Tuesday, Mapes confirmed to U.S. District Judge John Kness outside the presence of the jury that he wished to waive his right to testify in his own defense  a move that seemed all but certain given the inherent pitfalls of taking the witness stand.

Closing arguments are expected to begin Wednesday.

The faults of human memory and Mapes state of mind after he was forced to resign in 2018 were the focus of Mapes defense, as his lawyers pushed the argument that he was truthful in the grand jury but just couldnt remember answers to the questions he was asked due to the stress-filled, intimidating nature of the grand jury setting in March 2021.

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Dawn McBride, a psychology professor at Illinois State University who specializes in human memory, testified that certain levels of stress could block out the ability to recall different moments  an attempt by Mapes attorneys to show that even the memory of a notoriously detail-driven and demanding person like him was not infallible.

McBride, who did not examine or interview Mapes as part of her testimony, also told the jury that people who are detail-oriented dont necessarily have good long-term memories.

They tend to have a good working memory, she says.

On cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur repeatedly pointed out that McBride had no specific knowledge of Mapes case or his testimony before the grand jury.

You dont know whether Tim Mapes had a motive to lie? MacArthur asked.

McBride replied, No, my expertise is in human memory.

Asked if someone could fake memory loss, McBride said they could, if they just say they dont remember.

Mapes wife, Bronwyn Rains, also testified Tuesday that she saw massive changes in her husband after Madigan ejected him from his organization on June 6, 2018, the day a staffer accused him of sexual harassment and fostering a culture of sexism, harassment and bullying that creates an extremely difficult working environment.

Mapes denied the allegations.

He spent all of his time in our furnished basement sitting in the dark, Rains said of her husband. He was very depressed, he was in a dark place. I was working during the day, so when I would come home he was still in the same position ... in the dark basement as when I left.

She urged him to take a job outside of his comfort zone, saying he then filled gas tanks and serviced UPS trucks at night, as well as transporting barge workers to and from their jobs. She also said he set up a consulting business, though it had only one client.

But MacArthur asked Rains whether she knew that Mapes had detailed conversations with Madigans political aides during that time, and Rains said she was unaware of discussions and meetings he had.

Under MacArthurs questioning, Rains also acknowledged that she traveled to Ireland, Maine and Mexico with Mapes after he was ousted from the Madigan organization.

He didnt stay in his hotel room on those trips, did he? MacArthur asked. He was out and about?

With me on those trips, yes, Rains replied.

The defense also called Emily Wurth, the former chief financial officer of the Madigan-controlled Democratic Party of Illinois, who reinforced the idea that Mapes was a focused boss but also very literal in his interpretation of questions, which sometimes led to odd answers.

Tim is both very demanding but also really an incredible boss to have, because he is incredibly supportive of your work, said Wurth, who left her position with the state Democratic Party in 2019 and now owns her own private consulting company. He was meticulous, he was thorough, he could be short if you were not paying attention correctly. He could also be very funny.

Wurth acknowledged that she stayed in touch with Mapes following his departure, partly for professional reasons to help her pick up the pieces during a wild election year.

Another part of it was also very personal, she said.

I was worried about Tim. It was a very abrupt departure, Wurth testified. For me it was very traumatic. I was worried that about his mental health, because mine wasnt good.

Mapes, 68, of Springfield, is charged with perjury and attempted obstruction of justice, accused in an indictment of lying in answers to seven questions during his appearance before the grand jury investigating Madigan and his vaunted political operation.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction count, while the perjury charges carry up to five years behind bars.

Over eight days of testimony, prosecutors presented 15 witnesses and dozens of wiretapped phone conversations, emails and other documents in an effort to prove that Mapes was lying when he said he was unaware that Michael McClain, a longtime confidant of Madigans, was doing sensitive assignments for the speaker even after McClains retirement from lobbying in 2016.

The prosecutions case has also included the audio of Mapes entire grand jury testimony, offering a rare glimpse into a secretive process and illuminating how big-time political corruption investigations play out behind the scenes.

Mapes, who served for more than 25 years as Madigans chief of staff as well as stints as executive director of the state Democratic Party and the clerk of the House, has denied making any false statements.

His attorneys have argued that he did his level best to provide truthful answers. They also accused prosecutors of asking open-ended questions and failing to provide Mapes with any corroborating materials that might refresh his recollection of years-old conversations.

The defense had said they want to call Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, who conducted the questioning of Mapes at the grand jury, as well as former FBI supervisor Ted McNamara, who questioned McClain about an unrelated investigation in 2016.

But in the end those witnesses were left on the table.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

rlong@chicagotribune.com
China strengthens flood relief in Haihe River Basin

Xinhua) 09:34, August 22, 2023

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- In response to the worst flooding in the Haihe River Basin since 1963, Chinese authorities are pumping recovery funds into the area, and, with the floodwaters receding after the July 28 to August 1 deluge, residents are beginning to return home.

Some 22 rivers in the basin experienced above-warning level flooding, and eight rivers reported the largest floods ever recorded, the Ministry of Water Resources said Monday.

China's water conservancy system has left no stone unturned in the management of flood prevention and control. Relevant provincial and municipal water conservancy departments have issued 341 million disaster warnings for mountain torrents, according to Vice Minister of Water Resources Liu Weiping.

To minimize the impact and damage wrecked by flooding, the ministry has sent 26 work teams and expert groups to lead flood prevention and risk management at the grassroots. The water conservancy system has mobilized 84 large- and medium-sized reservoirs and eight flood storage and retention zones for flood prevention and control.

At present, the water level in active flood storage and retention areas within the basin are gradually retreating and residents are gradually returning home.

China allocated an additional 500 million yuan (about 69.4 million U.S. dollars) on Aug. 19, on top of the 1 billion yuan announced on Aug. 9, to help people return to life and work in affected areas.

Noting that the flood season is still ongoing, with severe and complicated floods and droughts still expected, Liu said the ministry will continue to strengthen all prevention measures and spare no effort across the board.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Air conditioning isnt a luxury in Missouri this week. Its a dire necessity.

The state has been hit with another excruciating heat wave, one that is expected to last most of the week, and which doesnt even really subside during the nighttime hours. (The heat index at Kansas City Downtown Airport was 104 degrees just before 1 a.m. Monday.) Given those conditions, the safest and sanest option is to stay inside, stay hydrated and keep the AC running.

Climate change doesnt feel very good, does it?

But dealing with a warming planet isnt as simple as heading inside and out of the sun. For many Missourians, that heat is about to make life more complicated  and potentially much more expensive.

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Evergy, which serves electric customers in Kansas City and the surrounding western Missouri counties, is shifting to time-based rate plans this fall. And the default plan that most customers use will charge higher rates  much higher rates  during some of the hottest hours of the hottest months of the year.

How much higher? During most hours, customers will be charged 9 cents a kilowatt hour. During the summer months, between the hours of 4 to 8 p.m.  when electricity use and its strain on the grid is at its highest  the rate will be a whopping 38 cents a kilowatt hour.

Believe it or not, the point here is not to punish Missourians for running the air conditioning during the times of year they need it most. Instead, the idea is to encourage customers to spread out their electricity use  of large appliances like dishwashers, dryers and even charging electric cars  throughout the rest of the day. (Evergy offers tools on its website to help customers choose a rate plan thats best for them.)

Discouraging electricity use during peak hours

As energy demand rises, the cost of generating electricity also increases, the company says, and adds: With time-based plans, its important to avoid using large amounts of energy during the peak hours.

That is probably a good idea. Weve seen heat waves lead to brownouts and rolling blackouts, in states like California, when the electrical grid is overburdened.

But it will represent a shift in how many of us think, or dont think, about how we run our households. Plug it in and forget it will become a thing of the past. If not, the results will be apparent in our electric bills.

And some Missourians will be less able than others to adapt to a new era of shifting rates.

People with the flexibility to lower their usage during peak hours may see some benefit, but without that flexibility users will likely end up with larger bills than they had before, Raymond Forstater, an organizer with the Kansas City chapter of the Sunrise Movement, told The Stars Natalie Wallington last month.

This wont be the last devastatingly hot summer in Missouri. Studies show that climate change is making heat waves  like the one were experiencing now  more frequent and more intense. Vulnerable people were always going to be disproportionately burdened by that trend. The new Evergy rate plans, though, suggest that the heat will be costly for all of us.

Unfortunately, Missourians have been ill-served by Republican leaders who continue to play down climate change and its effects.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, in particular, often criticizes climate alarmists and has depicted environmentalists as being in the grips of anti-human ideology. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, meanwhile, in recent weeks has attacked climate envoy John Kerry for suggesting that Americas agriculture sector should cut its carbon emissions. Neither man has grappled meaningfully with the very real harm the heat will do to their constituents.

They wont be paying Missourians electric bills next summer, will they?
Tom Girardi spent his career schmoozing with other lawyers about big cases, often in a smart suit at a choice table in his private club.

But earlier this year in meetings with attorneys preparing to defend him against federal wire fraud charges, the 84-year-old seemed decidedly out of his depth, according to a court filing.

He was unable to recall his attorneys or that he was represented by the Federal Public Defenders Office, his lawyers wrote in June about a series of four meetings. Girardi, living in a senior care facility in Orange County, wore the same sweater with holes in it two days in a row, they wrote, and appeared to struggle to retain factual information, including that his firm no longer existed and he was no longer a practicing attorney with cases to work on.

Was the disgraced legal legends behavior evidence of pronounced dementia  or a canny performance?

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That question will be the subject of a competency hearing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton, who must determine whether Girardi should proceed to trial or be confined to a government facility for additional evaluation. Girardis lawyers say he has little short-term memory and is legally incompetent to go before a jury. Prosecutors contend that is largely an act and Girardi has been feigning dementia for years to dodge accountability for stealing millions of dollars from clients.

They are expected to argue that before he fell into investigators' cross hairs, there was little evidence he was slipping mentally. Among the evidence they cite are 2019 video outtakes apparently from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the reality show on which he and his estranged wife, Erika, appeared.

Defendant is seen regaling his ex-wife and her friends with stories of his trials and his encounters with celebrities such as John Wayne, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Don Rickles, they wrote in a filing last week.

They claim the diminished figure he presents to his lawyers and medical experts is an artfully constructed self-serving portrait.

His purposeful manipulation of these proceedings to avoid the consequences of a trial in this matter directly demonstrate how cunning and capable he truly is, prosecutors wrote.

The judge is expected to hear testimony from four experts: a neurologist and neuropsychologist hired by the defense and a second pair hired by the prosecution. Lay witnesses who have spent time with Girardi may also be called to the stand.

The experts spent hours with Girardi, interviewing him and conducting tests that can identify mental deficits and in some cases malingering, feigning or exaggerating illness. Their detailed reports were submitted to the judge, but remained sealed from public view. Court filings have alluded to their findings.

Neuropsychologists retained by both parties agree that Mr. Girardi is in fact impaired and has been for a period of time, wrote his attorneys in June.

There is disagreement about the degree of impairment, with a defense neurologist describing it as moderate dementia, while a prosecution neuropsychologist has diagnosed him with mild cognitive impairment.

A lawyer for Girardi first disclosed severe memory problems in December 2020 as his firm was collapsing and federal authorities and investigators from the State Bar of California were launching investigations of misappropriation of settlement money. A psychiatrist subsequently diagnosed him with Alzheimers disease as part of conservatorship proceedings in state court.

Read more: Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne: What to know

Though Girardi is still under a conservatorship in which his younger brother handles his affairs, Staton, the judge in his criminal trial, is not bound by the diagnoses or the state court judges determination.

The criminal competency standard was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1960 decision that held that it was not enough for a defendant to have some memory of the events in question and be oriented to time and place.

The "test must be whether he has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding  and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him," the court ruled.

Dr. George Woods, an Oakland psychiatrist who frequently consults on competency matters but is not involved in the Girardi case, said evaluating a defendant like Girardi includes some fairly straightforward analyses: Does he know and understand the charges against him? The possible sentences? Can he explain the role of the judge and the jury?

But assessing whether the defendant can meaningfully help his lawyers on his case is more nuanced.

That is the real kicker, he said. Can you rationally assist the attorney in the preparation of your defense?

Girardi is accused of wire fraud in connection with the alleged embezzlement of $15 million from client settlement funds in the case before Staton. A second indictment in Chicago alleges wire fraud and contempt of court stemming from more than $3 million in misappropriated settlement funds. The Chicago court will use the evidence submitted in the L.A. competency proceedings.

The dual cases are complex, involving a half dozen cases playing out over a decade and numerous financial transfers. The competency question includes whether a defendant can understand and make strategic choices in his case, which could range from agreeing to a plea deal to taking the witness stand to devising a particular defense.

If you cant remember what you did, your sequencing, then you cant help your attorney, you cant tell them how you thought about it and how it worked, said Woods, who has lectured on competency at Berkeley Law.

Read more: Tom Girardi has Alzheimer's disease, psychiatrist tells L.A. court

In the months before his diagnosis, Girardi continued to run his Wilshire Boulevard firm, Girardi Keese, and according to prosecution filings, he was deeply involved in all aspects of the business, including the negative effects COVID-19 was having on revenues.

Unfortunately, the working at home is not working. Our income has been reduced by 90%, Girardi wrote to his staff in September 2020. He told employees, We have to come back to the office and start settling all of the smaller cases (up to $200,000.00)....

The next month, he gave an one-hour interview on trial strategy during which he told the host, a fellow lawyer, of their shared profession, We do a lot of good. In November 2020, he moderated an online panel on complex litigation over Zoom, though a Times review of the session showed him appearing to lose his train of thought at times.

It was at a hearing the next month that a criminal defense attorney he had recently hired, Evan Jenness, told a judge demanding information about missing settlement funds that Girardi had severe memory problems and that she was unsure that he understands either the nature or the gravity of the current situation or the past events that have  transpired.

Even after that, Girardi lived by himself in a 10,000-square-foot Pasadena mansion for nine more months, and during that time he continued to entertain guests. In the spring of 2021, he explained to visitors how a break-in at his home had occurred a few months earlier, even showing them a damaged window, according to prosecutors. In a later visit, defendant and his former employees enjoyed several bottles of wine that defendant served them while they had lunch, prosecutors wrote.

If Staton finds Girardi is incompetent, he will be temporarily committed to federal custody for a reasonable time, not to exceed four months. During that period, officials would determine whether there is substantial probability that in the foreseeable future, the defendant will attain capacity to permit the trial to proceed.





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Three top House Republicans sent a letter to the Biden administration this week expressing deep concern about potential threats to national security from an alleged agreement being kept under wraps between the U.S. and Iran.

The Monday letter  signed by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (Texas), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.), and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.)  criticizes the deal as dangerous for releasing $6 billion in frozen funds to Iran for the freeing of five American prisoners.

The letter also accuses the administration of reaching a secret nuclear understanding with Tehran in the agreement.

The Republicans referred to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month that indicates Iran slowed its uranium enrichment process and the capabilities required to build a nuclear weapon, which they said coincided with news of the prisoner exchange deal.

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Taken together, this strongly suggests your Administration has contemporaneously brokered a $6 billion prisoner deal and a nuclear understanding with the regime that are inextricably linked, they wrote.

Any such deal or understanding with Iran that does not permanently and completely halt Irans

nuclear enrichment raises concerns that your administration is entrenching an Iranian nuclear

program that threatens U.S. national security, lawmakers continued.

House Republican leaders said that, if true, the agreement would break a provision in the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 requiring the administration to notify Congress of any decision regarding Irans nuclear program.

The Biden administration has denied that any talks with Iran on the prisoner exchange and funding release are tied to nuclear conversations. The State Department has also said conversations and negotiations are still ongoing.

President Biden has sought unsuccessfully to revive a scrapped nuclear deal with Iran, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that lifts sanctions on Tehran in return for the country not pursuing nuclear weapons development.

The deal, which was publicly confirmed by the administration earlier this month, unfreezes $6 billion of funds held in South Korea from Irans oil sales for the release of the five Americans who were recently transferred to house arrest in Tehran. The U.S. also plans to release some Iranian prisoners in the agreement.

Republicans have slammed the deal because they say it would end up funding Irans military, which has seized U.S.-bound oil tankers and backed militias in Syria that have attacked American troops.

The administration has said the funds are being held at a bank in Qatar, where they would be released only for humanitarian assistance.

In the letter Monday, House Republican leaders argued the deal would also encourage Iran to take more hostages in the future.

If the United States government continues to pay for hostages, Iran will keep taking them, and may demand a higher price every time, the lawmakers said. Our citizens deserve answers about why your administration is rewarding an Iranian regime that is targeting Americans overseas and at home.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Russian drone attack on Khmelnytskyi Oblast, which occurred on the night of 18-19 August, caused damage to the Medzhybizh State Historical and Cultural Reserve.

The blast wave damaged several buildings of the Medzhybizh Fortress, which is an architectural monument of the 16th century officially registered in the State Register of National Cultural Heritage. In particular, the Knight's Tower of the 15th century, St Michael's Church of 1586 and the local museum of the Holodomor all suffered from the attack.

"At about 3:20 on 19 August, a blast wave damaged the windows; locks were broken; doors opened... The roof on the highest Knight's Tower, which is 37 metres high, has been damaged," said Oleh Pohorilets, director of the reserve, quoted by Ukrinform.

Damaged tower roof from the inside. Photo: Suspilne Khmelnytskyi

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According to Pohorilets, damage to the tower is the greatest damage to the reserve. "The support structures have been damaged, and of course, there is now a danger that these sheets can be torn by the wind during a storm, creating a danger to people, and, of course, that natural factors, such as rains, can harm the building itself," said the director of the reserve to Suspile Khmelnytskyi.

Photo: Oleh Pohorilets

Yevhenii Nahurnyi, researcher of the Medzhybizh reserve, said that a large crack appeared on the wall in the museum of the Holodomor, located in one of the buildings.

A crack in the Holodomor Museum. Photo: Suspile Khmelnytskyi

In addition, according to Nahurnyi, during the Russian attack, the windows were blown out, the stained glass windows were damaged, and the door was torn out in St Michael's Church of 1586, located on the territory of the fortress.

On Monday 21 August, Nahurnyi stated that a special commission worked with the police on the territory of the reserve, recording the destruction and assessing the amount of damage.

Photo: Oleh Pohorilets

The reserve hopes to restore the damage with the assistance of philanthropists, said Pohorilets. "I think, most likely, the restoration of the reserve will take place in the good traditions of our work with charitable foundations, which will quickly be able to help us glaze the windows, repair the doors and inspect the roof of the Knight's Tower," the director added.

Oleh Pohorilets. Photo: Suspile Khmelnytskyi

Medzhybizh Fortress is the second-most visited fortress in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Since 2001, it has had the status of a State Historical and Cultural Reserve.

This is a monument of fortification architecture of the XVI century, built in a mixed style, from the stone construction of the Lithuanian era to the Eastern European Renaissance and pseudo-Gothic of the XIX century. It has also entered the State Register of National Cultural Heritage of Ukraine. Monuments of architecture of national importance are also separate objects on the territory of the reserve: the palace complex, the church of St Nicholas, walls and towers.

Medzhybizh Fortress. Photo: @nadiia_zakharina / Instagram

In April 2022, the castle was granted official status as a full member of the European Cultural Route by the Forte Cultura fortification monuments.

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Endangered koalas in eastern Australia recently suffered another loss of habitat, this time to clear the way for a Toyota dealership.

In Coomera, a Gold Coast suburb, a population of koalas is slowly but surely being replaced to make way for business after business.

Whats happening?

The area in southeastern Queensland has recently seen a boom in urbanization. In April, Yahoo News Australia reported on the recent openings of a McDonalds, a KFC, and a Taco Bell across the street from a Westfield shopping center that opened in 2018. And last September, the process of clearing land for a Woolworths supermarket began, angering some residents.

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This urban sprawl is having a negative effect on the koala population. In 2021, a disoriented koala was found in the Westfield parking lot. Following treatment at a wildlife hospital, the koala, believed to be 10 years old, had to be returned to the wild.

Amy Wregg of Wildcare Australia, a nonprofit organization, said to Yahoo News Australia at the time, With this one, because of his age, he needs to go back to his habitat, but where does he go? Im just worried that wherever I release him, hes going to get pushed out again.

As for the new Toyota dealership, Yahoo News Australia claimed to have seen documents proving that koalas and other protected species used the site before it was developed.

Why the development of koala habitat is concerning

Professional rescuers like Wregg believe koalas in the region will be extinct by 2050.

Its heartbreaking, Wreggs told Yahoo News Australia. Its not a matter of if, its when.

According to the City of Gold Coast, urban development is one of the biggest threats to the koala population. This isnt just due to loss of habitat but also to the dangers of being hit by cars and attacked by dogs, threats that increase with development and greater human presence.

On top of that, fencing limits the movement of koalas, and they can drown in pools if they dont have a way to climb out.

Whats being done to help the koala population

In early 2022, the Australian government changed the koala population from vulnerable to endangered in parts of eastern Australia, including Queensland, which should increase protections for the koalas. Weeks earlier, the Australian government announced it would direct nearly $36 million toward recovery and conservation efforts in the coming years.

For its part, the City of Gold Coast is implementing whats called the Koala Conservation Plan. Among other things, the plan consists of regulating development, buying land for koala habitat, restoring existing koala habitat, and working to reduce the number of koalas killed by vehicles or domestic dogs through raising awareness.

The Gold Coast says residents can do their part by reporting koala sightings, especially if it appears sick, injured, orphaned, or in danger.

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Contending Orders: Legal Pluralism and the Rule of Law, by Geoffrey Swenson, Oxford University Press, Oxford University Press, 288 pages, $74

Geoffrey Swenson's Contending Orders is interesting for two reasons. The first is that Swenson, who is both a lawyer and a political scientist, takes seriously the existence of nonstate law and its associated legal systemsin this case, in the context of traditional societies emerging from violent conflict. The second is that he describes attempts in two very different societies to replace traditional legal and political institutions with modern ones. By his account the project is succeeding in one case and has failed in the other, in part because the first did and the second did not succeed in creating a cooperative relationship between state and nonstate institutions.

The successful case is Timor-Leste, earlier known as East Timor. After an extended violent conflict with Indonesia, Timor-Leste got its independence not by military successthe independence forces eventually gave up on thatbut through outside pressure. It then succeeded, with a great deal of foreign help, in establishing something close to a rule-of-law legal system and a government sufficiently democratic to permit peaceful shifts of power between the major parties.

Swenson reports that the informal legal system is "centered on small, tightly knit communities" and that it "emphasizes compensation and reconciliation rather than punishment.Once appropriate compensation has been determined, reconciliation seeks to restore communal harmony." Immediately after independence, he adds, "The vibrancy and authority of non-state justice contrasted starkly with the low capacity, legacy of illegitimacy, and administrative confusion of the state courts."

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The nonstate system, essential for the functioning of the society, was neither integrated into the state system nor left entirely independent. The government set up elections for local chiefs, replacing traditional institutions based on membership in leading families, and it subsidized them. The councils' authority was, in theory, restricted to minor crimes but nonstate authorities continued to resolve most disputes.

The failed attempt was Afghanistan. The informal system there, applied through local gatherings, enforced a mix of Islamic and tribal law. Part of the reason for the failure, in Swenson's view, was the lack of any serious attempt to create cooperation between the state and tribal legal systems.

Swenson does not mention two other and perhaps more important differences between the two projects. Timor-Leste has a population of about a million, Afghanistan about 40 million. Keeping control of the nation-building project, monitoring the court system to prevent corruption, running the country for the first two or three years of independence, and providing foreign legal actors to man the court system until sufficient local actors can be trained, as the United Nations did in Timor-Leste, is easier on a small scale than a large one.

A second difference was that Timor-Leste's insurgents, having won with foreign support, cooperated in the project to create a democratic government. In Afghanistan, in contrast, there was a competition for control between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Foreign actors' ability to prevent rigged elections and a corrupt judicial system, or to do anything else that the government they were supporting did not want them to do, was limited by the risk that conflict on one side of the civil war would help the other side.

Swenson is mostly concerned with success or failure in establishing a rule-of-law legal system, but that was only part of what the foreign actors wanted. They also wanted to create a democratic political system, a cooperative relation between the state and informal legal systems, and legal outcomes consistent with modern Western principles.

Swenson portrays his preferred political system as a means toward his preferred legal system: "In theory, democracy is not required for the rule of law. Yet, as a both practical and empirical matter, the rule of law demands democratic government in some form." His book, however, provides evidence against that claim. "In contrast to the state," he notes, "the Taliban made establishing a legitimate legal order the core of its political program by offering inexpensive, expedient, and relatively fair dispute resolution." The Taliban, unlike the national government supported by the U.S. and its allies, followed the approach Swenson recommended: "While locked into a combative relationship with the state legal system, the Taliban proactively built relationships with tribal and religious leaders." That was made easier by the fact that it was enforcing essentially the same law as the traditional system.

For older examples of the rule of law in nondemocratic systems, consider the history of imperial China or the following anecdote, set in 14th-century India, from The Rehla of Ibn Battuta: "A young boy, one of the sons of the maliks, brought a claim against the Sultan that the latter had struck him without just cause, and cited him before the qadi. Judgement was given against the Sultan to the effect that he should give the plaintiff monetary compensation, if he would accept that, or alternatively allow him to exercise his right to retaliate in kind. I was present that day when the Sultan returned to his audience-hall, and saw him summon the boy, give him a stick, and say to him, 'By my head, you shall strike me just as I struck you.' Whereupon the boy took the stick and gave him twenty-one blows, so that I actually saw his high cap fly off his head."

That was offered as one of several examples of Mohammad Ibn Tughluq, the powerful and fabulously wealthy sultan of Delhi, accepting the principle that the ruler is bound by the same law as the ruled. No doubt not all Muslim rulers did soIbn Battuta offered the anecdote as evidence that Ibn Tughluq was a good rulerbut that is true in democracies as well. Sovereign immunity in the U.S. immunizes governments from damages that a private party would be liable for. George W. Bush publicly admitted knowingly using information obtained by the National Security Agency in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a felony, but was never indicted or tried for it, evidence that he was less committed to the rule of law than Ibn Tughluq.

A major problem faced by the foreign actors trying to reconstruct legal and political institutions along modern Western lines was the tension between their other two objectives. It is difficult to maintain a cooperative relationship with the informal legal system while getting it to conform to modern Western principles. As Swenson says, "The idea that post-conflict Afghanistan would soon establish a secular legal order that wholeheartedly endorsed gender equality and international human-rights norms was optimistic to the point of absurdity." Similarly, in Timor-Leste, "While domestic policymakers and the international community prioritized promoting gender equity and protecting women's rights, this paradigm shift from private matter to public crime went against much established state and non-state practice.How suco leaders address domestic violence remained largely discretionary in practice, which gives non-state authorities an effective veto over state law in their jurisdiction. Moreover, women were often unable to access state courts, and state officials frequently ignored their claims despite the law's written requirements."

Colonialism is currently out of fashion, which may be why it never occurred to Swenson that the project he was discussingconverting traditional societies into modern societiesis an updated version of the 19th-century colonialists' idea of "the white man's burden." The old imperialists had been replaced by the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, international peacekeepers, and cooperating governments, but the problem was the same: how to incorporate traditional legal institutions into the system they were building while replacing traditional legal rules with ones they approved of.

Given sufficient power and sufficient motivation, custom could be changed, as illustrated by the famous quote from Charles Napier on the subject of suttee: "This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs."

Neither the U.N. and the central government in Timor-Leste nor the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan had the power to take a similar approach, even if they had been willing to do so. In Timor-Leste, they successfully supported the local elites in establishing a democratic political system but failed to force the traditional court system to produce outcomes consistent with Western legal principles. In Afghanistan, they lost to a nondemocratic rival more committed to the rule of law and more willing to establish a cooperative relationship with informal legal institutions than was the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

The post Can Traditional Legal Customs Coexist With Western-Style State Law? appeared first on Reason.com.
A 27-year-old man was gunned down by the police after he killed a beloved store owner in California following a dispute over a Pride flag outside her clothing store.

The shooter, identified as Travis Ikeguchi, killed 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton at her clothing store Mag Pi at Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen after he made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store, authorities in San Bernardino County said.

The mother-of-nine and a true LGBTQ+ ally was pronounced dead on the spot.

Ikeguchi fled the crime scene on foot but was intercepted by deputies a mile from the store on Friday. The suspect opened fire with an unregistered Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, striking multiple squad cars, sheriff Shannon Dicus told reporters.

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The deputies returned fire and shot Ikeguchi, who died at the scene, the sheriff added.

Before fatally shooting Carleton, the suspect tore down the LGBTQ+ Pride flag that was hanging in front of the store and yelled homophobic slurs toward the woman.

Ikeguchi reportedly lived in Cedar Glen and frequently posted hate-filled content on social media, sheriffs officials said.

He appeared to have social media accounts on Gab and Twitter, where a user with his name routinely posted anti-LGBTQ+, anti-abortion, and anti-police content along with conspiracy theories.

A pinned post on his purported account on X, previously known as Twitter, shows a Pride flag on fire.

The day before the shooting, Ikeguchis family had reported him missing to the sheriffs department, officials said.

A makeshift memorial is seen outside the Mag.Pi clothing store (AFP via Getty Images)

According to authorities, the semiautomatic handgun used by Ikeguchi was not registered to him, and he did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Meanwhile, tributes poured in for Carleton, who remained defiant as a prominent ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

When people first ripped down the Pride flag hanging outside her store, Carleton simply got another and hung it straight back up.

A resident leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the Mag.Pi clothing store (AFP via Getty Images)

Friends say this happened multiple times in the two years since she opened the California store as a second outpost to her first location in Studio City.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ described her as a remarkable figure, whose "unwavering support" for the community and dedication to creating a safe and inclusive space within her shop touched the lives of many.

There was an outpouring of support on social media as well, with commenters expressing shock and sadness on the stores accounts.

Hollywood director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute saying that Carleton, who he called his wonderful friend, had been killed by a young man.

Her alleged murderer was later shot and killed by the San Bernardino police and so no longer poses a threat to the community, Feig continued.

But this intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain.

The shooting comes about one month after the Anti-Defamation League and the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD released a report indicating a recent rise in anti-LGBTQ harassment, vandalism or assault in the United States.

This is absolutely horrific. This disgusting hate has no place in CA, California governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
A resident leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the Mag.Pi clothing store in Lake Arrowhead. (Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images)

For years before last week's killing of a businesswoman who displayed a pride flag in front of her Lake Arrowhead shop, the gunman, Travis Ikeguchi, posted far-right, conspiratorial content to his social media accounts.

Most of it had no personal detail. There were rants against the LGBTQ+ community, posts about political correctness as well as anti-police content. Ikeguchi posted often on his Christian beliefs and about the importance of accepting Jesus Christ.

Days after Ikeguchi, 27, was killed by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies following the shooting of Laura Ann Carleton outside her shop, Mag.Pi, few details have been revealed about who Ikeguchi was beyond his fringe political beliefs.

Authorities said Ikeguchi made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag outside Carleton's store Friday and hurled homophobic slurs at her. The heated argument then turned violent, and Ikeguchi fatally shot Carleton, 66, before running away, according to the Sheriff's Department.

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According to an acquaintance of Carleton who watched closed-circuit video of the shooting, Ikeguchi seemed to pause in the moment before he shot Carleton, as if considering what he was about to do.

"He then almost flinched as if thinking twice but then went for it, grabbed the gun and then aimed it and shot Lauri," said the acquaintance, who requested anonymity because the video did not belong to him.

"That caused her to fall back onto the floor, and then the door swung closed, and then he shot one shot through that door and then took off."

Carleton was holding a phone when she was shot and never exited her store, according to the acquaintance.

A short time later, deputies confronted Ikeguchi and shot him to death after he opened fire, the department said.

Read more: A pride flag, an argument and gunfire: The senseless killing of Laura Ann Carleton

Court documents and a few social media posts paint a narrow picture of Ikeguchi's troubled life, a young man struggling to make ends meet and support his mother while falling further into an abyss of social media conspiracy theories and hate-fueled rhetoric online.

Ikeguchi moved to California with his sister and mother after his parents divorced in 2018.

He appeared to have an account on the social media platform Gab, where a user with his name routinely posted anti-LGBTQ+ screeds and conspiratorial content. He posted often about his distrust in police  and at least once about killing police, social media posts show.

I know its controversial for me to mention the option to kill a police officer, but these police officers are not the servants for the people they are the servants for the laws, a post in 2021 reads.

The posts belie the fact that Ikeguchi was the son of a Florida Highway Patrol state trooper and firearms instructor who had reached the level of "master trooper," according to court filings.

But a messy divorce left Ikeguchi with animosity toward his father.

Read more: Killer in Pride flag dispute appears to have posted anti-LGBTQ+ rants and conspiracies online

Ikeguchi claimed in early 2019 that he and his mother were living in their car and struggling to afford food after the divorce.

He started a GoFundMe asking for money for housing and food.

"I don't have a home and I don't have enough money for a place to stay and eat," he wrote in a tweet that linked to the GoFundMe page.

"Nobody in my family is going to help me on this; they are selfish and greedy when it comes to helping out with others especially me. And the sad part of it is that all them work for the government," he continued.

He claimed that his father was using his law enforcement position to "withhold money" and "leave us penniless."

In divorce filings, however, Ikeguchi's father said he continued to pay auto insurance and spousal support throughout the divorce process.

Read more: Editorial: Fly the pride flag high for Laura Ann Carleton. And freedom

Ikeguchi's mother said that she was living with her son and his sister in California and that Ikeguchi was supporting her.

"My son Travis had to use his remaining college money to support us," she said.

The living situation deteriorated, and Ikeguchi's sister asked them to leave, according to his mother's filing.

Ikeguchi continued to post on social media after the divorce resolved in 2020.

In 2021, he filed for a name change in San Bernardino County, according to court filings.

He was granted a change from Travis Kirby Ikeguchi to Timothy Thomas Yokohama, according to filings.

"Taking the name of my ancestry," he listed for his reason for changing his name.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A trial over the car-crash death of three Nicholls State University Freshmen and a drunk driver began today.

Joey Paul Clement, 40, of Chackbay, is charged with three counts of homicide for the deaths of 19-year-old Lily Dufrene, 18-year-old Hali Coss, and 18-year-old Michaila Bowling, all of Luling. The crash occurred Nov. 20, 2021.

Clement had three prior DWI's and this would mark his fourth. He faces a fine between $2,000 and $15,000 and imprisonment of between five and 30 years for each count of vehicular homicide.

The trial is held in Judge F. Hugh Larose's Div. E Courtroom in the Thibodaux Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 21. The case is being prosecuted by Jason Schatagnier and Shaun George, of the Lafourche Parish District Attorney's Office. Clement is being represented by Attorneys George Ledet and Tracy Schwab.

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"This trial began on Hwy 20," Shatagnier said. "But the justice comes in this courtroom."

The courtroom was packed with nearly 100 family and friends of both parties. Their faces were worn with both grief and anger as opening statements were delivered.

Schatagnier delivered a lengthy speech laying out how the case was investigated and said he would prove Clement was both speeding and impaired at the time of the crash.

He argued that Clement was traveling between 85 and 93 mph when the two vehicles impacted. Leaving behind a gouged highway, and a scorching fire from the grisly crash which claimed the three student's lives.

"These speeds are reserved for interstate travel," he said. He then pressed home the point, "speed, speed, speed."

According to State Police in a release after the initial investigation, Clement was driving a 2019 Ford F-150 north on La. 20 just after midnight when his pickup crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into the SUV Dufrene was driving.

More: FEMA hardball: Terrebonne has choice, adopt new maps or lose insurance, officials say

More: Cassidy says Trump should drop out as former president's popularity surges in Louisiana

Schatagnier then said he would provide an expert who would attest that Clement's blood alcohol content was at .220, three times the legal limit in Louisiana. Blood drawn 3 hours after the incident placed Clement's alcohol level at .16, he said, two times the legal limit in Louisiana. The Louisiana legal limit is below .08.

"Why is that important," Schatagnier asked. "Because it proves speed, and most importantly impairment were contributing factors."

Ledet followed behind Schatagnier, and said the case was clearly an emotional one, and said he challenged the State's case on its evidence and the conclusions drawn.

"Why was the other vehicle in Mr. Clement's line of traffic?" he asked.

Ledet never challenged that Clement was intoxicated and instead argued that Clement's intoxication had nothing to do with the resulting death of the three young women.

He claimed witness testimony would prove the impact took place in Clement's lane. He said the juror's had a duty to question that reason, and find Clement not guilty for their deaths because he did not cause the wreck.

"I don't understand how impairment leads to speed, leads to the other vehicle entering his lane of traffic," Ledet said. "This is a difficult case, but it's not easy for you as jurors, it's not your right to say, 'I don't want to be the one to find him not guilty,' but that's exactly what you have sworn to do."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Trial begins: Nov. crash that claimed three Nicholls students' lives
Harold has weakened to a tropical depression as it continues to plow through Texas, triggering flash flooding and tornado warnings as the gusty storm pushes toward Mexico.

Harold made landfall as a tropical storm just before 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) on Padre Island, Texas, with sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts as high as 67 mph, becoming the first storm to come ashore in the United States in the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

The storm now has 30 mph sustained winds, according to a 5 p.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center, and all tropical storm warnings along the Texas coast have been discontinued.

The center of the storm is about 15 miles east of Laredo, Texas, and will continue moving into northern Mexico over the next few hours.

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Heavy rain and strong winds will continue to slam portions of southern Texas and Mexico as Harold tracks westward. Those winds had knocked out power to around 20,000 customers in Texas as of Tuesday evening, according to poweroutage.us.

Harold will be able to dump 3 to 5 inches of rain across South Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday with locally higher amounts closer to 7 inches. Across Mexico, 4 to 6 inches of rain are expected.

The heaviest rain tonight will occur across northern Mexico, where up to 10 inches is possible.

Life-threatening surf and rip currents conditions will last across the southern Texas coast through Tuesday, and its possible the state may also see a few tornadoes develop. The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings in South Texas early Tuesday afternoon.

Birds hover over Corpus Christi Bay during Tropical Storm Harold on Tuesday morning. - Angela Piazza/Caller-Times/USA Today Network

The storm is moving across southern Texas as the state continues to battle one of its hottest, driest summers on record.

Corpus Christi, Texas, already recorded more rain in just a few hours than it has received for the entire summer, according to National Weather Service data. Widespread amounts of 1 to 2.5 inches of rain fell over the area and points south from Tuesday morning into the early afternoon.

While this tropical systems rains could help quench parts of the drought-stricken state, some of the worst drought conditions  areas of extreme and exceptional drought in Central Texas  might miss out on much of the rain.

Texans geared up ahead of Harolds arrival. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard, swift water rescue boat squads, among other emergency resources. Naval Air Station Kingsville ordered those in the RV Park on the installation to evacuate, while voluntary evacuations were called in Riviera, Baffin Bay and Loyola Beach, authorities said.

Franklin packing potentially life-threatening flooding

Tropical Storm Franklin is set to slam Hispaniola by Wednesday with life-threatening flooding and mudslides. The storm will also bring heavy rainfall to Puerto Rico.

Franklin had sustained winds of 50 mph as of Tuesday afternoon and was located over the Caribbean Sea about 230 miles south-southwest of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The storm made a northward turn early Tuesday afternoon and will continue in that direction until it makes landfall in Hispaniola Wednesday.

Franklin will unload very heavy rain across Hispaniola Tuesday through Wednesday and raise the threat of flash flooding and mudslides. Isolated rainfall amounts up to 15 inches are possible. Up to 6 inches of heavy rain could fall in Puerto Rico through Thursday, but the island will escape the worst of Franklin.

The Atlantic hurricane season is ramping up. Three tropical systems formed in 24 hours Saturday into Sunday. Harold now marks the fourth in four days.

CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray and CNNs Amanda Jackson and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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PHNOM PENH, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's former Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen was appointed as the president of the Supreme Privy Council to the King on Tuesday, according to a royal decree.

Signed by King Norodom Sihamoni, the royal decree said Hun Sen had built peace, stability and unity for Cambodia and had led the kingdom to development in all fields. He had also maintained national independence and territorial integrity during his tenure.

Hun Sen, 71, had served as Cambodia's prime minister for more than 38 years before his step-down. Earlier on Tuesday, his eldest son Hun Manet, 45, was confirmed as the Southeast Asian kingdom's new prime minister for a five-year term from 2023 to 2028 in a parliamentary vote. 
Under Gov. Greg Abbott s orders, Texas began busing migrants to cities around the U.S. last year. On Sunday, a bus from Brownsville with 37 migrants aboard drove to Los Angeles as Tropical Storm Hilary was striking Southern California. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Texas sent three dozen migrants to Los Angeles as the city was struck by Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, which caused record rainfall and flooding in parts of the region.

According to a coalition of immigrants rights advocacy groups, 37 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, were put on a bus in Brownsville at 5 p.m. Sunday  shortly before Hilary moved into California after striking Baja California, Mexico  and arrived in Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

According to the coalition of groups, most of the asylum-seekers who arrived on Monday evening have sponsors or relatives in Los Angeles. The migrant group was made up of 16 families, which included 14 children and one infant.

Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said that Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to send migrants to Los Angeles during a life-threatening hurricane was reckless.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Texas move evil on social media.

That means that while we were urging Angelenos to stay safe, the Governor of Texas was sending a bus with families and toddlers straight towards us KNOWING theyd have to drive right into an unprecedented storm, Bass wrote on Monday evening.

On Tuesday, Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said in a statement that the bus driver rerouted out of an abundance of caution and took a cautious path to Los Angeles to keep all on board safe.

Mahaleris added that the migrants voluntarily took the trip to Los Angeles and that each bus is stocked with food and water and that migrants can make purchases during fuel stops.

Instead of complaining about Texas providing much-needed relief to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities, Mayor Bass needs to call on President Biden to step up and do his job to secure the border  something he continues failing to do, Mahaleris said.

Since April 2022, Abbott has ordered that Texas send migrants who have been processed and released by immigration authorities to what he has referred to as sanctuary cities for migrants  mainly large cities run by Democrats. He has defended his policy, saying Texas border cities and towns are overwhelmed by the number of migrants crossing from Mexico.

As of Aug. 18, Texas has transported at least 31,940 migrants to New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

The strategy is part of his multibillion-dollar Operation Lone Star aimed at deterring migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into Texas.

Some advocacy groups have criticized Abbott for using migrants to make a political statement. Meanwhile, some migrants have said that getting a free bus ride from the Texas government has helped them arrive at their final destinations after crossing the border.

The strategy received renewed criticism when a 3-year-old child died earlier this month on a Texas-sponsored bus from Brownsville to Chicago.

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 Dominican Republic raised possible flood warnings for all but eight of its 31 provinces Tuesday, as heavy rains from Tropical Storm Franklin began pounding the island of Hispaniola, flooding some communities.

Raising the alert from yellow to red on 23 of provinces plus Santo Domingo, Dominican authorities continued to warn residents not to cross rivers and ravines in regions under alert. The government also began closing down schools, businesses and government offices. They are expected to reopen Thursday.

The center of Franklin was about 254 miles south of Santo Domingo, the capital. Dominican officials with the Emergency Operations Center said even areas under yellow alert could see possible flash foods, along with rising water in urban areas.

The office of President Luis Abinader announced that rapid-response teams were in place to distribute emergency kits to several provinces. Abinader also called on Dominicans to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones.

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Lets stay alert to official information provided by relief agencies, he said on the social media site previously known as Twitter.

Across the border in Haiti, authorities sought to reassure the public that the government, which has come under fire for its ineffective response to the ongoing gang violence, is prepared to respond to the effects of Franklin. Haitians were warned that Franklin is an erratic system that carries a lot of rain and wind, which can trigger deadly landslides.

If the system continues on its current track, Haitis Civil Protection and Meteorological office said the current yellow alert in place could be raised to red for some provinces, particularly in the south. Haitis southern provinces are expected to start feeling the effects of Franklin later Tuesday, while the rest of Haiti will experience downpours on Wednesday.

Before the tropical storm, organize yourselves, Jerry Chandler, the head of Haitis Office of Civil Protection, told the population as he underscored the need to prepare.

Chandler was joined at an afternoon press conference by Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The prime minister, who has been criticized for his administrations recent silence as a fresh round of gang violence erupted in the capital, sought to reassure the public. He said the government has put in place a response plan and is coordinating with local authorities, disaster responders and humanitarian partners.

We are mobilized, he said. We know there are a lot of people who are worried at this moment.... We ask for you to remain vigilant.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti are vulnerable to mudslides and heavy flooding during storms and hurricanes. But Haiti is eve more at risk due to the countrys environmental degradation, a result of deforestation and government neglect. Disaster responders also worry about the ongoing violence by armed groups.

The United Nations has said that more than 200,000 Haitians have been forced out of their homes by the gang violence in the last two years. This includes thousands of newly homeless Haitians who were forced out in recent weeks as gangs escalated their attacks in the metropolitan Port-au-Prince area.
Editors note: This file has been corrected to note Hillary is now a post-tropical cyclone.

Hilary, now a post-tropical cyclone, is barreling toward Oregon and Idaho after drenching Southern California over the weekend.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday morning that parts of Oregon and Idaho could face localized but significant flash flooding as Hilary hits the states.

Across portions of Oregon and Idaho, rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches with local maxima to inches are expected through Tuesday morning, the hurricane center said in its latest advisory on the storm.

The risks havent ended for states already hit by Hilary, either.

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The hurricane center warned of continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding in the areas already hit.

Flood watches were in effect on Monday afternoon for portions of seven states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Utah, according to the National Weather Service. High-wind advisories were in effect for parts of Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Utah.

The movement of the storm toward the Northwest and Mountain West comes as the region also battles wildfires, which resulted in poor air quality in Seattle and Portland in recent days.

Updated at 11:11 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A wildfire burns near the Ingraham Trail in Canada's Northwest Territories, forcing evacuations. On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted Facebook parent company Meta for blocking local news on its platforms during the wildfires. Photo courtesy of NWT Fire

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is blasting Facebook parent company Meta for blocking local news on its platforms, calling it "inconceivable" as hundreds of wildfires continue to force evacuations throughout Canada.

"Right now in an emergency situation, where up-to-date local information is more important than ever, Facebook is putting corporate profits ahead of people's safety, ahead of quality local journalism," Trudeau told reporters Monday during a three-day cabinet retreat in Prince Edward Island.

"Instead of making sure that local journalists are fairly paid for keeping Canadians informed on things like wildfires, Facebook is blocking news from its sites," Trudeau added. "This is not the time for that."

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In June, Meta announced it would remove news from Facebook and Instagram in Canada after parliament passed the Online News Act. The bill forces tech giants to pay local news outlets when their content is posted on their platforms. Google announced a week later it planned to pull its links to news outlets from search results in Canada.

"The Online News Act forces us to end access to news content in order to comply with the legislation," Lisa Laventure, head of communications for Meta Canada, said in a statement Monday, as she directed Canadians to government websites.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted Meta on Monday for blocking local news on its platforms and "putting corporate profits ahead of people's safety" as hundreds of fires continue to force evacuations in Canada. File photo by Japan's PM Press Office/ UPI

"Canadians continue to use our technologies in large numbers to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations," Laventure added.

Meta also announced the activation of a function called Safety Check on its platforms to help users notify friends and family that they are safe.

Despite Meta's response to Canada's Online News Act, Trudeau refused to back down when questioned by reporters Monday.

"It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of ensuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information to Canadians and reach them where Canadians spend a lot of their time -- online, on social media, on Facebook," Trudeau said

"This is Facebook's choice," Trudeau added.

"We're simply saying that in a democracy, quality local journalism matters. And it matters now more than ever before, when people are worried about their homes, worried about communities, worried about the worst summer for extreme weather events we've had in a long, long time."
Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to Donald Trump, said theres a simple explanation for the former presidents decision to refuse to pay legal fees for some of those indicted alongside him.

Donalds an idiot, he told CNNs Kaitlan Collins. Let me just be very clear when it comes to paying money: He is truly an idiot.

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who helped with his failed effort to overturn the 2020 election and has been charged alongside him in the Georgia criminal case, said the former president isnt picking up the tab for her defense.

And ex-Trump attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was also indicted for his role in attempting to subvert democracy, reportedly traveled to Florida to plead for money for his defense, but didnt get much.

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Cohen said that decision could haunt the former president.

He has not learned yet ... three people you dont want to throw under the bus like that: your lawyer, your doctor, and your mechanic, he told Collins. Because, one way or the other, youre gonna go down the hill and therell be no brakes.

He said Giuliani in particular should cooperate with investigators.

Hes gonna need to speak, Cohen said. And hes gonna need to speak before everybody else does.

Asked if Trump was making a mistake by not paying for Giulianis defense, Cohen shot back: Absolutely.

Cohen spent years as Trumps loyal fixer, but eventually turned on him when he cooperated with investigators and pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and other charges  all of which, he has said, was done for Trump.

He was sentenced to three years in prison and has since been a persistent Trump critic.

See more of his conversation with Collins below:
(Bloomberg) -- Lower-polling Republican presidential candidates who didnt make the cut for the first debate face a decision: stay in the race, with their prospects dwindling, or drop out months before voting even starts.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, Texas pastor and business executive Ryan Binkley and California talk show host Larry Elder didnt meet the Republican National Committees criteria to appear on stage Wednesday night in Milwaukee.

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To qualify, candidates had to raise money from at least 40,000 donors and get 1% support in at least three polls. Those numbers will increase for the second debate next month in California, as the party seeks to avoid a repeat of the unwieldy debates in the 2016 race that were conducted over two separate nights because there were so many candidates.

Suarez claimed last week that he had met the polling criteria, but the surveys he submitted didnt meet the partys eligibility standards, according to the RNC. Johnson and Elder had also claimed to have qualified.

The Miami mayor previously said any candidate who didnt qualify for the debate should drop out. Suarez will have an announcement about the future of his campaign Tuesday, spokeswoman Soledad Cedro said.

Also missing from the stage will be Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Candidates had to sign a pledge that they would support the partys eventual nominee, which the former president has refused to do.

Read more: Most Iowa Voters Likely to Caucus Believe 2020 Election Stolen

Trump has said he didnt wish to elevate his rivals and instead plans to do an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter.

Former Representative Will Hurd of Texas, a fierce Trump critic, also wont be debating in Milwaukee. Even if he had met the polling and donor requirements, he said he couldnt support Trump if he became the nominee.

Trumps absence places Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  who has consistently polled a distant second to Trump  at center stage, flanked by seven other candidates: Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Read More: Trump Says He Will Not Be Doing the Debates With Rivals

Fox News, which is hosting the Wednesday night forum, said Monday it would restrict access to the debate venue for representatives of non-participating candidates  meaning that Trump supporters wont get to make the case for the former president in spin rooms after the debate. But Fox spokeswoman Jessica Jensen Ketner said other news organizations covering the debate could bring in Trump supporters as guests.

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Jenna Ellis , a onetime attorney to former President Trump, has agreed to a $100,000 bond in the Georgia election interference case in which the former president is also a defendant.

Trump was given a $200,000 bond Monday, while fellow Trump attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro also agreed to $100,000 bonds.

Ellis is accused of lying to Georgia politicians and elections officials in attempts to further a plot to overturn the 2020 elections results in the state. According to prosecutors, Ellis was part of the group  led by Trump  that attempted to organize a false slate of Electoral College votes in favor of the former president.

A total of 19 people were charged in the Georgia case last week. Ellis was charged with solicitation of the violation of oath by a public officer.

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She defended herself from the charges in a social media post last week.

The Democrats and the Fulton County DA are criminalizing the practice of law. I am resolved to trust the Lord, she said.

Georgia attorney Bob Cheeley and campaign operative Mike Roman face $50,000 bails, having been charged in connection with the fake elector scheme. Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still (R), who was himself a fake elector, was given a $10,000 bail.

The sweeping case also alleges that a group of Trump-supporting Georgia state politicians stole data from election machines in Coffee County, Ga., as part of their effort to prove election fraud claims.

Former Coffee County GOP Chairwoman Cathy Latham agreed to a $75,000 bond and bail bondsman Scott Hall agreed to a $10,000 bond Tuesday for their charges related to the voting machines.

An investigation from the state of Georgia affirmed that there was no fraud in the 2020 election in the state.

Pastor Stephen Lee was given a $70,000 bail Tuesday for allegedly pressuring an election worker about false assertions from Trumps attorneys. Trump and others harassed the election worker publicly, calling them a hustler.

Hall and Eastman have already surrendered to be booked on their charges in Atlanta. All defendants must surrender to authorities in Georgia by a Friday deadline.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Two defendants have surrendered so far in the Georgia election interference investigation, and the other 17 have until noon on Friday to do the same.

The big one Tuesday was Donald Trump s former attorney John Eastman . Eastman was the man the Jan. 6 Committee described as one of the architects of the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

After he was released from jail Tuesday, Eastman remained defiant.

Im here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought, Eastman told reporters.

[PHOTOS: Who was named in Georgia election interference indictment?]

Even after multiple investigations proved there was no voter fraud in Georgia, Eastman still insisted the 2020 election had been stolen and was critical of the racketeering indictment brought against him and 19 others.

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It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances, Eastman said.

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But Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleges in the indictment that Eastman and others did more than just petition the government.

The indictment claims Eastman, and Trumps other attorneys including Rudy Giuliani, lied at a subcommittee hearing in December 2020 making broad allegations of massive voter fraud without any evidence, and insisting the legislature had the legal authority to overturn the election and pick the president itself.

What about those false statements made during the subcommittee hearing about 138,000 illegal votes cast when every investigation showed there wasnt? Elliot asked Eastman.

Im not taking any questions and answers, but my attorney can answer anything, Eastman said.

Eastmans attorney David Wolfe defended his client saying he will be proven innocent, but insisted he answer no more questions before leaving.

Another defendant, Scott Hall, also surrendered Tuesday.

Hes implicated in the break-in of the Coffee County elections office.

Meanwhile, over at the courthouse, another Trump attorney, Jenna Ellis negotiated a bond.

Former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer and state Sen. Shawn Still negotiated bonds on Tuesday as well.

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Former Georgia Republican Party Chair David Shafer said attorneys for former President Donald Trump , his campaign and the local GOP were responsible for urging him to assemble a slate of false presidential electors that are now at the heart of a sprawling racketeering case.

Shafer is among the 18 defendants indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, alongside Trump as part of a conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election.

Mr. Shafer and the other Republican Electors in the 2020 election acted at the direction of the incumbent President and other federal officials, Shafers attorney wrote in a petition seeking to move the Fulton County case to federal court.

To bolster his proposition, Shafer provided new documents that underscore the Trump campaigns close involvement in efforts to assemble a group of pro-Trump activists on Dec. 14, 2020 to sign documents claiming to be Georgias legitimate presidential electors. Those false electors were later used by Trump allies to attempt to foment a conflict on Jan. 6, 2021 and derail the transfer of power to President Joe Biden .

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Shafer, who was among the Republicans who signed documents claiming to be a presidential elector for Trump despite Bidens victory, has long claimed that the effort was meant to preserve Trumps chances to prevail in Georgia in case his pending lawsuits broke in his favor. In Tuesdays filing, Shafer underscored that the strategy was driven almost entirely by lawyers acting on Trumps behalf  including Ray Smith, one of the other defendants charged in the case.



The filing underscores the tensions likely to manifest among the 19 defendants as the case unfolds and defendants seek to shift culpability to others charged in the alleged conspiracy.

[A]n attorney for the President was present at the December 14, 2020 meeting of the presidential electors itself and advised the Presidential Electors, including Mr. Shafer, that performance of their duties was necessary on behalf of the President and the Constitution, Shafers filing noted, identifying Smith as the attorney.

One of the documents Shafer revealed was a transcript of the meeting of the pro-Trump false elector slate. It reveals that Smith addressed the group before they signed the papers.

Were conducting this because the contest of the election in Georgia is ongoing, Smith told the group. And so we continue to contest the election of the electors in Georgia. And so were going to conduct this in accordance with the Constitution of the United States and were going to conduct the electorate today similar to what happened in 1960 in Hawaii.

And if we did not hold this meeting, then our election contest would effectively be abandoned, Shafer replied to Smith.

Thats correct, Smith responded.

Shafer also revealed a Dec. 10, 2020 email he received from Alex Kaufman, a local GOP attorney urging him to push forward with convening the slate of false electors a few days later. Trump-affiliated attorneys Cleta Mitchell, Kurt Hilbert and Smith were copied on the email.

I am reconfirming the importance and our collective advice that our slate of delegates meet on December 14th (per the Federal Deadline) and cast their ballots in favor of President Trump, Kaufman wrote.

It is essential that our delegates act and vote in the exact manner as if Governor Kemp has certified the Presidential Contest in favor of President Trump, Kaufman continued.  I believe that this is still the most conservative course of action to preserve the best chance for Georgia to ultimately support the Presidents reelection.

Prosecutors in Georgia have rejected Shafers contention that he was acting purely on the advice of Trump campaign lawyers and suggested that he, above other members of the false elector slate, played a leadership role in the effort.

In addition to racketeering, Shafer is charged with impersonating a public officer, forgery, false statements and writings, and filing false documents. Smith is charged with solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating of a public officer and conspiracy to commit forgery.

In their communications with Shafer and the false electors, both Kaufman and Smith cited the experience of Hawaii in 1960, where Democrats signed documents falsely claiming to be the states legitimate electors due to an ongoing recount. Richard Nixon had narrowly prevailed in the state, and the results were certified by the governor. But the recount showed Kennedy making gains and likely to prevail, so the Democrats convened to preserve their ability to have their electors counted in case the outcome were reversed.

Ultimately, Hawaiis election did tip to Kennedy, and a new governor certified Kennedys victory just two days before Congress convened to count electoral votes. Its unclear whether the false electors made a difference to the outcome. At the time, then-Vice President Nixon presided over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 1961 and agreed  without any objection from lawmakers in the room  to count the Democratic electors in Kennedys column. The contest had no bearing on the outcome of the national election.
NAIROBI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Health on Tuesday launched the national polio vaccination drive targeting 7.4 million children under the age of five as part of efforts to safeguard the health and wellbeing of its young population.

Mary Muthoni, the principal secretary of the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards, said the five-day campaign which begins Thursday will be rolled out in three distinct phases with the initial phase slated for Aug. 24-28.

Muthoni said the vaccination drive follows the detection of six poliovirus cases among children in the Hagadera refugee camp in northeastern Kenya.

"The launch of this extensive vaccination campaign marks a pivotal moment in Kenya's ongoing mission to secure the health and future of its youngest citizens," she told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Muthoni said the second and third rounds which will target 2.8 million children each will be conducted between September and October.

She said the vaccination drive will prioritize vaccination efforts in three counties of Kiambu on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kajiado in southeast Kenya, and Garissa in the northeast region.

Muthoni reaffirmed Kenya's steadfast commitment to eradicating polio from its population.

The East African nation has maintained a polio-free status for an impressive decade, a testament to the nation's unwavering resolve. 
Trump is in for a "humiliating" time when he's booked at a Georgia jail, a local lawyer said.

Detainees at the Fulton County Jail are typically processed in front of others, the attorney said.

A local sheriff has promised that Trump will be treated just like everyone else accused of a crime.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender on charges connected to 2020 election interference at a notorious Georgia jail on Thursday  and a local sheriff has promised that the ex-commander-in-chief will be treated just like everyone else accused of a crime in the state.

If Trump really is treated like others charged with crimes in Georgia, he's in for a "humiliating experience" when he's booked at the infamous Fulton County Jail, a lawyer who has sued the facility three times on behalf of families of men who died while in custody there told Insider.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether special accommodations will be made for Trump when he turns himself in.

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Atlanta-based attorney Michael Harper told Insider that the intake area of the Fulton County Jail is massive, and detainees are typically processed in front of others who are also being processed.

"He can expect a humiliating experience," Harper told Insider of Trump on Tuesday. "Just being searched, photographed, and fingerprinted amongst other people."

If it is, in fact, business as usual at the jail, Trump will be "surrounded by people charged with everyday crimes," like murder and rape, Harper said, adding, "This is not a federal prison of white-collar criminals here."

A landscaper works near one of the entrances to the Fulton County Jail on August 21, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Officials are "constantly" booking people charged with crimes into the Fulton County Jail around the clock, and it could take hours to be processed, according to Harper.

"If he's treated like every other inmate when he goes in, he'll be there with other inmates who are processing at the same time he is," Harper said of Trump. "It's a huge open area. There's nothing private."

During the typical booking process at the jail, detainees move from station to station, where they would get physically searched, put through a body scanner, undergo a medical intake screening, have their mugshot taken, and get fingerprinted, according to Harper.

"It's certainly not a place that he will want to be  of course, no one wants to be there  but certainly not the accommodations Donald Trump will be used to," Harper said.

Harper has sued the Fulton County Jail three times since 2018, including on behalf of the family of Lashawn Thompson, a 35-year-old man who died last year inside a filthy cell at the jail. Thompson's family says he was "eaten alive" by bed bugs.

The case helped spark a Department of Justice civil investigation into conditions at the jail.

"It's the worst county jail in Georgia," Harper said.

A photo of the cell at the Fulton County Jail where Lashawn Thompson was held in squalid conditions. Handout from Michael Harper

A Georgia grand jury last week indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants, including ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, over their efforts to overturn Trump's Georgia loss during the 2020 presidential election.

Trump has announced that he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday.

He was granted a $200,000 bond ahead of his arraignment in the state.

Before Trump was indicted for a fourth time, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said the former president would be treated like anyone else accused of a crime in Georgia and get his mugshot taken.

"Unless someone tells me differently, we are following our normal practices," Labat told reporters earlier this month. "It doesn't matter your status  we have mugshots ready for you."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump has claimed that he was slapped with a high bond in his Georgia election interference case so that he doesn't fly to Russia to share a gold-domed suite with Vladimir Putin .

The former president agreed on Monday to his bond being set at $200,000 as he faces 13 charges including racketeering over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the former president railed against his bond and sarcastically claimed he was a flight risk as he could flee to join the Russian president.

The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me, he wrote.

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I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a flight risk - Id fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again.

Would I be able to take my very understated airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, Id be much better off flying commercial - Im sure nobody would recognize me!

In a separate Truth Social post, Mr Trump earlier confirmed that he would turn himself in to Fulton County authorities on Thursday to be formally arrested.

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, he wrote.

Mr Trump, the favourite to secure the Republican nomination for the presidential election next year, has been indicted four times this year.

In New York, he faces 34 felony state counts in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. In Florida, he faces 40 felony federal counts for hoarding classified documents and impeding efforts to retrieve them. In Washington DC, he faces four federal felony counts for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The former presidents social media posts came just hours after his attorneys met with prosecutors in Atlanta to discuss the details of his release on bond. Mr Trump is barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case  including on social media  according to Ms Willis, Trumps defence attorneys and the judge. This explicitly includes posts on social media or reposts of posts made by others.

The agreement also bans Mr Trump from making any direct or indirect threat of any nature against witnesses or co-defendants, and from communicating in any way about the facts of the case with them, except through attorneys.

Former president has been incidted four times this year (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The order sets his bond for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations  or RICO  charge at $80,000, and adds $10,000 for each of the 12 other counts he is facing. Bond is the amount defendants must pay as a form of collateral to ensure they show up for required court appearances.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis set a deadline of noon ET Friday for Trump and his co-defendants to turn themselves in to be booked.

The prosecutor has proposed that arraignments for the defendants follow during the week of 5 September. She has said she wants to try the defendants collectively and bring the case to trial in March of next year, which would put it in the heat of the presidential nominating season.

A spokesman for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing.

The former president and his co-defendants were last week charged with attempting to subvert the will of the Georgia electorate by interfering in the states election results following his defeat to Democrat and current President Joe Biden.

In a phone call with Brad Raffensperger, Georgias Republican secretary of state, on 2 January 2021, Mr Trump was recorded pressuring his collegue to find 11,780 votes" during the ballot count.

So what are we going to do here folks? I only need 11,000 votes, he said. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. You know, we have that in spades already. Or we can keep it going but thats not fair to the voters of Georgia because theyre going to see what happened and theyre going to see what happened

Mr Raffensperger responded: Mr President, you have people that submit information and we have our people that submit information. And then it comes before the court and the court then has to make a determination. We have to stand by our numbers. We believe our numbers are right.

Attorneys for the former president have insisted in recent days that this was an aspirational request for the Georgia elections agency to magically procure more than 11,000 votes. But Mr Raffensperger made clear on 10 January that he didnt see it that way.

Additional reporting by agencies
Former President Donald Trump announced this week that he plans to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, where he will be booked and processed for allegedly working to subvert Georgia's 2020 presidential election results. Unsurprisingly, the announcement came on Trump's Truth Social platform, which has become the former president's primary outlet for statements and updates since his Twitter and Facebook accounts were suspended in the wake of the January 6 insurrection. And like his previous social media accounts, it has also become a significant legal liability for Trump as he faces his historic slate of federal and state criminal indictments.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan warned the former president to take "special care" not to make "inflammatory statements" that might taint the jury pool for his upcoming federal trial on election interference, while this week Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee went a step further, signing an order that bars Trump from intimidating "any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case," including "posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media."

For Trump, who has been known to fire off dozens of incendiary social media posts a day, McAfee's order may seem like a uniquely onerous hurdle in the midst of a busy campaign-cum-trial season. Will the former president be able to abide by his new court-mandated social media rules? And could there be an upside for him if he chooses not to?

What the commentators said

Trump has previously "faced scrutiny" for his Truth Social posts, stated Newsweek, including "accusations of witness tampering" for telling Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan not to testify to the Fulton County grand jury. Nevertheless, the Georgia restrictions are "perhaps the harshest yet in the former president's four indictments."

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Given Trump's history of inflammatory statements regarding his many legal challenges over the years, attorneys who spoke with The New York Times suggested that if Trump were an "ordinary citizen issuing these attacks, he would be in jail by now." It remains to be seen, however, whether Trump will "face consequences for this kind of behavior ahead of a trial." In regards to his statements pertaining to the federal election interference trial being overseen by Chutkan, Trump's public statements are "walking the line," Duke Law Professor Samuel Buell told the Times. He is "always continuing to push the envelope" even if he has yet to fully cross a legal threshold to force accountability.

While the threat of jail for violating a court order is usually enough to force compliance from someone on trial, Trump is a "different kind of defendant," The Washington Post reported, even if "lawyers generally agree that [he] should get no special treatment. Moreover, the Post's Aaron Blake explained in a column published earlier this month, it is "difficult to prove witness tampering," particularly with Trump as an active candidate for office. In the case of posts about former Vice President Mike Pence, the line between "defending himself politically from charges leveled by an opponent in the 2024 presidential campaign" and attempting to "influence that opponent's potential testimony against him in a criminal case" is a nebulous one to define.

What next?

The various judicial warnings and restrictions over Trump's social media rhetoric might ultimately "play into his hands," according to The Washington Post. Rather than actually preventing him from making inflammatory remarks, it could spark a "legal fight over free speech that he has already signaled he wants." Trump's attorneys had previously argued that efforts by Special Council Jack Smith's team to limit what the former president can share about his election interference case amounted to seeking to "restrict First Amendment rights" and that his allegedly criminal behavior in general was an expression of those same rights.

It's a "win-win" situation for Trump, University of Michigan Law Professor and former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told the Post. "If he is not gagged and jailed, he can disparage prosecutors and witnesses with impunity. If he is jailed, he can portray himself as a victim of persecution."

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Special counsel Jack Smith's team pushed back on former President Donald Trump's effort to delay his D.C. election conspiracy trial until 2026 over the amount of evidence to be turned over in discovery.

Molly Gaston, a prosecutor on Smith's team, said in a filing on Monday that Trump's lawyers incorrectly suggested that cases involving conspiracy charges typically take 29.4 months to reach a conclusion, noting that the analysis was skewed by drawing from cases between September 2021 and October 2022, a time frame in which just 22 cases went to trial amid the COVID pandemic, according to Politico.

"This small and skewed sample provides no help to the Court in deciding an appropriate trial date," Gaston wrote. "The question here is when it is appropriate to start trial in this case, and statistics regarding the length of time from indictment to sentencing in other  cases have no bearing on that decision," she added.

Prosecutors also pushed back on Trump's team's claim that it needed three years to review the evidence turned over in discovery. Trump's lawyers said the pages of evidence are "taller than the Washington Monument, stacked on top of itself eight times, with nearly a million pages to spare."

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"The defendant cites inapposite statistics and cases, overstates the amount of new and non-duplicative discovery, and exaggerates the challenge of reviewing it effectively," Gaston wrote, arguing that there is no need to individually review all of the 11.5 million pages of evidence.

"In cases such as this one, the burden of reviewing discovery cannot be measured by page count alone, and comparisons to the height of the Washington Monument and the length of a Tolstoy novel are neither helpful nor insightful," she added.

Gaston also noted that nearly half of the evidence turned over by prosecutors has long been available to Trump's legal team, including 3 million pages of documents obtained from Trump entities, a million pages publicly available from the House Jan. 6 committee's investigation and hundreds of thousands of pages that came from the National Archives. The remaining pages will be delivered in digitally searchable format, Gaston wrote, including three million pages of documents obtained from the Secret Service.

Smith has proposed starting the trial on January 2, 2024, a short period of time that he justified by citing his efforts to organize evidence to turn over to Trump's team and the public's right to a speedy trial.

"[T[he Government took on the task of providing the defense a set of key, organized documents that the Government views as some of the most pertinent to its case-in-chief," Gaston wrote in Monday's filing. "The Government provided these materials in load-ready files so that the defense can review them quickly in the same manner as the Government did  through targeted keyword searches and electronic sorting."

"The defendant's proposed trial date, however, rests on the faulty assertion that it is necessary for a lawyer to conduct a page-by-page review of discovery for a defendant to receive a fair trial," Gaston added. "But the defendant can, should, and apparently will adopt the benefits of electronic review to reduce the volume of material needed to be searched and manually reviewed."

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner on MSNBC noted that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, warned Trump's attorneys at an earlier hearing that she may accelerate the trial date if Trump says or posts things that interfere with the court's ability to pick a fair and impartial jury, which Kirschner alleged Trump had already done.

"I also think when the defense team, Trump's defense team, throws out a date that is two and a half to three years down the road, April 2026, it shows that they are not really engaged in legitimate lawyering," he added. "It really feels like they are assistant campaign chairman at this point. That will help, I think, push Judge Chutkan to an earlier trial date if they are not trying to legitimately present a trial date that is an honest assessment of how much time they think they are going to need."

Read more

about the D.C. case
Long before Donald Trump publicly threatened to skip out on the first 2024 presidential primary debate, Republican National Committee officials knew he was going to be a problem.

Going back more than a year, the group charged with planning the GOPs first primary debates since 2016 discussed the likelihood that the former president would skip the first one if Fox News ended up hosting, according to two RNC members familiar with the discussions.

At a more recent meeting, officials briefly entertained the idea of banning Trump from future debates if he didnt show up in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.

Yet on both occasions, the RNC officials decided the best response was to do nothing.

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Ronna McDaniel Re-Elected RNC Chair After Race of Accusations

Early in the debate process we talked about it, one of the RNC members involved told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive internal conversations.

After one of the members asked what the RNC should do if Trump wanted to pick and choose which debates to attend, the consensus in the room boiled down to America is full of freedoms, and this is one of those, the member said.

In response to inquiries from The Daily Beast, a spokesperson for the RNC disputed any discussions of banning Trump from future debates.

A year later, its clear Trump has certainly chosen to exercise his freedomat the partys expense.

While at least seven candidates polling in the teens and single digits slug it out on stage in Milwaukee, the partys once and likely future nominee will take a pass, choosing instead to sit for an interview with Tucker Carlson and, generally, make a mockery of the primary debate process.

I think this could be the biggest Republican shitshow weve seen in years, the RNC member said.

The display, say some GOP insiders, reveals the organization at its weakest point of the entire Trump eranot exactly inspiring confidence it can manage a nasty and hugely consequential primary.

Some RNC members are not surprised it has found itself powerless in the face of Trump flouting their procedures.

I think the thing to understand about the Republican Party is that its very much a bottom-up organization, the second RNC member said, also requesting anonymity.

After years of Trumps allies purging state and local party officials and replacing them with MAGA loyalists, the RNC has reached a point, as another member put it, where its become the counter-cultural party.

But after poor performances in the 2020 and 2022 elections, there is clear appetite within the party for Trumps primary challengers to get an honest hearingor for one of them to become the nominee and begin a new era.

Don Jr. Will Attend First GOP Debate in His Fathers Absence

Stuck trying to manage that potentially untenable balance is RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, very much a Trump-era figure who is nevertheless distrusted by the corners of the MAGA base.

An early test of the RNCs ability to manage competing factions and ultimately pave the way to some kind of unity was their so-called loyalty pledge. McDaniel attempted to get candidates to promise to support the GOP nominee, whoever that may be, as a condition of appearing on the debate stage.

If youre going to stand on the Republican National Committee debate stage, you should be able to support the nominee and beat Biden, McDaniel has said. But when pressed by CNNs Chris Wallace over whether that would apply to Trump, the chair replied, Its across the board. The rules arent changing. Weve been very vocal with them.

The ensuing response from the GOP field encapsulated the RNCs weakness. While Trump was always unlikely to sign it, his refusal to do soand the partys willingness to let him show up for the debate anywayopened the door for other candidates to ignore it, too.

Former Rep. Will Hurd, who has yet to qualify, said Trump was setting the example by not signing it, while former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed the pledge upon his self-proclaimed qualification for the debate stage, but not before adding the caveat that he does not expect Trump to be the nominee.

RNC National Press Secretary Emma Vaughn defended the partys handling of the primary contest heading into Wednesday nights debate.

The RNC worked over two years to deliver a transparent and fair primary process that will put our eventual nominee in the best position to beat Biden, Vaughn said in a statement to The Daily Beast. The Republican Party prides itself on being powered by the grassroots and voters in real America, while the Democrats beholden themselves to D.C. elitists.

Despite any misgivings about Trump within the RNC, Republican voters still like his well-worn act of antagonizing the Swamp of Beltway politicos. Appearing to be on the wrong side of the equation by taking any punitive action against the former president is an immediate no-go for party brass, the second member said.

With a base animated by culture war boycotts against the likes of Budweiser and Targetand now Fox News, with Steve Bannon declaring on his podcast that true Trump supporters should tune out from the debate and tank the ratingsthe official Republican brand is coming perilously close to suffering the same treatment.

Some of Trumps strongest applause lines at his rallies over the years, for instance, have been against Republicans hes painted as out-of-touch elites, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Fox & Friends Host Claims Trump Skipping GOP Debates Is Helping Biden

Trump has uniquely broken what it means to be the Republican National Committee because he's broken what it means to be a Republican, a source close to the RNC told The Daily Beast.

I dont necessarily mean either of those things negatively, they continued. Its just that, do you think a blue collar Trump supporter in the heartland cares one bit about the RNCs role as some sort of clearing house for whos a legitimate, viable Republican presidential candidate? Of course not.

Although many lawmakers and key figures in the party may feel held hostage by Trump supporters, some Republicans believe much of the former presidents post-indictment support is inflated in the form of a protest vote to pollsters.

Describing Trumps electoral prospects as toast despite his healthy polling leadnow running more than 30 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in most pollsthe second RNC member said the current surveys say more about the level of anger on the right than outright support for the former president.

Theyre registering anger toward the justice system, and toward the elites for how theyve treated him since the very day he stepped down that escalator, they said.

Still, for now, the broad consensus is that the official party is powerless to stop Trump from running the show.

Hes gonna be the winner of the debate because hes not there, the first RNC member said with frustration, in spiteor becauseof the fact he will be preparing to be arraigned in Atlanta the next day, where he faces criminal charges for trying to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election.

While Trump has publicly indicated that he will not participate in the debatesthe second of which will be aired on Fox Businessnot everyone is taking that declaration to the bank.

At some point when he starts to fade in the polls, he'll have to scramble, and eventually come back, the second RNC member said, which would only underscore Trumps electoral weakness and prompt a further crisis of confidence.

Maybe then, the member wondered aloud, GOP voters will start to care if their nominee is electable. All we need to do is unify behind somebody by October 2024.

But accommodating Trump to this extentbefore he faces the prospect of conviction from one of his now four criminal indictmentscant lead to anything good, the member predicted.

Donald Trump Will Surrender to Georgia Authorities on Thursday: Report

They recalled when the RNC described the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as legitimate political discourse in a vote to censure former Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)the two lone Republicans on the House January 6 Select Committeeat its winter meeting in 2022.

Although the voice vote passed with unanimous support, the way it landed in the room at the time led straight to this weeks nightmare scenario, the member said.

Half the room stood and applauded the motion to whitewash the most shameful day in Trumps presidency, while the other half remained still.

Yes, there are people in the RNC who support Trump, the member said. Then theres the rest of us, where were staying neutral and not necessarily supporting anyone else, but definitely not him.

For now, those members are in for a lot more sitting still.

Zachary Petrizzo contributed to this report.

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Former President Trump joked about fleeing to Russia after his bond was set at $200,000 in the Georgia case over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who is overseeing the case, insisted on setting a bond.

I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a flight risk  Id fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir , never to be seen or heard from again, he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Would I be able to take my very understated airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, Id be much better off flying commercial  Im sure nobody would recognize me!

Trump is set to turn himself in to authorities Thursday in Fulton County, where he is facing 13 charges, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit forgery and solicitation of a public officer to violate their oath.

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He has maintained his innocence in this case and the other three he is facing in other jurisdictions and denounced all the charges as politically motivated.

Trumps post online comes after he was ordered to not intimidate any of his 18 co-defendants or any witnesses, including through posts on social media, and not to contact any co-defendant or witness except through their attorneys.

The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice, the order states.

The order was more detailed for Trump than those for the other defendants were, also covering an indirect threat of any nature.

The 19 defendants in the case have until noon on Friday to turn themselves in.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Can a state prohibit gay people from adopting children or stop immigrants from purchasing property? Under modern Supreme Court precedent, the answer to these questions is an emphatic no. Over the past week, however, federal judges appointed by Donald Trump have answered both questions yes, and without a hint of doubt or discomfort. To greenlight this wave of hate, Trump judges are ignoring more enlightened contemporary precedent, relying instead on old, repudiated decisions that upheld bigotry and oppression. By invoking these zombie precedents, Trumps judges are attempting to roll back decades of constitutional progress to create space for the Republican Partys ongoing pursuit of nativist and anti-LGBTQ state-level legislation. Only the Supreme Court can send these discredited pseudo-precedents back to their tomband it is unclear if they will bother to do so.

The award for most shocking and gratuitous revival of zombie precedent must go to Judge Barbara Lagoa , whose opinion in Mondays Eknes-Tucker v. Alabama constitutes a venomous ambush of the Souths LGBTQ+ community. Writing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Lagoa upheld Alabamas criminalization of gender-affirming care for transgender minors, joined in full by fellow Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher and District Judge J.P. Boulee, whos sitting on the case. (All three are Trump appointees.)

There are several constitutional infirmities in Alabamas law, most of which Lagoa tried to circumvent by mechanically citing Dobbs to support the notion that trans health care cant be a fundamental right because it didnt exist in 1868. But that approach did not resolve a different problem: The Supreme Court has long held that parents do have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children. As the lower court ruled in this case, Alabama infringed on that right by revoking parents ability to direct the medical care of their kids in accordance with medically accepted standards. This intrusion into parental authority is subject to strict scrutiny, which the law cannot survive because it is far broader than necessary to achieve its stated purpose of protecting children.

To avoid Supreme Court precedent supporting parents rights, Lagoa turned to one of the most bigoted appellate decisions of the century so far: 2004s Lofton v. Secretary of Department of Children and Families. In Lofton, the 11th Circuit upheld a Florida law barring gay peoplewhom the court dubbed practicing homosexualsfrom adopting children. The Lofton court held that this ban, which has since been overturned, served the states overriding interest in placing children with a secure family environment, which gay people were less likely to provide. Homosexuals, the court continued, are unable to provide the stable and nurturing environment for the education and socialization of children that heterosexuals can. So Florida had legitimate cause to prevent gay people from shaping adoptive childrens psychology, character, and personality. The state also had rational reasons to conclude that gay parents could inhibit their childrens sexual development throughout pubescence and adolescence.

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Lagoa cited Lofton four times in her opinion on Monday. She leaned heavily on the precedent to explain how the 11th Circuit had curtailed parents liberty interest to control the upbringing of their children, and to justify imposing minimal scrutiny on the Alabama ban. If the state can forbid LGBTQ+ people from adopting children in the first place, she suggested, it can surely bar parents from providing medical treatment to LGBTQ+ kids. The citation was gratuitous; Lagoa noted other precedents that give states leeway to take important decisions out of the hands of parents. She went out of her way to cite Lofton, again and again, to remind readers that it is still on the books, and, in her mind, still perfectly good law.

Except that it isnt. The Supreme Court never reviewed Lofton. When it finally took up the question of LGBTQ+ parenting in 2013s U.S. v. Windsor, though, the court was unequivocal: The Constitution, it explained, protects both same-sex couples and their children; bars the government from telling such children that their parents marriage is less worthy than the marriages of others; and forbids any law that undermines the integrity and closeness of their own family. Two years later, in Obergefell v. Hodges, the court reiterated that gay people provide loving and nurturing homes to their children, and that same-sex marriage bans interfered with such childrens own right to the recognition, stability, and predictability of their parents marriage. Just in case it wasnt clear, the court announced two years later that states must grant same-sex couples the exact same parentage rights as opposite-sex couples.

These decisions overruledor, in legal terms, abrogatedthe 11th Circuits own precedent in Lofton. They expressly rejected its central premise, its reasoning, and its holding. Lagoa acknowledged none of this. She declined to cite Windsor, Obergefell, or any other Supreme Court decisions that supersede and abrogate Lofton. Her message seemed to be that, under the 11th Circuits new hard-right majority, Lofton is good law again, whatever the Supreme Court may or may not have done in the 2010s. If thats true, it would mean that LGBTQ+ families who live within the circuits three states (Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) have no constitutional rights to speak of.

In recent days, the 11th Circuit hasnt been alone in outrageously ignoring inconvenient Supreme Court precedent protecting fundamental rights. Four days before the Eknes-Tucker ruling, Judge Allen Winsor sent a similar message to Chinese immigrants in Florida that their rights would not be protected, either. The Trump-appointed Winsor issued a much-anticipated decision regarding a new Florida law that bars Chinese citizens from purchasing property within the state unless they have lawful permanent residence (that is, a green card). Many immigrants who wish to buy a house dont have this status, including the plaintiffs here, three of whom hold visas and one of whom is seeking asylum. Under state law, they are now barred from homeownership. And everyone who buys property in Florida must now sign an affidavit attesting that they are not principals of China. A Chinese person who buys property in violation of the law faces five years imprisonment; anyone who sells property to a Chinese person in violation of the law faces one year in prison.

There is only one plausible purpose of this law: to discriminate against Chinese immigrants on the basis of their citizenship and national origin. Winsor essentially acknowledged this factand upheld the law anyway, citing Supreme Court precedents from more than a century ago, when states sought to exclude Chinese and Japanese immigrants. The leading case on which Winsor relied was 1923s Terrace v. Thompson, which upheld a Washington state statute that barred noncitizens from buying, leasing, or even using land. The statute was a copy of Californias infamous Alien Land Law, a 1913 measure designed to stop Asian immigrants from emigrating to the state. That law was a descendant of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, an infamous federal law that shut down immigration from China and imposed draconian burdens on Chinese people already present in the U.S.

Winsors reasoning was simple: In the 100-year-old Terrace, the Supreme Court said states could discriminate against noncitizensspecifically, immigrants from Asiaby prohibiting them from buying property. Floridas law criminalizes the sale of property to noncitizen immigrants from China. Thus, Floridas law is constitutional under Terrace.

Except that it isnt, because the Supreme Court has repudiated every aspect of Terrace over the intervening century. Specifically, it has held that states, as a rule, may not discriminate against individuals on the basis of foreign citizenship or national origin, as the Constitution entitles both citizens and aliens to the equal protection of the laws of the state in which they reside. States may not deny noncitizens welfare, fishing licenses, law licenses, engineering licenses, financial aid for education, public employment, or even government positions like notary public. Nor may they deny noncitizens, including undocumented immigrants, access to public education. It is preposterous for Winsor to claim that Florida can deny noncitizens the ability to purchase property (which is a constitutional right) but not the ability to attend public school (which isnt). Not just preposterous, but borderline unbelievable: To read Winsors opinion in Floridas Chinese exclusion case is to ponder the long-term viability of a legal profession that would sink to such lows in service of barefaced white supremacy.

Faced with two conflicting lines of precedentone made up of recent decisions that protect individual liberty and equality, another made up of archaic decisions that exude unconstitutional animusjudges must make a choice. They can uphold the modern precedents that affirm everyones equal right to life, liberty, and property. Or they can revive the zombie precedents that entrench cruel, illogical hostility toward vulnerable minorities. Lagoa and Winsor took the second path. They appear to believe this Supreme Court will reward them for it. Whats scary is that its an open question whether they are correct.
Former President Trump has the backing of nearly half of Republican voters in Utah and is leading the field of his fellow GOP presidential contenders by 30 points, according to a new poll.

Tuesdays Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) poll found 48 percent of Utah Republican voters support Trump  though he snagged just 14 percent in the states presidential caucuses when he ran for the White House in 2016.

Our data shows that even in Utah  once a bastion of conservative resistance to Trump  the former president is gaining ground, NPI Chief of Research David Byler said in a release.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has long been noted as Trumps closest competitor, came in second with 18 percent, followed by Trumps former running mate, former Vice President Mike Pence , with 10 percent.

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In a head-to-head hypothetical contest between Trump and DeSantis, the former president stays the winner with 48 percent, while DeSantis has 29 percent support.

DeSantis has struggled to find a compelling message or excite the grassroots, and many Republicans rallied to Trump in the aftermath of his indictments, Byler said. Theres still time for this primary to shift, but Trumps position has clearly improved.

The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

The rest of the candidates in the GOP race scored in the single digits, with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy earning the highest among them at 6 percent.

The results come as qualifying GOP presidential candidates prepare to gather in Milwaukee on Wednesday for the partys first primary debate. Trump confirmed Sunday he will skip the debate, citing his lead in polling.

Conducted July 7-18, the poll surveyed 301 Utah registered Republican voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.65 percentage points for the group.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
"Hurt dogs sure do holler." That was the saying that came to mind in 2008 when then-candidate for president Barack Obama drew outrage from Republicans because he described their voters as "bitter" people who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them." The phrase came to mind again in 2016, when Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton used the memorable phrase "basket of deplorables" to describe supporters of Donald Trump. Since a cardinal rule of politics is "insult your opponent, but never their voters," the mainstream media picked up and amplified the umbrage-taking from Republicans.

What wasn't discussed very much in all this media coverage: The truth value of either Clinton's or Obama's comments. And what a shame, because both of them were right.

New polling out this week from CBS News proves, as many feared, Trump's fourth set of indictments  he now faces 91 felony charges across four jurisdictions  has only caused the GOP to rally around their seething orange leader. (And let's not forget this comes after a jury recently found him responsible for sexual assault.) Trump has surged to 62% support in the Republican presidential primary poll, and 73% of those backing Trump say it's because, not despite, of his massive criminal exposure.

And, in a poll finding that really is astonishing, Trump voters claimed they trust the notorious fraudster more than anyone. A whopping 71% of Trump voters claim "what he says is true." Only 63% of them say that about family and friends, 56% about conservative media figures and 42% about religious leaders.

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The word that comes to mind is "cult."

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"Cult leaders must be dynamic, charismatic, and convincing because their goal is to control their members to acquire money or power-related advantages," said Joe Scarborough on MSNBC in response to the poll Monday.

Political scientist Brian Klaas tweeted, "you need to understand what an authoritarian cult of personality is, because that's what it has become."

Trump voters believe Trump is more likely to tell them the truth than their friends and family. Again: to understand the modern GOP, you need to understand what an authoritarian cult of personality is, because thats what it has become. pic.twitter.com/Dzi2lbs4XB  Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) August 20, 2023

Even Trump's primary GOP opponent, Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis, got involved, telling an interviewer, "A movement can't be about the personality of one individual," and that it's not a "durable movement" if it's just "listless vessels."

MAGA is a cult, but it's a mistake to view Trump followers like DeSantis does, as "listless vessels" for Trump. Take this poll with a strong grain of salt, as it's unlikely that so many people are so delusional as to truly see an honest broker in the chronic liar and criminal that is Trump. Instead, the poll is a reminder that Trump backers are both deplorable and bitter clingers.

When a MAGA-American picks up the phone and hears a pollster from the hated "liberal media" ask them questions about Trump's indictments and general trustworthiness, they aren't answering the question asked. What they're really hearing, over and over: "Are you ready to admit that you were wrong and liberals were right all along about Trump?" And the answer is a big, fat "hell no," because the first rule of MAGA is to never, ever, under any circumstances, admit that liberals might be right about something.

That poll doesn't measure a sincere belief in Trump's trustworthiness. It measures people who, consumed with bitterness towards the more liberal majority, are clinging to Trump even harder in a pathetic bid to save face. Which, as anyone who has studied cults can tell you, is a surprisingly strong factor in why people squelch their doubts to stay in the cult. They were warned so many times that this was a mistake that they stick around, hoping to prove the skeptics wrong.

The rally-round-Trump effect is fundamentally an eff-you-liberals response. This is demonstrated by the way this sentiment surges around every embarrassing reminder that the man is a criminal, and an idiotic one at that. There's a pattern emerging to the MAGA reaction to Trump indictments. The first swell of emotions is a tantrum, full of "how dare you" screaming, as they metaphorically (or literally in some cases) follow their leader's ketchup-throwing ways. Once that crybaby reaction fades, however, you can see concerns about betting it all on a profligate criminal start to seep in. As a Washington Post analysis of the polls before the Georgia indictments show, the overall trend shows Republicans more willing than ever to admit Trump is a bad person and a criminal. But that willingness dries up temporarily in the face of new indictments, as their ascendent emotion is defensiveness. Plus, when pollsters word questions more carefully to avoid provoking Republican spite, Trump's indictment bump disappears.

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It's unsurprising that the conniption fit is especially strong after the RICO charges against Trump and 18 co-conspirators were announced in Atlanta because the face of these indictments is Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. A Black woman having the power to charge Trump triggers both the racism and the sexism that fuels the Trumpist movement. When the prosecutor reading charges is Jack Smith, a stern-looking white man from the Justice Department, it's a lot harder for Republicans to tap that bitter clinger energy that makes them so deplorable. But now they're in high dudgeon because they refuse to accept a world where a Black woman has the right to make accusations against a rich white man.

It would be funny if these folks weren't a massive threat, and not just to democracy. As Obama said, they bitterly cling to their guns. Violence is the inevitable result of all this rage. They may not be rioting at the courthouse, but, as I wrote in March, the MAGA fury is being redirected at women, LGBTQ people, and racial minorities, the people that MAGA believes they shouldn't have to share power within a democratic system. There was yet another reminder this weekend of how bad things have gotten when a California store owner named Lauri Ann Carleton was murdered by a 27-year-old man. The reason the 66-year-old mother of nine was shot in cold blood? Because, police say, she flew the LGBTQ pride flag outside her clothing store, Mag.Pi.

The irony of all this is, if you read both Obama and Clinton's comments in context, they were actually far more charitable than the media coverage would lead one to believe. Obama was lamenting that "the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them" in Pennsylvania and the rural Midwest. That, he said, is why it's "not surprising then they get bitter" and are attracted to hateful rhetoric "as a way to explain their frustration." Similarly, Clinton was sympathetic, saying that while half of Trump's supporters are just ugly people, others "feel that the government has let them down" and are "desperate for change."

"Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well," she said of people who, in turn, were chanting about her: "Lock her up!"

For the sake of brevity and sanity, I'll take a pass at relitigating ye ol' "economic anxiety" debates here. (If you're interested in digging in, though, I recommend Zack Beauchamp's recent analysis at Vox.) But whatever the cause, we can see the result in the polling: Millions of people whose hackles are raised far too high for them to even start to calm down and ask themselves if Trump is really the hill to die on. Trump is barely literate, but, likely due to his own narcissism, he's especially adept at manipulating people's ego defense mechanisms. He's managed to get his followers to believe that, if they admit he sucks, it's as good as saying they also suck. That's hard for anyone to do, but especially people who have spent their whole lives being told they're the only "real" Americans.

The irony here is that this stubborn unwillingness to face the truth about Trump is a big factor in the MAGA deplorability. Having the humility and grace to let liberals be right about Trump would crack open the door to the possibility there are other things liberals are right about, from the facts of history to vaccines to climate change. Republican voters aren't really the dead-eyed zombies DeSantis invoked. But it may be something worse: Millions of grown adults slamming their hands over their ears and singing loudly, "nah nah I can't hear you."

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about the Right
Donald Trump says he will be arrested in Georgia on Thursday on charges of trying to interfere with the results of the 2020 election there.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the former president revealed he would surrender to authorities the day before his deadline for reporting to the Fulton County jail.

He made a series of accusations against district attorney Fani Willis and against the Joe Biden administration, saying he was being arrested not for Murder, but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL! , referring to a notorious call in January 2021 in which he can be heard trying to bully Georgias secretary of state to find an extra 11,780 votes for the defeated president.

Earlier it emerged that Mr Trump will remain free on $200,000 bail after he is officially arrested and booked in Fulton County, according to court documents.

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The former president has also confirmed he will be skipping the upcoming GOP presidential primary debate scheduled for Wednesday.

Mr Trump had been discussing a number of debate counterprogramming options, including sitting for an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has been hosting a show on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

According to the New York Times the interview set to air on Wednesday has already been taped.

Key points

Trump says he will be arrested on Thursday

01:40 , Phil Thomas

Donald Trump says he will be arrested in Georgia on Thursday. His deadline for reporting to Fulton County Jail on charges of trying to interfere with the result of the 2020 election in the state is Friday. The former president is charged alongside 18 co-defendants.

In a furious rant on his Truth Social platform, the former president denounced the district attorney bringing the case against him as well as the Biden administration, which he has accused of a politically-motivated witch hunt against him.

He claimed again that his notorious phone call to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, in which he tried to coerce him into finding an extra 11,780 votes to overturn Joe Bidens victory, was a PERFECT CALL!

The charges against him represent his fourth criminal indictment. In all he faces 91 criminal charges.

GOP candidates want Trump surrogates banned from Fox News debate spin room

Tuesday 22 August 2023 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

As Republican candidates ready themselves for the first primary debate of the 2024 election season, some of their staffers are reportedly pushing to ban surrogates for Donald Trump from the events spin room.

Read more...

GOP candidates want Trump surrogates banned from Fox News debate spin room

DOJ objects to Trumps proposed April 2026 date for DC trial

Tuesday 22 August 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Federal prosecutors objected Monday to the April 2026 trial date proposed by lawyers for Donald Trump in the case accusing the former president of scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Members of special counsel Jack Smiths team said in a court filing that Trumps lawyers last week had exaggerated the amount of material that they would need to sift through in order to be ready for trial.

Read on...

Justice Department objects to Trump's proposed April 2026 date for DC trial

Will Trump go to prison?

Monday 21 August 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

America wants to know...

Will Donald Trump go to prison?

Where do all the Trump lawsuits and criminal charges currently stand?

Monday 21 August 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Since leaving the White House, Donald Trump has continued to face a cloud of lawsuits and investigations, which could frustrate his hopes to win back the presidency in 2024.

Heres the current status of each of the major cases against him.

All of Trumps lawsuits and criminal charges - and where they stand

Report: European diplomats terrified at prospect of Trump winning in 2024

Monday 21 August 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

European diplomats are not overlooking the possibility that Donald Trump might secure a second term in the Oval Office if he is re-elected in 2024, and are actively formulating back-up strategies in case this scenario materialises, according to a report.

The prospect of Mr Trump returning to the White House has become an important topic of discussion in private conversations, with some calling it terrifying, The New York Times reported.

Read on...

European diplomats terrified at prospect of Trump winning in 2024, report says

Evangelical tells fellow Christians to wake up and see Trump for hoax he is

Monday 21 August 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A Christian writer in the Charlotte Observer has called out his fellow believers who still remain loyal to former President Donald Trump despite his history of alleged criminal activity and general un-Christ-like behaviour.

Isaac Bailey said his brothers and sisters in faith were being duped into believing that Mr Trump shared any of their alleged values by the former president and the GOP, admonishing them to wake up.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

Evangelical tells fellow Christians to wake up and see Trump for hoax he is

Voices: Trump wants Fox to stop using big orange photos of him. Its about more than vanity

Monday 21 August 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Jay Black writes:

They purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, the former President truthed, presumably as store-brand ketchup dripped from the walls around him, especially the big orange one with my chin pulled way back.

Like most people, my initial reaction to Donald Trumps rant was incredulity: does he think there are GOOD pictures of him?

Read on...

Trump wants Fox to stop using big orange photos of him. Its about more than vanity

Trumpworld goes for blood after Ron DeSantis listless vessels comment

Monday 21 August 2023 21:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Basket of deplorables, meet the listless vessels of Maga.

Donald Trumps latest bid for the Republican presidential nomination  so far, on course to end in the exact same manner, with his nomination  just gave the American voting public another taste of nostalgia for the 2016 race.

Speaking with a right-wing Floridian news outlet, Governor Ron DeSantis, who has firmly remained in second place behind Mr Trump in polling of the 2024 GOP field, took one of his first real swings at Trumpworld.

John Bowden reports.

Trump granted bail and warned on direct or indirect threats in Georgia case

Will Trump be punished for attacks on judges?

Monday 21 August 2023 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

In a normal criminal case, the defendant doesnt talk to the public or openly speak about the proceedings at all. If anyone says anything public-facing, its the lawyer. In a normal criminal case, the defendant certainly wouldnt appear to be trying to publicly threaten or influence the lawyers, witnesses, prosecutors, and judges at the heart of a case. And in a normal criminal case, if a defendant took the extremely ill-advised step of making such a threat, they could face jail time for contempt of court or even worse, additional criminal charges.

But Donald Trump, who is facing four serious criminal indictments across courts in four states, and seems to lash out at those involved in these prosecutions on a near-daily basis, is not a normal defendant, and hes certainly not facing ordinary charges.

Read more by Josh Marcus...

Trump attacks on judges are crossing the line. Will he be punished?

Full story: Trump granted $200,000 bail in Georgia

Monday 21 August 2023 21:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump will remain free on $200,000 bail after he is officially arrested and booked in Fulton County, Georgia later this week, according to court documents.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

Trump granted bail and warned on direct or indirect threats in Georgia case

Trump ordered by Fulton County to make 'no direct or indirect threats against the community

Monday 21 August 2023 21:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community; The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media

!! Order (more):



"Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community; The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media"  Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) August 21, 2023

What is the net worth of each GOP presidential candidate?

Monday 21 August 2023 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Ahead of Wednesdays showdown, heres a guide to the personal wealth of those taking part, with a brief outline of how they made their fortunes.

Fellow candidates Will Hurd, Perry Johnson, Francis Suarez and Larry Elder have not been included as, at the time of writing, they had not met the threshold to earn spots on the debate stage.

What are the Republican presidential candidates net worths?

Trump legal team agrees $200,000 bond with Fulton County DA

Monday 21 August 2023 20:59 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN reports that former president Donald Trump has agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions after his lawyers met with the Fulton County District Attorneys office on Monday.

Mr Trump and several co-defendants in the sweeping Georgia racketeering case were expected to work out the terms of their bond today with the district attorneys office.

John Eastmans bond was confirmed earlier.

DeSantis appears on edge in viral video ahead of debate

Monday 21 August 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

GOP presidential hopeful and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has once again found himself made a punching bag online after he was caught in an embarrassing video on the campaign trail.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

DeSantis appears on edge in viral video questioning his debate leaks

Swing state Wisconsin in spotlight ahead of GOP debate

Monday 21 August 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

When Republican candidates for president gather for their first debate Wednesday in Milwaukee, the spotlight will not only be on them but Wisconsins role as one of a shrinking handful of genuine battleground states.

Read on...

GOP presidential debate puts spotlight on Wisconsin, one of the few remaining swing states

Abortion rights: What the GOP candidates have said

Monday 21 August 2023 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The issue of abortion rights in the United States is staring the 2024 GOP presidential candidates in their faces as they prepare to kick their campaigns into high gear.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark case Roe v Wade (1973) last summer, abortion has become a top concern for many voters.

Ariana Baio looks at what each of the Republican candidates for president has said about abortion rights.

What the GOP candidates have said about abortion rights

Trump classified docs case a slam dunk, says GOP senator

Monday 21 August 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot has described the criminal case regarding the former presidents handling of classified documents as a slam dunk.

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) spoke to Kasie Hunt on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday where he said that Mr Trump should drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

Republican senator calls Trumps classified documents case a slam dunk

John Eastman gets $100,000 bail in Georgia election case

Monday 21 August 2023 19:46 , Oliver O'Connell

John Eastman, the former Chapman University law professor who was indicted along with former president Donald Trump and 17 other co-conspirators by a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury last week, has been allowed to remain free pending trial on $100,000 bail.

Judge Scott McAfee on Monday granted Mr Eastmans request for bond, and set an amount of $20,000 on the charge that he allegedly violated Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, with $10,000 bond for each of the remaining eight counts he faces on criminal solicitation, conspiracy, and filing false documents charges.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

Trump co-defendant John Eastman gets $100,000 bail in Georgia election case

FBI searching for Proud Boy who went on run days before Jan 6 sentencing

Monday 21 August 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A member of the Proud Boys who was convicted on multiple charges for his actions in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday  but he has gone missing.

Christopher Worrell, 52, of Naples, Florida, was found guilty of dispersing pepper spray gel on police officers as the mob stormed the Capitol in 2021 while Congress was certifying Joe Bidens presidential victory.

Read more...

Manhunt underway to find Proud Boy who was gone on run days before Jan 6 sentencing

Trump unhinged and terrifying during his final days in office, British filmmaker says

Monday 21 August 2023 19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

A British filmmaker who interviewed Donald Trump on the eve of the attack on the Capitol has opened up about the former presidents unhinged demeanour at the time.

Alex Holder documented the days leading up to January 6 and its fallout for Unprecedented, a movie about the last months of Mr Trumps presidency. The film was released last summer, months before the Department of Justice subpoenaed Mr Holder for any raw footage related to the movie.

Andrea Blanco reports.

British filmmaker says Trump was unhinged during his final days in office

New poll shows DeSantis slipping further behind as Trump extends lead

Monday 21 August 2023 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis is seeing his support in the Republican primary race crater as rivals gain ground against him while former President Donald Trumps dominance over the party appears to be holding steady.

John Bowden has the details.

Trump extends lead among Republicans as DeSantis slips further back, new poll shows

Will Trumps apparent decision to not fund legal fees of Georgia co-defendants have consequences?

Monday 21 August 2023 18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

If you cant fund a legal defence, you might be more inclined to cooperate with the prosecution or arrange a plea deal.

Trumps apparent decision not to fund the legal fees of any Fulton County co-defendants may be consequential.



RICO trials are extraordinarily expensive to litigate. Some of the defendants have deep pockets & can afford it. Those who cant may feel compelled to cooperate or plea pic.twitter.com/G1qBKHV5d5  Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) August 21, 2023

Bush attorney general says Trump should serve time if convicted

Monday 21 August 2023 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump already faces prison time for his latest criminal indictment stemming from the effort to overturn the 2020 election, but now a former US attorney general is arguing that he should face that same potential punishment at the federal level.

Alberto Gonzales, who served as US attorney general for two years under George W Bush, said this weekend that should Mr Trump be convicted on any of the four counts brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith over the campaign to alter the election results, the ex-president should be sent to prison.

John Bowden reports.

Former US attorney general says Trump should serve time if convicted

What can we expect from Wednesdays debate?

Monday 21 August 2023 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

RDS is going to get the Beto treatment, ie: nobody wants to attack the frontrunner, so they go for the next best thing and take swipes at the number two guy. That memo leak also gives Vivek and Christie a headstart. https://t.co/sOXnVMBPzT  Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) August 21, 2023

Trump hails Des Moines Register poll

Monday 21 August 2023 18:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The former president is celebrating another poll showing his commanding lead over other Republican contenders for the partys nomination.

He wrote on Truth Social:

The highly anticipated Des Moines Register Poll of Iowa Voters is just out: DONALD TRUMP HOLDS COMMANDING LEAD In First Test of 2024 Republican Caucus Field. Remember, I got the Farmers 28 Billion Dollars from China, the USMCA Trade Deal (& many others!), saved Ethanol, Social Security, and MediCare, & got Iowa First In the Nation status. Nobody else could have done this. Anyway, Im at 51%, a 31 Point lead over farmer hating DeSanctimonious, with the others gaining on him, but not on me!

Marjorie Taylor Greene to attend GOP presidential primary debate

Monday 21 August 2023 18:05 , Oliver O'Connell

One member of Congress who will be attending the Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee this week?



Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga), per her spox.  Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) August 21, 2023

Jack Smith to file response to Trump request for April 2026 trial date

Monday 21 August 2023 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Special Counsel Jack Smiths office has notified DC federal judge Tanya Chutkan that he would like to file a reply to Donald Trumps request for an April 2026 trial date in the federal election interference case.

Mr Smith wants to file a response in advance of the Monday 28 August hearing at which Chutkan will set the date of the trial.

NEW: Special Counsel's office notifies DC federal judge Tanya Chutkan that Jack Smith would like to file a "reply" to Donald Trump's request for April 2026 trial date



Smith wants to file response in advance of the Monday August 28th hearing at which Chutkan will set trial date  Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) August 21, 2023

Watch: Fox News panel argues why Trump should appear at debate

Monday 21 August 2023 17:50 , Oliver O'Connell

They really really want Trump to show up pic.twitter.com/WBPr6PmACk  Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2023

Trump and his allies double down on election lies

Monday 21 August 2023 17:40 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal indictment and one in Georgia charging Donald Trump with lying about the 2020 election to overturn President Joe Bidens win have done nothing to slow the geyser of election falsehoods flowing from the former president and his supporters.

Just two days after the Georgia indictment, one of Trumps most enthusiastic backers took the stage at a conference in Missouri to again spread election misinformation. Mike Lindell, the owner of MyPillow who is a vocal promoter of the myth that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, kicked off an event on purported election crimes with a video about fraud.

Read more...

Trump and his allies double down on election lies after indictments for trying to undo 2020 results

Analysis: Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

Monday 21 August 2023 17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports on how the former presidents dog-whistle statements add to decades of racially driven attacks.

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

With Trump a no-show at GOP debate, family steps in to represent him

Monday 21 August 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump Jr and fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle will attend the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 election cycle despite former president Donald Trumps absence.

Per The Daily Caller:

Were excited to see all of our friends in Milwaukee on Wednesday in support of President Trump. Were confident that in 2024, GOP voters will reject the RINO establishment and re-nominate President Trump in a landslide, Trump Jr and Guilfoyle told the Caller.

The pair are going to do media for the former president and will be promoting their Rumble shows.

Final trial set to begin three years after foiled plot to kidnap Michigan governor

Monday 21 August 2023 16:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Nearly three years after authorities foiled a bizarre plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the last defendants accused of taking part go on trial today.

Eric Molitor and brothers William Null and Michael Null were among 14 men, described by prosecutors as anti-government extremists, charged in the scheme weeks before the November 2020 election. They were angered by Whitmers COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, investigators said in court filings.

The plotters were members of paramilitary groups and spoke of attacking the state Capitol and police to ignite civil war, the documents said.

Nine men so far have been convicted in state or federal court, including four who pleaded guilty. Two others were acquitted at trial.

Three years after a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan's governor, the final trial is set to begin

Mary Trump believes former president will regret having cameras in Georgia courtroom

Monday 21 August 2023 16:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trumps niece Mary Trump believes the former president will regret pushing for cameras to be allowed in the courtroom when he stands trial in Georgia  as is permitted.

I think its going to have an enormous impact, because even for people who are his supporters and who think that this is a miscarriage of justice, this will be must-see TV, Ms Trump, a clinical psychologist and author, told MSNBCs Katie Phang on Sunday.

And Donald has always told them not to believe their lying eyes a only to believe him, she added. However, when hes the one theyre looking at, its going to be very difficult for him to spin away from whats actually happening in front of our eyes.

Heres another clip from the interview:

.@KatiePhang: "You're not surprised that your uncle has been charged with RICO?"



Mary Trump: "Not at all. I'm just surprised it took a few decades too long." https://t.co/ExgLAN1xAh pic.twitter.com/OkDlRvbwbb  MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 20, 2023

Watch: Scholars agree 14th Amendment bars Trump from running for office

Monday 21 August 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

I agree w/ @tribelaw, @judgeluttig, and other leading scholars; the 14th amend. bars Donald Trump from running for office



I explain @just_security and w/ @Acosta at CNNhttps://t.co/iE05MKRwt3 pic.twitter.com/dmZMczIuny  Norm Eisen (norm.eisen on Threads) (@NormEisen) August 21, 2023

This morning on Truth Social...

Monday 21 August 2023 16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump began the week with a bang on Truth Social with liberal use of the caps lock, posting:

WE HAVE A DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE RIGGING THE ELECTION FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN. UNLESS IT IS QUICKLY STOPPED, ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS WILL FOLLOW THE SAME PATH!

The former president must surrender to authorities in Fulton County, Georgia this week. He is currently expected to do so on Thursday or Friday.

Later in the morning, Mr Trump posted a Fox News article about how Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has not received any evidence that State Senator Colton Moore has the necessary majority to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as he has claimed.

The former president wrote:

Governor Kemp of Georgia is fighting hard against the Impeachment of the crooked, incompetent, & highly partisan D.A. of Fulton County, Fani Willis, who has allowed Murder and other Violent Crime to MASSIVELY ESCALATE. Crime in Atlanta is WORST IN NATION. She should be impeached for many reasons, not just the Witch Hunt (I did nothing wrong!). Willis should focus on out of control Murder, not I will get TRUMP over a Perfect Phone Call. Georgia does not deserve this GIANT MURDER WAVE!

Monday 21 August 2023 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump must turn himself in by noon on Friday.

The deadline for his voluntary surrender in Fulton County, Georgia, the latest of four jurisdictions to pursue criminal prosecutions of Americas 45th president, is fast approaching as Mr Trump and his legal team calibrate their responses to the latest series of charges to come down on the ex-presidents shoulders. Hes charged with 13 counts, including a violation of the organised crime under the states RICO statute.

And all indications are as of now that Mr Trump will cooperate with authorities. Attorneys for the ex-president were reported to have been in contact with Fulton County in the middle of last week, just a matter of hours after the indictment was formally handed down.

John Bowden reports on the logistical struggle ahead for the former president.

Trump attorneys discussing ex-presidents surrender with Georgia DA as deadline nears

Trump refuses to attend any debates

Monday 21 August 2023 15:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump on Sunday said he doesnt need to participate in any debates as he seeks his partys nomination for next years presidential election, even as nearly a dozen of his Republican primary rivals prepare to square off on Wednesday.

Writing on his own social media platform, Mr Trump said the US electorate knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had.

He added: I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Trump refuses to attend debates as GOP rivals prepare for Wednesday clash

Former US attorney general says Trump should serve time if convicted

Monday 21 August 2023 12:00 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump already faces prison time for his latest criminal indictment stemming from the effort to overturn the 2020 election, but now a former US attorney general is arguing that he should face that same potential punishment at the federal level.

Alberto Gonzales, who served as US attorney general for two years under George W Bush, said this weekend that should Mr Trump be convicted on any of the four counts brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith over the campaign to alter the election results, the ex-president should be sent to prison, as John Bowden reports from Washington DC.

Former US attorney general says Trump should serve time if convicted

GOP presidential debate puls spotlight on Wisconsin

Monday 21 August 2023 11:30 , Namita Singh

When Republican candidates for president gather for their first debate Wednesday in Milwaukee, the spotlight will not only be on them, but Wisconsins role as one of a shrinking handful of genuine battleground states.

Republicans chose Milwaukee not just for the first debate but the national convention in just 11 months largely because of Wisconsins well-earned status as a swing state.

Four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point here, with Donald Trump winning narrowly in 2016 before losing by a similar margin in 2020.

More here:

GOP presidential debate puts spotlight on Wisconsin, one of the few remaining swing states

Trump doubles down on claims Putin wouldnt have launched war if Trump was US president

Monday 21 August 2023 11:00 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump has doubled down on claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have never launched a war on Ukraine if the four-times indicted former American president was still in power.

Mr Trumps remarks came during his appearance on Fox BusinnesClay Travis & Buck Sexton Show aired on Friday. He went on to make bizarre comments about his relationship with Putin.

Putin wouldve never gotten into Ukraine, but thats just on my relationship with him. My personality over his, Mr Trump said. I was the apple of his eye and I would say, Dont ever do it. It was tough stuff there but he would have never done it.

Trump boasts about his relationship with Putin saying he was the apple of his eye

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

Monday 21 August 2023 10:30 , Namita Singh

Facing four criminal indictments as he seeks the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the prosecutors and judges handling his cases, while his supporters spin volatile rhetoric into threats of political violence.

His inflammatory remarks, threats to political rivals and borderline incitement have galvanised his supporters, who echo and amplify his statements and hear his alleged dogwhistles loud and clear.

The Independents Alex Woodward reports:

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

Ken Chesebro was at Capitol with Alex Jones on Jan 6

Monday 21 August 2023 10:00 , Namita Singh

Kenneth Chesebro, a Donald Trump ally and the alleged mastermind of the scheme to subvert the results of the 2020 election through the use of fake electors, was at the US Capitol on January 6, accompanying conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Video and photos taken on the grounds of the Capitol on the day Trump loyalists stormed the building, reviewed and reported on first by CNN , clearly show the attorney, now at the heart of the criminal case concerning the plot to overturn the election, wearing a red Trump 2020 hat and filming Jones with his phone.

Read more...

Alleged Trump fake electors plotter Ken Chesebro pictured at Capitol on Jan 6

After pro-Trump doxxing campaign, Georgia police investigate online threats to jurors

Monday 21 August 2023 09:30 , Namita Singh

Police in Georgia are investigating online threats to members of a grand jury that voted to indict Donald Trump and 18 of the former presidents allies accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in a sprawling criminal case.

The Fulton County Sheriffs Office is aware that personal information from members of the jury has been shared across social media platforms, the agency announced on 17 August, less than three days after a sweeping charging document was unsealed.

Alex Woodward reports.

Georgia police investigating online threats to Trump grand jury

What have the GOP candidates said about January 6?

Monday 21 August 2023 09:00 , Namita Singh

The insurrection on January 6, 2021, has become yet another litmus test for Republican presidential candidates and how they respond to questions about the subject may provoke the ire of frontrunner Donald Trump, whos now facing legal action over his role in the Capitol riot.

Heres what theyve said so far...

What the Republican candidates have said about January 6

The man who backed the Iowa winner three times gives his 2024 prediction

Monday 21 August 2023 08:30 , Namita Singh

If a Republican presidential candidate wants to win the Iowa caucus, with its heavily white, heavily evangelical and churchgoing population, they need to win over Bob Vander Plaats.

Few people have had a front-row seat to Iowas evangelical politics than Bob Vander Plaats. In 2008, he served as Mike Huckabees state party chairman when he pulled off an improbable win in the Iowa caucus. Then in 2012, he endorsed Rick Santorum before he pulled off a squeaker against Mitt Romney in the first in the nation contest. In 2016, he backed Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) before the senator pulled off a victory against Donald Trump.

Heres what he think of the 2024 race.

This man backed the Iowa winner three times  here is his 2024 prediction

Trump says he will skip GOP presidential primary debates

Monday 21 August 2023 08:08 , Namita Singh

Former president Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he will be skipping Wednesdays first Republican presidential primary debate.

The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, Trump wrote on his social media site. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES! His spokesman did not immediately clarify whether he plans to boycott every primary debate or just those that have currently been scheduled.

The former president and early GOP frontrunner had said for months that he saw little upside in joining his GOP rivals on stage when they gather for the first time in Milwaukee, given his commanding lead in the race. And he had made clear to those he had spoken to in recent days that his opinion had not changed.

Report:

Trump says he will skip GOP presidential primary debates

What has each GOP candidate said about the war in Ukraine?

Monday 21 August 2023 06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

As President Joe Biden likes to remind anyone wholl listen, This is not your grandfathers Republican Party.

One of the issues where thats becoming more evident by the day is Ukraine.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

What each of the Republican candidates have said about the war in Ukraine

Reagan didnt: Trump takes to Truth Social to give excuse for why he wont join GOP debate

Monday 21 August 2023 04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is still insisting he will not participate in the upcoming Republican primary debates, citing his lead over his opponents and the precedent set by former President Ronald Reagan.

Mr Trump made his proclamation in a typical rambling post on his Truth Social platform.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump gives excuse for why he wont join GOP debate: Reagan didnt

Trump to skip first GOP debate for Tucker Carlson interview

Monday 21 August 2023 02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump will skip the first Republican debate of the 2024 primaries and attempt to upstage his rivals for the partys nomination by instead sitting down for an interview with Tucker Carlson, according to a report.

Citing multiple people briefed on the matter, The New York Times reports that the former president made up his mind to miss the Fox News-hosted GOP debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Read more...

Trump to skip first GOP debate for Tucker Carlson interview, report says

Ken Chesebro was at Capitol with Alex Jones on Jan 6

Monday 21 August 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Kenneth Chesebro, a Donald Trump ally and the alleged mastermind of the scheme to subvert the results of the 2020 election through the use of fake electors, was at the US Capitol on January 6, accompanying conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Video and photos taken on the grounds of the Capitol on the day Trump loyalists stormed the building, reviewed and reported on first by CNN , clearly show the attorney, now at the heart of the criminal case concerning the plot to overturn the election, wearing a red Trump 2020 hat and filming Jones with his phone.

Read more...

Alleged Trump fake electors plotter Ken Chesebro pictured at Capitol on Jan 6

Trump extends lead among Republicans as DeSantis slips further back, new poll shows

Sunday 20 August 2023 23:00 , John Bowden

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis is seeing his support in the Republican primary race crater as rivals gain ground against him while former President Donald Trumps dominance over the party appears to be holding steady.

A new CBS News poll of likely Republican primary voters across the country shows Mr DeSantis trending downwards, currently at 16 per cent after dropping seven percentage points over a two-month span. In the time since CBS polled voters in June, the governor has slipped from 23 per cent while businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has surged into third place.

Take a look at how this poll illuminates the latest dynamics of the 2024 presidential race:

Trump extends lead among Republicans as DeSantis slips further back, new poll shows

Frivolous: Judge rejects Trumps fourth attempt to block E Jean Carroll case

Sunday 20 August 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal judge has once again dismissed Donald Trumps attempts to stall litigation from writer E Jean Carroll, who was awarded a $5m jury verdict earlier this year finding the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation after speaking publicly about it.

His fourth attempt, along with his previous attempts, have not provided a single reason to show any likelihood that he will succeed on appeal, according to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Alex Woodward reports.

Judge rejects Trumps frivolous fourth attempt to block E Jean Carroll case

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

Sunday 20 August 2023 22:00 , John Bowden

Facing four criminal indictments as he seeks the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the prosecutors and judges handling his cases, while his supporters spin volatile rhetoric into threats of political violence.

His inflammatory remarks, threats to political rivals and borderline incitement have galvanised his supporters, who echo and amplify his statements and hear his alleged dogwhistles loud and clear.

The Independents Alex Woodward reports:

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

British filmmaker says Trump was unhinged and terrifying during his final days in office

Sunday 20 August 2023 21:35 , John Bowden

A British filmmaker who interviewed Donald Trump on the eve of the attack on the Capitol has opened up about the former presidents unhinged demeanour at the time.

Alex Holder documented the days leading up to January 6 and its fallout for Unprecedented, a movie about the last months of Mr Trumps presidency. The film was released last summer, months before the Department of Justice subpoenaed Mr Holder for any raw footage related to the movie.

Appearing on CNNs Newsroom with host Jim Acosta on Saturday, Mr Holder delved into Mr Trumps state of mind during interviews recorded just before the attack.

Read more:

British filmmaker says Trump was unhinged during his final days in office

Pence backs up Meadows claim that Trump didnt declassify documents

Sunday 20 August 2023 21:06 , John Bowden

Mike Pence has just made a statement that seriously contradicts the claims being used by Donald Trump and his team to defend his handling of a trove of classified documents found in his home at Mar-a-Lago.

Up until now, Mr Trump and his allies in the Trumpworld media circle have claimed that the ex-president had a standing order to declassify any documents being taken by his team from the White House. But no White House staffers have emerged to back that up, and proof of an order has not been found either.

Read more:

Pence backs up Meadows claim that Trump didnt declassify documents

Trump makes bizarre remarks about his relationship with Putin

Sunday 20 August 2023 21:00 , Andrea Blanco

Donald Trump has doubled down on claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have never launched a war on Ukraine if the four-times indicted former American president was still in power.

Mr Trumps remarks came during his appearance on Fox BusinnesClay Travis & Buck Sexton Show aired on Friday. He went on to make bizarre comments about his relationship with Putin.

Putin wouldve never gotten into Ukraine, but thats just on my relationship with him. My personality over his, Mr Trump said. I was the apple of his eye and I would say, Dont ever do it. It was tough stuff there but he would have never done it.

The Independent reports:

Trump boasts about his relationship with Putin saying he was the apple of his eye

Analysis: Bidens awkward silence on Trumps legal woes  and what it could mean for 2024

Sunday 20 August 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

All signs point to a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

But despite their likely inevitable round two face-off, and the fact that the former president actively schemed to try and prevent Mr Biden from occupying the Oval Office, the incumbent president has stayed mostly silent when it comes to Mr Trumps mounting legal woes.

But how much longer can Mr Biden afford to keep quiet on his chief rivals criminal culpability?

Eric Garcia investigates.

Bidens awkward silence on Trumps legal woes  and what it could mean for 2024

Trump will now have to answer in court for making life hell for two Black women election workers

Sunday 20 August 2023 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

They were compared to drug dealers. They were flooded with racist abuse. The sitting president of the United States accused them of rampant fraud. People showed up at their homes. They were bullied, harassed, and forced to change their appearances and go into hiding.

Alex Woodward explains why the experiences of Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss after the 2020 election are so central to the charges against Donald Trump in Fulton County, Georgia.

Trump made life hell for two Black women. He will have to answer for it in court

Voices: Trump may be down, but he isnt out  yet

Sunday 20 August 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mary Dejevsky writes that a televised trial of the former president could make a great spectacle  but it wont stop Trump from securing the Republican nomination.

Trump may be down, but he isnt quite out  yet | Mary Dejevsky

After pro-Trump doxxing campaign, Georgia police investigate online threats to jurors

Sunday 20 August 2023 14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Police in Georgia are investigating online threats to members of a grand jury that voted to indict Donald Trump and 18 of the former presidents allies accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in a sprawling criminal case.

The Fulton County Sheriffs Office is aware that personal information from members of the jury has been shared across social media platforms, the agency announced on 17 August, less than three days after a sweeping charging document was unsealed.

Alex Woodward reports.

Georgia police investigating online threats to Trump grand jury

Even though Trump attacks on judges may be crossing the line, experts say he'll avoid punishment

Sunday 20 August 2023 12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

In a normal criminal case, the defendant doesnt talk to the public or openly speak about the proceedings at all. If anyone says anything public-facing, its the lawyer. In a normal criminal case, the defendant certainly wouldnt appear to be trying to publicly threaten or influence the lawyers, witnesses, prosecutors, and judges at the heart of a case. And in a normal criminal case, if a defendant took the extremely ill-advised step of making such a threat, they could face jail time for contempt of court or even worse, additional criminal charges.

But Donald Trump, who is facing four serious criminal indictments across courts in four states, and seems to lash out at those involved in these prosecutions on a near-daily basis, is not a normal defendant, and hes certainly not facing ordinary charges.

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump attacks on judges may cross the line, but experts say hell avoid punishment

Check you calendars: Trump wants to go to trial in April... 2026

Sunday 20 August 2023 10:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump wants his federal trial for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election to be postponed until April 2026, according to a court filing.

Lawyers for the former president asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to push the trial back more than two years later than special counsel Jack Smiths proposed date of January 2024.

Graeme Massie reports.

Trump proposes date for trial for subverting 2020 election  in three years

In sudden twist, Trump cancels press conference to refute Georgia claims against him

Sunday 20 August 2023 08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has abruptly cancelled his proposed news conference at which he claimed he was going to unveil a report that would clear him of any wrongdoing and charges he tried to interfere with the presidential election in Georgia.

The former president took to Truth Social on Thursday evening to say that he would not be going through with the Friday media event  scheduled for 11am est  at the advice of his lawyers.

Graeme Massie filed this report on Thursday night.

Trump cancels press conference to refute Georgia claims against him

Voices: Donald Trump wants Fox to stop using big orange photos of him. Its about more than vanity

Sunday 20 August 2023 05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Jay Black writes:

They purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, the former President truthed, presumably as store-brand ketchup dripped from the walls around him, especially the big orange one with my chin pulled way back.

Like most people, my initial reaction to Donald Trumps rant was incredulity: does he think there are GOOD pictures of him?

Read on...

Trump wants Fox to stop using big orange photos of him. Its about more than vanity

DOJ seeks 33 years in prison for ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio in Jan 6 case

Sunday 20 August 2023 03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Justice Department is seeking 33 years in prison for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Tarrio, who once served as national chairman of the far-right extremist group, and three lieutenants were convicted by a Washington jury in May of conspiring to block the transfer of presidential power in the hopes of keeping Republican Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election.

Read more...

Justice Department seeks 33 years in prison for ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio in Jan. 6 case

Experts warn Trump is going to Truth Social himself into trouble

Sunday 20 August 2023 01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump should really keep his mouth shut.

Thats the advice that experienced litigators of all stripes are giving the former president as he faces a tide of criminal investigations into his conduct both as president and during the 2016 election.

John Bowden reports.

Experts warn Trump is going to Truth Social himself into trouble

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

Saturday 19 August 2023 22:36 , Andrea Blanco

Facing four criminal indictments as he seeks the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the prosecutors and judges handling his cases, while his supporters spin volatile rhetoric into threats of political violence.

His inflammatory remarks, threats to political rivals and borderline incitement have galvanised his supporters, who echo and amplify his statements and hear his alleged dogwhistles loud and clear.

The Independents Alex Woodward reports:

Trumps history of racist statements collides with threats of political violence

Karma is about to crush him: Mobsters prosecuted by Giuliani with RICO statute are thrilled

Saturday 19 August 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The world of organised crime is reportedly thrilled that Trump associate Rudy Giuliani is now facing racketeering charges in Georgia. As a New York prosecutor in the 1980s, Mr Giuliani became nationally known for using so-called RICO statutes to go after members of the Mafia.

You can quote me to say, Theyre f***ing thrilled, Murray Richman, a lawyer who has represented organised crime figures including former Lucchese crime family boss Carmine Tramunti, told The Messenger.

Josh Marcus reports.

Mobsters Giuliani prosecuted with RICO law are thrilled at charges

Trump boasts about his relationship with Putin saying he was the apple of his eye

Saturday 19 August 2023 20:34 , Andrea Blanco

Donald Trump has doubled down on claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have never launched a war on Ukraine if the four-times indicted former American president was still in power.

Mr Trumps remarks came during his appearance on Fox BusinnesClay Travis & Buck Sexton Show aired on Friday. He went on to make bizarre comments about his relationship with Putin.

Putin wouldve never gotten into Ukraine, but thats just on my relationship with him. My personality over his, Mr Trump said. I was the apple of his eye and I would say, Dont ever do it. It was tough stuff there but he would have never done it.

The Independent reports:

Trump boasts about his relationship with Putin saying he was the apple of his eye

Trump effort to attack Biden backfires

Saturday 19 August 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Its almost like you shouldnt believe everything you read on social media...

Trumps effort to blast Biden backfires as meme he shared was from his own presidency

He cant speak, he cant walk: Trump says Bidens gaffes will lead to nuclear war

Saturday 19 August 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has suggested that President Joe Bidens frequent gaffes will lead to nuclear war.

The former president was speaking to Larry Kudlow, who worked in the Trump administration, on Fox Business Network when he returned to his often-used talking point that Mr Biden will lead America into armageddon.

Gustaf Kilander watched the interview which could give us a preview of Mr Trumps planned sitdown with Tucker Carlson instead of participating in the GOP debate on Wednesday.

Trump says Bidens gaffes will lead to nuclear war: He cant speak, he cant walk

Inexcusable attacks on judges could imperil his cases, Trump warned

Saturday 19 August 2023 15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trumps inexcusable online attacks on judges overseeing his legal battles could imperil his cases, a retired judge said.

The former presidents comments and attacks on the federal judiciary and on the specific individual judges who will preside over his trials are unprecedented in American history, J Michael Luttig, a former federal appeals court judge told CNN.

They are a grave disservice to the nation. They are inexcusable, he continued. And they imperil the former president himself in the defence of his actions on January 6th before the juries that will hear his case.

Kelly Rissman reports.

Ex-federal judge warns Trump that his attacks on judges could imperil his cases

Christie calls Trump certified loser, verified coward after decision to skip debate

Saturday 19 August 2023 14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie didnt hold back (as usual) in his criticism of Donald Trump, this time over his decision to not join his rivals on stage in the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 election.

Surprise, surprise the guy who is out on bail from four jurisdictions and cant defend his reprehensible conduct, is running scared and hiding from the debate stage, Mr Christie wrote on X.

Trump - certified loser, verified coward, he added.

Surprise, surprise the guy who is out on bail from four jurisdictions and cant defend his reprehensible conduct, is running scared and hiding from the debate stage.



Trump - certified loser, verified coward. https://t.co/plGjaBngVP  Chris Christie (@GovChristie) August 18, 2023

The former president has already been accused of skipping the debate because he is scared of Chris Christie as we reported earlier this week.

Trump accused of skipping debate because hes scared of Chris Christie

Inside the Georgia jail where Trump and 18 allies will be booked

Saturday 19 August 2023 13:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump has until noon on Friday 25 August to be booked at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta and arraigned at its courthouse before Judge Scott McAfee, where he is again expected to enter not guilty pleas to all charges, as he has at his three previous arraignments in New York, Miami and Washington DC.

A bond agreement is likely to be forged to spare Mr Trump having to stay overnight in jail, as is the usual custom, and he is again unlikely to be seen in handcuffs or forced to pose for a mugshot, although county sheriff Pat Labat has previously insisted he intends to apply the same normal practices to the politician and his co-accused as he would any other defendants.

Inside the Georgia jail where Trump and 18 allies will be booked over election plot

Why Trump wants to move Georgia case to federal court

Saturday 19 August 2023 11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

It took less than a day after a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicted former president Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and 17 other defendants in a sprawling racketeering case for one of them to invoke a rarely used federal law in an attempt to move the case into federal court.

On Tuesday, attorneys for Mr Meadows, who a Fulton County grand jury charged with a single racketeering count and another sole count of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, quickly filed papers in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to remove the case from Fulton County Superior Court.

The move by the former presidents chief of staff was widely expected by legal experts, many of whom have opined that Mr Trumps legal team can be expected to use a similar manoeuvre within the next 30 days, citing his former position as president of the United States.

But removing the case to federal court would not necessarily provide either of them with an advantage should the case proceed to trial.

Andrew Feinberg explains.

Why does Trump want to move Georgia case to federal court?

How Americas mayor tied his fate to Trump and got indicted

Saturday 19 August 2023 09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Giuliani  feted, knighted and named Time magazines person of the year for his leadership as New York City mayor after the 2001 terrorist attack  has seen his reputation eviscerated and now his liberty imperiled for his steadfast defense of former President Donald Trumps false claims about the 2020 election.

On Monday, Giulianis downfall sank to its lowest level yet with his indictment in Georgia on charges he acted as Trumps chief co-conspirator in a plot to subvert President Joe Bidens victory.

Read on...

The fall of Rudy Giuliani: How Americas mayor tied his fate to Donald Trump and got indicted

As Trump rakes in supporters donations to pay for his legal battles., some of his co-defendants go broke

Saturday 19 August 2023 07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports.

While Trumps codefendants struggle, hes raking in donations to pay for his battles

Trumps riggers attack and GOPs blatant racism and blatant violence slammed by Al Sharpton

Saturday 19 August 2023 04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Rev Al Sharpton has joined a growing chorus against Donald Trumps use of the word riggers as the former president lashes out at Black prosecutors and judges overseeing the criminal cases against him for his attempts to subvert the 2020 election.

The civil rights activist also condemned an apparent refusal from Republican Party leadership and other GOP officials to denounce Mr Trumps statement, received by his supporters in far-right online forums and on social media as an apparent appeal to their racism and support for political violence.

Alex Woodward reports.

Al Sharpton slams Trumps riggers attack and GOPs blatant racism

Will Trump go to prison?

Saturday 19 August 2023 02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Its what everyone wants to know...

Will Donald Trump go to prison?

Court tosses Jan 6 sentence , but what does that mean for other low-level Capitol riot cases

Saturday 19 August 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal appeals court on Friday ordered a new sentence for a North Carolina man who pleaded guilty to a petty offence in the Capitol riot  a ruling that could impact dozens of low-level cases in the massive Jan. 6, 2021 prosecution.

The appeals court in Washington said James Little was wrongly sentenced for his conviction on a misdemeanour offence to both prison time and probation, which is court-ordered monitoring of defendants who are not behind bars.

Read on...

Court tosses Jan. 6 sentence in ruling that could impact other low-level Capitol riot cases

Florida man who attacked officers with flagpole at Capitol riot sentenced

Friday 18 August 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A Florida man who used a flagpole to attack officers who were trying to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison.

Michael Steven Perkins, 40, of Plant City, was sentenced in District of Columbia federal court, according to court records. His co-defendant, Joshua Christopher Doolin, 25, of Lakeland, received one year and six months on Wednesday.

Read more...

Florida man who attacked officers with flagpole at Capitol riot gets 4 years in prison

FBI releases wanted poster for missing Jan 6 defendant

Friday 18 August 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI has now issued a wanted poster for missing Jan. 6 defendant Christopher Worrell pic.twitter.com/6qiH46onAa  Daniel Barnes (@dnlbrns) August 18, 2023

He backed the Iowa winner three times  here is his 2024 prediction

Friday 18 August 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

If a Republican presidential candidate wants to win the Iowa caucus, with its heavily white, heavily evangelical and churchgoing population, they need to win over Bob Vander Plaats.

Few people have had a front-row seat to Iowas evangelical politics than Bob Vander Plaats. In 2008, he served as Mike Huckabees state party chairman when he pulled off an improbable win in the Iowa caucus. Then in 2012, he endorsed Rick Santorum before he pulled off a squeaker against Mitt Romney in the first in the nation contest. In 2016, he backed Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) before the senator pulled off a victory against Donald Trump.

So, what does he think about the 2024 race? Eric Garcia reports.

This man backed the Iowa winner three times  here is his 2024 prediction

Christie calls Trump certified loser, verified coward after decision to skip debate

Friday 18 August 2023 22:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie didnt hold back (as usual) in his criticism of Donald Trump, this time over his decision to not join his rivals on stage in the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 election.

Surprise, surprise the guy who is out on bail from four jurisdictions and cant defend his reprehensible conduct, is running scared and hiding from the debate stage, Mr Christie wrote on X.

Trump - certified loser, verified coward, he added.

Surprise, surprise the guy who is out on bail from four jurisdictions and cant defend his reprehensible conduct, is running scared and hiding from the debate stage.



Trump - certified loser, verified coward. https://t.co/plGjaBngVP  Chris Christie (@GovChristie) August 18, 2023

The former president has already been accused of skipping the debate because he is scared of Chris Christie as we reported earlier this week.

Trump accused of skipping debate because hes scared of Chris Christie

Proud Boy on house arrest in Jan 6 case absconds before sentencing

Friday 18 August 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Authorities are searching for a member of the Proud Boys extremist group who disappeared days before his sentencing in a U.S. Capitol riot case, where prosecutors are seeking more than a decade in prison, according to a warrant made public Friday.

Christopher Worrell of Naples, Florida, was supposed to be sentenced Friday after being found guilty of spraying pepper spray gel on police officers, as part of the mob storming the Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Bidens presidential victory on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence him to 14 years.

Read on...

Proud Boy on house arrest in Jan 6 case disappears ahead of sentencing

Reagan didnt: Trump takes to Truth Social to give excuse for why he wont join GOP debate

Friday 18 August 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is still insisting he will not participate in the upcoming Republican primary debates, citing his lead over his opponents and the precedent set by former President Ronald Reagan.

Mr Trump made his proclamation in a typical rambling post on his Truth Social platform.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump gives excuse for why he wont join GOP debate: Reagan didnt

Big mistake to count Ron DeSantis out, says Iowas evangelical kingmaker

Friday 18 August 2023 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Iowas top evangelical leaders has told The Independent that Republicans and the press are writing off Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss presidential campaign too soon.

Bob Vander Plaats, the chief executive of the Family Leader, is one of the leading voices in heavily evangelical Iowa. Earlier this year, the Family Leader hosted a forum with many of the Republican candidates for president with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson serving as the moderator.

He has had a track record of betting on the right horse before the Iowa caucus.

Eric Garcia reports.

Iowas evangelical kingmaker says it would be a mistake to count Ron DeSantis out

Experts warn ex-president is going to Truth Social himself into trouble

Friday 18 August 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump should really keep his mouth shut.

Thats the advice that experienced litigators of all stripes are giving the former president as he faces a tide of criminal investigations into his conduct both as president and during the 2016 election.

John Bowden reports.

Experts warn Trump is going to Truth Social himself into trouble

What have each of the Republican candidates said about the war in Ukraine?

Friday 18 August 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

As President Joe Biden likes to remind anyone wholl listen, This is not your grandfathers Republican Party.

One of the issues where thats becoming more evident by the day is Ukraine.

Heres what each of the primary candidates has said about the war.

What each of the Republican candidates have said about the war in Ukraine

Especially the big orange one: Trump attacks Fox News for using worst photos of him

Friday 18 August 2023 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has taken to lashing out at Fox News, claiming that the network is working with other Republican candidates to figure out who can beat him in the GOP primary, while using unflattering orange photos of him and negative polls.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump attacks Fox for using worst photos of him: Especially the big orange one

What have the Republican candidates said about January 6?

Friday 18 August 2023 19:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The insurrection on January 6, 2021, has become yet another litmus test for Republican presidential candidates and how they respond to questions about the subject may provoke the ire of frontrunner Donald Trump, whos now facing legal action over his role in the Capitol riot.

Heres what they have said so far...

What the Republican candidates have said about January 6

Comment: Trump may be down, but he isnt out  yet

Friday 18 August 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mary Dejevsky writes that while a televised trial of the former president could make a great spectacle, it wont stop Trump securing the Republican nomination.

Trump may be down, but he isnt quite out  yet | Mary Dejevsky

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez qualifies for GOP presidential debate

Friday 18 August 2023 19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Friday that he has qualified for next weeks Republican presidential debate, becoming the ninth White House hopeful to meet the fundraising and polling thresholds required to participate in the opening face-off of the 2024 campaign.

Suarez, 45 and the only Hispanic in the field, will be perhaps the least-known Republican on the stage Wednesday in Milwaukee.

Read more...

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a fierce Ron DeSantis critic, qualifies for GOP presidential debate

Analysis: Trump attacks on judges may be crossing the line, but experts say he will avoid punishment

Friday 18 August 2023 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Josh Marcus reminds us that while the former presidents behaviour would pose serious legal perils for a normal defendant, Donald Trump is no normal defendant.

Trump attacks on judges may cross the line, but experts say hell avoid punishment

Breaking: Trump to skip first GOP debate for Tucker Carlson interview, report says

Friday 18 August 2023 18:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump will skip the first Republican debate of the 2024 primaries and attempt to upstage his rivals for the partys nomination by instead sitting down for an interview with Tucker Carlson, according to a report.

Citing multiple people briefed on the matter, The New York Times reports that the former president made up his mind to miss the Fox News-hosted GOP debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On Thursday he again claimed on his Truth Social platform that there was no need for him to debate the other candidates as he was polling so far ahead of them, but was still ambiguous as to what his plans might actually be.

Read more...

Trump to skip first GOP debate for Tucker Carlson interview, report says
PRETORIA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Tuesday that he is willing to work with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, to push China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

At a new historical starting point, Xi said, carrying forward friendship, deepening cooperation and strengthening coordination are the common aspiration of the two countries and the task entrusted by the times.

Xi made the remarks in a meeting here with Ramaphosa after arriving on Monday for a state visit to South Africa, where he will also attend the 15th BRICS Summit and co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue. 
Former President Donald Trump will turn himself in to prosecutors in Atlanta on Thursday, he said on Monday, after he was indicted by a Georgia grand jury last week on racketeering charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in that state.

Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday night, calling the case a WITCH HUNT and attacking Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who led the investigation into Trump and his allies.

Willis indicated last week that all 19 defendants charged in the indictment had until Friday to surrender to prosecutors for booking. Former Trump lawyer John Eastman is slated to be booked on Wednesday, according to court filings in his California disbarment proceedings.

The Fulton County district attorneys office did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the timing of Trumps booking.

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Earlier on Monday, Trumps attorneys signed an order setting his bond at $200,000 and binding the former president to a set of rules that explicitly limit his ability to use social media to attack witnesses or co-defendants in the case.

Those rules include prohibition on any direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community, according to the order, which specifically mentions social media posts.

Trumps booking will take place one day after the GOP presidential primary debate  which Trump, the current frontrunner in the race, has said he plans to skip.
Former President Donald Trump is proposing a universal baseline tariff for imports into the US.

He also told Fox News he'd implement a "matching tax" on certain countries.

The ideas are part of his economic platform for his 2024 presidential campaign.

Donald Trump's return to the White House could bring about seismic changes to US trade policy, as the Republican frontrunner proposed setting up a universal tariff on imports entering the country.

He also proposed a "matching tax" on certain countries that would be equivalent to high tariffs on US products.

While Trump laid out the idea of a universal tariff months earlier, he appeared to get more specific last week.

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"I think when companies come in and they dump their products in the United States, they should pay automatically, let's say a 10% tax," he told Fox News on Thursday. "That money would be used to pay off the debt. It's a massive amount of money."

He later added, "I do like the 10% for everybody."

Trump aides told the Washington Post that a tariff percentage has not yet been determined, with other sources saying that it's an ongoing discussion among his inner circle.

The former president also proposed what he called a "matching tax" on countries that impose high tariffs on US products, particularly if the foreign tariffs greatly exceed what Trump envisions for a US tariff.

"If they charge us, we charge that  very simple," Trump said on Fox News. "Now two things will happen, one of two things: either they'll wipe out the tax and so will we, or we'll take in a lot of money, and that's OK, too."

Although Trump said a universal US tariff would allow the government to reduce corporate taxes on American companies, it would raise costs for US firms that rely on essential imports as well as for consumers who likely would pay higher prices as companies pass on the tariff expenses.

Added to that, commentators warned it would worsen trade relations with the US, potentially fueling an international trade war.

"This would directly lead to a global trade war. We tried this approach  big tariffs on foreign goods  in the 1930s. It led to the global depression and the rise of fascism in response and thus to the Second World War. Bad idea," tweeted retired Admiral James Stavridis, who is now vice chair at the Carlyle Group.

Protectionist tendencies are no new thing to Trump, who raised tariffs on China during his White House tenure that targeted $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in 2018.

While the policy has been criticized for costing Americans billions and creating few new jobs, many of the tariffs have continued under the Biden administration.

In February, Trump floated the universal tariff idea as he began laying out an economic agenda for his campaign platform.

The tariff could rise if nations were to devalue their currency, Fox News reported. The plan represents the "linchpin of a new Strategic National Manufacturing Initiative," Trump said, according to Fox.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The News

The possibility of Donald Trump s mug shot being taken and released when he surrenders at a Georgia jail has his devoted fans and ardent detractors nearly equally excited.

This would be the first mug shot of the former U.S. president to exist, despite having turned himself in to authorities on criminal charges on three previous occasions.

Vendors on Etsy that cater to both crowds told Semafor they are already preparing designs for new mug shot-themed apparel, and are expecting a crush of demand.

The View From The Left

A booking photo of Trump would instantly become one of the most famous photos in the world, and itll likely be catnip for liberals who have dreamed of him being behind bars.

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Lauren Koontz, who lives in Orlando and runs an Etsy shop with her sister and mother catering to liberals, said theyve already readied their designs and are talking to their manufacturers.

Were going to open up preorders the second that it comes out, Koontz said.

Some of her past designs include Jack Smith Fan Girl and Dont Say DeSantis, a reference to Floridas Dont Say Gay bill that Koontz said is their most popular. For her latest design, she is considering an image of Trumps mug shot with F around and find out printed above it.

The markets going to be flooded with Trump mug shot merch if its released, Koontz said, and everybodys going to be using it.

The View From The Right

Trumps campaign has in the past used his fake mug shot to position him as a victim of political persecution, selling a T-shirt with the image that said NOT GUILTY. Mark Dice, the right-wing online personality and conspiracy theorist, sells WANTED FOR PRESIDENT shirts on his website with a fake Trump mug shot.

The real one will be 100% one of the most popular T-shirts in a while, said Paata Chikhladze, whose Etsy shop features a shirt with a fake Trump mug shot and dozens of other pro-Trump and anti-Joe Biden apparel, including those that read I IDENTIFY AS NON BIDENARY and WHOEVER VOTED BIDEN OWES ME GAS MONEY.

Chikhladze is planning to sell new shirts with the real mug shot, including ones that read not guilty. He said it was in Trumps best interest to have the real mug shot released, to make him more popular.

But the New-Jersey based vendor said he actually voted for Biden. His Etsy shop is actually dictated by the market, he said, after he found that political merchandise that aligns with Trump and the GOP is the most popular.

The more radical the design, the more people seem to be attracted, he said, adding that he refrains from selling anti-Trump merch because it could alienate potential customers who support the former president.

Room for Disagreement

Trumps legal team doesnt want a mug shot to be taken, and negotiated with Fulton County prosecutors over that issue, The Guardians Hugo Lowell reported.

And not all pro-Trump personalities are looking forward to a badass" mug shot.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham said last week that the idea of a Trump mug shot is a sick fantasy for liberals. How is a mug shot of the former president in any way necessary or in any way good for America? she said.

Step Back

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, who oversees the jail where Trump will be booked, likely on Thursday, suggested earlier this month that Trump would have his mug shot taken.

It doesnt matter your status. We have a mug shot ready for you, Labat told reporters. Unless someone tells me differently, we are following our normal practices."

Since Trump and his 18 co-defendants were indicted, officials have not confirmed that a booking photo would be taken and released.

Mug shots are traditionally taken to help police and the public identify a detainee if they flee. In his New York case, Trump's booking photo wasn't taken in part because he's not considered a flight risk and photos of Trump are ubiquitous.
Former President Trump doesnt plan to attend Wednesdays first Republican presidential primary debate in Wisconsin, but he and his team are working to ensure he remains a dominant presence around the event anyway.

Surrogates for the former president are expected to descend on Milwaukee in an effort to make their presence known on the ground. And Trump is doing a pre-taped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that will reportedly air the same night as the debate, offering up his own counterprogramming to try and divide voters attention.

The debate happens to be the same week Trump must also surrender to authorities in Georgia after he was charged over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. Trump said he will turn himself in Thursday, meaning the timing could create yet another spectacle that could swallow up a positive news cycle for one of his rivals coming out of the debate.

The person in the lead has almost no incentive to debate, so of course hes going to take a pass, said Peter Loge, director of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.

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That said, the debate will be about Donald Trump, which is what Trump wants, Loge said. There will be questions about the 2020 election, about the indictments, about classified documents. So, Trump doesnt need to be there to make it about Trump.

The former president wrote Sunday on Truth Social that he would not be participating in the debates, citing a poll from CBS News he spent most of the day touting that showed him leading the next closest GOP candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , by a whopping 46 percentage points.

The announcement came after Trump had for months publicly and privately questioned why he should subject himself to insults and attacks on the debate stage from candidates polling in the single digits.

But Trumps team is not entirely ceding the stage to the nearly 10 other rivals who will be in Milwaukee on Wednesday. A source familiar with the matter said there was a concerted effort by Trumps campaign to have surrogates in attendance who could spin for the former president and do media in his absence.

Donald Trump Jr. announced Monday that he and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who previously worked on Trumps 2020 campaign, would be in Milwaukee.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes (R-Ga.) office said the congresswoman would be on the ground Tuesday and Wednesday and available for media opportunities in support of Trump.

A source said Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) would be in attendance, and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) will also be there. Both men have backed Trump in the 2024 race, and Donalds in particular has sparred at times with members of DeSantiss team.

The moderators for Wednesdays event, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, have indicated that Trump will be part of some of the evenings questions. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is expected to take aim at the former president for his absence, while leaked debate prep memos indicated DeSantis may try to defend Trump.

I think Trump not being there, while his opponents will try to make it reflect badly on Trump, they all look really small for being there, said one former Trump White House official. It almost makes it look like a junior varsity debate without Trump being there.

In lieu of attending the debate, Trump sat for a prerecorded interview with Carlson, who himself has a strong following among conservatives. A Trump campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on when or where the interview would air, but one source suggested it may go out around the same time as the debate to maximize the split-screen.

The entire operation is reminiscent of January 2016, when Trump skipped a Fox News debate just before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own event just down the road in Des Moines. Trump garnered significant media attention both for his decision to skip the debate, and for his counter-event, though he ultimately finished second in the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

It is also part of a broader pattern with Trump, who strategists say manages to consume entire news cycles and drown out his rivals with his actions.

The same thing could happen again this week, with Trumps surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday potentially blotting out any news out of the debate. His previous arraignments have led to all-day coverage on cable news and prompted statements from his rivals and supporters alike attacking or defending Trump.

Hell be the No. 1 issue [at the debate], said Rob Stutzman, a California-based GOP strategist. His legal peril is going to be an issue.

Updated at 7:53 a.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
If recent polls are to be believed, Donald Trump cant win a General Electionand he cant lose a Republican primary. Its a weird scenario because the former would normally preclude the latter.

Lets start with the notion that he cant beat Joe Biden. Anyone who watched Trump defy the experts in 2016 should be skeptical of such declarations. But according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 53% of Americans say they would definitely not support [Trump] if he is the nominee.

This leaves Trump with 47% of the electorate that is gettable, which is an important caveat when you consider that he picked the Electoral College lock by winning just 46% of the popular vote in 2016. However, in addition to the 53% who definitely wont vote for Trump in 2024, Another 11% say they would probably not support him in November 2024which is to say that 64% of voters are unlikely to support Trump.

A Legally Besieged Trump Focuses on a Personal Goal: Revenge Against Hillary Clinton

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Based on thisand its worth noting that national polling averages still show a very tight raceits hard to imagine that (barring an economic recession or a Joe Biden health scare) Trump could win in 2024.

Indeed, even National Reviews Andy McCarthy, who has defended Trump over his legal troubles (granted, its complicated), has concluded that Trump cant win. 65% [are] already against him. Thats before Dems launch [a] barrage after getting him nominated 

At the very least, it seems clear that Trump will begin the General Election with the deck stacked against him.

So why are Republicans so hellbent on nominating a likely loser?

Republicans have quit believing the establishment media and their polls (here, I have some sympathy). Despite his many losses, there is a lingering perception that Trump can pull off miracles (as he did in 2016), and that the media is out to get him.

What is more, there really isnt a better option. Republicans believe that Trump is more electable than Ron DeSantis, who is in second place, nationally (even CNN concludes these voters may be right about that).

But even if Republicans thought Trump was less likely to beat Biden, its not clear that it would matter. According to a Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll in Iowa, Fully 65% of likely Republican caucusgoers say a presidential candidate who comes closest to them on the issues is more important to them, versus 29% who say they prize more the candidate with the best chance of beating President Joe Biden in Nov. 2024.

There really doesnt seem to be any way to persuade Republicans not to support Trump.

For example, lets say your strategy was to have friends and family talk with a Trump supporter and attempt to turn them towards DeSantis or someone else. Based on some recent polling, its not likely to overcome their trust in Trump.

According to a CBS News/YouGov poll, Trumps voters trust him more than their own family or friends. Anecdotally, this rings true. Trump may be a serial liar, but his fans utterly trust him. Im certain that my Trumpy extended family trusts the former president more than their own flesh-and-blood relative (who also happens to be a professional political journalist)at least when it comes to how this country should be run.

This dogmatic belief bleeds into the religious arena, too. It shouldnt surprise us that Trump fans trust him over their own religious leaders. Like the old spiritual hymn, they have declared, We shall not be moved (at least when it comes to backing Trump).

Certainly, these voters have given up on prioritizing a candidates personal moral code and religious bonafides. Consider the new Iowa poll that shows Trump leading among evangelicals with 47% evangelical support, while dwarfing actual evangelical candidates like Mike Pence.

If Trump paying off porn stars didnt sway these voters, its hard to imagine what will. In fact, one finding from the Iowa poll showed that Trumps lead grew after the latest indictment in Georgia.

In a rational world, Trumps uphill climb against Biden would influence Republican votersespecially since they fear that another four years of Democratic control would undo gains made in Trumps four years (including Supreme Court nominations).

But Republican voters are impenetrable and unmovable.

With all due respect to recent polling, I am not yet convinced that Trump is a sure loser against Biden. But I am increasingly persuaded that Trump cant lose this primary.

Its possible that some external event will prevent another Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden matchup. But for that to happen, it will probably take an act of Godnot an act of political persuasion.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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When I first wrote about Vivek Ramaswamy back in early May, the youthful Republican candidate was still more a figure of intrigue than a viable contender for the presidency. Ron DeSantis , who hadnt officially joined the race, remained the biggest threat to Donald Trump s GOP dominance; the two Florida mens most prominent challengers were establishment has-beens jockeying for single-digit polling numbers (Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, etc.). Within this unholy sphere, Ramaswamy couldnt help but stand out. A clean-cut 38-year-old Indian American from the Midwest, a family man with oodles of interpersonal charm, a religious son of high-caste Hindu immigrants, a biotech entrepreneur and antisocial justice warrior with no prior experience in Washingtonwhat could be more refreshing for the GOP than all this? Simultaneously, Ramaswamy was making what seemed like a serious bid by bashing DeSantis and worshipping Trump, allowing MAGA types to glom on to his promise to advance a positive vision of America First nationalism. This earned Ramaswamy some notable traction, alongside bemused reactions from conservative observers. Trump liked him, as did Fox News. National Review writers were skeptical, as were DeSantis boosters. Still, in spite of the occasional viral moment, Ramaswamy remained mostly an unknown.

Three months later, things are looking more auspicious for Ramaswamys candidacy. On the eve of the first 2024 GOP debatefor which Ramaswamy qualified even before Mike Pence didthis neophyte may even be in a stronger position than his much-better-known rivals. For one, DeSantis formerly hyped campaign has repelled many onetime supporters with a potent combination of personal awkwardness and Nazi memeage. Quite a few of those defectors are now embracing Ramaswamy.

Its so bad that DeSantis team is now explicitly recommending that the candidate take a sledgehammer to Ramaswamy at the debate by calling him names like Vivek the Fake. (Pedantic note: Vivek rhymes much more closely with ek, the Hindi word for one, than it does with the wider-vowel fake.) As my colleague Alexander Sammon astutely noted, Trumps multiple indictments this summer didnt harm Trumps or Ramaswamys pollinginstead, they seemed to clear the way for the latter to be perceived as an insurance policy for the die-hards: If Trump is somehow cowed into not running because hes in a prison cell or too hard up, only Ramaswamy can be trusted. There are plenty of polls showing Ramaswamy outpacing better-known challengers like Tim Scott, although Politicos Steven Shepard notes that Ramaswamy tends to do better in online polls than in more-traditional phone surveys. But even that could soon change: On Saturday, a hybrid phone-online poll from Emerson College found Ramaswamy tied with DeSantis for second, with the former gaining about as much support as the latter lost over the summer.

Whether theyre a result of circumstantial luck or actual political savvy, Ramaswamys heightened profile and appeal are now undeniable, and political observers are catching on. Monday alone saw some hefty new journalistic profiles of Ramaswamy: from the Atlantic, a campaign-trail saga; from ABC News, a collection of anonymous anecdotes from erstwhile associates that accuse Ramaswamy of mere clout-chasing; from Forbes (which, back in 2014, had placed him on the 30 Under 30), an accounting of how Ramaswamy briefly became a billionaire earlier this year. With DeSantis in decline and Trump skipping the debate altogether, the other GOP candidates are homing in on Ramaswamy, likely parsing all these biographical details for debate attack fodder. As the Washington Post reported, Advisers to several candidates  said the [debate] stage is likely to serve as a venue to litigate the inconsistencies in Ramaswamys policy statements.

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Those inconsistencies wont be hard to find. As even Fox News points out, Ramaswamy implied in early May that Trump would be a coward if he didnt show up to debate, but now he says its OK if Trump misses the first few Republican forums. Trump will be an unavoidable elephant in the room, but the other candidates will likely dig into Ramaswamys foreign policy, some aspects of which theyre adopting (namely, dispatching armed forces to battle Mexican drug cartels), others of which they firmly oppose (his Putin-favoring proposal for Russia-Ukraine peace, his desire to arm Taiwanese citizens against China only until the United States no longer depends on the democratic island for semiconductors). Haley is already laying into Ramaswamy for suggesting he would reduce American funds delegated to Israel. The fact that Ramaswamy has spent the past few months engaged in a lot of foreign policy briefings, as Semafor reported, doesnt seem to be helping him much.

Maybe his stans dont give a fig about foreign policy. Even then, the most effective attacks against Ramaswamy will likely come from odder sources altogether, like his continuous 9/11 gaffes. Seriously: a BlazeTV interview in which he didnt exactly say no when the interviewer asked whether the attacks were an inside job, a follow-up Tucker Carlson interview where he attempted to clarify that he meant the 9/11 Commission lied, and then a bit from the aforementioned Atlantic profile where he declares, I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. (After Ramaswamy told CNNs Kaitlan Collins on Monday that he had been misquoted, the Atlantic reporter released audio of the exchange, making it clear Ramaswamy had  not been misquoted.) His competitors will perhaps also find it legitimate to ask why Ramaswamy harps on this kind of thing.

There are still more bizarre lines on his resume, like Bloombergs recent report on how employees from the anti-woke hedge fund he co-founded in 2022 have sued him for misrepresent[ing] the companys finances to employees and investors, aggressively pushing employees to violate securities law, and retaliating against a worker for raising concerns about sexual harassment at the firm. Going back even further, consider his biotech startup Roivant, which only ever produced a handful of approved commercial drugs despite fundraising billions of dollars over a yearslong period. Or his repurposing of Trumpian branding to the extent that his all-caps, block-lettered TRUTH logo closely resembles that of Trumps own Truth Social network. Or his critiques of the Hunter Biden probe juxtaposed with his purported willingness to pardon Hunter should Ramaswamy take the White House (what is the position here, honestly?). Or his quippy description of himself as a nonwhite nationalist. Or his campaigns frequent habit of paying Wikipedia editors to remove certain details from his page. Or the whispers from past associates that this run is all a publicity charade (Its clear that hes been wanting to be famous for a long time).

Vivek Ramaswamy has gotten remarkably far in his long-shot race, and his well-spoken (if obfuscatory and verbose) rhetorical style will serve him well in Wednesdays debateat which hell take a center-stage position, right next to DeSantis. But for Ramaswamys campaign to really take off, he wont just have to fend off attack-ready, amply experienced politicians; hell also have to exercise caution over what he himself says. (Basil Fawlty voice: Dont mention 9/11!) Considering how much he styles himself after the famously unfiltered Donald Trump, Ramaswamy likely wont be able to keep from opening his mouth. The real question, in this Republican contest, is if such absurdity will hurt him or help him.
Channel 9 meteorologists are tracking several tropical systems in the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

 WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

5 p.m. update:

Harold is still producing heavy rain and flooding threats for parts of Texas and Mexico but has weakened to a tropical depression.

Tropical Depression Harold

Franklin is also very disheveled right now, and questionable if its truly still a tropical cyclone at this point. With the center exposed from convection, its center may be reforming.

Either way, the heavy rain threat for Hispaniola continues. After passing over the Dominican Republic, reorganization and intensification of Franklin is still expected off the east coast of Florida as it tracks north into next week.

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Well monitor beach conditions and rip currents at local beaches with Franklin potentially at hurricane strength next week off our coast.

11:35 a.m. update:

Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Padre Island, Texas around 11 a.m.

The storm system will bring much-needed rain to the area which has been experiencing extreme drought.

Read: New data shows screen time could have negative impact on childrens development

Harold had maximum sustained winds around 50 mph while coming on shore.

Harold is forecast to bring heavy rains and tropical-storm-force winds for several hours.

Original Report:

Tropical Storm Franklin is forecast to bring heavy impacts to Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic could see extreme flooding and mudslides from over a foot of rain.

Franklins rain bands could also bring areas of flooding to Puerto Rico.

Read: Hurricane season: What is the Saffir-Simpson scale; how does it work; is there a Category 6?

The tropics are very busy overall in the Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Harold recently formed and is forecast to move into southern Texas.

Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary impacts Southern California

Harold will also bring some much-needed rain to areas of Texas that have been experiencing extreme drought.

There are several tropical disturbances being monitored in the Atlantic.

Read: Gray Man ghost makes appearance before major hurricanes, legend says

Thankfully, none of these systems are expected to impact Florida.

This satellite image taken on Friday shows Hurricane Hilary spinning off the coast of Mexico.

People stand on a pier over the Pacific Ocean with Tropical Storm Hilary approaching in San Diego County on Sunday.

A person and dog wear raincoats as they stand near the Pacific Ocean in Imperial Beach, California.

People walk in the rain along the Pacific Ocean with Tropical Storm Hilary approaching San Diego County on Sunday.

A waves breaks on the Pacific Ocean with Tropical Storm Hilary approaching Southern California.

Volunteers and members of the Long Beach Fire Department fill sandbags at Belmont Shore Beach on Sunday as Tropical Storm approaches.

People stand on a sand berm at Belmont Shore Beach in Long Beach, California, as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches.

Surfers prepare to go in the water at Belmont Shore Beach on Sunday. The surf was rising as Tropical Storm Hilary headed toward Southern California.

People in Long Beach fill sandbags as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches California on Sunday.

People stand on a sand berm at Belmont Shore Beach as tropical storm Hilary approaches Southern California.

Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California, was closed where it crosses a usually dry wash section of the Whitewater River as Tropical Storm Hilary moved closer to the area on Sunday.

Waves crash against the US-Mexico border fence at Tijuana Beach ahead of Tropical Storm Hilary's landfall.

Vehicles drive along a flooded street in Palm Springs, California, as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches the area.

First responders keep watch near a vehicle that flipped over during rainfall from approaching Tropical Storm Hilary near Palm Springs, California.

An ambulance drives through a flooded street in Palm Springs as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches.

Workers set up a sign near a flooded intersection in San Bernardino as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on Sunday.

A broken tree limb partially blocks a road as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through Cathedral City, California.

A car is partially submerged in floodwaters as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through Cathedral City, California, on Sunday.

CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: A vehicle drives through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. Southern California is under a first-ever tropical storm warning as Hilary impacts parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. All California state beaches have been closed in San Diego and Orange counties in preparation for the impacts from the storm which was downgraded from hurricane status. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: A car is partially submerged in floodwaters as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. Southern California is under a first-ever tropical storm warning as Hilary impacts parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. All California state beaches have been closed in San Diego and Orange counties in preparation for the impacts from the storm which was downgraded from hurricane status. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: A vehicle drives through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. Southern California is under a first-ever tropical storm warning as Hilary impacts parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. All California state beaches have been closed in San Diego and Orange counties in preparation for the impacts from the storm which was downgraded from hurricane status. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

SUN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: A tow truck driver attempts to pull a stranded car out of floodwaters on the Golden State Freeway as tropical storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Sun Valley, California. Southern California is under a first-ever tropical storm warning as Hilary impacts parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. All California state beaches have been closed in San Diego and Orange counties in preparation for the impacts from the storm which was downgraded from hurricane status. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A pedestrian tends to a broken umbrella as she walks through wind and rain on Hollywood Boulevard during Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

A briefing with city officials is given during an emergency meeting with Tijuana city officials for Tropical Storm Hilary at Tijuana Police Headquarters on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Tijuana, Baja California. (Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

A fire truck pulls away after a motorist became stranded in rising floodwaters caused by torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Pedestrians fight strong winds and rain on Hollywood Boulevard during Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Homeless people carry a plastic tarp to shield themselves from a light rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary in downtown San Diego, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A pedestrian shields himself from strong winds and rain on Hollywood Boulevard during Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Vehicles make their way through a flooded road in Zona Rio as Tropical Storm Hilary hits the region on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Tijuana, Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

Dark clouds form over downtown San Diego as Tropical Storm Hilary passes through the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

Pedestrians fight wind and rain as they cross Hollywood Boulevard during Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Reagan King battles the wind while out with her parents at Imperial Beach after the eye of Tropical Storm Hilary passed on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in San Diego. The Imperial Beach Pier was closed to the public. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

Pedestrians with umbrellas shield themselves from wind and rain on Hollywood Boulevard during Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Cars maneuver around a plow clearing debris along a flooded Sierra Highway in Palmdale, Calif., as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

An elderly woman crosses a street flooded by torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Thousand Palms, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A plow clears debris along a flooded Sierra Highway in Palmdale, Calif., as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A motorist walks out to remove belongings from his vehicle after becoming stuck in a flooded street, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert, Calif. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Vehicles cross over a flood control basin that has almost reached the street, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert, Calif. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Tijuana, Baja California - August 20: Miguel Ramirez lays a tarp over a home in preparation for Tropical Storm Hilary at Colonia Nueva Esperanza Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023 in Tijuana, Baja, California. (Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

These are the names for storms that develop during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

Follow our Severe Weather team on Twitter for live updates:
A man was stopped from bringing a gun onto a flight taking off from Pittsburgh International Airport Monday, TSA said.

A TSA official said a man from Indiana County had a .380 caliber gun in his backpack. The gun itself was not loaded, but there was a loaded magazine.

Once a TSA officer saw the weapon in a checkpoint X-ray machine, police responded and confiscated the weapon and gave him a citation. He also faces a civil penalty that could be as high as $15,000, according to TSA.

There is no excuse for bringing a firearm onto a flight, said Karen Keys-Turner, TSAs Federal Security Director for the airport.

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Keys-Turner said TSA is regularly detecting guns at checkpoints and encourages passengers to learn the proper ways to pack a gun for a flight.

Firearms should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage. Responsible gun owners know this, she said.

Information on how to correctly travel with a gun is available on TSAs website.

According to TSA data, 26 firearms have been stopped at Pittsburgh International Airport in 2023. This is the same number of firearms stopped in 2022.

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MANILA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has approved an 85 million U.S. dollars loan to promote the development and profitability of the horticulture sector in Indonesia.

The Manila-based bank said the Horticulture Development in Dryland Areas Sector Project will improve the climate resilience, sustainability, efficiency, and profitability of horticulture production in dryland areas located in several provinces across Indonesia.

The ADB said an estimated 25,000 poor and near-poor farmer households, including 5,000 women farmers, are expected to benefit from the project directly.

The ADB said Indonesia's horticultural sector faces several challenges, including a lack of access to quality and affordable seeds, inadequate infrastructure and technology, and insufficient logistics support. Improving horticulture in Indonesia is vital to meet the country's growing food needs and to help smallholder farmers profit from their plots of land.

The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) will also extend a 40 million U.S. dollars loan to the project to be partially managed by the ADB. 
FILE - A woman walks by a UN sign at the UN buffer zone inside Pyla village, outskirt of coastal city of Larnaca, Cyprus, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Three United Nations soldiers had to be treated for minor injuries after angry Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of peacekeepers who obstructed crews working on a road that would encroach on a U.N.-controlled buffer zone in ethnically divided Cyprus. The U.N. said Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, the assault happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the village of Arsos in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkey's foreign minister accused the United Nations on Tuesday of abandoning its position of neutrality in Cyprus after the Security Council criticized construction work by Turkish Cypriots inside the buffer zone of the ethnically divided island nation and condemned their assault on U.N. peacekeepers.

In a statement issued Monday, the Security Council described the road construction as a violation of the status quo that runs contrary to council resolutions. The statement came at the end of closed emergency closed consultations by the council's 15 members.

Angry Turkish Cypriots last week punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers that blocked crews working on a road that would encroach on the islands U.N.-controlled buffer zone. The road is designed to connect the village of Arsos, in the Turkish Cypriot north, with the multi-ethnic village of Pyla, which is inside the buffer zone and abuts the Greek Cypriot south.

The Security Council welcomed the subsequent halt in construction by the Turkish Cypriot side and "underscored the need to avoid any further unilateral or escalatory actions by either party that could raise tensions on the island and harm prospects for a settlement, the statement said.

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The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued its own statement Tuesday, rejecting the council's position and called it divorced from the realities on the ground.

We believe that with this move, the United Nations has lost its neutrality, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters during a joint news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart later Tuesday.

Fidan maintained that Greek Cypriots had been allowed to go ahead with similar road construction projects.

The road built by Greek Cypriots towards the Greek population in Pyla was never subjected to obstruction and condemnation by the United Nations, he said. He accused the U.N. of acting like a hawk to block the Turkish Cypriots' project.

Asked to respond to Turkey's reaction, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stood by the work of United Nations peacekeepers in Cyprus and was very clear in condemning the assault against those peacekeepers, as we condemn clearly any assault against any U.N. peacekeepers serving around the world.

Cyprus was divided along ethnic lines in 1974 following a Turkish invasion that was triggered by a coup aimed at uniting the Mediterranean nation with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence for the island's northern third, where Turkey maintains more than 35,000 troops, while the internationally recognized government of Cyprus is seated in the Greek Cypriot south.

For almost a half-century, a U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNFICYP has supervised a de facto cease-fire and maintained a 180-kilometer (112-mile) buffer between the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces in the north and the Greek Cypriot forces in the south.

The disputed road would give Turkish Cypriots direct access to Pyla by circumventing a checkpoint on the northern fringe of a British military base, one of two bases the U.K. retained after Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

Turkey has described the road as a humanitarian project for the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot residents of Pyla. The Cyprus government perceives the project as having a military purpose at a sensitive location.

Cyprus Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it was satisfied with the. Security Council statement on what it the government considers a new, serious military breach of the buffer zone. The ministry said Cyprus stands in full solidarity with the U.N. mission on the island.

The strong reaction of the international community constitutes a clear response to the unfounded claims of the Turkish Cypriot leadership and Turkey and sends a strong message that such actions will not be accepted, the ministry said.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting late Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the actions of U.N. peacekeepers who that blocked road construction unacceptable and accused the force of bias against Turkish Cypriots.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Ukraine on Friday, according to Turkish diplomatic sources quoted by the state news agency Anadolu.

Turkish officials have repeatedly expressed interest in a mediation role between Russia and Ukraine to re-initiate the Black Sea grain deal.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of a U.N.-backed safe-passage deal for Black Sea grain exports last month.

The visit would come a week after Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports after the termination of the main deal.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Alison Williams)
Turkeys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is going to visit Ukraine Aug. 25, Turkish news outlet T24 reported on Aug. 22.

Sources within Ankaras Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the journalists that following Fidan's three-day official visit to Iraq which began today, he will head to Ukraine on Aug. 25.

Read also: Erdogan offers help in processing Russian grain

During what would be his first visit to Kyiv, Fidan is expected to discuss escalating tensions in the Black Sea, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and bilateral relations.

Read also: Erdogan to travel to Russia for meeting with Putin on extending grain deal

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Following yesterday's cabinet meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the "country will make more efforts to re-open the 'grain corridor' under fair conditions that will meet the expectations of all parties in the future, and will ensure that hopes for peace will sprout," and that Fidan will also visit Russia in the coming days.

Fidan has also previously met with Russia's ambassador in Ankara, Alexey Yerkhov. A ministry statement noted that the meeting focused on discussing pertinent bilateral and regional agenda matters.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Two Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers have been completely destroyed and two more have been damaged in recent drone attacks on Russias Shaikovka and Soltsy airfields, NVs sister publication, Ukrainska Pravda, reported on Aug. 22, citing an intelligence source.

Two long-range Tu-22M3 bombers were completely destroyed, while two more aircraft were slightly damaged, the source told Ukrainska Pravda.

The drones that attacked the airfields were launched from Russian territory, the source added.

Read also: Ukraines Military Intelligence behind strikes on Russian airfields  source

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
As a result of the attacks on the Soltsy and Shaikovka airfields, two Tu-22M3 strategic bombers were completely destroyed, and two other aircraft were damaged.

Source: Ukrainska Pravdas source in defence intelligence

Quote: "Two Tu-22M3 bombers were completely destroyed, two other aircraft were slightly damaged."

Details: The source said that the airfields had been attacked by quadcopters from the territory of the Russian Federation.

Background:

On 21 August, Russian Telegram channels reported an attempted attack by a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone on an airfield in Kaluga Oblast in the morning. Reportedly, an unused aircraft was damaged. The governor of the oblast claimed that the UAV attack was repelled in Kirovsky district and that there were no casualties or other damage to infrastructure.

On 19 August, a military airfield in Novgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation was attacked by drones, and at least one aircraft was reportedly damaged.

Later, the media reported that as a result of the drone attack on the airfield, Ukraine was able to completely destroy a strategic nuclear bomber of the Russian Armed Forces for the first time.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
The University of Idahos plan to purchase the University of Phoenix sparked surprise and public outcry when it was announced one day before approval by the Idaho State Board of Education. But the deal is not unique in the U.S. higher education system.

The purchase resembles a recent wave of transactions and relationships between universities and for-profit entities across the country. Looming over the University of Idaho, and others striking out into the online education industry, is an enrollment cliff in higher education. Researchers have forecasted that a decline in birth rates during the Great Recession in 2008 will lead to a dramatic drop in the number of students graduating high school and going to college starting in 2025. And enrollment has already been declining across the country.

Basically there just arent enough kids graduating high school now or in the near future to sustain enrollment growth, said Michael Moore, vice president of academic affairs for the University of Arkansas System, in a call with the Idaho Statesman.

That doesnt mean every university will have a decline, he said, but as a whole, face-to-face education is declining.

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At the May meeting where Idaho officials voted to approve the acquisition of Phoenix, State Board of Education member Kurt Liebich said the purchase of the online school would allow U of I to be innovative in the way it approaches the shrinking higher education market, the Statesman previously reported.

The University of Idaho is creating a nonprofit to buy the University of Phoenix, a for-profit school with a checkered past. Students return to the Moscow campus in January.

That sentiment has been echoed across the country as a reason for universities to bring online schools into their folds. Another reason: to increase access to college education for millions of working adults.

Purdue University, the University of Arizona and the University of Arkansas System are all large public schools that have purchased for-profits  or formed nonprofits to purchase them  in the last six years, citing one or both of those reasons. They have converted the schools to nonprofit online education programs.

The controversy surrounding the U of Is decision to purchase the University of Phoenix echoes concerns about reputational damage and secrecy in those purchases. The Statesman spoke with administrators, faculty leaders and education experts about the outcomes and lessons Idaho can learn from what Purdue, Arizona and Arkansas did.

The University of Idaho isnt the first to strike out into online education. Acquisitions of for-profit schools are a growing trend in higher education in recent years.

1. Purdue University buys Kaplan despite predatory-lending complaints

In April 2017, Purdue University, a state university in West Lafayette, Indiana, announced that it was purchasing Kaplan University, an online school owned by Graham Holdings Co., a conglomerate that was formerly named the Washington Post Co., to form a new university. Purdue said the purchase would extend higher education to millions of new students.

Purdue formed a nonprofit called Purdue University Global, which paid Graham Holdings $1 for Kaplan. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Kaplan agreed to pay the new school $10 million annually for the first five years of the deal and to receive up to 12.5% of Globals revenue after enough was generated to cover operating costs.

Kaplan agreed to act as an online program manager for Purdue Global. That means it agreed to provide employees, admissions support, marketing, financial aid administration and tech support to the new school. This arrangement became a common thread in for-profit acquisitions that generated controversy.

Purdue University announced in 2017 that it would form a nonprofit to purchase Kaplan University, an online for-profit college owned by Graham Holdings Co.

The faculty at Purdue raised concerns. Some said making Kaplan part of Purdue could damage the universitys reputation, according to reporting in the Journal and Courier in Lafayette.

In December 2017, the Project on Predatory Student Lending, formerly part of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, published a report on 94 complaints submitted by veteran students attending Kaplan schools. Many of the students who submitted complaints reported being deceived about the costs of Kaplans programs and the need for student loans.

A Kaplan spokesperson said in an email to the Statesman that the report was part of a coordinated campaign funded by adversaries of for-profit education. Kaplan was recognized by media outlets such as U.S. News and World Report as a top program for veterans, she said.

Faculty members at Purdue were also frustrated that they had been told about the deal only one hour before it was made public. Thats similar to what happened in Idaho, when the State Board of Education approved the U of Is purchase of Phoenix just one day after the proposal was announced.

Frank Dooley, who was Purdues senior vice provost for teaching and learning at the time and is now chancellor of Purdue University Global, said in a call with the Statesman that the deal wasnt disclosed earlier because Graham Holdings, Kaplans owner, was a publicly traded company. It was restricted from making limited early disclosures by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, he said.

In May 2017, Purdues Faculty Senate passed a resolution demanding the university rescind, to the greatest possible degree, all decisions about the deal that were made without the faculty.

More than 300 professors signed a petition opposing the acquisition after a November campus visit by Purdues accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, according to reporting by the Journal and Courier. They wrote that standards at Kaplan were not consistent with the academic integrity and rigor at Purdue and objected to the use of Purdues name by the new entity.

A special committee formed by the Faculty Senate focused on worries that the online school would compete with Purdues existing programs by trying to recruit from the same population of students, and that the academic standards at the online school wouldnt match standards at the flagship campus.

We all care very much about the quality of what we do and the quality of the students when they finish, said Stephen Beaudoin, a chemical engineering professor who co-chaired the committee, in a call with the Statesman.

But the committee ultimately walked away satisfied with the online school, he said, though theres continuing discussion about nursing program competition.

More than 300 Purdue faculty members signed a petition asking university officials to rescind decisions made without faculty input after Purdue announced it was acquiring Kaplan University, a nonprofit, to form a new online university.

Purdue Global officially completed its acquisition of Kaplan in March 2018. It lost $82 million in its first three years, according to Purdue Universitys financial reports. Dooley attributed most of the losses to transition costs and heavy spending on marketing the online school.

Purdue Global reported a gain of $5.25 million in fiscal year 2021 and $10 million in fiscal 2022, according to Purdues 2022 financial report.

According to the U.S. Department of Educations College Scorecard, Purdue Global has a graduation rate of 27%, less than half the midpoint for four-year schools. Dooley said students are often working full time and have low income, which are factors that make it difficult to graduate. Purdue Global implemented new policies in 2021 designed to increase graduation rates, including conducting exit interviews with students who drop out to understand why.

Beaudoin said Purdues reputation was not damaged. There have never been more applications to the campus, and the credentials of incoming student have never been higher, he said.

2. University of Arizona forms nonprofit to buy for-profit, upsets faculty

The University of Arizona announced in 2020 that it was creating University of Arizona Global Campus, a nonprofit, to purchase Ashford University, a for-profit, for $1.

Zovio, a former education technology company and the previous owner of Ashford, was to pay $37.5 million to the University of Arizona Global Campus upfront and guaranteed $225 million total over 15 years, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

Zovio agreed to continue providing recruiting, financial aid, counseling and information technology services to the virtual school under an online program manager agreement, according to an SEC filing. After covering its direct costs, Global Campus agreed to reimburse Zovio for its services and pay up to 19.5% of tuition and fees revenue to Zovio.

Global Campus was an independent organization with an affiliation agreement with the University of Arizona, said Pam Scott, Arizonas associate vice president for external communications, in an email to the Statesman. That is similar to the University of Idahos plan to acquire Phoenix through a newly created nonprofit.

The nonprofit acquired all of Ashfords academic programs and curriculum and employed substantially all of its leadership and faculty members, she wrote.

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said the purchase would diversify the universitys educational enterprise and provide much-needed short- and long-term revenue.

As students look for new avenues to attain higher education, the accessibility and innovative approach of University of Arizona Global Campus will help a new generation of students find success, Robbins said in a news release.

The University of Arizona in 2020 announced that it was creating a nonprofit that would acquire Ashford University, a for-profit online school formerly owned by education technology company Zovio.

The announcement was met with backlash.

Just like the faculty at Purdue, Arizona faculty members feared that Zovios past  including a lawsuit filed in California by the states attorney general  could harm the University of Arizonas reputation, according to reporting from The Arizona Republic.

Faculty members were frustrated that most of them found out about the purchase from an email, and that the small number of faculty members who had been asked to review the purchase in advance were required to sign nondisclosure agreements.

From the very beginning until now, the whole process has been unfortunately shrouded in secrecy, said Leila Hudson, chair of the University of Arizona Faculty Senate, in a phone call with the Statesman.

What we actually effectively did was we sold the name of the University of Arizona, the brand, the trademark of the University of Arizona, to this entity, which could then exploit the understandable confusion on the part of the students targeted for recruitment by them, Hudson said.

The independent accreditation commission for Global Campus raised concerns, saying in July 2021 that the commission has strong concerns that the targets set for academic improvement were seriously inadequate to reach levels of student outcomes that should be expected at an accredited institution.

After another visit, the commission sent a letter in 2022 commending the Global Campus for reforms but maintaining its designation of concern.

At the time, 22% of students were graduating within eight years and just 25% of first-time, full-time students were returning to the school after their first year, according to reporting by the Arizona Daily Star.

While there continues to be a large gap between the retention and completion rates of UAGCs students compared to its peer group, the team thought that many of the new initiatives to improve these outcomes were promising, the commission wrote in its report.

A California judge ruled in March 2022 in the lawsuit against Zovio that a high-pressure environment in its admissions department caused counselors to misrepresent the cost of a degree, the time it would take to earn one, the ability to transfer credits, and the ability to use an Ashford degree to pursue a career as a teacher, nurse or social worker. The judge ordered the company to pay $22.37 million.

Paul Pastorek, president of Global Campus, told the Arizona Daily Star at the time that issues with Zovio were in the past.

I believe what the court found affirmatively is that theres no continuing history of this problem, Pastorek said.

He said that Zovios leadership had changed dramatically and that the school had implemented new policies. That included monitoring some of Zovios calls and requiring that students completely fill out their applications for federal student aid before enrolling, so theyre aware of their financial obligations.

Then, in August 2022, Global Campus announced it had absorbed key personnel and systems of Zovio and terminated its contract with the company. Pastorek said in a news release that outsourcing enrollment, marketing, student advising, and financial aid was inherently at odds with the schools desired outcomes.

In October 2022, Zovio shareholders approved a plan to go out of business. The Global Campus took on a $20 million, eight-year lease for Zovios building in Chandler, Arizona. Zovio paid Global Campus $10.5 million and the school hired some of Zovios employees.

Enrollment at Global Campus declined 30%, or more than 10,000 students, from fiscal year 2018 to 2023, though the decline had slowed from 2021 to 2022.

The University Arizona in June officially completed its acquisition of University Arizona Global Campus, a nonprofit it formed in 2020 to purchase Ashford University, an online for-profit, and turn it into a nonprofit.

On June 30, Arizona officially completed the acquisition of Global Campus.

With a growing demand for online courses, we are excited that one of the most accessible public universities is better positioned to serve the residents of Arizona and students across the country, Scott, Arizonas spokesperson, wrote in an email to the Statesman.

And on July 14, the accreditor of Global Campus lifted its notice of special concern.

Hudson, the Senate chair, said questions remain. Shed like to see the faculty gain more insight into the workings of Global Campus, and be involved in its oversight.

Its been a long, contentious, frictious process for three years that has taken a great toll in terms of trust and morale, Hudson said.

3. University of Arkansas System avoids controversy with 21 purchase

The Board of Trustees for the University of Arkansas System, a previous suitor for the University of Phoenix before U of I, approved plans for the system to acquire Grantham University, a Kansas-based for-profit owned by The Level Playing Field Corp., in 2021, according to reporting by Higher Ed Dive.

The purchase took two years to plan, said Moore, the system vice president for academic affairs. The system had ventured into online education before and, unlike the acquisitions in Arizona and Indiana, this was a complete split from the previous owner, which exited for-profit education completely, he said. There was no online program manager relationship.

In a statement before trustees approved the deal, system President Donald Bobbitt said the acquisition would enable Arkansas to scale up its efforts to provide online education for adults.

This potential acquisition represents a game-changer for our efforts to reach those adults who are underserved by public higher education because of their need to attend fully online, flexible institutions, Bobbitt said.

Moore said traditional universities, offering rigid schedules during business hours, dont serve working adult students well. He said higher education has awakened to a population of millions of students who started college but didnt complete their degrees because of life circumstances such as finances, pregnancy, sickness or relocating for a job.

These are good students, they really are, he said. They didnt leave college because they dropped out.

Enrollment at Grantham has increased 2-3% each term, he said. Thats growth at a time in higher education when most every university is experiencing a decline.

Students graduate from Grantham University, acquired by the University of Arkansas System.

And the acquisition of Grantham avoided the controversy that rocked its counterparts.

Stephen Caldwell, chair of the Faculty Senate at the University of Arkansas, one of many campuses in the system, said it was mostly a nonevent. Grantham transferred all of its assets to the Arkansas System for $1, and no ones reputation or funding was put on the line, he said, making it a low-risk endeavor.

Moore said part of the reason the acquisition escaped the controversy tied to the other two for-profits is that the purchase wasnt complex. There was no agreement to contract with an online program manager after the deal. Grantham had a solid reputation, he said.

Five lessons for Idaho

Education experts offered this advice to Idaho officials:

1. Be wary of keeping the online schools management services. Amber Villalobos, a fellow researching higher education policy at the Century Foundation, a nonprofit think tank, said one reason purchases like those in Arizona and Indiana drew controversy was because of their continuing online program management relationships.

Owners of the former for-profit universities  which had faced criticism, legal action or both for deceptive recruiting  were still involved in the operation of the new nonprofit schools.

2. U of Is new nonprofit board must maintain complete control. The board of the nonprofit established by the University of Idaho should have complete control over the operations of the University of Phoenix, she said.

We see that the University of Idaho has run a good program and has a strong institution that students trust, Villalobos said. And if its acquiring something, it should maintain that control that its been able to maintain over its own institution.

3. Be ready to spend heavily on a turnaround. Phil Hill, a higher education consultant and analyst, said the University of Idaho needs move forward in its transaction with the University of Phoenix prepared to spend a great deal of money on turning the Phoenix brand and enrollment around.

Youre going to have to  like Purdue  spend years and a lot of money to turn this around. he said. Youre just starting the process.

Purdue University Global pumped millions into the school for marketing after it acquired Kaplan and didnt promise Global would make revenue from day one, he said. Hill said Purdue has succeeded in the financial turnaround of the brand.

4. Dont expect enrollment miracles. Online universities arent a silver bullet for the pending enrollment cliff, he said.

Schools are also confronting a loss of public confidence in the quality of education they offer and losing emergency funding from the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Idaho itself must make sure it adapts to enrollment changes rather than relying solely on an external entity, he said.

The University of Idaho generated surprise and outcry when it announced its deal with the University of Phoenix in May, but lessons for the university can be gleaned from acquisitions of other for-profit schools across the country.

5. Deliver better results for students than for-profits have before. The university should pay attention to what research on for-profits says for students, said Michael Lovenheim, an economist at Cornell University who researches the returns of for-profit college enrollment, in a call with the Statesman.

He published a study in the Journal of Financial Economics in 2021 that found that students who attend for-profit schools are saddled with more debt and are more likely to default on student loans than those who attend public schools that are similarly selective in admissions.

The research showed that the higher debt and default risk is driven by higher tuition, a lower likelihood of being employed, and lower earnings after graduating.

They decide to go to one of these for-profits, which induces them to take out more debt, they experience worse labor market outcomes, and then theyre much more likely to default on their debt within three years of leaving college, Lovenheim said.

That doesnt mean Idaho will fall in the same category, he said. Policies and structure at the university will determine the outcome.

The devil is for sure in the details about what exactly theyre going to do, he said.
The recent successful drone strike against a Tu-22M3 bomber in Russia's Novgorod Oblast "adds weight to the assessment" that some attacks against Russian targets are launched from within Russian territory, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on Aug. 22.

The Russian strategic bomber, belonging to the class regularly used to launch airstrikes against Ukraine, has been destroyed on Aug. 19 at Soltsy-2 Airbase, 650 kilometers away from Ukraine's border.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the plane was destroyed by a copter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The U.K. intelligence report noted that such a vehicle would be unlikely to reach Soltsy-2 Airbase from outside Russia.

The Ukrainian news outlet New Voice (NV) reported on Aug. 21 that agents cooperating with Ukrainian military intelligence have destroyed or damaged five Russian aircraft.

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The sources within the military intelligence reportedly told the outlet that these operations included the Aug. 19 attack against Soltsy-2 Airbase, destroying one bomber and damaging two others.

NV also reported that on the morning of Aug. 21, two more Russian bombers were damaged in Russia's Kaluga Oblast at the Shaykovka airfield as a result of a drone attack carried out by saboteurs working with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate.

The U.K. Defense Ministry noted that the successful attacks within Russia's rear raise questions about Russia's ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country.

Earlier today on Aug. 22, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defense shot down two attack drones in yet another reported drone attack against the Russian capital in the past few weeks.

Read also: Philosopher Jason Stanley: Russia is explicitly fascist

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CAIRO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Initiatives proposed by China have promoted the strength of BRICS and the world economy, an Egyptian expert has said.

"China's role in boosting BRICS is essential in light of the several initiatives proposed by Beijing in the past few years, including the Belt and Road, Global Development, and Global Security," Mokhtar Ghobashy, deputy chairman of the Cairo-based Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Those initiatives have certainly sped up development and stability in the world and enhanced the strength and pace of the global economy, Ghobashy added.

Over the past 17 years since its establishment, BRICS, an emerging-market grouping that comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has become an all-round and multi-level framework, accounting for some 40 percent of the world population and about a quarter of the global GDP.

As an attractive gathering, more and more countries desire to join BRICS, which signals its economic force, he said.

Moreover, Ghobashy pointed out, most of the countries that officially requested to join BRICS are economic and political powers with regional influence like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

When a country like Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer in the world, bids to join, it will certainly add great momentum to the grouping, he added.

The expert attributes the BRICS bloc's attractiveness to the fact that it provides "unconditional development opportunities for countries."

"Joining the bloc will increase investments and trade exchange between its member states, and the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) could offer soft loans," he said.

He noted that cooperation among BRICS member states is a model to learn from, and many countries are passionate to join it because the gathering does not have geographic barriers, adding that it comprises countries from Asia, Africa, and South America.

The NDB, with an initial authorized capital amounting to 100 billion U.S. dollars, funds development opportunities worldwide, Ghobashy added. 
The Ukrainian government has acknowledged that it would not be able to secure support for its proposed tribunal format based on a UN General Assembly resolution and has instead agreed to a slightly modified form of what is known as a hybrid tribunal.

Source: European Pravda

Details: During an international conference on the special tribunal in Kyiv, Andrii Smyrnov, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, explained that the Ukrainian approach "did not come to fruition" as several Western capitals, including Washington, fear that they themselves will face prosecution "under the Russian scenario".

"The doctrine of international law is being held hostage by global politics, by geopolitics. And some of our partners fear this precedent will be used against them since they are also engaged in military campaigns abroad. And we need to be honest about this," the official said.

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Smyrnov said Kyiv no longer excludes the possibility of creating something called an internationalised tribunal, as the US has been insisting on, but provided that the Ukrainian judicial system does not become its basis.

"This [hybrid tribunal based on Ukrainian law - European Pravda] is an unacceptable model for Ukraine. However, establishing an internationalised tribunal does not necessarily mean setting up a tribunal within the Ukrainian legal system," he stressed.

"Therefore, a compromise might be to introduce an internationalised tribunal as part of the judicial system of another country whose judicial system is credible," the official said, adding that he was speaking "as a preview."

European Pravda reports that a special tribunal for the crime of aggression will be established in The Hague and will operate under Dutch law. The Dutch government has given its preliminary consent to this.

The Hague is convenient because other international courts are operating there, as well as the Russian Crimes Register, gathering evidence of the aggression's extent; they have experience in conducting a trial for an international crime, such as the MH17 case; and there is an acceptable definition of the crime of aggression in Dutch law.

Background: Andrii Smyrnov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, believes that the format of a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine may be determined by the end of the year.

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A Ukrainian soldier who switched sides at the start of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and was subsequently captured at the beginning of the counteroffensive in June, has been arrested and faces life in prison for high treason.

Ukraines SBU security service and the State Bureau of Investigation have gathered evidence against the unnamed State Border Guard Service officer, the SBUs press service reported on Aug. 22.

The border guard was captured by Ukrainian soldiers during fighting near the village of Neskuchne in Donetsk Oblast.

Read also: SBU nabs Russian agent helping Russia prepare attacks on energy facilities in Kyiv

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According to the SBU, the suspect served as the head of the rocket and artillery department of the Novotroitske rapid response office in Donetsk Oblast.

Read also: SBU detains Ukrzaliznytsia employee for facilitating Russian attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

The SBU said that in early March 2022, the suspect abandoned his post and fled to the temporarily occupied village of Nikolske, in the Mariupol District of Donetsk Oblast, where his relatives lived.

There, he had an interview with representatives of the Russian special services and the Russian army command, and agreed to join the "Ministry of Internal Affairs of the DPR"  part of the sham authorities Russia set up in the occupied part of Ukraines Donetsk Oblast.

He subsequently took direct part in hostilities against the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the southern front near the Mariupol axis.

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Ukraine breaks through at least one Russian defense line in the south and increases pressure

Western observers feel that Ukrainian troops are overly dispersed and should instead concentrate on the main direction of the counter-offensive in the southern part of the country, The New York Times reported on Aug. 22, citing U.S. and other Western officials.

Read also: With Ukraines 2023 counteroffensive ongoing, West starts to think about 2024 spring offensive

The main goal of the counteroffensive is to cut off Russian supply lines in southern Ukraine by severing the so-called land bridge between Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula, the article explains the reasoning of U.S. officials NYT spoke with.

But instead of focusing on that, Ukrainian commanders have divided troops and firepower roughly equally between the east and the south.

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In fact, the report suggests that more Ukrainian forces are located near Bakhmut and other cities in the east than on the Melitopol axis and Zaporizhzhya front in general, which are much more strategically important.

NV

Only a change in tactics can significantly speed up the pace of the counter-offensive, said one anonymous U.S. official.

Another official stated that Kyivs troops are too spread out and need to concentrate their combat power in one place.

Read also: Ukrainian troops enter Robotyne, evacuate residents amid ongoing clashes

However, the officials indicated that there are signs that Ukraine has begun to shift some of its most experienced combat forces from the east to the south of the country.

But even the most experienced units have been reconstituted a number of times after taking heavy casualties, the journalists write.

Read also: Ukraines marines insist counteroffensive on southern front going well  NYT

These units rely on a shrinking cadre of senior commanders. Some platoons are mostly staffed by soldiers who have been wounded and returned to fight.

Ukraine has broken through at least one line of Russian defense in the south recently and is stepping up pressure, according to both U.S. and Ukrainian officials. Kyiv is close to taking control of the village of Robotyne, which, according to U.S. officials, would be a good sign.

U.S. commanders have told Ukrainian leaders that Ukraine can secure the Bakhmut area with significantly fewer troops and should shift forces to the south. Ukrainian leaders defend their strategy and power allocation, stating they are effectively fighting both in the east and in the south.

Read also: Ukrainian counteroffensive may extend into winter, says Estonian General Staff

Western officials say that Ukraine has from a month to six weeks before rainy conditions may compel an end to the counter-offensive. Wet weather will not halt combat operations, but if Ukraine breaks through Russian lines in the coming weeks, the rains could challenge the ability to quickly capture more territory, according the report.

While Western observers dont believe the counter-offensive is doomed to fail, but they admit the Ukrainians haven't achieved the success they or their allies hoped.

Read also: Saudi summit helped isolate Russia, set-up Ukraines peace initiative for success  Podolyak

Some U.S. officials anticipate that by winter Ukraine will have made approximately half the journey to the Sea of Azov. A top-ranking official said this would be a "partial success."

Even if the counter-offensive doesn't reach the coast, officials and analysts say, if it can progress far enough to place the coastal road within reach of Ukrainian artillery, it may cause even more problems for Russian forces in the south.



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Ukraine is initiating the creation of joint medical committees for exchanging prisoners with Russia, Andriy Yusov of the Coordination Staff for Treatment of Prisoners of War, said on Aug. 22.

This will help liberate Ukrainian prisoners and help the enemy return its captives," Yusov said, noting this is only the third instance of such an initiative in global history.

Read also: Ukraine could exchange Russian POWs for political prisoners

Under the Geneva Conventions, commissions must include one doctor from the detaining country and two from neutral nations.

Yusov said Kyiv has always quickly returned severely wounded enemy troops to Russia as Ukraine is a democratic nation that abides by international law, and is obliged to ensure the proper treatment of all POWs regardless of their nationality.

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Read also: Ukraine returns over 2,000 people from Russian captivity during full-scale war, Malyar says

Ukraine continues working to organize new prisoner swaps with Russia, and anticipates good news in the near future regarding the joint medical commissions and the overall prisoner swap process, Yusov added.

Many Ukrainian prisoners of war who have been returned from Russian captivity report mistreatment by their Russian captors, including torture, sexual assault and starvation.

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Bulgaria intends to start supplying about 100 units of Soviet-style armoured vehicles to Ukraine in late September or early October.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Radio Svoboda (Liberty) and Ukrinform

Details: Bulgarian Defence Minister Teodor Tagarev, during a joint briefing with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov in Odesa, expressed his belief that "this will be one of the priorities" as soon as the Bulgarian parliament returns to session in September.

Quote from Tagarev: "And by the end of September, by the beginning of October, we will already have ratification of this agreement. And I think that then the transfer (of armoured vehicles) can begin."

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Details: According to the minister, the fact that the armoured vehicles are in the warehouses of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry is slowing down the process of their supply, as the ministry has to sign an agreement with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and submit it to parliament for ratification in order to start deliveries.

During the meeting, Reznikov and Tagarev also discussed possible bilateral military cooperation: strengthening air defence systems, the possibility of training the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Bulgaria and the rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers in Sofia.

Background:

On 16 August, the Bulgarian government confirmed that Bulgaria will join the G7 declaration on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.

Earlier, the government in Sofia approved a draft agreement between the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on the donation of armoured vehicles.

The parliamentary majority in Bulgaria approved the provision of additional military assistance to Ukraine in the form of about 100 Soviet-style armoured personnel carriers on 21 July.

The APCs (Armoured personnel carriers) have been in the possession of the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs since the 1980s. Additional assistance may also be established in a separate intergovernmental agreement between Kyiv and Sofia.

This is the first time that the Bulgarian side has transferred armoured vehicles to Kyiv directly, rather than through intermediaries, as it had done before.

At the end of June, Bulgaria approved a new military aid package for Ukraine, the details of which were not disclosed.

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Ukraine is not going to sign a peace agreement similar to the one signed by Finland after the Winter War, which involved territorial concessions, Spanish news outlet El Diario quoted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying on Aug. 21.

The minister was referring to the Moscow Peace Treaty signed by Finland on March 12, 1940, according to which it transferred about 10% of its territory to the Soviet Union.

Ukraine is being transformed during the war and appreciates the support it has received in the fight against Russia, partly due to the fact that the world has learned from (such) past mistakes, the minister said.

Read also: NATO official backtracks on comment that Ukraine could join NATO after swapping land for peace

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Kuleba also hinted at differences with the conflicts in Georgia and Crimea, noting that Russias invasion of Ukraine included things that happened for the first time in the war, such as the supply of Western weapons, or the fact that the European Union recognized his country as a partner after years of unnecessary and unfair doubts.

We have every opportunity to achieve terms of peace that are distinct from those of Crimea, Georgia, or Finland, Kuleba said.

Earlier, on Aug. 15, Director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General Stian Jenssen said in comments to the media that Ukraine could conceivably become a NATO member in exchange for ceding parts of its sovereign territory to Russia.

A day later he said the comment had been made in error.

Read also: White House denies discussions about Ukraines joining NATO in exchange for ceding territory

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quickly called such statements unacceptable and said that they only play into the hands of the aggressor, Russia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reiterated that Ukraine alone will decide when favorable conditions for peace talks have arisen after his subordinate, Stian Jenssen, had to retract a previous comment that Ukraine might have to swap territory for peace with Russia.

During his visit to Denmark on Aug. 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to journalists questions about the exchange of Ukrainian territories for NATO membership.

Exchanging territories? Were ready to exchange Belgorod (Russian city and region) for our membership of NATO, he quipped.

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The White House on Tuesday said it did not assess that Ukraine has reached a stalemate in its defensive war against Russia, as reports from the battlefield detail Kyivs struggles to oust Moscows forces from dug-in positions on the front lines.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan , responding to a reporters question, said that Ukraine is taking territory on a methodical, systematic basis.

We do not assess that the conflict is a stalemate, he said in a briefing with reporters.

Ukraines second, major counteroffensive that was launched in June has proceeded much slower than its first major push in September 2022, during which Ukrainian forces retook an estimated 3,000 square miles of territory within a few days.

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There is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line of trace, Sullivan said.

And it is true that the Russians have been attacking up in the northeast. It is also true that the Ukrainians have been defending up in the northeast quite effectively.

Sullivan said that critics of Ukraines counteroffensive should approach the question of battlefield conduct with a level of humility, in response to a question over U.S. government frustration with Ukraines war strategy.

We do our best to provide our best advice and then Ukraine makes its own sovereign decisions about how its going to proceed, he said. Thats how I look at it, thats how the president looks at it, thats the policy of the United States.

Ukraine has reportedly made significant gains in the southeast, even as it faces stiff resistance in the northeast, according to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War.

The intensive fighting over the 18 months since Russia launched its full-scale invasion has come at a heavy price, with an estimated 500,000 dead and injured on both sides of the war.

Russian military casualties are estimated at approaching 300,000, with 120,000 deaths and between 170,000 and 180,000 injured troops. That number is lower for Ukraine but still significant, with 70,000 killed and between 100,000 to 120,000 wounded.

Sullivan said the White House had observed Ukraine making gains in the south in the past 24 hours and said that the Ukrainians are continuously probing the Russian lines for weaknesses while trying to carry out the fight sustainably.

It is a dynamic battlefield, he said. It is one where we need to continue to move the fundamental elements of both defense and offense, in particular, the artillery ammunition and the mobility that Ukraine needs to be able to both hold ground and take ground, and thats what were going to continue to do, working with the coalition of nations that has been supporting Ukraine since it started this conflict.

Still, there is concern that Ukraines slow pace of pushing Russia back, while Russian forces continue to adapt their defenses, risks straining U.S. and international support to provide economic and military assistance to Kyiv for as long as the fight takes.

The Biden administration released a request to Congress earlier this month for $24 billion in funding related to support for Ukraine and other international needs, but that is likely to face a tough battle on Capitol Hill, where GOP voices critical of U.S. assistance for Ukraine are putting pressure on House leaders.

Sullivan said that bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine is strong despite dissident voices.

We believe that at the core, there is still a strong bipartisan foundation of support for our Ukraine policy and for supporting and defending Ukraine. And so we have communicated that to our friends in Kyiv and to our allies and partners, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Athens, where he asked Greece to help ensure his countrys access to the Black Sea and protect grain shipments.

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This can be a historic input from Greece into all-European security if you help us with defense of Black Sea waters as well as air-defense systems, Zelenskiy said Monday, making the request during a joint briefing with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis . Earlier, Zelenskiy spoke before of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen.

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The US State Department has approved Polands request to purchase AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, engines and other equipment valued at as much as $12 billion. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last year announced plans to double the countrys spending on its military, and his country has been at the forefront of European allies calling for weapons deliveries to help Ukraine in its fight against Russias invasion.

Russia said its air defenses downed two Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region early Monday in the latest foray by uncrewed aerial vehicles into Kremlin territory.

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The Emerging Market Bloc That Wants to Shake Up the World Order

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Coming Up

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at BRICS summit this week

--With assistance from Sanne Wass.

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Ukraine is offering a 10% reward to whistleblowers who report corruption, local media reported.

Successful cases could see whistleblowers receive up to $380,000.

Ukrainians rank corruption as the country's biggest problem after the war, surveys have found.

Ukraine is launching a whistleblower hotline against corruption that will see a chunk of the ill-gotten gains handed straight to the person who reports it, Ukrinform reported.

The country's National Agency of Corruption Prevention announced on Tuesday that it is to launch a public platform, providing a digital portal for people to report suspected corruption.

On Ukrainian state TV, the agency's head Oleksandr Novikov added an incentive to anyone thinking of reporting corruption: the prospect of 10% of the proceeds of any successful case, according to Ukrinform. The portal is due to launch in September, he said.

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This reward  up to a maximum of 14 million hryvnias ($380,000)  would be the first-ever whistleblower reward offered in Ukraine, the outlet reported.

An anti-corruption drive is underway in Ukraine, where a recent poll showed 89% of Ukrainians believe it is the country's worst problem after the Russian invasion.

That's also a political problem for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who according to a further poll, is considered by 77% of the population to be to blame for corruption in governmental and military institutions, as Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The issue filters into Ukraine's ability to defend itself: A recent report in The Guardian, which described a man who paid $5,000 to avoid being drafted to fight, suggests bribe-taking in military recruitment is a major problem.

Earlier in August, Zelenskyy conducted a purge of regional military administrators, saying that "cynicism and bribery during war is high treason."

The European Union has long emphasized that tackling corruption is a key condition to Ukraine being able to join. The NACP, whose latest initiative was developed with EU support, is one of three bodies devoted to rooting out corruption in the country.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Key developments on Aug. 21:

Ukraine advances southeast of Robotyne and south of Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Three square kilometers near Bakhmut liberated over the past week

Greece to take part in F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots

Ukraine's Air Force says F16 jets can change course of the war

Sweden says it does not plan to provide Ukraine with its Gripen fighter jets

Ukraine hopes to export grain via new Black Sea corridor

Russia claims 2 drones downed over Moscow Oblast

While in Athens, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Greece will participate in training Ukrainian pilots to operate the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

"Today, we have an important result for the aviation coalition  Greece will take part in the training of our pilots on F-16s," Zelensky wrote on Aug. 21.

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"I thank Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his team for their willingness to do more to help defend Ukraine's freedom," he wrote.

The statement comes a day after Zelensky announced that Ukraine would receive 42 F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark.

According to Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, F-16 jets can provide Ukrainian troops with much-needed air superiority, thus changing the course of events in Russia's war against Ukraine.

"Air superiority is the key to success on the ground. We should all understand that," Ihnat said on Ukrainian TV on Aug. 21.

According to him, "eight-nine Russian fighter jets are (flying) over the occupied territories at the moment, dropping guided air bombs, launching air missiles."

"They won't be able to do it with (Ukraine having) the F-16," he added.

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However, Ihnat says Ukraine needs 128 fighter jets to replace the old aircraft fleet in full.

"It is clear that war can make its adjustments, but more than 100 aircraft are really needed to disperse them to different airfields so that they can respond to different challenges and strike various targets (Russian) planes, ground targets, and rear camps in particular," Ihnat said.

Kyiv has been lobbying for the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine since early 2022 to counter Russia's air superiority.

Ukraine was also hopeful of getting the Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets. Zelensky said Ukrainian pilots had begun test flights on the Gripens and that he and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had discussed their potential transfer to Ukraine.

However, according to Kristersson's recent announcement, there are no plans to provide Ukraine with the Gripen jets.

"We will do everything to support them with air, but right now, there are no new commitments to provide Swedish aircraft to Ukraine," Kristersson told Swedish TV4 Channel.

"Sweden is a geographically large country, we have to defend ourselves, and we are not yet in NATO," he said.

Read also: Ukrainian troops regularly cross Dnipro River, probing Russian defenses in Kherson Oblast

Steady advance

Ukrainian forces have made further gains southeast of Robotyne and south of Mala Tokmachka, two villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on Aug. 21.

According to Maliar, Russian troops have unsuccessfully tried to regain lost positions east of Robotyne, a tactically important strongpoint for them.

Securing Robotyne would allow Ukrainian forces to continue advancing south toward the occupied Tokmak and Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Apart from the gains in the south, the Ukrainian military is also advancing in Donetsk Oblast, on Bakhmut's southern flank.

Over the past week, Ukraine forces had liberated three square kilometers of land near Bakhmut, Maliar said.

A total of 43 kilometers around the eastern city have been regained by Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the summer counteroffensive, according to Maliar.

She later reported that Russian forces are trying to regain lost positions in Zaliznianske, Vasylivka, and Bohdanivka north of the city, and the fighting is ongoing in central Klishchiivka, north and west of Andriivka and north of Kurdiumivka.

According to her, Russia is trying to push Ukrainian forces from the city's northern flanks as they have seized upper ground in the area.

Read also: Just hold on: Front-line medics race against time to save wounded soldiers

Ukraine hopes to export grain via new Black Sea corridor

Ukraine hopes to use a new Black Sea corridor to export grain following the recent successful evacuation of a vessel, the Agrarian Council Deputy Head Denys Marchuk said on Ukrainian TV on Aug. 21.

"Only one commercial vessel has passed through so far, (and this) has shown readiness to move by alternative routes," Marchuk said.

The new temporary routes for civilian vessels moving to or from Black Sea ports were announced earlier in August after Russia unilaterally pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and effectively declared a blockade in the sea.

The corridor was initially planned to enable the exit of civilian ships stuck in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Joseph Schulte, the container ship sailing under the Hong Kong flag, left Odesa's port on Aug. 16, where it had been docked since Feb. 23, 2022. It became the first to travel through the temporary corridor.

"Further, there should be a movement of potentially seven-eight more ships... then perhaps in the future these alternative routes will become a corridor for the movement of ships that are traveling with cargo of grain and oilseeds," Marchuk said.

Read also: Risk of big disruptions high in grain markets, says Black Sea expert

Russia claims 2 drones downed over Moscow Oblast

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that two Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Moscow Oblast on the morning of Aug. 21.

According to the ministry, one of the drones was neutralized by electronic warfare and fell near Pokrovskoye, around 80 kilometers north of Moscow. Another one was reportedly shot down over the northwestern Istra district, closer to the city.

Ukraine hasn't commented on the allegation.

Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov claimed drone debris fell on a country house near the town of Istra, injuring two people.

Following the reports, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency reportedly introduced flight restrictions at all four Moscow airports, redirecting 47 flights to alternate airfields.

There has been an increase in drone attacks against Moscow over recent weeks: Two drone strikes on the same target, the high-rise Moscow City district where several Russian ministries are housed, caused damage on July 30 and Aug. 1.

In late July, Zelensky said it was natural and fair that the war was returning to Russian territory.

"Ukraine is becoming stronger. The war is gradually returning to Russian territory  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," he said.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

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COLOMBO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 250,000 Sri Lankans have been affected by drinking water shortage due to drought, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said on Tuesday.

The DMC, in its latest report, said the northern and eastern provinces of the country had been the worst-hit areas.

Earlier, Sri Lanka's National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) urged the public to use water sparingly as its capacity to supply purified drinking water has dropped to 9 percent.

Wasantha Illangasinghe, general manager of the NWSDB, told reporters last week that a Sri Lankan consumer of piped water uses about 120 liters a day, but only 40 liters are needed for cooking and drinking.

The country's department of meteorology said there will not be any significant rain until October. 
Key developments on Aug. 22:

8 Ukrainian pilots and 65 personnel begin F-16 training in Denmark

Poll: 90% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions to Russia

Ukraine receives another 1.5 billion euros in budget support from EU

Putin reportedly fires air force chief

Russia claims drones downed near Moscow

Just days after Denmark pledged to donate 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, eight Ukrainian pilots and 65 technical and support personnel have arrived at a military air base in Skrydstrup to begin training on the jets, the Danish Armed Forces said on Aug. 22.

After security and medical clearance, the Ukrainian pilots and personnel will receive training from Danish instructors in basic skills and prerequisites for flying, servicing, and maintaining F-16s in the coming months, according to the statement.

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A coalition of 11 NATO member states will train the Ukrainians on F-16s in Denmark. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced on Aug. 21 that Greece would also join in training Ukrainian pilots to operate the U.S.-made fighter jets.

The F-16's dominance over Soviet fighter jets used by both Ukrainian and Russian air forces lies in its advanced design and capabilities, allowing for enhanced performance, agility, and versatility in combat situations. Ukraine has been lobbying for the jets to strengthen its air defenses in its fight against Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Denmark currently has 43 F-16 aircraft, but for safety reasons is not disclosing how many of them are operational, the Danish statement said.

The training is expected to last at least six months, according to the Danish Armed Forces.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov also said on Aug. 22 that it would take at least six to seven months for Ukraine to receive F-16 fighter jets pledged by Western allies.

"This is a serious set of tasks, and we have to train several hundred people to put the first birds in the Ukrainian sky," Reznikov said.

According to the minister, the Ukrainian pilots have already demonstrated the ability to complete their training within six months, but the timeframe for the technical staff is still unknown.

The U.S. is willing to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets if European partners do not have the capacity to train as many as Kyiv wants, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said on Aug. 21.

"(We're) open to training existing pilots if capacity is reached in Europe," Singh said.

Zelensky said on Aug. 20 that Ukraine would receive 61 aircraft, 42 F-16s from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark. The Danish prime minister said the first batch of six planes will arrive around the New Year.

Earlier on on Aug. 18, the White House approved the third-party transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine once the training of Ukrainian pilots and personnel is completed.

Read also: Andreas Umland: Why no-fly zones over Ukraine are necessary

Poll: Over 90% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions to Russia

Over 90% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions, according to the results of a survey by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and Razumkov Center conducted between Aug. 9-15 and published on Aug. 22.

The pollsters said these results are more or less standard across all regions of Ukraine.

Less than 5% (4.7%) of Ukrainians surveyed believe some territories could be given up.

The poll surveyed 2,019 Ukrainians aged 18 and older across 22 out of 25 Ukrainian regions, excluding Crimea and Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, all occupied by Russia since 2014.

Including territories Russia captured since the start of the full-scale invasion and those in 2014, Russia currently occupies around 20% of Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said the main outcome of the war is to liberate all Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories.

Ukraine will not consider giving away part of the country's territory to Russia in some kind of "exchange as a part of a potential peace deal, Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Aug. 20 in Eindhoven.

The announcement followed the idea of Stian Jenssen, chief of staff of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, that Ukraine give up some of its occupied territories in exchange for NATO membership.

Ukraine is ready to exchange (Russias city of) Belgorod for our NATO membership, Zelensky quipped at a joint press conference with the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Aug. 20.

Read also: Russias centuries-long quest to conquer Ukraine

Financial aid

The EU disbursed another 1.5 billion euros ($165 billion) of macro-financial assistance to keep Ukraine's services and infrastructure afloat, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Aug. 22.

In total, EU budget support to Ukraine in 2023 already amounts to 12 billion euros ($13 billion), Shmyhal tweeted.

In June, the European Commission presented a proposal at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 in London that will mobilize 50 billion euros ($54.7 billion) for Ukraine between 2024 to 2027.

This funding aims to ensure macro-financial stability, facilitate recovery and reconstruction efforts, and promote the country's modernization while implementing crucial reforms to put Ukraine on the EU integration track.

Nearly 50% of the country's budget is now subsidized by Ukraine's foreign partners, with the U.S. and the EU being the main supporters.

Read also: Kenneth Rogoff: Europe must lead Ukraines reconstruction

Putin reportedly dismisses General Surovikin following Prigozhins aborted mutiny

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has dismissed Army General Sergey Surovikin from his post of Air Force Commander, Russian media reported on Aug. 22.

Surovikin was also the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. He led the Russian invasion of Ukraine from October 2022 until his replacement by Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov in January 2022.

Russias RBK news agency reported, citing a source in the Russian Defense Ministry, that he was currently on a short vacation.

An official decree on the decision has not yet been made public.

Surovikin has not been seen publicly since the Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's short lived rebellion against Russian generals in late June.

Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on July 18 that Surovikin had been effectively removed from his position, but his fate remained undecided.

Multiple media reports claimed that the general had been arrested over siding with Prigozhin in the insurrection and is being interrogated by Russian security services.

Read also: Russia comes to the brink of civil war: How we got here and what it means

Russia claims drone attack in Moscow

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defenses downed two loitering munitions overnight on Aug. 22.

The claim came after reports that explosions had been heard in Russias capital, forcing all local airports to close.

Sobyanin said that one drone was intercepted over the city of Krasnogorsk located just northeast of Moscow, while another was downed near the small town of Chastsy, some 55 kilometers west of Russias capital.

Russian Telegram news outlets published photos showing damage caused by debris that fell on a 25-story apartment building near a government building in Krasnogorsk, and reported that the blast wave had shattered windows and damaged cars.

The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for the attacks, and said that two additional drones were intercepted over Bryansk Oblast, which borders Ukraine.

The reported drone attack on Moscow followed Russian Aug. 21 claims of two intercepted drones over Moscow Oblast that allegedly injured two people.

Moscow has reported an increasing number of drone attacks over the past few weeks. An attempted strike on Aug. 18 allegedly caused debris to fall near the Expocenter, an exhibition and convention center in downtown Moscow.

Kyiv does not always confirm or deny strikes in Russia or in Russian-occupied areas. Recently, however, Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed to Ukrainian media outlets that agents working with Ukrainian intelligence in Russia had conducted strikes that damaged or destroyed at least five Russian aircraft used to attack Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended Ukraines right to strike targets on Russian soil in response to a question about the recent attacks near Moscow, saying that Kyiv is acting within international law, Anadolu news agency reported on Aug. 22.

Russia is bombing civilian targets in Ukraine relentlessly, targeting grain silos, hospitals, and churches. Ukraine is defending itself within the framework of international law, Baerbock said at a joint press conference with her Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian troops have gained a foothold in the southeastern village of Robotyne on the road to Tokmak, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said.

The liberation of Robotyne, an important regional rail hub occupied by Russia, would be a milestone in Kyivs southward drive to reach the Sea of Azov. The next major settlement is the big regional city of Melitopol.

Meanwhile the series of nightly drone attacks on Moscow continued for the sixth consecutive day as Russia said three objects were brought down over its capital in the early hours of Wednesday. Major airports in Moscow again suspended flights, for the second day in a row, after the drones reached the Moscow region.

While no casualties were recorded, one of the downed drones smashed into an under-construction building and damaged windows in the central Moscow City Complex.

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The Russian defence ministry has blamed the attack on Ukraine but Kyiv typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory.

It comes after Ukrainian saboteurs, coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services, were said to have carried out drone attacks on airfields deep inside Russia  one of which appears to have destroyed a supersonic Russian bomber.

Key Points

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russias planes and airfields

US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate

Moscow closes air space as Ukrainian drone hits capital region

Ukrainian drone strikes apartments near Moscow, leaves windows shaking

Russian supersonic bomber Tupolev Tu-22M destroyed in drone attack

Zelensky says F-16s make him confident Russia will lose the war

Drone attacks launched from inside Russia

Ukraine defies odds by advancing in counteroffensive

Tuesday 22 August 2023 18:00 , Matt Drake

Ukraine has made progress in its counteroffensive against Russian forces simply by proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian troops have faced vast Russian minefields and trenches in the counteroffensive launched in early June, and a US official said last week it looked unlikely that Kyiv would be able to recapture the strategic southern city of Melitopol.

But Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyivs progress was too slow, and said Ukraine had effectively defied military doctrine by attacking an enemy that has a numerical advantage in manpower and weaponry.

Its incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres, Maliar said in an interview. Whats important is the very fact that despite everything, were moving forward even though we have fewer people and fewer weapons.

She said she was unaware of any Western pressure being exerted on Ukraines military to accelerate operations, and challenged the idea of a universally correct tempo.

Ukrainian soldiers of the 28th brigade prepare a mini-multiple launch rocket system at the frontline close to Bakhmut (AP)

Ukrainian troops gain foothold in strategic Robotyne village

04:58 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian troops have gained a foothold in the southeastern village of Robotyne on the road to Tokmak, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said.

The village is an occupied rail hub whose recapture would be a milestone in Kyivs southward drive to reach the Sea of Azov. The next major settlement is the big regional city of Melitopol.

However, the deputy minister warned that the counteroffensive should not be compared with either Ukraines rapid recapture of land in the eastern region of Kharkiv last year or its success in driving Russian troops out of the city of Kherson in the southwest, because each battlefield situation is unique.

When Kherson was liberated, remember that the armed forces were creating the conditions in order to more or less swiftly liberate it later, she said.

Drone hits under construction building in Moscow

04:46 , Arpan Rai

One of the drones in Russia fell into a building under construction at the Moscow City Complex, officials said.

Several windows were damaged in two nearby buildings, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, adding that the emergency services were inspecting the area.

The drone was jammed by electronic warfare systems, after which it lost control and collided with the building, the Russian defence ministry said.

The prestigious business towers have been struck by drones twice before

The Russian defence ministry has blamed the attack on Ukraine and said two other drones were shot down by air defence systems in the Mozhaisk and Khimki areas of the Moscow region.

Three dead after Russian shelling of Donetsk region, Ukraine says

04:30 , Matt Drake

Three people were killed and two were injured as a result of Russian shelling of several villages in Ukraines Donetsk region, the prosecutor generals office said on Tuesday evening. According to the prosecutors, all three people, two women and a man, were killed in the village of Torske at around 1850 local time (1550 GMT).

The prosecutors provided no further detail of the attack.

Moscow shuts airspace over major airports after Ukrainian drone attacks

04:02 , Arpan Rai

Moscow airports suspended flights early today, Russias TASS news agency reported citing unnamed officials.

Major airports around the Russian capital repeatedly closed for departing and arriving flights in recent days due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

Russia says military downed three drones that tried to attack Moscow

03:57 , Arpan Rai

The Russian defence ministry said the countrys air defence systems downed three drones that tried to attack Moscow.

One of them was jammed and hit a building in central Moscow, and two more were shot down by air defence systems to the west of the Russian capital, the military said.

This is the third consecutive night Russia has come under drone attack.

US says Ukrainian strikes inside Russia not supported

03:44 , Arpan Rai

Any attacks inside Russia are not encouraged or enabled by the United States, a US State Department spokesperson said after Moscow witnessed consecutive drone attacks this week, as similar attacks on the Russian territory have increased in the past few months.

It is up to Ukraine to decide how it chooses to defend itself from the Russian invasion that began in February last year, the State Department spokesperson said, adding Russia could end the war any time by withdrawing from Ukraine.

Drone strikes on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months.

These strikes, including deep inside Russia, have increased since two unmanned aircraft were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.

The United States, which has supplied Ukraine with massive assistance in the form of weapons and other military equipment to combat the Russian invasion, has consistently said it does not support attacks inside Russia.

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

03:30 , Matt Drake

Mercenary group Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has shared his first video address two months after he launched a failed coup attempt against Vladimir Putin.

Mr Prigozhin is seen in the video toting an assault rifle and wearing military fatigues, with his comments suggesting the clip was shot in an unnamed African country.

The Wagner boss says during the clip that he is recruiting strongmen and said the group will fulfil the tasks that were set by the Russian government.

The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, as Mr Prigozhin said the mercenary group was making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.

Read the full report below.

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

Russia scrambles jets to force reconnaissance drones off Crimea -defence ministry

01:30 , Matt Drake

Russias air force scrambled two jets to force two drones to stop reconnaissance near the Crimean peninsula, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.

On August 22, the flight of two unmanned aerial vehicles MQ-9 Reaper and TB2 Bayraktar carrying out aerial reconnaissance in the area of the Crimean Peninsula was recorded over the Black Sea by means of the airspace control of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the ministry said.

According to the statement, Russia scrambled two jets forcing the drones to change the direction of the flight and leave the areas of aerial reconnaissance.

Shapps visits Kyiv as UK announces support for Ukraine's nuclear energy supply

Wednesday 23 August 2023 00:30 , Matt Drake

UK Government support for Ukraine's nuclear fuel supply will help end the country's reliance on Russian supplies, Secretary of State for Energy Grant Shapps said after a trip to a Ukrainian power station.

The Government has announced its intention to provide a 192 million loan guarantee through UK Export Finance (UKEF) - the UK's export credit agency - enabling UK-headquartered Urenco to supply Ukraine's national nuclear company, Energoatom, with uranium enrichment services, which are vital for nuclear fuel.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that, once provided, the support will bring the UK's non-military financial assistance to Ukraine close to 5 billion.

Mr Shapps said: "Our support for Ukraine is unwavering in the face of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's barbaric invasion - the UK continues to stand with Ukraine as they repel Russian attacks and rebuild their country.

"Being here on the ground, it's truly remarkable witnessing first-hand the sheer courage, resolve and gritty determination of the Ukrainian people.

"Putin has used energy as a weapon of war: the action today to support nuclear fuel deliveries will help Ukraine end their reliance on Russian supplies and bolster their energy security."

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps will meet energy companies (Belinda Jiao/PA) (PA Wire)

Russia's Putin stays away over arrest warrant as leaders of emerging economies meet in South Africa

Tuesday 22 August 2023 23:30 , Matt Drake

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be notably absent when Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economie s start a three-day summit in South Africa on Tuesday.

The bloc, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is holding its first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic, but Putin will participate via video call after his travel to South Africa was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for him in March over the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Xi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend in person as the bloc -- home to 40% of the worlds population and responsible for more than 30% of global economic output -- mulls a possible expansion.

That will top the agenda at Wednesdays main summit meeting in Johannesburgs financial district of Sandton. More than 20 nations have applied to join the bloc, according to South African officials, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Read the full report below.

Russia's Putin stays away over arrest warrant as leaders of emerging economies meet in South Africa

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Tuesday 22 August 2023 22:30 , Matt Drake

Russian air defense systems thwarted four nighttime Ukrainian drone attacks, Russias Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, with the falling wreckage of one drone shattering an apartment buildings windows and damaging vehicles in Moscows western suburbs.

There were no reports of injuries in the latest drone attacks that Russia blamed on Kyiv, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage. Even so, they have unnerved some Russians and are in line with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyys pledge to take the war into the heart of Russia.

Flights at several Moscow airports were temporarily suspended Tuesday as a security precaution amid the attacks, authorities said.

Read the full report below.

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Poland's leader says Russia's moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, shifting regional security

Tuesday 22 August 2023 21:42 , Matt Drake

Polands President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia already is in the process of shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, a move that Duda said will shift the security architecture of the region and the entire NATO military alliance.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko said last month that Moscow already had shipped some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus after announcing the plan in March. The U.S. and NATO havent confirmed the move.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Moscows rhetoric as dangerous and reckless, but said in July that the alliance hadnt seen any change in Russias nuclear posture.

Read the full report below.

Poland's leader says Russia's moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, shifting regional security

Putin says BRICS works for 'global majority'

Tuesday 22 August 2023 20:30 , Matt Drake

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the BRICS grouping of countries was on course to meet the aspirations of most of the worlds population, according to recorded remarks at a summit of the BRICS countries in South Africa on Tuesday.

We cooperate on the principles of equality, partnership support, respect for each otherAAAs interests, and this is the essence of the future-oriented strategic course of our association, a course that meets the aspirations of the main part of the world community, the so-called global majority, Putin said.

The BRICS members - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - represent more than 40% of the worlds population and the summit is expected to discuss adding new members, but he did not address that question in his remarks.

Putin was unable to attend the summit in person because of an arrest warrant issued for him in March by the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin was unable to attend the summit in person because of an arrest warrant issued for him (Sputnik)

Ukraine media say Kyiv saboteurs were behind drone attacks on air bases deep inside Russia

Tuesday 22 August 2023 20:00 , Matt Drake

Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to Ukrainska Pravda, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.That newspaper and Ukraines NV news outlet said groups of saboteurs were behind the audacious strikes, which suggest that Ukraines scope of action is broadening. It was not possible to verify the claims on the ground.Ukrainian media attributed two attacks to the saboteurs: a strike Saturday on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 700 kilometers (360 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and Mondays strike against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that the attack on Soltsy damaged one aircraft. It didnt comment on the reported attack on Shaikovka, but Russian media did.

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russias planes and airfields  and boasts of gains on the battlefield

Tuesday 22 August 2023 19:30 , Matt Drake

Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services are said to have carried out drone attacks on airfields deep inside Russia  one of which appears to have destroyed a supersonic Russian bomber.

It is one of a number of recent assaults on Russia and its military hardware, as well as drone attacks on Moscow. The latest such attack on the capital came overnight into Tuesday.

Responding to the attack on the Russian airfields, British military intelligence said that the weekend attack is highly likely to have destroyed a nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber. Kyiv says Russia has used the Tu-22M3 to bomb targets across Ukraine with conventional munitions. Western military experts believe Russia has around 60 of the aircrafts.

The destruction of the plane, which can be fitted with conventional or nuclear warheads, underscores the vulnerability to drone attacks of Russias fleet of ageing but lethal long-range bombers that are a major part of Moscows war effort.

Read the full report here.

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russias planes and airfields

Russia sacks head of aerospace forces

Tuesday 22 August 2023 19:00 , Matt Drake

A prominent Russian journalist said on Tuesday that General Sergei Surovikin, former commander of Moscows war effort in Ukraine, had been dismissed as head of the countrys aerospace forces.

There was no official confirmation of the report by Alexei Venediktov, the well-connected former head of the now-defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station, but it was cited by some other Russian news outlets on social media.

Venediktov said on his Telegram channel that Surovikin had been removed by official decree, without providing any further details.

The general has not been seen in public since a short-lived mutiny on June 24-24 by the Wagner mercenary group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russias defence establishment.

Sergei Surovikin has reportedly been sacked (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate

Tuesday 22 August 2023 18:30 , Matt Drake

The United States does not think the conflict in Ukraine is a stalemate, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday.

We have been clear all along that this battlefield is very dynamic ... there is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line, he said. We are seeing it (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefs the press ahead of the trilateral summit at Camp David (REUTERS)

Poland's leader says Russia's moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus

Tuesday 22 August 2023 17:30 , Matt Drake

Polands President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia already is in the process of shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus, a move that Duda said will shift the security architecture of the region and the entire NATO military alliance.Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko said last month that Moscow already had shipped some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus after announcing the plan in March. The U.S. and NATO havent confirmed the move.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Moscows rhetoric as dangerous and reckless, but said in July that the alliance hadnt seen any change in Russias nuclear posture.Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia said it would maintain control over those it sends to Belarus.

President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia already is in the process of shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus (AP)

European countries 'declare support for Ukrainian independence'

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:57 , Martha Mchardy

The leaders of 11 European countries have declared their support for Ukraines independence at a summit in Athens.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is currently in Athens attending the summit, having met with the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

At the summit, the countries expressed their unwavering support for Ukraines independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

The document was signed by Serbia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece.

White House: US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:52 , Martha Mchardy

The United States does not think the conflict in Ukraine is a stalemate, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday.

We have been clear all along that this battlefield is very dynamic ... there is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line, he said. We are seeing it (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.

Russia 'returns bodies of 12 Ukrainian prisoners'

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:52 , Martha Mchardy

Russia has returned the bodies of 12 Ukrainian soldiers that were being held prisoner, according to a report by The Telegraph.

A government spokesman said: The Russian side has already handed over to us 12 bodies of our prisoners, which were previously confirmed by the... Red Cross as being held captive in Russia.

There were no reports from Russia either about the deterioration of their health or about their serious condition.

Which again calls into question the quality of work or the presence of a medical commission on that side.

Head of Moscows aerospace forces nicknamed General Armageddon dismissed, according to reports

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:20 , Martha Mchardy

A prominent Russian journalist said on Tuesday that General Sergei Surovikin, former commander of Moscows war effort in Ukraine, had been dismissed as head of the countrys aerospace forces.

There was no official confirmation of the report by Alexei Venediktov, the well-connected former head of the now defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station, but it was cited by some other Russian news outlets on social media.

Venediktov said on his Telegram channel that Surovikin had been removed by official decree, without providing any further details.

The general has not been seen in public since a short-lived mutiny on June 24-24 by the Wagner mercenary group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russias defence establishment.

During the revolt, Surovikin appeared in a video, looking uncomfortable and without insignia, urging Prigozhin to stand down. Since the mutiny, Russian and foreign news reports have said that Surovikin was being investigated for possible complicity in it.

Surovikin earned the nickname General Armageddon during Russias military intervention in Syrias civil war.

Last October he was placed in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine, but in January that role was handed to General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Surovikin was made a deputy to Gerasimov.

Eight Ukrainian pilots begin F-16 training in Denmark

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:36 , Martha Mchardy

Denmark has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots in flying F-16 fighter jets as part of its commitment to donate aircraft to Ukraine, the Danish armed forces said on Tuesday.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding wish by Ukraine that it says will help strengthen air defences and help its counter-offensive against Russias 2022 invasion.

The eight pilots have arrived at the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup along with 65 personnel who will be trained in maintaining and servicing the jets, the Danish armed forces said in a statement.

Greece will also take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

Denmark will supply Ukraine with 19 F-16 jets and will deliver the first six jets around New Year.

The Netherlands, which has 42 F-16s, has yet to decide how many jets it will supply to Ukraine.

Denmark currently has 43 F-16 jets and will for safety reasons not disclose how many of them are active, the Danish statement said.

Watch: Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenskas interview with Bel Trew

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:30 , Martha Mchardy

Wagner is victim of its own brand name: How much of a threat does mercenary group pose in Belarus?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:00 , Martha Mchardy

The newfound presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, exiled from Russia after their mutinous march on Moscow, has fuelled fresh anxieties in Ukraine and on Natos eastern flank.

Belaruss neighbours have moved to a heightened state of alert since dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared to broker a last-minute deal with the Kremlin to defuse the short-lived mutiny on 23 June and host Wagner troops on Belarusian soil.

During a recent meeting at the strategically important Suwalki Gap, a sparsely populated land corridor near their countries borders with Belarus and Russias enclave of Kaliningrad, Lithuanias president Gitanas Nauseda warned that north of 4,000 mercenaries were believed to be in Belarus, while Polands premier Mateusz Morawiecki branded them extremely dangerous.

Andy Gregory reports:

Wagner threat in Belarus explained as mercenary group a victim of its brand name

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

Tuesday 22 August 2023 14:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday published his first recruitment video for the Wagner Group since organizing a short-lived mutiny against defense officials in Russia, according to information on Russian social media channels.

Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight in June with a dramatic, short-lived rebellion that posed the most serious threat to President Vladimir Putin of the Russian leaders 23-year rule. The Wagner founder long benefited from Putins powerful patronage, including while he built a private army that fought for Russian interests abroad and participated in some of the deadliest battles of the war in Ukraine.

In the video, which was posted on Telegram messaging app channels which are believed to be affiliated with Prigozhin, a person who appears to be the 62-year-old mercenary leader says the Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities, and making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.

Emma Burrows reports:

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin directly, Pentagon official says

Tuesday 22 August 2023 13:54 , Martha Mchardy

Elon Musk said he had engaged in direct conversation with Vladimir Putin, according to a former Pentagon official.

Mr Musks comments had been made in a discussion the billionaire had with Pentagon officials in October last year about the satellite-based internet provided by SpaceX to Ukraines military.

The billionaire had told Colin Kahl, then the under-secretary of defence for policy at the Pentagon, that he had spoken to Mr Putin personally, according a report on Monday in the New Yorker.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin directly, Pentagon official says

World Court sets September date to hear Russian objections to Ukraine genocide case

Tuesday 22 August 2023 13:12 , Martha Mchardy

The World Court will hear Russias objections to its jurisdiction in a genocide case brought by Ukraine in hearings starting on Sept. 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Tuesday.

Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ shortly after Russias invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, which accused Moscow of falsely applying genocide law to justify the attack.

In a preliminary decision in the case in March last year the court ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately.

Ukrainian saboteur group stopped from crossing into Russias Bryansk region - governor

Tuesday 22 August 2023 12:51 , Martha Mchardy

A group of Ukrainian saboteurs attempted to breach Russias border in the Bryansk region, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Tuesday.

The attempt was thwarted by Russias defence ministry, security services and police, Bogomaz said in a post on Telegram.

Watch: RAF Typhoon intercepts three Russian jets in newly released footage

Tuesday 22 August 2023 12:14 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine needs military assistance overcoming massive mine belt - German minister

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:36 , Martha Mchardy

A massive belt of land mines laid by Russian military in south-eastern Ukraine is hampering Ukrainian soldiers and Kyiv has made clear that it needs equipment to help it get across, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.

We are currently discussing how we can meet this request, not only as Germans but jointly with other partners, she said at a press conference in Berlin alongside her Estonian counterpart.

Russia says its forces destroyed U.S.-made military vessel near Snake Island

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:35 , Martha Mchardy

Russias defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had destroyed a U.S.-made military speedboat near Snake Island in the Black Sea.

Tiny Snake Island became synonymous with Ukrainian resistance in the first hours of what Russia calls its special military operation on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian officers on the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva radioed Ukrainian guards stationed there and ordered them to surrender or die.

'We need more fighter jets,' says Zelensky adviser

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:34 , Martha Mchardy

An adviser to president Zelensky has called for allies to send more fighter jets to Ukraine.

It comes after Denmark and the Netherlands agreed to donate 19 F-16s to Ukraine in what Mr Zelensky called a breakthrough.

Mykhailo Podolyak said: The countries that are now transferring aviation equipment to Ukraine are openly demonstrating that they are deeply interested in protecting international law, democracy and justice.

All of this is possible only if Russia is absolutely defeated. It is extremely important that Ukraines other coalition partners make similar decisions.

The transfer of fighter jets (F16) to #Ukraine is, first of all, about the full understanding by the donor countries (Nordic countries) of the general nature of the war, and this particular stage. It is also about de-escalation, significant reduction of the risks of war    (@Podolyak_M) August 22, 2023

Ukraine says it gains foothold in strategic southeastern village

Tuesday 22 August 2023 10:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine said on Tuesday its troops had entered the strategic southeastern village of Robotyne, a potentially significant advance in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers were organising the evacuation of civilians after entering Robotyne but were still coming under fire from Russian forces.

Our soldiers in the village of Robotyne, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, wrote on Telegram under a picture of a soldier in a tank.

Robotyne is 10 km (six miles) south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub.

Tokmaks capture would be a milestone as Ukrainian troops press southwards towards the Sea of Azov, a military push intended to split Russian occupying forces.

The Institute for the Study of War, an American research group and think tank, has described the Ukrainian attacks on Robotyne as tactically significant. Advancing in the area could enable Ukrainian forces to begin operating beyond the densest of the Russian minefields that have held up the counteroffensive launched in early June, it said.

In a video published by the Ukrainian military, a woman is seen kissing a Ukrainian soldier and several evacuated residents talking on the phone with loved ones.

Psychologically it was very hard (...). We were waiting for so long that today they came unexpectedly. We could not even believe it was ours (..) We are very grateful to the boys (troops), a 52-year-old woman was saying in the video.

Reuters was able to verify the location of the aerial footage from the road layout and positions of buildings seen in the video, which matched satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to independently verify the date it was filmed.

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on the reports from Robotyne.

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:41 , Martha Mchardy

Russian air defence systems thwarted four nighttime Ukrainian drone attacks, Russias Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, with the falling wreckage of one drone shattering an apartment buildings windows and damaging vehicles in Moscows western suburbs.

There were no reports of injuries in the latest drone attacks that Russia blamed on Kyiv, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage. Even so, they have unnerved some Russians and are in line with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskys pledge to take the war into the heart of Russia.

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Ukraines Zelensky has fruitful talks with Serbian president

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:04 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he had had open, honest and fruitful talks with Serbian [resident Aleksandar Vucic.

An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the president of Serbia, Zelensky, who is visiting Athens, wrote on the Telegram messaging app under a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands.

Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders...On our nations shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest, Zelensky wrote.

An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia @AVucic.



Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders.



On our nations shared future in the common European home.



On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest. pic.twitter.com/t7d9DdUH7M    (@ZelenskyyUa) August 22, 2023

Watch: Ukrainian troops fight on the frontline in Kupiansk

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:50 , Martha Mchardy

On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of Putins thugs

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

We were born here, lived here all our lives, and well die here, says Antonia Samuelska as she trudges along with the aid of a walking stick on a deserted street in Kupiansk. We have no other home anywhere else, well have to accept what comes.

The stillness of a hot afternoon under a blazing sun is broken by the sudden roar of artillery fire, three rounds landing one after the other in quick succession, not far away, spraying dust and debris up into the air with plumes of flame and smoke.

The northeastern city of Kupiansk is a key target for Russia as it attempts to fight back against Ukraines summer offensive. As relentless shelling bombards the city, Kim Sengupta meets residents and soldiers facing daily assault:

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Russias space agency said Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the countrys decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said the spacecrafts engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a pre-landing orbit but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.

Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency, Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24.

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Two Ukrainian drones shot down over Moscow region

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Reuters reporter in the Odintsovo district near the settlement of Chastsy to the west of Moscow, where one of the two drones was shot down in the early hours of Tuesday morning, heard four blasts shortly after 0300 local time (0000 GMT).

Windows were shaking, she said.

The Russian defence ministry said that nobody had been hurt in the latest attack.

An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles was foiled tonight, it said in a statement.

Two drones were detected and destroyed by air defence systems over the territory of the Moscow region.

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:29 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Attack on Russian strategic bomber Tu-22M3 came from own territory, says UK MoD

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:16 , Martha Mchardy

The latest attack on Russias bomber jet by uncrewed aerial vehicle or drones likely came from inside the Russian territory, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

The ministry said a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russias Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsky-2 Airbase in Novgorod Oblast which is 650 km away from Ukraines border. It noted Russian Defence Ministrys response that a copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible for the attack.

If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia, the British MoD said.

Russia has frequently used BACKFIRE bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate AS-4 KITCHEN heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out the intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs, it added in its latest intelligence update.

The attack is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russias ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine  22 August 2023



Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/WYHfB5NZIN



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/Ab4QQUyeMF  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) August 22, 2023

Russia military claims two Ukrainian drones downed near Crimea

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:02 , Arpan Rai

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its military jammed two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea on Monday night.

The drones crashed into the water at around 11pm local time (20.00 GMT), 40 kilometres to the northwest from Crimea, the military said in a statement.

Ukraine has not taken responsibility for attacks inside Russia or Russia-held territories but has intensified its bid to recapture the illegally annexed peninsula.

Monday attacks in Moscow injure 2, disrupts 90 flights

Tuesday 22 August 2023 06:26 , Arpan Rai

At least two people were injured yesterday when parts of a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defences fell on a house in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.

Nearly 90 airplane flights in and out of the capital were disrupted after Russia said it jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Ruzsky district west of the capital and destroyed another one in the Istrinsky district nearby.

Arrivals and departures from Moscows four main airports  Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky  were restricted, disrupting 45 passenger planes and two cargo planes, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.

The governor of Kaluga region, south of Moscow, said a drone attack had also been repelled there. Mash, a Russian news channel on the Telegram messaging app, said the drone downed in Kaluga region had landed on a military airfield, causing a crater and a fire that was quickly put out.

Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory but in a rare instance, Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said it oversaw an attack on the Russian Shaykovka military airfield in the Kaluga region.

We can state that groups coordinated by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry succeeded at their work, Andriy Yusov, the spokeperson of the agency, told the RBC-Ukraine news outlet.

It is known that several enemy aircraft were damaged, he said declining to comment whether the airfield was hit by drones. Asked about the attack on Moscow he said that the GUR is working but refused to give details.

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:55 , Arpan Rai

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Read the full story here:

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Wagner chief Prigozhin shares first video since failed coup, hints he's in Africa and recruiting

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:21 , Arpan Rai

Russian mercenary group Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin shared his first video address two months after his failed coup against Vladimir Putin as he appeared in a clip likely shot in Africa.

The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group yesterday.

The temperature is +50  everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa  more free. Justice and happiness  for the African people, were making life a nightmare for Isis and Al-Qaeda and other bandits, he said in a video.

He then added Wagner is recruiting people and the group will fulfil the tasks that were set. The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.

Mr Prigozhin was seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands. In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

The Independent has not verified the date and exact location of the video but Mr Prigozhins comments and posts in the Telegram channels hinted it was shot in Africa.

Russian supersonic bomber destroyed in Ukrainian Kamikaze drone attack

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:06 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has claimed it has destroyed a Russian long-range bomber as it released dramatic photos of the ablaze strategic warplane engulfed in thick black flames and said it was targeted by Kamikaze drones.

The drones struck Russias Soltsi air base in Novgorod region, north of Moscow, on Saturday. Photos published by Ukraine showed the supersonic Russian bomber Tu-22M3 on the airfield but completely destroyed in the fire.

One of the unofficial Telegram channels tracking Ukraines armed forces shared two photos of the attack.

The destroyed Tu-22M3 at the Soltsi airfield after yesterdays arrival of a kamikaze drone, it said in the caption.

The attack was, however, downplayed by the Russian ministry of defence which said the attack resulted in a fire that was promptly extinguished. There was unspecified damage to one plane, it claimed.

The strategic nuclear bomber has played an active role in the war as Ukrainian forces claimed to have downed a cruise missile fired from the warplane in February.

First pictures have emerged regarding the Ukrainian drone attack in the Soltsy-2 airbase. The Russian MoD initially claimed that one plane was only damaged, but pictures of this Tupolev Tu-22M3 speak a different language.



Source: https://t.co/Tlec0Df7TY#Russia #Ukraine https://t.co/fL2E1aGW7a pic.twitter.com/ip4sOE69eT  (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 20, 2023

Moscow closes air space after Ukrainian drone attacks

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:07 , Arpan Rai

Russia has again been forced to shut down its air space over the three biggest airports in Moscow, where arrivals and departures were suspended in the early hours of this morning, Russias TASS news agency reported.

The air space is closed over Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, an unnamed official told the agency.

Flights are not being received, departures are delayed, the person said.

This comes after Russia reported a series of Ukrainian drone attacks including over Moscow, which had struck a building.

Ukrainian drone strikes apartments near Moscow, leaves windows shaking

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:01 , Arpan Rai

The Russian military has brought down four Ukrainian drones near Moscow and over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, officials said today.

At least one drone was shot down in the Odintsovo district near Chastsy settlement to the west of Moscow and four blasts were heard shortly after 3am local time (00.00 GMT).

Broken windows in a high rise apartment building, debris on a pavement and a car with a hole in its glass roof hatch could be seen in videos and pictures from the scene published by Russian media outlet Baza.

Windows were shaking, a witness said.

Russias defence ministry said there were no injuries in the latest attack.

One of the drones was shot down over Krasnogorsk, a town outside Moscow, that hosts the Moscow regional government.

Ukraine has never taken responsibility for drone strikes on Russian and Russia-controlled territory that have increased recently but its leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky, have expressed satisfaction on the attacks.

Full report: Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:00 , AP

The head of Russias space agency said on Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the countrys decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land on Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov said the spacecrafts engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a pre-landing orbit but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.

Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency, Mr Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24.

Emma Burrows has the full report here:

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Independent TV | What Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Tuesday 22 August 2023 03:02 , Andy Gregory

Russian artillery within five miles of Kupiansk

Tuesday 22 August 2023 02:04 , Andy Gregory

Russian artillery is within five miles of Kupiansk. Intense fighting is taking place in the outlying villages, with recently-acquired cluster ammunition used by the Ukrainians to repulse repeated enemy attacks.

More than 11,000 residents have been moved out under a mandatory evacuation order, with families with children and the elderly categorised as a priority. Some have stubbornly refused to move, despite first-hand experience of the violence.

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta has more in this special report from Kupiansk:

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Pope Francis discusses Ukraine war and peace with US military chief

Tuesday 22 August 2023 01:01 , Andy Gregory

Pope Francis and Washingtons top general discussed the war in Ukraine and hopes for peace there during a private audience at the Vatican on Monday.

General Mark Milley, who is Catholic and is visiting several European countries, said the Pope was deeply concerned about the loss of life in Ukraine, particularly of civilians, since Russia invaded in February 2022.

A strong advocate for Ukraines defence against Russian forces, the general has championed sending billions of dollars in arms to Kyiv and has sharply criticised Moscow as mounting a campaign of terror against civilians in Ukraine

The Pope has condemned the international arms trade in general but said last year that it is morally legitimate for nations to supply weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.

(Vatican media via REUTERS)

US State Department approves possible sale of Apache helicopters to Poland

Tuesday 22 August 2023 00:02 , Andy Gregory

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of AH-64E Apache helicopters and related equipment to Poland in a deal valued at up to $12bn (9.4bn), the Pentagon has said

Poland  which has prioritised boosting its military since Russias invasion of neighbouringUkraine  has requested 96 of the Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including 1,844 Hellfire missiles and 508 Stinger missiles, the Pentagon said.

While the Pentagon notified the US Congress of the possible sale on Monday, this does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the prime contractors for the weapons, according to the Pentagon.

Prigozhin claims he is in Africa in new clip

Monday 21 August 2023 23:06 , Andy Gregory

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed to be in Africa as he posted the first video clip of himself in weeks on Telegram channels affiliated with the mercenary group.

Prigozhin is seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands, with more armed men in the distance. In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa  more free. Justice and happiness  for the African people, were making life a nightmare for Isis and Al-Qaeda and other bandits, he says in the clip.

He then says Wagner is recruiting people and the group will fulfil the tasks that were set. The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.

Experts have suggested in the weeks since Wagners brief mutiny against Russias military leadership that the mercenary groups activities in Africa and the Middle East will return to the fore, given their diplomatic and potentially financial value to the Kremlin.

Prigozhin appeared in a video, saying he is in Africa and announcing that Wagner is now in the process of recruiting. He talked about making Africa "more free".



Given that Wagner's base is now in #Belarus, Lukashenka involves my country even in this conflict. pic.twitter.com/4gOSc7XXQK  Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) August 21, 2023

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Monday 21 August 2023 22:18 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Gerald Imray has the full report:

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Greece will help train Ukrainian F-16 pilots, Zelensky says

Monday 21 August 2023 21:32 , Andy Gregory

Greece will take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Volodymyr Zelensky has said during a joint press conference with Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.

Denmark and the Netherlands announced on Sunday that they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president told a crowd in Denmark on Monday that promised deliveries of F-16 had made him confident Ukraine could end Russias invasion, and at a later conference in Athens expressed his gratitude for Greeces involvement in the corresponding training.

He did not provide details of the training programme. Officials from a coalition of 11 nations have said F-16 training will take place in Denmark and Romania.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky at Maximos Mansion in Athens (AP)

Russian space chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 crash

Monday 21 August 2023 20:43 , AP

The head of Russia's space agency said that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land on Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the Moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Sanctions imposed on Russia since it launched a war in Ukraine nearly 18 months ago have affected its space programme, making it more difficult to access Western technology.

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 took off from a launchpad in the Russias far-eastern Amur region (via REUTERS)

More than 100,000 Russian troops amassing in northeast, says Ukraine

Monday 21 August 2023 20:01 , Andy Gregory

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports:

The Russian force amassed near Kupiansk contains more than 100,000 troops, 900 tanks, 555 artillery systems and 375 self-propelled guns, according to Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesperson for Ukraines eastern front.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of the armed forces, has stressed the threat to the defence lines in the northeast is very real. The enemys goal is to break through and go directly to Kupiansk. The fighting is extremely intense, some positions have changed hands several times. We are making all the necessary preparations, he says.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister, says that the hottest direction remains Kupiansk. It is plain the Russians want to retake the territories in the Kharkiv region that they lost.

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Wagner a victim of its own brand name, says analyst

Monday 21 August 2023 19:23 , Andy Gregory

The Wagner mercenary group is in some ways a victim of its own brand name, one analyst has suggested.

Mark Galeotti, director of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, told The Independent that he believed Kyivs military was not in the slightest bit worried about the threat of Wagner fighters in Belarus attempting to cross Ukraines northern border.

Speaking of claims the mercenaries could try to cross into Poland or Ukraine, he said: In some ways, Wagner is a victim of its brand name, and people are suggesting its going to do all types of crazy things that are totally beyond their capabilities, but also which frankly no one would even try.

Wagner has lost all of its heavy equipment, he added, with Russias defence ministry making damn sure to reclaim tanks and artillery handed to the mercenaries while in Ukraine, meaning were talking about a bunch of guys with Kalashnikovs, rather than a sort of fully coherent mechanised force.

Citing reports that funding disputes have already seen some mercenaries bussed back to Russia, Mr Galeotti said Ukraine has ample forces to stop 2,000 guys with guns wandering over a border carefully watched due to its proximity to Kyiv, most likely including by Nato.

How much of a threat does Wagner pose in Belarus?

Monday 21 August 2023 18:51 , Andy Gregory

The newfound presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, exiled from Russia after their mutinous march on Moscow, has fuelled fresh anxieties in Ukraine and on Natos eastern flank.

But the true extent to which Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhins guns for hire are now operating in Belarus  and their aims there  remains hard to determine.

We are dealing with layer upon layer of disinformation, Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, told The Independent.

Not only the repeated information campaign trying to convince Ukraine that there is a renewed threat from the north, but also confusion over exactly what Wagner is doing, who they are reporting to, who they are following orders from, and where they might be.

Wagner threat in Belarus explained as mercenary group a victim of its brand name

Special report: On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of Putins thugs

Monday 21 August 2023 18:20 , Andy Gregory

We were born here, lived here all our lives, and well die here, says Antonia Samuelska as she trudges along with the aid of a walking stick on a deserted street in Kupiansk. We have no other home anywhere else, well have to accept what comes.

The stillness of a hot afternoon under a blazing sun is broken by the sudden roar of artillery fire, three rounds landing one after the other in quick succession, not far away, spraying dust and debris up into the air with plumes of flame and smoke.

See that? Thats whats happening every day now. They get closer and closer, what are they trying to hit? Those are just empty houses, most people have left, says Samuelska. This place has been attacked since the start of the war. We had a little bit of peace after that, and then it started again.

The attacks are continuing. On Sunday, 11 people were injured, seven severely, after Kupiansk, in northeastern Ukraine, was hit by artillery strikes. The shelling went on intermittently for several hours, setting cars and buildings on fire.

The city, less than two hours tank drive from Kharkiv  the second city of Ukraine  changed hands after Vladimir Putins invasion. It was captured early on by the Russians and remained under occupation for six months. It was retaken last autumn in a Ukrainian assault that blitzed through the region making sweeping gains.

Now, while international focus has been on the much-publicised Ukrainian summer counteroffensive, in which progress has been slow, Moscow has amassed a huge force  mounting its own offensive towards Kharkiv. Kupiansk, a key logistics hub, is the first objective.

Read more in this special report from our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta:

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Ukraine mulling new Black Sea corridor for grain exports, official claims

Monday 21 August 2023 17:55 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine is considering using its newly-tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments after the first successful evacuation of a vessel along the route last week, a senior agricultural official has said.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since invading last February, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets last month as it pulled out of a UN-backed deal providing Black Sea grain export ships safe passage.

In response, Ukraine announced a humanitarian corridor hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. A Hong Kong-flagged container ship stuck in Odesa port since the invasion travelled the route last week without being fired upon.

Only one commercial vessel has passed through so far, [and this] has shown readiness to move by alternative routes, Denys Marchuk, deputy head of the Agrarian Council, Ukraines largest agribusiness group, told national television.

Further, there should be a movement of potentially 7-8 more ships ... then perhaps in the future these alternative routes will become a corridor for the movement of ships that are travelling with cargoes of grain and oilseeds, he said.

The Financial Times reports that Kyiv is finalising a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships travelling to and from its Black Sea ports, citing Ukrainian deputy economy minister Oleksandr Gryban.

Zelensky vows retaliation for Chernihiv attack that killed seven people and wounded almost 150

Monday 21 August 2023 17:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian oresident Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday vowed stern retaliation for a Russian missile strike in the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv that killed seven people and wounded almost 150 others the day before.

I am sure our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack. Respond tangibly, Zelensky said in a video address published in the early hours of Sunday at the end of a visit to Sweden, his first foreign trip since attending a NATO summit in Lithuania last month.

He identified a 6-year-old girl named Sofia as among the dead in the attack and confirmed that the wounded included 15 children.

Zelenskyy vows retaliation for Chernihiv attack that killed seven people and wounded almost 150

Ukraines elite armoured brigade hit with five airstrikes a day'

Monday 21 August 2023 16:44 , Martha Mchardy

An elite Ukrainian unit equipped with British Challenger 2 tanks is being hit with five airstrikes a day, Ukraines deputy Ukrainian defence minister has said.

The The 82nd air assault brigade is deployed on the southern front and is equipped with German Marder vehicles and American Stryker armoured personnel carriers.

The price of the headlines about where the 82nd brigade was moved in the south is five airstrikes on the brigade per day, said Hanna Maliar, deputy Ukrainian defence minister.

In pictures: Zelensky visits Copenhagen

Monday 21 August 2023 16:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reacts while standing next to his wife Olena Zelenska in front of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen (EPA)

Ukrainian oresident Volodymyr Zelensky shaking hands with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark during meeting in the Hall of Knights at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen (UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky waves in front of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen, Denmark (EPA)

President Volodymyr Zelensky (2nd L) and his wife Olena Zelenska (2nd R) received by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (C), Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (R) and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (L) in the Hall of Knights at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen. (UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE)

Zelensky meets Greek PM

Monday 21 August 2023 16:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Greece on Monday for talks with the countrys leadership and to attend an informal meeting of Balkan leaders with top European Union officials.

Zelensky met with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and also was scheduled to meet the countrys figurehead president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

In the evening, Mitsotakis office said, Zelensky was to join in an informal dinner organized by Mitsotakis for top officials from nine Balkan nations as well as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis shakes hands with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the Maximos Mansion in Athens (REUTERS)

The dinner was scheduled to discuss the Western Balkans regions future in the EU, which many countries have already joined and the rest are jockeying to enter.

Greece has joined its Nato and EU partners in strongly backing Ukraine against the Russian invasion, and has provided material military assistance in the form of armored personnel carriers and ammunition.

But Athens has resisted pressure to provide Kyiv with a Russian-made air defence missile system stationed on the southern island of Crete.

Zelensky thanks Danish royals for 'humanitarian efforts'

Monday 21 August 2023 15:57 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska thanked the Danish royals for their humanitarian efforts as they visited Copenhagen today.

The Ukrainian president and his wife met with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and other members of the Royal Family during their trip.

In a tweet president Zelensky said: We are thankful for the Royal Familys support of all the important humanitarian efforts. We thank the Danish government, parliament, and all Danes for standing with Ukraine.

Olena @ZelenskaUA and I met with HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and members of the Royal Family.



We are thankful for the Royal Family's support of all the important humanitarian efforts. We thank the Danish government, parliament, and all Danes for standing with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/erGB9tV5e5    (@ZelenskyyUa) August 21, 2023

German prosecutors raid home of pro-Kremlin activists

Monday 21 August 2023 15:33 , Martha Mchardy

German prosecutors said on Monday they searched the home of two pro-Kremlin activists under suspicion that they violated a law that regulates the production and transfer of war weapons.

The activists - Max Schlund and his romantic partner Elena Kolbasnikova - have organised multiple rallies protesting Germanys support of Ukraine since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion last year.

Reuters reported in January that Schlund and Kolbasnikova donated funds collected from supporters in Germany to a Russian army division fighting in Ukraine, and the money was used to purchase walkie-talkie radios, headphones and telephones.

German prosecutors searched the couples home in March as they looked for evidence to corroborate Reuters reporting.

Ulf Willuhn, a representative of the Cologne public prosecutors, confirmed on Monday the raid was conducted over suspicions of a violation of the War Weapons Control Act, but denied it was connected to their aid for Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Willuhn declined to comment further on the investigation.

Germanys war weapons law regulates the production, sale and transfer of weapons ranging from hand grenades and automatic rifles to combat aircraft.

One of Kolbasnikova and Schlunds supporters wrote in a Telegram chat on Monday that the police smashed into the couples apartment and injured Schlund during their search. Willuhn said he was not aware of Schlunds injuries and could not comment.

Schlund and Kolbasnikova could not be immediately reached for comment. Kolbasnikova has previously said that the German authorities were committing lawlessness to try to silence political opponents.

Markus Beisicht, the couples lawyer who has been involved in the pairs past rallies, told Reuters the apartment was damaged during the search on Monday and said Schlund was left with small bruises and wounds after the raid.

Watch: Ukrainian troops fight on the frontline in Kupiansk

Monday 21 August 2023 15:15 , Martha Mchardy

Hiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war

Monday 21 August 2023 14:45 , Martha Mchardy

Life in the capital of a war-torn country seems normal on the surface. In the mornings, people rush to their work holding cups of coffee. Streets are filled with cars, and in the evenings restaurants are packed. But the details tell another story.

Numerous buildings across Kyiv bear the scars of Russian bombardment. Sandbags are stacked around monuments, museums and office buildings to protect from possible attack. At nights, streets are empty after the midnight curfew comes into force.

Read more:

Hiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war

On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of Putins thugs

Monday 21 August 2023 14:15 , Martha Mchardy

The northeastern city of Kupiansk is a key target for Russia as it attempts to fight back against Ukraines summer offensive. As relentless shelling bombards the city, Kim Sengupta meets residents and soldiers facing daily assault.

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Ukraines Zelensky says F-16s make him confident that Russia will lose the war

Monday 21 August 2023 13:44 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told a crowd in Denmark on Monday that promised deliveries of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets had made him confident Ukraine could end Russias invasion.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday announced they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine, with the initial six due to be delivered around New Year. Washington had approved the delivery of the jets ahead of Zelenskys trip to Copenhagen.

Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war, Zelensky told thousands of people who gathered outside the Danish parliament to hear his speech.

Russia warned earlier that supplying the jets to Ukraine would only escalate the war, which has dragged on for almost 18 months. Russian forces are occupying almost a fifth of Ukraines territory and Kyiv is battling hard to push them out.

Iranian delegation arrives in Moscow to discuss ground forces cooperation -TASS

Monday 21 August 2023 12:45 , Martha Mchardy

An Iranian military delegation has arrived in Moscow to discuss cooperation between Iranian and Russian ground forces, state news agency TASS reported on Monday, citing Russias Defence Ministry.

Russia and Iran, both under Western economic sanctions, have forged closer relations in military and other areas since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

The West has accused Iran of selling large numbers of drones for use against Ukraine, something Tehran denies.

Zelensky warns that Russias neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not win war

Monday 21 August 2023 11:48 , Martha Mchardy

President Zelensky warned that Russias neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not win the war.

The Ukrainian president thanked Danish lawmakers on Monday for helping his country resist Russias invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with American-made F-16 warplanes that could be delivered around the end of the year.Addressing the Danish parliament in Copenhagen, he said: All of Russias neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail.

International law will not be resuscitated, democracies of the world, each of them can become a target  either for missiles, or for mercenaries, or for destabilisation, and I am sure you can fill it.

But Ukraine will prevail. Thankyou for all the help provided to Ukraine.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky greets members of Danish Parliament in Copenhagen (via REUTERS)

Four killed and 25 wounded in latest Russian attacks in Ukraine, says presidential office

Monday 21 August 2023 11:13 , Martha Mchardy

At least four civilians were killed and 25 others wounded by the latest Russian attacks in Ukraine, according to the countrys presidential office.

The dead included a 71-year-old man killed by Russian shelling in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia.

Watch live: Zelensky speaks to Danish people after addressing parliament in Copenhagen

Monday 21 August 2023 11:08 , Martha Mchardy

Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to Danish people outside the parliament in Copenhagen on Monday, 21 August, after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in what he called a historic pledge.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets, with the first six due to be shipped around New Year, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

Live: Zelensky speaks to Danish people after addressing parliament in Copenhagen

Watch: Ukrainian troops fight on the frontline in Kupiansk

Monday 21 August 2023 10:47 , Martha Mchardy

RECAP: Ukraines Zelensky in Netherlands after US approved sending Dutch F-16 jets to Ukraine

Monday 21 August 2023 10:15 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday, two days after the country said the United States had given its approval for Dutch and Danish authorities to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraines air force.

Zelensky met Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte at a military air base in the southern city of Eindhoven. The Ukrainian leader was in Sweden a day earlier.

The U.S. approval Friday for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver American-made F-16s to Ukraine was seen as a major boost for Kyiv, even though the fighter jets wont have an impact any time soon on the almost 18-month war.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Netherlands after US approved sending Dutch F-16 jets to Ukraine

Russia warns F-16 donations will escalate war with Ukraine

Monday 21 August 2023 09:48 , Martha Mchardy

Russia has condemned a decision by Denmark and the Netherlands to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying the move would escalate the conflict.

The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict, Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin said in a statement cited by the Ritzau news agency.

By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia, he said.

Danish defence minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine may only use the donated F-16s within its own territory.

We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that, Ellemann-Jensen said on Monday.

Those are the conditions, whether its tanks, fighter planes or something else, he said.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets in total. The Netherlands has 42 F-16s available in all but has yet to decide whether all of them will be donated.

Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky said on Sunday the planes would strengthen Ukraines air defences and help its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

Dominos franchisee to declare Russian business bankrupt

Monday 21 August 2023 09:35 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian arm of fast food chain Dominos is likely to close after its London-listed parent company decided to put it into bankruptcy.

Apparently failing to find a buyer for the Russian business, DP Eurasia said it has decided its subsidiary should instead file for bankruptcy

The franchisee runs around 170 Dominos pizza sites in the country, and had previously said it was evaluating its presence there.

Dominos franchisee to declare Russian business bankrupt

Drone attack thwarted over Russias Kaluga region without casualties or damage, governor claims

Monday 21 August 2023 09:11 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russias Kaluga region, south of Moscow, said on Monday that a drone attack had been repelled without casualties or damage.

Two injured in Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow region

Monday 21 August 2023 08:58 , Martha Mchardy

At least two people were injured on Monday when parts of a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defences fell on a house in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.

Ukraine may use new Black Sea route for grain shipments

Monday 21 August 2023 08:40 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine is considering using its newly-tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments, a senior agricultural official said on Monday.

It follows the first successful evacuation of a vessel on the route last week.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in Feb. 2022 and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of a U.N.-backed safe passage deal last month.

In response, Ukraine announced a humanitarian corridor hugging the seas western coastline near Romania and Bulgaria. A Hong Kong-flagged container ship stuck in Odesa port since the invasion travelled the route last week without being fired upon.

Only one commercial vessel has passed through so far, it has shown readiness to move by alternative routes, Denys Marchuk, deputy head of the Agrarian Council, Ukraines largest agribusiness organisation, told national television.

Further, there should be a movement of potentially 7-8 more ships... then perhaps in the future these alternative routes will become a corridor for the movement of ships that are travelling with cargoes of grain and oilseeds, he said.

The Financial Times said Kyiv was finalising a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships travelling to and from its Black Sea ports, citing Ukraines deputy economy minister Oleksandr Gryban.

Ukraine is a global major grain grower and exporter and normally ships millions of metric tons of food from its deep-water Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv, but has had to rely on its Danube river ports after Russia pulled out of the deal.

To attract ship owners to Ukrainian ports which have come under fire from Russian forces, Marchuk said Ukraine had already allocated 20 billion hryvnias ($547 million) for ship insurance.

Not all ship owners will dare to put their ships in an uncertain environment, he added.

Watch live: Zelensky addresses Danish parliament after historic fighter jets pledge

Monday 21 August 2023 08:27 , Martha Mchardy

Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Danish parliament on Monday, 21 August, after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in what he called a historic pledge.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets, with the first six due to be shipped around New Year, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said.

A further eight will be sent in 2024 and five in 2025.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands has 42 jets but some will be needed for training purposes.

It is not confirmed when the Netherlands will send the aircraft.

Watch live: Zelensky addresses Danish parliament after historic fighter jets pledge

Ukraine says it repels Russian attacks in Kharkiv region, gains in east

Monday 21 August 2023 08:07 , Maanya Sachdeva

The situation in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv is difficult but Ukraines forces are repelling Russian attacks and have re-taken several square kilometres on the eastern front over the past week, a deputy defence minister said on Monday.

The Ukrainian military said last week that Russia was attacking towards Kupiansk, a town in the Kharkiv region.

The situation in the Kupiansk direction is difficult. The enemy is not leaving plans to move forward, the enemy is pulling up additional forces, Hanna Maliar told the national television broadcaster.

We are confident in our defenders, but it is very difficult for them there and the enemy is not advancing there, she said.

Maliar said that Ukrainian forces were advancing south of Bakhmut, the city occupied by Russian forces in May after a bloody months-long struggle, and had liberated another three square kilometres over the past week.

These reports could not be independently verified at the time.

Maliar said there were no significant changes in the situation in the south, where Ukrainian forces are trying to split Russian forces and reach the Sea of Azov.

We should not underestimate the enemy, Maliar said. We should all be patient and support our armed forces.

Russia says two Ukrainian drones jammed over Moscow region

Monday 21 August 2023 07:37 , Maanya Sachdeva

Two Ukrainian drones were reportedly downed on Monday in the Moscow region, briefly disrupting flights at two of the capitals airports, according to Russian officialds.

Russias defence ministry said it jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Ruzsky district west of the capital and later destroyed another one in the Istrinsky district nearby.

Arrivals and departures from Moscows Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports were briefly halted but later restarted.

Ukrainian drone strikes both on border regions and on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months, with repeated strikes on Moscows financial district.

Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
Kyrylo Budanov , Chief of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, promises new cases of "destruction of the invaders" in the Russian-occupied Crimea "soon".

Source: Budanov, on a live ITV broadcast from the town of Irpin, Kyiv Oblast

Budanov says there are people in Ukraine who are afraid of the liberation of Crimea, but there are also many who are looking forward to seeing it. And they need to be given hope.

Quote: "That's why we have to hold such events as the Crimean Platform, [and the] events, let's say, [arranged by] resistance movements in the temporarily occupied territories, and simply destroy the invaders in our Crimea. You already see what is being done basically, and you will see more soon."

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Details: On Tuesday, 22 August, on the eve of the Crimean platform, the Crimean Tatar flag was raised on the central square of Irpin.

The event was attended by Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate; Tamila Tasheva, the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; and Refat Chubarov, the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

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KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic held talks in Athens on Tuesday which both leaders described as "good" and "open".

Serbia has repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations and other international forums but has not imposed sanctions on Moscow.

It also maintains trade and military cooperation with its traditional Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally, while seeking to join the European Union.

In April, leaked Pentagon documents showed Serbia had agreed to supply arms and ammunition to Kyiv, or sent them to Ukraine. Vucic said Serbia had never sold weapons or ammunition to Ukraine or Russia although Serbian arms might have reached the battlefield via third countries.

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"An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app under a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands.

He gave few details but added: "Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders...On our nations shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest."

In a post on Instagram, Vucic said he had had a "good and open" conversation with Zelenskiy on issues including the territorial integrity of both countries.

Ukraine does not recognise Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade, meanwhile, does not recognise Russia's annexation of parts of Ukraine which it occupies.

"We have tackled developments in Ukraine and Kosovo and I have stressed once again that Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Vucic wrote.

Both leaders, who were in Athens as Greece hosts a meeting of Balkan leaders, issued words of support for each other's countries' bids to join the EU.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk and Max Hunder in Kyiv, Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Ukrainian defence forces from the 47th brigade have entered the recently captured settlement of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and organised the evacuation of civilians, while the Russians shelled the village with artillery.

Source: Hanna Maliar , Deputy Defence Minister of Ukraine, on Telegram

Quote: "Soldiers of the 47th brigade which entered the settlement of Robotyne fighting have organised the evacuation of civilians in Bradley armoured vehicles.

Photo: Hanna Maliar on Telegram

Photo: Hanna Maliar on Telegram

Details: Maliar added that the defenders are carrying out planned combat work and destroying the Russians.

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In response, the Russians are continuously shelling Robotyne with artillery. Fighting continues.

The defenders of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade Mahura also posted a video of the evacuation of civilians from a settlement on the Melitopol front.

The fighters reported that they were able to break through the multi-echelon defence line of the occupiers after two months of fierce fighting.

Background:

On 21 August, Ukraines Defence Ministry reported that the Defence Forces of Ukraine had advanced to the southeast of the settlement of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and intense planned combat operations are currently ongoing there.

On 22 August, Andrii Kovalov, Spokesman for the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, reported that the military had succeeded in the area of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the southern front.

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Andrii Kovalov, Spokesman for the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces, has reported that the military have gains on the southern front in the vicinity of the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Source: General Staff; Military Media Center

Quote: "[Ukrainian defenders  ed.] have made gains near Robotyne, they are consolidating their positions."

Details: Kovalov noted that Ukraines Defence Forces are continuing their offensive actions on the Melitopol front.

Kovalov said the Ukrainian military are firing using artillery on Russian targets, and carrying out counter-battery measures.

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On the Bakhmut front, Ukraines Defence Forces continue to conduct offensive actions to the south of the city of Bakhmut.

The Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the vicinity of Avdiivka, Marinka and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. They are suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons and equipment, they are moving units and troops, and actively using their reserves.

In addition, Ukraines Defence Forces are continuing to hold back the advance of Russian troops on the Kupiansk, Lyman and Bakhmut fronts.

Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast. Heavy fighting is ongoing there.

Background: On 21 August, the Defence Forces of Ukraine advanced to the southeast of the settlement of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and intense planned combat operations are currently ongoing there.

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Ukrainian troops operating on the southern front have achieved a significant breakthrough around the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's General Staff, Andriy Kovaliov, on August 22.

"In the vicinity of Robotyne, a successful advance has been executed, and our forces are now securing the gained positions," Kovaliov said.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are continuing their advance in the Melitopol direction. Soldiers are inflicting artillery strikes on Russian targets and carrying out counter-battery measures, he said.

DeepState

Earlier, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar confirmed that active combat operations are ongoing in the village, with Ukrainian units achieving success southeast of Robotyne, and south of the village of Mala Tokmachka.

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On August 18, CBS News, citing anonymous U.S. officials, reported that Ukrainian forces were making progress toward Tokmak. The settlement is located more than 20 kilometers to the south of Robotyne.

Read also: Ukrainian forces shoot down another Russian Ka-52 helicopter, this time in Zaporizhzhya Oblast

Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers have both reported that Ukrainian forces have liberated Robotyne.

The department officially announced the liberation of another Ukrainian village, Urozhayne in Donetsk Oblast, on August 16.

Overall, in June, the Defense Forces reclaimed nine settlements in the south and east of Ukraine, and in July - Staromaiorske.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ukrainian forces appear to have stepped up their efforts to weaken Russian air superiority in the war by attacking bases that house supersonic warplanes deep inside Russian territory.

Kyiv said it had carried out a drone strike on the Shaykovka Russian military air facility some 200 kilometers (130 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border on Monday. Over the weekend, Russias defense ministry said another Ukrainian drone hit the Soltsy military airfield in the Novgorod region, also hundreds of kilometers north of Ukraine.

Moscows dominance in the skies has been a major obstacle for Ukraines counteroffensive. Ukrainian forces have been working their way through dense minefields and multiple layers of defenses along the frontlines in recent weeks, while regularly coming under attack from above.

Thats why Kyiv has made it a priority to get F-16 fighter jets from its allies. But while the Netherlands and Denmark both agreed this week to provide the aircraft, it will take many months before Ukrainian pilots are trained up to use them. In the meantime, Ukraine seems to be trying to make a dent in Russias air power by targeting its air bases.

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The Shaykovka military air base operates Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bombers that have been used by Russia to strike targets in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion last year. Just last week, the Ukrainian air force reported that aircraft flying from Shaykovka had launched four Kh-22 cruise missiles towards Ukraine.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraines Defense Intelligence, said that a drone attack on the Shaykovka base in Russias Kaluga region on Monday left at least one aircraft damaged.

Speaking to Ukrainian media Liga.net, Yusov said the strike was carried out in clear coordination with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukraines Defense Ministry, adding that this specific task was carried out from within Russian territory.

Ukraine performs various tasks from inside Russia in many other cases, he added.

Russia has not officially commented on the latest incident. However, Baza  a Russian social media blog that has close contacts with the countrys security services  said that a Ukrainian drone had crashed at the Shaykovka base on Monday and that an unused aircraft at the airfield was damaged. It said that the information has not been officially confirmed.

Another Russian Telegram channel, Mash, also reported the incident.

A Ukrainian UAV landed on the territory of the airfield at around eight oclock this morning. According to our information, it was a civilian copter equipped with an IED (improvised explosive device) and a reinforced battery - it was spotted in time and shot down, Mash said.

Earlier, the governor of the region, Vladislav Shapsha, reported that a UAV attack was repelled in the Kirov district. The air base is about 15 kilometers north of the town of Kirov.

Yusov said that Russia was trying to underplay the incident. At least one plane is damaged. As in most cases, the Russian regime is trying to hide the true extent of losses and damage, he said.

File photo of Russian Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic bombers. - YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images

Degrading morale

The attack on Monday was the second strike against a Russian air base housing powerful hardware in just three days.

Russias Defense Ministry said Saturday that a Ukrainian drone damaged a plane at a military airfield in Soltsy in the northwest Novgorod region. Ukraine did not comment on that incident.

The Russian ministry said the drone struck the field on Saturday morning and caused fire to break out. It claimed the drone was spotted and hit by small arms. The ministry statement didnt provide any details on the damage, only saying there were no casualties as a result of the attack.

A CNN analysis of satellite images of the base showed that this airfield was also used to house Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers.

An image taken on August 8 shows a number of Tu-22 bombers parked there. Then an image taken on August 21 appears to show charred ground where one of the Tu-22M3 planes was parked, while the rest of the aircraft appear to have been moved.

Two social media images geolocated by CNN show a similar aircraft on fire at the same base.

Ukrainian media reported that attacks on Russian bases over the past few days have destroyed several aircraft including two bombers, citing unnamed Ukrainian defense intelligence officials.

According to the Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), several Russian military bloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces used a small and relatively inexpensive quadcopter drone to conduct the attack and criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense for not storing the aircraft in hangars where they would have been protected.

The ISW added that while damage to or destruction of two Tu-22M3 bombers is not going to have a major military effect, the reaction by Russian military bloggers shows such deep attacks support larger Ukrainian efforts to degrade Russian morale.

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Troops from Ukraines 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade have successfully entered the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar on August 22.

After two months of fierce battles, soldiers from our 47th brigade, supported by other units, have broken through the heavily fortified defense line of the occupiers, Malyar said, adding that Russia is continuously bombarding Robotyne with artillery fire.

Hanna Malyar

As a result, the military organized the evacuation of local residents using American-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). The Defense Ministry has released photographs and videos depicting the operation.

Hanna Malyar

We waited for the Ukrainian Armed Forces for a year and a half, one local resident said on video.

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We grabbed our belongings and documents, and fled, dropping bags along the way because life is the most precious thing. And then, these brave soldiers from the 47th Brigade rescued us with an IFV.

Hanna Malyar

Read also: Significance of Ukraines breakthrough near Tokmak and damage to Russian strategic aircraft  ISW

Earlier, the Ukrainian militarys General Staff confirmed the Armed Forces success in the area of Robotyne, stating that service personnel are solidifying their positions in the newly liberated territory. They are also continuing to advance towards Melitopol.

Ukraines Defense Ministry reported the liberation of the village of Urozhayne in Donetsk Oblast on August 16.

Overall, in June, the Defense Forces reclaimed nine settlements in southern and eastern Ukraine. Additionally, in July, Ukraine liberated the village of Staromayorske, located next to Urozhayne in Donetsk Oblast.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The overwhelming majority, or 90.4% of Ukrainians, do not agree to recognise the territories occupied by the Russians as part of the Russian Federation, and another 73.8% support Ukraine's NATO entry, survey results say.

Source: survey by Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Charitable Foundation, jointly with the sociological service of the Razumkov Center

Details: The survey shows that less than 5% of Ukrainians are ready to make any territorial concessions in order to end the war. A slightly higher number of Ukrainians, 18%, expressed their willingness to give up Ukraine's future membership in NATO.

No more than 13% of Ukrainians are ready to agree to the reduction of the size of the Armed Forces in peacetime, which was allegedly discussed in Istanbul in 2022.

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No more than 17-18% of respondents are ready to give the Russian language official status, or to abandon the policy of decommunisation, in favour of the Kremlin.

Respondents in Ukraine's south and, to a slightly greater extent, in its east demonstrate a somewhat greater willingness to make concessions (except for territorial ones). However, even in these regions, the majority of respondents still consider any of the mentioned concessions unacceptable.

Reference: The survey was conducted by the face-to-face method using a stratified multistage sample. The structure of the sample population reproduces the demographic structure of the adult population of the studied territories as of the beginning of 2022 (by age, sex, and type of settlement).

2019 respondents over the age of 18 were surveyed. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3%. At the same time, additional systematic deviations of the sample may be caused by the consequences of the Russian aggression, in particular, the forced evacuation of millions of citizens.

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KABUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Trade between Afghanistan and neighboring Iran reached 512 million U.S. dollars in the first four months of current year on the Persian Calendar, which begins from March 21, local media quoted an Afghan official as saying on Tuesday.

According to a TOLOnews report, of the trade volume, Afghanistan's export to Iran hit 6 million dollars during the period, while the import totaled 506 million dollars, said Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The report said that Afghan businesspeople are calling on the caretaker government to build more facilities at the crossings in order to increase export to Iran.

A major trade route via railway between Afghanistan and neighboring Iran was formally opened in west Afghanistan's Herat province in July, which is expected to boost the country's trade with Iran further. 
University of North Florida is providing bootcamp classes for students to build their skills in the growing field of AI.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

According to the UNF website, the school is offering two classes for the six-month program: AI & Machine Learning and DevOps. The school explains that both skills are in high demand right now with the rise of AI, so the classes are meant to help students prepare for the growing market.

UNF is partnering with Fullstack Academy to launch this new program, and the entire course can be taken online. UNF and Fullstack Academy are also offering up to $1,500 in potential scholarships to students that apply.

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Interested parties need to apply by Sept. 5 to participate in this session. Classes start Sept. 11.

For more information on how to apply, visit AI Bootcamp page on the UNF website.

Read: JSO reminds online sellers they can use substations as meeting places following shooting over iPad

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The Los Angeles City Council is set to take up a proposed four-year salary agreement with the union that represents nearly 9,000 officers on Wednesday. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Mayor Karen Bass ' four-year package of raises and bonuses at the Los Angeles Police Department would add an estimated $384 million to that agency's annual budget by the end of the contract's fourth year, according to figures prepared by the city's top labor negotiator.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said the tentative agreement with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents police officers, would likely push police spending above $3.6 billion by 2027, up from the $3.2 billion budgeted for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.

Those estimates assume that the department will have just above 9,100 officers by the end of the contract. And they are sure to reignite the debate over LAPD spending in at City Hall, just months after the council signed off on Mayor Karen Bass' plan for hiring hundreds of new officers.

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who has long argued for moving money out of the LAPD and into other services, called the contract financially irresponsible, saying she worries about how the city will pay for it if a recession hits.

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Hernandez, who represents part of the Eastside, said she expects the contract's new raises, bonuses and other incentives will consume a combined $1 billion over the life of the agreement, depriving the council of funds to pay for raises for thousands of other city employees.

"I'm very concerned that we're not going to move with equity  that because we put such a huge investment in this contract, other contracts and other city workers will be left behind," she said.

The proposed agreement is part of the mayor's effort to halt the steady decline in staffing underway at the LAPD, which had 9,011 officers earlier this month, down from about 10,000 four years ago. In recent months, Bass has pushed for the hiring of up to 780 officers in the current budget year, plus the recruitment of about 200 retirees on an interim basis.

Council President Paul Krekorian, who sits with Bass on the council's bargaining committee, said the agreement would help the LAPD attract new recruits by ensuring its salaries are competitive.

Read more: LAPD officers would receive raises, higher starting pay under deal struck by Bass, union

"Will there be difficult choices to be made as we go forward? There will be," Krekorian said. "But there will also be very unfortunate consequences if we don't make this kind of investment in public safety."

The tentative agreement heads to the council's three-member personnel committee, which is headed by Councilmember Tim McOsker, who represented the LAPD union for several years as an attorney and registered lobbyist at City Hall.

That panel meets Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. to review the agreement. The full council is set to take up the agreement later in the day.

The vote comes at a time when violent crime is down compared with the same period last year. Homicides dropped by 24% during the reporting period that ended Aug. 12 while robberies have decreased 13%, according to figures reported by the LAPD.

At the same time, the department has seen a spate of police shootings this summer  six over the past month.

Activists have voiced alarm over those incidents, two of which were fatal, with some accusing Bass of "coddling" the department. Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, said the LAPD "shouldn't be rewarded for killing our people."

"It's unfair and it's outrageous that LAPD can simply waltz in, the L.A. Police Protective League can simply walk into the mayor's office and say, 'We want a 13% increase' and it's given to them," she said.

The salary agreement was ratified earlier this month by the members of the Police Protective League, which waged an expensive campaign against Bass during last year's mayoral election. In recent months, however, the union has spoken favorably about Bass' focus on recruitment and retention.

In a statement, the union's board of directors said Tuesday that it is looking to restore the ranks of LAPD officers "responsibly." That goal is shared by "Bass and the overwhelming majority of the City Council," the union said.

"This contract represents a smart investment designed to keep Angelenos safe by providing incentives to retain experienced officers and to recruit qualified candidates to enter the police academy," the statement said.

Bass, in her own statement, said the contract would help to address what she called a crisis over LAPD hiring and retention. Of the 986 police officers who have left the department since mid-2017, 82% were with the department for 10 years or less, according to city budget figures.

The proposed contract would boost the starting pay of officers by nearly 13%, while also providing four raises of 3% over a four-year period. That would push LAPD starting salaries above $86,000  higher than those in Pasadena, Long Beach and Burbank, but lower than those in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, according to Szabo's report.

To dissuade officers from leaving for other agencies, the agreement would provide retention bonuses much earlier in an officer's career, while providing larger ones to those working at the LAPD for more than a decade.

Those bonuses, combined with the scheduled pay increases, would increase officers' overall wages by 6% this year, 4% in the contracts second year, 5% in the third and 5% in the fourth, Szabo and the union said.

"By simultaneously increasing starting salaries and adding retention pay for officers with less than ten years of service, the proposed [contract] will provide greater incentive for newly minted officers to remain with LAPD, which will have an immediate impact on recruitment and retention," Szabo wrote in his report.

Those arguments have not persuaded Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, a former labor organizer who sits on the personnel committee. Soto-Martinez, who opposes the deal, said money is not the reason why no one wants to join the LAPD.

"I think the most honest thing that I've heard about why we're at these LAPD numbers was from an LAPD officer," Soto-Martinez said. "He said to me that 'nobody wants to be a police officer because we have an image problem.'"

Bass called earlier this year for the LAPD to be restored to 9,500 officers by summer 2024. So far, Police Academy classes have not come close to the 60 recruits that would be needed to reach that goal.

Szabo said the city has money in this year's budget to cover the first year of the union contract, which would necessitate an additional $123 million in salary, healthcare and pension costs. Because police hiring has been slow, the LAPD is expected to absorb at least a portion of those costs, he said.

Szabo's four-year estimate of $384 million relied on the assumption that the department would have 9,103 officers by 2027, below the number proposed by Bass in her budget.

The contract's four-year cost would reach an estimated $391 million if the city makes greater progress with its hiring plan, reaching 9,293 officers, Szabo said. That's the amount Bass hopes to hire in the coming year, not including the retirees she hopes to bring back to the LAPD, he said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A pilot with United Airlines is currently on leave after footage of him chopping at a parking lot gate with an ax went viral last week.

Kenneth Henderson Jones, 63, allegedly gave the gate a series of whacks after hitting his breaking point while waiting to exit an employee parking area at the Denver International Airport, the Adams County Sheriffs Office wrote in a report shared with the Associated Press.

Jones told deputies he became upset after seeing multiple cars backed up behind all three of the lots exit lanes, the AP reported.

Which airlines are most likely to bump you? DOT data explains

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The incident, which took place August 2, was captured in footage obtained by Nexstars KDVR. In the video clip, a man dressed in a pilots uniform can be seen repeatedly chopping at the gate with an ax. It only breaks and falls to the ground after rising to let a truck pass through.

The man then moves out of the lanes of traffic and appears to walk back into the parking lot.

The man told deputies he had hit a breaking point after cars became backed up in all three exit lanes. (Denver International Airport)

Afterward, an employee of the parking lot reportedly confronted Jones and took the ax during a scuffle, the AP reported.

Jones was apprehended by Denver police shortly afterward and charged with criminal mischief, the Adams County Sheriffs Office confirmed.

In a statement, United Airlines said Jones has been removed from the schedule and is on leave while the airline investigates.

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The University of Minnesota notified law enforcement as well as state and federal regulatory agencies about a potentially massive data breach a month ago, U officials confirmed Tuesday.

In a written statement in response to Star Tribune questions, spokesman Jake Ricker said that on July 21, the U "became aware that an unauthorized party claimed to possess sensitive data allegedly taken from the University's systems."

The U didn't immediately provide information about how it was alerted to the breach or the the scope. A July 21 report from the Cyber Express, a news site, outlines a hacker's claims that they had accessed some 7 million Social Security numbers at the university dating to 1989. The report said the hacker accessed the university's data warehouse to analyze the effects of affirmative action in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limits the consideration of race in college admissions

"First, you have to determine somebody claims something, but is there evidence that it actually is true?" U Interim President Jeff Ettinger said Tuesday. He said the U is investing "fairly significant resources" to try to determine how many people's information was accessed "and precisely who."

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"We have to know who to notify," he said.

Ricker said the university began an investigation and hired "outside global forensics professionals to help determine the validity of the party's claims, and to ensure the security of the University's systems."

Ricker said the university has been in regular contact with the FBI and will continue to cooperate in any active investigation. The "preliminary assessment" is that the accessed data is from 2021 and earlier.

Since late July, the university has taken steps bolster its overall system security with multi-factor authentication and increased monitoring, Ricker said.

"The University has also run additional scans that did not reveal ongoing suspicious activity related to the incident," he wrote.

If sensitive data was accessed, the U pledged to notify those affected and help protect against misuse of their information as required by law, Ricker said. As required by law, he said the university has also notified the U.S. Department of Education and state legislative auditor.

The U.S. Department of Education didn't immediately release information Tuesday.

Minnesota Legislative Auditor Judy Randallsaid U officials notified her July 21 and she has been in regular contact with their internal auditor to learn more about their processes for protecting data, what lessons they're learning and what changes they might make in the future.

"For now, we are letting them do their work to investigate what happened, the extent of it," Randall said.

A spokesperson for the local FBI office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ricker said the "safety and privacy of all members of the University community are among the University's top priorities. The University investigates these situations immediately and fully, and will keep the community informed as additional, relevant information becomes available."
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Six soldiers and four terrorists were killed in a clash in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, a military statement said.

The incident happened in the province's South Waziristan district, where the clash broke out between the soldiers and the terrorists, the Pakistan Army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.

Two terrorists were also injured in the exchange of fire, the ISPR added.

Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area, the statement added.

"Armed forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve," the statement added. 
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it will hold runway safety meetings at 90 airports over the next few weeks after a series of troubling close-call aviation incidents.

Earlier this month, the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were investigating a near collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet in San Diego.

The NTSB is investigating seven runway incursion events since January, including the San Diego incident.

In March, the FAA said it was taking steps to improve its air traffic control operations after near-miss incidents, telling employees: "There is no question that we are seeing too many close calls."

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At the "Runway Safety Action Team" meetings taking place through the end of September, the FAA said representatives from the FAAs air traffic organization, airlines, pilots, airport vehicle drivers and others will "come together to identify unique risks to surface safety at that airport and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate those risks."

The FAA has been without a permanent administrator since April 2022. President Joe Biden's nominee to head the agency Phil Washington withdrew in March and the White House has yet to pick a new nominee.

Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg since June has been serving as acting FAA administrator in addition to her USDOT duties.

The FAA said its preliminary review of the Aug. 11 incident showed an air traffic controller at San Diego International Airport cleared the Cessna to land even though Southwest Airlines Flight 2493 had already been told to taxi onto the same runway and await instructions to depart.

A similar near-collision incident occurred in February in Austin, Texas, when a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Boeing 737 came within about 115 feet (35 meters) in poor visibility conditions. The controller had cleared the FedEx plane to land and the Southwest plane to depart.

The FAA held a safety summit and issued a safety alert in March to airlines, pilots and others citing the "need for continued vigilance and attention to mitigation of safety risks."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Bernadette Baum)
The Biden administration Tuesday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials it said are responsible for the forced assimilation of more than one million Tibetan children in government-run schools.

The move is likely to draw pushback from Beijing ahead of a high-profile visit by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo next week, which both the U.S. and China see as an important trip to address a tense but necessary economic relationship between the two countries.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the U.S. issued the visa restrictions in response to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) employing coercive policies on the Tibetan population that seek to eliminate Tibets distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans.

We urge PRC authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and throughout other parts of the PRC, the secretary said in the statement. We will continue to work with our allies and partners to highlight these actions and promote accountability.

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The State Department typically does not identify individuals who are under visa restrictions over what they describe as privacy concerns.

The U.S. views the territory of Tibet as a country occupied by the PRC and wrote that there are significant human rights issues taking place in its 2022 Country Report on Human Rights. It listed credible reports of extrajudicial and arbitrary killings by the government, torture, transnational repression and severe restrictions on religion and freedom of belief, among other abuses.

Beijing views Tibet as part of China and often pushes back against Washington imposing sanctions over human rights concerns, criticizing the U.S. as interfering in its sovereign affairs.

Still, the visa restrictions were welcomed by the International Campaign for Tibet, a Tibetan human rights organization based in the U.S.

Chinas unconscionable separation of Tibetan children from their families cannot be left unchecked. It shows the depths of Beijings plan to eliminate the Tibetan way of life and turn Tibetans into loyal followers of the [Chinese Communist Party], Tencho Gyatso, the organizations president, said in a statement.

As the Dalai Lama often says, Tibetan culture, based on peace and compassion, has value to offer to the entire world, the statement continues. This boarding school program targets the most vulnerable and impressionable minds and is aimed at converting Tibetans into Chinese, cementing the Chinese governments control over Tibet and annihilating the Tibetan culture and way of life.

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The U.S. Embassy in Belarus asked American citizens on Aug. 21 to depart the country immediately, shortly after Lithuania closed two of its border crossings.

On Aug. 18, Vilnius decided to close two border crossings with Belarus at Tverecius-Vidzy and Sumskas-Losha, leaving four checkpoints still open. The governments of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia said that further closures may come.

The U.S. citizens have been told to consider departing via the remaining crossings with Lithuania and Latvia, or by a plane, the embassy's statement said. Google Flights listed no connections between the U.S. and Belarus, with flights to European capitals costing thousands of dollars.

Americans are not allowed to enter Poland from Belarus, and the embassy discouraged them from traveling to Russia or to Ukraine.

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The embassy also asked the U.S. citizens not to travel to Belarus due to Minsk's "facilitation of Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, the buildup of Russian military forces in Belarus, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, the potential of civil unrest, (and) the risk of detention."

The tensions at Belarus' borders with Poland and the Baltic countries have been mounting since 2021 when Minsk engineered a migrant crisis.

Concerns among NATO's eastern members spiked again following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and more recently when fighters of the Russian Wagner Group began moving to Belarus following their short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin.

However, over a thousand of them have reportedly departed due to low pay, Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on Aug. 19.

In response to the escalating tensions, countries at NATO's eastern flank began reinforcing their eastern borders and limiting the number of border crossings.

Read also: National Resistance Center: Wagner fighters leave Belarus due to low pay

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with El Salvadors Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill at the State Department in Washington.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Monday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and welcomed the recent release of activist Ahmed Douma and others, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned prominent activist Douma, along with a number of prisoners, state TV said on Saturday.

Douma, a leading figure in the pro-democracy revolt that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak , was detained a decade ago and sentenced in 2019 to 15 years in prison for rioting and attacking security forces.

"The Secretary welcomed the recent release of activist Ahmed Douma and others and reaffirmed the importance of progress on human rights to strengthening the U.S.-Egypt partnership," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

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Last month, authorities also freed rights researcher Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohamed el-Baqer after they were pardoned by al-Sisi.

Since late 2021 Egypt has taken a number of steps that it says are aimed at addressing human rights, including amnesties for some prominent prisoners. In May, authorities launched a national dialogue intended to generate debate around the country's political, social and economic future.

Critics have dismissed the moves as cosmetic and say arrests have continued.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in WashingtonEditing by Marguerita Choy)
The Japan-based guided-missile destroyer Howard, whose commanding officer was fired Saturday, suffered a soft grounding this month as it pulled into Bali for a scheduled port visit, according to Navy officials.

On the morning of Aug. 10, USS Howard (DDG 83) experienced an apparent soft grounding shortly before arriving in Bali, Indonesia, for a scheduled port visit, Lt. Luka Bakic, a spokesperson for U.S. 7th Fleet, said in an email to Navy Times. Upon indication of potential grounding, watch standers took immediate action to protect the crew and the ship.

The ship was able to return to normal operations under its own power and propulsion, Bakic said. There were no injuries as a result of the mishap.

The incident is currently under investigation, according to Bakic.

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The Navy relieved the destroyers commanding officer, Cmdr. Kenji Igawa, from his duties Saturday due to loss of confidence in his ability to command, the service said in a statement. The Navy did not specifically say that the grounding and Igawas ouster are connected.

Cmdr. Igawa will be administratively reassigned to the staff of Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, the Navy said in a statement Sunday.

Capt. Edward Angelinas, the former commanding officer of the guided-missile cruiser Robert Smalls and guided-missile destroyer John McCain, is filling in as commanding officer until a permanent replacement is identified for the Howard.

Angelinas assumed command of the McCain in October 2017, after the ships commanding officer and executive officer were fired following the vessels fatal collision in August. The mishap killed 10 sailors.

Navy investigating grounding of cargo ship in Bahrain

Igawa, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004, previously served as the executive officer of the Howard. He became the commanding officer of the ship in December 2022.

In June, the Navy released a news story about Igawa and his journey as a Japanese-American naval officer. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Igawa served as a communications officer providing linguistic skills and cultural insight into Japanese culture aboard the guided-missile destroyer Stethem, based in Yokosuka, Japan, according to the story.

Its an honor, and privilege to be working alongside and for my captain, Cmdr. Kenji Igawa, Howards Command Master Chief Jarriel C. Gardner said in the Navy news release.

You wont find a more selfless and hard-working leader  an American of Americans, and its amazing to see a commanding officer in charge of a U.S. warship stationed in Japan with ethnic roots that tie him back to Japan, Gardner said.

Retired surface warfare officer Bradley Martin, now a a senior policy analyst with the Rand Corp. and director of their National Security Supply Chain Institute, said in an email to Navy Times that the definition of soft grounding is a bit subjective.

Typically though, a soft grounding means the ship could maneuver free with its own power and encountered only slight damage, he said. In contrast, a hard grounding means the ship needed assistance to maneuver free and suffered significant damage.

The Howard is based in Yokosuka, Japan, and is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15.

In July, the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship Alan Shepard ran aground in Bahrain at the ASRY shipyard in Al Hidd. The ship didnt suffer any significant damage, and no personnel sustained injuries. The incident remains under investigation.
The biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy , a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, was condemned for conspiracy-tinged remarks about the events of 9/11 and the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers, Ramaswamy said, in a profile published by the Atlantic on Monday.

Related: Lives lost, poverty, an arms race, rights destroyed  the continuing cost of 9/11

Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if were doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to.

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Charles P Pierce, a writer for Esquire, said: There is not a single sentence in this paragraph that doesnt disqualify this guy from being president of the United States.

The events of 9/11  and the absence of any US government plot  were established by an official commission, a bipartisan group which published its final report in July 2004.

On 11 September 2001, four planes took off from Boston, Washington and Newark before being hijacked by terrorists. Two planes hit the towers of the World Trade Center, in Manhattan. One hit the Pentagon in Virginia. A passenger revolt on the fourth plane brought it down in a field in Pennsylvania before it could reach its target, the Capitol or the White House.

The death toll was 2,977. Thousands were hurt. More than 2,000 survivors and first responders have died from cancers and other disorders related to the crash sites.

The US deemed al-Qaida responsible, spawning wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and operations elsewhere in which millions died.

In the Atlantic profile, Ramaswamy, 38, did not confine his conspiracy-laced remarks to 9/11. He made that comment after being asked: What was the truth about January 6?, the deadly attack on Congress by supporters of Donald Trump seeking to overturn the 2020 election.

I dont know, Ramaswamy said, but we can handle it. Whatever it is, we can handle it. Government agents. How many government agents were in the field? Right?

Ramaswamy launched his presidential campaign as a rank outsider but has improved in polling to challenge Ron DeSantis, the hard-right governor of Florida, for second place to Trump.

Ramaswamy, DeSantis and other candidates are due to appear in the first debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Ramaswamys remarks about 9/11 seem likely to be raised.

Trump is skipping the debate. But the former president also has a history of controversial comments about 9/11, including claiming thousands and thousands of Muslims in New Jersey were seen celebrating the fall of the towers in New York (they were not) and saying he owned the tallest building in lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center fell (he did not).

Seeking to appeal to Trump voters, Ramaswamy seems eager to cover similar ground. Earlier this month, on the rightwing Blaze TV, he was asked if he thought 9/11 was an inside job or happened exactly like the government tells us.

I dont believe the government has told us the truth, Ramaswamy said. Im driven by evidence and data. What Ive seen in the last several years is we have to be skeptical of what the government does tell us.

Ramaswamy later said he was referring to what is known or not known about links between the 9/11 attackers and the government of Saudi Arabia. But the Wall Street Journal, based in downtown Manhattan, was among those to rebuke him.

Referring to a notorious conspiracy theorist, the papers editorial board said: Oh, man. What evidence and data is he talking about? An Alex Jones broadcast?

It added: More such flights into political exotica will encourage many voters to conclude that Mr Ramaswamy isnt ready for his closeup, much less the demands of the presidency.

Ramaswamy protested against such treatment, on platforms including an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. In that conversation, Ramaswamy said controversy over his comments about 9/11 would not prove a campaign-ender, adding: I explicitly said that the government absolutely lied to us. The 9/11 commission lied. The FBI lied. Now, is this a core point of my campaign? No, its not.

He also claimed to be speaking the truth youre not supposed to speak.

Then came the Atlantic profile.

Ammar Moussa, Democratic national press secretary and rapid response director, wrote: Oh my god. Not only is Vivek spreading conspiracy theories about January 6, but now is implying the federal government was behind 9/11? What are we doing here?

Thomas Lecaque, a historian at Grand View University in Iowa, went harder: I think its legitimate to say Vivek Ramaswamy should be treated like a 9/11 conspiracy nut and given the complete lack of respect, time, and media space that deserves.
The state of Florida will square off with voting-rights plaintiffs in Tallahassee this week in a high-stakes redistricting battle that could have national implications as both sides argue over the constitutionality of protections for Black voters.

The one-day hearing on Thursday follows the states stark admission: Gov. Ron DeSantis  congressional map violated the states safeguards against diminishing the electoral influence of racial minorities. DeSantis lawyers will argue those protections infringe upon the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and should be thrown out.

The two sides will present their arguments in Tallahassee before Second Judicial Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh, a Rick Scott appointee, who could approve a new map in time for the 2024 elections. The judges ruling will likely be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, where DeSantis has appointed the majority of justices.

If DeSantis gets his way, Florida courts would go further than the U.S. Supreme Court has and would advance the legal argument, pushed by many conservatives, that its inherently wrong to preserve the political voice of Black voters. That could set Floridas anti-gerrymandering Fair District standards and the federal Voting Rights Act in conflict with the U.S. Constitution, and open the door to Floridas case being used to dismantle voting protections nationwide.

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Its a gambit for the governor and presidential candidate whose education and corporate governance mandates have demonstrated his opposition to policies that aim to advance racial equity. But it also gives DeSantis the opportunity to become a hero in right-wing circles.

Its a very aggressive play on the part of Gov. DeSantis and Republicans, really pushing toward a vision of a race-blind Constitution, said Michael Li, senior counsel for the Brennan Centers Democracy Program.

The argument, he said, seems focused on building DeSantis political brand. Its not a legal strategy. Its a political strategy. Win or lose, you get some political benefit out of having this fight.

This is the congressional districts map submitted by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by the Legislature that may now be revised to recreate a North Florida district that favors the election of a Black candidate.

The lawsuits claim

Last year, civil-rights groups sued the state over its congressional map, alleging it violated the Florida Constitution by diminishing Black voting power, discriminating against Black voters and intentionally drawing districts to benefit Republicans.

The governor initially defended the map but, in the surprise joint filing this month, the states lawyers admitted the new map diminishes Black voters ability to elect candidates of their choice.

The state and plaintiffs agreed to focus on North Floridas congressional district and debate whether voter-approved protections in the state Constitution for minority voting rights violate the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs dropped their partisan gerrymandering and race-discrimination claims, ensuring the court wouldnt strike down any districts elsewhere in Florida.

In exchange, the state agreed to an expedited timeline to potentially restore the boundaries for a district that stretches from Tallahassee to Jacksonville and was formerly held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, if the plaintiffs succeed.

The district was first ordered in 2015 by the courts after the Republican-led Legislature drew a map the court determined had violated anti-gerrymandering provisions in the Florida Constitution. Voters approved the amendments in 2010 with more than 63% of voters in support.

DeSantis and his staff have said they believe the Florida Supreme Court wrongly decided that case.

In this version of a congressional redistricting map released Nov. 29, 2021, by the Florida House of Representatives, the North Florida district represented by Al Lawson (its numbered 3 at the top right) was configured similarly to how it had been.

Where the Voting Rights Act factors in

At the heart of this years case is something called the non-diminishment or non-retrogression standard, language in Floridas Constitution that largely mirrors the federal Voting Rights Act. Voters from a racial minority, it says, cant have their ability to elect preferred candidates diminished.

Those protections, mirroring Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, used to apply to certain counties across the country, particularly in the South and including Florida. But in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in Shelby v. Holder struck down the formula for determining the minority voting protections in those jurisdictions. Floridas Fair Districts amendments, however, ensured the protections continued in the state Constitution.

Now, the named defendants in the case  Secretary of State Cord Byrd, the Florida House and the Florida Senate  have asked the Tallahassee court to strike those safeguards.

This is a preview into how the governor views the Voting Rights Act, said ACLU of Florida voting-rights attorney Nicholas Warren.

If Florida courts strike down near-identical wording to Section 5s non-diminishment language, it could lead to more limitations on protecting racial minorities in redistricting.

The non-retrogression standard served very well for half a century, and Gov. DeSantis efforts are just one further step to weaken minority voting strength, said Jeff Wice, a professor at New York Law School, where he leads the New York Census and Redistricting Institute.

Even if the courts wont strike down the standard, the state has asked the court to at least adopt new rules around when it would apply, ensuring North Floridas Black voters wouldnt qualify for the protections.

The states lawyers asserted that DeSantis could buck the voter-approved Fair District provisions and any other constitutional requirements if he finds them in conflict with federal law. His legal team went so far as to argue that amendments ratified by the citizens deserve less legal protections than statutes enacted by the Legislature. This posture contrasts sharply with the governors removal of two elected state attorneys, whom he chastised for allegedly failing to enforce state laws.

A stunning legal strategy

Admitting to reducing Black voting power in court is stunning for a legal strategy, said Li of the Brennan Center. North Florida has had a congressional district for three decades that allowed Black voters to elect their preferred candidate, and its unheard of for a state to eliminate a protected district after its creation, he said.

The states admission that it diminished Black electoral strength has other potential benefits. Avoiding a trial reduces the chances DeSantis could face the embarrassment Republicans suffered last decade when top staffers testified at trial about their close coordination with political consultants.

How sleuths decoded redistricting conspiracy

DeSantis has shielded his staff from disclosing much of their internal conversations about his decision to veto a previous map and draw districts that reduced Black voters electoral power in North Florida, claiming the conversations were privileged.

A separate federal trial next month will determine if the state intentionally discriminated against Black voters, a more challenging task for plaintiffs who will have to prove intent.

Contact Andrew Pantazi of the Tributary at Andrew.Pantazi@jaxtrib.org and @apantazi. Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas.

This story is published in partnership with The Tributary, a Florida-based nonprofit newsroom.
Four years after its closure, Minneapolis' most visible homeless encampment has returned to a stretch of Hwy. 55 near the East Phillips neighborhood  filling up with residents who say they've been chased out of other encampments around the city.

The Wall of Forgotten Natives opened in 2018, attracting unsheltered people from across the city and beyond.

Coordinated efforts by multiple agencies housed enough of the camp's occupants that it was disbanded in 2019. But in the years since, encampments spread across Minneapolis, along with local government efforts to shut them down and relocate residents. It's a process that's frustrated both unsheltered people  including many who came and went from a news conference at the Wall of Forgotten Natives  and neighbors in areas where encampments have been persistent.

"When you think about it, in five years, what have we done? We've literally gone around in a  circle," said Keiji Narikawa, who does addiction outreach to homeless friends and relatives around Little Earth of United Tribes.

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The challenges of addressing the encampments and assisting their residents have fallen to multiple government agencies. The Hwy. 55 encampment, along with others along highways elsewhere in Minneapolis, sits on land managed by MnDOT. But when MnDOT closes camps on its property, it displaces people onto city land and vice versa, leading to complaints among neighbors of government agencies pushing the problem on each other rather than working together to find lasting solutions.

Mayor Jacob Frey , who promised to end chronic homelessness within five years if elected mayor in 2017, declined to be interviewed Monday.

His office supplied a statement instead: "Since the start of his public service career, one of Mayor Frey's top priorities has been affordable housing. Under his leadership, the City of Minneapolis has invested record amounts of money and staff resources into building and sustaining affordable housing programs and initiatives  in addition to partnering with Hennepin County on continuing to build out our response to homelessness."

The new wall formed Thursday after city crews closed encampments at the nearby Bessemer apartments near Franklin and Cedar avenues. Fencing erected there pushed unsheltered people back to the strip of MnDOT land along the highway. A recent count totaled 61 tents, holding roughly 130 people, said organizer Nicole Mason.

Mason and a rotation of other Native community leaders are keeping watch at the entrance to the camp, where a sign painted Monday morning read, "Five Years Still Here." They said they're trying to keep away drug dealers, traffickers and others who tend to prey on homeless people.

"Every time the city evicts, relatives go missing," said Mason. "The services that are offered are undercut by the evictions. Shelter does not help our people because there's not enough room, and shelters can be violent and dangerous."

Tents have periodically returned to the encampment over the years, but organizers of its newest iteration say they are taking a stand. They're asking the city to stop clearing encampments without providing dignified housing, addiction treatment and replication of low-barrier programs that have been well-received by the homeless community, such as the Avivo indoor tiny-home village.

City officials frequently cite record construction of affordable housing under the 2040 Comprehensive Plan as well as investments in public housing, the Stable Homes Stable Schools program for homeless students and Minneapolis Homes program to increase minority homeownership as steps it has taken to fight homelessness.

The city has taken a no-tolerance approach to encampments, with officials this spring explaining they will not provide sanitation services like toilets, handwashing stations and trash pickup for fear of making them a more permanent fixture.

While Hennepin County and nonprofit outreach workers routinely visit camps to connect their occupants with supportive housing and treatment, outreach organizations have blamed the city's process of clearing encampments for making it harder to gain clients' trust and locate them when apartments become available.

No peace for neighborhoods

Where East 31st Street crosses beneath the I-35W bridge in the Central community, encampments tend to reappear on MnDOT land as well as across the street on the city boulevard each time they're cleared. Neighbors near the intersection are at their wit's end with the needles, trash, human refuse, and car and garage break-ins that accompany people seeking cash to feed powerful addictions.

Seventeen-year-old Karen Chauca said she resents the fact that her parents had to install security cameras all over their house and get a large dog "just to feel safe in our neighborhood, and we still don't feel safe at all."

Two weeks ago MnDOT put up a fence to prevent people from sleeping under the bridge. As a result, many of the camp's occupants migrated a few blocks north to the Wells Fargo campus in Phillips West.

Seeing the same people living in miserable conditions, displaced from one end of the neighborhood to the other, has not brought peace, a group of homeowners gathered on the 3100 block of 3rd Avenue told the Star Tribune earlier this month.

"While I'm happy that the encampment is not here and it's just two blocks further, it's just somebody else's problem," said Dragan Colakovic. Neighbors have been unsuccessful trying to get a meeting with the mayor, he said.

Neighbors say they've also attempted to talk other staff members at the city, MnDOT, the Minneapolis Police Department, 311 and their area crime prevention specialist without much success.

David Peel, who has lived in the neighborhood 31 years, said he's moving to Grand Rapids, Mich., because of what he views as the failure of city leadership to address homelessness and addiction in tandem as a public health issue.

"[Frey is] abdicating the responsibility of the city and pushing it onto the property owners," he said.

Back to the beginning

On Monday morning, Vinny Dionne of the American Indian Community Development Corporation led a crew of residents of the Homeward Bound homeless shelter for Native Americans as they picked up litter around the Wall of Forgotten Natives. There are free showers at the trailer behind the Anishinabe Wakiagun building, he told newcomers.

Kat Yanez, who stayed at the original wall in 2018 with her husband, Earl Monchamp has returned to pitch another tent. Living rough became harder after Monchamp died of an overdose in 2019, she said.

Yanez said she hasn't gotten off the streets yet because she doesn't know how to find subsidized housing on her own, and an unreliable phone makes it difficult to keep in touch with the county's housing outreach workers. Yet emergency shelters feel like "confinement" and "assimilation" to her.

"I think a lot of people start to shut down and not care about their lives," she said. "Because this is not where somebody should be, anywhere outside like this."
HANOI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Vietnam and Kazakhstan have discussed measures to strengthen bilateral trade relations in their talks held here during a three-day stay of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who wrapped up his official visit to Vietnam on Tuesday.

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong met with his Kazakh counterpart on Monday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

During the talks, Thuong suggested the two countries establish a Vietnam-Kazakhstan Business Council and Kazakhstan launch negotiations to upgrade a free trade agreement to further enhance bilateral cooperation, said the report.

The two sides also hoped to promote investment cooperation by enhancing information exchange on investment environment and opportunities, and creating favorable conditions for enterprises to access each other's markets, the report said.

They said they believed the signing of a bilateral visa exemption agreement and a memorandum of understanding on tourism will contribute to enhancing tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Tokayev's visit to Vietnam was the first by a Kazakh president to the Southeast Asian country in 12 years. 
Unified Police crossing guard April McCoy escorts people across 3900 South at 700 West on the border of South Salt Lake and Millcreek on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Salt Lake City is looking to fill vacant crossing guard positions and is offering $17 an hour plus a $250 signing bonus. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

With school starting this week, Salt Lake City seeks to hire some 20 new school crossing guards.

The pay is $17 an hour, a free UTA pass and the city is offering a $250 signing bonus. Last year, school crossing guards in Utahs capital city helped students cross the street 457,074 times.

Robert Ridge, the citys crossing guard program and outreach coordinator, said the city is seeking people who are definitely, personable. You have to be able to pass a background check, a drug screening and a physical capacity test. Youve got to be willing to wake up early and then go back in the afternoon, ideally.

The city is seeking candidates wanting to make a difference in your community, he said.

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Ridge said he occasionally fills in for a crossing guard who calls in sick, is on vacation or cant fulfill their shift for some other reason.

I love it when I can go out and help do the crossings. It just always puts a smile on my face when Im able to get out there and help those kids. Theyre all hilarious. Its fun to see them get excited to go to school and play with all their friends and then go home and tell their parents or whoever how awesome their school day was. Ive never had a bad day doing a crossing, Ridge said.

Crossing guards also demonstrate proper procedures to help children learn the skills they need to keep themselves safe as pedestrians.

Unified Police crossing guard April McCoy escorts people across 3900 South at 700 West on the border of South Salt Lake and Millcreek on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Salt Lake City is looking to fill vacant crossing guard positions and is offering $17 and hour plus a $250 signing bonus. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Flexible shifts are available, with both morning and afternoon crossings available. The city provides all training.

Some school crossing guards he supervises have worked for 20 years helping to ensure the citys students make it safely to and from school, Ridge said.

He said when he fills in for a long-time crossing guard, some students let him know theyd prefer the man or woman who is normally assisting kids at their school because they are another trusted adult in their sphere.

This one kid just kept chanting every day that he wanted his old crossing guard back home and I said Hey, Im a nice guy and hes like Well, I want Barb, Ridge said.

Once Barb was able to return to work the kids were all excited. I know every crossing I go to to cover if a guard is sick or has a vacation planned or whatnot, the kids are not thrilled that theres a new person but Ive learned to not take it personally, he said, laughing.

To apply, visit Salt Lake Citys career center. Applicants who have questions can contact Ridge at 801-535-6589 or email at robert.ridge@slcgov.com.

A Unified Police crossing guard badge is pictured in Millcreek on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Salt Lake City is looking to fill vacant crossing guard positions and is offering $17 an hour plus a $250 signing bonus. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Cal Fire firefighters push boulders in the mud away from a truck in Oak Glen, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2023. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Across the Southland, freeways flooded, motorists were left stranded and drivers spun out as the downpours from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary rolled in.

But despite thrashing rains, boulders tumbling onto highways, washed out roads, floating cars, toppled trees and even a 5.1 earthquake, there were no significant roadway disasters caused by the storm.

While damage is still being assessed, officials say the combination of intense attention to what was expected to be an unprecedented storm, emergency preparation and a Sunday evening landing helped prevent car accidents and vehicles being swept away.

"The 'stay at home, stay informed and stay safe' messaging played a major role in reducing exposure to potential dangers," said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Erik Scott. "We were fortunate because first responders and Angelenos were prepared, heeded warnings, and the weather was less severe than expected."

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The catastrophic flooding that many in Los Angeles County had braced for never came, but the rains brought slides and flooding to mountain and desert roads.

As of Monday afternoon, Caltrans was clearing debris and mud on 13 freeways and highways largely in Kern, Inyo, Mono, Riverside and San Bernadino counties.

For the most part, Los Angeles, where the center of the storm landed for a period, avoided much of the destruction. There were 22 minor mudflows, dozens of traffic accidents, a flooded Sun Valley intersection where one person was rescued and five vehicles stranded, Scott said. There were no reported fatalities.

"It was incredible downpour, but it moved through quickly," said Michael Comeaux, a spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. "We dont have a whole lot of damage to report. ... Part of it is was there was so much advance warning not only from the National Weather Service, but every public agency said it was going to be bad."

Read more: A tropical storm came to the desert, and migrant farmers faced a new danger

Riverside County was among the hardest-hit areas. A foot of mud and debris covered Interstate 10 at Bob Hope Drive in the Thousand Palms area Monday morning.

"When it initially started, there were a number of traffic accidents across roadways throughout Riverside County," said Shane Reichardt, spokesperson for the Riverside County Emergency Management Department. "But we were continuing to push the message that we wanted people to stay indoors and to limit their travel. And a lot of residents took heed to that."

Not all, of course. In Cathedral City on Sunday, Jimmy Laker and his girlfriend, Cindy Gilissen Smith, drove through river-like streets in their Chevy 2500 pickup to help trapped residents, some who had taken refuge on their roof. More than 11 inches of rain fell on Mt. San Jacinto near Palm Springs.

I felt I was pushing my luck, Laker later said. As he drove through the night he could could hear the brakes screaming from all of the mud that got stuck in them.

The region had braced since Wednesday for what had been expected to be the first tropical storm in Southern California in more than eight decades. It weakened significantly before it made landfall, and the region never saw the gale force winds that many feared would come.

And it helped that the most intense part of the storm fell on a Sunday night.

"It was during the weekend, so we didn't have commuter traffic that we might normally see," Reichardt said. "It also helped that the brunt of the storm happened in the evening and overnight hours. So those all those factors together combined to help make that a little bit easier."

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.
Aug. 22 (UPI) -- A California man's home security camera was recording when a bear broke into his apartment, foraged for food, wrecked his TV and took a nap on his bed.

The Kings Beach resident, identified as Brian, said he was boating with friends on Lake Tahoe when his phone received an alert from his Ring camera that motion was detected in his living room.

Brian used his phone to access the camera and was shocked to see a huge black bear inside his apartment.

The resident alerted his landlord and the property manager, who happened to be nearby.

"He slowly walked up to the window where it had broken the screen and gotten through, and peeked in," Brian told Ring. "He then saw that the bear was sleeping on my bed! He started making loud noises and the bear popped up and climbed back out and ran off."

Brian discovered the bear the had left behind a path of destruction including throwing garbage all over the floor, smashing his TV and shredding his bed linens.
IBERIA PARISH, La. (KLFY)  A train collided with an 18-wheeler Monday night in southern Louisiana, causing multiple cars to derail.

The derailment happened around 5 p.m. CT in Iberia Parish, the sheriffs office confirmed.

Video shared with Nexstars KLFY, seen below, shows the trail barreling toward the semi, its trailer blocking the railroad at a crossing. The signals arm appears to have come down on the 18-wheeler, and the train horn can be heard.

Highway 182 was closed from the St. Martin Parish line to Darby Lane due to the derailment. Additional video from the scene shows at least half a dozen rail cars off the tracks.

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Authorities said the driver of the truck, which was stuck on the tracks, and the trains conductor were OK, but the conductor was taken to an area hospital.

Three tankers carrying acrylic acid derailed and no leaks have been found the Iberia Parish Sheriffs Office said. Seven cars with polymer plastic did tip over and spill but authorities said it is not hazardous. The derailed and spilled cars are being addressed immediately.

Its unclear what the truck was transporting on its trailer.

No additional information has been released.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
The weather conditions that fueled record-shattering wildfires in eastern Canada earlier this summer  and sent plumes of hazardous air into the US  were made more likely and more intense by the climate crisis, according to a new report published Tuesday.

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution initiative  which calculates the role of climate change in extreme weather events  found human-caused climate change more than doubled the likelihood of hot, dry and windy conditions that drove the Quebec fires between May and July, and made this fire-prone weather at least 20% more intense.

The severity of Quebecs fire season up to the end of July was also made 50% more intense by climate change, according to the report.

Climate changes impact may be much greater than the studys figures show, said Friederike Otto , co-founder of WWA and senior lecturer at the Grantham Institute in the UK, who added that the report had used the most conservative estimates.

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Wildfires are complex to study because of the tangle of factors that influence them, but scientists say climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is loading the dice in favor of more devastating fires.

Its becoming evident that the dry and warm conditions conducive to wildfires are becoming more common and more intense around the world as a result of climate change, said Clair Barnes, a research associate at the Grantham Institute and a report author.

French firefighters try to extinguish wildfires at Lac Larouche in Quebec, Canada, on June 28, 2023. - Lieutenant Emma UIISC7/SOPFEU/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Canada has experienced an unprecedented fire season this year, amid hot and dry conditions. May to June was the warmest such two-month period in Canada since records began in 1940, breaking the previous record by a substantial margin  0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit).

More than 15 million hectares (over 37 million acres) across the country have been scorched  an area about the size of Illinois. The fires have killed at least 17 people and forced the evacuations of more than 150,000.

Quebec has been particularly affected, with the most area burned of any Canadian province. Wildfires have devastated 5.2 million hectares (12.8 million acres) there so far, about 26 times the average amount burned by late August.

The fires have also caused dangerous levels of air pollution in Canada and across swaths of the US, leading to school closures in both countries and a spike in asthma-related hospital visits. Smoke from the fires even made it to Western Europe.

It is by far the worst wildfire season Canada has ever experienced, and there are still more than two months left to go.

Smoky haze from wildfires in Canada blankets the Bronx borough of New York City on June 7, 2023. - David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

To understand the role of climate change in the fires, the WWA scientists looked at fire weather  including high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions, all of which help fires ignite, spread and intensify.

The scientists used data from the Fire Weather Index  a measure of fire danger  to gauge the persistence of extreme fire conditions as well as the severity of the fire season overall. They then used climate models to understand the role climate change played.

They concluded that a wildfire season as severe as the one Quebec experienced up to the end of July was at least seven times more likely to occur because of climate change, and that human-induced warming made Quebecs total fire weather season at least 50% more intense.

Climate change also made the peak fire weather in Quebec during the same period at least twice as likely and 20% more intense, according to the report.

While Quebecs fires were unprecedented, the report authors wrote, they are no longer extremely unusual.

In todays climate, which is around 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than preindustrial times, similar weather conditions can be expected once every 25 years, the report found.

Around 1,000 fires continue to rage across Canada, with 200 of them burning in the Northwest Territories, where thousands of people were evacuated Friday from the capital Yellowknife. About 35,000 people are under evacuation orders in British Columbia.

A helicopter waterbomber flies above the Cameron Bluffs wildfire near Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. - James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Kira Hoffman, a fire ecologist at the University of British Columbia and the Bulkley Valley Research Centre, who was not involved in the report, said there are many factors that contribute to extreme wildfire seasons, including logging, large-scale clearouts and abandoning Indigenous fire stewardship techniques.

But all these factors interact with the climate crisis, she told CNN. A rapidly changing climate is creating longer, drier and hotter wildfire seasons across Canada, Hoffman said.

One of the major concerns with increasingly intense fire behavior is the impact on wildfire management, said Michael Flannigan, BC research chair for Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science at Thompson Rivers University.

If we see more days above fire intensity thresholds, we will see more escape fires, more area burned and more impacts to society, he told CNN.

Until we stop burning fossil fuels, said Otto in a statement, the number of wildfires will continue to increase, burning larger areas for longer periods of time.

CNNs Brandon Miller contributed to reporting

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured extraordinarily detailed images published today of the Ring Nebula. The gaseous cloud, also called M57 and NGC 6720, contains 20,000 dense globules rich in molecular hydrogen. It sits about 2,500 light years away from Earth.

The first image (above) was taken with the NIRCam (Near InfraRed Camera), one of the Webb Space Telescopes primary sensors. It is designed to detect light in the near-infrared spectrum and can capture remarkably detailed images. NIRCam also took the equally hypnotizing updated image of the Pillars of Creation.

Meanwhile, the second image (below) was captured using the JWSTs MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument). It better highlights the nebulas (roughly) ten concentric arcs beyond its outer edge, likely formed from its central stars interaction with a lower-mass companion in its orbit. In this way, nebulae like the Ring Nebula reveal a kind of astronomical archaeology, as astronomers study the nebula to learn about the star that created it, the European Space Agency wrote in a press release.

Detailed image of the Ring Nebula, captured by the Webb Telescope. It's an enormous gassy ring with reddish outer rings, which move towards more green and blue near the center.

The Ring Nebula was discovered somewhat serendipitously in 1779 by French astronomers Charles Messier and Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix while they searched for comets. Its a planetary nebula, named as such because early researchers mistook their appearances for distant worlds. The Ring Nebula formed from a medium-sized star that shed its outer layers as it exhausted its fuel and approached its demise.

The colourful main ring is composed of gas thrown off by a dying star at the centre of the nebula, the ESA wrote. This star is on its way to becoming a white dwarf  a very small, dense, and hot body that is the final evolutionary stage for a star like the Sun.
A nearly 200-year-old time capsule that had long been forgotten about and was rediscovered earlier this year at one of Americas most important Revolutionary War fortifications is set to be opened next week. It could unlock mysteries about our nations past  or reveal very little.

Either way, historians  especially those focused on the nations fight for independence and the U.S. military  are curious to know whats inside. And so are those at West Point, the nations military academy in New York where the capsule was found.

Theres also a tie  a tenuous one  to Michigan and the state's Polish population: Records show at least four cadets at the academy from Michigan who were likely at West Point when the capsule was created, and it was placed in the base of the academy's Thaddeus Kosciuszko monument, which is undergoing repairs.

A nearly 200-year-old time capsule from 1828 that had long been forgotten about and was rediscovered in 2023 at one of Americas most important Revolutionary War fortifications at West Point, N.Y. It is unknown what is inside.

Academy officials, which carefully examined the capsule, concluded it was put in the monument by cadets in 1828, just 26 years after the academys founding, and then forgotten about. Back then, the academy was much smaller, with only 363 cadets in 1828, including some from Michigan.

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Since then, the academy has grown to more than 4,000 cadets.

More: From serving in secret to delivering a key address, women are more visible in the military

Michigan cadets during that time, academy researchers said, likely included: Ebenezer Sproat Sibley, who graduated in 1827; Thomas A.H. Edwards, class of 1829; Isaac S. Rowland, class of 1831, neither graduated; and Alfred Bush, a 1832 graduate.

Freedom fighter for 2 continents

For those who dont know, Andrzej Tadeusz Bonaventura Kosciuszko, was a Polish general who fought in two wars for independence  first, the American, against Britain, and then the Polish, against Russia  and is regarded as a hero in both places.

A nearly 200-year-old time capsule from 1828 that had long been forgotten about and was rediscovered in 2023 at one of Americas most important Revolutionary War fortifications at West Point, N.Y. It is unknown what is inside.

During Americas Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington selected Kosciuszko, an engineer, to build up West Points defenses. Back then, West Point was a fort. Not just any fort. It was on the Hudson River, a vital waterway, and about 60 miles north of New York.

West Point was so significant that Washington called it Americas most important strategic location. The roads were difficult to travel and the river made it possible to move troops, artillery, food and information. If the British could control the Hudson, they could cut off the colonies in two and win the war.

Kosciuszko, who reached the rank of general, later would return to Poland, and inspired by his experience in America, he led the Polish people to fight, too. As a result, there are Kosciuszko monuments all over the world, including one at West Point and Detroit.

A nearly 200-year-old time capsule from 1828 that had long been forgotten about and was rediscovered in 2023 at one of Americas most important Revolutionary War fortifications at West Point, N.Y. It is unknown what is inside.

Wayne State University  in an article, "Ethnic Layers of Detroit," and video  details where the Detroit monument, one of the largest in the city, came from. It notes that Kosciuszko, was a "freedom fighter for two continents." The casting is a replica of one in Krakow, Poland.

Gen.Thaddeus Kosciuszko statue in Detroit at Michigan Avenue and Third Street in 1976, when it was gifted to the city.

It was a gift from the people of Krakow to commemorate Americas bicentennial.

Opening, replacing the time capsule

As for the time capsule, it is set to be opened at 10:30 a.m. next Monday at West Point.

A nearly 200-year-old time capsule from 1828 that had long been forgotten about and was rediscovered in 2023 at one of Americas most important Revolutionary War fortifications at West Point, N.Y. It is unknown what is inside.

"We are excited to open it and see what the cadets left us nearly two centuries ago," West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland said. "The capsules contents will certainly add to the West Point story and is another example of past generations of cadets gripping hands with present and future generations."

West Point officials said the capsule was found by accident in May.

An inspection of the monument two years ago detected the base had structural cracks. The 8-foot-6-inch bronze Kosciuszko statue was placed in storage. The academys physics and nuclear engineering department X-rayed the capsule, but its unclear whats inside.

There did not appear to be instructions about when the capsule was expected to be opened.

A nearly 200-year-old time capsule from 1828 that had long been forgotten about and was rediscovered in 2023 at one of Americas most important Revolutionary War fortifications at West Point, N.Y. It is unknown what is inside.

It is also unclear what role, if any, the Michigan cadets back then had in the capsule's creation and what was placed in it. Social media speculation abounds, with guesses ranging from documents to old uniforms to cadet secrets to nothing of value at all.

As for the academy, which loves its traditions, it said it plans to start another one by placing a new time capsule into the monuments rebuilt base for future generations, and, of course, better document when it should be opened.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: West Point to open nearly 200-year-old forgotten time capsule
Explainer: How a joint economic and trade cooperation zone connects the Bohai and Red seas

Xinhua) 09:49, August 22, 2023

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a view of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

TIANJIN/CAIRO, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- "From the Bohai Bay to the Red Sea, we measure the 15,000-li-long (7,500-km-long) march of our career with youth," reads a line on the front page of a manual of China-Africa TEDA Investment Co., Ltd.

Thanks to the care of the heads of state of China and Egypt, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (SETC-Zone) has gradually become a demonstration project that aligns the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the development of the Suez Canal Corridor.

Not long ago, the SETC-Zone celebrated its 15th birthday. Xinhua reporters once again visited industrial developer TEDA's headquarters in Tianjin, China and the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) in Egypt to figure out how a cooperation zone in the desert became a bridge of common development and win-win cooperation between the two countries.

A DESERT MIRACLE

In the mid-1990s, Egypt was impressed by the blossoming of China's development zones and solicited China's assistance in establishing a development zone in Suez.

The Suez area, mostly covered by desert, is located in the northeastern part of Egypt and on the north coast of the Red Sea, and is some 120 km away from the capital city of Cairo.

Its geographical location and geological environment are very similar to TEDA -- Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, situated about 150 km to the east of China's capital city Beijing with the Bohai Sea to its east.

In 1998, the State Council, China's cabinet, assigned TEDA to undertake this project, said Qu Defu, chairman of TEDA Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. "In fact, it was replicating Tianjin's 'TEDA model' in the Suez area, and it became a national mission of 'TEDA people,'" said Qu.

In recent years, China-Africa TEDA Investment Co., Ltd., which was jointly established by TEDA Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. and China-Africa Development Fund, opened a new chapter with the construction of the SETC-Zone.

In 2008, the first-phase construction of the SETC-Zone kicked off on an area of 1.34 square km. In 2016, heads of state of China and Egypt unveiled the second-phase of the project, which covers an area of 6 square km.

Over the past 15 years, the cooperation zone has attracted 145 companies to settle in and an investment of more than 1.7 billion U.S. dollars. With sales revenues exceeding 3.8 billion dollars, the businesses in the zone have provided about 5,000 direct jobs and 50,000 employment opportunities in related industries.

Besides office buildings and production lines, supporting facilities such as star-rated hotels and amusement parks have been built.

Ahmad Abdel Baqy, an engineering administrator in the zone, told Xinhua that he and his Chinese colleagues "built the cooperation zone into a beautiful city."

LONG ROOTS LIKE DESERT PLANT

On Jan. 21, 2016, the leaders of the two countries jointly unveiled the second phase of the China-Egypt SETC-Zone. That was the highlight for the "TEDA people," who regard investor-orientation as a priority, and uphold the spirit of the desert plant "Alhagi sparsifolia."

"Alhagi sparsifolia is a low-growing shrub in Egypt. It does not 'drink' a drop of water all the year, even under high temperatures, and its root can reach as long as 40 to 50 meters. It's like our striving journey here," said Wei Jianqing, deputy general manager of China-Africa TEDA Investment Co., Ltd.

The company helped cultivate the industrial chain in Egypt according to local conditions based on production capacity cooperation, Wei added.

"For me and most Egyptians and even people in other Middle Eastern countries, fiberglass manufacturing was an entirely unfamiliar term," recalled Ahmed Soliman, deputy general manager of Jushi Egypt Fiberglass Co., Ltd.

The cooperation zone supported Chinese enterprise Jushi to establish a subsidiary company in Egypt, which has enabled the Egyptian fiberglass industry to grow from scratch and made Egypt a major fiberglass producer in the world. What's even more commendable is that the company bolstered the seawater desalination project since the beginning of its design in order to solve the water problem.

At present, the cooperation zone has attracted many Chinese-funded enterprises such as Jushi, XD-EGEMAC, and Midea, as well as enterprises from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and other countries.

The first-phase construction has been completed, featuring four leading industries, i.e. new building materials, petroleum equipment, high and low voltage equipment, and machinery manufacturing. In the second phase of the project, some 40 companies have settled in, attracting over 300 million dollars of investment.

Meanwhile, the cooperation zone is continuously upgrading from "industrial cluster" to "industry-business collaboration" center. Since 2021, it has successfully promoted the official operation of the first Chinese-funded TEDA-Royal Bonded Warehouse project in Egypt. Besides, it has focused on building an international commodity distribution center, and an automobile and accessories distribution center.

"Even in the three years of COVID-19, 90 percent of enterprises in the zone gained profits. This is the most fulfilling achievement for us as a cooperation platform," said Liu Aimin, chairman of China-Africa TEDA Investment Co. Ltd.

GROWING LIKE AN "ACACIA TREE"

Last month, the SETC-Zone held a 15th anniversary celebration, which also highlighted its "strategic upgrade." Wang Linqiang, employee of TEDA Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., who participated in the event, added a little sense of ceremony to his first trip to Egypt.

From the Cairo International Airport to the cooperation zone, there was vast desolate desert along the way. Together with the bustling cooperation zone, there was also a tall acacia tree that caught his eye.

"It takes many years for an acacia tree to grow from a seed to a tree. I heard from my colleagues that this tree has been here for decades, just like our zone, growing tall and straight," Wang said, pouring two buckets of water on it, honoring the dedication of everyone in China and Egypt to the cooperation zone.

Nahla Emad, 39, is now the CEO of the Egypt-TEDA SCZone Development Company. She said that the cooperation zone has arranged five trainings for her in China, where she learned the basics of an economic and trade cooperation zone, how to formulate an overall plan, how to build and operate the cooperation zone, how to do marketing and so on, giving her great room for growth.

Liu said the proportion of local employees in the cooperation zone has reached 90 percent, of which one-fifth are women.

At the same time, the "TEDA Overseas Model," which is based on the model of TEDA, combined with the experience of the China-Egypt SETC-Zone, has been applied to more than a dozen overseas projects along the Belt and Road through consulting services.

On the new starting point as the cooperation zone marks its 15th anniversary, the "Teda Cooperation Zone 2030 Vision -- Strategic Upgrade Plan" was released, which will further promote the three major projects of industrial agglomeration capacity improvement, industrial service capacity improvement, and industrial supporting capacity improvement, offering better support to Belt and Road cooperation.

SCZone Chairman Waleid Gamaleldien said that the TEDA cooperation zone is located in the hub of Asian, African and European continents, and is an important project for the BRI. With its unique strategic position, he is optimistic about the future of the cooperation zone in the next 15 years, and will be happy to see it become a stellar example of China-Egypt cooperation.

Nahla Emad, CEO of the Egypt-TEDA Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Development Company, is pictured at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Workers operate on the dishwasher production line of Midea (Egypt) Kitchen &Water Heater Appliances Co., Ltd. at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Workers operate on the fiberglass production line of Jushi Egypt Fiberglass Co., Ltd. at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows the bonded warehouse and second-hand car trading center at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a view of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

This photo taken on July 19, 2023 shows the gate for the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Workers work on the dishwasher production line of Midea (Egypt) Kitchen &Water Heater Appliances Co., Ltd. at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows an office building of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a view of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Ahmed Soliman, deputy general manager of Jushi Egypt Fiberglass Co., Ltd., checks on the fiberglass production line of Jushi Egypt at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez province, Egypt, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
NAIROBI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community (EAC) on Tuesday began talks in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to admit Somalia into the regional economic bloc.

Peter Mathuki, the secretary general of the intergovernmental organization, told journalists that the talks will be the final stage before Somalia can join the EAC.

"We will deliver the report of the negotiations to the council of ministers as well as the summit of the heads of states of the EAC before the end of the year," he said.

The EAC member states include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda.

On Jan. 25, the EAC sent a team of technical experts to Somalia to verify and assess the preparedness of Somalia to join the regional bloc as the eighth member.

Mohamud Abdirahman Sheikh Farah, Somali minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, said that his country is keen to join the EAC because it already enjoys close socioeconomic ties with all members of the trading bloc. "We have also received a positive reception from the heads of state of all the EAC members," Farah said.

Rebecca Miano, cabinet secretary in Kenya's Ministry for EAC, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, and Regional Development, said that the EAC verification team has confirmed that Somalia meets the basic requirements of the EAC Treaty for admission of foreign countries into the economic bloc.

Miano noted that during the negotiations, the EAC will highlight to the Somali delegation, the benefits, obligations, and commitments of partner states under the EAC Treaty which will be the basis for the negotiations in good faith by both teams. 
Carol Vorderman has said she would consider euthanasia if she had a terminal illness. (Getty Images)

Carol Vorderman has said she would consider euthanasia if she had a terminal illness and has called for a discussion for it to be legalised in the UK.

The former Countdown star, 62, shared her thoughts on Kathy Burkes Where Theres A Will, Theres A Wake podcast.

Read more: Carol Vorderman thinks legalised euthanasia should be discussed in UK (Evening Standard, 2-min read)

During the episode, Vorderman described a conversation between herself and her brother who lives in the Netherlands. Her brother said that he was going to the funeral of his friend Dave who had died from euthanasia as the practice is legal in the country.

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"[My brother] said 'we're having a party'. I said 'what?' He said, So were all gathering, all these people were going to have a party with Dave. I said, what do you mean? [And] Euthanasia is allowed [in the Netherlands], right? And [Dave] had terminal cancer and had decided that [he wanted Euthanasia]. So, they had the party [and] the next day, Dave died," she said.

Vorderman said it was a 'dignified' way to go, and that she would also consider euthanasia if she was in a similar position.

"It really made me think a lot about [how] I would want similar, to be perfectly honest," she added. "I just thought that was very dignified. I think it is something that should be discussed."

The euthanasia debate

Euthanasia has long prompted a debate over whether it should be legal. In a 2021 YouGov survey, 73% of Brits supported some form of doctor-assisted death for those with terminal illnesses, while 50% supported similar measures for those suffering from a painful but not terminal illness.

What is euthanasia?

Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person's life to relieve suffering. In countries where this is permitted, a doctor may deliberately give a patient a drug they don't otherwise need with the aim of ending their life.

It is worth bearing in mind that not everyone agrees on the terminology for the process, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) points out.

For example, it outlines:

Assisted dying Proponents of the Assisted Dying Bill 2015 in England and Wales argue that this term best describes prescribing life-ending drugs for terminally ill, mentally competent adults to administer themselves after meeting strict legal safeguards.

Assisted suicide This term is often intended to describe giving assistance to die to people with long-term progressive conditions and other people who are not dying, in addition to patients with a terminal illness. The drugs are self-administered.

Voluntary euthanasiaThis term describes a doctor directly administering life-ending drugs to a patient who has given consent.

Euthanasia wouldn't be voluntary if a person was unable to give their consent and another person makes the decision their behalf, perhaps because the ill person previously expressed this wish.

Some feel empowered to take control of the end part of their life when they are suffering. (Getty Images)

Where is euthanasia legal?

Euthanasia, or some form of assisted dying, is legal in the following countries:

Australia: Laws allowing voluntary assisted dying have been passed in each Australian state.

Belgium: Euthanasia was legalised in 2002.

Canada: Voluntary active euthanasia, or physician assisted dying, is legal in Canada for people over 18 with a terminal illness.

Colombia: Assisted suicide was decriminalised in Colombia in 2022.

Luxembourg: Euthanasia was legalised in 2008.

Netherlands: Euthanasia was legalised in 2001.

New Zealand: Voluntary euthanasia was made legal in 2021. Assisted suicide is still illegal.

Portugal: Euthanasia is currently in the process of becoming legal.

Spain: Active euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal.

Is euthanasia legal in the UK?

No. As outlined by the British Medical Association (BMA), in England and Wales:

Euthanasia is illegal and could be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.

Assisting or encouraging another persons suicide is prohibited by s.2 of the Suicide Act 1961, as amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) examines individual cases to decide whether to prosecute. That decision is determined by offence-specific guidelines published in 2010.

A person judged to have assisted the suicide or attempted suicide of another person could face up to 14 years in prison. For euthanasia, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

In Northern Ireland:

Euthanasia is illegal and could be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.

Assisting or encouraging another persons suicide is illegal under s.13 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 1966, which extends the Suicide Act 1961 to Northern Ireland.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) examines individual cases to decide whether to prosecute. That decision is guided by offence-specific guidelines published in 2010.

In Scotland:

Euthanasia is illegal and could be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.

There is no specific offence of assisting or encouraging suicide in Scotland. Any suspected offence would be dealt with under homicide law. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) makes the decision whether to prosecute.

There are no offence-specific guidelines in Scotland and the decision will be taken on the basis of the general prosecution code. A legal challenge to compel the COPFS to produce offence-specific guidelines failed in 2015.

The future of euthanasia in the UK

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur signs a board in support of his Members' Bill on assisted dying, September 2022. (Getty Images)

Individuals and members of Parliament have tried to make the case for legalising euthanasia in the UK.

For example, in England and Wales, Baroness Meacher, a former social worker, crossbench peer and the Chair of Dignity in Dying, introduced a Private Members' Bill on assisted dying on 26 May 2021.

It was debated at its second reading in October that year, passing to Committee Stage. However, it ran out of time and was unable to pass all the required stages before the parliamentary session ended.

In Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur first lodged a Bill proposal on assisted dying in September 2021, lodging a final proposal in September 2022.

On the attitude towards legalising euthanasia in the UK, and whether it might happen, the BMJ states: "Proponents of physician assisted dying, including The BMJ, claim that access to the option gives dying people choice and control over their death and can prevent intolerable and intractable suffering.

"But opponents fear consequences for vulnerable people, for society, and for the medical profession when doctors are permitted actively to induce death. The BMJ thinks it likely to be more a question of when, not if, assisted dying is legalised in the UK, and that all doctors should now engage with the debate.

"The BMJ continues to strive to represent all voices in the debate."
New Mexico Hatch green chile season reaches peak heat Labor Day weekend.

In the chile peppers home along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, its time for the original Hatch Chile Festival, drawing crowds Sept. 1-3 for chile eating contests and the coronation of the Chile Queen.

If that sounds tempting, the valley is about 10 degrees cooler than North Texas. Its also 3,500 feet higher and drier.

In Texas supermarkets and restaurants, this weeks deliveries should bring the most flavorful chiles of the season as the crop reaches its peak.

Growers actually stopped the harvest for five days this year to let heat-stressed plants catch up, according to an owner quoted in the El Paso Times.

Chiles for sale at a Hatch, New Mexico roadside stand.

About 45% of the crop was in by mid-August, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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It might seem like Central Market, H-E-B and Whataburger by themselves use all the Hatch chile in New Mexico, but some restaurants also serve specials.

The peppers popularity has driven prices up and some restaurants out of serving Hatch specials, including the Austin-based Chuys chain, former longstanding Hatchaholics.

The local Blue Mesa Grill and Houston-based Pappasitos Cantina restaurants have been offering a Hatch chile festival just as long as Chuys. Both are still at it along with Dallas-based Blue Goose Cantina.

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Hatch green chile stew as seen in 2023 at Blue Goose Cantina restaurants.

Blue Goose predicts hotter chiles

We believe they will be spicy due to the warmer weather this year, Blue Gooses Augie Arellano said in a forwarded message.

Blue Goose is also serving blueberry-Hatch margaritas. Arelleno said he expects to have the fresh chiles through mid-September.

Look for Blue Goose Cantina locations at 1612 S. University Drive in University Park Village (817-386-5433), 2536 Interstate 20 West in Grand Prairie (469-909-2583) or 2455 E. Grapevine Mills Circle (817-251-3303).

Other locations are in Frisco, Highland Village, McKinney and Plano; bluegoosecantina.com.

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Enchiladas Ole serves 6 tons of Hatch chiles

Mary Patino Vasquez of the popular local Enchiladas Ole restaurants serves Hatch specials year-round.

Her order this year is more than 6 tons. For comparison, the much larger Mi Dia From Scratch restaurants in Grapevine, Plano and Flower Mound will roast 5 tons.

Our No. 1 sellers all year are the Hatch chile plates! Vasquez wrote in an online message.

She used to make the 10-hour drive to Hatch more than once every August to stock enough chiles. Now, several truckloads are delivered by food suppliers.

Its tougher for chain restaurants to have a limited-time special that may only last a few weeks, she said. Hatch prices are up. And its simply too hot in some kitchens to have workers spend hours roasting peppers.

Enchiladas Ole specializes in cheese, chicken, beef, brisket or veggie enchiladas with artisan sauces, including both a creamy Hatch green chile and a red Santa Fe chile.

Enchiladas Ole is open for lunch and dinner daily except Sunday at 2418 Forest Park Blvd. (817-984-1360) or 9006 North Tarrant Parkway, North Richland Hills (817-849-2451); enchiladasole.com

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Harold has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression after it made landfall on Padre Island, Texas, Tuesday morning and was dropping heavy rain on parts of the state, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico and was bringing strong winds and rain to southern Texas and northern Mexico.

On Tuesday evening, Tropical Depression Harold was approaching Laredo, Texas, which is on the state's border with Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was heading west-northwest at 21 mph.

Heavy rains associated with TD Harold were moving up the Rio Grande north of Laredo. However a band of heavy rain continues to stream into the mid coast from the gulf. This will maintain an isolated threat of flash flooding through the evening. #stxwx #harold pic.twitter.com/KJRIHkZBf9  NWS Corpus Christi (@NWSCorpus) August 22, 2023

South Texas was expected to see 2 to 4 inches of rain through early Wednesday with "scattered instances" of flash flooding possible, according to the National Hurricane Center. The northern Mexico states of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon could see up to 10 inches of rain.

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Tropical storm watches and warnings have been canceled for both regions. Harold is expected to dissipate by Wednesday, the hurricane center said.

As Harold made landfall, Corpus Christi, located near Padre Island, saw powerful winds of up to 50 mph and drenching rain that flooded roads near the Texas State Aquarium.

More than 8,700 homes and businesses were without power Tuesday evening in the Corpus Christi area, according to utility provider AEP Texas.

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(Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will visit India from Sept. 7-10 for a summit of the Group of 20 nations while Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jakarta Sept. 4-7 to attend summits of Southeast Asian leaders, the White House said on Tuesday.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced the trips as the BRICS group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - held a summit in Johannesburg.

That bloc was founded in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies, a notion resisted by Sullivan as he announced the trips.

"The president will also reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation globally, including by committing to the U.S. hosting the G20 in 2026," he told reporters on a conference call.

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Reuters reported exclusively on Aug. 9 that Biden was unlikely to attend summits of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, citing several diplomats saying it would be a significant disappointment if Biden did not go.

Asked about criticism that Biden's absence would raise questions about U.S. commitment to a region facing China's expanding influence, Sullivan argued that U.S. engagement with the Asia-Pacific has been pronounced since 2021.

"I would put our record of achievement and engagement in the Indo Pacific up against any American president (and) any other country in the world," he said, citing a string of meetings Biden has hosted or attended, including last weekend's trilateral summit with South Korea and Japan at Camp David.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Arshad Mohammed, writing by David Ljunggren and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is confident that Congress will approve allocating additional funding for sustained security assistance to Ukraine, CNN reported on Aug. 22.

There are strong Republican, as well as Democratic, voices in both the House and the Senate in key leadership positions advocating on behalf of continued financial support to Ukraine so that they have the tools they need to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

Read also: Ukraines forces spread too thin for counteroffensive  US officials

Sullivan clarified that Ukraine needs more tools necessary for the defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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Read also: Croatia to send Ukraine $33 million in military aid, PM says

So we believe that the support will be there and will be sustained  even if there are some dissident voices on the other side of the aisle, we believe that at the core, there is still a strong bipartisan foundation of support for our Ukraine policy and for supporting and defending Ukraine, he added.

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Former President Donald Trump may be skipping the event, but eight candidates qualified and will participate in Wednesday's Republican presidential primary debate at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said late Monday the party was "excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night."

The candidates are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Vice President Mike Pence , former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

To get on the debate stage, candidates had to attract 40,000 individual donors. They also had to meet a polling threshold, receiving at least 1% of support in three national polls or 1% of support in two national polls and two early-voting state polls.

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More: How long is the debate, who asks questions and other things to know about the format of the Republican presidential debate

The candidates were also required to sign a series of pledges including a promise to support the eventual Republican nominee.

Among those who failed to meet the the key benchmarks were Texas Rep. Will Hurd, radio host Larry Elder and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

More: Voters want to hear other candidates at the Republican debate in Milwaukee. But Trump looms large.

The two-hour debate will be televised by Fox News Channel and will start at 8 p.m. Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier will serve as moderators.

Young Americas Foundation and Rumble are also debate partners.

More: Biden campaign releases ad touting his economic record as Republicans gear up for Milwaukee debate

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: GOP will have 8 participants in Milwaukee presidential debate on Fox
Thanks to Assembly Democrats, there is too much suspense surrounding Senate Bill 14, which seeks to make the sex trafficking of minors in California a serious felony.

Just a month after blowback by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative Republicans led the Assembly Public Safety Committee to reverse its rejection of the bill, SB 14 is facing a dubious financial review before the Appropriations Committee. There on Wednesday, Chairman Chris Holden , D-Pasadena, placed SB 14 on suspense because of its cost.

The suspense file is where bills can die, never to receive another hearing. There is a persuasive financial argument that SB 14 does not cost California anything at all if the cost savings from preventing a repeat perpetrator from walking free is taken into account.

Opinion

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Holden and the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee acted as if nothing unusual was happening.

Is it every bill that costs $150,000 or more automatically in most cases goes to suspense? asked Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles. This is a very normal process for every piece of legislation. Not a policy committee. It is a fiscal committee, isnt that correct?

That is correct, Holden said.

Remember that Bryan was one of the Democrats on the Public Safety Committee who refused to support SB 14, not once, but twice, in July.

All evidence has shown that longer sentences dont actually stop things from happening, he said at the time. All they do is increase our investments in harm and subjugation at the expense of communities that need not have this be a problem to begin with.

His sentiment was echoed in Holdens staff analysis of the bill.

In light of the growing cost of incarceration and its limited utility in deterring crime, both the Little Hoover Commission and the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code have encouraged sentencing reform in California, which includes limiting sentencing enhancements, the analysis read. The state Department of Corrections estimates that it costs California $128,000 to incarcerate a prisoner for a year.

Existing laws call for sentencing a convicted sex trafficker for between eight and 20 years. The serious felony category lengthens sentences for repeat offenses, a doubling of a second offense and a sentence of 25 years to life for third offenses. Judicial discretion and other sentencing credits can reduce prison stays. The bottom line is that the serious felony category would keep repeat offenders incarcerated longer.

Lead author Shannon Grove , R-Bakersfield, insisted on testifying before the committee, even though Holden had told her beforehand that her bill had no chance of passing on Wednesday as it headed to suspense. And she made a persuasive case that the fiscal committee was looking at only one side of the costs.

The committees cost analysis completely ignored the savings if one repeat sexual trafficker, held in prison for additional five years, could not continue trafficking children.

The cost of rehabilitation (for a victim) far outweighs the cost of incarceration (for a trafficker), Grove testified. A 13-year-old freed from trafficking, as an example, faces approximately $300,000 in state costs until the victim is an adult.  One trafficker, five minors, cost the state about $1.5 million, Grove said. That is just for basic services without considering other costs, police, victims advocates.

She was right.

Try as he might, Holden was not presiding over yet another cost bill in the cost committee. He and his staff did not give this bill a fair and full review.

There are powerful forces among the Legislatures Democrats who dearly want to kill this and every bill that seeks to lengthen any sentence, regardless of whether a sentence fits the crime or costs little to no money when all factors are considered. They have killed in committee numerous attempts.

That the sex trafficking of a minor is not considered a serious felony in California is a mistake of history. Correcting the mistake makes sense from the perspective of both justice and finance.

It is both terrifying and unacceptable that we are not able to vote on this bill, said Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, an Appropriations Committee member.

All eyes are now on Holden, the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, new Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and a governor who for one July news cycle tried to keep the bill alive.
Almost half of all deaths from tropical cyclones come from storm surge.

While many people focus on the storms wind speed, the bigger danger often comes from water flowing in from the ocean.

A storm surge is a rise in water level caused by a strong storms wind pushing water onshore, said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller. The wind literally piles up the ocean water and pushes it on the land.

And storm surge accounts for nearly half of all hurricane-related fatalities, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the storm surge reached as high as 25 to 28 feet above normal tide levels. In Hurricane Ian in 2022, it reached as high as 18 feet in Southwest Florida.

All that water has nowhere to go

Storm surge also can exacerbate flooding. As water piles up along the coast, rivers and streams that typically drain into the ocean can get clogged farther upstream, forcing water levels to rise.

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That water just doesnt leave. Depending on how much water gets pushed ashore and the areas watershed, it may hang around, causing further damage.

Due to the climate crisis, storm surge has become an even greater threat in recent years.

Sea levels have risen in most places by about 1 foot over the past century. The higher baseline ocean level allows storm surges to reach even higher, increasing their destructive capabilities, Miller said.

Rates of sea level rise are increasing as ocean temperatures climb to new highs every year, which will continue to increase the threat to coastal communities, especially during significant storms.

Reverse storm surge can be dangerous

Reverse storm surge also can happen during strong storms. This is when the water actually recedes away from the shoreline back into the ocean as winds push water out of shallow areas.

Just before a hurricanes landfall, the water recedes along the coast as the storms winds blow from the land out toward the ocean, exposing land usually under water.

Ultimately, that water comes back onshore with much greater force, inundating coastal communities.

This can be dangerous because people often will go out to the bare or uncovered land to take photos, grab seashells, etc. But the water can come back in just as quickly as it went out, catching people off guard.

CNNs Gene Norman, Judson Jones and Emily Smith contributed to this report.

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Why Trump allies are seeking to move their cases from Georgia to federal court

Multiple defendants charged with seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia are trying to move their cases to federal court, a maneuver that could delay their arrests and that might also help them plead immunity in court.

So far, three of the 19 defendants have filed to move their case to federal court: Mark Meadows , former President Trumps White House chief of staff; Jeffrey Clark , a former Justice Department official; and David Shafer, a fake elector and former Georgia Republican Party chairman.

Its sort of a two-step dance that theyre trying to make, as far as I can tell, said Jared Carter, an assistant professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School. Removal [as a] federal official, and then making some sort of immunity defense in federal court that they cant be tried for these crimes.

Trump, who plans to surrender Thursday, could soon follow in their footsteps, as hes already tried a similar tactic in another state-level indictment hes facing. The former president previously attempted to move his hush money criminal case in New York to federal court, but a judge rejected the bid. Trump is now appealing that decision.

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There are several reasons why the defendants might want to move their cases.

Legal experts note a federal trial would be heard by a different judge and a jury pool less filled with Democrats than one in Georgias Fulton County. It would also not be televised.

The legal maneuver to move the case to federal court is also being used by Meadows and Clark to delay arresting them until a decision on moving the case is reached. They have until Friday to surrender to county jail.

The defendants seeking to move their cases are relying on a statute that Congress first established more than 200 years ago to prevent federal officials from being stymied in carrying out their duties. The mechanism was originally created to combat state court lawsuits filed against customs officers, who were enforcing a trade embargo against England during the War of 1812.

Under the current version and Supreme Court precedent, federal officials can move their state criminal prosecutions if the allegations relate to an act taken under color of such office and the official shows a colorable federal defense.

Meadows argues he is immune because the allegations against him  his trip to Georgia following the 2020 election and calls he organized between Trump and election officials  was part of his job in the White House.

Nothing Mr. Meadows is alleged in the indictment to have done is criminal per se: arranging Oval Office meetings, contacting state officials on the Presidents behalf, visiting a state government building, and setting up a phone call for the President. One would expect a Chief of Staff to the President of the United States to do these sorts of things, Meadowss attorney wrote in court filings.

Its unclear if the argument by Meadows will hold water in court.

Jeffrey Cohen, associate professor of the practice at Boston College Law School, said a White House chief of staff speaking to election and state officials could be part of their duties.

However, what he was doing here was working on basically Trumps campaign, not necessarily as his official duties, Cohen cautioned.

Meadowss filing was followed days later by ones from the two other co-defendants, who also argued their cases should be moved so they can assert immunity. Clarks attorneys wrote the allegations relate directly to his work at the Justice Department, and Shafers attorneys wrote his alleged conduct stems directly from his service as a Presidential Elector nominee.

One key difference has emerged, however: Meadows wants to stand alone.

Meadowss attorneys have opposed any attempt to delay his Aug. 28 hearing so the other co-defendants requests can be heard simultaneously.

I suspect he wants to be away from other people in this conspiracy, and the more he can be isolated, the more likely the full story is not going to be told in his case, Cohen said.

Clark, on the other hand, asserts his 18 co-defendants, too, must be tried in federal court if Clarks charges are moved.

Mr. Clark understands Mr. Meadows desire for expedition given the various ways that the indictment of Mr. Meadows, Mr. Clark, and former President Trump are illegal, Clarks attorneys wrote in court filings.

However, Mr. Clark, noting that this entire case has been removed, recognizes the large-scale management problems this case will create for this Court  And we believe that Mr. Clark (and all other defendants) should be allowed to file a motion to dismiss based on a non-rushed schedule that this Court establishes as it begins to get its arms around all that is involved in this case.

Clark and Meadows have also lodged separate emergency requests to block Fulton County from arresting them until a decision on moving to federal court is reached. Willis has given them until Friday to surrender.

Use of a state law criminal process designed to generate headlines, potential perp walks for television cameras, and anything more than simple service of process on defendants would be inappropriate here given the removal, Clarks attorneys wrote.

The defendants could have reasons beyond whats stated in their court papers for wanting to move the cases.

In Georgia, the jury pool would be selected from Fulton County, home to its capital city of Atlanta, which President Biden carried by 47 percentage points in 2020.

But head out toward the suburbs, and a trial in federal court would lessen that advantage. Biden won the area covered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by only 7 percentage points and the courts Atlanta division by 32 points in 2020, according to a review of state election data.

Legal experts also stressed the impact of a Senate-confirmed federal judge replacing the Georgia state judge.

I think its mostly the judge, Cohen said. I think that Meadows assumes hell get a more favorable judge in federal court, a judge who wouldnt be swayed by necessarily political views here. But I think I dont see a large advantage for him to be in federal court.

Defendants who successfully move their charges to federal court would also diminish the chances of their trial being televised. Fulton County Superior Court trials are often streamed, but federal courts generally dont allow video or audio recordings.

If this was Donald Trump were talking about, my guess is he wants a TV live-streaming this and Truth Social it out, Carter said. But when it comes to Meadows and others, I think perhaps they want a lower profile.

But if any of the defendants are looking for a presidential pardon by moving the Georgia case to federal court, experts say that will be an unlikely advantage because they would still be charged and tried on state charges, which are not eligible.

What a federal court is going to have to do is its going to have to enforce substantive state law, Carter said. And so theyd still remain the same state charges, theyd still be presumably in state custody if they were to be convicted, and it would mean that the president couldnt pardon, because the presidents pardon power only applies to the federal system.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian psyops and Kyivs plans to exchange POWs for Russian political prisoners  this is the range of topics Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (also known as HUR) spokesman Andriy Yusov covered in an interview with NV Radio on Aug. 17.

NV: Our colleagues at TSN frightened half of the country recently by reporting that the Russians have adopted a decision to sabotage the Zaporizhzhya NPP. They cited an anonymous Russian Telegram channel. Was this an enemy psyop?

Yusov: Since there was more than one message, and not only from a single Russian Telegram channel, but several other information events, as we saw equipment moving around the plant, it seems that this should indicate something. That said, the Russians have been on the territory of the ZNPP for a long time and, accordingly, equipment has been moving there for a long time. Moreover, other communication channels were used to disseminate information. So, everything points to the conduct of a hostile Russian psyop, which could have several goals at once.

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This is really a distraction from the failures of the Russians at the front and from the progress, the successes of the Ukrainian defense forces, since this coincides with the official news that the Ukrainians are making progress, moving forward with the liberation of their own territories. Of course, sowing panic. And in the end, we are approaching significant dates, like (Ukraines) Independence Day (on Aug. 24).

Therefore, I offer special thanks to all critically thinking citizens who do not give in to panic and to all responsible media outlets that do not distribute these sorts of fake news. I also appeal to everyone to do things that in the end do not harm, but rather strengthen our national security and defense capability.

NV: If were going to look at things theoretically, how are these sorts of decisions made by the Russian leadership? Is it done on Putin's command? And how long does it take between a decision being made and being implemented?

Yusov: An absolutely reasonable question, but first of all, let's note that there was a planted story, and for a second day now we have been discussing the actions of Russian propaganda and enemy psyops. In principle, this is already a sign of a fairly successful operation, as we have been forced to refute things if the media ask for comment on messages in one of the many, many Russian Telegram channels. And there are hundreds of narratives, news items, fakes, and planted stories in a day. But some land louder. And of course, it is especially surprising when certain Ukrainian outlets pick up these things so easily.

But in the end, this is what psyops rely on. This, in fact, is inorganic distribution, which is supposed to scare people and capture attention, and thereby make things happen on their own. No need to involve agents or agents of influence, it rushes on its own. Regarding how this actually happens, of course, it is difficult to imagine that a person like Putin is giving the order for a provocation on the territory of the Zaporizhzhya [nuclear power] plant, and there is another person in this office who immediately reports this with a controlled leak of information to his sources.

And these reports appear in the public domain. Since the circle of people involved in making such decisions is extremely limited, this would mean that an hour after the publication of this information, there should have been some high-profile arrests or high-profile accidents. And of course, such things are first prepared, as one of many contingencies, and then the order is given at the last moment. But given the scale of the objects we are talking about and the scale of the threats, the ultimate responsibility, of course, lies with the Russias top military-political leadership.

Read also: Russia has no plans to resume publication of customs statistics, reveals official

But regarding yesterday's planted story, Ukrainian Defense Forces, civil society, and the media sector have quite successfully analyzed it, refuted it, and are moving on. This does not mean that there are no threats from the Russians at the ZNPP or other facilities. But this means that these threats have not changed compared to the day before. And in parallel, in addition to the war at the front, we continue to have a hybrid information war to which the enemy is allocating colossal resources.

NV: Regarding the accidental deaths you mentioned. Recently, in a single day, two generals died mysteriously in Russia. What would you attribute this to?

Yusov: I can say that the 50-year-old general, who was a former Defense Minister, was not complaining about his health. And for his entourage, what happened was a surprise. And of course, we cannot say 100% right now, as there will be more information later, but the elimination of opponents in internal political struggles in dictatorial regimes, and in particular in Russia, is a common thing. There is nothing surprising here, since the dictatorship must demonstrate unity. Since the times of Stalin, very rarely anyone has been fired with a fanfare, but more often people are instead hounded, while some are simply admitted to a hospital or a clinic, never to leave alive.

Read also: Ukraine lacks resources for endless counter-offensives, says military expert Musienko

Of course, in some cases it is necessary to accuse someone of treason or rebellion, but even in these moments we see that the final outcomes can be different. These recent incidents are happening at a level where people have access to colossal resources, to unlimited resources for medical support which are inaccessible to ordinary Russians, and even to non-ordinary Russians. Any such news about an accidental death seems at least strange.

NV: There have been a lot of explosions in Russia lately. What do you know about the incident in Makhachkala, where a gas station exploded?

Yusov: There are reports about this, but it is difficult to say one hundred percent now, because for this you need to have direct access and to study the situation on site. But the nature of the damage, the scale of the explosion, and the scale of the consequences indicate that we are hardly talking about an everyday story. Yes, this could be due, among other things, to the disabling of some kind of missile weapons, or another equivalent, if we are talking about explosive force using the aggressor's equipment and means of destruction.

This is most likely an accident, or unintentional damage, but it resulted in tragic consequences for the inhabitants of that territory. But again, the consequences are connected with the criminal action of their regime. And they are directly connected in one way or another directly with the invasion of Ukraine as well. This is a reason for everyone, both the inhabitants of that republic and all the peoples of the so-called Russian Federation, to think about whether it is necessary to continue being silent, or whether it is necessary to take action to free themselves from this dictatorship and this regime.

NV: Regarding Russian POWs, can you say what proportion of them are surrendering of their own accord?



Yusov: Quite a significant proportion, but there are fewer of them than there are of those captured. And there are many logical explanations for this. Particularly the barrier troops, or anti-retreat forces. Including the Kadyrovites, and not only them. And it's not a figure of speech. Even when we say this and imagine it, it is difficult to understand in the modern world, in modern conditions, that soldiers can shoot their own people in the back, throw their own people into pits, torture, and mock them. All of this is happening inside the so-called army of the Russian Federation. Invaders, murderers, and rapists who do not spare their own.

Read also: SBI hands over 17 seized cars of Medvedchuk, Kozak families to Ukrainian Army

Often, they are afraid for the families they left behind, and often they are simply in a certain state of prostration. And in order to decide on some kind of collective action, one must still have the experience of self-organization. The Russians don't have it. Over the past decades, in fact, everything that concerned the struggle for freedom was actively expunged in Russia. But nevertheless, they surrender, and in significant numbers. In addition to surrendering, Russians choose other ways to avoid fighting: desertion, and these cases are not isolated.

Especially along the front line, there are cases when dozens of people disappear from the front line at once, and they are then searched for both in the temporarily occupied territories and on the territory of Russia itself, both with weapons and without. There are people who wound themselves, and there is bribery. That is, in general, the indication we get from POWs. But at the same time, regardless of whether a person surrendered on their own or was captured, Ukraine, as a democratic, legitimate European state, ensures the implementation of the Geneva Conventions and the care for Russian POWs in accordance with international law. No matter how much we may hate them, we still are not Russians.

NV: I have also saw an announcement on the page of the HURs I Want to Live project [exchanging POWs for repressed Russian political prisoners]. People in the comments are asking, have we already brought home all of our prisoners so that we can trade for these Russians? What is this project?

Yusov: An emotionally-charged but fair question. And it should be noted right away that, of course, we are not talking about the exchange of Russian prisoners of war for Russian opposition activists or people who were repressed by the Putin regime for anti-war activities or support for Ukraine. But nevertheless, in Russia there are people who ended up behind bars and received draconian sentences precisely because of their struggle against their regime, because of their anti-war beliefs and their support for Ukraine. And of course, Ukraine, as a responsible and democratic state, will provide the necessary assistance to free them.

Read also: 80% of Ukrainians abroad want to return, Uman pilgrimage still on, POWs for political prisoners

When we talk about a tool like prisoner exchanges, this is a complex and often a non-public process. We already have certain Russian citizens in Ukraine who are not serving in the Russian military, but nevertheless have been seen committing crimes against our state, and there is a share of collaborators who directly worked for the enemy and are thus traitors. Nevertheless, many of these Russian collaborators are now no longer needed in Russia. Ukraine demonstrates a different example.

At the same time, we have a huge task and difficult work to return our prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians from Russian captivity. This work is underway, and has already brought many results during active hostilities, which, in principle, is not provided for by the Geneva Conventions. Nevertheless, Ukraine certainly does not abandon its own. But in this situation, we are showing that the task is to save other people who condemn Putin's war of aggression and take an anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian, anti-war stance.

NV: That is, are we talking about the exchange of Russians for Russians or not?

Yusov: We are talking about this kind exchange, in particular, but not only that. Because the forms of assistance there can be different. But we are not talking about the exchange of prisoners of war for Russians.

NV: And why should HUR deal with them? What for? How are they useful to us?



Yusov: We are talking about the coordinating headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war, which includes members of the entire security and defense sector. I Want to Live is a state project of this coordinating headquarters. What are we doing this for? We are showing that we are different. But in addition, there are moments that we cannot publicly discuss, but which will help to solve other problems and ultimately help to release both our citizens and our defenders.

NV: There are stories of how Russian prisoners of war are being kept in very humane conditions, sometimes even better than they had at home in Russia. Does this somehow affect them later? Does it affect their worldview and understanding of what is happening?

Yusov: Frankly, only in some cases. And yes, there are people who realize what is really happening, and there are people who even demonstrate sincere repentance and may cry, who discover new pages of history and geopolitical reality for themselves. But ultimately, these are still attempts to survive, survive and get back to their usual lives. Ukraine really demonstrates its commitment to international norms, allowing access for the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN officials, with anyone being able to see how POWs live, how they eat, their medical care, exercise grounds and so on.

Read also: Italian Senate recognizes Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people

And we are dealing with a Russian genocide against Ukrainians. There is still total support among Russians for their war against Ukrainians. And there is no mass repentance, resistance, or desire to fight the Putin regime. However, this does not relieve us of our obligations under international law and the Geneva Conventions. In particular, realizing that a significant number of our prisoners are still in enemy hands, we need to continue our work  which is sometimes very difficult and non-obvious  in various ways and through various initiatives, which will allow us to return all of our people as soon as possible.

NV: What can be said about the mass arsons of military enlistment offices across Russia? The perpetrators say they receive phone calls compelling them to do so.

Yusov: This is generally an insulting statement on the part of the Russian special services. They say some nonsense, are calling people names and accusing their citizens of mental inferiority. They say that some people are calling, introducing themselves as the FSB and forcing them to set fire to military enlistment offices, and they go and set them on fire. Who are we talking about then? Where is their critical thinking? Where is the authority of the state and trust in its institutions? No, this is a matter of mass resistance.

Read also: Explosions in Belgorod Oblast claimed to be air defense at work, governor

Since peaceful protest is impossible in the so-called Russian Federation, and the constitution does not work, all those who were ready for mass democratic actions are either in prison, or have gone abroad, or have been physically liquidated, then these forms of protest remain, and out of despair, people are going to set fire to the enlistment offices, which are now not a symbol of the defense of their homeland, but of sending their relatives to a criminal war of aggression against Ukraine.

NV: I want to ask you about the Kerch bridge. What condition is it in now? What about the logistics of the invaders on the peninsula, given the whole situation with bridges, not only with Kerch, but also with Chonhar?

Yusov: Enemy logistics on the Crimean Peninsula have slowed down. This is good news. Nevertheless, Crimea remains a logistical hub for the transfer of enemy forces, assets, equipment, and people to the temporarily occupied territories of southern Ukraine. This means that various kinds of incidents and explosions will continue until their complete expulsion. As for the Kerch bridge, from the moment of its design and construction, it was extremely risky and dangerous, and contained a number of shortcomings.

Read also: Poland bracing for possible Belarusian provocations to disrupt stability

There was unsustainable technology and unsustainable deadlines. And initially it was dangerous to use. Of course, after recent events, no matter how they restore and patch holes, its stability is decreasing further. And this means that it is simply dangerous to use it. And if the enemy does not spare his military, which he is deploying along this path, then civilian Russians must understand that using the Crimean bridge, as they call this illegal structure, is simply dangerous to their health.

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People visit the 13th edition of the Chinese Products Fair in Cotonou, Benin, Aug. 21, 2023. The 13th edition of the Chinese Products Fair opened in Cotonou, Benin's economic capital, Monday.

About 100 stands representing more than 40 Chinese exhibitors are showcasing their products in exhibition space covering 2,500 square meters. The products on display include home appliances, electronics and digital items, machinery and accessories, hardware products, building materials and office supplies. (Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

COTONOU, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The 13th edition of the Chinese Products Fair opened in Cotonou, Benin's economic capital, Monday.

About 100 stands representing more than 40 Chinese exhibitors are showcasing their products in exhibition space covering 2,500 square meters. The products on display include home appliances, electronics and digital items, machinery and accessories, hardware products, building materials and office supplies.

"The Chinese products fair in Benin has become, since its creation in 2008, one of the largest events in the sub-region introducing Chinese companies to West Africa, which offers a platform to businessmen of Benin and China to get to know each other better, exchange face-to-face and establish commercial ties," Issiakou Bawa Te-Yeri, director of foreign trade at the Beninese Ministry of Industry and Commerce, told the opening ceremony.

He welcomed the arrival of the Chinese exhibitors to this year's four-day event.

Chinese Ambassador to Benin Peng Jingtao said China's development is an opportunity for African countries, and that China is an important driver of global economic recovery.

"China is opening its arms to all friendly African countries to get on board the express train of its development," he said. 
By Alexandros Avramidis

ALEXANDROUPOLIS, Greece (Reuters) - Eighteen charred bodies were found in a remote village in northeastern Greece on Tuesday where wildfires have been raging for days, authorities said, as a heatwave that has seen red alerts issued across southern Europe turned deadly.

Firefighters said they were investigating whether the bodies, found near a shack south of the village of Avantas, were migrants. The surrounding Evros region is a popular route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia crossing from Turkey.

In the Greek port town of Alexandroupolis nearby, dozens of hospital patients were evacuated onto a ferry, while a blaze on the foothills of Mount Parnitha sent thick clouds of smoke over the capital Athens.

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In Spain, Italy and Portugal, firefighters were battling blazes as the region suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.

Temperatures in many areas were expected to reach or exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), forecasters said. Italy and France declared red alerts in a number of areas.

The latest heatwave comes after a torrid July that was the hottest month on record. Some 20,000 people were evacuated on the Greek island of Rhodes in mid-July and a severe fire hit Spain's Canary island of La Palma.

Blazes on Hawaii's Maui island earlier this month killed more than 110 people, while Canada this week deployed the military in its westernmost province of British Columbia to tackle fast-spreading fires.

In Greece, gale-force winds complicated efforts to control the fires. Fifty-six firefighters arrived in Greece from Romania on Tuesday and Athens was expecting further assistance from the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Sweden.

HOSPITAL EVACUATION

The 18 bodies were found south of the village of Avantas near the vast Dadia forest, authorities said. Another body thought to belong to a migrant was found on Monday, in a rural area some 40 km (25 miles) away.

"The possibility that these are people who entered the country illegally is being investigated," the fire brigade said. It said searches were ongoing.

In Alexandroupolis, not far from Avantas, wildfires forced the evacuation of dozens of hospital patients, including newborn babies. A ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital.

"I've been working for 27 years, I've never seen anything like this," said nurse Nikos Gioktsidis. "Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there ... it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded."

Fires also broke out on Tuesday near Athens, where a blaze on the city's outskirts, on the foothills of Mount Parnitha, burned homes and forced residents to flee.

"The winds are very strong ... It is a very difficult firefighting task. God help us," said Sotiris Masouris, a 50-year-old resident of Hasia, west of Athens.

WILDFIRES HIT SPAIN, ITALY

In Spain, where most of the country was in very high or extreme risk of wildfire amid the summer's fourth heatwave, authorities were struggling to stabilise a huge wildfire that has been ravaging forests on the island of Tenerife for a week.

The blaze has burned through 15,000 hectares in 12 municipalities, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.

In neighbouring Portugal, authorities placed more than 120 municipalities in the north and central areas, as well as in some parts of the Algarve - a popular holiday destination in the south - at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.

More than 100 firefighters backed by 10 aircraft were battling a wildfire that erupted on Monday night in the northern Portuguese city of Baiao.

In Italy, around 700 people were evacuated after a fire broke out on Monday on the Tuscan island of Elba, firefighter Alessandro Vitaliano told Reuters. No casualties have been reported.

Italy issued hot weather red alerts in 16 of the country's 27 main cities on Tuesday, including Rome, Milan and Florence, with the number set to rise on Wednesday.

MOUNTAINS, VINEYARDS AFFECTED

France's weather service on Tuesday widened its "red alert", the most serious warning, to include 15 more departments (counties) from Wednesday, which will cover large swathes of the southeastern Provence region and some areas to the southwest.

Climbers were asked to delay scaling Mont Blanc, Europe's highest peak, because of high temperatures.

Grape-pickers in wine-producing regions of southern France have been advised to start work on the harvest in the early hours of the morning to avoid sweltering in the late summer heatwave.

Maritime traffic in the Dardanelles Strait, a narrow and historically significant passage connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea, was suspended due to an ongoing forest fire in the Turkish northwestern province of Canakkale.

(Reporting by Alexandros Avramidis in Alexandropoulis, Karolina Tagaris and Lefteris Papadimas in Athens, Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Gisela Vignoni and Crispian Balmer in Rome, Patricia Rua in Lisbon and Emma Farge in Geneva; Writing by Ingrid Melander and European bureaus; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Conor Humphries, Christina Fincher and Mark Heinrich)
The Winnetka Park District Board voted unanimously on Aug. 17 to increase security measures and add signage at the entrances to Elder Lane Beach to ensure people arent entering the closed beach.

Elder Lane Beach has been closed for nearly four years due to unsafe conditions including exposed wire mesh used to retain the bluffs and prevent erosion.

Superintendent of Parks Costa Kutulas told the board the cost would be minimal as staff plans to use fencing previously purchased to fence off the dog beach at Centennial Beach before the village put a stop to it in January. Eight signs indicating the beach is closed were also purchased for $400 and will be placed in the area.

While fencing can be placed at entrances at the park level, it cant be placed on the beach without filing permits with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, so travel along the sand will still be possible. The fencing does not require a permit by the village as it is on Park District property, according to Kutulas, who said barriers could be in place as early as this week.

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Winnetka resident Kim Marsh said during public comment that the beach areas need to be visible and have clear sight lines. She referenced the July 4 drowning of 43-year-old Winnetka resident Luke Laidley, who had jumped into the water to help some children who were struggling. Marsh said that if if the sight lines hadnt been clear, he wouldnt have been seen at all. Commissioner Cynthia Rapp asked if fencing could be placed further down the ramp to Elder Beach to allow residents to get to an overlook area that provides a view. Kutulas said having the fencing up higher on the tableland would allow observers toclearly see if someone were to jump over the fencing. If it were placed further down, observers wouldnt be able to view that, he indicated.

Commissioner Colleen Root also hoped to keep the ramp open for runners, saying she understands the fence at the tableland is a greater deterrent but wants to keep the option available to those in the neighborhood.

That beach has been closed four years. The neighborhood loves that beach. They came and came and came this spring asking could you please get it open? she said. That would give people the opportunity to come on down to look and picnic or whatever they do but not access the beach.

She also said increased police presence in the area could be another deterrent.

Superintendent of Recreation Kyle Berg said if the board wants to provide access to any part of the beach, working on the improvements needed to get the beach open would be more beneficial than to continue adding fencing and other mitigation measures.

Commissioner Root, I agree with you. We do want to open Elder Beach. I think all of us at this table want to open Elder Beach and weve spent hundreds of hours trying to open Elder Beach, Board Vice President Eric Lussen said. For a variety of reasons, were not there. In the meantime, we need to secure that beach and prevent people from going there and putting themselves and others at risk.

Issues at the beach have occurred as recently as Aug. 15 after Ebrahim S. Akhoon of Glendale Heights went missing while swimming on Elder Beach and was found dead two days later at Gillson Beach in Wilmette.

Board President Christina Codo started the meeting expressing sympathies to the family.

The board voted 5-2 to transfer up to $120,000 of budgeted hard costs to soft costs for the Elder Lane and Centennial Beach projects. The funding could be used to explore the damage and needed improvements to the existing pier on Elder Beach in an effort to get the beach open sooner.

For me, if we spend the right amount of money and do the planning process correctly and continue to refine, then I think well come up with a better solution, Codo said. I think each of these refinements is progress.

Root and Rapp voted against the transfer, saying so much money has been spent already for the little progress that has been made.

Commissioner Warren James said the only way to move the project forward is to advance the permit process.

We have essentially been compelled to make changes by the village actions, but we still have a fiduciary responsibility to our own constituents to correct the deficiencies at Elder and to reopen the beach, he said. We are talking about modifying plans to do so. Our consultants have ... been stymied and in fact spending more time than anticipated trying to address the changes that have been imposed by the villages most recent actions.

The Winnetka Village Council voted in July to put a hold on lakefront construction for nine months in response to resident concerns about construction at billionaire resident Justin Ishbias property south of Centennial Beach that decimated the bluffs. The ongoing construction along with his unfinished land swap with the Park District has caused continued uproar in the village since May 2022. Council also voted to add a layer of permitting with the village to any lakefront construction on top of what is already required by several county and federal agencies.
For years, people have claimed to have seen wolves across California, including the central San Joaquin Valley.

But for a few rare cases, theyve rarely been confirmed.

Misidentifications have always been an issue, says Jordan Traverso, deputy director of communications with the states Department of Fish and Wildlife, which has been monitoring wolves since they began to naturally repopulate the Golden State in 2011.

Weve been having people identify wolves or say that they have a wolf sighting that turns out to be a coyote, really, really regularly.

So, it felt like a seminal moment when the department earlier this month confirmed a sighting and announced the existence of a wolf pack in the Sequoia National Forest of Tulare County.

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This was a completely new pack, meaning none of the wolves had been detected or tracked in the state before. And they were at least 200 miles  but likely closer to 300  from their nearest known counterparts.

Which means, they are using more of their restored habitat to repopulate and to disperse, Traverso says.

Wolves used to roam the entirety of California, but the state enacted laws to protect livestock and by 1924 the animals seemed to have disappeared. Since then the landscape has changed dramatically, she says.

The discovery of new wolves in a new area of the state shows that the departments conservation efforts have been successful in that the animals were able to find the things they need to survive: food and water and cover.

That is a great ecological story.

For the sake of its research, the department defines a pack as two or more wolves traveling together and using a definable area. In the case of the Sequoia wolves, there were at least five confirmed: a mother with four offspring.

That mother is a direct descendant of OR-7, the original wolf that entered the state 12 years ago.

The father is a descendant of the Lassen Pack, currently the states best documented wolf pack.

Paw prints from a gray wolf are seen in photographs taken by Colibri Ecological Consulting survey staff in the forests of Tulare County. Genetic analysis of a dozen hair and scat samples were able to determine the sex, coat color, individual identity, relation to one another and pack origin of each wolf, state wildlife officials said.

Wolf pack in Tulare County

As of yet, this new pack doesnt even have a name.

Officials refer to it as the pack that is established in Tulare County, though they are working with native tribes in the area to come up with a suitable name.

Eventually, the department plans to get a collar on one of the wolves, though that wont happen right away. There are numerous logistical issues that have to be figured out, and theres a chance that theyre fail to find the wolves when the time comes.

The department of Fish and Wildlife captured and collared of two gray wolves in Siskiyou County. It took a full month and required the use of a helicopter, capture crew and fixed-wing plane.

Its hard to say whether this particular pack will make a permanent home in the Sequoia National Forest, but it could stay for a few years. The Lassen Pack stayed in the same general area to have pups multiple years in a row, Traverso says.

And theres been a lot of movement among wolf packs in the northeastern part of the state.

Some are absorbing members as other packs disperse or disband.

That movement is really making it a little bit hard to see what they are doing, Traverso says.

We are monitoring it and we hope to have a better assessment of that soon.

It will be released in the departments quarterly wolf report.

Wolves and livestock

Some in the Central San Joaquin Valley are already beginning to worry about potential conflicts as the wolves make their way down the state and into more populated areas.

The Tulare County Cattlemens Association is calling for the department to collar the Sequoia wolves as soon as possible, lest the animals get in the habit of relying on livestock for food.

Wolves in northern California have killed or maimed dozens of cows and calves in recent years, and likely many more that have gone unreported, the groups president John Hammon said in an email to The Fresno Bee.

In June, the Fish and Wildlife Department investigated three livestock deaths possibly caused by wolves.

Only one was confirmed to be killed by a wolf.

Wolf presence also stresses cows, impacting weight gain and even causing cows to abort their calves, Hammon wrote.

In 2021, the state appropriated money to offer compensation grants to farmers and ranchers affect by wolf populations. So far, it has paid out more than $750,000, according to the Chico Enterprise Record.

California wolf population small, but burgeoning

Californias wolf population, Traverso says, is small, but burgeoning.

The number of wolves in California that are known to researchers that can be monitored and tracked is less than 50.

So while, this new pack does bring the potential for more wolf sightings in the area, its still unlikely most people will come across a wolf in the wild. The animals typically want nothing to do with populated areas. The bulk of wolf sightings, including the one in Sequoia National Forest, come from people doing environmental work in remote locations.

Stealth is definitely one of their features, Traverso says.

It is really, really still unlikely to have a sighting of a wolf.

People are still encouraged to report any potential wolf sighting, along with photos and other documentation, through the departments online portal.

State wildlife officials released a photo this month of a gray wolf in Siskiyou County.
A Chicago woman was arrested Monday on charges she threatened to kill former President Trump and his youngest son, Barron.

Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, was charged in Florida after allegedly emailing the headmaster of a Palm Beach County school in May that she will shoot Donald Trump Sr. AND Barron Trump straight in the face at any opportunity that I get! according to a criminal complaint unsealed earlier this month. The charge holds a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

In a June interview with the FBI, Fiorenza confirmed she intentionally wrote and sent the emails from her then-residence in Plainfield, Ill., a southwestern suburb of Chicago, according to the complaint.

Fiorenza appeared in court Monday in Chicago and was told by a judge she will be transferred to Florida, where the charges were filed, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

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Threats against U.S. public officials are on the rise, with new data suggesting more than 500 threats against public officials have resulted in federal charges over the last decade.

Earlier this month, a Utah man was shot and killed during an FBI raid linked to threats against President Biden and other Democratic officials. A Texas woman was also charged with threatening to kill the judge overseeing Trumps 2020 election case in Washington.

Threats against public officials sharply went up in 2017 and 2021, both years following pivotal U.S. elections. Experts previously told The Hill that the months around the 2024 election and Trumps criminal trials will likely also see a spike in threats.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A woman has been estimating the cost of Bama Rush outfits, with the most expensive at $22,635. That pledge said her ensemble actually cost thousands more.

A TikToker named Destinee Wilson is breaking down the most expensive Bama Rush outfits in a viral series.

Wilson crowned the pledge Bri McCurdy for the most expensive outfit to date.

But McCurdy told Insider her diamond-embedded Rolex was actually pricier than the one Wilson listed.

Sorority rush OOTDs (or "outfits of the day") have become their own veritable genre on TikTok, with hopeful pledges showcasing their carefully-curated ensembles to millions and blasting out major and niche designer names.

Earlier this month, as #RushTok reached a fever pitch for the third time annually, the savvy Dallas creator Destinee Wilson saw a golden opportunity.

On August 14, Wilson, 26, who rushed at her own alma mater, the University of Texas (though she did not ultimately join a sorority), created an account called @BamaRushTok1 to break down the costs behind some of the most standout outfits from this year's recruitment class.

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Her first video about pledge Bella Reaves' luxurious look went hugely viral, nabbing 11.6 million views.

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While Wilson has chronicled the outfits from pledges at other schools, including Southern Methodist University in her native Texas, her videos mostly focus on the University of Alabama, the epicenter of sorority culture on TikTok. Last week, she proclaimed Bri McCurdy had the most expensive outfit to date, clocking in at a cool $22,635, she estimated in a video.

(When Insider added up the amounts listed in Wilson's video, it totaled $22,535. Wilson told Insider she made a small adding error.)

For Philanthropy Day 2, when pledges learn about an organization's chosen charity, McCurdy wore a matching Burberry headband ($170), skirt ($300), and shoes ($570), according to Wilson. But the biggest sums came from her eye-popping jewelry stack, including pieces from Cartier, David Yurman, and Rolex.

But McCurdy told Insider on Monday that her outfit was actually a bit more expensive. She said that all of the items Wilson listed were correct  except for her Rolex watch. She said she's actually sporting a diamond-embedded version that retails for $13,700 (the style Wilson pointed to retailed for $11,200), which would bring the grand total of her look to about $25,035.

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McCurdy, who has since joined Delta Gamma, also confirmed to Insider via DMs that all of her jewelry is real. "A lot of my pieces had been Birthday/graduation gifts snd [sic] it seems outrageous as prices. Rolex was a sweet 16 gift and Cartier was a graduation gift from most of my family."

Wilson told Insider that the authenticity of the pieces in the Bama Rush outfits has been a big debate, though she tends to believe that most of the items are real.

"If these girls are spending $200, $300, up to $2,000 on a dress or their shoes are like $1,500," she said, "I don't think it's that far off to believe that their jewelry is authentic."

Wilson, a self-described luxury fanatic, said she doesn't coordinate directly with her video subjects but derives all of the information through Google and reverse-image searching. She told Insider that one video can typically take between one and three hours to complete.

Bama Rush has become its own phenomenon, both within sorority culture and online culture. While sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama has a troubling segregationist history, and its current demographics still lean heavily white today, it continues to be an enviable organization to join for many young women. This month, a TikToker has been documenting her own struggles to keep up with the competitive pledge process, announcing to her online community this week that she ultimately didn't make the cut.

It's this very unattainability of Bama Rush that continues to captivate audiences. For Wilson, she attributes the "shock factor" of people learning how much  literally  that goes into pledging for how successful her series has become.

"We're living in a time where people's socioeconomic statuses are very different across this country," Wilson said. "I think that seeing women aged 17 to 19 years old, going through this recruitment process and wearing expensive jewelry  David Yurman, Cartier, Hermes  it's really shocking. It really speaks on how we're not all living in the same reality."

Read the original article on Insider
A woman ripped Spirit Airlines on TikTok, saying her flight was stuck on the tarmac for seven hours.

"Do not ride Spirit. They suck," Lindsey Mascera said in her TikTok post.

Her video showed dozens of miserable people, some of whom complained about the long wait.

A passenger slammed US budget carrier Spirit Airlines on TikTok, saying she waited for seven hours for her flight to take off.

Lindsey Mascera uploaded a video of the incident to TikTok on August 16, showing the inside of the plane and rows of unhappy passengers.

"So we have 200 passengers on this flight right now. Everyone's luggage is down there. How long have you been waiting?" Mascera asked her fellow passengers.

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"Seven hours," a lady standing beside Mascera replied.

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The other passengers seen in Mascera's video appeared frustrated and restless. Some looked at their smartphones, while others stared blankly at Mascera as she spoke.

"We got delayed, and now we're back, and there's no pilots to be found, and there's no answer," Mascera said near the end of her video.

"Do not ride Spirit. They suck," Mascera continued.

Mascera did not specify when the clip was recorded, and Insider was not able to independently confirm her flight details.

Mascera subsequently uploaded another video to TikTok on the same day, where a flight attendant was seen offering the passengers refunds if they wanted to disembark.

"I have no arguments with what all of you think and your frustrations," a flight attendant said on the plane's intercom in the video.

"If you do want to come off the aircraft, you can come off the aircraft and we will issue you a refund," the flight attendant added.

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In April 2022, the US Department of Transportation said Spirit Airlines received the most number of complaints from US passengers. Complaints about the budget carrier ranged from flight cancellations to flight delays and missed connections, per the DOT.

Representatives for Mascera and Spirit Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Insider
A woman who fired a handgun inside Dallas Love Field and threatened to blow up the airport last summer was found not guilty by reason of insanity at a trial last week, according to court records.

The defendant, Portia Odufuwa, waived her right to a jury and the verdict was decided on Aug. 14 by Dallas County 291st District Judge Stephanie Huff.

Odufuwa was indicted in October on a charge of aggravated assault against a public servant following the shooting on July 26, 2022. She was accused of firing her gun in the air and toward an officer inside the airport, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Odufuwa was wounded in the leg when the officer returned fire. No one else was injured in the shooting.

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After she was dropped off at the airport on the morning of the shooting, Odufuwa, then 37, walked by a Southwest Airlines ticket counter and entered a bathroom, where she changed clothes and came out wearing a hooded sweatshirt, according to police accounts and surveillance video.

Odufuwa said she had an announcement to make and began rambling about incarceration and her husband, claiming she was married to rapper Chris Brown, police said. She also shouted, I am going to blow this [expletive] up, according to the affidavit.

Odufuwa then pulled out her gun and fired several times toward the ceiling in the baggage check-in area and then toward an officer who had taken cover behind a ticket kiosk, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference at the time.

Travelers and employees were evacuated from Love Field and flight delays and cancellations affected thousands of passengers.
Andrea Vazquez, 19, of Downey was kidnapped and killed in what police say was a random attack in Whittier park. (Whittier Police Department)

Andrea Vazquez and her boyfriend were at Penn Park in Whittier, sitting on the trunk of his car just after midnight Sunday, when a gunman began shooting at them in a random attack, police say.

Vazquez was believed to have been shot in the attack, and her boyfriend told police she and the gunman were gone, leaving behind only blood on the ground, when he turned around.

On Tuesday, after a two-day search for the 19-year-old, police said Vazquez had been found dead in a field in Moreno Valley, just a short distance from where her family tracked her cellphone following the kidnapping.

Police also arrested 20-year-old Gabriel Esparza, a Whittier resident who they say targeted the couple in a random attack.

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Vazquez's family was notified of her death by a detective Tuesday morning, said Moses Castillo, a former LAPD detective and advocate for the family.

"This is not the outcome they wanted, but they do realize Whittier Police worked around the clock," he said. "Their pain and grief is beyond description."

Read more: Flash mob smash-and-grabs continue at high-end stores in Los Angeles

Vazquez's boyfriend would later tell police that during the attack at the park he ran to avoid the gunfire. When he returned, there was blood on the ground, the other vehicle had fled, and Vazquez was gone.

Vazquez's family said they're struggling to understand the violent sequence of events.

Before learning of her death, Vazquez's sister and mother told The Times they had no idea who would have targeted Vazquez, who kept a small circle of friends and never mentioned any concerns about her safety.

"She knows everything about me, and I know everything about her," said Vazquez's 33-year-old sister, Edlyn. "I know for a fact she has no trouble."

She said her sister's boyfriend told the family he and Andrea both jumped to the ground when the shooting began and that he was ducking around his car when he noticed Andrea was bleeding.

Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killing of Andrea Vazquez, 19, of Downey. Police say she was abducted at gunpoint in Whittier. (Whittier Police Department)

She said he told her he locked eyes with the gunman at one point and fled toward a couple sitting on a park bench to ask for help. The couple started running away as well, and when he turned around, the car and Andrea were both gone.

It was after he called 911 that he rushed to her mother's house, Edlyn Vazquez said.

Edlyn said she then got a call from her mother telling her what happened, and she immediately looked up her sister's location using her cellphone's tracking app.

Edlyn said she and a friend could see a signal for Andrea's phone moving along the 60 Freeway toward Riverside, and the two got into a car to follow the signal.

"They were way ahead of us, though, there was no way to catch them," she said.

Edlyn followed the phone to World Logistics Center Parkway in Moreno Valley, where she said they lost the signal.

"When I got to the location, there was just blood at the scene," she said.

Read more: Suspect charged in six violent robberies of taco trucks and street vendors across L.A.

When police arrived, she said officers arrived with canines and drones, searching the area until early that morning. Still, there was no sign of her sister. She said with Tropical Storm Hilary on the way, the search was stopped by about 6 a.m. Sunday.

It was just a short distance away, in a vegetation field off Alessandro Boulevard and Merwin Street, police said, that they found Andrea Vazquez's body.

Police said Esparza was taken into custody at his workplace in Lakewood, without incident. He was booked on suspicion of murder and kidnapping and was being held without bail.

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.
[Source]

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing the electric vehicle manufacturer of being responsible for the death of her husband in a fatal car crash.

Pursuing trial: The plaintiff, Jiyoung Yoon, is reportedly aiming for a jury trial, which indicates she is unlikely to settle out of court.

In court documents acquired by TMZ, Yoon attributed the crash to a malfunction of her husbands 2020 Tesla Model 3 during a snowstorm on March 12, 2022. Yoon, who is pursuing unspecified damage, alleges that the particular model was defective in its design, manufacturing and warning systems. She asserts that the vehicle was "unreasonably dangerous for its designed and intended purposes."

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An untimely death: Jyung Woo Hahn, 46, was purportedly driving on Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County, New York, when an error caused him to collide with a tree. While Hahn reportedly survived the initial impact and explosion, he was trapped inside his Tesla as the vehicle burst into flames, ultimately resulting in his death.

More from NextShark: LA Company Criticized For Claiming to Have Created South Korean Dalgona Coffee

Ruptured battery: Reports indicate that the source of the fire was the Tesla Model 3s lithium-ion battery. Due to the nature of the battery, firefighters who responded to the scene required over 1,000 gallons of water just to suppress the flames. Nanuet firefighters highlighted the difficulty posed by the 375-volt lithium-ion battery, which spans the entirety of the car's floor. The battery's rupture led to a phenomenon known as "thermal runaway," making it extremely difficult to extinguish the blaze.

Teslas safety concerns: Tesla has faced controversies over safety issues in the past. The company had previously moved to recall nearly 363,000 vehicles due to issues with self-driving software. Incidents involving steering wheel defects and fatal crashes in recent years have also resulted in several investigations against the company.

More from NextShark: Doctor Who Assaulted Evelyn Yang, Dozens of Women, Hit With New Federal Charges

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Florida Instagrammer Drops Her Vietnamese Skills and Shocks the Internet

Elderly Asian couple bound, gagged and pistol-whipped in San Jose home invasion
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he would turn himself in on Thursday to the authorities in Atlanta for the Georgia election interference case.

Trump and 18 others were indicted on Aug. 14 over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Trump was charged with 13 counts, including violating the state's racketeering act, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiring to file false documents.

The indictment followed a two-and-a-half-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The probe was launched after audio leaked from a January 2021 phone call during which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to question the validity of thousands of ballots, especially in the heavily Democratic Atlanta area. Trump said he wanted to "find" the votes to erase his 2020 loss in the state.

A judge in Atlanta set bail for Trump at 200,000 U.S. dollars on Monday in the election interference case against him, according to U.S. media reports.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed that he would turn himself in on Thursday and also attacked Willis.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History. In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for "Murder," but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!" said Trump.

"She (Willis) campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked (U.S. President) Joe Biden's DOJ (Department of Justice). It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he added.

The Georgia case is the fourth criminal case to be brought against the former president.

Trump is facing separate federal charges for plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

In March, he was indicted on New York state charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush-money payments to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 presidential election. 
World Court to rule on emergency measures sought by Ukraine against Russia

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The World Court will hear Russia's objections to its jurisdiction in a genocide case brought by Ukraine in hearings starting on Sept. 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Tuesday.

Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ shortly after Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, which accused Moscow of falsely applying genocide law to justify the attack.

In a preliminary decision in the case in March last year the court ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately.

The rulings of the ICJ, also known as the World Court, are binding but it has no direct means of enforcing them.

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The hearings on jurisdiction will start on Monday Sept. 18 with submissions from Russia and a response from Ukraine the following day.

Besides Russia and Ukraine, 32 other nations including a majority of European Union member states, Britain, Canada and Australia will give their views on the case in the hearings which wrap up Sept. 27.

Previously Russia had suggested its action in Ukraine - what it calls a "special military operation" - was justified because it was aimed at preventing a genocide in Eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv at the hearings last year said there was no threat of genocide in Eastern Ukraine, and the United Nations' 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries have signed, does not allow an invasion to prevent one.

Russia has said the court has no jurisdiction in the case because the genocide convention, which forms the basis for Ukraine's claim, does not regulate the use of force between states.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Marion City Council members left Mondays meeting without answering questions about the police chiefs decision to raid a newspaper, its publishers home and a council members house based on a complaint by an angry restaurant owner.

But Ruth Herbel, the 80-year-old council member whose home was targeted by police Chief Gideon Cody, suggested the council will take up the issue at a later meeting. She told reporters that she agrees with calls for Cody to resign.

They had no reason to come to my house and raid my house, Herbel said in an interview with The Eagle. They traumatized my husband. He has dementia, and he has a heart condition. I had to have a friend come and stay with him tonight because he was so upset, he just doesnt want to be away from me.

It was Marions first council meeting since the Aug. 11 raid, which has been condemned as illegal by press freedom groups.

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Marion police and sheriffs deputies executed search warrants for two houses and the Marion County Records newsroom, seizing computers, cellphones and other records in connection with an investigation into alleged identity theft and computer crimes against Marion restaurant owner Kari Newell, who was seeking a liquor license.

At an Aug. 7 Marion City Council meeting, Newell publicly accused the Record and Herbel of disseminating her private and personal information that was illegally obtained by a local reporter. State officials later confirmed to the Kansas City Star that the information is open to the public.

The Record had apparently looked up Newells driving license status on a public website to confirm allegations and documentation of Newells DUI history provided by a confidential source. Editor and publisher Eric Meyer ultimately decided not to publish the story and alerted police that the records provided by the source may have been unlawfully obtained.

Marion police knew the identity of the tipster  Pam Maag, a former emergency dispatcher and wife of a retired state trooper  who sent the document to Herbel and the Record. But they did not interview her nor did they get a warrant to search her home and seize her electronic devices, the Star reported Monday evening.

The citys governing body had put the public on notice that it did not want to talk about it, writing on the meeting agenda COUNCIL WILL NOT COMMENT ON THE ONGOING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AT THIS MEETING, followed by 47 exclamation points.

Mayor David Mayfield, a vocal critic of the Record and Herbel, is on vacation and did not attend, leaving Herbel to chair the meeting.

There will be no comments made on the criminal investigation at this meeting, so dont bother about asking any of the council members any questions, Herbel said. Do we have anyone who would like to speak?

The warnings didnt stop longtime Marion resident Darvin Markley, a member of the Marion planning and zoning board, from speaking about the elephant in the room.

Its the citys responsibility to look out for the health and welfare of the citizens, he said. I dont believe this has been followed. The city has been put into a huge financial liability with the issues going on.

The world is watching Marion, Markley said. There has to be accountability for those involved.

Markley called for the resignations of Mayfield, Cody and council member Zach Collett, who was in charge of looking into Codys background before hiring him. Mayfield and Cody did not attend the meeting. Collett did not respond to Markleys comments from the council bench.

In the aftermath of the raid, Cody defended his actions, saying when the rest of the story is available to the public, the judicial system that is being questioned will be vindicated.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey later revoked the search warrants  which had been sought by Cody and approved by Magistrate Judge Laura Viar  and returned the computers, cellphones, hard drives and other property that had been seized.

Eric Meyer said the stress of the raid on the home they shared contributed to the death of his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer. He has threatened to sue.

Herbel invited members of the public to sign up for notification when the Marion City Council will be reviewing and acting on the Criminal Investigation at Regular or Special meeting. No meeting has been scheduled.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, MexicoOne of Mexicos most violent cartels has just created its own elite unit of drone operators, a highly trained group of sicarios dedicated to tweaking commercial drones and turning them into flying bombs to use against rival cartels and Mexican authorities, according to U.S.-based security analysts, Mexican officials, and cartel members who spoke with The Daily Beast.

The ruthless Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG for its Spanish acronym) began weaponizing commercial drones more than four years ago, according to researchers and Mexican authorities. The creation of specialized drone units, however, indicates that the cartel is shifting its drone operations into high gear.

We began training as a group in 2021, but only this year we started operating, a Jalisco Cartel New Generation member of the Operadores Droneros (Drone Operators), told The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity.

The group is mostly dedicated to finding and attacking rival cartels like Los Viagras, Knights Templar in Michoacan, and the Sinaloa Cartel in Jalisco, the cartel operator said.

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It depends on which drone we use, but we can be miles away and confirm that they [rivals] are at a certain house or vehicle and then crash the drone with the explosives, he said.

Cocaine, Marijuana Jellyfish? Cartels Muscle in on New Export Business

The group has even come up with its own patch to distinguish themselves among the ranks of henchmen of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to researchers at C/O Futures. It consists of an image of a quadcopter drone and the face of a skull at the center. The patch has the CJNG letters at the bottom and the words Operadores Droneros at the top.

The group is allegedly composed of a dozen men and currently operates only in Michoacan and Jalisco states, according to the cartel operator.

The Operadores Droneros is still a new and not widespread group inside the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, but that doesnt mean it is harmless; they have enough power to focus our attention on to them, a Mexican intelligence official inside Mexicos army told The Daily Beast requesting to remain anonymous.

A member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel wearing a drone operators unit patch, posted online by an alleged member of the CJNG. CJNG

A Mexican state police operating in the state of Michoacan also confirmed to The Daily Beast the existence of the drone operators working within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The drones used by the cartel are mostly produced in China and bought online through retail platforms like Amazon or Ebay. Once in the hands of the cartel henchmen, they manipulate them to carry a load of makeshift explosives including potassium perchlorate and aluminum, among other ingredients, according to the cartel operative.

Then we add some shrapnel like buckshots and nails to add more damage, he said.

Inside the Project

In a video obtained exclusively by The Daily Beastpurportedly taken from inside the Operadores Droneros unit in Michoacanone of the alleged henchmen can be seen stuffing explosive charge inside plastic bottles. The footage shows some nails and buckshots around the working area, and a DJI commercial drone in the back of a pick-up truck.

The video was allegedly recorded a few hours before an attack against the Knights Templar in the small village of Apatzingan, Michoacan, in August this year, according to multiple sources inside the CJNG.

A screenshot from an exclusive video shared by a Jalisco New Generation Cartel member while preparing an explosive load to be used on a drone against a rival cartel in Michoacan. Jalisco New Generation Cartel

The drone operations unit of the Jalisco cartel was first trained by Americans and a Colombian man who showed them how to source, fly, and detonate a commercial drone, according to the cartel source.

A gringo [American] showed us how to make our own explosives, since sourcing a real plastic explosive could be too attention-grabbing. And the Colombian showed us how to drive and maneuver a drone, he said.

A screenshot from an exclusive video shared by a Jalisco New Generation Cartel member while preparing an explosive load to be used on a drone against a rival cartel in Michoacan. Jalisco New Generation Cartel

Explosive drones have been some of the most lethal weapons used by cartels against Mexican authorities. That was made all too clear in November 2022, when a convoy from the Mexican military was attacked with explosive drones by henchmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as they approached the small town of Tepalcatepec in Michoacan. Four were killed and six others were injured in the incident, according to news reports.

Earlier this month, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador submitted a new legislative proposal that would equip Mexican law enforcement with anti-drone technology.

Between 2021 and August this year, the Mexican army seized 23 weaponized drones, mostly in the central states of Michoacan, Guerrero, and Jaliscoall states where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is very activeaccording to official figures from the Mexican army.

The significance of the institutionalization of weaponized aerial drones by criminal armed groups... can as a result present a more profound threat to the state and its security forces, John P. Sullivan, researcher at C/O Futures, told The Daily Beast. Future potentials might include targeting law enforcement and customs and border patrol officials on the frontier, Sullivan said.

Last week, China also admitted that most of the civilian drones used by criminal organizations and military were manufactured in that country and announced a series of sanctions and restrictions to exports starting this week.

But the export restrictions and the proposal of a new law in Mexico could mean nothing for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

We understand they [Mexico and Chinese governments] have to do something, but honestly, it is not like we will stop. We are fighting a war, even if they dont want to admit it. This is a war and we will source our weapons from wherever we can, the cartel operative said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Wu-Tang Clan helped this author connect with her immigrant father.

Wu-Tang Clan helped this author connect with her immigrant father.

Iwillnever forget the first day I realized my family was different. It was during my elementary school years in 1990s New York. The memory remains vivid: my Nigerian father arriving to pick me up dressed in vibrant Ankara print while Fuji music reverberated from his car speakers.

To my American classmates, my dad was undeniably unique in his foreignness, akin to Eddie Murphys Prince Akeem in Coming to America. He stood out among the crowd of American parents, drawing attention that I didnt necessarily want.

Although I was born in the States and spoke English, I sometimes felt like a foreigner myself. I unknowingly used phrases such as off the light, only to be swiftly corrected by an American classmate asking, Do you mean turn the lights off? These moments served as reminders that I was being raised by parents whose first tongue was Yoruba, emphasizing my sense of otherness.

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Growing up, my self-esteem suffered because I didnt understand my familys story enough to glean pride from it  instead, I just felt like an outsider. I tried to balance my new culture with my distant heritage, but it only left me feeling more disconnected. At the time, my dad was a diligent taxicab driver who despised profanity. My mother was a hardworking nursing assistant who dedicated herself to perfecting her English through reruns of Designing Women. They had limited time and language to explain our journey. While my dad would share anecdotes about the richness of Nigerian culture during our car rides to school, I yearned for a deeper connection between their past and my present. Without it, a lingering sense of discontent followed me.

It wasnt until one summer night, secretly watching MTV, that I experienced a shift. Wu-Tang Clans music video C.R.E.A.M., an acronym for Cash Rules Everything Around Me, adorned the screen with a group of young rappers hailing from my very own Staten Island neighborhood.

Witnessing them on television filled me with sudden and wild confidence. We lived among an abundance of new immigrants from West Africa, all poised and resolute to achieve their dreams amid the poverty that surrounded us. Somehow, this song weaved our experiences together. For me, C.R.E.A.M. delved into the pursuit of success and financial stability in the same disadvantaged environment we were all currently in.

The songs lyrics poignantly defined our existing realities. It became a road map that would guide me to understanding my own familys complex maze of struggles, encouraging me to aspire to rise above our circumstances. In their dopeness, Wu-Tang even skillfully infused elements of kung fu into their musical repertoire, bestowing our forgotten borough Staten Island with the moniker Shaolin. They were peaceful soldiers, fierce and unrelenting in their quest for respect. Yet, I knew my parents wouldnt approve of my love of this music.

That summer, during a car ride to Six Flags, my dad left the radio on a local New York station. Songs by Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang played. I couldnt contain my excitement and blurted out the lyrics, Get the money, dollar dollar bills, yall!

Do you know your school books as well as you know this song? he sternly asked.

His disapproval stung. Though he loved all genres of music, he hated that some of the songs were replete with foul language. I suspect that it wasnt just about his young child listening to crass lyrics. Yet those lyrics were my declaration, highlighting that, despite the obstacles we faced, success was attainable for immigrants like us.

See, I often served as the bridge between my parents and U.S. culture, which hip-hop was very much a budding part of. It wasnt that they were opposed to it  they just couldnt relate. I tried to explain to my mom and dad the beauty of the arts and music. Hip-hop was about self-expression and cultivating a consciousness to challenge the status quo. Besides, the curse words came from righteous angst.

Dad, Wu-Tang is so cool! I would say, hoping hed one day see past the profanity. Their music showed some of the commonalities in our stories. They were able to express a piece of my fathers experience  the hustle  in a way that he didnt have time to fully articulate to me yet. He couldnt understand this perspective until a chance encounter with Wu-Tang in our neighborhood.

One day, he returned home from work casually wearing a Wu-Tang shirt that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

Whoa! Daddy, your shirt! my older sister and I shouted.

It bore the unmistakable Wu-Tang logo and included different members of the clan woven into the design. He noticed our excitement and proceeded to describe which emcee he had picked up that day in his cab.

As he continued to narrate the story through his thick Nigerian accent, we learned that a member of Wu-Tang had presented him the shirt during the ride. His small act of wearing the shirt symbolized his attempt to connect with me and understand the positive impact hip-hop was having on my worldview. Even at that age, with my limited life experience, the moment revealed his capacity for compromise and his genuine care for my passions. He could be strict when needed, yet compassionate when it mattered most.

Wu-Tang not only helped me to see my dad in a new light but also ignited my creative ambitions. Their music and the way my generation related to it, regardless of our circumstances, revealed that success in the arts was attainable and significant but also held equal value to the conventional path some in the immigrant community had envisioned for me, such as becoming a doctor or lawyer. Much respect to those professionals, but I came to realize that my true calling lay elsewhere.

I was empowered to carve out my own path. Despite the challenges we faced as a Black immigrant family, we held the innate ability to shape our own destiny, on our terms and in our own distinctive way. And so, every time I listen to an old Wu-Tang track, I remember to honor my journey, my hustle, and the magical moments where my dad and I found common ground.
Supporters of Airbnb hold a rally outside City Hall in New York, Jan. 20, 2015. A New York judge on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023 dismissed lawsuits filed by Airbnb and three hosts over New York Citys rules for short-term rentals, saying the restrictions are entirely rational. | Bebeto Matthews, Associated Press

New York City is cracking down on illegal short-term rentals in a move that will limit the amount of Airbnb-style offerings in the city.

The Short-Term Rental Registration Law, which passed in 2022 and established a litany of rules required to register as a short-term rental, will start being enforced on Sept. 5, The Associated Press reported.

Heres a look at what Airbnb has called a de facto ban against short-term rentals and how other cities are following in New York Citys footsteps:

What are the new rules for Airbnb in New York City?

The local ordinance requires short-term rental hosts  anybody who rents out a room or home to guests for less than 30 days  to register with the Mayors Office of Special Enforcement.

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Under the new regulations, short-term rentals are only permitted if you are staying in the same unit or apartment as your guests, and you have no more than two paying guests at a time, according to the offices website.

The short-term rentals are also required to comply with all other city codes, per CNN Business.

Short-term rental hosts and booking services could be penalized up to $5,000 for each violation of the new rule, Forbes reported.

Why Airbnb sued New York City

The new regulations for short-term rentals were originally set to be enforced in July of this year, but a lawsuit brought against New York City by Airbnb on June 1 pushed the date back.

In the lawsuit, Airbnb called the new regulations extreme and oppressive.

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According to Airbnb, It is a near impossibility for lay New Yorkers to certify compliance with and understanding of the maze of complex regulations in different legal codes governing short-term rentals.

On Aug. 8, the lawsuit was dismissed by a New York judge, who called the regulations entirely rational, per AP.

What other cities are banning short-term rentals?

Many cities across the world are also looking to regulate short-term rentals, which locals argue favor tourists and exacerbate the housing crisis.

Barcelona, London, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver are among the major cities that have passed laws regulating short-term rentals.

Most recently, Dallas, Texas, in June of this year voted to ban short-term rentals in single-family residential neighborhoods.
A New York man pretending to be a lawyer for the grandson of a DeLand woman was extradited to Volusia County and charged with fraud Friday after he tried to get her to send him $6,500 in fake bail money in January, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

Joel Mathilda, 24, of the Bronx, was accused of attempting to pull a "grandparents scam" on the DeLand woman, said sheriff's spokeswoman Laura Williams.

He tried the same scam in New York in February and used a courier to get him the money. He was arrested then, authorities said.

Scammers pose as deputies: Scammers claiming to be from Volusia Sheriff's Office steal hundreds of dollars

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Mathilda was charged by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office with an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Mathilda is out of the Volusia County Branch Jail after posting $60,000, records show.

The woman did not fall for the scam in January as she was the victim of a similar scam in March 2021.

When Mathilda called her on Jan. 24 posing as an attorney representing her grandson asking for $6,500 to stop the grandchild from going to jail after a crash with injuries, the woman went along with the caller's request, investigators said.

But the woman called her son and they reported the "grandparents scam" to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Williams said.

Mathilda had asked a Lyft driver to pick up the money from the DeLand woman, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives started investigating, hoping to complete the money drop-off and arrest the suspect with the help of the Lyft driver but the transaction was not completed, Williams said.

So, detectives used other investigative means to develop information on the suspect who requested the Lyft driver, Williams said.

After an extensive search, including search warrants and subpoenas, detectives were able to identify the person of interest known as JM to be Mathilda, Williams said.

Detectives then found a mug shot of Mathilda when he was arrested in Cayuga County, New York, in February for a similar offense where he used a courier, Williams said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: New York man who tried to scam DeLand woman arrested
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the Ukraine-Balkan summit in Athens, on Aug. 22.

Zelensky said that he expects a decision from EU member states on starting Ukraines EU accession negotiations at the end of 2023.

He also thanked von der Leyen for "her efforts to normalize Ukraines agricultural exports and transit," following Russia's decision to unilaterally terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17 and repeated strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure.

Von der Leyen said that they "discussed Ukraines progress on the EU path," and added that another 1.5 billion tranche in EU financial assistance to Ukraine has been paid.

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Zelensky also met Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov in Athens, in particular to discuss Black Sea security and alternative grain corridors.

Denkov and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who hosted the August summit, said earlier hat the two countries are considering helping Ukraine in shipping out its grain following Russia's unilateral termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

However, Bulgaria is among the five EU countries that have pushed for the EU-instituted ban on the domestic sale of Ukrainian agricultural products. The ban, asked by Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia is currently set to expire by Sep. 15.

Face-to-face with Vucic

Another notable meeting at the summit took place between Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, where they had an "open, honest, and fruitful" conversation on topics including the "inviolability of borders."

The Serbian-Ukrainian relationships have been complicated by Belgrade's friendly attitude toward Russia, as Serbia has refused to join sanctions against Moscow.

At the same time, Vucic has called Ukraine a "friendly country" and had previously affirmed that Crimea and Donbas are Ukrainian sovereign territories.

Before the meeting, the Serbian president said that he will talk to Zelensky "about everything that has happened recently in Kosovo."

Read also: Zelensky meets Serbian president at Ukraine-Balkans summit

In May, dozens of NATO peacekeeping soldiers were injured when violence erupted in northern Kosovo following the election of ethnic Albanian mayors in Serbian-majority areas. Serbs boycotted the elections, resulting in a low turnout.

Kosovo blamed Serbia for inciting the boycott and ensuing violence.

Serbia has not recognized the independence of Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia following a war in 1998-99 and officially declared its independence in 2008.

While U.S. and most EU member states support the independence of Kosovo, Ukraine is yet to officially recognize its independence. On Aug. 8, that Vucic said that "if Ukraine recognises the independence of Kosovo, it will lose everything in one day."

Zelensky didn't meet with Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti also present at the summit.

Ensuring support

The export of Ukrainian grain was also discussed between Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

On Aug. 18, Sandu said that Moldova is working with partners to help Ukraine export its grain while taking into account the interests of Moldovan farmers.

Sandu admitted in an interview with the Romanian language service of the French public broadcaster RFI that Moldova's current infrastructure is not sufficiently developed even for the needs of domestic farmers, and Ukrainian exports put it under greater strain.

In Athens, the discussions also focused on EU integration and the "common challenges along the path" for both countries, as well as Russian hybrid influence and aggression.

On July 26, Moldova asked 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff to leave the country after media investigations discovered that Russian embassy in Chisinau has 28 "spy antennas" installed on its rooftops. The antennas were likely serving to intercept signals and gather intelligence.

Meanwhile, Zelensky also discussed demining in Croatia with the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and "thanked Croatia for its practical assistance and leadership in demining Ukrainian territories," as well as its defense support.

Croatia announced on July 31 that it had allocated one million euros ($1.1 million) for demining of Ukrainian agricultural lands.

According to Zelensky, Croatia additionally "confirmed its readiness to provide ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for transporting Ukrainian grain."

In July, Croatia offered its rail network and ports on the Adriatic Sea as an alternative export route.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Greece to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s; Ukraine advances southeast of Robotyne

Summit declaration

Others who attended the summit included Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Romanian Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo, and European Council President Charles Michel.

The attendees issued the Athens Summit Declaration on Aug. 21, which expressed "unwavering support for Ukraines independence."

The declaration referenced the Thessaloniki Summit, held twenty years ago, which acknowledged that the Western Balkans belong to the European Union.

The war against Ukraine showed "the urgent need for a strong, resilient and inclusive EU as a cornerstone of peace and prosperity among our peoples," declaration said.

Zelensky arrived in Athens on Aug. 21 after visits to Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Aug. 20 the Netherlands and Denmark would provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets once conditions for the transfer have been met.

"Today we can announce that the Netherlands and Denmark commit to the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine and the Ukrainian Air Force," he said in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a military air base in Eindhoven.

Rutte added that he wanted the training for F-16 jets and their delivery to Ukraine to take place as soon as possible.

Read also: Dutch PM: Netherlands, Denmark to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov on Aug. 21 at the Ukraine-Balkans summit, discussing grain corridor and security issues.

"Fruitful talks with PM Nikolai Denkov yesterday at the Ukraine-Balkans summit," Zelensky wrote on Twitter on Aug. 22.

"We discussed further cooperation, Black Sea security, and securing alternative grain corridors."

Denkov and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on July 24 that the two countries are considering helping Ukraine in shipping out its grain following Russia's unilateral termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

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According to the Bulgarian news outlet Mediapool, Bulgarian trains could load Ukrainian grain at the Ukrainian-Romanian border and transport it to the Greek port of Alexandroupoli.

At the same time, Bulgaria is among the five EU countries that have pushed for the EU-instituted ban on the domestic sale of Ukrainian agricultural products in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, currently set to expire by Sep. 15.

The Ukrainian president arrived at the summit in Athens on Aug. 21, planning to meet with Balkan leaders to coordinate European and Euro-Atlantic integration, defense cooperation, and security, as well as separate talks on bilateral issues.

He will also meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to his post on Telegram.

Zelensky has already met with the Greek prime minister, who had pledged to assist Ukraine with rebuilding Odesa's historical center, damaged in Russian attacks.

Zelensky also announced that Greece will assist in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

Read also: Zelensky arrives in Greece for Ukraine-Balkan summit

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Aug. 22 that he had met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Ukraine-Balkans summit.

"An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia (Aleksandar Vucic)," Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

"Good conversation on respect for the U.N. Charter and the inviolability of borders. On our nations' shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, (which) is in our mutual interest."

Already on Aug. 21, Ukrinform reported on the planned meeting between Zelensky and Vucic.

"I want to inform the public that I will have a bilateral meeting with him at the request of the Ukrainian President. I will talk to Zelensky about everything that has happened recently in Kosovo. I believe we will have an open and good conversation," Vucic said.

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In May, dozens of NATO peacekeeping soldiers were injured when violence erupted in northern Kosovo following elections in which ethnic Albanian mayors took office in Serbian-majority areas of northern Kosovo. Serbs boycotted the elections, resulting in a low turnout. Kosovo blamed Serbia for inciting the boycott and ensuing violence.

Serbia has never recognized Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, as an independent state after it broke away from Serbia following a war in 1998-99. The U.S. and most European Union member states have recognized Kosovo's independence, which was officially declared in 2008. Ukraine has yet to recognize the country.

The Serbian-Ukrainian relationships are complicated by Belgrade's friendly attitude toward Russia, as Serbia has refused to join sanctions against Moscow. According to the Anadolu Agency, Vucic said that Russia would win its war against Ukraine despite growing support from Western countries, urging a peaceful solution "as soon as possible."

At the same time, Vucic has called Ukraine a "friendly country" and had previously affirmed that Crimea and Donbas are Ukrainian sovereign territories.

The so-called Pentagon leaks from April suggested that Serbia had allegedly committed to supplying lethal weaponry to Kyiv, or that it had already delivered it, which the Serbian government publicly denied. The Financial Times reported on June 7 that Vucic is "not opposed" to his country selling ammunition to intermediaries who would send it to Ukraine.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Greece to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s; Ukraine advances southeast of Robotyne

The Ukrainian president arrived at the summit in Athens on Aug. 21, planning to meet with Balkan leaders to coordinate European and Euro-Atlantic integration, defense cooperation, and security, as well as separate talks on bilateral issues.

Zelensky has so far confirmed meeting Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. In a joint statement by leaders of 11 countries, including Serbia, Montenegro, Moldova, Greece, Romania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Ukraine, the participants of the summit expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The leaders also said that perpetrators of war crimes must be held accountable, and voiced support for the EU ambitions of Ukraine, Moldova, and Western Balkan nations.

Read also: Reuters: Leaked US document claims Serbia agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine

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BEIRUT, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- TotalEnergies launched on Tuesday the oil and gas exploration activities in Block 9 of Lebanon's territorial waters, the National News Agency reported.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and House Speaker Nabih Berri, along with other officials, visited the Transocean Barents drilling platform in Block 9.

"The drilling operations will begin within a few days thanks to the commitment of TotalEnergies teams, the support of the Lebanese authorities, and our two partners Eni and Qatar Energy," said Romain de La Martiniere, the general manager of exploration and production at TotalEnergies, the French energy giant.

The exploration activities will allow the companies to assess the hydrocarbon resources and production potential in this area, he added.

A statement released by TotalEnergies indicated that the company as an operator of Block 9 has a stake of 35 percent, along with its partners, Italy's ENI, which holds 35 percent, and Qatar Energy, 30 percent.

Lebanon and Israel finalized a U.S.-brokered maritime border demarcation deal last October, bringing both countries closer to oil and gas exploration in their waters after years of negotiations.

On Jan. 29, Qatar signed an agreement with Lebanon to join the consortium of TotalEnergies and ENI for oil and gas exploration in Blocks 4 and 9 in the Lebanese territorial waters.

Lebanon needs revenues from the oil and gas sector as the country reels under an unprecedented financial crisis. 
Montenegro has joined the Group of Seven's (G7) declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 22.

Zelensky met with Montenegros President Jakov Milatovic during the Ukraine-Balkan summit in Athens, thanking him for humanitarian, military, and political support.

According to Ukraines Presidential Office, the two leaders discussed Montenegro's assistance in implementing the Ukrainian peace formula ahead of the Global Peace Summit, which Kyiv wants to hold in autumn.

Zelensky and Milatovic also discussed the bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Montenegro and assistance to Ukrainian refugees, in particular.

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Montenegro has become the 21st country to join the G7's declaration, presented at the July NATO summit in Vilnius. Among the latest to commit were Kosovo, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Greece.

The security guarantees are meant to be explicit and long-lasting obligations aimed at bolstering Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression. They will also address sanctions, financial aid, and post-war reconstruction.

Read also: Zelensky attends Balkan summit, talks F-16s, grain exports, EU accession

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on 22 August.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote from Zelenskyy: "An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia. [We had a] good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders."

Details: The parties also talked about the shared future of the two nations "in the common European home", about the development of relations, which is of "mutual interest" for the countries.

Previously: On 21 August, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that he will meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Athens on 22 August, where the informal summit of the countries of the Western Balkans is taking place.

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Background:

Before that, the only time the presidents of Serbia and Ukraine met was on 1 June, when Zelenskyy and Vucic briefly spoke face to face on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Chisinau.

On 10 August, Vucic said: "If Ukraine recognises Kosovo's independence, it will lose everything in one day".

On Monday, the president of Ukraine arrived in Greece to participate in the summit on the Balkans. The Ukrainian leader was among the guests of an informal dinner invited by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The meetings agenda will include European integration of the region, energy security in the Balkans and Southeastern Europe, sanctions against Russia which Serbia has not introduced, and the latter's dialogue with the Republic of Kosovo.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has summarised his four visits to Western countries, indicating that he is returning to Ukraine with new agreements, enjoying political support.

Source: Zelenskyy's evening address

Quote from Zelenskyy: "A brief report on our activity these days. Four visits: Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, and Greece. Ukraine  Balkans Summit. Negotiations on the summit's sidelines with Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, and the president of the European Commission. We are coming home with new political support and new agreements."

Details: Zelenskyy says all these countries have confirmed the territorial integrity of Ukraine. In addition, Ukraine will receive aircraft, additional armoured vehicles and reinforced air defence.

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"The economy, our exports, European and Euro-Atlantic integration. Almost all meetings discussed the protection of export routes across the Black Sea and through the "solidarity corridors" on land. A very important agreement with Greece, for which I am especially grateful to the prime minister; it concerns Greece's readiness to take patronage over the reconstruction of our Odesa," the president said.

The head of state also thanked Luxembourg for joining the Group of Seven declarations on security guarantees.

"The overall result of these days is that Ukraine has become stronger," Zelenskyy added.

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TOKYO, Aug 22 ( Kyodo ) - Japan plans to require day nurseries, kindergartens and schools to use a government system to confirm that those applying to work there are not convicted sex offenders, sources close to the matter said Monday.

The system, similar to Britain's Disclosure and Barring Service certificate, is now being discussed by a panel of experts at the Children and Families Agency in response to a series of sexual abuse cases by teachers and babysitters in Japan.

In Japan, the licensing for teachers and childcare workers is overseen by different government offices, making it difficult for authorities to prevent a person with a history of sex crimes from switching between professions involving children.

... continue reading
At an annual event in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, people demonstrated their skills at scooping up small goldfish on Sunday.

The national event took place in the city of Yamatokoriyama, a major goldfish farming region in the country. The contest marked its 28th anniversary this year.

About 1,700 people, including some from the US and other countries, took part.

There were individual titles for junior high and elementary school children, as well as for the elderly. Three-member groups also competed.

Spectators were allowed to enter the venue for the first time in four years since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Vinson, a native of Bellevue, Nebraska, serves aboard Naval Station Mayport in Mayport, Florida.

Vinson, a 2007 graduate of Bellevue East High School, joined the Navy 12 years ago.

I joined the Navy because I couldn't find a job in my degree field and the Navy offered me that opportunity, Vinson said. "I was lucky enough that the Navy has graphic designers, which is what my degree is in."

Today, Vinson relies upon skills and values similar to those found in Bellevue to succeed in the military.

I learned that hard work pays off, Vinson said. "Staying committed to being a good person and doing good work will take you a long way."

These lessons have helped Vinson while serving in the Navy.

NAVSTA Mayport is one of three major Navy installations in the Jacksonville area. Mayport is home to a busy seaport as well as an air facility, and has an 8,000 ft. runway capable of handling any aircraft in DoD inventory.

The mission of NAVSTA Mayport is to sustain and enhance warfighter readiness. The Navy at Mayport covers 3,409 acres and is the third largest naval facility in the continental United States. NAVSTA Mayport is home to more than 70 tenant commands and is home to the U.S. Navy's Fourth Fleet and the Navys first Triton squadron, according to Navy officials.

NAVSTA Mayport was recently selected as the 2023 recipient of the Commander in Chiefs Annual Award for Installation Excellence. Put simply, Mayport was selected as the best out of all U.S. Navy installations Fleet-wide.

With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.

"Our mission remains timeless  to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level," said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. "This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy."

Serving in the Navy means Vinson is part of a team that is taking on new importance in Americas focus on strengthening alliances, modernizing capabilities, increasing capacities and maintaining military readiness in support of the National Defense Strategy.

The Navy secures the safety of the oceans and seas and allows for transit, Vinson said.

Vinson and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.

My proudest accomplishment is earning my master's degree while in the Navy, Vinson said. "Being able to continue my education while applying the skills I'm learning is a unique opportunity that the military offers."

As Vinson and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.

To me, serving means having an opportunity to provide for my family and give them things I didn't have, Vinson said. "It affords me financial security and the ability to travel."

Vinson is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.

I'd like to thank my wife, Margie, for her continued support and understanding during our dual-service marriage through all the hardships and separations, he said.

If you're thinking about joining the service, take the time to look into what they have to offer, Vinson said. "You might be surprised."
Flanked by National Guard soldiers, an armored Humvee and law enforcement, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday attacked Democratic President Joe Biden's border policies, blaming him for record-high crossings, humanitarian concerns and an increase in fentanyl coming into the United States.

Reynolds joined fellow Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Kristi Noem of South Dakota for a news conference in Eagle Pass, Texas, where that state installed a 1,000-foot-long floating barrier in July as part of a $4 billion border security initiative, Operation Lone Star.

On Day One this administration has reversed policies that protect the sovereignty of this country and its citizens, Reynolds told reporters of Bidens efforts to rescind immigration policy implemented by Republican former President Donald Trump that forced thousands of asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico awaiting U.S. hearings.

And, ultimately, have made every state a border state, Reynolds, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, continued. Certainly, not to the extent that Texas is experiencing. But, let me tell you, Iowa is located at the intersection of two major interstates, and it is a pathway for the Mexican cartel and human traffickers to take to go from Mexico to the Midwest.

Since 2020, Iowa has seen a 500% increase in the amount of fentanyl seized, a 100% increase in meth seized and a 35% increase in drug-related deaths. Much of it traced back to Mexican drug cartels, Reynolds said.

A total of 109 soldiers from the Iowa National Guard deployed Aug. 1 to Texas in support of Operation Lone Star, with the mission of deterring illegal border crossings and preventing the trafficking of illegal substances by cartels through Texas. The deployment is scheduled to last until Sept. 1.

Iowa State Patrol officers will deploy Aug. 31 for a separate 30-day stint to support Texas state troopers with criminal interdiction, crime prevention, traffic enforcement and law enforcement assistance. An investigative team also will support Texas investigations of narcotics, weapons and human trafficking along the border, according to the governors office. That deployment will end Oct. 2.

This is the Iowa Guards third deployment to the U.S. southern border since 2020.

Reynolds announced plans for the deployment in May in response to a request for aid from Abbott following the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allowed the federal government to expel migrants more easily. In the letter, Abbott said Texas had apprehended over 376,000 migrants and made 28,000 arrests since the March 2021 inception of Operation Lone Star.

Reynolds office did not provide a cost estimate for the deployments, and said it will provide details for each deployment upon the completion to ensure accuracy. The office has said costs will be covered by federal funding allocated to Iowa from the American Rescue Plan that Biden signed into law in 2021 and that Reynolds opposed.

A spokesman for Reynolds said the governor has prioritized using the federal funds to support one-time investments aimed at strengthening the states economy, workforce, infrastructure and public health.

This investment is no different, the governors office said in a statement to The Gazette. The health of our people and economy is directly threatened by the illegal drugs flowing through the southern border and into our state. The State of Iowa has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine seizures since the pandemic.

Reynolds said border security is a federal responsibility that has not been adequately addressed by Biden.

The fact that the states are protecting the Southern border is an assault on the Constitution and the American people, and it is time for this president to step up  way past time  and do his job, Reynolds said.

Migrants arrested crossing the border jumped more than 30% in July, according to preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the Washington Post. The White House, in a statement, argued unlawful border crossings, though, have declined overall following the enactment of stricter asylum rules, and remain lower than the levels in the months before May 11, when the Biden administration ended Title 42.

This administration has led the largest expansion of lawful pathways in decades and we are committed to building a humane, safe, and orderly immigration system, a White House official said. Individuals who do not use the lawful pathways weve made available will continue to be presumed ineligible for asylum and they will be subject to prompt removal, a minimum five-year ban on reentry, and potential criminal prosecution.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Abbott and the state of Texas after he refused to remove the floating barrier in the Rio Grande. The lawsuit says the barrier of buoys and razor wire raises humanitarian, navigation and public safety issues.

Pillen, the Nebraska governor and pig farmer, called the assertion hogwash.

The buoys are a deterrent, he said. They dont cause a Band Aid. And, if they do, I say what the heck, stay on your side of the river.

Texas quietly moved its buoys to the American side of the Rio Grande, days after the Justice Department showed a federal court evidence the floating barrier was on Mexican territory. Mexico had complained about the violation of its sovereignty.

Abbott said at least 853 migrants died trying to cross the border last year  making fiscal year 2022 the deadliest year for migrants recorded by the U.S. government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SEWARD  Matthew 18: 6-7  If anyone causes one of these little ones  those who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to st
NEW YORK (AP)  About 2 in 3 Americans say their household expenses have risen over the last year, but only about 1 in 4 say their income has increased in the same period, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
KABUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,482 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan from neighboring Iran over the past two days, Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.

"A total of 2,482 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan over the past two days after years of living as refugees in Iran and the process of returning the refugees to their country continues," the statement said.

The ministry also reported the return of 37 Afghan refugees from Pakistan to their homeland Afghanistan on Sunday.

More than 60,000 Afghan refugees have reportedly returned home from Iran since January.

More than 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Iran and about the same number of Afghan refugees are in Pakistan.

The Afghan caretaker government has been calling upon Afghan refugees living abroad to return home and contribute to the reconstruction process of their war-ravaged country. 
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The Central African Republics constitutional court has validated the results of July referendum on constitutional amendments which allows incumbent President Faustin Archange Touadera, in power since 2016, to run for a third term.

Jean-Pierre Waboe, the sitting president of the Court indicated Monday August 21 that the results announced earlier this month by the countrys Electoral body, LAutorite Nationale des Elections (ANE), are validated.

Mathias Morouba, head of the ANE had indicated that the referendum received 95.27 per cent of votes in favor and 4.73 per cent in objection. The Court put the turnout at 57.23% against 61.10 per cent announced by Morouba.

The new Constitution removes the cap on the two-term basis and will allow Touadera to run in 2025. The new text also extends the term period from five to seven years.

Touaderas critics, including former President Francois Bozize, rejected the referendum and accused him of wanting to hijack power.

The Central African country slid into civil war in 2013 after Bozize was ousted by turned self-appointed President, Michel Djotodia.
Choguel Kokalla Maiga, the Prime minister of Malis transitional government, posited Monday August 21 that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will stop existing if it invades Niger, currently ruled by a junta which deposed the elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

If ECOWAS starts a war in Niger, it will cease to exist, Maiga told a Senegalese media.

From the very beginning, the goal of some countries has been to destroy ECOWAS. They do not want African countries to unite, Maiga said.

Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, commander of the Nigers power presidential guard ousted Mohamed Bazoum and announced Saturday August 19 a three-year transition.

The ECOWAS since the coup has sought the reinstatement of Bazoum and announced plans to intervene militarily if the deposed leader is not restored. The bloc has also rejected Monday August 21 the transition plan.
A court in Tunisia has ordered the arrest of Abdelhamid Ben Abdallah, a businessman and owner of a private television after his condemnation to three years in prison in a trial for involuntary homicide.

The arrest warrant came from the Court of appeal of the Nabeul, a coastal town located in northeastern Tunisia.

Abdelhamid Ben Abdallah was sentenced in absentia to three years in prison on charges of involuntary homicide in connection to a road accident that occurred in July 2020. He jammed another car causing the death of six people inside the vehicle. He was first, in September in the year of the tragedy, arrested but was set free in November. A court decision later sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison.

Abdelhamid is owner of a private television station, Tunisna TV, which airs a variety of programs including talk shows, TV series in Arabic
The United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates are top travel picks for Africans and Middle Easterners in 2023, according to a recent Mastercard report that also highlighted an increasing trend when African travelers prioritize authentic experiences over material possessions, which in turn reshapes industry dynamics.

Apart from uncovering the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and the UAE as being the leading international travel choices for Africans, the fourth-annual travel report by the Mastercard Economics Institute has also revealed a notable shift in preferences emphasizing immersive encounters and proximity in travel selections.

As the cases of Morocco and Israel show, experiences-focused spending remains the out-performer in the MENA region.

Central to the 2023 travel outlook is an emphasis on experiences like travel over things, says the report entitled Travel Industry Trends 2023, pointing out that this years trends in travel are being shaped by the different ways people around the world travel and mainland Chinas reopening.

Emerging travel corridors are fueled by regional economic trends. While the top three outbound destinations, the UK, France and the US, are not in the region, in a new dynamic not seen in 2022, travelers are exploring destinations closer to home. This highlights diversification in the Middle Easts economy  in particular Saudi Arabia and Egypt  who made the top 10 ranking this year after not appearing in 2022. This is thanks to a variety of factors, including: increased tourism investment efforts, development of leisure and cultural tourism offerings, expansion of air routes and strategic marketing campaigns. The Middle East and Africa also looks to follow the growing trend seen in the rest of the world in experience-driven spending, with travelers increasingly valuing experiences over material possessions.
Morocco has quadrupled its avocado sales to Germany in six years with 5000 tons worth $17 million this past season, specialized media reported.

Globally, Morocco became the worlds 9th largest exporter of avocados among a rising demand for fruit.

In Germany, Morocco faces competition from Mexico, Spain and the Netherlands. Overall, Morocco exported 45,000 tons of avocados worth $139 million up to May 2023.

In 2017, Germany was the 7th largest importer of avocados globally and then ranked 5th in 2022. Surprisingly, Mexico, the global leader in avocado exports, has been constantly decreasing exports to Germany. In the MY 2022/23, the Mexican avocado exports to Germany fell to zero.

Avocado farming is often criticized due to the water stress context suffered by Morocco where voices are rising to ban water-intensive and export-oriented corps.
After shooting a man in the chest during a fight in October 2022, a North Platte man pleaded no contest to the charges.

Ryland A. Clemmons, 19, pleaded no contest to felony attempted second degree assault, possession of a stolen firearm and tampering with evidence. As part of the plea deal, charges of using a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a stolen firearm were dropped.

Volkmer also agreed to reduce bail to 10% of $400,000 from $500,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 30.

According to court records, on Oct. 9, 2022, the fight started after one of Clemmons friends let the air out of the victims tires at an event at Harbor Lights south of North Platte.

Clemmons friend and the victim agreed by text message to meet up to fight, and Clemmons accompanied his friend to the 800 bock of East Fourth Street.

When the parties arrived, Clemmons exited the vehicle at the same time as the victim. With a Sig 9 mm P365 pistol in hand, Clemmons pistol-whipped the victim, striking his face and then fired one shot in his chest.

Officers later found the victim and he was transported via flight for life to the University of Nebraska Medical Center where he was in critical condition.

After leaving the scene, the group went back to Clemmons residence where members of the group drove out to the Indian Hills subdivision, dumping the gun in a hiding location along with sweatshirts they wore. When police recovered the evidence, the pistol was found to be stolen out of Grand Island.

Clemmons was arrested after police spoke with several witnesses.

In other court records from Mondays motion day (all listed below are from North Platte unless listed otherwise):

Brandon T. Goodall, 28, denied violation of conditions of drug court. His case stems a felony manufacturing or distribution of a hazardous substance conviction in February. He is out on bail at 10% of $25,000. His next scheduled court appearance is Oct. 16.

Matthew S. Seamann, 40, of Maxwell, pleaded not guilty to felony prohibited acts with motor vehicle titles. He is out on bail at $900. His next scheduled court appearance is Oct. 6.

Anthony D. Rico, 34, pleaded not guilty to felony domestic assault and negligent child abuse. He is out on bail at $5,000. His next court appearance is on Oct. 30.

Russell J. Smith Jr., 40 pleaded no contest to felony manufacturing or distribution of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. As part of the plea deal, the original charge of felony manufacturing or distribution of a controlled substance was amended down to Schedule 4 or 5. District Judge Cindy Volkmer sentenced him to two years in the Nebraska Department of Corrections with 380 days credit.

Jerry L. Hendon, 39, pleaded guilty to felony child abuse with no injury and manufacturing or distribution of a hazardous substance. As part of the plea deal, three charges of possession of a controlled substance and one charge of possession of money while in possession of a controlled substance were dropped. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Misty L. Letellier, 25, pleaded no contest to felony theft by shoplifting between $0 and $500 and misdemeanor attempted possession of a controlled substance. As part of the plea deal, one count of felony possession of a controlled substance was amended down. Volkmer sentenced her to 18 months probation.

Robert L. Hendon pleaded not guilty to felony possession of methamphetamine between 28 and 139 grams, manufacturing or distribution of an exceptionally hazardous substance, possession of money while in possession of a controlled substance and possession of fentanyl. He is out on bail at 10% of $15,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Christopher C. Davis, 40, of Omaha, pleaded no contest to felony manufacturing or distribution of an exceptionally hazardous substance. As part of the plea deal, felony possession of methamphetamine between 28 and 139 grams was pleaded down and possession of marijuana was dropped. District Judge Michael Piccolo sentenced him to four years in the Nebraska Department of Corrections with 302 days credit.

Dana L. Foster, 41, pleaded not guilty to felony terroristic threats, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, false imprisonment, possession of methamphetamine between 10 and 27 grams, misdemeanor domestic assault of an intimate partner, violation of a protection order, and two counts of negligent child abuse. He is out on bail at 10% of $90,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Jocelyn D. Gemkow, 20, pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance. As part of the plea deal, charges of possession of methamphetamine between 28 and 139 grams and manufacture or distribution of an exceptionally hazardous substance were dropped. Piccolo sentenced her to problem solving court, where she will undergo addiction treatment.

Kerec M. Gilmore, 40, pleaded no contest to felony possession of cocaine. As part of the plea deal, a charge of possession of methamphetamine was dropped and possession of a controlled substance was amended down. Piccolo sentenced him to 360 days in the Lincoln County Detention Center with 153 days credit. Since this conviction put him in violation of post-release supervision stemming from past convictions, Piccolo sentenced Gilmore to an additional 180 days with 98 days credit to be served after the first sentence.

Caleb D. Hill, 21, pleaded no contest to felony attempted burglary. As part of the plea deal, a charge of burglary was amended down. He is due to be sentenced Nov. 6.

Anthony Loftus, 43, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, pleaded no contest to felony possession of methamphetamine between 10 and 27 grams. As part of the plea deal a charge of possession of methamphetamine between 28 and 139 grams was amended down and a charge of possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance was dropped. Scheduling for a sentence is to take place on Nov. 6.

Marty J. Martinez, 63, pleaded not guilty to felony terroristic threats, using a firearm to commit a felony, possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor obstruction of a peace officer. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 30.

Mark C. Matson, 45, denied violation of probation from a case he pleaded no contest to in March. Matson was convicted of felony terroristic threats, misdemeanor domestic assault of an intimate partner and negligent child abuse. As part of the plea deal, a charge of using a firearm to commit a felony was dropped. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 11.

Alyssa I Raymer, 27, of Agra, Kansas, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor issuing a check without an account between $500 and $1500 and theft by receiving stolen property between $500 and $1500. Piccolo sentenced her to 24 months probation.

Jeffrey D. Shafer, 31, pleaded no contest to felony possession of child pornography with a prior conviction. As part of the plea deal, the charge of possession of child pornography while being older than 19 years was amended down. Other charges of felony possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, tampering with a witness, misdemeanor violating a harassment protection order, contributing to the delinquency of a child and carrying a concealed weapon were dropped. He is due for sentencing on Nov. 6.

Jeremy M. Woodward, 43, of Fort Collins, Colorado, pleaded guilty to felony theft by receiving stolen property over $5,000 and misdemeanor unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle. As part of the plea deal, charges of felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor operating a vehicle without a license were dropped. Piccolo sentenced him to 18 months probation and allowed him to transfer his sentence to serve it out in Colorado.
DAMASCUS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel carried out a missile strike on military sites around the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday night, injuring a soldier, the Syrian army said in a statement.

The missiles were launched from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, it said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said three military sites, including weapon depots that belong to Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, were targeted.

For years, Israel has conducted attacks against airports and military bases in Syria that are alleged to house weapon shipments for Iran-linked fighters. 
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The 2022 elections were widely hailed as a triumph for democracy and a disaster for Donald Trumps stop the steal movement. And not without reason. In last years midterms, 13 election deniers ran for governor, secretary of state, or attorney general  offices with some influence over vote-counting procedures  in an Electoral College battleground. All 13 lost.

But a new study of the 2022 results paints a less rosy picture of the relationship between Republican officials contempt for democracy and their electoral fortunes. The political scientists Larry Bartels and Nicholas Carnes note that many of the vanquished election deniers in statewide races were political novices who may have been at a disadvantage, irrespective of their claims about the legitimacy of Joe Bidens victory. For example, the GOPs gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, was an ardent supporter of Trumps attempt to overturn the 2020 election and attended the ex-presidents rally on January 6, 2021. But he was also a QAnon enthusiast who aired virtually no campaign ads in the races home stretch.

Bartels and Carnes argue that a better gauge of the political viability of contempt for democracy in the U.S. is the electoral performance of Republican members of Congress who did and did not support Trump on key votes concerning the January 6 insurrection. Specifically, they examine how GOP congressional members voted on (1) the certification of electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania, (2) Trumps impeachment for his role in fomenting the Capitol riot, and (3) a proposed commission to investigate January 6. They then look at the disparate political fortunes of Republicans who stood with Trump and those who did not, while attempting to control for other variables that might have influenced their respective fates. For example, Republicans who were already at high risk of losing reelection (because they represented competitive districts) might have been disproportionately likely to buck Trump on these votes. Thus, the study measures how well candidates did in 2022 compared to both their own margins in the 2020 election and Trumps margin in their districts that year.

Bartels and Carnes find that Republicans who backed Trump on these key votes did no worse than other GOP lawmakers in their general elections. But those who consistently defied Trumps will  voting to certify the 2020 election results, to impeach Trump for his attempt to overturn those results, and to investigate January 6  were drastically more likely to lose a primary. As a result, a GOP lawmaker who opposed Trump on all these votes had a 19 percent chance of winning reelection, while one who backed Trump on all of them had a 98 percent chance of returning to Congress in 2023.

Further, whether a Congress member wins or loses reelection is not the sole index of their political fortune. An incumbent whose electoral prospects are especially grim is liable to retire without seeking reelection. One whose star is on the rise, by contrast, may choose to run for a higher office. Taking this into account, the fates of those who ran interference for Trumps coup and those who did not look even more divergent. In addition to the seven House Republicans who bucked Trump and then lost their primaries, eight chose not to seek reelection, a retirement rate ten times higher than that of others in their caucus. None of these Trump defiers sought higher office in 2022. By contrast, eight Trump loyalists left the House to seek a more exalted political perch.

These findings are arguably a bit less bleak than Bartels and Carness framing suggests. For example, although House Republicans who supported Trumps impeachment and the formation of the January 6 commission paid a steep political price, those who merely voted to certify the 2020 election results (while backing Trump on those other votes) were no less likely to win their primaries than those who voted against certification. Separately, it is possible that the causal relationship between voting against Trump and retiring from Congress might run in reverse: Lawmakers who were already planning to exit politics may have felt more comfortable bucking their partys leader.

Nevertheless, the study indicates that triumphalist accounts of the 2022 midterms were overly sanguine. Republican donors and primary voters rewarded lawmakers who shielded Trump from accountability for his coup attempt. General-election voters, meanwhile, did not significantly punish House Republicans who supported that coup by voting to decertify election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. This finding is consistent with survey experiments showing that only a small fraction of U.S. voters are willing to prioritize democratic principles over partisanship or ideological preferences.

Of course, you dont actually need to do much number crunching to find that GOP primary voters arent inclined to punish election deniers; Donald Trump currently leads the Republican presidential field by nearly 40 points. Opponents of authoritarian rule must therefore hope that general-election voters are more inclined to punish anti-democratic candidates in presidential races than they have been in congressional ones.
For the 30th year in a row, the Beat Bama Food Drive will be partnering with the Food Bank of East Alabama this fall as the two organizations continue to fight food insecurity.

The 30th collaboration between the two entities will be held from September 29 to November 16, a little over a week before the Iron Bowl. Since its inception in 1994, the BBFD has brought in over 4.5 million pounds of food for the Food Bank, which serves a seven-county area and thousands of families that dont know where their next meal is coming from.

An idea conceived by former director of the Food Bank of West Alabama Craig Young, each year the BBFD at Auburn University and Beat Auburn Beat Hunger at Alabama partner in a competitive drive to raise awareness at the growing number of food insecure families in Alabama and collect thousands of pounds of food to feed those families. In 2022, the two drives combined to raise over 295-times more food than when the drive began in 1994, but with food insecurity on the rise across the state, the organization looks to surpass that mark again in 2023.

In 1995, the Beat Bama Food Drive was in its second year with the Food Bank of East Alabama. Martha Henk had just been hired as the food banks new executive director, its sixth in three years. That year, the drive collected 567 pounds of food. The Food Bank of West Alabamas Beat Auburn Beat Hunger drive gathered over 5,000 pounds of food.

In 2022, Justin King was in his third year at with the BBFD and served as the vice president of administration. That year, the Beat Bama Food Drive lost to the Beat Auburn Beat Hunger drive, but it was a record-setting year for both schools. Alabama brought in a record 565,983 pounds for the Food Bank of West Alabama, while Auburn smashed its own goal of 400,000 pounds with 550,117 pounds of food.

In total, the competitive drive brought in over 1.1 million pounds of food to serve several communities in need. All of the drives dating back to its inception in 1994 have brought in 9.4 million pounds of food, equal to 7.8 million meals.

King was elected president in March of 2023. Serving his community has always been important to King. He joined the organization the moment he arrived on campus in 2020, when COVID-19 severely limited the contact the drive could have with the community.

Ive always been dedicated to service throughout my life, King said. Food insecurity is really big in the state of Alabama. And so I had some great leaders in my life that guided me to that in Auburn. Getting there as a freshman, it was really a perfect fit for me with that passion for service.

Under Henk, the Food Bank of East Alabama has grown exponentially alongside the BBFD. During her first year, she worked with around 15 partner agencies in the seven-county area to distribute around 400,000 pounds of food on a less than- $100,000 budget. Now, she is working with a budget of $12 million and almost 210 partner agencies.

By the end of 2023, Henk estimates the food bank will have distributed over 5 million pounds to the seven counties in their service area. However, that growth at the food bank has coincided with the rise of food insecurity in the state.

I think if we got closer to 6 million, wed be getting closer to really meeting our agencies needs, Henk said. When I started working at the food bank, they estimated that the food insecurity rate in Alabama was one out of 11 people living in the state. Its now actually, in much of our service area, closer to one out of every five and in fact, with children, its one out of every four.

According to statistics provided by the Food Bank of East Alabama, there are 23,990 people in Lee County that struggle with food insecurity. Across the seven county area, the number of people facing hunger issues would fill three-fourths of Jordan-Hare Stadium. According to Feeding America, Alabama has the fourth-highest hunger rate in the U.S.

With the 30th BBFD coming up, King says the team is ready to soar past last years goal, not to beat Alabama, but to help those in need.

Were fighting food insecurity. So if its a chip on the shoulder to help feed people, definitely, King said of last years record breaking number. We strive to improve every year and weve continuously gotten better throughout the past couple of years. And we plan on improving that this year.

King led the BBFD during the SEC Food Drive, where the organization raised over 70,000 pounds of food for the Auburn Campus Food Pantry. He believes the momentum from that will carry over into this years BBFD.

For Henk, it could not come at a better time. The Food Bank of East Alabama has been struggling to fill its inventory over the summer, and Henk said her team has turned to buying groceries just to meet the bare minimum of what the over 200 partner-agencies need.

This week, another truck carrying over 42,000 pounds of food will arrive at the Food Bank, and it will cost the organization $50,000, money that is drying up as COVID-19 relief ends across the U.S. The food bank is also facing shortages of specific items.

Anything that has protein in it is highly desirable. And that could be anything from you know, canned tuna or chicken, Henk said. We are really low on canned goods and some of our food pantries arent able to store perishable food canned goods are probably the biggest need at this point.

The projected start date for the 30th BBFD is September 29, and it is scheduled to run until 11:59 p.m. on November 16. Both dates are still subject to change.
Oooh I'm off work that day. Can't wait to watch.

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op you are to be congratulated on that hand lol

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OMG I didn't even notice that lmaoooo

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I'm so glad you pointed out this high art that I missed

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tbh i saw it, laughed, then had to look at it again because i wasn't 100% sure if it was real or not

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Its such a fucking nightmare that hes taking over news coverage again. Sighplease let it end!

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Good, I hope he's miserable.

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he's definitely stressed the fuck out. prob on his 6th big mac.

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I wonder if he ever looks at his life choices and realizes if he'd just not run for president he'd still be getting away with being a scammer untouched and no one would care, he would be hosting a reality show on the E! network but nooo, his feelings got hurt because Barack Obama made a joke about him and now his life is nonstop hell and legal fees



sometimes I think the most comforting thought to have come out of the last several years is that he is probably more unhappy than anyone. he strikes me as a very very unhappy person and I love it. he will never get the respect of the people he loves most, which are other celebrities. like okay he's got Kid Rock but lmao

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I agree. Reading Ronan's article on Musk, it gave me a bit of comfort when people that know him described his life as miserable.





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I think so, I remember an interview back when he was still president where he was despondent about losing his old life.

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People predicted at the time that if he ran for President and won, he would end up in prison. He's been a lifelong crook, they knew he'd never make it out of office without committing some kind of federal crime. I think he was even asked about it back then but of course just brushed it off.



He does seem miserable, which is what he deserves. The circle is tightening every minute, too. The Fulton County jail where he has to report for the mug shot and booking is supposedly much rougher than any place he's been so far. He's not going to get any white glove treatment in Georgia.



I hope it scares the shit out of him. I hear they're talking about indicting him in Arizona next. Bring it on.

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You know he hates losing money, his bond is $200k. Thatll make him squirm.

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I don't think he'll have a single relaxed day for the rest of his wretched life.



Good.

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adjfl'fjaldf; not that hand!!



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Electric chair

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Nah, can you imagine the smell? Fried fat and bronzer.

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And me without money for a pizza RN/for the day of 

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I hope the idea of taking a mugshot makes him so angry that he just drops dead.

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My first thought was that he wants it for merch. His cult will eat it up.

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That and use it to make him look like a martyr.

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I hope they make him undo his combover

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damn lets do a watch party or something

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I will happily make a post and have drinks ready at my place. Any idea what time he might be turning himself in so I can have it ready to go?

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Fyre Fest 2023 who? Felon Fest 2023 imminent.

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I was hoping he'd do it Wednesday to overshadow the Republican primary debate.

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Honestly Im disappointed he isnt doing the debate. My boss even scheduled me off work so I wouldnt talk shit all evening in the lobby of the hotel during it.

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Im so disappointed too. Trump is vile but nobody can bring Republicans to their knees like he can. I want him to level Desantis to his face.

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Supposedly he wanted to do just that but was talked out of it.

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Hes does have an interview with Carlson that will air same day as debates.

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Deathiest wishes and worst regards you fuckweasel

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~ and refraining from making any direct or indirect threat of any nature against any co-defendant, unindicted co-conspirator, witness, or victim



I mean... he's def going to violate the terms of his bail, right? So I can cling to hope of seeing his ass behind bars???

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This is the one that I just looked at like uhhhhh. He cant keep his little fingies from typing nor his giant mouth from talking. Hes gonna fuck it up.

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truth social will have to be pried from his lil hands

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he's already done it more than once, they even had to get a witness to testify a day early because he threatened them.

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he has the impulse control of a sugared up toddler so yeah this gon be good

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Not just that, if he violates it on this one he goes to the cockroach jail

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not only that but it would fuck up his dc case too because it's a state offense in georgia to threaten a witness, and he was told in the dc bail agreement not to get any state or federal charges while out on bail soooooooo YESSSSSSS i am excite!

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various requirements to remain free

~ not committing any further crimes



And this  this moron commits a crime a second, so he'll definitely fuck up.

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i actually cant tell if OP is joking or serious with the poll cuz last week trumps lawyers did ask to push the trial to april 2026. it def wont happen tho, the justice dept wants jan 2024



edit - oh wait i think its diff trial? lol



Edited at 2023-08-22 03:07 am (UTC)

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loving this mug shot business, is there any laws that he can't use it to sell merch tho?



too bad the Big Boss Man isn't around anymore to deliver GEORGIA JUSTICE



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screaming at the Grim Reapers with $ signs on their robes. IRS was a socialist hero, taxes are so powerful!



alos just to keep posting wrestling clips and because more people in the world need to see the debut of the Shockmaster:



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I don't think you're allowed to profit off your crimes. He is dumb enough to try though.

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Clean, green renewables are on the rise. Coal, the dirtiest fuel, is dying. Or so the energy transition line goes. The reality, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), is that global coal production, consumption, and seaborne volumes are all at all-time highs in 2023.

Coal isnt dying yet globally, just in the West. Its still alive and kicking in Asia  and still growing globally as a result. Thats bad news for greenhouse gas emissions, but good news for owners of the dry bulk ships that transport coal, particularly as America exports more of its own mining output via long-haul voyages to Asia.

Demand to ship coal has been a good support for the dry bulk market over the first half of the year, said ship brokerage BRS on Thursday. Despite coal demand in Europe and North America resuming its downward trend, Asia has provided an offset as demand continues to grow there.

Seaborne coal volumes are predicted to reach 1,335,000 million metric tons this year, topping 2019s record of 1,331,000 tons, the IEA said in its recently released midyear outlook.

BRS estimated that coal shipping demand measured in ton-miles (volume multiplied by distance) rose 9% in January-July versus the same period last year.

Record consumption and production

The IEA estimates that global coal demand will reach 8.39 million tons this year, up slightly from last years all-time high. Three out of every 4 tons of coal will be consumed in China, India, and Southeast Asia. China alone is expected to account for 56% of global consumption.

As Europe cuts down on its coal-fired power generation to be in line with its green energy transition, China and India have continued to add further capacity at levels that far exceed the current pace of power plant retirements, said ship brokerage SSY on Monday.

SSY noted that 86% of Chinese coal plants are less than 20 years old, and 52% are 10-20 years old. Considering that the average lifetime of a coal power plant is 40 years, a full capacity phaseout like the one targeted by Europe is unlikely to be replicated, said SSY.

On the supply front, the IEA expects global coal production to reach a new high this year, topping last years record of 8.63 million tons, with China, India and Indonesia accounting for over 70% of the total.

According to BRS, rising domestic production in India reduced that countrys coal imports by 7% year-on-year in January to July, to 134 million tons. BRS said the drop mostly affected demand for Indonesian coal aboard Capesize bulkers (vessels with capacity of around 180,000 deadweight tons or DWT).

In contrast, this years high Chinese domestic production is being complemented by higher imports, a plus for dry bulk shipping.

China imported 211.8 million tons of coal in the first seven months of 2023, a 77% surge from the same period last year, said BRS. Indonesia has been Chinas biggest seaborne supplier, followed by Russia and Australia.

US exports higher share of production

The U.S. was once the worlds largest coal producer but has fallen down the ranks. Current production is less than half the 2008 peak. Even so, Americas exports are now on the rise. Weaker domestic demand (due to environmental regulations and cheap natural gas) leaves more production to sell overseas.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that the U.S. will export 90 million tons of coal this year, up 16% versus 2022. Exports are projected to rise further, to 94 million tons, in 2024.

The EIA expects 22% of U.S. production to be exported next year. In 2008, when U.S. coal output peaked, only 7% of production was exported.

US coal CEOs focus on exports

International sales prospects were highlighted by executives of U.S.-listed coal producers on second-quarter conference calls during recent weeks.

Paul Lang, CEO of Arch Resources, said that around 20% of his companys production is sold in North America, with 80% sold in the seaborne market  half to Asia, the rest to Europe and South America.

What weve seen is an ongoing, significantly increased amount going to Asia, said Lang. It wasnt all that long ago that we had minimal volumes going into the Asian market.

According to Deck Slone, Arch Resources senior vice president of strategy, We focus a huge amount of attention on building out that Asian presence. Thats where the growth is going to be.

Lang added: If we ultimately have to, were ready to go 100% exports.

Mitesh Thakkar, CEO of Consol Energy, said exports accounted for 78% of Consols second-quarter recurring revenue. Consol is pursuing a strategic shift toward export demand growth, he said.

Bob Brathwaite, Consols senior vice president of marketing, said, Weve shipped cargoes to new end users into India, into China and also into Indonesia.

Joseph Craft, CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, said, Were totally focused on the international markets.

According to Jim Grench, CEO of Peabody Energy, We see the seaborne markets as the growth markets in demand, for both metallurgical and thermal coal. As weve stated many times  and it hasnt changed  our focus is on the seaborne markets.

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Canal delays positive for shipping rates

Most U.S. coal exports headed to Asia are loaded aboard Panamaxes (bulkers with capacity of 60,000-99,000 DWT) and routed through the Panama Canal.

This year, drought conditions in Panama are causing extensive delays and reroutings. These inefficiencies render the U.S. export trend even more positive to Panamax freight rates, because delays and rerouting tie up more vessel capacity.

Ship brokerage Braemar reported Tuesday that 80 bulk carriers were waiting to transit the canal, up from 59 at the end of July.

Braemar expects bulkers returning from Asia to avoid the Panama Canal and instead go via the Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope on their ballast (empty) legs. These longer ballasts should tighten the supply of tonnage in the Atlantic and provide support [to rates] in the coming months, particularly as grain enquiries in the U.S. Gulf pick up going into September.

Canal-related diversions should also extend Panamax bulkers laden (full) legs.

BRS reported earlier this month that coal-laden ships out of the Atlantic are deviating from their preferred Panama Canal route due to increasing transit times. Any changes to the fronthaul trade routes will increase voyage days from about 35 days via the Panama Canal to 50 days via the Suez Canal for coal loaded at the U.S. port of Burnside [Louisiana] to discharge in Rizhao, China.

By Greg Miller of FreightWaves via Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
While some low-income countries are hopeful about the potential for oil and gas wealth, as seen in many of the new African developments, other countries may feel forced into fossil fuel investments to pay off their debts, according to new research. Some state governments are using the growing interest in their untapped oil and gas resources to leverage their position in new developments and bring in new revenue to boost their national economies. But a new report suggests this may not be the case for all low-income countries, with some pursuing fossil fuel projects largely to repay debt.

Many oil and gas firms are pursuing operations in new oil regions in the hopes of developing low-carbon oil and gas projects in untapped regions of the world to help them keep pumping crude during a green transition. This has made international oil majors turn to low-income countries in regions such as Africa and the Caribbean to develop new projects, with many of these countries welcoming the potential for huge revenues from their natural resources.

In Africa, previously unheard-of oil powers such as Ghana and Namibia are expecting to see massive oil booms within the next decade, thanks to several successful exploration projects in recent years. And, unlike many of their predecessors that were exploited for their oil wealth, the governments of these countries want their piece of the pie. The government of Namibia is ensuring that it receives a reasonable stake of all new oil licenses, to provide long-term revenues that will boost their national economies and compensate communities affected by the developments. This approach is also being followed by Guyana, which is poised to become the worlds fourth-largest offshore oil producer.

But this is not the case for all low-income countries developing their energy resources, according to a new analysis by anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners. The report suggests that richer countries and private lenders may be forcing heavily indebted countries to rely more greatly on fossil fuels to repay their debt. It shows that several low-income states are continuing to invest in oil and gas projects to make their repayments, mainly for loans from richer nations. Debt Justice is now calling for creditors to cancel any debts linked to a reliance on fossil fuel projects.

Tess Woolfenden, a senior policy officer at Debt Justice, explained High debt levels are a major barrier to phasing out fossil fuels for many global south countries. She added, Many countries are trapped exploiting fossil fuels to generate revenue to repay debt while, at the same time, fossil fuel projects often do not generate the revenues expected and can leave countries further indebted than when they started. This toxic trap must end.

The report shows that debt from global south countries has risen by 150 percent since 2011, with 54 countries facing a debt crisis. This has restricted the amount of money these countries can invest in tackling climate change or developing green energy projects. In 2020, in Suriname, the government was forced to agree to a deal providing creditors with the right to nearly 30 percent of the countrys oil revenue until 2050, after it defaulted on its debt. And this is a country thats being viewed as a key example of the new wave of oil and gas developments, where many assume the population is benefitting from project revenues.

Sharda Ganga, the director of the Surinamese civil society group Projekta, stated As our debt has grown unsustainable, it dominates all policy decisions and impacts the lives of our citizens in every possible way. Earning money as quickly as possible to pay back the creditors is therefore priority number one. It means there is no more room for patience and such pesky things like sustainability or climate justice. The reality is that this is the new form of colonialism  we have exchanged one ruler for the rule of our creditors who basically already own what is ours. The difference is this time we signed the deal ourselves.

The report also emphasises the World Bank and IMFs overestimation of the anticipated revenue benefits of fossil fuel projects on their host nations, with growth following oil discoveries having systematically underperformed against IMF predictions. Debt Justice believes that as well as cancelling debt linked to oil and gas projects, the worlds major financial institutions should ensure finance is aligned with a 1.5-degree warming scenario and is not linked to fossil fuel developments. Until major financial institutions and richer countries acknowledge the role theyre playing in prolonging the global souths reliance on fossil fuels and do something about it, we cannot expect to achieve a global green transition.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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The populations and leaders of several South American countries are determining the fate of their natural resources, as the question of a green transition and deforestation loom over them. In both Ecuador and Brazil, state powers are deciding whether to approve new oil and gas licenses or put the health of the rainforest first. While many Latin American states have the potential to develop their oil and gas sectors further, some are questioning the value of their natural resources, as pressure mounts for a global green transition. But will they decide to keep drilling or focus on protecting the environment?

Last week, Ecuadorians were asked to vote in a referendum on new drilling that could affect the Amazon rainforest. On Sunday, Ecuadorians voted between eight presidential candidates in the general election, as well as on whether drilling should go ahead at the Yasuni Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oilfield, known as block 43. The field is situated in the Amazon national park, Ecuadors largest protected area and home to a major indigenous community, the Waorani people.

The population voted against the development of block 43, with around 6 in 10 voters against the move, meaning that the state oil company Petroecuador must end their operations in the Amazon reserve. This goes against Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lassos hopes to continue drilling for oil to bring in revenues to support the countrys economy. Ecuador has been struggling to boost its finances in the last year, with oil revenues declining from around $2.3 billion from January to July 2022 to just $991 million in the same period this year.

This is not the first time that Ecuador  and the rest of the world  has had to choose between the protection of the rainforest and the exploitation of the countrys oil reserves. In 2007, then-president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, offered to leave around 850 million barrels of oil in the ground if countries would contribute to a fund at half the estimated value of the reserves, around $3.6 billion. However, this plea to support the countrys economy and natural environment was unsuccessful, with the drilling of the field later approved in 2013 across a 2,000-hectare patch of rainforest.

A second referendum will decide whether mining in the Choco Andino in the capital of Quito should go ahead. The region is home to around a dozen copper, gold and silver mining concessions that are in the early stages of exploration, with six awaiting regularisation. The projects cover around 27,000 hectares of land.

Meanwhile, the future of Brazils oil and gas resources has come into question in recent months following the election of socialist president Lula da Silva, known as Lula, replacing right-wing nationalist president Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil has caught the eyes of several international organisations and climate groups in recent years due to Bolsonaros complete disregard for the protection of the Amazon rainforest, with over 3,980km2 of the Amazon cleared in the first six months of 2022 alone. Continued deforestation activities, which reached a fifteen-year high in 2021, have made the rainforest less resilient against droughts, fires, and landslides.

This month, environmental campaigners protested plans by the state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras to drill at the mouth of the Amazon River. This follows Petrobrass appeal to Brazil's environmental protection agency Ibama, which denied it permission to drill an exploratory well in the location. Last week, Environment Minister Marina Silva said that Ibama was expected to assess the oil companys request to place a drilling rig off the coast of Amapa to conduct oil exploration activities in the region where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic. The minister stated, Ibama does not make things more difficult or easier. It reaches a technical opinion that must be obeyed.

Despite pledging to bring an end to the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon, Lula continues to support oil operations in the country, as a means of bringing in revenues and supporting Brazils economy. In May, Lula stated that he found it difficult to imagine that oil exploration in the Amazon basin would cause environmental damage to the rainforest, following Ibamas initial ruling on Petrobrass project proposal. This month, President Lula plead with other countries around the globe to develop a common strategy to bring an end to the deforestation of the rainforest. Yet, he refuses to call for the phasing out of fossil fuels, which Colombian President Gustavo Petro has argued is essential for the forest's protection, stating Even if we get deforestation under control, the Amazon faces dire threats if global heating continues to climb.

Several South American countries are now having to decide the fate of their natural resources, choosing between continuing to develop their oil and gas resources to bring in much-needed revenues and protecting the environment to help curb the effects of climate change. With little financial support from foreign actors, many political leaders in the region must decide on what is needed for their countries as they decide on how best to develop their energy industries.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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Crucial to Iraqs plan to increase its oil production capacity to around 7 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 are the supergiant fields of Rumaila and West Qurna 2, as analysed in depth in my new book on the new global oil market order. Within the last two weeks, Russian state oil proxy Lukoil agreed to dramatically increase output from West Qurna 2. At around the same time, Daqing Drilling Engineering Company  a subsidiary of Chinese state oil proxy China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)  was awarded a US$192 million engineering, procurement, and construction contract for Rumaila. Both critical developments in Iraqs oil sector follow a comment from a very high-ranking official from the Kremlin  related exclusively to OilPrice.com at the time by a senior source in the European Unions (E.U.) energy security apparatus - that: By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq  and closer to the new Iran-Saudi axis - the end of Western hegemony in the Middle East will become the decisive chapter in the Wests final demise. The key question now for U.S. and its allies is what happens next in Iraq?

From Chinas and Russias perspective, things are going very well indeed, based on the plan they put into action after the U.S.s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, colloquially the nuclear deal) with Iran in May 2018. At the broadest level, the objective was to control all of Irans massive oil and gas resources between them, and then to extend this influence into Iraq, and then into Saudi Arabia so that they controlled all their oil and gas resources too. This would provide China with all the energy it needed to power its economic growth into the future so that it could overtake the U.S. as the worlds leading economic superpower by 2030 (the hard target date at that point in 2018). As also analysed in depth in my new book, it would allow China sufficient reserves not to worry about any supply disruptions caused by Western sanctions if it repatriated Taiwan by 2024 (the soft target date at that point). Having secured dominance across Asia Pacific, and with economic growth propelled further on the back of that, China saw little problem to its securing at least equal footing with the U.S. as the worlds top superpower. A key strategy to enable China to secure the oil and gas resources of Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia was to do so in as surreptitious a way as possible, in order not to provoke a direct confrontation with the U.S. until it felt itself ready to win in such a scenario. Russias key role in this phase of the plan was to act more overtly and aggressively to test where the boundaries of the West were in the event of certain provocations by the China-Russian alliance. In many ways, Russias invasion of Ukraine was part of this tactic. Related: Rig Count Decline Accelerates Amid Rising U.S. Crude Oil Production

Chinas path towards realising its objectives was made much easier by the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. Within just three months of this, China and Iran had agreed in principle nearly all the key energy, financial, and military cooperation policies that would be enshrined a year later in the Iran-China 25-Year Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement as first revealed anywhere in the world in my 3 September 2019 article on the subject and analysed in full in my new book on the new global oil market order. Aside from the obvious energy advantages to China of such an agreement, it was also aware that this pact would create an enormous perceived security threat to Irans arch-historical enemy, Saudi Arabia. From that point, then, China capitalised on Saudi Arabias fears to further leverage the relationship it had developed with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) via a face-saving offer over the Aramco IPO that enabled him to become heir to King Salman, as also analysed in the book. A spate of deals was done between Saudi Arabia and China, to the point that by the time of Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Saudi Arabia was already so aligned to China that Saudi Aramcos chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said: Ensuring the continuing security of Chinas energy needs remains our highest priority - not just for the next five years but for the next 50 and beyond. These developments, as China had anticipated back in May 2018, culminated in the 10 March 2023 agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore relations, brokered and monitored for the future by Beijing.

The longstanding division of tasks between China and Russia is evident in the current phase of their takeover of Iraqs oil and gas sector. Well-known Russian oil and gas firms are present in major exploration and development contracts across the country, including in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, which it uses to create trouble - and therefore leverage - with southern Iraq. West Qurna 2 is a key example of this approach. China, conversely, remains content to play the quieter, longer game, in order not to provoke direct confrontation with the U.S. and its allies. Hence, the multiple awards of anodyne-sounding contract-only projects - such as drilling-only, field maintenance-only, parts replacement-only, storage-only, technology-only, and so on  to unknown Chinese firms. The exploration and development contracts for China are done through this backdoor method, with firms that are less well-known than the big state players that attract little or no publicity but, as all companies in China are part of the state and are legally bound to work towards what they are told to do by the Communist Party, it doesnt make any difference to the eventual outcome, a senior source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry exclusively told OilPrice.com.

It is a testament to the effectiveness of Chinas low-profile strategy in several Iraqi oilfields that although Daqing Drilling Engineering Company has been present in the Rumaila field in one capacity or another since 2010, it has attracted no attention whatsoever. This is even odder, as Rumaila is Iraqs biggest oilfield, with an estimated 17 billion barrels in proven reserves, and current production of around 1.4 million bpd. Crucially, though, in Chinas and Russias plans for Iraq, Rumaila - which, together with Kirkuk, has produced around 80 percent of Iraqs entire cumulative oil production to date  urgently needs a reliable system through which the pressure in its wells can be maintained, otherwise production is liable to plummet. The system long envisaged for precisely this purpose is the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), which involves taking seawater from the Persian Gulf and transporting it to key oil production facilities such as Rumaila to boost pressure and sustain production. A functioning CSSP running into Rumaila is absolutely vital to Iraqs target of hitting 7 million bpd oil production in the first phase, and then boosting it upwards from there. Chinas CNPC  the parent of the Daqing Drilling Engineering Company active in Rumaila  was long one of the two top contenders (along with the U.S.s ExxonMobil) for putting the CSSP into place, before it was replaced by Western supermajor TotalEnergies as part of its US$27 billion four-pronged megadeal.

According to the E.U. energy security source, China regards this deal as a huge threat to its plans to close the net around Iraqs oil and gas sector, and it also believes it might threaten some of its activities in the countrys chief regional sponsor, Iran. Specifically, Iran and Iraq share many of their major oil reservoirs and that many of the two countries oilfields are just two parts of these same oil reservoirs. For example, Irans Azadegan oil reservoir (split into North and South fields) is the same reservoir upon which sits Iraqs Majnoon oilfield. The same feature applies to Azar (on the Iran side)/Badra (on the Iraq side), Yadavaran (Iran)/Sinbad (Iraq), Naft Shahr (Iran)/Naft Khana (Iraq), Dehloran (Iran)/Abu Ghurab (Iraq), West Paydar (Iran)/Fakka/Fauqa (Iraq), and Arvand (Iran)/South Abu Ghurab (Iraq), plus many others. If the French [TotalEnergies] are successful in rolling out the CSSP  which they certainly have the capability to do  then the pressure will be on the Iraqi government to plug all of the major fields into it at some point to maintain pressure in the wells, and that would force out the Chinese, said the E.U. source. So, these two sudden announcements [West Qurna 2, and Rumaila] will be directly connected to China beginning to take a more overt stance in the country, and to really start to flex its muscles with the [Iraqi] government over its long-term interests there, he concluded.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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Oil markets have been relatively subdued this week, with the prospect of Kurdish oil flows restarting adding some downward pressure to prices.

Chart of the Week

- Hurricane Hilary, the first tropical cyclone to hit southern California since 1939, seems to have spared US refiners along the West Coast, with the five refineries in the LA area reporting no major damage.

- Before landfall, Los Angeles gasoline and diesel differentials were at 40-45 cent per gallon premiums to NYMEX RBOB and NYMEX ULSD, aggravated by the 160,000 b/d Torrance refinery going into maintenance.

- As fears subsided that Hilary would damage the 1.1 million b/d refinery capacity in the region, gasoline premiums have started to slide back down, also buoyed by pipeline operators restarting oil product pipelines across the state of California.

- The oil import terminal in Long Beach is expected to resume discharge operations on crude tankers Tuesday, after port operations have been suspended since August 19, with the US West Coast relying on seaborne crude as it lacks pipeline connections to Texas and New Mexico.

Market Movers

- US oil major ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and its Stabroek block partners approved the 6th offshore oil project in Guyana called Whiptail, at a cost of $13 billion, with an expected commissioning in 2027.

- French oil major TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) teamed up with Japans oil company INPEX to buy 100% of the AC-RL7 permit in Australias part of the Timor Sea, eyeing future gas supply to the Ichthys LNG plant.

- US shale firm Permian Resources (NYSE:PR) agreed to buy peer producer Earthstone Energy (NYSE:ESTE) in an all-stock deal valued at $4.5 billion, creating a $14 billion powerhouse in the Delaware basin.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Oil prices have been trending sideways this week amidst subdued trading activity, with ICE Brent hovering around $84 per barrel. With both Iraq and Turkey striking a more conciliatory tone as they discuss the resumption of Kurdish crude flows, the short-term outlook is geared towards a slight downside. By early September, however, markets will be on edge to see if Saudi Arabia decides to extend its 1 million b/d production cut into October.

US Oil Majors Shift Payout Focus. For the first time on record, US energy companies last year paid out more of their earnings to shareholders than they invested into E&P, Ernst & Young reported, with spending on dividends and share buybacks by the top 50 US oil firms hitting $58.8 billion.

Iraq and Turkey Try to Find Common Ground. Iraqs oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani traveled to Turkeys Ankara this week, seeking to resume oil exports through the Ceyhan oil terminal as the 450,000 b/d crude flows have been shuttered since late March after an ICC arbitration ruling.

Ecuador Bans Drilling for Amazon Oil. A referendum held this weekend in Ecuador saw almost 60% of the population vote to ban oil drilling in the Yasuni Amazon reserve, a decision lauded by Indigenous groups and environmentalists, prompting Petroecuador to shut some 50,000 b/d of output by end-2024.

Another Push for Lake Charles LNG. US midstream operator Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) filed for a new and expedited export license for its proposed Lake Charles LNG liquefaction terminal in Louisiana, several months after the DoE refused an extension of its 2025 deadline due to delays.

Prospect of LNG Strike Rattles Australia. With LNG platforms workers at Woodside Energys (ASX:WDS) NW Shelf platform expected to start striking from September 2, gas markets are bracing for the supply impact of industrial action, with TTF rising to a two-month high of 40 per MWh.

Texas Power Prices Soar on Endless Heat. Electricity prices in Texas have soared above $5,000 per MWh in intra-day trading last week as weak wind generation put the market premium on gas burn, with further peak load spikes expected this week as ERCOT power demand is set to break records this week.

Saudi Arabias Mega Solar Plant Dashes Ahead. Saudi Arabias 2.6 GW Al Shuaibah solar plant, the largest renewable energy project in the country led by oil giant Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222), has secured $2.2 billion in financing and is moving ahead with a launch planned for 2025.

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Chinese Firms Eye Global LNG Trading Role. Having amassed a fair share of flexible-destination US and term Qatari LNG deals amounting to some 40 million tons LNG per year, Chinese gas buyers ENN Natural Gas and CNOOC (HKG:0883) are already expanding their trading desks in London and Singapore.

Lead Buying Bonanza Set to Trigger Price Rally. As open interest in lead futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange doubled since June to 172,231 lots and the number of positions for physical delivery in September surpassed actual ShFE stocks, lead is up for a sizable price rally in the upcoming weeks.

Shell Faces Nigeria Nightmare Again. Merely days after UK-based energy major Shell (LON:SHEL) resumed loading operations at its Forcados export terminal in Nigeria, a reported leak might jeopardize oil transportation via its 180,000 b/d Trans Niger pipeline.

Vietnams Rare Earth Industry Boosted by China Sanctions. Several rare earth refining firms supplying magnets to electronics and EVs are set to open factories in Vietnam amidst an industry-wide push to diversify away from China, including Star Group Industrial and Chinas Baotou.

Equinor Eyes Azerbaijan Exit. Norways national oil company Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) is reportedly considering the sale of its assets in Azerbaijan, including a 7.3% stake in the ACG fields as well as associated infrastructure, four years after US major Chevron (NYSE:CVX) quit the country altogether.

Reform of US Ozone Standards Delayed. A key policy measure suggested by the US Environmental Protection Agency, a tightening of air quality standards for ozone (impacting both power plants and vehicles), is likely to be delayed until the 2024 presidential election.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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Chinas crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia are unlikely to materially increase in the near term despite tanker-tracking evidence that arrivals rose in the first half of August, analysts say.

Early this month, global imports of Saudi crude grades showed signs of recovery, after hitting fresh lows in July, Jay Maroo, Head of Market Intelligence & Analysis (MENA) at Vortexa, wrote in a note last week.

Most of the monthly rise in Saudi crude imports in August arrivals has been due to higher imports from the core buyers in AsiaChina, Japan, India, and Taiwan. Those major oil importers are on track to collectively raise imports of Saudi crudes by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), putting totals at historical upper ranges, according to Vortexas estimates.

For China and India, rising Saudi crude imports are also overlaid with the backdrop of Russian Urals becoming scarcer and less favourable in pricing, Maroo said.

Despite the uptick in observed Chinese imports of Saudi crude in early August, Chinas purchases of Saudi oil are expected to remain depressed through the third quarter, which includes the months of July, August, and September, analysts told Reuters earlier this week.

We expect Chinese imports of Saudi crude will maintain a slight downward trend in the third quarter this year, Xi Jiarui, a crude oil analyst with China-based commodities consultancy JLC, told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia continues to trail its OPEC+ partner Russia in terms of crude oil deliveries to China.

Despite higher oil prices and narrower discounts of Russian crudes to international benchmarks, Russia remained the single largest crude oil supplier to China in July, ahead of Saudi Arabia, according to Chinese customs data.

Chinese imports of crude from Russia averaged 1.9 million bpd last month, a 13% increase compared to July 2022, although arrivals from Russia were lower than the record-high hit in June, per the data released by Chinas General Administration of Customs on Sunday and reported by Reuters. In July, Chinese crude imports from Russia again exceeded those from Saudi Arabia, which dropped by 14% from July last year and fell by 31% from June 2023, according to Reuters calculations based on Chinas official figures.

While Chinese demand for Saudi oil is likely to remain depressed in the short term, analysts expect to see a recovery in the long term.

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TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- One explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist of the Iranian Navy was killed, and two others were injured as unexploded munitions went off in a shooting range in northern Iran.

In a statement on its website, the Iranian army identified the killed navy specialist as Arash Amiri.

The statement said he had been dispatched, along with a team, to clear the Gilavan firing range in Gilan province after a shooting training mission was finished.

It added the two injured EOD specialists have been transferred to the hospital. 
From August 22nd to 24th, BRICS leaders are set to convene in South Africa, marking a pivotal moment for this loosely knit coalition of major non-Western nations including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The conference aims not only to strengthen cooperation but to forge a robust international alliance designed to counteract Western influence. Amidst this strategic push, BRICS seeks to expand its reach, encompassing a multitude of countries from the "Global South," with Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East at its core.

Heads of state such as Russia's President Putin, China's Xi Jinping, and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa have made clear their intentions: challenging the entrenched geopolitical dominance of the West. However, cracks in this united front are already evident. Vladimir Putin's absence, driven by fears of arrest over war crimes in Ukraine, casts shadows over the project. Simultaneously, India, a BRICS heavyweight, is wary of China's ascendancy potentially sidelining its interests within the alliance. Related: Will Chinas Appetite For Saudi Oil Return?

Amid the fervor, media attention has swiveled toward the ongoing "de-dollarization" initiatives driven by China, Russia, and others outside the BRICS framework. While this has garnered significant interest due to potential shifts in global trade dynamics, the reality remains that over 90% of global trade continues to be conducted in US dollars. The financial aspect, especially when considering the collective GDP of BRICS versus the G7, holds great significance. The aspiration of non-Western nations to challenge established norms is not new, tracing back to post-colonial times and the subsequent economic successes of China and India.

Although often overlooked, BRICS' expansion efforts encompass a diverse list of countries, with Argentina, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia among those expressing interest. Roughly 40 nations are considering participation, driven by economic incentives and the growing economic might of China and India. While the West's concern is palpable, its focus might be misplaced.

Beneath the surface, a formidable energy-oriented bloc is forming, aligning BRICS with key energy exporters like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and potentially Algeria and the UAE. Although not officially tied to a BRICS-OPEC+ affiliation, the convergence of interests in the list of participating or invited nations could revolutionize energy and commodity markets. An integrated alliance of energy giants would reshape global energy supply security, possibly prioritizing BRICS routes. This also extends to ambitious global supply chain projects, including China's One Belt One Road, UAE's port expansions, and Saudi's Vision 2030 initiatives.

Simultaneously, BRICS' expansion into Africa, particularly in mining, minerals, and metals, merits attention in the coming months. The inclusion of new members with critical mineral and metal resources could fundamentally shift this coalition, possibly with China and Russia spearheading efforts. Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also entered the global mining sphere, aligning with renewable energy and decarbonization strategies. BRICS' expansion holds implications not just for the US dollar's dominance but for Western influence and access to energy resources and supply chains.

The Biden Administration acknowledges this evolving landscape and is intensifying efforts to manage the perceived fallout. The US's oil and gas reserves, alongside geopolitical influence, provide a cushion, but Europe seems complacent. Despite talk of distancing from China's sway, Europe's reliance on Asian manufacturing and markets grows. European strategies hinge on African minerals, metals, hydrocarbons, and renewable energy sources, all increasingly at the mercy of shifting alliances.

As Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Algiers, and others pivot toward the East, including Russia, a significant challenge emerges. Not just hydrocarbons, but access to supply chains and maritime trade routes, will be high on the agenda. The integration of North Africa and the Middle East into a Beijing-Moscow-led BRICS+ adds pressure. China and Russia are no longer bystanders; they actively undermine Western interests. The potential integration of OPEC and gas-exporting nations into BRICS threatens Western energy interests. The convergence of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Brazil, and Russia empowers BRICS with control over 60% of global energy reserves and production.

Amidst the de-dollarization discourse, practical and security concerns come to the forefront, demanding attention beyond the hype.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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The United States largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG), has struck a deal with Germanys BASF SE (OTCQX:BASFY) to supply the chemical giant with 0.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG to the chemicals giant.

The BASF deal is one of several long-term supply deals Cheniere has signed so far this year. Back in June, Cheniere signed a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement with Chinas ENN Energy Holdings. Under terms of the deal, ENN will purchase ~1.8M metric tons/year of LNG on a free-on-board basis at Henry Hub prices for a 20-year term, with deliveries to commence mid-2026 ramping up to 0.9 million tonne per annum (mtpa) in 2027.

The deal is subject to the completion of Chenieres Sabine Pass project, which is being developed to include up to three liquefaction trains with an expected total production capacity of ~20M tons/year of LNG. Last year, ENN signed a 13-year deal with Cheniere to purchase 900K metric tons/year, again based on Henry Hub prices.

Currently, Sabine Pass has six fully operational liquefaction units aka ?trains, each capable of producing ~5 mtpa of LNG for an aggregate nominal production capacity of ~30 mtpa. Cheniere processes more than 4.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas into LNG. Sabine Pass has multiple pipeline connections to interstate and intrastate pipelines, and is located less than four nautical miles from the Gulf of Mexico thus providing easy access to seafaring vessels.

Also in June, Cheinere entered another LNG sale and purchase agreement with Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) that will see the Norwegian national oil company purchase 1.75M metric tons/year of LNG on a free-on-board basis for a purchase price indexed to the Henry Hub price, for a 15-year term.

European natural gas prices have been surging, as traders panicked over the possibility of reduced LNG supply from Australia, the world leading supplier of the commodity. Prices of TTF, the European benchmark, climbed nearly 10% to 41 per megawatt hour ($13 per million British thermal units) on Mondays session before finishing the day up 6.5 per cent at 40 MWh.

Commodity analysts have said that the sudden jump was also likely due to some traders rushing to close their short positions on the news of tightening supplies. Europe has failed to secure enough long-term LNG contracts to offset cut-off Russian gas imports, with Reuters earlier predicting this may prove costly next winter and could sharply tighten the market.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Norways state oil company Equinor is considering the sale of its assets in Azerbaijan, Bloomberg has reported, adding that the sale would include Equinors stake in the biggest oil project in the Caspian country, the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field.

The massive offshore field in the Caspian Sea contains an estimated 5.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. With total investments of some $20 billion, production at the field began in late 1997 with peak production seen in 2009.

Besides Equinor, the operator BP has as partners in the ACG field Japans Inpex, Exxon, Itochu, Indias ONGC Videsh, and the Azeri state oil and gas company, SOCAR.

Per the terms of the contracts between the shareholders, SOCAR has the right of first refusal to Equinors offer for sale, after which the Norwegian major can look for other buyers.

According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, there are already interested parties and negotiations are underway but there is no certainty these will result in a sale.

Azerbaijan, meanwhile, is boosting its natural gas profile. The country recently ramped up its gas exports to Europe after the cutoff of most Russian pipeline supply last year, sending some 2.9 billion cubic meters via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline during the first quarter of the year.

This is a small amount compared to what Europe was getting from Russia but plans are in motion to boost Azeri deliveries further. By 2027, the EU and Azerbaijan plan to have at least 20 billion cubic meters flowing from the Caspian country to Europe.

This year, Azeri gas exports to Europe are seen at some 11.6 billion cubic meters, which would be a minor increase on total exports in 2022, which stood at 11.4 billion cubic meters.

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Meanwhile, BP announced a new gas discovery at the ACG field, with Eurasianet reporting production from the new find could begin as early as 2024.

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Europes benchmark natural gas prices surged on Tuesday mid-day in Amsterdam as the market is closely watching whether LNG exporters in Australia will manage to avert a workers strike that could cripple 10% of global LNG supply.

The front-month futures at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark for Europes gas trading, had jumped by 8.7% to $48.28 (44.35 euros) per megawatt (MWh) as of 12:07 p.m. GMT on Tuesday, as workers and LNG facility owners in Australia continue to discuss a possible resolution to the dispute about pay and work conditions.

Woodside, which is negotiating with a workers union alongside Chevron, said on Tuesday that it had constructively addressed the concerns of the employees.

I feel like we have kind of constructively addressed a number of their areas of concern, Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill told Reuters in an interview.

This weekend, members of the union Offshore Alliance unanimously endorsed giving Woodside seven working days notice of Protected Industrial Action if the workers bargaining claims for the Woodside Platforms are not resolved by Wednesday, August 23.

On Sunday, the unions at Woodsides North West Shelf offshore gas platforms said they could go on strike as early as September 2 if their demands are not met.

Australias labor regulator earlier this month gave the go-ahead to industrial action at Woodside and Chevron LNG facilities.

Woodsides North West Shelf is the largest LNG production project in Australia, with a capacity of 16.9 million tons annually, followed by Chevrons Gorgon, which has a capacity of 15.6 million tons. Wheatstone, also operated by Chevron, can produce 8.9 million tons of LNG annually.

Because of that substantial capacity, disruption at the three facilities would send ripples across the global gas market.

If workers go ahead with strikes and if those strikes result in maximum LNG export disruption, Europes natural gas prices could exceed $109 (100 euros) per MWh, Goldman Sachs said in a note carried by The Wall Street Journal.

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Nigeria's former oil minister and OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with bribery offenses she committed during her time as Nigeria's oil minister, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday. Alison-Madueke, 63, was first arrested in London in October 2015 but got out on bail. She is now set to appear in a London court on October 2, the NCA has said. Alison-Madueke made history as the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and later became the first female president of OPEC.

"We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts. Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries," head of NCA's international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said in a statement.

Nigeria, Africas top oil producer, is dogged by rampant corruption, and ranked 150th among the 180 countries in the Transparency International Index. Earlier this month, Nigerian military forces destroyed 36 illegal refining sites and arrested 22 suspected oil thieves in the Niger Delta in the countrys latest crackdowns on illegal oil trade, with a Defense Headquarters spokesperson telling local media that the operation recovered 310,700 liters of crude oil; 14,675 liters of Automotive Gas Oil, 49,000 liters of Dual Purpose kerosene and assorted weapons. Last year, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCGROUP) CEO Melee Kyari revealed that Nigeria was losing nearly all the oil output at oil hub Bonny, the town after which its premium oil grade Bonny Light is named.

Bonny Light is a light-sweet crude oil grade produced in Nigeria, and an important benchmark crude for all West African crude production. Bonny Light has particularly good gasoline yields, which has made it a popular crude for U.S. refiners, particularly on the U.S. East Coast. Although the figures are usually estimates, the NNPCL and the ministry of petroleum have variously put the total quantity of barrels stolen at between 200,000 to 400,000 per day.

Nigeria produced 1.184 million bpd of crude in May, making it Africas largest producer ahead of Libya (1.158 million bpd), Angola (1.111 million bpd) and Algeria ( 962,000 bpd).



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Exxon, Hess, and CNOOC are preparing to launch a sixth offshore oil project in Guyana, with $12.93 billion earmarked for its development.

This is according to a filing by the Guyanese government cited by Reuters, which also revealed the new project, dubbed Whiptail, will be operational in four years.

Earlier this year, the Guyanese government also greenlit another multi-billion-dollar development proposed by Exxon and partners for the Stabroek block. The Uaru field has estimated reserves of over 800 million barrels of crude and would add 250,000 bpd to the consortiums current production rate in Guyana.

The Whiptail field should add a similar production rate to the total, with a maximum projected yield of 263,000 bpd.

After the start of the Urau and the Whiptail projects, Exxon and partners output on Guyana could rise to 1.2 million bod in 2027. The current rate of production in the country is about 400,000 bpd, from two fields but the consortium eyes as many as 10 developments.

Exxon and its partners Hess Corp. and Chinas CNOOC have made some 30 discoveries offshore Guyana since they started exploring the Stabroek block. Production is climbing consistently, likely to hit the target 400,000 bpd by the end of this year. Guyana is a priority jurisdiction for Exxon, along with U.S. shale.

The three companies are currently the only oil producers in Guyana, but the countrys government has big plans. Guyana is tendering 14 more blocks this year as it seeks to speed up its transformation into a major oil producer while reducing Exxons dominance of its emerging oil industry.

Guyanas government eyes oil production of some 1.64 million bpd by 2030 as it is eager to monetize its hydrocarbon resources before peak demand hits, as predicted by forecasters seeing a successful energy transition away from fossil fuels.

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Oil production in Nigeria slumped by 15.5% in July from June, marking the third month-on-month decline since April, according to data from the local upstream regulator.

Last months oil production in the African OPEC member fell to 1,081,396 barrels per day (bpd) from 1,248,960 bpd produced in June, per the crude oil and condensate production data of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported by local media.

Nigeria has consistently failed to produce to its quota in the OPEC+ agreement. The combination of pipeline vandalism and oil theft with a lack of investment in capacity has made Nigeria the biggest laggard in crude oil production in the OPEC+ alliance. Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have long plagued Nigerias upstream oil and gas industry, driving majors out of the country and often resulting in force majeure at the key crude oil export terminals.

Nigerias oil production is around 1 million bpd below its capacity. The government has 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, Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive at the NUPRC, said in May.

Nigeria aims to significantly increase its oil production to up to 1.7 million bpd by November 2023, hoping to win a higher quota in the OPEC+ agreement, Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, Permanent Secretary at Nigerias Ministry of Petroleum Resources, told Energy Intelligence last month.

Nigerias quota was 1.742 million bpd earlier this year, but due to its underproduction of more than 400,000 bpd, the output cap for Nigeria was lowered to 1.38 million bpd at the OPEC+ meeting in early June.

Nigerias NUPRC plans to hold an international roadshow in the coming weeks to attract investments in its upstream sector.

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Saudi Aramco looks to further bolster its downstream presence in the worlds top crude oil importer, China, the oil giants Downstream President, Mohammed Al Qahtani, has said.

China is strategically important to our business growth in Asia and worldwide, and we will remain a reliable source of long-term oil supply, Al Qahtani was quoted as saying by China Daily.

Oil product demand in China has seen a robust recovery, the Saudi executive said, reiterating Aramcos view that China will drive global oil demand growth and is of strategic importance to the worlds largest crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

For example, more than half of the world's oil demand growth this year could come from China alone, Al Qahtani said, echoing views of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and other forecasters that expect Chinese demand growth to account for around 70% of global oil demand increase in 2023.

The long-term prospects on the Chinese market are also favorable for Saudi Aramco, which is looking to further expand its downstream business in China and lock in future term supply contracts with the top global oil importer.

Just last month, Saudi Aramco completed the purchase of a 10% stake in a Chinese petrochemical firm for the equivalent of $3.4 billion as the Saudi oil giant continues to expand its downstream footprint in one of its key export markets. Aramco successfully closed the acquisition of a 10% interest in Rongsheng Petrochemical Co Ltd.

Saudi Aramco announced earlier this year two major refinery and petrochemical deals in China, which not only give the worlds largest oil firm a share of the Chinese downstream market but also an additional export outlet for 690,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Saudi crude in China.

A Saudi Aramco joint venture plans to build a $10-billion refining and petrochemical complex in China over the next three years, while Aramco has now completed the acquisition of 10% in Rongsheng Petrochemical and will supply 480,000 bpd of Arabian crude oil to Rongsheng affiliate Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd (ZPC), under a long-term sales agreement.

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Tech giant Google continues to expand its footprint in Nebraska, unveiling plans Tuesday for a new data center in the capital city.

The company said it is making a $1.2 billion investment in the state in 2023, with part of the money going toward the new center planned in northeast Lincoln. The center is expected to cost a total of $600 million, and some of those costs would occur in future years, the company said.

Another part of the $1.2 billion will go for ongoing expansion of the companys current data center in Papillion, the company said. And some will go toward Googles new data center under construction in northwest Omaha near State Street and Blair High Road. That center is expected to open soon, the company said.

Googles Nebraska spending in 2023 comes on top of $5 billion that the company previously has invested in the Omaha metro area, and doesnt include the announcement earlier this month of a $350 million expansion at Googles massive data center in Council Bluffs.

Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird expressed delight that the project in her city, concealed during the planning stages by the pseudonym Agate, could finally be revealed.

Im really excited, Gaylor Baird said. For the past four years, since I walked into the doors of city hall as mayor, weve been having to call this Project Agate.

We can stop winking at the chamber and saying We think it rhymes with Schmoogle.

Gaylor Baird said that in recent years Lincoln has become the cradle for a flourishing tech scene. Large companies and small startups, she said, are recognizing what the city has to offer.

With todays announcement, we expand our economic vitality, workforce and stature of our city in a really big way, she said. We know that Lincoln is already on Googles map, but Im thrilled to say Google is now officially on Lincolns map.

The center will create new jobs, anchor industrial development and provide a range of services that power businesses from Scottsbluff to Scottsdale and beyond, she said.

Luke Peltz, vice president of the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development, said the project has been in the works nearly five years and will pay dividends, initially in construction jobs.

Its a huge win for Lincoln, he said.

Google officials said earth movers are already on site.

The Lincoln data center will look similar in design to the Papillion center, said Allie Hopkins, Googles head of data centers for Iowa and Nebraska.

We try to do similar builds, Hopkins said. That helps with speed and efficiency, and we really can fine-tune the design.

Hopkins could not say when the Lincoln data center would come online.

I can tell you that were starting now. And I cant tell you when were going to be done. Thats a timeline. Well probably have an announcement when its actually in production.

She said Nebraskas low unemployment rate has not hampered hiring.

The talent has been really, really fantastic, readily accessible and eager to come work for us and stay with us, she said.

Papillion Mayor David Black thanked Google for its continued investment in his community.

They came in 2018, I think, started building in 2019, and completed a building every year since then, Black said. A lot of places could just be a big corporation that just comes in and uses us. Google really is part of the community.

The company says that since breaking ground on the Papillion center in 2019, it has created more than 120 jobs for Nebraskans. Those full-time and external supplier jobs have included computer technicians, engineers and various food service, maintenance and security roles, it says.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said the projects will have a huge impact on Papillion, Lincoln and on the entire state.

As we all know, these data centers are extremely critical to the internet and cloud services that power our economy, Fischer said. And our state offers the critical resources that are necessary to support that innovation.

Nebraska has a great workforce, excellent university system, resources, land and water needed to support the centers, she said.

The centers create good technology jobs, and Nebraska has the workforce to fill them, she said.

Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said the expansion will create good jobs that connect Nebraskans to the rest of the world.

Flood, who represents Lincoln and much of eastern Nebraska, joked that Google should sprinkle some more data centers around his district.

Since youre handing out these data centers like candy, I would like one in Fremont, Columbus and Norfolk, he said. Once that happens, we have the trifecta.

Data centers support all the digital services that people use each day, like Gmail, YouTube, search and cloud storage.

The growing use of the cloud, plus the advancement and innovation in artificial intelligence, are driving the need for Google to ramp up its infrastructure, Hopkins said.

Were the fastest-growing cloud provider so weve got to be able to meet that demand, she said.

Tuesdays announcement came at a press conference at Googles Papillion data center at 14865 Gold Coast Road, just west of Nebraska Highway 50.

The new Lincoln data center will be on the northwest corner of Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 77, or 56th Street, on the northeast edge of Lincoln.

Google, through a subsidiary, paid about $18.6 million for about 600 acres of land at the site. Another subsidiary applied for $600 million in state tax incentives in 2020.

The Papillion expansion will add to the considerable growth of data centers in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. According to Dgtl Infra, the area already has at least 20 data centers from a dozen different providers.

Overall, global internet usage has grown 20-fold since 2010. And lifestyle changes since the pandemic, with the rise of working from home and more online shopping, have only helped to further drive the demand for data centers. The rise of artificial intelligence has become another recent driver.

Data centers gobble up incredible amounts of power  for big ones, as much as a small city. And the Omaha areas data center growth is leading whats believed to be the largest spike in demand for electricity in the Omaha Public Power Districts 77-year history.

To meet that growth, Omahas public customer-owned electric utility last week approved a $2 billion plan to nearly double its generating capacity over the next decade.

This report includes material from the Lincoln Journal Star.

Photos: Google announces $1.2 billion investment in Papillion, Lincoln data centers
The FBI is asking for public assistance in identifying potential victims after a former Omaha-area Boy Scouts leader was arrested last week for allegedly attempting to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex.

John Shores, a 54-year-old Omaha man who was an active Boy Scout Scoutmaster until his arrest on Aug. 10, faces two felony charges of attempted child enticement and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. Prosecutors said that he aggressively pursued a sexual relationship with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.

In a Monday statement from the FBI Omaha field office, the agency said it is seeking the publics help in identifying any potential victims of Shores. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the field office at 402-493-8688.

According to evidence presented at a detention hearing in federal court last week, Shores began speaking to the purported 13-year-old after replying to a post he found online. He repeatedly asked the girl to meet up to play, and offered to buy her alcohol. Shores also allegedly sent the undercover officer pornography and asked her to send sexually explicit photos.

When the girl asked if Shores was OK with her being 13, Shores allegedly responded that he was okay with it unless youre a policeman trying to trap me.

Prosecutors argued that Shores poses a danger to the community and should be detained ahead of trial. In support of this, they highlighted that Shores was an authority figure and regularly interacted with more than 100 children, male and female, every week.

In fact, he was at an elementary school in uniform recruiting kids for the Boy Scouts on the same day that he twice arranged to meet with the undercover posing as a 13-year-old girl, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelli Ceraolo said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Bazis ordered Shores to be released on conditions, including GPS monitoring. He is also barred from having contact with any minors, including family members. The Boy Scouts cut all ties with Shores upon his arrest.

Anyone with information about Shores or who believes their child or another child was a victim of Shores is encouraged to contact the FBI at 402-493-8688 or submit information online at forms.fbi.gov/johnc-shores.
CAIRO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has installed solar energy stations in four museums and archaeological sites across the country as part of a plan to promote sustainable tourism, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement on Tuesday.

The four sites include the Giza Plateau hosting the Pyramids, Mohamed Ali's Palace in Cairo, the Alexandria National Museum and the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria.

The move was part of an agreement signed between Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and other international development and cultural preservation institutions in November 2022, during the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) held in the Red Sea's resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.

"The installation of green energy contributes to preserving, protecting and rehabilitating Egypt's cultural heritage and helps to achieve the country's sustainable development strategy Egypt's Vision 2030," the statement added.

The four stations have a total capacity of about 85 kilowatts and are connected to the electrical grids in Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria.

The statement added that solar energy will be extended to the Sharm al-Sheikh National Museum in September. 
A 62-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death after a 1-year-old girl was left in a van Monday outside an Omaha day care center.

Ryan D. Williams, the van driver, was booked into the Douglas County Jail about 8 p.m. Monday. He is accused of causing the death of Ra'Miyah Worthington, who was found unresponsive in a van outside Kidz of the Future II day care at 5001 Leavenworth St.

An Omaha police spokesman said Tuesday that the van belonged to the day care center.

Omaha Fire Department medics were called to the scene shortly after 3 p.m. and transported the child to the Nebraska Medical Center, where she was declared dead.

According to a social media post seeking money to help with funeral expenses, Ra'Miyah had five siblings. Her mother and father were identified as Sina Johnson and Rianna Worthington, respectively.

Signs saying the day care center is closed were taped to the front and back doors on Tuesday. Phone messages seeking comment left on the day care center's voice mail service were not immediately returned.

The air temperature measured 96 degrees shortly before 3 p.m. Monday, according to National Weather Service data recorded at Eppley Airfield. The heat index was measured at 113 degrees.

Amber Rollins, director of Kids and Car Safety of Olathe, Kansas, said four children in Nebraska have died since 1990 as the result of being in a hot vehicle. It is at least the 19th child to die in a hot car nationwide in 2023 and first in Nebraska since 2019, she said.

More than 1,050 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990 and at least another 7,300 survived with varying types and severities of injuries, according to data at kidsandcars.org.
Health officials urged Nebraskans to continue precautions against heat-related illness as the state marked its fourth day of high temperatures and humidity.

Between Saturday and Tuesday morning, the state tallied 77 emergency room visits due to heat-related illness, according to preliminary data from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

In one case, the combination proved deadly. A 62-year-old Omaha man was arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death Tuesday after a 1-year-old girl was left in a van Monday outside an Omaha day care center.

The National Weather Service's excessive heat warning for east-central and southeast Nebraska and west-central and southwest Iowa continues through 10 p.m. Thursday, with expected heat index values up to 117 degrees and overnight lows at or above 75 degrees.

By midafternoon Tuesday, the temperature at Omaha's Eppley Airfield had reached 97 degrees with a heat index of 114. Lincoln, at 103 degrees, had tied the record for the day and had a heat index of 113.

Dr. Michael Schooff, primary care medical director for CHI Health Clinic, said heat-related illnesses follow a continuum that starts with dehydration. That occurs when someone hasn't been drinking enough fluids and may include lightheadedness.

Next comes heat exhaustion. Those experiencing it may feel faint or dizzy, and sweat excessively as their bodies try to cool themselves, but the skin will feel cool and clammy. Other symptoms may include nausea and muscle cramps. All are signs that a person needs to get inside, cool off, sip water and take a cool shower, if possible.

With no intervention, a person can develop heatstroke. That can occur when a person's body temperature tops 103 degrees. A sufferer may start to feel confused or lose consciousness. They also will stop sweating. By that time, the body has lost its ability to cool itself and temperatures can rise to 106 to 107 degrees within 15 minutes. That's also the time to immediately call 911.

Young babies and the elderly, he said, are more vulnerable to high temperatures because they don't sweat as well as older children and adults. The evaporation is the body's main way of cooling itself. That cooling capacity, however, can be curtailed when it's too humid for sweat to evaporate readily.

Certain chronic medical conditions, including asthma and heart disease, also can make people more vulnerable to the effects of heat and humidity, as can medications such as antihistamines, some blood pressure medications and a number of drugs used for mental health conditions.

Sarah Wackerbarth, a nurse with the Pediatric Place, a pediatric emergency room at Lincoln's St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, said leaving children and pets in cars even briefly can be deadly.

Even with windows cracked and the vehicle parked in the shade, temperatures can rise 20 degrees in just 10 minutes.

"It becomes very dangerous very quickly because those temperatures rise so fast," she said.

Schooff recommended that people traveling with a child place something they will need when they arrive, such as a cellphone or purse, in the back seat with the child.

People also should make it a habit to check the back seat when they get out of a vehicle, he said. Parents should teach kids that cars aren't a place to play and keep keys out of their reach.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
NEW YORK  If 2023 has taught anything to the people running Fox News Channel, it's the importance of being able to pivot.

The decision by former President Donald Trump to skip Wednesday's first debate of the 2024 presidential primary season likely deprives Fox of a huge late-summer audience. Even worse for the network, Trump has talked of appearing in an online interview with former Fox star Tucker Carlson at the same time.

Trump's announcement on Sunday wasn't necessarily a surprise. Fox debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had been preparing for two events  one if he were there and one if he wasn't.

Several Fox personalities this summer publicly urged Trump to attend the event, and Fox executives privately made the same argument to the former president. Trump's former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called his decision a "huge political miscalculation" Monday on Fox.

Eight candidates will be on the debate stage on Wednesday, the Republican National Committee confirmed late Monday: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Despite Trump's lead over other Republicans in polls, MacCallum cautioned potential viewers against dismissing a debate without him as a junior varsity event. She cited a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, taken July 23-27, that showed almost half of Trump backers in Iowa said they were open to other candidates.

"I don't think as members of the media or people who watch politics it's our place to say, 'Oh, this is over, these people aren't going to be the nominee,'" she said. "It's way too soon to say that."

Trump's first appearance in a GOP primary debate brought 24 million viewers to Fox in 2015. It would be next to impossible to reach those numbers again, given his novelty has worn off and cord-cutting has diminished cable news audiences.

Yet when only 12.5 million watched a January 2016 Fox debate that Trump skipped, that gave an indication of his drawing power.

This summer's debate has been anticipated as a beacon for Fox News, which endured months of embarrassing headlines this year related to Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit for the network's coverage of bogus claims by Trump after the 2020 election.

As the trial was about to start, Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion in a settlement.

The lawsuit had little discernible impact on Fox's viewers, but when Fox fired Carlson with no explanation a week later, those fans hit back hard. The network never publicly explained why Carlson was fired, though his appearance in court papers released with the Dominion case led to several public theories being advanced.

As it has in the past, Fox relied on its bench in establishing a new lineup that debuted in July, giving prime time shows to Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, popular panelists on "The Five." Their shows sandwich Sean Hannity on the schedule, offering a continuation of conservative commentary.

Fox's prime-time audience averaged 2.5 million this year through Carlson's firing, and 1.6 million for the nearly two months before the new lineup premiered. Its prime-time audience since rebounded to 2.2 million, according to the Nielsen company.

How much Trump's four criminal indictments will be discussed onstage in Milwaukee is an open question, in part dependent upon what his opponents want to talk about.

Even without Trump's participation on Wednesday, "he will be on the stage even if he's not on the stage," Baier said in an interview.

The Siena College-Times survey suggests that it wouldn't be a popular topic among regular Fox viewers. The poll found 78% of people who regularly get news from Fox said Trump has not committed any serious federal crimes, and that 80% said that the GOP should stand behind Trump in the cases.

Baier said such poll findings won't be a factor in how he and MacCallum structure the debate.

"Of course we'll bring it up," MacCallum said. "I expect that the candidates will bring it up in part as well. And to the extent that there's indictment fatigue, there are so many other issues we're going to be talking about on the stage, it's certainly not going to be the lion's share of the night."
LINCOLN  John Murante appears to be on his way out after five years as state treasurer for Nebraska.

The Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems Board voted Monday to name the 41-year-old Republican as the next director for the state retirement agency. The choice won support from all but one board member, who abstained from voting.

Murante will replace Randy Gerke, who has announced plans to retire this year. Gerke has worked for the Public Employees Retirement Systems for nearly 20 years and been director for six.

The board was negotiating Murantes salary and start date Monday afternoon. As treasurer, his salary is set by state law at $85,000 a year. Gerke is paid more than $185,000. Gerke said he has offered to stay on the job into September to help the new director get started.

Murantes selection must be approved by Gov. Jim Pillen and by the Nebraska Legislature. Pillen also would have to appoint a replacement state treasurer.

Earlier this year, lawmakers balked at approving the boards previous choice for retirement systems director. The choice, Jason Hayes, is a lobbyist for the Nebraska State Education Association. He initially won approval with 29 votes.

But a week later, the Legislature voted to reconsider that approval. Those advocating for reconsideration questioned Hayes qualifications for the job and argued that they did not have enough time to examine his credentials. On reconsideration, his confirmation failed.

Hayes, who previously worked as legal counsel for the retirement agency and chief deputy for the State Treasurers Office, was one of the three candidates interviewed by the board Monday.

State law requires that retirement systems directors have supervisory or management experience and have training, knowledge or experience of administering qualified public employee retirement plans.

The state retirement systems agency administers defined benefit, or pension, plans for school employees, judges and State Patrol employees across the state. The agency also oversees cash balance and defined contribution plans for state and county employees and a deferred compensation plan that is optional for state employees, judges and State Patrol employees.

Murante has spent most of his career in state government. He was elected state treasurer in 2018 and was reelected last year. The State Constitution limits treasurers to two consecutive terms. Before being elected treasurer, he served six years as a state senator.

Murante previously worked as a legislative aide. He has a bachelors degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is also the CEO of Big Freds Pizza.

State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who is a member of the Legislatures Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee, said she hopes to have discussions with Murante and other interested parties about how well he meets the legal requirements for the position.

She also wants to talk about his selection fits with the agencys mission. She said she wants to be sure that he can put aside partisan politics and thinking to focus on the best interests of plan participants.

Murante is past national chairman of the State Financial Officers Foundation, a conservative group linked to a push for state policies restricting or punishing companies that reduce their support for fossil fuel businesses.

Murante told The World-Herald last year that companies supporting Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG, practices have a devastating impact on Nebraskans and the states economy. ESG is a set of criteria used by companies to make environmentally smart investments.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
The Omaha Streetcar Authoritys board of directors adopted a policy Monday limiting which board members can talk with news media.

The board also adopted a policy setting rules on public testimony at its meetings.

Only the Board Chairperson and Executive Officer of the OSA may speak to members of the media on behalf of OSA, the media policy states.

The policies were adopted 6-0.

Jay Noddle said that as board president, he will be the media contact for now.

Noddle said the president should be the source so that we dont have other team members talking independently to the media. The media should know who to call, and then when there is a permanent director of the Streetcar Authority, that contact point should shift.

The Streetcar Authority was created last year to oversee the design, construction and eventual operation of Omahas streetcar system. The initial $306 million line is expected to begin running in 2026.

The government-created body also established protocols Monday for public comment at meetings.

Under the policy, public comments and testimony must be related to an agenda item.

A person shall not be allowed to address the Board during meetings unless speaking on an agenda item during the public hearing, or is invited to speak by a Board member regarding an item on the agenda, the policy says.

The presiding officer shall determine the amount of time for speakers and has authority to cut off a speaker whose comments are deemed out of order, though any board member could challenge that decision and request a vote to overturn the decision.

The presiding officer may invite a representative for an item to speak or make a presentation before the public hearing is opened, it says.

Board member Lauren Cencic commented before the vote.

I think its important to note for the public in attendance that it is compliant with the Open Meetings Act, that we are just formalizing how were going to conduct business, Cencic said.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
LINCOLN  Nebraska could spend as much as $2.6 million this summer helping Texas secure its southern border with Mexico.

Thats the anticipated cost of deploying 61 Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers to the border for August plus sending 10 members of the Nebraska State Patrol for two weeks in late May, according to State Budget Director Lee Will.

Gov. Jim Pillen defended the expense Monday, after visiting the border with Nebraska National Guard Adjutant Gen. Craig Strong. The two met with troops and got a security briefing from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Based on what I saw today, the cost of the two recent deployments of National Guard troops and State Patrol troopers is worth the prevention of having illegal drugs and criminals pour through the southern border at ever-increasing numbers each day, Pillen said.

The National Guard soldiers left Nebraska on Aug. 2 and are slated to return in early September. They were to assist the Texas National Guard by observing and reporting border crossings. The cost of their deployment could be up to $2 million, Will said.

State officials earlier said that the cost would be picked up by the federal government. But Will said the money will come out of the military departments state budget. Those dollars, in turn, will be replaced with federal pandemic relief dollars.

He said the federal American Rescue Program Act money can be used to pay for state government services but not for the border mission, which was undertaken in response to a request from Texas emergency management officials issued through the national Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

The Nebraska State Patrol covered the $600,000 cost of sending troopers to Texas earlier this summer out of its own budget. The troopers, who volunteered, spent two weeks assisting with drone surveillance.

Typically, the cost of assistance provided through the multi-state EMAC is paid by the requesting state. But Texas has made previous requests to states for help at the border without providing reimbursement. Former Gov. Pete Ricketts sent 32 troopers to Texas in summer 2021 at Nebraska expense.

On Monday, Pillen joined Abbott and three other Midwestern governors for a press conference in Eagle Pass, Texas. The three included Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, all Republicans.

They are among 14 governors who have deployed military and law enforcement personnel to Texas in support of Operation Lone Star, an initiative launched by Abbott in 2021 to ramp up enforcement at the border.

Pillen expressed disbelief about what he called misrepresentation concerning the border. He said there is misrepresentation about who is coming across the border.

I mean we are fighting cartels that are trying to kill our kids, he said. We are going to protect our kids. We have to do the work, and Biden administration and federal government: Do your dadgum job.

Pillen also said there was misrepresentation about the buoys installed by Texas as a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River. The circular buoys are about 4 feet in diameter and are separated by circular blades with saw teeth on the outer edge.

The buoys are a deterrent, he said. They dont cause a band-aid and, if they do, I say, what the heck, stay on your side of the river.

But Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Latino civil rights group, expressed deep concern over the governors visit to Texas. He said they should redirect their attention to their own states and refrain from becoming pawns in a failed policy of hatred and fear.

Garcia criticized Operation Lone Star as a cruel and barbaric waste of taxpayer dollars. In particular, he said the buoys, along with concertina wire, have led to injury and death along the border.

A federal judge was to hear arguments Tuesday in a case filed by the U.S. Justice Department seeking to have the buoys removed. The lawsuit claimed that the barrier constituted an unauthorized and illegal structure obstructing U.S. waters in violation of river protection laws, while Texas has argued that the federal government has failed to defend the border and the state has a constitutional right to defend itself.

Like Pillen, the other governors speaking Monday criticized President Joe Biden and the federal government. Iowas Reynolds said the current president had created a crisis by repealing policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.

The result has made every state a border state, she said, with Mexican cartels and human traffickers making their way to the Midwest and bringing fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
NORMAL  Tenure and tenure-track faculty members at Illinois State University could join a union for collective-bargaining purposes if a campaign that kicked off Tuesday proves successful.

Organizers are seeking support from a majority of the roughly 640 faculty members they say could be eligible to join the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100, which operates as part of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. About 1,700 university employees  from nontenured faculty to maintenance workers to police  are represented by 16 other collective bargaining units already recognized by ISU.

On Tuesday, dozens of faculty and some student supporters gathered in sweltering summer heat in on the north side of the Quad, with some layering on union chapter T-shirts over other clothing in 88 degree-plus weather. Tenure and tenure-track ISU faculty members who spoke at the rally and to a Pantagraph reporter did not outline any specific demands, but spoke generally about seeking fairness, respect and dignity.

UPI President John Miller said the union has long fought for the future of public institutions, resisting cuts proposed and enacted by previous political administrations. The local represents 3,000 faculty and professional state at seven public universities in the state, according to union leaders.

Miller, who is an associate professor of communications at Western Illinois University, said he has never been told that a student chose an institution because of its administration. They are motivated, he said, by what faculty do in the classroom.

Everywhere a student is, the institution must be investing, Miller said, adding, The priority must be not buildings, not administration.

ISU spokesman Eric Jome provided the following statement in response to a request for comment: Illinois State University respects the legal right of university tenured and tenure-line faculty members to explore union representation under the processes set forth in the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.

Miller said Tuesdays rally followed months of conversation. Asked about specific provisions that faculty might seek as part of the bargaining process, he said the group is still working to solidify a list of its wants.

But, speaking generally, he said the biggest issue for Normals campus and faculty is to feel they are being treated with fairness and respect  and to have a voice in developing their contracts.

Faculty members will continue to support their colleagues without tenure, who are represented by the Illinois Education Association, he said. But he noted that tenure and tenure-track faculty members are long-term employees who may spend much of their careers at ISU and are likely to be engaged in the direction of the institution.

To organize as the United Faculty of ISU, a majority of the eligible members must sign authorization cards, a process that organizers said is underway now. This differs from the situation in 2000, when professors voted 335 to 283 not to unionize as an affiliate of the Illinois Education Association.

Ringing bells

Sounding off first as rally emcee on Tuesday was Kristin Carlson, associate professor of creative technologies. She led chants of union power on the rise, now is the time to organize.

Carlson handed off the microphone to David Kopsell, professor of horticulture in ISUs agriculture program. He said it was fitting for the rally to be held at the Old Main Bell monument, a feature of the universitys first building. Kopsell said he could connect the schools original mission of caring for students and developing them into professionals to ISU faculty that taught him 30 years ago.

When he was a student at ISU, he said, he was overwhelmed by the kindness of faculty members, adding they made a huge impression on him and his career.

Fourth-year student Othniel Carr spoke next. In his speech, the 20-year-old from Champaign highlighted how the work of professors goes beyond scheduled class times, and credited several Creative Technologies professors for their individualized attention.

Noting the hot weather, Assistant Professor of History Keith Pluymers said there was still no place hed rather be.

In conversations with other faculty, he said theyve described feeling isolated, or siloed, in their positions. Despite working there for years or decades, he said they may not know the person down the hall or in a different department.

Pluymers, who joined ISUs faculty in 2018, said that higher education is essential for democracy, but without the necessary resources, they cant fulfill ISUs mission of serving the public good.

In an interview with The Pantagraph, he said faculty members pour their heart and souls into their jobs, and its crucial for them to unify.

Across the country, higher (education) faces a lot of different threats, from funding to academic freedom in the classroom, Pluymers said.

This is how we defend the institution and make it the place that it deserves to be that our students deserve to learn at.

Photos: AFSCME union members at ISU rally for better pay 041322-blm-loc-6afscmerally 041422-blm-loc-1afscme 041422-blm-loc-2afscme 041422-blm-loc-3afscme 041322-blm-loc-4afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-5afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-7afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-8afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-9afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-10afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-11afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-12afscmerally 041322-blm-loc-13afscmerally
NORMAL  New zoning rules restricting the placement of adult-use cannabis dispensaries will be applied in Normal, but at least one council member wants more limits.

The Normal Town Council voted unanimously Monday to amend the towns zoning code to increase the space between cannabis businesses and other types of properties, but it rejected Trustee Kathleen Lorenzs call to limit the total number of dispensaries in town.

This is not a bad start and thats how I feel: its a start, Lorenz said. I think weve made strides in crafting this revised policy, but I dont believe that it adequately represents what weve heard to be a diverse range of concerns from all of our residents.

Normal currently has one dispensary in business and two more on the way. State law and town ordinances have no limit on them, but Lorenz has said she wants to cap dispensaries at four.

The change that was approved doubles the minimum distance, from 100 feet to 200 feet, separating all cannabis facilities  including dispensaries, infusers and craft growers  from schools, day cares and churches, according to town documents.

It also adds to the town code the states regulation requiring a 1,500-foot separation between dispensaries. While state law permits some exceptions, the town does not.

The discussion of where cannabis dispensaries should go and how they should be limited has been going on since before the councils approval on May 2 of two new dispensaries, which received both support and criticism from residents and business owners.

Lorenz said some people argue the free market, not the town, should decide where cannabis dispensaries should go, but she noted the state already regulates much about the industry.

She also rejected comparing cannabis dispensaries to liquor stores or video gambling sites, which Trustee Kevin McCarthy said face far fewer regulations.

Those other industries are more mature in their establishments for better or for worse, Lorenz said. Theyve been accepted as some social norms. Recreational cannabis may get there. I dont think its there yet as weve seen from the divisive comments from the various voices.

Lorenz added that if the town does not limit the number of dispensaries, the public will continue to bring concerns to the council and planning commissions.

McCarthy said the town has taken the opinions of supporters and critics into account, and the amendment approved Monday reflects that.

Its legal in the state of Illinois. That ship has sailed and its here and so however anybody feels, pro or con, thats not for us to take up, McCarthy said. This proposal is a compromise because we did have a public work session on this and we did change the rules.

McCarthy noted a majority of the council voted in July to move forward with amending the cannabis dispensary ordinance. Although the final amendment may not reflect each trustees opinion, the council should not relitigate decisions already made by the majority, he said.

Lorenz said she would not go down the path of relitigating anything, but she will bring the concern back again when the opportunity arises in future council actions.

If I havent convinced you at this point, which I probably havent, putting a cap will make life a lot easier for (the towns) staff, Lorenz said. If you want to do a favor for staff, you might want to think about it.

Normals first dispensary, Beyond/Hello, opened on Northtown Road in 2015, initially selling medical marijuana until the state legalized adult recreational use in 2020. The others still in the works are High Haven at 106 Mall Drive and Revolution Dispensary at 1609 Northbrook Drive.

Bloomington has one dispensary and one in the works.

In other news, the council approved the following items:

Accepting a proposal from George Gildner Inc. for replacement of floor drains at the water distribution building at 700 E. Pine St. for $61,822;

Authorizing an engineering services agreement with Farnsworth Group Inc. for supplemental design services for improving West College Avenue from Rivian Motorway to White Oak Road for $129,803;

Approving an agreement to extend the deadline for paving temporary parking lots at 612 Kingsley St. and at 603 Dale St., which now are gravel.

Photos: 27th annual Glorious Garden Festival takes root in Bloomington-Normal Tending succulents Tropical Flowers Cactus Succulent Shed Climbing Onion 2023 Dan Anderson 1 GLORIOUS GARDENS 071523-blm-loc-gardenfest4 Video: Children's librarian Alex Bell talks about StoryWalk
It seems like long ago, when almost everything we did was colored by the threat of COVID-19.

In fact, it was barely two years ago when our high-tech society, whose medical advances had imbued many of us with a sense we would always have a treatment for whatever ailed us, was staggered like Europe during the Black Death. Our hospitals ran out of beds; out of ventilators for those lucky enough to get a bed; out of nurses to administer the ventilators and whatever other care might with luck spare a persons life from the ravages of the lurking virus.

Thankfully, the pandemic subsided. Spreadsheets now show far fewer cases. Fewer bodies fill the morgues.

Naturally weve moved on. But lets not move on just yet.

Another COVID wave is rocking Palm Beach County and Florida.

To be sure, the latest infections come with milder symptoms. But so much remains unknown. COVID is still new to us. We dont know if those who recover might be revisited by the symptoms, or how to cure those who come down with a version that lingers endlessly, or whether newer, deadly variants might enter the mainstream.

Florida hospitals saw 7,674 cases between May 27 and July 22 this year, down from more than 35,000 during that period in 2022. We buried 635 people during the six weeks ending July 20, down from 2,072 a year earlier.

So, yes, much better, reason to cheer. But thats still 635 family members, friends and colleagues who wont be coming home.

So, ask yourself: When was the last time you got a booster shot? Theyre still free, and they take just a few minutes to administer. CVS pharmacies, for example, administered more than 88 million vaccines and provided more than 61 million tests during the pandemic and remain prepared to meet our patients needs for immunizations, testing and treatment of COVID-19, said Matt Blanchette, senior manager for retail communications. Why not take advantage?

Alas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of June 30, just 12.6% of Floridians have the latest booster that was approved last August. Thats the 10th-lowest rate among all states. Only one-third of Florida seniors are up to date on their shots, a rate lower than all but five states.

The advice from Dr. Larry Bush, an infectious disease specialist in Palm Beach County: If youve already been vaccinated, at this point it makes sense to wait until late summer, early fall, to get re-boosted, when new vaccines are coming out that more precisely target current variants. There is some crossover effectiveness between the original COVID-19 vaccines and newer strains but, says Bush, the newer shots will work better. That doesnt mean you might not still get the disease, or experience a reaction to the shot, but if youre weighing the protection versus potential ill effects, in his view, the benefits outweigh the risks.

Ask yourself also, why not still keep a mask in your purse, pocket or glove compartment, in case you find yourself at a crowded event, on a grocery store line where people are breathing down each others necks, or in a confined setting like the movies? Theres little question the combination of vaccination and masking, while by no means perfect, reduces the spread of the disease.

Its true, says Bush, theres no hard and fast proof that masks work well against COVID. A new study in Britain did demonstrate that after masking requirements for hospitals were dropped, the spread of COVID in hospitals went up. But thats going to be true with every respiratory infection, he points out.

But look at it this way: If you put an umbrella over your head when its raining, the rain is not going to hit you. In the same way, if you put something in front of your face, youre going to breathe in less COVID, and someone who has COVID will spill out less for others to catch.

So decide for yourself. No ones mandating anything anymore. But by all means, let common sense guide you. If you dont trust us, ask your doctor. Be well.
WINDHOEK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Namibia on Tuesday commenced the repatriation of 96 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) back to their country.

The two-day exercise is a result of a successful collaboration between the government of Namibia, DRC and facilitation through UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

This is the first group of some 200 refugees and asylum-seekers in Namibia, who will be returning voluntarily to the DRC this year. Intention surveys and individual reviews carried out by UNHCR have ensured that these repatriations are informed and voluntary, allowing refugees to return to their country of origin in safety and dignity.

"We are very grateful to the government of Namibia for its generosity in providing sanctuary to people fleeing violence, persecution and human rights abuses and for supporting this group of Congolese refugees to go home safely," said Monique Ekoko, UNHCR's representative for the Southern Africa Multi-Country Office.

Ekoko said while conflict continues to generate displacement and insecurity in the largely rural eastern provinces of DRC, this group of returning refugees will travel to urban locations in DRC's capital of Kinshasa and the city of Lubumbashi assessed to be suitable for return. Returning refugees told UNHCR they were excited to restart their lives after years in exile and that they are happy to be returning home.

"Namibia is proud to provide a safe place for people seeking safety from conflict. Some of the families have been residing in Osire settlement for many years, and their dearest wish is to restart their lives again at home," said Albert Kawana, Namibian minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.

"I would like to thank the government of Namibia and UNHCR for taking care of Congolese refugees in the Osire settlement and ensuring their voluntary repatriation back home. We wish them a deep and warm welcoming back at home," said DRC Ambassador to Namibia Mulum'ajirwa n'owabo Katoto.

In the DRC, UNHCR has worked hard to ensure that the returning families will be provided with cash assistance to cover immediate needs including transport and housing costs, in addition to working closely with DRC authorities to ensure livelihoods opportunities and education needs are addressed to help them restart their lives.

Namibia currently hosts 7,261 refugees and asylum-seekers, of whom 6,263 are from the DRC. UNHCR expects to repatriate up to 200 Congolese refugees and asylum seekers from Namibia in 2023. 
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has highlighted the success of the 2022 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) as a validation of his government's educational policies.



Speaking at the Queen Girls Senior High School event in the Western North region, the President emphasised that last year's WASSCE outcomes were the most impressive in the past eight years. He reiterated that the results underscore the effectiveness of the Free Senior High School programme and its associated initiatives.



The 2022 WASSCE results are the best out of the last eight years, he asserted, noting: Surely there can no longer be any controversy about the validity of the Free SHS policy and its consequential measures.



President Akufo-Addo proudly announced that 60.39% of students achieved A1-C6 grades in English, a marked improvement from 51.6% in 2016. Similarly, in Integrated Science, the 2022 results showed 62.45% success, up from 48.35% in 2016.



Notably, Mathematics saw 61.39% of students scoring A1-C6 compared to a mere 33.12% in 2016.



Moreover, Social Studies displayed significant progress, with 71.51% of students attaining A1-C6 grades, in contrast to 54.55% in 2016.



President Akufo-Addo celebrated the achievements of the 2021 student cohort, who navigated the double track system's introduction, despite initial criticisms.





Source: class fm









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The Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has said that he runs his house like a Presbyterian Mission House.



Explaining how this is so, the senior politician said that although he is a Methodist, he was trained by the Presbyterians.



He added that his wife also had a lot of training from the Presbyterians, even though she is not one, making it a situation of his house technically being Presbyterian.



I was baptized a Methodist, confirmed a Methodist, but trained by the Presbyterians. So, I always say that if I am what I am today, I owe it to the Presbyterians. Its a fact. And to add insult to injury, my wife was not only trained by the Presbyterians, but she went to the famous Agogo Women Training College.



So, my house is run like a Presbyterian Mission House, he explained.



Yaw Osafo-Maafo said this when he delivered a keynote address at the 23rd General Meeting of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana at Kwahu Abetifi in the Eastern Region on Saturday, August 19, 2023.







Source: ghanaweb.com









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Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako Atta was reported to have ordered the arrest of two galamseyers after causing them to clean a stretch of road that they had muddied whiles transporting an excavator of a lowbed truck.



The incident which happened over the weekend was along the Akrofufu to Twapease road in Atiwa West District in Eastern region, Kasapaonline.com reports.



The Minister who is also Member of Parliament for the area was returning from an engagement with New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives when they chanced upon the galamseyers following which he ordered the series of actions.



In a video available to GhanaWeb, the visibly angry minister insisted that it was a responsibility for all and sundry to support president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos fight against illegal small-scale mining.



He declared war on the menace and alluded to the fact that the financiers behind galamsey  which he described as a heinous crime, stupidity, insanity and madness  were in Accra.



He (Akufo-Addo) is the number one Chief Executive of this country, so everybody is calling on him and we should help him. And me, as one of his sector ministers, I will fight it from my constituency point of view.



I will fight with every inch of authority that he has put in me in my constituency. From now onwards, I am declaring war on galamsey in my constituency, we wont all ow people with selfish interests to destroy the constituency, he bemoaned.



He added: Aside, those two people (galamseyers) who are immediately being arrested, their financiers, the big guys that are sitting in Accra, and carrying out this heinous crime, this madness, this stupidity, the insanity that is prevailing, those people are in Accra.



I have challenged the police to carry out their own investigations to arrest those people. I want the owners of this excavator, the owners of this lowbed truck to be arrested. They should come forward and I am going to follow the process of prosecution with an eagle eye, he added.



Galamsey has been a topical issue in the country over the last few years with government struggling to cope with the level of destruction that it has wreaked on the environment and water bodies in especially the middle and parts of the coastal belts.



A leaked report by a former environment minister alleged complicity of people at the presidency, Members of Parliament and other opposition politicians in the galamsey trade highlighting why the fight has been largely deemed to have failed.







Source: ghanaweb.com









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The Managing Director of UCS Facility Management Ghana Ltd, Madam Yaa Dansowaa Ampofo has been honoured by the National Business Honours at a colourful event in Accra.



She received an honorary award in recognition of her outstanding leadership, tireless efforts, and her influence on the sanitation sector of Ghanas economic growth.



Her company, UCS Facility Management Ghana Ltd., was also adjudged the National Janitorial Services Company of the year at the same event.



Receiving the awards, she expressed her excitement about the award, stating that my joy knew no bounds as I was nominated for the award acknowledging the commitment and diligence discharge of her duties with the strong support from her diligent working staff.



They have been the backbone of the company and very supportive. Even in these challenging times, they are still working assiduously with excellence and I feel so excited to have such working staff she observed.



The 3rd edition of the National Business Honours took place on Saturday, August 19th, 2023, at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, under the theme Navigating uncertain Times; Empowering Businesses for a Resilient Future.



The National Business Honours seek to recognize companies and individuals for their visionary leadership, trade skills, resilience, innovation towards business growth and sustainability, market development, and overall business competitiveness.



As a high-level public-private award, the National Business Honours provides a unique platform for government to deepen their strategic relationship with the business community, including CEOs, Board of Directors, and investors for national development.



The National Business Honours is a C-level, high-impact, economic empowerment, and leadership awards program developed by Global Ovations to champion business growth, economic empowerment, and job creation in Ghana. With the business community at heart and Ghana's future in mind, the National Business Honours is committed to promoting professionalism and high standard of operation among sector players across the country.



The National Business Honours is a climax to the National Business Week 2023. National Business Week highlights the critical growth enablers that will ensure business continuity and drive momentum across all Industries in the future. It also provides an opportunity for commercial entities to exhibit their organizations, products and services.



UCS Facility Management Ghana Ltd, a member of the Jospong Group of Companies is a consolidation of four (4) other companies within the Jospong Group enclave ie. Zoom Janitorial, Zoom Cabin, Zoom Landscape and Beautification and UCS Security Services. Together they form UCS Facility Management. UCS had its training, knowledge transfer and skills from former partners, Campak Group; a legacy that lingers on. UCS has leveraged on the over 50 years experience of Campak to become a leading professional Facility Management Company in Ghana.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asutifi South, Mr Collins Dauda, has called for an end to discrimination against people bearing Northern names during voter registration exercises.



Speaking at the 40th-anniversary celebration of the enskinment of the head of the Wangara tribe in the Ashanti Region, he said some people bearing northern names always face challenges during voter registration exercises.



Describing it as unfortunate, the former Works and Housing Minister noted that people bearing Akan names do not face such discrimination.



He accused agents of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of such ethnocentric actions and called for a stop to it.



According to him, such discrimination is due to a lack of knowledge on the part of some of the agents as to who qualifies to be a Ghanaian as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.



He, therefore, called on the governing party to sensitise and educate its agents to be informed about who qualifies to be a Ghanaian to end the annual ritual during voter registration exercises.



Mr Dauda also encouraged people who are now 18 years of age to take advantage of the voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission to get registered to enable them to vote in the 2024 general elections.



For his part, the Head of the Wangara tribe in the Ashanti Region, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Gado Watara, called for an end to police brutalities against Zongo dwellers.



He also appealed to the government to find a lasting solution to the issues confronting commercial freight tricycle operators in order to ensure peace between the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and the tricycle operators.





Source: class fm









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Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Ga Mantse and President of the Ga Traditional Council, says the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NACSA) needs the power to seize unauthorised weapons in communities.



This is my plea. The NACSA should be given the power to bite to be able to enforce and implement its mandate



He said this at his residence when the NACSA paid a courtesy call on him.



The plea followed concerns by the NACSA over the proliferation and use of unauthorised weapons in the country, especially the Greater Accra region.



The Ga Mantse described the situation as worrying and said aside from being given the power to seize weapons, the Commission should also be resourced.



He said that was the only way to avoid violent conflicts in the country.



Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, Board Chairman, NACSA, noted the vital roles chiefs played in ensuring the security and safety of their communities and asked for their support to rid communities of unauthorised weapons.



He said the recurrent incidents of gun violence in the country, particularly in the capital, called for the need for stakeholders, especially chiefs, to collectively support the Commission to address such challenges.



The Board Chairman said the illicit spread and misuse of small arms had far consequences contributing to protracted and deadly conflicts, crimes, the erosion of peace and security, and threatening existence.



Dr Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme, said her outfit would partner with the Commission to address the challenges associated with the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, to create an environment where development could thrive.



The issue of proliferation of small arms and light weapons is not for Ghana alone so, we have been working with other countries in the region to make sure that they have strategies that cut across borders, and partnerships between agencies and institutions in different countries, she said.





Source: ghanaweb.com









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The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharabutu, has called on African leaders to use diplomatic interventions to resolve the political turmoil in Niger.



My appeal to those in charge of the affair is to take every measure to ensure that we resolve the situation without losing a soul so, we can sustain the peace.



African nations must learn to resolve political differences without losing lives as we all have a common source and that is Prophet Adam, he said during a press conference organised by the Muslim leadership in Ghana.



In attendance were Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, Ameer of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission; Sheikh Abubakar Ahmad Kamaludeen, National Imam of Shia Community, and Sheikh Amin Bonsu, Chairman of the Amin Bonsu, National Chairman of the Ghana Muslim Mission.



Also present were Alhaji Abubakar Yakub, a representative of the Imam of Ahlussuna Wal Jama and the National President of the Tijjaniya Muslim Movement, Sheikh Abdul Wadud Haroun Ciessey.



In a speech read by Maulvi Salih, the Muslim leaders said they were worried about the precarious situation in Niger and the decision of ECOWAS to deploy its military force into the country.



He said there could be a humanitarian situation arising and spilling over within the sub region should a civil unrest break out because of the ECOWAS military intervention.



At a time when most countries are undergoing economic crisis, he said, it was crucial for leaders in the subregion to be careful with decisions that could deepen socio economic challenges.



On the principles and application of Justice, we demand that within the Sub-region, whatever we would do in any member country, a similar treat ought to be given to all other members of the sub region.



Just as ECOWAS did not intervene militarily in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, Justice demands that a military force should not be an option in the case of Niger, he said.



The Muslim leaders also urged the leadership of ECOWAS to be wary of the geopolitics and unhealthy competition of global powers that historically advanced their interests in latent confrontations and proxy wars.



Nevertheless, we wish to strongly condemn the coup in Niger and in any other part of the sub region, he said.





Source: GNA









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Lawyer Maurice Ampaw has warned the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that failure to defend embattled former sanitation minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, will have later consequences.



Speaking on his Mmra Ne Abrabo Mu Nsem Show on Wontumi TV on August 21, 2023, Maurice Ampaw, cited how the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has in recent past supported their embattled members.



He cited the case of Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency, James Gyakye Quayson, who was expunged from Parliament and currently facing criminal charges at the High Court.



He said, the same way the NDC stood by him to recapture his seat, is the same route that NPP must deal with Ms. Dapaah, who is being investigated for corruption and corruption-related offenses over huge sums of monies in cash were allegedly stolen from her residence.



He maintained that Cecilia Dapaah is not a criminal in the eyes of the law and emphasized that her alleged actions did not amount to a violation of any law.



"The NDC came together to support Gyakye Quayson in court and during his trials, while the NPP is there saying that Cecilia Dapaah should defend her own case because she brought it and the rule of law must work.



"If you don't come and defend the poor woman who is currently being attacked, the consequences will come, and you will live to regret it because Cecilia Dapaah has never broken any laws; in fact, she is not a criminal, a thief, or a criminal in the eyes of any law, he said.



Cecilia Dapaah resigned her ministerial position and has been arrested and released on bail by the Special Prosecutor after a search was conducted at her residence.



The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, and his team further initiated a corruption and corruption-related investigation against Madam Cecilia Dapaah following the alleged theft case.



Following from that, the OSP has taken steps by freezing certain bank and investment accounts of the former Minister and is seeking a confirmation order from the High Court in Accra, however, lawyers of the embattled minister have told the High Court that monies found in the Abelemkpe residence of their client do not mean, she owned them.













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Association of Electoral Area Coordinators in the Ashanti Region has appeal to the Members of Parliament and Constituency Chairmen of the Ashanti Region to vote for the Vice President, HE Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in the upcoming Super Delegates Conference.



According to them; the grassroots have indicated that, once the super delegates vote for Dr. Bawumia, the polling station executives will also return the favour by voting for these MPs and Constituency Chairmen in the next parliamentary primaries and constituency elections.



This is the reason why we are re-echoing their mantra, you do us, and we do you



We work directly and closely with the Polling Station executives and grassroots members of the party and are therefore in the best position to articulate ore concerns and interests.



They iterated that; It is based on this that we make this humble and passionate appeal to the MPs and Constituency Chairmen for us all to throw our weight behind Vice President Bawumia as our Presidential candidate in the 2024 election.



As the mouthpiece of the grassroots and polling station executives in the party, they have tasked us to communicate their wish to the leadership of the party, and they say, it is either Bawumia or nobody else, one of their leader said.



They also averred that when the Vice President visited the region, the MPs and Constituency Chairmen publicly declared their support for him saying and we find it right that they are reminded of their own declarations.



So this statement is effectively a gentle reminder of their own declarations of support for the Vice President, as well as the consistent appeal and call on them by the grassroots to vote for Bawumia. We believe as honourable men, they will honourably keep to their word.



(1) Hon. Obour Sika group PRO 0594597019

(2) Mr.Kofi Essiw Andah 1st vice chairman 0244107581

(3) Mr Emmanuel Asante Amoabeng Secretary 0243786958.











Source: Peacefmonline.com









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" " The Adjustment Center at San Quentin is considered the harshest of the three death row units there. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The practice of imprisonment as punishment for crime dates back as far as the 17th century when people  even orphans  were held for minor things or for awaiting trial. But according to scholar Ashley Rubin, those "prisons" were more akin to today's jails  not penitentiaries  and were not places for punishment.

Three of the first state prisons in the world opened in the United States just after the American Revolution: in Massachusetts in 1785, in Connecticut in 1790 and Pennsylvania in 1794. There was a desire at that same time to reform the jails because conditions were so rife with fights, corruption and disease. So this thinking opened the door for what, Rubin wrote in JSTOR, "paved the way for prisons as we now know them."

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Today, the size and living conditions of prison vary widely and are often tied to the criminals they house. Minimum security prisons in the United States and abroad might have comfortable beds, access to private bathrooms, and recreational and rehabilitation programs. In the United States, the rich and famous may even have the chance to serve their sentences in facilities upgraded with flat-screen TVs and other creature comforts, a controversial pay-to-play opportunity to ensure minimal discomfort while they serve their debts to society.

But there are prisons on the other end of that spectrum as well; they're severely overcrowded, lack proper medical care, and put occupants at severe risk of violence. This list highlights 10 of those, in no particular order.
KHARTOUM, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Tuesday said at least 60 people were killed, and 250 others injured during the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur State in western Sudan.

Preliminary reports indicated that approximately 10,000 families, about 50,000 people, fled their homes, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update.

It noted that a Turkish Hospital in Nyala that treats the wounded, which is already understaffed, is reportedly struggling to cope with the influx of wounded people.

The OCHA added that there were concerns that the continued fighting will exacerbate the already precarious humanitarian situation and heighten the health, nutrition, sanitation and food security needs of the vulnerable.

According to the UN, an estimated 401,000 people live in Nyala, and about 95,000 needed humanitarian assistance even before the conflict.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly armed clashes between the SAF and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, which left over 3,000 people killed and more than 6,000 injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

More than 4 million people have fled from their homes -- 3.2 million people were displaced internally and close to 900,000 have crossed the border into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and other countries, according to the latest UN estimates. 
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

When UCLA shifted to remote instruction during the early days of COVID-19, the campus was much less populatedbut it wasn't totally empty. Several species of animals continued to go about their daily lives, just with far fewer disturbances from humans.

Among them were around 300 dark-eyed juncos, a bird species that has thrived at UCLA for probably around 20 years.

A group of UCLA scientists who have been studying fear and aggression in urban juncos for years recognized that the dramatic shift in human activity presented a unique opportunity for an experiment: How would juncos adapt once campus life returned to normal?

Led by Eleanor Diamant, who was then a UCLA doctoral student, the researchers decided to find out. Specifically, they wondered, given the yearlong break from any human interaction, would juncos act more fearful once they encountered large groups of people again?

Their findings completely defied their expectations.

In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the scientists report that once campus life returned to normal, the birds acted "drastically less fearful" of humans. The researchers had speculated before the experiment that once juncos had lost their familiarity with people, they would adopt behaviors more like their wilder cousinswho don't typically let people get closer than about 11 1/2 feet before flying away. But that was decidedly not the case.

To judge birds' fear levels, the scientists measured how close a person could get to the birds before they flew away. The researchers conducted the tests throughout the campus closure and again in 2022, after the campus had fully reopened. They also compared their findings with data that UCLA scientists had collected prior to the pandemic, in 2018 and 2019.

Before the closure, juncos allowed researchers to get within about 65 inches, on average, before they flew away. That figure remained consistent for the duration of the closure. But in 2022, when campus life had mostly returned to normal, juncos allowed people to get even closeran average of just 39 inchesbefore they fled. The study also found that during the period of time when people were mostly absent, the birds demonstrated little change in how close they allowed humans to get.

Interestingly, there was no statistically significant difference in the behaviors of birds that hatched during the closure and those who had interacted with people before the pandemic began. (Researchers identified the juncos with individualized bands around their legs, a standard practice for studying birds.)

Juncos provided a particularly interesting case study because they feed and nest mostly on the ground, where close encounters with humans are common. Before the pandemic, UCLA's juncos had become accustomed to the commotion of a large urban university; prior research showed that the juncos living in urban regions of Southern California were significantly less fearful of people than juncos in non-urban areas.

Biologists have two main theories about how wild birds get used to living around people in densely populated environments. The first holds that birds that encounter large numbers of humans become less fearful over time, a process called habituation. That theory also suggests that birds that live without much human interaction either will become more fearful of people or that their fear response will not change over time.

The other theory holds that birds living in cities are there in part because they innately have less fear of humans in the first place.

But Diamant said the study's findings didn't line up with either of those theories.

"What we found doesn't match either of them," she said. "If less fearful birds had chosen to live on campus in the first place, we would have expected their fear response to be essentially unchanged. If they were habituated, we would have thought they'd become more fearful during the closure and then less fearful after, or not shift their behavior at all. But these birds didn't shift fear response with humans absent, and they shifted toward much less fearful after humans came back."

To collect the data, researchers received permission from UCLA administrators to venture onto campus in 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 closure.

Pamela Yeh, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and the study's senior author, said the findings could be explained in one of two ways. First, she said, it may be that once animals' fear response gets tamped down, new events will tamp it down further. Or it could be that the fear response, after being lowered, tends to return to its normal level, Yeh said.

Further study of UCLA's junco population should help determine which option explains the findings.

"The effects of humans on wild animals are really complex and what we expect isn't always what we get," Yeh said. "So our research shows both the complexity of the juncos' response to humans and of their response to other changes."

The study also may offer a glimmer of hope for North American birds, whose population has diminished dramaticallydue in large part to human disturbances in their natural habitats. By some estimates, there are nearly 3 billion fewer adult birds in North America alone than there were in 1970, including about 175 million fewer dark-eyed juncos.

"For me, the takeaway is that there's so much complex animal behavior that we don't know about, even though they are our neighbors in cities," said Diamant, who is now a postdoctoral scholar at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. "There are these surprising reactions animals have to collective human behavior. We might not know what they are because we can't test for them, but only these kinds of massive and unexpected events like the pandemic bring them into focus."
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Firemen battle flames during a wildfire near Prodromos, 100km northeast from Athens.

Eighteen suspected migrants were found dead Tuesday in a Greece forest fire near the Turkish border as scores of firefighters battled to contain the second deadly wave of blazes to hit the country in a month.

Fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios said the victims were found north of the city of Alexandroupoli.

As no local residents had been reported missing "the possibility that they are people who entered our country illegally is under investigation," Artopios said in a televised address.

The area is a frequent entry point for irregular migrants.

The latest deaths pushed the overall toll from this week's fires to 20, after another suspected migrant was found dead in the area Monday.

An elderly shepherd had also been found dead north of Athens on Monday.

Flames continued to spread unchecked in northeastern Greece as well as the islands of Evia and Kythnos and the region of Boeotia north of Athens, amid a dangerous mix of gale-force winds and temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius (106 Fahrenheit).

"It's a similar situation to July," a fire department spokeswoman told AFP, referring to a wave in several parts of the country that left five people dead.

Over 60 fires had erupted in the last 24 hours, and six countries were sending help via the European Union's civil protection mechanism, the fire department said.

Some 120 firefighters from Cyprus, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Serbia will pitch in, fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told state TV ERT.

A new fire broke out Tuesday at a landfill in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos near Athens, covering the area in a noxious black cloud.

Officials shut down the nearest section of the Athens ring road, and advised residents to stay indoors.

Another fire broke out in the foothills of Mount Parnitha near the capitals, prompting evacuations.

Late Monday, an evacuation was ordered at the hospital of Alexandroupolis, a northeastern Greek port city located in an area where fires were raging for a fourth day.

The coastguard said it had moved 65 patients to a waiting ferry at the city harbor.

On the island of Evia, near the capital, officials late Monday evacuated the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where the fire has damaged poultry and pork farms.

The fire near Alexandroupolis is also threatening the national park of Dadia, one of the most important protected areas in Europe that is home to rare birds.

The very hot and dry conditions which increase the fire risk will persist until Friday, according to meteorologists.

Amid a heat wave, a fire that started on July 18 and was fanned by strong winds ravaged almost 17,770 hectares (more than 43,000 acres) in 10 days in the south of Rhodes, a popular tourist island in the southeastern Aegean Sea.

Around 20,000 people, mostly tourists, had to be evacuated.

 2023 AFP
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Credit: Seth Moore

Minnesota saw a 58% decline of the moose population in the northeastern part of the state between 2006 and 2017. A primary driver of the decline is brainworm, a parasite that affects the animal's nervous system ultimately leading to paralysis and death.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa recently discovered evidence that moose in Minnesota consume species of gastropodsslugs and snailswhich are known hosts for the brainworm parasite (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis).

Although consumption of gastropods has long been considered the mode by which moose become infected with brainworm, this is the first study to empirically document this interaction in a natural setting.

In the study published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, Tiffany Wolf, a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Seth Moore, director of biology and environment for the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, analyzed 258 fecal samples collected on and around Grand Portage tribal lands from moose and deer to detect their consumption of gastropods.

The team identified moose consumption of three species of gastropods. Of those three, one is a well-documented host for brainworm, while the other two have not been adequately investigated for their ability to host the parasite.

"Because this work is done in partnership with the Grand Portage Band, for whom moose are an important subsistence species and source of cultural preservation, a primary motivation of our research is maintaining healthy moose populations on and near the Grand Portage Indian Reservation," said Tyler Garwood, a researcher in the College of Veterinary Medicine who was part of the study.

"More broadly, moose are an iconic species for our state and fill an important ecological niche as the largest herbivore in the northwoods ecosystem."

Insight about which gastropod species moose are eating, the ability of those species to transmit disease, and their ecology can be used by forest and wildlife managers to design habitat modifications or other interventions that reduce the density of those gastropods in areas commonly used by moose.

Although such actions alone may not prevent local extinction of moose, it would give managers another tool in a currently limited toolbox to understand P. tenuis transmission, along with a new framework for designing effective interventions to mitigate and manage disease spread.

"The Grand Portage Band of Chippewa has been leading extensive efforts to restore moose in Minnesota for nearly 18 years to support the vital lifeways of the Anishinaabe," said Moore.

Gastropod-borne diseases are a major threat to human and animal health worldwide but are rarely understood. The techniques presented in this paper offer the potential to better understand a variety of gastropod-borne diseases, clearly identify the mechanism by which moose become infected with brainworm, and allow for applications in forest management that may reduce the transmission risk of brainworm to moose.

More information: Tyler J Garwood et al, Species in The Feces: DNA Metabarcoding to Detect Potential Gastropod Hosts of Parelaphostrongylus Tenuis Consumed by Moose (Alces alces). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. DOI: 10.7589/JWD-D-22-00120. meridian.allenpress.com/jwd/ar  WD-D-22-00120/494789 Journal information: Journal of Wildlife Diseases
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(Left) Gap junction protein expressed in stem cell niche(Middle) Gap junction protein expressed in stem cell(Right) The channel formed by gap junction proteins in niche and stem cell. Credit: HKUST

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have found how stem cells' surrounding environment controls them to differentiate into functional cells, a breakthrough critical for using stem cells to treat various human diseases in the future.

Stem cells play a crucial role in supporting normal development and maintaining tissue homeostasis in adults. Their unique ability to replicate and differentiate into specialized cells holds great promise in treating diseases like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and type I diabetes by replacing damaged or diseased cells with healthy ones.

Despite their potential therapeutic benefits, one of the major challenges for cell therapies lies in efficiently differentiating stem cells into functional cells to replace damaged cells in degenerative tissue. This task is particularly difficult due to the limited understanding of the underlying molecular mechanism by which the tissues around stem cells, known as the stem cell niche, guide stem cell progeny to differentiate into proper functional cell types.

Now, a team led by Prof. Xie Ting, Head and Chair Professor of HKUST's Division of Life Science, has discovered for the first time, that the niche uses gap junctions (protein channels connecting stem cell progeny and the niche) to transport its cAMP into stem cell progeny to control their differentiation. cAMP is one of the most important secondary messengers in the cell to regulate many cellular functions, including stem cell differentiation.

A model of how stem cell niche uses the protein channels Gap junctions to transport its cAMP into stem cell progeny in controlling their differentiation into functional cells. Credit: HKUST

Prof. Xie, who is also Kerry Holdings Professor of Science, used the Drosophila ovary as an experimental model to study how two niches control stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, respectively.

The knowledge on niche regulatory mechanisms can help guide stem cells to differentiate into proper cell types for transplantation into degenerative human tissues. It could also help reconstitute the niche for supporting transplanted stem cells and their differentiation into functional cells since degenerative diseases often destroy niches for stem cells and stem cell progeny.

Prof. Xie said, "The findings advance the frontier of knowledge in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, laying the groundwork for the future application of stem cells in treating a wide range of human diseases. Going forward, we plan to explore if differentiation niches for human stem cells also use the gap junction-transported cAMP to control the differentiation into functional cells for stem cell therapy and try to uncover other gap junction-transported molecules from the niche."

The study was a collaboration between researchers at HKUST and Stowers Institute of Medical Research. It was recently published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

More information: Renjun Tu et al, Gap junctiontransported cAMP from the niche controls stem cell progeny differentiation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304168120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Dogs show greater brain sensitivity to the speech directed at them than to adult-directed speech, especially if spoken by women. Credit: Dora Tuzson-Varga

Dogs show greater brain sensitivity to the speech directed at them than to adult-directed speech, especially if spoken by women, according to a new study in Communications Biology.

By conducting an fMRI study on trained dogs, Hungarian researchers at the Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, the Research Centre for Natural Sciences and the Eotvos Lorand Research Network revealed exciting similarities between infant and dog brains during the processing of speech with exaggerated prosody.

When communicating with individuals having limited linguistic competence (such as infants and dogs), to grab and maintain their attention, we speak with a specific speech-style characterized by exaggerated prosody. Infant-directed speech is very important as it helps kids' healthy cognitive, social and language development. So, it's no surprise that infant brains are tuned to this speech style, but are dog brains also sensitive to the way we speak to them?

To answer this question, Hungarian researchers measured dog brain activity via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the MRI, trained, conscious family dogs listened to dog-, infant-, and adult-directed speech recorded from 12 women and 12 men in real-life interactions.

"Studying how dog brains process dog-directed speech is exciting, because it can help us understand how exaggerated prosody contributes to efficient speech processing in a nonhuman species skilled at relying on different speech cues (e.g. follow verbal commands)," Anna Gergely, co-first author of the study explains. Credit: Eotvos Lorand University

The study shows that dog auditory brain regions responded more to dog- and infant-directed than to adult-directed speech, which is the first neural evidence that dog brains are tuned to the speech directed specifically at them.

Interestingly, dog- and infant-directed speech sensitivity of dog brains was more pronounced when the speakers were women and was affected by voice pitch and its variation. These results suggest that the way we speak to our dogs does matter, and that their brain is specifically sensitive to the exaggerated prosody typical to the female voice.

"What makes this result particularly interesting is that in dogs, as opposed to infants, this sensitivity cannot be explained by either ancient responsiveness to conspecific signals or by intrauterine exposure to women's voice. Remarkably, the voice tone patterns characterizing women's dog-directed speech are not typically used in dog-dog communicationour results may thus serve evidence for a neural preference that dogs developed during their domestication."

"Dog brains' increased sensitivity to dog-directed speech spoken by women specifically may be due to the fact that women more often speak to dogs with exaggerated prosody than men," explains Anna Gabor, co-first author of the study.

More information: Anna Gergely et al, Dog brains are sensitive to infant- and dog-directed prosody, Communications Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05217-y Journal information: Communications Biology
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Interaction effect post-logit estimation (Hypothesis H1). Credit: Global Strategy Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1002/gsj.1489

In emerging countries, where the differences between political parties are considerable, elections often bring sweeping policy changes, even when the incumbents remain in power. This electoral uncertainty creates challenges for all businesses, and a new study in the Global Strategy Journal finds thatcontrary to conventional beliefthese challenges are particularly relevant for state-owned businesses.

Even companies with ties to their home government through indirect investments can find it particularly difficult to maintain their international interests during election years.

"Multinationals with indirect ownership are less likely to internationalize in an election year, and when they do, they implement more flexible strategies than fully private companies," says Rodrigo DeMello, an associate professor of management at Bentley University.

DeMello, and his co-authors Marina Gama and Oliver Bertrand of Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Brazil, and Marie-Ann Betschinger of HEC Montreal, describe indirect ownership as institutional investment from entities like public banks or government-controlled pension funds. This type of indirect state investment exists in democracies all around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, and the United States. However, it creates pronounced vulnerabilities for companies based in countries with newer democracies.

"The role of the home government supporting its multinationals is well documented; however, multinationals from emerging countries face potential disruption of this support in election years," says Gama.

Indirect state ownership can help companies access subsidized finances, privileged information, and diplomatic networks. However, in election years, state-owned shareholders can use their influence at these companies to divert resources from international investments, or they can simply withdraw state favorship.

The authors examined 89 multinational companies in Brazil from 2000 to 2012 to see how three elections changed the international strategies for organizations with indirect state ownership.

State indirect ownership organizations are 20% less likely than private companies to expand abroad during election years. They are also almost 40% more likely to establish foreign service subsidiaries over manufacturing plants and 10% more likely to establish a wholly owned subsidiary as opposed to a jointly owned one.

"Multinational organizations with indirect state ownership are not only less likely to internationalize during elections, but also more likely to hedge on flexible investments across their borders," says Bertrand. "When they do invest, they want complete control over their investments."

For managers in developing democracies, the study shows that state ownership does not guarantee resource continuity and stresses the need to integrate political elections into their strategic planning. It offers insight to those in more developed democracies as well. Though the study included only multinationals in Brazil, the political volatility and extreme differences between competing parties' ideologies that the authors describe are on the rise in developed democracies.

More information: Rodrigo B. DeMello et al, The effect of political elections at home on the internationalization of stateowned multinationals from emerging countries, Global Strategy Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1002/gsj.1489

Provided by Strategic Management Society
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A child on a whale shark. Credit: Pascal Laurent

Authorities in Indonesia must act to enforce wildlife protection laws to protect endangered whale sharks, says an Oxford Brookes University professor.

Whale sharks are the world's largest fish and females can grow up to 15 meters long weighing 15 metric tons or more. But despite their large size which helps protect them from predators, they remain at risk from fishing communities in Java, Indonesia's political, economic and industrial center, says Vincent Nijman, Professor in Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University in the UK.

Professor Nijman, who also heads the Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group, has been visiting the country and gathering data on the subject for more than two decades. His research partly draws on photos and videos posted by the public on social media and online which show whale sharks being caught, butchered and traded. His work has been published in Animals.

Professor Nijman said, "Many countries, including Indonesia, have given the species legal protection and internationally there are several agreements to conserve whale sharks.

"Based on the 58 landings of whale sharks on the coast of Java, it is clear that many of the landed sharks are immature, measuring only six to seven meters in length, but still weighing over two tons.

"It is also clear that more landings occur in August to September, at the end of the dry season. On average, one to two dozen whale sharks are landed each year along Java's coast.

"While some of these landed whale sharks are returned to the sea, either dead or alive, or left on the beach to slowly decompose and play their part in the nutrient cycle, a good number end up in trade."

Professor Nijman said whale sharks differ from many other shark species as they are filter feeders, eating plankton. They are therefore neither dangerous to humans, nor do they compete with fisher people for valuable catch.

He added, "With a friendly demeanor, whale sharks are increasingly recognized as being more valuable alive than dead. In areas where the species regularly congregates, tourists are viewing them from boats or are given the opportunity to swim with these friendly giants.

He added, "When killed they bring in just a few thousand dollars each to a fishing community. This is a bonus to those communities but it is not vital to sustain their livelihoods. There is no reason to profit from whale sharks in this manner, but until there is active enforcement, people will continue catching and selling them."

Dr. Chris Shepherd, executive director of the Monitor Conservation Research Organization in Big Lake, Canada, and not involved in the research, said, "While it may seem wasteful not to use the meat and the oil of a caught whale shark, allowing the trade to continue puts additional pressure on the whale shark population living off the coast of Java and provide incentives for fisher people to continue to target the species despite their legally protected status in Indonesia.

"There is a reason why Indonesia has included the species on their protected species list, and why globally there are numerous agreements in place to preserve the speciesallowing the trade in whale shark parts to continue, as is indeed the case along the south coast of Java, undermines these efforts."

More information: Vincent Nijman, Illegal Trade in Protected Sharks: The Case of Artisanal Whale Shark Meat Fisheries in Java, Indonesia, Animals (2023). DOI: 10.3390/ani13162656 Journal information: Animals
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The 10km wide Petermann Fjord in northern Greenland. The authors icebreaker ship is a small dot in the middle. The cliffs on either side are a kilometre high. In the distance is the ice tongue of the glacier flowing into the fjord. Credit: Martin Jakobsson, CC BY-SA

Understanding how glaciers interact with the ocean is akin to piecing together a colossal jigsaw puzzle. And on various icebreaker expeditions to some of the most remote fjords in northern Greenland, colleagues and I have showed that the shape of the seafloor is one of the key pieces of that puzzle.

To understand why the seabed is so important, we have to look at the glaciers themselves and what is causing them to retreat or even disappear. The large glaciers that meet the ocean in Greenland and Antarctica balance their mass over time largely in pace with the climate. When it snows or rains they accumulate ice, and they lose ice to melting and calvingthe process where chunks of ice break off and eventually melt away into the sea.

But over the past few decades they are losing mass at an accelerated pace, with more icebergs calving into the ocean and more ice being melted from below by relatively warm seawater.

Estimating how much mass will be lost is often highlighted as glaciology's grand challenge as it constitutes a large uncertainty in our predictions of future sea-level rise. To hone our predictions, it is crucial to find the areas where warmer ocean water reaches the these glaciers.

Most glaciers in Greenland drain into fjords in which the waters near the surface are very cold, heavily influenced by meltwater from the glaciers. Some fjords also allow in warmer water of Atlantic origin, which is saltier and therefore heavier so it enters the fjords at a greater depth.

Diagram of a fjord showing a sill that keeps out the warmer ocean water (note in Greenland the fjords are fed by glaciers not rivers). Credit: AMAP, CC BY-SA

The shape and depth (or "bathymetry") of the seafloor determines whether this warmer water can reach the glaciers and cause them to melt. These fjords may have particularly complex bathymetry as they themselves were formed by glaciers which also eroded the seabed. While the inner parts can be a kilometer deep, a shallower "sill" at the entrance (formed when eroded materials accumulate or from resistant bedrock) can act as a shield against inflowing warmer water.

That's why mapping these fjords is one of the most critical steps in assessing the future of the glaciers that flow into them. This is unfortunately easier said than done, since many of these glaciers flow into some of the most remote areas of the world.

Ireland-sized glacier, Manhattan-sized icebergs

The Petermann Glacierthe largest in the northern part of the Greenland ice sheetdrains an area of about 74,000 square kilometers, similar to the size of Ireland.

Some of the most northerly and inaccessible fjords on earth. Credit: Martin Jakobsson, CC BY-SA

Petermann is one of a few glaciers around Greenland with a floating ice tongue extending tens of kilometers from where the glacier is grounded on the seafloor. These ice tongues may act as a brakes on the flow of ice into the sea, slowing down mass loss.

In 2010, Petermann made headlines when a huge chunk broke off and formed an iceberg four times the size of Manhattan island. This was followed by another huge calving two years later. While calving is a natural process, these unusually large events were likely influenced by warmer waters from the Atlantic melting the tongue from below, making it thinner and more prone to break.

In 2015 colleagues and I mapped the entire seabed of Petermann Fjord for the first time. We found the entrance was still very deep: 443 metersas deep as the Empire State Building is tall. Deep enough for that warm, heavy, salty glacier-melting Atlantic water to enter.

We next wanted to compare Petermann to the Ryder Glacier to its northeast, which has been more stable since at least the 1950s. Was it kept in place by a shallow fjord entrance keeping out warmer water?

The icebreaker Oden in Petermann Fjord. The same ship appears as a tiny dot in the image at the top of the article. Credit: Martin Jakobsson, CC BY-SA

At the time, no ship had ever entered Sherard Osborn Fjord where Ryder Glacier drains, because the sea ice in that region is the toughest in the entire Arctic Ocean. Therefore, nothing at all was known about the seafloor. Ryder Glacier became the target for our next expedition with icebreaker Oden in 2019.

Shielded from warmer water

Thick ice in the narrow passage separating Ellesmere Island from Greenland made it hard to even get to Sherard Osborn Fjord. And entering the fjord was a true challenge, as large icebergs that had calved from the ice tongue floated around and occasionally blocked the entire entrance.

It turned out the fjord has a prominent shallow sill in front of Ryder Glacier. This sill shields the glacier from warmer subsurface Atlantic water, which appears to explain why it has behaved very differently compared to Petermann.

An underwater sill in front of Ryder Glacier shields it from inflowing warmer water from the Atlantic. Credit: Martin Jakobsson, CC BY-SA

The bathymetry of both Petermann and Sherard Osborn fjords has now been incorporated into the Seabed 2030 Project, which aims to completely map the world's ocean floor before the end of the decade. Knowing more about the seabed, and the glaciers that flow into the sea, will in turn help us to sustainably manage the ocean and, ultimately, the planet.

The are more completely unmapped areas in North Greenland. In 2024, we are planning another expedition with icebreaker Oden even further north to Victoria Fjord, where C.H. Ostenfeld Glacier drains. This glacier recently lost its floating ice tongue and whether or not Atlantic water makes into the fjord remains to be seen.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, JanuaryFebruary 2018. Credit: Hans Norelius from Alvsjo, Sweden/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

A 50-year project recently came to fruition for UConn researchers. In their paper recently published in The American Naturalist, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Emeritus Professor Robert Colwell and his colleaguesall UConn Ph.D. graduatesThiago Rangel, Karolina Fucikova, Diego Sustaita, Gregor Yanega, and Alejandro Rico-Guevara worked to solve a mystery that had perplexed Colwell for years.

It started when Colwell, who was leading a graduate course in Costa Rica for the Organization for Tropical Studies in 1971, observed certain hummingbirds using a sneaky shortcut to gather nectar.

"We were at a site about 10,000 feet above sea level studying hummingbirds, and I noticed that the largest of the four species of hummingbirds at that elevation, the long-billed Magnificent Hummingbird, weighing nine grams, actually had smaller feet than the much lighter, six-gram Fiery-throated Hummingbird, with a much shorter bill," Colwell says.

Though all hummingbirds have tiny feet, Colwell adds, the feet of the Fiery-throated are proportionally much bigger than expected, for its smaller body size, enabling an unorthodox feeding behavior for a hummingbird. Rather than hovering to feed from the mouth of a flower, delivering or receiving pollen in the process, these nectar thieves perch on the plant with the help of their bigger feet and use their shorter bills to punch small holes in the base of the flower to pump out the nectar, without pollinating the flower in the process.

Colwell was curious. Did the trait of bigger feet evolve because of this feeding strategy? Unfortunately, the subject of hummingbird feet was an overlooked topic at that time, so Colwell had to start from scratch. He began tracking down as many specimens as he could to take measurements of their feet and beaks and record their body weight.

With some 340 species, hummingbirds represent an enormous single, ancient branch within the avian evolutionary tree. They're only found from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but are most diverse in the tropics, says Colwell.

Since he was teaching there at the time, Colwell started with the University of California Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology where he examined more than a hundred species of hummingbird specimens, taking careful bill and foot measurements.

By 1986, Colwell says had enough data and he wrote a paper but decided to withdraw it from publication. Instead, he opted to gather more data and do more analysis, including looking more specifically at potential differences between male and female hummingbirds.

The other missing detail, he says, was that researchers did not yet have a phylogenetic tree for hummingbirds, which is crucial to show the evolutionary history of different groups and their relationships to one another through time. With the phylogenetic tree, scientists can answer questions such as whether a characteristic is shared across different groups because they share a common ancestor.

Colwell explains that if an interesting trait like bigger feet in nectar thieves is simply due to a common ancestor, that is not significant as a case where the same trait is shared with another, unrelated group of hummingbirds. This is called evolutionary convergence, where similar traits evolve independently in distantly related organismsfor example, flight in both vertebrates (birds and bats) and invertebrates (insects).

"Luckily, I wasn't in a hurry, I just decided to not publish the paper in that form," Colwell says. "Eventually, in 2014, a phylogeny was published for 284 species of hummingbirds by a group led by Jimmy McGuire, at Berkeley."

Colwell kept measuring and, after joining the faculty at UConn, he began collaborating with Margaret Rubega and her doctoral students Rico-Guevara and Yanega, who started measuring hummingbird feet at Colwell's encouragement while performing their fieldwork and when visiting museum collections. Meanwhile, Sustaita, a third Rubega doctoral student, a specialist on bird feet and the biomechanics of perching, began to model the mechanics of perching for feeding observed in hummingbirds.

Rangel, a former student in Colwell's group, worked on phylogenetic statistics, and Fucikova, from UConn Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Professor Louise Lewis' lab, developed alternative phylogenies to account for uncertainty, and mapped the evolutionary origins of foraging behaviors.

Eventually, the team gathered measurements from 1,172 museum specimens and 386 field captures, representing 220 species of hummingbirds. Additionally, the researchers pooled all the behavioral data on hummingbirds clinging to feed they could find from the literature and from their own field research, and Colwell went through every photograph and video on the Birds of the World website to look for additional examples. They found evidence of clinging to feed for 66 species.

"With this great team we ended up finding out that, yes, there is a negative correlation between foot size and bill size," says Colwell.

Colwell explains that excluding effective body size and the effect of phylogenetic relationships, and any physiological differences driven by species living at different elevations, the negative correlation between bill size and foot size is driven by short-billed species, many of which are nectar robbers.

"We show on the phylogenetic tree where this behavior arose, and this behavior of perching or clinging to feed arose in two dozen independent instances. This evolutionary convergence is a big deal and very rare to find more than a few examples within one evolutionary tree, one clade. The fact that we have so many independent origins is a strong and unusually rich example of evolutionary convergence."

Colwell adds that this convergence makes sense, because hovering is the most energy-intensive mode of movement in the animal world and hummingbirds must consume around their own body weight in sugars each day for survival.

"Anywhere that a hummingbird can get nectar or arthropods without hovering is an advantage," Colwell says. "There's always a strong selective pressure to minimize the hovering necessity that is forced on long-billed birds by the way long-tubed flowers are presented by plants. Clinging to feed saves a lot of energy and the clinging birds with shorter beaks and longer feet can pollinate and feed legitimately on short flowers, although many rob nectar through the flower base."

The nectar thieves' feeding habit often doesn't seem to damage the flower, says Colwell, and sometimes the flower is able to seal the hole. Otherwise, the hummingbirds access nectar through preexisting openings. The only downside for the flower, besides not being pollinated, is that this mode of feeding makes those flowers less attractive to hummingbirds that feed legitimately and pollinate the flowers, says Colwell. Further research will yield new insights into this and many other questions using the data the team has amassed.

"After 50 years, this has finally come to fruition because of the wonderful colleagues I have had here at UConn. I'm very, very happy about the outcome and very proud of the team we put together."

More information: Robert K. Colwell et al, Repeated evolution of unorthodox feeding styles drives a negative correlation between foot size and bill length in hummingbirds, The American Naturalist (2023). DOI: 10.1086/726036 Journal information: American Naturalist
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Hymn to the Goddess Nungal, on display at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at the University of Chicago. Credit: Daderot/Wikimedia Commons

Prisons are places of suffering. But in theory, they aim for something beyond punishment: reform.

In the United States, the goal of prisoner rehabilitation can be traced back, in part, to the 1876 opening of the Elmira Reformatory in upstate New York. Purported to be an institution of "benevolent reform," the reformatory aimed to transform prisoners, not just deprive themthough founder Zebulon Brockway, known as the "Father of American Corrections," was notoriously harsh.

Other states soon adopted the reformatory model, and the notion that prisons are places to "correct" people has become a staple of the judicial system.

But the idea that imprisonment and suffering were supposedly good for the prisoner didn't emerge in the 19th century. The earliest evidence goes back some 4,000 years: to a hymn in Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, praising a prison goddess named Nungal.

Almost a decade ago, as a graduate student researching slavery in early Mesopotamia, I came across numerous texts dealing with imprisonment. Some were administrative documents dealing with everyday accounting information. Others were legal texts, literature or personal letters. I became fascinated with imprisonment in these cultures: Most of them detained suspects only briefly, but in literary and ritual texts, imprisonment was seen as a transformative, purifying experience.

The 'house of life'

Around 1,800 B.C., students training as scribes at Nippur, an ancient Sumerian city, frequently copied from a selection of 10 literary works. Using cuneiform, these aspiring scribes would copy texts that included the exploits of the legendary hero Gilgamesh as he fought the beast Huwawa, the fearsome guardian of the forest. They wrote about a great Mesopotamian king named Sulgi, who claimed to be a god.

And as the master scribe dictated these various texts, the students also heard about a prison goddess named Nungal.

Though her justice was inescapable, Nungal was also celebrated for her compassion. Her "house" brought suffering upon prisoners, whose sorrow gave rise to lament. Through that lament, however, prisoners could be purified of their sins and made right with their personal gods, who were their protectors and mediators before the greater gods.

The "Hymn to Nungal," which dates from the second or third millennium B.C., details how a guilty prisoner sentenced to death was not killed, but snatched "from the jaws of destruction" and put in Nungal's house, which she calls a "house of life"but also a place of suffering, isolation and pain.

A detail from the Standard of Ur, from third-millennium B.C. Sumeria, shows prisoners of war between soldiers. (Held in the British Museum). Credit: LeastCommonAncestor/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Still, the hymn describes prisoners transformed by their time in prison. The goddess says her house is "built with compassion, it soothes the heart of that person, and refreshes his spirits." Eventually, she continues, they will lament and be purified in the eyes of their deity: "When it has appeased the heart of his god for him; when it has polished him clean like silver of good quality, when it has made him shine forth through the dust; when it has cleansed him of dirt, like silver of best quality  he will be entrusted again into the propitious hands of his god."

Fact vs. fiction

The extent to which the ancients believed such stories about the gods remains a matter of debate. Were texts like the "Hymn to Nungal" matters of sincere religion or just fairy tales that no one took seriously?

Since it is a literary text, it is not a reliable source about the justice system, either. Mesopotamian kingdoms during that time seem to have used prisons to detain suspects prior to punishment, similar to jails that hold suspects before trial today. They also detained people to force them to pay a fine or debt, and to coerce laborsometimes for over three years. But punishment, which typically involved physical or financial consequences, did not include time in prison.

Still, detainment entailed suffering, with one prisoner describing the "prison" as a "house of distresses or famine" in a letter written to his superior. In another text, the sender says he was released but complains of beatings that another prisoner endured as part of the investigative processalthough the sender does not mention the nature of the suspected offense.

However, scholars Klaas Veenhof and Dominique Charpin have found evidence of Nungal playing a role in the judicial process. At some temples, oaths would be taken in the presence of a throw-net, similar to what is used to cast for fish, which symbolized Nungal and inescapable justice.

The vision cast in the hymn was likely folded into a later ritual practice where imprisonment was used to purify the king. During the New Year festival, the king was stripped of his regalia and entered a makeshift prison made of reeds, where the king offered prayers to the gods for his sins. Through prayer and ritual, he was deemed purified and able to resume his royal duties.

Yesterday and today

While most people may not have spent long periods in Mesopotamian prisons, they did suffer in them. Perhaps it is that experience that caused a text like the "Hymn to Nungal" to be written, exploring how such an experience could be used to reform the prisoner through lament.

The notion that imprisonment can be good is pervasive, but is it accurate? How prison systems think about reform is very different today than how the "Hymn to Nungal" envisions it. Yet the powerful idea that suffering can be good for prisoners has deep historical rootsallowing incarceration systems to claim that the suffering within their walls is compassionate.

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Hong Kong: Arson suspect returned to Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Police Force took over custody of a 34-year-old male suspect from Mainland authorities at the Shenzhen Bay Port today.

An arrest warrant had earlier been issued against him in connection with an arson incident in Wan Chai on September 30, 2019. He has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit arson with intent and an alternative charge of possessing items with intent to destroy or damage property.

The man is alleged to have fled Hong Kong and was arrested by Mainland authorities in Mainland waters in August 2020. An arrest warrant was issued against him at the District Court on September 8, 2020.

The man was returned to Hong Kong following the conclusion of legal proceedings by Mainland authorities. The case is being handled by the Hong Kong Police Forces Commercial Crime Bureau and National Security Department. The man has been arraigned to appear at the District Court tomorrow.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
BRICS a big family of mutual support, a partnership for win-win cooperation

09:59, August 22, 2023 By Chen Xiaodong ( People's Daily

At the invitation of South African President Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa and pays a state visit to South Africa from August 21 to 24.

The BRICS mechanism is an important cooperation platform for emerging markets and developing countries. It has become a key force in promoting world economic growth, reforming the global governance system, and upholding international peace and stability.

President Xi's meeting with BRICS leaders to discuss cooperation will strongly promote the steady and sustained progress of BRICS cooperation and make new contributions to world peace and development.

BRICS cooperation will be further highlighted by solidarity and cooperation. The five BRICS countries have come together to build partnerships, achieve common development, bring about greater democracy in international relations and advance world peace and development.

China has always been a staunch defender of BRICS solidarity and cooperation. Since 2013, President Xi has hosted or attended BRICS Summits for 10 consecutive years, charting the course for deepening strategic partnerships of the BRICS countries and strengthening BRICS solidarity and cooperation.

Practical cooperation will further improve the quality of BRICS cooperation. China has always been an active promoter of BRICS practical cooperation. At the 5th BRICS Summit held in 2013, the Chinese side proposed that BRICS should move toward the goal of integrated markets, multi-tiered network, connectivity by land, air and sea, and greater cultural exchanges, which clearly outlined the direction for BRICS cooperation.

During the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in 2018, China proposed to jointly build the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR). In 2020, China announced to set up an innovation center for such a partnership in Xiamen, Fujian province, which is expected to play a key role in enhancing BRICS countries' international competitiveness.

From hosting the BRICS High-level Meeting on Climate Change, the BRICS Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development, and the BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchange Forum, to establishing the BRICS Technical and Vocational Education and Training Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA) and holding the BRICS Skills Competitions, China has taken real action to energize BRICS cooperation and global development.

The vision for long-term development will add new vitality to BRICS. As an African proverb goes, "If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together." The Chinese often say, "The going is difficult when doing it alone; the going becomes easier when doing it with many others." Win-win cooperation is the inherent theme of the BRICS mechanism.

China has always been a builder of the BRICS mechanism. During the 2017 BRICS Summit in Xiamen, President Xi proposed the "BRICS Plus" cooperation approach, leading BRICS cooperation into a new phase.

At last year's 14th BRICS Summit, President Xi pointed out that BRICS countries gather not in a closed club or an exclusive circle, but a big family of mutual support and a partnership for win-win cooperation.

During the meeting, BRICS leaders reached important common understandings about BRICS expansion and expressed support for discussion on the standards and procedures of the expansion. China welcomes and looks forward to like-minded partners joining the BRICS family.

As developing countries with major influence, China and South Africa enjoy a special bond of "camaraderie + brotherhood." South Africa was the first African country to sign an agreement with China on jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

During his state visit to South Africa, President Xi will exchange views with President Ramaphosa on bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concerns, discuss the future development of bilateral relations, and jointly embark on a new journey of building a high-level China-South Africa community with a shared future.

The giant ship of BRICS will start a new voyage from South Africa. China stands ready to work with all parties to uphold the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, open a new chapter of BRICS cooperation, and contribute more Chinese wisdom and strength to maintaining world stability and prosperity, upholding true multilateralism, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

(Chen Xiaodong is the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa.)

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
KAMPALA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's coffee export earnings in July rose by 25.85 percent compared to the same month last year, Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said Tuesday in its latest monthly report.

The east African country exported 645,832 bags (60 kilos per bag) of coffee and earned 104.99 million U.S. dollars in July, said the report.

"This was an increase of 12.16 percent and 25.85 percent in quantity and value respectively compared to the same month last year," it said.

In the year ending July (August 2022-July 2023), Uganda exported 5.83 million bags worth 867.50 million dollars compared to 6.13 million bags worth 862.28 million dollars the previous year (August 2021-July 2022).

"This represents a decrease of 5 percent in quantity and 0.6 percent increase in value. The decrease was pegged on drought and increasing incidence of pests and diseases in Robusta growing areas," the UCDA said.

Italy maintained the highest market share of Uganda's coffee, followed by Sudan, Germany, India and Morocco.

Coffee is one of the major commodities prioritized by Uganda to boost economic transformation. About 1.7 million households in Uganda depend on coffee production, according to the UCDA. 
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:

CSIRO worked together with MMRI to train local partners in methods to help with coral reef recovery. Here the team is preparing settlement tiles to resettle coral larvae back onto the reef. Credit: CSIRO

The island nation of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean is made up of more than 1,000 small coral islands with white sandy beaches and colorful reefs teeming with marine life.

However, these idyllic islands are now under threat from climate change. Over the last decade, increased sea surface temperatures have resulted in major coral bleaching events. We've been working with partners at the Maldives Marine Research Institute to develop and train local participants in larval-based coral restoration methods to assist with reef recovery.

A team effort to help coral recovery

Major coral bleaching in the Maldives has been recorded in 1998, 2016, 2017 and 2020, with minor bleaching occurring in 2022 and 2023. Live coral cover declined to as low as 2% average cover. So, solutions are needed in the Maldives to help with coral recovery.

CSIRO researchers have been working with colleagues at the Maldives Marine Research Institute to train locals in solutions. We have used our experience with the Great Barrier Reef to implement larval-based restoration methods in the context of the Maldives.

We've recently published the Standard operating procedures for larval-based restoration of Maldivian coral reefsa practical guide for practitioners in the Maldives. The document is freely available and is also transferrable for practitioners in other Indo-Pacific coral reef nations.

So, how do you help reefs recover from major disturbance events? Much like us humans and other members of the animal kingdom, it starts with a sperm and an egg.

Spawning new research and knowledge

Corals release their sperm and eggs during coral spawning events. These events usually only happen a few times each year.

We collect the coral spawn and culture it into coral larvae. Then, we release the larvae back onto areas of degraded reef where it will help re-establish corals.

Before we release the larvae, they are sometimes settled onto tiles. We can also release the larvae directly onto the reef. But settling on tiles can help reduce losses of larvae. It also enables early detection of the tiny coral settlers, as they are less than 1 millimeter in size.

On the other hand, direct release of larvae (without the use of tiles) requires less handling and can be more easily scaled up. Both methods help to re-establish populations of coral reefs impacted by disturbances, to aid in long term recovery. Credit: CSIRO

Future proofing the Maldives reefs

Initially, our researchers delivered the training through a series of online workshops. The interactive sessions included making coral spawn catcher nets from recycled materials such as plastic bottles. Participants were from government, environmental consulting, tourism, and education sectors.

In addition to the online workshops, we rolled out hands-on training to tackle the challenges that locals are facing.

We visited the remote island of Omadhoo to deliver a range of field and lab-based sessions. This included determining when corals are ready to spawn, coral identification and larval culturing.

The team documented when the corals spawned and the precise locations. This information is vital in developing a better understanding of coral reproduction on local reefs in the Maldives.

The training also used resources from the island. A facility normally used for fish aquaculture was repurposed to culture coral larvae before it could be settled onto the reef.

Like many countries in the region, the Maldives relies on its coral reefs for sustaining local livelihoods. Its reefs are critical for coastal protection, as they reduce impacts from waves and storms which cause erosion. And they are also important for economic prosperity. The Maldives depends on the reefs: 58% of the population is employed in the tourism sector and 98% of exports come from reef-associated fisheries.

The workshops and training were the first of their kind in the Maldives. They have boosted the local community's knowledge to implement actions on their islands and atolls to help in reef restoration. This aims to help build resilience in a changing climate and contribute to future prosperity for the country.

Provided by CSIRO
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The six great Arctic rivers. Sampling locations are indicated by black dots. The 16.8  106 km2 pan-Arctic watershed is delineated by the thick blue line. The northern permafrost extent is indicated using blue shading. Data from Gruber59, Natural Earth Data and Esri. Credit: Greg Fiske. Nature Geoscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01247-7

A Florida State University scientist has helped uncover through a multidecadal study how changing water chemistry in Arctic rivers could impact the entire planet.

New research published in Nature Geoscience by FSU Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science Professor Robert Spencer and a multinational team delves into how rivers in the Arctic are responding to the warming climate, how the region's chemistry is shifting due to climate change and other natural processes and how these changes are influencing the intricate web of life both on land and in the oceans.

"The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, and this is leading to a host of changes from permafrost thaw mobilizing long-stored carbon, to shifts in vegetation, processing of nutrients and carbon in rivers," said Spencer, who travels the world conducting research gauging the impacts of humans on Earth's chemical cycles.

"All of this is reflected in water samples we take from these major Arctic rivers. Working in numerous countries across the Arctic allows us to observe clear patterns across the whole region from sites in this study in the United States, Canada and Russia."

The research, conducted by scientists from the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory over a nearly two-decade period from 2003 to 2019, is akin to a checkup of the ecological health of the region. The survey focused on the Ob', Yenisey, Mackenzie, Lena, Kolyma and Yukon rivers, crucial connectors between the vast Arctic lands and the sea.

The chemicals the rivers carry reveal what's happening in their watersheds, much like a blood test taken from a patient by a medical doctor.

The study took a close look at the chemical makeup of these rivers by examining a suite of diagnostic parameters, including dissolved organic carbon, alkalinity and nitrate. The researchers found that some key players in this chemical story are changing:

Alkalinity, which can reveal how rocks weather and break down and affect the water's acidity, increased. This means that there is more weathering in the watersheds.

Nitrate, a nutrient for plants and animals, declined, which could affect the balance of life in the oceans connected to these rivers.

Dissolved organic carbon, a complex mixture, akin to a tea produced mainly from the land that rivers transport, didn't show any major changes.

Changes in river chemistry hold implications for the entire planet, Spencer said. Alterations in the chemical makeup of these rivers could ripple through the entire ocean system. The changes in the rivers can affect how much carbon dioxide goes into the air and how plants and animals grow in the ocean.

In response, scientists are banding together to study these river dynamics more closely. By decoding the chemical messages of the Arctic rivers, they hope to further improve their understanding of the region's rapidly changing ecosystem.

"Long-term projects across international boundaries like this are really required for us to understand not just how the Arctic is changing but also the rate of change," Spencer said. "Having almost two decades worth of observations has given this multinational group unparalleled insights into these changes and the trajectory for the future.

"It really is an honor to be part of such a project, working with fantastic colleagues all around the world," he said. "When science works across boundaries it benefits us all with an improved understanding of the world around us."

More information: Suzanne E. Tank et al, Recent trends in the chemistry of major northern rivers signal widespread Arctic change, Nature Geoscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01247-7 Journal information: Nature Geoscience
KAMPALA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Tuesday started the Ebola vaccination exercise covering 2,500 frontline health workers at Adjumani district in its northwestern West Nile sub-region bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

The exercise began with frontline health workers and would be rolled out subsequently to the public, Henry Lulu, Adjumani district health officer, told Xinhua over the telephone.

"We have received 400 doses of vaccines for Adjumani district as we launched this exercise today. More doses of vaccines are being brought to cover all the six districts in the West Nile sub-region," said Lulu.

Adjumani District Woman Councilor Irene Adrupio also told Xinhua that frontline health workers save people's life first, so it's necessary to keep them safe and do their routine work without fear of contracting communicable diseases.

Last year in December, Uganda received 1,200 doses of Ebola trial vaccines from the World Health Organization for a clinical trial aimed at fighting the Sudan strain of the virus that hit the country in September.

Uganda declared the end of the Sudan Ebola virus disease outbreak on Jan. 11 after 42 days without any new cases reported. 
By Alpha Abu

Some eleven months to Sierra Leones General Elections, the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Konneh says his office remains committed to stakeholders' engagement and a credible election.

Konneh gave the assurances at the presentation of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leones annual report and update on election preparedness to President Julius Maada Bio at State House in Freetown yesterday.

At the event which was attended by Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Ministers, other senior government officials, and development partners, the Chief Commissioner spoke about preparations for the 3rd September -4th October 2022 registration of eligible voters at 3,630 centres spread across the country, a 10 percent increase from the last voter registration exercise.

Konneh said the spread of centres took into consideration population density and topography as captured in the past MidTerm Population and Housing Census by Statistics Sierra Leone. He said the registration would take place at a time schools will be in session and spoke of the commissions engagement with Ministry of Education authorities so that the process would be enhanced without disruption to schooling.

The voter registration will go side by side with the National Civil Registration Authoritys (NCRA) process of registering people who were not captured in last years exercise.

Clear indication has been given that the earlier touted compulsory idea of voters having to get the Authoritys National Identification Number (NIN) has now been shelved.

On the issue of Boundary Delimitation, Konneh explained what he said has been a significant shift in the population at Ward, Constituent, and District levels based on the data provided by the Statistics office.

He said the Commission in consonant with its mandate and has signed an MOU with Statistics has resolved to review the boundaries in the country. He spoke about the setting up of a Boundary Delimitation Committee.

End of July to the end of August this year, ECSL is to engage stakeholders in various parts of the country on the boundary delimitation, which will then be followed by the drafting of its policy Instruments that would be presented to the Parliament of Sierra Leone for ratification.

Konneh also revealed that ECSL would be having two thousand (2,000) laptop computers for the elections scheduled for the 24th of June 2023. Preceding that will be the Paramount Chief Member of Parliament Election in May 2023.

Other key reforms highlighted were the electoral calendar for Local councils that has been extended by a year to now 5 years, and the presence now of Ward Coordinators at the district level to manage all electoral issues.

President Bio in receiving the report said he was appreciative of the immensity of the work and the time needed for ECSL to accomplish its tasks. He said he was receiving the report with great optimism and spoke of his governments democratic credentials based on Media and Judicial Reforms that he said continue to generate accolades from bodies and institutions around the world.

He said his government would ensure the elections are conducted in a fair and credible manner.

Copyright  2022 Politico Online (22/07/22)
Cam Cardinale is a bit of a wunderkind.

He started working for the family business, Cardinale auto shop on Route 9 in South Glens Falls, nine years ago, behind the counter and handling their social media. An Instragram account that he built to 10,000 followers helped him land a job at Mannix Marketing in 2020, working on social media for GlensFalls.com, one of Mannixs many websites. Kate Austin, the owner and founder of Advokate, the Glens Falls Public Relations firm, recruited him in 2021. In two years, he became director of marketing and communications for her company. He runs Nancy Turners campaign for the Warren County Board Supervisors and has organized the LGBTQ+ Pride rallies in Glens Falls.

Monday morning he began as the director of community engagement for Southern Adirondack Independent Living, a position the company created and then recruited him into.

He just turned 18 last week, his father Pete Cardinale said, adding with some pride that his son has already met with state legislators, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and other politicos in the area. He was invited all-expenses-paid to see the Lion King on Broadway. And hell lunch with members of Congress this November. His father said: Hes got it going on.

Cam Cardinale, pronounced Cardinally, said he graduated from high school at 17, and had planned to attend SUNY New Paltz, but his career has taken off, so he is staying here. Much of that start came during the pandemic when the flexibility of classes offered him time to work in marketing through social media.

The new position at SAIL will have him focused on all elements of external communications for the regional nonprofit that helps people with mobility issues live full lives.

People at SAIL, including Cardinale and Executive Director Tyler Whitney, say SAIL is the best kept secret.

Within a year, I want to make that not a thing, Cardinale said.

SAIL not only helps people with the equipment they need at home, work or on vacation by loaning, giving or selling it to them, but also they help people get Medicaid waivers or navigate through governmental bureaucracy.

In the past year, the company has made a bigger push to help local businesses realize that SAIL can help the company become more compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and that SAIL can help with the reasonable accommodations that companies of certain sizes must offer by law.

Its a big thing about really increasing SAILs message, getting it out theremaking connections on the government level on the business level, on the community level all the way down to the consumer, Cardinale said.

He added that he and others in SAIL have planned a trip to Washington DC this November to meet local legislators  SAIL has offices in Queensbury, Wilton and Plattsburgh  and to meet with governmental leadership who work on committees in the disabilities area.

SAIL gets funding through grants, and having government leadership on their side is key, Cardinale said.

Scroll down to read more of our coverage of SAIL.
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  Union members and employees of the Crest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center plan to argue against a move to seek a new operator for the facility.

Members of AFSCME New Jersey plan to rally at the Tuesday meeting of the Cape May County Board of Commissioners, starting 3 p.m. at 4 Moore Road.

"We think the whole process is flawed," AFSCME NJ Executive Director Steve Tully said Monday. The union represents about 500 county workers, he said, including many of those at Crest Haven.

He said the workers will address county government with concerns about the timing and impact of bringing in another organization to operate the nursing home.

The county this month asked for proposals for a contractor to operate Crest Haven, with a Sept. 13 deadline for potential operators to make their case. The county could appoint a new operator this fall, and potentially be out of the nursing home business by the end of the year.

County officials say the residents of the facility will receive the same care they do now, and that they have sought a commitment that a new company would hire the staff who do not remain county employees.

Union members say the plan is privatization, and that it would be a mistake.

This would be devastating to the facility, employees, residents and families of those residents, reads a statement from the New Jersey organization of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union representing 20,000 people statewide.

Cape May County seeks operator for Crest Haven nursing facility 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.

The organization claims there is no financial need to change how the nursing home operates and says the countys reasons are unclear.

The only goal of privatization is to make money, which would have catastrophic repercussions on staffing levels and safety precautions for residents and staff, the union statement continued.

County officials say the 180-bed operation loses money each year, with costs outstripping the money brought in.

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, said Jeffery Lindsay, the county counsel, in response to questions earlier this month. 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 county dedicated Crest Haven in 1990.

Tully said the workers will let the county elected officials know they are adamantly against the Crest Haven plan. he said he has not seen any studies on the potential impact of the proposal, and said it would be disruptive to the residents and to the county as a whole.

He also suggested the county's proposed timeline is far too rushed.

"It was dropped on the workers like a bomb," Tully said.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Stockton University has formed a working group to look into enhancing its impact on Atlantic City.

University President Joe Bertolino said the group will include members of the school's Board of Trustees, alumni, business and community leaders, as well as students, faculty and staff. The primary task of the group will be hiring an experienced firm to conduct a feasibility study for Phase III of its Atlantic City campus, which is currently a 2.25-acre parking lot between Hartford and Albany avenues.

Stockton does not own the property but would partner with AC Devco in the development of the project, according to a statement from the university.

As an Anchor Institution, we are committed to being in and of the community, Bertolino said in a statement. In partnership, we will actively explore opportunities that would best enhance experiences for our students and elevate the impact of Stockton as a good neighbor within Atlantic City.

Stockton received $1 million in its fiscal year 2024 state appropriations to assist in the planning of Phase III.

Stockton's City Campus opened in fall 2018. The university offers an array of classes at the John F. Scarpa Academic Center and hosts nearly 2,000 program and event-related bookings annually at the Atlantic City campus, the university said.

Phase II of the City Campus, a 135,000-square-foot, six-story, $69.3 million building at Atlantic and South Providence avenues, was opened in May. More than 900 students will live at the universitys two Atlantic City residential complexes this fall, Stockton said.

GALLERY: Stockton President Harvey Kesselman honored
OCEAN CITY  To hear the comments of many local officials, it seems like the areas opposition to wind power development along the coast is steadfast and unanimous.

A drive around the area leaves a similar impression, with houses displaying opposition to offshore wind power projects via yard signs throughout the shore communities. From those displays, from public comments and from participation in meetings related to offshore wind proposals, it appears that most beach town residents remain skeptical of the plans.

But just as some state Democratic leaders express concerns about the proposals, some shore town residents have come forward recently in support of wind power.

At two recent public meetings, a resident of Strathmere and a resident of Ocean City stood before the governing bodies of their respective communities to say changes to the global climate are an existential threat, and using wind to generate power may be a vital step toward addressing the issue.

I dont see any viable alternatives to the windmills in order to be a replacement to fossil fuels, Sheila Hartranft told Ocean City Council at its most recent meeting.

Hartranft said she has not heard any alternatives presented by wind power opponents to reduce the emission of carbon from fossil fuels that most scientists link to a warming world and rising sea temperatures. She added most of those standing against offshore wind turbines have not spoken against other activities around the world that harm marine life.

She said she was not a scientist or an expert.

I am, however, for, with the proper research, anything that will help our oceans and this island, Hartranft said.

Calif., US should boost clean energy future based on offshore wind, by Michelle Solomon and Taylor Mcnair Offshore wind could be the economic engine and energy solution California needs, but only if our state policymakers lead the way  and were running out of time to get it right. Last year California set its first offshore wind goal  25 gigawatts by 2045, enough to power 25 million homes. That announcement was soon followed by the first federal Pacific offshore wind lease, and port investment ...

There was no response from council. Members typically do not respond to comments from the public.

Elaine Holsomback, of Strathmere, spoke in favor of offshore wind at last weeks meeting of the Upper Township Committee. She said she was not advocating for one solution or another, but said action needs to be taken to reduce carbon from human sources in the atmosphere, citing wildfires in Hawaii as an indication of climate change.

We must do something soon, she said. The polar ice is mantling at a rapid pace. It is no longer a maybe someday thing. Global warming is here.

Upper Township officials have so far avoided taking a stand on offshore wind power, and did not take a position last week. A former power plant in the Beesleys Point section of the township is the planned landing site for some of the power lines leading from the Ocean Wind 1 project, and could be used for additional projects planned along the coast.

Both governing bodies have heard far more often from residents and visitors who oppose offshore wind projects, and several community groups have organized along the New Jersey coast to oppose offshore wind.

The groups, including Protect Our Coast NJ, described the extensive wind power projects planned off the coast as an industrialization of the ocean, and argue they will do more harm to the environment than benefit.

The projects have been under discussion for years, but the opposition has intensified as the proposed work on Ocean Wind 1, the first of several such projects, gets closer to starting. Project opponents deny they will have any significant impact on climate change.

Several of the organizations also cite the potential economic impact, arguing the view of wind farms off the beach will damage the regions lucrative summer tourism industry.

NOAA doubles chances for a nasty Atlantic hurricane season due to hot ocean, tardy El Nino Forecasters are doubling chances of a nasty Atlantic hurricane season this summer and fall, thanks to record hot ocean water and a tardy El Nino.

Wind power opponents say their support is growing.

The more we fight, the more expensive it becomes and the less likely they will continue, reads the website of Protect Our Coast NJ.

For those supporting wind power projects, speaking up can come with a cost, according to Caren Fitzpatrick, a member of the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners and the Democratic nominee to challenge Republican Vince Polistina for state Senate in Atlantic County.

Fitzpatrick is one of the areas most public proponents of offshore wind, arguing the projects will mean good jobs and cleaner energy. She has accused the fossil fuel industry of working to block wind power development.

Theres been blowback. Its something I believe in, I believe is the right thing to do, she said in a recent interview. It can get ugly.

Last week, on the day of the Atlantic City Airshow, Fitzpatrick spoke to members of local labor, environmental and community groups during a rally at the Carpenters Union Hall on South New York Avenue.

Today, we are all here because the facts are clear, she said Wednesday. Supporting renewable energy will propel economic progress, create thousands of union jobs, help our communities prosper, will improve public health and protect our coastlines.

The same day, opponents of wind power held their own gathering on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Delay only pauses excitement of Atlantic City Airshow This year's 2023 Visit Atlantic City Airshow proved to be another major event for the area, as crowds packed the beaches, Boardwalk and ocean, and a flotilla of boats watched from just beyond the shore break.

Fitzpatrick suggests some wind power supporters are reluctant to come forward. She said her advocacy has impacted her family and that she has been yelled at for speaking up, such as when she spoke at a recent meeting about the Atlantic Shores offshore wind proposal. She said she brought facts to the meeting.

But they shouted me down, told me Im a liar, Im a whale killer, Im going to hell, she said. I think thats a big deterrent.

Hartranft does not expect to lose any friends over her position on wind turbines. She said Monday she has seen many in Ocean City change their minds, with some former supporters becoming convinced that offshore wind power is a bad idea, and others who had been opposed also changing their minds. Besides, she has experience with people disagreeing and remaining close.

Were on opposite sides on this, said Bill Hartranft, her husband of more than 50 years. He said they have different opinions and express them, but that does not change how they feel about each other.

Staff Writer Selena Vazquez contributed to this report.
After a one-day special of hot, humid weather, were back to comfortable through Thursday morning. A few showers and storms will bring needed rain for the weeks end. Then, Im jumping to next week, as what should be Hurricane Franklin brings indirect impacts.

Well still have some clouds Tuesday morning as the cold front slowly moves offshore. There will still be a smidge of humidity left in the air, but that will go away quickly. Morning lows will be in the 65- to 70-degree range.

Moving into the afternoon, sunshine will come out as drying high pressure builds in from the Great Lakes states. Winds will come out of the north around 15 mph, so that should let that dominate over the sea breeze.

The result will be a very comfortable afternoon. Highs will be at or just above 80 degrees. Dew points will be back in the dry 50s.

That will set up a nice Tuesday night, no air conditioning needed. The evening will fall into the 70s and 60s under a mainly clear sky.

Come Wednesday morning, lows will be in the mid-60s for Brigantine and the shore. Inland areas will be in the upper 50s, though I have a feeling Corbin City and those rural Pine Barrens spots will be lower in the 50s.

Wednesday will largely carry over from Tuesday afternoon, with high sunshine, low humidity and moderately warm temperatures. Highs will sit right around 80 degrees. Winds should come out of the northeast. With water temperatures in the 70s, I expect inland and shore areas to be about the same. Enjoy.

A bit of humidity will creep in overnight as winds come out of the south. Clouds will fill in late overnight. However, it will be dry. Expect low 60s inland for minimum temperatures, with upper 60s at the coast.

Thursday will be a fight between drying high pressure that will move offshore and an incoming, wet warm front from the west. Its not a shocker to say the morning stays rain free, when high pressure is closest. Then, the afternoon and evening have showers and storms, as low pressure nears.

Expect rain showers to begin between noon and 3 p.m. from west to east. They will be scattered throughout the p.m. hours and then fizzle some into the night.

Given the cloudy day expected Thursday and temperatures not all that hot (around to just above 80 degrees), I see well-behaved showers and storms. No severe weather here.

Outdoor activities should be focused on the morning. However, as long as your p.m. events are flexible, youll find dry time to do what you want.

Then, kicking the weather can all the way down the road to next week, Ill keep an eye on what should then be Hurricane Franklin. While it could threaten Bermuda directly, itll stay well off the East Coast of the United States.

Of course, that will still mean indirect impacts for us. This will likely be from Monday through Thursday. Sunny-day flooding will threaten starting Monday as large easterly swells and winds push water onto normally dry land. The risk for rip currents will be elevated, and small craft should have a tough time navigating the ocean waters.

The onshore breeze, which may get stiff, will keep temperatures down. My early prediction is for it to feel like late September, with highs in the mid- to upper 70s.
ABUJA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Abdulsalami Abubakar, a special envoy of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger's political impasse, announced Tuesday that a diplomatic solution is within reach for the crisis that has gripped the country.

Abubakar, who met with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, also the current chair of the ECOWAS in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to present the report of a recent visit to Niger, told reporters that the discussion with the military junta in the West African country had shown positive signs.

"I must say that our visit to Niger has been very fruitful and that it has opened an avenue to start talking, and hopefully, we will get somewhere," said Abubakar.

In a meeting held in Niamey, Niger's capital, on Saturday, Abubakar, who led a special ECOWAS delegation on a mission to address the socio-political impasse, engaged in discussions with the military junta that currently holds power.

The heart of the dialogue revolves around urging the junta to cede power to the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS, guided by its commitment to democratic principles and regional stability, has consistently emphasized the importance of a swift and peaceful transition of power.

Abubakar said the ECOWAS would continue to explore all options in resolving the impasse, adding the delegation also presented the three-year transitional plan of the junta to Tinubu who would table it before the region's heads of state and government. 
A Milan woman has been charged because of allegations she helped two teens break into Danny Taylors home the night he was killed.

Danny Taylor, 17, was shot on April 14 at his home in rural Milan, authorities have said. Investigators think his assailants intended a robbery.

The Rock Island County States Attorneys Office has charged Tationna Taylor, 19, with a single count of home invasion, according to Rock Island County court records. The states attorneys office accuses her of directing Napoleon Jackson, now 17, Rock Island, and a younger boy to Danny Taylors home on April 14 and giving them information about how to access the residence.

She did so in order for a home invasion to be carried out at Danny Taylors residence, the court records allege.

Jackson has been charged with first-degree murder, home invasion and aggravated battery in relation to Taylors death.

He is being tried as an adult and the case against him remained pending Monday. His next hearing was scheduled for Sept. 1.

The other boy, identified as J.S. in court records, was also charged with first-degree murder and home invasion, according to authorities in the days after the shooting. J.S., at last report, was being tried as a juvenile and further details on his case were not available.

Investigators think Danny Taylor was shot during a fight inside the house with Jackson and J.S. During that fight, authorities allege Jackson also shot J.S., whose wound eventually had to be treated in Peoria.

Court documents state that Tationna Taylor and the two boys are friends.

Just before the shooting, they rode with Tationna Taylors sister, Antoinette Williams, to the area near Danny Taylors residence.

Williams would later tell investigators that she parked, thinking the two boys were going to the house to buy marijuana from a cousin, according to records. They were gone a short time, then Williams heard gunshots and the boys returned. J.S. had been shot.

They then drove J.S. to a nearby hospital and left him there.

Tationna Taylor, records show, had stolen from Danny Taylor before.

She told investigators that a few weeks before the shooting, she worked with another woman to get Danny Taylor out of the residence.

While he was gone, Tationna Taylor told investigators she entered Danny Taylors house and took several thousand dollars from him.

During the interview with police, Tationna Taylor said she thought of Danny Taylor as an easy lick. That is someone who is easily robbed.

A warrant for Tationna Taylors arrest on the home invasion charge was issued and served on Friday. She made her first appearance in court on Saturday and her next hearing has been set for Sept. 5.

Tationna Taylors bail has been set at $250,000, records state. To be released, she would have to post a $25,000 bond.
St. Ambrose University celebrated its annual "BEEcoming Ambrosian Day" Friday to welcome in the incoming class  followed by a morning of community service for 21 local organizations.

Following an on-campus prayer and sendoff, Ambrose's 425 first-year students dispersed to service sites across the Quad-Cities. Here, students connected with area non-profits and their new classmates.

Service activities ranged from restocking the Vine Ministry food pantry at the J.B. Young Opportunity Center to weed-pulling at Abundant Life Ranchers (Juan Diez Rancheros).

Our BeeComing Ambrosian Day invites our newest members of the Ambrose community to engage with our larger Quad Cities community, Ambrose President Amy Novak said in a news release. From the beginning, St. Ambrose University has embraced a commitment to collaborating with our community to make it stronger. This day represents the practice of a core value that aligns education with community impact ensuring that our learning is always bigger than our own individual pursuit.

This year, participating organizations included:
DES MOINES  A new pair of Iowa polls, both regular and straw, show former President Donald Trump with a commanding lead over the expansive field of Republican candidates for president.

Trumps advantage roughly five months out from the Republican Iowa caucuses, the first state nominating contest in next years presidential selection process, showed up over the weekend in both the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll, and the Iowa Secretary of States State Fair Straw Poll.

In the Iowa Poll, Trump was the choice of 42% of likely Iowa Republican caucus participants, a full 23 percentage points ahead of the next-highest polling candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 19%.

No other candidate reached double digits in the poll. South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott led the rest of the pack at 9%, with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in a tight pack not far behind.

The poll was conducted Aug. 13 to Aug. 17, and was based on telephone interviews with 406 registered voters in Iowa who say they will definitely or probably attend the 2024 Republican caucuses. The polls margin for error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points

The Iowa Poll is conducted by Selzer and Co. and is widely considered the gold standard in Iowa polling. The firm has an A+ rating from the data journalism website fivethirtyeight.com.

The new Iowa Poll shows both strengths in Trumps lead and opportunities for other candidates.

Two-thirds of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers said their support for Trump is locked in, while only 31% of those supporting DeSantis said the same.

On the other hand, DeSantis nearly matches Trump when the poll tabulates responses to the question of likely caucusgoers first, second and third choices.

Trump was 42% of respondents first choice, 10% of second choices and 12% of third choices for a total of 63%. DeSantis was 19% of respondents first choice, 20%of second choices (the largest in the field) and 22%of third choices for a total of 61 percent, just behind Trump.

The Republican Iowa caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 15.

Trump wins Iowa State Fair Straw Poll

Former President Donald Trump was the most popular pick in the Iowa Secretary of States 2023 State Fair Straw Poll, clocking in at a top percentage very close to his 42% in the Iowa Poll.

Trump was the choice of 42.5% of participants in the State Fair Straw Poll, which is an unscientific survey that is available to everyone at the Iowa State Fair, regardless of voter registration status, age or even residence. The poll is featured at the Iowa Secretary of States booth during the fair.

In the State Fair Straw Poll, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received the second-highest share of votes at 15.3%. South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott was third at 11.1% and Ohio tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy fourth at 9.4%.

We conduct the State Fair Straw Poll each year to encourage voter registration and participation in Iowas general elections, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a news release. Voting is the best way to ensure Iowans voices are heard, and I want every eligible Iowan to register to vote.

Iowa treasurer endorses Ramaswamy

Ohio tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has been endorsed by Iowa Treasurer Roby Smith, the Ramaswamy campaign announced.

Smith is the first statewide Iowa Republican official to endorse a candidate in the presidential primary.

Vivek Ramaswamy is a businessman, a fiscal conservative, and a champion of the taxpayer. He shares my ideals and the ideals of many Iowa families and small business owners, Smith said in a news release from the Ramaswamy campaign. As President, (Ramaswamy) will reduce spending, cut taxes, and work with the private sector to grow jobs and the economy.

Vivek Ramaswamy visits Davenport to speak with business owners on his campaign
From a hilltop in Bettendorf, Iowa, Rivermont Collegiate looks to become recognizable across the globe by forming new international partnerships.

Rivermont, a non-sectarian preparatory school, is working on a dual-degree agreement with the Yungu School in Hangzhou, China  alongside talks to launch partner schools in South Korea and Morocco.

These dual-degree partnerships are based on, mutual credit recognition, said Rivermont Headmaster Max Roach.

In order to do that, we have to carefully align our curriculum, he said. Then, they have to teach our graduation requirements in English, at a minimum.

This means students in the program will graduate with diplomas from both Yungu and Rivermont  but this isnt a new endeavor for Rivermont.

During the 2017-2018 school year, Rivermont formed a dual-degree agreement with the Beijing No. 2 School. Founded in 1724 to serve the imperial children of the Forbidden City, Beijing No. 2 is widely recognized as one of the top four schools in China.

While he called these partnerships mutually beneficial, Roach said it also helps Rivermont build prestige in a global market.

In each of these partnerships, the goal is to find out what theyre looking for and give it to them, he said. Were providing services, expertise and resources to these schools. In return, they pay us well. So, to be honest, theres a financial incentive  but additionally, there are critically important soft benefits.

These soft benefits? A strong international reputation.

When students graduate from over here (Bettendorf), it increases the notoriety of their diploma as the schools international reputation grows, Roach said. It just further adds to the prestige and the value proposition for local kids. So yeah, everybody benefits.

Bonnie Campbell, director of international programs at Rivermont, agrees  also citing the schools international boarding population.

Its just so great for our (local) students, so they can become global citizens, she said.

Rivermonts dual-degree program at Beijing No. 2 usually graduates around 70 students. At the Yungu School, Roach expects to start with a, handful of students.

Unlike Beijing No. 2, Yungu is a private school  something Roach said gives it more flexibility against government regulations, when it comes to curriculum.

Theyre all about progressive educational approaches, and standards-based education, he said. Geopolitics are becoming tricky, so I think that kind of western style approach in China will become more popular.

Yungu wants to launch the program this year, Roach said. He anticipates another partnership, this one in Morocco, launching in the fall of 2024.

Close Conductor Tom Knowles leads the Bettendorf Park Band in entertaining the audience at their Spring Concert at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf on Friday, March 25, 2022. Steve Sinner, a charter member of the Bettendorf Park Band since its formation in 1967, plays Bass Clarinet during the band's Spring Concert on Friday, March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Roberta Rudiger, of Moline, plays timpani during the Bettendorf Park Band's Spring Concert on Friday, March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Pat Wohlford, of Bettendorf, plays percussion during the Bettendorf Park Band's Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Wohlford has been a member of the Bettendorf Park Band since the summer of 1969. Lisa Crews, of Davenport, plays flute and piccolo as a member of the Bettendorf Park Band during the band's Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Norm Doty, of Durant, plays the French Horn during the Bettendorf Park Band's Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. The audience members stand in support of Ukraine as the Bettendorf Park Band opened their Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, by playing the Ukraine National Anthem. Bettendorf Park Band 2022 Spring Concert at Rivermont Collegiate The Bettendorf Park Band entertained audience members during their Spring Concert at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf on Friday, March 25, 2022. Conductor Tom Knowles leads the Bettendorf Park Band in entertaining the audience at their Spring Concert at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf on Friday, March 25, 2022. Steve Sinner, a charter member of the Bettendorf Park Band since its formation in 1967, plays Bass Clarinet during the band's Spring Concert on Friday, March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Roberta Rudiger, of Moline, plays timpani during the Bettendorf Park Band's Spring Concert on Friday, March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Pat Wohlford, of Bettendorf, plays percussion during the Bettendorf Park Band's Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Wohlford has been a member of the Bettendorf Park Band since the summer of 1969. Lisa Crews, of Davenport, plays flute and piccolo as a member of the Bettendorf Park Band during the band's Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. Norm Doty, of Durant, plays the French Horn during the Bettendorf Park Band's Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. The audience members stand in support of Ukraine as the Bettendorf Park Band opened their Spring Concert on March 25, 2022, by playing the Ukraine National Anthem.
Weather, state and local officials are urging Quad-Cities residents to take precautions as temperatures this week climb into the triple digits.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning this week, now in effect throughout eastern Iowa and western Illinois until Thursday night.

In Moline, the heat index  what the temperature feels like to the human body when taking into account humidity levels  is expected to reach 113 at about noon Wednesday, according to the NWS. That's among the highest in the eastern Iowa and western Illinois NWS area. In Davenport, it's forecasted to reach 109.

Not much relief is coming in the evening. The heat index values will keep in the mid-80s overnight before rising again into the triple digits Thursday in the Quad-Cities.

Actual high temperatures are expected to reach about 100 Wednesday and Thursday in the area.

To prevent heat-related illness like heat exhaustion and heatstroke, weather and health officials advise limiting outdoor activities, drinking plenty of water and avoid alcohol, wear light, loose-fitting clothing, wear sunscreen, limit work outdoors to early or very late in the day, and check on kids, elderly people and pets.

Since Sunday, UnityPoint Health-Trinity has treated three patients for heat-related illnesses across its four emergency departments in Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, and Muscatine, a spokesperson said.

One of the best ways to protect from the heat is to stay in an air-conditioned area during the hottest hours of the day. For those without access to air conditioning at home, health officials advise going to a public place such as a library or shopping mall to stay cool.

In the Quad-Cities here are a few cooling centers recommended by the Illinois Department of Public Health and other organizations:

Area public libraries

Vera French Carol Center, 808 N. Harrison St., Davenport, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Center, 1411 Brady St., Davenport, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Salvation Army, 100 Kirkwood Blvd, Davenport, open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

South Rock Island Township, 4330 11th St., Rock Island, open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Christian Care, 2209 3rd Ave., Rock Island, open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

East Moline Public Library, 745 16th Ave., East Moline, which is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Humility Homes' shelter will also be open during the day because of the heat this week, said the organization's executive director Ashley Velez. Normally it closes for the day and is open at night. Velez said the organization is taking donations of bottled water for the street outreach team to give to those they see on the street. But Humility is directing people toward the cooling centers at The Center, Salvation Army, and Christian Care.

Dr. Sameer Vohra, Illinois Department of Public Health director, said exposure to extreme heat can cause serious health complications such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

With dangerously high temperatures and humidity in the forecast, I urge everyone to take precautions and protect themselves and their families from overheating and heat-related illnesses, Vohra said. This is especially important for very young children, people who are pregnant, and those who are older or have chronic health conditions.

Here are symptoms of heat stroke to look out for, according to the IDPH:

body temperature above 103 degrees

difficulty breathing

an elevated heart rate

skin hot to the touch

feeling dizziness, nausea, or disorientation

Anyone experiencing these symptoms should call 911 immediately, IDPH advised.

"While you are waiting for medical assistance, you can use ice packs on the neck and underarms and drink cool water to lower your body temperature," IDPH wrote in a news release.
Everyone was born somewhere, so we all have a hometown, or at least a birthplace. In most cases, your hometown is where your parents were living when you entered the world and began your life.

Some people never leave their hometowns and enjoy life there for the duration of their existence. Others have many residences in many towns and cities over the course of their lives and the concept of a hometown doesnt mean the same thing to them.

If youre a person of a certain age, Im guessing that your memories of your hometown are a lot like mine.

The name of your hometown may be pronounced differently than the Milan in Italy, the constellation of Orion, or the Rio in de Janerio, but there are some common experiences that most likely occurred in many hometowns.

A hometown is where you formed your first memories, where you knew that you were your parents child, and where you started to have an awareness of yourself.

A hometown is where you felt safe and secure and where you began to explore the larger world around you. A hometown wasnt the center of the universe, but, for a while, it was the center of your universe.

My hometown of Joliet, Illinois, was a place where the ringing bells of the good humor man brought waves of kids out into the street offering their coins for some kind of frozen delight. We enjoyed our insect collections, sandlot sports, bicycles with banana seats and butterfly handlebars, and the simple act of skipping stones across neighborhood ponds. Finding a creature like a frog or a turtle was a discovery to be shared.

In that distant past, refrigerators were called ice-boxes. Party lines allowed some of your neighbors to listen in to your telephone conversations. S&H Green Stamps were used as transferable currency. TV repairmen and doctors made house calls to solve problems electrical and physical. The wealthy family in the nice house down the street impressed everyone by owning an actual color TV.

Daily deliveries of eggs, bread, and milk were made by various providers. The Fuller Brush man offered a little bit of everything as he navigated the neighborhood. On occasion, vacuum cleaner salesmen and encyclopedia salesmen traveled from door-to-door with the weariness that went along with those professions. City workers added to the mix by periodically opening fire hydrants to flush them out and temporarily flood nearby streets.

Our favorite playgrounds featured metal slides that could burn exposed skin on particularly hot days. We had many other ways to suffer playground-related injuries that ranged from falling backwards out of a swing to tumbling from the monkey bars to rotating around on a revolving contraption until the forces of physics caused us to fly off into the rough gravel. Dangerous? Certainly. A fun and memorable part of my childhood? Undoubtedly.

We attended school and enjoyed some teachers, but suffered through others. We had classmates that we befriended and a few we avoided. Every school had at least one bully. A bookmobile may have traveled to your school, but, like the rest of us in the days before the World Wide Web, you likely spent some Saturdays at the library downtown completing a homework assignment. Whether you enjoyed academics or not, each school year ended with the reward of a summer vacation.

Sunny days were welcomed no matter how high the temperature rose. We slathered on the suntan enhancers, unaware of how much safer sunburn avoidance would have been. A summer rainstorm offered the opportunity to play indoors for a while  until you were able to take off your shoes and run barefoot in the wet grass. Summer sunsets were brilliant, museum-quality paintings in the sky. And, after dark, there were lightning bugs to catch.

When you were young, each summer seemed unending when it began, but the harsh reality of a return to school came as every Labor Day approached. That annual cycle repeated itself as your childhood morphed into adulthood.

As the years rolled on, your responsibilities increased. Play evolved into work. And life became more about living for others than living for yourself. That has always been the natural progression of things.

But every once in a while during moments of quiet reflection, you think of your hometown and the memories that were created there, and youre glad to have such a place to travel to in your mind, a place that has always been an indelible part of your history.

Your hometown is where you came from. Its where you began your journey in life. And, during those times when youre no longer there, its still a comfortable destination where your daydreams can take you.
During youth livestock shows Friday at the Central States Fair, a little girl not much bigger than the goat she struggled with froze in horror as the animal slipped away, retreating to the other side of the show ring.

Addie Schnabel  the judge of goats, sheep, and pigs  calmly helped capture the insubordinate goat and brought it back to her, taking a moment to speak with her one-on-one.

Another child pulled at the leash attached to her goat, with little success. Seeing the frustration, Schnabel crouched down and talked with the girl.

I love to talk to each kid because I like to know their story, because, much like me, each of the kids that come in the ring has a story, Schnabel said.

The 23-year-olds passion for animal husbandry and the show ring is rooted in his family history, his faith, and his personal journey as a struggling teen.

This morning when I stepped foot in the ring, it just felt like home, and honestly, thats where I feel closest to God, Schnabel said.

The farm tax accountant by day grew up near Venturia, ND on his familys livestock operation raising pigs, sheep, goats and cattle. He began showing animals when he was eight, and the activity helped him through a dark time, as a teenager.

Sometimes kids are mean and people are hard to work with, and as a young youth, that just got to be a lot. There was just some unfortunate circumstances that happened, and I got to a really low point in life and to the point where I didnt know if life was worth living, Schnabel told the Journal.

By the grace of God, Schnabel got two Hereford show pigs and a short-horned show heifer that turned things around for him.

God really used those animals to bring me to an understanding of what my purpose is, he said.

It was through the calf and pigs that I learned how to be a person who doesnt care about what the neighbors doing, who doesnt care about who else has got the fanciest clothes and the nicest vehicle, but a person who genuinely cares about animal husbandry, Schnabel told the youths during his judging at the fairgrounds.

Aside from sharing his personal story with the kids and teens, Schnabel offered advice: "buy what you like, show what you like, and be confident in what you like"  and be thankful to parents for the money and time they spend so their kids can show animals.

Theyre out there trying to make you better, Schnabel said.

His 15-year career in the show ring as a competitor led to numerous champion ribbons on the county, state and national levels, according to a summary read as his introduction at Central States Fair.

Schnabel won swine at the North Dakota State Fair for three consecutive years and was named reserve high senior individual at the national swine show judging contest in Des Moines, Iowa in 2020.

We can take this seriously, but we can also have fun in the process, but I definitely believe that the next generation of leaders are showing livestock. It teaches responsibility. It teaches grit and determination in the barn when youve been losing for a couple of jackpots in a row. You need to find motivation somewhere, Schnabel said.

Schnabels judging career is fairly new. The first show he judged was just a year ago at the Central States Fair.

I called my dad and I just kind of cried a little bit because it was like, this is my roots, he said. Im so grateful to Central States Fair for having me back for round two and for giving me the chance to pursue what I love and to work with their kids and the livestock and hopefully touch their lives in a way that nobody else can.

So far, the most daunting part of judging livestock is getting behind the mic and sharing his opinion.

You have to be vulnerable about your opinion and you open yourself up to other people questioning and doubting your abilities, he said.

To avoid getting stuck in that mindset, Schnabel said he focuses on the livestock and the kids more than the opinions of others.

I always say judging livestock is like picking the flavor of ice cream at the ice cream shop, Schnabel said. At the end of the day, everybodys got a different flavor that they prefer and they like and not being afraid to share that opinion and share what your flavor is regardless of what other people might have.

Schnabel's life has seen quite a few major milestones in the past year and a half.

He graduated from the University of Jamestown in May 2022 with a bachelors degree in accounting, business administration, and financial planning and wealth management. A month later, he and his wife Marly tied the knot. The two are expecting a baby in November.

Theres nothing more in the world that I would love than to impart my passion and desire for the livestock industry and what it means to be a good practitioner of animal husbandry, and if they show livestock, Im even more into it because I happen to love evaluating livestock and teaching kids about livestock and how to read them, Schnabel said. Im hoping to have those moments as a father with my future kids.
Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) spoke at the R-CALF Convention in Rapid City last week, addressing the years-long battle of mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL).

Since 2019, South Dakota's congressional delegation has worked on the American Beef Labeling Act, which would reinstate origin labeling for beef products. MCOOL's language was originally introduced in 2002, but implementation was blocked citing compliance costs. The 2008 Farm Bill modified the MCOOL law before it went into effect in 2009. New rules came in 2013, before it was eventually repealed in 2015.

MCOOL has been repeatedly blocked by the World Trade Organization. Countries like Mexico and Canada claim that country of origin labeling disadvantages producers from purchasing non-American-made beef, leading the WTO to impose sanctions on other U.S. commodities in retaliation.

Rounds said the new approach is different, but one he thinks will work. Legislators hope to include MCOOL language in the Farm Bill, directing the U.S. Trade Representative to include labeling as part of future trade negotiations.

He calls it a "truth in advertising" issue.

"They infiltrate our market with it, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they have been raised under the same safety standards that our producers provide," Rounds said. "So we just want the beef being brought in from other countries to be identified as to where it comes from...If they are trying to suggest to people that it is American beef, we think that's not truthful advertising, and I think the American consumer wants to know that."

It's also a food security issue, he explained, with differing inspection and processing standards in other countries that pose a public health risk to American consumers. Rounds and Sen. John Tester (D-M.T.) introduced bipartisan legislation in February to block the import of Brazilian beef until experts can review the impact on overall health and safety. That legislation was also introduced in 2021 after Brazil reported two cases of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy  or Mad Cow Disease  that June. Brazil reported the issue months  or even years  after it occurred, something the legislators said breaks trust between global trading partners.

The bipartisan importance of MCOOL cannot be understated, Rounds said. There are only nine states in the U.S. where cows outnumber people  and at two Senators a piece, that's only eighteen Senators  a far cry from the 60 needed to get legislation through.

"We've got to have Senators that represent consumers to agree with us that Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling is a valuable item to have," he said. "And the only way we do that is to convince them that truth in advertising is important."

MCOOL isn't the only labeling issue Rounds is working to address. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has allowed voluntary "Product of the U.S.A." labeling for nearly two decades  a label allowed on beef that's been repackaged in the U.S., even if it was produced elsewhere under different standards.

"We've introduced legislation that would require even the voluntary labeling to be only for beef that was born, raised, fed and processed within the United States," Rounds said. "The Department of [Agriculture] has agreed with us, and they have actually proposed voluntarily changing their own rule."

Rather than taking a chance on implementation being delayed again, or future administrations changing priorities, Rounds wants the language included in this year's Farm Bill.

Rounds, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) agree the Farm Bill is unlikely to be passed by the Sept. 30 deadline, and are anticipating an extension. The money is the sticking point, Thune and Rounds said. Although the Farm Bill doesn't appropriate funding, it allocates it  and the Farm Bill is expected to run about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Seventy-percent of that will go towards the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called Food Stamps.

The remainder  around $300 billion  goes towards producers.

"We think the negotiations over how that money is allocated is going to be big. My interest is to make sure that the safety net that is included in the Farm Bill remains strong. That includes the crop insurance portion, the commodity programs, and Conservation Reserve," Rounds said.

Now working on his fifth Farm Bill, Thune called the negotiations "business as usual," and said balancing the concerns of different regions makes it a complicated ordeal with many moving parts.
Flanked by the Post 22 Honor Guard and following a Lakota blessing from Doyle Pipe On Head, the newly minted doors of the Rapid City Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic officially opened, ushering in a new era of "hope and healing," according to Lisa Curnes, medical center director for VA Black Hills.

Nearly 400 local veterans, medical professionals and prominent community members gathered Thursday for a ribbon cutting and open house, joined by VA leaders, Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun, and South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson.

Project planning for the 49,000-square-foot, multi-million-dollar facility began in 2014, with a groundbreaking in 2021. Dream Design International built the campus, and President Hani Shafai explained the project faced challenges from supply chain to workforce, calling the work "very little" they could do to repay the sacrifice of our nation's veterans.

The community-based outpatient clinic is roughly triple the size of the old building and sits at the corner of Mount Rushmore Road and Catron Boulevard in Rapid City. Offices moved in mid-August, and the new clinic will service approximately 7,000 veterans.

The sprawling, open facility hosts services from cardiology to audiology, provides ample space for mental health care and options for telehealth, as well as physical therapy and space for patients' families.

"What you see in this beautiful clinic are state-of-the-art medical services, state-of-the-art customer service and support, and a journey of honor for every veteran who receives care in this facility," said Robert McDivitt, Veterans Integrated Services Network 23 Midwest Network Coordinator.

In March of last year, the VA issued an official recommendation to close the Hot Springs and Fort Meade facilities in western South Dakota, a recommendation that was met with outrage from local veterans and South Dakota's congressional delegation. Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds, along with Johnson, partnered with bipartisan colleagues to withhold nominations from the VAs Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Committee, colloquially called the "Error" Committee, to prevent the closure of rural facilities. Johnson told the Journal at the time he understood the needs of the future VA would be different than the needs of the past, but the data used in making those judgments was inaccurate.

"There have been many times in this country's history where we have not done our best for the men and women in uniform. And there have been too many times over the years where we have not done our best every day for our veterans," Johnson said during Thursday's opening ceremony. "I'm proud, because as I have gone through this facility, as I have talked to the people who work here, as I've talked to the people who are already receiving care, it is obvious to me that we have made an investment that is worthy of the veterans who every day did their best, and is worthy of the caregivers who every day do their best."

The LEAD Act

Last week, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing oversight and accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Leadership, Engagement, Accountability and Development (LEAD) Act would modernize oversight processes to improve the VA's ability to terminate so-called bad actors. Rounds told the Journal the legislation comes after the VA was forced to negotiate with union employees who had been terminated for alleged inappropriate behavior.

"We've decided that we need to change some of the laws that they use in order to protect veterans from inappropriate activity on the part of VA employees," Rounds said.

LEAD would also solidify standards and training, require regular in-person oversight visits, and consolidate accountability, patient safety and care quality into a single office within the VA, holding leadership accountable and setting guidelines for rank-and-file employees to improve the overall quality of service to veterans, Rounds said.

The GUARD Act

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley signed a letter with 43 other Attorneys General asking Congress to approve the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (G.U.A.R.D.) Veterans Affairs Benefits Act.

GUARD would hold accountable the unaccredited and unregulated actors who target veterans applying for federal benefits and gain access to their personal information. Laws regulating those who help veterans apply for benefits and determined whether and how much they can charge for those services were removed in 2006, leaving the door open for unaccredited services to turn a profit without oversight. The letter highlights how these businesses skirt regulatory requirements, leaving veterans on the hook with little representation or recourse.

"These unaccredited actors take advantage by gaining access to a veteran's benefits information," Jackley said in a statement. "They are preying on our veterans and their families who have given so much for our nation."

Jackley encouraged veterans who believe they are victims of fraud to contact the Attorney General's Division of Consumer Protection at consumerhelp@state.sd.us, 1-(800)-300-1986 or (605) 773-4400.

Fort Meade services

The Fort Meade Medical Center in Sturgis will continue to treat patients with psychiatric conditions despite a year-long renovation project set to begin in September.

The renovation project will displace the acute in-patient beds, which at times treat anywhere from one to six veterans, according to Department of Veterans Affairs Public Information Officer Thomas Johnson. They'll be transitioning anyone currently in in-patient treatment to either a community partner or neighboring V.A. facility like Sheridan or Sioux Falls, and won't be taking new in-patient admissions.

Fort Meade will continue to treat veterans with psychiatric conditions, including those who show up in crisis. Johnson reiterated veterans seeking help will be stabilized and cared for regardless of the construction work. Its psychologists and trained nursing staff will be on site throughout the duration of the project.

"We do not want to confuse veterans," Johnson said. "They come to the V.A. in acute mental crisis  we take care of and we stabilize them in our emergency department just like anywhere in the community...That is what we do. While that veteran is stabilized that's when we find beds."

The remodel comes as a result of recommendations following a rigorous certification process by the Joint Commission Standards. To meet the mental health environment of care checklists, Fort Meade will have to make upgrades for patient safety  something Johnson said they don't take lightly.

"Sometimes these veterans will come in and they need 24-hour care, and to provide that in the best possible way, we need to remodel this unit to be able to provide better care for these vets, and really to improve the veteran experience and the patient safety aspects of offering care," Johnson said.

Construction is set to begin in September, but Johnson said they do not have a date set for when in-patient services will transition.
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday denounced Japan's plan to start dumping radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean later this week.

The Democratic Party said in a statement that Japan, which had been a war criminal country doing terrible damage in the past, came back as a country dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean.

The party said each country sharing the Pacific Ocean will have to bear the brunt of unexpected damages from the discharge, stressing that Japan became a damage-causing country by waging invasion wars in the past and releasing radioactive wastewater now.

The Japanese government announced earlier in the day that it decided to start discharging the wastewater Thursday despite wide criticism from both home and abroad.

Hit by a massive earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011, the Fukushima power plant suffered meltdowns and generated a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel.

The Democratic Party said the Japanese government chose the nuclear-contaminated wastewater discharge to "save costs," adding that Japan should take the entire responsibility for all situations coming from the release. 
The Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit conservation organization, filed a formal notice on Thursday, Aug. 17 of its intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service over its approval of the 48,486-acre Mud Creek Project on the Bitterroot National Forest southwest of Darby.

The group claims that the Forest Service approved the timber sale without identifying the locations, timing or scope of logging units or roads. Instead, the agency will make those decisions when crews are on the ground, which inhibits analysis of potential harm to protected species and prevents public involvement, the group said in a statement released Thursday.

Federal officials approved this destructive logging project without fully considering its harm to the Bitterroots animals and plants, including threatened species, said Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Bull trout are teetering on the edge of extinction and this project could wipe them out entirely. We need to stop the bulldozers and chainsaws before its too late.

The group cited concerns that critical bull trout habitat could be contaminated by runoff from the projects logging, road use and road construction. The group also claims that federal agencies failed to adequately consider the projects effects on the reentry of grizzly bears into the Bitterroot National Forest.

We know grizzly bears are trying to come back to the Bitterroots. Three were seen in the forest just last week, Akland said. The agencies are actively sabotaging grizzly bear recovery instead of fulfilling their responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act to recover and protect them. Were in the midst of an extinction crisis and the federal government must prioritize safeguarding our forests and protected species, not sell them off to the highest bidder.

The Bitterroot National Forest signed the Decision Notice for the 48,486-acre Mud Creek Project in January. The decision authorized the forest to move forward with planning and implementing fuels reduction, vegetation management, and transportation system activities southwest of Darby.

The project area encompasses approximately 48,486 acres including the West Fork Bitterroot RiverRombo Creek watershed, and portions of Nez Perce ForkNelson Lake, Little West Fork, Lloyd Creek, Lower Blue Joint and Painted Rocks Lake watersheds. The area is accessed by the public mainly from the West Fork Highway and Nez Perce Road.

The Bitterroot Community Wildfire Protection Plan has identified the project area as a "high priority" for fuels reduction. In addition, the Montana Forest Action Plan identifies the area as having high wildfire risk to communities and infrastructure. The Forest Service cited the area as being of particular concern due to increased fire risk because 43% of the project area is located within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

According to the Forest Service, the project proposes a suite of road and trail system changes, vegetation treatments, improved recreation opportunities, and prescribed fire. It will also provide opportunities for cross-boundary fuels reduction with state and private partners to enhance forest health on both public and private lands.

The Ravalli Republic reached out to the Bitterroot National Forest for comment on the lawsuit. Representatives of the Bitterroot National Forest declined to give a statement for this story, stating that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
Kim Cuevas-Reyes, a 38-year-old cellphone store owner, snuck into Lahaina earlier this month to see the remnants of her home with her own eyes. She took back roads and walked. What she saw stunned her.

"When you step into the house, it's like an inch or two of ash. There is nothing," she said, adding that she hopes to stay and rebuild her home and destroyed business and is in touch with the insurance company.

More than 3,000 buildings in Lahaina were damaged by fire, smoke or both. Insured property losses alone already total some $3.2 billion, according to Karen Clark & Company, a prominent disaster and risk modeling firm.

With a housing crisis that has priced out many Native Hawaiians as well as families that have been there for decades, concerns are rising that the state could become the latest example of "climate gentrification," when it becomes harder for local people to afford housing in safer areas after a climate-amped disaster.

It's a term Jesse Keenan, an associate professor of sustainable real estate and urban planning at Tulane University School of Architecture, first started lecturing about in 2013 after he noticed changes in housing markets following extreme weather events.

Jennifer Gray Thompson is CEO of After the Fire USA, a wildfire recovery and resiliency organization in the western U.S., and worked for Sonoma County during the destructive Tubbs Fire in October 2017.

Thompson said Maui is one of the "scariest opportunities for gentrification" that she's seen because of "the very high land values and the intense level of trauma and the people who are unscrupulous who will come in to try to take advantage of that."

Thompson predicted potential developers and investors will research who has mortgages and said Maui residents should expect cold calls. "You won't be able to go to a grocery store without a flyer attached to your car," she said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said his state attorney general will draft a moratorium on the sale of damaged properties in Lahaina, to protect local landowners from being "victimized" by opportunistic buyers as Maui rebuilds.

Thompson said she supports that "wholeheartedly." But she acknowledged some people won't be able to afford to rebuild and will want to sell their land.

While one extreme weather event cannot be entirely blamed on climate change, experts say storms, fires and floods, which are becoming more damaging in a warming world, help make Hawaii one of the riskiest states in the country. Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, which are not related to climate change, also add to this risk.

According to an analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency records, there were as many federally declared disaster wildfires this month as in the 50 years between 1953 and 2003. Additionally, burned area in Hawaii increased more than fivefold since the 1980s, according to figures from the University of Hawaii Manoa.
A Richmond-based group may get $2 million in federal funding to build 106 affordable rental units in Henrico County.

The funds for Better Housing Coalition were approved by the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and proposed by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

"Earlier this month, I visited the Better Housing Coalition and saw firsthand how the organization is building homes and supporting Virginians in need," Kaine said in a statement.

The organization was founded in the 1980s and is the regions biggest not-for-profit community development corporation. Its portfolio includes 15 multi-family rental communities, 1,500 rental units and 200 new or renovated single-family homes for first-time homebuyers.

President and CEO Greta Harris said that, based on low vacancy rates and long waiting lists for affordable rental units in Henrico, the organization expects demand for the new units to be high.

Were deeply grateful for our Congressional leaders commitment to making affordable housing a priority in our region, Harris said. This allocation will help underwrite ... quality, service-enriched affordable rental housing to working families and senior residents of modest income in Eastern Henrico."

The daft spending bills, which passed with bipartisan support, will be included in broader budget consideration and negotiation by the Senate and the House of Representatives, which will work together to send a final budget to the president's desk.

"We hope that our colleagues in the House of Representatives will negotiate in good faith in order to reach a compromise on a final deal that includes funding for these important priorities," Kaine and Warner said in a statement.

From the archives: 100 photos of Pony Pasture
A school nurse at Godwin High School in Henrico County was arrested on felony drug charges in the schools parking lot Thursday, according to police.

A Henrico police officer pulled the woman over for an expired vehicle inspection at around 8:45 a.m. Thursday as she was driving east on Ridgefield Parkway, and she pulled into the Godwin High parking lot, police said.

Officers found methamphetamine, Suboxone, Xanax and cocaine in the womans car, according to a Henrico police spokeswoman.

Richmond-area schools welcome students back for new school year About 150,000 students started school Monday across Richmond, and Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties. As part of a new safety measure, every high school in Henrico County will employ weapons scanners at school entrances.

Leslie Minter Johnson, 47, of Henrico is charged with possession of a schedule III drug, possession of a schedule IV drug, and two counts of possession of a schedule I or II drug.

Johnson was also arrested in January on a petit larceny charge, according to court documents.

Henrico Public Schools spokesman Ken Blackstone said Johnson is on administrative leave as part of an ongoing personnel matter.

Johnson is being held at Henrico Jail West without bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Gallery: Students return to classes across Richmond area
WASHINGTON  Americans are deeply divided along party lines in their views of President Donald Trump's actions in the most recent criminal cases brought against him, a new poll shows, with about half saying his alleged attempt to interfere in Georgia's 2020 vote count was illegal.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Monday's charges in the Georgia case, also shows that about half of Americans  53%  approve of the Justice Department indicting Trump over his efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election.

The poll finds 85% of Democrats approve of the criminal charges brought Aug. 2 by Special Counsel Jack Smith, compared with 47% of independents and just 16% of Republicans. Overall, 3 in 10 Americans disapprove, including about two-thirds of Republicans.

The survey suggests that the unprecedented indictments of a former president have done little to shake up a fundamental divide in the electorate: The majority of Americans disapprove of Trump, but he remains popular within the GOP.

Overall, 35% of Americans have a favorable view of Trump and 62% unfavorable. Among Republicans, though, seven in 10 view the former president favorably, and about 6 in 10 say they want him to make another run for the White House.

The poll was conducted Aug. 10-14, before Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted Monday in Georgia over their efforts to overturn the state's election results but with strong indications that charges were imminent.

At the time of the survey, 51% of U.S. adults believed Trump acted illegally in that case, including 16% of Republicans. That's consistent with an AP-NORC poll conducted in June.

Trump denies wrongdoing and says the charges against him are politically motivated as he seeks a rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden.

Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults  17%  say they have "a great deal" of confidence in the people running the Justice Department. The low level of confidence spans the political spectrum, with just 26% of Democrats, 14% of independents and 7% of Republicans saying they have a great deal of confidence in the federal law enforcement agency.

About half of Americans have "only some" confidence in DOJ, while about a third have "hardly any confidence at all." Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to have hardly any confidence in the Justice Department, 48% to 18%.

"Trump is obviously running for president and the sitting administration is pushing to have their political rival arrested and put in jail," said Cary Arnold, 56, a Republican from Eldersburg, Maryland. "Just on the surface that's a very, very bad look. That's something that you would expect to see in third-world countries that are run by dictators."

Trump's actions did not cross the line to merit criminal charges, he said.

"I have not seen anything that seemed to be illegal," Arnold said. "I know people have said that he did things illegally, but none of the things that they've said make any sense."

Trump has been indicted four times since April, but Americans do not view the indictments equally.

While about half believe Trump did something illegal when it comes to the Jan. 6 insurrection and the Georgia charges, along with the case involving classified documents found at his home in Florida, only about one-third say Trump acted illegally in allegedly covering up hush money payments to a woman who said he had an affair with her. That was the basis for charges Trump faces in New York City brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Overall, Americans say Trump's actions after the 2020 presidential election did more to threaten democracy than to defend it, 54% to 19%. One-quarter of U.S. adults say he did neither.

Republicans are split on the impact of Trump's decisions: 43% say he defended democracy, while 23% say he threatened it. About a third of Republicans say he neither defended nor threatened democracy.

"Trump and a lot of his supporters are saying, 'They're just using this to get at him in the election,'" said David Biggar, 60, a Republican from Navarre, Florida who twice voted against Trump. "I think he's being targeted because he did stuff that he needs to be tried for."

Americans largely disagree with Trump's contention that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Seven in 10 say that Biden was legitimately elected president, a number that's been consistent in the last year. But among Republicans, 57% say Biden's election was illegitimate, compared with 32% of independents and 2% of Democrats.

Treasa Howell, 58, a Republican from Springfield, Missouri, said a lot of the accusations against Trump ring true, but she believes they're motivated more by politics than justice and Trump is being singled out.

"I honestly don't feel like anybody in the political arena plays 100% fair," Howell said. "I feel like it was a political indictment, but I absolutely believe it's true. And that's my problem with Trump."
Tobacco giant Altria Group wants to block imports from the vaping firm it once invested billions in, saying it infringed patents owned by Altrias recently acquired NJOY e-cigarette subsidiary.

Altria is asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to bar JUUL Labs Inc. from importing vaporizers and disposal nicotine pods.

JUULs products infringe patents NJOY holds for its ACE device and three ACE pods, Altria told the commission.

NJOY meanwhile is suing JUUL for patent infringement in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

In June, JUUL Labs charged that NJOYs ACE infringed five JUUL patents, filing complaints with the trade commission and the U.S. District Court in Arizona. Its trade commission complaint asks for a ban in ACE imports.

We stand behind our intellectual property and will continue to pursue our infringement claims, JUUL said, in response to the Altria complaints.

The patents at issue in Altrias complaints were issued to the two founders of an Ohio e-cigarette firm, Fuma International LLC. They were assigned to NJOY when the Ohio firm settled a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Altria this spring.

That lawsuit had alleged two Altria products, not made by NJOY, and marketed before Altria acquired NJOY for $2.75 billion, infringed the Ohio firms patents.

Fuma added NJOY shortly after filing the suit, alleging that NJOY products, but not the ACE, had infringed on the patents. Fuma has not sued JUUL and its lawsuit against Altria did not mention JUUL products.

Altria said an import ban would not harm the public interest, since NJOYs ACE products are protected by the Fuma patents and have been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as appropriate for the protection of public health.

On the other hand, the FDA said study findings raised concerns due to insufficient and conflicting data  including regarding genotoxicity and potentially harmful chemicals leaking, while a former commissioner has called JUUL a malignant presence because its flavored products attracted minors.

The FDA has stated an order that would have barred JUUL from selling its products.

Altria, meanwhile, took a major financial hit this year by writing off its $12.8 billion investment in JUUL, in which it held a 35% stake.

Protecting our intellectual property is critical for Altrias basic strategy, said Murray Garnick, executive vice president and general counsel.

Altria, which makes the nations top-selling cigarette, Marlboro, at its south Richmond Manufacturing Center next to Interstate 95, is investing significantly in tobacco products that arent burnt, as cigarettes are.

It says its heated products, like NJOYs nicotine pods, or the heated tobacco sticks it is marketing through a joint venture with Japan Tobacco, or a new device that heats a capsule of tobacco instead of the nicotine-containing liquid in NJOY or JUUL e-cigarettes, dont produce the carcinogens or toxic gases, like carbon monoxide, that cigarettes do.

Altria is also expanding its oral tobacco business, as part of the same strategy.

From the Archives: Philip Morris in the 1950s and 60s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s Philip Morris 60s and 70s
Most of the claims of sexual abuse and other mistreatment made in a lawsuit by dozens of former patients of a Virginia childrens hospital can move forward, a judge has ruled, rejecting arguments that many of the allegations were time-limited under the states medical malpractice law.

Judge Bradley Cavedo issued the ruling in favor of most of the dozens of plaintiffs who are suing publicly traded health care company Universal Health Services Inc. and its co-defendants. His decision came two weeks after a hearing on the matter in Richmond Circuit Court, where attorneys for UHS, related corporate entities and the doctor at the center of many of the allegations urged him to whittle down the claims.

I think it is an incredibly important decision but ultimately a decision that we expected and anticipated would go this way, said Kevin Biniazan, an attorney for the plaintiffs, all former patients of the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents in New Kent County.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2020 by 20 plaintiffs and later amended to add about two dozen more. The former patients at the New Kent County facility make a range of claims, including: sexual or physical abuse, negligence, and the falsification of medical records and diagnoses to prolong their stays.

According to court records, 37 of the plaintiffs specifically allege they were touched inappropriately by Dr. Daniel Davidow, the facilitys former longtime medical director, during medical examinations. Attorneys for Davidow, who is facing separate criminal charges but has not been convicted of a crime, have denied the allegations.

The parties in the matter before Cavedo were at odds, in part over whether allegations of sexual misconduct in a medical setting should be covered under the malpractice laws two-year statute of limitations, or the 20-year window laid out in a statute dealing with childhood sex abuse claims. UHS and its co-defendants argued that the vast majority of plaintiffs had waited too long to bring their claims.

But Cavedo found that the malpractice law doesnt apply as there is no basis in health care or malpractice that would include the sexual assault as alleged by plaintiffs.

The factual allegations of the plaintiffs pleadings address conduct unrelated to any health care or professional service that Cumberland and its staff  including Doctor Davidow  should have rendered to each plaintiff individually, he wrote.

Cavedo did rule that two plaintiffs, identified only as J.L.E. and K.T., were time-barred from bringing their claims, saying they should have done so earlier.

Biniazan said he planned to file Monday for reconsideration of Cavedos decision regarding J.L.E and K.T.

Joseph Farchione, an attorney representing the hospital and UHS, said the judges ruling and potential next steps by his clients were under consideration.

We are in the process of reviewing our options, and at this point, no decision has been made, he wrote in an email.

Attorneys representing Davidow in the civil suit did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Attorney Mike Herring of McGuireWoods, who previously served as Richmonds top prosecutor, argued the case before Cavedo for UHS of Delaware, a subsidiary of UHS Inc.

In asking Cavedo to pare back the claims, he said the General Assembly has carved out exceptions to the Virginia Medical Malpractice Acts statute of limitations, such as in cases involving cancer and the discovery of foreign objects. But he added: The General Assembly has never excluded claims for sexual assault.

In court documents, the plaintiffs attorneys said the defendants were adopting an extreme position.

Alleged sexual abuse of a minor should never be argued to be the same as medical malpractice, Biniazan said in court.

The lawsuit, which has previously survived an attempt by the defendants to have it tossed, has been set for a jury trial next September, court records show.

Davidow  who served as the medical director for Cumberland Hospital from 1996 until 2020, according to court records  appeared in a New Kent County court Monday for a status hearing. A judge set a five-day trial for April on the charges he faces: two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of object sexual penetration, all felonies.

Biniazan has said the charges are connected to allegations raised by two of his clients.

Davidow was accompanied Monday by around a dozen supporters. His attorney, Craig Cooley, said they were a mix of family and professional connections and noted that they attended voluntarily, not because they were summoned. He otherwise declined comment and said Davidow would have no comment.

T. Scott Renick, the New Kent County commonwealths attorney, is handling the case after the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares voluntarily handed off its jurisdiction last year.

The move surprised some legal observers, as Miyares has repeatedly sought to expand the role of his office in criminal prosecutions.
A man was arrested on serious felony charges Sunday following allegations that he broke into a Stafford home and seriously injured a man who had stolen his wallet a few days earlier, police said.

Stafford Sheriffs spokesman Ryan Wilbur said the dispute began Wednesday when the beating victim took the wallet from a vehicle. The vehicle belonged to a man who the victim said he had done work for but was never paid.

After looking inside the wallet, Wilbur said, the victim realized that it belonged to an acquaintance of the man who owed him money. The beating victim said he made several attempts to return the property but was unsuccessful.

Late Friday night, the wallet owner showed up at the victims home and demanded the return of his wallet. He then forced his way into the home and assaulted the suspected wallet thief, causing significant injuries. He then demanded a $1,000 additional payment to settle their differences, which the beaten man paid.

The wallet owner, 25-year-old Daniel Salgado Ozuna, was taken into custody on Interstate 95 in Stafford on Sunday, Wilbur said. He was charged with robbery, burglary with the intent to commit assault, extortion, strangulation and simple assault. He was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond. The robbery statute Ozuna is charged under carries the possibility of up to life in prison.
General Assembly budget leaders were poised on Tuesday to end a six-month political stalemate and agree on revisions to the $165 billion two-year budget the legislature adopted 14 months ago.

The tentative deal would rely on one-time taxpayer rebates instead of the package of permanent income tax cuts for corporations and individuals that Gov. Glenn Youngkin has advocated, but the total reduction in state revenues would approach $1 billion. The centerpiece of the deal is one-time payments of $200 for individual taxpayers and $400 for couples that the Senate pushed as an alternative to the proposed cuts in the corporate and top individual tax rates that Youngkin first pitched in December.

Henrico school nurse arrested in school parking lot on drug charges Officers found methamphetamine, Suboxone, Xanax and cocaine in the womans car, according to a Henrico police spokeswoman.

Budget leaders were hopeful of reaching an agreement on Tuesday night, with the governor preparing to address the assembly money committees on Wednesday about varying estimates of state revenues available to pay for spending in the revised budget and the economic forecast for the next two-year spending plan that he will introduce in just four months.

Im very optimistic  I think were very close to a deal, Senate Finance Co-Chair Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said on Tuesday afternoon.

House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, also was optimistic on Tuesday, a day after face-to-face budget negotiations reconvened for the first time in more than six weeks. Talks broke down in late June, leaving Virginia without a revised spending plan for the second time in 50 years. Previously, talks had collapsed on Feb. 24, the day before the assembly adjourned with only a skinny budget allocating about $1 billion in essential spending for schools, financial reserves, capital projects and pension liabilities.

Everything has been very amicable, very positive, he said on Tuesday morning. Were trying to work through it. We all want a deal and were all working towards that goal.

Despite the progress, Howell and Knight didnt expect to reach agreement on Tuesday night as negotiators worked through funding proposals for K-12 public education and other issues.

Senate hopes to re-engage after the Governors presentation tomorrow, Howell said in a text.

2% raise for teachers, state employees on table

Knight met on Monday afternoon with Howell and Senate Finance Co-Chair George Barker, D-Fairfax, to address their differences on tax policies to determine how much revenue would be available for spending priorities, including an additional 2% raise for teachers and state employees that both sides have supported.

Weve got a framework of tax policy kind of settled, he said.

The budget leaders would not provide details until the conference committee  nine senators and six delegates  complete their work on a final agreement. However, Howell said the framework is along the lines of the latest proposal that the Senate made on Aug. 10. The Senate proposed then to devote almost $907 million in one-time revenues to rebates for taxpayers this fall, similar to one-time payments made a year ago as part of a $4 billion tax cuts package that the assembly approved and Youngkin signed.

The tentative framework also included an increase in the standard deduction of at least $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples, although the House wants to double that amount for taxpayers who dont itemize deductions on their returns. It includes in an increase in the deduction for business interest expense, but the Senate balked at a House proposal to remove the age limit for an exemption of military retirement income, which was part of the last years budget agreement.

The House retreated from Youngkins proposals to reduce the corporate income tax rate by 1 percentage point and the top individual tax rate by a quarter-percentage point. The governors proposed package would have reduced state revenues by more than $1 billion over two years and cost more than $1.4 billion annually in future fiscal years, but the Senate insisted on limiting permanent cuts to protect future revenues in an uncertain economy. Howell and Barker said the Senates proposed package would add just $180 million in ongoing tax cuts in addition to $1.2 billion adopted last year.

Next step: Special session of General Assembly

If budget negotiators reach an agreement, the governor would call a special session of the General Assembly so the House of Delegates and Senate can vote on it. Youngkin would have an opportunity to propose amendments that the legislature would consider in another session or he could sign whatever they adopt to finally conclude the budget drama just before he introduces a new two-year spending plan. The budget that Youngkin presents in December will be the only one he controls from introduction to adoption because of Virginias unique system of limiting a governor to a single term.

The House Appropriations and Finance committees, and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee were to meet with Youngkin on Wednesday morning to get a clearer idea of revenues that Virginia collected in the last fiscal year and look ahead to a new revenue forecast to support the next two-year budget.

Details of fiscal year results have been scant, but Youngkin reported last month that the state collected $3 billion in excess revenues in the last fiscal year. He contends that, plus the $1.9 billion surplus collected a year ago and unspent appropriations, will give the state a total of $5.1 billion to spend on tax relief and shared priorities. That represents about $1.5 billion more than the $3.6 billion he estimated to pay for the budget changes proposed in December.

However, the Senate estimates that the state starts with this years surplus and almost $850 million that the assembly didnt spend in the skinny budget it adopted in late February. It also subtracts at least $1 billion that the state expects to owe taxpayers who took advantage of a new pass through entity tax that the assembly adopted last year to avoid a federal cap on state and local tax deductions. The new tax increased revenues in the fiscal year that just ended, but the state will have to pay it back as individual refunds in the current fiscal year. Youngkin did not include the expected refund in his year-end estimate.

Earlier this month, Youngkin told the Governors Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates that he expects a soft landing for the states economy instead of the mild recession that he had predicted in the last fiscal year. A soft landing would allow the economy to slow and inflated prices to fall without causing the major job losses and big drop in economic activity that come with a recession.

From the Archives: The Virginia state Capitol building
Five environmental groups are suing to block Gov. Glenn Youngkins effort to pull Virginia out of an interstate pact to cut the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

The lawsuit, filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court, says the Air Pollution Control Board and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality do not have the authority to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Dominion customers' bills to rise for RGGI costs Dominion Energy bills will rise to cover its costs for buying Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative allowances to offset its excess carbon emissions, the SCC rules.

A state law enacted by the General Assembly in 2020 required Virginia join RGGI, a 12-state program under which power plants have to pay to buy offsetting allowances for every ton of carbon emissions.

Environmentalists say RGGI is a powerful tool to cut emissions.

Since joining RGGI, the five groups 138-page lawsuit says, carbon dioxide emissions from Virginia power plants in Virginia have decreased by nearly 17%, from about 32.8 million short tons in 2020 to about 27.3 million short tons in 2022.

Because the amount of allowances declines every year, the price of emitting greenhouse gas keeps rising, and that is meant to encourage power plants operators to slash that pollution.

Funds paid by Virginia power plants for their excess emissions, meanwhile, have paid for more than $328 million to help low- and moderate-income Virginians with ways to cut energy use and more than $295 million for flood control, a major issue in low-lying coastal and Chesapeake Bay communities.

RGGI is a proven regional program that reduces carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, according to the lawsuit, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, Appalachian Voices and Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions.

A month after his election, Youngkin said he would pull Virginia out of RGGI, calling it a tax on ratepayers and a bad deal for customers and businesses.

Environmentalists and several Democratic legislators have argued ever since that because it was the General Assembly that required Virginia to join RGGI, only the legislature can pull the state out.

Youngkin is using a decision of the Air Pollution Control Board to repeal its regulation on RGGIs operation in Virginia to end the states participation in RGGI when its current contract with the body expires at the end of 2023.

The fact is that the General Assembly made a specific legislative decision to require Virginia to participate in RGGI, and only the General Assembly may revisit that choice, the five groups lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit said the 2020 law requiring Virginia to join RGGI does not allow the board to repeal its regulation.

It also said the board and the state Department of Environmental Quality, along with DEQ Director Michael Rolband, exceeded their authority and violated the state constitution by basing the repeal on the grounds that it would reduce utility bills.

The board was able to do so only after Youngkin appointed new members to make a majority, which he was able to do because of two unexpected vacancies, according to the lawsuit.

The Virginia Clean Economy Act, also enacted in 2020, gives the State Corporation Commission authority to review how utilities pass on RGGI costs to customers.

The Air Pollution Control Board is authorized only to take action to abate, control and prohibit air pollution. It is not authorized to regulate utility costs  and certainly not these specific costs, which the General Assembly expressly determined could be recovered in this way, according to the lawsuit.

The SCC said last month that Dominion Energy could pass on more than $355 million of RGGI costs to customers, through a surcharge of 0.4425 cents per kilowatt hour on electricity used after Sept. 1. It translates to a bit more than $4.42 on a benchmark 1,000 kilowatt-hour monthly bill, which currently costs $125.

Youngkin has long said he wants to pull Virginia out because the way this state regulates utilities means they are free to pass on any costs they incur under RGGI to customers.

That means the incentive to cut emissions from payments for RGGI allowances does not work here, so that those payments become a kind of tax on Virginians, Youngkin argued.

RGGI remains a regressive tax which does not do anything to incentivize the reduction of emissions, Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Travis Voyles said, in response to the lawsuit.

He said the Air Pollution Control Board does not believe Virginia is required to be in RGGI, adding that the citizens of Virginia should not be subjected to this unnecessary tax.

Voyles said the Office of the Attorney General has determined that the board had the authority to act as it did.

But the groups lawsuit said staying in RGGI at least through 2030, as the law now requires, would fund energy-efficiency improvements for as many as 130,000 Virginia homes, saving each an average of $676 a year.

RGGI is a market-based effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Dominion, the states biggest utility, has put the total cost of RGGI allowances since 2021 through the end of this year at $640 million.

It collected $84 million through an RGGI-linked surcharge in effect from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2022, before it asked the SCC to suspend that surcharge after Youngkin announced he would pull Virginia out of the pact.

Dominion told the SCC it recovered an additional $183 million of RGGI-linked costs through its base rates. The balance that it is spending and will spend through the end of this year is what it is recovering through the new surcharge.

Without our participation in RGGI, Virginians will be exposed to increased greenhouse gas emissions and more severe climate impacts with little or no support for their mitigation from the state, said Faith Harris, executive director at Virginia Interfaith Power & Light.

The weatherization and flood preparedness funds created due to our participation in RGGI were sound and practical solutions to stabilize Virginias economy in the face of rising energy costs, sea levels, temperatures and severe weather conditions. RGGI is working for Virginia, and Virginians know it, she said.

Given the intense warning signs weve received this summer, from record-setting heat to the horrifying wildfires affecting more and more Americans, it makes no sense to pull out, said Andrea McGimsey, executive director of Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin
ANTALYA, Turkey  Standing in an old Orthodox church in Antalya with a Bible in one hand and a candle in the other, the Rev. Ioann Koval led one of his first services in Turkey after Russian Orthodox Church leadership decided to defrock him following his prayer for peace in Ukraine.

Last September, when President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists, Moscow Patriarch Kirill required his clergymen to pray for victory. Standing in front of the altar and dozens of his parishioners in one of Moscow's churches, Koval decided to put peace above the patriarch's orders.

"With the word 'victory' the prayer acquired a propagandistic meaning, shaping the correct thinking among the parishioners, among the clergy, what they should think about and how they should see these hostilities," Koval said. "It went against my conscience. I couldn't submit to this political pressure from the hierarchy."

In the prayer he recited multiple times, he changed just one word, replacing "victory" with "peace"  but it was enough for the church court to remove his priestly rank.

During his more than two decades in power, Putin boosted the Russian Orthodox Church's standing, increasing its prestige, wealth and power. In turn, its leaders supported his initiatives. The church threw its weight behind the war in Ukraine.

Publicly praying or calling for peace also poses risks of prosecution from the Russian state. Shortly after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, lawmakers passed legislation that allowed prosecuting thousands of people for "discrediting the Russian army," a charge that in reality applies to anything that contradicts the official narrative, be it a commentary on social networks or a prayer in church.

Like Putin's regime, Kirill built a harsh hierarchy that demands total conformity, said Andrey Desnitsky, professor of philology at Vilnius University in Lithuania and longtime expert on the Russian church. If a priest refuses to read the patriarch's prayer, his loyalty is suspect.

When the war started, most priests remained silent, fearing repercussions; only a small fraction spoke out. Of more than 40,000 clergymen in the Russian Orthodox Church, only 300 priests signed a public letter calling for peace in Ukraine.

But each of the public voices against the war is crucial, said Natallia Vasilevich, coordinator for the human rights group Christians Against War. "It breaks what seems to be a monolithic position of the Russian Orthodox Church," she said.

Since the beginning of the war, Vasilevich's team counted at least 30 Orthodox priests who faced pressure by religious or state authorities. There might be more, she says, as some priests are afraid to talk about repressions, fearing it will bring more.

"The clergy who turn themselves from priests into political agitators and persons participating in the political struggle, they, obviously, cease to fulfill their pastoral duty and are subject to canonical bans," said Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy head of the church's press service.

But priests who publicly support the war in Ukraine do not face repercussions and are supported by the state, Vasilevich said. "The Russian regime is interested in making these voices sound louder," she added.

The priests who refuse to join this chorus or stay quiet can be reassigned, temporarily relieved of their duties or defrocked  losing their salary, housing, benefits and most importantly their ministries to their flock.

After a Russian Orthodox Church court decided he should be defrocked, Koval appealed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. In June, the Constantinople patriarchate decided that Koval was punished for his stance on the war and restored his holy rank.

The Rev. Ioann Burdin wanted to leave the Russian Orthodox Church after he spoke out against the war at a small church near Kostroma and the local court fined him. He asked the patriarch to approve his transfer to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Instead, Kirill banned him from service until he made a public apology.

"My position, which I first stated on the website, then in the church, and later during the trial was an expression of my religious convictions," the priest told AP. "Since all people are brothers, then any war, any military conflict, one way or another becomes fratricidal."

Not allowed to serve in the church, Burdin brought his sermons to a Telegram channel where he guides Orthodox Christians confused by the patriarch's support of the war.

The Rev. Iakov Vorontsov, a priest in Kazakhstan, hoped the church would step in to mediate the conflict, but neither his peers nor his superiors supported his calls to preach peace.

"I realized that no one hears the words about peace," the priest said. "It should have been conveyed to the people, to our flock, but it was not. And then I realized that I have another tool: social networks."

While his anti-war posts on Facebook received support, the offline reaction was hostile. His superiors reassigned him, forbade him from giving sermons and told parishioners to stay away from him. In the end, the priest decided to temporarily stop serving in the church.

In February, Kirill suspended for three months the Rev. Andrei Kordochkin, a priest at an Orthodox church in Madrid, for his anti-war stance.
Phil Durst recalled clawing at his face after a chemical from a commercial dishwashing machine squirted into his eyes, causing "the most indescribable pain I've ever felt  ever, ever, ever."

His left eye bore the brunt of the 2017 work accident, which stole his vision, left him unable to tolerate light and triggered four to five cluster headaches a day.

Then he underwent an experimental procedure that aims to treat severe injuries in one eye with stem cells from the other.

"I went from completely blind with debilitating headaches and pondering if I could go another day  like really thinking I can't do this anymore" to seeing well enough to drive and emerging from dark places literally and figuratively, he said, choking up.

The 51-year-old from Homewood, Alabama, was one of four patients to get stem cell transplants as part of the first U.S. study to test the technique, which could someday help thousands. Though additional treatment is sometimes needed, experts say the stem cell transplant offers hope to people with few if any other options.

Results of the early-stage research were published Friday in the journal Science Advances, and a larger study is now underway.

The procedure is designed to treat "limbal stem cell deficiency," a corneal disorder that can occur after chemical burns and other eye injuries. Patients without limbal cells, which are essential for replenishing and maintaining the cornea's outermost layer, can't undergo corneal transplants that are commonly used to improve vision.

Dr. Ula Jurkunas, an ophthalmologist at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston who was the principal investigator for the study, said the experimental technique involves taking a small biopsy of stem cells from the healthy eye, then expanding and growing them on a graft in a lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

A couple of weeks later, they're sent back to be transplanted into the injured eye. Durst was the first patient to undergo the procedure.

"The great part of it is that we're using a patient's own tissue," not donor tissue the body might reject, Jurkunas said.

She said this method is better than a different procedure that takes a very large piece of stem cells from a healthy eye for use on an injured eye  but risks damaging the good eye.

Both of Durst's eyes were hurt in the accident, which happened while the former chemical company manager was visiting a client having problems with the dishwashing machine. For six to eight months, his overall vision was so bad his wife or son had to lead him around. But his right eye was less injured than his left and could provide stem cells for the transplant.

Jurkunas, who is also affiliated with Harvard Medical School, said Durst's 2018 surgery was the culmination of almost two decades of research, "so we felt immense happiness and excitement to finally do it."

All patients in the study saw their cornea surfaces restored. Durst and another patient were then able to get transplants of artificial corneas, while two others reported much-improved vision with the stem cell transplant alone. A fifth patient didn't get the procedure because the stem cells weren't able to adequately expand.

At this point, Durst said the vision in his right eye is nearly perfect but the vision in his left eye is blurry; he's scheduled for a different procedure in September to address that.

Jurkunas estimates about 1,000 people in the U.S. per year could potentially benefit from this sort of stem cell transplant, which has also been studied in Japan.
Cancun man hails cab and dies in passenger seat

Cancun, Q.R.  A man who hailed a Cancun taxi died in the passenger seat. The 30-year-old male was in a taxi en route to hospital when he died. The driver of the taxi was trying to get to the emergency area but was unable to make it in time.

The incident happened around 8:00 p.m. Sunday near the hospitals emergency area entrance. Police were made aware of the situation after the driver realized his passenger had passed away.

The drivers car was secured in a yellow tape zone while they waited for the coroner. The young man was found sitting in the front passengers seat.

According to the taxi driver, the man hailed the cab in central Cancun to be taken to an address in SM 94. However, shortly after getting inside his cab, he told the driver he was not feeling well. The Cancun cab driver changed course and headed for the nearest hospital.

An autopsy will reveal his cause of death.
Group of Holbox residents file complaint against CFE

Holbox, Q.R.  A group of Holbox island residents have filed an official complaint against the CFE for material damages. Residents filed their grievances with Profeco after an unsuccessful meeting with CFE personnel.

The group are claiming material damages after ongoing electrical issues. Their civil suit has been filed before Profeco (Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor) after their Friday meeting with the CFE ended with personnel walking out.

After failed talks, residents began the collection of signatures of all those affected by the frequent power cuts. The objective was to initiate a collective lawsuit against the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) before the pertinent instances, including the Federal Consumer Attorneys Office (Profeco).

The primary intention is for the company to ensure the provision of adequate services and assume responsibility for damage to electrical appliances.

Representatives of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) met with Holbox residents on Friday to address the complaints. However, the situation became tense when claims arose related to the high tariffs and the frequent blackouts.

The group are seeking answers as well as compensation for material damages due to power surges. Photo: August 19, 2023.

Faced with the tense situation, CFE employees chose to leave the island office without providing solutions or even answers for the residents. Another meeting has been scheduled for later this week.

Earlier this year, the CFE installed a new submarine cable that was supposed to provide the island with additional power and stability. However, island residents have experienced months of ongoing power outages that last several hours  some as long as 12 hours  at a time as well as electrical surges, which they say, has runied many household appliances including refrigerators, air conditioners and televisions.
Bury the lead! is certainly unusual editorial advice but possibly the only good strategy for an essay on the vagaries of the federal court system. You never want your readers to know that they might find the subject matter of your essay less than exciting. But youre now reading the rare article on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that promises that this court really is interestingor at least can be. There probably arent many readers whove even heard of it. But the courts judges chambers, which overlook the White House, are now the setting of an unprecedented controversy that has prompted one of the countrys most well-respected judges to pen an equally unprecedented open letter to the Wall Street Journal criticizing her colleagues. Depending on how the controversy plays out, it could represent a significant afront to our constitutional system and the rule of law.

Depending on how you count them, there are five federal courthouses in Washington, D.C. Lawyers for Judge Pauline Newman of the Federal Circuit were just over a mile from her chambers when on June 27 of this year they filed a lawsuit in a federal trial court on her behalf against Chief Judge Kimberly Moore and two other Federal Circuit judges, seeking to have Judge Newmans judicial duties reinstated. The complaint asserts that when her efforts to convince Judge Newman to retire were unsuccessful, Chief Judge Moore then turned to administrative mechanisms outlined in the 1980 Judicial Conduct and Disability Act to deny Judge Newman who, at 96, is the oldest active judge in the entire federal judiciary, the ability to perform her judicial duties. Judge Newman has asked the district court both to reinstate her to her judicial duties and to find that the Act is, at least in part, unconstitutional.

There are competing theories as to why the chief judge wants Newman off the bench. One is that Newman is totally disabled physically, and mentally incompetent. Chief Judge Moores order. dated March 24, 2023, claims that she has probable cause to believe that Judge Newmans health has left her without the capacity to perform the work of an active judge and that her presence on the court is prejudicial to the efficient administration of justice. Judge Newman, however, has produced significant evidence that is readily available to the public that she is in fact fit to discharge her judicial duties. Her own physician, a George Washington University neurologist, affirms her mental competency for the job. And experts in the complex fields that make up the Federal Circuits jurisdiction, including the former chief judge of the court, confirm that there has been no perceptible decline in the quality, volume, or incisiveness of Newmans published opinions. The complaints against her, Newman says, are based on most extraordinary fabrications and exaggerations.

Clearly, Newman is not taking any of this lying down. The dueling orders, letters, and motions pertaining to proceedings are all available on the Federal Circuits website. Newman has even granted interviews (here and here) to the press. She has her own theories as to why the chief judge and other colleagues want her off the court. It is possible that the chief judge wants to create an opening for a presidential appointment, but Newmanby this time at the center of a barely contained constitutional crisisisnt buying it.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 by the merger of a few preexisting courts. It has a unique but important jurisdiction that includes most issues relating to trademarks, copyrights, and patents. This is not the venue where culture war battles play out. There are no traditional left and right dividing lines on this court. It is a near impossibility that the Federal Circuit would ever be faced with questions relating to civil rights. It is, rather, where judges wrestle with some of the most complex and difficult legal questions in the entire field. It is a vitally important court for the protection of private property, both because of its jurisdiction over intellectual property matters and its adjudication of issues relating to government takings. Almost all the judges have training as engineers and scientists in addition to legal training. Judge Newman, the first direct appointee to the court, is no different. She graduated from New York University School of Law only after completing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Yale and spending several years as a research scientist. She holds several patents herself that date back to that time in her career. Chief Judge Moore herself is an MIT-trained engineer.

Newman believes she has become the target of her colleagues attention because they are tired of being told that theyre not perfect. Her frequent dissents demonstrate an understanding of  law [that] conflicts with that of many of her colleagues. Without her dissents, the workload of Federal Circuit judges would decrease by 5%.

The subject matter of most of the Federal Circuits docket is so complex that even most attorneys have difficulty parsing it. Applying the law to complex and specialized scientific, medical, and technological questions requires a level of expertise in extra-legal fields that only specialized attorneys have. And the rulings of the Federal Circuit on these questions often become the law of the land, since so few cases are ever appealed to the Supreme Court and its unique subject matter jurisdiction means that a circuit split on many of these issues is not possible. Newman has, in fact, established herself as an intellectual powerhouse and is the author of majority opinions in some of her fields seminal cases. She has also provided the intellectual framework through her frequent dissents for many other seminal cases when the Federal Circuit has been overturned by the Supreme Court. One judge has even noted that Judge Newman is particularly well-known for her insightful dissents, which have often been vindicated by the Supreme Court when it has adopt[ed] essentially the reasoning of [her] dissent. The judge affirming Newmans stature and the value of her dissents? Chief Judge Kimberly Moore.

Judge Newman concedes that her reputation is already tarnished but has resisted the pressure to retire on principle. If the judges on a court can just vote out someone they dont like, for whatever reason  thats not what the nation is entitled to. Moore has assigned herself and two other judges to a committee to investigate a complaint regarding Newmans fitness that the chief judge herself initiated. The focus of that investigation has morphed from questions about Newmans fitness into disciplinary issues owing to Newmans refusal to comply with the committees order to submit to a medical evaluation, despite having submitted a report from her own physician. So, in short: Chief Judge Moore herself filed the judicial equivalent of an HR complaint against Judge Newman. And then Moore appointed herself to the committee that is investigating her own complaint. And when Newman objected not only to the substance of the complaint but to the process of investigating it as well, Mooreas prosecutor, judge, and jurytook disciplinary action against Newman by suspending her from her judicial duties with no time limit and with little heed for the regulations and case law.

Federal judges enjoy lifetime tenure during good behavior. Once appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, these judges can only be removed from office via impeachment by Congress. This system was devised to insulate judges from political or popular influence. In 1937, frustrated with life-tenured Supreme Court justices standing in the way of New Deal legislation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a court-packing plan that would place justices on the court who would be more receptive to his political project. A similar scheme was floated again in 2021 as progressives anticipated the vulnerability of decisions key to political priorities like Roe v. Wade and Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, both of which have subsequently been overturned. The rule of law depends on the stability of the justice system, and the stability of the justice system depends on constancy and the apolitical nature of the courts. This is why it is not easy to remove a federal judge or to subject him or her to the political pressures that elected officials endure (and often apply).

No matter the motivation behind the actions of Judge Newmans colleagues on the Federal Circuit, they have certainly denied her any semblance of due process. Potential jurors are excluded from juries when they have personal knowledge of events relevant to the trialan eyewitness to a crime would never be allowed to serve as a juror in the prosecution of one accused of perpetrating it. And no person standing to lose or gain from a particular outcome of a trial could serve, either. Yet the members of the judicial council of the Federal Circuit sit like jurors determining Judge Newmans fate despite clear conflicts that would justify excluding them from a jury sitting to consider a similar case. They have also done violence to the notion of the separation of powers spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. It is only Congress that can remove a federal judge from office through its impeachment power.

The independence of the judiciary is an innovation of the American constitutional order and has proved to be a largely effective safeguard for liberty. The system is not without flaws, but the judiciary has endured as an apolitical institution. The Constitution assigns distinct responsibility to two political actorsthe president and senatorsfor the makeup of the federal judiciary. The fact that their elections almost always involve the discussion of judicial appointments is proof that at least the formal structure of the system has been preserved. The attempts to sidestep it through court-packing have been defeated. But if judges themselves can exert the type of pressure that has been placed on Judge Newman, the system will be compromised.

Despite procedural and due process concerns, the actions of the chief judge of the Federal Circuit have proceeded under color of statutory law, which Newman convincingly argues is unconstitutional. Newmans service has been exemplary, and she is universally respected. The mark that this leaves on her record is tragic. But it may very well be that the greatest debt the nation owes to her is that she has resisted an unfair and (likely) unconstitutional effort to exclude her from office. We should all hope that the courts or Congress vindicate hernot only for the sake of justice but also because in so doing they will be vindicating and preserving our constitutional order and the rule of law.
Roanoke County has received plans for the opening of a Dollar Tree at Oak Grove Plaza, county spokeswoman Amy Whittaker said.

Oak Grove Plaza is a suburban shopping center at 2065 Electric Road in transition under new ownership. The managing member of a real estate company that bought the complex said revenue from leasing the vacant anchor space would pay for needed maintenance work, which could include new roofing and HVAC units; resurfacing the parking lot; upgrading parking lot lights and the shopping center sign; and repainting buildings.

Dollar Tree is a Chesapeake-based chain of discount variety stores that used to price most everything it carries at $1, but raised the price to $1.25 in 2021. The company had 16,340 stores in the United States and Canada on Jan. 28, about half Dollar Tree and half Family Dollar. There are already 13 Dollar Tree locations in Roanoke and within 25 miles of the city, according to the chains website.

Oak Grove area resident Maurice King emailed The Roanoke Times with a reaction of very disappointed to the news about the plan for a Dollar Tree. They were hoping for a grocery store such as Trader Joes or Lidl, he said.

Lidl a few years ago began an effort to enter the region, but later did not follow through on those plans.
Sunday, and again on Monday, my email inbox has been flooded with woeful tales about long-planned ocean-cruise vacations that were suddenly scotched for various reasons  and difficulty travelers have had procuring refunds.

Those were spurred by Sundays column, about the Thompson family from Roanoke, who prepaid nearly $61,000 for a luxurious seven-day cruise to Alaska, plus a five-day land package, leaving from Canada late in June.

All seven members of the Thompson clan missed their entire vacation with Norwegian Cruise Line. That happened because the first of two flights NCL booked them on (out of Greensboro, on the day the ship departed) was canceled. The family tried, but failed to get to Vancouver before the ship departed. But they made it only as far as Seattle.

Norwegian refunded the family $2,500 of their $60,619.17 vacation package cost, for taxes and tips they had prepaid with that package. That left the family out more than $58,000.

The cruise operator told me the family should have purchased trip-protection insurance.

It is because of unexpected situations, such as this, that we strongly recommend guests obtain travel protection insurance. Without travel protection, we are unable to provide an exception to our cancelation fee policy, Norwegians public relations department said in an email Friday.

But Monica DeGraff of Golden, Colorado  another unhappy NCL traveler who missed a different cruise out of Rome for the same reason  told me shed purchased trip insurance through NCL but it did her little good.

DeGraffs insurance policys maximum benefit because of airline delays was $500 per traveler  on a three-person vacation for which DeGraff had prepaid more than $11,000.

There are many, many more stories. One was from Steve and Rachel Keener, a Rocky Mount couple. Through Norwegian, they booked an Alaska cruise plus land package aboard the Norwegian Jewel leaving Vancouver on June 12, just a couple of weeks before the Thompsons.

Their story is very similar.

The Keeners paid NCL almost $7,000 in advance for their vacation. Norwegian booked them flying out of Roanoke at 5:40 a.m. June 12, Rachel said. Unlike the Thompsons, the Keeners purchased trip insurance through Norwegian. That cost $494 total.

The Keeners first flight from Roanoke to Atlanta was canceled. And neither Norwegian Cruise Line nor Delta could get them to Vancouver in time. So the Keeners called NCLs Guest Experience department.

A rep told them, Were going to cancel your cruise because you cant get there, Rachel Keener told me. I replied, Im not canceling the cruise. You cant get me there.

Norwegian refunded them $1,089 for taxes and gratuities they had prepaid, but nothing else, Rachel said. When the Keeners sought reimbursement through trip insurance, the insurance company told them the policy covered only cancellations resulting from death, illness or bankruptcy.

We just wanted our money back, after which wed never cruise with Norwegian again, Rachel Keener told me. The Keeners continued to complain  Rachel estimated she has contacted NCL roughly 50 times.

At one point, Rachel said, the cruise operator offered a $2,500 credit for a future cruise, which left her dissatisfied. Then last week, Rachel said, she complained to the credit card issuer she and Steve used to pay for their vacation.

Suddenly and seemingly out of the blue, on Monday morning NCL sent the Keeners an email offering a larger credit for future cruise travel. Combined with their partial refund, that almost makes up for the $7,000 the couple spent, which is a more suitable settlement.

Keener said for their future cruise with Norwegian, they will book their own flights. Those generally cost more but leave a traveler more in control than with flights booked by cruise lines. (Cruise-arranged flights often cost less, because the cruise line is buying tickets in bulk. But the tickets also come with many more restrictions.)

Several of the 80-plus emails Ive received since writing about the Thompsons plight recommended they seek a refund by disputing the charges with their credit-card issuers. (They paid for the trip using two different credit cards.)

Also, some cards confer automatic travel insurance protection when customers buy travel through a card. For that reason, the Thompsons should check and see if their cards will cover their loss, readers noted.

Bob Hart of Salem told me a very different story, with an entirely different outcome, about a flight-delay problem for a European cruise he booked through Viking Cruises.

We booked a Budapest to Amsterdam [cruise], with travel insurance and Viking making flight arrangements out of Miami (we drove down to leave our dog off). Our British Air flight was delayed one day while a part for the plane had to be flown in, Hart wrote.

British Air put us up for the night, flew us out the next day, and reimbursed our airfare. Viking picked us up at the airport and took us to the boat, holding it briefly for us to arrive. The day in Budapest that we missed was covered by the travel insurance, Hart added.

I recommend Viking Cruises for many reasons (we have taken four), wrote Sharon Ellmore of Roanoke. But the latest trip shows how well they consider their guests.

We also booked an Alaskan cruise departing from Anchorage. Due to the tightness of flight schedules, Viking flew us out a day early and housed us in a Sheraton in Seattle at their expense, Ellmore wrote. Our return flight also didnt conform to the ships arrival. Viking housed us in a Vancouver hotel at their expense and even provided Starbucks breakfast for a 6 a.m, transfer to the airport. I am very impressed with Viking and would never travel with another line.

Reader Justin Gill suggested the Thompsons file a complaint with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission at https://www.fmc.gov/resources-services/cruise-passenger-assistance/

Its unclear to me whether that would be a good avenue for the family, though, considering their cruise originated in Canada. Others suggested complained to the Virginia Attorney Generals consumer-protection division.

Scott Kinney of Atlanta wrote that he worked on cruise ships for 30 years, including on Norwegian in the 1980s, when the company was still based in Norway. (Now its based in Florida.)

I would have encouraged Dr. Thompson to take out trip insurance from some other reputable trip insurance company different from the one offered by NCL, Kinney wrote. One which could provide them with a full refund should they not be able to take the cruise, due to reasons beyond their control, he added.

I was a travel consultant for years and my rule of thumb is do not purchase a cruise lines travel protection plan, wrote Jim Sweeney. Instead, shop around, he added.

Steve Helveston noted there are insurance agencies that specialize in travel insurance.

I always purchase trip insurance for expensive trips, but WHO you get it from is critical. You really have to know the right place, Helveston wrote. The Hampton Roads resident recommends an agency called Tripinsurancestore.com, which is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating.

The owner, runs his business straight up and only sells insurance from companies he knows will honor their contracts. His site is chock full of the ins and outs of trip insurance and horror stories of people who didnt know what they were doing, Helveston wrote.

Thats all the space we have for todays column, folks.

But stay tuned  based all the stories still coming into my inbox, you may be reading more about cruise vacation nightmares soon.
Roanoke City Council chambers were packed Monday evening as council considered two hotly debated projects.

Council voted 5-0 to approve the first  a design placing a new Preston Park Elementary in the back corner of the schools current property  but had yet to vote before The Roanoke Times print deadline on a plan to turn the deteriorating Fishburn Park caretakers cottage into a coffee shop.

Council member Vivian Sanchez-Jones, who is a city school employee, abstained from the Preston Park vote while council member Stephanie Moon Reynolds  whose mother passed away last week  was absent Monday.

The planning commission recommended both items for approval at its Aug. 14 meeting.

Preston Park is overcrowded, which is why a new school is needed.

One student who spoke Monday said its been difficult for her to learn because the schools gifted program is relegated to hallways or the cafeteria due to a lack of classroom space.

The project was originally slated for a planning commission vote July 10, but following disagreements between city and school staff about the design, the commission moved the vote to the Aug. 14 meeting.

City staff recommended against approval, saying the plan put the school too far from the road and did do enough to accentuate walkability, while the district expressed a desire for safety from traffic and more security measures by moving it further back.

We dont like to build schools for the worst case scenario but we do like to be prepared, City Central Council PTA President Jessica Blandy said Monday.

After hearing impassioned pleas from school teachers and administrators last week, the planning commission chose not to go with the city staffs recommendation and to recommend the districts plans for the new school for approval. Several commissioners said it was not a decision they made lightly, but felt it was ultimately in the schools best interest.

On Monday, several speakers noted that designing a school building is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with a multi-generational impact. Preston Park Principal Eric Fisher said the design has been popular among parents.

A number of city educators attended and spoke at the Monday evening public hearing, less than 12 hours before the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.

All of those who spoke  from planners to teachers, school administrators, parents and former members of law enforcement  encouraged council to approve the districts design.

The design will allow the current building to continue operating normally until the new one is finished. It also creates separate lanes for buses and cars, hopefully relieving congestion during pick-up and drop-off times.

The district has a $33.8 million budget for the new school. After construction starts, it should be two years before the new school is open.
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JAKARTA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting (AEM) has released the terms of reference (TOR) for the Support Unit of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), marking a step forward for the implementation of the free trade agreement, an Indonesian minister said Tuesday.

Co-chairing the 55th AEM, Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan told a press conference that the TOR was passed during a closed-door RCEP Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the AEM in Semarang, Indonesia's Central Java province, late Monday.

The meeting was attended by high-level officials from 10 ASEAN members as well as from Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

"Besides the TOR, we have also agreed to assign the RCEP Joint Committee to supervise the implementation of this pact, to ensure that the progress works smoothly and transparently," Hasan said.

The minister said RCEP members invited more countries to join the agreement, emphasizing how member countries would enjoy various benefits, including the elimination of tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods traded within RCEP.

The RCEP free trade deal comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and their five trading partners of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Indonesia is currently holding the chairmanship of ASEAN this year. 
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
" " This 6-inch (15-centimeter) mummified skeleton from the Atacama Desert in Chile came to light in 2003, sparking controversy and endless speculation about its origin. E. Smith/Genome Research/NIH

In 2003, a skeleton was removed from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Originally buried in the ghost town of La Noria, it's strikingly small, measuring just 6 inches, or 15 centimeters, long.

The top of the skull has a distinct conical shape. It also has fewer ribs (10 pairs) than we would normally expect to see in a human being (people generally have 24 ribs arranged in 12 pairs).

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Many UFO enthusiasts around the globe assumed this was the body of a tiny little alien. Other onlookers suggested the bones might've come from a nonhuman primate. In any event, the specimen  usually called the "Atacama skeleton" or just "Ata" for short  soon became world-famous.

Then in the 2010s, genetic research proved the remains are unequivocally human, despite all rumors or claims to the contrary.

Although that debate has been settled, Ata's story raises huge ethical concerns. In all likelihood, the body was obtained and sold illegally, something that's been pointed out by multiple scientific organizations in Chile.
MARION, S.C.  Marion has a new option in town for hot slices of pizza named after familiar locations. The Marion Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Leos Pizza recently welcoming owners Chelsey Gasque and Josh Gasque.

We are open six days a week, Chelsey Gasque said. She had no problems coming up with the unique name and mascot for the business.

Leo is my dog and I love him dearly, Gasque said. Im also a Leo. Thats my astrological sign and my husband is also a Leo and he is in law enforcement. I thought that Leo was the cutest thing so he had to be the mascot for the restaurant.

The new pizzeria in downtown Marion offers outdoor dining on 508 N. Tom Gasque Ave.

We offer handcrafted pizzas, she said. We make our own sauce. We use quality ingredients and we offer a unique atmosphere here in Marion. We also offer craft beer and a good selection of different wines that you cant get anywhere else around here.

Gasque said the response from the community has been supportive.

We couldnt be more thankful, she said. People have been very receptive and I love that we have outdoor dining. Its pet friendly, which is something different and unique.

Pizzas on the menu are named after streets in Marion. The popular B.G Parkway features onions, peppers, olives, mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, bacon and mozzarella. Another hit is the Withalachochee offering italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, bacon, ground beef and mozzarella.

Its to make it more local and people recognize thats the street they live on or grew up on, Gasque said. Its just something to pull the community in more.

Gasque said she started making pizzas in her home and developed her skills through taste tests with friends.

I just kept going until I got it perfected, she said. We cook all of our pizzas on stones, so that really adds to the crust and the texture. It gives it more of char and a crisp on the bottom of pizza that is different from anywhere else.

Gasque said she wants customers to enjoy the environment they created.

Leos Pizza is open Monday and Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Democratic presidential candidate and environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. visited Florence over the weekend with a message of economic revitalization.

On Sunday afternoon, Kennedy met supporters in the upper balcony of Red Bone Alley, where there were more people than seats. He spoke for around 45 minutes on his platforms core issues: the economy, environmental hazards and military spending.

Im seeing a level of desperation in this country, a level of depression, of mental illness, that is attached to the economic anxieties that people have, Kennedy said at the start of his speech. People are terrified, and it is the kind of desperation that I saw in Latin America when I was a boy, but I never expected to see it here in the United States of America.

Before his speech, supporters ushered by security guards lined up to take selfies with Kennedy. After his speech, when most people began filling outside to where a merchandise table was set up, some stuck around to get autographs from Kennedy and his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.

Weve been traveling all around South Carolina, and I have had the best time meeting people, Hines said before Kennedys speech. Your communities are beautiful, and you have the best sweet tea. I think for every meal weve had grits and sweet tea, and Ive loved every second of it.

In the first part of his speech, Kennedy focused primarily on the economic issues he said is affecting the people of the United States: high debt, high costs and low wages.

High costs of living and low wages force people into debt, which is the highest it has ever been, Kennedy said.

Last week, we passed a milestone: a trillion dollars in credit card debt in this country, of individual Americans. Nothing like this has ever happened before, he said. Those companies are charging 22% interest on that credit card debt. If the mafia did that to you, it would be called loan sharking. If the banks do it and the credit card companies (do it), its just business as usual.

According to Kennedy, many credit card companies and banks are owned by just three companies: Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street. He said they also own the majority of the S&P 500.

These companies are strip-mining the wealth of the American middle class and sending it upwards to their owners and their shareholders, Kennedy said.

These companies have also bought up many single-family homes with cash, beating out families who want to live in the homes, which has driven up prices to an unaffordable level.

To make housing more affordable and create what he called a housing boom, Kennedy said he is going to make it impossible for big companies to buy single-family homes by working through the IRS.

Kennedy said he is also going to create a new mortgage program that will help struggling families get low-percentage mortgages, starting with teachers, without creating debt by using tax incentives.

Another reason for rising costs is the military conflicts the United States has been a part of over the last two decades, according to Kennedy. He said these conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic and recent corporate bail-outs have cost the country around $32 trillion, which he said is bankrupting the middle class and shifting wealth upward.

The world used to look up to the United States, not just for its economic power but also for moral leadership, Kennedy said. However, he said that has wavered in the last few decades because of the warlike position the country has been in since Vietnam.

His uncle, President John F. Kennedy, advocated for peace around the world while president, and Robert Kennedy Jr. said he wants to do the same by unraveling the empire abroad and bringing the money home to be used on social services, like schools and social security.

At home, he wants to unravel massive corporations and fight what he calls the hoax of carbon-capture projects. Kennedy said he believes in climate change and believes it is existential, but these projects specifically do not help.

Its really just shifting wealth to the super rich, and it has no benefit in reducing the amount of carbon, he said.

During audience questions, Kennedy said government scientists need to be focused more on chronic disease than infectious disease. The United States spends the most on health care of any wealthy country but has some of the worst health outcomes, even among poorer countries, he said.

While talking about chronic disease, he said vaccines could be a cause of chronic diseases  a claim that is not backed by scientific evidence. Kennedy and Childrens Health Defense, a nonprofit he founded, regularly push anti-vaccination and other scientifically unfounded views, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
Lori Poland (on left after she was rescued aged three and on right 40 years later) (Lori Poland/ENDCAN)

The traumatic event that would forever change Lori Polands life unfolded just steps from her home in the town of Sheridan, Colorado.

Then just three years old, the little girl was lured into a strangers car with the promise of candies and kidnapped in broad daylight after her father briefly stepped inside to get her and her five-year-old brother a popsicle.

Within minutes of her abduction, shocked neighbours and children who had been playing outside moments earlier rushed to Ms Polands home trying to provide her parents with clues  a physical description, a licence plate, anything  about her kidnapper.

Now, on the 40th anniversary of her abduction, Ms Poland tells The Independent that the next few hours on that excruciating day of 22 August 1983 are still something of a haze.

What she does know is that her 37-month-old body was abused in unimaginable ways by then-21-year-old Robert Paul Thiret.

And that, after a disturbing sexual assault, Thiret threw her into a remote 15-foot outhouse toilet, where she was left for almost four days before being saved by a couple of birdwatchers.

Because I was so young, my capacity to have memory was minimal on a conscious level, but on a subconscious level my memory is fairly strong, Ms Poland tells The Independent.

I get very triggered by the smell of faeces and urine, I get triggered being in dark places or when Im alone or have the sensation Im not protected or abandoned.

Her remarkable story of survival grabbed the nations attention back in 1983, with TV filming crews present in her hospital room as she reunited with her parents.

Forty years on from the attack that rocked her and her familys world, Ms Poland  now a licensed therapist and the executive director of the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (ENDCAN)  continues to heal through her advocacy work.

I live here now

Ms Polands abduction was the embodiment of every parents worst fear.

Her father had been gone mere minutes before he came back to his front yard to find his daughter gone and her pants lying on the curb, according to local media reports at the time.

Story continues

Lori Poland was kidnapped on 22 August 1983. She was sexually assaulted and thrown into a toilet pit (ENDCAN/Lori Poland)

Ms Poland, then too young to understand stranger danger, has blocked out much of the memories of the attack but she remembers the ride with her abductor to the toilet pit and the abuse she underwent while on the passenger seat of Thirets orange Datsun Sedan.

The cars model was spotted by a neighbour of the Polands, who gave the first part of the licence plate to police. In the following days, two individuals came forward with accounts of thwarted abductions similar in detail to Ms Polands.

The tips ultimately led police to Thiret, whose car and house were searched, but he denied any involvement in Ms Polands kidnapping.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the latrine, Ms Poland developed a serious infection on her legs from injuries she sustained during the fall and worsened due to the chemicals and substances in the pit.

She spent four days without any water or food, largely unaware that she was running out of time to survive and preoccupied with trivial thoughts.

I had just gotten potty trained and I remember being upset that I was going to make my mom mad because I wet my pants and I didnt want to let her down, Ms Poland recounts.

Ms Polands parents issued public pleas for her safe return (NBC News)

Then, a couple who were driving through the area stopped at the outhouse toilet and heard Ms Polands cries.

When asked what she was doing there, the little girl simply answered: I live here now.

When I was rescued, the man came into the hole on a harness and he said hold on, Ms Poland tells The Independent.

I remember holding on and not wanting to let go. Thats [one of the] few things that I do have recollection around. Some of its a blessing and a curse because you want to have an understanding of what happened.

Doctors first thought Ms Polands infection was so serious that they would need to amputate her legs in order to save her, but the little girls condition soon improved.

She identified her abductor in interviews with prosecutors and gave testimony used to convict Thiret.

Thiret had initially been charged with her attempted murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping. But after his wife provided an alibi for him, prosecutors struck a controversial plea deal to sentence him to 10 years in prison on kidnapping charges.

He ended up spending only six years behind bars after his sentence was reduced for good behaviour.

Thiret is now living in San Pedro, California, as a registered sex offender.

You matter

Augusts are especially difficult for Ms Poland.

On a rational level, she knows that the circumstances that led to her kidnapping were outside of her control.

However, she keeps going back to that yes moment after she was offered candy and the lifetime of suffering that this unravelled, she tells The Independent.

I know I was a baby and I know that its not really my fault but I still said yes, I still got in that car and the weight of carrying the consequences of that word has been a heavy burden, Ms Poland says.

Every July and August, I struggle emotionally. Last night was my night of struggle. And so I was just sobbing, wondering why? What is my purpose? Why did that happen and why did I say yes?

The ripple effect that child sexual abuse has on victims and their families does not end with the assault, she says.

Ms Polands was rescued from the toilter pit after a couple of birdwatchers who needed to use the outhouse bathroom and heard her cries (ABC/Screengrab)

In the aftermath of her abduction, she has struggled with her mental health and survivors guilt.

There were a lot of normal experiences. There was a lot of joy and there was a lot of hard in living with [having] a decision that I made impact my family the way that it did, and then how that spread into extended family and friends and community, Ms Poland says.

Its hard to live in a world where I see abuse all of the time and its hard being in this field.

Part of the solution is ending the stigma.

Theres so much to do and we are in a society and culture where people just dont want to talk about [child sexual abuse], Ms Poland tells The Independent. We dont engage not because we dont support [victims], but because we dont know how to respond and so.

Ms Poland says she was inspired to help others at a very young age as she understood herself how pivotal support is for victims.

She worked as a therapist for years before joining ENDCANs board at the request of former University of Colorado School of Medicine Dean Dr Richard Krugman, who had treated her as a child after her rescue.

Ms Poland has devoted her life to helping victims of child sexual abuse (ENDCAN/Lori Poland)

Dr Krugman was also a mentor to Ms Lorand when she was in college. During one of their many conversations before ENDCAN was founded, Ms Poland says that Dr Krugman brought up the fact that child abuse survivors are more vulnerable to many health issues.

Our first priority is to change the conversation about child abuse and neglect from just being seen as a social and a legal issue to also being seen as a health issue and a mental health issue, Ms Poland tells The Independent.

Theres such a correlation between cancer, heart disease, mental illness, diabetes, stroke.

ENDCAN focuses on prevention, education, advocacy and research about child abuse. The organisation also hosts fundraisers and charity events with child abuse survivors to empower victims at every stage of their healing journey.

Just because you have this story [of abuse] as part of your timeline doesnt necessarily mean that life is all bad. It just means that its part of your story, says Ms Poland.

The one thing I would say is, you matter. And I think that when we believe that we matter, theres just a shift ... When we believe we matter, we can do big things.
Unisex skincare and body brand Salt & Stone lands in Singapore; Salt & Stone deodorant range. (PHOTO: Sephora)

There are a few beauty products that leave me feeling impressed and speechless  and this Salt & Stone deodorant is one of them. I've been using natural crystal ones for a while now, but they tend to be messy and crack a lot when there's water residue in the container.

Recently, I got to try Salt & Stone's natural deodorant in Bergamot & Hinoki, which just landed in Singapore. The unisex skincare and body care brand from Los Angeles, California, focuses on organic and cruelty-free ingredients while respecting the environment to make their products.

Here's what we know about Salt & Stone's deodorant in a nutshell:

The product claims to be alcohol-free

Contains Hyaluronic Acid to help smooth out lines and helps to heal wounds faster

Contains seaweed, plant extracts, shea butter and coconut oil for moisturing benefits

Read the full review below.

SG Telegram banner.

What is Salt & Stone Bergamot & Hinoki Natural Deodorant

The product is described as an extra-strength natural deodorant that's formulated to feature seaweed extracts and hyaluronic acid to moisturise the skin while probiotics help neutralise odour.

Hinoki oil is said to promote stress relief and relaxation, while bergamot has an uplifting and calming effect.

My review of Salt & Stone Bergamot & Hinoki Natural Deodorant: What I think about it and does it work

The creamy texture of this Salt & Stone deodorant glides on smoothly on my skin. (PHOTO: Reta Lee/Yahoo Life Singapore)

When you glide the product on your skin, it doesn't feel sticky, leaving just a moisturising film. The smell has a tinge of masculine aroma, which I like and feels amazing.

I wore it and was out and about in sunny Singapore for about eight hours. I noticed the scent fades off around three to four hours, but the great benefit is that your sweat doesn't mix with the deodorant scent. It simply masks your body odour and I felt 'protected' almost the whole day!

Most drugstore deodorants leave me feeling like I have to reapply a few times a day, but not this one.

Because I have sensitive skin and only wear perfume by spritzing them on my clothes, this product passed my sensitivity test, seeing 24 hours had gone past the last time I wore it.

READ:

Lancome's latest Genifique eye & lash serum promotes eyelash hair growth: Review

Jennifer Lopez swears by this S$85 serum for 'glowy' skin  and you can buy it now

How to use retinol and retinoids properly, as shared by beauty expert Larry Yeo

On Shoes are not just made for running  The best walking shoes for travel: Review

Is Salt & Stone Bergamot & Hinoki Natural Deodorant worth the buy?

Honestly, I was pleased with the result, and could run my errands without feeling stinky. If you're looking for a new deodorant in the market, I recommend giving this go and freeing your pits!

Some shoppers share the same sentiment, with one quoted as saying, "I bought this on a whim and was a bit concerned with how expensive it is, but it's INCREDIBLE. It's natural, goes on smoothly."

Another shared, "Im a sweaty gal and holy smokes! I was so surprised this actually worked. No BO smell or anything."

However, there is a handful who find that the deodorant's scent doesn't last long enough for them, and some didn't like the texture.

Try it and let us know how it goes!

S$33 at Sephora SingaporeBuy two for S$65.20
LE MARS, Iowa  Wells Enterprises announced Tuesday that it will replace its ice cream plant in Dunkirk, New York, which the company acquired four years ago.

Mark Meyer, Wells' chief operating officer, told The Journal Tuesday that the aging Dunkirk plant will be replaced with a modern plant, which should approximately double production capacity there. Currently the Dunkirk plant employs roughly 400 people and has six production lines. The new plant should employ an additional 200-plus people.

Last year, Meyer said Wells had to "dial (production) back a little bit" at the Dunkirk plant, to "set the workforce up for success while we, I guess, recalibrated our plans, because the facility wasn't in the best condition."

The Dunkirk plant represents about 5 percent of Wells' overall ice cream output. The vast majority of the company's ice cream is produced at Le Mars.

The new Dunkirk plant will be "right next door to" the old plant, Meyer said. It's too early, he said, to say how much Wells will spend on the project.

"Of the investment that we made in '19 and '20, there's some that we can recover -- for example, the mix room," Meyer said of the decades-old Dunkirk plant, which, for a time, will continue to operate "in parallel" with the new plant as the latter is built and ramps up production.

"Ultimately, all of the new production areas will be newly built, and not a renovation," Meyer added. "The only thing we'll use from the existing (plant) is some of the infrastructure that we built in the course of the last few years."

Some demolition and dirt and cement work may begin this year, Meyer said. Construction is expected to begin next year; the facility may be up and running beginning around the latter half of 2025, by which point operations at the old plant would begin to wind down. The entire project won't likely be complete until around 2027, Meyer said.

The upgraded plant in Dunkirk won't have any negative impact on employment or production at Wells' Le Mars plant, the company's mothership, which employs between 2,000 and 2,200 people, Meyer told The Journal.

Even when the new Dunkirk plant is up and running, Meyer said, 70-plus percent of the company's annual production of 250 million gallons of ice cream will come from Le Mars. Wells has added and modernized several production lines in Le Mars over the last couple years.

"We've been very dependent on Le Mars, and any time we would have a surge in volume, we would lean into Le Mars," Meyer said. "But this will allow us to better balance our network, so hopefully allows us to be more predictable on schedules."

"We're continuing to invest in Le Mars," he added.

Last year, Wells -- the largest privately held ice-cream maker in the country and the second-largest overall, behind the publicly traded Unilever conglomerate -- announced that the privately held Italian confectioner Ferrero would acquire the company for an undisclosed sum. Le Mars-based Wells continues to operate largely as it had before the merger.

The Dunkirk plant was formerly a Fieldbrook Foods plant, owned by a private-equity firm. Wells acquired Fieldbrook Foods in 2019 for an undisclosed sum, and along with it the Dunkirk plant.

The Fieldbrook deal was one of three major acquisitions Wells undertook that year -- they also purchased a plant in Nevada from Unilever and Halo Top, a low-sugar ice cream brand, in the process forming what Meyer referred to as a "network" of production facilities. Between its plants, Wells employs around 4,000 people.
People view a display panel of a photo exhibition entitled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Aug. 22, 2023. A photo exhibition titled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" opened here Tuesday on the Lovers' Bridge near the National Palace of Culture. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)

SOFIA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A photo exhibition titled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" opened here Tuesday on the Lovers' Bridge near the National Palace of Culture.

It features 60 posters with information and photos about pottery and ceramics making in the city of Jingdezhen, a world-famous "porcelain capital" in east China's Jiangxi Province.

The two-week event is organized by the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria and the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangxi Province.

A woman in her 50s who gave her name as Kathy, told Xinhua she liked the exhibition. "I received information about the city of Chinese porcelain," she said.

Kristian Galabov, a 20-year-old student at the Technical University of Sofia, said he found the exhibition interesting and beautiful.

Dimitar Pavlov, also a university student, found the exhibition very interesting, and he was especially curious about production technologies of the different types of ceramics displayed. 

People view a display panel of a photo exhibition entitled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Aug. 22, 2023. A photo exhibition titled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" opened here Tuesday on the Lovers' Bridge near the National Palace of Culture. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)

A woman views a display panel of a photo exhibition entitled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Aug. 22, 2023. A photo exhibition titled "Beautiful Jiangxi: Showing Her Charm to the World - Story of Jingdezhen Porcelain" opened here Tuesday on the Lovers' Bridge near the National Palace of Culture. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)
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SIOUX CITY  Sioux City high school students will learn construction trades in a new facility that's opening just in time for the new academic year.

Construction Trades_4.jpg The Sioux City Schools Career Academy construction trades facility completed this summer. The 12,000-square-foot addition to the Harry Hopkins

Earlier this summer, the school district's Career Academy finished construction on a 12,000-square-foot addition to the Harry Hopkins Center, located along Business Highway 75.

The addition is intended to provide a controlled environment for students to build two houses simultaneously. It is a fairly simple building with one large bay for a classroom and work space.

"I think this is the start of something that could be the future of education in our country," Career Academy Principal Eric Kilburn said. "It used to be 'we're going to college,' but the job market now is telling us, we can pay kids more than they would make after a four-year degree right out of high school."

Over two years, students will build a 1,300 to 1,500-square-foot house and learn introductory construction, HVAC, electrical and plumbing trades.

The program has room for 40 students; 20 juniors and 20 seniors. Kilburn said the district has full enrollment for the upcoming year.

Trades building.JPG A rendering of what the future trades building for the Sioux City Community School District will look like. The building is being attached to 

The district already has industrial arts technology courses throughout the three high schools and intermediate construction courses at West High School, Kilburn said. In the last few years, they have sent students to attend WIT courses in HVAC, plumbing, drywalling and more.

This new facility will allow students to complete those courses at a district facility, in a way that provides a physical representation of their progress.

The program is set up so students will start their junior year completing the outside of a house and during their senior year, they will tackle the interior.

In June 2022, the school board accepted a $3.8 million bid from H&R Construction of South Sioux City for the project. The total cost was $4.15 million, including architectural and engineering fees.

The official planning for this project started more than three years ago.

"There's a desperate need for workforce in almost every single job area and people like that come to us," Kilburn said.

The Sioux City Community School District graduates roughly 1,000 students a year, Jim Vanderloo, director of secondary education said previously. The districts goal is to prepare those students to have a plan or goal in mind for the future.

The district has programs for students who want to go into specific areas such as education, medicine, and computer technology, but this was a missing area.

We needed to address this need, Vanderloo said.

Construction Trades_6.jpg The Sioux City Schools Career Academy construction trades facility completed this summer. The 12,000-square-foot addition to the Harry Hopkins

District administration visited a variety of schools with similar programs, including Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, South Dakota and Cherry Creek, Colorado, said Mackenzie Hiserote, the Sioux City district's Career and Technical Program coordinator. The district modeled Sioux City's program after those as well as taking input from the business community and Western Iowa Tech Community College.

Brothers Rick and Gary Niles will teach the program, with the help of an aid and community business partners.

Rick retired in 2022 as a federal probation officer and has also been teaching in the police science program at WIT, and Gary was a chief juvenile court officer. They have built more than 200 houses together, including their own homes.

With the help of community businesses and aid, the pair will help the students learn the ins and outs of the construction field, as well as soft skills that are attractive to employers.

At the end of the two-year program, the students will have received four different certificates, OSHA certification and a construction management diploma.

Some of the courses in the first year include an introduction to construction, footings and foundation, framing techniques, drywalling, insulation, roofing and exterior finishing.

"By the end of that first year, that house should be enclosed and they should be working on the exterior finish," Rick said.

At the end of the year, students will receive a carpentry certificate and a wall framing and roofing certificate.

In the second year, courses include advanced drywalling, interior doors, cabinets and millwork, wall coverings, floor coverings, plumbing, footings, and air conditioning.

At the end of the second year, students will have received a drywall certificate, an interior finishing certificate and a construction diploma.

Construction Trades_8.jpg The Sioux City Schools Career Academy construction trades facility completed this summer. The 12,000-square-foot addition to the Harry Hopkins

"Out of high school, they'll be ready to enter into the workforce," Kilburn said.

These arent one-hour, classroom courses. The students will spend half their school day out at the trades building, receiving both hands-on and classroom instruction.

The program is not just for students interested in entering the trade field after high school. Rick said everyone lives in a house and the program will teach students the skills needed to remodel their own home or make various repairs.

Rick hopes in the future the program can be expanded to allow kids to design the home, go through the bid process, and do the accounting for the project.

"All of that can be implemented into this," he said.

What happens to the houses when theyre done? Kilburn said the house will be sold and that money will go directly back into the program.

Kilburn said this also provides an opportunity for other pathways in the career academy to gain experiences, such as working with a real estate agent to sell the house.

Unique to this year, the students will be building a house for Habitat for Humanity in one year. The district-owned house the students will work on is more than 1,500 square feet, to be completed over two years.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars with Rev. Christian Meier officiating. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. at the church with a time of lunch and fellowship following the service. Military honors will be provided by the Wasmer American Legion Post 241 of Le Mars. Private family internment was held previously at Hillside Cemetery in Merrill, Iowa. Arrangements are by Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com.
LONDON  Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online.

The first phase of the European Union's groundbreaking new digital rules will take effect this week. The Digital Services Act is part of a suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc  long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants.

The DSA, which the biggest platforms must start following Friday, is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that's either illegal or violates a platform's terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans' fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.

Some online platforms, which could face billions in fines if they don't comply, have already started making changes.

Here's a look at what's happening this week:

WHICH PLATFORMS ARE AFFECTED?

So far, 19. They include eight social media platforms: Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snapchat.

There are five online marketplaces: Amazon, Booking.com, China's Alibaba AliExpress and Germany's Zalando.

Mobile app stores Google Play and Apple's App Store are subject, as are Google's Search and Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Google Maps and Wikipedia round out the list.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER ONLINE COMPANIES?

The EU's list is based on numbers submitted by the platforms. Those with 45 million or more users  or 10% of the EU's population  will face the DSA's highest level of regulation.

Brussels insiders, however, have pointed to some notable omissions from the EU's list, like eBay, Airbnb, Netflix and even PornHub. The list isn't definitive, and it's possible other platforms may be added later on.

Any business providing digital services to Europeans will eventually have to comply with the DSA. They will face fewer obligations than the biggest platforms, however, and have another six months before they must fall in line.

Citing uncertainty over the new rules, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has held off launching its Twitter rival, Threads, in the EU.

WHAT'S CHANGING?

Platforms have started rolling out new ways for European users to flag illegal online content and dodgy products, which companies will be obligated to take down quickly and objectively.

The DSA "will have a significant impact on the experiences Europeans have when they open their phones or fire up their laptops," Nick Clegg, Meta's president for global affairs, said in a blog post.

Meta's existing tools to report illegal or rule-breaking content will be easier to access, Clegg said.

Amazon opened a new channel for reporting suspected illegal products and is providing more information about third-party merchants.

TikTok gave users an "additional reporting option" for content, including advertising, that they believe is illegal. Categories such as hate speech and harassment, suicide and self-harm, misinformation or frauds and scams, will help them pinpoint the problem.

Then, a "new dedicated team of moderators and legal specialists" will determine whether flagged content either violates its policies or is unlawful and should be taken down, according to the app from Chinese parent company ByteDance.

TikTok says the reason for a takedown will be explained to the person who posted the material and the one who flagged it, and decisions can be appealed.

TikTok users can turn off systems that recommend videos and posts based on what a user has previously viewed. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat users will have similar options. Such systems have been blamed for leading social media users to increasingly extreme posts.

The DSA prohibits targeting vulnerable categories of people, including children, with ads.

Snapchat said advertisers won't be able to use personalization and optimization tools for teens in the EU and U.K. Snapchat users who are 18 and older also would get more transparency and control over ads they see, including "details and insight" on why they're shown specific ads.

TikTok made similar changes, stopping users 13 to 17 from getting personalized ads "based on their activities on or off TikTok."

IS THERE PUSHBACK?

Zalando, a German online fashion retailer, has filed a legal challenge over its inclusion on the DSA's list of the largest online platforms, arguing that it's being treated unfairly.

Nevertheless, Zalando is launching content flagging systems for its website even though there's little risk of illegal material showing up among its highly curated collection of clothes, bags and shoes.

The company has supported the DSA, said Aurelie Caulier, Zalando's head of public affairs for the EU.

"It will bring loads of positive changes" for consumers, she said. But "generally, Zalando doesn't have systemic risk (that other platforms pose). So that's why we don't think we fit in that category."

Amazon has filed a similar case with a top EU court.

WHAT HAPPENS IF COMPANIES DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES?

Officials have warned tech companies that violations could bring fines worth up to 6% of their global revenue  which could amount to billions  or even a ban from the EU. But don't expect penalties to come right away for individual breaches, such as failing to take down a specific video promoting hate speech.

Instead, the DSA is more about whether tech companies have the right processes in place to reduce the harm that their algorithm-based recommendation systems can inflict on users. Essentially, they'll have to let the European Commission, the EU's executive arm and top digital enforcer, look under the hood to see how their algorithms work.

EU officials "are concerned with user behavior on the one hand, like bullying and spreading illegal content, but they're also concerned about the way that platforms work and how they contribute to the negative effects," said Sally Broughton Micova, an associate professor at the University of East Anglia.

That includes looking at how the platforms work with digital advertising systems, which could be used to profile users for harmful material like disinformation, or how their livestreaming systems function, which could be used to instantly spread terrorist content, said Broughton Micova, who's also academic co-director at the Centre on Regulation in Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.

Big platforms have to identify and assess potential systemic risks and whether they're doing enough to reduce them. These risk assessments are due by the end of August and then they will be independently audited.

The audits are expected to be the main tool to verify compliance  though the EU's plan has faced criticism for lacking details that leave it unclear how the process will work.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD?

Europe's changes could have global impact. Wikipedia is tweaking some policies and modifying its terms of use to provide more information on "problematic users and content." Those alterations won't be limited to Europe and "will be implemented globally," said the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the community-powered encyclopedia.

"The rules and processes that govern Wikimedia projects worldwide, including any changes in response to the DSA, are as universal as possible," it said in a statement.

Snapchat said its new reporting and appeal process for flagging illegal content or accounts that break its rules will be rolled out first in the EU and then globally in the coming months.

It's going to be hard for tech companies to limit DSA-related changes, said Broughton Micova, adding that digital ad networks aren't isolated to Europe and that social media influencers can have global reach.

The regulations are "dealing with multichannel networks that operate globally. So there is going to be a ripple effect once you have kind of mitigations that get taken into place," she said.

___

AP videojournalist Sylvain Plazy contributed from Brussels.

___
ATLANTA  John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former president's 2020 election loss.

Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail and is expected to have an arraignment in the coming weeks in the sprawling racketeering case.

He was indicted last week alongside Trump and 17 others, who are accused by District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House.

It was the fourth criminal case brought against the Republican former president.

Trump, whose bond was set Monday at $200,000, has said he will surrender to authorities in Fulton County on Thursday. His bond conditions prohibit him from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case, including on social media. He has a history of assailing the prosecutors leading the cases against him, including Willis.

Eastman said through his lawyers that he surrendered Tuesday "to an indictment that should never have been brought."

He criticized the indictment for targeting "attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients" and said each of the 19 defendants was entitled to rely on the advice of lawyers and past legal precedent to challenge the results of the election.

A former dean of Chapman University Law School in Southern California, Eastman was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by the president's supporters intent on halting the certification of Biden's electoral victory.

He wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to stop the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress' joint session on Jan. 6 to keep Trump in office.

After the 2020 election, Eastman and others pushed to put in place a slate of "alternate" electors falsely certifying that Trump won and tried to pressure Pence to reject or delay the counting of legitimate electoral votes for Biden, a Democrat.

Bail bondsman Scott Hall, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, Georgia, also turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail Tuesday.

Two other defendants, former Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark and former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer, have filed paperwork aiming to transfer the case to federal court.

Willis filed paperwork in Fulton County Superior Court, where the indictment was filed, seeking a March 4 trial date. Legal maneuvering, such as the attempts to move the case to federal court, could make it difficult to start a trial that soon.

Lawyers for Clark argued in their court filing Monday that he was a high-ranking Justice Department official and the actions described in the indictment "relate directly to his work at the Justice Department as well as with the former President of the United States."

Shafer's attorneys argued that his conduct "stems directly from his service as a Presidential Elector nominee," actions they say were "at the direction of the President and other federal officers."

Clark's attorneys also asked the federal court to stay any proceedings in Fulton County Superior Court  including the execution of any arrest warrant  until a determination has been made whether the case should be moved to federal court. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones gave Willis' office until 3 p.m. Wednesday to respond.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week made similar arguments in a federal court filing, saying his actions were taken in service to his White House role. A judge has scheduled a hearing for Monday in that case.

Meadows on Tuesday filed an emergency motion in an attempt to avoid having to turn himself in to the Fulton County Jail by the deadline at noon Friday. He asked the judge to ensure that outcome by immediately ruling that his case can be moved to federal court or by issuing an order prohibiting Willis from arresting him before Monday's hearing.

Meadows' motion says Willis on Tuesday morning rejected a request for an extension. She said in an email that "at 12:30 p.m. Friday I shall file warrants in the system," he said.

Clark was a staunch supporter of Trump's false claims of election fraud and in December 2020 presented colleagues with a draft letter pushing Georgia officials to convene a special legislative session on the election results, according to testimony before the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Clark wanted the letter sent, but Justice Department superiors refused.

Shafer was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the 2020 presidential election in the state and declaring themselves the "duly elected and qualified" electors even though Biden won the state and a slate of Democratic electors was certified.

Shafer was one of several defendants whose lawyers negotiated bond amounts with the district attorney's office on Tuesday. His bond was set at $75,000.
On Friday, Aug. 11, the entire police force of Marion, Kansas, raided the offices of the local newspaper, the Marion Record, along with the home of the papers 98-year-old publisher, Joan Meyer, seizing every computer and phone in both buildings. The next day, she died, which the Record blamed on the raid. After several days of nationwide furor and the launch of a state investigation, the county attorney withdrew the search warrant and declared he would return the papers materials.

Since the raid, the Record and its editor, Eric MeyerJoans sonhave become poster children for press freedom amid small-town government bullying. Meyer returned to his hometown of Marion in 2021 after a career in journalism in Wisconsin and Illinois, taking over the paper hed bought along with his parents decades before. I spoke to Meyer on the phone Monday afternoon about how the paper was bouncing back, his mothers long life as a newspaperwoman, and his combative relationship with the towns mayor and police chief. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Slate: Congratulations on the county attorney withdrawing the search warrant. Have you confirmed that you got everything back?

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Eric Meyer: Whats actually happening is the forensic people are cloning everything, and theyre gonna study the clone to make sure there was no tampering. Theres still four computers, three hard drives, and a router that theyre working on.

Does it seem like things were tampered with?

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I dont know that theyve done enough to know for sure that nothing was touched. The sheriff told us that it went into their custody and no one looked at it after that, and I have no reason to doubt him. But they did spend a lot of time in our newsroom with nobody around to watch. We just posted a video of the raid on my mothers home, which ends with them photographing my bank statement. I dont know why they did that, unless they wanted to see if I was somehow profiting on my so-called identity theft.

So, how on Earth did this totally unconstitutional raid happen?

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I think this is a confluence of personal animus from the mayor, a personal attempt to intimidate us from the police chief, and basic incompetence from the judge and the county attorney.

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Even though anyone would look at this and say, Wait, that doesnt seem like a thing you do in America.

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Theres an attitude around here that you can do anything you want until some judge tells you you cant. It doesnt matter what the law is. The mayor recently claimed he was gonna waive FAA regulations at the airport. You cant waive federal regulations! You can hope that someone doesnt have enough money to stand up for their rights. Well, we dont have a lot of money, but if we challenge them, people will support us. And if you read my email, theyre supporting us from the extreme left and the extreme right. This is one of the few issues that unites both sides.

You really think the judge is incompetent?

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I dont know. We interviewed a former judge from the same district. We described the scenario, and he said, Oh, my God, I would never sign that. Thats a $30 million federal lawsuit waiting to happen. Now, she is not a Marion County judge. Shes from Morris County. We have a full-fledged judge, not a magistrate judge, and where that person was, we dont know. Did someone reject the search warrant and they went to find another judge? We dont know.

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Judges here are basically appointed by whos interested, and these are the people who are interested. For the most part, people around here dont get involved in government. They want it to be Pleasantville, everything in black and white. They dont want to argue with their neighbors. They want things tidy. But democracy isnt tidy! It never has been! Sometimes you have to have a nice good argument with somebody.

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Im very sorry about your mother. Tell me about her life as a newspaperwoman.

She started work basically when I was old enough to go to school. She was your typical super copy editor. She could spell better than anybody I ever met. She particularly knew the people of the community. We used to have this stupid country correspondent column about who ate dinner with whom. Shed be able to say, He wouldnt eat dinner with them! Most of the time she was a very sweet, smiling person, but she was also a formidable woman who would stick up for herself. She was not a fainting rose. She had a very strong sense of morality and a strong sense of civic responsibility.

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The paper has been investigating the police chief, Gideon Cody, but hadnt run anything about him yet.

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Thats gonna change in a few minutes. Ive got the story sitting on my desk. As soon as Im off the phone with you, Im gonna edit and were gonna post it. Its gonna say we told the city about his problems in Kansas City and they didnt listen. The lede is Cody has a shiny exterior, but when you dig deeper, its not pretty.

We dont have a named source, but we have more than six sources for this information. To be honest, we probably should have run this before. But we wanted to do things the way they do them around here, to be careful, to be gentle, to run it by everyone and give the council a chance to take action. But now were running it.

That doesnt worry you, antagonizing a police chief?

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Well, the nice thing is, hes done most of what he can do. Hes taken his shot and didnt kill us.

Whats the next step on the raid?

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Next step for us is getting the last of our equipment back. For our lawyer, its figuring out where the federal lawsuits gonna be filed. For the readers, the residents, its figuring out whats actually been happeningwhat were they being distracted from by this.

Related From Slate I Know Why So Many Young Men Keep Dying the Same Way in New York. That Used to Be Me. Read More

How are you paying for the lawyers? Are you getting contributions? Are foundations or organizations helping out?

Were getting contributions. The Society of Professional Journalists has supplied money. But also, our lawyer said, Do you have libel insurance? We did, and our policy has a clause in it about seizures, and theyll cover 90 percent of it. I said, Really?! I hadnt even thought to look at that. I hadnt even considered a government seizure as a possibility. It was like, We will cover you if a giant meteor from Saturn comes in.

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How are your reporters doing? Is this weeks paper going to publish on time?

Were sure gonna try! Were behind this week, as we were last week. We missed our deadline by five and a half hours last week, but we got our paper printed nevertheless. Im hoping well meet our deadline this week. People want to help! I had a trucker call me and say, I dont have any computers, but if you need anything picked up in these five states, Ill drive it over. And since this happened weve sold 4,000 subscriptions. Our print run before this was 4,000.

Thats heartening.

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Look, newspaper subscriptions are down. TV news ratings, real news, are down. People shouting at each other on cable isnt news. I was on Cuomo this week, and he referred to himself as a journalist. Sorry, hes not a journalist. Hes just not! I dont know any real journalist who would say he was.

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What made you return to Marion after a career at the Milwaukee Journal and as a professor?

Its not for the money. Ive got my Journal retirement. Im about to start collecting Social Security. I came here because I wanted to keep the newspaper from going to a chain. I bought it with my father, and I never expected to see that money back. Its money Id sort of written off the books. You know, Ive also got an old Miata in the garage, and I never expect to sell that either. Maybe Ill get to drive it if I ever get the dang thing fixed. But I got the newspaper fixed, and I get to drive that.
Did President Joe Biden miss an opportunity to end the war in Ukraine diplomatically nine months ago? Some commentators and at least one U.S. official are starting to think he might have.

I disagree.

The queasy feeling was first articulated last week in a Politico article that recalled a speech last November by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The war was getting brutal, both sides had suffered horrible casualties, civilians were under attack. On the very day of Milleys speech, Russian troops were withdrawing from the southern port of Kherson, one of four Ukrainian regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin had formally annexed just two months earlier. As a result, Milley said, there might be a window of opportunity for negotiations.

Cut to the present day. The war slogs on, and the Ukrainian counteroffensive is going more slowly than many expected. U.S. intelligence analysts assess that Ukraines army may never accomplish its strategic objective of cutting off Russian troops from Crimea, much less retaking all of the occupied land in the eastern part of its country.

Milley had a point, Politico quoted an anonymous official as saying. We may have missed a window to push for earlier talks.

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The general may have had a point about the state of the battle at the time (and in the next several months). But there is no evidence at all that Putin was readyor open to any pressurefor a negotiated end to the war. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that he was not.

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First, Russias retreat from Kherson made it less likely that Putin would respond favorably to a call for a negotiated settlement. Accepting such an offer would be tantamount to admitting defeat, which he regarded as an unacceptable outcomeboth for his army and, very likely, his continued political rule in the Kremlin.

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Second, two days before Milleys speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did offer a negotiated peace, saying he would order a cease-fire if Putin accepted five preconditions: restore Ukraines territorial integrity, respect U.N. resolutions on the war, pay to repair all damage caused by his missile strikes, punish war criminals, and promise not to invade Ukraine again.

Putin was unlikely to accept these conditions; Zelensky no doubt knew this and presented the offer to gain a moral high ground. But the proposal was intriguing for a demand it did not contain: Putins resignation. Just a month earlier, Zelensky had issued a decree barring any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin was in power. Now that bar was lifted. In any case, Putin did not even bother to issue a counteroffer; he simply ignored it. He was not interested in negotiations.

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Third, Milleys remarks have been somewhat misinterpreted. One of the lines from his speech has been widely quoted: There has to be a mutual recognition that military victory is probably, in the true sense of the word, is maybe not achievable through military means. And therefore, you have to turn to other meansi.e., a diplomatic solution.

Related From Slate Why Ukraine Had to Reboot Its Summer Offensive Read More

However, the phase there has to be, read in context, did not mean there must be. Rather, Milley was stating a premise for negotiationsthat both sides have to recognize that military victory is not achievable in order for talks to begin. If both sides do not recognize this, then the war will continue.

Now, it may be that Milley foresaw that military victory was unlikely. He drew comparisons with World War I in 1915, after senior officers recognized the stalemate but combatants kept fighting anyway. Just last week, he told the Washington Post that if the goal of the war is to restore Ukraine as a free, independent, sovereign country with its territory intact, thats gonna take a long, long time, adding, You can also achieve those objectivesmaybe, possiblythrough some sort of diplomatic means.

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However, he went on to note, This counteroffensive hasnt run its course yet. So we have to see where this thing ends up and then move from there. Similarly, back in November, just after the widely (mis-)quoted line about whether victory was achievable, he said, Theres one guy that can stop [the war], and his name is Vladimir Putin. Until Putin decides to stop it and accepts Zelenskys five preconditions for peace, the United States is going to continue to support Ukraine in the fight for freedom.

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Even the official quoted by Politico stopped far short of declaring Milleys warningsto the extent they were warningsas prophetic. As the article summarized:

The official also stressed, however, that few believe Moscow has been at all serious about negotiations since the wars start. And no senior leader felt then, or feels now, that the counteroffensive was a mistaken play, considering how Ukraine maintains full support from the West and has had remarkable success throughout the war.

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None of this is to suggest that the war is going swimmingly for Ukraine, or that victory is achievable, or that a negotiated settlement would be a bad idea if Putin were open to one. The problem, as Milley recognized at the time of his speech and continues to recognize now, is that Putin is not open. There was no missed opportunity. There still isnt an opportunity.

The Politico article quotes another U.S. official saying the Biden Administration is increasingly asking itself this question: If we acknowledge were not going to do this forever, then what are we going to do? That is a legitimate question. From a standpoint of politics, policy, European security, and deterrence of aggression from all adversaries everywhere, it is the question on the tableand its a question that, at least in public discourse, almost everyone is evading.
James Little invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Bidens victory over Donald Trump. He later pleaded guilty but remains unrepentant, insisting that he engaged in a patriotic protest that was hijacked by antifa, Black Lives Matter, and Capitol Police as part of a setup to entrap Trump supporters. In light of his criminal conduct and ongoing lack of remorse, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Little to 60 days in prison and three years of probation. He appealed, asserting that this penalty was illegal. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed by a 21 vote, vacating his sentence.

The D.C. Circuits decision is, on its face, a win for Little and others like him. It throws a surprise wrench into the Department of Justices prosecution strategy for low-level rioters while stripping judges of the ability to impose a stint behind bars followed by long-term supervision. But the decision, if upheld, may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory for some number of Jan. 6 defendants whom it ostensibly benefits. Thats because, by abolishing the flexibility of a split sentence, it may well lead to more prison time rather than lessthe opposite of what Little and his fellow rioters seek. Still, the decision could be a disaster for the DOJ, which relied on the split-sentence possibility when making many decisions to offer plea deals to the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. If those sentences are now overturned, dozensmaybe hundredsof Jan. 6 rioters will essentially be let off the hook for their crimes.

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Little is just one of an estimated more than 2,000 people who broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6; like him, every individual who entered the building without permission violated federal law. So far, the DOJ says, it has made more than 1,106 arrests. The precise offenses of each defendant, however, vary in severity, a fact reflected in charges brought by the department. Some, like the Proud Boys, plotted and led the attack, which resulted in convictions for seditious conspiracy. Others helped to physically breach the Capitol or assault its law enforcement officers, which led to serious felony charges. But a large number of rioters obstructed the counting of electoral votes by invading and remaining in the building without engaging in overt acts of violence or vandalism.

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The DOJ charged many of these individuals with unlawfully parading or demonstrating in the Capitol, a so-called petty offense. Federal judges have frequently sentenced these rioters to a split sentence of prison and probationtypically, a short term of incarceration followed by a lengthier term of probation. The AP estimates that more than 80 rioters, about 12 percent of all Jan. 6 defendants so far, received a split sentence for this crime, with more in the pipeline. Judges favor this sentence because it imposes brief, direct punishment (prison time) as well as a longer, less intrusive restriction on liberty (probation), reducing the odds that a defendant will participate in another riot or other political violence. Most judges on the federal district court in D.C. have concluded that federal law permits this sentence; the only other court to consider the issue, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, declared that such a sentence is unquestionably permitted.

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It was startling, then, when a D.C. Circuit panel overturned this reading of the law on Friday. The majority opinion, written by Judge Justin Walker (a Trump appointee) and joined by Judith Rogers (a Bill Clinton appointee), is tough to follow and harder to swallow. It revolves around the federal statute that limits probation to certain defendants. (Most defendants receive supervised release rather than probation, though the difference is not relevant here.) The statute says a defendant can be sentenced to probation unless he is sentenced at the same time to a term of imprisonment for the same or a different offense that is not a petty offense. Those last six words are key: They tell courts, as a rule, not to impose probation if a defendant has been sentenced to prisonbut that this rule does not apply to petty offenses. Walker resisted this conclusion by detaching the word same from the remainder of the sentence. Under his reading, a court may impose prison and probation for two different petty offenses, but not for the same petty offense. Thats a real problem for federal prosecutors, who have relied extensively on plea deals featuring the single count of unlawful demonstration in the Capitol. At least 967 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining on restricted Capitol grounds, though many of those cases include other counts as well.

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As Judge Robert Wilkins, a Barack Obama appointee, noted in dissent, the majoritys interpretation overrides the natural and common reading of the statutory text. The statute tells courts that they need not choose either punishment or rehabilitation for petty offenses; they can impose both through a short prison sentence plus probation. Walkers reading, Wilkins wrote, compels judges to violate a bedrock mandate of sentencing law, creating an inexplicable incongruity that contradicts Congress clear intent.

The only remotely plausible justification for this departure from the text would be an application of the rule of lenity, which holds that an ambiguous criminal law should be interpreted in favor of leniency. That may be the case for Little, who already served his 60-day sentence and will now ask Lamberth to end his probation. For other defendants, though, the decision will not lead to more lenient outcomes. Thats because judgesunable to tack on probation to a short prison stintmay instead opt for lengthier prison sentences. (Lamberth, like his colleagues on the D.C. district court, has been vocal about the need for prison time to drive home a lesson about the consequences of political violence.) In Littles case, that would have been six months in prison rather than 60 days.

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Moreover, the DOJ is not going offer any more single-count, split-sentence plea agreements; it now has every incentive to insist upon two or more counts to preserve the option of prison and probation. Prosecutors will, as a result, be far less likely to settle for a plea deal with the lone count of unlawful demonstration in the Capitol. They have a much greater incentive to secure at least two counts so judges can impose probation atop prison time. And multiple counts, of course, empower judges to hand down longer sentences.

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Its possible that the full D.C. Circuit could reverse Walkers decision if asked to rule en banc, though thats not at all inevitable. Rogers is an idiosyncratic jurist, but she does lean left, and the D.C. Circuits other liberals may take her vote to mean that the majority position has merit. If the full court fails to act, the Supreme Court might decide to wade into the morass of Jan. 6 sentencingor dodge the issue, forcing the DOJ to accept defeat and refine its strategy. That will translate into stricter plea deals with multiple counts and, quite possibly, lengthier prison sentences for low-level rioters. Which means that despite Littles ostensible victory, the biggest losers here may be the Jan. 6 defendants themselves.
Among the many alleged co-conspirators accused in Fulton County, Georgia, last week of helping Donald Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 election, two stand out: Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

Both are attorneys who were once competent and reasonably well respected. Both urged Trump to continue fighting to remain in office even as his other allies were abandoning that possibilityarguably making them the two people, besides Trump himself, without whom Jan. 6 wouldnt have taken place. And they are both members of the baby boom generation who exemplify its disproportionate willingness to read and share completely made-up things on the internet.

By mid-December 2020, most figures in the Republican Party, and even within Trumps own campaign and administration, had accepted the results of the November election. Thenattorney general William Barr told an Associated Press reporter on Dec. 1 that the Department of Justice had not found evidence of widespread voter fraud. On Dec. 15, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell signaled his position by congratulating Joe Biden on becoming the next president. According to testimony given to the Houses Jan. 6 committee, Trumps campaign managers, campaign lawyers, and White House lawyers all told him at various points that the allegations on which he was basing his contention that the election was rigged against him could not be substantiated and/or were bullshit (Barrs phrasing, according to his testimony).

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Giuliani and Powell did not agree with that assessment. They could not get enough of the bullshit. More bullshit, they said! Lets bring it all to the Supreme Court!

Giuliani had endorsed Trump during the 2016 primary, then served in a kind of loose lawyer/fixer role for him during his first term, most notably by attempting to persuade the Ukrainian government to announce a corruption investigation into Hunter and Joe Biden. Powell became part of Trumps orbit because he liked her appearances on Lou Dobbs Fox Business talk show; she represented former national security adviser Michael Flynn while he was being prosecuted for lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russias ambassador to the U.S.

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After the 2020 election, Giuliani and Powell helped launch a legal and political campaign on Trumps behalf that was independent of the work being done by the lawyers for his 2020 campaign and the White House counsels office. While Trumps campaign attorneys generally challenged the validity of state-level voting results and election procedures without alleging fraud, Giuliani and Powell conducted a parallel effort in imaginaryland.

Most prominently, they were two main speakers at an instantly legendary Nov. 18 press conference during which a black streak began to leak down the side of Giulianis face while Powell alleged that the voting machine company Dominion, along with the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and the government of Cuba, had collaborated to rig ballot counts in Bidens favor using a sinister algorithm. Giuliani said, at the same press conference, that he could smell crime but that so much of it had taken place during the election that he didnt even need his sense of smell to prove it.

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Their detective work didnt end there. Giuliani toured the country to meet with Republican legislators in swing states that Biden had won, hoping to persuade them to invalidate results. In Michigan, he said voting data may have been routed (for purposes of fraud, obviously) through Frankfurt, Germany, and Barcelona, Spain. In Georgia, he claimed that two election workers in Atlanta had been caught on video handling USB ports that they were using to change votes. (He meant USB drives, but in any case was misidentifying what the workers in question say was actually a ginger mint.) He also introduced Georgia lawmakers to a lawyer who said shed identified footage of suitcases stuffed with fake ballots being taken out from under a table at a vote-counting center. (They were normal crates filled with real ballots.)

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Powell filed a lawsuit in Georgia that claimed, among other things, that Dominion was founded by oligarchs and dictators (it was founded in Canada by a guy working in his basement), that it has financial ties to China and Iran (no), that it was owned by another voting machine company called Smartmatic (no), and that it has an office in Germany (nein). On Dec. 18, she, Giuliani, Flynn, andfor some reasonthe former CEO of Overstock.com were able to secure an unscheduled meeting with Trump at the White House at which they showed him evidence that Nest-brand thermostats had been used to hack election data. They also asked Trump to appoint Powell as a special counsel who would have the authority to order the military to seize voting machines, and called the White House attorneys pussies and quitters. Early the next morning, Trump sent a tweet urging his supporters to gather at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Be there, will be wild! it said.

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Many of the claims presented by Giuliani and Powell in these endeavors filtered into circulation through the internet and the right-wing news networks that treat unverified online claims as factual information. Some of the ornate claims regarding Dominion, for example, appear to have originated on 8kun, the message board that also birthed the QAnon conspiracy theory. Other conspiracy theories were promoted by the far-right network OAN, which in its broadcasts takes unsubstantiated posts from message boards and social media accounts and describes them as reports. The notion of suspicious servers located in Germany and Spain appears to have begun on Twitter and was amplified on the Gateway Pundit site; claims about the Georgia suitcases and poll workers circulated on Instagram, Facebook, and Gateway Pundit and were discussed on right-wing cable networks, including OAN and Fox. Some of Powells claims, litigation pursued by Dominion later revealed, originated in an email that was sent to her directly by a woman in Minnesota who says she gathers information by speaking to dead people and the wind.

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Giuliani and Powell were both familiar, at some point, with standards for what constitutes credible evidencenot just in public discourse but in court. Giuliani attended the New York University School of Law and was a successful federal prosecutor. Powell made local news in her native North Carolina for the speed with which she graduated from the University of North Carolina and its law school, and then she became a federal prosecutor herself. At one point, she was the president of the federal 5th Circuits bar association.

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They are also members of the demographic group that has been most disoriented by the rise of social media and unreliable (or completely fraudulent) news sources. Comedy writer Daniel Kibblesmith put it thus in a 2016 tweet that has only gained poignance with the passage of time:

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Your parents in 1996: Don't trust ANYONE on the Internet.



Your parents in 2016: Freedom Eagle dot Facebook says Hillary invented AIDS.  Daniel Kibblesmith (@kibblesmith) November 19, 2016

(Reached by email, Kibblesmith wrote, I dont think of it as being especially prescient, because the reason it took off is that we were fully already there. The fact that Im still getting notifications about a seven year old tweet does confirm that we havent begun addressing the problem at all.)

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Generation-wide stereotypes arent always based on robust, peer-reviewed data, but research supports this one. One academic study found that individuals 65 and older who used Twitter were twice as likely to see fake news from sites like Alex Jones InfoWars as those age 18 to 29, for example. Another found that individuals 65 and older shared seven times as many fake-news links as those 18 to 29. One explanation thats been suggested for this phenomenon is the general susceptibility of older adults to memory problems; another is digital illiteracy created by the late adoption of computers and smartphones. (A wide majority of older Facebook users dont realize that an algorithm customizes their feed for them; a third believe that posts are selected by journalists and editors that work for Facebook. If only, folks!) Other studies have found that conservative-skewing falsehoods online are more abundant than liberal ones and that individuals who lean conservative and have hostile feelings toward social and political institutions are more likely to share them.

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Giuliani and Powell are basically the prototypical Freedom Eagle dot Facebook readers. Theyre older; theyre conservative; they enjoy being online. Theyve also both been gradually alienated from institutions that once celebrated them. Giuliani was arguably at one point the most respected person in the United States, and since then he has: caused major embarrassment for the George W. Bush administration by recommending that nowconvicted felon Bernard Kerik become the secretary of homeland security; run a failed presidential campaign; been rejected by Trump for a role in his own Cabinet; and gotten into what appears to be serious financial trouble because of his legal bills. According to a 2020 Washington Post profile, Powells career began swerving toward the fringe when she defended a bank executive accused of fraud related to the Enron collapse; she came to believe that the Department of Justice, where shed once worked, had conspired against her client. That perspective gradually escalated to the belief that the DOJ is part of a string-pulling deep state apparatus that extends, apparently, across the world.

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And then theres Trump, whose entire biography has been interpreted by some as a campaign against wealthy Manhattan blue bloods and other cultural elites who treated him as a gauche tabloid novelty. His own social media feed is a fire hose of conspiracies. In a way, its his insistence on the supremacy of the credulous, angry, and incessant right-wing online experience that will be on trial in Georgia (and in the District of Columbia, where special counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with, among other things, disseminating false claims about the election).

Although online disorientation may be disproportionately experienced by baby boomers, we would be remiss (and liable to hearing about it from our older relatives) not to acknowledge that each member of that generation is their own individual person, that manyso many!are capable of separating fact from wishful thinking, and that some have never even heard of the Gateway Pundit.

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Some, indeed, are greatly enjoying the Trump indictments. Those would be the Resistance Libsthe counter-movement of boomers whove responded to Trumps presidency and alleged criminality by binging on left-leaning media outlets, fetishizing their supposed objectivity, and arguing with their right-wing age group peers in social media reply threads across the country. Its the salad days for those folks.

Resist libs are cooking with induction pic.twitter.com/L6Xai93BS0  Arsenal of Dememecracy (@gaymergir) August 15, 2023

One can only imagine how heated things will get in the livestream comments section of a televised Georgia Trump trial, should they be able to figure out how to use it. (Joking, joking.) Lets get ready to rumble!
Last week, following the deadly fires that ripped through Maui, a blurry photo circulated on social media showing a massive explosion lighting up a horizon at dusk. From the flames, a beam of light ascends into the sky. Or, according to conspiracy theorists, it descends from the sky.

In an Aug. 11 Instagram video, a man who claimed that his friend in Hawaii had sent him the photo makes clear what he thinks is going on here. This was a direct energy weapon assault, he says, coming out of the sky, directly targeting the city.

In other words: The space laser conspiracy theory is back.

Made famous outside the tinfoil hat world by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2018, when she speculated that the devastating Camp Fire in California was caused by a space solar generator possibly backed by the Rothschilds, the space laser conspiracy theory holds, in various iterations, that some of the deadliest fires in recent history were ignited by a villainous shadow entitysometimes its the government; sometimes its elites. Direct energy weapons, or focused beams of intense energy that are firedin the conspiracy theory version of eventsfrom satellites, are usually cited as the means of attack.

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Direct energy weapons, as a category, are not entirely science fiction; governments are currently looking into ways to potentially use this kind of technology in combat. But the types of attacks depicted in viral videos that have circulated after devastating fires are pure fantasy. As PolitiFact found in its fact-check of this particular image, the photo is 5 years old. Back in 2018, Snopes reported that it came from a controlled burn at an oil refinery in Ohio in which the cold weather led to a phenomenon known as a light pillar.

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It doesnt matter to internet detectives that the video is old. Or that another popular piece of evidence for the existence and use of direct energy weapons in Mauia video of beams of eerie green lights floating over the Hawaiian mountain Mauna Keawas captured in January and likely came from a satellite. Or that a third video cited by space laser conspiracy theorists is actually a time-lapse image of a 2019 SpaceX launch. Theyre connecting the dots anyway.

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It may seem fringe, but the myth of space lasersand other related conspiracy theorieshas found real traction in this case, dominating online discussions of the tragedy. Popular YouTube hosts, like right-winger Tim Pool, are pushing it, as is NewsMaxs Greg Kelly, who said: This was a forest fire? Im sorryit doesnt look like one to me.  There are a lot of strange patterns that people are noticing. I dont think we have the full story yet. Some of the videos and posts showing evidence for the conspiracy theories have racked up tens of millions of views. (Authorities still dont know exactly how the Maui fire started, but it seems likely that it was caused by a downed power line.)

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In the various iterations of space laser conspiracy theories, motives and villains vary. Some conspiracy theorists have fixated on the trees that didnt burn and the boats that did, ignoring the very normal science that explains this phenomenon. (Wet trees have more protection than dry wood; winds carry embers to boats that also have flammable fuel.) A few of the theories posit, baselessly, that a space laser was used for depopulation effortsas in, indiscriminate murderand that it specifically targeted native Hawaiians. But two very specific angles eventually rose to dominate the discourse last week.

First, theres the Oprah theory. This one posits that Oprah Winfreys recent purchase of land in Maui seems to indicate that she had someone start the fires for some sort of real estate benefit. A tweet to this effect (Oprah Winfrey Has Been Buying Up Land in Maui Like Crazy  WAKE UP!!!!!!) has netted more than 12 million views. More generically, this theory can be expanded to include the idea that celebrities and elites conspired to raze Lahaina for their own investment and vacation home interests.

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Then theres the smart city theory. This one argues that someonetech investors or Hawaii government officials, perhapswanted to burn Lahaina down to rebuild it as a smart city. As the conspiracy theorists imagine it, it would be rebuilt as a high-tech metropolis in which everyone is tracked and monitored and movement is restricted. One popular video stated, incorrectly, that the island had recently held a smart city conference to turn Maui into an entire smart island, changing everything to electric, renewables, solar panels, and pushing everybody into electric vehicles. (In reality, an information technology conference held in Hawaii in January dealt with general IT issues; a planned September digital government summit, which will be in Oahu, will not have any panels related to making smart cities in Maui.)

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Both of these theories tap into real anxieties largely related to the understandable fear of outside investors and developers preying on tragedy. Hawaii is a profoundly expensive state for real estate, and many locals are being priced out of their homes. Its already being reported that developers are approaching residents about buying their burned properties. So when Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in an interview that the state could buy land in Lahaina to protect it from outside developers, and people on social media spread an out-of-context clip implying the opposite, it fueled rage and panic.

Related From Slate Maui Has an Impossible Choice to Make About Its Future Read More

In a rant on YouTube that went viral, the comedian and conspiracy theorist Russell Brand actually articulated well why those who subscribe to the space laser theory in regards to Maui might believe it. (He bordered on condoning the misinformation, though he did not fully endorse the conspiracy theory.) If major outside investors end up financially benefiting from the disaster, he argued, then the conspiracy theory is almost a redundant detail.

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Did they start it? Didnt they start it? Is it inevitable that the suffering of ordinary people leads to the benefit of rich elites and massive organizations? he asked (while also dropping hints of separate conspiracy theories about the financial institution BlackRock and the billionaire Bill Gates). Doesnt it all feel like a kind of macro-conspiracy thats so diffuse, institutional, oddly abstracted, and bureaucratically opaque that sometimes you just want to simplify it into They started this firethey started it with a laser from space?

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Whether its true or not, it feels true, and in terms of results, it is kind of true, he added. There is a conspiracy to keep you poor and benefit rich elites.

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Brand, while dismissing the very serious harms of misinformation, is incidentally pointing at a deeper reason these conspiracy theories have taken root. He is ignoring the antisemitism of conspiracy theories about Jewish elites, the political dangers of conspiracy theories such as QAnon, and the harm that can be effected at an immediate and practical level if victims lose trust in the institutions that supply aid. (In Maui, authorities have been desperately fighting the spread of theories about federal assistance and FEMA.) But his articulation that there is widespread desire among many to make sense of an unfair world by pinning it on a simple human villainy is not wrong.

During the deadly Camp Fire in 2018, when the space laser theory first took hold, the West Coast was facing a wave of dangerous fires, all fed by a changing climate. The Camp Fire was the deadliest fire in the U.S. in a centurya record setter eclipsed only by the recent blaze in Lahaina. The conditions that allowed the fire to spread included dry vegetation and drought conditions (Hawaii has microclimates, including dry ones) and powerful winds. Climate change likely made things worse.

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But there are other real, human-caused problems in Hawaii that could breed distrust of an official narrative without a clear-cut, singular villain. As the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports, Maui is very susceptible to climate gentrification, a process in which locals are driven out after climate-related natural disasters. Wildfires have grown not only more frequent but also significantly larger in recent years, the Star-Advertiser notes. It may feel true that there is a conspiracy against people without power, as Brand put it, even if the details are fictional.

And with something as massive and existentially threateningbut diffuseas climate change, we can expect to see more and more efforts to blame a human face or evil intent for disasters, a way to make them make sense. (Its not incidental that the man in the Aug. 11 Instagram video about space lasers warned: The mainstream media is going to say that this is climate change and that we need to do better.) As one firefighter based in Oahu said in a TikTok video, conspiracy theories about wildfires used to be unheard of; in the past five years, theyve become commonplace.
Over 30 Outreach Partners Have Joined Gloo to Connect More People to Local Ministries Faith-based partners that create transformational experiences through live events, online content experiences are using Gloo to keep people connected and on a journey through local ministries



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Aug. 22, 2023



BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 /



Outreach partners are individuals or organizations that focus on creating transformational experiences for people and helping them grow. Partners span a spectrum of approaches, from worship concert experiences and radio ministries to digital and print advertising and online ministry outreach. "Partners are incredible at meeting and serving people right where they are," said Devon Kline, director of the Gloo Explorer Connection Platform. "But after people experience that spark, they are often ready to go deeper. It's not always sustainable for outreach partners to keep the relationship going. But for local ministries  that's exactly what they were made to do."



The Gloo platform enables these connections between "explorers," outreach partner experiences, and local ministries. Its match technology pairs explorers with local ministries so they can get connected and ultimately get the help they are looking for. So far, Gloo has connected over 250,000 explorers with local ministries.



"Every ministry has its own unique calling, mission, talents, and strengths. When it comes to co-serving one person along a growth journey, we're seeing outreach partners and local ministries coming together to do that holistically. It's incredible to see the 'Big C' Church working together in this way," said Kline.



She added: "But at the heart of this story is the person stepping forward asking to get connected. They're the unsung heroes here. It takes a lot of courage to step forward and ask for help. With over 250,000 explorers connected to local ministries, we start to see collective might at work."



Outreach partners using Gloo connect across a diverse group of explorers and include the



Lucas Tuttle, a director with Life Promotions, which produces the well-known



Gloo continues to expand its ability to match more explorers with local ministries. As part of its expansion, Gloo is signing new outreach partners to its platform every month.



To learn more about the Gloo outreach initiative, please visit



Gloo is the trusted platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. As the leading technology innovator, Gloo connects people, partners, world-class content, funding opportunities, and more to help ministries achieve their goals and change more lives. Gloo is based in Boulder, Colorado, employing a team of more than 150 people.



SOURCE Gloo



CONTACT: Jennie Bryant,



Share Tweet NEWS PROVIDED BY Gloo

Aug. 22, 2023BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 / Christian Newswire / -- Gloo, the leading technology platform dedicated to connecting the faith ecosystem and releasing its collective might, announced that it just surpassed its 30th outreach partner, intersecting hundreds of thousands of people looking for ways to get connected to community, prayer, and help.Outreach partners are individuals or organizations that focus on creating transformational experiences for people and helping them grow. Partners span a spectrum of approaches, from worship concert experiences and radio ministries to digital and print advertising and online ministry outreach. "Partners are incredible at meeting and serving people right where they are," said Devon Kline, director of the Gloo Explorer Connection Platform. "But after people experience that spark, they are often ready to go deeper. It's not always sustainable for outreach partners to keep the relationship going. But for local ministries  that's exactly what they were made to do."The Gloo platform enables these connections between "explorers," outreach partner experiences, and local ministries. Its match technology pairs explorers with local ministries so they can get connected and ultimately get the help they are looking for. So far, Gloo has connected over 250,000 explorers with local ministries."Every ministry has its own unique calling, mission, talents, and strengths. When it comes to co-serving one person along a growth journey, we're seeing outreach partners and local ministries coming together to do that holistically. It's incredible to see the 'Big C' Church working together in this way," said Kline.She added: "But at the heart of this story is the person stepping forward asking to get connected. They're the unsung heroes here. It takes a lot of courage to step forward and ask for help. With over 250,000 explorers connected to local ministries, we start to see collective might at work."Outreach partners using Gloo connect across a diverse group of explorers and include the He Gets Us movement, Churches Care , and K-Love radio, to name a few.Lucas Tuttle, a director with Life Promotions, which produces the well-known Lifest Christian music festival, tested Gloo for himself to see if the platform could serve concertgoers looking for connection. "I scanned the test QR code and texted, 'Hey, I just accepted Christ,'" he said. "Within an hour, a church reached out to me with a beautiful message, saying, 'Hey, I'm so happy for you. Really, really excited. Can't wait to hear more about what God's doing in your life, and I just want to celebrate with you.' I knew a solution this simple could really help with our ministry."Gloo continues to expand its ability to match more explorers with local ministries. As part of its expansion, Gloo is signing new outreach partners to its platform every month.To learn more about the Gloo outreach initiative, please visit https://www.gloo.us/reach is the trusted platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. As the leading technology innovator, Gloo connects people, partners, world-class content, funding opportunities, and more to help ministries achieve their goals and change more lives. Gloo is based in Boulder, Colorado, employing a team of more than 150 people.SOURCE GlooCONTACT: Jennie Bryant, jennie.bryant@pinkston.co
The 2024 presidential campaign is finally hitting its stride, with the first Republican debate happening Wednesday night in Milwaukee. While (most) of the top contenders for the Republican nomination will hit the debate stage, there will be one towering figure noticeably absent.

Eight candidates have qualified for the debate out of the 12 Republicans who have announced theyre running for the GOP nomination. That includes Donald Trump, who is planning on skipping the Milwaukee event, despite Fox News best efforts to sway the former president into participating. Instead, Trump intends to release an exclusive interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (the timing and platform of its release arent yet known). To Trump, addressing his four current criminal indictments with his opponents on national television isnt necessary because, as he wrote on Truth Social, People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate?

Per the Republican National Committees rules, candidates have until 48 hours before Wednesdays debate to potentially qualify. And they have to meet some pretty strict requirements: a donor threshold of 40,000 individual contributors, 200 of which have to come from 20 states, and a polling threshold of at least 1 percent in three qualifying national polls, or two qualifying national polls plus qualifying polls from two early-voting statesIowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. The RNC has also tacked on a new must-have this year: Each candidate must sign a pledge to not participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate during the election cycle and to support the eventual nominee (yes, that includes Trump, who has not signed the pledge).

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With the front-runner sitting out, here is who you can expect to see on Wednesday night.

Ron DeSantis

The governor of Florida, who is Trumps biggest threat to the GOP nomination, will be front and center. Despite multiple campaign reboots, trailing Trump by 23 percentage points, and ongoing legal drama with Disney, DeSantis is expected to come out swinging against his biggest rival, the formal president Vivek Ramaswamy and President Joe Biden.

Mike Pence

The former vice president, who made several recurring appearances in Trumps third indictment by the Department of Justice thanks to his scrupulous note-taking, is currently polling at about 5 percent. Pence finally managed to meet the RNCs debate eligibility requirements despite at one point struggling to earn enough donor supporters.

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Related From Slate Donald Trump Should Turn Himself In to Jail During the GOP Debate Read More

Vivek Ramaswamy

The 37-year-old businessman and author turned presidential candidate will also be on stage Wednesday night. Hes currently polling ahead of the former vice presidentat 7 percentmaking surprising inroads among Republicans by calling himself the new daddy in town. Just days ago, the millennial candidate also stunned crowds at the Iowa State Fair by rapping Eminems Lose Yourself.

Nikki Haley

Haley will be the only woman on the stage on Wednesday. She was the first candidate to announce her campaign after Trump, but is currently polling at just about 2 percent. Shes the former governor of South Carolina and was chosen to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by the former Trump administration. Since then, shes tried to straddle the line between staying in Trumps good graces and presenting herself as a saner alternative. In the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, she went from describing Trumps involvement as making her angry and disgusted to telling Fox News the former president deserved to be given a break. What it has added up to is that her political identity has become a bit of a mystery.

Tim Scott

Currently a senator for the state of South Carolina, Scott is also the Republican Partys only Black lawmaker in the Senate. Hes a prolific fundraiser among his presidential rivals, even attracting some of Trumps former donors, yet is only currently polling at about 3 percent. Scott is also the only unmarried candidate, and famously used to proclaim his persistent virginity while running for public office.

Chris Christie

The former New Jersey governor will be debating Wednesday night as the anti-Trump candidate. He tried running for president back in 2016, and that did not go well. This time around, he intends to go full scorched-earth on Trump. While announcing his candidacy at a New Hampshire town hall, Christie described the former president as someone who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault, and who always finds someone elseand something elseto blame for whatever goes wrong, but finds every reason to take credit for anything that goes right.

Asa Hutchinson

Hutchinson is a two-term governor of Arkansas and he just barely scraped by the RNCs requirements to qualify for Wednesday night. He told CNN on Sunday that he had finally met the donor criteria, and is polling right at 1 percent. His campaign put up a fight over signing the RNCs new loyalty pledge, telling Politico they wanted the language adjusted because Hutchinson does not want to support Trump if hes a convicted felon.

Doug Burgum

Burgum is currently governor of North Dakota and acknowledged that basically nobody knows who he is. Nevertheless, hes become notorious for avoiding any questions related to Trump and for offering up gift cards to anyone who donates to his campaign, an extreme yet legal effort to qualify for the first debate.
For many sex workers, keeping money at a traditional bank is risky. According to data from the Free Speech Coalition, as many as 40 percent of people who earn money in the adult industry have lost access to a bank account in the past year.

Enter crypto. Its become popular with sex workers as an alternative to the traditional banking systems that shut them out. But now, theyre facing a familiar problem: As the U.S. government starts to crack down on the crypto industry, what was once a lifeline for sex workers is becoming more and more difficult to use.

On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Joel Khalili, a reporter at Wired, about why sex workers turned to cryptoand how crypto turned on them. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Emily Peck: To understand how sex workers came to rely on crypto, we have to go back roughly a decade. In 2013, under the Obama administration, the Department of Justice launched a program meant to fight fraud that it said was prevalent in certain industries. The initiative was known as Operation Choke Point. How did it work?

Joel Khalili: It firmly reminded banks of their duty to screen businesses from industries that are said to pose an elevated risk of fraud. Among those industries were payday lending, firearms, and pornography.

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As for Operation Choke Point 2.0, thats the crypto industry calling back to the original Operation Choke Point. Its saying that its now facing the same problems that the payday lenders, the firearm industry, and the pornography industry faced under the original Operation Choke Point.

Its basically a way to get these industries out of the mainstream by cutting off their access to banks. If you dont have access to a bank in 2023, its pretty hard to stay in business, whether youre a crypto company or a sex workerright?

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Thats it. From the crypto companys perspective, you effectively cannot operate. You cant pay your staff. You cant pay partners. You cant handle the conversion of dollars into cryptocurrency. You cannot operate without access to banking.

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What happened as a result of the first Operation Choke Point? Did people go out of business? Is that when sex workers really started to get cut off from the financial sector, from banks?

Sex workersirrespective of whether they engage in legal or illegal sex workhave found it difficult to secure banking services for decades, at least since the 1960s, around which time the pornography industry was beginning to grow at a serious clip in the U.S. Its more the case that Operation Choke Point is suspected to be among a number of events that contributed to making that problem more acute. Its largely anecdotal evidencethe industry suspects that its problems were aggravated by this initiative.

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Related From Slate The People Who Are Finding God Through, and in, Bitcoin Read More

In the U.S., full-service sex work, also known as prostitution, is illegal in every state except Nevada, but other forms of sex worklike selling nude images or broadcasting from a live camare legal. For banks, the difference doesnt seem to matter. How do banks find out when a sex worker is a sex worker?

Because of the lack of transparency surrounding the reasons for account closures, were reliant on speculation here. Sex workers believe that there could be a few different ways that a bank might catch on: a tip from an individual or an anti-pornography lobby that disapproves of what theyre doing, or perhaps its the origin of the inbound payment or the payment reference. The other possibility is that because of the nature of the work and because sex workers are perpetually concerned about losing access to their bank accounts, they tend to receive a high volume of transactions and then withdraw those funds immediately. The thinking in some corners of the adult industry is that this pattern might be looked upon by the banks, or at least the automated systems that the banks use, as a red flag perhaps indicative of criminal activity.

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But the reality is that its never really clear how the banks find out that a client works in the adult industry, and the reasons for the policy against serving people who operate in that industry.

What are the effects of being shut out of banking systems?

This is a bit of a sliding scale. Not having access to banking and payment services can create small issues, small frictions in your life. It means that you cant split a bill with your friends after dinner. It raises questions: Why dont you have access to Cash App? Why dont you have access to Venmo? Perhaps the people that youre socializing with arent aware of your line of business, and thats not something that youre planning on disclosing.

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And then on the complete other end of the spectrum, it can create really dangerous situations whereby you become dependent on other people for access to financial services. Whether thats a partner, a friend, or whoever else, if you need to rely on them to custody your wealth, that creates opportunity for abuse. It creates dangerous situations.

One source that I spoke to was pointing to the irony of all of this, which is that the policy of the banks, at least at face value, is that they refuse to bank members of the sex work community in order to limit the risk of sex trafficking. Without access to banking services, you leave sex workers in a position where theyre much more likely to be sex trafficked, because control over someones finances is one of the chief mechanisms by which someone is able to exert control over someone thats being trafficked.

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In the years after Operation Choke Point, crypto offered sex workers a way around the traditional finance sector. Data from Sex Work CEO, a site that provides resources to sex workers, suggests that as many as a third of all sex workers in the U.S. now accept crypto payments. Why is crypto an attractive alternative?

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It handles the first leg of the journey really well, the payment by a client to a sex worker. Its great for the client because they dont have to supply personal information. They dont end up with an incriminating transaction reference on their bank statement. Its great for sex workers because they can receive payment directly to a cryptocurrency wallet without incurring the fees levied by the platforms, but also without interacting with the banking system that refuses to serve them. If you dont have a bank account, this is a way for a client to continue to pay you.

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Additionally, because crypto transactions by nature cannot be reversed in the same way as credit card payment, it also liberates sex workers from that risk of chargebacks, this process whereby a payment is taken back after a client raises a dispute with their card provider. Often at the point the dispute is raised, theyve already received the content provided by the sex worker.

What happens when sex workers need to convert their crypto into cash?

The trouble kind of begins when it comes time to move from crypto into a currency that you can use to pay for rent, for groceries, for whatever else. One way of doing that would be to go via crypto exchange. Youre paid directly in cryptocurrency by your client. You take that cryptocurrency to an exchange, and then you convert your crypto into dollars and cash out. The problem is that there are scenarios in which exchanges are closing the accounts of sex workers.

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There are also cases when its actually impossible to cash out by exchange precisely because their bank account has been closed. In both of those scenarios, you have a situation in which someone is stranded with a form of currency that cant be used to pay for things. Meanwhile, the banks are increasingly unwilling to work with crypto businesses in the wake of the fall of FTX last November. And that means that the crypto businesses that popped up to make this whole process easier for sex workers arent able to operate because they cant maintain the banking relationships of their own.

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In the case of crypto, the regulatory future is pretty murky. But theres legal and illegal sex work. If the work is legal, shouldnt people have access to the financial system?

This is the argument of the advocacy groups. Frequently, the line among advocacy groups is that all sex work should be decriminalized. By criminalizing a portion of sex work and not criminalizing the other, the argument goes that you create opportunity for a broad-brush approach. It doesnt matter if part of it is legal and part of it not, because the whole industry will be treated as if its illegal.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
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Three-time former prime minister Robert Fico and his populist Smer party routinely warn that Slovakia's early election set for September will be manipulated, despite offering no evidence. Last week Fico went even further.

Theres a coup happening in Slovakia, he claimed during a press conference headlined Police Coup on August 17. The situation is changing six weeks before the election.

The opposition leader hardened his rhetoric almost a week after Tibor Gaspar, a police chief from the era of Smer governments who was forced to step down following mass protests after the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018, was detained for two days and charged with corruption. Accused of organised crime, corruption and abuse of power in two other high-profile cases, Gaspar spent a year in custody in 2021.

Today, the former top police officer is number nine on the election slate for Smer, which has been leading opinion polls since March. The liberal Progresivne Slovensko party is the only other party to come close.

Smer is far from being the only party claiming without evidence that the parliamentary election set for September 30 will be rigged. The extremist Republika, Hlas and Slovak National (SNS) parties have adopted similar narratives. They promise to conduct parallel vote counting on the day of the election to prevent irregularities.

While Republika and Hlas hold seats in the current parliament and are expected to win seats in the next one, the SNS, led by Andrej Danko, a former parliamentary speaker who admires both Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban, currently has no seats in parliament, though its rise in the polls in the past three months has put it at or just above the 5-percent threshold.

Like Gaspar and Fico, Danko and Hlas leader Peter Pellegrini, who left Smer in 2020, have declared that the arrest of Smers number nine candidate was designed to influence the election.

Smer leader Robert Fico poses in front of a camera with a supporter during a Smer gathering in August 2023. (Source: TASR - Frantisek Ivan)

Reflecting its status as one of the most conspiracy-prone nations in the region, up to 53 percent of Slovaks agreed in May that the September election could be manipulated, the Central European Digital Media Observatory found. But according to an AKO poll the following month, peoples fear of a rigged election stood at 36.2 percent, down by 4.9 percentage points from April. The fear is, nevertheless, much higher among supporters of Smer, Republika and SNS, comfortably more than half of whom say they expect there to be manipulation.

Fico has already named those whom he alleges are behind the supposed attempts to rig the election and defeat Smer: 93-year-old Hungarian-American financier George Soros, organisations funded by him, and President Zuzana Caputova. The latter, at least according to Fico, is a puppet controlled by Soros, who is a favourite bogeyman for conspiracy theorists worldwide.

Big money from Soros has been invested here so that Fico will be defeated, the ex-prime minister recently claimed, referring to himself in the third person. He warned of more attacks on the opposition that would help Progresivne Slovensko, of which Caputova used to be a member before she became president. Goals are precisely set, he said.

Caputova denied that either she or the interim technocratic government were behind Gaspars arrest or any other, previous or future, police operation. She further rejected the claim that she wants to destroy the opposition.

Regardless, Fico continued his attacks on the president. You have started a war that you can never win, and you will end up very badly, the Smer leader said on Thursday.

Accused Smer politician and former police chief Tibor Gaspar.

Hungary accused of interference in campaign

The arrest of Gaspar also caught the attention of Hungarys foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto. The very next day, the Hungarian politician claimed on social media that the international liberal mainstream is preying on politicians like Gaspar and Donald Trump because they defend conservative values and national interests.

It does not shy away from any kind of harsh intervention, the deployment of police and judicial tools, if it feels its power is in danger, Szijjarto said on August 12.

His state secretary Tamas Menczer later chimed in, stating ironically: It is obviously, completely accidental that the politician had to be arrested 48 days before the election.

Several Slovak politicians  including some from Slovakias Hungarian minority  and MEPs condemned Szijjarto for his criticism of the Slovak police and accused him of meddling in the countrys election campaign. Some went further and demanded Hungarian ambassador Csaba Balogh be summoned to the Foreign Ministry to explain the latest comments by the head of Hungarian diplomacy, which came less than a month after Balogh had to explain Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans characterisation of Slovakia as Hungarys breakaway territory in comments during a festival in Romania.

Fico, an admirer of the nationalist-populist Orban and a potential ally for Hungary, which is currently isolated in the EU, was not among the critics. I want to congratulate Minister Szijjarto on how well he described the situation, Fico said at a press conference on August 13.

Unlike Gaspar, who has since been released on bail and denies the charges against him, Fico and his political ally and ex-interior minister Robert Kalinak had organised crime charges  these concerned the alleged procurement and misuse of sensitive tax data against their political opponents  controversially scrapped by the General Prosecutors Office last year. The office has been criticised, and seen its reputation tarnished, after overturning numerous decisions by line prosecutors and investigators in sensitive cases over the past three years. To do this it has used Section 363 of the Criminal Code, which grants the general prosecutor extraordinary powers but had previously been little-used. It was employed yet again earlier this month to dismiss another corruption charge against Robert Kalinak.

Police chief Stefan Hamran. (Source: TASR - Jakub Kotian)

Today, Fico also claims that the National Crime Agency (NAKA) and the Special Prosecutors Office will try to charge Kalinak and himself, as well as intervene against prosecutors from the General Prosecutors Office and regional prosecutors, in the lead-up to the election. Last week, he predicted that Michal Alac, head of Slovakias main intelligence agency (SIS), would also face charges.

And in this, Fico was right.

Top security service bosses charged; Fico sees a coup

A week after Gaspars arrest, on August 17, NAKA charged six more people with obstructing investigations into prominent corruption cases  mostly those from Ficos time in office  involving organised crime and the abuse of power.

Among those charged are Alac and his predecessor Vladimir Pcolinsky. The latter faces a corruption charge. Both men, Pcolinsky and Alac, were nominated for the top spy post by Sme Rodina. Led by Speaker Boris Kollar, this populist party was part of the OLaNO-led governments of the past three years. OLaNO has long called itself an anti-corruption movement.

The current head of the National Security Authority (NBU), Roman Konecny, is also facing charges. The NBU is tasked with the protection of classified information and cybersecurity.

Although the police have been inspired by Biblical references when naming high-profile corruption cases in recent years  for instance Purgatory and Ezekiel  the police did not follow this pattern in their latest operation. Instead, they called it Conflict Unravelling, implying an end to the much-discussed internal war thats been going on within the police service.

Dating back to 2021, this struggle chiefly concerns a conflict between two bodies: NAKA, which falls under the police and investigates serious crime, and the Interior Ministrys police inspectorate, which looks into police misconduct. Prosecutors, the SIS, and even politicians have also been caught up in the war.

The conflict revolves around investigations into corruption and organised crime. Several former high-ranking police, SIS and tax authority officials from the time when Smer was in power have admitted to corruption and decided to cooperate with NAKA. A case in point: Purgatory, the most notorious high-profile case of all, is looking into allegations that Gaspar and his relative and oligarch Norbert Bodor created an organised crime group within the police, manipulated the investigation of various cases, and bribed police officers.

A Security Council meeting on August 18, 2023. (Source: Facebook/President Zuzana Caputova)

Subsequently, based on a leaked confidential SIS report from 2021, the police inspectorate accused several NAKA investigators grouped around senior investigator Jan Curilla, who were dealing with Smer-linked criminal cases, of the manipulation of cooperating defendants. The report cited no evidence.

The investigators around Curilla still, technically, face abuse-of-power charges, despite a Bratislava court having stated in a ruling that they are unjustified. Whether the Bratislava prosecutor will actually file charges with the court, based on about 7,000 hours of wiretapped recordings from the office of the charged NAKA investigators and imprecise transcripts, is expected to be announced before the parliamentary election.

Fico has long claimed that all the ongoing investigations linked to Smer are being manipulated.

Political analyst Jozef Lenc from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University notes that these investigations and prosecutions are unlikely to have any impact on Smer voters. They believe that the prosecuted Smer politicians and candidates are victims of opposition persecution, he explains.

Fico regularly questions the credibility of cooperating defendants, and uses edited audio files and transcripts at press conferences to discredit potential witnesses, the special prosecutors and the accused NAKA investigators.

A group of criminals at NAKA and prosecutors from the Special Prosecutors Office have participated in the liquidation of the opposition since 2020, Fico repeated last week. In 2020, OLaNO won the election and promised to untie the hands of the police so it could investigate high-level corruption.

Fico added that, in addition to the accused investigators and special prosecutors, Progresivne Slovensko and Zuzana Caputova have benefited from these supposed attacks on the opposition.

The Smer leader has suggested that the accused NAKA investigators might disclose who gave the orders to act against the opposition as soon as they read the indictments against them. This [disclosure] is a tragedy that they [Caputova, special prosecutors, political opponents] could not imagine, Fico said, claiming that the president and Progresivne Slovensko are now trying not only to destroy Smer to win the election, but also to take over all branches of the security services to keep themselves out of trouble.

Smer politicians Robert Kalinak (l) and Robert Fico (r) hold a press conference to criticise recent police operations on August 17, 2023. Demokrati MP Juraj Seliga stands in the foreground to attack Smer. (Source: SITA - Diana Cernak)

As for the latest police intervention, Fico described it as one desperate attempt by the president and the entire gang to change the situation before the parliamentary election.

Consequently, Fico has demanded the removal of police chief Stefan Hamran, whom he called an untouchable Indian holy cow protected by the president. Hamran was appointed police chief by OLaNO. Smer and its allies allege he has links to Progresivne Slovensko, based on a 2019 photo that shows Hamran with the partys then leader, Michal Truban.

Mystery meeting and Ficos letter to NATO

Caputova, who has announced she will not seek re-election in 2024, also called on Slovak citizens to join electoral ward election commissions and check the progress of the September election amid the claims about stolen elections coming from populists and extremists.

Various mechanisms and some 6,000 electoral ward election commissions make vote rigging virtually impossible in Slovakia, experts say.

Even so, Smer politicians maintained in May that somebody from the then-government sent a group of 25 Slovaks, ranging from public servants to NGO workers, to Brussels in mid-April to ask EU and NATO representatives to intervene in the upcoming election and against the Slovak opposition. The party said it had obtained unofficial documents from the Defence Ministry that back up its claims on what it calls the Slovak Watergate scandal. Fico also suspects the involvement of President Caputova, as the then-Eduard Heger government was an interim one and did not possess full competences.

Yet the truth was more prosaic: it turned out that those people had attended a seminar on disinformation and hybrid threats, and asked the EU and NATO representatives to provide Slovakia with counter-hybrid support teams.

In early June, Fico also spied a problem in a planned NATO public awareness campaign, Why Ukraine Matters, which was supposed to highlight the importance of NATO for the security of Slovakia. Fico wrote a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in which he claimed that the campaign could be considered an intervention in the election campaign to damage the opposition, as it targets Smer voters who may have a view on the war in Ukraine different from NATOs. Smer does not support military support for Ukraine. Therefore, Fico asked NATO to postpone the campaign until after the election.

President Zuzana Caputova and PM Ludovit Odor during a press briefing on August 18, 2023. (Source: TASR - Jaroslav Novak)

Fico has been talking of manipulated elections since March. He claimed back then that the possibility of falsifying the results of parliamentary elections is imminent. The threat is three times higher than six months ago, he alleged at the weekend.

Yet Smer has also been on the receiving end of this conspiracy theory. The former defence minister Jaroslav Nad (Demokrati) in late May spoke of a potentially rigged election after a Slovak citizen reportedly travelled to Moscow to collect money to be spent on the manipulation of elections in favour of Smer. Nad has not since provided any more details, because, he says, its classified information.

Smer inevitably denied the allegation, with Fico laughing it off, claiming that Vladimir Putin had called him and asked him how many percentage points Smer needed to win the election. I told him, There is no need, we will rig it ourselves but a few million euros would come in handy, joked Fico.

Daniel Milo, head of the Interior Ministrys Centre for Countering Disinformation, told Aktuality.sk that election fraud is a very dangerous topic. In its 2022 report on disinformation, the police noted that Slovakia could see riots similar to the ones seen in the US in January 2021 after the September election.

In the event of dissatisfaction by a certain part of the political spectrum, the results of the election may be questioned, which could turn into organised riots and attacks on state institutions, Milo said.

This story was produced in partnership with Reporting Democracy, a cross-border journalism platform run by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
Smer and Hlas want Slovakia to stay in NATO.

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Milan Uhrik, leader of the far-right party Republika, has said that they plan to initiate a referendum on Slovakia leaving NATO in the coming four years.

He stated the aforementioned during a TV interview last weekend.

The party, which has steady support among voters and is projected to win parliamentary seats after early elections scheduled for September 30, has long been said to become a coalition partner of one of the two parties after the election, Smer and Hlas.

Republika considers the Alliance to be a relic of the Cold War and calls for neutrality following Austrias example.

Smer and Hlas reject anti-NATO referendum

Hlas, which has come third in recent public opinion polls, has said that it would not enter a coalition with Republika due to its ambition to hold an anti-NATO referendum.

With this August 20 statement by the Republika leader, we can definitively declare that Hlas will never join any electoral coalition with this political party, Hlas leader Peter Pelllegrini said, as quoted by the TASR news agency.

In May, he claimed that there would not occur a situation in which Hlas would have to form a government with Republika.

As for Smer leader Robert Fico, whose party leads public opinion polls, he claims that Slovakias foreign policy orientation must be preserved, as reported by TASR.

We must fulfil the obligations arising from our membership [in international organisations], Fico said, adding that Smer does not agree with the recommendation of spending more than 2 percent of GDP on defence.

However, he did not rule out that Smer would hold talks with Republika if the far-right party made it to parliament.

I will neither exclude nor confirm anyone, he said.

Neutrality would cost more, ministry says

In response to Republikas ambition, the Defence Ministry said that a neutrality scenario would be a direct threat to Slovakias security and its existence.

Russia allowed itself to attack Ukraine because it was neutral and was not directly protected by the Alliance, noted the Defence Ministry. It also cited the events of 1968 in Czechoslovakia when the Warsaw Pact troops invaded the country.

The ministry went on to remind Republika that neutrality would cost Slovakia much more than NATO membership, giving Switzerland as an example. Switzerland, the ministry said, spends 6 billion on defence.
The opposition claims that cooperating defendant Bernard Slobodnik is being manipulated by the police.

Former National Crime Agency official Bernard Slobodnik in court on August 21, 2023 in Banska Bystrica. (Source: Jan Kroslak)

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The Specialised Criminal Court judge has approved a plea agreement in the case of former top police official Bernard Slobodnik.

On Monday, Slobodnik was found guilty of accepting a bribe in three different cases. He committed them as a public official, the SITA news agency wrote.

Arrested in 2020, he had been at the helm of the National Financial Police Unit of the National Crime Agency. Today, Slobodnik is a cooperating defendant, admits to committing crimes and convicting other persons such as former police chief and Smer politician Tibor Gaspar and former special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik.

I'm very sorry and regret the actions I have taken, said Slobodnik on August 21.

The court ordered a prison sentence of three years with a conditional suspension of four years. At the same time, Slobodnik cannot meet certain people and is prohibited from holding public functions for five years.

Opposition attacks at Slobodnik

Lawyer Marek Para tried to object to the agreement, although he did not defend anybody in the cases in which Slobodnik had been convicted. The lawyer for the opposition Smer party failed with his objection.

It is the opposition, most notably Smer, that claims that the police have manipulated Slobodnik.

Slobodnik remains prosecuted in several high-profile criminal cases, but the criminal prosecution against him has been stopped in some cases, or an indictment has been conditionally postponed as he helps the police.
Consider the pop-up cafe. It is a multi-faceted thing. For some it the first bootstrapping step toward ambitious brick-and-mortar dreams. And for others, it is the end unto itself, the freedom to take your coffee business wherever, whenever. This latter version we have featured a few times already in this years Build-Outs of Coffee, but the former has yet to make its debut. Until now.

Malcriada is southeast Los Angeles-based pop-up cafe that describes themselves as a culinary project in the business of specialty coffee that leans on Mexican, Chicano, and Latino influences. Currently popping up around Los Angeles, Malcriada has big plans for the future, including multiple cafes and a bakery. And it all starts with a humble coffee cart.

The 2023 Build-Outs of Coffee is presented by DONA. The 2023 Build-Outs of Coffee is sponsored by La Marzocco, Pacific Barista Series, Acaia, and Marco Beverage Systems.

As told to Sprudge by Daisy Orozco and Iran Sanchez.

For those who arent familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Malcriada is a culinary project from Southeast Los Angeles in the business of specialty coffee. Our mission is to live hospitality while sharing and preserving the culture we inherited. Malcriada is influenced and inspired by Mexican, Chicano, and Latino shared experiences and we express this through the brand identity and our menu. Our goal and dream is to have multiple locations in South East LA and were currently operating as a popup coffee shop.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

As our first retail location we want to have a coffee shop with a bakery program in the city of Bell where we live. After that our plan is to open more shops across Southeast LA, ranging from standalone coffee shops to a cafe with a food program.

Whats your approach to coffee?

Being that hospitality is our priority, we approach coffee with intention keeping in mind what our customers like and what works for the drinks we serve them. Thats more important than what coffees we personally like. In terms of the coffee itself, we prefer coffees that are clean, sweet, and drinkable. Were currently serving Monarch blend from Onyx Coffee Lab because its delicious on its own as espresso or filter but it works wonderfully in our milk drinks, which is what we serve the most. Through Malcriada weve been able to explore the world of sweet/flavored coffee drinks and we came up with flavors that are unique and stay true to our brand concept. And our customers love them which is what matters most!

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We rely on our beautiful La Marzocco GS3 AV and our Mazzer Kony S. Currently loving Monarch blend as espresso and also served as filter at our popup service. Should we also mention our hate/love relationship with our Westinghouse iGen4500 generator?!

How is your project considering sustainability?

This one can be a tough one for coffee shops but we do what we can. We buy coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab who have a carbon neutral roastery, and they make big efforts in the name of sustainability. We try to minimize our shopping trips and try to buy as much product in bulk as we can store, in addition to using fruits and products that are in season for our drinks.

Whats your hopeful target opening date/month?

We hope we can open our first retail shop late 2024/early 2025.

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that youd like to mention?

We MUST mention our good friend Victor Zuniga whos a tremendous artist and graphic designer. He helped us creating Malcriadas visual identity and we still work with him to design our merch drops!

Thank you!

Gracias a ustedes! Wed love to serve you cuando quieran <3

Malcriada is pop-up cafe in Los Angeles. Visit their official website and follow them on Instagram
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/us-reportedly-tests-arrw-hypersonic-weapon-for-first-time-since-march-failure-1112773213.html

US Tests ARRW Hypersonic Weapon for First Time Since March Failure

US Tests ARRW Hypersonic Weapon for First Time Since March Failure

The US Air Force conducted the first test fire of the hypersonic Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) since a failed test in March, an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik.

2023-08-21T23:41+0000

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us air force

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california

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"The test was conducted Aug. 19 off the coast of southern California," the statement said on Monday.The Air Force said it gained valuable new insights into the capabilities of the missile.The US Air Force did not provide information on the success of the latest test; however, the service did indicate it managed to gain "valuable" new insights into ARRWs capabilities.After the announcement of the March 13 test, the Air Force kept silent on whether it achieved its objectives. On March 28, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress it was "not a success." The test comes amid competition between the United States, Russia and China to develop hypersonic weapons, which may overcome traditional air defense systems.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230818/us-japan-plan-for-hypersonic-interceptor-part-of-declining-empire-greasing-palms-overseas-1112711938.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/attorneys-allegedly-threatened-to-put-biden-on-witness-stand-if-hunter-was-charged-1112774995.html

Attorneys Allegedly Threatened to Put Biden on Witness Stand if Hunter Was Charged

Attorneys Allegedly Threatened to Put Biden on Witness Stand if Hunter Was Charged

Attorneys representing Hunter Biden reportedly threatened to summon US President Joe Biden to the witness stand in the event the Justice Department charged the presidents son with any wrongdoing.

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americas

joe biden

justice department

hunter biden

witness

charges

us

hunter biden charges

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A letter from Biden lawyer Chris Clark and since cited by US media read: President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial."Clark sent the letter to the US attorney responsible for the probe after reports emerged in October 2022 that prosecutors were considering charging Biden with purchasing a firearm as an illegal drug user, the report said. Clark reportedly exchanged more than 300 documents and emails with government prosecutors, which were shared with US media by a person familiar with the communications.Prosecuting Biden would be perceived as a political move, Clark said, adding that the prosecution could violate the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. Moreover, a recent US Supreme Court ruling that held all gun restrictions have to be consistent with those of the countrys foundational years could be used to argue that laws preventing drug users from owning firearms are unconstitutional, Clark said. The official went on to note that the case justifies neither making the president serve as a witness at a criminal trial nor risking the possibility of a constitutional crisis. Last week, Clark requested to withdraw from defending Biden in the case due to the potential need to appear as a witness in forthcoming legal proceedings. The Justice Departments case against Biden comes alongside probes by US House lawmakers into potential criminal activity by the Biden family, including foreign bribery and influence peddling. Joe Biden has denied discussing foreign business deals with his son and declined to comment on the ongoing case.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/brics-new-development-bank-to-lend-in-south-african-brazilian-currencies-1112785126.html

BRICS New Development Bank to Lend in South African, Brazilian Currencies

BRICS New Development Bank to Lend in South African, Brazilian Currencies

BRICS' New Development Bank (NDB) plans to start lending in the South African and Brazilian currencies in order to reduce global dependence on the US dollar, the British newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing the lender's head, former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

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economy

brics summit 2023

brics

brics summit

brics new development bank (ndb)

dilma rousseff

south africa

new development bank (ndb)

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With the implementation of lending in the South African rand and Brazilian real and with reduction of reliance on the US dollar, the NDB is planning to promote the development of a more multipolar global financial system, the newspaper said, citing the bank's president. "[The NDB's] aim is to reach about 30 per cent of everything we lend... in local currency," Rousseff said in an interview with the newspaper. She added that loans in South Africa and Brazil would be granted in the corresponding national currencies. "We're going to try to either do a currency swap or issue debt. And also in rupees," the newspaper quoted Rousseff as saying, adding that the bank already lends in yuan. The Shanghai-based bank was established in 2014 by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and was later joined by Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Uruguay is currently in the process of joining the NDB. The bank's goal is to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries. The total volume of approved financing from the bank is estimated at $30 billion, 40% of which has been directed to projects contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including energy transition. The BRICS group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will hold a summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24. The summit's agenda includes economic relations, trade infrastructure and the potential switch to a common currency to reduce member states' reliance on the US dollar.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230818/what-is-the-global-south-and-how-can-it-help-topple-western-led-world-order-1112688739.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/central-american-parliament-expels-taiwan-as-observer-state-moves-to-replace-with-china-1112780804.html

Central American Parliament Expels Taiwan as Observer State, Moves to Replace With China

Central American Parliament Expels Taiwan as Observer State, Moves to Replace With China

Lawmakers of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) voted to expel Taiwan as a permanent observer in the organization and extended invitation to China to take up the role, the parliament has said.

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americas

latin america

central america

china

taiwan

nicaragua

one china policy

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"The plenum of the Central American Parliament approved by a majority of the votes the inclusion of the People's Republic of China in PARLACEN as an observer state at the request of the Nicaraguan parliamentary faction," PARLACEN wrote on social media on Monday. Lawmakers said that the observer status that Taiwan had in the organization is illegal since Taiwan has no legal status and is considered by the UN as China's province. Since the island is not a subject of international law and does not possess treaty-making capacity, it was expelled, the parliament said. PARLACEN was created in 1991 with the aim to strengthen regional integration in Central America. The Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Salvador are member states of the parliament. Guatemala is the only member state that recognizes Taiwan as an independent state and maintains diplomatic ties with the island, while the other countries see Taiwan as one of China's provinces.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230602/keeping-taiwans-autonomous-status-quo-most-west-can-achieve--french-diplomat-1110855750.html

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose "Babe" Manuel Romualdez said its time for the Philippines to "push back" and not allow Chinas aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.

Romualdez made the remark when asked about the challenges the Philippines faces in the conduct of resupply missions at Ayungin Shoal.

We have to push back. We must make it clear that we will not allow this type of behavior. Sa atin iyon [Its ours]. Its time to show that we cant be pushed around and we are on the right side, Romualdez said in an interview with CNN Philippines on Monday.

The Philippine envoy also clarified that talks with Beijing should continue and countries should always persevere in resolving conflicts peacefully.

Romualdez expressed optimism on the South China Sea Code of Conduct.

The new round of negotiations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China is being held in Manila from Tuesday to Thursday.

It is one channel to be able to achieve some sort of peace in the area. Nobody really wants a major conflict because the alternative is disaster for the entire world, the envoy said.

No one wants to lose a country but more importantly we dont want to lose the world. We know that if a major conflict happens now or in the future its going to be the end of the world, he added.

Envoy refutes US interference in PHs decision in South China Sea

Romualdez also denied claims the United States is driving conflict in the region and interfering on the Philippines decisions on West Philippine Sea matters.

That is absolutely not true. The involvement of the US with the Philippines has been around for a long time, he said.

Other countries are building in our territory, yung mga reefs ginagawa nilang island, ngayon military base. Tama ba yan? Sino ba talaga gumagawa ng sitwasyon na hindi maganda? the envoy asked.

[Translation: Other countries are building in our territory. They turn our reefs into islands and then later on military bases. Now, who is the one doing illegal actions?]

China: U.S. is biggest threat to regional security

In a recent briefing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the United States anew for allegedly stirring conflict in the region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed the US has gone to great lengths to interfere in the South China Sea issue.

The US has become the biggest threat and challenge to regional peace and stability. China will continue to firmly defend its sovereignty and security interests and work with ASEAN countries, Wang said.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/eu-will-eventually-pay-for-polands-purchase-of-us-weapons-1112797627.html

EU Will Eventually Pay for Poland's Purchase of US Weapons

EU Will Eventually Pay for Poland's Purchase of US Weapons

Poland has moved to drastically increase its military spending in the past months, actively procuring weapons for its own armed forces from countries such as... 22.08.2023, Sputnik International

2023-08-22T19:05+0000

2023-08-22T19:05+0000

2023-08-22T19:05+0000

alexander mikhailov

poland

european union (eu)

white house

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Washington approved the sale of 96 Apache attack helicopters to Poland this week in a deal worth $12 billion.The development comes as Poland has already signed contracts to purchase large numbers of tanks, self-propelled howitzers, multiple launch rocket systems and fighter aircraft from South Korea, not to mention M1 Abrams tanks from the United States.Commenting on Warsaws acquisition of the US attack helicopters, Russian military analyst Alexander Mikhailov suggested that Polands intent was to upgrade its military capabilities primarily with US-made weapons in order to curry favor with the White House.Poland essentially wants to be the US second right hand' in the European area, primarily in Eastern Europe, Mikhailov said, pointing out that the role of the US original right hand in Europe has been, and always will be, played by Britain.According to the analyst, the types of American weapons Poland wants to purchase serve, in a way, as a sign of the United States favor, since Washington sells them not to everyone, but only to the most loyal states.Regarding the lump sum of money Warsaw would have to fork over to the US for the Apache helicopters, Mikhailov remarked that such deals with the United States usually include not just the weapons themselves but also the cost of training the pilots who would operate them and engineers who would service them, as well as the tech support.He also observed that Poland is going to pay for the US weapons with the money it will then wheedle out from the European Union.Thus, the United States will be spurring on the EU who in turn will incentivize Poland as a buffer state that would oppose the so-called Russian menace, Mikhailov surmised.Following the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict last year, Poland moved to beef up its military while simultaneously massing troops on the borders of its neighbors. The massive military parade in Warsaw earlier this month was described by some observers as a symptom of its imperial revanchism.Russian officials have also warned that Poland may be planning to seize a portion of Ukraines territory amid the conflict the latter country is currently embroiled in.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/what-is-polands-role-in-ukraine-and-could-warsaw-go-through-with-plans-to-invade-1112537045.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/f-16s-for-ukraine-cant-carry-storm-shadows-experts-say-mishap-more-of-same-from-nato-1112795859.html

F-16s For Ukraine Cant Carry Storm Shadows: Experts Say Mishap More of Same From NATO

F-16s For Ukraine Cant Carry Storm Shadows: Experts Say Mishap More of Same From NATO

According to reports, the plan to supply Ukraine with US-made F-16 Falcon fighter jets has hit a snag, since the aircraft are not presently compatible with the British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles previously given to Ukraine.

2023-08-22T18:10+0000

2023-08-22T18:10+0000

2023-08-22T18:10+0000

analysis

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That has raised a new question among politicos: should the US send compatible cruise missiles to Kiev alongside the F-16, such as the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) with its 575-mile range?Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, told Sputnik on Tuesday that the situation exposes the unplanned and haphazard way in which NATO is scrambling to send Kiev any weapons they can find, but especially older ones.It seems to me that both the British and aviation armaments [industries] will find a technical opportunity to place their missiles on the F-16, he said. I think the issue here is quite technically solvable. It seems to me that, in general, we need to wait for the delivery of aircraft.This story is very similar to the story of American tanks, which started in November of last year, when the Americans first promised their Abrams tanks and simultaneously dragged European partners into these promises, then they themselves stalled the supply of tanks, citing a lack of a structural base, a lack of a repair base, a shortage of all this in Poland or on the territory of Ukraine, Mikhailov noted. And at this time, the German Leopard tanks were already burning and the image of the German defense industry was burning and a lot of other troubles that Europe received which, as it were, followed the lead of the Americans with their eternal divorce.Now it's a very similar story. The Americans would very much like European planes to fly to Ukraine. Moreover, the same Germans have third-generation Tornado aircraft, Europeans have Typhoons, Mirages, Rafales, and Gripens. And in principle, there is plenty to choose from, especially if the Europeans are more loyal. But the Europeans are no longer fooled by these American promises. Because after the story with the Abrams, when even the Challenger tanks arrived in Ukraine and several Leopards were sent to Ukraine and even participated in the hostilities, the Abrams did not appear in Ukraine.Dmitry Kornev, founder of the MilitaryRussia.ru portal, told Sputnik that the Ukrainians would likely solve the technical problems themselves if given enough time, but warned that the F-16 is no miracle weapon, regardless of which weapons it brings to the battlefield.However, he highlighted a sharp disconnect between not just the vast equipment demands being made by Kiev on NATO, but also a likely incongruence between NATOs promises and what will actually be shipped to Ukraine. For example, while Amsterdam has said it will send Kiev all 42 F-16s in its arsenal, he predicted they will actually send no more than 12 - a single squadron. Meanwhile, Kiev has demanded 128 aircraft. He did not discount the possibility that Washington could send more, though.You need to understand that if they get 128 F-16s, then this will probably not even happen in 2024, but 2025 or 2026. If deliveries of the F-16 begin, then no one will bother the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the issue of obtaining other third or fourth-generation aircraft, which have been decommissioned by European countries that received the F-35. For example, German, Italian, and British Tornado aircraft. These planes can definitely carry any European missiles, he noted.If European missiles can be hung on the Su-24, I think that they will also be able to hang on the F-16. Well, this is a fairly simple and technologically advanced aircraft. It will take two or three or four months. So far, these months are there. Today, one of the leaders of Ukraine named a figure: six-to-eight months separate today from receiving the F-16. But we are talking about the fact that pilot training will last from six to eight months, which has supposedly already started. This is quite a long time to adapt the aircraft to anything. Unlike Western corporations, which could not solve the issues of such integration and adaptation for their own interests, Im afraid the Armed Forces of Ukraine are doing very well when it comes to motivation. They will solve this issue, because technically it can be solved, he predicted.This will certainly increase the burden on our air defense and on our aerospace forces, but most likely we will fight this and will adapt and compensate for the appearance of these aircraft. When their number begins to increase and becomes palpable it will have to be dozens or even more than 100 units. Then it will be unpleasant, but it will not happen instantly.Kornev noted that if the West does try to compensate for the pilot training issue by sending so-called mercenary pilots, they would be treated as full-fledged combatants by Russian forces.Russia will, of course, have a negative attitude towards this. And Russia will, I hope, highlight such situations in every possible way and try to influence them, including through diplomatic means, he said, adding that the situation would be about the same as how we now sometimes say that these planes or these missiles will be legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces. As soon as they cross the border of Ukraine, they become legitimate targets. In any case, any pilots of any country who sit at the helm are a legitimate target for any of our actions.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/voila-we-have-air-power-f-16-transfers-to-ukraine-will-take-years-to-produce-results-1112766548.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230818/training-of-ukrainian-pilots-to-be-followed-by-transfer-of-f-16s-us-national-security-advisor-says-1112708091.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/gas-futures-in-europe-exceed-500-per-1000-cubic-meters-first-time-since-jun-15---ice-1112788741.html

Gas Futures in Europe Exceed $500 Per 1,000 Cubic Meters First Time Since Jun 15 - ICE

Gas Futures in Europe Exceed $500 Per 1,000 Cubic Meters First Time Since Jun 15 - ICE

Gas futures in Europe have increased by 9%, exceeding $500 per 1,000 cubic meters, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange on Tuesday.

2023-08-22T13:21+0000

2023-08-22T13:21+0000

2023-08-22T13:21+0000

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September futures on the TTF index  Europe's largest hub  opened at $451.2 per 1,000 cubic meters (-1.8%). As of 12:10 GMT, they were trading at $500.3 (+8.8%).Since 2021, the EU has been experiencing the rise of energy prices as part of the global trend. Sanctions imposed on Russia after it launched the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 have accelerated the growth of gas prices, encouraging the European nations to consider contingency measures.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230620/french-energy-transition-minister-urges-citizens-to-keep-saving-electricity-in-summer-1111326515.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/greeces-largest-opposition-party-slams-govt-for-offering-training-to-ukrainian-pilots-1112797866.html

Greece's Largest Opposition Party Slams Gov't for Offering Training to Ukrainian Pilots

Greece's Largest Opposition Party Slams Gov't for Offering Training to Ukrainian Pilots

Greece's largest opposition party, the Coalition of the Radical Left  Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA) said on Tuesday that it was strongly opposed to the Greek government's offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F16 fighter jets and other initiatives that constitute Greece's "direct military involvement" in the Ukraine conflict.

2023-08-22T19:04+0000

2023-08-22T19:04+0000

2023-08-22T19:04+0000

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On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated at a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens that Greece had offered to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. They also adopted a joint declaration in which Mitsotakis committed Greece to continuing to provide military support to Ukraine. The party said that a joint declaration adopted by the two leaders could present risks for Greece and its international role as it sets out Greece's commitments to continue military support for Ukraine and its aspirations to join NATO. At the same time, the party noted that it was against Russia's special operation in Ukraine. Mitsotakis met with Zelensky in the Greek capital on Monday on the sidelines of an informal gathering of Balkan leaders with top EU officials which also took place that day. In the joint declaration Greece pledged its support to Ukraine's NATO membership aspirations, provided Kiev fulfills all necessary conditions and there is consensus among member states.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/f-16-training-for-ukrainian-pilots-barely-getting-off-the-runway-1112530371.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230718/ukrainian-pilots-operating-f-16s-would-be-flying-targets-heres-why-1111974402.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/israel-fired-8-cruise-missiles-at-damascus-outskirts-on-monday---russian-military-1112800735.html

Israel Fired 8 Cruise Missiles at Damascus Outskirts on Monday - Russian Military

Israel Fired 8 Cruise Missiles at Damascus Outskirts on Monday - Russian Military

Two Israeli F-16 jets fired 8 cruise missiles at Damascus outskirts on Monday, Vadim Kulit, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria.

2023-08-22T19:41+0000

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2023-08-22T19:40+0000

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"On August 21, from 23:03 to 23:10 [08:03 to 08:10 pm GMT], two F-16 tactical fighters of the Israeli air force attacked facilities in the vicinity of the city of Damascus with eight cruise missiles from the airspace of the occupied Golan Heights. Israeli airstrike injured one Syrian soldier," Kulit told a briefing.The deputy official also detailed during the Tuesday briefing that Russian aerospace forces had attacked a command post of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group in a village southwest of Syrias Idlib the day prior."On August 21, a strike conducted by Russian aerospace forces at the command post of the Hayat Tahrir ash-Sham terrorist organization in the Faylun village (4 kilometers [2.4 miles] southwest of the city of Idlib) killed 17 militants, Kulit told a briefing.Kulit noted that the dead included "several high-ranking field commanders responsible for organizing and carrying out recent attacks on Syrian government forces in northern Latakia province."* a terrorist group banned in Russia

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230803/russias-invited-presence-in-syria-contrasts-with-us-occupation-1112370788.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/joe-biden-visits-hawaii-assange-extradition-denied-brics-set-to-strengthen-unipolarity-1112772811.html

Joe Biden Visits Hawaii; Assange Extradition Denied; BRICS Set to Strengthen Multipolarity

Joe Biden Visits Hawaii; Assange Extradition Denied; BRICS Set to Strengthen Multipolarity

President Biden is traveling to Hawaii to review the damage from massive wildfires after receiving mass criticism for seeming to ignore the disaster.

2023-08-22T05:55+0000

2023-08-22T05:55+0000

2023-08-23T12:23+0000

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Joe Biden Visits Hawaii; Assange Extradition Denied; BRICS Set to Strengthen Unipolarity President Biden is traveling to Hawaii to review the damage from massive wildfires after receiving mass criticism for seeming to ignore the disaster.

Dr. Jim Kavanagh, whose work can be found at Jim Kavanagh's Substack, and ThePolemicist.com, joins us to discuss domestic politics and the Hawaii fires. President Biden is visiting the sites of massive wildfires in Maui as he faces pushback for ignoring the problem for over a week. Also, major metropolitan centers in the US are turning into decrepit crime ridden eye sores. Jim Kavanagh says that the Biden administration is revealing that its priority is supporting the fascist government in Ukraine. He also says that the US based neoliberal ideology pushing privatization of public services is at the root of the abandonment of the social safety system.Dr. David Oualaalou, international geopolitical consultant, veteran, and author of many books, including "The Dynamics of Russia's Geopolitics: Remaking the Global Order," international security analyst, and host of the "Geopolitics in Conflict" Show on YT, joins us to discuss the upcoming BRICS meeting. The entire BRICS project is centered around whether oppressed nations can break free from colonial theft and manipulation. Dr. Oualaalou says that the expansion of BRICS will be seismic. He says that including world class energy producers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran will change the nature of international trade. Also, he says the US puppet organizations such as the IMF and the WTO are used to ensure that poor countries are unable to develop.Dr. Gerald Horne, Professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. A delegation from ECOWAS has met with Niger's former President and the leader of the recent military government. Dr. Horne argues that this situation could potentially replicate the disaster of Libya. He also says that the North Atlantic nations are splintering in their opposition to the developments in West Africa and the US wants to supplant France as the colonial power in the region.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. The US is concerned that Ukraine is too concerned about casualties to carry out imperial orders. Mark Sleboda says that such cynicism and callousness towards human life is shocking but that the claim does not reflect Ukraine's reckless disregard for the lives of their troops. Also, he says that Denmark sending F16's to Ukraine will have little to no effect on the battles.Laith Marouf, broadcaster, and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Several Israeli settlers have been shot in recent days in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Palestinian positions. Laith Marouf argues that Palestinians have no choice but to defend their land. He also says that a colonizer can't live peacefully at the same time that they visit violence upon the native peoples. He also discussed the willingness of Western governments to oppress and censor their own populations in order to defend extreme acts of violence by Israel's government.Misty Winston, radio host and political commentator, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Julian Assange is being warned to be weary of a US plea deal proposal. Misty Winston argues that Australia has been absent in the Assange saga. Also, she says that the Biden administration does not want to bring Assange to US shores because it will shine a light on the case.George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss China. George Koo says that President Biden is repeatedly pouring gas on the Taiwan fire to keep it going. He also said that the majority of the people of Taiwan would like to maintain a peaceful coexistence but it is hard to know if the KMT will succeed in the next elections. Also George says that the North Korea situation is parallel to the Taiwan situation in that the North Korea leader shows that he can increase the military ante if need be.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the outcome of the Ukrainian spring offensive. The outcome of the Ukraine offensive has been disastrous for the US empire and they are down to their last few reserves. Scott argues that the Ukrainian offensive force was specifically designed for this offensive and the location for the offensive was viewed as a weak point in the Russian lines and they were well aware that it would cost significant casualties. He says that the current action by the Ukrainian military demonstrates that the original plan has failed. He also says that the Ukrainian points for ending the conflict with a negotiated settlement is unrealistic.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.Catch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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the critical hour, hawaii fires, wildfires in maui, brics summit in johannesburg, situation in west africa, coup in niger, f16's to ukraine, julian assange us plea deal proposal, where is julian assange now, ukrainian spring offensive
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/new-memos-hint-at-bidens-personal-interest-in-firing-ukraine-prosecutor-targeting-burisma-1112791288.html

New Memos Hint at Biden's Personal Interest in Firing Ukraine Prosecutor Targeting Burisma

New Memos Hint at Biden's Personal Interest in Firing Ukraine Prosecutor Targeting Burisma

New memos indicate that then-Vice President Joe Biden did not act in concert with the US government when he threatened to withhold $1 billion in Ukraine aid unless the Poroshenko government fired the prosecutor general who targeted Hunter Biden's Ukrainian employer at that time.

2023-08-22T14:21+0000

2023-08-22T14:21+0000

2023-09-20T13:30+0000

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Joe Biden and Democrats have repeatedly stressed that his insistence on firing Ukrainian then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokhin back in December 2015 was consistent with the US policy of stamping out corruption in Ukraine.At the time, then-Vice President Joe Biden even went so far as to threaten then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Washington would deprive Ukraine of a much-needed $1 billion loan guarantee in case the latter did not fire Shokhin. The conversation reportedly occurred in December 2015. Biden openly bragged about the incident to the Council on Foreign Relations gathering in January 2018:However, memos by Treasury and Justice Department officials obtained by Just the News, an independent US media outlet founded by award-winning investigative journalist John Solomon, indicate that the US government held Shokhin in high regard at the time and concluded that Ukraine had made progress in fighting endemic corruption, thus deserving the loan guarantee.Moreover, Senior State Department officials sent Shokhin a personal note saying they were "impressed" with his office's work and invited him and his staff to Washington for a January 2016 strategy session prior to his sacking.Remarkably, an audio tape from March 2016 which appeared to record Biden and Poroshenko's conversation showed that the Ukrainian president pointed out that there was no evidence that Shokhin and his office were anyhow mired in corruption:Per Solomon, Biden's political maneuver stemmed from the fact that the latter had been aggressively investigating Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian gas firm that hired Joe's son Hunter in 2014 and paid him a hefty salary of $83,333 a month despite Hunter having no expertise or experience in the energy sphere.What's more, Hunter's business associate Devon Archer, who was also employed by Burisma at the time, testified to the House Oversight Committee on July 31 that Shokhin's investigation was rattling the Ukrainian gas firm and that the Burisma leadership was putting pressure on Hunter to deal with it.Joe Biden's role in firing Shokhin created much controversy in 2019, when House Democrats pushed ahead with the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump who asked Poroshenko's successor, Volodymyr Zelensky, to look into the Bidens' conduct in a phone conversation.Democratic lawmakers and officials testified during Trump's first impeachment that Joe's actions in withholding the $1 billion in aid had nothing to do with Hunter and were thoroughly consistent with the US government's Ukraine policy. Per Solomon, this narrative appears to be false.The US investigative journalist specifically quoted lawyers who worked on Trump's impeachment defense. They said that they didn't have access to the memos unearthed by Just the News, showing that the Obama government was satisfied with Shokhin's work. As per Trump's former legal team, the documents in question would have made a significant difference to the Trump impeachment case. In October 2020, a concerted action by the former top brass of US intelligence agencies, Silicon Valley giants and the US mainstream press smeared a legitimate story by the New York Post stemming from files of a so-called "laptop from hell", belonging to Hunter Biden, as "Russian disinformation". It turned out later that the damning materials on the infamous laptop were genuine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/attorneys-allegedly-threatened-to-put-biden-on-witness-stand-if-hunter-was-charged-1112774995.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230817/how-western-big-tech-firms-wipe-away-hunter-bidens-many-sins-1112668508.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/mtg-slams-biden-for-kissing-zelenskys-a--dragging-us-all-kicking-and-screaming-into-world-war-1107726201.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230625/fbi-knew-hunter-bidens-laptop-was-reliable-before-smearing-it-as-russian-disinfo-1111457950.html

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"Instructions by the Prime Minister in Response to Notification that North Korea Plans to Launch a Ballistic Missile, Referred to as a Satellite.

1. Execute all possible measures to gather and analyze information through the cooperation of the relevant ministries and agencies and provide information to the public in an appropriate manner.

2. In coordination with the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, and other countries concerned, strongly urge North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from conducting a launch.

3. Take all possible measures to ensure the safety and security of the Japanese people, including fully preparing for contingencies," the prime ministers office said on X, formerly known as Twitter.Kishida later told reporters that firing a ballistic missile even to launch a satellite violates UN Security Council resolutions.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/putin-russia-among-worlds-top-five-economies-overtakes-germany-in-purchasing-power-parity-1112792881.html

Putin: Russia Among World's Top Five Economies, Overtakes Germany

Putin: Russia Among World's Top Five Economies, Overtakes Germany

Despite pessimistic forecasts, Russia is among the five largest economies in the world and has overtaken the Federal Republic of Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Council on Strategic Development and National Projects.

2023-08-22T15:03+0000

2023-08-22T15:03+0000

2023-08-23T14:02+0000

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According to the World Bank, the Russian Federation "has moved ahead of Germany in terms of purchasing power parity, in terms of the size of the economy," Putin added. The president highlighted that this is one of the most important indicators.The president stressed that the growth rates are steady, including in industry, while the current budget situation is stable and risk-free.For July-September the budget will be reported with a surplus, and by the end of the year the excess of expenditures over revenues will amount to the planned 2% of GDP, Putin noted.According to the president, in a year and a half, the ruble's share of payments for Russian exports has more than tripled, from 12% to 42%, and "if we count it together with the currencies of friendly countries, this share reaches 70%".Domestic manufacturers are quickly filling the shoes of foreign companies that have left, and Russia will continue to do the same, the president emphasized.On August 4, Sputnik calculated using data from the World Bank that Russia's GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2022 for the first time ever exceeded $5 trillion, allowing the country to remain the world's fifth-largest economy. Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that Russia's economy had adapted to Western sanctions and was growing steadily, adding that, despite all attempts to cut it off from global production chains, logistics routes and financial systems, interest in the country's economy was increasing. In early August, an American newspaper reported that the West's strategy of imposing sanctions on Russian businessmen and their families proved to be ineffective. Russia's ability to withstand the sanctions will be a subject for future analysis, according to the report.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230810/russian-economy-overtakes-germany-uk-and-france-despite-western-sanctions-1112511026.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230804/russias-economy-exceeded-5-trillion-ppp---world-bank-1112390476.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/russian-air-defense-downs-2-ukrainian-drones-near-crimea-moscow-region-1112773673.html

Russian Air Defense Downs 2 Ukrainian Drones Near Crimea, Moscow Region

Russian Air Defense Downs 2 Ukrainian Drones Near Crimea, Moscow Region

Russian air defense suppressed two Ukrainian drones near Crimea by means of electronic warfare, as a result of which they fell into the water 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) northwest of the peninsula.

2023-08-22T00:51+0000

2023-08-22T00:51+0000

2023-08-22T04:43+0000

russia

ukrainian crisis

crimea

russian defense ministry

ukraine

ukrainian drone attacks on russia

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"On August 21, at about 23:00 Moscow time [20:00 GMT], an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles was thwarted. Two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were detected and suppressed by electronic warfare by the air defense forces," the ministry said. The ministry added that drones, having lost control, "crashed over the Black Sea, 40 kilometers northwest of the Crimean peninsula."Not long afterward, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin detailed that air defense forces had also shot down two strike drones on their way to the Russian capital. "The air defense shot down two strike drones. One in the Krasnogorsk region, the other in the Chastsy region. Special services went to the scene of the incident," Sobyanin said on Telegram.At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry said that another two drones were suppressed by the means of electronic warfare in Russias Bryansk Region. The ministry added that no one was injured due to drone crashes."An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles was thwarted tonight. Two UAVs were detected by air defense systems and suppressed by electronic warfare systems, they crashed over the territory of the Bryansk Region. Two UAVs were detected and destroyed by air defense systems over the territory of the Moscow Region," the ministry stated.The latest foiled attack comes on the heels of efforts undertaken earlier Monday in the Belgorod Region and the Moscow Region by Kiev forces; in fact, Ukraine has continued to launch drones into Russian territory since the start of its fruitless counteroffensive in early June.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/russian-air-defense-downed-ukrainian-drone-in-moscow-region-1112748039.html

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Authorities on Tuesday confirmed that the latest resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre was "successfully conducted."

"Notwithstanding attempts by China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Chinese Maritime Militia vessels to block, harass, and interfere with the supply mission, the Philippine supply ships Unaizah May 1 and Unaizah May 2, escorted by PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) vessels BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan, successfully completed their RoRe (Rotation and Resupply mission)," the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said in a statement.

RELATED: China moves to block new Ayungin resupply mission, says ex-US defense official

A CCG ship on Aug. 5 blocked and fired a water cannon at Philippine Coast Guard vessels escorting boats chartered by the AFP to deliver food and supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre. This resulted in one Philippine vessel unable to complete its mission.

The BRP Sierra Madre  a World War II-era ship  was deliberately grounded on Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as the country's outpost in the West Philippine Sea.

Over the weekend, the Armed Forces of the Philippines urged the CCG not to interfere with the RoRe mission.

"Routine missions to Philippine outposts on various features in the West Philippine Sea will continue on a regular basis," the NTF-WPS said in its statement, adding these missions are part of the government's administrative functions over the West Philippine Sea "in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2016 Arbitral Award, and domestic laws."

A Chinese Coast Guard statement noted that the Aug. 22 mission to Ayungin did not carry building materials. Chinese officials earlier said during the Aug. 5 mission, the Philippines defied warnings against transporting construction materials for the overhaul of BRP Sierra Madre.

What I want to emphasize is that there has never been a problem with the delivery of humanitarian supplies because there is a special arrangement for such, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian told reporters on Tuesday, without elaborating. The problem was with the transportation of large scale of building materials."

China maintains it has sovereignty over the area. The Philippines insists it has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Ayungin Shoal, which is part of its exclusive economic zone.

Philippine officials have also consistently denied China's allegation that Manila has made a deal to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.

Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo denied making a deal with China on the issue during her administration, and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said the administration of his father, former President Erap Estrada also made no such arrangement.

National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya also stressed there was no commitment to remove the vessel.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also made it clear the BRP was staying right where it is and that any such deal to remove the vessel  if it exists  was rescinded.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/russian-foreign-minister-arrives-in-south-africa-for-brics-summit-1112779273.html

Russian Foreign Minister Arrives in South Africa for BRICS Summit

Russian Foreign Minister Arrives in South Africa for BRICS Summit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Johannesburg on Tuesday to take part in the BRICS summit, a Sputnik corespondent reported.

2023-08-22T08:34+0000

2023-08-22T08:34+0000

2023-08-22T08:34+0000

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brics summit 2023

brics summit

south africa

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The summit will take place from Tuesday to Thursday. Lavrov will act as the head of the Russian delegation, while the country's president, Vladimir Putin, will participate in the gathering via video link. "Mr Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of Delegation for the Russian Federation is received by International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister, Mr Alvin Botes as he arrives at the Waterkloof Airforce Base," the South African government said on X, formerly known as Twitter. South Africa, the bloc's 2023 chair, invited delegations from dozens of other countries and international organizations, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat. For the moment, the block is formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The summit's key focus is expected to be BRICS' possible expansion. According to South African Sherpa Anil Sooklal, 23 countries have expressed interest in obtaining membership. Other discussion topics on the agenda include economic relations, trade infrastructure and the potential switch to a common currency to reduce member states' reliance on the US dollar.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/why-does-brics-appeal-to-the-global-south-1112766904.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/south-african-president-to-host-chinese-leader-for-talks-on-tuesday-1112776841.html

South African President to Host Chinese Leader for Talks on Tuesday

South African President to Host Chinese Leader for Talks on Tuesday

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for one-on-one talks on Tuesday ahead of the BRICS summit of five major emerging economies.

2023-08-22T06:01+0000

2023-08-22T06:01+0000

2023-08-22T06:01+0000

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Xi arrived in South Africa on Monday for a four-day visit. His sixth trip to the country coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties. The presidents will co-chair a China-Africa leaders dialogue to assess the progress on their 10-year strategic cooperation agreement and the Beijing-led Belt-and-Road infrastructure project, among other issues. They will be joined later by the Brazilian president, the Indian prime minister and the Russian foreign minister for the 15th BRICS summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the gathering by video.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/whats-on-brics-2023-summit-agenda-1112763589.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/symbol-of-russian-unity-putin-congratulates-country-on-national-flag-day--1112790905.html

Symbol of Russian Unity: Putin Congratulates Country on National Flag Day

Symbol of Russian Unity: Putin Congratulates Country on National Flag Day

National Flag Day is annually celebrated in Russia on August 22, the day when it was restored in relevant status after the 1991 failed coup against then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

2023-08-22T15:47+0000

2023-08-22T15:47+0000

2023-08-22T15:47+0000

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the countrys citizens on the Day of the State Flag, which he touted as a symbol of the nations unity. All historical flags and symbols of Russia require respect from citizens, all public forces and government officials, because they reflect the continuity of development of our nation and statehood, Putin said.He noted that the Russian people have a special attitude towards the white-blue-red banner, which is our official state flag, approved in this capacity by [Russias Tsar] Peter the Great.History of the TricolorThe Russian National Flag Day was established on the basis of the decree of the countrys president issued on August 20, 1994.On this day in 1991, the Supreme Council of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) adopted a resolution "On the Official Recognition and Use of the National Flag of the RSFSR." The move, just a few months before the official disintegration of the Soviet Union, brought back a design similar to the pre-revolutionary white-blue-red tricolor abolished in 1917.The Soviet Unions red sickle-and-hammer flag was lowered in Moscows Kremlin on the night of December 25, 1991, and the Russian white-blue-red tricolor was raised in its place, heralding the breakup of the USSR.The history of the countrys tricolor dates back to 1668, when the white-blue-red flag was hoisted for the very first time on the first-ever Russian ship Orel during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. On January 20, 1705, Peter the Great issued a decree ordering all merchant ships to fly the white-blue-red flag.The tricolor was formally approved as the state flag of Russia only on the eve of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896.The three colors of the flag received an official interpretation, with red meaning "sovereignty," blue referring to the Mother of God (under whose heavenly protection Russias land was deemed to be), and white referring to freedom and independence.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/taiwan-reportedly-expects-to-receive-first-batch-of-abrams-tanks-from-us-next-year-1112802402.html

Taiwan Reportedly Expects to Receive First Batch of Abrams Tanks From US Next Year

Taiwan Reportedly Expects to Receive First Batch of Abrams Tanks From US Next Year

Taiwan reportedly expects to receive the first 38 of M1A2T Abrams tanks it has ordered from the United States in 2024.

2023-08-22T22:25+0000

2023-08-22T22:25+0000

2023-08-22T22:24+0000

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taiwan

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Citing both Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Defense Ministry, local media reported Tuesday that 38 tanks are scheduled to arrive in 2024, while another 42 tanks will be supplied in 2025 and 28 tanks in 2026. In 2019, the United States approved the sale of 108 Abrams tanks to Taiwan for $2.2 billion, which is part of the Taiwanese administration's efforts to strengthen the island's defense capabilities in case of a potential conflict with mainland China. Tensions over Taiwan significantly increased last August after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taipei despite Beijing's warnings against such a visit. China condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing regards the island as its province, while Taiwan maintains that it is an autonomous entity but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official foreign contacts with Taipei and regards Chinese sovereignty over the island as indisputable.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/taiwan-to-ramp-up-military-spending-next-year-1112776167.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/ukraine-loses-up-to-240-troops-in-south-donetsk-direction-in-past-day-1112786794.html

Ukraine Loses Up to 240 Troops in South Donetsk Direction in Past Day

Ukraine Loses Up to 240 Troops in South Donetsk Direction in Past Day

Ukraine has lost up to 240 soldiers both killed and injured in the South Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

2023-08-22T12:48+0000

2023-08-22T12:48+0000

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"Enemy losses [in the South Donetsk direction] amounted to up to 240 Ukrainian military personnel killed and wounded, two armored combat vehicles, the US-made M777 artillery system, and the UK-made FH-70 gun," the ministry stated. Ukraine also lost 235 servicemen in the Dontesk direction and over 125 soldiers in the Zaporozhye direction over the given period, the statement read. Additionally, Russian armed forces have repelled five attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk direction, four in the Zaporozhye direction, three in the Donetsk direction and two in the Krasny Liman direction.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/watch-russian-drones-wipe-out-ukrainian-armored-vehicles-1112762543.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/ukraine-us-at-odds-over-offensives-lack-of-progress-1112769288.html

Ukraine, US at Odds Over Offensive's Lack of Progress

Ukraine, US at Odds Over Offensive's Lack of Progress

On this episode of Fault Lines, host Jamarl Thomas and Melik Abdul discussed a number of topics from around the globe, including recent news articles about US intelligence confirming the Ukrainian counter-offensive lacks progress and how it has been a failure.

2023-08-22T04:29+0000

2023-08-22T04:29+0000

2023-08-23T12:24+0000

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Ukraine, U.S. at Odds Over Offensive's Lack of Progress On this episode of Fault Lines, host Jammarl Thomas and Melik Abdul discussed a number of topics from around the globe, including recent news articles about U.S. intelligence confirming the Ukrainian counter-offensive lacks progress and how it has been a failure.

Mark Sleboda - International Relations and Military AnalystMisty Winston - Radio Host and Political CommentatorKoffi Kouakou - Africa Expert and AnalystEsteban Carrillo - Journalist and Editor at The CradleIn the first hour, Fault Lines' show discusses how Washington and Kiev are trading blame over the lack of progress in the overhyped Ukrainian "counter-offensive", with the mainstream media revealing the rift between the regimes. Military analyst Mark Sleboda speaks to Fault Lines about the Kiev regime offensive and the blame game over their lackluster performance on the battlefield.In the second hour, Fault Lines' team analyzes the former US President Donald Trumps ever growing list of charges, when Georgia's Fulton County Court introduced a new indictment against the businessman and politician. This, as Joe Biden faces heavy criticism over his lack of response to the Maui wildfires. Radio host Misty Winston joins the show to hit these two topics with Fault Lines.In the third hour, Fault Lines team spoke to Koffi Kouakou about the ECOWAS chiefs meeting regarding the military coup in Niger and the BRICS summit kicking off in Johannesburg, South Africa this week.Later in the final hour, Fault Lines show discussed the Ecuadorian elections, amid two recent assassinations that targeted politicians in Quito with journalist Esteban Carrillo.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.Catch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/ukrainian-sabotage-group-fails-to-breach-border-of-russias-bryansk-region---governor-1112787207.html

Ukrainian Sabotage Group Fails to Breach Border of Russia's Bryansk Region - Governor

Ukrainian Sabotage Group Fails to Breach Border of Russia's Bryansk Region - Governor

A Ukrainian sabotage group unsuccessfully tried to breach the state border of Russias Bryansk Region near the Klimovsky District, Governor Alexander Bogomaz stated on Tuesday.

2023-08-22T12:02+0000

2023-08-22T12:02+0000

2023-08-22T12:02+0000

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bryansk region

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terrorist attack

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"Today, Ukrainian saboteurs attempted to breach the state border in the Klimovsky district. Thanks to the coordinated and heroic actions of the units of the border department of the FSB of Russia in the Bryansk Region, the Ministry of Defense, the special forces of the National Guard in the Bryansk Region, the attack was repelled," Bogomaz said on Telegram. Measures are currently being taken to ensure the safety of civilians in the region, the governor added.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/putin-ukrainian-forces-committed-terror-attack-in-bryansk-by-opening-fire-on-civilians-1107946483.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/us-mercenary-leaves-puzzling-message-before-his-demise-in-ukrainian-fields-1112780223.html

US Mercenary Leaves Puzzling Message Before His Demise in Ukrainian Fields

US Mercenary Leaves Puzzling Message Before His Demise in Ukrainian Fields

An American mercenary fighting in Ukraine left a message for his father before he died, promising to share details of a mission, a British newspaper reports.

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2023-08-22T11:03+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

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According to the newspaper, 48-year-old Jeff Jones was killed in a mortar strike near Artemovsk (Bakhmut) on July 31.According to his father, Howard, the mercenary maintained sporadic contact with him, but would go off the radar for a week at a time. On the day of his death, Jones sent his father a message saying that he had volunteered for a mission that "all the other groups were afraid to do.""He said he would let us know when he got back. I sent him a message and never heard back," Jones Sr. said, adding that he received a call a few hours later informing him of his son's demise.In late May, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu estimated that the number of mercenaries fighting on the side of Kiev was around 2,500. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that armed activities against Russian military personnel will be stopped and foreign mercenary groups will be crushed on the battlefield.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230821/intense-battles-raging-near-sinkovka-village-outside-kharkov--reports-1112755029.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/xi-china-ready-to-elevate-strategic-partnership-with-south-africa-to-new-level-1112793588.html

Xi: China Ready to Elevate Strategic Partnership With South Africa to New Level

Xi: China Ready to Elevate Strategic Partnership With South Africa to New Level

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China is ready to elevate strategic partnership with South Africa to a new level and pass friendship between the two countries from one... 22.08.2023, Sputnik International

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"I ... am absolutely ready to work together with the [South African] president [Cyril Ramaphosa] to elevate comprehensive strategic partnership between China and South Africa to a new level," Xi said at a meeting with Ramaphosa. The Chinese leader also said that it is important for the two countries to strengthen and expand cooperation and pass the bilateral friendship from one generation to another especially at a "new turning point in history." Xi arrived in South Africa earlier in the day on a state visit that is focused on the 15th BRICS summit taking place in Johannesburg from August 22-24.

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Culpeper County is on the mark and ready to invest in the latest expansion at its airport along U.S. Route 29 in Brandy Station, mostly funded with state and federal dollars.

We are about to start construction on a project that will build an access road on the east side of the airport, according to County Administrator John Egertson. Currently all of our operations and hangars are on the west side.

The $2.9 million Greenhouse Road project at Culpeper Regional Airport has been in the Airport Master Plan and Comprehensive Plan for many years, he said. Grant funding was finally awarded last year through the U.S. Department of Transportations Federal Aviation Administration.

The new road, in proximity to the BrightFarms Greenhouse, will connect from the Culpeper County industrial airpark at the airport north to Beverly Ford Road, according to Egertson. The extension is shown in the Airport Master Plan, he said, to provide an alternative route to existing Beverly Ford.

In announcing the award in 2019, the FAA stated the grant would remove obstructions at Culpeper Regional Airport. The federal agency described the project this way, Egertson stated, because at one section, Beverly Ford Road is close enough to the runway to be an obstruction itself.

Last week, the county received notification of a $16,474 state grant for a study of the airports unused eastern side that will gain access with the Greenhouse Road extension.

This study will look at whether we wish to construct more hangars, and if so, would they be t-hangars or corporate hangars, Egertson said.

The Industrial Park adjacent to airport was developed originally by the county; all of the parcels were sold and are now owned by the various business entities located there, the county administrator said. The businesses have access to high speed internet, as does the airport.

The county, of course, benefits from tax revenue from those businesses. There are some 11 businesses located there, Egertson said.

Last week, the Virginia Department of Aviation announced more than $8.4 million to be split among 21 Virginia public-use airports in support of 29 projects to enhance the facilities and services they provide their communities.

Orange County Airport received two awards in the recent round of grants  $16,400 for design and construction of phase two of a runway obstruction removal project and $181,600 to design a t-hangar site at the airport located along Route 20.

Opened in the late 1960s at T.I. Martin Field, Culpeper Regional Airport has a 5,000-feet by 100-feet grooved runway with pilot-controlled lighting.

The airport has nearly 300 acres of fenced property adjacent to the Culpeper County Industrial Park and Brandy Station Battlefield land, owned by the Civil War Preservation Trust. The county owns and operates all 140 hangars located at the airport which is also home to various warbirds flown and maintained by the Capital Wing Commemorative Air Force.

Culpeper Regional Airport hosts the popular Annual Culpeper AirFest, happening this year on Saturday, Oct. 14. Its the largest annual event in Culpeper, said AirFest Chairman Steve Nixon.

We have a great line up planned with all of your favorite performers eager to be back in Culpeper.

The show is free thanks to support from local businesses, sponsors and the community, according to Nixon.

Part of the AirFest again this year will be the STEM  Science, Technology, Engineering and Math  program for local youth, returning bigger and better than ever, according to publicity.

Running Wednesday and Thursday the week of the Air Fest, hundreds of fifth grade students will visit the airport and be exposed to aviation related technology exhibits, activities and careers.

We are very proud of our commitment to educating the next generation, according to Culpeper AirFest publicity.
Chinese premier meets delegation of U.S.-China Business Council

Xinhua) 10:01, August 22, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with a delegation of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) led by Marc N. Casper, chair of USCBC, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday said China is willing to work with the United States in undertaking their responsibilities as major countries, jointly upholding international trade rules, and ensuring the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

Li made the remarks at a meeting with a delegation of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) led by Marc N. Casper, chair of USCBC.

Li said that China and the United States, respectively as the world's largest developing country and largest developed country, enjoy economic complementarity far more than competition. He added that the essence of the economic relationship between the two countries is win-win cooperation, and maintaining economic and trade cooperation and economic ties serves the interests of both sides.

The premier said the China-U.S. relations and economic and trade cooperation are facing certain difficulties at present, which requires both sides to show sincerity, meet each other halfway, and make joint efforts.

China and the United States can certainly achieve common development and work together to make greater contribution to a better future of humanity, Li said.

China will open its door even greater to the outside world. As the country is making headway in high-quality development and Chinese modernization, its massive market is blessed with huge potential and opportunities for growth, he said.

He noted that China will continue expanding its market access, optimizing its business environment, ensuring that foreign-funded enterprises receive treatment equal to domestic firms, promoting fair competition, and protecting the property rights of enterprises and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs.

While congratulating USCBC on its 50th anniversary, Li spoke highly of contributions it has made to improving China-U.S. trade cooperation, developing bilateral ties, and enhancing people's wellbeing in the two countries.

Casper and other members of the delegation said that USCBC supports the development of sound and stable bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as economic and trade cooperation, which will give huge impetus to the economic growth of both nations.

Noting that the Chinese market is crucial to enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. companies, they said USCBC welcomes the Chinese government's indication that it will deepen reform and opening-up. They also expressed the hope that bilateral relations will develop further to bring greater certainty to the business communities of the two countries.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Chinese government has again moved to block Philippine vessels' attempt to conduct another resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, according to a former US senior defense official.

Raymond Powell, project lead at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said Tuesday that the country's new resupply mission was "underway," more than two weeks after China's coast guard used water cannons on Philippine vessels on the way to Ayungin Shoal.

He said in a social media post that the Philippine Coast Guard has deployed its BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan as escorts.

However, China also deployed four militia ships from Mischief Reef "to take up blockade positions at Ayungin."

Powell added that all of China's 11 AIS-visible Qiong Sansha Yu militia ships were likewise deployed from Mischief Reef starting Monday afternoon.

"Besides the 4 blocking #Philippines access to Ayungin Shoal 7 more deployed NE of Mischief Reef," he said.

Speaking to CNN Philippines, Ray Powell says the latest PH resupply mission to Ayungin shoal appears to be over based on the movement of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) moving away from the shoal.

But he pointed out that he could not say for now how the mission turned out and it would be best to wait for statements from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) or PCG.

And unfortunately, this one was a little harder to follow because all of the China Coast Guard ships which I believe were probably involved  all of them were dark to me on AIS. So I was not able to see any of them. I could only see the maritime militia ships of which I observed four, actively blocking access to the shoal, Powell said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner confirmed on Monday that the government will "definitely" launch another resupply mission.

He stressed that it is the Philippines' "right to bring supplies to our troops."

Brawner also said the Philippine military was "anticipating all possible scenarios," including another water cannon incident and the Chinese blockade.

"We are expecting this But we also have courses of action that we can take," he said.

The AFP chief reiterated Manila's call for Beijing to halt its "coercive and dangerous tactics" in disputed waters.

The BRP Sierra Madre  a World War II-era ship  was deliberately grounded on Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as the country's outpost in the West Philippine Sea.
The fiercest battle of the culture wars is raging over a womans right to make her own medical decisions in consultation with her medical professionals.

Ever since the Supreme Court overturned the protections of Roe v. Wade, each state has become a battle ground. Attacks on women by Republican-dominated state legislatures are escalating.

Fifteen states now ban abortion at conception: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. No exception is made for rape. Other states have installed arbitrary cut-off dates of six weeks (Florida, South Carolina, Georgia); 12 weeks (Nebraska, North Carolina) and 15 weeks (Arizona). None of these dates are medically related to a womans health or the potential medical problems of pregnancy.

Although these bans are significant milestones, punishments in the various laws speak to a darker scenario. Texas offers a bounty for anyone who accuses a woman of ending a pregnancy. Other states penalize doctors for performing their medical duties. In Ohio, the state attorney general sought to penalize the doctor who sent a 10-year-old rape victim to another state for an abortion.

Other states have laws that penalize obstetricians and gynecologists for performing or even referring a woman for an abortion. The decision to offer medical care, even in instances of pregnancy complications, is not in the hands of a medical professional. It has become the decision of politicians who run for election. Consequently, there is an emerging trend of OB-GYNs leaving states with strict laws, thus creating maternity care deserts.

The U.S military is in the middle of this fight.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is blocking all military promotions until the Defense Department changes its rules on womens health care. Current DOD policy states if a servicewoman and her loved ones cannot get the OB-GYN care she wants in the state where her base is, the DOD will pay her transportation cost to a state where she can get the necessary care. If Tuberville and his allies persist, national security will suffer.

The recent election in Ohio demonstrated the general population is opposed to overly strict regulations. But the culture warriors stand four-square for putting a lawyer between a woman and her health care provider at the earliest possible moment. We have seen reports from Texas in which hospital lawyers  not doctors  had to go to court to make the case for the care a woman needed.

In Virginia, the governor has promised he would sign any bill limiting OB-GYN care that came to his desk. Therefore, this Novembers elections, especially for the House of Delegates, will be a fork in the road for Virginia and womens health.

In the 62nd House District, Sara Ratcliffe has made clear that, as a woman and a mother, she considers fertility and reproduction a high-priority issue. She has written that decisions around when, how, whether and with whom we have children are some of the most important and most personal decisions we make in our lives. People must have the right to make those decisions safely and privately, without political interference or judgment from those with a political agenda. Each of us should be able to make decisions about our own health and future with dignity and respect.

Needless to say, Ratcliffe has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood and REPRO Rising.

The lines have been drawn. Either a woman and her medical professional are responsible for her medical treatment, or the government of Virginia is responsible for anticipating all possible medical outcomes as it decides when it will allow medical intervention.

Keep that in mind when you are in the poll booth this November. Womens health and their right to self-determination are on the ballot.
Before he took office, Gov. Jim Pillen joked about phone conversations being exempt from public disclosure. Now, his administration has taken what seems to be an unprecedented step to shield the governors communications.

Pillens staff denied the Flatwater Free Press access to four emails the governor sent, in part citing executive privilege  a phrase absent from Nebraskas public records laws.

A half-dozen former and current officials and advocates who spoke to the Flatwater Free Press couldnt recall any other Nebraska governors who invoked executive privilege to deny access to records. A couple said they were alarmed by the privilege claim, which governors elsewhere have employed to rebuff access.

One press freedom advocate described its apparently novel use in Nebraska  and the lack of further explanation from the governors office  as disturbing.

Former Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican who served from 2005 to 2015, said hes unfamiliar with the concept of executive privilege relative to governors emails. He supports full transparency, he said, with narrow exceptions for things like unresolved personnel or legal matters.

When youre the governor, youre a publicly elected official and your records are subject to freedom of information requests, and we routinely complied with those, Heineman said. I think thats important, because the public has a right to know what a governor is doing and the kinds of emails that we get.

Jack Gould, a board member with open government group Common Cause Nebraska since 1985, said this is the first time hes heard of a Nebraska governor invoking executive privilege to deny records.

Sen. Danielle Conrad, a Democrat from Lincoln, lawyer and former head of the state ACLU, also couldnt remember a case. The current ACLU Nebraska legal director couldnt either.

Allen Beermann, emeritus executive director of the Nebraska Press Association and former Nebraska secretary of state, couldnt remember a specific example from a former governor, but said he could imagine an appropriate use of executive privilege.

Im just hoping that the governor conversed with the attorney general, he said.

The Flatwater Free Press has asked three times for emails the governor has sent since he took office in January.

In April, legal counsel Maureen Larsen provided a handful of email threads and withheld four records, writing that they were protected by executive privilege. A subset of records, she wrote, are also protected by deliberative process privilege and an exception in state law allowing officials to withhold some information to protect public safety.

In response to Flatwaters two other requests, Larsen said there were no records.

It means the governor sent just that handful of emails during his first five months in office that were considered public record and hadnt sent any text or chat messages. Spokesperson Laura Strimple said that Pillen communicates by phone or in-person.

The bulk of constituent inquiries are submitted through a portal on the governors website, she wrote in an email to Flatwater Free Press. Letters are distributed to subject matter experts on the governors staff or to the appropriate agency for review and response. If they are of a personal nature, the governor responds on his own.

A mid-July review of the offices other denial letters showed that Pillens administration had denied access to records three times, and this was the only time it cited executive or deliberative process privilege.

Neither is among the exceptions that allow public officials to withhold records under Nebraska public records laws. Neither is mentioned in Nebraskas Constitution.

Staff did not directly answer requests to cite statute and describe the contents of the records that were withheld. State law requires agencies to do both.

Instead, Strimple responded: The Governors Office has responded to all public records requests in accordance with the law.

Sen. Tom Brewer, a Republican from Gordon and chair of the committee that handles bills related to public records, agreed. He said he consulted with legal counsel and didnt think the governors office had violated state law. He said he fears a side-effect of the requests will be that people send very few emails.

If I was them and any email I send comes under everyones scrutiny, he wrote in an email, I would rarely ever send an email.

Whats in the emails matters, said ACLU Nebraska legal director Rose Godinez, to determine their importance and any consequences of withholding them.

We would encourage Gov. Pillen to describe the documents, as required by statute, that are being withheld, she said.

A broad application of executive privilege would be alarming, according to Conrad, who said she couldnt interpret whether thats what the governor was doing in this case.

The denial alarmed national experts in government transparency. Adam Marshall, a senior staff attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, called it disturbing that the governors office cited a legal theory for apparently the first time and didnt provide additional information.

I think the governors office owes the public an explanation of what its doing and why its doing it, Marshall said.

Laura Ebke, senior fellow at the Platte Institute and former state senator, said that  if you accept that there is executive privilege  she believes it should have clear and specific guidelines, and that those guidelines should be cited when its invoked.

Nebraska journalists use public records to report on government operations and provide the public information.

A lieutenant governor abruptly resigned in 2013 after Omaha World-Herald reporters found 2,300 calls to women other than his wife in his state cellphone records.

And public records released to the Omaha World-Herald in 2021 showed that officials knew Nebraska wouldnt be reimbursed for deploying state troopers to the Texas border, despite public statements suggesting otherwise.

Lawyers, lawmakers, political parties, interest groups and citizens who simply want more information about the work of their government also frequently use the law.

The governors not saying no to the Flatwater Free Press, hes saying no to 2 million people  hes shutting down 2 million people from getting information that theyre probably entitled to see, said David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida.

The Flatwater Free Press did not find the phrase executive privilege in archived denial letters from Heinemans administration.

The governors office is required to keep such records for 10 years. However, the Flatwater Free Press was not able to inspect denial letters from the administration of Pete Ricketts, who preceded Pillen. History Nebraska, which maintains archived state records, said it didnt have these records from Ricketts time. Pillens office also said it didnt have the records.

Strimple said Pillens office couldnt speak to whether former administrations had asserted executive or deliberative process privilege.

They are not novel concepts and have been used in other states, she wrote. These types of privilege have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court  and are consistent with established NE Supreme Court precedence.

According to an article in Journalism Quarterly, by 1994 supreme courts in half a dozen states had ruled that governors could use executive privilege to limit access to some records.

About 10 years ago, the supreme courts in Washington and Oklahoma ruled that it exists in some situations. Since 2020, the governors of Tennessee, Montana, Alabama and Florida have invoked executive privilege to deny records, according to news reports.

Cuillier said that historically this has not been a party-line issue.

Those in power want to keep their power, he said. Information is power, so you keep it to yourself.

In Nebraska, lawyers interviewed for this story all pointed to the same 2017 state Supreme Court case: State ex rel. Veskrna v. Steel, in which the court recognized a privilege that protects judges deliberations, with limitations, because of the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches. Dave Lopez, former assistant attorney general whos now Pillens chief of staff, was one of the states lawyers in the case.

The court didnt weigh in on executive privilege but referenced an opinion during the Nixon administration in which the Supreme Court first recognized it: We note with approval that the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected overly broad claims of executive privilege to shield records from similar public disclosure laws, the Nebraska opinion reads.

The Nebraska court saw the potential for abuse, said Kyle Langvardt, a law professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Based on that opinion, he said he thinks its more likely than not that the state Supreme Court would find some kind of an executive privilege exists, with limitations.

Its probably not an absolute privilege, he said. You cant just make these blanket claims about executive privilege. That tends not to go too well in court, either at the federal level or in other states.

This is not the first time Pillen has defied expectations regarding access. During his campaign, he declined to debate other candidates publicly.

Speaking at the states Center for Operational Excellence summit in December, he made a joke that implied secrecy was a benefit of phone calls.

Im learning  when you have phone conversations, theyre not (at the discretion of) open meetings laws, Pillen quipped with a smile.

In March, the Omaha World-Herald reported that he broke with over three decades of governors by not releasing public schedules.

Strimple, his spokesperson, said Pillen is very accessible.

Since taking office, he has attended hundreds of events across the state, including Lincoln and Omaha, she said. Events organized by the office or those which involve other agencies or organizations typically accompany prior notice to the media.

Conrad said shes seen a trend away from transparency at all levels of government in recent years, and that the executive privilege claim may represent a continuation of that trend. She introduced a bill meant to improve state public records law earlier this year. It didnt advance out of committee.

The Platte Institutes Ebke said that transparency is especially important now, when many people already distrust their government. In a 2022 study from the Pew Research Center, only 20% of Americans said they trusted the federal government to do the right thing just about always or most of the time.

Public officials should do everything they can to shed light on things so that people have less reason to lack trust, Ebke said.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
Kurtis Conover was working Thursday afternoon when his phone began blowing up, a group text with neighbors in northeast Lincolns Waterford Estates subdivision reacting to news that the state plans to build a new prison nearby.

They werent happy texts  nor was Conover when he learned of the states plan to build a $350 million, 1,500-bed prison on more than 300 acres near 112th and Adams streets, about a mile outside the city limits  and about a mile and a half from the upscale subdivision in one of the fastest growing areas of Lincoln.

I was just blown away that this is what was happening, he said. I was really not expecting a prison to be built a mile away from the neighborhood, as the crow flies.

Hes far from alone. Residents of several neighborhoods in the area are communicating, trying to figure out the best way to register their opposition and  they hope  convince the state to locate elsewhere.

City officials were scrambling as well Friday to figure out what the decision means for the city, after having been notified by state officials of the selection shortly before Gov. Jim Pillens news conference on Thursday.

T.J. McDowell, the citys chief of staff, said the state reached out earlier this year regarding their search for a prison site and asked if the city would sell them city property.

At that time, we learned they were exploring sites in Lincoln, including the announced site, as well as sites in other communities, he said in an email responding to questions. He did not indicate what city property the state was interested in buying.

City officials were worried about losing land for future growth and about locating the prison in Lincoln generally and declined the request to locate the prison on city property, he said. They also asked to be involved in future discussions.

We wanted to understand the factors guiding their site selection and, if it had to be in Lincoln, if there were more mutually desirable locations, he said.

That didnt happen and the city didnt hear from the state until Thursday.

In its comprehensive plan, the site sits in a part of the city in the top tier for future urban residential development, which means while theres no water and sewer in the area now, planners believe it will be among the next growth areas and expect it to be developed by 2050.

McDowell said that would be the citys preferred plan, and the city is gathering information about what the process will look like going forward, including the annexation process, as well as the provision of utilities and how it will impact the comprehensive plan.

But city officials believe the state has the ability to use the location without the citys approval, he said.

The state signed a purchase agreement to pay $17 million for the site and Pillen said construction on the new prison, which will replace the existing Nebraska State Penitentiary, will begin in the fall of 2024. Pillen said officials looked at more than 70 potential sites and the one near 112th and Adams was chosen, at least in part, because of the existing workforce.

Lancaster County Board Chairwoman Christa Yoakum said commissioners were not consulted about placement of the new prison and knew nothing about the site selection before Pillen announced it.

The site is just beyond city limits, but within the city's 3-mile zoning jurisdiction. Still, Yoakum said the decision is worrisome.

Its concerning, proposing a prison near where an elementary school is located and where neighborhood growth is (occurring) at a pretty rapid speed, she said.

While the future East Beltway is planned further east and isnt likely to be directly affected by a prison, it could negatively affect growth toward the beltway once its built, she said.

Residents in the area  where there are multiple neighborhoods east of 84th Street, as well as Lincolns newest elementary school and churches, some with child care centers  are worried about what a prison would do to property values as well as future development.

Steve Devitt and his family built their forever home in Prairie Village North, near 95th and Adams, and he said many residents in the area were looking forward to more restaurants and commercial and retail offerings in the area.

Its just getting going and everyone agrees thats the end of it, he said. This pretty much puts a nail in the coffin of development in northeast Lincoln.

Richard Meginnis, a former City Council member and president of NAI FMA Realty, said the citys strongest growth area is east Lincoln and a prison will create a big barrier.

Unlike the current prison, which was built near what was until recently Nebraska 2 and U.S. 77, theres no road network near 112th and Adams, he said. And theres very little residential development near the current prison, a fate he worries will come of that area if a prison goes up.

It becomes an industrial area at best, he said.

He said he wasnt opposed to locating a prison in or near Lincoln, because of the jobs it would keep here.

Im just disappointed the state picked this site, he said.

Conover said Waterford Estates, which is located east of 84th Street to about 104th Street between O and Holdrege streets, has about 700 homes and Dominion Estates east of Waterford is being developed now.

I know a lot of people arent happy about it, he said

Devitt said among his worries is the light pollution a large prison would cause for residents across northeast Lincoln. His parents, he said, live in Syracuse, about 15 miles from the state prison in Tecumseh and lights from the prison are clearly visible.

He cant understand how something like this could happen with no discussion with the people most affected by it. When the first prison was built, the city grew around it. This is being thrust upon them.

Why would you build it so close to neighborhoods? Devitt said. Theres an endless amount of open farmland any direction around Lincoln.
During July, the General Federation of Womens Club of North Carolina (GFWC of NC) Statesville Womans Club summer project was a Back to School supply collection for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Piedmont  Statesville. Shown from left are: Melicia Oglesby, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Piedmont, Statesville Elementary-High School programs director; Shelley Arthur, GFWC of NC Statesville Womans Club first vice president; and Clarissa Young, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Piedmont-Statesville executive director.
The attorney for an Elliston, Va., man charged in the riots at the U.S. Capitol says he is being treated more harshly than participants in other cases, such as protests of police brutality in the wake of George Floyds killing.

Charges against Jeremey Daniel Groseclose should be dismissed because he is the victim of selective enforcement, his attorney argues.

Groseclose faces felony charges of participating in a civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding even though he did not injure anyone or damage property in the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising of Donald Trump supporters, defense attorney Carmen Hernandez wrote in a motion filed late Friday in Washington, D.C.s federal court.

By comparison, no such charges were placed against protesters who have espoused progressive political views, Hernandez wrote, citing the 2020 anti-police demonstrations at a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, and other incidents of rioting, vandalism and looting.

Such disparate treatment amounts to selective prosecution and enforcement on the basis of the content of Mr. Grosecloses speech in violation of his First Amendment rights, the motion states in asking U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to dismiss the charges.

Groseclose is scheduled for trial in November on the two felony charges and four misdemeanor offenses.

Court records include photographs of Groseclose wearing a gas mask and joining a horde of rioters  many of them wearing pro-Trump apparel and waving signs supporting his claims of a stolen election  that forced their way into the Capitol. Lawmakers who were meeting to certify President Joe Bidens victory at the polls in November 2020 fled for their safety before order was eventually restored.

At one point during the approximately two hours Groseclose spent in the building, authorities say he helped a group of insurgents in preventing police from closing a roll-up door in the Crypt, a circular room directly below the Rotunda, as the mob advanced.

I saw GROSECLOSE help another subject place a trash can under the closing door, an FBI special agent wrote in court records.

Groseclose, who was 38 at the time of his arrest in February 2021, was allowed to remain free on bond in his Montgomery County home. He is one of more than 1,000 defendants from across the country charged in what prosecutors have called a severe threat to democracy.

Hernandez wrote in her motion that while prosecutors are free to exercise substantial discretion in deciding what charges to bring, they cannot base their decisions solely on a defendants political views, which are protected by free-speech rights.

Cooper, who presided over the cases of two former Rocky Mount police officers charged with participating in the Jan. 6 uprising, discounted a similar argument made in that case.

Thomas T.J. Robertson had argued that his words on social media  expressing displeasure over the results of the presidential election and supporting Trumps claims of voter fraud  were being improperly used to link him to the insurrection on Capitol Hill.

But in a March 2022 opinion, Cooper wrote that if Robertson had expressed his view only through social media, he almost certainly would not be here. But he also allegedly took action  entering the Capitol without lawful authority in an alleged attempt to impede the Electoral College vote certification. A jury later convicted Robertson, who is serving a prison sentence of seven years and three months.

In her motion, Hernandez cited an opinion issued earlier this month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that dealt more directly with the issue of selective enforcement.

That case involved thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters who flooded the streets of the nations capital to protest the killing of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

Over several weeks, the crowds covered streets, sidewalks and storefronts with paint and chalk messages calling for racial justice. The markings were ubiquitous and in open violation of the Districts defacement ordinance, yet none of the protesters were arrested, the court wrote in its Aug. 15 opinion.

During the same summer, Washington D.C. police arrested two anti-abortion advocates who chalked Black Pre-Born Lives Matter on a public sidewalk in a smaller protest.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court revived part of a lawsuit in which the anti-abortion protesters claimed that police engaged in selective enforcement by charging them  but not the racial justice demonstrators.

The First Amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of viewpoint, the court ruled.

In the Portland case involving racial justice protests, the government did charge some demonstrators with assaulting police, Hernandez wrote in her motion. Many of the cases were dismissed, she said, and in others the government recommended probation.

These dismissals and resolutions have occurred under the same Department of Justice that continues to prosecute Mr. Groseclose for his non-violent conduct, Hernandez wrote.

At a minimum, the court should require the government to explain why it has targeted Mr. Groseclose with two felony charges while allowing thousands of other demonstrators to face non-felony charges.
Recently, pro-government journalists and activists have begun to turn against their government.

The pro-government economist and reporter Ziad Ghosn wrote on a pro-government website, delving into the intricate world of oil derivatives and the governments financial strategies. Ghosn highlighted, on Athr.com, the governments historical pattern of handling subsidies, drawing a parallel between past and present practices.

He recounted how back in 2007, during Engineer Naji Otris tenure, the government initiated the redistribution of subsidies project, aiming to allocate subsidies to deserving recipients. Notably, Ghosn pointed out that the governments calculations showed the cost of subsidizing locally-produced oil derivatives based on international oil prices to be exceptionally low due to Syrias low production costs.

Recently, pro-government journalists and activists have begun to turn against their government.

The Syrian populations discontent has grown, culminating in strikes, arrests, and vocal opposition. The regimes shift in policy, moving away from subsidies, has intensified citizens calls for change. Concerns arise about a potential cycle of subsidies and subsequent price hikes, exacerbating economic turmoil. As a response to the deteriorating living conditions, protests, general strikes, and civil disobedience movements have emerged in regions controlled by the Assad regime.

Ghosn exemplified this with data from 2006, when the estimated profit per barrel of Syrian-produced oil stood at $55.2, while the global market price for Dubai crude oil was $60 per barrel, indicating a cost of production of less than $5 per barrel.

He used this historical perspective to draw parallels with the current situation, where the government was grappling with the idea of liberalizing oil derivative prices as a means to tackle the worsening budget deficit. The current circumstances, however, were markedly different due to the ongoing occupation of key oil fields by US forces on the island. In response, the government had turned to Iran for oil imports, utilizing annual credit lines.

Tensions have particularly intensified in coastal areas, leading to concerns of possible civil conflict. Activists and vocal critics, like Ayman Fares and journalist Kinan Waqaf, have publicly challenged the regimes leadership and policies. Fares directly challenged Bashar al-Assad and accused him and his wife, Asma al-Assad, of contributing to the suffering of the coastal population. Kinan Waqaf called for general civil disobedience and urged citizens, including military personnel, to stand against the regimes policies. In a live Facebook broadcast, Fares confronted Bashar al-Assad with a resolute message: If you consider yourself a leader, then prove it. Instead of sending your lackeys, come to me yourself. He continued, If you and your followers can capture me, a simple writer of truth, why dont you instead confront Israel, a more formidable challenge?

Ghosn shed light on the governments method of calculating oil derivative costs, which involved factoring in the cost of Iranian oil and its refining and transportation expenses. However, in practice, the government only covered a fraction of the imported oils value or transportation costs, leading to a substantial portion of the oil bill being recorded as debt.

He argued that while the governments claim of the treasury bearing significant costs due to subsidizing oil derivatives held theoretical validity, the practical implementation was more complex. Citizens were effectively paying for oil derivatives twice: first through direct consumption, and subsequently when the country had to repay the credit lines accumulated during the crisis years.

Ghosn addressed potential justifications for this approach, acknowledging the governments need for revenue to finance its activities and support the budget. However, he contended that this didnt justify selling oil derivatives at cost or even higher, especially when the country required support for its productive sector, cost reduction, and alleviation of economic sanctions and war-related pressures.

He urged the government to focus on stopping waste and corruption in the oil derivatives sector and to consider the use of credit lines as a means to genuinely support the productive sector.

Ghosn also scrutinized the governments motive behind the recent increase in oil derivative prices, which seemed to generate revenue that far surpassed the value of salary increases. He questioned whether the move was genuinely aimed at improving citizens living standards or if it served to bridge the budget deficit caused by the governments disruptive policies.

He delved into the figures, illustrating how the governments revenue gains from the price hikes greatly exceeded the salary adjustments. Ghosn provided breakdowns for diesel and gasoline revenues, showcasing that the accumulated revenue was substantially higher than the allocated funds for salary increases.

Concluding with a call for transparency and further government-provided information, Ghosn invited the government to share its numbers and studies regarding the anticipated impact of the oil derivative price hikes.
A noticeable pause by Saudi Arabia and growing discontent within Jordan have resulted in a stagnation of Arab normalization efforts, according to Syria TV.

The recent meeting of the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee regarding the Syrian matter held in Cairo yielded unfavourable results for the Syrian regime, according to Arab diplomatic insiders who spoke to Syria TV. This outcome was influenced by the stance of countries backing the regime. Russias decision to suspend the Constitutional Committees activities in Geneva due to heightened tensions with Western nations, coupled with Irans confidence in Omans role and mediation efforts by the Sultanate, has complicated matters.

These informed Arab diplomatic sources, who are well-acquainted with the workings of the Special Arab Liaison Committee on Syria comprising the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon, disclosed to Syria TV three key issues that have contributed to the slowdown in implementing the gradual plan established during the consultative meeting in Amman this past May.

As per the sources, it has been revealed that Saudi Arabia had previously laid down a condition for the advancement of the step-by-step roadmap: the withdrawal of Iranian-backed militias, notably the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, from Syrian territories. This stipulation aimed to ensure the smooth progress of the roadmaps implementation.

Saudi Arabias Concerns Regarding Iranian-Backed Militias

Furthermore, Saudi Arabias objective extends to curbing Hezbollahs involvement in the Yemeni matter. This is due to the fact that Hezbollahs operatives are exerting influence behind the scenes in the political negotiations between the Houthi group and Riyadh. Additionally, party members are overseeing the provision of military guidance to the Yemeni rebel faction.

Saudi Arabias overarching strategy involves interconnecting Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria issues. The rationale behind this approach is to reshape the current reality by creating linkages between these matters. The goal is to introduce complexity into the situation, thereby making it challenging to convince the global community to alter its approach to addressing the Syrian matter.

Amidst the events of the Riyadh summit and the Emirati meeting, I address the concept of Pan-Arabism, echoing the sentiments of Bashar al-Assad.

Broader Regional and International Context

A pressing concern has arisen due to mounting threats along the Jordanian border. Sources have pointed out that Jordan expresses dissatisfaction with the escalating dangers emerging from the Syrian territories adjacent to its border.

These threats have escalated to the extent that Iranian-backed militias, which have bolstered their presence near the Jordanian border, attempted to send an armed drone. However, the Jordanian army successfully intercepted and downed the drone on August 16th.

Syrian Regime Reluctant to Pursue Political Solutions

Adding to these issues, the Syrian regimes reluctance to collaborate with Jordan in revealing the identities of Jordanian fighters involved in conflicts within Syria has raised security concerns for Jordan. Furthermore, attempts to smuggle illicit substances and weapons into Jordanian territory persist at a concerning rate.

A noticeable pause by Saudi Arabia and growing discontent within Jordan have resulted in a stagnation of Arab nations efforts to normalize relations with the Syrian regime.

The push for a political resolution remains a priority. However, the Syrian regime remains hesitant to fully commit to such efforts. Instead, it seems intent on prolonging discussions to advance its own vision for the solution. This vision centers on the implementation of Resolution 2254, involving the creation of a national unity government with participation from what they term as the homegrown national opposition.

The Syrian regimes lack of response to Arab appeals for the reduction of authority held by security services and militias within the Syrian state presents a significant hurdle for Arab nations attempting to persuade Western powers to ease sanctions on the regime. The Syrian governments insistence on tying any practical actions it takes to the initiation of repatriation funds flow, aimed at early recovery and economic stabilization, further complicates matters.

Its evident that the deceleration of progress along the step-by-step path is intricately connected to both regional and international dynamics, extending beyond the conduct of the Syrian regime itself. This slowdown has coincided with recent signs indicating a partial resurgence of American interest in the Middle East. Washington has entered into various negotiations with regional stakeholders, aiming to dissuade them from pursuing courses of action aligned with Russia and Iran. Notably, the U.S. might be formulating a security strategy targeting Iranian-affiliated militias that traverse borders. Such a development could potentially provide Arab nations with alternative avenues for engaging with the Syrian regime. This scenario could compel these nations to be more flexible in their negotiations and discussions.

In essence, the progression of the step-by-step approach seems to be influenced by a complex interplay of regional and international factors, rather than being solely dependent on the behaviour of the Syrian regime itself. The recent geopolitical shifts and potential shifts, including renewed U.S. engagement and evolving security strategies, could reshape the landscape and dynamics surrounding the Syrian conflict.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The toll of this massacre reached a staggering figure of approximately 1,400 lives lost, according to Baladi News.

On Monday, Syrians solemnly commemorated the tenth anniversary of a tragic event etched deeply into their collective memory: the night when countless families in Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, were plunged into darkness and anguish. This haunting night marked the onset of a series of heart-wrenching photos and videos that captured the anguished cries and sombre fatalities inflicted by the Assad regime.

The date, August 21st, 2013, stands as a grim reminder of one of the gravest crimes against humanity in the twenty-first century. On this fateful day, the Syrian regime perpetrated a massacre against the inhabitants of Eastern Ghouta. This brutal act involved the deployment of toxic sarin gas, claiming the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians.

Amidst the turmoil of that night, the duty of rescue did not rest solely upon a specific group; rather, it was shouldered by all able-bodied individuals who valiantly assumed the responsibility of aiding the wounded, undeterred by the inherent perils. Protective measures were limited to damp cloths held over noses and mouths, as the suffocating odour of sarin spared no one. The gaze of the deceased and the pleas of the desperate overwhelmed the resolve of even the most steadfast responders.

Tragically, the toll of this massacre reached a staggering figure of approximately 1,400 lives lost, as meticulously documented by dedicated activists. The Syrian Network for Human Rights undertook the grim task of memorializing the names of 1,144 individuals who succumbed to this unspeakable tragedy.

Events to commemorate the massacre

In remembrance of the Assad regimes tragic chemical massacre, The White Helmets orchestrated a poignant Lighting Candles ceremony, a moving tribute shared across social media platforms. This event serves as a solemn homage to the victims who fell victim to the harrowing chemical attacks within Damascus Ghouta.

In an official statement, The White Helmets expressed that a full decade has transpired since the occurrence of this chilling chemical atrocity. This heinous massacre stands as one of historys most abhorrent episodes, claiming the lives of thousands of innocent individuals through the merciless deployment of sarin gas. The toll of this catastrophe includes more than 1,100 people who perished as a result of suffocation caused by this deadly substance.

Emphasizing the importance of justice and accountability, The White Helmets statement underlines the imperative to actively pursue measures that prevent impunity for the Assad regime and its implicated accomplices. This call extends beyond the boundaries of this particular crime, encompassing the multitude of atrocities that have stained their record.

Witness to the crime

Media activist Abu Mahmoud al-Harak, who played a pivotal role in documenting the unfolding tragedy at that time, shared his poignant recollections, emphasizing that forgetting such moments remains an insurmountable challenge. He vividly recounts the details, as if the events were transpiring before him in the present moment.

In his local dialect, he relays a memory from 2013 that still echoes in his mind. He recounts how a colleague urgently knocked on his office door, breaking his concentration. He recalls thinking, What now? What chaos has disrupted the world? His colleagues message was stark: A chemical strike has occurred. Hurry, cover your face with a cloth. As they ventured outside, they found themselves amidst a world silenced by death, with lifeless figures sprawled on the streets. He is in disbelief at the sight, as someone who documented the incident.

He revisits the frantic pace of those moments, describing how he turned his camera in all directions to capture the grim reality  a world stifled and extinguished. Despite his efforts, he realized that photography couldnt capture the depth of the tragedy. The urgency to aid the injured and evacuate the deceased from the affected area, specifically Zamalka  Ain Tarma, became their primary mission. He recounts their hazardous journey towards awaiting ambulances, a journey that tragically claimed the lives of some paramedics.

Determined to make the world aware before their own potential demise, Abu Mahmoud took to the Internet, reaching out to multiple news outlets with a desperate plea to share the unfolding crisis. He recalls how most contacts were unresponsive, but he managed to connect with an account linked to Reuters in the Middle East. He shared the raw truth  that the regime had unleashed a chemical attack on Ghouta. After this communication, he returned to the heart of the crisis, only to be confronted with the staggering reality of the rapidly escalating casualty numbers.

He then switched his focus back to documenting, enlisting the help of his companion who had always been adept at managing video clips. They continued to record the unfolding event, their memory cards filling rapidly. Amidst the chaos, he handed off a memory card to his companion, instructing him to continue recording while he took cover. The relentless barrage of missiles, falling like rain, pounded Ghouta relentlessly, a horrifying testament to the intensity of the attack.

Haraks memories offer a chilling insight into the chaos and urgency that defined those tragic moments, highlighting the grim determination of those who sought to document and share the harrowing reality of that night.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Analysts attribute this surge in Syrian exports to amplified outbound shipments of natural resources, Athr Press writes.

Anonymous insiders within the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade have divulged to Athr Press during an exclusive interview that Syrias foreign trade exhibited a notable surge in activity during the initial half of 2023 when compared to the same period in the previous year. Specifically, imports demonstrated a substantial drop of 24% in contrast to the corresponding timeframe in the prior year, representing a monetary value of approximately 1.518 billion euros.

Conversely, on the export front, these confidential sources corroborated a remarkable uptick of 44% in the first half of the current year compared to the corresponding stretch in the previous year.

Analysts attribute this surge in Syrian exports to amplified outbound shipments of natural resources by the General Organization for Geology and Mineral Resources. Additionally, the countrys export portfolio has expanded to include commodities like vegetables, fruits, and olive oil, as well as products from other burgeoning sectors, notably textiles and glass production.

However, experts caution that conducting quarter-to-quarter or midterm comparisons may not always offer an accurate representation of the foreign trade movements of economically unstable nations. Such analyses can be influenced by the timing of the production cycle as well as fluctuations in indicative import prices.

Previously, the chair of the Import and Export Committee at the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce affirmed the international acclaim for the quality and diversity of food products, encompassing a range from cheeses, dairy, and conservatory items to various spices like coriander, anise, and cumin.

In discussions with Athr Press, economic experts attribute the downturn in imports from 2019 to the conclusion of 2022 to two principal factors. Firstly, an external constraint beyond the control of the Syrian government resulted from Western economic sanctions, most notably the U.S.-imposed Caesar Act. The second factor was an internally driven response to the challenges faced by the country during those years. The government resorted to a strategy of import rationalization aimed at curbing foreign exchange depletion, directing funding primarily towards crucial resources like wheat and oil to secure essential food supplies.

On the export front, a gradual decline had persisted since the outbreak of the war, reaching its nadir in 2018 at approximately $325 million. However, this trend reversed, culminating in a figure of around $696 million by the close of 2022. Regarding shifts in the export landscape, experts contend that the most significant disruption occurred in early 2013 when export values plummeted precipitously by 82%, attributable to diminished production across diverse economic sectors.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure the protection of the witness in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar in Navotas City supposedly due to mistaken identity.

Hontiveros said that the witness claimed that a police officer wanted to make it appear that the teenager was using illegal drugs.

"Sinabihan po ang isang witness ng isang armado, na nagpakilalang pulis na 'Sabihin na may droga is Jemboy.' Amin itong kinompirma sa abogado niya," she said during the Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Committee's probe on Baltazar's killing.

[Translation: The witnessed was told by an armed man, someone who identified himself as a police officer, to say that 'Jemboy has drugs on him.' We confirmed this with the lawyer of the witness.]

"Before this committee, before our chair, before the leadership of the PNP na nandirito, hinihingi ko po sa ating kapulisan na tiyakin ang kaligtasan ng witness na ito," Hontiveros added.

[Translation: Before this committee, before our chair, before the leadership of the PNP who is present right now, I am asking our police to ensure the safety of this witness.]

Hontiveros did not give further details on the witness, but she said the person is not yet part of the government's witness protection program.

The senator added she will hold the PNP accountable should anything happen to the witness or the witness' family.

"At kung may, wag naman sana, may mangyari sa kanya at sa sinumang miyembro ng kanyang pamilya, ay kayo po, ang ating mga alagad sa PNP...kayo po ang pananagutin ko," said Hontiveros.

[Translation: Just in case something bad happens to the witness and to the members of the family, I will make the PNP accountable for it.]

Baltazar was killed during the police operation on Aug. 2 in Brgy. NBBS Kaunlaran in what the police said was a case of mistaken identity. Police claimed that Baltazar bore similarities with their target suspect identified as Reynaldo Bolivar.

Moreover, Hontiveros also questioned why only charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide were filed against the Navotas police suspects.

"Parang ang lumalabas na aksidente lang ang nangyari, na walang intensyong pumatay nang pinaulanan nila ng bala ang bata," she said.

[Translation: It seemed now that it was just an accident and there was no intention to kill the minor with bullets.]

The victim's camp already filed a motion earlier to upgrade the charges to murder.

Meanwhile, the PNP admitted the police involved in the operation had lapses in following operational procedures.

"Lumalabas sa aming inquiry na may lapses sa pagsunod sa police operational procedure, internal discipline, at policies on command responsibility sa mga pulis na nasangkot," said PNP Deputy Chief for Administration Rhodel Sermonia.

[Translation: Based on our inquiry, the involved cops had lapses in following the police operational procedure, internal discipline, and policies on command responsibility.]

Several police officers were sacked from their posts in relation to the incident, including Navotas City police chief PCol. Allan Umipig.
Young individuals from Nawa, Daraa, participated in a demonstration on August 21st, calling for the downfall of the regime, according to Enab Baladi.

The city of Nawa, located north of the Daraa governorate, recently experienced a series of events involving armed clashes and mortar shelling by Syrian regime forces. These events followed an evening demonstration that took place on Monday.

According to reports from the correspondent of Enab Baladi in Daraa, numerous young individuals from Nawa participated in an evening demonstration on August 21st, calling for the downfall of the Syrian regime. During the protest, roads were obstructed using burning tires. Subsequent to the demonstration, confrontations erupted between regime forces and local fighters from the area. This was accompanied by mortar shelling that impacted several neighbourhoods within the city. At present, there is no available information regarding the extent of damage caused by the shelling.

Hassan al-Jahmani, an activist and resident of Nawa, informed Enab Baladi that the demonstration took place near the Military Security building. This prompted security forces to use gunfire in an attempt to disperse the gathering, alongside the deployment of military patrols in the vicinity. The actions taken by security forces in targeting the protesters led to clashes between the local fighters and the Military Security personnel. As a result of these clashes, security forces sustained injuries and reportedly withdrew to the city of Sheikh Maskin.

Subsequent to the conclusion of the clashes, Syrian regime forces initiated artillery and mortar shelling on the city. Fortunately, there have been no reported civilian casualties as a result of this shelling. As the security tension persisted in the citys streets, the youth of Nawa once again resorted to burning tires and blocking roads, reiterating their demand for the fall of the Syrian regime, as mentioned by activist Jahmani.

The local Daraa 24 network highlighted that the shelling targeting Nawa originated from military installations in close proximity to the city. This occurred concurrently with violent clashes near the area branch and the headquarters of the Military Security within the city, during which RPG shells were utilized.

Photos from the protests within the city were published by the Ahrar Houran Gathering. These images depicted protesters obstructing roads in the central parts of Nawa.

Protest demonstrations continue to transpire in southern Syria, particularly within the Daraa and Suweida governorates. Demonstrators demands range from ameliorating living conditions to toppling the Syrian regime and the departure of President Bashar al-Assad. Activists have been issuing calls on social media for a general strike across all Syrian governorates since August 16. These strikes and protests have emerged as responses to the deteriorating living conditions, with both Daraa and Suweida actively participating in these actions against the regime.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The general strike and civil disobedience in Suweida have entered their third consecutive day, according to Syria TV.

The general strike and civil disobedience in Suweida have entered their third consecutive day, showing no signs of abating. The protest movement has expanded its reach to 38 different locations across the governorate, with indications that this number may rise further. This widespread dissent has prompted the closure of numerous government departments, institutions, and shops. Additionally, roads leading to city centers and towns have been effectively sealed off as part of the protest action.

At the heart of these ongoing demonstrations, al-Karama Square in Suweidas city center has become a focal point for a sizable protest. The demonstration is a direct response to the policies of the Syrian regime. The participation in these acts of civil disobedience extends beyond the city limits, as villages and towns throughout the governorate join in the protest movement.

The protesters have been vocal in their demands, passionately chanting for freedom and the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They squarely attribute the decline in their living standards and economic circumstances to President Assads leadership. Banners held aloft by the demonstrators echo their call for the implementation of UN Resolution 2254. This resolution outlines a political transition as the appropriate course of action to resolve the ongoing crisis in the country.

Importantly, the protesters emphasize that their objectives are deeply political in nature. They seek the dismantling of the Syrian regime, an aim that is consistent with the enduring spirit of the Syrian revolution. It is made clear that the protesters goals transcend the narrow framing put forth by the regimes media. While the regime seeks to portray these protests as addressing only local service-related issues, the protesters aspirations extend far beyond that narrow interpretation.

As the protests unfold, certain public and secondary roads have been blocked using burning tires, a symbolic act that underlines the mounting economic and security concerns in Suwayda. These roadblocks, in conjunction with the closure of shops, serve as tangible manifestations of the deteriorating conditions in the region.

The persistence of the general strike and civil disobedience into its third day underscores the resilience and determination of the people of Suwayda. Their unified voices and collective actions convey a resounding message that their quest for change and justice remains unwavering.

Raising salaries and fuel prices

On Wednesday, regions under the control of the Syrian regime experienced a surge in private transport strikes following a government decision to raise fuel prices. This move caused confusion among citizens and students across various Syrian governorates.

Shortly after the Syrian regimes president issued a legislative decree to double salaries and wages for public sector employees, amendments were introduced to hike the prices of diesel, gasoline, fuel, and liquid gas.

According to directives from the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, the cost of diesel for private bakeries has surged to 700 SYP per litre, while subsidized diesel for consumers now stands at 2,000 SYP per litre.

In Karama Square, a central demonstration was staged demanding the downfall of the regime. On Tuesday, hundreds of individuals from cities and towns within the Suweida Governorate embarked on a journey to the Karama Square in the heart of Suweida City. They participated in a pivotal demonstration that called for the ousting of the Syrian regime and an enhancement in living conditions. This event coincided with the launch of 38 other demonstration points throughout the governorate.

Karama Square bore witness to a substantial gathering of hundreds of people, who fervently chanted anti-regime slogans. Among these slogans were Syria deserves better than Assads rule and The people demand an end to the regime. These expressions of discontent extended their support to the governorates of Idleb, Aleppo, Daraa, and the entire nation.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Russian Foreign Ministry suggested that it would be suitable for one of the Arab capitals to host the Constitutional Committee's session, according to Syria TV.

Russia has voiced its support for relocating the upcoming sessions of the Syrian Constitutional Committee to the Sultanate of Oman. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence in the Omani authorities, highlighting their established reputation as impartial and trustworthy intermediaries.

According to reports from the Russian Sputnik agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry underscored that the work of the committee had faced a prolonged hiatus due to Switzerlands departure from its customary neutrality. Switzerlands stance against Russia in the context of the Ukrainian crisis had, as stated, caused considerable challenges in facilitating the attendance of Russian officials at committee gatherings. The delegation representing the Syrian regime also declined to travel to Switzerland.

Given the recent reintegration of the Syrian regime into the League of Arab States, the Russian Foreign Ministry suggested that it would be suitable for one of the Arab capitals to host the Constitutional Committees sessions. Notably, the League of Arab States contact group on Syria had previously agreed to convene the next meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Muscat before the years end.

Citing Omans history of effectively mediating and facilitating the resolution of complex regional issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed its endorsement of this option.

The decision regarding the relocation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee sessions was announced by the participants of the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee meeting on Syria, which concluded its deliberations in Cairo on August 15th. This move comes after Russia, through the Syrian regime, impeded the holding of the ninth round of committee meetings in Geneva since July 2022, with the regimes delegation insisting on meeting certain Russian demands.

Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian Presidents special envoy to Syria, elaborated that his nation had put forth suggestions to transfer the meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee to Abu Dhabi, Muscat, or Manama. Lavrentiev further noted that the Russian delegations participation in the Geneva sessions had become increasingly strained due to Switzerlands unfriendly disposition, bordering on hostility toward Russia.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
MONDAY, Aug. 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have larger breasts tend to exercise less or less intensely, according to a new study that suggests having breast reduction surgery could be a game changer.

Australian researchers looking at exercise participation for women in this category called for more accessible, publicly funded breast reduction and other interventions.

The study used survey results from nearly 2,000 women who were in the involved in the Parkrun program, which promotes 5K running and walking events. Participants were in Australia, England and South Africa.

Women with bigger breasts reported that reducing their breast size would improve their exercise performance and frequency. And among the survey participants, the 56 women who had already undergone breast reduction surgery said they lead healthier and more active lifestyles.

Women who had undergone breast reduction reported increased overall frequency, enjoyment and willingness to exercise in a group, said lead author Dr. Claire Baxter, a clinical registrar in reconstructive surgery at the Flinders Medical Centre in Bedford Park, Australia.

Our study found that breast size affects exercise habits and that breast reduction surgery changes their willingness to exercise," she said in a Flinders news release.

The study promotes the importance of regular exercise for weight and ischemic heart disease and also points out barriers for Australian Government subsidies for reduction mammoplasty.

As well as the need for patients to have macromastia [enlarged breasts], experiencing pain in the neck of shoulder region, there are a number of state-based requirements for breast reduction to be performed, said study co-author Dr. Nicola Dean, an associate professor at Flinders University.

For example, there are body mass index [BMI] restrictions in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania which can lead to wait times of 12 months or more, Dean said in the release. In the U.K., breast reduction surgery via the National Health Service varies across locations, resulting in a postcode lottery as breast reduction is considered a lower priority procedure.

The study considered comparisons between 5K competition times and bra size. The BREAST-Q study also looked at cup size satisfaction levels, which showed more self-satisfaction with AA, A, B and C cup sizes than DD, E, F, G and H or greater.

Life satisfaction and happiness were also significantly related to bra size, with cup sizes greater than E reporting lower mean satisfaction.

The benefits of breast reduction surgery need more awareness and academic support, Baxter said.

Study findings were published in the September issue of the journal JPRAS Open.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on overcoming barriers to physical activity.

SOURCE: Flinders University, news release, Aug. 17, 2023
In a strategic move reflecting its evolution into a multi-product, multi-domain global player, Perfios, Indias largest B2B SaaS TechFin company, has unveiled its new brand identity. The revamp comes as the company celebrates its 15 years of growth and innovation in the financial technology sector. The decision to embark on this transformative brand journey is fuelled by the companys ambitious global expansion plans in the US, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and African markets.

With frugality and efficiency being at the center of its business, Perfios has displayed strong financial standing with consistent year-on-year growth of 100% in the last five years. Notably, the company is targeting the achievement of $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of this financial year. The company also seeks to double the contribution of its international business within the next 12 months.

We are excited to introduce our new brand reinvigoration to help our clients Lead and Leap. We recommit to being responsible creators and technologists who boldly pioneer and shape category-transforming tech products. In line with our commitment to lead with brilliance, we are now solving the entire end-to-end customer journey for all financial institutions said Sabyasachi Goswami, CEO of Perfios. On the personal mission statement for Perfios, Sabyasachi adds We are committed to work with banks and financial institutions to help them in their digital transformation journey thereby powering financial inclusion and access to financial services to billions across the globe.

Underpinned by the new positioning Lead/Leap, the new logo design conveys Perfios transition into a global tech platform, now catering to end-to-end customer lifecycle including onboarding, decisioning and underwriting for all financial institutions, and taking a leap with new futuristic tech bets. The logos flame arrow embodies the companys commitment to progress, innovation, and focused energy, igniting clients aspirations, as well as their mission to power financial inclusion to billions across the world through their clients. The renewed identity reflects Perfios dedication to institution building and its unwavering focus on spreading expertise, knowledge, and impact.

Catering to 1000+ banks and financial institutions, including 100+ clients globally Perfios is constantly innovating and investing in new-age technologies to enhance customer experience and solve complexities. Its Intelligent Document Processing platform is being continuously improved with newer ML models for supporting a wide range of financial documents and detecting frauds. As a B2B SaaS company serving the BFSI sector, Perfios advanced decisioning solutions enable real-time decisions for both small and large financial transactions. The companys focus on powering financial institutions to build strong portfolios with low NPAs, and thereby contributing to a healthy economy, remains a cornerstone of its mission.
Juniper Networks announced that the Viettel Group, Vietnams largest telecommunications group with a growing international footprint, has selected Junipers MX960 Universal Routing Platform for its network refresh. The upgrades will help Viettel better scale its consumer mobile and fixed broadband services, especially as networking demands from its increasingly digitally-savvy populace increase, aligning with the governments push to drive economic growth through technology.

Vietnam is home to over 77 million internet users and is the fastest growing digital economy in Southeast Asia, owing to its booming e-commerce sector and increased adoption of digital services. Ranked as Vietnams most valuable brand and one of the Top 500 Most Valuable Brands in the World in 2022, Viettel has grown to become a global leader in telecommunications with over 70 million mobile subscribers worldwide. In Vietnam, the telco recently announced record growth, maintaining its market leader position with a 54% share of the mobile market and a 40% share of the fiber internet market.

As the country advances its digital transformation program aimed at enhancing connectivity among its population, Viettel embarked on a transformative journey to foster the growth of Vietnams digital society. For more than a decade, Viettel has relied on Juniper routing and security solutions for their core, edge and metro access networks. Viettel further deepened this partnership by selecting Junipers MX960 Universal Routing Platform and MX-SPC3 Services Cards to enhance its carrier-grade network address translation (CGNAT) capacity to meet increasing traffic growth and leverage the additional processing power required for seamless network address translation.

To efficiently meet the growing demand for mobile and broadband services across urban and rural areas while maximizing its public IPv4 addresses, Viettel chose to upgrade its CGNAT capabilities. Among other key service capabilities, it allows IPv4 and IPv6 to seamlessly coexist in Viettels network. These upgrades have empowered Viettel to efficiently expand its consumer mobile and fixed broadband services, providing unparalleled experiences for their subscribers across a wide range of services, including gaming, streaming and work applications.

With Junipers high performance, reliable and scalable networking, Viettel has a solid foundation for growth as it maintains its position as a leading service provider in Vietnam while expanding its operations across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Washington's Department of Labor and Industries has cited a fourth Amazon warehouse, accusing the company of knowingly putting workers at risk of injury.

L&I issued $85,800 in fines to Amazon after an inspection of the company's Spokane-area fulfillment center, which the department says has the highest injury rate of any Amazon warehouse in the state. The department said Amazon required employees to work at such a fast pace that it put them at risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, or strains, sprains and tears that are often caused by repetitive motions.

In the three years since the facility opened, workers there filed more than 400 workers' compensation claims for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, reported L&I, which administers the state workers' compensation insurance system.

The fines, announced Tuesday, mark the fifth time L&I has cited Amazon for unsafe working conditions in the last few years. Because it has cited Amazon for similar violations at other facilities in Washingtonin Sumner, Kent and DuPont, Pierce CountyL&I issued a "willful" citation with a higher penalty for the Spokane facility.

Regulators with the state Department of Labor and Industries have fined Amazon five times since 2021 following allegations that the company put workers at risk of injury. The most recent citation follows an inspection of the Spokane fulfillment center.

"Perhaps more than any other company, Amazon has the means and the know-how to invest in solutions that keep their workers safe," Craig Blackwood, the assistant director for L&I's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said in a statement.

Amazon spokesperson Maureen Lynch Vogel said the company disagrees with the allegations and the "willful" characterization. Amazon has appealed the previous four citations and plans to appeal the latest one as well.

"Once again, L&I is relying on prior citations we have challenged  as a basis for alleging that we willfully exposed employees to ergonomic hazards. That is categorically false," Vogel said. "We look forward to a full and fair hearing on the citations we've already challenged because the fact is, we're making measurable progress."

Vogel said Amazon has improved its recordable incident ratea measure of how often an injury or illness occurs at workin the U.S. by 23% since 2019.

Amazon and L&I went to trial in July over the pending appeals from the previous four citations. During the trial, which is set to last through September, a judge from the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals will determine if Amazon has violated state law by failing to create a safe working environment.

If the judge rules in favor of L&I, Amazon will have to make changes to its warehouse operations, following suggestions from the department. If Amazon prevails, state regulators' hands may be tied.

Federal workplace safety regulators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Justice, as well as a U.S. Senate committee, are also investigating Amazon facilities around the country. OSHA has cited some Amazon facilities for failing to properly record work-related injuries, not providing adequate medical treatment to injured workers and failing to keep workers safe.

Amazon disputes those allegations, reiterating that it has invested millions in a "robust safety program" to protect workers. Accurate record keeping is an element of that program, the company said. It maintains that the government's allegations do not reflect the reality of safety at its warehouses.

While the injury rate at Amazon warehouses has declined, the extent of that decline and how the company compares with the rest of the industry is hotly contested. A coalition of labor unions that analyzed 2022 regulatory data found the overall injury rate at Amazon was 7 injuries per 100 workers in 2022, 70% higher than the rate at non-Amazon warehouses.

Amazon disputes that assertion, and says the unions' comparison to others in the industry is flawed. Amazon found in its own analysis, which used a different injury rate measure, that rates at U.S. facilities fell to 6.7 injuries per 200,000 working hours in 2022.

Amazon says it has invested in technology, vehicle safety controls and engineered solutions to reduce risk for employees. It plans to spend $550 million in safety-related projects across its fulfillment, freight and delivery networks this year.

In Spokane, L&I also cited Amazon for noise levels that are too high when workers are not wearing appropriate hearing protection.

Amazon said it disagrees with that characterization.

The company has 15 days from the date of the citation to file an appeal.

The money from the fine would go in the workers' compensation supplemental pension fund, to help workers and families of those who have died on the job, according to L&I.

2023 The Seattle Times.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Here are five things to know about British chip designing giant Arm, which has launched what could be the biggest US share offering in years.

The company, which plans to list on the New York stock exchange, says in its prospectus it is valued by Japanese parent SoftBank at $64 billion.

Nearly all smartphones

Rather than making chips itself, Arm licenses designs for the essential component that enables devices to function.

Founded in 1990, it dominates the global market for chips for smartphones. Its processors were found in more than 99 percent of all the world's smartphones in 2022.

Arm technology is also found in the majority of tablets and digital TV screens, as well as sensors, cloud services and chips with integrated processors.

About 70 percent of the global population uses products based on Arm technology, according to the company's own estimates.

More than 30 billion chips with Arm design were shipped in the financial year to March 31, an increase of around 70 percent since 2016.

Arm earns royalties for nearly all the chips designed and produced using its technology.

A British success story

Arm is based in Cambridge, a city renowned for cutting-edge UK science that home to pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and one of the world's leading universities.

The announcement in March that Arm, a strategic British success story, was planning to list on the New York stock exchange, was a blow to the UK government.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had sought for months to persuade it to list in London, where the top-tier FTSE 100 shares index is seeking to remain a strong global force amid increased competition from European rivals following Brexit.

Failed mega takeover

In February, US chip giant Nvidia scrapped a blockbuster $40-billion takeover of Arm, following regulatory objections.

The planned takeover by Nvidia collapsed in the face of competition investigations by watchdogs in Britain, the European Union and the United States.

They had voiced concerns about the key position the acquisition would have given Nvidia in the strategic chip sector. The US firm is known for graphics cards favored in the video game industry and the leader in processors used for developing artificial intelligence applications.

The UK government was particularly alarmed by the takeover bid, given what it said was Arm's vital role in Britain's technology sector and its overall economy.

The failure of the bid was a financial blow for SoftBank, which had purchased Arm in 2016 for $32 billion.

Its starting price for Arm was $40 billion. The value of the acquisition then shot up because part of that price was to be paid in Nvidia shares, which had soared on the stock market.

Dependence on China

Nearly 25 percent of Arm's turnover is generated by a single clientArm China.

Despite its name, the latter is neither controlled by Arm nor by SoftBank, which indirectly owns a minority share.

"We depend on our commercial relationship with Arm China to access the (Chinese) market," said Arm in its prep-IPO documents.

"If that commercial relationship no longer existed or deteriorates, our ability to compete in the (Chinese) market could be materially and adversely affected," it warned.

The company is particularly susceptible to the rising international tensions around the strategic chip sector, particularly between the United States and China.

Artificial intelligence

Arm hopes to play a strategic role in generative artificial intelligence (AI), which is capable of learning from data to create new content such as text, music, speech, video and code.

The company says its microprocessors already make modern smartphones compatible with AI and machine learning.

In the future, new generations of Arm chips will need to contribute to the emergence of algorithms for use in new applications, particularly in AI.

Otherwise, they will be overtaken by events, according to Arm, which says it is working on the issue with Google parent company Alphabet, General Motors' self-driving car subsidiary Cruise, Mercedes-Benz, Facebook parent Meta and Nvidia.

 2023 AFP
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Lead study author, Dr Neng Zhang, demonstrates social media use in the automated vehicle simulator. Credit: RMIT University

Early data on activities that will be unsafe to undertake in automated vehicles has been released. From doing work to watching the world, from social media to restingpreliminary results are in.

Research led by RMIT University looked at what happens if a driver is suddenly required to take control of an automated vehicle, such as in an emergency.

The series of papers examines how experience and three types of distractions (work, social media and rest) impacted on the driver's ability to respond.

Study lead author in the School of Engineering, Dr. Neng Zhang, said authorities need to begin drafting policies to regulate the responsible use of automated vehicles before Level 3 and 4 automated vehicles appear on Australian roads.

While the National Transport Commission has outlined a regulatory framework for automated vehicles in Australia, driver training, licensing and obligations are still being considered.

Laying the road to regulation

There are five levels of vehicle automation. Already, Level 1 and Level 2 are common through features such as lane keeping, automated parking and cruise control. More advanced automated vehicleswhat we think of when we say 'driverless cars'are currently being trialed but are not yet commercially available in Australia.

"In Level 3 and 4 automated driving, the human driver will still need to respond in an emergency, taking control of the vehicle," said Zhang.

"This data is a starting place for regulation and could lead to data-backed legislation that ensures drivers are given enough time to respond quickly and flawlessly to emergency events."

A study of distraction

Using a Level 3 automated vehicle simulation, the researchers tested participants' speed and effectiveness in taking over the vehicle in the event of an emergency.

"We had them writing business emails (working condition), watching videos (entertaining condition), and taking a break with their eyes closed (resting condition)," said Zhang.

"These tasks required drivers to invest high, moderate, and low levels of mental workload. We tested their responses after a short interval (five minutes) or long interval (30 minutes) of participating in one of these tasks. All of these tasks worsened the takeover and led to a period of poorer driving.

"We found that resting resulted in the worst takeover response, followed by working. Social media was less disruptive. However, the longer the participant engaged in an activity, the worse their response was to an emergency."

The cross-disciplinary research team brought together RMIT expertise in human body vibration, automotive engineering and cognitive psychology from the School of Engineering, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences and School of Science.

Biomedical researcher and author on the papers, Professor Stephen Robinson, warned that emergencies require a high level of cognition.

"As soon as something unexpected happens, such as a child running across the road, we need to be able to use our full cognitive abilities to assess the situation and take appropriate action," said Robinson.

"Takeover requests in automated vehicles occur when the onboard computer lacks the capacity to deal with changed or complex driving conditions. Such conditions are potentially dangerous and require the driver to focus quickly and act decisively to keep our roads safe."

Young drivers to struggle with emergency takeovers

In addition to distractions, the study looked at the experience of drivers with a focus on young people.

"We found that driving experience and takeover performance were highly correlated, with inexperienced drivers (with less than 20,000 kilometers of driving experience) responding more slowly and less effectively. The distance driven since gaining a driver's license is more important than the number of years since the license was issued," said Zhang.

"Our findings highlight the need for vehicle manufacturers and licensing authorities to develop solutions that ensure that conditionally automated vehicles are safe for drivers with varying experience levels."

Driving research to back legislation

The paper, "Is driving experience all that matters? Drivers' takeover performance in conditionally automated driving" was published in the Journal of Safety Research .

It builds on an earlier paper, titled "Influence of non-driving related tasks on driving performance after takeover transition in conditionally automated driving" published in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour in mid-2023.

The team is now investigating how to stimulate alertness and improve effectiveness of driver takeovers.

Engineering expert and author on the papers, Professor Mohammad Fard, explained that seamless and safe transition between vehicle automation and human is the goal.

"The aim of our work is to enhance 'human-automation interaction' for autonomous vehicles and significantly improve the way humans interact with and control these advanced autonomous vehicles, leading to enhanced efficiency and safety in their operation," said Fard.

However, there is a limit to what the engineering and design of autonomous vehicles can achieve. The researchers emphasized that regulations must also address issues such as distraction, alertness and experience before Level 3 automation can be successfully adopted in Australia.

"Governments can effectively safeguard road safety by acknowledging these detrimental effects and regulating non-driving activities in the context of autonomous driving."

More information: Neng Zhang et al, Is driving experience all that matters? Drivers' takeover performance in conditionally automated driving, Journal of Safety Research (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.08.003
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A series of three studies led by Prof. Ofer Bergman from Bar-Ilan University in Israel has uncovered a fascinating relationship between music collection and listening enjoyment in the era of streaming music. The studies shed light on the impact of streaming applications on the subjective evaluation of music and suggest that rediscovering the act of music collecting can significantly enhance the overall listening experience.

Since Thomas Edison's invention of the gramophone over a century ago, people had to collect their favorite music in order to listen to it. Streaming music applications allow users to collect any amount of music at no additional cost (e.g., by "liking" songs and adding them to playlists). On the other hand, streaming apps also allow users to listen to music they like without first collecting itby searching for it or using the app's recommendation algorithmmaking music collecting optional for the first time in music consumption history.

In the first paper of the series, Bar-Ilan researchers conducted a qualitative study that revealed that interviewees expressed a sense of diminished excitement towards music in the current landscape. The abundance of songs available at little to no cost was perceived as having "cheapened" their subjective evaluation of music.

The results of a subsequent questionnaire study indicated a drastic reduction in collection size as individuals transitioned to streaming apps. However, the study also uncovered compelling evidence highlighting the advantages of streaming collections. Notably, a positive correlation was identified between collection size and listening enjoyment. This led to a discussion of psychological theories which may explain this intriguing contradiction.

To delve deeper into the connection between music collection and listening enjoyment, the researchers conducted a controlled experiment. Participants were asked to rate their listening enjoyment in real-time using a chat-bot interface, both before and after collecting music.

The results, recently published in the journal Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, demonstrated that current listening enjoyment levels were relatively low. Additionally, participants reported that the act of collecting music was pleasant rather than burdensome. Most importantly, results indicated that listening to the collected music significantly elevated participants' listening enjoyment.

For over a century, people avidly collected music. However, with the rise of streaming apps, users have increasingly relied on algorithms to choose songs for them, often disregarding the option to build personal collections. The culmination of these three studies strongly suggests that a reevaluation is in order. By encouraging users to embrace music collection within streaming applications, their listening enjoyment can be substantially enhanced.

Prof. Ofer Bergman, from the Department of Information Science at Bar-Ilan University, expressed optimism about the implications of these findings. "Our studies underscore the vital role of music collection in shaping the subjective experience of music consumption. By actively engaging in the act of collecting within streaming platforms, users can elevate their enjoyment levels and possibly reignite their passion for music."

This research opens up exciting new avenues for streaming app developers and music listeners alike. By recognizing the significance of music collection within the streaming era, a harmonious balance between algorithmic recommendations and personal curation can be achieved, leading to a reinvigorated and enriching musical journey.

More information: Ofer Bergman et al, Collecting streaming music increases listening enjoyment, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s00779-023-01729-w
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The House of Representatives adopted a resolution on Tuesday that called for a special election for the third district of Negros Oriental, the seat of former Rep. Arnie Teves.

House Resolution 1212, authored by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, and House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, declared a vacancy in the congressional district.

The House expelled Teves from the roll on Aug. 16 for his long absence beyond what was authorized by the chamber, indecent behavior in social media posts, and attempt at seeking political asylum, which is tantamount to abandoning public office.

The Constitution states that in cases of vacancy in the Senate or House of Representatives, a special election may be called. However, the person to fill the vacancy can only serve for the remainder of the term.

The resolution authors cited Republic Act 6645 which provides that an election can be held "at least one year before the next regular election for members of Congress" once the Commission on Election (Comelec) receives a certification of the vacancy.

The House also decided to send a copy of HR 1212 to the Comelec.

In a separate message to reporters on Tuesday, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said it is not feasible to include the special election in the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls in October.

The earliest this can be held is December 2023, he noted. However, Garcia told CNN Philippines in a separate interview that polls for the congressional district could be held in early 2024.
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LSTM for character prediction measurement results. Credit: Nature Electronics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-023-01010-1

Deep neural networks are generating much of the exciting progress stemming from generative AI. But their architecture relies on a configuration that is a virtual speedbump, ensuring the maximal efficiency can not be obtained.

Constructed with separate units for memory and processing, neural networks face heavy demands on system resources for communications between the two components that results in slower speeds and reduced efficiency.

IBM Research came up with a better idea by turning to the perfect model for its inspiration for a more efficient digital brain: the human brain.

In a paper, "A 64-core mixed-signal in-memory compute chip based on phase-change memory for deep neural network inference," published in Nature Electronics Aug. 10, IBM researchers said they applied a new approach for a state-of-the-art mixed-signal AI chip that promises to improve efficiency and incur less battery drain in AI projects.

"The human brain is able to achieve remarkable performance while consuming little power," said one of the co-authors of the study, Thanos Vasilopoulos, of IBM's research lab in Zurich, Switzerland.

Acting in similar fashion to the way synapses interact with one another in the brain, IBM's mixed-signal chip features 64 analog in-memory cores with each one hosting an array of synaptic cell units. Converters ensure smooth transitions between analog and digital states.

The chips, according to IBM, achieved a 92.81% accuracy rate on the CIFAR-10 dataset, a widely used collection of images used in training for machine learning.

"We demonstrate near-software-equivalent inference accuracy with ResNet and long short-term memory networks," Vasilopoulos said. ResNet, short for residual neural network, is a deep learning model that allows training on thousands of layers of a neural network without hindering performance.

"To achieve end-to-end improvements in latency and energy consumption, AIMC must be combined with on-chip digital operations and on-chip communication," Vasilopoulos stated. "Here we report a multicore AIMC chip designed and fabricated in 14 nm complementary metaloxidesemiconductor technology with backend-integrated phase-change memory."

With such improved performance, Vasilopoulos said, "large and more complex workloads could be executed in low power or battery-constrained environments." This would include cellphones, cars and cameras.

"Additionally, cloud providers will be able to use these chips to reduce energy costs and their carbon footprint," he said.

IBM said that with future improvements in digital circuitry allowing layer-to-layer activation transfers and intermediate activation storage in local memory will allow the execution of fully pipelined end-to-end inference workloads on these chips.

On his personal blog discussing the latest IBM achievement, Vasilopoulos said, "With this work, many components needed to fully realize the promise of Analog-AI, for performant and power efficient AI, have been silicon-validated."

He offered a technical overview of the chip in a separate article titled, "Analog in-memory computing coming of age," published in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Aug. 10.

Referring to the chip as "the first of its kind," he described it as "a fully integrated mixed-signal in-memory compute chip based on back-end integrated phase-change memory (PCM) in a 14-nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process."

Further defining the project, he said, "The chip comprises 64 AIMC cores, each with a memory array of 256x256 unit cells. The unit cells are constructed with four PCM devices for a total of over 16M devices. In addition to the analog memory array, each core contains a light digital processing unit performing activation functions, accumulations, and scaling operations."

 2023 Science X Network
In an unexpected twist that reverberated throughout the digital financial landscape, leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has made a significant announcement concerning its offerings for users in Canada. Revered for its user-friendly interface and extensive range of cryptocurrency options, Coinbase took the market by storm on August 17th with a startling email communication. This missive laid out the exchanges decision to temporarily halt trading for three stablecoinsTether USDT, Dai DAI, and RAIfor Canadian users, effective from August 31st.

The abrupt and unforeseen nature of this move has left many in the cryptocurrency community both surprised and intrigued. Coinbase, known for its strategic decision-making, has caught industry observers off-guard with this latest maneuver. The email, sent out to its Canadian user base, contained detailed information about the suspension and the reasoning behind it.

Coinbases venture into the Canadian market had just been unveiled a few days prior to this announcement. The launch of its Canadian subsidiary had been met with anticipation and excitement, as the exchange unveiled an array of tailored services for Canadian users. Among the standout features was the integration of support for Canadas instant electronic payments system, showcasing Coinbases commitment to offering comprehensive services beyond the constraints of the past.

What made this development even more striking was Coinbases decision to embrace the worlds largest stablecoin, Tether, as part of its trading portfolio. This expansion was met with widespread speculation and interest within the cryptocurrency community. Many speculated on the potential implications for the Canadian market, given Coinbases reputation for carefully calculated strategic moves.

The sudden suspension of trading for Tether USDT, Dai DAI, and RAI, however, has cast a shadow over these earlier optimistic projections. Market analysts are now grappling to understand the motivation behind Coinbases surprising decision. This move runs counter to the companys recent push into Canada, where it sought to establish a strong foothold and cater to the diverse needs of Canadian cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Coinbases email communication has shed some light on the rationale driving this suspension. While specific details remain scarce, the exchange hinted at the need for a comprehensive review of its offerings to ensure alignment with evolving regulatory frameworks. Cryptocurrency regulations have been a topic of intense discussion and scrutiny globally, and it seems that Coinbase is taking proactive steps to ensure its compliance with these evolving standards.

The cryptocurrency communitys response to this development has been mixed. While some industry participants appreciate Coinbases commitment to regulatory compliance and responsible trading practices, others express concerns about the sudden disruption of trading activities. Stablecoins like Tether USDT, Dai DAI, and RAI have been instrumental in providing traders with a relatively stable alternative in a market known for its extreme volatility. The suspension has left many Canadian traders seeking alternatives for managing risk during this interim period.

This decision also raises questions about the broader implications for Coinbases business strategy. The company had strategically expanded into the Canadian market with a suite of services that aimed to cater to various preferences and trading needs. With this temporary suspension, Coinbase faces the challenge of maintaining its reputation for reliability and user-centricity while making necessary adjustments to its offerings.

As the August 31st deadline for the trading suspension approaches, Canadian users of Coinbase are left with a sense of uncertainty. The suspension of Tether USDT, Dai DAI, and RAI trading has prompted many to reevaluate their trading strategies and consider diversifying their portfolios. Meanwhile, Coinbase is under pressure to communicate its future plans transparently and reassure users that the suspension is a calculated step toward long-term sustainability.

In conclusion, Coinbases surprising decision to temporarily suspend trading for Tether USDT, Dai DAI, and RAI for Canadian users has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community. This unexpected move comes shortly after the exchanges foray into the Canadian market, where it had unveiled a comprehensive range of services tailored to Canadian preferences. While Coinbases commitment to regulatory compliance is appreciated by some, the suspension has raised concerns about the availability of stable trading options during this period of uncertainty. As August 31st looms, all eyes are on Coinbase as it navigates this pivotal moment and defines its future strategy in the Canadian market.
Just 20 minutes after Blinn College District officials asked people to avoid the Bryan campus due to a bomb threat late Monday afternoon, the college issued an all clear notice.

At 5:10 p.m., the college told people to evacuate the campus with an announcement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. By 5:30 p.m., the notice had been rescinded.

There was no word as to where the original threat came from as of Monday night.
A Lubbock man pled guilty of forcing a woman into prostitution, according to the Brazos County District Attorneys Office.

Christopher Scott, 52, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aggravated promotion of prostitution, according to the attorneys office.

On March 27, 2020, Scott was arrested in a College Station hotel after a woman contacted 911 and reported that her daughter called her and said she was being assaulted by Scott, the attorneys office said.

Upon arriving at the scene, police found two young women who said that they have been forced to travel across Texas and engage in sexual acts for money, according to the attorneys office.

Aggravated promotion of prostitution is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison and the attorneys office said Scott will be registered as a sex offender following his time in prison.
Over 70,000 students returned to campus Monday as Texas A&M University began its first day of classes for the fall 2023 semester.

While some students struggled to navigate traffic and find a parking spot among the packed lots, others began advertising their student organizations and promoting their causes in front of a fresh new crop of Aggies.

Animal Science pre-med sophomore Lily Lax, who was standing outside the Memorial Student Center (MSC) bantering with some fellow students, said she had to get to campus early to find a parking spot for her 8 a.m. meat science class.

It was terrible, terrible; I thought it was going to make me late honestly, Lax said regarding the morning traffic. [I park] in lot 100 and it was terrible. I had to circle around a couple times, but I found a spot.

Having lived on campus her freshman year, Lax said that getting to class on time is more difficult when living off-campus.

It was so much more convenient living on campus, everythings so much closer, she said. I live in a sorority house now, so I live not that far off-campus and so traffic is bad. I didnt have to drive anywhere when I was on campus, so [the] buses were great.

With more than 40 consecutive days of over 100-degree weather, Lax said she was not looking forward to walking around campus for her afternoon classes.

Right when it hit 9, thats when I started sweating, she said. At 8 a.m. it was kind of nice, not too bad  but I know later on, having classes in the afternoon is going to be terrible, just in the heat.

Even though exact enrollment numbers for fall 2023 have not yet been released, A&Ms student population has continued to grow year over year with a reported population of 74,829 in fall 2022.

Joshua Van Dyke, an environmental plant sciences graduate student and member of the Cannabis Hemp Innovation League (CHIL), said that the campus and surrounding area do not seem to be able to keep up with the compounding student population growth.

I think its safe to say its growing too fast, said Van Dyke, as he stood inside the MSC holding a large inflatable blunt promoting a petition to decriminalize marijuana. Crowded classes, crowded parking lots, not enough infrastructure to allow people in here, it kind of makes things depersonalized.

Van Dyke, who works at Texas A&Ms hemp research lab, said that what he studies every day should not be illegal.

Hemp that is legal to grow in America doesnt grow well in Texas at all because it comes from Europe and Europes a lot colder than Texas and a lot less humid, he said. Were trying to breed hemp that can actually grow here. So, like a lot of the varieties that grow well here are Chinese, but they have a higher [tetrahydrocannabinol] THC limit than we do.

Currently in Texas, it is only legal to grow hemp that contains less than 0.3% THC based on dry weight, and Van Dyke said it can be used for many different applications even when the THC level is too low for recreational use.

You can make plastic composites; I have one here, he said as he displayed a small marijuana-leaf-shaped keychain made out of hemp fiber. You can make paper with it. You can make clothes with it and the seeds are a really nutritious source of fatty acids  omega three and omega six. Its super healthy for you.

Last Wednesday, the Texas A&M University Police Department announced it would defer possession charges for marijuana in amounts under 2 ounces to the Brazos County Attorneys Office. While Van Dyke said he believed this was a small step in the right direction, his fellow CHIL member Ian McGrath said, realistically, it wont change anything.

Its a deferment of responsibility, so it makes the university look better, McGrath said. It makes them look more progressive when in reality theyre just letting the county prosecute rather than the police station.  It doesnt change anything.

Van Dyke said they have already collected around 1,900 signatures as of late afternoon and that they would need 2,500 more to have an amendment to the College Station City charter to be voted on to decriminalize recreational use.

Were trying to get 4,00 total, he said. Were trying to get it voted on citywide. Its very similar to how they did it in Austin and Denton and San Marcos.
Taylor Colvin said she had always wanted to attend Texas A&M University after graduating from Rudder High School but that it would not have been possible without the Finis Welch Foundation.

I had actually decided to go to a completely different school  West Texas A&M [University], up in Canyon, Colvin said. I was set on that. I wanted to move away and it was a cheaper, more affordable option.

Then I got the email, I think at the very end of February, saying I got the Welch Foundation [scholarship] and it would cover all fees and my entire cost of attendance. And so, after receiving that email, it definitely changed my game plan for the next four years.

The foundation was established in 2012 and Lara Anderson, executive director and president of the organization, said their mission is to provide college scholarships to high-achieving Texas students who might not otherwise be able to afford to attend.

Our founder, Finis Welch, believed very strongly in education, about the importance of education and so he wanted to do something to be able to give back and to offer these scholarships to selected students, Anderson said. These are very bright kids that might not otherwise be able to achieve what they could achieve without the education.

Welch was a longtime labor economist and professor of economics who worked at Texas A&M from 1991 until 2003. On Aug. 24, 2020, Welch died at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack.

Following his death, Anderson said Welch donated the vast majority of his estate to the foundation, including a 10,000-acre ranch outside of Centerville.

He enjoyed ranching; he enjoyed just being able to live in Texas [and] Bryan was kind of his home base, Anderson said. We sold the ranch as part of his estate. That was his wish, that the ranch be sold as part of his estate and the proceeds from the sale of the ranch come into the foundation.

While Anderson said the foundation has added more students every year, she was glad that they were finally able to support a local student through the program.

We grew to about four new students a year, she said. We are now in the process of growing the foundation, both in terms of numbers and in terms of our curriculum and what we provide students.

When Colvin applied for the scholarship at the beginning of her senior year, she said she believed her time in 4-H and work on other public service projects made her stand out.

I was very active in 4-H since I was 9 years old, she said. I did livestock judging and all of the activities, leadership roles and positions. I was even on the Texas 4-H State Council and an FFA officer as well.

During her sophomore year, Colvin said she started her own project to help local families.

I created my own community service project called Helping Happy Wheels where we collected snacks and coloring books and utensils to go to the Ronald McDonald houses and to be distributed to families, she said.

After receiving confirmation that she could attend Texas A&M, Colvin, who will major in animal science, said she was ecstatic.

It was definitely a weight lifted off my my shoulders because going to college is stressful, she said. I was already in the midst of filling out other scholarship applications just to cover the cost of going to West Texas A&M and so whenever I got that email it was just kind of a sigh of relief because I could go to the college that I actually really wanted to go to without the stress of having to worry about paying for it.

Anderson said they plan to keep expanding the program and that they have plans to start working with the University of Texas.

In the past, basically we had just written the checks, which is not a small thing, but we had minimal contact with our students and now were trying to have a lot more contact with them, she said. We are working with the University of Texas as well, so we will be having students both here at A&M and the University of Texas.
Exxon Mobil Corporation is the largest direct descendent of John D. Rockefellers Standard Oil and one of the worlds largest companies. Its earliest roots lie with Vacuum Oil which got its start in the 1860s. Vacuum Oils primary product was kerosene, an important advancement for heating and lighting in rural America. Vacuum Oil was later merged with Standard Oil of New Jersey which was the parent operation of the Standard Oil empire prior to its breakup. Standard Oil of New Jersey would merge with other independent operators over the next few years until settling on the brand Exxon for most of its operations.

Meanwhile, Standard Oil of New York was operating under much the same impetus, merging and growing, until it became known as Mobil. Then, in 1999, the two giants became one with a merger of equals that on paper had Exxon buying Mobil. Now, the combined company operates under the Exxon, Mobil, and Esso brands as an international vertically integrated energy and petrochemical business.

Today, the company explores and produces crude oil and natural gas and their derivative products globally. As of 2022, it was ranked 6th on Forbes Fortune 500 list and 12th on the Global 500 list but it has held positions from #1 to #10 over the years. In terms of its operations, it is the worlds second-largest oil refiner and the largest refiner outside of China. In terms of reserves, ExxonMobil claimed about 18.5 million barrels of oil and oil equivalents at the end of 2021 and was ranked 15th globally.

ExxonMobil operates through three segments that are the Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces oil and oil equivalents and represents roughly 70% of the income. The Downstream segment gathers, receives, stores, transports and refines oil and equivalents and their derivatives. The Downstream segment also markets and delivers fuel products to consumers and businesses. The Chemicals segment produces the full range of petrochemicals including plastics, resins and synthetic rubber.

ExxonMobil is committed to advancing sustainable and carbon-free energy solutions. The company is targeting 2050 for net-zero emissions and its 2030 interim targets are in alignment with the Paris Accord, the EU's Global Methane Pledge, and US Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan. The companys plans include investing $15 billion into reducing greenhouse emissions by 2028.






Chevron Corporation, through a network of subsidiaries, engages in integrated energy and chemicals operations worldwide. The company is the 7th largest integrated oil company worldwide, the 2nd largest in the US, and has been in operation since 1879. Chevron was part of the original Standard Oil Company and is one of the 34 successor companies that were formed when it was broken up. Today, the company brings in roughly $160 billion in annual revenues and is the last remaining oil and gas component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Originally called Standard Oil Of California the company grew quickly via mergers and acquisitions. It was hailed as one of the Seven Sisters to dominate the US and global production throughout the mid-20th century and became even bigger in 1985 when it merged with Gulf Oil. The merger with Gulf Oil resulted in the rebranding from Standard Oil Of California to Chevron (a brand used by the company outside its California jurisdiction) and then ChevronTexaco Corporation in 2005 when that merger took place. The company rebranded again in 2005 to what we know today as Chevron Corporation.

Chevron Corporation is now based in San Ramone, California, and has operations in 180 countries. The company employs more than 42,500 people who operate 5 refineries and 8,000+ Texaco, Chevron, and Standard Oil service stations in the US alone. The company's Exploration and Drilling operations produced a record 3.1 million barrels per day and its US refineries process more than 1 million barrels per day. At the end of 2021, the company has more than 11.3 billion barrels of proven oil and liquid-equivalent reserves and boasted a 112% reserve replacement rate.

The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment explores new reserves, develops known reserves, produces petroleum and gas products as needed, transports, processes, pipes, stores, and markets petroleum worldwide. The Downstream segment refines and markets the full line of petroleum-based products including but not limited to fuels such as gas, diesel, and aviation fuel, as well as lubricants, petrochemicals, and plastics. The company transports products via pipeline, rail, marine vessels, and truck.

Chevron recognizes the need to lower the worlds carbon output and is working toward that end. The companys strategy is two-pronged and includes reducing its own carbon output while investing in green and lower-carbon technologies. The companys goal is to invest $10 billion or more into lower carbon energy sources and technologies by 2028.

Chevron is a Dividend Aristocrat. The company has been paying a dividend since 1989 and it has raised it every year since its inception.






S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc said the construction of a Martial Law museum is still a go.

Kung ma-bid namin within the next few months, tuluy-tuloy na yon eh. Andyan ang pondo, Palpal-latoc told reporters on Tuesday.

[Translation: If we are able to open a bid within the next few months, it can proceed. The funds are there.]

Palpal-latoc also heads the Human Rights Violations Victims Memorial Commission (HRVVMC), which is tasked to build a museum that would immortalize atrocities during the dictatorship of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

The contract for the construction of the Freedom Memorial Museum had been previously awarded. However, Palpal-latoc said problems were encountered during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Nagkaroon ng changes sa pricing and kung anu-anong problema, na-cancel 'yung contract. Then ngayon magbi-bid uli kami, he said.

[Translation: There were changes in pricing and other problems, the contract was canceled. Now, we are bidding again.]

The CHR chairman also said Malacanang has made no effort to stop the construction of the museum which will be built inside the University of the Philippines campus.

Republic Act (RA) 10368 creates the HRVVMC primarily for the establishment of a memorial museum, library, and/or compendium in honor of human rights victims during martial law.

The law provides for an appropriation of at least 500 million for the project which will come from the 10 billion Marcos ill-gotten wealth seized in favor of the Philippine government through decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

The father and namesake of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ruled the Philippines for over 20 years. He declared martial law in September 1972, marking the beginning of nearly 14 years of one-man rule until a peaceful revolt ousted him from power in February 1986.
Snowflake Inc. is a cloud-based data storage, computing and analytics company with no official headquarters. The company embraced a non-centralized business model in 2021 but the history is much deeper than that.

The company was founded in 2012 as Snowflake Computing, Inc by a trio of data storage experts who kept it in stealth mode for its 1st 2 years. Snowflake Computing Inc. brought its offerings to the public in 2014 revealing that it already had 80 clients using its services. Services include cloud-based software and hardware applications that are highly scalable and include 3rd-party support to aid businesses with todays rapidly changing technological landscape.

The company saw rapid growth over the next several years and reached unicorn status in 2017/2018. The company sold itself on the public market in 2020 and caused quite a stir when it did. The company priced its original offering at $75 to $85 per share and wound up listing them at $125 for the IPO. The IPO was oversubscribed and drove the price up to $240 before even the first trade was made. That gave the company a valuation of nearly $3.4 billion making it one of the largest cloud IPOs in history. Snowflake Computing, Inc shortened its name to Snowflake, Inc upon completion of the IPO.

Today, Snowflake Inc operates a cloud-based data platform in the United States and does business internationally. The company's primary product is Data Cloud, a cloud-based suite of tools that allows clients to consolidate data into a single location and facilitates deeper analytical insight and information sharing.

The company believes that data should not be siloed or only available for limited use. On Snowflakes platform, data is governed, which allows users to access 2nd and 3rd party data to gain the deepest insights possible. The platform also operates on the idea of a Data Lake that can be accessed anywhere from anywhere. Among the many benefits of using Snowflakes one-cloud platform are access, global connectivity, cross-cloud operability and creating new revenue streams for businesses. The platform can be fully automated as well so clients are able to harness data, not manage it.

The company initially used Amazons AWS cloud services but switched to Microsofts Azure and then Googles cloud which it is currently operating on. This progression has helped it gain its own deep insights and facilitates its ability to provide the best-in-class cross-cloud services on the market.

Security is central to the platforms success. Not only is data stored in a centralized location and governed in a tiered manner (which keeps each business's IP and most trusted secrets safe) but the platforms utility allows for state-of-the-art threat detection and some of the quickest response times in the industry.

Snowflake brought in $1.22 billion in revenue for 2022 and employs about 4,000 across its operating footprint. The company counts more than 1300 client partners and has more than 250 PBs of data under storage. The company offers solutions in 6 categories: Advertising, Media & Entertainment; Financial; Retail & CPG; Healthcare & Lifesciences and Marketing Analytics.
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is a leading global biopharmaceutical company with a long and impressive history of innovating and developing medicines that improve the lives of patients around the world. Founded in 1887 when William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers purchased the Clinton Pharmaceutical Company, the company was initially named Bristol, Myers and Company. Its first nationally recognized product, Sal Hepatica, was released in the 1890s.

Bristol Myers-Squibb offers chemically synthesized drugs and biologics administered through injections or infusions to patients. The company's pharmaceutical portfolio includes a large number of well-known products. BMS's primary research and development sites are in New Jersey, California, Spain, Massachusetts, New York, Belgium, Japan, India and Massachusetts. The company's products sell to wholesalers and distributors around the world.

Bristol Myers-Squibb has a robust pipeline of investigational medicines in its pipeline. In addition, the company has established strategic collaborations and partnerships with various companies, successfully launching new products. These partnerships and investments generate portions of the company's revenue.

Bristol Myers-Squibb has acquired several companies over the years, including Medarex in 2009, ZymoGenetics in 2010, Inhibitex Inc. in 2012, Amylin Pharmaceuticals in 2012, iPierian in 2014, Flexus Biosciences in 2015, Cardioxyl in 2015, Padlock Therapeutics in 2016, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals in 2017, IFM Therapeutics in 2017, Celgene in 2019, Otezla in 2019, Forbius in 2020, MyoKardia in 2020 and Turning Point Therapeutics in 2022.

In 2005, the company divested individual consumer products and its subsequent consumer products businesses. In December 2014, the company received FDA approval for its cancer drug, Opdivo, used to treat skin cancers that do not respond to drug therapies. In 2019, the company divested its consumer health business, UPSA, to Taisho.

The company has also faced several scandals, lawsuits and investigations over the years, the biggest of which is the ongoing $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for the company's role in a 1940s experiment that infected hundreds with syphilis. In 2001 BMS faced an accounting scandal that resulted in a restatement of revenues from 1999 to 2001. In 2002, BMS faced a lawsuit based on illegally maintaining a monopoly on Taxol, a chemotherapy medication. The former head of the pharma group and the ex-CFO were indicted for federal securities violations in 2005. In July of 2006, an FBI raid on the company's corporate offices revealed that the company took steps to delay the release of a generic version of one of its drugs.

BMS began a significant restructuring in 2009, focusing on the pharmaceutical business and biologic products, productivity initiatives and cost-cutting. The U.S. attorney forced the company into oversight and appointed a monitor as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. Lou Schmukler joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2010 as global product development and design president.

In 2013, Forbes magazine ranked the company as the drug company of the year. Dr. Giovanni Caforio took the reigns as CEO in 2015. In 2017, reports began to surface that activist investor Carl Icahn took a stake in the company, widely seen as a signal for a potential future takeover.

As Bristol-Myers Squibb continues to experience success and growth, the company is committed to delivering innovative treatments to patients and staying ahead of the curve in the biopharmaceutical industry. With its focus on research and development and a long and rich history of delivering innovative medicines, BMS offers an excellent long-term investment opportunity.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with lawmakers, joined the nation in mourning the sudden death of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Toots Ople.

Ople died on Tuesday at the age of 61.

Its very, very sad news. I have lost a friend, the Philippines has lost a friend, Marcos said. Secretary Toots was a special person. With the deep compassion really for the people she had to care for, namely the migrant workers, and she was very veryshes a big loss.

Marcos remembered Oples deep compassion in her work and for migrant workers. He likened Ople to her father, Blas Ople, who served as labor secretary during the term of the chief executives father, former president Ferdinand E. Marcos.

It is a great loss to the Philippines for the service we know she could have still rendered, he said.

Vice President Sara Duterte said the country lost a "real patriot" in Ople, whose life was dedicated to the welfare of OFWs and their families.

"She was a beacon of hope and a source of strength for migrant workers caught in distressing situations while working abroad," Duterte shared.

Remembered as a dedicated public servant with a gentle heart for workers, Ople was the first to lead the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the country's newest office dedicated to overseas Filipino workers.

In 2004, she founded and headed the Blas F. Ople Policy Center to assist labor and migrant concerns, extending her long track record of helping OFWs.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Ople's passing leaves an irreplaceable void that he said government officials will strive to fill with the same remarkable warmth, conviction, and passion the secretary had.

She showed us that true leadership is about kindness and compassion, dedicating her life and her career to the least privileged and the least heard, Zubiri said. In her honor, we will continue the great gains she has made to protect and uplift our migrant workers and all of our laborers.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, meanwhile, said that migrant workers lost a great champion in Ople, whom he described as a consistent advocate of protecting workers rights.

Migrant workers, and workers in general, have just lost a great and tireless champion in Secretary Ople. She was the first secretary of the department Congress had created to focus on attending to the welfare of millions of overseas Filipino workers, Romualdez said.

KABAYAN Representative Ron Salo said the House committee on overseas workers affairs, which he chairs, hopes to honor Oples work by continually advocating for the rights and the protection of the welfare of all OFWs.

She was a dear friend and a colleague. Her passion for promoting and protecting the welfare of every Filipino Migrant Worker is truly appreciated and will be greatly missed, Salo said.

Senator Joel Villanueva recalled that during a Senate session when senators had approved the creation of the DMW, Ople was the first person on their minds to lead the agency.

So when she was chosen wala ni isang nagtaas ng kilay o nagquestion bilang secretary ng DMW [no one raised an eyebrow or questioned her appointment as DMW secretary],Villanueva shared.

Senator Risa Hontiveros remembered Ople as loving and full of faith and a refuge for OFWs, especially women workers, who were experiencing abuse in other countries.

Her work extended far beyond the call of duty, as she tirelessly advocated for fair labor practices, better working conditions, and the protection of the rights of OFWs, Hontiveros said, as she expressed hope that Oples legacy continues through ensuring rights and dignity of OFWs are protected.

Meanwhile, Bacolod Representative Greg Gasataya said Oples appointment as DMW secretary enabled the transition of the agency into a haven for Filipino Migrant Workers.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada remembered Ople as a "modern hero," especially when she headed the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a non-profit organization that caters to distressed OFWs, long before she was appointed secretary of DMW.

"Although she speaks in a gentle and sweet manner, she is a fierce advocate for the welfare of our fellow citizens and workers," Estrada said.
Eli Lilly and Company is a US-based multinational pharmaceutical company. It is the 12th largest pharmaceutical company by revenue and has offices in 16 countries. Its medicines are sold in at least 125 countries including its 8 blockbuster drugs. The company is a member of the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indices, it brought in roughly $5.5 billion in revenue for 2021 and employs more than 35,000 people across its network of research and production facilities.

Eli Lilly and Company was founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly. The colonel, a veteran of the Civil War, had recently dissolved an unsatisfactory partnership and set on his own to produce and develop medicinal chemicals. Colonel Lilly remained as president until his death in 1898. His charge to his family, company and coworkers was to take what you find here and make it better and better. The company is well-known for many drugs, including the first mass-marketing of quinine to treat malaria.

The company brought in $4,470 in its first year and saw that figure grow 10X over the next 3. Among the many innovations during this time period is the addition of gelation coatings for pills which helped set the company up for rapid expansion. The company was incorporated in 1881 as Eli Lilly and Company issuing stock to family and friends. The 1900s brought about more change for the company, change in the form of expansion which included international markets.

Advancements during the war years included increases in efficiency due to increased automation and the development of precision technologies. Among the technologies was pill manufacturing which included injecting medicines directly into a gelation capsule. This method allowed for more exact dosing, setting the standard for modern production. The company produced capsules for itself and sold excess capacity to competitors. Other major advancements include fruit flavorings in medicine, straight-line manufacturing and a method of blueprinting manufacturing tickets to prevent errors.

The modern period saw the company grow and discover new, world-class pharmaceuticals. Today, the company is engaged in the discovery, development and marketing of human pharmaceuticals. It offers a wide range of treatments, including Prozac but is perhaps most noteworthy for its work with insulin. The company is the first to mass produce insulin and has made numerous advances in treating diabetes in the time since. While other drugs are more widely known, its diabetic drugs Basaglar, Jardience, Trulicity, Humalog and Humulin are its top-sellers and contribute the bulk of revenue and cash flow.

Along with Diabetic research, the company also focuses on Alzheimer's, Oncology, Immunology, Obesity and Pain care. At the end of 2022, the company pipeline had 23 compounds in Phase 3 clinical trials and 1 in review. There were another 18 in Phase 2 trials and more than 2 dozen in Phase 1 trials. The average cost to discover a new drug was running at $2.6 billion with a 10-year discovery-to-patient timeline.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a multinational brewing company and one of the largest beer producers in the world. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, the company operates in over 50 countries and has a vast portfolio of well-known beer brands. Anheuser-Busch InBev's mission is to be the best beer company, bringing people together for a better world by brewing great-tasting, high-quality beers.

With a rich history dating back to 1366, Anheuser-Busch InBev has established a strong presence in the global beer market. The company operates numerous breweries and has many products, including popular brands such as Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona, Beck's, and Michelob Ultra. Anheuser-Busch InBev serves a diverse target market, catering to beer enthusiasts across different demographics and geographies.

The company's key customers include distributors, retailers, and consumers worldwide. Its broad product portfolio allows it to meet various consumer preferences and market demands. Anheuser-Busch InBev's commitment to quality and innovation has garnered recognition and numerous awards over the years, solidifying its position as an industry leader.

Anheuser-Busch InBev's management team consists of experienced leaders who bring diverse expertise to the company. The Chief Executive Officer of Anheuser-Busch InBev is Michel Doukeris, who assumed the role in 2021. He has a strong background in the consumer packaged goods industry, previously serving as the President of AB InBev's North America zone.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has delivered strong results in recent years. However, the company has recently struggled with negative press and investor sentiment. The company maintains healthy profit margins, showcasing its ability to generate value for its shareholders. Anheuser-Busch InBev also pays a dividend which is excellent for investors looking for passive income. This demonstrates the company's commitment to returning value to its shareholders.

Anheuser-Busch InBev's stock performance has experienced highs and lows over the past year. Anheuser-Busch InBev's valuation metrics, such as price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratio, should be analyzed in relation to other companies in the brewing industry.

Anheuser-Busch InBev operates in the highly competitive brewing industry. Intense competition, evolving consumer preferences, and regulatory challenges characterize the industry. Despite these factors, Anheuser-Busch InBev has established itself as a dominant player with a solid competitive advantage.

The company's global presence and diverse portfolio of brands give it a significant edge in the market. Anheuser-Busch InBev has successfully built a strong brand image and customer loyalty through effective marketing campaigns and sponsorships of major sporting events. These initiatives help the company stay top-of-mind for consumers and drive product demand.

Anheuser-Busch InBev faces competition from global and local players in its operating markets. Major competitors include companies like Heineken, Molson Coors, and Constellation Brands. To maintain its competitive position, Anheuser-Busch InBev focuses on product innovation, expanding its brand portfolio, and leveraging its global distribution network.

It is worth noting that the brewing industry is subject to regulatory and political factors that can impact operations. This includes regulations related to alcohol advertising, labeling, taxation, and changes in consumer preferences toward healthier alternatives. Anheuser-Busch InBev actively monitors and adapts to these regulatory and industry trends to mitigate potential risks.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has several growth opportunities to capitalize on in the coming years. One significant avenue is the expansion into new markets. Emerging economies present the untapped potential for the company to introduce its brands to a growing middle class with increasing disposable income. Anheuser-Busch InBev can further expand its market share by tailoring its products to suit local preferences and investing in distribution networks.

In addition to geographic expansion, Anheuser-Busch InBev can focus on product innovation to meet evolving consumer preferences. The growing demand for low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages presents an opportunity for the company to diversify its portfolio and capture a broader customer base. Anheuser-Busch InBev has already made strides in this area by launching products like Budweiser Zero and Michelob Ultra Pure Gold.

While Anheuser-Busch InBev has demonstrated resilience and growth, it also faces various risks and challenges. Changes in consumer preferences and the shift towards healthier lifestyles pose a risk to the company's traditional beer offerings. Anheuser-Busch InBev must proactively address this by diversifying its product portfolio and investing in low-alcohol and non-alcoholic alternatives.

Regulatory changes can also impact the company's operations and profitability. Stricter regulations on alcohol advertising and labeling, increased taxes, or limitations on distribution can hinder market growth and increase costs. Anheuser-Busch InBev must closely monitor and adapt to these regulatory changes to mitigate their impact.

Competition remains a significant challenge. The brewing industry is highly competitive, with global and local players vying for market share. Anheuser-Busch InBev must continue to innovate, invest in marketing and strengthen its relationships with distributors to maintain its competitive edge.

To manage these risks, Anheuser-Busch InBev has implemented robust risk management strategies. This includes closely monitoring consumer trends, diversifying its product portfolio, maintaining strong relationships with regulators and policymakers, and conducting thorough market research. By staying agile and adaptable, the company can navigate potential challenges and seize opportunities in the market.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday bared the possible timeline for the conduct of special polls to elect the new Negros Oriental third district representative replacing former Congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the special elections can be conducted in the first quarter of 2024, but later told other media that this can be held in December this year at the earliest.

Garcia earlier said the separate polls in Negros Oriental may be conducted at the same time as the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in October.

We need the consent or the directive from Congress kasi 'yung budget para sa isang special election ay kinukuha sa budget ng Commission on Elections at mukha pong hindi na kakayanin, he explained.

[Translation: We need the consent or the directive from Congress because the budget for a special election is from the budget of the Commission on Elections and it appears it is no longer possible this year. If I will be asked, I think around first quarter of next year we can conduct it.]

Following Teves' expulsion, the lower chamber adopted House Resolution 1212 for the conduct of a special election for the third district of Negros Oriental.

Garcia said up to 40 million may be needed for this poll. He noted the same amount was spent for the special polls earlier this year to elect a Cavite congressman replacing now Justice Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla.

The Comelec chairman has said that it is also under the discretion of the House if it will appoint a caretaker. This will be similar to the case of Valenzuela City when Rex Gatchalian was appointed as social welfare secretary, he noted.

Asked if Teves can still run for public office, Garcia said: The problem is I cannot answerBaka po kasi makarating sa'min 'yung case and baka ma-inhibit ako doon sa magiging sagot ko (The case may reach us and I may be inhibited because of my answer.].

Garcia earlier said Teves can still run for public office while there is no conviction by final judgment yet.

Removal from office pertains only to the term and not as a perpetual dq (disqualification) to hold public office. The proceedings [are] administrative in nature, Garcia earlier told reporters in a message.
The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Limited, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Limited, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AFD.TECH, AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, AIG Shared Services Business Processing Inc, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co. Ltd., Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) Pty Ltd, Accenture (UK) Limited, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Agencia Interativa Ltda, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture B.V., Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BPS Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A., Accenture Canada Holdings Inc, Accenture Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Limited, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co. Ltd, Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Pty Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SASU, Accenture Customer Services Ltd, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Delivery Poland S.p. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance II Limited, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services S.r.l., Accenture Financial Advanced Solution & Technology S.r.l., Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Global Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Global Engagements Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Limited, Accenture Global Services Limited, Accenture Global Solutions Limited, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc, Accenture Holding Brasil Ltda, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SASU, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services B.V., Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture International B.V., Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea B.V., Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Lithuania UAB, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Marketing Services LLC, Accenture Marketing Services Limited, Accenture Middle East B.V., Accenture Minority I B.V., Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi Pty Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations GmbH, Accenture Operations S.p. z o.o., Accenture Operations Services Private Limited, Accenture Operations Services Sdn Bhd, Accenture Outsourcing S.r.l., Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations B.V., Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru SRL, Accenture Post Trade Processing SASU, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture Qiyun Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture S.p. z o.o., Accenture S.p.A., Accenture SASU, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sdn Bhd, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services and Technology S.r.l., Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Single Member S.A. Organization Information Technology & Business Development, Accenture Solutions Co. Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions S.p. z o.o, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc, Accenture Sub III Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions S.r.l., Accenture Technology Solutions SASU, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures B.V., Accenture Technology Ventures SPRL, Accenture Tecnologia Consultoria y Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co. Limited, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Ltda, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Advoco, Agilex Technologies Inc., Alfa Consulting, Allen International, AlphaBeta Advisors, Altevie Technologies S.r.l., Altima, Altima (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Altima Asia Ltd, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Altius Consulting Limited, Altius Data Solutions Private Limited, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Apis Group Pty Ltd, Appaloosa Technology SASU, AppsPro, AppsPro, Arca, Arca Ingenieros y Consultoria S.L., Arca Telecom S.L., Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Artio People (Payroll) Pty Ltd, Artio People Pty Ltd, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Automation Partners Pty Ltd, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc, Avanade Consulting Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Limited, Avanade Europe Services Limited, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SASU, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade Inc, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy S.r.l., Avanade Japan KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Middle East Limited, Avanade Netherlands B.V., Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain S.L., Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Limited, Avanade do Brasil Ltda , Avanade Osterreich GmbH, Avenai, Avieco, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCS Consulting, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BENEXT, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, BRIDGEi2i, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Zhidao Future Consulting Co. Ltd, Benext, Berico Technologies LLC, Bionic, Bionic Solution LLC, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Bow & Arrow, Bow & Arrow Limited, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, Byte Prophecy Private Limited, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CS Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, CS Technology (UK) Limited, CS Technology Group LLC, CS Technology LLC, CadenceQuest Inc., Callisto Integration Europe B.V., Callisto Integration Europe Limited, Callisto Integration LLC, Callisto Integration Ltd, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc, Certus Solutions Consulting Services Limited, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cirrus Connect Australia Pty Ltd, Cirrus Connect Limited, Cirruseo, Clarity Insights, ClearEdge Partners, Clearhead, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas Japan G.K., Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Limited, Cloudeasier SAS, Cloudpoint Limited, Cloudsherpas Inc, Cloudworks, Cloudworks Consulting Services Inc, Cloudworks Technology LLC, Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda, Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda, Context Information Security, Context Information Security LLC, Context Information Security Limited, CoreCompete LLC, CoreCompete Limited, CoreCompete Private Limited, Corliant Inc., Creative Drive LLC, Creative Drive US LLC, CreativeDrive, CreativeDrive Digital Content Services (Shenzhen) Co Ltd., CreativeDrive EMEA Limited, CreativeDrive Singapore Pte Ltd, CreativeDrive UK Group Limited, Cutting Edge Solutions Limited, Cygni AB, Cygni Norrsken AB, Cygni Stockholm AB, Cygni Syd AB, Cygni Vast AB, Cygni Ost AB, Cygni Ostersund AB, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Limited, DI Futures Corporation, Data Essential SARL, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings LLC, Decora Marketplace LLC, Decorado Marketplace Ltda-EPP, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digital Results Group LLC, Double Digit Limitada, Double Digit Pty SA, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Limited, Duck Creek Technologies, ESR Labs, ESR Labs AG, EdenOne Solutions Limited, Edenhouse ERP Holdings Limited, Edenhouse Solutions Limited, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting LP, End to End Analytics LLC, End-to-End Analytics, Endorphin Medici (M) Sdn Bhd, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Limited, EnergyQuote JHA, Enimbos, Enimbos Global Services S.L., Enkitec, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V., Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enthusian Pty Ltd, Entropia, Entropia (M) Sdn Bhd, Entropia Holdings Pte Ltd, Entropia Intercraft Sdn Bhd, Epylon, Ergo, Espedia S.r.l., Ethica Consulting Group, Ethica Consulting S.p.A., Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Experity, Exton Consulting, Exton Consulting Spain Strategy&Management S.L., Exton Germany GmbH, Exton International SAS, Exton Italia S.r.l., Exton SAS, FGM LLC, Fairway Technologies Inc, Farah BidCo Limited, Farah MidCo Limited, Farah Topco Limited, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Formicary, Founders Intelligence, Fruendo S.r.l., FusionX, Future State Consulting LLC, FutureMove (Beijing) Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., FutureMove Automotive, FutureMove Automotive Co. Ltd., GRA Supply Chain Pty Ltd, Gagel Group S de R.L. de C.V., Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gevity, Gren utvikling AS, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hahntel Ltda, Halo Partners LLC, Hamilton Holding Company S.A, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Happen GP Limited, Happen Limited, Headspring, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl A/S, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IBB Consulting, ICM.S S.r.l., IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INSITUM, IQSP Consulting LLC, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Icon Integration (NZ) Limited, Icon Integration Pty Ltd, Imagine Broadband (USA) Limited, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Imaginea Technologies LLC, Industrie IT (Hong Kong) Ltd, Industrie IT (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Industrie IT Group Pty Ltd, Industrie IT Pty Ltd, Industrie&Co, Infinity Works Consulting Limited, Infinity Works Holdings Limited, Infinity Works Management Limited, Infinity Works Midco Limited, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Innotec International EAD, Innotec International S.p. z.o.o., Innotec Marketing GmbH, Innotec Marketing International Ireland Limited, Innotec- Marketing Spain S.L, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., International Biometric Group LLC, International Biometric Group UK Limited, Intrepid, Intrepid Futureworks Sdn Bhd, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, King James Group, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision LLC, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations  Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Olympus Systems Corporation, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, T.A. Cook, TXF LLC, Tambourine, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis AG, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines Inc, Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc, Zestgroup, Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Amphenol: 3395 Walden Avenue Acquisition Corp., ARIA (Shenzhen) Technologies Co. Ltd., AUXEL FTG, AUXEL FTG India Pvt Ltd., AUXEL S.A.S., Accumetrics Inc, Add-On Computer Peripherals LLC, All Sensors Corporation, All Systems Broadband Inc., Alturna Connect N.V., Alturna Direct Holding N.V., Alturna Direct N.V., Alturna Financial Services N.V., Alturna Holding B.V., Alturna Integration Services N.V., Alturna Networks N.V., American Conec Corporation, Amphenol (Changzhou) Advanced Connector Co. Ltd., Amphenol (Changzhou) Connector Systems Co. Ltd., Amphenol (Changzhou) Electronics Co. Ltd., Amphenol (Maryland) Inc., Amphenol (Ningde) Electronics Co. Ltd, Amphenol (Qujing) Technology Co. Ltd., Amphenol (Tianjin) Electronics Co. Ltd., Amphenol (Xiamen) High Speed Cable Co. Ltd., Amphenol Adronics Inc., Amphenol Advanced Sensors Germany GmbH, Amphenol Advanced Sensors Puerto Rico LLC, Amphenol Air LB North America Inc., Amphenol Airwave (Haiyan) Communication Electronics Co. Ltd., Amphenol Alden Products Company, Amphenol Alden Products Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol Antenna Solutions Inc., Amphenol Aorora Technology (Huizhou) Co. Ltd., Amphenol AssembleTech (Xiamen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Australia Pty Ltd, Amphenol Automotive Connection Systems (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Automotive Technology d.o.o. Trstenik, Amphenol Bar-Tec LTD, Amphenol Benelux B.V., Amphenol Borisch Technologies, Amphenol Borisch Technologies Inc., Amphenol CNT (Xian) Technology Co. Ltd., Amphenol Cabelcon ApS, Amphenol Cables On Demand Corp., Amphenol Canada Acquisition Corporation, Amphenol Canada Corp., Amphenol Comercial S.A. de C.V., Amphenol Commercial Interconnect Korea Co. Ltd., Amphenol Commercial Products (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Commercial and Industrial UK Limited, Amphenol Communication Electronics Vietnam Company Limited, Amphenol ConneXus AB, Amphenol ConneXus Ou, Amphenol Custom Cable Inc., Amphenol DC Electronics Inc., Amphenol DC Electronics Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Amphenol Development Center Tunisia, Amphenol EEC Inc., Amphenol East Asia Electronic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol East Asia Limited, Amphenol FCI, Amphenol FCI Asia Pte. Ltd., Amphenol FCI Besancon SA, Amphenol FCI Connectors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Amphenol Fiber Optic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Finland Oy, Amphenol France Acquisition SAS, Amphenol France SAS, Amphenol Germany GmbH, Amphenol Gesellschaft m.b.H., Amphenol Goldstar Electronic Systems (Baicheng) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Goldstar Electronic Systems (Yulin) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Holding UK Limited, Amphenol Indemnity Inc., Amphenol Intercon Systems Inc., Amphenol Interconnect India Private Limited, Amphenol Interconnect Products Corporation, Amphenol Interconnect South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Amphenol International Ltd., Amphenol Invotec Limited, Amphenol Italia S.r.l., Amphenol JET (Haiyan) Interconnect Technology Co. Ltd., Amphenol Japan Ltd., Amphenol Kai-Jack (Shenzhen) Inc., Amphenol Kopek Electronics Hardware (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Kopek Holdings Company Limited, Amphenol Kopek Trading Company Limited, Amphenol LTW Technology Co. Ltd., Amphenol Limited, Amphenol MCP Korea Limited, Amphenol Middle East Enterprises FZE, Amphenol Mobile Connector Solutions (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Nelson Dunn Technologies Inc., Amphenol Netherlands Holdings 1 B.V., Amphenol Netherlands Holdings 2 B.V., Amphenol Omniconnect India Private Limited, Amphenol Optimize Manufacturing Co., Amphenol Optimize Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol PCD (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol PCD Inc., Amphenol Phitek Limited, Amphenol Phoenix (Anji) Telecom Parts Co. Ltd., Amphenol Precision Optics GmbH, Amphenol Printed Circuits Inc., Amphenol Procom Inc., Amphenol Provens SAS, Amphenol RF Asia Limited, Amphenol Sensing Korea Company Limited, Amphenol Sincere Industrial Product Gyarto Kft., Amphenol Singapore Pte. Ltd., Amphenol Socapex SAS, Amphenol Sunpool (Liaoning) Automotive Electronics Co. Ltd., Amphenol Systems GmbH, Amphenol T&M Antennas Inc., Amphenol TCS (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Amphenol TCS Ireland Limited, Amphenol TCS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol TFC Fios E Cabos do Brasil Ltda., Amphenol TFC MDE Participacoes Ltda., Amphenol TFC do Brasil Ltda., Amphenol Taiwan Corporation, Amphenol Technical Products International Co., Amphenol Technologies Holding GmbH, Amphenol Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Technology (Zhuhai) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Technology Macedonia Dooel Kocani, Amphenol Technology Vietnam Co. Ltd., Amphenol Tecvox LLC, Amphenol Tel-Ad Ltd., Amphenol Thermometrics (UK) Limited, Amphenol Thermometrics Inc., Amphenol Times Microwave Electronics (Shanghai) Limited, Amphenol Tuchel Industrial GmbH, Amphenol Tunisia LLC, Amphenol Turkey Teknoloji Limited Sirketi, Amphenol USHoldco Inc., Amphenol-Air LB GmbH, Amphenol-Air LB SAS, Amphenol-Borg Limited, Amphenol-Borg Pension Trustees Limited, Amphenol-Daeshin Electronics and Precision Co. Ltd, Amphenol-TFC (Changzhou) Communication Equipment Co. Ltd., Amphenol-Tuchel Electronics GmbH, Anytek Electronic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd, Anytek International (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Anytek International Co. Ltd., Anytek Technology Corporation Ltd., Ardent Concepts Inc., Aria Technologies Inc., Asia Connector Services Ltd., Auxel FTG Shanghai Co. Ltd., Berg (UK) Limited, Bernd Richter GmbH, Bipho SRL, C&S Antennas Inc., CTI Industries Inc., Cablescan B.V., Cablescan Limited, Casco Automotive (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Casco Automotive Group, Casco Automotive Singapore Pte. Ltd., Casco Automotive Tunisia S.a.r.l., Casco Holdings GmbH, Casco Imos Italia S.r.l., Casco Logistics GmbH, Casco Products Corporation, Casco Schoeller GmbH, Casco do Brasil Ltda., Cemm Thome Corp., Cemm Thome SK spol s.r.o., Cemm-Mex S.A. de C.V., Changzhou Amphenol Fuyang Communication Equipment Co. Ltd., Charles Industries LLC, Conec Corporation, Conec Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH, Conec Polska Sp. z.o.o., Conec Shanghai International Co. Ltd., Conec UK Limited, Conec s.r.o., ContactServe (Proprietary) Limited, DI U.S. Holdings Inc, Dalimar Instruments ULC, East Asia Connector Services Ltd., Edwin Deutgen Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Ehrlich Werkzeug- und Geratebau GmbH, El-Cab Sp. z.o.o., Exa Thermometrics India Private Limited, FCI Connectors (Shanghai) Ltd., FCI Connectors Canada Inc., FCI Connectors Dongguan Ltd., FCI Connectors Hong Kong Limited, FCI Connectors Korea Ltd., FCI Connectors Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., FCI Connectors Sweden Aktiebolag, FCI Connectors UK Limited, FCI Deutschland GmbH, FCI Electronics Hungary Kft., FCI GBS India Private Limited, FCI Japan K.K., FCI Nantong Ltd., FCI OEN Connectors Limited, FCI PRC Limited, FCI Taiwan Limited, FCI USA LLC, FCIs-Hertogenbosch B.V., FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna, FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna GmbH & Co. KG, FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna Verwaltungs GmbH, Fiber Systems International Inc., Filec Production SAS, Filec SAS, Flexus Electronics Inc., Flexus USA Inc., Friedrich Gohringer Elektrotechnik GmbH, GIC & GJM Automotive Harnesses S.R.L., GJM Components MX S. de R.L. de C.V., GJM Components N.A. Inc., GJM Components S.R.L., GJM S.A., Genasco S.A. de C.V., General Assembly Corporation, Guangzhou Amphenol Electronics Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Amphenol Sincere Flex Circuits Co. Ltd., Guangzhou FEP Automotive Electric Co. Ltd., Halo Technology Bidco BV, Halo Technology Bidco Inc., Halo Technology Bidco Limited, Halo Technology Bidco SRL, Halo Technology Limited, Halo Technology Midco Limited, Hangzhou Amphenol JET Interconnect Technology Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Amphenol Phoenix Hong Kong Company Limited, Hangzhou Amphenol Phoenix Telecom Parts Co. Ltd., Holland Electronics LLC, Hurricane Rd LLC, Integrated Cable Assembly, Intelligente Sensorsysteme Dresden GmbH, Ionix Aerospace Limited, Ionix Systems Limited, Ionix Systems Ou, Jaybeam Limited, Jaybeam Wireless SAS, KE Elektronik GmbH, KE Ostrov-Elektrik s.r.o., KE Presov Elektrik s.r.o., KonneKtech Ltd., Kunshan Amphenol Zhengri Electronics Co. Ltd., LTW Technology (Samoa) Co. Ltd., LTW Top Tech (Samoa) Co. Ltd., LWL-Sachsenkabel GmbH Spezialkabel und Vernetzungstechnik, Lectric SARL, LinxIT LLC, MMD RE Acquisition Corp., MTS 1 LLC, MTS Systems, Martec Limited, Mocorp Holding A/S, Modern Microstructures Inc, NPI Solutions, Nantong Docharm Amphenol Automotive Electronics Co. Ltd., Onanon Inc., PCB Group Sales Company Inc, PCB Piezotronics BV, PCB Piezotronics Europe GmbH, PCB Piezotronics Inc, PCB Piezotronics Limited, PCB Piezotronics S.A., PCB Piezotronics Sensor Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., PCB Piezotronics Srl, PCB Piezotronics of North Carolina Inc, PCB Synotech GmbH, PROCOM, PT Casco SEA, PT Plasmotech Batam, PerLoga Personal und Logistik GmbH, Piezotech LLC, Piher Sensors & Controls S.A., Plasmotech Pte. Ltd., Positronic, Positronic Asia Pte. Ltd., Positronic Industries Inc., Positronic Industries SAS, Positronic Interconnects Private Limited, Precision Cable Manufacturing Corporation de Mexico S.A. de C.V., ProLabs (UK) Limited, ProLabs Holdings Limited, Procom A/S, Procom Deutschland GmbH, Procom France SARL, Pyle-National Limited, S.C.I. Palin, SEFEE SA, SGX Europe SP. z.o.o., SGX Sensortech China Holdco Limited, SGX Sensortech China Limited, SGX Sensortech GmbH, SGX Sensortech SA, SSI Control Technologies, SSI Technologies GmbH, SSI Technologies LLC, SSI Technologies s.r.o., SV Microwave, SV Microwave Inc., Shanghai Amphenol Airwave Communication Electronics (Hong Kong) Limited, Shanghai Amphenol Airwave Communication Electronics Co. Ltd., Shanghai Tecvox Trading Co. Ltd., Shenyang Amphenol Sunpool Automotive Electronics Co. Ltd., Sine Systems Corporation, Skylane Optics Inc., Skylane Optics SA, Skylane Optics do Brasil Servicos de Pesquisa Ltda., Societe dEtudes et de Fabrications Electroniques et Electriques, Solid Optics EU Holding N.V., Solid Optics EU N.V., Solid Optics LLC, Spectra Strip Limited, Stemfi S.A.S., TCS Japan K.K., TFC South America S.A., Tecvox Europe S.r.l., Telect Inc., Telect Mfg. LLC, Telect de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Temposonics GmbH & Co. KG, Temposonics LLC, Temposonics Verwaltungs GmbH, Teradyne Connection Systems, The Modal Shop Inc, Thermometrics Mexico S.A. de C.V., Tianjin Amphenol KAE Co. Ltd., Times Fiber Canada Limited, Times Fiber Communications Inc., Times Microwave Systems Inc., Times Wire and Cable Company, U-Jin Cable Industry Co. Ltd., Unlimited Services of Wisconsin LLC, Xgiga Communication Technology Co. Ltd., Zhongshan Feisaide Electromechanical Co. Ltd., Zhuhai Positronic Electronic Ltd, and i2s-sensors.

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Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., more commonly known by the name Petrobras, is a multinational integrated and diversified energy company headquartered in Brazil. The company was founded in 1953 by the government of Brazil and was a government-run entity for the first portion of its life. The companys motto at inception was The Oil Is Ours, it is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and is listed on the Forbes Global 500.

Petrobras operated with a legal monopoly in Brazil until 1997. During that time the companys production ramped from 2,700 barrels per day to about 2.6 million barrels per day in 2022. Along the way the company entered the refining market in 1961, it opened the Cenpes Research Center in 1963 (one of the worlds largest and leading petroleum research centers), it entered the petrochem market in 1968, and then, in 1994, it launched what was the worlds largest offshore drilling and production facility only to have it sink after less than 20 years in service.

Since 1997, when the government granted monopoly was revoked, the company has expanded its operations into other countries and is now functional in 16 nations. Today, Petrobras explores for, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and derivative products worldwide. The companys operations are worldwide but the bulk of business is in Brazil. At the end of 2021, the company had 8.435 billion barrels of proven reserves of which less than 0.50% were located outside of Brazil.

The government of Brazil retains 64% of the voting rights in Petrobras. The remaining shares are listed on the B3 exchange and are part of the Bovespa index. The stock is also listed on the NYSE as a depository receipt shares and in Madrid. The company operates in 4 primary business segments that are Exploration and Production: Refining, Transportation and Marketing; Gas and Power; and Corporate and Other Businesses.

The Exploration and Production segment explores and develops oil fields, processes, delivers, and trades in crude oil, crude oil products, natural gas, and oil-bearing shale feedstock. The Refining, Transportation, and Marketing segments are the mid and downstream operations including refining, pipelines, and wholesale/retail operations. This segment is also engaged in petrochemical and ethanol production. The Gas and Power segment markets natural gas and electricity. This segment also has interests in petrochemicals. The Corporate and Other Businesses segment is engaged in the production of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, and their co-products.

Petrobras environmental record includes aiding a rebound of Humpback whales, supporting and rebuilding forest ecosystems, and advances in green and renewable technology.






Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  One more Filipino citizen was confirmed dead in the massive wildfires in Maui last Aug. 8, the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu said Tuesday.

The second Filipino casualty was identified as Rodolfo Rocutan, 76, who is among the five latest deaths identified by the Maui County officials on Aug. 20.

The Philippine consulate said Rocutan was a resident of Lahaina, located in the western portion of Maui.

Meanwhile, Rocutan's granddaughter, Rhea Valenzuela, also confirmed his death.

"Papa oppo is my late grandpas brother. But he acted and treated me like his own granddaughter. He is wise, friendly, caring, and loving Father and Grandfather. All his immediate family are in the Philippines (his sons), sadly his wife mommy renang passed away year 2021(COVID time)," she said in a Facebook post.

"Hes living in Lahaina Maui with his sister Grandma/Mommy Ely(survivor of Lahaina Maui Wildfire), they lost their house and didnt save anything as well," she added.

His family in Hawaii and in the Philippines will definitely miss him, said Valenzuela.

"We will never forget his beautiful laugh, he calls everyone to check if were all ok. He is a wonderful man with a good personality. Good soul," she told CNN Philippines.

Valenzuela also shared that her "Papa Oppo" will always be proud to be a Filipino despite living in the United States.

"He is proud Filipino. Even though he is living his dream in USA," Valenzuela shared. "Filipino Immigrant, he didnt change his nationality."

Rocutan's granddaughter has also set up a GoFundMe campaign for his funeral services.

But the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine government will extend financial assistance to Rocutan's family.

"The Consulate has reached out to a relative of the late Mr. Rocutan to convey its deepest sympathies and offer the Philippine government's support and assistance, including cremation and repatriation of remains as requested," Consul General Emilio Fernandez said in a statement.

Last Aug. 18, the DFA confirmed that 79-year-old Alfredo Galinato was the first Filipino casualty reported in the wildfires that killed more than 100 people.
The Charles Schwab Corporation is a financial services company that offers a wide range of investment services, including brokerage, banking, and financial advisory services. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Westlake, Texas, the company operates through two main segments: Investor Services and Advisor Services. The Investor Services segment offers individual investors retail brokerage and banking services, while the Advisor Services segment provides custodial, trading, and support services to independent investment advisors. In 2020, the company completed its acquisition of TD Ameritrade, further expanding its client base and offerings.

Charles Schwab Corporation's management team is led by Walt Bettinger, who has been the company's President and Chief Executive Officer since 2008. Mr. Bettinger joined the company in 1995 and has held various leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer and Head of Schwab Institutional.

Over the past few years, Charles Schwab Corporation has experienced steady growth in its key financial metrics. It is reporting increased revenue and increased profit margin. Charles Schwab Corporation's valuation metrics are generally in line with industry peers. The company's price-to-earnings ratio is slightly lower than the industry average, and the company's price-to-book ratio is also somewhat lower than the industry average. Charles Schwab Corporation's stock has generally performed well over the past few years, with some fluctuations in response to broader market conditions and regulatory changes. The company's stock price has outperformed the S&P 500 for several years. The company has also experienced increases in trading volume in response to changes in market conditions and regulatory changes.

Charles Schwab Corporation operates in the financial services industry, which has experienced significant growth and transformation over the past few years. The industry has been impacted by a range of factors, including advances in technology, changing consumer preferences, and regulatory changes. Charles Schwab Corporation competes with other financial services firms, including traditional brokerage firms, online investment platforms, and banks.

Charles Schwab Corporation has a range of potential growth opportunities, including expanding its offerings to meet the evolving needs of its clients. The company has been investing in technology and digital platforms to improve its services and attract new clients. In addition, the company's acquisition of TD Ameritrade has provided new opportunities for growth and expansion. The company also focuses on expanding its international presence and exploring new markets.

Charles Schwab Corporation faces a range of potential risks and challenges, including changes in regulatory and political environments that may impact the company's operations and profitability. The financial services industry is subject to a wide range of regulations, and changes in these regulations could significantly impact the company's operations. In addition, the industry is subject to intense competition, which could affect the company's ability to attract and retain clients.

Another potential risk is the impact of market volatility on the company's operations. Charles Schwab Corporation generates a significant portion of its revenue from commissions and fees, which are impacted by changes in market conditions. In periods of market volatility, clients may reduce their trading activity, which could affect the company's revenue and profitability.

The company also faces risks related to data security and privacy. The company collects and stores sensitive financial and personal information on its clients. Any breach of this data could significantly impact the company's reputation and financial performance.

To address these risks and challenges, Charles Schwab Corporation is focused on maintaining a robust regulatory compliance program and investing in data security and privacy measures. The company is also focused on diversifying its revenue streams and expanding its offerings to meet the evolving needs of its clients.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, also known as TD Bank, is a Canadian multinational bank that provides a wide range of financial services to customers in Canada, the United States, and worldwide. The bank was founded in 1855 in Toronto, Canada, and has since grown to become one of the largest banks in North America, with over 85,000 employees and more than 26 million customers. TD Bank is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and has additional offices in New York City and other major cities throughout the United States.

TD Bank's key highlights and achievements include its status as the sixth-largest bank in North America by assets, its recognition as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies for 20 consecutive years, and its commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility.

The management team at TD Bank is led by Chief Executive Officer Bharat Masrani, who has been with the company for over 30 years and has held various senior leadership positions before being appointed CEO in 2014.

Regarding financial performance, TD Bank has delivered consistent results over the past few years, with revenue and net income increasing yearly for the past several years. The bank's profit margins have also remained robust, with an average net profit margin of 25%. However, TD Bank has also faced challenges related to debt levels and changes in ownership, with a recent decrease in ownership by TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. Regarding valuation, TD Bank's price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios align with industry peers. The company's market performance has also been relatively stable, with modest price movements and steady trading volume over the past few years.

TD Bank operates in a highly competitive and regulated industry, with other major players, including the Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The broader banking industry is also subject to regulatory and political issues, such as changes in interest rates and financial regulations.

Despite these challenges, TD Bank has identified growth opportunities in new markets and product areas. These include launching new digital banking services and expanding the bank's presence in key markets such as the United States and Asia. TD Bank has also made several acquisitions in recent years, including the addition of Scottrade Bank in 2017 and the purchase of Chrysler Financial in 2011.

However, TD Bank also faces several risks and challenges, such as changes in consumer preferences and increased competition from fintech startups. The bank's focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility also presents risks related to environmental and social factors, such as climate change and social inequality. There are also recession risks involved. TD Bank could face challenges if there is a downturn in the economy.
Authorities believe a language barrier led to a misunderstanding during an incident near Hershey on Wednesday.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, a homeowner called the Lincoln County Dispatch Center to report a suspicious incident with a man and a woman in a large white SUV who had approached her home.

The homeowner told deputies that a woman she believed to be Indian or Middle Eastern knocked on her door and grabbed her hand, then in "broken English" asked the homeowner to speak with her husband in the vehicle.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the homeowner retreated inside the home and retrieved a pistol.

The homeowner went back outside and the woman again grabbed her hand and asked her to speak with her husband.

The homeowner then went to speak with the man, who told her he wanted to buy some chickens and showed her some money. The homeowner said her chickens were not for sale, but he persisted, the Sheriff's Office said.

"The male then got out of the drivers seat of the vehicle and began to walk around the vehicle toward the homeowner," the Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook message. "The homeowner noticed there was a large machete in the front seat of the vehicle. The homeowner backed up and drew her pistol from her pocket. The male observed the pistol and then told the woman that he and his wife would leave.

A large number of on- and off-duty deputies and Nebraska State Patrol troopers responded to the area and searched for the vehicle. The homeowner told authorities the vehicle left westbound on U.S. 30 from Hershey. After several hours, the vehicle was not found and was assumed to have left the area.

Because of the cultural and language issues, this may have been an entirely innocent incident," the Sheriff's Office said.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
Amid his visit Monday to the U.S.-Mexico border, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen suggested migrants should "stay on your side of the river" and pleaded with President Joe Biden to "do your dadgum job."

Pillen's comments came amid brief remarks he made at a news conference along the Southern border Monday, where he appeared alongside four other Republican governors in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Nebraska's first-term governor traveled there Monday to visit the 61 Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers he sent there earlier this month to aid Texas authorities in their efforts to counter immigration and drug trafficking.

At Monday's news conference, Pillen said his visit to the border town had left him in "disbelief" over the "misrepresentation of the buoys" installed in the Rio Grande by Texas authorities to deter migrant crossings from Mexico.

Pillen seemed to suggest that media coverage of the buoys had cast the controversial floating barriers as dangerous.

"I'm a pig farmer. It's hogwash  pun intended  hogwash," Pillen said of the representation of the buoys, borrowing a line he used in television ads attacking the "radical left and liberal media" amid his run for governor last year.

"The buoys are a deterrent," Pillen said Monday. "They don't cause a Band-Aid, and if they do, I say, 'What the heck? Stay on your side of the river.'"

Pillen also suggested there had been a misrepresentation of who is illegally crossing the border into the U.S.

"We are fighting cartels that are trying to kill our kids," he said. "Kill our kids. That's one thing in the United States that we all surely agree on, right, is our kids? That we're gonna protect our kids."

Pillen was flanked at Monday's news conference by Abbott, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and a group of Army National Guard soldiers who surrounded the governors, all of whom have deployed soldiers or law enforcement officers to the border.

"I took an oath, I swore to the constitution of the state of Nebraska and to the constitution of the United States of America to defend  defend  against all foreign and domestic foes, anybody that's trying to harm us," Pillen said.

"I am here because we  together  have to work to uphold that."

Along with each of the other governors in attendance, Pillen attacked Biden's handling of the growing humanitarian crisis at the border and suggested the president's failure to adequately address illegal immigration had left that responsibility to the country's governors  including him.

"We have to do the work," Pillen said. "And (to the) Biden administration (and) federal government: do your dadgum job. Common sense solves this problem. Follow the leadership of Gov. Abbott."

Before he sent 61 National Guard members to the border to aid Texas authorities in Operation Loan Star this month, Pillen in May sent 10 Nebraska state troopers to assist in drone surveillance for two weeks. Nebraska wasn't reimbursed for the cost of that deployment.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 23)  A 32-year-old Muslim radio anchor was shot dead in Cotabato City Monday night, according to the government's media task force.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMs) said the victim, Mohammad Hessam Midtimbang, was gunned down while he was about to board his vehicle.

Midtimbang was a radio host of the Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta being aired over Gabay Radio 97.7 FM.

The radio program, also known as the "House of Opinions," consists of Muslim missionaries who cater to various projects in support of the Mindanao peace process.

"We condemn this senseless act of violence as it has no place in our society," PTFoMs chief Paul Gutierrez said.

He added that the media task force has coordinated with the Philippine National Police and the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army for support in the ongoing investigation.

"Pending the result of the investigation as to the motive of the attack, we consider this as related to the work of the victim as a radio anchor," Gutierrez also said.

Last May, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility reported at least 75 cases of violations against media workers since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office.

It exceeded the 60 press freedom violations under the Marcos administration reported by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.
MOUNT VERNON  U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) stopped at the TravelCenters of American (TA) truck stop in Mount Vernon for a Take Your Congressman to Work Day" on Monday afternoon.

TA has a gas station for personal vehicles and tractor trailer trucks with a convenience store, restaurants and amenities for truck drivers. It has two lounges, a laundromat, showers, a repair shop, tires and parking spaces for tractor trailer trucks.

Billy Decker, service manager, told Bost they work on radiators, air conditioning and other truck items. We do a lot of tires, Decker said.

Bost grew up in a family that owns a trucking business in Murphysboro. His grandfather started the business in 1933. Bost ran the business for a few years, and it is now run by his brother and a cousin.

During the tour of the truck stop, Bost ran into Josh Webb, a cousin of his who was working in the repair shop.

Tiffani Waldron, TA district manager, explained how they operate their truck parking spaces.

The center has 24 reserved parking spots. They can be reserved on the TA app, at a kiosk in a TA truck stop or at the counter in the truck stop. They are paid parking spots.

They also have spots that are free for drivers who buy fuel or spend a certain amount in the truck stop.

Waldron said they hire employees to monitor the reserved spots.

Our parking is mostly full by 11 p.m., she said.

Dr. Dean Bushy, senior vice president of sustainability for TravelCenters of America, said they have land that is not being used adjacent to their parking lot.

Bost took this opportunity to talk about the need for parking spaces for tractor trailer trucks.

Every off ramp, whether they go to rest areas or are exits, are loaded with trucks because there is not enough parking, Bost said.

He added that when truckers park in a place that is not secure, they are at risk. One truck driver was robbed and killed when he was parked along a road. And, there are also accidents.

Earlier this year, three trucks were parked on an exit ramp in Madison County and were hit by a bus. The accident killed three people on the bus and injured 12.

Bost said when money is available in transportation bills, it is used for infrastructure like new roads, repairing and expanding existing roads. He is sponsoring legislation that would earmark funds for creating parking spots. He said it is a bill they are working on and will continue to push.

In 2022, the bill passed Congress but the session ended before the Senate could consider it.

Once legislation is passed, it will take several years to put parking into place, Bost said.

He also talked about other issues facing truck drivers.

One is recreational marijuana.

If you have a beer on Sunday, you are good to go (as a truck driver) on Monday. Smoke a joint on Friday, and it takes 30 days to clear your system, Bost said.

While the person is not high, it takes 30 days for THC to clear your body, and the only test for marijuana use tests THC.

Bushy also asked about alternative fuels. Bost said he is all-in but we have to be careful that we dont use good productive farmland for fuel farms.

While at the TA truck stop, Bost took some time to talk to truck drivers eating in the Country Pride Restaurant.

He met Charles Dorsey, a driver from Baltimore, who was eating with his wife, Vonda. They discussed parking and Bosts family truck business. They told Bost about their truck being in the shop and having to drive temporary trucks.

In addition to Waldron, Bushy and Decker, Bost was also joined by LeeAnn Goheen of National Association of Truck Stop Operators; Lloyd Mayes, the general manager of TA in Mount Vernon; Phil Cochrane, vice president of state government affairs for bp America; and Corey Messamore, TA district manager trainee.
CARBONDALE  A recent Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF) grant will allow Southern Illinois University School of Laws Civil Practice Clinic to expand its basic estate planning and other civil law services to veterans and their immediate families.

The clinic provides free services for persons 60 years and older in the regions 13 southernmost counties. The $15,000 IBF grant will enable veterans and their immediate families, including spouses, of all ages the ability to receive the same services, said Dale J. Aschemann, clinical assistant professor of law with the Civil Practice Clinic. Along with assisting in estate planning, Aschemann anticipates students will assist in other civil matters, including adult guardianships, power of attorney for health care and finances.

I think the estate planning aspect of law and what the students provide and the attention to detail they bring is a valuable service, Aschemann said. Its satisfying to me that we can offer it to veterans of any age. People dont like to think about their affairs in terms of dying, but I see routinely from where I sit the consequence of what happens if you dont prepare and what your family is left with.

As the SIU School of Law celebrates its 50th anniversary, serving the public good and providing integral experiential opportunities for its students remain the law schools hallmark since the initial class in 1973.

Students hone skills

Eight second- or third-year students will participate each semester and can earn 3 credit hours, which includes classroom work. The students will have 711 licenses, which under Supreme Court Rule 711, will allow them to make court appearances, counsel clients and prepare documents under Aschemanns supervision. After an initial intake interview with clients, students will conduct interviews, prepare drafts and review them with clients, execute documents and answer questions clients might have. Aschemann noted that these interactions allow students to hone fundamental skills including time management, attention to detail and effective listening.

Students will also meet with clients in their homes and hospitals, if needed.

The value to the students is they get real-world contact with these clients, and they are able to experience all that goes with that, Aschemann said.

Aschemann is in his third semester at the law school and credited the work of Rebecca ONeill, emerita law school clinical professor with the Civil Practice Clinic, which also consists of a juvenile justice clinic to assist children in case of abuse and neglect.

The legal clinic now has about 400 cases a year, and Aschemann hopes the clinic will be able to assist at least 40 veterans a year. Aschemann said the clinic will continue to provide consultation on veterans benefits, and he plans to visit veterans service organizations to discuss the new program. Grant funds will cover expenses such as travel, staff assistance and filing fees, where necessary.

Access to justice

The SIU School of Law was one of four in the state to receive funding for the IBFs new Law School Legal Clinic Grant program. Aschemann noted that one programs primary tenets is access to justice for underrepresented groups.

The IBF recognizes the crucial role law schools play in educating and training law students to become the future of the legal profession while meeting the legal needs of the most vulnerable members of the Illinois community, said Stacey Weiler, IBFs director of grants and access to justice program. This partnership with SIU helps broaden the reach of the IBFs statewide impact, and we are proud to help create the capacity of the legal clinic and students to provide civil legal services to veterans throughout Southern Illinois this year.

For more information on the program or assistance, call the Civil Practice Clinic at 800-673-6130.
Bamberg and Orangeburg counties will receive a total of $24 million to expand broadband internet service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Monday.

Keeping the people of rural America connected with reliable, high-speed internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country and creates good-paying jobs along the way, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a release.

Thanks to President Bidens Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are connecting rural communities to a global marketplace. These investments will support economic growth and prosperity for generations to come, he said.

The local funds are part of a larger, $700 million package of grants and loans designed to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers and business owners in 22 states and the Marshall Islands to reliable, affordable high-speed internet through the federal ReConnect Program.

USDAs ReConnect investments in South Carolina include:

 A $12 million grant to Bamberg County that will be used to deploy a fixed wireless network to provide high-speed internet.

This network is expected to benefit 5,241 people, 254 businesses, 60 farms and 24 educational facilities in Bamberg County.

Bamberg County will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program.

 A $12 million grant to Orangeburg County will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to provide high-speed internet.

This network is expected to benefit 4,155 people, 172 businesses, 72 farms and 13 educational facilities in Orangeburg County.

The county will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program.

South Carolina is receiving $24 million in ReConnect funding, which will serve socially vulnerable communities in Bamberg and Orangeburg counties, said Dr. Saundra Glover, state director for South Carolina Rural Development.

This funding will help deploy high-speed internet service to rural homes, businesses and essential community facilities, which is critical in creating stronger communities in rural South Carolina, she said.
CAMDEN -- Preservation South Carolina's Board of Directors elected John Hildreth as chairman at their annual meeting on July 21 in Orangeburg.

Preservation SC also welcomed four distinguished members: Cecil Williams, John Blyth, Shelby Henderson, and Timika Wilson.

Hildreth began his career as director of the Preservation Resource Center at the Preservation Society of Charleston in 1981. In 1989, he joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a field representative. Over the next 34 years, he served as director of the southern regional office, vice president for eastern regional field services, and vice president for preservation partnerships.

"I'm excited and honored to take my place in a line of dedicated people that have built this organization. We have a dynamic board and staff, several impactful projects that are coming to fruition, and great opportunities ahead of us. Our mission to raise awareness and save historic sites that help to tell the full story of our state is as important today as it's ever been," Hildreth said.

New member Cecil Williams, Orangeburg, is an artist, photographer and inventor. Williams is widely known as the most important visual chronicler of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina, including the desegregation of Clemson University, the Orangeburg Massacre, and the Charleston Hospital Strike.

John Blyth, Abbeville, championed the National Main Street Program of downtown revitalization in a 13-county region. More recently, he worked as an independent consultant for the research and documentation of historic properties.

Shelby Henderson, Seneca, was founding director of the Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum, which focuses on African American history in Oconee County. She's been director if Seneca's Department of Arts, History, and Culture since its creation in 2021.

Timika Wilson, Union, is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, where she was a project manager with the Corps of Engineers, and a local activist and preservationist.
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31

Turkey Branch Missionary Baptist Church is using that Bible verse as a testament to its perseverance and faith in God, to whom they rededicated their church following a devastating fire in 2011.

Illegal dumping and a series of break-ins have been among the other hurdles for the church, which will celebrate its 107th anniversary this year, but that has not diminished the spirit of its members.

The congregation has steadily rebounded from the severe damage it sustained from an Oct. 26, 2011 fire. A rededication service was held in celebration of the renovated sanctuary on Sunday at the church, which is located at 1690 Silver Springs Road in Neeses.

How did the church come this far?

By the grace of God. One of my favorite scriptures in Isaiah 40 says, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Its by faith that were still here, said the Rev. Clyde D. Holliday, church pastor.

Ive been pondering. The church has been broken in, stole the computers, stole the sound equipment, but we got everything back. The flood kept us from meeting, the fire put us out, but we never missed a worship, Holliday said.

Weve come this far by faith. Its better now than it was before. So we have endured almost 13 years, but we wasnt wandering in the wilderness. Weve been meeting, weve been worshipping, weve been praising, and we are still together the pastor said.

He said the renovation of the church building has cost more than $200,000, but that obstacle was also overcome with the support of several entities, including other churches, the Southern Baptist Association and the Beaver Creek Association. Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Woodford, for example, donated its old sanctuarys pews to the restoration effort.

Holliday said Bushy Pond Missionary Baptist Church in Norway also provided the use of its sanctuary when Turkey Branch needed space for, for example, funeral services. The church had also been renting the Town of Livingstons White Building Center for its worship services, along with the newer Livingston Municipal Complex for special services. Both buildings are located on Savannah Highway in Livingston.

I just believe that God is the author and finisher of our life, but when you treat people right, people will treat you right. The mayor of Livingston opened the doors that we had a place to worship. .We just have to trust in the Lord, Holliday said.

He said the rededication service on Aug. 20 was one that reverenced God and rededicated the building in service to the Lord.

We have to go with what we have, but the doors are open for those who are outside the ark of safety. It is my calling to preach and teach the unadulterated word of God, but let them come.  The door of the church  not Turkey Branch, the church of Jesus Christ  is open. ... Were here at this Bethel spot that was a bush harbor in 1916. Now its 2023 and were still here, Holliday said.

Longtime church members said they are happy and grateful to be able to move back into the renovated sanctuary.

Church Clerk Barbara Milhouse was baptized there at age 12. She and her family stayed up the road from the church, where she recalled attending Sunday school.

My whole 65-year life has been here. Ive known nothing else. This is home for me. ... The love that I had for my church and church family didnt change. As a matter of fact, it grew because it was always such a joy just to see a member outside of church because we didnt see them every Sunday, Milhouse said.

She continued, We are a family church. I think everybody in here has some family ties with each other. When pastor came in, he became family with everybody. ... It means so much to me in my heart to just know that we endured these years.

Milhouse said she appreciated all the support the church has received in its restoration efforts.

She said the church will be doing cosmetic and other work later in the church, which includes a pastors study, restrooms, baptismal pool and fellowship hall.

I just believe in my heart that anything that happens is predestined by God. All of the trials and tribulations that weve been through, we had to go through them just to get to this point. So, therefore, were going to rejoice in the rededication of this, Milhouse said.

Her mother, Earthella, 87, has been attending the church since the early 1970s. Her membership on the pulpit aid committee is among her duties in the church.

I enjoy it because when I came, the whole Milhouse family came. Im not saying they followed me, but they came and joined Turkey Branch Baptist Church. I just enjoy singing, I enjoy people. I love to treat people right because if you treat people right, theyll treat you right, Earthella said.

She continued, Oh, I am overjoyed. I am. Weve just been praying.

Trustee Leroy Jenkins said he joined Turkey Branch at age 15. He returned to South Carolina and his church after retiring and living in New Jersey for 50 years.

I always supported Turkey Branch because this is my family church. When I retired and came back from New Jersey, I made God a promise that if he just let me finish building my house, then I will help him build his house, Jenkins said.

It happened. I stuck by that promise. God let me see this project finish. This wasnt an easy journey, rebuilding this church. It was ups and downs.  We had good people to work with, straight-up people. We didnt accomplish everything that we want to accomplish, but we got the major part of the job done enough where we can get back in here and praise God, he said.

Trustee Betty Willis, Earthellas sister-in-law, said its been a blessing to be able to move back into the church.

I love it here. I love my pastor. Im just overjoyed at being able to come back and worship here. I just feel like jumping up and running and up and down the aisle. Thats how good I feel. I just love it, Willis said.

Im so happy that were back in this sanctuary once again. Hopefully and prayerfully, we will keep on growing stronger and stronger in this house of worship, she said.

Longtime church member Emma Jamison said she didnt have words to describe her feelings.

Ive been waiting for so long to feel what I feel. I always knew that God was going to bring us to this point. We just didnt know when, but we trusted God. Theres been a lot of things happening over the years since the church burned, but I never lost faith in God, Jamison said.

She continued, Sometimes you get weary, but God will pick you back up and give you a little more strength and say, Not yet. We waited on God, and Im just so grateful. ... Its well with my soul right now because I know Turkey Branch has risen from the ashes.
(CNN)  Tropical Storm Harold is plowing through Texas, triggering flash flooding and tornado warnings as the gusty storm pushes toward Mexico.

Harold made landfall just before 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) on Padre Island, Texas, with sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts as high as 67 mph, becoming the first storm to come ashore in the United States in the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

Heavy rain and strong winds will continue to slam portions of southern Texas and Mexico as Harold tracks westward Tuesday afternoon and evening. Those winds had knocked out power to around 40,000 customers in Texas, according to poweroutage.us.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Port O Connor, Texas, with tropical storm watches in effect from Port OConnor to Sargent, Texas. More than 1 million people are under tropical storm warnings in Texas.

Harold will be able to dump 3 to 5 inches of rain across South Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday with locally higher amounts closer to 7 inches. Across Mexico, 4 to 6 inches of rain are expected.

Tropical-storm-force winds will occur in and around where Harold made landfall with sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts up to 65 mph likely. As the storm moves inland Tuesday afternoon, wind speeds may ease up slightly but locally-damaging gusts of 30-40 mph will still be possible.

Life-threatening surf and rip currents conditions will last across the southern Texas coast through Tuesday, and its possible the state may also see a few tornadoes develop. The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings in South Texas early Tuesday afternoon.

The storm is moving across southern Texas as the state continues to battle one of its hottest, driest summers on record.

Corpus Christi, Texas, already recorded more rain in just a few hours than it has received for the entire summer, according to National Weather Service data. Widespread amounts of 1 to 2.5 inches of rain fell over the area and points south from Tuesday morning into the early afternoon.

While this tropical systems rains could help quench parts of the drought-stricken state, some of the worst drought conditions  areas of extreme and exceptional drought in Central Texas  might miss out on much of the rain.

Texans brace for tropical impacts

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard, swift water rescue boat squads, among other emergency resources ahead of the storms arrival. Texas stands ready to deploy all available resources to South Texas as tropical storm conditions impact the region this week, he said in a statement.

I encourage Texans to remain weather-aware and heed the guidance of state and local officials and emergency management personnel as they work together to keep communities safe, the governor added.

South Beach and North Beach were closed for driving and camping Monday in anticipation of the storms arrival, Padre Island National Seashore officials said. The national seashore is located along a barrier island south of Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi officials told residents who must be outside during the incoming storm to drive slower than usual, turn on their headlights and be aware of possible flooding in low-lying areas.

Crews across the Corpus Christi area could be seen working Monday to prep critical canals and drainage infrastructure for the heavy rainfall.

About 40 miles northeast, the city of Port Aransas declared a local state disaster on Monday ahead of impacts from the storm.

The city is under the threat of imminent disaster, injury, or loss of life or property, resulting from a Tropical Storm, which will impact the coastal beaches of the City of Port Aransas Nueces County, Texas with flooding or severe damage, the proclamation said.

Naval Air Station Kingsville ordered those in the RV Park on the installation to evacuate, while voluntary evacuations were called in Riviera, Baffin Bay and Loyola Beach, authorities said.

Meanwhile, AEP Texas, which delivers power to South Texas, said it is lining up crews, equipment and other resources in anticipation of possible power outages.

Franklin packing potentially life-threatening flooding

Tropical Storm Franklin is set to slam Hispaniola by Wednesday with life-threatening flooding and mudslides. The storm will also bring heavy rainfall to Puerto Rico.

Franklin had sustained winds of 50 mph as of Tuesday afternoon and was located over the Caribbean Sea about 230 miles south-southwest of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The storm made a northward turn early Tuesday afternoon and will continue in that direction until it makes landfall in Hispaniola Wednesday.

Franklin will unload very heavy rain across Hispaniola Tuesday through Wednesday and raise the threat of flash flooding and mudslides. Isolated rainfall amounts up to 15 inches are possible. Up to 6 inches of heavy rain could fall in Puerto Rico through Thursday, but the island will escape the worst of Franklin.

The Atlantic hurricane season is ramping up. Three tropical systems formed in 24 hours Saturday into Sunday. Harold now marks the fourth in four days.

The-CNN-Wire

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CHARLESTON -- The International African American Museum will host a special exhibition by Fletcher Williams III, When It Rains It Shines.

The exhibition will open on Thursday, Aug. 31, and will be on display through Dec. 3, 2023. The exhibition is made possible by support from Bank of America.

In When It Rains It Shines, Williams constructs a labyrinth of personal memories, rituals, and sacred hideaways using sculpture, sound, and light. It is both a dreamscape and a psychedelic vision of what it is to be in and of the South. Both disorienting and inviting, this immersive installation offers visitors an opportunity to interact with the South in new and thought-provoking ways.

An opening reception, hosted by IAAM, will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 30, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. This reception is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Those interested in attending can register at iaamuseum.org/events.

On Oct. 11, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the public is invited to join Williams at IAAM as he discusses his journey and the myriad personal and cultural landscapes that inform his first solo museum exhibition, When It Rains It Shines. Williams will be in conversation with award-winning journalist, art critic, and curator, Chase Quinn. Space is limited, register at iaamuseum.org/events.

Fletcher Williams III is a multidisciplinary artist from Charleston. His work has been featured in multiple group shows and solo exhibitions throughout the country. His conceptual art-making practice is rooted in Southern vernacular.

Williams earned a bachelor of fine arts from the Cooper Union for the Advancement in Science and Art, where he studied drawing, painting, sculpture, print-making, and graphic design.

While the core of Williams' education focused on producing multimedia artwork, he devoted much time to studying social anthropology, the foundation of which continues to influence his work. Williams' professional career began with a studio in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., where he produced work for several solo and group exhibitions and worked as a freelance graphic designer.

In 2013 Williams returned home to North Charleston, and re-introduced himself with a self-produced solo exhibition, Souvenir (2015).

The International African American Museum explores the history, culture, and impact of the African American journey on Charleston, on the nation, and on the world, shining light and sharing stories of the diverse journeys, origin, and achievements of descendants of the African Diaspora. The mission of IAAM is to honor the untold stories of the African American journey at the historically sacred site of Gadsdens Wharf and beyond. For more information, please visit iaamuseum.org or call 843-872-5352.
(TBTCO) - uoc ky vong nhu mot trong nhung mo hinh hieu qua e thu hut au tu cua khu vuc tu nhan ca trong va ngoai nuoc. Tuy nhien, cac du an au tu hop tac oi tac cong - tu (PPP) lai co xu huong giam, tu nam 2015 en nay. Mot trong nhung ly do la ton tai nhieu rao can, vuong mac nen nhieu nha au tu khong con man ma. Voi nhiem vu uoc giao la huong dan cac quy inh ve quan ly tai chinh oi voi du an PPP, Bo Tai chinh ang ra soat va inh huong sua oi Nghi inh so 28/2021/N-CP cua Chinh phu quy inh co che quan ly tai chinh du an au tu theo phuong thuc PPP.
BEIRUT  Long-anticipated exploratory drilling for offshore gas at Block 9 will start Aug. 24, caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad announced Tuesday, in comments published by the state-run National News Agency.

"On Aug. 24, the drilling process will begin, and it will be a historic day," Fayad said. "After 67 days, we will know the results of this drilling. We hope it will bring good things for the Lebanese."

Fayad was speaking after a meeting with several TotalEnergies officials.

Following the meeting, the minister added that "Total and its partners are fully committed" to working professionally, and that the "outlook is very positive."

"They have expressed interest in the blocks surrounding Block 9, and there will be developments at this level that we will announce when they become more concrete," he added. "We also raised the question of renewable energies, as they have a clear interest in projects of 5 megawatts or more, or 100 megawatts. We have work to do in the ministry, within the government, and at the legislative level."

The announcement came after a visit to the TransOcean Barents drilling rig Tuesday by Fayad, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Minister of Public Works Ali Hamieh.

They traveled to the platform on board a helicopter contracted by TotalEnergies and operated by Gulf Helicopters to transport the teams to the drilling rig.

A representative of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) and a delegation from TotalEnergies also visited the rig.

The day was a "day of joy that I have worked for years to achieve, Berri stated from the airport. He concluded that he hopes that the visit will be one of the steps for Lebanon to begin overcoming the economic crisis that Lebanon and its people are experiencing.

Mikati hailed an "important opportunity" for Lebanon, hoping that "the next few days will be promising and will help bring Lebanon out of the many crises it is suffering from."

Praising "the achievements" implemented so far regarding offshore exploration, Mikati wished for "the cooperation of all to revive Lebanon and put an end to the collapse at all levels."

'Operations will start in a few days'

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, TotalEnergies announced the launch of exploration activities in Block 9.

"We are pleased to announce that the drilling operations will start in a few days, thanks to the commitment of our teams, the support of the Lebanese authorities and of our partners," said Romain de La Martiniere, the general manager of TotalEnergies EP Lebanon.

"This exploration well will allow us to assess the materiality of hydrocarbon resources and production potential in the area, he continued.

Logistical operations on the rig are scheduled to begin later on Tuesday.

The exploration rig reached Lebanese waters on Aug. 16, chartered by TotalEnergies on behalf of the consortium it has formed with Italy's ENI and QatarEnergy.
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Theres an old story about Madison Junction. The spot in Yellowstone National Park is where the Gibbon and the Firehole flow together to form the Madison River, one of the three branches that eventually becomes the Missouri. Today, its one of the parks major intersections, where you can enter or exit Grand Loop Road via West Yellowstone. Theres a campground there, a small store, and a ranger station.

But it hasnt always been that way. Per legend, it was in Madison that the idea that became Yellowstone National Park was born. On Sept. 19, 1870, the members of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition sat around a campfire as the short mountain fall turned into winter. They reflected on their journey, a month long trek that took them from Helena to Mammoth, up to the summit of Mount Washburn, past the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake, through the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins, and eventually to the banks of the infant Madison where they now sat. Theyd seen great wonders, canyons carved out of the forest, plains alive with animals, jets of superheated water shooting into the sky.

The story goes that Cornelius Hedges, a writer, lawyer and school superintendent who later immortalized the trip in a series of articles for the Helena Herald, first broached the idea of keeping the place theyd just explored in public hands. He proposed, then and there, that Yellowstone be preserved as a national park. Hedges idea, echoed by the expedition, was so convincing that two years later, President Ulysses S. Grant made Yellowstone the worlds first national park. The idea rippled through history, and other countries similarly set aside land to be enjoyed by their people.

Its a great story, one told on a plaque that sits right on the riverbank where the events it describes happened. Theres just one problem. Its probably not true.

Ednor Therriault, a writer who lives in Missoula, outlined the problems with the creation tale in his book Myths and Legends of Yellowstone (turns out the Madison story is both). For starters, this wasnt the first time the concept of setting the Yellowstone area apart had been introduced. In fact, Montanas acting territorial governor Thomas Francis Meagher had once floated the idea, and he died in 1867.

Furthermore, none of the original journals left by members of the expedition mention the supposedly historic conversation. It showed up in Hedges and Langfords published versions, which were released in 1904 and 1905, respectively. But the story isnt in Hedges original, and Langfords unedited version mysteriously vanished from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Aubrey Haines, Yellowstones first official historian, more or less debunked the campfire myth in the 1960s. But it persists. Why?

For one, its just a fun story, one that sounds (and is) too good to be true. But theres a nugget of colonialism buried in Yellowstones creation myth. Of course white people were the first people to find this place and realize how special it was. Hedges was from New England. He graduated from both Yale and Harvard. His blood ran pure blue, and it took a man like him to notice that Yellowstone was important and needed to be preserved. Right?

Not really. The human history of Yellowstone doesnt start in 1870, but millennia before that. When the Gardiner Post Office was built in 1959, an obsidian Clovis point was found, dated to about 11,000 years ago. The history of Yellowstone National Park is older, and much more Indigenous, than we might think.

The story of Yellowstone is just that, a story. The big difference is who gets to tell it.

Thats what Yellowstone Revealed is challenging. The art show, now in its second year, has brought an Indigenous immersive sensory experience to Madison Junction, the place where the campfire myth started. Its put on by Mountain Time Arts (MTA), a nonprofit arts organization out of Bozeman that specializes in on-location installations that interact with the land theyre placed on. When you go to an MTA exhibition, the art doesnt stop when the painting ends. All of it  the sky, the mountains, the air, its all part.

Last year, Yellowstone Revealed was spread across the park. There were tours led by Indigenous guides, performance art at Old Faithful and Madison, and, most strikingly, a teepee village at Madison Junction. Many of the parks millions of visitors pour in through that West Yellowstone gateway, and for a weekend they were treated to a visual reminder of Yellowstones history, and prompted to consider their place in it.

The location, of course, is no accident. Francesca Pine Rodriguez, MTAs executive director, said that the nonprofits board has narrowed down a few different spots around the park that have the infrastructure to support an installation.

But the Madison, Rodriquez said, keeps calling us back. Its literally doing research, feeling the land, seeing what it can accommodate.

Using teepees as a medium is another very deliberate choice. They fit Mountain Time Arts mission in terms of being big, bold immersive installations that people can interact with, Rodriguez said. Its a very recognizable reference and visual for Indigenous presence.

Last years village was filled with representatives from the 27 tribal nations officially recognized as having ties to the Yellowstone region. They explained to awestruck visitors the long human history of the park.

The 2022 Yellowstone Revealed was about reminding people of the Indigenous lives that have touched Yellowstone. The 2023 show was about celebrating those lives. And reckoning with why those perspectives had to be reintroduced in the first place.

The show ran from Aug. 10-12, and it included two major artists. Sean Chandler, who is the president of Aaniiih Nakota College on the Fort Belknap Reservation, presented When We Used To Be, a series of original paintings that had been turned into teepee liners. In the same meadow, Ben Pease, who is from the Valley of the Chiefs district near Pryor, presented Ammachhiia: Journey Through Time and Culture, which combined teepee installations and live painting.

Chandler is one of the most distinctive artists working on the Northern Plains today. He paints characters and images that defy even particularly active imaginations. His work almost looks like super elaborate cave paintings, just layer after layer of detail and color. Its hard to take in a Sean Chandler piece on first glance. Thats intentional.

I dont want to be easily defined, because Indian people arent easily defined, were complex, he explained.

He specializes in huge works, massive paintings that fill entire walls in the galleries theyre displayed in.

I paint in my basement, Chandler said, and the biggest I can make my paintings is about 6 foot high by 14 feet long.

Thats about the size of a good teepee liner. That idea hit him while he was finishing a recent work. Then MTA reached out about Yellowstone Revealed.

My project here is always growing, and Ive been thinking about it for a while, he explained. I finally got the venue where I could do it.

He had eight teepees as part of Yellowstone Revealed, each one consisting of 12 stripped lodgepoles  he had intended to burn them, but opted to paint them instead, and a rainstorm during the installation added texture and depth to the poles themselves  with vinyl prints of some of his paintings. He had five paintings in total as part of When We Used To Be, and two main ones, he put it, both of which were new, never before shown works.

His works, he said, contain numerous stories, working together to form one singular piece.

I have these different pieces of stories, because, as you know, our way of life has been fractured. Some of our life ways have been forgotten, he noted. I used this format to remember that we still have the framework of our life ways, but its still kind of in pieces.

The works were spread throughout the installation, but the same new piece appeared on the outside of all of Chandlers teepees. He called it No Ones Creation, and it shows embryonic figures, fuzzy around the outside. He sees them as pure beings, unaffected by society. Its about creation. Theres a ghostly element to it. But whose ghosts?

When I say no one, Im talking about the definition of Indian people, Chandler explained. Other people have redefined us, and put us in a place where we can reach too high  where they can control us. We were taught we could only be no one, that we could only rise so high in mainstream America.

Chandlers existence here at all  and the art hes creating  is a challenge to that. His father survived time in an Indian boarding school, enduring a drive from Montana to the Dakotas in a big Army truck. Chandlers dad also taught him art, and how to put images onto rawhide and teepee liners. Chandler later went to art school and combined the bedrock of art hed been taught with more contemporary forms.

I want to paint in the same vein as my ancestors did while they painted their exploits on hides or rocks, he said.

Pease, too, felt a connection to his ancestors while working on Yellowstone Revealed.

This exhibit has been a chance for me to speak utilizing the medium of lodges, teepees, Pease explained, Crows, we say that the lodge is one of our mothers. The home is one of our mothers. What Im thinking about is our human interaction with the land, in the places we call home.

Peases Ammachhiia  an Apsaalooke word that means connection, or the mouth of a river  contained three teepees. One was bright yellow, and was covered in the faces of Crow men, pulled from historic photos. On the back side, there was a large portrait of Chief Plenty Coups. There was also a deep blue teepee, with ribbons of color undulating throughout its fabric cover, and one teepee with a mesh cover, totally see-through, with bison stitched into it.

On the yellow teepee, Pease stripped away all adornments from the photos, just showing suspended faces.

We always forget that these are humans, he said. I wanted to focus on bringing the human aspect.

For the blue teepee, Pease wanted to bring in a feminine perspective to balance out all the masculinity on the yellow. Theres a handprint on each side of the door opening, each placed there by a female water keeper.

Water, too, is at the heart of this. The blue teepee was full of detail, swirls and whirls of paint throughout. Pease didnt design it that way. He just let the fabric get rained on.

The elements are the collaborator, he said. How can we work together to create something beautiful?

The light plays tricks in the painted teepees. After you exit the blue teepee, the world turns pink and red. Inside the yellow teepee, it looks like the faces are looking at you. Leave that space, and the world turns a little blue. Its the mesh teepee that ties it all together. From inside there, you can see the whole valley. The buffalo stitched to the outside look like theyre walking around on the prairies that surround you.

I want us to see ourselves in our environs, Pease explained. If we dont see ourselves as part of that equation, we seek to upset the balance once again.

When we build homes, Pease contended, we think of ourselves as above and outside of the environment. With his work, hes trying to rethink that.

At the top of his teepee poles, where Indigenous people traditionally flew streamers or ribbons, Pease hung caution tape. It whipped around in the winds that blue across the Madison Valley.

We should proceed with caution in building systems that are supposed to represent all people, Pease contended. All perspectives should be considered, and respected and deliberated.

The installation closed on Aug. 12. Rodriquez said that theyd love for Yellowstone Revealed to become an annual event, but there are logistics to tackle. This year only happened, the director said, because of donations from the Henry Luce Foundation and the Ellen Poss Foundation.

When the first government expeditions were led into Yellowstone, they brought artists with them. Photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran tagged along on the Hayden Expedition in 1871. The works they produced helped prove to the powerful people on the east coast that the wonders of Yellowstone were real, and worth investing in.

Artists were basically the media of winning the West and westward expansion, Pease noted. What he and Chandler did in Yellowstone Revealed is the flip side of that tradition.

Colonialism still runs through Yellowstone, just like it runs through the West, and America, and most of the world. One of the members of that inaugural expedition, Gustavus Cheyney Doane, was a commander in the Marias Massacre, where at least 173 Piegan Blackfeet were killed. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, namesake for the Lamar Valley at the northeastern corner of the park, was a slave owner and member of the Confederacy. And the Madison River itself was named by Meriwether Lewis in honor of James Madison, the Secretary of State and future President who owned over 100 slaves.

Yet its on the same banks of that same Madison River, where Doane once sat, that the story is being retold. When youre there, dodging the bison pies and seeing teepees begin to blend with the mountains and the sky, Indigenous presence in Yellowstone stops being told in past tense.

National Parks are one of the most American institutions, and the practices of those parks is part of American tradition, both good and bad, Pease explained. Creating a place for life to exist in a natural way, that tradition is great. But we must think about the tradition of legally appropriating lands out from under the feet of people who lived here for eons.

Our stories are powerful and valuable, Pease continued. And if we value stories, using art, we can bring beauty and value to people who need it. To the human story.
WHEN the rice finishes, we make dumplings.

Thats the reality for one family because they simply cannot afford to replenish food until the next pay cheque.

Living pay cheque to pay cheque is a dilemma many households are facing in Trinidad and Tobago.
KI is planning a huge homecoming for Carnival 2024.

KI (Kris Persad) and his family band 3Veni have been noticeably absent from the fete circuit for the past five years.

The Toronto, Canada-based former chutney soca monarch says he is longing for the one place where he is at home: the Carnival stage.
Heads must roll and there must be an immediate investigation into who purchased 20 unusable wooden ladders for the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS) for a whopping $1 million.

The ladders are now parked up behind the Fire Service headquarters because they cannot be mounted on fire trucks, Leo Ramkissoon, president of the Fire Services Association, told the Sunday Express yesterday.
Chief Justice Ivor Archies recent call for acceptance among judges suggests that at least some of them have not been dispensing justice impartially to all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

Speaking at the Caribbean Judges Forum on HIV Health and Human Rights last Thursday, the Chief Justice asserted, As lawyers and judges, we must begin from the premise that it is possible to construct functional, moral or ethical codes of behaviour without adherence to any particular doctrine, regardless of how strongly we may hold our personal religious convictions.
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A woman is facing a second degree murder charge in connection with a wrong-way DUI crash last year that killed her 2-year-old daughter and injured others, records show.

The case against Andrea Raeann Crespin, 31, stems from a deadly crash that happened about 10:50 p.m. Aug. 14 on Interstate 10 near Vail. Crespin was reportedly driving a 2016 Mazda sedan the wrong way on the I-10 when she collided head-on with a 2006 Toyota Sedan, the complaint said. A 2017 Volkswagen was also hit during the incident.

Crespin was charged last month with second degree murder and several counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage and endangerment, an interim complaint filed in the Pima County Justice Court said.

After the crash, Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers noted the odor of alcoholic beverages inside Crespins vehicle. She was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Crespins 2-year-old daughter was unrestrained in the front seat during the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, the complaint said.

The driver of the Toyota suffered serious injuries such as a broken pelvis and two broken arms. The passenger of Toyota suffered a fractured skull, broken femur, broken pelvis and broken ribs, the complaint said.

Later at the hospital, Crespin was noted to have had bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on her breath. She was also lethargic, incoherent and had slurred speech, the complaint said.

Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.279%, which is about three times the state legal limit.

Crespins is schedule to appear in Pima County Superior Court Friday for a hearing.
A Tucson-based environmental group says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illegally altered its rules in ways that will harm the ability of two snake species to survive in Arizona and New Mexico.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit Tuesday in federal court, contending it was illegal of the agency to reduce the amount of critical habitat for the narrow-headed garter snake and the northern Mexico garter snake. It wants a judge to order the service to go back and fix the issue.

There was no immediate response from Fish and Wildlife.

The lawsuit says the two species were listed as threatened throughout their range in 2014.

At the same time, critical habitat was proposed: More than 421,000 acres for the northern Mexico garter snake and more than 210,000 for the narrow-headed garter snake. But neither one was finalized.

In the interim, the lawsuit says, the Trump administration revised the rules under which areas considered unoccupied could be considered critical habitat. It also says other changes were made to the criteria used to provide such a designation.

Fish and Wildlife excluded the designation of hundreds of thousands of acres with ephemeral streams despite noting in its own proposed rules that both snakes rely on them, the suit says.

As a result, Fish and Wildlife eventually approved protection for 20,326 acres for the northern Mexico garter snake and less than 24,000 for the other species.

This is important because a critical habitat designation provides some protection against other activities that might harm the ability of a species to survive, said Robin Silver, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity.

When it comes to ranching, for instance, cow grazing destroys riparian areas, Silver said. There also are other factors beyond grazing, including mining, agriculture, suburban sprawl and drought due to climate change.

Acritical habitat designation would require proof that people who want to use the land will not endanger the species for whom the habitat was set aside.

Reducing the habitat area eliminates those protections, Silver said.

Fish and Wildlife officials are once again choosing to protect interests of ranchers, developers and the Arizona Game and Fish Department at the expense of endangered species, he said.

Silver said Arizona Game and Fish has introduced nonnative bullfrogs and fish, which pose their own threats to the snakes.
Jayson Magrum, 43, was shot and killed Aug. 11 by a woman who told deputies he was trying to get into her house in Three Points.
NEW YORK  Donald Trumps aggressive response to his fourth criminal indictment in five months follows a strategy he has long used against legal and political opponents: relentless attacks, often infused with language that is either overtly racist or is coded in ways that appeal to racists.

The early Republican presidential front-runner has used terms such as animal and rabid to describe Black district attorneys. He has accused Black prosecutors of being racist. He has made unsupported claims about their personal lives.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump has deployed terms that rhyme with racial slurs as some of his supporters post racist screeds about the same targets.

The rhetoric is a reminder of Trumps tendency to use coded racial messaging as a signal to supporters, an approach he has deployed over several decades as he evolved from a New York City real estate tycoon to a reality television star and, eventually, the president.

Even if he doesnt explicitly employ racial slurs, his language recalls Americas history of portraying Black people as not fully human.

Hes taking that historical racialized language that was offensive and insulting, and the subordinating of Black persons, applying it in a contemporary space and really bubbling up that history, said Bev-Freda Jackson, a professor in the school of public affairs at American University.

While this is a well-worn strategy for Trump, his latest comments come at a particularly sensitive moment. On a personal level, a bond agreement signed on Monday by Trumps lawyers and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis imposes restrictions on his communications, including those issued through social media. More broadly, experts worry Trumps broadsides will worsen online vitriol and inspire violence.

It makes the internet a more dangerous place, said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. It just takes one angry person with a gun to do something terrible. And thats frankly the kind of violence Im the most worried about.

Recent incidents underscore those concerns: Threats toward people involved in Trumps cases have factored into an arrest in Texas and an FBI killing in Utah.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung pushed back against the idea that the former president attacks people based on race, saying in an emailed statement that Trump doesnt have a racist bone in his body and anyone saying otherwise is a racist and bigot themselves.

Even before Trump was charged in Georgia last week with criminal counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, he spent days assailing the prosecutor in the case with unfounded accusations and race-related attacks.

He wrote online that Willis was a rabid partisan. He ran an ad that claimed without evidence that she hid a relationship with a gang member she was prosecuting  an ad she called derogatory and false in an email to staff. He lobbed accusations that Willis, the first Black woman to hold her role, was racist and using the indictment as a con job.

This is who Donald Trump is, said Cliff Albright, executive director of Black Voters Matter, a voting advocacy group. Hes been this way all his time in public life.

Willis has declined to comment on Trumps attacks, but urged restraint in her email to staff about the ad.

We have no personal feelings against those we investigate or prosecute and we should not express any, she wrote.

Trumps reaction to the Georgia charges match how he has responded to earlier indictments and investigations.

He has slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is Black, as a Soros backed animal even though George Soros, the Hungarian American and Jewish billionaire who conservatives frequently invoke as a boogeyman, doesnt know and didnt directly donate to Bragg, according to a Soros spokesman.

In a message last September on Truth Social, Trump referred to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is Black, as Racist A.G. Letitia Peekaboo James. The nickname is similar to a term used to insult Black people.

Cheung didnt say what Trump meant when he said peekaboo, but wrote in an email that anyone who thinks peek-a-boo is a racist phrase is obviously sick in the head and their assertion strains credulity and should not be taken seriously.

The former presidents comments and actions toward people of color have been criticized for decades.

In 1989, Trump took out full-page newspaper ads calling for five Black and Hispanic men accused, and ultimately convicted, of rape to receive the death penalty.

The Central Park Five were exonerated in 2019 and Trump responded to the news by saying, You have people on both sides of that.

Just before he was elected president in 2016, Trump referred to U.S.-born District Judge Gonzalo Curiel as Mexican. He said without evidence that Curiel had a conflict of interest over Trumps efforts to build the wall on the U.S.s southern border.

While in office, he said four congresswomen of color should go back to the broken and crime infested countries they came from, ignoring the fact that all of the women are American citizens and three were born in the U.S.

In bluntly vulgar language while he was president, Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and s-hole countries in Africa.

Last week, Trump posted online that prosecutors instead should have gone after those who rigged the election.

They only went after those that fought to find the riggers! he said.

The close resemblance of riggers to a racial slur garnered attention from internet users on a pro-Trump online forum, who used the term in dozens of racist messages calling for people to be killed or hanged after seeing Trumps post.

The term has appeared several times on far-right forums since the 2020 election, sometimes with the same racist context.
PHOENIX  Two Republican lawmakers want Attorney General Kris Mayes to financially punish the city of Phoenix if it refuses to overturn a city council decision to donate unclaimed weapons to Ukraine.

And the outcome of this spat could affect what other cities around the state are allowed to do with the firearms that come into their hands.

In a new complaint, Reps. Quang Nguyen of Prescott Valley and Selina Bliss of Prescott contends the move violates state laws that generally require firearms that are seized or turned into a city to be sold off or traded for other police equipment. The only exception is when the weapon itself is illegal, like a sawed-off shotgun.

But rather than seek some sort of court order to overturn the move  assuming they have standing  the pair instead is using a 2016 law which allows any state lawmaker to ask the attorney general whether the actions by a local government are legal. That triggers a requirement for the attorney general to investigate and seek a response from the community.

If the attorney general believes the action is illegal, the law requires that person to give the city 30 days to "resolve the violation." If that does not happen to the satisfaction of the attorney general, the treasurer an be told to withhold state revenue sharing dollars and redistribute them to everyone else. For a city the size of Phoenix, that could be more than $600 million.

For the moment, though, it does not appear the city is going to back down.

The immediate spat is over a Phoenix policy which says any property that is unclaimed for 30 days can be disposed of by the city. Items range from bicycles and motor vehicles to jewelry.

And there also are firearms.

Under the city code, those weapons can be kept for use by the police department. They also can be sent to a museum. And rare or collectible items can be sold at public auction.

But it also permits the city to sell, lend or transfer any firearm "to any local, state or federal law enforcement agency," as long as there is no cost to the city.

Last month the council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with DTGruelle, a private company which provides import and export services. The city would transfer between 500 and 600 unclaimed firearms which Gruelle would send to the National Police of Ukraine.

A city spokesman said that is authorized under the transfer provision, saying there is no real difference between a domestic law enforcement agency and one in another country.

Nguyen and Bliss complained at the time. But with the city refusing to back off, they raised the ante with the new complaint to Mayes, arguing that the city's ordinances are irrelevant because they conflict with state statutes.

One of those prohibits local governments from enacting any local dealing with "the possession, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition or use of firearms in Arizona."

And a separate statute says firearms shall be sold to someone who is authorized under state and federal law to receive them  presumably a licensed gun dealer  who then is required to sell the firearm to the public.

"And that money goes to the general fund," said Nguyen.

Nguyen insisted the complaint has nothing to do with the politics of supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia. And he said there may be ways for Phoenix to help  legally.

"Why not give food?" Nguyen asked. "Why not sell these weapons or trade them for food or whatever it is."

And he also said it has nothing to do with his views on firearms and the Second Amendment, even though he is the president of the Arizona Rifle and Pistol Association.

Mayor Kate Gallego pointed out in a statement that the city and even the state previously have transferred law enforcement items to other equivalent agencies.

She specifically cited the move last year by the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, under the direction of then-Gov. Doug Ducey, to collect 9,000 pounds of surplus equipment from local, county, state and tribal enforcement agencies to aid Ukraine. The items shipped overseas included bullet proof vests, 77 helmets, miscellaneous tactical clothing, footwear, pads and shields.

"This situation is no different," Gallego said.

"The state Legislature welcomed support for Ukraine through similar actions under former Gov. Ducey," the mayor said. "And this transfer was done under the same logic and intent."

Nguyen, however, said the big difference is that Ducey's actions did not involve firearms, citing that section of law that says the rules for disposing of any other kind of property just don't apply to firearms.

This isn't the first time there has been a legal dispute over what cities can do with weapons.

In 2017 the Arizona Supreme Court voided a 2005 Tucson ordinance that said when the police department obtained a gun through seizure or surrender, the agency "shall dispose of such firearm by destroying the firearm." The justices said it is clear in their minds that it trumped by multiple existing state laws to the contrary.

That lawsuit actually started with the same kind of complaint filed against a city that Nguyen and Bliss are using here.

In that case, Mark Brnovich who was attorney general, concluded the city was exceeding its authority. But the city, rather than rescinding the ordinance, chose to fight, result in the Supreme Court ruling.

Tucson lost.

"In no uncertain terms, the Arizona Legislature has declared that 'firearms regulation is of statewide concern' and has expressed its intent to preempt 'firearms regulations in this state' and thereby 'limit the ability of any political subdivision of this state to regulate firearms,' " wrote Justice John Pelander for the high court.

Nguyen said there's another reason he believes state law restricts what cities can do with firearms: the lack of ability to track the weapons.

He specifically cited what had been a practice by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives going back to 2009 where agents told weapons dealers to allow purchases to go through to "straw buyers," those who were legally entitled to have weapons but where there was a reason to believe they were purchasing them for someone else. The goal of letting the guns "walk" was to allow ATF to follow the flow of firearms to Mexican drug cartels.
Citrus exports to China drive job growth, revenue boost in S. Africa:business leader

Xinhua) 10:49, August 22, 2023

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's citrus fruit exports to China are increasing rapidly, leading to increased revenue within the citrus industry and the sustained employment of workers in the country, the Citrus Growers Association (CGA) of South Africa said.

During an interview with Xinhua, Paul Hardman, the chief operating officer of CGA, highlighted the significant progress in citrus exports.

He pointed out that a crucial achievement occurred in 2021 when South Africa and China signed a revised lemon protocol.

"The current trend indicates favorable export figures for this year and the following year," said Hardman.

South Africa's citrus export industry is a key source of employment, providing 140,000 jobs and contributing 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in annual export revenue, he said, adding that the improvement in trade relations with China has played a vital role in job creation and revenue generation.

"The CGA aims to expand and diversify citrus trade with China. By 2024, South Africa envisions exporting 25,000 tons of lemons to China," he said.

South Africa has maintained its status as China's largest trading partner in Africa since 2010 and trade between the two nations is poised to expand even further.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
PHOENIX  Failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake says she had an absolute right to publicly accuse Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer of illegally sabotaging the election with mis-sized ballots even though a judge ruling in her challenge to the 2022 election had already rejected that complaint as unproven.

Ditto her claim that Richer had illegally injected 300,000 fake ballots into the vote count.

And now Lake is trying to use a special state law designed to protect free speech rights to get a court to throw out his defamation lawsuit that she spread intentional or reckless falsehoods about his role in the 2022 election.

In new legal filings, she and her attorneys are telling Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adelman that Richer should not even be given a chance to bring evidence into court to show how Lake, her campaign and the Save Arizona Fund, which Lake has used to raise funds, made false statements he said harmed him and his family and resulted in threats of violence and death for family members.

The reason, she said, is that 2006 law requires judges to immediately dismiss lawsuits they determine are substantially motivated by a desire to deter, retaliate against or prevent the lawful exercise of a constitutional right. And that, said Lake, makes the question of whether she was telling the truth or not legally irrelevant.

Richer filed suit in June, arguing that Lake made repeated claims that he intentionally printed ballots with 19-inch images on 20-inch ballots to sabotage the 2022 general election. That is because the on-site tabulators at vote centers would not read the smaller images, resulting in lines at polling places and in some cases, according to Lake, people  who she presumes would have voted for her  leaving without being able to vote.

He also cited her comments that he illegally inserted more than 300,000 phony early ballots into the system.

Dan Maynard, Richers attorney, told Adelman that Lake made those statements at a Jan. 29 rally, weeks after a trial judge found that Lake had provided nothing more than speculation and conjecture to support her claims of intentional misconduct. The judge in that case where Lake was challenging the results of the gubernatorial race also ruled she had brought forward no evidence to contradict testimony that the 2022 election was conducted in accordance with established procedures.

Lake knew that her ballot size sabotage and bogus ballot injections claims were false before the Jan. 29 rally or, at a minimum, she was reckless as to the truth or falsity of those claims, Maynard wrote in the legal filings.

All irrelevant, said Lake, under the states Strategic Action Against Public Participation statute.

Lakes lawyers argue the purpose of the law is to prevent public officials from using private litigation as a means to punish and prevent speech on political issues that should be considered as part of the open public discourse guaranteed by the United States and Arizona constitutions.

And the scope of that law, they contend, is very broad.

Evaluation of the protections of (the law) have nothing to do with whether the speech is false, as plaintiff has alleged, they told Adelman. That, they said, is underlined by the fact that the law allows anti-SLAPP motions to be filed even before there is a finding by a judge of whether the statements are true or false.

The statute is designed to protect speakers from the often-arduous litigation in determining such a question, her lawyers said.

And what any judge ruled in Lakes unsuccessful legal bids to overturn the election results, they said, doesnt matter.

Even if judges in other actions in this controversy have held that Lake failed to present sufficient evidence of fraud to prevail in a claim (as opposed to finding it false), she is still entitled to have an opinion and state her beliefs about what happened in the 2022 election and whose is to blame for mistakes, her legal team said.  False speech is not at issue here, only the type of speech that may well include vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials that the U.S. Supreme Court has specifically said must be protected.

Lake says her views of the purpose of the anti-SLAPP laws  and the unusual legal remedy of having the lawsuit dismissed even before any evidence can be heard  are backed by a statement of intent legislators put into the 2006 law.

The threat of strategic lawsuits against public participation, personal liability and burdensome litigation costs significantly chill and diminish citizen participation in government, voluntary public service and the exercise of these important constitutional rights, it reads. And she said it doesnt matter that a plaintiff  in this case, Richer  doesnt get his day in court.

Under this law, even though it may look like defendants have an advantage  getting a libel case dismissed solely because it interferes with their free speech rights  it is essential to realize that is exactly what the Legislature intended, Lake said. Speech about the integrity of the election process is exactly the type of public participation that the Legislature chose to protect.

And that, her legal team said, is exactly what is at issue here.

Defendants speech about the ballot size sabotage and bogus ballot injection issues qualifies as core political speech about the integrity of the 2022 election, which is a matter of tremendous concern, they said.

Lake and her attorneys also say that she has special protections under the anti-SLAPP law because Richer is a state actor. And that, they said, puts the legal burden on him to prove that his lawsuit was not substantially motivated by a desire to deter, retaliate against or prevent the lawful exercise of her free speech rights.

In a prepared statement, Lake said her effort to have Richers lawsuit dismissed is justified.

His unlawful attempt to abuse our legal system in order to insulate himself from criticism of his awful job performance establishes a dangerous precedent in our nations history, she said. Lake called the lawsuit an attack on the First Amendment that would have a chilling effect on Americans ability to speak out and criticize public officials, government officials, and politicians.

In filing the original lawsuit for Richer, Maynard said that Lake, like all Americans, has a right to express views that others find distasteful or offensive, as well as to criticize the government. But he told Adelman that what Lake has said and done  accusing him of sabotaging the 2022 general election after she lost by more than 17,000 votes  crosses the line of what is legal.

Richer is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages not only from Lake but also from her campaign and the Save Arizona Fund, which Lake has used to raise funds.

He also wants a court ruling that the statements made about him are false, as well as an order for Lake and the other two defendants to remove any false and defamatory statements about him removed from any websites and social media accounts they control.

In his own prepared statement when the lawsuit was filed, Richer explained his decision to sue after seven months of what he said has been constant harassment, intimidation and threats to himself and his family due to falsehoods being spread by Lake, her campaign and the Save Arizona Fund.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

My parents escaped Cuba when I was 1, coming to this country as political refugees. Like other asylum seekers, they just wanted to feel safe. And they never took that safety for granted.

You may be tempted to downplay the serious threat posed by Donald Trump, especially his mishandling of sensitive government documents in the Mar-a-Lago case. What Trump did was an attack on the United States, much like 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. He made us all less safe.

Before explaining why this case poses such a serious threat, heres a question: Since Trump came to power, do you feel more or less safe? If you are not White, rich, straight, male or Christian, the threats to your safety have probably gotten worse, with rising violence and hate against Black, Jewish, Asian, Latino, and LGBTQ communities.

These groups are not alone. Here are just a few others who should feel less safe post-Trump: women and girls not ready to be mothers; anyone fearing random mass shootings; those worried about climate change; disenfranchised voters; and Americans alarmed by growing censorship and book bans.

For the few who still believe their lives have somehow become safer under Trump, this documents case should be a wake-up call. Heres why: The documents Trump stole reveal strategic information about our nations weapons systems, nuclear programs, and military vulnerabilities. These high-level secrets are critical to national security and global stability. Billions of taxpayer dollars have gone into gathering and protecting them. Trumps actions have compromised costly programs, undermined our military, and jeopardized human sources who have risked their lives to protect ours.

Clearly, Trump took these documents and kept them in unsecure locations. He has admitted as much. It took the Department of Justice 18 months and a dramatic FBI raid to retrieve them. While Trump kept delaying and obstructing the federal governments attempts to get the documents back, he put all of us at greater risk. Whether he is convicted of a crime, Trumps mishandling of more than 300 classified documents represents the greatest security breach in U.S. history.

Did foreign spies steal national security secrets from documents Trump kept unprotected in a resort ballroom and bathroom? The more important question is: Why wouldnt they? If you had someone you considered a mortal enemy and could expose their greatest weakness so easily, wouldnt you jump at the chance? Our nation faces the real danger of being thrust into a world war because of Trumps actions. All it will take is a single attack on a vulnerable target identified in one of those mishandled documents.

Whether Trump intended to sabotage U.S. intelligence, that is exactly what he did, and our lives are far less safe because of it. This was an act of aggression that impacts all Americans equally: Democrats and Republicans; young and old; Black and white. None of us has been spared. We Americans deserve an answer from anyone still defending Trump: Why are you protecting him instead of protecting the rest of us from him? Doing so is not just morally bankrupt; its un-American. Trump betrayed us all.

If there is any silver lining, it is that we are all in this together. It is going to take all of us to make America safe again. As a psychologist and educator, I believe we can do it. Our founding fathers came together to form a more perfect Union, and now it is our turn. As Americans, we need to keep each other safe  especially those who dont look, act, or think like us. And we must only elect leaders committed to protecting our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Only as a united people can we undo the damage Trump has done. Lets hope its not too late.






Where did the Republican party go?It is beyond belief that Donald Trump supporters have donated $35 million in the last quarter. This for a man that was twice impeached and indicted on criminal charges with probably two more to come. With an average of $34 a donation, this represents an incredible number of Americans who incredibly still idolize him despite his obvious failings. What has happened to the Law and Order Republican party of Lincoln, Roosevelt (TR), Reagan and Bush (GH)? It is no wonder that so many Americans are agreeing with the recent essays advocating the demise of political parties.

It is also amazing that some so-called Republicans have opted to challenge Trump for 2024, but refuse to call out his indictments as being devastating to the party. I recognize three true law and order conservative Republicans: Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Larry Hogan (former Maryland governor) who could truly be highly representative Republican candidates in 2024 if only the Trump followers would open their eyes.

Chuck Cabrera, retired Federal employee

Northwest side

Survey says: Money is everything

Who makes $638.36 a day? Well, according to a CNN article citing a Bankrate survey of 2,500 Americans, the average American needs $233,000 a year to make them feel financially secure. For those of us who run an average American household budget, thats a lot of moola!

If the Bankrate survey is accurate, common sense tells us that there are going to be a lot of insecure and unhappy people.

Too often, we see statistics and accept the numbers without noting the methods. We just accept them because CNN or Fox or a politician or your boss tells us so. We may be seeing this because of the financial worth of an If it bleeds, it leads mentality.

Perhaps what this survey tells us is that we have a problem with expectations. Misplaced expectations can lead to unhappiness much faster than the actual issues of living in a 1st world economy.

Or perhaps the effects of a 40-year war on public education is being revealed.

Jim Sinex

Midtown

Only one

Ron DeSantis said he will not be Trumps vice president. Not only wont he. He cant. Article II of the U. S. Constitution third paragraph states, The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state as themselves. A law school graduate from Harvard should know that.

Jon Langione

Marana

Nonexistent compromise

Re: the July 14 letter A path forward: A plea for common sense.

Your supposition for Congress to work together is admirable. But at least the last 16 years proves otherwise. The Democrats and Republicans now in Congress have proved over and over again they will not work together. As far as electing people from both sides who pledge to support legislation that the majority of the people want. They all lie. Just look at SCOTUS on abortion. The last three elected judges out and out lied about the existing law, which stood for 50 years and aid was established law, just to get confirmed.

Hal Brown

East side

Burn baby burn

Early July was the hottest ever recorded in average global temperature, and July 4 was the hottest day; this summers extremes already are exceeding the most pessimistic climate scenarios. Guess who is snorting FAKE NEWS! And the contempt for science flourishes, with mutterings about elitists vs. common sense. We might remember that for eons, common sense told us that the Earth was flat, the sun went around the Earth and that heavy weights fell faster than light ones.

The election of Trump would be a disaster from which we couldnt recover  he is openly promising to turn our democracy into an autocracy. Do you really want that? He would never worry about looming disaster.

Our only hope is the younger generation, who will have to live with this hellish new age if they dont rise up against MAGA drivel.

Herbert Schneidau

Foothills

De Amicitia  True friendships

Cicero, in his treatise De Amicitia (On Friendship) discusses the various types of friendships and that they are the most important of all human relationships. I tend to agree.

In my life I have had four types of relationships:

One timers: those that I met only once.

Acquaintances: those who I met through organizations, clubs, employment etc.

Family: my spouse, children etc. These are a unique close relationship. They are important and should be cherished.

True friends: are people who love and support you unconditionally. They are honest. They accept you for who you are. And they make you feel good about yourself.

Most of us only have a few true friends. They may have moved and we only see them or hear from them once a year. True friends are one of the most valuable things in life. They make our lives richer and more fulfilling. So if youre lucky enough to have true friends, cherish them and never take them for granted.

Tom McGorray

Northwest side

Viewpoints

The Letters to the Editor section is continuously filled with letters written by liberals/Democrats making the most degrading, rude, and absolutely unkind things about those that have strongly felt viewpoints different than they do. It is impossible that everyone believes or reacts the same to what is going on in this country or the world.

Wonder what these writers reaction would be if you switched the words Republican to Democrat in these very unkind inputs against another American. Try it and see.

Rosalie Wright

Oro Valley

When will Congress compensate fairly?

Disabled veterans are grossly undercompensated. They have been asking Congress for fair pay since 1918. This injustice is causing enlistments to dry up.

In FY2023 a totally disabled veteran with no dependents is compensated at the ridiculous rate of $43,463.40 annually. The National Average Wage Index (NAWI) for 2021 was $60,575.07 per annum and the median income for 2021 was $70,784. The per capita GDP in 2021 was $69,288.

In my humble opinion the basic reason for their gross under compensation situation is because they are only compensated for projected loss of wages due to their disabilities. They are not compensated for their low quality of life so as to keep taxation low for the wealthy elites.

So the people that had their assets and overseas business interests protected the most by our broken former troops pay essentially nothing to support them in their brokenness.

Congress must correct this now!

Hector Ruiz

North side

Pay up or dont show

Tucson and Pima County should search their records looking for unpaid and now long overdue charges to any candidate or any party backing any candidate. If any of those parties contact the city or county to arrange any type event or attend any type event before the 2024 election which needs city or county support, they should be required to pay what is owed plus reasonable interest and overdue charges before being granted any permit or given any support. Other cities and the state should do likewise.

Any and all such parties should be required to pay estimated costs for support they request or need in advance and post a bond to pay for any additional cost.

Lets not have taxpayers funding police protection, rally ground clean up, etc. for any party or candidate again this election cycle.

Clarence Johnson
Update

Owasso Public Schools provided a statement to Owasso Reporter on Monday, Aug. 21, about this incident, which revealed that the suspect worked as a teacher at the district:

Late last night, Owasso Public Schools was made aware of a legal situation involving one of its teachers that has resulted in their removal from the classroom. The district will have additional counselors available to students and staff members should they need support as we navigate the situation. Due to the ongoing police investigation, we are unable to comment further.
U.S. Rep Kevin Hern said Friday in a speech before the Sand Springs Area Chamber of Commerce that Congress needs to focus on national security and start by prioritizing what can be controlled.

Weve got a lot of work to do in national security, both the things we can control and those things we cant control, Hern said, ticking off a list of the latter that included China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

But he said theres plenty the United States can do in order to maintain its national security, such as controlling energy security, border security and economic security.

Hern said Oklahomas history and reputation as an oil state belies the truth about the Sooner States adaptability with regard to energy production.

Noting that Oklahoma is No. 2 in the nation for wind production  behind only Texas  he called the state an all of the above energy player.

Adding that only 43% of Oklahomas energy production comes from fossil fuels, Hern said Republicans in Congress support whatever it takes to be competitive, whether thats wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, hydrogen or some other form of energy.

But I will say with 100% certainty that there are Democrats in Congress who would be perfectly OK if not a single well was ever drilled ever again ever in the United States of America, he said.

I will tell you thats not going to solve our problem. There are countries that will continue to produce where we are leaving a vacuum, making the United States less secure from an energy security standpoint.

Regarding border security, Hern said the situation at the nations southern border is much worse than the media depicts.

What you cant see is the enormity of the issue  the trash, the filth, the people, the clothing, he said. Its just terrible. People (are) living in tents on one side of the border or the other. Its insane.

Hern said U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently reported that in the past 12 months, agents caught 2.76 million people and released them into the United States.

Thats who we caught; theres another 300,000 to 400,000 got-aways, he added.

The United States of America is the No. 1 human-trafficking country in the world, he said. The freest nation in the world has the highest human trafficking. And 90% of thats coming across the southern border.

Still, Hern said patrolling the border is not the best use of Oklahoma National Guard troops.

Some 50 members of the state Guard have been patrolling along the border with Mexico at El Paso, Texas, since the first of the month in support of Operation Lone Star, a mission of the Texas National Guard, the Texas Military Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The Guard members are expected to return to Oklahoma at the end of this month, although an additional 50-member deployment is possible next year.

The Oklahoma troops are among Guard units from about two dozen states who are supporting the border mission.

At a May 26 press conference announcing his decision to call up the Oklahoma troops, Gov. Kevin Stitt said it was in the best interest of Oklahoma and the nation to take decisive action to address the federal governments utter failure to secure our southern border.

But Hern said securing the border where we can is only the first priority, and one best met by relying on Customs and Border Patrol agents acting in a law enforcement role.

The Border Patrol is woefully underfunded, he said, as are the asylum courts, where the lack of resources means it can take as long as 10 years to resolve a case.

Regarding economic security, Hern said polling shows that Americans are concerned about the economic direction of the country.

He noted that the stock market is down and that mortgage rates recently hit a 21-year high.

Weve got to get back to being energy secure, secure in the sovereignty of our nation and our border, and getting our economy back where people are working, he said.
Tim Stanley Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Tim Stanley 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

STILLWATER  Coming amid an ongoing nursing shortage, officials are hopeful that a new degree program will be just what the doctor  and state leaders  ordered.

Oklahoma State University on Monday officially held the first classes for its new four-year bachelor of science in nursing degree program, with 29 students making up the inaugural cohort.

It is tremendously exciting to be able to have this opportunity to initiate this program and really address some of the critical needs of our state, said Jon Pedersen, dean of OSUs College of Education and Human Sciences. Nurses play such a critical role, as we saw during the pandemic and certainly as weve experienced post-pandemic, especially in rural areas.

The program, he added, is specifically intended to better serve the states underserved and rural areas, as well as to promote prevention and wellness practices.

OSU continues to offer an online BSN degree-completion program for current registered nurses. Pedersen said that program has almost 160 freshmen this semester.

The new in-person program is based on the Stillwater campus, but OSUs Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa has a role to play, with many of the students expected to do their rotations in Tulsa.

Pedersen said the hope is to expand the number of students to 50 by next fall and keep growing as facilities and faculty resources allow.

Meanwhile, a pair of Tulsans are helping ensure that more students are able to participate in the program in the future. OSU alums John and Cheryl Clerico recently donated $1 million, matching another million raised as part of a challenge grant. The $2 million will help fund nursing scholarships.

John Clerico said that because he serves on the board of Community Health Systems he knew about the national need for nurses. He wants OSUs efforts to help on the state level.

He said he was reminded recently of why that effort is important. Following recent heart surgery, he was in intensive care for weeks.

During that time, I got to know about 25 to 30 nurses. They were all great, right down to the smiles. I came away extremely impressed with their capability, he said.

When you are in intensive care, the nurses stay busy. And you are dependent on them. You cant do anything for yourself.

The experience affirmed for him how critical nurses are, he said, and fortified my desire to support efforts to produce more.

He and his wife are hopeful that the $2 million will do that.

The state ranks 46th among states for the number of RNs per capita.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has identified nursing as one of the key career fields in which hes challenging the states colleges to produce more students.

Pedersen said OSU leaders have shown strong interest in and support for the new program.

As I have conversations with the president and the provost, theyre very responsive and understand the need for nurses today, he said. They were willing to go to bat to help make this happen and support us in our goals of really expanding our health care options within our college.

For more information, go to go.okstate.edu/undergraduate-academics/majors/nursing.html.

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Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton 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

More than 20 people, including teachers, students, parents and public officials, signed up to speak at Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education meeting Monday night.

None expressed support for the possibility of the Oklahoma State Department of Education taking over the school district or downgrading its accreditation  two scenarios that could play out Thursday morning in Oklahoma City.

TPS isnt perfect, but it is ours, said parent Holly Sharp, whose four children attend Felicitas Mendez International School at Ralph J. Bunche and Carver Middle School.

The Oklahoma State Department of Educations accreditation office recommended earlier this year that the Tulsa district be accredited with two deficiencies: one due to a late report and the other in connection with a self-reported embezzlement case involving a now-former administrator that is still under federal investigation.

However, citing the districts performance on standardized tests and concerns about financial issues in the district, State Superintendent Ryan Walters asked in July that a decision on the districts accreditation status be delayed until Thursday.

Walters has previously said all options are on the table regarding TPS status, including not accrediting the district or allowing for the Oklahoma State Department of Education to take it over, similar to the efforts almost 500 miles to the south with the Houston Independent School District.

Walters has also called for the removal of Deborah Gist as superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. She announced on Tuesday evening that she is resigning in a move that she hopes will fend off a state takeover of the district.

Ive been around a long time, Darryl Bright, a member of the McLain Parent Teacher Student Association and founder of Citizens United for Better Educational Systems, said at Monday nights meeting. I have seen state superintendents try to take over individual schools before. We do not want any individual school or feeder pattern to be under the governance of Mr. Walters.

Monday nights session  the Tulsa school boards last regular meeting before the vote in Oklahoma City  drew a large enough crowd to require overflow rooms in order to safely accommodate all attendees. Along with Gist and six board members, many in the audience were wearing red I am/Yo soy Tulsa Public Schools shirts in a show of support for the district.

Among the attendees who took to the podium Monday night was attorney Tim Gilpin, who represented the congressional 1st District on the Oklahoma State Board of Education from 2005 to 2011.

Describing accreditation threats as a nuclear bomb, he urged the board and the community to band together.

All of us have to be united for the sake of the kids and teachers, he said. Whats happening right now is causing chaos among the students and teachers. Anyone who says otherwise isnt listening.

After the meeting, board President Stacey Woolley said she plans to attend Thursdays meeting in Oklahoma City but has not received any additional insight as to what Walters recommendation will be since their Friday morning conversation at City Hall.

Woolley, Walters, board Vice President John Croisant, State Board of Education member Don Burdick and Mayor G.T. Bynum met Friday morning at Tulsa City Hall to discuss the situation, prompting Bynum to issue a letter afterward criticizing the possibility of a state takeover.

TPS board has scheduled a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Selman Room at the districts Education Service Center to address Gists departure announcement. After Monday nights meeting, Woolley said there is a possibility that additional local board meetings will be called in the immediate aftermath of Thursdays state school board vote in Oklahoma City as conditions warrant.

Oklahomas Open Meeting Act requires at least 48 hours notice for special meetings and that agendas be posted at least 24 hours in advance. However, as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, no additional notices had been posted.

We dont know when to expect information or when things will come in, Woolley said. My goal is to keep options on the table so we can meet when we need to.
Neal Franklin Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Neal Franklin 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

Its easier to find someone in a small town.

Small communities make Darcie Parton-Scoons work as a licensed private investigator and forensic interviewer straightforward.

Its 3 oclock; all the farmers are in the one gas station that serves food, and they serve coffee, said Parton-Scoon, a citizen of the Caddo Nation. You just go and put your business card down, you tell them who youre looking for, and before you get out of town you get a phone call.

Stillwater, a bustling college town with way more than one gas station, presented a different challenge.

Starting in June, Parton-Scoon combed through trailer parks, took pictures of license plates, handed out fliers and tracked down people using maps on social media to try to find Teedeenae Jackson Yearby. Five months earlier, Yearby, a high-schooler who was 17 at the time, had disappeared.

Yearbys mother, Shema Lincoln, said she wants as many people as possible looking for her son. Parton-Scoon is just a volunteer.

I do not turn down anything, because the more eyes and ears open or anybody looking into Jacksons case, Im welcome to it, Lincoln said.

She described her son as carefree, good-hearted and somebody who made his family laugh.

Yearby attended Lincoln Academy, an alternative school in Stillwater, and was considering applying to Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Lincoln said he was protective of his two younger brothers and enjoyed painting and writing poetry.

He loves his family, loves being a big brother, she said. I have so many pictures of all three of my boys, and Jacksons always in the middle with his arms around his little brothers.

Yearby, who is affiliated with the Seminole, Muscogee and Choctaw nations, was last heard from on Jan. 30. He was one of about 82 Indigenous people reported missing in Oklahoma, as of June 30, on the national missing and unidentified persons database NamUs.

Eight of them are from Tulsa County.

Despite the efforts of police, private investigators and his mother, Yearby has yet to be found.

Breaking his routine

Lincoln last heard from her son Jan. 25 and knew something was wrong when he stopped showing up at school and working shifts at McDonalds.

She said this wasnt normal for him.

There are all these patterns that he has, these routines that he has, and all of a sudden hes not showing up, Lincoln said.

He stopped responding to texts and calls from friends and family. Yearby reportedly told friends in January that he was going to Marietta, his mothers hometown, or to Dallas.

He had moved out of his parents house in November, when he was four months from his 18th birthday. Lincoln said they agreed that he would have to continue school, keep his job and call her at least once a week.

Yearby kept that promise until he became missing in late January. When she felt she couldnt wait any longer, Lincoln filed a missing person report on Feb. 7.

I was thinking hes going to see the fliers, she said. Hes going to be mad, but hes going to reach out to somebody whos going to call me once he sees a flier.

The case was assigned to Stillwater Police Department Detective John Johnson the following morning, according to police. Lincoln said Johnson contacted her two to three days after she filed the report.

In the following months, she waited for her son and hoped he would be found or come home.

You go into panic mode  Ive been there a few times, she said, adding that her family does everything we can to try to comfort ourselves.

Relying on law enforcement

Robert Lincoln, Yearbys stepfather, who has been in his life since he was 4, watches cops shows and expected police to talk to people like they do on television.

They didnt do that, he said. They didnt go see anybody.

Johnson, in an email response to the Tulsa World, said the department wants to talk to anyone with information about Jacksons life at the time he disappeared.

During her investigation, Parton-Scoon interviewed friends of Yearbys who hadnt been contacted by police.

Some people will speak with a private investigator and not speak with police, Johnson wrote. This is because private investigators do not trigger a fear of legal repercussion as much as police.

Once the police started their investigation, Shema Lincoln said she didnt know what to do.

You rely on the law enforcement, on the detectives, to help you and guide you through these steps, she said.

The guidance the Stillwater Police Department offers is determined on a case-to-case basis, Johnson wrote.

Information about missing people is entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, and the National Crime Information Center database, and reports are forwarded to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Johnson said all of this happened in Yearbys case and that he has spoken to Shema Lincoln frequently.

When a child disappears, there are several online resources where parents can post about cases, Lincoln said, but its so overwhelming for one person to do it.

Friends and family suggested that she start a GoFundMe account for search efforts and other expenses or use other platforms to boost awareness of the case. Lincoln wishes she had more help to explore these options.

Youre trying to control your emotions, she said. Youre trying to control your mood. Youre still trying to function and go to work, function being a parent. Just trying to function.

She said she and her husband have struggled with parenting their two other sons, who have become more hesitant, cautious and paranoid when they leave the house.

At night, her youngest son talks to her about his brother.

I know when hes missing his brother because hell come lay by me and I will hold him, put my arm around him, and I wont say anything, and he will just let it all out, she said.

Lincoln said she wants her sons to cry and process their emotions instead of bottling them up.

All we can do is just support them and encourage them and let them express their feelings, she said.

Lincoln said her family members lean on each other to get through day-to-day life, but she said her mind is constantly working to find the next thing to do to find her son.

You want to be hopeful, she said. But at the same time, do I prepare myself for something more that Im not ready for?

Parton-Scoon said shes confident that Yearby didnt run away. Yearby has a large social circle but kept private about some in his friend group that Parton-Scoon is still hoping to find.

Speaking about murdered or missing Indigenous people in general, Parton-Scoon said older boys get less attention.

We dont allow them to be victims, Parton-Scoon said.

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Classes at the Union Eighth Grade Center in Broken Arrow were canceled Tuesday due to a power outage, according to district officials.

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma continues to work on the issue, Union Public Schools said.

The PSO outage map indicates the estimated time of restoration is 1 p.m. after the outage reported just after 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Fewer than five total PSO customers served in that area remain affected by the outage. Across the Tulsa area, about 500 customers are without power as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the PSO outage map.

Triple-digit high temperatures are expected to continue without a break into the end of this week, with heat index values of around 110-120, according to National Weather Service of Tulsa.

Ozone alerts are also ongoing this week, as well as excessive heat warnings.
REVIEWS

"Where the Dead Sleep" by Joshua Moehling (Poisoned Pen Press)

"Where the Dead Sleep" begins pleasantly enough: Detective Ben Packard is back, becoming more comfortable with Sandy Lake, making his rounds as acting sheriff at the small Minnesota town's Labor Day weekend celebration.

But we can't have a murder mystery without a murder, and before he can even remember the name of the drummer he hooked up with after the celebrations, Packard gets called out to the crime that will take center stage in Joshua Moehling's anticipated sequel to the Ben Packard series: Bill is found dead in his bed with two bullets in him and a wife who heard only one shot and didn't see anything. It's a strange case from the start, as it's quickly revealed that Bill's wife, Carrie, is the sister of his ex-wife, Sherri. And the family drama doesn't end there.

Beyond the ongoing investigation, there's the matter of Packard's future. As acting sheriff, he could be taking on a lot more bureaucracy when the current sheriff, sick with cancer, dies. But Packard doesn't want to give up detective work and, frankly, the readers don't either.

If Packard becomes sheriff, how's he going to keep doing detective work that makes for interesting stories? But it's also unfathomable that he would lose  he's the hero of the story and the only qualified candidate for the job.

"Where the Dead Sleep" sticks the landing after a puttering start. Any doubts I had going in were quelled by a twist halfway through that was so surprising and darkly comical I snorted. This is where things really pick up.

And if you think you've got the mystery solved in the first few chapters, you're dead wrong. Moehling has some tricks up his sleeve and gravitates toward challenging ideas and interesting surprises.

It's a cat-and-mouse game as the clues start to emerge, slowly at first, then quickly as the truth begins to materialize. As an added layer, the series through-line of Packard's missing brother, Nick  the cold case from almost 30 years ago that was eventually closed with no body  finally takes the spotlight. After spending half the novel wondering "what's in the box?!" it ends with a huge cliffhanger that's only slightly remedied by Moehling's promise that "all will be revealed in the third book."

The narration rambles like a Minnesota Long Goodbye  at times annoying and other times comforting in its familiarity. I don't need to know all the ingredients and processes for Packard's chicken and potato dinner. It just made me hungry.

But the ramblings provide a strong sense of place and community, as well as the chance for Easter eggs  like the fun meta layer of the town mystery thriller writer, Jim Henkel, who it turns out closely followed the Emmett Burr case as detailed in Moehling's debut, "And There He Kept Her."

And, like the fictional author, I'll be waiting and watching to find out what happens next in the Ben Packard series.
Susan Burns, U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, on Monday visited the production line of mooncakes at ABC Bakery, a Vietnamese bakery chain.

Mooncakes are traditionally eaten and given as gifts in Vietnam during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which takes place on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year.

This year, the festival falls on September 29.

There are numerous varieties of mooncakes consumed in Vietnam as the pastry comes in diverse shapes and designs and with abundant types of fillings.

During Mondays visit, the consul general expressed her eagerness to sample the dragon fruit mooncake featuring California cream cheese and almonds.

For this years Mid-Autumn Festival, ABC Bakery has merged premium U.S. agricultural items like blueberries, almonds, and California cream cheese with Vietnamese ingredients such as dragon fruit to introduce a fresh variety of mooncakes.

Kao Sieu Luc, CEO of ABC Bakery, revealed that he was invited by the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City to collaborate with the U.S. agricultural sector to facilitate the production of certain cakes using American ingredients.

This collaboration led to the introduction of mooncakes featuring American agricultural products like blueberries and almonds.

Consul General Burns highlighted the new mooncakes as a testament to the mutual benefits reaped by the United States and Vietnam through their cooperation.

According to her, the ABC Bakery and U.S. agricultural sectors collaboration is more significant given the fact that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the United States.

Burns said she had confidence that this partnership will continue to strengthen in the years ahead.

She added that the food and agriculture sectors play a crucial role in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam.

Both countries represent significant markets for each others agricultural products, with the United States being the worlds largest cheese producer.

The promotion and enhancement of the joint utilization of agricultural products from both nations in food and confectionery production will be further emphasized by the United States in the near future, the diplomat asserted.

Inside the mooncake production line at ABC Bakery in Ho Chi Minh City, August 21, 2023. Photo: N.Tri / Tuoi Tre

During Burns visit, CEO Luc revealed that his companys goal is to penetrate the U.S. market by blending Vietnamese and American agricultural resources to develop new products tailored to appeal to American consumers, with a particular focus on cake fillings.

In the upcoming years, the company plans to expand its offerings of mooncakes crafted from domestic ingredients to the U.S. and other nations.

In 2022, the company exported a modest 700-800 boxes of mooncakes to the U.S. market, while this year, the number has surged to around 10,000 boxes, with prices averaging around VND1 million (US$42) per box.

In recent times, numerous businesses have been actively promoting the export of confectionery items, particularly mooncakes.

This is carried out through both direct and indirect exports, where the products are sold to customers who take them abroad as part of their personal luggage.

As per this years Mid-Autumn Festival production schedule, the company plans to manufacture around 2.5 million cakes which represent a growth rate of approximately 500,000 cakes compared to the previous year.

Additionally, there is a planned four- to five-percent increase in the selling price.

However, when compared to last year, certain retailers are decreasing their orders, particularly within the lower and mid-price range.

Similarly, representatives from mooncake manufacturers such as Bibica and Nhu Lan have noted that the purchasing power has not been particularly strong while this years market witnessed early sales.

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An expansion of the BRICS bloc under consideration at a summit this week has attracted a motley crew of potential candidates - from Iran to Argentina - with one thing in common: a desire to level a global playing field many consider rigged against them.

The list of grievances is long. Abusive trade practices. Punishing sanctions regimes. Perceived neglect of the development needs of poorer nations. The wealthy West's domination of international bodies, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.

Amid widespread dissatisfaction with the prevailing world order, the pledge of BRICS nations - currently Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - to make the grouping a leading champion of the "Global South" has, despite a dearth of concrete results, found resonance.

Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say officials from South Africa, which is hosting the Aug. 22-24 summit. Of them, nearly two dozen have formally asked to be admitted.

"The objective necessity for a grouping like BRICS has never been larger," said Rob Davies, South Africa's former trade minister, who helped usher his country into the bloc in 2010.

"The multilateral bodies are not places where we can go and have an equitable, inclusive outcome."

Observers, however, point to an underwhelming track record they say does not bode well for BRICS's prospects of delivering on the lofty hopes of prospective members.

Though home to some 40% of the world's population and a quarter of global GDP, the bloc's ambitions of becoming a global political and economic player have long been thwarted by internal divisions and a lack of coherent vision.

Its once booming economies, notably heavyweight China, are slowing. Founding member, Russia, is facing isolation over the Ukraine war.

"They may have over-inflated expectations of what BRICS membership will actually deliver in practice," said Steven Gruzd from the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Developing world discontent

While BRICS has not divulged a full list of expansion candidates, a number of governments have publicly stated their interest.

Iran and Venezuela, punished and ostracised by sanctions, are seeking to reduce their isolation and hope the bloc can offer relief to their crippled economies.

"Other integration frameworks existing on a global level are blinded by the hegemonic vision pushed by the U.S. government," Ramon Lobo, the former finance minister and central bank governor of Venezuela, told Reuters.

Gulf states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates see BRICS as a vehicle for a more prominent role within global bodies, analysts say.

African candidates Ethiopia and Nigeria are drawn by the bloc's commitment to reforms at the United Nations that would give the continent a more powerful voice. Others want changes at the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

"Argentina has insistently called for a reconfiguration of the international financial architecture," an Argentine government official involved in the negotiations to join BRICS told Reuters.

'Much talk, less action'

BRICS public positions already reflect many of these concerns.

And as it seeks to become a counterweight to the West, amid China's tensions with the United States and the fallout of Russia's attack of Ukraine, growing its membership could lend the bloc and its global reform message more clout.

In the run-up to the summit, however, the grouping's shortcomings are in the spotlight.

While BRICS leaders at the summit are expected to discuss a framework for admitting new members with China and Russia keen to forge ahead with expansion, others, notably Brazil, are worried about rushing the process.

The tangible benefits to joining, meanwhile, are waning.

The bloc's most concrete achievement, the New Development Bank, or "BRICS bank", has seen its already sluggish pace of lending further hobbled by sanctions against founding member Russia.

Small countries hoping for an economic boost from BRICS membership might look to South Africa's experience.

Its BRICS trade has indeed increased steadily since it joined, according to an analysis by the country's Industrial Development Corporation.

But that growth is largely down to imports from China, and the bloc still accounts for just a fifth of South Africa's total two-way trade. Brazil and Russia together absorb a mere 0.6% of its exports and by last year, South Africa's trade deficit with its BRICS partners had ballooned four-fold to $14.9 billion compared to 2010.

Such outcomes should give candidate nations pause, Gruzd said.

"Concrete achievements for BRICS are difficult to find. Lots of talk. Much less action."
Vietnam and Canada are currently experiencing a period of active and sustainable development, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan spoke at a reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Canada.

In his remarks at the event in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday night, Hoan reviewed important political, diplomatic, and trade milestones in the Vietnam-Canada relationship during the past years.

Since 2015, Vietnam has risen to become Canadas largest trading partner among ASEAN countries.

Within ten years, bilateral trade value quadrupled to more than US$7 billion in 2022 from nearly $2 billion.

By the end of 2022, Canada had ranked 14th out of 130 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with a total registered capital of more than $4.8 billion.

From a municipal perspective, Canada is currently the 22nd-largest investor out of 117 countries and territories investing in Ho Chi Minh City, with a total investment capital of nearly $130 million.

In 2022, bilateral trade between Ho Chi Minh City and Canada reached approximately $633 million.

Vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan speaks at a reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Canada in Ho Chi Minh City, August 21, 2023. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

For Vietnam and Canada, 50 years remains just the beginning of a long journey with many achievements ahead, Hoan remarked.

Many leading Canadian enterprises have done successful business in Vietnam, he stated.

Many delicious dishes in restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City are made of seafood imported from Canada.

Many handmade products and furniture in Canadian homes are made by Vietnamese and Ho Chi Minh Citys craftspeople.

Hoan continued to state that Ho Chi Minh City's developing economy with open and pioneering policies, population of more than 12 million people, and low-cost but highly skilled labor force can become a regional gateway through which Canadian businesses can enhance investments, exploit the market, or expand business to other countries in the region.

On the other hand, Canada can provide cutting-edge technology, expertise, and products to support the city's growth in various areas, especially in infrastructure development, green economy, and clean energy.

Speaking at the event, Consul General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City Behzad Babakhani affirmed that Vietnam is currently Canada's largest trading partner in ASEAN.

Meanwhile, Canada is in the top ten export markets for Vietnam, Babakhani added.

Guests enjoys Canadian delicacies at a reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Canada in Ho Chi Minh City, August 21, 2023. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Monday's reception also witnessed a ceremony where the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (CanCham Vietnam) signed an MOU with the Department for Local Diplomacy Facilitation under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The MOU was signed in the hope of strengthening the relationship between the provinces of Vietnam and Canada, as well as supporting companies of the two countries to seize investment and cooperation opportunities.

According to CanCham Vietnam executive director Zach Herbers, currently the main areas of trade between both sides are agriculture, seafood, raw materials from Canada, and finished products from Vietnam to Canada, among others,

But in the near future, there will be many fields to be expanded such as green technology, renewable energy, and more, Herbers said.

There will be a lot of discussion, I'm hoping the good things will come, he told Tuoi Tre News at the event.

Vietnam and Canada established diplomatic relations on August 21, 1973, according to the Embassy of Vietnam in Canada.

Vietnam opened its embassy in Ottawa in September 1976, which operated until March 1981.

The Southeast Asian country re-opened its embassy in Ottawa in November 1990 and inaugurated a consulate general in Vancouver in March 2013.

Canada opened its embassy in Hanoi in 1994 and a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City in 1997.

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Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Chu Dau Pottery Village in the northern province of Hai Duong, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi, and tried hand techniques with clay in the ancient village on Tuesday morning.

The two state leaders also learned about the pottery villages history and took a closer look at pottery items made by artisans in one of the most famous craft villages in Vietnam.

Dating back to the 15th century, Chu Dau pottery products are well known for their sophisticated patterns that reflect the skillful hands of Vietnamese artisans and highlight Vietnams historical and cultural values.

Chu Dau Pottery Village was miraculously revived to produce high-value pottery items for export despite several years of experiencing ups and downs.

The villages revival has also created the potential for tourism in the province.

Presidents Thuong and Tokayev congratulated Hai Duong Province on its success in restoring the precious, traditional pottery products.

The two expected the province and firms active in pottery to keep developing the craft and to popularize Chu Dau pottery items among local and international visitors.

President Tokayev said that he was glad to visit Chu Dau Pottery Village as the trip expanded his knowledge about Vietnams culture and history.

The two presidents of Vietnam and Kazakhstan and other top officials walk around Chu Dau Pottery Village in Hai Duong Province, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The two presidents of Vietnam and Kazakhstan sign their names on a big vase. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signs on a vase, a piece of pottery in Chu Dau Pottery Village in Hai Duong Province, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Kazakh President Tokayev (C) expresses his pleasure to visit Chu Dau Pottery Village in Hai Duong Provine, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi. This photo shows the two presidents and other officials drinking a cup of tea. The cups were made of clay in the village. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

He also thanked President Thuong for the latter's warm welcome and hospitality during his Vietnam visit, which began on Sunday.

The Kazakh president was set to leave Hanoi to conclude his visit on Tuesday afternoon.

This is his first visit to Vietnam since he assumed power in 2019 and the first visit by a Kazakh president in 12 years.

As part of his working trip, the Kazakh president and his Vietnamese counterpart held successful talks on Monday, and witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements to deepen bilateral relations.

President Tokayev also met with Vietnam's Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and lawmaking National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on the same day.

During these meetings, the Kazakh president underscored that Kazakhstan considers Vietnam one of its key partners in Southeast Asia.

A picture shows Vietnam's State President Vo Van Thuong (R) seeing off Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Top Vietnamese officials wave goodbye to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

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The Vietnamese government has agreed to purchase more than 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the Hungarian government, according to a recent resolution.

The resolution allows the Ministry of Health to select a bidder to execute the contract in accordance with Vietnams bidding laws.

The 400,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses slated for purchase have an expiry date of October 31, 2021 and the price is non-negotiable as per Hungarian government regulations.

Other special terms in the contract include a disclaimer for claims arising from the use of the doses, a commitment to complying with the European Unions relevant terms and conditions of purchase agreements, and the exclusion of a suspension clause and performance bond.

The Ministry of Health was asked to quickly carry out the purchase of the vaccines in order to ensure quality and effectiveness, as well as to continue the countrys COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.

The new resolution also says the number of vaccines Vietnam has planned to purchase, import, and receive from donations in 2021 may exceed the 150 million-dose target as stated in the previous government resolution.

AstraZeneca is one of eight COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use in Vietnam.

Approximately 26 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered to Vietnam, according to news site VnExpress.

About 48.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far, with more than 12.2 million people having received their second dose, according to the Ministry of Health.

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Three fishermen in Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam were poisoned after eating canh chua (Vietnamese sweet and sour soup) with puffer fish roe, with one of them dead before being hospitalized, a local hospital representative confirmed on Monday morning.

The deceased, named N.X.H., a native of north-central Ha Tinh Province, was found dead on Saturday night.

Two others, Tran Phuong Binh and Bui Dinh Linh, were rushed to the Kien Giang General Hospital at around 0:12 on Sunday.

Binh, a 46-year-old native of neighboring An Giang Province, and Linh, a 41-year-old resident of Kien Giangs Ha Tien City, were admitted to the hospital where they were diagnosed with puffer fish poisoning.

Both of them developed symptoms such as lip and tongue numbness, headache, and fatigue.

Their health conditions became stable after one day of intensive care and they are being monitored at the hospital, said Huynh Trong Tam, head of the hospitals general planning department.

They are expected to be discharged in the next few days, the doctor said.

The puffer fish roe that the three fishermen consumed and got poisoned. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre

Bui Dinh Linh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he, Binh, and H. caught a big puffer fish when they were fishing some 50 kilometers away from Nam Du Island, which is off the coast of Kien Giang, at around 5:00 pm last Saturday.

We often eat puffer fish and remain fine," Linh said.

We cooked canh chua with the puffer fish caught last Saturday, which had roe, and drank a little wine.

H. died four hours later, while Binh and I felt numb and shortness of breath and were hospitalized."

Those who want to consume puffer fish need to process them carefully and remove parts such as the liver, bile, and roe that contain many toxins to avoid being poisoned, according to doctors at the Kien Giang General Hospital.

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Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on Monday met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who is in Vietnam for a state visit through Tuesday.

Society

-- Metro line No. 1 of Ho Chi Minh City will undergo a test run on the entire route for the first time on August 31. It has successfully embarked on three test runs, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board.

-- The administration of Ho Chi Minh City has ordered the implementation of a pilot project to improve traffic on and revitalize some streets in the downtown area, with the participation of Japanese experts.

-- Three men were hospitalized due to suspected alcohol poisoning in Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam, the provincial general hospital said on Monday.

-- Up to 391 out of the 424 parks in Ho Chi Minh City have no parking lots as they are mainly located inside residential areas, have a small area, or have no space for parking services, according to a report the municipal Department of Construction sent to the Peoples Committee.

-- Susan Burns, U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, on Monday visited the production line of mooncakes at ABC Bakery, a home-grown bakery chain.

-- Ho Chi Minh City on Monday launched a contest called Net Zero Challenge to seek technological solutions for dealing with climate change. The organizer will receive applications for the contest until October 15.

Business

-- Vietnam revised up the retail prices of most fuel products by VND320-610 (US$0.01-0.02) per liter or kilogram on Monday afternoon, except for diesel oil which saw its price falling by VND70 ($0.003) per liter, according to an announcement jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance the same day.

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Net Zero Challenge -- a contest to back technology solutions to help mitigate climate change -- was rolled out in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, with awards worth up to VND15 billion (US$630,000).

The Net Zero Challenge contest is aimed at identifying and supporting technologies that can fight against climate change at an early stage and resolve large-scale environmental challenges..

The contest will focus on three main issues: renewable energy and carbon neutralization, sustainable food and agricultural systems, the circular economy and waste management.

To join the contest, teams need to develop a trial product that could be successfully replicated or commercialized.

Participating teams can be startups, research or project teams under companies, and non-profit organizations that are ready to back large-scale pilot projects.

In addition, those with products developed in foreign countries and commercialized in other regions can apply to participate in the contest if they want to expand their business in Vietnam.

Winning teams will receive a total of VND15 billion to pilot their solutions to climate change in Vietnam, and access investment funds, business partners, policymakers, and allies in terms of climate change, in addition to many other incentives.

Applications are now being accepted until October 15 this year.

The top nine teams will be chosen to enter the final round scheduled for early December this year.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, vice-chair of the municipal Peoples Committee Vo Van Hoan said the city is the largest economic and industrial hub in Vietnam.

Besides its development, the city is taking the lead in assessing the amount of gas emissions and seeking solutions and plans to help fullfil Vietnams commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Efforts to realize the commitment could present multiple challenges yet open up many opportunities for the city, especially when there is an ongoing trend to adopt green transition in Vietnam and around the world.

He added that the citys shift to a green economy and green growth is not only an inevitable trend but also an opportunity for the southern metropolis to catch up with global growth.

The contest will offer opportunities to entrepreneurs and innovative businesses operating in the field of green economy to introduce their products to help alleviate the impact of climate change, as well as help them pilot their solutions in Vietnam and seek potential investors, Hoan elaborated.

The Net Zero Challenge is hosted by Touchstone Partners, a venture capital investment firm headquartered in Vietnam, and Temasek Foundation, a non-profit organization under Singapores global investment company Temasek, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS).

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Metro line No. 1 of Ho Chi Minh City will undergo a test run on the entire route for the first time on August 31, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR).

MAUR and Japans Hitachi Group, a contractor of the project, will hold the trial run for the 19.7-kilometer-long metro line, stretching from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City.

To ensure safety, the number of passengers on board the test run will be limited to 20, according to Hitachi.

The contractor will also arrange staff and prepare solutions for urgent cases in underground stations.

The first metro line in the southern metropolis has successfully embarked on three test runs, with the first one on December 21 last year at under 40 kilometers per hour.

Its second trial run was held on January 18 and the third one on April 26 this year on a 12.3-kilometer section of the elevated track at below 50 kilometers per hour.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has planned a fare of VND12,000-18,000 (US$0.5-0.8) per single trip for the metro line.

In particular, tickets will cost VND12,000 ($0.5) for passengers traveling less than five kilometers, and VND18,000 ($0.8) for over 15 kilometers.

Long-term fare cards will also be available at VND40,000 ($1.7) per day, VND90,000 ($3.8) per three days, and VND260,000 ($10.9) per month.

MAUR had planned to complete the construction of the project by the end of this year and put it into commercial operation next year.

The project is now nearly 96 percent complete. However, the public investment allocated to it totaled some VND4.7 trillion ($196.6 million) this year, while only VND858.75 billion ($35.9 million), or 18.4 percent, has been disbursed.

The contractors warranty period will last from 2024 to 2025 and the contractor will continue its operation and maintenance support from 2024 to 2028.

To ensure the progress of the project, MAUR will accelerate the installation of electro-mechanical equipment, selection of consultants to assess the safety of the entire route, and the operation of each section and the whole line on a trial basis this year.

The underground Ben Thanh metro station, considered the central station for Ho Chi Minh Citys first metro line project, is 99 percent complete, Ngo Quoc Kiet, architecture manager of the station, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Nearly all of its fundamental elements have been finalized. The final touches are being applied to resolve minor issues, like scratches.

The station will be linked to other metro lines in the future, such as metro lines No. 2, 3a, and 4, Kiet added.

Metro line No. 1, including 2.6 kilometers of underground railways and 17.1 kilometers of elevated tracks, carries a price tag of VND43.7 trillion ($1.8 billion).

The line has 17 trains, each consisting of three cars and designed to run at up to 110 kilometers per hour above the ground and 80 kilometers per hour underground.

Each Japanese-manufactured train is 61.5 meters long and can carry 930 passengers, including 147 seating and 783 standing guests.

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The administration of Ho Chi Minh City has ordered the implementation of a pilot project to improve traffic and revitalize some streets in the downtown area, with the participation of Japanese experts.

The municipal Peoples Committee assigned the Department of Home Affairs to coordinate with the Department of Transport and other relevant agencies to propose the establishment of a working team to conduct the project.

The working team will include Japanese experts and representatives from the Department of Transport, the Department of Planning and Architecture, the Department of Finance, the Department of Planning and Investment, and the Department of Construction, as well as the Peoples Committee of District 1.

The Department of Transport will take responsibility as a representative of the city to work with the Japanese experts and relevant agencies.

Thai Van Lung Street in Ho Chi Minh City is over 400 meters long and cuts Ly Tu Trong, Le Thanh Ton, and Nguyen Sieu Streets. Graphic: Phuong Nhi / Tuoi Tre

Earlier, the department proposed a project to improve traffic and revitalize streets in the inner-city area to secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen.

It suggested piloting the project on Thai Van Lung Street in District 1.

The department recommended upgrading the roadbed and sidewalks and other auxiliary items; rearranging vehicle parking spaces and trade activities along the street; and adding facilities and a smart parking system.

The capital for the project will be sourced from the state coffers and other legal resources.

The city will pay for the living and travel costs of the Japanese experts during the execution of the project.

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Prolonged heavy rain caused multiple landslides in An Giang Province, southern Vietnam, necessitating government blockades, while in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, Provincial Road 1 endured severe subsidence, prompting the local authorities to declare a state of emergency for natural disasters twice in a month.

Landslides

Authorities in An Giang said on Monday that the landslide on Cam Mountain in Tinh Bien Town had minimal impact on the local people, given the sparse population in the area, but it did have consequences for agricultural crops and fields.

Heavy rainfall also triggered repeated landslides at Ba The Mountain in Thoai Son District.

Numerous sizable rocks tumbled down, obstructing access to and from the mountain.

Although the local authorities removed the rocks, they have temporarily closed this route, with the exact reopening time yet to be determined.

An Giang, a province renowned for its mountains and popular tourist destinations, faced widespread heavy rainfall in late July.

This led to substantial flooding in various parts of the mountainous district of Tri Ton and Tinh Bien Town.

Numerous roads were submerged, while rainwater inundated homes in some areas, significantly hampering travel.

Additionally, certain critical transportation infrastructure suffered erosion.

A crack in Provincial Road 1 in Tuy Duc District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Duc Lap / Tuoi Tre

Subsidence

On Monday afternoon, Le Trong Yen, deputy chairman of the Peoples Committee of Dak Nong Province, announced a new natural disaster emergency declaration to address severe subsidence on Provincial Road 1 in Tuy Duc District.

This subsidence, attributed to persistent heavy rainfall from August 5 to 8, resulted in the formation of cracks along the road, with depths ranging from five to 30 cm.

These cracks caused significant depressions, measuring 10-20 cm wide, in the adjacent properties.

By August 17, the cracks had expanded to widths exceeding 50 cm and depths surpassing one meter, affecting the structural integrity of nearby residences and posing a substantial risk of further subsidence.

The land subsidence resulted in traffic hazards along Provincial Road 1 and jeopardized the safety of 55 households in the vicinity.

A man moves out of a subsidence-prone village in Tuy Duc District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Duc Lap / Tuoi Tre

Local authorities installed warning signs in high-risk areas, restricting unauthorized entry into these areas and ensuring the evacuation of households residing near the subsidence site.

In addition, they implemented measures to mitigate and prevent rainwater from flowing into the cracks.

On August 8, the Dak Nong Peoples Committee declared a state of emergency for subsidence near Dak Nting Lake in Dak Glong District, Bu Krac Village in Tuy Duc District, and National Highway 14 in Nghia Thanh Ward, Gia Nghia City.

In response, authorities evacuated numerous households from high-risk areas to investigate the causes and devise solutions.

Currently, the three areas remain under a state of natural disaster emergency, with functional units actively working to find effective solutions.

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Apart from providing treatment to sick residents in Ho Chi Minh City, Dr. Paul D'Alfonso, a 44-year-old American, and his wife have rescued several ill and abandoned pets.

The married couple formed an animal rescue group in District 7.

Dr. D'Alfonso, director at an osteoarthritis clinic in District 7, has constantly discovered many injured cats and dogs behind his facility.

As animal lovers, he and his wife are devoted to saving these poor pets.

Love for animals forms rescue group

A friend of his wife adopted a paralyzed dog which was found lying on a sidewalk.

As the cost of treatment for the animal was high, the friend asked Dr. D'Alfonso and his wife, Lyna, for support. Therefore, Lyna held a fundraiser for the treatment for the dog called Cherry.

Both my wife and I love animals, and have rescued a number of pets. We realize that controlling the number of animals is important. To restrict their reproduction, we spend a lot sterilizing them, Dr. D'Alfonso said.

He also realized that his money could not cover all costs for taking care of these animals for a long time. As such, he and his wife came up with an idea of building a forsaken animal care community.

As a result, Lyna set up an animal rescue group in District 7, or RAD7, in 2018.

The group rescues some 50-100 dogs and cats each year.

The group has four main members, and is cooperating with lots of partners and volunteers.

Aside from treating ill pets, the group specializes in finding adopters for abandoned animals.

Though these members have a full-time job, they are dedicated to helping animals after work.

Parts of our budgets and donations from kind people are used for treating, caring for, training, and feeding these animals. The more funding we have, the more animals we rescue," Dr. D'Alfonso shared.

Dr. D'Alfonso said that he is looking after and treating four sick kittens. He and his wife are planning to adopt two more cats.

We constantly take home pets that are ditched on the streets. We love to create a safe space for pets to keep them until we find new owners for them, Dr. D'Alfonso said.

We have moved to a new house, and we designed a separate room for animals."

Poor cats, dogs in need of owners

Vietnamese residents are changing their habits of taking care of pets, while more people are raising cats and dogs, according to Dr. D'Alfonso.

I am deeply impressed to see that dogs are carried by their owners on motorcycles, while cats are put in pet carrier backpacks, he said.

I hope owners of these pets will be more responsible for cleaning pet poop."

Dr. D'Alfonso said that in his homeland, abandoned and sick cats and dogs are rescued by animal protection centers. This situation is common in the United States.

However, Vietnam remains short of such helpful centers.

To Dr. D'Alfonso, saving animals is a worthwhile job.

It is my pleasure when we find a new house for a cat, or dog, he said.

This is an emotional journey [taking home deserted pets, looking after them, and finding owners for them], bringing happiness to me, he said.

Animals have no voices, so we must become their voices to protect them well."

Dr. D'Alfonso expects to see the presence of the animal rescue group in other districts citywide and hopes the group will spread the message of protecting animals among residents.

He said that the group is seeking monthly sponsorship and donations from firms to better its animal-driven acts. Donated cash will be used for vaccinating and feeding poor pets.

The group is looking after some 20 animals that are awaiting adoption, or foster care.

Acquaintance stems from love for animals

Nguyen Ngoc Huyen, a 33-year-old resident of District 7, said that she lives in an apartment near that of Dr. D'Alfonso and his wife.

My first impression about the couple was that they took two dogs, one of which was supported by a special wheelchair due to its disabled right leg, for a walk, Huyen recounted.

The two dogs were rescued by the couple.

I started joining the animal rescue group in District 7 a few years ago, but I have just discovered that Dr. D'Alfonso and his wife live in the same apartment building as me, she said.

They do love dogs and cats. These abandoned animals are kept at their home while they are awaiting adoption, she said.

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The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee has nominated Can Gio Biosphere Reserve in the namesake district as a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, according to the municipal administrations dispatch recently sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The Ho Chi Minh administration proposed the ministry issue guidelines enabling the city to complete procedures and necessary work for the nomination.

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty signed in Irans Ramsar City in 1971, providing a framework for the conservation and effective use of wetlands and resources.

The Can Gio Biosphere Reserve meets four out of eight criteria of a Ramsar site, according to the municipal Peoples Committee.

The reserve boasts the uniqueness of a natural wetland.

The Can Gio Biosphere Reserve is home to various rare species of animals which are listed as endangered, and acts as a stop for over 20,000 birds.

Apart from providing food for fish, the reserve is a favorable habitat and a reproduction place for diverse fish species.

The Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, which covers a mangrove area of nearly 35,000 hectares, houses an abundance of ecosystems and wildlife, contributing to socio-economic growth, environmental protection, and residents stability in the city and neighboring localities.

It was recognized as Vietnams first international biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in early 2000.

The expected recognition of the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve as a Ramsar site will help Ho Chi Minh City earn its stripes, and expand its cooperation with local and international partners in wetland management, according to the municipal administration.

Vietnam targets to have 13 Ramsar sites by 2025, while the countrys nine wetlands have been recognized as Ramsar sites.

Among them are Xuan Thuy National Park in the northern province of Nam Dinh; Bau Sau Wetlands and Seasonal Floodplains, part of Cat Tien National Park in the southern province of Dong Nai; Ba Be National Park in the northern province of Bac Kan; Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap; Mui Ca Mau (Ca Mau Cape) National Park in the southernmost province of Ca Mau; Con Dao National Park in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau; Lang Sen Wetland Reserve in Long An Province, located in the delta region; U Minh Thuong National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang; and Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

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Updated:

Stan Grant has quit ABC, the broadcaster has confirmed.

In a note to staff, News Director Justin Stevens said, I want to let you know that Stan Grant has decided to leave the ABC to take up a new opportunity as Asia-Pacific director of the Denmark-based Constructive Institute in conjunction with Monash University.

This is a role that clearly aligns with Stans desire to lead a conversation in Australian media about how media can foster a more constructive and kinder discourse.

We respect Stans decision and we hope he will still be a contributor for the ABC in the future from this new role. The ethos behind it aligns with our endeavour to make our journalism more constructive at a time where the media sector is seeing increasing levels of news avoidance and news fatigue.

Stan Grant said: The ABC is precious to me and so are its people. For now I need to go in a different direction but I will always consider ABC family. I look forward to working with you all again some time.

Stevens added, I would like to pay my personal respects and gratitude to Stan for being a truth teller, a courageous voice for many, and a teacher and mentor.

Earlier:

Broadcaster Stan Grant is no longer a fulltime employee at ABC, SKY News is reporting.

SKY News political editor, Andrew Clennell, said Grant told him there was no bad blood with the broadcaster.

Stan Grants confirmed to me he has resigned from the ABC as a permanent staffer, Clennell said. He says he did this weeks ago. He says, Theres no big deal. I want to do other things. No bad blood. Love the ABC, and hell collaborate with them in the future. I just have other things to do.

Grant stepped down as Q+A host in May as 8 weeks leave, following ongoing social media abuse and headlines.

A month ago ABC indicated he would not return as host but would move onto new projects at the broadcaster.

Clennell says if that happens it would likely be on a freelance basis.

Grant also told Guardian Australia he had walked away from both the ABC and the media after four decades because he wants to change the toxic global news culture by working on something constructive.

Grant has been appointed as the inaugural Director of the Constructive Institute Asia Pacific in the Faculty of Arts at Monash University leading projects and debates fostering media integrity.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Katie Stevenson, said, There is no better person to lead the advocacy for a more solutions-focused, democratic approach to journalism. Beyond the Institutes mission, our media students will have the privilege of drawing upon Stans rich experience and knowledge of media, and his passion to change news culture for the better.

Stan Grant said, This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me. It aligns with my values and draws on my 40 years in journalism, as well as my commitment to doing public interest journalism better in a way that serves the public at a time when the stakes couldnt be higher for our country and for the world.

This post updates.
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Triathlon Ireland has said its officials did not sanction a swimming race in which two competitors died.

The men, in their 40s and 60s, got into difficulty in separate incidents during the swimming leg of the Ironman event in Youghal, Co Cork on Sunday.

Triathlon Ireland chief executive Darren Coombes said officials did not sanction the swim race due to "adverse conditions on the day".

He said: "For the Ironman Cork event, in line with normal practice, Triathlon Ireland technical officials attended before the start of the race to review the conditions and carry out a water safety assessment.

"Due to adverse conditions on the day, Triathlon Ireland technical officials confirmed to the race organisers that it was not possible to sanction the race.

"As there is an investigation ongoing, at this stage it would not be appropriate for us to make any further comment only to state that Triathlon Ireland will provide any assistance that the authorities require."

Mr Coombes also named the two men who died as Ivan Chittenden and Brendan Wall.

"We reiterate our deepest condolences to the families," he added.

"The triathlon community is a very close community and this loss has had a devastating effect on all of us."

The two men were removed from the water by emergency services after running into difficulties, but were pronounced dead at the scene.

Irish police said they were investigating and that the coroner had been notified.

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The event had been postponed from Saturday due to flooding and bad course conditions after Storm Betty.

It consisted of a 1.9km swim in Youghal Bay, a 90km bike course and a 21.1km run.

The swim had already been cut from 3.8km because of poor weather conditions.

The race continued and competitors were allowed to finish despite the double tragedy in the first section of the race.

Story continues

In a statement, the event organisers said: "We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of two race participants at the Ironman 70.3 Ireland, Cork 2023.

"During the swim portion of Sunday's race, safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognising the athletes were in need of assistance.

"We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time.

"We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance.

"In respect of the families and athletes' privacy, we will have no further comment."

Cork County Council said in a statement it is "deeply saddened over the tragic loss".
American family who went viral for ketchup chip road trip have so many bags now, they're donating some

The American family that went viral this summer for their nine-hour cross-border road trip to Canada to secure ketchup chips is now swimming in a surplus of the snack  and support from the community.

Rich Lieberman and his son Jacob, 15, from Virginia, made the journey to Niagara Falls in July and bought almost every bag of the Lays ketchup chips that No Frills store had.

"They had 41 bags, so left one," Rich told the CBC on July 23.

The No Frills store's Facebook post has long gone viral, like more than 6,000 times and shared more than 1,100 times, attracting attention from some big companies, too, who sent the family boxes of goodies.

The first shipment came from No Frills itself, with nine cases of assorted flavoured chips that arrived at the Lieberman familys home.

In that shipment, Jacob had the chance to taste all-dressed chips, another Canadian specialty, and he liked them, though not as much as ketchup chips, according to Lieberman.

After No Frills came Old Dutch Foods and Heinz shipments. While Old Dutch sent the family more chips, Heinz sent boxes of bottled ketchup and customized shirts that read "Annual Lieberman Ketchup Crew Road Trip.

The family is still waiting on a shipment from Lays, but they have told CBC that what they have is more than enough and now they are looking to donate.

"We have actually donated each shipment to different schools after trying the different chips," Lieberman said. "I am currently researching several soup kitchen-type places in our area and will donate most of the ketchup there."

Who doesn't love ketchup chips?

Jacobs love for the chips started when they were on a road trip last year when his dad noticed the unusual flavour chips at a pit stop. Although he had no interest in trying them, he knew his son would love them.

"We saw the ketchup chips and thought that was kind of weird, honestly. I'd never heard of such a thing," Rich told CBC. "But I knew he liked ketchup, so we bought him a bag."

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The family's journey has gotten the attention of Canadians on social media, who are very supportive of Jacob's newfound passion. Some are even suggesting that they create a P.O. Box so the family can receive more gifts from Canadians.

Now we need to find him a P.O. Box that we as Canadians can send him chips every month!   Lianne Arndt (@Arndt2211) July 24, 2023

While others have different ideas, suggesting a trade so they can get products that are only sold in the United States.

We should trade the lays for little Debbies   Allan J Ross (@AllanJRoss) July 24, 2023

The family told CBC that they are planning to visit the east coast of Canada this upcoming summer to finish off their Canadian tour.
The Italian Alps tower over the village of Oulx during winter. (Alamy)

The glaciers in the Italian Alps are melting with increasing speed as another Europe heatwave keeps temperatures above 0C  even during the night.

The Nero heatwave is expected to bring highs of 40C to some of Italy's cities and it is also having a major impact on the country's mountain ranges.

Nero is the third heatwave to hit Europe this summer, with soaring temperatures causing deadly wildfires in several countries including Italy, Greece and Spain.

As the hot spell continues, unusually high evening temperatures mean Italy's glaciers don't have enough time to regain ice overnight so the long-term pattern of decline is quickly accelerating, according to Francesco Pasi, of Italys National Research Council (CNR).

He told Yahoo News UK how at the Capanna Margherita  the highest mountain hut in Europe, sitting at 4,554 metres  temperatures reached 8.9C on Tuesday, one of the highest ever recorded at the site.

Pasi said that overnight, temperatures were mainly around 1.4C, while the previous night they only dipped below zero for a few hours.

Read more: Is another factor beyond global warming leading to this summer's record temperatures?

A leading scientist has warned that glaciers in the Alps are melting at an increasing rate. (Alamy)

"During the night, the glaciers are not going below zero and that's casing the very rapid and strong melting of the glaciers," the meteorologist said.

"We know it's already an established trend, the glaciers have been losing their mass for many years. But theres no question about it, it's increasing and accelerating.

"The temperature in Switzerland and France is also being affected, so it's all over the Alps. It's really a big problem for all over the region."

Read more: Once in 7.5 million year event in Antarctica could have 'major impact' on global weather

"The glaciers are really delicate, it's a balance between the temperature and precipitation," he said, adding that it is hard to predict the full-term impact of this balance being tipped.

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Communities are already feeling the impact, with a March report by environmental group Legambiente claiming that 249 Italian ski resorts had closed in recent years due to rising temperatures.

Meanwhile, many species that are crucial to the ecosystem in the Alpine region are at risk due to the rapid rate at which glaciers are melting, according to a study published in May in Nature, Ecology and Evolution.

Capanna Margherita  the highest mountain hut in Europe  is experiencing record high temperatures. (Getty Images)

Recently a Swiss weather balloon designed to measure the "zero-degree line" (the altitude at which the temperature falls to zero) had to climb to an unprecedented height of 5,328 metres.

The MeteoSuisse meteorology service said the balloon, launched from Payerne, measured the zero-degree point  a key meteorological marker  at 5,298 metres overnight, beating last year's record of 5,184 metres.

This is the highest freezing level data ever recorded in the Alps since radio soundings began in the mountain range about 70 years ago, Renato Colucci of the CNR told Yahoo News.

"I have to stress the effect of such a huge heatwave, because one single heatwave, however powerful, has little effect on the environment if before and after the climate is normal," he said.

"The problem is that we are facing, year-after-year, a trend where summers are increasingly long and hot, and this has an important effect on ecosystems and the cryosphere in the Alps."

Read more: Climate change is making debt more expensive, new study finds

This week, Switzerland is expected to endure temperatures of 37C at lower altitudes, compared to 40C in France, as Nero brings an anticyclone of very hot air from the Sahara desert to Europe.

While Pasi pointed out that some years are cooler than others, there has been a consistent trend of dwindling ice over the past 10 to 20 years.

He called for greater measures to protect the ecosystem as he warned all Alpine glaciers below 3,500 metres were expected to vanish by 2050  meaning most of those in Italy. A study by Aberystwyth University estimated that 92% of all other glaciers will be gone before 2100.

"When you look at how the glaciers were 50 years ago and look at them after the year 2000, you can see its really changing and we have to look at them in a different way," Pasi added.

What happens when glaciers melt?

While there is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, if all of them were to melt, global sea levels would rise by around 70 metres  enough to flood every coastal city on the planet, the United States Geological Survey says.

Presently, 10% of land area on Earth is covered with glacial ice, including glaciers, ice caps and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has measured.

If enough meltwater flows into the ocean, then the Earth's rotation will change, according to Nasa.

The space agency said that if the ice sheet on Greenland were to completely melt and flow into the ocean, global see levels would rise by about seven metres and the Earth would rotate more slowly, with the length of the day increasing by about two milliseconds.

Read more: Ancient climate change was driven by volcanoes, researchers say

As melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, they increase coastal erosion and elevate storm surges as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms, such as hurricanes and typhoons, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

It adds that the glacial melt currently happening in the Antarctic and Greenland is changing the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean and has been linked to collapse of fisheries in the Gulf of Maine and more destructive storms and hurricanes around the planet.

As ocean currents and weather patterns are disrupted worldwide, flooding will become more frequent, fisheries will be affected as different types of fish seek new waters, while other species face losing their food sources and habitats.

Watch: Spain's largest glacier could only have 10 years left
Ferry giant P&O has announced plans to close one of its routes towards the end of the year.

The Liverpool-Dublin route will be axed due to the unavailability of a berth in the Merseyside city for next year, the company said.

A statement said: Without agreement with the port owner to provide a berth in Liverpool, it is impossible for P&O Ferries to continue operating on this route.

Extensive negotiations with the owner of our Liverpool site to extend our lease at the port or find an alternative site for our Liverpool-Dublin service to operate from have been unsuccessful.

P&O Ferries is committed to serving our Irish Sea customers and has explored all options to continue sailing on this route.

Unfortunately, despite utmost efforts by P&O Ferries to find a viable solution, no suitable alternative has been offered that would enable us to maintain the current service into 2024.

We are saddened by our forced withdrawal from this route, which will reduce competition and the choice of sailings available to customers on a crossing where there is currently only one alternative operator.

The route is served by two P&O ferries making 24 sailings a week and is mainly used to transport freight between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

P&O intends to redeploy the two boats on other routes.

It said: We are now beginning a consultation process with our employees affected by the intended closure of this service.

We will offer support to affected colleagues to find alternative employment within our business, or where that is not possible, help to find employment elsewhere.

We have also worked to ensure that where possible our customers affected by the intended closure of the Liverpool-Dublin route can access alternative services with other operators.

We remain fully committed to serving customers on our Irish Sea crossing between our ports in Larne and Cairnryan, where we recently celebrated our 50th year of operations, and on our network around the UK.

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Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said: P&O Ferries said they unlawfully sacked nearly 800 seafarers to protect jobs elsewhere in their UK operation.

This latest attack on maritime jobs and skills proves that Tory ministers were wrong to believe P&O Ferries and its chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite.

He along with his senior management team have shown that they are not only prepared to break employment law in order to please their owners in Dubai but that they cannot be trusted to operate economically vital RoPax ferry services, blaming everyone else but themselves for their abject failures.

The British government should scrap any shipping contracts they have with P&O and begin the process of banning them from operating in UK waters, as a matter of urgency.

Unite national officer Bobby Morton said: This is an important ferry service and its loss will be a huge blow to the people of Liverpool and Dublin.

Unite will now ensure that the affected workers are fully compensated for being made redundant and will also be providing assistance with finding them appropriate new employment opportunities.

A spokesman for Peel Ports Group confirmed that the P&O Ferries service would no longer be calling into Liverpool when their existing contract expired at the end of 2023.
The vast Luneberg Heath is alive with the mauve of heather at this time of year (photo: Markus Tiemann/German National Tourist Board)

Sustainability. It may not set the pulse racing but its one of the buzzwords of our time. So much so that its tempting to think of it as a new idea.

Spend some time in north Germany, however, and the word takes on a different meaning. Theyve been doing sustainability for quite some time. Centuries, in fact. Which rather suggests they know what theyre talking about.

And it turns out it doesnt need to be a dull and worthy concept. On the contrary: here it means colour, stories, fascinating people and remarkable places. Its a world of discovery and enjoyment and its really not far from home.

Bremen's historic Market Square with the city hall and cathedral (photo: Mikhail Markovskiy/Adobe Stock)

It took about 90 minutes to fly from Heathrow to Hamburg. From there, we headed south to the vast and vibrant Luneburg Heath, alive with heather that shows its richest mauve finery in August and early September. One imagines it is what heaven looks like if you are a bee, which may be why it is something of a heartland of honey. We met master beekeeper Klaus Ahrens, whose family has been making honey there since 1910; the tradition of beekeeping on the land goes back hundreds of years. If anyone was ever born to do this job, it is Klaus, and his fearlessness is something to behold: no protective suit for him. (Yes, he gets stung repeatedly. What of it?) The same ways are used now as have always been, and the resulting honey is a world away from your standard supermarket fare, so deep and lively.

We spent the night about 40 minutes away in the enchanting setting of the BioHotel WildLand; the place feels so natural and relaxed it is as if it has somehow grown by itself among the trees. The historic buildings make for a memorable stay, while the restaurants organic fare is sumptuous. (It's very much OK to eat burgers here; they originate from Hamburg, after all.)

You tend to get odd looks if you tell people youve had an interesting conversation with a German shepherd, but its worth spending time with Carl Kuhlmann, whom we met the next day. Under the care of Carl and his dog Yula are hundreds of Grey Horned Heidschnucke, a breed of sheep that has kept Luneburg Heath beautiful since the middle ages. They all have different personalities, says Carl, but they all know his voice; his mastery of the ancient craft is something to behold.

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After a hearty yet elegant lunch at the nearby restaurant Schaferstuben, we drove two hours to Bremen, our base for the next three nights. What a fine city, a place of fairytale charm and contemporary freshness. It has long cherished and championed freedom; it was proudly independent at the time of Germanys Holy Roman Empire and found itself at odds with the church. It lost its autonomy under Nazi rule, but regained it after the Second World War. A statue of the heroic Roland, a symbol of freedom, has stood in the heart of the city since 1404; next to him is the Gothic town hall, built in 1405. But the city is no museum exhibit; there is plenty of youthful energy about. Dinner at the pleasingly unpretentious Feldmanns Bierhaus down by the river preceded a tour with the costumed Night Watchman, who tells dark and sordid tales of city life in times past with devilish relish.

Bremerhaven's new harbour with the Klimahaus and sailing ships (Florian Trykowski/German National Tourist Board)

Next up after the first of three nights at the sleek and stylish Radisson Blu was a 35-minute drive to the small town of Worpswede for another timeless activity. From the middle of the 18th century until the beginning of the 20th century, peat barges were the only means of transport in the boggy-wet country near Bremen, their black oak boats and brown sails becoming a customary sight on the many small waterways. The barges still run today, albeit with cargoes of visitors; the vessels are powered mostly by quiet electric motors, charged with green electricity, but they raise those sails, too. Conservation efforts have intensified over the past decade, and it all makes for a placid and peaceful way to touch the past. The restaurant Hammehuette offers a riverside location for lunch. Its also worth looking around Worpswede itself: the quality of its light has made it a haven for artists for around 150 years, resulting in some beguiling architecture, a fine gallery and much else besides. Then back to Bremen, where the Ratskeller beneath the town hall was an atmospheric location for dinner.

Our final day was spent an hour north of Bremen in the seaport city of Bremerhaven. Its not all industrial: there are cycle tours of the marshy 3,400-acre Luneplate nature reserve, home to water buffalo. Restaurant Dock IV specialises in flavoursome local produce; fish is its speciality. And one of the citys main attractions reminds us why this sustainability stuff is so important: the Klimahaus gives visitors a taste of climate zones around the world, from the tropical to the polar. Feel intense humidity and sharp chill while following a story of humankinds effect on the planet. Then back in Bremen for dinner at restaurant Luv, which serves dishes made with creativity and flair, one eye on the past and another on the present.

Refreshing, enlightening, invigorating and fun. Its sustainability, but maybe not as we have known it. Keep it up, Germany  and may the rest of us learn from you.

Peter Ormerod was a guest of the German National Tourist Board and flew with Eurowings
Catherine Whittaker, assistant centre director at Busy Bees Belper Alton Manor, has been selected to attend a prestigious international exchange programme in Canada next month. (Photo: Submitted)

Catherine Whittaker, assistant centre director at Busy Bees Belper Alton Manor, will join a cohort of 30 colleagues from across the globe on a journey to Calgary, Alberta.

There she will spend three weeks working within a Busy Bees nursery, exploring the latest global trends in early years care and education, and collaborating on innovative projects.

Catherine said: I was astounded to hear I had been selected for the Talent Exchange Programme and I cant wait to get out to Canada to meet the other Busy Bees from around the world.

I am especially keen to see how our approach to individual based learning - considering and being respectful of childrens needs - compares to the best practice in other countries.

The all-expenses paid trip brings together Busy Bees colleagues from across Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand from September 25 to October 13, with Catherine being one of five employees from the UK selected for this years programme.

Operations director Chris Coxhead added: As the only Early Learning Provider offering such a programme, this is a unique chance for our people to expand their knowledge and make a difference. Previous participants have praised the Talent Exchange Programmes impact on their professional development and the expertise they can bring back to their UK centres.

We are delighted to send Catherine on this once-in-a-lifetime trip, in recognition of the passion and dedication she shows daily to Busy Bees. Catherine is an inspirational colleague, always striving for the highest standards of care and education to offer children the best start in life. She prides herself on providing a safe, caring and fun environment for our children and creates positive working partnerships with families.

This trip will be a brilliant professional development opportunity for Catherine, and I know she will return to Belper Alton Manor excited to share everything she has learned in Canada.

Busy Bees was founded in Staffordshire in 1983 and has grown to become the largest provider of early years care and education in the country, employing almost 10,000 people across the UK. The group now operates in ten countries  UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
People are reacting to Twitter changing its iconic bird logo to an "X." Getty Images

A new report highlights how Elon Musk's Starlink satellites have been crucial in the Ukraine war.

Since the outset of the war, Musk has provided Starlink satellites to Ukrainian troops  with some caveats.

According to The New Yorker, Musk is treated like an "unelected official" by government officials.

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system, used by Ukrainian troops, has put the US in a delicate position of relying on one billionaire's good spirits for a key communication aspect of ongoing war.

Federal officials from the Department of Defense and other agencies spoke to The New Yorker on condition of anonymity, claiming that Musk's influence weighs on government decisions around space, Ukraine, social media, and electric vehicles.

Musk's Starlink has played such a central role in providing communications to Ukrainian troops that federal officials have tried not to upset Musk, in hopes of not jeopardizing Starlink's service in Ukraine, according to The New Yorker.

Musk did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian troops dealt with a Starlink outage in late October 2022, according to CNN, in part because Musk had been providing the equipment for free and was seeking federal funding  an arrangement he had tweeted about in frustration.

The outage spurred chaos amid Ukrainian forces and US defense officials, who worried that Musk could pull the plug again whenever his outlook changed, per The New Yorker. Musk also wavered over the idea that his technology was being used in a war, which did not sit well with him, according to the report.

According to The New Yorker, Musk is treated like an "unelected official."

Days after Russia declared war on Ukraine in February 2022, Musk's SpaceX provided Starlink satellites and terminals to Ukraine, which helps maintain internet access across Ukraine, critically for troops in battle.

In September 2022, Musk asked the Pentagon to fund Starlink's ventures in Ukraine, saying that the equipment could cost $100 million by the end of 2022.

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Musk's views on Ukraine also appeared to shift in October 2022, per The New Yorker, as he launched a Twitter poll touting a peace plan for Ukraine that pushed Kremlin talking points.

"SpaceX's out of pocket cost to enable & support Starlink in Ukraine is ~$80M so far. Our support for Russia is $0. Obviously, we are pro Ukraine," Musk tweeted after the poll. "Trying to retake Crimea will cause massive death, probably fail & risk nuclear war. This would be terrible for Ukraine & Earth."

The federal officials who spoke to The New Yorker claimed that their current arrangement has relied on Musk's satisfaction with affairs.

"Living in the world we live in, in which Elon runs this company and it is a private business under his control, we are living off his good graces," a Pentagon official told The New Yorker under the condition of anonymity. "That sucks."

The Department of Defense did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

Ultimately, in June 2023, the US government and Starlink inked a contract related to communications in Ukraine, with no public details, per Reuters.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Joe Biden has visited the wildfire-hit island of Maui - following days of criticism over his response to the crisis.

The president and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, arrived on the Hawaiian island on Monday - 13 days after the wildfires that claimed at least 114 lives and devastated the historic town of Lahaina.

After touring, the damage, he promised the federal government would help Maui "for as long as it takes" to recover from the devastation.

"The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover," he said in a speech, delivered next to a 150-year-old banyan tree in Old Lahaina which had been burned in the fires.

"Today it's burned, but it's still standing," Mr Biden said of the tree.

"The tree survived for a reason. I believe it's a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis."

Criticism of Biden's response

It comes after Biden and his administration faced criticism over the response to the wildfires - the deadliest in the US in more than a century.

A protester held out a banner urging "relief for Maui now" as the president's motorcade weaved through the streets of Lahaina, while another signed urged Mr Biden to "listen to the people".

It comes after former Democratic Hawaii Representative, Tulsi Gabbard, compared the response to the wildfires in Hawaii - the 50th state of the US - to America's support for Ukraine.

"Maybe if we change the name of Maui to Ukraine, maybe they will pay attention to us," she said.

Biden also faced criticism from former president Donald Trump - the current frontrunner amongst Republicans to challenge him at next year's presidential elections.

Mr Trump said it was "disgraceful" that his successor had not responded more quickly to the crisis.

However, The White House has pushed back against the criticism, insisting that the president had kept in close touch with the governor and other emergency officials on Maui throughout the unfolding crisis.

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More than $8.5m (6.6m) worth of aid has also been distributed to some 8,000 affected families, according to Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

'We are going to rebuild'

Mr Biden and his wife - who interrupted a weeklong holiday in Lake Tahoe for the trip - spent most of their visit to Maui in the town of Lahaina, which has been largely destroyed by the wildfires.

They also met with first responders, were briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response, and took part in a blessing by island elders.

Read more:

Hawaii wildfires: 850 people still missing

Mick Fleetwood's restaurant destroyed in wildfires

It comes after The White House announced on Monday that it had appointed Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires.

He will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts.

As well as a place popular with tourists, Lahaina also had great cultural significance, as the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and as a home to a number of historical buildings.

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"We're going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild," said Mr Biden, adding that his administration would be focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures and traditions.

Hundreds still missing

On Sunday, Hawaii senator Brian Schatz said around 85% of the area affected by the wildfires had been searched.

As many as 850 people are recorded as missing, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, who said it was of some relief that the figure had come down from the more than 2,000 names on the original list.

"We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process," Mr Bissen said.

"The number of identified will rise, and the number of missing may decrease."
Pret A Manger is opening its first shop in Northern Ireland. Picture: Pret A Manger

Operated by Prets longstanding franchise partner Carebrook Partnership Ltd, the new shop will be in Donegall Square West.

The company has said it aims to open 20 shops across the island of Ireland in the next decade.

The new opening will create up to 20 new jobs in the city, with Pret looking to recruit in a number of roles, including team members, managers and baristas. Staff can earn up to 12.30 per hour depending on role, location, experience and bonus inclusion. Staff will also have access to a benefits package which includes free food and drink while on shift, as well as a discounts portal.

Pret A Manger is opening its first shop in Northern Ireland. Picture: Pret A Manger

Coffees, teas and other hot and iced drinks will be prepared by trained baristas, while a menu of freshly made sandwiches, salads and hot food options, alongside snacks, baked good and cold drinks will also be available.

In partnership with The Pret Foundation, Pret is on the look-out for local charities to donate surplus food to at the end of each day. Interested local charities should contact The Pret Foundation via Pret.FoundationUK@pret.com

Pret now operates in 15 markets on three continents and expects to have over 700 shops worldwide by the end of 2023.

Clare Clough, UK & Ireland managing director at Pret A Manger, said: Were delighted to be opening Prets first ever shop in Northern Ireland as part of our ambitious plans to bring Pret to more people. Weve long heard that Belfast locals and visitors would love to have a Pret, so we cant wait to welcome them to our new shop right in the heart of the city with our longstanding franchise partner Carebrook, who has had much success operating Pret shops in the UK and on the island of Ireland.

Gerard Loughran, Chief Executive at the Carebrook Partnership Ltd, added: This new opening in Belfast is an important milestone for our partnership with Pret, and its fantastic to finally be bringing the Pret brand to Northern Ireland. The new shop will create 20 jobs in the city and we hope it can become a hotspot for locals and visitors alike.

"Were excited to welcome our first customers later this year, where they can enjoy the freshly made food and coffee Pret is known for.
The Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Products conducted a nationwide survey in which consumers rated and voted for high-quality Vietnamese products. Through the survey, trends among consumers can be witnessed in the purchase of healthy, environmentally-friendly products. Consumers consider not only quality and price, but also safety. Furthermore, the survey showed that over 50 percent of local enterprises have launched many new and improved products with the purpose of delivering high-quality Vietnamese products in recent years.

Among the companies that are following this direction to raise the standard of made in Viet Nam goods, Hoa Linh Pharmaceutical (Hoa Linh) and Thai Minh Pharmaceutical (Thai Minh) stand out with their remarkable products for Vietnamese consumers.

Hoa Linh is one of the top Vietnamese brands with healthcare products developed from inheriting the healthcare experience of Vietnamese traditions, traditional medicines, and natural ingredients. Besides healthcare products, Hoa Linh is well-known for its personal care product lines such as: Ngoc Chau herbal toothpaste, Nguyen Xuan herbal hair care, and Da Huong feminine hygiene solution.

Driven by experienced pharmacists and specialists, Hoa Linh constantly invents and innovates to bring the best products made of familiar traditional medicines and natural ingredients such as locusts, pomelo peels for washing hair, tall fruit peels to clean and whiten teeth, bathing with green tea leaves, rice water, etc. With stable quality, high performance, and reasonable prices, Hoa Linhs product lines are conquering the hearts of consumers across the nation.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, Director, Cosmetics, Healthcare, and Beauty Products, representing Hoa Linh Pharmaceutical, said: "Ensuring the quality of the product is our top priority to remain in the market leader and maintain sustainable development. Quality is also our core value, and it has served as a profound foundation for the company's success and growth during its 22-year history.

Furthermore, its products are also a combination of domestically available resources with global consulting and innovative ingredients to improve performance. This is a testament to a decade-long strategic partnership with Business Unit Performance Materials of DKSH, a leading market expansion services provider with almost 160 years of experience globally.

DKSH has provided advanced ingredients and strategic consulting to assist Hoa Linh in improving formulas as well as enhancing product performance, contributing to the outstanding growth of the brands two popular products, specifically Ngoc Chau herbal toothpaste and Nguyen Xuan herbal hair care products. The partnership between the two companies has contributed to the production of millions of units each year for Vietnamese consumers.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, Director of Cosmetics, Healthcare, and Beauty Products, representing Hoa Linh Pharmaceutical, stated during the Success Stories Sharing event held by DKSH in Ha Noi: We appreciate DKSH's strong expertise and excellent support for Hoa Linhs business over the past decade. This strategic cooperation is critical to Hoa Linhs success in bringing the greatest Vietnamese personal care products with high quality to customers.

Sharing the same vision to deliver high-quality products manufactured domestically to take care of Vietnamese, Thai Minh, a scientific-based nutraceutical manufacturer, is also a good example for the local business community. With dedication and a scientific foundation, Thai Minh strives to research and cooperate with experts and scientific organizations to seek the best solutions to support and solve human health problems. Thai Minh is committed to creating products based on the most professional, quality, and reliable scientific research.

Also attending the Success Stories Session held by DKSH, Han Ngoc Anh, Director of Thai Minh Pharmaceutical, clarified more about Thai Minhs vision and direction to develop "made-in-Vietnam" nutraceuticals and the partnership with DKSH.

Cooperating since 2019, DKSH and Thai Minh successfully launched the calcium gummy Heviho at the beginning of 2023. This nutraceutical contains CalGo, a nutraceutical ingredient extracted from natural salmon by Hofseth Biocare (Norway), which is distributed by DKSH in Viet Nam. This ingredient not only helps absorb calcium six times easier than others but also enhances bone and dental health without causing constipation.

Han Ngoc Anh, Director of Thai Minh Pharmaceutical, shared: We believe that with outstanding features, the calcium gummy Heviho will increasingly affirm its position in the Vietnamese market. Under the partnership with DKSH, Thai Minh will continue to invest and develop to diversify the portfolio of high-quality nutraceuticals under the Vietnamese brand name, providing consumers with more choices besides imported products.

During more than 30 years of operation in Viet Nam, DKSH has constantly strengthened its capabilities to always be a trusted partner to existing and new businesses. DKSH's solutions are always instant but also ensure sustainability for markets and communities.

The successes of Hoa Linh and Thai Minh help accelerate Vietnamese brands to the next level in providing the best to consumers with available resources in Viet Nam combined with innovation from international partnerships such as DKSH. The market is looking forward to more accomplishments by domestic companies to uplift the local business community in Viet Nam and go beyond.
HAI PHONG  The Viet Nam-Korea trade promotion week will take place in the northern port city of Hai Phong from September 1-10, toward celebrating the 31st anniversary of Viet Nam-Republic of Korea (RoK) diplomatic ties.

The event aims to enhance the linkages between trade and investment promotion activities, contributing to popularising the culture, tourism, history and people of the two countries, raising their mutual understanding and tightening Viet Nam-RoK strategic cooperative partnership and ties between Hai Phong and the RoK in particular.

Close to 100 booths will be open at the event, including 16 displaying Vietnamese and Korean products and 72 introducing Vietnamese and Korean cuisine, specialties and beverages. Playing areas and interactive zones for both children and adults, along with cultural activities, are also part of the week.

The RoK now invests in 105 projects worth about US$9.97 billion in Hai Phong, leading in both volume and value of FDI projects in the city. Last year, these projects generated $14.5 billion in revenue, earned $13.5 billion from exports, contributed $3.57 trillion ($155.2 million) to the budget and generated jobs to 41,000 workers.

Most of the RoKs projects in Hai Phong are high-tech and effective. Additionally, Korean is chosen as one of the foreign languages to be taught in several schools in the city.  VNS
HA NOI  The fourth international exhibition on supporting industries and manufacturing in Viet Nam, VIMEXPO 2023, will be held at the International Exhibition Centre Ha Noi (ICE) from November 15 to 17.

The event, themed "Connecting for Development," is organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and features more than 300 exhibitors from around 250 domestic and foreign firms.

Four primary industries will be presented here, including the automobile manufacturing and assembly industry, electronics, high-tech industry, mechanical engineering and related industry groups.

The exhibition provides an opportunity for the Vietnamese supporting industry to integrate and develop. It also serves as a bridge for firms working in the field both locally and globally to connect and share experiences.

During the exhibition, VIMEXPO 2023 is projected to attract around 15,000 visitors.  VNS
QUANG NGAI  The central province has called for investment and co-operation from US businesses in energy, oil refining and industrial environment treatment technology, and to join the second phase of the Dung Quat Refinery upgrading and expansion project.

The co-operation and investment proposals were discussed at an investment promotion event by the central provincial working team in Houston, Texas last week with the participation of 32 businesses and groups including Baker Hughes, Energy Transfer, Energy Capital Viet Nam, ExxonMobil and Globalinx Group.

Vice chairman of the provincial peoples committee Vo Phien urged energy groups from the US to speed up investment and co-operation in the Dung Quat Economic Zone  which has been designed as a key green, smart and sustainable industrial complex by 2045  and Binh Son Oil Refinery plant (BSR).

He also suggested support for industrial environment treatment technology at the Dung Quat EZ and other industrial parks to meet the standards of COP26 (the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties).

Head of the Dung Quat EZ and Industrial Zones managing board Ha Hoang Viet Phuong said the province planned to develop the Dung Quat EZ as a multi-sector industry and sea-based economy centre on a total of 45,332ha.

Phuong stressed the zone would focus priorities in renewable energy and a circular economy with the focus on core industries of oil refining, steel, shipyards, sea ports and high-tech industries.

He also introduced preferential policies for investment promotion and procedures for US businesses investing in the province.

Investors would also enjoy a 10 per cent tax rate for 15 years, a four-year tax exemption and a 50 per cent cut in income tax for the following nine years, he said.

He added that the tax exemption regulations would add a five-year free import tax on materials and semi-finished products for investors.

Khuong Le Thanh, a member of the Binh Son BSR Executive board, said the second phase of the Dung Quat refinery project would be built on 108.2ha with an investment of US$1.8 billion, and it will help increase capacity of the refinery plant from 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil to 8.5 million tonnes per year.

Thanh said BSR, which is now refining 85 per cent of domestic crude and 15 per cent of crude exports, could process crude oil and marine fuel oil (MFO) for export.

According to a report from the Dung Quat EZ, 346 projects have been in effect with an investment of nearly US$18 billion, including 58 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $1.84 billion.

The Dung Quat EZ is an investment destination for the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) and South Korea heavy industries Doosan Enerbility Viet Nam (Doosan Vina) with total investment of $739 million.

The provincial delegation paid a working visit to the technology centre of Backer Hughes and the oil refinery and petrochemical centre of ExxonMobil.

The province also invited the US groups and businesses to visit the Dung Quat EZ and industrial zones for further investment and co-operation in the coming time. VNS
HA NOI  Visiting Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong on Tuesday announced her countrys new US$94.5 million support package for climate change adaption in Viet Nam's Mekong Delta from 2023 to 2034.

This is an example of how Australia and Viet Nam are tackling the shared challenge of climate change and energy transition together, the minister said at the Viet Nam-Australia Forum: Regional Cooperation in a Changing World held in Ha Noi.

Highlighting the close relations between Viet Nam and Australia over the past 50 years, Wong said they had stood side by side as friends on the basis of strategic belief.

The two countries had been deeply conscious of the continuous consolidation of the bilateral strategic partnership, towards a comprehensive strategic partnership, she added.

Both countries desired peace in the region and the world, she continued, noting that Australia wants to cooperate with Viet Nam to settle challenges that need joint efforts like climate change and energy transition.

The minister also commended the operation of the Viet Nam-Australia Centre, a centrepiece of Australias development partnership with Viet Nam. The centre brings together Australian and Vietnamese experts to support Viet Nam's future leadership in addressing national, regional and international challenges.

In his remarks, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Chairman of the Central Theory Council, noted that the deep political trust and increased exchanges had helped shorten the geographical distance between the two countries, making the Viet Nam-Australia relationship truly become that of regional neighbours, which is closer and stronger than ever.

The forum offered an opportunity for participants to seek solutions to regional cooperation issues, and discuss how to maintain, expand, and enhance the bilateral relationship in the time ahead, he said.

The forum gathered more than 600 policymakers, leaders and representatives from ministries and agencies in different fields.  VNS
HA NOI  A joint press release on the outcomes of the official visit to Viet Nam by Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev from August 20-22 has been issued.

The visit is being made at the invitation of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, during which, President Tokayev met with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Nguyen Phu Trong; held talks with President Thuong; met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue; and visited several economic and cultural establishments in Bac Ninh and Hai Duong provinces.

The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on measures to enhance cooperation in politics, economy-trade, investment, transport and logistics, culture, and tourism as well as various issues of mutual interest on the international and regional agenda.

At their talks, the two Presidents agreed to facilitate the exchange of delegations at all levels through Party, State, Government and parliamentary channels as well as people-to-people exchanges. They vowed to uphold the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Intergovernmental Commission, political consultations and other mechanisms to enhance mutual understanding and trust, and expand bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors.

In economic and trade ties, the two sides discussed promising cooperation areas such as tourism, information technology, agriculture, transport and logistics. They expressed readiness to take full advantage of the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union to boost two-way trade in the near future.

The leaders welcomed the launching of direct flights between Viet Nam and Kazakhstan in October 2022, which has provided opportunities to boost their economic, trade, investment, tourism, and cultural cooperation.

They expressed their interest in stepping up education collaboration in line with the Protocol signed on January 3, 2017 amending certain provisions of the relevant agreement between the two governments inked on September 15, 2009.

High-ranking leaders from both countries emphasised the importance of enhancing cultural exchanges, including the expansion of cooperation and exchanges in such fields as science, sports, and health care to strengthen their peoples bond, strengthen mutual understanding, enrich cultural diversity, and promote the overall relations.

President Vo Van Thuong and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appreciated the close coordination and mutual support within international organisations and multilateral forums, especially the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), to reinforce collaboration among participating countries for peace, development, and prosperity in the region. Viet Nam is ready to act as a bridge for Kazakhstan to enhance cooperation with ASEAN and Southeast Asian countries.

Both sides exchanged views on the international and regional situation, including recent developments in the East Sea [internationally known as the South China Sea]. They emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability, as well as resolving disputes through peaceful means based on international law and the United Nations Charter.

During the visit, the two countries signed several cooperation agreements in various fields.

President Tokayev invited President Thuong to visit Kazakhstan at a suitable time, with the latter accepting the invitation with pleasure. The timing of the visit will be arranged through diplomatic channels.

President hosts banquet in honour of Kazakhstani counterpart

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong hosted a banquet in Ha Noi on Monday evening in honour of visiting Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Speaking at the event, Thuong said the Vietnamese people always remember and highly appreciate the invaluable support that the Kazakhstani people provided for Viet Nam during the past struggles for national independence and the current cause of national construction and development.

The Kazakhstani Presidents official visit to Viet Nam gave more strength to the bilateral friendship and cooperation in the coming time, he said.

Tokayev said Kazakhstan considers Viet Nam its major and important partner in Southeast Asia. He pledged to offer all possible support for the bilateral ties and wished to push forward people-to-people exchanges, especially cultural and music exchanges.

On the occasion of the upcoming National Day of Viet Nam (September 2), the Kazakhstani President extended his best wishes to all Vietnamese leaders and people. VNA/VNS
BANGKOK  Viet Nam, as a developing transit country, has taken a lot of actions within regional, sub-regional and bilateral frameworks to assist landlocked developing countries, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh said on August 22.

Accordingly, Viet Nam had actively implemented many projects and programmes such as the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) connecting Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar; and promoted cooperation in the Mekong sub-region, Thanh told the High-Level Euro-Asia Regional Review Meeting of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) which opened in Bangkok the same day.

The country also actively joined efforts to strengthen ASEAN connectivity and other bilateral plans such as One border  One pillar with Laos.

Its strong commitment to support the LLDCs was underscored by its hosting of the Asia-Pacific Regional Annual Meeting of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the mid-year meeting of the ASEAN Freight Forwarders Association (AFFA) in July, and the UN High-level Meeting for the Euro-Asia Region on Improving Cooperation on Transit, Trade. Facilitation and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2017.

On the basis of experiences gained in the post-pandemic recovery process, Viet Nam had made several proposals, including strengthening infrastructure connectivity, developing fields that are less affected by geographical distance such as sustainable tourism and digital economy to exploit the economic potential of LLDCs, and intensifying transport cooperation through transboundary river routes such as the Mekong River. Recently, in January 2023, Viet Nam signed an agreement with Laos to connect 29 ports along 1,800 km of the Mekong River in Laos with Viet Nam's seaports, Thanh said.

At the meeting, the diplomat reaffirmed Viet Nam's strong commitment to support and strengthen cooperation with the LLDCs, adding that the country is willing to contribute to common goals and actions towards inclusive, sustainable and resilient development, with no country left behind.

During the two-day meeting, participants are scheduled to continue updating the review of the Vienna programme of action towards the organisation of the third UN Conference on the LLDCs in 2024 in Rwanda; discuss achievements and limitations, and opportunities and challenges; and share experiences and make policy recommendations to strengthen resilience and meet specific needs of the LLDCs in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese leaders on Tuesday extended congratulations to their Cambodian counterparts on the occasion of the establishment of the 7th-tenure National Assembly (NA) and Government (2023-2028).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a congratulatory letter to PM Hun Manet, while NA Chairman Vuong inh Hue sent a letter of congratulations to NA President Khuon Sodary.

In the letters, the Vietnamese leaders expressed their belief that under the leadership of PM Hun Manet and NA President Khuon Sodary, Cambodia will reap greater achievements in building a country of peace, stability, development and prosperity, which plays an increasingly important role and position in the region and the world.

Both leaders believe that the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability between Viet Nam and Cambodia will continue to be consolidated and developed for the sake of their people, positively contributing to the ASEAN Community, and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large.

On this occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son also sent a letter of congratulations to Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sok Chenda Sophea.  VNS
HA NOI  Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong co-chaired the 5th Viet Nam-Australia Foreign Ministers Meeting on Tuesday during the latter's second official visit to Viet Nam.

The conference, which was an annual event maintained between the two foreign ministries, carried special significance as it took place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1973 - 2023).

During the conference, the two sides discussed the implementation of the Viet Nam-Australia Strategic Partnership, regional and international issues of mutual concern, and areas of cooperation between the two foreign ministries.

Both ministers expressed their delight in the strong and solid development of bilateral relations over the past 50 years. Particularly, the political relationship had been increasingly consolidated with growing trust. Security and defence cooperation had been effective, especially in UN peacekeeping efforts.

Economic and trade cooperation had thrived, with trade reaching nearly US$16 billion in 2022, turning Viet Nam into Australia's 10th largest trading partner, and making Australia Viet Nam's 7th largest trading partner.

New areas of cooperation such as climate change adaptation and clean energy were being actively promoted, including a 105-million-Australian dollar package allocated by Australia to support Viet Nam in building climate change resilience and clean energy development infrastructure.

Both ministers highly praised the close coordination and cooperation between the two foreign ministries, especially in facilitating high-level exchanges.

Both sides agreed to continue coordinating and organising activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and effectively implementing high-level agreements, including the intention to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced during the official visit to Australia by the National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue in December 2022.

The ministers exchanged information on regional and international developments of mutual interest, agreeing to enhance coordination between the two countries to contribute to regional peace, stability, and cooperation.

Minister Penny Wong emphasised Australia's commitment to cooperation and support for the central role of ASEAN and agreed to continue enhancing cooperation for the sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region.

Regarding the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) issue, both ministers underscored the importance of maintaining peace, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as respecting international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982.

Both sides agreed to continue supporting each other's candidacies in regional and international organisations and forums, particularly at the United Nations.  VNS
HA NOI  Belgian Senate President Stephanie DHose on Tuesday met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son as part of her official visit to Viet Nam, stressing that Belgium always treasures the cooperation and friendship with the Asian country.

She also praised Viet Nams socio-economic achievements following the pandemic, as well as the countrys position in the region and the world.

Foreign Minister Son believes that the top Belgian senators visit is an important milestone in the two countries relations, especially as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of the agricultural strategic partnership this year.

He said that Viet Nam always attached great importance to comprehensive cooperation with the European Union and Belgium.

The two leaders also agreed that there had been significant progress in the collaboration between Viet Nam and Belgium, as well as their legislative bodies, with more delegation exchanges expected in the future.

Son said that economic cooperation was an important pillar in their bilateral ties, believing that there is tremendous potential for growth in two-way trade and investment.

He hopes that the two countries can take advantage of the opportunities from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The Vietnamese foreign minister also requested that Belgium soon ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and work with the EU on removing the yellow card on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for Vietnamese seafood products.

This would help maintain the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fishermen while responding to the demands of European consumers, he said.

Senate President DHose said that the Belgian Federal Parliament was striving to ratify the EVIPA before the end of the current parliamentary term in 2024, and recognised Viet Nams efforts in combatting IUU fishing.

She said that Belgium was also willing to support Viet Nam in energy transition, agricultural development, climate change response, and overcoming the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin.

The two leaders also agreed to facilitate travelling between Viet Nam and Belgium for the people to promote cooperation in economic activities, trade and investment, as well as in multilateral and international forums.

The two countries will also work together at the United Nations 2023-2025 Human Rights Council for better efficiency, transparency and objectivity in the spirit of dialogue, cooperation, equality and mutual respect.  VNS
HA NOI  President Vo Van Thuong on Tuesday meets Belgian Senate President Stephanie DHose, saying that her visit will open up a new chapter in Viet Nam-Belgium relations.

President Thuong gave high regard to the results of the talks between the Belgian leader and National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, believing that this will be the foundation for further progress in cooperation between the two countries and their legislative bodies.

He also appreciated the resolution on supporting Agent Orange/dioxin victims in Viet Nam, which is expected to be ratified soon by the Belgian House of Representatives.

The Vietnamese leader said this was a humanitarian action and hoped that all stakeholders could join hands with Viet Nam in overcoming the consequences of the toxin.

The President also hoped that there would be more delegation exchanges between the two countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation, adding that there is a lot of room for growth, especially in education, trade, investment, climate change response, digital transformation and green economy.

Senate President DHose also hoped that the two countries could take steps to facilitate travel between the two countries for people exchanges, trade and economic cooperation and tourism.

Sharing the same perspective, the Vietnamese president proposes better collaboration in international affairs, and that Belgium supports the stance of ASEAN and Viet Nam on issues regarding the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea).

This includes ensuring safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, and settling disputes through peaceful means and in accordance with international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).  VNS
HA NOI  President Vo Van Thuong received visiting Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court of Laos Viengthong Siphandon in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

Siphandon highlighted the close cooperation between the supreme courts of Laos and Viet Nam and informed her host about the outcomes of her talks with Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court of Vietnam Nguyen Hoa Binh earlier the same day.

The two sides discussed cooperation orientations and agreed to uphold the fine traditions of their countries special relationship, which has been nurtured by generations of leaders, she went on.

She stressed that the assistance and coordination from the supreme court of Vietnam formed an important source of support for the Lao side to fulfil its duties.

Highly valuing the talks outcomes, President Thuong said the Viet Nam-Laos special relationship was a priceless common asset both countries would need to maintain and promote. Therefore, it was necessary to keep frequent mutual visits and experience sharing between their agencies and localities so as to help each party better perform its tasks and contribute more to bilateral ties.

He applauded the cooperation results of the countries court sectors, affirming that Viet Nam was delighted at the Lao peoples achievements in economic development, defence and security, and also sympathised with the difficulties they are facing.

The host called on both sides to stay united to surmount difficulties and fulfil their duties. He attributed the attainments of the Viet Nam-Laos great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation partly to the substantial contributions by the two court sectors cooperation.

Thuong welcomed the two court sectors enhancement of ties in multiple aspects, especially the signing of cooperation deals among five peoples courts of the countries non-border localities, which he said would strongly and effectively foster their partnerships in the time to come.  VNS
HA NOI  Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court Nguyen Hoa Binh on Tuesday held talks with his Lao counterpart, Viengthong Siphandone, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam.

During their talks, Binh affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State, and people always attached importance to and give the highest priority to the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Viet Nam and Laos, considering it an invaluable asset with strategic importance to the revolutionary cause of each country.

He stressed the importance of unceasingly fostering and developing the Viet Nam-Laos special relationship in all areas, including the two countries' court sector.

The strengthening of cooperation had been bringing concrete and practical benefits to both court systems, contributing to the common development of each country, and tightening traditional cooperation and friendship between the two nations, he said.

For her part, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court of Laos Viengthong Siphandon thanked the Supreme People's Court of Viet Nam for its support, saying that the Party and State of Laos highly appreciate the close cooperation between the two courts.

She wished Laos would continue to receive support from the Supreme People's Court of Viet Nam in the future.

After their talks, the two officials witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the five People's Courts of provinces that do not share border of Viet Nam and Laos.

Chief Justice Binh emphasised that the signing of the MoU of the five provincial People's Courts had brought the cooperation of the two countries' courts to a new and more substantive height.

On this occasion, the Supreme People's Court of Viet Nam received the first-class Labour Order and Certificate of Merit awarded by the President and Prime Minister of Laos in recognition of its contributions to the cause of construction and development of the special friendship and cooperation between the Party, State and people of the two countries. VNA/VNS
TIEN GIANG  Farmers in Tien Giang Provinces Tan Phuoc District have expanded growing pineapple and improved their lives from growing the fruit.

Located in ong Thap Muoi (Plan of Reeds) region, the district has nearly 15,400ha of pineapple and is the provinces largest pineapple growing area.

It used to grow only cajuput and water chestnut more than 30 years ago, but farmers here have gradually restructured their agriculture production and grown other crops such as rice, purple yam, dragon fruit, lime, grapefruit, durian and pineapple.

Of those crops, pineapple is the districts key plant.

Pineapple is suitable for growing in the districts alum-affected soil, according to local farmers.

Bui Huu Thien in Phu My Commune said he had 3ha of pineapple when he started growing the fruit nearly 15 years ago and now has 20ha with an annual output of 500 tonnes.

Pineapple does not require much tending and if farmers are busy and do not tend their pineapple fields for a period of seven to 10 days, they are still fine, he said.

Pineapple is easy to grow, has stable buyers and has a low risk of losses, he said.

Farmers in the district have harvested more than 7,800ha with an average yield of 20 tonnes of pineapple per hectare a year so far this year.

Tran Hoang Phong, chairman of the district Peoples Committee, said farmers have gotten bumper harvests and good selling prices this year, and therefore high incomes and stable lives.

The price of pineapple is VN7,500-9,500 (31-39 US cents) a kilogramme this year, up nearly two times against last year, and with this price, farmers earn more than VN100 million ($4,200) per hectare a year, he said.

Nguyen Thanh Tung in Thanh My Commune has 4ha of pineapple and uses intensive growing techniques to increase yield and quality.

He also uses advanced techniques to produce off-season pineapples and has harvests year round, he said.

He has harvested about two tonnes of pineapple and sold them at a price of VN9,000 a kilogramme in the last harvest and earns a profit of VN20 million ($840), he said.

To promote the potential and strength of pineapple in the ong Thap Muoi region, the district has developed specialised pineapple growing areas and provided farmers advanced growing techniques to improve yield and quality.

With techniques of growing off-season pineapple, farmers have expanded producing the fruit year round and reduced its oversupply in the main harvest season.

The district produces more than 260,000 tonnes of pineapple a year and the sales of the fruit have become easier as the development of roads in the district in recent years has facilitated the fruit's transportation to other places.

Huynh Van Buon, head of the district Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the cultivation of pineapple has had high production efficiency in past years and most pineapple growing areas are those which have flood prevention embankments to protect them from flooding.

The district has eight co-operatives which link with farmers to grow pineapple and guarantee buyers for them.

It also has 19 sites that buy pineapple and sell them to other provinces and cities nationwide and to companies that process pineapple products for exports.

The district has produced many pineapple-related products such as candy, jam and juice.

The production of pineapple-related products has created more jobs for local people and increased the added value of pineapple.  VNS
HA NOI  Provinces and cities across the country, including those seriously damaged by a typhoon recently, are ready to welcome the new school year, which will start on September 5.

In Yen Bai northern mountainous province, a report of the Mu Cang Chai District Division for Education and Training said that the Ho Bon Commune Primary and Junior Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Students and the Xeo Di Ho Primary School in Lao Chai Commune were seriously destroyed by the typhoon on August 5.

The Xeo Di Ho Schools kitchen was completely destroyed and all of the 7,000sq.m of the Ho Bon School was submerged by soil and rock.

Nguyen Anh Thuy, head of the division, said that between August 9 and 13, on average, from 70 to 120 people from different units in the district came to the Ho Bon School per day to repair the damage.

With much effort, now all schools in the district are in acceptable conditions, including infrastructure, teaching and learning equipment, kitchens and boarding rooms for students ahead of the new school year.

A representative from the Yen Bai Province Department of Education and Training (DoET) told the Vietnam News Agency correspondent that an organisation sponsored textbooks for the Ho Bon School.

Secretary of the Yen Bai Party Committee o uc Duy highly appreciated the cooperation of all sectors, especially the armed forces, in helping schools overcome the consequences of typhoon.

Four teachers whose houses completely collapsed in the typhoon are still dedicated to education.

Sung A Binh, chairman of the Ho Bon Commune Peoples Committee, said that the Ho Bon School now ensured accommodation and hygiene for students.

All other places in the school will continue to be improved to be ready for the new school year on September 5.

In Kien Giang southern province, deputy director of the provincial DoET Huynh Van Hoa said that the province built and repaired classrooms and other necessary works to ensure all the best conditions for the opening of the new school year.

The province invested nearly VN100 billion (US$4.2 million) to build 833 classrooms, repair more than 800 others and equip 4,330 sets of computers and many other equipment.

The schools appearance, especially the ones in rural, border and islands areas, was significantly changed, meeting the requirements of teaching and learning, he said.

The province has a total of 345,130 students at different levels in the school year 2023-24. The education sector worked with local authorities and concerned organisations to support poor students to have the maximum number of students who can go to school.

The south central province of Ninh Thuan will have more than 149,100 students this school year, an increase of about 3,700 ones compared with the last school year.

To well conduct all duties this year, the province spent about VN370 billion ($15.6 million) to build 365 classrooms, repair 398 others and five swimming pools for schools.

Nguyen Anh Linh, deputy director of the provincial DoET, said that the department organised training courses to enhance teachers professional capacity and renewed their teaching methods.  VNS
HA NOI  The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed to the Government two options to manage foreign workers in Viet Nam.

The first is allowing the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in provinces and cities to manage foreign labourers working in the localities, including granting work permits while the second option is assigning the provincial Peoples Committee to manage foreign workers in the localities.

The proposal came after the ministry submitted the draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 152/2020/N-CP featuring regulations on foreigners working in Viet Nam and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese working for foreign organisations and individuals in Viet Nam.

The proposal is expected to create favourable conditions for agencies, organisations and enterprises to recruit foreign workers with high professional and technical qualifications as well as experience to positions that Vietnamese workers have not been able to undertake and meet the needs of high-qualified human resource development.

The ministry assessed that the advantage of the first option is to ensure unified State management and promote decentralisation so that employers have only to go to one agency in a locality to apply for foreign workers work permits.

It will also ensure compliance with the provisions of the Law on Organisation of Local Government, which regulated that specialised agencies under the People's Committee at the provincial and district levels, is the advisory agency helping the committee perform the function of State management.

The second option is assigning the provincial Peoples Committee to manage foreign labourers.

The ministry said the advantage of this option is allowing the provincial People's Committee to authorise a local specialised agency to manage foreign workers.

However, it may not unify the State management of recruitment and management of foreign workers if the committee wants to authorise another agency to manage foreign workers instead of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Currently, depending on their jobs, foreign workers who want to apply for work permit in Viet Nam have to register with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs where they work.

Le Thi Hong Minh, a representative of Coway Vina Co. Ltd., talked to Lao ong (Labour) online newspaper that she favoured the first option.

She said the assignment of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to manage foreign workers in a province or city will help to unify regulations and being convenient for work permit application, saving both time and costs for foreign workers.

Trinh Thi Thu, a recruitment specialist of Sumi-Hanel Wiring Company Limited, also voted the first option.

She said that if the second option is chosen, meaning that the provincial People's Committee authorises will be able to authorise another agency in the province to manage foreign workers instead of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, it will not ensure the unified State management of foreign workers in the country.

Foreign workers university degree regulations loosen

For foreign experts, the draft decree proposed that a foreign expert only needs relevant experience and a university degree to be granted a work permit. He or she is not required a university degree related to their work position in Viet Nam.

For foreign technical workers, they only need to have appropriate experience and be trained for at least one year to be granted work permit in Viet Nam.

The draft decree also said the foreign experts and technical workers are recommended to use their already-issued work permits to demonstrate experience.

Foreign labourers working in multiple locations in the country only need one work permit, the draft decree said.

Statistics of the ministry showed that, as of June 2023, there are 121,288 foreign workers working in Viet Nam.  VNS
HCM CITY  A Red Cross delegation from the Republic of Korea visited six high schools in HCM City on August 19-21 and met with students there as part of supervision of a three-year project.

The US$1.5 million project funded by the Republic of Korea National Red Cross, Empowering and Enhancing Skills and Capacity of Viet Nam Red Cross Youth and Volunteers toward Community Resilience in Viet Nam, is being implemented in HCM City and the provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen since June last year.

It is aimed at strengthening the capacity of youth and Red Cross Society volunteers in disaster and emergency response and community work, Tran Van Tuan, deputy president of the Red Cross Societys HCM City Chapter and director of the project in HCM City, said.

In HCM City, the six high schools to benefit are Hiep Binh, Thu Thiem, Nguyen Hue, Phuoc Long, ao Son Tay, and Nguyen Van Tang, he said.

It also upgrades facilities for reading, painting and physical activities and equipment for clean water.

Training in first aid, firefighting, drowning prevention, and school safety is given to both teachers and students at the schools.

Young Pyo Koo of the Korean Red Cross and head of the project supervision team, appreciated the progress made by the project and its positive effects on the schools.  VNS
HA NOI  Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong took a stroll around the iconic Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake in the very heart of Ha Noi and enjoyed an egg coffee, a signature drink of the capital city, on Tuesday morning.

This is Wongs second visit to Viet Nam in her capacity as foreign minister of Australia, following her first in June 2022 when she tried pho ga (chicken noodle soup), a famous traditional dish of Viet Nam.

Egg coffee was among the food and drink items served to local and international journalists covering the second summit between the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States in Ha Noi in 2019.

The Australian FMs visit comes as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations and five years of strategic partnership this year.  VNS
HA NOI  The Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, has announced five candidates for the position of WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific for the term 2024-2029, with a candidate from Viet Nam  Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Giang Huong.

Previously, Vietnamese Minister of Health ao Hong Lan has officially sent a letter to the WHO Director General nominating Huong for the position. This is the first time that Viet Nam has a candidate for this important position of WHO.

Huong, born in 1968, is an expert in public health and global health with more than 32 years of experience, holding many important positions in the health sector such as Director of the Health Ministrys International Cooperation Department, Chair of ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD) in the term of 2014-2016, Chair of APEC Health Working Group (2011-2012 and 2017-2018), Alternate Member of the WHO Executive Board, World Health Assembly (2016-2019). From July 2019 to now, Huong is Director of the Disease Control Programmes of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

The doctor has made important and effective contributions to the cause of public health care and international integration of Viet Nams health sector, enhancing the role and position of the health sector in the region and in the world.

As Director of the Disease Control Programmes of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, Huong has made important contributions to the prevention and control of COVID-19, infectious and non-communicable diseases, the improvement of mental health and the elimination of malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion and neglected tropical diseases. She also contributed to the implementation of the expanded vaccination programme and many other public health programmes.

According to WHO regulations, the candidates will conduct consultations with Member States and then secret voting will be held to nominate the next Regional Director in a closed meeting during the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific taking place from October 16-20 this year in Manila, the Philippines.

The other candidates for the position are Dr Song Li, proposed by China; Dr Susan Mercado, proposed by the Philippines; Dr Jimmie Rodgers, proposed by Solomon Islands; and Saia Mau Piukala, proposed by Tonga.  VNS
Dorsati Madani, senior country economist at the World Bank in Vietnam, last week said that to ensure economic stability featured with stable production and an increase in investment, one of the biggest priorities now is to establish a stable power transmission system, with solutions to address power shortage problems.

Power is vital for production in Vietnam now, and it is also a significant input for economic growth. Investors and enterprises dont want to suffer from power shortage problems, Madani said.

In the recent summer, sudden power cuts caused great losses of 0.3 per cent of GDP to the national economic growth. The power sector has been an enabler of Vietnams fast and inclusive economic development over the past three decades. However, if power shortages and power cuts continue, Vietnams economic growth will continue to be undermined.

Power shortages are causing short- and long-term issues for the operations of many enterprises

By the end of 2021, 99.8 per cent of the population had access to electricity. Since the turn of the century, the power sector was able to serve a parallel 10 per cent annual electricity demand growth by installing a 16-fold larger generation capacity, from 5GW in 2000 to 81GW in 2023.

Transmission backbone lines also expanded almost four-fold over the same timeframe, and overall the sector has provided reliable electricity services for a growing population and the economy.

However, during May and June this year, northern Vietnam experienced recurrent power outages that affected households and enterprises on a large scale. In May, a peak demand supply deficit of 5.4GW occurred. The situation improved over June, and was resolved in July due to increased water availability.

Power shortages during dry season also occurred in the summer of 2022 with an estimated peak demand supply deficit of 1.8GW. The preliminary estimate of economic costs for the May-June power outages is about $1.4 billion (or 0.3 per cent of GDP), said the World Bank in its Vietnamese economic outlook released two weeks ago.

Such a financial loss has been calculated based on an estimated unserved demand of 36GWh in 2022 and about 900GWh estimated for May and June.

The World Bank cited a small industry survey conducted by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) among its members in June as stating that businesses in the north reported losses of up to 10 per cent of revenues.

Based on the estimated supply deficit through June, unserved energy demand will also result in lost revenues for Vietnam Electricity (EVN) of approximately $75 million.

Supply imbalances are currently a northern issue, where demand has been growing at a higher rate of 10 per cent compared to 8.5 per cent nationwide, and been becoming more seasonal in May-July. This results from the combined effect of a supply reliance on hydro and coal-based generation and delays in generation and transmission investments, the latter preventing access to large surplus capacity in the south of about 20GW.

Prompt action is needed to mitigate future risks to energy security and economic losses, the World Bank said. Demand side management interventions can be deployed immediately to tackle power shortages, for example load shifting of industrial loads.

According to the World Bank, critical short-term measures include avoiding any delays in the 2024 and 2025 schedules for power plant commercial operations; fast-tracking approval and implementation of transmission investments; and diversifying supply resources, from the composition of the energy mix by 2025 to increased reliance on regional imports.

Energy efficiency measures can also have a relevant impact if compulsory targets and a monitoring system are immediately established as per the Law on Energy Efficiency and Conservation and through secondary regulatory instruments, the World Bank said.

Under a Q2 survey conducted by EuroCham over its 1,300 members across a diverse range of sectors, respondents lamented the negative impacts of power shortages on their operations.

The survey report highlights the pressing concern of power shortages that significantly impacted businesses during the survey period. Although there has been some relief due to recent rainfall, around 60 per cent of respondents experienced the repercussions of these shortages on their business operations. This manifested in reduced operational efficiency, decreased productivity, and disruptions in production and services.

Ensuring long-term solutions to address power supply stability remains a priority for sustaining business performance and overall economic resilience.

It is crucial now for the Vietnamese government to come up with long-term plans to address the recent power shortage problem, considering its cyclic nature. By taking prompt and comprehensive action, we can not only attract foreign investment but also ensure a resilient economy capable of overcoming future obstacles, said EuroCham chairman Gabor Fluit.

The Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam said that power cuts in this summer forced many of its member companies to halt operations and miss deadlines for orders, with the working time of their employees seriously affected.

South Korean firms suffered dual losses. Facing power cuts without prior notice, the workers still went to the factories and sat idle. Meanwhile, the production lines had to suspend operations and the companies still had to pay salaries, said chairman Hong Sun.

Sudden power cuts have also marred machines, affecting the quality of products. What is more, suspending operations has also undermined the completion of orders, and even delayed exports, Sun added.

The General Statistics Office reported that Vietnams production and distribution increased 4.1 per cent on-year in July and 1.4 per cent in the first seven months of 2023.

EVN reported that in the first seven months, the total domestically produced electricity volume was estimated to be 161.8 billion, up 2.7 per cent compared to last year, but 862 million kWh lower than the initial plan for 2023.

PM stresses urgent need for keeping power supply, demand balanced Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting in Hanoi on April 3 to look into the electricity supply and the provision of coal and gas for power generation.
According to a report by FiinGroup, the growth of Vietnam's key agricultural products can be attributed to the 'Zero COVID' policy of China, unfavourable weather conditions for commodity production in other Asian countries, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the rising prices of Robusta coffee.

Notably, the policy in China, being Vietnam's largest trading partner, stimulated higher demand for fruits and vegetables, thereby elevating the export value of this crucial commodity group.

For rice, the export value surged due to a combination of factors, including potential declines in rice production in various Asian countries due to the hostile climate phenomenon of El Nino, and geopolitical issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, leading to increased global food reserves.

Despite weather-related challenges impacting coffee production, the rising prices of Robusta coffee significantly supported the growth of coffee export value during the first half of the year.

The favourable growth in agricultural exports has indeed provided some relief to agricultural enterprises amidst the volatile business environment.

Indeed, there is a clear correlation between the resurgence in export activities within the agricultural sector and the revenue growth of agricultural enterprises during 2021 and 2022. FiinGroup's data reveals that net revenue growth experienced a decline in 2020, primarily due to the severe impact of the pandemic.

However, subsequent years witnessed a remarkable recovery and substantial growth, particularly evident in the rice and vegetable industries, achieving impressive growth rates of 46.5 per cent and 23.2 per cent respectively in 2022.

The recovery in export values of agricultural commodities served as a pivotal driving force behind the industry's positive financial performance, fostering an environment of resilience and growth.

Despite promising indicators, the future trajectory of the sector heavily relies on the ability of Vietnamese enterprises to take proactive measures to effectively confront a range of challenges. Undoubtedly, the sector's post-pandemic revival and favourable export performance constitute notable strides forward.

"However, amidst the backdrop of global macroeconomic fluctuations encompassing production costs, trade tensions, and the effects of climate change, there exist potential impediments in the foreseeable horizon. To maintain competitiveness and secure their position in the market, agricultural enterprises must prioritise strategic adaptability and engage in comprehensive risk analysis as they navigate the uncertainties ahead," the report said.

Agricultural businesses in dire need of workers Difficulty in recruiting workers, including both unskilled and trained workers, has led to labour shortages and major headaches for many agricultural enterprises.

Boosting HR quality for sustainable agriculture, rural development On August 4 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a conference on agricultural human resource training and boosting southern rural areas for sustainable development.
A KOL is defined as an organisation or person who has specialised knowledge, expertise, or influence in their field or profession. When used in everyday conversation, the association is that of a celebrity, whether it being a film actress, a musician, or a streamer on digital media platforms and the like.

Nguyen Pham The Lan, lawyer at Dentons LuatViet

Many businesses recently have employed KOLs to promote their products or services to potential customers. Since it is a relatively new business practice, there is still a lot of uncertainty around contracting and working with KOLs.

KOLs must understand that their influence on their fans is the main driver of their ability to make money. Nearly all businesses establish themselves as LLC or JSC for liability protection and enterprise flexibility. Most contracts I have reviewed have KOLs signing the contract as an individual person, not as a business entity.

A business-minded person should always separate their business identity and personal identity. Moreover, establishing the KOL brand as a business entity allows the KOL to scale up in the future if they have early success.

Definition and understanding

Most KOL contracts fall into three categories: project-based, definite term, and indefinite term contracts. A project-based contract begins and ends with the start and finish of the project. A definite term contract has a beginning and end date. An indefinite term contract has a beginning date, but no end date.

Both the definite and indefinite term contracts should have additional project-based contract addendums that define and detail the scope of work as an integral part of the contract.

Upon review of many contracts throughout the years, the legal and financial obligations of both parties are not always clear. Many contracts have vague references to campaigns, promotions, and projects that the parties will engage together in. A contract should have clear obligations, the length of time for each proposed project, the resources allocated, the budget, who has approval discretion, and so forth.

Vague scope of work in the contracts are acceptable only if there are more specific project-based addendums to be added at a later date with specific reference to it.

Some of the biggest issues I have seen between the parties are about exclusivity of the product and ownership of intellectual property. Parties are usually not on the same page about how exclusivity applies, and have not carefully thought about the reach of the exclusivity and ownership rights. Contracts need to clearly define the rights to which platform, types of media, content, product, etc. when discussing non-competes, exclusivity, and intellectual property rights.

Often, a party requests the KOL to engage in a non-compete or exclusive agreement with them whereby they cannot sign with any other competitors, even after the contract term expires. I have even seen management contracts that effectively give one party direct access to all the KOLs social media profiles, with the right to register and own all additional social media profiles of KOLs in perpetuity.

I have also seen production contracts in which the production company retains the intellectual property rights to all products that use the name, image, and likeness of the KOLs permanently after the end of the term of the contract between the parties. Simply, KOLs should always seek counsel to fully understand what rights they are conferring to the other party. Conferring too much away may hinder future growth, flexibility, and earning potential.

I have seen A-list celebrities sign predatory contracts at the beginning of their careers when they do not have proper counsel to advise them. Many new and fresh KOLs believe that any financial and commercial support are good deals, but if KOLs believe in themselves, they should not handcuff themselves and should be in control of their own destiny.

I have also seen many KOLs refuse to sign a contract if there are too many requirements and rights to be conferred, and many businesses are also willing to take a risk and permit them to sign a favourable contract.

But what happens when the parties disagree on something? Sometimes, both parties view signing contracts as a mere business formality, but never are the parties ever fully in agreement on their intentions and understandings. Once there is a disagreement, both parties understand what rights and obligations are in the contract and it will lead to a more amicable discussion to resolve any disagreement.

If such disagreement cannot be resolved between the two parties, there should always be a dispute resolution option for the parties to avail themselves too. It is best to figure out how to solve a potential issue in the contract, before it becomes an unsolvable bigger issue in the future.

Reputation and fit matter

There can be a generational gap between marketing executives and KOLs. Marketing executives tend to be, though not always, of the millennial generation or Generation X. Both generations are often confused and do not fully understand Generation Z. However, Generation Z is the biggest generation in Vietnam by population and must be understood as the consumer class of the future.

Consider a Gen-Z KOL who engages in humour that does not make much sense to older generations. The business may not fully understand what is going on and, depending on the terms and conditions of the contract, may have the right to prohibit the Gen-Z KOL from publicising such content.

On the other hand, consider a business that adheres to old-fashioned and dated social beliefs and attitudes. A Gen-Z KOL usually should not choose to be associated with that company because the fan base may be alienated. Basically, both KOLs and businesses can have their reputations severely damaged by being associated with each other if they do not have common ground and a suitable fit for each other.

KOLs must be careful who they contract with, and vice versa. A bad fit will ruin reputations and affect future earning possibilities. An aspiring KOL must always consider suitability, fit, and the message they want to spread instead of only choosing based on the opportunity that pays the most.

Furthermore, the industry size is minimal, and reputation matters. A KOL who is difficult to work with, or a business that offers predatory contracts, becomes known rapidly. People talk and it is in the interest of both parties to work collaboratively and professionally.

A business contract should be mutually beneficial for both parties. Both parties in a KOL contract should always aim to have mutual incentives aligned. An extra incentive such as a bonus for the number of views or likes on a platform will create motivation for both parties to perform with best and maximum efforts. I have not seen many contracts that contain creative incentive structures. Incentive structures will also allow both parties to grow and succeed together.

Growth and success are what both KOL and businesses are after. Both parties must work together, align interests, understand their rights and obligations with one another, and operate their businesses professionally and competently to achieve optimal growth and success.

ChatGPT and its potential legal implications in Vietnam ChatGPT is the topic on almost everyones lips at this great juncture in Vietnam. Even high school kids will be trained for this technology so that they can know how and when to use and not to use it in their studying and future careers. The big question remains, nonetheless, as to the legal implications this technology carries.
Hoa Lac urban area in Hanoi's Thach That district strives to become the largest satellite urban area planned around the centre of the capital. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The capital city of Hanoi is striving to increase its urbanisation rate to 60-62 per cent by 2025 and around 65-75 per cent by 2030.

The objectives are included in an action programme issued by the municipal Party Committee that outlines its efforts to implement the Politburo's Resolution No.06-NQ/TW, dated January 24, 2022, on the planning, construction, management, and sustainable development of urban areas in Vietnam to 2030, with a vision to 2045.



Other key targets are to expand the urban construction area to about 30 per cent of the total natural land area by 2025 and 33-36 per cent by 2030.



The city intends to complete the planning of all districts and satellite urban areas, as well as concrete planning for renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings.



The city will invest in building new hospitals, with priority given to the early completion of construction on four large general hospitals at the gateways of the capital city, and fulfilling the target of 30-35 beds per 10,000 people by 2025.



The municipal Peoples Committee will strive for the average GRDP growth rate in the 2021 - 2025 period to be higher than the countrys average, GRDP in the 2026 - 2030 period to increase by 8.0 - 8.5 per cent a year, and per capita GRDP of 12,000 - 13,000 USD. The proportion of processing and manufacturing in the GRDP will be 17 per cent by 2025, 20 per cent by 2030; and digital economy 25-30 per cent by 2025 and 35-40 per cent by 2030.

New bus route to Hanoi"s airport The Ministry of Transport has just agreed with the Hanoi People's Committee to open a new electric bus route, the E10, departing from Vinhomes Ocean Park urban area in Gia Lam district to the Noi Bai International Airport.
The high-speed rail is an approximately 140-km connection that links Jakarta to West Java province's Bandung city. (Photo: KCIC)

Jakarta - Indonesia's high-speed rail service, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, is set to begin commercial operations as early as October following repeated delays.

As reported by Nikkei Asia, the Indonesian-Chinese consortium Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) set October as the new opening date after pushing back the previous timeline of August. KCIC will use the extra time to conduct further test runs to ensure safety.



President Joko Widodo said last week that he expected to take part in September trial runs for the Jakarta Bandung High Speed Rail. He noted that as soon as everything is ready, the rail will be put into operation.



A trial launch is planned for September and October, when near-by residents can ride free of charge.



The high-speed rail is an approximately 140-km connection that links Jakarta to West Java province's Bandung city. The service will have a top operating speed of roughly 350km per hour, and the entire line can be traversed in as little as 36 minutes.



Test runs have been conducted since May, with speed steadily increased. The train reportedly traveled as fast at 385km per hour, the highest technically feasible velocity.

Indonesia strives to convert motorbikes into EVs The Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry of Indonesia is working hard to convert conventional motorbikes into electric vehicles (EVs) to achieve the target of net-zero emissions by 2060.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks at the event (Photo: Antara)

Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called on member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to cooperate together in the fight against cross-border crimes.

Speaking at the 17th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Trans-border Crime (AMMTC) in East Nusa Tenggara province on August 21, Widodo highlighted the need to build sustainable collaboration in exchanging information, utilising technology, as well as increasing the capacity and professionalism of the apparatus.

In the midst of global dynamics, he said ASEAN should always be ready to face challenges, including eradicating transnational crimes that pose a grave threat to the region's security and stability, adding that amid the current technological advancements, transnational crimes are growing at a massive scale and in more complex ways.

Hence, to this end, he pressed for the handling of these crimes to also be more adaptive, especially in relation to criminal acts of terrorism, criminal acts of human trafficking, and illicit narcotics trade.

The President hoped that at this meeting, a responsive cooperation agenda can be formulated, which contains strategic steps so that a safe, peaceful, and prosperous ASEAN region could be maintained.

Indonesia: Lower coffee production forecast due to El Nino Drought caused by El Nino is likely to further reduce the coffee production of Indonesia after excessive rains dragged down output to its lowest in more than a decade, driving global prices to all-time highs.
With more than 26 years of establishment and growth, Masan Group stands as a leading enterprise in Vietnam's consumer and retail sector. Currently, it operates a network exceeding 3,500 sales outlets, catering to a broad range of consumer requirements.

The group champions inventive strategies and technological investments, fostering the creation of diverse, top-tier products to meet domestic demand while also facilitating exports to key markets including the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Canada.

In the first half of 2023, Masan recorded total assets of around $5.9 billion, with total equity amounting to $1.57 billion. Cash and cash equivalents totalled $564.6 million.

Furthermore, during the second quarter of 2023, the company's free cash flow witnessed consistent improvement, surging to $69.6 million in comparison to a mere $6.8 million during the same period in 2022.

Since the start of the year, Masan has gained recognition and awards from renowned domestic and international entities.

11th straight Forbes Top 50 Listed Companies recognition

On August 17, Masan Group was honoured during the unveiling event for 2023's Top 50 Listed Companies, hosted by Forbes in Ho Chi Minh City. Remarkably, this marks Masan's continuous presence in this list for the 11th consecutive year.

To secure a place on this roster, listed companies are required to have demonstrated profitability in 2022 and maintained a minimum revenue and capitalisation of $20.9 million.

Furthermore, companies undergo a quantitative evaluation based on the five key criteria of compound growth rates encompassing revenue, profit, return on equity, return on capital, and earnings per share (EPS) expansion during the 2018-2022 timeframe.

This is followed by an analytical assessment by Forbes Vietnam, which delves into the sustainable advancements of enterprises, encompassing factors such as industry standing, profit sources, the effectiveness of corporate governance, and industry prospects.

Amidst a stagnant real estate market and subdued domestic consumption, Masan's achievement of growth, and inclusion in the Top 50 Listed Companies, attest to the enduring strength of its core consumer-focused business segment and robust financial underpinnings, underscoring the resilience and sustainability of its operations.

Consistently prioritising the welfare of shareholders and investors

Since its debut on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in 2009, Masan Group's MSN stock has consistently garnered significant interest from both domestic and international investors.

As emphasised by the Board of Directors, its investor relations (IR) remains highly regarded, aiming to ensure transparent and accessible information exchange while fostering equitable opportunities for all backers.

Thanks to the report's calibre and the establishment of an autonomous audit committee that is engaged with reputable international audit firms, Masan underscores its dedication to swiftly and comprehensively disseminating information, thereby fostering robust connections with shareholders and investors.

In the 2023 IR Award poll hosted by Vietstock, Masan Group secured a spot among the top 45 premier listed companies, thus progressing to the final round of voting.

Furthermore, J.P. Morgan, a global entity renowned for its financial services, investment banking, and wealth management expertise, has projected substantial growth potential for Masan shares.

In precise terms, J.P. Morgan's forecast sets the target price for MSN stock at VND102,000 ($4.28) per share in 2024. Moreover, the projection anticipates an average compound annual growth rate of 36 per cent for EPS from 2023 to 2025.

As per J.P. Morgan's assessment, Masan's prominent status within such a promising retail market and its strategic capital allocation directed towards its consumer and retail core underscores its leadership quality.

This steadfast commitment to nurturing the consumer market has culminated in Masan's emergence as a prime exemplar of Vietnam's captivating consumer narrative.

Best places to work for in Asia

In business, human resources consistently stand out as the most invaluable asset, serving as the driving force behind growth and the realisation of objectives.

Annually, in a tribute to enterprises that are steadfastly dedicated to enhancing employee contentment, wellbeing, and advancement, HR Asia orchestrates a comprehensive survey spanning Asia, culminating in the compilation of Best Places to Work for in Asia.

In Vietnam, the evaluation encompassed nearly 650 companies, and the survey involved nearly 50,000 employees, ranging from grassroots staff to senior personnel  including executives and human resources directors.

This year, Masan Group was honoured with the two prestigious awards of Best Companies to Work for in Asia and special recognition in the category of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This accolade marks a significant milestone in Masan's journey towards creating an exceptional workplace that embraces equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

Masan's net revenues reach $1.57 billion in first half of 2023 Masan Group Corporation (HSX:MSN) on July 28 released its unaudited management accounts for the first half of 2023, when challenging macro conditions continued to put a dent in both consumer and business confidence.

Masan Group named one of the Best Companies to Work for in Asia At the HR Asia Awards ceremony, Masan Group was honoured as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Asia. At the same time, the company also won the special award category of HR Asia Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Nearly 2,000 Thai businesses forced to close in July, Illustrative image (Photo source: The Nation)

Bangkok - Many Thai businesses are struggling to continue operations, with 1,867 enterprises shutting up shop in July, The Nation newspaper reported.



The figure represents an 18.70 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, but in line with the trends in business closures over the past five years, it said.



Sources at the Ministry of Commerce said some of the businesses closed due to their adjustments to align with changing market conditions and consumer behaviour. The closure trends have been observed across various sectors, with general construction recording 175 closures (9 per cent), real estate 103 (6 per cent) and hotels/restaurants 43 (2 per cent).



The ministry also categorised closures based on capital ranges. Businesses with a capital of less than 1 million baht (23,368 USD) accounted for 1,342 closures (71.88 per cent). Those with capital between 1 and 5 million baht saw 455 closures (24.37 per cent), those with between 5 and 100 million baht accounted for 63 closures (3.37 per cent), and those with capital exceeding 100 million baht saw 7 closures (0.37 per cent).

Export turnover of crude oil to Thailand soars The export turnover of crude oil to Thailand reported an increase of 200 per cent in July only, contributing to generating a revenue of $455 million for the first seven months.
A state council established to appraise $1.09 billion Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh Expressway. (Perspective of Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh section)

The minister of Planning and Investment has been appointed as the chairman of the council, and the vice chairman is the deputy minister of Planning and Investment. The other members are the representatives of the ministries of Transport, Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, and Agriculture and Rural Development, among others.

The project has a total length of nearly 129km, passing through Binh Phuoc for 101km and the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong province for 27.8km.

It has a total investment of nearly $1.09 billion, including more than $675 million for construction and around $195 million for site clearance.

The construction will be implemented under the public-private partnership model, at which $421 million will be earmarked from the state budget and $170 million from the provincial budget. The remainder will be mobilised from investors.

The Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh section belongs to the western part of the North-South Expressway project, which was approved as part of the Vietnam Road Network Development Plan for 2021-2030 and beyond.

The project will tighten the regional linkage and is expected to create a breakthrough for local socioeconomic growth and investment capital attraction.

Tran Van Mi, Deputy Chairman of Binh Phuoc Peoples Committee, told VIR that promoting the linkage was an important content of Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW dated 2022 of the Politburo on socioeconomic development and assurance of national defence and security in the Southeast region to 2030 and beyond.

Binh Phuocs investment attraction faces the bottleneck in regional linkage, thus, once these two projects are developed, they will remove the bottleneck, paving the way for the investors to the province. We expect to double the coming capital compared to the current figure once the regional linkage is smooth, Mi said.

The southern province of Binh Phuoc became one of Vietnams top 10 foreign-invested recipients for the first time in the first half of this year, after attracting 16 foreign projects worth of $632 million. This was a more than 12-fold increase compared to the first half of 2022 and represented 200 per cent of the annual target.

PM chairs meeting on investment plans for expressways Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 12 chaired a meeting with ministries, sectors and localities, discussing plans to invest in an expressway connecting the northern provinces of Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh and Thai Binh, and another linking Gia Nghia city in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and Chon Thanh township in southern Binh Phuoc province.

Cambodia to start construction of expressway to Vietnam Cambodia is scheduled to start the construction of the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway close to Vietnams Moc Bai international border gate in June 2023, said Sun Chanthol, Minister of Public Works and Transport of Cambodia.

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.

Four mega highway projects to kick off The construction of inter-regional highway projects and Ho Chi Minh Citys Ring Road No.3 will start in mid-June, according to the prime minister's plan.
Nguyen Trung Kien, CEO of smart camera solutions group Pavana, revealed that the Asia-Pacific region accounted for one-third of global camera demand in 2022, based on statistics from Market Data Forecast.

Tech advances warrant surveillance upgrade, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Specifically in Vietnam, the annual growth rate of the surveillance camera market has reached 12 per cent. Beyond domestic use, these devices are increasingly deployed in public security infrastructure, he said at a conference focusing on Vietnamese-made security camera devices held late last month.

However, most of the cameras utilised domestically originate from abroad. According to Pavana data as of October 2022, Vietnam imports an average of five million surveillance cameras annually, with over 90 per cent bearing Chinese brand names.

Kien expressed grave concerns over this trend, highlighting the inherent risks to data and information security. Confidential business information, manufacturing technologies, and research and development insights could potentially be compromised if not adequately protected, he explained.

Ngo Tuan Anh, CEO of cybersecurity firm SCS, added that there have been several reported instances of data breaches linked to cameras both globally and in Vietnam.

For instance, sensitive footage from 50,000 cameras, some of which were from Southeast Asian households, surfaced on the dark web in 2020. Furthermore, imagery from 150,000 Verkada cameras was leaked in 2021 due to the compromise of a system administrators account.

Particularly, in Vietnam, numerous Hikvision camera users faced hacker intrusions and received on-screen notifications stemming from a severe, unpatched vulnerability, Anh said. No system can be fully secure. Hence, it is imperative to have robust monitoring to detect anomalies promptly, allowing immediate responses to minimise risks.

He also mentioned that a large proportion of these breaches arise from users setting weak or predictable passwords. However, there are also multiple instances caused by inherent vulnerabilities in the cameras, their connectivity systems, operating procedures, or user applications.

Anh also underlined the need for robust security across all these areas, stating that everything from hardware manufacturing to firmware development, connectivity, cloud storage, and data processing requires dedicated security solutions.

Highlighting the importance of an end-to-end security process, Kien of Pavana proposed not only scrutinising the production location but also other facets like electronic circuit design, software control, transmission, server management systems, and user protection systems.

These processes should be based in Vietnam for improved control. Having designed and manufactured products for several US, European, and Japanese camera brands, we believe that having more Vietnamese-made products is not that challenging. Yet, the key is achieving a large scale to ensure cost-effectiveness, Kien stated.

He also advised domestic producers to focus on AI-enabled camera designs to differentiate their products, competing on quality and features rather than just price.

Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, deputy head of the ICT Department at the Ministry of Information and Communications, emphasised Vietnams need for domestic digital technology platforms and products, including security cameras.

The ministry recognises the paramount importance of ensuring data security for surveillance cameras. Moving forward, we will review and establish standards for these devices, ensuring that products on the market meet safety and security standards, said Tuyen.

According to market research and consulting firm 6Wresearch, the Vietnamese video surveillance market is poised for growth, predominantly driven by government and transportation initiatives. In 2022, these two sectors alone dominated the market revenues. This substantial contribution is linked to a $93 million governmental endeavour, launched in 2021, dedicated to enhancing traffic monitoring on national expressways and highways through to 2025.

The market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6 per cent from now to 2029, thanks to key infrastructure plans.

MoIT and Samsung launch collaborative Smart Factory Development Project The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), in partnership with Samsung Vietnam, has initiated Phase 1 of the Smart Factory Development Cooperation Project for 2023.
US Ambassador to Malaysia Brian McFeeters said US companies have made investment pledges totalling 100 billion USD (465 billion RM) in various sectors in Malaysia over the last 18 months. (Photo: malaymail.com)

Kuala Lumpur  US companies have made investment pledges totaling 100 billion USD in various sectors in Malaysia over the last 18 months, US Ambassador to Malaysia Brian McFeeters said on August 21.

According to the ambassador, these are significant investments in areas where the US wants to strengthen its presence, namely electronics and semiconductor sectors, as well as data centre segment which is a big growth area. US investments are really coming strong into Malaysia because during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US found that Malaysia is a key part of the worlds supply chain.

He said a lot of US factories are depending directly on something made in Malaysia, so the two countries have a mutually beneficial economic relationship that has been developed to this day.

The ambassador added that most US companies that have invested in Malaysia have also gained the benefits from latest technologies coming into the country. Meanwhile, Malaysia has been playing a very constructive role in terms of economic integration within the ASEAN region.

He also highlighted that Malaysia has agreed to host the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) negotiation round which will be held in October this year to discuss ways of creating a clean economy with renewable energy (RE).

The negotiation round, he said, will be looking into 21st century issues in areas of how to create a clean economy using more RE and improving the supply chain to avoid another breakdown in the future.

He said that the negotiation round in October is particularly important because by November this year, the US is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting where the US will announce the results of the discussions.

Hopefully, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be there because Malaysia is playing a very big part in hosting the negotiation, the ambassador added.

Malaysia eyes wave energy for electricity generation When one mentions renewable energy, the mind often jumps to familiar sources like solar energy, hydroelectric dams, and wind power. However, Malaysia is seeking measures to turn wave energy for electricity generation.
In light of the evolving global landscape, which areas do you see holding the most potential for Vietnam-Israel collaborations?

The world faces several critical clusters of challenges, among which are the needs for enhanced high-tech sectors and improved health infrastructure. Additionally, the global demand for advanced agri-tech and food-tech is undeniable.

Nir Barkat, Israels Minister of Economy and Industry

However, my immediate focus would be on what I interpret as the eco-six, referring to initiatives tied to sustainable ecological and agricultural practices.

Vietnam, with its deep-rooted agrarian culture, stands to benefit from this focus. By collaborating, we can significantly boost yields and empower Vietnamese farmers to achieve more.

Numerous Israeli companies are looking to expand their global footprint in this domain. Just recently, we learned of Vietnams ambitions to significantly upgrade its health services. This presents yet another collaborative avenue worth exploring. Moreover, with Vietnam positioned as a gateway to ASEAN, Israeli companies can tap into broader markets across Southeast Asia through Vietnam.

It is an unexploited business potential that, once harnessed, can be a game-changer for both nations. In essence, this is a symbiotic opportunity ripe for the taking.

Beyond the VIFTA, what additional support can Israeli businesses expect when collaborating with Vietnamese enterprises?

In the immediate term, there are two pivotal initiatives we should spearhead. First and foremost is the introduction of a direct flight. This is not merely about tourism, though it certainly opens doors for more visitors to explore the scenic vistas of Vietnam or for Vietnamese nationals to tread the hallowed grounds where biblical events unfolded.

Beyond the spiritual journey, theres a pragmatic aspect: business. Currently, the travel time from Israel to Vietnam spans an exhausting 13.5 hours. A direct route would whittle that down to just eight hours, rendering business engagements far more feasible. Prime Minister Netanyahu, reflecting on our recently inked trade agreement, expressed eagerness to launch this direct connection, marking a transformative chapter in our bilateral ties.

The second initiative centres on fostering innovation and collaboration. Taking a leaf out of our play book with the United States and Canada, I propose the creation of a collaboration fund. Its essence is to fuel joint ventures between Israeli and Vietnamese companies.

By leveraging our technological prowess and pairing it with Vietnams marketing and sales dynamism, such ventures could yield remarkable outcomes. A joint fund, backed by both governments, would provide the financial impetus, ensuring entrepreneurs from both nations find collaborative business not just appealing but also lucrative.

Aquaculture is now a significant sector in Vietnam. Could you provide some insights into how it might be enhanced?

Certainly, its pivotal to focus on technology as the lynchpin. While Israel primarily exports technology, rather than products, let me illustrate with a couple of instances. In the southern region of our Negev, specifically in the city of Eilat, there is a renowned research institute proficient in domesticating fish from the Red Sea. They have mastered techniques to bolster the survival rate of fish eggs, resulting in a significantly enhanced yield.

Such expertise was harnessed a few decades ago in Israel, and our current endeavours are aimed at domesticating species like the bluefin and yellowfin tuna. This expertise holds immense potential in enhancing seafood production.

Moreover, Israel boasts of various innovative agricultural technologies. Take hydroponics, for example. Investing once in a hydroponic setup allows one acre of hydroponic farming to produce yields equivalent to traditional farming on 50 acres. This means that Vietnamese farmers, using these advanced technologies, can potentially multiply their produce manifold from the same plot of land.

Another innovation hailing from Israel is the inception of drip irrigation by Netafim. Originally conceived as a solution to water scarcity in the Negev desert, the contemporary model transcends mere irrigation. Its now a sophisticated digital platform equipped with sensors, satellite imagery, drones, and other data-collection tools.

Following the introduction of an investment protection deal to complement Vietnams trade agreement with the EU, does Israel have any analogous initiatives in the pipeline?

While our primary focus has been on the VIFTA, in which we have progressed faster than the Europeans, we have ensured that investment protection is embedded within it. The VIFTA is one of our most comprehensive and advanced agreements. Building on this foundation, we are keen to explore collaboration similar to what we have done with countries like the US and Canada, and a few others.

Our aim is not just to partner with Vietnam, but to position it as a gateway to the broader ASEAN region. This strategy, if leveraged properly, can significantly benefit both Israel and Vietnam.

Israel and Vietnam on brink of substantial trade deal An upcoming free trade agreement between Israel and Vietnam is poised to unlock a new era of economic cooperation. Gal Saf, head of the Economic and Trade Mission under the Embassy of Israel in Vietnam, discussed with VIRs Celine Luu the implications of the deal and how it could create a win-win scenario for businesses of the two countries.
The Brazos River Authority recently renamed its Waco headquarters as the Lt. Gen. Phillip J. Ford Central Office Facilities.

Ford served as CEO and the seventh general manager of the state agency from 2001-2018.

A Fort Worth native and University of Texas graduate, Ford learned his leadership skills during a 35-year career with the Air Force, where he flew bombers and quickly became a B-52 aircraft commander. He rose to prominence as a top official at several air bases, then became deputy commander of the U.S. Strategic Command.

Ford directed the construction of the 40,000-square-foot Central Office building at 4600 Cobbs Drive from 2001-2002, the third headquarters for the organization founded by the Texas Legislature in 1929 and originally based in Temple. It relocated to Waco in 1960 from Mineral Wells.

The facility holds more than 70 offices, an environmental laboratory, a file library, boardroom and meeting facilities.

Though based in Waco, the Brazos River Authority does most of its business elsewhere, managing water supply reservoirs and selling wholesale water to users ranging from drought-prone West Texas cities to rice farmers and chemical plants on the Gulf Coast.

Under Fords leadership, the agency divested itself of some of its money-losing operations around Possum Kingdom Lake, its biggest reservoir, where it managed lakeside residential areas that had developed over time.

The authority also spent about a decade pursuing a systems operation permit from the state that allows the authority to expand its overall diversions by about 15% without building new dams, allowing more flexibility in choosing the sources of water for its customers.

Ford was responsible for more than 275 employees throughout the Brazos River basin, which stretches from the Texas-New Mexico border west of Lubbock to the Gulf Coast near Freeport. He managed the BRAs water supply, water and wastewater treatment plants, water quality initiatives, reservoirs and dams while serving on many boards, including the Brazos G regional planning group and as president of the Texas Water Conservation Association.

As leader of the BRA, Ford also oversaw the construction of the Williamson County Regional Raw Water Line and the decommissioning of the Morris Sheppard Dam hydropower project.

He was a powerful mentor who, after more than 30 years in the Air Force, dedicated his life to making Texas a better place to live, said David Collinsworth, who worked under Ford for 17 years and succeeded him as current general manager.

The official renaming ceremony, held at the July 31 board of directors meeting, included members of Fords family and BRA staff who shared their memories and thoughts. He died in 2021 at age 77.

The BRA built, owns and operates three lake reservoirs at Possum Kingdom, Granbury and Limestone, and operates a regional wastewater system for the cities of Temple and Belton. It also contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for water storage space at eight lake reservoirs at Whitney, Belton, Proctor, Somerville, Stillhouse Hollow, Granger, Georgetown and Aquilla.

The Brazos River Authority also operates a regional wastewater system for the cities of Temple and Belton; operates wastewater treatment plants for the cities of Clute/Richwood, Sugar Land and Hutto; and owns and operates a potable water treatment system for the city of Taylor.
Relatives of an inmate who died in June 2022 after he harmed himself inside the McLennan County Jail have filed a wrongful death civil suit against the county in federal court.

Jesse James Evans, 25, died at an area hospital June 3, 2022, after the incident while in custody in McLennan County Jail. He had been booked there after a family violence incident in West Waco.

Jail records show jail staff checked on Evans six times between 7:05 p.m. and 7:32 p.m. that day, with medics and assistance called at 7:45 p.m. when Evans was found unresponsive. His autopsy from Dallas County Medical Examiner indicated death by hanging and manner of death was suicide, the Tribune-Herald previously reported.

Following a Texas Rangers investigation into the incident, no criminal charges were filed, according to McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens.

Texas Rangers investigations of deaths-while-in-custody determine whether or not there is criminal responsibility in such cases, but not civil liability for violations of rights.

Evans father, Stephen Young, and aunt Yvette Giraud have filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of themselves, Evans heirs and other wrongful death beneficiaries.

Young and Giraud filed the suit Aug. 16 in Wacos federal district court seeking damages for Evans death, for his mental anguish and suffering, as well as for his heirs past and future mental anguish and loss of companionship.

As of Monday, the county had not yet been served papers on the lawsuit and County Judge Scott Felton had little to say about the suit.

The County takes all claims seriously but we cannot comment any further on pending litigation, Felton said in a Monday email.

The suit alleges the countys policies, practices, and ways of operating the jail were moving forces behind Mr. Evans suffering and death as well as his final expenses and the suffering of his family members and heirs.

Jail personnel who processed Evans did not make sufficient effort to understand and document Evans behavior during his arrest, the lawsuit claims. Behavior not sufficiently understood included that he would raise his head and slam it into the pavement during arrest, as well as saying to his arresting officer that he would kill himself, the lawsuit alleges.

The suit also calls into question the decision to place Evans in cell that had a blanket as well as a privacy shield next to the toilet with a pattern of small holes. Evans tore strips from that blanket to fashion a ligature, tying them to the holes in the privacy shield, and strangling or hanging himself, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit also questions the decision to send jailers to check on Evans periodically rather than placing him under continuous observation. It argues that continuous observation might have prevented the gap in contact from 7:32 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., when a jailer found Evans unresponsive and called for medics and assistance.

The suit alleges that since no jail personnel received consequences for actions or inactions leading up to Evans death, county endorsed the jail staffs handling of Evans.

Finally, the suit accuses the county of deliberate indifference in its treatment of detainees on suicide watch.

Attorney Dean Malone of Dallas filed the lawsuit. Neither Malone nor McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara returned phone calls Monday seeking comment.
In January 2017, when Mark and the late-Joe Denest and their team at the Smoketown, Pennsylvania-based MD Aero Restorations completed the restoration of Fagen Fighters 1943 SNJ-4 in January 2017, Stephen Chapis was there to document the early test flights and get first-hand accounts of those flights from John Glen Fuentes and Ed Shipley.

By Stephen Chapis

John Glen Fuentes works for a major airline as a 767 Line Check Airman that will soon transition to the 787 and also flies warbirds at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the Capital Wing of the CAF in Culpeper, Virginia. In addition to several hundred hours in BT-13s and SNJs, John is rated in the FG-1D, Hurricane, FM-2, TBM, Me-108 and will soon check out in the Mosquito.

In a January 2017 interview, John related how he got into warbird flight-testing. Ive got about 450 hours in SNJs and T-6s plus a lot of time in the BT-13. I was introduced to Fagen when I test-flew his BT-13, which was another example of a pristine restoration by MD Aero. As an A&P and IA was able to talk technical with Mark and his team during my numerous visits to the shop. So Mark and I got to know each other that way and after I did some instructing with him in that airplane we ferried it out to Minnesota. It was a great trip. At Oshkosh 2010 the Fagen BT-13 won Best BT-13 and Phoenix Award, while Mark and his father took home the Silver Wrench.

As the SNJ approached completion near the end of 2016, John and Mark planned to do the same thing, but weather and Johns airline schedule continually threw a wrench into their plans, so they decided that John would do the initial test flight and Ed Shipley would perform the follow on test flights. John explained the extensive preparation and planning that went into the first post-restoration flight of SNJ-4 BuNo 27234, which took place on January 13, 2017 at Smoketown Airport (S37) where MD Aero is based, First we pulled panels and really looked over the airplane. We looked down the hell hole at all the cables and turnbuckles to make sure they are going over the pulleys the way they are supposed to. Then Mark and his guys (Karl Skotleski and Luke Jones) pulled the side panels off and looked all through there.

Once I looked over the paperwork, we pulled the airplane outside and did an engine run with the side panels off the accessory section to make sure there were no leaks or anything. Then we buttoned it up and ran through a full systems check where we checked everything that can be checked on the ground- flaps, trim controls, flight controls, and a full engine run-up, magneto check, prop cycle, and carb heat. Once we shut it down, we did another leak check and buttoned it all backup.

Then it was time for a taxi check, which is basically taxiing to the end of the runway checking the brakes, and making sure the tailwheel is steering correctly. All that went well, so after another run-up I took it out onto the runway, set the brakes, and brought it up to takeoff power. Everything looked good, so I released the brakes and basically did a high-speed taxi run to about 60-70mph and then throttled back. With that, I was checking acceleration, controllability, and braking as well as making sure the engine was making power and the prop was giving me the rpm I need. That all went well, so I taxied back to the end and got ready to fly.

On that day John performed two flights, the first of which was relatively uneventful other than the fact that John discovered the elevator trim was rigged backward, to which John said, When I cycle the trim on the ground I am checking for a full range of motion and all that, but we should have done the thought process of looking at the trim tab to make sure it was going in the right direction. It wasnt a big deal and it was fixed rather easily.

The runway (10/28) at Smoketown is 2,750 x 50ft and the western threshold is 33 feet higher than the east threshold. John and the SNJ are more than capable of operating from that runway, but after his initial air work over S37 on the first flight, which was done with the gear down, John went to Chester County Airport (MQS) 16nm to the east where the 5,400 x 100ft runway (11/29) offered a better margin of safety in case of an emergency. After an uneventful touch-and-go at MQS, John headed back to Smoketown. He takes the story, All during the flight you want to keep an eye on temperatures and pressures to make sure everything is in the green. When I got back over to Smoketown I went through a series of banks at varying degrees and did a couple stalls. An SNJ will generally break to the right and that is what this one did.

Once back on the ground they fixed the elevator trim and looked over the entire aircraft. Happy with what they saw John and Mark decided to make a second flight. As John explained it involved more maneuvers and system checks, I took it back up over the airport and cycled the gear and flaps and some slow flight. Then I did a full stall series- accelerated, clean, dirty, etc. On that flight, I was watching the engine instruments closely because I was running the engine a little bit harder. Again after the air work over Smoketown, I went over to Chester County again for a series of landings at various flap settings and a few touch & gos. Due to the fact that Fagens SNJ has all the components and systems that it would have had installed during World War II it is much heavier than the average Texan. John found this out on his last landing at S37, Yeah, the airplane is waaaay heavier than other SNJs! When I got into the flare at Smoketown I just pulled the power because Ive got a short runway and I wanted to get it on the ground. When I did that it just basically quit flying and bounced and I thought, Wow, this thing is heavy. Johns job was done and now it was up to Ed Shipley to complete the flight-testing.

For most warbird enthusiasts, Ed Shipley needs no introduction, but in case youve been living off the grid for the last few decades well give you a short synopsis. Shipley once flew 747s for Atlas Air. Off the coast of Hawaii in 1995, he was one of a number of warbird pilots that flew warbirds off the deck of USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. Eds airshow career began with the Six of Diamonds formation aerobatic team and later became a founding member of The Four Horsemen, an aerobatic team of four P-51s flown by Ed, Jim Beasley, Jr., Dan Cardarale, and the late-Vlado Lenoch. Later iterations of the team included Ed, Steve Hinton, and Dan Friedkin flying Bearcats, Corsairs, Lightnings, Spitfires, and Sabres.

It was a bitterly cold and overcast day on January 29, 2017, when I met up with Ed, Mark, Joe, and MD Aero mechanics Luke Jones and Karl Skotleski at Smoketown Airport. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, Ed made half-dozen flights in the SNJ that centered on trimming the aircraft in all three axes. He would go up for 10-20 minutes and upon landing he would tell Mark what the airplane was doing at which point Karl and Luke would make the required adjustments to slowly dial in the aircraft. With wind chills in the upper teens, the aircraft was pushed into the hangar when the work took longer than 10 or 15 minutes. Marks team took the opportunity to inspect the accessory section of the engine for leaks. None were seen, so the flying continued. When Ed was satisfied with the handling of the aircraft we headed over Chester County for lunch and to meet up with our photo pilot Buzz Cortese who kindly offered the use of his SNJ-4.

During lunch I talked to Ed about warbird flight-testing, Well it takes faith and balls, but Mark knows how to build airplanes so that right there takes a lot of worry out of the equation. All we are trying to do is address the nic-noids that make this airplane as special as it is. This is a ground up restoration and it is the only SNJ that I have seen that has every little thing an SNJ had in it during the war and it all works. So the only things I was concerned about today, was does it make power? Can it pull power? Can the prop go all the way up, so you have full thrust on takeoff? Is fuel flowing around? Is the electricity swinging around in circles? And do the hydraulics work?

John, Mark, and his guys had already sorted out that stuff, so really what we are doing now is getting it up in the air and seeing how it flies. So weve put about an hour, actually, about two hours, on it already and the only thing that has come up is that it needs to be trimmed. Right now weve got to work on getting the wings level because right now it is right wing heavy, and getting the rudder trim right. It is also nose heavy. I could tell it was nose heavy when I was running it up because I felt it squat down and lean forward. It is not a safety of flight issue, it is just you need to have it right. You should just need to trim it up. If its perfect, you should be able to put all the trim controls to neutral, the plane should fly straight and level and this one is not quite doing that yet. Its not because anything was done wrong, it is just a matter of dialing it in.

When I get up in the air I am looking at all the obvious things, they have already swung the gear a number of times, so the gear is working okay. Then every time I come down we pull panels, and they look at all the stuff. Is the engine leaking? Is the prop throwing anything? Are there any hydraulic leaks and stuff like that? They check that every single time, so you gain confidence with it every time you go up.

As we headed out for our photo sortie Ed summed up the testing of Fagens SNJ, Ya know these airplanes are not like when they came off the assembly line 70 years ago. They are better, but each one is different, they each have their own little nuances and characteristics. So far it is going really well, but you have to be pragmatic about it and not get overly excited about the process. You cant hope something is going to work, it really has to work.

The weather was less than optimal for a photo sortie, but it was then or never because the following day, Ed and Mark would deliver the SNJ to its new home at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Flying north from Pennsylvania to Minnesota in the dead of winter in an unheated, un-insulated SNJ is not for the faint of heart but Ed and Mark made the trip without any trouble.

Six months after this stellar example of a North American SNJ-4 was completed and took to the cold gray skies over Smoketown Airport, Pennsylvania it basked in the warm summer sun at Wittman Regional Airport, Wisconsin waiting to be judged at Oshkosh AirVenture 2017. Just like previous MD Aero Restorations projects, SNJ-4 BuNo 27234 took home its share of awards. The combat-ready SNJ took home the Phoenix Award and Most Authentic Restoration, while MD Aero was awarded a Gold Wrench. This once again proves that it is not the warbirds themselves that are special, its the mechanics and fabricators in the restoration shops that obsess over minute details to produce an aircraft that looks better than it did when it left the factory seven decades ago and to the pilots that use their experience and skills to ensure it flies better than ever so that it will continue to honor the legacy of the Greatest Generation.
WATERLOO  Ryan Meyer has been named the chief operations officer for MercyOne Northeast Iowa. Meyer has been with MercyOne since 2014 and has nearly 15 years of experience working in health care.

During his time at MercyOne, Ryan has served in many roles, including vice president and site administrator of Cedar Falls, vice president of operations and assistant administrator.

He held the position of vice president/chief operating officer until starting the new position.

In his role as COO, Ryan is responsible for leading and achieving operating goals and performance plans and ensuring strategic implementation throughout Northeast Iowa. He will work in a dyad leadership model with Matthew Sojka, MD, chief medical officer for MercyOne Northeast Iowa.

Ryan holds a bachelors degree from University of Northern Iowa and a masters degree from Des Moines University.
WATERLOO  A local manager for a national ATM company has been charged with stealing from the business.

James Eugene Dwyer was the Midwest general manager for California-based Mobile Money, working out of the companys Waterloo office.

On Thursday, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Iowa charged Dwyer with one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.

Mobile Money keeps ATMs filled. As part of his duties, Dwyer withdrew large amounts of cash from banks to be used in ATMs and personally stocked machines as well as overseeing others who stocked machines. Cash was also removed from some ATMs and returned to the bank.

Authorities allege that between 2016 and February 2021, Dwyer stole some of the cash from the Mobile Money office and misled company executives in California about funds in the machines and the bank to cover up the theft, according to court records.

Prosecutors allege Dwyer took at least $1.9 million from the company.

Dwyer is also accused of reporting to the IRS that he and his spouse made $100,933 in a year when they actually took in $210,000, according to court records.

17 unusual alcohol laws that could get you busted across the world 17 unusual alcohol laws that could get you busted across the world Nudes and booze are a no-no, New York City Keep the booze away from the communion wine, New York State No hooch on a horse, California Dry by default, Tennessee Perpetual Prohibition, Kansas Mommy-and-me martinis, Ohio No tippling till the polls close, Alaska Sober for Santa, Allegany County, New York Happy hour hindrance, Massachusetts Straw-sipping at the daiquiri drive-thru, Louisiana Cold beer crime, Indiana Banned bottomless brunch, Oklahoma Wasted while at home, Utah Hands off the barkeep, Nebraska Don't bring your cows home drunk, United Kingdom Whipped for wine consumption, Saudi Arabia Keep your beer unadulterated, Germany
WATERLOO  The fate of a Waterloo man accused of killing his friend in 2022 is now in the hands of a jury.

Savion Wilson, 24, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his boyhood friend, Cortavius Benford, in Benfords Palmer Drive apartment.

Wilson told the jury he was acting recklessly with a pistol when he fired it accidently, striking Benford, 26, in the head as they were hanging out around noon Aug. 27, 2022.

But during closing arguments in the trial Tuesday, prosecutors said the version Wilson told police -- alleging Benford was holding the gun and it went off when he grabbed for it -- wasnt the same account he gave to jurors.

Assistant Black Hawk County Attorney Michael Hudson said the accounts differed because what he told the police didnt match evidence at the scene.

He said anything to the detective to get out of trouble. He will say anything to you to get out of trouble, Hudson told jurors.

Hudson noted Wilson had actually threatened to shoot Benford during a Facebook Live video during a dispute between the two in May 2022.

The state also pointed out that Wilson fled the scene after the shooting and never handed over the gun and the camouflage hunting mask he was wearing when he pulled the trigger.

Wilsons defense attorneys are pushing for a verdict on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

This was a tragic accident involving two longtime friends. On the day this happened, everyone was hanging out, laughing, the mood was good, said defense attorney Dustin Lies.

Benford and Wilson had long since patched things up following their dispute months earlier, he said.

He noted there was only a single shot fired. If Wilson really wanted to kill Benford, he had a whole extended magazine full of ammunition to do it, Lies said.

Wilson was in contact with police shortly after the shooting, and he turned himself in the following day, Lies said.

There were no threats. There was no animosity. There was no feud, Lies said.

Photos: Homicide, Palmer Drive, Aug. 27, 2022 082722jr-homicide-palmer 081623jr-homicide-trial-2 081623jr-homicide-trial-1 081623jr-homicide-trial-3 081723jr-homicide-trial-1 081723jr-homicide-trial-3 081723jr-homicide-trial-5 081823jr-homicide-trial-1 081823jr-homicide-trial-3 081823jr-homicide-trial-5 082123jr-homicide-trial-2 082123jr-homicide-trial-1 082323jr-wilson-verdict-1 082323jr-wilson-verdict-2 082323jr-wilson-verdict-3 100223jr-wilson-sentencing-1
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man accused of shooting his friend in the head in August 2022 took the stand to say the fatal shooting was an accident.

Savion Devonte Wilson is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Cortavius Benford at Benfords Palmer Drive apartment.

I was pointing it at everyone, being reckless with the firearm, Wilson, 24, told jurors as he testified in his own defense Monday in Black Hawk County District Court.

But prosecutors noted Wilson initially told police a different version of what happened.

The state alleges Wilson had actually made threats to shoot Benford months earlier in a Facebook Live post during a spat between the longtime friends.

Both Wilson and Benford grew up in Mississippi, and they had known each other since childhood.

Benford was the first to move to Iowa. Wilson said he followed about four years ago, relocating because he had other relatives who had made the move. His mother also moved to Waterloo, according to testimony.

Wilsons mother, Tanja Crossley, testified the two families had been close for years.

It was like brotherly love, like they been knowing each other all their lives, she said.

She also testified about hearing her son and Benford arguing around the time of the Facebook rant in May 2022. She told them they were arguing like two bitches and told them to knock it off.

Two days later, they were back to normal, and Benford and Wilson were drinking and playing Uno, she said.

It was fine. He came over to the house. Like nothing ever happened, she said.

On the stand Monday, Wilson talked about the gun used in the shooting. He said sometime earlier he had found the pistol, complete with a loaded high-capacity magazine, in a fanny pack hidden in some bushes in Waterloo, but he couldnt remember exactly where.

He said he had a license to carry weapons and told jurors had been taking the gun to a range where he fired it five or six times, but he couldnt remember where the range was and didnt know the name of the person who drove him there.

He said Benford was interested in buying the gun, and he had left it at the apartment during a previous visit.

On the day of the shooting, Wilson told jurors he and a friend went over to Benfords apartment to repay him $10 Benford had loaned him to rent an electric scooter.

He said they hung out, everyone was in good spirits, and they went to a nearby convenience store for snacks. When they returned, Wilson said, he noticed the pistol under a couch where he was seated.

Wilson said he pulled out the gun and was playing around with it, pointing it at himself and others as his friend sat scrolling on their phones.

He said Benford told him to stop messing with the pistol. He said he wasnt aware there was a round in the chamber.

I started playing around with the gun. I pointed it at myself, pointed it Cortavius, and the gun went off, Wilson said. He said he dropped the gun, exclaimed What the f***, called Benfords name and grabbed something to try to stop the bleeding.

Members of Benfords family stood up and walked out of the courtroom as Wilson gave his account.

He said Benfords girlfriend told him to get out, and he panicked and ran. He claimed he left the gun in the apartment. The weapon was never located.

Under cross-examination by the state, Benford wasnt able to identify what he had used to stop the bleeding or show where it was on crime scene photos of the apartment.

Assistant County Attorney Michael Hudson also noted Wilson had first told police the pistol accidently fired when Wilson grabbed for the gun Benford was holding, a claim refuted by forensic evidence indicating the muzzle was feet away from Benfords head when it fired and the location of the injury.

If someone were messing around with the gun and shot themselves, the top of the head is probably not the most likely spot, Hudson said.

Wilsons account also differed from that given by Benfords girlfriend last week.

She said Wilson had briefly stepped out of the apartment, returned with a camouflage hunting mask over his face and pointed the gun and fired. She said Wilson hadnt been messing with the gun before shooting.

Wilson denied wearing a mask over his face, saying it was merely rolled up on the top of his head like a hat. He also denied leaving and then returning to the apartment.

Testimony in the case is expected to wrap up Tuesday.

Photos: Homicide, Palmer Drive, Aug. 27, 2022 082722jr-homicide-palmer 081623jr-homicide-trial-2 081623jr-homicide-trial-1 081623jr-homicide-trial-3 081723jr-homicide-trial-1 081723jr-homicide-trial-3 081723jr-homicide-trial-5 081823jr-homicide-trial-1 081823jr-homicide-trial-3 081823jr-homicide-trial-5 082123jr-homicide-trial-2 082123jr-homicide-trial-1 082323jr-wilson-verdict-1 082323jr-wilson-verdict-2 082323jr-wilson-verdict-3 100223jr-wilson-sentencing-1
WATERLOO  Leader in Me continues to grow in Northeast Iowa.

The umbrella nonprofit, Leader Valley, has announced the addition of three more schools in the region  Nashua-Plainfield Elementary School, Nashua-Plainfield Middle/High School, and Grundy Center Elementary School  to the leadership collaborative, bringing the total number to 27.

Leader in Me is a school-based initiative of FranklinCovey Education that is designed to empower students with the mind sets and skill sets necessary for success in academics and leadership.

Partnering with PreK-12 schools, Waterloo-based Leader Valley assists educators in integrating Dr. Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People into the schools culture, fostering leadership learning at all levels.

We are thrilled to be expanding the Leader Valley family. These schools have been in the Leader in Me process for a few years but recognized the importance of being a part of something greater for the benefit of their students, Executive Director Melissa Reade said in a statement. We are excited about what the Leader Valley collaboration can offer these schools to level up their Leader in Me efforts and are thrilled about the experience and expertise theyll bring to our other schools.

According to Nicole Hackman, director of fundraising and communications, the three schools had been receiving programming and participating through FranklinCovey, but that move will allow the school districts to lean on Leader Valley for a majority of the funding and additional collaboration between all the schools in the network.

Hackman reaffirmed that the goal is to bring the rest of the Waterloo- and Cedar Falls-area public and private schools into the fold, as well as make the program part of a students entire education from start to finish.

Right now, 22 schools are part of Leader in Me in the metro area. Eleven are not, including most of the high schools and junior highs. Waterloo Columbus Catholic High School, Expo Alternative Learning Center and the Waterloo Career Center are among those already in the fold.

In addition, Hackman hopes the collaborative creeps into other surrounding counties and continues to focus on where the need is greatest, including George Washington Carver Academy and Highland Elementary School, which are amidst transitioning into Leader in Me.

Another new offering of Leader Valley is the piloting of its Summer Leadership Academy next summer for high school- and middle school-aged kids, she said.
CEDAR FALLS  Common sense apparently prevailed Monday in the first vote on St. Patrick Catholic Churchs proposed new parking lot.

That was the feeling of several councilmembers who voted 6-1 in favor of amending city code to allow the lot. If the revision is confirmed in two more council votes, it will allow for churches, schools, and other civic and institutional organizations to have parking  an accessory use  across the street from their propertys principal use. That would overrule a previous decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Under the current code, parking must be on the same parcel. Councilmember Kelly Dunn dissented and defended that requirement.

In this case, the matter pertains to a vacant half-acre the church recently acquired at 123 W. Seventh St.

When parking is already an issue anywhere and were debating on not allowing parking, it doesnt make sense (not to allow it), said Councilmember Gil Schultz.

The code is written to protect pedestrians in mixed use areas through setbacks relative to the principal use. The standard was included in the downtown code adopted in 2021, although the church would have needed a similar revision before the zoning overhaul. Additionally, a goal was to preserve valuable downtown land for other uses.

Those institutional uses are an important part of the downtown area and the character of those existing neighborhoods, said Planning and Community Services Manager Karen Howard. Theyve been in the area for a long time, so they may warrant some different rules, but its also important to ensure that surrounding development is respected.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denying the amendment in a 5-2 vote, but the church requested the council take up the matter. Because of the negative review, the council needed five votes to pass it as opposed to the typical four.

Our downtown zoning code is very new. Weve been going back and forth on it for about three years, at least, if not before that, said Dunn.

To me, there were many, many hands that went into that, including many people who live in Cedar Falls who helped us get to that vision, so I very much hesitate to change that vision when it barely had time to breathe.  I just hate to make exceptions so early on.

Several members of the church spoke before the vote.

Since its founding, St. Patrick has experienced many changes to best accommodate our parish and school community. The most recent was the acquisition of the property at Seventh and Washington, which provides an opportunity to build upon our foundation for the future on our campus, said pastoral council chairperson Laura Schaefer.

She argued it will help address parking and safety concerns.

If you would drive down Washington Street during any of our four weekend services, you would see parked cars lined up down the street from Sixth to Ninth Streets and the streets in between, she said.

The church and Catholic school  serving more than 1,500 families  sought the flexibility for itself but also other civic and institutional organizations proposing similar projects downtown.

The amendment will require any parking area to be set back a minimum of 10 feet from any street-side lot line and have landscape buffering and trees within that setback area, among other requirements.

The Catholic church is very much a great partner of Cedar Falls, and I was actually shocked when Planning and Zoning voted the way they did, said Councilmember Dave Sires. Im hoping that we can move forward and they can build their parking lot as quick as possible.

Grout 2022 Tour of Classic Homes Zach and Kate McBride, 123 Columbia Circle, Waterloo.jpg Kim and Otto MacLin, 3701 Loralin Drive, Waterloo.jpg Wendy Harris, 229 Alta Vista Ave., Waterloo.jpg Heartland Habitat for Humanity house, 316 Iowa St..jpg Peggy Bullerman, 1839 Westchester Road, Waterloo.jpg Mary and Ron Potter, 131 Leland Ave., Waterloo.jpg
If Summit Carbon Solutions wants to build an underground carbon dioxide pipeline through north-central Iowas Wright County as it proposes, the company is going to have to pay more than $400,000 in fees to cross agricultural drainage tiles and ditches.

Under a resolution passed last month in Wright County, pipeline companies must bore two feet below tiles and five feet below open ditches  a more expensive process than cutting a trench at crossings, said Dean Kluss, a farmer who chairs the Wright County Board of Supervisors.

Theres millions of dollars of infrastructure out there put in a long time ago, Kluss said about county-controlled drainage tiles that remove water from the flat, rich fields of north-central and northwest Iowa. To replace it now is extremely costly. That cost should be borne by the industry that wants to put this (pipeline) in.

While the Iowa Utilities Board will decide whether three CO2 pipelines proposed in the state get permits, other government bodies must sign off on parts of these multibillion-dollar projects. And some local regulations may throw a wrench in the works.

Summit Carbon Solutions wants to build a 2,000-mile pipeline, with nearly 700 miles of it in Iowa, to transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to underground sequestration sites in North Dakota. The Iowa-based company has asked the utilities board to grant it eminent domain power so Summit can force easements on 973 properties where landowners have not voluntarily agreed to sell access.

Starting Tuesday in Fort Dodge, the three-person board is scheduled to start an evidentiary hearing expected to last multiple weeks over Summits permit application. The board will hear from the company, landowners and witnesses called by the company and opponents.

River crossings follow federal process

Major utility projects like hazardous gas pipelines must get approval from other local, state and federal agencies in addition to the board. Summits proposed pipeline, for example, has 3,557 crossings of wetlands, streams and rivers regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers.

We do have to issue permits for crossing Waters of the United States, said Ward Lenz, chief of the regulatory division for the Rock Island District Corps of Engineers. Its a lot of crossings, but when you add it up for acres, it doesnt take up very much space.

For most mid-size to large rivers  including the Mississippi River and Missouri River  the pipeline companies proposed directional boring to go under the water body, Lenz said. In some small creeks, the companies may dig a trench to lay the pipe and then restore the soil and water around it.

The three CO2 pipeline projects  besides Summit, others are by Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions  are expected to use general permits under the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of projects.

This means, if the pipeline companies satisfy all the requirements, the Corps must approve the permits and there would be no public comment period.

The pipeline companies must complete cultural resources surveys, where they look for historic buildings, cemeteries or other sites that might be in the path. The State Historic Preservation Office will review that survey.

The pipeline company also must quantify endangered species along the route.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reviews the surveys and will provide a number of reasonable and prudent measures to be taken to mediate endangered species. Those will go into conditions of the permit, Lenz said.

The pipeline companies also must communicate with tribes along the route. A Summit consultant said in May that representatives from 13 tribes, including Cheyenne, Rosebud Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Mille Lacs, Little Shell Chippewa, Yankton Sioux and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, had participated in land surveys in Iowa in 2021 and 2022.

What I dont know is how long it will take for formal consultation with the tribes and to get the biological opinion from Fish & Wildlife Service, Lenz said about timeline of the Corps review. If things go smoothly, there are no issues and its not elevated to an individual permit, Id say were talking approximately 45 days from completion of the surveys to final approval.

Road crossings under state, federal jurisdiction

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration must sign off anytime a company wants to put a pipeline under an interstate highway.

Wolf Carbon Solutions, which proposes a nearly 300-mile pipeline from ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to a sequestration site in central Illinois, wants to go under Interstate 380 just south of Wright Brothers Boulevard in Cedar Rapids, according to company maps. That project also would go under Highway 1 east of Ely.

The Summit and Navigator projects have multiple highway and interstate crossings.

Gas pipelines that go under state roads must be at least 4 feet under the road itself and 3 feet in the right of way, according to Iowa law. Pipelines must be welded steel with protective coatings or must be encased in concrete.

I understand that the pipeline companies are using heavier wall pipe under roadways for the loading issues of traffic over the pipelines, Deanne Popp, utility program administrator for the Iowa Department of Transportation said in an email. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) establishes national policy, sets and enforces standards for pipeline that may address thickness requirements.

Usually, utility projects are reviewed by the Iowa DOT district nearest the construction site. But Popp decided all the CO2 pipeline projects in Iowa would go to through the Sioux City office.

As the leader for the Utility Program for the state of Iowa I requested that the permit effort be coordinated on a statewide level, she said. The District 3 staff volunteered to lead this effort.

Wally Taylor, general counsel for the Sierra Clubs Iowa chapter, said he doesnt think thats a good idea.

One problem I would see, putting politics aside, is the office in Sioux City going to know about particular facts or concerns in Story County, for instance, or Bremer County? How is the Sioux City office going to know whats relevant in southeast Iowa? he said.

While routing all road crossing reviews through one office may be faster, Taylor said that shouldnt be a priority.

Why are they streamlining anything? he asked. These are important issues and there are a lot of concerns that need to be taken into consideration.

Public land may require different agreements

The pipeline companies have been negotiating voluntary easements with landowners for years now with uneven success.

Hundreds of landowners along the pipeline routes have spoken against the projects at public hearings and filed formal opposition to the plans, while others have quietly signed contracts. Summit told the Iowa Capitol Dispatch in November it already had paid out $200 million to landowners along the route.

In addition to road, river and railroad crossings, pipelines also are routed to go through public land, including county parks, school districts and state recreation areas.

The Wolf pipeline, for example, would cross about a mile of land owned by The Eastern Iowa Airport. As part of the city of Cedar Rapids, the airport cant sell an easement to Wolf, so Director Marty Lenss has talked with Wolf about a long-term lease. But not before being certain about safety risks of a pressurized gas pipeline running near the airport.

We would need to fully understand safety protocols and, if there would be a pipeline rupture, what is the response and potential impact to airport operations? Lenss said. How are these issues addressed?

A 2020 CO2 gas pipeline break in Mississippi sent 45 people to the hospital as CO2 caused people to pass out and made it so gas-powered rescue vehicles did not function. A federal review showed heavy rain before the incident had caused the pipeline to shift in the hilly terrain and break, NPR reported.

The proposed Wolf route would run east of 18th Street SW in Cedar Rapids  not on airport grounds but on nearby farmland owned by the airport. The pipeline also would cross under Wright Brothers Boulevard near 18th Street SW. The company is taking soil samples in the area, Lenss said, but he has not heard a timeline for negotiating a lease or easement.

Legal dispute with county could hold up project

Summits pipeline is slated to pass 131 feet from the boundaries of Earling, a city of just under 400 people in Shelby County, in southwest Iowa, according to Steve Kenkel, a Shelby County supervisor.

We were told originally we dont have much authority here, Kenkel said. As we started digging it into it more, the two biggest ways counties have authority is home rule and ordinances. How do we protect our people, our property, our future?

The county passed an ordinance last November setting pipeline setbacks from hospitals, nursing homes, recreation facilities, homes and animal confinements and other locations. The ordinance was built on a 1998 provision requiring communities that want to develop within 2 miles of city limits to work with the county, Kenkel said.

Summit sued Shelby County over the ordinance. In July, a federal judge granted Summit an injunction that will halt enforcement until a civil trial in late January. Chief Judge Stephanie Rose said the ordinance would effectively eliminate most or all the land the pipeline could pass through in Shelby County.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission recently denied Summits permit request for that state. One of the concerns raised by opponents was the pipeline route was too close to Bismarcks city limits, which they said would hurt growth, the Associated Press reported. Summit plans to reapply.

Hearing over Summits permit

The Iowa Utilities Boards public evidentiary hearing for Summit Carbon Solutions petition for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Cardiff Event Center in Fort Dodge. The hearing will be available via livestream. Details are at iub.iowa.gov/summit.

The hearing is expected to last multiple weeks. The board staff will provide a daily digest online and a weekly digest Thursdays when the hearing is scheduled to continue the following week.

Today in history: Aug. 22 1851: America's Cup 1968: Pope Paul VI 1972: Richard Nixon 1989: Huey P. Newton 1992: Ruby Ridge 1996: Bill Clinton 2003: Roy Moore 2011: Hurricane Irene 2016: Hillary Clinton 2020: Alexei Navalny 2020: Peru 2022: Anthony Fauci
China allocates subsidies for autumn grain fertilizer, pesticide sprays

Xinhua) 11:03, August 22, 2023

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's finance ministry has allocated 2.4 billion yuan (about 329.7 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies for fertilizers, pesticides and other agricultural sprays to help ensure a bumper harvest of autumn grains.

The subsidized sprays improve the yields of autumn grains such as corn and soybeans, and strengthen their resistance to detrimental environmental factors.

The ministry has urged local governments to spend the subsidies on such sprays specifically, and to conduct spraying work in a coordinated and timely manner.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
SSM Health has named seasoned hospital leader DeAnn Thurmer to oversee operations at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital-Baraboo. Thurmer is president of SSM Healths Ripon Community and Waupun Memorial Hospitals and will continue to oversee these hospitals.

Thurmer was instrumental in leading the mergers of Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital with Agnesian HealthCare and then overseeing them become part of the SSM Health family. A DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award-winning registered nurse, she has served as an exceptional health care executive since 1995, leading and mentoring teams in Ripon and Waupun to achieve clinical excellence.

I am very excited to have this opportunity to expand my leadership role at SSM Health, Thurmer said. Having worked in this area for more than 35 years, I have a true passion for rural health care. St. Clare has a wonderful reputation for quality care as a CMS Five-Star hospital, and I am committed to assisting our health care team in continuing this exceptional patient-focused culture,

She succeeds Kyle Nondorf, who served as interim president of St. Clare Hospital-Baraboo since 2021. Nondorf has been promoted to regional vice president for Acute Care Operations across SSM Health Wisconsins northern markets and will work closely with the management teams for SSM Healths Ripon Community, St. Agnes, St. Clare, and Waupun Memorial Hospitals.

Thurmer will assume her expanded leadership role effective Monday.
When Debbie Hinchcliffe and Jerry Sanders went on a trip to the Arctic with famed biologist L. David Mech in 1988, it was to learn more about the origins of their own pet dogs, a German shepherd and an Alaskan malamute.

That once-in-a-lifetime trip turned into a total of 10 trips to the Arctic and many trips to Yellowstone National Park to continue to learn about wolves, Hinchcliffe said.

That learning brought them to the International Wolf Center, in Ely, Minnesota. The nonprofit organizations mission is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands, and the human role in their future.

The pair, both retired high school teachers living in Fairwater, are now on the board of directors of the International Wolf Center. They will bring their knowledge of wolves to Mirror Lake State Park at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Presented by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the program is free and will be at the Mirror Lake State Park Ampitheater, located at E10320 Fern Dell Road.

Wolves are a fascinating animal, Hinchcliffe said. It is so amazing to witness the pack dynamics that wolves display,

The program at Mirror Lake State Park will include video footage from Yellowstone, as well as many artifacts that will compare wolves to coyotes, foxes, and bears.

We would like to clear up the fact that people think wolves are very dangerous to humans, Hinchcliffe said. Also, she wants the audience to know that wolf packs are family units and not, as she said, a gang of wolves.

Wolves are beneficial to wild environments. They keep prey populations in check, keeping them from overpopulating an environment that might cause excessive damage.

Hinchcliffe estimates that there are 1,000 wolves that live in Wisconsin.

While state law mandates a wolf season, a federal judge last year restored endangered species protections for gray wolves across most of the country, including Wisconsin. The decision prohibits hunting wolves.

We need to protect wild lands, Hinchcliffe said. This would be beneficial to all species, not just wolves.
COLUMBUS  A 37-year-old Poynette man faces charges including felony driving under the influence after an off-duty area law enforcement officer who was at a convenience store in Columbus noticed his driving when he pulled up to the pumps.

The off-duty officer was at the convenience store around 8:45 p.m. Saturday when the vehicle the man was driving pulled into the lot, according to a press release from the Columbus Police Department. A Columbus officer made contact with the man at the pumps.

The Columbus officer suspected the man of being under the influence and had him perform a field sobriety test. A K9 from the Dodge County Sheriffs Office conducted a drug sniff of the vehicle and alerted to the presence of controlled substances. In a plastic baggie corner two small chunks that later tested positive for cocaine were found in the vehicle center console, the police office said.

The man was arrested and taken to Columbia County Jail and placed on a probation hold. He is charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance, fifth offense, operating a motor vehicle after revocation, failure to install an ignition interlock device, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and felony bail jumping.

The Columbia County Sheriffs Office, Fall River Police Department and Dodge County Sheriffs Office K9 assisted the Columbus Police Department.
Eyeing the land for potential development, two members of the Portage Common Council are proposing a resolution that could determine the future of the citys airport.

The resolution, which the council is set to take up on Thursday, does not call for closing the Portage Municipal Airport yet. But it would, for the first time, direct city staff to inquire with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Wisconsin Department of Transportations Bureau of Aeronautics about what it would take to shut down an airport.

A separate measure also scheduled for a vote Thursday would abolish the Portage Airport Commission, which oversees the operation and management of the airport.

If the city gets rid of the commission, it would have to hire people from city hall to run the airport, who probably dont want to do it, or know how, Airport Commission chairman Barry Erath said.

The resolution authors, Allan Radant, District 1, and Eric Shimpach, District 6, could not be reached for comment Monday.

But Portage mayor Mitchel Craig said the pair are looking at the site, which some view as a hobby airport, for future development and tax revenue.

Without a doubt, the airport is 110 acres of prime real-estate within the city of Portage, Craig said.

The resolution would also free up 75 acres across the street from the airport, which currently cannot be developed because it is in the path of the runway, officials said.

Owned by the city, the Portage municipal airport operates the only paved runway in the county, according to officials. It averages roughly 91 aircraft operations per week and already has had over 130 operations this month, said Portage municipal airport manager, Eric Peterson.

Business people fly in and out of this airport, who do millions of dollars in business in the city every year, Peterson said. (The aldermen) are missing the big picture.

The airports longest runway is only 3,770 ft, which limits use of the runways and hangers to smaller planes and jets.

Portages new city administrator, Michael Bablick said he only recently learned that discussions surrounding the airport and its future have been going on for the past 30 years. Some of those resulted in tentative plans to re-site the airport but none were followed up on.

It isnt a surprise to me that this meeting is happening, said Bablick Just because of how long this has been an issue.

Because the current airport doesnt receive any federal funding, it is not required to meet all FAA guidelines, Peterson said.

A brand new airport could take nearly 20 years to build and cost upward of $3 million, Craig said. The FAAs national plan for future airports does not have Portage on the list, officials said.

The closest municipal airport is in Reedsburg, which is roughly 30 miles west of Portage.
A national appeals tribunal Monday allowed Alabama to enforce a prohibition connected gender-affirming attraction for minors, nan latest successful a bid of rulings complete efforts by blimpish states to limit entree to specified treatments.

A three-judge sheet of nan Atlanta-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for nan 11th Circuit sided pinch nan authorities complete objections from a group of transgender minors and their parents who based on nan authorities rule violated nan Fourteenth Amendment.

The ruling follows a bid of decisions successful caller weeks against akin bans. A time earlier, a national judge successful Georgia temporarily blocked parts of that state's ban connected gender-affirming attraction for transgender minors.

Alabama's rule makes it a crime to supply puberty blockers aliases hormone treatments to a minor. A U.S. District Court issued an injunction blocking nan rule from taking effect past year. Alabama appealed that decision. The litigation will proceed arsenic courts measure whether to onslaught down aliases uphold nan Alabama rule permanently.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, said that nan appeals tribunal ruling Monday reinforced that nan authorities has nan authority to safeguard nan beingness and psychological wellbeing of minors. The state, he said, takes this work earnestly by forbidding doctors from prescribing minors sex-modification procedures that person imperishable and often irreversible effects.

Several groups represented nan families, including nan National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, The Southern Poverty Law Center and nan Human Rights Campaign. The groups said successful a connection that nan ruling was a deeply disappointing decision but that we are assured that it is only a impermanent one.

Jeff Doss, an lawyer representing nan plaintiffs, said that nan groups are carefully considering each disposable options, including further appellate review. The determination could perchance beryllium appealed to nan Supreme Court.

All 3 judges connected nan sheet were appointed by erstwhile President Donald Trump.

Contributing: The Associated Press
Michigans Perry Johnson, nan longshot statesmanlike campaigner known for making a luck doing value power successful nan car industry, will not beryllium successful nan first GOP statement of nan 2024 election.

Johnson, nan Republican National Committee announced Monday night, did not gain nan minimum support successful capable polls to declare a spot connected Wednesday nights shape successful Milwaukee. He was capable to meet nan number of donors required, however, by offering $10 state cards this summertime successful speech for $1 donations.

The statement process has been corrupted, plain and simple, Johnson posted connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter. Our run deed each metric put guardant by nan RNC and we person qualified for nan debate.

He added that he plans to beryllium successful Milwaukee connected Wednesday will stock further accusation later connected Tuesday.

Larry Elder, a blimpish media personality, also said he plans to writer nan RNC to extremity nan statement process aft not being invited.

The 8 candidates who will statement are:

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Former Ambassador to nan United Nations Nikki Haley

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Former Vice President Mike Pence

Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott

Ex-President Donald Trump besides qualified but declined nan invitation. Former Fox News big Tucker Carlson plans to station an question and reply pinch Trump connected X during nan debate, according to The New York Times.

On Thursday, Trump plans to move himself in astatine an Atlanta courthouse connected charges he sought to overturn nan 2020 predetermination successful Georgia.

Read more: Trump to surrender Thursday successful Georgia: Bond group astatine $200,000; mugshot expected

To suffice for nan debate, nan RNC required candidates to amass 40,000 donors (with 200 unsocial donors successful 20 different states). They besides had to canvass astatine 1% successful 3 nationalist polls aliases 1% successful 2 nationalist polls and 1% successful 2 early authorities polls (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada aliases South Carolina).

And those polls had definite requirements for number of respondents and methods of polling.

Multiple media outlets were search canvass results and aid figures to gauge who could suffice for nan debate. Politico, for example, had Johnson astatine 1% successful 4 qualifying polls, but nan RNC only accepted 3 successful nan end. Johnson had declared past Friday that he qualified for nan debate.

The 75-year-old has been stuck astatine nan bottommost of nan crowded GOP section successful polls since announcing his candidacy successful March. The title has been dominated by Trump, the far-and-away frontrunner presently polling astir 40 points up of second-place DeSantis.

Related: Fifteen months out, Trump vs. Biden is again ultra-competitive successful Michigan

Johnson, a self-described quality guru who made millions arsenic a advisor connected value power standards, has truthful acold loaned his statesmanlike run much than $8 million.

His run level is built astir a Two Cents to Save America plan, which would slash 2 cents from each dollar of national discretionary spending to trim ostentation and debt.

Johnson spent much than $7 cardinal of his ain money connected a tally for Michigan politician past twelvemonth only to beryllium disqualified earlier nan superior predetermination aft signature collectors his run and different campaigns hired presented fraudulent signatures.

The statement runs from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern clip Wednesday and will aerial connected Fox News and Rumble.com.

Read much from MLive:

Firings, 6-hour meetings and childhood innocence: The far-right takeover of Ottawa County

Michigans vaccination rates are down. See really your schoolhouse grades out.

Another Michigan lawmaker callback approved; others rejected for 2nd time

New SAVE Plan lowers student indebtedness payments, cuts interest. How to apply.
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Prysmian Group has been selected by the TSO Amprion as preferred bidder for the two Offshore Grid Connection Systems BalWin1 and BalWin2 and the underground cable project DC34. The preferred bidder agreement provides an obligation on the parties to negotiate in good faith the outstanding items of the projects with a target to execute the final contracts by 15 January 2024. Prysmian is committed to reserve the required production and installation capacity until the aforementioned date. The contracts are valued in aggregate at around 4.5 billion Euros.



The three projects are part of the Germanys overall plan to install 70 GW of offshore wind energy by 2045 and will support the transmission of the energy generated in the North Sea to consumers in the Western and Southern regions of the country.



This agreement is a huge step towards realizing these three important projects in time. Thus, the major components for our offshore projects are secured until 2030, commented Hendrik Neumann, CTO of Amprion.



Prysmian is highly committed to the development of greener and smarter power grids, supporting Amprion as one of our key customers in it's important energy transition targets commented Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU, Prysmian Group.



BalWin1 and BalWin2 will transmit each up to 2 GW of energy from the future offshore wind farms to be located in the German North Sea BalWin Cluster to the grid connection points in Wehrendorf (Lower Saxony) and Westerkappeln (North Rhine-Westphalia) and thus supporting the energy transition in the industrial heart of Germany.







Each cable system will consist of two single-core 525 kV HVDC copper cables with XLPE insulation for the submarine sections and P-Laser insulation for the land underground sections, plus a dedicated metallic return cable and a fibre optic cable. BalWin1 will utilize approx. 1,070 km of cables along a 358 km route, whereas BalWin2 will use approx. 1,100 km of cables over a route of 376 km.



DC34 (Number 82 of the Federal Requirement Plan Act) as part of the Rhein-Main-Link will instead connect the substation in the area of Ovelgonne/Rastede/Wiefelstede/Westerstede (Lower Saxony) to a second substation in Burstadt (Hesse) to transmit up to 2 GW of energy produced by the offshore wind farms in the North Sea to consumers in the Rhine-Main metropolitan area. The cable system will consist of two single-core 525 kV HVDC copper cables with P-Laser insulation, including a dedicated metallic return cable. DC34 will consist of up to 2,100 km of cables for this cross Germany route.

To access more information on subsea cables for offshore wind and interconnector projects, as well as transmission intelligence,

click here

.
Sitting on a train headed into Manhattan, Id been expecting my husbands call. He was at the doctor, waiting for the MRI results on a torn hamstring to determine if he required surgery.



Its pretty bad, he said, of the sports-related injury. The muscle ripped completely off the bone and they need to reattach it as soon as possible. Oh, and the nerve is torn too. He tried to sound casual with that last part, but I heard the concern. They need to get a special surgeon  I closed my eyes when I heard the words ... prevent paralysis.

AARP Membership Join AARP for $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine. Join Now

I imagined his frustration and helplessness, being home 24/7 on crutches for eight weeks, unable to carry a cup of coffee to the table. My husband was not built for captivity of any sort. There would be unavoidable weeks of waiting on him, the thank-yous wearing thin  a surefire recipe for resentment on both sides. Our daughters wedding was three weeks away. I tried to picture what a first dance with her father might look like on crutches and how I could minimize her disappointment. I managed to keep my tone light.

How to Process Trauma Jennifer Guttman, 56, from Pleasantville, New York, is a clinical psychologist and author of Beyond Happiness. She defines a traumatic event as any incident that causes lasting negative effects on a persons physical, emotional, social or spiritual well-being. There are things you can do to help work through the trauma, process it, soothe yourself and get to the other side, she says. Here are some of Guttmans tips. Talk, talk, talk to friends and family. The more you talk, the more actively your brain can process the trauma. Make time for self-care. Your nervous system is rattled to its core, so take time to care for yourself with whatever activities restore you. Avoid substances. The use of substances, although they may provide temporary escape, actually prolongs the healing process. Delegate tasks to others. Lean on the people around you so that you can focus on healing. Stay in the present. Use mindfulness techniques, meditation, art therapy or grounding exercises to be in the now, instead of reliving the traumatic event. Get professional help. If negative feelings escalate, enlist the help of a doctor or therapist.

Processing the news of his surgery and the potential risks, I played out a worst-case scenario in my mind. This technique had always worked in the past, mentally making the bad thing small while zooming out to see the bigger picture, the passage of time and how, years from now, this would be a story we told.

But something unexpected happened. Reaching down for more, I felt the very bottom of my tank. But I didnt just feel it  I scraped it, like a shovel hitting a rock. Surely, youve heard of the reserve tank, one of those auto racing terms for people, especially caregivers, who are programmed to go-go-go? Just squeeze the tube a little harder, we are told, and more energy will come out.

I cannot sit in that waiting room. I cannot physically or mentally do that again. The thought appeared inside my head, fully formed. Staring out at the approaching skyline on the train, I felt a sudden wave of nausea and a shortness of breath. My heartbeat rose dramatically as a surge of adrenaline coursed through my body, similar to sensations Id experienced when my children tumbled down the stairs or a car swerved into our lane, narrowly missing us. My body was suddenly electrified, bathed in some kind of fear stimulus that I couldnt control.

A life-changing event

Eighteen years ago, in 2006, Id experienced my first big traumatic event when my husband was injured in Iraq while covering the war for ABC News. The phone rang early one morning, delivering the news that his vehicle had been hit by a roadside bomb. My life with four young children was rocketed into a fresh hell. My response was clear-headedness and an icy sense of calm as I made decisions and flew to the military hospital in Germany. There wouldnt be time to fall apart or to grieve for months, even years. He endured multiple surgeries to save his life and then was in a coma for five weeks. I sat by his bedside in Washington, D.C., for weeks, waiting to see what would be left of the man I married when he finally woke up. Slowly, with a ton of support, our family began to heal. And after a long rehabilitation period, Bobs recovery, was nothing short of a miracle.
Music-themed cruises have long drawn dance crowds to the seas, and now that the travel industry is back at full force post-pandemic, the ships are rocking again, with popular acts booked and often interacting with passengers too. 



We tear down the walls between artists, celebrities, creators and their passionate communities by fully taking over a ship to provide immersive experiences, says Taniqua Martin, senior marketing and communications specialist for Sixthman, a company that has staged more than 150 music-themed vacations at resorts and on cruises since 2001.

AARP Membership Join AARP for $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine. Join Now

Here are some upcoming music cruises that might float your boat:

Rock Legends Cruise XI, Feb. 2226, 2024

Sammy Hagar & the Circle, ZZ Tops Billy F Gibbons and Rick Springfield headline the latest version of this floating rock festival with a cause, which sails from Miami to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on Royal Caribbeans Independence of the Seas. Its staged by the Native American Heritage Association.

The 80s Cruise, Feb. 29-March 7, 2024

Featuring 38 Special, Soft Cell, Debbie Gibson and others, this cruise is hosted by former MTV VJs Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Downtown Julie Brown. It travels from Port Canaveral, Florida, to Willemstad, Curacao, and Oranjestad, Aruba, on Royal Caribbeans Mariner of the Seas.

On the Blue New Horizons, April 510, 2024



Another classic rockleaning voyage, with Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues hosting the Zombies, Alan Parsons, Starship and others. It travels aboard the Norwegian Pearl from Miami to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and Nassau, Bahamas.


BPH Hydrogen Investment

Perth, Aug 22, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - As advised to ASX on 24 May 2022 BPH Energy Ltd ( ASX:BPH ) announced that, subject to shareholder approval, it intended to pursue an investment in a hydrogen technology company, Clean Hydrogen Technologies Corporation (Clean Hydrogen or Vendor). Shareholder approval for this investment was obtained on 21 June 2022.



On 27 April 2023 BPH advised to ASX further funding agreements for US $500,000 as detailed below.



A further amount of US $250,000 has now been advanced to Clean Hydrogen Technologies to enable BPH and Advent to move to a 17.5% interest in Clean Hydrogen Technologies.



Term Sheet



The Company and its 36.1% (direct interest) investee company Advent Energy Limited (Advent, and together with the Company the Purchaser) entered into a binding term sheet (Term Sheet) with Clean Hydrogen Technologies Corporation (Clean Hydrogen) pursuant to which the Purchasers agreed to subscribe for fully paid shares in Clean Hydrogen (Subscription Shares), representing a total of 10% of the total issued share capital of Clean Hydrogen after the issue of the Subscription Shares (Subscription Shares Tranche 1), subsequent to which 8% of the Subscription Shares Tranche 1 were issued to BPH and the remaining 2% issued to Advent.



As advised to ASX on 21 April 2023, the Purchaser had a right of first refusal (ROFR) to subscribe for additional Subscription Shares representing an additional 10% (Subscription Shares Tranche 2) to the Purchaser and on the same terms and conditions as the Subscription Shares Tranche 1. On 16 April 2023 the Borrower delivered a written ROFR notice to the Purchasers granting them the right to acquire an additional 10%.



Clean Hydrogen has made requests for additional funding from the Purchaser. Advent lent Clean Carbon US$250,000 in March 2023 in accordance with an unsecured loan agreement and has made a further US$250,000 unsecured loan to Clean Carbon in accordance with a second loan agreement entered into in April 2023, both loans being made on normal commercial terms. The loans have been funded by monies loaned by the Company to Advent.



The April loan agreement provides for a further unsecured loan of US$500,000 to be made to the Borrower, being (i) US$250,000 on the request of the Borrower (ii) US$250,000 upon request by the Borrower, but not before 1 July 2023, and subject always to the Lender's absolute discretion.



At the request of the borrower a further US $250,000 has now been made to Clean Hydrogen Technologies. The loan is on normal commercial terms and has been funded by monies loaned by the Company to Advent.



Clean Hydrogen will allocate and issue up to 1,000 Options to Advent, with an exercise price of USD$3,000 each, and exercisable immediately, with the option for conversion into shares in Clean Hydrogen expiring ten years from the date of issue (Clean Hydrogen Options). An advance of every US$250,000 of the US$1,000,000 loan facility will equate to 250 Clean Hydrogen Options allocated to Advent or, from time to time, BPH.



The Purchaser and Clean Hydrogen have agreed to enter into a separate loan conversion agreement which will enable the conversion of the loan amount into the relevant Subscription Shares Tranche 2, representing the Purchaser's further 10% interest in Clean Hydrogen.



Background on Clean Hydrogen Technologies Corporation



Clean Hydrogen Technologies is a USA Delaware registered company with technology to produce clean hydrogen. They are currently building a system for commercial use, using their own unique catalysts and bespoke engineering processes, to generate clean hydrogen and solid carbon which has many uses including conductive carbon used to manufacture batteries.



The production of the two valuable products comes from processing natural gas with no CO2 emissions.



Their capabilities will help their customers accelerate their path to CO2 neutral, using an abundant natural resource, natural gas, with comprehensive existing infrastructure and supply chains in place. Their system has a modular based system design for supply to large scale solutions to meet upstream natural gas processing or downstream small scale needs to support hydrogen hubs for transport.



As part of their ongoing innovation and development they have filed 3 comprehensive patents in the USA and plan to continue to file further patents over the coming months. These patents reflect their capabilities at producing clean hydrogen and conductive carbon black with no CO2 emissions.



Clean Hydrogen Technologies are making the US market a key focus of their development plans.



In June 2023, the Biden-Harris administration released USA's first-ever National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap to build a clean energy future and accelerate the American manufacturing boom.



Hydrogen demand in the United States is projected to reach up to 73 million metric tons by 2050 largely driven by its use as transportation fuel.





About BPH Energy Limited





BPH Energy Limited (ASX:BPH) is an Australian Securities Exchange listed company developing biomedical research and technologies within Australian Universities and Hospital Institutes.

The company provides early stage funding, project management and commercialisation strategies for a direct collaboration, a spin out company or to secure a license.

BPH provides funding for commercial strategies for proof of concept, research and product development, whilst the institutional partner provides infrastructure and the core scientific expertise.

BPH currently partners with several academic institutions including The Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research and Swinburne University of Technology (SUT).

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(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A shutdown of the United States government is a possibility as House Republicans are planning to oppose any stopgap measure unless their demands are met.

House Republicans threaten a government shutdown by opposing stopgap measures unless leadership meets their demands.

The feud over spending cuts between hardline and centrist Republicans in the United States House of Representatives worsens the situation. House Freedom Caucus members support a $1.47 trillion cut to fiscal 2022.

Potential US Government Shutdown

This number is $120 billion less than United States President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed on in their debt ceiling compromise reached in May. The group issued the threat on Monday.

The situation comes as Republican lawmakers also want higher spending on defense, veterans benefits, and border security. Analysts argue that the hardline target would result in up to 25% cuts in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, science, commerce, water and energy, and healthcare.

In a Monday research note, analysts from Goldman Sachs said that a government shutdown is more likely to occur. Centrist GOP lawmakers, calling themselves "governing" Republicans, argue that their hardline colleagues are ignoring some issues, as per Reuters.

This includes ignoring that Democrats have rejected their priorities as the latter continues to control the Senate and White House. They argued that spending would increase near the level that was agreed upon by McCarthy and Biden anyway.

They argue that the result of the situation would be a major problem for centrist Republicans who come from swing states that Biden won in the 2020 election, with constituents in the firing line of hardline spending targets.

In a statement, Nebraska centrist Republican Rep. Don Bacon said that the reductions are so deep that he said, "They want to make everything a root canal." On the other hand, hardline Republicans view the 2024 fiscal year as a test of the GOP's resolve to reduce the government's debt and move forward to reform social programs, such as Medicare and Social Security.

Read Also: Wisconsin: Republican Lawmakers Seek to Eliminate Work Permit System for Minors

Republican Lawmakers' Demands

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said publicly that a temporary fix was needed to prevent a government shutdown at the end of September. According to Politico, this situation comes as Congress takes more time to release new spending bills.

In a statement, the Freedom Caucus demanded that Congress consider a short-term extension of government funding through a Continuing Resolution. It argued that Democrats have a bloated COVID-era spending and claims that other measures have failed to force the Biden administration to follow the law and fulfill the government's basic responsibilities.

They are looking to increase funding for border enforcement and cuts to the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The House Freedom Caucus also demanded an end to "woke" policies at the Department of Defense.

The development comes as Congress is unlikely to complete its work on appropriations bills before the deadline of Sept. 30. This has prompted the leadership to call for a continuing resolution to have more time to address the issue, said Axios.

Related Article: Social Security Benefit: Cheat Sheet To Know Everything About Your Payments

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CNG Asset Commissioning Update

Brisbane, Aug 22, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - State Gas Limited ( ASX:GAS ) ( STGSF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to provide an update on the commissioning and construction of its compressed natural gas ("CNG") facility to support ongoing testing and early-stage gas sales from its Rolleston West (ATP 2062) project in the southern Bowen Basin.



Utilising its virtual pipeline trucking approach, the Company intends to commence shipping CNG to end users in the Bowen Basin in late November 2023.



The Company will shortly execute a construction contract for the CNG facility and associated works with Wasco (Australia) Pty Ltd ("Wasco"). State Gas and Wasco have been working together over the last eight months to design and engineer the CNG facility to support the compression of up to 1.7TJ/day of gas. Gas will be sourced from the Rougemont 2/3 lateral well system ("Rougemont 2/3") which produced strong production testing results during the period of February 2023 to May 2023. The Company expects that when connected to the CNG facility, Rougemont 2/3 could produce up to 0.75TJ/day of CNG which will support modest initial revenues and cashflows for the Company.



Wasco and the Company are committed to a rapid construction and commissioning timetable of ten weeks, subject to weather. All components necessary for the CNG Plant have passed factory acceptance testing at Wasco's Brisbane yards. State Gas is working closely with the landowner to identify the most efficient date to commence field activities, but we anticipate mobilisation for initial civil works as early as next month.



Executive Chairman, Richard Cottee said "Now that the relevant funding has been secured, the Company can move forward with confidence and make the important transition from explorer to early-stage producer.



Our partners Wasco have enabled us to deliver a flexible, low-cost production solution that will enable State Gas to conduct further production and appraisal testing of the Rolleston West project, but more importantly start generating initial cashflow for the Company. The Company is now focussed on the rapid execution of the construction and commissioning process."





About State Gas Limited





State Gas Limited (ASX:GAS) is a Queensland-based developer of the Reid's Dome gas field, originally discovered during drilling in 1955, located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. State Gas is 100%-owner of the Reid's Dome Gas Project (PL-231) a CSG and conventional gas play, which is well-located 30 kilometres southwest of Rolleston, approximately 50 kilometres from the Queensland Gas Pipeline and interconnected east coast gas network.

Permian coal measures within the Reid's Dome Beds are extensive across the entire permit but the area had not been explored for coal seam gas prior to State Gas' ownership. In late 2018 State Gas drilled the first coal seam gas well in the region (Nyanda-4) into the Reid's Dome Beds and established the potential for a significant coal seam gas project in PL 231. The extension of the coal measures into the northern and central areas of the permit was confirmed in late 2019 by the Company's drilling of Aldinga East-1A (12 km north) and Serocold-1 (6 km to the north of Nyanda-4).

State Gas is also the 100% holder Authority to Prospect 2062 ("Rolleston-West"), a 1,414 km2 permit (eight times larger than PL 231) that is contiguous with the Reid's Dome Gas Project. Rolleston-West contains highly prospective targets for both coal seam gas (CSG) and known conventional gas within the permit area. It is not restricted by domestic gas reservation requirements.

The contiguous areas (Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West), under sole ownership by State Gas, enable integration of activities and a unified super-gasfield development, providing economies of scale, efficient operations, and optionality in marketing.

State Gas is implementing its strategic plan to bring gas to market from Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West to meet near term forecast shortfalls in the east coast domestic gas market. The strategy involves progressing a phased appraisal program in parallel with permitting for an export pipeline and development facilities to facilitate the fastest possible delivery of gas to market. State Gas' current focus has been to confirm the producibility of the gas through production testing of the wells.

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Instagram Celebrity

The daughter of Shanna Moakler and Travis Barker reveals that she has been dealing with an autoimmune disease and a thyroid problem which cause her to gain '5, 10 pounds.'

Aug 22, 2023

AceShowbiz - Alabama Barker has blamed autoimmune disease for her weight gain. Shortly after being bombarded with body-shaming comments, the daughter of Shanna Moakler and Travis Barker opened up about her health struggles as she reacted to the backlash.

In a video she uploaded on her TikTok page, the 17-year-old revealed several health problems she has been dealing with which she claimed to affect her body appearance. In the clip, she unveiled, "I also have a thyroid problem and an autoimmune disease, so that's one of the main reasons why I have weight gain." She went on to say, "So, it would be very appreciated if you guys just keep your opinions to yourself. It will get you further in life."

The former "Meet the Barkers" star further explained, "Once my thyroid is balanced and my autoimmune disease is balanced, I will go back to my normal weight, which is causing the weight gain. You guys also act like I've gained 1,000 pounds, it's like 5, 10 pounds, which is so normal for a lot of girls, weight fluctuates."

"And I don't want any girls that are young watching this that are gaining weight to ever think there's something wrong with it," Alabama continued. "There is a certain point where if your health is getting affected by it, that you need to change it, but no That's not the case for me and I would appreciate it if you guys put yourself in my shoes."

Elsewhere in the video, the stepdaughter of Kourtney Kardashian also bluntly reacted to online critics of her look. "That's my face when I see all the fake pages commenting about my weight in paparazzi pictures and saying I'm a catfish or saying I'm fat," she stated. "First of all, let me eat you up because I'm so fat."

"Paparazzi will purposely take pictures of you with your mouth open, middle of a sentence and any ugly picture they can get of you just for views," Alabama elaborated. "I would love to see you guys getting random pictures of you taken when you're leaving the grocery store, in the middle of a sentence, with your mouth wide open. And let's see how beautiful you look."

Alabama was making a reference to paparazzi taking photos of her and her stepmom Kourtney on Sunday, August 20. At that time, she was walking next to pregnant Kourtney while the mother and daughter duo were leaving Cha Cha Matcha in Los Angeles. Alabama was wearing a cozy black ensemble consisting of a T-shirt, hoodie, a pair of sweatpants and flat slides.

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If a new report is to be believed, the Yeezy founder's architectural designer wife is a daughter of an infamous Australian criminal and niece of two other infamous criminals.

Aug 22, 2023

AceShowbiz - A new detail about Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori has emerged online. If a new report is to be believed, the Yeezy architectural designer is a daughter of an infamous Australian criminal.

Daily Mail claimed that Bianca's father, Elia "Leo" Censori, served a substantial prison term following his conviction in 1982 for heroin possession. Elia was reportedly sentenced to five years, with a mandatory minimum of three years behind bars.

Her uncle Eris Censori, meanwhile, was referred to as "Melbourne Al Capone." He additionally has gained notoriety as a gangland murderer. He faced a death sentence in Western Australia in the 1980s for a murder conviction, though it was subsequently altered to a life imprisonment sentence as a result of the death penalty being abolished in Western Australia in 1984.

Not stopping there, the Censoris' eldest brother Edmondo was dubbed "Eddie Capone." He reportedly held records of convictions in Victoria for offenses such as acts of violence, including assaulting law enforcement officers, theft as well as making threats.

Ye and Bianca got married in a private ceremony in January, two months after his divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalized. According to TMZ, their union wasn't legally binding as they haven't filed a marriage certificate.

That aside, the Chicago rapper reportedly is planning to make a big comeback. The 46-year-old star hasn't put out an album since "Donda" in 2021, but he was recently "inspired" by his partner Bianca and he's feeling optimistic about his future in the fashion industry.

"Bianca has been helping Kanye with some designs, and they both think their fashions are going to be culture shifting. Kanye feels he's on the precipice of a big comeback," a source told Us Weekly earlier this month.

The father of four is currently "having a blast" with Bianca, and he's also been writing new music. "Kanye and Bianca are in the honeymoon phase, they are always all over each other and showing affection. They are having a blast traveling right now and Kanye has been very inspired. He says he's designing, writing music and being inspired," the insider explained.

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A furious Melania allegedly warns her husband that she would walk out on their marriage to continue their son's education in New York as he has attempted to include the 17-year-old in his troubled campaign.

Aug 23, 2023

AceShowbiz - Donald Trump may be losing a loyal supporter amid his looming trials and presidential campaign. His wife Melania Trump has reportedly threatened to leave him in Florida as she's upset that he has been dragging their son Barron into politics.

According to Radar Online, a furious Melania has warned her husband that she would walk out on their marriage to continue her 17-year-old son's education in New York. "That would be devastating to Donald," a source spilled.

"With all the negative press swirling around him, the last thing he needs for his public image is another broken marriage," the source claimed. "For the moment, Donald is protected by the reality Melania doesn't want herself or Barron exposed to the public's attention and scrutiny a divorce would bring right now."

Melania was previously reported to be "seething with fury" after her husband used a photo of Barron to attack Joe Biden. Back in May, the former U.S. president posted a photoshopped image of Barron at a podium which was captioned with, "In an effort to level the playing field, Barron Trump will debate Joe Biden!"

"Melania has been incredibly protective of Barron and has told Donald she would not stand for him to be exploited by anyone, even his father!" a source said of Melania's reaction to the photo. "He made a promise to protect their son - and he broke it. There's a good chance she won't forgive him, and the next time we see them together may be in divorce court."

Melania has been vocal about her stance in protecting her son's privacy. In 2019, she hit back at Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan, who made a belittling joke that then-13-year-old Barron wasn't "a real baron."

"A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics," the then-first lady tweeted at the time. "Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering and using a child to do it."

Doubling down on report about Donald's alleged marital rift, Marca reported that he and Melania might be headed for divorce. "Their paths barely cross," an anonymous insider told the outlet earlier this month.

"Melania is no different from any woman. Having her husband accused of cheating on her not just once but twice is extremely disturbing," the informant explained the reason behind the pair's alleged split. "There is little wonder people believe it's not just the criminal court Trump is heading to but possibly a divorce one too."

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Columbia Pictures Movie

Knowing that fans are very difficult to fool, the lead actor really played Gran Turismo in real life for every scene that involved him navigating the video game.

Aug 23, 2023

AceShowbiz - Archie Madekwe felt the pressure to perfect the simulated driving scenes in "Gran Turismo". The 28-year-old star stars as Jann Mardenborough, a young "Gran Turismo" player who became a real-life racing driver, in the new movie but needed to get the driving style right to impress the "meticulous" fans of the popular PlayStation racing game.

"Every single scene that you see me playing 'Gran Turismo', I'm playing in real life. I had to be good, and there was immense pressure in that way because the fans are just so meticulous. They know if someone's good or not," Archie said in an interview with Screen Rant - conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The actor continued, "In a lot of those scenes, David (Archie's trainer) would be in the back just screaming instructions to me, making sure I got it right and I had my hands in the same way. I'd put my hands up to the steering wheel, and he'd be like, 'No, you hold it like this. The sim drivers will kill you if you put your hands up like that.' And so it was constant, constant, constant adjustments."

Archie previously revealed that he couldn't drive when he was first cast in the picture and had to cram in lessons to get his licence just three weeks before the start of filming. 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 racing car. The British actor 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."

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Netflix/Jason McDonald Movie

The 'American Sniper' actor has found a strong backer in the Anti-Defamation League after he was accused of perpetuating Jewish stereotype in his upcoming movie.

Aug 23, 2023

AceShowbiz - Bradley Cooper is supported by the Anti-Defamation League amid his antisemitism row. The 48-year-old actor has received fierce backlash for wearing a large prosthetic nose for his portrayal of legendary Jewish conductor Leonard Bernstein in upcoming biopic "Maestro", but another group has come to his defense.

"Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that," the notable Jewish group - which fights against bigotry and bias - told Variety in a statement.

Bradley has been heavily criticised after an image emerged of him in character as Bernstein - who died aged 72 in 1990 - with some fans accusing him of playing up to a "Jew-face" stereotype while claiming the prosthetic was an exaggerated depicted.

One person argued on social media, "This isn't about making a non-Jewish actor look more like Leonard Bernstein; it's about making a non-Jewish actor look more like a Jewish stereotype."

However, the late composter's three children recently said in a statement of their own, "Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father. It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts."

"It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use make-up to amplify his resemblance, and we are perfectly fine with that. We're also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well."

"West Side Story" composer Leonard had kids Jamie, Alexandra and Nina with his wife Felicia Montealegre, who is played by actress Carey Mulligan, 38, in "Maestro", which is out in November and examines the pair's relationship. The image of Bradley wearing his nose prosthetic was taken as he filmed the movie in 2022.

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Bodhi Tree Systems, endorsed by James Murdoch and former leader of Star and Disney India, Uday Shankar, has successfully completed a significant business move. They have invested a substantial amount of Rs 953.23 crore to secure an additional interest of 2.89% in Viacom18, according to media reports.

The acquisition of this supplementary shareholding was executed from Reliance Industries Limited, contributing to the expansion of Bodhi Tree System's influence. This transaction, which reached its conclusion in recent times, appraised Viacom18 at an impressive value of Rs 32,983 crore. With the integration of this newfound stake, Bodhi Tree's possession of Viacom18 has been elevated to a noteworthy 15.97%. Notably, an earlier purchase in April involved the acquisition of a 13.08% stake in Viacom18 for a substantial sum of Rs 4,306 crore.

To facilitate this stake attainment, Bodhi Tree employed the substantial capital of $150 million procured from NBC Universal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corp, as well as Tikehau Capital, a global alternative asset manager. This move has not only increased Bodhi Tree's presence but also exemplified their strong financial strategies in the business landscape.
L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has won the media mandate for Captain Steel India Ltd, a leading TMT bar producer. The account will be serviced from the agencys Kolkata office.

This collaboration marks a significant step forward in Captain Steel's mission to enhance its brand presence and expand its reach across the country. As part of this partnership, the agency will be responsible for managing Captain Steel's mainline and digital creatives, as well as its digital media solutions. This holistic approach aims to leverage the agency's expertise to develop captivating narratives that resonate with the target audience and drive brand recognition.

Rohit Malkani, Jt National Creative Director, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi said, "When one of the fastest growing TMT bar manufacturers was looking out for an agency to partner them to create a national footprint, it was an opportunity we couldnt wait to sink our teeth into. Captain Steel is one of the most visible brands in the East with a legendary brand ambassador and huge ambitions. We are delighted to win this opportunity to get them to where they want to be.

Avinash Agarwalla, Director, Captain Steel expressed, Captain Steel is a brand that has carved its niche in Eastern India, Assam, Tripura. Our focus is to strengthen and expand our footprints across India. We wanted an agency partner that provides strategic thinking combined with creative solutions to augment the brand value and volume. With L&K Saatchi & Saatchi onboard, we are looking to create a difference in this highly cluttered marketplace.

Hindol Purkayastha, Executive Vice President and Business Head (North & East), L&K Saatchi & Saatchi added, Captain Steel has been at the forefront in the TMT segment and their presence through distribution and marketing is truly enviable. We are indeed delighted to have the opportunity to partner the brands ambitious growth trajectory. L&K Saatchi & Saatchi Kolkata has been strengthening its presence last few years and is truly invigorated to be able to add value to Captain Steel. What is most rewarding is the digital journey that will focus on key influencers and consumers alike. The brand is clear on taking significant strides in the market, and that is an exciting challenge for us.

Captain Steel India Ltd is one of the leading TMT bar producers manufacturing TMT rebars, TMT rings, wires and nails. With a strong network of over 5000 trade partners, it is one of the fastest growing TMT manufacturers, expanding footprints to multiple states across the country including Eastern India in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Odissa, Tripura and certain parts of Uttar Pradesh.
(Photo : Mikhail KLIMENTYEV / AFP) (MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP via Getty Images)

The BRICS coalition of nations is planning to expand its membership to include other countries in an attempt to spread global influence.

The BRICS group of nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is looking to let other countries join to expand their global influence.

The group currently represents roughly 40% of the world's population and about 25% of the world's economy. Its plan to expand its membership comes as it considers having itself seen as a credible equivalent of Western-led forums such as the G7 group of advanced nations.

BRICS To Expand Membership

However, the major issue for the BRICS group is that it is as divergent as it is large and sometimes hindered by conflicting interests between its members and internal rivalries. Under the rule of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Asian nation has planned to expand BRICS to make it a platform to challenge the United States.

On the other hand, Russia is looking to demonstrate that Moscow possesses loyal allies despite its continued isolation from the West due to its invasion of Ukraine. India has been in a territorial dispute with China for quite some time. It is currently wary of the Asian superpower's dominance within the group, as per the New York Times.

The other swing states of the developing world, Brazil and South Africa, want positive relations with China and Russia. However, they are looking to avoid being overly aligned with either one lest they get alienated by the United States.

The leaders of the five-member nations are set to meet on Tuesday for their annual summit that will be held in Johannesburg this year. The BRICS will try to navigate its internal differences, which could determine whether or not it will become a geopolitical coalition or remain focused on financial issues.

Finding common ground for the group members is only getting more difficult as the great power competition between Beijing and Washington intensifies. The situation is pressuring other countries to choose one side.

Read Also: North Korea's First International Commercial Flight Since Covid Era Unexpectedly Canceled

Global Tensions

The plan for BRICS to let other nations join in has been met with positivity and anticipation by some, including Saudi Arabia. The latter is among the 23 countries that have already applied to become full-time coalition members. The list includes Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, according to DW News.

Despite the general optimism for the expansion of the coalition, Brazil and India have long opposed such a decision over China's possible growth of influence. The BRICS has been positioning itself as the representative of the Global South.

The planned expansion of the coalition comes as dissatisfaction with the global order continued to rise among developing nations following the COVID-19 pandemic. This was due to rich countries hoarding life-saving vaccines instead of donating to poorer nations to help save lives.

Iran, which possesses roughly a quarter of the oil reserves in the Middle East, expressed its hopes that the BRICS would detail the mechanism for new membership as soon as possible. According to Reuters, Bolivian President Luis Arce also expressed interest in joining the BRICS and is expected to attend the annual summit this year.

Related Article: Japan Announces Long-Term Plan to Support Fisheries After Fukushima Water Release

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The Delhi High Court division bench led by Justice Yashwant Varma has set aside its single judge's order that had asked Dabur Ltd to cease selling its Cool King Thanda Tel hair oil in a case related to the alleged trademark infringement of Emami India's popular Navratna hair oil product.

Earlier in the month, a single-judge bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar had passed an order restraining Dabur from selling its Dabur Cool King Thands Tel in a packaging that bears a striking resemblance to Emami's Navratna oil.

This decision was announced by Justice C Hari Shankar, who carefully noted that Dabur's actions appear to deliberately mimic the essential characteristics of Emami's product.

The Court had earlier observed that after initial examination, it was evident that Dabur had consciously imitated nearly every fundamental and distinctive aspect of Emami's product, seemingly with the intent to capitalise on the positive reputation and recognition that Emami's product has garnered over the years.

Bringing out the similarities, the Court pointed out that both the bottles are remarkably alike in shape, with any slight deviations being inconspicuous to an average consumer. Additionally, both the bottles have red colour oil, which is surely borrowed from Emami's product.

Keeping all these factors in mind, the Court has ordered Dabur to cease from selling its product in packaging that is akin to Emami's.

This injunction extends to any other packaging that replicates the identified key elements, considering it would breach the terms of this ruling.

This legal dispute arose from a suit filed by Emami, saying that they have been marketing Navratna oil since 1989, while Dabur introduced Cool King in May 2023. Emami further claimed that Dabur's actions constituted trademark, design, and copyright infringement.
In the last 10 years, PR has taken a different dimension, especially after the entry of social media and the rapid shift to digital during the pandemic period. At the same time, the industry has been facing stiff challenges, moreover client expectations have also increased, with more emphasis being given to digital and online reputation management. The industry has undergone a radical shift and the current times have pushed the industry to change gears.

In conversation with Adgully, Ajey Maharaj, Head - Corporate Communications & PR, Fortis, speaks at length about the evolution in the role of corporate communications in the healthcare industry, new technologies and innovations in Fortis healthcare services, importance of transparency in healthcare, and much more.

Previously, you were associated with power distribution, telecommunications companies. What inspired you to take on a leadership role in this healthcare institution?

Life is all about accepting new challenges and exploring different opportunities and industries. Over the years, and especially during the pandemic, the healthcare sector has been at the centrestage and is no longer a soft sector anymore. It is a high priority for the Government. With the emergence of high quality private players and new investments coming in, the potential for patient-provider communication has increased. Working in this sector also gives you an opportunity to give back to the society.

How different is the corporate communication side of a healthcare institution from others?

Healthcare is about improving patients lives. What we are dealing with is the criticality of saving and enriching lives. Healthcare Communications is challenging, where one needs to be available 24/7. Responsible and timely communications are important to convey the right messages to key stakeholders and patients and can save lives. In the absence of correct information, patients often tend to choose wrong service providers and some even pay a higher price for late or incorrect diagnosis/ treatment. Often patient communication might be incomplete, misleading, generic, copied or unverified. As communication professionals, we need to be very particular about the information that goes out to our patients and consumers, thus transparency is the key. Both internal and external communications play an important role in Healthcare as our staff also has to be aligned with the communication goals.

What steps are being taken to integrate new technologies and innovations into the Fortis healthcare services?

At Fortis, we remain committed towards enabling operations with technology. We are working on an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, to be deployed across Fortis, this would enable us to streamline information flow, increase accessibility to healthcare records and provide a superior patient experience, which has been our constant focus. We are according high priority to the procurement of medical equipment programs. Latest Medical Infrastructure such as Mako Robots, BK Fusion Ultrasound, Digital PET CT Scan, 128 slice CT Scanner are some of the few technologies acquired recently at Fortis.

Could you provide examples of successful partnerships or collaborations that have benefited the institution and its patients?

There are a few sterling examples where Fortis took an early lead - organ donation and mental health.

Organ donation:

We launched an organ donation campaign with an objective to garner public support to encourage people to come forward and pledge their organs.

Mental Health  Fortis partnerships with FICCI, Patenting platforms and schools across India

Conducted a multi-city survey (sample size of 3000 people) on a pan-India level to gain insight into societys attitude towards mental healthcare and its importance in India

Partnership with the online parenting portal, Mycity4kids.com for FB live chats

Organised interactive sessions on Coping with Peer Pressures in 42 schools, reaching out to 10,000 students and 4,000 teachers

Conducted Expert-led talks in 30 schools across Delhi/NCR on Depression: Lets Talk, which reached over 50,000 students

Fortis 24 x 7 Helpline to enable students, parents and professionals to seek help

Launch of a pan-India psychology quiz, PSYCH-ED

Collaborated with FICCI to organise a seminar on Depression: Lets Talk, where experts included: Ministry of Health, NITI Aayog, and medical practitioners from public and private healthcare across India

National webinars across 10 cities in India, reaching out to 10,000 employees

How does the institution approach diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare delivery and workforce?

We are proud of the gender balance, equity, diversity and inclusion that we have been able to foster at all levels across Fortis. These elements are deeply embedded in our culture. The overall gender balance ratio, for instance, is in favour of women by 54:46. We also have a good representation of women within the leadership team at hospitals, clinical teams and at the corporate level. I believe that our ability to attract, develop and retain a highly competent and diverse workforce is key to our success. Our gender diverse workforce provides us access to a broader talent base and helps us to spot and seize new opportunities. Our patients come from all walks of life, and the diverse cultural backgrounds, ethnicities and behavioral attributes of our workforce helps us better understand and serve the needs of this diverse customer base.

Diversity in the workforce impacts the entire community. Greater gender inclusion in the workforce enhances more equitable norms in society. I also believe that diversity in the workforce improves the quality of life of the younger generation joining the workforce as they have an opportunity to witness diversity in action whilst benefiting from role models across the demographic spectrum.

With the increasing focus on transparency in healthcare, how will the institution communicate complex medical information in a way that is easily understandable to the general public?

A lot of innovation and technological advancements have taken place in the recent past in the healthcare sector. Many complex health conditions which couldnt be treated earlier and were difficult to diagnose, are being treated easily with successful clinical outcomes. Who would have imagined getting a surgery being conducted by robotic technology a decade earlier? Similarly, we hadnt heard of auto liver transplants  where the diseased part of the liver is removed, damaged veins are reconstructed or replaced with artificial veins, and finally the liver is re-implanted in the body. In order for the layman to be aware of such complex cases and medical milestones, such successful case studies are framed in a simple language and shared with the media for laymen to understand. Videos have become an important form of communication. A lot of technical cases are being explained through videos.
While fans eagerly wait for the critically acclaimed Kalki Koechlin starrer Goldfish, Splendid Films announced the new date of release for the film. Set in London, this heart touching movie captures the relationship between a daughter and her mother who is enduring in agony caused by dementia. The movie widely dwells deep into music, health and an emotional ride that a daughter goes through while seeing her mother in distress.



The month of September is considered as the World Alzheimers Month to spread awareness about the disease and demystify it. Contributing to the noble campaign, Splendid Films has decided to release the movie on September 1st, 2023. Goldfish marks the accomplished actor Kalki Koechlins return to theatres after 4 years.

Directed by Pushan Kripalani, this Indian-British-American production brings together powerhouse talents Deepti Naval, Kalki Koechlin and Rajit Kapur with some extraordinary actors from the United Kingdom  Bharti Patel, Gordon Warnecke, Ravin Ganatra and Shanaya Rafaat  to tell a delicate, timeless story of a mother and a daughter, and of community.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Indias First Smart Mobility Solutions Provider and the largest exporter since its inception, unveils the countrys Largest Outdoor Installation made of LEGO bricks to showcase the dynamic Hyundai EXTER. This first-of-its-kind outdoor Installation is crafted for customers to reimagine and experience the Hyundai EXTER at Cyberhub, Gurugram. The month-long display is poised to captivate and engage audiences as it redefines Installation Marketing in the automobile industry. The extraordinary display intends to showcase Hyundai EXTER in a fascinating and engaging way and also provide a distinctive positioning to the brand's "Think Outdoor. Think EXTER" communication.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Virat Khullar, Vertical Head, Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said, "At Hyundai, we are always in pursuit of new and innovative means that engages and excites our consumers. We are immensely excited to unveil this innovative outdoor LEGO Bricks Installation purely made of 3,02,406 LEGO Bricks by talented LEGO Artists and AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO). This installation takes centre stage in our Hyundai EXTER Launch Campaign, redefining outdoor marketing and brand connection.

Outdoor Installation Marketing has always been a key pillar to entice and connect with our consumers, effectively conveying the very soul of our brand. An exemplar of this creative endeavour is our Outdoor LEGO Bricks Installation for Hyundai EXTER. With this new initiative we are simply disrupting the take on outdoor installation, emphasizing "Think Outside. Think EXTER"

This Hyundai EXTER LEGO Bricks Outdoor Installation is completed in a small span of 4 Days, winning the Asia Book of Records and India Book of records for the title of Largest Hoarding made using LEGO Bricks. A staggering 302,406 LEGO bricks have been expertly orchestrated to form this masterpiece, a testament to the passion and talent of 28 skilled LEGO Artists who have dedicated over 1200 Hours of creation. Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs), who are masterful LEGO Artists, have brought this vision to life, ushering in a new era of outdoor Installation. This endeavour is not only a testament to Hyundai's commitment to pushing boundaries but also a record-breaking feat. The activation is on display from August 19 till September 17, 2023 at Cyberhub, Gurugram.

Hyundai EXTER stands as a symbol of modernity and exploration, designed to captivate the free spirit of Indias Gen MZ customers. Think outside. Think EXTER, the key brand communication, encapsulates the essence of wanderlust and exploration that drives this entry SUV. With striking design embodying Sensuous Sportiness identity, advanced technology, and segment-leading safety and comfort features, EXTER redefines benchmarks in its segment.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), is Indias first smart mobility solutions provider and the number one car exporter since its inception. Hyundais global brand vision of Progress for Humanity creates a sustainable outlook for future generations by offering mobility solutions with industry leading technology.

HMIL presently operates with a robust network of 1 350 sales points and 1 520 service points across India. The strong model line-up consists of 13 car models across segments, Grand i10 NIOS, i20, i20 N-Line, AURA, EXTER, VENUE, VENUE N-Line, VERNA, CRETA, ALCAZAR, TUCSON, KONA Electric and all-electric SUV IONIQ 5. HMILs fully integrated state-of-the art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts advanced production, quality, and testing capabilities. Hyundai Motor India Ltd. also forms a critical part of HMCs global export hub with exports spanning 88 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Australia, and Asia Pacific.
GoDaddy, the company that helps entrepreneurs thrive, released the second set of survey findings from its GoDaddy 2023 Data Observatory today. The survey found more the majority of Indian small businesses plan to implement marketing activities for their website, including advertising on social media platforms (77%), creating a responsive design for their website (70%), positioning the company better on search engines (70%), and monitoring the traffic of their pages (68%).

Additionally, GoDaddys Data Observatory finds 48% of small businesses in India, who currently do not have a business website, plan to build one within the next three months and 43% plan to do it in the next year. This underscores the continued importance of social media and creating a holistic digital marketing strategy. Furthermore, small businesses surveyed in India reported their keenness to build an online sales channel (65%) and create a mobile application (60%).

With digitalization growing at a rapid pace in India, having a strong online presence is vital for businesses. In alignment with this, Indian respondents acknowledged the benefits of having a website including it allows them to better showcase their products and services (73%), it enhances the visibility of their business (70%), helps them attract new target audiences (69%), and helps establish better collaboration (66%).

The survey finds 75% of Indian small businesses embrace marketing automation, surpassing their counterparts in other countries and the global total at 57%. This emphasizes the growing recognition of marketing automation as an effective tool for enhancing marketing strategies and streamlining business processes. Moreover, when it comes to customer knowledge, Indian small businesses prioritize data analysis more than small businesses in other surveyed countries, indicating their commitment to leveraging insights for informed decision-making.

GoDaddys survey results showcase the digital developments of Indian small businesses. As digital transformation continues to reshape the small business landscape, GoDaddy supports small businesses with easy-to-use and affordable online tools and guidance they need to thrive in their competitive markets. We encourage Indian small businesses to harness the potential of digital marketing tools to build a strong online presence through business websites and social media channels in a way that complements each other, and leverages marketing automation to help drive growth and enhance customer engagement, said Apurva Palnitkar, Senior Marketing Director for GoDaddy India.
All rise for the Prime Minister. Helen Mirren is all set to embody the fierce Golda Mier in Lionsgates upcoming theatrical Golda which will make its way to the silver screen in India on 1st September. This biopic highlights the arduous journey of Israels first and only female Prime Minister through the heart-wrenching Yom Kippur War of 1973. Helmed by Oscar winning Director Guy Nattiv, Golda takes a deep dive into the personal and professional struggles of Israels Iron Lady as she navigates the unruly trenches of politics. Also starring Camille Cottin, Liev Schreiber, Ed Stoppard and Henry Goodman, the film brings to light the never-seen-before aspects of this controversial leaders life.

Talking about the real life Golda Meir, the Oscar winning Mirren said, It's such a mighty character with such an incredible history. The journey of discovery is extraordinary. Further adding, she said, She was a great leader.

Opening up about the Israeli Prime Ministers hidden struggles, Director Guy Nattiv said, She was very tough. Golda is often called the Margaret Thatcher of Israel. She was really smart, really savvy and knew a lot about the world. She was a great politician, and knew how to handle the Americans. She knew how to bring help outside of Israel. Golda was also a woman with principles, and you couldn't really move her from them. She didn't trust a lot of people, especially not the Arab leaders, she wasnt willing to see a broader picture of the Middle East. Golda knew how to treat and deal with people, and she never lost her composure, but her stubbornness also brought her into dire situations. She didn't have the vision of how to make peace rather than war and terror. As the film depicts, at the time of the war she had cancer and no one knew about it or that she was being secretly driven to a hospital for treatments.

Helmed by Guy Nattiv and written by Nicholas Martin, the movie will be released by Lionsgate and PVRINOX Pictures.

Watch Helen Mirren deliver the performance of a lifetime in Lionsgates Golda, releasing in India on September 1st, 2023 at theaters near you.
Overriding the Biden administrations appeal, a US court has ordered a stay on the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, to India where he is facing a trial for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Rana, 62, has appealed before the Ninth Circuit Court against the order by a US District Court in the Central District of California that denied the writ of habeas corpus.

District Judge Dale S. Fischer of the US District Court in Central California in his latest order said that Ranas ex parte application seeking a stay on his extradition is granted.

The extradition of Rana to India is stayed pending the conclusion of his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Fischer said in the order issued on August 18.

In doing so the judge overrode the governments recommendations that there should be no stay on Ranas extradition.

Rana faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

While the Court does not find that Rana has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits  otherwise the Court would have ruled in his favour in the first instance  he has certainly raised serious legal questions going to the merits, the judge wrote.

The proper meaning of offence in Article 6(1) of the extradition treaty is not clear and different jurists could come to different conclusions. Ranas position is certainly colourable and could very well be found to be correct on appeal, the judge noted.

The final two factors merge when the Government is the opposing party. There is value in compliance with Indias extradition request, but Ranas extradition proceedings have been going on for more than three years, which suggests that the process has not been rushed so far. Otherwise, the public interest, if anything, favours Rana, the judge wrote.

The public has a strong interest in the proper interpretation of extradition treaties, particularly in the interpretation of provisions that provide important individual protections like the one at issue here. Further, there is a strong public interest in definitive, binding interpretations of treaties. District courts cannot provide those rulings; courts of appeals can, the judge wrote, throwing the legal battle to the Ninth Circuit Court now.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has asked Rana to submit his argument before October 10 and the US Government has been asked to submit its response by November 8.

Judge Fischer wrote that Rana has shown that he is likely to suffer significant irreparable harm absent a stay.

He will be extradited to India for a trial on serious crimes with no hope for a review of his arguments or hope for his return to the United States. The government admits this, but then argues that because this claimed irreparable harm applies categorically to any fugitive who seeks a stay of extradition pending appeal, it does not count, the judge said.

Earlier the US attorney John J Lulejian appealed before the District Court to deny Ranas ex parte application for a stay of extradition pending appeal and argued that the stay would cause unwarranted delay in the United States fulfilment of its obligations to India and this will damage its credibility in the international arena and impair its ability to obtain the cooperation of foreign nations in bringing United States fugitives to justice.

Rana, he argued, cannot show a likelihood of success on the merits of his claims or otherwise meet his burden of justifying a stay. Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that the Court deny his ex parte application, the US attorney wrote.

Lulejian argued that the District Court should deny Ranas request for a stay for the threshold reason that he has failed to demonstrate that he is likely to obtain a reversal of this Courts decision in the Ninth Circuit.

In his ex parte application for a stay, Rana has made no showing whatsoever, let alone a strong showing, that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his appeal, he argued. Indeed, he simply states that he seeks a stay to permit his non-bis in idem argument to be heard by the court of appeals. Indias National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing Ranas role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group. The NIA has said that it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.

A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at iconic and vital locations of Mumbai.
A zoo in Tennessee has reportedly got a rare giraffe with no spots.

The spotless giraffe was born on July 31 at the Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, and according to the zoo, she is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe in the world.

Spotless Giraffe Born in Tennessee

On Sunday, the zoo announced a contest to name the newborn giraffe, which is now on display for visitors. In an email to CBS News, the director of the zoo stated that the last spotless giraffe was documented in 1972 in Tokyo. According to archival photographs, the giraffe Toshiko was born at the Ueno Zoo.

Giraffes of the species Reticulated have brown and orange spots. According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, they are native to Africa and were listed as endangered in 2018.

The zoo stated in a press release that it hopes the giraffe will draw attention to the challenges the species faces in the outdoors.

A family of three uncommon white giraffes was observed in Kenya in the year 2020. The all-white giraffes were affected by leucism, which results in the loss of pigmentation and creates white skin.

After poachers killed two of the giraffes, a conservation group fitted the remaining giraffe with a GPS monitor to track its movements and, presumably, deter poachers.

CBS News has reached out to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and other experts for additional information on the giraffe without spots.

The reticulated giraffe is an endangered species that was added to the Red List by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in 2018. Officials at the zoo hope that the attention given to the neonate will aid conservation efforts.

Per USA Today, Tony Bright, the proprietor of Brights Zoo, stated in a press release that 40% of the natural giraffe population has disappeared in the last three decades.

Read Also: Former Microsoft Exec Jared Bridegan's Ex-Wife Charged for 'Plotting' to Murder Him

Spotless Giraffe Name Contest

On August 22, the zoo will open a ballot for the female giraffe's name on its Facebook page, where individuals can select one of four options.

The word Kipekee means "unique."

Firyali, which means "unusual or extraordinary," is a Sanskrit word.

Shakiri, whose name translates to "most attractive"

The name Jamella signifies "one of remarkable beauty."

Voting will continue until Labor Day.

The reticulated giraffe is characterized by its massive brown patches separated by lines of cream color. According to the St. Louis Zoo, the animal is native to the Eastern African savannah and is a herbivore.

Females can attain a height of 17 feet and a weight of 2,600 pounds. Currently, the giraffe in Tennessee is 6 feet tall.

According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the spots serve predominantly as camouflage but also play a function in the animal's circulatory system. Underneath each location are blood vessels to which a giraffe can send blood to discharge heat.

Related Article: Hurricane Hilary Strengthens, Seen To Bring 'Rare Impact' to Southern California

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Boeing on August 21 announced that the Republic of Indonesia and Boeing shared their commitment to finalize the sale of 24 F-15EX Eagle II fighters to Indonesia, subject to U.S. government approval, during a visit of Indonesias Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto to the United States.

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A Republic of Indonesia delegation, led by Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto (center), shared the countrys commitment to procuring F-15EX during a recent visit to Boeings St. Louis facility (Picture source: Boeing)

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Air Vice Marshal Yusuf Jauhari, Head of Defense Facilities Agency, Indonesia Ministry of Defense, and Mark Sears, Boeing Fighters vice president and program manager, took place today at the companys St. Louis facility following a tour of the F-15EX production line. We are pleased to announce our commitment to procure the critical F-15EX fighter capability for Indonesia, said Minister Subianto who witnessed the MoU signing. This state-of-the-art fighter will protect and secure our nation with its advanced capabilities.

The Boeing F-15EX Eagle II is an all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. It is the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, with digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, an all-glass digital cockpit, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities, which will all be leveraged in delivering the new F-15IDN.

We have invested years of expertise into developing the F-15EX capabilities. There is no other fighter like the F-15 in the world, and this platform will put Indonesia at the top of air dominance capabilities, said Sears. Boeing is ready to support this effort and remains a committed partner to the U.S. government in advancing international security objectives with allies and partners around the world.

Boeing and Indonesia have worked in partnership for nearly 75 years to support the development of aerospace and defense capabilities in the country through training, supply chain development and collaborations. Today, Boeings presence in Indonesia covers commercial aviation, defense, space, supply chain, academia partnerships and talent development efforts across the local industry.

Currently, the F-15 is operated by seven countries around the world.
The countdown to the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival is off to a good start. Birminghams largest free jazz festival returns to the historic 4th Avenue Business District in downtown Birmingham this weekend. Monday night, festival founders Urban Impact kicked off the week with Rhyme & Rhythm, a night of poetry, R&B, and smooth jazz at Uptown Jazz Lounge on 9th Avenue North.

Queen Da Poet christened the stage with the art of storytelling, followed by more beats, verses, and lyrics featuring an energetic performance from The Locked Band and more sets of spoken word.

The Locked Band performs the Uptown Jazz Lounge Stage during Rhyme & Rhythm (Shauna Stuart| AL.com)

Monday evenings show was the first in a series of three pre-Taste events curated to toast a landmark year for the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival. This weekend marks the festivals 20th anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, Urban Impact is expanding the festival into a two-day lineup of music and culture on Saturday, August 26 from 2 to 10 p.m. and Sunday, August 27 from 2 to 8 p.m.

Looking to take in some jazz and art before the festival returns to 4th Avenue North? Here are three events to add to your calendar.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22

Tuesday Jazz Jam with Daniel Jose Carr

(from left) keyboardist Willie Jackson, bassist Bernard McQueen, trumpeter Daniel Jose Carr, and drummer Timothy Huffman perform on May 2, 2023 at True Story Brewing during the Tuesday jazz jam sessions (Shauna Stuart| AL.com)

Birmingham-born jazz trumpeter and bandleader Daniel Jose Carr and his quartet are set to take the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival stage on Saturday. If you want to catch them earlier, head over to True Story Brewing in Crestwood. Carr leads one of the longest-running straight-ahead jazz jam sessions in Birmingham. After a short set by the house band Carr, keyboardist Willie Jackson, bassist Bernard McQueen, and drummer Timothy Huffman III  the stage opens up to allow musicians to sit in for the jam session. The session is all improv and with no rehearsal. Expect to see musicians trickle in throughout the night, including longtime bandleader Collins Bo Berry, his son Jonathan Berry, and Terry and Danny Harper. The session starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 10:30 at night. (Note: This jazz jam is a reoccurring event and not part of Urban Impacts official pre-Taste of 4th event lineup.)

Details: True Story Brewing Company, 5510 Crestwood Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35212| 7 to 10:30 p.m.

WEDESDAY, AUGUST 23

Honoring the 60th Commemoration: Conversation & Art

16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church is hosting events throughout 2023 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of its bombing and other civil rights events. Alaina Bookman/AL.com

On Aug. 23, Urban Impact will partner with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) to host an evening of reflections and art exhibitions to honor Sarah Collins Rudolph and Lisa McNair, the sisters of two of the girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on September 15, 1963. Rudolph was 12 years old when dynamite planted by members of the Ku Klux Klan inside of the church exploded. The blast blew glass and shrapnel at her face, leaving her blind in one eye, and killed her sister Addie Mae Collins and their friends Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. inside of the BCRI. The evening will include conversations with Rudolph and McNair, followed by an artist presentation to both women. Rudolph and McNair will also sign copies of their books. Urban Impact designed Wednesdays lecture to align with the citys year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights movement. (Note: This is an Urban Impact pre-Taste event.)

Details: The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203| 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25

Jazz & Jokes at Jazzis on 3rd

Jazzi's on 3rd is the event gallery and listening room dedicated to the late jazz vocalist and Alabama Jazz Hall of Famer Henry "Otto" Blankenship. (Shauna Stuart for AL.com)

The evening before the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Fest, Urban Impact will host Jazz & Jokes, a music and comedy night featuring comedian Lamar Pullom and a set by The Locked Band. Tickets for the show are $25 and available to purchase via Eventbrite. The show is in the Theatre District at Jazzis on 3rd, the event venue and former listening room dedicated to the late Henry Otto Blankenship, a longtime member of the Birmingham Heritage Band and a member of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. This year, Blankenship received a new honor-- a star on the Alabama Walk of Fame. The star is outside the front door of Jazzis. (Note: This is an Urban Impact pre-Taste event.)

Details: Jazzis on 3rd, 1725 3rd Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203| 7 - 9 p.m.
Summer is almost over, but if youre headed to Alabamas beaches for a last hurrah during Labor Day weekend, heres a reminder that Southern Living has some suggestions about where you might want to dine.

Southern Livings list of Best Places to Eat in Orange Beach, Alabama, follows a similar list of picks in Gulf Shores that came out back in the spring. As you might recall, that list included some destination venues such as The Hangout and LuLus, but also some old-school local favorites, DeSotos Seafood Kitchen and Mikees Seafood.

The Orange Beach list follows a similar pattern, though the average seems to be a little more upscale. The brand-new CoastAL, which occupies a unique beach-access site thanks to a unique partnership between the city of Orange Beach and some of the owners of the famed Flora-Bama, is one high-end example. Southern Living describes it as the only true beachfront restaurant on the list.

Other entries run the spectrum from swanky to casual: Fishers at Orange Beach Marina, Louisiana Lagniappe, The Gulf, Playa at Sportsman Marina, Cobalt, OSO at Bear Point Harbor and Tacky Jacks.

Docs Seafood stands out as an old-school family-owned venue that serves everything from the best fried shrimp in the entire civilized world to down-home blue-plate specials. But the biggest surprise is that the list includes a coffee shop: The Southern Grind Coffeehouse, praised for a wide selection of coffees  breakfast, lunch, dinner and a selection of desserts including gelato.

To see what Southern Living had to say about each of the venues on its list, visit www.southernliving.com.

Related:

Southern Living says these are the best restaurants in Gulf Shores

A unique partnership landed this restaurant on a prime Alabama beach

Southern Living says this family-owned restaurant is among Gulf Shores best
A shooting which left a 6-year-old boy with multiple gunshot wounds last week was the result of an ongoing dispute between teens at the Mobile apartment complex, police chief Paul Prine said Monday.

Prine spoke during a press conference in which he announced the arrest of two more teens in connection with the shooting at Summer Place Apartments on Azalea Road last Tuesday.

The two suspects were both taken into custody last Friday.

Mobile police arrested 18-year-old Deante Jacquiz Jenkins, while police in Gautier, Miss., apprehended 19-year-old Jamayal Trevaughn Williams after they identified him through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) data base.

Jenkins has joined 19-year-old Zaire Titnamus Hughes, who was arrested last Wednesday, in Mobile Metro Jail. Williams remains in the Jackson County (Miss.) Adult Detention Center awaiting extradition to Mobile.

Jenkins and Hughes are each charged with 1st-degree assault and shooting into an occupied dwelling. Jenkins is being held in lieu of $54,000 bond, while Hughes bond was set at $75,000.

Williams is facing the same charges once he is returned to Mobile.

Prine thanked both the Gulf Coast Regional Task Force and the community for assistance in tracking down the suspects.

I believe the community is sick and tired of dealing with the same garbage over and over, Prine said. Thats why in less than a week you see we brought these individuals who otherwise we had no knowledge or clue as to their identity. Weve been able to apprehend them.

Prine also emphasized the investigation is not complete and additional arrests are possible, warning suspects that investigators will not stop until you are behind bars.

The child remains in critical condition, Prine said, and asked the community to pray for the childs recovery.

He needs prayer now more than he has ever needed, the chief said.
Alabama public health officials are warning Baldwin County residents about two infections of the mosquito-borne virus called Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), including one case that resulted in a fatality.

The two cases occurred in Baldwin County within the past few weeks, according to a news release issued on Monday.

The Alabama Department of Public Health did not say where the cases occurred, but the City of Spanish Fort  in a Facebook update Friday, and again on Monday  confirmed that they were reported within city limits.

The city is working in conjunction with the Baldwin County Health Department and the Alabama Department of Public Health to set mosquito traps in various areas of the city for testing purposes, the citys Facebook post says, alerting residents who see a mosquito trap to keep it in place.

The incidences in Baldwin County are a rarity, but the statistics about the virus are alarming. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately a third of all people with encephalitis due to EEE die. Death can happen two to 10 days after the onset of symptoms but can also occur much later.

And for those who do recover, they can be left with long-term physical or mental impairments, which can range from brain dysfunction to severe intellectual impairment, personality disorders, seizures, paralysis and cranial nerve dysfunction, according to CDC.

EEE is a rare disease caused by a virus spread by infected mosquitoes. In the U.S., an average of 11 human cases of EEE are reported annually. The CDC reported only one case of EEE in all the U.S. last year.

There is no specific treatment for EEE, and antibiotics are not effective against the virus.

Alabama has had eight cases of humans contracting EEE from 2003-2022, according to CDC. Of those, four were in Baldwin County. Overall, there have been 189 cases of EEE within the past 19 years, 169 resulting in hospitalizations and 78 deaths.

Most cases of EEE have been reported from Atlantic and Gulf Coast states, primarily from late spring to early fall. In Gulf States, a rare case can occur in winter, according to the CDC.

ADPH is alerting people to avoid mosquito bites by doing the following: use insect repellents, wear long sleeve shirts and long pants when possible, wear loos-fitting, light-colored clothes, treat clothing with repellents, use air conditioning or screens on windows and doors.

In Spanish Fort, the citys Facebook page confirmed on Monday that workers had been placing mosquito traps in various locations where the insect may be encountered, and testing had commenced. Results from the testing of captured mosquitos will be available in the near future, the city says.

The city is also urging people with unmaintained, stagnant or untreated pools or other similar stagnant and untreated water sources to consider draining them if it can occur without damage to the structure. For pools or small ponds that cannot be drained, the city is urging people to obtain a larvicide tablet from the city by contact 251-626-4884.
Alabama Attorney Gen. Steve Marshall is demanding a federal investigation into the Defense Departments decision to put U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado.

Marshall called that a sudden reversal of an earlier decision to locate the headquarters on Huntsvilles Redstone Arsenal, the top competing military location for it.

Marshall cited an Al.com report that Space Command Gen. James Dickinson, a previous advocate for the Redstone Arsenal site in Huntsville, changed his recommendation to President Biden for headquarters to be located to Colorado.

The change of preference occurred just as General Dickinson in April 2023 purchased a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado location, Marshall said, which was never disclosed to stakeholders in the process.

Since taking office, this president has targeted red states for daring to resist his radical progressive agenda. But when it comes to national security, politics must take a backseat, Marshall said in a news release. I implore the Inspector General to investigate the oddly timed investment by General Dickinson which coincided with his recommendation against the Air Forces preferred site in Huntsville.

Marshall further vowed to continue to use the unique power of my office to hold President Biden accountable and demand transparency into this politically motivated charade.

Marshall said the Air Force identified the Redstone Arsenal as the best site for the headquarters in 2021 and that decision was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Defenses Inspector Generals Office and the Government Accountability Office.

Dickinson told Alabama officials in a closed June meeting that Redstone would be the headquarters location, Marshall said, but registered a deed in April for the ranch near the Colorado location. Dickinson did not disclose that personal interest to Alabama officials and it is unknown whether he disclosed his personal interest in Colorado to President Biden or other superiors.

Dickinson is a native of Estes Park, Colo., and graduate of Colorado State University. He also holds a degree from the Colorado School of mines. He is retiring after a military career that included deployment in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Dickinson was given his fourth star in August 2020.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala) has called top Pentagon decision makers to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on what he calls President Bidens politically motivated decision to locate U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado.

Rogers is chairman of the committee that has jurisdiction over Pentagon and American defense policy. He referred to the presidents decision to leave U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs where it began operations rather than follow Pentagon procedure in determining a permanent location. That procedure was established to remove politics and determine the best location among states competing for headquarters and commands. That process chose Alabamas Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the best location.

The call to testify includes Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, U.S. Space Command Commander Gen. James Dickinson and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.

In May, I opened a congressional investigation into the Biden administrations shameful delay to finalize the permanent basing decision for U.S. Space Command, Rogers said in a press release. When the Secretary of the Air Force finally made a decision, he upheld his predecessors decision to base U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama. President Biden then usurped the Air Force Secretarys authority and named Colorado Springs the permanent basing site for U.S. Space Command in order to improve his political standing for next years re-election.

I have invited Secretary Kendall, General Dickinson, and General Saltzman to testify to the House Armed Services Committee in a public hearing, Rogers said. We will get answers on President Bidens political manipulation of the selection process.

Rogers represents east-central Alabamas third congressional district.
An Anniston man has been sentenced to federal prison for robberies that happened in Mississippi five years ago.

DNA evidence led to the arrest of Jonathan Lewis Jennings, 32, in 2018 holdups at a liquor store and a convenience store on Jan. 15, 2018, in Meridian.

A federal jury in Mississippi convicted Jennings on two counts of robbery, two counts of using or carrying a firearm in a violent crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jennings on Tuesday was sentenced to 314 months  more than 26 years  in prison, according to a joint announcement from Southern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood.

The Meridian Police Department and the ATF investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam T. Stuart and Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.
Five years after a tornado wrecked Jacksonville State Universitys campus, disputes over the cost of cleanup continue in federal and state courts.

Initially, JSU and ServPro of Birmingham appeared to work in harmony on the campus cleanup. That was until two separate audits found that ServPro overbilled millions. Initial results of one audit show that ServPro billed for 30 hours per day per employee in some instances.

Then, the university switched sides, following behind the state insurance fund in refusing to pay ServPro for more billed work. ServPro alleges in multiple lawsuits that Jacksonville State officials misused state and federal funds for tornado recovery instead of paying ServPro for its full scope of work.

A federal judge, ServPro and Jacksonville State University have all said in court records that the FBI is investigating the issue.

Since then, ServPro has maintained the accuracy of its billing, saying that the university still owes more than $24 million in unpaid work and interest. The state, which provided insurance reimbursements for most of JSUs campus cleanup, refused to pay more than the nearly $50 million it did to reimburse JSU for its payments to ServPro, saying that the universitys contractor was overbilling for its work.

ServPro, a subsidiary company of Pelham-based BWW, Inc., sued the university in federal court and filed a claim with a state finance department board. A federal judge threw out the lawsuit and said it was a state matter.

Now its all in the hands of Calhoun County Judge Timothy Burgess. ServPro has asked the judge to keep its business documents confidential during the discovery process. Burgess scheduled a hearing for Aug. 24 in his courtroom in downtown Anniston.

We have serious concerns about ServPros billing to JSU based on a third party audit that was conducted, Gregory Harley, the universitys in-house lawyer, told AL.com in an email. The audit raises substantial questions about ServPros billing, including billing rates for workers, duplicate billing, excessive hours billed in a single day, overtime billing, excessive markups and other issues. We look forward to the discovery process in the litigation.

Birmingham attorney Wayne Morse, whom the university retained for the lawsuits, declined to comment. Representatives for ServPro  including CEO Brady Wilson and attorneys Brad Smith and Barry Hair of Birmingham and Stanley Murphy of Tuscaloosa  either declined to comment or did not respond.

Merrill Hall on the JSU campus was heavily damaged by the tornado. (Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com)al.com

Jacksonville State University hired ServPro to rebuild its campus buildings on March 20, 2018, just one day after the tornado struck its campus. Its contract didnt include a scope of work. ServPro began billing the university per their contract, and Jacksonville State paid those invoices on time, up to about $50 million, court records state.

The exact total cost of the tornados damage to Jacksonville State University isnt yet calculated, said Arlitha Harmon, senior vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer. But current tallies find spending well over $100 million, per the universitys annual financial reports.

The University continues to work to obtain final determinations and finish the outstanding tornado related repairs, Harmon told AL.com in an email. Settlements and reimbursements are pending.

The Alabama Department of Finances State Insurance Fund has reimbursed the university nearly $90 million to cover the cost of debris removal, campus safety and some lighting repairs, per the universitys 2022 annual financial report. But some expenses werent reimbursed. So the university used $30 million of its own money, Harmon said, and turned to other funds, mostly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as emergency grants and nearly $13 million loaned from the state of Alabama.

In January 2019, JSUs state insurer told the university it had launched an audit and was withholding a $12 million reimbursement, saying that there was an issue with ServPros invoices, per court records. Then, three months later, Jacksonville State stopped paying ServPro, according to court records.

That independent audit by Ohio-based accounting firm Meaden & Moore found ServPro overbilled the university for its overtime rates even though the contract doesnt allow for overtime, may have duplicated more than 10,000 hours of work, billed laborers for higher rates than allowed in the contract and incorrectly billed subcontractors. JSU later referenced the results of that audit in its responses to ServPro in court documents as justification for not paying the company more money.

The initial audit, which was not included in court records but obtained by AL.com, noted that ServPro in some cases billed for as many as 30 hours in a single day for individual employees.

In the audit, which is labeled as initial and incomplete, Meaden & Moore also found that ServPro continued to bill the university for its work even after finishing its construction in December 2018, its time sheets were altered or submitted incorrectly, equipment costs were upcharged, and entire invoices were duplicated and labeled incorrectly. By April 2019, the auditor said it still wasnt finished with its audit because of the volume of records that ServPro provided, but that it could only recommend that the university pay about $30.6 million  half of what ServPro billed.

Spokespeople for Meaden & Moore did not respond to requests for comment or provide a full and complete version of the audit to AL.com.

By September 2019, Jacksonville State indicated it was aware of the state-requested audit but unaware of its results showing potential overbilling by ServPro and defended the company. In a letter to a representative for the Alabama Division of Risk Managements State Insurance Fund, university counsel asked why the state hadnt reimbursed the university for tornado recovery payments for six months and disputed allegations from representatives of the state insurance fund that the university wanted it to pay for campus enhancements and didnt cooperate fully.

With the approval of SIFs representatives and consultants, JSU hired ServPro who did an excellent job assisting JSU in getting the campus ready to open, the university counsels letter reads. SIF did not have any problems with ServPros work or rates at the time the work was done and did not have any problem with the invoices at the time they were received.

In another audit of the university conducted by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts and published Nov. 2019, the state identified three red flags related to public works projects between Oct. 1, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2018. One of them was about an unnamed contractor that did tornado recovery work for the university.

Government/public organizations, like Jacksonville State, have to advertise for sealed bids for three weeks before they sign a contract for a project worth more than $15,000 to allow for a competitive process, per Alabama code. There are some exceptions in cases of emergency, as was this tornado, but the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts still found in its audit that the university broke the law by allowing work to go on for well after the disaster hit.

The state audit found that ServPro billed the university for more than $4.4 million in mitigation services and nearly $8.2 million in construction services across campus on May 11, 2018, listing the work as 98% complete. But as of January 2019, the company was still charging the university  and billing steep prices, saying the university owed it for more than $52 million in construction work, per the audit.

The states audit also found that ServPro was billing the university for overtime construction work daily instead of weekly, per the contract. That resulted in a bigger bill for the university.

Internal control procedures should require clauses in cost plus contracts allowing the University access to the contracted company records to ensure that it pays only those costs that are properly compensable under the terms of the contract, the states audit reads. The Universitys contract did not include an audit provision.

By December 2020, the university had changed its tune. The university counsel told ServPro in a letter that Jacksonville State would not pay ServPro any more money until an investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Office, which had been ongoing for several months, concluded and the state resumed its reimbursements.

ServPros apparent fraud and overbilling have created massive problems for JSU, the university counsel said in its letter to ServPro. This has resulted in tremendous financial hardship for JSU, delayed the completion of work and disrupted JSUs normal operations.

In April 2021, ServPro first sued three Jacksonville State officials over its lack of payment  then president Don Killingsworth; James Brigham, former senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer; and David Thompson, director of capital planning and facilities  as well as other unnamed, unknown officials.

The company filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Eastern Division. It alleged that the university officials misrepresented to ServPro the status of payments to which it was due and insisted ServPro continue its work all the while knowing that the university would direct those funds elsewhere or just keep them instead, according to the complaint.

ServPro asked the court for the $20.5 million it alleged the university still owed, plus interest, damages and other fees. In February 2022, U.S. District Judge Corey Maze ruled in favor of the university officials motion to dismiss the case, stating that ServPros federal claim wasnt viable.

One month later, ServPro tried again  filing a new complaint alleging the same issues and naming additional university officials in Calhoun County Circuit Court.

In the case, ServPro alleged that Brigham and Thompson committed one count each of fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, suppression and deceit; conversion; tortious interference with business relations and defamation; and loss of business opportunity. The company also sued other officials  Killingworth, controller Allyson Barker, chairman of the universitys board of trustees Randall Jones and senior vice president for finance and administration Arlitha Williams-Harmon  for injunctive and mandamus relief, which would compel them to follow a potential court order.

The company is asking Judge Burgess to award the money it alleges its still owed based on its contract with the university, as well as compensatory damages, punitive damages, and interest, costs and attorneys fees.

JSU officials have since filed two motions to dismiss the case, arguing that theyre immune to being sued because theyre state officials, that the court lacks jurisdiction for the topic and that ServPros complaint is a ruse for breach-of-contract against the State. The universitys defense is that because its contract with ServPro didnt include a scope of work and wasnt bid, its not enforceable. Burgess ruled against those motions twice, and the case has continued.

Separately, in December 2021, ServPro filed a claim with the Alabama State Board of Adjustment against the university, the Alabama Department of Finance, the Alabama State Insurance Fund, the Alabama Division of Risk Management, and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

Its unclear if that claim has been resolved. Spokespeople for the Department of Finance, which oversees the Board of Adjustment, declined to comment and would not provide AL.com with records related to ServPros claim with the Board of Adjustments, citing an active, ongoing investigation.

Generally, if the results of a state audit deal with federal dollars, the audits findings are sent to the appropriate federal agency, said Rachel Riddle, chief examiner for the department which serves as Alabamas top financial watchdog. All audits that the department conducts are sent to authorities like the attorney general, district attorneys, the FBI and the IRS, she told AL.com.

If there is something there that these entities think warrants looking into, they usually contact us and do so, Riddle said in an email.

But its unclear what came of the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts findings of fault with both ServPro and Jacksonville State  a spokesperson for the department declined to say.

Whether the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Office investigated ServPro, Jacksonville State University, or both parties remains unconfirmed.

Spokespeople for the Federal Bureau of Investigations Birmingham field office and U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona were not available for comment in time for publication. Spokespeople for the offices of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Calhoun County District Attorney Brian McVeigh did not respond to requests for comment.

The universitys campus recovery is still ongoing. One building  Wallace Hall, the former home for its nursing program  has seen delays because of financial constraints. It appears the university has exhausted federal funds to rebuild the tornado-damaged buildings on campus after ServPro stopped its work. Per the universitys annual financial report for 2022, the university asked FEMA to pay $28.3 million to rebuild Wallace Hall, but the agency denied that request at least twice. Last month, the university opted to demolish the building and move the School of Nursing elsewhere.

Editors note: A previous version of the story inaccurately listed the current lawsuits allegations against some of the university officials. The error was corrected and the story was last updated at 12:08 p.m.
Efforts are ramping up in Spanish Fort on spraying for mosquitos and attempting to identify the species of the insect that is in the area after startling revelations about two cases of a rare mosquito-borne virus.

One of the cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) is to blame for the death of a 7-year-old girl.

Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan said Tuesday that the Spanish Fort City Council, during its meeting Monday night, voted on a contract with Arkansas-based VDCI Mosquito Management to survey the area, and to apply different kinds of sprays aimed at killing different species of mosquitos.

He said efforts are also ongoing in trapping and identifying the species of mosquitos within the community.

They have the capability to do different sprays once you know the species we are dealing with, McMillan told AL.com. We are sort of in the dark until we know the species to direct a particular spray at. In the meantime, we are spraying every day until we get to the bottom of this.

McMillan said the city routinely sprays for mosquitos, every week and every mile in the city. But he said that the city does not spray more than once a week out of concern of the insects building up immunity, which defeats the purpose, the mayor said.

He said the contract with VDCI allows the city to go to an outside service with the capability to spray different kinds of sprays on a given notice.

They will be collecting the traps today to determine the species and best way to approach it, McMillan said. They have to do their analysis and how long that takes, I dont know.

A representative at VDCI could not be reached for immediate comment Tuesday morning.

McMillan said the city first found out about the EEE cases on Friday when city officials were alerted by the Baldwin County Board of Health. The Alabama Department of Public Health, which oversees the countys board of health, sent out a news release on Monday warning residents to be mindful of protecting themselves from mosquitos, and confirming the two cases including one that was a fatality.

One of the confirmed cases was in Spanish Fort. The other is near the city in an unincorporated area of Baldwin County, McMillan said.

Its been a lot of reaction on social media, if you can imagine, McMillan said. There is concern.

He said that public health officials are examining areas where there is standing water, including swimming pools.

We are adjacent to a swamp, the Delta, said McMillan. There are a lot of different breeds of mosquitos. You worry about the places that hold water and the board of health is doing tests on reports of standing water.

He added, Its an ongoing process. We are doing all we can do until we get determination of species.

EEE is a virus, which is transmitted by mosquito bites. It is extremely rare. There was only one case in the U.S. last year, and only eight previous cases in Alabama since 2003. On average, nationwide, there are 11 cases of EEE each year.

Its a dangerous and deadly virus. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one of our every three people infected from EEE die from it.

Even for people who do recover from EEE, they can be left with long-term physical or mental impairments, which can range from brain dysfunction to severe intellectual impairment, personality disorders, seizures, paralysis and cranial nerve dysfunction, according to the CDC.

There is no specific treatment for EEE, and antibiotics are not effective against the virus.
(Photo : WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

A federal judge has blocked a Georgia law that prohibits minors from getting access to gender-affirming care and hormone therapy.

A federal judge has blocked a Georgia law that would have banned minors from accessing gender-affirming care or hormone therapy.

The judge, Sarah E. Geraghty, from the Northern District of Georgia, said in her ruling that the state's law was substantially likely to be in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. She noted that the plaintiffs in the case, four anonymous transgender children and their parents, showed a likelihood of succeeding on the merits at trial.

Judge Blocks Law Banning Gender-Affirming Care

The development would allow minors to receive treatment while the case is still ongoing. Geraghty wrote in her ruling that the plaintiffs were able to establish that they will suffer irreparable harm if they are not given a preliminary injunction. These risks include depression, anxiety, disordered eating, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.

The judge added that in the absence of an injunction, the middle-school-age plaintiffs will not be able to obtain a course of treatment that their healthcare providers have recommended in light of their individual diagnoses and mental health needs, as per The Hill.

The law in question has two major provisions, which prohibit minors from receiving hormone replacement therapies and sex reassignment surgeries from licensed healthcare facilities in what is usually done to treat gender dysphoria. If the law is found to have been violated, it imposed punishments on medical providers where they will be stripped of their licenses.

However, the initial complaint was only regarding hormone therapy and did not include any provision for surgery. The lawsuit also claims that the state's new law violates parents' rights to make medical decisions for their children's health and well-being as well as stops them from obtaining appropriate medical treatment for their children who have gender dysphoria.

The state argued that any sort of preliminary injunction, if any was issued, should be scaled down to only include the children who are currently involved in the lawsuit. However, the judge in the case claims that such a decision would be unworkable because it is extremely difficult to obtain care under the law and due to the plaintiffs' anonymity potnetially being compromised.

Read Also: Biden's Investment Will Bring High-Speed Internet to Millions of Rural Americans

Risks of Banning Care Access to Minors

In response to the judge's ruling, Kara Richardson, a spokeswoman for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, expressed their disappointment. She noted that they plan to immediately appeal the decision in order to protect the health and well-being of the children in the state, according to ABC News.

The law in question, known as Senate Bill 140, despite blocking gender-affirming care in general, would allow doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking medications and allow minors who are already in the process of receiving hormone therapy to continue.

In a statement, attorneys for the plaintiffs said that the judge's ruling was an "incredible victory for Georgia families. The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and the law firm O'Melveny & Myers said that the law denies minors essential health care.

One mother involved in the lawsuit, identified as Emma Koe, said that she and her family even considered moving out of Georgia if their 12-year-old daughter was denied treatment. She said that she felt defeated after the law was passed, said the Nebraska Examiner.

Related Article: House Republicans Threaten Government Shutdown Unless Leadership Meets Demands

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Calls for the release of body camera footage continued on Tuesday into the tasing death of a 36-year-old Black man by a police officer following an altercation on July 2 in Theodore.

The requests for the footage came before the Mobile City Council, with one of the requestors being the sister of Jawan Dallas whose death continues to be under investigation. They also came about one month after the attorneys for the Dallas family, which includes prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, also called on the public release of the body cam footage.

I also want transparency, said Carolina Dallas of Chickasaw. Its the right thing to do.

Also requesting the release of the footage was James Jackson Jr., a civil rights advocate. He said there remains too many questions about Dallas death, and that police-worn body camera footage would help quell community concerns.

You have witnesses who say he was beaten, said Jackson. The MPD says differently. The family deserves clarity.

Ongoing investigation

Mobile City Attorney Ricardo Woods said the family will get to see the video footage when the investigation is completed.

The shooting is under investigation by three agencies  internally by Mobile police, The Mobile County District Attorneys Office, and the FBI.

As soon as the criminal investigation is over, Ive informed the (attorney of the Dallas family) that well sit down with him and allow him to review the video and allow the family members review the video as well, said Woods, who said the attorney for Woods has been informed of the situation. He said he has not had direct contact with the family.

We dont do this until the criminal investigation is over, Woods said. It is now part of the grand jury process and that is protected by law.

Its unclear how long the investigation will last, and there was no indication that the video will be released publicly. Police have since released a transcript of the 911 call that occurred during the incident.

Maria Dallas, left, holds a photo of her brother, Jawan Dallas, at a press conference as she stands beside her mother, Christine Dallas. Jawan died July 2 after being hit twice with a stun gun by Mobile police. (Mary Helene Hall / mhall@al.com)

The killing happened after a man called 911 to say someone was trying to break into his trailer. That call prompted a rapid response by police, who have said they encountered Dallas and another man roughly 100 yards away from the property. The attorneys for the family argue that the caller informed police dispatch that someone was only in his yard and that a burglary was not happening.

The 911 caller also claimed the person who trespassed onto the property was homeless.

Dallas was approached by police while sitting in a fully functional vehicle and did not present to be indigent or homeless, according to a claim report.

Mobile police then demanded that Dallas produce a state-issued ID. Police have said that Dallas refused, with the family asserting that he had not committed any crime.

Dallas was then struck and tased multiple times, the claim from the family filed in July says. An attorney for the family says that Dallas fell to the ground after the first tasing, grabbed his chest and complained of chest pain. The officer then tased him again, the attorney says, until he stopped moving.

Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine, last month, said Dallas evaded police after they showed up to investigate a burglary call. The chief said the responding officers feared for their own safety because of Dallass behavior and strange movement in the car, such as moving to the backseat with his hands.

Dallas, a convicted felon, was later found to have drugs -- crystal methamphetamine and analog marijuana known as spice.

Do the right thing?

Robert Clopton, president of the Mobile County NAACP, speaks during the Faith in Action Alabama Mobile Hub gathering on Monday, April 17, 2023, at Mt Zion Primitive Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala. Th meeting was held to discuss strategies toward action in ending gun violence in Mobile, and to seek action in attaining justice following the policing shooting death of 25-year-old Kordell Jones on March 7, 2023. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Robert Clopton, president of the Mobile chapter of the NAACP, has long called for the release of police-worn body camera footage following fatal encounters involving a police officer, including after the death of Dallas.

I dont know how it hampers an investigation, Clopton said of the footage. If its the facts.

Clopton blamed Mobile for the lack of transparency, saying its up to the city to decide if they wanted to release it.

He said he was glad people showed up to the council meeting to raise concerns. No one on the council provided reaction.

If no one ever speaks up, Clopton said. Nothing will ever happen.

He noted other instances in which family members and attorneys have been denied access to the body cam footage. Police have dismissed calls for releasing video footage of the March 7 killing of 25-year-old Kordell Jones, who was shot and killed by authorities while they were raiding a home in search of his brother.

Alabama state law does not allow for the footages widespread release, and the Alabama State Supreme Court, through a 2021 ruling, claimed the footage is not subject to the states open records law. The courts ruling continues to allow police to deny media or public request for a host of police records, no matter the public controversy or outcry.

Its a different scenario in Tennessee, where the states approach toward widespread dissemination of police-worn body camera footage earned praise earlier this year. Two cases stood out: Police body cam footage was released following the brutal killing of Tyree Nichols by five Black Memphis police officers in January, and body cam footage was released within 24 hours following the March 27 shooting at Covenant School near Nashville.

A new state law, effective on September 1, allows people whose image or voice is the subject of a body camera or dash camera recording can file a written request to review it. An attorney, parent, spouse or another designated representative can make the request.

An agency that receives the request would then have to either show the video to the person or representative or notify the requestor that it was denying the request. Law enforcement does not have to give a reason for its denial. It does say the agency can deny any request that would affect an ongoing investigation.

And the new law does not include any additional allowances for public dissemination of body cam footage.

Clopton said its up to the individual agencies to provide access.

Why cant the city just do the right thing? he said.
Dominic Box, a former Savannah resident charged for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, was scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., last week for a hearing on whether to revoke his bond, but he didnt show up.

Box had his license suspended in Jacksonville, Fla., earlier in the month when he refused to take a breathalyzer, an apparent violation of his bond conditions. But his lawyer said he could not attend the Washington hearing because he was in the Jacksonville jail, following a separate incident where a sheriffs deputy found him unconscious in his car in the parking lot of a barbecue restaurant.

According to a police report, the deputy found the 33-year-old former auto salesman passed out in the drivers seat outside the restaurant around 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 16. The deputy wrote that a witness saw Box traveling the wrong way down a one-way street before pulling into the restaurant parking lot where he reportedly backed into a yellow, metal pole.

The deputy wrote that Boxs 2009 Ford Escape was still in reverse and noted that Box had watery eyes and slurred speech.

I attempted to converse with Mr. Box in regards to the crash however he became very irate and could not focus on the conversation, the deputy wrote. Box refused a breath test for alcohol for the second time in 10 days and was placed under arrest. According to the Aug. 16 police report, Box was driving on a suspended license for refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test in an incident Aug. 6.

Prior to the Capitol riot, Box was a member of the Savannah Freedom Exchange, an online activist group that orchestrated protests in the summer of 2020 that leaned heavily into QAnon conspiracy theories about child sex trafficking rings. One such event was attended by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who later said he was there to promote awareness of human trafficking and did not know of the events connection to QAnon.

Box has a history as an enthusiastic supporter of conspiracy theories, ranging from the Kennedy assassination to Sept. 11 hoaxes to claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. On Jan. 6, Box livestreamed his march into the Capitol on Facebook, describing the awesome crowd as thousands marched on Congress.

President Trump has called on all of everybody here, all 250,000 of us, to march down Pennsylvania Avenue, he said. Well over 250,000 of us marching to the halls of Congress.

After Jan. 6, Box left Savannah and settled in Jacksonville and wasnt arrested on charges related to the riot until last December when the U.S. Department of Justice charged him with four misdemeanors. In a telephone interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January, Box said he still believed the election was stolen, but he separated himself from Trump.

At the time, I believed in Trump and now I dont. I dont now. Ive lost all respect I had for him, he said. He told me he had my back. He doesnt.

During the interview, Box talked openly about his struggles with drugs and alcohol and the stress he was under dealing with regular visits and calls from FBI agents for the nearly two years leading up to his arrest.

Ill be honest. For a drug addict, thats a long time, he said.

Boxs bond on his Jan. 6 charges required him to stay away from drugs, not drink to excess, submit to periodic testing for prohibited substances and participate in substance abuse treatment, if directed. But in a hearing in January, prosecutors said Box had tested positive for marijuana in one test and failed to report for another.

Boxs problems apparently came to a head in Jacksonville where he was charged with DUI, careless driving and possession of an open container of alcohol. In the Aug. 16 police report, the deputy wrote that he had trouble getting Box to focus as he talked to him, adding that Box started yelling and calling me various racial slurs.

Boxs attorney, John Machado, said the latest arrest is clearly a problem for his client, but he said he was getting substance abuse treatment. Machado said plea negotiations with the Justice Department are ongoing to settle the criminal charges related to the Capitol riot.

____

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The man suspected of killing four people in two Alabama counties has entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to capital murder charges.

Daniel Parker Watson, 29, entered the pleas during his arraignment before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Shanta Craig Owens on Monday.

He was indicted two months ago in the March 14 shooting deaths of Tiffany Michele Hernandez and Jason Joseph Brown, both 40, in Birmingham.

Watson appeared before Owens Monday with his attorneys, Jeffrey Dummier and Louvenia Borom.

Jefferson County prosecutors Joe Roberts and Neil Zarzour are prosecuting the case.

A trial date has not yet been set. Watson remains held without bond.

Watson is also charged in St. Clair County with capital murder in the shooting death of 37-year-old wife and mother Amber Manning and with murder in the fatal shooting of 62-year-old Timothy Davidson.

The St. Clair County cases are still awaiting grand jury action.

Two men were found shot to death Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in the 8400 block of Eighth Avenue South in East Lake. (Carol Robinson)

Hernandez and Brown were found shot to death that Tuesday at a home in South East Lake.

They are believed to be the first pair of slayings committed by Watson, police said.

Authorities have said Watson approached a Leeds police officer at about 5 a.m. that day and told him that he had shot two people in Birmingham, and two people in St. Clair County.

St. Clair County Sheriff Billy Murray said at about 12:01 a.m., deputies responded to a disturbance call at 1 Ivy Drive Ragland.

When they arrived, the deputies found Manning dead in the driveway.

Tim Davidson and Amber Manning were fatally shot at a St. Clair County residence. (Special to AL.com)

Davidson was inside the residence and still alive. He was flown by lifesaver to UAB hospital and later pronounced dead.

About 6 a.m., Birmingham police received information from the Leeds Police Department that Watson had confessed to shooting two people in Birmingham.

Watson was able to provide general information about a house in South East Lake where two of the killings took place.

Officers made entry and found an adult male and found Hernandez and Brown dead.

A motive has not yet been released but Watson knew at least some of the victims.

He shares the same last name as the owners and/or residents of the South East Lake home, property records show, but any relationship between Watson and any of the victims has not yet been disclosed.
The Biden administration has officially unveiled its new income-driven student loan repayment plan known as SAVE.

The Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE Plan, calculates payments based on a borrowers income and family size as opposed to their loan balances and forgives debt after a certain number of years. The plan will cut many borrowers monthly payments to zero and will save other borrowers around $1,000 a year, according to a White House statement.

Starting today, millions of borrowers can reduce their monthly student loan bills by enrolling in the SAVE plan, the most affordable repayment plan in history, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. The SAVE plan is another huge step forward in President Bidens tireless efforts to fix the broken student loan system, reduce the burden of student debt on working families, and put borrowers first.

An estimated 20 million borrowers will benefit from the plan, the White House said. Borrowers can sign up starting today with an online application at StudentAid.gov/SAVE.

READ MORE: Student loan forgiveness starts for 800,000 borrowers: Heres who qualifies

SAVE plan

Under the SAVE plan, borrowers with undergraduate loans will have their payments reduced from 10% to 5% of discretionary income, a change that could slash many payments to zero. For example, under the SAVE formula, a single borrower who makes about $15 a year will not have to make any monthly payments.

Also, no interest will be charged on loan balances not covered by the borrowers payment on the SAVE plan. For example, if a borrower has $50 in interest that accumulates each month and their payment is $30 per month under the new SAVE plan, the remaining $20 would not be charged as long as they make their $30 monthly payment, the White House explained.

The SAVE plan also allows borrowers whose original principal balances were $12,000 or less to receive forgiveness after 120 payments, the equivalent of 10 years.

Roughly 70 percent of borrowers who were on an IDR plan before the payment pause will benefit from this change. Borrowers who are already on the existing REPAYE plan will be automatically enrolled in the SAVE plan and see their payments automatically adjust with no action on their part.

The launch of the SAVE plan comes just weeks before interest will once again start accruing on student loans after a three-year pause during the COVID pandemic. Payments are set to resume in October.
A Sylacauga store clerk was found dead inside the business from an apparent accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police officers were dispatched at 12:45 p.m. Monday to the Hop In convenience store on North Broadway Avenue and 10th Street in Sylacauga.

The call was made by a firefighter who stopped at the store to make a purchase and found the clerk  identified as Pankaj Pankaj  lying in a pool of blood behind the counter. There was a handgun next to him.

Police Chief Kelley Johnson said an investigation was immediately launched. Video from the stores surveillance cameras showed that the 21-year-old Pankaj accidentally shot himself in the head while looking at the store owners gun that was kept behind the counter for protection.

The chief said Pankajs death was ruled accidental by the county coroner after he, too, reviewed, the store video.

The Sylacauga Police Department would like to express its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Pankaj Pankaj, Johnson said.

Anyone with additional information about this case or any other case is asked to call 256-249-4716, 256-267-0090 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).
Will former President Donald Trump show up in a MAGA hat when he reports to the Fulton County Jail on Thursday? What color will his tie be? The sheriff says hell be treated like any other detainee, meaning hell have his fingerprints and mugshot taken.

So, will he be smiling in that booking photo?

Entrepreneurial oddsmakers are offering online prop bets ahead of Trumps surrender on charges he orchestrated a sweeping criminal enterprise to overturn the former his 2020 defeat in Georgia. Some of his codefendants have begun turning themselves in.

Trump said in a social media post that he will come to Atlanta on Thursday, the eve of the deadline announced by by District Attorney Fani Willis.

Trump was granted a $200,000 bond on Monday. Terms of the consent bond order say he Trump cant engage in witness intimidation or communicate directly or indirectly about the facts of the case with any codefendants except through his lawyer. After spouting baseless claims about Willis personal life, Trump recently wrote on his social media site that the DA has allowed Atlanta (Fulton County) to become a record setting Murder and Violent Crime War Zone. Actually, violent crime is down more than 20% compared to this time last year, according to Atlanta Police Department data.

The site BetOnline is dealing only in facts. As the world waits for what could be the first-ever presidential mug shot, the betting site is letting gamblers lay odds on all sorts of stats, including Trumps weight at booking. The site Bovada is taking bets on whether the former president will be handcuffed and what sorts of phrases hell post on Truth Social after his arraignment. Marxist Left, Perfect Phone Call and Fake Indictment are among the choices.

The Fulton County indictment marked the fourth time Trump has been indicted in recent months. He also faces criminal charges in New York along with two federal probes  one in Florida and the other in Washington D.C.

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Huntsville City Council President John Meredith admits some residents in the Limestone County portion of the city are being treated like red-headed stepchildren when it comes to updated broadband service.

That portion of the city is too rural for some internet companies to offer the service, but ironically, not rural enough to be eligible for federal funds to help them gain the service they want.

The concern is that were citizens of Huntsville city too, a frustrated Byron McGlathery told Meredith at a recent town hall in Limestone County.

We need to feel like were considered and worthy of funding and getting those upgrades, McGlathery said.

He and fellow Rabbit Lanes residents feel internet service is one of the biggest challenges in this part of the city where they have Madison postal addresses, Athens Utilities electric service, and Decatur phone numbers if they still have landlines.

We have AT&T old wire, McGlathery said. I know up in the subdivision in Westlake, theres better options. But for us that are not in that subdivision, we have to deal with the old wire. It works. But its still not the speed or the options that we would like to have.
This is a guest opinion column

Birmingham attorney Stephen Humphreys has spent most of the last year in Ukraine mainly working on war crimes investigations, volunteering to help train Ukrainian armed forces, and teaching law and history at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv.

August 24, 2023, will mark the second Independence Day since Putin sent soldiers to capture Kyiv, kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and erase Ukraine from memorywhich Americans think of as the start of the war. It will, in fact, be the tenth time Ukraine has celebrated its freedom with a stark reminder of the alternative: Russian invaders on Ukrainian territory, where they killed over 14,000 Ukrainians who were defending their country since 2014.

Ukraine has marked many stark anniversaries in the meantime.

March 14 was the anniversary of Fox News journalists killed in a crossfire near Irpin. Six weeks of horrors and atrocities followed under Russian occupation at Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka.

One year later, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin. The warrant specified Russias program of removing Ukrainian children from occupied territories and sending them to live with new families in Russia. But the investigations and indictments are just getting started.

The warrant does not yet address the most basic war crime, the unprovoked aggression and invasion for conquest, the kind of pure territorial expansion and subjugation outlawed at Nuremberg. Putins actions contradict our most basic notions of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and right to self-determination.

The kidnapping of Ukrainians named in the warrant, is not limited to children orphaned when Ukrainian parents are killed by Russian bombing. Filtration camps select Ukrainians of all ages for deportation from occupied territories to Russia. These deportation camps stir dark memories in Central and Eastern Europe.

And those are not the only children lost. On the anniversary of the Russian invasion, while working on the Russian war crimes investigations in a cemetery near Borodyanka, in addition to a new mass grave, I found a mother there grieving her son, shot dead at a Russian checkpoint a year before.

Out in Borodyanka, Olga Dmitrenko has published her own book of stories about that time: the people kidnapped, tortured and killed by the Russians who were just practicing their malicious skills, firing tank blasts into houses, on their way to Bucha and Irpin (where, after a month of occupation, a fiery hell awaited the mercenaries for their sins). Olga asked, why are our brothers killing us?

She even asked the Russian soldiersWhy are you here?

To liberate you, they said.

How can slaves liberate a free people? Olga asked. A Russian soldier told her they were liberating her from the Jews, a strange take on Putins de-Nazification myth. Olga notes that the poor Russian bastards in Borodyanka who were about to die in Bucha and Irpin were slaves to lies.

Here is the most disturbing, emerging conclusion of multiple ongoing war crimes investigations. These violations of the Geneva convention and atrocities against civilians are not being committed by rogue units that are out of control or under duress.

The evidence we are amassing shows that these horrors, including those against civilians, including Ukrainian women and children, are part of a systematic and deliberate plan handed down from the highest level of the Kremlin. This rape, torture, and execution of unarmed civilians is Putin policy. American politicians now seeking to minimize the aggression and atrocities, as a mere territorial dispute that does not concern the United States, are seriously misguided in following the lies of Russian propaganda that survives unchanged from the days of Stalins Soviet Union.

Some of these off-course statements by American politicians came out at the same time the well-deserved warrant for Putins arrest was issued. This shows we have more work to do to understand Putins influence and control over segments of American political parties.

My students in Kyiv are astonished when they hear Fox News pundits and politicians say Ukraine should give in to Russian domination of their country. Tommy Tuberville alternately called for the US getting out of Ukraine and, after that did not go over well, reducing support for Ukraine and blaming Biden instead of Putin. Representative Barry Moore sponsored a resolution ending aid to Ukraine.

The danger of partisanship over Ukraine just grew greater as Alabamas Republican congressional delegation endorsed Ukraines worst enemy and Putins biggest supporter, Donald Trump.

The Ukrainian Declaration of Independence in 1991, which accomplished Reagans most fervent dream of bringing down the Soviet Union, should remind us of our own Declaration of 1776, and remind us that we stand in solidarity with freedom-loving people and against tyrants whose political opponents are poisoned by radioactive and nerve agents, shot, tossed out of windows, and jailed on false charges after a show trial.

Lets hope that by August 24, 2024, Ukraine will be truly independent, free from Russian invaders. Lets hope that Ukraine will set an example for America as a beacon of hope and freedom and that MTG will have to shut up. Next year, lets hope there are no Ukrainian mothers grieving the anniversary of their childrens murder. Only when we help save Ukraine will we be truly free to celebrate Independence Day.
(Photo : Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) (ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Singapore's Nomination Day has arrived and three presidential candidates have been deemed Constitutionally eligible to run for the country's highest position.

Singapore's Nomination Day is here and features three presidential candidates vying to be elected as the Asian nation's ninth president.

The presidential hopefuls are Ng Kok Song, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Tan Kin Lian, and the polls for this year are expected to be held on Sept. 1. Supporters of the candidates were seen waiting outside of the country's nominating center as official papers were being submitted.

Singapore's Nomination Day

Goh Meng Seng from the People's Power Party was among the supporters of Tan and was at the People's Association headquarters located in Jalan Besar. He said that the candidate he was supporting was a man who had integrity and honesty.

Additionally, Goh, the chief of the opposition party, weighed in on the controversy surrounding Tan where the latter made comments on "pretty girls" on social media. He said that no one was expecting the presidential candidate to be a perfect human.

The founder of the anti-vaccine group Healing the Divide, Iris Koh, was also at the scene and objected to Tharman's candidacy. Such objections to a candidate's nomination are allowed if they are made by a rival candidate, his proposer, seconder or assenters, or another person appointed by the candidate, as per the Straits Times.

The Elections Department's website noted that an objection to a candidate's application may be made to a nomination paper based on various grounds. These include the candidate's nomination paper not complying with or was not delivered in accordance with the Presidential Elections Act's provisions.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University (SMU) said that the three candidates have differing views on how to manage the national reserves. Tan, the former NTUC Income chief executive, questioned whether or not the Singaporean government is trying to save too much. It was essentially asking if the current generation is being denied the benefits of the country's success and prosperity.

On the other hand, Ng, the former GIC chief investment officer, believes that if the government is spendthrift, the national reserves will be gone in a flash. He added that the "temptation is always there for any government of the day to use" the money to supply free healthcare and education.

Read Also: North Korea's First International Commercial Flight Since Covid Era Unexpectedly Canceled

Presidential Candidates

The national reserves are what enabled the Asian country to address various challenges such as the COVID-19 health crisis. This is because Singapore has always had sufficient funds to purchase goods and supplies, such as vaccines, to deal with the pandemic, according to Channel News Asia.

Tan added that the Singaporean president, whoever gets elected, must be mindful to use the national reserves only when it is utterly needed. This is because unlocking the use of past reserves is considered to be an important custodial power.

Tharman, on the other hand, is committed to transforming the country's culture and turning it into a "shining spot" in the world. He said that he entered the race because some of the norms in Singapore need to be changed.

He was previously an economist and civil servant who worked predominantly at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He previously held the position of minister for education and finance and was the deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2019, said WION News.

Related Article: BRICS Group of Nations Plan To Let Other Countries Join To Expand Influence Globally

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.










English News Organizing major exhibitions demonstrates China's commitment to opening up

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 21 Aout 2023



The business exhibition at the 5th CIIE attracted over 2,800 enterprises from 127 countries and regions, including 284 Fortune 500 firms and industry leaders. This fully demonstrates CIIE's sterling reputation among the world's major corporate groups.

By Li Dawei China has demonstrated its firm support for trade liberalization and economic globalization by forging many platforms for opening up and cooperation, including the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) and the China International Import Expo (CIIE).



The successful hosting of events such as the CIFTIS and the CIIE in recent years has strongly promoted connectivity and sharing of elements and resources between domestic and international markets, showing China's unswerving commitment to expanding opening up.



Major exhibitions offer important platforms for enterprises across countries to showcase quality products and services. This can lower transaction costs between businesses and address information gaps, thereby facilitating economic and trade cooperation.



Despite myriad challenges, China successfully hosted a series of major international exhibitions including the CIFTIS and the CIIE, amid the pandemic.



This fully reflects the country's adherence to the concept of committing itself to openness to meet development challenges, foster synergy for cooperation, build the momentum of innovation, and deliver benefits to all.



Most importantly, China underscores imports at these exhibitions, highlighting its allegiance to the concept of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation through expanding opening-up and turning the enormous domestic market into enormous opportunities for the world.



These platforms have become vital channels for exporters globally to access the Chinese market, explore investment and partnership opportunities, and gain insights into China's economic development.



They are evolving into venues for launching new products worldwide, releasing cutting-edge technologies, and introducing groundbreaking services.



Platforms such as the CIFTIS and the CIIE have evolved into vital bridges and bonds linking China with the rest of the world, serving as comprehensive open platforms for sharing.



At the 2022 CIFTIS, 7 summit forums, along with over 100 specialized forums and industry conferences were convened. Throughout these events, business leaders and experts engaged in discussions on cutting-edge topics, sharing their latest perspectives and insights, and contributing their wisdom and commitment toward advancing global economic and trade growth.



The 2022 CIFTIS comprehensively showcased China's innovative accomplishments in trade in services, realizing a total of 1,339 deliverables.



The 5th CIIE saw the participation of 145 countries, regions and international organizations. During the event, 24 parallel sessions of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum were held. A total of $73.52 billion worth of tentative deals were reached for one-year purchases of goods and services during the 5th CIIE, up 3.9 percent from the 4th CIIE.



High-quality products from different countries, including rose essential oil made in Damask, Syria, Himalayan salt lamps from Pakistan and alpaca-fur products from Peru, as well as high-tech products such as AI-enabled cleaning robots and intelligent color toners, entered the Chinese market through the CIIE, providing diverse choices and improving user experiences for Chinese consumers.



Amid the uncertainties pervading the current international landscape, countries widely believe such open platforms inject certainty into China's pursuit of shared growth with the world.

These platforms assist China in deepening reforms, raising the quality of its opening-up efforts and upgrading domestic consumption and industries by aggregating top-tier goods, businesses, and resources globally.

They also enable more countries, especially developing ones, to further integrate into the global economy, promoting win-win cooperation.



The business exhibition at the 5th CIIE attracted over 2,800 enterprises from 127 countries and regions, including 284 Fortune 500 firms and industry leaders. This fully demonstrates CIIE's sterling reputation among the world's major corporate groups.



Countries including the UK and Malaysia are planning to send high-level delegations to participate in the 2023 CIFTIS.



Countries such as Germany, Uruguay, and Myanmar, as well as international organizations like the UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization(WMO), will establish online and offline exhibitions under the name of their respective governments or headquarters.



Resuming offline for the first time since COVID-19, the National Exhibition at the upcoming 6th CIIE has already received confirmations of offline participation from over 50 countries and international organizations.



As China continues to share the substantial opportunities of its economic growth with the world, the global sway of high-profile exhibitions will keep expanding, infusing powerful impetus into the continued progression of economic globalization.



(Li Dawei is Director of the Emerging Economies Research Office, the Institute of International Economic Studies of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China to firmly support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation Chinese industrial economy achieves stable recovery IFC Partners with FirstRand Bank to Expand SME Financing in South Africa Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News The future of New Development Bank's contribution to BRI and green finance initiatives

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 22 Aout 2023



Based on these settings, the NDB is entering a new momentum by welcoming new members such as Bangladesh, the UAE, Egypt and other members that are part of the BRI that may join. As the name "New Development Bank" suggests, the NDB, with its innovative mission and business model, has become an active force in promoting South-South cooperation and it is already a vital instrument that promotes new initiatives such as the BRI. Nearly 100 projects have been implemented by the NDB in a total investment of $32.8 billion. These successful investments in infrastructure projects have contributed to the rapid development of green finance in countries that are important nodes of the Belt and Road strategy.

The New Development Bank (NDB) is a product of the further maturation of the BRICS cooperation mechanism: the initiative to set up a multilateral development bank was first put forward at the fourth BRICS leaders summit in New Delhi in India in 2012, and consensus was reached on at the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil 2014.



At both meetings, I was president of Brazil. Under the theme "Sustainable solutions for inclusive growth," the five BRICS countries announced the signing of the agreement on the New Development Bank in Brazil in 2014. In 2015, the BRICS's NDB was formally established, focusing on the two major areas of "infrastructure development" and "sustainable development projects." The central idea is that the NDB shall mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the NDB member countries, in complement of existing multilateral and regional development financial institutions.



Based on our strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank's financing methodology, with about two-thirds of its lending going to projects in this area. Such projects effectively and strategically mobilize financial, and more importantly, social resources for sustainable infrastructure development of emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs), in the fields of green recovery and inclusive economic growth. In addition, taking into account the specific period of history that we are in, post-COVID-19 recovery and climate change are by nature also at the core of the Bank's vision. Furthermore, the Bank's concept of development is based on the understanding that always must be sustainable and inclusive.



It is, also, highly-relevant to mention that, the NDB strategy is grounded on the understanding of challenges faced by globalization in recent years. Various crises have been shaking the process of globalization. The future of political globalization is at stake, and global economic relations are being reshaped. Rules and practices of international trade and finance are being fundamentally rewritten and transformed in ways history has never seen. Linkage in science and technology between Asia, North America, Latin America, Africa and Europe, which has been strengthening over the past three decades, is also going through a dramatic process of reshaping. Such changes impose grave risks on the world's stability and prosperity. If not managed efficiently and sufficiently, such risks may well be both reasons and results of global political polarization. As a result, the world economy will be disintegrated into blocs. The world economy is threatened by all kinds of protectionism currently and maybe in the coming years. The objective of economic protectionism is economic hegemony, and it also means to suppress and contain the emerging economies. For these economies, this will lead to reduction of political space for their activities and the shrinking of margin for growth.



In reality, the threat of unilateralism and protectionism is posing many challenges to developing countries. The weaponization of sanctions and the "long arm of jurisdiction" do not solve any problems, but only create more difficulties and inequalities of opportunity for economic growth and social development, affecting the growth prospects of the world economy.



In that context, as an important participant in the new international financial architecture, the NDB is committed to prioritizing the use of local currencies for financing, while at the same time mobilizing funds in a wide range of currencies and markets.



The NDB also is dedicated to devising solutions, to address the mismatch between project cash flows and the needs of sustainable infrastructures in EMDCs and the NDB is aiming at financing in a targeted and customized manner, helping the emerging economies not only to gain economic growth, but most importantly, to achieve economic inclusiveness.



In order to counterplay and mitigate the weakening of globalization, the NDB and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) join forces to create, develop and strengthen regional markets in EMDCs, to support and foster multilateral cooperations.



Within this scenario, the proposition of the BRI is an excellent example of aligning infrastructure projects with economic growth and social inclusion. The essential linkage between the NDB policies and the BRI is that the NDB not only provides financing and overcomes market failure, but also promotes technological progress and innovation demonstration. Both the NDB and the BRI through its projects have strengthened infrastructure in partner countries, helping them pursue their development goals and bolster their industry, value, and supply chains.



When we understand the BRI in its essence we realize that the BRI is not only about building roads, railways, ports, dams and other infrastructure facilities, but rather a major global opening up initiative that creates a new international cooperation platform. On the one hand, the BRI has helped build hundreds of industrial parks around the world and also facilitated the development of e-commerce through the digital silk road in different regions and countries, and promotes green development. On the other hand, the BRI is helping a large part of the global economy to shift to the green development path. The BRI focuses on planning and building large-scale infrastructure development projects; improving connectivity: facilitating cross-border trade and investment in different regions of the world; boosting cooperation among economies and increasing people-to-people exchange.



As we know, infrastructure financing is characterized by large up-front investment, long construction period, high political sensitivity, high professionalism, etc., which is risky, and privately financed infrastructure projects are prone to insufficient funds and face the dilemma of "market failure." In addition, sustainable infrastructure financing also faces special risks and obstacles, including political and institutional factors, economic factors, market environment factors and project-level factors, etc. The provision of preferential funding by the NDB is conducive to overcoming market failure and obstacles to sustainable infrastructure financing, it therefore plays a leveraging role in attracting social capital into the fields of sustainable infrastructure investment and financing. I believe the NDB and the BRI share the same vision in this sense.



In essence, sustainable infrastructure construction and development require the promotion of technological progress and innovation demonstration. At present, the technological level of sustainable infrastructure in countries along the Belt and Road is relatively moderate and, they are striving to foster innovation as one of the core elements of the initiative. At the same time, the investment uncertainty and risk of technological obsolescence associated with technological innovation also make countries along the Belt and Road face a larger financing gap in this area than in general infrastructure. The degree of development and utilization of new technologies is an important criterion for the NDB to select sustainable infrastructure projects. Multilateral development banks take into great consideration the political and economic influence of multilateral sovereign governments, to promote demonstration projects for technological innovation in order to leverage investment in innovation.



Based on these settings, the NDB is entering a new momentum by welcoming new members such as Bangladesh, the UAE, Egypt and other members that are part of the BRI that may join. As the name "New Development Bank" suggests, the NDB, with its innovative mission and business model, has become an active force in promoting South-South cooperation and it is already a vital instrument that promotes new initiatives such as the BRI. Nearly 100 projects have been implemented by the NDB in a total investment of $32.8 billion. These successful investments in infrastructure projects have contributed to the rapid development of green finance in countries that are important nodes of the Belt and Road strategy.



Finally, the NDB are working hand in hand with several Belt and Road countries to contribute to a more inclusive and innovative global development.



Dilma Vana Rousseff is the president of the New Development Bank.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China to firmly support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation Chinese industrial economy achieves stable recovery IFC Partners with FirstRand Bank to Expand SME Financing in South Africa Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
In 2012, Barack Obama famously made the cover of Newsweek magazine with the heading, The First Gay President. That headline, meant in jest, now seems more than a little prescient.

Much publicity has been given in recent weeks to Barack Obamas very real homosexual fantasies. These were communicated in a letter to girlfriend Alex McNear in 1982, when Obama was in his early twenties.

These comments were first included in the paperback version of David Garrows 2017 biography, Rising Star, and later amplified in Jack Cashills 2020 book, Unmasking Obama, but news of Obamas gay ruminations is only now breaking through to mainstream media.

In one of his letters to girlfriend McNear, Obama wrote: In regard to homosexuality you see, I make love to men daily, but in the imagination. My mind is androgynous to a great extent and I hope to make it more so until I can think in terms of people, not women as opposed to men.

Why would Obama be having such thoughts? What exact message was he trying to send to his girlfriend? Such homosexual fantasies are very unusual for straight men, but there is evidence to suggest that Obama is something other than straight. In fact, Obama had five known major relationships with gay or bisexual men early in his life before he wrote that letter.

1 -- Indonesian gay nanny Evie

Few Americans know that Barack Obama had a legally adopted stepsister named Holiyah Soetoro, called Lia, with whom he grew up in Indonesia. Lia was adopted by Baracks mother Ann Dunham and her husband Lolo Soetoro and lived with young Barry (later Barack) in their Jakarta home. Lia even visited Hawaii with the family and stayed with her adopted grandparents, also Barrys grandparents, at the apartment Barry would later call home.

Despite covering much of his early life in his best-selling autobiography, Dreams from My Father, Obama curiously left Lia completely out. Why did Obama choose to cover her up? The likelihood is that Lia knew things about Baracks life as a child in Indonesia that were embarrassing or even scandalous. Barack did not want to risk anyone contacting Lia in Indonesia where she could not be controlled. Although Lia did not speak English, she did give a long interview in her native Indonesian language in 2010. It revealed what could easily be interpreted as shocking information about young Barrys life as a child.

Before we get to Lias comments, lets meet Barrys male gay personal nanny named Evie (real name Turdi). In Indonesia, and in many poor Asian nations, wealthy local families and foreign-born expatriates can easily afford the luxury of having multiple child caretakers in their home. Barry and his stepsister Lia each had a personal caretaker.

Barry and Lia slept in separate beds in a small guesthouse in the courtyard of their parents home in Jakarta. In the mornings, their mother Anne left very early for work at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta. Meanwhile Barry and Lias personal nannies would make sure the kids got dressed, ate breakfast, and arrived at school on time. Later, the nannies would escort them home from school.

Baracks mother had offered the job as Barrys nanny to an Indonesian man who called himself Evie. Neither Ann Dunham nor her husband Lolo Soetero suspected Evie was really a man dressed as a woman.

In sister Lias interview, she reported that when she got up earlier than Barry and tried to leave for school, Barry would be furious. After that, he then tied my hands and arms with a long rope while I was sleeping at night. Did Barry fear being alone in the bedroom with Evie when he came to get him? Did Evie sexually assault Barry?

In Indonesia, a Muslim country where homosexuality was frowned upon, there were few outlets for gay men especially way back in 1965. Posing as a female to gain access to young boys was one of the better options. Victims of childhood sexual abuse by adults often grow up confused sexually. Barack Obamas gay fantasies may stem from that abuse. Did Evie have anything to do with Annes strange decision to send Barry back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and continue his schooling? Good question.

2 -- Frank Marshall Davis

I covered Frank Marshall Davis extensively in my 2012 film, Dreams from My Real Father. I made the case that not only did Frank Marshall Davis raise and mentor Obama in Hawaii from age nine, but that Davis was also in fact Obamas biological father. Davis was the spitting image of Barack Obama. In fact, Obama looks nothing like the Kenyan student Barack Obama who allegedly sired him.

Frank Marshall Davis was a member of Communist Party USA and one of the original so-called Black Bolsheviks in Chicago. He came to Hawaii in 1948 to help organize the communist-led longshoremans strike that crippled Hawaii. Davis helped organize the strike, the goal of which was to loosen the U.S.s grip on Hawaii. Davis also provided photos of the Hawaiian coastline to the Soviets. Davis would later plead the Fifth when dragged before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

After the strike played out negatively, Davis stayed in Hawaii to write for the local communist newspaper, the Honolulu Record. Davis was bisexual. If anything, Marxism, which preached the breaking down of all societal norms, encouraged him to pursue that practice. He later wrote a book called Sex Rebel Black, in which he chronicled his sexual escapades with both men and women and revealed his fondness for adolescents of both sexes.

Barrys best friend in high school in Hawaii, Keith Kakugawa (whom Obama referred to as Ray in his memoir), told me that Barry spent several hours per week with Davis growing up in Honolulu. He said that Barry came to call Davis Pop and that Barry worshiped him and wanted to be a writer like him.

Kakugawa also told me that Frank gave Barry money and mentored him in radical politics. Kakugawa told me that during high school he and Barry ran into the Kenyan student Barack Obama in the Ala Moana Center mall one afternoon when the Kenyan was laying over on the way back to Kenya from Hong Kong.

When Barry introduced himself, the Kenyan blew him off. According to Kakugawa, this event set Barry off on a tirade against his grandparents and his mother in which he insisted to them that Frank was his real father. He also insisted that Frank looked just like him, and they had lied to him his entire life.

Also according to Kakugawa, Barrys mother and grandparents demanded Barry not speak to anyone about his paternity issue. Barry then confronted Frank, who apparently fessed up, resulting in the poem Pop in which Obama documents that emotional event. It contains lines such as Pop stands, shouts, and asks for a hug, I see my face, framed within Pop's black-framed glasses.

A sexual deviant, Frank Marshall Davis often did photoshoots of strippers and frequented the Honolulu strip club, Hubba Hubba. This club held private anything goes events in their basement about once a month that Davis attended, bringing young Barry along with him on occasion. Another one of Barrys high-school classmates told me he was very worried about Barrys relationship with Davis. He and others tried to dissuade Barry from hanging out with Davis, but to no avail.

3 -- Professor Lawrence Goldyn

While at Occidental, Barack became close friends with openly gay assistant professor Lawrence Goldyn. Obama has described Goldyn as my favorite professor at college. They apparently spent much time together outside of the classroom.

4 -- Sohale Sidiqqi

Baracks college roommate during his senior year at Columbia University was a gay Pakistani man named Sohale Siddiqi. Siddiqi had come to America from London on a tourist visa and overstayed. Obama met Siddiqi at Occidental College.

When Obama arrived in New York City for his senior year at Columbia University, after spending considerable time in Pakistan during his junior year, Obama landed in Siddiqis New York apartment. It was the rare straight man who knowingly roomed with a gay man in the 1980s. Obama later complained about Siddiqis heavy drug use even though Obama was using cocaine with him according to David Garrows book.

5 -- Bill Ayers

Bill Ayers story as one of the leaders of the domestic terror group, the Weather Underground, is well documented. Ayers was also co-author of the manifesto called Prairie Fire which called for the imposition of a communist society in America. Garrow documents Obamas exceedingly close relationship with Ayers that, others contend, led to Ayerss role as book doctor on Dreams from My Father.

Larry Grathwohl, an FBI informant who penetrated the inner circle of the Weather Underground and lived with Ayers in the terror groups safe house, told me that he witnessed Ayers experimenting with homosexuality as part of the groups Marxist practice of breaking down norms.

In my new film and book of the same name, Michelle Obama 2024: Her Real Life Story and Plan for Power, I chronicle Baracks relationship with Michelle. However, with so many strong relationships with gay and bisexual men throughout his formative years, it seems altogether likely that Obama did not restrict making love to men just to his imagination.

Hollywood film director Joel Gilbert is president of Highway 61 Entertainment. Among his many films are political documentaries including, The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America; Trump: The Art of the Insult; There's No Place Like Utopia; Dreams from My Real Father; Atomic Jihad; and Farewell Israel: Bush, Iran and the Revolt of Islam and the new film and book Michelle Obama 2024: Her Real Life Story and Plan for Power.

Image: FreeSVG
According to Shaomin Li in the American Spectator, the CCP spy agency has sent out a social media warning:

China's State Security Ministry issued a public social mobilization order on Aug. 1 through the Chinese social media platform WeChat entitled Full-Society Mobilization Needed for Counter-Espionage!

And they are offering up to 500,000 yuan for spy tips. So, if you are a foreigner in China, you are a high-value target for any aspiring Chinese in need of a financial injection. Li himself was arrested in 2001 in China on spy charges because he was too pro-Taiwan. Don't think the CCP will change any time soon: "it can emphasize catching spies or deemphasize it depending on its priority, not on the rule of law."

Not exactly. Governments go after spies not from any objective evaluation of enemies, but from their regime threat perception. In the case of the CCP it goes way back: "it had already been arresting and executing thousands of CCP members under the pretext of capturing spies in the 1920s and 1940s." Of course, it was fighting a war with the Nationalists; anyone could have been a spy. And in the Cultural Revolution, of course, Mao was chasing spies. The whole future depended on beating up anyone with the wrong idea about the glorious Great Leap Forward and its subsequent famine.

Today President Xi is facing severe economic headwinds, on the Evergrande real-estate front, the youth unemployment front, and who knows what else. The problem couldn't be the stupidity of the top-down authoritarian regime itself. Gotta be enemy spies.

Back in the U.S. in the early days of the Cold War, the U.S. got all worked up about Communist spies. And no wonder, with Treasury chief Harry Dexter White a spy for the Soviets and the Rosenbergs stealing our nuke secrets. Of course, a limit was reached when the lowly born Whittaker Chambers ratted on the high-born Alger Hiss as a Communist spy and hid the proof in a backyard pumpkin. Everybody knew that Alger Hiss was a good guy, from Johns Hopkins, Harvard Law, and a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Alger Hiss a spy? The very idea!

If you are still not sure who's the bad guy in Chambers vs. Hiss, just look at the photos on Wikipedia.

Of course, it was rather embarrassing for all the fashionables who flocked to Communism in the 1930s to be caught on the left foot by the sudden threat of Communism after World War II, although experts agree that the victors in any war very often fall out after the victory. But fortunately, good people managed to cool the jets of Commie Hunter Joe McCarthy, and Richard Nixon got his desserts in the 1970s. Today we look back at the Commie Hunters as villains and the Commie Spies as practically heroes for standing up to the fascist mob.

So spy hunts don't just show up randomly. They show up when a ruling class is feeling the heat. A ruling class that is solid in the saddle doesn't worry too much about spies and traitors. But when things start going wrong; that's when the spies show up. It makes complete sense that the emergence of the ridiculous Donald Trump in 2015 should be all mixed up with Russian Collusion. What other reason would cause a sensible politician like Hillary Clinton -- now memorialized as Hurricane Hilary -- to act on the sensible suspicion that Trump was a dupe of the Russians?

A Spy Scare is a "tell." It tells us that the ruling class feels the need to fight back against enemies, real or imagined. Really? Our noble and lordly educated class feels threatened by a few middle-class yahoos and with concerned parents turning up at school-board meetings?

You may think that this attitude is paranoid, but I think it is natural for anyone in politics. Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt taught us that the political is the distinction between friend and enemy. If you ain't a friend then it stands to reason you are probably an enemy, and when it comes to enemies, you can't be too careful. That's why the U.S. has a good-natured "intelligence community" of 18 intelligence agencies devoted to the exposure of enemies. The intelligence community understands that it is the first line of defense for our noble rulers. They recall how noble Prince Hamlet said:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them?

Of course, King Claudius was never too sure about Hamlet, so he needed his intelligence community of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to do a spot of spying on their old school friend. They were such fun that Tom Stoppard made the spies into a comedy.

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.

Image: Lorie Shaull
Dan Crenshaw (R-Tx), who is on the House Intelligence Committee suggested a solution to the problem of a corrupt FBI targeting of Trump and conservatives

When we reauthorise [the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)] too we are looking at changes in law that will take place, e.g., when you deliberately do something wrong there needs to be some criminal offence to it as opposed to a fireable offence.

Crenshaw also states that we need to do a better job vetting these people. Crenshaws solution is the standard one. We must be more careful in vetting FBI agents and must pass more laws to regulate the behaviour of FBI agents. Although more vetting and laws might be needed one should not deceive oneself that this will solve the problem. For the current problem is not that there are not enough rules and laws to prevent corrupt behaviour.

Plato made the key point about trying to solve social problems by passing laws 2400 years ago in his famous Republic, but the same point applies to vetting people. Platos central point is that if the people who apply the laws are corrupt then passing more laws will not solve the problem, because these corrupt people will apply the new laws corruptly. The same point applies to passing new rules about vetting future FBI agents. If the people who are applying those new vetting rules have a corrupt anti-conservative bias, they will somehow manage to approve new agents who reflect that bias.

This is obvious, since there were already laws in place that should have prevented that corrupt FBI behaviour to which Crenshaw refers. The Inspector General referred James Comey for prosecution for releasing classified information (to jump start the unwarranted Crossfire Hurricane investigation of Donald Trump). Comey should have known this but he did it anyway. Naturally, the DoJ declined to prosecute Comey. However, both the peasants and Donald Trump, neither being members of the protected incestuous elite class, should think about releasing classified information for they will not be treated so generously.

Similarly, FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pled guilty to altering an email in connection with the submission of a FISA application to spy on the Trump presidential campaign. The penalty for such an offence is quite serious, a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000. However, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that Clinesmith had already suffered enough and, therefore, being a useful cog in the unaccountable ruling class, was only given probation and a suspension of his law license for one year. Clinesmith is already practicing law again. It pays to be connected.

This illustrates what Plato means in the Republic that in an ill-governed state these new rules and laws will accomplish nothing. A corrupt ruling class will not enforce the new vetting rules or laws, or only enforce them lightly, against their own but will throw the book at their political opponents (700 years in prison for Trump. Really?). The appalling protection of the Bidens by the DoJ makes that clear enough that even the New York Times, which is usually near comatose on corrupt behaviour by Democrats, has begun noticing it.

What then is the solution to the problem of corruption? Plato alludes to this when he has Socrates say that [the required rules] will result spontaneously from the pursuits we have described. Plato is here alluding to his virtue ethics, the view that the foundation of any moral society is not rules or laws but a virtuous character. Plato spells out his conception of these virtues is considerable detail. In the Republic, the four cardinal virtues are wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. He discusses additional virtues, like piety, elsewhere.

By the pursuits we have described Plato means the various activities he describes in his educational system to produce virtuous human being. These involve a rigorous program of gymnastics and training in the art of war to produce strong and courageous people but also a rigorous training in music to moderate the warlike tendency. Although one need not adopt the specific details of Platos system today, his general point is that if a society does not develop a foundation of virtue in the population no new rules, laws, theories, or classes to teach morality will solve the social ills. The character of the citizens is more determinative than the rules or laws that bind them. Indeed, the need by a society to pass a raft of new rules to prevent corrupt behaviour is a sign that the society has become unvirtuous. For such new rules and laws are just band-aids pasted over social problems to conceal them. And if one starts with people of good character, one does not need many laws because they will easily discover what they need amongst themselves (Republic, 425d-e).

Platos point enables one to see that the fundamental problem with American society today is a problem of moral decadence. Since the 1960s the Left has done everything, it can to infiltrate and destroy American traditions in the family, education, the law, and religion, resulting in the production of a new generation of Americans that are elitist, narcissistic, arrogant, intolerant, and hateful. Although it has often been claimed that conservatives are more intolerant (less inclusive) that liberals, research shows that liberals are less tolerant, and far more likely to cancel or unfriend someone on Facebook or Twitter. But this is just another way of saying that liberals are no longer genuinely liberal. Stanford history professor Victor David Hanson points out that liberals have become Jacobin (the element in the French Revolution that felt so superior that they initiated a reign of terror and beheadings on their countrymen).

Crenshaws solutions, more vetting and more rules and laws, will not solve the fundamental problem. It may even make it worse by helping to conceal, for a bit longer, the real problem: the fundamental spiritual or moral decay in American society due to the Lefts war on the family, Christianity, manhood, women and the corruption of traditional educational system. The problem of corruption in American society is due to a moral decline, leniency toward drug use and crime, decline in empathy and rise in narcissism, a sense of entitlement, intolerance towards others, etc., not a problem with the laws on the books. Until this is recognized there is no hope of solving it and restoring the United States to virtue and decency with band-aid solutions.

Image: Public Domain
I've read the indictments and it seems that three of the four cases against Trump are pretty weak.

Georgia (election interference)  using tweets to support a RICO case? Come on. Plus taking two and a half years to investigate and now pressing for a trial in six months, to interfere with the primaries, seems to be the very definition of election interference.

D.C. (election interference)  if lying politicians can be prosecuted for fraud, as Special Counsel Jack Smith proposes, we'll need many new prisons. The case impinges on Trump's free speech rights. Plus, how does Mr. Smith intend to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, Trump's subjective belief that he knew that the fraud claims he was advancing were baseless?

As to these two cases, as I've said since January 6, I'm not about to defend Trump's post-election conduct. But judgment should be left to voters, not jurors.

New York (Stormy Daniels hush money payment)  this indictment is based on falsifying business records to pay a mistress. That's normally chargeable as a misdemeanor payable by a fine. That Alvin Bragg, who campaigned on getting Trump, has brought felony charges, while he fails to prosecute some cases involving violent crime, is ridiculous. This case should be settled and go away.

Florida (refusing to return documents)  the strongest case. Trump stepped right into it here. His lawyers negotiated with the National Archives, DOJ, and others for over a year. All he had to do was give the documents back. But it appears as though he did not, then lied about it, then obstructed.

Here's the overarching problem with the cases. Prosecutors use their discretion all the time not to prosecute, as we see in cities across the U.S. where "progressive" district attorneys choose not to prosecute violent crime, or offer sweetheart deals. The DOJ does this as well (Hillary and Hunter).

Yet in the case of Trump, state and federal prosecutors seem to be going out of their way to bring charges against Trump in venues highly favorable to the prosecutors. Indeed, many of the counts involve novel, creative, and "unprecedented" legal theories. This further sows mistrust that we have a two-tier justice system and increases the partisan divide. Plus there are concerns as to whether Trump can get a fair trial in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Fulton County, Georgia.

As noted, the one exception to this is the Florida documents case. While the DOJ could have used its discretion not to prosecute, as they did with Hillary and Hunter, for example, Trump owns this one due to his behavior. This case, however, also was brought in the one venue that probably favors Trump.

In my view, there is a grand bargain that would resolve this legal pile-up. Trump agrees not to run for public office again, and in return pleads guilty to a few misdemeanors or low-level felonies, pays some hefty fines, and goes away. The country can then move on to the serious problems it faces, most notably tackling the national debt, entitlement reform, securing our border, reforming our immigration system to allow for more skilled workers and less unskilled ones, figuring out how to deal with artificial intelligence (which may be an even greater disruption to our lives than the internet), and how to confront China.

All this is probably just wishful thinking on my part. The hatred of Trump by the left may prevent prosecutors from dismissing some or all the cases in exchange for Trump not running. Plus Trump hates to look like a loser, which is how dropping his candidacy may be perceived.

Instead, these indictments may result in Trump gaining more support. If the goal of the prosecutors is to interfere in the Republican primaries to advance Trump to the general election, they may come to see they played with fire, and instead of burning Trump instead caught fire themselves. All Trump has to do is flip 44,000 votes in three states in 2024 to regain the presidency.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
It was a terrible scandal: Ground penetrating radar proved that hundreds, maybe thousands, of Canadian indigenous children diedor, really, were cruelly killedat Christian and government residential schools, and then had their bodies tossed into unmarked graves. Churches (of course) burned. Now, though, its becoming clear that those graves are not yielding up bodies.

The stories out of Canada were enough to make Justin Trudeau weep. In June 2021, the New York Times wrote a representative article about the scope of the findings:

The remains of more than 1,000 people, mostly children, have been discovered on the grounds of three former residential schools in two Canadian provinces since May. In late June, the remains of 751 people, mainly Indigenous children, were discovered at the site of a former school in the province of Saskatchewan, a Canadian Indigenous group said. The discovery, the largest one to date, came less than a month after the remains of 200 people, mostly children, were found in unmarked graves on the grounds of another former boarding school in British Columbia. In July, the Penelakut Tribe in British Columbia said it had uncovered about 160 undocumented and unmarked graves.

Thats horrible. No wonder the Canadian government promised millions of dollars to search for remains.

Image: Staff and students at an Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, 1908. CC BY 2.0.

Its only when you dig a little deeper into the essay that you realize that, as of the time of its writing, no graves at all had been discovered. Instead, ground-penetrating radar discovered anomalies. Not bones. Anomalies.

The BBC also hid the ball, reporting about the hundreds of graves found on school properties, only to admit about halfway through the essay that the graves were found using ground-penetrating radar. This BBC story reflects the same pattern of accusation, followed by the admission that no actual bodies have been located. A Wikipedia chart reveals that all the recent grave findings were made using radar, not shovels.

Churches, of course, burned. And leftist politicians exploited the narrative.

Once again, Justin Trudeau makes it all about him. pic.twitter.com/5v0h736bNi  G.M. Forbes (@gmforbes35) July 8, 2021

Now, though, people are finally putting shovels to the ground, and theyre discoveringnothing:

Chief Derek Nepinak of the Minegoziibe Anishinabe said the excavation of a Catholic church on the site of a former Manitoba school found no conclusive evidence of human remains. The lands the church is found on have been referred to as mass graves by outlets in the mainstream media. In a video on social media, Chief Nepinak said that a specialized team of archeologists that work with the police were not able to detect any evidence of human remains under the Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church which is the site of a former residential school in Pine Creek.

Im certain that children died at those schools, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the pre-antibiotic era, children died all the time, especially if they werent getting pasteurized milk. Nor were there vaccinations against child-killing diseases. My parents and their friends, all born in the first half of the 20th century, had scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, mumps, and polio. Only the strong survived.

Im also sure there was abuse. As our public school system has revealed, when adults have free reign over children, there will be sadistic and warped adults. My father never recovered from (or talked about) what happened in his well-respected Jewish orphanage in Weimar and Nazi Germany. If you dont have parents actively looking out for their childrens well-being, bad things happen. Thats why, today, parents should home-school.

Im willing to bet that 90% or more of those graves found using ground-penetrating radar will prove to be structural findings. But the truth doesnt matter in a post-modern world. What mattered was that the left was able to make political hay out of the anomalies and will be sure to downplay or bury the truth (in a non-anomalous media grave, of course).
Minneapolis, like the mainstream media, has leaned left for decades now.

Progressive, you see.

However, it had been a relatively clean, safe, and vibrant city for most of that time...until recent years. Much as the media had, until those same recent years, striven for a modicum of balance and objectivity.

Those days are gone. Several media outlets characterized those protesting a "Drag Event for Kids" being held in the Minneapolis suburb of Chaska as a "Nazi Group."

Reports noted that the Little Roo's Children Boutique "faced a wave of backlash for hosting a family-friendly drag story-time event."

A "children's boutique" needs to host a drag queen event?

At least one of the reports noted that "some members of the far-right neo-fascist organization Minnesota Proud Boys showed up at the event, making remarks about children being 'sexualized' and 'groomed.'" Just so, because only a fascist would be concerned about the grooming and sexualization of young kids!

That report also referenced the videos Little Roo's posted on TikTok, which supposedly garnered thousands of likes and comments, with one receiving "over 11 million views." Another video showed the parking lot outside Little Roo's filled with families and supporters holding up Pride and rainbow flags while forming a "protective barrier" against "the haters." Love is love  no matter the sex or the age, right?

Besides being an abortion, illegal alien, and transgender procedure sanctuary, Minneapolis is also a haven for drag queens.

And, apparently, for those who like to entertain demons. Literally. The taxpayer-funded Walker Arts Center, a Minneapolis icon, recently hosted a family night to help people learn how to summon and trap demons. Yay! What says "family" more than demon-summoning? The event was put on by Tamar Ettun, an artist who specializes in creating demon traps.

Alpha News said the exhibition details for Ettun's last exhibit, in New York City, dispensed with "the historical gender binarism" to mediate "the inner demons and renegade instincts that are deliberately silenced."

One image from that exhibit shows Ettun washing what looks to be a placenta with a watering can.

We can only speculate on the deep meaning associated with that image.

Details of the exhibition also characterized the demon-summoning as "playful"  which brings to mind the "mostly peaceful" protests that burned down large swaths of Minneapolis in 2020.

Demon-summoning.

Just what we need today. Perhaps an Olympic sport by 2028? If so, bet on the U.S. to win the gold medal. Thanks to Minnesotans. OK, so it's not the "Miracle on Ice." Al Michaels will not broadcast the event, nor will anyone who may do so say "Do you believe in miracles?!" And we might not be chanting "USA!" or singing the National Anthem after our victory.

But rest assured: drag queens might well be recounting this triumph to your kids for years to come. If they can overcome the fascists.

Image: Screen shot from PBS video via YouTube.
FBI lovebird Peter Strzok has a special little cold spot for President Trump, and not just because he got fired for unprofessional behavior while on the government's dime during Trump's term of office.

He hates the guy insanely, enough to plot against him with his famous "insurance policy," as he told the FBI official he was having an affair with, and all one needs to do to see it now is to look through the convoluted logic of his Trump-hating tweets. His banner picture at the top of his Twitter account features legal indictment papers of Trump.

So he tweeted this one:

This week, 19 defendants & attorneys will plug 901 Rice St, Atlanta, GA into Waze/Uber/their Secret Service detail.



"The rooms are nasty as f*ck. It smells nasty. It aint nowhere anybody wants to be atYou know theyre going to put [Trump] by himself.https://t.co/DXFtJXS88J pic.twitter.com/JxuxFvUO1D  Pete Strzok (@petestrzok) August 21, 2023

This is a former law enforcement officer. He's obviously gloating. There's no doubt he's mighty pleased to learn that a former president of the U.S. is about to be shoved into an inhumane prison that's under investigation by the Justice Department for its human rights violations.

He cherry-picked his quote from the depths of a Fox News article, using his tiny Twitter space allocation to let readers read that one part he wanted them to see:

The rooms are nasty as f---. It smells nasty. It ain't nowhere anybody wants to be at. ... You know they're going to put [Trump] by himself.

As in his text-messaging conversation with FBI attorney Lisa Page, notice that he's obsessed with smells in that tweet. Recall that in his Page texts, he said he could 'smell" Trump-supporters at a local Walmart. Skeevy? You decide.

What's most disgusting though is his sadistic streak, which is not unusual in bad cops.

I never thought of him as a bad cop until that tweet, but now I wonder.

Somehow, he's not outraged at the prospect of a former president of the United States being hurled into a third-world prison famous for its "inhumane" conditions, solely for challenging the 2020 election result.

What kind of lawman rejoices in human rightsviolating prison conditions, not just on a former U.S. president, but anyone at all, including the worst criminals?

What kind of callousness does it take to sadistically gloat at a dungeon so vile that it's under investigation? Is this normal? A normal cop would speak out against Midnight Expressstyle barbarism no matter where it is, not wanting his profession in the States to be tarred with third-world thugcraft associations. Normal cops bristle at being called "jackbooted thugs" and express umbrage at any comparison between themselves and tin-pot-regime torturers and their dungeons.

This guy seems to embrace it.

The sadism here raises questions as to how normal this is...for him. After a gloating tweet like that, all I can wonder is, does he have some kind of past, some kind of record of bad-cop activity? Because to get that callous takes practice. Normal cops want nothing to do with inhumane prison conditions and sure as heck aren't going to celebrate them. But he seems a little different.

Image: Twitter screen shot.
There were unconfirmed claims one of China's Type 093 nuclear submarines was involved in an accident near the Taiwan Strait Monday (August 21).

The alleged incident came as the country's economy is currently suffering and its diplomatic relations with both the West and its neighbors are frozen over due to its South China Sea claims, as per Firstpost.

According to information published by Taiwanese news outlet Liberty Times Net Tuesday (August 22), the accident allegedly destroyed the submarine, resulting in the death of all hands aboard.

However, the Taiwanese defense ministry denied the claims, saying their joint intelligence efforts meticulously and very cautiously monitored all maritime and aerial activities around the Taiwan Strait and found no verifiable information confirming the incident. Taiwanese defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang was quoted in the Taipei Times the current circulating information was solely based on what was being spread on social media.

Read Also: China Conducts Military Drills Around Taiwan as a Warning

China's Nuclear Attack Submarine

The Type 093, also known by its NATO reporting name "Shang-class", is a nuclear-powered attack submarine operated by the Chinese navy. Submarines of this class have a common displacement of almost 6,100 tons when submerged and measure 107 meters in length, have a beam of 11 meters, and a draft of 7.5 meters.

This kind of submarine is powered and propelled by a pressurized water nuclear reactor, giving it an unlimited range of outside weapons capabilities, as well as speeds of up to 30 knots or 56 kilometers per hour (kph).

Each submarine can also accommodate a crew of 100 officers and sailors.

In terms of situational awareness, the Type 093 is outfitted with a Type 359 radar, hull-mounted sonar, flank array sonar, passive intercept array sonar, and in later variants, a towed array sonar.

As an attack submarine, each Type 093 is armed with six 553 mm torpedo tubes, capable of deploying Yu-3, Yu-4, and Yu-6 torpedoes. Each submarine is also equipped with the YJ-82 anti-ship cruise missile for surface-level targets.

Related Article: US, Japan, Australia Aim To Conduct Joint Military Drills in Disputed South China Sea

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Modern conservatism is facing a crisis of identity. A recent essay published in Law & Liberty highlighted several perceived causes of this struggle, arguing that fragmentation and inconsistencies, misplaced priorities, and philosophical shortcomings have hindered modern conservatism to the point of failure. However lost modern conservatism may seem to some, there is still hope for those willing to commit to the cause of freedom.

This summer, numerous organizational leaders across the United States, including university leaders, non-profit leaders, leaders in journalism, and leaders in political organizations, drafted and signed Freedom Conservatism: A Statement of Principles. The statement sends a strong message to conservative figures that timeless principles can, and should, be applied to the current problems in society and politics. The Statement of Principles provides a refreshing return to core values of conservatism and individual liberty. Freedom Conservatism believes that the application of these principles will ensure that America's best days are still in front of her.

The Statement marks a return to core values that unite conservatives: individual freedom, limited government, and the rule of law. Re-emphasizing these central beliefs brings a unifying vision to a fragmented movement, starting with the tenets that conservative factions share.

The seventh principle, "Out of many, one," specifically speaks to decentralizing power and empowering local communities, emphasizing the importance of cohesive local action as a critical support to the nation's constitutional foundation. Localizing and decentralizing government would be a step in the right direction toward limiting the scope and power of the federal government.

The Law & Liberty essay states that conservatism has "misdiagnosed the issues and adopted the wrong policies," indicating that modern conservative leaders are out of touch with the needs of localities and the policies the population cares about. The structure of the Statement places emphasis on foundational elements of personal and economic freedom. Adhering to these principles will help the conservative movement remain focused on the issues and policies that matter: ensuring free enterprise, fiscal responsibility, and the rule of law. The principle of "America's promissory note" further acknowledges historical injustices and emphasizes expanding opportunity for all, ensuring that the conservative movement also addresses issues that society is currently debating while maintaining its core values.

The Statement also resolves the concerns of those who take issue with modern conservatism's intellectual and philosophical shortcomings. The principles draw from both historical context and forward-looking commitments, showing sincere thought in America's past, her present, and the desired future of those in the conservatism movement. The nods to historic injustices show a capacity for nuance and an understanding of American society. The principle of "Freedom of conscience" paired with an emphasis on the First and Fourteenth Amendments affirms a strong commitment to individual rights and intellectual freedom.

Conservatives everywhere should unite under the Statement of Principles as it provides a well rounded philosophical grounding for the movement on pertinent contemporary issues.

The power of the written word is historically unifying, and one need not look farther than our own national history to see evidence of this. The Declaration of Independence brought together colonies to oppose an overreaching government. The Articles of Confederation set a baseline that led our nation to a constitutional convention. The Statement of Principles can serve as an effective tool to address the issues plaguing modern conservatism and a banner that leaders can rally under. By returning to core values and addressing modern challenges, the statement lays a foundation for modern conservatism to build upon.

The Statement of Principles provides hope for those disheartened by the disarray in the conservative movement. Now it's up to conservatives across the nation to embrace the statement and its philosophy and to begin impacting their own communities.

Parker McCumber is an entrepreneur, U.S. Army veteran, and contributor for Young Voices who specializes in economics, international affairs, and firearms policy. You can follow Parker on X, formerly Twitter, at @Parker_McCumber.

Image: Freedon Conservatism.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.  H.L. Mencken

In the third decade of the 21st century, Menckens quotation needs to be upgraded. Its not just that the common people are getting what they wanted good and hard, its that the virtue-signaling affluent leftists are finally getting it too. Certainly, thats the conclusion to be had from a story about rising shoplifting in Marin County, once a very safe community and also one of Americas most fanatically Democrat-voting counties.

To appreciate the news story Im about to share with you, you need to know two things about Marin County. First, in 2014, Marin County voters enthusiastically supported Proposition 47, with 79.14% of the voters saying yes, as opposed to 20.86% saying no. But what is Prop. 47, you ask? Excellent question and the answer matters a great deal.

Even before 2015, when Michael Brown attacked a police officer and tried to seize the officers gun, getting himself killed in the process, an event that marked the beginning of the mainstream war on the police, California was already paving the way for an increase in crime and a diminishment of law enforcement. Prop. 47 was that salvo, for it reduced shoplifting from a felony to a misdemeanor if the stolen goods are valued at less than $951 dollars. In other words, after Prop. 47 passed, youd get a ticket for stealing up to $950 in merchandise.

Image: Shoplifters. YouTube screen grab.

And again, Marin County voters were all-in for this virtue-signaling initiative. Nor was this an anomaly. Marin County, which is the eighth wealthiest county in America, is fanatically Democrat. In 2020, Joe Biden walked away with 82.53% of the votes.

Given Marin Countys devotion to Democrat policies, I have to admit that the schadenfreude was strong in me when I read that its suffering terribly from shoplifting (as are all retailers in the hard-left San Francisco Bay Area):

Across the Bay Area, retailers say they are struggling with rampant theft as laws, regulations and other obstacles complicate enforcement, leaving business owners frustrated. Experts credit several circumstances for todays shoplifting problem: an uptick in organized retail theft, social media posts that facilitate organized ransacking, increased homelessness, widespread drug addiction and a societal move away from incarceration for less-serious crimes. San Rafael police Sgt. Justin Graham said the current laws allow thieves to get comfortable with stealing  and even target the same stores repeatedly. Proposition 47, passed in 2014, reduced most theft and drug offenses to misdemeanors. For theft to be charged as a felony, the value of the item must be at least $950. Additionally, most stores have policies that prevent employees from chasing theft suspects for their safety and to reduce liability. A 2018 study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that Proposition 47 might have contributed to a 9% rise in theft, mostly from vehicles, and that it probably reduced both arrests by law enforcement and convictions resulting from prosecutions by district attorneys.

Of course, my schadenfreude doesnt extend to the 20% or so of Marin County residents who didnt vote for this madness, many of whom are my friends. Im also sure there are merchants among that 20%, and I feel great compassion for them. But for everyone else, its a wonderful thing that theyre getting their democracy good and hard. After all, wasnt it Barack Obama who pontificated in banal fashion that elections have consequences?

The one sad thing is that its doubtful that any of these Democrat voters will learn their lesson. For them, politics is a Manichean struggle between good and evil, with Democrats on the side of good and Republicans being evil personified. Even as their infrastructure crumbles, their streets are covered with feces, drugged-out zombies fill the sidewalks, stores go out of business, and cities burn, their ideological blinders will see them continue to cast their votes for the candidates with the D after their names. How else, after all, can they be assured of their promised ascension to a socialist utopia?
I continue to marvel at how different American politics has become in the Age of Trump. The old precedents just don't apply. A lot of this has to do with how the American left has obliterated the rule of law and all bounds of respectable thinking. Pres. Trump is a truly unique individual with a knack for catching a lucky break whenever he needs it. But his political career is ultimately just a backlash against the craziness of our current politics.

Remember just this winter? After the disastrous 2022 elections for Trump candidates, The Donald's hopes for the presidency were fading away faster than Mike Lindell's bank account. But then he was indicted. Not once, but four times, for nearly every offense under the sun.

The injustice of it all caused Republicans to rally to his side and buoy his poll numbers. He also reaped millions in donations, which were then used to attack Ron DeSantis or pay his hefty legal bills. His campaign is effectively broke, but it doesn't matter. The GOP race is so hopelessly scrambled that his opponents are wondering if it's over even before it begins.

The various trials of Donald Trump threaten to be virtually the only story for the next year. So far, we are waiting on court dates for the last two sets of indictments. Alvin Bragg has already hinted he would be happy to see the federal courts delay his March trial, while they get him first. The Miami federal case is scheduled for May, and the ultra-partisan Judge Tanya Chutkan in D.C. is pushing for an early 2024 trial in her court. I expect her to issue an order delaying New York's case. The judge in the Fulton County case is actually a Republican member of the Federalist Society. He is probably fair, just as Chutkan is unfair. With 19 defendants, the smart move on his part is to delay until 2025 and decide the motions to dismiss this year.

That still means Trump is in jeopardy in two federal trials next year. The case in D.C. is a disgrace, but the judge and jury will be out to get him. Even though he is not technically charged with insurrection, if he is convicted on any of the D.C. offenses, the NeverTrump legal community will say he was. They are already howling for Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment. They want to call Trump a rebel or insurrectionist and have the various secretaries of state deny him access to the ballots on their own authority.

This would be a ghastly assault on our democracy. Worse than what they claimed to be upset about when Trump asked Mike Pence to rule out electoral votes unilaterally on January 6. But hypocrisy is the Beltway's only guiding principle.

Even setting that aside, if Trump is convicted in either D.C. or Miami, as I would think he will likely be, then judges Cannon and Chutkan can set conditions on his post-conviction release on appeal. Such releases are commonly granted in criminal cases, and I expect they would be in this case, but the judge may set conditions; once convicted, a person loses most of his civil rights.

What if Judge Chutkan requires Trump not to campaign or make public speeches while he is out on appeal in 2024? Or what if she just requires him to formally withdraw from the race, or else be sent to the federal slammer? I think this may be the ultimate danger to Pres. Trump: accept impossible release conditions, or spend the fall campaign literally locked away.

Sure, Eugene Debs ran for president from prison, in 1920. But it's not as if he won many votes. (Kindhearted Warren G. Harding had to commute his sentence the next year.)

This is going to be one crazy election year, even before we get to the Republican Milwaukee convention next July. If you are Ron DeSantis or another GOP contender, you need to be ready for anything to happen, as it probably will. Because for now, this is Trump's world; you're just along for the ride like the rest of us.

Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, Ky.

Image: FreeSVG.
'Defund the police!' they yelled in 2020, that famous summer of love:

They did that. Now they're discovering -- the hard way -- that they're actually defunding themselves.

According to the New York Post:

A giant, sucking sound is coming out of Wall Street  and its siphoning staggering sums of money out of the Big Apple while handing business to Florida and other states farther south. Nearly 160 Wall Street firms have moved their headquarters out of New York since the end of 2019, taking nearly $1 trillion  yes, thats trillion with a T  in assets under management with them, according to data from 17,000 companies compiled by Bloomberg. Looking to dodge rampant crime, stiff taxes and an increasingly exorbitant cost of living, 158 fed-up financial firms representing a whopping $993 billion in assets have packed up and left the Big Apple, taking thousands of high-paid employees with them, the data shows.

Lefties might argue that it's not city money that's fleeing, it's "only" rich men's assets, but that's how idiots think.

The Post highlights some very concrete consequences for New York City in the wake of what this is, which is capital flight:

The mass migration threatens a crippling economic blow: Last year, Wall Street accounted for 16% of all the economic activity in the city and 7.3% of economic activity statewide. The latter figure is the highest in the nation by far, towering above the national average of just 1.7%, according to an October report by New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Likewise, the exodus has grave tax implications for the city and state. Last year, financial firms paid $5.4 billion in New York taxes and accounted for nearly a quarter of all personal income tax collections, according to the report. Tax revenue from the industry this year is headed for a significant decline, the report warned. It also noted that New Yorks share of financial industry jobs was 17.6% in 2022  down by nearly half from a third in 1990  and noted that jobs have shifted to lower-cost regions.

So in other words, it's not just people fleeing New York, which is happening to the six-figue extent that they're losing congressional seats.

It's major investors, big financial companies, the thing that makes New York New York, the way tobacco once made Cuba Cuba (which of course is largely gone, now that socialism has taken hold). Wall Street is becoming Picket Fence Street.

Yet the businesses are fleeing for the same reasons that the people are fleeing: Bad government.

After all, the picture is largely the same: Run one of the world's most expensive cities. Tax them up the wazoo. Demonize corporations. Embrace COVID lockdowns. Defund the cops, or else incentivize them to retire at their desks. Let the homeless and drug-addicted roam freely. Let the organized theft rings shut down the retailers and restaurants. Let every car be subject to smash-and-grab robberies. Let vital city services, such as the subway, become dangerous no-go zones. Lose an analyst or two every so often to random violent crime. Ensure that public schools are not worth going to.

And most important, mock and laugh at those who do the logical thing, which is move someplace else where the costs are lower, the taxes are lower, the bums know they can't camp out in front of someone's headquarters, and the criminals know that they're headed to jail every time they loot a business. That was what New York's Gov. Kathy Hochul did when she spewed this to the state's 5.4 million Republicans:

Just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong, OK? she said. You are not New Yorkers.

Yes, she's getting what she wanted by seeing the back of such people -- and they are taking the money with them. No more lavish government spending. No more hiring of bureaucats, or funding of NGOs. No more greenie global warming "transitions." And eventually, no more tops of the lists regarding New York's place in global finance. Texas seems to be taking that crown.

What a sorry situation this is, given how foolish these people are about their own access to walking around money. It's like they plan about as much as Castro in Cuba did, the man whose socialism cost Cuba its tobacco industry crown. Worse still, wait till they see what their taxes collected are once property values go down amidst the empty skyscraprs.

As in the case of Bud Light, these big financial institutions were New York's customers and New York made it abundantly clear that they hated their customers.

This isn't solely a New York problem by the way.

San Francisco has seen similar flight, coming on the heels of a California pol's yelling of "F*** Elon Musk," for so much as threatening to pull his Tesla operations out of the Bay Area based on its lockdowns, instead of allow his company to function. After that kind of "class," Texas got the company operations ... and its revenues.

The after effect is this, which New York is sure to see, too:

The Chase Center. The Westin St. Francis Hotel. The Transamerica Pyramid. These properties are among the most iconic in San Francisco, but what they also have in common is their owners are applying for dramatic cuts in their assessed values in a worrying sign for the citys fiscal health. At Chase Center, property owners are attempting to cut the citys assessed $1.48 billion value for the stadium by some 58% to $635 million. The owner of the Transamerica Pyramid, New York developer Shvo , which purchased the building in 2020, is seeking a 53% reduction in its assessed value from $485.5 million to $227 million. The Westin St. Francis Hotel owners are applying for a more than 90% decrease in its assessed value of $787 million all the way down to $76 million.

They basically defunded these companies with their policies, and now the companies are lining up to ask to pay less revenue, based on the falling values of their properties. That's the ones who haven't fled.

In third world countries, when this sort of flight happens, dictatorships and shambly democratic leaders do their best to call their expatriates back, appealing to patriotism, lower tax rates, tax carveouts and anything that will do the trick. They know they can't live without finance capital.

But New York seems to be oblivous to this, not calling back its citizens, and certainly not trying to bring back the companies. Doing those things would require a change of their policies, their monster tax rates and all the things that make companies and people flee. That's a bridge too far for them, so like Hugo Chavez before them, they swear after the leavers leave -- and end up with less.

It's nice to say that somehow these problems solve themselves, but to see great cities go the way of Detroit in the 1970s is sad stuff. These blue city rulers are defunding themselves through their own policies and haven't a clue as to what will hit them.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
Tech support scams have always targeted unsuspecting and elderly users who lack the technical knowledge to distinguish between legitimate and fake websites. Now, according to a new report from the BleepingComputer, threat actors have started using seemingly legitimate Amazon ads that appear on Google Search results and lead to a scam Microsoft Defender website.

As per the report, what makes this scam convincing is the fact the threat actors are using a convincingly genuine Amazon ad with a legitimate URL. However, when users click on this Amazon ad, anticipating a visit to the retailers site, they are redirected to a scam Microsoft website, which falsely asserts that their computer has fallen prey to the ads(exe).financetrack(2).dll malware. Additionally, to make matters worse, the scam traps users browsers in full-screen mode, making it extremely difficult to exit the fraudulent page without closing all open browser windows.

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Although forcibly closing the browser windows offers an escape route, the fact that Chrome prompts users to restore their previously closed tabs could compound the problems, as it will inadvertently reopen the fraudulent page.

History of scammers using Google ads

Unfortunately, this isnt the first time scammers have used Google ads to promote their scams. This is because, just last year, security experts from Malwarebytes uncovered a similar scam, where threat actors leveraged a genuine-looking YouTube ad with a legitimate URL, which led users to the same Windows Defender tech support scam. Therefore, given the increase in such phishing scams, Google will need to implement stringent measures to prevent threat actors from creating ads that mimic other brands.

However, until then, users will need to stay remain vigilant and adopt proactive measures to safeguard themselves from such attacks. These include checking the sponsored links on the top of search results and using the F11 key or the Esc key on your keyboard to exit full-screen browser mode.
One of Silicon Valleys largest office tenants, Alphabet Inc.s Google, is once again attempting to reduce its real estate holdings. Google has listed 182,500 square feet across 4 buildings at the Foothill Research Center in Palo Alto, California for sublease. The brokerage Newmark posted the listings, and CoStar News has reviewed them. This move reflects Googles ongoing effort to cut expenses by trimming its expansive real estate portfolio.

The buildings available for sublease are located at 4001, 4005, 4009, and 4015 Miranda Ave. Nearly a decade ago, Google initially moved into the office park, and over time, it gradually expanded its presence. As recently as 2020, Google added more than 56,000 square feet through a lease signed with landlord Hudson Pacific Properties. This expansion was part of Googles strategy leading up to and during the early stages of the pandemic.

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Tech giant Google, along with other industry leaders, has been aggressively cutting back on real estate since the start of the year. This marks a significant change from its previous expansion approach driven by high demand for its products and services. However, as revenue growth slowed and economic uncertainties mounted, Googles parent company, Alphabet, shifted its priorities from expansion to profitability.

Alphabet plans layoffs due to these changes

Alphabet announced plans to lay off 12,000 employees due to these changes, making this the largest workforce reduction in the companys history. Additionally, Google has put its $1 billion Downtown West development on hold. This ambitious 80-acre mixed-use campus project represents Googles largest real estate investment.

Like its counterparts, such as Meta, Salesforce, and Amazon, Google experienced robust revenue growth, user engagement, and advertising during the early stages of the pandemic. However, the tech industry now faces a slower economy and concerns about a potential recession. Consequently, companies are taking measures to reduce property holdings, including closing office locations, subleasing unused space, and canceling pre-lease agreements.

Although Googles sublease listings contribute to the Bay Areas increased sublease space, the company remains one of the San Francisco Bay Areas largest commercial tenants. With a total footprint spanning over 31 million square feet of office and flex space in the region, Googles commitment to the area is evident. This shift towards a leaner real estate approach aligns with Googles goal of ensuring its real estate investments match the needs of its hybrid workforce. The company remains dedicated to its presence in the Bay Area and continues to invest in the local community.
Samsungs Galaxy Unpacked event last month brought several devices, but a new pair of TWS earbuds wasnt one of them. The company hasnt added to its TWS offerings since August 2022, so this left fans many wanting more. Thankfully, it may not be long before the Korean firm expands its audio products lineup. Dutch publication GalaxyClub confirms that Samsung has a new pair of Galaxy Buds in the pipeline.

According to the new report, the next-gen Samsung earbuds will bear the model number SM-R400N. The publication doesnt have any other information about the products at the moment. However, the model number does throw some hint at us regarding its potential specs or position in the companys TWS portfolio. In short, these dont appear to be flagship offerings under the Pro lineup. Heres why.

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The new Samsung Galaxy Buds could be a mid-range offering

Samsung switched from the Gear branding to the Galaxy branding for its TWS earbuds in 2019. The first-gen Galaxy Buds debuted in March 2019. The company followed up with the Galaxy Buds+ in February 2020. It then launched the weird, bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live in August 2020. While the Buds Live never got a successor, Samsung added a Buds Pro to the lineup in January 2021.

In August 2021, we got the Galaxy Buds 2 as the sequel to the original Buds from 2019. The Korean firm then gave us the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro in August 2022 as the second-gen Pro model. Considering all this, the upcoming buds could be anything: a Galaxy Buds 3, Galaxy Buds 2+, Galaxy Buds 2 Live, Galaxy Buds Live+ or Live Pro, Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, or even something completely new, like a Galaxy Buds FE.

However, judging by the model number (SM-R400N), theres little chance it will be the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. As pointed out by the new report, Samsung currently uses the model number SM-R5xx for its Pro-series TWS earbuds. That means we are looking at something at slightly a lower level. Unfortunately, all other Galaxy Buds had SM-R1xx model numbers, so we cant tie the upcoming model with any of these with solid evidence.

Nonetheless, now that we have evidence of Samsung working on a new pair of Galaxy Buds, it shouldnt be long before leaks reveal more information. Looking back at the launch dates of all previous models, the upcoming products should debut alongside the Galaxy S24 series in early 2024. Or maybe the company plans to launch it early, we shall find out soon.
Samsung might release a low-cost foldable next year. A new rumor says that the company is internally testing the feasibility of an FE-series folding phone with a low entry price. If the plans materialize quickly enough, the first-gen model could arrive in late 2024, following the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Samsung has been making foldable smartphones since 2019. The first-gen Galaxy Fold, which was a book-style foldable, had a price tag of $1,980. In 2020, the company launched a clamshell foldable in the form of the Galaxy Z Flip. It was priced at $1,380. Thats much cheaper than the book-style model, but still quite expensive.

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Over the years, Samsungs foldables have improved in quality while the prices of both the Fold and Flip models have gone down. The latest offerings  Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5  arrived on the market a couple of weeks back with price tags of $1,800 and $1,000, respectively. Despite a price drop of a few hundred dollars, the devices remain premium and not everyone can afford them.

While several other OEMs have entered the foldable scene in recent years, the best options are still quite costly. Samsung seemingly wants to bridge this gap with a Fan Edition (FE) model. Its FE-series devices are known to bring flagship-grade specs at a lower price point by removing some premium extra features. The alleged FE-series Galaxy foldable will probably follow the same philosophy.

Unfortunately, details are scarce at the moment. Theres no telling what this phone will offer in terms of specs and design, or how much it will cost. Perhaps Samsung is still evaluating how to go about this plan, if at all. If the company is serious about a Fan Edition low-cost foldable, we should hear more about it in the coming months. Until then, we advise you to take this information with a pinch of salt.

Samsung has big plans for the foldable technology

While theres no confirmation that Samsung is working on an FE-series foldable, we do know that the Korean firm has big plans for the foldable technology. After phones, the company is now planning to make foldable tablets. TM Roh, the head of Samsungs mobile business, recently suggested that foldable Galaxy tablets arent too far away.

According to Roh, Samsung is investing a lot of resources in foldable tablets and laptops. Its currently developing the foundational technology for these products. Once the company is assured that the product is ready to provide meaningful innovation to consumers, it will introduce them. We will have to wait and see if low-cost foldable smartphones are part of its foldable strategy for the future.
After a cable car line broke, seven students and one teacher were left stranded in a vehicle in Pakistan that was hanging 274 meters (900 feet) over a ravine. A risky helicopter rescue effort was being impeded by heavy winds, according to authorities who commented on Tuesday, August 22.

Children who were riding a gondola to school in a hilly district of Battagram, located approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Islamabad, had been stuck there since 7:00 AM local time, as reported by the authorities.

'Hanging on Single Cable'

According to Reuters, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan issued a statement saying that the lift service's cable had broken and that two army helicopters had been sent out for a rescue mission after efforts to remedy the malfunction failed.

Shariq Riaz Khattak, a rescue officer at the scene, told Reuters that the gondola had been stuck about halfway over a ravine and was hanging on a single cable after the other rope had broken. Muzaffar Khan, a district administration officer in Battagram, confirmed there were seven pupils and one instructor on board.

A 20-year-old passenger named Gulfaraz called the local television station Geo News and said strong winds were hitting the cable car they were on, begging the authorities to come and rescue them as quickly as possible.

The other youngsters on board, he said, ranged in age from 10 to 15, with one 15-year-old passing out from nervousness. He said there was no drinking water available, too.

Also Read: Horrifying Bus Crash in Pakistan Leaves 18 Dead, 11 Injured After Vehicle Bursts Into Flames

'Dangerous and Risky' Rescue Mission

Khattak said that the rescue attempt is made more difficult by the fact that the rotor blades of the helicopters risk further destabilizing the lift because of the strong winds in the vicinity. He said two military helicopters were circling close to the stalled cable vehicle.

An unnamed security source added that special services personnel experienced in sling operations were taking part in this "extremely dangerous and risky operation." When heavyweights need to be transported through rough terrain, sling operations are the way to go.

After reports of youngsters throwing up, rescue workers administered anti-nausea medicine, and the passengers were also given cardiac medication, according to CNN.

Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has voiced his concerns online via X (formerly Twitter).

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming. I have directed the NDMA, PDMA, and district authorities to urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the 8 people stuck in the chairlift," he said in a tweet. "I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use."

Also Read: Pakistan Arrests More Than 100 After Angry Mob Attacked Churches Following Rumors Christians Burned Quran Pages

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsungs Galaxy Tab S9 FE series could launch soon. The new tablets have already picked up necessary regulatory approvals, while leaks have revealed their key specs. Now, the company has put up support pages for the devices on its official website. The pages confirm colors and storage options for both models.

Samsung launched three new flagship Android tablets last month: Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. While it also had the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ in the works, they didnt arrive alongside the flagships. The company said nothing about the FE (Fan Edition) duo during the big launch event in late July.

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However, the latter two tablets have been frequently surfacing on the internet over the past few weeks, hinting at a nearing launch. The biggest hint of them all has now come directly from Samsung. Hungarian publication GalaxyVilaga.hu recently spotted support pages for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ on the companys official website in the country.

The Korean firm has published support pages for Wi-Fi and 5G versions of both models. As revealed by previous leaks and certification listings, the vanilla Galaxy Tab S9 FE has model numbers SM-X510 (Wi-Fi) and SM-X516B (5G). The model numbers for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ are SM-X610 and SM-X616B, respectively. All of these variants will be available in 8GB+128GB and 12GB+256GB memory and storage configurations.

The support pages also reveal that the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ will be available in four color variants: Graphite/Grey, Lavender, Mint, and Silver. While this is all Samsung has officially confirmed about the new FE tablets, we do a lot more thanks to earlier leaks and certifications.

Galaxy Tab S9 FE series specifications

The Galaxy Tab S9 and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ will be powered by Samsungs Exynos 1380 processor. The former is the smaller of the two, featuring a 10.9-inch display. The latter has a 12.4-inch screen. Its unclear whether the company will equip the tablets with an OLED display or LCD.

The new FE-series tablets are also expected to feature S Pen support, stereo speakers, and 45W fast charging. The Galaxy Tab S9 will only give you a single rear camera but the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has two cameras at the back. The devices should also boast Wi-Fi 6 and Samsung DeX support. They will debut with Android 13 onboard. Stay tuned for the official launch.
As part of the Biden administrations commitment to bridging the digital divide in rural America through the ReConnect program, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced substantial funding of $667 million, which aims to revolutionize broadband accessibility in 22 states, alongside the Marshall Islands.

The USDA funding, consisting of grants, loans, and their combinations, will empower companies to address broadband inadequacies in areas struggling with speeds below the 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload threshold, therefore exceeding the benchmarks established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which mandates minimum speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up.

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Among the funding beneficiaries, the Scott County Telephone Cooperative, headquartered in Virginia, will receive an impressive grant of $25 million to enable them to connect an astounding 17,000 residents, over a thousand businesses, 37 farms, and nearly 50 educational facilities. Additionally, even smaller-scale projects will yield significant impacts. For instance, Wave Wireless in Iowa will receive nearly $500,000 in funding, enhancing connectivity for 228 residents, six commercial entities, and approximately 40 agricultural operations.

The reality is, we have faced some challenging times in rural places, and this is a president who believes strongly in ensuring that investments are made in all parts of the country from the most-populated urban centres to the most remote rural places, Tom Vilsack, USDA Agriculture Secretary.

Broader efforts to connect rural America

The financing for the ReConnect program comes from the Biden administrations 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocated a staggering $65 billion to expand access to affordable, high-speed broadband nationwide. Additionally, the newly established Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program has designated $42 billion to states, empowering them to lead high-speed broadband projects, thus underlining the governments commitment to bridging the digital divide.

Furthermore, to ensure the affordability of internet packages, the government has also approved the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program, which facilitates the extension of a subsidy initially designed to reduce internet package costs by $30 per month, with an even more substantial reduction of $75 for residents on tribal lands.
Pine martens, water voles, European eels and spiny lobsters are among the UKs threatened species The Wildlife Trusts are aiming to help with a new 6 million rewilding fund, the charity has said.

More than 40% of UK species are in decline while 15% are threatened with extinction, according to the latest State of Nature report.

Many species, particularly top predators such as lynxes and wolves, have been extinct here for centuries and this has knock-on effects for the wider ecosystem.

Known as keystone species, their hunting stops other animals from overbreeding and dominating their ecosystems.

The Wildlife Trusts are not currently proposing to reintroduce lynxes or wolves but keystone herbivores instead, such as beavers, highland cows and Exmoor ponies.

The pine marten is one species which the fund aims to support by improving its habitat (Mark Hamblin/PA)

By damming rivers and streams, beavers create wetlands and provide healthy habitat in which other species thrive.

The rewilding programme, called Transforming Natures Recovery, is to help the UK fulfil its international obligation of protecting 30% of land for nature by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

It will take 56 billion to realise this aim, The Wildlife Trusts said, as it announced 6 million coming from the Ecological Restoration Fund, which supports organisations worldwide that revive nature and protect biodiverse areas.

Dr Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, said: Extinctions, pollution and wildfires make headlines with increasing frequency and so its vital to go much further with nature recovery across the UK.

We must create a place where wildlife, farming and people thrive together, where beavers work their magic and benefit communities, where seas are abundant with marine wildlife and where theres easy access to nature to improve peoples lives.

This game-changing donation from the Ecological Restoration Fund will bolster our work when nature needs us most.

Tree lungwort is a type of fungus that is seen as being an indicator of a healthy rainforest, such as in Coed Crafnant, North Wales (Ben Porter/PA)

Beyond funding the release of beavers and grazing animals, the money will also go towards regenerating marine ecosystems off the Welsh coast, a nature recovery corridor along the length of Hadrians Wall and improving chalk streams, peatland and grasslands across the country.

The Wildlife Trusts also want to restore Atlantic rainforests in the damp, western regions of the British Isles.

It is thought these forests once carpeted much of Cornwall, Wales, the Lake District and Western Scotland though only 1% of this habitat now remains.

Daniel Hotz, chair of the Ecological Restoration Fund, said: Were proud to support The Wildlife Trusts in their ambitious vision for UK nature recovery.

Recognising that our collective futures are intrinsically bound to the health of our environment, the urgency to address the UKs troubling species decline and habitat degradation is paramount.

By knitting together and rejuvenating wild spaces, were not only creating richer habitats for wildlife but also bringing tangible benefits to local communities.
An autistic man diagnosed with chronic kidney disease should not be forced to undergo dialysis despite the potentially fatal consequence of not having it, a judge has ruled after a hearing in a specialist court.

Mr Justice Hayden heard that the 26-year-old did not accept that he had chronic kidney disease, nor see the need for dialysis, and had frequently refused to attend outpatient appointments.

The mans mother, who has mental health difficulties, did not accept the diagnosis either, the judge was told.

Hospital bosses in Nottingham responsible for the mans treatment had asked Mr Justice Hayden to decide what moves were in his best interests.

Lawyers representing specialists said repeated attempts to explain the need for dialysis and the potentially fatal consequence of not having it had been unsuccessful.

They said doctors thought it would not be in the mans best interests for any form of restraint to be used to compel his attendance at hospital or secure dialysis.

Mr Justice Hayden had heard evidence at a recent hearing in the Court of Protection, where judges consider issues relating to people who may not have the mental capacity to make decisions, in London.

The judge, who has outlined details and conclusions in a written ruling, decided that forced restraint, either in the face of the mans expressed opposition or at a time when he was no longer able to resist, would compromise his dignity.

He said he had spoken to the man, during the hearing, on a private video-link.

(The man) does not want to die, said Mr Justice Hayden.

I formed the impression that he very much wanted to live.

The judge added: Ultimately, all I could do was tell him that the decision was his.

Mr Justice Hayden said the man could not be named in media reports of the case.

He said bosses at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust had responsibility for the mans care and had begun litigation.
More than 18,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year.

Home Office data shows 661 people made the journey in 15 boats on Monday, the third highest daily total for 2023 to date.

This takes the provisional total for the year so far to 18,618, according to PA news agency analysis of the Government figures.

This is about 13% below the equivalent number at this point last year, when there had been more than 21,300 arrivals.

Last week 1,278 people made the journey, with crossings taking place on six out of seven days.

The highest daily total for 2023 so far was recorded on August 10 when 756 migrants made the crossing in 14 boats. The second highest number detected in a single day was 686 people in 13 boats on July 7.

Crossings continued on Tuesday. On August 22 last year a record 1,295 people were detected making the journey.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to guarantee he would be able to stop Channel crossings by the next general election, as he acknowledged the complexity of the issue.

At the same time the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank said the Governments plans to tackle unauthorised migration risk creating a perma-backlog, with thousands of asylum seekers stuck in limbo and in need of accommodation.

(PA Graphics)

Facing questions from broadcasters, the Prime Minister stressed his commitment to stopping the boats and said the number of migrants making the journey is down for the first time in some years.

But he said he would not be being straight with the public if he claimed the crisis could be solved overnight.

Meanwhile, campaigners are planning to send thousands of postcards to child asylum seekers after murals of cartoon characters at a migrant reception centre in Kent were painted over earlier this year.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick came under fire for the decision, which featured characters including Mickey Mouse and Baloo from The Jungle Book.

He had reportedly felt they were too welcoming, although he told Parliament in July they were painted over because they were not age appropriate for the majority of the young people staying there.

Rima Amin, who started the Cartoons Not Cruelty campaign, said: To say that the cartoons were not age appropriate fails to recognise the 9,300 under-14s that arrived in the UK just last year.

Thats why were sending 9,300 postcards. The power of a simple postcard cannot be underestimated in brightening a childs day and conveying the message that they are seen and valued.

While we continue to call for the cartoons to be restored, we understand the immediate need to ensure that no child is deprived of a warm and compassionate welcome.

The postcards, featuring flowers, love hearts and teddy bears, have been designed by members of the public and people are being encouraged to sign them online before they are distributed with the help of the Refugee Council.
It's still too early to tell the full impact of BA.2.86, but scientists are on alert. (Getty Images)

What's happening? A new COVID variant causing concern among scientists due to its high number of mutations has been found in more countries.

BA.2.86 has now been detected in Switzerland and South Africa in addition to Israel, Denmark, the US and the UK, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The update comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned the subvariant may have a higher potential for causing infections in those who have previously contracted the virus or received vaccination.

COVID cases have been on the rise globally, with the WHO previously warning about another variant known as EG.5 or Eris. The Zoe Health Study, led by King's College London researchers, now predicts that over a million people in the UK have symptomatic COVID-19.

This could potentially be pushed up further by BA.2.86, although for now it is only thought to account for a small number of cases, and it remains uncertain if it leads to more severe illness compared to other strains.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed a case of BA.2.86, saying it was undertaking a "detailed assessment" to find out more, with researchers hoping to understand more about the variant, nicknamed "Pirola" in the coming weeks.

In the worst-case scenario, scientists warn there could be "a big new wave of infections", with some countries announcing autumn boosters in an attempt to subdue a potential surge in infections.

Here, Yahoo News UK explains what you need to know about the recently discovered COVID strain.

What is BA.2.86 and why is it nicknamed 'Pirola'?

Little is known about the newly discovered BA.2.86 strain, although one thing that is concerning scientists is its large number of mutations.

Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organisation (WHO), said it needs "closer monitoring", tweeting: "Surveillance, sequencing & #COVID19 reporting [are] critical to track known/detect new variants."

Scientists are concerned about the high number of mutations because it could boost the virus's ability to adapt, potentially making it both more infectious and resistant to vaccines.

As for its nickname, "Pirola", we've already had Omicron, and as the WHO are now only assigning Greek letters to variants of concern, someone has made an amalgamation of Pi and Rho, which are next in the Greek alphabet.

Where has it been detected?

BA.2.86 was first detected in Denmark on 24 July, with a second case picked up on 31 July. That same day, it was discovered in Israel.

Another case of the strain was picked up in the USA earlier this month, with a third case recorded in Ohio this week, while the UK detected its first known case in London on Friday last week.

Worth remembering that the identified geographical distribution of BA.2.86 probably has less to do with where it's actually present, and more to do with where surveillance is good- the fact that it's been identified in Israel, UK, Denmark means that it's likely more widespread.  Dr. Deepti Gurdasani (@dgurdasani1) August 22, 2023

Of course, this doesn't mean these are the only countries Pirola is confined to - it is most likely in others, too - but many countries have wound back their genomic surveillance, making it hard to tell where else it might be.

None of the cases appear to be linked, and the UKHSA said the UK case was a person with no recent travel history, suggesting a degree of community transmission within the country.

How serious is Pirola?

In short, we don't know yet.

The CDC said on Wednesday BA.2.86 may be more capable than older variants in causing infection in people who previously had COVID-19 or received vaccines.

It added that it was too soon to know whether this might cause more severe illness than previous variants.

Francois Balloux, director of the UCL Genetics Institute at University College London, said the new strain is the most striking SARS-CoV-2 strain the world has witnessed since the emergence of Omicron with more than 30 mutations.

To give an idea of the level of concern held by experts, the World Health Organisation has labelled BA.2.86 a variant under monitoring its second tier of notable COVID variants.

Kristian Andersen, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute in the US, said the strain's mutations give it "all the hallmark features of something that could take off", although he added that it's too early to say for sure as "our immunity landscape is now complex".

Whatever happens, it is unlikely to cause a fresh wave of severe disease and deaths, or prompt fresh restrictions on peoples daily lives, because most people have some immunity to the illness.

Balloux, a professor of computational systems biology added: Even in the worst-case scenario where BA.2.86 caused a major new wave of cases, we are not expecting to witness comparable levels of severe disease and death than we did earlier in the pandemic when the Alpha, Delta or Omicron variants spread."

excellent summary of where we are with the brand new variant BA.2.86



TLDR still plenty of potential for it to be a nothingburger but plausible *worst* case is a big new wave of infections with no intrinsic increased severity.



Things will become clearer over next 7-14 days 1/2 https://t.co/jNEKOCgZIE  Prof. Christina Pagel (@chrischirp) August 21, 2023

As UCL's Clinical Operational Research Unit's Professor Christina Pagel put it: "Still plenty of potential for it to be a nothingburger but plausible *worst* case is a big new wave of infections with no intrinsic increased severity. Things will become clearer over next 7-14 days."

According to an article in the respected Nature publication, Jesse Bloom, a viral evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, thnks there is limited cause for concern. I dont think anybody needs to be alarmed by this, he said. The most likely scenario is that this variant fizzles out, and in a month, nobody other than people like me even remember that it existed.

Nature does acknowledge, however, that researchers are "racing" to track if the new strain will be of "global concern".

What has the CDC said?

The CDC said on Wednesday the new BA.2.86 lineage of coronavirus may be more capable than older variants in causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received vaccines.

It said it was too soon to know whether this might cause more severe illness compared with previous variants.

But due to the high number of mutations detected in this lineage, there were concerns about its impact on immunity from vaccines and previous infections, the agency said.

The Omicron offshoot carries more than 35 mutations in key portions of the virus compared with XBB.1.5, the dominant variant through most of 2023 - a number roughly on par with the Omicron variant that caused record infections compared to its predecessor.

Read more: BA.2.86 subvariant potentially better at causing breakthrough infections: CDC (The Hill, 2 mins)

What if I've already had the COVID vaccine?

The CDC said due to the high number of mutations detected in this lineage, there were concerns about its impact on immunity from vaccines.

Professor Balloux said most people will have some immunity because they've either previously had COVID or have been vaccinated for it, but this is no guarantee.

The "bulk of vaccinations have now been some time ago, and even the most vulnerable are likely approaching the point where immune protection is fading," Professor Rowland Kao, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, told the Guardian.

He pointed to increase Covid hospitalisations (although it's not known if this is due to Pirola), and warned that seasonal factors and the "usual combination of autumn return to school and university and work" could help spread the strain.

We know about BA.2.86 (Pirola), despite a massive drop in surveillance, thanks in large part to variant trackers who scour sequences often on a voluntary basis. Would we even know about BA.2.86 if @shay_fleishon and @LongDesertTrain hadn't alerted us?



No surprise, indeed.  T. Ryan Gregory (@TRyanGregory) August 21, 2023

BA.2.86 stems from an "earlier branch" of COVID, so it differs from the variant targeted by current vaccines, explained Dr S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital. Although it is still unclear if it will gain a competitive advantage over rival strains.

What are different countries doing about BA.2.86?

With this additional risk of infection in mind, Europe is set for "natural experiment" of vaccination policy, with France offering a free autumn booster free to everyone who wants one, Professor Pagel said.

She added that the UK is taking a slightly different approach, restricting the offer mainly to people aged 65 and above.

Even at a local level, authorities have been taking notice of the strain's discovery, withy Buckinghamshire Council's cabinet member for health and wellbeing Angela Macpherson telling residents: "As expected, the coronavirus continues to mutate, and worldwide surveillance continues to identify new variants.

Europe also set for natural experiment of vaccination policy, with France offering an autumn booster free to everyone and Uk restricting it to mostly over 65 year olds.  Prof. Christina Pagel (@chrischirp) August 21, 2023

Over the year levels of Covid in the community and therefore hospital admissions will fluctuate from time to time. The World Health Organisation says there are currently no circulating variants of concern and there is no evidence that the new variants cause more severe disease."

Meanwhile in the US, Joe Biden's government are trying to speed up the process of finalising contracts so pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens can offer free jabs to the uninsured as early as mid-September.

The CDC is keeping an eye on the BA.2.86 lineage because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently-dominant XBB.1.5 variant.

The US agency, however, said virus samples are not yet broadly available for more reliable laboratory testing of antibodies.
The Crown Prosecution Service has been told to get a grip by a watchdog after crime victims who made complaints received responses containing basic errors.

Around half of the written responses to complaints scrutinised by the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) were found to be inadequate.

The blunders ranged from getting the names of complainants wrong to simple spelling and grammatical mistakes. There were also delays in responding to complaints.

In one instance, the CPS failed to tell a domestic abuse victim when their attacker had been released from custody.

Another victim was offered compensation in response to her complaint when she just wanted an explanation about how her case had been handled.

The watchdog set a deadline for standards to improve by December next year as it warned that sending letters containing errors could lead to an erosion in confidence in the criminal justice system.

HMCPSI chief inspector Andrew Cayley told the PA news agency: There is a significant proportion of letters that contain mistakes and I think that sends the wrong message to the public.

If, for example, somebodys name is spelt wrongly that shows unfortunately a lack of attention.

Its a part of the CPSs work that, for me, is disappointing and they need to get a grip of it now.

Its one of the only lines of communication members of the public have with the CPS and if the CPS get that wrong, that affects confidence in the criminal justice system. Thats how important this is.

Inspectors examined a sample of 351 letters sent by the CPS throughout 2022, with 232 (66%) being sent to victims of crime. Other complainants included 27 witnesses (8%) and 66 defendants (19%).

In 49% of the letters, the CPS failed to inform the complainant about delays or did not clearly confirm whether the complaint had been resolved, the watchdog said.

Highlighting a string of examples, Mr Cayley said one victim of domestic abuse was not informed her attacker had been released from custody.

So she had absolutely no idea that this individual is back in circulation, which I thought was very poor, to be frank, when the very person that has been causing you all this trauma is suddenly released back into society and the CPS hasnt even bothered to tell you, he said.

Mr Cayley said he was shocked by obvious spelling mistakes in the central part of a letter to the mother of a young victim who had been threatened and intimidated by a defendant. The word intimidated had been misspelt as intimated, while apologise was written as apoligise.

He said the unfortunate errors demonstrated a lack of care and attention to detail, adding: It probably takes about a couple of minutes to spellcheck a document.

He called on the CPS to make better use of software designed to eliminate a lot of the problems.

According to the watchdog, a domestic abuse victim whose case had failed just wanted an explanation of what had happened, but was instead offered money. When she refused the initial 200 payment, she was then offered 400 even though it was clear the complainant wanted justice, not money.

Mr Cayley said: Nobody involved in this had actually read her complaint properly to understand what she really wanted.

Now, there are instances when the CPS compensate people financially where its appropriate. Clearly, in that case, what was appropriate was an adequate explanation and that wasnt given, so that was wrong.

Praising some improvements since similar concerns were raised five years ago, Mr Cayley said a very large proportion of the responses contained sufficient levels of empathy, with the person writing the letter putting themselves in the shoes of the victim.

This was a huge improvement since 2018, he said, adding that a reasonable and realistic solution was reached in the vast majority of cases.

Keen not to overstate the problems, Mr Cayley said there were other pressing issues the CPS needed to tackle.

How the police and CPS work together, in my view, is the most fundamental issue in criminal justice around the CPS and the police at the moment, and Im working very hard to try and resolve that.

If we can fix that, if we can make that relationship a lot better, many, many things within criminal justice will improve.

Londons victims commissioner Claire Waxman said: Communicating with victims in a timely, clear and trauma-informed way is crucial for their ability to cope and recover.

Complaints going unacknowledged and letters sent late with basic spelling and grammar mistakes are simply not acceptable. The quality of some of these letters reflect poorly on the CPS, at a time when I know they are working hard to enhance their service to victims; but they must focus on getting these basics right if they hope to improve the experience for victims.

A CPS spokeswoman said: We are committed to maintaining the highest standards for victims and improving our feedback and complaints procedure is a vital part of that.

We are pleased there have been significant improvements since our last inspection in 2018, with empathy, timeliness and our acknowledgement of mistakes all highlighted as strengths.

We recognise that there is more that can be done, and we will continue to drive forward improvements so that we can provide the best possible service for victims.
Labour has shown that it can bring change, now it must show it can bring hope to win the next election, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said.

The former health secretary was speaking during a show on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

He had previously admitted there was some arrogance around the partys campaign in 1997, on which he worked, but told host, and former MSP, Neil Findlay that he was not sure if the current party had the same outlook.

Most of the contact, Mr Burnham said, he has with the upper echelons of the party is through reading briefings about me in the newspapers.

He added: We have allowed a corrosive, divisive politics to separate people one from another.

He continued: The Labour Party has put itself in a position where it can bring change  and thats a great thing, congratulations to the people whove been there, put us in that position  the Labour Party needs to show how it can bring hope.

Mr Burnham was twice a contender for the leadership but was beaten both times, first by Ed Miliband and then Jeremy Corbyn.

Asked if he would consider another tilt at the top job, he said the circumstances would have to be right.

Former Labour MSP Neil Findlay hosted the event (Fraser Bremner/Scottish Daily Mail/PA)

Since leaving Westminster, the mayor has turned his sights to reforming politics, telling attendees at the event in Edinburghs Freemasons Hall he would like to see the whip system dropped in the Commons, as well as a fundamental re-wiring of the UK.

When asked, he said he was enjoying the job of Greater Manchester mayor, where his flagship public transport policy  which will see buses brought into public ownership  is due to come into force later this year.

He added: I do feel energised  and I do think this thing that were building, this conversation were building in the regions and the nations, is of more importance.

This mentality that Westminster is the only show in town and we have to rush back there is actually whats wrong.

Mr Burnham said he hoped there would be a Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer after the next election  which he said would likely be the most unpleasant, divisive general election that we will have seen in our lifetimes  that would bring the hope and that kind of radical change to the way the country is run.

If a path opens up in time then, of course, Im not going to turn away from that, he added.

I think there potentially is one last go at Westminster somewhere. But I want to be clear about this  I would only be going back to enact what Ive talked about today.
The crimes of child serial killer Lucy Letby will be examined in a public inquiry.

The Government ordered a probe after the nurse was last week found guilty of murdering seven babies and trying to murder six more.

It will investigate the events on the Countess of Chester Hospitals neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016 to ensure vital lessons are learned, ministers said.

But concerns have been raised over the decision not to put the probe on a statutory footing, with pressure growing on the Government to strengthen it.

Here, PA looks at statutory and non-statutory inquiries.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay ordered an independent inquiry into the Lucy Letby murders (PA)

 What is a public inquiry?

It is a major investigation, convened by a Government minister, looking into a matter of public concern.

It seeks to find out what happened, why it happened, who is to blame and what can be done to stop it from happening again.

Although funded by the Government, a public inquiry runs independently.

The minister initiating the official probe appoints the chairperson, who is often a former judge.

Before the investigation begins, the terms of reference are prepared to set out its scope and purpose, with people affected by the issue often consulted.

Once the inquiry is complete, the chairperson or panel will produce a report with their/its findings and any recommendations.

A 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower in west London, which killed 72 people, triggered a public inquiry (PA)

Ongoing public inquiries are looking into the Grenfell Tower fire, the NHS infected blood scandal and the UKs handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

An inquiry can be convened on a statutory or non-statutory basis.

 What is a statutory inquiry?

Commissioned under the Inquiries Act 2005, which sets out the powers and rules for how it operates, a statutory inquiry has the power to compel a person to give oral evidence, provide a written statement or produce documents relating to the issues being examined.

It is a criminal offence to fail to comply with such a request or destroy the required documents.

The chairperson also has the power to take evidence under oath, which means a witness could commit a criminal offence if they give evidence they know to be false.

Who is the Inquiry Chair, and what is her role? 5/6 pic.twitter.com/J8kWdi0rO2  UK Covid-19 Inquiry (@covidinquiryuk) February 13, 2023

 How does a non-statutory inquiry differ?

It lacks the power to compel witnesses to attend, produce documents or give evidence under oath.

Instead, a non-statutory inquiry relies on the co-operation of people and organisations involved, although they may be under significant political or reputational pressure to participate.

Witnesses refusal to participate could harm public trust in the process and limit the inquirys ability to produce its report.

A non-statutory inquiry does not have to meet the requirements of the Inquiries Act 2005 and can therefore decide its own procedures and protocols.

For example, the chairperson can choose to hear evidence in private when matters are sensitive  like when they relate to national security.

The greater flexibility may allow the inquiry to progress at a quicker pace than a statutory one.

But the discretion afforded to the chairperson of a non-statutory inquiry could mean they do not meet the same standards of public accountability as their statutory counterparts.

 What has the Government said about the inquiry into Letbys crimes?

Health Secretary Steve Barclay last Friday ordered an independent inquiry on a non-statutory footing amid concerns a statutory one could drag on.

Childrens minister Claire Coutinho argued it would be much quicker than a statutory probe.

Rishi Sunak refused to be drawn on the issue on Monday, saying he wants the victims families to get answers as quickly as possible, the process to be transparent and for lessons to be learned from failures in the case.

However, after mounting calls for the investigation to be strengthened, Downing Street indicated it could be upgraded.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We are focused on the outcomes. The most important thing is to make sure families get the answers they need and that its possible to learn the lessons, that its done transparently and that it happens as quickly as possible.

And thats crucial. And obviously, we will have an inquiry on the right footing to achieve that.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan on Tuesday said a statutory inquiry is on the table.

But there are pros and cons to the two types of inquiry, so when the chair works with them (the families) on the terms of reference that will be something that they can input to them, she said.

A chairperson has not yet been appointed and No 10 could not say when the terms will be published.

Lucy Letby, 33, was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more while working in the Countess of Chester Hospitals neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016 (Cheshire Constabulary/PA)

 What are the arguments for the inquiry to be upgraded?

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for a statutory inquiry, saying what it gives you is the power to order documents, to order witnesses to come forward so we get the fullest, proper, comprehensive analysis of what went wrong here.

Steve Brine, the Conservative chairman of the Health Select Committee, said some key witnesses may not be willing to co-operate with a non-statutory inquiry, which he said could drag on for years and disappear down a rabbit hole.

Dame Christine Beasley, a former chief nursing officer, said if witnesses can opt out of it if they want to, relatives and patients will not feel that theyve got to the bottom of it.

Paediatrician Dr Stephen Brearey, who blew the whistle on Letby in 2015, said the victims parents deserve a probe with the most wide-ranging and statutory powers.

Lawyers representing families of some of the babies attacked by Letby said a non-statutory public inquiry into her killing spree is inadequate and needs to have a statutory basis to have real teeth.

Tamlin Bolton, a solicitor for law firm Switalskis, which is representing the families of seven of Letbys victims, said a statutory inquiry is exactly what the families want.
Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been sentenced to eight years in prison merely hours after he arrived in Bangkok at the end of his 15-year self-imposed exile.

Supporters gathered to cheer his arrival at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport at 09:00 Tuesday (August 22), local time (02:00 UTC) via a private jet from Singapore, DW reported. Upon arrival, he performed the traditional Thai homage ritual before a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida.

Thaksin's sister and fellow former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was also aboard the flight to Japan. "The day my brother has waited for has arrived," she said on Facebook.

After his arrival, police took him into custody, and was taken to the Thai Supreme Court for outstanding administrative and criminal charges, which Thaksin described as politically motivated.

The former prime minister has been a divisive figure in Thai politics since he was elected into power in 2001. He still holds some crucial influence in the local political scene despite being overthrown in a 2006 military coup.

Srettha Thavisin Chosen as New Thai PM

Meanwhile, The Thai parliament has chosen property tycoon Srettha Thavisin, from Thaksin's Pheu Thai Party, as the country's new prime minister after a three-month deadlock after it rejected the bid made by Move Forward Party's Pita Limjaroenrat to lead the country.

Move Forward got the most number of seats in its recent general elections last May, but is now relegated to official opposition status after Pheu Thai abandoned its progressive colleagues and formed a compromise coalition government with conservative and pro-military parties as an about-turn to its militant stance a few years ago. The change of alliances was purportedly in exchange for Thaksin's safe return to Thailand and a chance for royal pardon as he has been sentenced for outstanding corruption charges.

According to CNN, Srettha is not a member of parliament. The Thai constitution allows non-MP prime ministers to lead the country. His non-legislator status and green political record aside, he said in a social media statement he is committed to improving the Thai economy and helping its people to get a "better livelihood"

Read Also: Move Forward Leader Pita Limjaroenrat Fails to Secure Bid to Become Thailand's PM

High Risk, Ambiguous Rewards

Several political analysts in the Asia-Pacific region say Pheu Thai's decision to move away from Move Forward and align itself with its sworn enemies in the political establishment was a high risk, but not necessarily coming with high rewards.

Despite being progressive, the University of Sydney senior lecturer Aim Sinpeng told Time Pheu Thai has become an old guard in Thai politics, which was a reversal and a risk in terms of the party's overall legacy.

"Pheu Thai will pay a heavy price," she said.

On the other hand, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute visiting fellow Napon Jatusripitak added Move Forward was a risk not only to the conservative and pro-military parties but also to Pheu Thai because of the Move Forward's push to upend the whole Thai political establishment to its head, including the abolition of the country's controversial lese majeste policy or its royal defamation law.

"It's his last chance with Pheu Thai in shambles and his own credibility damaged," he said. "But his reputation as a pro-democracy figure has crumbled."

Nevertheless, Pheu Thai's compromise of having to ally with old rivals in exchange for a working government under Srettha's leadership would move the country forward as the deadlock has hurt its economy.

Related Article: Thailand's Pita Limjaroenrat's Final Attempt to Form Government Fails

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Killer nurse Lucy Letby listened to the verdicts being read at Manchester Crown Court. She has been convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another six. (PA)

The mother of one of the babies killed by nurse Lucy Letby has said her child can only now be officially declared dead - eight years after her murder.

Letby, 33, who denied all charges against her, was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more while working in the Countess of Chester Hospitals neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016.

On Monday she was sentenced to life in prison.

The mother of Child D told Manchester Crown Court: Lucy Letby had a chance to say something to us all, parents of the victims, and she had only one word  unimaginable.

Police at the home of Lucy Letby in Chester after her arrest on suspicion of multiple murders of babies. (PA)

Her wicked sense of entitlement and abuse of her role as a trusted nurse is a scandal.

"Lucy Letby. You failed God and the plans he had for (Child D). You even called it fate. You were clearly disconnected with God.

She said after her babys death she asked for her medical notes and met with doctors and management from the Countess of Chester Hospital.

She said: We got a solicitor and I wanted the police involved. At that stage I was told this was not a criminal matter so the police was out of the question.

The Countess of Chester Hospital where Lucy Letby, now 33, killed seven babies and attempted to murder a further six. (PA)

The grieving mother said that just one week before the babys inquest was due to take place she was told police were due to arrest someone.

She added: Thank God the police started their investigation.

The mother of Child D added: We still have (Child Ds) death to declare officially and this could not be done until the cause of death had been agreed.

This is going to be another difficult thing to do, going to the registrar and declaring our daughters death eight years after her birth.

We wanted justice for (Child D) and that day has come.

A court order prevents the identities of the children attacked by Letby being reported, or their families, meaning they were referred to throughout the case by a letter of the alphabet.

Child D, a baby girl, was born by caesarean section more than 60 hours after her mothers waters broke and shortly after, on the afternoon of June 20 2015, became "floppy" in her fathers arms.

Letby was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court and will spend the rest of her life in prison. (PA)

She responded well to treatment in the neonatal but then deteriorated and collapsed three times in the early hours of 22 June 2015. On the final occasion medics couldnt resuscitate her.

It was alleged that the girl was murdered by Letby injecting air into her bloodstream.

Letby later told police she could not explain why she had searched on Facebook for Child D's parents in the aftermath of her death.

The former nurse, who is the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, was told by the sentencing judge there was a malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions for which you have no remorse.

Mr Justice Goss handed her a whole-life order at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, making her only the fourth woman in UK history to be told she will never be released from prison.

Watch: The victims of Lucy Letby, a full statement from their parents
The father of a murdered police officer has said a law change following the refusal of Lucy Letby to attend her sentencing hearing may cause more anguish for the families of victims.

Letby did not leave her cell on Monday as she was given a whole-life sentence in prison for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murders of six more.

Former prison officer Bryn Hughes, whose daughter Pc Nicola Hughes was killed in 2012 alongside fellow Pc Fiona Bone in a gun and grenade ambush while on duty in Tameside, Greater Manchester, said calls for a law change are a knee-jerk reaction.

The father of Pc Nicola Hughes has said that forcing criminals to attending court hearings could cause more anguish for families (Greater Manchester Police/PA)

Mr Hughes told the PA news agency: Most of the time theyre going to be sociopaths and they feed off that anguish and grief.

If they can see families in the dock theyre going to shout abuse, theyre going to play up, start fighting and anything else, because they can see that pain and anguish on their faces, I dont think its worth going through all that.

Ive carried people into the dock who are biting, spitting and shouting abuse and within two or three minutes of the judge speaking to deliver a sentence theyve started again and the judge has just said take them back downstairs.

It disrupts everything, causes more anguish and it delays things, so its a really hard choice and theyre not the type of people to just say to them sit down and be quiet, theyre beyond that, theyve got total disregard for life and disrespect for law and order.

Mr Hughes, who was a prison officer for 25 years, said making it mandatory for criminals to be present at court will eat away at the families of victims, saying they should instead take comfort from their sentences.

Court artist drawing of a parent of one of Lucy Letbys victims reading a victim impact statement at Manchester Crown Court as the serial child murderer refused to appear leave her cell(Greater Manchester Police/PA)

Ministers have vowed to change the law to ensure serious offenders can be forced to attend court.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said Letbys cynical refusal to come into the dock added to already heinous injury.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of dragging its heels over making the change.

The killers of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Zara Aleena and Sabina Nessa have also not attended sentencing hearings.

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA) accused ministers of politicising the issue, saying new legislation would make no difference.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Government of dragging their heels over the issue (Andrew Milligan/PA)

He said: There is no legislation that can make someone ultimately produced to court, but the judge already has that power to say to a prison governor if they want an individual to attend.

What the judge or the court cant do is make the governor use force to get them there, that would be unlawful.

So its left to the prison staff to give a direct order to the prisoner to say weve been in touch with the court, we dont accept your rationale for not coming, youre now ordered to attend court.

If they dont attend court then reasonable and proportional force can be used.
Network Rail faces prosecution over a train crash which killed three people.

Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died in the smash near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on August 12 2020.

The case will call at the High Court in Aberdeen on September 7.

The ScotRail train derailed at 9.37am after it struck a landslide, hitting gravel and other stony material washed out from a drain.

Emergency services at the scene (PA)

The train hit the side of a bridge, causing its power car and one of its four carriages to fall down an embankment.

The case is listed on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service court rolls as a Section 76 indictment, a procedure which suggests a guilty plea may be offered.

The prosecution comes after the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) considered reports from an investigation by Police Scotland, British Transport Police and the Office of Rail and Road  the independent safety and economic regulator for the countrys railways.

A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report published last March found that errors in the construction of a drainage system installed by Carillion meant it was unable to cope with heavy rain which fell in the area on the morning of the crash.

Carillion went into compulsory liquidation in January 2018.

The RAIB report made 20 recommendations to improve railway safety, many of which were directed at Network Rail.

A Network Rail spokesman said: The Carmont derailment and the tragic loss of Christopher Stuchbury, Donald Dinnie and Brett McCullough was a terrible day for our railway and our thoughts remain with their families and all those affected by the accident.

While we cannot comment on the ongoing legal process, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch report into Carmont made clear that there were fundamental lessons to be learnt by Network Rail and we have supported the investigation process.

Since August 2020, we have been working hard to make our railway safer for our passengers and colleagues.

We are committed to delivering on the recommendations made by RAIB and have also made other significant changes to how we manage the risk of severe weather to our network.

Immediately after the accident, we inspected all similar locations across Britain and we also conducted a full survey of all types of trackside drainage on Scotlands railway.

We have invested millions towards improving the resilience of our railway and are rolling out new technology to help us better respond to extreme weather events.

The spokesman said Network Rail has also changed how it manages the running of train services during periods when severe weather warnings are in place and has introduced a new team of weather experts to its control room to provide round-the-clock, real-time analysis on how the weather may affect Scotlands railway.

He added: From our day-to-day operations to our future planning, we are working hard to make our railway as safe and reliable as possible.
The refusal of serial child killer Lucy Letby to attend her sentencing and hear the testimony of her victims families produced widespread support for a change in the law in Tuesdays newspapers.

Letbys refusal to leave her cell follows the similar actions of Thomas Cashman earlier this year when he was sentenced for the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool in August 2022.

The Times said a growing number of MPs and ministers believe those convicted of murders and other horrific crimes should hear the sentences imposed on them in person.

While admitting forcing criminals to attend their sentencing may prove difficult, the newspapers leader column said: Like a number of other murderers in recent years, Letby refused to attend court on the final days of her ten-month trial. To the surprise of many, there is no law to compel her to do so.

Rishi Sunak called her a coward. It goes far beyond that.

It matters that the public sees these penalties imposed and hears the judges reasoning explained in person to those convicted.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is quoted in the Daily Mirror backing a change in the law.

He said: Victims families have been through the most awful ordeal. Theyre entitled to see justice delivered. So we need to change the law. I hope the Government will do it because I think it can be done very quickly.

Undated handout file photo issued by Cheshire Constabulary of Lucy Letby (PA)

The paper described the failure to add an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill after Cashmans refusal to attend as inexcusable.

Writing in the Daily Express, former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said Letbys cynical refusal to come into the dock added to already heinous injury.

He said: The sentencing process is vitally important. It is a time for criminals to face the consequences of their behaviour.

I strongly agree that it is better for families to be able to see the defendant and their reaction to what is being said in court, but we should not risk giving any power to the defendant to delay or even halt proceedings.

He aired the option of a live TV link to the prisoners cell and increasing sentences for those who refused to attend.

That option was echoed by barrister Matthew Scott writing in the Daily Telegraph.

He said: The law does not value the life of a murder victim according to the poignancy of the bereaved relatives pleas. They do however give a voice to the murderers victims and they represent an attempt to ensure that the murderer is made aware of the invariably catastrophic effect of their crime.

All of these purposes could be achieved without the physical presence of the defendant, by ensuring that the murderer who refused to come to court is placed in a cell into which is broadcast the proceedings from the sentencing court.

They would be compelled to hear, if not to listen to, the statements of the bereaved and the judges sentencing remarks.

The Daily Mail called Letbys refusal a last act of cowardice and said it deprived the families of the chance to look her in the eye.

The newspapers comment section said: Although her presence could not have assuaged their grief, it would at least have brought some degree of closure.

The Government has been promising a law to compel criminals to attend court for sentencing. It cant come too soon.
UK Government support for Ukraines nuclear fuel supply will help end the countrys reliance on Russian supplies, Grant Shapps said after a trip to a Ukrainian power station.

The Government has announced its intention to provide a 192 million loan guarantee through UK Export Finance (UKEF)  the UKs export credit agency  enabling UK-headquartered Urenco to supply Ukraines national nuclear company, Energoatom, with uranium enrichment services, which are vital for nuclear fuel.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that, once provided, the support will bring the UKs non-military financial assistance to Ukraine close to 5 billion.

Grant Shapps (left) with Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov during the visit to Kyiv (UK Government/PA)

On his visit to Ukraine, Mr Shapps also visited a childrens nursery attended by Nikita, the young son of the family he took in under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The Energy Secretary played a recorded message from Nikita for the children, the Government said.

Mr Shapps also visited Kyiv, where he met with senior Ukrainian ministers and energy industry figures to discuss Ukraines recovery and ongoing UK support.

And he also visited a power station undergoing repairs after being damaged by Russian bombing.

Mr Shapps said: Our support for Ukraine is unwavering in the face of (Russian President Vladimir) Putins barbaric invasion  the UK continues to stand with Ukraine as they repel Russian attacks and rebuild their country.

Being here on the ground, its truly remarkable witnessing first-hand the sheer courage, resolve and gritty determination of the Ukrainian people.

The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing. The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine  22 August 2023 Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/9tEwBmK0NS #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/IlTLR0zwLs  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) August 22, 2023

Putin has used energy as a weapon of war: the action today to support nuclear fuel deliveries will help Ukraine end their reliance on Russian supplies and bolster their energy security.
The trial of Rust movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will take place next year, a US judge has ruled.

Proceedings in the case of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter alongside Alec Baldwin, is scheduled to begin on February 21.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed faced charges following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

New Mexico prosecutors formally dropped the charges against the Hollywood star in April, though said the decision did not absolve Mr Baldwin of criminal culpability.

Charges of involuntary manslaughter against Alec Baldwin were formally dropped by New Mexico prosecutors in April (Santa Fe County Sheriffs Department/PA)

Last week a weapons report was made public that appeared to cast doubt on Baldwins account of the incident.

Prosecutors said previously that charges against the actor could still be refiled, but are yet to indicate whether they will do so.

Baldwin is also set to seek dismissal of a civil lawsuit, brought by crew members of the Rust film, at a motions hearing on Wednesday.

The First Judicial District Court, in Santa Fe, will consider a motion by Baldwin and El Dorado Pictures to dismiss the lawsuit.

It will also consider a motion by the actor to stay the civil action pending resolution of criminal proceedings.
Plans to ban the use of snares in Scotland have been hailed as excellent news by TV presenter and campaigner Chris Packham.

Packham, a leading conservationist, spoke out after the Scottish Government launched a new consultation, asking if an outright ban on the devices should be brought in, or if any exemptions could be considered.

Ministers are also seeking the publics view on extending the investigative powers of the Scottish SPCA to help tackle wildlife crime, with proposals to give inspectors more authority to search, examine and seize evidence linked to illegal hunting and other offences.

The Scottish environment minister Gillian Martin said snare traps could lead to unnecessary suffering for animals with the proposed ban on their use part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that wildlife management is both sustainable and humane.

Environment minister Gillian Martin said snares could lead to unnecessary suffering for animals (Jane Barlow/PA)

Ms Martin said: Currently, only a small number of farmers and land managers use snare traps. More effective and humane forms of managing wildlife are available and we will continue to support the industry to make use of these methods.

Packham, patron of the animal welfare charity OneKind, described the move as excellent news, and a potential win for wildlife.

He added: These torture devices ought to have been banned a long time ago and Im glad that the Scottish Government has finally recognised snares for the unacceptably cruel traps that they are.

With the consultation in Scotland following on from a vote in the Senedd in Wales to ban the use of snares, he added: The UK Government must not lag behind.

BREAKING: Victory for Scotlands animals as @scotgov plans to BAN snares! We are thrilled @scotgov has listened to the Scottish public & intends to ban snare use, putting an end to the suffering of animals that are trapped in the cruel devices. Scottish history has been made! pic.twitter.com/fBZZWUq0fD  OneKind (@onekindtweet) August 22, 2023

OneKind director Bob Elliot said: We are delighted that today the Scottish Government has finally announced their intention to consign snares to Scotlands history books.

The regulation of snares has failed to protect animals from the extreme physical and mental suffering caused by these archaic devices.

Furthermore, 76% of the Scottish public support a snaring ban on the use and sale of snares. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has listened to the voices of Scotlands people.

Mr Elliot added: By proposing a snaring ban, the Scottish Government is helping send a message that wild animals deserve protection.

But he insisted: Nothing short of a full ban will put an end to the suffering inflicted by snares.

We urge the Scottish Government to make this ban watertight and not consider any exceptions to it.

We welcome today's announcement by @scotgov to seek the publics views on an outright ban on snares in Scotland. We have long called for this ban due to the level of suffering an animal is caused, whether snares are used legally, or illegally. https://t.co/5mnE0YMZmv  Scottish SPCA  (@ScottishSPCA) August 22, 2023

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said the society had long called for an outright ban on the use of snares due to the level of suffering an animal is caused.

Mr Flynn said: Animals that are caught in snares can be caused unimaginable physical and mental anguish. Following reports from members of the public, we have found domestic animals, protected species and target animals that have all suffered dreadfully in both illegal and legal snares.

A ban on all snaring is the only way to stop this unacceptable suffering. We are very pleased with the announcement of a ban, which will be a historic moment for animal welfare in Scotland.

Gamekeepers said they too supported a ban, proposing that newer, more humane holding devices which represent a step-change in animal welfare should be used instead of snares.

Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg said it recommended these should be used by legally trained operators only.

He explained such devices contain added features which take account of fox welfare and enable animals which are not the targets  such as badgers and deer  to trigger a break-away and free themselves.

While Mr Hogg said only a few estates have been using these, all those that have had reported a step-change for welfare.

He stated: We feel these new devices strike exactly the right balance between animal welfare and the needs of land managers, in a rural country, to be able to legally control fox numbers to prevent serious damage to livestock and ground-nesting birds of special conservation concern.

However, Jake Swindells, director of the Scottish Countryside Alliance said: The use of snares is an important tool in wildlife management, which benefits conservation and a range of economic activities from agriculture, shooting, forestry and eco-tourism.

Given the Scottish Government has already legislated against other practical and effective alternative forms of pest control, this proposal leaves risking those working in the countryside even more unequipped.

He added that the consequences of this could be devastating for rare species, such as the curlew and capercaillie, arguing that snares could help control predators.

Mr Swindells said: Well-designed snares, used properly, are a humane and effective form of fox control. They are a restraining, rather than killing, device.

Legislating as the minister suggests will only tie the hands of land managers and conservationists, while criminals continue to use illegal snares unaffected by any legislation.

The Scottish Government consultation will run for six weeks until October 3.
A woman whose cousin died as a result of drugs has said decriminalisation proposals put forward by the Scottish Government could prevent more families from experiencing the heartbreak of losing a loved one.

Jolene Crawford, whose cousin, Alan, died 15 years ago, said the recent announcement from the Scottish Government that it wanted to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use had given her family hope for the first time.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has already rejected the move, put forward by Holyrood ministers last month, saying it risked causing untold damage.

But Ms Crawford, speaking after new figures showed a record fall in Scottish drugs deaths, said the change could help break the cycle of drugs and misery.

She spoke out after figures from National Records of Scotland showed there were 1,051 deaths due to drug misuse in Scotland in 2022  a drop of 279 from the previous year and the lowest total since 2017.

Ms Crawford, a member of the campaign group Anyones Child, which is calling for changes to drugs laws, said, however, that Scotland was still the drugs death capital of Europe.

Speaking in the wake of the latest figures, she said: Behind each number is a real person, who once had hopes and dreams  as did my cousin Alan.

Its been 15 years since his death and Scotland remains the drug death capital of Europe.

*BREAKING*New Scottish data shows 21% drop in drug related deaths, to 1051279 less than in 2022, the largest year on year decrease on record lowest since 2017, but still 5x higher than when records began in 1996, 2.7x UK average, 15x EU averagehttps://t.co/1fSE6VcOO41/ pic.twitter.com/fS0pOG8peJ  Transform Drug Policy Foundation (@TransformDrugs) August 22, 2023

The recent support in Scotland for decriminalising drugs gives our family hope for the first time because it would break the cycle of deaths and misery by making drugs a health matter, not a criminal issue.

Legalising and regulating drugs would take the market out of organised criminal hands, reduce the violence, make our streets safer for everyone and, hopefully, prevent more families from experiencing the heartbreak of losing a loved one.

Alex Feis-Bryce, the CEO of Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said while the fall in Scotland had been hugely reassuring drug deaths numbers were still far too high.

He added that each one of these deaths is an avoidable tragedy as he called for a transformative approach to really reduce the deaths.

Mr Feis-Bryce said: Westminster must allow Scotland to pilot proven measures like overdose prevention centres where no one dies from overdoses, decriminalising people with drugs for their own use, like in Portugal, and exploring legal regulation of drugs to make the market safer.

He urged all political parties to urgently put aside point-scoring and come together to deliver a public health approach.

But commenting on the heart-breaking figures, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said while some progress is being made from an utterly catastrophic base, Scotlands appalling fatality rate means we remain the drugs-death capital of Europe by an enormous and alarming distance.

He called on the Government to back his Right to Recovery Bill, which he said would enshrine in law the right of everyone to receive a recovery programme tailored to their needs.

Challenging ministers to act, Mr Ross said: If they are ever to get fully on top of a crisis which shames the nation, they must stop talking about decriminalisation of drugs and finally embrace the Right to Recovery Bill.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman and deputy leader, Dame Jackie Baillie said: The fact that we are still seeing such shockingly high levels of drug deaths in Scotland is a national tragedy.

That progress is being made is welcome, but for many it will be too little too late.

In 2019, the SNP declared this a public health emergency but much of what has been done is simply unpicking the damage of years of SNP cuts to drug and alcohol treatment.

With drugs deaths in Scotland nearly three times higher than in the rest of the UK, there can be no delay in acting to protect lives.

Still today we are seeing nearly the people die every day in Scotland due to drugs.

And Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton said that the drug deaths crisis is a plague of the SNPs own making.

He criticised the Scottish Government for previous cuts to the budget for drugs services and added: My party has been calling for the decriminalisation of drug misuse for years.

If the Scottish Government is at last serious about reform in this area, this will take detailed work both here in Scotland and in partnership with colleagues across the UK and beyond.

To finally turn a corner in this crisis, Scottish Liberal Democrats also want to see the immediate introduction of specialist drugs commissions, safe consumption rooms and greater support for both staff and services.
Only eight months ago Chinas economy was expected to roar back to life. Zero-covid had been abandoned; the countrys shoppers and tourists allowed to roam free. Yet the rebound has fizzled out, with weak growth and deflation the result. This will not only affect its people. What happens in the worlds second-largest economy matters beyond its borders, too.

Because China is so big, its changing economic fortunes can drive overall global growth figures. But a slowing China also directly affects other countries prospects. Its households and companies will buy fewer goods and services than they would have otherwise, with consequences for both the producers of these goods and other consumers of them. In some places, Chinas difficulties will be a source of pain. In others, though, they will bring relief.

Commodity exporters are especially exposed to Chinas slowdown. The country guzzles almost a fifth of the worlds oil, half of its refined copper, nickel and zinc, and more than three-fifths of its iron ore. Chinas property woes will mean it requires less of such supplies. That will be a knock for countries such as Zambia, where exports of copper and other metals to China amount to 20% of gdp, and Australia, a big supplier of coal and iron. On August 22nd the boss of bhp, the worlds biggest miner, reported the lowest annual profit for the Australian firm in three years, and warned that Chinas stimulus efforts were not producing changes on the ground.

Weak spots in the West include Germany. Faltering demand from China is one reason why the countrys economy has either contracted or stagnated over the past three quarters. And some Western companies are exposed through their reliance on China for revenues. In 2021 the 200 biggest multinationals in America, Europe and Japan made 13% of their sales in the country, earning $700bn. Tesla is more exposed still, making around a fifth of its sales in China; Qualcomm, a chipmaker, makes a staggering two-thirds.

Provided the slowdown does not escalate into a full-blown crisis, the pain will remain relatively concentrated. Sales to China account for only 4-8% of business for all listed companies in America, Europe and Japan. Exports from America, Britain, France and Spain come to 1-2% of their respective outputs. Even in Germany, with an export share of nearly 4%, China would have to collapse in order to generate a sizeable hit to its economy.

Moreover, Chinas struggles come at a time when the rest of the world is doing better than expected. In July the imf revised up its forecast for global growth, compared with projections in April. Most notable has been the rude health of the worlds biggest importer and Chinas geopolitical rival, America, which some surveys suggest is growing at the red-hot pace of nearly 6%

When set against this backdrop, Chinas slowing growth should even provide a measure of relief for the worlds consumers, since it will mean less demand for commodities, bringing down prices and import costs. That in turn will ease the task faced by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Many have already raised rates to their highest level in decades, and would not relish having to go further still.

But what if things go badly wrong in China? Under a worst-case scenario, a property meltdown could reverberate through the worlds financial markets. A study published by the Bank of England in 2018 found that a hard landing in China, where economic growth fell from 7% to -1%, would cause global asset prices to fall and rich-world currencies to rise as investors rushed in the direction of safer assets. Overall, British gdp would drop by 1.2%. Although most Western financial institutions have relatively little exposure to China, there are exceptions, such as hsbc and Standard Chartered, two British banks.

A longer slowdown could lead China to turn inward, reducing its overseas investments and loans. Having become the worlds biggest bilateral creditor in 2017, it has already cut back as projects turn sour. Officials may become fussier still if they are firefighting at home. Observers will watch forthcoming celebrations of a decade of the Belt and Road Initiative, the label under which China splurged on bridges in Mozambique and ports in Pakistan, for signals of official intent.

Real difficulties at home would also change how the world perceives China. Rapid growth, along with generous overseas lending, boosted the countrys reputation. According to a recent survey of two dozen countries by Pew, a pollster, people in rich locations had a generally unfavourable view of China. The picture was different in much of the emerging world: Mexicans, Kenyans, Nigerians and South Africans all saw China in a more favourable light, and welcomed Chinese investment. The question is whether that will still be true in a years time.

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 2023 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved.

From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/08/22/what-chinas-economic-troubles-mean-for-the-world
The work from home backlash is in full swing. In what seemed like an oxymoron brought to life, the video conferencing company Zoom has asked employees to return to the office. Amazon is reportedly tracking employees to make sure they are at their desks.

The two companies are just the latest to sour on work from home (WFH), but does this mean the impending end of WFH as we know it?

Related: Britain has felt the shift to home working more than most countries

Not according to Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economics professor and a longtime researcher of working from home. For workers who can do at least part of their job from home, WFH is here to stay and is being reinforced by some major changes in the work landscape.

For one, the workplace has been redefined by the pandemic. Nearly half of all employees in the US are working from home for at least some of the work week. Frontline workers, including those who work in retail, food services, cleaning, security or other jobs that are difficult to do remotely, are all working in person. But for the most part, everyone who can work from home is doing so at least some of the time.

This is a huge shift. In a working paper released last month, Bloom and his co-authors found that before the pandemic, people were working about 5% of their workdays from home. Now, its at least 25% of work days.

That is massive because it was doubling about every 15 years before the pandemic. So effectively, you have 40 years of growth in the space of about two years, Bloom said. Almost half a centurys growth of working from home.

The pandemic coincided with the widespread adoption of two technologies  cloud storage and video conferencing platforms  that make working from home much easier. Given how much work can be done from home with these technologies, going to the office five days a week before the pandemic, that was clearly a mistake, he said.

We could have shifted to what we were doing in 2020 in 2015. We probably couldnt have done it in 2010, he added.

For many Americans who work desk jobs, returning to the office five days a week will stay a thing of the past. Most companies still only require employees to come in two or three days a week, typically Tuesday through Thursday, with Monday and Fridays being common WFH days. Such hybrid policies work well for both employers and workers. It does not affect productivity, and it keeps employees happy, helping companies with recruitment and retention. Flexibility to work from home has the same value as an 8% pay increase for workers, according to Blooms research.

There are still some people who want to work either fully in person or fully remote (about 20% and 30%, respectively, of people Bloom has surveyed), but a hybrid policy seems to be the best compromise, a largely win-win situation for employer and employee. So it makes sense to Bloom that Zoom and other tech companies that once declared indefinite WFH are bringing employees back to the office, at least part-time. Especially when they have huge, expensive offices they do not want sitting empty. Still, many of these employees have pushed back about going into the office at all.

With lots of background noise and awkward water cooler talk, many workers are still getting used to working in an office after years of WFH. This too is likely to reinforce the workplace shift. The function of an office is different under a hybrid WFH policy  said Bloom  as the office is no longer a quiet place for employees to work.

The future of the office is you go in for only two or three days a week, and when youre in, its about meetings, trainings, presentations, lunches, events and connecting, Bloom said. The office is for socializing. At home is for one-on-one Zooms and analyzing and thinking.

If you are working for hours quietly in the office, or trying to, youre in the office too much, he said, adding that it might make sense for people who have issues with self-discipline when working from home  but for others, the office is not the best place to be for head-down work.

As hybrid work becomes the norm, Bloom expects people will factor in how many days they have to be in the office when picking a place to work. Younger workers without kids may want more days in the office, while those with kids who live further out in the suburbs may want less. By 2025, one of the huge choices when you sign up for a company will be what their work from home policies are, and youre choosing to fit what you like, he said.

And as technology improves  better laptop cameras and software  Bloom expects WFH will continue to grow, though at a slower pace than it has over the last few years. Much of the transition will come from currently in-person jobs that will turn remote, like drive-through employees and office secretaries.

An early advocate for working from home  he gave a Ted talk making the case for it in 2015  Bloom recalls the days when people were skeptical about the practice.

I have been working on work from home [research] for 20 years, and it was so hard to get anyone interested in it. Their eyelids would start to sag down when I talked about it. Pre-pandemic, I tried to organize a remote work conference  there werent even enough papers, I gave up, Bloom said. And then suddenly the pandemic happened, and amazingly, this thing has worked even better than I hoped for.
ASEAN, China to strengthen electronic trading to reduce digital gap in Southeast Asia

Xinhua) 11:07, August 22, 2023

JAKARTA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- ASEAN has agreed to boost its electronic trading cooperation with China in an effort to reduce the digital economy gap in the Southeast Asia region, an Indonesian minister said Monday.

The initiative was endorsed during a consultative meeting between ministers of economy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries with the Ministry of Commerce of China on Monday in Semarang, Indonesia's Central Java province.

The meeting was part of the 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting held on Aug. 17-22.

China has become the fourth-largest source of foreign investment among ASEAN partners, said Indonesia's Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, highlighting significant economic impacts ASEAN can gain through cooperation with China.

He said the meeting also elaborated on the reports of the implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Greek fire department reports that 18 bodies have been discovered in a region of northern Greece that has been ravaged by wildfires over the previous days. According to preliminary accounts, the deceased may have been migrants.

It has been reported that a coroner and investigative team are on their way to the Dadia woodland.

Victims May Be Migrants

According to BBC, the fire department discovered the 18 victims on Tuesday, August 22, at a cottage outside the town of Avantas while searching the ruins of another structure.

Yiannis Artopios, a spokesperson for the Greek fire department, stated that because no local citizens were reported missing, it was possible that the victims had entered the country illegally.

Many refugees from Syria and other Asian countries have used the Evros River to get from Turkey into the European Union. The Dadia woodland is well-known as a popular passageway for migrants.

In other parts of Greece, fires are being fanned by strong winds and temperatures that are expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

Also Read: Greece Wildfires: Firefighter Pilots Killed After Plane Crashes on Evia Island Near Athens

Outbreak of New Fires

Devastating flames have swept across the Evros area of northeastern Greece, not far from the border with Turkey, as reported by ABC News.

In the city of Alexandroupolis, a local hospital was forced to evacuate its patients. Patients of all ages, from newborns to those in critical care, were transferred to a boat docked at the port and transported overnight.

A previous fatality also thought to be a migrant, was reported in a community near the seaside city, prompting emergency services to send mobile text messages urging residents to flee the area.

The fire department's official highlighted that all nearby cell towers, even those belonging to international networks, had received the urgent alert.

It is believed that flames have been swiftly spreading across the Dadia national park, a big woodland region to the north of Alexandroupolis, since Monday, August 21.

Many communities in Boeotia, central Greece, and the island of Evia have been forced to flee. Reports indicate that dozens of nuns were trapped when a fire broke out at a convent to the northwest of Athens.

Eight surrounding villages' inhabitants were warned to evacuate to the city overnight, ABC News reported. As the day progressed on Tuesday, a steady flow of automobiles headed into the city, leaving behind the charred greenery of the shore.

It was seen that flames were invading the grounds of the university hospital while the effort to evacuate the facility on the northeastern outskirts of the city got underway. Some 115 patients were evacuated by a convoy of ambulances and buses at the behest of Greek authorities.

Several warehouses west of the capital city caught fire in an industrial region in Aspropyrgos, and the air along the Attica Highway became thick with noxious smoke.

Also Read: How Cadaver Dogs Help in Hawaii Wildfires; Here's Why Maui Officials Rely on Them

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Sustainability is back.

In the early 2000s, a wave of funding referred to as Clean Tech 1.0 built a generation of climate tech startups, but many of the investments just didnt pan out. While there was an exodus of VCs from the space after the sector crashed and burned post-financial crisis, a portion of investors doubled down on climate instead of running away.

And those who stuck it out say were only in the early innings of climate tech innovationand returns. I think the whole psyche of particularly the American public really started to shift from being either skeptical or disinterested in any of the climate science to now seeing wildfires, floods, hurricanes becoming more and more personally present, not just in the news, but really affecting many Americans, said Abe Yokell, investor at Congruent Ventures.

We used to have internet funds in the late 90s, and then everything was an internet fund. I dont think its hyperbolic to say that climate will have a similar impact; everything will have some sort of a climate lens to it, said Andrew Beebe, investor at Obvious Ventures.

And for founders looking to fund their companies, a bit of good news: Many of these investors are approachable. About half of our portfolio companies came from people who werent existing in our network out of the gate, explained Rayyan Islam, who invests at 8090 Industries.

Fortune compiled this list in partnership with NFX, a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and the creator of the investor database and network Signal. And we also asked each VC for their best advice about what founders can do to make their stories stand out.

Duncan Turner, SOSV

Duncan Turner Courtesy of Duncan Turner

As a partner at SOSV and managing director of HAX, a hard tech incubator, Turner looks for companies that are the picks and shovels in disrupting traditionally pollutive supply chains, like agriculture and energy use. He uses his design engineering background to help founders get their product to marketa core skill that can be especially challenging for founders when the market constitutes a huge disruption in infrastructure.

Turner turned to climate investing when he realized as an entrepreneur the scale of industrial productions impact. Id gone from trying to buy sustainable goods to suddenly saying, Holy crap, this is a huge opportunity here, he explained. We are normally the first institutional investor, and we will be taking [founders] to our labs, helping them with the science, and helping them with the engineering, so its a really intense relationship, he said of working with founders.

Biggest wins: VoltStorage, Unspun, Neptune Robotics

How to stand out: Turner is investing in innovation that will enable the U.S. to implement sustainable infrastructure and electrification on a large scale: for example, energy storage technology and electrochemistry tech that allows minerals required for electrification to be effectively processed in the U.S. There are two things were looking for: groundbreaking technology being leveraged by a founder who has a serious passion for something thats wrong with the world, he said.

Abe Yokell, Congruent Ventures

Abe Yokell Courtesy of Congruent Ventures

While Yokell founded his current climate-focused firm, Congruent Ventures, in 2017 with Joshua Posamentier, he has been a climate investor for decades. After the Clean Tech 1.0 boom and bust of the 2000s, Yokell decided to stay in climate tech even as others ditched the sector. He explained that he grew up hiking in Colorado, and that his sense of purpose for climate investing keeps him interested in the grind of being a VC. We have to kind of mainstream climate in order for it to scale, and thats one of our founding purposes, he noted. Yokell led the first venture round in Enphase Energy, which now has a $23 billion market cap.

Biggest wins: Enphase Energy, AMP Robotics, Span.IO

How to stand out: One thing we tend to focus on is the founder-market fit. We look for [founders] who have clear communication, not just about what the companys doing, but how they expect to bring a product or service to market, he explained. But no market or tech is off limits. If a company comes in with a clear narrative, telling us that a market we generally dont like is actually accessible for very rational reasons that we agree with, thats a green flag, we love that, he explained.

How to get in touch: We actually will look at every single one of our emails; we dont always respond to them, but if theres something interesting in there, the deal team reads every one of those emails, he noted.

Amy Duffuor, Azolla Ventures

Amy Duffuor Courtesy of Amy Duffuor

As an investor, Duffuor ventured out to start her own firm because she saw a segment of neglected climate tech founders and companies she specifically wanted to focus on. My approach to climate is really a human-centered approach, and one that I think really draws on intersectionality, she explained.

Duffuor began her career as an immigration researcher working with marginalized West African migrant communities in the U.S. and U.K., and wanted to find a career that used real world investments that were socially and environmentally driven. Given my background, [impact investing] was a way to marry the social justice stuff I had focusing on migration, with the business acumen that I gained, she explained. She is also a managing director for Prime Impact Fund, and she is on the board of portfolio companies Clean Crop Technologies and Ovipost.

Biggest wins: Lilac Solutions, Clean Crop Technologies, Carbon Reform

How to stand out: Duffuor said that she looks not only for winning companies, but founders who are thinking about how their tech engages with communities. Climate justice is becoming an area that I feel founders are going to need to be more thoughtful aboutso community engagement and community deployment, she explained.

How to get in touch: Duffuor said the best way for founders to reach out is through the Azolla Ventures website. She also holds monthly office hours to connect with founders.

4. Micah Kotch, Blackhorn Ventures

Micah Kotch. Courtesy of Blackhorn Ventures

While many of the investors on this list look for hard tech infrastructure, Kotch focuses on digitizing industries as a path to sustainability. In our thesis, were really focused on [ideas] that can go to market quickly and can have an impact quickly, because we have these really ambitious climate goals that we have to hit essentially by 2030, he explained.

After working as an entrepreneur during the first dotcom bubble, he launched New York Citys first sponsored tech incubator under Mayor Michael Bloombergs administration in the wake of the financial crisis. As an investor at BMW Group, Kotch founded the program Urban-X, which invested in about 70 early-stage companies focused on developing cities of the future, according to Kotch. At Blackhorn, Kotch has focused on investments that can digitize and disrupt the most pollutive industrial sectors: energy, transportation, construction, and supply chain logistics. As a Brooklyn native, Kotch says he sees a growing hub of climate investors based in New York, and specifically his home borough.

Biggest wins: Blueprint Power, Versatile, Evolve Energy

What hes looking for now: Were interested particularly in technology like machine learning and artificial intelligence that are providing tools to these interconnected industries, he noted.

How to get in touch: Founders can contact Kotch on the Blackhorn website and on Twitter.

Tim Woodward, Prelude Ventures

Tim Woodward. Courtesy of Prelude Ventures

Woodward made his first investment in the climate sector in 1995and has brought many of the lessons of the Clean Tech 1.0 wave to the current investing strategy he has honed over a nearly 30-year investing tenure. Before becoming managing director of climate-tech focused firm Prelude, he was a managing director at Nth Power. He led the firms investments in Evergreen Solar, Comverge, and Proton Energy Systems. Since joining Prelude in 2013, Woodward has been able to help Prelude build a portfolio of over 60 companies. Were not afraid of getting involved well before theres real product and real revenue, Woodward explained. We like to be part of the team thats involved early and helping form the management team and product strategy.

Biggest wins: QuantumScape, LuxWall

How to stand out: I tend to ask, Where were there real friction points in the marketplace? Wheres their technical need for a better product? And then diligence: Is this something that customers really care about? he noted.

Rayyan Islam, 8090 Industries

Rayyan Islam Courtesy of Studio Niwa

The 8090 Industries cofounder and partner explained that seeing the juxtaposition between his home in Dallas and where his family was from in Bangladesh sparked his first interest in the climate sector. My earliest memories were seeing power going out multiple times a day in Bangladesh, so that was a big shaping factor for me personally, because it exposed me to what energy insecurity looks like at a young age, he explained.

Now, 8090 industries works to decarbonize some of the most pollutive industries in the worldwith the backing of current industry titans. Islam explained that the firms limited partners are some of the worlds largest industrial and energy families. So oftentimes, when we work with entrepreneurs, we can speak from the lens of an offtaker, feedstock supplier, infrastructure and project developer, and power producer, he explained. This allows us to really approach business building for industrial climate technology companies as true partners, he said.

Biggest wins: Circ, Infinium, Cemvita, Gold Hydrogen

How to stand out: We like to say we look for next-generation industrialists, he explained. Youre basically having to convince industries that operated the same way for 100 years to adopt something completely new. So can you do that? From a personality perspective, thats one thing thats important in a founder, he explained.

How to get in touch: If you dont have an investing network, dont be discouraged. We spend time looking at founders, and oftentimes they come completely out of our networks. If we find something compellingwhether its an article we read or a scientist whos working on something, well pitch ourselves and reach out, he said.

Katie Rae, The Engine

Katie Rae Courtesy of Tony Luong

Rae tops venture firm The Engine, which beyond being a fund, is an investing arm that spun out of MIT. Yet Rae invests in an array of companies and sources founders from beyond just university walls. Before focusing on hard tech and climate, Rae was an acclaimed investor at Techstars and Project 11 Ventures, who made winning bets on firms like PillPack and Bevi. Throughout her career, she has invested in more than 100 companies. When we founded The Engine, the core thesis was really, How do you look at what the worlds biggest problems are? And what what role could technology play in expanding the arc of those problems in the right direction? she explained.

Biggest wins: Boston Metal, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Form Energy

How to stand out: Rae is looking for gritty and driven founders. Ive always bet on people, she noted. Can they actually do the work? Do they have the expertise? And is it their mission? Thats central to our thesis. And is what theyre doing just so much better than what already exists? Thats what you have in the early stages.

How to reach her: We take cold pitches; we meet people all the time, she said. You can reach out via email at katie@engine.xyz.

Andrew Beebe, Obvious Ventures

Andrew Beebe Courtesy of Obvious

Beebewho went from being an internet entrepreneur to a solar entrepreneur and then a top solar executive in the Clean Tech 1.0 solar spacehas proved he can spot the next wave of innovation before it reaches household-name status. Now, as a VC, Beebe is looking for other founders who can do the same thing.

It took a while for investors and entrepreneurs to realize that we were going to digitize the global economy back then, and it sounded very grandiose and lofty, but thats in fact what weve been doing for the past 20 years, he explained. About 10 years ago, many of us realized that about climate, and we are now just hitting the inflection point of substantial recognition of the investment opportunity within the decarbonization of the global economy.

Biggest wins: Mosaic, Lilium, Amply, Sighten

How to stand out: Beebe is looking for founders who arent paying attention to current hype, but forecasting whats ahead. We look for markets that may not be used today, but we can squint and in our own conviction believe that something is about to be huge, he said. Well look for repeat founders; well look for people who are deeply technical and have that sort of leadership spark, he added.

How to get in touch with him: We are at the seed and early stage if people are focused on areas that are of interest to us; we want to hear from them. So just coming in directly through the website is a great way to do it, he said.

Sara Chamberlain, Energy Foundry

Sara Chamberlain. Courtesy of Lynne Renee Persin

Chamberlain filled a range of roles in the climate sector before cofounding Energy Foundry, which focuses on early-stage VC funding for climate. I pressed in a few different directions to get some exposure across disciplines, but ultimately I was just determined to work on the things I was passionate about, [which were] the environment, entrepreneurship, and technology, she explained.

As an early-stage-focused firm, Energy Foundry looks for companies with novel technology that speaks to a huge market opening. And shes seen huge success as an early investor. Early stage is challenging for most investors because there are multiple types of risk to manage, including customer, technical, and financing, she explained. Chamberlain says Energy Foundry portfolio companies have raised over $100 million.

Biggest wins: NanoGraf, e-Zinc, Volexion

How to get her attention: We typically look for a novel technology that a company can build its competitive advantage upon. In addition, we look for a significant market shift or gap that a company may be uniquely positioned to capture, she noted.

How to reach her: I always appreciate it when founders attempt to get connected via a shared connection or ecosystem catalyst like any of the major incubators, but companies can also get in touch by sending an email or application via our website.

Stonly Baptiste Blue, Third Sphere

Stonly Baptiste Courtesy of Stonly Blue

While many investors on this list were previously entrepreneurs, Blue was particularly ahead of the curve, launching his first company right out of high schoolan IT consultancy, which he eventually sold. He dropped out of college to continue his entrepreneurial journey, starting software and hardware companies, the biggest being an enterprise cloud platform that is now part of public company NetApp. In 2013, he founded Third Sphere with fellow investor Shaun Abrahamson to laser in on climate and fill the demand for capital in the sector. We started with the problem first: lack of funding and too much fear and confusion about climate investing, he explained. Ten years later, much of that fear, uncertainty, doubt still persists as it relates to hardware and female or other underrepresented founders, he added.

Biggest wins: Covetous, Bowery, Onewheel

How to get his attention: Blue said he and Abrahamson look for bold ideas that fix complex problems. We tell other investors to send us the deals that make them LOL. The line between crazy and sufficiently ambitious in climate can be hard to figure out sometimes, he noted. We like founders who are unreasonably obsessed with problems and customers and not just technology.

How to get in touch: Our pipeline has a mix of cold, lukewarm, and warm introductions, he said. We have a pretty recognizable brand and an open-door policy on people reaching out, added Blue.

Sundeep Ahuja, Climate Capital

Sundeep Ahuja. Courtesy of Mike Larson

Ever since Ahuja decided climate was the issue he wanted to focus on, he has been willing to try a variety of approaches to make an impactserving as an advisor to climate firm Mosaic, launching a sustainable product company, and even writing an entire novel that moves readers to be more conscious of the environment. It really wasnt until 2018 when I realized theres enough [going on] in climate now that I can actually focus on this, he explained. He officially launched his firm, Climate Capital, which has made over 200 investments since its founding, partially because it has been able to leverage microfunds and special purpose vehicles to be so active in the space.

Biggest wins: Mosaic, Swell, SINAI

How to stand out: Ahuja stays laser-focused on the founding team and whether they can explain their tech to investors. So much of it is just, Who is this person? he said.

How to get his attention: The best way to reach Ahuja is by email, and he said he loves to see everything. If its not a fit for us, well mention it to another firm who potentially could be a fit.

Rajesh Swaminathan, Khosla Ventures

Rajesh Swaminathan Courtesy of Rajesh Swaminathan

Coming from a chemical engineering background, Swaminathan realized while at Harvard that much of his expertise could be applicable to solar batteries and a whole host of other climate tech innovations. As a leader in the climate investing space, Khosla Ventures is one of the only firms that existed during Clean Tech 1.0 and continued investing in the sector after the 2000s. Most people think startups failed Clean Tech 1.0, but I would say investors failed, Swaminathan said.

Part of what makes Khosla Ventures approach stand out is its climate investment capital structure, which allows the firm to invest in capital- and time-intensive climate companies that often take years to develop their technology. The firm raises three investment vehicles at the same time about every two and a half years. We have a $400 million seed fund, so we can write $2 million to $7 million checks for early-stage companies, he explained. For Khoslas larger funds, the checks for startups keep getting bigger, too.

Biggest wins: Enphase Energy, Solid Power, Commonwealth Fusion Systems

How to stand out: The areas he is most excited about are nuclear fusion, hydrogen, steel, and other construction plays. What are the craziest ideas to disrupt that sector? he said he asks himselfand founders. He uses the analogy of aspirin versus vitamins when thinking about the urgency of a given solution: If its aspirin, you wake up in the middle of the night to get the medicine; [thats not the case with] vitamins, so how much of a pain point are we solving?

How to get his attention: Looking at the 15 companies Ive invested in since coming here, its across the spectrum; many reached out, and many we read [an academic paper] and said, Hey, this looks like a crazy idea. Lets go and talk to the scientist and see if he wants to build a company.

Emily Kirsch, Powerhouse Ventures

Kirsch is both an entrepreneur and investor focused on decarbonization. In 2013, she founded Powerhouse, a firm with an innovative approach to incubating and accelerating climate tech startups when few others were targeting the space. The firm now aims to help large companies source, connect with, and acquire promising climate tech startups, filling a gap in the industry for legacy corporations unsure about how to innovate sustainably. Some of Powerhouses clients have included Google, Schneider Electric, and Enel.

Biggest wins: Raptor Maps, Terabase

How to stand out: Kirsch specifically seeks early-stage startups building digital infrastructure.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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By Jack Queen

ATLANTA (Reuters) -The first of Donald Trump's co-defendants in Georgia's criminal case accusing the former U.S. president and his associates of subverting his 2020 election loss surrendered at an Atlanta jail on Tuesday, according to county records and a statement.

Trump's former lawyer John Eastman and Republican poll watcher Scott Hall both surrendered to the county sheriff's office, two days before Trump himself was set to turn himself in to face his fourth criminal indictment this year.

Trump, the front-runner for the Republican 2024 White House nomination, has lambasted all the prosecutions as politically motivated and continues to claim falsely that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of fraud.

Eastman said in a statement he would surrender, the day after agreeing to a $100,000 bond agreement.

"I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought," Eastman said in the statement. "It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances."

Hall, a Republican poll watcher in Georgia's Fulton County, was booked by the county's sheriff's office on Tuesday and has not yet been released, the jail records showed.

Hall previously agreed to a $10,000 bond deal requiring that he report to pre-trial supervision every 30 days.

Trump on Monday agreed to post a $200,000 bond and accepted bail conditions that would bar him from threatening co-defendants or witnesses in the case.

In a 41-count Georgia indictment unveiled last week, Trump and 18 other defendants were charged with racketeering and other crimes over their efforts to reverse Trump's loss in the state to Biden.

Prosecutors are seeking a trial in March, but the number of defendants and complexity of the case could lead to delays.

Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff, sought last week to move the case to federal court and dismiss it on the grounds he is immune from prosecution for actions he took as a federal official.

Meadows asked to delay his surrender until after a hearing in federal court on Monday but was rebuffed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who told his lawyers she will seek his arrest if he does not turn himself in by Friday afternoon, court records showed.

Trump and the rest of the defendants are likely to raise similar arguments, which could cause delays as their lawyers spar with prosecutors in pretrial litigation.

Trump faces indictments in three other separate criminal cases.

He has been charged in Washington, D.C., over his efforts to overturn the election, in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, and in New York over a hush money payment to a porn star.

(Reporting by Jack Queen in Atlanta, additional reporting by Jasper Ward and Susan Heavey; Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
Tropical Storm Franklin made landfall in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday morning and will emerge along the northern coast of Hispaniola in the afternoon. AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned about the risk of life-threatening conditions in the Dominican Republic and Haiti associated with excessive rainfall.

As of Wednesday midday, the center of Franklin was located 65 miles to the south-southwest of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and was moving northward at 13 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 40 mph with higher gusts.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect along the entire coast of the Dominican Republic, the southern coast of Haiti and the Turks and Caicos located north of Hispaniola on Wednesday.

"While Franklin was holding onto tropical storm status on Tuesday, [the storm] struggled to form a single consolidated center," AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said. Maximum sustained winds had dipped to 40 mph for a time on Tuesday, which was just above the minimum threshold for a tropical storm. A tropical storm has sustained winds of 39-73 mph.

Conditions began to change quickly Tuesday night as the storm began to consolidate and pick up some forward speed. Brushlike high-level cirrus clouds were evident over top of the storm -- which was a sign of strengthening.

With a somewhat more compact center, steering breezes have begun to push Franklin along.

Tropical Storm Franklin appears in the middle of this image of the Caribbean and southwestern Atlantic captured on Wednesday morning, Aug. 23, 2023. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue satellite)

When heavy rain falls on the steep slopes, the likelihood of flash flooding, mudslides and washouts also increases, and that is the primary reason for a moderate to high risk to lives, property and infrastructure in the region.

On Hispaniola, Franklin is a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact Scale for Hurricanes.

A general 2-4 inches of rain will fall on the island of Hispaniola.

However, a zone where 8-12 inches of rain will fall will be centered on the Dominican Republic, and an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 30 inches over the mountains is expected. Rainfall of this magnitude will lead to major flooding.

Much of the rain may fall in 24 hours or less.

As the system churns in the northern Caribbean, waves and rip currents will build along with the risk of storm surge flooding.

A storm surge of 3-6 feet is most likely to occur along part of the southern coast of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

While the main threats from Franklin in the Dominican Republic and Haiti will be from flash flooding and mudslides, enough strong winds are likely to occur and knock down trees, damage poorly constructed buildings and lead to power outages.

Damage from winds is expected to be relatively minor, but falling trees and flying debris can be serious hazards for pedestrians.

Because of a more compact storm, when compared to the start of the week, most of the impacts in the Caribbean will be felt on Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos, rather than in Puerto Rico. However, there may still be locally drenching, gusty thunderstorms on Puerto Rico and perhaps Jamaica and eastern Cuba due to the proximity of the storm.

The Turks and Caicos will experience the worst effects from Franklin later Wednesday and Wednesday night as the storm pulls to the north of Hispaniola. During this time, surf will build, winds will pick up and areas of heavy rain and gusty thunderstorms are likely.

The mountains which extend thousands of feet above the landscape on Hispaniola may halt any strengthening process or could lead to some loss of wind intensity while this system moves across the island. However, the system is likely to strengthen while turning toward the northeast, north of the Caribbean later this week.

Franklin is likely to become a hurricane north of the Caribbean, forecasters say, following the only other such system to do so in the Atlantic so far this season. That system was Don in the middle of July. Don spent its entire life at sea and peaked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph.

There is some data suggesting that Franklin may travel northeastward to only a certain point. The system may turn toward the northwest and could wander within a few hundred miles of Bermuda this weekend. If so, clouds and squalls from the system could begin to affect the islands of Bermuda at that time.

Should the system travel this far to the northwest, it could later be drawn northward into Atlantic Canada toward the end of the month.

There are other systems that AccuWeather meteorologists are closely watching for tropical development.

A tropical disturbance, or tropical wave, that AccuWeather meteorologists had their eye on since early in August ramped up to a tropical depression and then became Tropical Storm Harold prior to making landfall in Texas on Tuesday. Harold will push westward through the Rio Grande Valley through midweek with areas of heavy rain and localized flash flooding.

Farther to the east over the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Emily formed over the weekend, roughly halfway between Africa and the eastern islands of the Caribbean. By late Monday evening, Emily had lost organization and wind energy and had dissipated. There is a chance that Emily could regenerate late this week over the central Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Gert formed on Sunday night, a few hundred miles to the east of the northeastern islands of the Caribbean. Like Emily, Gert has met its demise after a brief lifespan.

For a time on Sunday night and early Monday, three named systems were spinning in the Atlantic at the same time. After a brief pause, Franklin, Gert and Harold were active on Tuesday morning.

Farther to the east, there are additional tropical waves that AccuWeather meteorologists will be monitoring for development this week.

One such system was near the Cabo Verde Islands, located just off the coast of Africa.

Yet another tropical wave was crossing Africa and may evolve into a tropical system later this week as it moves over the warm waters of the Atlantic.

During the middle to the latter part of next week, AccuWeather's tropical weather team will be watching the zone from the western Caribbean to the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico for tropical development.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Japan will begin releasing treated radioactive water from Fukushima into the ocean as early as Thursday, officials announced on Tuesday, following months of heightened public anxiety and pushback from many neighboring countries.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said authorities would go forward with the release on August 24 if they encounter no obstacles. The decision was made after the government held a cabinet meeting to discuss the issue.

Japans devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused water within the Fukushima nuclear plant to be contaminated with highly radioactive material. Since then, new water has been pumped in to cool fuel debris in the reactors, while ground and rainwater have leaked in, creating more radioactive wastewater.

All this wastewater has so far been treated and stored in massive tanks. But space is running out, and authorities say they need to get rid of the water to safely decommission the plant  hence the ocean release plan, which has been controversial from the start.

In July, the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that Japans plan aligns with international safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment  which it reiterated on Tuesday after the governments announcement, saying the plan had undergone two years of detailed review.

But that hasnt reassured many of Japans neighbors, with officials from China and the Pacific Islands voicing alarm and opposition to the plan. Beijing will take necessary measures to safeguard food safety and its peoples health, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday, adding they strongly urge the Japanese side to rectify its wrongful decision.

A senior South Korean official on Tuesday said while there is no scientific or technical problem with the release, it doesnt mean the government supports or approves of the plan. Also on Tuesday, South Koreas main opposition party criticized the government for not taking a stronger stance, saying the release would cause unimaginable damage to all countries neighboring Japan.

Meanwhile, fishing communities in Japan and South Korea worry the wastewater release could spell the end of their livelihoods  with consumers across the region already beginning to swear off seafood from Japan and its nearby waters, and some governments even banning imported food from parts of Japan, including Fukushima.

On Monday, Kishida met with the chairman of a nationwide body representing fishermen, who told the prime minister the group still opposes the plan. A crowd of demonstrators gathered outside Kishidas office on Tuesday after the announcement, holding banners and signs protesting the release.

Radioactivity concerns

Though the radioactive wastewater contains some dangerous elements, the majority of these can be removed through various treatment processes, according to the state-owned electricity firm Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

The real issue is a hydrogen isotope called radioactive tritium, which cannot be taken away. There is currently no technology that can do so.

Authorities say the Fukushima wastewater water will be highly diluted and released slowly over decades  meaning the concentration of tritium being released will be very low, and meet international regulations.

Many other countries, including the United States, regularly release treated wastewater containing small amounts of tritium from their nuclear plants.

TEPCO, Japans government, and the IAEA also argue that tritium occurs naturally in the environment, including in rain and tap water, so the wastewater release should be safe.

But experts are divided on the risk this poses. Most national agencies agree that small amounts of tritium arent too harmful, but could be dangerous if consumed in large amounts.

Some scientists worry that diluting the wastewater could harm marine life, with pollutants that could accumulate in the already frail ecosystem. One expert, who helped Pacific Island nations review and assess the wastewater release plan, told CNN it was ill-advised and premature.

Others argue we just dont have enough studies or data yet on the longer-term biological effects of exposure to tritium.

The diluted water will be released through an undersea tunnel off the coast, into the Pacific Ocean. Third parties including the IAEA will monitor the discharge during and after its release.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
A Bolingbrook police officer who was shot Sunday night during a standoff is expected to recover, Bolingbrook police said Monday.

The 24-year-old suspect is in police custody, Bolingbrook police Chief Mike Rompa said.

Earlier in the night, at 6:14 p.m., police responded to a complaint of a theft at a business in the 100 block of South Bolingbrook Drive. The alleged offender fled the scene prior to the officers arrival, police said.

At approximately 7:48 p.m., police responded again to the same business after a report of shots fired.

Police identified and located the suspect at his residence in the 100 block of West Briarcliff Road. When the police officer made contact with him, the suspect fired multiple shots at the officer, striking him twice, then barricaded himself inside the home.

Bolingbrook police said they requested help from the Illinois State Police, who searched the residence where the shooting took place around 1 a.m.

As of Monday morning, the officer was receiving treatment at a hospital. State police are investigating and the Will County states attorneys office was processing charges.

Bolingbrook police and Illinois State Police representatives did not immediately respond to requests for updated information.
Raging wildfires in Maui have left at least 106 people dead and thousands of others missing after they were forced to flee their homes.

We are heartsick that weve had such loss," Hawaii governor Josh Green said during a news conference on Tuesday.

Mr Green said he expects the death toll to rise every day as recovery teams and cadaver dogs search the burned area in Lahaina on Maui. Despite the number of deaths increasing, only a few of the 111 have been identified.

Part of this reason is due to the state that many bodies were found in after the blazing wildfires moved quickly through Lahania.

A mobile morgue unit arrived to help Hawaii officials identify the remains as teams continued to search for more in neighbourhoods that were reduced to ash.

Mr Green asked people who are missing loved ones to submit their DNA to help them identify the victims.

The US 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.

Maui mayor Richard Bissen offered his deepest condolences to the families who have received news about their loved ones.

As a community, we offer our prayers of comfort in this most difficult time, he added.

Here are the victims of the Hawaii wildfires named so far:

Robert Dyckman

Robert Dyckman, aged 74, was named by Maui county officials on 15 August.

Dyckman was a resident of Lahaina.

In a statement after releasing his name, county officials said: We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for the families, and we ask that the media and the public respect the privacy of the grieving families. We will continue to work closely with the families to ensure that they are updated and supported throughout this process.

Buddy Jantoc

Buddy Jantoc, aged 79, was among the other victims named by the County of Maui on 15 August.

Jantoc, who lived in the Hale Mahaolu retirement home in Lahaina, was a well-known musician in the area and was known for playing at local bars, hotels and malls.

"Besides his family, his other love was music," Keshia AlakaI, his granddaughter, told Sky News in an interview. "Music was his life. He played every instrument. His house was like a music store. He didn't really have a sofa, just guitars.

Ms AlakaI said that she broke down when local police called her to confirm that her grandfathers remains were found.

"He would call me every time there was a tropical storm or heavy rain. When I didnt hear from him, I knew something was wrong, she told Sky News.

Ms AlakaI told the outlet that Jantoc was loved by many and added: "My papa was always the light of the party, kind, generous, never had a mean thing to say, he was always positive."

Melva Benjamin

Melva Benjamin, 71, was from Lahaina.

On 17 August, the County of Maui announced that Benjamin had died in the fire.

Virginia Dofa

Virginia Vergie Dofa, who was from Lahaina, died aged 90 in the Maui fire, the County confirmed.

Virginia Vergie Dofa died in Lahaina due to the wildfires (GoFundMe)

In a GoFundMe description, one of Dofas grandchildren said she was living in Hale Mahaolu when the wildfires engulfed the town.

There was no alarms. No sirens. No evacuation plan until it was too late. The system failed our loved ones and a lot of lives and homes has been taken away from us, the GoFundMe reads.

Alfredo Galinato

Alfredo Galinato, 79, from Lahaina was among the victims of the fire, the County of Maui confirmed.

In a Facebook post, Galinatos son, Joshua, said he had been searching for his father after his mother and brothers fled from the wildfires. Galinatos last known location was their home in Lahaina.

Alfredo Galinato was confirmed to be dead by the County of Maui police (GoFundMe)

We are grateful to finally hear about our Fathers remains but saddened that he has not joined us in safety, Joshua wrote.

Joshua included a link to a GoFundMe to raise money for his family who lost all of their possessions, including their home, in the fires.

Donna Gomes

Donna Gomes, 71, of Lahania was identified by the County of Maui on 17 August after her family was notified.

Donna Gomes is among the victims of the Maui wildfires (GoFundMe)

Gomes grandchild created a GoFundMe to collect donations in order to support their family after they lost everything in the Maui wildfires.

Not only have we lost our homes but our family is also grieving the loss of our family backbone, Tehani Kuhaulua wrote.

Conchita Sagudang

Conchita Sagudang, 75, of Lahaina, died in the wildfires, officials in Maui County confirmed in a press release on 20 August.

Sagudang died alongside her son, Danilo Sagudang, her sister wrote in a Facebook post.

There are no words to express the pain of this type of tragedy, Nemi Bandayrel wrote.

Im so heartbroken and so does my whole family the BANDAYREL. Rest in peace my greatest sister and the best nephew. Danilo I know that you will always take care your mom up there in heaven.

Danilo Sagudang

Danilo Sagudang, 55, died alongside his mother, Conchita Sagudang, on 8 August, officials confirmed in a press release.

Sagudangs sibling wrote in a Facebook post that he and his mother were trying to escape the fires near the Paunau subdivision in Lahaina.

They are forever in our hearts and we will miss them dearly. Mom and Danilo were our family, our support, our mentors, our friends, Edna Sagudang wrote.

Rodolfo Rocutan

Rodolfo Rudy Rocutan, 76, a resident of Lahaina died as a result of the Maui wildfires, officials confirmed.

Rodolfo Rocutan, 76, died in the Lahaina wildfires (GoFundMe)

In a GoFundMe, one of Rocutans family members said he was living in Lahaina with his sister who survived. According to the description, Rocutans wife died in 2021.

He is wise, friendly, caring and loving Father and Grandfather, the creator of the fundraiser wrote.

Jonathan Somaoang

Jonathan Jon Somaoang, 76, was a veteran and retired wood crafter living in Lahaina when the wildfires hit, a missing poster of Somaoang reads.

The County of Maui officially declared Somaoang among the deceased on 20 August.

Born and raised in Lahaina, Jon knows his town well, the description for Somaoangs missing poster reads.

Angelita Vasquez

Angelita Vasquez, 88, was living at Hale Mahaolu in Lahaina before she perished in the wildfires, officials confirmed.

Douglas Gloege

Douglas Gloege, 59, from Lahaina was killed in the wildfires, the County of Maui confirmed in a press release on 21 August.

Juan Deleon

Juan Deleon, 45, was among the victims who were killed in the fires, officials confirmed.

Carole Paxton Hartley

Carole Paxton Hartley was killed in the wildfires on 8 August , friends confirmed in a GoFundMe.

Carole Paxton Hartley is among the victims who died in the Maui wildfires (GoFundMe)

According to the description, Paxton Hartley was with her partner, Charles Paxton, in Lahaina when the fires erupted. While Mr Paxton managed to escape to a shelter, Paxton-Hartley did not.

With deep sadness, we inform you that Carole Paxton/Hartleys life was taken by the true devastation, the GoFundMe says. We have no words to ease the pain and sadness among Caroles family and friends and most of all, Charles.

Kenyero Fuentes

Kenyero Fuentes, 14, was at his home in Lahaina when the wildfire erupted on 8 August.

Fuentes was anticipating his first day of classes at Lahainaluna High School the next day, his mother, Luz Vargas, told NPR. Before the fires, Ms Vargas was planning Fuentes 15th birthday party for the coming Sunday. She said planned to include a vanilla cake and pork tacos.

Kenyero Fuentes (Family)

For two days, Ms Vargas and her husband searched for their 14-year-old son at shelters, calling friends to find any sign of him.

But on 10 August, two friends delivered the tragic news that Fuentes was dead.

The two had snuck into Ms Vargas and her husbands home and found the boy lying face-down with the family dog nearby in his bedroom.

Ms Vargas went to see her sons remains and described a horrific scene  furniture completely burnt down to ash and her sons charred body on top of a pile of debris.

Officials have not confirmed Fuentes death but his family has told news outlets he died.

Joseph Schilling

Joseph Schilling was last seen evacuating his home in Lahaina on 8 August, but his family confirmed his death on social media and a GoFundMe page.

Akiva Bluh, a close family friend of Schilling, who she referred to as Uncle Joe described him as caring, outgoing, funny, easygoing, joyous, and LOVING.

Bluh said Schilling was informally adopted into their family where he acted out of love and kindness toward Bluh and their brothers, became best friends with Bluhs father and quickly became friends with their mother.

Joseph Schilling, a member of the Lahaina community, died in the wildfires (GoFundMe)

Joe passed while aiding in evacuating five elderly people in his housing complex. Joe passed as a HERO. His character showed until his very last moments. To everybody who had the pleasure of meeting my Uncle Joe, count your lucky stars; rarely do you get to meet such a genuine soul, Bluh wrote.

The County of Maui has not confirmed Schillings death thus far.

Salote Takafua, Tony Takafua, Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone

Other victims include a family of four: Salote Takafua, her son Tony Takafua and parents Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, Hawaii News Now reported.

The family appeared to have become trapped in their car while trying to flee the fires on 8 August.

In a statement, the family of the victims said: The magnitude of our grief is indescribable, and their memories will forever remain etched in our hearts.

Salote Takafua, right, died along with her son Tony Takafua and parents after trying to flee the Maui wildfires in their car (Facebook)

Lylas Kanemoto, a family friend to the victims, told The Associated Press that the loss of four members of the family was unbearable.

The County of Maui has yet to officially name the four family members among the deceased.

Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, who died along with heir adult daughter Salote Takafua and grandson Tony Takafua while trying to escape Lahaina (Facebook)

At least we have closure for them, but the loss and heartbreak is unbearable for many. We as a community has to just embrace each other and support our families, friends, and our community to our best of our abilities, she said.

Franklin Trejos

Franklin Trejos, 68, died trying to protect his three-year-old golden retriever, Sam, in the fires, according to NBC News.

Trejos lived in Lahaina with Sam and longtime friends Shannon Weber-Bogar and Geoff Bogar.

Ms Weber-Bogar described Trejos as the friendliest guy you would ever meet.

The County of Maui has not officially named Trejos among the victims but Ms Weber-Bogar told NBC News that her husband found Trejos remains after returning to Lahaina.

Ms Weber-Bogas said Trejos and Mr Bogar were trying to escape the fires by driving out of Lahaina.

He must have seen what was happening, just crawled into the hatchback with him and laid down on top of him, Weber-Bogar said. Theres more of Sam left than there was of Frank.

This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui on Thursday 10 August (AP)

Thousands of survivors are currently staying in shelters, in hotel rooms and Airbnb units, or with friends.

Around 2,000 homes and businesses still dont have electricity, Maui County wrote Tuesday night, after the power company restored supply to over 10,000 customers. The fire also contaminated water supplies in many areas.

Additional reporting from agencies
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark's government on Tuesday announced a reshuffle that will see economy minister Troels Lund Poulsen take the role of defence minister, as the NATO member enters a period with heavy investments in military spending.

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, who returned to work on August 1 following a 6-month sick leave for stress, will move from the defence ministry to become economy minister.

Poulsen, who was acting defence minister during Ellemann-Jensen's sick leave, landed a framework agreement that will significantly boost the NATO member's military spending and oversaw several donations to Ukraine, including F-16 fighter jets.

"I think this is a logical move," said political commentator Jarl Cordua.

"The defence agreement that needs to be implemented and negotiated is complex. The expectation is that it will proceed with a person who understands the issue and has built trust with the coalition parties, which Troels Lund Poulsen has already accomplished," Cordua said.

Ellemann-Jensen, who will remain deputy prime minister, has faced headwinds over the handling of an artillery arms purchase from Israel in January.

Earlier this month, he dismissed the defence ministry's permanent secretary of state and apologised for having misled parliament.

Ellemann-Jensen's Liberal Party has trailed in opinion polls since December last year, when it entered a rare reform-oriented bipartisan government with the Social Democratic Party and the Moderates.

($1 = 6.8260 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Johannes Birkebaek and Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto, William Maclean)
A California city is now facing a lawsuit after officials evicted the homeless from San Bernardino Park. The plaintiffs argued that city officials are violating their rights, saying that they are left in dangerous predicaments by removing them from the area.

California City Faces Lawsuit After Evicting the Homeless

According to Fox News' latest report, homeless people who filed the lawsuit accuse the city of disregarding their rights.

They also claim that California's officials trashed their property. One of the plaintiffs, 55-year-old Lenka John, said that city workers tossed her heart monitor, walker, as well as medical records and disability assistance paperwork.

This incident happened in May and because of this, the lawsuit, which was filed on Aug. 2, accuses San Bernardino officials of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Fourth, Fifth, and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The legal action explained that destroying the woman's property without providing any reasonable warning, accommodation, and justification is a violation of the law.

Lenka said that she felt violated during that moment.

San Bernardino officials explained that the Perris Hill and Meadowbrook parks would close temporarily for maintenance.

These areas are where some of the plaintiffs, including Lenka, were living.

"The City of San Bernardino has an obligation to ensure that its public parks are available and maintained for everyone to freely and safely use," said Jeff Kraus, the city spokesman.

Right now, the city of San Bernardino is estimated to have more than 1,000 homeless people.

Read Also: Controversial Kansas Newspaper Raid: Court Paper Suggests Reason Behind Police Raid

Some Officials Are Against Homeless Evictions

The Associated Press recently reported that a federal judge in California temporarily banned Sacramento from evicting homeless people.

Judge Troy L. Nunley in the Eastern California U.S. District Court confirmed this decision after some homeless advocates argued that officials are exposing homeless individuals to dangerous heatwaves.

They said that by disregarding their own protocol, Sacramento is pushing vulnerable people out of shaded areas during extremely high temperatures.

As of writing, the eviction of homeless people is still being debated by California officials and residents.

Related Article: Houston Police Fine Volunteers for Feeding Homeless; Food Not Bombs Now Disputing 44 Tickets

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A steep hillside topped with buildings in Tijuana shows damage from Hilary. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The morning after Hilary passed through Tijuana, life for most of the citys residents was largely back to normal. Commuters clogged mostly clear highways and even on side roads, deep pools of standing water were an uncommon sight.

Despite hours of rain and doomsday forecasts, the storm had done little damage to the city of about 2 million people.

For many Tijuanans, its no surprise that the weakened storm took a path that ultimately spared the city from devastation. Major storm systems have a way of missing Tijuana, said taxi driver Erick Machado Gonzalez.

Thats why people come to Tijuana. We dont have hurricanes and those things, he said. God knows we cant handle them here.

This time, fortunately, most people in this city on the Mexico-U.S. border didnt have to.

Gerardo Lopez, the Tijuana secretary of welfare, praised the efforts of Mayor Montserrat Caballero, saying her preventative efforts helped the city avoid some misfortune.

Several cats can be seen in a room after a wall collapsed in Tijuana after Hilary passed through. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

More than 1,000 troops fanned out across Tijuana and the rest of Baja California on Sunday, clearing road hazards and rescuing people from floodwaters. Rock slides, flooding and washouts closed some highways and roads late Sunday, and video from the coast showed submerged cars and trucks stuck on roads south of the city.

Authorities responded to dozens of emergency calls, mostly reports of power outages and street flooding. But officials said there were no major incidents or mudslides stemming from the storm, and only a couple of dozen traffic accidents.

Some people in the border city and along the nearby coast reported cellphone and internet outages, and officials in Baja Californias harder-hit capital city  Mexicali  warned Sunday of power outages and water problems.

It was still raining Sunday when authorities canceled classes across the state for the following day. But by daybreak, the skies had cleared over Tijuana and many of the roads were dry.

Rigoberto Cano is a construction worker originally from Chiapas who lives in a shanty town by the highway in an impoverished section of Tijuanas east side. He said that as Hilary made its way up the Baja California peninsula, he was a little bit worried and a little bit not.

He stocked up on toilet paper and water before the storm hit, but he said he didnt take any other precautions.

Despite the fact that the ramshackle home he rents sits in a low-lying area, he said it was unscathed.

We didnt lose power, he said. There was a little bit of floodwater but not too bad. Back to normal now.

On Monday morning, Tijuana city officials shuttered the temporary shelters theyd opened days earlier before the storm. The few dozen people living in high-risk areas who had come in to wait out the bad weather on dry cots returned home by midday.

Yet many residents know their homes still face threats from future storms in this hilly, mudslide-prone city.

Oscar Soto looked out over a shopping mall from a tall cliff on Tijuanas east side Monday morning. The 74-year-old pointed down at a massive concrete retaining wall that was badly damaged by Hilarys torrential rains.

The wall was built to protect several condo complexes perched on the cliffs edge from landslides. And in the wake of the storm, the wall was buckling under the weight of the earthen mass, threatening dozens of residents.

Look at this, Soto said. These houses might fall down.

The precarious scene is not an uncommon one in Tijuana, where the wreckage of several buildings that were destroyed during previous storms can be seen from a crosstown highway. Its a result of homes being built too close to the edges of cliffs with insufficient support.

Sotos condo is set back farther from the edge, which he said provides a measure of comfort. But he still took precautions before Hilary arrived.

We covered everything and blocked the windows, Soto said. We prepared, but nothing happened. It rained and that was about it.

Even in coastal areas to the south of Tijuana  places where cars and trucks had been submerged less than a day earlier  the sun was shining and life was returning to normal for many.

A hillside damaged by Hilary is topped with buildings appearing precariously perched. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

But for some Tijuanans, Hilary was not the disaster most on their minds this week. During a shopping run midday on Monday, Montserrat Guzman said she had weathered the storm at her mother-in-laws home  which is where she and her children have been living since a mudslide hit their development six months ago.

Theyd been hoping to move back in by now, but in July they had to move out all their belongings after contractors working in the area set off a landslide.

Now, her home is still standing, but uninhabitable  just like those of many of her former neighbors. Theyre hoping authorities will offer them a solution.

We need to see whats going to happen, she said, before turning from hope back to worry. We are about to lose our houses.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A coalition of media organizations, including CNN, is asking the federal court in Washington, DC, to give more transparency into the legal fight over a search warrant special counsel Jack Smith obtained for materials from former President Donald Trumps Twitter account.

The news outlets are asking for the court to unseal the materials that prosecutors filed when applying in January for the warrant, which was sought as part of Smiths 2020 election subversion investigation.

Twitter  which has since been rebranded as X  did not object to the warrant itself, according to filings from appeals court proceedings in the dispute that were unsealed earlier this month, but fought against an order barring the platform from telling Trump about the warrant.

The new request from the media organizations is also seeking for the unsealing of the underlying docket in the district court case  which remains inaccessible to the public  and for the release of court filings or orders that sought for or permitted for the case to be sealed, as well as all other judicial records, including any audio recordings of any hearings, as to which there is no longer a compelling need for secrecy.

The First Amendment and common law rights of access to court records are a fundamental element of the rule of law, important to maintaining the integrity and legitimacy of an independent Judicial Branch, the media outlets wrote in their new filing, while quoting from a DC Circuit opinion written by then-Circuit Judge Merrick Garland. Nowhere is the maintenance of integrity and legitimacy more important than in a case like this one, involving the historic and closely-watched investigation of a former President.

The Justice Department opposes the unsealing request, the media organizations said in the new court filings.

The warrant, and the legal fight that followed, was revealed with the recent release of a July opinion from the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld sanctions levied by the district court against Twitter for the platforms delay in producing the records investigators were seeking. Over the course of the litigation, the order prohibiting disclosure of the warrant to Trump was amended so that Twitter could tell him some things about the warrant, the appeals court opinion said.

Much is still unknown about what of Trumps Twitter data investigators were seeking, and why they had sought the search. But transcripts released the last week of February proceedings in front of Judge Beryl Howell, then the chief judge of the DC district court, indicated that investigators sought private direct messages  of which there were many  from the former presidents account. The appeals court has since given the parties an August 30 deadline to explain why certain other filings as well as audio from other court hearings related to the dispute shouldnt be released.

With the new request that additional court records related to the warrant be unsealed, the media organizations noted that Trump has since been indicted in Smiths probe, and that the existence of the warrant has already been made known by the court documents released by the appeals court.

Indeed, at this point it is difficult to imagine any justification for continued sealing, the news organizations said.

The outlets lawyers conferred Monday with Xs counsel, according to the new filing, and X consented to the request but asked for two categories of redactions. One category of redactions  which would hide the name of a senior counsel for the platform who signed a declaration  the media organizations do not oppose. The press coalition however does oppose a request from X that the email account associated with @realDonaldTrump be redacted.

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TOKYO (AP)  North Korea told Japan on Tuesday it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, possibly a second try to put a military spy satellite into orbit three months after its first effort failed, Japanese officials said.

In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un's push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had vowed to make a second attempt after studying what went wrong with the first launch.

Japan's coast guard said North Korean authorities notified it about a plan to launch a satellite from Aug. 24 and the end of Aug. 30. Coast guard spokesperson Hiromune Kikuchi said that the notice didn't specify what type of satellite North Korea intends to launch but that he believes it possibly refers to one similar to the spy satellite in the May launch.

The North Korean notice mentioned three maritime zones that could be affected by its launch  off the Korean Peninsula's west coast, in the East China Sea and east of the Philippine island of Luzon. Japan issued safety warnings for vessels passing through the three areas, according to the website of the Japanese coast guard.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed officials to do their utmost to gather and analyze any information about the launch and to prepare for any emergencies, according to his office. He also called for cooperation with the U.S., South Korea and other concerned countries to demand North Korea not conduct the launch.

South Korea's Unification Ministry called the North's planned satellite launch an illegal provocation because it would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the country from committing any launch involving ballistic activities. A ministry statement said that South Korea will sternly deal with the North's launch in close coordination with the U.S. and Japan.

The launch plan comes during annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that began Monday. North Korea views the regular U.S.-South Korean military exercises as a rehearsal for invading it and is expected to extend its provocative run of missile tests in reaction to the exercises.

The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are computer-simulated command post training. During this years training period, the U.S. and South Korean militaries also plan more than 30 field training exercises.

On Friday, the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan met for their first stand-alone trilateral summit at Camp David and agreed to increase their defense cooperation to deal with North Koreas increasing nuclear and military threats. Among the steps announced by the leaders were holding annual trilateral exercises and putting into operation by years end the sharing of real-time missile warning data on North Korea.

North Koreas state media warned Tuesday that its rivals drills are deepening the danger of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.

If the agreements fabricated at the Camp David Resort are additionally put into practice in the war drill ..., the possibility of outbreak of a thermonuclear war on the Korean Peninsula will become more realistic, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

It said the current, prevailing situation is compelling North Korea to take offensive, overwhelming steps, but didnt elaborate.

On Monday, KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un had watched the test launches of strategic cruise missiles and underscored the need to bolster efforts to modernize naval weapons systems.

Since the start of 2022, North Korea has carried out more than 100 weapons tests, some of them involving nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the U.S. mainland, South Korea and Japan. North Korea says it had no other option than to boost weapons testing activities as a response to the expansion of U.S.-South Korea military training. Washington and Seoul say their drills are defensive in nature.

South Koreas spy agency said last week that North Korea was taking steps needed for the test flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles as well as a spy satellite launch.

South Korea retrieved wreckage from North Korea's first attempt to put a spy satellite into space. South Korea's military said in July its study of the debris showed the satellite wasn't advanced enough to conduct reconnaissance from space as North Korea claimed.

___

Hyung-jin Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea.

___

Find more of AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
A 27-year-old man was gunned down by the police after he killed a beloved store owner in California following a dispute over a Pride flag outside her clothing store.

The shooter, identified as Travis Ikeguchi, killed 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton at her clothing store Mag Pi at Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen after he made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store, authorities in San Bernardino County said.

The mother-of-nine and a true LGBTQ+ ally was pronounced dead on the spot.

Ikeguchi fled the crime scene on foot but was intercepted by deputies a mile from the store on Friday. The suspect opened fire with an unregistered Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, striking multiple squad cars, sheriff Shannon Dicus told reporters.

The deputies returned fire and shot Ikeguchi, who died at the scene, the sheriff added.

Before fatally shooting Carleton, the suspect tore down the LGBTQ+ Pride flag that was hanging in front of the store and yelled homophobic slurs toward the woman.

Ikeguchi lived in Cedar Glen and his family had reported him missing to the sheriffs department one day before the murder, officials said.

According to authorities, the semiautomatic handgun used by Ikeguchi was not registered to him, and he did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said that Ikeguchi  from Cedar Glen, California  had a history of anti-LGBT+ posts, anti-police content along with conspiracy theories on social media.

Public information officer Mara Rodriguez said that the posts were made on multiple different social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, and the far-right platform Gab.

The content of Ikeguchis social media posts contained posts critical to the LGBTQIA community, said the officer.

Burning Pride flag seen on Travis Ikeguchis X / Twitter account (X / Twitter)

Accounts on X and Gab under Ikeguchis name, reviewed by The Independent, appear to match the hateful posts referred to by authorities.

In one post, dated 13 June and pinned to the top of the X account, Ikeguchi appeared to post an image of a burning rainbow flag.

What to do with the LGBTQP flag? the chilling post was captioned.

In another post on 28 June, the user took aim at same-sex marriage and abortion.

Abortion and same-sex marriage are both immoral and are design to destroy humanity one by one, the tweet read.

So if someone is pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQP, they are at war against the foundation of family values. Travis Ikeguchi 6/23/2023 6:39am.

In a post the same day, he revealed a deep-rooted paranoia and dislike for law enforcment.

Do not follow their traps they want to know everything about you to catch you and used against you in court and lie about you. Watch out their sociopathic schemes, the post read.

Over on Gab  the site popular with extreme right-wing figures  the account believed to belong to Ikeguchi regularly shared anti-LGBT+ and anti-law enforcement rhetoric.

In another post on 28 June, the user took aim at same-sex marriage and abortion

A makeshift memorial is seen outside the Mag.Pi clothing store (AFP via Getty Images)

One harrowing post shared on Friday  the day of Carletons murder  read: America must repent for a lot of things we allow; abortion/baby killing, sexual immortality, pornography, same-sex marriages, LGBTQP/pedophilia, freemasonry, religiosity, politics, wars, colonialism, the federal reserve.

The anti-LGBT+ content went back as far as two years, with a 2021 post reading: We need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives!

In another violent post also from 2021, the user spoke of killing police officers.

I know its controversial for me to mention the option to kill a police officer, but these police officers are not the servants for the people they are the servants for the laws, the post read.

The Independent has reached out to San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department for comment on the accounts.

A sheriffs spokesperson told NBC News that Carletons murder is now being investigated as a hate crime.

Meanwhile, tributes poured in for Carleton, who remained defiant as a prominent ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

When people first ripped down the Pride flag hanging outside her store, Carleton simply got another and hung it straight back up.

A resident leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the Mag.Pi clothing store (AFP via Getty Images)

Friends say this happened multiple times in the two years since she opened the California store as a second outpost to her first location in Studio City.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ described her as a remarkable figure, whose "unwavering support" for the community and dedication to creating a safe and inclusive space within her shop touched the lives of many.

There was an outpouring of support on social media as well, with commenters expressing shock and sadness on the stores accounts.

Hollywood director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute saying that Carleton, who he called his wonderful friend, had been killed by a young man.

Her alleged murderer was later shot and killed by the San Bernardino police and so no longer poses a threat to the community, Feig continued.

But this intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain.

The shooting comes about one month after the Anti-Defamation League and the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD released a report indicating a recent rise in anti-LGBTQ harassment, vandalism or assault in the United States.

This is absolutely horrific. This disgusting hate has no place in CA, California governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
(Reuters) -More than 200 members of Afghanistan's former military, law enforcement and government have been killed since the Taliban took over, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies.

The mission said in a report it had recorded at least 218 extrajudicial killings with links to the Taliban from their takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021 up to June.

"In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.

Senior Taliban leaders have said there is an amnesty for former government officials and members of the military by order of their supreme leader.

The Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said in response to UNAMA that it had not received reports of any cases of non-compliance with the order and any cases that did occur would be investigated.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said the killings were a "betrayal of the people's trust" since the victims had been assured they would not be targeted. U.N. rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said the scale of killings was "shocking" and expected the true count to be higher.

UNAMA said about half of the killings it recorded occurred in the four months after the Taliban took over, as U.S.-backed foreign forces were withdrawing, in August 2021, and 70 were recorded in 2022.

"For the majority of violations discussed in this report, there is limited information regarding measures taken by the de facto authorities to investigate incidents and hold perpetrators to account," UNAMA said, referring to the Taliban administration.

"The apparent impunity with which members of the de facto authorities continue to commit human rights violations against former government officials and ANDSF members is of serious concern," UNAMA said, referring to the old Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.

In total, UNAMA had recorded 800 incidents of human rights violations connected with the Taliban against former government employees and military including arbitrary arrests, disappearance and torture.

The majority were against former members of the security forces and police, the mission said.

The Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said their supreme spiritual leader had issued the amnesty order and another order against torture or ill-treatment of people in custody.

It denied state sanctioned extra-judicial killings or targeting people who fought in or worked for the foreign-backed former government.

"No military staff of the previous administration has been arrested, detained or tortured because of his activities in the security institutions," it said in a statement that the U.N. issued with its report.

"Those employees of the previous administration who joined the opposition groups of the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban administration) or had military activities to the detriment of the system, have been arrested and introduced to judicial authorities."

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Additional reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Robert Birsel)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it will hold runway safety meetings at 90 airports over the next few weeks after a series of troubling close-call aviation incidents.

Earlier this month, the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were investigating a near collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet in San Diego.

The NTSB is investigating seven runway incursion events since January, including the San Diego incident.

In March, the FAA said it was taking steps to improve its air traffic control operations after near-miss incidents, telling employees: "There is no question that we are seeing too many close calls."

At the "Runway Safety Action Team" meetings taking place through the end of September, the FAA said representatives from the FAAs air traffic organization, airlines, pilots, airport vehicle drivers and others will "come together to identify unique risks to surface safety at that airport and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate those risks."

The FAA has been without a permanent administrator since April 2022. President Joe Biden's nominee to head the agency Phil Washington withdrew in March and the White House has yet to pick a new nominee.

Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg since June has been serving as acting FAA administrator in addition to her USDOT duties.

The FAA said its preliminary review of the Aug. 11 incident showed an air traffic controller at San Diego International Airport cleared the Cessna to land even though Southwest Airlines Flight 2493 had already been told to taxi onto the same runway and await instructions to depart.

A similar near-collision incident occurred in February in Austin, Texas, when a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Boeing 737 came within about 115 feet (35 meters) in poor visibility conditions. The controller had cleared the FedEx plane to land and the Southwest plane to depart.

The FAA held a safety summit and issued a safety alert in March to airlines, pilots and others citing the "need for continued vigilance and attention to mitigation of safety risks."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Bernadette Baum)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S auto safety regulators said Tuesday automakers can comply with a Massachusetts law requiring them to share vehicle data with independent repair shops, reversing course after previously objecting that it could make vehicles vulnerable to hacking.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

said automakers could safely share diagnostic data with independent shops using short-range wireless technology, but warned that using long-range wireless signals could potentially let hackers send dangerous commands to moving vehicles.

Massachusetts voters in 2020 approved a ballot initiative that gives independent repair shops access to diagnostic data that newer cars can send directly to dealers and manufacturers, in order to allow consumers to seek repairs outside dealerships.

NHTSA in June told 22 major automakers in June not to comply with the open-access law because it could potentially allow for manipulation of steering, braking and other critical safety functions and allow hackers to "remotely command vehicles to operate dangerously."

After discussions with Massachusetts, NHTSA said the state had clarified that automakers could comply with the law using a "short-range wireless compliance approach, implemented appropriately." Longer-range wireless technologies would pose risks, the agency said.

The Massachusetts attorney general's office said it appreciated "NHTSAs clarification today that our state law is not preempted by federal law." Automakers now must comply with the state law, the office said.

NHTSA said automakers should be allowed "a reasonable period of time" to put the technology in place.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing major automakers including General Motors, Toyota Motor and Volkswagen declined to comment but previously argued the state law would require automakers "to remove essential cybersecurity protections from their vehicles."

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats from Massachusetts, criticized NHTSA in June but said Tuesday's decision to allow the law to be enforced will help "ease burdens and lower costs for Massachusetts drivers."

The White House competition council engaged behind the scenes to help reach a resolution, a senior administration official said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andy Sullivan)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. auto safety regulators on Monday proposed expanding and enhancing reminder systems to boost seat belt use and reduce traffic crash deaths and injuries that have been rising in recent years.

The proposed new warning system by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would extend to both rear seat and front seat passengers and expand current warnings for the driver. It would apply to passenger cars, trucks and most buses that weigh 10,000 pounds or less.

The proposed regulations come more than a decade after Congress in 2012 directed the agency to consider mandating the systems for rear passengers, and they will likely take at least a year to finalize.

Seat belt warning systems, currently required only for the driver's seat, use visual and audible alerts to encourage seat belt use.

The agency estimates the proposed requirements, which would also increase the duration of current warnings, would prevent over 100 traffic deaths and about 300 non-fatal injuries yearly.

The proposal comes as U.S. traffic deaths have jumped dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acting NHTSA Administrator Ann Carlson said nearly half of the 43,000 people killed in traffic crashes in 2021 were not wearing seat belts.

"This proposed rule can help reduce that number by getting more to buckle up," she said in a statement.

NHTSA has estimated seat belts saved 329,715 lives between 1960 and 2012  more than all other vehicle technologies combined, including air bags.

NHTSA's proposal would require visual warnings on vehicle startup to last at least 60 seconds to notify the driver of the status of the rear seat belts, and an audio-visual warning lasting at least 30 seconds if a rear seat belt is unbuckled while the vehicle is in operation.

That's significantly more than the current eight-second requirement for the drivers seat belt warning.

Manufacturers would have flexibility to adjust warning signal characteristics to make them effective and acceptable to vehicle owners, NHTSA said. Car companies would have at least two years to comply with a final rule mandating rear seat warnings, the agency said.

NHTSA said seat belts reduce the risk of fatality for rear seat occupants by 55% for cars and 74% for sport utility vehicles.

A group representing major automakers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Chris Reese and Andy Sullivan)
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If you took the summer off from the threads of the American political conversation 

swiping away the news alerts about the one, two, three, four criminal indictments against former President Donald Trump,

tuning out Trumps undisputed dominance of the GOP presidential primary, and

ignoring all the Democratic bellyaching about President Joe Bidens fitness against Trump

 this is the week to tune back in.

Trumps political fortunes will collide, not for the last time, with his legal problems when he briefly surrenders to authorities in Atlanta this week but skips the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee.

Could Trump be disqualified? Unlikely

Theres a push by legal scholars, including the influential conservative and former federal judge J. Michael Luttig, to encourage states to bar Trump from their ballots. The 14th Amendment technically bars those who support insurrection from holding public office.

But that idea to end-run his candidacy, however appropriate on the merits, would have to be taken up by election officials in key states and survive a Supreme Court dominated by conservatives.

For now, it is a mere hypothetical.

Would Americans vote for a convict?

The question alarming many Trump-skeptical Republicans this week is whether Americans would ever send a convict to the White House.

Trump is the subject of four criminal trials in state and federal courts. Two trials  in state court in New York related to a hush-money payment scheme and in federal court in Florida related to his treatment of classified data  wont get underway until after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary next year.

Trial dates have not yet been set for charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in federal court in Washington, DC, and state court in Georgia.

Any conviction could change the equation for Trump

I think that Joe Biden needs to be replaced, but I dont think that Americans will vote for someone who has been convicted, said Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican, during an appearance on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday.

Cassidy is among the minority of Republicans who voted to remove Trump from office after the January 6, 2021, insurrection and thinks Trump should end his candidacy now (something there is zero evidence will happen).

But Cassidy is not alone in his concern about how a conviction will alter the current landscape.

It would make it almost a metaphysical certainty that he couldnt get elected president if he were convicted of a felony, said Scott Jennings, a Republican campaign adviser and CNN political commentator who opposes Trumps candidacy, on Monday.

Most Americans dont think a convict should be eligible for the White House

Jennings pointed to a recent Quinnipiac University poll in which 68% of all Americans and 58% of Republicans said a person convicted of a felony should not still be eligible to run for president.

That wording sounds similar to the 14th Amendment question raised by Luttig and others, but it does not account for the possibility that, eligibility preferences aside, a major party nominee next November may be convicted of a crime.

Jennings predicted Trumps GOP rivals  there are eight who have qualified for the debate stage Wednesday  will mention that poll when they square off without Trump on Fox News.

Trump, rather than stand up to any of the criticism from his fellow Republicans, has taped an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has fanned so many of Trumps false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Its expected to be used as counterprogramming for the debate.

This is the impossible riddle of American democracy right now. Large majorities of Americans say they dont want a convict on the ballot. But Trumps command of the Republican primary continues to gain strength.

Predicting a blowout if Trump wins the primary

One top Republican who decided not to run for president, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, is engaged in a PR campaign to get long-shot candidates to drop out and allow Republicans to coalesce around someone not named Trump.

winnowing down the field of candidates is the single best chance to stop Mr. Trump, Sununu wrote in The New York Times on Monday.

He predicted an anti-Republican blowout if Trump is on the ballot for the party next November.

Heres one excerpt:

Every candidate with an (R) next to their name, from school board to the statehouse, will be left to answer for the electoral albatross at the top of the ticket. Instead of going on offense and offering an alternative to Joe Bidens failing leadership, Republicans will continue to be consumed with responding to Mr. Trumps constant grievances and lies, turning off every independent suburban voter in America.

And Mr. Trump, ever the narcissist, will spend the entire campaign whining about his legal troubles and bilking his supporters of their retirement savings to pay for his lawyers.

It was a similar prediction from The Wall Street Journals editorial board, which on Sunday condemned Trump for skipping the debate and suggested Democrats are salivating at the idea of running against Trump yet again because the former president is the greatest voter turnout machine for the Democratic Party since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Is Trump even vulnerable?

Sununu dismissed national polls that show Trumps support among Republicans well over 50% and said to look at polling in early contest states.

Both Iowa and New Hampshire, where the conversation is really happening, where that retail politics where other candidates are having a little more media and accessibility, thats where Trump is down in the 42, 44% range, right?

Thats still well above any of his rivals in those states.

A new poll in Iowa by the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom suggests Trump has the support of 42% of likely Republican caucusgoers. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has the support of 19%, and no other candidate breaks into double digits, although South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has 9%.

Opposing views of Trumps support

CNNs Harry Enten looked at that Iowa poll and argues that much of Trumps support is committed. Two-thirds of the likely caucusgoers who say they will support Trump also say their mind is made up.

But Sununu pointed to the same poll to argue that leaves more than half of all likely Republican caucusgoers.

Whats not clear is if that committed kernel of the Republican base in Iowa can sway the contest when it occurs in about five months. Trump placed second in the Iowa caucuses on his way to the Republican nomination in 2016 with support from less than a quarter of caucusgoers.

Trump won the New Hampshire primary in 2016 with just about 35% of the vote. Four other candidates all got more than 10%.

Trump can win the general election

This idea that Donald Trump cant win the general election  I want you to lose that idea, Enten said on CNN This Morning, pointing at multiple recent polls that show no clear leader between Trump and Biden.

Donald Trump is polling better right now than basically at any point during the 2020 election, Enten said. The four indictments just have not affected the polling.

But a conviction is a very different thing than an indictment. And Trumps legal future is now completely tied to the coming election.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.

The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to Ukrainska Pravda, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

That newspaper and Ukraines NV news outlet said groups of saboteurs were behind the audacious strikes, which suggest that Ukraine's scope of action is broadening. It was not possible to verify the claims on the ground.

Ukrainian media attributed two attacks to the saboteurs: a strike Saturday on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 700 kilometers (360 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and Mondays strike against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.

The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that the attack on Soltsy damaged one aircraft. It didnt comment on the reported attack on Shaikovka, but Russian media did.

Ukraine has since early this year sought to take the war into the heart of Russia. It has increasingly targeted Moscows military assets behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine and at the same time has launched drones against Moscow, most recently early Tuesday.

Kyiv is also trying to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin along multiple fronts, pursuing a counteroffensive at various points along the 1,500-kilometer (900-mile) front line, as well as diplomatically by obtaining pledges of more weaponry from its Western allies, including F-16 warplanes.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet Monday that at least one Russian warplane was damaged in the attack on Shaikovka. He said it was carried out by people who worked in close coordination with Ukrainian military intelligence but gave no further details.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed what appeared to be 10 Tupolev Tu-22M long-range bombers parked on the apron of the Soltsy air base on Aug. 16. By Monday, two days after the attack, all those bombers had left the air base. A large black spot was visible on one of the aprons where one of the Tupolevs had been parked.

Photos purporting to be from the Soltsy air base and published by Russian and Ukrainian media showed a Russian Tu-22M bomber ablaze there after the attack.

Some previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases involved Soviet-designed drones powered by turbojet engines. They have a range of up to 1,000 kilometers (600 miles). But the strikes in recent days apparently used primitive small drones, which would corroborate the possibility that they were launched by saboteurs.

Also, a Russian pensioner walking in a forest about 600km (370 miles) north of the Ukrainian border on Monday came across the remains of a drone painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Pictures shared on Russian social media channels show that the drone had glory to Ukraine inscribed on a broken wing and glory to the heroes written on the other wing, the Russian telegram channel Baza said Tuesday.

A Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group also tried to break through the border in Russias western Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Tuesday, according to the local governor.

Their attempt was repelled by Russian border guard units and the National Guard, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said. His claim could not be independently verified.

After Russia accused Ukrainian saboteurs of crossing into that area of western Russia and firing on villagers last March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Federal Security Service to tighten border controls.

Meanwhile, a recent spate of drone attacks apparently targeting Moscow continued early Tuesday but were thwarted by Russian air defense systems, Russias Ministry of Defense said.

However, falling wreckage of one drone shattered an apartment buildings windows and damaged vehicles in Moscows western suburbs.

There were no reports of injuries in the latest drone attacks that Russia blamed on Kyiv,

Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage and no victims.

Flights at several Moscow airports were temporarily suspended Tuesday as a security precaution amid the attacks, authorities said.

Two other drones were jammed and crashed in the Bryansk region, the defense ministry said.

Ukraine hasnt acknowledged responsibility for the attempted drone strikes, nor have senior Russian leaders made any comment about the development.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
One student died after a school bus overturned and crashed in Clark County, Ohio Tuesday morning (August 22).

Officials said 26 others were injured at the scene and taken to hospital for treatment.

Ohio State Highway Patrol's Tyler Ross told reporters the bus, which had 52 students on board at the time of the crash, had no seatbelts.

The school district, Northwestern Local Schools, said Tuesday was supposed to be the first day of school for the district, and that the accident involved an elementary school route, ABC News reported.

The driver and passenger of the car were identified as Hermanio Joseph, 35, and Roberto Mompremier, 37, respectively. The school bus driver was also identified as 68-year-old Alfred E. Collier.

Read Also: California Man Shot, Killed After Fatally Shooting Storekeeper Following Dispute Over Pride Flag Display

Car Involved in School Bus Accident

Ross detailed a Honda Odyssey veered left of center and into the lane of the school bus, prompting the bus operator to drive onto the shoulder to avoid the car, but the vehicles still made contact.

The bus then went off the right side of the road and overturned, while the car went off to the other side of the road and came to a rest.

Of the 23 injured student passengers of the bus, one suffered serious injuries while the other 22 were only lightly injured.

Collier, Joseph, and Mompremier also suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Ross added.

Investigations regarding the crash are continuing.

This is a developing story. Please follow HNGN for more updates.

Related Article: Ohio Teen Convicted of Murder of Boyfriend, Friend After 'Deliberately' Crashing Car Into Building

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The World Court will hear Russia's objections to its jurisdiction in a genocide case brought by Ukraine in hearings starting on Sept. 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Tuesday.

Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ shortly after Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, which accused Moscow of falsely applying genocide law to justify the attack.

In a preliminary decision in the case in March last year the court ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately.

The rulings of the ICJ, also known as the World Court, are binding but it has no direct means of enforcing them.

The hearings on jurisdiction will start on Monday Sept. 18 with submissions from Russia and a response from Ukraine the following day.

Besides Russia and Ukraine, 32 other nations including a majority of European Union member states, Britain, Canada and Australia will give their views on the case in the hearings which wrap up Sept. 27.

Previously Russia had suggested its action in Ukraine - what it calls a "special military operation" - was justified because it was aimed at preventing a genocide in Eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv at the hearings last year said there was no threat of genocide in Eastern Ukraine, and the United Nations' 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries have signed, does not allow an invasion to prevent one.

Russia has said the court has no jurisdiction in the case because the genocide convention, which forms the basis for Ukraine's claim, does not regulate the use of force between states.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Members of the Tennessee Three, the group of Tennessee House Democrats who Republicans attempted to remove over a gun control protest earlier this year, railed against new House rules that limit what members can say on the House floor.

There was an article written called Is Tennessee a Democracy? and I believe today we are getting a very clear answer that it is not, Rep. Justin Pearson (D) said on the House floor Monday. The rules that are being put forward now are to limit freedom of speech.

The new disciplinary rules allow the House to block members from speaking if they cause disruption, speak off the topic of debate or impugn the reputation of another member. The rules also ban members of the public from carrying signs into the chamber galleries.

In late March, Pearson, alongside Reps. Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, interrupted House proceedings to protest for gun control after a mass shooting at a Nashville school. Republicans succeeded in expelling Pearson and Jones, who are Black, from the body, while Johnson, who is white, was allowed to stay in the Legislature.

Both Pearson and Jones were reelected earlier this month and have rejoined the Legislature representing Memphis and Nashville, respectively.

The Tennessee Legislature began a special session to consider public safety and mental health legislation Monday in direct response to the March mass shooting. Democrats hope that the session will be used to again consider gun control legislation.

The House disciplinary change was the first move of the session, leading some to believe that it was targeted at creating more serious consequences if the Tennessee Three or others chose to protest again.

Republicans argued the new rules are necessary for the body to work smoothly over the coming days. Any violation of the new policies would silence the member for three days, with the special session expected to last until Friday.

What is considered a disruption is up to House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R), whom Jones has accused of discriminating against Black members of the chamber.

Jones questioned the new policy on the floor Monday, noting it has no way to hold Sexton accountable if he applies the rules incorrectly.

Where in these rules can you hold the Speaker accountable for abusing constitutional rights and misapplying the rules based upon a members skin color as opposed to treating every member of this body as an equal member? he said.

Republicans in the chamber derided Jones, but he doubled down, saying, You can boo, but the truth will be told today. Sexton then cut off Joness microphone while he continued to attempt to speak.

In session Tuesday, members of the public wrote flashing messages on phone screens or on clothing to skirt the rules against carrying signs, The Tennessean reported. No state House or Senate committees have yet considered gun control legislation during the session.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Department of Public Safety troopers arrest three undocumented migrants as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville on Nov. 8, 2021. Credit: Veronica G. Cardenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune

Immigrant rights advocates on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against two South Texas sheriffs and two state prison wardens on behalf of four Mexican migrants, claiming they were held in prison for as long as six weeks after they served their sentences or had their trespassing charges dropped.

The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the Texas Fair Defense Project and the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Covington & Burling, claims that thousands of other people were also detained longer than they should have been under Operation Lone Star, the border enforcement program Gov. Greg Abbott launched in 2021.

The lawyers for the migrants are seeking monetary damages. The lawsuit names the Kinney and Val Verde county sheriffs and the wardens of the Briscoe and Segovia unit state prisons. According to the lawsuit, arrests are primarily conducted by the Department of Public Safety and each countys sheriffs office.

In its design and execution, catch and jail metes out incarceration; due process is at most an afterthought, the lawsuit claims. Foreseeably, if not intentionally, the scheme has violated the human and civil rights of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

The government cannot just grab whoever they want off the street and lock them in cages as long as they feel like it, said Camilla Hsu, managing attorney for litigation at the Texas Fair Defense Project.

As part of the program, Abbott sent National Guard members and state troopers to different parts of the Texas-Mexico border so the officers could arrest migrants crossing the border illegally and charge them with misdemeanor trespassing.

According to the lawsuit, Edgar Garces Robles, 31; Ramiro Soto Altamirano, 28; Juan Jose Soto Hernandez, 54; and Rodolfo Ruiz de la Cruz, 57, were arrested for trespassing in Val Verde and Kinney counties between August and September 2021. All four are from Coahuila, one of the four Mexican states that border Texas.

Robles was arrested on Sept. 30, 2021, in Val Verde County and transported to the Dolph Briscoe Unit, a state prison in Dilley. On Jan. 10, 2022, the trespassing charge against him was dropped but he was not released from the prison until 19 days later, the lawsuit says.

Altamirano and Hernandez were arrested on Aug. 30, 2021, and the Val Verde county attorney declined to prosecute the trespassing charges against them, the lawsuit says, but both were held for 42 days after prosecutors turned down their cases.

Ruiz de la Cruz was arrested on Sept. 24, 2021, in Kinney County on suspicion of trespassing. The lawsuit says Ruiz de la Cruz didnt have his first post-magistration appearance until 110 days later.

On Jan. 12, 2022, Ruiz de la Cruz was promised immediate release if he pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge. He agreed and was sentenced to 80 days of incarceration with credit for time served, the lawsuit says. But he was not released until another 13 days later, the lawsuit says.

Once the four men were released, officers turned them over to federal immigration officials.

Val Verde Sheriff Frank Martinez didnt immediately respond to a text message from The Texas Tribune seeking comment. A spokesperson for Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe and a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which oversees the prisons, said they couldn't comment on pending litigation.

Texas cruel border politics and policies are wasteful, inflammatory, and riddled with human and civil rights abuses, said David Donatti, an attorney at the ACLU of Texas. Governor Abbott has manipulated unchecked executive power and Texas criminal laws to leverage control over border communities and endanger migrants. In the United States, and in Texas, the government cannot impose criminal penalties without due process of law.

Abbott, who held a news conference in Eagle Pass on Monday afternoon, defended his policies, saying President Joe Biden has not been doing his job in securing the borders. He also blamed the president for the record number of bodies found along the U.S.-Mexico border this year.

The border between the United States and Mexico is turning into a deadly welcome mat for the migrants who are coming here, he said.

In June, as part of Abbotts efforts, the state deployed a floating barrier in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass to deter migrants from crossing the river.

During the news conference, Abbott said the barrier had drifted to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and contractors recently pulled the line of buoys  which support a submerged mesh net and are separated by what appear to be circular saw blades  back to the U.S. side of the river.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Austin will hear arguments from the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued the state to seek the removal of the floating barrier.

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 final three alleged plotters in the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping case face trial (Antrim County Sheriffs Office/AP/iStock)

The world had shut down, and they were angry.

In 2020, a group of men surveilled Michigian Governor Gretchen Whitmers vacation home in Elk Rapids, Michigan, watching and plotting. To them, she was the embodiment of what they viewed as the governments overreach to Covid-19, using her state mandates to bring their lives  and businesses  to a halt.

With the 2020 election looming just weeks away, the men hatched a plan to kidnap the governor. The brothers, their bonds forged by mutual hatred for the Democrats, would train and plan, but they would never get a chance to attempt their scheme, as not all among them were who they appeared. It was not until they were in federal custody did the men realize that FBI agents had been secretly monitoring them from within their ranks.

The militia plot to kidnap the Democratic governor was foiled by the FBI, and the 14 men involved were arrested just weeks before the November 2020 election. Now, almost three years later, the last three members of the scheme to be tried will plead their cases in court.

Opening arguments began Monday for Eric Molitor and brothers William and Michael Null, a trio of men who prosecutors say are anti-government extremists angry with the governor's decision to enforce Covid-19 mitigation policies such as shutting down schools and closing businesses.

The defendants were members of a large right-wing gang that had reportedly discussed attacking the state capitol in Lansing with the hopes of kicking off a civil war, according to prosecutors. Nine men involved in the plot have been convicted already. Four entered guilty pleas and two others were acquitted.

The defendants

Mr Molitor and the Null brothers allegedly intended to storm Ms Whitmer's vacation residence in Elk Rapids, a village on Lake Michigan, and take her hostage ahead of the 2020 election.

But FBI agents infiltrated the militia and brought down the plot before it could begin. This has led to the defendants to claim they had been entrapped by the government, a defense that did not help stave off conviction for several of the plotters.

The three men currently standing trial have been charged with providing material support for terrorist acts and illegally possessing firearms. They have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors have painted the Null brothers as loyal confidants of the leader of the plot, Adam Fox, who spoke highly of the men during a meeting the basement of a vacuum shop in Grand Rapids where the group was planning their doomed operation. An FBI agent made a recording of the session.

Like, theyre willing to go die ... if need be. They dont want to die in vain though, Fox said in the audio, speaking of the brothers.

Both the Null brothers and Mr Molitor were present during a training session in Luther, Michigan, during which a "shoot house" was built to replicate the interior of Ms Whitmer's Elk Rapids house, according to previous witness testimony. During the same weekend the Null brothers joined Fox and other plotters on a nighttime surveillance trip in the same area.

The assignment for that vehicle was to be a look out for suspicious vehicles in Gov. Whitmers neighborhood and to interact with the other two vehicles participating in the surveillance by using hand-held radios, prosecutors said.

Mr Molitor had allegedly already visited the residence weeks earlier to perform a daytime surveillance, according to the prosecution. He reportedly said he was "in" for Mr Fox's plan, so long as it was done "professionally.

Previous rulings

Fox, the ringleader of the would-be kidnappers, was convicted in federal court on conspiracy charges and has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. He has refused to testify in the current trial, invoking his right against self-incrimination.

Barry Croft, another leader of the group, was convicted of kidnapping conspiracy, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and possessing an unregistered destructive device. He was sentenced to 19 years and is incarcerated in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Two other men charged in the plot, Brian Higgins and Shawn Fix, have pleaded guilty in exchange for reduced charges and have agreed to cooperate with the prosecution.

Another three members of the militia were convicted in a trial in Jackson County  in the south of the state  where the group's primary training ground was located.

Two men, Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris, were acquitted on conspiracy to commit kidnapping charges after a jury determined that FBI involvement in the scheme instigated participation by the defendants.

Whitmer vs Trump

After the kidnapping plot was foiled by the FBI, Ms Whitmer placed the blame for the failed scheme squarely on the shoulders of then-President Donald Trump.

Hate groups heard the presidents words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry, Ms Whitmer said at the time. When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight. When our leaders meet, encourage or fraternize with domestic terrorists, they legitimize their actions and they are complicit. When they stoke and contribute to hate speech, they are complicit.

Mr Trump responded by echoing the sentiments of the would-be kidnappers regarding Covid-19 closures while simultaneously distancing himself from the incident.

I do not tolerate ANY extreme violence, he said at the time. Defending ALL Americans, even those who oppose and attack me, is what I will always do as your President! Governor Whitmer  open up your state, open up your schools, and open up your churches!

Ms Whitmer said she was shocked and appalled at the presidents response.
A tropical storm that formed in the Gulf of Mexico overnight barreled toward south Texas on Tuesday morning, threatening to bring heavy rain and possible flooding to an area that has grappled with unrelenting heat all summer.

Harold, the latest system to form in what has become a busy Atlantic hurricane season, was about 70 miles east-southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas, around 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET). It was moving northwest towards the Texas coast at around 18 mph.

The storm, which had sustained winds of 45 mph, was forecast to make landfall between Brownsville and Port Mansfield as a tropical storm at around 11 a.m. CT (12 p.m. ET).

The storm was expected to slam south Texas with heavy rain and gusty winds, the National Weather Service said.

Rainfall amounts of 3-5 inches with isolated higher amounts of up to 7 inches were expected through early Wednesday, bringing the threat of flash flooding for some areas, the agency said.

The weather service's Weather Prediction Center said there was a slight risk of excessive rainfall for the region.

Around 1 to 3 feet of storm surge is possible from the Mouth of the Rio Grande to Sargent, which includes Baffin Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and Matagorda Bay.

Mexico is more likely to see flooding from remnants of Harold, with 4 to 6 inches and locally, up to 10 inches, possible there through Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Harold approaches Texas as it passes through the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday. (NOAA)

Harold will bring some much-needed rain to a drought-stricken Texas. While the heaviest rain wont reach the parts of Texas that need it most, the showers and clouds associated with the system will bring a brief reprieve to the excessive heat including for cities like Austin, Corpus Christi and Brownsville.

The weather service in Corpus Christi said in a situation overview Monday night that the main hazards would be the potential for locally heavy rainfall overnight through Tuesday night, warning it could produce isolated flash flooding, mainly in urban areas.

It said sustained winds of 40-50 mph with gusts of 60-70 mph were possible Tuesday, along with the possibility of "a couple of tornadoes" in the early hours of the day.

"Increasing swells will produce a risk of dangerous rip currents and moderate coastal flooding through late Wednesday," it warned.

On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of state emergency response resources and activated the Texas State Emergency Operations Center to Level 2, or "elevated response conditions," ahead of Harold's arrival.

Texas stands ready to deploy all available resources to South Texas as tropical storm conditions impact the region this week, he said.

"I encourage Texans to remain weather-aware and heed the guidance of state and local officials and emergency management personnel as they work together to keep communities safe," Abbott said.

As the storm barrels toward Texas, dangerous heat was also expected to continue to intensify in the state and in the central Plains, with numerous daily high temperature records expected, the weather service said.

Harold comes following storms Emily, Franklin and tropical depression Gert, with Franklin expected to reach the Hispaniola, including Haiti and the Dominican Republic, by Wednesday, according to the hurricane center.

Meanwhile, in the West, residents faced the threat of flash flooding and urban flooding caused by Hilary, a post-tropical cyclone.

The system became the first to hit Southern California as a tropical storm in decades earlier this week, bringing heavy flooding, mudflows and sinkholes to desert cities and smashing rainfall records.
Former President Trump doesnt plan to attend Wednesdays first Republican presidential primary debate in Wisconsin, but he and his team are working to ensure he remains a dominant presence around the event anyway.

Surrogates for the former president are expected to descend on Milwaukee in an effort to make their presence known on the ground. And Trump is doing a pre-taped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that will reportedly air the same night as the debate, offering up his own counterprogramming to try and divide voters attention.

The debate happens to be the same week Trump must also surrender to authorities in Georgia after he was charged over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. Trump said he will turn himself in Thursday, meaning the timing could create yet another spectacle that could swallow up a positive news cycle for one of his rivals coming out of the debate.

The person in the lead has almost no incentive to debate, so of course hes going to take a pass, said Peter Loge, director of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.

That said, the debate will be about Donald Trump, which is what Trump wants, Loge said. There will be questions about the 2020 election, about the indictments, about classified documents. So, Trump doesnt need to be there to make it about Trump.

The former president wrote Sunday on Truth Social that he would not be participating in the debates, citing a poll from CBS News he spent most of the day touting that showed him leading the next closest GOP candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by a whopping 46 percentage points.

The announcement came after Trump had for months publicly and privately questioned why he should subject himself to insults and attacks on the debate stage from candidates polling in the single digits.

But Trumps team is not entirely ceding the stage to the nearly 10 other rivals who will be in Milwaukee on Wednesday. A source familiar with the matter said there was a concerted effort by Trumps campaign to have surrogates in attendance who could spin for the former president and do media in his absence.

Donald Trump Jr. announced Monday that he and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who previously worked on Trumps 2020 campaign, would be in Milwaukee.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes (R-Ga.) office said the congresswoman would be on the ground Tuesday and Wednesday and available for media opportunities in support of Trump.

A source said Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) would be in attendance, and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) will also be there. Both men have backed Trump in the 2024 race, and Donalds in particular has sparred at times with members of DeSantiss team.

The moderators for Wednesdays event, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, have indicated that Trump will be part of some of the evenings questions. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is expected to take aim at the former president for his absence, while leaked debate prep memos indicated DeSantis may try to defend Trump.

I think Trump not being there, while his opponents will try to make it reflect badly on Trump, they all look really small for being there, said one former Trump White House official. It almost makes it look like a junior varsity debate without Trump being there.

In lieu of attending the debate, Trump sat for a prerecorded interview with Carlson, who himself has a strong following among conservatives. A Trump campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on when or where the interview would air, but one source suggested it may go out around the same time as the debate to maximize the split-screen.

The entire operation is reminiscent of January 2016, when Trump skipped a Fox News debate just before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own event just down the road in Des Moines. Trump garnered significant media attention both for his decision to skip the debate, and for his counter-event, though he ultimately finished second in the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

It is also part of a broader pattern with Trump, who strategists say manages to consume entire news cycles and drown out his rivals with his actions.

The same thing could happen again this week, with Trumps surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday potentially blotting out any news out of the debate. His previous arraignments have led to all-day coverage on cable news and prompted statements from his rivals and supporters alike attacking or defending Trump.

Hell be the No. 1 issue [at the debate], said Rob Stutzman, a California-based GOP strategist. His legal peril is going to be an issue.

Updated at 7:53 a.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ATLANTA (AP)  John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former presidents 2020 election loss.

Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail and is expected to have an arraignment in the coming weeks in the sprawling racketeering case.

He was indicted last week alongside Trump and 17 others, who are accused by District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. It was the fourth criminal case brought against the Republican former president.

Trump, whose bond was set Monday at $200,000, has said he will surrender to authorities in Fulton County on Thursday. His bond conditions prohibit him from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case, including on social media. He has a history of assailing the prosecutors leading the cases against him, including Willis.

Eastman said in a statement provided by his lawyers that he was surrendering Tuesday to an indictment that should never have been brought. He criticized the indictment for targeting attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients and said each of the 19 defendants was entitled to rely on the advice of lawyers and past legal precedent to challenge the results of the election.

A former dean of Chapman University Law School in Southern California, Eastman was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by the president's supporters intent on halting the certification of Bidens electoral victory. He wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to stop the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress joint session on Jan. 6 in order to keep Trump in office.

After the 2020 election, Eastman and others pushed to put in place a slate of alternate electors falsely certifying that Trump won and tried to pressure Pence to reject or delay the counting of legitimate electoral votes for Biden, a Democrat.

Bail bondsman Scott Hall, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, Georgia, also turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday.

Two other defendants, former Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark and former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer, have filed paperwork aiming to transfer the case to federal court. Willis has filed paperwork in Fulton County Superior Court, where the indictment was filed, seeking a March 4 trial date. Legal maneuvering, such as the attempts to move the case to federal court, could make it difficult to start a trial that soon.

Lawyers for Clark argued in their court filing Monday that he was a high-ranking Justice Department official and the actions described in the indictment relate directly to his work at the Justice Department as well as with the former President of the United States. Shafer's attorneys argued that his conduct stems directly from his service as a Presidential Elector nominee, actions they say were at the direction of the President and other federal officers.

Clark's attorneys also asked the federal court to stay any proceedings in Fulton County Superior Court  including the execution of any arrest warrant  until a determination has been made whether the case should be moved to federal court. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones gave Willis' office until 3 p.m. Wednesday to respond.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week made similar arguments in a federal court filing, saying his actions were taken in service to his White House role. A judge has scheduled a hearing for Monday in that case.

Meadows on Tuesday filed an emergency motion in an attempt to avoid having to turn himself in to the Fulton County Jail by the deadline at noon Friday. He asked the judge to ensure that outcome by immediately ruling that his case can be moved to federal court or by issuing an order prohibiting Willis from arresting him before Monday's hearing.

Meadows' motion says Willis on Tuesday morning rejected a request for an extension. She said in an email that at 12:30 p.m. Friday I shall file warrants in the system, he said.

The judge has ordered Willis' team to respond to Meadows' motion by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Clark was a staunch supporter of Trumps false claims of election fraud and in December 2020 presented colleagues with a draft letter pushing Georgia officials to convene a special legislative session on the election results, according to testimony before the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Clark wanted the letter sent, but Justice Department superiors refused.

Shafer was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the 2020 presidential election in the state and declaring themselves the duly elected and qualified electors even though Biden had won the state and a slate of Democratic electors was certified.

Shafer was one of several defendants whose lawyers negotiated bond amounts with the district attorney's office on Tuesday. His bond was set at $75,000.

Bond was set at $100,000 for Jenna Ellis, an attorney who prosecutors say was involved in efforts to convince state lawmakers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors. Bond was set at $50,000 for Michael Roman, a former White House aide who served as a director of Trumps Election Day operations and was involved in efforts to put forth a set of fake electors after the 2020 election. Robert Cheeley, a lawyer accused of helping organize the fake electors meeting at the state Capitol in December 2020 and then lying about what he knew to a special grand jury, had a bond set at $14,000.

Bond was set at $10,000 for Shawn Still, another of the fake electors who was elected to the Georgia state Senate in November 2022 and represents a district in Atlantas suburbs. Cathy Latham, another fake elector who also is accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in Coffee County, had a bond set at $75,000.
LAHAINA, Hawaii  Long before a wind-whipped wildfire blasted through the island of Maui, tension existed between Hawaii's kamaaina, or longtime residents, and the visitors some islanders resent for turning their beaches, mountains and communities into playgrounds.

It's a love-hate relationship that dates back generations. But now that tension is building in the aftermath of a blaze that killed over 100 people and scorched the historic town of Lahaina, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.

A week after the fire, a state flag blew upside down in the breeze along a road leading to a neighborhood designated for residents of Hawaiian descent, signifying that the community is in distress. Beneath the flag, a sign scrawled in blue paint ordered tourists to "KEEP OUT."

"Tourism has definitely been a hindrance at this point because we need to take care of our families  our ohana," said Kapali Keahi, who lives in the neighborhood. Keahi said those affected by the fire, himself included, are still "getting out of the survivor mode."

Long before a wildfire blasted through Maui, there was tention between Hawaii's longtime residents and the visitors some islanders resent for turning their beaches, mountains and communities into playgrounds.

The Maui Economic Development Board says tourism is "irrefutably" the economic engine of Maui, which saw 1.4 million visitors in just the first half of 2023. About 70% of every dollar generated in Maui can be attributed to tourism, according to the board.

Yet as the island looks to rebuild, residents like Keahi wonder what role tourism should play in the long road ahead to recovery. Experts say there's no easy answer.

More: 'Help is pouring in': How to assist victims in the Maui wildfires in Hawaii

"You do have this time where you have to stop everything and focus on the disaster, but there does come a time when you have to start to rebuild, and that means keeping people employed," said Rafael Villanueva, a member of the Tourism Expert Network, which provides consulting services to businesses like hotels.

Villanueva said that's the general roadmap he and his then-colleagues at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority followed in 2017 after the deadliest mass shooting in modern America unfolded at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Support the victims and the community first, then worry about the tourists.

Within an hour of the shooting that would leave 60 dead and hundreds more injured, the publicly funded body promoting Las Vegas had halted its advertising, promising "What Happens Here, Stays Here." Villanueva said they filled billboards with a message that the community instead could rally around: "Vegas Strong."

Then they opened up their convention center for recovery efforts, including victim notifications. But eventually, they shifted their messaging, inviting visitors back to a Strip that they promised was a safe tourist destination.

"You need to do what you can to not let the situation snowball into something much worse," Villanueva said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a statewide address Friday night that tourists should avoid fire-ravaged West Maui while emphasizing that the rest of the island and state were open and safe.

The aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii.

"We continue to welcome and encourage travel to our beautiful state," he said, "which will support the local economy and help speed the recovery of those who have already suffered so much."

Green also has said it would be "catastrophic" if Maui's tourism industry came to a halt right now, warning that it could lead to a "mass exodus" of residents.

It's a situation that Maui resident Julie Sumibtay said she wants to avoid, even if she understands how other locals want the space to grieve and deal with their profound pain without the prying eyes of outsiders.

Encouraging words were painted on a tunnel near Lahaina, Hawaii, on Thursday.

"Some of us need work," said Sumibtay, who works at the front desk of a condominium complex in Kihei, where some of the units are used as vacation rentals. "So if they're saying Maui is closed, then there are no tourists coming in, and then we lose our jobs."

Already the deadly fire and its aftermath have prompted some would-be tourists to change their plans, opting to head to other islands instead.

Tom Bailey and his family from the Sacramento area of California arrived on Maui the week before the fire spread from hillsides and raced toward historic Lahaina.

They had seen the smoke in the distance from their hotel in Kaanapali, just up the road from Lahaina. At first, they were reassured that the blaze posed no immediate danger. But in the night, the glow of the fire intensified, prompting hotel officials to suggest guests voluntarily evacuate.

Bailey and his family packed up and left to spend the final five days of their vacation on Oahu.

"We just wanted to stay out of the way," Bailey said, adding that he understands the local residents "need time."

Yamat reported from Las Vegas.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why locals are asking tourists to support Maui's recovery
Two wolves pictured next to sheep in Bonavau pasture above Champery in the Swiss Alps - OPPAL/AFP/Getty Images

Hundreds of volunteers have flocked to the Swiss mountains to guard sheep from wolves as part of a unique scheme also aimed at preventing revenge attacks on the predators by farmers.

Around 400 volunteers have signed up to the novel initiative, in which they keep guard throughout the hours of darkness in high Alpine pastures, giving weary shepherds a chance to rest.

If wolves get too close to the flocks of sheep, as they often do, the volunteers are expected to chase them off with shouts, whistles and torchlight.

You have to look often, and you have to look well because the wolf can see us in the darkness and knows when to try its luck. And when it moves, it moves extremely fast, volunteer Aliki Buhayer-Mach told Agence France-Presse.

Aliki Buhayer-Mach uses a powerful torch to light the area in Pontimia Pasture in the Swiss Alps - Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

The 57-year-old biologist and her 60-year-old husband, Francois Mach-Buhayer  a leading Swiss cardiologist  spend several nights at a time watching over around 480 sheep grazing in the remote mountains near Switzerlands border with Italy.

One night, they chased away wolves three times in just a few hours.

It takes two people, said Francois. One keeps an eye on the wolf with the binoculars, and the other runs towards the beast with the torch... and a whistle.

Using infrared binoculars, they keep lookout from a makeshift camp consisting of a tarpaulin, camping chairs and a gas stove used to make the coffee that helps keep them awake.

To reach their post, they must climb for two hours up a steep mountain path to an altitude of 2,200 metres.

The objective is not just to save the lives of sheep, goats and cattle, but also to prevent the wolves from becoming a target of retribution for farmers incensed by attacks on their livestock.

Aliki Buhayer-Mach and her husband Francois Mach-Buhayer camping out overnight in a pasture - FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

The programme is organised by the Organisation for the Protection of Alpine Pastures or Oppal, a Swiss NGO that wants to ensure that centuries-old herding traditions in the Alps are not threatened by the regions burgeoning wolf population.

Our goal is that by the end of the summer season, the livestock are still alive... and the wolves too, said Jeremie Moulin, the director.

He co-founded the organisation three years ago, hoping to help farmers learn to co-exist with the predators, rather than exterminate them.

Watching flocks by night requires hardy people who are prepared to look past wolves historically fearsome reputation.

The volunteer must be in good physical condition, be able to withstand various weather conditions (hot/cold, rain, storm, snow), be used to basic living conditions and be comfortable bivouacking, Oppal says on its website.

Participants should also have an open mind on the wolf/pastoralism issue in Switzerland.

The volunteers have to chase off wolves about once every 20 nights - FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

While waiting for wolves to appear, there is plenty of other wildlife to observe, from foxes and badgers to roe deer and wild boar.

Once driven to extinction in the area, as they were in much of western Europe, wolves have begun returning to the alpine meadows and rocky ridges of the Swiss Alps in recent years.

The first pack was spotted a decade ago. Since then, their population in the region has risen to around 250.

Last year alone, nearly 1,500 domestic animals were killed by wolves in Switzerland and many landowners have called for them to be shot.

In response, the Swiss authorities allowed the culling of 24 wolves.

Mr Moulin said volunteers have to chase off wolves about once every 20 nights.

Their constant surveillance is deeply appreciated by farmers.

It is such a big help, said Mathis von Siebenthal, the shepherd who entrusted his flock to Aliki and Francois. If [they] were not here, I would be always... thinking if the wolf is coming or not. Like this, I can go to sleep.

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Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. was named Tuesday as the next president of Ohio State University by university trustees.

Carter, 64, has served as president of the University of Nebraska system since January 2020, and will start his new role at the helm of Ohio State on Jan. 1. His annual base salary will be $1.1 million and his term will run through Dec. 31, 2028.

Carter rose to the top of a field of Ohio State presidential candidates that included at least 50 people identified by a search firm and 100 others nominated through the university, said board of trustees chair Hiroyuki Fujita, who also led the presidential selection subcommittee. Fujita described the search as exhaustive, and said the board was excited to bring Carter to Ohio State.

President Carter brings an unparalleled combination of strategic leadership and true service, and we could not be more thrilled to welcome him and his family to Ohio State, Fujita said.

Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr., reacts to applause Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 from Ohio State board of trustees and the audience after he was named the university's 17th president. Carter is currently president of the University of Nebraska, and will assume his new role in Columbus in January.

Until Carter arrives, Peter Mohler, vice president for research at Ohio State, will serve as acting president, according to the university. Carter replaces Kristina M. Johnson, who stepped down in May as Ohio State's president.

Ohio State, Carter said, has an "unparalleled opportunity" to take on the world's challenges moving forward. Carter said he was drawn to Ohio State because it is large, complex and operates at the highest levels of academia.

"I feel like I have been preparing my entire life for an event that I honestly did not see coming," he said of the Ohio State job.

After trustees approved his hiring, Carter said that he believes higher education itself is somewhat under attack at the moment. Ohio State, he said, can "change the course of that dialogue."

Throughout his career, Carter said he's maintained good working relationships with leaders on both sides of the political spectrum and he plans to do the same in Ohio. Carter said his motto in working with legislators and state leaders is, "I do not write state laws, I follow them."

"I had a good relationship with everyone who sat on the left, who sat on the right because I am a straight shooter," he said.

As president of the University of Nebraska system the last few years, Carter has overseen four campuses of almost 70,000 students, faculty and staff and an academic medical center. Ohio State University, with well over 65,000 students and 50,000 employees across all campuses, is the states largest university. In addition to the main Columbus campus, the university maintains four other regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Newark and Marion.

While at Nebraska, Carter launched the "Nebraska Promise," a financial aid program guaranteeing full tuition coverage for low-income and middle-income students. He also implemented a budget plan that included a two-year tuition freeze.

Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr. speaks to reporters on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 after the Ohio State University Board of Trustees named him the schools 17th president.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the Navy Fighter Weapons School  known as Top Gun  he holds educational credentials from the Navy Nuclear Power School, the U.S. Air Force Air War College, the Naval War College and the Armed Forces Staff College, according to Ohio State.

In 2022, Carter received the U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award, the highest honor bestowed upon academy graduates. The award has been given to just 110 individuals, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late Sen. John McCain.

Ohio State students Incoming president Carter should prioritize diversity, public interest

After his appointment, Carter took questions on a variety of issues impacting Ohio State right now.

When asked about the accusations of sexual abuse against former university physician Dr. Richard Strauss, Carter said he was aware of the matter, but said he needed to learn more before extensively commenting. He did take the opportunity to apologize to Strauss' victims who have come forward in the last few years.

Carter was also asked how he would conduct a search for Ohio State's next athletic director. Gene Smith announced earlier this month that he will retire at the end of June after 19 years in that position.

Carter said he has plenty of experience hiring in athletics. But, he added, "there is no replacing a legend like Gene Smith."

After former president Johnson stepped down in May, Ohio State's board of trustees at the time chose not to appoint an interim president, instead opting to have senior and executive vice presidents report directly to the trustees.

Walter "Ted" Carter , Jr., was named president of Ohio State University on Tuesday. Carter, who currently serves as president of the University of Nebraska system, will start his new post at Ohio State on Jan. 1.

In February, Ohio State formed a presidential search committee and hired Education Executives  a Santa Barbara, California-based firm  to lead the search.

The search committee held three public forums during spring semester to hear from the campus community about what it wants in a new president. Some attendees told The Dispatch they want Ohio State's next president to carry on initiatives that Johnson began during her tenure, including hiring more tenure-track faculty under the Race, Inclusion and Social Equity Initiative, a focus on sustainability and net-zero carbon emissions, and a commitment to fundraising.

"I love students, they're the whole reason we exist..." Carter said. "What our students will find is that I will engage. I hope they will think that I am approachable and I will listen."

Dispatch reporter Sheridan Hendrix contributed to this story.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State names University of Nebraska's Ted Carter as 17th president
All eight people aboard a stranded cable car in Pakistan have been safely rescued after one of the lines supporting the gondola snapped Tuesday (August 22). The incident prompted a risky and dramatic helicopter rescue that lasted the whole day.

Acting Pakistani Prime Minister Anwar Kakar commended the rescuers for their swift and safe response.

"Relieved to know that...all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great teamwork by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people," he said.

Two adults and six children were on their way to school in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when one of the gondola's cables snapped Tuesday morning, leaving them stuck some 900 feet (approx. 270 meters) above a valley, officials said.

Read Also: Horrifying Bus Crash in Pakistan Leaves 18 Dead, 11 Injured After Vehicle Bursts Into Flames

Movie-Like Rescue in Real Life

Footage released by helicopter crews involved in the rescue mission captured the dramatic moment when one of the children aboard appeared to jump from the cable car while holding onto the end of a rope dangling from a helicopter before being flown to safety, CNN reported.

Another footage was shared on social media showing locals and emergency workers using ropes to reel in another person attached to a platform by a harness.

Pakistani authorities were forced to pause helicopter rescues of the remaining passengers as night fell, but they were rescued through a zipwire, officials added.

It was revealed that cable cars were vital for children to get to school, especially for those who live in remote, mountainous areas. However, most of these infrastructures were, in Kakar's words, "dilapidated and non-compliant chairlifts" that should be closed immediately.

Related Article: Cable Car Line Snaps in Pakistan, Trapping Children Inside as They Dangle Over Ravine

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MARION  The initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday, as the newspaper remains under investigation.

Earlier this month, after a local restaurant owner accused the Marion County Record of illegally accessing information about her, the Marion police chief obtained warrants to search the newspapers offices and the home of its publisher, as well as the home of a city council member who also accessed the drivers license database.

The police chief led the Aug. 11 raids and said in the affidavits used to obtain the warrants that he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and the city council member had violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes.

A stack of the latest weekly edition of the Marion County Record sits in the back of the newspaper's building, awaiting unbundling, sorting and distribution, on Aug. 16. The newspaper's front page was dedicated to two stories about a raid by local police on its offices.

Both the city council member and the newspaper have said they received a copy of the document about the status of the restaurant owners license without soliciting it. The document disclosed the restaurants license number and her date of birth, information required to check the status of a persons license online and gain access to a more complete driving record. The police chief maintains they broke state laws to do that, while the newspaper and vice mayor Ruth Herbels attorneys say they didnt.

The raid on the Record put it and its hometown of about 1,900 residents in the center of a debate about press freedoms protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Kansas Bill of Rights. It also exposed divisions in the town over local politics and the newspapers coverage of the community and put an intense spotlight on police Chief Gideon Cody.

Department of Revenue spokesperson Zack Denney said its legal to access the drivers license database online using information obtained independently. The departments Division of Vehicles issues licenses.

Thats legal, he said. The website is public facing, and anyone can use it.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation continues to probe the newspapers actions. The KBI reports to state Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, while the Department of Revenue is under Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys authority.

The City Council in Marion, about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, was scheduled Monday afternoon to have its first regular meeting since the raids.

The agenda says, in red: COUNCIL WILL NOT COMMENT ON THE ONGOING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AT THIS MEETING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But the agenda also includes a place for public comments, with speakers limited to three minutes.

Police seized computers, personal cellphones and a router from the newspaper and the publishers home and a laptop and iPhone from Herbel. Record editor and publisher Eric Meyer lived with his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, and blames the stress of the raid for her death the day after the raids.

The seized equipment was turned over to a computer forensics auditing firm hired by the newspapers attorney last week after the county attorney concluded there wasnt enough evidence to justify its seizure. The auditor is checking the equipment to see whether materials were accessed or copied.

The Department of Revenue website allows a person to buy a driving record for $16.70 a copy  and that requires someone to again enter the persons drivers license number and date of birth while providing a name, address and phone number. Meyer said reporter Phyllis Zorn used her own information and did not impersonate the restaurant owner, Kari Newell.

The affidavit to search the newspapers offices noted that when a person submits a request for someones driving record, it lists 13 circumstances in which it is legal to obtain it. They include a person is seeking their own record or a business seeking it to verify personal information to help collect a debt.

The last item says: I will use the information requested in a manner that is specifically authorized by Kansas law and is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety.

Legal experts believe the police raid on the newspaper violated a federal privacy law or a state law shielding journalists from having to identify sources or turn over unpublished material to law enforcement. Meyer has noted that among the items seized were a computer tower and personal cellphone of a reporter who was uninvolved in the dispute with the local restaurant owner  but who had been investigating why Cody left a Kansas City, Missouri, police captains job in April before becoming Marion police chief.

This isnt going to go away. And it shouldnt, said Genelle Belmas, an associate journalism professor at the University of Kansas. There should be repercussions to this sort of wanton trampling of two very important laws, one state, one fed.

Newell accused the newspaper at the councils last meeting Aug. 7 of violating her privacy and illegally disseminating personal information about her, and she also disclosed a drunken driving offense in her past. According to the affidavits, she told Cody that she did not authorize anyone to access her information.

Newell also accused the newspaper of giving Herbel private information about her. Herbel, who has referred most questions to her attorney, said that was a blatant lie. Meyer also told the council that the newspaper did not give information to Herbel and noted it did not publish the information it obtained.

Herbel passed along her information about Newell to city administrator Brogan Jones three days before the Councils Aug. 7 vote to approve Newells liquor license in an effort to prevent her from getting one, according to the affidavit for the search on Herbels home. Jones then told Mayor David Mayfield about the information in an email, adding, We as a city need to stay out of this hear say or whatever else you want to call it.

Herbels attorney, Drew Goodwin, said Herbel was attending to her official duties. He called the raid on her home an egregious breach of the public trust.

I realize a lot of the focus is on journalists privileges here, and thats, of course, appropriate because thats at the heart of the First Amendment, Goodwin said. But the fact that my client  an elected official  got swept up in this constitutional violation and had her own rights violated in the process, its beyond the pale.

Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, and Jim Salter in OFallon, Missouri, contributed to this report.

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Initial online search spurring Kansas newspaper raid was legal: KDOR
Ernesto Ruscio - Getty Images

A new three-part Netflix documentary, Depp v. Heard, examines the high-profile court case between actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, delving in particular into the media coverage of the trial, which included widely-viewed televised hearings that gave way to the very first "trial by TikTok."

The former couple's legal battle began in 2016, when Heard filed for divorce from Depp and got a restraining order against him, alleging that he had been physically and verbally abusive during their marriage. She later withdrew that claim, and Depp paid $7 million in their divorce settlement, which Heard donated to charity.

In 2020, Depp sued the British newspaper The Sun for libel after it ran a story calling him a "wife beater," and the actor's legal team alleged that Heard was actually the abuser in their relationship. A judge dismissed the case, stating that he believed the newspaper's account of Depp's violence against Heard to be "substantially true."

But the notorious six-week trial covered in the documentary occurred when Depp also sued Heard for defamation in the United States, after she authored an op-ed in the Washington Post describing herself as a "public figure representing domestic violence," although the article never mentioned Depp by name.

EVELYN HOCKSTEIN - Getty Images

After six weeks of hearings, Heard was found guilty on three counts of defamation, and the court awarded Depp $10.35 million in damages. Heard filed a countersuit against one of those charges, and received damages of $2 million.



"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," Heard stated after the ruling. "I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband. I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously."

Heard decided to settle the case, although she maintained that this was "not an act of concession," saying: "There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward." After the trial she sold her home in Yucca County, California and relocated to Europe.

Where is Amber Heard now?

Heard currently lives in Spain with her daughter. After taking some time away from the public eye in the aftermath of the trial, she now has two movies coming out. In June 2023, she made her first public appearance since settling the court case, at the Taormina Film Festival.

Heard was there to promote the independent film In the Fire, playing a psychologist in the late 1800s who takes on the case of a child in Colombia who is rumored to be possessed.

"The best luck you can have as an actor is to be able to balance both," Heard recently told Deadline, explaining her choice of big and small projects. "Aquaman, that franchise and the machinery behind it, Im very honored, honored to be a part of that. And then there are these small passion projects like In the Fire, where Im proud to have gotten to know the filmmaker and the cast, and we got dirty together, to breathe life into this story. Theres something cool about that, and I think success is an actor who is able to have both those things."

Heard also reprises the role of Mera in DC's superhero sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will be released in December, although she has claimed that the fallout from her very public legal issues with Depp led to reduced screen-time for the character.



"I was given a script, then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it," she testified during the defamation trial. "They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch."

Now Heard is looking ahead, and excited by the prospect of continuing to build a body of work she can be proud of. "What I have been through, what Ive lived through, doesnt make my career at all," she said. "And its certainly not gonna stop my career."

Depp v. Heard is now streaming on Netflix.

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian serviceman was killed Monday when Azerbaijani troops opened cross-border gunfire, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

On August 21, at around 3:30 p.m., the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire against the Armenian combat outposts nearby Akhpradzor, in the wake of which a serviceman of the N military unit of the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Defence Vanik Aram Ghazaryan was fatally wounded. The Ministry of Defence extends its deepest condolences to the next of kin, relatives, and co-servicemembers of V. Ghazaryan, the ministry said.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has once again falsely accused the Armenian military of opening fire on the border, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement of the MoD of Azerbaijan that the units of the Republic of Armenia Armed Forces opened fire on the Azerbaijani combat positions, in the wake of which a serviceman of Azerbaijani Armed Forces was wounded, does not correspond to reality, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said.
AI companies are being watched closely when it comes to the data they use to train their AI models. OpenAI, specifically, has been facing several lawsuits due to alleged unconsented data scraping. The New York Times is getting ahead by blocking its web crawler before it gathers data.

OpenAI Can No Longer Scrape Data from NYT

The publication has taken measures to make sure that its data will not be used to train AI models. It is especially vigilant towards OpenAI as it blocks its web crawler, GPTBot, based on The New York Times's robot.txt page.

Reports say that the restriction has been up since August 17th, which is around the time that the news company updated its Terms of Service disallowing other companies scraping information to train AI systems and algorithms.

This data includes texts, photos, videos, and metadata, so in short, everything. The publication is even considering legal action against the AI company, according to The Verge, which just adds to the long list of lawsuits that OpenAI is already facing.

Back in July, comedian Sarah Silverman joined a class-action suit against the ChatGPT maker, accusing it of copyright infringement. Silverman claims that OpenAI, along with Meta, "copied and ingested" her content to train AI programs.

The people behind the lawsuit include authors like Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey. The lawsuit states that ChatGPT's ability to generate summaries of the plaintiff's works would only be possible if the chatbot was trained using the mentioned data.

According to The New York Times, ChatGPT was able to summarize the comedian's memoir, "The Bedwetter," to which it wrote that one of the key topics in the first part of the memoir is "Silverman's struggle with enuresis, or bedwetting, which extended into her teenage years."

Read Also: The New York Times Might Take Legal Action Against OpenAI

It's Not Just NYT

Given that AI needs to gather as much data as it can use to be efficient in providing answers to its users, it is possible that the AI company developing it could collect data from various sources, and that includes social networking sites.

Mainstream platforms like X (Twitter) as well as Reddit have already addressed the issue and implemented new policies to prevent such things from happening. Both mentioned sites have gone through controversial means just to prevent their data from being scraped.

Reddit implemented its new API pricing, which prompted a protest led by its moderators. More than 8,000 subreddits participated in the blackout. In the end, nothing much came of it, and a lot of third-party apps decided to shut down.

The platform's CEO Steve Huffman says that "the Reddit corpus of data is really valuable. But we don't need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free," as mentioned in Cybernews.

Musk stated that it was also the reason why X suddenly had a daily read limit for its users. The Tesla CEO reasoned that "several entities tried to scrape every tweet ever made in a short period of time," which is why they had to set limits in place.

Related: The New York Times Won't Allow AI Companies to Scrape Its Data
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan held a meeting on August 22 with Belgiums Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.

During the meeting Simonyan said that the active cooperation between the Armenian and Belgian parliaments is a key instrument for the further development of relations between the two countries. Belgiums decision on opening a resident embassy in Yerevan is a sign of strong partnership, he said.

The parties commended the bilateral and multilateral poles of the effective and constructive dialogue between Armenia and Belgium, underscoring in particular the Armenia-EU partnership circle.

The critical situation in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the Lachin Corridor crisis was in the focus of the meeting. The parties concurred that the corridor must be immediately reopened. Simonyan said that he expects from his Belgian colleagues effective steps in the issue of the security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. He attached importance to the need for involving international mechanisms in the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue and active discussions on possible sanctions against Azerbaijan.
On August 21, 2023, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) announced a significant investment in advanced weapons systems. The goal of this investment is to enhance Australia's ability to target adversaries from greater distances, ensuring the nation's security and sovereignty.

Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link



Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles will be armed with Spike Long-Range 2 anti-tank guided missiles (Picture source: Australian DoD )

One of the most notable acquisitions is the Tomahawk long-range strike capability. Australia is set to join an exclusive group of nations with this capability by purchasing over 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States. These missiles, intended for the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers, come with a price tag of approximately $1.3 billion and have a range of 1500 kilometers. More details about this can be found in an article from Navy Recognition dated August 21, 2023. In addition to the Tomahawk missiles, the ADF will also purchase over 60 AARGM-ER (advanced anti-radiation guided missiles - extended range) at a cost of $431 million. These air-to-ground missiles, designed to target enemy radar systems, will be integrated into the Royal Australian Air Force's fleet, including the Growler, Super Hornet, and the upcoming F-35A Lightning II fighter jets.

On the ground, the Army's Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles will be equipped with Spike Long-Range 2 (Spike LR2) anti-tank guided missiles. This upgrade will empower soldiers to engage adversaries from distances exceeding five kilometers. Varley Rafael Australia is expected to deliver the first batch of these Spike missiles next year, with a contract valued at $50 million. Furthermore, discussions are ongoing about potential domestic manufacturing options.

The Spike-LR2 is an anti-tank guided missile of Israeli manufacture, designed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is an enhanced version of the Spike-LR missile, with extended range and advanced guidance capabilities. The Spike-LR2 is used by many countries worldwide and has been deployed in various conflicts, including the 2006 Lebanon War, the War in Afghanistan, and the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.

The Spike-LR2 is a 14kg missile, measuring 1,200mm in length and 130mm in diameter. It is designed to be launched from the ground and comes equipped with a Command & Launch Unit (CLU) weighing 5kg, a tripod weighing 2.8kg, a 1kg battery, and a 4kg thermal sight. The missile is ready to launch in 30 seconds and can be reloaded in 15 seconds.

The Spike-LR2 boasts an effective range of 200 to 5,500 meters, making it ideal for long-range operations. It is equipped with a tandem-charge HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead and a piezoelectric trigger detonation mechanism. The missile is powered by a solid-propellant rocket engine.

The Spike-LR2's guidance system is particularly advanced. It uses infrared homing and electro-optical (CCD, imaging infrared (IIR), or dual CCD/IIR) for guidance. The missile can also be equipped with a passive CCD seeker or a dual CCD/IIR seeker. The Spike-LR2 is fitted with a 10x optical sight for enhanced targeting accuracy.

The Spike-LR2 is a cutting-edge anti-tank missile, designed to offer exceptional accuracy and range. It is used by numerous countries globally and has been deployed in various conflicts, attesting to its reliability and effectiveness on the battlefield.

This announcement complements the earlier news about the doubling of the acquisition of HIMARS (high-mobility artillery rocket system) launchers for the ADF, bringing the total to 42. This expansion, costing around $1.6 billion, will accelerate the procurement of the land-based, long-range, surface-to-surface HIMARS, along with its associated munitions and support systems. The package also includes the precision strike missile (PrSM), expected to have a range beyond 500 kilometers. Plans are underway to produce HIMARS-compatible missiles in Australia by 2025.
There remains suspense regarding whether Modi will hold a separate structured bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping

New Delhi: The bilateral engagements involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa, scheduled from August 22 to 24, are still in development and "evolving," said foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra during a special MEA briefing on Monday. There remains suspense regarding whether Modi will hold a separate structured bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Modi is expected to come face-to-face with the Chinese President in Johannesburg, possibly as early as Tuesday evening during the BRICS Leaders' Retreat. This closed-door Retreat will also include the South African and Brazilian Presidents. It's worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not physically attend the BRICS Summit but will participate virtually in the main Summit sessions. This Summit marks the first in-person gathering since the onset of the global Covid pandemic three years ago.

If Modi and Xi hold a separate bilateral meeting on the sidelines, it would be their first since the military tensions erupted in the Ladakh sector between the two armies three years ago when China deployed troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in violation of border agreements. Their last meeting was in a bilateral context near Chennai in 2019. India has extended an invitation to President Xi to attend the G20 Summit, hosted by India on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi, although China has not yet confirmed their President's participation.

India has maintained that normalising ties with China is contingent on Beijing's withdrawal of troops from all friction points in the Ladakh sector and the restoration of the status quo as of March 2020, given the perceived reluctance of Chinese troops to do so after three years. It's worth recalling that just last month, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval conveyed to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during the BRICS NSAs' Meeting in Johannesburg, that Chinese military actions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector that began three years ago had eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the Sino-Indian relationship.

Modi is scheduled to land at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon, around 1.45 pm (local time). In the early evening, at approximately 4 pm, he will take part in the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue, followed by participation in the BRICS Leaders' Retreat at around 6 pm.
The migration of outsiders into the traditional Adivasi homelands continues unabated

Tribal people, who account for 8.6 per cent of Indias population, about 110 million people, can be broadly classified into three groupings. The first grouping consists of populations who predate the Indo-Aryan migrations. These are termed by many anthropologists as the Austro-Asiatic-speaking Australoid people. The Central Indian Adivasis belong to this grouping.

Late Prof. Nihar Ranjan Ray, one of our most distinguished historians, described the Central Indian Adivasis as the original autochthonous people of India, meaning that their presence in India pre-dated by far the Dravidians, the Aryans and whoever else settled in this country. The anthropologist Verrier Elwin states this more emphatically when he wrote: These are the real swadeshi products of India, in whose presence all others are foreign. These are ancient people with moral rights and claims thousands of years old. They were here first and should come first in our regard.

The other two much more recent groupings are the Caucasoid, such as the Banjaras, Gujjars, Meenas and other North Indian tribes; and the Sino-Tibetan or Mongoloid tribal people, mostly of the northeastern regions who migrated relatively recently. These two broad tribal groupings have fared much better in the post-Independence period. Clearly, all Scheduled Tribes are not Adivasis. There are some 573 communities recognised by the government as Scheduled Tribes and therefore eligible to receive special benefits and to compete for reserved seats in legislatures, government jobs, universities and schools. Most of these benefits have gone to the non-Adivasi tribals.

Unfortunately, like indigenous people all over the world, Indias Adivasis too have been savaged and ravaged by later people claiming to be more civilised. They are now easily its most deprived and oppressed section. The biggest tribal group, the Gonds, number about 13 million; followed by the Santhals, with about seven million. Central India is home to the countrys largest tribes, and, taken as a whole, roughly 75 per cent of the total tribal population live there. These are the now troubled Adivasi homelands.

On December 16, 1946, welcoming the Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly, the legendary Adivasi leader Jaipal Singh stated the tribal case and apprehensions explicitly. He said: The whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India, punctuated by rebellions and disorder, and yet I take Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at his word. I take you all at your word that now we are going to start a new chapter, a new chapter of independent India where there is equality of opportunity, where no one will be neglected. The Adivasis paid dearly for taking Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at his word. Even if the provisions of the Constitution were implemented in some measure, if not all of its spirit and word, the present situation would not have come to be.

In the early days of our Republic, Jawaharlal Nehru, on the advice of people like Verrier Elwin, sought to insulate the tribal areas from the predations of the new order that was emerging in India. The migration of outsiders into the traditional Adivasi homelands continues unabated. Despite this, there are still 332 tribal majority tehsils in India, of which 110 are in the Northeast. Thus, there are 222 Adivasi majority tehsils with a population of over 20 million, or about one-third of the Central Indian Adivasi population.

The Fifth and Sixth Schedules under Article 244 of the Indian Constitution in 1950 provided for self-governance in specified tribal majority areas. The Fifth Schedule covers tribal areas in nine states of India -- Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Rajasthan. The Fifth Schedule provides protection to the Adivasi (tribal) people living in scheduled areas from alienation of their lands and natural resources to non-tribals.

This seldom-enforced constitutional safeguard is now under imminent threat of being amended to formally effect transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals and corporate bodies. This move has serious implications for the very survival and culture of the millions of tribal people in India.

In 1999 the Government of India issued a draft National Policy on Tribals to address the development needs of tribal people. Special emphasis was laid on education, forestry, healthcare, languages, resettlement and land rights. The first NDA government even established a ministry of tribal affairs. The draft was meant to be circulated between MPs, MLAs and civil society groups. It never was.

The draft policy is still a draft, which means there is no policy. But it must also be stated that this sudden concern for tribals was mostly motivated by the fears of conversion to Christianity that would have precluded their assimilation into the Hindu Samaj. Thus, even though the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were carved out of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, real tribal issues relating to their culture, way of life and aspirations were not addressed. Political power has still, by and large, eluded them. Not to be left behind, the UPA government drafted the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill in 2005 but did not act upon it due to pressure mounted by self-styled wildlife activists and the wildlife tourism lobby.

Much has happened since Independence and the failed promises of the Constitution. But it is still possible to retrieve some of the original promises. As provided by the Constitution, all tribal majority areas must be consolidated into administrative divisions whose authority must be vested with democratically chosen institutions. This body could be called the Adivasi Maha-panchayat and enabled to function as a largely autonomous institution. All laws passed by the state legislatures must be ratified to the satisfaction of the Maha-panchayat. Instead of the state capital-controlled government, the instruments of public administration dealing with education, health, irrigation, roads and land records must be handed over to local government structures. The police must also be made answerable to local elected officials and not allowed to be a law unto themselves.

Till then the lament of a popular folk song of the Gonds will hold true: And the Gods were greatly troubled/ In their heavenly courts and councils/ Sat no Gods of Gonds among them./ Gods of other nations sat there/ Eighteen threshing-floors of Brahmins/ Sixteen scores of Telinganas/ But no Gods of Gonds appeared there/ From the Glens of Seven Mountains/ From the twelve hills of the valleys.
by Nirmala Carvalho

The attack with swords, sticks and batons took place on Sunday 20 August, during the prayer service. Protagonists of the raid are over 40 people, belonging to radical Hinduvta movements. Sacred objects and a copy of the Bible desecrated. At the time of the complaint, another 300 people linked to radical factions have carried out a new assault.

Delhi (AsiaNews) - A new attack by Hindu fundamentalists against a group of Christians intent on attending Sunday services, in which not even the elderly and women were spared.

The raid, characterized by "assaults, vandalism and physical abuse", took place on August 20 at the hands of an armed Hinduvta group who raided a prayer hall in Tahirpur, East Delhi area, in the eastern sector of the capital.

Local sources report a crowd of fanatics, made up of over 40 people, holding weapons such as sticks, batons, swords and intent on chanting hymns and slogans attributable to radical Hindu movements. The attack took place at 10.45 in the morning, while the victims were gathered for a moment of prayer inside the Siyyon Prathan Bhawan.

During the attack, the fundamentalists vandalized the images of Jesus and destroyed the altar, drums and other musical instruments, also ripping out several pages of the Bible. They then dragged some men out of the prayer hall and beat them.

Pastor Satpal Bhati tells AsiaNews that yesterday, when it was time to file a police report, a crowd of over 300 people linked to the radical factions RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal gathered outside the barracks chanting slogans and hymns including "Jai Shree Ram (Glory to Lord Rama). He explains it was a response to the initiative of Christians who wanted to resort to the police to obtain justice and see those responsible for the previous day's raid punished.

According to some sources, the members of the Bajrang Dal (Hindu nationalist organization, youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad) promoted the attack on Christians who are part of an independent Protestant group and gathered in prayer.

During the assault they repeatedly chanted the slogan Hindu Rashtra Banayenge. Jai Shri Ram (We will make India a Hindu nation. Glory to Lord Rama). "As a community, we usually gather to pray every Sunday" underlines pastor Satpal Bhati "and we did the same this Sunday too".

Retracing the incident, the Christian leader noted that immediately after the prayer loud music started outside the gate, hence the decision to close the door to avoid further disturbances to the rites.

"The moment one of my collaborators - he says - approached to close the gate, a crowd of people, including very young children, broke in singing Jai Shree Ram". At the sight of swords, sticks, rods and truncheons, the faithful were surprised and astonished, not understanding for several minutes what was happening.

When the assailants started hitting people and objects, vandalizing the place of worship, those present understood the matrix of the attack: using the weapons available, in fact, the extremists devastated various sacred and non-sacred objects, tearing up and desecrating even large parts of the Bible.

The police collected the complaint and opened a file against unknown persons based on articles 323 (voluntary injuries), 452 (trespassing for the purpose of assault), 295 (destruction of a place of worship), 296 (disturbance of a religious assembly) , 298 (words, acts with the deliberate intent to hurt religious feelings), 354 (use of criminal assault or force against a woman), 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on account of religion) of the Indian Penal Code.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Yet another hospitalization for a president of the Caucasian republic during a visit to the Kremlin. Over the past three years Moscow has proposed several "harmonization plans" of laws and political-economic systems to Sukhumi. The Abkhazians have so far put on a good face, partly in order not to lose the funding allocated by the Russian government, but always maintaining a certain distance and autonomy.

Sukhumi (AsiaNews) - The president of the Caucasian independence republic of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzanja, has emerged from the hospital where he had been hospitalized during a visit to Moscow to mark 15 years since Russia recognized the republic's "independence."

Some malicious people had spoken of poisoning, an increasingly frequent and varied practice by Russian intelligence services; after all, it was not the first time Bzanja had ended up in the clinic after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The problem is that although Abkhazia has always maintained that it considers Russia "a neighboring state with blood ties," yet it has also always dismissed the idea of joining the Russian Federation, or one of the many "Unitary State" projects proposed by the Kremlin for its former Soviet subjects, from Georgia to Kazakhstan to Belarus and now Ukraine.

In the context of the "special military operation" whose end cannot be seen, the pride of the small Georgian region arouses Putin's decided resentment.

The two republics that remained under Moscow's control after the 2008-2011 war, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, still sent a couple of thousand volunteers to Russia's war in Ukraine, though most soon returned home dead.

Ossetians in particular were horrified by the load of dead returned from the front: now they rest in a special field of the Tskhinvali cemetery. Even in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, the bodies of 800 soldiers were buried, slightly less than its cousins in Ossetia, whose population is a tenth of that of Abkhazia.

After this first unfortunate expedition, it was declared by both republics that no more men will go to Ukraine: "have you ever seen Georgia try to reconquer us", as Bzhanja himself repeatedly repeated. And in general, Moscow's demands are no longer being listened to in these parts, especially on the part of the Abkhazians.

One of Sukhumi's first leaders, in 2004, was Moscow loyalist Raul Khadzhimba, a low-level KGB official in Soviet times, whose electoral campaign had been financed directly from Moscow complete with concerts by Russian pop stars.

One of them, Oleg Gazmanov, exultantly shouted Hello, Adzharia! to the crowd, confusing one republic with another, and the Abkhazians never forgot it. In place of Khadzimba was elected Sergey Bagash, who in Russia was considered "pro-Georgian", having his Georgian wife and children in Tbilisi.

In retaliation, Russia detected terrible harmful substances in local tangerines, banning their imports and depriving Abkhazia of its main market product. Bagas then agreed to appoint Khadzimba as vice-president, and the crisis was overcome.

In 2008 the Abkhazians participated in the Russian war against Georgia, to liberate South Ossetia as well, and thus Russia (together with Venezuela) recognized the independence of Abkhazia. The following year Bagas was re-elected, and began to establish contacts with Turkey, with the stated intention of "taking care of the Abkhaz diaspora".

Bagas stepped aside a few years later due to an illness, the details of which have never been disclosed, and in 2019 Khadzimba was re-presented as a presidential candidate, which instead ended up with Aslan Bzanja, also unwelcome in the Kremlin.

Still during the electoral campaign he visited Sochi with Vladimir Putin, and had his first sudden illness with the typical symptoms of Novichok, the poison injected the following year into Aleksej Naval'nyj. The future president of Abkhazia had to be treated for about six months before recovering, but he never wanted to open an investigation, so as not to be considered "anti-Russian".

History repeated itself in March 2020, again on the occasion of a meeting in Sochi. During these episodes, Khadzhimba had obtained the presidency of the republic, but the Constitutional Court in Sukhumi annulled results, and eventually Bzanja was elected president.

In the last three years, various "harmonization plans" of laws and political-economic systems have been proposed by Moscow in Sukhumi, trying to establish the increasingly rigid rules of Putin's authoritarianism also in Abkhazia.

The Abkhazians have so far made the best of a bad situation, also in order not to lose the funding allocated by the Russian government, but always maintaining a certain distance and autonomy, punished by the Kremlin with yet another "illness of the president".

If the peasants of the Caucasus cannot be brought under control, the Russians think, it will be highly unlikely to subdue the Cossacks of the Ukraine.
Today's headlines: Xi Jinping's BRICS summit kicks off in Johannesburg, Putin joins remotely; Israeli security forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy; Philippines and Australia conduct a joint military exercise in the South China Sea to counter Beijing; Pakistani prime minister visits Jaranwala's Christians where churches and homes of over 200,000 damaged; Taipei calls political foul over Chinese customs block mango on its imports.

JAPAN

Tokyo has announced the release of over one million tons of radioactive water from the Fukushima atomic power plant, scene of the March 2011 nuclear accident, starting August 24th. A plan that the Rising Sun deems crucial to deactivate the plant, but which has attracted strong criticism from many nations in the area, in particular from China which fears the environmental impact.

ASIA - SOUTH AFRICA

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, opens today until 24 August. The group's leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping, aims to lay the foundations for a new G7 under the leadership of Beijing. 44 heads of state and government were present, as well as UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. Russian Vladimir Putin will speak on video as he is indicted for war crimes in Ukraine.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE

Israeli security forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian in clashes that originated from the raid carried out in the early hours of today in Jenin, in the West Bank, the scene of serious violence. The military also announced the arrest of two Palestinians, suspected of the attack in which an Israeli woman died, hit by bullets while she was aboard her car. Seriously injured a man.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan's interim prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar visited Jaranwala, the Faisalabad area where mobs destroyed dozens of churches and homes of Christians over blasphemy allegations, to express solidarity with the community. According to estimates by the district administration of Faisalabad, at least 22 churches looted by the mob suffered damages for 29.1 million rupees (almost 90 thousand euros), while 91 houses suffered devastation for 38.5 million rupees (118 thousand euros).

AFGHANISTAN

Eight women's unity and national solidarity activists in Afghanistan were arrested and detained for several hours on August 19, accused of organizing a protest in Kabul. Security officers used violence in carrying out the detentions. The women, gathered at home to organize a demonstration, were later released.

PHILIPPINES - AUSTRALIA

The Philippines and Australia conducted an exercise simulating an air attack in the South China Sea, the "first major" military operation for 2023 between the two armed forces in a context of growing tensions between Manila and Beijing. The basic exercises in Rizal, in the province of Palawan, involved 175 troops of the Philippine Army (AFP) and two platoons of the Australian Defense (ADF).

CHINA - TAIWAN

The Chinese customs authority has suspended imports of mangoes from Taiwan due to the presence of parasites in the fruit. The decision is only the latest in a long series of measures that have targeted agricultural products from the "rebel" island and which Taipei denounces as "politically motivated". In the past, various agricultural and fish products, including pineapples and grouper, had been banned.

RUSSIA

Unbeknownst to him, the Russians recruited director Roman Polanski into the war by cloning several scenes from the 2002 film The Pianist condemning the Holocaust. The Russian propaganda film is titled "The Witness" and talks about the "bloody terrors of Ukrainian Nazism". At first the film was to be called "The Musician", a title rejected as a nickname for Yevgeny Prigozhin.
ABL Life Insurance CEO Xie Zheqiang, center, makes kimchi with employees for children at a shelter in Seoul in this Dec. 8, 2022 file photo. Courtesy of ABL Life



By Yoon Ja-young



Founded in 1954, ABL Life is the second oldest life insurance company in Korea, scheduled to celebrate its 70th anniversary next year.



In line with its long history, ABL Life has been actively engaged in various social contribution activities for the underprivileged, aiming to realize environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) values. It has especially focused on the future generation, operating diverse social contribution programs for children.



Since 2013, the insurer has partnered with prominent social welfare organizations including Good Neighbors, Children's Foundation and Save the Children, running diverse in-house donation programs where employees choose to contribute a certain amount of their salaries. It is run as a matching grant as the company donates the same amount. The donation, which amounts to 3.6 billion won ($2.7 million) so far, was spent on child welfare.



Since 1992, ABL Life has organized leadership camps for children, inviting around 150 elementary school student leaders each semester for leadership training. Over 15,000 children have participated so far.



Additionally, every third Thursday of the month is designated as "Sharing Day" at ABL Life. Employees and insurance sales agents voluntarily participate in various volunteer activities, such as supporting childcare facilities, aiding people with disabilities, assisting social welfare facilities and participating in environmental clean-up efforts. Apart from "Sharing Day," there are volunteering activities run by regional branches and offices, such as providing briquettes for senior citizens living alone or making kimchi for them.



ABL Life recently expanded social contribution activities to youth, as part of its efforts to enhance ESG values. Last October, ABL Life made a donation for the young people who have to leave the shelter and stand on their own two feet as they reach adulthood.



Last December, ABL Life was awarded at the 2nd Good Donor Awards hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which is offered to individuals and organizations that contribute to the culture of giving and sharing in various fields of society.



Through its partnership with the international NGO Save the Children, ABL Life has contributed a total of approximately 2.5 billion won over 28 years, supporting 1,966 children with health and medical services both domestically and internationally. The partnership, which started in September 1995 to help children with heart disease get surgery, is cited as a successful example of long-term commitment and partnership between a company and social welfare organizations working together for nearly 30 years to fulfill social responsibility in a sustainable manner.



"ABL Life has continued various social contribution activities for marginalized neighbors. We will continue efforts to fulfill our corporate social responsibility to create a better society," a spokesperson for ABL Life stated.


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Georgia Couple's Dream Car Purchase in Florida Turns into Financial Nightmare

Written by Elizabeth Puckett, Motorious

Published Aug. 22, 2023

A senior couple from Acworth, GA, is sounding the alarm over what they describe as a deceptive transaction with Dream Auto Collection, a South Florida car dealership. Jeanne Clark and Steve Hawes paid $15,000 for a rare, low-mileage 2003 Lexus LS, only to find themselves without a car and without responses to their refund requests.

Clark and Hawes discovered the vehicle on Dream Auto Collections website and saw it as a perfect match for Clark's 2001 Lexus LS. According to Hawes, they interacted with a man named Sebastian Merfea, who promised the car would be delivered to them once their check cleared.

Not only did they not receive the car, but they later found out it had been registered to another buyer in Kennesaw, GA, just days after their check had been cashed.

Merfea texted the couple claiming the car had power steering issues needing a $5,000 repair, promising a different car in exchange. However, the person who actually received the Lexus confirmed to Local 10 News the car had no such issues.

When Local 10 News visited Dream Auto Collection in Hollywood, FL, co-owner Alex denied the couple's allegations, calling them "impossible." When confronted on the phone, Merfea was unable to explain the whereabouts of the vehicle. Alex promised to resolve the situation but failed to provide any further details.

The couple has since filed a police report and is considering additional steps, including contacting the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which licenses and investigates dealerships.

We thank Motorious for reprint permission.
Acura made a surprising move in 2023 when it introduced the ZDX as its first full-electric SUV. Usually, automakers started with sedans and evolved later with SUVs. But the Japanese premium brand took a different approach and made the ZDX its forerunner in the electric car revolution.

Honda made its first full-electric vehicle, the E, in 2020. It was not a huge success, but the automaker learned what customers want from an electron-powered vehicle. So, three years later, it brought another EV. Only this time, it was not sold under Honda's badge but on Acura's logo. Moreover, creating an entirely new platform specifically designed for EVs paved the way for other such vehicles built and sold by both brands.

Acura introduced the Precision EV Concept at the 2022 Monterey Car Week, and many people thought that it was just another show car with no real future. Yet, Acura proved them wrong, and one year later, it unveiled the production version of that SUV under the ZDX nameplate. Acura's design studio from California designed the vehicle and carefully incorporated the brand's specific details onto the car. As a result, the front fascia featured the same pentagonal-shaped grille, although it was mostly blocked since electric vehicles didn't need wide cooling areas. That was flanked by LED headlights with a shape that resembled the ones from other Acura products, such as the Integra Type S. On the outer sides of the lower front bumper, the design team created scoops that created a sporty image for the SUV. Several silver trims adorned the front fascia and continued on the sides, on the vehicle's skirts. The greenhouse looked different than other Acura products since it featured a free-floating design emphasized by the chromed trim that surrounded the upper side of the windows' area and was sloped down on the C-pillars. Since Acura was mostly a premium yet sporty brand, the designers penned a raked-forward tailgate adorned by a roof spoiler at the back.

The car's interior was up to Acura's standards, boasting a high level of technology, refinement, and comfort. In front of the driver, the automaker installed an 11" digital instrument cluster, while atop the center stack mounted an additional 11.3" touchscreen for the infotainment system. The car had integrated Google Maps, and it could display it on either screen. Moreover, it could suggest routes based on the charging stations available on the routes and even precondition the battery pack to speed up charging sessions. Since the vehicle was so silent, the automaker considered installing an 18-speaker Bang&Olufsen audio system that provided a surround sound experience. The front bucket seats offered enough side bolstering and were separated by a tall center console, which hosted two storage areas and a pair of cup holders.

Acura offered the ZDX with two available powertrains: a two-wheel-drive version with one motor for the rear axle and an all-wheel-drive one with motors on both ends of the SUV. The former was estimated to cover 325 miles (523 km) on a single charge.
gettyimagesbank



By Lee Yeon-woo



Unlike commercial banks, internet-only banks in Korea do not currently offer mortgage loans to Koreans with foreign national spouses.



On Tuesday, both KakaoBank and K Bank, the two internet-only banks that offer mortgage loans, confirmed to The Korea Times that Koreans cannot apply for such loans if their foreign spouses are listed alongside them in resident registration documents.



During the regular administrative procedure to acquire a home mortgage loan from these internet-only banks, applicants are required to "consent to provide spouse information." Due to verification issues, however, the banks stated that foreign nationals cannot open bank accounts, nor can they provide the necessary consent to share their spousal details.



This stands in contrast to commercial banks, which not only allow foreign nationals to open bank accounts after verifying them face-to-face with their residence cards but also offer mortgage loans to their Korean spouses.



Another internet-only bank, Toss Bank, permits foreign nationals to open bank accounts using its app. However, it currently does not offer a mortgage loan product.



As the government intensifies efforts to attract foreign nationals to counteract population decline, criticisms are mounting that the banks need to take proactive steps to address these challenges.



"It's been some time since I heard that the financial guidelines of KakaoBank or K Bank would be updated for foreign nationals, but there's still no news. Why is Kakao Pay okay but not KakaoBank? I question if there have been meaningful discussions on this issue," an online user commented.



KakaoBank and K Bank clarified that they are prioritizing security and safety ahead of the Ministry of Justice's launch of a verification system for foreign residence cards. The ministry aims to introduce the service this year, noting that it will be up to individual financial firms to decide whether to adopt it.



"If we were to carelessly open accounts just for convenience, and if those accounts are misused for illegal activities, it would jeopardize the core foundation of our entire business. So we are approaching this issue with caution," said a KakaoBank official.



"Attracting more customers is undoubtedly a priority for us. Once the ministry rolls out the new system, we aim to actively ponder over its implementation," a K Bank official said.


Do you want an EV but can't shake off the feeling that range anxiety might occur too often? Well, here's a solution  the Fisker Ocean Extreme! The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just confirmed the vehicle's range on a full charge and efficiency. Here's what you need to know.

EV

MPGe

kWh

SUV

Photo: Newspress

The dual-motor Ocean Extreme puts out 563 hp and 543 lb-ft of torque. It also has a solar roof and a mode that can open all the windows  even the rear windshield! But what matters more to those who want a newthat won't affect their lifestyle too much is enough range.Going farther on a single charge is valuable to prospective customers living in climates with extreme weather. Batteries perform poorly in the cold or in Arizona-like summer.Fortunately, the 2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme (and the limited-edition One) has an EPA-rated range of 360 miles. The combined efficiency is 92, where a gallon of gas equals 33.7. The vehicle's average consumption is 37 kWh/100 miles, which means it goes 2.7 miles per kWh.Those are good numbers for the all-electric crossovermanufactured in Austria. Fisker partnered with Magna Steyr, the company that also makes the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. It learned from its previous troubles with the Karma. The Finnish-made plug-in hybrid was so riddled with issues that it flopped spectacularly. It eventually led to the automaker's bankruptcy.But Fisker has a new product on its hands that seems to be well-received by early supporters. Moreover, it plans to manufacture a smaller and funkier EV called the PEAR , the Alaska pickup truck, and a very expensive open-top GT named the Ronin. The reborn brand aims to join Rivian and Lucid in stealing market share from Tesla.But according to the EPA, the Texas-based brand still has the upper hand when it comes to efficiency. The Model Y Long Range may have a total range of 330 miles per full charge but needs just 28 kWh/100 miles. Those figures mean the crossover, which also happens to be the world's best-selling car, consumes one kWh for every 3.6 miles traveled.The divisive 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E with the Extended Range battery drives 290 miles before running out of electrons. It requires 37 kWh/100 miles, translating into 2.7 miles per kWh.The 2023 Kia EV6 Long Range, another rival for the Ocean Extreme, can go 252 miles on a full battery.The figures above and the comparison with some direct rivals are a great outcome for the up-and-coming automaker. It might lead to renewed interest in the brand since Henrik Fisker is a passionate automotive designer who never gave up on his dream of giving the world a portfolio of cool cars.Fisker now wants to manufacture its next vehicles in the US through a partnership with Foxconn. That would enable its customers to take advantage of the EV tax credit.The EPA confirmed what Fisker told customers before the official ratings appeared, solidifying its trustworthiness in front of consumers.However, be advised that Fisker also sells the Ocean Ultra. This version of the all-electric CUV goes 340 miles on a full charge, 20 miles less than the Extreme trim. The entry-level Sport version has a manufacturer-estimated range of 250 miles.Finally, Fisker might not be willing to sell the Ultra and Sport variants. It recently told customers that some important features would be moved to a subscription-only plan
We are genuinely mesmerized by all the glamorous novelties from Monterey Car Week. Still, we should remember the star attractions that came before to make this August a glorious month for the automotive industry.

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EV

It all started with the worldwide presentation of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, which needs no presentation. Still, this is the latest 'light duty' variant that began to carve its own path in 1990 with the J70 version. Now, as the nameplate returns to North America, it's a 326-hp hybrid i-Force Max affair twinned on the TNGA-F body-on-frame platform with the J250 Lexus GX.A little later, General Motors took over New York City's Times Square to introduce the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ, the company's first-ever full-size all-electric. It's an Ultium-based behemoth with up to 750 hp and a range goal of 450 miles (724 km), more than what the GMC Hummerand Chevy Silverado EV have to offer.However, Hyundai enthusiasts only had eyes for the world premiere of the 2024 Santa Fe mid-size crossover SUV, which occurred in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of course. The boxier fifth generation was announced in July, and now it's almost ready to rock the world of Land Rover's Defender and the Honda Pilot or 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander.Interestingly, Hyundai has a double asset for the North American market because the slightly larger 2023 Palisade is also refreshed with distinctive styling. As such, the 2024 model year is mostly a carry-over version  with the sole major addition being the Calligraphy Night Edition. Alas, that's only valid in the real world.Meanwhile, across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, things stand a bit different  at least according to the good folks behind the 'RMD CAR' channel on YouTube, who usually have the latest scoops coordinated with their unofficial CGI depictions of new models. According to their vision, the 2024 Hyundai Palisade should instead come with yet another facelift  seen here through the eyes of AI tools rather than a dedicated pixel master, if our two cents are permitted on the matter.Well, aside from the distorted Hyundai badge, this hypothetical Palisade doesn't look half bad. But it will forever remain just wishful thinking  as the South Korean automaker has already decided regarding the 2024 model year changes for its flagship crossover SUV in North America. Besides, even if they didn't reveal the carry-over nature of the 2024MY, it would still feel too early for yet another major upgrade, right?As such, do we give this digital project our CGI hall pass  or is the channel's host better off trying to hire a real automotive artist instead of relying on AI tools and other such shenanigans?
This four-way race is the perfect If the world is burning down, it might as well be turbocharged flames moment that would get EV fanboys to make a panic run to their solar panels to find peace of mind. This is the Japanese lesson of old-school pedal-to-the-metal quarter-mile fun.

Photo: YouTube/OFFICIALLY GASSED - OG

Photo: YouTube/OFFICIALLY GASSED - OG

Photo: YouTube/OFFICIALLY GASSED - OG

Photo: YouTube/OFFICIALLY GASSED - OG

Four cars from the Land of the Rising Sun take it out on an airfield in England, just for the nostalgia of races past, when turbos were the best way to get to the finish line ahead of the lowers. Things have evolved, and now were caring for the environment.We no longer wish to hear about how oil companies stab the planets crust, searching for liquid money. We hug that electric car battery makers dig mines in search of rare metals that will increase autonomy and performance and make us feel good about ourselves when searching for a charging station.But thats another story for people who worship electric vehicles and jump the gun on internal combustion followers. This race is the no-nonsense, politically incorrect to the core, and downright outrageously loud and smelling of burned gasoline protest against the tyranny of circuit boards on wheels.In the red-hot exhaust, tire-smoking community, Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra, Mazda RX7, and Nissan Silvia are legends. Equally balanced power-wise, each sitting at approximately 700 hp, driving the rear wheels only and putting the power down via pure driver skills, a clutch pedal, and a stick in the center console.Can you ask for anything better? Its the perfect replica of American drag racing perfection, albeit with Japanese makes and some computer enhancements. Each car has a modification list long enough to cover the drag strip from start to finish.The R-34 GT-T Skyline has a 2.5-liter straight-six that makes nearly 2.5 times the power of the original, factory-built engine from 25 years ago. A six-speed takes the beating, and its entirely up to the person behind the wheel to keep the car in a straight line: no traction control, no launch control. Its all up to the drivers coordination, precision, speed, cool-headedness, and anticipation to crack the whip and stay in the saddle of this 1.4-ton pocket rocket.The Toyota Supra is the fattest contender in this game, with 1.6 tons of body mass. At 700 hp from its three-liter single turbo straight-six, it sits head-to-head with the Skyline but has a major power-to-weight handicap to overcome. The six-speed manual doesnt make it any easier, either: its the same H-pattern as in the Nissan, so shifting is not exactly flick-easy.The RX7 differs from the mainstream rivals, with its tiny 1.3-liter engine fitted with a single turbo. But, unlike the others, it doesnt have the same cylinder headcount. It doesnt have any cylinders at all. It is a high-revving screaming rotary missile that weighs a mere 1.3 tons and packs 720 horses under that sleek profile.All in all, 553 hp/ton is way ahead of the two previously introduced competitors (496 hp/ton on the Nissan and 437 hp/ton on the weight-clad Toyota). Furthermore, it has a dog box transmission to back high power and low weight advantages. Just like its adversaries, it is rear-wheel drive.But it is not the most potent challenger, pound-per-pound: that title goes to the Silvia, with 573 hp/ton. Although the four-cylinder engine makes 700 hp only, the 1.2 tons it must drag around is a significant plus. Its a full 33% lighter than the Supra, so the 2.2-liter single turbo-powered Silvia is the bookies favorite. A Nissan 370 Z transmission sits between the engine and the rear axle.Paper racing dictates that the Silvia will take home the trophy without having to put up a fight, and this time the paper is correct. The lightweight Nissan leaves its opponents looking at its taillights  although the RX7 and the R34 gave it a good run for its money.Mathematically obedient, the Supra is last to cross the line in the roll races, which all go to the Silvia. But extra power comes with a hidden cost  these builds each have their Achilles heels. In this case, a colling line snaps and takes out the S15 during the first standing quarter race. Although the brightly-colored Nissan Silvia wins one round, its game over.The second race isnt without its share of drama  this time, the RX7 gets stuck in second. It drags along the 440-yard concrete strip, looking at the Supra celebrating the victory. Half in numbers from when the day started, the race is a duel between the famed Skyline R34 and the equally-praised Toyota.Surprisingly, the Skyline cant put its power down properly, leaving a thick trail of tire smoke in its wake. As Carroll Shelby put it best, Theres no too much power, just not enough traction. The Toyota gets its act together and takes a clean win, closing this epic episode of the Far East sword fight.The best times achieved by the four Japanese icons are right in line with paper calculations: the Silvia bested a 12.51-second quarter mile at 128 mph (206 kph). The Mazda RX7 inched behind it at 12.74 and 127 mph (204 kph). The heavyweight Supra falls a full second behind the winner, with 13.51@119 mph (191 kph). The Skyline had a higher top speed - 126 mph (203 kph), but got to the end last, in 13.88 seconds.
Tesla is the most valuable auto company on planet Earth and manufactures the world's best-selling car in 2023 so far  the Model Y. It's also the entity that championed reliable fast-charging and a simpler plug design, two moves that now allow Tesla to pick the fruits of its labor and enjoy the positive outcomes of early investments. It all started with the Fremont factory, formerly owned by Toyota and, indirectly, General Motors because of the NUMMI joint venture. Now, Tesla is a giant. Giga Shanghai shows us why it grew so rapidly.

Photo: Tesla Motors

Promising start, shaky foundations

EV

Photo: Tesla Motors

Negative publicity is still publicity, but it's not always warranted

Photo: MOCAR on YouTube

A dig at Westerners

Photo: MOCAR on YouTube

The stock market is known for being irrational at times. But if investors and speculators aren't right, then consumers must be. After all, they're putting their money where their mouths are.But if sales data is insufficient to convince you about Tesla's importance, what about a vote of confidence from Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, Volvo, Fisker, and even Honda ? These famous auto brands have agreed to switch to the NACS connector and worked out a deal to gain access for their customers to Supercharger stations. At the same time, they created a massive headache for the Dieselgate-born Electrify America.But all this unbelievable success didn't happen overnight. The automaker needed 17 years to reach profitability. Even the company's outspoken CEO thought at one point that the venture into what once was a conservative business sector would be a total failure.And to think that all this started in 2003 when Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded the company. The brand's story had a turning point in 2010 when it acquired the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California. Toyota and General Motors gave up on their partnership, and, as the saying goes, when two people quarrel, a third rejoices.The Freemont FactoryThe Japanese automaker made a $50 million bet promising to buy Tesla stock in the summer of 2010, and the youngmaker spent $42 million on NUMMI. This vote of confidence followed investments from Daimler and Google co-founders. Thus, Tesla was slowly getting on the right track.But, at that point, it still needed a decade to reach profitability.And now, two decades after the brand was formally established, Tesla can be credited with forcing the entire auto industry to change.One of the reasons Tesla succeeded is that it found a way to minimize production costs and sell software to early adopters and people willing to try out new things. Its profit margins are some of the best in the industry.But for quite some time, the brand was forced to deal with scaling operations and maintaining a satisfactory level of quality. At times, it felt like some shortcuts were taken. Numerous reports showed panel gaps (even on expensive vehicles like the Model X ), problematic paint, badly put-together interiors, failing screens, peeling vegan leather, and much more.Even today, some of these issues are exposed by disgruntled owners online. For many, getting the public's attention is their last attempt at convincing Tesla to fix, replace, or reimburse them for various levels of wrongdoing.It may sound like we're trying to find excuses for Tesla, but scaling globally is a Sisyphean challenge. Tens of thousands of things need to be taken care of. Meanwhile, paying customers expect their cars to be delivered as fast as possible. Thus, some errors are to be expected when you must keep pushing no matter what.Tesla tried to be a luxury automaker with its Model S and Model X, while true success was hiding in more budget-friendly cars like the Model 3 and Model Y. It also worked hard to figure out how to scale production, but not to the desired level.However, the best solutions started appearing after expanding manufacturing in China. The Shanghai Gigafactory introduced new ways to maximize productivity and speed up the number of vehicles leaving the factory every day.Tesla is estimated to be manufacturing 100 vehicles per hour, one every 35 seconds! That's possible thanks to a skilled human workforce, careful production planning, robots, and a strict schedule.The production of a Model 3 or Model Y in China begins with ensuring the necessary parts are readily available. The person filming praises Tesla for allowing humans to interact more closely with robots and claims other brands, like Hyundai, don't allow the employees to mix with the machines.The next step is making sure the most important structural parts are ready to be united. The chassis is slowly taking shape with the high-strength steel being welded, while the high-pressure die-casted aluminum parts are slowly making their way onto the production line.After the body of the car is put together with the help of rivets (because you can't use traditional welding when working with aluminum), the safety elements are added via a special technique known as arc and friction welding.After the body is painted, it enters the production line, where all the important parts and wiring are added.Interestingly enough, the individual that brought us this recording also said that the Chinese division is obsessed with quality, and that's why there are so many people working on a single shift.They don't waste any time underlining that Americans and Europeans do not show the same level of commitment as Chinese workers. The content creator also claimed that employees are more expensive on the Old Continent, something that is not entirely true It's worth noting that, in a way, this influencer is right  Tesla hires fewer people in the US, Mexico, and Germany. But that's not because it wants to keep the employment costs down. The automaker hires exactly how many people it needs to do the job.Experts and insiders argue that American and European workers are better suited for the automotive jobs they are doing. Moreover, the factories also boast a higher level of automation, one that does not need constant human supervision from nearby. That aspect was put into the spotlight last year when we showed you an almost complete tour of the Gigafactory Berlin On top of that, China is facing a major job problem, even though the official statistics do not show it. Industry insiders involved in manufacturing automated machines and who often visit the Asian country say that companies hire around 20 people to oversee their products, while in China, there are generally at least ten times more. They think this is a strategy to decrease unemployment artificially.On the other hand, Tesla decided to sell EVs imported from China in Canada, and customers have noticed an increase in quality despite being initially worried about it.But while you read all this, Tesla China made around 11 Ys and 3s.The final step of the production process is the workers carefully inspecting all the EVs coming from the production line. They make the final adjustments before sending the units to the last stage, where paint imperfections are thoroughly checked.We will leave it to you to decide if Tesla's right in bringing Chinese-made cars to North America. But only after watching this in-depth tour of the facility.
kW

Priced at AU$4,250 (US$2,723), the Black Appearance Group brings black highlights and accents on the outside instead of the shiny chrome trim. It comes with glossy black accents on the grille, bumper, and window surrounds, features black emblems, a set of 20-inch alloys with a glossy black look, and black roof rails.Available on the Grand Cherokee Limited, regardless of the exterior paint finish, which can be Baltic Gray, Hydro Blue, Midnight Sky, Rocky Mountain, Velvet Red, Silver Zynith, Diamond Black, or Bright White, it is joined by additional gear. Here, the automaker mentions stuff such as the head-up display, a dual-pane sunroof, and the interior-facing camera that's limited to the seven-seater variant.Other equipment offered on the Limited trim level includes the TechnoLeather upholstery, memory setting on the driver's seat, heated first and second-row output seating, ventilated front seats, keyless entry, ambient lighting, a 360-degree camera system, an off-road camera, automatic high beams, and several other things. The four-wheel drive system with Selec-Terrain modes is also included, and power comes from the 3.6-liter V6 gasoline engine making 210(286 ps/282 hp) and 344 Nm (254 lb-ft) of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.The same engine in the same configuration also powers the Night Eagle grade Down Under and can also be found on the Overland and the seven-seater Summit Reserve trim levels. The Summit Reserve 4xe uses a 2.0-liter plug-in hybrid with a combined 280 kW (380 ps/375 hp) and 637 Nm (470 lb-ft). The towing capacity in the electrified model is rated at 2,722 kg (6,000 lbs) and 2,813 kg (6,200 lbs) in the V6-powered versions. The eight-speed automatic transmission is the sole choice across the range, and all models feature a four-wheel drive system at no extra cost in the Pacific country.In the United States, the 2024 Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x2 has an MSRP of $40,130, and for the Summit 4x2, you're looking at a minimum of $63,055. The all-wheel drive Laredo will set buyers back at least $42,130, and for the Summit Reserve 4x4, you will have to four out a minimum of $69,535 for the five-seater and $71,535 for the seven-seater.The fifth-gen Grand Cherokee is two years old, with production kicking off in 2021. It comes to life in the United States and India, sharing its Giorgio platform with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Maserati Grecale and also with the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Maserati GranTurismo. The powertrain family depends on the market and comprises a four-banger, a V6, a V8, and a plug-in hybrid assembly.
For several years now the world has gotten used to the idea of bagger motorcycles not only taking their riders from point A to point B over great distances but also being capable of racing each other on America's most famous circuits. And we have a competition called King of the Baggers to thank for that.

Just two seasons of the competition have been held so far, and both saw just two bike makers racing each other for the win: Harley-Davidson and Indian. And each won a season, making the series a very competitive one.The bikes Harley uses for racing purposes in King of the Baggers are modified Road Glides, and for the past two years these machines more than proved their worth on the track. Especially given how they race bagger-style, with the fairing and bags on.The bike we have here is not a Road Glide, but its sibling, the Street Glide. It also doesn't take part in the King of the Baggers competition, but it probably could, in the hands of some privateers. And it would probably look great in doing so, thanks to modifications made to it by a Swiss custom garage called Bundnerbike.Styled in a beautiful combination of a kind of grey on most of the body and gold accents where they are most visible, the Street Glide looks properly delicious for a trip down the road, but it supposedly is apt for some racing as well. Ok, maybe not on an actual track, against prepped Indians, but stillBundnerbike does not list all the modifications made to the Street Glide , but it does point to the ones that are supposed to enhance the bike's racing abilities. No, not the engine, as that's still the stock one, but the suspensions and stopping power.The bike seems to wear the stock Harley wheels, but the suspension hardware supporting them is anything but. At the front we get a gold upside-down fork, while at the rear an almost invisible shock absorber. Both are of Ohlins make.The chassis has been modified a bit to ensure better stability at higher speeds, although it's unclear what exactly that means, other than it was raised a bit. New Brembo braking hardware has been fitted front and rear, and for better control over the machine the Swiss shop installed an in-house made handlebar.Unlike other Bundnerbike builds, this modded Harley-Davidson Street Glide does not have a proper custom name of its own. Just like all the others though, it does not come accompanied by a price sticker, so there's no telling how much it cost to put together in this stunning form.For reference, a stock Street Glied sells these days off the Harley lot for $21,999.
AMG

kW

Looking like an evolution of its predecessor, the 2024 Mercedes-GT was introduced in two flavors: the 55 and 63. Both use a bi-turbo 4.0-liter V8, with respective outputs of 469 hp (476 ps/350) and 577 hp (585 ps/430 kW). The lesser model takes 3.8 seconds from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph), and the more agile variant can do it in 3.1 seconds. Flat-out, they can do 183 and 196 mph (295/315 kph), respectively.If that sounds familiar, it is because the new GT is the same car as the latest-gen SL beneath the skin. Therefore, it uses the lumps, nine-speed automatic transmission, 4Matic+ all-wheel drive system, suspension, rear limited-slip differential, rear-axle steering, and so on. So, while the roadster takes on the likes of the open-top variants of the Porsche 911, the GT rivals the fixed-roof models. And as you can imagine, there won't be a convertible version of the 2024 GT, as it wouldn't make any sense and would inevitably step on the SL's toes.Nonetheless, that doesn't mean we cannot get to see what such a car would look like, and in this case, the answer came from Theottle on YouTube. The rendering artist took the new-gen GT and turned it into a roadster using numerous mouse clicks. The result is very predictable, as the vehicle looks the same as the real thing, bar the chopped roof above the passenger compartment. It features a rear deck that opens up to host the folding roof. The optional 2+2 layout does not seem to be present, as the cramped rear seats were digitally removed to make room for the roof-storing space mentioned above.Now, while the internet has started altering the design of the fresh GT , Mercedes-AMG is preparing its global launch. The model is expected to start arriving in the United States in the first half of next year. As you can imagine, pricing details will be announced in due course, but it should be a bit more affordable than the SL. The roadster has an MSRP of $141,300 in the 55 configuration and $183,000 in the 63 variant, and we believe the GT will be some $10,000 more affordable. The SL is also offered in the 43 version from $109,900, with a 375 hp (380 ps/280 kW) 2.0-liter four-pot, and only time will tell if this engine will be given to the GT to create a new entry-level grade.
Fisker is starting a brand-new chapter  the Ocean is ready for right-hand drive markets! The first one has already arrived in the UK. The brand is reconfirming its ambition to strive in a slowing car market and very competitive environment.

SUV

EV

The first right-hand drive Fisker already made its way in the United Kingdom. The all-electric crossoverfinished in Red Planet and showing off the 22-inch Vortex wheels is poised to make a good impression in King Charles III's country.Despite Brits saying that they don't have very friendly weather, the vehicle has the solar roof option. It might not be as useful as in California, but it will help owners generate some free, renewable energy.The rebornmaker says the solar roof should provide commuters around 2,000 miles of range per year. The Brits who will drive an Ocean would be lucky to get half of the approximated supply. The UK experiences occasional rain or cloudy skies for around 160 days per year.However, senior Vice-President of Engineering David Kong, who previously worked for Aston Martin, is confident that the SolarSky roof will be a good addition.Fisker already opened a Lounge in the UK, but the showroom vehicle was a left-hand drive Ocean. Soon enough, customers will be able to test drive or take delivery of the all-electric crossover SUV without worrying about sitting in the wrong seat.Bringing the right Ocean EV to the UK is a critical moment for both Fisker and Magna Steyr. After ramping up deliveries for the North American market (mainly for those living in the US, on the West Coast), the automaker can now explore expanding to other important nations. Besides the UK, right-hand drive cars are the norm in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, and Japan.The production of right-hand drive Ocean EVs signals that the contract manufacturing deal with Magna Steyr is a great one. Both companies seem ready to respond to their customer's needs, an aspect that has already been put to the test in the US. Early supporters are taking delivery of their pre-ordered and fully loaded Ocean One units, and the issues they report are being actively taken care of.The good news doesn't stop here for Fisker. The EPA recently confirmed that it was right in its assessment of the Ocean's maximum combined range on a full charge, and the brand signed a deal with Tesla to adopt the NACS port and grant access to Supercharger stations for its buyers.Fisker's current portfolio comprises only one car that's in production  the Ocean. However, the company has big plans for the future. It's preparing to put into production another crossover SUV that's smaller than the Ocean, a pickup truck that should rival the Rivian R1T and the Tesla Cybertruck, and a limited-edition hand-built EV called the Ronin that will boast an eye-watering price
South American yacht owners have their own preferential criteria when it comes to the design of a brand-new yacht and tend to use their recreational watercraft differently from the rest of the world. That's because they have big families, and they all love to spend time onboard at the same time.

Brazil-based shipbuilder MCP Yachts knows this all too well, so it closely works with its clients to make sure their vessels deliver on their expectations. The latest project announced by the yard is the Seaview superyacht , which is currently in-build at the company's shipyard in South Africa.Designed to cater to the owner's and his family's specific needs, Seaview is a full custom aluminum superyacht that measures 134 feet (40.8 meters) in length, with a beam of 26 feet (8.19 meters). It was developed in collaboration with world-renowned Vripack, which signed off the yacht's naval architecture. MCP Yachts has recently signed a multi-year agreement with the Dutch studio, and Seaview is the first project under this new agreement.The custom watercraft features an explorer profile with an imposing silhouette and boasts full-height glazing on the main and upper decks, allowing for amazing views of the seascape and giving the yacht its name.It has been designed with as much usable deck space as possible to allow the family of fourteen to relax, socialize, and dine together. The most innovative characteristic, however, is perhaps the general arrangement designed specifically for the South American market. Besides cruising in large groups with extended families, people in this part of the world also favor privacy, so they prefer their crews to be out of sight. As a result, Seaview has separate corridors and stairs for the crew.Talking about the design process, Bart Bouwhuis, creative director at Vripack, has said that "Creating maximum space value on a 40-meter yacht required a creative approach to space planning. A very energetic co-creation process between the owner, MCP, and our team led to a perfectly sensible yet highly unconventional layout."In terms of accommodation, Seaview has no less than seven staterooms onboard. The owner's master suite occupies much of the upper deck, which also includes a private terrace forward and an asymmetrical balcony.The remaining guest accommodations comprise two VIPs below decks, as well as two double staterooms and two twins on the main deck.The shipbuilder also focused on creating impressive exterior areas for guests onboard to explore, including an alfresco observation lounge , a large pool on the flybridge, plenty of lounging areas with sunbeds, alfresco dining areas, and more. The yacht also features a generous salon, a formal dining area indoors, and a gym. The gullwing lookouts on the skylounge are another standout feature, allowing for beautiful forward-facing views.Touted as a superyacht suitable for any coastal or transoceanic route, MCP Yachts Seaview is equipped with two powerful Caterpillar C32 engines of 1,925 MHP each. Together, they propel the vessel to a maximum speed of 21 knots (24 mph or 39 kph), with a cruising range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km).
It took Tesla quite a while to address the episode known as Tesla Files. If that does not ring a bell to you, the German newspaper Handelsblatt gave the world a demonstration of journalism at its finest: it exposed how the battery electric vehicle (BEV) maker does not protect data from customers and employees as it should. Anyone with access to Tesla's Toolbox internal messaging system could check anything they wanted, including Elon Musk's social security number. The company is now trying to say the two former employees it identified as being the bad guys instead of the whistleblowers they genuinely are.

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SUV

Photo: Tesla/Karl Hansen/edited by autoevolution

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

As the German newspaper clarified back in May, it had several sources that were just fed up with trying to warn Tesla about how badly it handled confidential information . It included its workers' personal information, customers' financial data, and even industrial secrets, such as the Cybertruck. The way they found to expose the whole thing and prevent bad people from using that data was to contact Handelsblatt and give the German newspaper everything they had managed to obtain.Tesla contacted the office of the Maine Attorney General and notified it of the data breach , which it said happened on May 10, 2023. That's not correct: themaker only had the confirmation of the data leak on that date because Handelsblatt contacted the company to warn it about everything it had. The German newspaper has worked on the case for more than six months, so the data breach actually happened much earlier. How hasn't Tesla discovered it before being notified by Handelsblatt? How much more data has been retrieved from Tesla's systems, and the company has no idea?The BEV maker said that the two former employees "misappropriated the information in violation of Tesla's IT security and data protection policies." That brings up two other crucial questions about the whole thing. Which IT security, when it only realized sensitive data was with someone else after being told about it by Handelsblatt? What are Tesla's data protection policies , particularly after so many episodes of mishandling it?The most recent example came from a totaled Tesla Model X that belonged to CNBC executive editor Jay Yarow . The story that revealed the case did not elaborate on who crashed the electric, only that it happened by the end of last year. Yarow noticed that the vehicle went back online in Ukraine on August 10 and that the new owner was listening to Drake on his Spotify account. The BEV maker advocates always blame customers in similar situations claiming they should have erased the vehicle from their Tesla accounts. If the car worked, that would be a possibility, but what about something that people eventually expect to be fixed? Why erase a vehicle that you are waiting to be repaired until you learn the insurance company decided to write it off?There are several other episodes of Tesla mishandling personal data. Last April, Reuters revealed that former Tesla employees shared customers' private videos on Mattermost, Tesla's internal messaging system. The company is being sued due to that issue. On May 3, 2020, the white-hat hacker GreenTheOnly told me how Tesla dealt with old computers that had to be replaced in its vehicles. The company threw them in garbage cans with lots of information from previous owners untouched. GreenTheOnly bought some of these computers, and I could talk to some of them. They were shocked and concerned to receive my calls. Some even refused to discuss the situation with me. As usual, company investors tried to downplay the situation as trivial  and will keep doing so until a reporter gets in touch or their private data is used in a scam.According to the letter Tesla is sending to affected employees and customers, it "filed lawsuits against the two former employees. These lawsuits resulted in the seizure of the former employees' electronic devices that were believed to have contained the Tesla information. Tesla also obtained court orders that prohibit the former employees from further use, access, or dissemination of the data, subject to criminal penalties." It just did not mention if they applied for whistleblower protection or where these guys live.Again, without these former employees, customers and employees would probably ignore how exposed they were. If anyone at Tesla can access their files, how sure can they be that no con artist, fraudster, or any other person with evil intentions will not use their data in harmful ways?On December 13, 2021, Anthony Solima allegedly shot and killed Lee Brasier with a .223-caliber short-barreled AR-15 at the Fremont factory parking lot. Solima was arrested, and I have not heard back if he was convicted or absolved of the crime. In August 2018, Karl Hansen accused Tesla of failing to disclose to shareholders that authorities had uncovered drug-dealing efforts at the Gigafactory in Nevada. Hansen is still fighting Tesla in court. The company has been accused several times of doing nothing to prevent racism or sexual harassment at its premises. All these folks were free to check any information on Tesla's Toolbox and Jira systems until Handelsblatt revealed how poorly personal data is treated there. It would be interesting to learn how Tesla solved that, but it does not talk to the press  and it makes increasingly more sense.
Iran and U.S. flags are seen in this illustration taken Jan. 2022. Reuters-Yonhap



By Lee Yeon-woo



A total of 8 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in Iranian funds, which had been sitting inside Korean banks due to sanctions against the Middle Eastern country, have now been unfrozen and are reportedly set to be converted into dollars on the Korean foreign exchange market over the course of a month.



According to local media in Iran, these funds have already been transferred to the Swiss central bank last week, and are currently undergoing exchange and transmission processes.



Foreign exchange authorities declined to confirm details of the conversion to The Korea Times, citing the government's guidelines and the sensitivity surrounding the issue. Woori Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea, which held the funds before they were unfrozen, also stated that they are not in a position to comment on the matter.






Everything about it screamed performance and exclusivity. That V12 engine included. The Ferrari 330 LM looked like a million dollars, and it acted like one on the racetrack.

Photo: RM Sotheby's

live axle

A lifetime of awards

RM Sotheby's is teasing the model that might be the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction

Photo: RM Sotheby's

Heavily based on the 250 GTO , the car specifically designed to beat the Shelby Cobra and the Jaguar E-Type, and built to comply with the changing FIA regulations, the Ferrari 330 LM came in the 1960s as the ultimate racer.Ferrari only made 36 GTOs between 1962 and 1964, with 33 of them sporting the Series 1 bodywork, one developed in the wind tunnel, road, and track. But the 330 LM/250 GTO that we are dealing with, chassis number 3765, is even more special, as it is the only factory-raced GTO ever.The 330 LM is powered by a 4.0-liter V12 with six Weber 42 DCN carburetors and a dry sump lubrication system, which furiously churns out 387 horsepower (390 PS). Those figures were enough to make it flash straight to a top speed of 174 mph (280 kph). As spectacular as that seems, even by todays standards, it was nothing out of the ordinary for race cars back then.Not much other info is there about the performance of the car. But it was a racer. So racing it did.The Ferrari 330 LM came with a tubular steel frame with independent, unequal-length wishbone, co-axial springs, and telescopic shock absorbers, plus an anti-roll bar. There was aat the rear with semi-elliptic springs, and telescopic shock absorbers. As sophisticated as it may sound, the setup only underwent minor tweaks compared to what the 250 GTO sported, and those were mainly intended to reduce weight and ground clearance.Among the mods is the longer floorpan, designed that way to accommodate a larger 4.0-liter engine. The 250 GTO was powered by a 3.0-liter Tipo 168/62 Colombo V12 with 296 horsepower (300 PS), the one used in the 250 Testa Rossa Le Mans winner.The model comes with an impressive career on the racetrack. It raced and finished second overall in the 1962 Nurburgring 100 Km race. It also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year, driven by Mike Parkes and Lorenzo Bandini for Scuderia Ferrari. It crashed on lap 56 and was forced to retire.It got fixed and resumed racing. In 1964, it was sold for $6,000 with a 3.0-liter engine instead of the 4.0-liter unit, so it could be fielded as a GTO in Italian GT racing. Then again, in the 1980s, when it finally underwent restoration to mint concourse condition. The list of owners also includes a chairman of the Ferrari Club of America. It has been under the current ownership for 38 years.The Ferrari 330 LM has been collecting awards since day one. It was the winner of an FCA Platinum Award and was chosen as the one to deserve the Coppa Bella Machina at the Cavallino Classic. It finished second in the GTO class at the 2011 Concours dElegance at Pebble Beach, outrunning 22 competitors. It also left home with a Best in Show Award at the Amelia Island Concurs dElengace and won the Blue Ribbon at Meadow Brook.So far, the worlds most expensive Ferrari was the 1963 GTO, chassis number 4153GT, sold in a private sale in June 2018 for $70 million. But that one did not have such a pedigree.Now this one right here, the only factory-owned Ferrari 330 LM, has every chance to set a new record and snatch that crown from the 1963 GTO in New York, where it goes under the hammer with RM Sothebys this fall, in November. It is expected to fetch at least $60 million. But with all the frenzy that surrounds the super exclusive model, seeing it go way past $70 million would not come as a surprise.It goes with copies of factory build sheets, the owners' correspondence, period racing coverage, as well as magazine features. So the one who will buy it will have a very well documented exclusive Ferrari.RM Sothebys has published a teaser for the Ferrari 330 LM. It is not something that the auction house does for every car that goes under the hammer with them. "Dont blink!" they write on the models teasing page , adding: One Lifetime. One car. Once chance.The RM Sothebys representatives claim that it is not just a classic that they are selling, but a true legend, an unparalleled piece of automotive history, since it is the only series 1 GTO that ever raced as a factory-campaigned car. And it is the first time the model has come to market after nearly four decades in private ownership. It is the moment collectors have been dreaming of for ages.
As opposed to the G80 M3 sedan, the G81 M3 station wagon doesn't come with a CFRP roof. Be that as it may, the aftermarket couldn't resist filling the void caused by the bean counters in Munich.

CFRP

AMG

Enter Alpha-N Composites, a division of German company Alpha-N GmbH. Compatible with both the G81 M3 Touring and the G21 3 Series Touring, theroof panel developed by Alpha-N GmbH went official mere days ago. UK-based tuning firm R44 Performance ordered one for their Bimmer, but  as expected  installing said panel requires the original roof to be chopped off with utmost care.Pictured with British plates in the United States of America, the R44 Performance BMW M3 Touring in the video below had the difficult transplant performed by Illinois-based IND Distribution , a small outfit which specializes in all things BMW.Replacing the roof obviously proved a tremendous ordeal, with IND Distribution having to remove pretty much every piece of interior trim from the seatbelt cover panels up. Headliner included, of course! Because it's CFRP on metal, the new roof had to be fixed into place with epoxy.Unfortunately for potential customers, Alpha-N has yet to reveal what kind of weight savings can be expected from the carbon roof. Pricing remains a mystery at press time as well, although it's obvious that it commands a high price. Speaking of which, the sporty wagon is expensive in its own right.Not available to configure stateside, the M3 Touring retails at 101,300 in Germany. The sedan equivalent, namely the M3 Competition xDrive, is 100,300 at the moment of reporting. Said prices convert to $110,360 and $109,275 at current exchange rates. For reference, the M3 Competition xDrive for the United States market is available to configure at $84,300 for the 2024 model year.It's a rather shocking difference, but alas, BMW asks this kind of money for the M3 in Europe due to value-added tax and Euro 6 regulations. The TL;DR version of this emission standard is that manufacturers are fined millions of euros for exceeding CO2 targets.Euro 6 is why gasoline-powered cars for the EU and UK come with gasoline particulate filters, which take away from the aural pleasure of high-performance engines like the S58 twin-turbo I6 of the M3 and M4. This lump is also used by the M2, as well as the X3 M and X4 M utility vehicles.Revealed with much pomp in June 2022, the M3 Touring isn't available with a manual transmission due to the M xDrive system. The closest rival to the M3 Touring is the Audi RS 4 Avant, which  unfortunately  isn't sold in the United States either.The C 63 S E Performance T-Modell is worth a shout-out as well, albeit for being a disappointing porker. Not only does it weigh a staggering 2,145 kilograms (4,729 pounds), but it features a rear axle-mounted electric drive unit and a 2.0-liter turbo.assembles the four-pot engine by hand, but still, a four-pot C 63? Has the world really gone that mad? The answer is negative. According to BMW M big kahuna Frank van Meel, demand for the M3 Touring is off the charts. If AMG doesn't revert back to a twin-turbo V8 for the C 63 sedan and wagon, then BMW M and Audi Sport will be much obliged to welcome new customers in their showrooms.
On August 12, I proposed a deeper discussion about how automakers establish the range of their vehicles. Although that is a much more predictable process in Europe than it is in the US, the truth is that WLTP ranges are also difficult to match in cold weather or other harsh conditions for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). How do battery pack buffers affect that? That's what I tried to discover by asking four automakers about their strategies: Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, and BMW. Sadly, only one company cared to explain that a bit, but it led me to wonder if there even is something that we can call a buffer.

Photo: Volkswagen

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Photo: Porsche

WLTP

Photo: Volkswagen

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Ford told me it would investigate what it could share and did not get back to me so far. General Motors just used the example I gave to say it has not provided details about the vehicle I mentioned. I tried using a hypothetical example, but it did not work. BMW never got back to me, but Volkswagen sent me a fairly detailed insight on everything involved with determining a BEV range . Sadly, some questions were still left unanswered.Volkswagen explained that its battery suppliers have to deliver the goods based on gross energy content. The automaker checks that through a standardized test procedure that gives it the nominal capacity. That's the energy content the cell manufacturer guarantees, and it is usually a bit higher than the minimum Volkswagen requires: the delivered batteries range from 101% to 103%.After the battery pack is assembled, something inherent to these components starts to unfold: the individual cells that compose it may present different states of charge (SOC). In other words, some of them may reach maximum charge before others. If the battery pack kept on getting electricity, it would damage the fully charged cells. This imbalance is the first reason for the battery pack never to use the total capacity of its individual cells.With that, the battery pack will also never fully discharge: the cells with more juice will keep some of it when the ones that were not wholly charged run out of energy. That's the beginning of what people consider a buffer, something destined to extend the battery pack's lifespan. That's a more than positive way to frame something that is necessary for the component not to face a serious failure. Without these precautions, the battery pack would not last for long.The SOC window that gives enough energy for the electric motors to work is also a limit. On top of that, Volkswagen also said it establishes the maximum state of charge for the battery pack as "a few percent below 100% for component protection reasons." The idea is to prevent inaccuracies that would fry the component if the maximum charge was exceeded. This would be the closest description to what we now call a battery pack buffer.The resulting capacity after all these small restrictions is called net value, which the German carmaker discloses for its BEVs. If you take the ID.4 Pro Performance as an example, Volkswagen informs that it has 77, not the 82 kWh of gross capacity that the battery pack actually presents. These 5 kWh represent 6.1% of all the energy the high-voltage accumulator could theoretically store. You know the story: little strokes fell great oaks, penny and penny laid up will be many, and so forth. Confusingly, the expression for net energy capacity that Volkswagen uses on its German website is Nennwert netto, which translates as nominal value net. Nominal or net, right? It is the net of the nominal value.Volkswagen also mentioned that battery packs have another capacity-measuring path called Usable Battery Energy (UBE). This method calculates the total energy drawn from the component in the tests that establish therange of the BEV . The UBE does not match the net energy content: it can be higher or lower. Due to these variations, the German carmaker prefers to disclose the nominal capacity, which does not make much sense. I asked the company about that but got no reply. I suspect the spokesperson made a mistake and said nominal instead of net, but that's what they told me, soThis is not the only thing I wanted to ask the company. It would be interesting to understand how much each of these limits weighs in establishing the net energy capacity. In other words, which one penalizes it the most? Is it the disbalance issue, the percentage limitation, or the SOC window?Above all, the deal was understanding whymakers do not use the gross capacity of battery packs . It is not a voluntary measure, as talking about a buffer may suggest: it is unavoidable. Miss any of these limits, and battery packs will have to be replaced under warranty in large quantities. No one will unlock them one day and improve the range, as some BEV owners seem to hope.This may be the reason for some companies to try to overestimate the ranges as Tesla did with its cars. Volkswagen's BEVs did not fail to achieve their EPA ranges, but the lower ranges they officially present may have been a discouraging factor for those willing to own an electric car. If that were the case, it would be a pity that customers were choosing between credible figures and others that no automotive journalist managed to repeat. Would Volkswagen consider presenting even lower  but more feasible  numbers, such as those the vehicles get in the winter, traveling uphill, or towing anything? I seriously doubt it, as much as that would be the right thing to do.
We have welcomed the courage of [Armenian Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinian who publicly recognized Azerbaijans territorial integrity, and we call on Azerbaijans leadership to do the same, she said after talks with her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.

Mirzoyan reiterated Yerevans claims that Baku could lay claim to Armenian territory even after Pashinian recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh earlier this year.

So far we have not heard public statements by Azerbaijans leadership recognizing the territorial integrity of Armenia, he told a joint news conference with Lahbib. We heard such words only during meetings held behind closed doors, and we are very concerned about this. This may mean that Azerbaijan has territorial claims to Armenia.

Pashinian suggested earlier this month that Azerbaijan is seeking to sign the kind of peace deal with Armenia that would not preclude such claims.

Pashinians most recent meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was hosted in Brussels on July 12 by Charles Michel, a former Belgian prime minister heading the European Unions top decision-making body. Michel said after the meeting that the two leaders reaffirmed their earlier understanding that Armenias territory covers 29,800 square kilometers and Azerbaijans 86,600 square kilometers. Aliyev has still not publicly confirmed that.

Mirzoyan said that international mediators should make sure that Baku honors Armenian-Azerbaijani understandings brokered by them. Not only are understandings not being respected but we are seeing opposite processes, he said, pointing to the continuing Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor.

Lahbib expressed serious concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Karabakh, warning of the risk of famine in the Armenian-populated region. It is incumbent on Azerbaijan to ensure the security of Karabakhs population and free traffic through the Lachin corridor, she said.
Armenias Defense Ministry said late on Monday that the soldier, Vanik Ghazarian, died at an Armenian army outpost in eastern Gegharkunik province that came under fire from across the border.

The mayor of the nearby village of Akhparadzor told RFE/RLs Armenian Service that he heard the sounds of gunfire late in the afternoon. He said there were no signs of further shooting in that border area the following morning.

The Azerbaijani military said, meanwhile, that one of its soldiers was wounded by Armenian forces on Tuesday. It did not specify where the incident occurred while accusing Armenia of escalating tensions along the volatile border.

The Defense Ministry in Yerevan issued on Tuesday at least three statements denying Armenian ceasefire violations alleged by the Azerbaijani side.

Tensions at various sections of the long border have run high in recent months despite major progress reported in Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on a bilateral peace treaty. According to Yerevan, one of the main remaining obstacles to such a deal is Bakus rejection of an Armenian proposal to use Soviet-era military maps for delimiting and demarcating the frontier.

Fresh shooting incidents were also reported from the line of contact in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. The authorities in Stepanakert on Tuesday accused Azerbaijani troops of continuing to shoot at residents of a Karabakh village trying to harvest their wheat.

The authorities report such incidents on a regular basis. They claim Azerbaijani is deliberately trying to disrupt agricultural activity in Karabakh in an effort to aggravate food shortages resulting from the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor. Baku claims that its troops only open fire to stop Karabakh Armenian forces from fortifying their positions.
Forty-one Karabakh-born citizens of Russia as well as students enrolled in Armenian universities were escorted by Russian peacekeepers on Monday to an Azerbaijani checkpoint set up in the corridor in April before entering Armenia.

Another group of Karabakh Armenians passed through the checkpoint on Tuesday. They included the 17-year-old Knar Khachatrian, who was recently admitted to Yerevan State University.

I expected the process of going through the checkpoint to be more complicated, but it was actually easy and everything went well, she told RFE/RLs Armenian Service after crossing into Armenia.

Many of the travellers were approached at the checkpoint by a large number of journalists from state-controlled Azerbaijani media that portrayed their journey as proof of Bakus claims that Karabakh has not been cut off from the outside world. Karabakh authorities accused Baku of manipulating those interviews for propaganda purposes.

The Azerbaijani side continues to create humiliating conditions at the illegal checkpoint located near the Hakari bridge, in addition to its illegal surveillance of and obstacles for the citizens of Artsakh, read a statement released by a Karabakh agency on Monday evening.

The authorities in Stepanakert argue that Azerbaijan keeps blocking commercial and humanitarian traffic through the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia. The blockade, compounded by the disruption of Armenias gas and electricity supplies to Karabakh, has led to severe shortages of food, medicine, fuel and other essential items in the Armenian-populated region.

Baku has also periodically banned the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from transporting critically ill Karabakh residents to Armenian hospitals. The medical evacuations continued on Tuesday, with the ICRC escorting seven such patients to Armenia and transferring as many others back to Karabakh.

Meanwhile, the family of a young Karabakh woman who died in an August 13 road accident in Armenia still awaited Azerbaijani permission to repatriate her body through the ICRC. The Red Cross said it is continuing to discuss the matter with Baku.
22 August 2023 14:18 (UTC+04:00)

Footage of the Azerbaijani Army disabling technical means of surveillance of Armenian illegal armed formations in the territory of the temporary deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been circulated, Azernews reports with reference to Trend.

The footage shows that the technical means of surveillance and listening in the areas close to the combat positions of the Azerbaijani Army and on the supply routes in the Karabakh economic region, placed for the purpose of carrying out terrorist and provocative activities against the units of the Azerbaijani Army, were put out of operation.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense disseminated information that on August 21, in order to ensure the security of the Azerbaijani Army servicemen, up to 30 technical means of surveillance and listening belonging to Armenian illegal armed formations were put out of operation.

Azerbaijani Army units continue their activities in this direction.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 August 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

The concept of the conflict in the South Caucasus does not end only with Armenia. There are also certain parties that play the role of a catalyst in this conflict, one of which is Iran. The Persian or Mullah regime, which imposed itself as a Muslim state on Azerbaijan and other Islamic countries for centuries, has always been known for its cunning policy. It is no coincidence that Iran, which called Armenia an infidel, which occupied the territories of Azerbaijan since the 90s, became its closest ally, first in the background, and then overtly.

Iran-Armenia's "sisterhood" began to be more tangible after the Second Garabagh War. Azerbaijan's restoration of territorial integrity and the subsequent change in geostrategic positions, especially regarding Zangazur, began to be much of Iran's consternation.

A few days ago, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan's announcement about the opening of the airport located in the Gafan area, only 105m from the border of Azerbaijan, was revealed as a joint plan of Iran and Armenia. Unable to put pressure on Azerbaijan directly, Iran is currently trying to do so through Armenia.

Ata Shahit, a political analyst of the South Azerbaijan-based Tabriz Research Institute - a think tank, who spoke in more detail about the issue, noted in his comment to AZERNEWS that Iran has always supported Armenia closely in any "projects" to the detriment of Azerbaijan. Since Iran has a positive attitude towards political projects that will strengthen Armenia mainly in transit issues, it is precisely the opening of the Gafan airport that it considers favorable from the point of view.

A. Shahit also linked Iran's obstruction to the opening of the Zangazur Corridor with an ideological approach on the one hand, and a pragmatic approach on the other, i.e. regional interests of the regime in Tehran.

"Iran opposes the Zangazur Corridor project, especially considering the regional geopolitical change as against its interests. Because the opening of the Zangazur Corridor for Iran means the opening of Azerbaijan and Turkiye to Central Asia and the increase of the power of both states. In addition, Iran believes that the opening of the Zangazur Corridor will reduce the dependence of Turkiye and Azerbaijan on it, and it will become the most important segment through the corridor between the West and the East," the expert said.

As another factor, Ata Shahit emphasized the strengthening of Azerbaijan after the Patriotic War and its continuous and stable cooperation with Turkiye, as well as the collapse of its current political goals as a result of the suppression of Iran from the South Caucasus region. For this reason, Iran definitely does not want the opening of the corridor.

Further, the expert noted that Armenian-Iranian relations are considered traditional allies in the context of general politics.

"After 1991, we saw this more clearly in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. Iran-Armenia friendship has been established strategically for a long time and is still ongoing," the expert added.

In conclusion, Ata Shahit spoke about other important alternative routes for Armenia and Iran against the Zangazur corridor.

"According to the Iranian media, the North-South transit corridor, which starts from the Indian Ocean and connects to the Iranian port of Chabahar, and from there to the Central Asian port, and also passes through Armenia, is considered an alternative route of Iran, which opposes the Zangazur Corridor project. In this regard, Iran wants to launch this transit route against the countries of Turkiye and Azerbaijan, which will become stronger thanks to the opening of the Zangazur corridor. Undoubtedly, Iran will fully support Armenia in this area as well, without sparing anything it can," Ata Shahit noted.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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22 August 2023 20:00 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Despite the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan being established in 1995, the history of cultural relations between Uzbeks and Azerbaijanis goes back to hundreds of years ago. Based on this, the Azerbaijani and Uzbek governments are determined to further deepen the economic relations. The reciprocal visit of the heads of state, and the officials of the two countries are the foretoken of this policy. Thus, last week, the representatives of dozens of pharmaceutical copies in Uzbekistan visited Azerbaijan for probing the investment opportunity, and on August 21, 2023, SOCAR signed an agreement with Uzbekneftegaz. On 22, 2023 the President of Uzbekistan paid a visit to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have great potential in terms of economic relations and trade relations, told the economist Natig Jafarly in a comment for Azernews. However, he noted with regret that the two countries cannot fully benefit from this potential.

"Economic relations and trade relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have a great perspective, but unfortunately, these relations are still not at the desired level. Take the latest figures for example: in the first 7 months of this year, products worth $26.6m were exported from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan, and imports from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan amounted to $65m. In other words, we bought goods worth $65m and sold goods worth $25m. This makes a trade turnover of about $90m. Keeping the economic prospects between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in mind, this is a very small indicator. We should note that Uzbekistan is the largest country in Central Asia in terms of population. Therefore, there are opportunities for large-scale trade between the two countries, he said.

Natig Jafarly is very optimistic about the visit of the Uzbek President to Azerbaijan. He said that some documents could be signed for expanding the relationship.

Probably, after the visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan, some works will be done on the expansion of relations and some preliminary documents will be signed. As a result, conditions for increasing mutual trade turnover and investments will be improved.

Obviously, about 200 Azerbaijani companies operate in Uzbekistan. However, Uzbek companies are very little represented in Azerbaijan. Increasing mutual representation, and strengthening economic relations is possible and, as I said earlier, its potential is extremely large, Natig Jafarly said.

The economist also touched on the logistic as well. He noted that this could serve as a profitable logistic route between Europe and Uzbekistan. He added that the economic relationship between the two countries should not be limited to the energy sector. Natig Jafarly emphasized that the diapason of economic cooperation is very big and it expands from tourism to Agriculture.

"When talking about economic relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, we should not forget logistics. Given that Azerbaijan will become the logistics center of the region in the future, Uzbekistan's access to Europe can be via Azerbaijan. There are prospects for expanding relations such as the export of Uzbek products to Europe, delivery of European products to Uzbekistan, and transit cargo transportation. Therefore, this visit is very important. I think Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have great potential not only in the energy sector but also in agriculture, tourism, logistics, and in many other business spheres. It is possible to use these prospects with sufficient quality," Jafarly added.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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Seen is the aerial view of the planned airport on Gadeok Island in the southern port city of Busan, slated to be built by 2029. Korea Times file



By Lee Hae-rin



South Gyeongsang Province hopes a new airport on Gadeok Island would be the first airport named after a historic figure.



According to the South Gyeongsang Provincial Council, Tuesday, ruling People Power Party (PPP) council member Park Choon-duk proposed naming the proposed new airport on Gadeok Island "Yi Sun-sin International Airport."



"To maximize the ripple effect of the new airport, which has been the southern region's long-cherished goal, the airport needs an internationally appealing name based on a national consensus, instead of being simply named after the region," Park said.



"There are many international airports around the world named after respected historic figures, such as the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at the heart of Europe, the John F. Kennedy International Airport leading to the gate of the U.S., the Leonardo da Vinci Airport of Rome in Italy and the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India," he said.



Yi was a naval commander of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom whose name has gone down in history for fighting against the Japanese navy during its invasions of Korea in the 1590s.



Park's proposal underscored that Korea's spiritual foundation stems from the admiral's spirit of perseverance in overcoming obstacles. He pointed out the possibility of promoting the airport, which will connect the country's southern region to Southeast Asian countries, into a regional symbol and an international landmark.



Also, the southern coasts and port cities neighboring the new airport are historically significant as stages for the admiral's undefeated battles, the proposal said. Thus, designing the airport's control tower and apron into the shape of Admiral Yi and his renowned invention, the Turtle Ship, could turn the development into an international landmark, Park said.



The provincial council suggested creating room for public discussion on developing the airport into a regional landmark by branding it with the historic figure and associating it with the local municipalities' cultural and tourist policies themed around the heroic admiral.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport manual on naming airports stipulates the use of city or district location names by principle. But it allows for alternative names if deemed appropriate.



The government has been planning to build the new airport to disperse the growing air traffic from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, the only international airport in the southern region, since the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-2008).



The construction gained momentum with the proposal of the Special Act on Construction of Gadeokdo New Airport from both the ruling and opposition parties in 2020, which passed at the National Assembly the year after. The airport is slated to open in December 2029, over five years ahead of the original plan scheduled for June 2035.



The council will discuss and decide to adopt or drop the proposal in its upcoming extra session this month.


22 August 2023 17:15 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

The so-called "defender of people's rights" from Armenia, ex-ombudsman Arman Tatoyan, declared on social networks with panic and fear in public that allegedly official Baku has developed a military-political program containing new threats to Armenia. And it was not without Armenian lies.

After the UN Security Council meeting of 16 August, Armenian separatists, having received a blow from Azerbaijan with the provided evidence in the form of photos and data, in response to the false testimony about the alleged "blockade" of Khankendi and the alleged famine in Garabagh, without evidence, reinvent new ways in the temptation of revenge, to sow another chaos in the minds of the Armenian public.

Arman refers to the list allegedly compiled by Azerbaijan, where the territories of Armenia are marked as Azerbaijani, and that this is based on the concepts of "West Azerbaijan" and the policy of Armenophobia. In the list provided by the former Ombudsman, advertising under his organization "TATOYAN Foundation", there are three names with a hint of Azerbaijani coordinators and those cities that Azerbaijan allegedly passed off as its territory, the entire territory of Armenia. It is not surprising that Armenians, namely those calling themselves their "leaders" and "authorities", resort to such provocations. The alleged blockade of the Lachin road failed, as did the alleged blockade of Khankendi, and now the "leaders" of Armenians are moving smoothly towards "Western Azerbaijan", where a plan to seize the entire territory of Armenia is allegedly prepared. Adding oil to the fire, Armenians want to see more and more clashes, strife, and implicate the third party in this issue, and most importantly, to impose lies on the Armenian public under the guise of truth and freedom.

Western Azerbaijan is the historical land of Azerbaijan. This is confirmed by numerous historical documents, historical maps, and history. Unfortunately, Armenians have razed to the ground and destroyed all historical and religious monuments in Western Azerbaijan, just as they did in Garabagh.

The emerging chaos in Armenia is a matter of time, and according to Garabagh activist Artur Osipyan, "Vardanyan needs the Garabagh armenians to seize power in Yerevan". According to the activist, this situation has arisen because of the struggle for power.

"Probably, these people think that chaos has already come, it is impossible to find a way out of the situation and this is the last moment to seize power. They robbed Garabagh and now they are preparing troops to change the power in Armenia. What we have said many times before," Osipyan said in an interview with Armenian Channel.

According to him, if this situation is not settled, an internal confrontation will start in Garabagh, where R. Vardanyan needs the Armenian minority in Garabagh to seize power in Yerevan, in addition, to throwing off the 30th sins on Araik .H. and come to power clean.

The activist also added that additional foodstuffs have appeared in the zone of temporary responsibility of RMK, and assures that they have been in "state warehouses" all this time.

Abbas Ganbay is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @Noend33

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22 August 2023 18:18 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan signed a new Road Map for the development of energy cooperation for the years 2023-2025. The agreement was signed by Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, and Uzbekistan's Energy Minister, Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry.

The roadmap covers 14 key sectors, including hydrocarbon resource exploration and production, renewable energy sources, energy sector reform, efficient energy resource utilization, energy transition, and decarbonization. It also outlines avenues for the exchange of insights and expertise related to hydrogen production.

Minister Shahbazov expressed optimism about the future of the energy partnership between the two nations. He noted that the roadmap envisions numerous energy projects ahead, serving as a catalyst for bolstering the already strong ties between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

The agreement builds upon a prior "roadmap" signed last year, which outlined cooperative initiatives in the realm of "green" energy. The liberated territories and green energy were earmarked as priority areas of collaboration.

The two countries solidified a comprehensive plan to intensify energy sector cooperation, extending through 2022 and 2023. This comprehensive plan covers 30 distinct sectors, ranging from cooperation in Azerbaijan's recently liberated lands to the participation of Uzbek entities in renewable energy projects.

The agreement encompasses the import and export of oil, gas, and chemical products, collaborative efforts in oil refining, and joint projects related to hydrocarbon exploration and production. Moreover, plans are in place for the construction of new thermal power plants, financed through private investments, with a focus on shared expertise in heat supply, energy market liberalization, and prudent energy resource utilization.

The roadmap further outlines an expansion of the partnership between Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR, aiming to foster joint ventures in hydrocarbon exploration and production and to facilitate knowledge exchange and cooperation in renewable energy projects through public-private partnerships.

This new Road Map for the development of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan is expected to bring positive results in the years to come.

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22 August 2023 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

In November, the Nizami Ganjavi National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature will host an international scientific conference dedicated to the 825th anniversary of Safiyuddin Urmaviy, the 670th anniversary of Abdulkadir Meragi and the 190th anniversary of Mir Mohsun Navvab on the theme "Classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music as a "Silk Road" of intercultural harmony", Azernews reports, citing Museum.

The conference will explore the influence of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music on the development of intercultural harmony and will feature a variety of topics related to the works of Safiyuddin Urmaviy, Abdulgadir Maragaya, and Mir Mohsun Navvab.

The conference will focus on the following topics:

The influence of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music on the development of intercultural harmony;

The legacy of Safiyuddin Urmaviy, Abdulgadir Maragaya, and Mir Mohsun Navvab in the development of intercultural harmony;

The role of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music in the formation of the Silk Road of intercultural harmony;

The impact of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music on the development of global culture;

The influence of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music on the development of social and political relations;

The role of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music in the development of education and science;

The influence of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music on the development of religious and spiritual values.

The conference will provide an opportunity for scholars, researchers, and students to exchange ideas and discuss the impact of classical Oriental and Azerbaijani poetry and music on the development of intercultural harmony. The conference will also provide a platform for the presentation of new research and the discussion of current trends in the field.

The conference will be held at the Nizami Ganjavi National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 25-27, 2021. The deadline for submission of abstracts is September 1, 2021.

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22 August 2023 15:54 (UTC+04:00)

Argentina has celebrated the 100th anniversary of National Leader Heydar Aliyev and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Argentina, Azernews reports, citing Embassy.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Argentina said that a concert event was organized in the capital Buenos Aires in continuation of a series of events held by the Embassy on this occasion.

Representatives of the state and government of Argentina, public and political figures, heads and staff of diplomatic missions accredited in the country, and representatives of mass media took part in the event held with the support of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Delivering a speech at the event, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Argentina Ramzi Teymurov spoke about the life of Heydar Aliyev, the founder of modern Azerbaijan, and his invaluable role in shaping the traditions of Azerbaijani statehood. The Ambassador gave information about the role of wise policy and will of the National Leader in the direction of firmly establishing the foundations of Azerbaijan's independence, formation of the national spirit and idea of Azerbaijanis, implementation of the successful foreign policy, and recognition as a reliable partner on a global scale, and that the path of development laid by him has been successfully continued by President Ilham Aliyev.

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22 August 2023 13:30 (UTC+04:00)

In accordance with the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the return of former internally displaced persons to the restored city of Fuzuli continues.

On 22 August, another group of IDPs left Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku for Fuzuli. At this stage, 23 more families, or 89 people, were relocated to Fuzuli town, Azernews reports.

The resettled families will settle in the houses where they once lived in Fuzuli, which were restored or rebuilt on the basis of instructions from the Azerbaijani President after the end of the Armenian occupation. Fuzuli residents thanked President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani army, which liberated the lands from invasion.

The distribution of houses was carried out by drawing lots on the basis of the principles of transparency and fairness and in accordance with the current procedure for providing new living space to former internally displaced persons. The drawing of lots took place on August 5 at the Department of Repatriation of the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, 144 families (509 people) took part in it. In accordance with the composition of families, 51 of them were provided with two-room, 76 - three-room, and 17 - four-room apartments. The resettled families will settle in new buildings in Fuzuli.

At the same time, permanent settlement of 70 families, i.e. 247 people, has been ensured in Fuzuli town.

To recall, the Fuzuli district was invaded in 1993 by Armenians. During the 1994 Horadiz operation, a part of the region was liberated from occupation. On October 17, 2020, Fuzuli region was completely liberated from occupation.

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22 August 2023 11:12 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan once again ensured the free passage of people of Armenian origin through the Lachin State Border checkpoint.

According to Azernews, today about 30 people of Armenian origin in 9 cars belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) passed through the Lachin State Border checkpoint from Khankendi in the direction of the Gorus district of Armenia.

In addition, more than 60 people of Armenian minority are expected to leave Garabagh today and travel to Armenia.

Thus, during the day, up to 100 people of Armenian origin will pass through the border in Lachin.

It should be noted that this once again indicates the absence of any obstacles and difficulties in the passage of Armenian minority in Garabagh through the Lachin border checkpoint and serves as another proof that Armenia's statements about the 'blockade' of the Lachin road by Azerbaijan are lies and slander .

Recall that in order to prevent the illegal transfer of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia to the territory of Azerbaijan, carried out contrary to the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020, and adequately, the unilateral establishment of a border point by Armenia passes at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road on the border with Azerbaijan April 22, at 12:00 on April 23, units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road, a border checkpoint was installed.

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22 August 2023 12:16 (UTC+04:00)

During the provocation by the illegal Armenian armed formations, Nazarov Ismet Ramiz oglu, a military serviceman of the Azerbaijani Army, was slightly injured as a result of the ricochet of the fire from the opposite side, Azernews reports, citing the Defense Ministry.

The Defense Ministry noted that the wounded serviceman was provided with first aid and hospitalized. There is no danger to his life.

The Defense Ministry stated that definitive retaliatory measures are being taken by units of the Azerbaijani Army. The Ministry informed that the military and political leadership of Armenia is fully responsible for the results of provocations caused by the other party.

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22 August 2023 19:38 (UTC+04:00)

The Western Azerbaijan Community has sent a letter to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, urging him to start a dialogue on the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia. The letter reads that the community has developed a concept of safe return based on international law and is determined to achieve the process of return by peaceful means, Azernews reports, citing the Community.

The Community calls on the Armenian government to create conditions for a safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis in line with the right of return established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other important international acts. The letter also emphasizes that the individual and collective rights of the Azerbaijanis should be provided after their return to their homeland.

In addition, the Community has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, informing him of Armenia's evasion of the Community's dialogue proposal to ensure the return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, its denial of the right to return, and provocations aimed to prevent the reintegration of Armenians living in the Garabakh region of Azerbaijan. The letter calls upon the UN Secretary-General to make Armenia fulfill its commitments and to send a special interagency UN mission to Armenia to assist in the repatriation of expelled Azerbaijanis.

"With the official dissemination of these documents to the UN, the world public was most reliably informed about the goals and principles of the West Azerbaijan Community, as well as the fact that it is the initiator of the dialogue. All this leaves no room for denying the right of return of Azerbaijanis based on international law.

The Western Azerbaijan Community calls on the Armenian government to respect international law and human rights, to follow the example of Azerbaijan, which created conditions for the return of Armenians to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan immediately after the 2020 war and is currently making efforts for their reintegration, and to ensure the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes," the report says.

The Western Azerbaijan Community has consistently upheld the values of peace, reconciliation, and dignity, as well as respect for the territorial integrity of States throughout its pursuit of the right to return. The Community is determined to continue its peaceful efforts on the basis of international law in order to ensure the right of the expelled Azerbaijanis to return to their homes.

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22 August 2023 21:50 (UTC+04:00)

Following the expanded meeting of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a ceremony of signing Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan documents has been held.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a Contract on establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov and Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov signed a Protocol on cooperation between the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Committee for Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rahman Hummatov and Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ilhom Makhkamov signed a Protocol on cooperation in the field of application of the information system for electronic exchange of permit approval documents.

Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Adil Karimli and Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov signed a Protocol on cooperation in the field of culture.

Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov and Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov signed an Agreement on deepening cooperation in the field of energy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Memorandum on cooperation between the Service of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Security Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Protocol on additions and amendments to the Agreement on visa-free travel for the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed an "Agreement on cooperation in the fields of youth policy and sports".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Road Map on the development of cooperation in the field of media between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Road Map on deepening comprehensive strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2023-2024".

A total of 20 documents were signed as part of the visit.

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22 August 2023 10:43 (UTC+04:00)

Mines Action Canada (MAC) recently responded to a request from the French Azerbaijani Coordinating Council (FACC) of Azerbaijanis to assist in the clearance of landmines and other explosive remnants of war in Azerbaijan. The FACC, which is a non-governmental organization based in France, works to promote the rights of Azerbaijani people and to advocate for their interests, Azernews reports, citing MAC.

Erin Hunt, Executive Director of Mines Action Canada (MAC), a leading Canadian company, responded to the French-Azerbaijani Coordination Council's appeal about the threat of mines created by Armenia in our country's liberated territories.

Erin Hunt, expressing gratitude to the French Azerbaijani Coordinating Council for Azerbaijanis for informing them of the current situation regarding the mine threat in Azerbaijan and for sharing their views on this issue, wrote in her response that, with the support of the Canadian government, MAC has for several years defended the demining process in the South Caucasus. Recalling that this defence action was successful in 2021, the executive said he hopes that this action will be successfully repeated in the near future. He added that his company works closely with Azerbaijani colleagues working for the Azerbaijani Mine Action Agency (ANAMA).

MAC is a Canadian organization that works to end the suffering caused by indiscriminate and inhumane weapons such as landmines, cluster munitions, autonomous weapons, and explosive weapons in populated areas. MAC is a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, which is a global network of civil society organizations that works to end the use of cluster munitions and to ensure that affected communities receive assistance.

MAC is committed to supporting the FACC's efforts to clear landmines and other explosive remnants of war in Azerbaijan. MAC will provide technical assistance and capacity-building support to the FACC, as well as advocacy and fundraising support. MAC will also work to raise awareness of the humanitarian impact of landmines and other explosive remnants of war in Azerbaijan and to promote the universalization of the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.

MAC has a long history of working to end the use of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. The organization has provided support to mine action initiatives in Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine, and has contributed over $450 million in the last two decades to mine action around the world.

MAC is committed to working with the FACC to ensure that the people of Azerbaijan are protected from the devastating effects of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. The organization is confident that, with the support of the FACC and other civil society organizations, the people of Azerbaijan will be able to live in a safe and secure environment.

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Kim Gum-hyok, North Korean defector who is now a policy adviser at South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs / Courtesy of Kim Gum-hyok



By Kim Hee-su



Kim Gum-hyok, 31, is a North Korean defector who became a policy adviser at South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Having arrived in the South in 2012, Kim is part of an emerging generation of North Korean defectors fast acclimatizing to life in South Korea. Kim at one time was a former broadcaster, YouTuber and is now a government official.



"The North Korean defectors of my generation do not usually meet each other. While the past generation of defectors listen to North Korean music and enjoy eating 'naengmyeon' (Korean cold noodles), my generation is eager to be a part of mainstream society in South Korea. Like myself, they want to enter conglomerates and the Ivy League schools or be a doctor and lawyer," Kim said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.



He also dreams of studying at a U.S. school such as Johns Hopkins University or at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. "I am very passionate about my major of political science. I wish to expand my expertise in the U.S. more deeply."



It was not necessarily an easy path despite how successfully his life is unfolding. After arriving in South Korea, he stayed at Hanawon which educates defectors like Kim to adjust to South Korean society. He realized for the first time that he was more privileged in many aspects than other Hanawon residents.



He was an elite student at North Korea's prestigious Kim Il-Sung University. There, he majored in English literature and dreamt about becoming a diplomat.



"North Korean students have an enjoyable campus life but it cannot compare to South Korea. Ryongnam-dong, the place where Kim Il-sung University is located, makes students focus only on studying because of the lack of infrastructure."



Asked why he decided to escape from North Korea, he said it was because of a discussion with some South Korean students at Beijing University. "I studied hard and had pride in the North Korean regime. I thought South and North Korea had a good relationship, but it was not true. That made me like a useless person."



In Seoul, he graduated from Korea University and became active on YouTube. Currently, he has two channels called "Kim Gum-hyok's Turbulent Diary" and "Seoul Pyongyang Couple." The former is for South Korean people. "In the news, only the stories about North Korea's dictatorship are highlighted. I felt shame and wanted to show the real life of North Koreans, the stories about North Korean people."



In "Seoul Pyongyang Couple," he shares his married life as husband to a South Korean native and soon-to-be father. "I wanted to tell you that I'm well in South Korea. It was not to instigate North Korean people to escape the North. I just want to share my stories with them through this vlog."



Regarding unification between the two Koreas, Kim paused before saying that South and North Korea should pursue unification. He emphasized that it is a bit early to discuss the unification issue. However, he said that the two Koreas could move forward to a path of getting together.



He also mentioned the human rights situations under the Kim Jong-un regime. Compared to the stories about Syrian refugees, people from the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, and Uyghurs from China, North Korea might be crueler as it does not have visible regulations, he said.



With his parents in North Korea, Kim said the guilt of leaving his parents would go on forever. However, he cannot be tied up and do nothing and that is why he decided to join the ministry. As a policy adviser, he likes to support veterans' families and soldiers.



Kim did not hesitate to show his boundless ambition. "Who knows if I will be the next president of South Korea?" he said.





Kim Hee-su is an intern at The Korea Times.


22 August 2023 20:50 (UTC+04:00)

Rescuers have recovered the body of the 29th victim of the Shovi resort landslide in Georgias west, with four people still missing, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Tuesday, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

The Ministry said ongoing search operations involved rescuers, heavy equipment, boats and canine units in locations adjacent to the epicentre of the disaster zone.

The landslide hit cottages and other infrastructure in the resort in the afternoon of August 3, with over 200 people evacuated from the area during subsequent efforts.

Over 800 professionals from the Emergency Management Service and the countrys Defence Forces have been involved in search and rescue efforts in the aftermath.

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22 August 2023 23:15 (UTC+04:00)

Uzbekistan has been increasing the export of natural gas to China for two months in a row, Kommersant reported with reference to the data of the Main Customs Administration of China, Azernews reports, citing Kabar.

In July, monthly deliveries of Uzbek gas to China amounted to $91.4 million, an increase of more than 7% compared to June.

In January-July, Uzbekistan exported natural gas to China for $295.3 million, which is 41.6% less than in 2022.

Leadership in gas supplies to China continues to be held by Turkmenistan, which supplied $5.85 billion worth of gas in seven months (+10% compared to last year). The second place is occupied by Russia, which has almost doubled its exports to $3.94 billion, followed by Myanmar ($861 million) and Kazakhstan ($614 million).

This year, gas consumption in China may grow by 7%, reaching 390 billion cubic meters. In 2022, gas demand fell for the first time in a decade due to existing covid restrictions. Nevertheless, demand growth in the Celestial Empire is expected to be met by domestic production.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
U.S. State Department approves potential sale of Apache attack helicopters to Poland

Xinhua) 11:09, August 22, 2023

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of State has approved the potential sale of Apache attack helicopters and related equipment to Poland for an estimated value of 12 billion U.S. dollars, the Department of Defense said Monday.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), an arm of the Pentagon responsible for providing military assistance to U.S. allies, said in a statement that it "delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale" in light of the State Department's determination.

According to the DSCA, Poland has requested 96 Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including 1,844 Hellfire missiles and 508 Stinger missiles, from the United States. Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been named the principal contractors for the weapons.

Despite the approval by the State Department, the DSCA's notification to Congress does not guarantee the sale, nor does it indicate that a contract with the manufacturers has been signed, according to U.S. media reports.

Bordering Ukraine to the east, Poland has made boosting its national defense a priority since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Peter Chung Soon-taick, the archbishop of Seoul, gives a briefing on the 2027 World Youth Day, which will be held in Seoul, during a press conference at the Archdiocese of Seoul, Aug. 22. Yonhap



The 2027 World Youth Day will utilize home stays, churches and schools in Seoul to accommodate young Catholics who will gather for the global event, the archbishop of Seoul said Tuesday.



Seoul has been chosen as the host city for the next World Youth Day, becoming the second Asian host following the Philippines in 1995.



Peter Chung Soon-taick estimated up to 800,000 pilgrims are expected to attend the closing Mass, saying the organizing committee will arrange accommodations in various forms across the capital city.



"In addition to home stays, we will make use of retreat houses and education centers in cathedrals. We will also use school auditoriums and classrooms for sleeping arrangements," Chung said during a press conference held at the Archdiocese of Seoul.



For the closing Mass of the event, which is expected to draw the largest number of people, the attendees could camp out or stay in temporary housing, Chung added.



With the gathering scheduled for August 2027, Chung said various factors, including potential heat waves and typhoons, as well as vacation periods, will be taken into consideration when determining the detailed schedule of the event.



The exact schedule and location of the closing Mass will be determined through consultations with the Vatican.



First held in 1985, World Youth Day brings together young Catholics from around the world in celebration of their faith.



The closing Mass in Manila in 1995 was the largest recorded gathering of people at a religious event in history, with over 5 million attendees. More than 2 million pilgrims were estimated to have visited this year's World Youth Day in Lisbon, which ended earlier this month. (Yonhap)


As School Choice is beginning to take shape in North Carolina: What is your position on what it should evolve into?

4.55% School Choice is only a distraction from the promise of real public education.90.91% School Choice, as it evolves into its best model to serve the public' s education needs, this benefit will provide choices outside of the historic construct supporting the public school monopoly.4.55% School Choice - I cannot see how it serves the Education Industry.
Former Columbia, S.C.-based family medicine physician James Williams, MD, has been sentenced to federal prison for unlawfully prescribing pills.

Between January 2015 and November 2019, Dr. Williams prescribed two patients more than 100,000 pills of oxycodone, hydrocodone, dextroamphetamine and alprazolam, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the Justice Department.

He pleaded guilty in March to prescribing the pills to two patients who pleaded guilty to drug and firearm offenses and admitted they were selling most of the pills they were prescribed.

Dr. Williams, whose license has been revoked, was sentenced to five years in federal prison with a three-year term of court-ordered supervision, the release said.
Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, one of the largest ASC management organizations in the country, has donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross' Annual Disaster Giving Program.

This is HCA's fifth year participating in the program, which provides funding for infrastructure, volunteers, technology and resources in the wake of disasters.

The Red Cross responds to 60,000 disasters every year, according to an Aug. 22 news release from HCA.

HCA also works alongside the Red Cross to coordinate supplies, resources and shelter support for patients who are discharged from hospitals in the wake of a disaster.

HCA also has its own incident response team of nearly 200 leaders that provides resources and coordinates responses during times of crisis. Over the last seven years, HCA has provided more than $6 million to the Red Cross.

HCA has also established a fund to help its own workers in the wake of disasters. It provides financial aid and resources to employees facing extended illness, injury, disaster and other special situations. In 2022, the fund provided $12 million in grants to 4,400 HCA employees and family members, according to the release.
Georgia is the best state for business growth in 2023, according to new research from business consulting firm Venture Smarter.

The ranking, shared with Becker's on Aug. 22, is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzing business growth rates in every state based on the number of establishments in December 2021 compared to December 2022.

The 10 best states for business growth and their annual growth rate:

1. Georgia: 13.5 percent

2. Virginia: 10.5 percent

3. Arizona: 10.4 percent

4 (tie). Montana: 10.2 percent

4 (tie). Vermont: 10.2 percent

6. Michigan: 9.8 percent

7. South Carolina: 9.6 percent

8. North Carolina: 9.2 percent

9 (tie). Colorado: 9.1 percent

9 (tie). Hawaii: 9.1 percent
This file photo provided by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on June 1, shows the launch of the North's new Chollima-1 rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, the Malligyong-1, from Tongchang-ri on the North's west coast the previous day. Yonhap



North Korea has notified Japan of its plan to launch a satellite between Thursday and Aug. 31, according to a Japanese news report, as the country seeks to put a spy satellite into orbit following its failure in May.



The North informed Japan's coast guard of its plan to designate three maritime danger zones  two of which are west of the Korean Peninsula and the other is to the east of the Philippines' island of Luzon, Japan's Kyodo News reported Tuesday.



"The plan is believed to be a retry of a military reconnaissance satellite launch North Korea attempted in May, but that ended in failure," it added.



The North launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, mounted on a new type of rocket named the Chollima-1, on May 31. But the rocket crashed into the Yellow Sea after an "abnormal starting" of the second-stage engine, according to the North's state media.



North Korea has also given prior notice to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the U.N. maritime safety agency, over its satellite launch plan, according to an official at South Korea's unification ministry.



South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers last week that Pyongyang could launch a reconnaissance satellite in late August or early September, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the regime's founding on Sept. 9.





S. Korea issues maritime safety warnings over NK satellite launch plan N. Korea slams S. Korea-US military drills, warns of outbreak of 'thermonuclear war' UFS drills begin as North Korea's Kim inspects missile test The launch window overlaps the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between South Korea and the United States that kicked off Monday for a 10-day run. The North has long denounced Seoul-Washington joint military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion.



"With a satellite launch, the North appears to want to celebrate its founding anniversary internally," said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies.



North Korea also seems to want to make the latest trilateral summit agreement among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo futile and flex its military muscle against the UFS exercise, he added.



The leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan held a trilateral summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Friday and agreed to cooperate closely for stronger missile defense against North Korea.



A TV screen shows an image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, Aug. 21. AP-Yonhap

Seoul's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs voiced "strong" regret over the North's satellite launch plan and called on Pyongyang to immediately revoke it.



"A satellite launch by the North is a blatant illegal act that flatly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any launches using ballistic missile technology. Pyongyang cannot justify it with any excuse," the ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.



He said the government will sternly deal with the North's illegal provocative acts, based on close three-way coordination among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.



A military spy satellite is among the high-tech weapons that the North has vowed to develop, along with solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine.



The South Korean military said in July that the North's spy satellite has "no military utility" after retrieving its wreckage from the Yellow Sea.




The HHS Office of Inspector General has issued an advisory opinion rejecting a proposed joint venture between a group of surgeons and an entity that supplies those same surgeons with intraoperative neuromonitoring services, claiming the partnership would violate federal anti-kickback laws.

IONM services are used to monitor a patient's neurological function during surgeries in hospitals or ASCs. Professional services are provided by a neurologist who constantly monitors the tests's results.

An IONM supplier who contracts with ASCs and hospitals requested the advisory opinion, informing the OIG of plans to assist physicians at facilities where IONM is used to form and operate an entity, Newco, that would perform IONM services. The entity would be owned by the same physicians.

The OIG determined physicians would be at a risk of fraud because they could stand to profit by referring IONM services to their patients.

"The proposed arrangement would implicate the federal anti-kickback statute. It would involve several forms of remuneration  and returns on investment interests in Newco to the surgeon owners. These streams of remuneration could induce the Surgeon Owners to make referrals of IONM services for which payment could be made by a federal health care program. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the risk of fraud and abuse presented by the proposed arrangement is not sufficiently low under the federal anti-kickback statute for OIG to issue a favorable advisory opinion," the OIG wrote in its decision, published Aug. 18.
Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth is taking initial steps to close its Eugene (Ore.) University District hospital as the health system shifts operations to its RiverBend campus, the hospital system said.

"After careful consideration and an ongoing ethical discernment, PeaceHealth has decided to close the hospital at University District," Alicia Beymer, chief administrative officer of PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District, said in a release. "We believe consolidating some services at RiverBend will provide an enhanced care experience."

PeaceHealth reportedly sent an email to caregivers and providers revealing it wants to temporarily relocate 27 beds from Eugene to the Springfield, Ore.-based RiverBend in early 2024 to expedite the hospital closure, according to an Aug. 22 report from ABC affiliate KEZI. The system confirmed the 27-bed number.

PeaceHealth, which described the Eugene location as "underutilized" in the press release shared with Becker's, also confirmed it will currently maintain behavioral health services at Eugene, which it said has unsustainable negative operating margins.

The closure will evolve over a lengthy process that will include the ending of emergency services. PeaceHealth and LifePoint Health plan to jointly open a 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility on the RiverBend campus, the hospital added.

PeaceHealth, which suffered a credit downgrade July 7, reported a $240.7 million operating loss for the fiscal year ending June 30.
Aimee Daily, PhD, is the new president and CEO of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, effective Nov. 1.

Dr. Daily joins the Salt Lake City-based nonprofit from Memorial Health in Springfield, Ill. She most recently served as the health system's senior vice president and chief transformation officer.

She succeeds Teri Nestel, who is retiring.
LouAnn Woodward, MD, has extended her contract to lead the Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center for four more years, the health system confirmed to Becker's Aug. 23.

Dr. Woodward assumed her dual role as vice chancellor of health affairs and dean of the school of medicine in 2015, becoming the first woman to lead the state's only academic medical center. Her new contract began July 1 and will last through June 30, 2027.

The decision to extend Dr. Woodward's leadership was unanimous among trustees on the Institutions of Higher Learning board, which governs all universities and colleges in the state, Mississippi Today reported Aug. 21.

"Under Dr. LouAnn Woodward's tremendous leadership, the University of Mississippi Medical Center plays a vital and growing role in serving the health care needs for all Mississippians," Chancellor Glenn Boyce told the newspaper. "I'm deeply grateful for her guidance, commitment and talent, and how she continues to empower her home state and shape UMMC for an even brighter future."
Precise diagnoses and actionable treatment plans are essential when it comes to one's health. In healthcare, we often find ourselves at odds with both for one condition: burnout.

Currently, it is rare to participate in any healthcare discussion without the issue of burnout being raised and discussed. There is, however, some confusion about its precise meaning and prevalence. I am well aware of the seriousness of chronic burnout, but in my view, the normal stresses and discomforts of work and life are labeled as burnout. This is a mistake and deflects from targeting that which is more serious.

Burnout is a relatively modern concept for its ubiquity. The term was coined in 1974 by American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, PhD, for the stress and exhaustion felt by those in service professions that makes it difficult to cope. In 2017, CEOs of U.S. health systems categorized burnout among physicians as a public health crisis and outlined an 11-step response. In 2019, the World Health Organization finally included burnout in its International Classification of Diseases, describing it as "a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."

I share this context to recall the attention paid to burnout pre-pandemic. I fully acknowledge burnout as a distinct syndrome, as the WHO defined, with consequences to physical, emotional, mental and overall health. If burnout is the culmination of chronic workplace stress that is poorly managed, there's responsibility on employers to address contributing factors, provide support and improve the work environment.

At the same time, I have seen use of the term "burnout" explode since the pandemic. What was once a distinct type of work-related stress is now the word pinned to a range of emotions and stress levels, from the temporary and minor to the long-lasting and serious. It seems as though the term has come to carry its own meaning to each of us, which is challenging. Health conditions are rarely interchangeable.

The variation in experiences of burnout can leave managers unsure of how to respond when employees raise it. One thing to keep in mind is that burnout is both a condition to be managed and relieved with structural interventions. Our relationship to stress is lifelong. Workplaces, managers or coworkers cannot necessarily absolve people from stress or eliminate it. What we can do, and what I would argue is more valuable, is help people better cope while enacting system changes or improvements to support them.

When regular experiences of discomfort are declared as burnout, the conversation often ends there. I worry about this for several reasons. For one, it contributes to a sense of passivity  that burnout is something happening to people without opportunity for change or improvement. Secondly, by painting burnout with a broad brush, we avoid dealing with the highest and most impairing levels of the condition. If that's the case, our industry will continue to miss important opportunities to address the tactical and measurable things that contribute to the well-studied and distinct feeling of exhaustion.

A 2021 cross-sectional survey published in JAMA measured burnout among physicians and nurses in 60 U.S. hospitals by using reliable frameworks to assess symptoms, such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Concerningly, it found high burnout rates among an average of 32 percent of hospital physicians and 47 percent of nurses. Unlike others, this study also surveyed the clinicians about the interventions they see as most promising to alleviate burnout rates.

The top interventions that most physicians ranked as "very important" to improving their wellbeing are, in order, reducing the time they spend on documentation, improving the usability of EHR systems, reducing the emphasis on clinician productivity targets, and reducing the rate at which they work unscheduled hours.

The top interventions that most nurses ranked as "very important" to improving their wellbeing are, again in order, improving the time they can spend with patients, supporting clinicians' ability to take uninterrupted breaks, improving team communication and enabling clinicians to spend more time on direct patient care.

All eight of these interventions are important, but notice how the two professions value interventions differently. Such granularity is needed in healthcare. Specificity and solutions are cornerstones of healthcare, and we can't afford to loosen our grip on both when it comes to burnout. To better do this, some simple steps come to mind:

1. Help employees understand what burnout is. This step may sound reductive, but don't underestimate the power of clear, shared definitions. Google searches for the phrase "burnout symptoms" tripled before reaching an all-time high in May 2023. Instead of leaving employees to figure this out for themselves, take the lead. Help them understand how burnout differs from stress. Revisit the definition often and regularly. They deserve such clarity from their workplace leaders. Otherwise, it will be difficult to move the needle on burnout if apples-oranges communication persists.

2. Equip managers to ask questions about burnout. Burnout is real but it is not a fixed state. If an employee says they are burned out, the conversation should not end there. Equip managers  through training, guidance and resources  to extend the conversation to identify contributing factors. Some challenges raised may be easily addressed in a relatively short time. Others may require more time or resources. Managers play an important role in finding the information that can drive action and positive results, both of which are incredibly important to culture.

3. Extend a menu of action items and solutions. Stress is inherent to most jobs in America, particularly in healthcare. Assuming people are inherently resourceful and resilient, leaders should focus on a range of structural improvements in the near-, mid- and long-term that can better seal their organizations against burnout. Consider the eight top-ranked interventions identified by nurses and physicians. Different roles may need different forms of support. When leaders organize a toolkit of interventions to counter burnout  based on feedback and information  it reflects credibility, realism and inclusivity.

4. Set realistic expectations. There will be no single savior that ends the burnout battle. Efforts to address it must be made by managers, leaders, teams, departments, organizations and the industry at large. Burnout can also be cyclical throughout the course of a career. This is a long game we're playing. But if we are precise about burnout, focused on a range of solutions, and accept self-determination and the possibility of change, we are better positioned for longevity in this effort.

5. Push for regulatory change. Use the issue as an opportunity to lobby government and oversight agencies to limit and discard those regulations that limit doctors and nurses time with patients and do little to promote quality and service.

Michael Dowling is president and CEO of Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider and private employer in New York State.
Healthcare is increasingly inundated with "middlemen, actors and sub-actors"  companies devoted to niche causes that promise to fill perceived gaps in the healthcare system, according to Sachin Jain, MD, president and CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan.

In a column for Forbes, Dr. Jain contrasts today's "Frankenstein healthcare systempieced together inelegantly with no obvious logic" with the simplicity and power of the patient-physician relationship. Companies act as middlemen by inserting themselves between physicians and patients.

"What would happen if we instead paid doctors and their teams  the people closest to the patient  to do the same tasks and got out of the way? Just a thought," Dr. Jain writes. Although middlemen may be necessary, he urges healthcare leaders to press them to demonstrate tangible and meaningful clinical benefit to patients.

He notes that companies pursue healthcare leaders daily to identify deficiencies in patient care. "They ask us to let them fix the problem. More often than not, they (and their investors  often venture capitalists and private equity executives) ask us to pay them to fix the problem," Dr. Jain notes.

Part of the paradox is that in aiming to close gaps, some of these middlemen create even more space between patients and care teams. For example, offshore call centers are seen as a solution for patients who are not taking medications.

"We spend time building trust with our patients, but somehow, they hope to convince us, a set of well-intentioned, but ill-informed, and ill-equipped strangers is key to ensuring that the patient we know and recognize will put faith in our diagnoses and prescriptions," Dr. Jain writes.

Dr. Jain also notes that some middlemen play up alarm among patients, suggesting their solutions or technology offerings can detect health conditions that traditional imaging or diagnostics cannot.

"Even Kim Kardashian has joined the crowd marketing full-body, cash-pay MRIs delivered by the company PreNuvo," he writes. In August, Ms. Kardashian promoted Redwood City, Calif.-based PreNuvo on her Instagram, which offers elective full-body imaging ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per scan.

"I shudder at the thought of alarmed women frantically trying to get care for a false-positive findings on scans for conditions that likely don't exist. If only they'd stuck with their doctor."

SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan is one of the nation's largest nonprofit Medicare Advantage plans. Dr. Jain said he would not only "be remiss and hypocritical, but also completely clueless" if he didn't mention how regularly physicians see health insurers as the ultimate industry middlemen.

"Of course, health insurers exist because they promise the same thing as all of these companies  lower costs. We all want lower costs," he writes. "Patients want lower costs. The government wants lower costs. Insurers want lower costs. So we hire middlemen to perform an array of functions that, we're promised at least, will lower costs. And yet, the costs keep rising."

Read Dr. Jain's Forbes column in full here.
Members of the Illinois Nurses Association began a two-day strike Aug. 22 at Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet (Ill.).

Union members voted to authorize a strike in July, according to an INA news release shared with Becker's. The union and hospital have been in negotiations for about three months.

Staffing has been among the issues cited by the union during negotiations.

Union members contend that the hospital is regularly understaffed, which endangers patients. Hospital management has been increasingly relying on agency nurses to operate Saint Joseph-Joliet while staff nurses have been departing, they said, according to The Herald-News.

Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet, part of St. Louis-based Ascension, has emphasized its focus on patient safety and operations during the strike.

"Patient safety is our top priority, and Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet is well-prepared to remain open and care for our patients during this short-term strike event," Ascension said in a statement shared with The Herald-News. "We are focusing our full attention on making every provision for ensuring the health and safety of our patients, families, providers and associates."

Physicians will schedule and perform surgeries as needed and "support services will continue as normal," Ascension said, according to the newspaper.

Ascension said in an Aug. 14 news release that it contracted with a staffing agency to provide access to replacement nurses, and the hospital is contractually required to commit to a minimum of four days of work for any registered nursing staff replaced, starting from the first day of a strike. This means Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet represented registered nurses will be temporarily replaced starting Aug. 22 and will be able to return to their scheduled shifts beginning the morning of Aug. 26, when the contract obligation is fulfilled.

Both sides are slated to return to the bargaining table Sept. 8, The Herald-News reported.

"I'm really hoping it gets Ascensions attention," nurse Kaitlyn French, communications chairwoman for the St. Joseph's Nurses Association, which is the Joliet local chapter of the Illinois Nurses Association, told the newspaper. "I'm really hoping they are going to make some contact with us and say, 'We said we're not going to meet with you until the second week of September. Let's take another look at that.'"
Auburn (N.Y.) Community Hospital has restored its universal mask mandate only a month after officially ending the policy, ABC affiliate WSYR reported Aug. 18.

The hospital is requiring all staff, patients and visitors to wear masks in clinical areas, effective Aug. 19. Masks are also required at its physician practices and 80-bed skilled nursing facility. Patients with COVID-19 will be restricted to one visitor who is wearing full personal protective equipment, according to the hospital's policy, which remains in effect until further notice.

The mandate comes two days after Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., reinstated universal masking and as COVID-19 cases tick up nationwide.

New York reported 650 new admissions in the week ending Aug. 5, marking a 3 percent increase from the week prior, CDC data shows.

The CDC recommends hospitals take a risk-based approach that considers various factors, including local transmission, when deciding when to implement universal masking.
A South Carolina physician was sentenced to five years in prison for unlawfully prescribing a couple more than 100,000 pills of controlled substances.

James Williams, MD, pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing oxycodone and alprazolam while practicing as a physician, according to an Aug. 21 Justice Department news release. Between January 2015 and November 2019, he prescribed David and Jennifer Mozingo the pills, which they admitted to selling.

Dr. Williams' license was revoked and he was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervision.
Several states are taking on the debate of whether to prevent nonphysicians from using the doctor title, but nurse practitioners with doctorates are pushing back, The Washington Post reported Aug. 20.

Many states are contending with the question of how much independence to allow advanced practitioners, including what they can call themselves. In 2022, Indiana and Georgia attempted to pass laws that would prevented nurses from using terms such as "doctor" even if they had a doctorate degree. A 2023 Florida bill  that was vetoed in June by Gov. Ron DeSantis  would have prevented nonphysicians from using titles such as "doctor," "physician," "medical resident" and "hospitalist."

Recently, California ordered a nurse practitioner to pay nearly $20,000 for advertising herself as "Doctor Sarah," which led to a lawsuit from several nurses challenging the law.

The longstanding debate has become more relevant as the physician shortage continues. In 1994, only five states allowed nurse practitioners full practice authority. Today, 27 states and the District of Columbia no longer required physicians to oversee nurse practitioners.

According to the article, legislators are becoming tired of the decadeslong debate.

"They told us: 'We're tired of hearing this. Can you all just stop bickering?' We're not bickering," Carmen Kavali, MD, a Georgia-based plastic surgeon, told the Post. "We're trying to protect patients here."

The debate circles many of the same arguments: Physicians worry that nurse practitioners don't have the experience to properly treat patients which could lead to adverse outcomes, and nurse practitioners meanwhile point to "50 years of research" on providing similar outcomes to physicians.
On the opening day of the Ulchi civil defense exercise, troops engage in a counter-terrorism drill at the National Assembly in Seoul, Aug. 21. Yonhap



North Korea denounced South Korea and the United States on Tuesday for staging their annual joint military exercise, warning that the drills could trigger an unprecedented "thermonuclear war" on the Korean Peninsula.



The North also accused Seoul, Washington and Tokyo of holding their trilateral summit at Camp David last week to adopt a series of documents to "detail, plan and formulate" nuclear war provocations, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary.



"An unprecedented large-scale thermonuclear war is approaching the Korean Peninsula every moment as reality," the KCNA said in an English language report, adding that the allies' military drills are "aggressive" in nature, likely involving U.S. nuclear strategic assets.



The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, based on an all-out war scenario, began its 11-day run of various contingency drills Monday, such as the computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and Ulchi civil defense drills. The North has long denounced Seoul-Washington military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion.






Frankfort (Ky.) Regional Medical Center has completed its 100th robotic-assisted orthopedic procedure, according to an Aug. 21 report from The State Journal.

Alan Oster, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the practice, began performing robotic-assisted procedures using Zimmer Biomet's Rosa Hip System last year.

Robotic procedures offer patients a less invasive surgical option with quicker healing times, less post-procedure pain and less blood loss.
1 Mays Meadow is on the market for 6.5m

A former Santander premises in Belfast which selling agents say could be transformed into a hotel is on sale for 6.5m.

Commercial property practice CBRE Northern Ireland described 1 Mays Meadow as an excellent opportunity for refurbishment, redevelopment or regeneration.

The four floor building is spread around 57,200 sq ft, with a basement which holds 56 car parking spaces and a secure place for bicycles. Surrounding companies include KPMG, Concentrix and Allstate.

Read more Plans for new 20m hotel and office complex in Newry revealed

CBRE Northern Ireland said there was significant interest anticipated in the asset due to the range of potential uses.

Office director David Wright said: City centre development opportunities in Belfast continue to be few and far between coming to market. 1 Mays Meadow will therefore be an attractive proposition for investors and developers.

Whilst the property has been used as office accommodation since its construction in 1999, the site lends itself to purpose built student accommodation, life sciences or even a boutique hotel, and it is this potential for diverse uses which we expect will drive interest in the asset.

Elsewhere in the city, former office space is being considered for new uses. Last week a proposal for a 120-unit apartment complex at Marlborough House on Victoria Street in Belfast was submitted to Belfast City Council.

Martin Property Group has submitted the proposal of application notice for redevelopment of the former offices of commercial law firm Tughans.
Irish beauty entrepreneur Aimee Connolly is opening a branch of her make-up brand, Sculpted by Aimee , in Belfasts Victoria Square, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

The unit, which is understood to be planned for the lower floor of the shopping centre, will be her first bricks-and-mortar shop in Northern Ireland.

She already has two units in the Republic of Ireland, at Kildare Village and on Dublins Grafton Street.

Sculpted by Aimee products are also sold through other companies and online, with a limited range available at Boots.

Sculpted by Aimee is expected to move into a unit in Victoria Square currently occupied by luxury home and beauty brand Rituals.

Rituals is tipped to relocate into bigger premises as it launches its first concept store in the UK in Victoria Square.

Sculpted By Aimee confirmed the Belfast unit would be a flagship store for the brand and would open on September 23.

In an interview with the Sunday Independent last month to mark the Kildare Village opening, Ms Connolly said she was conscious of the importance of the relationships with retailers selling her products.

I have always maintained an omni-channel approach, the 30-year-old said.

The only difference was that, at the very beginning, it wasnt an own-store approach, it was via retail partners, which I still have brilliant relationships with, the likes of Boots, Dunnes Stores and McCauley.

She said new locations for Sculpted by Aimee would be carefully considered (We are not looking to flood every corner), while both online and retail worked well for the brand: We have definitely seen the high street come back bigger and better than ever.

The brand began selling into the UK and Middle East last year.

Any new market is a challenge, she explained.

Theres potential, but youre constantly trying to learn and flex for that particular market.

Ms Connolly, who is from Dublin, worked as a freelance make-up artist before setting up her own brand.

She won the top prize in the Emerging Category at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2021.

In an interview with Belfast Telegraph last week, Criona Collins, head of retail agency at commercial property agency Lambert Smith Hampton, which looks after lettings at Victoria Square, said the shopping complex had been pleased to secure a string of new retailers over the past few years.

Newcomers such as Sweaty Betty, Whistles and Gym+Coffee have all signed up, while luxury retailer The White Company is now fitting out a new store at the square.

Ms Collins said: Retailers make or break a shopping centre, and thats down to supply and demand.

Having a really good tenant line-up that is attractive to your audience is key. Thats one of the things in the portfolios we manage, be it for Commerz Real (Victoria Square), New River REIT, Milestone Trust or whoever. We undertake constant searches, targeting what customers who shop within those centres want.

The investment from the landlord is absolutely fundamental as well.

However, the relatively healthy picture at Victoria Square contrasts with other, older shopping destinations.

An east Belfast resident contacted Belfast Telegraph last week to highlight the massive decline of Connswater Shopping Centre since the departure of anchor tenant Tesco in 2015.
A recent Bank of Ireland glitch led to customers being able to withdraw large sums even if they had little or no funds in their accounts

Digital banks Monzo and Starling, which topped the poll on 81% satisfaction.

AIB and Bank of Ireland have been ranked as the worst performers in an opinion poll on the quality of banking services throughout Northern Ireland.

According to the Ipsos poll, which surveyed more than 5,500 people across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on their opinion of the banking services provided here, AIB finished bottom in the overall ranking.

The banks whose customers were interviewed for the poll were AIB, Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, Danske Bank, Halifax, HSBC UK, Monzo, Nationwide, Santander, Starling Bank and Ulster Bank.

Customers with personal current accounts were asked how likely they would be to recommend their provider, their providers online and mobile banking services, services in branches and overdraft services to friends and family.

Read more The end of the cost of living crisis is still barely in sight

Of those polled, 60% of customers said they would recommend a Danske Bank account, while 57% would recommend an Ulster Bank account.

Only 46% of customers said they would be likely to recommend an AIB personal current account to friends and family.

Bank of Ireland fared slightly better, at 51%.

This is compared to digital banks Monzo and Starling, which topped the poll on 81% satisfaction.

Three-quarters of those surveyed said they would recommend Danske Banks online and mobile banking services, with 70% recommending Ulster Bank on the same criteria.

But just 59% of Danske Bank customers said they would be likely to recommend it for overdraft services, followed by 58% at Ulster Bank, 57% at Bank of Ireland UK and 51% of AIB customers.

Scott Kennerley of Consumer Council NI

Customers of Danske, Ulster Bank, Bank of Ireland and AIB were less enthusiastic about their banks branch services, compared to online services.

AIB occupied the bottom ranking and Bank of Ireland took the second-last spot across all the questions, including how likely customers would be to recommend their providers online and mobile banking services, overdraft services and services in branches.

The poll came shortly after Bank of Ireland suffered an IT glitch which allowed customers to withdraw money they didnt have.

The independent survey was carried out between June 2022 and June 2023 by Ipsos as part of a regulatory requirement.

Read more Northern Ireland is still a good place to invest but we need to do more

Scott Kennerley, director of financial services at the Consumer Council NI, said: It is disappointing to see some relatively low scores, particularly in relation to overall service quality, online and mobile banking services, and services in branches.

"Research from the Financial Conduct Authority found that 29% of adults in Northern Ireland still regularly use a bank branch, and we know from our own research that the closure of bank branches has had a disproportionate impact on more vulnerable consumers.

It is important to provide consumers with good-quality banking services and these results show a wide variation in consumer views.

"The survey also helps consumers to compare the quality of service from a range of providers, which should help people to switch to a different provider if unhappy with their current bank.

Bank of Ireland said: "We value all feedback and acknowledge there is more we can do to improve the experience for our customers. We continue to invest across our branch network, digital services and products to enhance our services for customers.

An Ulster Bank spokesman said it was working to improve customer experience.

As part of this, were investing in dedicated teams focused on making targeted improvements for customers in order to address the areas where our service falls short of expectations. We also continue to introduce new and improved products, processes and services in a range of areas.

An AIB spokesman said it takes its commitment to customers seriously and constantly strives to meet our customers' expectations.

It continued: We are grateful to our customers for taking the time to give their valued feedback. We are continuing to make improvements to enable our customers to bank with us the way that suits them.

Danske Bank declined to comment.
The competition watchdog stressed this is not a green light as it agreed to look at a fresh proposal from Microsoft which the company hopes will allow its 69 billion US dollar (54 billion) takeover of Activision Blizzard to go ahead.

The global technology giant said it has submitted a new version of the blocked deal, which will now be reviewed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

It came as the regulator confirmed on Tuesday that Microsofts original plan to buy the computer games company cannot proceed.

Under the new proposal, Microsoft would sell off its rights to offer games via the cloud for new or existing Activision PC or console games for the next 15 years outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

It will instead sell those rights to Ubisoft, a rival developer known for the Assassins Creed and Far Cry games series.

This is designed to ensure that gamers have access to Activision Blizzards games, even on consoles and computers not made by Microsoft.

The CMA will now launch a new probe into this deal, a so-called Phase 1 investigation.

World Of Warcraft became globally popular after it was released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2004 (Paul Carstairs/Alamy/AP)

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: The CMA has today confirmed that Microsofts acquisition of Activision, as originally proposed, cannot proceed.

Separately, Microsoft has notified a new and restructured deal, which is substantially different from what was put on the table previously

This is not a green light. We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said: Under the restructured transaction, Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.

The CMA locked horns with one of the worlds largest technology companies over the deal (Anna Ivanova/Alamy/PA)

It marks a new twist in the case, the biggest fight the CMA has taken on since gaining new post-Brexit powers. At one point the case looked like as though it would only end after a court battle.

In January 2022 Microsoft announced that it planned to buy Activision Blizzard, the company behind the Call Of Duty and World Of Warcraft games, for an eye-watering sum.

When the UK was still an EU member, a deal of that size would have been assessed by regulators in Brussels. But after Brexit the CMA now has the power to investigate such deals itself.

Although both companies are American, both have significant businesses in the UK so their tie-up could have a significant impact on competition here.

Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick said: For us, nothing substantially changes with the addition of this divestiture: our merger agreement with Microsoft, closing deadline, and the cash consideration to be paid for each Activision Blizzard share at closing remain the same.

We will continue to work closely with Microsoft and the CMA throughout the remaining review process, and we are committed to help Microsoft clear any final hurdles as quickly as possible.

This has been a longer journey than expected, and I am very proud of how focused everyone has remained on delivering great games.
PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne arrives for the monthly meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board (left)... and leaves in a vehicle (right) (Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

The chair of the Policing Board has admitted a meeting with Chief Constable Simon Byrne was crunchy but productive, as an independent review into the catastrophic data breach was announced.

The independent review will publish an initial report within a month and a full report by the end of November.

It will be led by Peter O'Doherty, an assistant commissioner at City of London Police who attended todays meeting via video link.

Mr Byrne was grilled for several hours at todays Policing Board meeting, then left without taking questions from the media.

Personal data on all serving members of the PSNI was mistakenly published earlier this month in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Watch: PSNI Chief Constable leaves through back door following policing board meeting over data leak

Details released included the surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they are based and the unit they work in.

A number of other data breaches have since come to light, including the loss of a police officer's laptop and notebook which contained details of 42 officers and members of staff after the items fell from a moving vehicle last week.

Policing Board chair Deirdre Toner said the latest meeting focused on the review.

Ms Toner faced questions on why Mr Byrne left without taking any questions from waiting press.

"The point was to get to a review, the interim review and how were going to take this issue going forward, said Ms Toner.

"Yes, it was certainly crunchy. There's no doubt about that.

"We have different roles, about where we are operationally, the Chief Constable and his team have responsibilities in what they do. Our job is to make sure that we are an accountability body.

Edgar Jardine, the vice-chair of the Policing Board, said the organisation was unanimous in its support for Mr Byrne.

"We have been in touch with the (Police) Federation and Nipsa, we had nine organisation representatives in today and no one was challenging that position.

Mr Jardine said concerns raised by UUP representative Mike Nesbitt, who had called for the PSNI to restore public and staff confidence, were perfectly valid.

Earlier today, Mr Nesbitt said he reiterated his previous major concern that the organisation was not delivering the new beginning in policing as detailed by the 1999 Patten report.

He also referred to a Belfast Telegraph LucidTalk poll which showed 60% in NI lack faith in PSNI Chief Constable after the data breach.

"Confidence can never be unconditional or a blank cheque, we have commissioned with the PSNI a thorough review, the board will deal with the consequences to that whenever we get the findings, said Mr Jardine, who said the poll result was concerning.

Ms Toner said the review will be carried out jointly alongside the PSNI, admitting policing knows policing.

"The review team has no relationship with the PSNI, national experts are leading it from the police digital services. The board will be alongside this and as that work progresses, we will be looking at it independently.

"We will have an opportunity to challenge where we have concerns. The report is jointly commissioned by the PSNI and the board, we expect the review lead to report simultaneously.

"Its not that confidence cant change, but we need to focus on the systems, not individuals, she added.

When asked if any police officers or staff had been moved from their roles, Ms Toner said: Todays meeting wasnt about that, it was about the strategic oversight of how we move forward."

She said a further data breach which involved an officer who placed a laptop and a journal containing officers names on top of a vehicle before driving off was under investigation.

Its an active investigation, added Mr Jardine.

He also said there are multiple sources of assurance on data protection and information management in the PSNI which have been "satisfactory" in recent years.

He said: "We're talking here about human input. We're talking about systems and we're talking about technology.

"Within the independent end-to-end review, all of those things will be examined."

Asked what message was being sent to affected staff and their families, Ms Toner said: "The respect for officers and staff is that we do this job properly in this way, and get the information as quickly as possible so that we can look at remedial action."

In a later statement about meeting, Chief Constable Simon Byrne said the it was constructive and confirmed the review into the breach will be carried out by Assistant Commissioner Pete ODoherty.

"Earlier today I along with the Service Executive Team met with the Northern Ireland Policing Board to discuss the recent data breaches. This included an update on our immediate response, our criminal investigation and our approach to begin recovery, said the Chief Constable.

It was a constructive meeting. I recognise the gravity of the situation and the challenges ahead. The independent review led by Assistant Commissioner O'Doherty, City of London Police, will provide answers to the questions.

The Service Executive Team and I are grateful for the support of the Board. I would also reiterate my thanks to officers and staff who continue to serve the public around the clock.

SDLP Policing Board member Mark H Durkan also said that the PSNI leadership has a long way to go to restore public confidence following a series of data breaches.

The independent review announced by the board today marks the start of a long process to establish just how these data breaches was allowed to happen and how rank and file PSNI officers and support staff were put in such serious jeopardy to the point where we are told their details have now fallen into the hands of dissident republicans, he said in a statement.

There is still a long way to go before the PSNI leadership can restore confidence both internally and externally. We have heard from many officers about how badly they have been impacted by these data breaches and it has further undermined hard-won public confidence in policing here.

Measures needed to restore it include ensuring this review is robust, follows a strict timeframe and the resources are made available to implement its recommendations as a matter of urgency.

Im disappointed that my call for part of todays meeting to be held in public wasnt acted upon. Today the public could have seen the political parties and independent members of the board hold the police publicly to account in the eye of a crisis.

Mr Durkan added: If the PSNI is to reassure its officers, staff and the public that they are taking the necessary steps to address the events of the past few weeks then we need to see strong leadership from the front and today was an opportunity to do so. I would hope to see further public communication from the PSNI in the coming days.
Following news the Policing Board has launched an independent review into the catastrophic PSNI data breach which exposed details about all its serving staff members, the organisation also confirmed it will be led by Assistant Commissioner Pete ODoherty.

Here we take a look at the man who will be leading the review into one of the UKs biggest data incidents:

A graduate of the University of Nottingham with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, AC ODoherty is an experienced police officer, who has held several roles in his policing career since joining City of London Police in 2005 where he spent two years as a Constable.

In 2007, he was promoted within the force to the role of Detective Constable with a specialism in specialist crime, a role he held until 2013.

He then was promoted to Detective Superintendent and Director of Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, before being elevated again to a further role as ICT Transformation Programme Director for National Fraud and Cyber Reporting.

From 2016 to 2017, he briefly left City of London Police to head up the operations of the Metropolitan Police in Newham, before returning to City of London as Detective Superintendent and Head of Crime within the force.

In 2018 he won the International Association of Chiefs of Police prestigious 40 under 40 award for his work in this field.

In 2019, he briefly joined Thames Valley Police as Assistant Chief Constable where he was tasked with looking after Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime before returning to City of London Police in January 2022 as Assistant Commissioner  his current role.

In an interview earlier this year, AC ODoherty described the threat of cyber crime and threat as huge, complex and growing.

"Today we know that much of our lives is largely online. There are 25 billion devices currently connected to the internet and this is predicted to be as high as 125 billion in the next five years, he said.

The Internet of Things means you can control everything from your fridge to your security system from an app on your phone.

A frequent face at cyber and security conferences, he recently was listed as a speaker the International Cyber Expo in London.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from right, inspects a flooded area in South Pyongan Province, Aug. 21, in this photo carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un berated the country's premier over his "irresponsible" attitude in not preventing damage to farmland from the recent typhoon, as Kim inspected a flooded area, the North's state media reported Tuesday.



Kim also criticized the cabinet of Premier Kim Tok-hun for "spoiling" economic plans, saying that administrative and economic rules have "got out of order more seriously," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



Kim made the remarks during an on-site inspection of a reclaimed area in South Pyongan Province the previous day, where restoration efforts are under way after tideland was flooded as seawater burst an embankment with a poor drainage system, the KCNA reported.



Kim's sharp-worded comments fueled speculation that he may replace the premier, who was appointed to the post in 2020.



He was not among the officials who accompanied Kim on the latest on-site inspection, according to the KCNA.



Farmlands in some regions of the North were flooded due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Khanun that recently swept through the Korean Peninsula.



Kim said the premier's "feeble work attitude" and "wrong viewpoint" are to blame for the irresponsibility of officials at a time when authorities emphasized thorough measures to prevent crop damage from the typhoon.



Kim also stressed the incident is not a natural disaster but a "human disaster by irresponsibility," expressing regret over his thought and conduct "not befitting a premier leading the economic headquarters of the country and responsible for the people's livelihood," the KCNA said.



Hinting at a possible replacement of the premier, Kim said the ruling Workers' Party of Korea needs to "plainly examine the irresponsible work attitude and ideological viewpoint of the premier."



He also ordered officials to "ferret out" responsible organs and people and "strictly censure and sternly punish them."



The acerbic remarks by the North's leader come as the country is grappling with economic difficulties and a chronic food shortage, worsened under prolonged global sanctions and a rigid border lockdown that was aimed at fending off COVID-19.



An official at South Korea's unification ministry said Kim appeared to be putting the blame for the North's faltering economy on its Cabinet.



"There is an aspect that (Kim) appeared to shift the responsibility to the Cabinet over the tough economic situation that was caused by wrong policy decision-making, such as sanctions on its nuclear development and border closure," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.



Calling Kim's latest remarks one of "very strong" criticism, the official said North Korea is likely to carry out punitive measures in any form against the premier, as well as institutions that were held accountable for the flood damage. (Yonhap)


The DUPs Gordon Lyons has said people have recognised a consistent approach regarding his partys Stormont boycott.

A LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph showed that 64% of unionist voters believe that the DUP should continue to shun power-sharing until the NI protocol is completely removed.
Sinn Fein has reiterated its call for border poll plans to be put in place as the party welcomed support for a united Ireland from Australias ruling Labor Party.

The countrys biggest political party passed a motion endorsing reunification at its conference over the weekend.

Sinn Fein spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Matt Carthy TD, described the resounding vote as a positive step forward.

"The ALP's friendship with and solidarity towards the people of Ireland, reflects the deep bonds between our two nations, he said.

"Pearse Doherty and I saw evidence of this strengthening relationship during our recent visit to Australia.

The passing of this motion is a very positive step and reflects the growing interest both nationally and internationally in the benefits that Irish unity will bring to people across the island.

"Just as international support was crucial in delivering the peace process so too will it be crucial in making Irish Unity a success for everyone on this island.

The Australian Labor party has had a majority Government since May 2022 following a decisive win in the countrys federal election.

Its leader, Anthony Albanese, is the son of an Italian father and an Irish/Australian mother.

He was elected prime minister in May 2022.

Mr Carthy said: It is undeniable that there is a growing, vibrant and positive conversation around the need for constitutional change to unlock the potential of communities across Ireland.

Read more Majority of middle ground say NI should remain as an integral part of the UK  poll

The onus is on the Irish Government to begin planning for this constitutional change.

"The time to engage in clear-eyed discussion about a referendum is now.

"Failure to plan or engage in these discussions helps no-one.

"The Irish Government must act now.

Earlier this year, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that a border poll would probably be defeated and warned that holding a vote now would present a problem for those in favour of unification.

Mr Varadkar prefaced his remarks by insisting that his desire to see a United Ireland should not be seen as radical because the Irish Constitution also contains an aspiration for unity.

Meanwhile during an address to the National Press Club in Washington DC, the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson accused Sinn Fein of drumming up hundreds of thousands of dollars for newspaper adverts in the US  a move he referred to as divisive.

Sir Jeffrey accused the party of engaging in a ourselves alone agenda.

With Sinn Fein now the biggest party in both the Assembly and councils in Northern Ireland, the partys position has never been stronger, but Sinn Fein president Ms McDonald has previously said the groundwork must be done first to ensure conditions are right for a unity poll.

She has warned it would be foolish to call for a referendum on Irish unity too soon.

However, Ms McDonald urged Mr Varadkar to start making plans for the medium and long term future of people across the whole of Ireland.

The reality of this is this has to work for everybody, this is about a win for everybody on this island, she said back in May.

We will not go to the polls on a referendum in the absence of engagement, preparation and planning.
Two teenagers, one a youth and the other a man in his late teens, have been arrested in connection with the serious assault and robbery of three British tourists in Temple Bar earlier this month.

Gardai in Pearse Street arrested the two males on Monday morning in relation to the investigation into a serious assault and robbery that occurred on Fownes Street Upper, Dublin 2 on the night of Friday, August 11.

A male teenage juvenile and a man (aged in his late teens) were arrested and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin. They have both since been charged.

The man (aged in his late teens) is due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice at a later date.

The male teenage juvenile is due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice (Court 2) this morning, Tuesday, at 10.30am.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused Facebook of putting profits before peoples safety during the emergencies created by Canadas record wildfire season.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced earlier this summer it would keep its promise to block news content from Canada on its platforms because of a new law that requires tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

Fires raging in Canada have pushed tens of thousands of people from their homes and threatened cities such as Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. About 30,000 people were under evacuation orders in British Columbia.

Right now, in an emergency situation where up to date local information is more important than ever, Facebook is putting corporate profits ahead of peoples safety, Mr Trudeau said at a news conference in Cornwall on Prince Edward Island on Monday.

Thick smoke from the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire fills the air as Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers on a boat patrol Shuswap Lake, British Columbia (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of insuring that local news organizations can get up to date information to Canadians.

On Friday, government ministers called on Meta to lift the news ban, which applies to local outlets as well as national media such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The company stood by its decision and said in a statement about the wildfires that people in Canada can continue to use Instagram and Facebook to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organisations.

The countrys residents and visitors are not able to view or share news on the Meta-owned social networks, including news articles, videos and audio posted by outlets inside or outside of Canada.

Googles owner Alphabet also said it planned to remove Canadian news links in response to the new law, although it has not yet.

The Online News Act, passed in late June after lengthy debate, is set to take effect later this year.

The Meta logo (Thibault Camus, AP)

This is Facebooks choice, Mr Trudeau said. In a democracy, quality local journalism matters, and it matters now more than ever before when people are worried about their homes, worried about their communities, worried about the worst summer for extreme events that weve had in a very long time.

British Columbia premier David Eby said it is unacceptable that Meta has not reversed its decision to block Canadian news from being shared online.

I find it astonishing that we are at this stage of the crisis and the owners of Facebook and Instagram have not come forward and said Were trying to make a point with the federal government, but its more important that people are safe, Mr Eby said.

He added that many people in British Columbia rely on media shared through Facebook to access information about the wildfires.
Srettha Thavisin, of Thailands Pheu Thai party, has secured enough votes in Parliament to become the countrys 30th prime minister (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

A populist Thai party linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has won a vote in parliament to lead the country, hours after the divisive former leader returned from years of self-imposed exile and began an eight-year prison sentence.

Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisins victory, with 482 votes out of 727 politicians present, ended months of suspense, legal wrangling and horse trading that followed the May elections.

The progressive Move Forward party, which won the most votes in the national election, was blocked from taking power by conservative senators.

Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin secured enough votes in Parliament to become the countrys 30th prime minister, leading a coalition of 11 parties (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

Mr Thaksins return was an emotional moment for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the countrys largely rural, often impoverished, north.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok early on Tuesday morning, donning red clothes and holding signs with welcoming messages.

They sang and chanted in anticipation, then raised a raucous cheer when he appeared at the terminal door.

Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from north-eastern Maha Sarakham province, said: I feel fulfilled that I travelled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes.

Supporters of Thai ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather outside Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

Mr Thaksin and parties he backed struggled with the military for years.

He left Thailand 15 years ago, following a 2006 coup that cut short his second term as prime minister and sparked years of upheaval.

A Pheu Thai government led by Mr Thaksins sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted in 2014 by then-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is now the outgoing prime minister after voters largely rejected military-linked parties.

Mr Srettha will lead a coalition of 11 parties that includes two pro-military parties affiliated with Mr Prayuth, while Move Forward was excluded from the coalition.

Critics called the new government a betrayal of the election results, but Pheu Thai leaders defended it as a necessity for ending the political deadlock and creating reconciliation.

Pheu Thai said Move Forwards stance on changing the royal defamation law had made it impossible to rally enough support from other parties and the Senate.

Pheu Thai supporters react after Thailands parliament voted in favour of Srettha Thavisin becoming the next prime minister (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule.

Before his return on Tuesday, Mr Thaksin said the decision had nothing to do with the Pheu Thai partys bid for power, but many observers suspected he is betting that a friendly government will be able to reduce his sentence.

Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher and visiting fellow at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said: Thaksins plans to return to Thailand were postponed after the election results were announced  this implies a strong connection between the election, formation of coalitions, and selection of the prime minister on one hand, and Thaksins personal agenda on the other.

Less than a week before the May elections, Mr Thaksin announced plans to return before his birthday in July, but they were repeatedly delayed.

Mr Napon said Mr Thaksins decision to return now suggests that he has received assurances that he will not have to serve a prison sentence in full.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, of the outgoing military-linked government, has said Mr Thaksin can request a royal pardon like any other inmate, and could receive special consideration because of his age.

Thailands former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra bows in front of a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as he arrives at Don Muang airport in Bangkok (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

After walking out of the airport, Mr Thaksin bowed before a portrait of Thailands king and queen and left a flower wreath. He spent a moment greeting supporters and the media waiting in front of the terminal, but did not speak.

His convoy travelled from the airport to the Supreme Court, where a special body that handles criminal cases against former officeholders confirmed an eight-year sentence given to him in absentia for corruption, which he has he dismissed as politically motivated. He then went directly to Bangkoks main prison.

Correctional officers at Bangkok Remand Prison said in a news conference that, following a medical check, Mr Thaksin had been categorised as vulnerable due to his age and chronic conditions affecting his heart and lungs, including high blood pressure. He will be held in isolation and monitored at all hours due to safety and health concerns.

Thaksin Shinawatra waves to supporters as he arrives in Bangkok with his daughter Paetongtarn (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

Mr Thaksins daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a key figure in Pheu Thai, posted family photos with him in the middle on Facebook, along with a message thanking people who went to the airport to welcome her father, saying me and my family are very grateful.

Pheu Thai said it will control eight Cabinet posts and nine deputy Cabinet posts. The military-backed parties  Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation  will receive two Cabinet posts and two deputy posts each. Pheu Thai has not identified the ministries that each party will control.

It said the coalition has agreed to support Pheu Thais platform of boosting the economy, increasing the minimum wage and ending mandatory conscription.

The parties will also support the continued legalisation of medical marijuana and work to amend the constitution to make the country become more democratic, while not touching the royal defamation law, Pheu Thai said.
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Millions of us walk alongside someone who is fighting an addiction.

How best can we help them? How do we look after ourselves along the way? What qualities must we develop if we are to help in a way thats both effective and sustainable?

To answer those questions, well draw inspiration from the wilderness journey of the Israelites.

Remember, recovery is possible but it takes time.

One in ten adults in the United States has resolved a substance abuse problem. Some got there without any help beyond that offered by family and friends. The majority found freedom with the support of a blend of services, including rehabs, outpatient programs, medication, and mutual-help groups such as Narcotics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous, and Celebrate Recovery. This is a remarkable story of hope! In fact, it represents 22.35 million unique stories of hope  living proofs that recovery is possible.

What must forty-long years in the wilderness have felt like? Deserts are draining, dangerous places. And yet, step by hard step, they followed his leading, and God prepared his people for life in the promised land. The wilderness is where much of Gods best work gets done.

The recovery process is rarely fast or straightforward, a reality that is hard to accept when faced with the suffering addiction leaves in its wake. There is, however, a real release that results from accepting the fact that addiction is a chronic disorder, and the pathways out are long, narrow, steep, and treacherous. As such, both lapses (brief slips) and relapses (prolonged returns to the addiction) are common.

The recovery journey is more like snakes and ladders, with its halting and precarious sense of progress, rather than the inevitable fall of a set of dominoes.

Reflecting their own experience of addiction, Deborah and David Beddoe write: Grace allows time and space for transformation. People do change. People consumed by addiction can recover But its a process. We forget this. It doesnt happen overnight. Recovery takes endurance.

Stay close to God.

As Gods people journeyed for forty years through the wilderness  homeless in a hostile land their life orbited around the Tabernacle  a simple tent full of the presence of God! By day, a cloud hovered over it. By night, fire glowed inside the cloud so they could see it. If it moved, they moved. If not, they stayed put.

What sustained God's people in the desert? God himself. As they walked through the wilderness, he walked with them. As they woke each morning, he provided manna to feed them  one day at a time.

Accompanying a loved one on the journey through addiction is indescribably tough. Its no ones first choice. It requires patience, compassion, grace, strength, love, and hope in the kind of volumes only God can provide.

You are not alone. God is with you  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is your ever-present help in trouble. He hears your cry. Hes concerned about your suffering. He empathizes with you, having experienced the dark depths of human pain and sorrow for himself. Of course, God loves your loved one  more than they could imagine!  but he loves you every bit as much.

You dont have to carry this alone! Come before his throne of grace with confidence. Pour out your heart to him! He loves to hear your voice. As you walk with a loved one through addiction, let God himself be your refuge and strength.

Find your allies.

Navigating life in the wilderness was too much for Moses to handle alone! Hed led the people out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and within touching distance of the promised land. Together, theyd seen wondrous miracles and endured great hardships. And yet, as his father-in-law, Jethro, said, The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

As we accompany others on the journey through addiction, we must recognize the limits of our capacity and responsibility. No matter the depth of our love, the strength of our determination, or the wisdom of our plans, there will always be a gap between what we desire and what we can make happen. We need to care wisely! Not just for our well-being but for the sake of those we seek to help.

In recovery from addiction, the individual sits in the drivers seat. None of us can make the choices that lead to freedom for anyone else. And yet, we cant overstate the role of relationships in recovery. Recovery happens in community. As the old Alcoholics Anonymous saying goes, I cant, but we can.

Whats true for those in recovery is equally valid for those who accompany them along the way. You cant do this alone! You need caregivers alongside you  allies who will listen, encourage, counsel, help, and pray with you. If you havent done so already, consider joining a support group such as Al-Anon (for the friends and families of alcoholics), Nar-Anon (for people affected by drug addiction), or a supportive group within your local church community.

Understand that before it's a problem, addiction is a solution.

Egypt wasnt always a problem for the Israelites. In truth, after years of severe famine, Egypt was an answer to prayer! In the lands Pharoah gave them, Gods people found a source of peace, satisfaction, and security.

But it didnt last. A new king came to power, who turned on the Israelites, and a place of refuge became a brutal prison. What was once a solution itself became a problem. Freedom turned to slavery.

Those who struggle with addiction tell a similar story. When drugs came into his life, my friend Huseyin says they delivered something far more valuable to him than a buzz or a high.

Ive been traumatized, he explains, Ive gone through parents divorcing, Dad going to prison, violence in the home, a whole incongruence between the culture at home and the culture of my community, as a Turkish kid growing up in North London. When I found drugs, it really helped me. When I first took heroin, I remember thinking, Why isnt everyone doing this? Drug use was an answer to the way I was feeling. It was a solution, my first attempt at healing. I discovered something that worked, and it was fast-acting, so I grabbed it with both hands.

Before its a problem, addiction is a solution.

As such, recovery from addiction involves finding healthy solutions to those underlying problems and addressing the relationship with the substance or activity itself. This demanding process often requires assistance from professionals, recovery mentors, and mutual-help groups. At first, recovery may not be possible without withdrawing to a safe environment, such as a residential rehab or the home of a supportive family member. It may require the daily attendance of a support group, like Alcoholics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, or Celebrate Recovery. It may involve significant decisions about where we work, friendships and intimate relationships, financial commitments, and social activities. It may also require a period of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).

In drugs, Huseyin found a way to satisfy genuine and legitimate needs. In recovery, he learned to meet those needs in life-giving ways, using many of the means listed above. However, he found the heartbeat of his recovery  and the primary solution to his underlying problems  in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

If Im using drugs and drugs work, he says, Ive got to find something better, something that works. When I found recovery in the form of a relationship with Jesus and mentoring relationships with people who gave me something of themselves, it was a better solution. It stands the test of time. Its the strongest; it holds the most water; its the kindest to me. Ive found something that works.

Recognize your limits.

As we accompany others on the journey through addiction, we must recognize the limits of our capacity and responsibility. No matter the depth of our love, the strength of our determination, or the wisdom of our plans, there will always be a gap between what we desire and what we can make happen.

The philosopher Martin Heidegger draws a helpful distinction between two ways of caring for others: caretaking and caregiving. Caretaking involves doing things for others, so they dont have to do them themselves. Caretakers protect, provide, and solve problems on behalf of others. In contrast, caregiving does not take the cares off the shoulders of its recipients. Caregivers help others pick up their own burdens and hoist them on their own shoulders. They go ahead, clearing the way, making it possible for the care receiver to assume his or her own proper, personal care. Where caretaking (or enabling) disables, caregiving empowers.

To support someone in addiction without burning out, we need to learn to care wisely. Not just for our own well-being, but for the sake of those we seek to help.

Look to Jesus, our living hope

In the darkness of addiction, and the two steps forward, one step back, experience of recovery, its easy to lose hope. However, in Christ there is hope  living hope!  for all who are impacted by addiction.

Hope is the active ingredient  the caffeine in the coffee  of recovery. There is hope in addiction. Hope for healing. Hope for wholeness. Hope for freedom, restoration, a fresh start, and a different ending. Recovery is possible.

As you walk with a loved one through addiction, one day at a time, let the good news of the Gospel encourage you.

To the person enslaved by elements of their own self, to desires and habits that have taken on a life of their own, the Gospel is the good news that the living God can transform them from the inside out.

To the person who feels ashamed, empty, and alone, its the good news that the living God can free them with His pardon, soothe them with his peace, and animate them with His joy.

To the person who feels impotent and powerless, it is the good news that the living God wants to fill them with His Spirit and fortify them with his strength.

To the person who feels isolated  maybe even utterly abandoned  its the good news that there is a people (the church) among whom Gods loving presence rests.

To the person who tragically ends their life still in the grip of addiction, its the good news that though addiction may have won in this life, the victory of Christ guarantees total freedom in the life to come. Ultimate hope in addiction looks beyond todays horizons in the wilderness to the return of Christ, the consummation of His kingdom, and the first sunrise in the true promised land.
Updated at 8:15 a.m. ET on 2023-08-23

A Bangladeshi student in the U.S. alleged that his mother was arrested back home in retaliation for his recent, viral Facebook post criticizing the war crimes trial of an influential Islamic preacher who died last week.

Police on Tuesday, however, said they had picked up Anisha Siddika, the mother of student Tanzilur Rahman, for allegedly attending a secret meeting where participants were plotting an escape plan for jailed leaders of the faith-based Jamaat-e-Islami party.

The Metropolitan Magistrate Court in southwestern Khulna district, where 60-year-old Siddika was arrested on Sunday, turned down bail for her on Tuesday, her lawyer told BenarNews.

Bangladesh police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun denied that Siddika had been arrested because of her sons social media post. The court was shown that she was arrested under the stringent Special Powers Act 1974.

She was arrested for attending a meeting of the Jamaats sabotage plan. I want to make this clear. A conspiracy to sabotage and disrupt law and order was going on at the house of a Jamaat Nayeb-e-Amir [vice-president] in the Khulna unit  After getting that information, we went there and conducted the drive, he said.

After the arrest, we came to know that the womans expatriate son had posted a post on Facebook  The raid was carried out based on intelligence information; the raid had no other purpose.

Rahman, a PhD engineering student at Michigan State University, said his mother was not a member of any political party, although it was true his family members supported the preacher in question, Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

Yes, all members of our family support the politics of the Jamaat and we all are fans of Sayedee. Police say my uncle is the Nayeb-e-Amir of the local unit of the Jamaat, and my mother was arrested from his house, but my uncle is not a Jamaat leader, he told BenarNews.

There is no doubt, my mother was arrested because of my Facebook post about my political beliefs.

Via Facebook Rahman alleged that the government may have forced witnesses into giving false testimonies against the preacher Sayedee, who died in a prison hospital on Aug. 14 after suffering a heart attack. He was 83.

Supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee are gathered to offer prayers during his funeral in Pirojpur district in southwestern Bangladesh, Aug. 15, 2023. [Mustasinur Rahman Alvi/AFP]

Sayedee had been convicted and sentenced to death in 2013 for crimes against humanity, including rape and murder, during Bangladeshs war for independence in 1971. A court later commuted his sentence to life in prison.

Sayedee was a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a party which worked against Bangladesh during the countrys war of independence from what was then known as West Pakistan. He was an influential preacher in the 1980s and his conviction caused violent protests that left nearly 100 people dead.

On the day he died, news agencies reported that thousands of his angry supporters demonstrated as violent anti-government protests broke out across Bangladesh. Some 50,000 people attended his funeral on Aug. 15.

Many on social media criticized Siddikas arrest.

Nur Khan Liton, a human rights activist, said the arrest was similar to previous cases of relatives of Bangladeshi expatriates being detained and harassed at home to create fear for voicing a dissenting opinion.

Though police now say a different thing to divert peoples minds, people are very much aware of the character of the authorities, he told BenarNews.

Police committed a serious offense and violated human rights through this incident.

This story has been updated to correct a quote from Tanzilur Rahman.
North Koreans line up at a check-in counter for Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, at Beijing Capital International Airport, Aug. 22. Yonhap



A flight operated by Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, marking the resumption of commercial flights connecting the two countries after a hiatus of more than 3 1/2 years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.



The JS151 flight, which departed from Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport at 9:14 a.m., earlier than its estimated time of arrival of 9:50 a.m.



An arrival and departure board at the airport showed that the flight had arrived in Beijing and that a JS152 flight was scheduled to depart for Pyongyang at 1:05 p.m.



It was not immediately known who the passengers were aboard the flight.



The arrival came a day after two Air Koryo flights that were scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 9:30 a.m. and depart at 1:05 p.m. were abruptly canceled.



It also came days after a team of North Korean athletes made a rare trip across the border on a bus traveling from the North Korean border city of Sinuiju into China to attend a taekwondo event in Kazakhstan.



The rare border crossing was seen as a sign of Pyongyang's border reopening after the secretive regime closed its border with China due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. (Yonhap)


People queue to take a tour of the Chinese navy hospital ship on Aug. 19, 2023 after it docked in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Chinas navy hospital ship Peace Ark is docked for a week in the Solomon Islands, a hotspot in the U.S.-China rivalry in the Pacific, underlining the soft power battle to shape regional opinion.

The floating hospital, which arrived at the capital Honiaras port on Saturday, has also visited Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu as part of its current mission to provide free medical treatment in Pacific island nations, many of which struggle to provide sufficient basic healthcare.

The U.S. Navy hospital ship, Mercy, visited the Solomon Islands in August last year and will again be docked in Honiara in November to provide medical care when the city hosts the 24-nation Pacific Games.

A substantial crowd greeted the Peace Arks arrival in Honiara and people have queued near the port since Sunday, when the doctors and nurses aboard began providing treatment.

Honiara resident Hugo Make, who has been experiencing stomach pain, said the Peace Arks time in the city was an opportunity for more efficient and accessible healthcare.

It was frustrating, he said, to have to queue for long periods at clinics in Honiara, especially when they often lacked the necessary medical supplies.

The Solomon Islands has been Chinas highest profile success in building influence among Pacific island countries in recent years.

The island nations government 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.

The Chinese navys hospital ship Peace Ark is pictured docked at Honiara International Port in the Solomon Islands on Aug. 19, 2023. [Gina Makaa/BenarNews]

Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga and Chinas ambassador to Honiara Li Ming attended a welcoming ceremony for the Peace Ark on the weekend. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare visited the ship on Sunday.

Today, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army navy for their dedication in promoting friendship and cooperation between our nations, Maelanga said.

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 for the nations that operate 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.

A Solomon Islands doctor, who did not want to be named, told BenarNews the government needed to provide answers about the countrys shortages of medicines and medical supplies.

He said he was thankful for the hospital ship visits.

Its a relief for our people that both the USA and China have sent their floating hospitals to assist us, he said.

The United States Agency for International Development is also trying to show a greater commitment to the Pacific in response to Chinas inroads.

Samantha Power, the USAID administrator, visited Papua New Guinea and Fiji earlier this month for the official opening of an enlarged mission in the region.
Su Wende is pictured in October 2022 in the office of the Mandarin Pages newspaper, which he founded in Auckland, New Zealand.

Su Wendes Mandarin Pages newspaper thrived in New Zealand for years  until blacklists and advertising boycotts driven by Chinas consulate cut the Chinese-language daily to a weekly.

Chen Weijians New Times Weekly was hit by the same tactics and then driven out of business by a lawsuit.

The Auckland publishers clashed with a force that was identified among top concerns by New Zealands intelligence agency in its annual security threat report: the targeting of ethnic Chinese communities by people and entities linked to Beijing.

The report followed a similar one from Canadas intelligence agency in March that listed China among foreign actors which monitor, intimidate and harass diaspora communities and attempt to silence dissidents and promote favorable narratives.

A steady stream of government and media reports about Chinas influence and information operations in Western countries has shed light on covert Chinese police stations in major cities, harassment of venues that host dissidents and media disinformation campaigns.

The reports on Chinas influence machine  confirmed to Radio Free Asias Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) by multiple Chinese media figures in New Zealand  show how Beijing deploys cash, aggressive diplomats and boycotts to produce China friendly press coverage and deter critical reporting.

The effort largely targets growing Chinese diaspora communities in Western democracies, and comes as the United States and allies are reassessing their economic ties to China over security concerns.

Blacklisted

In Auckland, New Zealands largest city, Su Wende had dreams of establishing a news agency to serve the Chinese community.

In 1987, after graduating college in Malaysia with a computer science degree, Su arrived at the University of Auckland to study business. Four years later, he founded the first free Mandarin newspaper in New Zealand: Mandarin Pages.

The paper publishes news, information, translated articles and editorials. It generates revenue from classified ads.

There were only 20,000 Chinese people in Auckland at the time, and we were printing 5,000 copies for every issue, Su said during an interview with ACFL in October 2022.

In its heyday at the start of the century, Sus paper was headquartered in a brightly lit building in downtown Auckland, and had more than 20 employees. The newspaper quickly expanded from two to six issues a week and enjoyed what seemed like a never-ending stream of ads and unrivaled influence in the Chinese community of New Zealand.

Chen Weijian, a former Hangzhou printing house operator, fled from China in the early 1990s and settled in New Zealand, where he founded the New Times Weekly in 1996. [RFA]

By the end of 2022, however, Mandarin Pages was down to three full-time employees and had moved to an old one-story red-brick building in Aucklands Chinatown. The publication maintained its print circulation of 5,000, but had shifted to a weekly.

Honestly, since the pandemic, the companys been in the red, Su acknowledged.

Part of Sus struggle is shared by many print media outlets as they lose ground to digital outlets.

But for Mandarin publications reliant on Chinese immigrants, the biggest challenge comes from Chinese diplomatic missions.

In the last five years, Ive pretty much been blacklisted by the embassy, Su said. Its like a form of economic sanction.

Mandarin Pages no longer gets ads from major Chinese companies like China Southern Airlines and the Bank of China, he added. Its definitely hit us hard.

Su said Mandarin Pages had been attacked on social media by pro-China voices as anti-Chinese Communist Party, a separatist supporting Taiwan independence and a supporter of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group.

Mandarin Pages has also faced suspension on WeChat, Chinas popular social media platform, for coverage of Chinas interference in New Zealand politics. And in a hilarious run-in with WeChat, a classified ad listing for an independent one-bedroom apartment was rejected because independent is a politically sensitive word in China.

Why do I keep going? I dont want to see the United Front media supporting United Front work as the only voice in New Zealand and just defaming the West and New Zealand, Su said, referring to the United Front Works Department, Chinas main external influence agency.

The Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland did not respond to RFAs request for comment.

Reuters quoted the Chinese Embassy in Wellington as saying it was strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the China-related content in the New Zealand intelligence report, which also listed Iran and Russia as countries of concern.

Sued out of existence

In 1991, Chen Weijian escaped to New Zealand through Hong Kong from Hangzhou, where he previously operated a printing house. He fled a tense political atmosphere in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

In 1996, Chen founded New Times Weekly in New Zealand.

As the first newspaper founded by mainland Chinese people in New Zealand, our keen understanding of mainland China politics and grounded perspective on the lives of Chinese immigrants allowed us to quickly expand our influence, Chen told RFA.

But after a few months, the consulate started to interfere with our operations, he said. They sent a list of journalists and writers that we werent allowed to publish.

I ignored them, but one of my partners from Hong Kong still had business in mainland China and believed that we should comply with the consulates wishes. We couldnt agree, and so he backed out of the New Times Weekly.

Chen Weijian looks at copies of his defunct New Times Weekly, which folded in 2011, during an interview in October 2022. [RFA]

Chen and his younger brother, Chen Weiming, picked up the mantle.

The counselor from the consulate-general in Auckland would visit us during weekends with alcohol in tow to convince us that the Communist Party of China is more open now than before, Chen told RFA. They encouraged us to visit China again and hoped that we could also publish articles painting China in a more positive light instead of simply criticizing.

In 2001, New Times Weekly clashed with the Chinese consulate in Auckland over coverage of the self-immolation of Falun Gong practitioners at Tiananmen Square. Thus began a series of painful sanctions against the news outlet.

The consulate wrote to us, decrying what we published about the Tiananmen Square incident as lies and asking us to publish an explanation from the embassy regarding the self-immolation, Chen said.

In a few weeks, the publication started unexpectedly losing advertisements. Chen later found out that the consulate had warned advertising agencies and Chinese communities against advertising with New Times Weekly because that would be anti-China.

The final straw was a 10-year defamation suit filed by the Chinese Herald, a pro-Beijing newspaper.

On June 4, they posted several articles claiming that the (Tiananmen) massacre had made major contributions to the Chinese people and led to 20 years of stable economic growth, Chen said.

We published an article criticizing the Chinese Herald for yielding to the Communist Partys control, and they sued me for defamation.

After a costly and time-consuming process, New Times lost the lawsuit and was ordered to pay NZ$50,000 (about US$30,000) in compensation.

In 2011, New Times Weekly closed.

Despite numerous attempts by Radio Free Asia to interview owner Lili Wang of the Chinese Herald, Wang politely declined to be interviewed.

Indirect pressure

Sun Jiarui, a 77-year old man from Beijing, left China 42 years ago and spent 25 years in Fiji. He founded a local Mandarin publication called the Fiji Daily before retiring to New Zealand in 2005.

Sun is better known by his pseudonym, the South Pacific Frog in a Well, under which hes published several books, hosted Mandarin programs for Radio New Zealand Pacific and the BBC, and written columns for the Mandarin Pages.

Self-censorship in the media, influence from the embassy, and reporting by Little Pinksmean its no longer possible to criticize China on Mandarin media outlets in New Zealand, he said.

Little Pinks is a derisive term for Chinas army of nationalistic trolls and online commentators.

Sun Jiarui, who left China 42 years ago and spent 25 years in Fiji before retiring to New Zealand in 2005, where he has published books under the pseudonym South Pacific Frog in a Well, hosted Chinese-language radio programs, and written columns for the Mandarin Pages. [RFA]

Over 10 years ago, Sun wrote an article criticizing Chinese diplomats for showing up late and behaving arrogantly during a local event.

The assistant editor responsible for typesetting was a student from mainland China. Right before publication, the editor-in-chief of the Chinese Herald, known for his close ties with the embassy, called the Mandarin Pages requesting that we pull the article, Sun said in an account confirmed by editors involved with the dispute.

Through the incident, I learned that the embassy had deployed people to control the media, Sun said.

Magic Weapons

While Mandarin Pages struggles, however, the Chinese Herald has grown its staff and circulation.

One of the worlds leading scholars on Chinas influence and propaganda outreach is a New Zealander named Anne-Marie Brady, a professor at Canterbury University. She has tracked how the Chinese Communist Party works with local Chinese-language media outlets or buys publications to exert its influence.

The leading Auckland Chinese language paper, the Chinese Herald has close personell links to the PRC consulate works with the All-China Federation of Overseas Chinese, Brady wrote in a 2017 study.

The paper was originally totally independent, but like many other papers, it has been steadily harmonized with Chinese media control agencies, she wrote.

Bradys report on Chinese influence efforts, titled Magic Weapons: Chinas political influence activities under Xi Jinping, identified party links to influential Mandarin media outlets in New Zealand.

In early 2018, Bradys home and office were burglarized, and laptops and a burner phone were taken, while valuables were untouched, and her mechanic said the family car was tampered with.

Diverging views

As is the case in many countries in response to leader Xi Jinpings authoritarianism, nationalistic foreign policy and the COVID-19 pandemic, public opinion toward China in New Zealand has soured.

A poll released by the Pew Research Center in 2021 showed that 67% of New Zealanders hold negative views of China and up to 80% believe in speaking up against Chinas human rights violations despite the country being New Zealands biggest trading partner.

Around 10 years ago, the people of New Zealand saw China as a great opportunity, a rising nation about to become a part of the international community, said Jason Young, director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Center.

Around 2017, (Chinas image) started changing.

Chinese-New Zealanders sing and play ukuleles at the Auckland Chinese Community Center, where immigrants from China and other Asian countries socialize, play music, and square off at mahjong or chess. [RFA]

But preliminary data from research by Taiwans Doublethink Lab seen by RFA shows that while over 70% of non-Chinese New Zealanders hold negative views of China, over 60% of Chinese respondents in the country expressed positive views of China.

Doublethink Lab, a research outfit that tracks Chinas global influence, has identified traits in people susceptible to the Chinese Communist Partys information outreach: a low sense of belonging in New Zealand, participation in Chinese communities, systematic Mandarin learning, familiarity with Mandarin media in New Zealand and getting their news from Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo.

For older generations of Chinese immigrants, the rise of China has given them renewed confidence, said New Zealand author and ethnicity researcher Tze Ming Mok.

To a certain extent, theyve attached their self-worth to China: Anyone criticizing China is criticizing me.

Restoring the glory

The majority of new Chinese immigrants rely heavily on WeChat and Mandarin communities for their information, making them soft targets for the Communist Partys information warfare.

Tze noted that at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, very few senior Chinese immigrants were vaccinated because Chinas social media platforms carried the narrative that American vaccines are bad for Chinese people.

In his decade in power, Xi has put great importance on targeting overseas Chinese, placing the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office under the United Front Work Department and ramping up the information outreach.

Xis notion of all Chinese working together to restore the glory of China seems to resonate with many members of the Chinese community in New Zealand, which over the past century has grown from 3,000 people, or less than 0.3% of the national population, to 250,000, accounting for around 5% of the countrys 5 million people.

There are a small number of states who conduct foreign interference in New Zealand but their ability to cause harm is significant, according to a report by New Zealands intelligence service that cited China, Russia and Iran as the main perpetrators. [RFA]

At the Auckland Chinese Community Center, where elderly long-time immigrants play ukulele and sing, or square off at mahjong, Kai Luey quickly cites the China Global Television Network, the global arm of China's state broadcaster, when asked where he gets his news on China.

CGTN! Its helped me learn more about China, the 82-year-old said.

China has made me very proud. Theyve brought tens of millions of people out of poverty and theyve never invaded any countries even after their rise  unlike the British and European colonizers, Luey said. They only have bad things to say about China.

As he welcomes members to the mahjong room, Luey turns around and adds a chestnut from party propaganda: Present-day China wouldnt be possible without the Communist Party!

This report was produced by Asia Fact Check Lab, a unit of Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news organization with which BenarNews is affiliated.
Philippine Marines aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and has became a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, March 29, 2014.

The Philippines successfully delivered supplies to its troops at a military outpost in the South China Sea despite attempts by Chinese vessels to block its ships from the disputed waters, officials said Tuesday.

Manila carried out the mission two weeks after the China Coast Guard fired water cannons at a Philippine coast guard ship that was escorting a convoy of boats bringing supplies to marines stationed aboard a rusty old navy ship in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).

The mission on Tuesday was able to deliver fresh provisions to our military personnel stationed on board BRP Sierra Madre, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

Manila calls waters of the South China Sea that lie within its exclusive economic zone the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines deliberately ran the World War II era Sierra Madre aground to serve as its outpost there.

The mission was completed notwithstanding attempts by China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels to block, harass, and interfere with the supply mission, the task force said, adding that Philippine Navy vessels were on standby during the mission.

Ahead of the Philippine mission, China deployed at least 11 militia ships to Ayungin Shoal starting Monday, according to Ray Powell, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who is now a private security analyst focusing on the South China Sea.

[The] extent of dangerous [Peoples Republic of China] maneuvers is hard to assess due to China Coast Guard ships running AIS-dark, he said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. He was referring to the ships turning off their Automatic Identification System that displays their position.

Code of conduct

As of Tuesday evening, the Chinese Embassy in Manila had not issued a statement.

But Chinese Communist Party newspaper China Daily quoted a China Coast Guard spokesman as saying that the agency had made temporary special arrangements allowing the Philippines to carry out the supply mission because its ships were not carrying building materials.

Earlier this month, Chinese media reports quoted the coast guard as confirming it had fired water cannons and alleging that the Philippine supply boats were transporting illegal building materials.

Back then Manila strongly condemned what it called China Coast Guard illegal actions, saying they disregarded the safety of Filipino sailors and violated international law.

The Philippines in 2016 won a landmark ruling in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which threw out Chinas expansive claims in the South China Sea.

Beijing, however, has ignored the ruling and carried on with its military expansionism in the strategic waterway, including building artificial islands.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo has been trying to engage with China diplomatically to calm tensions.

On Tuesday, the Philippines hosted diplomats from China and other South China Sea claimant nations for another round of negotiations for a code of conduct that seeks to prevent conflict in the disputed maritime region.

It was the third meeting on the code this year, with the first two having been held in Indonesia in March and Vietnam in May.

We are negotiating a Code of Conduct precisely because we would like to prevent incidents such as the last one at the Ayungin Shoal from happening, foreign affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said.

The Philippines, she said, remains committed to an early conclusion of an effective and substantive code of conduct.

Soldiers participate in a combat exercise as a part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavor 2023 between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Australian Defense Force in Tarampitao Airfield in Rizal, Palawan, Philippines, Aug. 21, 2023. [Jam Sta Rosa/AFP]

Separately, U.S., Australian and Filipino troops held an air assault drill on Monday in Rizal town, in the western island province of Palawan, about 108 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal.

The exercise, held at Punta Baja Airfield, involved Australias helicopter landing dock the HMAS Canberra; frigate HMAS Anzac and multi-role F-35A Lightning II aircraft; U.S. MV-22B Osprey aircraft; and hundreds of troops from the three armed forces.

Exercise Alon 2023 is the first amphibious exercise between Filipino and Australian troops, officials said. It opened in Darwin, Australia on Aug. 14 and will run until Aug. 31.

The exercise involved 700 Filipino and 1,200 Australian troops. About 150 troops from the United Marines Corps are participating but are playing a support role only, officials said.

The drills were part of Australias Indo-Pacific Endeavor (IPE) for this year. The IPE seeks to strengthen Canberras engagement and partnerships in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

An amphibious landing and live-fire exercises are scheduled to be held in the northern Philippine provinces of Zambales and Tarlac, respectively, in the next few days.

The scenario is assault from a ship, from sea towards land, said Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.

Its not directed at China, said Brawner, adding that the three armed forces are honing their skills in Rizal.

He added, though, that Manila had a right and obligation to bring supplies to our soldiers anywhere in Philippine territories.

Still, Filipino troops had been directed to strictly observe rules of engagement, Brawner said on Monday.

We are going to avoid them to prevent an escalation of the situation, he said.

We are not going to engage them in a water cannon battle.

Gerard Carreon and Noel Celis in Manila contributed to this report.
India has pushed back at least 300 hundred Burmese refugees who spilled across the border while fleeing fighting between Myanmars military and rebel forces, forcing them to shelter in makeshift tents near the border, refugees and aid workers said.

More than 1,000 residents of Tamu township, in northern Myanmars Sagaing region, fled to Indias Manipur state in July and August to escape the hostilities, only to have Indian soldiers turn them back, the sources said.

The hundreds of refugees living in tents in Indian villages near the border are facing food and supply shortages, a refugee from Tamu who was among them told Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news service affiliated with BenarNews.

Indian troops drove the Burmese refugees out of the villages after two or three days, forcing them to seek shelter near the Myanmar side of the border, he said.

We are currently in need of rainfly sheets to build tents and many other supplies, he said.

Burmese and Indian authorities. meanwhile, have shut a key border crossing in the area.

Altogether, about 5,000 Burmese refugees from Tamu township have sought shelter in Manipur state because of the fighting, said Salai Dokhar, founder of India For Myanmar, a group that helps Burmese refugees in India.

They are among about 50,000 Myanmar citizens who have fled to India since the military ousted Myanmars democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup.

Bombings force villagers to flee

Junta troops conducted nighttime aerial bombings of Boke Kan village in Tamu township on Aug. 18, prompting more than 500 residents and others from nearby communities to flee to adjacent Manipur.

Similarly, on July 22, more than 700 residents from Khampat, a 2,000-home township about 8 km (5 miles) southeast of the border with Manipur, fled across the border and into India because of a battle between junta forces and the resistance fighters.

Manipur authorities have been collecting biometric data from Burmese refugees, raising fears that the data could be shared with the junta, BenarNews reported earlier this month.

Thang Sei, an official from the Burma Refugee Committee Kabaw Valley, which is helping the Burmese refugees, told RFA that more than half of the refugees returned to Myanmar after a few days when fighting in Tamu stopped.

They went to the town of Kalay and other villages in Sagaing, but since junta troops continue to clear the Tamu area, it is still impossible for refugees to return to their homes there, said the refugee who is sheltering on the border.

Neither the Indian Embassy in Yangon nor the Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi, India, responded to RFAs requests for comment on the refugees.

The Indian government should reconsider its decision to expel Burmese refugees, said Salai Dokhar.

When Burmese people want good relations between Myanmar and India, this kind of action by India directly destroys our hopes for the future, he said. That is why Indian officials need to review the way they handle Burmese issues.
Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, alongside his son, Panthongtae, and daughter, Paetongtarn, greets supporters after arriving at Mjets private terminal at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Aug. 22, 2023.

UPDATED at 10:14 a.m. EDT on 2023-08-22

Thailands billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was taken into custody shortly after arriving home Tuesday from 15 years of self-imposed exile, on the same day as a high stakes parliamentary vote for a new prime minister.

The 74-year-old fugitive flew on a private jet from Singapore and landed at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok at about 9 a.m.

After disembarking, he briefly greeted supporters outside the terminal alongside his daughter Paetongtarn, a leader of the Pheu Thai Party, before laying a flower wreath and prostrating in front of a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun (Rama X) and Queen Suthida.

Police then took Thaksin to the Supreme Court where he was ordered to serve eight years for three crimes. The Department of Corrections said Tuesday afternoon that he had arrived at the Bangkok Remand Prison, north of the capital, and undergone a health check.

Thaksin, who is being held at a prison medical facility, is immediately eligible to seek a royal pardon, which can take up to two months to process after an application is made, said Sahakarn Petchnarin, deputy permanent secretary at the Department of Corrections.

In the meantime, he is being treated as a vulnerable inmate due to his age and medical conditions, Sahakarn said, adding he would be monitored 24 hours a day.

Thaksin Shinawatra kneels before a portrait of the king and queen at the Mjets private terminal at Don Mueang International Airport, Aug. 22, 2023. [Thai News Pix/BenarNews]

Thaksin was ousted as prime minister in a military coup in 2006 and fled Thailand in 2008 to escape a prison term for charges that he maintains were politically motivated.

Even in exile, the telecoms tycoon remained an influential figure in Thailand. His populist economic policies as prime minister endeared him to the countrys poor, especially in the north and northeast. But his critics have accused him of deep corruption, anti-monarchism and dividing the nation.

Earlier in the morning, his sister Yingluck Shinawatra posted a video on Facebook of Thaksin boarding a Gulfstream G650 to Bangkok.

Finally the day has come ... I wish you good luck and a safe trip, she wrote.

Hundreds of journalists camped out at Don Mueangs Mjets private terminal ahead of Thaksins arrival, while throngs of supporters dressed in red and waving flags waited nearby to get a glimpse of the former premier.

Student Anna Annanont, 17, said she was at the airport to show solidarity with all Thai political prisoners like Thaksin.

Im here because I want other people who have been affected to come back home, too, said Anna, who is a member of the Bad Student group that challenges Thailands hierarchical school system.

Somporn Jaroenrak, a native of Pathum Thani to the north of Bangkok, said he was glad Thaksin was back on home soil.

It doesnt matter which uncles he sides with, its just important people have enough to eat, the 62-year-old said, referring to the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thais decision to ally with two political parties led by former army generals. He has come back to help our nation.

Supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra gather at a police security line as they wait to get a glimpse of the former leader at the Mjets private terminal at Don Mueang International Airport, Aug. 22, 2023. [Thai News Pix/BenarNews]

Thaksin has been jailed for approving a low-interest loan from the Export-Import Bank of Thailand to Myanmars government to buy telecommunications equipment from a company he controlled.

He is also serving time for his involvement in a state lottery scheme, and concealing shares in his family business, SHIN Corp., from 2001-06, during which time the company benefited from various government concessions.

Thaksins return added drama to an already politically charged day in Thailand, as lawmakers were preparing to vote on the nomination of property tycoon Srettha Thavisin from the Pheu Thai Party for prime minister. Srettha received 482 votes  far more than the 375 needed from parliament members to be elected prime minister.

Pheu Thai, the populist vehicle of the Shinawatra family, is seeking to form a new government after the progressive Move Forward Party failed last month, following fierce opposition from Thailands conservative ruling elite.

The timing of Thaksins arrival and what backroom deal making laid the foundations for his return have added to months of political intrigue in Thailand, which has been under a caretaker government since a general election on May 14.

Paetongtarn said her fathers return had nothing to do with the parliamentary vote for prime minister.

This story has been updated to include details of Srettha Thavisin receiving 482 votes for prime minister.
This May 31 file photo shows the launch of North Korea's Chollima-1 rocket carrying a spy satellite from Tongchang-ri on the country's west coast. North Korea told Japan, Tuesday, that it will launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and 31 after the first botched attempt. Yonhap



Failure could lead to mass purges, nuclear weapons test: experts



By Jung Min-ho



North Korea informed Japan, Tuesday, that it plans to launch a satellite in two weeks, less than three months after a failed attempt to send its first reconnaissance satellite into space.



According to Japanese media reports, Pyongyang is set to proceed with the plan between Aug. 24 and 31, prompting officials in both South Korea and Japan to issue warnings to ships passing through three potentially risky areas  Korea's West Sea, the East China Sea and waters east of the Philippines (Luzon Island).



Speaking to The Korea Times, experts said the North appears to have determined the timing of the next launch based on political needs, particularly ahead of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic, on Sept. 9, rather than the scientific readiness level. They believe a failure this time could result in mass purges or even a nuclear weapons test as Kim Jong-un might consider the failure as politically damaging.



"When I heard that North Korea's satellite launch rocket failed three months ago because of instability in the engine and fuel system, I thought it would take much more time for another attempt," Chang Young-keun, a rocket scientist at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said.



"If similar errors occurred in a developed nation, scientists would examine and rectify not only fundamental risk factors, but also all other potential, indirect issues. From a scientific perspective, there has not been enough time for preparations."



But that does not mean that North Korea will fail again, he noted.



"If North Korea correctly identified and tackled the problem that caused the failure in the rocket engine's ignition, it might be able to put the satellite into orbit," he said.



After its rocket  carrying a spy satellite  plunged into the sea on May 31, the North said it held a meeting where officials in charge of the project were "bitterly criticized."





This undated photo released on Monday by North Korean state media shows Kim Jong-un inspecting a flotilla in North Korea. Yonhap
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 41F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 41F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the American Cheese Society graciously gifted food editors with boxes filled with four category winners from 2022  Finger Lakes Gold from Lively Run Dairy in Interlaken, N.Y.; Providence from Goat Lady Dairy in Climax, N.C.; Pleasant Ridge Reserve, from Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville, Wis.; and Hudson Flower from Murray's Cheeses in Long Island, N.Y.

I have never passed up a box of cheese when offered, nevermind a box filled with award-winning cheeses. (Also, it's not every day that I get offers like this.) While I waited patiently for the cheese to arrive, I learned a little bit about the American Cheese Society, which met for its annual convention and awards ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa, in July. There, its more than 2,600 members met for networking, educational opportunities and to learn who had won the annual cheese competition  all 131 categories and the coveted "Best of Show."

This year, St. Malachi, an alpine-style cheese from The Farm at Doe Run in Coatesville, Pa., placed first in Best of Show, beating out 1,454 entries. Second place went to Cumberland, a tomme-style cheese from Sequatchie Cove Creamery of Sequatchie, Tenn. Three cheeses tied for third: Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a washed rind cheese from Uplands Cheese; Prairie Tomme, a sheeps milk cheese from Green Dirt Farm of Weston, Mo., and Basket Molded Chevre, a goats milk cheese from Pure Luck Dairy of Dripping Springs, Texas.

As I perused the list of 2023 winners  a total of 370 in all  I noticed a few producers from the region. Maplebrook Farm, in North Bennington, Vt., took home a few awards: first place for a block feta, second place for a stracciatella and third place for a burrata. Grafton Village Cheese, in Brattleboro, Vt., took first place for Shepsog, a cheddar made from raw sheep and cow's milk, and first for a clothbound cheddar. Four Fat Fowl, in Stephentown, N.Y., earned first place for CamemBertha, a soft-ripened cheese made from cow's milk. And of course, the Vermont cheese we all know and adore, Cabot Creamery, earned more awards than I cared to keep track of.

I will tell you dear readers, it was a hard job, dining on these award-winning cheeses while enjoying a cheese plate at Tanglewood. My favorite was the Hudson Flower, followed by the Pleasant Ridge Reserve, while my husband preferred the Pleasant Ridge and the Finger Lakes Gold.

Adding a gourmet cheese to your cheese board is worth the investment, but I'd suggest that before you do, seek the advice of a local cheesemonger, who can help steer you in the direction of a cheese suitable for your particular palate.

Here's a look at four 2022 American Cheese Society category winners:

FINGER LAKES GOLD

Producer: Lively Run Dairy, Interlaken, N.Y.

Category Winner 2022: Goat's Milk Cheese, aged over 60 days.

Style: In the Gouda family, this is a creamy, semi-hard goat's milk cheese.

Taste: Mellow and nutty in flavor.

How to use it: Melts well. Suitable for egg-based dishes. Serve on a cheese board with cured meats, jams, fruits and crackers.

Retail: $38 a pound

PROVIDENCE

Producer: Goat Lady Dairy, Climax, N.C.

Category Winner 2022: Open Category  Goat's Milk

Style: An Italian-style cheese that's denser and drier than the Taleggio-style cheese Goat Lady Dairy had been experimenting with. (What a happy accident.)

Taste: Has the tang of a goat cheese, but is described by some cheese websites as having notes of fresh baked bread.

How to use it: Parmigiano reggiano, pecorino or manchego. Pair with membrillo (a quince paste), cured meats or olives.

Retail: $32 to $50 per pound

PLEASANT RIDGE RESERVE

Producer: Uplands Cheese Company, Dodgeville, Wisc.

Category Winner 2022: Washed rind cheeses  Cow's milk

Style: An aged Alpine-style cheese.

Taste: Nutty, savory flavor.

How to use it: Can be served as a table cheese with fruits, nuts and bread. It's also noted as an "excellent" melting cheese by the producer, who suggests using it as a garnish on salads, soups, gratins and omelets.

Retail: $30 per pound

HUDSON FLOWER

Producer: Murray's Cheese, Long Island, N.Y. in collaboration with Old Chatham Creamery in Chatham, N.Y.

Category Winner 2022: Soft-ripened sheep cheese with added flavor.

Style: A modern take on the classic Corsican Fleur du Maquis. This rich and creamy cheese is encased in a blend of rosemary, lemon thyme, chervil and hop flowers and aged in Murray's cheese caves.

Taste: Earthy, piney and floral in flavor.

How to use it: Serve as a table cheese with crackers or thin crisps. Top it with honey, strawberry, cherry or apricot jam. Melts well.

Retail: $35 per 12-ounce wheel
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LENOX  Its been two years since the town's only downtown service station, known for its full-service pumps, closed after 92 years in operation.

Local and visiting motorists still have to travel three miles north to the Pittsfield Road commercial strip, or four miles south to Lee, for a fill-up.

But a plan to renovate and restore the station  and add a convenience store  may finally be poised to get off the ground.

Naeem Haq of Pittsfield, a co-owner of the property, told The Eagle this week that an anticipated agreement with a new contractor is expected to be completed shortly. Explaining the prolonged delay, Haq said the previous contractor had walked away from the project.

The pending agreement with the new general contractor, experienced in gas station construction, should enable work to start very soon after its formally signed, Haq said. The project could be completed in two to three months, he predicted.

The former Hoffs Sunoco at 90 Main St., which remains vacant and is considered by some a blight on the downtown streetscape, was sold to Chuckys LLC, a regional convenience store chain, in August 2021 for $300,000.

Chuckys has Zoning Board of Appeals and Historic District Commission approvals for conversion to a modern convenience store with self-service fuel pumps  similar to the companys Pittsfield store branded as SAMS Gulf at 730 East St.

According to the ZBAs March 2021 public hearings and special permit, the Lenox store will feature "Krispy Krunchy Chicken," a popular attraction at the Pittsfield location, and other quick-serve foods, deli items and beverages for takeout only, as well as oil, antifreeze and other automotive supplies. Hours are expected to be from 5 or 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

A commercial building permit for the site at the northern end of the towns historic district and business center was issued last January, extending the two-year special permit issued by the ZBA.

Haq declined to identify the new contractor, who recently surveyed the site, until the agreement is signed and sealed. The cost of the project, with plans completed by Barry Architects of Pittsfield, will be released at that time, Haq said, noting "it's way up.

When Hoffs Sunoco closed, customers who preferred the full-service fill-ups bemoaned the end of an era, since the filling station had been at the same central location since 1929.

The new business would closely resemble SAMS Gulf, the convenience store on Pittsfield's auto mile at the corner of East and Lyman streets. Chuckys has several other outlets in Massachusetts, including its home base in Oxford, near Worcester, and one in Brooklyn, Conn., a town in the northeastern part of the state.

Lenox ZBA member Albert Harper strongly endorsed the plan as meeting community needs, including the availability of gas downtown as well as the extended hours for the business.

The Historic District Commission added its approval in summer 2021. The site plan eliminated external signage and fluorescent lights on the building in favor of low-impact, downward-facing canopy lights, perimeter lighting and an internal illuminated sign. The commission also approved a specific brick veneer for the exterior.

Glenn K. Hoff purchased the filling station in 1979, and it became a full-service auto repair and towing facility in 1997. While in high school, Hoff had started working there in 1969. Gas was 35 cents a gallon then ($2.79 in 2022 dollars).

A previous proposal for the convenience store conversion surfaced briefly in 2011, before being withdrawn. It reemerged after Hoffs death in April 2018 and was fully reactivated in early 2020, after two previous setbacks.
When we hit milestone birthdays, most of us expect to receive. Some prefer to give. Take Mary Wheat, volunteer site manager of the food pantry at South Congregational Church, for example. For her 90th, Ms. Wheat's big wish is for the Berkshire community to donate 900 boxes of cereal to the pantry by her Oct. 14 birthday to help feed our neighbors in need.
Jane Kaufman is Community Voices Editor at The Berkshire Eagle. She can be reached at jkaufman@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6125.
PITTSFIELD  Two more PCB lawsuits against Monsanto and General Electric Co. by residents who have lived near the former GE site and its PCB landfills hit Berkshire Superior Court on Monday.

This brings the total count of lawsuits in the last week linking PCB exposure in Pittsfield to cancer up to five.

Two members of a city family ravaged by cancer filed one of the complaints. Betty Jackson, who is suffering from cancer, filed suit on behalf of herself and her late sister, Carol Barosso. Their brother, Charles Barosso, who has Parkinsons disease, filed suit on behalf of himself.

The other was filed by Diane Romero, a city resident and a nurse who developed breast cancer at the age of 41. Her cancer has since spread to her brain and spinal cord.

The complaints cite scientific studies that link PCBs to their specific cancers.

These two lawsuits are the latest in what the plaintiffs attorney, Thomas Bosworth, says will be a steady stream of legal action tying PCB pollution in the city over the years to various cancers and other illnesses.

Bosworth, a Berkshires native who now lives in Philadelphia, also said that another lawsuit filed by Charles Barossos daughter on behalf of his late wife, Donna Barosso, is on hold until her estate has been through probate. Donna Barosso, who also grew up near the former GE site and whose parents worked at GE, died of soft-tissue sarcoma.

These two new lawsuits also list as defendants Bayer AG, which purchased Monsanto in 2018, and other related entities. It also lists Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), which bought GEs Pittsfield business in 2011.

A GE spokesperson said the company cannot comment on pending litigation. Monsanto said in a statement that the "weight of scientific evidence" does not support a link between the illnesses and PCBs.

Bosworth, reacting to Monsanto's statement, said the company has known for more than half a century that PCBs are dangerous.

Attorneys experienced with litigation against Monsanto and other corporations over pollution say that while difficult and expensive, such cases are possible to win.

The handful of cases filed over the last week mark more fallout from decades of PCB  polychlorinated biphenyl  pollution that blighted the city and despoiled the Housatonic River. GE's river cleanup plan has sparked another fight over its proposed PCB landfill in Lee. Lee also has sued Monsanto over the chemicals.

In Pittsfield, PCB landfills have been part of the landscape for more than two decades. There are two at the former GE site, both of which abuts the Allendale Elementary School field and playground  much of which had to be remediated of PCB pollution and remains capped with a liner.

All the lawsuits so far center on the school and the neighborhoods around the former GE plant.

Romero, the lawsuit says, is a Pittsfield native who spent a substantial amount of time both at school functions and playing at the [Allendale] playground with her two children, now 14 and 23. Romero also lived less than 500 feet from the PCB-contaminated Housatonic River in Pittsfield from ages 2 to 14."

Over the last 17 years, Romero has lived several hundred feet from the PCB waste site, known as Hill 78, on the former GE property.

Jackson and her brother Barosso, who now lives in Florida, lived for years on Benedict Road, the lawsuit says, about 1,500 feet from the former GE plant. Their late sister Carol Barosso also lived there.

The complaint says that GE frequently dumped hazardous PCB waste at an area near their street and that the dump trucks frequently drove past the house.

Statement from Monsanto on both lawsuits While we have great sympathy for the plaintiffs in these cases, Monsanto is not responsible for the alleged injuries for many reasons including that it did not manufacture or dispose of PCBs near the Allendale Elementary School or in the greater Pittsfield area, and had no responsibility for or control over the electrical equipment plant in Pittsfield operated by another defendant in these cases. Moreover, the weight of the scientific evidence does not support an association between exposure to PCBs and the injuries alleged in these cases, even among highly exposed former PCB workers. Monsanto will respond to this complaint in due course and maintains that its past electrical customers are obligated to defend and indemnify Monsanto based on the indemnity contract the companies agreed to in 1972.
GREAT BARRINGTON  Plans for a mural honoring Elizabeth Freeman downtown are underway though there are still questions about where exactly it will go and when it will be painted.

Organizers told the Select Board on Monday that they are tentatively proposing it be painted on a wall of the Mason Library, near the lower entrance at the childrens library.

Painting the mural would be a community public art project led by an experienced muralist and orchestrated by a Springfield-based nonprofit called Common Wealth Murals.

It will be grant-funded, said John Horan, one of the organizers, and likely will see completion next summer or beyond. It would involve the creation of a committee as well as public input.

It was at the Great Barrington courthouse that Freeman and an enslaved man in 1781 were the first in Massachusetts to successfully sue for their freedom.

The case was heard at the County Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington. The slaveholder involved was Col. John Ashley of Sheffield.

But there are other reasons to honor Freeman, said Gwendolyn VanSant, CEO of Multicultural Bridge. The nonprofit is leading the project in collaboration with the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Democracy and Freedom, the NAACP Berkshires Branch and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

She was clearly a deep listener, and she was also an entrepreneur, land and property owner and an activist in 1781, VanSant told the board, referring in part to Freemans later years living in Stockbridge. She took care of herself, she took care of community and for me she embodies economic freedom and voice, the strength of our ancestors, and primarily the resolve and ability and birthright of a Black woman to lead us to liberation.

The mural will connect with other honors of Freeman in town and in South County that includes a statute of Freeman installed in Sheffield last year and the co-naming of a Great Barrington street for Freeman. It also will tie into the sculpture of W.E.B. Du Bois outside the library whose completion is expected next year.

Du Bois was born in a home on Church Street 70 years after Freemans court victory.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo briefs reporters on the Camp David trilateral summit at the presidential office building in Seoul, Aug. 13. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon



The deputy national security advisers of Korea and India will hold talks in Seoul this week to discuss bilateral cooperation on economic security and other areas, the presidential office said Tuesday.



Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo will meet with his Indian counterpart, Vikram Misri, on Wednesday for the fourth session of the Korea-India strategic dialogue involving the presidential National Security Office and India's National Security Council.



The two sides plan to discuss exchanges among senior officials, economic security, cooperation on science and technology, and their responses to regional and international issues, among other areas.



The strategic dialogue was established as a regular forum on the occasion of a Korea-India summit in 2014, with the third session being held in India in 2021. (Yonhap)


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Vipragen, an agile preclinical Contract Research Organization (CRO), is pleased to announce the successful closure of its second round of investment, raising funds from esteemed investors. The Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund (KITVEN) through the Biotech Fund, along with a co-investment from Chennai-based Conscience Multi Family Office LLP and Consortium, have extended their support to fuel Vipragen's growth and expansion plans.

"We are thrilled to receive this investment from KITVEN and Conscience Multi Family Office," said Dr. Chandrashekaran. "This funding will empower us to further enhance our operations and expand our reach into new sectors, such as Nutraceuticals, Agrochemicals and Medical Devices. With a surge of interest in global strategic partnerships within the preclinical CRO space, Vipragen is uniquely positioned to capitalize on its niche expertise and solid business foundation.

Mr. Jayakumar CEO KITVEN said Vipragen with its world class facilities and range of service offerings is on the threshold of becoming one of the leading CRO providers for Pharmaceutical companies and research organisations'.

Commenting on the transaction, Vignesh Sundararaman, Founding Partner at Conscience MFO, stated, "The preclinical CRO landscape has witnessed a significant uptick in M&A activities, highlighting the value of specialized expertise and quality services. We are excited to join forces with Vipragen and contribute to its growth trajectory."

QuantAscend Consulting Global, our CFO Advisors, led and advised the investment transaction. Vipragen had previously received funding from KITVEN and benefitted from collaborative projects supported by BIRAC.

Incubated at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (CCAMP) in Bangalore, this fund will empower Vipragen to scale up its current operations and explore new horizons in Nutraceuticals, Agrochemicals and Medical Device sectors. Dr. Chandrashekaran, Founder Chairman of Vipragen, expressed optimism about India's growing prominence as a global research hub, stating, "Our vision is to attract more international companies to leverage India's thriving research ecosystem."






Officials in Iraq have ordered electronic advertising screens to be shut down after a hacker used one to broadcast pornography.

According to reports this occurred at a major road injunction in the capital, Baghdad. The videos of the incident were then spread onto social media.

Police say a technician who allegedly had financial issues with the company that runs the screens has been arrested.

Since 2022 the largely Islamic and conservative state said it planned to block pornographic websites but many are still accessible.

The government has also had a crackdown on what it calls indecent content on social media where YouTubers and TikTokers have been imprisoned.

Om Fahad is one of the content creators who was arrested for dancing to Iraqi pop music in tight clothing. She was sentenced to half a year in prison earlier this year.

According to reports Iraq has created a specialised committee that reviews content on TikTok , YouTube and other popular platforms for videos that are deemed offensive to society.
White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, center, speaks during a joint news conference on the outcomes of the inaugural session of the Nuclear Consultative Group between Korea and the United States at the presidential office in Seoul, July 18. Yonhap



The leaders of Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to commit to crisis consultation during their trilateral summit last week based on the recognition that "a challenge to any one of us is a challenge to all of us," a senior White House official said Tuesday.



Kurt Campbell, U.S. National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, made the remark at a digital press briefing following the three-way summit held at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, where the leaders signed a series of documents agreeing to boost security and economic cooperation.



"I think if you read the documents carefully, they're based on an understanding that a challenge to any one of us is a challenge to all of us, and I think that's an important recognition and one that we intend to build on," Campbell said.



He also stressed that trilateral efforts to bolster security do not target China despite Beijing's concerns.



"I do not believe that these countries  the United States, Japan and Korea  believe that they are taking steps aimed at China," Campbell said. "I think they're taking steps they believe to protect themselves, to ensure that the progress that they've made is protected and secured, and to work more closely together in a world increasingly uncertain."



Campbell noted that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's decision to "firmly back" Moscow have had an "unnerving" effect on Northeast Asian countries. "This anxiety has provoked a desire for countries who are more like-minded to make sure that we are working together constructively."



"We've seen a number of steps on the part of China that are provocative, a massive military buildup and a number of steps that have caused anxiety not just in Japan and Korea but in the region as a whole," he said.



He further added that the summit provided an opportunity for the countries to "work together in ways constructively and peacefully to preserve the operating system, the democratic engagement that we all share between the United States, Japan and Korea."



On ways to ensure the institutionalization of trilateral cooperation, Campbell said the initiative is a "very ambitious agenda" that requires the commitment of the three countries.



"I think it's appropriate to have some ambition for these trilateral engagements but at the same time to realize that steps have to be taken carefully, and we cannot get ahead of the political context that each of us deals with," he said. (Yonhap)


The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) has confirmed that esteemed South African businesswoman, philanthropist, and fashion entrepreneur, Precious Moloi-Motsepe will deliver a keynote address at the 2023 edition of their prestigious annual AWIEF Conference and Awards.

AWIEF2023 Conference and Awards will take place on 9 and 10 November 2023 at the Kigali Convention Centre, Kigali, Rwanda, in partnership with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation of Rwanda, Private Sector Federation (PSF) Rwanda  Specialized Cluster, and Rwanda Convention Bureau.

Dr. Moloi-Motsepe is the co-founder of the Motsepe Foundation, one of the largest foundations on the continent. The work of the Foundation is aligned to 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations, demonstrating its commitment to promoting sustainable development and making a positive impact on the continent.

She is also the chancellor of the University of Cape Town, and the founder of African Fashion International (AFI), a globally affiliated enterprise that champions African creatives and facilitates their entrance into global markets.

Currently in its 9th year, the award-winning AWIEF Conference is Africa's leading entrepreneurship event and provides a powerful platform for bringing together thought leaders, policymakers, development partners, and stakeholders in the African entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem for high-level discussions on Africa's economic development challenges and proffering inclusive solutions.

By bringing together a pan-African and international representation of business owners, leaders, and communities, the AWIEF event promotes intra-Africa trade, shines a light on achievements and acts as a catalyst to network, share knowledge, engage in dialogue, and learn from experts and peers across the continents borders and beyond.

With the theme Leveraging the Power of the Digital Economy: Innovate, Redefine, Empower, this years event aims to boost inclusivity, enhance partnerships, and empower startups and enterprises in the digital economy.

About her participation in AWIEF2023, Dr. Moloi-Motsepe said: If we work together and act decisively, we can attain gender equality in our lifetimes. Using the power of the digital economy to drive African female entrepreneurship and innovation is a key dimension of this journey. I am excited about AWIEF2023, and proud to be a participant. Lets use the opportunity to meet, learn, collaborate, and inspire, and in so doing build the momentum we need to empower all the women of Africa.

Irene Ochem, AWIEF founder and CEO said: We are honoured and excited at the participation of Dr Moloi-Motsepe in AWIEF2023, an exemplary global philanthropist and businesswoman. She is a leading advocate and driving force for the advancement of women in leadership and gender equality and serves as an inspirational figure and role model for women in business.

Dr Moloi-Motsepe joins a powerful global speaker faculty for AWIEF2023, including H. E. Paula Ingabire, minister of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda, Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura, secretary general, Fifa, Clare Akamanzi, CEO, Rwanda Development Board, Cosmas Zavazava, chief of department, Partnerships for Digital Development, International Telecommunication Union, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, CEO, RwandAir and chairperson, Board of Governors, IATA, and Eleanor Nwadinobi, president, Medical Women's International Association (MWIA).

To register for AWIEF2023, follow this link: http://www.awieforum.org/awief-conference-2023/




Eight of Eduvos's female IT students have been selected to take part in the MTN Women in Stem programme that kicked off in July.

The 40-hour bespoke and immersive programme is specifically designed for final-year female students in Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degrees at selected higher education institutions. The participating students attend masterclasses delivered by MTN executives, industry leaders and experts.

Eduvos, one of the leading private higher education institutions in South Africa, is excited about the real-world experience its students will gain through the programme.

The programme aims to bridge the gap between academic theory and the application thereof in the real world. Eduvoss curriculum is constantly updated to keep abreast with industry needs and the institution therefore believes its students will flourish in this environment. Students will also have the chance to learn from and interact with industry professionals.

The program has truly been a remarkable experience, both personally and professionally, says Anele Philile, a Software Engineering student at Eduvos who is participating in the programme.

Through this initiative, I can connect with like-minded women who are passionate about breaking down barriers and promoting gender diversity in their respective Stem fields. The program has provided a great support system for all women. From participating in masterclasses and workshops, I've learned invaluable skills beyond the technical aspects of my studies.

Anele also expressed her gratitude to Eduvoss Employability Centre, who shared this opportunity with students and helped them apply to the programme.

While celebrating Womens Month in August, it is important to remember that women are still underrepresented in Stem fields. Globally, women make up almost half of total employment across non-Stem occupations, but just 29.2% of all Stem workers are women. Programmes like the MTN Women in Stem are thus crucial to increase womens representation.

At the conclusion of the programme, students will submit a project to the judging panel. Those who have excelled in the programme and the project may be offered employment with the South African MTN Operation Company (MTN OPCO) or may be offered a position in the MTN Global Graduate Programme.

Eduvos wishes its participating students the best in the programme.

For press 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
As part of Bizcommunity's Women's Month feature, we chat Eulenda Lebese-Cussons, founding director of Cape Town-based boutique law firm, Lebese-Cussons (LC) Attorneys.

Eulenda Lebese-Cussons, founding director of LC Attorneys

The practice, under the guidance of Lebese-Cussons, recently assisted a client conclude the purchase of a property in Spain worth over R38m. She was recently featured on Gauteng's Power FM as well as Times Live.

Here Lebese-Cussons discusses women's strengths in the courtroom and closing the gender gap in the legal industry, while reminding us that our individual perspectives have a positive value.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you got into law...

As the director of a law firm specialising in conveyancing, my journey into law was not a childhood dream but rather a gradual discovery of my passion. My fascination with legal texts and documents began during my first job as a legislative linguist. Over time, I developed a deep appreciation for the law's intricacies and its potential to make a meaningful impact. As I pursued my studies and advanced in my career, I recognised the importance of helping individuals with their property transactions, which led me to specialise in conveyancing.

What are some of the challenges facing women in the legal industry today?

Women in the legal industry continue to face challenges such as, but not limited to, gender bias and limited representation in leadership roles. Additionally, work-life balance remains a concern, as the demanding nature of legal practice can sometimes impact personal life and family responsibilities. Despite progress, there is still a need for greater gender equality and inclusivity within law firms and legal institutions.

What special skills or qualities do you believe women bring to the courtroom or negotiating table that a male counterpart may not?

Women often bring unique strengths to the courtroom and negotiation settings, including strong empathy, effective communication, and the ability to build rapport with clients and opposing parties. These qualities can foster better understanding and lead to more creative and collaborative solutions in legal proceedings.

What do you think is the most important piece of legislation affecting women that has been passed  either locally or internationally - within the last 45 years?

One of the most important pieces of legislation affecting women within the last 45 years is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW is an international treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1979 and has been ratified by numerous countries worldwide. It aims to end discrimination against women and ensure their equal rights in various spheres of life, including legal, political, economic, and social aspects.

Over the course of your career, how have you seen the gender divide change within the industry?

Throughout my career, I have witnessed some positive changes in the legal industry concerning the gender divide, with more women pursuing legal education and entering the workforce. However, the progress has been slow, and there are still significant disparities in leadership positions and persistent challenges related to pay equity and unconscious biases. More needs to be done to address these issues and create a truly inclusive and diverse legal profession.

Who are your female legal icons and why?

My female legal icons include trailblazing figures like Michelle Obama, who has made a significant impact through her legal career and beyond. As an attorney, Michelle Obama worked on issues related to civil rights, public service, and community development, showing her dedication to social justice and equality. Michelle Obama's ability to inspire and uplift others makes her a true icon in the legal and public service arena.

What is your message to young women this Women's Month?

To young women this Women's Month, I would say: embrace your passions, be confident in your abilities, and fearlessly pursue your dreams. Know that you have the potential to excel in any field you choose, including law. Take advantage of opportunities to learn, network, and seek mentorship from experienced professionals. Be resilient in the face of challenges, and remember that your unique perspective and strengths can make a positive impact in the legal industry and beyond. Always believe in yourself and support other women, as together, we can break barriers and create a more equitable and inclusive future for all. Happy Women's Month!
Deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be struck at next month's Africa Climate Summit, including increasingly popular nature-based investments, the event's main organiser said on Tuesday.

File photo: A police officer walks next to an electric mass transit bus assembled by electric vehicle manufacturer Roam at the Green Park Terminus in Nairobi, Kenya 19 October 2022. Reuters/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo

African officials hope the meeting will strengthen the continent's voice and send a unified message ahead of the COP28 UN climate summit later this year.

"We are anticipating deals from $1m all the way to hundreds of millions of dollars," Joseph Ng'ang'a, the chief executive for the Africa Climate Summit's secretariat, told Reuters in an interview.

He said the deals would involve private and public funding for nature-based investments, clean energy production and climate adaptation efforts.

More than 20 African heads of state and government and 20,000 delegates from around the world, including UN chief Antonio Guterres, have confirmed their participation in the 4-6 September summit in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

African countries have been severely affected by changing weather patterns and increasingly suffer from droughts, floods and storms related to climate change.

Several nature-based deals, which help resolve the dilemma of who foots the bill to combat climate change impacts, have been announced in recent months involving African countries.

Portugal said in June it would swap $153m worth of Cape Verde's debt for nature investments while Gabon completed its own such deal this month, allowing the central African nation to buy back a nominal $500m of its international debt and issue an eco-friendly amortizing bond of equal size.

African governments will also prepare to push at the COP28 summit for the realisation of financing commitments made in previous climate summits by richer nations, Ali Mohamed, Kenya's special envoy for climate change, said at the same interview.

Last year's COP27 summit in Egypt agreed to create a loss and damage fund for developing countries, but it has not materialised yet, Mohamed said.

"We are holding this summit not to continue repeating the same messages. We are holding this summit for Africa to present solutions to the challenges," he said.

He cited the recognition of the Congo forest basin as a key carbon sink as one of African countries' main objectives heading into COP28.
Online wine company, Getwine, has officially announced its recent acquisition of CyberCellar, an online wine retailer. This strategic move marks a significant milestone in the company's ongoing commitment to providing unparalleled wine offerings to its valued customers.

The Wegner brothers, who own and manage Getwine. L to R: Ad, Johan and Karel Wegner. Image supplied

Johan Wegner, chief operating officer of Getwine, expressed his enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, "We are thrilled to share the exciting news of Getwine's successful acquisition of a 100% stake in CyberCellar. This collaboration underscores our dedication to delivering exceptional value and diverse wine selections to our clientele."

Despite being headquartered in the Western Cape, Wegner highlighted Getwine's strategic vision to expand its footprint on a national scale, with a particular focus on engaging wine enthusiasts in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The acquisition of CyberCellar serves as a natural progression toward achieving this ambitious goal, solidifying Getwine's presence across South Africa.

Wegner emphasised the strategic significance of this move, stating, "Our enthusiasm for this acquisition knows no bounds. The Gauteng and KZN wine markets hold substantial influence within South Africa, and the integration of CyberCellar into Getwine presents an opportunity to enhance our offerings and extend our industry expertise."

With a history dating back to 1998, CyberCellar proudly holds the distinction of being the oldest online store in South Africa. Conceived during the early days of the internet, its mission has remained unwavering: to promote local wine producers by facilitating online sales of their wines.

Wegner also shared his aspiration for Getwine to emerge as a leader in South Africa's wine e-commerce sector. He elaborated on the company's journey, originating in 2003 when he and his two brothers embarked on a venture of selling unlabelled wines to a close-knit community of friends and relatives. Despite its modest beginnings, Wegner attributes Getwine's current stature to the steadfast support of its customers.

This strategic acquisition not only reinforces Getwine's commitment to excellence but also sets the stage for a dynamic chapter in the company's evolution. With a stronger presence and expanded offerings, Getwine is on a mission to reshape the landscape of South Africa's wine e-commerce sector.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hip hop, locally per Spotify data, South African Gen Zs between the ages of 18-24 years lead all Hip hop streams in the country with 55% of the streams.

They are followed by 25-29 year-olds at 19%, with 30-55+ year-olds clocking percentages under 10%.

From a gender perspective, South African Hip hop music appeals overwhelmingly to males more than females, with recorded streams of 75% versus 24% respectively.

Top artists

Drake, J Cole, 21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Future, and Kendrick Lamar are the top streamed artists of the genre in South Africa. AKA, is still topping charts posthumously, as the most streamed South African Hip hop artist, followed by Nasty C then Blxckie.

Earlier this year, Spotify partnered with Cotton Fest to showcase the history of the Hip Hop movement in South Africa, and celebrated some of the pioneers of the genre in an installation at the event. Titled Black and White: Wall of Legends, the installation celebrated the genres pioneers, as well as key milestones in the South African Hip hop scene.

The installation took Cotton Fest attendees through different stages that have contributed to South African Hip hops current status. Skwatta Kamp were highlighted as the genre pioneers, HHP for collectives that helped local Hip hop break through, Nadia Nakai as a woman in Hip hop, and for breakthrough artists, A-Reece was profiled.

Growth

South African Hip hop continues to travel locally and internationally, fuelled by streaming services. Spotifys launch in South Africa in 2018 simultaneously birthed genre-specific playlists like Mzansi Raps, a key playlist housing South African hip-hop music. Mzansi Raps growth of 865% since launch, is a testament to South African Hip hops viability. The playlist gets love across the continent, counting Botswana, Nigeria, Lesotho, Kenya, and Eswatini as some of its fans.

Occasions like the 50th anniversary of Hip hop are opportunities to celebrate and honor culture-defining moments as a result of music while implementing effective programs to export our music globally. South African Hip hop is a force to be reckoned with; established artists like Nasty C and Blxckie are holding their own, while artists like Loatinover Pounds and Wordz are coming up, and listeners are paying attention, says Phiona Okumu, Spotifys Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa.

In South Africa, most of Mzansi Raps streams come from the top five cities; Johannesburg, followed by Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth.
The Brics Summit has kicked off with momentum in Johannesburg, with the announcement that the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Bank of China (BOC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen regional trade and investment.

Source: IDC. Bank of China chief executive officer, Longjian Chen seen here with SA's minister of trade and industry, Ebrahim Patel signing in the new framework agreement.

As part of the MOU, the IDC and BOC are in the process of concluding a R10bn funding package over five years. This capital support will go into tangible projects spread across, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, and mining sectors, and highlights BOCs resolution in partnering with South Africa in Sustainability, Just Energy Transformation and other funding initiatives.

The agreement's key objectives are to explore opportunities for joint financing of potential future business ventures, with the Bank of China's Johannesburg branch focusing on debt financing; and to identify and collaborate on various business sectors, including but not limited to mining, agriculture, telecommunications, and infrastructure development, particularly in China/Africa investment projects.

The agreement also aims to formalise and strengthen the relationship between the IDC and the Bank of China, particularly in supporting Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) into South Africa.

Recognising the challenge posed by limited access to capital in advancing regional industrial development, IDC chief executive officer TP Nchocho expressed a positive outlook on the regional economic landscape in light of this landmark agreement.

"Lack of access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges affecting entrepreneurs across the continent. This framework agreement therefore will bring to fruition capital mobilisation and technology co-operation among other benefits which should ultimately lead to integration of regional economic and industrial development across the continent, he said.

Minister Ebrahim Patel and chairman of the China-Africa Development Fund, Song Lei were present at the signing of the MOU as were deputy minister Fikile Majola, deputy minister Nomalungelo Gina and acting director-general Malebo Mabitje-Thompson.

This framework agreement mirrors similar agreements the IDC has established with international partners on the African continent, fostering long-term co-operation and co-funding initiatives.

Katja Hamilton is at the Brics Summit this week in Johannesburg, reporting live for Bizcommunity.
Discover Brics and its members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as the 15th Brics summit kicks off in Johannesburg this week unlocking essential insights about the bloc.

Source: Reuters. China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel.

Here are some key facts about the bloc and its members.

What is Brics?

The acronym Bric, which did not initially include South Africa, was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies.

Its creation was initiated by Russia.

The group is not a formal multilateral organisation like the United Nations, World Bank or the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

The heads of state and government of the member nations convene annually with each nation taking up a one-year rotating chairmanship of the group.

Who are the members?

Brazil, Russia, India and China are the founding members.

South Africa, the smallest member in terms of economic clout and population, was the first beneficiary of an expansion of the bloc in 2010 when the grouping became known as Brics.

Together the countries account for more than 40% of the world population and a quarter of the global economy.

Apart from geopolitics, the group's focus includes economic cooperation and increasing multilateral trade and development.

The bloc operates by consensus. All the Brics countries are part of the Group of 20 (G20) of major economies.

Which nations want to join Brics and why?

Over 40 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Algeria, Bolivia, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan have expressed interest in joining the forum, according to 2023 summit chair South Africa.

They view Brics as an alternative to global bodies viewed as dominated by the traditional Western powers and hope membership will unlock benefits including development finance, and increased trade and investment.

Dissatisfaction with the global order among developing nations was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic when life-saving vaccines were hoarded by the rich countries.

Iran, home to around a quarter of the Middle East's oil reserves, has said it hopes the mechanism for new membership would be decided "at the earliest."

Oil heavyweight Saudi Arabia was among more than a dozen countries that participated in "Friends of Brics" talks in Cape Town in June. It has received backing from Russia and Brazil to join the Brics.

Argentina said in July 2022 it had received China's formal support in its bid to join the group.

Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, said in June it had asked to join the bloc, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying the country will continue to work with international institutions that can protect its interests.

Bolivia's President Luis Arce has expressed interest in Brics membership and is expected to attend the summit. Its government said in July it was determined to curb dependence on the US.dollar for foreign trade, instead turning to the Chinese yuan, in line with Brics leaders' stated aim to reduce dependence on the US currency.

Algeria said in July it has applied for Brics membership and to become a shareholder in the New Development Bank, the so-called Brics Bank. The North African nation is rich in oil and gas resources and is seeking to diversify its economy and strengthen partnership with China and other countries.

Katja Hamilton is at the Brics Summit this week in Johannesburg, reporting live for Bizcommunity.
The Brics Business Council meeting, which kicked off in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 22 August, acknowledges the unparalleled challenges faced by the private sector, governments, and global trade in a volatile and complex world.

Source: Reuters. South Africa hosted China's Xi Jinping, the leading proponent of enlarging Brics, for a state visit on Tuesday morning (22 August). He is due to attend the Brics Summit this week along with top leaders Brazilian President Luiz Inacio, Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is seen here with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Despite these hurdles, Brics2023 offers a platform to explore how collaborative efforts among companies and firms in our economies, driven by the strength of the private sector, can foster growth and prosperity within the bloc.

This was the take-home message of South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel in his headline address at the

Brics2023 summit, which opened its doors to 1,200 delegates from South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and various African countries on Tuesday morning (22 August 2023).

Patel acknowledged the presence of Cabinet members, deputy ministers from South Africa and distinguished guests, including Dilma Rousseff, the president of the New Development Bank; Fernando Haddad; Brazil's Finance Minister; Wamkele Mene; the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and Rajendra de Sousa, the Minister of Trade from the Republic of Mozambique. He recognised too the heads of the respective Brics business council chambers and Busisiwe Mabuza, the inaugural chair of the South African chapter of the Brics Business Council.

Patel highlighted how global trends are having a significant impact on our economies and societies with a major shift underway in economic activity from traditional Western centres to emerging industrial hubs in the East and South.

This shift is also affecting global demographics, he said.

"It's been 1,850 since we hosted the last Brics summit, and the world appeared simpler then, less volatile, less uncertain; friendlier. It had not yet encountered the damage of the Covid pandemic, nor the deepest recession since the Second World War. Today the world is more polarised, Climate change is more pressing and the speed of technological innovation is actively increasing.

"Change creates turmoil and tensions. As the world changes, we see a rise in unilateralism and a pushback on the global rules. Yesterday, delegates of the Brics Manufacturing Forum met to reflect on the changing world and its meaning for economies. We concluded that these [collective] major trends are driving out the old ways of doing things. Business as usual - is no longer an option."

Africa's transformative journey

Patel stressed that when it comes to Africa, legacy is not destiny.

"On the African continent countries have embarked on a courageous step to break the patterns of neocolonialism by building a continental free trade area that will bring together a market of 1.3 billion people which will spur on African industrialisation. Africa is no longer simply a raw material supplier; Africa is taking its place in the world as an innovator, as an industrialised beast.

Patel described a contemporary Africa characterised by its youthful population, fast urbanisation, strong digital connectivity, and high energy levels.

"We are pushing against a toxic colonial legacy of 55 states divided by borders to a continent of 1.3 billion people united in our resolve to act in a unified manner."

He emphasised that the combined economies of all Brics countries contribute over a quarter of the world's annual economic output generated by both dedicated workers and entrepreneurs. This, he said, was complemented by the New Development Bank's driving investment in infrastructure that supports economies and societies that serve as networks of knowledge- and policy exchanges. Here he particularly referred to Africa and how this would accelerate change and development for the continent.

"We are putting forward a worldview that is based on our right to develop; to not live on the charity of others, but to thrive as equals building our economies," he said. "We must make the argument instead for a global trading and investment architecture based on fairness. We must point to the enormous benefits that have been derived by the flow of capital and goods across borders. We must invest and trade in ways that support the efforts of developing countries to industrialise - and to enhance the welfare of citizens and workers

Uniting for global progress through technology

Brics2023, said Patel, aims to unite people from diverse backgrounds and regions, leveraging air travel and digital communication to promote language and culture as tools for economic growth, job creation, and environmental protection on a global scale.

"Our modern world is built on the great civilizations of the past and on the contemporary efforts of scientists of innovators, of entrepreneurs and of policymakers Science and Technology and Innovation has been trained on the world's problems, from the development of vaccines against the Covid virus, to the green technologies that can help to decarbonise the energy mix of the world.

"Hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty through industrialisation, backed by trade and technological development on the African continent. This is the context of today's Brics meeting. This is what you as business people will take as a framework within which to forge business to business partnerships.

In conclusion, Patel said Brics2023 sets the stage for dialogue and collaboration. By harnessing the power of collaborative endeavors within our economies, steered by the robust private sector, the potential for nurturing growth and prosperity within the bloc is unmistakably promising..

This gathering, he said, not only underscores the shared commitment to overcoming challenges but also amplifies the collective drive to shape a brighter future for the member nations.

Katja Hamilton is at the Brics Summit this week in Johannesburg, reporting live for Bizcommunity.
The New Development Bank will be granting an R18bn loan to Transnet with the aim of upgrading its locomotives.

Source: Department of Public Enterprise (DPE)

Transnet has not been running at full capacity.

In a statement to the media, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) said it has experienced three main binding constraints, which it is actively working on. These include a shortage of available locomotives, mainly because they've been standing idle; the ongoing challenges with the locomotives from the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC); a backlog in infrastructure maintenance; and the crippling effect of rampant cable theft and infrastructure vandalism.

Transnet is currently implementing several initiatives, such as bringing locomotives back into service, restoring and stabilising corridor operations, and

swiftly improving the quality of rolling stock and infrastructure networks. Additionally, it is exploring the adoption of outcomes-based security contracts to minimise disruptions caused by theft incidents.

The NDP deal is set to come to fruition at the end of this year and forms part of its evolving $5.6bn portfolio in South Africa.

Katja Hamilton is at the Brics Summit this week in Johannesburg, reporting live for Bizcommunity.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, inspects a flotilla of the East Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in North Korea, in this Aug. 21 photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Yonhap



South Korea on Tuesday issued a navigational warning for vessels over North Korea's planned launch of a satellite later this month.



The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries issued the warning at around 8:08 a.m., after the Japanese Coast Guard took the same step earlier in the day as Pyongyang has notified Tokyo of its intention to launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31.






When Cuba in early August announced it was taking a major step towards electronic banking and a cashless society, the offices of fledgling small businesses across the communist-run country were left scrambling to figure out how to respond.

Most alarming to many budding entrepreneurs was a new 5,000 peso ($20) daily cap on cash withdrawals for businesses, one of several measures the government said were aimed at forcing Cubans to do their transactions electronically, via transfer, online payment and bank cards.



Cuban officials have said the new banking measures are necessary for transparency, to assure transactions are recorded and taxes are paid.
The Australian Governments proposed new laws to crack down on misinformation and disinformation have drawn intense criticism for their potential to restrict free expression and political dissent, paving the way for a digital censorship regime reminiscent of Soviet Lysenkoism.

Under the draft legislation, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will gain considerable expanded regulatory powers to combat misinformation and disinformation, which ACMA says poses a threat to the safety and wellbeing of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy.

Digital platforms will be required to share information with ACMA on demand, and to implement stronger systems and processes for handling of misinformation and disinformation.

ACMA will be empowered to devise and enforce digital codes with a graduated set of tools including infringement notices, remedial directions, injunctions and civil penalties, with fines of up to $550,000 (individuals) and $2.75 million (corporations). Criminal penalties, including imprisonment, may apply in extreme cases.

Controversially, the government will be exempt from the proposed laws, as will professional news outlets, meaning that ACMA will not compel platforms to police misinformation and disinformation disseminated by official government or news sources.

As the government and professional news outlets have been, and continue to be, a primary source of online misinformation and disinformation, it is unclear that the proposed laws will meaningfully reduce online misinformation and disinformation. Rather, the legislation will enable the proliferation of official narratives, whether true, false or misleading, while quashing the opportunity for dissenting narratives to compete.

Faced with the threat of penalty, digital platforms will play it safe. This means that for the purposes of content moderation, platforms will treat the official position as the true position, and contradictory information as misinformation.

Some platforms already do this. For example, YouTube recently removed a video of MP John Ruddicks maiden speech to the New South Wales Parliament on the grounds that it contained medical misinformation, which YouTube defines as any information that, contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organizations (WHO) medical information about COVID-19.

YouTube has since expanded this policy to encompass a wider range of specific health conditions and substances, though no complete list is given as to what these specific conditions and substances are. Under ACMAs proposed laws, digital platforms will be compelled to take a similar line.

This flawed logic underpins much of the current academic misinformation research, including the University of Canberra study which informed the development of ACMAs draft legislation. Researchers asked respondents to agree or disagree with a range of statements ranging from the utility of masks in preventing Covid infection and transmission, to whether Covid vaccines are safe. Where respondents disagreed with the official advice, they were categorised as believing misinformation, regardless of the contestability of the statements.

The potential for such circular definitions of misinformation and disinformation to escalate the censorship of true information and valid expression on digital platforms is obvious.

Free expression has traditionally been considered essential to the functioning of liberal democratic societies, in which claims to truth are argued out in the public square. Under ACMAs bill, the adjudication of what is (and is not) misinformation and disinformation will fall to fact-checkers, AI, and other moderation tools employed by digital platforms, all working to the better-safe-than-sorry-default of bolstering the official position against contradictory misinformation.

But the assumption that such tools are capable of correctly adjudicating claims to truth is misguided. Fact-checkers routinely make false claims and fall back on logical fallacies in lieu of parsing evidence. In US court proceedings, fact-checker claims are protected under the First Amendment, confirming that the edicts of fact-checkers are just opinion.

Recent reporting on the gaming of social media moderation tools, most notably from the Twitter Files and the Facebook Files, shows that they comprise a powerful apparatus for promoting false narratives and suppressing true information, with significant real-world impacts. Take the Russia collusion hoax, which was seeded by think tanks and propagated by social media platforms and news media. The suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal is thought to have swung the 2020 US election outcome.

ACMA seeks to curtail expression under the proposition that misinformation and disinformation can cause harm, but the scope is extraordinarily broad. A shopping list of potential harms includes: identity-based hatred; disruption of public order or society; harm to democratic processes; harm to government institutions; harm to the health of Australians; harm to the environment; economic or financial harm to Australians or to the economy.

The overly broad and vague definitions offered in the bill for misinformation, disinformation, and serious harm makes enforcement of the proposed laws inherently subjective and likely to result in a litany of court cases  to the benefit of lawyers and the institutionally powerful, but to the detriment of everyone else.

Moreover, the definition of disrupting public order as a serious and chronic harm could be used to prevent legitimate protest, a necessary steam valve in a functioning democracy.

ACMA says that the proposed laws arent intended to infringe on the right to protest, yet the erosion of protest rights during Covid lockdowns proves that politicians and bureaucrats are prone to take great latitude where the law allows it. The right to protest was effectively suspended in some states, with Victorian police using unprecedented violence and issuing charges of incitement to deter protestors.

In the US, the involvement of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in censoring online speech and, in particular, its framing of public opinion as cognitive infrastructure demonstrates how even policies designed to combat threats to infrastructure can be subverted as a means clamp down on wrong-think.

In the past, extreme censorship has led to mass casualty events, such as the Soviet famine of the 1930s brought on by Lysenkoism. Biologist Trofim Lysenkos unscientific agrarian policies were treated as gospel by Stalins censorious Communist regime. It was reported that thousands of dissenting scientists were dismissed, imprisoned, or executed for their efforts to challenge Lysenkos policies. Up to 10 million lives were lost in the resultant famine  lives that could have been saved had the regime allowed the expression of viewpoints counter to the official position.

History tells us that censorship regimes never end well, though it may take a generation for the deadliest consequences to play out. The draft legislation is now under review following a period of public consultation. Hopefully, the Australian Government will take the historical lesson and steer Australia off this treacherous path.
Ive compiled several stories which I think are worthy of your attention. Both for the outside world peeking in, and for readers based in Thailand who mightve missed something.

Department of climate change and environment

Finally! Its about bloody time, this was well overdue [sarcasm].

Citing recent remarks by UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on "global boiling", Mr Varawut said the new department is essential to Thailand's efforts to address issues related to climate change. According to Mr Guterres, global surface and ocean temperatures have reached historically high levels, which signals that global warming has ended and the "global boiling" era is here. "The department is vital as Thailand now has a body that is directly responsible for tackling issues related to climate change," he said.

This cannot be good. By royal decree no less. From the top. I foresee Thailands decision makers being as eager as the next deeply entrenched WEF controlled country, in dancing to the climate lockdown tune to a funky coinciditis irregular heartbeat.

Its a sad state of affairs when that UN insanity about global boiling is quoted seriously. Well, they want us to take it seriously. I just hope that all this is not a precursor to somewhere in Thailand getting the DEW treatment.

Let me know in the comments if youve encountered any NPCs quipping the ole climate boiling. Some handy tips to counter them:

The hottest decade was in the 1930s

CO2 is a trace gas making up 0.04% of 1% of our breathable atmosphere

Without CO2, all plants, animals, and humans would die

It is a life-giving gas.

If you would like more to make a handy crib sheet on refuting and denouncing climate alarmism fallacies, check out this incredible speech by Patrick Moore debunking the CO2 warming hoax. Essential viewing for anyone who is pro-human.

Digital wallet is hot (or not if youre wide awake)

Daaamn I love the smell of CBDCs in the morning! I mean cash. Cold hard cash. I am a cash man. Most people are one government directorate away from getting a QR code tattooed right between the eyes.

The party shelved the policy after finishing second in the May 14 election, as the social welfare policies of the election-winning Move Forward Party were given priority when the latter was attempting to put together a coalition government. Now the situation has changed and Pheu Thai is now the core (of a new coalition), Mr Paopoom said on Friday. Today, the party would like to officially declare that it will move ahead with the digital wallet policy, using blockchain technology.

The policy involves a 10,000-baht digital handout to every Thai aged 16 and over, delivered to a smartphone. The digital money can only be spent within a four-kilometre radius of recipients homes and is valid for six months.

According to Chainalysis, Thailand is number 12 out of 154 countries for global crypto adoption. Therefore, one would hope that Thais will prefer Bitcoin and decentralised cryptocurrencies over centralised CBDCs, but I wont hold my breath.

James Corbett just put out an uplifting piece on the global pushback against CBDCs. It is not futile to resist! Corbett wrote:

That's why this is the time to seize the momentum of public opinion and steer it into actual productive activity. We can encourage Cash Friday awareness. We can build up local trading communities based on alternative and complementary currencies. We can introduce those around us to Agorist.Market. We can promote community currencies and precious metals and decentralized cryptos and barter circles and the million other forms of survival currency that clued-in Corbetteers have been researching for years.

Occult deity Khru Kai Kaeo statue erected

I found this one bizarre and disturbing in equal measure. Is it a random local initiative? Is it something more sinister and satanic, quietly pushed by the global parasite class and their love for all things demonic?

This is such a weird story. First off:

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is allowing a controversial sculpture of the deity Khru Kai Kaeo to remain on the premises of the Bazaar Hotel on Ratchadaphisek Road for the time being despite a barrage of complaints. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said he ordered the BMA's permanent secretary to confirm whether or not the statue contravenes any laws or regulations. No violation has been found thus far, he said. "As the sculpture is clearly visible from Ratchadaphisek Road, its scary-looking appearance might frighten passers-by and commuters. We understand that the sculpture makes some people feel uncomfortable. We will try our best to find a solution," he said

It is amazing that this was permitted to be built and placed in such a highly visible area in the first place (albeit on private property). People commenting on the article said Ive been around this area and get a weird feeling, it is a dark place.

Id like to think that my negative energy levels are low to none with all the meditation Ive been doing lately, so I will find my way over there to see this abomination with my own eyes, and hopefully not be adversely affected

A few days later, another follow up piece popped up, literally warning the public not to make pet sacrifices to the deity.

Using pets as sacrifices for Khru Kai Kaeo, a deity represented by a gargoyle-like sculpture at a shrine in Bangkok, will make people liable to prosecution, the Watchdog Thailand Foundation (WDT) has warned. The warning came on the back of growing concerns from pet lovers aghast at the news of worshippers obtaining cats, dogs and rabbits and using them as sacrificial animals. In a Facebook post, the foundation said believers must think twice before they consider harming pets and using them as sacrifices to the half-human, half-mythical bird sculpture installed at the Ganesha shrine near Huai Khwang intersection. Although it is not against the law to worship a statue, the animal sacrifice craze shows how insecure many Thai people have become in their desperate search for spiritual support, he said.



Although it is not against the law to worship a statue, the animal sacrifice craze shows how insecure many Thai people have become in their desperate search for spiritual support, he said..

What the f***? That last part sums it up. Human beings turn towards religion in dark times, which can be community driven and wholesome, providing support and a sense of belonging to be gained across all faiths. However, some choose to turn towards dark entities and the occult. I immediately thought of all the weird stuff coming out of the US about extracurricular devil worshipping classes at schools and suchlike.

Needless to say, this really is a spiritual war, and we grow ever closer from the metaphysical to the real manifestations of that.

Flogging a dead monkey

They just wont let up with this one. It simmers and stews and bubbles back up the surface every few weeks. I guess they are hoping to get a bite from the general public and sell some vaxxeeeens.

More than 120 people have contracted monkeypox (mpox) in Thailand --which now has the highest number of such cases in Southeast Asia, a Chulalongkorn University virologist said on Wednesday. Citing the World Health Organisation, mpox is the new term for what was previously known as monkeypox. It is now being used instead in a bid to mitigate a rise in alleged racist and stigmatising language associated with the ailment.

I am disappointed to see Chula University playing along with the propaganda. The institution has long had a reputation as being one of the best, most academically prestigious universities in Thailand. They were all over the C19 injection advocacy too. Never forget.

Multiple murders

This is not part of a globalist agenda, yet it would be remiss to not report on how many gruesome murders have taken place in Thailand of late. Beneath the amazing Thailand slogans for this tourist destination, there has always been a sinister underbelly of horrific murders happening far too often, usually between family members or due to jealousy from a lovers tiff. Lately, it just feels like an extension of the misery and hard times leading to people acting out on their darkest urges.

He broke into a room on the 9th floor of Building 5, where he shot Sopha'ssister, Thawee Sinma, 60, and two boys identified as Thanakrit Kaewkret, 7,and Kritpas Kaewkret, 9. He then shot himself in the head in front of the condominium, said Pol Capt Chairat, before explaining the two boys were the sons of his estranged wife Viraya Sinma, 39, by a former husband. Jealousy and family problems were believed to be the motive for the killings, police said.

This is so sad. Rest in peace dearly departed.

Surat Thani: Rescue workers and divers are still looking for body parts belonging to a Colombian plastic surgeon who was murdered and dismembered by his former boyfriend on Koh Phangan last week. The search was spurred by the confession of the suspect, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, who admitted to dismembering the body of 44-year-old Edwin Arrieta Arteaga into 14 parts before dumping them around the island. He told police that he had initially intended to dump the body parts in the sea, but he couldn't fit them all into his duffel bag. As a result, he dumped parts that wouldn't fit at a landfill on the island, where they were found by local rubbish collectors.

This story really rocked Koh Phangan island. Dismembering and using rubbish bags for the corpse. Dark and premeditated and evil abound.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn said on Friday that German national Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann, 52, is the prime suspect among the four arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of Hans Peter Walter Mack, 62.

Pol Gen Surachate said that police also seized a speed boat belonging to Mr Brinkmann and found that he planned to dump Mack's dismembered body into the sea. Police also obtained CCTV footage showing Mr Brinkmann and Mr Uddin in a fishing gear shop. An owner of an electric saw also testified that he sold the saw to two foreigners that was used to dismember Mack's body.

There are multiple stories covering the death of German national Hans-Peter Mack. Extortion is believed to be the primary motivator, with 2 million baht having been transferred out of the deceaseds bank account before he met his maker.

Some comments on the articles alluded to a 2018 story reporting on Mr. Mack being prosecuted for trafficking an underage (15 year old girl) prostitute. The commenters suggested the killing could also have been a late retribution for this

Farewell until late September

I am hitting the road this week to travel domestically for my day job for a few weeks. It will be the longest time I will have spent apart from Mrs. Creed since we found each other in February 2020. I am going to really miss my wifes company, she is a wonderful woman and I am very lucky to have her in my life.

Sometimes we must travel the road of the lonely ones. I will be back here in September and intend to complete part 3 of my climate alarmism series in Thailand, as well as a piece on genomic surveillance and volatolomics, and two podcasts coming up - one where Ill be the interviewer, for the other I shall be the interviewee...

Stay tuned, stay sane, stay strong, stay sovereign.

Nicholas Creed is a Bangkok based dissident blogger. All content is free for all readers. Any support is greatly appreciated.

Bitcoin address:

39CbWqWXYzqXshzNbosbtBDf1YoJfhsr45

Monero address:

86nUmkrzChrCS4v5j6g3dtWy6RZAAazfCPsC8QLt7cEndNhMpouzabBXFvhTVFH3u3UsA1yTCkDvwRyGQNnK74Q2AoJs6Pt
Office of the police agency is seen in this undated file photo. Yonhap



An office worker in his 30s was apprehended Tuesday, a day after writing an online post forewarning of a knife rampage at Seoul's Gangnam Station after signing up for a community app as a police employee.



The suspect, whose identity was withheld, was put under emergency detention near his home in Seoul at 8:32 a.m. after writing the post on the Blind app for salaried workers Monday morning saying he would launch a knife attack at Exit No. 1 of the subway station.



"You better be on guard," the writer said with a text emoji for laughing. "I will kill you all."



The post was deleted shortly after, but captured images of it spread quickly.



The incident drew wide public attention as the post was uploaded with an account presumed to belong to an incumbent police official, prompting National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun to order a swift investigation.



But the suspect was found to have nothing to do with the police, being neither an incumbent nor a former police employee, an official said.



It was unclear how he signed up for the app as a National Police Agency employee because verification through a workplace email account is required to do so. On the app, users can write anonymously, but every post automatically comes with a byline that includes the writer's affiliation.



The police plan to question the suspect on his motives, and review the possibility of charging him for false impersonation of a public official. (Yonhap)


BRI unleashes Cambodia's development potential: Cambodian scholar

13:22, August 22, 2023 By Du Mingming ( People's Daily Online

Thanks to the Belt and Road cooperation, Cambodia has demonstrated great development potential, according to a Cambodian scholar, who also spoke highly of China-Cambodia relations and cooperation.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cambodia as well as the China-Cambodia Friendship Year. Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think-tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that over the past 65 years, Cambodia and China have shared weal and woe and witnessed fruitful cooperation. Calling the two countries iron brothers, he said bilateral relations have brought huge benefits to the two countries and the two peoples.

Photo shows Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think-tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia. (People's Daily Online/Du Mingming)

The Action Plan of Building a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future signed in 2019 reflects the friendship between the two countries characterized by mutual help and support, expressed Phea. With China's help, Cambodia has won the fight against COVID-19, as Chinas vaccines, medical equipment and other assistance made great contributions to Cambodia's battle against the virus. China also had a positive influence on Cambodias post-pandemic economic recovery, making the country's economy more resilient. All these show that Cambodia and China have overcome difficulties and marched forward together, embodying the spirit of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future.

Phea believes that Cambodia-China economic and trade relations carry great significance for both countries. While acknowledging both sides' efforts in helping the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement further release positive effects, Phea believes bilateral trade will enter a new stage in history, and expects more direct investment from China. "What the Cambodian side hopes the most is that some large Chinese companies will build production plants in Cambodia and expand Cambodia's exports, which will be very meaningful," he said.

In addition, he looked forward to more Chinese tourists, more fruitful results from bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and more solid bilateral friendship and relations.

Photo shows an exterior view of the Industrial Park of Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone in Cambodia. (People's Daily Online/Du Mingming)

Since the cooperation projects under the Belt and Road Initiative were launched, China-Cambodia economic and trade relations have reached a new level. By the end of 2022, Chinese companies had invested more than $10 billion in Cambodia. With the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement in 2022, the bilateral trade volume hit $16.02 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.5 percent.

"Thanks to our joint efforts in Belt and Road cooperation, Cambodia now has highways, ports and new airports, significantly improved traffic conditions, and enjoys better interconnection among regions," he said, adding that tens of thousands of job opportunities have been created in the special economic zones in Sihanoukville and the capital Phnom Penh, improving the lives of the Cambodian people.

The scholar also refuted allegations of a "debt trap," believing these are only attempts to damage China's image and are nothing more than political lies. The Westerners who hype up the "debt trap" claims aimed to intimidate other countries. In fact, it's just a geopolitical tactic, he said.

Photo shows a board with the message "Long live China-Cambodian friendship" written in both Chinese and Cambodian outside a previously poverty-stricken village in Takeo Province of Cambodia. Thanks to a poverty alleviation program initiated by both countries, the village has gradually blazed a trail to prosperity. (People's Daily Online/Du Mingming)

Phea noted that Cambodia has not experienced any "debt traps" in the Belt and Road cooperation. "According to data from Cambodia's foreign loan management agencies, Cambodia's loans in public investment do not come only from China. Cambodia's loans from foreign countries are within its repayment capacity. And when seeking loans, Cambodia always makes an assessment on whether it has the capacity to pay back the funds, he said.

Moreover, Phea called for efforts from both countries to further promote people-to-people bonds, and hoped for more in-depth exchanges, such as academic seminars, to let the two peoples, especially the younger generation, better understand the significance of the bilateral relationship. He suggested that both countries strengthen media cooperation to better demonstrate the profound friendship between the two countries.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
A rape and murder suspect, surnamed Choi, center, is escorted out of a police station to attend an arrest warrant hearing, Aug. 19. Yonhap



The victim of last week's fatal sexual assault on a hiking trail in Seoul appears to have died from strangulation, police said Tuesday, citing a tentative autopsy result from the National Forensic Service (NFS).



The victim, known only as a female elementary school teacher in her 30s, was seriously injured while being sexually assaulted, allegedly by a 30-year-old man, surnamed Choi, on the hillside trail in Seoul's southern district of Sillim last Thursday and died at a hospital two days later.



Choi, who reportedly beat the victim on the head repeatedly with brass knuckles on both hands with the intention of raping her, has been put under arrest.



The NFS conducted the autopsy Monday and tentatively concluded that the victim is believed to have died after being strangled and losing consciousness, according to the police.






This photo, taken, July 24, shows self-defense products available to buy in a store in Seoul. Yonhap



By Jung Da-hyun



Growing concerns over the possible criminal use of self-defense weapons are sparking calls for tougher regulations on the products.



Fears come in the wake of a heinous crime involving a 30-year-old man who assaulted a woman, on a hiking trail in southern Seoul, with two brass knuckles, after which, he raped her, Thursday. The victim died, Saturday.



"It scared me because it is so easy to buy them online, and I also wonder if I can actually use brass knuckles in self-defense in an urgent situation," said Lee So-heon, 26, a university student who also lives in southern Seoul.



The latest attack adds to a recent string of violent crimes that have alarmed the public. Ahead of the murder case, a knife-wielding rampage occurred near Sillim Station, July 21, followed by a similar incident at Seohyeon Station in Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 3, which sparked a surge in the sales of self-defense weapons.



According to Interpark, an online shopping website, sales quadrupled as of July 22, one day after the stabbing attack at Sillim Station, through Aug. 3, compared to the same period a month earlier  from June 22 to July 3. In addition, one day after the Seohyeon Station stabbing, sales saw a dramatic surge, equaling the total orders of the preceding 12 days.





The suspect, second from right, charged with rape and murder at Sillim-dong, Seoul, leaves Seoul Gwanak Police station after an investigation, Saturday. Yonhap
The trial of Rust movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will take place next year, a US judge has ruled.

Proceedings in the case of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter alongside Alec Baldwin, is scheduled to begin on February 21st.

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The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed faced charges following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

New Mexico prosecutors formally dropped the charges against the Hollywood star in April, though said the decision did not absolve Mr Baldwin of criminal culpability.

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Charges of involuntary manslaughter against Alec Baldwin were formally dropped by New Mexico prosecutors in April (Santa Fe County Sheriffs Department/PA)

Last week a weapons report was made public that appeared to cast doubt on Baldwins account of the incident.

Prosecutors said previously that charges against the actor could still be refiled, but are yet to indicate whether they will do so.

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Baldwin is also set to seek dismissal of a civil lawsuit, brought by crew members of the Rust film, at a motions hearing on Wednesday.

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The First Judicial District Court, in Santa Fe, will consider a motion by Baldwin and El Dorado Pictures to dismiss the lawsuit.

It will also consider a motion by the actor to stay the civil action pending resolution of criminal proceedings.
US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have arrived in Maui to comfort survivors of the devastating wildfires that ripped through the western part of the Hawaiian island.

The Bidens interrupted a week-long holiday in the Lake Tahoe area for the five-hour flight to Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames.

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The couple will meet with first responders and be briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.

They will also see the destruction from the air and on the ground, and the Democratic president will deliver remarks paying tribute to the victims of the wildfires, which have killed more than 100 people since they erupted on August 8th.

The aftermath of a wildfire is visible in Lahaina (Jae C Hong/AP)

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Its going to be an emotional day for everyone, said Olivia Dalton, the White House deputy press secretary, told reporters travelling with Mr Biden.

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The White House announced on Monday that Mr Biden has named Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, ensuring that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts.

It will take years to rebuild Lahaina, where just about every building was obliterated.

I know how profoundly loss can impact a family and a community and I know nothing can replace the loss of life, Mr Biden said in a statement before the trip.

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I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy. And throughout our efforts, we are focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions.

Fire and smoke filling the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass in Maui (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)

Lahaina is a community of significant historical and cultural importance, Ms Dalton said.

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Sen Brian Schatz said that as of Sunday about 85 per cent of the affected area had been searched and nearly 2,000 people remained without power and 10,000 were without telecom connectivity. Water in parts of west Maui is not safe to drink.

While immediate aid such as water, food and blankets has been readily distributed to residents, Mr Schatz said phones, ID and other documents that people would need to help them enrol in longer-term aid programmes were burned in the fires, adding more challenges to the application process.

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Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Sunday on CBSs Face The Nation that an army of search and rescue teams with 41 dogs had blanketed the affected area.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a social media post on Sunday that 27 victims had been identified and 11 families were notified of the losses.

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The FBI and the Maui County medical examiner and coroners office are working together to identify the recovered remains.

Mr Bissen said 850 names were on a list of missing people, taking hope from the fact that the initial list contained more than 2,000 names.

We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process, Mr Bissen said. The number of identified will rise, and the number of missing may decrease.

More than 1,000 federal officials remain on the ground to respond to the wildfires in Hawaii, according to the White House. The administration has distributed more than 8.5 million dollars in aid to some 8,000 affected families, including 3.6 million dollars in rental assistance, said Fema administrator Deanne Criswell.
US president Joe Biden has told survivors of Hawaiis wildfires the nation grieves with you and promised the federal government will help for as long as it takes to recover.

Mr Biden arrived in Maui on Monday, 13 days after fire ravaged the western part of the island, killing at least 115 people.

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Standing near a severely burned 150-year-old banyan tree, Mr Biden acknowledged the overwhelming devastation but said that Maui would persevere through the tragedy.

Today its burned, but its still standing, Mr Biden said of the tree. The tree survived for a reason. I believe its a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis.

Crosses honouring victims killed in a wildfire are posted along the Lahaina Bypass (Jae C. Hong, AP)

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Mr Biden and US first lady Jill Biden got a close-up look at the devastation, seeing block after block of hollowed out homes and other structures, charred cars, singed trees and piles of debris as his motorcade wound through Lahaina.

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They spent most of their time in the historic town of 13,000 people which was virtually destroyed by the flames.

The Bidens lingered briefly on the tarmac after arriving at Kahului Airport where they were greeted by Hawaii governor Josh Green, his wife Jaime Green and members of Hawaiis congressional delegation.

Mr and Mrs Biden embraced each of their greeters before they boarded the Marine One helicopter for an aerial tour of the damage.

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The Bidens also met with first responders and members of the community and were briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.

They also participated in a blessing of his visit by island elders. They had interrupted a weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe area to visit Lahaina.

US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk to board Air Force One after visiting the site of the devastating Maui wildfires and the ongoing recovery efforts (Evan Vucci, AP)

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Earlier on Monday, the White House announced Mr Biden has named Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response co-ordinator for the Maui wildfires, overseeing the long-term recovery.

Were going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild, said Mr Biden, adding that his administration would focus on respecting sacred lands, cultures and traditions.

Dozens gathered on the streets of Lahaina to watch Mr Bidens motorcade wind its way through the community. Some greeted the president enthusiastically, but others appeared to be waving their middle fingers at the motorcade.

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Other island residents held up signs urging Biden to listen to the people of Lahaina and to send more aid.

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People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Evan Vucci, AP)

During a community event at Lahainas civic centre, Mr Biden praised the remarkable resilience he said he saw during his few hours in the community.

The president also spoke, as he often does when addressing communities touched by tragedy, of understanding the personal weight of devastating loss and the slow and painful process of recovering.

Mr Bidens first wife, Neilia, and their one-year-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident in 1972. He lost an adult son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

When things look the most bleak, thats when we need faith, said Mr Biden, who spent 70 minutes after his remarks speaking with community members.
The refusal of serial child killer Lucy Letby to attend her sentencing and hear the testimony of her victims families produced widespread support for a change in the law in British newspapers on Tuesday.

Letbys refusal to leave her cell follows the similar actions of Thomas Cashman earlier this year when he was sentenced for the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool in August 2022.

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The Times said a growing number of MPs and ministers believe those convicted of murders and other horrific crimes should hear the sentences imposed on them in person.

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While admitting forcing criminals to attend their sentencing may prove difficult, the newspapers leader column said: Like a number of other murderers in recent years, Letby refused to attend court on the final days of her ten-month trial. To the surprise of many, there is no law to compel her to do so.

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[British prime minister] Rishi Sunak called her a coward. It goes far beyond that.

It matters that the public sees these penalties imposed and hears the judges reasoning explained in person to those convicted.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is quoted in the Daily Mirror backing a change in the law.

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He said: Victims families have been through the most awful ordeal. Theyre entitled to see justice delivered. So we need to change the law. I hope the government will do it because I think it can be done very quickly.

Lucy Letby (PA)

The paper described the failure to add an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill after Cashmans refusal to attend as inexcusable.

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Writing in the Daily Express, former UK justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said Letbys cynical refusal to come into the dock added to already heinous injury.

He said: The sentencing process is vitally important. It is a time for criminals to face the consequences of their behaviour.

I strongly agree that it is better for families to be able to see the defendant and their reaction to what is being said in court, but we should not risk giving any power to the defendant to delay or even halt proceedings.

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He aired the option of a live TV link to the prisoners cell and increasing sentences for those who refused to attend.

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That option was echoed by barrister Matthew Scott writing in the Daily Telegraph.

He said: The law does not value the life of a murder victim according to the poignancy of the bereaved relatives pleas. They do however give a voice to the murderers victims and they represent an attempt to ensure that the murderer is made aware of the invariably catastrophic effect of their crime.

All of these purposes could be achieved without the physical presence of the defendant, by ensuring that the murderer who refused to come to court is placed in a cell into which is broadcast the proceedings from the sentencing court.

They would be compelled to hear, if not to listen to, the statements of the bereaved and the judges sentencing remarks.

The Daily Mail called Letbys refusal a last act of cowardice and said it deprived the families of the chance to look her in the eye.

The newspapers comment section said: Although her presence could not have assuaged their grief, it would at least have brought some degree of closure.

The government has been promising a law to compel criminals to attend court for sentencing. It cant come too soon.
A relative of a victim of the Birmingham pub bombings has said that the decision not to bring charges following a re-investigation is ethical, moral and legal turpitude.

Julie Hambletons eldest sister Maxine was one of 21 victims of the attacks in November 1974, which remains the worst unsolved terrorist attack committed in Britain.

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The attacks had been re-investigated by West Midlands Police, but the Crown Prosecution Service said on Monday that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

Ms Hambleton (60) has now said that the decision shows that prosecuting people over the Troubles is off-limits and is tantamount to a cover-up.

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She said: In all honesty, we werent surprised, but were disappointed, as weve been disappointed for the last 49 years.

Thats all that the authorities have ever done  disappointed us.

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We pay these people to be in positions of allegedly protecting and serving and representing us, and its actually the very antithesis of what they do.

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So the CPS decision is a continuation of the myth and rumour that is attached to the murder of our loved ones.

Youve got Lucy Letby, who killed those poor little babies.

Shes been given multiple life sentences, quite rightly, yet in the same breath and in contrast to that, this government are pushing to implement legislation that will give the murderers of our loved ones total immunity.

People were blown up in cold blood, 200 people were left with life-changing injuries, and this government wants to implement a bill that will give every single murderer during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, England and Ireland, total immunity.

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Its just sheer madness.

How is it possible to differentiate between one murder and another? Murder is murder.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the attacks which killed 21 and injured more than 200 (Birmingham Inquests/PA)

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The government is creating a hierarchy of victims where some families it appears are more entitled to justice than others.

This is tantamount to ethical, moral and legal turpitude.

Twin blasts destroyed the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs on November 21st, 1974, with a third bomb failing to detonate.

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Six Irishmen, Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, John Walker, Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power, were wrongly convicted over the attacks and jailed for life in 1975, but were freed in 1991 after the UK's Court of Appeal ruled their convictions were unsafe.

The CPS said on Monday that after a thorough and careful review of new evidence given to it by West Midlands Police, there remained insufficient evidence to positively identify who planted the bombs.

It said it would continue to work with police if new lines of inquiry emerged.

The families of the victims have long called for a public inquiry into the attacks, a call that was repeated after a similar inquiry was announced earlier this year into the 1998 Omagh bombing.

Ms Hambleton, who leads the Justice4the21 campaign group, said she believed there was a sustained effort to deflect blame from those involved in investigating the attack.

She said: Youve got Grenfell, the Manchester arena bombing, Hillsborough and many, many more public inquiries that have taken place.

Some of them will have been hard fought for, but some they only have to wait 12 or 18 months.

We stand with each of them shoulder to shoulder, but where is our public inquiry?

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This is no more and no less than political policing and political justice  anything to do with Northern Ireland and the politics seems to be off-limits to ever be investigated, especially anything to do with Republican violence.

Our case could not make this point more profoundly. Its just one huge, massive cover-up.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the attack, and there are plans to commemorate those who died this year and in 2024.

But Ms Hambleton said no front-bench MP or member of the British royal family had ever attended a memorial event, and previous requests to politicians had been rejected.

She also voiced concerns over the new Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, which would give immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to people who co-operated with a new information retrieval body.

It would also prevent future civil cases and inquests into Troubles offences.

The Bill has provoked widespread opposition, with Britain's King Charles III being urged to refuse Royal Assent earlier this month.

She said: This Bill is, according to this government, a means to stop any future vexatious claims against soldiers.

The ruined Mulberry Bush pub (PA)

But this couldnt be further from the truth, because the Bill is purely a mechanism for the security services, for successive governments, to quite literally bury their dirty, toxic past of collusion and complicity with Republican and loyalist terrorists during the time known as the Troubles.

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This government believes that this Bill is the best way for families like ours and thousands of others to move on.

Such arrogance and hubris by them is absolutely contemptible.

Who are they to tell us how we should or shouldnt move on?

Victims families in Northern Ireland and England are united in opposing this bill.

People are being blindsided by the government into introducing a bill that will set a precedent for future generations to come.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has accused Facebook of putting profits before peoples safety during the emergencies created by Canadas record wildfire season.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced earlier this summer it would keep its promise to block news content from Canada on its platforms because of a new law that requires tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

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Fires raging in Canada have pushed tens of thousands of people from their homes and threatened cities such as Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. About 30,000 people were under evacuation orders in British Columbia.

Right now, in an emergency situation where up-to-date local information is more important than ever, Facebook is putting corporate profits ahead of peoples safety, Mr Trudeau said at a news conference in Cornwall on Prince Edward Island on Monday.

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Thick smoke from the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire fills the air as Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers on a boat patrol Shuswap Lake, British Columbia (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

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It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of insuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information to Canadians.

On Friday, government ministers called on Meta to lift the news ban, which applies to local outlets as well as national media such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The company stood by its decision and said in a statement about the wildfires that people in Canada can continue to use Instagram and Facebook to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organisations.

The countrys residents and visitors are not able to view or share news on the Meta-owned social networks, including news articles, videos and audio posted by outlets inside or outside of Canada.

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Googles owner Alphabet also said it planned to remove Canadian news links in response to the new law, although it has not yet.

The Online News Act, passed in late June after lengthy debate, is set to take effect later this year.

The Meta logo (Thibault Camus, AP)

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This is Facebooks choice, Mr Trudeau said. In a democracy, quality local journalism matters, and it matters now more than ever before when people are worried about their homes, worried about their communities, worried about the worst summer for extreme events that weve had in a very long time.

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British Columbia premier David Eby said it is unacceptable that Meta has not reversed its decision to block Canadian news from being shared online.

I find it astonishing that we are at this stage of the crisis and the owners of Facebook and Instagram have not come forward and said Were trying to make a point with the federal government, but its more important that people are safe, Mr Eby said.

He added that many people in British Columbia rely on media shared through Facebook to access information about the wildfires.
A populist Thai party linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has won a vote in parliament to lead the country, hours after the divisive former leader returned from years of self-imposed exile and began an eight-year prison sentence.

Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisins victory, with 482 votes out of 727 politicians present, ended months of suspense, legal wrangling and horse trading that followed the May elections.

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The progressive Move Forward party, which won the most votes in the national election, was blocked from taking power by conservative senators.



Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin secured enough votes in Parliament to become the countrys 30th prime minister, leading a coalition of 11 parties (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

Mr Thaksins return was an emotional moment for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the countrys largely rural, often impoverished, north.

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Hundreds of people gathered outside Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok early on Tuesday morning, donning red clothes and holding signs with welcoming messages.

They sang and chanted in anticipation, then raised a raucous cheer when he appeared at the terminal door.

Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from north-eastern Maha Sarakham province, said: I feel fulfilled that I travelled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes.



Supporters of Thai ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather outside Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

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Mr Thaksin and parties he backed struggled with the military for years.

He left Thailand 15 years ago, following a 2006 coup that cut short his second term as prime minister and sparked years of upheaval.

A Pheu Thai government led by Mr Thaksins sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted in 2014 by then-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is now the outgoing prime minister after voters largely rejected military-linked parties.

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Mr Srettha will lead a coalition of 11 parties that includes two pro-military parties affiliated with Mr Prayuth, while Move Forward was excluded from the coalition.

Critics called the new government a betrayal of the election results, but Pheu Thai leaders defended it as a necessity for ending the political deadlock and creating reconciliation.

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Pheu Thai said Move Forwards stance on changing the royal defamation law had made it impossible to rally enough support from other parties and the Senate.



Pheu Thai supporters react after Thailands parliament voted in favour of Srettha Thavisin becoming the next prime minister (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

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Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule.

Before his return on Tuesday, Mr Thaksin said the decision had nothing to do with the Pheu Thai partys bid for power, but many observers suspected he is betting that a friendly government will be able to reduce his sentence.

Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher and visiting fellow at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said: Thaksins plans to return to Thailand were postponed after the election results were announced  this implies a strong connection between the election, formation of coalitions, and selection of the prime minister on one hand, and Thaksins personal agenda on the other.

Less than a week before the May elections, Mr Thaksin announced plans to return before his birthday in July, but they were repeatedly delayed.

Mr Napon said Mr Thaksins decision to return now suggests that he has received assurances that he will not have to serve a prison sentence in full.

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Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, of the outgoing military-linked government, has said Mr Thaksin can request a royal pardon like any other inmate, and could receive special consideration because of his age.



Thailands former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra bows in front of a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as he arrives at Don Muang airport in Bangkok (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

After walking out of the airport, Mr Thaksin bowed before a portrait of Thailands king and queen and left a flower wreath. He spent a moment greeting supporters and the media waiting in front of the terminal, but did not speak.

His convoy travelled from the airport to the Supreme Court, where a special body that handles criminal cases against former officeholders confirmed an eight-year sentence given to him in absentia for corruption, which he has he dismissed as politically motivated. He then went directly to Bangkoks main prison.

Correctional officers at Bangkok Remand Prison said in a news conference that, following a medical check, Mr Thaksin had been categorised as vulnerable due to his age and chronic conditions affecting his heart and lungs, including high blood pressure. He will be held in isolation and monitored at all hours due to safety and health concerns.

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Thaksin Shinawatra waves to supporters as he arrives in Bangkok with his daughter Paetongtarn (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

Mr Thaksins daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a key figure in Pheu Thai, posted family photos with him in the middle on Facebook, along with a message thanking people who went to the airport to welcome her father, saying me and my family are very grateful.

Pheu Thai said it will control eight Cabinet posts and nine deputy Cabinet posts. The military-backed parties  Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation  will receive two Cabinet posts and two deputy posts each. Pheu Thai has not identified the ministries that each party will control.

It said the coalition has agreed to support Pheu Thais platform of boosting the economy, increasing the minimum wage and ending mandatory conscription.

The parties will also support the continued legalisation of medical marijuana and work to amend the constitution to make the country become more democratic, while not touching the royal defamation law, Pheu Thai said.




The suspect in a credit union heist in Daejeon last week was confirmed to have fled to Vietnam, police said Tuesday.







The man is suspected of robbing a credit union in the central city Friday, threatening employees with a weapon. He made off with 39 million won ($29,115).







The Daejeon Police Agency confirmed that the man departed for Vietnam on Sunday and requested cooperation from Interpol to apprehend him.







Police requested search and seizure warrants to investigate his residence and related locations.







According to the police, the man entered the credit union at noon discharging a fire extinguisher and threatening the staff with a pre-prepared weapon.







After robbing 39 million won in cash, he escaped on a stolen motorcycle.







On Saturday, the police located two motorcycles and identified a passenger vehicle, all of which he used for the robbery and escape.







It was discovered that he had traversed various roads within the city for two days after the crime in an attempt to elude police pursuit. (Yonhap)


Tim Ballard has had it with being linked to QAnon conspiracies.

The former US Department of Homeland Security agent, who estimates he has gone on several dozen missions to rescue sex-trafficked children since founding Operation Underground Railroad a decade ago, has become the public face of the surprise American box office hit Sound of Freedom.

Ballard is played by Jim Caviezel from The Passion of the Christ in a dark low-budget thriller that has taken a stunning $US178 million  more than the latest Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible movies  since faith-based distributor Angel Studios released it on Independence Day.

Jim Caviezel plays former US government agent Tim Ballard in Sound of Freedom. Credit: Angel Studios

While it dramatises a mission to rescue sex-trafficked children in Colombia without taking sides politically, the movie has been championed by the far right in Americas fractious culture wars.
No one knows me better than my Spotify algorithm, so when the good people at the streaming platform suggested I listen to Rich Men North of Richmond by little-known country artist Oliver Anthony Music, I happily obliged. About two minutes into the song, I was hooked.

Here was Oliver Anthony, a bearded North Carolina factory worker, singing innocently about the plight of the working class. Midway through the track, I did a quick Google to learn more, and thats when I kind of wish I hadnt.

The song has clocked up more than 30 million views and is number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, while also climbing to number 30 on the Australian Spotify charts. But it turns out much of that popularity stems from high-profile support from conservative politicians and commentators who see the song as the latest weapon in the culture wars.

So, is Oliver Anthony Musics track a conservative catchcry or just a simple country ditty that we should all just try and enjoy? Lets unpack.
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 A constant stream of Akubra hats, plaid shirts and dusty jeans moves along the road below the Bowen Hills studio of Joteo founder Joash Teo. Queenslands annual agriculture show, the Ekka, is in town, creating the perfect juxtaposition. Down there, the street reflects one perception of Brisbanes style: casual with its country roots held close to its chest. Model Mandy Wang wears Joteo. Credit: Macami @macami__ Up here, in Teos studio, the walls are lined with elegant designs and couture pieces that have walked runways around the world. Theres a sense of where the citys fashion scene is heading. The strongest thing about Brisbane is that we dont know what the strongest thing about Brisbane is yet, because were in that stage of developing it and finding it, Teo says. The 26-year-old is one of 24 designers taking part in Brisbane Fashion Festivals Next Gen Group Show on Wednesday night. Its a chance for up-and-comers, including students and graduates from Brisbanes fashion colleges and universities, to flex their creative chops and showcase the ideas and innovation nurtured here.

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Teo says Brisbane has had a real opportunity to define its fashion identity and consider its direction in the past few years. People dont really think about this but when the world stopped  I mean, Brisbane stopped too, but we largely kept going, he says. We got a chance to catch up and develop and try new things and essentially make our stake against the other two cities. Teo was already dressmaking professionally by the time he launched his fashion label Joteo in the final year of his bachelor of design degree at QUT. This will be Joteo founder Joash Teos third time participating in Brisbane Fashion Festival. Credit: Courtney Kruk In the years since, his trademark designs  dramatic silk velvet dresses with winglike apparatuses and form-fitting silhouettes  have featured on the cover of Harpers Bazaar and on red carpets around the country.

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Though he prefers to work on his own when designing, Teo is connected to a network of creatives across the city, brought together by their passion for making art and exploring big ideas. Theres all these little networks that join us all together, Teo explains. So when we say the fashion industry or fashion community, we also incidentally mean the art community or the music and photography community. Across the river, Practice Studio exemplifies the communal undercurrent running through the city. On the edge of South Brisbanes cultural precinct and West Ends alternative fashion scene, the combined workroom and retail space was founded by Kathryn Walsh to showcase the work of emerging local designers. Practice Studio features work by emerging Australian designers producing seasonless collections, limited-edition pieces and short runs of garments and accessories. Credit: Courtney Kruk Walsh, another QUT alum, has spent the past few months working with designers to prepare the Value Project, a collection of upcycled and repurposed garments, for the Next Gen Group Show.

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Though shes made three pieces for the show, Walsh spends less of her time creating original designs these days, preferring to distil her creative energy into collaborations, mentoring and alterations. Loading I realised recently that after four years of having a shop and not putting anything in there, maybe thats because I dont want to, she says. I get a lot out of alterations, theres a lot of creativity in that  and I really enjoy getting to help other people discover a lot of cool stuff thats happening here [in Brisbane]. Stepping into Practice Studios vibrant world, its clear this is a place where individuality is celebrated, and progressive ideas can be explored and developed. Kat Walsh spends less of her time creating original designs these days, preferring to distil her creative energy into collaborations, mentoring and alterations. Credit: Courtney Kruk There is so much opportunity to play because you are not so restricted by competition or the need to be the one doing the best, Walsh says of Brisbanes current fashion landscape. You can just explore what you want to explore.

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Those ideas also have room to grow because of peoples passion for bringing creatives together under the same roof. Theres a lot of stuff happening, and its all very community driven, Walsh says. Its us [local designers] banding together and supporting each other to create a scene at the moment. For another local designer, Calani Wiki, the Next Gen Group Show will be the first time shell get to see her garments  an array of colourful silk dresses with dramatic plunges and halter-neck ties  walk the runway. Wiki founded her label, YLD Design, nearly two years ago after graduating from Brisbanes Billy Blue College of Design. She grew up around a sewing machine, making dresses and stitching stuff in the studio with her mum, a film costume designer. Theres a very sentimental aspect to why I do it, she says. The Next Gen Group Show will be the first time Calani Wiki will get to see her garments walk the Brisbane Fashion Festival runway. Credit: @yld__design

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I started reporting on Australias health system in January. It was only while covering the Senate inquiry into reproductive healthcare earlier this year that I realised its because my pill  Yaz  is not subsidised under Australias Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Its total cost is out-of-pocket. And it wasnt only Yaz: 26 brands of contraception in Australia arent on the PBS. A 2019 survey of almost 7000 Australian women found one-third were using non-subsidised contraception. France has made contraception free for women up to 25-years-old  an acknowledgment that cost was a barrier to uptake and leading to unwanted pregnancies. Credit: Generic Its worth noting here that the pill is considered the default contraceptive option for Australian women, and the uptake of long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs is low compared with other countries, despite their benefits. Thats an issue for another day. There are 23 contraceptive brands listed on the PBS and therefore capped at $30 a script  but they tend to be older products.

It means newer and more popular contraceptive pills such as Zoely ($87.99), Yaz ($84.95), Slinda ($76.95), Marvelon ($87) and Qlaira ($89.39)  which cater to a range of other health conditions and may have reduced side effects  are up to three times more expensive than pills from decades ago. Loading Full disclosure: Ive been a pretty passive healthcare consumer for most of my 28 years. When a doctor prescribed me a subsidised, progesterone-only pill while I was at university, I paid $20 every four months and didnt think much of it when I was crippled with intense pain and heavy periods every few weeks. Several years later, I was recommended Yaz  one of those newer non-subsidised pills that costs $85 for an 84-day script  to help with PCOS symptoms. Many people have adverse experiences on Yaz, but for me it was great. It eased my periods, eliminated pain and I noticed no side effects. For four years I have skipped around as if that monthly burden never existed. Which brings me to my most recent dilemma.

Two months ago, my script ran out. Facing a $50 average gap fee to get a renewal from yet another new GP now that Ive moved to Canberra, and then hundreds more dollars for the pill itself, Ive stopped taking it. This is an era of across-the-board budget tightening, after all. The result? I am smothered in heat packs as I write this newsletter, suffering a monthly pain I have re-discovered makes me far less productive at work for several days  and thats before we get into the economics of unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. Which leaves me wondering how any of this makes sense. An unrepresentative, nonrandom sample survey  I know this is a science newsletter, but it was the best I could do  I have taken of friends and acquaintances suggests many feel the same. The women around me have similar experiences: they are forking out more than double for pills that have a lesser impact on their mood after spending years suffering side effects on cheaper options; theyve moved off the pill but have been forced to spend $500 in one go for an IUD; or theyve given up on hormonal contraception full stop, because of cost or cumulative bad experiences.

This was also the gist of the evidence presented to this years Senate inquiry. Healthcare experts including GPs, pharmacists and academics have been unanimous in their criticism of the barriers Australian women face, particularly the money issue. Loading Doctors colleges told the inquiry that long and costly approval processes for medicines in Australia were one factor that stopped pharmaceutical companies applying for their contraceptive options to be supplied here or listed on the PBS. A representative from the Pharmacy Guild said companies could also struggle to prove their pills were more cost-effective than options already available  a condition for getting medicines subsidised. The health department rejected a lot of that analysis and said pharmaceutical companies often wanted to set their own prices. In any case, the government doesnt have the power to compel companies to apply for the PBS.

But it could do more. The inquirys final report said contraceptives should be more affordable and the federal government is due to respond to the recommendations in the coming weeks. A glance overseas shows some options it could take. The United Kingdom offers contraceptive advice and supplies for free under its National Health Service. France last year made birth control free  both contraception and related procedures  for women up to 25-years-old in an acknowledgment that cost was a barrier to uptake and leading to unwanted pregnancies. In Canada, British Columbia became the first jurisdiction to give its residents free birth control in April. Its government said free contraception would prevent unplanned pregnancy and help people manage chronic conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis.

The province says free contraception will cost it $119 million over three years for a population of 5 million, but it will save someone who spends $25 on the pill every month up to $10,000 over their lifetime. Australia spent $54 million on subsidised contraception through the PBS in 2021-22. In the United States, a non-prescription contraceptive pill will soon be available on supermarket shelves  tackling the access barriers that come with getting a prescription. Loading Its a controversial decision that seems unthinkable in Australia, considering that doctors are opposed to trials allowing pharmacists to prescribe the contraceptive pill and pharmacies are opposed to letting supermarkets sell medicines. *Rough estimates suggest Australian women spend about 35 years of their lives trying to avoid pregnancy. The average age for first sexual activity is 16, while menopause is 51 and women these days have about two children, rounded up, which would typically require about five years of planning.
Queenslands treasurer has warned BHP its mining leases might be in jeopardy if the company does not continue investing in the state.

Cameron Dick used the day of BHPs full-year results to continue his stoush with the mining lobby over Queenslands progressive coal royalties, first telling News Corp the government would not hesitate to revoke mining tenures being misused and then telling parliament that firms had to use or lose their leases.

BHP boss Mike Henry: If returns go down, and risk goes up, of course that makes investments elsewhere in relative terms more attractive. Credit: Ian Waldie

The three-tier royalties regime introduced last year brought in billions of extra revenue and helped the Palaszczuk government deliver a record $12.3 billion surplus in 2022-23.

The treasurer has clashed repeatedly with miners who warned the royalties would deter further investment in Queensland.
The mother of a slain dancer denies she was instructed by a brothel owner to conceal evidence of his business interests and relationship with her daughter after secret text messages surfaced in her murder trial.

Ellie Price, 26, was found dead in her South Melbourne apartment in 2020 with a large wound to her neck, before her then boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro was arrested and charged with her murder.

Accused killer Ricardo Barbaro arrives at court this week Credit: AAP

Price had been friends with brothel owner Mark Gray, 60, who shed met while working at the Mens Gallery in central Melbourne. The court heard Gray was also paying her rent before their friendship became strained when she attempted to blackmail him for $100,000.

An initial trial this year was aborted before a second was later abandoned after Barbaros defence team received fresh data off Grays mobile phone.
This action has the grubby fingers and fingerprints of James Ashby all over. He is a con-man, a spiv and a fraudster  and I want anybody having dealings with him to be extremely careful. Loading In his brief explanation to the upper house, Latham claimed his resignation was over the Queensland One Nations takeover of the NSW branch and efforts to defraud the divisions electoral fund. The pairs departure leaves Tania Mihailuk as the lone One Nation MP in Macquarie Street. The former Labor MP was not present in the chamber for her colleagues resignations. Mihailuk confirmed in a statement she would remain as a member of the party.

Speaking on Chris OKeefes 2GB program on Tuesday afternoon, Ashby rejected the claims, saying they were completely false and it was the first time either he or Hanson had heard of them. Awfully disappointing, number one; but just completely false as well, which is what I find shocking. And secondly, Chris, theyve done it on the floor of parliament in cowards castle, he said. They wouldnt have the courage to come out and say it publicly. Ashby questioned why Roberts, who was a member of the state executive at the time of the alleged impropriety, had failed to report the misconduct before today. The decision to cut Latham loose had been driven by myriad factors, including the vile slur he made against Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, Ashby said.

A statement from the One Nation NSW branch also rejected the allegations, with, state director Amir Batish saying he had full confidence in Hansons leadership. Lathams most recent allegation involved redirecting funds received by NSW One Nation from the states Electoral Commission Fund  used to reimburse political parties for administrative and operating expenditure  in September 2021 to the partys head office in Brisbane. Tania Mihailuk is the sole remaining One Nation MP in NSW parliament. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer Payments from the  Administration Fund had been redirected to the partys Brisbane office where, in turn, they had been used to purchase conveyor belts, other fixed equipment and PHON merchandise, he alleged. There were two improprieties, Latham alleged: first, transferring NSW taxpayer funds interstate; and using those funds on equipment and merchandise sitting in Brisbane, rather than on running the NSW party.

Senior government sources said the allegations contained in the letter had been referred to the states electoral commission. Loading In the letter, Latham said he threatened to go to both the NSW Police and the NSW Electoral Commission unless the $102,000 was immediately repaid to the partys state bank accounts. Due to my actions, [PHON national director Rob] Miles and the Brisbane offices relented, and I was able to resolve a situation which was causing great distress to our NSW One Nation officials, he alleged. I understand that this financial misappropriation and repayment is still under audit and investigation by the NSW Electoral Commission.

The second accusation involved the party pushing for the NSW campaign to purchase $170,000 more in electoral merchandise than what was required  a scheme he ultimately stopped. Latham alleged he discovered the plot was to claim the full $200,000 in electoral expenses, while storing the $170,000 worth of excess merchandise in warehouses ahead of the 2019 federal election campaign. I found out about this and told our NSW campaign director to only claim the genuine $30,000 in expenses and return the remainder of the merchandise to Queensland for their payment and ownership, he alleged. I believe this is what occurred. As part of the three-page letter, Latham urged Graham to consider three reforms to electoral laws in NSW to combat the problems he described. First, banning the expenditure of NSW Administration Funds on merchandise; second, requiring all officials and executive members of a registered political party to live in NSW; lastly, requiring all NSW Electoral Commission funds paid to political parties to only be spent within the state.
A resurfaced report has revealed Perth is closer than ever to being able to support a fully-fledged public transport ferry network, but it is still not enough to get the Cook government interested.

The Department of Transport Ferry Service Current Status and Future Use report identified opportunities to expand the existing CBD-South Perth route, to include stops further down the South Perth foreshore, Canning Bridge, Matilda Bay, East Perth, Burswood and Belmont.

Its not the first time the state government has considered expanding its ferry services, with seven reports commissioned in between 1997 and 2016 never being able to identify a feasible new route.

But the latest report found previous barriers to a ferry route being cost-effective were falling away thanks to waterfront developments and improved opportunities for ferries to be linked with existing train and bus public transport routes.
The son of Cambodias longtime dictator Hun Sen has assumed the role of prime minister, after the countrys parliament approved his new government, following an election last month that was widely criticised as neither free nor fair.

The ascension of Hun Manet, who was educated at the US military academy West Point in New York, marks the conclusion of a political succession years in the making. The 45-year-old leads a new generation of ruling elite taking power from the old guard for the first time since a rebellion against the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

Goodbye and hello: Cambodias longtime ruler Hun Sen, left, has passed on the prime ministership to his son Hun Manet, right. Credit: Reuters/File

Hun Sen, who steps aside after more than 38 years as prime minister, will continue on as president of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and an MP.

Today is a historic day for Cambodia that the National Assembly voted for me to be the new prime minister, Hun Manet told MPs in his first remarks on the job. He said he would prioritise developing the economy, including small businesses and infrastructure projects.




Independent lawmaker Youn Kwan-suk, arrested early this month in connection with a cash-for-votes scandal surrounding the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) 2021 leadership election, was indicted Tuesday for violating the political fund and party laws, prosecutors said.







The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office referred Youn to trial, making him the first incumbent lawmaker indicted in its investigation into the DPK's cash-for-votes scandal.







Youn, who defected from the DPK in May after the scandal surfaced, is accused of distributing 60 million won ($44,900), or 3 million won each, to up to 20 DPK lawmakers to help former DPK leader Song Young-gil win the leadership election in May of that year. (Yonhap)


With the launch of the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) by Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday, India is set to get its own crash safety assessment system. With NCAP, the Centre is aiming to increase demand for safer cars and encourage manufacturers to comply with customer needs.

The Centre also said that the high safety standards could help Indian cars compete better in the global market and increase the export potential of Indian car manufacturers.

At the NCAP launch event, Gadkari also said that the cost of safety testing abroad is Rs 2.50 crore, while in India, it is Rs 60 lakh. The minister said that this further opens up opportunities for global car companies.

What is Bharat NCAP?

The Bharat NCAP is a safety assessment initiative introduced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It aims to evaluate the safety performance of passenger vehicles in India that weigh less than 3.5 tonnes and can accommodate up to eight passengers.

It is designed to align India's safety standards with countries like the USA, Australia, Japan and the UK.

The vehicles will be given star ratings based on crash tests and point-based evaluations.

How will the rating be given?

The rating will be given based on a series of crash tests. A frontal crash test is conducted at a speed of 64 kilometres per hour (kmph). Side and pole-side tests occur at 50 kmph and 20 kmph, respectively.

According to a report by The Economic Times (ET), ratings are assigned based on two criteria: Adult safety for front passengers and child safety at the rear. For adult safety, a car needs to score a minimum of 27 out of a maximum of 32 points to achieve a 5-star rating.

A 5-star rating for child safety is granted to vehicles scoring at least 41 out of 49 points.

How can automakers get a BNAP rating for their cars?

Under the BNCAP, manufacturers or importers of motor vehicles will have to apply for FORM 70-A to the agency designated by the central government.

Also Read For speed and safety on the tracks, Indian Railways has problems to solve Nitin Gadkari to launch Bharat New Car Assessment Programme tomorrow Luxury car sales up 38% YoY in June, more growth than overall vehicle sales Passenger car sales to cross two-million milestone in first half of 2023 Does your regular car insurance cover flood and water damage? Tata Tech joins car manufacturers' partnership AUTOSAR as premium partner Piaggio Vehicles launches Justin Bieber X Vespa in India at Rs 6.45 lakh Audi launches Q8 e-tron in India; check expected price and specifications Electric 2-wheeler demand slowing down due to reduced subsidy: CARE Ratings Mercedes-Benz India expects EVs to contribute 25% of its car sales in 3-yrs

The designated agency will get their motor vehicle star rated in accordance with the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-197, as amended from time to time.





"I applaud the Government of India for this visionary and historic initiative," said Venkatram Mamillapalle, country chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director, Renault India Operations.

"This initiative arrives at a crucial juncture for India, as the need to curtail fatalities on our roads has never been more pressing. With road safety taking precedence, the Bharat NCAP is a pivotal tool to assess and enhance the safety standards of vehicles on our roads." The vehicle's star rating shall be uploaded on the designated portal by the designated agency, it said, adding the BNCAP shall be a voluntary programme.

"We appreciate that the Indian Government is putting greater emphasis on safety regulations and policies that improves car safety. The introduction of BNCAP is a step in the right direction," Petr Solc, brand director at Skoda Auto India added.
Tamil Nadu should advance into the future of manufacturing using the principles of 'Industry 4.0' to reach its goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030, said T R B Rajaa, minister for industries, investment promotion, and commerce on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a public-private discussion in the city, hosted by the Tamil Nadu government and the World Economic Forum. The event convened more than 20 business leaders to discuss the establishment of the 'India Centre for Advanced Manufacturing' in Chennai.

"Advancing into the future of manufacturing with the principles of 'Industry 4.0' is vital for realising the target set by the honourable chief minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, of a $1 trillion economy in Tamil Nadu," he said.

Rajaa expressed the government's dedication to creating the India Centre for Advanced Manufacturing in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. He highlighted Tamil Nadu's pioneering role in driving India's economic growth and positioning itself at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The India Centre for Advanced Manufacturing aims to assist companies in innovation, sustainability, and research and development efforts. Leveraging the global expertise of the World Economic Forum and the insights of Guidance Tamil Nadu into local priorities, the Tamil Nadu government plans to establish the Centre in Chennai.

The conversation pinpointed three main areas of focus for the Centre: technology adoption and innovation, engagement between industry and academia, and sustainable production. Participants from sectors such as electronics, automobile, and general manufacturing actively took part in the dialogue, along with representatives from government entities like the MSME Department, TIDCO, and TNSDC.

"We've begun the digital transformation process already, and Tamil Nadu's emergence as the hub of advanced manufacturing will further strengthen our efforts," he added.

The Minister also outlined the Centre's three-fold objectives, including: supporting cutting-edge innovation, fresh business models, and digital transformation for manufacturing companies, encompassing SMEs; fostering industry-academia collaboration to spur innovation, workforce skill development, and research and development; and facilitating collaborations across the system to aid supply chain decarbonisation and circularity.

In the past, Tamil Nadu has set up three Centres of Excellence in collaboration with Siemens, GE, and Dassault Systemes, providing essential support to start-ups and MSMEs to boost their competitiveness in both local and international markets. Additionally, Industrial Innovation Centres (IICs) have been established at SIPCOT Parks in Sriperumbudur and Hosur to encourage industrial innovation and speed up technology adoption.

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To further boost the State's abilities and attract vital industries such as semiconductor, green hydrogen, and solar PV module manufacturing, the government is actively exploring the establishment of knowledge parks in major cities in collaboration with international research institutes. The State's cooperation with the World Economic Forum and other stakeholders is key in lifting Tamil Nadu to more valuable segments of the manufacturing value chain, according to a government statement.
Customs officials of India and Bangladesh have discussed a host of bilateral issues such as opening of new land customs stations, easing port restrictions, development of road and rail infrastructure and pre-arrival exchange of customs data.

The two-day 14th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) meeting between India and Bangladesh that ended on Tuesday was co-chaired by CBIC Member (Customs) Surjit Bhujabal and Bangladesh National Board of Revenue Member Md. Mahbubuzzaman.

In a statement, the finance ministry said the 14th JGC meeting discussed a host of bilateral issues such as opening of new land customs stations, easing port restrictions, development of road and rail infrastructure, pre-arrival exchange of customs data and a bilateral agreement on customs cooperation.

India thanked Bangladesh for completing trial runs and issuing notification for operationalising the agreement on use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports (ACMP) as was decided in the 13th JGC meeting and initiated discussions on electronic connectivity of the respective transit modules of ACMP.

The bilateral meeting concluded with both sides committing to furtherance of cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the statement added.

The India-Bangladesh JGC meetings are held on an annual basis to discuss issues relating to customs cooperation and cross-border trade facilitation. These meetings play a vital role in enhancing connectivity and developing trade infrastructure for smooth customs clearance at land borders.

There are 62 Land Customs Stations (which include land border crossing points, railway stations and river banks/ports) along with the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

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Japan is set to begin releasing treated radioactive wastewater from its Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday (August 24), amid strong opposition from several countries.

The plan has been in the works for years, with authorities warning in 2019 that storage space was running and that they had "no other options" but to release it.

While some countries have expressed support for Japan, others have been outspoken in their opposition to the wastewater release, with many consumers in Asia stockpiling salt and seafood in anticipation of future contamination.

Here's what we know so far.

Fukushima water: When and how will it be released?

On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the government had formally decided to start releasing the water as early as Thursday, August 24, "if they encounter no obstacles."

Over the years, the wastewater has been continually treated to filter out all the removable harmful elements, then stored in tanks. Much of the water is treated a second time, said state-owned electricity firm Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

When the wastewater is finally released, it will be heavily diluted with clean water, resulting in very low concentrations of radioactive material. It will travel through an undersea tunnel about one kilometre (0.62 miles) off the coast into the Pacific Ocean.

Third parties, including the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will monitor the discharge during and after its release.

Meanwhile, the IAEA has personnel stationed in a newly-opened Fukushima office and will monitor the situation for years to come.

Why is Japan releasing water from the Fukushima nuclear plant?

The devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant's power supply and cooling systems, causing the reactor cores to overheat and contaminate water within the plant with highly radioactive material.

Since then, new water has been pumped in to cool fuel debris in the reactors. At the same time, groundwater and rain have leaked in, resulting in more radioactive wastewater that needs to be stored and treated.

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TEPCO built massive tanks to contain the wastewater, but space is quickly dwindling. The company claims that building more tanks isn't an option and needs to free up space to safely decommission the plant.

In a July interview with CNN, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that Japan had evaluated five methods for getting rid of the water, including vapour release, which would have included boiling wastewater and releasing it into the atmosphere.

However, the majority of these options are "considered industrially immature," he said.

What are the risks of releasing treated radioactive water?

TEPCO claims that while radioactive wastewater contains certain harmful elements, the majority of these can be eliminated through various treatment processes.

The underlying problem is that there is no mechanism to remove a hydrogen isotope called radioactive tritium, and authorities and experts are divided on the risk it poses, if any.

TEPCO, Japan's government, and the IAEA claim that tritium exists naturally in the environment, including in rain and tap water, and that the wastewater is safe, especially given that it would be released gradually over decades.

However, some scientists are concerned that even diluted wastewater could harm marine life and pollute the already fragile ecology.

Mixed reaction over Japan's nuclear wastewater plan

The plan has received mixed reactions, with some supporters and others sceptical.

The US has backed Japan, and nearby Taiwan has agreed that the quantity of tritium being released should have a "minimal" impact.

On the other hand, China and the Pacific Islands have been vocal in their objection, arguing that the release could have far-reaching regional and international impact, including endangering human health and the marine ecosystem.

Some governments have even banned food imports from parts of Japan, including Fukushima.

While South Korean leaders have overwhelmingly backed the plan, opposition politicians have expressed concern, and protesters have called for it to be stopped.

Public concern has also grown, with seafood enthusiasts in mainland China, Hong Kong, and others pledging to stop eating Japanese products once the wastewater is released. Some consumers have loaded up on sea salt and other commodities such as seaweed and anchovies, fearing contamination.

The blowback has worried fishing communities in Japan and South Korea, who say this could mean the end of their livelihoods, particularly in Fukushima, where the fishing industry is now worth just a fraction of what it once was before the 2011 disaster.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi sacked his secretary on Monday, a day after he said he did not personally sign two key bills and had instructed his staff to return them unsigned within the stipulated time to make them ineffective.

Pakistan's President Arif Alvi on Sunday denied that he signed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023 after the local media reported that the president had signed the two bills which became laws.

The President's Secretariat said in a statement that Alvi asked for the replacement of Secretary Waqar Ahmed whose services were no more required.

In view of the definite statement of yesterday, President's Secretariat has written a letter to Principal Secretary to Prime Minister that the services of Mr Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to President, are no more required and are surrendered to the Establishment Division, immediately, the statement said.

The president also asked that Humaira Ahmed, a BPS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, may be posted as Secretary to the President, read the statement.

The removal of Waqar comes a day after President Alvi said posted on X: "I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill, 2023 as I disagreed with these laws".

"I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within the stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times whether they have been returned & was assured that they were. However, I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command. As Allah knows all, He will forgive IA (InshaAllah). But I ask forgiveness..., said Alvi, who is from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

The unprecedented claims by the president caused a furore with many seeking action.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Babar Awan in a video message requested Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to take suo moto action.

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He said that the president of the country was the head of state, a part of Parliament and the supreme commander of the armed forces while the country's agreements were also made using his name.

A very serious crime has taken place, he said, adding that this amounted to constitutional insubordination which would fall under Article 6 (high treason).

Pakistan's former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a close aide of jailed former prime minister Khan, was arrested from his home in Islamabad on Sunday here under the Official Secrets Act in connection with the leakage of a confidential diplomatic cable.

The Pakistan government on Monday established a special court to hear cases filed under the Official Secrets Act and Qureshi was presented before it for the hearing of the cipher case registered against him under the stringent law.
The head of Russia's space agency said Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said the spacecraft's engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a pre-landing orbit" but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.

Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency, Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24.

Roscosmos had contact with the spacecraft until 2:57 p.m. local time Saturday, when communication was lost and the device passed into an open lunar orbit and crashed into the surface of the moon, he said.

The lunar mission was Russia's first since 1976, when it was part of the Soviet Union. Only three countries have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

The negative experience of interrupting the lunar program for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failures, Borisov said, adding it would be the worst decision ever for Russia to end the program now.

The Luna-25 was in a race with an Indian spacecraft launched on July 14 to be the first to reach the south pole. Both were expected to reach the moon between Aug. 21 and Aug. 23.

A previous Indian attempt to land at the moon's south pole in 2019 ended when the spacecraft crashed into the moon's surface.

Luna-25 launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on Aug. 10. The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower.

Before the launch, Roscosmos said it wanted 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.

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Following the crash, the Russian space agency said the moon mission was about ensuring long-term defense capability as well as technological sovereignty.

The race to develop the moon's natural resources has begun, Borisov said Monday. In the future, the moon will become an ideal platform for the exploration of deep space.

Sanctions imposed on Russia since it launched a war in Ukraine nearly 18 months ago have affected its space programme, making it more difficult to access Western technology.

The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small moon rover, but the idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts said.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain frozen water in the rocks that future explorers could transform into air and rocket fuel.
Forescout, a global cybersecurity leader, today announced integrations with Microsoft Sentinel as part of a broader initiative to support the Microsoft Security portfolio. These integrations will deliver real-time visibility, threat management, and incident response across the extended enterprise: campus, datacenter, remote workers, cloud, mobile, IoT, OT and IoMT endpoints.

The continued rise in severity, sophistication, and number of cyberattacks has shown that many organizations current disparate cybersecurity frameworks and tools are insufficient. Understaffed security operations centers (SOCs), a proliferation of unmanaged devices, and newly discovered and exploitable vulnerabilities on legacy systems compound and exacerbate the risk and likelihood of a breach. Sophisticated adversaries are targeting increasingly complex, heterogenous compute environments while security teams are inundated by false positives, and threats that get missed, arent properly prioritized, or arent responded to appropriately.

Forescout helps enterprises continuously identify and classify every connected asset type  IT, OT, IoT and IoMT, managed, unmanaged or un-agentable  and enable the automated enforcement of appropriate security and compliance measures to reduce risk.

"Were proud to join the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) through our integration with Microsoft Sentinel, to provide customers with a comprehensive and holistic approach to cybersecurity, said Barry Mainz, CEO of Forescout. With this integration, Forescout helps security teams more deeply understand the risks within their network, helps mitigate cyber-attacks, and most crucially, helps them respond rapidly and accurately if one does occur."

Microsofts Sentinel platform adds a crucial layer of automated intelligence by delivering an impactful and automated way to drastically improve the signal to noise ratio security teams are grappling with daily.

Forescouts new comprehensive integration with Microsoft Sentinel along with long standing touch points to Microsofts broad Enterprise suite of solutions provides joint customers with real-time device context, risk insights, and automated mitigation and remediation capabilities that will improve overall security response times to incidents and events. This enables customers to remove complexity from the incident response process by leveraging Forescouts automation and AI to quickly make contextual decisions to improve security or mitigate a cyber-incident.

The benefits of the Forescout integration with Microsoft include:

Faster mean time to respond (MTTR) : Enables orchestration of host-based remediation through Microsoft Defender, via integrations with Microsoft Sentinel along with network-based response via Forescout, to accelerate mean-time-to-respond for the SOC.

: Enables orchestration of host-based remediation through Microsoft Defender, via integrations with Microsoft Sentinel along with network-based response via Forescout, to accelerate mean-time-to-respond for the SOC. Comprehensive, real-time asset discovery and inventory: Provides a holistic 360-degree view of their enterprise environment. This includes valuable device context such as logical and physical network location, risk exposure, device identity, and taxonomy.

Provides a holistic 360-degree view of their enterprise environment. This includes valuable device context such as logical and physical network location, risk exposure, device identity, and taxonomy. Asset Lifecycle Management: Automatically assess posture and enforce compliance, identify known vulnerabilities and indicators of compromise, quarantine at-risk devices, remediate problems, and allow endpoints back onto the network with appropriate network segmentation policies, all enforced from a single platform. An ideal set of capabilities to supplement comply to connect initiatives with a proven ability to never lose asset context at any stage of the process.

Automatically assess posture and enforce compliance, identify known vulnerabilities and indicators of compromise, quarantine at-risk devices, remediate problems, and allow endpoints back onto the network with appropriate network segmentation policies, all enforced from a single platform. An ideal set of capabilities to supplement comply to connect initiatives with a proven ability to never lose asset context at any stage of the process. Attack Surface and Automated Threat Management: Real-time risk assessment and remediation of endpoint posture to harden devices, segmentation policies to enforce least-privilege network connectivity, automated detection and quarantine controls that together enable a true Zero Trust architecture.



Microsoft Sentinel brings together data, intelligent analytics, and workflows to unify and accelerate threat detection and response across the enterprise. With Microsoft Sentinel Content hub customers gain access to robust built-in and partner published content and solutions with the click of a button. We are thrilled to collaborate with partners like Forescout, to develop valuable and innovative content for our users, said Rob Lefferts, Corporate Vice President, Modern Protection and SOC.

Forescout solutions that integrate with Microsoft Sentinel are available now. For more information about the collaboration, click here.

About Forescout

Forescout Technologies, Inc., a global cybersecurity leader, continuously identifies, protects and helps ensure the compliance of all managed and unmanaged connected cyber assets  IT, IoT, IoMT and OT. For more than 20 years, Fortune 100 organizations and government agencies have trusted Forescout to provide vendor-agnostic, automated cybersecurity at scale. The Forescout Platform delivers comprehensive capabilities for network security, risk and exposure management, and extended detection and response. With seamless context sharing and workflow orchestration via ecosystem partners, it enables customers to more effectively manage cyber risk and mitigate threats. www.forescout.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822916744/en/
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has awarded the contract to conduct a research project on assessing blockchain technologies for the management of approved aircraft parts and components to FPT Software Europe. The project, named VIRTUA (Digital Transformation  Case Studies for Aviation Safety Standards  Virtualisation), employs an alliance of organisations, including FPT Software, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), SkyThread, and PwC France. It aims to evaluate the blockchain capacity to improve the safety management processes used by aviation authorities, operators, and a variety of industry stakeholders.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821967747/en/

(Graphic: Business Wire)

The project will assess the benefits and constraints of blockchain implementation, considering the different stakeholders involved in the management of aircraft parts and components. It will investigate different types of blockchains and different use cases for their implementation along the lifecycle of approved parts and components. If the benefits are confirmed, the project will assess the main changes to be introduced in regulations, standards, and working processes, as well as the preparation of guidelines and supporting materials for regulatory evolutions and the deployment of the related solutions.

"The implementation of blockchain technologies for the management of approved aircraft parts and components could impact the whole lifecycle of certificates, from their issuance by production organizations to the changes introduced by design or maintenance organizations," said Nick Careen, IATAs Senior VP Operations, Safety and Security. "We believe that this project will provide a comprehensive vision on how blockchain solutions could contribute to addressing the issue."

"In aviation, the complexities of new technology implementations often result in delayed access to the benefits of innovation. But blockchain holds the power to enhance efficiency, simplify transactions, and improve safety, said Inigo Arsuaga, FPT Softwares Aviation Digital Transformation Expert. With the VIRTUA project, there will be a roadmap for blockchain that guides the sector to fruitful results from implementing it, he added.

The project is expected to contribute significantly to the improvement of safety management processes in the aviation industry and is aligned with EASA's mission to promote the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection in aviation.

With years of industry experience and an extensive partner network with major airline giants in Europe, the United States, and Vietnam, FPT Software has been contributing to transforming the global aviation industry through disruptive digital services and solutions. In Europe, the company has established a solid presence in eight countries, serving nearly 100 organizations.

About FPT Software

FPT Software, a subsidiary of FPT Corporation, is a global technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam, with $803 million in revenue (2022) and over 27,000 employees in 28 countries.

The company champions complex business opportunities and challenges with its world-class services in Advanced Analytics, AI, Digital Platforms, Cloud, Hyperautomation, IoT, Low-code, and so on. It has partnered with over 1,000+ clients worldwide, 89 of which are Fortune Global 500 companies in Aviation, Automotive, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, Healthcare, Logistics, Manufacturing, Utilities, and more. For more information, please visit https://fptsoftware.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821967747/en/
Seoul's new slogan, "Seoul, My Soul," appears on an entrance to city hall, Wednesday. Yonhap



City advised not to change slogan too often and learn from New York



By Ko Dong-hwan



The Seoul city government unveiled a new slogan amid much hoopla last week in hopes of bolstering the image of the metropolis. The new slogan, "Seoul, My Soul," replaces "I.SEOUL.U" that was created eight years ago with the same goal in mind.



But even before all of the confetti settled, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's much-heralded slogan has drawn mixed reviews with many people scratching their heads.



A resident in eastern Seoul told The Korea Times that she likes the city's latest slogan because it is catchy and easy to remember.



"I also liked the previous I.SEOUL.U because I thought it was pretty smart to put the city name that way," the woman said, refusing to give her name. The 30-something woman lived in Seoul since she moved from Anyang, Gyeonggi Province in the early 1990s.



"I like the latest one even better," she added.



Another positive review came from a Korean-Canadian from Toronto.



"It always bothered me whenever people pronounced Seoul as 'Soul,' but I like this slogan," the local elementary school teacher told the Korea Times. "It rhymes, which makes it catchy and also captures how the city has a spirit. If it was like 'Toronto, My Soul,' people will be like 'what?'" the teacher added.



Some said the latest slogan is an improvement from the previous one that was criticized for making little sense grammatically and failed to deliver an effective message. The latest slogan's use of symbols also earned some positive reviews.



They said the outcome was more colorful and cuter than what they had expected from the government.



"To me, the new design expresses the city's value of diversity and seems to say the city is still young," Kim Su-jeung, a visual communication design professor at Ewha Womans University's College of Art and Design, told The Korea Times.



"A 'humor code' in the rhyming words and pictogram design adds a visual balance between the text and image. The outcome can appeal to a universal audience in a more friendly way."



On the other hand, critics said the new slogan is hardly original and is very similar to the city government's existing tourism catchphrase: "My Soul Seoul."





Participants at the Seoul Metropolitan Government's presentation ceremony for a new slogan wave at city hall, Wednesday. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is standing sixth from the right in the front row. Newsis
This Oct. 8 file photo shows Lee Gyun-ryong speaking during a National Assembly session as head of the Daejeon High Court at the National Assembly in Seoul. Korea Times file



Seoul High Court Judge Lee Gyun-ryong, nominated as the new Supreme Court chief justice on Tuesday, is known to be a representative conservative judge in the judiciary and a master of international legal systems.



Lee, born in the southeastern county of Haman in 1962, began his judicial career at the predecessor of the Seoul Central District Court in 1990 after graduating from the Seoul National University School of Law.



He has since served at many district courts nationwide and worked twice as a judicial researcher at the Supreme Court before being appointed as the head of the Seoul Southern District Court in 2017. He then served as chief of the Daejeon High Court and moved to the Seoul High Court in February this year.






Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki, left, introduces Trade, Industry and Energy Minister nominee Bang Moon-kyu, center, new Government Policy Coordination Minister Bahng Ki-sun during a press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



President turns his attention back on domestic economy



By Nam Hyun-woo



President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Judge Lee Gyun-ryong as the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and Policy Coordination Minister Bang Moon-kyu as the new industry minister, Tuesday.



Lee and Bang were among Yoon's two new minister nominees and a number of vice ministers.



"For over 30 years, Lee has been dedicated to the field of judicature (administration of justice) and legal research, acknowledged by his rulings in advancing the rights of people with disabilities and has championed the protection of workers' rights," presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki said in a press briefing.



The new Chief Justice nominee, currently a judge at the Seoul High Court, will replace outgoing Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su, whose six-year term is set to end on Sept. 24.



"Based on his extensive judicial experience, he is expected to be listening to diverse voices in society and commit himself to principles, justice and common sense to lead the country's judiciary as the chief justice," the chief of staff added.



His appointment is subject to a parliamentary confirmation hearing, followed by a vote during a plenary session.



Lee is a graduate of the Seoul National University School of Law and has served as a judge at various courts, including the Seoul Central District Court and the Gwangju High Court. If confirmed, he would be the second Supreme Court chief justice who has no experience of serving as a justice at the top court like his predecessor.



Lee's nomination is interpreted as Yoon's ushering in the reform of the judicial system, as the judge has been critical of the judicature during his predecessor's term.



In his contribution piece to a local lawyers' magazine in 2022, he said, "trust in the judiciary has plummeted, and the authority of the courts has eroded to the point of becoming a subject of mockery" and "the credibility of the legal process has been compromised, and doubts now surround the integrity of trials."



Compared to the incumbent Chief Justice, Lee is viewed as a conservative, contributing to the Supreme Court's right-wing orientation. Until last month, progressive justices were the majority in the 13-justice Supreme Court. However, with the replacement of two justices on August 18, the balance has since shifted to seven moderate or conservative justices and six progressive justices.





Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun-ryong, left, speaks during a National Assembly audit in this Oct. 8, 2021 photo. Yonhap
Activists stage a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday, urging the Japanese government to revoke its decision to start releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, Thursday. Yonhap



Yoon administration says it sees 'no scientific, technical problems' in release plan



By Ko Dong-hwan



Korea's main opposition party and civic groups have pledged to hold an all-out protest against Japan's announcement, Tuesday, to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean starting Thursday.



The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) denounced Japan's decision by staging rallies at the National Assembly and in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to condemn the decision.



"Japan made the vicious decision to discharge contaminated water into the ocean, which belongs to all humans, without scientific proof, understanding from neighboring countries or agreement by the Japanese people," DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung said.



The party said in another statement, "The war criminal nation, after threatening the world in the past war, has once again emerged as a global troublemaker by deciding to release the radioactive water into the ocean."



The DPK's response came after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a Cabinet meeting and announced the discharge will be carried out on the set day if there are no complications caused by the weather or ocean conditions. While Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), the operator of the power plant, plans to discharge the water for the next 30 years through a newly-built underground pipeline, the Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said they will monitor the process on-site. The nuclear watchdog opened a field office in Japan in July.



The DPK said the Japanese government wants to dump the water into the ocean so that it can save costs instead of having to store it on land.



"All countries that are connected to Japan via ocean now must face the unimaginable risks caused by the radioactive water discharge," the party statement said.





Rep. Woo Won-shik of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea speaks during a rally in front of the Embassy of Japan in Seoul, Tuesday, protesting the Japanese government's decision to release treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean starting Thursday. Yonhap



The DPK's criticism also pointed to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) for not protesting the discharge but instead "abetting the Japanese government."



"The Yoon administration is encouraging the Japanese government when the release plan is even doubted by local citizens in Japan," the DPK said.





Despite gov't assurance, seafood safety woes spread in S. Korea over Japan's Fukushima plan Hong Kong to curb some Japan food imports over Fukushima water release China demands halt to dumping of Fukushima cooling water into Pacific Civic groups joined the protest.



Greenpeace denounced Japan's decision, saying it can cause "irreversible disaster," and is "the result of the Japanese government's irresponsibility and the Korean government's disregard."



"Releasing radioactive materials, produced from the nuclear plant accident, into the ocean is an unprecedented event in Earth's history. It could cause serious danger to the marine ecosystem and human safety," it said in a statement.



"Japan chose a false solution instead of talking about reality frankly  It should stop the act that infringes on the basic human rights of people in Fukushima, nearby countries and the entire Asia-Pacific region."



Civic groups and members of the agro-fishery industry on Jeju Island called on Japan to halt its release plan and the Yoon administration to lodge a strong protest.



Protesters in Japan hold banners reading "Don't discharge contaminated water into the sea!" during a rally in front of the country's Prime Minister's official residence as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was holding a ministerial meeting about the release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, in Tokyo, Tuesday. EPA-Yonhap

"Releasing contaminated water into the ocean is an act of terrorism that cannot be understood for any reason," they said in a statement. "It doesn't comply with international law, goes against environmental justice and damages the sustainability of the human community."



Upon Japan's announcement, the prime minister's office in Korea said that it saw no problem with the scientific or technical aspects of the discharge plan. The Korean authority added, however, that it does not agree with or support that plan.



"If the Japanese government deviates from the plan even by an inch, the Korean government will deem it a threat to our citizens' safety and request them to stop the discharge immediately," said Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the office.



The PPP has also requested the Japanese government to be cautious about the discharge, according to Park.



The IAEA said it will regularly provide the Korean government with up-to-date information about the discharge and facilitate visits by Korean experts to the agency's office in Fukushima.



The agency's director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi said the IAEA and the Korean government have agreed to establish the IAEA-ROK Fukushima Information Mechanism before Thursday to stress the importance of transparency.



Following Japan's announcement, the Chinese government accused Tokyo of "arbitrarily dumping nuclear-contaminated" water into the ocean.



The Hong Kong government also responded to the announcement, with chief executive John Lee instructing his officials to "immediately activate" import curbs on some Japanese food products.




Monday, August 21, 2023 at 8:32PM

Victor Varela / Flickr

Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario since 1994, is moving into a new role at Nintendo, the company announced on X (formerly Twitter). He will no longer record character voices for their games, including the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Nintendo posted on X that Martinet will become a Mario Ambassador, travelling the world to promote the Mario franchise and engage with fans. It has been an honour working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him, Nintendo wrote. Please keep an eye out for a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles himself, which we will post at a future date.

Martinet stepped into the role of Mario in 1994 for the educational game Mario Teaches Typing on the Macintosh and PC. He became famous for his exclamations of Wahoo! and Mamma mia! in 1996s Super Mario 64. He also voiced Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and other forms of Mario. Aside from his work with Nintendo, Martinet has voiced characters in IPs like Dragon Ball and The Elder Scrolls.

Martinet has been a fan favourite for his enthusiasm and friendliness. Following todays news, he posted, My new adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!

Source | Via
HARARE, ZIMBABWE (Aug. 22, 2023)  Despite the Zimbabwean governments invitation to launch an election observation mission for the Aug. 23 elections, 30 of the Carter Centers 48 short-term observers still have not received accreditation from Zimbabwean authorities.

The Carter Center has an international reputation for providing impartial, constructive election observation. This delay in accreditation is unprecedented in its 30-plus years of observing elections. It represents a severe and unwarranted obstruction to the Centers mission, inconsistent with commonly recognized and respected norms and practices.

The Center requests that accreditation for these observers be given today, Aug. 22, so it can fulfill its mission to provide an impartial assessment of the election. Any further delay in accreditation will prevent the Center from deploying these observers and will hinder its ability to observe polling, counting, and tabulation in many locations.

Furthermore, false and hostile comments about the Center and its work continue to be published in local and regional media. These attacks endanger Carter Center observers. We urge Zimbabwean authorities to publicly reiterate its welcome of The Carter Center and ensure the safety of its observers and staff.

Background:

Following an invitation from the Zimbabwean government, the Carter Center in July launched its mission to observe the upcoming Zimbabwean elections.

Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, is leading the mission.

The Carter Center has observed more than 110 elections in 40 countries, including the United States, since 1989. It conducts its missions in accordance with the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, and its assessment and analysis of election are based on regional and international human rights obligations and standards for democratic elections, including the SADC Principles and Guidelines and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

###

Contact: In Harare, 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.
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Freight rates drifting lower after short rebound

ICR Newsroom By 22 August 2023

By Brannvoll ApS, Denmark

The USG Supramax spot freight market started the month on a strong note. Rates were rising across all routes as a region was supported, especially on fronthaul directions, which were dominated by petcoke trades. However, in the second half of the month, rates started slipping below the previous levels due to limited fresh demand, while tonnage continued to pile up for spot/prompt laycan dates. Therefore, the hope for market recovery did not materialise in July.

After bi-directional correction, rates for shipments from the USG ports settled at the levels they ended one month ago.

Deals for delivery of 50,000t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at ~US$19.50/t on average. Freight rates for transportation of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$15.50/t on average. Shipping costs for delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are at US$38.50/t on average.

In the USG the market will almost certainly weaken further, with owners hoping only for brisker petcoke exports. Hopefully, August will bring the inflow of cargoes as the market needs to break this downward trend. Nevertheless, the overall sentiment is soft going forward as there are few preconditions for further growth in the North Atlantic.

The US continues to lose its share of the grain market, as demand for US grains, the key USG market driver from September (when the grain season starts), from major importers is declining.

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Judge blocks acquisition of Tanga Cement in Tanzania

22 August 2023

The proposed acquisition of AfriSam subsidiary, Tanga Cement, by Heidelberg Material's Scancem International DA has hit a snag as a tribunal judge ruled a decision to accept the deal to be against the law.



Judge Salma Maghimbi of The Fair Competition Tribunal (FCT) in Tanzania, has ruled the decision by the Federal Competition Commission (FCC) to accept the merger was wrong, stating that the FCC does not have jurisdiction over the matter. Chalinze Cement of Tanzania has also opposed the merger.

Tanga Cement Plc Board Chairman, Lawrence Masha, stated HeidelbergCement and Afrisam are still considering ways of processing, but the FCT judgement has created a very difficult position for the buyout to be effected.

Finance Minister, Dr Mwigulu, previously said the acquisition would make it possible for Tanga Cement to be more productive, maintain the supply of cement and assure employment for the current employees of the company.

AfriSam owns Tanga Cement and wants to sell its 68 per cent share to Scancem International DA (Heidelberg Materials group) in a deal worth more than TZS137bn (US$55m).

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Taiheiyo to build new terminal in Philippines

ICR Newsroom By 22 August 2023

Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement Corp (TCC) will build a new cement terminal in Calaca, Batangas, Philippines, to enable the company to serve the Luzon market from its pant in San Fernando, Cebu.



Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc (TCPI) will build and operate the planned hub to distribute its Grand-branded cement products, according to TCC President and Representative Director, Masafumi Fushihara.



The 0.7Mta project is the next step in serving a market that TCPI has estimated to have increased by approximately 30 per cent between 2015-19, reaching 32Mt, said the company. For 2023 demand is forecast to increase by 5.6 per cent YoY as a strong recovery in the countrys GDP is expected. Moreover, the Build Better More programme of the Marcos administration is also anticipate to see an upswing in infrastructure construction.



The company plans to transport and sell blended cement, for which demand has been increasing in recent years, based on Taiheiyos strategy to reduce CO 2 emissions per unit of production. TCPI targets sales of 5Mta and a market share of 10 per cent by 2030.



In addition, TCPI is considering strengthening its marine logistics system with an eye on the future of TCCs business in the Philippines and expect a total investment of approximately JPY10bn (US$68.7m).



The company is also upgrading its cement production line at present. After the start of commercial operation in May 2024, the project will see TCPIs production capacity increase to 3Mta.







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The tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, is seen in this Jan. 19 photo. AP-Yonhap



Japan will begin to discharge treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant on Thursday, Japan's Kyodo News reported Tuesday, amid lingering safety concerns.



The decision comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency gave final approval to the discharge last month, saying Japan's release plan met international standards.



The Fukushima plant has stored more than 1.3 million tons of water through a custom purification system known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System, since three reactors melted down after a powerful earthquake struck off the coast in March 2011.



In the wake of the meltdown incident, South Korea has banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima since 2013 due to concerns over their radiation levels. (Yonhap)




Trilateral economic solidarity is a double-edged sword



The global rivalry between America and China is an economic war, given that the G2 must avoid military clashes at any cost.



So, it was natural that the leaders of the U.S., South Korea, and Japan put equal emphasis on security and economy in their summit at Camp David last week.



The "trilateral supply-chain solidarity" also makes good economic sense. Together, the three countries account for one-third of the global GDP. Moreover, America's pioneering source technology, Japan's superior equipment, and Korea's manufacturing prowess create an ideal synergy in semiconductor and other high-tech industries.



Korea, the smallest economy and the least advanced technological power among the three, could be the trilateral solidarity's biggest beneficiary. Significantly, the agreement allows Korea to maintain gaps with rapidly chasing China in its traditional industrial strongholds.



As always, however, benefits accompany risks.



The first and foremost threat is China's possible economic retaliation. After Camp David, a Chinese government mouthpiece warned against an "economic rift" among Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo. Korea heavily relies on overseas markets, unlike the U.S. and Japan, with large domestic markets. This country relies on exports for half of its economic growth, and China still buys nearly one-fifth of Korea's exports.



And China's economic retaliation is long and persistent. Beijing only recently lifted its ban on Korean cultural products, including travel, imposed in 2016 when Seoul deployed a U.S. missile defense system. Japan also yielded to China's pressure two decades ago when Beijing restricted the export of rare-earth metals amid a territorial dispute over an island in the South China Sea. It was reassuring for the three allies to agree to cope jointly with the shortage of certain items and their suppliers.



A more fundamental problem for Korea than Beijing's retaliatory moves is its rapid loss of advantages in flagship sectors and a failure to find new growth engines. The trilateral summit also provided a ray of hope in this regard. The trilateral accord called for building a cooperative platform in various high-tech sectors, such as semiconductors, batteries, bio, space, artificial intelligence, and quantum computers. At stake is how Korea secures cutting-edge technology in these fields to beat China and other competitors and emerge as the hub of global high-end manufacturing.



Despite the recent spate of bad economic news on China, most countries find it challenging to de-risk, let alone de-couple, from the world's No. 2 economy. That explains why high-level officials from the U.S. and Japan have been visiting Beijing to protect their economic interests despite cooling diplomatic ties. The only exception seems to be Seoul.



The Yoon Suk Yeol government's economic indifference to China is hard to understand, given Seoul is most vulnerable to Beijing's countermoves. Korea can no longer depend on America for security and China for the economy. Still, Seoul must continue to walk on a tightrope in the economy.



Yoon has bet all on the U.S. in terms of both security and the economy. But no other country acts like that and chooses instead to divide its eggs into several baskets. Other leaders do not sacrifice their nations' economic interests to defend ideological values. Yoon thinks he can mend economic ties with Beijing, as Korea hosts high-level visitations from three Northeast Asian countries this year.



It is doubtful whether China thinks that way. The size and level of economic exchanges between Seoul and Beijing are small and low compared to the U.S. and Japan. Of course, China also needs Korea economically, including in the semiconductor sector, where Korea holds a 25-percent stake worldwide. But that also requires skillful trade diplomacy.



The Yoon administration should do at least two things in this regard.



First, it must persuade Washington not to tie up the hands and feet of Korean chipmakers and automakers under the pretext of building a new supply chain. Yoon should have done that at Camp David. Second, it should implement bolder industrial policies, including regulatory reforms, to bring Korean and foreign businesses back to this country.



It all depends on how skillfully Seoul uses the double-edged sword of the trilateral economic partnership.




Trump says to turn himself in Thursday for Georgia election interference case

Xinhua) 14:32, August 22, 2023

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he would turn himself in on Thursday to the authorities in Atlanta for the Georgia election interference case.

Trump and 18 others were indicted on Aug. 14 over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Trump was charged with 13 counts, including violating the state's racketeering act, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiring to file false documents.

The indictment followed a two-and-a-half-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The probe was launched after audio leaked from a January 2021 phone call during which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to question the validity of thousands of ballots, especially in the heavily Democratic Atlanta area. Trump said he wanted to "find" the votes to erase his 2020 loss in the state.

A judge in Atlanta set bail for Trump at 200,000 U.S. dollars on Monday in the election interference case against him, according to U.S. media reports.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed that he would turn himself in on Thursday and also attacked Willis.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History. In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for "Murder," but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!" said Trump.

"She (Willis) campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked (U.S. President) Joe Biden's DOJ (Department of Justice). It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he added.

The Georgia case is the fourth criminal case to be brought against the former president.

Trump is facing separate federal charges for plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

In March, he was indicted on New York state charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush-money payments to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Science Minister Lee Jong-ho announces the government's plan to reduce its budget for major R&D projects in 2024, during a press conference at the Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Park Jae-hyuk



The government decided to cut its spending next year on major state-sponsored scientific research activities by 13.9 percent year-on-year to 21.5 trillion won ($16 billion) from 24.9 trillion won, the science ministry said Tuesday.



The decision was made after President Yoon Suk Yeol unexpectedly instructed his officials in June to reconsider state-run research and development (R&D) projects from scratch and root out what he referred to as a cartel that seeks to protect their vested interests in the R&D sector.



This is the first time in eight years that the government decided to reduce its budget for major R&D projects before the National Assembly's approval. If lawmakers pass the government's proposal, this will be the first time in three decades for Korea to cut its R&D budget.



According to the science ministry, "major R&Ds" refer to projects under the ministry's supervision.



The finance ministry also seeks to cut its spending on general R&D, which involves the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and institutes of science and technology in Gwangju, Daegu and Ulsan, as well as that undertaken by scientists' associations. Given this, the government's overall R&D budget for next year is expected to decrease sharply from this year's 31 trillion won.



Science Minister Lee Jong-ho attributed the planned budget cut to the previous Moon Jae-in administration's reckless expenditure. But opposition parties view insufficient tax revenue as the main reason for the decision.



In response to concerns over a major setback in basic science studies, the minister emphasized that the government will increase investment in biotech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum, semiconductors, rechargeable batteries and space sectors.



He also said the government will encourage collaborations with foreign researchers, following the president's order.



The Scientists and Engineers Association of National Research Institutes, however, pointed out that state-run research institutes have already been baffled by the abrupt order to arrange joint research with foreign institutions.



"The institutes should stop being hasty in following the president's abrupt order to increase collaborations with foreign researchers," the association said in a statement last month.



Given that the science ministry plans to introduce an evaluation system to abolish underperforming R&D projects, concerns are also growing that Korea could go against the global trend of accepting failures for the purpose of innovation.



In addition, a large-scale brain drain has been anticipated as the science ministry seeks to cut research allowances for employees of state-run research institutes.



"Due to the budget cut, I finally decided to accept the offer for a job in a European country," an employee of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology wrote on Blind, an anonymous chat app for verified employees.



Amid the criticism, speculation is growing that the R&D budget may not be passed in the National Assembly, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) holds the majority.



"The science ministry ignored laws and regulations when drawing up the R&D budget," Rep. Cho Seung-rae of the DPK said Tuesday. "The president should apologize to researchers and scientists for his remarks on 'R&D cartel.'"




The headquarters of the Federation of Korean Industries in Seoul's western Yeouido district is seen in this Aug. 18 photo. Yonhap



The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced Tuesday a string of measures to revamp the business organization, including appointing its new chief, in a major overhaul aimed at restoring its reputation after years of setbacks over a political scandal.



In an extraordinary general meeting held earlier in the day, the FKI appointed Poongsan Group Chairman Ryu Jin as its new chair to take the helm of the country's largest business lobby.



Ryu, the leader of the major medium-sized enterprise that manufactures copper materials and defense products, had been widely speculated as the candidate for the FKI chairmanship. Ryu is known for his extensive personal and professional connections with the U.S. business community.



The board also approved the decision to change its Korean name to "Hangyeonghyeop" from "Jeongyeongryeon" as part of the reform, though its English name will remain unchanged.



The new name will be used upon the official approval of the changes in the articles of association by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the FKI said.



The core part of the revamp plans is the decision to merge with the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), an FKI-affiliated think tank, to create the legal grounds for the top four Korean conglomerates to return to membership following their withdrawals in early 2017.





Ryu Jin, new chair of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and chairman of Poongsan Group, appears at the FKI headquarters in Yeouido to attend an extraordinary general meeting, Aug. 22. Yonhap
Cleveland State Community College celebrated the latest installment of bricks to the Community First Walkway located in the D. F. Adkisson Administration Plaza.The bricks were purchased by individuals during the colleges annual Family and Alumni Campaigns.The brick campaign started in 2019 as part of the capital fundraising effort for the new Health and Science Center.
The tragic loss of life and property on the Hawaiian island is a vivid reminder of what can take place when Mother Nature flexes her muscles and demonstrates her superiority over the human race and a natural disaster occurs. California becomes part of the conversation with its double dose of Hurricane Hilary and 5.1 earthquake.

(The following commentary is in the form of a preventative quest for safety and not designed to stop or slow down the re-imagining projects in our community.)

Another anonymous source has introduced the author to the term Complete Streets planning which was adopted by the Choo Choo City administration on April Fools Day of 2014 in City Ordinance 32-340 et seq. which can be accessed on the municipalitys website.

The following article discusses from a historical standpoint whether attention should be given to provide safety to local citizens in addition to the continuous campaign for growth and prosperity:

Mother Nature does not read the glossy Best promotions when she decides to initiate a tragic disaster (see Maui and California); Hamilton County for all its publicized beauty of mountains, ridges, and rivers sits in a bowl with limited access and exit in the event of an uncontrolled raging fire or other national tragedy; The outdated freeway system comes to a halt with every fender bender and we are Malfunction Junction No. 1 involving I-24 to I-75, along with Knoxvilles I-75(S) and I-40, and Nashvilles dual problems with I-24 and I-40. No mention is necessary about the I-75(S) problem (Atlanta); The streets, tunnels, and railroad overpasses (Wilcox, Bachman, St. Elmo, Wauhatchie, etc.) can be blocked by an accident or misguided tractor trailer getting stuck; Older wooden residential areas such as Highland Park are undergoing further development and are in such close proximity to each other (less than 10 feet) so that a wind-blown fire would have real potential to expand (see Maui); Pursuant to #2, Chattanoogas first airport (Marr Field) was located in East Chattanooga on the west side of Missionary Ridge and was a dangerous facility because of crosswinds that blow throughout the Valley. Today winds from rainstorms and tornadoes often create havoc in upper and lower elevations surrounding the Choo Choo bowl and lightning strikes are another potential problem in the Tennessee Valley (Remember East Brainerd -Ooltewah event on April 13, 2020?); The narrowing of public streets to accommodate the conditions in the Complete Streets ordinance mentioned in one of its introduction paragraphs also could hinder any evacuation efforts in such a disaster. Road repairs, and even lawn maintenance and delivery vehicles on narrow two lane streets can be additional evacuation obstacles; The regular and volunteer fire departments in our area have often worked together to fight any local accidental or deliberate set firestorms of the past. Whether their resources and manpower would be sufficient to control such an event may be speculative; The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) is always at the forefront of disaster relief such as Maui and California in 2023. Its efforts have often been criticized/praised but it is one federal agency that is always present to help whenever an expected (or unexpected) disaster occurs (see 2023 East Palestine, Ohio train derailment);

Its website and Hazard Type Risk Index contains 18 categories of which Hamilton County's history shows 14 applicable factors of consideration when evaluated for lower loss due to natural hazard, lower social vulnerability, and higher community resilience. (See National Risk Index, Hamilton County, Tennessee)

In reporting our county's ranking by comparison to the other 94 counties in Tennessee, 98 percent of them based on 2021 statistics have a lower risk index than Hamilton County. (HC)

The expected annual loss (EAL) for each of 12 of the applicable individual factors cumulatively add up to an approximate $50,000,000 cost to the community. That total ranges from a high of $27,740,578 to a low of $5,685.

The history of HC lists disasters that have been caused by tornadoes, earthquakes, riverine floods, strong winds, lightning, ice storms, hurricanes, winter weather, landslides, hail, wildfire, and drought. The 1960 ice storms and the 1973 floods are just two examples of major devastating weather events in Chattanoogas background. Diligent control and approval for new structures should include substantial consideration for prevention and safety in addition to profit and expansion. (See John Shearers timely historical article on the 1973 flood etc. on this website- March 4, 2023.)

Above ground powerlines on wooden poles keep the dedicated linemen (and women, etc.) of the Electric Power Board on 24 hour call to address Mother Natures peculiarities and restore power to its customers.

The answer to the question of whether Chattanooga is as disaster prone as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi et al is no but it is in the tornado-prone Dixie Alley - the Souths version of Tornado Alley that also sees an unproportionately high number of twisters each year compared to other parts of the U.S.

Whether such an event could even happen in our community is also a matter of speculation. But what happened in Hawaii and southern California in August 2023 should be a warning about the use of future and preventive safety measures. In addition to profit motives of a few, safety considerations for 375,000 citizens should be addressed in the present that might take place in the future.

The Morristown Weather Service and almost constant weather reporting by local and cable television stations are welcome warning devices in the modern era but unfortunately Mother Nature doesnt follow media ratings. If a tornado should ever sit down in the Chattanooga Bowl eager buyers would have ample destroyed properties to bid for as is already happening on Maui (see U.S.A Today, Aug 18-20, 2023, edition page 1A and 3A.) The insistence on quality construction in the anticipation of the Big One should be rigidly addressed by local governments. Approval by the politically appointed and the developer friendly Planning Commission based on potential future disasters should be a priority.

(The 2000 movie The Perfect Storm starring George Clooney and the No-Name Storm of 1991 are two vivid and actual examples of how unpredictable and destructive Mother Nature can be when individual risk factors occur at the same time!)

P.S.- The Three Little Pigs is a fable about three pigs who built their houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs houses which were made of straw and sticks respectively, but he was unable to destroy the third pigs house that was made of bricks. An unstated secondary moral to the story is the importance of safety construction.
After years of Trump is guilty of everything, it was no surprise when an eager Georgia DA, on Rachel Maddow (Feb 2022) may have gone beyond general discussions in talking about specifics of evidence regarding an indictment of Donald Trump. Attempting to try a case in the media is a mistake (Law & Crime, E Nanos 2/12/21) but then consider who their target is.

Around noon on Aug. 14, 2023, charges against Trump appeared on the Fulton County Court website then they were pulled. This was hours before the eager Georgia DA announced an indictment was returned. Then it went from being inaccurate to fictitious to the court clerk admitting she messed up. Only the usual lefties could support this line.

As expected Democrats celebrate. Trump is guilty (Foreign Policy) Trump is guilty of a crime (Democrat advisor, Lanny Davis) Trump betrayed our national security (D-Adam Schiff) Trump appears to be closer than ever to a situation to where he spends numerous years in prison (Vanity Fair) Is this the end of Donald Trump (Brookings) and The end of Donald Trump (New Yorker).

Actually these are examples indicating this was in the works for years. Foreign Policy (2017), Lanny Davis (2018), Adam Schiff (2020), Vanity Fair (2021),Brookings (2022) and The New Yorker

(2022). Prosecuting Trump after he left office appeared in Politico in 2019 (Mariotti) and Senator Kamala Harris was boasting of how she would like to prosecute him (NYTimes 6/27/19).

A U.S. attorney took four years to reach the point of a plea deal in the Hunter Biden fiasco in comparison to this eager Georgia DA wanting to start a trial of Trump the day before Super Tuesday. So, real election interference or just another coincidence?

Ralph Miller
Police received a call from the Read House to trespass a woman from the Read House and Starbucks after security caught her bathing in the rest room. The woman told police that she will never go back again.



* * *

A woman in the apartments at 6220 Shallowford Road told police she last saw her vehicle when she parked it there around 2:30 p.m. the day before. When she got back out to it later at about 6:30 p.m., she discovered some damage on it. There was one long scratch with white and red paint on both driver's side doors. She's not sure if there are any cameras around there with video of this incident. There have been no estimates for repairs yet.

* * *



Police were called by a man at Airport Wrecker, 1711 Chickamauga Loop, trying to get his property from a vehicle. Police spoke with the man, who said he was told by the owner to come down and bring an ID so he could get his property. He said when he got there he went to get his property and was told by the property mechanic that he could not be there and needed to leave, then started pushing him toward the gate. The mechanic, who is also the tow truck driver, left for another call prior to police arrival. Police spoke with the owner over the phone and he told police that he did not tell the man to come down until that afternoon when he got there, so he could verify his information. The man was told to return at noon and if he needed further assistance to contact police.

* * *



Police were dispatched to 1201 Boynton Dr., The Overlook Apartments, in reference to a found stolen auto. Police spoke to the caller, who is a valet employee, who said he found the vehicle after searching the area. The keys were also found to be in the vehicle. The owner was notified and responded to the scene to retrieve the vehicle. Police took it out of NCIC as stolen. The owner of the vehicle said all items left in it were still located inside.

* * *



The manager of the Enterprise at 305 W. 20th St. told police that she found a pistol in a Red Chrysler Pacifica (TX tag) rental vehicle that morning. Police went out to the vehicle and collected an unloaded black w/breen spray paint Smith & Wesson SD .40 from the center console. The manager gave police the name of the man who was the renter of the vehicle. Police attempted to contact him, but were unsuccessful. Police checked the pistol and found it to be non-stolen. Police transported the pistol to Property, and it will be released to the man if he can provide proof of purchase/ownership.

* * *

Police located a bag of marijuana weighing 2.8 grams in the area of 1510 Wheeler Ave. The marijuana was turned into Property for destruction.

* * *

A woman called police from Carter Towing & Recovery, 6320 Hwy. 58, and said that her vehicle was towed the night before and she was trying to come to the tow yard and get it out. She said that her boyfriend got upset and started yelling at the staff. She was able to get him out of the business and back into the vehicle and was able to speak with them about her car and how to get it out. She is clear that she will come back Friday and get her car out if she can.

* * *

A woman on N. Orchard Knob Avenue told police the rear window on her SUV was busted out and she believed it was done by a lawnmower. She spoke with the person mowing her yard and he told her he was not the cause of the busted window. It is unknown how the window became broken.

* * *

Police were asked to trespass three people from Northgate Mall. All three were trespassed from all CBL Properties. The three signed and received a copy of the trespass form acknowledging the trespass.

* * *

Police were called to check the well-being of a man at the Huddle House, 5611 Brainerd Road. Police found the man in the driver's seat of a Honda Civic, slumped over to the side. The man immediately woke up when police approached the vehicle. He told them he was homeless and he was waiting for a friend to meet him at the Huddle House to eat. He said he was just tired and must have dozed off. He said he usually stays with his girlfriend, who owns her recently deceased grandmother's house.

* * *

Police received a call about an abandoned car at 4700 Old Mission Road. Police found there was no one around the vehicle. Registration was run and it did not appear to be stolen. The vehicle was towed to American Recovery due to it being left in the roadway.

* * *

The maintenance manager at Rustic Village Apartments, 510 Central Dr., told police a man and woman have been coming to the property, even when being asked to leave. The couple said they are residents at the property and they came there to look for one of their dogs. Police explained to the couple that they were trespassed from the property. Both of them indicated their understanding and left.

* * *

An employee of Volkswagen, 8001 Volkswagen Dr., called police in regards to a vehicle opening their car door and hitting his vehicle's door. The damage was about the size a silver dollar.

* * *

A man on McBrien Road told police two people broke into his vehicle (TN tag) and attempted to steal it. The man provided police video footage of the incident. The video showed two people break into his car. Both of them were wearing masks, long sleeves and gloves. The man's driver's side door handle was broken off and the dash console was broken. It appeared that the two were trying to start the car with an object, due to the key area being broken. The man said that nothing was stolen out of the car.

* * *

A woman on N. Moore Lane told police her ex-husband has been calling and messaging her and her new husband, calling them names. She said she wanted a report to start a paper trail of what has been happening. The woman said she has blocked her ex-husband on social media and Cash App. She also said she has changed her number. However, he has been reaching out to her new husband. The woman's husband was not on scene to comment, and she said that he probably won't want to speak to police about it.
In the wake of District Attorney Coty Wamp's gripping account of the officer-involved shooting that shook our community on Aug. 11, a disconcerting truth emerges: the perilous dangers of blind support for law enforcement, devoid of accountability. As we dissect the narrative, it is imperative to question the motivations behind an incomplete investigation, the selective spotlight on Officer Celtain Batterson's heroism, and the unsettling echoes of racial bias that continue to haunt our justice system.

In the midst of the heart-wrenching saga surrounding Roger Heard, Jr.'s death, let us not forget the bereaved family left grappling with the void his absence has left. Regardless of his past, Roger Heard was one of our own, a member of our community. His life, tragic in its end, serves as a somber reminder that every life, regardless of its history, is irreplaceable. Our empathy must extend beyond the surface of the narrative to embrace the grief and pain that transcends any criminal record.

However, as we delve into the district attorney's vivid portrayal of the incident, it becomes increasingly evident that incomplete narratives lead to incomplete justice. The decision to address the public before the investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is concluded raises concerns about transparency and impartiality. To achieve true justice, we must demand a thorough examination of all available evidence, including the autopsy report from the medical examiner. Prematurely crafting a narrative without these crucial components undermines the pursuit of truth and erodes public trust.

Central to the narrative's focus is Officer Celtain Batterson, cast as the embodiment of valor in the face of danger. Yet, beneath the surface of this heroic veneer lies a stark reality: a documented history of internal affairs violations in just one year, including pursuit violations, improper procedures, and misrepresentation. Such an alarming pattern begs the question of how a history of misconduct aligns with the presentation of a heroic figure. True accountability requires a holistic examination of an officer's record, both the commendable and the concerning.

The most disconcerting aspect of this narrative lies in its latent racial undertones. The swift, heroic portrayal of Officer Batterson stands in stark contrast to the darker shade of Roger Heard's past. This stark difference spotlights the pervasive issue of racial bias in our society, amplifying the voices that argue for unequal treatment based on skin color. To genuinely move forward as a united community, we must confront the uncomfortable truth that black citizens often face mistreatment, with their pasts used as weapons against their humanity.

In the pursuit of justice and unity, we must embrace a more profound commitment. We must insist on complete and unadulterated transparency, regardless of the potential discomfort it may bring. The danger of blindly supporting law enforcement without demanding accountability is that we risk perpetuating a system where power goes unchecked, and lives are undervalued. To genuinely honor Roger Heard's memory, we must recognize the systemic flaws that led to his tragic fate.

This moment calls for introspection and courage. We must challenge the prevailing narratives, question the motives behind selective information, and hold our justice system accountable for its actions. Only through unwavering dedication to truth, unbiased investigations, and confronting our societal demons head-on can we forge a path towards genuine justice and lasting unity. It is in these moments of discomfort that we find the strength to evolve, heal, and construct a future where accountability is not just a word, but a lived reality.

Marie R. Mott

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How about not breaking the law and don't pull a gun on law enforcement, much less when you have warrants? How about, instead of continuing to play victim, just saying "Yep, we were wrong this time"?

Just a thought.

Michael Hailey




TennGreen Land Conservancy and Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning are asking for urgent assistance to purchase the largest privately held inholding along the Clear Creek section of the Obed Wild & Scenic River National Park.Officials said, "Though a portion of this land is within the formal congressional Park boundary, it's still in private ownership. The National Park Service cannot buy land outside of the boundary, but it can accept a land donation. If TennGreen Land Conservancy and TCWP can raise $565,560 by November, TennGreen can step in to purchase, protect and transfer the property to NPS."Once TennGreen Land Conservancy purchases the land, it will divide the property into three sections: the land within the NPS jurisdictional boundary, the forested tract adjacent to but outside the boundary; and the field and home site.TennGreen will place restrictions on the land being transferred to NPS to protect the water and wildlife habitat that it hosts."The south section (67 acres) within the boundary will be sold at appraised value to NPS to expand the Park. Once the new park land is in NPS ownership, TennGreen Land Conservancy will donate the remaining forested tracts (93 acres) to NPS. The field and home site will be sold to a private entity through the open market at appraised value."Without this process, this inholding would be sold to a private buyer on the open market, and the acquisition of the property would be delayed indefinitely and perhaps permanently."This land is along exceptional Clear Creek, an area beloved by paddlers. Superintendent Niki Nicholas, Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area and Obed Wild & Scenic River, described Clear Creek along the tract as 'arguably the most popular river run in the park.' The land lies along the Barnett Bridge to Jett Bridge run."Designated as an International Dark Sky Park in 2017 due to the parks exceptional night sky conditions and commitment to preserving the dark sky, land protection along the Obed Wild & Scenic River is important to limit potential light pollution. If sold to a private developer, structures could be built along the riverbank or canyon rimrisking the sense of wildness."Acquiring the land is also critical for the protection of sensitive and threatened resources including numerous archeological sites and federally listed plant and animal species located on or adjacent to the property. Numerous rare species have been documented in Clear Creek downstream of the property. These include the endangered hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), threatened spot?n chub (Ermonax monachus), and deemed in need of management tangerine darter (Percina aurantiaca). The threatened Cumberland rosemary (Conradina verticillata) has been documented along the Clear Creek border of the property."A fundraiser, "Paddle and a Party," to support this land protection campaign is planned for Saturday, Sept. 23 in East Tennessee. The outdoor event will feature whitewater rafting with Wildwater Ocoee in Ducktown, followed by a cookout, silent auction and live music at The Cabins at Copperhill. For information about lodging packages and ticket options, visit clearcreekevent.gvtls.com."We hope that all those in our community will join us in this effort to keep Clear Creek scenic and wild," said Alice Hudson Pell, TennGreen Land Conservancy's executive director. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect a key portion of the Creek along Obed Wild & Scenic River. If we don't protect it now, we might never get the chance again. Protecting this land will be a win for people and wildlife today and for future generations."Officials said, "To support this campaign, make a secure online donation now at clearcreek.gvtls.com or mail a check to TennGreen Land Conservancy at 1213A 16th Ave. S., Nashville, Tn. 37212. If you mail a check, please add a note indicating your gift is for the Clear Creek campaign."
Officer Caleb Morang was honored as the Dalton Police Department's Officer of the Month for July after his role in solving a series of burglaries and fraud cases. Officer Morang received the honor at Tuesday morning's meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission.Officer Morang was selected for the honor for going the extra mile while investigating a fraud case at the Shugart Road Walmart. Officer Morang was following up on the case which had happened several days before when he realized that the suspect was back inside the store."He had a photo of the suspect and while he was there talking to staff at Walmart, he realized that the suspect was actually there inside the store," Assistant Chief Chris Crossen said while presenting the award."He identified him visually and was able to apprehend the suspect after a short pursuit."Officer Morang then took the suspect back to the Police Services Center and interviewed him about the case. Instead of focusing solely on the one credit card fraud case, Officer Morang soon realized his suspect had been much more busy."(Morang) was able to identify that he was also a suspect in several burglaries and other cases around the city," Asst. Chief Crossen said. "Due to not just looking at the case he had in front of him and taking charges on that case, but also following up and consistently striving to look to take the case further, he was able to clear up multiple cases that we had been looking into. Because of this, there were approximately eight burglaries and several financial transaction card fraud cases that were cleared because of (Morang's) great work."Officer Morang is a seven-year veteran of the Dalton Police Department, joining the agency in March 2016. He was also honored with the department's Life Saving Award in 2018.
Paul McCartney wanted The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" to start with a certain lyric. The band's producer didn't think that line was impactful.

TL;DR:

Paul McCartney wanted The Beatles Cant Buy Me Love to start with a certain lyric.

The bands producer, George Martin, didnt think that line was impactful.

The Beatles Cant Buy Me Love was a hit once in the United States and twice in the United Kingdom.

George Martin said Paul McCartneys original version of The Beatles Cant Buy Me Love lacked a proper hook. He discussed how a simple musical change made the track more interesting. Subsequently, he revealed what he thought about Paul as a solo artist.

George Martin added a musical surprise to The Beatles Cant Buy Me Love

During a 1995 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Martin discussed the evolution of Cant Buy Me Love. Paul wanted the song to begin with the lyric Money cant buy me anything to keep me satisfied. Martin felt that line wasnt impactful.

I said to him: Lets start off with drums, then Cant buy me love, two times, Martin recalled. On the second repeat, I suggested changing chords.

Martin felt the chord change came as a surprise. Now, there was an introduction, he said. Paul liked it, so we kept it. Then we were ready to go into the verse.

George Martin discussed how Paul McCartney felt after The Beatles breakup up

Martin had strong feelings about The Beatles as musicians. Those four people together became something much stronger than those four individuals, he opined. Thats true of their songwriting, their recording  everything. Together they were impregnable.

There is no question that when they broke up, Paul missed John and John missed Paul, Martin said. I actually think Paul would like to write material today like he used to write. But there is no one alive now that can give him that spur. Yet, dont forget, as a twosome they wrote nearly 300 great songs. Thats more than Cole Porter or Irving Berlin or Jerome Kern ever did. Thats certainly more than enough for one lifetime.

How Cant Buy Me Love performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

Cant Buy Me Love was a big hit in the United States. There, the tune reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks of its 10 weeks on the chart, becoming one of the bands most popular tunes. The song appeared on the soundtrack for A Hard Days Night. That soundtrack peaked at No. 1 for 14 of its 56 weeks on the Billboard 200.

The Official Charts Company reports Cant Buy Me Love reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom and lasted on the chart for 15 weeks. In 1984, the tune recharted at No. 53 and stayed on the chart for two weeks. On the other hand, A Hard Days Night was a chart-topper that lasted 39 weeks on the chart. In 1987, the record reached No. 30 and spent seven weeks on the chart.

Cant Buy Me Love was a big hit even if Martin didnt like the original version of it.
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A liquefied petroleum gas carrier built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries/ Korea Times file



New orders won by Korean shipbuilders jumped 11.9 percent in the first half of 2023 on the back of rising demand for high-priced vessels, the industry ministry said Tuesday.



The country's shipbuilders secured orders worth $9.29 billion in the January-June period, compared with $8.24 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.



Korea accounted for 29 percent of the orders placed worldwide in the first half, taking up the world's second spot after China, the ministry said, citing data from Clarkson Research Services Ltd.



The on-year growth was attributable to high demand for green and high-value vessels.



Korea secured 61 percent of the world's total orders for high-priced vessels and 50 percent of the new orders for eco-friendly ones in the first half.



Eco-friendly vessels refer to those using such green fuels as liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas, methanol or ethanol, or those using batteries.



Korean shipbuilders dominated the LNG carrier market by winning 87 percent of the world's total orders in the first half, the ministry said.



They have focused on large merchant ships powered by clean fuel, while Chinese shipbuilders manufacture mainly battery-powered small ferries.



In July, Korea recaptured the top spot in new global shipbuilding orders for the first time in five months, the ministry added. (Yonhap)


Boundaries within a relationship are so important. When our partner doesnt set boundaries with their friends of the opposite gender, this can potentially cause some awkwardness.

This man is in his first relationship, and he has been dating his girlfriend for a year. They graduated from college two years ago.

He and his girlfriend have repeatedly had disagreements about friendships of the opposite gender. Unfortunately, he doesnt feel like his girlfriend has been respecting his wishes for her to have more boundaries among her male friend group.

She has one friend in particular who lives in the same city as us who calls her late at night, invites her on what I consider dates (movies, drinks, dinner, all one-on-one), and clings to her at social events, he said.

This friends behavior has made him uneasy, and he has always had a sneaking suspicion that this friend has romantic feelings for his girlfriend. However, his girlfriend doesnt think theres anything wrong with the friendship and hasnt done anything to make her boyfriend feel more comfortable.

There is another group of friends (all men) she met on Birthright (shes Jewish; Im not), and they are very close. They visit each other once a year. This past year, she visited them, and when I expressed this made me uncomfortable, she flipped out and thought I was trying to control her, he explained.

Then, his girlfriend told him that he shouldnt be concerned about her visiting these friends because she was going to sleep in her own bed during her time with them.

It still feels strange to me. Id never go and visit an all-girl friend group, he continued.

He does occasionally get coffee or drinks and catch up with female friends from college, but he feels like the circumstances are a bit different than the way his girlfriend goes on dates with a male friend on a consistent basis.

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If you love true crime stories and intense documentaries that have interviews with great detectives, then you should know the story of Kate Warne, Americas first woman detective!

Kate was born in upstate New York in 1833. There isnt a ton of information on her early years and upbringing, but its known that as a child, she had to take on a lot of household duties. She married young and was a widow by the time she was 23 years old.

No one knows exactly what inspired Kate to pursue detective work, but in 1856, not long after her husbands passing, she walked into the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a group that originated around 1850 and provided private detectives and security guards.

Kate spoke to the agencys founder, Allan Pinkerton, and told him that she saw his job advertisement for detectives in the newspaper and wanted to join the agency as one. While it was almost unfathomable to hire a woman to be a detective at the time, Kate was very convincing and made the excellent point that having an undercover woman detective would be vital to Allans agency.

As a woman, Kate could blend into the background much more unsuspectingly and connect with the wives and women involved with criminals. Allan decided to hire Kate, making her the first female detective in America.

Kate became a vital member of the Pinkerton agency and even helped stop an early assassination attempt against Abraham Lincoln.

One of Kates earliest assignments was to travel to Montgomery, Alabama, where she befriended the wife of a robbery suspect who stole $50,000 from Adams Express Co. While there, she was able to identify the prime suspect, get a confession, and retrieve most of the money he had stolen.

During this time, Kate had learned to disguise herself as an unsuspecting Southern woman and became well acquainted with those who did not support the new President-elect, Abraham Lincoln. Just before his inauguration in 1861, Abraham had plans to take a train ride from Illinois to Washington, D.C.

Because he had no assigned security, Abraham hired Allan Pinkerton and his detectives to take care of him on his journey. Allan knew Abraham would be switching trains in Baltimore, Maryland, the only city on his trip that supported slavery, so he sent Kate there to scope things out and make sure the president would be safe.

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Six Degrees of Separation might be a popular song by The Script, but this phenomenon really does exist in real life.

Have you ever met someone who knows a mutual acquaintance? Start asking those in your network about their social ties.

You might be surprised to realize that despite the immense size of the human race, seemingly random individuals can be linked to each other through comparably tiny chains of acquaintances. Normally, this number ends up being around six.

Scientists recently set out to study this phenomenon and discovered that it could be explained mathematically.

Even more, they found that the magic of six degrees can also be linked to a different social experience the challenge of weighing cost versus benefit when developing new friendships.

One example that illustrates this phenomenon best took place back in 1967, when a letter was received by a farmer in Omaha, Nebraska. The person who penned the letter was Professor Stanley Milgram from Harvard University, who was hoping to get into contact with one of his colleagues.

If you happen to know this person, please forward this letter to him, the correspondence read.

After traveling from Harvard University which is located in Boston to Omaha, the chances of this letter finding Professor Milgrams intended peer were extremely low. So, the professor asked that if the recipient did not know that intended person, to please pass it along to someone who may.

This letter was just one of approximately 300 identical letters sent throughout the United States. They all sought to find Joe, a man from the farmlands, and link him with the prestigious East Coast university.

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It was the prayer requests that caught the new ministers attention. Not long after Lisa Bryant arrived at the Madam Russell United Methodist Church, a historic congregation named for one of the original pioneers in Saltville, Virginia, she began to notice the repetition. The same underlying problem kept rearing up in the needs she heard.

I got phone calls from some members: Please pray for my grandson, hes on drugs again, she said. Or someones niece would get arrested again.

Drugsmethamphetamines, oxycontin, heroin, fentanylwere hiding everywhere in the prayers of the people.

The town of just 2,000 people in southwestern Virginia had almost nothing to help those struggling with addiction. The nearest recovery group was an hours drive away. Residential rehab facilities were even fartherout of reach of anyone without a decent income and reliable transportation, which is a lot of people in that part of the country. So Bryant believed that the church, in the Wesleyan spirit of doing all the good you can for all the people you can, could start a recovery group.

It shouldnt be too hard, she thought. Churches have been hosting 12-step meetings across the country for decades.

She brought the idea to the church council: They should launch a program to help people in Saltville deal with the opioids crisis ravaging the region.

Everybody was quiet, Bryant told CT, recalling the moment from five years ago. Then one guy spoke up and said, We dont really have that problem here. That doesnt pertain to us.

Really? she asked, stunned to tears. Its all around us. You have to see it.

By the numbers, the crisis should be impossible to miss. A record number of people died of drug overdoses in the US in 2021 and again in 2022. Almost 110,000 people, twicethe vast majority connected to opioids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to see that many deaths again in 2023. Thats like losing the entire population of South Bend, Indiana, or Sugar Land, Texas, three years in a row.

And the problem has grown rapidly. Seven years ago, the overdose toll was less than half of what it is today. Twenty years ago, it was less than a third of that size. But the numbers have soared with increased availability of fentanyl, which is highly addictive in even small quantities and is frequently and fatally mixed into other drugs.

Appalachia, the mountain region that stretches from Mississippi up to New York State, has been especially hard-hit. Some of the highest per capita death tolls are in Eastern Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio. Researchers connect this to the economics of the region, especially the decline of the coal industry, which contributed to widespread poverty and depression. Many of the jobs that do exist entail risks of physical injury, which increases the likelihood of prescribed pain relievers, which in turn increases the likelihood of addiction, plus a ready quantity of leftover pills that can be sold for extra cash. In the 2010s, opioid prescription rates were 40 to 50 percent higher in Appalachia than anywhere else in America.

Yet the drug abuse can still be hard to see. A lot of congregations, like the Methodists in Saltville, have had trouble recognizing the problem, even as the destruction wrought by opioids filled their prayer lists. It seemed like something that happened to other people. And it was covered up by deep shame.

This has started to change, though. A growing network of churchesevangelical and mainline alikehave started acknowledging the drug problems in their communities and responding like they think Jesus would: with an outstretched hand.

Once people see the need, they go do it, said Andrea Clements, a psychology professor at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Its just getting the fire lit.

Clements, who earned her doctorate at the University of Alabama, researches the connections between religion, health, and responses to trauma, with a particular focus on addiction. Her work has led her to believe that faith communities have a critical role to play in dealing with the substance abuse crisis at the grassroots level.

Addiction goes back to trauma, according to Clements, and the impact trauma has on neurological systems. When people are loved and cared for, their bodies produce a healthy amount of hormones, including natural opioids such as endorphin, the feel-good hormone. When theyre not cared for or otherwise experience severe stress, the hormone receptors are not replenished. Chemical substances including alcohol, heroin, and fentanyl can meet that same physical need, though, and the external drugs are so powerful that the body will stop producing its own hormones.

It shuts down the natural production, Clements explained. And when its gone, its awful. The feeling is often something below sadness.

The process fuels addiction, which is both a strong physical craving and a deep emotional need.

There are biological reasons for whats going on, a reason for why it happens, Clements said. Thats not an excuse, but it is a call for compassion.

Because addiction isnt only a medical issue, though, Clements and others are skeptical it can be addressed in a strictly biological way. Medication-assisted treatment, such as methadone, can certainly help people cope with cravings and be functional. But is there a way to address the underlying trauma?

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The question, according to Clements, is whether the natural system can be restarted with enough love, care, and human connection. Thats where the local church could step in.

The church needs to walk with people, she said. The gospel is what we offer differently from everyone else.

That part isnt theoretical for Clements. She and her husband, Dale, and their son, Tanner, joined with others to plant a nondenominational church in Johnson City in 2012 with the goal of helping people dealing with substance abuse, including users and their families.

One of their primary forms of ministry became transportation. The church connected people who could provide rides with people who needed to get to jobs, medical appointments, court hearings, recovery meetings, and church events. As the practical need was filled, relationships formed and people became a community. Together, they believed it was possible to not only stave off the wreckage of addiction but also address deeper human needs and begin to flourish.

In 2019, the Clementses also helped start Uplift Appalachia, an organization that equips faith communities to respond to the substance abuse crisis in their areas. Uplift is an ecumenical but evangelical group, which views faith in Jesus as central but is willing to work with groups that start from a different place. It serves as a hub for a growing network of congregations.

Image: Illustration by Vartika Sharma

We want to help churches to be equipped, Clements said. We help churches develop plans that are appropriate to their circumstances and can act as a liaison between the faith, science, and medical communities.

Uplift has connections with more than 80 congregations, including Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Stone-Campbell, Pentecostal, and nondenominational churches. The group also works with researchers at East Tennessee State University; the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville; Duke Divinity School; the Duke University Medical Center; the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing at Durham University, in the United Kingdom; the Center for Integrative Addiction Research at the University of Vienna, Austria; and other institutions.

When Appalachian congregations contact Uplift, once theyve seen the problem in their own community, touching their churches, they are asking

a fairly basic question: What can they do? Is there any way to help?

We can sit with them while they survivewalking along, having someone who answers the phone, Clements said. It might start with: Can you give someone a ride?

David Ball, pastor of The Anchor Church in Tupelo, Mississippi, said it started pretty simply for his church. He planted Anchor at the southern end of Appalachia in 2011, as the opioids problem was dramatically expanding in Mississippi. It began with 80 people reading the Book of Acts and talking about the New Testament model for bringing health and hope and healing to hurting people.

As they kept meeting, praying, reading the Bible, and discussing what it meant to be a church for todays world, they started to see that a lot of people in northeastern Mississippi were hurting in a very specific way.

We wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and we kept discovering needs, Ball said. Our mindset needed to shift to find the biggest need in the community and start meeting it.

Through its Grace and Mercy Ministries, the church launched twin residential programs for people struggling with substance abuse: the Transformation Ranch for men in 2014 and, a year later, Transformation Home for women. The womens program is housed upstairs at the church building in the Tupelo suburb of Verona. The mens ranch is on church property outside of town.

Not everyone at Anchor loved this idea. Ball said the decision to help people with addictions led to an exodus of members the first year. Others came, however, and today about 500 attend the churchs two Sunday services. Around 10070 men, 30 womencome from the Transformation ministries.

The 10-month program does not provide medical care. If people need a doctor, they are sent to a licensed facility. But Ball is skeptical of medication-assisted treatment. He doesnt like how it gives people different drugs, and it concerns him that medical treatments dont address the problem of living life. Its the daily struggle of being alivegetting up, going to work, paying bills, feeding a familywhere people face the temptation of returning to opioids, he said.

We have to teach people how to cope and deal with life, Ball said. We do that through a relationship with Christ.

Transformation Ranch and Transformation Home walk with people through four stages of intensive discipleship. When they first arrive, its like Jesus boot camp, according to Ball. Residents attend worship services, 12-step meetings, discipleship classes, and Bible studies. They are given chores and prayer partners and are cut off from contact with the outside worldat least until counselors can identify the people in their lives who are most likely to disrupt their attempt at sobriety.

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In the next two phases, residents meet with peer counselors to start figuring out their identity in Christ, Ball said. They take more classes and receive job training, money management lessons, and instruction in other life skills. They are integrated more into the life of the church. They also join a work program Anchor organized through local businesses to start earning and saving money. Typically, a resident graduates with $6,000$8,000 in the bank.

After about nine months, residents enter the fourth and final phase when they move into their own housing, paid for with their savings, and check in with their mentors once a week. The goal is to get reestablished as thriving, independent adults who are also part of this church community.

Ball reports that the program is successful for about a quarter of the men and one-third of the women. The program has a slightly higher relapse rate than the overall rate for recovery programs tracked by the Department of Health and Human Services. But Anchors standards are also higher, only counting people who never return to addiction, no matter how long theyre out of the program.

Brett McCarty, a theological ethicist at Duke Divinity School and associate director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative, has observed a divide in the way Christians think about addiction. More conservative Christians tend to favor abstinence, making sobriety a first priority. This is usually structured around 12-step programs. More progressive Christians typically support harm-reduction efforts, like methadone treatment, needle exchanges, and fentanyl testing kits. These deprioritize staying clean, but still reduce overdoses.

Such polarization frustrates McCarty. There are strengths and weaknesses in both approaches. Theres a lot of data that supports the effectiveness of harm-reduction efforts, but researchers can also see the impact of community involvement.

The opposite of addiction is connection, McCarty said.

Aaron Hymes, a licensed professional counselor and board-approved clinical supervisor who oversees the addiction counseling program at Milligan University in East Tennessee, suggests an every door approach. Bring people in the doorany door.

You go with what works, he said. Medical assistance helps to minimize urges and cravings, to let a person work on other skills. At the same time, If all you do is hand out meds, nothings going to happen. They need to be engaged with a community, such as a church to change their lives.

Hymes studied peer counseling for his doctoral dissertation and found that it had real value. But he also encourages congregations that offer peer counseling to look into training and professional supervision.

Recovery happens in community, he said. But its not the same as clinical therapy.  Without training and supervision, someone can actually do harm.

Before any of that can happen, though, churches have to see the need. They have to identify the problem as their problem and see themselves as the hands and feet to meet the need.

Back in Saltville, the youth group led the way. The teens of the church befriended a high school junior they knew from school and welcomed him into their community. As the boy started to share more about his life with the church, Lisa Bryant, the pastor, learned that all the adults in his familyboth parents, a grandparent, and an unclewere addicted to drugs. The boy wasnt a user, but he was struggling to keep his head above water while he helped his family function and finished high school.

Sometimes his home was not a safe place to sleep. On those nights, he would sneak through an unlocked door at the towns public library, where he found refuge in a crawlspace.

Bryant shared some of the details of his situation with a Bible study made up mostly of retired teachers and asked them to pray. She couldnt help but notice the repeated needdrugs again.

This time, however, her church felt like it pertained to them. It wasnt abstract anymore, a problem out there that they knew through statistics. This was a person in front of them with a need. They began collecting money, clothes, and food, and committed to support the boy until he finished high school. He graduated a year later and enlisted in the Army.

Now, the church is reconsidering starting a recovery group and thinking of other ways to address the opioids problem as well. The congregation is working with other Methodist churches in the district and a regional government agency to secure some short-term housing. They hope to set up an addiction counseling center.

You do what you can, Bryant said. In 10 years, Id love to see less drug use, but more realistic is that when we see somebody struggling with addiction, we see the image of God in them. What can we do to bring out that image?

S. J. Dahlman is a professor of communications and journalism at Milligan University and the author of A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boones Road.

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One of the newest major Bible translations on the market may be securing its place among the most popular.

The Christian Standard Bible (CSB) was the second most-sold Bible translation for three out of the past four months, according to data compiled by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), coming in behind the New International Version (NIV) and ahead of the English Standard Version (ESV).

The CSB came out in 2017, published by Lifeways B&H Publishing Group as a revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). It was designed to offer a happy medium between readability and biblical accuracy, a translation philosophy referred to as optimal equivalence.

The CSB has that undefinable sense of buzz, said Mark Ward, senior editor at Logoss Word by Word blogand a popular Bible YouTuber. The consensus seems to be that it managed to nail the balance of English readability and word-for-word accuracy that American Christians are looking for.

With more churches switching to the CSBin some cases, buying Bibles in bulk for their pewsand the release of popular editions such as a Tony Evans Study Bible and an award-winning kids Bible, its among the fastest-growing translations, climbing from fifth or sixth place on the monthly bestseller lists in prior years to second in May, June, and August of 2023.

It reached 10 percent of the market share within the first five years, and now has reached around 13 percent, said Andy McLean, publisher for Bibles and reference at B&H, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Were seeing more churches adopt it, more individuals use it for personal Bible study, said McLean. They might come through the door because theyre a big fan of Tony Evans  and they see a Tony Evans Bible study Bible in CSB. Thats their introduction and, lo and behold, they come to enjoy it.

While the ESV remains closely associated with the Reformed movement, the CSB is often perceived as more broadly evangelical and has extended beyond Southern Baptist circles. On a Facebook fan page where CSB enthusiasts share pictures and reviews of their favorite editions, an informal poll last month found that 70 percent belonged to other denominations, including Anglican, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and Foursquare.

The climb in sales for the CSB is an interesting and even surprising development especially because it shows that new translations can still break into a very crowded market, said Peter Gurry, director of the Text & Canon Institute at Phoenix Seminary.



He said among scholars, the CSB has been most popular among Southern Baptists and some Presbyterians, and that its often ESV readers he sees making the switch.

It is slightly more gender inclusive than translations like the ESV and NASB without being perceived as too far in that direction like NIV or CEB sometimes are, he said, referencing the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and Common English Bible (CEB). Its marked as hitting the sweet spot between word-for-word and thought-for-thought.

Critics of the ESV cite inconsistencies in gendered language, where male terms are used in many places to refer to generic people or mixed groups. The CSB regularly broadens masculine language to gender-accurate terms when the original context did not exclude females, such as in letters from Paul that would have been read to the whole congregation (brothers and sisters).

The CSB was last updated in 2020 and maintains a committee of ten Bible scholars to oversee needed changes.

Last week, Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) professor Benjamin Gladd posted a screenshot on X (formerly Twitter) showing the CSBs No. 2 ranking on Augusts ECPA bestseller list. He included a mind-blown emoji.

When I first came to RTS Jackson, everyone read from the ESV. Now, though, its common for a handful of my students to read from the CSB, said Gladd, who teaches New Testament and typically uses NIV or CSB translations.

I moved away from using the NASB in my lectures on account of its stilted prose, he said. I needed a translation that was more fluid when read aloud.

Within the past year, City Church in the Cleveland area decided to switch from the ESV to a more accessible translation. Church leaders weighed either the CSB or NIV as options, both considered to be at an easier reading level than the ESV. They ultimately chose the NIV in part because it is so common.

In the classroom and in church, Im often asked what is the best translation, and Im thoroughly convicted that the best translation is the one you read, said Paul Morrison, the churchs theologian in residence and a professor at Emmaus Theological Seminary. One of the reasons we settled on the NIV over the CSB was actually its prevalence. You can find it not just at any Bible store or bookstore, but also any big-box storeTarget, Walmartso its fascinating to see the CSB [also] jump in those ways.

Multiple churches that have adopted the CSB as their preferred translation expressed wanting to have a more readable version for younger Christians. The ESV prioritizes a commitment to word-for-word translation (formal equivalence), and the CSB balances that a bit more with familiar wording and flow for contemporary readers. To compare, James 1:2 in each translation reads:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. (NIV)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. (ESV)

Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials. (CSB)

Even with the give and take that you have between these wooden word-for-word translationscloser to the NASBversus those that are moving phrase for phrase or idea for ideaNLT or The Message and some of these more common onestheyre each achieving a very distinct purpose, Morrison said, referencing the New Living Translation (NLT).

Surveys have shown that the King James Version is still Americans go-to Bible, and sales rankings, based on reports from retailers, dont necessarily reflect what translations remain the most-read. But they can indicate where evangelicals are going when they need a new Bible for themselves or their churches.

Im grateful to observe that Bible-reading Christians really do just want to understand Gods word, that they retain some basic faith in evangelical institutions, and that they are gravitating toward the best work our evangelical scholars and our evangelical publishers can produce, said Ward, about the current ECPA rankings.

The Bible blogger and vlogger also believes that a current Bible design renaissance is prompting more Bible sales.

As a newer translation, CSB Bibles tend to match the aesthetic preferences and styles of contemporary readerssuch as colorful illustrations in the She Reads Truth Bible and dozens of options with verse-by-verse or single-column layouts. Last year, a CSB note-taking Bible won a cover design award for the stained glass illustrations on its cover.

We really do believe we have a beautiful message in the gospel and we need to create beautiful mediums to house that message, said McLean. We do think very strategically about not just the cover, but the interior typeface, margin space for notetaking, the way the layout is designed. Every little detail has to go through this scrutiny.

Correction: The ESV reversed its 2016 decision to make its text permanent and has allowed for ongoing periodic updating of the text to reflect the realities of biblical scholarship.
Alabama can ban trans surgeries, puberty blockers for kids, appeals court rules

An appeals court panel has unanimously ruled to end a block on an Alabama law that bans the use of body-mutilating sex-change surgeries and experimental drugs for youth suffering from confusion about their sex.

In a decision released Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously upheld the right of Alabama to enforce the states Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act.

Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa, a Trump appointee, authored the panel opinion, concluding that the district court abused its discretion in issuing this preliminary injunction because it applied the wrong standard of scrutiny.

The plaintiffs have not presented any authority that supports the existence of a constitutional right to treat [ones] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards, wrote Lagoa.

Because the district court erred by reviewing the statute under a heightened standard of scrutiny, its determination that the plaintiffs have established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits cannot stand. We therefore vacate the preliminary injunction.

Circuit Judge Andrew L. Brasher, another Trump appointee, authored a concurring opinion, critiquing the claim that the law violates the equal protection given to people on the basis of sex.

[A]n injunction against the enforcement of Alabamas law under equal-protection principles will not equalize burdens or benefits between girls and boys, wrote Brasher.

It will not require the government to treat boys and girls the same. It will merely force Alabama to either ban puberty blockers and [opposite-sex] hormones for all purposes or allow them for all purposes.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement on Monday celebrating the appeals court panel decision, considering a victory for defending the wellbeing of children.

The Eleventh Circuit reinforced that the State has the authority to safeguard the physical and psychological wellbeing of minors, even if the United States Attorney General and radical interest groups disapprove, stated Marshall.

Alabama takes this responsibility seriously by forbidding doctors from prescribing minors sex-modification procedures that have permanent and often irreversible effects. This is a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.

The families challenging the law are being represented by the Human Rights Campaign, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, King & Spalding LLP and Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC.

In a joint statement released Monday, the LGBT advocacy groups denounced what they called a deeply disappointing decision in which the plaintiffs were devastated by this decision.

While this is a setback, we are confident that it is only a temporary one. Every federal district court that has heard the evidence presented in these cases has come to the same conclusion: these medical treatments are safe, effective, and lifesaving for some youth, and there is no legitimate reason to ban them, they stated.

Parents, not the government, are best situated to make these medical decisions for their children. These laws are a shocking example of government overreach and a jarring intrusion into private family decisions. This case is far from over, and we will continue to aggressively seek legal protection for these families.

In April of last year, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the ban on trans surgeries and drugs for minors into law, with the legislation originally scheduled to take effect on May 8.

The new law bans genital mutilation surgeries and prohibits doctors from prescribing experimental puberty blockers for children, making it a felony that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

Last May, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke, also a Trump appointee, issued a preliminary injunction that blocked enforcement of the experimental drugs, though it kept the surgery ban in place.

Burke argued that the plaintiffs were likely to show that they have a fundamental right to treat their children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards.

The Act prevents Parent Plaintiffs from choosing that course of treatment for their children by criminalizing the use of transitioning medications to treat gender dysphoria in minors, even at the independent recommendation of a licensed pediatrician, wrote Burke last year.

While Defendants offer some evidence that transitioning medications pose certain risks, the uncontradicted record evidence is that at least twenty-two major medical associations in the United States endorse transitioning medications as well-established, evidence-based treatments for gender dysphoria in minors.
Christian charged with blasphemy in aftermath of Jaranwala riot

LAHORE, Pakistan  Police in Pakistan on Saturday night charged a Christian with blasphemy for uploading on TikTok a video of content that last week led to attacks on Christian homes and businesses in Jaranwala more than 100 kilometers away, sources said.

Tensions flared over the weekend in 186/9-L village, Sahiwal, Punjab Province when members of Islamist extremist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan called for protests against the alleged blasphemy after the TikTok post by 27-year-old Ehsaan Shan Masih went viral.

A major crisis was averted due to timely action by the police, otherwise the entire Christian community of Sahiwal was in a state of perpetual fear since Saturday afternoon, Bishop Abraham Daniel of the Sahiwal Baptist Church told Morning Star News.

Arrested Saturday night after police took him and his family into protective custody, Masih is in jail on judicial remand and could face years of incarceration before his case is finally resolved. Among other charges, he was booked under Section 295-A of Pakistans blasphemy statutes relating to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine or both.

Ehsaan is a laborer and father to two minor children  he cannot read or write and barely manages his livelihood, Pastor Daniel said. He came across a video on social media related to the attacks in Jaranwala that he posted on his TikTok account. Ehsaan was probably not even aware that sharing such content is a crime, but its said that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. We pray for his early release, but at the same time Id urge my fellow Christians to be extra cautious on social media.

Masih was also charged under Section 295-B relating to desecration of the Koran, punishable by life in prison and a fine, and Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act relating to dissemination of hate speech. Intent to blaspheme must be proven for a conviction under Pakistans statutes.

The images were reportedly of the material that led to the rioting that began on Wednesday in Jaranwala, 116 kilometers (72 miles) north in Faisalabad District, where two Christians were charged after one found desecrated pages of the Koran accompanied by blasphemous comments attached to a photo of him and his brother.

Muslims claimed Umar Saleeem, known as Rocky, and his brother Umair Saleem, alias Raja, were responsible for the blasphemous materials, and police charged them under Sections 295-B and 295-C of the blasphemy statutes; Section 295-C relates to insulting Muhammad and is punishable by death.

Aftermath in Jaranwala

In Jaranwala, a relative of the two charged Christians, Rocky and Raja, said they were presented before a judicial magistrate on Saturday, and that her family hasnt returned to the area because their home was in ruins.

Theres nothing to return to, because our house was completely destroyed by the protestors, the relative said. We have no clue yet how we will be able to get back to our daily routine due to the fear of being victimized for being related to them.

Some semblance of normalcy has begun to return to the charred Christian section of the town as government workers have cleared the streets of ashes and debris from the mob violence that began on Wednesday against churches and Christian homes and businesses.

A visit to the area on Sunday by Morning Star News showed that most Christian residents had returned to their charred homes to begin rebuilding their lives, which will take years.

A damage assessment report by Jaranwala officials to the Punjab government found 19 church buildings and 86 houses were damaged by fire during the rampage.

The government has announced that it would rebuild our homes, but we dont know when it will deliver on its assurance, said Rafaqat Masih, a resident of Christian Town.

In a narrow lane crammed with victims, relief workers and police personnel, he shared how his house had been looted and then torched by use of chemicals.

Im left with nothing, the father of three minor children said with tears in his eyes. They took whatever valuables they could get their hands on and then simply set fire to the quarters.

Zoha Bibi of Issa Nagri said her family hid in fields when the attacks began.

When we returned to our home the next day, we saw that the front door was broken down, and all our valuables, including electronic appliances, had been stolen, she said. They even ripped apart my childrens cupboard and broke their toys. Fortunately, they didnt torch the house, otherwise we would be without shelter too.

Though Punjab province interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced a 2 million rupee ($6,723) compensation for each affected family during a short visit to Jaranwala on Sunday, church leaders and social activists say much more will be required to restore the lives of the affected Christians.

Only one church hall has been restored by the government where the CM [Chief Minister] was due to come on Sunday, Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall told Morning Star News. We hope that all churches will be fully restored, and there will be no compromise on the quality of the construction or renovation of the buildings.

Special services were held in streets and grounds in Jaranwala on Sunday to express solidarity with the victims, he said.

We want to assure our brothers and sisters in Christ that we are with them in this time of grief, Marshall said. We continue to pray for them and have faith that our Lord will alleviate their suffering.

The Rev. Major Mashood Masih of the areas historic Salvation Army Church said that the government had yet to start restoration work there.

They have just cleared some debris from the rooms so far, he said. We are hoping that they will expedite work so that we can resume our services. Our members are still reeling from the shock of the attacks, but their faith has strengthened in the Lord.

Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, up from eighth the previous year.
HMM's container ship / Courtesy of HMM



By Park Jae-hyuk



HMM's stock price fell sharply, Tuesday, after it was reported on Monday evening that Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO Group were absent from the preliminary bid to acquire the shipping company from creditors, which was led by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).



Immediately after the beginning of Tuesday's trading session, HMM's stock price dropped over 5 percent. Although its stock price rose slightly in the afternoon, it closed at 17,200 won, down 4.39 percent from the previous session's close.



Samsung Securities, the underwriter for the HMM deal, reportedly received tenders from LX, Dongwon and Harim, as well as Hapag-Lloyd, a German shipping company, until the deadline at 5 p.m. on Monday.



SM and Global Sae-A groups, both of which had received the information memorandum, decided not to participate in the bid, proving that HMM is less attractive than expected in the M&A market.



The Korean participants in the preliminary bid do not necessarily hold enough cash and cashable assets to afford the up to 6 trillion won ($4.5 billion) worth of HMM shares put up for sale. LX holds 2.4 trillion won worth of cash and cashable assets, while Harim has 1.5 trillion won and Dongwon holds 600 billion won.



The bidders plan to borrow money from financial companies, but in that scenario, they still need to pay a significant amount of interest.



As a result, concerns are growing that they may seek a leveraged buyout, which is intended to pay parts of HMM's 12.3 trillion won worth of cash and cashable assets to the new owner as dividends so that the owner can pay its debts.



In such a scenario, HMM could suffer a shortage of cash for its investments in future growth engines.



HMM is considered affordable for Hapag-Lloyd. But the government is not expected to sell Korea's only large-size container shipping company to a foreign firm.



Against this backdrop, speculation is growing that the KDB may delay or cancel the sale procedure.



The bank currently plans to select the preferred bidder in November, once the bidders finish their due diligence which is scheduled to take about two months.



"The seller can cancel or modify the sale procedure, and the potential investor cannot object to the decision," the KDB said in its notification of the sale.



KDB Chairman Kang Seog-hoon also told the press in June that the bank wants to sell HMM to a company that has sufficient capital, management ability and willingness to contribute to the Korean shipping industry.


City cant exclude business from farmer's market over gay marriage opposition: court

A Michigan city cannot prohibit a local businessman from taking part in a farmer's market because he refuses for religious reasons to host same-sex weddings on his property, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney ruled Monday that the City of East Lansing can't lawfully bar Country Mill Farms from its annual farmer's market due to owner Stephen Tennes' refusal to host same-sex weddings on the farm's property.

"The City has not established that the decision to deny CMF a vendor license is narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest," wrote Maloney, an appointee of former Republican President George W. Bush.

"Defendant has not offered any particular justification for enforcing the nondiscrimination ordinance against Plaintiffs. Nor has Defendant explained why it declines to offer Plaintiffs an exemption from the nondiscrimination ordinance when the ordinance provides objective and discretionary exemptions to other business entities."

CMF and Tennes are represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal nonprofit that has successfully argued several religious liberty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, who argued the case on behalf of the farm before the court in July 2021, praised the ruling in a statement Tuesday.

"Steve and his family-run Country Mill Farms happily serve all customers as a valued vendor at East Lansing's farmer's market, and he's grateful he can continue his longtime partnership with the city and its residents," stated Anderson. "The district court's decision rightly protects Steve's freedom to operate his business according to his convictions."

In August 2016, Tennes posted a message on CMF's Facebook page explaining that his business refused to host same-sex wedding ceremonies on its property on religious grounds.

East Lansing officials became aware of Tennes' position and, in January 2017, rejected an application by CMF to participate in the East Lansing Farmer's Market that year.

Tennes and CMF filed suit in May 2017 against the city, arguing that officials violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by engaging in religious discrimination against the farmer.

City officials argue that they are justified in denying the application because CMF allegedly violated a city ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"Contrary to this policy and the constitutionally protected rights of all couples, The Country Mill has advertised that their business practice is to prohibit same-sex couples from holding weddings at their orchard in Charlotte, Michigan," stated the city, as reported by Michigan Radio in 2017.

"Their business practices violate the City of East Lansing's long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the Supreme Court's ruling that grants the right for same-sex couples to be married."

In September 2017, Maloney granted a preliminary injunction on behalf of CMF, which remained in effect during the course of the litigation, allowing CMF to participate in the farmer's market.
'The Biblical Highway': Mike Pompeo, David Friedman explore Israel's Route 60 in new film

The ancient biblical road, Route 60, spans a mere 146 miles, yet it has seen countless biblical events and was even walked by Jesus Christ Himself.

Known as the "Road of the Patriarchs," the path is significant for both Jews and Christians  and will be shown like never before in an upcoming documentary featuring former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The upcoming film "Route 60: The Biblical Highway" follows Friedman and Pompeo as they travel from Nazareth  Israel's largest Arab city  to Beersheba, one of Israel's hi-tech centers. Friedman, who is Jewish, and Pompeo, a Christian, guide viewers along the ancient highway that connects major biblical cities and was walked by biblical heroes like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and David.

The film, from Trinity Broadcasting Network and Fathom Events, will be in theaters Sept. 18-19.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Friedman, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Israel under former President Donald Trump, said he hopes the upcoming documentary will elevate discussions on peace and reconciliation in the Middle East while underscoring the significance of the land for Jews and Christians.

"When I look at the world today, we have, to a certain extent, lost our way," Friedman said. "We lose our way because we become untethered from the principles that we as a country were founded upon.  Our Bible still sells, and it's still relevant, but it's become far less relevant to many people, people of power, people of influence, than it has been in the past. It's a shame because the great values that we hold are values that came from the Bible."

Friedman said that when he became ambassador in 2017, he noticed the State Department prohibited U.S. government employees from visiting biblical sites even though he had visited them in the past.

"I thought that was just terrible," he said.

This policy changed under Pompeo. While in office, Friedman led an initiative to encourage more Americans to experience those sites, recognizing the profound connection and inspiration these sites offer to Judeo-Christian values.

"It really generates in me so much inspiration and really recharges your batteries and gets you feeling much closer to our Judeo-Christian value," he said. "I approached my friends who were in this business already making films, and I sold them on this idea of making a film about Route 60 because it's the road that on which all these great biblical stories occurred."

Friedman and Pompeo spent five days filming across Route 60, discussing both the biblical and modern-day significance of each site. Friedman recounted surreal moments while on Route 60. They visited Bethel, Shiloh and the altar of Joshua, which have deep roots in the Old Testament.

A standout moment, he said, was discovering the pilgrimage road in Jerusalem.

This fully intact pathway connects the ritual bath to the temple, and it was where pilgrims cleansed themselves before visiting the temple. Notably, these steps were constructed in the year 30 by Pontius Pilate, and it's believed with certainty that Jesus walked this path.

"You can literally imagine Jesus preaching at this point," he said. "You're putting yourself back in time, not just by looking at a piece of parchment or a shard of glass or a shard of pottery [in a museum]. You're literally immersing yourself in the land that was walked by your favorite or most inspiring biblical hero."

Friedman pointed out that for many, the West Bank is synonymous with the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Though the majority of Route 60 crosses through the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, it ends within Israeli territory.

With mainstream narratives often presenting it as an "illegally occupied territory," Friedman contends that such labels ignore the region's historical and religious significance for the Jewish and Christian faiths, which both trace their origins back to these ancient lands.

"It's antithetical to the Jewish faith, and it's antithetical to the Christian faith because at the very core of the Bible is the grant of this land to the Jewish people," he said. "It's also antithetical to the interest of making peace.  I am convinced that the Palestinian people themselves would be ill-served if Israel were to walk away from this holy region. Israel is the only force within the region that presents an opportunity and a potential for Palestinian people to live with dignity and with prosperity."

Route 60 is also a hotspot for unrest and violence. Friedman said that he experienced a peaceful week while filming, but subsequent weeks saw multiple terrorist attacks along the route.

"There have been Jews murdered on that path, and every month or so, there's something that's going on there," he said

Still, he expressed optimism for the future peace of the region, emphasizing the need to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area while ensuring all inhabitants, regardless of their faith, are treated with the dignity they deserve.

He highlighted Israel's commitment to protecting Christian holy sites and ensuring pilgrims can safely share their faith.

"Under Israeli control, all faiths are welcomed," he stated, noting the immense tourist influx drawn to sacred places like Jerusalem, Gethsemane and Galilee.

"I think people who watch this film will primarily be of the Christian faith, even though I'm not, but I want them to see what care Israel takes to make people with the Christian faith comfortable with their holy sites," he said.

Places like Route 60, Friedman said, aren't just historical or religious landmarks but serve as living testimonies of the shared heritage of Jews and Christians. He emphasized that as the world evolves, the values embedded in ancient texts become even more critical to guiding society toward a future of peace and mutual respect.

"If we can go to these places, and we can preserve them and make them accessible and available, either in person or through this film, we reconnect, we recharge and revitalize our faith in our connection to these values, which I think are more than ever essential to our being able to live with each other on this earth," Friedman said.

"This film is not going to bring it all back, but it will get people thinking, hopefully, about why this land is important."

Watch the trailer for "Route 60: The Biblical Highway" below.
5 Christians arrested during prayer service in India

On Aug. 15, the police in Uttar Pradesh accused 37 individuals, including 19 women, of engaging in purported conversion charges in Jaunpur district's Rajjupur village.

Five individuals, three of whom were pastors, were detained and freed on bail the same day after being brought before a sub-divisional magistrate.

Pastor Dinesh Kumar told UCA News on Aug. 18 that on the occasion of Independence Day, "the Christian community was holding a prayer service in the Dalit colony of Rajjupur when a police force came and arrested five people."

The community has long had Christian prayer services on Sundays and other significant days, according to the pastor.

"We do not bother anyone in the area, and thus far the locals haven't objected. Our people are shocked by the sudden police raid," he remarked.

Pastor Kuma said that although the neighborhood knew who had made the fictitious police report, "we have nothing against anyone and want to live here peacefully."

He described how, on Feb. 12, 16 people, including three ladies, had been arrested after the police and some hardcore Hindu militants broke into his home.

Despite the fact that he was released after four days, the police nonetheless filed a case against five of them under the state's anti-conversion law, UCA News reported.

According to media reports, Christian missionaries reportedly converted members in the Dalit community by scheduling the prayer service on Independence Day.

The media reports indicated that police claimed to have been informed by Saurabh Saroj, the leader of Rajjupur village, about poor people being converted to Christianity by way of different inducements.

The Indian constitution enables religious freedom to arrange or participate in a prayer session, according to a local Christian leader who talked to UCA News

"It is shocking that police are restricting people from exercising their fundamental right on a day the country is celebrating its Independence Day," said the Christian leader who requested anonymity.

Originally published at Christian Today India
Art teacher fired after parents reveal 'hail Satan,' other disturbing social media posts

An Illinois art teacher has been fired after parents made school officials aware of social media posts that read Hail Satan and indicated the teacher is violent and hurtful.

During a special board meeting Sunday, officials with the District 33C Board of Education in Homer Glen, located about 30 miles southwest of Chicago, dismissed a teacher who was identified by conservative influencer Libs of TikTok as Kris Martin.

Video from the meeting shared by Libs of TikTok showed the decision was made to dismiss art teacher Kristopher Martin "effective immediately."

A statement provided to a local Patch reporter said officials took additional background investigation which resulted in the discovery of new information, but relevant to the employment of the individual in question."

Martin first came to the notice of school officials after parents shared troubling social media posts from his account, all of which date back to 2018 and 2020, including one in which he claimed to have bipolar disorder with mania and psychosis.

One post read: I have done things in conditions of psychosis and mania that have been violent and hurtful. But I am NOT my disease. I am ME! And I know ME! And I LOVE ME! #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #endthestigma"

Another post included an image of a pentagram with the number 666, while another showed Martin wearing a Satan respects pronouns shirt with the caption Hail Satan.

.@Homer33c just hired this person as an elementary school teacher. These are some of he/theys posts:



Would you be comfortable with this person teaching your kids? pic.twitter.com/Y0M4qcyJ7J  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 17, 2023

In an April 2018 post on Instagram, Martin shared results from an online personality quiz that included the heading 999% a and a caption that read in part, Satan has nothing on you. The residents of hell are running a campaign for you to take your rightful place as their king.

An older Facebook cover photo showed a young lady who was covered in blood with two blood-stained hands held out menacingly above her.

Following the announcement to dismiss Martin, Superintendent Craig Schoppe apologized to the community.

As a parent myself, I understand that our families trust me to ensure high-quality education and to hire the best staff to provide that education, Schoppe said. I realize that I may have lost that trust from many of you, but I will work to regain it.

Several parents also spoke out, with some calling for board members to resign.

"Thank you for firing the guy, 'cause that's the first step to fixing this problem," said one dad.

"This hire shows incompetence and negligence. Any voter who voted for or any board member who advocated for this hire should resign immediately," said another man wearing a cross necklace.

The school district is set to hold a board meeting Tuesday and urged community members to attend and share their concerns.
Chicago community leaders urge daytime ceasefire amid increasing gang violence

Amid police warnings about a potential gang war, community leaders in Chicago are promoting an initiative they hope might prevent gun violence during the daytime and reduce the risk of bystanders becoming collateral damage in gang battles.

The Native Sons, a local community group, is behind the proposal known as "The People's Ordinance." The ordinance urges Chicagoans who own guns to refrain from firing their weapons between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. to reduce the risk of bystanders being killed or injured in the crossfire.

"First and foremost, we recognize that gangs are an issue within our city, but this ordinance is not specific to gang members but to all who carry guns legally and illegally to not discharge their firearms while the sun is out," a spokesperson for Native Sons told The Christian Post in a Tuesday statement.

"Whether it be due to gang conflict, domestic violence, interpersonal disputes, robbery or any other reason one may want to discharge their gun," the spokesperson said.

In an August newsletter, Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden promoted the ordinance and provided a link to the group's Linktree page, encouraging the public to seek further information about Native Sons. On her website, Hadden identifies herself as "the first Black, queer woman elected to Chicago City Council."

Hadden's office did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.

As The New York Post reported Saturday, legislators have not introduced any legislation that would inflict harsher penalties on individuals who use their guns at certain hours as a result of the ordinance.

Tatiana Atkins, the co-founder of Native Sons, explained to CWB Chicago earlier this month that one of the group's goals is for people to stop "glorifying" shooters and "switches" and to stop wearing ski masks. "Switches" are devices that turn semi-automatic handguns into automatic-firing weapons, according to the outlet.

"When those who live a certain lifestyle try to hang with 'regular' class citizens, they put everyone at risk," Atkins said.

"We have to start somewhere," the Native Sons co-founder said in reference to the ordinance. "Our goal is to approach our city's gun violence problem strategically and not all at once. Things didn't become this way overnight, and change won't happen overnight."

CWB Chicago shared a copy of a flyer promoting "The People's Ordinance," which depicts a white fence with the words "Don't shoot! I want to grow up!" painted in bold red letters.

"If people know that after a certain hour, the likelihood of them being shot by an unknown and unprovoked assailant are at a higher risk, they will be less likely to be out and about, and they may become more proactive with the supervision of their children," Atkins said.

As CWB Chicago reported last month, Chicago police dispatchers warned that retaliatory shootings have been happening between two street gangs since May 23. The gangs responsible are believed to be the Gangster Disciples and the Wicked City faction of the Black P Stones.

Following a shooting last month that resulted in the deaths of three men standing on a sidewalk in Uptown, dispatchers alerted officers of "a strong possibility of retaliatory shootings" in four areas of Chicago.

According to a February Wirepoints survey of 75 of America's largest cities, Chicago and New Orleans were the "nation's murder capitals in 2022." The report found that Chicago had the most criminal homicides for the 11th year in a row, with 697 taking place in 2022.
Christian Business Sues Michigan City for Banning Them From Farmers' Market for Opposing Same-Sex Marriage

A Michigan city is being sued for banning a Christian family's business from a local farmers' market because they refuse to host same-sex weddings on their property.

Country Mill Farms and its owner, Stephen Tennes, filed suit against the city of East Lansing on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

At the center of the suit is the city's decision to ban Country Mill Farms from the East Lansing Farmer's Market due to comments Tennes made on his business' Facebook page.

"Tennes' Facebook statement professing his religious beliefs about marriage and his decision to only host and participate in only those weddings on his family farm that comport with those beliefs violates no federal, state, or local law or policy," reads the suit.

"The policy and denial that followed violates Plaintiffs' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights because it regulates Plaintiffs' speech based on its content and viewpoint, creates a religious gerrymander designed to punish Plaintiffs for their religious beliefs, and conditions Plaintiffs' participation in a public benefit  i.e., participation in the Farmer's Market  on the surrender of Plaintiffs' constitutional rights to free speech, free press, the free exercise of religion, and equal protection under the law."

Country Mill Farm is being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm that has handled similar cases in the past.

"People of faith, like the Tennes family, should be free to live and work according to their deeply held beliefs without fear of losing their livelihood," said ADF legal counsel Kate Anderson in a statement.

"If the government can shut down a family farmer just because of the religious views he expresses on Facebook  by denying him a license to do business and serve fresh produce to all people  then no American is free."

In a statement released after the suit was filed, East Lansing argued that their banning of Country Mill Farm from the market had to do with their apparent violation of a city civil rights ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

"Contrary to this policy and the constitutionally protected rights of all couples, The Country Mill has advertised that their business practice is to prohibit same-sex couples from holding weddings at their orchard in Charlotte, Michigan," stated the city, as reported by Michigan Radio.

"Their business practices violate the City of East Lansing's long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the Supreme Court's ruling that grants the right for same-sex couples to be married."
FBI nationwide sex trafficking enforcement campaign identifies 200 victims, over 50 were minors

The FBI located 200 victims of sex trafficking as part of an enforcement campaign that was conducted alongside its local and state partners and arrested or identified 126 suspects of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses.

Known as Operation Cross Country, the effort was a two-week-long campaign carried out last month by the FBI in partnership with law enforcement agencies and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

According to an FBI press release from earlier this month, an additional 68 individuals suspected of trafficking were identified or arrested, and the FBI and its partners also located 59 minor victims of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation.

"Human traffickers prey on the most vulnerable members of our society, and their crimes scar victimsmany of them childrenfor life, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. The FBI's commitment to combatting this threat will never waver, and we will continue to send our message that these atrocities will not be tolerated.

"This operation would not be possible without the commitment and collaboration from our state and local law enforcement partners, and it demonstrates our continued focus on actively pursuing the criminals responsible for these heinous violations and connecting those impacted with dedicated victim services and resources."

During the operation, law enforcement agencies helped to identify and arrest offenders while victim specialists addressed the needs of the trafficking victims, including shelter and emergency services.

"Behind every statistic, there is a person with dreams, aspirations, and the right to live a life free from child sex trafficking and exploitation, NCMEC President and CEO Michelle DeLaune said in a statement.

"We applaud the FBI and their partner law enforcement agencies for their unwavering dedication to protecting children. Their tireless efforts in combatting crimes against children sends a powerful message that child sexual exploitation will not be tolerated."

According to NCMEC, "research, data and survivor lived experience and expertise have revealed traffickers and buyers often target youth who lack strong support networks, have experienced violence in the past, are experiencing homelessness, or are marginalized by society."

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized in the FBIs press release that sex trafficking inflicts unimaginable harm upon the victims and endangers vulnerable people. The attorney general indicated that his office would continue working with law enforcement partners across the country to prevent human trafficking and prosecute the criminals responsible.

As CPR News reported Wednesday, the FBI sex-trafficking campaign led to the recovery of 27 victims, eight juveniles and 19 adults, in Colorado. The FBI conducted its Operation Cross Country campaign in the state for two days in July, leading to the arrest of five traffickers. Eight suspects were identified for investigation, and 14 additional minor victims were located but not recovered.

According to the outlet, FBI Denver partnered with more than 40 state and local agencies to locate sex trafficking victims and arrest suspects.

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek explained to CPR that the case didnt involve traffickers snatching people off of the street and that the perpetrators exploited victims through psychological or physical control.

As Lieutenant Aaron Rebeterano of the Denver Police Departments Strategic Investigations Bureau noted, many of the victims had difficult home lives or a narcotics addiction, which made them vulnerable to traffickers. The lieutenant said that most traffickers are drug dealers or gang members that make a profit by selling people.

This begins the grooming process for the traffickers. Traffickers often offer these juveniles and these teens drugs in lieu of sex, Rebeterano said, as quoted by CPR. The traffickers will then try to hold onto the victims and then offer them to other individuals associates for sexual acts.

Although we have observed this current trend, we have also investigated residential brothels, illicit massage parlors and street level trafficking, all with the same outcome."

Last year, FBI Denver worked with around 40 partners to recover 11 child victims of sexual exploitation and 27 endangered or missing children. According to the agencys press release at the time, the operation also led to the recovery of 11 adult victims and the identification of six traffickers, two of which were later arrested on unrelated warrants.
Flight attendant fired for pro-life activism receives $5.1M in damages Flight attendant fired after criticizing union's support for Women's March receives $5.1M in damages

A flight attendant who alleges she was fired from her position due to her vocal religious opposition to abortion and union dues being used to support abortion-related causes has won a $5.1 million federal lawsuit against her former employer and union.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced in a statement Thursday that Charlene Carter, a pro-life Christian who formerly worked as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, prevailed in her religious discrimination lawsuit with the airline and the Transportation Workers Union of America.

Carter will receive $5.1 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages against TWU and Southwest as a jury deemed that both organizations played a role in an unlawful termination.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which describes itself as "a nonprofit, charitable organization" working to "eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism," provided Carter with free legal representation.

"This long overdue verdict vindicates Ms. Carter's fundamental right to dissent from the causes and ideas that TWU union officials  who claim to 'represent' Southwest flight attendants  support while forcing workers to bankroll their activities," said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix.

"No American worker should have to fear termination, intimidation, or any other reprisal merely for speaking out against having their own money spent, purportedly in their name, to promote an agenda they find abhorrent."

The verdict from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas comes nearly five years after Carter filed a lawsuit against the TWU of America and Southwest Airlines following her termination after more than 20 years of service.

While Carter joined the Transport Union Workers of America's Local 556 union in September 1996, she resigned her membership in September 2013 upon discovering that her union dues were funding causes that contradicted her religious beliefs as a pro-life Christian.

However, Carter was still forced to pay union dues even though she did not belong to the union because the airline and railway employees are subject to the federal Railway Labor Act requirements.

The Railway Labor Act supersedes state-level Right to Work laws that prevent employees from having to pay union fees as a condition of employment and permits the termination of employees for refusal to pay union dues or fees.

At the same time, the Railway Labor Act allows employees to refrain from joining a union, criticize union leadership and lobby for a change in the union leadership.

In the time between her 2013 withdrawal from the union and her termination, Carter repeatedly shared her concerns about Local 556's political stances with union leadership.

In January 2017, Carter learned that union dues were probably used to attend the "Women's March on Washington DC," which advocated for legal abortion and funding for America's largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Abortion and the funding of the practice stand in direct contradiction to Carter's religious beliefs.

Carter made clear her opposition to using union dues to support the Women's March in several Facebook groups for Southwest flight attendants and in a message to Local 556 President Audrey Stone.

When Carter sent another email to Stone expressing support for a National Right to Work bill, Carter was ordered to attend a meeting with Southwest leadership to discuss "Facebook postings they had seen."

In those posts, Carter expressed her pro-life beliefs. The lawsuit claims that superiors at Southwest characterized her social media postings as a form of harassment and fired her for violating the company's "Workplace Bullying and Hazing Policy" and its "Social Media Policy" by posting content deemed "highly offensive in nature."

In May, a federal judge rejected the attempt from Southwest and the Transportation Union Workers of America to dismiss the lawsuit. The organizations argued that Carter did not have a "private right of action" to enforce her rights under the Railway Labor Act and characterized her case as a "minor" dispute that the district court did not have jurisdiction over.

"Even with this basic right under the Railway Labor Act successfully defended, however, TWU union officials still enjoy the enormous government-granted privilege of being able to force airline workers to financially subsidize their activities as a condition of employment," Mix added. "While we're proud to stand with Ms. Carter and are pleased by the verdict, there ultimately should be no place in American labor law for compelling workers to fund a private organization that violates their core beliefs."
Judge blocks 3 school districts from enforcing trans parental notification policy

A New Jersey judge temporarily blocked three school districts from enforcing a policy that requires schools to inform parents if their child expresses a desire to identify as trans or non-binary as districts nationwide face similar debates about parental rights.

The three school districts in Monmouth County  the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, the Marlboro Township Public Schools and Middletown Township Public Schools  enacted their respective parental notification policies in June.

The policies require school staff to notify parents when their children request to change their names or pronouns to match a stated gender identity that is different than their biological sex.

As NJ.com reported Saturday, New Jersey Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman granted the state of New Jersey's request Friday for a preliminary injunction against the policies following a lawsuit against the districts by Democratic Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

Bauman issued the injunction after a hearing last week that provided representatives of both parties to make their arguments.

"The state has demonstrated a reasonable probability of success on its claim that the Amended Policies, if implemented, will have a disparate impact on transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary youth," Bauman wrote in his Friday decision.

The judge clarified, however, that he was not rendering a final judgment about the arguments presented by the state or the school boards.

Bauman hopes the involved parties could reach "a consensus of policy of parental disclosure that best strikes a legally appropriate and practice balance between protecting the civil rights of transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender non-binary students, and the well-settled right of parental oversight over the care and upbringing of their children."

During the Tuesday hearing, an attorney for one of the school districts warned about the potential dangers of schools failing to inform parents that their child is struggling with gender identity. The attorney noted that parents would likely be angry if they learned their child had harmed themselves due to their gender identity issues and the school kept this information from them.

In a statement, Platkin praised the injunction as a "major victory for civil rights." The attorney general believes that the districts' policies discriminate against people based on "gender identity or expression."

The attorney general argued that the policies altered the Department of Education's guidelines, which do not prohibit parental notification but advises school districts to be "mindful" of disputes involving students and their parents surrounding gender identity.

"To be clear, the State has always respected the rights of parents and agrees that parents should be involved in important decisions regarding their children  and any characterizations to the contrary are flatly incorrect," Platkin said.

"All our lawsuits seek to do is to reinstate the same policies these districts found acceptable with little protest for years," he concluded. "Put simply, we can both keep parents informed about their children's development and protect the civil rights of our most vulnerable students."

As The Christian Post reported, Platkin filed complaints in June against the three school districts and their respective boards of education in the Superior Court of New Jersey.

The attorney general's office expressed fear that the parental notification policies would subject trans-identifying students to "the continuous threat of being 'outed' if they have not already made their gender identity or gender expression known to their parents or guardians."

Debates about the districts' parental notification policies come as parents nationwide have filed lawsuits over school policies that keep them in the dark about whether their child is identifying as the opposite sex. Other parents have sued school districts for allegedly helping their children transition without parental consent.

A similar debate also arose in California after the Murrieta Valley Unified School District adopted a policy requiring staff to notify parents within three days after becoming aware of a student's request to be treated as a member of the opposite sex.

Opponents of the policy argued at a board meeting that schools may be the "only affirming space" trans students can find if they have parents who object to their gender identity. Others, including School Board President Paul F. Diffley III, asserted that he'd want all relevant information about his child's physical and mental health.

"I don't think there should be anything hidden because I have a fundamental right as a parent to bring up my child. ... If I can't get all the information I need to have a reasonable discussion with my child, then the school is not doing its job," Diffley told The Los Angeles Times earlier this month.

In July, Chino Valley Unified School District also passed a parental notification policy, which led to threats of violence against members of the board.
Judge orders Southwest Airlines to reinstate Christian flight attendant fired over pro-life views

A federal court has ordered Southwest Airlines to reinstate a flight attendant the company terminated after she objected to the use of union dues to fund political causes that go against her deeply held beliefs.

In a statement released Wednesday, the National Right to Work Legal Foundation announced that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered Southwest Airlines to rehire Charlene Carter, a flight attendant the company terminated in March 2017. The National Right to Work Legal Foundation, which describes itself as a nonprofit, charitable organization working to eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism, provided Carter with free legal representation.

Bags fly free with Southwest. But free speech didnt fly at all with Southwest in this case, stated the decision, as quoted by the National Right to Work Legal Foundation.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas this week ordered Southwest and the union to give Carter the maximum amount of compensatory and punitive damages permitted under federal law, plus back-pay, and other forms of relief that a jury originally awarded following Carters victory in a July trial, the advocacy group added.

Over the summer, a jury awarded Carter $5.1 million in damages after determining that the airline and the Transportation Workers Union of America chapter she belonged to unlawfully terminated her for objecting to the use of union dues to transport union officials to the far-left Womens March. Carter, a devout Christian, did not approve of the use of her union dues to fund the march in Washington, D.C., in January 2017.

Primarily organized to express opposition to then-President Donald Trump, the Womens March was sponsored in part by Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S. Abortion and the public funding of it stand in direct opposition to Carters beliefs as a Christian.

Carter objected to the use of union dues to fund the Womens March in social media posts. After sending an email to Union President Audrey Stone expressing support for a national Right to Work bill, Carter was ordered to attend a meeting with Southwest leadership to discuss Facebook posts they had seen.

Southwest deemed her social media posts highlighting her pro-life beliefs as a form of harassment. A week after Carter's meeting with superiors, the company terminated her.

Carter, who joined the Transport Union Workers of Americas Local 556 union in September 1996, resigned her membership 17 years later after discovering that her union dues funded causes that conflicted with her deeply held religious beliefs as a pro-life Christian. She continued to work for Southwest after opting out of union membership but still had to pay union dues because her position as a flight attendant subjected her to the requirements of the federal Railway Labor Act.

The Railway Labor Act supersedes state-level Right to Work laws that prevent employees from having to pay union dues as a condition of employment and prohibit the termination of employees for declining to pay union dues or fees. At the same time, it protects the rights of non-union members required to pay union dues to criticize the union and its leadership, as Carter did in social media posts, and advocate for a change in union leadership.

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix reacted to the latest developments in the Carter case in a statement. Southwest and TWU union officials made Ms. Carter pay an unconscionable price because she decided to speak out against the political activities of union officials in accordance with her deeply held religious beliefs. This decision vindicates Ms. Carters rights  but its also a stark reminder of the retribution that union officials will mete out against employees who refuse to toe the union line, he said.

Ms. Carters victory should prompt nationwide scrutiny of union bosses coercive, government-granted powers over workers, especially in the airline and rail industries. Even after her victory, she and her colleagues at Southwest and other airlines under union control are forced, as per the Railway Labor Act, to pay money to union officials just to keep their jobs, he added.

The National Right to Work Legal Foundation elaborated on the implications of the district courts ruling: This weeks decision, in addition to awarding reinstatement, back-pay, prejudgment interest, and damages to Carter, also hits the TWU union and Southwest with injunctions forbidding them from discriminating against flight attendants for their religious beliefs and from failing to accommodate religious objectors.

The decision also explicitly prohibits Southwest and the union from discriminating against Carter for exercising her rights under the RLA, the advocacy group clarified. Carter may, under the RLA, object to the forced payment of the part of dues used for political and other lawfully nonchargeable union expenses, pursuant to the National Right to Work Foundations U.S. Supreme Court victory in Ellis v. Railway Clerks (1984).
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden participate in a blessing ceremony with the Lahaina elders at Moku'ula?as they visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires, Aug. 21, in Lahaina, Hawaii. AP-Yonhap



President Joe Biden told survivors of Hawaii's wildfires that the nation "grieves with you" and promised that the federal government will help Maui "for as long as it takes" to recover after touring damage caused by the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.



Biden arrived in Maui on Monday, 13 days after the wildfires that have taken at least 114 lives ravaged the western part of the island.



"The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover," Biden said.



Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday viewed the devastation wrought by the flames that ripped through the western part of the Hawaiian island, seeing for themselves the hollowed homes, structures and singed trees left behind by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.



The Bidens lingered briefly on the tarmac after arriving at Kahului Airport to console Hawaii Governor Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as well as members of Hawaii's congressional delegation who came to the airport to greet them. The president and first lady embraced each of their greeters before boarding Marine One for an aerial tour of the devastation caused by the fires.



Biden later got a close up look of the wreckage in Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames. His motorcade wound through the community of block upon block of hollowed out homes and structures, palm trees burnt to a crisp and endless debris.



The couple is meeting with first responders and is being briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.



The Democratic president will deliver remarks paying tribute to the victims of the wildfires, which have killed more than 100 people since they erupted on Aug. 8. The Bidens interrupted a weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe area for the five-hour flight to Lahaina.



"It's going to be an emotional day for everyone," said Olivia Dalton, the White House deputy press secretary, told reporters traveling with Biden.



The White House announced Monday that Biden has named Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, ensuring that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts. It will take years to rebuild Lahaina, where just about every building was obliterated.



"I know how profoundly loss can impact a family and a community and I know nothing can replace the loss of life," Biden said in a statement before the trip. "I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy. And throughout our efforts, we are focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions."





People pray as President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden meet with community members impacted by the Maui wildfires at Lahaina Civic Center, Aug. 21, in Lahaina, Hawaii. AP-Yonhap
Judge Stops City's Ban on Christian-Owned Business at Farmer's Market Over Gay Marriage Opposition

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to a Michigan farmer who was barred from selling his products at an East Lansing market because of his opposition to gay marriage.

Earlier this year, Country Mill Farms sued East Lansing for banning the business from its farmer's marker over comments made against gay marriage on the business' Facebook page.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Maloney of the Western District of Michigan granted the preliminary injunction on behalf of Country Mill in a ruling on Friday.

In his order, Maloney concluded that Country Mill and its owner, Stephen Tennes, "have a substantial likelihood of success on at least one of their claims brought under the First Amendment."

"Plaintiffs are entitled to a preliminary injunction. The city of East Lansing must allow Plaintiffs to participate in the East Lansing Farmer's Market for the remainder of the 2017 season," wrote Maloney.

"On the evidence before this court, the city amended its Vendor Guidelines and then used the changes to deny Country Mill's vendor application. There exists a substantial likelihood that Plaintiffs will be able to prevail on the merits of their claims for speech retaliation and for free exercise of religion."

The Alliance Defending Freedom's legal counsel Kate Anderson, who argued in favor of the motion on behalf of Tennes and Country Mill, said in a statement released Friday that "a farmer should be free to live and speak according to his deeply held religious beliefs without fear of government punishment."

"As the court found, East Lansing officials changed their market policy to shut out Steve because they don't like his Catholic beliefs regarding marriage," stated Anderson.

"The court was right to issue this order, which will allow Steve to return to the 2017 farmer's market while his case moves forward."

In August 2016, Tennes posted a message on Country Mill Farms' Facebook page explaining that his business refused to host same-sex wedding ceremonies.

A devout Catholic, Tennes said he was religiously opposed to the practice, but that he would refer same-sex couples to another local orchard.

In January, East Lansing barred Country Mill from the farmer's market for the 2017 season, officially denying a vendor application in March.

In late May, Country Mill and Tennes filed a lawsuit against the city of East Lansing over the denial of application, arguing that the city's actions were unconstitutional.

"Tennes' Facebook statement professing his religious beliefs about marriage and his decision to only host and participate in only those weddings on his family farm that comport with those beliefs violates no federal, state, or local law or policy," the lawsuit reads in part.

"The policy and denial that followed violates Plaintiffs' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights because it regulates Plaintiffs' speech based on its content and viewpoint, creates a religious gerrymander designed to punish Plaintiffs for their religious beliefs, and conditions Plaintiffs' participation in a public benefit  i.e., participation in the Farmer's Market  on the surrender of Plaintiffs' constitutional rights to free speech, free press, the free exercise of religion, and equal protection under the law."

In a statement released after the suit was filed, East Lansing argued that their banning of Country Mill Farm from the market had to do with their apparent violation of a city civil rights ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

"Contrary to this policy and the constitutionally protected rights of all couples, The Country Mill has advertised that their business practice is to prohibit same-sex couples from holding weddings at their orchard in Charlotte, Michigan," stated the city, as reported by Michigan Radio.

"Their business practices violate the city of East Lansing's long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the Supreme Court's ruling that grants the right for same-sex couples to be married."
Texas cuts ties with American Library Association over 'Marxist lesbian' president

The state of Texas is reportedly cutting ties with the American Library Association after the group elected a self-described "Marxist lesbian" as president.

Republican Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison announced on Aug. 17 the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) will not renew its contracts with the American Library Association (ALA) after Harrison called on TSLAC to cut ties with the ALA over the election of President Emily Drabinski.

In a letter sent to TSLAC Commissioner Martha Wong in July, Harrison urged the state organization to "do the right thing for hardworking Texas parents and taxpayers" following Drabinski's election.

"I have been made aware that the American Library Association (ALA) has elected Emily Drabinski, a self-proclaimed 'Marxist lesbian' and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as President," Harrison wrote. "Texas should be leading the fight against Marxist ideology, not subsidizing it."

Drabinski was elected 2023-2024 president-elect in April 2022.

Harrison's description of Drabinski was in reference to a now-deleted social media post in which Drabinski wrote, "I just cannot believe that Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary. I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity!"

She also referred to herself as a Marxist in a 2022 interview, in which she said, "I never thought in a million years they'd give a Marxist a chance." In another interview last July with Red Fault, the blog of the Austin chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Drabinski acknowledged she was a "member of DSA in name and contribution" but "not active in the movement."

In a 2021 video on "teaching the radical catalog," Drabinksi spoke at length about her explicit sexual preferences.

"I could be straight. I could be a lesbian. I could be queer. 'Gay woman' and 'homosexual' were already outdated terms that we sometimes used to make fun of ourselves, but we certainly didn't use to describe and define ourselves," she said.

"And I had access to about three sexuality options: you could be a top, or a bottom, or a switch. I don't even know if those terms are in use anymore. But when I started at Sarah Lawrence in 2003, everything had changed. There were so many other ways to be gay."

In his letter to the commission, Harrison also cited ALA's history of fighting to keep materials deemed by parents as pornographic on school library shelves.

"The ALA's 'Office for Intellectual Freedom' states that libraries can't remove inappropriate books because 'children and teens have the right to find the information they choose' and 'no one has the right to make rules restricting what other people use, or to make decisions for other families,'" he wrote.

"This means the ALA may be undermining Texas statutes designed to protect children."

Billed as a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization that has existed since 1876, ALA is the world's oldest and largest library association. The organization promotes libraries and library education internationally, with over 49,727 members as of 2021.

Prior to Texas' decision to sever ties with the ALA, other states severed ties with the organization, including Montana and Missouri.

In July, actor and Christian book author Kirk Cameron called for a federal investigation into ALA over his claims the association advised libraries to find ways to block or sabotage his upcoming nationwide event in August.
Vivek Ramaswamy talks China, 9/11, war, economic collapse and LGBT ideology

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy recently sat down for a wide-ranging discussion with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The interview was posted by Carlson to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.

Ramaswamy is currently polling at 7% in the RealClearPolitics average of polls sampling the opinion of Republican primary voters, which puts him in third place behind former President Donald Trump (55.8%) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (14.9%).

He and Carlson discussed relatively new information regarding the 9/11 attack, the connection between economic and foreign policy as well as the reasoning behind the American left's embrace of LGBT and climate ideology.

The following pages highlight five highlights of the discussion.

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Starving in our abundance of God's Word

A few years ago, when I was at deaths door in the hospital with COVID-19, I went about three days without eating. At this point, my body had stopped expecting food, and I really didnt feel hungry. The nurses had to strongly encourage me to eat something, but after one bite, Id be done. I had no appetite, no sense of hunger at all.

After this time, it occurred to me how often we, as followers of Christ, can become like that spiritually. When we arent regularly consuming Gods Word, we stop having a hunger for it. We can be starving for Gods Word but may not even realize it as weve gotten out of the habit of reading Scripture regularly.

Fewer people than ever, including Christians, are reading the Bible on a daily basis. According to the American Bible Society, the number of American adult Bible users has significantly decreased recently, coming down from 50% of Americans in 2020 to 39% present-day, in 2023.

How many Christians do you know who have multiple Bibles on their shelves at home, yet have never opened any of them? Oftentimes, we might have multiple Bibles  all the spiritual sustenance we need  at our disposal, but we arent taking advantage of them. Thats like being hungry with a refrigerator full of food and not eating anything from it.

What do we really need?

Another issue for those who dont consume food regularly is the need to be gradually re-introduced to solid foods. Similarly, as believers, we have become so weakened that we are only able to consume the milk, when we really need the meat of Gods Word. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:12-14).

Many people have also become consumers of junk food rather than healthy food, so they feel full but arent nutritionally satisfied. We are eating masked toxic chemicals, which taste good but do not fulfill our bodys nutritional needs.

In the same way, Christians are falling into this trap when it comes to seeking spiritual nourishment outside of the Bible and theologically sound teachings. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion (Proverbs 18:2). We want to hear things that are pleasing to our ears, rather than what we need to hear and pay attention to. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice (Proverbs 12:15).

We have to go back to the original word  God's Word  rather than relying too much on popular, culturally and socially acceptable interpretations of it. By consuming these resources from wolves in sheep's clothing, we find ourselves facing spiritual diseases, whose symptoms can include suicide, depression, anxiety, divorce, and divisiveness  everything thats the opposite of love, peace, joy, and hope.

We should not be surprised when this results from spiritual malnourishment or starvation. Only God can provide what we truly need  the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Bible, we want everyone to get it

At EEM (Eastern Europe Mission), were committed to providing the written Word of God to anyone in Eastern Europe who wishes to have a copy in their language free of charge. Our goal is Scripture engagement  we want everyone to get it, not just in their hands but in their hearts and minds as well. People are forever being changed by the life-giving good news that is taking hold of hearts and transforming lives.

Through our work with EEM, I have seen countless people without Bibles recognizing their need for Gods Word. When they finally receive one, they cant get enough of it, devouring and valuing it like a truly hungry person devours food in front of them. These people recognize the truth and satisfaction that comes from The Word, and they value it that much more because of it.

Just as the body needs sustainable and nutritional nourishment from food and water, so does our soul need fulfilling and everlasting encouragement. This cannot come from junk food or even other people alone but from the living, breathing, infallible Word of God. Only He has the power to sustain us the way we all desire, and the first step in recognizing this is to open a Bible today, tomorrow, and every day that follows.
5 crucial lessons learned from planting a church

Westside Christian Fellowship in Southern California arose out of a desperate need to encourage Christians to seek God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. The overwhelming response simply reflects the need that we all have for the truths found in God's Word.

Propelled by prayer and passion, Westside went against all conventional wisdom by offering services on Saturday evenings the first five years with no core team, no affiliation, no formal education, and no money. To many, this looked like an invitation for disaster, not success. But here is the first point:

No matter what the endeavor, God must be central.

In the case of church planting, men do not call themselves, they become aware of God's calling. Demographic studies and marketing strategies may have their place, and it's good to have a core team with a missional focus, but all of this pales in comparison to the call of God. Only God is able to build, sustain, and edify His church.

Humility cannot be overlooked.

Pride works against all of us and is the number one liability for Christians, churches, and church planters. After all, we're going to do things "the right way." Jealousy, envy, and bitterness will keep us from fulfilling God's call. Humility is fundamental. He guides the humble and teaches them His way (cf. Psalm 25:9). An attitude of constant criticism often reveals an inner drive to exalt oneself. Get rid of it.

The fully surrendered life is crucial.

Why do many endeavors fail...why do many church plants fail? The reasons are many, but I believe that much depends on the spiritual life of the pastor in regard to humility and brokenness. Prayer is the first sign of a spiritually healthy Christian, a healthy church, and a spiritually healthy pastor.

I'm not referring to a 5-minute devotional, I'm referring to a deep devotional life focused on seeking God. Churches don't need more marketing plans, demographic studies, or giving campaigns; we need men filled with the Spirit of God. Sermons should not come from pop-psychology and the latest fad; they must come from the prayer closet where God prepares the messengers before we prepare the message. It takes broken men to break men. The men who do the most for God are always men of prayer. "Preaching, in one sense, merely discharges the firearm that God has loaded in the silent place" (Calvin Miller).

God will often allow difficulties to get our attention...this forces us to ask, "Am I in it for my glory, or for His glory?"

God is more concerned about spiritual character than success and truth, not numbers.

I am deeply saddened by the spiritual condition of many Christians. We often lack humility and brokenness or we make truth vague and debatable. We often flaunt our liberty and laugh in the face of God's grace. Many jump at the opportunity to post their favorite beer on Facebook and talk about their favorite sexually-charged movie, all under the guise of "relating to the culture."

A carnal pastor may offer motivating sermons, but he will lose unction, boldness, and spiritual insight. The world, and carnal Christians, will love him, but Spirit-filled believers will leave the service hungry for more of God. Pastors, if we would make it our goal to know Christ more personally we would preach Christ more powerfully. Are we calling people out of the deceptive cultural mindset or are we encouraging it by our silence? Are we exposing sin and calling for repentance, or are we seeking to please the masses? Are we contending for truth, or avoiding it?

If a pastor fills his mind with the world all week and expects the Spirit of God to speak boldly through him from the pulpit, he is gravely mistaken. "The sermon cannot rise in its life-giving forces above the man. Dead men give out dead sermons, and dead sermons kill. Everything depends on the spiritual character of the preacher" (E.M. Bounds).

Without genuine brokenness, and humility, a man is not prepared to lead a church. It's difficult to be in the center of God's will when priorities are misaligned. You may ask, "What does this have to do with me; I'm not a pastor?" Everything! Prayer and humility move the hand of God. The same could be said about your home and your personal life. The overall spiritual condition of your family will be a reflection of your spiritual condition.

Love is a "choice," not a "feeling."

If love is the greatest commandment, it should be our first priority. When our concept of love is different from God's, we suffer from prideful mistakes. Love hopes for and believes the best in others...it is demonstrated through our actions and our words. Strive to develop the type of love that protects and defends others.

For instance, stop yourself when you're tempted to gossip or belittle others, and turn the conversation if someone is taking you in that direction. The Bible is clear: If you have not love, it profits you nothing (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3). You can be well read in all sixty-six books of the Bible, preach as well as Whitefield, Moody, and Spurgeon, and have a Ph.D. in theology, but if you don't have love, you have nothing. Make love, forgiveness, and unity top priorities. They will not rise to that level on their own.
Concerns for treatment of believers in Holy Land

Researchers from Open Doors International, a global NGO network which has provided support to persecuted Christians for over six decades, are monitoring growing religious tensions in Israel after leaders of several Christian denominations expressed concern over the growing number of verbal and physical attacks against Christians as well as the desecration of Christian holy sites since the start of the year.

Israel is not in Open Doors' World Watch list, which ranks countries where Christians face serious persecution, but according to the organisation's sources in Israel, the atmosphere towards Christians in the country has changed since the formation of the new coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Police have launched 16 investigations this year, and made 21 arrests and detentions in connection with attacks on Christians, Open Doors reports.

Visiting the Stella Maris monastery in Haifa to express his solidarity with Christians, Israel's President, Isaac Herzog, spoke out against the growing trend of religious intolerance and said that the threats against Christians "need to be uprooted".

"In recent months, we have seen a very serious phenomenon toward the Christian denominations in the Holy Land. Our brothers and sisters, Christian citizens, who feel attacked in their places of prayer, in their cemeteries, on the streets", AI Monitor quoted him as saying. "I view this phenomenon as extreme and unacceptable in any shape or form."

President Herzog's comments came after a recent spate of attacks at the monastery by Jewish ultra-Orthodox extremists, with dozens of other hate crimes against Christians being recorded during 2023.

"I utterly condemn violence, in all its forms, directed by a small and extreme group, towards the holy places of the Christian faith, and against Christian clergy in Israel in general, and in Jerusalem in particular", the President said.

"This includes spitting, and the desecration of graves and churches. A serious phenomenon that has occurred in the last weeks and months especially".

The president's comments have been welcomed by the Latin Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Other faith leaders also spoke out on the issue, with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III telling the Times of Israel: "We need peace. We are people that promote the values of the Bible. We promote the values of mutual respect and freedom of worship."
In Cameroon, persecuted Christians feel forgotten

To mark the UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, the tragic story of a community of Christians in the West African nation of Cameroon  told by one woman who is determined that they shouldn't be forgotten.

I am Marie Olinga* and I'm a lecturer in a university in Cameroon. But these days I spend most of the time out of the city in the mountainous villages in the far north of my home country. I have started to volunteer, working with victims of attacks from the Islamist terror group Boko Haram.

I mostly work with women whose lives have been torn apart. I'm offering care for trauma sufferers, for people left devastated by the attacks. As I became more and more involved, I am learning just how much devastation these fighters are causing to innocent lives.

Boko Haram has been operating here in Cameroon for ten years now. They have come across the border from northern Nigeria where they have caused untold suffering to both Christians and Muslims. I am meeting the people whose lives these fanatics are tearing apart day after day.

The name Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden". For these radicals, if you are a Christian, you are helping to spread damaging western ideas and western education. This is how they see things  it's very confused.

Cameroon is 60% Christian and further south things aren't so bad. However up in the majority Muslim far north, especially around the border with Nigeria, the villages there are going through very tough times.

Some people's lives are at constant risk, but it's not very easy to leave. There are some areas where the Christians must leave their homes and hide every night. Most of this region is located around mountains.

There are villages where during the day, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, you can find signs of life. But after that, every Christian must go and sleep in the nearby mountains. I recently heard of a village in the north where it got dark, and a man forgot to leave the village at the usual time. He was slaughtered and all the family's food supplies were plundered.

There are so many stories about mothers who lost their children. Parents are forced to convert into their extremist form of Islamism. And if you refuse to convert, they will abduct your children. You won't ever know what has happened to them  it's unbearably painful. Some of the children are converted by force and sent back to their families to go and kill the father or the mother if they refuse to convert.

Most of the villagers, when they know they're targeted like this, start moving to other villages. When they have lost everything, they don't know what to do next. They just know their home village is no longer safe for them. They wander from place to place with their children looking for somewhere safer. But there are others refusing to move, especially parents, because they hope the children that they have lost will come back to them. They live there pretending to be a Muslim, just waiting. Others stay because they have no idea where else to go, in spite of the terrible risk they face.

There are some camps for the displaced, but newcomers don't tend to feel welcomed. When they go to camps or when they move to another village, they are stigmatized. Villagers see them as a threat; they feel overwhelmed by so many newcomers who are reducing the few resources they have. Often the displaced families are treated so badly, they prefer to go back home and face their fate.

Boko Haram has burned down most of the churches in these areas. It's a clever move, as the churches were what held the Christian communities together. On top of that many of the pastors have fled for their safety, so all sense of community has been destroyed.

Now it's safer to keep your head down and make sure nobody knows you are a Christian. Sometimes when Muslims are fasting for Ramadan, you will see some believers who will behave as if they're also fasting, walking around with the same Islamic attire.

Because everyone is effectively hiding, and because there is no chance for Christians to gather and work together, it's hard for them to do anything constructive for the future. Their lives are constantly on hold and uncertain. There is no chance to engage in any development projects to rebuild their lives.

They feel doubly alone, because Christians in the south of the country seem to know very little about what's happening to their brothers and sisters in Christ. It is like another world to many of them. I really don't think they understand the seriousness of what is happening in the mountainous far north.

My heart breaks for these persecuted believers when I meet them. They feel utterly powerless and forgotten, even by their neighbours  left to fight for their survival. They need people to stand with them and tell them they aren't alone. They need peace, but while they are hidden from the world's view that seems unlikely."

Marie Olinga was speaking to a member of the Christian charity Open Doors. According to figures compiled for Open Doors' annual World Watch List, Cameroon is one of the five most violent nations for Christians to live.

*Name altered for reasons of security.
A worker arranges a signboard of the 15th BRICS summit outside the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 17. Xinhua-Yonhap



An expansion of the BRICS bloc under consideration at a summit this week has attracted a motley crew of potential candidates - from Iran to Argentina - with one thing in common: a desire to level a global playing field many consider rigged against them.



The list of grievances is long. Abusive trade practices. Punishing sanctions regimes. Perceived neglect of the development needs of poorer nations. The wealthy West's domination of international bodies, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.



Amid widespread dissatisfaction with the prevailing world order, the pledge of BRICS nations - currently Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - to make the grouping a leading champion of the "Global South" has, despite a dearth of concrete results, found resonance.



Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say officials from South Africa, which is hosting the Aug. 22-24 summit. Of them, nearly two dozen have formally asked to be admitted.



"The objective necessity for a grouping like BRICS has never been larger," said Rob Davies, South Africa's former trade minister, who helped usher his country into the bloc in 2010.



"The multilateral bodies are not places where we can go and have an equitable, inclusive outcome."



Observers, however, point to an underwhelming track record they say does not bode well for BRICS's prospects of delivering on the lofty hopes of prospective members.



Though home to some 40% of the world's population and a quarter of global GDP, the bloc's ambitions of becoming a global political and economic player have long been thwarted by internal divisions and a lack of coherent vision.



Its once booming economies, notably heavyweight China, are slowing. Founding member, Russia, is facing isolation over the Ukraine war. President Vladimir Putin, wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, will not travel to Johannesburg and only join virtually.



"They may have over-inflated expectations of what BRICS membership will actually deliver in practice," said Steven Gruzd from the South African Institute of International Affairs.





People walk past the Sandton Convention Centre, which will host the upcoming BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 19. Reuters-Yonhap



Developing world discontent



While BRICS has not divulged a full list of expansion candidates, a number of governments have publicly stated their interest.



Iran and Venezuela, punished and ostracized by sanctions, are seeking to reduce their isolation and hope the bloc can offer relief to their crippled economies.



"Other integration frameworks existing on a global level are blinded by the hegemonic vision pushed by the U.S. government," Ramon Lobo, the former finance minister and central bank governor of Venezuela, told Reuters.



Gulf states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates see BRICS as a vehicle for a more prominent role within global bodies, analysts say.



African candidates Ethiopia and Nigeria are drawn by the bloc's commitment to reforms at the United Nations that would give the continent a more powerful voice. Others want changes at the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.



"Argentina has insistently called for a reconfiguration of the international financial architecture," an Argentine government official involved in the negotiations to join BRICS told Reuters.





Figure President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, shakes hands with South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, right, at the OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa, Aug. 21, in this photo provided by the South African Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). EPA-Yonhap
Every technology has its downsides. Potential challenges around implementing EaaS relate to governance and control, integration and customization, and security and privacy. The key is ensuring that the as a service choice is fitting for the target scenario and desired outcomes, specifically that as an organization, you are willing to leverage the best practices that are part of the offering. When properly selected, the pros of EaaS typically outweigh the cons, especially in todays fast-moving business environment. Such solutions provide organizations with access to devices when they need them, storage and computing that can flex up and down to meet changing business needs, and full-service support to onboard the mobile workforce no matter where they are located. When consuming technology as a service, leaders get the benefit of technical expertise that is embedded in the offering, freeing their teams to focus on business priorities.

You can see the trend with business growth  the global everything-as-a-service [also referred to as XaaS] market size is expected to grow from $265.4 billion in 2022 to $745 billion, rising at a market growth of 22.9% (Market and Markets). Along with this increasing aaS adoption, we see that enterprises are relying on managed services more because of the flexibility of the pay-as-you-go business model. It is easily scalable, which is attractive for companies of all sizes. It allows organizations to overcome challenges involving equipment ownership and management, overprovisioning of resources, and significant capital outlay.

Leadership buy-in is essential when making technology investments, including for EaaS solutions. To do that successfully, CIOs would have to demystify tech jargon and make clear what the technology can do for the business. To do this well, CIOs or IT leaders need to evolve their roles to include organizational psychology and influence, in addition to being leading technologists.

Being the CIO and the CTO, how are you able to think and plan for the employees and for global CIOs at the same time?

Lenovo is a technology company where one of our key target audiences are CIOs and IT decision makers. Being a CIO myself, I can bring customer-oriented thinking to my business as well as empathy for the challenges industry CIOs are facing.

Additionally, Lenovos tech solutions power Lenovos own growth. In my dual role as CIO and CTDO, I have the unique advantage of guiding our teams in leveraging Lenovos decades of history in developing cutting-edge technology solutions and marrying them with current trends to ensure we are at the forefront of delivering the best possible solutions for our clients current and emerging needs. One example is xCloud, a hybrid cloud solution that Lenovo developed initially for our own need of handling rising complexity in our cloud deployment profile. This was eventually deployed to customers, including helping a global new energy company achieve optimum cloud consumption and improve IT operational efficiency.

What new skill sets would a CIO need to remain relevant and successful in the future?

CIOs will have to move beyond just managing IT, to driving exploration of new business models. Often, they are charged with leading digital transformation in their companies, creating tangible outcomes and value. The CIO of the future will be required to combine business and technical knowledge, along with evangelism and leadership abilities that can be used to drive strategic corporate growth and increase market opportunities.

The skill sets that were once needed to manage information will also continue to change. Partnering with tech vendors that offer flexible solutions will give the modern CIO tools to succeed. This is a pivotal moment where technological innovation represents incredible opportunity, but also increasing challenges to properly explore new technologies and land them in the business effectively for competitive advantage.
The words 'India Moon Mission', Moon and an Indian flag are seen in this illustration, Aug. 21. Reuters-Yonhap



India's space agency on Monday released images its spacecraft took of the far side of the moon as it headed for an attempted landing on the lunar south pole, just days after the failure of a Russian lander.



The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft had been in a race with Russia to be the first to land on the lunar south pole, a region whose shadowed craters are thought to contain water ice that could support a future moon settlement.



As news of the failure of Russia's Luna-25 mission broke on Sunday, ISRO said that Chandrayaan-3 was on course to land on Aug. 23.



All systems on the spacecraft are working "perfectly" and no contingencies are anticipated on the landing day, the space agency said on Monday.



The mission  Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit  is India's second attempt to land on the south pole of the moon. In 2019, ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander crashed.



Rough terrain makes a south pole landing difficult, but making a first landing would be historic. The region's water ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.



Images released on Monday showed craters on the moon's surface captured by the ISRO craft's Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera, which is designed to help find a safe landing location for the spacecraft.



India's moon mission blasted off on July 14, and the lander module of Chandrayaan-3 separated from the propulsion module last week.



For India, a successful moon landing would mark its emergence as a space power as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.



"If Chandrayaan-3 succeeds, it will boost India's space agency's reputation worldwide. It will show that India is becoming a key player in space exploration," said Manish Purohit, a former ISRO scientist.



It would also boost India's reputation for cost-competitive space engineering. The Chandrayaan-3 was launched with a budget of about 6.15 billion rupees ($74 million), less than the cost to produce the 2013 Hollywood space thriller "Gravity".



A successful mission would make India only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after the former USSR, the United States and China.



"India is going to acquire a new technology with a successful landing, which is a big thing," K. Sivan, former chief of the country's space agency, said after the Chandrayaan-3 launched.



Scientists at ISRO have said they learned from the earlier moon mission's failure and made changes to Chandrayaan-3 that would make a successful landing more likely, including making it possible to touch down safely anywhere within an expanded landing zone in adverse conditions. It has also been equipped with more fuel, more solar panels and sturdier legs.



Executives in India's nascent space industry also expect a boost. The number of space startups in India has more than doubled since 2020, when India opened to private launches.



"The next 3 days will be nothing less than 'terrific'! Eagerly looking forward to the landing!", Pawan Chandana, co-founder of Skyroot, which launched India's first privately built rocket last year, posted on X, formerly called Twitter. (Reuters)


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This file photo taken on March 10, 2014, shows a worker wearing a protective suit and a mask looking up at storage tanks for radioactive water, under construction in the J1 area at the Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. AFP-Yonhap



China has called on Japan to cancel the planned discharge of treated cooling water from the Fukushima nuclear ruin into the sea.



Tokyo announced on Tuesday the controversial dumping was set to begin on Thursday, despite opposition from fishermen, citizens and environmental groups.






The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into the Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust, after it conducted an event celebrating a deceased Iranian general.



According to reports in the Times newspaper, it hosted an event celebrating Qasem Soleimani 48 hours after his death in which he was hailed as a great martyr.

Soleimani had been subject to financial sanctions by the Treasury for terrorism and/or terrorist financing since 17 October 2011.

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: We can confirm that we have an ongoing compliance case into the Al-Tawheed (TUCF) Charitable Trust in relation to serious concerns regarding events held at its premises.

As part of the compliance case, the regulator will assess information and work with trustees to determine any next steps.

The charity did not respond to requests for comment.

Background

Al-Tawheed Charitable Trusts charitable objects are to relieve poverty and sickness of people practicing Islam, promote the faith and more.

It owns and operates Kanoon Towhid, a repurposed Methodist church in Hammersmith, where the event is alleged to have taken place.

The regulators website shows that the charitys accounts are currently overdue by 23 days.

According to its financial accounts ending September 2021, the charity had a total income of 16,500 and expenditure of 17,000.

It has three trustees  two were appointed in 2020 and one in 2021.

The Charity Commission issued an official warning to the Islamic Centre of England Ltd after it held an event in memory of the same general, Soleimani, in 2020.

It ruled that the event put the charitys reputation at risk.

At the time, Tim Hopkins, assistant director of investigations and inquiries at the Charity Commission, said: Any charity being associated with terrorism is completely unacceptable and we are concerned by the corrosive effect this might have on public confidence in this and other charities.

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,
Royal Countryside Fund

King Charles III has longstanding links to the charity sector, setting up 20 himself and acting as patron for more than 400 others.

He has also made personal donations, and advocated for causes on behalf of a number of charities, including those with causes relating to the environment, rural communities, town planning, the arts, healthcare and education.

However, several charities linked to the king have also been under scrutiny from the Charity Commission in recent years, after concerns have been highlighted in the national media.

Metropolitan Police announced this week that its investigation into the Princes Foundation, founded by King Charles, into cash-for-honours claims has closed and it would take no further action.

Nonetheless, other investigations into charities linked to the king are ongoing.

King Charles announced that he would be less involved in charitable activities when he took up his duties as head of state following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

In his first public address as British monarch, the king said that his life will now be different and that it will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply.

However, we have yet to see what this means in practical terms, with few announcements made by charities connected to the king or the late queen since his ascension to the throne.

Charities founded by the king

As Prince of Wales, Charles advocated for a number of charities and set up more than 20 charities over 40 years, including the Princes Trust, Princes Foundation and Prince of Waless Charitable Fund (PWCF).

This year, PWCF also announced support for seven charities that carry out work around environmental sustainability and social inclusion. The charity, established by King Charles, has donated over 73m since it was established in 1979.

The seven charities chosen were Plantlife International, Practical Action, the Wildlife Trusts, Age Scotland, Carers Trust, BIGKID Foundation and Omega. The king also made a substantial personal donation to support hundreds of food banks across the UK this year.

Earlier this year, the Princes Countryside Fund, a charity founded by the king to support family farms and rural communities, become the Royal Countryside Fund.

Its new name has been approved by the king and is the first of his charities to undergo this transition since his coronation .

Investigations

Though the Metropolitan Police announced this week that its investigation into the Princes Foundation, founded by King Charles, has closed, it remains under scrutiny by the Scottish charity regulator OSCR.

Charity Commission statutory inquiries into the Mahfouz Foundation and connected charity the Burkes Peerage Foundation also remain ongoing.

The regulator for England and Wales revealed that it had been engaging with trustees at the Mahfouz Foundation since September 2021, when the Sunday Times first published claims that it had received donations intended for the Princes Foundation.

Its inquiry is examining whether the Mahfouz Foundation received these donations as alleged, how the money has been used, and whether or not it should be returned to the donor or another charity.

The Burkes Peerage Foundation was established to advance education in the subject of genealogy and personal heritage, and the Commission has been in touch with its trustees after identifying links with the Mahfouz Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Commission removed an organisation set up by King Charles called Children and the Arts from its register after it stopped operating last year.

The Prince of Waless Charitable Fund (PWCF) also faced scrutiny last year, with the Commission deciding to take no further action after it looked into reports of a donation of about 2.5m in cash.

This year, the Guardian also reported that King Charles has been urged to intervene after the Princes Trust said it would pay compensation of just 2,000 each to child survivors of sexual abuse.

The settlement was offered to hundreds of British children who were removed from working-class families or care homes by the UK government and sent to farm schools in Australia and Canada and then suffered sexual abuse. The Princes Trust is legally liable for the claims as it took over Fairbridge charity in 2012.

Though the police investigation has now closed, the outcomes of the regulators inquiries are yet to be made public, and could mark a turning point in the kings involvement in the charities he has previously funded, or been linked to in other ways.

Patronages

Following the kings accession, the Royal Household is conducting a review of the patronages he and other royals hold.

The review covers the organisations of which Queen Elizabeth II was patron and those organisations to which King Charles and Queen Camilla were connected through patronage or presidency as Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

King Charles was, as the Prince of Wales, patron of over 420 charities and Queen Elizabeth had around 600 patronages, many of which were charities.

It is unclear how patronages are decided or how they are passed between royals. It seems that the royals decide amongst themselves

Giving Evidence previously published research which said it found no evidence that royals bring revenue to their patronagee charities, and also found no reason to assume that a charity with a royal patronage outperforms its peers.

Prince Andrew notoriously also stepped back from his public duties and from all his 60 patronages of UK registered charities.

The king is likely to inherit some patronages from his late mother and pass a few of his current positions onto others.

With the role of royal patrons being scrutinised, it is possible the king may reduce his roles overall.

However, he is a keen supporter of many causes, so it seems likely that he will continue to hold a fair few patronages.

Volunteering

A festival of volunteering was also set up to mark King Charless coronation, with the Big Help Out trying to get more people involved in charities.

More than 850 volunteers, charity and community representatives were invited to the service in Westminster Abbey.

Organisers of the Big Help Out aim to make it an annual event, but it remains to be seen whether response from the public will be as high when not tied to the coronation.

The king and queen consort also nominated 200 young people involved with two charities he founded  the Princes Trust and the Princes Foundation  as well as Barnardos, the National Literacy Trust and Ebony Horse Club.

Meanwhile, the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, often referred to as an MBE for charities, was renamed the Kings Award for Voluntary Service earlier this year.

Therefore, the king may focus his charitable attentions on the role of volunteering, perhaps moving away from more formal engagement in charities.

We may also see the king speak up on specific issues, such as immigration and the environment, as he marks his first year on the throne on 8 September.

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,
On February 24, 2022, the day that Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Elena Kostyuchenko, then a journalist at the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, traveled to Ukraine to cover the war. She reported from the border region, Odessa, Mykolaiv, and occupied Kherson. She was planning to go to Mariupol next, but received a series of warnings, from colleagues and Ukrainian intelligence, that Russian forces had been ordered to intercept and kill her. Reluctantly, she left Ukraine; eventually, she landed in Berlin. By that point, Novaya Gazeta had been progressively muzzled by the Russian authorities, and so Kostyuchenko took a job at Meduza, an independent Russian news site based in Latvia. From Germany, she made plans to take two reporting trips, first to Iran, then back to Ukraine.

The latter trip would require a visa, so Kostyuchenko made an appointment at the Ukrainian consulate in Munich. Inexcusable as it is, I booked my appointment in Munich via Facebook Messenger, she recalled in an essay for Meduza and the US magazine N+1. I knew very well this wasnt considered a secure messenger, but I was in Germany, not in Russia, and not a single thought of the basic security measures Id practiced for years crossed my mind. She took an overnight train from Berlin, then napped at the home of a friend, who took her for lunch after her appointment was done. Three acquaintances of the friend stopped by the table. What a small city Munich is, Kostyuchenko thought, everyone there seemed to know each other.

After getting back on the train, Kostyuchenko realized she was sweating heavily and smelled of rotten fruit. She tried to work but couldnt concentrate; when she got back to Berlin, she couldnt figure out how to get home, and grew distressed. She suspected the lingering effects of COVID-19, but went on to suffer from intense abdominal pain, nausea, and insomnia. After three days of this, it became clear I wasnt going anywhere, she recalled. And this wasnt COVID-19.



Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, its independent media operated according to something of an inside/outside dynamic. Within Russia, officials clamped down on journalism: they arrested reporters, raided newsrooms, and tagged some outlets as foreign agents, a designation that carried with it both stigma and onerous bureaucracy. Outside Russia, meanwhile, exiled media, not least Meduza, grew increasingly assertive.

After the war began, this dynamic escalated. TV Rain, an independent channel that was blocked inside Russia, joined Meduza in Latvia; a European edition of Novaya Gazeta sprung up. In an edition of this newsletter that I wrote a year agoheadlined Repression in Russia, renaissance outside of itI quoted Kulle Pispanen, a former TV Rain staffer, comparing independent Russian media to the spores of a dandelion: No matter how much they are scattered, they grow back. I had found the quote in a story on exiled Russian media, written by a Wall Street Journal reporter named Evan Gershkovich.

This inside/outside dynamic was always somewhat porous, in both directions. Exiled journalists aimed to put the truth about the war in front of news consumers in Russia, encouraging them to use VPNs and other tricks to circumvent official internet blackouts. Inside Russia, after an initial period of uncertainty at the start of the war, at least some reporters for Western news outlets felt their lives had regained a semblance of normalcy and that they could continue to report. Now the dynamic looks fuzzier still. Late last year, TV Rain saw its license revoked in Latvia, too, after an anchor made a remark that was perceived as pro-Russiana decision that reflected a degree of suspicion of exiled journalists motives on the part of the Latvian public. (TV Rain has since shifted to a hub in the Netherlands; for our recent Authoritarianism Issue, Annie Hylton profiled Valeria Ratnikova, a host on the network who had found herself exiled twice in less than a year.) Then, in late March, Gershkovich, of the Journal, was arrested on espionage charges.

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While this was a huge escalation of the regimes approach to foreign correspondents on Russian soil, it was not the first sign of trouble; the year before the invasion, the authorities expelled Sarah Rainsford, a BBC reporter, then kicked out Tom Vennink, of the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, citing administrative violations. There was then a lull on that frontuntil last week, when Eva Hartog, a Dutch national who most recently reported out of Moscow for Politico, was told that she would not have her visa or accreditation renewed; around the same time, Anna-Lena Lauren, a correspondent for the Swedish Dagens Nyheter and Finnish Hufvudstadsbladet, was also kicked out. Politico reported that, aside from Gershkovichs arrest, the expulsions were the harshest known crackdown on foreign media since the war began. (Russia has also banned waves of high-profile foreign journalists from entering the countryincluding, late last week, Emily Bell, the director of Columbias Tow Center for Digital Journalism and a regular CJR contributor.)

By and large, domestic media have continued to suffer a harsher fate; indeed, since Gershkovich was arrested, the crackdown on dissent inside Russia has only intensified. The government moved to tighten censorship laws and tagged undesirable designations to both TV Rain and Novaya Gazetas European edition; in April, Vladimir Kara-Murza, an activist and journalist who wrote columns for the Washington Post, was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison on treason charges for criticizing the war in Ukrainetriple the longest comparable sentence handed down to that point. (Kara-Murza has continued to contribute to the Post from detention.) Alexei Navalnyan opposition leader who, as I have written in the past, is also in some ways a journalist, and was already in detentionhas faced new complications to his case, including, allegedly, being assaulted by guards. And, last monthafter mutineers led by Yevgeny Prigozhin marched on Moscow and Vladimir Putins grip on power teetered, if only brieflyPutin fired at least a warning shot at dissent coming from his right, which, until the mutiny, had apparently been tolerated: Igor Girkin, a blogger known as Strelkov who had harshly criticized Putins execution of the war, was arrested on extremism charges.

Exiled media, for their part, have continued to hold Russian power to account from afar. But last week, one story in this traditionpublished by The Insider, in collaboration with the open-source outfit Bellingcatsent a worrying signal that distance from Russian power may not be keeping reporters safe from its reprisals. It was a story about Kostyuchenko. And not her alone.



Medical tests on Kostyuchenko showed highly elevated levels of two enzymes in her liver, and blood in her urine. She developed swelling and burning feelings in her hands and feet. Eventually, after discounting other diagnoses, a physician suggested that Kostyuchenko may have been poisoned. Kostyuchenko laughed off the ideaOf course, if youre a Russian journalist, surely it must be poisoning!, she recalled thinking, in her essay for Meduza and N+1but as the conclusion became harder to avoid, she went for further tests at Charite, the same Berlin hospital that, in 2020, had treated Navalny following his suspected poisoning by Russian operatives.

Police in Germany questioned Kostyuchenko about her trip to Munich and seemed angry, in her recollection, that she had waited so long to report the incident. She told the officers that she had felt safe in Europe, and thus discounted the idea of poisoning. This is exactly what bothers us, Kostyuchenko recalls the officers telling her, in response. You come here and think youre on vacation. You think youre in some kind of paradise. No one even considers taking security precautions. We have political murders happen here. Russias secret services are active in this country. And your recklessness, yours and your colleagues, is just beyond the pale.

Police closed the case for lack of evidencebut they have since reopened it, and doctors and chemical-weapons experts consulted by The Insider think it very likely that Kostyuchenko was indeed poisoned. The same outlet reported a very similar experience on the part of Irina Babloyan, a journalist for the independent Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy who experienced some of the same symptoms as Kostyuchenko after moving to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia; she also went to Charite for tests, and while these, too, were inconclusive, experts said again that poisoning seemed the most likely hypothesis. The Insider offered details of a third case, too: that of Natalia Arno, the president of the US-based Free Russia Foundation, who reported odd symptoms and suspicious signs of tampering with her hotel room in Prague earlier this year. (The foundations vice president, Kara-Murza, has also been poisoned in the past.)

Russia targeting dissidents beyond its borders would not be a new trend, of course, and the circumstances of the incidents reported by The Insider remain murky; no perpetrators have yet been identified, and no smoking gun has been found. Nonetheless, the cases are obviously alarming. To some extent, an inside/outside dynamic still exists for Russian media. But it no longer seems to constitute a bright light between repression and renaissance, if it ever did.

In her essay, Kostyuchenko said that she was speaking out about her experience to warn colleagues in exile that it could happen to them, too. I want to liveand thats why Im writing this text, she wrote. I also want my colleagues, my friends, political activists, and refugees who are now abroad to remember to be careful. More careful than I have been. We are not safe, and we will never be safe until the political regime changes in Russia.



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Dangerous threats to local press freedom

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
Indivior has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by health plans accusing the drugmaker of illegally suppressing generic competition for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone.

The settlement, disclosed on Saturday in a filing by lawyers for the health plans in federal court in Philadelphia, must still be approved by a judge. Indivior is still facing claims by drug wholesalers that bought Suboxone from the Virginia-based company directly, with a trial scheduled in October.

We remain focused on helping those suffering from substance use disorders and mental illness, Indivior CEO Mark Crossley said in a statement on Monday. Resolving these legacy legal matters at the right value helps us further our mission for patients and creates greater certainty for our stakeholders.

Lawyers for the health plans did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They said in their filing that the deal was fair, reasonable, adequate and in the best interests of the class.

Suboxone was approved for U.S. sale in 2002. Indivior had the exclusive right to sell the treatment in tablet form until 2009.

The health plans and drug wholesalers claimed in their lawsuits that Indivior switched to an oral film version of Suboxone from a tablet version to extend its monopoly, just as generic manufacturers were poised to sell their own lower-cost tablets. Generic tablets obtained federal approval in 2013.

Indivior agreed in June to pay $102.5 million to settle related claims by 41 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. The company in 2020 agreed to pay $600 million to resolve U.S. government allegations that it fraudulently promoted Suboxone, including by marketing the film version as safer and less abuse-prone than similar drugs.

More than 80,000 people in the United States died in 2021 from overdoses involving opioids, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Will Dunham and Alexia Garamfalvi)
When flames ripped through the drought-parched town of Paradise in 2018, destroying homes and killing 85 in Californias deadliest-ever wildfire, it was a wake-up call to power companies across the country. Electric lines would ultimately be blamed for the blaze, and the states largest utility was driven into bankruptcy.

Its clear that officials at Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. were taking note. Almost exactly 12 months later, the company publicly vowed to fly drones to identify areas vulnerable to fire.

But then it took the utility roughly another three years  until the summer of 2022  before it would finally submit a public action plan to address the threats. In it, the company cited the devastation in California and highlighted Lahaina, the historic seaside town that was burned to ash by this months blaze, as one of the priority areas for prevention and mitigation. The request remains pending with the regulator.

The Lahaina blaze killed more than 100 people, making it the deadliest US fire in more than a century. While investigations into the cause of the wildfire are still ongoing and its not clear if the blame lies with Hawaiian Electric, emerging details indicate that the states main utility was slow to respond to the rapidly increasing risks that were made worse by climate change.

Related: Hawaii Wildfires Killed at Least 111, Burned 2K-Plus Homes and Businesses

This isnt just a problem for Hawaii. Across the country, Americas power companies have been sluggish at a time when urgency is growing.

Risk Doubles

The number of people in the US exposed to wildfire risk has doubled in just two decades. But rather than taking decisive steps, utilities are often slow to react by taking their time filing for approvals to recover their costs, as was the case for Hawaiian Electric.

What I see the utilities doing is they are asking for a repayment from regulators to hedge an existential company risk, instead of taking action, said Michael Wara, a wildfire expert and director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. The risk of utility-caused wildfires has been increasing rapidly.

In its funding request, Hawaiian Electric, which supplies roughly 95% of the states residents with power, proposed a nearly $190 million plan to fortify the grid from severe weather events, citing increasing risks from climate change. The proposal included about $6 million earmarked for wildfire prevention and mitigation in Maui.

The filing specifically cited the Paradise tragedy, known as the Camp Fire, and said: The risk of a utility system causing a wildfire ignition is significant. The entire five-year action plan to harden the grid against the threat of severe weather, including steps to strengthen lines and deploy devices to help prevent and respond to wildfires, would cost consumers less than $1 a month, the company estimated.

Responding to a request for comment, Hawaiian Electric didnt address an inquiry over whether any of the wildfire mitigation work identified in its June 30, 2022, application with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission had started. The company has said in filings it was doing preliminary engineering work on the plan before regulatory approval.

Hawaiian Electric employs a wildfire mitigation and grid resilience program with a focus on vegetation management, grid hardening and pole replacement and routine line and equipment inspections, the company said in an emailed statement, adding that since 2018 it has spent about $84 million on maintenance and vegetation management in Maui County.

Shares Tumble

Shares of Hawaiian Electric plunged 58% last week, the steepest decline in data going back to 1980, amid increasing investor concern that the utility could be held responsible for the fires that ravaged Maui.

The potential liabilities could reach almost $4 billion if the utility is deemed negligent, according to investment research firm Capstone LLC. Liabilities of that size would dwarf the companys current market capitalization and exceed its existing debt load.

In a regulatory filing, Hawaiian Electric said that its goal isnt to restructure, but to endure as a financially strong utility that Maui and the state needs.

Scientists warn that as the planet heats up, it will lead to longer and more active wildfire seasons. Utilities operating aging grids in parched lands, particularly in the US West, will have little room for error.

But the threat isnt limited only to areas that have faced the risk of fire for decades. Climate change coupled with development and the spread of non-native plant species is making for increasingly rapid transformations across the globe. That will increase the vulnerability of places like Maui, where wildfire hasnt been at the top of the risk list until more recently.

Traditionally, utilities, which are heavily regulated by the government, have been a plodding, cautious group that has mainly focused on reliably keeping the lights on while meeting energy policy mandates.

The business model for investor-owned utilities is based on a system that rewards state-approved new capital spending with profits, but considers the maintenance work needed to make sure power lines are in good condition and clear of trees and brush as an operating cost that can eat into earnings.

Highly-Regulated Monopoly

The industry is a essentially a highly-regulated monopoly business, and that doesnt lend itself to a highly nimble culture, said Paul Patterson, a utility analyst for Glenrock Associates.

Wildfires are growing in intensity and frequency, Those changes are happening far faster than even many scientists were predicting. And its not just utilities that been slow to respond, regulators and governments have also failed to keep up with the rapidly evolving conditions.

After San Diego Gas & Electrics downed power lines sparked three major fires in 2007, California regulators initiated an effort in 2008 to map power lines to identify those strung through areas at high risk of fires  but it wasnt completed until a decade later.

In 2021, a report by the county of Maui on fire prevention warned of increasing risk on the island, including threats to citizens, properties and sacred sites. It also said its current budgets were inadequate for an effective fire prevention and mitigation program.

All it takes is a spark to come off a line or other power equipment to cause the initial flame. Once vegetation dries out, it can easily ignite.

PG&E Corp. was driven into bankruptcy in 2019 after its poorly-maintained equipment failed during a series of windstorms that sparked some of the worst fires in state history, including the 2018 Camp Fire. The blazes came after a crippling drought in California that left more than 100 million trees dead and severely parched landscapes.

Southern California Edisons equipment was also blamed for large wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that leveled more than 2,000 homes and structures and killed four people.

Grass Fires

The calamities forced both utilities to step up their efforts to harden their grids against fire risk. The companies are spending billions of dollars to trim vegetation away from their lines, install covered conductors, bury lines and set up fire weather monitoring systems. In addition, PG&E and Edison started to pro-actively shut off power lines in advance of high winds during dry conditions, a controversial practice that has angered customers but prevents fires.

The need for utilities to do more extends beyond California.

PacifiCorp, a utility owned by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc., lost a lawsuit this summer over a 2020 Oregon wildfire, where a jury found the company was grossly negligent for not cutting power during high, dry winds. It could face billions of dollars of claims.

Colorado utility Xcel Energy Inc. is also facing lawsuits that its equipment caused the most destructive fire in that states history that burned more than 1,000 homes in late 2021. A sheriffs report found power lines were partly to blame for the conflagration. Xcel has called the reports analyses flawed and conclusions incorrect.

There are echoes of the Colorado devastation in Mauis tragedy. Both involved grass fires that spread quickly amid extremely strong winds.

Its mind boggling that the people who are holding the loaded revolver with the safety off arent learning that when there is a major wind blowing, that there is going to be power lines falling, said Robert Julian, a partner at BakerHostetler who was the lead attorney for wildfire victims committee in the PG&E bankruptcy and is representing victims in the 2020 Oregon fires. And thats going to start fires.

Photo: A destroyed neighborhood in Lahaina on Aug. 18. (Bloomberg)

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- A vacant office building on Darice Parkway will remain empty, even though the city had awarded a grant for a Cleveland company to move there.

Millcraft Paper Co., a distributor of paper, packaging and office supplies, was planning to move its headquarters from Grant Avenue in Cleveland to the Darice building, formerly the home of Darice Inc., an arts supply company owned by Strongsville developer Michael Catanzarite.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- In light of recent outbursts during and after meetings, City Council has removed the time reserved for its own general comments from the end of the agenda.

Public comments will still be taken.

Council President Melody Joy Hart said after Mondays meeting (Aug. 21) that in looking at the times when decorum was breached, it was usually during the council comments portion of the meeting.

That was the case Aug. 7, when Councilman Anthony Mattox Jr. went beyond his three-minute time limit in assailing opponents of the Noble Station housing development.

But things really got ugly after the meeting, when police were called upstairs in City Hall. Witnesses said Mattox wound up being escorted off from a heated argument, although he has claimed that the officer was there to protect him from the unruly crowd.

Speaking of decorum, council members also found their own individual copies of Roberts Rules of Order waiting for them in chambers prior to this weeks meeting, distributed by Mayor Kahlil Seren.

Formality can be a benefit to council, Seren said of Roberts Rules, used to structure public meetings and the decision-making process.

Think of it as a way to make council more efficient. Confusion can be lessened to get the business of the city done.

Mattoxs personal copy will still be waiting for him, as he had an excused absence for being on vacation this week.

Hart has come under fire herself for a May 1 blow-up that has found its way onto social media, but not from the council comments portion of the meeting.

Instead, it involved a dispute with Councilwoman Davida Russell for going over her time limit on prospective appointments to the Charter Review Commission, in which Hart repeatedly banged her gavel, then wound up turning Russells microphone off.

It should be noted that Hart and Russell sit next to one another on the dais, while Mattox is seated on the end.

The cops were called about 40 minutes into that meeting.

In another spillover afterward, Harts husband, Gary Benjamin, was overheard calling Russell and Councilman Tony Cuda backstabbers.

Council will be discussing decorum and civility in September, Hart said. As for council comments at the end of the meetings, they are not necessary and not required.

Hart said she will always support the publics right to respectfully comment on city business.

I also respect the right of council to be uninterrupted by the public, Hart said, noting that there also have been disruptions -- and even some heckling -- coming from the audience.

Its time to re-center our rules of engagement back to respectful public discourse, she said of the dissension and infighting. We need to get people back on a team.

Noble Station

During the public comment portion of Mondays meeting, several residents again spoke out against Noble Station, the $14.7 million, four-story, 52-unit affordable housing complex proposed for the long-vacant McDonalds site in the Noble-Nela business district.

Resident Diane Hallum asked if the city and Cuyahoga County were both ponying up $450,000 for the project, which has already qualified for low-income housing tax credits from the state.

I am outraged by your decision to spend money on affordable housing in a part of the city that does not need it, Hallum said.

Hart recommended that concerned residents turn out for the Sept. 7 meeting of the citys Architectural Board of Review -- which has already been critical of the size and design of Noble Station -- and the Sept. 13 Planning Commission meeting.

If the project passes muster there, Hart explained that a proposed development agreement will still come back to council, which will mean further deliberation after that.

Resident C.J. Nash said that too often, the citys funds and resources are funneled to the south and west sides of town and away from the north and east, which include the Noble and Taylor neighborhoods.

City Council was meeting again this week to discuss further allocations of federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), with each of those neighborhoods in line for a $2 million allocation, along with $1 million set aside for distressed commercial districts.

Nash also questioned how a recent proposal for an Aldis to be built in the Noble Triangle fell through.

One thing we dont have for Noble is a real, actual plan, Nash said.

Arts commission

One reason why council chambers was not packed Monday was the fact that Seren and council responded to several dozen emails from residents concerned about a proposal to establish a city-run Arts Commission.

The residents were told that after receiving both first reading and objections from the Heights Arts nonprofit over potential redundancy, the proposed ordinance was referred to councils Administrative Services Committee.

Seren said this would have been the standard procedure all along.

It will only be brought back to council after that for a possible second and final reading, Seren said.

If anyone implied that there was not to be robust discussion about changing the administrative code and creating a new commission, they were sorely mistaken.

Council Vice President Craig Cobb said committee meetings would likely be scheduled by late September into early October.

Read more from the Sun Press.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Meet Grace, the University Circle Police Departments community policing dog.

On Aug. 5, the University Circle Police Department (UCPD) welcomed a new member to its ranks. Grace, a community policing K-9, was donated to the department by her trainer, Northeast Ohio resident Rick Seyler.

Grace is the first dog of her kind to join the department and is one of a few K-9s in Ohio that share a similar purpose. The 4-month-old yellow Labrador retriever is on duty with her handler, 15-year UCPD veteran Sgt. Kurt Keeper.

Similar to a traditional law enforcement K-9, community policing K-9s are sworn in to their police departments and receive a badge.

University Circle Police Sgt. Kurt Keeper, Officer Joe Fazio and K-9 community policing officer Grace stand with students from Hawken School at a Wade Oval Wednesday event. (Nate Flauto, special to cleveland.com)

However, Grace and other community policing dogs are not trained to pursue criminal activity. They are not taught to chase down suspects, nor are they trained to smell for drugs, bombs or people.

Rather, they are raised to be service dogs, whose role is to provide emotional support to the communities and departments where they work.

Seyler, of Silver Bullet K9 Service Ministry, is a self-described animal behaviorist who has spent the last three decades training dogs to accompany people, primarily fellow armed services veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as service animals.

Seyler finds, trains and donates service dogs to those in need at no cost. He also boards the animals for his clients whenever their human companion is away or re-trains the dogs if they need to brush up on their skills.

Seyler told cleveland.com in an interview that UCPD Chief Thomas Wetzel had asked Seyler for a community policing dog after the two had worked together to bring such a service K-9  Angel -- to the Richmond Heights Police Department when Wetzel was chief there.

Once Seyler got the go-ahead, he trained Grace for two months to the departments goal of getting her introduced to the community by summers end.

Every weekend, we went to the (police) station to train with Sgt. Keeper, Seyler said. We went into Little Italy and trained her in the environment that she would be working in.

Wetzel said he wanted a community policing dog for the UCPD after having seen the positive impact Angel had at his former department.

He said Grace will accompany UCPD officers on patrol, attend youth outreach programs, visit hospitals and attend community events.

According to her trainer, Seyler, and her handler, Keeper, Grace is to work a 12-hour shift alongside the sergeant, with incremental breaks for rest and play.

She goes where I go, Keeper said. If a victim needs comforting, she will be there to help them out.

In addition to supporting community members in times of crisis, Grace offers the department a way to connect with the residents they serve.

Having Grace on duty is an avenue for the department and residents to establish a rapport outside of law enforcement, whether she is patrolling a beat with Keeper or working at events such as Wade Oval Wednesdays or at the Feast of the Assumption, where Grace made her first major public debut.

The feast was very successful. On Sunday, she was pet hundreds of times, Keeper said. It probably took us over an hour to get over the (Murray) Hill.

While on patrol with Keeper and Police Officer Joe Fazio during the Aug. 16 Wade Oval Wednesday, Grace was recognized and drew the attention of adults and children alike.

Fazio shared that during the event, they were able to engage with families whose curious young children had the opportunity to meet a police dog for the first time, since traditional K-9 units cannot engage with the public.

University Circle Police Sgt. Kurt Keeper and Grace meeting a shy young child. (Nate Flauto, special to cleveland.com)

It has been really nice to see the warm welcome shes had since weve gotten her, Fazio said.

After she had met a group of students from the nearby Hawken School, it was clear that Grace would be a useful asset to the department in their efforts to be better connected to the community.

Outside of her patrolling duties, Grace being in the department also provides a morale boost to the officers. Both Keeper and Fazio were in agreement that having Grace at the station alleviates some of the pressure that comes with the job.

With Grace coming into the department, Ive seen a change in the officers, Fazio said. When she comes in, everyones face turns into a smile and the guys start talking to her in a high-pitched, sweet voice.

Added Keeper, When shes off leash at the station, shell go to each officer and greet them.

Keeper says the experience so far has been memorable and that he is looking forward to his and Graces shared future.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center, greets his supporters after landing at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport, Tuesday. Shinawatra bowed in homage to the Thai king's portrait as he returned to the kingdom Tuesday after 15 years in exile, before being led away by officials to be processed on multiple outstanding criminal cases. AFP-Yonhap



BANGKOK (AFP) - Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the kingdom Tuesday after 15 years in exile and was immediately jailed, just hours before his party's candidate was elected prime minister.



The Supreme Court ordered the 74-year-old billionaire to serve eight years on old graft charges, though it is not clear how much time he will serve behind bars, as his Pheu Thai party forms the government and rumors swirl of a deal for leniency.



Thaksin, loved and loathed in almost equal measure in Thailand, landed in a private jet at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport Tuesday morning, and was greeted by hundreds of noisy "Red Shirt" supporters waving banners and singing songs.



He emerged briefly to bow and offer a floral garland at a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a mark of respect before waving to supporters.



More Red Shirts lined the streets as the former Manchester City owner was taken to the Supreme Court.



There he was ordered to serve eight years for three convictions passed in his absence  one linked to his former Shin Corp company, another linked to a bank loan, and a lottery case.



Just hours after he landed, parliament approved business tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister at the head of a coalition led by the Pheu Thai party  the latest incarnation of Thaksin's political movement.



"I will try my best and work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for Thai people," Srettha told reporters after he was confirmed as the kingdom's 30th prime minister.



Pheu Thai's controversial alliance includes parties from its old enemies in the military  which ousted both Thaksin and his sister Yingluck as prime minister.



This has led to widespread speculation of a backroom arrangement with Thailand's powerful pro-military royalist establishment to let Thaksin off lightly  though Pheu Thai has denied such a deal.



Loved and loathed



Thaksin will spend his first days in prison in isolation because of health problems, but his family will be able to visit him after five days, the Department of Corrections said.



Asked about the possibility of a royal pardon, the deputy director of the Department of Corrections Sithi Suthiwong told reporters Thaksin could apply, and the process took "about one to two months, if the documents are sufficient."



For all his long absence from the country, Thaksin remains Thailand's most influential  and controversial  politician of modern times.



His career has included two election victories, defeat in a coup, criminal charges and the long years of self-imposed exile.



Loved by the rural poor for policies including cheap healthcare and the minimum wage, he is reviled by the pro-military and royalist elite who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to Thai social order.



Parties linked to Thaksin have dominated elections since 2001  until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.



Hundreds of Red Shirts waited through the night at the airport to welcome him with songs and banners  most decked out in their usual crimson colors.



"I am a real Red Shirt  whenever they want our support, I will always be there for them," Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nongkai, in the country's northeast, told AFP.



"I don't only like him but I love him."



PM vote



Srettha sailed through the confirmation ballot in parliament with 482 votes in favor to 165 against and 81 abstentions.



His victory ends three months of political deadlock and wrangling after MFP beat Pheu Thai into second place in May's polls.



The Thai stock market rallied 20 points on news of the appointment, while shares in Sansiri, the property company he used to helm, rose almost 7.5 percent.



Despite winning most seats, MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become prime minister sunk by conservative junta-appointed senators, who were spooked by his party's determination to reform royal insult laws and tackle business monopolies.



After Srettha's confirmation, Pita pledged on social media that MFP would work in opposition to be "the political institution that people can trust."



The new coalition has outraged many Pheu Thai supporters, and Aaron Connelly, a Southeast Asian politics expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the party would expect a payoff.



"If he (Thaksin) doesn't receive a royal pardon within a certain amount of time then they might begin to question whether they entered a coalition under false pretences," he told AFP.




SOLON, Ohio -- Three parents in the Solon City School District urged the Board of Education Monday (Aug. 21) to provide more transparency regarding a sexual abuse case in the district and how the board intends to handle such issues going forward.

The comments were made in the wake of a federal lawsuit filed last week against the school board and district administrators by three former Solon High School students for alleged negligence in sexual harassment and abuse by former band director Edward Kline.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday (Aug. 17) in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio. It states that the district knew about accusations against Kline for more than a decade before he was arrested, yet did nothing to investigate.

Kline is serving a 3.5-year prison sentence for molesting band students while working as the districts band director and music instructor between 2004 and 2018. He worked with students in eighth grade through high school.

In February 2022, Kline pleaded guilty to 11 counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of sexual imposition. He is expected to remain in prison until August 2025.

Ashley Beavers said it was very disheartening to hear the news about the lawsuit.

I was very disappointed to see that come out and find out through the news, and it reopened up some things because this was an event that happened at the school, she said.

I never imagined having to talk to my daughters and ask them what would they do if a teacher touched them inappropriately. So I had to have that conversation again, and this really made me think about the situation of what happened (between 2004 and 2018).

Its shocking to me that (Kline) was here, and no one had seen his actions until later on, towards the end of his (tenure with the district).

As a parent, Beavers said shes struggling with the fact that Kline had committed so many gross acts with so many children of Solon High School and maybe even the middle school.

If anyone had any thoughts, comments or concerns and chose not to say anything before the actions actually happened, its disappointing because one of the things the school teaches kids is if you see something, say something, she said.

Beavers noted that she had an extensive conversation with Superintendent Fred Bolden earlier in the day on this issue, in which they discussed the districts policy.

I want to ask that if anyone knows of anything or has heard of anything to go to the administration, she said.

I think its important that (the board lets) the community know what you have set in place for this type of incident, because its hard to read. Its hard to see that this is getting hashed out again in the community, and I know Im not the only parent who struggles with  is the administration doing enough, is the board doing enough, are you guys receiving the complaints and what are you doing about it?

So Im asking nicely and respectfully that if you can review your policies and maybe make a statement to the public and say, This is what we actually have put in place, this is our protocol, this is the plan that we follow, I know that would make me feel better because it makes me feel like youre watching, she continued.

It makes me feel like youre present and youre seeing whats going on. We dont need to have questions of are my kids safe? I want to believe that my children are safe here, so Im asking for that transparency, please.

Michael Drozhinskiy, another parent in the district, said it was shocking to learn of the lawsuit.

(Kline) was here for years and years, and somehow the public did not know almost anything, (at least those) who Ive talked to, he said. It seems to be that this was going on for years, and no transparency whatsoever.

Drozhinskiy said the board owes the Solon community a statement if you knew anything about what was going on.

I understand you cannot respond directly to what Im talking about, he said. But I am asking you to just do the right thing and make a statement -- personally, as a group, as a board or whatever.

Maybe were wrong for thinking about what you guys knew or did not know, and the (Solon High School) principal obviously, as well, or the administration. So please find it within yourselves  to do the right thing.

Julie Muravin, the third parent who spoke, told the board, I cant begin to tell you how disappointed, frustrated and disgusted I am at the recent news.

As a mother, my deepest fear is for my children to be harmed and violated in the most dark and devastating ways that -- regardless of their personal strengths and personalities -- is sure to have impact on them psychologically, physically and emotionally, all throughout their lives, she said.

You allowed a predator in our school until 2018. Kids and young adults got hurt under your watch. You failed to do your job.

Timing and circumstances do not matter and do not excuse you in any way, she continued. Youve been elected to know and be informed in order to protect.

(Solon High School Principal) Erin Short was hired to protect kids who are under her care every single day, first and foremost.

Muravin said she has a daughter and a son, and God help that monster that decides to come close.

I know thats how many parents feel, she said. Trust is a very delicate thing, and its been severely damaged.

I cant trust this board, and I cant trust Erin Short when my kids will be in high school.

The answer to this should not be me looking for a private school option to replace the school, she continued. The answer should be for individuals who are liable and responsible to resign from their current positions.

District responds to comments

The board did not respond to the parents comments, as its stated policy is to not directly address public comment.

Tammy Strom, the districts communications director, issued this statement after the meeting:

The district does not generally comment on pending litigation. We empathize with Mr. Klines victims, but we dispute the allegations against the board and our administrators.

The boards formal response to the allegations will be detailed in our answer to the complaint submitted to the court.

In an interview, Strom said its inaccurate to say that the district has not communicated with its families and the media in the past regarding Klines case.

She noted that several emails were sent to Solon Schools families in 2020 and 2022, keeping them informed of what the district was aware of regarding the case and what action it was taking.

In February 2022, after Kline was sentenced, an email to families indicated that the district did receive an anonymous report in 2015 and attempted to follow up with the individual for more information.

That individual reached back out in 2018, the email continued. The information from the 2018 interview, as well as the anonymous report, was provided immediately to the Solon Police Department, and the district fully cooperated throughout the entire investigation.

Additionally, the district submitted a report to the Ohio Department of Education Division of Educator Misconduct.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
SOLON, Ohio -- A traffic stop for a cars illegally tinted windows led police to arrest three boys, ages 14, 15 and 16, on felony weapons charges.

At 7:40 p.m. Aug. 18, an officer stopped a Nissan Altima near 30100 Aurora Road due to its dark window tint. The car was occupied by six teens -- three boys and two girls. The cars driver was an 18-year-old Cleveland man.

Officers smelled the odor of marijuana in the car and asked its occupants to step out of the vehicle so it could be searched.

Police concluded the search by seizing two loaded semi-automatic handguns and marijuana.

Police arrested the four male teens and released the girls, 16, of Warrensville Heights, and 14, of Cleveland, to their parents.

It was later learned that the three boys had provided police with fictitious identifying information.

The Cleveland man was charged with driving with a temporary license without a licensed driver present and for the illegal window tint. He was released and his car was towed.

The boys, all of Cleveland, will have their charges referred to Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. All were charged with fourth-degree felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, obstructing official business and falsification.

The 16-year-old was additionally charged with possession of criminal tools.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- The city will have a new police chief starting Sept. 1.

Lt. Thomas ODeens, a 28-year veteran of the Strongsville Police Department, will replace Chief Mark Fender, who is retiring.

Mayor Thomas Perciak announced and City Council approved ODeens appointment July 3, according to council meeting minutes. ODeens could not be reached for comment last week and this week.

I believe Lt. ODeens is well-qualified and the best candidate for the position, Perciak told council.

Perciak said ODeens came to Strongsville after graduating from the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy. He initially worked in the Patrol Division and Detective Bureau here.

ODeens was promoted to sergeant in 2008 and was assigned to the night shift platoon for nine years, Perciak said. He was then promoted to lieutenant and has been commander of the Patrol Division ever since, Perciak said.

Perciak said ODeens graduated from Benedictine High School in Cleveland and earned a bachelors degree in social work and criminal justice at Cleveland State University.

He graduated from the Police Executive Leadership College, a three-week executive leadership training program administered by the Ohio Law Enforcement Foundation.

Strongsville Police Chief Mark Fender is retiring. (Bob Sandrick, special to cleveland.com)

Fender, 63, has been with the Strongsville police department for 35 years, starting in August 1988. He was a patrol officer for nine years, a sergeant for two years, a lieutenant for 13 years and deputy chief for four years before becoming chief in 2017.

Fender was a member of the Southwest Enforcement Bureau SWAT team for nine years.

He told cleveland.com that one of the highlights of his career was graduating from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., in 2011.

Fender also was a graduate of the Northwestern University Supervision of Police Personnel Program and the Police Executive Leadership Program at The Ohio State University.

Fender was a certified instructor in fitness and performance standards, firearms, first aid, less-lethal use of force, laser speed detection, close-quarter combat and tactical first response.

Fender said he is retiring to spend more time with his family, including his 15-year-old granddaughter, who is incredibly gifted in volleyball.

My wife, Ilona, has sacrificed much for me throughout my career, Fender told cleveland.com. I hope to be a better life partner and return so much of what she has selflessly provided me.

I will be intentionally praying for the next step in my life, to be exactly where God wants me to be, Fender said. In the meantime, I will serve Him faithfully right where I am.

Fender said the creation of a Citizens Police Academy and the revitalization of the citys Volunteers in Police Program, designed to help police in routine tasks, were among his most proud accomplishments as chief. Also, Strongsville police are launching a student academy this fall.

Most memorable are the relationships we share with our community and businesses, Fender said. Working here is like winning the lottery!

Fender said that during his time as a Strongsville police officer. the department has worked hard to earn the trust of citizens.

Its a trust we do not take lightly and work hard to maintain, Fender said. Without those who live and work here working alongside us, its not possible to ensure the safety and well-being of a community covering 25 square miles.

A simple example is knowing they can call us when they see something that does not look right, Fender says. They are the eyes and ears of the police department that assist in directing our patrol.

Fender said he has enjoyed serving as chief, but added that the real heroes are the police officers, office staff, dispatch workers and jailers who give their best each day they serve.

I pray God will continue to guide, direct and bless this community, Fender said.

Read more from the Sun Star Courier.
AKRON, Ohio  An Akron man was sentenced Monday to life in prison for a New Years Eve shooting that claimed the life of a 38-year-old woman and wounded her 5-year-old child.

Christopher Mason, 39, will be eligible for parole after serving 31 years in prison, according to a news release from Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh.

According to police, Allison Dinkins, who was Masons girlfriend, was found dead by officers in an apartment in the Chapel Hill neighborhood on Dec. 31, 2022, after reports of gunshots at 7:45 p.m. Dinkins daughter also was found wounded in the apartment, with injuries to her face, prosecutors say.

Mason was arrested days later by federal agents in Akron.

Last month, Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands found Mason guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, and endangering children, all with gun specifications. Mason also was convicted of having a weapon under disability.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Of the 800 missing people who belong on Maui, Hawaii, one turned up Monday, President Joe Biden. Joey Come Lately belatedly toured wildfire damage on Maui, August 21, more than two weeks after the former Royal Capitol of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Lahaina, was incinerated, August 8, leaving 114 dead, along with the still missing.

It was the deadliest and most damaging U.S. wildfire in more than a century, but that didnt keep President Biden from soaking up sun rays one weekend on a Delaware beach after which he offered a No Comment on the wildfire, or going on vacation in Utah, from where he flew to Maui on Monday.

While the late visit was out of character for Biden, when the President finally did speak in Lahaina he said all the right things, although he was showing his age more than usual, stumbling over introductions, and more obviously reading scripted remarks.

Predictably but sincerely, the President again recalled knowing first hand what its like to lose family members to tragedies, having lost his first wife and child in a car accident. You could tell he had also heard the concerns of native Hawaiians that they feared being excluded and priced out of the rebuilding of Lahaina by billionaires.

President Biden assured that the financial build back commitment to Lahaina would be longterm and would be inclusive of all classes of Hawaiians.

Weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking for the President, said they were intentionally staying away from Hawaii so as not to interfere with or distract from emergency responders and recovery efforts.

President Bidens dark blue campaign bus had emblazoned on the sides NO MALARKEY! in white. But Bidens initial response to the Maui catastrophe was just that, Malarkey.

The Maui emergency sirens shouldnt have been silent or President Biden.
August closes with some strange bedfellows in the notable new music release ranks -- Tim McGraw and Alice Cooper, for instance. And thats not counting fresh titles from Ashnikko, Burna Boy, Maluma, the return of Dethklok and another all-star album beaming up from William Shatner (all subject to change)...

Album of the Week: Thirty years after his little-noticed debut album Tim McGraw is back with his 17th, Standing Room Only (Big Machine). The follow-up to the chart-topping (Country) Here on Earth was produced by McGraw with longtime collaborator Byron Gallimore and features 13 new tracks; McGraw co-wrote one, Nashville CA/L.A. Tennessee with Lori McKenna, who also guests on the song. The title track came out as the albums first single in March, with Hey Whiskey on track to follow.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Arts Council awarded its 2023 Ohio Heritage Fellowships to two Northeast Ohio artists: Nancy Schwartz-Katz, an illustrator from Shaker Heights, and Oleg Kruglyakov, a balalaika virtuoso from Cleveland.

The Ohio Arts Council is pleased to present Nancy and Oleg, two internationally recognized artists, with this award, said Ohio Arts Council executive director Donna S. Collins in a statement. Their commitment to the preservation and cultivation of their respective art forms in Northeast Ohio and beyond has helped to deepen peoples understanding of the connections between, art, culture, and history.

The fellowships, which come with a $5,000 prize, is a statewide award dedicated to the advancement and preservation of the folk or traditional arts.

For more than 30 years, Schwartz-Katz has contributed to the Judaic arts of manuscript illustration and papercutting by creating ketubot, or Jewish marriage contracts, for her clients across North America. She has also been commissioned by synagogues and Jewish community organizations all over the world to create various works of art.

Kruglyakov has studied the balalaika, a Russian stringed musical instrument, since he was seven years old. His first group, the Cleveland-based Moscow Nights, toured the U.S. for nearly a decade. His current project is Russian Duo with pianist Terry Boyarsky. Together, they perform frequently and work as artists-in-residence in schools. Kruglyakov also runs a foundation devoted to preserving Russian folk music traditions.
LIVERPOOL, England -- Taylor Swift will be in Liverpool for three cant-miss concerts in June 2024 and third-party ticket websites have the seats you want.

Swift is performing at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, England, on June 13, June 14 and June 15. Its part of her 2024 stretch of The Eras Tour.

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS TO THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2024 SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | TicketCity

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS TO FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024 SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | TicketCity

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS TO SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2024 SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | TicketCity

Swift will be back on the stage on Thursday, Aug. 24 for the Latin America part of The Eras Tour, which runs through Nov. 26. Tickets for Swifts first shows of that tour leg in Mexico City are available. Tickets for shows that follow Mexico City  Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Paris, Sweden, Portugal, Spain and Edinburgh  are available too!

Tickets for her North America 2024 tour stops  Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Toronto  are also on sale.

Swift announced her re-recorded 1989 (Taylors version) on Twitter Aug. 10.

Surprise!! 1989 (Taylors Version) is on its way to you ! The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways, and it fills me with such excitement to announce that my version of it will be out October 27th. To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record Ive ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I cant believe they were ever left behind. But not for long! she tweeted.

Swift also released a re-recording of her Speak Now album in July.

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 online.
COBB COUNTY, Georgia  A Georgia sheriff resigned from his job Monday after he pleaded guilty to criminal charges accusing him of groping a TV judge last year in a hotel bar.

Kristopher Coody had been the Bleckley County Sheriff since 2017, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. He stepped down from the job after pleading guilty in Cobb County State Court to a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery. He was sentenced to a year of probation.

Coody grabbed and squeezed the breast of TV judge Glenda Hatchett while both were attending a meeting of the Georgia Sheriffs Association at the Renaissance Atlanta Wavery Hotel in January 2022, the Associated Press reports.

According to Hatchett, she was introduced to Coody in the hotels bar. She said she wasnt sure where his county was located in Georgia. She said Coody pointed a finger at her chest and said In the heart of Georgia.

Coody repeated those words, grabbing Hatchetts left breast and squeezing and rubbing it, Hatchett said. She said she was so shocked by the action that she froze and that DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown grabbed Coodys arm and pulled it away from Hatchett.

He so violated me and at that moment I felt so powerless, Hatchett tells the AP. I see myself as a strong woman. I have never been a victim and I felt it was important for there to be accountability.

I introduced to her Sheriff Coody and turned my attention to other people at the table 6 in fact. ... And when I turned back to my left thats when I saw his hand on her chest and immediately removed it and directed to him What are you doing? Brown said in court, according to WGXA.

Reports say Hatchett criticized Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for not taking action against Coody after the incident occurred. Fox 5 reports Kemps office said Coodys actions did not require state law to take action.

For the governors office to issue a statement saying they werent going to do anything because he was not on duty is obscene and ludacris, Hatchett tells WGXA.
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin  A security guard at a gas station has been charged with first degree intentional homicide after authorities say he shot a man in the head for stealing snack cakes.

On Aug. 16, William Pinkin, 56, shot Isaiah Allen, 29, in the back of the head after Allen took a box of Little Debbie snack cakes and walked out of a store without paying, police tell the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

CBS 58 reports that surveillance video shows Pinkin was sitting on a stool toward the back of the store when Allen took the snack cakes. Pinkin reportedly gets up from the stool and rushes out to follow Allen, then shoots Allen just outside the store.

Pinkin waited at the store for police to arrive and initially told investigators that he did not see who shot Allen, CBS 58 reports. He was arrested two days later.

WISN Channel 12 reports that court records show Pinkin was convicted of killing a store clerk during a robbery in 1989. He had been released from prison in March, the Journal Sentinel reports.

The Journal Sentinel reports Allen was the father of two children, ages Allen, ages 3 and 9. His father said Allen did have mental-health issues and was going to check into a drug rehabilitation center.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  The Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, which represents 112 local health departments, is urging Ohioans to vote no on legalizing recreational, adult-use marijuana on Nov. 7.

The association joins Protect Ohio Workers and Families, the opposition campaign to the proposal. The opposition campaign is a coalition of childrens hospitals, law enforcement, prosecutors and veterans groups.
SANTA ANA, Calif.  Sparks flew and passengers were shaken but not hurt when the left main landing gear on an Alaska Airlines flight to Southern California collapsed shortly after touching down during Tropical Storm Hilary.

The Boeing 737 experienced an issue with its landing gear after landing at John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 11:15 p.m. Sunday, the airline said in a statement.

A passenger returning home on the flight from Seattle recorded a video of bright white sparks flying over a rainy runway as the engine appeared to scrape across the ground.

I was panicking, Abhinav Amineni, an Orange County high school student who shot the video, told KABC-TV. When I first saw the sparks, I thought the plane was going to catch on fire.

Alaska said the jet was unable to taxi to the gate and parked on a taxiway, The Associated Press reported. Passengers then boarded buses that ferried them to the terminal. Photos showed the left engine resting on the ground.

The National Transportation Safety Board was collecting information about the event but did not immediately launch an investigation, spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick said in an email Tuesday to The AP.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  For those over 65, vaccines for shingles, pneumonia, tetanus, pertussis and diphtheria may offer protection from more than the diseases they were designed to prevent.

According to the authors of a new study, those basic vaccinations come with a surprising side benefit  protection against Alzheimers disease.

The study was preliminarily published online the first week of August and will appear in print in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease on Sept 12.

Last year, the same group of researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston found a similar protective benefit from a regular annual flu shot. Patients who received annual flu shots were 40% less likely to develop Alzheimers disease than patients who didnt get flu shots, the researchers found.

We dont usually get to see results like that, lead author Paul Schulz told the online medical magazine Verywell at the time. Because vaccinations usually create a mild, temporary inflammation in patients, any benefits for a condition like Alzheimers came as a complete surprise.

And yet scientists have long suspected that cells of the immune system, particularly those involved in the inflammatory process, play a role in Alzheimers.

When we look under the microscope, we see activated immune cells around every plaque, Schulz said in the 2022 article.

The results prompted the researchers to ask whether their initial findings were specific to flu vaccines, or if they might occur with other vaccines as well. What they discovered was that prior vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria, shingles and pneumonia are all associated with a substantial reduced risk for developing the neurodegenerative disease.

Patients who received the Tdap/Td vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough were 30% less likely than their unvaccinated peers to develop Alzheimers disease (7.2% of vaccinated patients versus 10.2% of unvaccinated patients developed the disease).

Similarly, HZ vaccination for shingles, or herpes zoster, was associated with a 25% reduced risk of developing Alzheimers disease (8.1% versus 10.7%).

For the pneumonia vaccine, there was an associated 27% reduced risk of developing the disease (7.9% versus 10.9%).

When comparing the absolute risk - the difference between 7.2% to 10.2 % might not sound like much, but that represents a 30% relative risk reduction.

To put these results into context, three new antibody-based anti-amyloid drugs used to treat Alzheimers have shown they slow disease progression at the same rate as vaccines, which are, better studied, more easily administered and significantly less expensive.

Dr. Paul E. Schulz, at UTHealth Houston, was senior author of a study that found several vaccinations were linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.UTHealth Houston

Its still unclear exactly how the vaccines are protecting the brain, but researchers, including Schulz and his team think that they may boost the effectiveness of immune cells that are already attempting to repair the damage done by toxic buildup of beta-amyloid proteins in the brain, or by decreasing overall inflammation.

We and others hypothesize that the immune system is responsible for causing brain cell dysfunction in Alzheimers. The findings suggest to us that vaccination is having a more general effect on the immune system that is reducing the risk for developing Alzheimers, said Schulz, who is also a professor of neurology with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.

The study was performed by comparing the health and vaccination data from large medical databases, and the authors say it underscores the value that these large datasets of health information play in research, as well as the importance of routine vaccinations to overall health.

Our findings are a win for both Alzheimers disease prevention research and for public health in general, as this is one more study demonstrating the value of vaccination, said study co-author Kristofer Harris.

Alzheimers disease affects more than 6 million people living in the U.S., with the number of affected individuals growing due to the nations aging population.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Ohio Right to Life, a powerful organization that generally operates behind the scenes of state politics, has experienced a rare public controversy over its internal operations.

The episode surrounds the departure of its now-former communications director, and comes ahead of a November election that will be pivotal for the future of abortion in Ohio. It also shows a fundamental tension the anti-abortion movement is confronting in todays politics, in which it must package a political argument  that abortion is an unequivocal wrong that should be banned  to an increasingly skeptical public that has repeatedly voted for abortion to be legal when given the chance.

Last week, Ohio Right to Life parted ways with Lizzie Marbach, who had served as the groups communications director since March 2022. The reason comes down to what could be described as strategic differences ahead of the November vote on abortion rights and Marbachs prolific use of social media.

ORTL leaders took issue with Marbachs tone on Twitter, including an Aug. 10 post in which she called an abortion-rights backer a murderous liar. Other recent posts included one from Aug. 12 that described an iconic image of the Virgin Mary in a Mexican Catholic church as idolatry  the Catholic church is a key ally in the effort to defeat the November abortion-rights amendment  and one sharing an Aug. 10 post that said people who support abortion rights shouldnt be allowed in the medical profession.

In a message to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, Marbach said her former bosses generally just had problems with me using bolder terms to describe abortion like murder or evil. They preferred softer tones.

Such a personnel move typically wouldnt attract broader attention. But it occurred around the same time Marbach was the subject of a brief, viral Twitter controversy following an exchange with a local Republican congressman, Rep. Max Miller, of Rocky River. Some media outlets, mostly right-leaning ones, linked the two events together, suggesting that Marbach got fired for being an outspoken Christian.

Miller, who is Jewish, responded to a tweet last week from Marbach in which she declared Theres no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone. Miller called the post bigoted and told Marbach to delete it, which she refused to do.

In true social media form, the exchange quickly drew in a wide range of national commenters including Jenna Ellis, a former campaign lawyer for ex-President Donald Trumps campaign, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who is one of the few Muslim members of Congress. Marbachs in-state defenders included Ohio Republican politicians and operatives.

Miller, a public defender of Judaism, apologized later in the evening, saying his post had conveyed something he hadnt intended.

Around the same time, Marbach lost her job. An internal email obtained by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer show that before the exchange with Miller, Ohio Right to Life was in the process of parting ways with Marbach, including interviewing a potential replacement. Ohio Right to Life pointed out this general timeline in a press release on Monday, in which they announced that their board had voted to back Marbachs right to religious expression while also emphasizing that Marbach has said publicly her departure was unrelated to the exchange with Miller.

In a spate of post-firing publicity, including podcast interviews, op-eds and sympathetic articles from right-leaning outlets, Marbach has portrayed herself as the victim of an anti-abortion movement cowed by censorious, progressive antichristian forces in society.

Other political groups within Ohios anti-abortion movement have come to Marbachs defense, including the Ohio Christian Alliance, which plans to interview Marbach this week on its podcast, and the Ohio Legislative Prayer Caucus, a group of socially conservative, religious Republican lawmakers.

We are more offended and embarrassed by calling abortion murder than we actually are about abortion being murder, Marbach told The Sentinel, a recently launched right-leaning online outlet. It is complete lunacy and I pray that this situation helps to point that out.

Since her firing, Marbach has criticized the campaign to defeat the November abortion-rights amendment from the sidelines, faulting it for not referencing the issue more directly. In a column for The Blaze, a right-leaning outlet, Marbach criticized the campaigns official name itself, Protect Women Ohio, which she described as cowardice and an example of being fearful of speaking the truth about abortion.

Polling, meanwhile, has suggested that upwards of 59% of Ohioans support the November constitutional amendment, or at least some form of legal protection for abortion. While its full legal impact is unclear, the abortion amendment would nullify the states Heartbeat law, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2019, that bans abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, one of the strictest standards in the country. The law temporarily went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 202, but has been on hold for more than a year due to a legal challenge.

Reeling from voters rejection of State Issue 1 earlier this month, a vote that had major implications for the vote in November, some abortion opponents have publicly debated whether the movement needs to adopt more moderate political aims in light of their latest electoral defeat.

This helps explain why the campaign to defeat the November amendment has tried to redirect debate over the amendment to pull in non-abortion related issues, like tying it to progressive views on gender, an argument independent legal experts have described as a stretch.

And by parting ways with an outspoken, off-message spokesperson while trying to do damage control through an after-the-fact press release, it shows Ohio Right to Life is sensitive to public opinion against the backdrop of an important election.

Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer
Let world hear more BRICS voices, witness greater BRICS contributions

17:14, August 22, 2023 By Huan Yuping ( People's Daily

The 15th BRICS Summit is scheduled to run from August 22 to 24 in South Africa.

During the summit, BRICS leaders will conduct discussions on such topics as strengthening BRICS cooperation and expanding the BRICS mechanism.

South Africa has invited tens of leaders from Africa and emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) to attend relevant dialogues.

More and more countries are applying to join the BRICS mechanism. During the summit, leaders from EMDCs will discuss a wide range of topics.

This fully demonstrates that the BRICS mechanism, with growing influence and attractiveness, has gained widespread recognition and support.

As the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, EMDCs are playing an increasingly important role in global governance.

I

South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal described BRICS as an "inclusive" organization that has always been open to dialogue with the larger global community. According to Sooklal, over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS mechanism, and 20 more of them have submitted official applications.

The BRICS mechanism emerged amidst the historical trend of the collective rise of EMDCs. It represents the direction of evolution and adjustment of the global landscape and international order.

Over the past 17 years, by upholding the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, the BRICS countries have strengthened solidarity and collaboration, advocated fairness and justice, and pursued common development, continuously expanding their global influence.

Amidst a turbulent international situation, anti-globalization sentiments are escalating while unilateralism and protectionism are distinctly on the rise. The global economic recovery remains weak amid frequent regional conflicts and unrest.

Global governance challenges in spheres like energy, food, and climate are interlinked with regional security risks, while deficits in peace, development, security and governance are increasing globally.

"BRICS countries are attracting people who seek peace and cooperation," said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. His remarks underscored an important reason why many countries hope to join the BRICS mechanism.

The BRICS cooperation has always been oriented towards openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and opened its door to all EMDCs aspiring to seek development while maintaining independence.

The 2013 Summit in Durban of South Africa invited African leaders to participate in the dialogue.

The 2014 Summit in Fortaleza of Brazil invited leaders of South American countries to join the dialogue.

During the 2015 Summit in Russia's Ufa, a meeting was held between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members and observers, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) leaders, leaders of invited countries and the BRICS countries.

A dialogue between BRICS leaders and the leaders of the member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was held during the 2016 Summit in Goa of India.

And during the Xiamen Summit in 2017, China put forward the innovative "BRICS Plus" cooperation model, building a new platform for solidarity, cooperation and common development of the vast developing countries.

The BRICS cooperation does not engage in exclusive "small circles." Last year, the group started a new round of expansion.

BRICS cooperation is an innovation. It transcends the old pattern of political and military alliances and pursues a new relationship of partnership featuring non-alignment; it transcends the old mindset of drawing lines by ideology and takes a new path of mutual respect and common progress; it gets rid of the old game of "One's gain is another's loss" and winner-takes-all mindset and practices the new concept of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

BRICS has become a model for EMDCs to carry out South-South cooperation and attain self-reliance through solidarity.

The BRICS countries have achieved success and progress without relying on other nations to serve their own interests, said Spanish news agency Agencia EFE.

The BRICS countries' decisive role in advancing major global agenda will make the world more just and stable, and calls for their explicit support will likely intensify, according to the article.

II

The BRICS mechanism has formed a multi-level, wide-ranging and all-round cooperation framework, becoming a major platform for exchanges, dialogues and cooperation among developing countries in politics, economy, finance, development, culture and other areas.

The steady augmentation of the BRICS countries' economic strength provides the foundation for the rapid advancement of BRICS cooperation.

According to data provided by Acorn Macro Consulting, a UK-based macroeconomic research firm, in 2022, the BRICS countries accounted for 31.5 percent of the global economy, surpassing the G7 share of 30.7 percent. This gap is expected to be widened by 2025, the data showed.

The macroeconomic stability of the BRICS countries has laid an important foundation for the enduring attractiveness of the BRICS mechanism.

The BRICS countries are committed to promoting economic recovery.

The intertwined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis has led to disruptions in the global industrial and supply chains, a continuous rise in commodity prices, and increased fragility of the international monetary and financial system.

The BRICS countries have made vital contributions to global economic growth by steadily advancing cooperation in the areas including currency and finance, trade and investment, as well as energy and resources. They have also continuously expanded cooperation in supply chains, logistics, agriculture, food security, local currency settlement, cross-border payments and other domains.

The BRICS countries focus on common development.

Currently, global development is suffering from severe disruption. The momentum of international development and cooperation is losing strength, the North-South gap is further widening, and the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been impeded.

The BRICS countries have made global development a key focus of their cooperation. They have firmly defended developing countries' interests under such multilateral frameworks as the Group of 20 (G20) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), making unremitting efforts to advance the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The BRICS countries insist on exploring new ground.

The world is becoming increasingly information-oriented, while the new round of sci-tech revolution represented by AI is in full swing.

The BRICS countries have advocated a partnership on the new industrial revolution, strengthening cooperation in future networks, industrial internet and digital manufacturing, digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, standardization and other areas.

Keeping pace with the prevailing trends of the digital economy, the BRICS countries have formulated and updated the strategy for BRICS economic partnership, continuously promoting cooperation in education, science, technology and other domains. Such efforts have built a talent pool for sustainable development and innovation cooperation.

In the face of raging torrents and storms, the BRICS countries work together to build a high-quality partnership that is more comprehensive, closer, more pragmatic and inclusive, continuously elevating the influence of BRICS cooperation.

Russian political analyst Timur Fomenko believes the strategic importance of BRICS cooperation is growing because it represents the cooperation carried out by the Global South countries to shape an economic future that is not dominated by Western powers.

III

The growth of the BRICS countries is driving adjustments in the international landscape, fundamentally changing the political and economic map of the world.

In an article published by the European website Modern Diplomacy, the rise of the BRICS countries is viewed as a new world order and a shift in power to the "Global South."

The reform of the global governance system is at a historic turning point. EMDCs are experiencing rapid growth, continuously expanding their influence on the international stage.

In the face of growing global challenges, the West-led world order, which is characterized by post-colonial order, double standards, and neglect of developing countries' concerns, does not truly meet the common needs of EMDCs to pursue peace, development and cooperation.

The mindset of certain Western powers, operating under the guise of a so-called "rules-based international order," has become an impediment to global economic development and social progress.

The BRICS countries champion true multilateralism, making decisions founded on the principles of equality and consensus.

As a representative outcome of BRICS cooperation, the New Development Bank adopts a unique governance structure, in which the five founding members have equal shareholding power and voting rights. This provides a new option for the governance of multilateral development financial institutions.

The BRICS countries have made important contributions to advancing a more just and rational international order by considering the creation of a new reserve currency based on a basket of currencies of member countries, launching a new round of expansion, and inviting non-BRICS countries to discuss digital economy issues.

The BRICS countries actively promote reform of the global governance system, striving to increase the representation and voice of EMDCs.

To handle incessant traditional and non-traditional security threats, the BRICS countries support each other on issues involving their core interests, preferring dialogue instead of confrontation.

In various global multilateral mechanisms, including the UN, the G20, the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the BRICS countries have actively strengthened policy dialogues and position coordination. They ensure that their voice is heard and solutions are provided, thereby promoting constructive reform of the international system.

"Above all, BRICS defends multipolarity and multilateralism ... By defending multilateralism, BRICS countries are countering the concept of the Cold War and opening up the possibility of a more equitable and just international economic order that benefits the world," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said recently.

The BRICS cooperation is the most important platform for solidarity and cooperation among developing countries. As the core mechanism representing countries of the South, it embodies the earnest expectations of developing countries.

Under the new circumstances, the BRICS countries must stand on the right side of history, stand for the advancement of human civilizations, pursue development and foster cooperation.

By advancing the BRICS mechanism, they can make new contributions to driving world multipolarity, economic globalization, and democratization of international relations, so that the world can hear more BRICS voices and witness greater BRICS contributions.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
A damning new investigation accuses Saudi Arabia of deliberately slaughtering hundreds of migrants attempting to cross the Saudi-Yemeni border over the past 12 months. The 73-page report, based on extensive eyewitness testimony and expert analysis of satellite imagery, as well as footage of injuries, lists a litany of allegations against Saudi border guards. It describes them as having used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic.

Not only did guards fire on people attempting to enter Saudi Arabia, the report states, they also fired explosive weapons at migrants who had just been released from temporary Saudi detention and were attempting to flee back to Yemen.

Thanks to the House of Sauds long-standing, cosy relationship with western imperialism, it has been able to commit these horrors with impunity, while receiving vast quantities of money and arms, without interruption.

Migrant abuse

The victims identified in the report largely originate from Ethiopia. There are an estimated 750,000 Ethiopians currently residing in Saudi Arabia, many without documentation, having utilised illegal routes to flee grinding poverty and war  itself facilitated and exacerbated by imperialist interference.

Those who are able to live and work in the country overwhelmingly face horrendous conditions, racism, contract slavery, and abuse, facilitated by the infamous kafala (or sponsorship) system. This leaves migrant workers at the mercy of their employers, with no route to regularising their residency.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ethiopian government was forced to repatriate thousands of migrants, following reports that they were subject to torture in overcrowded, unsanitary camps. This year, the government in Addis Ababa reversed this policy, handing over 500,000 Ethiopian women to the tender mercies of Saudi Arabia as housemaids, in exchange for a boost to the countrys foreign currency reserves.

Migrants endure brutal treatment at the hands of the Saudi regime / Image: Flickr, UNICEF Ethiopia

The latest allegations are the continuation of a pattern. Migrants make up over 75 percent of the private sector labour force in Saudi Arabia.

Having readily exploited this cheap labour to reap huge profits for decades, the Saudi ruling class now demagogically blames illegal immigrants for creating unemployment amongst Saudi nationals, and for feeding the black market.

In the past several years, Riyadh has viciously cracked down on undocumented migrants. As a result, hundreds of thousands of migrants have been rounded up and detained for months or years at a time before deportation.

Former detainees have described dire conditions in overcrowded cells, with no ventilation and inadequate access to food, water, sanitation, accommodation, and healthcare. Inmates are exposed to deadly diseases such as tuberculosis.

Pregnant women and children as young as one-month have been documented in Saudi detention centres, where guards are alleged to inflict beatings, electrocutions, and other physical tortures for infractions such as protesting the denial of medical care and lack of food.

Half a million Ethiopian migrants were detained and deported by Saudi Arabia between 2017 and 2022. Some never make it out of detention. As Hussein, a former detainee, said of a cellmate who perished after a beating:

He had pain in the ribs and was not taken to a hospital. We begged prison guards to take his body after he died... They took out his body two days later.

And as the new report testifies, many migrants meet their end before even reaching the Saudi border.

A perilous crossing

For decades, Ethiopian migrants (in addition to a smaller number from Somalia and Eritrea) have attempted the so-called Eastern or Yemeni Route from the Horn of Africa, across the Gulf of Aden, through Yemen, and into Saudi Arabia.

This highly perilous passage is controlled by people smugglers, who subject these huddled masses to terrible abuse and extortion. Since 2014, many have been caught in the crossfire between Houthi forces in Yemen and the Saudi regime, facing detention, abuse, and outright murder at the hands of both.

After a dangerous boat crossing from Djibouti, migrants wind up at temporary settlements in Yemen. This includes Al Thabit, described as follows by Hamza, a 19-year-old man from Oromia:

There are some shelters made from plastic sheets[It] has a compound which is built with wireThere are hundreds of thousands of migrants there. Once you get in you cannot get outOnce you submit a payment to the guards, the smugglers come and take you to the border.

Witnesses testified that those unable to pay fees to Yemeni smugglers were forced to lead groups of up to 200 people, putting them first in the firing line as human shields. Attacks by Saudi border guards often involve explosive weapons, including mortars and rocket launchers.

This border-crossing journey is so difficult that many migrants are forced to run the deadly gauntlet again and again over the course of weeks or months. For instance, Hadiya, a 20-year-old woman from East Hararghe, stated:

We were [at Al Thabit] for three months, because we were trying to cross all this time. We would try and cross and then the border guards would push us back and then we would try and again and we would be pushed back, and this happened for three months.

Often, groups of migrants suffer horrendous casualties. Describing one such attempt in October 2022, Hadiya said:

I was with 170 people. Most of them were women, and there were kids also. The Saudi [border guards] were firing at us from the back of a car. I saw them throwing something from a carWhen they [the Saudi border guards] fired at us people lost their hands and legs and we couldnt help them because we had to help ourselves. I saw people killed with my own eyes. I saw 20 people dead while I was walking.

Those migrants who are apprehended report being asked by guards in which limb they would like to be shot. Others say guards beat them with rocks and metal bars.

This carnival of carnage is common knowledge. Between 1 January and 30 April 2022, the UN reported allegations of artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers.

Human Rights Watchs latest report provides detailed supporting evidence of these atrocities. The body interviewed over 40 people who attempted the crossing, and analysed over 350 videos and photographs, along with hundreds of square kilometres of satellite imagery captured between February 2022 and July 2023.

The imagery revealed dead and wounded on the trail, as well as in migrant camps and medical centres, along with expanding burial sites outside of camps. But it is the witness testimony that truly paints a hellish picture.

They fired on us like rain

Dahabo, a 20-year-old woman from Oromia, gave the following account of crossing the Yemen-Saudi border in December 2022:

Immediately after we arrived [at the border], they [the Saudi border guards] fired on usA lot of people were dying. In a group of 200 migrants only 50 people survived. The people who shot us were Saudi government military  the uniform was multiple colors. It was like green or white or something. Everyone knows it is Saudi military  the smugglers told us  they are Saudi military, they are border guards.

Images of a burial site outside a migrant camp, contained in the HRW report / Image: HRW

Analysis of footage of the dead and wounded by forensic experts concluded that their injuries exhibited clear patterns consistent with the explosion of munitions with capacity to produce heat and fragmentation, while others have characteristics consistent with gunshot wounds.

One interviewee states that from 150 [in his group], only 7 people survivedThere were remains of people everywhere, scattered everywhere. Another went to the Saudi border to collect the body of a girl from his village, and said:

Her body was piled up on top of 20 bodiesit is really impossible to count the number. It is beyond the imagination.

One especially harrowing account concerns an attempted crossing in June 2023, in which migrants were slaughtered even after being apprehended and pushed back. As Munira, a 20-year-old-woman from Oromia, described:

The Saudis picked us up from the detention centre in Daer and put us in a minibus going back to the Yemen border. When they released us, they created a kind of chaos; they screamed at us to get out of the car and get away. They trapped us into the same lane, they didnt want us to spread out in case we tried to go back to Saudi I think, and this is when they started to fire mortars  to keep us into the mountain line, they fired the mortar from left and right. When we were one kilometre away, the border guards could see us. We were resting together after running a lotand thats when they fired mortars on our group. Directly at us. There were 20 in our group and only ten survived. Some of the mortars hit the rocks and then the [fragments of the] rock hit usThe weapon looks like a rocket launcher, it had six mouths, six holes from where they fire and it was fired from the back of a vehicle  it fires several at the same time. They fired on us like rain. When I remember, I cry...I saw a guy calling for help, he lost both his legs. He was screaming; he was saying, Are you leaving me here? Please dont leave me. We couldnt help him because we were running for our lives. There are several people who lost their body parts.

The sadism depicted here chills ones blood. Muniras story was corroborated by an IFEG pathologist, who reviewed a photograph of the wounds to her face and concluded they are consistent with explosive fragmentation. Interviewed at a medical centre in Qatabir (a district in Saada), she explained she has no choice but to relive the nightmare again as soon as she recovers:

We cant afford life in Yemen, there is no food, and we cant survive, we will die. Even tonight or tomorrow morning we will try to cross [the border] again.

This is the choice afforded to victims of war and poverty: starvation on one side of the border, or being blown to bits trying to cross to the other.

Imperialist hypocrisy

The Saudi regime has of course flatly denied all these allegations, and seemingly applied pressure to keep the story under wraps. For instance, an Al Jazeera article commenting on the Human Rights Watch report has since been taken down.

Previously, Riyadh tried to clamp down on migrants sharing their distressing experiences on social media. It has also invested $6.3bn on sporting events (more than quadruple the amount spent over the previous six-year period)  a sports-washing process to launder its reputation and distract from its heinous crimes.

Of course, there is scant chance of the Saudi regime ever having to answer for its barbarity as long as it retains the diplomatic protection of its western allies. While the close relationship between western imperialism and Saudi Arabia has wavered somewhat in recent months, due to the regimes closer relations with Russia, Riyadh remains a critical vector for western interests in the Middle East.

This explains the shameful conduct of western imperialism towards the seven-year Saudi intervention in Yemen  one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Far from merely ignoring the bloodshed, the imperialists continue to sell arms to Riyadh, pocketing tidy profits in the process. For instance, over the course of this conflict, some 27bn in arms was licensed for export from the UK to the Saudi-led coalition.

The fraternity between western imperialism and the head-chopping despots in Saudi Arabia throws into sharp relief the formers abject hypocrisy in proselytising about the atrocities committed by their anti-democratic adversaries in Beijing and Moscow.

Even as these new allegations about migrant killings came to light, Rishi Sunaks government in Britain was in the process of arranging a lavish state visit by the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman / Image: Palacio do Planalto, Flickr

While Russian brutality in Ukraine is met by western sanctions, Saudi Arabia is showered with weapons and wealth. In fact, the Ukraine War has been much to the liking of the House of Saud, helping to push up the market value of their oil.

Even as these new allegations about migrant killings came to light, Rishi Sunaks government in Britain was in the process of arranging a lavish state visit by the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Judging by their current treatment of migrants, one wonders whether the British ruling class would mirror the Saudi approach to migration if they could get away with it. Already, the Tories have attempted to forcibly deport immigrants to Rwanda, and crammed unprocessed migrants into disease-ridden prison barges, while trying to whip up a racist hysteria around an armada of small boat crossings.

Similarly, Frontex forces jealousy police the shores of Fortress Europe, while hundreds of men, women and children drown annually in attempted border crossings, in many instances following deliberate pushback operations by European coast guards. Elsewhere, over 800 people died attempting to cross the US-Mexico border from October 2021-22  the deadliest twelve months on record. Those who survive often end up caged in ICE facilities.

The ruling classes in Saudi Arabia and the West alike have this much in common: all serve a brutal capitalist system, and have the blood of countless migrants on their hands.

The ceaseless nightmare endured by migrants at the Saudi border and around the world are testament to the truth of Lenins words that capitalism is horror without end.

Communists stand for a revolutionary end to this despicable system. We must fight to throw it into the dustbin of history, along with the bloodstained criminals in Riyadh and their imperialist benefactors. Only then will their victims know justice.
Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Windham High School in Windham, New Hampshire, on August 8, 2023.

Former President Donald Trump said Monday night that he would turn himself in on Thursday in Fulton County, Georgia, after being indicted on sprawling charges stemming from his efforts to hold onto office in the wake of the 2020 election.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who launched the investigation into Trump and his allies, has given the defendants until noon Friday to voluntarily surrender.

Willis last week hit the former president and 18 others with racketeering charges for allegedly scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the case, and gave the defendants until Aug. 25th to surrender voluntarily at the Rice Street Jail.

Three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that they expected Trump's surrender to happen late this week. In a news release Monday, the Fulton County sheriff's office said that when he does turn himself in "there will be a hard lockdown of the area surrounding the Rice Street Jail."

Trump earlier Monday agreed to a $200,000 bond in the Georgia criminal case charging him with trying to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state.

Under the terms of the "consent bond order" filed in court Monday afternoon, Trump agreed to the bond amount on charges that include racketeering, criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation, filing false documents and making false statements.

The order was signed off on by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. The order, which was signed by Willis and Trump's attorneys, says that Trump "shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice."

It also says the "Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community; The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media."

The filing was filed with the court after members of Trump's legal team  Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little  were spotted entering the Fulton County Courthouse around 2:10 p.m. ET, walking in the direction of the DA's office. They declined to comment to reporters on their way in.

Other defendants agreed to bond packages with prosecutors Monday as well. As of late Monday afternoon, Trump's was the only one signed off on by Willis  the others were signed by her deputy. His was also the only one with terms that included not making threats to the community or on social media.

John Eastman, the lawyer charged with helping to orchestrate Trump's fake elector scheme, agreed to a $100,000 bond in the case on the charges including racketeering, criminal conspiracy and filing false documents.

McAfee signed off on the agreement Monday morning, the filing shows.

Under the terms of his order, Eastman "shall report to pre-trial supervision every 30 days," and "shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice."

The order also holds that Eastman "shall not communicate in any way, directly or indirectly, about the facts of this case with any person known to him to be a codefendant" or witness "in this case except through his or her counsel"  conditions Trump also agreed to.

Eastman  who's referenced but not charged as a co-conspirator in special counsel Jack Smith's federal criminal case against Trump for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election results  features prominently and repeatedly in the DA's indictment.

It alleges that Eastman helped come up with and carry out a scheme to have "alternate" presidential electors cast their votes for Trump in Georgia and several other states that were won by Joe Biden.

Eastman lawyer Harvey Silverglate said in a statement last week that the charges against his client and the 18 other defendants in the case "set out activity that is political, but not criminal" and that Eastman should not have been charged.

Another architect of the electors scheme named as a defendant in the case, lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, struck a similar deal, agreeing to a $100,000 bond.

Ray Smith, another Trump lawyer who was allegedly involved in the electors scheme, agreed to a $50,000 bond order, court filings show.

McAfee also signed off on a bond agreement involving another defendant in the case, Scott Hall. Hall is charged with racketeering and six criminal conspiracy counts relating to a scheme to access voting machines and data in rural Coffee County.

His bond was set at $10,000, the court filing shows.


As part of Amazon's aggressive effort to get employees back to the office, the company is going a step further and demanding that some staffers move to a central hub to be with their team. Those who are unwilling or unable to comply are being forced to find work elsewhere, and some are choosing to quit, CNBC has learned.

Several employees spoke to CNBC about the new relocation requirement. An employee in Texas, who was hired in a remote role, said managers assured his team in March that nothing would change despite the return-to-office (RTO) mandate issued the prior month. But in July, the team was informed by management that they'd have to choose between working out of Seattle, New York, Austin, Texas, or Arlington, Virginia, according to internal correspondence.

Under the guidelines, remote workers are expected to have completed their move to a main hub by the first half of 2024, the document states. The employee, who doesn't live near any of the designated cities, chose to leave Amazon after securing another position, in part due to uncertainty about future job security and the potential of higher living costs associated with the relocation with no guarantee of an increase in salary.

The person asked not to be named to avoid retaliation. CNBC spoke with three other employees in similar situations who all asked to remain anonymous.

Amazon spokesperson Rob Munoz confirmed the relocation policy, and said it affects a small percentage of the company's workforce. The e-commerce giant said hub locations vary by team, and each team determines which locations are their hub. The company does provide relocation benefits to employees asked to move.

"It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, so we decided that the best thing to do was to communicate directly with teams and individuals who are affected to ensure they're getting accurate information that's relevant to them," Munoz said in a statement. "If an individual feels like they don't have the information they need, we encourage them to talk with their HR business partner or their manager."

The relocation requirement is escalating tensions between Amazon and some of its roughly 350,000 corporate employees over RTO plans after many employees moved away from their in-person office location during the Covid pandemic.

In May, Amazon began requiring that staffers work out of physical offices at least three days a week, shifting from a policy that left it up to individual managers to decide how often team members should be in the office. CEO Andy Jassy has extolled the benefits of in-person work, saying it leads to a stronger company culture and collaboration between employees.

Following the mandate, a group of employees walked out in protest at the company's Seattle headquarters. Staffers also criticized how Amazon handled the decision to lay off 27,000 people as part of job cuts that began last year.

The company is slashing costs elsewhere as well. Amazon said it will end a perk next year that allows staffers to get one free drink at in-office coffee shops. The company also reduced the amount it reimburses for parking, and stopped providing free Uber rides to and from work, employees said.

Amazon said it still reimburses employees' public transportation costs in all major metro areas, and provides free commuter shuttles and campus shuttles.
Watch back the full video here. Mega-cap tech stocks in the U.S. this year have rallied to or near their all-time highs, with investors wondering where else they can find pockets of growth. CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche spoke to Hannah Gooch-Peters of asset management firm Sanlam Investments UK. They discussed companies outside the U.S. showing growth prospects that are "far larger over time" than that of some mega-caps, historically. Gooch-Peters, who is global equity investment analyst at the firm, discussed market conditions which are currently at "some form of extreme," also giving tips for investors. That includes being able to avoid chasing trends, not overpaying for quality companies, and much more. She discussed the firm's $5 billion-plus Global High Quality Fund, which invests in global stocks with a "high quality bias." These include companies with high return on capital, low debt, and with a "sustainable competitive advantage" that produces significant free cash flow. Gooch-Peters also talked about her top stock picks, which include payments company Fiserv, and restaurant group Yum Brands. Learn more from our previous Pro Talks: Potential minefield': Value investor Guy Spier talks U.S. bank risks, reveals his top stock to own Buffett disciple Guy Spier names the only chip stock he owns  and explains why he avoids Nvidia Aging populations are creating major opportunities, fund manager says. Here's where he's investing Related coverage from Pro: Here are 7 beaten-up global stocks that analysts expect will double Annuities, stocks or Treasurys? Pros weigh in on the best source of retirement income right now Downside protection costs are at a 15-year low, Bank of America says. Here's how to hedge
A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in front of a Novavax logo in this illustration taken Oct. 30, 2020.

Shares of Novavax jumped more than 13% on Tuesday after the biotech company said its new Covid vaccine generated a broad immune response against the now-dominant Eris variant and another fast-spreading strain of the virus in small animal trials.

The updated shot is designed to target omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which is slowly declining nationwide.

But the trial results suggest that the shot may still be effective against newer Covid variants gaining a greater foothold in the U.S. That includes Eris and XBB.1.16.6, both of which are also descendants of omicron.

Novavax's vaccine and new shots from Pfizer and Moderna are expected to roll out in the U.S. within weeks, pending potential approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have also released initial trial results indicating that their shots will be effective against Eris, but Moderna is the only company with data on humans.

"We have a lot of confidence in our updated Covid vaccine and are working diligently with global regulatory bodies to ensure our protein-based vaccine is available this fall," Filip Dubovsky, Novavax's president of research and development, said in a release.

Eris and several XBB variants are fueling a slight uptick in hospitalizations and cases in the U.S., but numbers remain below the summer peak that strained hospitals last year.

Eris, also known as EG.5, accounted for 17.3% of all cases as of Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Health Organization designated Eris a "variant of interest," meaning it will be monitored for mutations that could make it more severe.

XBB.1.16.6 is also beginning to surge, accounting for 8% of all cases nationwide as of Saturday, the CDC said.
South African police officers walk in front of an event banner outside the venue for the BRICS summit at the Sandton Convention Center in the Sandton district of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Michele Spatari | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Leaders from five developing nations accounting for nearly half the world's population are gathering in Johannesburg Tuesday for the 15th BRICS Summit with expansion of the emerging market grouping, the war in Ukraine and relations with the West all high on the agenda. Hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current BRICS chair, the meeting will convene Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin will join virtually as he is currently subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes. As an ICC signatory, South Africa would have been required to honor the warrant had Putin arrived in the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS+ meeting during the BRICS summit via a video link in the Moscow region, Russia June 24, 2022. Mikhail Metzel | Sputnik | Reuters

Ramaphosa invited 67 leaders from across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean to attend the summit, but no Western leaders received an invitation. The U.N. secretary-general, chair of the African Union Commission and president of the New Development Bank were also invited along with over a dozen other dignitaries and a host of business leaders. Expansion A central focus of the summit will be the possible expansion of BRICS, with more than 40 countries expressing interest in joining, including major economic hubs and emerging geopolitical powers such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. A total of 23 countries have formally applied to become new BRICS members, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia, while major African players such as Nigeria and Ghana have informally expressed interest but so far stopped short of a formal application. However, the informal nature of many expressions of interest so far highlights the straddling of a perceived global divide that many countries are attempting to navigate. Gustavo de Carvalho, policy analyst and senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said final decisions on new members are unlikely to emerge from this week's two-day summit, but the aim will be to establish a clear process, criteria and timeframe for applications and admittance. Speaking to CNBC via telephone from Johannesburg on Monday, de Carvalho noted that there are differing views on expansion among the existing members of the collaborative but amorphous bloc.

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"India historically has been the country that mostly worries about the idea of expansion, and particularly with the fears that this would be used as increasing the Chinese influence within BRICS, and Russia is in a space where it's very isolated in the international community so it became much more vocal in accepting the issue of the expansion," de Carvalho explained. He added that while Brazil for some time seemed neutral around the idea of expansion, the Lula administration has voiced some concern around potentially diluting the group to the point that it loses its effectiveness in providing a unified voice. In a televised national address on Sunday, Ramaphosa explicitly supported expansion for the first time, particularly for fellow African nations that have long been part of "BRICS+" discussions among emerging economies. In light of the punitive Western economic sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, particularly the freezing of Russian assets, de Carvalho said other BRICS and affiliated countries were keen to reduce their risk exposure in the international financial system, and to find ways to collectively shore up their respective currencies and liquidity positions. 'We have witnessed the world dividing into three camps' Russian and Chinese officials have struck an increasingly anti-Western tone in their characterizations of what the BRICS bloc represents over the past year, as they look to build support for a broad coalition to challenge U.S. dominance over the global political and economic system.

Xi Jinping, China's president, delivers a speech during a pre-BRICS summit state visit at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Xi, in an op-ed published in several South African media outlets, said his country and South Africa, as natural members of the Global South, should push for developing countries to have more sway in international affairs. Photographer: Michele Spatari/Bloomberg via Getty Images Michele Spatari | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Though some analysts have suggested the BRICS may take a significant anti-Western turn, South Africa, India and Brazil have signaled intention to maintain closer ties with traditional Western partners, which de Carvalho said highlights the continued independence of constituent countries to prioritize their own interests with regards to diplomacy and international trade. Some reports have cited Chinese officials as openly aiming to position BRICS as a direct geopolitical rival to the G7. Yet in his televised address on Sunday, Ramaphosa insisted South Africa would "not be drawn into a contest between global powers" and sought to retain its independence in a world "increasingly polarized into competing camps." The BRICS group operates on consensus and tends to collaborate on certain aspects of its various economies where interests align, rather than seeking to form a unilateral "alliance," de Carvalho noted. In this vein, he said Ramaphosa's speech was particularly important in differentiating Pretoria's desire for a positive relationship with the West from the notion of a collective anti-Western shift.

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Bilateral deals and cooperation is common among BRICS members, but de Carvalho challenged the idea that there is a unanimous desire to compete with the G7. He argued that the aim instead is to represent the voice of five nations that cumulatively account for around 40% of the global population, based on the belief that "international politics should not be entirely controlled by a group of the seven most important industrialized economies," of which India and China could well be members.

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"It's not really about changing the global order, I think it's much more perception of the fact that the global order has already changed but our voice is still not nearly close enough to what we believe that we should be influencing global decisions," de Carvalho said. "So this is not just these countries in the global south whining about the role of the West that I think has much more to do with their own perception of capabilities and influence that they feel that they already have." He added that the BRICS members do not always agree and do not see the group as a "panacea," but simply a "vehicle to become more influential in global discussions." "So for me, it's not that BRICS would ever replace G7, but I wouldn't be surprised if, for instance, and I think it would be potentially in a couple of years, a really good move is to start having meetings between BRICS and the G7."

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Yet Steven Gruzd, head of the African governance and diplomacy programme at the SAIIA, told CNBC on Monday that BRICS "already is a rival to the G7" insofar the bloc has established itself as one of the pre-eminent voices of the emerging economies. "The G7 contains the rich Western economies, while BRICS contains the two most populous countries and the leading countries on three continents. Both blocs are seeking influence and support on the global stage. Whether the rivalry becomes geopolitical remains to be seen," Gruzd said. "We have witnessed the world dividing into three camps due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine  pro-West, pro-Russia-and-China and non-aligned. In my view, these splits are set to continue and widen, especially as the non-aligned face enormous pressure to join the other camps."

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'What BRICS is and what it is not' Though much of the narratives surrounding BRICS focus on the growing Chinese and Russian influence across emerging economies, de Carvalho suggested there is a mistaken assumption that China has "unlimited influence" within the other BRICS societies, which is "definitely not the case." "I think very clear that the competition and tension with India plays a major role within the BRICS dynamics and especially when it comes to some of the Indian fears of increased influence of China within the group and so on," he said. Evidence of the freedom of BRICS countries to chart their own courses on global issues has been highlighted in responses to Russia's war in Ukraine, which de Carvalho said provided an opportunity in particular for other BRICS countries to "potentially serve as a bridge or a conduit for dialog."

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For once, having a high student debt balance could be a good thing.

Tell Frontier Airlines how much you owe in student loans and you could be one of 100 lucky winners who will receive an airline mile for every dollar you owe, up to 100,000 miles, the airline announced last week.

Student loan borrowers have until August 27 to enter the sweepstakes through Frontier's website. To enter, all you need is a student debt balance and a free Frontier Miles account.

It's not as exciting as having your student loan balance forgiven, but the maximum prize of 100,000 miles could help you save on a budget getaway. You can book a one-way domestic flight for as little as 10,000 miles plus taxes and fees, according to Frontier's website.

"We're thrilled to spread a little joy among education borrowers and offer an opportunity to win free flights through this special mileage giveaway," Tyri Squyres, vice president of marketing at Frontier, said in a press release.

The contest comes just as federal student loan borrowers gear up to begin making payments on their loans again for the first time in over three years. Interest resumes growing on federal loan balances on Sept. 1 and payments will be due in October.

Many borrowers are expected to struggle to make payments, so the Biden administration has instituted a yearlong "on-ramp" period that will help give borrowers some leeway when payments resume. Late or missed payments will not be marked delinquent or reported to credit bureaus through September 2024. Interest will continue accruing, but without impact to borrowers' credit scores.

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Fisherman Haruo Ono stands on one of his fishing boats at Tsurushihama Fishing Port, Shinchi-machi of Fukushima Prefecture, some 60 kms north of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on August 21, 2023, ahead of a government's plan to begin releasing treated water from the plant into the Pacific Ocean. Philip Fong | Afp | Getty Images

Japan said on Tuesday it will start releasing more than 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24, putting into motion a plan that has drawn strong criticism from China. The plan, approved two years ago by the Japanese government as crucial to decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco , has also faced criticism from local fishing groups, who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood. "I have asked Tepco to swiftly prepare for the water discharge in accordance with the plan approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and expect the water release to start on August 24, weather conditions permitting," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday morning.

Japan has said that the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible". Still, some neighboring countries have expressed skepticism over the safety of the plan, with Beijing emerging as the biggest critic. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in July that Japan had shown selfishness and arrogance, and had not fully consulted the international community about the water release.

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Recalled baby products linked to more than 100 infant deaths are still widely sold on Facebook Marketplace despite thousands of requests from federal regulators to take down the items, four members of Congress said.

In a letter sent Friday to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the lawmakers said the Boppy lounger, which was recalled in 2021, and the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play, an infant sleep product that was recalled in 2019, are among the items still sold on the platform.

Lawmakers wrote that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has sent Facebook parent Meta about 1,000 requests a month since 2022 to remove the recalled Boppy Newborn Lounger, but the product keeps cropping up for sale on the platform.

"To date, the volume of takedown requests has not slowed, and CPSC staff is unaware of any proactive measures Meta has taken to prevent these postings in the future," said the letter, signed by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican; the House Energy and Commerce Committee chair, Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat; the panel's ranking member, Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.; and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.

"Meta's failure to prevent recalled products from being posted for sale on its platform has resulted in your users and their children being placed at risk of purchasing and using a product that CPSC has found to pose a serious risk of injury and potential death," the lawmakers wrote.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said that "like other platforms where people can buy and sell goods, there are instances of people knowingly or unknowingly selling recalled goods on Marketplace."

"We take this issue seriously and when we find listings that violate our rules, we remove them," the spokesperson said.

In June, the CPSC's commissioners sent a letter to Zuckerberg calling on him to do more to prevent the sale of the recalled products. But new postings aren't slowing down, according to the lawmakers.

In the letter, the members of Congress asked for more information about Meta's product safety policies, how it monitors recalls and how many staff members are dedicated to consumer-product safety issues.

Recently, the tech company announced plans to cut about 21,000 jobs, and the layoffs have had an outsized effect on Meta's trust and safety work, CNBC previously reported. Some experts and former employees said the layoffs will make it harder for the social media giant to deal with safety-related issues in a timely manner because the teams will have to do more with less, CNBC reported.

Lawmakers sent similar letters seeking information on safety protocols and compliance to more than a dozen retailers with online marketplaces, including Target, Walmart, Amazon, Shein and eBay. But they did not accuse the companies of selling recalled products.

The lawmakers asked Meta to respond by Aug. 31.
The Moscow region faced its fifth consecutive day of drone strikes, with Russia's Defense Ministry reporting that its forces shot down four Ukrainian drones in the early morning hours; two over the capital; and two over the western Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border.

Kyiv has not publicly taken responsibility for the attacks.

Some Ukrainian and Western media outlets are reporting on images showing a destroyed Russian supersonic bomber, the Tupolev Tu-22, which is believed to have been hit by a Ukrainian drone. Russia said an aircraft was "damaged" by a drone that its forces shot down, while Kyiv has not commented.

Meanwhile, the BRICS summit gets underway in Johannesburg, South Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending it, in light of the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes.
Dikushin | Istock | Getty Images

Here's what else to know.

Many borrowers' bills will be cut in half

The SAVE plan is an income-driven repayment plan that can cut borrowers' monthly payments in half, according to the Education Department. Some of the benefits of the plan won't fully go into effect until next summer, due to the timeline of regulatory changes. Instead of paying 10% of their discretionary income a month toward their undergraduate student debt under the previous Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan, or REPAYE, borrowers will eventually be required to pay just 5% of their discretionary income.

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The reduction in payments on undergraduate loans to 5% from 10% of discretionary income will be available to borrowers in July 2024, when the SAVE plan is fully implemented. At that point, borrowers who have both undergraduate and graduate loans will pay a weighted average between 5% and 10% of their income based upon their original principal balances, the Education Department said. But borrowers who enroll now in the SAVE plan  or before bills restart in the fall  should see certain benefits sooner.

New payment amounts could kick in by fall

Most borrowers who apply for the SAVE plan by mid-August should see their new monthly payment amount reflected in their autumn statement, according to the Education Department. Even before the drop to 5% of income, many people will see lower bills. That's because the SAVE plan also increases the income exempted from the payment calculation to 225% of the poverty line, from 150%.
Sara, 36, and Rich, 37, Combs weren't planning on purchasing 38 acres of empty canyon in the Arizona desert, but that didn't stop them from jumping into the new project headfirst. "It was a huge risk... but we really believed in this place, knew it had a lot of potential and just put everything into it," Sara tells CNBC Make It. In 2015, the couple quit their full-time jobs as web designers to start a hospitality business, The Joshua Tree House. Now, the group's properties include two that are available for guests to book in Joshua Tree, California and Tucson, Arizona. The Combs also have a property in Marfa, Texas that they plan to eventually open up to guests. "We were really craving working with our hands again and looking for a creative retreat from San Francisco, at the time," Rich said.

The Combs bought the 38-acre property for $615,000 and a copy of their book. Lucas Mullikin for CNBC Make It

In 2018, Rich was browsing listings online when he came across what looked like an empty canyon in Tucson, Arizona. The property was an abandoned inn, sitting on 38 acres of land and had been empty for a decade. The property had a main building that was 7,500 square feet and two additional houses. Altogether, the three structures came in at over 10,000 square feet. The owner accepted an offer of $615,000 with a three-month escrow and requested the Combs include a signed copy of their design and lifestyle book "At Home in Joshua Tree" as part of the deal.

The Combs spent over $500,000 renovating the abandoned inn. Lucas Mullikin for CNBC Make It

The couple couldn't get a traditional mortgage: Banks generally would not give out a loan on an existing property that had been gutted and wasn't functional. They eventually found a bank to give them a hard-money loan and got to work on finishing the renovation with a goal of opening the inn within 12 months. It was enough time for them to refinance the original loan into a small business loan. Rich says the couple spent over $500,000 on renovations alone  that money came from maxing out credit cards and borrowing from family and friends. The couple also received free products from various social media partnerships. The Combs didn't specify but did say they ended up getting "hundreds of thousands of dollars of product" and "wouldn't have been able to do this project without that." "We love offering this as a place where people have the time to really think about what they love, what they want to do with their lives, what they truly enjoy, and get a quiet moment to reflect on everything," Sara added.

The Joshua Tree House: Tucson, Arizona inn has seven bedrooms. The prices range from $200-$600 a night. Lucas Mullikin for CNBC Make It

When it came time for the inn's design, the couple wanted to incorporate as much of the surrounding nature as possible and keep the connection between the two spaces like using furniture and art from the local community throughout the space. The Combs opened The Joshua Tree House: The Posada, in September 2019. Rooms range from $200 to $600 a night. Guests can book the entire 7-bedroom inn starting at $2,200 a night. A stay at the property includes access to a hot tub in the style of a hot spring, a grove of olive trees, a canyon pool, a walking trail and a fire pit.

The inn's amenities include a hot tub that's in the style of a hot spring, a grove of olive trees, a canyon pool, a trail and a fire pit. Lucas Mullikin for CNBC Make It
Removing carbon from the atmosphere is a growing field of business in the fight against global warming, but it's not just big air vacuums doing the work. New technology is targeting an even bigger potential resource: the ocean.

The ocean, often likened to the lungs of the planet, is the world's largest natural carbon sink. It generates half of all the oxygen we need and absorbs a quarter of all carbon dioxide we don't. A buffer against the effects of climate change, it has also fallen victim to it, as excess heat and carbon dioxide make it more acidic and less able to do its job.

Now, companies such as Equatic, Captura, Running Tide and a startup called Ebb Carbon are using new technology to restore ocean chemistry and speed up its natural abilities.

"We're restoring the balance in the ocean chemistry and enabling the ocean to absorb CO2 and convert it to a safe stable form," said Ben Tarbell, co-founder and CEO of Ebb Carbon. Tarbell said he anticipates the company will remove upward of a million tons of CO2 per year in the coming five years, simply by improving the ocean's own natural capabilities.

Here's how it works: Ebb sets up its modules near ocean water  this first one by Sequim Bay in Washington state. The seawater flows through the Ebb system, which uses an electrochemical process to remove acid. Free of acid, it is returned to the ocean much better able to absorb CO2 again and store it as bicarbonate naturally.

"We can install our modules anywhere, and, as we scale, we'll be installing systems at existing industrial facilities on the coast that process ocean water," Tarbell added.

That potentially lowers costs substantially. Ebb is selling its carbon removal service to companies such as Stripe, which are looking for offsets to meet their net-zero goals. The potential for such sales makes it attractive to investors such as Prelude Ventures.

"Right now, there are very large voluntary carbon markets, large corporations willing to pay to remove carbon from the atmosphere to offset emissions in other parts of their business. Those markets alone are a multibillion-dollar market opportunity," said Gabriel Kra, managing director at Prelude Ventures.

Right now, Tarbell says his technology costs over $100 per ton of CO2 removed, but as it scales to more locations, he says he expects that cost to drop significantly.

"Because we're coupling our systems with existing infrastructure, like desalination plants and coastal power plants, we can leverage the cost of that existing infrastructure to enable benefits for them while also reducing our costs," Tarbell said.

In addition to Prelude, Ebb Carbon is backed by Evok Innovations, Congruent Ventures and Propeller. The company says it has raised $27.75 million to date.

CNBC producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this piece.
John Eastman, the University of Colorado Boulders visiting scholar of conservative thought and policy, speaks about his plans to sue the university at a news conference outside of CU Boulder on Thursday, April 29, 2021.

John Eastman, the attorney facing criminal charges for his efforts to overturn former President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, surrendered at a jail in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Eastman was booked and released from the Fulton County Jail shortly before noon. Outside the jail, Eastman told NBC News that he "absolutely" still believed the 2020 election was stolen.

"No question in my mind," said Eastman, who added that he was paying his own legal fees in the case.

Eastman is one of 19 co-defendants, including Trump, facing charges in the Georgia criminal case led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Eastman penned an infamous memo outlining the dubious legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to reject key Electoral College votes while he presided over a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

Eastman faces nine counts of crimes including racketeering, conspiracy to commit forgery and filing false documents.
White House Acting Chief of Staff Mark Meadows listens during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 18, 2020.

A federal judge on Wednesday denied a bid by former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows to immediately move the Georgia criminal election interference case out of state court in order to protect him from being arrested.

Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows asked a federal judge Tuesday to immediately move the Georgia criminal election interference case out of state court in order to protect him from being arrested, court filings showed.

As an alternative, the federal court could simply issue an order barring Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from arresting Meadows this week, his attorney proposed in the 19-page filing.

Willis has already rejected Meadows' request for an extension, the filing noted.

Meadows and 18 other co-defendants in Willis' case, including Trump, face a Friday deadline to surrender to jail.

At least two defendants have already done so: Pro-Trump attorney John Eastman and Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall were booked and released earlier Monday.

Former President Donald Trump has said he will surrender on Thursday.

Meadows seeks to move the state-level case to federal court. A federal judge in U.S. District Court in Atlanta scheduled a Monday morning hearing on Meadows' request.

But Meadows' attorney John Moran argued in the latest court filing that his bid to move the case will be harmed if he is arrested before that hearing.

"Absent this Court's intervention, Mr. Meadows will be denied the protection from arrest that federal law affords former federal officials, and this Court's prompt but orderly consideration of removal will be frustrated," Moran wrote.

The attorney wrote that Willis has already "rejected out of hand" a request to defer his arrest deadline until one day until after the federal court hearing.

The filing included an email from Willis, who on Tuesday morning wrote, "I am not granting any extensions. I gave 2 weeks for people to surrender themselves to the court. Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction."

But Moran argued that Meadows "would be irreparably injured if the state criminal proceeding is not stopped."

"He would be subject to arrest, to the State's pre-trial criminal restrictions, and, ultimately, to risks of criminal sanction," the defense attorney wrote.

The request came two days after Meadows asked the federal court to dismiss the charges stemming from Willis' probe of the efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in Georgia's 2020 election.

Meadows is charged in the indictment with one count of racketeering and one count of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer. The latter count is related to Meadows' participation in a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to undo Biden's win in the state.
Vehicles drive in an entrance to the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, Aug. 21, 2023.

The first of the 19 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump surrendered for booking at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman charged with seven criminal counts, was booked and as of 9:20 a.m. ET had yet to be released, according to the jail's website.

All the co-defendants in the case must surrender at the jail by Friday. Trump, who faces 13 criminal counts, said on social media late Monday that he would surrender Thursday.

Trump's announcement came hours after a judge in Fulton County set his bond at $200,000 and barred him from numerous forms of potential witness intimidation.

Hall's bond was set at $10,000.

The 41-count indictment was brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who alleges that Trump and his co-defendants illegally conspired to overturn President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election by interfering in Georgia's results.

Hall is charged with violating Georgia's racketeering law, conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to commit a felony and conspiracy to defraud the state.

Willis' indictment accuses Hall of attempting to illegally break into election machines in Coffee County, Georgia, on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after the attack on the Capitol in Washington.

Hall and several other co-defendants, including pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, willfully tampered with electronic ballot markers and Dominion tabulating machines with the intention of taking data, the indictment alleges. Their efforts put official ballots into the hands of unauthorized people outside the county, according to the indictment.

Follow our live coverage of Donald Trump's arrest in the Georgia election case.
UBS has identified stocks at risk of dragging one of Europe's largest equities indexes lower by 10% by the end of this year. The investment bank said its 410 price target for the Stoxx Europe 600 index is based on forecasts for lower earnings and valuations. "Our index target for 2023 was set in our Outlook in January and we see no reason to change it," UBS equity strategists, led by Gerry Fowler, wrote in a note to clients on Aug. 18. "The thesis is that in the coming months, earnings may weaken from here and that more correlation and volatility may expand risk premiums for more cyclical stocks." The Swiss bank predicted that the consensus earnings estimate for 2024 will fall to around 33 index points, down from current expectations of 38 points, as growth proves more resilient than anticipated, but is forecast to start to decline. In addition, it said the consensus estimate of 11.9x for the forward price-to-earnings ratio is "too high"  another reason for stocks to fall. For the overall index to drop 10%, some of the largest companies will need to fall, according to the investment bank. UBS screened for stocks with high volatility, negative earnings revisions already underway, and valuation multiples not yet in the single digits. The above table includes top performers in 2023 so far that may be both overcrowded and expensive, like luxury and semiconductor stocks, according to UBS. Stocks include ASML Holding , LVMH , Siemens , Airbus , and Richemont . The bank's strategists warned that some companies, in its complete list of 20 stocks, are already down 15% but could decline further on additional downgrades or de-rating if conditions deteriorate. UBS also screened for more defensive, less volatile stocks that score well on its framework. The table below highlights stocks in health care, consumer staples and utilities that may be more resilient. They include AstraZeneca , Novartis , Unilever , Iberdrola , and Relx .  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis Pakistan-origin rakhi sister Qamar Mohsin Sheikh will be visiting Delhi to celebrate Raksha Bandhan this year by tying him a rakhi. She has prepared a handmade rakhi for PM Modi, according to news agency ANI.

I wish him a happy Raksha Bandhan. I pray for him every day for his good health and long life. I believe that all my wishes will come true. Earlier when I prayed for him to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat he became the CM, Mohsin Sheikh told ANI.

Whenever I tie the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the Prime Minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. He is doing commendable work for the country," PM Modis rakhi sister added.

Qamar Mohsin Sheikh belongs to Pakistan and she moved to India after her marriage. She has been tying PM Modi rakhi for over the last three decades. Every year, she prepares a handmade rakhi and ties it to her brother to celebrate the day. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic period, she could not tie PM Modi rakhi in person; so, she sent it to him by post.

Raksha Bandhan is a festival that is observed every year to honour the special bond of a brother and sister as siblings. As per the traditional way of celebration, sisters tie a rakhi on their brothers' wrists which symbolises a strong bonding between a sister and a brother. In return for this, the brothers pledge to take care of and support the sisters.

According to the Hindu calendar, Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the month of Shravan or Sawan, which corresponds to the month of August on the Gregorian calendar. This year, Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on August 30.

On Raksha Bandhan, sisters offer prayers for their brothers well-being. Along with that, she ties a rakhi around his wrist, puts tilak on his forehead, and offers sweets to him. Brothers in return offer their love by presenting the sisters with gifts or money.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Actress Iza Calzado revealed on social media that she was infected with a parasitic disease called toxoplasmosis while she was pregnant with daughter Deia Amihan.

Calzado penned an open letter to her daughter in an Instagram post.

"Dear Deia, around this time last year, I went on a trip with you in my tummy to a town called Diesse in Switzerland. It was a short healing trip I planned for my 40th birthday. Little did I know that it was God's way of making sure I would connect with nature, my power and with you because I needed that strength to face what was about to unfold," she wrote on Sunday.

The actress shared that she was informed on the evening of Aug. 16 that the recent infection could be a potential risk for her daughter especially if passed through the placenta.

"As darkness set in, so did the reality of the possible repercussions of congenital toxoplasmosis. I was told there could be brain damage, visual impairment or it could even lead to pregnancy loss," she added.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. It added that people often get toxoplasmosis from eating undercooked and contaminated meat.

After learning about her condition, Calzado said she felt the primal urge to fight  not just for herself, but for her daughter.

"This was the first time I felt deeply connected to you. I knew that we would fight this together. I knew that God was on our side and he would make sure everything turns out well," she said.

Calzado then flew to the United Kingdom for advance testing or treatments of the disease that are not available in the Philippines. Despite the possible risks, the actress said she was glad to deliver her child safely and uninfected.

"I am so glad I held on to this faithfully in my mind as we went through our toxo journey Thank God that we concluded that you were safe. The placenta did its job to keep the toxo out," she said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said residents in 10 barangays transferred from Makati City to Taguig City need not worry about their voting records as the agency is already working on their transfer.

We are now directing the transfer of all voting registration record ng lahat ng botante ng 10 barangays ng dating Makati sa ngayon ay sa Taguig and there will be no more registration of voters. Transfer lang po ang gagawin natin, Comelec Chairman George Garcia told CNN Philippines The Source.

[Translation: We are now directing the transfer of all voting registration record of voters in the 10 barangays previously under Makati and now under Taguig and there will be no more registration of voters. We will only do transfer.]

Comelec recently released its guidelines for the administrative transfer of the 10 barangays affected by the territorial row between the two cities for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

Garcia emphasized that affected residents will not have to process anything as their transfer is already automatic. He also reminded those who will be filing their certificates of candidacies for the upcoming village level polls that they have to do so at the Taguig Convention Center.

On the use of classrooms, which Makati City says it owns, the Comelec chairman said they already wrote to the Department of Education (DepEd) to ask for permission to use the facilities.

This is in line with the order issued by DepEd last week that says it assumes authority over the 14 schools located in the 10 barangays. This also meant that all activities to be conducted by the covered schools will need the approval of the departments Office of the Secretary.

Garcia said reprinting of ballots for the 10 barangays is also ongoing to reflect their transfer from Makati to Taguig.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said it will soon release guidelines that will strengthen its fight against any form of vote buying.

In the next few days, the Comelec will be announcing certain revolutionary guidelines when it comes to campaign against vote buying. We will be making some presumptions which had not been done before by the Commission on Elections, Comelec Chairman George Garcia told CNN Philippines The Source.

He noted the guidelines will include any questionable money transfers made online by a candidate during a campaign and election period.

These people will just say, we are just sending to our relatives or what. But you are sending within the same barangay and you are sending 2,000 each, and you have not sent before. And then therefore, you should be presumed as involved in vote buying especially if the sending happens during the campaign period, Garcia explained.

He said they will not focus on the amount, but on the pattern and the other circumstances on the transfer of funds to other individuals.

The Comelec will ask the Anti-Money Laundering Council if it can direct e-wallet companies to submit to the commission transactions during the 10 days of the campaign period and election day since this is when vote buying is usually done.

In the case of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, the campaign period will be from Oct. 19-28 and election day will be on Oct. 30.

Since the 1985 law does not cover this modern way of sending money, then the Comelec under the constitution can always promulgate guidelines or rules to cover what is lacking in our law, Garcia noted.

He said the Comelec will still discuss this proposal on Wednesday.

If this will be implemented, Garcia said they will be filing cases against those possibly involved in this illegal act and let them prove in court whether they are guilty or not.

Meanwhile, Garcia said the Comelec is almost 100% ready for the conduct of village-level polls.

Reprinting of almost two million ballots is ongoing, while the training of electoral board members will be done in September, he said.

The Comelec will also meet with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coast Guard to know the general situation of peace and order across the country and which are the areas of concern.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it eyes purchasing new vote-counting machines for the 2025 midterm polls despite a cut in its proposed budget from 43 billion to 27.2 billion for 2024, when the bulk of election preparations will be done.

Sufficient na po muna yun makapagsimula lang po kami, makapag-procure lang kami ng mga bagong (For now that is sufficient so we can start procuring new) machines because we already set aside the 98,0000 machines that we have so we have to start the procurement process, Comelec Chairman George Garcia told CNN Philippines The Source on Tuesday.

Garcia noted the Comelecs proposed budget includes allocation for the construction of the commissions building and its regular agency budget.

What was not taken into account in the Comelecs proposal was the conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls in 2025 since the Supreme Court ruling was only released after the commission submitted its budget program to the Department of Budget and Management, he explained.

Garcia said the Comelec needs a total of 128,000 vote counting machines for a projected 71 million voters by 2025.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Former broadcaster Jay Sonza has been released from detention after posting bail for various charges filed against him, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

BJMP spokesperson Jayrex Bustinera told the media that Sonza was released from his detention facility in Quezon City Jail at 8:57 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to Bustinera, the TV personality posted bail for 11 counts of estafa pending before QC Regional Trial Court Branch 100. The BJMP received the release order at 6 p.m.

The BJMP official said 67-year-old Sonza also posted bail for his libel case pending before QC RTC 77.

Meanwhile, his two other cases on syndicated and large-scale illegal recruitment and another illegal recruitment case were already dismissed.

Upon verification, Bustinera said the BJMP found no other pending cases against Sonza.

Sonza, a radio and television broadcaster since the 1980s, was on his way to Hong Kong last August 18 when immigration officials detained him due to pending criminal charges.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  A lawmaker on Tuesday slammed the Department of Agriculture (DA) for selling rice buffer stocks in Kadiwa stores, stressing that it should only be distributed to victims of calamities.

"Kung gusto natin tumulong, derestyo na natin ibigay." Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said before the House Committee of Appropriations. "Instead na ipamigay 'yun, kumita pa ang NFA (National Food Authority)."

[Translation: If we want to help, we have to directly give it to those in need. Instead of distributing it, the NFA made money from it.]

NFA administrator Roderico Bioco, however, said the selling of rice buffer stocks was prompted on "special occasions, as requested by the Department of Agriculture, especially when the president would like to give it to the poor."

"The selling of rice from the buffer stocks in Kadiwa stores is an instruction from the DA, but the basis for that [is] poverty is a form of calamity," Bioco said.

"Ang nakukuha ko po doon ay ang paghihirap ng mamayanan, ano ba siya? Man made calamity caused by this administration?" Manuel said.

[Translation: What I am getting from your explanation is that the hardship of our people is caused by this administration.]

The Rice Tariffication Law states that "the NFA's buffer stocks is primarily for emergency distribution in support of disaster relief programs."

"If, however, there are no calamities, the NFA can regularly replenish the inventory and sell to avoid spoilage," the law further read.

According to Bioco, less than 5,000 sacks of rice buffer stocks were released in Kadiwa stores from 2022 to early 2023.

"Parang self-serving eh na kukuha doon at ibebenta ng mas mura. It creates the illusion na naging mas mura yung bigas sa ating bansa," Manuel said.

"Ibig sabihin, ilegal 'yan [pagbebenta ng rice buffer stocks] at dapat matigil 'yan dahil ayaw natin ng band-aid solution when it comes to lowering the price of rice," Manuel said.

[Translation: it is self-serving given that it comes from the buffer stocks and is sold at a cheaper price than in regular markets. It creates the illusion that the price of rice in the country has gone down. This means, the selling of rice buffer stocks should be illegal and it should be halted because we do not want a band-aid solution when it comes to lowering the price of rice.]

President Marcos earlier said the prices of rice will stabilize as the palay harvest is expected to peak from late September to October.

READ: Marcos assures public of 'stable' rice supply, price stability as palay harvest starts

The Agriculture Department earlier said rice is sold for 50 to 62 per kilogram in Metro Manila markets.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supports the creation of an e-marketplace where government entities may directly procure products, similar to online shopping platforms, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Tuesday.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told reporters that this was one of the initiatives which the DBM discussed with the president as they tackled proposed changes to the two-decade-old Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).

Gusto po niya talaga ma-develop and ma-institutionalize yung parang marketplace po natin, yung e-government platform natin, she said in a Palace briefing, referring to the president.

[Translation: The president really wants to develop and institutionalize this marketplace, this e-government platform.]

Procurement Service - DBM Executive Director Dennis Santiago explained that the idea is to help get rid of the long process of bidding for certain products, as entities can buy straight from the virtual market.

We will have a mechanism to qualify kung ano po yung tamang produkto at sino po yung mga tamang suppliers [to qualify which are the right products and suppliers], Santiago said.

Kailangan (sa) platform na to, maaayos na produkto ang mabibili, may kalidad, available, angkop po sa pangangailangan ng gobyerno, he added.

[Translation: On this platform, the products featured should be of good quality, available, and fitting to the needs of the government.]

During his second State of the Nation Address last month, Marcos said he wanted a new law that would make government procurement more attuned to these changing times.

Pangandaman said that during their meeting on Tuesday, Marcos generally expressed approval of the DBMs proposed amendments to the GPRA.

Our president agreed on our amendments except for, may mga ilang items lang po [a few items], she said without elaborating.

The budget secretary added that they were directed to present to both houses of Congress a consolidated version of the recommended changes  something she estimates will take around two weeks to complete.

Meanwhile, Santiago noted that the president has also agreed to simplify the process of checking the eligibility of bidders. He said they propose doing away with a number of documentary requirements and to require bidders to submit just one document.

This time around, the president agreed with a single document. This is the PhilGEPS  the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System  certificate of registration and membership, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants concerned government agencies to expedite the issuance of a joint memorandum circular (JMC) that will allow the release of funding needed for fuel subsidy, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said on Tuesday.

Pangandaman was asked in a Palace briefing if Marcos had given instructions to fast-track the release of the circular, as oil price hikes entered its seventh consecutive week.

Yes po, she said. In fact, when (Transportation) Secretary (Jaime) Bautista called me last week, sinabihan na po namin siya that kailangan matapos na po nila yung JMC nila [we told him that they already have to finish the JMC].

The Department of Budget and Management earlier explained that it can only release the 3-billion subsidy for public utility vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers once there is already a circular stipulating the guidelines, which it will jointly sign with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Energy.

Syempre po si presidente, gusto po niya pag nasa budget po, kailangan magamit kaagad [Of course, the president wants the immediate utilization of appropriated funds], the Budget chief told reporters.

According to the DOTr, over 1.6 million PUV operators and drivers are set to receive fuel subsidies from the government to cushion the impact of oil price increases.

Drivers of modern jeepneys and UV Express vans will receive 10,000, while drivers of other modes of transport will get 6,500. Tricycle and delivery riders, on the other hand, will be given 1,000 and 1,200, respectively.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is reviving plans to construct elevated walkways and bikeways on some portions of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).

In a briefing on Tuesday, MMDA chief Don Artes said the plan was already presented during a budget call with the Department of Budget and Management.

He noted that the potential project received the backing of Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who suggested launching a pilot run next year.

"Ako ang nag-beg off dahil gusto ko muna sana matapos 'yung study dahil baka bibigyan kami ng pondo, tapos hindi pala namin kayang i-implement," he said.

[Translation: I was the one who begged off since I wanted to finish the study first because we might be given funding, but then we won't be able to implement it.]

The project is being targeted to cover Guadalupe to Cubao, Artes said.

"Isa sa malaking balakid ay 'yung utilities sa ilalim ng sidewalk dahil jan ilalagay ang poste," he added.

[Translation: One of the major obstacles is the utilities under sidewalks because that's where the poles will be placed.]

The plan has long been floated amid worsening traffic along EDSA. In 2019, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri stressed the need to establish elevated walkways and bike lanes to ease the crowding along the major thoroughfare.

Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan again resurfaced but was not given priority as the government was more focused on its battle against the disease.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Tuesday it lacks sufficient manpower to monitor the traffic management and violations of all local government units in the region.

Talagang kulang po yung tao namin para magbantay sa aming jurisdiction. Nakaapekto po yung suspension ng NCAP (No Contact Apprehension Policy), MMDA Acting Chairman Romando Artes said in a briefing on Tuesday.

[Translation: We really don't have enough people to watch over our jurisdiction. The suspension of NCAP doesnt help.]

If NCAP was still being implemented, he said MMDAs 2,500 field personnel would suffice.

Without NCAP, MMDA needs 7,000 enforcers.

Talagang kailangan namin to cover 17 LGUs, he said.

[Translation: We really need that to cover 17 LGUs.]

In August last year, the Supreme Court halted the implementation of NCAP following issues on allegedly hefty fines, personal information security, and the lack of due process.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Two of the police personnel involved in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar in Navotas were ordered detained in the Senate on Tuesday following a contempt citation during a committee hearing.

PSSg. Gerry Maliban, who supposedly fired the first shot at Baltazar, and the team leader of the operation, PCapt. Mark Carpio, were held in contempt for their answers during the hearing which the senators found to be evasive.

Baltazar was killed during the police operation on Aug. 2 in Brgy. NBBS Kaunlaran in what the police said was a case of mistaken identity.

Carpio initially claimed before the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs that Baltazar had similarities with their target suspect identified as Reynaldo Bolivar.

But he later said they only saw Baltazar's companion, Sonny Boy, adding that the warning shots were meant for the latter.

"Wala po kaming nakitang tumalon sa bangka.... Ang nakita lang namin na nag-iisang tao dun ay si Sonny Boy," the police officer said.

[Translation: We did not see anyone jumping from the boat...We only saw one person that time, which was Sonny Boy.]

Meanwhile, Maliban refused to answer the senators' question. When further pressed, he responded: "Nasa piskal na po yung kaso." (The case is already with the fiscal).

This irked Public Order and Dangerous Drugs panel chair Ronald Dela Rosa: "So, what?! [] Nobody can stop our investigation!"

Senator Risa Hontiveros made the motion to cite Carpio and Maliban for allegedly lying and evading the senators' queries.

"Now po na nagre-refuse sumagot ng tanong ng komiteng ito ng Senado si Police Staff Sgt. Maliban at nagbibgay ng pabago-bago, nakakalito, at halatang di pa makatotohanang sagot si Police Cpt. Carpio, I move to hold the two gentlemen in contempt," she said.

[Translation: Now that Police Staff Sgt. Maliban is refusing to answer the questions of this Senate committee and Police Cpt. Carpio has been giving us changing, confusing, obviously untruthful answers, I move to hold the two gentlemen in contempt.]

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa ordered the Senate Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms to take care of the two police officers after the hearing.

Navotas City police chief PCol. Allan Umipig was earlier relieved from his post and will face an administrative complaint in relation to Baltazar's death.

Meanwhile, 14 other police officers were sacked from their posts. They are facing criminal and administrative complaints for failing to help the wounded during the police operation and for grave misconduct.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be implementing a money ban five days before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) scheduled on Oct. 30, a Comelec official said Tuesday.

During the BSKE Security Command Conference on Tuesday, Comelec chairperson George Garcia said persons caught carrying cash that is 500,000 and above and those who made transactions via electronic wallets to 20 people will be presumed engaging in vote buying.

Noong 2015 ginawa na ng Comelec yan pero yun ay pag-withdraw ng 500,000. Binago na po natin ang strategy, di natin pipigilan ang withdraw ang ipu-punish ay yung pagdadala ng 500,000 lalo na pag pumasok ang period ng kampanya, Garcia said.

[Translation: In 2015, the Comelec did that but it was for a withdrawal of 500,000. We have changed the strategy, we will not stop withdrawing, what will be punished is bringing 500,000 especially when the campaign period starts.]

The chairman said exempted from the money ban are messengers, cashiers, and other employees whose job involves transporting money for their companies.

Yan po ang panahon ng pagbili ng boto. Hindi naman absolute yung prohibition na yan. May exemption naman tulad ng cashier na kailangan magpa-sweldo. Kailangan lang employees ID, he added.

[Translation: That's the time to buy votes. But the prohibition is not absolute, there is an exemption like a cashier who needs to be paid. The only requirement is employee's ID.]

The Philippine National Police (PNP), meanwhile, assured that they will exert the utmost courtesy when conducting their inspections at checkpoints.

Tutulong ang PNP diyan sa pamamagitan ng nilatag nating checkpoints titingnan ang mga sasakyan na may checkpoints, plain view doctrine ang ipapatupad sa pamamagitan ng pagtingin sa mga sasakyan, pero bawal ang pagsaliksik at paghalughog, PNP Public Information Chief chief BGen Red Maranan said.

[Translation: The PNP will help with that through the checkpoints we have laid out. Vehicles with checkpoints will be checked, plain view doctrine will be enforced by looking into vehicles, but searching and searching are prohibited.]

COMELEC led a command conference among law enforcement agencies such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, PNP, and the Philippine Coast Guard to wrap up preparations for October polls.
Today is Aug. 22, 2023, and here's what you need to know:

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for a multi-year, multibillion-dollar property tax relief measure to appear on the November ballot, declining to address the argument from a group of largely Republican challengers that Proposition HH violates the state constitution's single-subject requirement.

The lawsuit rocketed through the legal system, with only three months between its filing and the decision from the state's highest court, due to the looming Sept. 11 deadline for the secretary of state to sign off on the contents of the 2023 ballot. The outcome favors Democrats' legislative solution to soaring property valuations, which went up by 40% on average in some areas of the state.

Justice Richard L. Gabriel, in the Aug. 21 opinion, noted the Supreme Court's own precedent barred it from reviewing the challenged provisions of a referred measure that voters have yet to approve or reject.

"Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not have, and we do not have, subject matter jurisdiction to review (Proposition HH) for compliance with our constitutions single subject requirement unless and until those measures have been approved by Colorado voters," he wrote.

However, Gabriel cautioned that if voters were to enact Proposition HH in November, courts could then review the law for its constitutionality and void any non-compliant features.

Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed an executive order that he says will speed up the process for getting more affordable housing into the market.

Key to the effort is ordering the Division of Housing to reduce its timeline for awarding housing grants and loans from its current 240-day turnaround to 90 days.

By Jan. 1, 2024, the division should have its timeline for drafting and executing grants and loans down to 120 days, and then down to 90 days by July 1, 2024.

In addition, the division can use existing state and federal funds to provide "deeper subsidies to maximize unit production, including development in high-need, difficult to develop areas" tied to Proposition 123 funding.

That ballot measure, approved by voters last November, could direct up to $300 million to affordable housing development grants and loans, using 1% of state income tax revenue.

The Polis administration did not provide an estimate on how much this new effort would cost.

Polis told reporters at a Monday news conference the state will prioritize existing resources to get those grants out the door faster.

A Democrat-backed proposal will provide billions of dollars in property tax relief over a decade in a way that helps schools, according to a new analysis.

The analysis from the Bell Policy Center said all Colorado property owners will receive property tax relief under Proposition HH, but it would be particularly helpful to low- and middle-income households.

"Low- and middle-income households will benefit the most," the analysis said.

Under Proposition HH, property tax bills would be lowered first by reducing the rate at which a homes assessed values are taxed and it would also decrease the amount of taxable property value through value reductions, "a progressive mechanism that benefits lower-value homes more than higher-value homes," the analysis said.

The analysis noted each household's property tax bill will still increase, but those increases would be smaller if voters approved Proposition HH.

Democratic congressional candidate Anna Stout has been endorsed by two state lawmakers who represent parts of the Western Slope, her campaign said Friday.

Stout, the mayor of Grand Junction, is one of five Democrats running in a primary for the chance to challenge U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Silt Republican seeking a third term representing the 3rd Congressional District in 2024.

State Sen. Dylan Roberts and state Rep. Meghan Lukens, both Eagle Democrats, threw their support behind Stout in statements released on Friday by her campaign.

Referring to Stout, Lukens said: "It is clear that she keeps her constituents top of mind as mayor of Grand Junction, and will absolutely put her constituents first as congresswoman for Congressional District 3.

"Whether it is standing up for Colorado's water and agriculture interests, focusing on constituent services to help improve people's lives or defending our personal freedoms, Anna will be a reasonable and effective voice for Colorado in Congress," Roberts said, adding that he believes Stout has "the experience, integrity, and passion needed to get the job done" for the district's residents.

It's almost time for the first debate among Republicans competing for their party's 2024 presidential nomination.

Here's all of the information on how to watch.
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Gov. Jay Inslee has signed gun violence prevention bills that limit magazine capacity, ban assault weapons, and prohibit ghost guns. With enforcement difficult under a patchwork of statutes around the country, Washington state also needs federal action to regulate unserialized and untraceable firearms in circulation.
ZANU PF national secretary for security Lovemore Matuke has said the ruling party will not allow the Citizens Coalitions for Change (CCC) to rule Zimbabwe.

Matuke made the remarks yesterday at the Makoni Central rally in Rusape, Manicaland, in support of the constituencys candidate Shepherd Nyika.

Almost 20 000 Zanu PF supporters attended the rally at Vengere Stadium.

We will not allow Citizens Coalitions for Change (CCC) to rule this country. We have allowed them to abuse funds in councils, but we will not allow them to abuse money for this country. That will never happen, he said.

Today (yesterday) I went around the and there was sewage all over the town, so vote for our Zanu PF councillors, not Citizens Coalition for Change.

He said Nyika was doing wonders in the constituency, adding that supporters should not forget that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the partys lead candidate.

Addressing the same gathering, Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Nokhuthula Matsikenyere said Mnangagwa had undertaken a lot of projects in Manicaland province.

We should vote for the party in the elections because our President Emmerson Mnangagwa has done a lot of projects in Manicaland province. There is Marowanyathi Dam in Makoni district among other projects, she said.

I am happy with the turnout at todays (yesterday) rally which shows that we are going to win resoundingly.

Nyika will fight it out with incumbent David Tekeshe of MDC and the CCC candidate Patrick Sagandira. Newsday
When I tell people a Chromebook could conceivably replace their Windows laptop, there's often an asterisk attached  particularly when it comes to productivity-obsessed computer owners.

And that asterisk almost always comes down to Windows software.

It's the subject of the second question in my heavily referenced "Is ChromeOS right for you?" guide, in fact, and for good reason: The biggest thing one has to think about when moving to a Chromebook is what type of work you dive into on a daily basis and whether the tools you need would exist in the ChromeOS universe.

Honestly, the typical answer might surprise you. For the vast majority of people these days, ChromeOS's web-centric approach is more than enough to get the job done. Most of us mere mortals spend most of our time in browser-based apps  or easily could  and especially when you add in the platform's availability of more advanced progressive web apps along with Android apps and even Linux apps, there's very little most people would need to do that they couldn't accomplish on a Chromebook at this point.

The main exception tends to revolve around the business world and the lingering reality of Windows-specific company software. But  oh, yes  that exception is about to be extinguished.

[Get fresh Googley insight in your inbox with my Android Intelligence newsletter. Three things to know and try every Friday!]

Allow me to explain.

Google's ChromeOS asterisks

For businesses in particular, Chromebooks can offer some significant advantages in cost, simplicity, and security compared to more traditional operating system setups. But when a company has a specific app that's available only on Windows, whether it's a custom creation or a niche industry tool, shifting to a platform that doesn't support that software clearly isn't an option.

Google's heard plenty about this over the years. And so this week, it's taking a significant step to address it.

The answer is almost shockingly sensible, if simultaneously surreal: Google is making Windows apps natively available in ChromeOS, as a paid add-on for companies that require such flexibility. So, yes, if your business opts in for access, you'll be able to run any Windows-based app right on your Chromebook, as if it were locally installed on that system. And it'll look and act essentially no different than any web, Android, or Linux program you encounter in your day-to-day ChromeOS adventures.

Cameyo

The feat comes by way of an expanded partnership with a company called Cameyo (which is pronounced cuh-MAY-oh, by the way  not CAM-ee-oh). If that sounds familiar, it should: Cameyo's been working with Google for a while to offer this service as an external add-on companies can purchase and then use within ChromeOS for this same basic purpose. I wrote about it earlier this year, in fact, and described how seamless and sensible of an experience it creates:

A Windows app actually appears on a Chromebook as a progressive web app. But as far as the end user is concerned, none of the technical specifics should matter; they just click an icon in their app drawer, the same way they'd open any other app, and the app runs  as if it were right there on the device.

(For full transparency, Cameyo has previously sponsored my Android Intelligence newsletter.)

What's changing now is that that same core setup is coming directly into ChromeOS as an officially integrated part of Google's own operating system. It's a new feature called ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery, which relies on Cameyo's technology to offer businesses the ability to use Windows apps  "legacy apps," as Google likes to call 'em  right within the ChromeOS environment.

And the way they work really is something to see  largely because it isn't actually anything to see at all.

The ChromeOS Windows app experience

This new setup technically starts on the admin side: Any organization that's signed up for the service first has to create a progressive web app holder to make a Windows app available to all of its users before anyone can see it. Once that happens, though, users simply see the app show up in their Chromebook's shelf, or task bar, and can then click to run it as if it were installed locally on the device.

Cameyo

The app looks and works like any other regular ol' ChromeOS-friendly application. It integrates into the ChromeOS file system, can open supported file types by default, and even plays nicely with the Chromebook's clipboard system. From the outside, you'd really never so much as think about the fact that it's technically a Windows program or realize anything about it is any different from anything else you've got goin' on your system. And, my fellow Chromebook contemplator, that's very much the point.

The service does come at a cost  $132 per user per year in a self-hosted setup or $264 per user per year in a fully hosted arrangement (before any bulk discounts)  and for now, at least, it's a completely separate license companies will have to purchase and add into their setups.

But remember: This isn't an individual end-user-aimed service. It's not something that'll be made available for average consumer-level Chromebook owners. It's created exclusively with companies in mind  and when you consider how much businesses currently spend on Windows licensing and support, the cost of this setup suddenly doesn't seem so astronomical.

And that ultimately gets at Google's core goal with this: It's continuing to methodically chip away at those asterisks we were talking about  the reasons why a company wouldn't ditch Windows and move to ChromeOS.

It's been doing that bit by bit for a long time now, to be clear, as it's slowly shifted ChromeOS from being the "nothing" operating system to being the "everything" OS. Having a single platform where you can run web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps together and generally not even think about the differences between 'em is pretty wild, to say the least. And adding Windows apps into that mix on a more native level ups the ante even further, especially for businesses where that one variable so frequently remains the lone reason for resistance to change.

More than anything, it turns "Windows apps" into "ChromeOS apps"  just another type of program you run on a Chromebook without giving an ounce of thought to where it came from or how it works. That is an insanely significant twist, both philosophically and for the practical experience of using ChromeOS.

And from Google's perspective, it only further solidifies ChromeOS as the "everything OS" and as a viable option for all kinds of computing  without any real asterisks remaining.

Get one-of-a-kind Googley insights with my free weekly newsletter  three new things to know and try in your inbox every Friday!
Pakistan: Six children among eight stuck midair after chairlift cable snaps in Battagram, rescue operation ongoing

A rescue effort is currently underway in Pakistan's Battagram district where eight people, including six school children, are currently trapped in a chairlift dangling 900 feet over a mountainous region.

Students trapped midair after cable of chairlift snaps. Photo Courtesy: Twitter video grab

An Army helicopter has reached the spot to carry out the rescue operation.

"A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cable in Battagram. Eight persons including 6 children stranded," the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement as quoted by Geo News.

"After coordination Pak Army helicopter has been despatched for rescue operation," it added.

Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old who is currently present on the chairlift, told Geo News that he and other passengers have been stuck for more than six hours.

He shared that a 16-year-old passenger, who suffers from a heart condition, has been unconscious for the last three hours.

Gulfraz said the teenager was going to the hospital through the chairlift.

We don't even have drinking water in the chairlift, he complained.

The first wire of the vehicle snapped at 7 am and the other followed it soon.

The first cable broke down after the chairlift travelled a mile, the 20-year-old said, adding that the passengers have been waiting for help since early morning.

The ages of the stranded people are between 10 to 16 years old.

Sonia Shamrose, the district police officer, told Geo News that all efforts were being made to rescue the people trapped in the chairlift.

Zafar Iqbal, a school teacher, said that the students were coming to the school by the chairlift.

The chairlift is used to go from one place to another. In this area, 150 children come to school by chairlift, he told the news channel, confirming that two wires of the cable car broke down mid-air.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar reacted to the incident and described it as 'alarming'.

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming. I have directed the NDMA, PDMA and district authorities to urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the 8 people stuck in the chairlift. I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use," he tweeted.
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Believe it or not, John Belushi was not a slam dunk to be hired as one of Saturday Night Lives original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. While Belushi had many fans in the New York and improv comedy scenes  chief among them Gilda Radner, who lobbied for his casting  Lorne Michaels himself was on the fence. He was worried that the Aykroyd/Belushi combination would be trouble (he wasnt wrong), plus Belushi had a real animosity toward the medium of television in general. Belushi owned an old black-and-white set, he told Michaels, and it was covered in spit from disdain.

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But secretly, Belushi wanted in, according to Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live. His resume was as good as anyone elses in the developing cast, with stints at Second City and the National Lampoons radio show, both of which would be well represented on the new late-night program. He was also creative director of the Lampoons Off-Broadway revue. As for on-screen work? He didnt have much to show, but he did act in two local television commercials that he reportedly used as his demo reel.

Both spots were created by Jim Weller, a Milwaukee ad man who would go on to national prominence a decade later. The ads show off the charismatic on-screen presence that would eventually make Belushi a star on SNL and in movies like National Lampoons Animal House. In the first spot, Belushi plays straight man, the nebbishy Marine Bank representative who convinces a snarling Jessie James that what he really needs is an Americard with his picture on the back. By all rights, James should have stolen this commercial right out from under Belushi (imagine if Belushi had been cast as the outlaw!), but the comic actors wonky enthusiasm wins out.

The second spot for Milwaukees Pfister Hotel might as well have been an audition for SNL. It features Belushi (in surprisingly effective makeup for a local 1970s commercial) as Brandos Godfather, holding court over his daughters wedding. Its a character Belushi would reprise on Saturday Night Lives ninth episode, attending a group therapy session as an organized crime boss working through his feelings about the Tattaglia family.

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Brando was like Belushis Conheads, a recurring character that killed every time he brought him back.

The same impression Belushi did in the hotel commercial was featured in his SNL audition tape, with Belushi breaking out not just a Godfather version but an On the Waterfront variation as well.

As the Beatles once joked, Belushi passed the audition. That was no surprise to local viewers in Milwaukee, whod seen the young comics comedic and impersonation skills during commercial breaks on their local evening news. The talent on display was an offer that even a skeptical Lorne Michaels could not refuse.
A local public school for students who are deaf relies on audio alerts over the schools PA system to notify children of emergencies, according to a lawsuit filed by teachers and parents in Manhattan federal court.

The announcements at P.S. 347 The American Sign Language and English Lower School in Kips Bay  activated during fires and active shooter lockdowns  put students and staff who are deaf or hard of hearing at risk by failing to provide an effective system, plaintiffs allege.

Despite years of requests for an appropriate emergency notification system by Plaintiff Parents, one has not been installed, read the June 21 complaint.

Plaintiff Parents are extremely worried about their childrens safety and their ability to react and reach safety in certain situations such as fires, intruders, weather and other emergencies.

The reliance on a loudspeaker has already sparked fears and confusion during fire and intruder drills.

A local public school for students who are deaf relies on audio alerts over the schools PA system to notify children of emergencies, according to a press release Tuesday about a lawsuit filed by teachers and parents in Manhattan federal court.

Veteran special education teacher Rita Fattorusso, who is deaf, has worked at P.S. 347 for more than a decade. During her tenure, Fattorusso has been alone with her 4-year-old students several times when emergency announcements were made that she could not hear, according to court documents.

In one incident, a colleague had to travel to her classroom to tell her the school was doing a lockdown drill. Another time, Fattorusso was in the bathroom when a lockdown was announced  and only learned of the emergency directive when she got to the hallway, she alleged.

She received the citys top education award for her dual-language class in American Sign Language and English and school-wide pantry in 2019.

Nine teachers and other school staffers, as well as their union the United Federation of Teachers, shared similar experiences in the lawsuit, alongside four students at the school and their parents.

They point to new technology that would allow the school to implement color-coded visual alarms, such as red for fire or blue for intruders, or flash written warnings on smart boards.

A court date for an initial conference was set for Sept. 20 before Judge Katherine Polk Failla, according to online filings.

The city law department, Department of Education, and School Construction Authority did not immediately return a request for comment.
Globally, there are more cyberthreats than ever and a surge in attacks on operational technology (OT), including the proliferation of new ransomware variations and the ascent of Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS). These developments have caused many firms to place a higher premium on narrowing the cybersecurity skills gap within their own IT teams.

Leaders are looking not only at technology but at the human side of the equation, seeking to understand what skills they need and where to find them. However, the cybersecurity skills shortage has contributed to critical IT positions not being filled, which increases organizations' cyber risks, including breaches. Employers are struggling to fill open positions due to a shortfall of applicants with the needed qualifications.

Yet employers continue to overlook one of the most valuable assets they have when it comes to fighting the cybersecurity battle - their existing employees. In many cases, they need to be more internally focused and consider how they can better equip existing employees and implement more reskilling and upskilling opportunities.

Improving security posture requires careful examination of the skills gap

Last year, cyberthreats of every kind spread like wildfire. Because of this ubiquity, there were more breaches than in the year prior, and many firms paid a larger total cost for breaches. Many leaders also blame the breaches, at least partly, on the shortage of cybersecurity expertise among their IT staff.

Boards are paying attention, as well. Given board duties for managing business risk and reputation management, this is of utmost importance as the enterprise attack surface expands and threats diversify. They can and should play a big role in strengthening the organization's security posture. The good news is that there's been a lot of movement in this area. In fact, the 2023 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Global Report from Fortinet found that 83% of boards advocate hiring more IT security personnel.

At the same time, it's not that easy - finding and hiring people with the right skills is a significant challenge for employers. While there's no negating the need for more cybersecurity professionals in general, one too often overlooked strategy involves looking within upskilling and reskilling existing employees.

Bringing upskilling and reskilling to the forefront

Giving your employees the chance to enroll in advanced training and certification programs helps to improve employee experience and job satisfaction while also keeping their skills current. In a survey of human resource managers, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Research Institute found that 86% of respondents said providing ongoing training increases employee retention.

Clearly, the federal government understands the necessity of this strategy. The Acting National Cyber Director is working on a plan to, among other tactics, upskill and reskill current federal employees to fill gaps in cybersecurity roles.

Although college degree programs are a valuable option for preparing for a career in cybersecurity, the current skills shortage requires a more immediate solution. Cybersecurity training and certification programs can go a long way in addressing the need. Many vendor-specific and vendor-neutral programs are widely available, and many are of high caliber. These programs typically include recertification aspects, which help ensure that staff stay current on the latest and greatest technologies.

Employers are increasingly using industry certifications to verify individual abilities when hiring new employees or trying to improve the expertise of current IT security staff. The goal of well-designed certification programs is to develop not only technical skills but also a better comprehension of how to use such skills in the context of a particular job role.

Cyber hygiene for all

Though security teams unquestionably play a crucial role in safeguarding an organizations digital assets, everyone - regardless of their position - is responsible for cybersecurity. Workers can and should serve as a first line of defense, but this is only achievable if they are knowledgeable about and skilled in recognizing the techniques threat actors employ.

This is why continuing cybersecurity awareness education for all staff is so vital. All employees should have a fundamental understanding of security, even though the training material you choose may vary depending on your organization or industry. Be sure to educate on phishing attack recognition and management, social media use, ransomware, social engineering, passwords and authentication, physical security, and other related subjects.

Training: More than just lip service

Bad actors arent going to wait while you beef up your security team. Addressing today's cybersecurity skills gap requires an immediate and strategic approach. The focus on building cybersecurity capacity starts at the top, with more boards of directors recommending increased IT security headcounts.

This is much-needed and welcome support as organizations seek to recruit and retain talent to meet their cybersecurity needs. While the tendency is to seek out existing experts with technology-focused certifications or cyber-related degrees, leaders must also remember those in their midst who would benefit the company if they had access to additional training. An upskilling and reskilling strategy provides only an upside as organizations try to fill the cyber skills gap and keep their networks safe.

Find out more about how Fortinets Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) and Training Institute programs--including the NSE Certification program, Academic Partner program, and Education Outreach program--are helping to solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.
Train attendant on China-Laos Railway witnesses gratifying changes, growing friendship

People's Daily Online) 15:19, August 22, 2023

Yi Bofeng, a Chinese train attendant on the China-Laos Railway, which connects Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province with Lao capital Vientiane, has witnessed the positive changes and increasingly deep friendly ties between China and Laos since the opening of the railway.

Yi Bofeng, a Chinese train attendant on the China-Laos Railway, poses for a photo at the platform of the Kunming South Railway Station in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai)

Yi majored in Applied Lao Linguistics at a university in Kunming, and also studied at the National University of Laos in Vientiane. Her experience of studying in Laos enabled her to better learn the language, culture, local conditions and customs of the country, and sowed the seeds of serving as a "messenger of friendship" between China and Laos in her heart.

After graduating from college in 2021, Yi was employed by China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd., and became a train attendant on the international train crew of the China-Laos Railway.

As a native of the Dai ethnic group in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Yi has been fluent in both the Chinese and Dai languages since childhood. She can communicate with passengers in Mandarin Chinese, English, Dai language, Thai, and Lao.

While her identity has been transformed from a local resident into a train attendant, Yi has experienced how the China-Laos Railway has improved the transportation conditions and lives of people in both countries.

Yi is from Jinglong village, Mengman township, Mengla county, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. During her years in college, she needed to travel more than 500 kilometers from her hometown to Kunming, which meant a 10-hour bus ride, since there was no railway to her hometown then.

Photo shows a group photo of Yi Bofeng and her Lao teachers and classmates. (Photo courtesy of Yi Bofeng)

"The farthest place people of the generation of my grandmother have ever been to is Jinghong city, Xishuangbanna," Yi said, explaining that due to inadequate transportation, many residents of Xishuangbanna could hardly travel outside of their hometown before the China-Laos Railway started operating.

On April 13, 2023, the China-Laos Railway was officially put into service, bringing convenience to local residents' travel while driving the development of the local tourism industry.

"Now it's so convenient to go home. It only takes me three to four hours to travel between my hometown and Kunming by train," Yi said.

Since the railway started operating, both freight and passenger transportation have been booming in Xishuangbanna, according to Guo Shan, deputy head of the transport bureau of Xishuangbanna.

With the continuous improvement in the support facilities of the railway, regions along the railway have seen a steady momentum in economic development, Guo added.

A train runs on the China-Laos Railway. (Photo courtesy of China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd.)

As of June 30, the railway had handled a total of 17.3 million passenger trips, as shown by data from the China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd.

Turning Laos from an landlocked country into a land-linked hub, the railway has also brought tangible benefits to Lao people.

According to Yi, her Lao teachers used to have to rely on intercity buses and private cars for travel between Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos, and that took about 10 hours. "Since the China-Laos Railway was opened, the two cities have only been two hours away from each other by train," she said.

The China-Laos Railway has made it more convenient for Lao people to visit their family, relatives, and friends. Yi often sees Lao families take train rides together. Feeling a natural affinity with Lao people, she always tries her best to help them, including interpreting train safety instructions and announcements for them.

The railway has also facilitated the efforts of Lao people to get a better understanding of China. During this summer vacation, many Lao tour groups traveled to Xihuangbanna by the railway, with each train carrying up to over 200 cross-border passengers, Yi said.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The vast majority of New Yorkers are renters who contend not just with sky-high rates but often astronomical broker fees as well. Unlike most other places across the nation, renters can be charged those fees even if the landlord hired the broker.

A new bill from Councilmember Chi Osse aims to shift that cost to whoever hired the broker, a move that would result in fees being pushed back onto the landlords. The real estate lobby is fighting the measure.

Heres what you need to know about the proposal:

Whats in the bill?

Osse, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced a measure in June that dictates that whichever party hires a broker, either tenant or landlord, is responsible for paying them. Under the current system tenants pay the one-time broker fees when they move into a new rental even if they were hired by a buildings landlord or management company.

In every other transaction, the party who hires a service pays for the service. New York is unique among major cities in America in having tenants often paying the fee for a brokers services, Osse said in a statement. This bill is simple and fair in assigning that cost to whoever sought the service.

City Councilman Chi Osse is pictured on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan on April 21, 2022.

Why are broker fees so high in New York City?

There are no caps on broker fees in New York. They often cost thousands of dollars, usually amounting to about 15% of the annual lease. Thats typically in addition to a security deposit and first month of rent that tenants have to fork over upfront.

Osse pointed out in a recent memo that tenants are often forced to forgo their own representation as they are forced to pay for another agent they did not hire. So a broker who works with a tenant for weeks to help them find a home often gets stiffed when the landlords agent insists on collecting the full fee.

Potential renters can also hire brokers themselves to help them find apartments.

Why is the bill so contentious?

The real estate industry has largely come out against the bill, with the Real Estate Board of New York attempting to block the measure, as the Daily News previously reported.

The real estate board said the bill would negatively impact brokers, undermining their ability to earn a commission while also raising rents for tenants. Some brokers have expressed fears that if landlords are forced to pay their fees they may decide not to use brokers at all.

It undoubtedly would impact thousands of residential rental brokers and agents from being able to, number one, earn a living and, two, to be competitive, Ryan Monell, the boards Vice President of Government Affairs, told the News. Overall, this bill would just undermine the existing market in a way that doesnt benefit renters or agents and brokers.

There are no caps on broker fees in New York.

But housing advocates have long argued that the current system can be unfair and discriminatory, and hefty broker fees pose obstacles for working-class New Yorkers.

The Community Service Society of New York recently sent out a letter to several councilmembers in support of the FARE Act, describing the current approach to broker fees as unconscionably regressive.

It makes total sense, its the way nearly every other city does things, Samuel Stein, a housing policy analyst with the organization, said of the bill. And theres a lot of problems with the system as it exists that we think this would correct.

Will it lead to higher rents?

It depends whom you ask, but both the real estate board and Osse seem to agree landlords having to foot the bill for broker fees could lead to higher rents in some form.

In many instances, prospective tenants would just end up paying more in their base rent, which means higher costs year over year, Monell predicted.

He said the bill would raise rents for many tenants by potentially shifting units to no fee rentals where the fee is instead baked into the rent.

Both the real estate board and Chi Osse seem to agree landlords having to foot the bill for broker fees could lead to higher rents in some form.

But according to Osse, Even if some portion of the cost were passed onto tenants as rent, it would be distributed over the course of 12 or 24 months, alleviating the prohibitive upfront costs.

Such changes could only apply to market-rate apartments, as raises for rent-stabilized units are set by the Rent Guidelines Board.

We imagine that the market for brokers in the city and the rental market could see slight adjustments with the passing of this bill, Elijah Fox, Osses director of communications, told the News. But ultimately theres this valuable service thats being provided, and we see its value because we see year after year people across New York City continue to seek out and hire and pay for these services. We just want to make sure that the market is fair.

Stein argued that in the case of market-rate apartments, landlords are already charging as much as they think the market will bear.

It could be that there are some landlords who are charging only what it costs to operate the building plus a small profit, and those people will now raise the rent because it costs a little bit more, he said. I think that is an endangered species if it exists at all.

Whats next?

Osse is currently attempting to move the bill through the council, though it has run into roadblocks at the committee level; a majority of the City Council already supports it, with 29 co-sponsors as of Tuesday.

The numbers keep growing, Fox said.
U.S. Embassy Djibouti invites you to submit a proposal for the services of a Arabic Teacher as per the attached Scope Of Work (SOW). Your quotation must be submitted electronically with required documents by email to djiboutiprocurement@state.gov and copy ahmedah2@state.gov. The subject of the email should be: MPR0378390  Arabic Teacher Services. Deadline for submission will be by COB September 6 2023 at 16:00 p.m.

Submit quotation

Attachment

Statement of Work: Arabic Instructor for Post Language Program

Background/Purpose

The Post Language Program (PLP) offers eligible prospective students the opportunity to learn primary languages in their country of assignment, to support the missions of the U.S. Department of State and the relevant embassy. As documented through the Integrated Country Strategy, the mission of the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is to 1) strengthen security for the United States, Djibouti, and the region, 2) promote Djiboutis economic development, and support U.S. investors, and 3) advance participative governance in Djibouti.

To support the mission of the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, the Post Language Program intends to offer Arabic instruction through a contracted instructor who meets the desired qualifications.

Project Philosophy

Arabic language skills are important to the work of many employees of the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti and may be used to further the interests of national and regional security, as well as to enhance the bilateral relationship with the Djiboutian government. Adding an Arabic offering to the exist Post Language Program will further the Embassys ability to communicate across Djiboutian society and allow for both of Djiboutis official languages to be represented at Post.

Scope

Arabic instruction will be offered at an hourly rate as needed. Classes may be individual or grouped with students of the same level up to a maximum of six students.

Instruction will be provided on a rate per hour of instruction provided, rather than per-student. Instruction will prioritize intermediate and advanced levels for students who have a job-related need to reach or maintain a certain level of proficiency. Instruction may also be provided when applicable to assist students seeking a courtesy level of proficiency, including beginning Arabic students.

Courses will be offered on a semester basis, and enrollment/hours-as-needed may shift from one semester to another depending on the needs of the students. Post anticipates an initial enrollment of 5-8 students to comprise two courses, equivalent to between 3-5 billable hours of instruction per week. Enrollment and corresponding required hours of instruction may increase or decrease on a semester basis. Post anticipates an initial enrollment at both the beginner and advanced levels.

Courses will be held at the U.S. Embassy to Djibouti.

Qualifications

One Arabic instructor, or one language instruction provider with the ability to furnish an appropriate instructor for each hour of instruction as needed

Able to adapt to both individual or group lessons. Students of the same level may be grouped together for the same hour/s of instruction up to a maximum of six students. The contracted instructor will perform billable hours per hour of instruction, not per student.

Primary skill levels: able to teach intermediate to advanced students, with a focus on speaking and listening

Secondary skill levels: able to teach foundational Arabic to beginning students with no prior Arabic knowledge, as needed

Trained in classical Arabic (Fusha) with a confident knowledge of Yemeni dialect/s highly desired

Training in and/or prior language teaching experience highly desired

Able to develop appropriate curriculum, and adapt for the specific job-related needs of students

Able to provide evaluations of language level for students as needed

Able to provide instruction in English

Able to provide instruction on-site at the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti

Willing to undergo a security screening

Willing to complete an evaluation of Arabic abilities as part of the interview process

Applicable Documents

CV

Certificate of teaching and/or Arabic training credentials

Statement of interest

Tasks

Provide Arabic instruction on an hourly rate to individual and/or group classes, as required, and dependent on the changing needs of the program each semester. Appropriate level to be determined per class enrollment.

Period of Performance - 08/2023-08/2024, renewable annually dependent on work performance

Place of Performance - U.S. Embassy in Djibouti

Submit quotation
EUR/USD and EUR/JPY Forecast - Prices, Charts, and Analysis

Volatility remains low across a range of markets ahead of Jerome Powells speech.

The Japanese Yen remains weak across a range of currencies.

Recommended by Nick Cawley How to Trade EUR/USD Get My Guide

Volatility across a range of major fx currencies pairs remains extremely low leaving traders waiting for high-impact economic data or events to stoke price action. One such event nears, Jerome Powells speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium this Friday at 14:05 GMT.

While Powells speech will be the main event of the week, tomorrow sees the latest round of Euro Zone PMI numbers, data that gives an up-to-date look at the health of the economy. A reading above 50 shows an economy, or sector, that is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

A look at recent data shows that Euro Zone and German manufacturing is struggling badly, while the service sector is expanding, but only just. Tomorrows numbers may well give the single currency a quick shot of short-term volatility if the forecasts are missed or beaten.

DailyFX Calendar

EUR/USD has found a short-term base on either side of 1.0850 although this is being currently tested. The US dollar remains strong due to elevated US Treasury yields with the 10-year benchmark at, or just below, a fresh 16-year high. The US dollar index (DXY) remains above the 200-day simple moving average and may look to re-test the May high at 104.658, especially if chair Powells remarks on Friday are hawkish.

US Dollar (DXY) Daily Price Chart  August 22, 2023

If the US dollar breaks higher, the next level of EUR/USD support is between 1.0790 and 1.0795.

EUR/USD Daily Price Chart  August 22, 2023

Chart via TradingView

Learn How IG Client Sentiment Can Help Your Trading

EUR/USD Mixed Data provided by of clients are net long. of clients are net short.

Change in Longs Shorts OI Daily -15% 8% -8% Weekly 3% -10% -2%

EUR/JPY continues to press higher as the Japanese Yen remains weak. The pair recently traded at a new 15-year high and the chart set-up remains bullish. Care needs to be taken as any official Japanese talk, or suggestion, that the Bank of Japan may intervene to prevent the Yen from weakening further is likely to provoke a sharp reaction lower in the pair.

EUR/JPY Daily Price Chart  August 22, 2023

Recommended by Nick Cawley The Fundamentals of Trend Trading Get My Guide

What is your view on the EURO  bullish or bearish?? You can let us know via the form at the end of this piece or you can contact the author via Twitter @nickcawley1.
The cost of the malfunctioning fire suppression systems at the MTAs East New York bus depot continues to grow.

The state Department of Labor has fined the transit agency more than $7,000 for failing to fix broken fire alarm panels at the sprawling Brooklyn complex despite repeated warnings to do so, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.

The state watchdog had previously given the agency a June 14 deadline to repair the system at the ailing depot, which houses around 250 buses as well as maintenance shops, MTA offices and subway repair facilities.

The East New York bus depot in Brooklyn.

The employer did not ensure that the employee alarm system and the fire panels are in proper working order, according to a Labor Department investigation report describing a June 23 inspection at the site.

No servicing or maintenance of the employee alarm system was taking place at the time of this inspection, the report adds.

A notice of violation, obtained by The News, sets a $108-per-day fine on the MTA that began on June 15.

The notice, issued last Monday, says the MTA owes the state $6,480  a fine that would have grown to $7,128 by Monday.

The state fine is but a modest addition to the massive overtime costs associated with the ongoing, 24-hour-a-day fire watch at the facility, which began more than 20 months ago due to a sprinkler system malfunction.

A News analysis of MTA overtime documentation from June estimated the fire watch has cost taxpayers well over $2.5 million in the past year alone.

An MTA spokesperson on Monday told The News the fine was based on a misunderstanding, and that the alarm system would work in case of fire.

The fire panel system at East New York Depot has been continuously operational as designed, Mike Cortez said in a statement. Due to a software glitch, an alert light illuminated in error on multiple occasions; engineers investigated and determined the fault was with the software triggering that light  not the panel itself.

The transit authority has two months to appeal the Labor Department fine, according to the documents reviewed by The News. Cortez said the agency was in discussions to resolve the issue.

The faulty system has plagued the East New York bus depot for years. In a May report on the fire alarm failures, Labor Department investigators listed two earlier violations for the same problem  one in March 2022 and one in May 2020.

The violation has been an ongoing issue throughout that facility, as numerous complaints, with photographic evidence, continue to be received related to panel indicators displaying trouble signs [fault indicator lights], investigators wrote in May.

The East New York bus depot

In their most recent report this week, Labor Department investigators said four fire panels  one by the depots command center, one in the bus dispatchers office, one in the first-floor lobby, and one in a storeroom  were all displaying warning lights in late June, more than a week after the repair deadline.

MTA work crews are still struggling to repair leaky water pipes that have rendered the sprinkler system unusable for over a year.

New York City fire code requires a fire watch when either system  sprinklers or alarms  are deemed to be out of order.
Stephen Brearey, lead consultant in the unit in which Lucy Letby murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more, has raised an important question.

Why, he asks, can doctors and nurses be held accountable by regulations covering medical practitioners, yet some senior managers face minimal governance - and are able to swan off to other highly paid jobs, even if their careers appear to have been beset by tragedy and scandal?

Brearey, who first raised the alarm about Letby almost two years before police were finally called in, alleges managers were more worried about their reputations than the safety of their smallest patients, leaving whistle-blowing doctors feeling they were under attack. (Some managers, it should be said, dispute this.)

But the truth is politicians of all persuasions have signally failed to heed the lessons of a series of fatal health scandals.

Stephen Brearey, lead consultant in the unit in which Lucy Letby murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more, has raised an important question

Brearey, who first raised the alarm about Letby almost two years before police were finally called in, alleges managers were more worried about their reputations than the safety of their smallest patients

Instead of action, there has been hollow talk of learning from tragedy, along with shallow pledges of reform and spewed platitudes about the preciousness of the NHS - even as the most vulnerable patients continue to be betrayed.

This week Peter Furness, a former president of the Royal College of Pathologists, pointed out that many of Letby's victims might have been saved if ministers had not delayed a key recommendation from the Harold Shipman inquiry 20 years ago.

The probe into more than 200 patients killed by the GP called for medical scrutiny of any death that did not involve a coroner. Yet, astonishingly, hospitals began to introduce this practice only four years ago - after Letby had committed her vile crimes. A statutory system will not start until next year.

It is, as one grieving mother told the court this week, shocking that someone as evil as Letby exists.

Her colleagues could never have imagined one of their team might have been a serial killer, despite the rise in deaths of newborns. But it is beyond disturbing that, after doctors pieced together the evidence that Letby's presence was the sinister link between deaths, their concerns were dismissed.

Yet again, seemingly indifferent health chiefs are lurking in the shadows of tragedy. Once more, we see how denial and obfuscation corrodes the sacred NHS.

Politicians talk of transparency, health chiefs create codes of conduct, managers claim to be open - but when mistakes are made and systems fail, the reaction is all too often to crush complainants and sweep concerns under the carpet. On many previous occasions, staff, patients or bereaved families have raised alarms only to be bullied, gagged or ignored.

Doctors accuse the Countess of Chester NHS Trust of negligence in its failure to address their concerns. One told the court they were beseeched 'not to make a fuss', while the medical director failed to respond to a request for a meeting about the spike in baby deaths for three months.

They say executives backed Letby's protestations of victimisation after inadequate inquiries, even though one doctor reportedly told his manager they were 'harbouring a murderer'. Incredibly, it was they who were ordered to apologise to Letby, and even to attend mediation sessions.

This pattern of behaviour by senior managers almost certainly led to more deaths. 'I genuinely believe that there are four or five babies who could be going to school now who aren't,' consultant paediatrician Ravi Jayaram told ITV News.

The issues will no doubt be examined by the inquiry announced last week by Health Secretary Steve Barclay - and it is critical that he puts it on a statutory basis to force witnesses to participate.

Yet it is hard to be optimistic that the findings will jolt the system sufficiently to cure it of its sickness and solve the shameful bureaucratic failings.

Dr Ravi Jayaram told ITV the 'culture in the NHS has to change' and 'there is no robust system of accountability of appraisal'

There have been at least 100 such investigations into failures in NHS care over the past half century - and many of these highly forensic investigations, carried out by diligent experts, have come to startlingly similar conclusions.

They have warned about the dangers of defensive management, dire communication and dysfunctional bureaucracy. Again and again, they have pleaded for whistleblowers to be taken seriously rather than stymied by intransigent health chiefs or simply ignored. Yet far too little has changed.

The first modern healthcare inquiry, led by the lawyer Geoffrey Howe - who later became Chancellor of the Exchequer under Margaret Thatcher - was into the abusive treatment of people with learning disabilities at Ely psychiatric hospital in Cardiff.

This influential 1969 report, sparked by public outrage after investigative journalists exposed a culture of cruelty, led to the establishment of the first NHS inspectorate.

Labour ministers praised the inquiry after it found 'the biggest single deficiency' was the 'odious and alarming' targeting of whistleblowers. They stressed the need for medical staff to be able to raise concerns in a supportive culture.

Since then, a string of scandals including the Shipman murders has underlined the importance of listening to whistleblowers rather than closing ranks.

Yet all too often they are still treated with contempt. Anaesthetist Stephen Bolsin said he was driven out of the country to Australia after his eight-year struggle to lift the lid on cardiac surgery failures that led to possibly 170 avoidable deaths of children in the 1990s at Bristol Royal Infirmary. The Francis inquiry into the MidStaffs catastrophe - where hundreds of patients died due to sordid neglect in two mid-Staffordshire hospitals - examined what was seen as the worst hospital care failure in NHS history.

It revealed 'a culture of fear in which staff did not feel able to report concerns; a culture of secrecy in which the trust board . . . ignored its patients; and a culture of bullying, which prevented people from doing their jobs properly'.

The landmark report called for this to be replaced by 'openness, honesty and transparency where the only fear is the failure to uphold fundamental standards and the caring culture'.

This sparked new efforts to protect whistleblowers. Yet the failure to do so was apparent again last year in the devastating final report into the Shrewsbury maternity scandal, where 201 babies and nine mothers may have needlessly died.

One Shrewsbury obstetrician talked about a 'culture of fear' that left staff scared to speak out for 'risk of victimisation' - his words echoing precisely the problem unearthed both by the Francis inquiry and the findings of Howe's report more than half a century earlier into the Ely scandal.

Even now, journalists keep exposing the shocking abuse of people with autism and learning disabilities, locked up in psychiatric hospitals.

The NHS relies on fallible human beings. So it needs a culture in which those who expose problems are not blamed: a culture that rests on truth and transparency, revolves around patient safety and encourages whistleblowers rather than thwarting them.

Letby, like her fellow mass-murderer Shipman, was an aberration among these cases: a serial killer in nurse's uniform on a malevolent mission to inflict misery on families who should have been enjoying the most magical of life experiences. She alone carries the cross of her evil.

We cannot predict the inquiry's conclusions - but the grotesque deeds of this angel of death expose again the disturbing culture of denial, delay and secrecy that scars the NHS with such horrific consequences.
For all the latest Royal news, pictures and videos click here

Queen Elizabeth was the first British female royal to join the armed services

Following her death last year, the Royal Family celebrated the late Queen's 'deeply personal' relationship with the Armed Forces, describing her as 'one of our last links to the extraordinary wartime generation.'

The Queen was the daughter, wife and mother of naval officer, of course. Even her Grandchildren served in the Armed forces.

And the same applies to other royal families, too.

At the weekend, we saw the first pictures of Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish throne, in uniform as she began a spell of military training.

From Kate in khaki to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in full camouflage gear, we take a look at the royal women who have worn military uniforms, whether on official duties or because, as with Elizabeth and Leonor, it is their duty to defend the nation...

Princess Leonor of Spain, 17, pictured in her military uniform for the first time on her first full day at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza

Queen Elizabeth II

Princess Elizabeth in her Royal Auxiliary boiler suit she wore to carry out her duties in 1945

Princess Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1945, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services as a full-time active member

Queen Elizabeth II serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In this picture, she is learning to change a tyre in 1945

Princess Elizabeth at the wheel of an army vehicle while serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War

The Queen's relationship with the Armed Forces began when, as Princess Elizabeth, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1945, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services as a full-time active member.

After joining the ATS, Princess Elizabeth enrolled on a driving and vehicle maintenance course where she learnt to drive heavy Army vehicles, mechanics theory and map reading.

As Sovereign, Her Majesty The Queen was Head of the Armed Forces and was also the wife, mother and grandmother of individuals who have served in the Forces.

Princess Anne

Princess Anne being instructed on the workings of the Scorpion Tank during a visit to her regiment, the King Hussars, in 1974

Princess Anne driving an armoured troop carrier during her visit to the 1st Battalion Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in 1985. She is Colonel-in-Chief

Princess Anne takes aim with an SA 80 Rifle fitted with a laser as Major Alastair Ross gives instructions. The Princess was visiting the Regiment on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in 2001

While the Princess Royal has never served in the military, she has several patronages with military organisations and charities.

In 2012, Princess Anne was made Admiral within the Royal Navy, and in 2020 she was made a General in the British Army and an Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Air Force.

Among the Commonwealth, Anne serves as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy and Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps and the Royal Australian Corps of Transport.

She earned these titles through her engagements with her military patronages and affiliations.

Princess Diana

The Princess of Wales seen wearing a boiler suit and climbing into a tank during a visit to the Royal Hampshire regiment at Tidworth in June 1988.

Princess Diana tries her hand at driving an armoured vehicle during manoeuvres in 1988

Princess Diana visiting the Royal Hampshire regiment in 1988. She was taking part in army manoeuvres in Tidworth. Her footwear did not seem camouflaged

During her lifetime, Diana, the Princess of Wales, held a number of honorary military titles and made numerous visits to personnel around the world.

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was named after Diana, who was its first colonel-in-chief until her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996.

The regiment was formed in 1992 by merging The Queen's Regiment and The Royal Hampshire Regiment.

Princess Diana was also the Colonel-in-Chief of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and an Honorary Air Commodore for RAF Wittering.

Sarah, Duchess of York

The Duchess of York on a visit to the Red Arrows at RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire after taking a flight in a trainer aircraft in 1987

The Duchess of York in the cockpit of a trainer aircraft at RAF Scampton in 1987

During a visit to The Red Arrows at RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, in May 1987 the Duchess of York put her best foot forward and took a flight in a trainer aircraft.

Sarah Ferguson was pictured from head to toe in military gear as she was pictured sitting in the cockpit.

Catherine, Princess of Wales

The Princess of Wales pictured in March learning how to treat battlefield casualties during a training exercise with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards on Salisbury Plain on her first visit to the regiment since becoming Colonel

Kate Middleton spent time with the 101 Operational Sustainment Brigade in 2022 at Abingdon Airfield to see first-hand how new recruits and serving personnel are trained

The Princess of Wales was seen wearing an army combat jacket and ear protectors

Catherine, The Princess of Wales visited Pirbright Training Academy in November where she spent time with the 101 Operational Sustainment Brigade at Abingdon Airfield to see first-hand how new recruits and serving personnel are trained.

The Princess participated in some of the training exercises and spent time speaking to personnel about their experiences in the British Army.

Kate had long accompanied Prince William to the St Patrick's Day parades of the Irish Guards, handing out sprigs of shamrock  but now will be the regiment's honorary colonel in her own right.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

A smiling Sophie attending the Countess of Wessex Cup annual competition at Gibraltar Barracks in February 2023

Sophie was watching the participants in The Countess of Wessex Cup at the Gibraltar Barracks, Camberley in February 2023

Sophie attends this annual competition which sees regiments and organisations she holds honorary military appointments with compete against each other in a series of challenges

Sophie holds a number of honourary titles, including Royal Honorary of the Colonel 5th Battalion The Rifles (5 Rifles), Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Army Music and Colonel-in-Chief of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment.

In March 2022, the Duchess of Edinburgh even became the new Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), taking over a role that was formerly held by HRH Prince Philip.

And earlier this year, Sophie put on her best camo to attend an annual competition at the Gibraltar Barracks, Blackwater in Camberley.

The royal headed to the shooting range with the rest of the soldiers, where she showcased her clay pigeon shooting skills before watching them complete a rafting exercise.

Princess Leonor

Leonor's face was the picture of concentration as she took notes on her first full day of military college

The heir to the Spanish throne, known for her chic style, still radiated elegance in her camouflage uniform

The Crown Princess of Spain arrived at the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official welcome, she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training

The heir to the Spanish throne, 17, must complete the three years in line with tradition as she follows the path of her father, King Felipe.

Pictured at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza on her first full day of studying, Princess Leonor of Spain looked ever the military princess, dressed in camouflage and concentrating hard in lessons.

As she begins three years in military training in the air force, the Navy and the Army, Leonor is already hard at work in lessons.

She arrived at the Academy in Zaragoza with her family on Thursday and was assigned to the Cadet Battalion.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

Queen Maxima looking the part as she took part in a training session for extinguishing forest fires as part of the Defence Helicopter Command. It was conducted with a Chinook transport helicopter from Gilze-Rijen Air Base, Netherlands in March

Queen Maxima giving a thumbs up to the crew as she steps out of the aircraft after training for extinguishing forest fires as part of the Defence Helicopter Command (DHC) in March 2023

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands got stuck into training for extinguishing forest fires with the Defense Helicopter Command at Gilze-Rijen Air Base back in March.

She was the picture of confidence during the training, which was carried out with a Chinook transport helicopter.

The royal looked the part in a khaki jumpsuit and a padded green jacket which she paired with chunky brown boots.

Maxima received an explanation prior to the adrenaline-filled training on how to extinguish forest fires from the air.

The helicopters at the base are deployed in support of the airmobile brigade, special forces units and Royal Netherlands Navy ships in particular. They also take part in NATO and UN operations and can be used to assist in fighting major fires.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark attended a celebration dinner for the 60th anniversary of the Danish Home Guard in Nymindegab in Denmark in 2009

Princess Mary of Denmark is appointed Captain of the Danish Home Guard during a visit with Queen Margrethe of Denmark on the occasion on the occasion of the Home Guard's 70th anniversary in 2019

Crown Princess Mary participating in a parade at The Home Guard in the district of Copenhagen

Princess Mary of Denmark was appointed captain of the Danish Home Guard in March 2019.

In her role, the mother-of-four oversees the annual Parade  which celebrates Denmark's liberation from Nazi rule.

In May, Mary wore an army uniform as she took part in a Home Guard Parade in Copenhagen. Mary proudly had four medals on show for the ceremony, including the Order of the Elephant, which is the highest-ranking order in Denmark.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, in full camouflage gear, demonstrated her combat and first aid skills to the media as part of a three-week military training course in Almnas, Sweden, to prepare her for international peacekeeping missions in March 2003

Crown Princess Victoria participates in an exercise with the Swedish Home Guard in Salenfjallen, Sweden Crown Princess Victoria visits the Swedish Home Guard in 2021

Back in 2003, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden demonstrated her combat and first aid skills to the media as part of a three-week military training course in Almnas, Sweden, to prepare her for international peacekeeping missions.

The then 25-year-old princess, practised combat skills, marksmanship, first aid and chemical warfare safety with 41 other men and women at the Swedish armed forces' peacekeeping training ground south of Stockholm.

In 2021, the princess learned to handle weapons and followed the soldiers' lead during a training exercise in Salenfjallen as she met with the Swedish Home Guard.

Victoria, who is no stranger to military exercises, having attended several throughout her life as a royal, expertly took aim, before handing back the weapons.

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium takes part in a three-day internship at the Commando Training Centre in Marche-les-Dames in July 2021 after finishing her year at Royal Military Academy

Princess Elisabeth abseiling down a rocky hillside during her time at the Commando Training Centre in Marche-les-Dames in July 2021

King Philippe of Belgium hands over the Blue Beret to his daughter Princess Elisabeth of Belgium and her platoon during the Blue Beret Parade at the Royal Military Academy in 2020

Most university students find it's enough of a challenge to drag themselves to lectures. But not Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 20, who juggles her degree in history and politics in Oxford with military training back home.

Elisabeth began her training at the Royal Military Academy in 2021 and remains involved in training despite being a full-time first-year student.

The balance of academic and military experience is regarded as an essential foundation for her future life as a queen.

It is not known how long Elisabeth plans to spend at the academy but her father King Philippe studied there for three years as a teenager.

Princess Ingrid of Norway

Princess Ingrid visiting the Norwegian Navy at its main and logistics base in Northern Norway in Setermoen in October 2022

Norway's Princess Ingrid prasticing parachuting as she visits the military base at Rena Leir in Norway in November 2021

The Norweigan Royal Court announced in June that the future queen would spend the autumn working at a school before beginning a full 12 months of military service at the Skjold Camp in Indre Troms.

According to the Norwegian military's website, members of the Engineer Battalion are specialists 'who, among other things, work with defence facilities, bridges and other constructions and CBRN.'

In 2021, the royal toured several army and air force bases in Norway to learn more about the country's armed forces. Sitting in the F-16's backseat, she was allowed to take control of the plane and pilot it as it flew over Northern Norway.

When she ascends the throne, she will become commandant of Norway's armies.
If youve managed to set your alarm, brave the commute and make it into the office for a day then its only right that a decent lunch is your hard-earned reward. A soggy sandwich, supermarket sushi or overpriced salad box is simply not going to cut it.

For too many of us, its become dangerously easy to spend an hour mindlessly scrolling the socials  which does nothing to break up the monotony of the day.

So, this summer Lipton Ice Tea is asking all of us to ringfence our rightful lunch hour and inject a bit of much-needed sunshine into lunchtime  and it neednt break the bank either.

Lipton Ice Tea is calling for workers to put down the sandwiches and pivot to meal prep  sharing bold, homemade global flavours with your colleagues while consciously cutting screen time  and theyve teamed up with Twisted to bring us all the inspiration we need.

There's no better way of bonding with your co-workers than through good food - so say goodbye to the sandwiches

Twisted, the food media brand with 40 million+ fans, are the best in the business at cooking up surprising and utterly delicious cuisines and combinations that will have you getting excited about your lunch hour. With recipes rooted in bright, wholesome ingredients given a major TWIST, its time to seize the summer and shake up your lunch break.

Twisted chefs Spencer and Hugh are renowned for creating a riot of flavours, and with super-eclectic foodie CVs between the pair of them its no surprise.

Fancy a free Lipton Ice Tea? If you live in Liverpool or Brighton, you could be in for some lunchtime sunshine. Between 12pm and 3pm on the 30th (Brighton) and 31st (Liverpool) of August, Lipton Ice Tea will be asking workers to show their lunch for a free bottle of Lipton Ice Tea.

Spencer hails from LA with a strong line of Louisianian heritage and a soft spot for Mexican, Korean and Japanese cuisine.

Hugh started his culinary life a little closer to home  namely by whipping up spaghetti hoop burritos to impress girls at the age of 14  but has since turned his hand to everything from making artisanal cheese for hipsters in Peckham to running a wine bar on East Londons historic Columbia Road and working in a Michelin-starred kitchen.

Hugh and Spencer have cooked up a storm in the Twisted kitchen to create four lunchflation-busting mouth-watering meal-prep recipes that will transform your working day  all perfectly matched with Lipton Ice Tea for the ultimate in sun-drenched summer refreshment. Tupperware at the ready!

Greek-Inspired Pasta Salad

Tuck into a delicious, filling helping of this Greek-Inspired Pasta Salad

A super easy vegetarian meal prep with cucumbers, kalamata olives, crumbled feta, roasted red peppers, thinly red onion, lemon, cherry tomatoes, oregano, dill and cooked pasta. Perfect to take to work or WFH. Match with Lipton Lemon Ice Tea

You will need:

- 200g ditalini or other small pasta, cooked

- 250g cherry tomatoes, quartered

- 2 baby cucumbers, smashed

- 100g kalamata olives, halved

- 2 bell peppers, sliced

- 1 red onion, thinly sliced

- 100g feta, crumbled

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

- 50ml olive oil

- 1 tsp dried oregano

- 1 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped

- Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Cook your pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

2. Add the pasta to a bowl along with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, peppers, onion and feta.

3. Toss, then drizzle over red wine vinegar, lemon, olive oil, oregano, dill, salt and pepper.

4. Thats it! Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.

Sweet and Spicy Salmon Tacos

One of Hugh's wonderful creations, these delicious Salmon Tacos are the perfect choice for the office that enjoys a little heat

Salmon fillets coated in a garlicky, sweet and spicy glaze, grilled and reheated for lunch. Loaded into corn tortillas with a smoky tomato salsa roja and shredded white cabbage. A microwave and assemble-at-work lunch.

You will need:

For the salmon:

- 4 boneless salmon fillets

- 6 garlic cloves, finely minced

- 2 oranges, juiced

- 1 tbsp brown sugar

- 1 tbsp chipotle paste

-  tsp smoked paprika

-  tsp ground cumin

- 50ml olive oil

- Big pinch salt and pepper

For the salsa:

- 250g tomatoes

-  onion

- 2 jalapenos, seeds removed

- 3 garlic cloves

- 1 lime, juiced

- Handful coriander, finely chopped

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- Big pinch salt

To serve:

-  white cabbage, shredded

- Corn tortillas

- 1 lime

- Sour cream (optional)

What to do:

1. Start by charring the cherry tomatoes in a skillet. Once there are black spots all over, add to a food processor with onion, chilli, garlic and lime juice and blend.

2. Stir the chopped coriander through the blended mix. Add the oil to the skillet over a medium/high heat then add the blended salsa to the pan. Season, bring to a boil then turn down the heat and cook for 15-20 minutes until thickened and reduced. Taste and season.

3. Finely chop the garlic until its almost a paste, then add to a bowl with the chipotle paste, orange juice, sugar, spices, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

4. Dice your salmon into cubes, then add to the marinade. Cover and leave in the frige for at least 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven grill. Place the marinated salmon cubes over a tray, pop under the grill for 7 minutes until its nicely caramelised.

6. Warm the tortillas over the hob, then assemble the tacos  shredded cabbage, salmon, a nice drizzle of salsa and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!

Harissa Lamb Meatballs

Pair these yummy harissa lamb meatballs with your favourite pasta for a heaty mid-day meal

Middle eastern inspired lamb meatballs in a rich harissa tomato sauce. Reheated during the week and served with crusty bread and orzo (or your favourite pasta!) A perfect microwave at work or WHF lunch.

You will need:

For the meatballs:

- 250g lamb mince

- 50g breadcrumbs

- 1 onion, blended with a splash of milk

- 30g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

-  tsp chilli flakes

-  tsp ground cumin

- Salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

- 1 onion, diced

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 red chilli, finely chopped

- 1 tbsp tomato paste

- 1 heaped tbsp harissa paste

- 1 tsp ground cumin

- 400g chopped tomatoes and water from the can

- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

- Pinch brown sugar

- Salt and pepper, to taste

- Unsalted butter

To serve:

- 200g orzo, cooked

- Feta, crumbled

- Crusty bread

What to do:

1. Start by making the meatballs. Combine the lamb mince, breadcrumbs, blended onion, garlic, parsley, chilli flakes, cumin, salt and pepper, being careful not to overmix.

2. Roll into equal sized balls and pop into the fridge.

3. Preheat the oven to 200C. Drizzle a tray with olive oil, arrange the meatballs then place in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. For the sauce, saute the onion, garlic and chilli in a knob of butter. Once softened and fragrant, add the tomato and harissa paste. Stir through, cook for 2-3 minutes then deglaze with the tomatoes, water, cumin, balsamic, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

5. Leave to simmer on low for 20 minutes until thickened and darkened, adding more water if needed.

6. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce, and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes.

7. Cook the orzo, and gently toss through the meatballs in sauce.

8. Serve with crumbled feta and crusty bread.

Jerk-inspired Chicken & Mango Burritos

Spencer's Jerk-inspired Chicken & Mango Burritos are an irresistible combination of convenience and great flavour

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are marinated in a jerk-inspired sauce and grilled, served alongside rice and a charred mango and lime salad. Perfect to repurpose the leftovers into a burrito with avocado, cream and shredded red cabbage.

You will need:

For the chicken:

- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

- 3 tbsp jerk paste

- 1 tbsp brown sugar

- 50ml olive oil

- 2 limes, juiced

- Big pinch salt

For the salad:

- 2 mangos

- 1 red onion, finely diced

- 2 spring onions

- 2 limes, juiced

- 25g coriander, finely chopped

- 1 red chilli (or scotch bonnet), finely chopped

- Salt to taste

-  tsp sugar

To serve:

- 1 avocado, sliced

- Sour cream

-  red cabbage, shredded

- White rice, cooked

- Flour tortillas

What to do:

1. Start by marinating the chicken. Whisk together the jerk paste, brown sugar, olive oil, lime juice and salt. Add the chicken thighs, toss well to coat then leave to sit for at least 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the mangos and slice into chunks. Preheat a griddle pan or barbecue and char the mango pieces on all sides. Do the same with spring onions.

3. Roughly chop the spring onions, add to a bowl with the red onion, charred mango, lime juice, coriander and chilli. Season with salt and a tiny pinch of sugar, and set aside.

4. Cook the chicken thighs in the same griddle pan. Cook until nicely charred and caramelised on both sides. Slice up.

5. Serve the chicken in a large flour tortilla with rice, mango salsa, sour cream, red cabbage and avocado.
With mortgages, rents and the cost of groceries soaring right now, everyone across Australia is feeling the pinch.

But this weekend you can enjoy $1 menu items from a selection of the most popular restaurants near you, thanks to DoorDash.

The $1 Weekend is taking place from Friday 25th August through to Sunday 27th August and you can bag a deal on menu items from the likes of Pizza Hut, Oporto, Betty's Burger, Fishbowl and Lord Of The Fries.

Delish! You can snap up some of your favourite dishes for just $1 this weekend, thanks to DoorDash. NoodleBox pictured

So whether you fancy a delicious burger, a pizza to share or a poke bowl delivered straight to your door, there's plenty of options to suit every taste.

Puji Fernando, General Manager DoorDash Australia says: 'We are excited to bring back the much-loved DoorDash $1 Weekend in August as a delightful treat for our customers.'

'Our goal is to create a fun and affordable way for Australians to experience the diverse offerings from their favourite local restaurants. This event underscores our commitment to connecting people with the food they love, while also supporting local businesses all year round.'

With deals from the likes of Pizza Hut, Betty's Burger, Fishbowl, Lord Of The Fries and Oporto (pictured) there is something to suit everyone's taste

New menu! Dashers can enjoy Street Food by Fishbowl, as part of the promotion

DoorDash customers will also have the opportunity to sample a new menu, Street Food, from popular eatery Fishbowl, as part of the promotion.

'Were so thrilled to be part of DoorDashs $1 Weekend, giving our customers the opportunity to discover our new menu, Street Food by Fishbowl,' says Lauren Hurst, Marketing Manager Fishbowl.

'In a time where Australians are facing challenges with the increasing cost of living, Fishbowl are on a mission to make healthy and affordable food accessible.'

Tasty! Customers in Sydney can snap up dishes from local eateries like Rashays (picuted)

The $1 menu items are available to new and existing DoorDash customers who order via the app from selected eateries between 2pm and 5pm on Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th August.

To redeem the deals you'll need to enter the unique promo code for each day at checkout. The codes will be displayed at the store.

The offer is valid for one menu item per order from selected restaurants and is only applicable on some menu items. There is also a limit of one redemption per customer per day and delivery and service fees apply.

The promotion is only available while supplies last so you'd better be quick to snap up a $1 deal. For full terms and conditions sign in to DoorDash.
An elderly woman was left clinging to life after a driver backed into her as she attempted to cross a Brooklyn roadway in a motorized wheelchair, according to police.

Marva Baker, 87, was attempting to cross the road outside the Leonard St. apartment building where she lived near Moore St. in Williamsburg at 6:16 p.m. when the driver of a Red Hyundai sedan slammed into her while trying to back into a parking spot, cops said.

Marva Baker, 87, is pictured in an undated photograph provided by a family member.

Paramedics rushed the victim to Woodhull Hospital suffering from a head wound in critical condition, according to police.

Bakers niece was spotted weeping next to her aunts shattered wheelchair.

Shes a beloved member of the community, Jade Lynch told the Daily News. Everybody loves her.

The 36-year-old Hyundai driver was taken into police custody. No charges have been filed, cops said.

The crash is being investigated by the NYPDs Collision Investigation Squad.
Denim jeans are one of the great fashion classics. Loved by everyone from J-Lo to Kate Moss, in 2023 jeans have become the most frequently worn item of clothing globally.

This year, the iconic Levi's button-down 501 jean turned 150: it was in 1873 that Levi Strauss created these hardwearing pieces of clothing for the American workers who had travelled west to pan for gold. What a long way that denim has travelled since then.

Now, a survey shows that one in five British women have bought theirs from Marks & Spencer. Sales of M&S's Everyday Fit Denim jeans alone - retailing at 22.50 - have topped 1.6 million, and sales of jeans overall at the store are up by 10 per cent on 2022.

M&S has had a tough decade, but over the past couple of years, there's been evidence of this retail juggernaut finally being steered onto a more successful course. Making changes in a huge organisation is painfully slow, but the new womenswear director, Maddy Evans, who spent 20 years at Topshop, can claim some credit for the uplift in womenswear sales and fashionability.

Alexandra Shulman is pictured wearing her favourite M&S blue wide-leg jeans

Holly Willoughby (pictured) and Sam Biones are both M&S fashion influencers

Vogue Williams (pictured) shows off a pair of M&S blue jeans

Trends in denim travel fast, and one of the hazards of being a business the size of M&S is that by the time a trend takes off and your customers want it, it's over. But M&S seems to have taken a lesson from Zara and ramped up its speed of production.

This summer, when the 1970s style of high-waisted, wide-legged jeans were seen on stars from Rachel Weisz to Kendall Jenner, to Riley Keough and Suki Waterhouse in Amazon Prime's heavily promoted, hit series Daisy Jones & The Six, the store was ready with them - 22,000 pairs were snapped up to be exact, only a thousand less than the long-term favourite skinny silhouette.

Not only has M&S been prepared to broaden its denim range to incorporate new trends, but they have been helped on their way by how ridiculously expensive fashion jeans have become in recent years.

I have several pairs in my wardrobe from designer brands such as Frame and 7 For All Mankind. I can't fault them on style and fit, but they certainly don't come cheap. The average price for the vast range of jeans now available on upmarket sites such as Net-a-Porter, comes in at more than 250.

Yet, M&S is able to deliver its new season wide-leg jeans at just a tad over a tenth of that price.

Alex Leigh shows her Instagram followers a pair of blue jeans from M&S

Loved by everyone from J-Lo to Kate Moss, in 2023 jeans have become the most frequently worn item of clothing globally. Pictured: Sam Biones

In these cash-straitened times, spending money on special items that can be cherished for years can be justified, but most of us are wary of spending it where we don't need to - like on a pair of jeans.

M&S knows that it has a long way to go to compete with the kudos of fashion brands. And if it has any sense, it won't even attempt to. Instead, M&S is playing to its strengths, investing in denim technology that helps give a flattering shape to its average customer, who is upwards of 40 years old and a size 14.

For this core shopper, M&S denim is a safe space. Whether it's via the brand's online site (where a large number of styles can be found exclusively) or in store, jeans shopping at M&S lacks the fear factor it creates in other places. An older woman may well be uncomfortable, even if she can afford it, confronting Victoria Beckham's weird patchwork jeans, or resent the time wasted in upmarket department stores such as Harrods or Liberty, where the piles of denim appear baffling.

Even John Lewis's jeans section can be a confusing spot in which to find what you want. Although I have long been a critic of M&S's habit of hanging trousers from the waistband, as it makes them look frumpy, this does make it easier to see their shape, rather than having to rifle through piles of folded jeans where length, width and hem style are less than obvious.

It's an added bonus that the store gives detailed information about the production of its range, focusing on environmentally-sound practices, since denim is notoriously demanding on natural resources. It's not only the young who are concerned about the well-being of the planet.

Gone are the flashy details and naff stitching. Instead, the focus has been stripped down to well-cut, fuss-free styles that will work for all ages.

A pair of jeans that will help give us a great shape at a feel-good price. What more could we want?

Winning styles inspired by designer brands

1970s Flare

Blow out (left) Victoria Beckham Alina, 665 and budget (right) Per Una wide-leg, 45 and budget Per Una wide-leg, 45

Classic Straight

Blow out (left) The Row Lesley, 500 and budget (right) Sienna supersoft, 32.50

Slim fit

Blow out (left) Mother Denim The Tomcat, 315 and budget (right) Lily, 25

Slim flare

Blow out (left) Frame Le Super High Flare, 245 and budget (right) Per Una Lyocell, 35

Slouchy Boyfriend
Heinz has announced it is launching a new product which is sure to make your mouth water.

The sauce and baked beans giant will be releasing a unique invention of crispy hash browns dripping with a tomato ketchup centre.

The breakfast snack will be available across freezer aisles exclusively at Iceland Foods, starting from August 28.

Available for a price of 3, the filled hash browns are another step by Heinz into new frozen flavours and recipes, following the Heinz Beanz x hash brown mash-up released in 2022.

When launched in August last year, the Heinz Beanz Filled Hash Browns created quite a stir online, with some fans branding it a 'necessity' and 'genius'.

Heinz UK will be launching a unique invention of crispy hash browns dripping with a tomato ketchup centre, on August 28 (Pictured: Heinz Tomato Ketchup Filled Hash Browns)

Hash browns are a popular breakfast dish consisting of finely chopped potatoes that have been fried until golden brown.

Add a saucy tomato centre, and you've probably got the stuff of breakfast legends.

Sophie Higgins, from Heinz, said: 'Were so excited to be bringing our Heinz Tomato Ketchup Filled Hash Browns to our filled hash brown family.

'Heinz Tomato Ketchup is truly a global favourite, so it made complete sense to combine it with another classic family favourite, perfect for any mealtime.

'Here at Heinz, were continuing in our mission to find exciting ways to combine our beloved varieties with other iconic foods, flavours, and tastes, or even thinking about the food of the future.

'Keep an eye out for what comes next!'

The frozen Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Beanz Filled Hash Browns are low in saturated fat and are suitable for vegetarians.

Meanwhile superstore Iceland are also looking forward to thrilling their customers with the new invention.

Available for a price of 3, the filled hash browns are another step by Heinz into new frozen flavours and recipes, following the Heinz Beanz x hash brown mash up released in 2022 (Pictured: Frozen Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Beanz Filled Hash Browns)

Andrew Staniland, from Iceland Foods, said: 'Were constantly looking to bring new and exciting innovations to our customers, and we cannot wait to see their reaction to this one-of-a-kind product.

'Following the success of the Heinz Beanz Filled Hash Browns, it was time to introduce a new Heinz frozen product to the range, aimed at bringing delight to our breakfast-loving customers, so they can enjoy a double amount of Heinz with their sausage and egg'.

The launch of tomato ketchup-filled hash browns is part of Kraft Heinzs larger transformation to grow its taste elevation platform around the world.
Prince Albert's son Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste has berated his title of 'illegitimate' and revealed he's 'very close' to his father and half-siblings.

The university student, who turns 20 this week, gave a tell-all interview to French magazine Point de Vue ahead of his birthday, where he described father Prince Albert of Monaco, 65, as 'benevolent' and said he considers himself 'lucky'.

Alexandre mother is Nicole Coste, 52, a former Air France flight attendant from Togo.

Although he is Albert's eldest son, he is not in the line of succession to the Monegasques throne as his parents were not married when he was born.

His father acknowledged his paternity as an infant, and despite growing up out of the spotlight he has increasingly come into the royal fold in recent years - and often spends time with his half-sister Jasmin Grimaldi, 31, whose mother is American waitress Tamara Rotolo, and his twin siblings Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, eight, who Albert shares with wife Princess Charlene.

Prince Albert's son Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste (pictured) has berated his title of 'illegitimate' and revealed he's 'very close' to his father and half-siblings (pictured with his mother and father)

The university student, who turns 20 this week, gave a tell-all interview to French magazine Point de Vue ahead of his birthday, where he described father Prince Albert of Monaco, 65, as 'benevolent' and said he considers himself 'lucky'. He is pictured with his half-siblings Jazmin and Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella

Alexandre gave an interview to tell-all interview to French magazine Point de Vue (pictured)

Since 2022, with his father's encouragement, he has begun using his family's name of Grimaldi (although kept his mother's too, with the hyphenated with Grimaldi-Coste).

'My father's name is Grimaldi. It makes sense that I bear his name. I would have been called Dochomel if my father had been Mr. Dochomel!' he told the magazine.'

He also hit back at being called 'illegitimate' complaining that online trolls question his legitimacy.

'When I was born, neither of my parents were in another marriage, and they did not commit adultery. Using that word [illegitimate] is insulting! I hope no one believes the lies conveyed on the internet. One bears the name of one's father when one has been recognised since birth. I had voluntary recognition from my father when I was a baby. Not from a judge or the press who have forced him to,' he added.

Since 2022, with his father's encouragement, he has began using his family's name of Grimaldi (although kept his mother's too, with the hyphenated with Grimaldi-Coste). Prince Albert is pictured with wife Charlene, and their children Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Princess Gabriella

'My mother, whom I adore is my rock, and she is not jealous at all of my choice. If she never said anything about my surname, it's been to protect our privacy. I was two years old when I was revealed in the press.'

Alexandre, who studies Business Management and English, added that he lives with his mother and two older half-brothers from her previous marriage.

'Jazmin is my big sister, and I love her like I love my two big brothers on my mother's side,' Alexandre added.

'We all get along very well, and Jazmin is also very close to one of my two brothers with whom she shares the same birthday. We've a good relationship despite the fact that we live in distant countries.'

He also joked that he has a 'tenderness' with his younger siblings - but doesn't 'share their toys' because of the age difference.

The royal has spent time with the Monegasque side of his family, and was recently pictured at his cousin, Louis Ducruet's wedding.

Meanwhile, Princess Stephanie, his aunt, is also his godmother.

And despite his good looks, he said he has no plans to go into modelling, following his grandmother Grace Kelly's footsteps.

'My father is a prince and head of state  I personally cannot imagine myself marching on a podium.'

'On the other hand, if a prestigious brand asks me to be its ambassador and its image suits me, why not?'
An Italian bride-to-be whose wedding was called off after her millionaire fiance accused her of cheating in a video that has gone viral has reportedly been offered a spot on the countrys Big Brother show.

Glamorous entrepreneur and local politician Cristina Seymandi, 47, was left reeling after banker Massimo Segre, 64, gave a speech to guests at a pre wedding party in his mansion where he publicly accused her of two timing.

It led to the lavish nuptials being called off and a bitter row has now ensued between the pair over privacy and over 700,000 that Cristina transferred from their joint account to her own account.

Now it has emerged that TV bosses allegedly want her on the next edition of Grande Fratello (Big Brother) that begins later this year and according to Italian media, channel owner Pier Silvio Berlusconi, son of the late prime minister Silvio has called to ask her on.

According to some Italian media reports, Cristina Seymandi has denied rumours that she has been invited to appear on the show.

Cristina Seymandi (pictured) has denied rumours that she has been invited to appear on the Italian version of Big Brother following the breakdown of her engagement

Massimo Segre (seen in an undated photo) broke up with Cristina Seymandi during their engagement party, when he accused her of cheating in his speech

However, other parts of the Italian media has claimed TV chiefs are desperate to get the mother-of-one onto the show after the story of how she was publicly accused of cheating has dominated headlines for the last two weeks.

A source said: 'It's the only thing people are talking about and to get her on the show would be viewing dynamite.

'She's glamorous, attractive and would certainly get people watching. Big names are involved in trying to convince her to appear.'

Earlier this month footage of Segre 'naming and shaming her' at their party in his mansion in Turin was posted online before he then went on to say the wedding was off and that she should 'enjoy her honeymoon in Mykonos with her lover'

He told gobsmacked guests and a stunned Cristina: 'I want to give Cristina the freedom to love,' as members of the citys high society listened during a break in the lavish festivities.

'Specifically, to love another person; a notable lawyer, who she clearly cares about more than me.

'Dear Cristina, I know how much you are in love with him mentally and sexually, and I know that before him you had a relationship with an industrialist acquaintance.'

Since the engagement party, a video taken by one of the guests has gone viral, resulting in Cristina becoming the subject of death threats online.

Italian media reported that guests were annoyed at being 'used' as part of the show. Stunned, they stared on in silence unsure what to think.

In a letter to the director of the Zona Bianca TV news programme, Christina said Massimo had committed an act of 'psychological violence' and had 'meticulously planned his revenge'.

Massimo Segre's speech in full Massimo Segre gives his speech in which he breaks up with Cristina Seymandi 'Tonight, I'd like to gift Cristina the freedom to love. To love a person, a known lawyer, who she clearly cares more for than me, and who I think managed to become obnoxious just to avoid slighting me. 'My dear Cristina, I know how in love you are, both mentally and sexually, how did you manage to self-confide? And I know that before him you had a relationship with a well-known industrialist. 'My dear friends, don't believe that this pleases me to be a cuckold in front of you all, but Cristina was so good at telling her truths that I couldn't leave it to her to tell the narrative of why I will be leaving her tonight. 'What did she say to her poor mother? Because the woman became afraid that her daughter was no longer safe to sleep with me. And so what did she say to all of you that drove away the truth? It's a banal story of infidelity, even premarital. 'I am very disappointed, heartbroken. I blame myself for not having understood how a woman can't really love you if a marriage puts you against your own children, with who I have painstakingly tried to recover a relationship that has deteriorated in these three years. 'My dear Cristina, go to Mykonos with your lawyer, be happy with him, you know it's all paid for, like how he paid for the trip to Vietnam with your daughter, a splendid young lady who I am very disappointed to have been involved in this situation. 'I confirm, if you want, when you return we could evaluate how to continue a professional collaboration, however our story ends today. 'I wish you happiness with your new partner and to continue shining in the world that you have done all these years. Sorry to you all and good night.' Advertisement

She added that she had a valuable sapphire ring given to her by Massimo's mother to mark their engagement which had 'mysteriously disappeared' 15 days before the party.

Speaking to The Times, Cristina's adviser said she will be taking legal action for 'reputational damage' against he former fiance.

'She has suffered very serious attacks on social media and threats from Italian citizens. It has been traumatic,' she said.

Her lawyer, Claudio Strata, added that her banker fiance had 'intentionally humiliated her'.

'The letter was read out in front of dozens of people and it was captured in a video that was sent to the newspapers.

'We don't think this was improvised.'

Massimo categorically denies having published the video, let alone having allowed it to be filmed.

He has since accused Cristina of stealing 700,00 (598,000) from the couple's joint account, but she says the money was transferred with his consent before the relationship ended.

In an interview with La Stampa, Cristina said that the bags for Mykonos 'were already packed' and urged onlookers to reserve judgment: 'Within every family, the dynamics are very complex and difficult to understand from the outside.'

At the time, she said, she thought he'd gone crazy. 'He was very tired at the time,' she said.

'I am sure there's someone behind him who fanned the flames. In short, manipulated him.'

She also noted: 'My professional life requires me to react and remain lucid. I will think about possible protections in civil and criminal matters.'

Cristina added: 'It was a farce, let's face it. Serious things are resolved another way.'

'Now I will consider whether to sue him,' she said.

Viviana Ferrero, former vice president of the Turin city council and friend of Cristina, described the ordeal as a 'sexist lynching'.

She said: 'Two things hurt me, the end of a beautiful love story and the lynching... it's been going on for days. A sexist, chauvinist, violent, horrendous lynching.

She went on: 'Dirty laundry is washed in the family and they, even if for a short time, were a very special family.

'And they could have been one of the most beautiful couples there were, because they combined so many qualities. I don't rejoice when the rich cry.'

Massimo Segre is a board member of the Domani newspaper and the Directa Sim online trading platform and comes from a powerful family that forms part of northern Italys financial elite.

Cristina is chief executive of the Savio door and windows company after the Segre family acquired it in 2019 and she owns 80 per cent of the firm valued at 14 million.

On Tuesday in a brief court hearing in Turin before judge Fabrizio Alessandria, lawyers for the pair discussed the 700,000 transfer with Segres team asking for the amount to be frozen in Seymandis account.

Her lawyers responded they had paperwork to how the transaction was approved by Segre and above board and the judge ruled he would make a decision on September 5.

Neither of the couple were present for the hearing.
Sister Wives stars Kody and Robyn Brown have come under fierce fire for letting their daughter use a pacifier at age six.

In the premiere episode of the show's 18th season, which aired on Sunday, a flashback clip that was taken on Thanksgiving in November 2022 showed their then-six-year-old daughter Ariella using a binky - and it left many people on the web outraged.

The footage featured the youngster sucking on a white pacifier while looking at some of the food that had been prepared for the holiday.

Soon after the episode came out, social media erupted with a slew of angry tweets from people who called the couple 'shameful' and branded it as 'bad parenting' for allowing the child to use a binky.

Sister Wives stars Kody and Robyn Brown have come under fierce fire for letting their daughter use a pacifier at age six

In the latest episode of the show, a flashback clip that was taken on Thanksgiving in November 2022 showed their then-six-year-old daughter Ariella using a binky

The footage featured the youngster sucking on a white pacifier while looking at some of the food that had been prepared for the holiday

'Yeesh, still showing Ari with the pacifier in the flashbacks,' one person wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Pacifiers are used to sooth babies, but many medical professionals have said that using it too much can cause dental problems in children - and it's recommended that kids stop at age three

'So shameful. Not good parenting,' said someone else.

'Have they finally been able to tear 29-year-old Ari away from her pacifier?' another user asked sarcastically.

'Is Ariella still taking a pacifier? Yes, I'm judging,' tweeted a different viewer.

Pacifiers are used to sooth babies, but many medical professionals have said that using it too much can cause dental problems in children - and it's recommended that kids stop at age three.

'A prolonged and frequent sucking habit may eventually cause crooked teeth or bite problems,' Hurst Pediatric Dentistry previously reported.

'The longer the habit continues, the more likely it is that your child will need orthodontic treatment in the future.'

This isn't the first time that the couple has faced backlash for letting Ariella use a binky past the recommended age.

Soon after the episode aired, social media erupted with a slew of angry tweets from people who called the couple 'shameful' and branded it as 'bad parenting'

This isn't the first time that the couple has faced backlash for letting Ariella use a binky past the recommended age

Last year, they received immense criticism online after viewers noticed the toddler using a pacifier in another episode.

'Is anyone else thinking that Ariella is a little too old for a pacifier?' one fan asked in January 2022.

'They are for infants,' someone else pointed out. A third person said, 'Get that pacifier out of Ariella's mouth.'

'Why did Ariella have a pacifier in her mouth? Isn't the five or six? Good lord,' another user tweeted.

'That's just lazy parenting,' slammed a different person.

The TLC show Sister Wives premiered back in 2010, and it followed Mormon polygamist Kody and his life with four wives - Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn - while also showcasing some of the many struggles that come with being married to multiple women at the same time.

While only one of his four marriages is technically official - having more than one spouse is not legal in the US - Kody, who has said it's 'God's testimony' for him to have numerous spouses, called his other partners his 'spiritual wives.'

For over a decade, the five-some made their bizarre relationship work, living in four separate homes on the same cul-de-sac in Las Vegas, Nevada, with their combined 18 children.

The TLC show Sister Wives premiered back in 2010, and it followed Mormon polygamist Kody and his life with four wives - Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn

For over a decade, the five-some made their bizarre relationship work, living in four separate homes on the same cul-de-sac in Las Vegas, Nevada, with their combined 18 children

Robyn was the last to join the family in 2010, and she and Kody went on to welcome two kids together - son Solomon in 2011 and daughter Ariella in 2016

However, along the way, the reality star and his four wives faced a series of problems - stemming from jealousy over who Kody liked most and leading to bitter rivalries between the women over his attention - all of which, was put on display for the entire world to see throughout the 17 seasons of their show.

In 2021, Christine shocked the world when she announced that she was moving away from the family and officially splitting from Kody, after growing tension over the way he treated Robyn came to a head.

In 2021, Christine split from Kody, and she said she had become unhappy after that he was 'catering' to Robyn's needs more than the other wives. The four wives are seen at Kody and Robyn's wedding

Christine previously said that she was unhappy that Kody was 'catering' to Robyn's needs more than the other wives, and that she 'didn't feel special anymore.'

'I'm tired of feeling like I don't matter, I'm tired of not having his support when I really need it. I'm just tired. I need a partnership. I need something different than this,' she said in the show.

Months later, Janelle also parted ways with Kody - after she said she started to feel like her relationship with Kody had become a 'patriarchy' - followed by Meri in early 2023, which means that Robyn is the only one who is still with Kody.

Robyn was the last to join the family in 2010, and she and Kody went on to welcome two kids together - son Solomon in 2011 and daughter Ariella in 2016.

Months later, Janelle also parted ways with Kody followed by Meri in early 2023, which means that Robyn is the only one who is still with Kody. Kody is seen with his wives

Kody also adopted Robyn's three children from her past relationship, named David, Aurora, and Breanna.

After he and Christine went their separate ways, Robyn admitted their breakup was hard for her during an episode of the show because she said she felt like she was to blame for the split.

'I cannot express enough how hard it is to be in a plural family where my husband and his other wife is having a problem and it completely affects my life, but I'm really supposed to stay out of it and I have no say,' she explained.

'The lines are hard between our different marriages because its like, "OK, you've got to respect that she's got her own relationship with Kody." But at the same time, their relationship affects yours.'

She spoke about it again in February 2022, stating that being in the middle of Kody and Christine's drama was 'really tough' on her and 'really painful.'

She added: 'I want people to see that I love this family. That I'm committed to them. That I'd do anything for them. That I love them. And that I want the relationship.'
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden cut an elegant figure in a floral gown when attending a sustainability awards ceremony in Stockholm today.

The mother-of-two, 46, looked resplendent in the sophisticated patterned ensemble as she stepped out at the Junior Water Prize, which is a ceremony for youngsters interested in water and environment issues.

Victoria's eye-catching dress featured a navy, billowing skirt with floral detailing and a black square neckline top.

For her arrival at the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre, the beaming royal teamed the statement frock with black strappy heels while keeping her essentials in a dainty handbag.

She finished off her stylish look with a sapphire necklace and matching earrings, as well as a silver watch.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden cut an elegant figure in a floral gown when attending a sustainability awards ceremony in Stockholm today

Keeping her make-up simple, the royal looked fresh-faced, ensuring her dress was the main attraction.

She was pictured posing for photographs with officials at the event, before heading inside to present several of the awards.

Crown Princess Victoria is patron of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, which is open to entrants from around the world.

Each year some 30,000 young people enter in the hope of taking home the $15,000 prize money, along with a blue crystal sculpture, a diploma and a stay in Stockholm.

The mother-of-two, 46, looked resplendent in the sophisticated patterned ensemble as she stepped out at the Junior Water Prize, which is a ceremony for youngsters interested in water and environment issues

Arriving at the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre, Victoria (pictured left) looked radiant in the eye-catching dress that featured a navy floral skirt and black square neckline top

The beaming royal teamed the statement frock with black strappy heels while keeping her essentials in a dainty handbag

The princess (pictured right handing out an award) finished off her stylish look with a sapphire necklace and matching earrings, as well as a silver watch

They join national competitions in the hope of earning the chance to represent their nation at the international final held during the World Water Week in Stockholm.

The national and international competitions are open to young people between the ages of 15 and 20 who have conducted water-related projects of proven environmental, scientific, social or technological significance. The projects range from local or regional to national or global topics.

Victoria is the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and heir apparent to the Swedish throne.
A simple ten-minute scan picks up twice as many serious prostate cancer cases as existing blood tests, research published today suggests.

Currently doctors use a prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood test to identify cases, but the quick MRI scan produces far better results, according to the study.

Under current guidelines, men with a PSA reading of below 3 nanograms per millilitre would be considered at low risk for prostate cancer and would not be referred for further investigations.

But, in the trial, more than half of men who had an abnormality detected by the MRI scan and went on to be diagnosed with serious prostate cancer had a PSA below 3.

The study was also the first to measure PSA 'density'  a figure based on the PSA level from a blood test compared with the volume of the prostate gland.

Terry Noonan, 64, took part in the trial and found out he had an aggressive cancer. He had his prostate removed within weeks and is now cancer free

'I was so lucky to be in the trial' Retired accountant Terry Noonan was 61 when his GP suggested he join a trial to see whether a ten-minute MRI scan was better at diagnosing prostate cancer than the standard PSA blood test. Mr Noonan's scan at University College London Hospital in November 2020 revealed he was at risk. His PSA density  a new measure for screening which combines a man's PSA level with the volume of the prostate gland measured by the MRI scan  was also raised. Further tests confirmed he had an aggressive cancer. He had his prostate removed within weeks and is now cancer free. Mr Noonan, 64, said: 'I feel very lucky  the treatment was a complete success.' Advertisement

Experts think this is more accurate because PSA levels and the size of the prostate increase naturally with age.

The standard PSA test can lead to older men being wrongly informed they are at risk because their PSA is raised.

Scientists involved in the study, called Reimagine, believe the ten-minute MRI combined with studying the PSA density could revolutionise prostate cancer diagnosis and possibly lead to a national screening programme for the disease.

Caroline Moore, a professor of urology at University College London and consultant at University College London Hospital which led the research, said: 'The thought that over half of the men with clinically significant cancer had a PSA less than 3ng/ml  and would have been reassured that they didn't have cancer  is a sobering one and reiterates the need to consider a new approach to screening.

'Our results give an early indication that MRI could offer a more reliable method of detecting potentially serious cancers early.'

Each year, 52,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with the cancer, and more than 12,000 die from it.

The standard PSA test remains the most common way of seeing who needs further testing, despite the tests being unreliable and leading some to have unnecessary tests, and those with cancer being diagnosed late.

In the new study, 303 men aged 50 to 75 had a ten-minute MRI scan of the prostate as well as a PSA density test.

(Stock Photo) Using a quick MRI scan produces far better results in identifying cases than the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood test, according to the study

The MRI suggested 16 per cent  48 men  were at risk of cancer, yet two-thirds of these men had a PSA under 3.

More detailed scans showed 25 of these men had cancer serious enough to need treatment, 15 of whom would not have been picked up by a standard PSA test.

Separately, the PSA density test identified a further 16 men at risk of prostate cancer of whom four were found to have the disease seriously enough to need treatment.

Simon Grieveson, assistant director of research at the charity Prostate Cancer UK, said the results were 'extremely exciting', adding: 'We now want to see much larger, UK-wide studies to understand if using MRI as the first step in getting tested could form the basis of a national screening programme.'

Professor Mark Emberton, a consultant urologist at UCLH and senior author of the study, added: 'The UK prostate cancer mortality rate is twice as high as in countries like the US or Spain because our levels of testing are much lower than other countries.

'Given how treatable prostate cancer is when caught early, I'm confident that a national screening programme will reduce the UK's prostate cancer mortality rate significantly. I believe this will be possible within the next five to ten years.'
A care home nurse who attended a Covid-conspiracy rally in London in her nursing uniform and claimed the virus was a hoax has been struck off.

Carley Louise Stewart, of Preston, attended the mass protest in August 2020 holding a placard which read 'Nurse on call. Where's the pandemic?'.

The mother-of-two, who was fired from her care home job after the incident, was ruled unfit to remain a nurse by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for both her protest attendance and multiple comments sowing distrust in official guidance.

These included accusing people abiding by Covid restrictions of 'conducting satanic rituals and evil by complying'.

Ms Stewart also boasted about flouting rules restricting Christmas gatherings in 2020 by hiring friends and family as temporary employees so they could visit her home.

Carley Louise Stewart, 31, of Preston, was among the 10,000 Covid-19 conspiracy theorists who took to the streets of London in August 2020 to demonstrate against lockdown restrictions and vaccinations

She was dressed in her nursing uniform and brandished a placard with the words 'We have empty beds' on one side and 'Nurse on call. Where's the pandemic?' on the other

Ms Stewart, who lost her job over her protest appearance, has now been struck off from the nursing register

Striking her off, the NMC said her 'inflammatory' comments were intended to 'engender anger' during the pandemic and could have potentially put members of the public at risk of harm.

Ms Stewart, who did not attend the NMC proceedings earlier this month, faced a total of ten charges regarding her conduct as a nurse.

These all related to her attendance at the protest wearing her nurse uniform and comments made via social media and YouTube in the aftermath.

This included claiming that Covid PCR tests people used to see if they had the virus didn't work, and that she had seen 'no evidence of a killer virus let alone a pandemic'.

She also claimed that viruses were not actually contagious and those following Covid restrictions in 2020, like six-foot social distancing, were participating in 'satanic rituals'.

'6 FEET 6 PEOPLE 6 MONTHS 666 If your [sic] unaware, you are conducting satanic rituals and evil by complying,' she wrote on Facebook in September that year.

Stewart also boasted about how to get around the 'rule of six', a Covid restriction limiting social gatherings to six people at Christmas in 2020.

'Right then UK government, jokes [sic] on you,'' she wrote on Facebook.

'Im not allowed to have my family around for Christmas.

'I AM however allowed to have employees [sic] around 6quid later, Fenn Settle Ltd. is now a legally registered company, registered with companies house.

'And I can now "hire" my family and friends on a 0 hour contract, and invite them for an "unpaid works event" at my house (registered premises) regardless of any tier system and totally irrespective of the rule of 6.'

It is unknown if Stewart actually went ahead with this plan.

The NMC said the comments about Covid, restrictions and health advice, as well her appearance at the protest in her nursing uniform, were carried out contrary to official health advice, encouraged the public to disregard official guidelines and break the law, and sowed distrust in other health professionals with opposing views.

The fitness to practise panel said: 'The panel considered Mrs Stewarts comments to be openly critical of any of her nursing colleagues who disagreed with her views and she accused health professionals of not properly looking after the residents in their care and of having a lack of knowledge.

'The panel was of the view that Mrs Stewarts conduct would undermine the publics trust in health professionals and would have the impact of some members of the public of disregarding the views of those professionals.'

They added: 'The panel was of the view that Mrs Stewarts behaviour was serious, presenting misleading information to the public as a registered health professional that might encourage them to disregard official health advice, potentially putting members of the public at risk of harm.'

In the ruling, the panel found all charges against her proved, adding that Ms Stewart had demonstrated no insight into her behaviour.

While the NMC noted Ms Stewart did have freedom of speech, this was overridden 'by the interests of public safety and protection of the public'.

Kate Shemirani was removed from the Nursing and Midwifery Council register for spreading misinformation about the pandemic

Considering the evidence, the panel said nothing short of striking Ms Stewart off the nursing register would be sufficient.

She has 28 days to appeal the ruling which was made on August 11.

While the NMC received multiple reports of her comments and appearance at the protest in 2020, fitness to practise proceedings were delayed partly because of Ms Stewart requesting an adjournment.

Ms Stewart is not the first nurse to be struck off by the NMC for their role in promoting Covid misinformation.

Ex-nurse and shamed anti-vaxx campaigner Kate Shemirani, who famously compared NHS workers to Nazi war criminals and likened Covid lockdown restrictions to the Holocaust, was also stuck off by the NMC in a ruling in 2021.

Almost 230,000 Brits are known to have died from Covid since the start of the pandemic.
The UK's first womb transplant has seen a sister successfully donate to her childless sibling.

The procedure marks a huge breakthrough for thousands of British women who might otherwise be unable to give birth.

The 40-year-old donor, who already has two children, made the selfless gift to her younger sister who wants to start a family with her husband, but, due to a medical condition, was born without a womb.

The intricate surgery to remove the womb from the donor and implant it in her sister involved two teams and eight surgeons who worked in neighbouring operating theatres and took over 17 hours in total.

While the surgery lasted longer than planned, it went well and the implanted womb is 'fully functional', according to the surgeons involved.

The 34-year-old married woman received the womb  also called the uterus  from her 40-year-old sister who made the selfless gift to her younger sibling

The operation took place at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. The recipient, who lives in England and does not wish to be named, is said to be 'over the moon' at how things have gone and is 'very, very excited' at the prospect of starting a family

The 34-year-old who received the womb is said to be 'over the moon' at how things have gone and is 'very, very excited' at the prospect of starting a family and has told her doctors 'I want to have as many children as I can'.

While the recipient was born without a womb, she does have ovaries and produced her own eggs which had previously been harvested and fertilised using IVF.

It's now hoped she will have one of her five embryos that have been frozen in storage implanted this coming autumn at a London fertility clinic.

One of the surgeons who led the transplant told the Mail she has an 'over 80 per cent' chance of a successful pregnancy.

Any resulting baby would be delivered by caesarean at 37 weeks to reduce the strain on the donated womb - and the mother then has the choice to keep the womb for one more pregnancy or to have it removed.

Professor Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who was one of two lead surgeons for the ground-breaking operation said there were emotional scenes when the medical team met with the woman and her family shortly after she was discharged from hospital ten days after the transplant operation.

Her sister went home five days earlier.

'We were all in tears,' he said.

Pictured: The surgical team behind the UK's first womb transplant

The surgical medical team were 'all in tears' following the successful surgery which marks a huge breakthrough for thousands of British women who might otherwise be unable to give birth

'It was emotional for all the medical staff and for her and her entire family - it was a hugely big deal to us all.'

He says she has a very good chance of a healthy pregnancy.

The operations took place in February at the Churchill Hospital, part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, but have been shrouded in secrecy - partly because the recipient, who lives in England, wants to remain anonymous and partly because the team, involving staff from five different hospitals, wanted time to ensure the operation had been a success.

It has only become public knowledge now because details are being published in the medical journal BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The breakthrough could potentially benefit thousands of women in the UK. One in 5000 women is born without a viable womb due to conditions such as Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome (MRKH), which is what the recipient of this transplant has, a condition of the reproductive system affecting women which means they are born without a womb.

Many other women have to have their wombs removed due to conditions such endometriosis or cancer.

Until now women without a womb wanting to have a family faced having to use a surrogate or to travel abroad for the womb transplant surgery, although this has not really been a viable option.

The first womb transplant was performed in Saudi Arabia in 2000 but complications meant the womb had to be removed after three months.

The intricate surgery to remove the womb from the donor and implant it in her sister involved two teams and eight surgeons who worked in neighbouring operating theatres

In September 2014 a Swedish woman, Malin Stenberg, became the first person in the world to give birth following a womb transplant after a 61-year-old family friend donated her womb.

Since then, around 100 transplants have been carried out worldwide on women from other countries, resulting in the birth of around 50 healthy babies.

The successful surgery in the UK is a huge breakthrough.

It could have happened sooner but red tape - 'the regulatory process takes a very long time,' said Miss Isabel Quiroga, a consultant transplant surgeon, and joint leader of the team who performed the operations - and funding have been a problem.

The charity Womb Transplant UK paid for the operation through donations and fundraising charity events including cake sales.

Each operation costs in the region of 25,000 - although all the surgeons and doctors involved in the operation and planning have given their time for free.

The team had been ready to push ahead with a living donor in March 2020 but the pandemic hit.

They now have permission from the various regulatory authorities including The Human Tissue Authority, for two programmes: one involving five women who will receive wombs from live donors and another with ten patients who do not have suitable living donors and so who will seek donated wombs from deceased donors.

Lead surgeons Isabel Quigora and Richard Smith. Prof Smith said 'it was emotional for all the medical staff and for her and her entire family - it was a hugely big deal to us all'

Womb Transplant UK have heard from 500 women wanting to take part in the programme.

They say they have around a dozen potential patients who already have stored embryos or who are undergoing IVF and may eventually become patients - one of whom lost her womb to uterine cancer.

They have raised 200,000 so far towards the cost but still have a shortfall of 300,000 to fund the research programme.

For the time being they will use what funds they do have and Professor Smith says the team will be on standby to perform the next transplant as soon as everyone involved has returned from their summer breaks.

'I think it's really important that we can offer this as a possible service within the UK,' he said.

'We know patients are going to America - as they can't access it here - but to do that they have to relocate which is a very big undertaking and to me it's very important to me that it's is available for women of the UK.'

Only those who qualify for NHS care, who live in the United Kingdom and are aged between 24 and 40 (or 42, if their embryos were stored in ice before the age of 38) can be considered as patients for either of the two programmes.

Those who do get accepted need detailed physical and psychological assessments and will be made aware of the risks.

The failure rate for womb transplants is higher than it is for other life-saving transplants - around a quarter of all womb transplants fail compared with just one per cent for kidney transplants, for example.

Around 20 per cent fail from a living donor and 28 per cent fail from dead donors, according to a review of the cases published earlier this year in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, something the Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo in Japan called 'a crucial concern'.
An ex-NHS nurse who sparked outrage by saying Tory voters 'don't deserve to be resuscitated' on live TV has been removed from the nursing register.

Miranda Hughes, from Hampshire, was fired from her private job after making the comments during a debate on Jeremy Vine's Channel 5 show 'Britain on The Brink' last October.

But Ms Hughes quickly backtracked on her remark, telling MailOnline at the time it was made in the 'heat of the moment'.

Speaking outside her 500,000 home in Odiham, she insisted she would 'never not resuscitate anyone'.

Ms Hughes was initially referred to the regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), after concerns were raised over her fitness to practise following the remarks.

Miranda Hughes (pictured), from Hampshire, was fired from her private job after making the comments during a debate on Jeremy Vine 's Channel 5 show 'Britain on The Brink' last October

Ms Hughes quickly backtracked on her remark, telling MailOnline at the time it was made in the 'heat of the moment'. Speaking outside her 500,000 home in Odiham, she insisted she would 'never not resuscitate anyone'. The mum-of-one, voluntarily contacted the register last month in the hope of being removed. Pictured, Ms Hughes with her husband and daughter

Two separate social media posts were also assessed, including one in July 2021 that reportedly said: 'Priti Patel and her Tory cronies are evil. I hope karma comes for them.'

Another made in December 2021 is stated to have read: 'F*** you Boris Johnson, f*** you #PMQs.'

But no allegations have yet to actually be 'substantively proved' by an NMC committee, the regulator said.

Ms Hughes, a mother, voluntarily contacted the register in July in the hope of being removed.

The panel accepted Ms Hughes' request concluding that 'public interest is served' by her 'immediate removal' from the register.

They acknowledged she 'no longer intends to work as a registered nurse'.

Ms Hughes now works in the hospitality sector as an administrator.

The NMC also said the allegations made were 'not so serious as to be fundamentally incompatible with continued registration'.

In a decision letter seen by Guido Fawkes, they acknowledged there is 'no reason' to believe that Ms Hughes would 'deliberately cause harm to patients as a result of their political views'.

The NMC also noted she had not received any other previous concerns of 'a similar nature', when she practised as a nurse.

The regulatory body said: 'Nurses, midwives and nursing associates may put their registration at risk if they act unprofessionally.

'Making comments of this nature on television and social media is a serious concern and can undermine the public's confidence in the profession.'

Under the NMC code of conduct, nurses, midwives and nursing associates must use all forms of spoken, written and digital communication  including social media  'responsibly'.

All nurses and midwives practising in the UK must be registered with the NMC.

Ms Hughes' comments on Tory voters were branded 'disgusting' and 'bigoted' at the time by social media users.

They came after she explained her decision to quit the NHS for the private sector, telling the show: 'I could not handle the emotional stress of not being able to deliver for my patients.

'When you sign up to be a nurse, you sign up to put the patient at the forefront of everything you do.

'You are squeezed to the point where you cannot treat people, the way you need to treat them.

'And it eats you up, because you are there to do a job as a compassionate person, but there are no resources.'

Growing in anger as she spoke, she then said: 'And you are told consistently on the news that care homes are being ring-fenced, but it's a lie.

'And I am sorry but if you have voted Conservative you do not deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS.

'I know that is harsh, I know that is harsh, but I'm looking at these gentlemen and it has made me so angry.'

Asked if she meant what she said by host Jeremy Vine, she replied: 'No, of course I would, of course I would.

'But it is appalling the way we have been treated. All nurses have been slapped in the face.'

In an interview with MailOnline a day after appearing on Channel 5, she confirmed she was contacted by her employer soon after the clip went viral and told she was being fired for breaching her contract as a rehabilitation case manager with south London-based firm HCML

Ms Hughes was initially referred to the regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), following concerns over her fitness to practise after making the remark. But no allegations have yet to actually be 'substantively proved' by an NMC committee, the regulator said

She worked for south London-based private healthcare and rehabilitation provider, HCML, when she appeared on the Channel 5 show. The company issued a statement on Twitter, following the programme (pictured)

In an interview with MailOnline the following day, she confirmed she was contacted by her employer soon after the clip went viral.

She said she had been told she was being fired for breaching her contract as a rehabilitation case manager with south London-based firm HCML.

The company also issued a statement on Twitter following the show, which said: 'The opinions expressed by the individual are their own personal views and do not represent those of the company.

'The company has policies which determine the permissibility of comments made by employees in the media, or on social media, and we will be investigating the extent to which the comments in question breached those policies.

Read more: Care home nurse who claimed Covid pandemic was a hoax while protesting against lockdowns in her uniform gets struck off Advertisement

'If a breach is found to have occurred then appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.'

Speaking to MailOnline on October 5 outside her home, Ms Hughes said she deserved to be fired for the 'ridiculous' comment that led to her being vilified as a 'monster'.

She also admitted she regretted the comments and 'would never not resuscitate anyone'.

Ms Hughes added: 'I said what I said in the heat of the moment. I was very angry and should not have said what I did, but I was so angry that it just got the better of me.

'I do regret what I said and of course I would never not resuscitate anyone. I would not even know their political beliefs. I have treated people from mayor's the lowest in society.'

Ms Hughes said: 'I should not have said what I said. It was a ridiculous thing to say, it really was.

'I underestimated how people will take something and run with it. Unfortunately, they are misdirecting their anger.

'I retracted what I said immediately and driving home I just thought to myself what have I done?'
A 33-year-old Rikers Island inmate arrested for back-to-back stabbings in Queens last year was found dead in his cell early Tuesday  the eighth city Correction Department detainee to die in custody or shortly after release in 2023, officials said.

Donny Ubiera was found unconscious in his cell at Rikers George R. Vierno Center. He died at the scene, apparently from a drug overdose, law enforcement sources said.

The death is another blemish on the citys attempts to fix up its jail system, which may be on the verge of a federal takeover. Four people died in the city jail system in July.

Subway stabbing suspect Donny Ubiera is walked from the NYPD Transit District 20 headquarters in Queens, New York City on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

Ubiera had been at Rikers since he was arrested for assaulting two people in a pair of unprovoked stabbings along the No. 7 subway line in Queens on June 10, 2022, authorities said.

He served two terms in prison before last years arrest and was undergoing regular mental health screenings while in custody, according to court documents.

He was a methadone patient at Vierno, sources said.

A Correction Department spokeswoman confirmed the death and said Ubiera received immediate medical care.

Next of kin has been notified, the spokeswoman said. All notifications have been made to the federal monitor [tracking violence in city jails], the state attorney general, the Department of Investigation, the Board of Correction, the state Commission of Correction and the office of the chief medical examiner.

The sign at the entrance to Rikers Island.

Ubiera was represented by the Legal Aid Society, which called Tuesday for a sweeping investigation.

Rikers Island has claimed the life of another one of our clients, the society said in a statement. Mr. Ubieras family deserves immediate answers from [the Correction Department] and jail medical staff on the circumstances that led to his death. All too often, our clients loved ones are deprived of even the most basic information following the passing of a relative.

Part of the investigation should entail if correctional staff and supervisors were actively engaged in supervising the housing area and conducting required tours, the Legal Aid Society said.

The federal monitor tracking violence in city lockups has found that correction officers and supervisors failure to closely observe detainees played a role in recent deaths.

Donny Ubiera

The last inmate to die at Rikers was Curtis Davis, 44, who was found unconscious in his cell July 23, officials said.

Ubiera is the 27th person to die on Rikers since Mayor Adams took office in January 2022.

Finding the citys efforts to curb violence and improve safety at Rikers and other city lockups not enough to create substantial improvements, Manhattan Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain has set in motion a series of steps that could end with a federal takeover of the jail system.

At a court hearing Aug. 10, Swain ordered lawyers for detainees and the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office to file motions by Nov. 17 to hold the city in contempt of prior court orders and to make a case for a federal takeover.

Under Mayor Adams watch the conditions have gone from bad to worse, Luke Steele, the leader of the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice, said Tuesday. It is upsetting and infuriating to learn that yet another life has been lost in New York City jails.

These deaths could have been prevented, he said. Peoples rights as human beings are being taken away the minute they step into Rikers.
Has YOUR workplace reintroduced face masks? Get in touch: luke.a.andrews@mailonline.co.uk

They are also requiring employees to test themselves before going to the office

A major Hollywood studio has reintroduced Covid mask mandates amid fears about rising virus rates and a new highly mutated variant.

Lionsgate  best known for its horror franchise Saw and The Hunger Games  is asking staff to don face coverings again at its flagship office in Santa Monica, California, after several employees tested positive.

It is also strongly urging employees to test themselves before coming to their desks  and to alert managers if they test positive or have any symptoms of the virus.

The company  which employs up to 5,000 people  said the rules would be in place 'until further notice'.

It comes after a college in Atlanta, Georgia, also reintroduced mask mandates and a doctors began calling for coverings to be mandatory in healthcare settings.

Nationally, Covid hospitalizations have risen for five weeks in a row, although they are still three times lower than this time last year.

And doctors have been reporting that patients seen in recent week are not as sick as those they treated during earlier waves of the pandemic.

Lionsgate, a Hollywood studio, has ordered nearly half of its employees to start wearing face masks once again. The rule is in place until further notice at their building in Santa Monica

They are bringing back face masks for their office workers. Pictured above are staff wearing masks before filming 'Tick Tick Boom' in Midtown New York City in 2020

Hospitalizations across the US have risen for the fifth week in a row, but they are also barely a third of the levels from this time the previous year

Covid deaths remain static at present after having risen four percent in a week. They are hovering around record low levels

The face mask rule was revealed in an email signed by the response manager for Lionsgate, Sommer McElroy, reports Deadline.

It reads: 'Employees must wear a medical grade face covering (Surgical mask, KN95 or N95) when indoors.

'[This is] except for when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace.'

Employees must also inform managers if they have traveled anywhere outside Santa Monica in the last ten days.

The move comes at an already turbulent time for Hollywood. Like all other major studios, Lionsgate is also grappling an actor and writer strike that is delaying key projects.

The move came as Los Angeles Department of Health said there had been a 'small' rise in Covid 'indicators'  meaning cases, hospitalizations and deaths  in recent weeks.

Nationally, the most up-to-date official data shows there were 12,613 admissions in which the patient Covid in the week up to August 12.

That marked the fifth week in a row hospitalizations for the virus had risen and an increase of a fifth on the week prior.

But this is still barely a third of the levels recorded at the same time last year, when there were about 40,000 admissions every week.

Deaths also remain static with 484 reported in the latest week, up just four percent on the 465 from the previous seven-day spell.

There is no official data on Covid cases because only around 40,000 tests are being carried out per day.

But test positivity  that is, the share of those tests coming back positive  has doubled in the past month.

The upticks come amid concerns over the Covid variants EG.5 and a fresh strain scientists fear could spark another wave of infections dubbed BA.X or BA.2.86.

Surveillance shows that the EG.5 strain is now dominant in the US, with experts raising concerns that it may be more transmissible than previous variants.

There are only six cases of BA.X recorded to date  with just one in the US in Michigan.

But there are concerns over the strain because it has more than 30 mutations and is genetically distinct from all other currently circulating variants.

This raises the risk of it being better able to dodge immunity to trigger an infection.

Lionsgate is behind movie franchises such as the Hunger Games (Picture above is a scene from Mockingjay - part two)

They are also behind all the movies in the Saw series. Pictured above is a scene from Saw IV, released in 2007

A staff member offers a face mask to a man at Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, back in August 2021 during the pandemic

Former FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb warned over the weekend that he was 'very concerned' about the new strain, saying it may be more infectious than other variants.

But at present, he added, there is no evidence that it is more likely to cause severe disease or death,

The Hollywood studio's move comes after Morris Brown College in Atlanta, a private liberal arts school, also told students and staff to wear facemasks in hallways and lecture halls.

The college says the rules are in place for two weeks and have been triggered because of 'reports of positive cases among students'.

Students are also being told to maintain social distancing and all parties and large gatherings have been banned.

The numbers of Covid cases in Georgia have increased for three weeks in a row, but overall, the number of infections and hospitalizations remains low.
The vapes contain nicotine, which can cause lung damage and gum disease

Teachers and parents are being warned to look out for new 'High Light' Chinese vapes that are designed to look like highlighter pens.

The vapes are packaged in bright neon colors that resemble typical pencil case items and come in 20 kid-friendly flavors like blueberry ice, mango and strawberry banana.

But each device contains 50 milligrams of nicotine, the equivalent of 50 cigarettes and a level illegal in most European countries.

Nicotine can cause damage to children's lungs and brains, as well as cause nicotine addiction, lung damage, gum disease and oral cancers.

It comes amid a school vape epidemic that is expected to get worse when the new term begins in September. Data has shown that more than 2.5 million US children use e-cigarettes.

The vapes are packaged in bright neon colors to look like a typical pencil case item and come in 20 kid-friendly flavors like blueberry ice, mango and strawberry banana

Users suck on the pen nip end of the vape. The highlighter design makes it easy for children to hide in their pencil case at school

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 percent, from 2021. It is the first increase since the CDC started gathering annual data in 2019

Previous research has shown that the average teen vaper in America starts aged 13, which has gotten lower since 2014.

The vapes are made by Shenzhen Amdecig Technology based in Shenzhen, China.

The company website claims the devices are 'not for minors', but packaging and flavors are geared towards a younger audience.

Minou Jones, chair of the Detroit Wayne Oakland Tobacco-Free Coalition, told Fox 2: 'Youth are hiding the use of these products in schools and from their parents which makes it very dangerous.'

Disposable vapes appear to be the e-cigarette of choice among youngsters, with most purchasing them from bodegas.

It is illegal in the US to sell vapes to under-21s, but many minors are still able to get their hands on them.

'Because our jobs aren't hard enough,' high school English teacher Dawn Finley from Missouri wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). 'These are vape pens and not highlighters.'

Stefan Bjes, a patrol sergeant who has served with a Chicago police department for over 19 years, and previously served as a school resource officer, told Fox News the vapes are 'pouring in from China and are completely unregulated.

'Since they are unregulated, they could contain dangerous substances that can cause long-term damage to users.'

The officer added: 'There is no way of knowing their nicotine content or what else may be in them.

'We know the Chinese manufacturers of these illegal disposable vapes are also making and trafficking to the United States.'

He strongly advised parents to explain the dangers of vapes to their children and for teachers to be on the lookout for disguised vapes in schools.

Early studies that warned of their harmful effects were dismissed as outliers at first, or slammed as disinformation spread by the tobacco industry suddenly threatened by the arrival of smokeless nicotine products.

But scientific evidence pointing to their harmful effects has piled up and shows they cause nearly or as much damage as traditional cigarettes.

CDC figures claimed at least 2.6million US children are hooked on e-cigarettes, reversing a downward trend in recent years.

The report found that 2.55 million middle or high schoolers had used the device within the past 30 days.

That marks a jump of 500,000, or of 24 percent, from 2021. It is the first increase since 2019.

Super-strength disposable devices  like Elf bars  were the most common type of device used (55 percent).

The vast majority of children (85 percent) had used flavored e-cigarettes that federal regulators have cracked down on in recent years amid concerns they are purposefully marketing themselves to children.
Research suggests that doctors, however, are about 95 percent accurate

ChatGPT is as good as resident doctors at correctly diagnosing patients and making clinical decisions, a study suggests.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham in Boston, Massachusetts, studied the AI chatbot's ability to correctly diagnose patients and manage care in primary care and emergency settings.

ChatGPT made the correct decisions regarding diagnosis, what medications to prescribe, and other treatments 72 percent of the time. Meanwhile, experts estimate doctors are about 95 percent accurate.

The researchers said they 'estimate this performance to be at the level of someone who has just graduated from medical school, such as an intern or resident.'

Though the rates of misdiagnosis from fully qualified doctors are much lower, the researchers say that ChatGPT could make medical care more accessible and reduce wait times to see a doctor.

Researchers from Mass Brigham Hospital in Boston studied the effect of ChatGPT clinical decision-making, diagnoses, and care management decisions. They found that the AI chatbot, made the correct decisions 72 percent of the time and was equally accurate in primary care and emergency settings

The platform was 72 percent accurate overall. It was best at making a final diagnosis, with 77 percent accuracy. Research has also found that it can pass a medical licensing exam and be more empathetic than real doctors

Study author Dr Marc Succi said: 'Our paper comprehensively assesses decision support via ChatGPT from the very beginning of working with a patient through the entire care scenario, from differential diagnosis all the way through testing, diagnosis, and management.'

'No real benchmarks exist, but we estimate this performance to be at the level of someone who has just graduated from medical school, such as an intern or resident.

'This tells us that LLMs, in general, have the potential to be an augmenting tool for the practice of medicine and support clinical decision-making with impressive accuracy.'

ChatGPT was asked to come up with possible diagnoses for 36 cases based on the patient's age, gender, symptoms, and whether the case was an emergency.

The chatbot was then given additional information and asked to make care management decisions, along with a final diagnosis.

The platform was 72 percent accurate overall. It was best at making a final diagnosis, with 77 percent accuracy.

Its worst-performing area was making a differential diagnosis, which is when symptoms match more than one condition and have to be narrowed down to one answer. ChatGPT was 60 percent accurate in differential diagnoses.

The platform was also 68 percent accurate in making management decisions, such as determining what medications to prescribe.

'ChatGPT struggled with differential diagnosis, which is the meat and potatoes of medicine when a physician has to figure out what to do,' Dr Succi.

'That is important because it tells us where physicians are truly experts and adding the most valuein the early stages of patient care with little presenting information, when a list of possible diagnoses is needed.'

A study published earlier this year found that ChatGOT could pass the country's gold-standard medical exam, the three-part Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), scoring between 52.4 and 75 percent.

The passing threshold is about 60 percent.

However, it doesn't quite surpass qualified doctors yet.

Research suggests that actual doctors misdiagnose patients five percent of the time. This is one in 20 patients, compared to one in 4 misdiagnosed by ChatGPT.

The most accurate case in the ChtGPT study involved a 28-year-old man with a mass on his right testicle, in which ChatGPT was 83.8 percent accurate. The correct diagnosis was testicular cancer.

The worst-performing case was 55.9 percent accuracy in a 31-year-old woman with recurrent headaches. The correct diagnosis was pheochromocytoma, a rare and usually benign tumor that forms in the adrenal gland.

The average accuracy was the same for patients of all ages and genders.

The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, builds on previous research on ChatGPT in healthcare.

A study by the University of California San Diego found that ChatGPT provided higher-quality answers and was more empathetic than actual doctors.

The AI showed empathy 45 percent of the time, compared to five percent of empathetic doctors. It also provided more detailed answers 79 percent of the time, compared to 21 percent for doctors.

Additionally, ChatGPT was preferred 79 percent of the time, compared to 21 percent for doctors.

The Mass Brigham researchers said that more studies are needed, but the results show promise.

Dr Adam Landman, co-author of the study, said: 'We are currently evaluating LLM solutions that assist with clinical documentation and draft responses to patient messages with focus on understanding their accuracy, reliability, safety, and equity.'

'Rigorous studies like this one are needed before we integrate LLM tools into clinical care.'
The Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed 2,007 adults in an online poll this year

America's growing anti-vaxx crisis has been laid bare in a national poll that shows huge chunks of the country believe in conspiracy theories about safe shots.

One-quarter of adults said they believe the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism  a widely studied and discredited claim that emerged in the 1990s.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll also found that a third of adults believe that the Covid shots caused thousands of sudden deaths in otherwise healthy people.

The vaccine-skeptical movement across the country intensified after the Covid pandemic, linked to pushback against Covid vaccine mandates and increased misinformation as people spent more time online.

The growing sentiment has seen figures like Robert F Kennedy Junior surge in polls campaigning on an anti-vaxx message despite being a fringe political figure for most of his years.

The survey, called the Health Misinformation Tracking Poll Pilot, was conducted from May 23 and June 12, involved 2,007 adults

In a podcast released last month, Mr Kennedy made one of his most sensational claims yet about vaccines, arguing 'there is no vaccine that is safe and effective'

The KFF poll showed over a quarter of participants also believed the Covid vaccines have been proven to cause infertility - despite no evidence the Covid shot impacts male or female fertility.

The survey, the Health Misinformation Tracking Poll Pilot, was conducted from May 23 to June 12 and involved 2,007 adults. It looked at incorrect claims to do with Covid and vaccines, reproductive health and firearms. The most widespread misinformation claims were to do with Covid and vaccines.

Some 10 percent of respondents said the claim that Covid vaccines have killed thousands of healthy people was 'definitely true' while 23 percent said it was 'probably true.'

A conspiracy has emerged in the past few years that the Covid vaccines caused a spike in cardiac issues in healthy young people at a population level.

But data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows cardiac deaths among Americans under the age of 34 are similar to pre-pandemic levels.

Vaccines have been linked to a very small risk of myocarditis in young people, affecting about one in 30,000 under-40s after their second jab.

But cases are normally mild and resolve on their own without the need for any medical intervention. A Covid infection is also more likely to trigger myocarditis than the vaccines, studies show.

In 2020, data from the CDC showed there were 240 deaths from cardiac arrests among youngsters under 34 years old.

They calculated a rate of about 0.16 deaths per 100,000 people in the age group based on this, with confidence intervals  or the range  of 0.14 to 0.18.

In 2021, there were 284 deaths giving a rate of 0.19 per 100,000 with a range of 0.16 to 0.21.

The intervals overlap, which suggests there is no significant difference between 2020 and 2021 and that the variation is down to natural shifts that occur every year.

Some 23 percent of the KFF study participants also said the statement 'the MMR vaccines have been proven to cause autism in children' was 'definitely' or 'probably' true.

Claims that shots can lead to autism have been peddled by anti-vaxxers for almost 25 years, but the link has been repeatedly disproven.

The disgraced British physician Andrew Wakefield made the claim in a now-retracted 1998 Lancet study.

Dr Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, publicly described the research as 'fundamentally flawed' in 2004  nine years after it was published.

Dr Horton alleged that Andrew Wakefield, the gastroenterologist behind the paper, was paid by a group pursuing lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers.

The prestigious medical journal finally retracted the paper in 2010.

Just three months after his paper was pulled, Wakefield was banned from practicing medicine in Britain by the General Medical Council.

In 2011, the British Medical Journal conducted a damning probe into the findings of Wakefield's original study.

Its investigation found only two of the 12 children included developed autistic symptoms after being vaccinated  as opposed to the eight Wakefield claimed.

Since then, studies involving millions of children have failed to find a link between the MMR vaccine and the neurodevelopmental disorder.

But the rise of concern about vaccines during Covid has led to a dip in childhood vaccine uptake.

Measles is so contagious that around 95 percent of the population must be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. But MMR coverage was at just 93 percent nationally among kindergarteners in the US this year.

According to the CDC, a record high of almost 40 million children missed their measles vaccine in 2021.

This was put down to misinformation surrounding Covid vaccines which spooked parents, causing them to reject normal childhood shots, despite immunizations being the most effective way to protect children from measles.

In December 2022, a measles outbreak in Ohio saw more than 80 children contract the viral infection. Almost all the cases were in unvaccinated children.
A second American tested positive for the new highly-mutated BA.2.86 Covid variant that has been causing global alarm over its rapid transmission.

The positive case was detected in an asymptomatic patient in Virginia who was tested August 10 after returning to the US from Japan.

Scientists identified the case in a database that contains test samples from a small number of travelers entering the US. Independent experts told DailyMail.com they believe the new strain is spreading more widely and in more US states.

The new variant, also spotted in Michigan last week, is causing concern because it stems from an 'earlier branch' of the coronavirus, so it differs from the variants targeted by current vaccines.

That concern, combined with an uptick in positive tests across the US, has spooked an Atlanta college and the Hollywood studio Lionsgate into mandating face masks again. But while Covid rates are rising in the US  hospital admissions are up for the fifth week in a row  they remain at near-historic lows.

Test positivity  the share of tests that come back positive for the virus  has doubled in the US in the past month and searches for Covid symptoms on Google have spiked in the past few weeks.

But doctors on the ground say that while they are seeing an increase in patients with the virus, their symptoms are milder than at any point previously in the pandemic.

The case, the second to date in the US, was diagnosed in a patient in Virginia. Experts warn that the variant could be more widespread across the US (Pictured: A man being tested for Covid in Richmond, Virginia, back in April 2020)

The second case had recently returned to the US from a trip to Japan. At present, the country has reported no new cases of the variant (Pictured above are people wearing face masks in Tokyo, Japan, in June 2020)

Hospitalizations across the US have risen for the fifth week in a row, but they are also barely a third of the levels from this time the previous year

Covid deaths remain static at present after having risen four percent in a week. They are hovering around record low levels

Got a story for DailyMail.com? Contact us at: luke.a.andrews@mailonline.co.uk Email

Dr Aaron Glatt, a medic at Mount Sinai in New York City, said the fact that two cases had been confirmed in the US signaled there are 'many more' not being picked up.

Asked whether there were more cases of BA.2.86 in the US, he told DailyMail.com: 'This is certainly very possible, it would be surprising if it didn't spread.'

On the number of cases already in the US, he said: 'It's certainly possible that there are tens of cases, and it is certainly very possible that there are more.

'The only question is how important that is. Does this variant have a survival advantage over other strains?'

Only a fraction of positive swabs are tested for variants, meaning many cases with this strain are likely going undiagnosed.

The Virginia case marks the second to be spotted in the US after an older patient with a mild illness in Michigan was also diagnosed with the strain. They were not hospitalized.

So far three other countries  Israel, Denmark and the UK  have detected the strain, but most countries don't have the infrastructure to pick up on new variants.

The new variant is yet to be detected in Japan, but official data from the country shows that cases and hospitalizations are rising.

Latest data shows there were 22,000 Covid patients in the country's hospitals on August 16, which was double the 10,000 from the week before.

This was, however, still below the 35,000 reported at the same time last year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have both said they are tracking the mutant strain.

The Virginia case was detected in America's Traveler Based Genomic Surveillance Program.

This analyzes positive samples taken from passengers who have been tested for Covid to check for variants.

Travelers are also surveyed on their travel history and whether they have any symptoms.

The program operates at seven airports  including Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC  with the CDC saying it can act as an 'early warning system' for which variants are entering the US.

BA.2.86 has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein  the part the virus uses to infect people  that separate it from the currently dominant strains, which is feared make it better at escaping the immune system.

The mutant strain set off alarm bells when it was spotted last week, immediately prompting calls from some quarters for masks to return.

Other experts said its emergence was 'reminiscent' of when Omicron first appeared, pointing out that this strain was also quite genetically different compared to the others that were circulating at the time.

This weekend former FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb also voiced alarm, saying he was 'pretty concerned' by the new strain and that it may well be more transmissible than other variants that are currently circulating.

Wastewater surveillance shows that Covid detections have risen 28 percent over the last fortnight nationwide

There has also been an uptick in search for Covid symptoms, suggesting anecdotally that more people are being infected with the virus

Three cases were initially reported  two in Denmark and one in Israel  but this tally has now grown to six after infections were reported in the US and UK.

Experts say there are still too few cases to calculate whether the strain is more transmissible or more likely to cause severe disease.

But they add that, previously, the virus has evolved to become better at spreading while being less likely to cause severe disease.

Covid vaccines and immunity from previous infections will still provide protection against severe disease and death, they said.

The mutations may make antibodies less effective, but other parts of the immune system  like T-cells  will still be able to mount a response and attack the virus.

Dr Marc Elieson, a medical director at Baylor Scott and White Health in Texas, said earlier this week that his colleagues are seeing Covid patients with less severe illness than at any point during the pandemic.

'What viruses and other organisms do over time [is] they become more contagious but have less power to kill and to hurt people,' he told FOX44.

Nationally, the most up-to-date official data shows hospitalizations are rising  albeit from record low levels.

There were 12,613 admissions in which the patient tested positive for Covid in the week up to August 12, marking the fifth week in a row hospitalizations for the virus had risen and an increase of a fifth on the week prior.

But this was still barely a third of the levels recorded at the same time last year, when there were about 40,000 admissions every week.

Deaths remain static with 479 reported in the latest week that data is available, July 22, compared to 484 in the previous seven-day spell.

And doctors have been reporting that patients seen in recent weeks are not as sick as those they treated during earlier waves of the pandemic.

Lionsgate, a Hollywood studio, has ordered nearly half of its employees to start wearing face masks once again. The rule is in place until further notice at their building in Santa Monica

Morris Brown College, a private liberal arts school in Atlanta, Georgia, has also ordered staff and students to wear masks again in corridors and lecture halls.

There are also concerns over another Covid variant  EG.5  which is dominant in the US and estimated to be behind at least a fifth of all infections.

Scientists say this strain is more transmissible and could be driving an uptick in cases. But they caution it may be overtaken by BA.X.

Amid more alarm bells ringing over Covid, there are now signs that some organizations are starting to bring back face masks.

Yesterday, Lionsgate  behind franchises Saw and the Hunger Games  announced employees would now need to wear face masks at their office in Santa Monica, California.

They said staff would also need to self-test before heading to the office, and let their managers know whether they have tested positive or have symptoms of the disease.

Lionsgate said the rules were in response to positive cases emerging among employees.

They followed in the footsteps of Morris Brown College, a private liberal arts school in Atlanta, Georgia, which has also ordered staff and students to wear masks again in corridors and lecture halls.

The college said the rules would be in place for two weeks and have been triggered because of 'reports of positive cases among students'.

Students are also being told to maintain social distancing and all parties and large gatherings have been banned.

The number of Covid cases in Georgia have increased for three weeks in a row, but overall, the number of infections and hospitalizations remains low.
Here, MailOnline sets out all need to know about the ground-breaking procedure

Surgeons have performed the UKs first womb transplant on a woman whose sister was the living donor.

The 34-year-old married woman received the womb  also called the uterus  in an operation that lasted nine hours and 20 minutes at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

Her sister, 40, had already had two children and was willing to donate her womb.

The recipient, who lives in England and does not wish to be named, has stored embryos with the aim of undergoing IVF later this year.

Here, MailOnline answers all the questions you may have about the ground-breaking procedure.

Surgeons have performed the UKs first womb transplant on a woman whose sister was the living donor. Pictured: The surgical team behind the UK's first womb transplant

 What has happened?

Surgeons have performed the UK's first womb transplant on a 34-year-old woman whose older sister donated the organ to her.

In a complex procedure, the medical team removed the womb from the 40-year-old woman and implanted it directly into her sister.

Both women have made a good recovery.

 Have any babies been born?

Not yet. Experts want to be sure the transplant is stable and the womb is functioning fully before the younger woman undergoes IVF.

She has stored five embryos and will have fertility treatment later this year in central London.

The woman hopes to have more than one baby.

Once she has completed her family, the womb will be removed to prevent her needing immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life.

 Has the NHS paid for the operation?

No. Each womb transplant costs around 25,000 and is fully funded by the charity Womb Transplant UK.

This includes payment to the NHS for theatre time and the patient's stay on a ward.

The operations are only carried out at times when the NHS is not using the operating theatre, so they do not impact on usual NHS waiting lists.

Surgeons and medical staff involved in the transplant have not been paid for the operation and have given their time freely.

 Have other womb transplants been carried out around the world?

More than 90 womb transplants have been carried out internationally, with most operations involving a living donor.

The first successful womb transplant took place in Sweden in 2014, with the baby  Vincent  born to a 36-year-old woman who described him as 'perfect'.

In 2000, a transplant was performed on a 26-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia but the donor womb survived for only 99 days due to problems with its blood supply.

To date, womb transplants have been carried out in more than 10 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sweden, the US, China, Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany, Serbia and India.

The 34-year-old married woman received the womb  also called the uterus  in an operation that lasted nine hours and 20 minutes at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. Pictured: The surgical team behind the UK's first womb transplant

The recipient, who lives in England and does not wish to be named, has stored embryos with the aim of undergoing IVF later this year. Pictured: The surgical team behind the UK's first womb transplant

 How successful is the operation?

Data from the US shows that more than half of women who received a womb through a transplant in the US went on to have successful pregnancies.

Between 2016 and 2021, 33 women received womb transplants in the US and, as of last summer, 19 of them (58 per cent) had delivered a total of 21 babies.

In 74 per cent of those receiving a womb, the organ was still functioning one year after transplant and 83 per cent of this group had live-born children.

 Will there be more transplants in the UK?

Yes. The second British womb transplant is scheduled to take place this autumn and experts believe a maximum of 20 to 30 per year could be carried out in the UK in the future.

Transplants could help women born without a functioning womb and those who lose their organ to cancer or other conditions.

Estimates suggest there are 15,000 women in the UK of childbearing age who do not have a functioning womb.

 Will there be a shortage of donor wombs?

Womb Transplant UK is running two programmes, one involving living donors and another with organs from people who have died.

The living donor programme in the UK has so far focused on women with relatives who are willing to give their wombs.

However, the team believes that in the future, the living donor programme will expand to include friends or altruistic living donors. This is currently more common in the US.

The use of deceased donors is assessed by the team on a case-by-case basis.

- Will it help trans women?

Experts have previously raised the prospect that trans women would be able to benefit from womb transplants.

However, experts say this is still a long way off.

Professor Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecological surgeon from Imperial College London, is one of the medics who carried out the operation.

He said the differences in the pelvis, arteries and veins and micro-organisms between males and females means the procedure isn't a 'technical feasibility'.

Professor Smith added: 'My own sense is if there are transgender transplants that are going to take place, they are many years off. There are an awful lot of steps to go through.

'My suspicion is a minimum of 10 to 20 years.'
Watchdogs have cleared the 54billion takeover of cloud storing business VMware by chipmaker Broadcom.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the merger of the two American companies would not damage the computer market in the UK. It is the biggest deal ever approved by the regulator.

The CMA said Broadcom would not be able to use the deal to harm rivals in the industry or use the merger to spy on competitors who use VMware software.

Broadcom's 54billion takeover is the biggest deal ever approved by the CMA

Approval for the deal comes as the CMA continues to examine whether it should backtrack on its decision in April to block Microsofts 54bn acquisition of Call Of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

The CMA had warned a merger would encourage Microsoft to raise the cost of gaming subscriptions and could mean reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers.

Microsofts boss Brad Smith claimed at the time that regulators were making the UK a bad place to do business.

But the watchdog is now weighing up whether to clear the deal after a US judge gave the merger a thumbs-up last month.
John Wood Group has upgraded its annual profit guidance following major contract wins and strong growth within its projects business.

The FTSE 250 engineering services company told investors on Tuesday its adjusted core earnings for this year are now forecast to be 'ahead of our previous expectations'.

Wood Group has also raised its revenue outlook after turnover expanded by about a fifth at constant currency rates to $3billion (2.4billion) for the six months ending June.

Upgraded forecast: The engineering services company John Wood Group said its adjusted core earnings for this year are now forecast to be 'ahead of our previous expectations'

Sales in its projects division jumped by 29.6 per cent to $1.25billion, thanks to robust demand from the chemicals, and oil and gas sectors, which offset the run-down of lump sum turnkey activity.

Compared to the same period last year, the segment was the only one to see an uplift in its order book, after gaining a major engineering services contract with Euro Manganese and a life sciences engineering deal from GSK worth around $50million.

But the group's overall headline order book increased by 5 per cent from the end of December to about $6billion.

Other major contracts recently won by Wood Group have included an estimated $250million two-year extended deal to provide services to Brunei Shell Petroleum, Brunei's largest energy producer.

Ken Gilmartin, chief executive of Wood Group, said: 'As we look ahead, we are confident that our actions, the business model we have implemented and the market growth opportunities to which we have aligned, support the momentum we are building in our business.

'As such, we are increasing our full-year guidance... for revenue and EBITDA.'

John Wood Group shares were 3.8 per cent, or 5.6p, higher at 153.7p on Tuesday morning, making them the second-best performer on the FTSE 250 Index.

Wood Group further announced on Tuesday that chief financial officer David Kemp would be standing down after a decade in his role.

Kemp joined the firm in 2013 from Trapoil, later renamed Jersey Oil and Gas after being relaunched by entrepreneurs Andrew Benitz and Ronald Landsell.

During his tenure at Wood, the company acquired major rival Amec Foster Wheeler, but sold off numerous divisions, including its nuclear and consulting arms, partly to reduce its high debt pile.

The sale of the former business came just before the coronavirus pandemic started, when plunging oil prices slashed demand for the group's services.

More recently, Wood was the subject of an unsuccessful takeover approach by private equity giant Apollo Global Management.

Wood's board opened the firm's books following a fifth bid worth 1.7billion, but Apollo walked away from the potential deal without explanation.

Adam Vettese, an analyst at eToro, said: 'The reasons that led Apollo to bid for the firm in the first place persist, which means another bidder could move in at some point with the share price depressed  or even Apollo again once its six-month cooling off period expires.'
Do you know more? Contact fred.pawle@mailonline.com

READ MORE: Why Sydney is now world-famous for being boring as hell

Once renowned as Australia's premier nightlife destination, King's Cross has now been transformed into a thriving hub for tobacco and vape retailers.

With 10 established stores already in operation and another in the pipeline, the dramatic shift in the famous Sydney suburb's identity has divided locals.

E-cigarettes and vapes that contain nicotine have been illegal to sell, purchase or possess in NSW without a medical prescription since October 2021.

King's Cross has drastically changed after controversial 2014 lock-out laws and the Covid-19 lockdown crippled the hospitality industry, with many struggling businesses replaced by vape and tobacco stores in the aftermath.

'They're usually empty, so how they make any money is beyond me,' one local told Daily Mail Australia.

'I'm shocked by the number of tobacconists, they're everywhere, I just noticed (another one) the other day,' another added.

A third said: 'We now have Free Choice Tobacconist on the comer of Darlinghurst and Bayswater roads.

'If you can't get what you want at TSG Tobacconist or the vapery, which are literally just around the corner, or from the four other tobacconists just down the street, then you should be able to get it here.

Formerly one of Australia's premiere nightlife destinations Sydney's Kings Cross (pictured), has been turned into a tobacconist hub with 10 stores operating in a 100m radius

A single map shows just how many tobacconist and vape shops are in the King's Cross area

Two of the stores are affiliated with the National Tobacco Station Group (TSG) and are just 120metres away from each other.

Smaller brands such as Queen's Tobacconist and KX Minimart and Tobacconist have opened recently, while the Kings Cross Tobacconist is one of the few businesses on the strip to have survived since 2007.

A local resident, who has lived in the area since the 1990s, said the area was changing for the worse.

'(At night) it would be thriving, (but) since the lockout laws and lockdowns it's not thriving,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'The Cross has changed a lot in the sense that it's much wider, and there aren't very many young people around here.'

The suburb was once known as the most lively place for tourists and locals to enjoy a night out on the town, but has been kneecapped by lockout laws and Covid lockdowns (stock image)

He said he believed the surge of tobacconists was due to a higher population of homeless and drug users who could be more susceptible to addictive substances.

'People with risk of addiction live nearby, and there's lots of people who are probably coming here because of the methadone clinic and other things and are probably quite vulnerable,' he said.

Another local, Chantal, said she had noticed chemists opening up at a similar rate, with five in a 100m radius.

'I think a lot of people just jump on the bandwagon of what is the most popular thing of the time,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'And maybe that's sort of what vaping has done to the area... I just think there's a higher incidence of younger people vaping.'

Two of the 10 stores open in Kings Cross are Tobacco Station Group franchises, located just 120m away and advertising 'vapes' on the storefront windows (pictured)

Smaller stores have opened up in recent years as previous shops shut down due to less foot traffic while older stores such as Kings X Tobacconist (pictured) have survived since 2007

But one local said alcohol was still the biggest issue in the area.

'I'm puzzled as much as you are as to why our population has so many tobacconists and vape shops but then we have to keep asking the other question - why do we have so many restaurants?' he said.

'The number of places selling alcohol is more than the places selling tobacco, target that industry.'

Although nicotine vapes and e-cigarettes were outlawed by the Australian Government in October 2021, an estimated 1.3million adults are still able to vape (stock image)

The Australian Government outlawed the sale of non-pharmaceutical e-cigarettes in October 2021 amid fears they 'may expose users to chemicals and toxins that are harmful to health'.

The only way to legally purchase an e-cigarette with nicotine is through a pharmacist with a doctor's prescription.

Health Minister Mark Butler announced a major vaping crackdown in May, including banning popular single-use disposable vapes and barring the import of non-prescription vaping products into Australia.

He described vaping as the 'biggest loophole in Australian history,' saying companies claimed they were tools to ween smokers off of cigarettes.

'I'm just not willing as the nation's Health Minister to normalise this product,' he said.

Survey data from Roy Morgan has estimated that around 1.3million Australian adults, or about 5.5 per cent, are vapers.

New South Wales has the highest proportion of vapers compared to other Australian states, with 7.4 per cent of adults surveyed admitting to partaking.

'Australia currently has one of the worlds most restrictive laws on nicotine vaping, however despite this, Australias adult vaping incidence rate of 6.5% is higher than other countries which permit the adult retail sale of nicotine vaping products,' the report from Roy Morgan reads.
Townsend bribed the girl for sex in exchange for vapes and alcohol

The disturbing full story of a predator cop who lured a vulnerable 15-year-old girl into having sex with him after investigating an assault against her at school can be revealed for the first time.

Police facts obtained by Daily Mail Australia reveal how the deviant cop abused his 'trusted position in the community', bribing the vulnerable teenager with alcohol and vapes to have sex with him in the back of his car.

And when the girl's requests to wear a condom were ignored, and she feared she was pregnant, the coward transferred her $800 and told her to get an abortion: 'Surely you don't want me going to jail?'

Matthew Townsend, 29, met the teenage girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, when he was called to her Sydney school on August 3 last year to file a report following an assault by another student.

But instead of protecting the student, the probationary constable tracked the victim down on Instagram and began sending her messages such as 'you're cute, would you like to meet up?'.

Only now, the full extent of Townsend's disturbing behaviour can be revealed after he pleaded guilty to two counts of having sexual intercourse with a child in Campbelltown Local Court earlier this month.

According to the police facts, Townsend, then 28, was working for Campbelltown Police Command when he was dispatched to the girl's school late last year.

He spoke with her about the assault and recorded her details in his work notebook before later filing a report on the incident in the NSW Police database.

Over the next 11 days, the officer contacted the girl's mother several times to schedule a time for the girl to go to the police station to make an official statement.

He also simultaneously reached out to the teenager via text, asking how she was doing and offering to lend an ear if she wanted someone 'random' to chat to about the attack at school.

Townsend was working at Campbelltown Police Command (pictured) when he met the girl in August 2022

But as the days progressed, Townsend's behaviour became highly unprofessional as he started sending her creepy messages from his personal Instagram account.

Believing she did not know the account user, the teenager initially deleted the messages until Townsend eventually identified himself as the cop she met at school.

He said he wanted to get to know her and asked her to promise not to tell anyone they were talking because he could get into 'serious trouble'.

He then suggested they should meet up to spend time together before asking her how far she would be willing to go with him intimately.

Townsend: 'Okay, if we do [meet up] what's the limits?'

Girl: 'wdym? [what do you mean]'

Townsend: 'Like are you going to want to hook up or what's the limits there? Just so we are clear?'

Put off by Townsend's forwardness, the girl made it clear she did not want to meet up if his only intention was to hook up with her.

But, despite the girl expressing her hesitation, Townsend persisted.

Townsend (pictured) tracked the girl down on social media and began messaging her over Instagram

Over the next three weeks, he bombarded her with texts, continually pleading with her to meet up with him and saying he would buy her a mango-flavoured Monster energy drink if she did.

At first, he began asking her increasingly personal questions before transitioning to sexually explicit conversations.

He questioned her about her sexual history, whether she would have sex with a man in his late 20s and whether she was 'on protection', with the girl saying she was on the contraceptive rod.

Pictured: Mock up texts of the conversation between Townsend and the 15-year-old girl he met while on duty

Then, eventually, he suggested the pair could be 'friends with benefits' if she didn't tell anyone.

Responding to Townsends' proposition, the teenager said she would usually 'get something' out of a situation like that, with the police officer responding: 'I'm happy to buy you food, drinks, alcohol, give you lifts, that kind of stuff'.

The cop then tried to persuade her to let him have sex with her without protection.

Townsend: 'So I'm going to have wear a condom?

Girl: 'Yes'

Townsend: 'Aww :('

Townsend: 'I want to c** inside you'

Girl: 'I could fall pregnant'

Townsend: 'I'm sure that wouldn't happen'.

Just over six weeks after meeting at her school, Townsend convinced the girl to meet up with him face to face.

It was just after midnight on Monday September 19 when the girl messaged Townsend asking if he could send her some vodka cruisers via an Uber while she was at a friend's house in Lurnea.

Townsend saw this as his opportunity.

He asked her 'what would happen' between them if he bought the drinks, prompting the girl to agree that she would 'definitely do stuff' with him.

At first, Townsend initially asked to be financially reimbursed for the alcohol, before agreeing she could pay him 'in another way'.

'Okay fair,' Townsend said, when the girl said she didn't have money.

'Well if that's the case, then you should definitely let me finish inside you x'

'FYI usually finish and then Im pretty much ready to go again.'

Townsend then went to a liquor store and bought 2 x ten packs of vodka cruisers and 1x four pack of Jack Daniels before driving to the girl's friend's place.

When the girl met him at the car, he said 'well are you gonna come in or not? Because I will just go home and drink them myself if you don't'.

The girl got in the front passenger seat and Townsend drove them to multiple carparks until he found one that was secluded, where they had sex in the back of the vehicle.

Realising she was due back at her friend's place, the victim told Townsend they had to leave - but the cop insisted that she let him 'finish one more time'.

When they returned to the house, Townsend opened the boot and said to the girl 'there's your alcohol'.

Once inside the house, the girl broke down in tears and was so upset she refused her friend's attempts to hug because she didn't want to be touched.

She was so distraught she confided in her friend's mother about what had happened, but expressed that she did not want to tell her parents or the police.

But over the following days, Townsend and the girl continued to text and made plans to meet up again. For the next occasion, the teenager requested he buy her vapes, and he agreed.

Pictured: Campbelltown, in Sydney's south west, where Townsend was working and committed sex crimes against the teen

Late on the evening of 23 September, four days after their first encounter, the pair met for a second time.

Townsend picked the girl up in Campbelltown and immediately gifted her with a mango Monster, before driving the pair around the area, scouting out a quiet place to park.

He eventually pulled over in a dark street near bushland and they had sex in the back seat. Afterwards, he drove her to Macquarie Fields, where he bought her three vapes, before dropping her off at a house where she was staying.

But Townsends' depraved behaviour began to unravel the following day when the girl did an at-home pregnancy test, which returned a positive result.

Stressed out, the girl told a friend about what had happened with Townsend and sent the cop a photo of the positive test.

The police officer then proceeded to pressure her into getting an abortion.

Townsend: 'What the actual f**k. How? I thought you were on the rod?'

'Surely you don't plan on having the baby?'

Girl: 'Idk (I don't know)'.

Townsend bribed the girl for sex in exchange for vapes (stock image) and alchohol

Townsend: 'I'm so sorry this has happened. Surely can't have the baby, your (sic) out of home, no job and still young bub.'

Girl: 'I don't agree with abortions'.

Townsend: 'I know, but questions will be asked about who the father is, I'll end up going to jail if someone finds out! Surely you don't want me going to jail?'

Townsend offered to pay for an abortion, with the girl explaining she had initially asked him to wear a condom to avoid this exact situation.

The cop said he was sorry before transferring her $800 three days later to pay for the procedure.

He also bought her a mango flavoured energy drink after telling her he would if she agreed to met him in person

However, the girl had started to question whether she could go through with getting rid of the child, and asked Townsend if he would be mad if she kept the baby.

'The kid would never be able to know Im there (sic) father,' he replied.

'I wouldnt be able to see the baby.'

The following day, on September 28, the girl told her mother about her secret meet ups with Townsend and showed her their messages.

Later that evening, when the girl told Townsend she had spilled the beans to her parents, he tried to see if they could negotiate a way to keep his crimes under wraps, asking: 'so I guess the big question is are you going to report me or can we work this out somehow?'

Two days later, the girl went to the police and underwent further medical tests that revealed she was not pregnant.

Townsend was on shift later that evening when he was advised of the complaint and stood down.

The disturbing messages showing Townsend trying to convince her to have an abortion and her saying she can't go through with it

Hours later, he was arrested and charged with grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, misconduct in public office and two counts of having sexual intercourse with a child between 14 and 16.

Forensics tests were later carried out on Townsend's phone, clothes, and his car, where officers found a fragment of the teenager's acrylic nail.

He was remanded in custody to face court on October 2, where he applied for bail under the premise he would live at home with his parents, who were willing to put up a $5000 surety for his release.

However, Magistrate David Degnan agreed with the prosecution - who argued the case against Townsend was strong and that he had 'abused' a trusted position in the community.

'This is deviant sexual desire and an overwhelming case, quite frankly,' Magistrate Degnan told the court at the time.'

'I am not convinced of the safety of the community should you be released and there is strong corroborative evidence.'

After his lawyers' struck up a deal with the prosecution, Townsend pleaded guilty on August 9 to two counts of having sex with a child between 14 and 16 and the other two charges were dismissed.

In NSW, each count carries a maximum sentence of 12 years imprisonment, meaning Townsend could face up to 24 years in prison.

NSW Police confirmed Townsend's employment was terminated in October, around the time of his arrest.

He is due to be sentenced at Campbelltown District Court on September 7.
Already-disgraced ex-Suffolk County police chief James Burke was arrested Tuesday morning for soliciting a sex worker inside a Farmingville park, Long Island officials announced.

Burke, who joined the county police department in 1986, was busted by county police, with the Suffolk County district attorneys office saying he was charged with public lewdness and exposure of a person. Suffolk County executive spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said hed face charges of soliciting a sex act and criminal solicitation, too.

Additional possible charges were pending against the ex-lawman.

The one-time county chief of department pleaded guilty in 2016 after resigning his police position for assaulting a suspect in custody after the man broke into his department vehicle. He admitted to violating the civil rights of the victim and then orchestrating the cover-up of his crime.

The 59-year-old Burke, who was promoted to the high-ranking position in 2012, tried to avoid jail by claiming he needed to assist his cancer-stricken mom. He was a 31-year veteran of the department.

Chief James Burke in 2015. The already-disgraced ex-Suffolk County police chief was arrested Tuesday morning for soliciting a sex worker inside a Brookhaven park, Long Island officials announced.

Officials say the new arrest came at 10:15 a.m., with Burke taken into custody at the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. Suffolk County Park Rangers placed Burke under arrest, authorities said.

Rangers had been monitoring the site in the wake of complaints people had been soliciting sex there when Burke allegedly attempted to do so with a plainclothes officer.

Due to actions which I am not going to share, this individual was placed under arrest, Suffolk County Commissioner Rodney Harrison said at a press conference.

He identified himself and said who he was, Do you know who I am?' another official said of Burke.

He was expressing to us how this would be a public embarassment to him, a third official added.

Burke was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after his convictions in the Dec. 14, 2012 beating of the Smithtown man who was handcuffed and in custody at the Fourth Precinct in Suffolk County. He faced a possible sentence of 20 years at his Feb. 26, 2016 court appearance.

Critics also questioned Burkes handling of the Gilgo Beach killings, with the first three victims discovered in late 2010 on Long Island. Not long after he was appointed chief of police in 2011, Burke cut ties with FBI investigators assisting in the probe of the killing spree.

The cases went unsolved until earlier this year ,when Massapequa Park man Rex Heuermann was arrested for the killings.

Prosecutors said at the time of Burkes 2012 arrest that they had 11 cooperating police officers who witnessed the beatdown. Burke admitted to beating heroin addict Christopher Loeb after the man broke into his department SUV outside the officers home.

The thief made off with a duffel bag holding a gun belt, ammunition, handcuffs, several sex toys and a box of cigars.

Loeb reached a $1.5 million federal court settlement with Suffolk County after bringing a lawsuit in the case.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is concerned that the Federal Trade Commission is abusing taxpayer dollars by working closely with the EU and other foreign lawmakers to stifle business competition.

In a letter exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com from Cruz to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan Tuesday, the Texas senator demands information regarding the agency's use of taxpayer resources to 'directly coordinate with foreign lawmakers to create new regulations in overseas jurisdictions that target American businesses.'

'Your agencys collusion with foreign governments not only undermines U.S. sovereignty and Congresss constitutional lawmaking authority, but also damages the competitiveness of U.S. firms and could negatively affect the savings of millions of Americans who hold stock in those companies via retirement savings accounts and pension plans,' the senator states.

Cruz is specifically concerned with two new laws approved by the EU that are 'expressly designed to weaken American companies.'

Cruz is specifically concerned with two new laws approved by the EU that are 'expressly designed to weaken American companies'

Group of Seven leaders - including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Joe Biden - pose during a group photo at the G7 summit at Castle Elmau in Kruen in 2022

He says the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act boost the EUs revenue 'under the guise of consumer protection and competition.'

The two laws 'objectively discriminate' against U.S. companies by imposing 'enormous regulatory compliance costs and penalties on them, while handing companies from other countriesespecially Chinaa competitive edge.'

A new study recently found that the costs imposed on U.S. companies could range from $22 billion to $50 billion.

According to Cruz, the study also found that '16 percent' of European companies surveyed would switch from an American tech provider to a Chinese tech provider because of those anticipated costs.

'It is one thing for the EU to target U.S. businesses, however misguided such efforts may be. But it is altogether unthinkable that an agency of the U.S. government would actively help the EU do so.'

Cruz is demanding information on what the FTC's work in Europe entails. He wants answers on how many employees, contractors and agents the FTC has sent to Europe since June 2021.

The top senator also sent an additional letter is to the EUs newly opened San Francisco office regarding the actions it is taking to enforce the EUs laws on U.S. soil.

Across the Capitol, House Oversight Chairman James Comer is also taking action.

The chairman sent letters Monday to Khan and Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya 'looking into an alarming pattern of FTC exporting its authority to Europe to achieve FTCs political goals.'

Comer is also seeking information on what the FTC employees work in Europe consists of.

The top Republican says his committee is questioning 'whether the FTC is working in secret to achieve its ideological goals.'
The Aussie jobs under the biggest threat from advances in artificial intelligence have been revealed with some surprising careers in the firing line.

More than 1.3 million Aussies could be displaced from their current roles by 2027, according to new data analysis from AI company Faethm by Pearson in collaboration with technology firm ServiceNow.

It's predicted almost one in 10 Aussie employees may need to retrain by 2027 to remain in the workforce.

Bank workers are under the biggest threat with 46 per cent of their workload expected to be automated.

Checkout operators and finance brokers (37 per cent), bookkeepers (38 per cent), data entry operators (35 per cent) and call centre operators (34 per cent), could also see their workloads reduced by automation.

More than 1.3 million jobs will be displaced by AI within four years. Checkout operators are among those in the firing line

READ MORE: The Aussie suburbs where AI is more likely to replace jobs Sydney had four spots on the top 20 danger list, including Blacktown, Castle Hill and Baulkham Hills in the city's nearby north-west, along with Parramatta Advertisement

In terms of jobs lost, more than 100,000 full-time sales assistant roles could be slashed - a 17 per cent drop.

A wide range of industries are tipped to be affected by the predicted job losses, including transport, hospitality, construction trades and even childcare.

The good news for Aussies in the industries at risk is that automation doesn't necessarily mean job losses.

'(Employers could ask) 'can we reposition this individual or individuals into other jobs that we're hiring for?' Pearson vice president of AI products Dr Richard George told News Corp.

He added many jobs will still need 'a human in the loop' and that AI would make workers more productive rather than replace them.

'But going out beyond that five year view, maybe 10 or 15 years  you could potentially see (AI) taking over entire tasks and doing them for you,' Dr George added.

The Australian tech industry will need an additional 370,000 workers to deploy AI.

'More people from a wider background will be able to do jobs that were previously only reserved for people with specialised technical skills,' ServiceNow managing director Eric Swift said.

'When anyone can now create software and applications with simple text inputs  which AI turns into code  it means we can supercharge innovation.'

The data also revealed that many of those in fear of losing their roles to AI could be better off salary-wise if they transition to a new career.

Bank workers are under the biggest threat from AI. Pictured are bank staff with customers in Sydney

The hospitality industry will also be impacted by AI - barista roles could drop by as much as 16 per cent in the next four years

More than 100,000 full-time sales assistant roles could be slashed by 2027 due to AI (stock image)
The video, taken Sunday afternoon in the Forest Falls area, shows the moment a group of first responders run away from water barreling down a ravine

Shocking video shows firefighters in San Bernardino County fleeing from a massive mudslide over the weekend triggered by rain from Tropical Storm Hilary.

The video, taken Sunday afternoon in the Forest Falls area of California, shows the moment a group of first responders run away from water and sludge barreling down a ravine.

The firefighters were responding to a loud noise but quickly retreated after seeing the mudslide taking out trees and other elements in its way.

No one was injured, according to KTLA, but the mudslide blocked roads in the area and briefly stranded firefights at a nearby station.

The mudslide is just one of many major weather-related incidents in Southern California, which was hit hard by the heavy rain and high winds.

Shocking video shows firefighters in San Bernardino County fleeing from a massive mudslide over the weekend, triggered by rain from Tropical Storm Hilary

In the short video, firefighters can be seen standing and watching the initially slow-moving mudslide as it begins to pick up speed and debris.

The mudslide carries massive boulders and logs as it approaches the group of first responders who turn back and begin to flee to safety.

The group runs down a short hill to Fire Station 99, where they notice the mudslide crossing the road and cutting off their access.

As of Monday afternoon, the firefighters were still trapped in the area as other first responders worked to clear the roads.

DailyMail.com reached out to officials at Fire Station 99 who could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.

Flooding and weather-related damage has been plentiful in Southern California.

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles appeared to have been surrounded by a moat after the torrential downpour. Shocking images showed the famed stadium surrounded by water on Sunday after the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.

But the Dodgers shared an update of the stadium's state on Monday, showing it was all under control as the venue trended on social media.

'Dodger Stadium trending? We get it. It looks beautiful this morning,' read the post with pictures of the pristine turf and the parking lot around the stadium dried out.

In the short video, firefighters can be seen standing and watching the initially slow-moving mudslide as it begins to pick up speed and debris

The firefighters were responding to a loud noise but quickly retreated after seeing the mudslide taking out trees and other elements in its way

Dodger Stadium floods Sunday evening as the eye of the storm blew through Los Angeles

The LA Dodgers shared an update of the stadium's state on Monday

Southern California was battered on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday morning with the city of Palm Springs receiving more than half a year's worth of rain in just a few hours.

Residents have been warned that 911 lines are down and the mayor admitted, 'There's no way in or out.'

Panicked Californians were trapped in cars and climbed trees in a bid to escape dangerous floodwaters and mudslides as Hilary brought down bridges and powerlines.

Cars were left stranded on flooded roads as the storm brought havoc across the state, leaving 25million people under flood warnings and prompting fears of devastating destruction.

Gushing flood water and debris are seen during Tropical Storm Hilary, in Angeles National Forest, California

Shocking footage of cars swallowed by flood waters in Palm Springs on Sunday

The state has seen record levels of downpours with mountain and desert areas predicted to get five to ten inches of rain on Monday - as much as the deserts typically see in a year.

Post-storm aerial footage shows feet of mud gathered around houses and vehicles.

Forecasters said that 'virtually all' of the daily rainfall records in the area had been broken due to Tropical Storm Hilary.

The records were broken as of 3am Monday, according to NWS of Los Angeles. At UCLA's campus in Beverly Hills, 4.26 inches of rainfall were recorded.

Lake Palmdale - located northeast of Los Angeles - nearly six inches over the two-day period when the storm hit.
An enraged teacher at an elite school in Victoria has been caught erupting at her students in an expletive-ridden rant.

The teacher at Ballarat Clarendon College in the state's Central Highlands was recorded chastising her Year 12 students during a Teams call last week.

The college is widely regarded as a top performing school with fees for Year 12 costing about $21,000 a year.

In the leaked video the teacher can be heard admonishing students for 'f***ing appalling mistakes' they made in draft essays written in preparation for their VCE exams.

The students are studying two books this term, Seven Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch, and The Longest Memory by Fred D'Aguiar, the Herald Sun reported.

Ballarat Clarendon Collage (pictured) said it was aware the leaked Teams call was circulating social media and asked that students desist from sharing the video.

The unnamed teacher chastises her students for referring to a character from the second book, a slave called Whitechapel, as an Indigenous Australian.

'Is Whitechapel a f***ing Indigenous American? I'm not joking. No, First Nations people in America are native American Indians.

'They are not African-American. African, it's the first part.'

She continues her foul-mouthed rant as her students sit in silence.

'It's absolute dogs***. Whitechapel is not an Indigenous Australian - three of you did that,' the teacher is heard yelling at her students,' she yells.

'Do you know who Indigenous Americans are?

'Sort out that s***, that sucks, get rid of that. That f***s up your essay so bad.'

She then tells her students that their general statements are 'so f***ing shit'.

'I nearly killed myself as I was reading them. We are going to sort them,' she yells.

'If your essay starts crap, guess how I am going to feel about it as I am reading it.'

Ballarat Clarendon College, a coeducational school that offers boarding, sent a letter home to Year 12 parents acknowledging the 'complex and difficult situation'.

The school said it was aware footage from the leaked Teams call was circulating on social media and asked that students refrain from sharing the video.

Ballarat Clarendon College, a coeducational school that offers boarding, sent a letter home to Year 12 parents acknowledging the 'complex and difficult situation' (stock image)

'The recording was of a Year 12 class that occurred earlier this week in which the teacher's behaviour fell outside that which would be expected of a staff member at Ballarat Clarendon College,' the statement said.

'We know that the recording has been distributed through social media. That the video was copied from a Teams recording of the class has a range of implications for those sharing the video.

'The sharing of a school video falls outside of our community expectations and, to be clear, falls outside the law. We ask people to desist from sharing the video and to delete the video if you have or do receive it.'

Clarendon College said it had 'commenced a process around this incident that will be followed appropriately and sensitively'.

'As a community, we need to be respectful of those involved who have the right to confidentiality,' the statement said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Independent Schools Victoria for comment.
The PM has accrued more than $5million in expenses

Richard Marles has been savaged after it was revealed the defence minister had racked up $3.6million in tax-funded VIP flights.

The costs were revealed in 'special purpose' logs following a freedom of information request by Greens Senator and Defence spokesperson David Shoebridge.

The Deputy Prime Minister's private flight costs have totalled $3.6million, with $1million accrued since January of this year.

The revelation comes days after it emerged Anthony Albanese has spent a whopping $5.3million travelling the globe in RAAF planes from April 2022 to July this year.

Both men have not addressed the costs, with Mr Marles remaining tight-lipped about where or when he jets off.

The staggering cost of the pair's travels has sparked calls for more transparency after the release of flight schedules was discontinued for 'security' reasons last year.

Defence Minister Richard Marles (pictured) has racked up more than $3.6million in VIP flight costs since taking office

Anthony Albanese (pictured) has spent $5million travelling the globe in RAAF planes from April last year to July this year

North Queensland Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Marles should be honest about his flight history.

'I have no problem with our government using planes to do business but they should do so at best value to the taxpayer,' he said.

'Our Defence Minister should be travelling the world and defending our interests. The issue here is transparency.'

'The Government should publish the same details we did, including where the flights were and who were travelling on the taxpayer's expense.'

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce stated that he was shocked upon finding out about the defence minister's bills.

'It's a bit rich to suggest he's a big security risk. I am sorry Richard, you are going to have to explain this,' he told news.com.au.

'This is not for the deputy PM just when he knocks off work. I would s*** myself if I got a bill like that. And you've got to give an explanation.

'I think people have had enough of people getting millions of dollars, asking for millions of dollars. People are over these 'I work in Canberra therefore don't question anything I say.'

North Queensland Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Marles needed to be transparent about his flight history and should only fly to conduct business 'at best value to the taxpayer'

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce (pictured) has called on the defence minister to explain why he has racked up $3.6million in VIP flight costs since taking office

Senator Shoebridge, who put forward his FOI request back in June, has pushed the Albanese government to be open and honest about billing taxpayers for VIP flights.

'For a government that promised transparency they sure have needed their arms twisted to spill the beans on these VIP flights,' he said in a statement.

'This is an eye-watering bill to fly senior politicians around in VIP flights. Of course there's a need to fly the PM around for offical duties, but this PM is billing taxpayers harder and faster for VIP flights than any before him.

'The refusal, apparently for security reasons, to tell us where the flights went is a very convenient way to avoid serious scrutiny.'

Flight records of ministers within the Albanese government revealed that Mr Marles had racked up the highest costs - besides the prime minister.

Out of the $3.6million spent on flights, $1,346,381 had been dished out this year and $2,275,060 was forked out in 2022.

That figure includes $936,604 in taxpayer-funds that was spent between last October and December.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge (pictured) has been highly critical of the Albanese government for charging taxpayers for its private flights

This almost doubled Mr Albanese's costs of $498,485 in that same time period.

But Mr Marles' total bill is still lower than Mr Albanese's. It was revealed last week that the prime minister had ran up a staggering $5 million in costs.

'Special purpose' logs of taxpayer-funded RAAF flights taken by government ministers were previously released four times per year.

These records detailed where and when ministers had jetted off and who went on every flight.

But the release of flight schedules has been discontinued since last year because of 'security' reasons following a review carried out by the Australian Federal Police.

The AFP stated that the previous regulations regarding the release of VIP flight logs failed to protect 'pattern of life data for passengers'.

The prime minister has previously attracted controversy over his frequent overseas trips, with some political commentators dubbing him 'Airbus Albo'.

Mr Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) has already embarked on 23 other overseas trips across four continents since becoming PM in May last year

He has made 23 overseas trips since becoming prime minister.

Mr Albanese will be out the country for at least a week at the start of September as he mingles with world leaders at the ASEAN and G20 Summits in Indonesia and India.

He is also lined up to make a flying visit to the Philippines to meet President Bongbong Marcos en route from Jakarta to New Delhi.

The prime minister will return to the country in September for a few days before he's set to jet off again, with an expected trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Mr Marles' for comment.
A female teacher who was jailed for seducing a male teenage student has been meeting her new lover for secret liaisons while on work release, it has been reported.

Paedophile Kandice Barber, who sent a 15-year-old boy explicit pictures before having sex with him in a field, has struck up a relationship with convicted fraudster Jay Delaney after the pair met inside an open women's prison, the Mail exclusively revealed last week.

The 37-year-old, who has served almost half of her six-year sentence, has told friends she has found love in Delaney, who was jailed for five years in April 2022 after stealing her friends' life savings to the tune of 388,000.

Both are now on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) in preparation at returning them to useful roles in society, with sources saying they have plans to live together when Delaney is released from prison.

Now mother-of-three Barber is believed to be taking advantage of their less restricted regimes to meet up with Delaney on her way to and from her job working on a construction site in Hounslow.

Kandice Barber, pictured, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for seducing a 15-year-old boy and having sex with him in a field

The paedophile teacher has struck up a relationship with conwoman Jay Delaney, pictured right, while behind bars

Delaney, pictured, is serving a five-year prison sentence after conning her friends out of their life savings

A source told the Sun they had been seen cuddling and holding hands on walks to and from work, and sneaking off for secret trysts.

They said: 'Kandice is only allowed out to go to work - but she and her new partner have been meeting up in secret.

READ MORE HERE: Ex-husband of Kandice Barber describes how he had to move on from the heartbreak and humiliation after she was jailed for six years Advertisement

'They've been meeting up on her way to work and her way home.

'It's frustrating that she's still in prison but they're now meeting up for, you know, 'time together' shall we say.

'They've been taking pictures together and talking about their future together.'

It is reported that the pair have taken pictures of themselves outside London Bridge station and Maidstone East station, and have asked permission to go on days out together, but these have been denied so far.

The pair are staying at East Sutton Park Women's Open Prison, near Maidstone in Kent, and are understood to have been in a relationship for seven months.

Barber was condemned by a judge as 'beyond despicable' when she jailed in 2021 for having unlawful sex with the impressionable youngster.

Barber, pictured, is currently on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) with the aim of returning her to a useful role in society

The former teacher was found to have sent explicit messages and photos of herself to a teenage student

The teacher, who worked at a school in Princess Risborough, Bucks, flirted with the boy, sending sexually charged messages during a school assembly.

The blonde bombarded him with messages, including one where she asked him 'do you like boobs or bum?' - and sent him a photo of herself on a bed surrounded by sex toys.

She was found out after a topless picture she had sent her victim was passed to the headteacher of their school.

The mother of three's new choice of partner shocked inmates and staff at East Sutton.

The source told MailOnline last week: 'Delaney is slight and wears her hair in a boyish style, when they started their relationship people were saying she must be Barber's type.

'They spend most of their time together when they are not on ROTL. It's been going on for around seven months and they discuss being a family when they are on the outside.

'Barber gets to go home and go to work. She'll got for four nights every two weeks to have access to her kids and also has six days out per month when she is working on a job she's found by the authorities.

'She isn't in much but when she is she is with Delaney. They openly kiss, cuddle and hold hands and appear 100% in love, they make no attempt to hide their relationship.

'I was told that they had been sharing a cell together but officers found out and moved them.'

Barber was recently moved away from the prison-appointed job she had been found as a security guard on a building site in Hounslow, west London.

There was a rebellion among the workforce when her shameful past was discovered and she was moved from the site near Heathrow Airport.

Prior to being moved she is said to have loved working on the site.

One builder said: 'She's attractive looking, so she's already proving a hit with the lads, who have no idea about her background.

'It's no secret she's a massive flirt and lots of the staff there have already noticed her.'

Whilst she has been in jail, Barber's husband Danny, 40, has moved on with a new girlfriend who is expecting their baby.

It would have left her a single mother to three children, who were 10,14 and 16 at the time of her crimes.

But Delaney is prepared to take on some of the family responsibilities when she's able to join Barber, who is expected to be released early next year.

Her case caused revulsion in the teaching profession after the court heard how she had threatened the boy if he told of their affair.

Jay Delaney, pictured, stole from her victims by claiming to run a get rich quick scheme between 2015 and 2020

Jailing her at Aylesbury Crown Court, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said Barber had 'acted in gross breach of trust' and had taken 'advantage of a child in your care and groomed him for your own sexual gratification'.

She told the teacher: 'The victim was a 15-year-old boy in his final year at school. You had control and authority over him. He felt drawn in by you due to the compliments, you caused him to engage in sex with you while he was a pupil in your care.

'You threatened to take him down with you if he reported it. You already had authority over him by virtue of your position but to use threats is beyond despicable.'

Her new partner, from Southend, Essex, stole from her victims by claiming to run a get rich quick scheme over the course of five years from 2015 to 2020.

Delaney would tell her victims, many of whom were friends and work colleagues, that she worked for Aviva and could turn a 5,500 investment into 10,000 within a couple of years, enticing them to invest most of their life-savings into her 'scheme'.

In fact, she would transfer the money into her own account and gamble it online.

She sobbed as she was jailed in April last year at Basildon Crown Court after admitting 38 counts of fraud.

Judge Samantha Cohen said: 'Before 2015 you had committed no criminal offences, but between 2015 and 2020 you perpetuated a fraudulent scheme. You preyed on friends and colleagues, and you dishonestly gained almost 400,000 for your own gain. You said you worked for a company - that was a lie.

'You offered substantial returns on people's investments - that was a lie. Often on the investments, you perpetuated to repay them with the increased premium. That often enticed the victim to make further investments. Some of them asked their friends and family to invest in the scheme as well. I expect they feel guilty about that, but the only guilt is yours.

'You came up with a series of excuses about your health, or a serious life-threatening illness to put them off the scent on what happened to their money. You confessed to your parents, you knew you had to go to the police but you didn't have the strength of your character so you asked your father to do it for you. That must have been one of the toughest things he has had to do.'
Nevada locals have filed complaints charging that President Joe Biden's stay at the home of billionaire Tom Steyer may violate a local housing ordinance on vacation rentals.

The president has spent just three nights at the $18 million home so far, departing from what the White House says is a fair market rental agreement Monday to tour Maui fire damage.

When he gets back, he may find his host is subject to a local board headache as well as multi-thousand dollar a fine.

'More than one complaint has been filed. We need to finish our review before I can release any new information,' Ernie Strehlow, the Vacation Home Program Manager in Douglas County, Nevada told DailyMail.com.

There was no immediate information that the county had a permit on file for the residence, something officials were seeking to confirm Monday.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden toured wildfire damage in Maui Monday. He paused his Lake Tahoe vacation for the trip. A county official tells DailyMail.com residents have complained that billionaire Tom Steyer's renting his home to the president may violate a local housing code

The local Nevada Globe reported on the complaints, which allege that the home lacks a Vacation Home Rental Permit. If substantiated, that could subject the billionaire to a $20,000 fine, according to county housing rental regulations.

Those regulations state that property owners who rent a vacation property without a permit in violation of the county code may be subject to the civil penalty.

The White House said the Bidens are renting the home at fair market value.

The same official told the New York Post he was 'actively investigating' the complaints.

It is just the latest vacation woe for Biden, who has been criticized for his 'no comment' about the Maui wildfires while at his Delaware beach house. His long day trip to Maui interrupts his nine-day stay at Lake Tahoe.

The code appears to target homeowners, not their guests, sparing the Biden family any additional inconvenience. Staying with the president is first son Hunter Biden, who already has his hands full contending with a special counsel investigation.

Biden left Reno, Nevada early Monday to tour devastation in Maui, with an estimated 1,000 people still unaccounted for in the deadliest wildfires in the nation's history.

Biden's trip following a period of public silence where he was criticized for his 'no comment' while spending time at his Delaware beach house.

Biden is staying at the home of climate investor Tom Steyer. The White House said he is renting it at fair market value

Biden leaves Lake Tahoe Monday morning, then flies to Hawaii, with plans to return the same day

County code says vacation rentals without a permit can draw a fine of up to $20,000, a sum not likely to make a dent into the fortune of billionaire Tom Steyer

The county code requires a permit for vacation rentals

The death toll in Maui has topped 114, and officials are still analyzing the factors that contributed to the massive inferno, including problems with its electrical grid.

Biden will visit with those who lost homes and loved ones during the disaster and be briefed by public officials. The White house said he has continued to receive briefings over the weekend, after Biden issued a series of public statements on the disaster following his early stumbles.

He will be accompanied by first lady Jill Biden.

The president is leaving behind a tranquil setting. He is renting the home of billionaire former presidential candidate and climate activist Tom Steyer on the eastern side of the lake.

He has been accompanied by his son Hunter, who has been dealing with the collapse of his plea deal on tax charges, and whose probe is now being overseen by U.S. attorney David Weiss in the role of special prosecutor.

After taking criticism for his 'no comment' while at the beach, Biden has been making repeated references to the tragedy.

He spoke at Camp David about financial contributions by Japan and South Korea announced at the summit, then boarded Marine One to make his way to Nevada.

'I want to start by expressing my appreciation for the contribution that your countries have made for relief following the devastating wildfires in Hawaii. I want to thank you both on behalf of the American people,' he said. Biden also said FEMA was preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Hilary in Southern California.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden are set to fly from Reno to Maui, where they will meet with people impacted by devastating wildfires, first responders, and those coordinating the response. The trip comes days after Biden's 'no comment' in the immediate aftermath of the fires

President Joe Biden leaves Lake Tahoe to visit those impacted by devastating wildfires in Maui. Here he departs from Our Lady of Tahoe Catholic Church in Zephyr Cove, Nevada on August 19

President Joe Biden thanked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for their countries' contributions to Hawaii relief

An estimated 1,000 people are still unaccounted for, and the death toll has topped 100. Biden plans to tour some of the devastation in Lahaina

On Thursday he promised to offer assistance to Maui for 'as long as it takes' during a recorded message that aired on ABC's 'Good Morning America.'

'The entire nation is with you as you recover, rebuild and grieve,' he said.

The wildfire that broke out August 8 in the town of Lahaina is now the deadliest in more than a century, and the fifth-deadliest on record for the U.S.

'We'll be with you for as long as it takes, I promise you,' the president added. He noted the federal government has already taken action to send hundreds of emergency personnel and thousands of meals and supplies to the historic tourist town ravaged by flames.

Before Biden announced his visit, Republicans compared his lack of a visit to East Palestine, Ohio - where a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals, displacing 100s. Biden had promised to visit the Ohio town but never did.

Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans tore into him. Trump said he was refusing 'to help or comment on the tragedy' and called the moment 'horrible and unacceptable.'

Search operations of areas damaged by wildfires in Lahaina Town destroyed in the Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, August 15

Biden first issued his 'no comment' while while staying at the beach near his Delaware home.

Then while breezing by reporters he made a terse comment, saying he was 'looking at it.'

Back at the White House, a reporter asked Biden at the White House: 'Can you tell us about your Hawaii trip?'

'No, not now,' Biden said, before staff eventually announced details.

It call came during a time when Biden might have preferred some distance form the press, following the appointment of the special counsel for his son.

Biden and the first lady are traveling to Maui on Monday to comfort survivors of the devastating wildfires that ripped through the western part of the Hawaiian island earlier this month, as his administration responds to the devastation whose full scope is still unknown.

The Bidens are taking a detour from their weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe area for the day trip to Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames. While there, the first couple will meet with first responders and be briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.

They will also view the damaged town, both from helicopters and on the ground, and the Democratic president will deliver remarks paying tribute to the victims of the wildfires, which have killed more than 100 people since they began on Aug. 8.

The president will also tap Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, ensuring that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts. It will take years to rebuild Lahaina, where just about every building was obliterated.

"I know how profoundly loss can impact a family and a community and I know nothing can replace the loss of life," Biden said in a statement ahead of the trip. "I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy. And throughout our efforts, we are focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions."

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said that as of Sunday about 85% of the affected area had been searched and nearly 2,000 people remained without power and 10,000 were without telecom connectivity. Water in parts of west Maui is not safe to drink.

While immediate aid such as water, food and blankets has been readily distributed to residents, Schatz said that cellphones, identification and other documents that people would need to help them enroll in longer-term aid programs were burned in the fires, adding more challenges to the application process.

More than 1,000 federal officials remain on the ground in Hawaii to respond to the wildfires, according to the White House. The administration has doled out more than $8 million in aid to affected families.

Schatz, who will be with Biden as the president travels to his home state on Monday, stressed that officials were "still responding to the disaster" and "We are not yet in a recovery phase."

"As bad as this looks, its actually worse," he said in a phone interview on Sunday. "What you cant see is the damage to utility infrastructure. What you cant see is the thousands of kids who are trying to figure out how to go to school this fall. What you cant see is the first responders who went into the flames without regard for their own safety and had their own homes burned down."

While vacationing in Lake Tahoe, Biden has been on the phone regularly with officials to get briefed on updates to the wildfire response, the White House said.
Queensland lawyer Campbell MacCallum drove his client - a drug offender who had just been released on parole - to get cocaine before doing a line together.

At the time the now 48-year-old Gold Coast solicitor was under surveillance by Queensland's corruption watchdog.

MacCallum was later charged with money laundering and fraud as well as drug offences but pleaded guilty only to five cocaine possession charges in a Brisbane court on Monday after the other charges were discontinued.

The first offence occurred in January 2020 when detectives recorded MacCallum, who has been a lawyer for more than 20 years, getting drugs from a man at Varsity Lakes.

About two months later MacCallum's partner admitted she 'secreted drugs' on her body during a police welfare check.

Queensland lawyer Campbell MacCallum (pictured) drove his client - a drug offender who had just been released on parole - to get cocaine before doing a line together

She had wrapped herself in a towel so officers let her go to the bathroom where she flushed substances - that she said belonged to MacCallum - down the toilet, prosecutor Brendan White said.

After a client was sentenced to jail for cocaine possession but immediately released on parole in the Brisbane Supreme Court on May 18, 2020, MacCallum drove the man to the Gold Coast.

Detectives recorded them discussing cocaine and the client arranging collection of 3.5grams of the drug.

READ MORE: Huge haul of cocaine worth $375MILLION is seized from a container ship One of the nation's largest-ever drug busts has been made on board a container ship off Western Australia. Advertisement

The pair discussed the texture, amount and purity of the cocaine the client got while MacCallum waited in the car.

'We'll enjoy the trip to Labrador - nose is ready,' the client said, before supplying MacCallum a line of cocaine that was consumed in the vehicle.

MacCallum was charged after police found cocaine at his Broadbeach property on July 6, 2020.

The lawyer had obtained significant professional help for untreated PTSD and ADHD since his arrest and rehabilitated from what was described as regular weekend cocaine use, Mr White said.

He was also remorseful, apologetic and deeply ashamed of his conduct and its impact on his family, defence barrister Patrick McCafferty KC told the court.

Having a line of cocaine with a client demonstrated an appalling lack of judgment.

'But it must be seen in the context of a person who had an addiction issue.'

Brisbane Chief Magistrate Janelle Brassington found it highly unlikely MacCallum, who risked everything he built over the years including his reputation, would offend again.

She found his mental impairment led to the use of cocaine to mask or manage increasing symptoms of PTSD and ADHD.

Regarding the use of cocaine after leaving court, Ms Brassington said MacCallum would be under no illusions about his client's parole conditions.

Detectives recorded MacCallum and his client discussing cocaine and the client arranging collection of 3.5grams of the drug. A stock image of cocaine is pictured

'It is conduct that can seriously impact the community's confidence in the system of justice and conduct likely to undermine the public's trust.'

At the time MacCallum was a law firm principal, conducting his practice and making decisions of serious import to himself, clients, staff and the community.

Ms Brassington sentenced MacCallum to three months behind bars, fully suspended for 12 months for the one possession charge, for which a conviction will be recorded.

She fined him $2,500 for the remaining four charges.
Police travelled to Canada last week to speak to her family

New CCTV footage of a phone being thrown out of a high-rise apartment could be crucial to solving the mysterious death of a Sydney mother.

Tatiana 'Tania' Dokhotaru, 34, was found dead inside her apartment on Norfolk Street in Liverpool, southwest Sydney, at 8pm on May 27.

NSW Police on Tuesday released CCTV footage of what they believe is a phone being thrown out of the 34-year-old's apartment just before midnight on May 26.

The phone has never been recovered, with detectives urging anyone who may have found the device on Norfolk or Bathurst streets to come forward.

Tatiana 'Tania' Dokhotaru, 34, was found dead inside her apartment on Norfolk Street in Liverpool, southwest Sydney, at 8pm on May 27

Detectives flew to Canada last week to meet with the 34-year-old's family and will continue to probe her life and associates in Australia.

Police say officers will continue to canvas the Liverpool area and speak to witnesses who could offer insight into Ms Dokhotaru's last movements.

No one has been charged in relation to her death. A separate critical incident investigation is continuing into all other circumstances surrounding the incident.

Ms Dokhotaru's former partner and father of her four-year-old child, Danny Zayat, was released on bail in July after being slapped with 22 domestic violence charges.

Zayat, 28, allegedly choked, assaulted, stalked and intimidated his former partner over a period of two years before she was found dead in her apartment.

In a bail hearing in the NSW Supreme Court in July, his barrister Ertunc Ozen SC conceded in July that the couple had a turbulent and toxic relationship.

He said Zayat had been heard running through the hallway of the Liverpool block shouting 'help me' around the time of Ms Dokhotaru's death.

The 28-year-old had called triple zero with police observing him in extreme distress when they arrived, the barrister added.

NSW Police on Tuesday released CCTV of what they believe is a phone being thrown out of the 34-year-old's apartment just before midnight on May 26 (pictured)

Danny Zayat has been charged with a raft of domestic violence offences after his former partner Tatiana 'Tania' Dokhotaru, 34, was found dead on May 27 (the pair are pictured in 2021)

In July, the concreter told reporters he had been falsely portrayed as a 'monster'.

'I know it looks bad. Like, I won't say it doesn't look bad,' he told a 7News reporter.

'I've been put out to look like a monster and it's not right.'

Zayat denied he had harmed Ms Dokhotaru on the night in question.

'Look at me, look at her. If I was harming her how could she call the cops?' he asked.

He added: 'People can think what they want, you know, but the autopsy will come back and clear my name.'

Ms Dokhotaru called police at about 11.45pm on May 26 to allege her partner was 'bashing' her but failed to give her address in the complex, which has 297 units.

Police were unable to find her until about 8pm the following day when Zayat returned to the apartment to check on her and called emergency services.

Tatiana Dokhotaru (pictured) was found dead in her Liverpool apartment on May 27, 2023

Zayat was released on bail with Justice Wilson acknowledging that he had no prior criminal history and was therefore not a risk to the community at large.

The concreter's bail conditions include that he reside with his mother in Colyton, report to police daily and be subject to a nightly curfew.

His mother will also hand over $20,000 which will be forfeited if Zayat fails to appear before the court.

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The $15 entree is a serving of charred corn strips

A diner has expressed shock at the price of an entree ordered on a popular restaurant app.

The dish listed as Corn Ribs 'served with burnt butter and ancho chilli salt' cost a hefty $15, according to a screenshot taken by the diner.

The entree was listed on the me&u app, an online site that allows people to order and pay for food served at pubs and restaurants.

An Aussie diner was stunned at the price of an entree of charred corn strips which cost $15 on an online restaurant app

The stunned diner posted a screenshot of the dish to Reddit.

'40 cents worth of corn in Australia,' the caption read.

The picture of the meal shows four strips of lightly charred corn, assembled on a blue serving plate.

A green garnish is sprinkled on top of the dish along with some seasoning.

The post attracted plenty of comments from users whose opinions differed over the meal's price tag.

'Almost like you're paying for the time for someone to cook it, all the kitchen equipment, rent on the place, profit AND [sic] covering the fee that Uber Eats charges to the restaurant,' one wrote.

The stunned diner posted a screenshot of the cost of the dish to Reddit with a caption that mocked its hefty price

'And this is why I don't ever get food delivered and I eat at restaurants like twice a year,' another said.

You have to be insane to think this is okay. $15 for a slither of corn lmao.'

Others defended the cost of the meal.

'Yes, but is it f*****g worth it? That's the actual question,' one wrote.

'Cook your own f*****g food then,' another said.

Others defended restaurants and eateries who charge higher prices for foods.

'The simple fact is that there's a floor to how cheap delivered food can be because of all the other costs involved,' one user said.

The post attracted plenty of comments from users whose opinions differed over the meal's price tag

'They could sell you a dry piece of toast and it would probably have to cost at least $10 to make economical sense to them.'

'It is economics 101 and it astounds me that people think other people work for free,' another said.

'I will let you in on a secret, I charge for every hour I work too, I'm lucky enough I don't have a mark up a product, and can just charge what i do [sic].'

me&u CEO Katrina Barry told Daily Mail Australia that the company doesn't set the prices for food that are available to order through the app.

'While we work with venues to better improve their operations and service through our platform, me&u does not influence or control the price of on-menu items, including meals, snacks, and drinks' Ms Barry said.

'All menu prices are set by the venue and reflect a range of factors including staffing, overheads and costs of ingredients'.
Newly-discovered evidence indicates the NYPD, based on a controversial DNA procedure, launched an unfair racial dragnet targeting Black males after the 2016 Howard Beach murder of a female jogger that led to the arrest of the man convicted in the killing, defense lawyer Ron Kuby says.

In a 65-page Queens Supreme Court document, Kuby asks prosecutors to either vacate the 2019 conviction of imprisoned Chanel Lewis, 27, in the high-profile homicide, grant a new trial or order evidentiary hearings in the headline-making seven-year-old homicide.

Chanel Lewis found guilty of Karina Vetrano murder. Daily News front page on April 2, 2019.

The truth, which was deliberately suppressed by the prosecution, is the NYPD used an unapproved lab to do racial phenotyping testing, which itself is controversial, Kuby told the Daily News.

Every part of the Lewis trial was warped and distorted by the use of the dragnet and deliberate efforts to conceal it had been conducted.

Karina Vetrano, 30, was sexually attacked and savagely killed as she went jogging in a park near her Howard Beach home on Aug. 2, 2016, with Lewis convicted and sentenced three years later to life without parole.

According to the court papers filed Monday, the NYPD elicited a DNA phenotyping conclusion from Parabon NanoLab, a then unlicensed vendor before launching the sweep of minority suspects prior to the testing of the defendant.

How this racial dragnet led specifically to Chanel Lewis door remains unknown; the fact that it did and that it was withheld is newly discovered, and undeniable, the court papers allege. Important questions remain about the reliability of DNA phenotyping and the methodologies employed by Parabon NanoLabs.

Karina Vetrano

Court papers cited a 2019 story in The News reporting 360 Black and Hispanic men previously questioned by police in Howard Beach were harassed, surveilled and swabbed on questionable consent.

According to testimony at his trial, Lewis DNA was found on the victims body. His first prosecution ended with a hung jury before his conviction on April 1, 2019.

Critics of Virginia-based Parabon say private labs receive less scrutiny than public labs.

Parabon did not immediately respond to an email about the new filing. The Queens District Attorney, in a statement, said the office does not comment on pending litigation. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

An NYPD lieutenant testified at the trial that elimination samples to rule out suspects were taken only from friends, family, and coworkers of the victim or from potential suspects specifically identified to law enforcement.

Veta Lewis, mother of Chanel Lewis, protests outside State Supreme Court in Queens after her son was sentenced to life in prison without parole on April 23, 2019.

Kuby said the new evidence contradicted the law enforcement narrative of how the case was closed.

The arrest was immediately mythologized as dogged police work and good luck, he said. The DAs office and the police worked very hard to to make this look like it had nothing to do with race.

And usually when white people insist the the prosecution of Blacks has nothing to do with race, its always about that thing.
City of Sydney council has taken the first steps to ban gas for all new homes and businesses.

It comes after a motion was passed on Monday night, with eight out of 10 councillors voting to 'investigate' the opportunities and challenges of a ban on gas connections.

The move will introduce clauses to developing rules which require new homes and businesses within the council area to be all-electric and gas-free.

It would require installing only electric appliances including stoves, cooktops, heaters and hot water units.

The City of Sydney became the latest council to start the process of banning gas, despite NSW Premier Chris Minns ruling out a statewide ban last month.

Clover Moore's City of Sydney council passed a motion on Monday night banning gas connections in new homes and businesses, with eight out of 10 councillors voting in support of the ban

Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore pushed the ban, with council papers claiming the ban on gas is 'based on the health, economic and environmental benefits that all-electric buildings produce for future occupants'.

The council takes in Sydney's central business district and surrounding inner-city suburbs, covering a resident population of more than 210,000 people.

City of Sydney Council also wants to force homes and businesses to get rid of their already existing gas in favour of electric connections.

Council papers urged staff to consider 'any other potential amendments that would facilitate or speed up the transition of existing resident and non-residential buildings in the City of Sydney to become all-electric and gas-free'.

READ MORE: Inside push for gas to be banned so Australia can meet its climate change targets Advertisement

Premier Chris Minns previously ruled out banning new gas connections in NSW, saying it would complicate the 'extreme' challenges the state faced in its transition to renewable energy.

Local councils in Sydney are deciding to overrule State Premier Chris Minns, with Waverley in Sydney's east and Canterbury-Bankstown in the south west establishing rules that require new buildings to have electric appliances only.

Parramatta council also banned new gas connections in the city's CBD, according to the City of Sydney's council papers.

Randwick Council will be voting on a motion to implement a statewide ban on Tuesday.

Under the 1979 EPA Act, councils have the power to implement their own bans by imposing restrictive conditions on development applications and plans.

However, the state government has the power to override local councils by implementing planning rules, with opposition calling on Premier Minns to stop councils from imposing 'different rules across the state'.

Liberal Councillor at Randwick Council Christie Hamilton told 2GB host Ben Fordham on Tuesday the plan to ban gas is 'nonsense'.

'I think it's nonsense, it's so out of touch with the cost of living pressures that everyone is feeling right now,' Ms Hamilton said.

'This motion says that electricity is cheaper to run meaning lower energy bills. That's just not true.

'We don't have an alternative to turn off gas for an equally priced alternative. If we did, we could do it, but we don't.'

City of Sydney Council wants to also force homes and businesses to get rid of their already existing gas in favour of electric connections (pictured, Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore)

Liberal Councillor at Randwick Council Christie Hamilton said the ban on gas was 'nonsense' and urged Premier Chris Minns to consider NSW residents struggling with the cost of living

Ms Hamilton, who has been on Randwick Council since 2017, said the issue with gas has 'bubbled' away in the background but will come to the forefront during council's meeting.

Randwick Councillors will not be voting to ban gas on new developments or to introduce the planning control measures in Randwick council.

Rather, councilors will vote to send through a motion to the local government NSW annual conference to call on the state government to ban gas across the entire state.

Ms Hamilton said she will be arguing against the motion as it affects all Australians.

'I will be arguing against this [motion], I find it to be very dismissive of Randwick residents, rate payers and renters, this affects everybody,' Ms Hamilton said.

She urged Premier Chris Minns to consider NSW residents struggling with the cost of living.

'Chris Minns needs to consider what he needs to do for NSW residents and I believe considering how costly it is to live right now, how bills are already going through the roof, this is not something we should do right now,' Ms Hamilton said.

'We don't have an alternative to turn of gas for an equally priced alternative. If we did, we could do it but we don't.'

Celebrity chef Luke Mangan told Ben Fordham the kitchen for his new restaurant, which is located in Potts Point, was being delivered on Tuesday is all gas and valued at about $400,000.

Mr Mangan said cooking with gas was quicker, easier and more efficient in a commercial space and claimed the ban on gas would be detrimental to small businesses.

'Seriously if we think of all of these small businesses around the state and around the country with cafes and wine bars and restaurants, what if they've put these gas cooktops in 6-12 months ago,' He said.

'Small businesses are under the pump already with interest rates going up, people not spending now electricity, gas, your wages, everything has gone up and produce has gone up.

'These businesses can't keep putting prices up to stay in business because people just don't want to spend more at this period.'

He also questioned how the ban would effect existing homes and their barbeques.

'What about the barbie out the back that's connected to gas, do we rip that out and have to have an electric barbie?,' Mr Mangan said.

'The small Aussie hardworking battlers at home cannot rip out a gas stove and put in an electric stove because the bloody government says so.'

Celebrity chef Luke Mangan pictured) said cooking with gas was quicker, easier and more efficient in a commercial space, claiming the ban on gas would be detrimental to small businesses.

The celebrity chef also offered to take Premier Chris Minns on a tour of small businesses to show him how the ban will affect struggling restaurants.

On July 28, Daniel Andrews' Labor government banned new homes from connecting to natural gas, in a bid for Victoria to halve carbon emissions by 2030.

Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio and Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny announced the changes to energy supply, with the policy set to to kick in on January 1, 2024.

In addition to residential housing, any new public buildings which are yet to reach design stages by the cut off date - including schools, police stations and hospitals - must be entirely electric.
An AFP investigation has led to a former childcare worker being charged with 1623 child abuse offences against 91 children - including 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 - in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas between 2007 and 2022.

The Gold Coast man, 45, has been in custody in Queensland since August 2022 when the AFP arrested and charged him initially with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material.

The case is scheduled for a mention in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 21 August, 2023.

After the man was charged last year, the AFP will allege further self-produced child abuse material was identified on electronic devices allegedly owned by the man. The AFP launched Operation Tenterfield immediately after arresting the man on 21 August last year.

Operation Tenterfield has in part focused on identifying the children in the alleged child abuse material recorded at childcare centres in Queensland (10) and NSW (one), and an early learning centre attached to a school overseas.

The AFP alleges the man recorded his offending on phones and cameras while working in 10 childcare centres in Brisbane between 2007 to 2013, and 2018 to 2022; an overseas location in 2013 and 2014; and one centre in Sydney between 2014 and 2017. All the children allegedly offended against were pre-pubescent girls. The man worked at other childcare centres but the AFP is highly-confident the man did not allegedly offend at those centres.

The AFP is also highly-confident that all 87 Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified. The AFP believes the man recorded all his alleged offending.

The parents of all the Australian children recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been informed of the investigation. Some of the individuals identified in the alleged child abuse material are now aged over 18 years and have been informed. Support services have been offered and continue to be provided.

The AFP is working with international authorities to help identify four children recorded in alleged child abuse material created overseas.

The AFP Queensland Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) and victim identification specialists from the AFP and Queensland Police Service (QPS) have been working tirelessly since the man's arrest last year to identify all children in the alleged child abuse material.

In November, 2022, the AFP provided evidence to NSW Police Force (NSWPF) to enable an investigation for the alleged offending in NSW. NSWPF launched Strike Force Boorong to investigate alleged offending in Sydney. With the assistance of the AFP, NSWPF notified families and individuals identified under Operation Tenterfield.

Operation Tenterfield with the assistance of Strike Force Boorong has undertaken detailed forensic investigations of more than 4000 images and videos containing alleged child abuse material, which was allegedly created by the man.

In July, 2023, the AFP laid further charges against the man (on top of the three original charges) for the alleged offending against 64 children in Queensland and four children overseas.

Those charges include:

In June, 2023, NSWPF laid charges for alleged offending against 23 children in NSW. Charges include:

NSWPF has issued a first instance warrant for the man's future extradition.

Operation Tenterfield has been complex and has involved highly-skilled victim identification specialists. Up to 35 AFP members have been involved in the investigation since August 2022.

The AFP thanks QPS and NSWPF for dedicating resources to the investigation.

The genesis of Operation Tenterfield is linked to QPS locating alleged child abuse images and videos on the dark web in 2014.

QPS posted them on an international victim identification database, seeking assistance from the global victim-identification community.

The AFP and other agencies examined the images but they contained few distinguishable clues for investigators to follow.

But in August, 2022, the AFP was able to trace objects identified in the background of the alleged images and videos posted on the dark web between 2013 and 2014 to a Brisbane childcare centre.

Following inquiries with the childcare centre, the AFP executed a search warrant on 20 August, 2022, in Brisbane, and arrested the man in Brisbane's southwestern suburbs. He was charged with making and distributing child abuse material that was allegedly posted on the dark web.

In the next 48 hours, the AFP executed two further search warrants including at the man's Gold Coast home and seized electronic devices allegedly containing child abuse material created by the man.

In September 2022, the AFP coordinated a joint-agency taskforce with QPS at the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) to review nearly 4000 seized images and videos the man had allegedly created.

Victim identification specialists helped identify 91 children who had allegedly been offended against by the man.

The childcare centres will not be named to help protect the identity of alleged victims.

AFP Northern Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough said the AFP and other agencies were providing ongoing support to parents and children.

'The AFP, working with support services, has ensured parents and carers have received as much information as possible as this investigation continues,' Assistant Commissioner Gough said.

'I can assure members of the Australian public that if you have not been contacted by law enforcement, it is extremely unlikely your child was allegedly offended against by the man.

'The AFP is highly-confident that all the Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified.

'The AFP and our partners never gave up trying to identify the alleged offender and the children in the alleged abuse material.

'Given there were so many alleged images and videos of children recorded over 15 years on the alleged offender's devices, the process of identification took time, skill and determination.

'While I am extremely proud of law enforcements' persistence and their unwavering dedication to identify this alleged offender, and stop further abuse, this is chilling news.

'It is with a heavy-heart that the AFP and other law enforcement dedicate so much time and resources to prevent and take action against individuals who commit heinous crimes against children.

'There is not much solace I can give parents and children who have been identified under Operation Tenterfield, but I can tell you that we never gave up, and we never will when it comes to protecting children.

'This is a distressing time for families, carers and the community broadly.

'We know this type of news can re-traumatise survivors of sexual abuse, and, please, I urge those survivors to seek support, or talk to a trusted network, if today's news has caused distress.'

Queensland Police Service Acting Assistant Commissioner Col Briggs said this outcome was the culmination of years of dedicated and complex investigation across jurisdictions.

'From the moment Argos located images of victim children being shared on the dark web in 2014 an extensive examination was launched to identify the children in the pictures,' Acting Assistant Commissioner Briggs said.

'The challenges posed by an investigation of this type were significant and officers never gave up on identifying this alleged offender, reminding themselves that everything you do online leaves a trace.

'In recent years investigators engaged the support of a joint-agency Victim Identification Taskforce at the ACCCE, with several agencies working together to ensure the victims and their families were located.

'These allegations are horrific and confronting, but I commend all investigators from each jurisdiction in their relentless efforts to ensure that our community is made safer as a result of the arrest of the alleged perpetrator.

Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald from the NSWPF State Crime Command confirmed the man would also be facing child sex abuse related charges in NSW.

'Today we announce that the NSW Police Force have issued a warrant for this man's arrest in our home state, where he faces 180 child sex abuse charges against 23 victims aged one to five,' Assistant Commissioner Fitzgerald said.

'Once this man faces the AFP charges in Queensland, we will be seeking to extradite him to Sydney to face the full force of the law in New South Wales.

'This is one of the most horrific cases of alleged child abuse our detectives have seen, and we will continue to relentlessly pursue this matter on behalf of the 23 victims of NSW, who remain our number one priority.

'Alongside our partner agencies, we are absolutely committed to prosecuting anyone who goes after our community's most vulnerable.'

The AFP urges anyone in the community who needs to access support to visit the ACCCE website  www.accce.gov.au - for a full list of available support services with contact details.

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.accce.gov.au/report. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.

Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety.

If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available at www.accce.gov.au/support.

Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
Monarch Airlines is set to stage a comeback six year after collapsing into 466million debts and leaving 110,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad.

The company claimed it will resurface as a 'premium alternative to low-cost leisure carriers' and fill a hole in capacity following the Covid pandemic.

The airline has been reinstated at Companies House, with its head office in Luton, according to The Times.

Reports over the weekend said the airline had been 'passed into new ownership, with social media posts including the tagline 'Let's Monarch'.

When the company collapsed in October 2017 it was Britain's fifth largest airline, after expanding to sell scheduled flights as well as package offers.

Monarch Airlines is set to stage a comeback six year after collapsing into 466million debts and leaving 110,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad

Tearful cabin staff were pictured crying as they were upset about job losses at Monarch Airlines after it went bust

The company claimed it will resurface as a 'premium alternative to low-cost leisure carriers' and fill a hole in capacity following the Covid pandemic

The airport is pictured empty after the airline Monarch got into 466million of debt in 2017

A sign said: 'Monarch have ceased to trade. No future Monarch flights will depart from the UK'

But when Monarch Travel Group fell apart it got into 466million of debt, and more than 750,000 Britons had their holiday plans ruined.

Daniel Ellingham, 64, is now chairman of the revitalised company.

In an interview with American trade publication Airways, he said: 'I am honoured to be able to lead the iconic Monarch brand into a new era, now 55 years after it first took to the skies.

'It is immensely rewarding to know that we are soon going to launch a new and strong company for the UK tourism sector.'

Mr Ellingham explained that the company has received initial investments from firms in Britain and the EU.

The airline is currently talking with another British airline to acquire 15 A320 short-haul aircraft.

In 2017 the Luton-based airline imploded, leaving thousands of customers high and dry and prompting the UK's biggest peacetime repatriation.

At the time, it was reported only around 43,000 people - five per cent of all victims - would definitely get their cash back under the government-backed Atol scheme that protects package holidays.

Upset Monarch staff found out they'd lost their jobs by email after the company went bust

In 2017 The former Monarch boss told MailOnline that he wished to apologise to Monarch customers and staff

People had their holiday plans destroyed when they could not fly with Monarch Airlines

At the time, it was reported only around 43,000 people - five per cent of all victims - would definitely get their cash back

Sobbing Monarch staff who found out they'd lost their jobs by email after the company's collapse

Monarch staff who found out they had lost their jobs by email boxed up their belongings

When Monarch Travel Group failed it got into 466million of debt, and more than 750,000 Britons had their holiday plans ruined

At the time, the CAA revealed that the airline had alerted it more than a month earlier that it was in difficulty

The airport is pictured almost empty after the airline went bust and stopped delivering flights in 2017

The airline is currently talking with another British airline to acquire 15 A320 short-haul aircraft

Everyone else was told they would have to claim the money spent on flights back through credit card firms and banks.

There was also growing anger over how Monarch handled its collapse amid claims its customers and staff were left in the dark and told they were 'operating as normal' before hearing the bad news via text or email.

At the time, the CAA revealed that the airline had alerted it more than a month earlier that it was in difficulty.

The former Monarch boss told MailOnline that he wished to apologise to Monarch customers and staff.

'The most important thing for me to add is to say how sorry I am that the company has had to enter administration and that so many customers have been inconvenienced and that so many jobs have been lost,' he said.

'Today's been a heartbreaking day.'

He added that the decline of the airline was triggered by terror attacks in Monarch's destinations, but the coup de grace was 'the Brexit referendum and the fact that it put our costs up by 40million because the pound collapsed.'
Donald Trump will turn himself in at Fulton County jail in Atlanta on Thursday, the former president confirmed on Monday night.

'Can you believe it?' he wrote on social media.

'I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History.

'In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for 'Murder,' but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!'

Trump added his familiar allegation that the charges were part of an effort to derail his own 2024 election campaign, and again accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of targeting him in a bid to fundraise for her own election.

'She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT,' he said.

'This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Biden's DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!'

His booking will take place the day after the first Republican primary debate - which he has confirmed he will not attend.

Donald Trump, pictured following his April 4 arraignment in Manhattan, is expected to turn himself in to Fulton County authorities on Thursday

The sheriff's department says most people arrested in Fulton County are taken to the main jail on Rice Street, to the northwest of the city center, where conditions are being investigated

Fulton County Sheriff deputies install security barriers outside the Fulton County Jail on Monday, days after an indictment was announced against Donald Trump and 18 co-conspirators

Deputies prepared Monday for a rush of defendants in the 2020 election case

The former president and his 18 co-defendants were charged on August 14 with attempting to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election, and were given a deadline of Friday at noon to hand themselves in for booking.

On Monday, the 77-year-old's bail was set at $200,000 and he was ordered not to send threatening social media messages.

Sheriff's deputies on Monday stepped up security, installing barriers around the run-down jailhouse, as his legal team was spotted entering Willis' office.

Authorities in Fulton County said he can expect no special treatment.

He will have to be fingerprinted like other suspects at the notorious jail, and may, for the first time, have his mugshot taken.

The jail is well known for its squalid conditions, although Trump will not be held there while he awaits trial.

The infamous, insect-ridden facility is being investigated by the Department of Justice after a series of deaths.

Launching the investigation last month, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, said: 'The recent allegations of filthy housing teeming with insects, rampant violence resulting in death and injuries, and officers using excessive force are cause for grave concern and warrant a thorough investigation.'

Defendants in the sprawling case are expected to negotiate the terms of their release and bond before being booked at the county jail. It could be more than a week before they then appear in court to enter a formal plea.

Details of Trump's bond were among the first handful to be released as co-defendants reached agreements.

The 'consent bond order,' published on the Fulton County Superior Court website, says Trump will 'perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a co-defendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.'

It goes on to add that this will include 'posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.'

Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

The document was signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Trump's defense team and Scott McAffee, Fulton Country Superior Court judge

Court filings published Monday show that lawyer John Eastman (left) agreed a $100,000 bond deal and Scott Graham Hall reached a $10,000 agreement

On Monday morning, before the bond was agreed, he used his Truth Social media platform to condemn Governor Brian Kemp (a fellow Republican) for failing to impeach Willis.

Days earlier, Trump was warned he was in danger of violating the terms of his release in another case with 'inflammatory statements.'

He has railed repeatedly against the 'biased and unfair' judge overseeing the federal case accusing him of seeking to subvert the 2020 election, and used similar language against prosecutors and at times singled out witnesses.

Earlier it emerged that John Eastman, the lawyer charged with helping orchestrate the former president's fake elector scheme, had agreed to a $100,000 bond.

Scott Graham Hall reached a $10,000 bond agreement. He is the local bail bondsman accused of commandeering voting information in Coffee County, south Georgia. Atlanta News First reported the details.

Last week's indictment was the fourth brought against Trump since April.

The latest case against Trump, who is the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 nomination, is laid out in a 98-page indictment.

It includes details of a phone call to Georgia's secretary of state urging him to find more votes for him and allegations that an election worker was harassed with false claims of fraud.

And in one of the most extraordinary examples of attempts to change the outcome, it describes an alleged plot to access voting machines and steal data.

'The indictment alleges that, rather than abide by Georgia's legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election result,' said Willis last week, announcing the charges.

She is pushing for a speedy trial.

Her proposed schedule would see the trail start on March 4, although that is certain to be challenged by Trump and other defendants.
One of Britain's most exclusive fee-paying schools is to open free selective sixth-form colleges.

Eton College and academy trust Star Academies will set up three state sixth forms in Dudley, Middlesbrough and Oldham after the Department for Education (DfE) approved the plans.

They are part of 15 new free schools to be announced by the Education Secretary today in an effort to improve standards in disadvantaged areas.

Eton College will contribute around 1 million a year per college on top of current funding levels - which is around 2,000 per year for each student.

Students from the state sixth forms will also have a chance to attend a summer school each year at Eton as part of the partnership.

Eton College is set to open three new free sixth-form colleges in Dudley, Oldham, and Middlesbrough

Dudley, Middlesbrough and Oldham were all listed in the Government's 55 education 'cold spots' in England - those identified as having the weakest education outcomes - as part of its levelling up agenda.

In February last year, the DfE said the 55 'education investment areas' which were selected to raise school standards, would be prioritised for new specialist sixth forms.

Each Eton Star sixth-form college will admit 240 students a year, which means each college will have 480 students across Year 12 and Year 13 when full.

Simon Henderson, headmaster of Eton College, said: 'We believe these new colleges have the potential to be transformative both for the young people who attend and for the wider communities they will serve. Now the hard work really starts as we turn our vision into reality.

'Collaborative partnership will be key to this project's success and we are very grateful for the support we have had already from the respective councils, from the local communities and from our colleagues in other educational settings.'

The colleges will be co-educational, unlike Eton, and the students will not wear the traditional Eton uniform of a black tailcoat.

The DfE has approved the 15 new free schools in parts of the country where education outcomes are weakest, and it said around 12,000 young people will benefit.

A northern version of the Brit School, which has nurtured performers such as Adele and Amy Winehouse, is among the applications approved.

Plans have also been approved for two university technical colleges (UTCs), one new all-through school for pupils aged four to 16, a primary school, two secondary schools and a further five 16-19 free schools.

The Department for Education, under Gillian Keegan (pictured), approved plans for 15 new free schools in areas where education outcomes are the weakest

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: 'We want to make more good school places available to families, and these 15 new free schools will bring brand new opportunities to young people from Bradford to Bristol.

'Free schools bring high standards, more choice for parents and strong links to industry - and all in the areas where those opportunities are needed most.'

Eton, which was founded in 1440 by Henry IV, has educated 20 British prime ministers - including Boris Johnson and David Cameron.

Other former pupils include Prince William and Prince Harry, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, actors Eddie Redmayne and Damian Lewis, explorer Ranulph Fiennes and the late author George Orwell.

The current annual school fees are up to 46,296.
The new concept model of a ute nicknamed the 'Indian Hilux' has been revealed, with rumours the off-roader could hit the Australian market by 2025.

Mahindra unveiled its Global Pik-Up concept in Cape Town, South Africa, last Wednesday, claiming its new model will challenge industry leaders Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Isuzu.

It's also set to rival the cheap Chinese-made GWM 4x4 ute, which is priced at $35,990 and growing in popularity across Australia.

The Global Pik-Up will be the first revamp of Mahindra's S11 Pik-Up, a small and industrious ute known for being low in tech but friendly on budgets, priced from $37,990.

However, the Indian car giant insists the new ute will be a far-cry from its simple origins with a range of impressive off-road features that meet the 'highest global and local safety standards'.

Mahindra unveiled its Global Pik-Up concept (above) last Wednesday, a ute it claims will challenge the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger in Australia

The new Global Pik-Up's (above) towing capacity is expected to be on-par with the Ranger and Hilux at 3,500kg

The new car is underpinned by the company's Scorpio SUV ladder frame but has a much 'tougher' look.

It's suspected the new ute will also adopt the Scorpio's 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, which generates 129kW of power and 400Nm of torque.

It's worth noting that this engine is 35kW less powerful and has 100Nm less torque compared to Ford's 2.0-litre biturbo engine used in its Ranger XLT and Wildtrak models.

Mahindra also boasted the Global Pik-Up will have a 'commendable' towing capacity, suggesting it will be on par with the Ranger and Hilux at 3,500kg.

In concept photos, the dual-cab features a pair of red recovery hooks, two spare tyres in the tray, a snorkel and large black grill.

'Design is the cornerstone of our success, shaping our identity and paving the way for our global acceptance,' Automotive Technology and Product Development president R Velusamy said.

'The Global Pik-Up's rugged, dependable, and purposeful appearance appeals universally, reflecting a desire for adventure and exploration.'

The Global Pik-Up's interior wasn't revealed, but executives promised 'the infotainment system and immersive audio provide an enjoyable and entertaining journey for passengers'.

The Global model will be the first revamp of the Indian company's 2007 S11 Pik-Up (above)

Other highlights of the ute include a sunroof, 4Xplore four-wheel-drive system, offered currently in the Scorpio SUV, and semi-automatic parking technology.

Mahindra claims the 4x4 will also have 'Level 2 ADAS' - a variety of advanced safety features that correct and detect dangerous driving.

Included is adaptive cruise control, which changes the driver's speed according to other vehicles around it, and lane-centring assist.

The company also promises the ute will come with trailer sway mitigation, 'all-around airbag protection', drowsy driver detection and 5G connectivity.

Customers will be given a choice between a six-speed automatic or a six-speed manual transmission.

Executives said: 'The Global Pik-Up from Mahindra is engineered to deliver performance, safety, utility, and robust capability.'

The Global Pik-Up concept (above) features a range of impressive off-road features, including two spare tyres and a set of recovery hooks

The Global Pik-Up is striving to adhere to global safety standards, with the ultimate goal of achieving a five-star rating.

'The new Global Pik-Up marks a significant step in Mahindra's Go-Global Strategy,' explained Mahindra automotive sector president Veejay Nakra.

'This robust and tough vehicle, engineered with cutting-edge technology, is not only versatile and capable but also meets high standards of safety.

'Our move with the Global Pik-Up is poised to not only reinforce our presence in existing markets but also pave the way to new frontiers.'

Mahindra said it will provide more details about the Global Pik-Up closer to its showroom introduction in between two and four years' time.
A NHS nursing boss has denied ignoring doctor's warnings about serial baby-killer Lucy Letby and threatened to take legal action over allegations made about her handling of staff's concerns.

Karen Moore, the former head of urgent care nursing at the Countess of Chester, is facing questions about the way she handled concerns raised over Letby, who was yesterday sentenced to a whole life order for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more.

Mrs Moore  who was known as Rees when she worked at the hospital and was one of Letby's direct line managers  told Sky News she wasn't given enough information to justify taking Letby off the ward.

She left the trust in 2018 and now runs a holiday rental near her home in Denbighshire, North Wales. She said she is 'taking legal advice' about the allegations.

Since Letby's conviction, executives at the hospital have been criticised for failing to stop the killer nurse from murdering babies in her care.

Karen Moore, (pictured) the former head of urgent care nursing at the Countess of Chester

Mrs Moore  who was known as Rees when she worked at the hospital and was one of Letby's direct line managers  said she wasn't given enough information to justify taking Lucy Letby off the ward. Letby is pictured wearing scrubs while she holds baby clothes

Dr Stephen Brearey told the court that he had contacted Mrs Rees about Letby after having become concerned about the deaths of two infants in June 2016.

He testified that during a phone call to Mrs Rees he stated how he and his colleagues 'wouldn't be happy' if Letby continued to work in their neonatal unit, The Telegraph reported.

He claimed he went to Mrs Rees because she 'was familiar with the concerns already' and asked that Letby not be permitted to return to work until the situation was 'investigated properly'.

The doctor told the jury that Mrs Rees declined to do so, alleging 'there was no evidence' to warrant a probe.

Letby (pictured in her custody photo) was sentenced to a whole life order for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more

Dr Stephen Brearey (pictured) told the court that he had contacted Mrs Rees about Letby after having become concerned about the deaths of two infants in June 2016

Karen Moore blasted Dr Ravi Jayaram (pictured)

He recalled: 'The crux of the conversation was that I then put to her, 'Was she happy to take responsibility for this decision in view of the fact that myself and consultant colleagues would not be happy with nurse Letby going to work the following day?'

'She responded, 'Yes, she would be happy'. I said, 'Would you be happy if something happened to any of the babies the following day?' She said, 'Yes'.'

The former hospital employee also blasted Dr Ravi Jayaram, a senior paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital who gave evidence in the trial.

He had joined other doctors in warning NHS bosses about the serial killer months before police were called in.

Speaking to ITV News yesterday, the paediatrician said he was 'incensed' by attempts from hospital managers to try and justify their decisions after the full extent of Letby's depraved crimes were revealed.

He also told the broadcaster he is angry at the failure of bosses to apologise given what has happened since police made the horrific findings in their investigation into the deaths, code named Operation Hummingbird.
The late Queen was left 'horrified' by the Battle of Orgreave and described violent clashes between mounted police and striking miners in 1984 as 'awful', an ex-editor of the Times has revealed.

The violence erupted between 10,000 policemen and 5,000 picketing miners at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham in a struggle which saw nearly 100 miners charged.

The interventions by mounted police led to 123 injuries in one of the most controversial moments of the 1980s miners' strikes.

'The Queen was watching on telly and when the horses rode through some of the miners and knocked a few down, the Queen said words [to the effect of] Oh, thats awful! Oh, we shouldnt do that,' ex-political editor of The Times Julian Haviland told TimesRadio.

'And [for] the Queen to make a political comment like that was news.'

The Battle of Orgreave erupted between 10,000 policemen and 5,000 picketing miners at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham and saw nearly 100 miners charged. Pictured: Police charge pickets at Orgreave

Julian Haviland dubbed Elizabeth II as 'the only person in the world of whom Margaret Thatcher was frightened'

In an interview recorded shortly before his death this month which is due to be aired this morning, he further revealed that Margaret Thatcher used to drink whiskey before her audience with the monarch.

Dubbing Elizabeth II as 'the only person in the world of whom Margaret Thatcher was frightened', he remembered her downing a large scotch after an interview - likely because her next engagement was with the monarch.

Mr Haviland said his story was not published after he advised doing so would incriminate his source - because there were only two other people in the room when the Queen spoke.

Police said they had acted in self-defence, but miners said the violence had been sparked by officers.

Nearly 100 miners were charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and related offences.

But the prosecution of all 95 collapsed the following year after concerns emerged about police statements.

South Yorkshire Police referred itself to the IPCC in 2012 over the allegations.

But the IPCC said in March 2015 it had not found any 'direct evidence' that senior officers within the force colluded to instruct colleagues to commit perjury.

The interventions by mounted police led to 123 injuries in one of the most controversial moments of the 1980s miners' strikes. Pictured: An arrested and injured miner being taken to an ambulance

Nearly 100 miners were charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and related offences. But the prosecution of all 95 collapsed the following year after concerns emerged about police statements

Ex-political editor of The Times Julian Haviland revealed all an interview with TimesRadio recorded shortly before his death this month which is due to be aired this morning

Following that decision, the IPCC decided not to publish its full, unredacted report into Orgreave because it may have interfered with the still ongoing investigation into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

A year later, the Yorkshire Post said it had seen redacted sections of the report revealing that the same senior officers and solicitor were involved in the aftermath of Orgreave and the Hillsborough disaster.

But a further inquiry was slammed by Lord Tebbit - who was a Cabinet minister at the time of the strike - and said the probe was 'ill-advised'.

A settlement of 425,000 was paid to 39 miners by South Yorkshire Police in 1991, but no formal inquiry has ever been established.
Police are investigating an 'extremely serious' alleged domestic-violence related assault that took place in an exclusive Sydney suburbs in the early hours of Tuesday.

Officers from The Hills Police Area Command were called to Oakwood Place, Kellyville, shortly after 2.30am, after reports a man who arrived in a ute had broken into a home, armed with a knife.

Neighbours were shocked by the incident in the otherwise quiet suburban street where homes sell for well over $1million.

Superintendent Gary Bachelor said items found in a backpack belonging to the alleged offender suggest his attendance at the residence was premeditated.

He said a 'violent' altercation ensued after the occupants of the home were alerted to the intruder by a loud sound downstairs.

'We're alleging that the male ... was going to do harm to the people at that address,' the superintendent said.

Police are investigating an alleged domestic-violence related assault that took place in the Sydney suburb of Kellyville (pictured) in the early hours of Tuesday morning

Superintendent Bachelor confirmed the alleged intruder was known to police and that an AVO is in place between some of the parties involved in the incident.

'Police have dealt with that male in recent weeks,' he said.

READ MORE: New development after woman is found dead in her Sydney apartment Advertisement

The alleged offender is due to be released from Westmead Hospital on Tuesday morning and will be brought to Castle Hill police station where the investigation will continue.

Superintendent Bachelor said it was incredibly 'traumatic' and 'distressing' that several young children were inside the home at the time of the alleged break and enter.

'One of the males is known to police for a number of reasons,' he said.

'An alleged offender attending an address like this is extremely serious.'

Police have canvassed the surrounding streets and obtained CCTV and witness accounts.

They found a 41-year-old man at the scene suffering serious lacerations to his forearms, and a 39-year-old man suffering cuts to his hands.

The men were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Westmead Hospital, both in a stable condition.

The older man is under police guard.

A 35-year-old woman and three children who were at the home at the time are said to be shaken but unharmed.

Channel Nine has reported that neighbours say this is not an isolated incident, that police have attended the address in Kellyville a number of times in recent weeks.

Concerns had been raised about the welfare of the woman in the house.

Neighbours said they are terrified with what they have seen overnight.

'I have been living here for five years, really peaceful street. So this is really shocking,' one man said.

'I heard that her ex ... sometimes comes here, which is quite terrible.'

Officers from The Hills Police Area Command were called to Oakwood Place (pictured) shortly after 2.30am

A neighbour (pictured) said what happened in Kellyville overnight was terrifying

A crime scene has been established and inquiries are continuing, with uniformed police and plain clothed detectives inside the property along with forensic teams.

Officers were seen taking statements from residents in the quiet cul-de-sac.

Two men stood on a ladder to remove CCTV cameras from a home just a few doors down from the residence.

A couple who had only moved in to the street two months ago said they didn't hear anything during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

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The CPS has said it will not prosecute the suspect due to insufficient evidence

Michael Reilly is accused of being involved in the 1974 Birmingham pub attacks

The families of those killed in the Birmingham pub bombings told of their anger yesterday after it emerged no one will face charges over the atrocity.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a prosecution against a suspect despite him being named by lawyers and confessing on television to involvement in the plot.

Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was one of the 21 people killed in the 1974 IRA attack, said 'we have been let down and treated with nothing but contempt for decades...this is just the latest example of that'.

A further 220 were injured when devices exploded within minutes of each other in two city centre pubs on November 21, 1974.

The Birmingham Six were found guilty of the murders but the convictions overturned 16 years later after one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice.

Despite being one of the deadliest acts of the Troubles, currently, no-one has been convicted of the murders of the 21 victims

Michael Reilly (left) pictured with reporter John Ware (right) was named as being connected to the Birmingham bombings and has been accused of being the 'young planter' in Chris Mullin's book Error of Judgement

The Birmingham pub bombing victims: (top row, left to right) Michael Beasley, 30, Stan Bodman, 47, James Craig, 34, Paul Davies, 17, Trevor Thrupp, 33, Desmond Reilly, 20 and James Caddick, 40, (second row, left to right) Maxine Hambleton, 18, Jane Davis, 17, Maureen Roberts, 20, Lynn Bennett, 18, Anne Hayes, 18, Marilyn Nash, 22 and Pamela Palmer, 19, (bottom row, left to right) Thomas Chaytor, 28, Eugene Reilly, 23, Stephen Whalley, 21, John Rowlands, 46, John 'Cliff' Jones, 51, Charles Gray, 44, and Neil Marsh, 16 (no picture available)

At an inquest in 2019, five men were named in connection with the attacks, including two who are still alive but deny involvement.

One of them, Michael Hayes, in his 70s, is believed to be living in Dublin.

The other, Michael Reilly, now in his 60s, was named at the hearing by lawyers for the victims' families and has previously been claimed to be the 'young planter' mentioned in a book by journalist and former Labour MP Chris Mullin.

Mr Mullin, whose book Error of Judgement led to the release of the Birmingham Six, has refused to identify him arguing it would be breach his duty not to disclose his confidential journalistic sources.

But the 'young planter' allegedly told him in an interview he had planted the bombs in both pubs, claiming he did not know people would be killed.

Mr Mullin also interviewed him for a World In Action documentary that aired in July 1990 where, heavily disguised and with his words spoken by an actor, he gave an account about how he was involved in planting the bombs.

It is understood the recent West Midlands Police investigation focused on Reilly, who was arrested again in a dawn raid at his Belfast home in November 2020. The force passed a file of evidence to prosecutors in 2022.

A judge at the Old Bailey ruled journalist and former Labour MP Chris Mullin (pictured) should not have to disclose the identity of the 'young planter' by handing over material from his investigations into the attacks

Margaret Smith, (centre) whose daughter Maxine Hambleton, 18, was killed in the bombings, brought a civil case against Michael Reilly

In the letter to families seen by the Daily Mail, explaining its decision not to prosecute the CPS counter terror division said: 'There is evidence that a confession was made to Mr Mullin but we do not have sufficient evidence to enable the prosecution to positively identify who made the confession to him.'

Prosecutors considered whether Mr Mullin could be compelled by a court to disclose the identity of the person he interviewed but concluded 'that it would not be realistically possible' as 'courts have consistently held that the protection of journalist's sources is an important principle of a democratic society and a free press.'

In 2022, West Midlands Police tried to use antiterrorism laws to force Chris Mullin to hand over notes of an interview with an alleged plotter of the 1974 atrocity.

But a judge at the Old Bailey ruled he would not have to disclose material from his investigations.

In its letter, the CPS said it then 'considered further whether the identity of the 'young planter' could be proved via any other means'.

It said the police file of evidence also contained material from other sources, including witnesses who have given 'accounts to the police at various points regarding the movements of the suspect at the time of the pub bombings'.

One witness provided three accounts between 1992 and 2018, which varied, and then refused to cooperate further.

Both this person and the other witness could potentially testify that the 'young planter' had involvement in the attack.

But the CPS letter said: 'We have concluded that their evidence is likely to be considered insufficiently credible to prove that the suspect was involved in the bombings.

Julie Hambleton, sister of victim Maxine Hambleton, has campaigned for prosecution of those responsible for the 1974 bombings

Michael Hayes was one of five men who was named alongside Michael Reilly at a 2019 inquest as being connected to the 1974 Birmingham attacks

'The witness evidence is weak and subject to significant discrepancies' Ms Hambleton, who set up the Justice for the 21 campaign group, said: 'It confirms everything we have thought, which is it is one mass cover-up.'

Christopher Stanley, from KRW Law, which represents the Birmingham families, said the inquest and police investigations had so far 'failed to answer the many questions that the relatives of the victims of the pub bombings continue to have'.

He added: 'The families will reject any attempt by the government to be subjected to the investigation mechanisms proposed by its widely condemned Legacy Bill - and now demand a decision from the Home Office on their request for a public inquiry which was first made in 2014 and repeated after the conclusion of the resumed inquest.'

West Midlands police, which has been accused of 'not doing its job' by families, said it remained 'committed to bringing to justice those responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings'.

Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said 'thoughts remain with the family, friends and every one of the victims'.
A 32-year-old moped driver who died in a Bronx crash was being chased by an SUV driver after they got into a quarrel, police said Tuesday.

SUV driver Brehisly Jimenez-Gonzalez never struck the black moped, cops have now determined, but he was arrested for leaving the scene of the crash.

Jimenez-Gonzalez, 22, is also charged with reckless driving and having no insurance.

NYPD cops investigated the fatal hit-and-run on the Cross Bronx Expressway service road near Gleason Ave. Monday.

Jimenez-Gonzalez and the moped driver got into an argument before the victim hopped on his moped and rode off on the Cross Bronx Expressway service road in Parkchester about 2:15 p.m. on Monday, cops said.

Jimenez-Gonzalez allegedly chased after the moped rider and was close to rear-ending him when the victim made a sharp turn at Gleason Ave.

He lost control of his moped, which struck the curb. The victim was thrown from the moped and crashed headfirst into a light pole.

NYPD cops investigated the fatal hit-and-run on the Cross Bronx Expressway service road near Gleason Ave. Monday.

Medics rushed the moped rider to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died. His name was not immediately released.

Jimenez-Gonzalez fled onto the Cross Bronx Expressway, but cops pulled him over a short distance away and took him into custody.

His arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court was pending Tuesday.
Ron DeSantis promised a crowd in northwestern Florida that he will tire out Joe Biden on the primary campaign trail as he slammed the President for going on vacation before surveying the Maui wildfires.

The Florida governor was right at home, literally, as he received a warm welcome from a military and veteran-heavy community on Okaloosa Island, Florida for his pre-debate party the day before he heads to Milwaukee.

'You know, just a thought experiment: If we had a Republican president, who in the midst of these fires and their aftermath, decided not to go engage to help the victims, but to go sit on the beach, what would the media say if they tried to do that?' DeSantis posed.

He responded to his own question, saying that media and Democrats would 'scream bloody murder.'

As DeSantis spoke to Florida supporters, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden landed in Maui to see firsthand the extent of the destruction from the out-of-control wildfires.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a pre-debate party in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Monday where he delivered his stump speech to a very friendly crowd of supporters before heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the first GOP debate of the cycle

DeSantis slammed Biden for going to Lake Tahoe for a weekend vacation before visiting with victims and surveying the damage of the Maui Wildfires. Pictured: President Joe Biden receives a Hawaiian lei during a community engagement event on Monday

But before heading to the only island state, Biden stopped off for a vacation in Lake Tahoe over the weekend, staying at billionaire Tom Steyer's home in the ritzy Glenbrook community from Friday evening to Monday morning.

The first couple rented the home for 'fair market value,' according to the White House. Steyer was one of many Democrats who ran in the 2020 presidential primary and ultimately dropped out.

The death toll in Maui rose to 114 over the weekend and more than 1,000 residents are still reported missing.

Biden has faced intense criticism for his lack of response to the Maui wildfires, with Republicans denouncing him for giving more attention and aid to foreign issues, like the Ukraine war, than domestic ones.

Desantis was on his home turf on Monday, speaking at The Gulf, a multi-purpose venue on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Florida described on the website as a 'bayside hangout for seafood & cocktails.'

Residents of the panhandle area were enthusiastic to have their beloved governor hold the event before his first GOP primary debate in his home state.

Hundreds were seated under umbrellas, watching from balconies and standing on a grassy lawn, nearly all wearing a DeSantis 2024 sticker, wearing his shirts or hats of were in general patriotic, red, white and blue garb.

DeSantis and seven other Republican presidential candidates are in crunch time preparing for the first GOP debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday. Former President Donald Trump easily qualified for the debate, but will not be participating.

If he wins the nomination, DeSantis vowed he would run Biden around the country so he can't 'hide in the basement' like during his mostly-virtual 2020 campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Here's the thing, I'm not gonna give Biden any rest,' DeSantis said to several hundred supporters gathered to hear him speak at a venue overlooking the Choctawhatchee Bay. 'We're gonna run him all around this country, we are not going to stop. We're going to show energy, we're gonna show vigor.'

He added: 'We're going to show a great contrast to the American people between somebody that should not be in office anymore, versus somebody that's gonna spit nails on day one and get the job done for you.'

Biden flew to Lake Tahoe on Friday to stay at billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer's home in the ritzy Glenbrook community where the first couple paid 'market value' for their vacation, according to the White House

Trump supporters stood outside the DeSantis debate sendoff event in Fort Walton Beach on Monday to counterprotest his appearance

DeSantis was noticeably more relaxed back in Florida speaking to a crowd familiar with his accomplishments.

He vowed to run Biden around the country in 2024 as a contrast to his 2020 campaign from his basement studio setup.

'So here's what we've got to make sure about in 2024  I am not going to let him sit in his basement and get away with it again, we are going to run him ragged around this country,' DeSantis said.

'We're going to hold him accountable for his failures. We're going to show the American people that there's a better way. And we know that there's a better way.'

Next the governor is heading to Milwaukee to participate in a debate where he is expecting to take most of the heat as the highest-polling candidate on stage.
An urgent investigation is underway after disturbing email threats about pipe bombs were sent to 16 schools and at least one healthcare facility across Adelaide.

East Adelaide School urged parents to keep students at home on Tuesday after the school was evacuated over a bomb threat.

Dozens of students who were already at school in St Peters were evacuated from the site as the campus was placed into lockdown.

It's understood it was among many schools and healthcare facilities across Adelaide that received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning, sparking alarm from concerned parents across the city.

East Adelaide School principal Vicki Stravinski said that the education department had advised all families to keep their children at home as police investigated.

She was told by authorities that 15 other schools received the same threat.

Dozens of East Adelaide School students were evacuated on Tuesday following a bomb threat

East Adelaide School principal Vicki Stravinski issued an early morning email to parents urging them to keep their kids at home on Tuesday

'This morning we were notified really early via email that there was a bomb threat to the school (that) there were several pipe bombs place around the school,' Ms Stravinski said.

'That gave us enough time to evacuation processes in place.'

'The majority of our parents did not bring their children to school, which is just outstanding.

'We have 560 students attending East Adelaide School however we probably had less than 90 who came to school this morning.'

The students have since been allowed to return to school.

Students returned to East Adelaide School on Tuesday afternoon after police investigated a bomb threat

Parents were originally advised to keep their kids at home but were later told they can return to school

'Out of an abundance of caution, East Adelaide Primary School issued an alert to parents today, however there is no evidence that this school is facing any specific threat,' a department of education spokesperson said.

'The department is not aware of any evidence of a specific risk at any location at this time.

'Police have advised that schools should carry out normal protocols around security if they are the recipient of one of these threats.

South Australian Police confirmed it is investigating a spate of email threats to schools and health care facilities across the state in recent days.

An investigation into the source of the threats has been launched.

'Police have commenced an investigation in relation to the source of these threats, and will prosecute any individual identified to be involved in the dissemination of these threats,' a police spokesperson said.

'Businesses are reminded to carry out normal protocols around security if they are the recipient of one of these threats.'

Anyone who notices any suspicious activity is urged to report it to police on 131 444.

East Adelaide School was closed on Tuesday as police investigated the alleged bomb threat
The man who shot and killed a shop owner of her Pride flag in California railed against the LGBTQ community on social media, as his posts have been revealed following his identification by police.

One post pinned to the top of an account included the image of a Pride flag on fire.

'We need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives! Stop accepting this abomination that the government is forcing us to submit to these mentally disordered tyrants,' he wrote to accompany the picture.

Ikeguchi, 27, is accused of shooting dead Laura Ann Carleton, 66, on Friday. He was killed by police shortly after the murder that was sparked by Carleton's display of a Pride flag at her clothing store.

Carleton, a mother of nine and a fashion and footwear veteran beloved amongst members of the tight-knit mountain community, died 'for the values she so selflessly stood for', friends said in a eulogy.

Laura Ann Carleton, the owner of Mag Pi boutique in Lake Arrowhead, was killed Friday following an argument with Travis Ikeguchi - in which he made multiple disparaging remarks about a flag hung outside the 66-year-old's shop

On the social media site GAB, Ikeguchi railed against the LGBTQ and included a picture of a burning Pride flag

San Bernardino County Sherriff Shannon Dicus said on Monday that Ikeguchi was heard 'yelling many homophobic slurs' about her clothing store's Pride flag before opening fire.

Ikeguchi fled Carleton's store and was later killed in 'a lethal force encounter' with deputies on Friday.

The department - which oversees the largest county in the US - said the killer 'made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton.'

Ikeguchi's GAB - a blogging site often known for its right-wing users - page was filled with references to religion, anti-democracy, anti-police and references to defending himself.

'America must repent for a lot of things we allow; abortion/baby killing, sexual immortality, pornography, same-sex marriages, LGBTQP/pedophilia, freemasonry, religiosity, politics, wars, colonialism, the federal reserve,' he wrote in a post.

'We allow the Federal Reserve to make a profit off of these abominations, we allow the Judicial supremacist groups to make decisions for us and we don't notice it. There is no political solution. We must repent and accept Christ in our hearts. Share this to others, please!'

Another post from Aug. 5 referenced LGBTQ people and read:

'Even though this f***** doesn't like to be labeled as LGBTQP, he is still a f***** and we should allow f***** in our society anyway even if they don't to be called these mentally ill pronouns,' Ikeguchi wrote on a video by Amal Ekpunobi that states why he doesn't like the label.

'Homosexuals still at any form should be illegal,' Ikeguchi noted.

Ikeguchi fled Carleton's store and was later killed in 'a lethal force encounter' with deputies on Friday.

Ikeguchi's GAB - a blogging site often known for its right-wing users - page was filled with references to religion, anti-democracy, anti-police and references to defending himself

'We must repent and accept Christ in our hearts. Share this to others, please!' Ikeguchi wrote in one post on his GAB account

Carleton, a mom-of-nine, owned and operated the store for more than a decade, before being killed outside of the establishment on Friday. Cops said they found her on the scene still suffering before eventually pronouncing her dead

A single bullet hole could be seen in the store's front window, next to which mourners had taped a sign reading: 'Thank you all for your love.'

'On Friday, August 18, 2023, at 5pm, deputies from the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station responded to a report of a person who had been shot at the Mag Pi clothing store on Hook Creek Road,' sheriff's officials said.

'When deputies arrived, they located the victim, identified as Laura Ann Carleton, suffering from a gunshot wound.

'Emergency medical personnel pronounced Carleton deceased at the scene.'

The update revealed how deputies rushed to the scene after receiving a report of shots fired outside the clothing store, which typically closes at 6pm.

They 'received updates from Sheriff's Dispatch indicating the suspect, who has not been identified, fled on foot, and was seen on Torrey Road, east of Highway 173,' cops said.

'Deputies located the suspect near Torrey Road and Rause Rancho Road, armed with a handgun.

'When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, a lethal force encounter occurred and the suspect was pronounced deceased.

'No deputies were injured during the incident.'

'If you knew Lauri you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about,' the village's Mountain Provisions Cooperative said of the incident. 'She was a force, she loved to crack jokes and wanted to live as joyful of a life as possible. We will continue to stand for the values she so selflessly stood for. 'Her death will not be in vain.'

That same flag, an apparent show of support from the storeowner toward members of the queer community, was seen unfurled and on the floor at the scene following the incident Friday - which left at least one bullet hole in the store's facade

The Pride flag that sparked the deadly shooting, an apparent show of support from the storeowner toward members of the LGBTQ+ community, was seen unfurled and on the floor at the scene following the incident Friday - which left at least one bullet hole in the store's facade.

The Sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division - Homicide Detail also responded to the scene, at which point they assumed responsibility over the investigation.

Officers from that detail were the ones to learn the suspect had allegedly initiated the encounter by commenting about the Pride flag - before shooting the mom-of-nine right outside the store she both owned and operated for years.

On Sunday, as friends continued to mourn the late business owner's passing, a colorful shrine could be seen outside the establishment.

The store, which opened in the scenic mountain village just over a decade ago, was one of two trendy clothing shops that had been operated by Carleton - with the other located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City in Los Angeles.

Carleton - who known to friends as Lauri - split time with her kids and husband there and in Lake Arrowhead, where the family owned a restored 1920's Fisherman's Cabin.

Carleton - who known to friends as Lauri - split time with her kids and husband there and in Lake Arrowhead, where the family owned a restored 1920's Fisherman's Cabin

The store, which opened in the scenic mountain village just over a decade ago, was one of two trendy clothing shops that had been operated by Carleton - with the other located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City in Los Angeles

A biography offered on the woman's website harks back to some of her accomplishments as a renowned fashion figure in Southern California, where she spent years as an exec for firms like Kenneth Cole, before focusing on her stores in Studio City and Lake Arrowhead respectively

A biography offered on the woman's website harks back to some of her accomplishments as a renowned fashion figure in Southern California.

'Lauri Carleton's career in fashion began early in her teens, working in the family business at Fred Segal Feet in Los Angeles while attending Art Center School of Design.

'From there she ran 'the' top fashion shoe floor in the US at Joseph Magnin Century City.

'Eventually she joined Kenneth Cole almost from its inception and remained there for over fifteen years as an executive, building highly successful businesses, working with factories and design teams in Italy and Spain, and traveling 200 plus days a year.

'With a penchant for longevity, she has been married to the same man for 28 years and is the mother of a blended family of nine children, the youngest being identical twin girls.

'She and her husband have traveled the greater part of the US, Europe and South America.

'From these travels they have nourished a passion for architecture, design, fine art, food, fashion, and have consequently learned to drink in and appreciate the beauty, style and brilliance of life.'

Following her death, several posts and processions from members of the quiet town surfaced memorializing Carleton.

Following her death, several posts and processions from members of the quiet town surfaced memorializing Carleton. They also vowed the former Kenneth Cole exec's death 'would not be in vain.'

One, from the village's Mountain Provisions Cooperative, remembered her as a 'pillar in [the] community, an immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice.'

It read: 'If you knew Lauri you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about.

'She was a force, she loved to crack jokes and wanted to live as joyful of a life as possible. We will continue to stand for the values she so selflessly stood for.

'Her death will not be in vain.'
Peter Dutton has described the living conditions of First Nations people in Alice Springs as 'absolute squalor'.

The Opposition leader made the admission to ABC journalist Annabel Crabb with his interview to be aired on the channel's program Kitchen Cabinet at 8pm on Tuesday.

Mr Dutton will touch on his personal and professional life and address topics like his first marriage as a teenager, controversial comments about Lebanese immigration in 2016 and how he most likely suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome from his time on the police force - in a surprise admission.

The 52-year-old Liberal leader also spoke about Indigenous culture and his surprise by the amount of 'squalor' some communities are living in.

His comment marks the latest criticism against conditions in the Northern Territory after he claimed in April sexual assault of Indigenous children was 'rampant', prompting him to call for a Royal Commission.

Mr Dutton (right) explains he is struck by the 'absolute squalor' of how some indigenous communities in Alice Springs are living in a new episode of ABC's Kitchen Cabinet hosted by Annabel Crabb (left)

The Liberal Opposition Leader (centre) also defended his comments about 'African gangs' in Melbourne but admitted he regrets his remarks about the resettling of Lebanese migrants

Mr Dutton expanded on his claims about some communities living in squalor.

'Well, it depends on where you go,' he told Crabb.

'If you go to East Arnhem Land, kids at school 90 per cent of the time they've got an attendance rate equivalent to what we would see in a capital city.'

'There's employment programs and a building company that has been established, this up in Yunupingu land and there's a functioning society.

'It's quite remarkable that you hop on the plane and then go to Alice Springs and people living in town camps or in absolute squalor.

'The health system's not functioning. The law-and-order system is not functioning. And there's a complete breakdown. It is literally heartbreaking'.

Crabb described Mr Dutton's comments as interesting pointing out she had asked for him to comment on Aboriginal culture.

The ABC host noted the Opposition leader went 'straight to law and order' - with Mr Dutton previously serving in the police force between 1990 and 1999.

Mr Dutton said he found it remarkable that a community rich in culture and history could 'mask an underbelly'.

'You ask what sort of strikes you most when you go into that community. It is the squalor,' he said.

'And the culture, the arts, dance, the storytelling, all of that is remarkable when you go into a community.

'But in some communities, it masks an underbelly, which is something that none of us in the part of Australia that we live we would tolerate.'

Mr Dutton then told the ABC host he regrets not voting for the national apology and that he now appreciates its symbolism for First Nations people.

The ABC host noted the Opposition leader went 'straight to law and order' - with Mr Dutton previously serving in the police force between 1990 and 1999

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with Mr Dutton notably absent.

Mr Dutton was a shadow minister under Opposition leader Brendan Nelson at the time and boycotted the apology. It would take 14 years before he changed his tune and admitted to making a mistake in May 2022.

Ms Crabb then asked Mr Dutton if he is at risk of making the same mistake by voting against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, to which he replied: 'I don't think I am'.

'This is inserting a new chapter into the Constitution,' Mr Dutton said.

'It's a nation's rule book. And I think if you're going to do that, the onus is on the proposer to have the detail available.'

'People in our country should have the ability to air their views without being shouted down.'

Mr Dutton added the biggest issue in relation to the referendum was the 'form of words' arguing its open to 'significant interpretation' by the High Court.

He suggested a Voice in legislation would work better because it would allow amendments to be dialled up or down.

'I believe in the principle, of wanting to hear from Indigenous Australians, particularly at the coalface,' Mr Dutton said.

'I'm strongly in favour of hearing that voice and acting on it. And the question, when you speak to a lot of Indigenous people in communities is not about their voice being heard or not, it's whether it's acted upon. And I think that's failing in the system at the moment.'

Ms Crabb also questioned Mr Dutton on controversial remarks he made in relation to Melbourne residents being too scared to go to dinner because of 'African gangs' in 2018.

Street violence was rampant at the time with then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull blaming premier Daniel Andrews for 'growing gang violence and lawlessness'.

Crabb asked if Mr Dutton had ever thought his comments would make an African Australian mum worry that her teenage boy would be perceived as a thug.

Mr Dutton doubled down on the remark explaining the comment was made after he spoke to friends in Melbourne about incidents where cars were stolen and people were going into restaurants causing havoc.

'The incidents in Victoria at the time were related to kids, predominantly from a particular community,' he said.

It comes after host Annabel Crabb (right) received backlash on Twitter for featuring Mr Dutton on her popular talk show

'It didn't come from a place of hatred, it came from a place of seeing people suffering at the hands of crime. And that's what motivated me.

'Could it have been said more sensitively. Yes, of course.'

Mr Dutton was then questioned about his controversial claims that the Fraser government made a mistake by resettling Lebanese Muslim migrants.

Mr Dutton was immigration minister at the time and was critical of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser's immigration policy in the 1970s.

He argued the context of the comment was during a time when a number of terrorist attacks were thwarted.

'At the time it was in the context of an attempted attack to bring down an A380,' Mr Dutton said.

'There were a number of terrorist attacks that were thwarted in our country and there was an overrepresentation. And you can sort of tiptoe around it and pretend that it's not an issue.'

Crabb questioned the appropriateness of the comments prompting Mr Dutton to respond: 'You know they're comments that I shouldn't have made. I've apologised for that.'

'But again, when you're in the thrust of it and in the thick of it, we were dealing with people who had been radicalised and many of them shared a background and that's sort of the factual reality of what we were dealing with.'

Mr Dutton also touched on his time with the force revealing he likely suffers with PTSD

Crabb has also come under fire on Twitter for hosting the federal Liberal leader on her popular talk show Kitchen Cabinet.

In particular, she has faced backlash for describing Dutton's politics as 'muscular' during a promotional interview for Kitchen Cabinet on ABC News.

Mr Dutton also touched on his time with the force revealing he likely suffers with PTSD as he recalled a traumatic incident where he responded to the crime scene of a young woman who had been raped.

He told Ms Crabb that he remembered the victim's name and birth date and could 'still picture that scene'.

'It jars and I think it scars as well,' Mr Dutton said.

'I mean people would refer to it, I suppose, more frequently now as sort of a PTSD or just the mental hangover of seeing that repeatedly.'

Mr Dutton joined Queenslands police force as an 18-year-old and served for nearly a decade.

He worked as a young detective on the infamous murder case of 17-month-old Deidre Kennedy, an experience that he said changed him.
Family is at war with his fiancee and her mother

His parents found out after he drowned, in 2021

Dean Gray is pictured with his mother, Cherina Gray, in 2013 - the year he started having sex with his teacher

A young dad who was groomed by his high school teacher spoke explicitly about their sexual relationship to a friend, and described her as 'deep, dark and twisted'.

Dean Gray, from Narrabri in northern NSW, was 17 and in his final year of high school in 2013 when he started having sex with his teacher, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Eight years later, in October 2021, Dean had a promising career in mining and was engaged to Taylor Baxter, the mother of his young sons, when he dislocated his shoulder and drowned in the Namoi River on a boys camping trip.

Ms Baxter found out she was pregnant with their second child just two days before the accident.

It was only after Dean's death that his parents, Rob and Cherina Gray, started going through his phone and found up to 6,000 Facebook messages between him and the teacher - sent between April and July 2013.

The texts - obtained by Daily Mail Australia - showed the pair enthusiastically talked about their exploits throughout the course of their three-month relationship, speaking about sexual stamina, performance, and reflecting on their encounters.

However, a disturbing exchange with a close friend showed Dean's true feelings about the situation - he appeared to struggle with the nature of the relationship, and warned against getting 'tied up with her'.

It can also be revealed the Grays and Ms Baxter's family have been at war since the tragedy - trying to slap each other with restraining orders, arguing over his estate, demanding paternity tests, and publicly slamming one another online.

Dean Gray was engaged to Taylor Baxter (pictured together) when he drowned on a camping trip

Dean and a close friend were talking about the teacher in 2015, when he suddenly divulged how he really felt about the situation (pictured)

In a Facebook conversation in 2015, Dean and his friend were talking about the teacher when he suddenly said: 'She's an arrogant old w**** who thinks she's gods gift.'

'Like, whenever I f***ed her, she always tried to make it all passionate and slow like it was some love-making session.

'She's deep, dark and twisted dude, trust me, you do not want to get tied up with her.

'Wouldn't wish it on anyone.'

His parents found out about the relationship from another member of the family the following year, in 2016, but Dean didn't want to make a formal complaint and pulled away from his family when they tried to encourage him to do so.

Since his death, Ms Gray has been pushing for an investigation into the teacher because 'I don't want this to happen to anyone else'.

But his fiancee, Ms Baxter, told Daily Mail Australia 'that's not what he would want.'

'He didn't want this, and I want to respect his wishes,' she said.

'He was 25 when he died and he didn't want to make a complaint then, and that's old enough to make a decision.'

Dean Gray (pictured) died on a camping trip when he dislocated his shoulder

The family division appears to have started just after Dean's death in 2021 after a friend set up a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money to help Ms Baxter with 'funeral arrangements and other financial issues'.

There were disagreements over who should pay for the funeral, headstone, and over his estate.

READ MORE: The full, disturbing details of what Dean Gray's parents discovered on their son's phone after he drowned in the Namoi River The teacher who had sex with Dean Gray nicknamed him 'bad boy' and spoke explicitly about her sexual stamina in a disturbing exchange spanning up to 6,000 messages. One text read: 'Every time I have thought about you for the last few months, including now, my body responds ridiculously well.' Advertisement

Ms Baxter then tried to take out an apprehended violence order against Ms Gray in January this year, but it was dismissed.

In March, Ms Gray tried to take out an apprehended violence order against Ms Baxter's mother Kelita - but that was dismissed.

Ms Gray and Kelita Baxter have signed undertakings and agreed not to harass each other.

Despite the undertaking, Ms Baxter said Ms Gray has continued to name her on Facebook and make complaints about her to other people - and Ms Gray says the same thing about Kelita.

Earlier this year, family blocked Dean's mother from his Facebook page - which is still active, despite his death - and started calling Ms Gray 'crazy', and falsely accusing her of taking drugs.

Mx Baxter said she blocked Ms Gray from the page because she kept sharing his cover photo, which showed her young son.

Ms Baxter's mother Kelita Baxter said she did not want to comment on the matter due to a 'police investigation'.

The situation left both sides of the family in distress, and communicating through police and lawyers.

Ms Gray said she has not been allowed to see her grandchildren in about a year, and says she wants proof that Dean is the youngest boy's father.

Ms Baxter firmly rejected the notion that her one-year-old has a different father.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education said the investigation into the teacher had been reopened, based on fresh evidence provided in April.

'The Department's Professional and Ethical Standards Directorate resumed its investigation into the new evidence in April this year after receiving police clearance to do so,' they said.

'A final decision will made shortly.'

The teacher, who had been promoted at another school since Dean's abuse, was removed from face-to-face contact with children within 48 hours of the evidence being recieved.

However, police said the complaint could not progress because the victim was dead.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the teacher for comment.
Ita Buttrose will leave the ABC in March after five 'challenging' years as the broadcaster's chairman, the Albanese government has revealed.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland made the unexpected announcement on Tuesday.

'Ms Buttrose is a giant of Australia's media industry, and the government thanks her for her exemplary service as chair of the ABC,' Rowland said, paying tribute to the media icon's time as head of the national public broadcaster.

'She has much to do in the remainder of her term and will leave the ABC stronger than when she was entrusted with the role in 2019.

'She navigated the public broadcaster through a challenging period that included strident political criticism, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing transformation of the ABC so it can remain an essential part of Australian life in the digital age.'

As late as Friday, Buttrose, 81, told ABC Radio that she was still deciding on whether to put her hand up for another five-year term.

'I'm mulling it over,' Buttrose told Melbourne morning host Virginia Trioli.

'I've found the ABC very challenging, but very enjoyable.'

ABC Chair Ita Buttrose will not be seeking another five years at the helm of the national public broadcaster

'The five years have gone by really quickly, but it's a big decision to decide whether or not I'll do another five years because I've got to be practical.

'I'm a woman of a certain age and while everything seems fine at the moment, life is full of unexpected detours and you never know how it's going to turn out.'

Buttrose's departure is already fuelling speculation over who will take over one of the nation's most prestigious and high-profile media roles.

A likely successor from inside the organisation would be ABC deputy chair Peter Tonagh but the Labor government may make seek to put its own stamp on the broadcaster with two other board seats having been recently vacated.

Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard is one of the name being bandied as a possible successor as ABC Chair

The new chair may also have to pick a new managing director as David Anderson's five-year tenure is up in May and he has not indicated whether he will seek another term.

If Labor were to pick one of their own some possible candidates include former prime minister Julia Gillard, former Opposition leader Kim Beazley and former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

Two former Labor communications ministers Michael Lee and Stephen Conroy could also come into consideration although Mr Conroy, who has often appeared on the conservative Sky News talk shows, is thought to be out of favour.

A candidate who has both Labor and media pedigree is Kim Williams, who is the son-in-law of iconic Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam and had a stint as CEO of News Corp Australia and Foxtel.

Another potential candidate is high-flying lawyer Danny Gilbert, the co-founder of firm Gilbert + Tobin, who is believed to be Labor-friendly, and is co-chair of the strongly pro-Voice body Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition.

Former Q+A host Stan Grant sensationally quit the program claiming ABC management had not supported him as he was bucketed with racial abuse

National Film and Sound Archive chair Gabrielle Trainor would be also be a strong candidate to be the third ABC female chair following Buttrose and Dame Leonie Kramer.

Buttrose was chosen for the role in 2019 by then-prime minister Scott Morrison as a 'captain's pick' with her name not featuring on a shortlist compiled by an independent selection panel.

'Australians trust Ita. I trust Ita and that's why I have asked her to take on this role,' Mr Morrison said after announcing his choice.

Buttrose's tenure at the ABC can be seen as steadying the ship following the sudden departures of her predecessor Justin Milne and managing director Michelle Guthrie.

However, all has not gone smoothly and problems have piled up towards the end of Buttrose's run.

When Indigenous presenter Stan Grant suddenly announced he was stepping down as host of the flagship Q+A program in July he accused the ABC of not supporting him amid a deluge of racial hatred online.

The sudden axing of ABC political editor Andrew Probyn

This led to an impromptu walkout by ABC staff in support of Grant and an eventual public apology from Mr Anderson.

'Stan Grant has stated that he has not felt publicly supported,' Mr Anderson said.

'For this, I apologise to Stan. The ABC endeavours to support its staff in the unfortunate moments when there is external abuse directed at them.'

Grant featured in the ABC's coverage of the coronation of King Charles in May, which attracted over 1,000 complaints.

The coverage, which featured extensive discussion of the historical wrongs of colonialism, was called 'disrespectful' by irate viewers.

In March the ABC was forced to launch an urgent review of its capital city radio offerings after their ratings plunged to record lows.

ABC Radio National morning host Patricia Karvelas has particularly struggled to attract listeners as her five-city breakfast audience fell below 50,000.

ABC Radio National morning host Patricia Karvelas (pictured hosting Q+A) has struggled to attract listeners

The local ABC Melbourne channel fared little better slumping to its worst ever ratings result in March, attracting an average share of just 5.8 per cent of the city's listeners, although there have been some modest gains since.

Buttrose has frequently expressed concerns about ongoing issues with ABC staff's use of social media.

In August the broadcaster axed all but four of its official accounts on X, the platform previous known as Twitter.

The ABC said the majority of its consumers were more active on sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, where it will concentrate social media efforts.

'We also found that closing individual program accounts helps limit the exposure of team members to the toxic interactions that unfortunately are becoming more prevalent on X,' the ABC said.

There was the shock announcement in March that the ABC was axing political editor Andrew Probyn as part of a cull of 120 jobs.

The ABC has been beset with threatened industrial action by its staff complaining of low pay and poor working conditions

Probyn said he was stunned to learn his role was being axed.

'I struggle to understand the direction the ABC is going in that it could consider the role of political editor not needed,' he told the Australian Financial Review.

Other big names in journalism, such as former Channel 10 political editor Peter van Onselen, expressed their disbelief at the decision in no uncertain terms.

'The ABC says it doesn't need a political editor so it's making the role redundant? What an utter f***ing embarrassment for a national broadcaster,' Dr van Onselen tweeted shortly after the news broke.

ABC insiders later claimed the real reasons behind Probyn's sacking were disputes with bosses over a beer fridge and his coverage of independent Senator Lidia Thorpe's bikie ex-boyfriend.

ABC newsroom and other staff threatened to strike in March over what they claimed were abysmal pay, conditions and career opportunities.

While the strike was called off in a last minute deal between management and media unions ABC employees were still very vocal online about the many failings they perceived on the part of management.
Joe Biden has sparked outrage by comparing the Hawaiian blaze that killed at least 114 people to a kitchen fire - and joking about 'hot ground' to a rescuer.

The President's motorcade was met with screams of 'f*** you' after he finally arrived in Maui - two weeks after the inferno which left 850 people missing and destroyed the historic city of Lahaina.

Biden compounded the anger in a garbled, meandering speech about the deaths of his wife and daughter in 1972, before comparing the horrific blaze to a kitchen fire at his Delaware home in 2004.

The 80-year-old capped off his disastrous five-hour tour by asking a rescue team whether their boots were reinforced, noting the 'hot ground' beneath their feet in a tone-deaf attempt at humor.

Hawaiian residents and politicians have unleashed a torrent of criticism over Biden's failure to visit the island sooner and a paltry $700 offered to each affected family.

Joe Biden is seen in Hawaii on Monday, telling an anecdote about a kitchen fire at his Delaware home in 2004

Angry Hawaiians are seen gesturing as Biden's motorcade passed on Monday

Biden greeted emergency responders and joked about 'hot ground'

To date Biden has approved $8.2 million in assistance to 2,700 households, according to FEMA.

Republicans were quick to compare that to the $12.1billion in security assistance that has gone to Ukraine so far this year.

The President pledged a further $200million to Kyiv on the same day that people affected by the fires in Hawaii were offered the $700 checks.

Biden's visit was always going to be contentious - with some bemoaning his decision not to visit earlier and opt to spend time at the beach. Others wanted him to stay away so resources weren't pulled from search and rescue.

The President was criticized before his visit for failing to give the wildfires sufficient attention, and accused of a sluggish response to the crisis.

Last weekend, when asked as he left the beach in Delaware for his response to the fires, Biden replied: 'No comment.'

He also appeared to forget the name of Maui, repeatedly referring to fires blazing on 'the Big Island'.

On Thursday, an emotional Ella Sable Tacderan fought back tears as she told how she felt like the mainland was not treating her family like American citizens.

'It's really affecting me because where's the president?' she asked.

'I mean, aren't we Americans, too? We're part of the United States. Why are we getting put in the back pocket?

'Why are we being ignored?'

Even Democrats were demanding to know why the federal aid had been slow to arrive, and joined in their Republican colleagues in questioning Biden's delay in arriving in Maui.

Joe and Jill Biden are seen on Monday departing Maui after visiting the devastated areas

The Bidens are seen on Monday flying above the devastation of Lahaina

Biden is seen with the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, and the FEMA administrator, Deanne Criswell, on Monday

The Bidens are seen with Hawaii's governor and his wife in Lahaina on Monday

Biden is seen looking at a burnt vehicle in Lahaina. The X spray painted on the side means it has been searched for human remains

Tacderan said the checks of $700 being handed to each affected household were insultingly low.

'My parents received a check for $700, which was a slap in the face,' she said.

'Living in Hawaii, everything is so expensive. Groceries can be as much as $700 just for one grocery run. And it's not enough.'

She added elderly families in Hawaii are basically 'computer illiterate,' which may explain why some people are being 'turned away' on their applications for FEMA assistance.

Some Hawaiians echoed Tacderan's criticism on Monday, with one holding up a sign that compared assistance to Ukraine and Hawaii.

Ukraine has, per capita, received $1,700 per person, the author calculated, since the war began in February 2022.

Biden and his wife took a helicopter tour of the affected areas before addressing a gathering of local officials, senators and community officials. Biden did not speak to the media present.

People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by. One local gives the president a thumbs down

People hold signs as Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina

People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by

The president spoke, as he often does when addressing communities touched by tragedy, of understanding the personal weight of devastating loss and the slow and painful process of recovering.

Biden's first wife, Neilia, and their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident in 1972. He lost an adult son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

'When things look the most bleak, that's when we need faith,' said Biden, who spent 70 minutes after his remarks speaking with community members.

He told how first responders supported him after Neilia's death, and praised those involved in the Hawaii tragedy.

At another stop, he referenced the 2004 fire at his Wilmington, Delaware home.

'I don't want to compare difficulties but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it's like to lose a home,' said Biden.

'Years ago, now 15 years ago, while I was in Washington doing Meet The Press, it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake outside our home - not a lake, a pond.'

He said the spark went through the wires and into the heating ducts, and into the kitchen.

'To make a long story short, I almost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.

'But all kidding aside - I watched the firefighters, the way they responded.'

It is an anecdote that Biden often tells at times of tragedy. Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke but were able to keep the flames contained to the kitchen.

'Luckily, we got it pretty early,' Cranston Heights Fire Company Chief George Lamborn said at the time.

'The fire was under control in 20 minutes.'

Joe and Jill Biden wave on Monday as they board Air Force One to depart Maui

The Bidens left Hawaii to return to Lake Tahoe and resume their vacation

The wildfire that broke out August 8 in the town of Lahaina is now the deadliest in more than a century, and the fifth-deadliest on record for the U.S.

'We'll be with you for as long as it takes, I promise you,' the president said.

He noted the federal government has already taken action to send hundreds of emergency personnel and thousands of meals and supplies to the historic tourist town ravaged by flames.

Before Biden announced his visit, Republicans compared his lack of a visit to East Palestine, Ohio - where a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals, displacing hundreds of people.

Biden had promised to visit the Ohio town but never did.

Donald Trump and other Republicans tore into him.

Trump said he was refusing 'to help or comment on the tragedy' and called the moment 'horrible and unacceptable.'

Search operations of areas damaged by wildfires in Lahaina Town destroyed in the Maui wildfires in Lahaina on August 15

Biden first issued his 'no comment' while while staying at the beach near his Delaware home.

Then while breezing by reporters he made a terse comment, saying he was 'looking at it.'

Back at the White House, a reporter asked Biden at the White House: 'Can you tell us about your Hawaii trip?'

'No, not now,' Biden said, before staff eventually announced details.

The president has appointed Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, ensuring that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts.

It will take years to rebuild Lahaina, where just about every building was obliterated.

'I know how profoundly loss can impact a family and a community and I know nothing can replace the loss of life,' Biden said in a statement ahead of the trip.

'I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy.

'And throughout our efforts, we are focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions.'

Senator Brian Schatz said that as of Sunday about 85 percent of the affected area had been searched and nearly 2,000 people remained without power.

At least 10,000 were without telecom connectivity.

Water in parts of west Maui is not safe to drink.

While immediate aid such as water, food and blankets has been readily distributed to residents, Schatz said that cellphones, identification and other documents that people would need to help them enroll in longer-term aid programs were burned in the fires, adding more challenges to the application process.

More than 1,000 federal officials remain on the ground in Hawaii to respond to the wildfires, according to the White House. The administration has doled out more than $8 million in aid to affected families.

Schatz, who was with Biden as the president traveled to his home state on Monday, stressed that officials were 'still responding to the disaster'.

'We are not yet in a recovery phase,' he said.

'As bad as this looks, it's actually worse.

'What you can't see is the damage to utility infrastructure. What you can't see is the thousands of kids who are trying to figure out how to go to school this fall.

'What you can't see is the first responders who went into the flames without regard for their own safety and had their own homes burned down.'

While vacationing in Lake Tahoe, Biden has been on the phone regularly with officials to get briefed on updates to the wildfire response, the White House said.
The 'greedy' son of the former deputy commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office has been jailed for at least 10 years after orchestrating a $105million tax fraud.

Adam Cranston, who called himself 'the biggest fraudster in NSW', appeared in the NSW Supreme Court via audiovisual link on Tuesday after being found guilty of conspiring to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth and conspiring to deal with proceeds of a crime worth millions of dollars.

Throughout the years of operating the tax scam, Cranston admitted he had regularly been using ketamine (a powerful anaesthetic), cocaine and LSD (also known as acid).

The 36-year-old looked anxious and concerned in his prison greens and a neon high-vis vest as he was sentenced for defrauding taxpayers out of more than $105m over three years.

After a trial that ran for nearly 11 months, a jury found Cranston guilty of directing the tax scam and laundering money through his company, Plutus Payroll.

Adan Cranston (pictured), the 'greedy' son of the former deputy commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office has been jailed for at least 10 years after orchestrating a $105million tax fraud

Former tax boss's son Adam Cranston (left) with one of the luxury cars among 25 vehicles, 18 residential properties, 12 motorbikes, watches, vintage wines, jewellery and artworks seized by police

From April 2014 to May 2017, the court was told taxes were siphoned off from the payroll company into second-tier companies instead of being paid to the ATO.

The court was told Cranston personally pocketed more than $6.8million, which he splashed on luxury cars, properties and even a plane.

On Tuesday, Justice Anthony Payne SC found that Cranston committed the offences 'not out of need but out of greed'.

He sentenced the fraudster to 15 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 10 years.

Cranston will be eligible for release on March 5, 2033.

Justice Payne asserted the tax fraud had a 'corrosive impact on society' because it robbed the community of $105m that could have been used to build hospitals or schools.

He said the stolen funds would have to be recouped by cuts to government services or increased taxes.

The Supreme Court Justice found Cranston did not appreciate the impact of his 'gross violation' of societal rules and had not shown commensurate contrition.

The court was told he had described his role in the staggering tax fraud as 'wrong, impulsive, stupid, greedy' and expressed his remorse.

However, Crown prosecutor Rae Sharp KC argued that Cranston's contrition was 'limited' and mainly directed at the impact on his family.

She characterised Cranston as 'one of the principal conspirators and architects of the scheme'.

'He was intimately aware of the criminal purpose of the scheme and the means by which it would be achieved,' she argued during the sentencing hearing earlier this month.

But Cranston's lawyer, John Stratton SC, contended his client had been 'kept in the dark' by Plutus Payroll founder Simon Anquetil, who he called 'the designer of the scheme'.

Justice Payne disagreed, finding that Cranston 'knew at all times that Plutus was not legitimate or profitable'.

'I reject any suggestions that Mr Anquetil was more heavily involved in the conspiracies than Mr Cranston or that he was the principal architect,' he said.

'It is clear Mr Anquetil never had any control over these (second-tier companies).'

The court was told he had been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and substance abuse disorder.

Justice Payne said Cranston (pictured) 'knew at all times that Plutus was not legitimate or profitable'

Yet Ms Sharpe maintained that Cranston's 'prolonged, willing, and enthusiastic participation' in the conspiracies could not be attributed to his mental health conditions or drug use.

Justice Payne concurred, noting that Cranston had knowingly engaged in 'a persistent course of conduct that was not spontaneous or opportunistic'.

Despite the lengthy prison term imposed on her husband, Cranston's wife stood by him.

'Although Adam has made a grave mistake, I know he is a good person and a loving father,' she wrote in a letter to the court.
Anthony Albanese has emphatically declared Australians will vote Yes to the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament in a secret audio recording.

In comments that indicate his confidence in the Yes campaign, the Prime Minister reportedly made his prediction while addressing Labors Socialist Left leadership during a dinner in Brisbane last Thursday.

'I firmly believe that not only can we, we will seize the opportunity and vote Yes,' he told his audience in a recording of his remarks obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald.

While he no longer attends factional meetings since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Albanese has vowed to stay true to his Labor Left roots and re-join the faction when his term as leader is up.

The revelation came as Mr Albanese debuted a new Voice slogan T-shirt at an event to promote the Yes campaign in Sydney on Tuesday.

Anthony Albanese has held firm in his belief Australians will vote Yes to the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament when the referendum is held

A covert recording reportedly caught the PM speaking at a dinner during the Labor national conference in Brisbane last Thursday

READ MORE: Peter Dutton recycles 15-year-old complaint Advertisement

The Prime Minister joined former Liberal MP Pat Farmer as his 'Run for the Voice' awareness-raising effort reached Sydney's Opera House.

Mr Farmer is running almost 15,000km to support the referendum.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong was heard on the recording saying she lamented racist overtones in criticism of the Voice, particularly in the Senate.

'We've seen some of the racism and the aggro. We sit in the Senate, and we listen to [shadow attorney-general] Michaelia Cash,' she said in the recording made by an attendee of the dinner, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

'I have to turn around sometimes and look at Katy [Gallagher] and Murray [Watt] because I'm so angry.'

The PM has never publicly wavered in his belief the Voice will succeed, despite poor polling results and pleas for the referendum to be called off or postponed.

A government source told Daily Mail Australia the leaked audio only further reinforced the Prime MInister's commitment to the proposed Voice.

'Australians can be confident that what the Prime Minister advocates privately is what he does publicly,' the insider said.

'He believes in Australians and working towards a better future.'

Mr Albanese was asked on radio on Tuesday morning whether he had any regrets about the handling of the campaign leading to the referendum, and if there was anything he would change if he had his time over.

'Absolutely nothing in terms of, I'm committed to it. This is a matter of conviction, it's not a matter of convenience,' he said.

Mr Albanese acknowledged he has no way of controlling 'some of the misinformation that is out there', but that he doesn't think it will change the results on polling day.

'I am very confident... about the opportunity that we have going forward to actually do the right thing and to take up the invitation of Indigenous Australians.

The PM joined former Liberal MP Pat Farmer as his 'Run for the Voice' reached Sydney's Opera House

Mr Albanese said Australians should be having conversations with their families and friends to build support for the Voice, joining Mr Farmer for a small portion of the run, surrounded by Yes campaigners

'It's pretty simple, really, when you remove all the noise, it's simply recognition and having an advisory body so we can listen to Indigenous Australians and get better results.'

Speaking at the 'Run for the Voice' event later on Tuesday, Mr Albanese criticised the No campaign for muddying the waters surrounding what he described as a 'very clear' question.

'They want all these distractions. People should read what the question is to recognise First Nations people through a Voice,' he said.

'The clauses which are there are legally sound, they will not interfere with the way that the government operates on a day-to-day basis. Our Parliament will still be in total control of its destiny.'

Mr Albanese said Australians should be having conversations with their families and friends to build support for the Voice, joining Mr Farmer for a small portion of the run, surrounded by Yes campaigners.

'To all those who are thinking, "Will I spend an extra Sunday knocking on doors?" It's got to be easier than running 14,000 kilometres,' he said.
Meyer's newspaper, the Marion County Record was also raided in what Meyer's son Eric has called a series of 'Gestapo' tactics

New video show a Kansas newspaper owner in a war of words with police who raided her home just a day before she died mid-sentence

Shocking new surveillance footage shows the 98-year-old co-owner of a Kansas newspaper berating police during raid on her home that left her so traumatized, she died the next day.

Joan Meyer's home was raided on August 11 as the Marion County Police Department was executing a search warrant in an identity theft investigation - one that was later withdrawn by the county attorney.

'Don't you touch any of that stuff,' the Marion County Record co-owner told cops in the newly released footage as she moved around her home with a walker. 'This is my house. You assh**e!'

Joan's son Eric Meyer has asserted that his mother, a lifelong journalist, died the day after the raid from being 'traumatized' by the incident.

At least six officers are seen searching Joan's home and sorting her belongings as she repeatedly tells them to leave.

'I don't want you in my house,' she says.

New footage of a raid on the home of Joan Meyer shows the spitfire 98-year-old tossing words at police just one day before she died mid-sentence

Meyer's newspaper was reportedly looking into claims police chief Gideon Cody (right) retired from his previous job to avoid punishment over alleged sexual misconduct charges

It has been reported the entire police investigation was connected to a story in which the newspaper was looking into claims police chief Gideon Cody retired from his previous job to avoid punishment over alleged sexual misconduct charges.

Police also raided the newspaper's office and the home of one of its reporters. They took vital publishing equipment, including computers and phones.

In the new video - released by the Marion County Record - the woman at one point rolls her walker right up to an officer and demands he waits outside.

'Did your mother ever love you,' Joan asks the cop in the video, which amassed more than 23,000 views in a matter of hours.

'Get out of my house. You're trespassing,' she says to the man.

Two officers attempt to talk the woman down for the first minute of the video released by the newspaper while the four others continue the search.

She even attempts to stop the men and refuses to answer their questions, replying 'I'm not going to tell you' when asked how many computers she has.

'I want to see what they're doing,' Joan says as she attempts to make her way around the couch to see what the officers are looking at.

The interaction with police inside her own home was so upsetting that she died the next day while in the middle of a conversation.

She reportedly refused to eat, sleep, or drink after the raid and ultimately died on August 12 from sudden cardiac arrest, a coroner's report states.

In the new video - released by the Marion County Record - the woman at one point rolls her walker right up to an officer and demands he wait outside

She even attempts to stop the men and refuses to answer their questions, replying 'I'm not going to tell you' when asked how many computers she has

Joan's son Eric Meyer (pictured) has asserted that his mother, a lifelong journalist, died the day after the raid from being 'traumatized' by the incident

Officials with the Marion Police Department claimed the raid was carried out because they had concerns about 'identity theft.'

Many have speculated, however, the raids were due to the Meyers' investigation of Cody, 54.

He became chief in late April, after leaving the Kansas City Police Department after 24 years on the job amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Marion County Record received an 'outpouring of calls,' Eric Meyer said, claiming Cody had retired from his last police post to avoid demotion over sexual misconduct allegations.

Meyer said his newspaper was contacted by Cody's former colleagues about the claims of sexual misconduct, but that the six-plus anonymous sources ultimately never went on the record and reporters could not obtain Cody's personnel file.

Kansas City police have refused to reveal whether Cody was accused of sexual misconduct while working at their force.

Meyer said the identity of the sources was on the computer servers, which Cody's team seized.

'I may be paranoid that this has anything to do with it, but when people come and seize your computer, you tend to be a little paranoid,' Meyer told The Handbasket.

Eric Meyer stands outside the Marion County Record's office, which was also raided

Gideon Cody took over as chief of Marion County Police Department in April. The newspaper was investigating tips that he retired from Kansas City police to avoid an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct

He told The Kansas City Star they had not yet published the story, because they had not completed their investigation.

'We didn't publish it because we couldn't nail it down to the point that we thought it was ready for publication,' said Meyer.

'[Cody] didn't know who our sources were. He does now.'

And Meyer told AP: 'This is the type of stuff that, you know, Vladimir Putin does, that Third World dictators do.

'This is Gestapo tactics from World War II,' Eric said.

Marion County police department stated on Saturday that they were committed to upholding the law, without addressing the substance of the raid.

'The Marion Kansas Police Department believes it is the fundamental duty of the police is to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of all members of the public,' the department wrote on Facebook.

'This commitment must remain steadfast and unbiased, unaffected by political or media influences, in order to uphold the principles of justice, equal protection, and the rule of law for everyone in the community.

'The victim asks that we do all the law allows to ensure justice is served. The Marion Kansas Police Department will nothing less.'

The moment that police using 'Hitler tactics' raided the Marion County Record newsroom has been caught on camera - just a day before the paper's co-owner subsequently died

The raids began after leaked documents about local restaurateur Kari Newell that could have got her liquor license revoked were handed to the newspaper.

Meyer didn't publish the story about Newell because he questioned the source - and instead he told the cops about the information.

Newell then accused the weekly newspaper of illegally getting her personal data, prompting the search.

She also allegedly was unhappy with the newspaper had reported reporting on how Newell kicked out reporters from an event at her restaurant, Kari's Restaurant.

Meyer told the Kansas City Star: 'We sent them a note saying that a source had given us a file that we thought had suspicious origins.

'We checked it out to verify that it was accurate, but were not planning to do anything with it. Their response was the typical fashion of a bully.

'Instead of asking a question or getting material, they came with an atomic flyswatter to seize our equipment and apparently tried to put us out of business.'

As anger grew over the raid of the newspaper, the search warrant that authorized a sensational raid on a local newspaper's headquarters and its co-owner's home was withdrawn.

All seized items from the Marion County Record were released to the newspaper's attorney - five days after they were swiped by the police department.

Joel Ensey, Marion County Attorney, ruled earlier this month there was 'insufficient evidence' to justify why a search warrant was issued in the first place.

Despite the lack of equipment, the Marion County Record successfully went to print on Wednesday - with the front page reading: 'Seized...but not silenced.'
A Department of Education paraprofessional at a Queens elementary school has been charged with rape for having a sexual relationship with an underage girl, police said Tuesday.

Jamall Russell, 29, surrendered at the 105th Precinct stationhouse Monday after hearing police had received a complaint and were looking to talk to him.

Police said Russell, assigned to Public School 97 Forest Park, had been having a sexual relationship with a girl at another school for a few months. She was 14 when the relationship started and is now 15, police said.

NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny said the victim first met the suspect when she attended PS 97.

In addition to rape, Russell was charged with a criminal sex act, sex abuse and acting in a manner injurious to a child.
Notorious exchange student Amanda Knox announced she's pregnant with her second child with husband Christopher Robinson, more than a decade after she was thrust into the spotlight when her roommate was murdered in Italy.

Knox made the announcement in a cheeky Instagram post of herself spread out sitting on a park bench with the caption: 'Pregspreading.'

When asked by a commenter if the photo was a throwback or the sign she was newly pregnant, she responded: 'New!'

The 36-year-old, who is from Seattle, Washington, and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were both convicted of killing friend and roommate Meredith Kercher, who was murdered in 2007. They were jailed, but eventually released in 2011 and Amanda was acquitted of the crime by the Italian Supreme Court in 2015.

A local man, Rudy Guede, was convicted in a separate trial after his DNA was found on Kercher's body and in the room where she died, though questions still linger to this day about what happened on that night in 2007, even from Knox herself.

Notorious exchange student Amanda Knox announced she's pregnant with her second child with husband Christopher Robinson, after putting the media through a bit of deception during the birth of her first baby

The 36-year-old, who is from Seattle, Washington, and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were both convicted of killing friend and roommate Meredith Kercher, who was murdered in 2007. They were jailed, but eventually released in 2011 and Amanda acquitted in 2015

Knox has since returned home to the US, got married to Robinson, started a podcast with him and welcomed a child together, daughter Eureka Muse Knox Robinson, after having previously miscarried.

The couple, who were married in 2020 in a time travel-themed wedding, kept Eureka's birth a secret from the press for three months until an October 2021 announcement in the New York Times.

She'd even lied to listeners to her podcast by saying that she was still pregnant in a bid to avoid a media scrum.

In an interview on podcast Call Her Daddy, Knox said she dreads the moment her little girl asks questions about the case.

'I have thought about [the moment I have to tell my daughter] a lot,' she told host Alex Cooper. 'The moment I'm not looking forward to the most is the moment when she first says, "That's not fair."'

Amanda believes that telling her daughter about the case will spark a 'deep' understanding about 'human suffering' and quickly make her realize that 'life really isn't fair' - a view that she is afraid of trying to explain to Eureka.

'Because, like, when you reach the point of understanding whether or not something is fair or not, youve reached a level of sophistication to understand a level of human suffering, and that can be deep,' she continued.

Knox has since returned home to the US, got married to Robinson, started a podcast with him and welcomed a child together , daughter Eureka Muse Knox Robinson

The couple, who were married in 2020 in a time travel-themed wedding, kept Eureka's birth a secret from the press for three months

Amanda Knox is pictured with her newborn daughter, Eureka Muse. The little girl was born in August 2020, Knox told The New York Times in an interview published months after her birth

'Life really isn't fair. Bad things happen to good people for no reason. That existential crisis that life isn't fair is real and it's one of the deeper problems that we have as human beings and as a society because we don't have great answers for that.

'Im going to let her guide her own understanding of my case. Shell ask questions, shell want to know.

'Shes going to know from being around me that theres something about this justice system that is a little questionable, and when shes ready, shell ask me. And Im going to be totally honest.'

Over the years, Amanda has continued to maintain her innocence - a sentiment that she echoed during the interview, during which she clearly stated: 'I didn't f***ing do it.'

Still, Amanda admitted that she considered not passing on her now-infamous surname to her daughter out of fear that it would forever tie her child to her case and the scandal that surrounded it, particularly when it comes to the public speculation about her sex life and her past romantic partners.

'I did [consider leaving my last name out of Eureka's name]. It's the whole question of like - do I embrace my identity or do I not embrace my identity?' she said.

'But here's nothing wrong me. The world has always acted like there's something wrong with me and something wrong with my sexuality and that is not my problem.

Knox spent four years in prison in Perugia for the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, who was found dead in the house they shared in November 2007.

She was convicted in December 2009 and sentenced to 28 and a half years, but was acquitted in 2011 after an appeals court found that legal procedures had not been followed and there was no DNA tying her and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito to the scene.

Meredith Kercher was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in November 2007 while studying abroad in Perugia, in a case that garnered huge media attention

A local man, Rudy Guede, was convicted in a separate trial after his DNA was found on Kercher's body and in the room where she died. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2008, but was released in December 2020 and will spend the rest of his sentence doing community work.

Knox was tried again in absentia, convicted again, and then ultimately had the conviction overturned by Italy's highest court in 2015.

In 2013 Knox wrote a memoir, Waiting to Be Heard, for which she was given an advance of $3.8 million.

But her father Curt, an accountant, said that only around $200,000 of that remained after Knox had paid her legal bills; PR; the three mortgages her mother, father and grandmother took out to fund the fight; and a loan for her younger sister Deanna, who dropped out of college during the battle.

Knox and Robinson currently survive on the podcast, but are pitching a film adaptation of her memoir, a TV project about wrongful conviction, and a new book.

They also are considering, the paper reported, a series of NFTs out of famous tabloid covers with Knox's face on them.

'What I keep telling Chris is that I want to get to a place where I don't have to keep living the worst experience of my life so that we can pay the mortgage,' Knox said.

'I keep telling myself if all else fails, I can make cuckoo clocks for a living.'

Robinson, a novelist and poet, is working on a sci-fi novel and a nonfiction book about evolution, the future and psychedelics.

Knox has spent the decade since her release from prison finishing her undergraduate degree, in creative writing, at the University of Washington and then taking a series of low-paying jobs.

She worked in a used-book store and wrote for her local newspaper, initially under a pseudonym.

'Getting a forward-facing, regular job was complicated by the fact that people would recognize me,' she said.

Knox also became an advocate for others who said they were wrongfully convicted.

Knox's case and trial became international news. Pictured: She is escorted to a court in Italy on September 26, 2011

Raffaele Sollecito (left) was once convicted for the murder. Rudy Guede (right) was convicted in a separate trial after his DNA was found on Kercher's body

She spoke publicly about her experience in 2017, at a benefit in Seattle alongside Macklemore and Monica Lewinsky.

In 2019 she returned to Italy for the first time, to speak at a conference organized by the Italian Innocence Project, which did not exist in 2009 when she was on trial.

'That's the sort of trap I'm in, where I'm constantly having to be in conversation with something that I would rather not,' Knox told the paper.

'I'm constantly told that I should just disappear.'

While in Italy, she wrote to Giuliano Mignini, the prosecutor who secured her conviction.

The pair have been corresponding since, and Knox thinks that her meeting him might make an interesting documentary.

Mignini has retired and is publishing a book on the case next year.

'I am aware that finding herself far from home, at that age, she must certainly have suffered a lot,' he told The New York Times.

He acknowledged that she was portrayed 'as a sort of Circe,' he said, referring to the witch in Greek mythology who enchants men and turns them into pigs.

Knox is pictured in June 2019 speaking at the Criminal Justice Festival in Modena, Italy

Knox and Robinson attend the conference of the Criminal Justice Festival at the University of Modena in June 2019

She said that she struggled to return to her previous existence in Seattle.

At a welcome home party at her aunt's house, she sat alone, remembered Tom Wright, a family friend.

'I said to her, 'Are you OK?'' he recalled.

'And she said, 'I just want the people not in this room to know I'm innocent.''

Knox said that, at her parents' home, she packed up bags of her old belongings such as stuffed toys and clothes and gave them all to Goodwill.

'I'd gotten used to not having so many things,' she said. 'I felt totally overwhelmed.'

She still washed her underwear in the sink, and her family urged her to be kind to herself and take things slowly, but she insisted she did not want to ease back into life, and said she had lost four years.

'You know, we were in survival mode for a while,' said her mother, Edda Mellas, a teacher, who spent large chunks of time in Italy visiting her daughter in prison.

'At that point in time, she really couldn't talk about it at all. She just cried.'

Knox in a photo posted to Instagram. She said in her podcast that she was bemused by the 'misdirected focus on my sexuality'

Knox said the Italian court's decision in March 2013 to retry her had a devastating impact.

'I felt like I couldn't even try to have a normal life because I was carrying this shroud over me,' she said.

'In part, I was defiant. I felt like there was a deep injustice, so I didn't change my name, I didn't change my appearance.

'But I also felt defeated, like there was nothing I could do about it.'

Knox met Robinson shortly after her final acquittal in 2015, when she interviewed him for her local newspaper.

Robinson said he made a decision not to Google Knox before meeting her.
Stan Grant has quit the ABC altogether, months after he went on leave following racial abuse.

His departure was reported on Tuesday, and comes months after he stepped down as the host of Q+A.

Grant had left the show in May after being subjected to 'relentless racial filth' after appearing on a panel discussing colonialism ahead of King Charles' Coronation.

He accused the ABC of 'institutional failure' and claimed no one in management offered him support.

Grant has since told Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell he'd resigned as a permanent staffer weeks ago, but stressed there was no 'bad blood' between him and the public broadcaster.

The former ABC host said he was still keen to collaborate with the network in the future but simply had other things he wanted to do.

Last month, the ABC revealed Grant would not be returning to host Q+A, but said he would 'move on to new projects' within the company.

Stan Grant has reportedly quit the ABC for good, months after he went on leave following racial abuse

The news comes on the same day it was revealed ABC Chair Ita Buttrose would also be walking away after five years in the role.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland made the shock announcement on Tuesday.

'Ms Buttrose is a giant of Australia's media industry, and the government thanks her for her exemplary service as chair of the ABC,' Rowland said in paying tribute to the media icon's time as head of the national public broadcaster.

'She has much to do in the remainder of her term and will leave the ABC stronger than when she was entrusted with the role in 2019.

'She navigated the public broadcaster through a challenging period that included strident political criticism, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing transformation of the ABC so it can remain an essential part of Australian life in the digital age.'

Her five-year term will end in March and she will not seek reappointment.

Grant has since told Sky News he'd resigned as a permanent staffer weeks ago, but stressed there was no 'bad blood' between him and the public broadcaster

Meanwhile Grant on Saturday unleashed on his former program Q+A, claiming panel members are primarily chosen to spark conflict and viewers are encouraged to form a 'lynch mob' on social media.

'You go on Q+A and the first thing you do is you introduce a panel that have more often than not been picked because they have conflict, rather than seeking to find connection,' Grant told the Canberra Writers Festival on Saturday, according to The Australian.

'Then you say, 'go on social media', basically form your lynch mob, hit the person you hate and pile on.

'I can't do that anymore and I don't think that is what you want from our media. I think we are failing you and we must find a better way to doing it.'

The format of Q+A involves bringing in five panel members who often share differing views to discuss the key issues of the day and take questions from audience members.
Both men rushed to hospital with lacerations

A mum-of-three's ex-boyfriend allegedly turned up at her family home armed with a knife, sparking a bloody altercation with her ex-husband that ended with both men in hospital

Speech pathologist Lauren Salamakis, 35, and her three children were in their Kellyville home, in Sydney's north-west, about 2.30am on Tuesday when her ex-boyfriend Fraser Thomson, 41, allegedly broke into the $1.85m property.

When police arrived at the quiet suburban street, they found Thomson, 41, with serious lacerations to his forearms and Ms Salamakis' ex-husband, Paul Salamakis, 39, covered in cuts to his hands.

Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Salamakis had been staying at his ex-wife's home for several weeks.

Both men were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Westmead Hospital, both in a stable condition, where Thomson was kept under police guard.

Lauren Salamakis, 35, (pictured) was embroiled in a horrifying alleged break and enter on Tuesday

Her ex-boyfriend allegedly broke into her Kellyville home (pictured) during the early hours of Tuesday morning before her ex-husband intervened

Her ex-boyfriend was released around 12.30pm on Tuesday and taken to Castle Hill police station, where he is assisting officers with their investigation.

Ms Salamakis and the three children were shaken, but are unharmed, police said.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal her ex-boyfriend, Thomson, was due to front Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday for a number of charges, including for an AVO, which was taken out just two weeks ago to protect Ms Salamakis.

However, court records reveal their relationship has been tumultuous for some time, with Ms Salamakis having previously taken out an AVO against Thomson in January 2021.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia from hospital on Tuesday, her ex-husband, Mr Salamakis said he is recovering and doing okay given the circumstances.

Ex-boyfriend Fraser Thomson, 41, (pictured) is assisting police officers after allegedly breaking into the home

Ex husband Paul Salamakis, 35, (pictured) suffered injuries to his hands and was taken to hospital

Both men were rushed to Westmead Hospital in stable conditions

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HOW THE ALLEGED ALTERCATION UNFOLDED 1. Ex-husband was staying at his ex-wife's home 2. Woman's ex boyfriend, whom she has an AVO out against, allegedly shows up with a knife 3. An alleged altercation erupts and both men suffer cuts to their arm and forearm areas 4. Police are called and the men are taken to hospital. The ex-boyfriend is later taken to the police station, where he is currently assisting police with their inquiries. Advertisement

Ms Salamakis runs a speech pathology business in Sydney's northwest.

According to her business website, she has 'extensive experience working in school-based settings with school aged children, their families and teachers on a variety of communication difficulties'.

Her areas of interest include helping teachers support children in the context of the classroom and early intervention and supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Mr Salamakis is the General Manager of two The Coffee Club stores, which are owned by his mother and sister.

In 2016, he made headlines after rallying to support a family devastated by cancer while he was working at a McDonald's in Mount Druitt.

Superintendent Gary Bachelor said on Tuesday that items found in a backpack belonging to Thomson suggest his attendance at the residence was allegedly premeditated.

'We're alleging that the male ... was going to do harm to the people at that address,' the superintendent said.

Superintendent Bachelor said it was incredibly 'traumatic' and 'distressing' that several young children were inside the home at the time of the alleged break and enter.

Thomson was pictured arriving at Castle Hill Police Station on Tuesday after being discharged from hospital

Detectives were seen door knocking around the neighbourhood on Tuesday as part of their investigation

'One of the males is known to police for a number of reasons,' he said.

'An alleged offender attending an address like this is extremely serious.'

Police have canvassed the surrounding streets and obtained CCTV and witness accounts.

Channel Nine has reported that neighbours say this is not an isolated incident, that police have attended the address in Kellyville a number of times in recent weeks.

Neighbours said they are terrified with what they have seen overnight.

'I have been living here for five years, really peaceful street. So this is really shocking,' one man said.

A crime scene has been established and inquiries are continuing, with uniformed police and plain clothed detectives inside the property along with forensic teams.

Officers were seen taking statements from residents in the quiet cul-de-sac, where homes cost upwards of $1million.

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Passengers have recalled their horror while watching airport staff using tape to patch up damage to a plane panel moments before take-off.

Jetstar passengers travelling on JQ813 Brisbane to Sydney were left alarmed while walking on the tarmac to board the Airbus A321 last Friday.

A photo shows a staff member using what looked like duct tape to cover a damaged hatch near the bottom of the plane.

Aviation experts and Jetstar have since clarified it was aviation-grade speed tape, an adhesive commonly used to make minor repairs on aircraft which can withstand jet-like speeds at various altitudes and temperatures from -54C to 149C.

Among the concerned travellers on board was former Liberal Party staffer Barclay McGain, who now works for the Institute of Public Affairs.

An airport employee using to tape to make last-minute repairs to a Jetstar plane prior to take-off sparked alarm among passengers last week

He vowed to only fly with discount airline Rex from now on.

'Our Jetstar flight has been delayed after the airport staff were tasked with patching up a literal hole in the aircraft before take-off,' Mr McGain captioned the photo.

'Maybe if they spent more time working on the safety of their aircraft instead of drafting the lengthy Welcome to Country, things would be different.

'It's no saving grace that the eventual instant coffee I'll need to calm my nerves will be setting me back a further $3.99 (honestly the humanity of it all).

'Strongly considering walking to Sydney at this point. From now on, it's give me Rex or give me death.'

Mr McGain said that while the plane safely landed in Sydney, he claimed nothing was done to ease travellers' fears.

'There was quite a bit of turbulence and people were concerned,' he told the Courier Mail.

'I felt like the air hostesses didn't have an idea, or if they did, they were not relaying it to us.

Jetstar has set the record straight to assure everyone that high-speed tape does not pose any safety risk. Pictured is a stock image of a Jetstar plane

Mr McGain's Facebook post divided the internet.

Some agreed flight crew should have explained the repairs to passengers before and during the flight to ease any angst.

'Looks scary to the passenger and probably not a great look for the airline,' a man commented.

An expert correctly pointed out that the 'duct tape' in the photo was in fact aviation-grade speed tape.

'Speed tape has been specifically engineered within the Aerospace industry over a very long time to provide a very high level of thermal resistance, adhesive strength and aerodynamic compatibility. On a secondary/non load-bearing airframe structure, it is more than safe,' he wrote.

'Speed tape is very commonly used in military aviation to patch light ballistic damage encountered by aircraft during combat.

'If the aircraft was technically un-airworthy, it would have been grounded right there and then.'

Former Liberal Party staffer Barclay McGain was among the concerned passengers on board

READ MORE: Qantas hit with class action lawsuit Qantas has been hit with a class action lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in refunds and compensation for customers who had flights cancelled following the Covid outbreak Advertisement

Another added: 'Nothing wrong with that temporary patch, speed tape is used all over aircraft. Plus that is a very much non critical to flight safety section of the plane.

'Can understand people who don't know much about aircraft being concerned though.'

Jetstar has since assured the plane was safe to fly and that all repairs were approved by Airbus and aviation authorities.

The airline acknowledged the pre-flight repairs may have been concerning for some passengers.

'Aluminum high-speed tape does not pose any safety risk and is used by airlines all over the world to do temporary, minor repairs on non-structural aircraft parts,' a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

'In this instance, the tape was applied to a panel on one of the aircraft's doors and was approved by Airbus, as well as aviation safety regulators.

'Our aircraft are always assessed by engineers before flights to ensure they are safe to operate.

'We're sorry to hear these customers had a negative experience and appreciate their feedback on how we can improve our communications in these sorts of situations.'
Former President Donald Trump mocked the potential $200,000 bond he faces when he plans to turn himself in Thursday for his fourth indictment, joking he might visit Russian President Vladimir Putin instead.

The former president and his 18 co-defendants were charged on August 14 with attempting to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election, and were given a deadline of Friday at noon to hand themselves in for booking.

On his Truth Social account Monday, Trump mocked Fulton County DA Fani Willis after his bail was set at $200,000, referenced his friendship with Putin and what he's derided as phony charges he was colluding with Russia.

'The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me,' he wrote. 'I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a 'flight' risk - I'd fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again.'

'Would I be able to take my very 'understated' airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, I'd be much better off flying commercial - I'm sure nobody would recognize me!'

Former President Donald Trump mocked the potential $200,000 bond he faces when he plans to turn himself in Thursday for his fourth indictment, joking he might visit Russian President Vladimir Putin instead

Trump will turn himself in at Fulton County jail in Atlanta on Thursday, he confirmed earlier Monday night.

Sheriff's deputies on Monday stepped up security, installing barriers around the run-down jailhouse, as Trump's legal team was spotted entering Willis' office.

Authorities in Fulton County said he can expect no special treatment.

He will have to be fingerprinted like other suspects at the notorious jail, and may, for the first time, have his mugshot taken.

The jail is well known for its squalid conditions, although Trump will not be held there while he awaits trial.

The infamous, insect-ridden facility is being investigated by the Department of Justice after a series of deaths.

Launching the investigation last month, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, said: 'The recent allegations of filthy housing teeming with insects, rampant violence resulting in death and injuries, and officers using excessive force are cause for grave concern and warrant a thorough investigation.'

Defendants in the sprawling case are expected to negotiate the terms of their release and bond before being booked at the county jail. It could be more than a week before they then appear in court to enter a formal plea.

On his Truth Social account Monday, Trump mocked Fulton County DA Fani Willis after his bail was set at $200,000

Trump will turn himself in at Fulton County jail in Atlanta on Thursday, he confirmed earlier Monday night

Details of Trump's bond were among the first handful to be released as co-defendants reached agreements.

The 'consent bond order,' published on the Fulton County Superior Court website, says Trump will 'perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a co-defendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.'

It goes on to add that this will include 'posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.'

Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

On Monday morning, before the bond was agreed, he used his Truth Social media platform to condemn Governor Brian Kemp (a fellow Republican) for failing to impeach Willis.

Days earlier, Trump was warned he was in danger of violating the terms of his release in another case with 'inflammatory statements.'

He has railed repeatedly against the 'biased and unfair' judge overseeing the federal case accusing him of seeking to subvert the 2020 election, and used similar language against prosecutors and at times singled out witnesses.

Earlier it emerged that John Eastman, the lawyer charged with helping orchestrate the former president's fake elector scheme, had agreed to a $100,000 bond.

The document was signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Trump's defense team and Scott McAffee, Fulton Country Superior Court judge

Court filings published Monday show that lawyer John Eastman (left) agreed a $100,000 bond deal and Scott Graham Hall reached a $10,000 agreement

Scott Graham Hall reached a $10,000 bond agreement. He is the local bail bondsman accused of commandeering voting information in Coffee County, south Georgia. Atlanta News First reported the details.

Last week's indictment was the fourth brought against Trump since April.

The latest case against Trump, who is the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 nomination, is laid out in a 98-page indictment.

It includes details of a phone call to Georgia's secretary of state urging him to find more votes for him and allegations that an election worker was harassed with false claims of fraud.

In one of the most extraordinary examples of attempts to change the outcome, it describes an alleged plot to access voting machines and steal data.

'The indictment alleges that, rather than abide by Georgia's legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election result,' said Willis last week, announcing the charges.

She is pushing for a speedy trial.

Her proposed schedule would see the trail start on March 4, although that is certain to be challenged by Trump and other defendants.
Festival-goers hoping to attend Burning Man were told on Monday to delay their arrival, with organizers closing the gates until the waterlogged site dries out.

The annual festival is held this year from August 27 to September 4, but the Nevada desert site has been drenched by Tropical Storm Hilary.

Revelers often arrive at the site early to set up camp, but they have been told to postpone their plans.

On Monday, organizers told attendees that the entrance, via the town of Gerlach, was closed.

'The gate will remain closed until at least noon PT on Tuesday 8/22. If you were planning to travel to BRC with a Work Access Pass, delay your plans,' they tweeted.

'DO NOT drive to Gerlach.'

Burning Man organizers on Monday told people to delay their planned arrival at the site

A man kayaks around the Burning Man site in Nevada on Monday

Some 80,000 people are expected to descend on the open-air, anti-capitalist art fair

Earlier, the event coordinators warned that anyone who tried to get to Gerlach would be turned round.

Some 80,000 people are expected to descend on the open-air, anti-capitalist art fair.

After last year's festival left many regular 'Burners' feeling frustrated, organizers are aware that there is little room for error at this year's event. The 2022 gathering was ruined by tech layoffs and bad weather.

As Hilary moved to the northeast early Monday from Southern California - where it battered the San Diego, Palm Springs and Los Angeles areas - it crossed the border in Nevada, where a state of emergency was preemptively declared.

For the moment, this announcement primarily impacts workers who are setting up the grounds and installing various elements of the festival.

Playa seems little muddy right now. What is the chance it will be dry in a week? #BurningMan #BM2023 pic.twitter.com/8a1n7Zks7B  Andrey Chursov, Ph.D. (@achursov) August 18, 2023

'Due to the rain forecast Sunday 8/20 into Monday 8/21, the gate will be closed until at least noon on Monday 8/21. If you were planning to travel to BRC with a Work Access Pass, delay your plans. It can take 12+ hours for the playa to dry, so please be patient. More info to come,' read a tweet from an account called Burning Man Traffic.

Videos coming out of Black Rock City on Monday morning show the desert flooding, as rain hammered the area, soaking through many of the newly installed impermanent structures that have been set up.

The desert region has already had a half-inch of rain from Hilary - as the entire area typically sees less than eight inches a year.

The event is not scheduled to begin until Sunday, and Hilary is predicted to dissipate by Monday afternoon into Tuesday, but it remains to be seen how long Black Rock City will take to dry out.



Over the weekend in Nevada, Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency after dispatching 100 National Guardsmen to southern Nevada last week to prep for the storm.

'My administration will continue to work diligently with state, federal, tribal, and local partners in preparation and response to this severe weather event,' said Lombardo in a statement.

'Hurricane Hilary represents a serious threat to our communities, and once again, I implore all Nevadans to prepare for flooding, remain vigilant, and to follow all guidance from state and local emergency officials.'

Flood watches in the Southwest as Hilary continues to batter desert areas. Early Monday the storm will move into Nevada, where a state of emergency has been declared

Burning Man organizers may or may not be able to stomach a tropical storm-sized hit to their planning this year, after tickets sold at steep discounts following a festival that was frustrating to many longtime fans last year.

In a typical year, tickets to the free-spirited festival sell for $575, in addition to $150 parking passes. This year, however, resellers were offering rates as low as $139, with parking passes marked down as well.

SFGate reported that some faithful 'Burners' were feeling less bullish about the festival this year for a number of reasons, which include tech layoffs, an influx of influencers at the event, and weather concerns - which seem to have borne themselves out Monday.

'Last year's Burn was hot and difficult, which is part of the trendline the Earth is on,' longtime Burner Linda Williamson told SFGate.

Paris Hilton is seen at Burning Man last year. Since many Burners like to take years off between attending, the pandemic pause may have reset the cycle and teed up 2023 as an off-year

Williamson first attended Burning Man in 1997 but won't be going back this year, citing a logistical nightmare last year that resulted in a 10-hour traffic jam to return to civilization after the event.

'You have to devote an entire day just to the process of getting to the pavement,' Williamson said.

'I would love to be able to go, but I would also love to be able to leave.'

Last year, some Burners reported that they waited as long as 12 hours to get away from the camp, and photos from the event show monster traffic jams stretching across the desert.
A Queensland family has captured their amazing up-close encounter with a great white shark on video while they were fishing.

The family from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane saw the deadly predator while they were fishing from their small boat at Barwon Banks on Sunday.

The shark appeared briefly on the surface of the water before it circled the boat, leaving the family stunned at how close it came.

A Queensland family spotted a great white shark in the waters off the Sunshine Coast, with the deadly predator circling their fishing boat

Louise Thomsen was on board the boat and took a video of their close-up view of the shark.

Ms Thomsen, who took footage of the animal on her GoPro, told the Courier Mail the shark was within reach as it appeared near the boat.

She said everyone on board including her two children were excited after her husband Matthew instantly recognized the shark was a great white.

'We've never seen one off the coast here on the Sunshine Coast before, we've always known that they were possibly out there,' Ms Thomsen said.

'But yeah, it was a big surprise.'

The shark, which was around four metres in length, circled the family boat for about 15 minutes.

Ms Thomsen said the massive fish took a particular interest in the boat's electric anchor at the front of the vehicle.

'It was certainly interested in it, but we certainly weren't willing to hang around for too much longer and find out,' she said.

Ms Thomsen filmed her encounter with the shark after she jumped into the water to get a closer look.

The dramatic moment showed Ms Thomsen just metres away looking directly at the shark, as it swam slowly near the surface of the water.

Louise Thomsen filmed her dramatic close-up encounter with the shark on a GoPro as she came within metres of the huge fish as it swam near the surface of the water

The video, which Ms Thomsen has since uploaded to her Instagram page, shows the animal swimming close to the woman.

Moments later, it is seen swimming away from Ms Thomsen before the brave woman emerges from the water after getting a stunning glimpse at the shark.

'So glad we were able to capture this encounter on our GoPro,' she wrote on her Instagram post.

'We made the tough decision to leave as we were concerned it was getting a little too close to our motors.'

The social media post has racked up over 30,000 views online, as several people commented on the video.

'This is so amazing,' one wrote.

'How cool is that!' wrote another.
Stan Grant has left his job at the ABC for a new career as a journalism professor at Melbourne's Monash University.

Grant revealed on Tuesday he had resigned as a permanent employee at the national broadcaster, months after he went on leave following racial abuse.

He stepped down as host of Q+A in May after being subjected to 'relentless racial filth' following his appearance on a panel discussing colonialism ahead of King Charles' Coronation.

Monash University has since announced Grant has been appointed as the inaugural Director of the Constructive Institute for the Asia Pacific region in its Faculty of Arts.

The role will see Grant lead projects and debates that 'embrace global solutions, nuance and dialogue to newsroom cultures'.

He will also juggle a dual role as professor of journalism.

Stan Grant has left his job at the ABC behind for a new career working as a professor of journalism at Melbourne's Monash University

The Constructive Institute is located in Denmark with Grant to fly out on Wednesday for six weeks.

He will continue to be based in Sydney but will travel between Melbourne and Denmark for the role.

'This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me. It aligns with my values and draws on my 40 years in journalism, as well as my commitment to doing public interest journalism better in a way that serves the public at a time when the stakes couldn't be higher for our country and for the world,' he said.

Grant said he wanted to work on changing what he has described as a toxic news culture.

'I've been in the crosshairs of the worst of our cultural pile-ons. And I think we can all learn, including me, we can all learn how to do this better,' he told The Guardian.

Professor Katie Stevenson, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Monash University, said there was nobody better to 'lead the advocacy for a more solutions-focused, democratic approach to journalism'.

'Beyond the Institute's mission, our media students will have the privilege of drawing upon Stan's rich experience and knowledge of media, and his passion to change news culture for the better,' she said.

Grant revealed on Tuesday that he resigned as a permanent staffer with the ABC weeks ago, but stressed there was no 'bad blood' between him and the public broadcaster.

The former ABC host said he was still keen to collaborate with the network in the future but simply had other things he wanted to do.

Last month, the ABC revealed Grant would not be returning to host Q+A, but said he would 'move on to new projects' within the company.
A church warden who murdered a university lecturer and duped another victim into changing her will has paid 124,000 to their devastated families.

Benjamin Field, 29, was jailed for at least 36 years for killing Peter Farquhar, 69, in order to inherit his house and money after manipulating him and pretending to be his lover.

Field secretly gave Mr Farquhar drugs and spiked his whisky, hoping that his eventual death at his hands would look like suicide or an accident.

He was convicted by a jury at Oxford Crown Court of Mr Farquhar's murder in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, in 2015, but acquitted of the attempted murder of neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, who he defrauded of 4,000 to buy a car and 27,000 for a dialysis machine.

Field, the son of a Baptist minister, had also defrauded Mr Farquhar of 160,000 from his will.

The BBC made a drama out of the case called the Sixth Commandment, starring Timothy Spall at Mr Farquhar.

Now, following a proceeds of crime hearing at Oxford Crown Court, Field has paid out 124,665.03 'distributed as part of the agreed order to the victims in this case'. The money came from him selling a flat which he bought with his victims' savings.

Benjamin Field, 29, was jailed for at least 36 years for killing Peter Farquhar, 69, in order to inherit his house and money after pretending to be his lover

Field defrauded Miss Moore-Martin of 4,000 to buy a car and 27,000 for a dialysis machine

Mr Farquhar's family branded Field a 'deeply malevolent and thoroughly evil man' when he was jailed.

Detectives described Field as a psychopath and said he would have posed an 'ongoing danger to society' had he not been stopped.

Imposing a life sentence, Mr Justice Sweeney said Field had been convicted by the jury of murder on 'overwhelming evidence'.

'In your evidence at trial you admitted that, from late 2012 until mid-2017, you had lived by deception and deceit and had been a well-practised and able liar,' the judge told him.

'You further admitted how you could manipulate and manoeuvre people, however sceptical they may have been, to achieve your ends without ever asking them to do so directly.

Baptist minister's son Field (right) had pleaded guilty to defrauding Mr Farquhar (left) of 160,000 from his will

It was only when the Baptist minister's son began targeting Mr Farquhar's neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire (Mrs Moore-Martin's home pictured), that his scheme began to unravel

'You were, you accepted, a snake talker, as you were able to build pressure on your victims to believe what you needed them to believe and then to do whatever you needed them to do.

'The evidence at trial clearly demonstrated grandiosity, a sense of superiority towards others, the exploitation of others to achieve personal gain, the need to belittle and humiliate others, fixation on fantasies of power and success, intelligence, a need for admiration from others, and a sense of entitlement together with an unwillingness to empathise with the feelings, needs and wishes of others.'

In his trial Field also admitted defrauding another victim, Ann-Moore Martin (pictured), but was cleared of conspiracy to murder the pensioner

It was only when the Baptist minister's son began targeting Mr Farquhar's neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, that his scheme began to unravel.

Judge Mr Justice Sweeney told Field during his trial: 'He [Mr Farquhar] was a committed Christian, but also gay and attracted to younger men - which was a conflict that he had resolved through his adult life by remaining celibate.

'He was, at his core, lonely and craving for love and affection. You realised that when, as a student, you came across him at the university in 2011 and 2012 and you decided to exploit him for your own gain.

'Although heterosexual by inclination, indeed you had numerous girlfriends whilst you were involved with both Peter Farquhar and Anne Moore-Martin, you set about seducing him.'

Field accepted he had 'psychologically manipulated' the retired teachers but denied any involvement in their deaths. Pictured: Mr Farquhar and Field

Field also gaslighted Miss Moore-Martin, a deeply religious retired headteacher, by writing messages on her mirrors purporting to be from God.

He had admitted fraudulently being in relationships with the pensioners as part of his plan to get them to change their wills.

Field accepted he had 'psychologically manipulated' the retired teachers but denied any involvement in their deaths.

Mr Farquhar died in October 2015, while Miss Moore-Martin died in May 2017 from natural causes.

Field denied murdering the author and University of Buckingham lecturer and maintained Mr Farquhar could have died from taking his usual dose of flurazepam and drinking whisky but was convicted by the jury.

The judge said that Field murdered Mr Farquhar by covertly giving him drugs and getting him to drink strong whisky and then, 'if it was necessary, finished him off by suffocating him in a way that left no trace'.
Sarah Foy, Rose Patterson and Rosa Sharkey have all now been charged for theft

Three women loaded three lambs into a vehicle on the Norfolk estate in May

Three Animal Rising protesters have been charged over allegedly stealing King Charles' sheep from his royal Sandringham Estate.

Sarah Foy, 23, Rose Patterson, 34, and Rosa Sharkey, 23 have been charged with theft, three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and three of failing to record the movement of an animal, according to police.

The vegan protest group, an offshoot of climate group Extinction Rebellion, claimed to be behind the theft on May 24 when it released a video of three women walking through a field in West Newton, Norfolk, and loading three lambs into the back of a vehicle.

The group believes that transitioning to a plant-based food system is the 'key solution' to solving climate emergencies and seeks a future where 'no animals are exploited'.

The women were wearing pink Animal Rising T-Shirts as they were pictured carrying the animals away from Appleton Farm on the King's land.

They said they rescued the lambs - who they dubbed Sammy, Sunny and Sooty - to save them from slaughter.

Sarah Foy, 23, Rose Patterson, 34, and Rosa Sharkey, 23 have been charged for allegedly stealing sheep from King Charles' Sandringham Estate in May

The protest group, an offshoot from climate group Extinction Rebellion, claimed to be behind the theft on May 24

Patterson, the director of the campaign group, was previously arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance after being flagged as the ringleader in the group's plot to sabotage the Grand National.

They posed outside Sandringham, holding up signs reading: 'I rescued the King's sheep' and 'This is how we love animals'.

Footage of the theft showed the three women running onto the farm, picking up a lamb and calling it 'baby' before turning around and carrying to the van.

The women called the lamb 'heavy' and 'sweetie pie' as they loaded it into the back of the truck filled with hay.

Another clip showed the activists sat in the field watching the grazing sheep as they ate.

Ms Foy, 23, said at the time: 'Like anyone, animals want to live out their lives safely and without being used or exploited.

'Sadly that is not the case here at Sandringham, or anywhere they are used in our food system.

'That is exactly why we rescued three sheep today - three beautiful lambs who'll now live their lives to the fullest.

Following the stunt, the women posted photos holding up signs outside Sandringham, reading 'I rescued the King's Sheep' and 'This is how much we love animals'

'We urgently need a national conversation about our relationship with other animals and nature.'

A statement posted on the group's social media at the time of the theft read: 'Last night, Rose, Sarah and Rosa entered His Majesty's Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, and managed to leave with three beautiful young lambs.

'Because of the bravery and compassion of these women, three babies Sammy, Sunny and Sooty will now be allowed to live their lives freely, in a safe space where they are not seen as objects or products, but as the sentient, emotional, lovely little individuals they are.

'By rescuing these lambs, Rose, Sarah and Rosa are hoping to not only give these gorgeous lambs a chance at a real life, but also to provoke conversation: we love animals, so why would we ever want to hurt them in this way?'

The Sandringham Estate consists of 2,400 hectares of farmland - with an additional 4,000 hectares rented by tenant farmers. There are around 3,000 royal sheep present.

Police said they later handed themselves in at a police station in Slough, Berkshire, in relation to the theft.

The trio have been released on police bail and will appear at King's Lynn Magistrates' Court on September 28.
Rudy Giuliani has asked a Manhattan federal court judge to toss a lawsuit brought by a former ShopRite worker alleging the ex-mayors bogus assault accusations derailed his life.

Acting as his own lawyer, Giuliani said comments he made that caused supermarket employee Daniel Gill to lose his job and land in jail were his legally permitted opinions.

The two men crossed paths in June 2022 as Giuliani was stumping for his son, Andrew, on Staten Island during his failed run for governor. CCTV footage of the incident in a Charleston ShopRite shows Gill approach Giuliani, give him a single pat on the back, and say something later confirmed to be, Whats up, scumbag?

Giulianis version painted a more dramatic scene.

I got hit on the back as if a boulder hit me, Giuliani claimed, later complaining of wounds suffered in the attack.

It hurt tremendously. I did not know what it was. I had no idea what it was, Giuliani said. And all of a sudden I heard someone yell something at me, dirty curse words and some more dirty curse words as he retreated, ran away. Then he turned around and said I was a woman-killer.

Daniel Gill

Gill was arrested and charged with felony assault, later seeing the charges downgraded to misdemeanors and ultimately dismissed and sealed. He didnt get his ShopRite job back.

In his motion to dismiss Gills $2 million civil rights lawsuit late Monday, Giuliani defended his response.

The video demonstrates that the tap was made with enough force to startle Mr. Giuliani and that a lady standing next to Mr. Giuliani felt it necessary to rub Mr. Giulianis back immediately, Giuliani wrote, referencing himself in the third person.

Giuliani said his comments that Gill, who was working at the time of the incident, was a criminal and that he appeared high and drunk were his protected opinions.

The greater social context of the statement shows that Mr. Giuliani is expressing an opinion based on his views of the event that transpired, Giuliani wrote.

Regarding his claim that Gill was probably looking for an 85-year-old to knock over, the former mayor told the court that was another opinion containing hyperbole and in a jocular tone.

In other words, he is just a confusing, opinionated mumbler who no one should take seriously, Gills lawyer, Ron Kuby, said Tuesday. How silly of us to think he was making actual, factual assertions.

Giuliani previously requested more time to respond to Gills claims as he searched for an attorney. It wasnt clear whether he couldnt find one or chose to save money by representing himself.

The former federal prosecutor, who is mired in several criminal and civil cases, has reportedly been struggling to pay his legal fees. Giulianis New York law license was suspended in 2021 for his false and misleading claims about the 2020 election on behalf of his then-client, former President Donald Trump. In June, a panel of Washington, D.C., judges said he should face disbarment for filing frivolous suits on Trumps behalf.

Giuliani recently put his $6.5 million Upper East Side home up for sale. Last week, CNN reported that hed hit up Trump for cash, to no avail.

Rudy Giuliani at a Staten Island Shop-Rite on Sunday June 26, 2022.

Rudy Giuliani is pictured in Manhattan on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022.

Gills suit is the least of Giulianis legal worries. He faces potential prison time in Georgia prosecutors RICO case for an alleged scheme to overturn the states 2020 election results. And hes featured as a co-conspirator in the Justice Departments Florida case for Trumps handling of classified documents.

Hes also fighting suits by Noelle Dunphy, a former assistant, who has accused him of sexual harassment and at least one assault, and Smartmatic, a voting machine company accusing him of defamation, similar to the Dominion suit that ended in April with a $787 million settlement against Fox News. And he is yet to make his ex-wife, Judith Nathan, whole in their divorce.

Giuliani did not return calls seeking comment.
Four British teenagers have been fined 30,000 each for climbing from one hotel balcony to another - a craze known as 'balconing' - in Magaluf as the party resort cracks down on dangerous behaviour.

The four British men and a Swedish tourist, who were caught either climbing from one hotel balcony to another or jumping from their balcony into a swimming pool below, were fined more than 150,000 in total by local authorities this summer.

They were also all kicked out of their respective hotels, according to Calvia council, which covers the tourist hotspots of Magaluf and Palma Nova.

Today, town hall officials confirmed that two of the British tourists were aged 18 while the other two Britons were 19.

The infractions occurred between June 4 and August 8, with the last case being detected at 6am on August 8 when a tourist was seen jumping from one hotel balcony to another. The hotels the tourists were staying in have not been named.

Juan Feliu, head of Calvia council, stressed the severe fines acted as a 'powerful deterrent' against the reckless and dangerous behaviour.

Five tourists including four British teenagers have been fined 30,000 each for 'balconing' - climbing from one hotel balcony to another - in Magaluf as the party resort cracks down on dangerous behaviour (file image)

'Balconing is not going to be tolerated in our municipality,' Mr Felieu said. 'It's an irresponsible practice that can cause serious and irreversible injuries and even death.

'It's obviously the last thing one would want for those who visit us. 'This is not leisure, it's a very dangerous irresponsible act and it's not the image we want for our municipality.'

He said police efforts to crack down on the anti-social behaviour, which has previously caused injury and several deaths, are being intensified amid efforts to promote a better image of Magaluf, which has long been plagued by heavy drinking and rowdiness.

Mr Feliu did not state whether the fines issued to the five tourists have been paid or how they will be pursued.

A spokesman for Calvia Council said: 'Each one of the five foreign tourists fined so far this summer for jumping from one hotel balcony to another have received a 36,000 euro (30,720) fine and have been immediately expelled from the hotels they were in.'

The fines were levied under a regional government decree designed to stamp out drunken tourism.

In recent years, footage has emerged online of British tourists climbing from one hotel balcony to another - or jumping from their balcony into a swimming pool below.

In August 2018 a British holidaymaker cheated death after plunging from a Magaluf sixth-floor balcony.

It later emerged he checked himself out of hospital - without waiting for doctors to give him the all-clear - before police could hand him his fine for balconing.

Last month a 35-year-old British man died after plunging from a second-floor balcony in the Ibizan resort of San Antonio.

Police sources said drugs were found in his room during a subsequent search and officers were said at the time to be working on the theory he may have been acting under the influence of drugs.

After he died it emerged the same man had cheated death in a 30-foot fall in the same resort nearly five years ago.

Four British teenagers have been fined 30,000 each for climbing from one hotel balcony to another - a craze known as 'balconing' - in Magaluf as the party resort cracks down on dangerous behaviour (file image of Playa de Magaluf beach)

He ended up impaled on the pole of a sun umbrella in a near-tragedy in September 2018.

As a result of a series of balconing tragedies, Mallorca's regional government based in Palma Mallorca passed a law in 2020 banning the practice of 'balconing' throughout the Balearic Islands, with fines of up to 50,000.

Last year, the government banned the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am, as well as pub crawls, two-for-one drinks offers and happy hours at certain spots in Magaluf, El Arenal and Playa de Palma in Mallorca.

Announcing the laws in 2020, a regional government spokesman said: 'Efforts to promote the destination, to provide it with better quality through both public and private sector investments, and position it in an increasingly competitive and global market, have been affected recently by certain uncivic behaviour.

'Most of this type of behaviour is directly related to alcohol abuse in certain tourist areas of Majorca and Ibiza.'

The regional government in 2020 also suspended the concession of new 'party boat' licences, with boats that were already licensed banned from embarking or disembarking tourists in the areas covered by a government decree.

The decree also covered the popular British tourist hotspot West End in Ibiza and SArenal near Palma favoured by Germans and Dutch holidaymakers.

Earlier this month a firm offering British holidaymakers illegal booze cruises in Magaluf was hit with a near-140,000 fine levied under the same decree.

Council chiefs responsible for the Majorcan party resort said company bosses were caught 'red-handed' as they as they escorted around 130 tourists who had paid nearly 40 each onto a boat where loud music was going to be played and alcohol was on offer.

An agreement between Calvia Council which covers Magaluf and a local boat owners association had already been signed in 2018, designed to stop the jetty in the resort being used by party boats.

The Balearic government has blamed a fall in visitor numbers on Magaluf and San Antonio garnering a bad image in recent years and the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook.

Thousands of British tourists flock to the islands every year, including large groups of revellers who have given the destinations an infamous reputation.
Kitchen Cabinet presenter Annabel Crabb was forced to defend interviewing opposition leader Peter Dutton on the show after fans accused her of running a 'sycophantic puff piece'.

The veteran ABC star has faced a torrent of criticism before Tuesday night's episode featuring the Liberal Party leader has even aired, with some left-wingers voicing concerns Crabb will 'humanise' Mr Dutton in the same way she did with Scott Morrison.

The former Prime Minister, who was known for his hardline image and tough immigration policies, appeared on the show in 2015 where was able to burnish his image as a family man by cooking 'scomosas' and a Sri Lankan curry.

Now, just hours before the interview with Mr Dutton is due to be broadcast, Crabb felt compelled to defend her choice of interviewee in a lengthy post on Instagram.

Kitchen Cabinet presenter Annabel Crabb was forced to defend interviewing opposition leader Peter Dutton on the show after fans accused her of running a 'sycophantic puff piece' (pictured together)

It comes amid reports that Crabb confronts Mr Dutton on the show, which airs on Tuesday night, about allegedly 'racist remarks' he has made as the pair share a custard slice with brown butter and rum (pictured)

She outlined her pride in the seventh series of the show, which features a mix of home cooking and friendly conversation between herself and frontline politicians, claiming it is the 'most diverse ever'.

'Of COURSE I was always going to interview the Opposition Leader if he was amenable,' Crabb wrote.

'I asked both major party leaders, and of the two of them, Peter Dutton said yes. He's the alternative PM.

Crabb said she took the 'same approach I have taken in every one of the 48 episodes my team and I have made'.

'I turn up and bring dessert, and I ask the host questions about my host's life,' she said.

'Sometimes viewers like them better by the end of the show, sometimes they don't. The important thing is that viewers decide for themselves.'

'That's how things roll in a democracy.'

The ABC stalwart revealed she would be taking a break from social media in the wake of the outcry.

Last week, Crabb faced a backlash for describing Dutton's politics as 'muscular' during a promotional interview for Kitchen Cabinet on ABC News.

One angry viewer tweeted, 'I don't need a sycophantic puff piece to have Dutton 'reveal' anything about himself. Every hateful word and action has revealed all I need to know about him.'

Critics fear Crabb will 'humanise' Mr Dutton in the same way the show helped foment the image of Scott Morrison as a family man

Others criticised the ABC for hosting the show altogether

Annabel Crabb (right) is under fire for featuring federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton (left) in a friendly interview on her popular talk show Kitchen Cabinet

Some viewers even went so far as to say Mr Dutton's appearance means that Kitchen Cabinet should be taken off the air.

'Kitchen Cabinet shouldn't be renewed for another season. Trying to humanise a politician who is manipulatively pushing a No vote is not defensible,' complained one, referring to the Liberals' opposition to the indigenous Voice proposal in the upcoming referendum.

Last week, Crabb defended herself against accusations she was affording her interviewees a 'free ride'.

'I'm interviewing them in a way that is different than your Sarah Ferguson boot-on-the-throat variety, which is absolutely necessary for our democracy, but I also think sometimes when you take a different approach, particularly when you're in someone's house, you're polite to them, you're not going to start chucking stuff at them,' she said.

'But if you make them feel comfortable enough they will often reveal things about themselves that are actually quite interesting and key to understanding them, and I think that's certainly true of the Dutton episode.'

Her nuanced approach has done little to appease her staunchest critics.

A 2015 article, entitled 'Junk Food Journalism: Why Annabel Crabb's Kitchen Cabinet Is Toxic', has resurfaced in the wake of Mr Dutton's forthcoming appearance on the show.

Amy McQuire, who wrote the piece, accused Crabb of fluffing 'her way through interviewing some of the most powerful people in Australia by coating their numerous acts of structural violence with sugar frosting'.

'This insidious spread of propaganda, soft interviews with hard-line politicians who wield enormous power over the lives of the most vulnerable, is sold as a fun, light-hearted look into the lives of the people we elect,' wrote Ms McQuire.

'But this taxpayer-funded sycophantic date with power will end up making us all sick.

'It completely dumbs down debate and again re-ingrains the perception that politicians are just like us, while the people their policies hurt, aren't.'

Crabb defended her choice of interviewee, claiming: 'That's how things roll in a democracy'

Other critics went further, mocking up an image of Crabb sat smiling at a dinner table next to Adolf Hitler.

It comes amid reports that Crabb confronts Mr Dutton on the show about allegedly 'racist remarks' he has made as the pair share a custard slice with brown butter and rum.

Mr Dutton made the remarks in question in 2016 where he claimed Malcom Fraser's Government in the 1970s made a mistake by resettling Lebanese refugees.

At the time, he defended the comments, claiming that 'out of the last 33 people who have been charged with terrorist-related offences in this country, 22 of those people are from second and third generation Lebanese-Muslim background'.

The veteran ABC star has acknowledged that she's taking a softer approach with her show and doesn't want to engage in combative dialogue with her guests

'I can't see how there's any way of looking at that, apart from that it's a racist remark,' Crabb tells the conservative politician on Kitchen Confidential, according to news.com.au.

Mr Dutton concedes he should not have made the comment and says he has apologised for them before.

Outside of MrDutton, the latest season of Kitchen Cabinet will feature a wide variety of political figures including Bridget McKenzie of the National Party and former Greens and now independent senator Lidia Thorpe.

Kitchen Cabinet is currently airing on ABC and available to stream on iView.
An undercover investigator has revealed that counterfeit perfume bottles that claim to be made by many of the world's top luxury brands can often be filled with animal urine.

Detective and business investigator Tamer Bakiner claims that people across the world are 'endangering their own health' by buying counterfeit goods, as most, if not all, are made with little to no concern for safety or health.

'Stop buying [them]. First of all, it is dangerous for your health, among other things they mix urine in perfumes to get the yellow color. That is disgusting.

'Secondly, it supports a really lousy, inhumane business,' he said in an interview with German tabloid Bild.

Bakiner wasn't the only person who warned that counterfeits could harm people's health.

Experts have warned that counterfeit perfume bottles can contain animal urine (stock)

The experts also warned that other counterfeit products, like watches and bags, can be harmful to customers

'Counterfeits are treated with chemicals that can cause allergies and skin irritation or rashes. This is not to be taken lightly,' Leo Longauer, director of brand protection at LVHM, said

Leo Longauer, the 54-year-old director of brand protection at luxury good conglomerate LVHM, which operates brands including Dior, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, and Dom Perignon, said that fake products can be 'extremely dangerous for your health'.

'[Sun]glasses are offered that, contrary to the label, have no UV protection.

'The [perfume] mixture is filled with animal urine. Studies have shown that. It's cheap to get.

'Counterfeits are treated with chemicals that can cause allergies and skin irritation or rashes. This is not to be taken lightly,' he warned.

He said that people may actually be buying counterfeit product unknowingly as they are virtually indistinguishable from genuine products.

'Many counterfeits can hardly be distinguished from the original,' he admitted.

But the intellectual property enforcer warned that customers who buy counterfeit good, knowingly or otherwise, are 'endangering their own health, criminals are being supported and their own economy is being disadvantaged'.

'The working conditions of local people, for example in Turkey, China, Vietnam or India, are inhumane. It does not meet the standards in Europe.

'Children are also used to work. People are being exploited  combined with human trafficking and money laundering.'

The worldwide counterfeit industry is vast and profitable.

Criminal networks that trade counterfeit goods often span the globe. Fake goods are often manufactured in poorer countries with substandard labour and safety laws before they are sold in richer countries with staggering markups.

Europol estimates that as much as 2.5 per cent of all global trade involves the production and sales of counterfeit or substandard goods.

This comes out to an eyewatering 360billion.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a 2016 report that the 'best estimates' indicated that the UK alone imports as much as 13.6billion worth of counterfeit goods, equivalent to 3 per cent of all UK imports.
A childhood friend of Lucy Letby has insisted she still stands by the killer nurse and will never believe she is guilty unless she hears a personal confession.

Letby, 33, is Britain's most prolific child killer and was yesterday sentenced to an unprecedented 14 whole life orders - meaning she will die in prison.

A judge said she had displayed 'malevolence bordering on sadism' following a 'cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder'.

But despite 10 months of damning evidence against Letby being aired in one of Britain's longest ever trials, her schoolfriend Dawn Howe refuses to accept her guilt.

Asked yesterday if she still stood by comments in an interview on Friday that she would 'never believe she is guilty', Ms Howe told the Telegraph: 'I stand by that statement.'

Despite Lucy Letby being found guilty by a jury following a 10-month trial, friend Dawn Howe still insists she is innocent

Letby, 33, is Britain's most prolific child killer and was yesterday sentenced to an unprecedented 14 whole life orders - meaning she will die in prison. She's pictured on a night out (left) and in a custody photo (right)

Ms Howe has known Letby since they attended Aylestone Secondary School in Hereford together.

In an interview with BBC Panorama on Friday, she claimed all of Letby's friends were still supporting her despite the killer nurse being convicted for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more.

READ MORE - Inside the house where child killer Letby was first arrested Advertisement

She said: 'Unless Lucy turned around and said I'm guilty I will never believe that she's guilty.'

'We know she couldn't have done anything that she's accused of, so without a doubt we stand by her.

'I grew up with Lucy and not a single thing that I've ever seen or witnessed of Lucy would let me for a moment believe she is capable of the thing's she's accused of.

'It is the most out of character accusation that you could ever put against Lucy. Think of your most kind gentle soft friend and think that they're being accused of harming babies.'

Ms Howe told BBC journalist Judith Moritz that Letby had always wanted to be a nurse and had had a difficult birth herself.

She said it was the only career her friend had ever mentioned, adding: She was very grateful to be alive to the nurses who helped save her life.'

Letby posing at the front of a group of women on a hen do just hours before she murdered her first victim

Ms Howe told BBC journalist Judith Moritz that Letby had always wanted to be a nurse and had had a difficult birth herself

She also accused police of 'trying to build a case, to find someone culpable to find someone to blame' as she maintained Letby's innocence.

The serial killer was described as appearing shy and reserved, but would 'let her hair down' and be 'goofy' and 'bubbly' when around close friends - who she told not to come to court to support her.

Yesterday, cowardly Letby was given a whole life order for the seven charges of murder and seven of attempted murder that she was convicted of - meaning she received a total of 14.

READ MORE - How could a child raised by such adoring parents become a serial killer? asks Barbara Davies Advertisement

The NHS nurse is the fourth woman to receive a whole life order after Myra Hindley, Rose West and triple killer Joanna Dennehy.

The killer refused to come up from the cells to hear her fate, a move that the father of one victim called 'the final act of wickedness from a coward'.

Issuing his sentencing remarks as if she was still in the room, Mr Justice Goss said Letby displayed a 'morbid fascination' with seriously ill children and inflicted 'acute pain' as they desperately fought for life.

He told the court: 'You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies and in gross breach of the trust that all citizens place in those who work in the medical and caring professions.

'The babies you harmed were born prematurely and some were at risk of not surviving but in each case you deliberately harmed them, intending to kill them.'

The judge said Letby would be provided copies of his remarks and the personal statements of the families of her victims.

He said only Letby knew what had driven her to embark on a 'cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder', and noted she had 'coldly denied any responsibility for your wrongdoing'.

A note found in Letby's house which read in capital letters: 'I AM EVIL I DID THIS'

Letby's parents, Susan, 63, and John, 77, had attended every day of her trial but were not at today's sentencing. They are seen on August 17

The judge said the nurse prided herself on her professionalism which enabled her to start harming children without suspicion, displaying 'malevolence bordering on sadism'.

He said she adopted tactics such as attacking babies when other staff were on their breaks before keeping medical documents as 'morbid records' of her attacks.

Yesterday, families of the 33-year-old's victims told how their world had been 'shattered by evil disguised as a caring nurse', as they told her 'you are nothing'.

The parents of Baby A, who was murdered by Letby in 2015, and his twin sister Baby B - who was attacked but survived - told of their pain in a victim impact statement read out to the court.

They said: 'We never got to hold our little boy while he was alive, because you took him away. What should have been the happiest time of our lives became our worst nightmare.'

The mother of Child C, who weighed just 1lb 12oz when he was murdered by Letby, described the 'overwhelming emotion' she felt the first time she held her son.

She said: 'It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. My tiny feisty boy, my firstborn, my son.

The trauma of that night will live with us all until the day we die. Knowing now his murderer was watching us was like something out of a horror story.'

She said she blamed herself for his death and not protecting him, adding: 'What if I had not gone to bed that night? Maybe he would still be here.'
Gillian Keegan has defended her claim that A-level exam results do not matter to employers ahead of Thursday's GCSE results.

The Education Secretary, who left school at 16, was criticised by Labour last week for telling students not to fret about poor grades because no one will care 10 years down the line.

On a media round on A-Level results day last Thursday the Cabinet minister claimed future employers will be more interested in a job candidate's time at university or in the workplace than school or college exam grades.

And she doubled down on her comments today, insisting that was she said was true, telling Sky News: 'As somebody who has worked for 30 years in business, that has employed hundreds if not thousands of people, I can honestly say I have never asked anybody for their A-Level results or what grades they got.

'That is just the reality, 10 years later - which is the time period I was asked about - that is the reality.'

The proportion of A-levels awarded top grades has plunged after ministers and the exam regulator in England aimed to return to pre-Covid grading

The Education Secretary, who left school at 16, was criticised by Labour last week for telling students not to fret about poor grades because no one will care 10 years down the line.

Labour last Thursday slammed Ms Keegan for 'incredibly rude and dismissive' comments on a 'nerve-racking day' for those finishing school or college education.

Some 73,000 fewer top A-level grades were awarded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland than last year as part of efforts to bring results back down to pre-pandemic levels, exam boards said.

But there were around 32,000 more top grades awarded than in 2019.

Figures covering GCSE entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be published by the Joint Council for Qualifications on Thursday.

Ms Keegan today stressed exams were only one way of 'making sure you can get to the next destination', and added the Government was extending other routes including apprenticeships. Ms Keegan began work herself as a teenage apprentice in a car factory, before later going to university and having a business career.

'So if you are wanting to get into the workplace, and if you are wanting to earn and learn, there are alternative routes for you if you are wanting to skip the student debt then that is also an option for you,' she said.

Around 300,000 fewer top GCSE grades could be awarded this week in a 'shock' to pupils and their parents, it has been suggested.

Exams regulator Ofqual has said a return to pre-pandemic grading means this year's national GCSE results in England will be lower than last year and similar to levels in 2019 - the year before coronavirus.

An education expert has predicted families may find the 'substantial drop' in top GCSE grades awarded this summer 'hard to accept', and results day on Thursday 'will not be as enjoyable' as during the pandemic years.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research (CEER) at the University of Buckingham, has suggested there could be around 300,000 fewer entries graded 7 or above compared with 2022 if grading standards return to 2019 levels.

It comes after Covid-19 led to an increase in top GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
The burned bodies of 18 suspected migrants were today found in a remote rural area in northern Greece where wildfires have been burning for days.

A series of ferocious wildfires are continuing to wreak havoc and incinerate homes across the nation and have triggered mass evacuations from tourist hotspots.

Firefighters are desperately trying to douse the flames with water but the blaze is raging though the Evros region in northeastern Greece and close to the capital of Athens.

The wildfires, which were sparked by a dangerous mix of 41C heat and gale-force winds four days ago, have killed 20 people and destroyed dozens of homes across the country.

Authorities said they believe they have found the burned bodies of 18 migrants near a shack in the Avanta area north of the city of Alexandroupoli.

'Given that there have been no reports of disappearances or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility that these are people who entered the country illegally is being investigated,' fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios.

Officials believe the suspected migrants entered the region via Turkey, a popular route for those travelling to Greece illegally.

'Searches throughout the entire area where the fire broke out are ongoing,' Artopios added.

The wildfires are continuing to burn unchecked in the northeast of the country near the port city of Alexandroupolis, on the islands of Evia and Kynthos, as well as the region of Boeotia north of Athens.

A farmer rushes to evacuate his horse during a wildfire at the area of Fyli near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday

A house burns in Avanta, near Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, amid ferocious wildfires on Tuesday

Beehives burn during a wildfire at the area of Fyli near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday

A volunteer tries to extinguish a wildfire burning in Hasia village, near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday

Blazes burn a forest in Distomo, Viotia, central Greece, on Tuesday. The fire in Viotia, started from a settlement behind the Aluminum of Greece factory in Aspra Spitia on 21 August and the strong winds very quickly led the fire to develop a huge front in all directions

A burnt car and warehouses are seen from above in the village of Palagia, near Alexandroupolis town, on Tuesday

This aerial photograph taken on Tuesday shows the incinerated campsite in the village of Saranti following a wildfire, near Prodromos,

Firefighters try to tackle a wildfire raging in Alexandroupolis on Tuesday

A wildfire burns a house in Avantas village, near Alexandroupolis town, on Monday

Pictured: A map showing the location of wildfires tearing through Greece

'There are nine active fronts... it's a similar situation to July,' a fire department spokeswoman said, referring to a wave of wildfires that left five dead last month.

The latest deaths of 18 suspected migrants pushed the overall toll from this week's fires to 20, after another suspected migrant was found dead in the area Monday.

An elderly shepherd had also been found dead north of Athens on Monday.

In Alexandroupolis, where flames have come perilously close to the University hospital, 65 patients were evacuated in the early hours of this morning onto a ferry in the city's port as a precaution.

Another 14 people were evacuated by a coast guard vessel from a beach near the village of Makri.

Several communities in the broader Evros region, near the border with Turkey, have been evacuated as authorities warned the risk of new fires remained high in the coming days.

Harrowing images show the extent of the damage caused by the wildfires, with the charred remains of homes and cars seen in the Evros region.

'Under extreme weather conditions, mainly due to gale-force winds, a huge effort has been made to manage fire fronts that broke out simultaneously in many parts of the country,' fire brigade spokesperson Ioannis Artopios said late on Monday.

'The hours we are going through are extremely critical.'

Over 60 fires had erupted in the last 24 hours, and six countries were sending help via the European Union's civil protection mechanism, the fire department said.

Some 120 firefighters from Cyprus, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Serbia will pitch in, fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told state TV ERT.

Meanwhile, the European Union announced it was deploying two Cyprus-based firefighting aircraft and a Romanian firefighting team via the bloc's civil protection mechanism.

A new fire broke out Tuesday at a landfill in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos near Athens, covering the area in a noxious black cloud.

Officials shut down the nearest section of the Athens ring road, and advised residents to stay indoors.

Another fire broke out in the foothills of Mount Parnitha near the capitals, prompting evacuations.

A farmer rushes to evacuate his donkey during a wildfire at the area of Fyli near Athens on Tuesday

A farmer rushes to evacuate his dog during a wildfire at the area of Fyli near Athens on Tuesday

Blazes burn a forest in Distomo, Viotia, central Greece, on Tuesday

Firefighters battle flames of a wildfire at the area of Fyli near Athens on Tuesday

Smoke billows behind the ancient temple of Parthenon on the top of the Acropolis hill as a wildfire rages on the outskirts of Athens on Tuesday

A wildfire burns through vegetation during a wildfire near Prodromos, 100km northwast of Athens, on Monday

Local residents extinguish a fire in Avanta, near Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, on Tuesday as a wildfire incinerated their homes

Firefighters try to extinguish the flames in a forest in Avantas village, near Alexandroupolis town, in the northeastern Evros region, Greece, on Monday

An aerial picture taken with a drone shows the bunrt area after a wildfire, in Avantas village, Alexandroupolis, on Tuesday

A burnt car is seen in the village of Palagia, near the town of Alexandroupolis, on Tuesday

Pictured: Burnt cars in Palagia village, Alexandroupolis, on Tuesday following a wildfire

A burned house and a car are seen in Saranti beach as a result of a wildfire in Prodroomos, northeast of Athens, Greece, on Tuesday

The incinerated remains of a campsite in the village of Sarantini after a wildfire tore through the area on Tuesday

A firefighting plane operates above a wildfire in the area of Fyli near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday

Flames burn a forest during a wildfire in Avantas village, near Alexandroupolis town on Monday

On the island of Evia, near the capital, officials late Monday evacuated the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where the fire has damaged poultry and pork farms.

The burned body of a man believed to be a migrant was found in a rural area in Lefkimi, near Alexandroupolis, on Monday, a local police official said.

Evros is a popular border crossing for hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Asia who use the river by the same name separating Greece from Turkey to cross into the European Union.

An elderly shepherd had also been found dead in the Boeotia region earlier on Monday.

The flames were also threatening the national park of Dadia, which is one of the most important protected areas in Europe. It offers an ideal habitat for rare birds and is home to the only breeding population of black vultures in the Balkans.

The very hot and dry conditions which increase the fire risk will persist until Friday, according to meteorologists.

Summer wildfires in Greece are common but have been made worse in recent years by unusually hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.

More than 20,000 foreign tourists had to be evacuated from the holiday island of Rhodes in July as wildfires burned for a week, destroying hotels and resorts.

The fire had started on July 18 and was fanned by strong winds ravaged almost 17,770 hectares (more than 43,000 acres) in 10 days in the south of Rhodes.

Firefighters in Spain also battled on Tuesday to stabilise a huge wildfire that has devastated forests on the popular tourist destination of Tenerife for six days.

More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland have been burned. Large parts of Spain were under alert for wildfire risk due to a heatwave that sent temperatures spiking over 38C in many areas.

A man tries to extinguish a burning olive tree in the village of Avantas, near Alexandroupolis town on Tuesday

Burnt trees are seen from above near the hospital in the town of Alexandroupolis, in the northeastern Evros region, Greece, on Tuesday

Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire burning near the village of Makri on the region of Evros, Greece, on Tuesday

Patients from the General University Hospital of Alexandroupolis are seen inside a ferry after being evacuated, as a wildfire rages in Alexandroupolis on Tuesday

Patients of a chronic diseases management foundation get evacuated as a wildfire burns near Alexandroupolis on Tuesday

A burned camping site in Saranti beach is seen after wildfires ravaged Prodromos, northeast of Athens, on Tuesday

A burned camping site in Saranti beach is seen after wildfires ravaged Prodromos, northeast of Athens, on Tuesday

2: A burned house and a car are seen in Saranti beach following wildfires in Prodromos on Tuesday

A burned camping site in Saranti beach is seen after wildfires ravaged Prodromos, northeast of Athens, on Tuesday

Meanwhile, in Greece's northern seaside city of Kavala, two firefighters were injured on Monday while trying to contain a blaze threatening homes in the village of Dialekto, the fire brigade said.

Wildfires have ravaged countries across southern Europe this summer, forcing thousands to be evacuated and thousands more to cancel their holidays.

Last week, ferocious wildfires ripped through 300 hectares of land in a nature park surrounding the Mount Teide volcano on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Another fire last week ravaged ravaged homes and holiday campsites in a British tourist hotspot in France, forcing the evacuation of 3,000 people.

The blazing wildfires ripped through 500 hectares of land and saw thousands of terrified tourists flee for their lives from their holiday homes and campsites in the popular holiday region of Pyrenees-Orientales, southern France.

This photograph taken on Tuesday shows a house burning during a wildfire in Avanta, near Alexandroupoli, northern Greece

Fire burns tree trunks during a wildfire, in Palagia village, Alexandroupolis, on Tuesday

A fire burns a car during a wildfire in Palagia village, Alexandroupolis, northern Greece, on Tuesday

A local resident looks at a wildfire in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos near Athens on Tuesday

Britons told how panicked families who had quickly packed their belongings and fled campsites in the commune of Saint-Andre in their cars became trapped in traffic jams after they realised they were in fact heading towards the quickly expanding flames of the wildfire.

Zak Dhabalia, 55, a retired British hedge fund manager who lives in the nearby village of Sorede and saw the flames come perilously close to his home, said it was an 'extraordinary and terrifying experience for us all'.

Dhabalia, who lives with his French wife Sylvie Dhabalia, told MailOnline it was 'terrifying' to see how quickly the wildfire spread across the vineyards towards the campsites which were gutted by the flames, adding that he could hear gas canisters exploding at the site.

Elsewhere in Europe, Greece, Italy, Algeria and Tunisia combined lost more than 1,350 square kilometers (520 square miles) to blazes that affected 120,000 people in late July, according to European Union estimates.

Two weeks ago, a series of wildfires ripped through Portugal and neighbouring Spain as temperatures soared to over 44C, forcing the evacuation of thousands of holidaymakers from villages and campsites.

Climate scientists say heat waves are more intense, more frequent and longer because of climate change  and coupled with droughts have made wildfires harder to fight.

They say climate change will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

'Climate change kills,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last month during a visit to the Extremadura region, the site of three major blazes. 'It kills people, it kills our ecosystems and biodiversity.'

Wildfires raging through Europe this summer have so far burned the second-largest area on record, even though the region is only halfway through its typical fire season, according to data from the European Union's Joint Research Centre.

Southern European countries such as Portugal and Greece experience fires most summers, but hotter temperatures are pushing severe wildfire risk north, with Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic among those hit this season.
The crisis comes as Maui is still reeling from record wildfires, as further shocking before and after images reveal the town of Lahaina razed to the ground

Shocking before and after images have revealed widespread destruction across the West Coast after Tropical Storm Hilary battered through California and Nevada.

Multiple rescue missions were launched across the affected areas as the torrential storms toppled trees, flooded roads and left residents stranded by mudslides and newly formed waterways on Monday.

In Culver City, California, the deluge saw a deep waterway in the Ballona Creek overflow as the metro was battered with over 3.5 inches of rain. As the storms stretched into Nevada, dramatic images showed the normally-burned out desert in Death Valley marked with mudslides and rivers after it was hit with a year's rainfall in under 24 hours.

Satellite images captured a ruined street in Cathedral City, California, where a huge mudslide had almost reached rows of homes. For a time the metro was in the epicenter of the storm, and officials say cleanup efforts could take days.

 Slide me  CULVER CITY, CA: The deluge was marked by near-unprecedented rainfall, flooding the Ballona Creek (pictured) and causing widespread travel chaos

 Slide me  DEATH VALLEY, VEVADA: A year's worth of rain fell in a 24-hour period in Death Valley, as rivers were seen flooding through the normally-burned out desert

 Slide me  CATHEDRAL CITY, CA: A state of emergency has been declared in California after the West Coast was battered by Storm Hilary, causing severe destruction

As it moved towards Death Valley, the sparse roads and highways were seen dramatically altered by the storms. In a section of Indian Canyon Road near California's Desert Hot Springs, the storm left the road completely impassible.

Thunderstorms and further torrential downpours are expected further inland on Tuesday, while much of California's southwest coast has been left devastated and officials are scrambling to provide help to stranded residents.

In Los Angeles, the MLB matchup between the LA Dodgers and the Miami Marlins was forced to reschedule due to the storms. The move was ominously captured in an image showing dark clouds rolling in towards Dodger Stadium, and in another where the facility was surrounded by a moat.

 Slide me  DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA: A section of Indian Canyon Road lies destroyed by a flash flood in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary

 Slide me  LOS ANGELES, CA: The LA Dodgers were forced to reschedule their game against the Miami Marlins on Sunday as a moat formed around the team's stadium

 Slide me  CATHEDRAL CITY, CA: Cars were left stranded on flooded roads and residents were told to avoid traveling as the storm brought havoc across southwest California

 Slide me  CATHEDRAL CITY, CA: The deluge resulted in huge mudslides, flash flooding and travel chaos, leaving over 40 million people across the West Coast under flood warnings on Monday

Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, initially slammed into Mexico's arid Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane, causing at least one death and widespread flooding before becoming a tropical storm.

When Hilary made landfall late Sunday night, it was one of several crises hitting California as the tropical storm, which also produced tornado warnings, was joined by wildfires and a moderate earthquake in Los Angeles.

The National Hurricane Center said while the storm lost momentum as it moved inland toward the Rocky Mountains on Monday, it warned that 'continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding' was expected over portions of the Southwest.

Forecasters said the threat of flooding will stretch to north and reach parts of Oregon and Idaho.

Roughly 40 million people were under various flood warnings as California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Monday, and crews across the affected states were deployed to clear mudslides over highways, downed trees, and help stranded people.

By Tuesday, the number of people under severe weather warnings stood at around a million, while Texas residents were warned to brace for the separate Storm Harold as it could make landfall by Tuesday evening.

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA: Torrential rainfall swept through a homeless encampment in Cathedral City, California (pictured), leaving vehicles, trash and scattered possessions partially submerged

A large eucalyptus tree branch rests on cars after falling overnight as tropical storm Hilary moved through the area on August 21, 2023 in Sun Valley, California

LA QUINTA, CA: New high current waterways have been formed by the deluge, with the Whitewater River flowing over a highway near La Quinta High School (pictured)

Palm Springs Mayor Grace Elena Garner warned residents on Monday that they were left with 'no way in or out' of the flooded metro, as some stranded locals reported that telephone lines were also down.

In the San Bernardino Mountains, officials said rescue teams worked to clear a huge mudslide after it blocked the homes of about 800 residents. A boil-water order was also issued for about 400 households in Mount Charleston, Nevada, where the only road in and out was washed out.

Hilary shattered daily rain records in San Diego and likely dumped the equivalent of a full year's worth on Death Valley National Park, forcing the region to be closed indefinitely.

The deluge also left around 400 people sheltering at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs until roads could be made passable, park officials said.

A tropical storm last roared into California in September 1939, ripping apart train tracks, tearing houses from their foundations and capsizing many boats. Nearly 100 people were killed on land and at sea.

THOUSAND PALMS, CA: Thousands of West Coast residents found themselves stranded after streets and highways were washed out by the storms

CARTHEDRAL CITY, CA: Rescue teams have been deployed across the affected areas, as a maintenance vehicle is pictured clearing a path across a flooded street on August 21, 2023

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA: An aerial view of stranded vehicles along a flooded street on August 21, 2023

Cars are entirely submerged beside palm trees blowing in the wind i Southern California as Hilary took its toll over the weekend

SAN DIEGO, CA: A television reporter stands in a flooded road after the passing of Tropical Storm Hilary on Monday

INDIO, CA: In an aerial view, a Jeep remains stuck in mud off a road that was hit by a flash flood in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary on Monday

When the storm struck Cathedral City, California overnight on Sunday, some residents woke up to find themselves trapped as the storm left huge mudslides across the area.

Residents of the city immediately south of Palm Springs, experienced a 'debris flow' that included significant amounts of mud and sand landing in front of some of their homes.

The torrential rainfall caused fast-flowing rivers to flow over highways and down streets, knocking out construction work on a bridge outside La Quinta High School in California.

Over five hours away in Nevada, the National Guard began evacuations at the Lee Canyon Ski resort as roads surrounding the mountain were washed out.

Hilary became the first ever tropical storm to hit Nevada, crossing over the state lines at around 5am ET on Monday. By the end of Tuesday, it is forecast to hit Idaho and Oregon and could reach Montana.

Travel chaos struck the West Coast as well Monday, with flights cancelled at San Diego International Airport, Nevada's Harry Reid and Phoenix's Sky Harbor.

Hilary is expected to clear through Tuesday, though moisture from the storm in some parts is expected to linger into Wednesday and Thursday.

Many airlines waived change fees for flights scheduled through Monday to or from Los Cabos and a handful of Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona airports.

The storm has, at this point, been downgraded to a post-tropical storm, though experts continue to warn that Hilary is carrying heavy rains and high winds through the week.
Baby killer Lucy Letby is to face a life of isolation as she rots behind bars, caged in a maximum security jail and locked away from fellow inmates who want to attack her.

The most prolific child serial killer in modern British history murdered seven newborns and tried to kill six more, in a depraved spree that sent shockwaves through the nation.

In an unprecedented move, the 'cruel and calculating' NHS nurse was given a whole life order for her heinous crimes, meaning she will almost certainly die behind bars.

Letby became the fourth woman to receive a whole life sentence after Myra Hindley, Rose West and serial killer Joanna Dennehy - who murdered three men in a 10-day spree in 2013

It is likely Letby, 33, will be jailed in HMP Low Newton in Durham. But her time there will be bleak. Experts say given many inmates are unable to see their own children, Letby's crimes will strike a cord with caged mothers, who will want to attack her.

Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life behind bars after being given a whole life order by Mr Justice Goss

Former inmates at HMP Low Newton include House of Horrors killer Rose West and Baby Ps mother Tracey Connelly

This is one of the general population prison cells in HMP Low Newton where Letby will serve her life sentence. She is likely to be kept segregated from other inmates would want to attack her

At first the killer - who cowered in her cell during her sentencing hearing on Monday rather than face the bereaved relatives whose lives she destroyed - will be kept in the prison's hospital wing to assess her mental and physical health before then being moved to a cell of her own. She will also be on24-hour suicide watch.

Tania Bassett, press officer for Napo, the trade union and professional association for probation and family court staff, said the ex-neonatal nurse will be 'at risk' from other inmates seeking to dish out their own jailhouse revenge for her crimes.

'Infanticide can conjure a lot of strong emotions and a huge number of those women in prison will be separated from their children,' she told The Times.

'Being known as a baby killer will put her at risk from the majority of women in custody so she will be spending a lot of that sentence on her own. Prison officers will be the only people she has contact with.

'How long she is segregated will depend on how strong the emotions towards her are from other prisoners, but its likely that will be a long time.'

Letby was convicted on Friday of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six other infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The ruthless 33-year-old deliberately injected babies with air, force fed others milk and poisoned two of the infants with insulin, leaving her defenceless victims to die in excruciating agony.

She could now serve life behind bars with the country's most depraved murderers at a jail where inmates have the chance to go shopping, pet baby animals and decorate their cells pink.

Past prisoners at Low Newton have included Cromwell Street killer Rose West, Baby Ps mother Tracey Connelly and Britain's youngest female murderer Sharon Carr, who randomly selected and killed her victim when she was 12.

Ruthless Letby deliberately injected babies with air, force fed others milk and poisoned two of the infants with insulin, leaving her defenceless victims to die in excruciating agony (she is pictured during her police interview)

The Rags to Riches shop featured well-known clothing brands which inmates were able to buy

There is also a library at the prison where inmates can borrow books

At the top security prison, killer women get the chance to pet sheep and goats and look after a rabbit and birds as a way to keep them 'calm'. The scheme was revealed in a report last year by the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB), a group which ensures prisoners are treated humanely behind bars.

HMP Low Newton is next door to the so-called Monster Mansion of HMP Frankland, which holds Soham murders killer Ian Huntley, Wayne Couzens and Levi Bellfield.

If and when she is put into the main prison population, Letby will likely have access to the Rags to Riches shop which sells clothing to inmates.

The general population wing also features cells in which some level of room personalisation is allowed.

Photographs from a previous inspection show pink towelling and beauty products are also available.

Letby was originally held in HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, but was subsequently moved to HMP New Hall in Wakefield for the trial.

After sentencing today she will be taken to Low Newton, which is located in the village of Brasside near Durham.

Rose West was moved to Low Newton from HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex - where Letby had been serving her time on remand - after prisoners were found to be plotting to batter her with pool balls. West is now at HM New Hall, Flockton, Yorkshire, after being convicted in 1995 of ten murders.

The most notorious inmate currently in Low Newton is Dennehy, along with Kilburn murderer Emma Aitken.

Aitken was jailed for life for the murder of Barry Smith, whose beaten and burnt body was discovered outside Kilburn Welfare Social Club in Derbyshire in 2013. Her dad Vincent Aitken and boyfriend Nathan Dohert were also jailed for life.

As a multiple child killer, Letby will be viewed with extreme hostility by most behind bars and likely placed into the prison's segregation unit at first.

Serial killer Joanna Dennehy is an inmate at HMP Low Newton, where she can pet sheep and goats to keep calm

Rosemary West used to shared recipes for Victoria sponge cake with her fellow inmates while she was in prison

Letby will be in HMP Low Newton in Durham alongside Joanna Dennehy, who slayed three men during a 10-day spree in 2013

The area can hold up to three women and lacks some facilities.

If the scheme is still running, Letby will also be allowed to pet sheep and goats as therapy for inmates. As well as those animals, the prison also has a resident rabbit and two birds which are looked after by prisoners.

The scheme was revealed in a new report by the Independent Monitoring Boards, which ensures prisoners are treated humanely.

The IMB noted that petting the animals had a 'calming effect' on even the most 'challenging' of prisoners.

Low Newton  a maximum security jail and Young Offender Institution  is considered a leader in changing the behaviour of dangerous female offenders.

It is home to the 'Primrose Project', designed to treat women with 'dangerous and severe personality disorders'  the only women's prison in the UK with such a unit.

It is thought to be the only high security jail in the country to be operating a 'petting' scheme, although some lower category prisons do.

Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, and Rose West were all former inmates at the prison

During the period of the IMB report  March 2021 to February last year  the jail had 10 pregnant inmates and introduced 'memory boxes' for prisoners to help them cope with the stress of being separated from their child.

Letby will be the subject of psychological inquiries and reports, and will become the 'patient' of various would-be therapists and healers, whether she wants it or not.

Inspection reports on the jail said: 'Cells were not well equipped with only a bed, toilet and sink.

'The regime was limited with only an hour a day in the open air and half an hour to complete daily tasks, such as showering.'

The Ministry of Justice and Prison Service refused to comment to MailOnline about where Letby would serve her sentence, adding that they don't give information on individual cases.

Letby will remain a suicide risk, and staff would be heavily - and very publicly - criticised if such a prominent prisoner were to take her own life.

A suicide watch cannot be continued indefinitely, however - certainly not for years or decades, as it places too great a strain on the staff.

It is a matter of judgment when a watch is lifted, and it is not a precise science.
A teacher at an elite girls' school who died after he was reported to police over child safety issues has been identified as David Simpson.

The educator at Melbourne Girls' Grammar, in South Yarra, where the annual fee for students is about $40,000, was the subject of mandatory reporting and child safety procedures.

Police had recently spoken to the private school and issued directions in relation to Mr Simpson.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal that on Thursday - just one day before his death was announced, he posted a chilling image to social media with a picturesque Melbourne sunrise captioned with the words: 'Be a good day'.

A teacher at an elite girls' school who died after he was reported to police over child safety issues has been identified as David Simpson

Mr Simpson had previously worked at another prestigious school - Haileybury College - where he was head of science for about six years.

He also taught at Tintern Grammar and St Helena Secondary College.

On his LinkedIn page, Mr Simpson wrote of his love of teaching.

'I am passionate about working with and through others to develop professional learning communities that are focused on continuous improvement  for the benefit of school networks, individual schools, educators and students,' he said.

The elite school issued a statement on Monday confirming that a report had been made against him.

'In recent days the School learnt about an alleged child safety issue,' Melbourne Girls' Grammar said.

The School's staff followed the Child Safety and Mandatory Reporting Procedures.

'As a school our priorities are focused on the safety and wellbeing of our students and community. We will always act in the best interests of the children in our care.'

The school added: 'An announcement to the staff and families of the school was made on Friday, August 18 regarding the death of a staff member. We are respecting the family at this time.'

The educator at Melbourne Girls' Grammar, in South Yarra, where the fee for students is about $40,000-a-year, was the subject of mandatory reporting and child safety procedures

Police had recently spoken to Melbourne Girls' Grammar (pictured) and issued directions in relation to Mr Simpson

Mr Simpson had previously worked at another prestigious school - Haileybury College - where he was head of science for about six years

News of the death has left parents and the teaching fraternity reeling.

'We are all in utter shock,' a teacher told Herald Sun.

'This kind of thing sends shockwaves throughout the whole school community.

'The school has been offering support and counselling to staff and students.'

For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Alec Baldwin is now facing down a civil lawsuit brought by several crew members of Rust following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

The 65-year-old actor has thus far escaped criminal charges for his role in Hutchins' death after special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against him in April - though said they may re-admit him to trial should new evidence prove damning.

But lawyers for Baldwin and El Dorado Pictures this week filed a motion to dismiss a civil case brought by movie crew members Ross Addiego, Doran Curtin and Reese Price.

The trio accused the film's producers - including Baldwin in his capacity as co-producer - of 'negligent and reckless conduct' on set.

New Mexico's First Judicial District Court will hear the motions on Wednesday, marking a new chapter in the calamitous legal proceedings triggered by the death of Hutchins, who was shot in October 2021 by Baldwin on the set of Rust.

It comes as a New Mexico judge set a 2024 starting date for the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed - the sole criminal defendant in the case.

The 65-year-old actor has thus far escaped criminal charges for his role in Hutchins' death

Hutchins, 42 and a mom-of-one, was killed in October of 2021 when a bullet discharged from a gun held by Baldwin and hit her

The cast and crew of Rust before the fatal 2021 shooting

Baldwin has repeatedly denied that he pulled the trigger of the gun whose bullet killed Halyna Hutchins, but a new report indicates otherwise

State district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Monday scheduled the trial to run from Feb. 21 through March 6 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The first day begins with jury selection.

Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set of 'Rust' on Oct. 21, 2021.

An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed has described the fatal shooting as a tragic accident and says the film's armorer committed no crime.

Prosecutors are also weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun fired at Hutchins.

Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned.

After Baldwin's attorneys announced the decision, the special prosecutors said the 'decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.'

The prosecutors said: 'The gun and broken sear have been sent to the states independent expert for further testing. The charges against Alec Baldwin were dismissed without prejudice because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly effects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez.

'If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed.'

Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer - but not the trigger - and the gun fired, fatally wounding Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

A distraught Alec Baldwin lingers in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices on Camino Justicia after being questioned on Oct. 20, 2021

FILE - This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021, used for the film 'Rust'

Baldwin was initially charged in the criminal case but it was dropped after evidence suggested the weapon could have been fired without him pulling the trigger

Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to the charges against her earlier this month.

Her attorney, Jason Bowles said his client 'looks forward to her day in court, and to having the conduct of everyone on set fully examined.'

In March, 'Rust' assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation.

He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.

Defense attorneys said they plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed asked Halls to call her back into rehearsal if Baldwin planned to use the gun.

They say that didn't happen before Hutchins was shot.

The filming of 'Rust' resumed this year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer's widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
A Queens man charged in two bat attacks Saturday in Astoria fled from his victims on a skateboard and is responsible for at least four assaults over two days, including two senior citizens in Manhattan the day before, according to police.

The first victim was recovering Tuesday from swelling and soreness three days after he was clubbed in the head while visiting Astoria Park.

I was just blindsided, said Jamal Bermudez, 46, a high school physical education teacher from Flushing. I didnt see him coming, didnt have any interactions with him.

Matthew Lloyd, 36, allegedly went on the attack in Astoria on Saturday, first striking Bermudez with an orange aluminum bat, then skating about a mile away to clobber 79-year-old Hristos Massalis with the same weapon.

Jamal Bermudez in his hospital room.

Lloyd was arrested shortly after the pair of attacks and has been charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to court documents.

I had no clue this was coming, said Bermudez, who had just parked his car and was heading into the park with his girlfriend. It was a beautiful day, we were just walking toward the water, walking down the path that leads to the water.

Thats when Lloyd skated up behind the couple and hit Bermudez with the bat, according to police, knocking him to the ground and causing him to lose consciousness and sustain cuts to his head and face.

My girlfriend says she heard the skateboard but right next to where we were walking was a skateboard park so I didnt think twice about it, said Bermudez. We heard a clank like an aluminum bat hitting a ball. Then I hit the ground. I didnt know that sound was my head.

Jamal Bermudez head is swollen from the attack.

When I came to, I just saw a bunch of people hovering over me, he added. Soon after that, I felt the sharp pain in my head.

About 10 minutes later, Lloyd targeted Massalis about a mile away on 19th St. near 20th Ave. Lloyd repeatedly hit the elderly victim on the face and head, according to a criminal complaint.

The attacker was seen on video throwing the bat away after hitting Bermudez, but when he spotted Massalis, he goes back, retrieves the bat and unprovoked, just walks up and cracks this guy, starts beating him several times with this bat  totally unprovoked, said NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny.

Medics took Massalis to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens in critical condition, where he underwent surgery and is on the mend despite the permanent loss of vision in his right eye, according to his family.

Massalis also suffered a skull fracture and multiple facial fractures, court papers stated.

The whole family is in shock, said Kaliope Massalis, 38, Massalis daughter. We cant believe it happened.

Hristos Massalis

Bermudezs girlfriend kept a cool head throughout his ordeal, he said.

She was beside herself, but she was a trouper. She was able to keep her anxiety and fear under wraps and take care of what needed to be done, he remarked.

The day before the attacks, Lloyd assaulted two other senior citizens in Midtown, according to Kenny.

The first, a 71-year-old man, was riding a northbound N train at 6:05 p.m. on Friday when Lloyd, seated below where his victim was standing, allegedly kicked the man in the head. The attacker then left the train right away at Fifth Ave. and 59th St.

Five minutes later, Lloyd punched an 80-year-old man in the back of the head outside 1 Central Park South in an assault Kenny called unprovoked.

Both victims were treated and released. Lloyd has not yet been charged in the Friday attacks.

Its not his first brush with the law.

He was arrested in November for a 2018 gunpoint robbery targeting Queens tattoo shop Sons of Ink on Union Hall St. near Jamaica Ave., cops said.

Lloyd had been working as an artist at the shop until his boss noticed he was smoking crystal meth on the job and gave him the boot, said owner Jasmine Barnes. Days later, he broke in through a window and stole cash, she said.

Public records show Lloyd was also convicted of burglary in Queens in 2019 and sentenced to one to three years in prison.

He was remanded after an arraignment for Saturdays attacks.
A couple have taken their four-year-old daughter out of a pre-school after they say they were branded bigots for complaining about a book featuring men in bondage and with trans 'top-surgery' scars.

Will and Maria Taylor, of Hull, East Yorkshire, were horrified when they spotted 'images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear' in the pages of Grandad's Pride.

One image featured trans men with 'top surgery' scars, sparking a furious reaction from parents who claims that it encourages body modifications too early.

'Top-surgery' involves either the removal or augmentation of the breasts, which if undergone by a trans man means breast tissue is taken out and the chest is contoured to emphasise the pectoral muscles.

'Grandad's Pride' is the creation of Waterstones children's book winning author and illustrator Harry Woodgate - who uses they/them pronouns.

Will and Maria Taylor, of Hull , East Yorkshire, were horrified when they spotted images of men who were partially naked in leather bondage gear' in the pages of Grandad's Pride

Will and Maria Taylor, of Hull, East Yorkshire, were horrified when the spotted 'two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear' in the pages of Grandad's Pride

When the couple approached Genesis Pre School in Hull with their concerns over the overtly sexualised images, they were shocked when the school refused to apologise for stocking the book.

The book, which has a 4+ reading aged, tells the story of Milly spending the summer in Grandad's cottage by the sea.

When Milly is playing in the attic one day, she unearths Grandad and Gramps' old Pride flag. When Grandad explains to Milly what Pride is, he and Milly plan a Pride march in the village.

The BookTrust, which promotes children reading, has already warned parents: 'The illustrations in Grandad's Pride include realistic depictions of what a Pride march might look like, including a person dressed in adult leather wear and some images which are culturally sensitive.

'Parents and carers should read the book before sharing.'

The couple accept a staff member had checked with Maria whether she was okay with the contents. But she did not notice the images at first.

One image in the US version shows the two men in fetish gear kissing during a Pride march while another marcher holds up a sign saying 'All we need is LOVE.

When another parent alerted them the couple complained to the nursery, expecting an apology. When staff defended the images, the couple decided to remove their four-year-old daughter.

Will said: 'We identified two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear. One has a leather cod-piece moulded tightly around his crotch along with garters running down his thighs.

A picture of a trans man with 'top-surgery' scars is depicted in the controversial book

When the couple approached Genesis Pre School in Hull with their concerns over the overtly sexualised images, they were shocked when staff refused to apologise for stocking the book

The author and illustrator of the book Harry Woodgate uses they/them pronouns

'He also has a studded dog collar around his neck and knee-high boots. Both have various leather straps around their bodies and studs/spikes.

'The main and most immediate concern is that children have been exposed to at least two age-inappropriate sexual or erotic images of a man in what can only be reasonably described as 'bondage/fetish/BDSM' gear.

'When we went to the nursery to raise concerns about the book, to be honest, we expected staff to instantly apologise and that would be the end of the matter. But the safeguarding lead began to defend the images.

'They argued the children would not understand or perceive erotic or sexual images. Staff claimed the image was just portraying 'dress-up' and would not be perceived as erotic by a child as they have no idea what 'erotic' is.'

The staff denied the images are erotic, telling the couple: 'That's just your opinion.'

The book, which has a 4+ reading aged, tells the story of Milly spending the summer in Grandad's cottage by the sea

The illustration in the US version of the book shows a man in bondage and covered in tattoos kissing a man, with a woman holding up a sign that reads: 'All we need is LOVE'

Mr Taylor continued: 'That was no justification in our eyes. Arguing with us over the appropriateness of these sexual images quickly damaged the trust we held for the nursery team. At this stage I was concerned and took our daughter out of the nursery.'

Will argues that a child's lack of understanding is no justification in exposing children to sexualised imagery.

He said: 'It seems those with safeguarding responsibilities are basing their decisions on what is safe and appropriate based on whether the child will recognise the risk for what it is.

'To be clear, the 'perception' of the child is not the arbiter of what is age-appropriate or safe, regardless of their level of understanding.'

Will says he and Maria have been branded 'bigots' for taking their stand. He added: 'The staff felt I was being bigoted and I was not having that.

In a previous book titled timid the main character is a non-binary child called Timmy

'I have volunteered at both Hull and York Pride events. 'Some people will try and twist this and make me out to be some kind of homophobe.

'But if we want equality and understanding then we should respect certain boundaries.

'There are many LGBTQ+ books at the nursery which is great. They encourage children to be tolerant, respectful and not to judge people. But I believe this book has gone too far in introducing sexual imagery.

'I have been to many Pride events and there can be inappropriate behaviour for children which is why Hull has a family-friendly zone and that's fine.

'It is a shame as this is a very good nursery and my children have been very happy here. The trustees have responded reasonably well and taken the book out while carrying out a safety audit. My criticism is with the staff who thought it was okay in the first place.'

The trustees of the nursery have since confirmed to Will and Maria the book has been removed from the nursery.

The trustees says the book is widely available at bookstores and libraries in East Yorkshire and was a Waterstones children's prize book winner.

They told the couple: 'As Trustees, we agree that the images in the book Grandpa's Pride are not age appropriate. This book has been removed from Genesis and a comprehensive audit of all other books has taken place to ensure all books, whilst celebrating culture and diversity, are age appropriate.

'We also intend to raise this with Hull Early Years and seek their advice on the illustrations within this book, when the new school year commences in September.

'After speaking to staff, we are confident that each staff member has a solid understanding of the statutory EYFS framework and safeguarding policies, including harmful sexual behaviours. We are also confident, after removing this book from the setting, that children who attend Genesis are not exposed to sexual or erotic images.'

But the trustees defended the response from the nursery staff and say they will continue to receive regular training in the policies and procedures.

The trustees say: 'It is with deep regret that you felt it necessary for you to remove your daughter from Genesis.

'We can assure you that Genesis Pre-school strives to create a culture of value and respect for each and every young person. As Trustees we are confident that Genesis does create a culture of safety, in which Safeguarding children is the highest priority.'

Critics of the book say it has harmful subliminal messaging for young children

The book Grandad's Pride, written and illustrated by Harry Woodgate, has already angered some parents when it was released earlier this year.

Publisher Andersen Press said: 'We stand by our author and illustrator Harry Woodgate and their book Grandad's Pride.

'We believe it is a faithful representation of Pride Celebrations and Pride Parades around the country enjoyed by many families.

'We discussed the images of the Pride parade during our stringent and robust editorial process and decided collectively that we should show a true representation of what a Pride march looks like and what the many children who attend these events see.

'We consider accusations of 'hidden messages' to be baseless, deeply offensive and homophobic.'
The government appears to be buckling under pressure to give the official probe into how nurse Lucy Letby was able to kill seven babies greater powers.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan admitted this morning that the inquiry into the serial child-killer's crimes could be put on a statutory footing if parents want it.

Her remarks that a judge-led investigation, with legal power to compel witnesses to give evidence, was 'on the table' came amid an ever growing clamour for answers.

Letby, 33, will die in prison after being handed a whole-life sentence for her crimes yesterday. However ministers had resisted demands for a statutory inquiry to look into the actions of managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital, saying it could take too long.

But they have faced a barrage of criticism, including today from three former Conservative and Labour justice secretaries, medical experts and lawyers representing the families themselves.

One such lawyer, Tamlin Bolton, today said that a statutory inquiry was 'exactly' what the families she represented wanted.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan admitted this morning that the inquiry into the serial child-killer's crimes could be put on a statutory footing if parents want it.

Baby killer nurse Lucy Letby, 33, was convicted of murdering seven premature babies and attempting to murder six more. A judge gave her 14 whole-life orders

The solicitor for law firm Switalskis, which is representing the families of seven of Letby's victims, told BBC Breakfast: 'I don't believe they're suggesting that the NHS trust wouldn't comply with an independent inquiry or would refuse to provide documents but you have to have a measure in place to compel them to do so.

READ MORE: Lucy Letby is likely to see out days in HMP Low Newton where inmates go shopping for snacks and clothes, sleep in pink cells and pet animals Advertisement

'Inquiries are non-adversarial so it doesn't assign liability to anybody, it's just an investigation in its purest form and the importance of the statutory version of that is that you can make sure all that important evidence is there.

'The NHS is a public body, it's publicly funded, and we want transparency and we want this investigated.'

As it stands, the probe announced after Letby's convictions on Friday is non-statutory, meaning it will not have the power to force witnesses to appear before it or present certain documents.

Children's minister Claire Coutinho was sent out yesterday to defend the existing set-up, saying it 'makes more sense' because it could conclude faster.

But later Government sources said ministers were looking at 'all options' for upgrading the inquiry and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not rule it out.

This morning Ms Keegan told Times Radio: 'I was speaking to the Prime Minister yesterday and he made it really clear that what we need to do is make sure the families get answers, we learn the lessons as well, and it is a very transparent process that everyone can get behind.

'What will happen next is there will be a chair appointed, the chair will work with the families to look at the terms of reference, discuss the pros and cons of different types of inquiry, and then they will come to a conclusion.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says a statutory inquiry was the only way to get the 'fullest, proper, comprehensive' understanding of what went wrong and when

'But it is most important that the families get the answers that they need and that they deserve and that it is a transparent process which gives us the lessons learned as well.'

Pressed about whether it should be a statutory inquiry, she added: 'That is something that is on the table, that is something that can be discussed.

'But there are pros and cons to the two types of inquiry, so when the chair works with them on the terms of reference that will be something that they can input to them.'

Three former justice secretaries last night added their weight to growing pressure to strengthen the official inquiry into Lucy Letby's sickening crimes.

The trio joined others calling for a probe to be put on a statutory footing to give the public greater confidence and avoid accusations of an NHS 'cover-up'.

And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer joined the chorus, saying a statutory inquiry was the only way to get the 'fullest, proper, comprehensive' understanding of what went wrong and when.

Sir David Lidington, who served as justice secretary under Theresa May, said the findings of a full-blown judge-led, statutory inquiry would command greater public confidence.

He also backed calls to appoint a foreign medical expert to sit alongside a judge to avoid it being influenced by pro-NHS bias.

He told the Daily Mail: 'I just think that because of the issue of trust that is at stake here, we should have a statutory inquiry and that it should include somebody who is from a different jurisdiction who has not got any [NHS] service history, somebody who is genuinely independent or who has no axe to grind.'

It has been alleged that some NHS managers ignored warnings from Letby's colleagues that she was killing babies.

Labour peer Lord Falconer, who was Sir Tony Blair's justice secretary, said there was a risk that a non-statutory inquiry would allow these to be covered up.

Sir David Lidington, who served as justice secretary under Theresa May, said the findings of a full-blown judge-led, statutory inquiry would command greater public confidence

It has been alleged that some NHS managers ignored warnings from Letby's colleagues that she was killing babies. Labour peer Lord Falconer (pictured), who was Sir Tony Blair's justice secretary, said there was a risk that a non-statutory inquiry would allow these to be covered up

Jack Straw, who succeeded Lord Falconer under Gordon Brown, believes 'a non-statutory inquiry is not appropriate for circumstances like these, and in my experience is likely to create more problems than it avoids'

He said: 'The inquiry can compel the production of people to give evidence and documents and if you look at what's happening at the moment, with blame being traded  although no doubt the Government would ensure the institutions such as the hospitals and the NHS co-operated, they couldn't do that in relation to individuals who are no longer employed.'

Jack Straw, who succeeded Lord Falconer under Gordon Brown, said: 'A non-statutory inquiry is not appropriate for circumstances like these, and in my experience is likely to create more problems than it avoids.

'It may have to spend years putting draft conclusions to witnesses who had not been properly cross-examined on specific but relevant issues during the evidence gathering part of the inquiry.

'Statutory inquiries may themselves drag on, but overall they are better.'
Elon Musk has admitted his controversial overhaul of X, formerly known as Twitter, 'may fail' in a post on the site.

Musk's latest statement comes following the sweeping changes he has made to the social media platform since purchasing it for $44billion in October 2022.

In February 2023, the South African-born entrepreneur slashed Twitter's workforce down to under 2,000 - a sharp fall from the 7,500 employed when the billionaire first took over.

He then caused further consternation among users by getting rid of 'legacy' blue ticks as part of his move to switch up the platform's verification system.

'Legacy' blue ticks were initially given to verified accounts belonging to people of public interest including celebrities, politicians and journalists.

Musk's latest statement comes following the sweeping changes he has made to the social media platform since purchasing it for $44billion in October 2022. Pictured: Elon Musk poses prior to his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Monday, May 15, 2023 at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France

Posting on Saturday, Musk said: 'The sad truth is that there are no great 'social networks' right now. 'We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.' Musk's latest statement comes following the sweeping changes he has made to the social media platform since purchasing it for $44billion in October 2022

But following Musk's takeover, only those subscribed to Twitter Blue can keep a blue tick, while businesses must now pay for a gold tick.

This decision came as part of Musk's efforts to rid of the so-called 'lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark'.

Posting on Saturday, Musk said: 'The sad truth is that there are no great 'social networks' right now. 'We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.'

Musk admits X (Twitter) 'may fail' and blames the fact there are 'no great 'social networks' right now' despite sacking 80% of staff, charging for verification and changing the name.

Last Friday, the 52-year-old revealed his intentions to remove users' ability to 'block' other users across every aspect of the social media site, excluding private 'direct messages.'

Musk's comments yielded an outpouring of concern from the site's users, including many subscribers to its $8-per-month 'Twitter Blue,' now 'X Premium,' services, who compared 'block' to 'self-defense' and their rights under the 2nd Amendment.

But Twitter's co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey praised the move, replying '100. mute only.'

Having seen the company's valuation plummet since his takeover, Musk is selling off more Twitter collectibles in a rebranding auction.

The available items include an oil painting of Ellen DeGeneres' selfie on the night of the 2014 Oscars. The pictured included DeGeneres alongside stars Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong'o

Explaining his decision to rebrand from Twitter to X, the billionaire said it was time to 'bid adieu' to the old logo. Pictured: a photo of Elon Musk's account on X, along with the company's newly-rebranded image (file image)

Items including the famous blue bird logo, guitars, and an oil painting of Ellen DeGeneres' selfie on the night of the 2014 Oscars will be available, with bids starting at $25.

He purchased Twitter for $44billion, with the business sitting at the substantially lower valuation of $15 billion just six months after his takeover, hence his willingness to hold an auction on items in a bid to raise some much-needed cash.

Musk's changes to the site have seen a number of users move to different social media platforms, such as Threads, a new app by Meta.

X threatened to sue Threads, alleging it has 'engaged in systematic, wilful and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property' by hiring former Twitter employees.

Explaining his decision to rebrand from Twitter to X, the billionaire said it was time to 'bid adieu' to the old logo, and told a user on his platform: 'Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app.'

Promising that the Twitter rebrand will be more than just a logo change, but a complete overhaul of the app, he added: 'This is not simply a company renaming itself but doing the same thing.'
Maps have revealed how parts of Britain will bask in more beautiful summer weather this week as temperatures remain high at up to 27C (81F) and most areas stay dry.

Following a very damp July and start to August, conditions have now become more settled and will continue for most of the last full week of meteorological summer.

Holidaymakers were seen making the most of the sunshine at the seaside resorts of Lyme Regis in Dorset and Dawlish Warren in Devon today as they flocked to beaches.

But the Met Office said the end of this month, which includes the Bank Holiday weekend, will see a mixture of showers and sunshine for different areas of the UK.

Today will be bright with sunshine and dry weather in the South amid highs of 27C but some scattered showers in the North where temperatures will get to 21C (70F).

This Met Office map shows the maximum temperatures expected across the UK tomorrow

Beachgoers of all ages enjoy the sunshine and warmth at Dawlish Warren in Devon today

Holidaymakers and sunbathers pack the beach at Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon

Beach goers at Dawlish Warren in Devon today make the most of the hot summer conditions

Some showers in the West are then possible this evening and overnight, while most other places should remain dry but there could be some fog for the South-East.

Tomorrow will see some rain move slowly into the North-West, but it will be drier and brighter elsewhere again with sunny spells and 27C highs again in the South.

From Thursday the outlook is uncertain, with a mixture of sunny spells and heavy showers expected along with fresher temperatures from Friday with 23C forecast.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said in a forecast: 'Things get complicated after Wednesday and there's an increasing amount of uncertainty after that as well.

The full car park at Sandbanks near Poole in Dorset today as people enjoy the sunshine

Lyme Regis in Dorset is busy this afternoon as people enjoy the sunshine and clear blue skies

The full car park at Sandbanks near Poole in Dorset today as people enjoy the sunshine

Sunseekers flock to the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset to enjoy the hot sunshine today

Fishermen land mackerel as the sun rises behind Blyth pier in Northumberland this morning

'What could happen is an area of high pressure dominating the South starts to pull away and it's replaced by an area of low pressure coming up from the South.

'This is also likely to be tapping into some pretty warm air across the continent. A combination of low pressure and warm air could spark heavy, thundery showers.'

While this is the current Met Office prediction, Mr Deakin added that it is 'not the most likely scenario' - with other computer models suggesting cooler air would stay in place with sunny spells and showers, and conditions would not be so volatile.

He added that the Met Office 'will of course keep you updated as things progress over the next few days' in terms of the forecast for the Bank Holiday weekend.

For the final days of August, including Bank Holiday Monday on August 28, the South will likely be dry, but the North and West could see heavy rain and thunderstorms.

The Met Office said temperatures are expected to be around average for late August, while there will likely be further unsettled conditions at the start of September.

The top temperature yesterday was 26C (79F) at Cavendish in Suffolk. The highest of 2023 so far was 32.2C (90F), both on June 10 in Surrey and June 25 in Lincolnshire.

This month there have also been two named storms bringing unseasonably wet and windy conditions to the UK  those being Antoni on August 4 and Betty on August 18.
President Joe Biden compounded his disastrous trip to Hawaii in the wake of devastating wildfires with yet another gaffe, blatantly ignoring a Democrat senator before gormlessly shuffling off at the end of an uninspiring speech yesterday.

The 80-year-old had a particularly awkward moment with Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz when, at the conclusion of a press conference, Schatz offered him a sip of water.

Biden completely blanked the senator and turned his back on him. He then began shuffling off, mouth hanging open and gazing listlessly into the crowd, while his wife Jill and Hawaii Governor Josh Green ushered him away from the lectern.

Furious Hawaiians had already greeted the President with ire, shouting 'f*** you' at his motorcade and brandishing signs telling him to go home as the 80-year-old and his wife toured the island of Maui 13 days after the inferno broke out.

The awkward scene came shortly after Biden had delivered a meandering, tone-deaf speech in which he compared the wildfires - which have killed at least 114 people and left 850 missing - to his experience of a small kitchen fire.

Biden had a particularly awkward moment with Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz when, a t the conclusion of a press conference, Schatz offered a sip of water to Biden and gestured beside the lectern at a bottle of water

The President completely blanked the senator and turned his back on him. He then began shuffling off

His wife Jill and Hawaii Governor Josh Green ushered him away from the lectern

President Biden told Maui the nation 'grieves with you' in his first visit to the island since wildfires ravaged the city of Lahaina and the surrounding community

Biden and first lady Jill Biden look at a burned car with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as they visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires

People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by. One local gives the president a thumbs down

The President and his wife were not greeted warmly by residents of Hawaii yesterday.

As their motorcade drove through Maui, several people lined the streets waving Trump 2024 flags and shouting obscenities at the passing cars.

One person brandished a sign contrasting the money spent on Ukraine with the assistance sent to Hawaii - calculating that each Ukrainian has received over $1,700 since the war broke out in February 2022.

Meanwhile, the White House announced that each affected household in Hawaii will receive $700 - a sum many islanders considered insulting.

Locals' fury mounted on Sunday when Biden, who was asked about the fires as he relaxed on a Delaware beach, simply replied: 'No comment.'

And last week, he appeared to forget the name of Maui, repeatedly referring to fires blazing on 'the Big Island'.

Biden interrupted his Lake Tahoe vacation on Monday to fly five hours to the island, and insist that the federal government was there for the islanders, despite the announcement of the paltry sum of compensation for each household.

Even Democrats were demanding to know why the federal aid had been slow to arrive and so meagre, joining their Republican colleagues in questioning Biden's delay in arriving in Maui.

The death toll in Maui has topped 114, with some 850 people still missing feared dead.

But Biden waited 13 days since the outbreak of the fires to visit the island.

Biden embraces with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green

People hold signs as U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina

People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by

Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as they visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires

The Bidens paused their summer vacation at Lake Tahoe in Nevada on Monday to visit Hawaii

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet Hawaii Governor Josh Green (C) upon arrival at Kahului Airport in Kahului, Hawaii

'The devastation is overwhelming, to date 114 dead,' Biden acknowledged in remarks yesterday, before launching into a lengthy anecdote about his own loss of his first wife Naomi and one-year-old daughter in a car accident in 1972.

Standing against a backdrop of charred vehicles and debris, Biden told a crowd: 'We're focused on what's next as rebuilding a long, long term rebuilding for long term and doing it together to help get us back on our feet to rebuild the way we want to rebuild.

'By making sure your voices are heard, by respecting your traditions, by understanding the deep history and meaning the sacred ground and establishing your community not to change his character but reestablish it.

'We're also going to bring the capabilities to help you rebuild. So your critical infrastructure is more resilient in the future.'

He also praised 'stories of hope, and heroism of the aloha spirit.'

Biden had touched down in Kahalui hours earlier, visiting those who lost homes and loved ones during the disaster.

The 114 person death toll already makes the inferno one of the nation's deadliest in history - and an estimated 1,000 people are still unaccounted for.

Officials are still analyzing the factors that contributed to the massive inferno, including problems with its electrical grid.
The cost of housing illegal immigrants could almost triple to more than 6billion a year within five years without a rapid increase in the rate at which cases are dealt with and they are deported, a new report claims today.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said Government plans to tackle unauthorised migration into the UK could become mired in a 'perma-backlog' where the pace of arrivals exceeds that of departures.

The Illegal Migration Act, central to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to 'stop the boats' crossing the Channel, means asylum claims of people who come to the UK illegally will not be considered and they face deportation to their home country or to a 'safe' third nation such as Rwanda.

But flights destined for the east African country have yet to take off, with the policy currently awaiting an appeal decision in the courts, and there are no similar agreements with other countries.

The IPPR said that even if the Rwanda deal is ruled lawful, deportations are likely to be on a small scale, meaning arrivals will continue to outpace removals.

Blocked from working, they could remain reliant on costly long-term Government support and housing. IPPR researchers estimated that accommodation costs could exceed 6 billion a year after five years in the worst case scenario where only 50 people are removed to third countries each month.

Even with a higher rate of removals the cost would be more than 5billion, it claims. Home Office figures show the UK is currently spending 2.3billion on accommodation.

More than 18,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year.

Migrants rescued from a boat crossing the English Channel land on Dungeness Beach in Kent yesterday

Yesterday Rishi Sunak failed to guarantee he will be able to stop small boat crossings in the English Channel by the next general election as he acknowledged the complexity of the issue.

Home Office data shows 661 people made the journey in 15 boats on Monday, the third highest daily total for 2023 to date.

This takes the provisional total for the year so far to 18,618, according to PA news agency analysis of the Government figures.

This is about 13 per cent below the equivalent number at this point last year, when there had been more than 21,300 arrivals.

Last week 1,278 people made the journey, with crossings taking place on six out of seven days.

The highest daily total for 2023 so far was recorded on August 10 when 756 migrants made the crossing in 14 boats. The second highest number detected in a single day was 686 people in 13 boats on July 7.

Yesterday Rishi Sunak failed to guarantee he will be able to stop small boat crossings in the English Channel by the next general election as he acknowledged the complexity of the issue.

The Prime Minister expressed his commitment to stopping the boats and highlighted that the number of illegal migrants making the dangerous journey this year is 'down for the first time in some years'.

However, he said he would not be being 'straight' with the public if he claimed the crisis can be solved overnight.

The asylum backlog has already been on an upward trend in recent years, driven by a rise in arrivals and longer turnaround times for decisions, putting pressure on Home Office accommodation.

Ministers are looking to house migrants on former military bases and a barge to reduce the expense of accommodating them in hotels, which is costing British taxpayers up to 6 million per day.

The think tank also pointed to a risk of an expanding undocumented population, vulnerable to destitution, as people avoid the official system knowing they have no right to stay or fearing removal.

Marley Morris, IPPR's associate director for migration, trade and communities, said: 'There is only a very narrow window for Government success on asylum, based on its current plan to forge ahead with the Rwanda deal and the Illegal Migration Act. Even with the Act fully implemented, under most plausible scenarios arrivals will still outpace removals.

'This will mean a growing population of people permanently in limbo, putting huge pressure on Home Office accommodation and support systems - plus a risk of thousands of people who vanish from the official system and are at risk of exploitation and destitution.

'Any incoming government would be likely to face a dire and increasingly costly challenge which it would need to address urgently from the outset - there will be no option to ignore or sideline the crisis it inherits.'

Mr Sunak has made stopping the boats one of his top five priorities ahead of next year's likely general election.

Almost 18,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel so far this year.

Stephen Kinnock, Labour's shadow immigration minister, said: 'This report confirms what Labour has been saying all along. The Prime Minister's new law is a con which will not solve the chaos in the immigration system the Tories have created.

'Instead, it will make it worse, keeping more people locked in limbo waiting for years for asylum decisions and the taxpayer left footing an almighty bill.'

He said a Labour government would go after criminal gangs to tackle small-boat crossings, negotiate a returns deal with the European Union and clear the asylum backlog.

A Home Office spokesperson said: 'The Illegal Migration Act will help to clear the asylum backlog by allowing us to detain and swiftly remove those who arrive here illegally.

'While we operationalise the measures in the Act, we continue to remove those with no right to be here through existing powers.

'We are also on track to clear the ''legacy'' backlog of asylum cases. It has been reduced by a nearly a third since the start of December and we have doubled the number of asylum decision-makers in post over the past two years.'
The ex-boyfriend of a mum-of-three who turned up at her house in the middle of the night allegedly armed with a machete has been charged with attempted murder.

Fraser Thomson, 41, allegedly broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend, speech pathologist Lauren Salamakis, 35, in Kellyville, Sydney, about 2.30am on Tuesday.

Ms Salamakis, her three children and her ex-husband, 39-year-old Paul Salamakis were all staying at the $1.85m property in Syndey's north-west when Thomson allegedly threatened them with a machete.

Fraser Thomson (pictured), 41, allegedly broke into the Kellyville home of his ex-girlfriend, speech pathologist Lauren Salamakis, 35, around 2.30am on Tuesday armed with a machete. He has since been charged with attempted murder

Lauren Salamakis, 35, (pictured) was allegedly threatened by her ex-boyfriend who was had allegedly broken into the home she shares with her three children

When police arrived at the quiet suburban street, they found Thomson suffering serious lacerations to his forearms and Mr Salamakis covered in cuts to his hands.

Both men were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Westmead Hospital, both in a stable condition, where Thomson was kept under police guard before being taken to Castle Hill Police Station.

On Tuesday evening, Thomason was charged with attempted murder.

An NSW Police spokesperson said: 'Upon being discharged from hospital, the man was taken Castle Hill Police Station where he was charged with break and enter dwelling & assault with intent to murder, break and enter dwelling & inflict GBH on any person, special aggravated Break & Enter & commit serious indictable offence-wound, and contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO.'

Thomson was refused bail and will appear before Parramatta Local Court tomorrow.

Ms Salamakis and the three children were shaken, but are unharmed, police said.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia from hospital on Tuesday, her ex-husband, Mr Salamakis said he is recovering and doing okay given the circumstances.

Ms Salamakis runs a speech pathology business in Sydney's northwest.

Thomson arriving at Castle Hill Police Station after being discharged from hospital

Her ex-boyfriend allegedly broke into her Kellyville home (pictured) during the early hours of Tuesday morning

Ex husband Paul Salamakis, 39, (pictured) suffered injuries to his hands and was taken to hospital

According to her business website, she has 'extensive experience working in school-based settings with school aged children, their families and teachers on a variety of communication difficulties'.

Her areas of interest include helping teachers support children in the context of the classroom and early intervention and supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Mr Salamakis is the General Manager of two The Coffee Club stores, which are owned by his mother and sister.

Detectives were seen door knocking around the neighbourhood on Tuesday as part of their investigation

Thomson covered his face with his shirt as he was accompanied by officers into the police station

In 2016, he made headlines after rallying to support a family devastated by cancer while he was working at a McDonald's in Mount Druitt.

Police have canvassed the surrounding streets and obtained CCTV and witness accounts.

A crime scene has been established and inquiries are continuing, with uniformed police and plain clothed detectives inside the property along with forensic teams.

Officers were seen taking statements from residents in the quiet cul-de-sac, where homes cost upwards of $1million.
It opened in January with rights groups comparing it to a concentration camp

More than 12,000 suspected gang members locked in mega-prison in Tecoluca

For six months, more than 12,000 suspected members of El Salvador's most feared gangs have been confined to their cells in the country's notorious mega prison.

Life in the vast Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca is dire, with prisoners pleading for officials to give food and medicine for the terminally ill dying around them.

The prison is packed with an astonishing 12,114 prisoners - many of whom are bitter rivals from two of the most feared gangs MS-13 and Calle 18, with history showing how their foot soldiers will take any opportunity to kill their enemies.

In each 100 square-metre cell, there are around 75 notoriously dangerous inmates who sleep on metal cabins and are forced to share just two toilets and two sinks.

They have no mattresses, no chance to step outside into the fresh air, and they are regularly beaten and tortured by the guards, human rights groups say.

Inmates remain in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison, where hundreds of members of the MS-13 and 18 Street gangs are being held in Tecoluco on Monday

Life in the vast Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca is dire, with prisoners pleading for officials to give food and medicine for the terminally ill dying around them

A tattooed gang member looks at the camera from a cell in the CECOT mega prison on Tuesday

An inmate puts cream on a fellow inmate's face in a cell at the mega prison on Tuesday

In each 100 square-metre cell, there are around 75 notoriously dangerous inmates who sleep on metal cabins and are forced to share just two toilets and two sinks

The cells are bare, with thick steel bars separating the suspected gang members from the heavily armed prison guards.

And when Human Rights Commissioner of El Salvador, the Colombian Andres Guzman, visited the notorious prison, which opened in January, he insisted the inmates are 'in good condition and their human rights are being respected'.

But human rights groups have compared the conditions in the prison as something similar to the concentration camps used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

A report by human rights group Cristosal found that 174 inmates have been tortured and killed in horrifically violent deaths in the year since President Nayib Bukele launched his merciless campaign against the gangs.

'When you are a child, anyone tells you lies, sweetens it up and you fall into a mistake, and when you grow up (...) you come to realise it,' Nelson Velasquez, 37, who has 'MS-13' (Mara Salvatrucha) tattooed on his head, said during Guzman's visit.

The mega-prison with a capacity for 40,000 people began receiving inmates on February 24, and to date there are 12,114 suspected gang members, mostly accused of belonging to the violent MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs, born on the streets of the US city of Los Angeles in the early 1980s.

Pictures from inside of the prison's first 12,000 inmates show many with bold tattoos displaying Roman numerals of the numbers 18 or 13, their gang affiliation etched onto their skin with ink.

With so many rival gangsters under the same roof, it begs the question how the authorities in El Salvador hope to prevent the same horrific violence seen on the streets from being recreated in the confines of the prison.

With his hands tied, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, Velasquez, an inmate in cell 13 of building 3, says that he has already served two sentences for different crimes that totalled 15 years, but now he awaits a new trial.

The cells are bare, with thick steel bars separating the suspected gang members from the heavily armed prison guards.

Inmates exercise at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison on Monday

Human rights groups have compared the conditions in the prison as something similar to the concentration camps used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Inmates talk to the presidential commissioner for human rights and freedom of expression, Colombian Andres Guzman Caballero on Monday

Inmates remain in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison on Monday

The prison is packed with an astonishing 12,114 prisoners - many of whom are bitter rivals from two of the most feared gangs MS-13 and Calle 18, with history showing how their foot soldiers will take any opportunity to kill their enemies

Inmates talk to the presidential commissioner for human rights and freedom of expression, Andres Guzman Caballero about the conditions there

An inmate is seen with his head tattooed with MS-18 - a notorious gang in El Salvador

The prison pavilions have a curved roof that guarantees natural ventilation for the prisoners, as well as skylight spaces to filter the sun's rays into a patio that separates the cells.

Velasquez narrates that the movement of the sun determines the turn of the inmates so that each cell receives some rays.

'Here we are persevering day by day trying to change,' Jose Hurquilla Bonilla, from the Barrio 18 gang, manages to say from inside a cell.

The jail was built to hold part of the more than 70,000 gang members detained under an emergency regime that was decreed by Congress at the request of Bukele, in response to an escalation of violence that claimed the lives of 87 people between December 25 and March 27, 2022.

To build the prison, the State bought 166 hectares, 23 of which were used to build eight pavilions that are located within a perimeter surrounded by a concrete wall 11 meters high and 2.1 kilometers long, protected by electrified barbed wire. .

During the visit to the prison, Commissioner Guzman asked the inmates about their situation in the cells and most of them said that the water 'is not lacking', but they asked for brooms and detergent to clean the cells.

Other prisoners complained of food shortages and clamoured for medicines for those with terminal illnesses.

'There are many things to improve, and every day there is a team working,' Commissioner Guzman responded to the inmates.

In a report after the first year of the emergency regime, the Human Rights NGO Cristosal denounced that it had a record of 174 deaths in state custody, and described it as 'a permanent measure of repression and violations of human rights.'

The suspected gang members sit inside their cell where they have remained for six months on Tuesday

Inmates remain inside a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison

An inmate drinks a glass of water inside his cell at the mega prison in El Salvador on Monday

An inmate talks in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison

Inmates sit on their metal beds in the notorious mega-prison in Tecoluca on Monday

Inmates remain in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison

But at CECOT, according to Guzman, 'inmates, within the general parameters of a detention center, are in good condition (and) human rights are respected.'

After talking with inmates from different cells, the Human Rights attorney, Raquel Caballero, said that the inmates complained about the food rations.

'They complain that the food is not enough' and 'that they are free, they do nothing because they are locked up,' Caballero told AFP.

The imprisoned gang members, according to the official, 'are aware that what they did (crimes) has brought them (until) here.'

The attorney said that a medical team of 50 people, including nurses and doctors, is caring for the inmates.

A doctor stated that 'daily' water samples are taken and sent to a laboratory to guarantee its quality.

In February, the CECOT began with a severe regime in which the inmates never left their cells, and are still not allowed to receive family visits, but for inmates like Velasquez, as time goes by, 'the blessing is flowing,' he says in reference to the fact that the majority have declared themselves 'Christians'.

The prison's opening comes as part of a brutal crackdown on the two gangs, the pride of president Nayib Bukele's campaign to clean up national violence.

The number of homicides in El Salvador - considered by many to be the murder capital of the world - tumbled 56.8 percent in 2022, but the result will be an overcrowded 40,000-capacity prison full of the country's most dangerous criminals, many of whom are on opposite sides of a decades-long feud.

El Salvador's historic crime problem goes back to a civil war in the 1980s.

As Latin American Refugees fled to America, the MS-13 and Calle 18 gangs formed on the streets of Los Angeles. When the war ended, those from El Salvador returned. With them, they brought their gang affiliations, rivalries and violence.

After talking with inmates from different cells, the Human Rights attorney, Raquel Caballero, said that the inmates complained about the food rations

An inmate drinks water in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison on Monday

Life in the vast Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca is dire, with prisoners pleading for officials to give food and medicine for the terminally ill dying around them

A police officers guards inmates through a metal mesh at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison on Monday

Life in the vast Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca is dire, with prisoners pleading for officials to give food and medicine for the terminally ill dying around them

Now, Calle 18 is thought to have around 65,000 global members, while MS-13 has between 50,000 to 70,000. As their numbers grew, their influence spread.

For many years now, thousands of members from both have fought and died for the crown of Central America's most powerful gang, profiting off crimes such as sex and drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, extortion and kidnapping.

In one instance of extortion in 2015, a man who owned a bus refused to pay his $1 fee to the MS-13 gang. Three weeks later, two young gang members cornered him, threw him to the ground and shot him four times - twice in the head.

His son said his father was killed because of $21.

Another transport company chief told the New York Times in 2016 that since 2004, 26 of his employees had been killed by the gangs because they refused to pay.

Each gang has powerful alliances, with MS-13 in league with the Mexican Mafia and the Sinaloa Cartel. Calle 18, meanwhile, counts the Triads among its allies.

Both gangs are known for their brutality, as well as their strict defined 'moral' codes. Prospective members must endure cruel initiations, while breaching the codes can result in long beatings, and even executions.

Their members dole out merciless retribution, often killing not only enemy gangsters, but their entire families as well - and anyone who may be in the immediate vicinity. Buses full of passengers have been slaughtered in such attacks, just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This can create a spiral of revenge killings, as more members seek retribution.

Calle 18 has earned itself the name 'the Children's Army' for its recruitment of elementary and middle school children. Senior members often get minors to carry out deeds - including killings - to keep their own hands clean.

In response, MS-13 members have shown no reluctance when it comes to the killing children they suspect are working for their bitter rivals.

Until now, successive governments have struggled to deal with violence spilling across El Salvador. In 2015, it had a daily homicide rate of 18.2, and it regularly appears at the top of charts ranking nations by their homicides-per-100,000 people.

President Nayib Bukele claims the mega prison is the solution. Last year, he declared a state of emergency that suspended the rights to legal council and increased the time an arrested person can be held without charge - among other powers.
Lucy Letby will be locked up with some of Britain's most notorious female criminals including fellow serial Joanna Dennehy and a child murderer who randomly stabbed a 13-year-old girl to death and now 'lives as a man'.

The 33-year-old NHS nurse became one of only four women to be given a whole-life sentence yesterday after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more.

She will be imprisoned at HMP Low Newton in Durham after first being kept in the prison's hospital wing - where she will be put on suicide watch and segregated from other inmates for her own protection.

The most notorious inmate at Low Newton is Dennehy, a self-confessed 'fully committed psychopath' who killed three men during a 10-day spree. She is reportedly dating fellow inmate Emma Aitken, who helped her father and boyfriend beat a man to death before burning his body.

Also held at the jail is Hannah Bonser, who randomly knifed Casey Kearney to death as the 13-year-old made her way to a sleepover. Bonser is now reportedly living as a man and asking to be called 'Adam'.

Previous prisoners include Rose West, Baby P's mother Tracey Connelly and Sharon Carr - dubbed 'The Devil's Daughter' after she murdered an 18-year-old stranger when she was 12.

Low Newton gives killer women the chance to pet sheep and goats and look after a rabbit and birds as a way to keep them 'calm'. There is also a shop where they can buy clothes.

Serial killer Lucy Letby was given a whole-life sentence yesterday for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more

Joanna Dennehy pictured smiling and posing with a knife (not used in any of her crimes) shortly after murdering three men on a ten-day killing spree. Letby will live with Dennehy at HMP Low Newton

Emma Aitken (pictured) was jailed aged 19 in 2014 for the murder of traveller Barry Smith, whose burnt body was found outside a social club in Kilburn, Derbyshire. She is reportedly in a relationship with Dennehy behind bars

During a ten-day killing spree in 2013, Dennehy murdered Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, John Chapman, 56, and Kevin Lee, 48, and dumped their bodies in ditched outside Peterborough.

She then knifed two more men in Hereford.

Her trial heard how the killer - who was brought up in a stable family home in the Home Counties - carried out the attacks to gratify her 'sadistic love for blood'.

READ MORE: Lucy Letby grins for local paper photo hours after she murdered baby boy then tried to kill his twin brother Advertisement

She later told a psychiatrist: 'I killed to see how I would feel, to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish.'

Experts said Dennehy craved notoriety and wanted to humiliate her victims through sick sex games. Before the killings she had boasted she had already killed four times.

In June 2020 it was revealed that Dennehy, who was transferred to Low Newton in 2018, was dating fellow female murderer Emma Aitken.

Aitken is serving a minimum term of 12 years after being jailed aged 19 in 2014 for the murder of traveller Barry Smith, whose burnt body was found outside a social club in Kilburn, Derbyshire.

Aitken and Dennehy are said to have passed the time in jail together by making trifles and cheesecake while other prisoners stay in their cells.

The murderers even gifted each other embroidered cushions with their names on, reported The Sun.

Dennehy was sentenced to a whole life order, while Letby received 14 for each of the babies she murdered or tried to kill.

The only other women to have faced such a punishment are Rose West and Moors murderer Myra Hindley - who died in 2002.

Hannah Bonser (pictured), who has now changed her name to Adam while serving at Low Newton, stabbed 13-year-old Casey Kearney to death on Valentine's Day in 2012

The Rags to Riches shop featured well-known clothing brands which inmates were able to buy

There is also a library at the prison where inmates can borrow books

Rosemary West used to shared recipes for Victoria sponge cake with her fellow inmates while she was in prison

West was found guilty of carrying out ten murders with her husband Fred for two decades.

The couple imprisoned, sexually abused and killed young girls inside their home, including their own daughter.

West, who is now aged 69, was moved to Low Newton from HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex - where Letby had been serving her time on remand - after prisoners were found to be plotting to batter her with pool balls.

She is now at HM New Hall, Flockton, Yorkshire, after being convicted in 1995 of ten murders.

Hannah Bonser is still behind bars at Low Newton.

The drug-addicted loner plunged a kitchen knife into the chest of Casey Kearney, a total stranger, as she walked through a park in Doncaster on the way to a half-term sleepover with a friend.

Bonser, whose mental health problems were linked to years of cannabis abuse, had been involved with care agencies for 19 years because of a troubled upbringing.

Bonser, who has changed her name to Adam while serving at Low Newton, stabbed 13-year-old Casey Kearney - who was on her way to a sleepover - to death on Valentine's Day in 2012.

Bonser first became known to social services when she was just nine years old after the death of her morbidly obese Mormon mother. She was then referred to 16 psychiatrists and 20 mental health workers.

The future killer was hearing voices and speaking to rocks by the time she was 17, developing an obsession with druids and a belief birds were people coming to get her.

She now identifies as a man and is using the name 'Adam', according to The Sun.

Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, and Rose West were all former inmates at the prison

Baby P's mother Tracey Connelly was released from HMP Low Newton last year. She was also eligible for the petting scheme

Sources said Bonser's gender switch angered fellow inmates on the high-security F-wing because guards have to address the wing's prisoners as 'ladies and gentlemen' instead of just 'ladies'.

Low Newton was also formerly home to Bernadette McNeilly, who was jailed for 16-year-old Suzanne Capper's murder.

McNeilly was reportedly the leader of a gang in the 1990s that held Ms Capper captive then beat her, injected her with drugs and subjected her to brutal torture over seven days.

The 16-year-old was then driven to the woods in Stockport and doused in petrol and set on fire. She survived long enough to be able to name her attackers.

A court heard how McNeilly said 'I'm Chucky, Chucky wants to play' as she injected Ms Capper with amphetamine.

She was given a life sentence at Low Newton in 1993 before being released in 2015.

As of April last year, there were reportedly 242 prisoners at HMP Low Newton, which holds women from 18 years old and upwards.

Low Newton  a maximum security jail and Young Offender Institution  is considered a leader in changing the behaviour of dangerous female offenders.

Lucy Letby will be in HMP Low Newton in Durham alongside Joanna Dennehy, who stayed three men during a ten-day spree in 2013

Former inmates at HMP Low Newton include House of Horrors killer Rose West and Baby Ps mother Tracey Connelly

It is home to the 'Primrose Project', designed to treat women with 'dangerous and severe personality disorders'  the only women's prison in the UK with such a unit.

It is thought to be the only high-security jail in the country to be operating a 'petting' scheme, although some lower category prisons do.

During the period of the IMB report  March 2021 to February last year  the jail had ten pregnant inmates and introduced 'memory boxes' for prisoners to help them cope with the stress of being separated from their child.

In 2016 it was reported that a female prison officer admitted to having a lesbian affair with an inmate at Low Newton.

Melissa Priestley had messages on her phone proving her affair with Leonie Kinnish, who was sentenced to five years in January 2015 for a robbery at a house in Lancaster.

HMP Low Newton is also next door to HMP Frankland, which holds Ian Huntley, Wayne Couzens and Levi Bellfield.

Before yesterday's trial, Letby was held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, which is the largest women's prison in Europe and home to the al-Qaeda fanatic Roshonara Choudhry, who stabbed the Labour MP Stephen Timms in 2010.

For the trial the 33-year-old was then moved to HMP New Hall near Wakefield, where the serial killer Rose West is an inmate.

In a final insult to her victims' families, Letby refused to appear in court for her sentencing yesterday to hear how she ruined their lives.
As a precious only child, Lucy Letby was showered with love by her parents, Susan and John.

The couple doted on their daughter and celebrated her achievements, sharing photos with the local newspaper celebrating her 21st birthday and graduation from university.

With Letby now exposed as Britain's worst child killer of modern times, attention has understandably been paid to her upbringing.

Yet while many mass murderers suffered an abusive childhood, nothing could be further from the truth for Letby, whose only criticism of her parents was that they were too doting - leaving her feeling 'suffocated'.

Once, the nurse told a doctor friend who was considering moving to New Zealand that she could never do that as it would 'completely devastate' them.

'Find it hard enough being away from me now and it's only 100 miles,' she said.

Lucy Letby aged 17 posing with friends while holding her childhood teddy

Her parents, John and Susan, arriving at Manchester Crown court during the trial

Her parents took out an advert in the local newspaper to celebrate her graduation

One psychologist connected to the case has suggested Letby was a 'covert narcissist'.

Having been at the centre of her parents' universe for so long, she craved the attention she had received since childhood and, once she was living away from them, needed to find it elsewhere.

Other text messages sent throughout her murderous spree reveal how she sought sympathy and admiration from colleagues.

After the death of her first victim - Baby A - in June 2015, a fellow nurse sent her a message which read: 'I hope you are OK, you were brilliant.'

Letby responded: 'It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do... Just a big shock for us all. Hard coming in tonight and seeing the parents.'

Since her arrest, he believes they would have been caught between 'shock, disbelief, maybe even denial, and leading up to the trial, they would have clung on to some semblance of hope that she might get a not guilty [verdict].

'Obviously, that's all come crashing down.'

Letby is seated on a sofa surrounded by friends while playfully sticking her fingers up with a joyous, nonchalant expression on her face following a night out to celebrate her 17th birthday

Looking elated Letby poses next to two friends sporting a huge grin as they press their faces together for the camera

Growing up, Letby was a 'delight' to her parents, neighbours remembered.

Her parents, Susan, 63, and John, 77, were a constant presence during her ten-month trial at Manchester Crown Court and attended every day after relocating from Hereford.

But they were not present for the final verdicts last Friday, and also did not attend yesterday's sentencing hearing where she was given 14 whole life orders.

Mrs Letby broke down in court when the first of the guilty verdicts were returned, crying out: 'You can't be serious. This cannot be right.'

Dr Sohom Das, a consultant forensic psychologist and author of In Two Minds, said the couple would have been 'blindsided' by their daughter's conviction.

In another image she is seated on a bed with three of her pals and is clutching a teddy bear

She had a part-time job at WH Smith in the city, and her parents were immensely proud when she became the first in their family to go to university.

When she attained her honours degree they marked her graduation, in December 2011, with an announcement in their local paper, the Hereford Times.

Alongside a picture of her wearing a mortarboard and clutching her degree certificate, they wrote: 'Letby Lucy BSc Hons in Child Nursing.

'We are so proud of you after all your hard work. Love Mum and Dad.'

A similar announcement, with an accompanying photograph of Letby as a young child, was also placed in the same newspaper to mark her 21st birthday.

She continued to holiday with them, going on the thrice-annual trips to Torquay which the family had enjoyed since her early childhood.

Letby (pictured in a custody photo, left; and while working in hospital, right) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital

Like Lucy (pictured as a child), who cowered in her cell yesterday and refused to come to Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced. Mr and Mrs Letby also chose to stay away

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John was present when his daughter was arrested for the first time on July 4, 2018.

He had stayed the night after driving her home the day before, following one of the family's holidays to Torquay, and watched as she was led out of the house by police officers.

In court, Letby was close to tears when she said that after her arrest, her father had made her bed.

However, texts the nurse exchanged with colleagues hinted she sometimes felt smothered by her mother and father and guilty about moving away. She explained they missed her and hated her living alone.

She appeared to speak or text them every day and described them as 'suffocating at times'.

In a message to another friend, she wrote: 'My parents worry massively about everything & anything, hate that I live alone etc.

'I feel bad because I know it's really hard for them especially as I'm an only child, and they mean well, just a little suffocating at times and constantly feel guilty.'

Susan sometimes broke into tears in court during the trial and appeared anxious during breaks when her daughter was undergoing particularly tough periods of questioning by the prosecution.
Hong Kong: Japanese seafood imports restricted

In response to Japans plan to discharge water from the Fukushima nuclear power station, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced today that it will prohibit the import of aquatic products originating from 10 metropolises or prefectures in the country from August 24.

Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan made the announcement at a media session, saying that the move is based on the precautionary priniciple.

We have a plan to prohibit the food from (10) Japanese prefectures which we believe has some risk, he said. Then, we (will) also have to check all the food imported from Japan to ensure that their radioactive levels meet all the (food safety) standards.

Therefore, I believe, with all those measures in place, we can assure people of Hong Kong (that) all food sold in the Hong Kong market is safe, including those (that) were allowed (to be imported) from Japan.

The Hong Kong SAR Government plans to prohibit the import of all aquatic products originating from Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama.

The prohibited products include all live, frozen, chilled, dried, or otherwise preserved aquatic products, as well as sea salt and unprocessed or processed seaweed.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Food Safety under the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department will enhance its testing of imported Japanese food.

Questioned by reporters as to how long the prohibition will last, Mr Tse said the Hong Kong SAR Government does not have a timetable at the moment.

He pointed out that it depends on the information provided by the Japanese government after the discharge, including data on levels of radioactivity and information about how it is monitored and managed.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong SAR Government will monitor radioactivity in local waters and fishery products. Data will be published each working day, Mr Tse said.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Pennsylvania dentist Larry Rudolph has been sentenced to life in prison for using a scenic getaway in Africa as a cover to kill his wife so he could collect millions of dollars in life insurance benefits.

Rudolph, a big game hunter and founder of Three Rivers Dental in Pittsburgh, was sentenced Monday in a Denver federal court after being convicted last year of murdering, Bianca Rudolph, his wife of 34 years.

In late September 2016, the couple journeyed to Zambia, where they were to enjoy safaris and hunting trips. Bianca, also a big game hunter, hoped to hunt a leopard during their travels. Instead, she was shot in the chest with a Browning shotgun the morning of Oct. 11, 2016, as she prepared to leave their hunting camp in Kafue National Park. Rudolph claimed he was in the shower at the time, but that he heard the blast and ultimately discovered his wife bleeding on the ground.

He later told authorities he believed Bianca mistakenly shot herself while packing up her firearm. Local investigators eventually ruled her death accidental, and Rudolph had her remains cremated. He went on to make claims through seven different insurance companies totaling nearly $5 million in payouts, according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors argued the shooting could not have gone down the way Rudolph said it did, explaining that the wound to Biancas heart came from a shot fired from 2 to 3.5 feet away. They further alleged that he planned to live out a luxurious retirement with his longtime girlfriend, Lori Milliron, using the money he collected after the shooting. She was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June after being convicted of being an accessory. She has filed an appeal.

The murder was the culmination of a lifetime spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power, prosecutors said in a court filing outlining their sentencing proposal.

Rudolph, who has long maintained his innocence, intends to appeal the ruling.

With News Wire Services
A crooked female prison officer who fell in love with an inmate and tipped him off about a cell search has been jailed for 16 months.

Aisha Golsby, 23, was working at HMP Portland in Dorset when she became involved with convict Deano Harrison.

Harrison, who was 21 at the time and who has convictions for robbery and drug dealing, struck up the illicit relationship with glamourous Golsby by messaging her on Instagram with a phone illegally smuggled into jail.

The besotted pair called and messaged each other, with the prisoner gushing he had 'never felt love like it' before while she wrote of how she trusted him with her heart.

While Golsby filed reports to her prison bosses about other inmates having mobile phones, she failed to do so for Harrison because of her feelings for him.

She even went as far as tipping off her jailed lover that a team of her colleagues were conducting cell searches so he could hide his phone.

Aisha Golsby, 23, was working at HMP Portland in Dorset when she became involved with convict Deano Harrison

Besotted Golsby told her prison boyfriend that she trusted him with her whole heart - as she shielded him from cell searches by her colleagues

The crooked prison officer has now been jailed for 16 months over her illicit affair with an inmate at HMP Portland. Golsby is pictured leaving Poole Magistrates' Court

His mobile was finally found and a search of it by Golsby's shocked colleagues revealed the relationship between her and Harrison.

Golsby, from Weymouth, Dorset, was arrested and interviewed. She was suspended from her job before handing in her resignation two months later.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of misconduct in a public office and was jailed at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Golsby started working at the HMP Portland in April 2020, when she was just 19-years-old. Harrison initially made contact with her through Instagram in August 2021.

Prosecutor Kaj Scarsbrook, said there 'was no physical or sexual contact on prison premises' but added that the messages between the pair 'speak for themselves'.

'One message from the prisoner to the defendant said "I have not felt like this about anyone. I never thought it would get deep, I didn't think I would get attached to you. I've never felt love for someone in such a small amount of time",' he told the court.

The search of his phone showed Golsby sent Harrison a message in January 2022, when she was concerned someone had found out about them saying 'I trusted you with my whole f***ing heart, I really hope what you are saying is true'.

There were also 11 phone calls logged between them from January 23 until the phone was discovered in a cell search on January 28.

Golsby started working at the HMP Portland (pictured) in April 2020, when she was just 19-years-old. Harrison initially made contact with her through Instagram in August 2021

Golsby, from Weymouth, Dorset, was arrested and interviewed. She was suspended from her job before handing in her resignation two months later.

Harrison was moved to another prison but made several attempts to contact Golsby, with letters being intercepted by the prison service.

Golsby also sent him messages printed through Free Prints saying she was thinking of him in 'affectionate terms'.

Hollie Gilbery, defending, told the court Golsby was a hardworking young woman with no previous convictions and very clear remorse 'at her own stupidity'.

She sought to persuade judge Jonathan Fuller to give Golsby a suspended sentence. But in jailing her for 16 months he said misconduct in the prison service must be dealt with seriously by the courts.

'You underwent training courses which dealt with anti-corruption issues, you would have been fully aware of the duties and responsibilities placed on you as a prison officer, especially in respect of relationships with prisoners,' the judge said.

'You also had a clear understanding of the reasons for that training and the very damaging effect failure to follow those rules can have on the security of the prison state and the public trust in the prison service.

'You tipped him off that a designated search team were coming. That enabled him to try and hide the prohibited item, that was subverting the good order of the running of the prison.'

Harrison pleaded guilty to having a banned item, the mobile phone, in prison and had six months added to his previous sentence in July last year.
As a schoolgirl Lorna Rose Treen would be allowed as a treat to watch anarchic BBC comedy The Young Ones with her father.

And while Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson might be unlikely heroes for some, for that eight-year-old girl they provided inspiration that would spark something incredible two decades later.

Today Lorna, 28, is the winner of the much-coveted Edinburgh Fringe's best joke award - and her sell-out show Skin Pigeon has fetched plaudits across the board.

It marks an extraordinary story for a woman who admits she was once rejected from 24 jobs.

Lorna - who is now represented by heavyweights United Agents - was originally born in Redditch, West Midlands.

Her mother was a prison governor and her father was a television tech engineer who had worked on Blackadder and EastEnders.

Lorna Rose Treen who was voted the winner of the Dave Funniest Joke of the Festival fringe with her pun: 'I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah'

Lorna Rose Treen would be allowed as a treat to watch anarchic BBC comedy The Young Ones with her father

She has a sister Jenny - who works for TfL in London - and the family would move around the country due to the parents' work.

In 2013 she went to the University of Edinburgh, leaving four years later with a Masters in Philosophy.

There she met her director boyfriend Jonathan Oldfield and began tentative steps in the comedy world with improv troupe the Improverts.

She moved to London and spent a year on a BBC trainee scheme where she worked as a radio producer.

Her LinkedIn page says she continued working in the same area on a freelance basis, but also embarked on a more significant journey.

Lorna moved to France for a year and a half to study under the legendary Philippe Gaulier.

Lorna moved to London and spent a year on a BBC trainee scheme where she worked as a radio producer

She met her director boyfriend Jonathan Oldfield and began tentative steps in the comedy world with improv troupe the Impronauts at the University of Edinburgh

Gaulier - who runs a theatre school named after him - is known as the 'Dumbledore of Clowning'.

But at first, Lorna found there was little to laugh about in the high-pressure environment.

She recalled: It was a miserable time in a way. Ive never laughed so much but also I was deeply unhappy.

The comedian said the breakthrough came after Gaulier called her rubbish on stage while she was dressed as an ATM.

She started crying and then laughing, which prompted laughter from everyone else and she recalled to the Telegraph 'it just clicked'.

Since then she has appeared in The Emily Atack Show on ITV as well as performing a voiceover role for a snake for a PETA advert.

Incredibly a week before she set off to the Fringe she and Jonathan were left homeless.

Lorna has appeared in The Emily Atack Show on ITV as well as performing a voiceover role for a snake for a PETA advert

Lorna puts her new-found popularity down to taking comedy to a place that has fallen out of favour in current times

She announced on Twitter: 'I can't stress enough how myself and my director boyfriend have no flat to return to in September because we were kicked out of our property guardianship one week before Fringe.

'If anyone knows of a 2/3 bed London flat pls let us know.'

But her success now surely means a roof over her head is at least more likely than before the festival started.

She puts her new-found popularity down to taking comedy to a place that has fallen out of favour in current times.

Lorna added: I think telly recently hasnt invested so much in character comedy.

There was a big push for people to do identity  and I suppose that was the taste, wasnt it? Identity comedy, stand-up about yourself. But I couldnt think of anything more boring than talking about myself.

Certainly the approach appears to have reaped dividends.

She told the BBC this morning: 'I just couldn't believe it. It's such a silly joke and I think every year I think a real, like, Christmas cracker-style joke wins.

'It's such a privilege. I was just walking down the Royal Mile and I just squealed on the phone to my team.

'I couldn't believe it. Legends have won it like Tim Vine and Ken Cheng and Zoe Lyons. It's just outrageous - I loved it.'

Quite the rise for the Young Ones fan from Redditch.
Illegal migrants living in Germany will be banned from changing their gender to stop them trying to avoid deportation.

The move comes as Olaf Scholz's government is currently amending the country's laws to make it easier for people to legally change their name and gender.

This will bring to end decade-old rules that require people who wish to transition to obtain expert assessments and a court's authorisation.

This law change, however, is feared to have offered a loophole to migrants with no legal right to reside in Germany as it would ban police and other agencies from searching the 'dead name' of a person that they used before transitioning.

In changing their name or gender they are successfully able to avoid detection by officials and remain under the radar of immigration authorities who are looking to deport them.

A modification in the 'self-determination' law has now been introduced by the interior ministry which will prohibit a change in gender for anyone who has been told they will be deported so that they remain in clear view of the authorities.

Illegal migrants living in Germany will be banned from changing their gender to stop them trying to avoid deportation. Pictured is a file image of people suspected to be migrants

Olaf Scholz's government is currently amending the country's laws to make it easier for people to legally change their name and gender

The number of asylum applications in Germany this year had already hit 130,000 in June and local governments say they have run out of space to hold the new arrivals.

In May, Scholz announced that he would break with the liberal policies he inherited from Angela Merkel and look to reduce numbers using tighter border controls and more money for Frontex, the EU's border control agency.

With the number of migrants increasing in the country, an exploitation of gender or name reassignment by undocumented migrants would through the government under even more pressure.

The new 'self-determination' bill has replaced the 'transsexual law,' which took effect in 1981, that required individuals to obtain assessments from two experts  such as physicians  whose training and experience make them 'sufficiently familiar with the particular problems of transsexualism' and then a court decision to change the gender on official documents.

It has been a long and arduous battle to make changes to the law.

'Transgender people have been affected by discrimination and undignified treatment for far too long  we will finally put this condition behind us,' said Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, who presented the proposal together with the family minister.

The new government proposal declares that for children under the age of 14, legal guardians have to submit the declaration of change, while teenagers aged 14 and older should be able to submit the declaration of change themselves  but it should include the support of their custodians.

Objections were raised by the interior ministry and as a result slowed down the progress by Scholz's cabinet to pass the 'self-determination law'. It therefore could not be completed by its proposed June deadline or before parliament's summer recess.

In modifying the rule on illegal migrants facing deportation, the law can now be passed.

Should an individual who has been informed of their removal from the country approach a registry office, administration staff will now be required to inform Germany's national crime unit and intelligence agency.

The interior ministry also expressed fears that criminals will use this loophole to evade justice.

The new law bans police and other law enforcement agencies to use a person's 'dead name' which they used before transitioning.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser allegedly insisted that both the old and new name should be passed on to law enforcement bodies to prevent criminals misusing the law.

The self-determination law was regarded as an opportunity for the ministers from the three-party coalition to show their liberal values and unity.

It was among the first laws the new German government announced when it took over.
Only Fools and Horses legend John Challis's widow has revealed that thieves stole a watch from her nephew's body after he died last month.

John's wife Carol Challis broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, that her nephew Simon had his wristwatch stolen after he passed away in July this year.

She wrote: 'Simon's personal belongings were returned to us today from Germany, at last. Sadly his wristwatch was missing. Disappointing that someone should feel the need to help themselves.'

She also posted a photo of her late husband alongside her nephew, saying: 'God bless these two, my much loved husband and his friend, my nephew Si.'

Carol revealed the news of Simon's shock death last month and paid tribute to her nephew who she said was a 'great skateboarder and especially loved his surfing down in Cornwall'.

Simon was in Germany when he died and his body was recently repatriated to the UK. It is unclear whether he was living in the country at the time of his death or there on holiday.

Only Fools and Horses legend John Challis's (pictured left) widow has revealed that thieves stole a watch from her nephew's (pictured right) body after he died last month

John's wife Carol Challis posted this picture of her nephew when she broke the news that he had passed away several weeks ago. She later added: 'Simon's personal belongings were returned to us today from Germany, at last. Sadly his wristwatch was missing. Disappointing that someone should feel the need to help themselves'

John's wife Carol (pictured with her husband) Challis broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter

She said her husband's 'friend' and 'my nephew Si' had his belongings stolen after he passed away in July this year

Carol wrote on X around the time of Simon's death earlier this year: 'Rest easy Simon and may you forever ride the best waves down in Falmouth'.

In another post she added: 'Thinking of dear Simon and hoping we can bring him home soon.

'He was a great skateboarder and especially loved his surfing down in Cornwall and lived life 'to da max'. What a bloody waste.'

Simon was the son of Carol's brother Johnny. His death comes two years after his uncle, John, died in September 2021, aged 79, after a long battle with cancer.

He was best-known for his portrayal of second-hand car dealer Boycie in Only Fools And Horses, starring alongside Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Challis became a national treasure after playing the character from the first series of the beloved British sitcom in 1981, right the way through to the final Christmas special in 2003.

Boycie was married to the feisty Marlene - played by Sue Holderness - and the state of their marriage became a running joke, with repeated gags about her alleged promiscuity.

He also reprised the career-defining role of Boycie, a close friend and frequent sparring partner of Sir David Jason's Del Boy, for spin-off series The Green Green Grass from 2005-2009.

Carol penned a heartbreaking post following the tragedy last month

Simon was the son of Carol's brother Johnny. His death comes two years after his uncle, John Challis died in September 2021, aged 79, after a long battle with cancer.

Challis played Terrance Aubrey 'Boycie' Boyce (pictured) from the first series of Only Fools And Horses in 1981, right the way through to the final Christmas special in 2003

John Challis pictured centre with the cast of Only Fools and Horses including Sir David Jason, Roger Lloyd Pack, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Buster Merryfield and Sue Holderness

John Challis attending the Only Fools and Horses the Musical opening night at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2019

Challis was born in Bristol in 1942 but moved to south-east London with his parents when he was one.

He attended the state boarding Ottershaw School near Woking, Surrey - and upon leaving school he worked as a trainee estate agent before becoming an actor.

His father was a civil servant from Sheffield while his mother, who harboured dreams of becoming an actress, oversaw plays for youth club.

After a brief and unsuccessful attempt at becoming an estate agent, Challis set his sights on a career in the arts. One of his early roles was playing Sergeant Culshaw in police procedural Z-Cars.
The leading 2024 Republican presidential candidates are set to face off in the party's first primary debate.

Eight candidates will take part in the debate, which will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the night of Wednesday August 23.

Set to last for two hours, the debate will begin at 9pm ET (2am GMT on Thursday August 24).

It will be shown on Fox News and moderated by hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

Unlike some previous presidential debates, which have been broadcast across different networks and cable channels, the first forum is airing exclusively on Fox News and the Fox Business Network.

It will also be available to view on Fox's website and other streaming and digital platforms.

The Republican National Committee has also partnered with Rumble  a video sharing platform popular with some conservatives  to livestream the debate.

So, who are the final candidates for the debate? Who are the principal threats to Donald in the presidential race?

Read on below for everything you need to know about the first Republican presidential primary debate.

Who are the Republican presidential candidates?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

DeSantis, 44, has been seen as the Republican who was most likely to challenge Trump for the partys nomination in 2024, after he was re-elected as governor of Florida by a near 20-point margin in 2022's mid-term elections. Pictured: DeSantis at the Republican Presidential candidates campaign at the Lincoln Dinner at the Iowa Events center in Des Moines, Iowa

Former President Donald Trump is a notable absentee and has said he will skip the debate because of his huge lead in the early polls, along with his belief that the public already know who he is.

DeSantis, 44, has been seen as the Republican who was most likely to challenge Trump for the partys nomination in 2024, after he was re-elected as governor of Florida by a near 20-point margin in 2022's mid-term elections.

However, his decision to publicly re-enforce his commitment to a highly conservative agenda could have alienated voters who previously perceived him as a more pragmatic, mainstream politician.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy, the author of 'Woke, Inc.' described wokeness as being both 'bad for business' and 'bad for our civic culture'. Pictured: Ramaswamy at the 10X Ladies Empowerment Seminar at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa on August 04, 2023 in Aventura, Florida

Polling in third behind Trump and DeSantis is biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

In an appearance on Fox Business back in June 2023, the 37-year-old laid into what he labelled as 'woke capitalism'.

Ramaswamy, the author of 'Woke, Inc.' described wokeness as being both 'bad for business' and 'bad for our civic culture'.

The son of Indian immigrants, he has gained stature in conservative circles for his criticism of the environmental, social and corporate governance movement that aims to promote socially responsible investing.

Mike Pence

Pence's campaign will test the party's appetite for a socially conservative, mild-mannered and deeply religious candidate who has denounced the populist tide that has swept through his party under Trump's presidency. Pictured: Pence seated ahead of speaking at Erick Erickson's conservative political conference "The Gathering" on August 18 2023

Pence has previewed a presidential run for months after his relationship with Donald Trump soured in the final days of his presidency.

During the Capitol attack, which took place on January 6 20232, rioters called for the hanging of Pence, who was still vice president at the time.

Trump did not denounce these threats and even backed his supporters calling for the death of his deputy.

Pence has already testified in cases involving Trump and could serve as a witness in a series of legal challenges the former president is still facing.

His campaign will also test the party's appetite for a socially conservative, mild-mannered and deeply religious candidate who has denounced the populist tide that has swept through his party under Trump's presidency.

Chris Christie

While he was head of Trump's transition team in 2016 and was an ally during his term, Christie quickly switched to becoming a harsh critic of the former President following the 2020 election and the Capitol attack. Pictured: Christie visits "The Story with Martha MacCallum" at Fox News Studios on June 20, 2023 in New York City

While he was head of Trump's transition team in 2016 and was an ally during his term, Christie quickly switched to becoming a harsh critic of the former President following the 2020 election and the Capitol attack.

Christie insisted he is not 'angry' or 'frustrated' about the state of the race  in fact, he says he is very happy to have the opportunity to run for president again, even if he is polling toward the lower-middle of the pack.

The 2024 hopeful has face criticism for centering his campaign on being anti-Trump, but Christie said to a conservative conference on Saturday August 19 2023 that he is unfazed the barrage of questions related to Trump.

Nikki Haley

Hayley, who served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and is an ex-UN ambassador, has been outspoken in the build-up to the debate. Pictured: Haley speaks during a Fair-Side Chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday August 12 2023

Hayley, who served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and is an ex-UN ambassador, has been outspoken in the build-up to the debate.

She labelled the Secret Service's closure of the White House cocaine probe a 'cover-up' and boldly claimed the drugs must have belonged to Hunter Biden or someone 'very close to the president.'

The former governor of South Carolina added that now is the time for Ukraine to join NATO, stating that 'the invitation should be extended to Ukraine.'

'They have shown they've got a great military force, they've got the passion, they've already been defending the Europeans by just defending themselves. So I think they've warranted an invitation to that it wouldn't change anything that the United States does.'

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott

Scott has at times been one of the few leading Republicans prepared to call out Trump even when he was in office. Pictured: Scott speaks at the Republican National Convention on Monday August 24 2020

Vying to become the first unmarried President since 1884, Tim Scott became the first black Republican senator since 1979 when taking office in 2013.

Scott has at times been one of the few leading Republicans prepared to call out Trump even when he was in office.

He publicly chastised the then president when Trump said 'there were fine people on both sides' after a racist march turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia.

'I believe the president has compromised his moral authority to lead,' Scott told CBS News soon after. 'As we look to the future, it's going to be very difficult for this president to lead if, in fact, his moral authority remains compromised.'

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

A billionaire after selling his North Dakota-based tech company to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion, Burgum prides himself on his blue collar background. Pictured: Burgum speaks to guests at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner on July 28 2023

A billionaire after selling his North Dakota-based tech company to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion, Burgum prides himself on his blue collar background and his history working with his hands before becoming a successful businessman.

'We know that these issues matter to people,' Burgum told DailyMail.com when asked about fellow candidates focusing campaigns on fighting 'woke' politics.

'But we understand what the role of the federal government is. Because the federal government has a defined set of things they're supposed to do, and actually in the 10th Amendment it says the rest is deferred to the states comma or to the people.'

Instead of focusing on culture wars and ideological talking points, Burgum says he plans to keep his campaign zoned-in on the economy, national security and energy independence.

Asa Hutchinson

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush's head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Pictured: Hutchinson speaks at the Republican Party of Iowa's 2023 Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday July 28 2023

The former Arkansas Governor's participation in the first round of the primaries was only confirmed on the evening of Saturday August 19, after he qualified by surpassing the required 40,000 unique donor threshold.

'I'm running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future,' he said.

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush's head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the state's budget surpluses grew. He also led efforts to crack down on illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine.
Eight men accused of gang-raping an 18-year-old British woman in Magaluf were strangers who encouraged one another to take part in sex attack, according to Spanish police.

The claim comes a day after two suspects being hunted by police over the alleged incident were arrested in France.

Spanish authorities had issued a European Arrest Warrant for the pair after up to eight men were accused of attacking the girl at a hotel on the island of Majorca last week.

The girl fled a hotel room after at around 5am last Monday, August 14, telling police she had woken up surrounded by young people holding mobile phones.

Officers later identified three men by ringing the girl's phone, which it was claimed had been stolen during the ordeal. A total of six suspects had been taken into custody prior to yesterday.

Spanish authorities have now revealed that the eight men did not know each other prior to the alleged gang-rape.

A suspect previously arrested by police on suspicion of taking part in the alleged gang rape of a British tourist

Two men detained by police last week on suspicion of being involved in the incident in Magaluf

The spokesman said: 'The Civil Guard has closed the investigation sparked by the alleged gang rape that took place in a hotel in Magaluf in the early hours of August 14.

'Officers saw early on the complexity of the investigation, as the alleged aggressors didn't form part of the same group of friends but encouraged by other participants, had allegedly joined the group action in sporadic acts, meaning no type of relationship existed between them,' he said.

A number of men have since been taken into custody by police, with police in France making the latest arrests after Spanish cops discovered the men had flown to Germany before crossing the border en route to the French city of Strasbourg.

The pair arrested yesterday now face extradition to Majorca, while Civil Guard officers announced yesterday their probe to identify the men involved had now concluded.

Confirming the first six suspects had been held the day of the alleged sex attack and remanded in prison, the force said in a statement: 'The probe continued to identify the two young men whose arrests were pending.

'Once they had been identified, officers discovered they had taken a flight to Baden-Baden in Germany so they could head to their homes in the Strasbourg area.

'The Civil Guard sought the assistance of the French authorities through the normal channels and issued European Arrest Warrants to avoid them evading justice.

'On Sunday the French police confirmed they arrested one of them in the French locality of Scherwiller before subsequently confirming a second arrest at Basilea Mulhouse Freiburg Airport in France, when that suspect was trying to take a flight to Turkey to avoid detention.'

Earlier this week it was reported the first of the Magaluf gang-rape suspects was held after Spanish police got him to answer the 'stolen' mobile phone of the British teenager allegedly targeted.

Two of the men arrested by police on suspicion of the gang rape arriving at court in Palma on August 16

A man accused of being involved in the incident arrives at court in Palma flanked by two police officers

Officers are said to have dialled the girl's phone number and one of the alleged French attackers answered her device.

The man who answered and two of his friends were then duped into heading to the hotel's reception without realising that they were going to meet police and the girl.

The alleged victim pointed at the men  named as Anthony G, 20, Anthony A, 20, and Khalil A, 18  and they were quickly arrested.

Two other French men Thomas E, 23, and Romain C, 26, were reportedly arrested later at the hotel along with the Swiss man Lucas H who is aged 20.

The arrests were made after the victim described the men to police and 'various surveillance devices' were placed on the hotel entrances.

All six men were held on suspicion of rape and remanded in custody on Tuesday at a court hearing on the island capital Palma.

Over the weekend it emerged the judge who refused the six suspects bail and remanded them in prison pending an ongoing criminal probe had concluded the Brit teen had suffered 'really humiliating and degrading treatment' and described the men's claims sex was consensual as 'completely preposterous.'

Mobile phone footage of the alleged sex attack, seized by police on the suspects' phones and handed over to the investigating judge, is said to have shown the men had been 'enjoying themselves and laughing.'

On Sunday Ultima Hora published more details of the judge's remand ruling it appeared to have been given full or partial access to, saying the suspects had allegedly 'deliberately taken advantage' of their alleged victim's drunkenness to persuade her to accompany them to a hotel room before 'surrounding her' and 'carrying out numerous sexual practices' with her despite her 'obvious lack of awareness and willing to carry out those practices.'

The criminal investigation has now been passed on to Palma's Court of Instruction Number Two, having been dealt with by a duty court in its initial stages.

The British teenager, who gave a statement to police as well as the investigating judge in court, is said to have flown back to the UK with a female friend who was on holiday with her.

Medical reports revealed that the girl had several bruises or grip marks on her right arm, suggesting she had been held down, and a small cut on her upper chest.

Police have already confirmed they found footage on the suspects' mobile phones showing the alleged multiple rape that is now in the hands of the investigating judge and could form a 'key part' of the case.

The alleged gang rape is believed to have taken place at the BH Hotel in Magaluf on Monday, August 14

BH Mallorca Resort, the hotel where the alleged sex attack took place, has said it is cooperating fully with police and offered its support to the unnamed holidaymaker.

A spokesman said in a statement released last Thursday: 'The BH Mallorca Resort deeply regrets what has happened and would like to manifest its firm and forceful repudiation of the alleged sexual attack that occurred in the early hours of Monday August 14 at the hotel.

'The hotel also wants to demonstrate its solidarity with the alleged victim of this aggression.

'We are co-operating fully with the Civil Guard and its investigators in everything they consider to be necessary.

'This hotel ratifies through this statement its commitment to the condemnation of all types of sexual attacks that affect peoples' dignity and physical integrity.

'Behaviour that undermines those rights has no place in this establishment.'

The hotel said it would be making no further comment for the time being.

A security guard at the hotel reportedly came to the rescue of the 18-year-old Brit after finding her sobbing on the floor in the lobby.

He called police after finding her around 5am on Monday, recalling how he had just come in for his morning shift and describing the police response as very quick and efficient.

Investigators have already looked at CCTV images the hotel has provided and carried out an inspection of the room where the alleged gang rape took place.

The men held and remanded in prison have not yet been charged with any crime as is normal in Spain where formal charges are only laid shortly before trial.

At this stage they are 'investigados' in an ongoing criminal probe, which means they are under formal investigation.

It is not known if the British teenager has hired her own lawyer.

The four-star adults-only BH Mallorca Resort describes itself as the 'best accommodation option in Magaluf'on its website.

It has its own beach club with over 100 VIP beds, a DJ booth and dance floor.
But a judge dismissed her case, ruling that Mr Gill's last will was valid

His eldest child, Jessica Hicken, challenged her father's decision to cut them out

Norman Gill, who died aged 83, left almost none of his money to his children

A daughter who was disinherited by her 'ruthless and spiteful' businessman dad after he hired a hitman to kill her mum has lost her fight to inherit some of his 6million fortune.

Norman Gill died aged 83 following a stroke in March 2018, having spent his working life carving out a lucrative career as a 'successful and driven' property tycoon.

Mr Gill built his wealth through a property management company based in Leicester, but cut his children, Jessica, 58, Marcus, 57 and Elizabeth, 55, out of his will.

Nearly 40 years earlier in 1979, he had pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder his wife, Mary, receiving a hospital order by way of sentence.

Psychiatric evidence at the time suggested he was motivated to plot his wife's murder due to a combination of 'morbid jealousy syndrome,' drink and drug abuse, depression and business failures.

Property tycoon Norman Gill, who died aged 83 in March 2018, gave almost none of his 6million fortune to his children

Norman's will left 2m in 'substantial pecuniary legacies' to extended family members, friends, assistants and carers.

But his son and two daughters received just 5,000 each in legacies.

The rest of his estate, estimated at around 4m, was given to the Norman Gill Charitable Trust to 'benefit the people of the city and county of Leicester'.

His eldest child, Jessica Hicken, challenged his February 2018 will in the High Court at Birmingham, claiming it was 'irrational' because it cut out Norman's children and grandchildren and was 'inconsistent with a pattern of over 30 years of executing wills'.

She said her dad also 'suffered a personality disorder diagnosed in 1979 which poisoned the natural affection for his children and grandchildren', and was frail and vulnerable when his last will was executed.

But Judge Richard Williams ruled against Jessica, declaring her dad's will valid and concluding: 'There are no circumstances which excite suspicion that the will did not represent Norman's intentions at the time of execution'.

The judge highlighted medical evidence from a psychiatrist, who reported that Norman was neither mentally unwell nor in the grip of a personality disorder in his final years.

But he pointed out that, although there was ample evidence that Norman loved his children, it was equally clear that he was 'controlling' and saw things in black and white terms.

The judge told the court: 'It is also clear to me that Norman lacked any understanding or insight of the emotional harm suffered by the children during their childhood.

'Rather he continued to view himself as the victim, as evidenced by the letter he sent to Marcus and his wife dated 12 August 2013, in which he complains of having received no help from the family following the marriage breakdown in 1979. At that time, the children were aged between ten and 13.

'Norman loved his children and was financially generous towards them, but exploited his financial wealth as a means of exerting control over his children*'

The octogenarian had a ruthless streak, was used to getting his own way, and could also be 'cruel and spiteful,' said the judge.

This trait was shown by the terms of an earlier 1996 will, which left the 'token' sum of just 5 to his ex-wife and murder conspiracy victim, Mary.

This was 'in view of her vindictive attitude and negative actions from 1979 until her re-marriage, from which time she excommunicated herself completely from me, thus causing the healing of the rift with our children to be much more difficult.'

Even Norman's oldest and closest pal, top lawyer Adrian Weston MBE, testified the hold his friend tried to exert over his children.

Mr Weston, who has since died, stated in evidence: 'I believe that Norman was generous financially for many years, but I understand there would always be a price to be paid in the form of doing what Norman told them to do.

'Norman found it difficult to accept that his children had their own minds. His personality was such that he always thought he was right and this particularly applied to his children's affairs.

'The irony is that Norman loved his children and as they drifted further and further away he felt it very keenly.'

Mr Gill's eldest child, Jessica Hicken, 58, contested her father's decision to write her and her siblings out of his will, but lost her case after the judge ruled that it was valid

Jessica, 58, was left haunted by her childhood experiences living with a violent father, the court heard, with her treating psychiatrist noting that the case had 'reawakened' memories of traumatic experiences when she was growing up.

'She had a difficult childhood with a controlling, violent father, who hired a hitman to kill her mother and he was arrested for this and went to prison.

'This understandably had a huge impact on her life.'

The court heard Norman and his children had turbulent relationships in his final years, characterised by him abruptly terminating contact only to kickstart it later, but often on his terms.

Despite those tensions, in 2015, he drew up a will which left legacies of 175,000 to each of his children, their partners, and his grandchildren - plus 1.4m earmarked for a family trust.

But relations soured terminally in the ensuing years despite Jessica offering an olive branch, and in October 2017 she wrote to her dad asking him to 'cease all communication with me and my family'.

The case went before the High Court after the trustees of the Norman Gill Charitable Trust sought a declaration that the will was Norman's last true will.

Jessica challenged it on the basis that her dad had lacked testamentary capacity in respect of the will, or did not know and approve of the will when he made it.

Ruling against her, Judge Williams said Norman's decision to disinherit his children might be labelled 'unfair,' but it was not irrational.

In his final months, he had developed a passion for chewing over how his legacy would be spent after his death, in particular costing a 45,000 to Leicester City Council.

The judge said that, when he made his will, Norman 'knew his mind and had strong, and at times, blinkered views'.

There was no solid basis for Jessica disputing her dad's final will, and in any case she had forfeited the right to challenge it with her own medical evidence by previously accepting its validity in a pre-trial settlement agreement back in February 2022.

This settlement, which contradicted Jessica's case at trial, gave her 700,000 from the trust's share of her dad's estate, said the judge, adding: 'The agreement was expressed to be conditional upon the court propounding the will in solemn form'.

With the judge having now accepted the will's validity, the terms of the settlement should now take effect.
Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher has appeared to endorse Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, heaping praise on the young GOP contender.

Speaking on the latest episode of his 'Club Random' podcast, Maher told the 38-year-old: 'I like you... you're such a good talker and you're such a likeable guy. I think you really could go far.

'I must say you're one of the few guys who I find both disarming and alarming.'

Ramaswamy humbly accepted the praise, responding: 'Thank you, Bill, that is a compliment!'

Maher continued: 'Look, you're attractive-looking. You're young. First of all, here's a big advantage you have. Biden and Trump, people hate this matchup, and they hate these two geriatrics. You're, like, the most not that... You are going to go a lot further.'

But the host also pointed out Ramaswamy's relative lack of experience, both in politics and in life, given the age gap between him and many of the other Republican candidates.

And he urged the GOP hopeful to tone down his outspoken support for Donald Trump, arguing that Ramaswamy's vocal backing of the former President - who is currently facing four indictments- does not comply with his stated goals of 'uniting' the country.

Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher has appeared to endorse Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, heaping praise on the young GOP contender

Speaking on the latest episode of his 'Club Random' podcast, Maher told the 38-year-old: 'I like you... you're such a good talker and you're such a likeable guy. I think you really could go far'

In a few short months, Ramaswamy has shot from near total obscurity to significant recognition as a bright, intelligent and energetic candidate for the GOP

'I do see something that alarms me, truly,' Maher said. 'You don't have the wisdom about certain issues.'

'Unless you soften on Trump - at least half the country that knows that he's an obnoxious criminal - they're never going to accept you as the guy who can unite us. I can't accept you as that,' Maher bluntly declared.

'You got to decouple from Donald Trump. That's the path.'

In a few short months, Ramaswamy has shot from near-total obscurity to significant recognition as a bright, intelligent and energetic candidate for the GOP.

A former biotechnology investor and executive, Ramaswamy started a firm in 2022 to pressure companies to abandon environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives.

The entrepreneur has excited a lot of grassroots chatter as a younger, more energetic and less partisan alternative to either Trump or Biden and appeared to strike a chord with Maher - a Democrat and self-confessed liberal.

Ramaswamy has quickly earned a reputation as an excellent speaker, with a strong ability to think on his feet and present his views in a rational, logical manner - and an apparent dedication to encouraging more young people to vote.

He stood out from fellow candidates at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month when he broke out into an impromptu rendition of Eminem's Lose Yourself after telling Gov. Kim Reynolds that the rap is his favorite wall-out song.

'During this campaign, we all got to have a little fun,' Ramaswamy told Fox's Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo the day after the spectacle.

2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy says he would look to Donald Trump as a 'mentor' if he becomes president in 2024  and insist he hasn't spoken to ex-President about being VP

He added: 'On a more serious note, Maria, one of the things we're doing in this campaign is, we're reaching young people. We're bringing them along in droves with us. The difference between a 50.1 electoral margin this cycle and a landslide is young people. And I think this can't be just a 50.1 Democrat versus Republican tug-of-war.

'This needs to be a landslide [victory],' the biotech millionaire insisted.

He has also stood out for his anti-woke and anti-establishment views, having authored New York Times bestseller Woke, Inc. - a book which condemns the presence of socio-political ideologies in business.

Ramaswamy has described wokeness as being both 'bad for business' and 'bad for our civic culture', arguing in an interview with Fox News in June: 'My view is that businesses have a purpose  it is to provide products and services to customers who actually need them and yes, to make a profit unapologetically.

'And when those businesses wade into social disputes, not only is that often bad for business  just look at what happened to Bud Light. Look at what's happening to Target,' he added.

In his book, 'Woke, Inc.' Ramaswamy portrays wokeness by companies as a 'scam'.

'The modern woke-industrial complex divides us as a people. By mixing morality with consumerism, America's elites prey on our innermost insecurities about who we really are. They sell us cheap social causes and skin-deep identities to satisfy our hunger for a cause and our search for meaning, at a moment when we as Americans lack both,' he writes.

Ramaswamy said he believes the country to be 'in the middle of a national identity crisis.'

Previously, Ramaswamy also told DailyMail.com he believed it was time to start defunding international institutions that are hostile to the US and to consider completely withdrawing from the United Nations.

'I think that the UN has outlived its institutional purpose,' he said.

'I think when the Human Rights Council of the UN is adorned with the likes of North Korean and Venezuelan representatives pontificating about human rights, I think it's one of many examples of an institution that's fundamentally lost its way and really has no reason for continued existence.'

Ramaswamy's podcast with Maher came just days ahead of the Republican Party's first primary debates on Wednesday.

Trump, citing his front-runner status for the 2024 presidential nomination, has announced plans to skip the debate and will instead, according to media reports, do a taped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Sunday told Fox News, which is hosting the event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that seven candidates had qualified with several others 'on the cusp.'

The RNC, however, has not yet announced an official list of participants for the debate.

Ramaswamy has described wokeness as being both 'bad for business' and 'bad for our civic culture'

Besides Trump and Ramaswamy, other GOP hopefuls likely to appear in the debate are Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence and Chris Christie.

After a glitch-filled campaign launch on Twitter in May, DeSantis, 44, has positioned himself to the right of Trump on a number of key social issues such as abortion.

But his well-funded campaign has struggled to gain traction and his top donor has said he won't give the Florida governor more money unless he adopts a more moderate approach.

DeSantis is Trump's top rival but remains far behind the former president in opinion polls - he stands at just 13% in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. He has sacked staff and rebooted his campaign several times since May, but that has done little to boost his candidacy.

Meanwhile Pence - Trump's vice president - has broken with his former boss over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.

Pence, 64, says 'history will hold Trump accountable' for his role in the attack. The former Indiana governor, a staunch conservative, is appealing directly to the evangelical Christian community and secured 8% support in Reuters/Ipsos' latest poll.

And Christie, 60, advised Trump's White House campaign but became a vocal critic of the former president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The former New Jersey governor has stepped up his verbal attacks as Trump faces a growing number of criminal charges.

Christie saw no support among Republicans in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, which has a credibility interval of about 6 percentage points.

Other GOP hopefuls include Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and Trump's ambassador to the United Nations; Tim Scott, the only Black Republican U.S. senator; Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor; and Doug Burgum, who is serving his second term as North Dakota's governor after selling his software business to Microsoft Corp in 2001.
A predator teacher jailed for having sex with one of her pupils has been pictured posing for selfies with her new lover during secret liaisons while on work release from prison.

Paedophile Kandice Barber, who sent a 15-year-old boy explicit pictures before having sex with him in a field, has struck up a relationship with convicted fraudster Jay Delaney after the pair met inside an open women's prison, the Mail exclusively revealed last week.

The 37-year-old, who has served almost half of her six-year sentence, has told pals she has found love in Delaney, who was jailed for five years in April 2022 after stealing her friends' life savings to the tune of 388,000.

Both are now on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) in preparation for returning them to useful roles in society, with sources saying they have plans to live together when Delaney is released from prison.

Now mother-of-three Barber is believed to be taking advantage of their less restricted regimes to meet up with Delaney on her way to and from her job working on a construction site in Hounslow - even posing for selfies in the street.

Kandice Barber, left, and new lover convicted fraudster Jay Delaney, have been pictured posing for selfies during Barber's work release from prison

Now mother-of-three Barber is believed to be taking advantage of their less restricted regimes to meet up with Delaney on her way to and from her job working on a construction site in Hounslow

The loved up couple posed for selfies together in the street while on release

A source told the Sun they had been seen cuddling and holding hands on walks to and from work, and sneaking off for secret trysts.

They said: 'Kandice is only allowed out to go to work - but she and her new partner have been meeting up in secret.

READ MORE HERE: Ex-husband of Kandice Barber describes how he had to move on from the heartbreak and humiliation after she was jailed for six years Advertisement

'They've been meeting up on her way to work and her way home.

'It's frustrating that she's still in prison but they're now meeting up for, you know, 'time together' shall we say.

'They've been taking pictures together and talking about their future together.'

It is reported that the pair have taken pictures of themselves outside London Bridge station and Maidstone East station, and have asked permission to go on days out together, but these have been denied so far.

The pair are staying at East Sutton Park Women's Open Prison, near Maidstone in Kent, and are understood to have been in a relationship for seven months.

Barber was condemned by a judge as 'beyond despicable' when she jailed in 2021 for having unlawful sex with the impressionable youngster.

Barber, pictured, is currently on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) with the aim of returning her to a useful role in society

Delaney, pictured, is serving a five-year prison sentence after conning her friends out of their life savings

Kandice Barber, pictured, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for seducing a 15-year-old boy and having sex with him in a field

The teacher, who worked at a school in Princess Risborough, Bucks, flirted with the boy, sending sexually charged messages during a school assembly.

The blonde bombarded him with messages, including one where she asked him 'do you like boobs or bum?' - and sent him a photo of herself on a bed surrounded by sex toys.

She was found out after a topless picture she had sent her victim was passed to the headteacher of their school.

The mother of three's new choice of partner shocked inmates and staff at East Sutton.

The source told MailOnline last week: 'Delaney is slight and wears her hair in a boyish style, when they started their relationship people were saying she must be Barber's type.

'They spend most of their time together when they are not on ROTL. It's been going on for around seven months and they discuss being a family when they are on the outside.

'Barber gets to go home and go to work. She'll get for four nights every two weeks to have access to her kids and also has six days out per month when she is working on a job she's found by the authorities.

The paedophile teacher has struck up a relationship with conwoman Jay Delaney, pictured right, while behind bars

'She isn't in much but when she is she is with Delaney. They openly kiss, cuddle and hold hands and appear 100% in love, they make no attempt to hide their relationship.

'I was told that they had been sharing a cell together but officers found out and moved them.'

Barber was recently moved away from the prison-appointed job she had been found as a security guard on a building site in Hounslow, west London.

There was a rebellion among the workforce when her shameful past was discovered and she was moved from the site near Heathrow Airport.

Prior to being moved she is said to have loved working on the site.

One builder said: 'She's attractive looking, so she's already proving a hit with the lads, who have no idea about her background.

'It's no secret she's a massive flirt and lots of the staff there have already noticed her.'

Whilst she has been in jail, Barber's husband Danny, 40, has moved on with a new girlfriend who is expecting their baby.

It would have left her a single mother to three children, who were 10,14 and 16 at the time of her crimes.

But Delaney is prepared to take on some of the family responsibilities when she's able to join Barber, who is expected to be released early next year.

Her case caused revulsion in the teaching profession after the court heard how she had threatened the boy if he told of their affair.

Jay Delaney, pictured, stole from her victims by claiming to run a get rich quick scheme between 2015 and 2020

Jailing her at Aylesbury Crown Court, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said Barber had 'acted in gross breach of trust' and had taken 'advantage of a child in your care and groomed him for your own sexual gratification'.

She told the teacher: 'The victim was a 15-year-old boy in his final year at school. You had control and authority over him. He felt drawn in by you due to the compliments, you caused him to engage in sex with you while he was a pupil in your care.

'You threatened to take him down with you if he reported it. You already had authority over him by virtue of your position but to use threats is beyond despicable.'

Her new partner, from Southend, Essex, stole from her victims by claiming to run a get rich quick scheme over the course of five years from 2015 to 2020.

Delaney would tell her victims, many of whom were friends and work colleagues, that she worked for Aviva and could turn a 5,500 investment into 10,000 within a couple of years, enticing them to invest most of their life-savings into her 'scheme'.

In fact, she would transfer the money into her own account and gamble it online.

She sobbed as she was jailed in April last year at Basildon Crown Court after admitting 38 counts of fraud.

Judge Samantha Cohen said: 'Before 2015 you had committed no criminal offences, but between 2015 and 2020 you perpetuated a fraudulent scheme. You preyed on friends and colleagues, and you dishonestly gained almost 400,000 for your own gain. You said you worked for a company - that was a lie.

'You offered substantial returns on people's investments - that was a lie. Often on the investments, you perpetuated to repay them with the increased premium. That often enticed the victim to make further investments. Some of them asked their friends and family to invest in the scheme as well. I expect they feel guilty about that, but the only guilt is yours.

'You came up with a series of excuses about your health, or a serious life-threatening illness to put them off the scent on what happened to their money. You confessed to your parents, you knew you had to go to the police but you didn't have the strength of your character so you asked your father to do it for you. That must have been one of the toughest things he has had to do.'
Preliminary investigations say that he hit two cars during the chase with troopers

The teenage boy was pronounced dead on the scene by officers on Sunday

A teenager died after he crashed his car while trying to flee officers in Massachusetts - smashing into the side of a property.

The 19-year-old man was going so fast that the engine of his 2011 Nissan Altima flew through the second floor of the home in Belchertown, Massachusetts, on Sunday night.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle at around 8.45pm when they spotted the car speeding down Route 202 South.

The driver sped away from the trooper, running a red light at an intersection before careering off the side of the road, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Investigations by state cops show that the car then flew off the curb before hitting a rock wall and a tree.

The 19-year-old man was going so fast that the engine of his 2011 Nissan Altima flew through the second floor of the home in Belchertown, Massachusetts, on Sunday night

It smashed into a light post, a property on North Main Street and then careered into the front end of a 2023 Jeep Wrangler. A 2020 Buick Envision was also damaged.

The engine was launched out of the vehicle and went through the outside of a neighboring house on North Main Street before landing on the second floor of the home.

Police are not identifying the diver, who was thrown from the car and pronounced dead on the scene.

Neighbors described the crash to WWLP-22 as the 'loudest sound' they had ever heard.

Mike Forgue added: 'It was a loud sound. It was kind of amazing actually. You could tell something serious had happened.'

Other locals claimed that speeding around the bend of the road is a big issue, but nothing as large as the fatal Sunday night collision.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the owner of the property hit by the engine - which has since been condemned.

The fundraiser said the engine smashed through the bathroom of the house and caused a large crack.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle at around 8.45pm when they spotted the car speeding down Route 202 South

Police are not identifying the diver, who was thrown from the car and pronounced dead on the scene

The engine was launched out of the vehicle and went through the outside of a neighboring house on North Main Street before landing on the second floor of the home

It went on: 'Tragically, the young driver was killed. The family feels devastated on behalf of the young man and his family.

'Their home has been condemned. It has been deemed unsafe to enter the property. They will be forced to find emergency accommodations and buy supplies such as food/clothing.

'It will take time for their insurance to assess the damage and issue payments and they pray that all of the repairs needed will be covered and that their home will not be deemed a total loss.'

A spokesman for Massachusetts State Police said: 'No passengers were in the Altima when the driver fled from the Trooper. No one in the houses was injured.

'The crash is under investigation by the State Police-Belchertown Barracks, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, State Police Crime Scene Services Section, and State Police Detective Unit for Hampshire/Franklin Counties.'
The Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it contended with more than 500 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

We believe the bankruptcy process is the best way to provide a compassionate and equitable solution for survivors of abuse while ensuring that we continue the vital ministries to the faithful and to the communities that rely on our services and charity, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in Monday a letter to parishioners.

About 440,000 Catholics fall within the Archdiocese, which covers Marin and San Mateo counties along with San Francisco.

The lawsuits were made possible by a state law approved in 2019 that lifted the statute of limitations on claims of childhood sexual abuse. Suits began flooding in, and since then two other diocese, Santa Rosa in March and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland in May, have also filed for bankruptcy.

The unfortunate reality is that the Archdiocese has neither the financial means nor the practical ability to litigate all of these abuse claims individually, and therefore, after much consideration, concluded that the bankruptcy process was the best solution for providing fair and equitable compensation to the innocent survivors who have been harmed, Cordileone said, noting that most of the lawsuits pertain to alleged abuse from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

Victim advocacy groups werent buying it. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called for an investigation of the Archdioceses real estate holdings.

We believe that the primary impetus for this bankruptcy is to keep information about abusers hidden, SNAP said in a statement, noting that San Francisco is the only California archdiocese that has yet to name alleged perpetrators. We seriously doubt that the Archdiocese of San Francisco does not have the assets to settle these lawsuits, and we find it disturbing that Archbishop Cordileone claimed this is the best way for victims lawsuits to be resolved.

Cordileone said the priests and deacons who are in good standing were plainly visible on the Archdiocese website and that the ones absent from the list were the ones who were being investigated. Those removed have been banned from exercising public ministry, he said.

Cordileone will use every tactic and tool at his disposal to continue to run from the truth, Jeff Anderson, an attorney for more than 125 survivors in the San Francisco Archdiocese, said in a statement. He refuses to identify offenders in his diocese, he attempts legal maneuvers to eliminate the California Child Victims Act, and now he is attempting a last-ditch effort to hide the truth behind bankruptcy.

With News Wire Services
Lucy Letby claimed she had a mystery boyfriend as she tried to dismiss allegations she had an affair with a married doctor on her unit.

The NHS nurse has been exposed as Britain's worst child serial killer of modern times and was yesterday sentenced to an unprecedented 14 whole life orders.

During her trial, she was quizzed about her relationship with a consultant who became her 'best friend' when she was murdering babies at work.

Letby, 33, insisted they were 'nothing more' than 'trusted' friends and denied being 'in love' with the doctor, who applied for anonymity at the start of the trial.

On one occasion Letby went to London with the doctor, and was due to go a second time before the trip was cancelled.

The prosecution claimed her infatuation with the registrar was one of her motivations for harming babies, because she knew that when of them fell seriously ill he would rush over to help.

During her trial, Lucy Letby was quizzed about her relationship with a consultant who became her 'best friend' when she was murdering babies at work

He had sent a message to her ending with a large red heart emoji.

Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting, asked her to read the message aloud, but then had to prompt her twice before she finally referred to the emoji. 'It's a heart,' she told him.

Letby had responded to the doctor's love heart with one of her own, combined with a smiling face emoji.

'It's a smiley face and a heart,' she said.

Mr Johnson asked: 'But he wasn't your boyfriend?'

Letby replied: 'It's not a relationship at all. It's a friendship'.

Mr Johnson went on to refer to a note in which the nurse tells herself she is 'an awful person' and laments the likelihood that 'I'll never know what it's like to have a family.'

The barrister asked: 'What made you think at the time you wrote this that you would never have a family?'

The living room at the house where Letby lived in Cheshire before she was arrested

The bedroom inside the house, which has now been sold

Mr Johnson said: 'You had a house, you had a car, you had a boyfriend?'

'Yes,' the nurse replied.

The trial heard no further evidence about this apparent relationship. It is not clear how long it lasted or who the boyfriend was.

Alternatively, he may have been a figment of Letby's imagination.

The nurse is not known to have shared any romantic relationships, with one mother of a close friend saying: 'There were no boyfriends, well not that I knew of anyway.'

Similarly, her devious nature was exposed during the trial, with the judge explaining how she went to great lengths to gaslight her colleagues into thinking the deaths on her watch were just a run of 'bad luck'.

The nurse murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more

As well as falsifying medical records, Letby would attack babies when colleagues were on their breaks and contaminate food that would later be used by them without realising.

Attempting to explain away her damning note, Letby maintained that she 'couldn't see a future for myself' because she felt senior staff were trying to hold her accountable for what she believed were failings at the hospital.

Mr Johnson asked: 'But you were having a good time?'

Letby replied: 'Yes, there were times in those years that I had a good time. Yes.'

The nurse murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more.
BBC broadcaster Nicky Campbell compared a former member of staff at his top private school to Jimmy Savile as he gave evidence at a sexual abuse inquiry today, saying he was even molested in front of his class by a history teacher.

The presenter, 62, said Iain Wares, who taught at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s, was 'one of the worst paedophiles and most prolific in British criminal history'.

Campbell told the packed public gallery at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry at Mint House in Edinburgh of the abuse he and his fellow classmates allegedly suffered at the hands of Wares and other teachers at the 17,500-a-year school.

He compared Wares to predatory paedophile Savile, and said the teacher was known as a 'weirdo' who masturbated pupils. He also detailed sexual abuse against him by teacher Hamish Dawson, who died in 2009, who molested him in front of his class.

The Long Lost Family host - who has waived his anonymity - occasionally became upset during the two hours of evidence before receiving a standing ovation.

Nicky Campbell arrives for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry at Mint House in Edinburgh today

Former students have claimed former Edinburgh Academy teacher Iain Wares (pictured on July 6) would bring them to the front of the class before touching them inappropriately

And Campbell also lashed out at the Crown Office for its failed attempts to bring Wares back from his native South Africa.

READ MORE Survivors of abuse at Edinburgh Academy including broadcaster Nicky Campbell condemn the leading school's record Advertisement

He told the inquiry that prosecutors even said they could not extradite him because of his age, and added: 'When he was sticking his fingers up my friends' backsides and masturbating them, age was never a particular concern for him.'

Condemning the alleged abuser's continued freedom as a scandal, he said the abuse was 'happening on an industrial scale'.

Campbell said: 'He's living in South Africa in a plush retirement complex playing bowls once a week and he's done this.'

The journalist, who is married to BBC newsreader Tina Ritchie, was sent to Edinburgh Academy by his adoptive parents at the age of five in 1966. He was a day pupil and left when he was 17.

Campbell told the inquiry that when he started most of the teachers were female, but as he progressed through prep school it became more male dominated and there was a culture of 'toxic masculinity'.

Nicky Campbell is pictured as a child, when he attended one of Scotland's top schools

The radio host told the inquiry of being attacked by another teacher who held him down and beat him in the back of his head with his knuckles.

Campbell said the teacher also hit him with a clacken (a wooden hand-bat).

He recalled how he would pick on pupils for 'no reason' and say he 'didn't like your behaviour' before beating them at the end of the lesson. 'It was terrifying. It was torture,' Campbell said.

At points during the evidence there were tears in the public gallery. Campbell told the inquiry of an incident in the prep school's changing room when he had to witness the sexual assault of his schoolmate by Wares.

'I remember him leaning over the back of my friend and, I guess, masturbating him. I remember my friend laughing and giggling. I remember Wares saying, ''it's a game, it's a game'', and my friend moving away.'

The incident lasted around 15 seconds, the inquiry heard. Campbell told the hearing of allegations Wares had continued the abuse not only at Fettes College, but also in South Africa, where he assaulted boys while they were watching a film in the theatre.

Campbell also described how a history teacher called him to the front of the class on three occasions before tickling his leg.

The fourth time, the teacher's finger went into Campbell's underwear and touched his genitals, the inquiry heard.

Campbell said he suffered sexual abuse at Edinburgh Academy (pictured) in the 1960s and 70s

In addition, the broadcaster said he was violently attacked in a corridor by a teacher when he was aged about 14 or 15.

In what Campbell described as the worst day of his life, the inquiry heard he was held down by his hair, was kicked and his shirt ripped.

At the start of his evidence he admitted to inquiry chairman Lady Smith he was 'absolutely terrified' and even apologised in advance if he became emotional during his evidence.

He is the latest former Edinburgh Academy pupil to give evidence to the inquiry, all detailing the abuse they said they have suffered while at the school.

Wares is awaiting extradition from South Africa after being accused of a number of charges of abusing boys in Scotland.

A Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) spokesman said: 'This has been a complex investigation and COPFS appreciates that it has been difficult for all those involved.

'In order to protect any future proceedings and to preserve the rights of complainers, the Crown will not comment further at this stage.'

The inquiry continues.
A terrifying Asian Hornet nest has been found growing in a derelict house in Jersey and is believed to be one of the largest to be discovered in the British Isles.

The enormous nest measures about 15 inches (40cm) and is the largest discovered on the 'UK's frontline' in Jersey so far this year - and has prompted a fresh warning for the public.

It was hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned home in St Brelades on the Channel Island and was destroyed on 14 August.

Authorities say numbers of the invasive species have been growing with 2023 being on track to be the worst-ever for sightings of the deadly Asian hornets across Britain.

A total of 171 have been found so far in 2023 compared to 100 at the same stage in 2022.

The enormous nest measures about 15 inches (40cm) and is the largest discovered on the 'UK's frontline' in Jersey so far this year

Authorities say numbers of the invasive species have been growing and they are on course for a record number of nests being uncovered this year.

Fears have been growing for many years that the killer bug will use Jersey as a launching pad to dig trenches in mainland Britain

Both Jersey and Guernsey are seen as the front line in the fight against the deadly insects

Alastair Christie, Asian hornet co-ordinator for the Government of Jersey, said of the latest find: 'It's the biggest we've dealt with so far this year.

'It was in a derelict house, no wind, no rain, out of the cold - beautifully sheltered... A bit of a one-off.'

Fears have been growing for many years that the killer bug will use Jersey as a launching pad to dig trenches in mainland Britain - with calls for a 'Dad's Army' to help stop the spread of the species.

WHAT IS THE KILLER ASIAN HORNET INVASION? Asian hornets were accidentally brought to France in 2004, probably in an imported shipment of goods. Since then the dark brown and orange insects have spread rapidly through the country and started to invade neighbouring countries. They have also become established in the Channel Islands and were first reported in the UK in 2016. The hornets, which grow up to an inch long (3 cm) and have an orange face, are an aggressive predator of honey bees and other pollinating insects. The hornets prey on honeybees, hovering like attack helicopters outside their hives and grabbing them on the wing. The bees are dismembered before being carried back to the hornets' nest to be fed to larvae. The charity Plantlife has warned that the hornet 'poses a deadly threat to honeybees and other pollinators and any potential sightings should be immediately reported to the GB Non-native Species Secretariat.' Queens build nests in April. They rapidly start laying eggs until the hive population reaches about 6,000 insects. A report by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, estimates that the decline of bees worldwide poses a potentially major risk to world food supplies. Britain's bees are thought to have fallen by a third since 2007. The British Beekeepers' Association warns the public not to disturb a hornets' nest 'under any circumstances'. Advertisement

The ongoing battle has long-raged in the Channel Islands 'frontline' in a bid to stop them decimating the native bee population.

But it is now feared they could be establishing a fresh route from the continent and several recent sightings have been confirmed on the coastline around Kent.

Mr Christie said with the latest nest found could have around 1,500 hornets in it - and urged the public to be extra vigilant.

He added: 'With branchage coming up, anyone cutting back hedges or banks need to be aware of the risk of disturbing wasp and Asian hornet nests.'

Mr Christie also urged the public not to disturb nests as the hornets can be 'very aggressive' - with one individual being stung 12 times lat year after disturbing a nest while cutting his hedge.

He added: 'Destruction of the nests is logistically challenging.

'They can be found up trees, on cliff faces, inside roof spaces, or within brambles. They are in such varied locations and efficiency and safety have to be prioritised when removing the nests.'

The species began to spread through Europe in 2004 after arriving in the south of France inside a freight ship.

They were was spotted in the British Isles on the Channel Island of Jersey in late 2016.

But after years of establishing themselves on Jersey and Guernsey the battleground shifted last year to Southern England.

This led to calls for a 'people's army' to help fight off an impending invasion of killer hornets onto mainland Britain.

The hornets are able to kill with one sting among people who have an allergy while they also pose a threat to the environment and native species.

The number of queens found on the Channel Islands is expected to rise as the summer approaches.

Both Jersey and Guernsey are seen as the front line in the fight against the deadly insects.

There are fears that strong easterly winds could 'blow in' more Asian hornets from mainland Europe, leading to another summer-long battle to stop the spread of the insects that could decimate the UK's native bee population.

But experts say there is cause for optimism as the fact the insects are being found quite late in the spring means they are likely travellers coming from France, rather than ones that have been on the island over the winter.

The species began to spread through Europe in 2004 after arriving in the south of France inside a freight ship.

They were first spotted in the British Isles on the Channel Island of Jersey in late 2016.

But after years of establishing themselves on Jersey and Guernsey, the battleground shifted last year to southern England.

Further recent sightings have taken place in Devon, while onne was also reported in Folkestone, Kent for the first time in almost four years as well as one hundreds of miles away in Northumberland.

The British Bee Keepers Association (BBKA) is asking people to stay vigilant after confirming an Asian hornet was spotted in the Folkestone area.
Police in Pakistan have arrested an uncle of Sara Sharif because they suspect he knows where her father, stepmother and another uncle, all wanted over her murder, are hiding.

Urfan Sharif fled the UK with his partner Beinash Batool, brother Faisal Malik and his five children - a day before police discovered Sara's body at the family home in Woking, Surrey.

The three adults are wanted for questioning over Sara's murder, leading to an international manhunt.

Sara was found at the property on August 10 by police who received a call from someone concerned by her welfare.

An autopsy has not established a cause of death, but it did show Sara had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time', Surrey police said.

Urfan Sharif fled the UK a day before Sara's body was found in a house in Woking

Urfan Sharif (left) fled the UK with his partner Beinash Batool (centre), brother Faisal Malik (right). They are wanted for questioning over Sara's murder

Sara (pictured) was found at the property on August 10 by police who received a call from someone concerned by her welfare

READ MORE: Murdered ten-year-old Sara Sharif was KNOWN to authorities before she was found dead at family home in Woking Advertisement

As detectives in Pakistan try to locate them, sources told MailOnline that they have detained another of Mr Sharif's brothers, Imran, because they are 'convinced' that he knows where the family is hiding.

Sources also revealed that Mr Sharif's parents along with other relatives, who live in a large house in the city of Jhelum in Pakistan's Punjab province, have also now gone into hiding.

A police source said: 'We spoke to Imran and some of the family members last week and they insisted that they did not know where Urfan and his family are. But we don't believe them, there's absolutely no way that they can't know where eight of their relatives who have come from England are. They are telling us a pack of lies.'

The source revealed that the family home in Jhelum is locked and now empty and a shop they run which adjoins their home is also locked up.

They added: 'We managed to get hold of Imran, but the rest of his family have gone missing. They clearly have something to hide. We have got hold of one of them and will be interrogating him until he tells us the truth.'

Last week, Imran exclusively told MailOnline that Mr Sharif visited the family home after arriving in Pakistan on August 9, but came alone and that they had not seen him since.

He said: 'After reaching Pakistan he came to us and instantly disappeared. He did not bring his family to our home. Some people say he is hiding somewhere in Jhelum in a rented house, but others said he may be gone to Mirpur where his in laws are living.'

He added: 'Police has raided our home twice during the last week and took pictures of Urfan and other family members. We have been warned to inform police immediately soon after receiving his whereabouts.'

Urfan Sharif (left) and Beinash Batool (right) are wanted for murder, leading to an international manhunt

Police hold a crime scene and investigate at the home of Sara Sharif in Woking on Thursday

Imran is being questioned by police in Jhelum and officers from Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency.

Sources also told MailOnline that they have been unable to find a precise location for Ms Batool's parents who live in the city of Mirpur, which is around two hours away from Jhelum. Imran initially claimed that Mr Sharif's family had gone there.

The source added: 'We have the mobile phone numbers for Sharif and the other people with him who came from the UK. We are doing our utmost to trace them electronically but it's not proving to be very easy.'

Surrey Police revealed that Sara's body was discovered on August 10 after Mr Sharif called them from Pakistan, which led police to search the 500,000 family council house.

Although post-mortem tests could not determine the cause of death, the results revealed bruises on her body which showed the little girl 'had suffered multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time'.

Sara's mother, Polish woman Olga Sharif, 36, who was married to Mr Sharif between 2009 to 2017, urged her ex-husband to 'come forward and explain himself'.

Olga, who lives in Somerset, praised British police for doing a good job in trying to track him down.

She said: 'The police are doing a good job finding him.'

Heartbroken Olga praised her daughter as 'an amazing child,' adding: 'She was so beautiful. I can't believe she's dead.'

Olga hopes to bury her child back in her native Poland.
Shocking video has emerged of a woman being pistol-whipped and dragged across gravel by two thugs in Democrat-led Oakland as the city grapples with a surging crime wave.

The attack happened on Wednesday August 16, 6.15pm on International Boulevard, and left the unidentified woman with severe injuries, police investigating in the East Bay city said.

Footage shows the woman being confronted by two men who try to grab several items from her, including her purse, before she's violently struck with the gun.

She is then seen falling to the ground before being pulled along by her purse as both men rifle through her pockets. The attackers are both on the run and the woman's condition as of Tuesday is unknown.

This latest incident is an example of violent crime running rampant across the Dem-led city, with business owners now comparing the area to a 'battleground' akin to wartime Vietnam. It's become so severe that the city's police force are also warning residents to secure their homes while they're inside.

Scroll down for video:

Video shows a woman being pistol-whipped and dragged by two assailants in Oakland last week, before 15 different robberies and two carjackings were recorded over the weekend. As of Tuesday, most are still being investigated

WEEKEND ROBBERY SPREE: A map shows the several reported incidents of robbery over the weekend - which has caused business owners to liken the area to a 'battleground', and cops to instruct residents to secure their homes

Oakland has been hit by increasing incidents of violence - with assaults, carjackings, and robberies all reaching record highs not seen since the 90s.

As scared business owners liken the area to something out of a war flick, leaders of the NAACPs Oakland branch have called on officials to declare a state of emergency - as incidents of auto burglary and motor vehicle theft have nearly doubled since 2021.

Speaking with several local news outlets over the weekend, Bruce Vuong, a Vietnamese national who owns an autoshop blocks from where the woman was brutalized, compared the area to his country during its infamous war. Ironically, the neighborhood is already named Little Saigon.

'Oakland has become a warzone,' Vuong, who has owned and operated Quality Tech Automotive Shop on International for 35 years, told ABC's local affiliate Tuesday.

'It feels like a battleground to go to work,' he said, remarking how even with all his years of experience - which stems back to the city's infamous gang violence in the 1990s - the crime seen over the past two or so years has been unprecedented.

This past weekend, Oakland was hit by 15 different robberies and two carjackings - most of which are still being investigated.

Days before, another incident remarkably similar to the one seen in the August 16 footage occurred in Vuong's neighborhood - spurring him and 30 other fed-up shop owners and residents to call a closed-door meeting Friday to discuss the conditions.

Media was not invited to the event, but reportedly among those in attendance was local Councilmember Nikki Fortunato-Bas, and a captain with the Oakland Police Department - which saw two of its deputies injured in two attacks by incarcerated inmates Saturday.

Vuong told NBC Bay Area that nearly everyone in attendance, including the storeowner himself, had recently found themselves a target of thieves or incidents of violence.

'I seen crime that I thought when I left Vietnam I wouldnt see anymore,' he told the station Friday, hours after Democrat Mayor Sheng Thao, who inherited the city's crime woes from predecessor Libby Schaaf in November, again vowed to make addressing illegal acts her top priority.

Footage shows how the woman was run up on by men, who exit a car before removing several items from her person. During an ensuing struggle, the woman bravely hangs on - before being struck by one of the robbers' weapons

She is then seen falling to pavement presumably in agony, before being violently pulled across the floor by her purse as both men run her pockets. Both men remain at large, and the woman's condition as of Tuesday is unknown

Data shows the city's current crime epidemic - in which rates across nearly every major category have increased dramatically since well before the pandemic

As business owners like Bruce Vuong - who owns an automotive shop on the block where the woman was targeted - liken Oakland to something out of a war flick, citizens and other frustrated storeowners have called on officials to declare a state of emergency

Days before, another incident remarkably similar to the one seen in the August 16 footage occurred in Vuong's neighborhood (seen here) - spurring him and 30 other fed-up shop owners and residents to call a closed-door meeting Friday to discuss the conditions

'I seen crime that I thought when I left Vietnam I wouldnt see anymore,' the Vietnamese national said Friday, hours after Mayor Sheng Thao (pictured in an interview about the crime wave last week), who inherited the city's crime woes upon assuming office this year, again vowed to make addressing illegal acts her top priority

'But now, we get the same thing here', Vuong said, not mentioning if there had been any headway at the conference.

Of the encounter the day earlier, where the woman was dragged, Vuong remarked: 'She didnt deserve this - [to be dragged] like a dog or something, I mean.'

Speaking to ABC7, he added: 'That's life in Oakland now.'

The owner of 11 businesses across the city, Vuong went on to describe his own firsthand experience with the city's current crime epidemic, which, despite being more than a year removed from Covid-related lockdowns, seems to have reached a tipping point this year.

As homicides have also surge by some 37 percent compared with 2019, reported robberies are up by about 30 percent - and Vuong says that each of his stores are robbed almost once a week.

Last week - amid this particularly pronounced string of robberies that caused Shen to once again address the crisis in a matter of months - after being targeted for what he said was the umpteenth time, he got fed up and fought back.

'I was helping my employees pick up stranded Triple A drivers and within seconds my tow truck was gone,' he said, recalling how one of the robbers in this case entered his tow truck before destroying cameras that had been inside and taking off.

Still inside the car, though, was Vuong's phone - which unbeknownst to the robber possessed software that enabled the storeowner to track it, and then give chase.

'We chased him for at least 45 minutes from West Oakland to East Oakland to Berkeley and we finally stop him at Telegraph and 30th,' he recalled of how he got his tow truck back, adding that it needed $20,000 worth of repairs.

That said, perhaps the most troubling part of Vuong's account was local police's response to the incident - which he said was nonexistent. Instead, the call had to be handled by officers from the state's highway patrol.

'We asked for help but there's no authority to help out,' he said. 'We tried calling OPD - no answer - so CHP showed up.

'It's just ridiculous Oakland is no longer Oakland anymore,' he said of the city's dire straits.

Last month, Oakland cops urged residents to secure their homes amid a rise in brazen burglaries while residents are inside their homes

Oakland Police Department (OPD) said some of the worst-hit areas have been Laurel, North Hills, Joaquin Miller, and the Greater San Antonio area. Pictured: One of the attacks last year

It serves as just a small example of what's occurring across the city, which like its sister across the river, for the past few years has been plagued with high crime

It comes as North Oakland has seen a a 22 percent increase in robberies and 18 percent increase in violent crime this year.

Murder levels abruptly spiked from the 78 seen in 2019 to 109 in 2020 - the same years calls for defunding the police, spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, were introduced in earnest.

Last month, Oakland cops urged residents to secure their homes - including by trimming hedges and shrubs so thieves have nowhere to hide - amid a rise in brazen burglaries while residents are inside.

Police warned about an 'uptick in home invasion robberies' including cases of robbers armed with guns kicking down doors before threatening homeowners and stealing their belongings.

Oakland Police Department (OPD) said some of the worst-hit areas have been Laurel, North Hills, Joaquin Miller, and the Greater San Antonio area.

Oakland's left-leaning mayor Sheng Thao, who has been in office since November 2022, promised to create a 'comprehensive' public safety plan that will 'double down' on violence prevention programs when she was voted in.

Last year, her predecessor Libby Schaaf admitted efforts to defund her city's police department went 'too far' after it saw violent crime surge to levels not seen in 15 years following the movement's introduction in the summer of 2020.

Her comments came after the city council passed a resolution in 2021 to defund its police department by $17 million despite a 90 per cent increase in murders - a move criticized by Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who said at the time that 'crime is out of control' in the city.

'When we saw this surge come up during the pandemic - and, let's also be honest, after George Floyd, after this country just saw its faith in government justice compromised - we were just heartbroken,' Schaaf added.

Despite this, a 2022 investigation by ABC 7 found that the Oakland Police Department's budget increased nearly 18 percent from 2019 to 2022.

But the city's crime crisis has only worsened.

Last week, a British maritime security guard, 49, was shot dead near an Oakland park as he returned to his ship after a night out.

Satyan Dave, from London, had only hours earlier arrived in the city aboard a container ship that had travelled close to Somalia.

Police in the violence plagued city said he was shot dead at 5.15am close to International Boulevard, one of East Oakland's main thoroughfares.

The Oakland PD has been hit hard by the influx of crime - after it was sued over claims they let an abusive squatter (seen here being arrested in April) inflict a campaign of terror on his neighbor, which culminated in the victim being shot dead. Suspect Jamal Thomas pictured

Armstead had recently moved into the home on 76th and Ney with his pregnant second wife, Melina, and his three children, when the harassment began. He was in the process of moving them out when he was shot by Thomas, who was squatting in the home next-door (seen here)

The wrongful death suit alleges the Oakland Police Department failed Oakland father Miles Armstead, who is survived by four children and his wife and called the department dozens of times over the course of six months

The department has been sued over claims they let an abusive squatter inflict a campaign of terror on his neighbor, which culminated in the victim being shot dead as he fled his home with his pregnant wife and three children.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of the family of slain Miles Armstead, who had been moving his family out of their Ney Avenue home in May 2020 when he was shot in the back of the head by now-jailed Jamal Thomas.

On the day of his murder, Amstead and his wife Melina had decided to cut their losses on the home they'd saved hard to buy, only for Thomas to ambush them and kill Amstead as they tried to flee.

They'd previously called Oakland Police Department 23 times begging for help, only for cops there to turn a blind eye. Officers also allegedly mocked Amstead's plight by dismissing him and Thomas as being 'like two twelve year-old girls.'

The fatal act of aggression, cops said at time, served as the culmination of a monthlong faceoff between the two men, which allegedly began after 46-year-old Thomas illegally occupied the house next door after being evicted months earlier.

Oakland has also seen an uptick in car thefts over the last months in typically quire areas.

So far this year there have been 369 carjackings in the city, per officials. That's up 24 percent when compared to the same time two years ago, when there were 298.

This data set shows the number of chronic homelessness in the US. This is categorized as people who have a disabling condition who have been unhoused for a year or more. Oakland and San Francisco are among the worst offenders when it comes to homelessness

The US housing market is also currently in the midst of an unprecedented decline in home prices - with properties in the Bay Areas selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than they were just a year ago.

Two cities in the affluent region - Oakland and is more well-off counterpart across the river in San Francisco - are among the worst offenders when it comes to decline by dollar amount.

researchers blame the phenomenon on diminishing demand due to rising rates of crime and homelessness, and the looming possibility of a recession.

Other notable declines occurred in other major metros like Austin, Boise, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Los Angeles - all of which saw their median home price shed at least $60,000 since April of last year.

Many of those decreases were fueled by a mass migration of workers out of major hubs amid the advent of remote work, data shows - while many others were forced out to safety brought on by the dueling crises

Compounding the cities other simultaneous calamities, the homeless crisis is also tormenting downtown LA - where tent cities are rife with individuals smoking drugs, while others hawk stolen goods on street corners.

Places like Oakland and San Francisco in California have become hotbeds for homelessness, as people living on the streets are like 'drug tourists' who arrive to have easy access to narcotics.
Witness Lyndsay Cash, 43, said children were crying over the shocking incident

The 3pm flight from Manchester Airport to Ibiza was delayed by 1.5 hours

This is the shocking moment a 'drunk' woman brawled on a Ryanair flight to Ibiza after passengers accused her of barging into them - before getting kicked off her flight.

Witness Lyndsay Cash had boarded the flight from Manchester Airport terminal three on Monday when arguments broke out on the rows in front of her.

The 43-year-old's footage showed the woman, wearing a pink top, standing in the aisle and arguing with a holidaymaker before being pulled away in a headlock.

Someone - thought to be the woman in pink - could be heard shouting and vowing 'I will find you' repeatedly at her rivals.

Lyndsay said police escorted the woman and three others off the plane and it was met by applause from the aisles.

This is the shocking moment a 'drunk' woman brawled on a Ryanair flight to Ibiza from Manchester Airport after passengers accused her of barging into them

Footage showed the woman, wearing a pink top, standing in the aisle and arguing with a holidaymaker before being pulled away in a headlock

Witness Lyndsay Cash, 43, said the 3pm flight was delayed by an hour and a half and children were crying

The beautician was left annoyed as her 3pm flight was delayed by an hour and a half and said some children were even in tears over the incident.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that two men and one woman, all in their 30s, have been arrested and remain in custody for questioning.

The angry passenger stood up to continue the shouting match in the middle of the aisle as men believed to be family members tried to hold them back.

The 'drunk' woman then tried to hit out before being dragged backwards by a man in green who tried to deal with the angry holidaymakers himself.

He reportedly pushed a passenger and could be seen shouting in another's face as fellow passengers watched on in shock and small children could be heard sobbing in terror.

Lyndsay believes Ryanair staff shouldn't have let the woman on the flight and should have done more to calm the situation rather than 'leave it to passengers'.

She posted footage of the fight on Facebook before take-off where it earned almost 150 reactions in less than an hour.

Lyndsay, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, said: 'She was barging into everyone the second she got on the plane.

Lyndsay said the incident happened around 15 minutes before the plane was due to take off from terminal three at 3pm

Fellow passengers watched on in shock and small children could be heard sobbing in terror

Lyndsay said police escorted the woman and three others off the plane and it was met by applause from the aisles

'She was drunk and when someone pointed that out she took offence and started kicking off with everyone. They just started fighting in the aisle and it got really aggressive.

'The stewardesses weren't much use and kids were upset. I wasn't happy with the way it was managed.'

She continued: 'It annoyed me and everyone else on the plane. Everyone clapped as she got escorted off and she even fought with police.

'I don't think she should have been let on the plane and I think the stewards should have been much quicker. It was left for the passengers to deal with.

'If you can't handle it, don't drink.'

Lyndsay said the incident happened around 15 minutes before the plane was due to take off from terminal three at 3pm.

She says the rest of the passengers stayed on the flight for it to jet off shortly past 4.30pm.

Her Facebook post, sarcastically captioned 'don't you just love an Ibiza flight', gained more than 80 comments in just one hour.

Lyndsay (pictured) said on Facebook: 'Don't you just love an Ibiza flight?'

One user commented: 'Omg! I feel sorry for the little ones on that plane. I know my little boy would have been scared. What's wrong with grown women!'

A second said: 'What the actual f***? They'll be gutted in the morning.'

A third added: 'This is just pathetic. What are you, ten years old?'

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'Officers were called at around 3pm yesterday (Monday 21 August) to reports of disruptive passengers on board a flight taking off from Manchester Airport.

'Two men in their 30s and one woman, also in her 30s, have all been arrested on suspicion of being drunk on board an aircraft. One of the men and the woman were further arrested on suspicion of assaulting police officers. They all remain in custody for questioning.'

A Ryanair spokesman said: 'This flight from Manchester to Ibiza (21 Aug) was delayed ahead of take-off when a small number of passengers became disruptive.

'These passengers were removed from the aircraft by local police and the flight continued safely to Ibiza following a short delay.

'This is now a matter for local police. We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these passengers' disruptive behaviour.'

Manchester Airport declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
A heartbroken father has slammed Albanian authorities for dragging their heels after failing to charge anyone for the death of his daughter in a diving accident a year ago.

Rebecca Gannon, 29, died last a year ago next month while on holiday with her boyfriend Robert Kerans, after they went down into the water to look at a sunken wreck.

Grief stricken dad George Gannon, 61, has spent the last ten months in the seaside town of Sarande looking for answers and above all justice but has met with silence from officials.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, George, from Stone, Staffordshire, said: This has cost my family our business and our sanity, but we wont stop fighting until we get justice for Beccie.

I went to Albania a month after her funeral and I spent the winter, spring and first part of the summer there just to try and find out what happened.

Grief stricken dad George Gannon, 61, has spent the last ten months in the seaside town of Sarande looking for answers to his daughter's death

How can a young girl with everything to look forward to in life end up dying while on holiday,' George said

Rebecca and Robert both had PADI diving certificates and on that fateful day last September

How can it be that almost a year later nothing has happened? Its an open and shut case, ' George asked

How can a young girl with everything to look forward to in life end up dying while on holiday? Why can we as a family not get any answers as to what exactly happened?

She was an experienced diver and had dived in New Zealand, Australia, South America, Canada and England. She had years of experience and was perfectly healthy.

Ive asked to speak to the prosecutors, and Ive been very polite because I know there is no point going in angry, but security wont even let me through the door.

Her death certificate says she drowned but me, my wife, my son and may daughter want to know why she died, and we want justice.

How can it be that almost a year later nothing has happened? Its an open and shut case. Its not complicated its the people who organised the trip and we want to see them in front of a judge, but it doesnt look like its going to happen any time soon.

Rebecca and Robert both had PADI diving certificates and on that fateful day last September had chosen to go out for a dive with a firm called Spiranca Diving Centre.

Rebecca was an experienced diver who had dived in New Zealand, Australia, South America, Canada and England

George says Beccie told him that nearly all the equipment on the boat was faulty

George blames the people running Spiranca Boat Centre for his daughter's death

READ MORE: Albanian national is jailed for his role in people smuggling plot after eight illegal immigrants almost drowned when yacht they were on sunk off Devon coast Advertisement

George, who used to run a bakery business with his wife Gill, said: There was twelve people on the boat when Beccie died, and we know the visibility wasnt good but the owner still took them out.

Beccie had even said her life jacket wasnt working and one of the team gave it a shake and said "its fine" but obviously it wasnt, and we know her oxygen tank was virtually empty.

We know that Beccie went over and then Robert came back up because his ear was popping but the guide went up with him and they should have stayed with my daughter.

She was left on her own and the visibility was poor and she disappeared  it took them twenty minutes to realise she was missing and by the time they went down to her and found her she was dead.

The equipment was poor, and the organisation was shoddy and as a result my daughter died but the authorities are doing nothing, and we just cant get justice.

George says he got in some trouble after lighting this memorial in the sea where Rebecca died

He says he's sunk his life savings into finding out the truth behind his daughter's death

This has cost us more than 40,000 as weve spent our savings and because Ive been in Albania, weve closed the business down because my wife is too heartbroken to work.

Weve had no support from the Albanian police, the local prosecutors and the British Embassy in Tirana have done nothing.

We were even told to try the Greek Embassy because they might be able to get things going but what authority do they have as Beccie was British.

Following the tragedy, the manager of the diving firm Saimir Kushova and his partner Gerta Brozi were arrested on suspicion of violating health and safety regulations but were later released on bail.

George  who is now on anti-depressants  added: We havent even been able to have an inquest here in Staffordshire yet because the coroner keeps asking for the paperwork from the Albanians and hasnt been sent anything.

When I first arrived back in October the local police chief was a bit reluctant to help but then he opened up and I felt as if we were getting somewhere but then he was transferred out of the area, and it was back to square one again.

He told me though it was down to the company and faulty equipment, although it doesnt take rocket science to figure that out and thats why we want the owners to face justice.

I spent Christmas and New Year in Albania on my own, my wife came out for a few days but she couldnt face being there so went home because it was too much for her.

I only went back to England in July for my sons wedding and to get some respite from the heat because its so hot out there, but I will be going back in September. Im not going to stop until there is justice for Beccie.

An English inquest into Rebecca's death hasn't been launched as Albanian authorities have not yet sent over the required paperwork

Both George and his wife Gill have been unable to work due to the grief

It was the worse day of my life and I had only seen her a week before when she stopped by to say goodbye,' the grief stricken dad said

George added: Ill never forget the day we found out Beccie had died  we were at home watching the Queens funeral on the TV when two police officers knocked on the door and told us.

It was the worse day of my life and I had only seen her a week before when she stopped by to say goodbye.

'The whole world just caved in and thats why we want to see justice. She should never have been abandoned and she shouldnt have been given faulty equipment.

While in Albania, George drew comfort by taking a boat out to where his daughter died and then setting fire to a wooden memorial which sank to the bottom of the sea and he said: I got into a bit of trouble for it but it was worth every penny.

Lawyer Erion Muka, who is representing the family and who is based in the Albanian capital of Tirana, told MailOnline: Back in May I asked the prosecutors to provide us with all the evidence that they had gathered so far but up until now we have received no reply.

They should have responded within 15 days as it is the familys right to know what is happening with the investigation, but we have not had any response which is adding to their pain.

They just want to see the case resolved and the people involved in court but for someone reason we just dont seem to be getting anywhere.

The family have set up a crowd funding page on Just Giving to try and raise funds to help cover legal costs.
President Joe Biden is bringing on a new White House counsel who is known as a tough former federal prosecutor to help counter an array of House Republican probes and a growing impeachment threat.

Ed Siskel served as deputy counsel during the Obama administration, where he helped defend the administration against heated GOP probes into four U.S. deaths at the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya.

He went on to serve as corporation counsel for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel  who developed his own reputation for brass tacks and served as Obama's White House chief of staff.

The move comes amid a flurry of GOP probes, ranging from the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan to multi-pronged inquiries into the business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter.

Ed Siskel, who served as Corporation Counsel for the city of Chicago, comes as Biden is facing a series of Republican probes

Special Counsel David Weiss is overseeing the investigation of the president's son following the collapse of a plea deal on tax charges.

House Republicans on Monday subpoenaed IRS and FBI agents involved in the probe.

'Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they may lead, and our subpoenas compelling testimony from Biden administration officials are crucial to understanding how the president's son received special treatment from federal prosecutors and who was the ultimate decision maker in the case,' said House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) in a statement.

President Joe Biden is bringing on former federal prosecutor Ed Siskel as House Republicans gear up for potential impeachment probes

Siskel helped respond to the GOP's Benghazi probes during the Obama administration, where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified for hours

Lawmakers including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have introduced impeachment resolutions, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has floated an impeachment inquiry, saying last month it 'allows Congress to get the information to be able to know the truth.'

'He's got precisely the right temperament for this kind of role,' former White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler told CNN, mentioning the 'politically charged' cycle.

'He's great under pressure. Really calm and very understated, but also tough as nails,' she added. 'He's the guy who you want in the foxhole with you.'

Siskel also helped contend with GOP probes into White House connections to solar energy firm Solyndra before it went belly-up. Biden helped finalize a $535 million loan guarantee for the firm during the 2009 economic crisis.

The White House announced the hiring move in a statement Tuesday.

'Ed Siskel's many years of experience in public service and a career defending the rule of law make him the perfect choice to serve as my next White House Counsel,' Biden said in the statement.

'For nearly four years in the White House when I was Vice President, he helped the Counsel's Office navigate complex challenges and advance the President's agenda on behalf of the American people, and first as a federal prosecutor and then as the top counsel for one of America's biggest and most vibrant cities, his hometown of Chicago, Ed has shown a deep commitment to public service and respect for the law. His experience will let him hit the ground running as a key leader on my team as we continue making progress for the American people every day.'

Siskel replaces outgoing White House counsel Stuart Delery next month.
Joe Biden earned more criticism for being 'out of touch' with Americans during his bumpy stop in Maui Monday - including scorn for providing measly $700 assistance checks.

The White House announced that each affected household in Hawaii will receive a $700 check to address 'immediate needs' including water, food and clothing.

But it's a sum that many islanders consider insulting.

Hawaiian residents and politicians say a paltry $700 check to each family impacted by devastating wildfires isn't going to cut it.

And some residents even held up signs during Biden's visit Monday comparing assistance to Ukraine and Hawaii.

Biden passed one poster that read: 'Really $7?' Another resident wrote 'Action Speaks Louder Than Words,' and there were multiple 'No Comment' signs - after the president repeatedly declined to comment on the tragedy last week.

To date Biden has approved $8.2 million in assistance to 2,700 households in Hawaii. But critics were quick to compare that to the $12.1 billion in security assistance that has gone to Ukraine so far this year.

People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by. One local gives the president a thumbs down

People hold signs as Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina

The Bidens are seen with Hawaii's governor and his wife in Lahaina on Monday

Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard slammed the $700 checks as a 'slap in the face.'

'Unfortunately, again, there is a trust deficit because not only have people not shown up, but it was almost a slap in the face of the people there when the big announcement from FEMA was, 'Hey, we are going to give you a one-time payment of $700.'

'Anybody who has been to Hawaii knows that $700 does not go very far at a time when so many have lost everything,' she continued.

Ella Sable Tacderan, a victim of the fires, said earlier this week that $700 is not enough.

'My parents received a check for $700, which was a slap in the face,' she said.

'Living in Hawaii, everything is so expensive. Groceries can be as much as $700 just for one grocery run. And it's not enough.'

She added elderly families in Hawaii are basically 'computer illiterate,' which may explain why some people are being 'turned away' on their applications for FEMA assistance.

Another user wrote on Twitter, now known as 'X': 'So out of touch. People in Lahaina lost everything they had including loved ones and he stood there cracking jokes and made it all about him! Still cringing.'

'Remember he paid them a one time payment of $700, which wouldnt have even covered the cost of fixing Joes kitchen,' another critic stated.

'If I had lost my home and livelihood, Id be insulted by Biden sending me a $700 check.'

The president also sparked outrage while on the island by comparing the Hawaiian blaze that killed at least 114 people to a kitchen fire - and joking about 'hot ground' to a rescuer.

The President's motorcade was met with screams of 'f*** you' after he finally arrived in Maui - two weeks after the inferno which left 850 people missing and destroyed the historic city of Lahaina.

Biden compounded the anger in a garbled, meandering speech about the deaths of his wife and daughter in 1972, before comparing the horrific blaze to a kitchen fire at his Delaware home in 2004.

The 80-year-old capped off his disastrous five-hour tour by asking a rescue team whether their boots were reinforced, noting the 'hot ground' under their feet in a tone-deaf attempt at humor.

He also had a particularly awkward moment with Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz when, at the conclusion of a press conference, Schatz offered him a sip of water.

Biden completely blanked the senator and turned his back on him.

He then began shuffling off, mouth hanging open and gazing listlessly into the crowd, while his wife Jill and Hawaii Governor Josh Green ushered him away from the lectern.

The President was criticized before his visit for failing to give the wildfires sufficient attention, and accused of a sluggish response to the crisis.

Last weekend, when asked as he left the beach in Delaware for his response to the fires, Biden replied: 'No comment.'

He also appeared to forget the name of Maui, repeatedly referring to fires blazing on 'the Big Island'.

Biden and his wife took a helicopter tour of the affected areas before addressing a gathering of local officials, senators and community officials. Biden did not speak to the media present.

Biden is seen looking at a burnt vehicle in Lahaina. The X spray painted on the side means it has been searched for human remains

People watch as the motorcade carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires passes by

The president spoke, as he often does when addressing communities touched by tragedy, of understanding the personal weight of devastating loss and the slow and painful process of recovering.

Biden's first wife, Neilia, and their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident in 1972. He lost an adult son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

'When things look the most bleak, that's when we need faith,' said Biden, who spent 70 minutes after his remarks speaking with community members.

He told how first responders supported him after Neilia's death, and praised those involved in the Hawaii tragedy.

At another stop, he referenced the 2004 fire at his Wilmington, Delaware home.

'I don't want to compare difficulties but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it's like to lose a home,' said Biden.

'Years ago, now 15 years ago, while I was in Washington doing Meet The Press, it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake outside our home - not a lake, a pond.'

He said the spark went through the wires and into the heating ducts, and into the kitchen.

'To make a long story short, I almost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.

'But all kidding aside - I watched the firefighters, the way they responded.'

It is an anecdote that Biden often tells at times of tragedy. Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke but were able to keep the flames contained to the kitchen.

'Luckily, we got it pretty early,' Cranston Heights Fire Company Chief George Lamborn said at the time.

'The fire was under control in 20 minutes.'

Joe and Jill Biden wave on Monday as they board Air Force One to depart Maui

The Bidens left Hawaii to return to Lake Tahoe and resume their vacation

The wildfire that broke out August 8 in the town of Lahaina is now the deadliest in more than a century, and the fifth-deadliest on record for the U.S.

Biden first issued his 'no comment' while while staying at the beach near his Delaware home.

Then while breezing by reporters he made a terse comment, saying he was 'looking at it.'

Back at the White House, a reporter asked Biden at the White House: 'Can you tell us about your Hawaii trip?'

'No, not now,' Biden said, before staff eventually announced details.

The president has appointed Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, ensuring that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts.
The debate stage is set and eight candidates will appear on stage Wednesday for the first Republican showdown of the 2024 primary election cycle.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced the official Milwaukee lineup late Monday evening, which included all the candidates that reached their polling and donor threshold, as well as signed the pledge to support the eventual nominee.

Debate participants include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Fox News released the lineup of candidates on Tuesday, putting DeSantis and Ramaswamy on center stage with lesser-known Hutchinson and Burgum on the outer flanks.

Donald Trump easily met the qualifications, but repeatedly said he would not join the stage with those polling so far behind him.

The RNC announced that eight candidates met the qualifications to be on the stage for the first debate of the 2024 primary election cycle. Top from left: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy. Bottom from left: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the highest polling candidate that will appear on Wednesday as Donald Trump refused to sign the pledge to support the eventual nominee and repeatedly said he would not go up against those polling far behind him

Rather, the former President is sitting down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. He then plans to turn himself over for an arraignment in Fulton County is the fourth and latest indictment against him.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, businessman and author Perry Johnson and conservative media personality Larry Elder all claimed that they met the qualifications for the debate stage, but were not included in the lineup.

Fox News is hosting the first RNC debate of this election cycle at Fiserv Forum arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 9:00 p.m. ET. Co-hosts are Fox's Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier and partners include Young America's Foundation (YAF) and YouTube's censorship-free counterpart Rumble.

'The RNC is excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night,' RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement when releasing the lineup.

Fox released an image of their stage configuration on Tuesday. From left to right will stand Hutchinson, Christie, Pence, Desantis, Ramaswamy, Haley, Scott and Burgum. It's no surprise that DeSantis made center stage, but some may be perplexed by Ramaswamy's spot as a political newcomer.

The line up for the debate stage (from left): Asa Hutchinson, Chris Christie, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Doug Burgum

To make the stage, candidates had to bring in donations from 40,000 individuals with at least 200 from 20 different states or territories. Additionally, to meet the polling requirements they had to earn 1 percent in three national polls or in two national and one in two different early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

Candidates also had to sign a pledge to back whichever candidate becomes the GOP nominee in 2024  a new standard added to this year's debate qualification requirements.

'The debate process has been corrupted, plain and simple,' Perry Johnson said Monday night on Twitter, now known as X.

He insisted: 'Our campaign hit every metric put forward by the RNC and we have qualified for the debate. We'll be in Milwaukee Wednesday and will have more to say tomorrow.'
Southern California residents worked to clear mud from places it didnt belong Tuesday while the remnants of Hurricane Hilary pushed into southern Oregon and Idaho.

The extremely rare tropical cyclone brought record rains to the San Diego, Los Angeles and Death Valley areas, causing several mudslides that blocked roads and cut off homes.

In possibly the most dramatic rescue, emergency personnel used a bulldozer to remove 14 elderly people from a blocked senior center.

We were able to put the patients into the scoop. Its not something that Ive ever done in my 34 years as a firefighter, but disasters like this really cause us to have to look at those means of rescue that arent in the book and that we dont do everyday, said Michael Contreras, fire chief of Cathedral City near Palm Springs.

Cathedral City Fire Department rescues residents in a bulldozer following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary in Cathedral City, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2023.

No deaths or life-threatening injuries from the storm in the U.S. had been reported as of Tuesday. However, one person in the mountain community of Seven Oaks, about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, remained unaccounted for after neighbors saw her trailer swept away in a flash flood.

In Death Valley National Park, 400 people were stuck in tiny towns inside the park, as roads were washed out by record-setting rain. Around 2.2 inches of rain fell in the park, easily topping the 1.7 inches that fell on Aug. 5, 2022, according to early estimates.

Up in the San Bernardino Mountains, 800 people were stuck in homes as crews attempted to clear mud from streets throughout the area.

Mount Charleston, Nev., about 25 miles west of Las Vegas, was dealing with a similar situation. The towns 400 homes were stranded after the only road in and out of town was washed out in the storm. The area was without power and under a boil-water advisory into Tuesday.

While Hilary largely broke apart in the Rocky Mountains, heavy rainfall from the storm continued across central and northern Nevada on Tuesday. The clouds were expected to push into southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho throughout the day, potentially bringing thunderstorms and pockets of heavy rain.

With News Wire Services
More than 18,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year.

Home Office data shows 661 people made the journey in 15 boats on Monday, the third highest daily total for 2023 to date.

This takes the provisional total for the year so far to 18,618, according to PA news agency analysis of the Government figures.

This is about 13% below the equivalent number at this point last year, when there had been more than 21,300 arrivals.

Last week 1,278 people made the journey, with crossings taking place on six out of seven days.

Over 18,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel this year

A total of 661 made the journey on 15 boats on Monday alone - the third highest daily total this year

The record daily number this year was on August 10 when 756 migrants crossed in 14 boats

But overall figures are down by about 13% from this time last year, by which point there had been over 21,300 arrivals

The developments come as the Prime Minister was unable to commit to stop Channel arrivals by the next general election

The highest daily total for 2023 so far was recorded on August 10 when 756 migrants made the crossing in 14 boats, with the second highest number detected in a single day being on July 7 when 686 people in 13 boats.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to guarantee he would be able to stop Channel crossings by the next general election, as he acknowledged the complexity of the issue.

At the same time the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank said the Government's plans to tackle unauthorised migration risk creating a 'perma-backlog', with thousands of asylum seekers stuck 'in limbo' and in need of accommodation.

Facing questions from broadcasters, the Prime Minister stressed his commitment to stopping the boats and said the number of migrants making the journey is 'down for the first time in some years'.

But he said he would not be being 'straight' with the public if he claimed the crisis could be solved overnight.

Meanwhile, campaigners are planning to send thousands of postcards to child asylum seekers after murals of cartoon characters were painted over earlier this year at a migrant reception centre in Kent.

Migrants are brought ashore to Dover on August 21, as some have bodies injuries and fuel burns

Seventy asylum seekers are escorted by Border Force officers into Dover docks

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick came under fire for the decision, which featured characters including Mickey Mouse and Baloo from The Jungle Book.

He had reportedly felt they were too 'welcoming', although he told Parliament in July they were painted over because they were not 'age appropriate' for the majority of the young people staying there.

Rima Amin, who started the Cartoons Not Cruelty campaign, said: 'To say that the cartoons were not age appropriate fails to recognise the 9,300 under-14s that arrived in the UK just last year.

'That's why we're sending 9,300 postcards. The power of a simple postcard cannot be underestimated in brightening a child's day and conveying the message that they are seen and valued.

'While we continue to call for the cartoons to be restored, we understand the immediate need to ensure that no child is deprived of a warm and compassionate welcome.'

The postcards, featuring flowers, love hearts and teddy bears, have been designed by members of the public and people are being encouraged to sign them online before they are distributed with the help of the Refugee Council.
The families of three people who died after eating a poisonous mushroom lunch have been forced to wait for further police inquiries before they can bury their loved ones.

Erin Patterson, 48, cooked a beef wellington at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria's Gippsland region on July 29, that contained death cap mushrooms.

Her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson were all at the lunch.

Gail, 70, Don, 70, and Heather, 66, have all since died, while Ian, 70, has been in a serious condition since the meal.

Heather and Ian Wilkinson (above) attended Erin Patterson's fatal beef wellington lunch on July 29 - Heather died from mushroom poisoning while Ian remains in critical condition

Don and Gail Patterson (above) died after eating lunch at their former daughter-in-law Erin Patterson's home

But it has now emerged that he is slowing improving and may no longer need a liver transplant, according to the Herald Sun.

His recollection is said to be key to the police investigation, which Victoria Police have previously said will be long and complex.

It is unclear how long the grieving family members of the three dead lunch guests will have to wait for further police inquiries into their deaths.

'The deaths are still being treated as unexplained,' a police spokesperson said.

Investigators have also said Erin remains a person of interest.

She has denied any wrongdoing and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting she is responsible in any way for the deaths poisonings.

It is also not suggested that detectives suspect she is responsible, only that she is a person of interest.

Erin's ex-husband Simon Patterson was initially invited to the lunch but pulled out at the last minute.

Erin Patterson, 48, had cooked a beef wellington for a lunch at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria's Gippsland region on July 29, that allegedly contained death cap mushrooms

The Korumburra community gathered at St Joseph's Catholic Church for a vigil on Saturday

The above family tree shows the connections between the Pattersons and Wilkinsons embroiled in the unusual poisoning tragedy in Leongatha

In a police statement by Erin she claims to have bought the mushrooms used in the beef wellington from a supermarket and an Asian grocer shop in Melbourne - but couldn't recall the name.

She earlier told The Australian she felt like she'd been painted as an 'evil witch'.

'I can't have friends over. The media is at the house where my children are at. The media are at my sister's house so I can't go there. This is unfair,' she said.

It comes as the Korumburra community gathered at St Joseph's Catholic Church for a vigil on Saturday.

Parishioner Ken Loughnan said the church wanted to offer a place for people to 'come together' after a difficult three weeks for the town.

'When a tragedy happens in a small community it has a real hurt and that's been the case in Korumburra,' he said.

'We hope that the sadness felt by the community can dissipate over time'.
The mother of a woman allegedly murdered by her boyfriend has been accused of being 'instructed' by a brothel owner of what to say in court.

Ellie Price's remains were discovered by police in her blood-soaked bedroom while conducting a welfare check in May 2020.

The 26-year-old's throat had been cut and she was found with multiple stab wounds, as investigators formed the view she was murdered six days earlier.

This week, her former boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro, 36, is facing trial before the Victorian Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murder.

On Tuesday, Ms Price's mother Tracey Gangell took the stand as she was questioned repeatedly by Mr Barbaro's barrister, Rishi Nathwani, about her daughter's relationship with another man called Mark Gray.

Ellie Price's remains were discovered by police in her blood-soaked bedroom while conducting a welfare check in May 2020

Mr Nathwani told the court the pair met while Ms Price was working as a dancer at a Melbourne strip club, with Mr Gray soon beginning to financially support her.

He suggested text messages between Mr Gray and Ms Gangell indicated he was 'spending a lot of money on Ellie', including paying her rent, a $1000 weekly allowance and giving her a Mercedes Benz.

Ms Gangell described their relationship as 'exceptionally close' friends, but said she didn't know if there was anything else to their relationship other than financial support.

'He was hoping (to marry Ms Price) but Ellie only liked him as a friend, he was just a good friend to Ellie,' she said.

Text messages read to the jury between Mr Gray and Ms Price's sister, Danielle, ahead of an earlier court hearing for Mr Barbaro reveal he had 'instructed' her on what to say, Mr Nathwani suggested.

'My tip is to memorise three responses; I don't know, not to my knowledge, and I'm not sure, they will hate that LOL,' Mr Gray allegedly messaged Danielle.

'I want you to remember one regard in relation to anything negative about Ellie; 'I don't know' ... that will really spoil their day LOL.'

This week, her former boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro, 36, is facing trial before the Victorian Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murder

Mr Nathwani suggested Mr Gray had met with the two women to 'get their stories straight' because he didn't want the court to find out he was financially supporting Ms Price and that he owned brothels in Melbourne and Sydney.

Under questioning Ms Gangell denied she had been instructed on what to say and denied she had deleted text messages with Mr Gray covering a year after Ms Price's death.

Prosecutors, led by Damien Hannan, allege Mr Barbaro killed Ms Price during a violent altercation in the early hours of April 29.

In his opening address, Mr Hannan said the case would be built on DNA evidence at the crime scene, a history of alleged violence between the pair and Mr Barbaro's 'conduct' after the alleged offending.

He told the jury CCTV captured Ms Price's Mercedes-Benz leaving the property at 4.30am on April 29 'never to return' and Mr Barbaro's mobile phone records would place his phone 'in the vicinity' of the Mercedes-Benz as it travelled through Melbourne's northern suburbs.

In his opening address on Monday, Mr Nathwani said questions would be raised about whether others had a motive for Ms Price's death.

'To be clear this is a whodunit, that is Mr Barbaro denies that he killed Ellie Price,' he said.

'Did she upset anyone to a degree they would want to harm her?'

Questioning Ms Gangell, Mr Nathwani suggested her daughter's relationship with Mr Gray had soured in early 2020.

Ms Price's mother Tracey Gangell (pictured) took the stand as she was questioned repeatedly by Mr Barbaro's barrister, Rishi Nathwani, about her daughter's relationship with another man called Mark Gray

He read text messages between Ms Gangell and Mr Gray from early April where Mr Gray alleged Ms Price had attempted to extort $100,000 from him by threatening to make a rape report with police.

Ms Gangell told the jury she did not believe her daughter would attempt to extort Mr Gray.

'Ellie would never say anything like what was in that email,' she said.

'I don't believe she made that on her own.

'Ellie was a nice girl, she had a heart of gold and I can't see her throw away a good friend like that.'

The trial, before Justice Lex Lasry, continues.
A FedEx driver has been nominated for employee of the year by an extremely relieved customer after he killed a deadly rattlesnake hiding on her Nebraska doorstep - and apologized for the mess.

Matt Govier was delivering a package to Christie Jones home in rural Sumner when he heard an angry hiss from below.

Curled up at his feet was a 3ft rattlesnake which had slithered across the doorstep of the family home moments earlier.

Ring camera footage shows the driver spring back in alarm before hunting around for a shovel and a rake with which he coolly dispatches the venomous beast, before slinging its remains in the back of his van.

I hope you didnt have a pet rattlesnake at your front door because I killed him, he texted his customer, before adding Sorry about the blood.

Matt shocked the homeowner with his understated account of the drama that had unfolded on her doorstep

The snake rears his head and stares directly at camera before slithering the length of the doorstep

Moments later Matt's delivery van arrives as the snake makes itself comfortable on he porch

Footage shows Christies 12-year-old daughter Kyler skipping barelegged out the front door with the family dog just 20 minutes before the rattlesnake made his appearance.

The snake then pops up and appears to take a good look at the front door before sliding over the step with his tongue flicking.

Goviers van is seen pulling up and the driver makes an audible grunt as he lays his heavy package down on the doorstep, before shouting Holy f***! as he is loudly hissed at from inches away.

You stay there f****** he tells the snake as he backs away and begins rooting around the front yard for a weapon.

Around six people die from rattlesnake bites in the US each year and Govier visibly shivers on camera as he realizes how close he came to being the latest victim.

Returning moments later he persuades the reptile to wrap itself around a rake before carrying it off to the front lawn where he cleanly dispatches it with a shovel.

Anyone who really knows me knows how incredibly fearful I am of any kind of snake, Jones wrote on Facebook as she recounted the incident.

She thanked Govier after receiving his text message later that day and told NTV his bosses should name him employee of the year.

Moments earlier, Jones' 12-year-old daughter had left the house with the family dog

Matt approached the doorstep oblivious to what awaited him and set down his heavy parcel just inches from the snake's hissing head

The snake was curled up in a ball and flicked its tongue menacingly as it eyed Matt from the corner of the doorstep

Matt persuades the snake to climb onto a rake, allowing the driver to carry it away from the family's doorstep

Im so glad he didnt leave it there because now my thoughts are what if he said Hey, I saw a rattlesnake on your step and I left it there, you know it was just over there in the corner.

I dont know if I would be able to exit my front door.

Thank you, Matt, very much. Were very thankful that you took care of business here.

'Yikes! that's awesome service,' wrote Angela Armagost on social media as the news began to spread.

Homeowner Christie Jones told NTV Matt should be named FedEx employee of the year

Govier was hailed for his heroism by admirers on social left terrified at the thought of confronting a snake

'Oh my God!!! Yep the best FedEx guy ever!!!!!' added Jessica Leach.

'OMG! he's very brave!' wrote Erin Bear, 'I might have fainted or peed my pants or both at her same time!!'

But Govier was modest about his everyday heroism when tracked down by the TV channel.

I was just kind of put in a position where I had to do something, he said.

FedEx has been contacted for comment.
Florida police handcuffed a woman who blocked traffic after they claim she interfered with the arrest of a Nicaraguan national who was illegally selling flowers by the roadside.

A chaotic video filmed by a motorist driving past the scene saw Annika Olson being handcuffed by police screaming that she was 'just trying to give [the vendor] $20.'

Olson can be seen struggling as she was pinned to the hood of her car, while police pled with her to 'relax' and attempted to take her into custody.

Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), said that they had been investigating the vendor, identified as Norma Garcia, at the time.

'[She] was selling merchandise in the median of Imperial Parkway, in violation of County Ordinance 28-123,' a post to Facebook reads.

Annika Olson was charged with refusing to comply with police's lawful orders, resisting an officer without violence and interfering in the public right of way

Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), said that they had been investigating the vendor, identified as Norma Garcia, who had been deported from the U.S. in Sept 2022 at the time Olson approached them

'This ordinance, for the safety of pedestrians and motorists, prohibits the sale of merchandise from the median or in the roadway.'

Police said that the investigation took longer than expected because Garcia, who was deported from the United States in Sept last year, only spoke Spanish.

Garcia had previously been warned by police not to sell flowers by the roadside.

Olson has been charged with refusing to comply with police's lawful orders, resisting an officer without violence and interfering in the public right of way

During the investigation, Olson saw the arrest unfolding, parked her car in the middle of traffic and 'created a safety hazard for other motorists.'

When Olson 'refused the deputies requests to mover her abandoned vehicle' they proceeded to make an arrest.

While being handcuffed, Olson yelled out to a passerby filming: 'I'm just trying to give her $20, I'm just trying to give her $20, please send this to me.'

The TikTok soon went viral and social media users were shocked by the way police had reacted to an offense which, without context, appeared minor.

'I hope she's OK,' wrote one user.

Others wrote, 'this is NOT right,' 'poor girl... OMG,' 'this is so messed up,' as they posted heartfelt messages in support of Olson in the comments of the video.

Police quickly attempted to clear up the confusion, explaining what led to Olson and Garcia's arrest.

Olson has been charged with refusing to comply with police's lawful orders, resisting an officer without violence and interfering in the public right of way.
Four fifths of New Yorkers say the recent influx of migrants is a 'serious problem' for the state, with many calling newcomers a 'burden' and souring on President Joe Biden's Democratic Party.

Fully 82 percent of Empire State voters said the stream of some 100,000 asylum seekers was a concern, and more than half of them  54 percent  said it was 'very serious,' a Siena College poll shows.

When asked about the settling of migrants in New York these past two decades, nearly half of respondents  46 percent  called them a 'burden' on resources. Less than a third called them a 'benefit.'

Voters also expressed disapproval at how the state's Democratic leaders  Gov Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams  were handling the crisis, the latest sign that immigration is a weakness for the party in upcoming elections.

New York City alone is spending $12 billion on asylum seekers over a three-year period

A woman protests against the opening of an emergency 'tent city' for migrants in the New York City borough of Queens

'New Yorkers  including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, upstaters and downstaters  overwhelmingly say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem,' pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.

Mayor Adams this month said some 100,000 asylum seekers had arrived in the city recently, forcing officials to spend more than $12 billion over a three-year period on sheltering them and other costs.

Mayor Adams calls the surge 'unfair'

He said it was 'unfair' that the city was bearing the brunt of a 'national crisis,' and as well as opening up new shelters in Queens and Randall's Island has pushed to relocate more of the newcomers upstate.

This has stoked tensions between the mayor, Gov Hochul and upstate areas, such as Erie County, which stopped accepting asylum seekers this month.

Erie County halted its resettlement scheme after two migrants being housed in Cheektowaga hotels were arrested over sex offenses.

This week, Buffalo State University pulled out of a deal to house up to 45 asylum seekers.

The survey of more than 800 New Yorkers shows how even voters in liberal-leaning states seek tighter immigration controls when the problem appears out of control.

Respondents of every demographic overwhelmingly called the influx a serious issue.

Even among self-identified liberals, 29 percent called it 'very serious' and 39 percent 'somewhat serious.'

Immigrants, mostly from South America, wait for vehicles on the street to find a daily job in the region close to New York

An emergency shelter for up to 1,000 migrants in the New York City borough of Queens

'More than three-quarters of Republicans and 60 percent of independents say New Yorkers have done enough and must now slow the flow of migrants to the state,' said Greenberg.

Approval ratings for Adams and Hochul have held steady, but support for Biden, the Democrat who voters hold responsible for securing the southern border, is sagging, the poll showed.

Less than 50 percent of New Yorkers in the solidly-blue state would vote for Biden in the expected 2024 head-to-head matchup against former President Donald Trump.

Biden still leads Trump 47 percent to 34 percent in New York.

But that 13-point lead was among the lowest seen in recent years for a Democratic presidential candidate in the Empire State.
A teenager managed to save his father from being mauled by a furious bear in rural Sweden by punching it in the face.

The father-son duo, who have not yet been named, were reportedly pursuing a 22 stone female bear in Ljusdal, roughly 180 miles north of Stockholm, on Monday when it suddenly turned around and pinned the older man, according to a local hunter.

The son managed to hit the bear in its head as it lacerated his father's face, Jonny Sjoblom, the hunter leading a local cull of the overgrowing brown bear population, said.

The bear turned and bit the young man in the wrist, but this gave the father enough time to shoot it dead, Sjoblom told local media.

Both were taken to hospital. While the father's facial injuries are said to be serious, they were not life-threatening.

Bears have attacked an average of 44 people a year since 2000, but only 15% are fatal

Ljusdal is a remote town in Sweden that lies roughly 180 miles north of Stockholm

Northen Sweden is facing a bear epidemic, as growing populations are wreaking havoc on farmers and reindeer herders

Benny Gafvert, a predator expert at the Swedish branch of the WWF, said that the duo were lucky, as the bear was small compared to some of the larger ones shot in the recent cull, which have weighed up to 340kg.

'It wasn't a giant bear, but if you compare it to a dog, for example, it was significantly bigger, stronger and with more power in its jaws,' he told a local public broadcaster.

'The bear is an apex predator and is not accustomed to being hunted. If they are threatened or injured, they are capable of killing humans, although that is not their intention.

'Bears are highly intelligent animals and mainly want to neutralise any threat in order to get away,' he added.

Northern Sweden is facing a growing bear problem, as the roughly 3,000-strong population in the region are causing huge problems for local farmers and herders.

Up to 50,000 reindeer are killed each year by brown bears.

In response, Swedish authorities have approved the largest bear cull in decades, and hunters are allowed to shoot up to 649 bears.

Population growth among brown bears is a recent trend, with experts saying that conservation and reforestation efforts have led to the furry surge.

Despite this, bear attacks on humans are relatively rare.

According to a study published in the Scientific Reports journal, since 2000, bears have attacked an average of 44 human beings across the world every year.

Only a small proportion of these, 15%, end with a human life being taken.
Photos show hundreds of birdwatchers flocking to see a rare sea bird on a lighthouse off the British coast.

Pictures show 'twitchers' crammed into several small boats to catch a glimpse of the 'red-footed booby'.

Bird-lovers have descended on the Isles of Scilly to see the booby - only once before spotted in UK waters.

The bird, which is native to the Galapagos islands, spends almost its entire life at sea and rarely travels outside of warm water zones.

However, it was spotted by a birdwatcher on patrol around the isolated Bishop Rock Lighthouse on August 7, 6.5km west of Scilly off Cornwall.

Birdwatches crammed into boats to catch a glimpse of the 'red-footed booby' off the Isles of Scilly

Pictures show 'twitchers' crammed into several small boats to catch a glimpse of the 'red-footed booby'

The bird, which is native to the Galapagos islands, spends almost its entire life at sea and rarely travels outside of warm water zones

Since then, around 400 birdwatchers have dropped everything to see the bird, which appears to be resting before a return journey south.

Pictures captured by twitcher Ross Newham, 56, show birdwatchers in boats with binoculars on Sunday August 20.

Ross, from Larkfield, Kent, said: 'There are lots of sea birds that spend all their time at sea, they're called pelagic sea birds.

'They only come to land when they breed, and so seeing a red-footed booby is incredibly rare.

'The last time one was spotted in the UK, it was found in East Sussex and I think it had to be flown back to central America.

Bird-lovers have descended on the Isles of Scilly to see the booby - only once before spotted in UK waters

The rare bird is native to the Galapagos Islands and spends almost its entire life at sea. It's only the second time one has been spotted in UK waters

The bird was spotted by a birdwatcher on patrol around the isolated Bishop Rock Lighthouse on August 7, 6.5km west of Scilly off Cornwall

'Most rare sea birds are seen and gone within seconds or minutes - so the fact it's been there for two weeks might mean it'll spend the summer in our waters.

'It may be injured or just fatigued from it's long journey, but as it is a tropical species it won't survive the winter - so we're all hoping it'll head home soon.

'I had to wait six days to come and see it, but everyone really does just drop everything and go when these rare birds pop up. We all found out on social media and started making travel plans.

'Part of the joy of the hobby is not knowing when you see friends who do same thing. You might not see them for two years - but then you get a sighting like this and it brings everyone together.'
The devastated family of a California store owner who was shot dead by a homophobic gunman have branded her murder a 'hate crime' - and said the 'fearless' mom was determined to fight back against hate by hanging a bigger flag each time one was torn down.

Laura Ann Carleton, 66, was killed outside her fashion store in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead, after Travis Ikeguchi, 27, allegedly made several homophobic remarks to her and pulled down a Pride flag.

Police say after killing Carleton on Friday, the gunman  who had several anti-LGBTQ+ posts on his social media  fled on foot before being shot by a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office deputy.

Ikeguchi reportedly shot at authorities with his Smith & Wesson 9mm automatic handgun, refusing to drop the weapon before they fired back, killing him on the scene.

Carleton has been described as 'fearless, cool and compassionate' by her two youngest daughters, Ari and Kelsey.

Married Laura Ann Carleton, 66, was killed outside her fashion store in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead, after Travis Ikeguchi, 27, allegedly made several homophobic remarks to her

The twins described their family as 'broken' after the 'senseless act of violence', saying they will 'continue to advocate for love, equality and acceptance in everything that we do.'

In a social media post, they said: 'She was murdered over a Pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront.

Ikeguchi reportedly shot at authorities with his Smith & Wesson 9mm automatic handgun, refusing to drop the weapon before they fired back

'Make no mistake, this was a hate crime. Her flags had been torn down before and she always responded by putting up a bigger one.

'Our family is broken. We have a long road ahead of us as we navigate this new reality without our loving matriarch.

'We find peace in knowing she passed quickly in a place she cherished, doing what she loved while fiercely defending something she believed in. She was fearless, cool and compassionate- always putting others first.

'We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that our family has received from loved ones and strangers alike,it has provided hope and light in our darkest days. Love will always triumph hate.'

Her husband Bort, a shoe designer, had seven children before marrying Carleton and the couple then adopted twin girls,

A longstanding LGBTQ+ advocate, Carleton shared an image of 'the little book of PRIDE' in 2021, with the caption 'Love IS Love'.

The twins described their family as 'broken' after the 'senseless act of violence', saying they will 'continue to advocate for love, equality and acceptance in everything that we do'

Her husband Bort, a shoe designer, had seven children before marrying Carleton and the couple then adopted twin girls

The store, which opened in the scenic mountain village just over a decade ago, was one of two trendy clothing shops that had been operated by Carleton - with the other located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City in Los Angeles

Her children said that she was 'never afraid to stand up to anybody' and revealed that she had ordered a new flag to replace the old one which had been 'fading'

Locals have described her as a 'pillar in the community' who was an 'immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice.'

Carleton had reportedly been previously targeted on several occasions and had Pride flags torn down.

Her children said she was 'never afraid to stand up to anybody' and revealed she had ordered a new flag to replace the old one which had been 'fading'  which arrived shortly after her death.

Ari told CNN it was 'hard and emotional' to see the flag and welcomed the memorials put up outside the Mag.Pi store to 'honor' her mother.

Carleton put small Pride flags outside her store initially to show her support, but people kept taking them.

The brave mother reportedly ordered a bigger flag each time one was stolen before the fatal incident on Friday.

Her friend Melissa Lawton told CBS Mornings that Carlton told her last year that she was scared she would 'get into an altercation' over the flags.

'Those motherf*****s tear it down, and I just put a new one back up, and I'm scared that I'm going to get into an altercation some day',' Lawson said.

Locals have described her as a 'pillar in the community' who was an 'immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice'

Carleton had reportedly been targeted on several occasions before of the Pride flags, which had been torn down in the past

Ari told CNN that it was 'hard and emotional' to see the flag and welcomed the flags and other memorials put up outside the Mag.Pi store to 'honor' her mother

California Governor Gavin Newsom described her death as 'absolutely horrific', adding 'this disgusting hate has no place in CA'

GLAAD and the Anti-Defamation League have tracked more than 350 anti-LGBTQ+ attacks across the country this year

Police say that Ikeguchi, of Cedar Glen, tore down the flag and had a confrontation with Carleton before following her into the store and shooting her dead.

He had several posts rallying against the LGBTQ+ community on his social media at the time of the incident.

One post pinned to the top of an account included the image of a Pride flag on fire.

'We need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives! Stop accepting this abomination that the government is forcing us to submit to these mentally disordered tyrants,' he wrote.

The gun allegedly used in the shooting was not registered to Ikeguchi, nor was he a concealed weapon holder, according to the sheriff.

A day before the shooting, his family had reported him missing, and he was not on the radar of authorities before the incident.

Before her death, Carleton reportedly told friends that those who did not agree with the flags 'didn't have to shop' in her store.

The staunch LGBTQ+ ally once left an envelope filled with cash for a friend whose two signs were stolen from outside her home  supporting President Biden and another saying 'Love Is Love'.

On the social media site GAB, Ikeguchi railed against the LGBTQ and included a picture of a burning Pride flag

Ikeguchi's GAB - a blogging site often known for its right-wing users - page was filled with references to religion, anti-democracy, anti-police and references to defending himself

Police say that Ikeguchi, of Cedar Glen, tore down the flag and had a confrontation with Carleton before following her into the store and shooting her dead

Carleton wrote her a letter with a simple message of 'buy a bigger sign', in a bid to stand up to those who had removed them.

She had a long and notable career in L.A.'s fashion world, working at Fred Segal, Joseph Magnin Century City and Kenneth Cole.

Cole posted a statement on social media confirming Carleton had been a friend and a long-time associate of his company. Cole called Carleton's slaying 'an unnecessary and tragic death.'

California Governor Gavin Newsom described her death as 'absolutely horrific', adding 'this disgusting hate has no place in CA.'

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ organization added: 'Today was a very sad day for Lake Arrowhead and for the LGBTQ community.

'Our friend and supporter Lauri Carleton was murdered defending her LGBTQ+ Pride flags in front of her store in Cedar Glen, California.

'Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+ but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community. She will be truly missed.'

Carleton - who known to friends as Lauri - split time with her kids and husband there and in Lake Arrowhead, where the family owned a restored 1920's Fisherman's Cabin

Actress Bridget Everett confirmed it was not the first encounter Carleton faced over displaying the Pride flag

Before her death, Carleton reportedly told friends that those who did not agree with the flags 'didn't have to shop' in her store

Director of 'Bridesmaids' Paul Feig also paid tribute to Laura, calling her a 'wonderful person'.

He added: 'What happened to her is an absolute tragedy. If people don't think anti-gay & trans rhetoric isn't dangerous, think again.'

Actress Bridget Everett confirmed it was not the first encounter Carleton faced over displaying the Pride flag.

She said: 'In the past, when someone took down her flag or vandalized it, she'd put up another one.

'The last time I saw Lauri was, oddly enough, at Lake Arrowhead Pride both in the parade and then at a party.

'All that anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has a price. And now, Lauri's husband Bort, her daughters, friends and community are devastated. And for what?'

Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, said in a statement: 'The tragic, targeted killing of Lauri over the pride flag displayed at her Lake Arrowhead store was senseless and, unfortunately, part of a growing number of attacks on LGBTQ people and our allies.'

GLAAD and the Anti-Defamation League have tracked more than 350 anti-LGBTQ+ attacks across the country this year.
This is the moment armed police boarded a Jet2 plane and removed a passenger over claims there was a bomb on board.

The flight was grounded at East Midlands airport yesterday at around 5:15pm after it was reported that a man on board the plane claimed he was in possession of an explosive device.

Police later arrested a man, who has since been bailed, but said no bomb was found after a search of the plane and that the threat was not 'viable'.

The flight, bound for Antalya in Turkey, was due to depart at 4:45pm but ended up leaving the runway at 8:08pm, according to Jet2's website, after the 'disruptive passenger' was offloaded.

Footage of the incident shows two armed police officers standing at the front of the plane as they tell a man to walk forward with his hands raised above his head and exit the plane. His wife and a young girl can also be seen following behind him.

Footage of the incident shows two armed police officers standing at the front of the plane

They tell the man to walk forward, towards them, with his hands raised above his head

A father, who was on a different flight, captured the drama unfold from the tarmac in another video of the incident.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'We were due to take off at 5:35pm. I was travelling alone with my two young boys who were kept entertained by their devices - but it was terrifying.

'The whole plane was in a state of apprehension. There was around two dozen police.'

The mans own Majorca flight was delayed for two hours, finally taking off at 7:30pm.

Leicestershire Police said: 'At 5.16pm today (Monday), police were informed of a report of a male aboard an aircraft at East Midlands Airport who stated he was in possession of an explosive device.

'The aircraft was on the ground at the time of the incident.

'Officers worked with airport staff and with the aircraft crew to provide an immediate response to the report. In the interests of public and officer safety, armed officers were also deployed to the area of the aircraft.

'Following instruction, the man safely left the aircraft where he was arrested on suspicion of possession of an explosive substance.

The man can be seen slowly walking forward towards the officers before exiting the plane

A woman, who says she is the man's wife, and a young girl can also be seen following him off the flight

A father, who was on a different flight, captured the drama unfold from the tarmac in another video of the incident

In the footage from outside the plane, the same man can be seen in the far right being led away by a police officer

His wife and a young girl are also seen being escorted over to a group of cars

The video then cuts out before any of the police vehicles drive off

'Following the arrest, the aircraft has been fully searched. No explosive device has been found onboard and there is no suggestion that the threat made is viable.

'The man arrested has since been released on bail and our enquiries remain ongoing.'

Jet2 said: 'We can confirm that flight LS653 from East Midlands to Antalya returned to stand yesterday evening so that police could offload a disruptive passenger.

'The flight departed after the passenger was offloaded, and we would like to apologise to everyone onboard for any inconvenience or upset caused by this unforeseen incident.'
Attorney John Eastman surrendered to Georgia authorities Tuesday after prosecutors accused him of being part of a criminal enterprise that sought to help Donald Trump remain in office after the former president lost the 2024 presidential election.

The 63-year-old lawyer and academic was booked at the Fulton County Jail a week after he, Trump and 17 of the 45th presidents surrogates were indicted on charges including racketeering and forgery in connection to a failed fake electors scheme.

Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall surrendered prior to Eastman, making him the first Trump associate to surrender in Georgia. Their co-defendants have until Friday to turn themselves in.

Trump plans to surrender Thursday  the day after the GOP debates take place in Milwaukee, Wis.  where he is not expected to be in attendance. Despite his legal woes, Trump is once again the front-runner to be the Republican Partys nominee for president in 2020.

Chapman University law professor John Eastman stands at left as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani speaks in Washington at a rally in support of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.

Eastmans lawyers released a statement Tuesday claiming their client was surrendering over an indictment that should never have been brought. Its their contention that Eastman, who faces possible disbarment in California, simply offered legal support to Trump and committed no crime.

In January, Eastman retired from Chapman University Law School in Orange, Calif., where he spent more than two decades and is a former dean.

The right-wing jurist spread false information during a speech at Trumps Jan. 6. 2021, Stop the Steal rally, where MAGA extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of President Bidens electoral victory.

In Georgia, Eastman is accused of penning a memo claiming former Vice President Mike Pence could stop the counting of electoral votes that would effectively end Trumps presidency.

Eastman, along with other alleged conspirators, is also accused of supporting an alternate slate of electors to cast electoral votes for Trump in states won by Biden.

John Eastman, left, an attorney indicted with former President Donald Trump, leaves after speaking to media outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he was booked on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.

Its been joked that Trumps MAGA slogan  Make America Great Again  now stands for Making Attorneys Get Attorneys.

Former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell have found themselves in legal peril for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Michael Cohen, who represented Trump for nearly a decade, calls it sadly true that the former presidents legal advisers often end up hiring defense attorneys.

Disgraced counselor Jenna Ellis wondered why Trump wasnt helping his lawyers with their new legal fees after learning she too had been indicted in Georgia.

I was reliably informed Trump isnt funding any of us who are indicted, she wrote on social media last week. I totally agree this has become a bigger principle than just one man. So why isnt MAGA, Inc. funding everyones defense?

Her bond, like Eastmans, was set at $100,000. Eastman still contends the election was somehow rigged.

With News Wire Services
A traumatised grandmother gave her final farewells to her in hopsital believing she would soon die, after a hospital blunder saw her put on a ward for dying patients and her medication withdrawn.

Jean Kelly, 77, said goodbye to her three children, eight grandchildren and even her beloved dog in an 'end of life room'.

The retired teacher from Whitstable, Kent had been at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate for two months. She was taken seriously ill with pneumonia and respiratory complications at the end of June.

'The doctor told us to get the family in and I said "I haven't seen my dog in nine weeks", and he told us we could bring the dog in to see me,' she said.

'That's when we knew what he was saying. It was a horrible day. All my family and friends came to say goodbye. I gave my grandchildren some special jewellery I'd been saving. I was sure I was going to die. I had been very ill.'

Grandmother Jean Kelly (right) was told to give her final farewells to her family due to hospital blunder. Pictured with her husband Bob Kelly

The blunder occurred when Mrs Kelly was moved into a room normally reserved for end-of-life patients to give her and her family more 'privacy'. This is when a team of on-call medics misunderstood the reason behind the transfer and started Mrs Kelly on a 'care of dying' plan.

But after the tearful farewells the following day, two junior doctors Mrs Kelly had got to know realised a serious mistake had been made. Her antibiotics and steroids were restored and, after showing some improvements, she was allowed home three days later.

East Kent Hospitals, which runs the QEQM, has now apologised 'sincerely', admitting Mrs Kelly should never have been transferred to the end-of-life ward or had her medication stopped.

While Mrs Kelly was told that radiography she had undergone for lung cancer had returned positive results, her pleurisy, fibrosis and the damage done to her lungs through two bouts of hospital pneumonia and various other infections mean she is aware she may not have long left to live.

In spite of this, and with the support of her palliative care team, she is trying to make the most of the precious time she has left with her family.

'We don't know how long I've got left, in fact nobody seems to,' she said.

'We do accept that it is terminal but they've told me I could have days, weeks or longer, and now I've been home for over a month. Crazy.

'I just wanted to know why it happened, how it had happened and I'd like it not to happen to anybody else.

Jean Kelly (right) said she just wants to know 'why it happened, how it had happened and I'd like it not to happen to anybody else'. Pictured with her husband Bob and beloved dog

'I have a family to fight my corner and a voice, but for someone on their own they would be dead now. How could that happen? QEQM is a scary place to be if you're not well.

'It was horrible and just so scary. They told me I was dying. It was just so surreal.'

Mrs Kelly and her husband Bob had planned to marry on her birthday, July 1 - this turned out to be the day she said her goodbyes to loved ones - but after her husband learned he had prostate cancer on December 31 last year the pair decided to tie the knot at a register office in February.

They planned to keep the July booking to celebrate their union with all their friends and family, but when the date arrived it was Mrs Kelly who was in hospital.

Following their ordeal, the family lodged a formal complaint with the hospital in the hope of preventing other families suffering the same experiences.

They received a response on Thursday, a day after East Kent Hospitals was approached for a comment.

In it the Trust said it wanted to 'sincerely apologise' for the care Mrs Kelly received, and the 'distress and concern' it had caused her and her family.

It says Mrs Kelly was moved to a room on an end-of-life ward on June 30 to give her more privacy to see her family, as she was seriously unwell but still being actively treated with antibiotics and steroids in the hope she would get better.

The retired teacher from Whitstable, Kent had been at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate for two months. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trusthas said it wants to 'sincerely apologise' to Mrs Kelly

The transfer was made despite the fact the agreed policy for admission is that 'the patient, family and medical team are all in agreement that there is no further reversible or treatable condition and the focus of care is on dignified palliative and end-of-life care'.

While it was stated her treatment should continue, the Trust says an on-call medical doctor and nursing staff on the general ward where Mrs Kelly had been staying 'misunderstood the plan of care that had been recorded' and started her on an end-of-life care plan.

'This should not have happened,' it said.

'Once you had moved to [the private room] the night nurses and another on-call doctor also appear to have misunderstood your plan of care, and they stopped your antibiotics on the evening of June 30.

'This should not have happened and we are very, very sorry for this.'

The Trust says Mrs Kelly's medication was restored after the error was spotted by the junior doctors and a palliative care nurse, who are credited for potentially saving her life.

It said: 'We recognise that had it not been for the quick actions of the two junior doctors and palliative care [nurse] in recognising on July 1 that your antibiotics had stopped and should not have been, you may have been much more unwell and the outcome uncertain.'

The Trust says it has discussed the importance of adhering to the policy of admission to the ward for end-of-life patients.

Jane Dickson, Chief Nursing Officer, said: 'I am deeply sorry for Ms Kellys experience and for the miscommunication with her and her family while she was in hospital.

'To ensure we learn lessons from Ms Kellys experience, we are looking closely at what happened and why so it does not happen again in the future. We will continue to communicate our findings with Ms Kelly.'
Missouri prisoners took a 70-year-old guard hostage demanding 'pizza and chicken patties' as they criticized minimal hot food options for inmates.

Police say the guard was injured and unarmed. He'd been taken hostage on the fourth floor of the Justice Center just after 6am on Tuesday morning and released several hours later.

The guard was released at 8:30am Fox 2 Now reported. The standoff appears to now be over, after authorities surrounded the building.

Sources told KFVS12 that prisoners had been demanding 'pizza and chicken patties' amid complaints there isn't enough hot food options, although this has not been confirmed by officials.

The guard was placed in an ambulance and taken to hospital for treatment, his condition remains unclear.

Several police vehicles are on scene, along with the St. Louis SWAT Team. An update will be made available from police at 2pm.

This is a developing story.

Several police vehicles are on scene, along with the St. Louis SWAT Team

The guard was placed in an ambulance and taken to hospital for treatment, his condition remains unclear

Missouri prisoners took a 70-year-old guard hostage demanding 'pizza and chicken patties' as they criticized minimal hot food options for inmates
Scott Hall on Tuesday became the first of former President Donald Trump's 18 co-defendants to turn himself in to the Fulton County, Georgia, jail.

Hall, who works as a bail bondsman in Atlanta, was charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with crimes related to his alleged involvement in the Coffee County, Georgia, voting systems breach.

According to the jail's records, Hall is currently being detained and has an inmate identification number. Hall signed a bond agreement with Willis on Wednesday, and should be released after he is processed at the jail.

All of the 19 defendants in the case who were indicted last week, including Trump, are expected to turn themselves in this week ahead of a Friday deadline set by Willis.

Scott Hall with Donald Trump - Hall became the first of Trump's co-conspirators to surrender to authorities in Atlanta

All are expected to be arrested at Fulton Countys jail, then released on pre-negotiated bond terms

Trump said he will surrender to the courthouse on Thursday. His bond has been set at $200,000.

Another condition of his release is that he cannot use social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses and the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.

Hall was accused of conspiring to unlawfully access voter data and ballot counting machines at the Coffee County election office on January 7, 2021. He was seen surveillance video at the office, on the day of the breach.

The breach is part of the overall charges Willis brought in the case and it was done by Trump allies convinced there was voter fraud in the state. No evidence of fraud was found and multiple recounts confirmed Biden's victory.

Meanwhile, attorney John Eastman surrendered to Fulton County later Tuesday.

Eastman, another of the 18 co-defendants, reached an agreement with Willis for a $100,000 bond.

Attorney John Eastman plans to surrender to Fulton County on Wednesday - he's seen above with Donald Trump in the Oval Office

The Fulton County jail where all 19 co-defendants, including Donald Trump, must surrender by noon on Friday

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Eastman pushed a six-step plan for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn Joe Bidens victory while presiding over the Electoral College certification on January 6, 2021.

Pence refused to do so, pointing out that the constitution only gives the vice president the ceremonial power of overseeing the election certification.

Eastman also urged Georgia state lawmakers to appoint fake GOP electors to replace the legitimate slate of Democratic electors.
Wealthy residents in a Democrat-led Californian city have been branded NIMBYs for fighting to keep 100 homeless people from being housed in a $134-a-night hotel.

Crowds of angry Millbrae residents packed out their local community hall on Friday to protest 'Project Homekey' proposals to house rough sleepers at the La Quinta hotel on El Camino Real, close to the city center.

While hundreds of belligerent residents continue their fight to halt the homeless housing plans, others have slammed the Dem-majority's hypocrisy for voting in liberal leaders but then pushing back on progressive policies.

Jess Hudson, who is a local resident and Commissioner at the County of San Mateo, said that their actions show NIMBYism is popular, regardless of political affiliation. It's an for the phrase 'not in my back yard.'

About 95 percent of Millbrae's homeless population are currently congregating and sleeping at the Bay Area Rapid Transit station. The city is the last stop before San Francisco Airport, hence why many homeless people traveling south from San Francisco end up there.

Over 74 percent of residents in San Mateo County, which includes Millbrae, voted for Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom in November 2022 - with just one quarter of all ballots voting for the Republican candidate.

Crowds of angry Millbrae residents packed out their local authority's community hall on Friday to protest 'Project Homekey' plans to house 100 rough sleepers at the La Quinta hotel on El Camino Real, close to the city center

While hundreds of belligerent residents continue their fight to halt the homeless housing plans, others have slammed the Dem-majority's hypocrisy for voting in liberal leaders but then pushing back on progressive policies

In March, Newsom announced a $1billion fund to tackle homelessness, attempting to deliver housing to the hundreds of thousands of people rough sleeping in the state. In the past four years, California as spent $17.5billion on the issue.

Newsom said: 'In California, we are using every tool in our toolbox  including the largest-ever deployment of small homes in the state  to move people off the streets and into housing.

'The crisis of homelessness will never be solved without first solving the crisis of housing  the two issues are inextricably linked. We are tackling this issue at the root of the problem by addressing the need to create more housing, faster in California.'

In February, there was a total of 1,092 homeless people in the county of San Mateo - which was a 20 percent increase compared to 2019, according to the Daily Journal.

The scenes on Friday showed hundreds of people standing outside the 300-man capacity hall to hear proposals outlined by San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy.

About 95 percent of Millbrae's homeless population are currently congregating and sleeping at the Bay Area Rapid Transit station. The city is the last stop before San Francisco Airport, hence why many homeless people end up there

Some residents yelled their opposition, while others waved signs, flung their arms in the air and made thumbs-down gestures toward the speakers.

Brandishing home-made signs reading 'Don't Bully Millbrae', 'Protect Us' and 'Safety for Millbrae', the neighbors aired their concerns about public safety and the proximity of the hotel to several schools.

The group of residents opposing the hotel, the Millbrae Guardians, wrote following the chaos at the council meeting: 'From the very core of my heart, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who joined the gathering at the Millbrae Recreation Center.

'The turnout was simply spectacular! Seeing our neighbors, friends, and family, all packed into the Great Room, and even spilling outside the recreation center due to the sheer numbers, was a testimony to the strength of our community's voice.

'The sight of that profound gathering on Friday night is not something we witness every day.

Jess Hudson, who is a local resident and Commissioner at the County of San Mateo, said that their actions show NIMBYism is popular, regardless of political affiliation

'Many neighbors mentioned that they had never seen a crowd like that in Millbrae.

'This united gathering wasn't just about numbers; it was a clear message: Millbrae residents wish to be heard.

'It was a testament to the dedication and commitment of our community to protect our home and send a clear message to our county supervisors and the county executive.

'The proposal to transform a commercial hotel into a homeless shelter could result in substantial financial losses for Millbrae. We also have genuine concerns about our capacity to handle the extra services typically associated with such housing.

'The County cannot make decisions that have such lasting impacts on our community without providing adequate information and without our input.'

Local Jess Hudson slammed people, including the Mayor, for allegedly spreading misinformation about the hotel.

The mom said that people in the wealthy area fall into homelessness 'at no fault of their own' - and the reality is that most people are closer to being homeless than actually owning a home in Millbrae.

She also branded the protesters as NIMBYS - people who adopt the 'not in my back yard' belief, becoming opposed to proposed developments in their local area.

Hudson, who has been a vocal advocate for the scheme and has slammed the seeming lack of compassion by her neighbors, said: 'The Homekey project in Millbrae will house 99 people and provide supportive services-including mental and physical health care access, social services, and access to career training.

'My neighbors don't want this because they don't want unhoused people here. So house them.'

Crowds spilled out of the council meeting at which many Millbrae residents rallied against San Mateo County leaders going ahead with plans to convert the La Quinta hotel into housing for homeless people in San Francisco

Neighbors aired their concerns about safety and the proximity of the city center hotel (pictured) to several schools

Rooms at the hotel usually cost around $140 a night

The hotel, which is posed to become a residence for homeless people, has an outdoor swimming pool

Hudson told DailyMail.com: 'NIMBYism is still quite popular regardless of political affiliation.

'The misinformation about the project was designed to incite fear - insisting that these residents would be drug addicted child molesters despite the reality being that nearly half of the poor in our wealthy, safe, and well-managed county are seniors.

'The fact that the project continues to be called a shelter is also contributing to that. It's not a shelter, it's a permanently supportive apartment complex with leases and staff on site.

In response to angry residents' fears that it will financially hurt the area, she said: 'The County is providing a year of revenue and ongoing support to address those issues as well as the fact that the hotel wasn't doing well anyway and there are new hotels that were just built in better locations along transit and new hotels being scouted to replace the revenue.'

Hudson continued: 'Our Mayor [Ann Schneider] has been working with locals (primarily our Chinese immigrant community and our older, conservative white community) to spread the misinformation and rile everyone up.

'She encouraged this kind of behavior and behaved this way herself towards county staff.'

She added: 'On a human level, I've lived and raised my children in Millbrae for 11 years. I've served in the schools and with the girl scouts. I also working public policy.

Like many cities in San Mateo County, Millbrae has a high median household income of $141,399 - while also being home to a hefty rough sleeping population

Homelessness is rife in San Francisco, particularly in the downtown area

'To hear my neighbors screaming that homeless people are all drug addicted and dangerous so they shouldn't be housed is extremely upsetting.

'After the meeting my Mayor loudly declared me her enemy and I spent the weekend concerned to leave my house.

'This doesn't only impact the people who are unhoused. It tells everyone in the community that if they support them, they're a target.

'I won't accept that. That's not the Millbrae I want for my kids.

'We live in one of the most expensive counties in the country. We have a lot of folks falling into homelessness at no fault of their own.

Ann Schneider, Millbrae's mayor

'I'm paycheck to paycheck and what I hear is, if one disaster hits and I'm unable to pay my rent and lose my very expensive housing, I become less than human to them.

'And the reality is, most of us are closer to homelessness than to owning a home here.'

Hudson, who works in public policy, said: 'San Mateo County has a goal of functional zero homelessness and it's up to all of us in the county to help achieve that.

'We want a county where all people have a safe bed and no one is on the streets.

'The Homekey project is part of the strategy to make that reality.

'In the county currently, about 1200 people are unsheltered. This project drops that to 1100.'

Like many cities in San Mateo County, Millbrae has a high median household income of $141,399.

Millbrae is represented by Democrat Josh Becker in the 13th Senate District - and in the 21st Assembly District, the town is represented by Democrat Diane Papan.

In the House of Representatives, Millbrae is also represented by an elected Democrat - Kevin Mullin - in California's 15th congressional district.

According to the California Secretary of State, Millbrae has 12,850 registered voters. Of those 44.6 percent are registered Democrats compared to just 16 percent that are registered as Republicans.

Over 74 percent of residents in San Mateo County, which includes Millbrae, voted for Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom in November 2022 - with just one quarter of all ballots voting for the Republican candidate

Local resident Silvia So, who opposes the hotel scheme, said: 'I want to stress that even though some share this perspective and question the need for more action, it is still crucial to remember that, regardless of the circumstances, we need to keep fighting to safeguard our city and stand up for our rights.

'Neglecting to do so might lead the county and other cities to perceive us as vulnerable, potentially leading to the establishment of additional permanent homeless shelters here in the future and jeopardizing our funding.

'Keep fighting everyone! This is just the beginning. The county will try to convert more of our hotels into shelters.'

Other people online have slammed the belligerent locals.

One person said: 'Why are the residents of Millbrae upset? They vote Democrat and this is the consequences.'

Another added: 'Typical rich liberal California democrats. You get what you vote for.'

And a third said: 'Elections have consequences folks, you keep voting for democrat extremist losers. This is your own fault.'

Others chimed in: 'The homeless situation in Millbrae and the San Francisco area is the direct result of the Democrat politicians and ballot measures the citizens voted for.

'They got what they wanted, so they should stop whining.'

The project has not yet had funding approved, but if it does it will be overseen by the local Episcopal Community Services (ECS).

Beth Stokes from the service said the homeless people would be 'essentially living in an apartment' with support staff available to help them at all hours.

'In terms of safety, ECS will have 24/7 staffing on site,' she told NBC Bay Area.

'We also will have case management staffing and that's what supportive housing is. It's services.'

Homelessness is a pervasive problem in the San Francisco area, and Millbrae is only 15 miles south of downtown's Union Square, where the largest stretch of encampments are laid out. Thousands of people live on the streets.

The city is also riddled with rocketing crime levels and many rough sleepers suffer from fentanyl addiction.
Dick's Sporting Goods has reported a 23 percent drop in profits and blames rampant theft for the downward turn with the company's chairman warning the situation is expected to get worse.

Dick's reported net income for the three-month period to July 29 of $244 million, or $2.82 per share, compared with $318.5 million, or $3.25 per share, for the same period last year.

The retail giant's shares slid more than 24 per cent after the earnings announcement on Tuesday.

'Our Q2 profitability was short of our expectations due in large part to the impact of elevated inventory shrink, an increasingly serious issue impacting many retailers,' CEO Lauren Hobart said in a statement.

This was the first reference the company has made to 'shrink' in an earnings call or press release in almost twenty years.

Footage of brazen thefts at Dick's stores across the country have spread on social media in recent months

The retail giant's shares slid more than 24 per cent after the earnings announcement on Tuesday

Chairman Ed Stack blamed a third of the company's margin reduction on shrink and warned that things are predicted to get worse.

'Its moved. Its kind of gone up' Stack told CNBC about the rise of theft in stores.

'We expect it could even get a little bit worse. Weve taken a little bit bigger reserve for that in the second half of the year.

'Just because what we see going on with organized retail crime, grab and gos,' Stack said in an interview.

'We think were doing the best we can to try to curtail it with the security that we have in the stores, working with local authorities.'

Footage of brazen thefts at Dick's stores across the country have spread on social media in recent months.

In one example, at an outlet in Colorado three young men were caught on surveillance tapes running out of the shop with around $2,600 worth of North Face coats.

In another incident in Oregon a man was filmed by a customer walking out of the store in broad daylight.

In another incident in Oregon a man was filmed by a customer walking out of the store in broad daylight

Fortunately on this occasion police were waiting for the thief outside the entrance

A Target worker locking up one of the cabinets holding men's deodorant. Most stores now lock up their goods to prevent shoplifting

Fortunately on this occasion police were waiting for the thief outside the entrance.

It comes as large and small retailers have increasingly blamed theft for weighing down their profit margins.

Dick's has been forced to slash its earnings guidance for the year and announced cuts to its global headcount.

The retailer now expects earnings of $11.33 to $12.13 per share for the year, compared with previously issued guidance of $12.90 to $13.80.

Just under one percent of the company's workforce was cut on Monday, mostly in its customer support center it announced.

The cuts will cost about $20 million in severance expenses in the next quarter and may result in additional one-time charges of $25 million to $50 million.

Recent years has seen an increase in organized shoplifting carried out by criminal gangs with varying levels of sophistication.

According to the National Retail Federation, 'shrinkage' cost retailers $94.5 billion nationwide in 2021, up from $90.8 billion from 2020.

Major retailers in the US have been forced to shut down stores due to millions of dollars in losses as rampant theft plagues big box stores across the country

Major retailers in the US have been forced to shut down stores due to the losses.

In April Walmart announced it will shut down four of its stores in Chicago just weeks after America's biggest employer shuttered its only stores in Portland.

Just a month later Target announced it was projected to lose $500million a year to violent shoplifters.

The retailer made the shocking announcement during an earnings call in May.

'The unfortunate fact is violent incidents are increasing at our stores and across the entire retail industry' CEO Brian Cornell said on the call.

'Left unchecked, organized retail crime degrades the communities we call home. As we work to address this problem, the safety of our guests and our team members will always be our primary concern' he added.

Progressive district attorneys in cities like Chicago, New York, Portland and California have faced blame for effectively 'legalizing shoplifting' with either not prosecuting thefts under $950, or letting criminals off with a slap on the wrist.
The late Queen was the 'only person in the world who Margaret Thatcher was frightened of', a former political editor of The Times has revealed.

Julian Haviland, who worked for the newspaper between 1981 and 1986, told how Mrs Thatcher, who was Prime Minister throughout the 1980s, would drink a large scotch or two before her weekly audience with Her Majesty to settle her nerves.

Mr Haviland was speaking in an interview with Times Radio which aired this morning and was recorded just weeks before his death earlier this month aged 93.

He also revealed how the Queen was left 'horrified' by the Battle of Orgreave and described the violent clashes between mounted police and striking miners in 1984 as 'awful'.

The retired journalist recalled interviewing Mrs Thatcher in Downing Street and being struck by the amount of whisky she was drinking.

The late Queen was the 'only person in the world who Margaret Thatcher was frightened of', a former political editor of The Times has revealed. Pictured: The pair in Zambia for the Commonwealth conference of 1979

'After she finished she took an extremely large scotch. Margaret had quite a capacity,' he said.

He added that he believed she started a second before he left. He told his boss, Charles Douglas-Home, the then editor of The Times, that he he thought this was because he had 'shaken her a little'.

But Douglas-Home said believed she was drinking because she was about to see the Queen.

'It was Tuesday at 5pm and her next engagement was her weekly audience with the Queen,' Mr Haviland said.

'The one person in the world of whom Margaret Thatcher was frightened was the Queen. That's why she downed a lot.'

Speaking of his claims about the Queen's reaction to the police's clashes with miners, Mr Haviland said: 'The Queen was watching on telly and when the horses rode through some of the miners and knocked a few down, the Queen said words [to the effect of] "Oh, that's awful! Oh, we shouldn't do that."

'And [for] the Queen to make a political comment like that was news.'

Julian Haviland, who worked for the newspaper between 1981 and 1986, told how Mrs Thatcher, who was Prime Minister throughout the 1980s, would drink a large scotch or two before her weekly audience with Her Majesty to settle her nerves. Pictured: The Queen and Mrs Thatcher at Downing Street with former PMs James Callaghan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath in 1985, during celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of Number 10 being the official residence of the Prime Minister

The violence erupted between 10,000 policemen and 5,000 picketing miners at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham in a struggle which saw nearly 100 miners charged.

The interventions by mounted police led to 123 injuries in one of the most controversial moments of the 1980s miners' strikes.

Mr Haviland said his story was not published after he advised doing so would incriminate his source - because there were only two other people in the room when the Queen spoke.

The prosecution of all 95 miners who had been charged collapsed after concerns emerged about police statements.

Mrs Thatcher and Her Majesty are believed to have had a difficult relationship, despite the fact the PM was an arch-royalist.

Documentary maker Michael Cockerell previously told how they 'rubbed each other up the wrong way'.

Whilst Mrs Thatcher would always turn up to her weekly audiences with the Queen 15 minutes early, Her Majesty would keep her waiting for that exact length of time rather than admitting her early.

According to Hello! Magazine's late former royal editor, Judy Wade, Mrs Thatcher once ordered an aide to phone Buckingham Palace on the day that she and the Queen were due to attend the same evening function.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Lord Mountbatten's memorial service in 1983

Mrs Thatcher and Her Majesty are believed to have had a difficult relationship, despite the fact the PM was an arch-royalist

The PM was said to be concerned about wearing a similar dress to the monarch. But the 'withering' response that came back from royal aides was that Mrs Thatcher should not 'fret', because 'the Queen never notices what other women wear'.

In 1986, The Sunday Times reported that Mrs Thatcher's social policies were causing the Queen 'dismay', and added that the PM's alleged negative attitude to the Commonwealth had also caused upset.

The Queen's Press Secretary Michael Shea was blamed for the story, which Her Majesty is said to have been horrified by.

He was later forced to sit next to Mrs Thatcher at a dinner at Holyrood House, where he apologised.

Whilst she told him not to worry, Shea left his role soon after.

Mr Cockerell said his departure was 'the way these things are done by the Palace', although the aide denied that him leaving had anything to do with the controversy.
Doctors in Alabama now face 10 years in jail if they authorize puberty blockers or hormones to transgender children, after an appeals court backed the states ban.

A judge in a lower court had put the ban on hold after four families with transgender children ranging in ages 12 to 17 challenged it as unconstitutional.

But the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban could go ahead, insisting there are still doubts about the drugs safety.

It comes as more than 20 Republican-led states face imminent court battles over restrictions they have imposed on medics helping transgender children in the last three years.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the ruling a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall can now threaten doctors in his state with lengthy prison terms

Protestors lobbying for trans rights outside the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama on March 31, 2023

Birmingham pediatrician Dr Morissa Ladinsky insisted the drugs were 'safe, effective, and established medical care' for transgender teens in an interview in April 2022

The Eleventh Circuit reinforced that the State has the authority to safeguard the physical and psychological wellbeing of minors, he added.

Gender-affirming care for minors has been at the center of political debate in recent years amid concerns that patients who get it are vulnerable and not fully aware of the risks.

The ban was imposed last year by Alabamas Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act but challenged by families as an unconstitutional violation of equal protection and free speech rights, as well as an intrusion into family medical decisions.

US District Judge Liles Burke put the ban on hold concluding that Alabama had produced no credible evidence to show that transitioning medications are experimental.

Puberty blockers have been used to treat children with early puberty for 30 years with approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and sex hormones have been used for decades for hormonal disorders.

They have long been used to treat gender-questioning young people but have not been federally approved for that purpose, and the appeals court ruled that there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects.

The wave of bans has left thousands of families with transgender children facing grueling cross-country trips in search of clinics that are still allowed to help them.

Around 89,100 transgender teens aged 13 to 17 years old live in states with restrictions, representing 30 percent of all transgender minors in the US, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Their average journey to an appointment has rocketed from less than 50 minutes to 5.3 hours as the bans have taken effect.

Maps published in the Journal of the American Medical Association show how the average travel time to the nearest gender-affirming clinic has soared since the wave of restrictions were introduced

The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose the bans and experts say treatments are safe if properly administered, and bans have also been temporarily blocked by federal judges in Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky.

But an appeals court has also upheld Tennessees ban and the issue seems destined to head to the Supreme Court.

There are concerns among Republican lawmakers about the lack of long-term safety data on puberty blockers and hormone drugs, which have seen other countries like the UK and Scandinavia restrict access in minors.

But Birmingham pediatrician Dr Morissa Ladinsky said she hopes the restoration of Alabamas ban is just a temporary setback.

As a doctor who has treated hundreds of transgender adolescents, I know firsthand the challenges these young people and their families face and the benefits these treatments provide to youth who need them.

Alabama governor Kay Ivey (right) signed the state's Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act into law last year but campaigners have warned that the fight for transgender rights has only just begun

This is safe, effective, and established medical care. There is no valid reason to ban this care.

Advocacy groups representing families who challenged the Alabama law vowed to continue the fight, saying parents, not the government, are best situated to make these medical decisions for their children.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, and the Human Rights Campaign, issued a joint statement.

Our clients are devastated by this decision, which leaves them vulnerable to what the district court-after hearing several days of testimony from parents, doctors, and experts-found to be irreparable harm as a result of losing the medical care they have been receiving and that has enabled them to thrive,' they said.
A 'Jekyll and Hyde' former Metropolitan Police officer who repeatedly raped a female colleague and a 16-year-old girl has been jailed for 16 years with a further eight on extended licence.

Adam Provan, 44, of Newmarket, Suffolk, was found guilty of raping a fellow police officer six times between 2003 and 2005, and twice raping a GCSE student he met on a 'hellish' blind date after lying about his age in 2010.

As sentencing began at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Noel Lucas KC said the 'persistence and seriousness' of his offending was clear.

He said the particularly 'troubling' aspect was that he was a police officer at the time of the offences and 'someone members of the public have an entitlement to feel was someone of the highest trustworthiness'.

The judge told Provan: 'By your actions, you brought disgrace on the police force.'

Former Met Police officer Adam Provan has been jailed for 16 years with a further eight on extended licence

Provan (pictured leaving court) had initially been convicted of raping the 16-year-old victim after a retrial in 2018 and jailed for nine years

Judge Lucas told Provan he had displayed a 'cold-blooded entitlement to sex' then immediately behaved as if everything was 'completely normal'.

He found the defendant met the criteria for being regarded as a 'dangerous' offender.

He added: 'You have shown not the slightest remorse or understanding of what you have put (the female officer) through.'

The judge said he was troubled by the way the Met handled the female police officer's initial complaints against Provan's behaviour in 2005.

He said those who dealt with them at the Met 'were more concerned with looking after one of their own than taking her seriously' and had an investigation been taken forward, the 16-year-old victim may have been spared.

The judge also paid tribute to both victims, saying they had been 'extremely courageous' in reading out their impact statements in court.

Provan had initially been convicted of raping the 16-year-old victim after a retrial in 2018 and jailed for nine years. He was sacked from the Met the following year.

He served three years and three months in prison before he successfully appealed against his conviction and his case was sent for a third trial.

Adam Provan, 44, of Newmarket, Suffolk, was found guilty of raping a fellow police officer six times between 2003 and 2005, and twice raping a GCSE student

At that trial in May, six new counts of rape were added, relating to earlier offences against the serving Metropolitan Police officer.

On Monday, Provan's wider history of predatory behaviour was laid bare at Wood Green Crown Court on the first day of his two-day sentencing.

Prosecutor Anthony Metzer KC said Provan had abused his position as an officer to gain young women's trust and had 'aspects of a Jekyll and Hyde character'.

He said Provan had 'an extended history of allegations' of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1990s, including 'stalkerish behaviour' and culminating in the rapes of the 16-year-old girl.

The defendant had 751 female contacts in his mobile phone, indicating a 'fascination bordering on the obsessive' with young women, Judge Noel Lucas KC said.

READ MORE: Met Police officer is found guilty of raping female officer and 16-year-old girl he met on a blind date after he lied about his age Advertisement

Mr Metzer said the details on Provan's phone 'strongly suggested' there was sexual activity with the women, many of whom were young.

In 2005 another female police officer had reported receiving 'nuisance' messages from Provan, but the complaint was dealt with 'informally' and not taken further.

Provan, who watched teenage pornography online, had also allegedly contacted another 16-year-old girl after she gave her details as a witness.

Julia Smart KC, defending, said all the allegations were disputed by Provan.

Speaking in court from behind a screen, the teenage victim, who is now in her 20s, said: 'The day I met Adam Provan changed my life forever.

'No prison sentence will take away the harm Adam Provan has caused me. No amount of justice will make me forget the date from hell.

'Even though I tried my best to block it out I will never forget how scared I was when the assault took place, and 13 years later reliving my worst nightmare.'

She said it was 'sickening' to be told Provan really was a police officer as he had claimed when they first met.

Giving evidence over three trials was 'traumatic' and she felt 'personally attacked', she said.

The other victim, who is still a serving officer, said she 'lived in constant fear' Provan would kill her and felt he saw himself as 'untouchable'.

The officer told the court she felt the police had not dealt with Provan and failed to protect her.

She added: 'I feel guilty for people after me who came in contact with Adam, and if they suffered abuse, this has preyed on my mind.'

Judge Lucas hailed the victims' bravery as he thanked them for giving their statements in court.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to Beijing and Shanghai next week, becoming the latest Biden administration figure to meet key Chinese officials as Washington tries to stabilize a difficult relationship.

Last month, Raimondo promised to go ahead with the trip despite reports that her department's emails had been hacked by Chinese cyber attackers.

She follows Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as Washington tries to restore stability after the passage of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the U.S. frazzled nerves.

However, Republicans were quick to warn that she must not negotiate export controls with Beijing, which would risk important technology falling in a rival's hands.

'U.S. export control policy towards the [Peoples Republic of China] should not be up for negotiation, period,' said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and other senior Republicans. 'Decisions on the nature and scope of U.S. export controls should be taken in Washington, not Beijing.'

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to Beijing and Shanghai next week, becoming the latest Biden administration figure to meet key Chinese officials

Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks with China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing in June

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Raimondo will say the U.S. is not be looking to decouple from China.

Instead, he told a briefing, she will stress that the United States was focused on 'protecting our national security and ensuring resilient supply chains alongside our allies and partners while we continue our economic relationship and our trade relationship.'

In a statement announcing the trip, the Commerce Department said the talks would cover issues related to the U.S.- China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation.

Last week, China said it welcomed Raimondo's expected visit.

Raimondo said recently that she wanted to raise with China "really serious concerns about the way they are targeting U.S. tech companies, about the way they don't respect intellectual property but also try to find lanes of commerce."

Her trip follows a four-day visit last month by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who held more than 10 hours of meetings with senior officials in Beijing.

The United States and China agreed this month to approve twice the number of passenger flights now permitted by air carriers between the two countries, in a rare sign of co-operation between the world's largest two economies.

Raimondo was among a group of senior U.S. officials whose emails were hacked this year by a group Microsoft said was based in China, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (2nd L) attends a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing last month

Earlier, China's embassy in Washington said that identifying the source of cyber attacks was complex and warned against groundless speculations and accusations.

In July, Raimondo said the Biden administration was seeking to carefully target U.S. controls on exports to China.

Raimondo met Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in May, discussing trade, investment and export policies in what was until then the first U.S.-China cabinet-level exchange in months, after a string of trade and national security irritants derailed plans for re-engagement.

In April, Raimondo warned Chinese cloud companies could pose threats. Some Republican senators want her to add such companies to the entity list that imposes U.S. export controls on foreign companies.
San Francisco's Roman Catholic archdiocese has filed for bankruptcy as it struggles to pay out victims of more than 500 sex abuse lawsuits - making it the third Bay Area diocese to do so in a matter of months.

The Chapter 11 protection was filed Tuesday, and as was the case of the recent filings for the nearby dioceses of Oakland and Santa Rosa, was filed to protect the church district from several hundred civil lawsuits that have been aired against it.

All allege child sexual abuse by certain church officials, and more than 500 are currently held up in civil claims court.

Upon announcing the shrewd financial maneuver Tuesday, the district's archbishop appeared to brush off the allegations - on the basis that 'many occurred 30 or more years ago.'

All were filed following the passing of a state law in 2019, which allowed the statute of limitations for civil claims in sex abuse cases be extended several years.

Upon announcing the shrewd financial maneuver Tuesday, the district's archbishop, 67-year-old Salvatore Joseph Cordileone (center) appeared to brush off the allegations - on the basis that 'many occurred 30 or more years ago'

San Francisco's Roman Catholic archdiocese has filed for bankruptcy - the third Bay Area diocese to do so in a matter of months

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, as well as every bishop in Northern California, attempted to block the guidance at the time, and are now seeking to protect the dioceses' assets through the recent stream of filings.

The filing in this most recent instance will see all legal actions against the archdiocese indefinitely paused, giving it the opportunity to develop a settlement plan with abuse survivors.

Previously, the diocese settled roughly $87 million worth of sex abuse cases against priests and others within the church in 2018, with Archbishop Cordileone at the time saying those cases applied to alleged instances that happened in the past 15 years.

It now appears the multimillion-dollar figure represented just a fraction of the problem in the Archdiocese - which was erected on July 29, 1853, by then Pope Pius IX, and has employed more 4,000 priests since 1950.

The Golden State passed a law in 2019 that allowed a new chorus of voices from alleged victims forced to keep quiet by limitation laws to be heard.

The AB-218 law extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse civil claims, allowing claimants allegedly victimized during childhood to file lawsuits up until they are 40 years old.

It also allows claimants to file suit at any point within five years of discovering that the abuse caused them psychological injury - even if they are older than 40 - opening the door to a slew of claims that were previously off the table.

Sure enough, within months, prominent diocese in locales like Oakland, Santa Monic, and San Diego began to be bombarded with a new round of sexual abuse claims - with some stemming as far back as the 60s.

Only months removed from its $87.2 million settlement dished out on October 18 of the previous year, the Archdiocese of San Francisco was similarly not spared, with dozens and eventually hundreds of lawsuits filed in the ensuing months.

For the past four years, suits against the church district - which is alleged by a grand jury in Pennsylvania to have allowed hundreds of priests to molest some 1,000 children in the region - continued to pile up, culminating in the 'more than 500' mentioned by Cordileone, 67, on Tuesday.

In a statement, the senior church official explained his group's decision to follow the examples set by his counterparts across the bay in Oakland and Santa Monica, announced in May and March, respectively.

'The unfortunate reality is that the Archdiocese has neither the financial means nor the practical ability to litigate all of these abuse claims individually,' said Cordileone - who was appointed in 2012 by then-Pope Benedict XIV - said in announcing the maneuver, which is being criticized as a shrewd plot to protect the church and its assets

All allege child sexual abuse by certain church officials, and more than 500 are currently held up in civil claims court. Seen here is the inside of the church districts flagship church St. Mary's Cathedral

'The unfortunate reality is that the Archdiocese has neither the financial means nor the practical ability to litigate all of these abuse claims individually,' said Cordileone - who was appointed in 2012 by then-Pope Benedict XIV - said.

'And therefore, after much consideration, concluded that the bankruptcy process was the best solution for providing fair and equitable compensation to the innocent survivors who have been harmed,' he said.

'We believe the bankruptcy process is the best way to provide a compassionate and equitable solution for survivors of abuse while ensuring that we continue the vital ministries to the faithful and the communities that rely on our services and charity.'

That said, the 88 parishes and schools within the diocese, which serves 442,000 Catholics across three Northern California counties, will continue to operate as usual - given the fact they are independently managed and 'self-financed,' and thus not subject to the filing.

Moreover, legally inclined experts are already citing this arrangement, and chalking it up to another alleged attempt from the diocese to protect their assets and avoid any further payouts.

Included in this class is Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing over 125 survivors in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

In a statement Tuesday after the archdiocese's revelation, Anderson reiterated this belief - already aired by several lawyers representing survivors from other diocese across the state. In particular, he singled out the district's top clergyman in Cordileone.

Survivors are calling the maneuver a shrewd one designed keep information hidden and protect the district's assets. Protesters are seen hold up signs in front of the archdiocese headquarters in San Francisco in 2010, back when limitation laws did not allow many alleged victims to bring their alleged abusers to court. That changed in 2019, with a new state law

The head of one of the most prominent dioceses in the county, Cordileone has established himself as one of the most prominent and outspoken of the hardline conservatives within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Joey Piscitelli of SNAP, a survivors network for clergy sex abuse victims who in 2018 made waves by claiming the beneficiaries of the $87 settlement served as 'just the tip' or the San Francisco survivor iceberg, also said it doubts the district is as financially strapped as it claims

'Cordileone will use every tactic and tool at his disposal to continue to run from the truth.

'He refuses to identify offenders in his diocese, he attempts legal maneuvers to eliminate the California Child Victims Act, and now he is attempting a last-ditch effort to hide the truth behind bankruptcy,' he said - before pointing to the fact the San Francisco archdiocese is the only diocese in California yet to release a list of clergy accused of sexual abuse.

The filing will also pause the trials that were set to happen in May, to allow officials the opportunity to reorganize and make a plan for settlements, and to keep operating while it addresses the lawsuits collectively, rather than individually.

SNAP, a survivors network for clergy sex abuse victims who in 2018 made waves by claiming the beneficiaries of the $87 settlement served as 'just the tip' or the San Francisco survivor iceberg, also said it doubts the district is as financially strapped as it claims.

`We seriously doubt that the Archdiocese of San Francisco does not have the assets to settle these lawsuits,' SNAP said in a statement immediately after Cordileone's

'We can only hope that the federal judge closely examines the Archdioceses real estate holdings, which are spread across three of the richest counties in the United States.'

To this, Cordileone simply said that a list of priests and deacons who are in good standing can be found on the Archdiocese website, and that those under investigation for are prohibited from exercising public ministry and are removed from the list.

He added that the filing is necessary to manage more than 500 lawsuits still looming against them - while claiming the 'overwhelming majority' of the claims stem from allegations of sexual abuse that occurred 'more than 30 years ago' involving priests who are no longer active in ministry or are deceased.

Survivors, meanwhile, criticized the bankruptcy filing, which will not affect the dozens of Catholic schools in the diocese, and will see vendors still be paid for all goods and services delivered.

People like Anderson, as well as fellow Bay Area lawyer and survivor representative Joe George, are calling it a ploy to keep information hidden.

The head of one of the most prominent dioceses in the county, Cordileone has established himself as one of the most prominent and outspoken of the hardline conservatives within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The announcement from the archdiocese did not speak on any of the accused, said that a list of priests and deacons who are in good standing can be found on the Archdiocese website, and that those under investigation for are prohibited from exercising public ministry and are removed from the list

He attracted national attention in May 2022 when he said that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco resident, would be barred from receiving Communion in his archdiocese because of her support for abortion rights.

He made headlines in 2018 when he spearheaded the effort to stop California's adoption of the new limitation law, which is almost identical to one filed in New York that same year.

In the time since, multiple Bay Area diocese have chosen to file for bankruptcy rather than brave the cases being brought against them, with the San Francisco Archdiocese the third in the region to do so.

Months earlier The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland filed for bankruptcy, and months before that, The Diocese of Santa Rosa did the same.

The diocese of San Diego, one of the largest in the country and the state, also announced in May that it was planning to file a similar proceeding later this year.

The San Francisco Archdiocese serves about 440,000 Catholics in the counties of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo.
John Warnock, a computer graphics innovator who helped create the PDF and co-founded Adobe, has died at the age of 82.

It is a sad day for the Adobe community and the industry for which he has been an inspiration for decades, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said in a statement. Johns brilliance and innovations left an indelible mark on Adobe, the technology industry and the world.

The company said he died Saturday surrounded by family. The location and cause of death were not disclosed.

Originally from the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Warnock developed an interest and skill in mathematics in high school and went on to earn an undergraduate degree in math and a doctorate in computer science at the University of Utah.

I had an amazing teacher in high school who, essentially, completely turned me around, Warnock told Continuum, the schools alumni magazine, in 2013. He was really good at getting you to love mathematics, and thats when I got into it.

In the 1960s, Warnock worked at IBM on the militarys internet precursor. In the 1970s, he moved to Silicon Valley to work on interactive computer graphics and met Charles Geschke. In 1982, the two left to start Adobe.

One of their first developments, the programming language PostScript, revolutionized desktop publishing by making it easier to print text with graphics.

Their company took off after inventing the PDF, the ubiquitous electronic file format that has all but replaced paper in legal and business documents.

Before Warnock stepped down as CEO in 2000, the company also debuted groundbreaking software like Illustrator and Photoshop. Warnock remained on the board of directors until his death.

He is survived by his wife and their three children.

With News Wire Services
John Eastman, the conservative attorney who helped develop a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, on Tuesday morning became the second of the former president's co-defendants to turn himself in to authorities in Georgia.

Eastman, 63, was booked at the Fulton County jail before being released by authorities.

He said his arrest was an attack on his First Amendment rights and that he had been targeted for simply being vigorous in pursuit of a case.

'It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances,' he said in statement issued by his legal team.

'As troubling, it targets attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients, something attorneys are ethically bound to provide and which was attempted here by "formally challeng[ing] the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means."'

John Eastman, center, an attorney indicted with former President Donald Trump, makes a statement to media outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he was booked on Tuesday

Eastman poses for a photograph with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House during happier times. They are co-defendants in a sprawling racketeering case

Trump and 18 co-defendants are accused in a sprawling racketeering case of trying to upend the result of the 2020 election.

Trump himself said a day earlier that he will present himself to the jailhouse on Thursday, a day before the Friday noon deadline.

Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University law school in Southern California, was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters intent on halting the certification of Biden's electoral victory.

He wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to interfere in the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress' joint session on Jan. 6 in order to keep Trump in office.

He was named in a 98-page Georgia indictment published last week.

The defendants were charged with 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to reverse Trump's defeat in the state's 2020 election.

On Monday, court filings revealed the bond agreements reached by defendants and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. They dropped one by one on the court's website.

A day later the defendants began handing themselves in.

The first was Scott Hall, a bail bondsman in Atlanta. He is charged in connection with an alleged voting systems breach in Coffee County, Georgia.

The sheriff's department says most people arrested in Fulton County are taken to the main jail on Rice Street, to the northwest of the city center, where conditions are being investigated

Eastman was booked in to the jail with number 2313659

Eastman released a statement saying he would 'vigorously' contest the indictment

Eastman said he was confident he would eventually be vindicated

Then came Eastman.

The indictment accuses him and others of pushing a scheme involving 'alternate' electors that would certify that Trump won.

He will not give a formal plea until he appears in court. In the meantime, his legal team said the indictment 'sets out activity that is political, but not criminal.'

'Lawyers everywhere should be sleepless over this latest stunt to criminalize their advocacy. This is a legal cluster-bomb that leaves unexploded ordinance for lawyers to navigate in perpetuity,' his attorneys said.

Eastman was present at a Trump rally on Jan. 6 just before a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.

He delivered a speech alongside one of his co-defendants Rudy Giuliani.

Scott Hall with Donald Trump - Hall became the first of Trump's co-conspirators to surrender to authorities in Atlanta

'We know there was fraud, traditional fraud that occurred,' he said.

'We know that dead people voted, but we now know because we caught it live in real time, how the machines contributed to that fraud.'

He then put forth a debunked idea that electronic voting machines were used to ensure that people who did not vote were tallied as if they voted for Joe Biden.

The case is the fourth time Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has been indicted in a criminal case since April.

He maintains has done nothing wrong and repeatedly characterized the case as an effort to end his presidential campaign.
A thug who launched a brutal hammer attack on a female cop had been arrested 30 times before and 'should never have been out on the streets' according to a furious police chief.

Former army private Winston Tate, 52, wielded a claw hammer while charging at Connecticut Detective Karli Travis before beating her with the weapon in a Middletown street on August 12.

His horrific attack was caught on officer bodycam footage, which also shows her screaming and pleading with him to stop while falling to the ground as he continued to strike.

Tate was out on probation at the time after previously being jailed for assaulting at least two other officers amid a lengthy catalog of other crimes - including 14 previous convictions within the past six months.

Local Middletown Police Union President Nick Puorro said Tate was known to authorities and should not have been on the streets at the time of his latest attack.

Winston Tate, 52 (pictured), who launched a brutal hammer attack on a female cop had been arrested 30 times before and 'should never have been out on the streets' according to a furious police chief Nick Puorro

Bodycam video shows the moment Tate (left) charged from his house and used a claw hammer to repeatedly batter Connecticut Detective Karli Travis (right) on a Middletown street before she drew her gun and shot him

'A guy like this, who has 30 prior arrests, (who) has attacked officers, he should never have been out again,' Puorro told Fox News Digital.

'He has proven that he is not a functioning member of society, and he deserves to be locked up in a cage like the animal he is.'

Puorro added that the attack is 'tangible proof of the problem there is' that 'shouldn't take a female officer almost being murdered on national TV to fix.'

Officers had been sent to Tate's home four times in July for what Puorro called a pattern of 'terrorizing his neighbors' and tenant  smashing glass, yelling on his porch and shouting racial epithets.

The August 12 attack on Travis, 52, came while she was responding to a report of noise and breaking glass on a street in Middletown, southern Connecticut.

Her bodycam footage shows Tate emerging from his home and walking towards her with a hammer, as she calmly asks him to drop it.

But Tate instead breaks into a run and hits her four times before she is able to take out her gun and shoot him in self defense.

Tate is a veteran who served between 1989 and 1992 including a tour in southwest Asia in 1991, according to Fox, and the court previously heard he was honorably discharged with a 'medication diagnosis' after serving in the Gulf War.

But Puorro said that while veterans' medical conditions could be 'used appropriately sometimes' to go some way to justifying their crimes, it was not an 'excuse' for Tate, who attained the rank of private first class before he was discharged.

Local Middletown Police Union President Nick Puorro (pictured) said Tate was known to authorities and should not have been on the streets at the time of his latest attack

The August 12 attack on Travis, 52 (left), came while she was responding to a report of noise and breaking glass on a street in Middletown, southern Connecticut

Travis was hailed as a hero by her colleagues, who said she is lucky to have survived the attack. (Pictured: Travis with a dog)

'This animal was a murderer intent on murdering and should be treated as a criminal,' he said.

Police had been called to Tate's house five times in the last month after reports of disturbances.

The 52-year-old has convictions dating back to 1995 and was jailed for previous attacks on police officers in 2017 and 2020 wfsb.com reported.

Police had been called to Tate's house five times in the last month after reports of disturbances.

But Detective Travis appeared to be on her own as she responded to the call on Saturday evening.

She immediately radioed for back-up as Tate charged towards her with the steel hammer, asking him 'can you put that down please?'

Chief Eric McCallister said Travis attempted to distance herself from her attacker but was 'fighting for her life' as she was bundled to the ground before drawing her gun and firing several shots.

Tate fled back inside his home before more officers arrived, surrounding the house and arresting him.

Both Tate and his victim were taken to hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.

Travis was hailed as a 'hero' by colleagues who said it was a miracle she survived the attack with only minor injuries.

Tate appeared in court earlier this month charged with criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, second-degree assault, assault on public safety personnel, and interfering with police.

Puorro (left) said Tate's latest attack is 'tangible proof of the problem there is' that 'shouldn't take a female officer almost being murdered on national TV to fix'

Footage from the officer's bodycam shows Tate charging from his house and bearing down on his target with the hammer clearly visible before slashing at his target

Tate was restrained after attempting to remove his jail uniform while handcuffed in court on Tuesday

He had to be restrained by officers in the dock as he tried to remove his prison jumpsuit while the judge was ordering him to be held on a $500,000 bond.

'He's dangerous. There's nobody that's safe from this man,' the state's attorney said.

A spokesman for Middletown's police union said that Tate could easily have killed his victim.

'It is our hope that this time finally after attempting to murder a police officer, he will suffer the consequences that he so rightfully deserves,' he added.

Tate is due back in court on October 3.
Inmates at a Wisconsin maximum security prison have claimed they have been left in a 'nightmare' lockdown in feces and blood-spattered cells for four months.

The Waupun Correctional Institution (WCP) has been accused of inhumane treatment as it struggles to fill nearly 300 vacancies - more than half of the prison's staff positions.

Inmates have been unable to go to the law library, receive visits, or obtain basic needs such as toilet paper since prison guards began a lockdown in March, according to an investigation by The New York Times and Wisconsin Watch.

During the lockdown, prisoners at the state's oldest prison have been forced to eat their meals inside their filthy cells, where birds have apparently moved in.

More than two dozen inmates at the prison told The New York Times their food is often filled with bird droppings, as are the ice bags handed out to keep them cool.

The Waupun Correctional Institution (WCP) - the state's oldest prison- has been accused of inhumane treatment of its inmates as it struggles to fill nearly 300 vacancies

Inmates have been unable to go to the law library, receive visits, or obtain basic needs such as toilet paper since prison guards began a lockdown in March

They say they have missed court deadlines and have seen their appeals jeopardized because they have no access to the law library. Moreover, inmate jobs and in-person college classes have been paused.

Policies requiring inmates be offered a shower twice a week and four hours of recreation outside have been suspended during the lockdown.

While the prison is designed to hold 882 inmates, that number has grown to 999, according to the Department of Correction's August report.

Inmates claimed some are cutting themselves or threatening self-harm just to get medical attention, which has been delayed during the lockdown. Even then, assistance came late or not at all.

'People are threatening suicide every day, and there's no treatment here,' inmate Jayvon Flemming told the NYT.

'You have to harm yourself or threaten suicide just to get staff's attention. I'm in a nightmare.'

The investigation found that inmates were denied optical and psychological treatment during the lockdown.

Flemming and other inmates have filed a civil lawsuit against the state alleging their human rights are being violated at the facility, which holds poisoners convicted of crimes ranging from from drug possession to murder.

Kevin Hoffman, deputy director of communications for the Department of Corrections, told Wisconsin Watch the lockdown was due to safety concerns after 'multiple threats of disruption and assaultive behavior toward staff or other persons.'

Hoffman added, however, that 'there was not one specific incident that prompted the facility to go into modified movement.'

When asked about the incidents of self harm, he said: 'We've received no indication that this is the case.'

But others point to dire staffing shortages and overcrowding as the reasons behind the brutal lockdown.

'People are threatening suicide every day, and there's no treatment here,' inmate Jayvon Flemming said

The investigation notes that overcrowding is an issue in U.S. prisons - two of of Wisconsin's four maximum security prisons are currently above capacity.

Green Bay, a maximum-security prison 80 miles northeast of WCP, has been locked down since June. The prison has a vacancy rate for staff of 40 percent.

WSP's 53 percent vacancy rate makes it the most short-staffed facility in the nation's prison system.

Moreover, all the nine medium security institutions in the state are overcrowded.

Former wardens, correctional officers and members of Waupun prison's community board told the NYT staffing shortages have harmed the facility's safety protocols.

'If I was the warden right now, I'd have that institution on lockdown, too,' said Mike Thurmer, who used to run the prison and is now on its community relations board.

'You can't have a 40 or 50 percent vacancy rate and not have at the very minimum a modified lockdown.'

There are various reason why the positions are hard to fill, including low wages and safety concerns.

The prison has seen 440 assaults on staff since 2012 - at least 95 of them happened this year.

Former prison workers cited dangerous conditions, forced overtime and lack of time off as reasons for the shortages.

Mike Thomas, who worked at WSP for seven years, said he once worked 75 days straight, many of them double shifts.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Wisconsin Watch and the Department of Corrections for comment on this story.
A 37-year-old man known as 'selfless' drowned while saving two family members who were caught in a fast-moving river current in New Hampshire.

Vincent Parr was visiting the Swift River around 12:30pm on Sunday in the area of Passaconaway Road in Albany, New Hampshire, with his family when a mother and a child became trapped in the raging river.

Parr, without hesitation, jumped in to save his two loved ones, but got caught in the dangerous current. New Hampshire State Police said the mother and child made it to the shore, but Parr perished while trying to rescue them.

Bystanders at the scene brought the man to the shore and performed CPR but he could not be revived.

He was pronounced deceased at the scene, officials said.

Pictured: Vincent Parr, 37, died while trying to save his two loved ones on Sunday during a fast-moving river in New Hampshire

Stephen Solomon, chief of the Conway Village Fire District, which serves the White Mountains area, told The Boston Globe said the Swift and Saco rivers have had higher water levels, and faster, colder currents due to a summer of heavy rainfall

Officials said multiple agencies responded including, the New Hampshire State Police E, New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol, the Carrol County Sheriff's Office, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement, United States Forest Service Rangers, and the Conway Fire Department.

Amber Lagace, a spokesperson with the New Hampshire Police Department said in a news release the 'investigation is ongoing,' and asked anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has additional details to contact the New Hampshire State Police.

Parr told The Boston Globe her boy was a 'dutiful son' who always put 'his relatives first.' She spoke of how he would often travel from Massachusetts to Vermont to attend family events.

'This is the man that he is,' she said. 'He put everyone before himself.'

Parr, who had an engineering background and was graduate of the University of Michigan, worked for Veranova, a pharmaceutical company in North Andover.

After the news of his unexpected and sudden passing, his company stated that it was 'sudden and tragic loss' and grief counselors would be on site for their employees.

'Our hearts and condolences go out to his family at this very difficult time,' they wrote in a statement, in part. 'Vincent was known and respected by many in Veranova.'

The grief-stricken mother said she was, 'in awe of the man I raised.'

She added: 'I think there must have been some special sprinkling in there from God to make him who he is. I could never have done that good a job on my own.'

Stephen Solomon, chief of the Conway Village Fire District, which serves the White Mountains area, told said the Swift and Saco rivers have had higher water levels, and faster, colder currents due to a summer of heavy rainfall.

Due to the river's conditions, the fire chief pointed out that there has been a significant increase in water rescues this year.

Typically, the average is about six river rescues, but this year, so far, that number has increased to 14 rescues for 24 people, and two dogs.

Solomon added: 'We are seeing a lot more problems on the rivers.'

He cautioned those visiting the Mount Washington Valley region to take precautions if they plan on going into a river. He also urged that those who are not strong swimmers should be mindful and stay away from powerful currents.

Parr's death was the third drowning in New Hampshire over the last week.

On August 15, Melissa Bagley, the wife of Everett Police Lt. Sean Bagley, died while trying to save her 10-year-old son after he slipped and fell into a swimming hole at Franconia Falls in Lincoln.

On Friday around 7:30pm a man fishing with his fiancee drowned on Crane Neck Pond in Canterbury after his canoe capsized, police said.

'The everyday reminder is that this is not an amusement ride,' Solomon said. 'This is a wild river, and it is inherently dangerous.
Travellers set up camp on playing fields in Warrington yesterday evening.

Around nine caravans arrived on the grass to the right of the rugby pitch at Dallam Playing Fields.

An aerial photo and other images show white caravans on the field with red gas canisters and what appear to be steel milk can pails.

Cars, pick-up trucks and other vehicles can also be seen.

The group were served with a section 60C notice from Cheshire West and Chester Council with a deadline to leave the fields by 4pm today.

Around nine caravans arrived on the grass to the right of the rugby pitch at Dallam Playing Fields

An aerial photo and other images show white caravans on the field with red gas canisters and what appear to be steel milk can pails

Officers from Chester Police arrived at the council-owned grounds off Longshaw Street with a number of police cars also seen, The Warrington Guardian reported.

It is thought some of the Travellers had come from another unauthorised encampment close to the nearby Winwick Quay.

Amateur rugby club Bank Quay Bulls ARLFC play their matches at Dallam Playing Fields.

The encampment comes days after the club held its tenth anniversary Bundy Day memorial event in memory of former player Alan Bundy Clare.

Writing on its Facebook page, the club said after the annual fun day on Sunday: 'Thank you. From us to you, players to parents, volunteers, referees, stall holders and small businesses.

'These days could not be possible without the help and support of you all! What a day we have had doing what we do best, bringing the community together and remembering some of our favourite people!

'We have danced, bounced, played plenty of rugby, had our hair braided, faces painted and won copious amounts of prizes.'

The group were served with a section 60C notice from Cheshire West and Chester Council with a deadline to leave the fields

It is thought some of the Travellers had come from another unauthorised encampment close to the nearby Winwick Quay

Amateur rugby club Bank Quay Bulls ARLFC play their matches at Dallam Playing Fields. The encampment comes days after the club held its Bundy Day memorial event in memory of former player Alan Bundy Clare

Last year an unauthorised encampment threatened to cancel the rugby club's annual Bundy Day, but it went ahead as planned in the end

Mr Clare plunged to his death in 2013 after falling from a hotel balcony in Benidorm, Spain.

He was in the holiday resort celebrating a stag do with friends when he tried to climb on to the balcony from an open window, it is believed.

The 34-year-old's body was found at the four star Las Dalmatas Hotel near the resort's Levante Beach after falling five storeys.

Friends paid their tributes online to Mr Clare - known as Bundy - posting messages of shock and grief to his Facebook.

Joanne Boyle wrote: 'Still carnt believe your gone, just wish it was a big nightmare!!

'You was such a lovely lad, guna miss are fun times we ad on are hols, it will never be the same!! Sleep tight bundy!! Rip!!! Xxxxxx' [sic]

Last year an unauthorised encampment threatened to cancel the rugby club's annual Bundy Day.
Trafalgar Square is 'on lockdown' this evening after a man scaled the National Gallery, sparking a museum evacuation and road closures as officers try to get him off the roof.

Met Police were called to the famous London tourist attraction at 2.35pm today after a man was reported on the roof of the building in a 'distressed condition'.

Police officers and the London Ambulance Service, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, and members of its Hazardous Area Response Team, have attended the scene and are attempting to make contact with the man.

As of 9pm, the cordon is still in place and the man remains on the roof, the force has confirmed to MailOnline.

The Met said that local roads have been closed as a 'precaution' and the National Gallery has also been evacuated. The City of Westminster Police has advised people to avoid the area.

A photo taken inside the National Gallery shows people leaving the building following police reports that a man was on the roof on the roof of the building in a 'distressed condition'

City of Westminster Police said that parts of Trafalgar Square are closed and advised people to avoid the area

The National Gallery posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the venue had been temporarily closed

Parts of Trafalgar Square #London near the National Gallery are closed as someone has scaled the roof.  pic.twitter.com/olHQMA00jz  HumanDilemma (@HumanDilemma_) August 22, 2023

Yo en Londres en este momento: voy a ir a la galeria nacional a leer 



La galeria nacional: hay un suicida y la yuta nos echa de Trafalgar Square directamente



Literalmente Londres me dijo bienvenida a tu pais preferido, cara de verga #London #Londres #Out #Echada pic.twitter.com/sEnqkPh1o7  El Gatriarcado  (@ElGatriarcado) August 22, 2023

A Met Police spokesperson said: 'Police were called at 14:35hrs on Tuesday, 22 August to The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2.

'A man was reported on the roof in a distressed condition. The London Ambulance Service have also attended and are attempting to make contact with the man.

'Officers have attended and local roads have been closed as a precaution.'

Police later confirmed that as of 9pm, the cordon remained in place, adding that the man was still on the roof.

The National Gallery posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier today that the venue had been temporarily closed.

It said: 'Due to an ongoing incident, we've temporarily closed the National Gallery, including Summer on the Square.

Met Police were called to the famous London tourist attraction at 2.35pm today after a man was reported on the roof of the building in a 'distressed condition'. A portion of Trafalgar Square was cordoned off

Police officers and the London Ambulance Service, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, and members of its Hazardous Area Response Team, have attended the scene and are attempting to make contact with the man. Pictured: People in Trafalgar Square as police cordoned off the area near the museum

'We'll keep you updated about when we're able to reopen.'

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We were called at 2.41pm today (22 August) to reports of an incident in Trafalgar Square.

'We have sent a number of resources including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

'Our crews remain at the scene alongside other emergency services.'
Six New York medical schools have been hit with civil rights complaints for discriminating against white and Asian teens by making it easier for blacks and others to join their introductory courses.

Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and other prestigious institutions face probes by the federal Department of Education.

The complaints, filed by the nonprofit Equal Protection Project (EPP), say the state's Science and Technology Entry Program (NY-STEP) makes it easier for some 7-12th graders to get a spot than others.

Under the scheme, students who are black, Latino, Alaskan native or American Indian can seek a place. Others  including whites and Asians  have to also show they're 'economically disadvantaged' to apply.

Students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  one of the schools facing a civil rights complaint

William Jacobson, EPP's founder, said this 'additional barrier to eligibility' was illegal.

'Erecting additional barriers for some races and ethnic groups in and of itself is unlawful discrimination,' Jacobson told DailyMail.com.

'Imagine if the roles were reversed, and these programs explicitly favored Asians and whites  there would be universal outrage and these medical schools would never accept such funding.'

William Jacobson says the extra barrier for whites and Asians is illegal

DailyMail.com reached out to NYU, Columbia University and the other schools that were subject to complaints.

They were the Albany Medical College, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and The University of Rochester Medical Center.

None of them replied to our emails.

The schemes are designed to give 'highly motivated' secondary school students who are interested in healthcare careers to visit the state's top medical schools, learn key skills and get a mentor.

They aim to 'increase the number of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students' in the medical field, according to Columbia University's website.

Still, Jacobson says, the policy unfairly assumes that all white and Asian kids have it easy.

'The eligibility guidelines engage in the types of crude stereotypes that presume students of certain racial and ethnic groups are disadvantaged and in need of preference,' he said.

The six letters of complaint were filed with the federal Department of Education's civil rights office in New York.

Albany Medical College's website features details of the NY-STEP scheme

Students at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, which also faces a probe

EPP says the schools should face fines or lose out on federal funding.

The civil rights office is a 'neutral fact-finder' that aims to investigate complaints and propose resolutions, according to its website.

The letters refer to the US Supreme Court's decision in June to strike down affirmative action in college admissions.

The justices declared that race cannot be a factor in the process, forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.

EPP says it is against racial discrimination in college admissions.

Most of its cases and complaints involve discrimination against whites.

The number of blacks and Latinos enrolled at US medical schools is rising, but they are still underrepresented, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

One of EPP's complaint letters against New York's top medical schools

African American students made up a tenth of those enrolled in the 2022-23 year, while Latinos made up 12 percent.

Meanwhile, the share of American Indian and Alaskan natives enrolled has dropped.

They only made up 1 percent of this year's cohort.

For some, diversity schemes are important and necessary, as they can help to overcome historical racism and sexism and make it easier for people of all backgrounds to get ahead in education and work.

Critics, however, say they're a form of reverse racism that unfairly blows back on white men.

Others still say they may be well-intentioned, but seldom achieve their desired outcomes and often make things worse by stirring up divisions in offices and classrooms.
Lucy Letby murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more in a year-long killing spree - making her the most prolific baby killer in modern British history.

Between June 2015 and June 2016, the NHS nurse murdered five boys and two girls. But, according to prosecutors, she also may have claimed an eighth murder victim - a very premature girl known as Baby K.

Letby, 33, was accused of trying to kill the tiny baby, who was born weighing just 700g grams, by dislodging her breathing tube two hours after her birth, causing her to collapse.

However, the murder charge was withdrawn before the trial and the jury were later unable to reach a verdict on a new charge of attempted murder.

Baby K - who like all the infants in the Letby case was given a pseudonym to protect her family's privacy - was born after her mother went into labour 15 weeks early in February 2016

Prosecutors believe Lucy Letby may have claimed an eighth murder victim - a very premature girl known as Baby K. NB - there is no suggestion this photo shows Baby K

One of the unit's consultants, television medic Dr Ravi Jayaram, told the trial that he interrupted Letby sabotaging Baby K's care.

He said he went to check on the child in the early hours of February 17, 2016, before finding Letby standing by the incubator and the ventilator.

He said he noticed the infants blood oxygen levels were in the 80s and dropping but Letby was doing nothing to respond.

The prosecution accused the nurse of interfering with the baby's breathing tube before Dr Jayaram entered the room before interfering with an alarm to ensure staff were not alerted to the drop in oxygen levels.

Baby K lost consciousness and had to be resuscitated by Dr Jayaram.

The infant was transferred to a more specialist centre at Arrowe Park Hospital, on the Wirral, but died three days later.

Television medic Dr Ravi Jayaram told the trial that he interrupted Letby sabotaging Baby K's care

She had spent just 11 hours at the Countess.

In heart-breaking testimony to the trial, her mother described her first-born's final moments.

'We made the decision to switch off the machines and let her go,' she said. 'It was by far the hardest decision of my life.

'One of the staff showed us to a family room where it was peaceful and quiet. Our daughter was wrapped in a blanket and was wearing a little hat.

'She was placed into my husband's arms and the doctor said to us, 'we can do this whenever you are ready.

'The doctor removed the breathing pump and stepped out of the room and said they would return in 20 minutes.

'Our daughter was in my husband's arms when she took her last breath and silently passed away.'

Letby was sentenced yesterday to an unprecedented 14 life terms

Baby K's father, a director of his own home building business, which he runs with his wife, described her as his 'perfect little girl.'

In an online post he praised the 'amazing' care she received at Arrowe Park.

The couple, both 40, who live in north Wales, have since undertaken charity events to raise money for premature infants.

They have gone on to have two healthy daughters and a son together.

Letby was sentenced yesterday to an unprecedented 14 life terms.
Call it cowardice. Call it hubris. Call it cynicism.

But whatever you do, call it out.

The stage is set for the first Republican primary debate and the frontrunner for the nomination won't even be there.

It's a pathetic cop out, but not a shock.

Donald Trump's approach to politics is simple: seriously engage no one, mock and insult, assume victory and, if you lose, insist that you've been robbed.

'Why would I allow people at one or two percent and zero percent to be hitting me with questions all night?' Trump asked Fox News' host Bret Baier, who will be moderating Wednesday night.

After all, Trump leads Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor, by 40 percentage points, according to the latest Real Clear Politics average of national polling.

Why would he risk his lead?

Because, Don, this is not all about you!

The primary is a contest, not a coronation. You're not owed the nomination, let alone the presidency.

You should have learned that lesson in 2020 when you lost to President Biden by millions and millions of votes, or in the 2022 midterms when nearly every single Trump-endorsed Senate candidate lost and frittered away Republican-control of Congress.

The stage is set for the first Republican primary debate and the frontrunner for the nomination won't even be there. It's a pathetic cop out, but not a shock.

After all, Trump leads Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor, by 40 percentage points, according to the latest Real Clear Politics average of national polling.

What exactly is the point of a Republican primary debate if Trump skips it?

For that matter, what is the point of the Republican National Committee, which hosts these debates, if it can't compel the leading candidate to spare a few hours to participate?

This is the same organization which demands candidates sign a pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee.

Who cares about the silly pledge?

If the purpose of the RNC is to unify the Republican party, shouldn't they at least demand that every candidate participate? Or does the RNC have so little respect for voters that they'd allow the primary to be reduced to a dick-swinging contest? Nothing more than a sideshow?

A presidential candidate should be more than a stringy, blond bouffant and an ego.

The debates are the best format for showcasing candidates' competency, health and ability to win.

Trump is 77 years old and not immune to the issues that dog sleepy, stumbly Joe.

Is Trump still up for this job? Frankly, we don't know.

I, for one, would like to see him in action if he is to face off against Biden again.

Don't forget that even tongue-tied Joe absolutely trounced Trump in their first presidential debate in 2020.

And if Biden, drops out of the 2024 race, which I'd say is about 50/50 at this point, how would Trump do against California's slick and savvy Gavin Newsom?

Not well, I'd guess.

Governor Chris Christie says Trump lacks 'the guts to show up.' He's right. A debate exposes weakness.

Remember former Texas Governor Rick Perry's infamous 'oops' moment in 2011 when he blanked on the specific government agencies that he would eliminate.

In 2019, Kamala Harris was absolutely fileted by Tulsi Gabbard over her record on criminal justice reform. Harris couldn't muster a coherent answer and dropped out of the race two months before the Iowa Caucuses.

The presidential debates are also the single most significant opportunity for the American people to engage with the body politic.

Remember former Texas Governor Rick Perry's (above left) infamous 'oops' moment in 2011 when he blanked on the specific government agencies that he would eliminate.

Don't forget that even tongue-tied Joe absolutely trounced Trump in their first presidential debate in 2020.

If Trump truly believes that Communist China is a threat to America's future, then now's the time to rally the public to the cause. Want to explain to Americans why free market capitalism is superior to the creeping socialism infecting society?

The stage is yours, Donald. But he's a no show.

Moreover, Trump is not only content to skip the debate, he's also intent on undermining it.

The King of Counterprogramming will appear Wednesday in a pre-taped interview with ex-Fox Newser Tucker Carlson on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Trump also floated calling into other networks during the debate and live posting on Truth Social to pull viewers away from their TV screens.

In the ultimate act of diversion, he's supposedly planning to turn himself in to Georgia authorities on Thursday morning to face racketeering charges related to his stolen election hoax.

That'll surely suffocate the debate coverage and prevent the American people from learning anything useful about their candidates or the country.

It's the equivalent of a whiney playground loser taking his ball and going home.

If there is any silver lining here it is that this may all blow up in Trump's face.

A new CBS News poll shows that 73 percent of GOP primary voters say he should participate in the debate. That means even his own supporters think he should show up.

And Trump has blown it before.

Governor Chris Christie (above) says Trump lacks 'the guts to show up.' He's right. A debate exposes weakness.

Trump is 77 years old and not immune to the issues that dog sleepy, stumbly Joe.

In 2016, Trump, upset over real questions from real journalists, decided to skip the final GOP primary debate before the Iowa caucuses. He went on to lose to Senator Ted Cruz.

This debate would also an opportunity for him to put away Governor DeSantis for good. An impressive showing Wednesday night could give Ron the shot in the arm his campaign needs.

Perhaps, Trump's worst miscalculation of all is that by skipping the debate he is helping the Democrats and Joe Biden.

Biden, who infamously campaigned from his basement in 2020, may just decide to do the same in 2024. What if he refuses to publicly debate, because of some perceived lead in the polling?

At the end of the day, the American people will suffer. We'll lose out on the chance to forge national consensus, hear out our political opponents, and appreciate the miracle of self-government.

Depressingly, 77 percent of Americans now expect the nation to be even more politically divided in 2050.

No big surprise.

Yes, Trump is playing a dangerous game with the future of the country. This is yet another blow to the institutions that hold us together and a wedge driving us apart.

Now it's up to the people to decide: Do we really want a coward leading the greatest country in the history of the world?
A family music festival in Shropshire has paid tribute to a child who died in hospital after falling ill at the event this weekend.

Police scrambled to Weston Park in Shropshire at 12.37am on Saturday to attend the scene at Camp Bestival after receiving reports about a sick child.

The child was rushed to hospital, but despite the efforts of the authorities, sadly died a short while later.

The event extended their 'deepest sympathies' to the heartbroken family, saying they would support them 'in any way we can'.

There have been no further details, including the age or gender of the child, revealed by police at this stage.

A spokesperson for Camp Bestival said: 'A child became poorly on Friday night and, after receiving immediate medical care onsite, was taken to hospital in an ambulance, where they tragically passed away.

Police scrambled to Weston Park in Shropshire, to attend the scene at Camp Bestival, after receiving reports about a sick child

This year's festival boasted a star-studded line-up which included Eurovision song contest winner Sam Ryder

'Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family at this terrible time, and we will continue to support them in any way we can.'

The award-winning Camp Bestival music event is usually held across two sites each summer in Staffordshire and at another site in Dorset.

The festival which brands itself 'the quintessential family festival' won the Best Family Festival in 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014 at UK Festival Awards.

This year's festival boasted a star-studded line-up which included Eurovision song contest winner Sam Ryder, former Spice Girl Melanie C, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and X Factor finalist Ella Henderson, as well as a range of activities for children including 'mud kitchens, robot junkyards and bushcraft'

A Staffordshire Police spokesperson said: 'We were called to Camp Bestival, Weston Park, at 12.37am on Saturday (19 August) following reports of a child who was taken ill.

'The child was treated at the scene and taken to hospital in a critical condition. Sadly, the child died a short time later.

'Specially trained officers are continuing to support the child's family and we ask that their privacy is respected at this very difficult and distressing time.

'Enquiries are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the death.'
A 1-year-old girl died Monday after being left in a hot van at her daycare center in Nebraska, authorities said.

Police and medics were called to Kidz of the Future Childcare in Omaha around 3 p.m. for an unresponsive baby. The child was rushed to a hospital but pronounced dead. The heat index was 113 degrees at the time, according to the National Weather Center.

The child was later identified as RaMiyah Worthington, the youngest of six siblings.

Omaha police said the van picked up RaMiyah and two of her siblings Monday morning, but the baby was left behind in the parking lot.

Im not comprehending how this could have even possibly happened, her father Rianna Worthington told News 6 WOWT.

The daycare picks them up in the morning, he said. How can you forget a kid that you yourself put into the vehicle, but you took the other two off? How do you forget one when you take two off the van? How did you forget my baby?

He added that while it was unclear how long his daughter was left in the van, she was never checked in on the daycares app.

Put two and two together. You had to have my baby left in this car since this morning, he told the station Monday night.

Police investigate the death of a 1-year-old who was found in a hot vehicle at Kidz of the Future II daycare center in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.

A 62-year-old man who was driving the van was arrested on suspicion of child negligence resulting in death.

Ryan D. Williams, the vans driver, was booked Monday night, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Police said Tuesday the van did belong to the daycare center, but that the investigation was ongoing.

At least 19 children have died in hot cars so far in 2023, according to kidsandcars.org.

With News Wire Services
President Joe Biden was back on vacation Tuesday in Lake Tahoe after his long-haul day trip to Maui where he commiserated with wildfire victims by dredging up his own family tragedy and talking about a decades-old kitchen fire in his home.

The president continued on his nine-day stay with family, including his son Hunter, at the $18 million home of billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, following complaints that the rental may run afoul of a local county housing code.

Hunter is under increased scrutiny after a special counsel was appointed to lead the investigation into federal gun and tax crimes. But he will be kept out of view as the vacation rental is located inside a private community.

The White House listed no public events on Biden's schedule. Pool reporters who traveled with the president to Hawaii and back peeled off from the president's motorcade after 1 am early Tuesday morning in Nevada.

First Lady Jill Biden, Ashley Biden, Hunter and his wife Melissa Cohen, along with son Beau and several other grandchildren are enjoying the vacation alongside the president. No visitor logs are kept during the president's vacation travel, so it is unclear if he may be meeting with anyone during the getaway.

The president and his family enjoyed a pilates and spin class in a town close to the rental on Wednesday.

The president left Monday morning to visit wildfire victims and communities impacted by the historic blaze, after facing blowback for his earlier 'no comment' on the matter while vacationing at his Delaware beach house.

President Biden waved to reporters following his return to Reno-Tahoe International Airport after his visit to Hawaii. He is back on vacation in the rented home of billionaire Tom Steyer

President Joe Biden told a series of winding stories during a visit to Hawaii following devastating wildfires. He was back on vacation at the home of billionaire Tom Steyer on Tuesday

Biden's Hawaii visit was meant to demonstrate the federal resolve to rebuild following fires that incinerated parts of historic Lahaina. But he ended up offering meandering remarks where he spoke about a kitchen fire he once experienced.

He also mangled the name of Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz (calling pronouncing it like 'Schantz"), and again invoked the 1972 death of his wife Nelia and daughter Naomi.

He also made an odd joke about 'hot ground' while commenting on the thick boots of a rescue dog named Dexter.

'Thats a hot ground, man,' Biden said.

'Years ago, now 15 years ago, while I was in Washington doing Meet The Press, it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake outside our home - not a lake, a pond,' Biden said, recalling the fire incident.

He said the spark went through the wires and into the heating ducts, and into the kitchen.

Biden is staying at the home of climate investor Tom Steyer. The White House said he is renting it at fair market value

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden holding Beau Biden and Naomi Biden

'To make a long story short, I almost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.

'But all kidding aside - I watched the firefighters, the way they responded.'

It is an anecdote that Biden often tells at times of tragedy. Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke but were able to keep the flames contained to the kitchen.

'Luckily, we got it pretty early,' Cranston Heights Fire Company Chief George Lamborn said at the time.

'The fire was under control in 20 minutes.'

Biden faced building pressure to visit the Maui devastation as the death toll approached 114 with hundreds more unaccounted for.

Now, he finds himself vacationing in Nevada, after tropical storm Hilary ripped through Southern California and drenched parts of both states. It brought record-breaking rainfall and flooded normally parched locations like Death Valley. Thousands are without power.

In the state where Biden is enjoying family time with first lady Jill Biden and son Hunter, officials fear 'exceedingly rare' high flood risks in the Mojave Desert.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel to investigate Hunter's criminal tax and gun crimes.

It is a move which gives Weiss broader day-to-day independence from supervision than previously, and which is designed to remove any suggestion that the White House may have been improperly interfering in the investigation.

Weiss had signed off on Hunter's original plea deal which was deemed a 'slap on the wrist,' by Republicans before it unravelled in court just weeks ago.

IRS whistleblowers came forward and testified under oath that the DOJ improperly interfered in the investigation.

They claimed Hunter should have been charged with a felony in Washington, D.C., for tax crimes dating back to his years at the Ukrainian oil company Burisma. But Biden-appointed D.C. prosecutor Matthew Graves allegedly squashed them.

In addition, buried in the deal was a clause suggesting that Hunter would be granted blanket immunity for any potential future charges that may arise from the DOJs five-year probe - including for failing to register as a foreign agent.

As a result, the plea deal blew up and Hunter's legal troubles are far from over.

In a new filing, prosecutors said negotiations on a new plea agreement are at a standstill, and that the government 'now believes that the case will not resolve short of trial.'
The power failure occurred at the LA area hospital just after 11.45pm Monday

During a blackout at a Los Angeles hospital late Monday evening, a baby was born while other critically ill patients on ventilators were evacuated due to the outage.

The baby - whose name and sex were not released by hospital officials - came into the world after the hospital's emergency generator went out.

Staffers used flashlights pointed directly up at the ceiling to fill the room with light during the delivery as the mom pushed, a hospital communications worker said.

The mom and newborn are safe and were later transferred out of the hospital.

While nurses and doctors helped to deliver the child, first responders worked to rushed to evacuate other patients from the facility.

Some 30 patients were identified as needing to be moved first, many of them requiring assisted breathing devices, officials told local media.

During a blackout at a Los Angeles hospital late Monday evening, a baby was born while other critically ill patients on ventilators were evacuated due to the outage

A patient is evacuated from White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles

According to John Raffoul, president of Adventist Health White Memorial, the hospital's main power first went out around 3am on Monday.

That outage was potentially linked to Tropical Storm Hilary, which pummeled Southern California with heavy rain and high winds Sunday into Monday morning.

Raffoul said the hospital has three generators which are supposed to be able to provide power for three days. All three went out by the end of Monday.

During the outage, more than 200 patients - including infants in the neonatal intensive care unit and patients in the Specialty Care Center- were evacuated.

Raffoul told media during a press conference Tuesday morning that both the mother and baby are doing well and were transferred to another location.

DailyMail.com reached out to White Memorial Hospital representatives for additional information but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Among the NICU and Specialty Care Center, patients in the ICU, emergency room, and obstetrics and gynecology units were also moved out due to the outage.

Crews were forced to carry patients down stairs after the power outage also meant elevators were not working.

Power in other buildings on the White Memorial campus was said to be functioning.

Emergency service workers rushed to evacuate the patients from the facility, with those on ventilators identified as top priorities requiring immediate relocation.

'All patients are safe and an emergency generator was ordered from the city of Industry and will be here shortly,' he added.

According to John Raffoul (pictured) president of Adventist Health White Memorial, the hospital's main power first went out around 3am on Monday

A video posted to TikTok appeared to show the inside of the hospital after it was plunged into darkness

This is what the hospital looks like in the daytime with the lights on

Some 20 ambulances were on their way to the scene to assist in removing 60 geriatric patients from the hospital and to other facilities.

There was a total of 241 patients admitted to the hospital building at the time of the power outage.

The LA Fire Department said they were assisting with the evacuation, working with hospital staff to identify priority patients. Around 200 firefighters were on their way to the hospital.

Some people were reportedly stuck in elevators as the entirety of the building was left without power.

A spokesperson for the LAFD said: 'Due to the power outage, firefighters must physically transport patients down from upper floors to awaiting ambulances.

The department confirmed there was an initial focus on 11 patients, before providing a later update increasing the number to 30.

In the later update, the LAFD added: 'The bulk of the patients in the facility are non critical and can be moved to another building on the campus.'

The department also asked that all roads are kept clear to accommodate the ambulance traffic.

Some 20 ambulances are on their way to the scene to assist in removing 60 geriatric patients from the hospital (file image of a California ambulance)

The cause of the power outage is not yet known and whether the emergency incident was related to tropical storm Hilary, the torrential weather that caused havoc across the region Monday.

A video posted to TikTok appeared to show the inside of the hospital after it was plunged into darkness.
Casey DeSantis got emotional as she reflected on the moment she was diagnosed with breast cancer and attributed her husband Ron for getting her through it.

Casey opened up about wondering whether she'd be around to see her kids' milestones during an interview with Fox News' Harris Faulkner ahead of the first GOP primary debate.

'The day that I ultimately found out it was Ron who was the one that told me,' she revealed while sitting next to her husband at the Florida governor's mansion in Tallahassee.

'I couldn't listen to the doctors. I didn't want to hear any of the opining.'

'I didn't know if I was gonna see my kids graduate from kindergarten, let alone going off into high school or watching them walk down the aisle. I had him there every step of the way,' she said as her voice cracked with tears.

Casey DeSantis got emotional as she reflected on the moment she was diagnosed with breast cancer and attributed her husband Ron for getting her through it

The Florida governor and his wife gave a joint interview to Fox News' Harris Faulkner on Tuesday where Casey opened up about wondering whether she'd be around to see her kids' milestones

'I didn't know if I was gonna see my kids graduate from kindergarten, let alone going off into high school or watching them walk down the aisle. I had him there every step of the way,' she said

In October 2021, Casey announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had six treatments of chemotherapy and was declared cancer-free in March 2022.

Casey claimed her husband treated her cancer diagnosis the same way he approached the Covid-19 pandemic as governor.

'What he did for me in my cancer battle is what he did for the people of this state during COVID, because he went through and he analyzed the data. Just like he fought for me, he fought for the people of this state.'

The first lady of Florida fawned over her 'funny' and 'smart' presidential candidate husband throughout the interview.

'I knew very quickly after meeting him that he was the one. You can tell he is funny, he is a great guy to be around, he is very, very smart. He has a good moral compass,' she said.

From left to right: Mason, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Casey DeSantis, Mamie and Madison wave to the crowd during the inauguration ceremony at the historic Florida Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023

Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stands next to his wife Casey DeSantis and their children, during his "Never Back Down" tour ahead of his appearance at the Iowa State Fair, in Atlantic, Iowa, U.S. August 11, 2023

At one point DeSantis was asked what kind of first lady she would be.

'One who looks at the role with a lot of humility,' she said.

'It isn't about me, it's about being in a position to do good on behalf of the people in this state and hopefully this country.'

It's hard to miss Casey DeSantis on the campaign trail with her husband. Where Ron has been painted as awkward and aloof, Casey has been the one swoop in and charm the public.

Their three children, Madison, Mason and Mamie are also regulars on the trail.

Former President Trump still holds a sizeable lead over DeSantis going into Wednesday's GOP presidential debate.

In Iowa, the first state in the nation to caucus, Trump holds a 23-point lead over the Florida governor, according to DailyMail.com's latest polling.

Trump will not take part in Wednesday's debate, letting the other candidates hash it out with each other while he gives an interview to Tucker Carlson.
A killer who stabbed 'The Flower Man of Islington' to death after he blamed him for his mother's suicide is facing a life sentence.

James Peppiatt, 23, murdered 55-year-old Tony Eastlake, who had a pitch in Essex Road, Islington, and was well known and liked by customers across north London.

Mr Eastlake was stabbed in the lower back shortly after finishing work on May 29 2021 and collapsed and died in the street.

The florist, who separated from his wife in 2018, had started a relationship with Peppiatt's mother, Alicia Callaghan, that same year.

But Ms Callaghan tragically took her own life on April 1, 2021, and Peppiatt blamed Mr Eastlake as he had not told him about another suicide attempt two weeks before, the Old Bailey heard.

A killer who stabbed 'The Flower Man of Islington' Tony Eastlake (pictured) to death after he blamed him for his mother's suicide is facing a life sentence

James Peppiatt (pictured in 2014), 23, murdered 55-year-old Mr Eastlake, who had a pitch in Essex Road, Islington, and was well known and liked by customers across north London

Peppiatt denied murder, claiming he killed Mr Eastlake in self-defence after he pulled a knife on him. However, he was convicted today after 12 hours and 58 minutes of jury deliberation.

Wearing a white shirt and waistcoat, Peppiatt looked up to a woman sobbing in the public gallery after the verdict was delivered and hung his head in shame.

Prosecutor Julian Evans, KC, earlier told the jury that according to a friend of Mr Eastlake's, Ms Callaghan's death had caused a rift between him and Peppiatt.

Mr Eastlake called Peppiatt on May 29 for around two minutes after packing up his stall.

He then made his way along Essex Road heading in the direction of Elmore Street where he met Peppiatt and the pair began walking together.

Mr Evans told the court: 'The two men were standing together on Ecclesbourne Road, and at one point Tony Eastlake, in the course of the conversation between the two men, said something along the lines of "don't p*** me off, I've took a lot, I've kept quiet".

Tributes at a vigil for Tony Eastlake at his stall at Essex Road Station in London organised by the Islington Community Group

Tony Eastlake's daughter Paige Eastlake (centre left) at a vigil close to his stall at Essex Road Station in London organised by the Islington Community Group on Facebook

'James Peppiatt reacted to these words and with an outstretched arm he moved at speed towards Tony Eastlake and, although exactly what the happened between the two men at that point can't be seen entirely on the CCTV it is clear the two of them started to have a fight.'

Jurors heard the fight between the pair lasted for between 30 to 40 seconds, and both men seemed to suffer injuries.

Mr Eastlake tried to walk away as Peppiatt asked him 'where are you going?', then followed Mr Eastlake as he turned down Haliford Road.

Eye witness David Johnston was leaving his home when he saw the two men in the middle of the street.

Mr Evans said Mr Johnston had initially thought the two men were messing around with each other, and saw Mr Eastlake turn around and look towards Peppiatt with a half-smile.

The prosecutor added that Mr Johnson then heard Peppiatt say something similar to "don't f***ing talk to me like that" before approaching Mr Eastlake from behind and punching him once in the back on the left side.

'It is the prosecution's case that as James Peppiatt approached Tony Eastlake from behind on that street, he, James Peppiatt, was holding a knife and rather than punching Tony Eastlake in the back, James Peppiatt stabbed him once in the back from behind with a knife and it caused a wound which proved fatal,' said Mr Evans.

Candles at a vigil for Tony Eastlake at his stall at Essex Road Station in London organised by a Facebook group

After the stabbing Peppiatt turned back and retraced his steps as Mr Eastlake continued towards Essex Road before collapsing in a car park.

Members of the public, including some who knew Mr Eastlake, ran to help him and one called the emergency services. Despite their best efforts Mr Eastlake died just before 6pm.

The stab wound was found to be 6.5cm deep and had caused damage to the thoracic aorta, the main blood vessel in the body.

Peppiatt told the court that his girlfriend and cousins told him his mother had attempted to take her own life two weeks before she died.

He claimed that on May 29, Mr Eastlake had turned up at his house asking him why people were calling him blaming him for his mother's death.

Peppiatt said Mr Eastlake was fuming and told him he was 'p-d off,' adding: 'What have you been going round telling everyone?'

'I said I didn't know what he's talking about,' Peppiatt told the court.

'He said to me "where the f-k was you when she killed herself" and then he said to me "it's your fault that she killed herself" and then went on to make a comment about me thinking I'm a big man because I paid her rent.

'And then I said "you're just p*ssed your free ride was over".'
The nephew of Only Fools and Horses star John Challis was cremated in Germany before his ashes were flown back to the UK his family said today, revealing they still do not know the cause of death six weeks on from the tragedy.

Simon had been working as an on-site geologist for an oil drilling company in Rehden in north Germany at the time, his father John Palmer said today.

The 36-year-old been in the country for around four weeks and was expecting to stay for a further three before returning home.

When he did not turn up for work on July 7 his company became concerned, calling police to his hotel room where they found his body.

The Only Fools and Horses legend's widow, Carol Challis broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, yesterday revealing that his wristwatch was missing following his death.

Only Fools and Horses legend John Challis's (pictured left) widow has revealed that thieves stole a watch from her nephew's (pictured right) body after he died last month

John's wife Carol Challis posted this picture of her nephew when she broke the news that he had passed away several weeks ago

John's wife Carol (pictured with her husband) Challis broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter

She said her husband's 'friend' and 'my nephew Si' had his belongings stolen after he passed away in July this year

She wrote: 'Simon's personal belongings were returned to us today from Germany, at last. Sadly his wristwatch was missing. Disappointing that someone should feel the need to help themselves.'

She also posted a photo of her late husband alongside her nephew, saying: 'God bless these two, my much loved husband and his friend, my nephew Si.'

Speaking about his son's death today, Mr Palmer said the family still had no idea how he died and had not received a police report or the postmortem results.

The death certificate they were sent also did not state a cause of death.

His body had been cremated in Germany and his ashes were sent home to the UK.

Speaking at the family home in the pretty Dorset village of Cheselbourne, where Simon had also lived, Mr Palmer said they don't know it definitely was stolen.

On Sunday the family got Simon's possessions back only to discover his Garmin Marq Adventurer watch, which is worth about 1,600, was not among them.

Mr Palmer said: 'We got his stuff back on Sunday and noticed the watch wasn't there, but we don't know if it was stolen, we don't know if he was wearing it at the time.

Carol penned a heartbreaking post following the tragedy last month

Simon was the son of Carol's brother Johnny. His death comes two years after his uncle, John Challis died in September 2021, aged 79, after a long battle with cancer

'The company he was working for have said they will check the pockets of overalls and things to see if they can find it.'

He added: 'The insurance company that dealt with the repatriation have been fantastic, so has the company he was working for.

'We just don't really know anything about what happened.

'The police attended, I think they found him, but we don't know much more than that.

'A post mortem was done but we haven't been told any cause of death or sent any police report.

'The death certificate we got didn't stipulate a cause of death, it is all really bizarre.'

His father went on to pay tribute to Simon adding: 'He was a very low key guy, he didn't want a fuss made. He was just a perfectly normal popular guy.'

Carol revealed the news of Simon's shock death last month and paid tribute to her nephew who she said was a 'great skateboarder and especially loved his surfing down in Cornwall'.

Challis played Terrance Aubrey 'Boycie' Boyce (pictured) from the first series of Only Fools And Horses in 1981, right the way through to the final Christmas special in 2003

John Challis pictured centre with the cast of Only Fools and Horses including Sir David Jason, Roger Lloyd Pack, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Buster Merryfield and Sue Holderness

Carol wrote on X around the time of Simon's death earlier this year: 'Rest easy Simon and may you forever ride the best waves down in Falmouth'.

In another post she added: 'Thinking of dear Simon and hoping we can bring him home soon.

'He was a great skateboarder and especially loved his surfing down in Cornwall and lived life 'to da max'. What a bloody waste.'

Simon was the son of Carol's brother Johnny. His death comes two years after his uncle, John, died in September 2021, aged 79, after a long battle with cancer.

He was best-known for his portrayal of second-hand car dealer Boycie in Only Fools And Horses, starring alongside Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Challis became a national treasure after playing the character from the first series of the beloved British sitcom in 1981, right the way through to the final Christmas special in 2003.

John Challis attending the Only Fools and Horses the Musical opening night at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2019

Boycie was married to the feisty Marlene - played by Sue Holderness - and the state of their marriage became a running joke, with repeated gags about her alleged promiscuity.

He also reprised the career-defining role of Boycie, a close friend and frequent sparring partner of Sir David Jason's Del Boy, for spin-off series The Green Green Grass from 2005-2009.

Challis was born in Bristol in 1942 but moved to south-east London with his parents when he was one.

He attended the state boarding Ottershaw School near Woking, Surrey - and upon leaving school he worked as a trainee estate agent before becoming an actor.

His father was a civil servant from Sheffield while his mother, who harboured dreams of becoming an actress, oversaw plays for youth club.

After a brief and unsuccessful attempt at becoming an estate agent, Challis set his sights on a career in the arts. One of his early roles was playing Sergeant Culshaw in police procedural Z-Cars.
Air safety bosses will hold runway safety meetings with beleaguered air traffic controllers at 90 of the most dangerous airports after 46 close calls in July alone.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has admitted to seven 'serious runway incursion events' since January including a near crash between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet at San Diego on August 11.

A FedEx cargo plane and another Southwest Boeing came within 100ft of each other on the same runway at Austin in Texas in February after they were simultaneously cleared for take-off.

Industry figures have warned disaster is inevitable with 99 per cent of air traffic facilities short-staffed, and the FAA told employees in March there is no question that we are seeing too many close calls.

But it hopes the emergency meetings with its Runway Safety Action Team will identify unique risks to surface safety at that airport and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate those risks.

On July 2 when a Southwest Airlines flight landing at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport came just seconds from hitting a Delta Airlines 737 that was preparing to take off from the same runway

An initial inquiry into last months incident found that an air traffic controller at San Diego International Airport cleared the Cessna to land, even though Southwest Airlines Flight 2493 had already been told to taxi onto the same runway and await instructions to depart.

Industry workers have blamed a shortage of air traffic controllers which has forced many in the profession to work mandatory overtime. The demands of the job have left some burned out and even using alcohol and sleeping pills to relieve stress.

A probe by the New York Times, found that 310 out of 313 air traffic control facilities do not have enough workers while some, including New York's regional facility and a Philadelphia tower, are operating at around 60 percent of staff or less.

Incidents uncovered by the Times' review of preliminary FAA incident reports from July include one on July 2 when a Southwest Airlines flight landing at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport came just seconds from hitting a Delta Airlines 737 that was preparing to take off from the same runway.

The Southwest flight aborted its landing and narrowly avoided a crash.

On July 11 in San Francisco, two planes that were taking off nearly crashed into a Frontier Airlines plane which had just landed. The Frontier jet was waiting to cross a runway with its nose perilously close to the path of the two jets.

Officials said the encounters were 'skin to skin'.

A third incident two-and-a-half weeks later involved a near-miss between an American flight and a United Airlines aircraft near Minden, Louisiana.

The American pilot, flying at more than 500mph, had to quickly yank the Airbus A321 aircraft up 700ft to avoid a collision.

On July 11 in San Francisco, two planes that were taking off nearly crashed into a Frontier Airlines plane which had just landed. The Frontier jet was waiting to cross a runway with its nose perilously close to the path of the two jets

A third incident two-and-a-half weeks later involved a near-miss between an American flight and a United Airlines aircraft near Minden, Louisiana

There has not been a major plane crash in the US for more than a decade.

While fatal incidents involving small, personal aircraft can occur several times per year, the last fatal crash involving a US airline was in 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, crashed into a house in Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.

Details of other incidents, along with complaints about the industry from workers, are also kept in a NASA database. These voluntary submissions include a recent report from a airline captain who said in November: 'This stuff scares the crap out of me.'

The pilot reported an incident in which an air traffic controller cleared their flight to land in a path that appeared to be a 'collision course' with another flight.

In another report from January this year, an air traffic controller wrote: 'Is it going to take people dying for something to move forward?'

FAA spokesman Matthew Lehner told the Times that existing safety protocols had 'virtually eliminated the risk of fatalities aboard US commercial airlines'.

But he said 'one close call is too many' and the FAA's objective was reducing the number of these incidents.

'The FAA maintains extremely conservative standards for keeping aircraft safely separated,' he said.

'Safety experts follow up on all events  even those in which no collision was imminent or even possible  and evaluate them for safety risks.'

Air traffic controllers have told the FAA that the shortage of staff is 'plain dangerous'.

In a safety reported filed last year, one said: 'Controllers are making mistakes left and right. Fatigue is extreme. The margin for safety has eroded tenfold. Morale is rock bottom. I catch myself taking risks and shortcuts I normally would never take.'

A near miss incident at JFK on January 13 occurred when a Delta aircraft which was about to take off had to perform an emergency stop after an American Airlines plane crossed onto the runway

'It is only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens,' the controller said.

Earlier this month, details emerged of a frightening near miss between a JetBlue flight landing at Logan International Airport in Boston and a private jet which took off without permission.

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed 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.

The LearJet's 63-year-old captain - flying for Hop-A-Jet, a Florida-based private charter company - had been told to lineup and read back the air traffic controller's instruction. But the pilot 'then began the takeoff-roll instead'.

He later told investigators: 'I cannot understand what happened to me during the clearance, the only thing that comes to my mind is that the cold temperature in Boston affected me, I was not feeling completely well and had a stuffed nose. My apologies.'

One incident, on February 27, was captured in a chilling photograph from a JetBlue flight's cockpit which shows a LearJet aircraft obstructing the runway as it came into land

He only learned about the near miss after arriving at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

The private jet's crew was notified 'they had taken off without authorization and caused an airplane that had been cleared to land on runway 04 to execute a go-around, passing about 400 above them.'

The report into the incident said: 'The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident to be: The Hop-a-Jet flight crew taking off without a takeoff clearance which resulted in a conflict with a JetBlue flight that had been cleared to land on an intersecting runway.'

The JetBlue aircraft, a Embraer 190, was just 30 feet from the ground and approaching the intersecting runway when the two aircraft came closest to one another.

The frightening incident followed a string of other near misses at US airports this year, prompting experts to warn the industry is facing 'the biggest disaster in its history' if the trend isn't reversed.

The JetBlue aircraft, an Embraer 190 like the one pictured, was coming into land at Logan International Airport in Boston on February 27 when it nearly ploughed into a private jet

The 63-year-old captain of the LearJet - an aircraft similar to the one pictured - told investigators: 'I cannot understand what happened to me during the clearance, the only thing that comes to my mind is that the cold temperature in Boston affected me, I was not feeling completely well and had a stuffed nose. My apologies'

A Delta flight was forced to perform an emergency stop during takeoff while an American Airlines plane crossed the same runway in a near miss at John F. Kennedy International in New York City on Friday, January 13.

Aviation expert and pilot Juan Browne said: 'These sort of incidents are increasing at an alarming rate.

'There's a huge turnover in the industry, not only among pilots but amongst air traffic controllers, mechanics, mainters, rampers. 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.'

In both the JFK and Austin-Bergstrom incidents, experts have said directions issued by air traffic controllers appear to have been an issue.

Kit Darby, an aviation consultant and former United Airlines pilot, told DailyMail.com that he believes safety protocols to avoid near misses are adequate, but added: 'It's a very large, very complicated system that's relying on humans, and humans make mistakes.'
Lucy Letbys devoted parents may never return to the family home where she grew up, neighbours have told MailOnline.

Friends believe the couple, who have turned into virtual recluses since their daughters arrest in 2018, are likely to move away from Hereford, and closer to where she is likely to spend her whole-life prison term: HMP Low Newton near Durham, more than 250 miles away.

The neat, three-bedroomed 230,000 inter-war semi was where only child Letby was arrested for the final time in 2018, as her distraught mother wailed at the officers: I did it, take me instead! in a desperate bid to protect her daughter.

Letbys parents, retired retail boss John and bookkeeper Susan, were a constant presence during her ten-month trial at Manchester Crown Court and attended every day after relocating from Hereford.

With the nurse now exposed as Britain's worst child killer of modern times, attention has understandably been paid to her upbringing.

Lucy Letbys devoted parents may never return to the family home where she grew up, neighbours have told MailOnline. Pictured: Lucy Letby in her custody photo

The neat, three-bedroomed 230,000 inter-war semi (pictured) was where only child Letby was arrested for the final time in 2018

Friends believe the couple, who have turned into virtual recluses since their daughters arrest in 2018, are likely to move away from Hereford, and closer to where she is likely to spend her whole-life prison term: HMP Low Newton near Durham, more than 250 miles away. Letby is pictured during her arrest

A neighbour told MailOnline that they have 'hardly seen' Mr and Mrs Letby since their daughter's arrest. Pictured: Lucy Letby's bedroom

A neighbour told MailOnline that they have 'hardly seen' Mr and Mrs Letby since their daughter's arrest.

'At first, they spent all their time at the back of the house and never even answered the phone,' the local alleged.

Then when the trial began last year, they rented a flat in Manchester so that they could attend the proceedings.

This is a friendly cul-de-sac and people do feel for them, but I guess there will always be a bit of finger-pointing, and more so as new people move in who never knew John and Susan.

Another neighbour, who also asked not to be identified, said they felt that Mr Letby, 77, might prefer to stay at their home near the centre of Hereford, but they understood that Mrs Letby was determined they would base themselves closer to where their daughter was imprisoned.

Shes their life really, and theyre convinced of her innocence, but eventually they may have to let her go, said the neighbour.

The couple appeared in court for much of Letby's trial but were not present for the final verdicts last Friday, and also did not attend the sentencing hearing where she was given 14 whole-life orders.

Mrs Letby broke down in court when the first of the guilty verdicts were returned, crying out: 'You can't be serious. This cannot be right.'

Lucy Letby aged 17 posing with friends while holding her childhood teddy

Her parents, John and Susan, arriving at Manchester Crown court during the trial

Her parents took out an advert in the local newspaper to celebrate her graduation

With Letby now exposed as a killer, many have raised questions about the only child's upbringing.

Yet while many mass murderers suffered an abusive childhood, nothing could be further from the truth for Letby, whose only criticism of her parents was that they were too doting - leaving her feeling 'suffocated'.

Once, the nurse told a doctor friend who was considering moving to New Zealand that she could never do that as it would 'completely devastate' them.

'Find it hard enough being away from me now and it's only 100 miles,' she said.

One psychologist connected to the case has suggested Letby was a 'covert narcissist'.

Having been at the centre of her parents' universe for so long, she craved the attention she had received since childhood and, once she was living away from them, needed to find it elsewhere.

Other text messages sent throughout her murderous spree reveal how she sought sympathy and admiration from colleagues.

After the death of her first victim - Baby A - in June 2015, a fellow nurse sent her a message which read: 'I hope you are OK, you were brilliant.'

Letby responded: 'It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do... Just a big shock for us all. Hard coming in tonight and seeing the parents.'

Since her arrest, he believes they would have been caught between 'shock, disbelief, maybe even denial, and leading up to the trial, they would have clung on to some semblance of hope that she might get a not guilty [verdict].

'Obviously, that's all come crashing down.'

Letby is seated on a sofa surrounded by friends while playfully sticking her fingers up with a joyous, nonchalant expression on her face following a night out to celebrate her 17th birthday

Looking elated Letby poses next to two friends sporting a huge grin as they press their faces together for the camera

DAILY MAIL'S LUCY LETBY DOCUMENTARY 'Killer hiding in plain sight' The Trial of Lucy Letby: The Inside Story Advertisement

Growing up, Letby was a 'delight' to her parents, neighbours remembered.

Her parents, Susan, 63, and John, 77, were a constant presence during her ten-month trial at Manchester Crown Court and attended every day after relocating from Hereford.

But they were not present for the final verdicts last Friday, and also did not attend yesterday's sentencing hearing where she was given 14 whole life orders.

Mrs Letby broke down in court when the first of the guilty verdicts were returned, crying out: 'You can't be serious. This cannot be right.'

Dr Sohom Das, a consultant forensic psychologist and author of In Two Minds, said the couple would have been 'blindsided' by their daughter's conviction.

She had a part-time job at WH Smith in the city, and her parents were immensely proud when she became the first in their family to go to university.

When she attained her honours degree they marked her graduation, in December 2011, with an announcement in their local paper, the Hereford Times.

Alongside a picture of her wearing a mortarboard and clutching her degree certificate, they wrote: 'Letby Lucy BSc Hons in Child Nursing.

In another image she is seated on a bed with three of her pals and is clutching a teddy bear

Letby (pictured while working in hospital) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital

'We are so proud of you after all your hard work. Love Mum and Dad.'

A similar announcement, with an accompanying photograph of Letby as a young child, was also placed in the same newspaper to mark her 21st birthday.

She continued to holiday with them, going on the thrice-annual trips to Torquay which the family had enjoyed since her early childhood.

Mr Letby was present when his daughter was arrested for the first time on July 4, 2018.

He had stayed the night after driving her home the day before, following one of the family's holidays to Torquay, and watched as she was led out of the house by police officers.

In court, Letby was close to tears when she said that after her arrest, her father had made her bed.

However, texts the nurse exchanged with colleagues hinted she sometimes felt smothered by her mother and father and guilty about moving away. She explained they missed her and hated her living alone.

Like Lucy (pictured as a child), who cowered in her cell yesterday and refused to come to Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced. Mr and Mrs Letby also chose to stay away

She appeared to speak or text them every day and described them as 'suffocating at times'.

In a message to another friend, she wrote: 'My parents worry massively about everything & anything, hate that I live alone etc.

'I feel bad because I know it's really hard for them especially as I'm an only child, and they mean well, just a little suffocating at times and constantly feel guilty.'

Mrs Letby sometimes broke into tears in court during the trial and appeared anxious during breaks when her daughter was undergoing particularly tough periods of questioning by the prosecution.
Trust claimed he had 'misled' them at the interview, employment tribunal heard

Nazakat Ali asked if he could use a separate room to privately make phone calls

An NHS trust has been ordered to pay out nearly 17,000 after they withdrew a job offer to an applicant with a stammer when he said he was too embarrassed to make phone calls in front of colleagues.

Having handed in his notice at his previous employer, Nazakat Ali asked his new prospective bosses if he could use a separate room to speak on the phone privately as being around new people made him nervous and exacerbated his speech impediment.

They then withdrew the offer, claiming he had 'misled' them at the interview, an employment tribunal heard.

He successfully sued them for disability discrimination and has been awarded 16,969 in compensation.

The hearing in Manchester was told that Mr Ali - who was working for the health service in Stockport, Greater Manchester - applied for a job with Pennine Care NHS Trust in January 2021.

NazakatAli - who was working for the health service in Stockport, Greater Manchester - applied for a job with Pennine Care NHS Trust (pictured) in January 2021. Pictured: Pennine Care NHS office building, Manchester

Having handed in his notice at his previous employer, Nazakat Ali asked his new prospective bosses if he could use a separate room to speak on the phone privately as being around new people made him nervous and exacerbated his speech impediment

It heard he was offered the role of Subject Access Coordinator within the Subject Access and Freedom of Information Department following an interview, at which it was 'clear' to his interviewers he had a speech impediment.

Mr Ali told them he gets 'nervous' around new people and this 'kicks off' his stammer but assured them it would improve once he got to know them.

Once he had accepted the job, he handed in his notice with his existing employer, only for Head of Information Governance & Data Protection Officer Paul Byrne to cancel his offer when Mr Ali asked if he could begin by making calls privately.

The tribunal heard Mr Byrne decided to withdraw the offer 'without any discussion' with Mr Ali.

In a phone call, he told Mr Ali he would no longer be joining the seven-person team.

After Mr Ali urged him to reconsider, Mr Byrne wrote in an email that he 'could not be sure' the impediment would not affect his job performance, the tribunal heard.

Mr Byrne wrote: 'Just to be clear, the reason the offer was withdrawn wasn't the speech impediment itself.

'Firstly, at interview we had conversations about your speech impediment, and you assured us it would not interfere with your ability to work.

They then withdrew the offer, claiming he had 'misled' them at the interview, an employment tribunal heard

'We felt misled once we received the email.

'I appreciate your comments about you not believing your speech impediment would be an issue.

'However that is not the implication from your email, or from our calls, and therefore I cannot be assured that it would not have any bearing on your ability to do the job.'

However, the hearing was told that Mr Ali was already working at another NHS trust which allowed him to make calls privately.

The tribunal, led by employment judge Hilary Slater, upheld Mr Ali's claim of disability discrimination and that the Trust should have accommodated him by making 'reasonable adjustments' regarding the use of phones.

Judge Slater said: 'We found that [Mr Ali] does have more difficulty in speaking in front of people he does not know well.

'The difficulty reduces when he knows people better. We conclude that the unfavourable treatment was because of something arising in consequence of disability.

'We conclude that the complaint of failure to make reasonable adjustments is well founded.'

The tribunal said that rather than withdrawing the offer, Pennine Care could have offered Mr Ali a trial period, an 'enhanced familiarisation process' to new staff and the working environment and letting him work in another office.
A record 88 migrants crammed into a single dinghy were among more than 1,000 to cross the Channel in recent days.

The packed vessel was intercepted in the Channel on Sunday and brought to Dover, sources told the Mail.

It highlights the growing disregard for human life by traffickers operating on the French coast and comes despite six migrants drowning earlier this month when a boat capsized mid-Channel. At least 65 people were on board.

The numbers being crammed into dinghies has been creeping up in recent months. Earlier in the crossings crisis, the typical load was about 40 people per boat.

Last week, migrants were pictured straddling the side of a rigid inflatable boat as they headed for the UK.

Border Force officials escort 50 migrants into Dover Docks, Kent. On Tuesday, 661 migrants arrived in 15 boats - the third busiest day this year

Some 337 arrived in five vessels - an average of 67 in each - on Sunday and 130 in three dinghies on Saturday

On Monday, 661 migrants arrived in 15 boats - the third busiest day this year.

This sends the number of arrivals so far this year soaring above 18,000.

READ MORE: TikTok Channel migrant films his journey to the UK in series of astonishing videos showing him travelling by train through France, laughing with friends as they cram onto tiny dinghy Advertisement

Some 337 arrived in five vessels - an average of 67 in each - on Sunday and 130 in three dinghies on Saturday.

It comes after figures emerged showing that France is intercepting fewer Channel migrants than last year despite a 480million funding deal struck with Britain in March.

Figures compiled by French authorities show that just 13,759  or 45.2 per cent  of migrants have been stopped by French beach patrols since January.

This was down from the 17,032, or 45.8 per cent, over the same period last year.

Yesterday, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank warned that the cost of housing migrants in hotels could top 5billion a year if the small boats are not stopped.

Authors said the backlog could become permanent, with thousands of people needing long-term accommodation and support. More than 130,000 already await processing.

Marley Morris, from the IPPR, warned that under most plausible scenarios, arrivals will still outpace removals even if the Governments Rwanda policy is approved and the Illegal Migration Act fully implemented.

Border Force officers at the Dover Docks. Figures emerged showing that France is intercepting fewer Channel migrants than last year despite a 480million funding deal struck with Britain

Lifeboats bring ashore migrants to Dover on Monday, some have fuel burns and lacerations and one with body injuries

Migrants sit onboard an inflatable boat in Sangatte, northern France, in July before attempting to cross the English Channel to reach Britain

The Rwanda policy, under which asylum seekers would be flown to stay in accommodation in the African nation, is on hold awaiting a court ruling over whether it is legal.

The IPPR report said that, in 2021, Rwanda received 408 asylum applications and made 487 asylum decisions.

READ MORE: Dozens of migrants desperately clamber onto dinghy trying to reach Britain before French police intercept themon the day Bibby Stockholm asylum seeker barge arrives in Dorset Advertisement

But under Britains Rwanda policy, it would need to process tens of thousands of applications, which the report concluded was far-fetched.

It added: Even if the arrangement to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda is found to be lawful, it is expected that only relatively small numbers will be removed in practice.

Under the Illegal Migration Act, migrants who arrive illegally are barred from claiming asylum.

The report said this would lead to a perma-backlog of migrants who could neither apply for asylum in the UK nor be removed to a third country.

Even in the best-case scenario, the IPPR predicts that the backlog would reach 200,000 people in the five years after an election and would cost the taxpayer 5.64billion in accommodation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks vow to stop the boats is one of his five key pledges to voters.

Parliament has passed tough new immigration laws which allow migrants who arrive by irregular routes - such as small boats - to be detained and swiftly returned to their homeland or a third country.

But on Monday, Mr Sunak appeared to admit that his pledge to stop the Channel boats will not be fulfilled before the next election.

A Home Office spokesman said: The Illegal Migration Act will help to clear the asylum backlog by allowing us to detain and swiftly remove those who arrive here illegally.

While we operationalise the measures in the Act, we continue to remove those with no right to be here through existing powers.

We are also on track to clear the legacy backlog of asylum cases. It has been reduced by nearly a third since the start of December and we have doubled the number of asylum decision-makers over the past two years.
The former top cop is widely blamed for the mishandling of the Gilgo Beach murder investigation

Disgraced police chief James Burke was spotted leaving jail after he was arrested for allegedly offering oral sex to a male undercover park ranger.

Burke, 59, was detained at 10.15am Tuesday morning and charged with offering a sex act, public lewdness, indecent exposure and criminal solicitation.

The former top cop is accused of pulling down his pants and displaying his genitals, as well as manipulating them in a sexual manner. He then reportedly told the undercover ranger, I like sucking d***.'

He begged Suffolk County law enforcement not to arrest him for soliciting sex from the ranger - before asking 'Do you know who I am?'

Burke was later seen leaving the Suffolk County Police Department's 6th Precinct in Selden, where he was processed and charged. He left without speaking to reporters.

The 59-year-old is widely blamed for mishandling the Gilgo Beach investigation after kicking FBI agents off the case, has further charges pending.

Authorities confirmed that Burke was soliciting sex from a male undercover park ranger near the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park when he was arrested. Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show disgraced Suffolk police chief James Burke stepping out in July

Authorities confirmed Burke was allegedly soliciting sex from a male undercover park ranger near the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park when he was arrested on Tuesday morning.

He asked the ranger: 'Do you know who I am?', before telling officers the arrest would be a 'public humiliation' for him.

Burke, who was the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the county for four years, was arrested in December 2015 after beating a man accused of stealing a bag containing sex toys and pornography from the cop's car.

This week, county rangers set up a sting operation after a number of complaints about people soliciting sex in the area.

Officers said they had 'only been in the area for a few minutes' before the solicitation attempts from Burke began.

Suffolk County spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said in a statement: 'At approximately 10:15 a.m. at Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park the Suffolk County Park Ranger's Targeted Response Unit (TRU) arrested James Burke.

'At this time, he is charged with offering a sex act, public lewdness, indecent exposure, and criminal solicitation, with additional potential charges pending.'

Sources told Newsday that Burke had a small amount of marijuana and a muscle relaxant on him when police arrested him. He has not been charged with any drug counts.

Burke, who became police chief in 2011, was accused of hampering the serial killer probe

Burke is expected to be given a desk appearance ticket on September 11 for two misdemeanors and violation charges.

DailyMail.com understands that he is accused of public lewdness and exposure of a person.

Public lewdness in the first degree is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Exposure is a violation, with a maximum sentence of 15 days in jail in addition to fines and community service.

District Attorney Ray Tierney said his office had been waiting for the charging documents for the former officer.

Before Burke became Suffolk County's top cop, he had been involved in a series of scandals involving drugs and prostitutes.

An internal police investigation found Burke left at least one of the women in his patrol car alone with his service weapon resting on the back seat.

Burke was released from prison in November 2018 after serving a 46-month jail term for beating a heroin addict who had stolen a duffel bag from his vehicle.

The former top cop asked the arresting ranger: 'Do you know who I am?', before telling officers that the arrest would be a 'public humiliation' for him

Burke has largely flown under the radar since his 2018 release from a 46-month sentence for assault and obstruction of justice charges

Burke broke cover a week after a suspect was arrested in the Gilgo Beach murders case, which he had been accused of hindering when he was chief of police

Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann, 59, is now charged with three murders attributed to the Gilgo Beach serial killer, and is the prime suspect in a fourth victim's murder

Christopher Loeb, who was 26 at the time, was arrested in December 2012, suspected of stealing a the bag containing a gun belt, ammunition, sex toys and pornography from Burke's unmarked police SUV.

The vehicle had been parked outside of his home in St James, with Burke found guilty of beating Loeb inside the Fourth Precinct in Hauppauge.

Burke then orchestrated a failed cover-up when Loeb complained about the beating and the FBI investigated Burke and his cronies in Suffolk County.

The probe into the serial killings was ongoing at the time authorities began investigating Burke, who was appointed chief of police in late 2011, several months after the initial discovery of four women's bodies.

Burke battered Christopher Loeb (pictured), who stole a bag from the police chief's car which contained porn and sex toys

Determined to cover his own tracks, he ultimately removed FBI agents from the case  drawing backlash from critics who accused him of delaying a breakthrough in the case.

He was then indicted of charges of obstruction of justice, and violating the civil rights of Loeb.

A judge at the time ruled that he was a danger to the community and was denied bail.

District Court Judge Leonard Wexler said Burke acted as a 'dictator' as he tried to cover up the crime.

Federal prosecutors said that his cover-up included: 'The recruiting of high-ranking officials from other county agencies to assist him in the obstruction and to give teeth to his threats.'

Burke was investigated again in 2017 after oxycodone was found in his prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, though the result is currently not known.

Attorney John Ray, who represents two families of victims whose bodies were found along the beach between 1996 and 2011, previously told DailyMail.com that Burke led a double life that allegedly included smoking crack, cross-dressing and relationships with prostitutes.

'Burke had a real devotion for advancing prostitution in his own backyard', Ray said. 'He was investigating sex workers like a robber investigates robbers.'

County rangers set up a sting operation after a number of complaints about people soliciting sex in the area. It is unclear when or if Burke will appear in court

Attorney John Ray, who represents two families of victims whose bodies were found along the beach, said disgraced Suffolk County police chief James Burke's had a 'real devotion for advancing prostitution in his own backyard'

Ray represents the families of victims Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor whose bodies were found along the beach. Their murders remain unsolved

John Ray (far right) is pictured at Rex Heuermann's hearing with Jasmine Robinson (far left)

Burke had a longstanding relationship with at least two sex workers, according to Ray. He met Lowrita Rickenbacker while patrolling the infamous Albany Ave in Wyandanch.

The other was Heather Malone, who ran a prostitution ring out of her hair salon in St. James, going back to the early 1990s.

Ray said Heather Malone would carry a beeper around so the pair could communicate. Those calls were eventually traced back to Burke.

It is unclear if the pair are still in touch, but Ray told DailyMail.com that she was never charged for any wrongdoing.

The lawyer alleged that on two occasions Burke was seen dressed in women's clothing - specifically women's under garments during a sex romp at a hotel in Wading River with a sex worker from Oregon.

He was spotted again in women's clothing when a private investigator that Ray works with saw him driving in his car. When he got wind that the investigator was trailing him he reportedly hit the gas.

'Here is the chief of police ... Just before he becomes the chief of police, living with one woman who has a beeper that is running a prostitution ring and goes with another woman to his home in Ronkonkoma and cross-dressing as a woman and smoking crack with a sex worker girlfriend,' Ray said.

Despite Burke's double life, he continued to rise through the ranks at the police department. He has also been described by colleagues as a 'psychopath' who was always 'horny' and thought he was 'untouchable'.

In 2011, he was appointed by his longtime mentor, then Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, as the chief of Suffolk County Police Department.

Disgraced Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota, 79 (left) and Christopher McPartland, former chief of an anti-corruption bureau, were convicted of helping to cover Burke's behavior

Burke pictured in 2015 outside an FBI office in New York after he was arrested and charged for beating a thief who took a bag of porn and sex toys from his police car then trying to cover up the attack

Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Authorities on Long Island are vowing to continue investigating the Gilgo Beach murders after charging an architect in the deaths of three of the 11 victims

Burke was pictured outside of his modest three-bedroom, 1.5-bath home in Smithtown, Suffolk County, in July

Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and top aide Christopher McPartland were later convicted of charges including conspiracy, witness tampering and obstruction in connection with the federal investigation of Burke. They are currently serving five-year prison sentences.

The disgraced cop was last spotted in July, nearly a week after architect Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested in relation to the murders of three of the 11 victims in the long-unsolved Gilgo Beach killings.

Heuermann's arrest on July 13 marked a major breakthrough in the murder case that at one point was hampered by a series of scandals inside the Suffolk County Police Department, under Burke's leadership.

The investigation into Burke's crimes had also uncovered salacious details of his alleged secret taste for drugs and prostitutes  which at one point led some to believe he may have ties to the Gilgo Beach murders.

A profile of Burke in the Daily Beast said he was 'well-known to have a penchant not only for frequenting sex workers but for indulging in drugs'.

As chief, he allegedly repurposed his office 'into a makeshift bar which was open every night for 'drinks.' He would also ask his staff to 'conduct surveillance' on his girlfriend and her exes, it is claimed.

He has also been accused of holding grudges against colleagues and subordinates he didn't like, them punishing them with threats and demotions.

Former colleagues have described him as a 'psychopath' who was always 'horny' and thought he was 'untouchable'.
Tropical Storm Harold made landfall in far south Texas on Tuesday morning, dumping heavy rains on a region that has dealt with a lengthy drought.

The fast-moving storm was expected to produce 2 to 4 inches of rain across much of South Texas, with some areas seeing up to 6 inches. The storms maximum sustained winds were measured at 45 mph on Tuesday afternoon as it continued to weaken over land.

This is not a minor event, but not a major event for the area, National Hurricane Center forecaster John Cangialosi said. It is moving quickly, so its not going to produce copious amounts of rainfall and flooding, and there are going to be gusty winds, but were not going to see hurricane force winds.

The NHC predicted that Harold would weaken into a tropical depression by the end of Tuesday. The storm made landfall near South Padre Island around 10 a.m. Though it formed in the warm Gulf of Mexico, it was not over water long enough to strengthen further.

The two largest American cities in the storms path, Corpus Christi and Laredo, have been dealing with lengthy droughts  Laredo for more than two years.

Weve been very dry down here in South Texas and this [rain] will be beneficial, said Joshua Schroeder, a local meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Because it is relatively small, moving fast and does not pack damaging winds, Harold was not expected to cause massive damage in South Texas. However, an estimated 11,000 customers in Corpus Christi lost power on Tuesday shortly after the storm reached land, and residents of smaller cities in the area also lost electricity after the storm made landfall.

With News Wire Services
A former Nigerian government minister has been charged with accepting bribes while in office and spending the money on private jets and luxury holidays.

Diezani Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting payments during her time as minister for petroleum resources, in exchange for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

The 63-year-old, who was a key figure in the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2015, is also alleged to have bought gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods after benefitting from at least 100,000 in cash.

She was in office from 2010 to 2015, the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC.

The charges also allege money was used for the payment of private school fees, chauffeur-driven cars and the use of multiple London properties.

Diezani Alison-Madueke (pictured) is accused of accepting payments during her time as minister for petroleum resources, in exchange for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. Pictured: Arriving for a meeting of OPEC oil ministers at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna in 2014

The 63-year-old, who was a key figure in the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2015, is also alleged to have bought gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods after benefitting from at least 100,000 in cash. Pictured: Arriving for an OPEC meeting in Vienna December 12, 2012

The former OPEC president, who currently lives in St John's Wood, London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court (pictured) on October 2

Andy Kelly, head of the NCA's International Corruption Unit (ICU), said: 'We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts.

'These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.

'Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat.'

Alison-Madueke has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015.

The former OPEC president, who currently lives in St John's Wood, London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 2.

Soon after her arrest, her family's lawyer told AFP she would strongly contest corruption allegations that have dogged her during and after her time in former president Goodluck Jonathan's government.

In an interview with a Nigerian newspaper in November 2015, she was quoted as saying: 'I challenge anyone to come forward with facts showing that I stole government or public money.

'I've never stolen Nigeria's money.'

She was in office from 2010 to 2015, the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC. Pictured: In Vienna in 2014

The charges also allege money was used for the payment of private school fees, chauffeur-driven cars and the use of multiple London properties. Pictured: Attending the flag-off for Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan's campaign in 2015

At the time of her arrest, the NCA said only that it had detained five people in London on suspicion of international corruption, without naming those held.

The Nigerian government of Jonathan's successor, Muhammadu Buhari, later confirmed Alison-Madueke's arrest and said its law enforcement agencies were cooperating with their British counterparts.

Soon after taking office, former army general Buhari began a drive to root out endemic corruption and end impunity in Africa's most populous nation.

That included reforming the notoriously opaque Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which Alison-Madueke oversaw.

But Buhari - who said 'mind-boggling' sums had been 'looted' from the country over decades - was accused of largely targeting his political opponents and those from the previous administration.

The NCA said that assets worth millions of pounds in relation to the case have been frozen as part of the long-running investigation.

Earlier this year, the agency, which targets international and serious and organised crime, said it provided evidence to US prosectors allowing them to recover assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Alison-Madueke's alleged corruption.

They included luxury real estate in California and New York, as well as a 65-metre superyacht, the Galactica Star, the US Department of Justice announced on March 27.

Alison-Madueke, born to a well-off family in the oil city of Port Harcourt in 1960, studied architecture in Britain and the United States before joining oil major Shell's Nigerian subsidiary.

In politics she held three major positions in government - first as transport minister in 2007 under president Umaru Yar'Adua, then minister of mines and steel development.

When Jonathan - who was also from southern Bayelsa state - took over after the death of Yar'Adua, he appointed her minister of petroleum resources in April 2010, making her a powerful figure.
A consultant who tried to blow the whistle on serial killer Lucy Letby today called for regulation of NHS executives to make them accountable for their decisions.

Dr Stephen Brearey was one of seven senior medics who repeatedly tried to alert managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital to the neonatal nurses murder spree.

At least two babies died and more were harmed because executives refused to listen or believe a member of staff was to blame, it has emerged.

Dr Brearey said a regulatory body was needed to stop the revolving door of NHS executives moving between hospital trusts.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Doctors and nurses have regulatory bodies they have to answer to.

Dr Stephen Brearey was one of seven senior medics who repeatedly tried to alert managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital

Letby, 33, is Britain's most prolific child killer and was yesterday sentenced to an unprecedented 14 whole life orders - meaning she will die in prison

Quite often well see senior managers who have no apparent accountability for what they do in our trusts, and they move to other trusts, and you worry about their future actions.

There doesnt seem to be any system to make them accountable and for them to justify their actions in a systematic way.

Dr Brearey said consultants who complained or raised concerns to managers were seen as a problem.

He said that since Letbys conviction for seven murders and seven attempted murders on Friday, he had been contacted by other doctors at different hospitals who had experienced similar treatment from managers when they raised issues, albeit not of the same magnitude.

Our experiences arent uncommon in NHS, he said. You go to senior colleagues with a problem and come away confused and anxious because you realise they are seeing you as the problem, rather than the concern that you have.

Ive spoken to a number of different clinicians around the country, not just in paediatrics, and I really think our experiences arent unusual.

'Ive also received correspondence in the last three days from various people around the country saying similar things.

Sometimes clinicians raise concerns with senior managers of the hospital and their lives are made very difficult by doing that.

Dr Ravi Jayaram told ITV the 'culture in the NHS has to change' and 'there is no robust system of accountability of appraisal'

'I cant emphasise enough what a difficult position that puts clinicians in, not only do they feel the issue isnt being addressed but they also feel under attack.

'And going to work every day and carrying out clinical practices in that environment is difficult.

Dr Brearey suggested managers were motivated by a desire to protect their hospitals from reputational damage.

What was put out in our case was fear of reputational damage for the organisation, he said. I suspect underlying that is probably a fear of individual reputational damage as well.

His colleague, Dr Ravi Jayaram, told ITV: As far as I can tell (for) people in senior NHS management positions, there is no robust system of accountability of appraisal. This is the culture in the NHS and it has to change.

Doctors union, the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), also called for the law to change to better protect NHS whistleblowers.

They said there should be an independent organisation for registered whistleblowers, and those who subject people that speak out to any form of recrimination prosecuted in a criminal court.

Dr Naru Narayanan, HCSA president, told Sky News: There has to be better protection for people who raise concerns. We see time and again that people who do so face retribution, revenge and retaliation, and they fear for their careers.

There has to be a significant rehaul which has to be protected by law, where whistleblowers are afforded the protection they deserve.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has hit out at Texas' Governor for sending a bus of migrants to the city while Tropical Storm Hilary caused widespread chaos.

The bus of nearly 40 migrants, which included families and young children, left Brownsville, Texas, and arrived at LA's Union Station at 6.45pm Monday amid the torrential downpours and hurricane alerts.

Bass called the act by Greg Abbott 'despicable' and 'evil,' while other charities and migrant centers slammed him for using the asylum seekers as 'political pawns.'

Abbott has been frequently sending migrants who arrive in his state from the US Mexico border on buses destined for Democrat-led cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Washington DC.

Mayor Karen Bass issued the following statement: 'It is evil to endanger the lives of vulnerable migrants by sending a bus with families and toddlers on board to a city that at the time was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning.

Karen Bass called the act by Greg Abbott 'despicable' and 'evil,' while other charities and migrant centers slammed him for using the asylum seekers as 'political pawns'

Abbott has been frequently sending migrants who arrive in his state from the US Mexico border on buses destined for Democrat-led cities , including New York, Los Angeles, and Washington DC

'As I stood with state and local leaders warning Angelenos to stay safe and brace themselves for the worst of the coming storm, the Governor of Texas sent families and toddlers straight for us on a path through extreme weather conditions.

'If anybody understands the danger of hurricanes and thunderstorms, it's the Governor of Texas  who has to deal with this threat on an annual basis.

'This is a despicable act beyond politics.'

She then added on Twitter: 'This evening, Los Angeles received another bus from Texas. That means that while we were urging Angelenos to stay safe, the Governor of Texas was sending a bus with families and toddlers straight towards us KNOWING they'd have to drive right into an unprecedented storm. Evil.'

Storm Hilary is the first the tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.

According to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, there were 37 asylum seekers on the most recent bus. Twenty came from Venezuela - and others came from Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras.

The CHIRLA said in a statement: 'Migrants were immediately taken to a receiving site in Chinatown where they were offered urgent humanitarian support services, including food, clothing, hygiene kits, health checkups, and immigration-specific legal orientations.

'The Collective also facilitated reunions with family members, loved ones, and sponsors residing in the region.

Migrants arriving at LA's Union Station in July 2023. This is the ninth time that Abbott has bussed migrants to Los Angeles

A person is rescued from a car amid the tropical storm

The aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary pictured in Palm Springs, CA

'The Welcomes Collective was surprised and disheartened to learn that Texas officials had given the green light to send this bus to LA knowing full well that the state, the county, and the city had declared Los Angeles an emergency zone amid the threat of Hurricane Hilary.

'This arrival marks the 9th bus with asylum seekers sent from Texas to Los Angeles.'

Angelica Salas, CHIRLA Executive Director, said: 'Sending a bus full of women, men, and children into harm's way is not only irresponsible, it is reprehensible. It displays a complete and total lack of common humanity.

'These migrants have followed the increasingly restrictive rules and sought asylum at a port of entry.

'They have spoken to US officials who have conducted a preliminary analysis of their case and determined that these individuals have the basis for a credible asylum claim.

'It's plain wrong to then recklessly send these people into what is effectively the eye of a hurricane.'

Martha Arevalo, CARECEN Executive Director, added: 'As part of the LA Welcomes Collective, CARECEN continues its commitment to welcome migrants with dignity and respect.

Los Angeles County Public Health Emergency Operations officials leave St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church after evaluating newly arrived migrants being housed in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 14, 2023

An unhoused man clears the area around his tent after Tropical Storm Hilary flooded the homeless encampment where he lives on August 22, 2023 in Cathedral City, California

'This bus comes only a few hours after Southern California was hit by tropical storm Hilary, the first of its kind in decades.

'It is an irresponsible political game by Texas officials to send vulnerable migrants and families into an emergency zone.

'We strongly condemn any actions endangering migrants and refugees, urging dignified and welcoming protections and policies at all governmental levels.'

Kimberley Plotnik, Program Director of Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project said: 'Migrants arriving in Los Angeles are human beings  not political pawns.

'They need our compassion and support  not to be bused into the middle of a hurricane. Sending people into an emergency zone is just shameful.

'Rain or shine, Esperanza will continue to stand up for migrants in our community.'

Multiple rescue missions were launched across the affected areas as the torrential storms toppled trees, flooded roads and left residents stranded by mudslides and newly formed waterways on Monday.

In Culver City, California, the deluge saw a deep waterway in the Ballona Creek overflow as the metro was battered with over 3.5 inches of rain.

As the storms stretched into Nevada, dramatic images showed the normally-burned out desert in Death Valley marked with mudslides and rivers after it was hit with a year's rainfall in under 24 hours.

Thunderstorms and further torrential downpours are expected further inland on Tuesday, while much of California's southwest coast has been left devastated and officials are scrambling to provide help to stranded residents.
He faces four murder charges over the grisly 2022 University of Idaho killings

Tanya Carmella-Beers, a former administrator at the Monroe Career and Technical Institute, said he was kicked out of the program after girls complained

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger was kicked out of a high school law enforcement program after girls complained about his behavior, one of his former teachers has revealed.

While Kohberger, 28, was vocal about his dreams of a career in law enforcement, his behavior made it clear that he would not end up being a cop, according to Tanya Carmella-Beers, a former administrator at the Monroe Career and Technical Institute.

Speaking on The Idaho Massacre podcast, Carmella-Beers said she was shocked after learning Kohberger's alleged crimes, but added that his arrest 'made sense' given what she knew about his past.

'It wasn't gonna be an ending up in the police academy kind of thing for him,' she said. 'It was gonna be a little bit more of a challenge for him to get there.'

Carmella-Beers claimed Kohberger took the program 'extremely seriously,' but was kicked out after a group of girls made a complaint.

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was kicked out of a high school law enforcement program after girls complained about his behavior

Former administrator at the Monroe Career and Technical Institute Tanya Carmella-Beers said Kohberger's arrest 'made sense' given what she knew about his past

Kohberger was vocal about his dreams of a career in law enforcement, his behavior made it clear that he would not end up being a cop, according to Carmella-Beers

'A complaint was made, and the teacher reported it to me, and said, "You know, this is not something we can have,"' she said on the podcast.

'An investigation needed to be conducted. Other students were interviewed. Bryan was interviewed. And there comes a time when decisions have to be made, whether it's the decision the student wants or not.'

Carmella-Beers did not provide details, citing student privacy laws, but added: 'Ultimately what had him removed from the program, when I look back on it now, makes sense.'

He faces four first-degree murder charges for the November 13 killings of Goncalves, 21, and her friends Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in their off-campus home near the University of Idaho.

'The fact that he wanted law enforcement more than anything else in the world, if you look at it from just that perspective alone not knowing what I know you'd be like, I'm so shocked,' the educator explained.

'In that respect I am, but I know another little piece, which is the piece that occurred at the school... so that makes sense.'

Kohberger transferred to the the heating, ventilation and air condition track after being cut from the law enforcement program but dropped but a year later.

He would use his time in the law enforcement program as part of his resume when he applied as a part-time security guard at Mount Pleasant High School, where he was eventually forced to resign under unknown circumstances.

Two of Kohberger's high school friends, Casey Arntz and Bree, previously said Kohberger was overweight and was bullied in school.

(L-R) Housemates Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee's shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke

Kohberger was overweight and was bullied in school, before shedding 100 pounds

The suspected killer shed nearly 100 pounds in his senior year after being the brunt of his classmates' jokes - which was when people noticed a switch in him.

After losing the weight, it was Kohberger who started bullying Arntz' brother - putting him in chokeholds and getting physically aggressive with him.

Bree said that 'self-destructive' Kohberger started also using heroin.

As DailyMail.com previously reported, Kohberger has a history of behavior that made others, particularly women, uncomfortable.

The quadruple murder suspect harassed female staff at a Pennsylvania bar near his hometown, according to owner Jordan Serulneck.

Serulneck claimed his workers labeled Kohberger in their systems as a guy who 'makes creepy comments' and said he once called a staffer 'a b***h' for spurning his advances.

As a teaching assistant at Washington State University - a job he was fired from - Kohberger was accused of sexism.

'Kohberger allegedly told female colleagues that men were going to take their jobs because women arent as smart grading female students more harshly than males,' NewsNation reported.

The former criminology student has plead not guilty and his trial is scheduled for October 2.

At his latest hearing on Friday, Kohberger's lawyers laid out arguments on six motions, including the state's demand that he produce evidence of an alibi for the killings.

Prosecutors have also insisted he provides witnesses that can support his alibi, however his defense said that 'at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was' on the night of the murders.

'He was out, driving during the late night and early morning hours of November 12-13, 2022,' attorneys said, adding that he 'is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time.'

Prosecutors have demanded more specifics over his alleged alibi, and say that 'driving in the area' does not exonerate him and instead places him at the scene.

Ahead of his trial in October, the hearing saw both sides discuss several other points of contention, including a request from Kohberger's team to compel prosecutors to disclose the DNA profiles they will use in court.

His defense also filed a request to delay the court proceedings to allow time to investigate potential procedural issues with the grand jury, which indicted him in May.

Alongside insisting upon his alibi, prosecutors also countered with a request to keep DNA profiles protected, while also filing motions over issues in the timeline of Kohberger's upcoming trial.

The hearing is the latest step in the ongoing legal preparations for Kohberger's trial, and prosecutors have been facing mounting pressure to compile their case and present it within six months as he has not yet waived his right for a speedy trial.

Prosecutors are set to lay out a slew of evidence over the alleged crimes, including his DNA police say they found on a knife sheath that was left at the gruesome scene.

Police claim the DNA was a 99.9 percent match to Kohberger and his father, possibly leading to his defense's focus on the legitimacy of processes used by authorities to gather such material during Friday's hearing.

The other key piece of evidence prosecutors hope will convince a jury is Kohberger's white Hyundai Elantra car, which was seen in the area in CCTV surveillance footage.

One of the surviving roommates who was not attacked also said she saw the killer, and that he had 'bushy eyebrows' - another feature of Kohberger's appearance.
A total of six children and two adults became stuck in a cable car when it broke down 1,200ft above a deep valley in Pakistan.

The trapped people had been travelling to school in a remote mountainous area in Battagram when a line snapped at around 7am on Tuesday.

Makeshift cable cars, often made from scrap metal, are widely used across parts of Pakistan due to there being long distances between facilities such as schools.

The cable cars are usually built by people in local commuties, often illegally, so that residents can get around, as there is a lack of infrastructure in the area, according to the BBC.

With all eight people trapped following today's incident now rescued, here is everything you need to know about the country's homemade cable car system.

In this image taken from video, a cable car carrying six children and one adult dangles hundreds of meters above the ground in the remote Battagram district

The trapped people had been travelling to school in a remote mountainous area in Battagram when a line snapped at around 7am on Tuesday

Why are the cable cars needed?

In Allia, the area where the eight people became trapped today, there is no road infrastructure or access to basic facilities.

This meant that local communities took matters into their own hands and built the cable car system as a means of transport.

After obtaining permission from the those in charge of running the city, a local resident set to work.

The route known as 'Dolly' allows residents to travel what was a two-hour walk in just four minutes.

The line runs from the village of Jangri to where the lcoal school is, Batangi.

It was claimed by local police that the safety of the line is checked monthly but this has yet to be verified.

The cable cars are often made from parts of motor vehicles, such as pick-up trucks, with the main body converted into a cabin that is then attached to a line.

How much do they cost to use?

Another reason why the cable cars are popular with local residents is that they are an affordable mode of transport.

Cheaper than travelling by road, fares start at as little as 10 PKR (0.053). The cost changes depending on the distance travelled.

Mohabbat Shah, who lives in the area, said locals are willing to risk the dangerous journey as they don't have many other ways travelling to key services.

Due to there being no probelms with the cable cars before today's incident, locals saw them as the best way to travel around the region.

He told the BBC: 'We pay only 10 rupees per person on a one way trip. If we book a cab, this will cost up to 2000 rupees (18.91).'

Local communities took matters into their own hands and built the cable car system as a means of transport

A view shows a cable car carrying students stranded in mid-air in Battagram, Pakistan, today

Have there been problems with other cable cars in Pakistan?

While the cable car that broke down today had not had issues before, others in different parts of the country have.

In 2017, in Muree, Punjab, an illegal car crashed and fell into a ravine. There were 11 people killed in the crash.

And in December last year in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 12 children on their way to school had to be rescued when a rope snapped. They were also stranded above a river as they waited to be saved.

After today's icndient, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, called for safety inspections of all homemade cable cars.
Modelo Especial has officially triumphed over Bud Light as America's best-selling beer according to new data from grocery stores and beer retailers.

Sales of Modelo have so far tis year surpassed Bud Lights, whose sales slumped in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney controversy.

The Mexican lager trounced Bud Light in off-premise beer sales in May, June and July, holding a 9.1 share for the past four weeks as Bud Light slipped to a 7 share, according to NIQ data.

New York-based Constellation Brands, who distribute Modelo, posted an 11 percent increase in sales in its second-quarter earnings boosted by its beer business, which also includes Corona.

Bud Light volumes were also down 26.7% as it struggles to put the public relations disaster of partnering with prominent transgender influencer Mulvaney behind it.

Modelo Especial has officially triumphed over Bud Light as America's best-selling beer

Bud Light lost its position as the number one beer in America after 22 years at the top

Mulvaney worked with Bud Light in April as part of their March Madness campaign and was gifted a can of the light beer with her face on it  which sparked outrage

Modelos victory 'seemed inevitable for at least the last several months, but the timeline accelerated since Bud Lights trends dramatically worsened in April,' Benj Steinman, president of Beer Marketers Insights, told CNN.

'It happened far faster than most people expected' Steinman added.

Greg Gallagher, vice president of brand marketing for Constellation, told CNN that the company has been 'enjoying an incredible run of success' and has been aiming to expand the dominance it has with Hispanic drinkers to more demographics.

'Our growth is in maintaining that core but also bringing in non-Hispanic customers, and were having incredible success,' he said.

Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's parent company, has lost a whopping $390 million in US sales in the wake of its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

The world's largest brewer blamed the 'volume decline' of Bud Light for the drop in revenue in its second quarter - with figures showing that total US revenue dropped by 10.5 percent in the April-to-June period compared to a year earlier.

In a recent statement the company announced that sales to US retailers had plunged 14 percent, adding that it had been 'underperforming the industry.' This was a direct result of the controversy that erupted after the tie-in with Mulvaney.

Bud Light's popularity has been dropping since Anheuser-Busch teamed up with Mulvaney, 26, in April and gave her a personalized promotional can.

Bud Light volumes were also down 26.7% as it struggles to put the public relations disaster of partnering with prominent transgender influencer Mulvaney behind it

The can was gifted to Mulvaney to celebrate 365 days of 'being a girl,' the phrase she uses to describe her transition from male to female.

But it triggered outrage among drinkers, who accused Bud Light of trying to force progressive beliefs on them via their favorite brand.

Amongst the ongoing issues, Anheuser-Busch forced two of its top executives to take a 'leave of absence' following the major marketing blunder.

There were claims that both executives had finally been fired over the fiasco - something which the company deny.

VP of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, and VP for Mainstream Brands Daniel Blake, 34, both took a voluntary leave of absence following the backlash.
The White House announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden will attend next month's Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India, in a high-profile trip amid regional tensions with China.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that meetings-and Biden's talks with leaders on the sidelines of the summit-will focus on climate change, Russia's war in Ukraine and more.

The White House has not said which leaders the president will hold individual meetings with but China's President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, are among officials from leading global economies who have been invited to attend the leaders' meeting.

The announcement was timed with a gathering of other leaders including Russia and China in South Africa, although Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't attend amid a warrant for his arrest connected to Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden heads to India next month to join with leaders of the top economies amid tensions over Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine

'Hell discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues from the clean energy transition and combating climate change to mitigating the economic and social impacts of Russias war in Ukraine to increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty and take on the significant transnational challenges that are afflicting countries across the world,' Sullivan said.

Sullivan said Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jakarta from Sept. 4 to 7 to take part in the US-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit and East Asia Summit to engage with Indo-Pacific leaders.

The leaders' summit is scheduled to take place Sept. 9-10. The announcement came hours after Biden flew to Hawaii to view wildfire damage, while offering meandering remarks trying to console residents.

He met with the leaders of Japan and South Korea at Camp David on Friday, at an event the trio used to display unity amid the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were both absent as leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies started a three-day summit in South Africa on Tuesday.

Putins travel to Johannesburg was complicated by an outstanding International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest over the abduction of children from Ukraine. His participation as the bloc named for member nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa opened its first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic came in the form of a 17-minute prerecorded speech.

Biden toured wildfire damage in Hawaii along with first lady Jill Biden. He plans to notch even more frequent flier miles next month when he heads to India

Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Bali, Indonesia for a gathering of Southeast Asian nations

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the BRICS summit remotely

The U.S. has focused on Chinese President Xi Jinping's close ties with Putin amid Russia's war on Ukraine

Xi, who was in South Africa and held a bilateral morning meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, did not join his host and the leaders of Brazil and India for a business forum at the primary summit venue. No reason was given for his absence, and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao read Xi's speech.

The trip for Harris puts her back on the world stage in a country Biden visited last year.

She took flak early in the administration over a surge in migration while she was focused on 'root causes' of immigration.

The Biden-Harris presidential campaign blasted out a favorable profile of Harris in Politico this week about her public image that asked, 'Is it possible for Kamala Harris to make a second impression?'

The Biden administration has relied on a variety of alliances and associations as a counter to China's growing strength in the region.

Biden visited Cambodia and Indonesia in 2022, and the administration has focused on security alliance that joins Australia, the UK, and the U.S. Biden had to scrap a planned trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea this spring amid high-stakes debt ceiling talks with Republicans.
A North Carolina woman has been accused of faking her own murder after making anonymous reports she was missing to police and her friend.

Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney, 37, from Franklin in the west of the state, was arrested on Monday by local police.

Known to friends as Maggie, she has been charged with causing a false report to a police station, false report of death or serious injury by telephonic communication, and obstructing law enforcement officers.

She was reported missing the previous Friday - August 18 - and Franklin Police Department officers launched an immediate investigation due to information suggesting she was endangered or dead.

But Sweeney was located safely the next day in the next town over, police said.

Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney, 37, from Franklin in North Carolina, was arrested on Monday by local police.

Sweeney was reported missing the previous Friday - August 18 - and Franklin Police Department officers launched an immediate investigation due to information suggesting she was endangered or dead

Sergeant Randy Dula continued the investigation and was able to determine that Sweeney allegedly made anonymous third-party false reports to a friend that she had been murdered.

'Sweeney's actions caused our department, as well as other departments, many hours of work which could have been spent on other matters,' FPD said.

'Family, friends, and the community as a whole were also very concerned and worried about Sweeney's welfare.'

Sweeney was described as 5 foot 5 inches in her police report - and cops have not given any indication as to what her motivation might have been.

She lives in a $145,900 home on Scruffie Drive, north Franklin.

She faces similar charges to Carlee Russell, who famously faked her own abduction and could now spend two years behind bars.

Spa therapist Russell, 25, claimed to have been abducted after allegedly disappearing for 49 hours from her home in Hoover, Alabama, on July 13.

The story of her disappearance went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Carlee Russell grinned in her mugshot last month after being arrested for faking her own abduction

After Russell 'disappeared' on July 13, her ex-boyfriend Thomar Simmons (pictured together) had posted frantic appeals for information on social media and then made a supportive post once Russell returned home. He has now spoken out to say he is 'disgusted' with her hoax

On July 24, she admitted that she had fabricated the story.

She has been charged with two misdemeanor charges of filing a false report and now faces up to two years in jail and $12,000 in fines.

Russell was released from jail on July 28 after posting a $2,000 bond and was seen grinning in her mugshot.
A New Mexico teenager accused of murdering her newborn baby in a hospital bathroom was seen in court for the first time on Tuesday.

Alexee Trevizo, 19, sat behind her lawyer Gary Mitchell during the virtual court appearance as he discussed details of her upcoming trial, where he will argue she is innocent.

Mitchell agreed for the trial to take place on October 2 during the hearing overseen by Judge Jane Gray.

The teen gave birth in the bathroom of the Artesia General Hospital on January 27 after showing up complaining of back pain.

After delivering her baby boy alone, she put his body in a trash can for cleaners to find.

Alexee Trevizo sat behind her lawyer during the virtual court appearance as he discussed details of her upcoming trial on Tuesday

The 19-year-old has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial in New Mexico

Trevizo gave birth in the bathroom of the Artesia General Hospital on January 27 after showing up complaining of back pain. She is shown with her mother and a nurse

Prosecutors say she killed him by strangling him, hinging their theory on the fact the baby allegedly had air in his lungs when he died.

Trevizo claims the baby was stillborn, and her lawyer now says hospital staff killed the baby by giving the teen medications like morphine.

On Tuesday, Mitchell argued that videos that show Trevizo in her hospital room and in the hallway after she gave birth violated her privacy rights.

He also argued police asked her questions in her hospital room without reading her Miranda rights. Trevizo admitted on bodycam footage that she gave birth to a baby boy and put him in the trash.

The state, however, replied that privacy laws don't apply if there was a third person in the room, in this case Trevizo's mom, or in public areas such as a hospital hallway.

Judge Gray asked for additional information from both sides.

She also gave Trevizo, who's out on bail, permission to travel to Las Cruces to attend college.

Trevizo has not spoken publicly since she was charged, but her attorney Mitchell told DailyMail.com that she has been unfairly vilified.

'The fact is, she did not kill her baby. The testing [that was done] to determine that she did is so antiquated that it is medieval.

'There was no strangulation. This is not a murder case,' he said.

The teenager was arrested and charged with murder on May 10

Videos taken on January 6 - three weeks before she gave birth - show Alexee Trevizo, 19, cheerleading with an enormous baby bump. On January 27, she gave birth in secret and dumped the infant's body in a hospital trash can. Now, she is charged with murder

Mitchell says he will show how Trevizo was given a cocktail of drugs that are inappropriate for pregnant women much less those in labor.

'This certainly was the primary cause of death of the baby. Guess what does cause major breathing issues in fetuses? Morphine,' he said.

Mitchell says a toxicology report shows the baby had 0.19 nanograms of morphine in his system when he was born, and that he also tested positive for COVID-19, influenza A&B and SARS.

He maintains that Trevizo did not know she was pregnant despite gaining weight and developing a bump that was clearly visible through her cheerleading clothes.

However, as DailyMail.com previously reported, Trevizo's high school friends have claimed she did know she was pregnant.

The friends claimed Trevizo had even picked out a name for the baby boy. She was going to call him Alex.

And she claimed she had put on weight, not because she was expecting but because she had started taking the contraceptive pill.

Alexee Trevizo and her boyfriend Devyn Fierro at Artesia High School Prom on April 22 - 12 weeks after she gave birth to their newborn son and put him in the trash in a hospital bathroom. She was arrested on May 10 and is now charged with murder

Trevizo was photographed in her cheerleading outfit with a visible baby bump just three weeks before she gave birth.

Just 21 days later, she was in the hospital, crying as police told her she'd been caught trying to get rid of her son's body.

Trevizo is currently on $100,000 bail after a judge allowed her to return to school to graduate.

She and her boyfriend, the baby's alleged father, attended their high school prom after she was bailed out of jail.

In the last week of April, when her son would have been three months old, she slipped into a mini-dress and sneakers to dance the night away with Devyn Fierro, her boyfriend of 'nearly three years.'
The Beijing-based secret agent is mainly operating under the alias Robin Zhang

A Chinese spy is using fake LinkedIn profiles to lure thousands of British officials into handing over state secrets in exchange for cash and flashy business deals, it has been reported.

The sole Beijing operative is said to have used a raft of fake names and created sham companies to target civil servants, scientists and even security officials into handing over classified Government information on the social media site for professionals.

According to an investigation carried out by The Times, the secret agent is mainly operating under the alias Robin Zhang and is thought to be one of the most prolific spies working in the UK in years, Western security officials have said.

Other pseudonyms used included names such as Eric Chen Yixi, Robin Cao, Lincoln Lam, John Lee and Eric Kim. The profiles, which either used stock images or pictures of innocent people, claimed to work in Shanghai's security sector.

The man, whose undercover work is said to have been at play for at least five years, is thought to be working from a desk in China's capital, believed to be linked with the Chinese Ministry of State Securitys headquarters in the capital.

Some fell for his ploy, sending him their CV in anticipation of private-sector work. Another said the user had been 'unprofessional and pushy' before offering money for information on the country's relationship with China.

Amongst those targeted, were think tank researchers and academics, thought to be more vulnerable to infiltrators like Zhang.

A Chinese spy is said to have been using LinkedIn to try and lure out Government secrets from civil servants, scientists and academics

The man is thought to have links with the Chinese Ministry of State Securitys headquarters. Pictured: China's President Xi Jinping

LinkedIn is the world's largest professional networking site with more than 930 million users. Pictured: LinkedIn's office in San Francisco

The newspaper revealed the spy made up security companies and websites so he looked more credible when he approached his targets. He even pretended to attend a London university.

On one occasion man, whose real identity cannot be published as it would put spies in Western countries at risk, offered to pay 8,000 to a recruitment consultant every time they gave details of candidates who worked in intelligence services.

Former colonel Philip Ingram, who specialised in cyber intelligence and the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, said he had a request from someone going under the name 'Robin' five years ago.

After accepting, he was quickly asked to write a report on how British counterterrorism works and asked for information that 'isn't easily accessible to anyone'. His suspicions were raised after finding no details about the company 'Robin' allegedly worked.

'Im certain theres an entire department at MSS that is using these tactics,' he told the Times. The colonel ended communication after he was asked to go to China.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat told the paper: 'Its not just government employees who need to exercise caution, its businesses with commercially sensitive information, as well as researchers and academics.'

He warned that other British civilians using LinkedIn, the world's largest professional networking site with more than 930 million users, should be aware.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat warned that it was not just civil servants who should be aware, but also businesses, researchers and academics

The revelation comes weeks after Parliament's intelligence watchdog warned that Chinese spies are 'prolifically and aggressively' targeting the UK.

The Intelligence and Security Committee said that Beijing was managing to penetrate 'every sector of the economy' before criticising the Government's response to the threat by questioning the trade-off between economic interests and security concerns.

The watchdog also raised concerns that Chinese influence in UK's university and warned of the country's intention to become a 'permanent and significant player' in the civil nuclear energy industry.

The 207-page report, published in July added that the UK is of 'significant interest to China when it comes to espionage and interference', placing the country 'just below China's top priority targets'.

It said: 'China's state intelligence apparatus  almost certainly the largest in the world with hundreds of thousands of civil intelligence officers. targets the UK and its interests prolifically and aggressively, and presents a challenge for our Agencies to cover.'

A spokesperson for LinkedIn told MailOnline: 'Creating a fake account is a clear violation of our terms of service.

'Our Threat Prevention & Defense team actively seeks out signs of state-sponsored activity and removes fake accounts using information we uncover and intelligence from a variety of sources, including government agencies.

'Our Transparency Report details the actions that we take to keep LinkedIn a safe place where real people can connect with professionals they know and trust.'

MailOnline has contacted the Home Office.
What could have been the biggest labor strike in America since the 1950s was averted Tuesday when UPS reached a multi-year deal with the Teamsters union to keep big brown trucks rolling.

Today, Teamsters voted by an overwhelming 86.3% to ratify the most historic collective bargaining agreement in the history of UPS, the workers union announced.

One term of the five-year agreement stipulates UPS delivery vehicles purchased in 2024 must include air conditioning.

No contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS got more support than this one, according to the union. UPS also celebrated the new deal.

Our Teamsters-represented employees have voted to overwhelmingly ratify a new five-year National Master Agreement that covers more than 300,000 full and part-time UPS employees in the U.S., the parcel service said in a statement.

The deal is expected to be sealed once terms are settled with two local unions. UPS and the union reps expressed optimism that loose ends would be sorted out quickly.

Negotiations between UPS and representatives for its 340,000 workers grinded through the summer. Politicians including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed support for the Teamsters.

Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich called UPS negotiations with its workers a huge deal in a series of tweets spelling out the enormity of the situation.

We are on the brink of the biggest labor strike in America since the 1950s, the Clinton appointee posted in June, explaining that workers were fighting for better pay, the elimination of forced overtime, and air conditioning in vans.

He noted that many drivers had suffered severe heat or dehydration-related injuries, and that one such driver died while delivering packages last year.

Reich also made sure to call out that the authorization of the strike comes at a time when UPS is raking it in, with the company having reported a record profit of $11.3 billion in 2022.

Both sides opted to ignore the July 31 deadline to continue hammering out a deal without work stoppages.

Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman called the workers new deal the richest national contract Ive seen in my more than 40 years of representing Teamsters at UPS.

The contract calls for currently employed UPS Teamsters to get an hourly raise of $2.75 in 2023 and an increase of $7.50 an hour over the course of the deal.

Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour, Teamsters said.

Newly hired part-time workers will start at $21 per hour and soon see a $2 raise. UPS plans to create 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and facilitate the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions.

And  for the first time in the companys 116-year history  Martin Luther King Day will be a full holiday for all union workers.
Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden's daughter Sydney Martenis has died after year-long battle with an aggressive form of cancer.

The Republican representative, 53, shared the tragic news of the mom-of-three's passing on Tuesday morning. She was remembered as an 'exemplary' woman and a 'deeply caring person.'

Van Orden said in a statement: 'It is with the most profound sense of grief and joy that Sara Jane and I announce the passing of our oldest daughter, Sydney Marie Martenis after a year of battling a very aggressive form of cancer.

'She died peacefully surrounded by her family.

'We are heartbroken that we cannot share her smile and laugh in person any longer but are so thankful that she is resting with our Lord and that we were able to spend these years with her and her family.

Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden's daughter Sydney Martenis (pictured) has died after year-long battle with an aggressive form of cancer

The Republican representative , 53, shared the tragic news of the mom-of-three's passing on Tuesday morning. She was remembered as an 'exemplary' woman and a 'deeply caring person'

'Thank you for all of the tender mercies you have shown to our family.'

Her husband, Chris, wrote on social media: 'Sydney Martenis passed away on Saturday, August 19th after a year-long battle with cancer.

'She was the hardest working, most thoughtful, and deeply caring person that I know.

'She was a wonderful mother - she was always surprising me with interesting and challenging experiences for our kids.

'She was a better partner and wife than I deserve  she made me a better person through her example in how to be a good friend, how to care for kids, and how to take part in a loving marriage.

'She was exemplary - she held herself to a standard that few, if any, could meet.

'The world is less bright without her here.'

Images shared online showed Sydney during her cancer battle, surrounded by her three young children.

Last week, the Republican had given an update on his daughter's condition, saying that he would not be able to appear in person for a Farm Bill Listening Session because of her ongoing battle.

He said: 'Sydney was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer some time ago and has recently taken a turn for the worse. We have been dealing with this as privately as possible as a family.

'It's been a very difficult and painful road for us. No one should have to see their child like this.'

Van Orden - who was a Navy SEAL before joining politics - found himself in hot water earlier this summer when the Republican member allegedly drank in his office then cursed at teenage interns at the Capitol.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended the Wisconsinite - telling reporters 'that's not the norm of Derrick Van Orden' and adding he thought the incident was a 'misunderstanding.'

McCarthy said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had spoken with him about the incident where Rep. Derrick Van Orden yelled at a group of Senate pages - high school interns who assist Senate operations.

Sydney Martenis pictured with her children during her cancer battle

She was remembered as 'a wonderful mother - she was always surprising me with interesting and challenging experiences for our kids,' according to her husband

Van Orden - who was a Navy SEAL before joining politics - found himself in hot water earlier this summer when the Republican member allegedly drank in his office then cursed at teenage interns at the Capitol

In the early hours of Thursday morning Van Orden reportedly came across a group of Senate pages lying on the floor of the Capitol rotunda to get a picture of the room's ornate dome ceiling.

According to a transcript obtained by The Hill that a page had written down moments after the incident, Van Orden called the 16- and 17-year-olds 'jacka**es' and 'pieces of s**t.'

'Wake the f*** up you little s***s.  What the f*** are you all doing? Get the f*** out of here. You are defiling the space you [pieces of s***],' Van Orden said, according to the account from the page.

'Who the f*** are you?' Van Orden asked, to which one person responded they were Senate pages. 'I don't give a f*** who you are, get out.'

'You jacka**es, get out,' he added.

The incident occurred just after midnight.

Van Orden did not dispute the account - or apologize for it.

In June, he also gave a sweary tirade and tore into the Freedom Caucus rebels, telling them his daughter is 'dying of cancer' and yet he shows up to work 'every f***ing day' even as they hold up House business.

Van Orden, 53, and his wife Sarah Jane have four children and eight grandchildren.
Shocking footage has revealed the squalid conditions inside a once thriving three-star resort that migrants were living in - before they were evicted following protests from locals.

St Nicholas Elegant Residence near Paphos was once a popular hub for tourist but has since become home to more than 600 asylum seekers.

Videos from inside the now derelict site, renamed the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex, show rubbish strewn across patches of grass and dried-out swimming pools. The once sunny yellow walls are now covered in graffiti,.

Piles of debris filled with plastic bags, boxes and food are shown as unnamed people, believed to be migrants living on the complex, speak of the awful conditions they lived in - claiming there was no water and no electricity sources.

Since the video was filmed by the Cyprus Mail, more than 150 migrants have been removed from property, with officials and police forces starting the eviction at 3am on Monday, according to state broadcaster CyBC.

The Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex near Paphos was once a three-star resort but has since been used to house 600 migrants. Pictured: This aerial view shows an empty swimming pool filled with waste sits at the apartment complex

Video footage published by the Cyprus Mail showed unnamed asylum seekers talking about the conditions

A refugee from Syria sits at a room in the the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex, in Chloraka

The apartment complex was first ordered to be shut down and evicted in November 2020, but it never took place

On Monday, at around 3am, authorities and police forces removed around 150 people, according to the state broadcaster CyBC

An aerial picture of the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex, in Chloraka

Police are carrying out an eviction order that was first put in place in November 2020, ordering it to be closed on health and safety grounds. But the decree had not been implemented, the Sun reported.

Ever since the asylum seekers arrived in the area, there has been friction between them and locals living in Chlorakas, who have called for the flats to be cleared.

Tensions were sparked further this week, however, following protests by residents and allegations of electricity theft.

It resurfaced after the state electricity utility cut power to the complex subsequently placing the local substation under guard.

Paphos police spokesman Michalis Nicolaou said: 'Personnel are in the area and have blocked off the building complex and begun to register all the foreigners who are settled in the specific complex in Chloraka.'

He said the migrants would then be taken to an asylum seeker centre to determine whether or not they have the right to stay on the island in the Mediterranean.

Asylum seekers sit at the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex, in Chloraka

An empty swimming pool filled with waste sits at the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex, in Chloraka

Cypriot authorities have started removing around 600 asylum seekers from the condemned apartment complex

A picture shows a room used by Asylum seekers at the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex

Asylum seekers walk amidst waste at the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex

Children of a refugee family stand at the terrace of a flat in the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex

Concrete barriers block the entrance to the Ayios Nikolaos apartment complex

Last week 100 migrants living on the complex protested to be rehoused elsewhere, before anti-riot police arrived and used tear gas on the protesters.

Cyprus argues it is a frontline country on the Mediterranean migrant route, with asylum seekers accounting for five per cent of the 915,000 people living in the government-held areas of the island.
The uncle of ten-year-old Sara Sharif who was tragically found dead in a house in Woking has reportedly told police she 'fell down the stairs and broke her neck' after being detained in Pakistan.

Sara was discovered by police at her family home on August 10, and police confirmed that three family members were believed to have fled to Pakistan the day before she was found.

Police were called by her father, 41, who is understood to have rushed to Islamabad with his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his 28-year-old brother Faisal Mali, before they could be questioned in the UK.

He made the call at 2.50am after landing in Islamabad, where he travelled with five children, aged between one and 13. Sara was one of six siblings.

Her uncle Imran Sharif has not been charged but is said to be assisting the hunt for his brother, Sara's father, after it was reported police in Pakistan are under 'tremendous pressure' from the British High Commission to find him.

The uncle of ten-year-old Sara Sharif (pictured) who was tragically found dead in a house in Woking has reportedly told police she 'fell down the stairs and broke her neck'

Urfan Sharif (left) fled the UK with his partner Beinash Batool (centre), brother Faisal Malik (right). They are wanted for questioning over Sara's murder

Police were called by Sara's father, 41, who is understood to have rushed to Islamabad

Sky News reports that Imran Sharif claims Sara had an accident at home.

He allegedly told officers: 'Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.'

Surrey Police said a post-mortem revealed that Sara 'suffered multiple and extensive injuries', which they said were 'likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time'.

Her exact cause of death remains unknown, and further tests are being carried out to establish this.

Imran Sharif denied knowing where Urfan and his family were, Jhelum police said.

He reportedly told officers: 'I found out what happened to Sara through the international media. My parents told me Urfan briefly came home very upset. He kept saying 'they' are going to take his children away from him.'

Police said they have detained Mr Sharif's brother because they are 'convinced' that he knows where the family is hiding.

It has also been claimed that Mr Sharif's parents along with other relatives, who live in a large house in the city of Jhelum in Pakistan's Punjab province, have also now gone into hiding.

Beinash Batool's family home in Mirpur has also been searched, but with no sign of the family.

A police source said: 'We spoke to Imran and some of the family members last week and they insisted that they did not know where Urfan and his family are.

'But we don't believe them, there's absolutely no way that they can't know where eight of their relatives who have come from England are. They are telling us a pack of lies.'

They added: 'We managed to get hold of Imran, but the rest of his family have gone missing. They clearly have something to hide. We have got hold of one of them and will be interrogating him until he tells us the truth.'

Sara's mother, Polish woman Olga Sharif, 36, pictured left, who was married to Mr Sharif between 2009 to 2017, urged her ex-husband to 'come forward and explain himself'

Urfan Sharif (left) and Beinash Batool (right) are wanted for murder, leading to an international manhunt

Police hold a crime scene and investigate at the home of Sara Sharif in Woking on Thursday

An international manhunt has been launched for the three adults, but the UK has no formal extradition treaty with Pakistan.

Sharif, a local taxi driver in Surrey, originally comes from Jhelum, in the Punjab region in North-West Pakistan, where police fear he has returned with his partner and brother.

Last week, Imran Sharif revealed that his fugitive brother did visit the family home once on his own since returning to Pakistan, but left shortly afterwards. He denies knowing his current whereabouts.

Separately, Sara's mother, Polish woman Olga Sharif, 36, who was married to Mr Sharif between 2009 to 2017, urged her ex-husband to 'come forward and explain himself.'

Heartbroken Ms Sharif praised her daughter as 'an amazing child,' adding: 'She was so beautiful. I can't believe she's dead.'

Ms Sharif hopes to bury her child back in her native Poland.

All efforts are currently focussed on finding Sara's missing family members.

READ MORE: Murdered ten-year-old Sara Sharif was KNOWN to authorities before she was found dead at family home in Woking Advertisement

Malik Imran, the investigating officer at Jhelum's Saddar Police station, which is coordinating the investigation, said: 'We are facing tremendous pressure from the authorities to find the location of Urfan Sharif.

'The British High Commission in Islamabad is pressuring us to find [Urfan Sharif] immediately, or they will send their own investigators.'

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said: 'We now know that Sara had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period which has significantly changed the nature of our investigation, and we have widened the timescale of the focus of our enquiry.

'As a result, we are trying to piece together a picture of Sara's lifestyle but we cannot do this without the public's help.

'That is why we are appealing for anyone who knew Sara, had any form of contact with her, or has any other information about her, no matter how insignificant it might seem, to come forward as soon as possible.'

Sara's family were known to both the police and local council, it was revealed at the weekend.

But police have not referred themselves to the IOPC, saying their knowledge of the family was 'historic' and that the case did not meet the threshold to do so.

Surrey County Council has said they are 'working tirelessly' to fully understand the consequences that led to Sara's death - and have now revealed the girl was known to them before her death.

A spokeswoman told MailOnline: 'We can confirm Sara Sharif was known to Surrey County Council but we cannot comment further while the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership's thorough review process is ongoing.'

On Friday council leader Tim Oliver said: 'This is an incredibly sad situation and our thoughts and deepest condolences are with everyone affected.'

He said the national Child Safeguarding panel has been notified of the death and a multi-agency rapid review is under way, in line with standard process following the death of a child.

He explained: 'This rapid review will determine whether a local child safeguarding practice review (LCSPR) is to be undertaken by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership.

'An LCSPR is a statutory process, bringing together partners including the police, health, social care and education to review practice of all agencies involved, organisational structures and learning.'
A Mississippi cop is out of a job after police arrested and jailed a 10-year-old boy they found urinating in a car park.

Senatobia police faced a torrent of criticism for their heavy-handed treatment of young Quantivious Eason when pictures circulated of the shame-faced child in the back of a police car heading for jail.

Police chief Richard Chandler admitted an error in judgement in hauling the boy off to jail to have a referral filed against for a delinquent act.

But as pressure mounted he has revealed that one officer involved is no longer employed, and other officers will be disciplined for ignoring the departments policies and training.

We appreciate the public's patience while we investigated this incident, he wrote on the departments Facebook page.

Scroll down for video:

Quantavious, a 10-year-old boy from Mississippi, was arrested by Senatobia police last week after he was caught urinating behind his mother's car

The incident left the preteen in tears, after being swarmed by police and separated from his mother so that she could fill out paperwork to get him out of custody

We deeply value your trust and support, and we are dedicated to continually improving and learning from our mistakes.

Mom, Latonya Eason, said the officer who caught her son interrupted her meeting to tell her what he had found and that he was going to let Quantivious off with a warning.

But she claims he had a change of heart when other cops came on the scene and a furious lieutenant demanded he be taken to the station and issued with a statute for being left unattended.

Eason told FOX 13 Memphis she went to the car park to find her son, explaining: I was like, "Son, why did you do that?'

Quantivious told her he decided to relieve himself after his sister - who was also in the car - told her that the legal office did not have a bathroom.

'He said, "Mom, my sister said they dont have a bathroom there,"' Eason told the outlet, adding how she at that point planned to discipline the child herself.

'I was like, "You knew better, you should have come and asked me if they had a restroom,"' she recalled. She said that first, the then lone officer seemed to be on the same page.

He was like, "Since you handled it like a mom, then he could just get back in the car,"' she said of what the officer allegedly told her.

The child's mother, Latonya Eason, has voiced her outrage, telling local outlets how the August 10 arrest could have been easily avoided, and that the responding officer was in the wrong

She said she was having a meeting at this law office at 216 S Ward Street, before the unnamed officer came in and brought her out to the facility's parking lot, where her son had been waiting. More cops would eventually arrive, before arresting the youngster

Senatobia police chief Richard Chandler reveals that an officer has left the job and others face disciplinary action over Quantivious's arrest

But the child was driven off after senior officers arrived and hit with a child in need of services charge, which will see the city's Juvenile Court get involved to help Eason deal with him.

Chief Chandler issued a lengthy explanation a backlash gathered strength in the town of 8,100 around 40 miles south of Memphis.

He said the child was not handcuffed and that under the Youth Court Act a referral can be issued against a 10-year-old if they commit acts that would be illegal for an adult.

The officer did not observe a parent on the scene during the initial contact, he added.

The mother was located at a nearby business shortly thereafter and she was advised that her child was going to receive a Youth Court Referral for this matter.

The officers then transported the 10-year-old to the police station to complete the paperwork where the child was released to the mother.

Under these circumstances, it was an error in judgement for us to transport the child to the police station since the mother was present at that time as a reasonable alternative.

In his latest statement he reveals that the disciplinary action against his officers was taken as a result of an 'internal complaint'.

'Together we will move forward to towards building a safer and more respectful environment for all,' he adds.

Quantivious, meanwhile, remains traumatized, tearfully telling the Fox affiliate this week: 'I started crying a little bit. They took me down there and got me out of the truck. I didnt know what was happening.'

'I get scared and start shaking and thinking Im going to jail.'

Urine big trouble: Chandler - who was named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by First Responders of Mississippi in 2021 has admitted an 'error of judgement' by his juniors

His mother said she was speechless at the officers behavior.

'No, him urinating in the parking lot was not right, but at the same time I handled it like a parent,' she told the station, growing emotional.

'And for one officer to tell my baby to get back in the car like it was OK and to have the other pull up and take him to jail. Like no.

'Im just speechless right now. Why would you arrest a 10-year-old kid.'
The Maryland mother had been beaten to death and stripped naked, and was discovered along the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland

Morin, 37, was murdered on August 5 and her body found in a tunnel along a Maryland hiking trail the following day

The main suspect wanted in the murder of Maryland mother Rachel Morin could be connected to a March home invasion and rape of a girl in Los Angeles

The main suspect in the murder of Rachel Morin has been tied to a March home invasion and rape of a girl in LA and detectives are worried he could strike again - potentially in any American community.

In a new interview, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said police are working with the FBI to find and identify the man responsible for the murder and rape.

'This individual poses a threat to every community from here to Los Angeles because we don't know where he's laying his head at night,' Gahler said.

Morin, 37, set out on August 5 for a hike and left her car at the Williams Street trailhead in the center of Bel Air, Maryland, about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore.

Her body was discovered the day after she disappeared naked and beaten in a tunnel along the scenic Ma & Pa Heritage Trail.

A manhunt is currently underway for the unidentified suspect who committed the grizzly murder as well as the rape earlier this year on the West Coast.

Rachel Morin (pictured) set out on August 5 for a hike and left her car at the Williams Street trailhead in the center of Bel Air, Maryland, about 20 miles north east of Baltimore

Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler (pictured) said the main suspect in the murder of Morin has been tied to a March rape in LA and detectives are worried he could strike again

Gahler told Fox News Digital that law enforcement officials are worried the man will continue to attack until he is found.

'This person has an absolute disregard for the sanctity of human life and, until he's arrested, there is a threat he'll do something harmful to someone else,' he said.

The worried statements come just days after cops released footage of a man they believe was involved in the murder.

The footage showed the suspect leaving a house in Los Angeles after he had broken in and attacked an unidentified young girl.

DNA connected the rape of the girl in LA to Morin's murder nearly 3,000 miles away.

Identifying the shirtless man in the clip from the March invasion is the 'top priority' for police at this time, Gahler said.

He also added cops believe it's likely the man has committed other acts of violence.

'I just don't believe you do two things that are so serious in nature and that's your starting point,' the Harford County sheriff said.

'Most likely you've been involved in other crimes,' he told the outlet.

Police are asking the public for information as it's 'very likely someone knows him around there and someone knows him here.'

Morin was last seen on August 5 leaving her house for a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail

Harford sheriffs on Thursday released this footage of a man they want to speak to leaving a house in Los Angeles which he had broken into, and attacked a young girl inside

The unidentified suspect in the case is described as a Hispanic man, aged between 20 and 30. He's approximately 5-feet 9-inches tall, weighing around 160lbs, and muscular.

'We believe this was a person that Rachel didn't know, potentially a random act of violence,' said Colonel William Davis, speaking at a news conference.

'We know nothing more about him other than he was in L.A. in March and we believe him to be the murderer.'

Davis said they are not looking for any accomplices, and told local people to be on their guard.

'We believe the suspect acted alone and, he does not represent the entire Hispanic community of Harford County, who we are now partnering with to identify this suspect,' he said.

'I know I can speak for the sheriff when I say we are very proud of this community.'

Gahler said ten deputies are working to solve the case, and they have received more than 100 tips - but he urged people to send in more, even if the information seemed inconsequential.

The man can be seen walking away from the house in Los Angeles. His DNA was linked to the LA home invasion and the body of Morin

Morin in a picture shared by the Harford County Sheriff's Office in August shortly before she was found murdered

Ten deputies are working to solve the case, and they have received more than 100 tips - but he urged people to send in more, even if the information seemed inconsequential

Just days ago, Morin's boyfriend shared his relief after police identified another suspect in her murder. Richard Tobin, 27, was the one to report Morin missing after she went for a walk and did not return home. He also found her car at the trailhead.

Tobin had given investigators a DNA sample and handed over his cell phone, said: 'I hope they found this scum of the earth, justice for Rachel. Rip, love you Rach.'

She had only recently publicly declared her relationship with Tobin on Facebook, and it was unclear how long they had been together.

Gahler has clarified in the weeks since her death that they do not believe Tobin to be a suspect in the mother of five's murder.

'At this point, there is no indication that he was involved. But until we know who this guy is or whether he acted alone, the entire world is a suspect,' Gahler said.

Tobin has maintained his innocence in the matter since her disappearance.

In one Facebook post, he wrote: '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.'

Tobin has been arrested 14 times since 2014 on a variety of charges including drug dealing, assault, disorderly conduct and refusing arrest.

Morin had recently announced on Facebook she was in a relationship with Richard Tobin

This is the trail where Morin's body was found on August 6

It is believed Morin's body was found in one of the drainage tunnels of the trail

Law enforcement have not released a cause of death for the woman.

A source close the family told DailyMail.com in mid-August 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.

Her family say she did not 'go willingly' and that her death was 'not accidental'.
A consultant who tried to blow the whistle on Lucy Letby yesterday called for regulation of NHS executives to make them accountable for their decisions.

Dr Stephen Brearey was one of seven senior medics who said he repeatedly tried to alert managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital to the neo-natal nurse's murder spree.

At least two babies died and more were harmed because executives refused to listen or to believe a member of staff was to blame, it has emerged.

And last night the parents whose newborn son was killed and his twin poisoned by Letby accused the hospital of 'a total fob-off' when they pleaded for answers.

Solicitor Richard Scorer, of law firm Slater and Gordon which represents the parents of Child E and Child F, told the Guardian the couple felt they had failed to receive a proper response to their concerns.

At least two babies died and more were harmed at the hands of serial baby killer Lucy Letby (pictured) because executives refused to listen or to believe a member of staff was to blame, it has emerged

Dr Stephen Brearey (pictured) said some form of regulatory body was needed, akin to the one that governs doctors, to better scrutinise the activities of bosses and stop the revolving door of NHS executives moving between hospital trusts

Letby (pictured while working in hospital) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital

Dr Brearey said some form of regulatory body was needed, akin to the one that governs doctors, to better scrutinise the activities of bosses and stop the revolving door of NHS executives moving between hospital trusts.

'Doctors and nurses have regulatory bodies they have to answer to,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'Quite often we'll see senior managers who have no apparent accountability for what they do in our trusts, and they move to other trusts, and you worry about their future actions.

'There doesn't seem to be any system to make them accountable and for them to justify their actions in a systematic way.'

His call was backed by Sir Robert Francis KC, who led the inquiries into the Mid Staffordshire NHS scandal.

He said 'the time has now come' to set up a system where managers faced being struck off for serious failings. Those found responsible of mismanagement and cover-ups should also be blacklisted to stop them walking into new jobs elsewhere in the NHS, he added.

Tony Chambers, chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital, and director of nursing Alison Kelly both moved on to lucrative jobs elsewhere in the NHS after leaving the hospital. Medical director Ian Harvey retired to a farmhouse in the south of France with his 1.8million pension pot.

Dr Brearey said consultants who complained or raised concerns to managers were seen as a 'problem'. He said that, since Letby's conviction for seven murders and seven attempted murders on Friday, he had been contacted by other doctors at different hospitals who had experienced similar treatment from managers when they raised issues, albeit not of the same magnitude.

An artist's sketch of empty chairs inside the court after Letby refused to go into the dock to hear the further verdicts against her

Last night the parents whose newborn son was killed and his twin poisoned by Letby accused the hospital of 'a total fob-off' when they pleaded for answers

The Countess of Chester Hospital, where Lucy Letby worked within its neonatal unit

'Sometimes clinicians raise concerns with senior managers of the hospital and their lives are made very difficult by doing that,' he said. 'I can't emphasise enough what a difficult position that puts clinicians in, not only do they feel the issue isn't being addressed but they also feel under attack.

'And going to work every day and carrying out clinical practices in that environment is difficult.'

Dr Brearey suggested managers were motivated by a desire to protect their hospitals from reputational damage. 'What was put out in our case was fear of reputational damage for the organisation,' he said.

'I suspect underlying that is probably a fear of individual reputational damage as well.' Solicitor Mr Scorer agreed regulation was a 'real concern within the NHS.' 'You can have scientifically trained clinicians raising concerns with managers in the NHS who do not necessarily have any scientific training,' he said.

'It is possible to be a manager in the NHS with a degree in sociology. It means there can be managers making life or death decisions without any accountability for those decisions.'

In statements issued since the verdicts, the hospital, Mr Chambers, Mr Harvey and Mrs Kelly all indicated they would co-operate with the independent inquiry announced by the Government.
A woman whose daughter was cared for by a childcare worker charged with 136 counts of rape has been left shocked after discovering the man who was 'great with kids' was actually an alleged 'monster' hiding behind a mask.

The 45-year-old Gold Coast man charged with 1,600 child abuse offences spanning 15 years was once responsible for the mother's youngest daughter.

She was left speechless after discovering the man she had trusted to care for her child was allegedly one of Australia's worst child sex abusers.

'(The man) taught my youngest daughter and she absolutely loved him  There were no signs at all that he was (allegedly) abusing so many kids,' she told news.com.au.

'He seemed really passionate about his job.'

The woman heard the news of the man's shock arrest from a friend whose child attended the last childcare centre the 45-year-old was employed at.

A woman whose daughter was cared for by a child care worker charged with 136 counts of rape has been left shocked after discovering the man who she believed to be 'great with kids' was actually an alleged 'monster' hiding behind a mask (stock image)

It is unknown if any of the 91 alleged victims identified by police attended the centre where the woman's daughter was previously taught.

The man's charges relate to offences committed over a 15-year period in childcare centres in Sydney, Brisbane and overseas between 2007 and 2022.

Among the allegations are 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said they have contacted the parents of all 87 Australian victims identified in the child abuse material.

However, this has brought the mother little solace. She is now questioning how parents are supposed to trust childcare workers ever again.

'He's (an alleged) monster who was allowed to work in so many places and earn the trust of parents  this (allegedly) went on for so long,' she said.

She says the only way she feels her daughter will be safe is never attending daycare again, which she notes is unrealistic.

Lawyer Madeline Wood (pictured), who is defending a man charged with 136 counts of raping pre-pubescent girls, gave nothing away as she emerged expressionless from court on Monday

The Gold Coast man has remained in custody since his arrest in August last year with his case most recently mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

His lawyer Madeline Wood gave nothing away as she emerged from court after a successful bid to have her client's case adjourned until November.

Queensland's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecutor told Brisbane Magistrates Court he's had 'preliminary discussion' with Ms Wood about the 'voluminous' amount of charges against her client.

The prosecutor said the investigation against the Gold Coast man was still trying to get evidence from witnesses overseas.

The man cannot be named due to laws in Queensland preventing the identification of people charged with rape or serious sexual offences.

Police allege further self-produced child abuse material was uncovered on electronic devices owned by the man when he was arrested and charged last year.

The AFP launched Operation Tenterfield in response, identifying children in the alleged abuse material recorded at 11 Australian childcare centres and an early learning centre attached to a school overseas.

The AFP's Operation Tenterfield identified children in the alleged abuse material recorded at 11 Australian childcare centres and an early learning centre attached to a school overseas

It is alleged the man recorded his offending on phones and cameras while working in 10 childcare centres in Brisbane between 2007 to 2013, and 2018 to 2022, along with a Sydney centre between 2014 and 2017.

Other filmed offences are alleged to have taken place at the overseas location in 2013 and 2014.

All the children allegedly offended against were pre-pubescent girls.

Last year, the AFP was able to trace objects identified in the background of some of the alleged images and videos posted on the dark web between 2013 and 2014.

It led police to a Brisbane childcare centre while the man's home was also raided.

Nearly 4,000 images and videos allegedly created by the man were reviewed by officers from a joint-agency task force between the AFP, Queensland Police and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.

The matter will be mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on November 6.
A class of four-year-old children were forced to make 'sorry' cards about the colonisation of Australia by Europeans in what their families have slammed as 'indoctrination'.

Kim, a grandmother, told 2GB's Chris O'Keefe her twin grandchildren brought home the 'sorry' cards on National Sorry Day, May 26, from their pre-school in the Sutherland Shire in the Sydney's south.

One card read: 'Sorry for hurting you. Sorry for hurting your land.'

The other card read: 'Sorry for hurting the Dharawal people. We will be kind now.'

The cards were written by pre-school teachers and decorated by the kids.

A class of four-year-old children made 'sorry' cards (one above) to apologise for the colonisation of Australia

However, the children weren't taught what the cards meant and were instead encouraged to discuss the history of Sorry Day with their parents.

Kim said both her grandchildren were 'very upset' and felt 'very guilty'.

'As a grandma, I said, "You've done nothing wrong, it's all in the past, you have nothing to worry about, you're kind little children",' she told O'Keefe on Tuesday.

She said her son and daughter-in-law were 'not impressed' by the lesson because it wasn't an age-appropriate topic for pre-schoolers.

'It's something for them [the parents] to talk about, they don't have to be indoctrinated at pre-school,' she said.

'If this is what's happening at pre-school, I'm worried what will happen next year at kindy.'

National Sorry Day is held every year on May 26 to remember the children who were forcibly taken from their parents under Australia's assimilation policy, now known as the Stolen Generations.

The children made the cards (one above) for National Sorry Day and were left feeling 'very upset' and 'guilty'

Kim said while it cannot be disputed that wrongs were committed, parents should have the chance to discuss historical injustice with their kids before it's taught in classrooms.

'I'm shocked, it's certainly not for them [the teachers] to talk about these things,' she said.

'I don't know why we have to make our little children feel guilty for the sins of our fathers.

'It's nothing they've done wrong.'

How Australia's colonial history is taught to young children has been hotly debated in recent weeks.

Many parents say they don't believe young kids should be exposed to the complicated and violent topic until they can properly understand it.

Several worried mums and dads told O'Keefe how the current approach has failed.

National Sorry Day is held on May 26 to remember the Stolen Generations (pictured, a Sorry Day rally in Sydney)

'My children attended a beautiful little preschool, both came home at different times saying they'd learned that "white men came here and took away the Aboriginals' children",' one parent said.

'They chopped down all the trees and poisoned the waterways and then they asked me, "Are all white men bad?".'

One Indigenous family said their daughter learnt about the Stolen Generations in Year One, before they'd had the chance to talk with her about it.

'She had to learn it at a very young age because her great grandfather and grandmother were taken from their families which is a huge horrible concept to teach to her at any point,' they said.
A man has been charged with murder after the discovery of his stepfather's mummified remains which police believe were kept inside his home for more than a year.

The body of Tomislav Nemes, 69, was found during a police welfare check at his $3million home in the Gold Coast suburb of Benowa on April 17.

It's understood that he had been dead for more than 12 months before the grisly discovery was made.

Mr Nemes had lived at the home with his wife, 70, and stepson Nikola Golem, 48.

The pair were living in the house while Mr Nemes' remains decomposed and did not disclose his death to their family or police.

Police arrested Golem and charged him with one count of murder on Tuesday.

The welfare check at Mr Nemes' home was prompted by relatives who made a call to police expressing concerns for his wellbeing.

The murder charge came as police released bodycam footage showing the moment officers entered the property to check on the 69-year-old.

The mummified remains of Tomislav Nemes (pictured), 69, were discovered by police during a welfare check at his Gold Coast home

READ MORE: Police fear body of Tomislav Nemes could have laid in Gold Coast home for more than a year Advertisement

The footage, from April 17, shows officers climbing over a fence and approaching the back door of the property.

One of the officers knocks on the screen door. A woman comes to the door to speak the police before they enter the property.

The woman and a man are seen on video as officers check the property.

Mr Nemes's relatives had flown from Canberra to see him just three days before police conducted the welfare check.

Mr Nemes and his family had moved from the ACT to the Gold Coast in 2018.

Friends and family told detectives they had lost contact with him years ago.

Detectives have released footage of the welfare check at the Benowa home from April 17

A woman and man are seen in the footage after police enter the property to check on Mr Nemes

Police have urged the public to come forward if they have information regarding the welfare check conducted on April 17.

They have also asked relatives and friends of Mr Nemes to reach out to police if they visited his home in recent years.

The man charged with Mr Nemes's alleged murder is expected to face Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Government plans to potentially block the ultra-low emission zone expansion coming into force across the whole of London next week have been shelved, it was reported.

Cabinet ministers are said to have been exploring using a little-known legal power allowing them to overrule London mayor Sadiq Khan's plans where they are inconsistent with national policies.

But Government lawyers have apparently said the challenge would fail in the courts, The Telegraph reported.

It means the controversial roll-out - which will see motorists with the highest-polluting vehicles pay 12.50 day levy across the entire capital - will go ahead as planned on Tuesday next week.

The little-known legal clause in the 1999 Greater London Authority Act states that a transport secretary can effectively block a decision from the London Mayor if it is 'inconsistent with national properties relating to transport' and if this would be 'detrimental' to anywhere outside Greater London.

Cabinet ministers are said to have been exploring using a little-known legal power allowing them to overrule London mayor Sadiq Khan 's plans

But given the UK's own policies on improving air pollution and cutting carbon emissions, lawyers have warned the government the move would likely be quashed in court if challenged.

A Downing Street source told the paper: 'We have and continue to look at options, but they are limited. The people who could stop this tomorrow are the Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan.'

Transport for London (TfL) yesterday said motorists who drive non-compliant vehicles across the expanded Ulez network may initially get warning letters to drivers instead of a penalty charge.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll of 1,000 Londoners shows Mr Khan currently has a popularity rating of minus 12 across the city, with 52 per cent of respondents viewing him unfavourably, compared with 40 per cent favourably.

Yet in outer boroughs, his net rating plunged to minus 24.

It is the latest indication of suburban Londoners rejecting the mayor's Ulez expansion, to take place on August 29, following Labour's disastrous failure to win the Uxbridge by-election from the Tories in West London last month.

The result caused party leader Sir Keir Starmer to ask Mr Khan to 'reflect' on the controversial policy.

But figures from Transport for London say that just one in ten cars will be affected by the expansion.

Nevertheless some desperate motorists have taken to vandalising new Ulez cameras in a bid to save some cash.

The Ulez is set to be expanded to cover all 32 London boroughs on 29 August 2023

Some opponents have resorted to vandalism, with a video showing activists from a group calling itself 'the Blade Runners' sabotaging a ULEZ camera with a tree lopper as diners watched on

It comes as Londoners fear they could soon be subject to other new charges around the city.

It emerged this week that a 2-5 toll will soon be charged at the Blackwall tunnel, depending on the size of vehicle driven.

The toll for the Blackwall Tunnel will only be implemented once the Silvertown Tunnel, which will link Silvertown and Greenwich, opens in 2025.

Some have also raised the prospect of a new 3 toll to use the Hammersmith bridge, which has been closed since 2019 due to cracks appearing in its structure.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council have been clear that the purpose of a potential charge on the bridge would be to raise revenue to repay the costs of repair works on the bridge, and not to deliver wider transport policy objectives,' they said.

'As such, the appropriate approach to introduce the toll is through a tolling order, which would be managed by the Department for Transport.

'The Mayor and TfL are committed to supporting the reopening of Hammersmith Bridge and will continue to work closely with the local council and the Government.'

And in June 2020, Mr Khan rose the Congestion Charge by 30 per cent to 15 after claiming he had been forced to do so under the terms of a 1.6billion government bailout for Transport for London.

Yet a year later there was fury from motoring groups when it emerged the rise had been made permanent.
Women have been able to serve in the U.S. Armys Special Operations units for eight years, but theyre still subject to outright sexism, discrimination and other obstacles, according to a new study.

The Armys report showed that while women have made significant gains during in the military, deep biases have not been removed and can impede that progress.

Major findings centered around sexism, isolation, ill-fitting gear, inadequate equipment, lack of child care and health care that didnt meet womens needs, especially when it came to pregnancy. Numerous women said they suspected they had been passed over for jobs either because theyre deemed less competent or qualified than men or because their superiors are trying to protect them from dangerous tasks.

Females have no place on a team, one male soldier told researchers. Its an unnecessary wrench in a perfectly functional system in the name of political correctness. This trend is another factor that has systematically blunted the tip of the spear.

Said another, The idea that women are equally as physically, mentally and emotionally capable to perform the majority of jobs is quite frankly ridiculous.

Most of the sexist attitudes unfortunately did come from senior noncommissioned officers, Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann said Monday. So it does seem to indicate that it is generational.

More than 5,000 people assigned to Army special operations forces units were surveyed for the report. They included 837 female troops, 3,238 male troops and defense civilians.

The study noted that different opinions were also prevalent, with one male soldier saying, In my opinion, women belong in ARSOF and they play a vital role.

But even that officer said females would be best used in non-direct action roles.

In total, about 2,200 female soldiers serve in the Army Special Operations units, which is 8% of the 29,000 active-duty soldiers, and 427 female civilians work in other roles.

When it came to sexual harassment, women faced reporting barriers similar to those in the civilian sector: 90% said they feared reprisal, 72% did not trust the system to rectify the situation, 70% feared retaliation, 67% had concerns about confidentiality and 64% lacked trust in the command, the report found.

With News Wire Services
I am looking to put in an offer on a property for sale with an agricultural tie.

I have been looking for a place for months and this is the first one I have found that is big enough, in the right location and that I can afford.

As I don't work in farming, can I get the tie lifted, and how would I go about doing this? B.C, via email

An agricultural tie on a property aims to help those who need to live close to the land they work

MailOnline Property expert Myra Butterworth replies: While the tie imposes restrictions on living in the property, it may be possible to get the tie removed.

The outcome will largely depend on the council's own local policies as some are more restrictive than others.

The specific requirements of a tie will differ, depending on the wording of the condition or legal agreement.

A tie often requires that the house be occupied by someone whose sole or main employment is running the farm - or other rural business - on which the house itself sits.

Or it might be a more flexible tie, requiring that they work solely or mainly in agricultural or forestry in the local area. That person's dependents can also live in the house.

We speak to a planning expert about your options going forward if you want to buy the property.

Properties with an agricultural tie tend to be worth 30% less than other homes

Martin Gaine, a chartered town planner, explains: An agricultural tie is a planning restriction that means that a property can only be occupied by someone employed in agriculture or forestry in the local area.

Why do such ties exist? The planning system is very reluctant to grant planning permission for new houses in the countryside - the planners prefer them to be built in existing towns and villages so that the countryside can stay open and undeveloped.

However, they also recognise that farmers, forestry workers and others who work in rural areas have a particular need to live close to the land they work. The tie allows homes to be built to meet that need.

Properties with an agricultural tie are generally worth 30 to 40 per cent less than other homes. There is nothing stopping you from buying the house, but you cannot occupy it unless you comply with the terms of the tie.

The restriction will also affect your ability to get a mortgage, because lenders pay attention to anything that affects their ability to sell on a repossessed property if the borrower has fallen into arrears.

Some lenders offer special agricultural tied mortgages, but probably only to borrowers who are eligible to occupy the house under the tie.

The council may agree to remove a tie if it can be demonstrated that there is no longer needed for agricultural workers

It is possible to make a planning application to the local council to remove an agricultural tie. Whether an application would be successful depends on the wording of the tie  some are more loosely worded, allowing any 'rural workers' to live in the property for example.

The current circumstances of the site and tie are also important. The council may agree to remove a tie if it can be demonstrated that it is no longer needed for agricultural workers.

Much will depend on the council's own local policies. Some are more restrictive than others. Some councils will release a tie if a house has been advertised for sale for a period (12 months, say) and no sale is made, indicating that there is no longer a need for an agricultural dwelling and the tie is blighting the property.

If you move into the property without complying with the tie, you would be at risk of enforcement action. Some councils are not very proactive at monitoring ties, but a neighbour complaint could bring it to their attention.

If the tie is imposed through a planning condition, and you live there in breach of the tie for a continuous period of ten years, the council will no longer be able to take enforcement action.

Ten years is a long time to spend under the threat of enforcement action. However, it might be worth checking with the seller of the property you are interested in buying if they have been working the land in accordance with the tie in the past ten years. If not, that is one way of getting the tie lifted.

Martin Gaine is a chartered town planner and author of 'How to Get Planning Permission - An Insider's Secrets.
A proud homeowner living in Britain's 'most soulless town' says she 'wouldn't live anywhere else'.

Hannah Lumley, 42, moved into her detached three-bedroom redbrick town house, in Northstowe, Cambridgeshire eight months ago and is the town's only child minder.

Around 1,200 homes have been built since construction work started in 2017 - but there are still no shops, pubs, cafes or even a GP practice.

But Ms Lumley says the town's current scarce population means 'her phone's not stopped ringing' and she constantly has work which is 'always welcome'.

She also admits she knew what to expect when she bought her 410,000 home in a newly developed area and has praised the togetherness of the local community.

Hannah Lumley moved to 'Britain's most soulless town' with her son Blake eight months ago but insists she 'wouldn't want to live anywhere else'

Around 1,200 homes have been built in Northstowe, Cambridgeshire since 2017

But the area still has no shops, cafes or even a GP practice

Ms Lumley, a mother-of-three, said: 'We came from a small village nearby, but it still felt like a million miles away.

'We're really enjoying it here, and there is lots of community events and a great town spirit.

'I've worked as a child minder for 17 years, and as I'm the only one in Northstowe my phone has not stopped ringing.

'People are unhappy about the lack of facilities and places to socialise but for us we didn't expect facilities when we moved.

'There are shops in Longstanton which you can get to by foot or bike - it just takes a little bit of effort.

'We're here to see things develop over time and that's what what we look forward to in the future.

'We're happy here and at the moment I wouldn't live anywhere else.'

Around 10,000 homes are planned with a total population of 26,000 which will make Northstowe the biggest new town in England since Milton Keynes, Bucks, was built in 1967.

But six years after the first families moved in, the town is still devoid of basic necessities, infrastructure and places to socialise.

Mother-of-three Ms Lumley is the town's only child-minder

When complete, Northstowe will have over 10,000 homes and a total population of 26,000

It will be the largest new town to be built in England since Milton Keynes in 1967

Dan Greef, 42, moved to Northstowe in August 2022 believing that much needed local community facilities were under construction.

Mr Greef, a business owner, said: 'A friend gave me a tour of the area in 2017, and back then the site only had a handful of houses.

'We're now past a thousand homes, and all we've got is a postbox.

'At night it's like a ghost town as there's no nightlife, pubs or restaurants to eat at. It's very quiet.

'Everyone here is desperate to get things in place - and I'm aware that living here is an investment for the future. We just need developers to crack on.'

Despite this, some residents are still surprisingly positive about the desolate town.

Last month a temporary community centre opened, but the portacabin building has been described by a journalist as resembling a 'pop-up STI clinic'.

But Hannah says the makeshift centre has finally provided a much-needed social hub for the town and that it's already in full use.

She said: 'The temporary community centre opened last month and I'm really impressed with what they've done with the place.

'I don't think you'd see an STI clinic with painted flowers on the outside!

'People love to moan but I'm a positive person and I look for the good in everything. In my opinion its a great addition to the town.'

Mark Prina, 67, visits Northstowe once a week to look after his grandchild for his daughter who has been a resident for 18 months.

The dad-of-two works an ecologist and has been impressed by the amount of well-kept open spaces the town has and the variety of wildlife that live there.

Mark Prina, 67 visits the town to look after his grandchild for his daughter, who has lived in Northstowe for 18 months

Residents say that despite the huge development and swelling population, Northstowe's only amenity is a postbox

Mark from, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said: 'There's play parks, schools, and leisure areas and the wildlife is really prevalent.

'It's a lovely place to walk round and the open spaces are really well-kept which I think is lovely.

'When I've been out I've heard quail calls which are really rare. They don't nest in many areas of the UK, but the vegetation is really habitable.

'They just need to pull their fingers out with the the facilities, specifically the GP centre as that is really important.

'There's lots of the negativity online about the town, some of which is justified, but its easy to get embroiled in it.

'On the whole, I think it has amazing potential.'
In 1983, two scientists sent a radio message towards a star 16.7 light years away

It was 40 years ago that two Japanese astronomers, Masaki Morimoto and Hisashi Hirabayashi, sent a radio signal towards a star called Altair, 16.7 light years away.

Using a Stanford University telescope 'while drunk', the duo transmitted a message that aimed to show any aliens orbiting the star what Earthlings look like.

Now, a team of astronomers at the University of Hyogo is hopeful they will finally get the response that they have been waiting for  and prove that alien life exists.

They're positioning a vast radio telescope in the city of Saku to receive a reply from any planets orbiting Altair, one of the brightest stars in the night's sky.

Today (August 22) has been deemed the most likely date for a response, although it's unclear how realistic the team's expectations are of actually receiving a reply.

Do aliens exist? Japanese scientists hope to find out they do after beaming radio signals into the cosmos 40 years ago (file photo)

Radio signals representing 13 drawings were transmitted from the US on August 15, 1983, reports the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun

READ MORE What COULD aliens look like? MailOnline asks experts If aliens do exist, what might they actually look like? Advertisement

The original radio signal was transmitted by Morimoto and Hirabayashi from Stanford on August 15, 1983, and represented 13 drawings, according to Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun .

These 13 drawings  decoded into signals and sent akin to information in an email  depict the evolution of life on Earth, from unicellular organisms to fish, a lizard, an ape and a family of humans.

The crude sketches include what appears to be a fish climbing from the water on to land  an early step in human evolution  one human waving, and, bizarrely, the word 'toast'.

Four decades later, a team led by Shinya Narusawa at the University of Hyogo are using an antenna over 200 feet (64 metres) in diameter called Usuda Deep Space Center in Saku , in the hope of detecting a reply.

According to The Asahi Shimbun, August 22 has been deemed the most likely date for a response as it is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar.

Narusawa has pointed out that exoplanets  planets outside our solar system  are being discovered all the time and billions more are thought to exist.

Pictured, the 200-foot antenna at Usuda Deep Space Center, a facility of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

In 2007, scientists captured an image of the rapidly rotating hot star , described as being 'like a twirling ball of pizza dough'

Altair: Quick facts Altair, also called Alpha Aquilae, is the brightest star in the northern constellation Aquila and the 12th brightest star in the sky. Altair rotates at a speed of more than 200 km (120 miles) per second and is around 16.7 light years from Earth. In 2007, scientists captured an image of the rapidly rotating hot star, described as being 'like a twirling ball of pizza dough'. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Advertisement

'A large number of exoplanets have been detected since the 1990s,' Narusawa told The Asahi Shimbun.

'Altair may have a planet whose environment can sustain life.'

Altair is 16.7 light years away in the constellation of Aquila and is one of the brightest stars in the night's sky.

There are no known planets in orbit around it, although it's not clear if Morimoto and Hirabayashi knew this when they beamed their message from Stanford University.

However, that's not to say it's certain that Altair doesn't have any planets, and the researchers are hoping for a reply to their message that will be indicative of some form of world.

According to a 2008 report by Gizmodo, the duo came up with the idea 'when they were drunk' and were expecting a reply as soon as 2015, but it didn't come.

Hirabayashi was hopeful the message was received by aliens in the Altair star system in 1999 before beaming back a reply towards Earth.

'I believe in aliens, but they are very difficult to find,' he told Gizmodo at the time.

Extraterrestrial life has never been discovered, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist (file photo)

Although it looks like a tongue in cheek bit of fun from the astronomers, experts are generally in agreement that life does exist outside of Earth.

Some detractors cite the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability  commonly known as the Fermi paradox.

In other words, if there is extraterrestrial life, why have we not found any evidence for it?

Dr Gordon Gallup, a biopsychologist at the University of Albany, has one potential answer.

He thinks extraterrestrial life may be too scared of 'dangerous' and 'violent' humans to want to come here.

In a paper published last year he wrote: 'If there is intelligent life elsewhere, they may view humans as extremely dangerous.

'Maybe this is why there is no proof or compelling evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence  we pose too great a risk, and they do not want to be discovered.'

Other likely answers for the Fermi paradox is that like us, aliens haven't developed the sufficient technology to establish contact with worlds billions of light years away.
NASA has identified a giant sunspot on the sun that will likely continue to grow and move across the surface until it faces Earth next week.

Experts have warned that the dark region, which is cooler than the surrounding area, could release energetic explosions capable of knocking out our planet's power grids.

The exact measurements of the sunspot are unknown, but NASA's Perseverance rover snapped images of the spot as it sits more than 152 million miles from the sun.

The rover observed the sunspot on August 17 through August 20 while exploring the Jezero Crater on the Red Planet.

The exact measurements of the sunspot are unknown, but NASA's rover was able to snap images of it while being more than 152 million miles from the sun

'Because Mars is orbiting over the far side of the sun, Perseverance can see approaching sunspots more than a week before we do. Consider this your one-week warning: A big sunspot is coming,' Spaceweather shared in a blog post.

The images, which have been turned into an animation, show a dim sun hanging in the blackness of space with a blurry, dark formation moving across the surface.

'It takes a large sunspot to show up in these low-resolution images,' Spaceweather shared.

Sunspots form when the sun's magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth's.

Because of the strong magnetic field, the magnetic pressure increases while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases.

This lowers the temperature relative to its surroundings because the concentrated magnetic field inhibits the flow of hot, new gas from the Sun's interior to the surface.

The images, which have been turned into an animation, show a dim sun hanging in the blackness of space with a blurry, dark formation moving across the surface

And sunspots appear dark because they are at least 4,000 degrees F cooler than the surrounding area.

However, the sun's outer atmosphere can reach more than one million degrees.

NASA shared stunning images of our giant star in February, showing the range of temperatures surrounding it.

Using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), the American space agency captured various X-rays emitted by the hottest material in our star's atmosphere.

High-energy X-rays were observed in only a few locations, while low-energy X-rays and ultraviolet light were detected across the ball of gas's entire face.

Scientists hope the new views will help them solve one of the sun's biggest mysteries: why its outer atmosphere reaches more than a million degrees - at least 100 times hotter than its surface.
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Discover the wonder of the wide blue yonder, courtesy of these wonderful aquatic photographs.

They've been revealed as finalists in the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023 awards, a prestigious annual contest that's described as 'a celebration of our beautiful blue planet as well as a platform to highlight the many plights it is facing'.

Thousands of photographers entered photographs into this year's competition, showing the full spectrum of ocean life through everything from aerial imagery to underwater photography.

The standout images that have captivated the judges include a stunning shot of humpback whales feeding next to cathedral-like icebergs, a haunting picture of a sunken passenger plane in the Red Sea and an adorable image of a green sea turtle hatchling crawling across the sand in Australia.

Divided across categories such as 'Wildlife', 'Adventure' and 'Human Connection', the overall winners of the contest will be announced in September.

Scroll down to dive into a selection of the spectacular photographs that have made it into the final...

A gentoo penguin - the fastest penguin species in the world - charges across the waters of Antarctica in this magnificent shot, which is a finalist in the 'Wildlife' category

A finalist in the 'Conservation Hope' category, this image titled 'The Circle of Life' shows an endangered green sea turtle hatchling following the path of an adult turtle. When the picture was taken, the adult turtle had just laid her eggs, the photographer, Ross Lang, notes. The photo was taken on Wilson Island, Australia, a significant nesting location in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Protected Zone

A polar bear stands on sea ice in the Arctic Ocean while a large expedition ship brings tourists to the area for wildlife encounters in this striking image, titled 'Two Different Worlds'. Taken by Dmitry Kokh, it is a finalist in the 'Conservation Impact' category

Behold another awe-inspiring photograph in the 'Conservation Hope' category, this time taken by Nicholas Hahn. It shows a fever of mobula rays swimming 'peacefully' in the shallow waters of the Gulf of California in Baja California Sur, Mexico

A lizardfish opens its mouth and reveals its most recent meal in this astonishing photograph, which was taken by Jack Pokoj in the Philippines. The image is a finalist in the 'Wildlife' category

Part of a series by photographer Florian Ledoux, this gripping image shows a polar bear cub as it 'dances upon the ice's fragile embrace' in Svalbard, Norway. It is among the finalists of the 'Conservation Impact' category

Henley Spiers is behind this impressive image of a blue-footed booby bird rising up 'among vast sardine shoals with a fish in its beak' in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It's a finalist in the 'Wildlife' category

Another finalist in the 'Wildlife' category, this colourful portrait by Scott Portelli shows a pair of king penguins during a sunset on the Falkland Islands

This eye-catching photograph of a manatee enjoying the 'crystal-clear waters' of Florida's Homosassa River has earned a place among finalists in the 'Conservation Hope' category

In this haunting shot, a scuba diver is dwarfed by the remains of a Lockheed Martin L1011 Tristar plane in the Red Sea in Jordan. The passenger plane was intentionally sunk in 2019. Taken by Martin Broen, the picture is a finalist in the 'Adventure' category

LEFT: This eerie picture shows a diver swimming over what's thought to be Mayan remains in one of the caves of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. A finalist in the 'Adventure' category, it's the work of photographer Martin Broen. RIGHT: In this magical shot, a polar bear walks across a glacier 'that is adorned by a waterfall' in the Arctic. It's the handiwork of Michael Haluwana and is a finalist in the 'Wildlife' category

This beautiful image by Michael Haluwana shows humpback whales and their calves feeding before a 'stunning' backdrop of 'cathedral-like icebergs' in Greenland. It's a finalist in the 'Wildlife' category

Titled 'The Negative Side of Wildlife Tourism', this poignant image shows a group of snorkellers swimming alongside a whale shark in Egypt. One member of the group is trying to touch the endangered creature, photographer Laszlo Foldi points out. The image is a finalist in the 'Conservation Impact' category

This vibrant shot, taken in Australia, shows two octopuses perched on a pipe that forms part of an artificial reef that was built to attract octopuses and other marine life to the area. The image is a finalist in the 'Conservation Hope' category

Cormorants, a type of aquatic bird, can be seen looking for their next meal among swirling fish masses in Baja California Sur, Mexico, in this blue-hued photograph. Taken by Merche Llobera, the shot is a 'Conservation Hope' category finalist

This heartbreaking image shows the decaying carcass of a juvenile blacktip reef shark entangled in nets that were abandoned by illegal fishers in a shallow reef off the coast of Phuket, Thailand. Captured by Sirachai Arunrugstichai, it's part of a series that's a finalist in the 'Portfolio' category

Photographer Celia Kujala was circled by a group of 'curious' Steller sea lions when she captured this breathtaking shot, which is a finalist in the 'Fine Art' category

This brilliant aerial shot - a finalist in the 'Human Connection' category - shows a small part of Ganvie, a floating village in the north part of Lake Nokoue in Benin, West Africa. Photographer Ioannis Pavlos Evangelidis notes that it's said to be the largest lake village in Africa, with around 30,000 inhabitants

This heart-rending picture shows how a discarded fishing net 'has become a death trap' for a stonefish in the waters of Cambodia, photographer Gabrielle Lui notes. It's a finalist in the 'Conservation Impact' category
Antiques Roadshow viewers were left baffled on Sunday as the owners of an 'ugly toad ornament' were told of the true value of their family heirloom.

Hosts Fiona Bruce and the show's antique experts travelled to Brodie Castle in Morayshire, Scotland to film the latest episode of the BBC show.

And fans were horrified when expert Lee Young revealed how much the bizarre yellow three-legged toad was worth.

The ornament had been in the owner's family for six decades, but the guest admitted he and his wife were divided over the unusual piece.

The owner, who was gifted the item as a birthday present from his mother, said: 'He has been known as "ugly toad" to me for about 60 years. My mother collected unusual items.'

Shocked: Antiques Roadshow viewers were left baffled on Sunday as the owners of an 'ugly toad ornament' were told of the true value of their family heirloom

He jokingly added: 'I love him but not so much for my wife.'

The expert dated the ornament as an 18th-century Scottish pottery piece by Dunmore, describing it as a 'monochrome glaze masterpiece'.

He went on to reveal the ornament was based on a mythical three-legged Chinese toad, which brings good fortune or wealth to its owners.

Lee said: 'I love the fact that he is in this almost imperial yellow, rich, thick glaze. The reason I say imperial yellow is because he is actually based on a Chinese mythical toad.

'The myth is that the three-legged toad would turn up at your house in full moon to predict an event, usually of good fortune or wealth. So in China he's actually portrayed with little coins in his mouth.'

He added: 'I think he is such a wonderful thing and for all the things we have just discussed about him, I think he would easily carry an auction estimate of 600-900, and if two people got excited about him, maybe a little bit more.'

The Scottish man was shocked and gasped as he said: 'Oh wow. I'm delighted about that.'

Lee added: 'And I suspect that if two people got excited about him, he could even make a bit more.'

Turning to the man's wife, Lee then asked: 'Do you like him a little bit more now?' to which she nodded and laughed: 'Yes.'

Viewers didn't appear keen on the ornament, with one penning on Twitter: 'Each to their own.'

Another wrote: 'My initial reaction to seeing the frog is "what the heck is that?" But honestly it would be something I'd have in my house'

Value: Fans were horrified when expert Lee Young revealed how much a yellow three-legged toad was worth an auction estimate of 600-900

Viewers didn't appear keen on the ornament, with one penning on Twitter: 'Each to their own'

It comes after a guest was left astounded by the value of her beloved diamond brooch she brought to the BBC show.

Expert Susan Rumfitt was delighted to take a look at the 'unusual' and 'stunning' diamond brooch, which the expert revealed originated in the Art Deco period of the 1930s.

She said: 'This is a magnificent brooch. I hope you wear it every day,' to which the owner confirmed she wore it in the 'evening' when 'going out'.

Explaining how she first came across the item, the guest explained: 'It's just come down to the family from my grandmother,'

Susan went on the explain: 'The brooch dates from the 1930s which is the height of the Art Deco period, which really and truly was about having a great time as far as fashion jewels, partying was concerned.

'So I can imagine your grandmother really having a wonderful time putting this brooch on.. It's got a sort of sense of theatre about it, doesn't it? It sort of plays away on its own with these beautiful diamonds in it and everything.'

Susan added: 'When we get to the 1930s, the style of jewellery, it was very similar to the 20s in regards to being bold and impressive as we're seeing here, but we've moved away from colour and also concentrating on diamonds as well, which is quite extraordinary considering that 1929 we had the Wall Street Crash and the Depression.

'Well, one of the greatest designers who was behind the love of diamonds was Chanel, of course, and she teamed up with DeBeers to promote the diamond industry.

'And they basically were saying that diamonds are portable, you can show the greatest of worth in the smallest volumes - this is by no means a small piece of jewellery but it's portable so it's no wonder so many people were turning to diamond jewellery if the likes of Chanel was saying this is the thing that you should do.

'It's pretty stunning, isn't it? It does make a statement set in white gold [and] it's got a yellow gold back to it. That white gold at the top to again help to really reflect those diamonds. It's absolutely wonderful.'

Shocked: An Antiques Roadshow guest was left astounded by the value of her beloved diamond brooch she brought to the show at Brodie Castle in Morayshire

Stunning: Expert Susan Rumfitt was delighted to take a look at the 'unusual' and 'stunning' diamond brooch, which the expert revealed originated in the Art Deco period of the 1930s

Susan then asked: 'Have you ever thought how many carats are in the weight of the diamonds?'

The guest guessed three before the expert revealed the weight was 14 carats and its value was 20,000.

She quipped: 'Oh my goodness. That's taken my breath away. Oh crumbs, brings tears to my eyes.'

'A really big surprise, I'm still quaking at the moment,' she later added before the expert remarked: 'It's been wonderful. Fantastic to find it and to make somebody's day as well when they have no idea that it was going to be worth as much as it was - just stunning, fantastic.'
Australian electronic duo Peking Duk are making the leap from music to the food industry with a bold new venture.

DJs Reuben Styles and Adam Hyde told Daily Mail Australia this week they are set to launch an escargot food van, where customers can buy gourmet snail dishes.

'We've been full of wonderful and wacky ideas. This time we created a truck that kind of looks like a snail to sell snails out the side of it,' Reuben began.

'It's about getting ahead of the curve. We want to be the main escargot food truck so when circulation gets massive everyone comes to us.'

The music duo developed their business venture with the help of MYOB and said it is set to take on the iconic kebab food van.

Australian electronic duo Peking Duk have revealed their bold new business venture set to challenge the iconic kebab food van. Pictured: DJs Reuben Styles (left) and Adam Hyde (right)

'The escargot world is about to boom and we want to be the ones holding the dynamite,' Adam said.

'If we didn't keep believing and persevering then none of this would have happened. We could call it Snails and Duks.'

Reuben added they were certain their business venture would be successful as it had a wide appeal on par with popular dishes like kebabs.

DJs Reuben Styles and Adam Hyde told Daily Mail Australia this week they are set to launch an escargot food van, where customers can buy gourmet snails dishes

The pair are confident their business venture will be a success as they have developed a wide range of dishes suitable to all tastes

'We feel like the menu items are going to work in every place at every time. Maybe even replace the kebab,' he said.

'We've got French escargot with garlic and herb butter, we've got pasta. If you just want to chill we've got escargot Spaghettini,' the DJ continued.

'If you're telling me that ain't gonna replace kebabs over the next 12 months for all Australians, then I don't know what's going on,' he added.

The pair already have business experience as they were co-owners of a Melbourne bar from 2018 to 2020 and have established a strong business profile for themselves selling branded clothing and other merchandise.

They will be launching their gourmet escargot food van in the near future.

'The escargot world is about to boom and we want to be the ones holding the dynamite,' Adam said
Actor Jesse Williams says he assigns his children extra homework outside of their school curriculum.

'They have schoolwork and then they have homework,' the 42-year-old actor, who has a background in teaching, told US Weekly Sunday.

The Chicago-born actor described the homework he assigns to his children with ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee - daughter, Sadie, nine, and son, Maceo, seven.

It's 'work that I give them that I've chosen for them to do to make sure they're able to comprehend and discern what's happening around them and articulate both internally and externally what they're feeling and thinking,' said Williams, who plays the role of Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy.

The Only Murders in the Building actor said that the extra work is a family tradition, as his father used to assign him extra homework independent of his scholastic studies.

The latest: Actor Jesse Williams, 42, says he assigns his children extra homework outside of their school curriculum. Pictured last October in NYC

Williams said he is pleased that his elementary school age children are 'excited about school and seeing their friends and being challenged.'

The Your Place or Mine actor continued: 'It's nice to have them somewhere where curiosity is encouraged and school is not always exciting for people.'

Williams said that he separates the education and tasks with each child based on what he sees.

'They are not collectively one child,' Williams said. 'They are individuals and trying to make sure you are attentive to that.

'Just making sure you're present in the right ways and prioritizing quality over quantity.'

Williams was a high school teacher from 2002 until 2008, when his acting career took off.

He said that he continued to visit school campuses and use his platform to speak about education, but those efforts were stymied by the pandemic.

'You know for a few years I would regularly speak and visit schools, especially universities,' Williams said, 'but that kind of died with COVID.'

Williams, who plays the role of Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy, was pictured on the SAG-AFTRA picket line in NYC on Monday

The Only Murders in the Building actor said that the extra work is a family tradition, as his father used to assign him extra homework independent of his scholastic studies. Pictured last year in NYC

Williams said that he would 'like to reintegrate that' into his life in the future, as he still has a passion for all aspects of education.

'I not only miss being in the classroom, I miss being a student also,' he said. 'You know, there are ways in the future I'll find myself back there for sure.'

Williams said that there were 'many turning points' he 'experienced in [his] student life' that reinvigorates his passion in hopes of helping others.

'You know, one teacher, one person, one student, one moment that boosted my confidence and made me think I can actually do something instead of being terrified to even think about it,' he said. 'So I'm really proud of the work that they're doing and happy to join them.'
They are devoted parents to their daughter, Harper, two.

And Karl Stefanovic's wife Jasmine shared an adorable set of photos of the Today show host on daddy duty playing with their young daughter in their hotel pool during a holiday on the Gold Coast.

In the photos, a shirtless Karl is seen joyfully throwing a beaming Harper in the air.

Karl and Harper smiled widely as the TV star appeared to be teaching his little one how to swim.

'Goldy we love you,' Jasmine wrote in the caption.

Karl Stefanovic's wife Jasmine shared an adorable set of photos of the Today show host on daddy duty playing with their young daughter in their hotel pool during a holiday on the Gold Coast

Karl and Jasmine regularly visit Queensland. The pair are both grew up in the Sunshine State before they relocated to Sydney.

The couple also own a $3.6 million home on the Sunshine Coast which features expansive ocean views.

Jasmine and Karl were reunited last month when he was spotted in Brisbane to be with his wife, who had recently suffered a broken foot.

In the photos, a shirtless Karl is seen joyfully throwing a beaming Harper in the air

The former shoe designer leapt into her Nine star husband's arms as they met at the airport to spend time together.

Jasmine had been spending time in Queensland with her family, and their daughter Harper, two, while Karl was in Sydney for work.

The couple recently returned from a lavish trip to Paris, where they attended the the wedding of heiress Tamie Ingham and chef Guillaume Brahimi.

Karl and Jasmine regularly visit Queensland. The pair are both grew up in the Sunshine State before they relocated to Sydney

Karl, who has long been friends with Brahimi after being introduced by mutual acquaintance James Packer, served as emcee at the ritzy nuptials.

The lavish event was spread across two raucous days culminating in a reception at the famed Maxim's bistro.

The dad-of-four was photographed living it up with wife Jasmine in the French capital, first attending a welcome soiree at cult restaurant Girafe Paris.

Karl and Jasmine, who were staying at the $13,000-per night Hotel Costes while in Paris, spent two weeks abroad in total.
Three weeks after vowing to 'eat thoughtfully and build muscle' on her self-admitted 'underweight' 5ft10in frame, The Hills alum Whitney Port-Rosenman was none too thrilled about the Instagram reaction to her posting snap after snap of herself wearing bikinis while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

'Cheers to all you folks thinking I'm doing "body checks!" I didn't even know what that meant until someone wrote it on one of my posts!' the 38-year-old content creator - who boasts 3M social media followers - Instastoried on Monday.

'Everything was blown a bit out of proportion. I'm a busy mom who just needs to take a little better care of herself and I'm on it.'

And while Whitney is 'super down with constructive criticism' and 'appreciates any concern over my health' she joked that her husband of seven years - Tim Rosenman - 'will come for' any trolls making 'snarky, harsh, unfounded, or mean-spirited' comments about her skinny figure.

'That's for everyone's posts. Not just mine. I'm on a beach vacation. In a bathing suit. Warning: some pictures and videos might show my body!' Port concluded.

Three weeks after vowing to 'eat thoughtfully and build muscle' on her self-admitted 'underweight' 5ft10in frame, The Hills alum Whitney Port-Rosenman was none too thrilled about the Instagram reaction to her posting snap after snap of herself wearing bikinis while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

On Sunday, the LA-born socialite - who's suffered three miscarriages - posted an Instagram slideshow dubbed 'Margarita Munchies' in which she paraded around in a $55 Blackbough 'Martini Triangle' top and matching $55 'Audrey Ruched' medium bottoms.

Whitney's fans flooded the comments section with concerns like 'something's not right here' and 'Is this a good role model? Sorry, but Jesus Christ' with one person pleading: 'Please Whitney. You need to talk with a professional.'

'I do not want to be like the people posting negatively but heaven sakes,' Instagram user @icbella1 commented.

Instagram user @heather_does_stuff scoffed: 'This shows she is just after attention. So disappointed. I always thought she was better than this.'

'Oh wow Whitney,' Instagram user @kohviee commented.

'This is concerning and I know you already mentioned that you aren't eating enough. Are you okay? Please remember to take care of yourself. I'm worried for you!'

It was Port's 46-year-old bearded beau who first expressed concern over her shrinking frame and convinced her to get on a scale and weigh herself.

'It was definitely an eye opener. I think that once you see the numbers, like, the numbers can't lie. And I had no idea I weighed as little as I did,' the Love, Whit designer admitted on the August 1st episode of her Dear Media podcast With Whit.

The 38-year-old content creator - who boasts 3M social media followers - Instastoried on Monday: 'Cheers to all you folks thinking I'm doing "body checks!" I didn't even know what that meant until someone wrote it on one of my posts!'

Whitney stressed: 'Everything was blown a bit out of proportion. I'm a busy mom who just needs to take a little better care of herself and I'm on it'

'I'm super down with constructive criticism': And while Port 'appreciates any concern over my health' she joked that her husband of seven years - Tim Rosenman (pictured last Friday) - 'will come for' any trolls making 'snarky, harsh, unfounded, or mean-spirited' comments about her skinny figure

The LA-born socialite concluded: 'That's for everyone's posts. Not just mine. I'm on a beach vacation. In a bathing suit. Warning: some pictures and videos might show my body!' (pictured last Saturday)

Ill fitting: On Sunday, Whitney - who's suffered three miscarriages - posted an Instagram slideshow dubbed 'Margarita Munchies' in which she paraded around in a $55 Blackbough 'Martini Triangle' top and matching $55 'Audrey Ruched' medium bottoms

Port's fans flooded the comments section with concerns like 'something's not right here' and 'Is this a good role model? Sorry, but Jesus Christ' with one person pleading: 'Please Whitney. You need to talk with a professional'

'It was definitely an eye opener': It was the Love, Whit designer's 46-year-old bearded beau (pictured last Friday) who first expressed concern over her shrinking frame and convinced her to get on a scale and weigh herself

Whitney admitted on the August 1st episode of her With Whit podcast: 'I think that once you see the numbers, like, the numbers can't lie. And I had no idea I weighed as little as I did. I'm clearly not eating enough and that how I look right now does not look healthy. It's not how I want to look. And I think that I complain a lot on here about my lack of energy. And I think that part of that stems from not giving myself what it actually needs' (pictured last Friday)

On Sunday night, Port - who's also on vacation with her younger sister Jade Port - treated Tim and their six-year-old son Sonny Sanford Rosenman to a fancy meal at Toro Latin Kitchen & Bar

Vloggers: The influencer originally met Rosenman while he was working as associate producer on her MTV spin-off, The City, and he currently shoots and stars in her reaction videos to MTV reality show Siesta Key (pictured last Friday)

'I'm clearly not eating enough and that how I look right now does not look healthy. It's not how I want to look. And I think that I complain a lot on here about my lack of energy. And I think that part of that stems from not giving myself what it actually needs.'

On Sunday night, Whitney - who's also on vacation with her younger sister Jade Port - treated Tim and their six-year-old son Sonny Sanford Rosenman to a fancy meal at Toro Latin Kitchen & Bar.

Port originally met Rosenman while he was working as associate producer on her MTV spin-off, The City.

Tim not only shoots and edit her YouTube vlogs, he currently stars in her reaction videos to MTV reality show Siesta Key.

Rosenman's last real producing credit was on Fox music competition The X Factor way back in 2012.

The influencer-vlogger keeps busy recording her Dear Media podcast With Whit and she's every bit the influencer doing paid partnership posts for brands like Exclusive Resorts, Amazon Home, and ULUM Resorts.
Carol Robles-Roman, a brainy and determined lawyer from a Puerto Rican family who as a top official in Mayor Mike Bloombergs administration made New York Citys legal system more accessible, died Sunday at a Westchester hospital. She was 60.

The cause was lung cancer, said her sister Frances Robles.

Robles-Roman, who was raised in Brooklyn and Queens, served for more than a decade as Bloombergs deputy mayor for legal affairs and counsel, a role in which she oversaw more than a dozen agencies and helped launch the citys Family Justice Centers, which provide free services for victims of domestic violence.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg (at podium) and Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman (right) are pictured in the Blue Room at City Hall on July 22, 2008.

She also played a key role in digitizing aspects of the court system, aggressively advanced Spanish language access to city services and took a keen interest in fighting human trafficking in the city.

Friends and former colleagues recalled her as a principled, perfectionistic and passionate advocate for everyday New Yorkers.

In a statement, Bloomberg described her as a champion of equality and justice who dedicated her life to public service and to making our city and country more equal and just.

For twelve years we sat across from each other in City Hall, and her legal guidance was instrumental in advancing our agenda across a broad range of issues, Bloomberg added. To lose her at still such a young age is a terrible tragedy.

Mayor Adams also issued a tribute, describing Robles-Roman as a compassionate and outspoken leader who blazed a trail as a high-ranking Latina in city government.

New York City joins her family and loved ones in mourning today, Adams said in his statement.

Anthony Crowell, who served as counselor to Bloomberg, described Robles-Roman as meticulous and caring, adding that she had a transformative imprint on city government programs.

She brought incredible intelligence and heart, said Crowell, now dean of New York Law School. She was incredibly successful, and really gave her life to the city. She cared about public service. She cared about people.

Robles-Roman, the third of six children, was born Aug. 27, 1962, in East New York, Brooklyn, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who ran a travel agency and insurance brokerage.

When she was about 10, the family relocated to Howard Beach, Queens. After high school, her education continued within city limits: She studied at Fordham University and then at NYU Law School, completing her legal education in 1989.

For most of the 1990s, Robles-Roman worked as counsel to Judge Jonathan Lippman when he was a top state court administrator. (In 2009, Lippman became chief judge of the State of New York.)

Lippman described Robles-Roman as a problem solver with a knack for cutting through tough issues.

She was a real force in the court system, Lippman recalled. She was principled and determined. When she thought something was right, she had a sticktoitiveness, the determination to follow through.

In 2002, Robles-Roman joined Bloombergs administration, serving for his entire three-term tenure.

After the Bloomberg years, she led the Womens Legal Defense Fund and, in recent years, served as general counsel and dean of faculty at Hunter College.

She focused heavily on womens rights in the legal system.

We need to have the public and the private sectors working hand-in-hand to address gender equity, she once told Leaders Magazine.

Robles-Roman is survived by her husband, Nelson S. Roman, a federal court judge, and their two children. A funeral is scheduled for Thursday in the Bronx.

Carol was a pioneering public servant, said a joint statement from the City University of New Yorks chancellor, Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, and board chair, Bill Thompson. We are mourning her loss, but we must resolve to do all we can to honor her legacy.
James Corden was given a telling off for parking his Lime bike right in front of Mayfair restaurant on Monday.

The comedian, 44, has just returned to the UK after finishing his Late Late Show in LA and was out and about in the capital.

But after riding around the streets of central London he tried to leave his bike outside a pub but the doorman wasn't having any of it.

James arrived at his destination before mounting the pavement and cheekily leaning the bike against the door.

It didn't take long for the doorman to notice, who then removed the bike and told James he couldn't just leave it there.

Oh dear! James Corden was given a telling off for parking his Lime bike right in front of Mayfair restaurant on Monday

Back: The comedian, 44, has just returned to the UK after finishing his Late Late Show in LA and was out and about in the capital

After his bike was placed against a lamp post, James took it from the doorman and cycled off to place it elsewhere.

James looked happy and carefree despite the incident and was more than happy to do as the doorman suggested.

He listened to music on his mobile and took some selfies with adoring fans while out and about.

He dressed casually in a dark jacket and navy trousers and wore comfortable white trainers.

It comes after James' LA mansion was sold to the daughter of a Hong Kong private equity billionaire for $17.1 million, it has been revealed - $5million less than what he wanted amid his move back to the UK.

James is handing over the keys to LeeAnn Akouri-Shan, daughter of Weijian Shan, 69.

James first listed his home back in the fall at $22 million, a whopping $12 million more than he purchased it for in 2017 from 'Modern Family' co-creator Steve Levitan.

The comedian later lowered the asking price to $18 million and quickly caught the attention of Akouri-Shan, who put in an all-cash offer, according to The Real Deal.

Awkward! But after riding around the streets of central London he tried to leave his bike outside a pub but the doorman wasn't having any of it

Nope! James arrived at his destination before mounting the pavement and cheekily leaning the bike against the door

Moving on: James looked happy and carefree despite the incident and was more than happy to do as the doorman suggested

Reaction: It didn't take long for the doorman to notice, who then removed the bike and told James he couldn't just leave it there

Happy: After his bike was placed against a lamp post, James took it from the doorman and cycled off to place it elsewhere

The 8,600-square-foot property is located in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood and has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and sits on nearly a half-acre lot.

After purchasing the property from Levitan, the comedian and wife Julia Corden - who is an interior designer - made significant renovations.

The redo was lengthy and reportedly incredibly pricey for the pair who are now expected to move back to their native United Kingdom after Corden ended his run hosting the CBS late-night show.

The couple have been married since 2012 and share three children together.

Additionally, the Cordens will have to fork over give up an even larger portion of the profits thanks to Los Angeles' new mansion tax, which burdens sellers with a 5.5 percent levy on sales larger than $10 million.

Fame: He listened to music on his mobile and took some selfies with adoring fans while out and about

Funny: The doorman gave a smile as he walked back to the restaurant after the awkward incident

Chilled: He dressed casually in a dark jacket and navy trousers and wore comfortable white trainers

Thrilled: Some of his fans who had spotted him seemed delighted as he stopped to chat and say hello

Oh no! The incident happened on a posh street in Mayfair

Sunny: He was making the most of the balmy summer temperatures as he stepped out in London

Akouri-Shan's new home has been described as 'New England traditional' and features many amenities for a private but lavish lifestyle.

The home is located behind gates and stays secluded thanks to a hedge out front.

Inside, the sprawling 8,600-square-foot residence includes a fireplace-equipped living room, an eat-in kitchen with marble countertops, and a library.

For film buffs, the house also comes with a movie theater that seats 20.
Sadie Sink showed off her new shorter hairstyle while stepping out for lunch in New York City on Monday.

The Stranger Things actress, 21, rocked her auburn bob with a pair of casual blue overalls and a white tank top.

The star  who debuted her new hairstyle in May  finalized her look with a pair of black ballerina flats, sunglasses and a crossbody bag.

Sink was joined by male friend Evan Karas with the duo taking the subway and having lunch together in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.

Recently Sadie revealed that she felt 'empowered' after chopping off her signature luscious red tresses.

Chic bob: Sadie Sink showed off her 'empowering' new short hairstyle while stepping out for lunch in NYC on Monday; (L) pictured on Monday, (R) pictured in 2022

'I never really thought about cutting my hair in my own life,' she told Refinery29 in July.

'It never crossed my mind to do something like that. But once it happened, I felt very empowered by it.'

Sadie also stated that because everyone knew her 'with long hair. It was always such a talking point; my hair was a very defining feature for me. So to get rid of that  especially just turning 21 and stepping into adulthood  that big change felt really exciting.'

The Texas-born star first cut her tresses off for a role and admitted the new style feels 'more like me.'

'It was right for the character, but also right for where I [am] in my own life. It feels more like me. It's also hot as hell right now, so it's nice to have a foot of hair off.'

Sadie was first seen sporting the shorter hairstyle in a snap that was shared to Croatian Airlines' official Twitter account in May.

In the photo, she flashed a wide smile while spending time in the cockpit of a plane.

The hairstyle was also featured in a video that was recently shared to TikTok, in which she sang with a friend's band during a performance in New York City.

Cool gal: The Stranger Things actress, 21, rocked her auburn bob with a pair of casual blue overalls and a white tank top

Out and about: The star was joined by male friend Evan Karas with the duo taking the subway and having lunch together in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood

'Empowered': Sadie revealed that she felt 'empowered' after chopping off her luscious luscious red tresses, adding 'it feels more like me' in a recent interview; Pictured January 2023

Many of her fans took to the video's comments section to express their views about what the actress' new look would mean for her Stranger Things character, Max Mayfield.

The cast member of The Whale made her debut on the hit Netflix program during its second season, which aired in 2017.

The science-fiction series also stars performers such as Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour and Winona Ryder, among many others.

Sink returned to portray Mayfield for the hit program's third and fourth seasons.

The actress, as well as several of her costars, have been put up for numerous awards for their work on the program throughout its run.

The performer is currently set to reprise her role in the show's upcoming fifth and final season.

Although filming was expected to begin in June, it was announced that the project would be delayed as a result of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

Sink discussed Stranger Things during an interview with Elle, where she she spoke highly of her character.

'I think with Max, ultimately, she's fun and she's very innocent and I think she's got a lot of life and hope in her. And she's a good friend,' she said.

Debut: Sadie was first seen sporting the shorter hairstyle in a snap that was shared to Croatian Airlines' official Twitter account in May

Not the first time: The hairstyle was also featured in a video that was recently shared to TikTok, in which she sang with a friend's band during a performance in New York City

Last season: Sadie is currently set to reprise her role in the upcoming fifth and final season of Stranger Things, where she stars as Max Mayfield; Sadie and Millie Bobby Brown seen in a still

The performer also expressed that, although she wanted to learn her character's ultimate fate, she, as well as the rest of the show's cast, had yet to find out what would be happening to the figures they play.

'I really want them to tell me what's happening, because I have a lot of questions. But we'll get them when we get them,' she said.

Sink concluded by remarking that the show's team wanted to ensure that the program concluded with a solid ending.

'It's the final season. We're not rushing anything. We're going to take their time on this one [and] get it right,' she said.
Jason Oppenheim was seen cozying up to new love Danika Tanya in Saint-Tropez on Monday, nearly three months after his split from Marie-Lou Nurk.

The 46-year-old real estate broker and the blonde beauty shared lots of kisses and laughter as they frolicked on the beach.

The Selling Sunset star showed off his chiseled chest, abs, and arms as his cute counterpart turned heads in a white string bikini.

While neither of the two has shared photos together on their respective social media pages - Danika boasts nearly 40,000 followers on TikTok - they have posted outtakes from the trip.

For his part, Jason took to Instagram with a carousel of snapshots and wrote, 'Refreshed & recharged in St. Tropez.'

Moving on: Jason Oppenheim was seen cozying up to new love Danika Tany a in Saint-Tropez on Monday, nearly three months after his split from Marie-Lou Nurk

Love is in the air: The 46-year-old real estate broker and the blonde beauty shared lots of kisses and laughter as they frolicked on the beach

Refresher: Danika sipped on what looked like an aperol spritz as she accepted a smooch from her new beau

Hot couple: The Selling Sunset star showed off his chiseled chest, abs, and arms as his cute counterpart turned heads in a white string bikini

Danika, meanwhile, engaged her 11,000 followers on the photo-sharing app with an image of a beautiful, vine-covered Dior store that her man also included in his post.

The stunner pulled her glossy locks into a neat, fuss-free top knot bun as she soaked up the sun.

She coordinated her summer look with a pair of white-framed Prada sunglasses.

The new pairing kept close during their day on the shore, with Danika sipping an Aperol spritz at one point.

They enjoyed a dip in the water, where they eventually became chest-deep as they wrapped their arms around each other.

Tanya piled on the jewelry, rocking a pearls as well as two more delicate necklaces with pendants.

She also styled her scanty look with multiple rings that accented her long, French manicured nails.

Jason was spotted emerging from the ocean with a cream and white striped towel secure around him.

Staying present: While neither of the duo has shared photos together on their respective social media pages, they have posted outtakes from the trip

Fun: They enjoyed a dip in the water, where they eventually became chest-deep as they wrapped their arms around each other

Accessories: Tanya piled on the jewelry, rocking a pearls as well as two more delicate necklaces with pendants

Loved-up: Danika looked blissful as she showed Jason tons of affection

In good company: The two flashed wide smiles as they laughed together

Detail: Danika's classic triangle swimsuit featured an eyelet pattern

Tiny tatts: Danika showed off multiple tattoos, including roman numerals on her right arm

Jason and Marie-Lou split at the end of May after dating exclusively for ten months.

The The Oppenheim Group President took to his Instagram Story to make the announcement of his split with the model.

He shared a snap of the former couple cuddled up on a boat as they stared off into the distance, along with a joint statement.

The note read: 'While we still love and care about each other very much, the distance between us has proven to be too great a challenge to overcome.

'We remain close friends and continue to talk often and support each other and we want the very best for one another.

'We thank everyone for their support throughout our relationship.'

Marie-Lou's primary residence is Paris and Jason is based in Los Angeles.

The two were first linked in July 2022  six months after Jason split from his Selling Sunset co-star Chrishell Stause, 41.

Simple look: The stunner pulled her glossy locks into a neat, fuss-free top knot bun as she soaked up the sun

Layer: The fashion-forward beauty topped her bathing suit with a lavender coverup

Flawless: Tanya styled her scanty look with multiple rings that accented her long, French manicured nails

Sweet: Jason wrapped an assuring arm around Danika and gave her a peck on her temple

Cute: Danika smiled, showing off a slight dimple on her cheek

Onward: Danika is the first woman Jason has been linked to since his split from Marie-Lou at the end of May

Handsome: The Netflix personality rocked his usual close-shaved bald head and a shadow of a salt and pepper beard

Earlier this month Jason showed support for Nurk's new relationship with a subtle gesture.

After she shared a snap on vacation with her beau, whose name is Ronan, he double-tapped the post, giving it a like.

In the image, the lovebirds held hands at the beach as she wore a plunging white mini dress.

The gallery, which was a recap of a trip to Ibiza, included a screenshot of a quote that read: 'Things change and friends leave. Focus on the people who stay. Focus on the ones who choose to grow with you.'
The Confessions of Frannie Langton

Rating:

Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood

Rating:

With a bit of luck, you will be on holiday this week, in a tent with no television and a wifi signal that cuts out every five minutes. Thats what ITV bosses are hoping, anyway.

Theyre praying no one will notice that, after more than eight months of holding back this miserable moment, theyre airing the most awful drama in years  an abysmal mishmash of woke cliches and gothic tosh, brimming with bitterness, resentment and fake history.

The Confessions Of Frannie Langton (ITV1) has been available on the on-demand service ITVX since it was launched on December 8 last year.

The Confessions Of Frannie Langton (ITV1) has been available on the on-demand service ITVX since it was launched on December 8 last year (Pictured are Karla Simone-Spence as Frannie and Sophie Cookson as Madame Benham)

Karla Simone-Spence stars as Frannie, a West Indian slave torn from her happy Caribbean home, where everyone lives in soft focus, and brought by her cruel master John (Steven Mackintosh) (pictured with Frannie) to England... a nation of Neanderthal thugs and racist old maids

One night, Frannie wakes to discover the National Front in top hats at the foot of the bed she shares with Madame (pictured together)

But while other series, such as the brilliant Nolly, with Helena Bonham Carter as Crossroads queen Noele Gordon, were screened on primetime almost immediately, this one is being dumped on us when it can be delayed no longer. And what a wretched mess it is.

Karla Simone-Spence stars as Frannie, a West Indian slave torn from her happy Caribbean home, where everyone lives in soft focus, and brought by her cruel master John (Steven Mackintosh) to England... a nation of Neanderthal thugs and racist old maids.

Frannies new master George (Stephen Campbell Moore) cannot see her dazzling intellectual gifts, because hes blinded by his obsession with her hair. Being English, George has never seen curly locks before.

He has to cut one off before he can believe it. Fortunately, Georges wife Madame Marguerite (Sophie Cookson) isnt English, but French, which isnt quite as bad.

Realising that Frannie wants to be A Great Writer, Madame reads poetry with her.

One thing leads to another and soon they have plunged into an inter-racial lesbian affair.

But tragedy strikes!

One night, Frannie wakes to discover the National Front in top hats at the foot of the bed she shares with Madame. Worse still, someone has stabbed Madame to death, right next to her, and Frannie didnt even notice.

Frannies new master George (Stephen Campbell Moore) (pictured with Madame) cannot see her dazzling intellectual gifts, because hes blinded by his obsession with her hair

Realising that Frannie wants to be A Great Writer, Madame reads poetry with her. One thing leads to another and soon they have plunged into an inter-racial lesbian affair

All the women in Frannies prison wear pristine costumes, and our heroines white cotton stays spotless throughout

Soaked in blood, shes carted off to jail, pausing only to step over the body of George (also stabbed, also dead).

An angry mob has gathered outside their house and Frannie poses, defiant and noble in the face of their racist hatred.

Defiant and noble is one of Karla Simone-Spences best looks, one she assumes even when asleep. She also does defiant and angry, which is basically the same but with a bit of a snarl.

All the women in Frannies prison wear pristine costumes, and our heroines white cotton stays spotless throughout.

But in case we havent grasped just how serious the situation is, one of the jailors explains it to her: Double murder is a hanging offence, Miss Langton.

The line sounds asinine, but its the sort of thing Tommy Jessop can deliver with aplomb.

The actor, who has Downs syndrome, does a hilarious Roger Moore impression and his big ambition is to play 007. But, in the charming documentary Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood (BBC1), he concedes hell have to set his sights lower... by writing and starring in his own superhero movie, based on his teddy bear, Roger Mitchell.

The line sounds asinine, but its the sort of thing Tommy Jessop (pictured with Will Jessop) can deliver with aplomb

In the charming documentary Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood (BBC1), he concedes hell have to set his sights lower... by writing and starring in his own superhero movie (pictured), based on his teddy bear, Roger Mitchell

Meeting actors and film-makers in the course of a joyously heart-warming hour, Tommy (pictured with Kit Harrington) was making a serious point without waving banners or banging a drum

With his older brother Will filming, Tommy sets off to persuade Los Angeles to back him.

Meeting actors and film-makers in the course of a joyously heart-warming hour, he was making a serious point without waving banners or banging a drum: if Downs syndrome is treated as a chromosomal mistake and eradicated by abortion, the world will be a far poorer place.

The real superhero of the story is their mother, Jane. Youre not a mistake, she assures Tommy, youre a miracle.
Sienna Miller looked summer chic as she posed at the Self-Portrait lunch event in Ibiza on Monday after revealing her pregnancy on the beach.

The actress, 41, showed off her sense of style in a strappy white broderie anglaise dress for the occasion.

She completed the look with a statement belt and wore dangly red earrings while posing with a Self-Portrait fan.

Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, the star looked incredible as she beamed for the camera.

Sienna was joined by creative director Han Chong, editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia Christine Centenera and her partner Joel Edgerton.

Beauty: Sienna Miller looked summer chic as she posed at the Self-Portrait lunch event in Ibiza on Monday after revealing her pregnancy on the beach

Pose: The actress, 41, showed off her sense of style in a strappy white broderie anglaise dress for the occasion

According to People, the actress, 41, revealed she is expecting another baby as she debuted her bump during a trip to the beach in Ibiza on Monday.

The star, who shares a 10-year-old daughter, Marlowe, with her actor ex Tom Sturridge, is currently dating Oli Green, 26.

The couple confirmed their romance at a Vanity Fair party in February 2022 and have struggled to keep their hands off each other ever since.

Sienna slipped into a tiny bikini during the outing as she soaked up some sun and shielded her eyes with a pair of stylish sunglasses.

The news of Sienna's pregnancy comes after she previously revealed she froze some of her eggs after turning 40.

Speaking to Elle, Sienna told how she often wondered, 'should I have more [children], and why haven't I, and all of that, which is a really loud noise.

'Biology is incredibly cruel on women in that decade  that's the headline, or it certainly was for me.'

She added: 'Then I got to 40 and I froze some eggs. Having been really focused on the need to have another baby, I'm just like, if it happens, it happens. That kind of existential threat has dissipated.'

Outfit: She completed the look with a statement belt and wore dangly red earrings while posing with a Self-Portrait fan

Event: Sienna was joined by creative director Han Chong (left), editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia Christine Centenera and her partner Joel Edgerton

Chatting: She looked in great spirits as she spoke with the other high-profile attendees at the event

Speaking to The Sunday Times Style Magazine in 2019, Sienna told how she hoped to grow her family in the future.

She said: 'I would love to have more children. I would love it for my daughter as well. I think I would be open to getting married'.

At the time the star was in a relationship with Lucas Zwirner, however they ultimately parted ways the following year.

Sienna previously told how she felt 'overwhelmed' and thought she had 'failed' the first stages of parenthood after welcoming Marlowe in 2012.

Reflecting on the difficult time, the actress said she was 'obsessed' with Marlowe but at the same time was also in 'absolute hell' as she 'didn't know what she was doing'.

Sienna revealed that she had a 'traumatic birth' with her daughter and felt she had 'failed' at the time by not being in a 'blissful little bubble'.

Speaking on This Morning, she said: 'I remember when I had Marlowe, yes, people would phone and say, 'I'm sure you're in your blissful little bubble' and I was obsessed with my daughter but I was also in absolute hell.

'Because you lose 24 hours sleep a week overnight, you spend so much time preparing for the birth and then you have to take the baby home and I didn't know what I was doing.

'It was intense, I had a traumatic birth, but the whole thing I felt like I failed at something by not being blissful in the first stages of parenthood.'

Bump: According to People, the actress revealed she is expecting another baby as she debuted her bump during a trip to the beach in Ibiza on Monday

Looking good: Sienna slipped into a tiny bikini during the outing as she soaked up some sun

The actress wanted a 'natural water birth' but instead endured a painful 27-hour long labour which resulted in an urgent caesarean.

Earlier this year, the actress told how she had previously spent years investing in a relationship with someone who was 'a bucket with a hole in it of a person'.

She revealed she thought she would be married by her 30s but the relationships she was in during those years didn't work out as she had hoped.

Speaking to British Vogue, Sienna explained: 'I'd invested what felt like the important years in something that was just a bucket with a hole in it of a person. I wasted time. And I felt like time was really my currency.'

Sienna was quick to point out she was not referring to daughter Marlowe's father Tom Sturridge, who she dated from 2011 to 2015.

The exes have remained on friendly terms and Tom is now in a relationship with Alexa Chung.

Romance: The star, who shares a 10-year-old daughter, Marlowe, with her actor ex Tom Sturridge, is currently dating Oli Green, 26

Prior to her relationship with Tom, Sienna was engaged to fellow actor Jude Law in 2004 after he popped the question on Christmas Day.

He apologised to her in July of the following year for having an affair with the nanny of his children.

Sienna also had a highly publicised affair with the actor Bathlazar Getty in 2008.

Reflecting on her thirties being difficult, she added: 'There was a lot of anxiety. Relationships hadn't worked out.

'I imagined that I would be married with three kids, being a great mum. I love being a mother. It's what I do best.'
Nick Kyrgios and girlfriend Costeen Hatzi have welcomed a pet puppy to their growing family.

Costeen took to Instagram on Monday to share a photo of herself holding the pampered pooch in the car as Nick sat beside her.

'My family,' she wrote, holding the puppy while exposing his belly.

Nick looked equally excited about the new addition, writing: 'My beautiful family.'

The pair were immediately flooded with fans writing adorable messages.

Nick Kyrgios' girlfriend Costeen Hatzi has announced the pair are proud owners of a new puppy, sending their fans into a frenzy over the adorable pooch. Pictured

'His little round tummy,' WAG Silvana Philippoussis wrote. 'The belly I can't,' yet another wrote.

'Mum and dad,' a third added.

Nick and Costeen have spoken about the possibility of children before, with the couple clearly ready to expand their family.

In May last year, Nick called Costeen 'the one' during an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

'His little round tummy,' WAG Silvana Philippoussis wrote on the post. Colleen is pictured

'She is definitely the one, I am in love with her and she is an amazing person and an amazing support for me,' he said.

Nick went on to add that things are not always rosy between the pair - but love wins at the end of the day.

'She is my best friend literally. We go through ups and downs together but I love her to bits.'

Nick previously revealed that Costeen is 'the one', saying: 'She is definitely the one, I am in love with her and she is an amazing person and an amazing support for me'

'I guess for me as an athlete, just to know that I have got that person there that can overcome and have that shoulder to lean on whenever I need, that is what I love about her,' he said

Nick said that he has found 'his person' and is 'just happy' as a result.

'I guess for me as an athlete, just to know that I have got that person there that can overcome and have that shoulder to lean on whenever I need, that is what I love about her,' he said.

The pair are living in a $1.6million penthouse in Sydney's Kensington.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment boasts wraparound glass walls offering sweeping views of the city, as well as a rooftop wet bar and two car spaces.

The former world No. 13 went Instagram official with Hatzi in December 2021, following his split with long-time girlfriend Chiara Passari.
Below Deck Down Under star Laura Bileskalne broke her silence on Tuesday on the sexual misconduct scandal which saw her and a co-star fired from the show.

The stewardess, 31, revealed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she believes producers took the incident, where bosun Luke Jones climbed into the bed of a sleeping co-star, out of context.

Jones was later fired from the show over the incident and Bileskalne was subsequently sacked after she stood up for him.

'I was fired because I stood up for Luke. Margot Sisson was not unconscious, you can see in the video that she is talking to him,' Laura began.

'He asked her, "are you feeling okay" and she said yes. He went into the cabin to talk to her because they wanted to continue the party after the jacuzzi.

Below Deck Down Under star Laura Bileskalne (pictured) broke her silence on Tuesday on the sexual misconduct scandal which saw her and a co-star fired from the show

Laura then made the bold claim that Luke was merely 'checking up' on Margot and any alleged sexual misconduct was simply a misunderstanding.

'Luke was wearing boxer shorts and went to check up on her. But the producers wanted to make a situation out of nothing,' she said.

'He didn't go sneakily into her bed. He asked her first if she was feeling okay.'

Despite Laura claiming that Luke was wearing boxer shorts, the footage on the show clearly shows that the Bosun was completely naked.

The stewardess, 31, revealed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she believes producers took the incident, where bosun Luke Jones (pictured) climbed into the bed of a sleeping Margot Sisson, out of context

The sexual misconduct scandal was seen during a recent episode, where bosun Luke Jones was terminated after climbing into Sisson's bed, who was fast asleep in her underwear, 'without consent.'

Second stew Laura Bileskalne's reaction to the incident also led to her getting let go by Captain Jason Chambers after she insisted that Luke wasn't to blame.

She was ultimately fired for showing 'little respect and empathy' toward Margot.

At dinner, Margot stated that she was 'really drunk' and chief stew Aesha Scott even told deckhand Culver Bradbury that she was going to keep an eye out for her.

Jones was later fired from the show over the incident and Bileskalne was subsequently sacked after she stood up for him

Despite Margot's intoxicated state, Luke repeatedly attempted to flirt with her and asked her to 'cuddle' with him as they sat in the back of a car together.

'No, let's go,' she responded, before making it clear that she just wanted 'to go to bed' by herself.

Later Aesha tearfully claimed that Luke had tried to 'take advantage of Margot's drunkenness' while she was 'completely unconscious' in bed.

Captain Jason then went into Luke's room and ordered him to stay in a hotel for the night.

Laura then made the bold claim that Luke was merely 'checking up' on Margot Sisson (pictured) and any alleged sexual misconduct was simply a misunderstanding

The next morning, Jason gathered the rest of the crew members and informed them that Luke was being terminated.

Stewardess Laura spent the rest of the day sympathising with Luke, stating that he should've just been given a 'warning' and not fired.

She even told Margot that the firing 'wasn't fair' and that he was simply 'joking' and 'drunk', before implying that Margot may be at fault for the incident.

As a result, Captain Jason ended up firing Laura as well, blasting her for not respecting boundaries.

An emotional Aesha Scott informed Captain Jason of the incident and claimed that Luke had tried to 'take advantage of Margot's drunkenness'
Travis Scott shared an adorable snap of his daughter Stormi Webster, five, to his 51.3 million Instagram followers on Monday.

Stormi, whom he shares with Kylie Jenner, 26, was snapped in the kitchen while making a mess of a baking project.

Stormi's hands were in a bowl of dough while flour spilled all over the countertop.

Flour covers both of her cheeks and her chin while she smiled gleefully for her father - who was on vacation in Ibiza last week.

Too cute: Travis Scott shared an adorable snap of his daughter Stormi Webster, five, to his 51.3 million Instagram followers on Monday

Travis co-parents Stormi and his son Aire, one, with the Kylie Cosmetics mogul.

The couple started dating in April 2017 and announced that The Kardashians star was pregnant in February 2018.

They broke up in September 2019, but quarantined together during the COVID-19 pandemic so that they could both be with their daughter.

They got back together but broke up for the second time in January.

And young Stormi is already following in her father's footsteps. She makes an adorable appearance on the rapper's latest album Utopia.

In the song Thank God, he raps: 'Storms a minor, but you know shes livin major,' and she replies, 'Thats right, Daddy.'

Kylie has moved on from her relationship with the father of her children with actor Timothee Chalamet 27.

In another new song called Meltdown, the Houston native seemingly makes reference to Kylie's new man.

Red carpet: Travis Scott took Stormi to the 2022 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Family: Stormi pictured with her parents at the Billboard Music Awards in 2022, before their breakup

Disney: The devoted dad took his daughter to Disneyland in May 2021.

'Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs got the Willy Wonka factory/ Burn an athlete like its calories/ find another flame hot as me, b,' he raps on the track.

Chalamet stars in the new Willy Wonka movie Wonka which is scheduled for release in December.

He and Kylie have been low key dating since January but were first spotted together on a taco dinner date in April.

Previously, the Dune actor has enjoyed a number of high-profile romances over the years with the likes of Eiza Gonzalez, Lily-Rose Depp and Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon.
Jennifer Lawrence enjoyed some quality time with her toddler Cy on Monday.

The Oscar-winning actress, who turned 33 earlier this month, pushed her child in his stroller while out in New York City.

The Hunger Games star was looking stylish in a fitted white T-shirt, trousers, with a delicate string of pearl beads around her neck.

She concealed her eyes with glossy black sunglasses and wore a pink 'In The Mood For Love' hat over her ponytail.

Jennifer strode across the street in taupe sneakers and appeared to have a trace of makeup on her radiant complexion.

That's her boy! Jennifer Lawrence enjoyed some quality time with her toddler Cy in New York City on Monday

Jennifer shares her son Cy with her husband of four years Cooke Maroney.

During a recent appearance on Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg, Jennifer was asked what it 'feels like' to be proposed to. The Don't Look Up actress admitted that it was, 'Terrifying, but very, very exciting.'

'I didn't say what I wanted to,' she revealed. 'I imagined it a million times, and then I ended up just going, "What? What? What?'" And then going, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

She began dating the art gallery director in 2018, and he later popped the big question in February 2019. Later that same year, the two lovebirds said 'I do' during a romantic ceremony, with celebrity guests in attendance, such as Adele and Emma Stone.

While talking to Interview Magazine with Cameron Diaz in June, Jennifer discussed motherhood and whether she has time to 'squeeze in' a lot of projects. Lawrence stated, 'Theres no squeezing when you have a baby'.

'Theres just home, and its the best. It definitely helps weed out projects: "Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Is this worth being away from my child for half the day?"'

The star then gushed that, 'fortunately, my husband is the greatest father in the entire world, so when Im working, I dont have any more guilt than the usual every day, all-day parent guilt.'

Looking good! She concealed her eyes with glossy black sunglasses and wore a pink 'In The Mood For Love' hat over her ponytail

Heart to heart! Lawrence has been married to husband Cooke Maroney since 2019

Good times: In terms of her career, Jennifer celebrated the premiere of her latest R-rated raunchy comedy titled, No Hard Feelings back in June

In terms of her career, Jennifer celebrated the premiere of her latest R-rated raunchy comedy titled, No Hard Feelings back in June. The film also stars Andrew Barth Feldman, Lauren Benanti, and Matthew Broderick.

The premise follows an Uber driver (Lawrence) facing bankruptcy who responds to a Craigslist add to date a parents' 19-year-old son (Feldman) before he heads to college in exchange for a car.

Lawrence notably has tackled dramas in the past, and surprised fans when she took on a leading role in the comedy, which was directed by Gene Stupnitsky.

While recalling her time filming the movie, she also told Interview Magazine that the experience 'was a blast' and added, 'Ive always wanted to do comedy and Ive been asked a million times.'

'I was never against it, but youve seen the movies that come out. I dont want to name anything specifically, but there hasnt been anything that funny.'

She later expressed, 'I felt a unique sadness when wrapping this one, because its so nice when you feel so confident while filming a movie...' and gushed about the 'chemistry between the cast and the crew.'
An angry woman, whose home had been repeatedly used as a backdrop for a photo shoot by a pair of influencers for several months, has unleashed and told them to find legitimate employment.

Tayla Mellington and Ruby Ennor from 2021 Love Island Australia shared a series of videos on Saturday after the Gold Coast woman confronted them while they were taking photos outside her apartment block.

The pair said they were taking photos outside Mali Residences, a high-end apartment block at Mermaid Beach, when the woman came out of the building with her baby.

Neither of the influencers lives at Mali Residences.

'We just went and [made] some content at Mali Residences... We were there,' Tayla started.

Ruby cut in: 'Minding our own business, to the side.'

Tayla Mellington (left) and Ruby Ennor (right) shared a video ranting about an 'abusive' woman who told them to 'get real jobs' after they spent months taking photos in front of her home

Tayla continued: '[We were] taking a photo of Ruby and this chick comes up and starts abusing us.

'She's like, "You're devaluing the property, I'm gonna call the police". We just didn't say anything, and she's like, "You really don't care, do you?" and I was like, "No, not really".'

Ruby chimed in to explain their response: 'You know when someone's going at you, you just ignore it because we're not channelling into that energy.

'And she kept going!'

Ruby claims the woman began questioning if they take photos outside other properties.

'She goes, "Would you go and stand in front of someone else's house and take photos?" and we're like, "Well yeah, we do that".'

Tayla continued: 'She's like, "Well you're invading their privacy", so I'm like, "I'm not going into their home, out the front on the footpath is where we take photos, we'd never go into someone's property".'

The woman (pictured above) told the pair to 'get a real job' and made the nasty comment that if they were more 'attractive' they'd 'get paid to do modelling'

Tayla and Ruby have been posting photos from outside Mali Residences (above) for several months despite neither of them living there

Ruby said the woman's remarks then turned personal with her commenting on how 'attractive' the pair were.

'She goes, "Why don't you go get a real job? You don't make money this way",' she said.

'Then she goes, "If you were that attractive, you'd get paid to do modelling".'

Tayla continued: 'I was like, "Excuse you?" and then she puts the finger up - mind you she has a baby.'

The pair said they were complaining about the aggressive exchange and calling the woman a 'b**ch' when a second resident called out their behaviour.

'She was like, "What did you say about her" so I said, "I called her a b***ch,' Tayla said.

'I was like, "She just told me I'm not pretty and not attractive. She's like, "Well she shouldn't have said that but we're sick of all this".

'So I'm like, "Oh my god, we're literally doing nothing wrong".'

Tayla shared footage of the encounter in a follow-up video, including where the upset resident told them to 'get a real job'.

Ruby said she and Tayla refused to respond to the woman's anger because they're 'not channelling that energy' (pictured, a photo of Ruby taken outside Mali Residences on Saturday)

Tayla slammed the woman for being 'abusive' when the pair did 'nothing wrong' (pictured, a photo of Tayla taken outside Mali Residences on Saturday)

Dozens of Aussies sided with the residents and told Tayla and Ruby 'take photos at your own place'.

'Sorry, but it is really obnoxious. Its a pretty high-end apartment building and I dont think the residents really want people making noise,' another wrote.

'I'm on the Karen's side, find something better to do with your life besides taking selfies,' a third said.

'Not your property but you feel entitled to use it for a photo shoot. Who has the audacity?,' another wrote.

However, others said the residents was being overdramatic.

'Like honestly how does it really affect them? Life is way too short to let unimportant stuff like that ruin your day so much,' one wrote.

'Was she old? Another girl at the same place had this happen and they caught it on camera!,' another said.

'Cant wrap my head around the fact people are so butthurt over a couple girls getting a picture,' a third wrote.





Some comments under Tayla and Ruby's rant called them 'entitled' while others said the angry resident was being overdramatic (pictured, Tayla posing outside Mali Residences in June)

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tayla Mellington's management for comment.
New York Citys largest municipal union is text-blasting its members urging them to bombard Council members with critical phone calls if they support a bill that would guarantee traditional Medicare coverage for retired municipal employees, the Daily News has learned.

The text action from DC37 is part of the politically influential unions support for an effort by Mayor Adams administration to make a cost-cutting, privatized Medicare Advantage plan the only health insurance option available for the citys 250,000 municipal retirees.

The texts, copies of which were obtained by The News, take aim at Intro 1099, a bill penned by Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron that would require the city to offer its retired workers a premium-free traditional Medicare plan. Most of the citys retirees currently benefit from such a Medicare structure, consisting of the universal federal program and a city-subsidized Medigap supplement.

Supporters of Barrons bill argue it would protect traditional Medicare coverage at a time when its under threat by the Adams administrations Advantage push  but the DC37 texts say the legislation could put active union workers health insurance at risk.

City Councilman Charles Barron

Geo-targeted to reach active DC37 workers in the districts of the 17 Council members who have signed on as sponsors of Barrons bill, the texts call out the sponsors by name for supporting a measure that threatens DC37s ability to keep your health care premium-free.

The texts then list phone numbers for the Council members offices and encourage recipients to call them and ask why theyre backing the Barron bill.

The missives do not elaborate on how Barrons measure would harm active city workers health care.

DC37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, a top leader in the municipal organized labor hierarchy, has repeatedly warned that the city might have to start charging active workers monthly health insurance premiums if it cant shift retirees into a more cost-effective Medicare Advantage plan.

The robo-texts started going out this week, and several of the Barron bill-backing members have already received calls from concerned DC37 workers, according to Council and labor sources familiar with the matter.

DC37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, a top leader in the municipal organized labor hierarchy, has repeatedly warned that the city could have to start charging active workers monthly health care premiums if it cant shift retirees into a cost-cutting Medicare Advantage plan.

Among the bill sponsors are Queens Democrats Linda Lee and Lynn Schulman, Brooklyn Democrat Justin Brannan, and Republicans Ari Kagan of Brooklyn and Vickie Paladino of Queens  all of whom are facing challengers in Novembers Council elections.

Speaking to The News on Tuesday morning, Barron, a democratic socialist whos leaving office at the end of the year, said the DC37 text blast is terribly misleading and an attempt by the union to politically punish Council members who resist the proposed Advantage switch.

This is supposed to be a democracy, but if you dont believe their lies, they punish you? Barron said. Thats disgusting.

The text action comes after Garrido and other DC37 brass discussed plans in June to make life politically tough for Council members supporting Barrons legislation. In a private virtual meeting at the time, DC37 leaders raised the possibility of pulling monetary support, endorsements and other political perks for any members bucking the line on the Advantage matter, according to a recording obtained by The News.

The text blast appears to be the first political retribution action taken by the union since that June meeting.

New York municipal retirees protest changes to their Medicare in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Its unclear if the union plans to rescind any endorsements for Barron bill-supporting Council members ahead of the November elections. Several of the bill sponsors, including Brannan, the Councils Finance Committee chairman, were endorsed by the union earlier this year.

Thea Setterbo, a spokeswoman for DC37, which represents some 150,000 municipal workers, would not say Tuesday if it plans to take additional actions against members favoring Barrons legislation.

Garrido, through a statement provided by Setterbo, defended the text blast.

We have a fundamental obligation to inform our union members of harmful legislation  and the elected officials who support it  when their livelihood and rights are at risk, the statement said. Despite what certain individuals claim, Intro 1099 is an outright attack on workers right to collectively bargain their benefits.  This irresponsible proposal would also lock in a specific retiree health care plan without a means to pay for it, effectively saddling active workers and pre-Medicare retirees with the bill.

For decades, premium-free health care coverage has been a given for active and retired city workers.

The Adams administration and municipal labor leaders are raising the possibility of undoing that guarantee due to ballooning city budget deficits that could top $10 billion by the 2026 fiscal year, according to fiscal projections.

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks at City Hall on August 16, 2023.

With the looming deficits in mind, the mayors team has stressed the need for allocating budget savings across the city government  and shifting retirees into an Advantage plan is a top priority on that front.

The mayors budget advisers estimate enrolling retirees in Advantage would save the city as much as $600 million annually on health care costs, thanks in part to the program being subsidized by the federal government at a higher rate than Medigap supplements. Unlike traditional Medicare, Advantage plans are administered by private health insurance providers, which also produces savings.

Thousands of retired city workers  and their allies in the Council  have countered that Advantage is a bad deal. Theyve pointed to federal studies that show Advantage plan holders can be denied medically necessary care, in part due to convoluted preauthorization processes required by private insurance providers for some procedures.

Adams has dismissed those concerns, arguing his administrations plan would improve coverage for retirees and continue to provide them with premium-free care. The Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella organization for the citys public sector unions co-led by Garrido, has joined Adams in trumpeting the plan as a boon to retirees.

But courts have blocked several versions of Adams Advantage plan, ruling it violates local laws that require the city to provide its retired workforce with premium-free health care for life. The administration is currently in the midst of appealing one such ruling.

Marianne Pizzitola, a retired FDNY EMT who leads a grassroots retiree group that filed the lawsuits resulting in Adams plan being blocked, said DC37s text message blast is especially insulting because it pits active union workers against retirees.

This is not how labor treats labor. We built these unions and built NYC, Pizzitola said. Active workers are basically being told, If we cant screw the retirees, we need to screw you.'
He announced the shock news that his hit game show Millionaire Hot Seat was ending at the start of this year.

And now Eddie McGuire next project has been revealed - a Footy Show comeback.

A special to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Grand Final Footy Show is said to be currently in the works and will air next month ahead of the AFL grand final.

According to the Herald Sun, the special will feature a number of the show's signature highlights, including dance routines and mime songs.

Other veteran stars of the show, including acid-tongued Sam Newman, have also been approached to return for the special.

Eddie McGuire's secret new show has been revealed after Millionaire Hot Seat's is axed

The very first Footy Show Grand Final Spectacular aired on 9 in 1993, before the midweek Footy Show was launched in 1994.

Fans were left shocked when it was announced that Millionaire Hot Seat had been axed earlier this month.

The show will go into hiatus at the end of January next year.

A special to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Grand Final Footy Show is said to be currently in the works and will air next month ahead of the AFL grand final. Pictured with Sam Newman

The series has given away millions over the years to Aussies competing on the show.

'It's with great pride and joy and also sadness that I announce this morning Millionaire Hot Seat will go into hiatus at the end of January next year,' Eddie said on 3AW this month.

'There will be a replacement show at 5pm on the Nine Network after we will hit our 25th anniversary as we go into 2024.'

'I love the fact so many people would come and say, I sat there with my grandparents and we did these things together [watched the show].'

Fans were left shocked when it was announced that Millionaire Hot Seat had been axed earlier this month

'There were four millionaires in total, two from each show But so many people won $250,000 and $500,000,' Eddie added.

Eddie said he loved being the host of the show because he got to meet people from all walks of life across Australia.

'What I love about it is I've seen multicultural Australia, people who have come out in their sexuality, coming on the show and feeling really free to do so. I've seen a snapshot of Australia,' he said.

'Every person's got a story, they've got battles in their life, they don't want big a handout, they just want a bit of sunshine come their way.'
Calls have being made for Italian police to punish Kanye West's new 'wife' Bianca Censori following her latest eye-popping display in the conservative Catholic country.

The Australian architect, 28, has been fuelling controversy in Italy for 'going around virtually naked' over the past month, and was back to her old tricks on Sunday when she stepped out for dinner with Kanye, 46, in an outrageous nude catsuit.

According to the Italian Constitutional Court, a Fine from 5,000 to 10,000 euros can be issued, or whoever exposes in a place or nearby to a place attended by minors, may be sentenced from four months to four years imprisonment.

Bianca went braless in the skintight all-in-one and at some points was forced to cover her nipples with a black cross-body bag, while Kanye hid under a black snood teamed with a baggy black jacket and trousers.

Photos of the outing were exclusively published by Daily Mail Australia, and online critics have since implored local authorities to punish Bianca for her wardrobe choices.

Calls have being made for Italian police to punish Kanye West's new 'wife' Bianca Censori following her latest eye-popping display in the conservative Catholic country. (Censori is pictured in Italy on Sunday wearing an outrageous nude catsuit)

The Australian architect, 28, has been fuelling controversy in Italy for 'going around virtually naked ' over the past month, and was back to her old tricks on Sunday when she stepped out for dinner with Kanye, 46, in an outrageous nude catsuit

'It's surprising she hasn't been arrested. Italy is much more conservative, in this case rightly so!' one user wrote.

'I hope Italy kicks them both out of the country. They don't need this pair polluting it,' another raged, as someone else agreed: 'Completely disrespectful to a conservative catholic culture; the Italians should have kicked them out.'

Many argued that Bianca's latest look constitutes 'public indecency,' a charge for which comes with a hefty fine.

'It's a shame that they can't arrest her for public indecency. They look like clowns, how embarrassing,' someone wrote.

Online critics have suggested that local restaurants should deny entry to Bianca and Kanye for 'failing to dress appropriately'. (The couple are pictured together in Italy earlier this month)

Another critic agreed: 'How about police in every country arrest anyone who is nude? It's called indecency... Tired of being forced to see nude women and should be illegal for children to see this,' someone wrote.

One user even suggested that local restaurants should deny entry to Bianca and West for 'failing to dress appropriately'.

According to major tourism website CIU Travel, locals find it 'offensive' to see visitors 'wandering the streets in varying states of undress'.

According to major tourism website CIU Travel, locals find it 'offensive' to see visitors 'wandering the streets in varying states of undress.' (The couple are pictured in Los Angeles in May)

It is also against the law to do so in may local ordinances, and can result in fines.

The website reads: 'Walking around in beach attire or, worse, shirtless, is a huge no-no in Italy, unless you have your feet buried deep in the sand.'

Bianca arrived in Italy with Kanye earlier this month, and has stepped out on several occasions with her bare breasts clearly visible beneath see-through mesh outfits.

Kanye and Bianca wed in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills in January, about two months after the rapper's divorce to Kim Kardashian was finalised

Italian locals have since branded the Kim Kardashian lookalike's outfits 'disrespectful' on social media, with some saying 'immodest' Censori and West weren't welcome in a country known for its conservative Catholic heritage.

'We don't need this trash in Italy,' one Italian user commented, while another branded Bianca's outfits as 'classless' and 'vulgar'.

Users from other parts of the world echoed this sentiment, with one commenting: 'Planning a trip to Italy, I have read several times that Italians are very fashionable and are fairly conservative in their clothing choices. Wonder what they think of this exhibitionist?'

Bianca has a degree in architecture and worked West's design company Yeezy prior to their getting together

'The classy Italians wont be impressed that is for sure. What an absolute mess!' another wrote, as someone else added: 'The Italians will be horrified.'

'This is sexy at home between adults, but trashy in public,' another wrote.

'Someone forgot to tell ex "Reverend" Kanye that they are in a conservative Catholic nation, not Miami or NYC...' they said.

Kanye and Bianca wed in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills in January, about two months after the rapper's divorce to Kim Kardashian was finalised.

However, the legality of the union is in question, as they did not file a marriage certificate.

Bianca has a degree in architecture and worked at West's design company Yeezy prior to their getting together.

She joined the company in 2020, according to Marie Claire. It's unclear whether she still works there.
Golden Globe winner Kim Cattrall enjoyed a couple slices of cake at her 67th birthday celebration on Monday - three days ahead of her highly-anticipated cameo on Max's And Just Like That.

The 'Liverpool-born, Canadian-bred New Yorker' shared a couple Instagram posts set to The Beatles' 1968 Birthday song and she quoted a line of dialogue from Ridley Scott's 2000 hit movie Gladiator.

'Imagine where you will be and it will be so,' Oscar winner Russell Crowe famously said in a rousing speech as general-turned-slave-turned-gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius.

Kim's posts received glowing comments from Hocus Pocus 2 star Kathy Najimy, stylist Phillip Bloch, We're Here co-creator Johnnie Ingram, and chef Ryan Scott.

Cattrall likely spent her special day with her British beau since 2016 - former BBC staffer Russell Thomas - who's reportedly 14 years her junior.

Make a wish! Golden Globe winner Kim Cattrall enjoyed a couple slices of cake at her 67th birthday celebration on Monday - three days ahead of her highly-anticipated cameo on Max's And Just Like That

'I love him, and he was worth waiting for,' the thrice-divorced About My Father actress gushed to People back in 2020.

'It's just so easy. I'm very comfortable around him. He's a firecracker and he's got a wicked sense of humor. And he's easy on the eyes!'

In the newly-released teaser for the And Just Like That season two finale - airing this Thursday - author Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) receives a phone call from her fired publicist and elusive friend from London, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall).

Kim was said to have negotiated a lucrative deal directly with Max chairman-CEO Casey Bloys for her to return for one solo car scene, and it was a very closed set.

Cattrall reportedly enlisted former Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field - whom she calls 'my dearest friend and collaborator' - to select the perfect designer costume for the scene.

Evan Handler - who plays Harry Goldenblatt - told People on June 4: 'Apparently, [her cameo] was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television.'

In the HBO series - which spanned 1998-2004 - Samantha was the most sexed yet the least judgmental of Carrie's friends - even after her affair with then-married Mr. Big (Chris Noth).

And who could forget the touching scene when Jones spoonfed soup to a despondent Bradshaw on her Mexican honeymoon (sans her flaky groom) in the 2008 flick Sex and the City: The Movie.

'Imagine where you will be and it will be so!' The 'Liverpool-born, Canadian-bred New Yorker' shared a couple Instagram posts set to The Beatles' 1968 Birthday song and she quoted a line of dialogue from Ridley Scott's 2000 hit movie Gladiator

'Queen!' Kim's posts received glowing comments from Hocus Pocus 2 star Kathy Najimy, stylist Phillip Bloch, We're Here co-creator Johnnie Ingram, and chef Ryan Scott

'I love him, and he was worth waiting for!' Cattrall likely spent her special day with her British beau since 2016 - former BBC staffer Russell Thomas (L, pictured June 14) - who's reportedly 14 years her junior

The thrice-divorced About My Father actress gushed to People back in 2020: 'It's just so easy. I'm very comfortable around him. He's a firecracker and he's got a wicked sense of humor. And he's easy on the eyes!' (pictured May 26)

Sarah, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis all earned $10M paychecks to executive produce and star in the first season of the Sex and the City continuation - according to Variety.

But there was clearly bad blood between the Glamorous producer-star and the 58-year-old Emmy winner, which exploded on Instagram in 2018 when she accused Parker of expressing faux concern over the death of her brother Chris.

'Everything is on Google, so I encourage you to Google it, about anything that I've said [about her],' Kim told the Los Angeles Times in 2020.

'I feel that that was then, and when I look at what's going on around me, I just don't have any regrets.'

Parker denied ever having a feud with her Cattrall over their six seasons of Sex and the City and two films.

'I think we both felt like it had taken on a life and it didn't matter how many people denied it,' the former child star lamented on The Howard Stern Show in 2016.

'These were my sisters. These were people that I grew to love and admire. And was every day perfect? Were people always desperately, hopelessly in love with each other? No but this is a family of people who needed each other, relied upon each other, and loved each other. And this sort of narrative, this ongoing cat fight, it really used to upset me for a very long time.'

Airing this Thursday! In the newly-released teaser for the And Just Like That season two finale, author Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) receives a phone call from her fired publicist and elusive friend from London, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall)

$$$! Kim was said to have negotiated a lucrative deal directly with Max chairman-CEO Casey Bloys for her to return for one solo car scene, and it was a very closed set

'My dearest friend and collaborator': Cattrall reportedly enlisted former Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field (L, pictured last Saturday) to select the perfect designer costume for the scene

Evan Handler (2-R) - who plays Harry Goldenblatt - told People on June 4: 'Apparently, [her cameo] was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television'

'Hypocrite': But there was clearly bad blood between the Glamorous producer-star and the 58-year-old Emmy winner, which exploded on Instagram in 2018 when she accused Parker of expressing faux concern over the death of her brother Chris

Kim told the Los Angeles Times in 2020: 'Everything is on Google, so I encourage you to Google it, about anything that I've said [about her]. I feel that that was then, and when I look at what's going on around me, I just don't have any regrets'
Ashley Iaconetti revealed that she had initially felt 'gender disappointment' upon discovering that she was pregnant with a son before her first child, Dawson, was born.

The Bachelor In Paradise alum, 35, who welcomed her little one in January 2022 with husband Jared Haibon, 34, opened up about her past feelings on a recent episode of her Ben And Ashley I Almost Famous podcast.

When she had found out that she was expecting a boy, the star revealed, 'I had such gender disappointment with Dawson' and added that she 'had a feeling' she was not pregnant with a girl.

In regards to possibly having another baby boy later on in the future, the beauty stated that she 'doesnt care as much' about the gender.

Ashley expressed, 'I'd be happy if we had a boy too because then I'd want them to have that, hopefully, brother bond.'

'Gender disappointment': Ashley Iaconetti, 35, revealed that she had initially felt 'gender disappointment' upon discovering that she was pregnant with a son before her first child, Dawson, was born

The TV personality then revealed that both she and her husband, whom she tied the knot with in 2019, are planning to work on having another baby 'very soon.'

The two lovebirds first crossed paths on the second season of Bachelor In Paradise and later became engaged in June 2018.

The following year, the pair said 'I do' during a romantic wedding ceremony held in Newport, Rhode Island. In summer 2021, Ashley and Jared announced that they were expecting their first child.

At the time, the reality star explained to E! News that she felt a sense of 'relief' after disclosing the big news.

'After we announced, I felt so much better because I just felt like I was hiding so much of myself. It's hard to describe, but it was a big relief when we shared the news.'

Last year in January, the happy couple became parents and Jared was the first to share the exciting news on Instagram.

'Baby Dawson is here and healthy! Ashley is recovering and doing well! It really couldn't have gone much smoother,' he happily expressed.

'He's so sweet & beautiful and has been sleeping all day. Unlike his Mom and Dad who are on no sleep right now but it's totally worth it.'

Happy family: The reality star welcomed her first child with husband Jared Haibon, whom she tied the knot with in 2019; seen in January in Los Angeles

New perspective: In regards to possibly having another baby boy later on the future, the beauty stated that she 'doesnt care as much' about the gender

Last month in July, Ashley opened up to Us Weekly about how both she and her husband have plans to try to have another child, stating, 'We're thinking about it.'

The media personality explained that the pair were going to 'start lightly trying' later in the fall. 'I really just need to enjoy my whole summer. I love summer.'

She added, 'I just wanna be, like, feeling free and enjoying it all because we all know that I will be totally, grossly sick for a long time, and I think its best that that happens when it starts getting cooler.'

Despite having a rather rough first pregnancy, the Bachelor alum gushed that her baby boy, Dawson, was worth it all.

'He's, like, the most beautiful child ever. I mean, maybe, I'm biased, but holy c**p, I got a cute kid. And he's sparkling on the inside too. Hes quite the personality,' Ashley sweetly stated.

Big plans: The TV personality then revealed that both she and her husband, whom she tied the knot with in 2019, are planning to work on having another baby 'very soon'

'Beautiful': 'Hes, like, the most beautiful child ever. I mean, maybe, Im biased, but holy c**p, I got a cute kid. And hes sparkling on the inside too. Hes quite the personality,' Ashley sweetly stated to Us Weekly

In regards to naming their son, Dawson, the couple revealed during an Amazon Live that the baby name was inspired by the character of Jack Dawson played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic, per People.

The Bachelor In Paradise star expressed at the time that, 'Naming a kid after a Leo character is very natural for us.'

The mother of one, who is also a journalist, gained recognition after appearing on the 19th season of The Bachelor and later on the second and third season of Bachelor In Paradise.

Jared is also no stranger to the world of television, and appeared in the 11th season of The Bachelorette as well as the second and third season of Bachelor In Paradise. During the show's fifth season, he notably proposed to Ashley.
Julie Bowen chatted about her former Modern Family costar Sofia Vergara while volunteering with Feeding America this week and said she's not opposed to a girls' night out.

The 53-year-old actress  who has been encouraging Vergara, 51, amid her split from Joe Manganiello  told E! News about the women potentially getting together for a night of dancing, 'I would like that very much.'

She playfully added, 'Oh, but she would be so mad at me because I can't dance. She's such a good dancer. She just does this slow hip roll for hours. And that's a lot of what hanging out with her isit's slow rolling it for a long time.'

And about Sofia navigating life as a single woman once again, Julie had nothing but kind words for her friend.

'I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship she will be, but she sure dont need one,' she said to the outlet.

Interview: Julie Bowen chatted about her former Modern Family costar Sofia Vergara while volunteering with Feeding America this week and said she's keen for a girls' night out

Eligible bachelorette: Sofia is recently single after splitting from her husband Joe Manganiello

Continuing to gush about the Colombian-born bombshell, Julie noted, 'Everything she does, she does with grace.

'And she rises above and she just goes forward. Shes warm and generous and giving to everybody around her.'

Sofia and Joe announced their separation in a joint statement shared in early July.

'We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives,' the message read.

The former couple tied the knot in 2015 and never had children together.

As for exactly when Julie and Sofia can hit the town, it is yet to be determined.

'We're gonna have to see, she's been traveling a lot and so was I,' Bowen said. 'We have to wait for the summer to cool down.'

Bowen was among the first to show public support for Vergara after the star announced her divorce, commenting, 'This is what single and [fire emoji] looks like,' on an Instagram post.

Good friend: Bowen was among the first to show public support for Vergara after the star announced her divorce from Joe Manganiello, commenting, 'This is what single and [fire] looks like' on an Instagram post

Colleagues: The two actresses built a bond while filming their hit TV series Modern Family; pictured on the show in 2009

Splitsville: Sofia and Joe announced their separation in a joint statement shared in early July

The marriage was not a first for Sofia, who was married to Joe Gonzalez from 1991 to 1993.

She and her ex-husband welcomed son Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, who is 31-years-old.

She was later in a longtime relationship with businessman Nick Loeb. Their breakup turned messy as they went to court over their frozen embryos.

Joe's only marriage has been to Sofia. He got engaged to actress Audra Marie in 2010 but they called off the engagement the following year.

Prior to that, he was in relationships with Bridget Peters (2013 - 2014) and Tenley Dene (2012).
Jonah Hill's ex Sarah Brady revealed that she was recently hospitalized and put on an 'involuntary mental hold' as she shared photos and videos of her multiple bruises to Instagram on Monday.

The surfer  who accused the 21 Jump Street actor, 39, of 'emotional abuse' in July  claims that medics from Hawaii's Queen's Health System 'strapped me down, shoved a mask in my mouth, put some mesh s**t over my face, LAUGHED AT ME.'

She went on to add that 'medics INJECTED ME WITH DRUGS INVOLUNTARILY, and didn't give me water. They treated me like a violent animal whilst I remained a human being.'

Sarah, who has previously opened up about her bipolar disorder diagnosis, shared a number of photos and videos to her Stories, starting with one that showed deep bruises along her arm.

She also shared that this was not the first time she was involuntarily hospitalized, but said this one was 'the most violent I've ever experienced.'

The latest: Jonah Hill's ex Sarah Brady revealed that she was recently put on an 'involuntary mental hold' as she shared photos and videos of her bruises to Instagram on Monday

Mistreatment: The surfer  who accused the 21 Jump Street actor, 39, of 'emotional abuse' in July  claims that medics from Hawaii's Queen's Health System mistreated her

'Healthcare' she wrote at the top of the photo, adding, 'Injection bruises from an involuntary trip to the ER due to me breaking zero laws. Just followed gate attendant's instructions, drive thru an open gate and parked in an open park spot.'

'They told me I was intoxicated. I told them I was not. I told them I have a mental health diagnosis.'

'I asked for water. They did not give me any. They dragged me by my arms and strapped me down on a gurney WITHOUT MY CONSENT.'

Brady added that 'this happened a few days ago' and that she is now at 'a safe house.'

She then told her followers, 'Stay safe out there everyone,' and added, 'Please mute my IG stories if the truth is too much.'

She followed that post with two videos showing off the bruises and said they look worse in person.

She tagged the medical group in the next video and said she's considering a lawsuit.

'I bet you they'll be coming to me with a settlement offer soon,' she added.

Accusations: ''Medics strapped me down, shoved a mask in my mouth, put some mesh s**t over my face, LAUGHED AT ME,' she wrote

Concerning: She went on to add that 'medics INJECTED ME WITH DRUGS INVOLUNTARILY, and didn't give me water. They treated me like a violent animal whilst I remained a human being'

Brady shared that this was not the first time she was involuntarily hospitalized, but said this one was 'the most violent I've ever experienced'

In another message she wrote that she had to give a blood and urine sample and that they hospital found something in her system, however she blacked out what it was

Trauma: Brady went on, writing that her experiences have taught her to 'fear and have rage toward myself, my genetic make up and trauma I went through in my childhood'

What happeend: She then shared a screenshot of Instagram messages she exchanged with someone, whom she told that 'the ambulance nurses and EMTs were violent with me' but 'the psychiatric section of the ER was not violent with me'

Bleak: Brady also shared a bleak grey image as she described what her hospital room looked like

Sarah has previously opened up about her bipolar disorder diagnosis

In the next video Sarah spoke to the camera, saying, 'This is not my first experience with involuntary hospitalization without due cause, or without a clear determination that I was a threat to the safety of myself or others, which is the legal definition requiring to involuntarily hospitalize someone.'

She then shared a screenshot of Instagram messages she exchanged with someone, whom she told that 'the ambulance nurses and EMTs were violent with me' but 'the psychiatric section of the ER was not violent with me, but they left me to sleep in a concrete floors and concrete wall room with a mat on the floor and a blanket and that's it.'

In another message she wrote that she had to give a blood and urine sample and that they hospital found something in her system, however she blacked out what it was.

She also blacked out the name of an 'abuse disorder' they diagnosed her with.

Brady went on, adding, 'I've learned from the past that the quickest and safest way for me to get out of psychiatric hospitals is to go along with whatever diagnosis they decided play they part and take the meds, so that's kind of what I've been doing since then.'

In another message she wrote, 'This is like my fourth or fifth time being put in the hospital and treated like a street dog so I wasn't very shocked but it was the most violent I've ever experienced and I think it's been long enough go me, believing in all of these diagnoses, and playing along that now I'm just like f**k it. What do I have to lose?'

'Feel safer for me to be very public about it all then for me to be discreet and pretend to be ashamed of the diagnosed I've been given and continue to, except that my right can be taken away at any time.'

Emotional abuse accusations: Last month Brady, who dated Hill for a year in 2021, accused the 21 Jump Street actor, 39, of 'emotional abuse'; They are seen in 2021

Brady went on, writing that her experiences have taught her to 'fear and have rage toward myself, my genetic make up and trauma I went through in my childhood, and to be hyper vigilant, looking for predators everywhere when the most clear ones, staring me in the face are the cops, therapists, psychiatrists, and other medical professionals.'

She then shared multiple clips discussing her thoughts on health care, law enforcement and her 'trauma.'

She also shared that her way of coping was to 'play the role of someone being abused or who is an abuser.'

She then delved into her bipolar diagnosis, stating, 'under that diagnosis I've been told that I have delusions, which I do, at times. One of those delusions is of being in training to be some sort of undercover agent to bust large groups of organized crime that are participating in human trafficking and child sex slave trafficking. And that is a very common delusion.'

Last month Brady accused her ex Jonah Hill of 'emotional abuse' and branded him a 'misogynist.

Brady set the internet alight by taking to Instagram to share messages allegedly sent by him that appear to reveal their past arguments - including messages outlining his parameters for a 'romantic partnership.'

The pair dated in 2021 for one year.
For her 31st birthday on Monday, two-time Grammy nominee Demi Lovato received a box of cookies frosted with her unflattering meme 'Poot Lovato' which famously went viral on Tumblr in 2015.

The Photoshopped fan cell phone snap was originally taken as the non-binary, pansexual, and bipolar pop star - who returned to she/her pronouns a year ago - left the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre in London way back in 2014.

'So I just wanna show you guys my cakes,' Demi - who boasts 268.8M social media followers - announced in a TikTok panning over sugary confections. 'This one is so gorgeous. This one is so cute.'

Lovato - who parted ways with talent manager Scooter Braun after four years - then exclaimed: 'And this one is so Poot!'

The New Mexico-born brunette's BFF Matthew Scott Montgomery cackled and commented 'make this go viral please' while her Lovatic fans reacted like they'd just seen an old friend who'd long been rumored to have been locked in a basement.

'Free Poot!' For her 31st birthday on Monday, two-time Grammy nominee Demi Lovato received a box of cookies frosted with her unflattering meme 'Poot Lovato' which famously went viral on Tumblr in 2015

Smile! The Photoshopped fan cell phone snap was originally taken as the non-binary, pansexual, and bipolar pop star - who returned to she/her pronouns a year ago - left the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre in London way back in 2014

And while Demi (born Demetria) can laugh now, but it took her two full years to make her peace with the meme and its subsequent @OfficialPoot Twitter account and Poot Lovato fanfiction.

'Cool to see a s****y angle turn into a meme that circulates the Internet to people's amusement ha,' Lovato tweeted in 2015. 'Oh and make actual "headlines."'

On July 14, the homeschooled millennial admitted to Harper's Bazaar: 'When Poot went viral, that actually sucked because I thought that was a real picture of me, and I was like, "Oh no. That's a really bad angle."

'But Poot was photoshopped. Later I felt better about it because I realized that wasn't my face, but it was definitely weird when it went viral.'

Demi celebrated her special day with a weekend trip to Palm Springs - which was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Hilary - along with her Holy Fvck backup vocalist-turned-'soulmate' Jutes and two dogs.

Lovato was previously romantically linked to Max Ehrich, Austin Wilson, Henry Alexander Levy, Guilerme Vasconcelos, Luke Rockhold, Jai Manselle, Wilmer Valderrama, Joe Jonas, Trace Cyrus, Alex DeLeon, Cody Linley, and Jonathan Fryar.

It's unclear when Hulu audiences will get to see the former Disney Channel star's feature directorial debut - the documentary Child Star - co-directed by Nicola Marsh (Stay On Board: The Leo Baker Story, Song Exploder).

Demi - who boasts 268.8M social media followers - announced in a TikTok panning over sugary confections: 'So I just wanna show you guys my cakes. This one is so gorgeous. This one is so cute'

Lovato - who parted ways with talent manager Scooter Braun after four years - then exclaimed: 'And this one is so Poot!'

'Pls let her out my god!' The New Mexico-born brunette's BFF Matthew Scott Montgomery cackled and commented 'make this go viral please' while her Lovatic fans reacted like they'd just seen an old friend who'd long been rumored to have been locked in a basement

And while Demi (born Demetria) can laugh now, but it took her two full years to make her peace with the meme and its subsequent @OfficialPoot Twitter account and Poot Lovato fanfiction

Lovato tweeted in 2015: 'Cool to see a s****y angle turn into a meme that circulates the Internet to people's amusement ha. Oh and make actual "headlines"'

On July 14, the homeschooled millennial admitted to Harper's Bazaar: 'When Poot went viral, that actually sucked because I thought that was a real picture of me, and I was like, "Oh no. That's a really bad angle." But Poot was photoshopped. Later I felt better about it because I realized that wasn't my face, but it was definitely weird when it went viral'

Family: Demi celebrated her special day with a weekend trip to Palm Springs - which was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Hilary - along with her Holy Fvck backup vocalist-turned-'soulmate' Jutes and two dogs

Headed for Ohio! Lovato is next scheduled to put her four-octave soprano pipes to good use headlining WonderBus Music & Arts Festival in Columbus this Saturday

'Funeral' for her pop sound: The former Disney Channel star will release her first remix album Revamped on September 15 featuring 10 re-recorded rock versions of songs from her previous albums

Demi is next scheduled to put her four-octave soprano pipes to good use headlining WonderBus Music & Arts Festival in Columbus, OH this Saturday.

Lovato is nominated for two trophies for her song Swine - Best Pop and Video for Good - at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, which air September 12 on MTV.

The Dave guest star will release her first remix album Revamped on September 15 featuring 10 re-recorded rock versions of songs from her previous albums.
Emma Willis and Fred Sirieix are set to host the hit TV cookery show The World Cook for a second series on Prime Video next year.

The presenter, 47, and the First Dates maitre d, 51, are prepping to make an exciting return to host the international culinary contest.

In the second series, fans can expect to see 16 cooks from around the globe go head-to-head to be crowned the best cook in the world.

But this time, the series will see some special guests when it returns.

A production source told The Sun: 'Emma is such a safe pair of hands, shes a top signing for any channel, but had wonderful chemistry with Fred, and viewers loved their pairing for the first series.

Back on our screens: Emma Willis and Fred Sirieix are set to host the hit TV cookery show The World Cook for a second series on Prime Video

Exciting: The presenter, 47, and the First Dates maitre d, 51, are prepping to make an exciting return to host the international culinary contest (pictured in Mexico in 2022)

'It was a no-brainer to bring them back for series two. Filming will begin soon and continue throughout autumn, with heats taking place in a string of different countries before a grand final in a luxury location.

'Producers have once again worked with travel firm TUI to produce the show, so it works like a glorious two-in-one  a culinary contest with added travel and holiday inspo.'

Last year, Emma and Fred completed filming in Playa Del Carmen in Mexico after teasing the new programme on their social medias, when it was unknown.

Fred also documented the filming process as he shared pictures of himself and Emma trying food with chef Benito Molina, as well as smiling snaps of them both.

As well as her work with the cookery show, Emma has also revealed a secret role she had in the Big Brother's reboot.

She has been the face of the ITV2's reality show from 2013 to 2018, before the show was axed.

The fan-favourite reality show is now set to return to our screens after an absence of five years.

Despite her past prominent role in the reality show, Emma revealed she fully 'championed' AJ Odudu for the presenter role.

Hosts: In the second series, fans can expect to see 16 cooks from around the globe go head-to-head to be crowned the best cook in the world

Earlier this year, ITV bosses made the news official and confirmed AJ, 35, will be hosting alongside her close pal Will Best.

Emma told The Sun's TV Mag that she was just 'as happy as a pig in muck' following the news.

The famous presenter said she paid a key role in championing AJ since the beginning because she 'loves her' and is a very 'dear friend', and strongly believes she will do a 'phenomenal job' as future host.

'And I, for one, am really bloody looking forward to a new era with her - and Will Best, we cannot forget Will Best,' she added.
There was a celebratory air about Ioan Gruffudd's latest public appearance as the actor unwound in Spain after winning a bitter tug-of-war with ex-wife Alice Evans over the custody of their two daughters.

The Welsh actor was joined by girlfriend Bianca Wallace during a Mediterranean cruise on Tuesday, with their movements documented in a series of Instagram posts.

Sharing a handful of pictures and videos, Wallace, 31, posed in a black bikini before trying her hand at paddle boarding as their yacht sailed close to the Spanish coastline.

Captioning the posts, she wrote: 'A perfect day with even better company! It doesnt get much better.'

Gruffudd, 49, an infrequent presence on social media, was also seen after joining his actress girlfriend for a selfie, in which he flashes a beaming grin.

Good times: There was a celebratory air about Ioan Gruffudd's latest public appearance as the actor unwound with girlfriend Bianca Wallace in Spain on Tuesday

Loving life: Sharing a handful of pictures and videos, Wallace posed in a black bikini as they cruised the Mediterranean

The actor had plenty to smile about after a Los Angeles judge granted his request for the appointment of a child psychiatrist to referee his increasingly hostile battles with ex Evans over Ella, 13, and Elsie, nine.

Evans, 55, had vehemently opposed appointing a child custody evaluator, saying it wasnt necessary, claiming that Gruffudd hasnt seen or called the girls for almost three months and denying his accusations that shes abusing their daughters, causing them serious emotional harm.

But after a hearing Thursday that neither Gruffudd nor Evans attended, LA Superior Court Judge Josh Freeman Stinn issued a brief order saying, The petitioners (Gruffudd) request for the appointment of a child custody evaluator is granted.

The judges ruling came after Gruffudd filed a new 34-page written document - found by DailyMail.com - in which he blasted Evans, accusing her of calling daughter Ella a f---ing bitch and telling the teen she would be getting a new father soon.

Evans latest statements opposing the evaluator and criticizing her ex, are false or grossly misleading, said Gruffudd in his new declaration to the court.

Circumstances with our daughters Ella and Elsie, and my relationship with them are not as Alice describes.

Alice has stated in her own words in multiple postings on social media that I have been trying to get at least 50/50 custody of Ella and Elsie and that she does not want this and/or is actively working to preventing it.

I believe it is imperative that a specific evaluator be appointed at the hearing on August 17 in order to avoid further and potentially significant delays in getting this important process started.

Making memories: The actress described her latest outing with Gruffudd as 'the perfect day'

Looking good: Wallace showed off her physique as she posed for a series of photos on Tuesday

Triumph: Gruffudd won a major court victory Thursday against his ex-wife Alice Evans in their bitter tug of war about custody of their two young daughters

Claims: The actor said in court documents his ex Alice Evans 'has continued to inflict serious emotional harm' on their two daughters, Ella and Elsie

Gruffudd pointed out that although Alice argues that no child custody evaluation is necessary, the girls court-appointed attorney and their most recent therapist both support appointing an evaluator.

And he added, the therapist wrote,  I feel that it would be in the best interest of your daughters for Elsie to continue psychotherapy with me and Ella to be evaluated by a child psychiatrist.

Gruffudd expressed concern that Evans has taken Elsie out of a school shed been in since kindergarten and placed her in a new school, defying a court order saying she couldnt change the kids schools without his agreement. I did not agree, he said.

Talking again about the serious emotional harm he believes Evans is inflicting on their daughters, Gruffudd went on, Alice regularly berated, verbally abused and threatened me during our marriage and after separation, often in the presence of Ella and/or Elsie.

Among other things, Alice told me she had been miserable for years and wanted a divorce, attacked my appearance and my career, threatened to call the police on me and told Ella she would be getting a new father soon..

Close: Gruffudd has been dating Wallace since his separation from Evans in 2021. He is requesting more time with his daughters, claiming his ex has kept him from seeing them for most of the past year

Dispute: Evans had vehemently opposed appointing a child custody evaluator, saying it wasnt necessary and claiming that Gruffudd hasnt seen or called the girls for almost three months and denying his accusations that shes abusing their daughters

Stepping out: Gruffudd pictured with Wallace pictured walking their dog as they hit up a local store for Oreo cookies and popcorn before heading back home

Old times: The feuding exes were declared legally divorced in July  two years after the actor filed after 14 years of marriage

I believe it was unhealthy and distressing to the girls to witness this behavior and I believe Alices conduct was abusive not only to me, but to the girls as well.

Gruffudd - now with 31 year-old girlfriend Bianca Wallace - recounted an incident on Ellas 11th birthday when Elsie sent me a video of Ella arguing with Alice. Ella said she was upset because Alice had broken her promise not to drink alcohol and she begged Alice to stop bringing me up in every conversation.

Alice screamed at Ella and called her a fing bitch and Ella screamed at Alice, Just be a mother!

He added, (Alice) has made thousands of disparaging, abusive and threatening posts about me since we separated.

Evans has denied all of her exs abuse allegations and has not responded - so far - to Judge Freeman Stinns new ruling against her.

Gruffudd - who met Evans when they co-starred in the 2000 Disney movie, 101 Dalmatians - filed for divorce in March 2021, shortly after the blonde-haired actress claimed on social media that her husband of 14 years was walking out on her and their two daughters.

Their divorce was final just last month. But the issues of spousal and child support - as well as child custody - still need to be resolved.

Getting involved: A Los Angeles judge granted the Welsh actors request for appointment of a child psychiatrist to referee the warring couples increasingly hostile battles over their daughters, court documents show

Rubber stamped: After a hearing Thursday that neither Gruffudd nor Evans attended, LA Superior Court Judge Josh Freeman Stinn issued a brief order saying, The petitioners (Gruffudd) request for the appointment of a child custody evaluator is granted'
Sienna Miller is expecting a baby with boyfriend Oli Green after debuting her bump on a beach visit in Ibiza.

This will be the 41-year-old's second child - but first with Oli, 26, - after her daughter Marlow was born in July 2012.

But the to-be father is relatively private about his life, despite working in the public eye.

So, who is Oli Green? Read the answer to that and more below.

Congratulations! Sienna Miller, 41, is expecting her second child, with boyfriend Oli Green, 26, the to-be father

Ace: The couple attended Wimbledon together in July 2023

Who is Oli Green?

Sienna's boyfriend - 15 years her junior - is a fellow actor, as well as a model, who studied at at the Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York.

According to IMDb, his first role of any sort was in the 2019 music video for John Eatherly's Burnout alongside Kaia Gerber when he was 22 years old.

Despite relatively few appearances on screen, Oli is building quite the contacts book, having appeared alongside Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman in 2023's A Good Person, and Elizabeth Debicki, Imelda Staunton, and Dominic West, in an episode of The Crown the same year.

But Oli's modelling career took off first, and he has worked with many household names on promotions.

He was the face of Gap's 2017 I Am campaign, and has also appeared alongside Cara Delavigne in a string of Burberry jobs.

From that world, Oli was previously linked with Adwoa Aboah and Paige Reifler.

When did Sienna and Oli meet?

While the exact date Sienna and Oli met is unknown, the pair began being romantically linked in early 2022 when they were spotted together in New York City.

Soon after, in March, their romance was confirmed when they left the BAFTAs together as they headed for British Vogue's Fashion & Film afterparty.

This was weeks before their red carpet debut as a couple, for the Vanity Fair Oscars party.

And that was far from their last public appearance, with subsequent step-outs including at Wimbledon in July 2023.

Debut: Sienna and Oli made their first red carpet appearance together before Vanity Fair's Oscars party

Father: Tom Sturridge (pictured with Sienna in 2013) is the father of Sienna's first child, Marlow

Who else has Sienna Miller dated?

The Layer Cake star is familiar with high-profile partners, with her first in 2004 when she and Jude Law became engaged.

Law was already a father then, and their relationship was strained by his admittance to having an affair in 2005 with the nanny of his then-three children.

The couple finally split in November 2006.

Sienna was involved with another actor in 2008 - Balthazar Getty, who was married at the time.

In 2014, Sienna admitted to having a 'brief' affair with Bond actor Daniel Craig.

After rekindling with Law for just over a year, Sienna dated Tom Sturridge from 2011 to 2015, with whom she had her daughter Marlow.

Her most recent relationship before Oli was art gallery owner Lucas Zwirner which was made public in January 2019.

Zwirner became Sienna's third fiance, after Law and Sturridge, in January 2020 but their split was announced eight months later.
Using artificial intelligence in policing is one of several high-tech tools Mayor Adams said hes exploring during his trip to Israel.

The use of artificial intelligence, the use of security cameras  were going to visit tomorrow the police academy where were really going to get to the heart and soul of the public safety tools that are available on how to do all the detection of criminal behavior and how to just further enhance what we have in our toolkit, he said Tuesday during a call from Israel with reporters.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams meets with tech leaders at the Bank of Israel offices in Jerusalem the second day of a 3-day visit to Israel on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

Adams, whos made public safety a priority in his administration, is in Israel until Wednesday. On Tuesday, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed hotly debated changes to Israels judicial system, combating anti-semitism and the application of new technologies.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams meets with Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on the second day of a 3-day visit to Israel on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

Adams also met with leaders in the protest movement against the proposed judicial changes, but said he didnt offer any of his own opinions in his exchanges with people on either side of the issue.

I listened. I didnt weigh in, he said.

The mayor, who spoke to reporters via conference call Tuesday, appeared more animated about some of the technology being developed in Israel  and the potential for applying it in New York.

One area he delved into was what he described as food tech.

We were able to see a production of honey that does not need bees at all. It was good tasting in honey, he said. We were also able to see lab meat in other form, laboratory meat and other forms of meat byproducts thats made out of natural products with zero fat. One of the dangers of meat production that leads to much of the health concerns we have is because of the fat contents.

Adams sojourn to the Holy Land is being funded by the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.

When asked about the privacy concerns connected to applying new technology to policing, Adams said hes well aware of peoples trepidations.

Each time we sit down and look at a new piece of technology, we put it through the prisms of, Is this in violations of any of the rules that we have in place?' he said. Some countries outside of Israel and others use technology that just will not fit in Americas belief on privacy. We are not going to allow that to happen. Were going to stay within the barriers of our law and the guardrails of our laws.
Lottie Tomlinson displayed her incredible figure in a bright pink bikini while enjoying a lavish holiday in Italy on Monday.

The influencer, 24, put on a very busty display in the skimpy two piece as she posed up a storm for a gallery of beach snaps.

The makeup artist, who welcomed her first child, Lucky in August last year with partner Lewis Burton, looked nothing short of sensational.

Lottie accessorised the daytime look with gold hoop earrings and a collection of gold rings.

She styled her long blonde tresses straight as they cascaded down past her cleavage from a centre parting and applied a radiant palette of makeup.

Stunner: Lottie Tomlinson displayed her incredible figure in a bright pink bikini while enjoying a lavish holiday in Italy on Instagram on Monday

The beauty captioned her post: 'just me & my new kini'.

Her break away is no doubt needed after Lottie candidly reflected on the grief she suffered following her mum and sister's deaths, admitting she was 'shocked' she wasn't offered any help.

The model, who is the half-sister of One Direction's Louis Tomlinson, lost her mother when she was just 18 years old after battling leukaemia, before her sister Felicite died three years later of an accidental overdose.

Lottie recently detailed the 'loneliness' she felt while grieving for her loved ones, and how she wished she'd sought therapy sooner, after seeking the help following Felicite's passing.

Speaking on the Grief Kind podcast with Sue Ryder, Lottie told Clover Stroud: 'When my mum died, there was never any conversations about getting any help.

'Looking back, that was quite shocking to me and I talk about it quite a lot but, you know, especially the fact that she had cancer.

'It was a medical illness and we were surrounded by a lot of medical professionals, and there were young children involved, and there didn't seem to be any sit-down conversations where it was like, 'Do we want to sort out getting some help.'

'So I never had anything when I lost my mum, it was only when I lost my sister that I thought, 'You know, she ended up losing her life, she might have been okay if she would have got the help she needed.''

Wow! The influencer, 24, put on a very busty display in the skimpy two piece as she posed up a storm for a gallery of beach snaps

Gorgeous: The makeup artist, who welcomed her first child, Lucky in August last year with partner Lewis Burton, looked nothing short of sensational in her latest images

Incredible: Lottie accessorised the daytime look with gold hoop earrings and a collection of gold rings

Getaway: She styled her long blonde tresses straight as they cascaded down past her bust from a centre parting and applied a radiant palette of makeup

Impressive: She flaunted her taut abs as she relaxed on the beach

Reflecting on the grief she felt when Johannah died in 2016, Lottie added: 'I think in the days and months after my mum passed, it was just so surreal. And you felt like you were living in this nightmare, I suppose.

'And there were obviously young siblings involved where I was the oldest girl. So, I kind of felt that it was my role to step in and try and be the mother figure to them.

'I think when Fizz died, it was obviously such a shock. And it was like a disbelief that we were going to go through this again.

'You know, kind of felt like we were just coming through the other side of losing my mum. And then for it to happen again. It was just shocking.'

Lottie added that after her sister's death she began having therapy, and recommended Sue Ryder's free grief counselling after dealing with her own 'painful, long and scary journey'.

The makeup artist also admitted that she struggled with 'loneliness' during her grief, as it was difficult to find someone who was going through the same struggles.

She continued: 'You do have this feeling of loneliness, because really, unless someone's experienced the exact same thing, which not many people have, you're not going to be able to relate to people and you kind of you almost feel a bit like the odd one out.'

Johannah, who was also mother to former One Direction star Louis, sadly lost her life after a battle with leukaemia aged just 43.

Revelation: It comes after Lottie candidly reflected on the grief she suffered following her mum and sister's deaths, admitting she was 'shocked' she wasn't offered any help (mother Johannah is pictured)

Last year Lottie reflected on the 'scary' period after her mother's death where she struggled to find mental health support for herself and her then-12-year-old sisters, Daisy and Phoebe.

She was just 18 when she lost her mum and three years later her sister Felicite died from an accidental overdose.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, she confessed it's 'shocking' that medical professionals didn't offered the family any counselling since they had spent so much time visiting the hospital in which her parent was being treated.

She said: 'We were offered nothing. I think it was shocking because my first loss was a very medical thing. My mum had cancer so we were in and out of hospital'.

'We were around medical professionals a lot so to not really be offered the help was quite shocking, really, looking back. But at the time, it just felt quite normal.'
Hollywood star Susan Sarandon and Travis Fimmel have joined the cast of the new Stan Original Series C*A*U*G*H*T.

On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced the a new trailer and the full cast, which also includes Downton Abbey star Tuppence Middleton and Rebecca Breeds.

The six-episode series, directed by actor and filmmaker Kick Gurry, follows four Australian soldiers sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country.

They are captured by freedom fighters after being mistaken for Americans and produce a hostage video that goes viral.

When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realise that being caught might just be the best thing that could've happened to them.

Hollywood star Susan Sarandon (pictured) and Travis Fimmel have joined the cast of the new Stan Original Series C*A*U*G*H*T

On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced the full list of cast alongside a trailer which includes Downton Abbey star Tuppence Middleton and Rebecca Breeds (pictured)

Also joining the cast is a galaxy of Australian stars, including Ben OToole (Detroit), Lincoln Younes (Last King of the Cross), Alexander England (upcoming Stan Original Series Black Snow), Mel Jarnson (Mortal Kombat), Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless) and Dorian Nkono (The Twelve).

The trailer kicks of with Channel Nine reporter Allison Langdon reading a news bulletin about the missing Australians.

It then cuts to four freedom fighters and their attempt to convince the terrorists they are Aussies.

The Stan Original series, C*A*U*G*H*T premieres September 28 only on Stan.

The six-episode series, directed by actor and filmmaker Kick Gurry, follows four Australian soldiers sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country

They are captured by freedom fighters after being mistaken for Americans and produce a hostage video that goes viral

When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realise that being caught might just be the best thing that could've happened to them

'We're Australian, like Crocodile Dundee,' one man yells, before another yells, 'like Mel Gibson...' before he is spat on by a female terrorist.

Elsewhere in the trailer we see the Aussies dominate the news headlines back home, where Langdon's co-host Karl Stefanovic also makes a cameo.

Also joining the cast is an array of Australian stars, including Ben OToole (Detroit), Lincoln Younes (Last King of the Cross), Alexander England (upcoming Stan Original Series Black Snow), Mel Jarnson (Mortal Kombat), Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless) and Dorian Nkono (The Twelve)

The trailer kicks of with Channel Nine reporter Allison Langdon reading a news bulletin about the missing Australians

Elsewhere in the trailer we see the Aussies dominate the news headlines back home, where Langdon's co-host Karl Stefanovic (pictured) also makes a cameo
Monica Bellucci put on a very glamorous display as she posed up a storm for a sensational magazine cover shoot.

The Italian actress, 58, showed off her modelling credentials in an array of sensational images as she covered Harper's Bazaar Spain for the first time.

She also discussed her new romance with Tim Burton as she described him as 'wonderful', just weeks after finally confirming their relationship.

Posing up a storm as the magazine's September cover star, Monica put on a dazzling display in an eye-catching black sheer dress covered with polka dot detailing.

She gave a flash of her toned pins in the glamorous ensemble as she was photographed while getting her immaculate make-up touched up.

Elegant: Monica Bellucci put on a very glamorous display as she posed up a storm for a sensational magazine cover shoot

Gorgeous: The Italian actress, 58, showed off her modelling credentials in an array of sensational images as she covered Harper's Bazaar Spain for the first time

In another shot, Monica cut a very trendy figure in a knitted jumpsuit, which she teamed with a smart jacket and black pointed heels.

She also put on a stylish display in a grey jumper dress, cinched in at the waist with a black and gold belt as she bombed her hair.

Monica opened up to the magazine about her romance with Tim as she described him as a 'spectacular soul', months after they were first linked.

In the chat, translated from Spanish, Monica said: 'I found in Tim [Burton] a wonderful spirit. I met a spectacular soul.'

Her romance with Tim comes ten years after her separation from Vincent Cassel, who she was married to for 14 years. They share daughters Deva, 18, and Leoni, 13.

Speaking about her personal life, Monica also described fame as a 'double-edged sword' and told how she tries to keep aspects of her life private.

'Fame is a double-edged sword, it causes a lot of curiosity and can also provoke conflicting feelings,' she explained.

'When I am not working, I like to lead a normal life - I go shopping, I take my daughters to school.'

Gushing: She also discussed her new romance with Tim Burton as she described him as 'wonderful', just weeks after finally confirming their relationship

Chic: In one shot, she put on a stylish display in a grey jumper dress, cinched in at the waist with a black and gold belt as she bombed her hair

Her latest comments come after Monica finally confirmed her romance with American filmmaker Tim in June, after months of secretly dating.

She sweetly professed her love for Tim and told how she was glad that she met him in an interview with Elle France.

'What I can say... I'm glad I met the man, first of all,' she said. 'It's one of those encounters that rarely happens in life... I know the man, I love him, and now I'm going to meet the director, another adventure begins.'

The model has recently been shooting Beetlejuice 2 with Tim in London, and she gushed about the filmmaker's vision for the much-anticipated sequel.

'I love Tim,' she continued. 'And I have great respect for Tim Burton.'

Speaking of his work, she said: 'I love this dream world where the monsters are kind, like we can turn our darker aspects into something bright, forgiving. Tim Burton's films talk about that a lot.'

Monica and Tim first met 16 years ago but are said to have started dating after seeing one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon in October.

Monica, who was an honorary guest at the festival, presented Tim with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award on stage around the time they went official.

News of their romance emerged in February, when Paris Match said the couple 'briefly met on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes in 2006, but it was only sixteen years later, behind the scenes of another festival, that they got closer'.

The pair were also seen heading in to watch the re-production of Silent Documentary Film, directed in 1895 by late French filmmaker Louis Lumiere.

'I love him': Her latest comments come after Monica finally confirmed her romance with American filmmaker Tim in June, after months of secretly dating

Close: Monica and Tim first met 16 years ago but are said to have started dating after seeing one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon in October (pictured)

Exes: Tim was famously in a 13-year relationship with The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter, 57, but they split in 2014

In February, they were seen sharing a passionate kiss as they took a romantic walk on Valentine's Day.

Monica has been single since she split from artist Nicolas Lefebvre in 2019. She was previously married to actor Vincent from 1997 until 2013.

She met Vincent in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimounis film lAppartement and they were together for three years before marrying in a quiet ceremony in Monaco, on the French Riviera.

Tim was famously in a 13-year relationship with The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter, 57, but they split in 2014.

The pair, who were never married, share two children - son Billy and daughter Nell.
Olivia Hawkins put on a racy display in a gold bikini as she enjoyed a summer getaway to Portugal on Tuesday.

The Love Island star, 28, left little to the imagination in a thong bikini as she showed off her toned bottom.

The TV personality posed up a storm while holding her wet brunette tresses and angled herself on a paddleboard in the ocean.

The influencer looked nothing short of sensational as she laid flat on the board while soaking up the sun.

Olivia took to Instagram to share the sizzling snaps to her 323K followers and wrote: 'Vitamin me'.

Sizzling: Olivia Hawkins put on a racy display in a gold bikini as she enjoyed a summer getaway to Portugal on Tuesday

Fun in the sun: The Love Island star, 28, left little to the imagination in a thong bikini as she showed off her toned bottom

The brunette beauty sent temperatures soaring as she gave a smouldering look to the camera.

In another snap, Olivia appeared to be in great spirits as she flung her arms in the air with a peace sign.

Her relaxing getaway comes after she uploaded a cheeky snap to her Instagram Stories last month with former Love Islander Casey O'Gorman.

Olivia stunned in a skimpy blue bikini and dark shades as she teasingly turned her head away when Casey, 26, attempted to plant a kiss on her cheek.

The pair looked relaxed in each other's company as they perched on a sun lounger.

The two were never coupled up during their time in the villa but they appear to have remained close friends since meeting six months ago in Cape Town.

Olivia left the villa coupled up with Maxwell Samuda, who she met in Casa Amor.

But it wasn't meant to last and the pair decided to go their separate ways just a few weeks after arriving back in the UK.

Casey is also no longer with his Love Island partner after he and Rosie Seabrook became the first couple from the series to split just two weeks after they were dumped from the villa.

He dramatically ended his relationship with Claudia Fogarty to pursue his feelings for Rosie during their stint on the ITV2 series.

Cheeky: The TV personality posed up a storm while holding her wet brunette tresses and angled herself on a paddleboard in the ocean
Amanda Holden has been unveiled as fashion brand Lipsy's oldest ever ambassador in a stunning new shoot.

The TV personality, 52, flew the flag for women in their 50s and put on a very leggy display as she posed in a skimpy black mini skirt.

Amanda curated the collection and looked nothing short of sensational completing her look with a chic cream sweater, blazer and knee high boots.

The BGT judge joins the likes of Michelle Keegan, reality star Chrishell Stause and actress Amy Jackson as face of the high-street brand.

Amanda said: 'I am thrilled to collaborate with Lipsy  we wanted to create a range that celebrates the spirit of the modern woman  confident, empowered, and utterly glamorous'.

Glamour: Amanda Holden has been unveiled as fashion brand Lipsy's oldest ever ambassador in a stunning new shoot

'The pieces in this collection are not only stylish but also versatile, making them perfect for any occasion'.

The range features chic day wear as well as glamorous evening gowns perfect for festive parties.

Earlier this month Amanda once again showcased her incredible figure in a skimpy white bikini while soaking up the sun in France.

The TV personality accessorised with stylish black sunglasses while laying on a pebble beach after jetting off to enjoy her summer holiday.

She penned on Instagram: 'Still squeezing out every drop of summer with my family'

Amanda, husband Chris, Lexi, 17, and Hollie, 11, have been touring the Med during the summer break from school, already enjoying the sights of Pisa and the Italian coast.

The proud mum shared a stunning photo on her Instagram page, showing her and her two girls enjoying a boat trip.

Amanda and her lookalike daughters cuddled up for the sunset cruise, with the TV and radio star dressed for dinner in a metallic dress.

Incredible: Earlier this month Amanda showcased her incredible figure in a skimpy white bikini while soaking up the sun in France

Mini-me: Amanda was enjoying a summer break with her - posing for a stunning sunset Instagram snap with her daughters Lexi, 17, and Hollie, 11

She later shared a snap from The White House restaurant in Kalami, Corfu where the Holden family enjoyed dinner with friends.

Amanda is juggling her long summer break with filming for the second series of her hit BBC show The Italian Job, with her close friend Alan Carr.

After the success of series one, which saw the duo renovate and sell a house in the medieval town of Salemi, Sicily, Amanda and Alan are this time restoring a bargain 'one Euro' house in rural Tuscany.

MailOnline revealed exclusively that the five bedroom house has been purchased for 5million after Amanda and Chris first listed the property in May 2022.

Having initially snapped up the five-bedroom Richmond house in 2015 for 3.5million, the star, 52, has made a 1.5million profit on the property after revamping it in her own style.

Stunning: The TV personality accessorised with stylish black sunglasses while laying on a pebble beach

Work and play: Amanda has been juggling her long summer break with filming for the second series of her hit BBC show The Italian Job, with her close friend Alan Carr

Amanda lived at the house with her family, but it looks increasingly likely that her eldest daughter will take up residence in the US for university, so the star is looking to move on from the family home.

The family also regularly retreat to their beloved Cotswold home at weekends.

After buying the home, Amanda admitted to 'badgering' its former owner to sell it to them for years until they finally relented.

She described the property as her 'forever home' but put it on sale in May 2022 seven years after purchasing it. It was then removed from the market in August 2022 before being relisted in March 2023.

When she put first her house on the market, a source said: 'Amanda loves her family home and is really proud of the work she's done on it.

'She's had a real hand in the makeover and has enjoyed seeing her ideas come to life.

'It will be a sad day when she moves out but Amanda can take comfort in the number of memories she's created there.'

The Amanda Holden x Lipsy 20+ piece collection will be available exclusively on all NEXT sites and in select NEXT stores from September 12th.
Lauren Goodger slipped into a crop top as she hit the gym in Essex on Monday.

The former TOWIE star, 36, has ramped up her fitness regime in recent weeks after admitting she was pining for her old figure 'back'.

And Lauren showed off her hourglass curves as she left her gym after a sweaty workout in skintight black leggings and a beige crop top.

The television personality added a pair of white trainers to her look and carried her essentials in a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Despite the workout, Lauren cut a glamorous figure with her bronzed tan and sleek straight hair.

Stunner: Lauren Goodger showed off her chic sense of style in a crop top and black leggings as she hit the gym in Essex on Monday after pining for her old figure

She offered the cameras a cheeky pose as she turned and showed off her bottom.

Last week, Lauren shared a throwback lingerie snap of herself and cited it as her motivation.

She wrote: 'I need to get her back.'

The television personality is reportedly eyeing up a TV comeback, 13 years after she shot to fame on The Only Way Is Essex.

'Both shows have big audiences and cult followings. It would mark a big TV comeback for Lauren,' a source told new! Magazine.

'She feels she is in a good place and is ready to take on different challenges after a difficult year, Lauren isn't the same person people saw on TOWIE - she's now a mum and has changed a lot.

'It's really obvious to producers that she's in a completely different stage of her life and she's looking forward to showing a new Lauren. A woman who had different priorities than she did in her twenties.'

MailOnline contacted Lauren's representatives for comment at the time.

Ready to go: Lauren showed off her hourglass curves as she left her gym after a sweaty workout in skintight black leggings and a beige crop top

Pining: The former TOWIE star, 36, has ramped up her fitness regime in recent weeks after admitting she was pining for her old figure 'back' last week in a throwback lingerie snap

Lauren is focusing on herself and her daughter Larose, two, after a difficult year.

Last month, the reality star's ex Charles Drury denied assaulting her. He is accused of carrying out the attack the day after they buried their second daughter Lorena last year.

Lorena died shortly after her birth in July 2022 after her umbilical cord knotted twice around her neck.

Charles is charged with inflicting actual bodily harm on Lauren on August 4, 2022, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

The 26-year-old is also charged with engaging in 'controlling or coercive behaviour' against the 36-year-old between August 1, 2020 and August 5, 2022.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges during a brief preliminary hearing at the court in the east London borough of Redbridge on Tuesday.

While 'personally connected' to her, the indictment claims he 'engaged in behaviour towards Lauren that was controlling or coercive which had a serious effect' on her.

It alleges he 'caused Lauren Goodger to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against' her, 'at a time when he knew or ought to have known that the behaviour' would have a 'serious effect' on her.

Struggle: The reality star shares daughter Larose, two, with ex-boyfriend Charles (pictured in November last year)

Ex: Last month, the reality star's ex Charles Drury denied assaulting Lauren (Charles is pictured outside court)

The second charge states that he 'assaulted Lauren Goodger thereby occasioning her actual bodily harm' on August 4 2022.

It was the day after the couple buried their daughter Lorena.

In court, Charles spoke to confirm his name and enter his pleas.

Judge Oscar Del Fabbro adjourned the case ahead of a further pre-trial hearing at the same court on February 12 2024, followed by a trial, listed for five days, starting on March 18 2024.

He released Drury on unconditional bail.
Married At First Sight Australia star Jules Robinson has revealed she filmed the entire series in 'uncomfortable' shapewear that left her struggling to go to the toilet.

The reality star, 41, is set to launch her inclusive FIGUR shapewear range in the UK for the first time, and in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, explained that it was own unpleasant experience that inspired her to create the collection.

Jules, who married Cameron Merchant on the show back in 2019, explained she would hold up filming while using the toilet as it took so long to remove her shapewear and dress.

She added that her own shapewear brand, which she originally launched in Australia back in 2020, caters to all shapes and sizes, and most importantly, can be easily removed for toilet breaks.

She explained: 'When I was on Married At First Sight I wore shapewear for three months, and I was so uncomfortable, and it was constantly rolling down or rolling up.

Oh dear! Married At First Sight Australia star Jules Robinson has revealed she filmed the entire series in 'uncomfortable' shapewear that left her struggling to go to the toilet

Glam: The reality star, who married Cameron Merchant on the show in 2019, explained she would hold up filming while using the toilet as it took so long to remove her shapewear

'And then coming off the show and having such a lovely response from the female viewers about the way that I dressed and my confidence.... they were saying things like ''I have a body like yours and then I want to dress like you.''

Jules added that she did face body-shaming trolls during her time on the show, but decided to use her experience to 'make something that feels great.'

'So that's really where, it wasn't a planned thing, It was literally the lightbulb moment where I just look like I'm gonna make shapewear I want to make, the best pair of shapewear,' she said.

'So I have made a FIGUR that you can go to the toilet and leave it on. They were one one of the main things was that I'd be at the dinner parties and go to the toilet, and I'd be gone just so long because I've got to have my dress on the floor, I'd have my shapewear on the floor and I'd be holding my microphone, tucked in my hair, completely naked!'

'This is not a seamless way of going to the toilet, especially if you're wearing a nice dress, you don't want to take it off and put it on the floor and obviously, being on set, they're like, ''come on you're taking so long''.

'So I resolved all those issues and the shapewear doesn't roll up or down, and you can go the toilet in it and it's super comfortable.'

Jules went onto tell MailOnline that she was caught off-guard by the 'mind-blowing' trolling she faced while on MAFS, and has had to grow a 'thick skin' to overcome it.

She continued: 'It's not pretty, it's mind-blowing really, like what you get from other people, and nothing can really prepare you for that kind of aspect of the dark side of going on television.

Sensational! Jules is set to launch her FIGUR shapewear range in the UK for the first time, and explained that it was her own unpleasant experience that inspired her to create the collection

Proud: She explained: 'When I was on Married At First Sight I wore shapewear for three months, and I was so uncomfortable, and it was constantly rolling down or rolling up'

'So that's come with a lot of self-care and just learning to deal with that, you know all the rookie mistakes and stuff in that world? You read comments and you read things like that, which is not smart.

'When people come to me and say ''I'm going on there, can you give me some advice,'' and I'm like, ''I know it's really hard, but don't read comments.''

'If it's out of sight, it's out of mind it doesn't matter, but you know that just comes with time and now you just don't see those things anymore because we choose not to.

'So that's a really hard aspect of it, but it's unfortunately something that you've got to have a thick skin and go ''I like me and I'm happy with me and words don't really matter.''

Jules explained that her FIGUR shapewear range caters for sizes from 6 to 24, and alongside its UK launch, she's unveiled an ambassador programme featuring an array of women modelling the collection.

Despite the progress in body diversity in fashion in recent years, Jules told MailOnline that there is still more to be made.

She said: 'I think so much, even in the last five years where there's so much more diversity in advertising and to me that was why I thought to myself, if women are seeing themselves in me like a lot of my comments are like ''it's so great seeing a curvy woman.'''

'I feel like you're really representing. I guess I was a little bit older than most people on reality television and I thought, well, if most people see themselves in me.

'I want people to see themselves in reflection too. And feel inspired by these other women.

Progress: Jules explained that her FIGUR shapewear range caters for sizes from 6 to 24, and alongside its UK launch, she's unveiled an ambassador programme

Advocate: Despite the progress in body diversity in fashion in recent years, Jules told MailOnline that there is still more to be made

Tough: She said that she did face body-shaming trolls during her time on the show, but decided to use her experience to 'make something that feels great'

'So that's why with my campaigns, I always use all different ages, shapes and sizes, my oldest ambassador is 78 years old. And my youngest is about 25.

'So to me it was like this. someone sitting at home and they feel like they don't see themselves in advertising, and they know that's not gonna fit, that doesn't feel nice because all they really want is to feel seen, heard and represented. So that's where my thought process was doing that.

'But I definitely think it is changing, in regards to fashion though, it's not exactly really there, and there are a lot of big labels they will have all-wear inclusive, but you go into the store and they only have up to size 14-16, anything above is only online and so there's not enough stock of that to put into all those.

'So it's getting there, but it's still not 100% the size inclusive for all things, I know myself, the reason I need more is because going to shops and I couldn't find anything that fitted me and I walk away feeling so upset.

'You know when you're going out and you wanna find somebody around. You're like, there's nothing that suits my body like that. It's just such a horrible feeling.

'So I think it's definitely changing. And that's because of online influencers and you know anyone can be a model. It's how you work it and having that confidence.'

Jules said she's had a hugely positive reaction to her range in Australia, and hopes to have a similar support from British fans.

She and Cam were first married on MAFS' 2019 series, which became a runway hit when it aired in the UK during the 2021 Covid lockdown.

While many of the couples failed to make to the final vows, their romance has stood the test of time, and they are proud parents to son Oliver.

Jules has relocated to the UK to launch her new FIGUR range, and shared her plans to unveil the collection with a classic London bus touring the capital.

Mr and Mrs! She and Cam were first married on MAFS' 2019 series, which became a runway hit when it aired in the UK during the 2021 Covid lockdown

Happier than ever! Jules and Cam's relationship is still going strong four years after being matched up by the MAFS experts, and they're proud parents to son Oliver

The reality star has been juggling launching the range with raising her son Oliver, who turns three in October, and admitted she's been navigating the so-called 'terrible twos.'

She said: 'He was just the chilledest child, so chilled and then something happens like a magic wand and they just change. Yeah, he's feisty. He's got a lot of energy and a lot of fun but definitely you just got to try everywhere.

'Cam and I listen to audios... and I just navigate our way through this time. You know, they go nought to 100, but to be fair, he's been amazing.

'He's adjusted so well with all the travelling and the time zones and he's been a proper little trooper. So yeah, no, he's great. He's a good boy.'

Jules also shared her hopes that she and Cam could have another child in the future, after revealing they would consider IVF to expand their family.

She added: 'Yeah, I think that if it doesn't happen naturally, it's definitely something that we can look into the future. We really want that to happen for us, so we're prepared to do what we have to do.'

Jules is launching her range in the UK with a pre-order discount, available at myfigur.com.
EastEnders fans are convinced that it will be Ian Beale who dies this Christmas ahead of the festive murder plot and epic whodunnit.

Ian - portrayed by Adam Woodyatt - is set to make a huge return to the BBC soap this week, as he arrives in Walford alongside his wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).

Cindy made a shocking return from the dead after 26 years last month, as she was revealed to be living in France with ex-husband Ian Beale and son Peter.

It later transpired that Cindy had spent the last two decadewsyears living in witness protection and was given the alias Rose Knight, and she is yet to return to Walford.

In a further twist, she was revealed to be the absent wife of Queen Vic landlord George Knight (Colin Salmon), and mother to their two daughters Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford).

Theory: EastEnders fans are convinced that it will be Ian Beale who dies this Christmas ahead of the festive murder plot and epic whodunnit

Since then, fans have been theorising who the dead body is on the floor of the Queen Vic on Christmas day.

Taking to Twitter, some viewers expressed their view that it could be Ian.

One said: 'What if the suit of armour in the flash forward represents... Cindy (AKA Rose Knight) and the body is Ian? It's my back-up theory anyway.'

Another wrote: 'It's going to be IAN on the floor at Christmas with the #cufflinks after an accidental hit or a heart attack.

'I also reckon he walks Sharon down the aisle. @bbceastenders #IanBeale.'

A third penned: 'Could you imagine if it was Ian killed at Christmas.'

A fourth commented: 'Ian is the dead body at Christmas I just feel it in my bones.'

The BBC soap made history in an episode back in February when they teased a flash forward of a Christmas murder.

Shock: The BBC soap made history in an episode back in February when they teased a flash forward of a Christmas murder

Return: Ian - portrayed by Adam Woodyatt - is set to make a huge return to the BBC soap this week, as he arrives in Walford alongside his wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins)

Drama: In a further twist, she was revealed to be the absent wife of Queen Vic landlord George Knight (Colin Salmon), and mother to their two daughters Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford)

Target? Since then, fans have been theorising who the dead body is on the floor of the Queen Vic on Christmas day

In the shocking scenes, Denise (Diane Parish), Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), Linda (Kellie Bright), Sharon (Letitia Dean), Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Suki (Balvinder Sopal) were seen surrounding a dead body, but the identity of the corpse and the killer were kept secret.

Viewers will still have to wait nearly five more months to see exactly what unfolds on the Christmas Day episode, with each woman and the men in their lives set to undergo dramatic storylines that will explain the night's drama.

Meanwhile, this weekm Cindy heads to Albert Square in search of Kathy.

Desperate to not be seen, Cindy has to avoid those who knew her from many years ago.

With no luck in the cafe, Cindy heads to No.45 to face the music and its not long before all hell breaks loose between the women.

Later, Ian arrives desperate to get Cindy away, but she is stopped in her tracks by George, who has just exited The Vic.

After a shock visit from Cindy, Kathy is stunned to learn that Peter is back in Walford. Later, Peter and Kathy have a heart-to-heart.

Peter heads to see his dad and soon realises the real reason his dad didnt want Cindy to return to the Square.
Kelly Brook cut a summer figure in a pink floral minidress as she arrived at the Global Radio Studios in London on Tuesday morning ahead of her radio show.

The model, 43, looked incredible in the short sleeved garment which boasted a flattering V-neckline and cinched her in at the waist.

She kept comfortable in a pair of brown flat sliders and toted her belongings around in a stylish round black Gucci handbag.

Kelly pulled her long brunette tresses back in a blue scrunchie and accessorised with a simple pair of small gold earrings.

The radio presenter looked rather serious while chatting away on the phone as she arrived for her show.

Stunning: Kelly Brook cut a summer figure in a pink floral minidress as she arrived at the Global Radio Studios in London on Tuesday morning

Stylish: The model, 43, looked incredible in the short sleeved garment which boasted a flattering V-neckline and cinched her in at the waist

The outing comes after Kelly made a very cheeky quip about her husband Jeremy Parisi needing to be 'contained' in bed as she opened up about their sleeping arrangements.

The actress, married her long-term boyfriend in a romantic ceremony in his native Italy last year - eight years after meeting.

Speaking on her Heart Drive radio show with co-star Jason 'JK' King earlier this year, Kelly discussed a recent survey that suggests marriages last longer when a couple sleep in the nude, and the star couldn't help but lift the lid on her husband's preferences in the bedroom.

While she claims that the secret to her happy marriage to the hunk is down to the fact that she loves to sleep in the nude.

When JK asked her: 'Do you want a happy marriage, do you?', Kelly responded: 'Yes, of course'.

She added of the survey's findings: 'I think I do have a happy marriage and I think the reason is, I sleep in the nude.

'Thats what it says, if you dont wear pyjamas, youre gonna have a happy marriage, "Those who wear nothing in bed are happier in their relationships", its a stat and its a fact!'

When JK then quizzed if she really strips off to her birthday suit at night, Kelly was quick to clarify that she wears 'zilch' in bed.

Chic: She kept comfortable in a pair of brown flat sliders and toted her belongings around in a stylish round black Gucci handbag

Summery: The radio presenter looked rather serious while chatting away on the phone as she arrived for her show

Stating he was in fact the opposite, JK said: 'Ive gotta be contained', to which Kelly then shared her husband's sleeping habits.

'Jeremys the same, he has to be contained!' she giggled.

The stunner then went on to spill the beans about her husband's recent back X-ray, which JK joked he couldn't 'unsee', with Kelly sharing a racy hint about her beau.

She said: 'Jeremy had an X-ray, lets put it this way, when the doctor put it up on that light box no-one was looking at his back'.

The former Big Breakfast host then shared she often gets sleepwear sent to her by brands, admitting she sometimes doesn't know what to do with it.

She shared: 'I know, sometimes companies are really kind and they send me things in the post and sometimes I get sent nighties/ I got sent one  I didnt know what to do with it!'

JK concluded the chat by stating: 'So, we should have happier marriages in this sort of weather, in summer, cause were not wearing anything anyway so are we naturally happier because were not wearing anything.'

With Kelly agreeing: 'I know, its a shame. I dont know why we cover up so much, I feel like we should be more free, dont you, we should have a Come To Work Naked for a day?'
Guy Pearce sadly announced his mother, Anne Cocking passed away on Monday night following a long battle with Alzheimer's.

The Neighbours actor, 55, posted the sad news on Twitter alongside a gallery of snaps of his mother as he revealed his heartbreak.

He described Anne as being 'sharp, fierce and witty' before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's 13 years ago and penned: 'Lost my beautiful Mum today.

'"Kicked the bucket" as she would say. What a sharp, fierce & witty woman Anne was, until Alzheimer's struck in 2010.

'It's been a long & winding road. A fitting song 4 ur departure Mum. Tracy & I will miss u enormously. We'll always love u XX.'

Devastated: Neighbours star Guy Pearce, (centre) has paid tribute to his mother Anne, (left). after she passed away on Monday following a long battle with Alzheimer's (pictured with his sister Tracey, right)

We'll always love you': The actor, 55, announced the sad news on Twitter on Monday - pictured in 2022

Several fans and celebrity pals took to the comments to offer their condolences and their support to the star.

Anne was an English schoolteacher who was widowed in 1975 after her RAF test pilot husband Stuart Pearce died in an aircraft accident.

Guy, who was only eight-years-old when his father tragically died, has previously opened up about his close bond with his mother, Anne.

Speaking to The Times in November 2022, Guy explained that he helped his mum raise his older sister, Tracy, who was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome  a rare genetic disorder present from birth which results in physical, cognitive, and medical challenges.

He said: 'A big part of why I never wanted to have children was because I helped raise my sister  I have a sister with an intellectual disability  so I felt like I'd done my parenting.

'For a long time, I definitely knew I was never going to have kids. It was quite definite.'

Heartbroken: The Neighbours star (left) shared a gallery of snaps of his mother (right) and sister Tracey (center) as he described Anne as being 'sharp, fierce and witty' before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's 13 years ago

'We will miss you enormously': Anne was an English schoolteacher who was widowed in 1975 after her RAF test pilot husband Stuart Pearce died in an aircraft accident

He penned: 'Lost my beautiful Mum today. "Kicked the bucket" as she would say. What a sharp, fierce & witty woman Anne was, until Alzheimer's struck in 2010. It's been a long & winding road. A fitting song 4 ur departure Mum. Tracy & I will miss u enormously. We'll always love u XX.'

In 2016, Guy welcomed his son Monte with Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten.

Despite Guy having fond memories of his mother, he has also previously spoken about her struggles with Alzheimer's.

In 2017, he shared a childhood photo alongside Anne, as well as some prose to Twitter.

He penned: 'A wonderful piece of writing my beautiful Mother gave me many years ago. Sadly her Alzheimer's means she doesn't know me anymore. However, I know I'll carry her wisdom with me forever.....'

Before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Anne was a keen supporter of her son's acting career that saw him rise to fame on the hit Aussie soap opera Neighbours.

He played Mike Young in the Australian soap before leaving in 1989, when he went on to carve a successful career in Hollywood.

Reflecting on his own childhood, Guy has also credited Anne with helping to inspire his love of acting.

In 2009, he told MailOnline: 'I loved going to the theatre with my mum. I was completely awestruck that the actors could have such an effect on the audience and make them think that they were smart and funny. I decided to start doing that myself.'

Neighbours will return to screens in September after being saved by Amazon Freevee - and Guy will be gracing Ramsay Street again.
Mayor Adams, on his second day in Israel, pointed to the countrys policies of granting work authorizations to new immigrants on Tuesday as an example of what President Biden should be doing when it comes to the migrant crisis in the U.S., now acutely felt in New York City.

Adams, whos traveling in Israel until Wednesday, said during a call with reporters that addressing the situation stateside comes down to the right to work  something youve heard me say over and over again in New York.

That is our pathway forward in America, he said. I was here [in Israel] a few years ago, and I saw the influx of refugees from Ethiopia, and now Im seeing the result of their ability to work and their ability to incorporate themselves into society  I believe that should be a symbol to our country, and Im hoping the White House does see the importance of allowing people the right to work.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams visits Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, where he laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance, on the second day of a 3-day visit to Israel on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

According to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, there are now about 30,000 asylum seekers in Israel, many of them from Sudan and Eritrea in Africa. Adams didnt cite any specific Israeli immigration laws in his remarks Tuesday, and a spokesman did not immediately respond to questions on the topic.

The mayors latest remarks on New York Citys migrant situation came the same day Siena College released a poll showing that 46% of surveyed voters view migrants settling in New York as a burden not a benefit, and that 82% view the recent influx of migrants as a serious problem.

According to the poll, 58% of voters said New Yorkers have done enough to ameliorate the situation for migrants and should now work to slow the flow, rather than accepting more migrants and working to assimilate them. The poll also shows that 51% of voters disapprove of the way Gov. Hochul is handling the situation, while 47% dont approve of Adams handling of it.

For months, Adams has called on President Bidens administration to expedite work permits for migrants in order for them to become independent of government aid more quickly. But Biden hasnt budged on the issue, which is politically fraught  especially in the run-up to the next presidential election.

Immigrants leave the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 8th Ave. for a city run processing center on a MTA bus Saturday, May, 13, 2023 in Manhattan, New York.

According to Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg, the most recent data in New York shows the issue largely breaks down along political party lines.

A plurality of Democrats says that migrants resettling in New York over the last two decades has been a benefit. But, a majority of independents and two-thirds of Republicans say that migrant resettlement has been a burden to the state, he said. More than three-quarters of Republicans and 60% of independents say New Yorkers have done enough and must now slow the flow of migrants to the state, rather than accept and help assimilate them into New York, while Democrats are evenly divided.

Since April 2022, a little over 100,000 migrants have come to the city, and about 60,000 of them remain in the citys care.

To secure the permits in the U.S., migrants must first formally apply for asylum. On Monday, Gov. Hochul announced shed commit $20 million to help facilitate migrants completing that process. That funding comes in addition to $1.5 billion already committed by the state.

Governor Kathy Hochul

Adams is at loggerheads with Hochul in state court over the migrant crisis, but has been careful not to criticize her publicly. On Tuesday, he praised her for the latest cash outlay.

Were going to continue to do what we have to do to prepare the right documentation, he said. I was happy to hear were getting $20 million in additional dollars from the governor, who is going to help us in preparation of the documents that currently the migrant asylum seekers need.

Adams did not however comment on the recent polling numbers. And a spokesman did not immediately respond to an email asking about it.
Leni Klum looked incredible as she soaked up the sun with her boyfriend Aris Rachevsky on a romantic getaway in Italy on Sunday.

The model, 19, topped up her tan as she sported a black two-piece with thong bikini bottoms as she enjoyed a fun-filled day on the beach with her boyfriend.

She shielded her eyes with a pair of black sunglasses as she was seen frolicking in the sea on a bright pink inflatable as she kicked back and relaxed.

The daughter of Heidi Klum appeared in jovial spirits as she was seen laughing and joking with her boyfriend Aris during their beach day.

The couple, who are said to have been dating for three years, appeared as close as ever as they packed on the PDA in the sea.

Wow! Leni Klum looked incredible as she soaked up the sun with her boyfriend Aris Rachevsky on a romantic getaway in Italy on Sunday

Close: The model, 19, appeared as close as ever as they packed on the PDA in the sea

Stunning: The model, 19, topped up her tan as she sported a black two-piece with thong bikini bottoms as she enjoyed a fun-filled day on the beach with her boyfriend

They were seen sharing a hug and a kiss as they enjoyed the quality time together during their balmy holiday.

Aris opted to go shirtless in blue board shorts, which he styled with a silver chain necklace, for their latest outing.

Although Aris and Leni are said to have been dating for three years, they are assiduously private and he rarely appears on her Instagram.

Aris, who is reportedly enrolled at Harvard, is the son of Los Angeles talent agent Rhea Rachevsky, according to W magazine.

The couple have been soaking up the sun on a luxury yacht in the south of France in recent days, before heading across to Italy.

Leni has embarked on a modeling career over the past few years. She made her debut in 2020, when she appeared alongside her mother on the cover of Vogue Germany at the age of 16.

She has since appeared in promotional campaigns for various brands, including Dior Beauty, Fila and Intimissi, among others.

Having a great time! She was seen frolicking in the sea on a bright pink inflatable as she kicked back and relaxed

Cosy: She shielded her eyes with a pair of black sunglasses as she shared a hug with her boyfriend

Cuddles: Leni was seen cosying up to Aris as they shared an embrace while relaxing on a deckchair

All smiles: The daughter of Heidi Klum appeared in jovial spirits as she was seen laughing and joking with her boyfriend Aris during their beach day

Packing on the PDA: The couple, who are said to have been dating for three years, appeared closer than ever during the outing

Balmy: Leni cooled off with a dip in the ocean and was seen pushing an inflatable out to relax on

Beachwear: Her black bikini featured thong bottoms and she was seen topping up her tan on the beach

Kicking back: Leni appeared to be having a great time as she splashed around in the sea

Quick dip: The model was seen trying to hop on her inflatable to relax in the sea during the outing

Holding hands: Leni and Aris were seen sweetly walking hand-in-hand as they wadded into the sea

Beach ready: Aris, who is the son of Los Angeles talent agent Rhea Rachevsky, opted to go shirtless in blue board shorts

Sweet: They appeared as close as ever as they enjoyed a swim in the sea together

Cooling off: Leni was seen heading to dry off after enjoying a swim in the sea, with her dampened locks falling down her back

Sun-kissed: The model, who is following in her mother's footsteps, was seen smiling and laughing

Beach day: The couple made the most of their beach day as they soaked up the rays

Vibrant: Leni opted for a very bright pink inflatable to relax on in the sea

Glitzy: Leni accessorised her look with a silver bangle as she enjoyed a dip in the sea

Quality time: Aris was seen smiling as the couple enjoyed their quality time together

Catching up: Leni was seen chatting to the group as they relaxed on the beach

The fashion industry personality's mother previously spoke to People and voiced her approval of her child's career choice.

Heidi told the media outlet that 'I'm very proud of my daughter and her modeling' during her sit-down with the publication.

Leni's stepfather Seal has also expressed his support for his stepdaughter and recently told E! News that he was 'so proud of everything that Leni has done.'

The media figure spoke about her first modeling gig during an interview with People, where she discussed her introduction to the fashion world.

'I've always gone to work with my mom and thought, "This looks so fun. She looks so happy while she's working,"' she said.

Low-key: Although Aris and Leni are said to have been dating for three years, they are assiduously private and he rarely appears on her Instagram

Summer vibes: Leni was seen in a post on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday donning a white bikini and black sunglasses

Luxe life: The second-generation model, who has more than 1.8 million Instagram followers, was seen relaxed on a moving yacht on the weekday

Details: The young model had her blonde locks tied back and wore a bracelet and earrings on the outing

Speaking out: Leni's mom Heidi took to Instagram Stories Tuesday to deny reports that she only consumes 900 calories a day

Rebuttal: The AGT personality said, 'Don't believe everything that you read - I don't count my calories'

Denial: Klum said that details of the circulating stories about her weight were not accurate

Leni then spoke about her time on set with her mother and told the media outlet that she thoroughly enjoyed her time in front of the cameras.

'It was just such a good day. I wasn't nervous at all. I was just so excited,' she recalled.

The social media personality also expressed that she was happy to have her mother with her during her modeling debut.

'My mom and I are just completely comfortable around each other and we were dancing around the whole day,' she said.

Leni was seen in a post to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday donning a white bikini and black sunglasses.

The second-generation model, who has more than 1.8 million Instagram followers, was seen relaxed on a moving yacht on the weekday. She had her blonde locks tied back and wore a bracelet and earrings on the outing.

Leni's mom Heidi took to Instagram Stories Tuesday to deny reports that she only consumes 900 calories a day, saying, 'Don't believe everything that you read - I don't count my calories.

Klum said that details of the circulating stories about her weight were not accurate.
Charlize Theron is saying no to any future extreme body transformations to help her get into character.

The 48-year-old Academy Award winner shared in a recent interview with Allure that she would no longer be willing to gain a significant amount of weight for a film role.

She explained that it had simply become too difficult to lose the extra weight at her age, even though she was once able to shed dozens of pounds in a short period of time when she was in her 20s.

However, when she tried to slim down to her usual size after finishing up Jason Reitman's critically acclaimed 2018 dramedy Tully, she found that it was no longer so easy to shed the 40 pounds she had put on for the role of a woman who had recently given birth.

In the same interview, Charlize also denied having had a facelift and instead attributed her changing face to simple aging.

Turning it down: Charlize Theron, 48, told Allure in a recent interview that she was no longer will to gain significant weight for a film role; seen May 12 in Rome

Slowing metabolism: 'I will never do it again because you cant take it off,' she explained, citing her 2018 film Tully (pictured) as a particularly hard experience to move on from

'I will never, ever do a movie again and say, "Yeah, Ill gain 40 pounds,"' Charlize declared, referencing Tully.

'I will never do it again because you cant take it off,' she explained.

'When I was 27, I did Monster,' she continued, referring to her 2003 film in which she won an Oscar for playing the serial killer Aileen Wuornos. 'I lost 30 pounds, like, overnight. I missed three meals and I was back to my normal weight.'

But things weren't so simple when she took a similar approach to play a woman who has just given birth to her third child in Tully, which saw her collaborating with director Jason Reitman again following their acclaimed 2011 film Young Adult.

It was much more than an 'overnight' process for her to shed the weight she initially put on.

'Then I did it at 43 for Tully, and I remember a year into trying to lose the weight, I called my doctor and I said, "I think Im dying because I cannot lose this weight,"' she recalled.

'And he was like, "Youre over 40. Calm down. Your metabolism is not what it was,"' she continued. 'Nobody wants to hear that.'

She added that, even in a culture that is more accepting of weight gain and differently shaped bodies, it was still 'hard' to feel like she couldn't get rid of the extra weight.

However, she was able to look back on her Tully ordeal and laugh, as she said it was 'so funny' whenever she had to do red carpet events after putting on weight for a role.

She gave special praise to her stylist Leslie Fremar for finding the ideal outfits for her temporarily curvier figure.

'I call her and say, "Im doing this movie about postpartum depression and Ive gained like 40 pounds." And shes like, "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! How am I gonna dress you?"'

Theron explained that: 'Its not something that you can just figure out last minute.'

'When I was 27, I did Monster,' she continued, referring to her 2003 film (pictured) in which she won an Oscar for playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos. 'I lost 30 pounds, like, overnight. I missed three meals and I was back to my normal weight'

Harder to lose: Then, when she played a recent mother of three in 2018's Tully, she still hadn't lost the 40 pounds she gained even a year after wrapping. Her doctor tried to calm her down and explained that her metabolism had slowed in her 40s; still from Monster

As chic as ever: She credited stylist Leslie Fremar for finding stylish outfits that worked with her extra weight, which included 'a lot of blazers over open backs'; seen in February in Paris

Ultimately, Fremar was able to find 'a lot of blazers over open backs' for the Bombshell actress.

Elsewhere in her Allure interview, Charlize complained about filming action movies. Although she didn't have a problem with the genre, she found it frustrating that if she hurt herself, she takes 'way longer to heal than' in her 20s.

Age was also an issue when she revealed that people sometimes complain that they think her slim face is the result of a face lift.

'"What did she do to her face?"' she recalled fans saying. 'Im like, "B***, Im just aging! It doesnt mean I got bad plastic surgery. This is just what happens.'
Laura Anderson and Gary Lucy have reportedly reunited and have spent a weekend together at a luxury hotel in Scotland as they prepare to welcome their child.

The Love Island star, 34, and the Hollyoaks actor, 41, confirmed they had split shortly after they announced that they were expecting their first child together in February.

They had a bitter split which saw them take aim at each other in scathing posts, and it was claimed Gary shared the news of their child's gender without asking Laura.

However, it has now been claimed that the pair have reunited and appear to have patched things up with a trip to the 800-a-night Gleneagles hotel.

Despite it appearing like they may have rekindled things, Gary's representatives confirmed that they are just spending time together ahead of the birth.

Back on? Laura Anderson and Gary Lucy have reportedly got back together and have spent the weekend at a luxury hotel in Scotland

They confirmed to MailOnline: 'They are not back together its just close to the birth.'

It comes after a source told The Sun: 'He flew up to Scotland to see Laura and they were spotted together at Glasgow airport.

'Then the next week, they went to Gleneagles, the luxury hotel, together.'

Laura, who is currently eight months pregnant, posted a snap of herself in a dressing gown as she posed with her dog Buddy on the lavish grounds of the hotel, but Gary was nowhere to be seen.

However, some fans took to the comments section to claim that they had also seen Gary at the venue as they asked whether the pair had reconciled.

One fan asked: 'Omg I saw Gary there are you guys back together?'

Laura's representatives declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

The pair are preparing to welcome their first child together - a baby daughter - in a matter of weeks as Laura counts down until her due date.

Their reunion appears to be a huge turnaround for the couple after Laura shut down rumours of a reconciliation between herself and Gary.

Back in February, Laura insisted they were 'definitely not' on good terms just weeks after news of their break-up emerged.

Lavish trip: Laura, who is eight months pregnant, posted a snap of herself in a dressing gown as she posed with her dog Buddy at Gleneagles, hotel but Gary was nowhere to be seen

Together? However, some fans took to the comments section to claim that they had also seen Gary at the venue as they asked whether the pair had reconciled

When curious fan asked her during a Q&A: 'Is there any chance that you and Gary can get back together?'.

Laura simply replied: 'No', before saying she 'hopes once baby is here' that she and Gary could co-parent successfully.

The couple split shortly after they announced their pregnancy in February and said they were determined to keep things civil for the sake of their child.

Just weeks later, Laura was said to be 'shocked and upset' after Gary revealed the gender of their baby after sharing an ultrasound photo.He shared a photo of a recent scan to his Instagram Story, and a graphic that read: 'Daddy's girl.'

However, it appears Gary didn't check with Laura if she was alright with him announcing the baby's gender to their legions of social media followers.

A source told MailOnline: 'Gary announced the gender news without checking it was ok with Laura.

'She's extremely shocked and upset by this and was hoping to do something special for it later this year.'

Since their bitter split, the couple have taken swipes at each other on social media, with Laura recently sharing a cryptic post on Instagram.

Split: The Love Island star, 34, and the Hollyoaks actor, 41, confirmed they had split shortly after they announced that they were expecting their first child together in February

Not on good terms: Their reunion appears to be a huge turnaround for the couple after Laura shut down rumours of a reconciliation between herself and Gary

In a post that appeared to be aimed at Gary, she wrote: 'I'd say the best thing I have learned this year is to just let people be who they naturally are.'

'No psychoanalyzing them, no overthinking my actions, no asking what I could possibly do to keep them in my life.'

'How that person responds is ultimately up to them. If that causes them to exit my life, I just let it happen. I will never be in the business of changing people.'

Captioning the post, Laura wrote: 'Great plan'.

She also appeared to reference their ongoing drama with a post referencing how to treat women.

The quote read: 'A woman becomes a reflection of how you treat her. If you don't like how she's acting look at how you are treating her.'

Meanwhile, Laura recently claimed that Gary was still in 'two minds' about attending the birth of their child.

Laura told OK!: 'He's currently in two minds [about attending birth] so I've asked my mum as well, as you are allowed two birthing partners.'

Exes: The pair met on the famous TV show Celeb's Go Dating in October last year but split in February 2023

'There are a lot of emotions going around for everyone, so it's difficult. Being able to be civil from now until the birth and then after is the goal.'

The pair met on the famous TV show Celeb's Go Dating in October last year but split in February 2023.

Following a whirlwind romance, the couple announced that they were expecting a child together, but news emerged of the split shortly after.

Gary alleged that the reason the couple had gone their separate ways was due to the fact he wouldn't move to her native Scotland as he has four kids with his ex-wife Natasha Gray - something which Laura denied.
Dame Helen Mirren has admitted criticism of her decision to play late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir is 'legitimate' after Bradley Cooper faced similar backlash for his portrayal of Jewish composer Leonard Bernstein.

The British actress, 78, - who features in a glamorous new cover-shoot for the fall-winter edition of Dujour magazine - plays the late Golda Meir, to date Israel's only female Prime Minister, in director Guy Nattiv's forthcoming biopic.

And Mirren says playing the leader despite having no off-screen connections to Judaism has been met with 'utterly legitimate' criticism from those who believe the role should have been passed to a Jewish actress.

Her remarks follow a mixed response to non-Jewish actor Cooper playing the legendary Bernstein, complete with large prosthetic nose, in forthcoming biopic Maestro - a film he also directs.

She told the Daily Mail: 'It was certainly a question that I had, before I accepted the role. I said, "Look Guy, Im not Jewish, and if you want to think about that, and decide to go in a different directionI will absolutely understand."'

Opening up: Dame Helen Mirren has discussed her new role as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and the inevitable backlash she has suffered for portraying the political leader despite not being Jewish

Controversial: Mirren has been subjected to a torrent of abuse for appearing as Israels only female leader in forthcoming biopic Golda (pictured in the film)

Let's talk: Mirren spoke to the Daily Mail about her latest role while taking part in a glamorous new cover shoot for the fall-winter edition of Dujour magazine

The film follows Meir during the 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973 - five years before she died of lung cancer, aged 80.

And Mirren's involvement gives her another opportunity to play a prominent female leader having previously portrayed British monarchs Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II.

'Its an incredible challenge to play someone who was alive and well known.' she said.

'Women in positions of great power are rare in history. Theres not many of them. I think they have to be twice as good as any manor even 10 times. Its absolute, total commitment.

'Golda had it. Catherine the Great had it. Elizabeth I had it. Elizabeth II did, too. Theres no casualness about their approach.'

Mirren went through two to three hours of preparation a day to physically transform into the chain-smoking Meir as a 75-year old.

'Ive never done anything like that before,' she said. 'It was an adventure. I got so used to being that person in the daytime that when the makeup all came off and I saw myself as I am, Id forgotten that was what I looked like.

'Its that acting thingam I becoming her or is she becoming me? Theres a picture the crew made of me and Golda, and were in identical outfits. Shes turning to me and saying something, and Im looking forward with a cigarette. Its really powerful.'

Candid: Mirren admits playing the leader despite having no off-screen connections to the religion has been met with 'utterly legitimate' criticism

Backlash: Bradley Cooper suffered similar criticism for wearing a prosthetic nose while playing Jewish composer Leonard Bernstein in new film Maestro

Concern: : 'It was certainly a question that I had, before I accepted the role,' she said of her involvement in the new film

Shady: The actress strikes a pose in one of several shots taken for the latest edition of Dujour

High glamour: Mirren features as cover star for Dujour magazine

One Twitter user, who said they were Palestinian and proud, wrote: How sick making a biopic on criminal Golda Meir and yes no surprise Helen Mirren the racist is happy to portray the pure distorted version of a disgusting individual.

Another wrote: Helen Mirren doing a film about the first female prime minister of Israel is a slap in the face to all the people of Palestine, they are literally celebrating taking over Palestine and taking families out of their homes, murdering children, families! Tasteless film!

One social-media user said it was hugely disappointing that Helen Mirren is volunteering for this role, while another wrote: More fascism to show how wonderful Israel is.

Honour: 'Its an incredible challenge to play someone who was alive and well known.' she said of her latest role

Born in Ukraine in 1898 before moving to the US as a child, Meir made history in 1969 as Israels first female prime minister.

She soon provoked international controversy, saying: There were no such thing as Palestinians.

Meir faced huge criticism in Israel for failing to adequately prepare for the threat of war, despite receiving word that Syrian forces were gathering for an attack.

Following the backlash for her handling of the war, Meir announced her resignation in 1974. She died in 1978 aged 80.

Dame Helen has faced criticism in the past for saying that she was a believer in Israel and that she rejected calls to boycott the country.

The film also stars Call My Agent! actress Camille Cottin as Meirs personal assistant and Israeli Lior Ashkenazi as her chief of staff.

Painstaking process: Mirren says she went through two to three hours of preparation a day to physically transform into the chain-smoking Golda as a 75-year old
Brody Jenner rang in his 40th birthday in style on Monday night when he had a family celebration at the celeb-friendly restaurant Nobu Malibu.

The party at the Japanese hotspot  which hosted a revitalized Jamie Foxx just days earlier  also featured Brody's fiancee Tia Blanco, as well as his mother Linda Thompson.

In addition to other friends and family who were seen strolling out of the restaurant with them, the birthday bash was also attended by one particularly sleepy guest: Brody and Tia's baby daughter Honey Raye, whom they welcomed late last month.

Nobu has long been a favorite gathering place for Brody's half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, as well as his former stepsisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian.

The birthday boy opted for a casual ensemble for his night on the town, while Tia showcased her stunning post-baby body in a slinky all-black ensemble.

Family: Brody Jenner (front right) celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday night at Nobu Malibu with his fiancee Tia Blanco (L), his mother Linda Thompson (back right) and his baby daughter Honey Raye

Back in black: Tia showcased her stunning post-baby body in a slinky black dress with a sheer top and black-and-white Nike sneakers, while Brody opted for a casual look

Brody covered up against the chilly coastal breeze with a charcoal patterned jacket that he wore open over a black graphic shirt decorated with palm trees.

He kept the rest of his look low key with simple black pants and matching Adidas sneakers, along with a charcoal trucker hat with a camouflage design on the front.

Tia's svelte frame was covered in a figure-hugging black dress that featured a high slit to showcase her toned legs and reached down just past her knees.

She put on a busty display thanks to its plunging top, and the professional surfer added an extra layer with a sheer black shirt-like top that she wore open over it.

She wore her lustrous hair with a side part while her long, caramel-colored locks cascaded down her back in thick waves, and she completed the monochrome ensemble with a large black bag and black-and-white Nike sneakers.

Brody's mother Linda Thompson, 73, added some more color to the proceedings with a lovely lavender satin mini dress, and she draped a sweater-like shawl over it.

The former girlfriend of Elvis Presley stood tall in a set of beige open-toe heels, which perfectly matched the shade of her handbag.

Baby Honey Raye was covered up with a red-and-white patterned blanket as she appeared to snooze in a carrier that Brody held on his way out of the restaurant, before Tia took the wheel and he took the passenger seat, presumably leaving his daughter in the back seat next to her grandmother.

Notably missing from the gathering was Brody's other parent, Caitlyn Jenner.

In a YouTube video from last week on that documented Tia's pregnancy on their joint channel, Brody appeared to shade the Olympian when he said he is most excited to do things 'differently' than his Caitlyn did when he was younger.

'You know, growing up, I didn't have the greatest relationship with then-Bruce [Caitlyn Jenner],' he explained, using her former male pronouns. 'He wasn't really around me growing up, so I think, just doing the exact opposite and being the absolute best father I can possibly be.'

Brody and his other famous siblings have previously shied away from accusing Caitlyn of being an absent parent, though he seemed more willing to make the accusation after having a child of his own.

Earlier on Monday, he posted to his Instagram Stories an adorable photo of the little girl sleeping on a pink pillow, as he called her the 'best birthday present of them all,' while also tagging Tia.

Elegant: Brody's mother Linda Thompson, 73, added some more color to the proceedings with a lovely lavender satin mini dress, and she draped a sweater-like shawl over it

Heading home: Tia took the wheel and Brody took the passenger seat, presumably leaving his daughter in the back seat next to her grandmother

Too cute! Earlier on Monday, he posted to his Instagram Stories an adorable photo of the little girl sleeping on a pink pillow, as he called her the 'best birthday present of them all'

Loved-up: Tia, whom Brody proposed to in June of this year, also shared a special tribute to him. 'Happy birthday to my love, favorite person, fiance & baby daddy! I am so grateful that we found each other and to have you as my life partner,' she gushed

Tia, whom Brody proposed to in June of this year, also shared a special tribute to him in honor of his 40th birthday.

'Happy birthday to my love, favorite person, fiance & baby daddy! I am so grateful that we found each other and to have you as my life partner,' she gushed.

'I love you more & more every single day & i cant wait to love you for the rest of our lifetimes & beyond! Cheers to this next chapter of life together as Mommy & Daddy,"' she wrote, adding that, 'Honey and I are so incredibly lucky to have you.'

Brody was clearly moved and commented on her post: 'I am the lucky one. love you,' adding three kissing emojis.
Kanye West's 'wife' Bianca Censori is running the risk of being fined 10,000 and could even face imprisonment during the couple's trip to Italy.

The Australian architect, 28, has been walking around 'virtually naked' in the European nation, flashing her flesh in extremely revealing outfits.

According to the Italian Constitutional Court, a fine from 5,000 to 10,000 euros can be issued, or whoever exposes in a place or nearby to a place attended by minors, may be sentenced from four months to four years imprisonment.

On Tuesday, Bianca went braless in a skintight see through all-in-one and at some points was forced to cover her nipples with a black cross-body bag.

During a visit to Florence on Wednesday, Bianca was spotted visiting a restaurant with Kanye wearing a see-through mesh top that revealed her bare breasts, matched with a low-waist maxi dress and no shoes.

Risky: Kanye West's 'wife' Bianca Censori has been leaving little to the imagination in extremely revealing outfits during the couple's visit to the European nation

Revealing: The Australian architect, 28, is running the risk of being fined 10,000 after flashing the flesh

A day later she emerged barefoot once again, this time sporting a pair of black leggings and a skimpy bikini top that barely covered her nipples.

Bianca put on another raunchy display on Saturday as she toured around Tuscany with Kanye in a see-through unitard and heels.

Her bare breasts were yet again visible beneath the tight, diaphanous material.

Prior to 'marrying' Kanye Bianca was Melbourne's 'It Girl' living a private life in a suburban home before dressing up in bizarre outfits.

Photos of this weeks outing were exclusively published by Daily Mail Australia, and online critics have since implored local authorities to punish Bianca for her wardrobe choices.

'It's surprising she hasn't been arrested. Italy is much more conservative, in this case rightly so!' one user wrote.

'I hope Italy kicks them both out of the country. They don't need this pair polluting it,' another raged, as someone else agreed: 'Completely disrespectful to a conservative catholic culture; the Italians should have kicked them out.'

Many argued that Bianca's latest look constitutes 'public indecency,' a charge for which comes with a hefty fine.

'It's a shame that they can't arrest her for public indecency. They look like clowns, how embarrassing,' someone wrote.

Naked: Bianca went braless in a skintight all-in-one while out with husband Kanye

Racy: During a visit to Florence on Wednesday, Bianca was spotted visiting a restaurant with Kanye wearing a see-through mesh top that revealed her bare breasts, matched with a low-waist maxi dress and no shoes

According to major tourism website CIU Travel, locals find it 'offensive' to see visitors 'wandering the streets in varying states of undress.' (The couple are pictured in Los Angeles in May)

Throwback: Prior to 'marrying' Kanye Bianca was Melbourne's 'It Girl' living a private life in a suburban home before dressing up in bizarre outfits

Another critic agreed: 'How about police in every country arrest anyone who is nude? It's called indecency... Tired of being forced to see nude women and should be illegal for children to see this,' someone wrote.

One user even suggested that local restaurants should deny entry to Bianca and West for 'failing to dress appropriately'.

According to major tourism website CIU Travel , locals find it 'offensive' to see visitors 'wandering the streets in varying states of undress'.

It is also against the law to do so in may local ordinances, and can result in fines.

The website reads: 'Walking around in beach attire or, worse, shirtless, is a huge no-no in Italy, unless you have your feet buried deep in the sand.'

Bianca arrived in Italy with Kanye earlier this month, and has stepped out on several occasions with her bare breasts clearly visible beneath see-through mesh outfits.

Italian locals have since branded the Kim Kardashian lookalike's outfits 'disrespectful' on social media, with some saying 'immodest' Censori and West weren't welcome in a country known for its conservative Catholic heritage.

'We don't need this trash in Italy,' one Italian user commented, while another branded Bianca's outfits as 'classless' and 'vulgar'.

Users from other parts of the world echoed this sentiment, with one commenting: 'Planning a trip to Italy, I have read several times that Italians are very fashionable and are fairly conservative in their clothing choices. Wonder what they think of this exhibitionist?'

'The classy Italians wont be impressed that is for sure. What an absolute mess!' another wrote, as someone else added: 'The Italians will be horrified.'

'This is sexy at home between adults, but trashy in public,' another wrote.

'Someone forgot to tell ex "Reverend" Kanye that they are in a conservative Catholic nation, not Miami or NYC...' they said.

Kanye and Bianca wed in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills in January, about two months after the rapper's divorce to Kim Kardashian was finalised.

However, the legality of the union is in question, as they did not file a marriage certificate.

Bianca has a degree in architecture and worked at West's design company Yeezy prior to their getting together.

Kanye and Bianca wed in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills in January, about two months after the rapper's divorce to Kim Kardashian was finalised

She joined the company in 2020, according to Marie Claire . It's unclear whether she still works there.

Growing up in the well-heeled suburb of Ivanhoe, it is believed the Aussie beauty later lived in a quiet $2.8million Alphington home where her mother Alexandra still resides.

The leafy suburban property sits well away from busy streets, the bustling city, and the even louder world of media Bianca was thrust into after her 'marriage' to Kanye.

Bianca went from being Melbourne's 'It Girl' living a private life in a suburban home, to 'marrying' Kim Kardashian's ex-husband and dressing up in bizarre outfits.

Speaking to the Herald Sun earlier this year, one of her sisters, Angelina Censori, asked for 'privacy' but admitted the family was happy with the news of Bianca's marriage.

'It's very exciting news for both my sister and the family but we choose to have some privacy for the time being,' she said.

Another relative, Alyssia Censori, said she was 'super happy for them both'.
Vanessa Kirby was featured as Josephine Bonaparte in a new poster for the upcoming historical biopic Napoleon, which was released on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old performer was unrecognizable as the wife of the French emperor, who is set to be portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, in the movie's new promotional material.

The actor, who slapped his costar during the production of the feature, was also seen as the commander in a second poster, which showed him looking downcast while sitting in a chair.

It was announced that Kirby had been added to the cast of the upcoming biopic in January of last year.

The part of Josephine Bonaparte was originally set to be filled by Jodie Comer, although she had to drop the project due to scheduling issues.

New visuals: Vanessa Kirby was featured as Josephine Bonaparte in a new poster for the upcoming historical biopic Napoleon, which was released on Tuesday

The way we know her: Vanessa normally has blonde hair; seen here with her Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One co-star Tom Cruise in June

On camera: She was the brainy beauty who worked with Cruise's Ethan

Napoleon is centered on the life of the titular historical figure and will heavily focus on his volatile relationship with Josephine, to whom he was married for nearly two decades.

The movie's cast will be rounded out by performers such as Tahar Rahim, Ludivine Sagnier and Ben Miles, among others.

Development on the feature was revealed to the public in 2020, when the project's director, Ridley Scott, announced that he was working on a feature centered on the former Emperor of France.

Phoenix signed on to appear in the title role in October of 2020, and the actor serves as one of the movie's producers.

Physical production took place at several locations around Europe last year, and its crew wrapped after four months of filming.

The feature's trailer was first revealed at CinemaCon this past April, and it was subsequently released to the public last month.

Scott recently spoke to Empire magazine and told the media outlet why he picked Phoenix for the movie's lead role.

He recalled: 'I'm staring at Joaquin and saying, "This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte. He looks like him."'

Another one: The actor, who slapped his costar during the production of the feature, was also seen as the commander in a second poster, which showed him looking downcast while sitting in a chair

Signing on: It was announced that Kirby had been added to the cast of the upcoming biopic in January of last year

Moving around: The part of Josephine Bonaparte was originally set to be filled by Jodie Comer, although she had to drop the project due to scheduling issues

Future release: Napoleon is currently scheduled to be released in the United States and United Kingdom on November 22

Scott and Phoenix previously teamed up in 2000 historical drama Gladiator, in which the latter portrayed Commodus.

The filmmaker also compared Napoleon to various other historical figures during the interview, but stated that the Emperor was 'extraordinary.'

'Listen, he's got a lot of bad s*** under his belt. At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do, and in his dominance,' he said.

Napoleon is currently scheduled to be released in the United States and United Kingdom on November 22.
Jennifer Aniston has declared she is 'so over cancel culture' in a candid new interview - just weeks after being branded a 'Karen' for throwing Jamie Foxx under the bus amid his anti-Semitism storm.

The Friends actress, 54, was slammed by some fans defending Foxx on social media after he posted an angry Instagram post with illusions of anti-Semitism which appeared to have been 'liked' by her own Instagram account. The star quickly denounced and denied any connection to it.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Aniston weighed in on people canceling famous figures for mistakes - and said not everybody should be put in the same 'basket' as convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.

She said: 'Im so over cancel culture. I probably just got canceled by saying that. I just dont understand what it means. Is there no redemption? I dont know. I dont put everybody in the Harvey Weinstein basket.'

Fans on Twitter quickly slammed the star over her thoughts on cancel culture and claimed 'just three weeks ago she wanted Jamie foxx cancelled.'

New interview: Jennifer Aniston has declared she is 'so over cancel culture' in a candid new interview - just weeks after being branded a 'Karen' for throwing Jamie Foxx under the bus amid his anti-Semitism storm

Storm: The Friends actress, 54, was slammed by some fans defending Foxx on social media after he posted an angry Instagram post with illusions of anti-Semitism which appeared to have been 'liked' by her own Instagram account. The star quickly denounced and denied any connection to it

Another wrote: 'Isn't this the same Jennifer Aniston who cut ties with friends and family members because they didn't want to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and the same Jennifer Aniston who tried to cancel Jamie Foxx a few weeks ago?'

A third typed: 'Its giving Jamie Foxx clap back regret.'

In the interview Aniston also revealed she made moves to protect herself while meeting with Weinstein years ago - who is currently serving a multi-year jail sentence for rape and sexual assault convictions.

She said: 'Hes not a guy, youre like, "God, I cant wait to hang out with Harvey." Never. You were actually like, "Oh, God, OK, suck it up." I remember actually, he came to visit me on a movie to pitch me a movie. And I do remember consciously having a person stay in my trailer.'

Weinstein told the outlet of Aniston: 'She never had any uncomfortable instances with me.'

Weinstein, now 71, was found guilty of rape and two other counts of sexual assault offered by an unidentified Russian-born, Italy-based model, referred to as Jane Doe 1 in December 2022.

Weinstein was already serving a 23-year sentence for separate rape and sexual assault convictions in New York when he was found guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by foreign object of an unnamed Russian-born Italian model.

The interview comes after Aniston disabled her Instagram comments after an account under her name hit the like button on a controversial post from Foxx that has allusions to anti-Semitism.

She said: 'Im so over cancel culture. I probably just got canceled by saying that. I just dont understand what it means. Is there no redemption? I dont know. I dont put everybody in the Harvey Weinstein basket'

Past: In the interview Aniston also revealed she made moves to protect herself while meeting with Weinstein years ago - who is currently serving a multi-year jail sentence for rape and sexual assault convictions (seen with Weinstein left in 2002)

The brouhaha began on August 4 when the Any Given Sunday actor, 55, posted an angry message which read, 'They killed this dude called Jesus... what do you think they'll do to you???!' followed by the hashtags #fakefriends and #fakelove.

An account with Aniston's name appeared to 'like' the remarks, which were subsequently labeled anti-Semitic by a number of observers.

'Actor Jamie Foxx posts horrifically antisemitic message to his 16.7 million followers,' wrote the A Wide Frame account, which spotted the offensive post.

For centuries, Jews have been blamed for the death of Jesus, and the alleged deicide has been used as an excuse for oppression and violence against them.

The Morning Show star who was caught up in the controversy, quickly denounced it and denied any connection to it in her Instagram Stories, saying, 'This really makes me sick.'

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

Apology: Jamie, who has been recovering from a health scare, 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

Vouch: Jamie's friend Adam Weitsman quickly came to his defense writing 'I would vouch for you always...'

The Emmy-winning actress immediately denied having any interaction with the controversial post from Foxx.

'I did not "like" this post on purpose or by accident,' said Aniston, whose name is listed on dozens of fan accounts on social media.

The Break-Up star emphasized she harbors no hostility toward the Jewish people and opposes racism in the strongest sense.

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,' she said. 'And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period.'

On Saturday morning, Foxx, who has been recovering from a hospitalization and health scare, tried to rectify the situation writing his own explanation of his now-deleted post.

'I want to apologize to the Jewish community and to everyone who was offended by my post,' the Django Unchained star said. 'I now know my words of choice have caused offense and I'm sorry.'

The Ray actor said that his intent was to sound off on a personal grievance, and had nothing to do with Jewish people.

'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 said. '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.'
AJ Odudu has shared the 'blessing' she received from 'Big Brother Queen' Davina McCall as it was announced she would be hosting the reboot.

The Strictly star, 35, reflected on her career and set backs in a new interview in which she also recalled 'falling into a deep depression' after being axed from Big Brother's Bit On The Side.

Saying that she has now 'clawed her way back' after 'so much rejection,' AJ reflected on how far she has come.

The former T4 presenter will front the reality show when it returns to screens on ITV2 this Autumn after previously being dropped from the spin-off and trolled over her Blackburn accent in 2013.

Speaking to Grazia magazine this week, AJ shared the reassuring advice she received from Davina as she prepares to return.

Amazing: AJ Odudu, 35, has shared the 'blessing' she received from 'Big Brother Queen' Davina McCall as it was announced she would be hosting the reboot

'The Queen herself has given me her blessing. She sent me an amazing video when I got the gig saying "you are going to smash it,"' she explained.

AJ said she was 'proud' of her come back after being in 'a really dark place' and 'not wanting to get out of bed.'

She admitted: 'I've clawed my way back without being horrible, just by working hard and being myself. Back then I didn't even want to get out of my bed.

'I fell into a deep depression because TV just wasn't going my way. Five year's ago I was living on my dads bedroom floor in a council flat. I was like "I don't live where you guys think I live and I'm not doing what you guys think." I felt like a fraud.'

AJ and Will Best were announced as the hosts of the brand new Big Brother reboot in April.

They will share the iconic main role as well as an additional nightly live show, debating all the hot topics inside the house.

A source told MailOnline: 'They have genuine real chemistry and it was an absolute no brainer when they screen tested.'

Speaking about her new role, AJ said: 'I'm so excited to finally be able to say that, yes: Im hosting Big Brother! I couldn't be happier.'

Icon: 'The Queen herself has given me her blessing. She sent me an amazing video saying "you are going to smash it,"' AJ explained (Davina pictured on the show in 2002)

Dropped: The Strictly star reflected on her career and set backs in a new interview in which she also recalled 'falling into a deep depression' after being axed from Big Brother's Bit On The Side (pictured alongside Emma Willis and Rylan Clark in 2013)

Return: AJ said she was 'proud' of her come back after being in 'a really dark place' and 'not wanting to get out of bed' (pictured with co-host Will Best)

She added: 'Following in the footsteps of some of my favourite broadcasting legends to front such an iconic show is an absolute honour - and to do it alongside my amazing friend Will is the icing on the cake.'

During an appearance on ITV's Lorraine, AJ explained she has 'grafted' for the last 15 years for big opportunities.

Lorraine asked AJ: 'Your name is in the ring for a lot of things. It wasn't always like that though was it?'

AJ responded: 'I have been grafting away for a long time. 15 years. It is so amazing to not only have shows like the big interiors battle but to have my name tipped for anything is incredible.'
The Rolling Stones announced their new album title Hackney Diamonds on Monday.

The band's record label put the advert in the Hackney Gazette for eagle-eyed readers to find when buying the publication.

The Rolling Stones currently comprises of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman and Hackney Diamonds will be their 31st studio album.

They dropped a series of subtle hints that it was them behind the ad by using a tiny version of their iconic tongue logo to dot the 'i' in the brand name Diamonds.

The logo for the name of their recent 60th anniversary tour is also a colourful redesign of the famous mouth.

In further hints in the advert text they name-dropped the Stones' 1965 hit Satisfaction, Gimme Shelter from 1969, and 1978 track Shattered.

Cryptic: The Rolling Stones announced their new album title Hackney Diamonds on Monday in a local newspaper

Clever: The band's record label put the advert in the Hackney Gazette for eagle-eyed readers to find when buying the publication

The font used for Hackney Diamonds is also the same as the one used on the 1978 album Some Girls.

The date mark included at the bottom also said established in 1962 in reference to the year the group formed.

On the advert which was published on page three of the newspaper on Monday - there was also a phone number.

If you ring the number a recorded message says: 'Welcome to Hackney Diamonds, specialists in glass repair.

'Don't get angry, get it fixed - opening early September, Mare Street, E8. Register for a call at www.hackneydiamonds.com - come on then.'

The new album will be the first to be released since their drummer Charlie Watts died in August 2021.

Charlie's publicist announced he had died at the age of 80 on August 24 2021.

The London-born drummer joined the then-fledgling band in 1963 after meeting Mick, Keith and Brian Jones while playing in rhythm and blues clubs.

Important: Cryptic: They dropped a series of subtle hints that it was them behind the ad by using a tiny version of their iconic tongue logo to dot the 'i' in the brand name Diamonds

Slick: In further hints in the advert text they name-dropped the Stones' 1965 hit Satisfaction, Gimme Shelter from 1969, and 1978 track Shattered (Mick is pictured)

Meaning: The date mark included at the bottom also said established in 1962 in reference to the year the group formed

Along with Jagger and Richards, Watts featured on every one of the band's studio albums. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.

Known for his deadpan wit, understated conversational style and love of tailored suits, his low-key style was much at odds with the flamboyant lifestyle of band mates such as Jagger and Richards.

He had one wife, Shirley, with whom who he married in 1964 before the band shot to superstardom. The couple, who lived together in a rural village in Devon, last year rescued a greyhound from an Oxford animal sanctuary.

Watts was due to tour the US with the band later that year as part of their 'No Filter' tour. But it was announced earlier in August 2021 he would not feature as he needed to recover from a recent emergency surgery.

Watts was the first long-stay member of The Rolling Stones to die of age-related illness.

Loss: The new album will be the first to be released since their drummer Charlie Watts died in August 2021

Founder and leader of The Stones, Jones, died in 1969 from accidental drowning, shortly after being kicked out of the band.

Stones frontman Jagger marked the death of Watts by tweeting a smiling picture of his bandmate doing what he loved best - drumming.

Fellow long-term bandmate Richards also followed up with a poignant tribute showing an empty drum kit accompanied with a 'closed sign'.

Watts' London publicist, Bernard Doherty, said in a statement at the time: 'It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.
Donald Trump will turn himself in at Georgias Fulton County jail on Thursday to answer charges he illegally tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The date was set during Monday negotiations with the local district attorneys office over his consent bond and conditions for release. Fulton Country DA Fani Willis had given him and 18 co-defendants until noon Friday to show up.

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, the ex-president said on his Truth Social platform Monday night.

Trump, indicted on 13 charges related to the election-interference case, agreed earlier to post $200,000 bond.

Trump has also been ordered not to intimidate witnesses or fellow defendants, including via social media posts.

Trumps election attorney John Eastman plans to surrender to Fulton County authorities on Wednesday.

When Trump surrenders, the area around the main county jail will go into hard lockdown, the Fulton County Sheriffs Office said Monday afternoon, insisting he would not get special treatment.

With News Wire Services
Lottie Moss turned heads in a pink lace lingerie look as she stepped out in London on Tuesday.

The OnlyFans model, 25, who is currently starring on Celebs Go Dating, put on a leggy display in the minidress which she teamed with cowboy boots.

Her outing comes as the younger sister of supermodel Kate Moss admitted she's 'too famous to date normal people' and believes that her 'mental illness gives her an edge'.

Lottie reflected on her 'savage relationship history' amid her stint on the programme.

Lottie's first boyfriend was Made In Chelsea star Alex Mytton, who she dated back in 2016 until 2017, admitting that she 'shut herself down' after that.

She also dated his co-star Sam Price, the Vamps drummer Tristan Evans, and London rapper Milkavelli.

All eyes on her: Lottie Moss turned heads in a pink lace lingerie look as she stepped out in London on Tuesday

Ye-ha: The OnlyFans model, 25, who is currently starring on Celebs Go Dating , put on a leggy display in the minidress which she teamed with cowboy boots

In recent months, Lottie has fuelled romance rumours with Celebs Go Dating pal Adam Collard and called him 'a lovely guy.'

Recalling her relationship with Alex, she told New Magazine: 'My dating history is pretty savage. I gave everything to that relationship and when I got nothing back I kind of shut myself down. It's hard to trust again even on a small level.

'I haven't really dated any normal people, I've always been in the public eye so I've always dated that kind of calibre of people. I couldn't do Tinder dates.'

Lottie has spoken candidly in the past about her battle with vices, admitting she has a 'very bad' cocaine addition and used alcohol to mask her depression, which led her to sobriety.

In 2020, she discussed her ADHD diagnosis and revealed that the disorder can lead to 'substance abuse.'

Explaining how it effects her dating life, she added: 'I don't like medication and I don't like something altering how I think. I think mental illness is what gives me an edge.'

Lottie checked into a treatment facility in Arizona in February last year, and after she left the centre she admitted her rehab treatment was the 'best thing ever' for her mental health in the wake of her devastating battle.

Recently, Adam and Lottie, who signed up for the latest series of Celebs Go Dating in July, have hinted at a potential romance over recent days after they were spotted leaving celebrity hot spot the Chiltern Firehouse hand-in-hand.

Speaking to The Sun at the official launch event for the new series of Celebs Go Dating, Lottie said of Adam: 'Well he's a lovely guy. We really care about each other.'

Past: Lottie's first boyfriend was Made In Chelsea star Alex Mytton, who she dated back in 2016 until 2017, admitting that she 'shut herself down' after that

No trust: Recalling her relationship with Alex, she told New Magazine: 'My dating history is pretty savage. I gave everything to that relationship and when I got nothing back' (Lottie and Alex pictured in 2016)

Split: She went on to briefly date the Vamps drummer Tristan Evans (pictured in 2021)

Dates: 'I haven't really dated any normal people I've always been in the public eye so I've always dated that kind of calibre of people. I couldn't do Tinder dates,' she explained

Different: Explaining how ADHD effects her dating life, she added: 'I don't like medication and I don't like something altering how I think. I think mental illness is what gives me an edge'

When asked if there is a romance on the cards, Lottie said: 'There could be. You never know. You never know.

'I definitely didn't expect to come in here and meet someone that I really like and, you know, ended up doing that with someone.'

When asked if that was Adam, Lottie replied: 'You'll have to watch and find out!'
Lori Harvey was all dressed up for a night on the town with her beau Damson Idris.

The influencer, 26, was a sight to behold in a classic LBD and platform heels as she enjoyed a night out in West Hollywood on Monday.

The couple were spotted hitting up the hotspot The Nice Guy and Drake's after-party at The Bird Streets Club.

The Snowfall actor, 31, who wore a face mask, was looking smart in a patterned black sweater, slacks, and chunky sneakers as he led his lady love by the hand.

Lori looked stunning with her hair styled into glossy curls and her pout touched up with a slick of lip gloss.

Hot date! Lori Harvey was all dressed up for a night on the town with her beau Damson Idris in Los Angeles on Monday

She increased the glam with hoop earrings and a flawless white manicure and pedicure.

Her slick legs were on full display as she strode out of the hotspots in her black platform heels with an ankle strap.

The A-list couple have been going strong since first going public this January, when Lori shared a photo of herself sitting on Damson's lap during her 26th birthday festivities, captioning the photo dump with, 'If you missed it I hate that for you.'

They had been spotted a month prior as they made their way to Catch LA, a seafood-centric restaurant hotspot in West Hollywood.

One month after the SKN by LH did a hard launch of her new British-born boyfriend, the couple made their first red carpet appearance at the premiere of Snowfall's final season in February.

The couple have been attached at the hip ever since, being spotted everywhere from a party at the Serpentine Gallery in London back in June to vacationing with the model's family in St. Tropez in July.

Both halves of the famous couple came from two long-term relationships prior to their romantic entanglement, with Lori dating Michael B. Jordan for two years, while the Swarm actor admitted to GQ back in 2022 that he had been in a 9-year relationship but he was enjoying his new state of singleness (at the time.)

When asked by the outlet if he was ready to settle down and have kids, the Outside The Wire star answered with, 'Do you want to go to that Oscar party, or do you want to stay at home and watch this movie with your wife and kid? I want to go to the Oscar party!'

All eyes on her! The influencer, 26, was a sight to behold in a classic LBD and platform heels as she enjoyed a night out in West Hollywood on Monday

TLC: The Snowfall actor tenderly held Lori's hand as they emerged from The Bird Streets Club

Meanwhile, Steve Harvey's daughter split from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star in June 2022  the pair had been together since November 2020.

Although the couple haven't talked about marriage anytime soon, the businesswoman's boyfriend made sure to be there by her side during the recent launch of her first fashion line, Yevrah Swim for Revolve.

He also made sure to comment, 'Proud of you woman,' under a post Lori shared of a behind-the-scenes look of her collection.

Going strong: The couple recently headed to Disneyland together

The hunky actor, who is reportedly in the running for consideration to be the next James Bond, was also spotted with Lori on a recent trip to Mexico.

Relationship aside, the Astral actor is hard at work on his next project.

Lori's boyfriend will star alongside Brad Pitt in a new, untitled movie about Formula 1 racings.
Angelina Jolie has added to her extensive tattoo collection with two mysterious inkings on her middle fingers - which fans believe are a 'f*** you' to ex-husband Brad Pitt.

The actress, 48, showed off her large black tattoos stretching the length of her middle fingers in a snap shared by celebrity tattoo artist MR.K - but the actual body art was muzzed in the snap - causing fans to wildly speculate.

Posting the snap, he wrote: 'Still cant believe that I actually grabbed her hand and tattooed her. Guess what she got on her palm?'

One fan quipped 'F***. Brad' in reference to the star's acrimonious divorce battle with Pitt, 59, with whom she shares six children.

Another guessed: 'Had A \ Brad Time' while another typed: F**k you.

Oh wow: Angelina Jolie has added to her extensive tattoo collection with two mysterious inkings on her middle fingers - which fans believe are a 'f*** you' to ex-husband Brad Pitt

Inked: The actress, 48, showed off her large black tattoos stretching the length of her middle fingers in a snap shared by celebrity tattoo artist MR.K - but the actual body art was muzzed in the snap - causing fans to wildly speculate

Peace talks: Angelina filed for divorce from Brad in 2016 citing 'irreconcilable differences' and it was finalised in 2019.; Seen in 2012

Her other tattoos include Bengal Tiger, Khmer Script, Quod Me Nutrit Me Destruit, a cross, Geographical Coordinates of her children, Yant ViHan Pha Chad Sada and a M among others.

The actress shares Pax, 19, Knox, 15, Shiloh, 17, Zahara, 18, and Maddox, 22 with Pitt.

Angelina filed for divorce in 2016 citing 'irreconcilable differences' and it was finalised in 2019. The former pair have been in a lengthy custody battle with the actress wanting sole custody and Brad fighting for joint - with Brad winning joint custody in 2021/

Pitt has reportedly agreed to mediation with ex-wife Jolie over their vineyard dispute.

Documents filed last month show that both stars have agreed to mediation as an alternative method of dispute resolution over Chateau Miraval  rather than the matter going to court.

Jolie has also said that she's willing to take part in a settlement conference.

What's more, it can be revealed that Pitt has appointed a 'provisional administrator' to Chateau Miraval in a bid to resolve the war between himself and the Russians Jolie sold her share of the vineyard to.

That transaction sparked the current imbroglio.

Lol: One fan quipped 'F***. Brad' in reference to the star's acrimonious divorce battle with Pitt, 60, with whom she shares six children

Something else? Other fans speculated on the mystery inkings

The move, at Pitt's suggestion, aims to protect the highly successful wine business which he has helped to build, in conjunction with French wine-makers Famille Perrin.

It will see an independent figure come in to assess the winery and how it is run and (it is hoped), in time, facilitate negotiations between Pitt and Nouvel  the investment company his ex sold to Stoli boss Yuri Shefler.

Pitt and Jolie purchased Chateau Miraval, a 1300-acre estate in the south of France, in 2008.

The couple were even married at the property in 2014.

In 2016, after an incident between Pitt, Jolie and their children on a plane trip from France to California, Jolie filed for divorce.

There have been skirmishes ever since  over custody of the kids, and money.

As they were: Pitt and Jolie purchased Chateau Miraval, a 1300-acre estate in the south of France, in 2008. The couple were even married at the property in 2014; Seen in 2015

New love: Brad is now romancing Ines de Ramon, 30; She is seen on March 2023 in New York

In April 2019 the divorce was 'bifurcated'  a move which dissolves the marriage while allowing other disputes to rage on.

In 2022 Pitt launched legal action against Jolie for selling her interest in Chateau Miravel to Russian oligarch Shefler. He had hoped to buy her out himself, and is now seeking to have the sale reversed.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Nouvel claimed two weeks ago that Pitt had been 'looting' the wine business and using it as his 'personal cashbox' for 'vanity projects'. They are seeking $350 million in damages.
Sofia Vergara had a new look when in Pasadena, California on Tuesday.

Gone were the Colombian-born star's skintight minidresses and cropped tops that made her look like a Hollywood vixen. Instead the Modern Family veteran had on a more masculine look.

Vergara wore an oversized white linen men's button-down shirt with baggy worn-in light blue denim boyfriend jeans.

These two items looked like she snagged them from estranged husband Joe Manganiello's walk-in closet before he packed his bags and moved out of their sprawling Beverly Hills mansion.

But the Fading Gigolo star reminded fans that she has a fun side as she added 10-inch clear Perspex platform heels.

Boyish charm: Sofia Vergara had a new look on Tuesday. Gone were the Colombian-born star's skintight minidress that made her look like a Hollywood vixen. Instead the Modern Family veteran had on a more masculine look

Her accessories were an army green Christian Dior bag, black sunglasses and gold earrings.

The beauty was heading into a taping of America's Got Talent in Los Angeles.

This comes after DailyMail.com's exclusive report that she 'graciously' handed over her senior dog Bubbles, 10, to her estranged husband Joe Manganiello.

It is not known if Sofia will get visitation rights of Bubbles.

The couple announced their split on July 17 with a statement shared to social media.

Joe and Sofia were seven years.

Ten-year-old fuzzball Bubbles is a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix.

The pair have famously argued over the pooch on social media, often joking the pet likes Joe more.

The two have no children together which will make the divorce proceedings a bit easier (Sofia's son Manolo was from her first marriage).

According to California law, a judge can weigh in on who should get pets.

Comfort first: Vergara wore an oversized white linen men's button-down shirt with baggy worn-in light blue denim boyfriend jeans. These two items looked like she snagged them from estranged husband Joe Manganiello's walk-in closet before he packed his bags and moved out of their sprawling Beverly Hills mansion

See ya Joe! But the Fading Gigolo star reminded fans that she has a fun side as she added 10-inch clear Perspex platform heels

In January 2019, a new California law changed the way pet custody is handled in divorce cases.

This new law gives judges the power to consider the care and the best interest of the pet when making decisions in separation or divorce matters.

Before 2019, California courts treated pets like property. The pet would be considered a part of the property to be divided when the marriage ended.

Often judges would base their decision on which party purchased or adopted the animal. Judges had a lot of say in who got the dog and who would just visit.

Pets are still technically classified as personal property, but this new law takes more into consideration.

There is an Animal Legal Defense Fund that can guide Sofia and Joe on animal protection laws.

In 2021 Sofia said her dream of adopting a dog went horribly wrong once she brought Bubbles home and she instantly preferred Manganiello.

Over: Sofia and Joe have split after seven years of marriage (pictured March 2023 - their last red carpet together)

The actress joked that the dog has 'stolen everything that was hers', after moving into the LA pad she shared with Joe.

Sofia discussed her pet - who she branded an 'idiot' - during a recent appearance on the Ellen Show, as she revealed the pooch has taken over her bed and husband.

When quizzed on her dog Bubbles, Sofia said: 'I don't have a dog it's not mine, it's Joe's dog,' despite revealing she originally bought the Chihuahua for herself.

When Ellen showed the audience a picture of the pup, Sofia said: 'Look at her, idiot.

'It doesn't even look like a Chihuahua, it looks like some sort of teddy bear. The dog was for me, I got the dog, but she arrived and completely ignored me. Went straight to Joe. She has taken everything that was mine.'

Joking about how Bubbles has made it clear who her favourite is, she said: 'It's not funny - it's horrible, she's taken my husband, my bed.

The little one: This comes after DailyMail.com's exclusive report that she handed over her senior dog Bubbles, 10, to her ex. It is not known if Sofia will get visitation rights of Bubbles

'She sleeps in bed with Joe, they sleep together and then I sleep on the other side. It has become something so weird.

'But I have to say it's not Joe's fault, it's her, she's obsessed with him.'

Ellen then admitted she can understand why someone would be obsessed with Joe, however Sofia quipped back: 'Yes, but not to that level. She hates me.

'If he has to go away for work and she knows she has to stay with me in the house and knows she has to deal with me, but won 't do eye contact.

'She's always looking out, every little noise she's looking for, she can't enjoy the time with me. It's like she knows she has to sit with me cos I'm the only other person in the house.

Ellen said: 'I have that with my three dogs, they prefer Portia.'

While Sofia joked: 'Oh so you must be worse than me!'

'So I was thinking maybe I'd get another dog, but it could happen that they'd also fall in love with him and not with me.' Sofia then told Ellen how she thought it was awful how she had renamed her rescue dogs, and that her and Joe kept Bubbles' rescue name.
A 'debanking' row has broken out after an ultra-conservative Christian charity which provides necessities to Ugandan orphans had its account shut down by Bank of America.

Memphis-based non-profit Indigenous Advance Ministries has filed a complaint to the Tennessee Attorney-General's office over concerns its accounts were closed because the bank disagrees with its 'religious views.'

The organization - which claims to have had a banking relationship with BofA since 2015 - purports pro-life and anti-same sex relationship values on its website.

BofA firmly denies it 'debanked' the body over these views, telling DailyMail.com that 'religious beliefs are not a factor in any account-closing decision.'

But campaigners are calling for greater transparency over how firms decide which accounts to shut down, adding cases of 'political and religious 'debanking' appear to be on the rise.'

Indigenous Advance Ministries has filed a complaint to the Tennessee Attorney-General's office over concerns their accounts were closed because the bank disagrees with its 'religious views.' Pictured: Indigenous founder and current board member Steve Happ in Uganda

The term 'debanking' hit headlines across the globe last month after UK politician Nigel Farage - who pioneered the country's Brexit movement and was a close ally of former president Donald Trump - fell victim to the trend.

Historically the term referred to cases where banks limit financial services to businesses it assessed as having money laundering risks. But firms are increasingly being accused of closing accounts over reputational fears.

Indigenous - which was previously named World Shine USA - opened a new business checking account with BofA in January before shortly applying for two credit cards.

On April 24 this year, it was sent a letter by the bank advising that its accounts were being shut down within 30 days.

Associated accounts belonging to partner entity Indigenous Advance Customer Center and a church operating at the same address - Servants of Christ Community dba University House of Prayer - were also closed.

The correspondence from BofA stated: 'Upon review of your accounts, we have determined you're operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America.'

Representatives for Indigenous said they 'repeatedly' asked for an explanation about the closure.

On May 24, the organization was sent a follow-up letter that stated its 'risk profile no longer aligns with the bank's risk tolerance.'

At the time, Indigenous said it had $270,000 in its deposit account.

The charity works with Ugandan ministries to provide support for orphaned and vulnerable children and prisoners in the African country.

BofA firmly denies the accusations, telling DailyMail.com that 'religious beliefs are not a factor in any account-closing decision'

Under the 'Core Beliefs' tab on its website it endorses a number of evangelical Christian views including that 'all human life is sacred... from conception to natural death.'

It also advocates that 'marriage between one man and one woman is the only proper context for sexual relations.'

A letter to the Attorney General's office, signed by board members Steve Happ and Bob Phillips, read: 'Being forced to transition so quickly caused a great deal of trouble for us. It also disrupted our mission to Uganda in June and we were temporarily unable to pay salaries in Uganda. And we were left very confused.'

They added: 'Our mission and work, supporting Ugandan children and families through indigenous Ugandan Ministeries, has remained the same since we were founded and first opened our accounts with Bank of America.

'I am concerned that Bank of America cancelled our and our partners' accounts because it disagrees with our religious views.'

A spokesperson for BofA said the closure was related to a part of Indigenous' operations which includes debt collection.

On its website, Indigenous said it is 'dedicated to pursuing the recovery of overdue invoices on behalf of our clients.'

The term 'debanking' hit headlines across the globe last month after UK politician Nigel Farage - who pioneered the country's Brexit movement - fell victim to the trend. Farage, right, is pictured with former President Donald Trump

BofA claimed debt collection services are a clear violation of its policies. The Bank added it only became aware of this part of the charity's operation when the new account was opened in January.

However, when DailyMail.com asked BofA to share the exact part of its policies that says it doesn't service debt collection agencies, it was unable to do so.

The firm added that the organization's business operations in Uganda also made it a high-risk account.

In a statement, a BofA spokesman said: 'We are proud to provide banking services to non-profit organizations affiliated with diverse faith communities throughout the United States.

'Religious beliefs are not a factor in any account-closing decision. Our U.S. division that serves small businesses doesnt offer banking services to organizations that provide debt collection services for a variety of risk-related considerations and doesnt serve small businesses operating outside the United States.'

Indigenous is now being represented by the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

Bob Phillips, left, is the current Board of Trustees of Indigenous Advance Ministries. Steve Happ, right, is the founder and a board member of the charity. Together the pair have written to the Tennessee Attorney General's office over fears they were 'debanked'

ADF representatives point out that BofA only provided an explanation about the account closures after DailyMail.com had contacted the Bank for comment.

Jeremy Tedesco, ADF senior vice president of corporate engagement, said: 'Americans should not have to fear losing their bank accounts because of their political or religious beliefs.

'Yet instances of banks canceling accounts due to peoples speech or religion appear to be on the rise.'

The office for Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti has confirmed it received the complaint and is reviewing the details of the case.

The issue of 'debanking' came to a head in Britain last month after Nigel Farage had his account with private bank Coutts closed.

A memo from the firm flagged concerns he was 'xenophobic and racist' and held views which were deemed inconsistent with its 'position as an inclusive organization.'
Facebook users in the US have just days to apply for their share of a $725 million data privacy settlement.

The payout is over a years-long lawsuit which alleges the social media platform allowed around 70 million users' data to be accessed without their permission by political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

In 2018, the British consultancy was found to have targeted US voters during the 2016 Trump presidential campaign - profiting from a feature which meant it could mine users' data as well as the data of their Facebook friends.

Meta, Facebook's parent company headed by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, agreed to pay the settlement in December last year.

Anyone who was a Facebook user in the US for any period between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, can file a claim to receive a share of the payout before Friday, August 25 using this online form.

Meta, Facebook's parent company headed by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, agreed to pay the settlement in December last year

Anyone who was a Facebook user in the US for any period between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022 can file a claim to receive a share of the payout before Friday, August 25

Americans can still apply to collect money from the settlement even if they have deleted their Facebook account.

The amount that each individual will be paid will depend on how many claims are submitted, and the total net settlement fund after legal and administrative costs are subtracted.

The more claims that are made, the smaller the portion of the settlement each user will receive.

The sum will also depend on how long each person was an active Facebook user between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022.

Meta said that the settlement administrator will award one point for each month you had an activated account, according to CNN.

The administrator will then add up all the points assigned to all valid claimants and divide the net settlement amount by that total number of points.

It is also not clear exactly when the money will be paid out.

Once all the claims are in, a final approval hearing for the settlement of the case is scheduled for September 7, according to the Facebook user privacy settlement website.

However, anyone who receives a payment will no longer be able to sue Facebook or join other lawsuits against the company.

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg appeared before Congress to address mounting concerns raised in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Cambridge Analytica used data from Facebook accounts to profile voters and help U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign (pictured, the president at a Wisconsin rally)

The settlement sprang from 2018 revelations that Cambridge Analytica had targeted US voters during the 2016 election, and led to Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg being grilled by US lawmakers.

In March 2018, Zuckerberg apologized, calling the scandal a 'major breach of trust.'

'We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you,' Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post.

He noted at the time that the company had changed some of the rules that enabled the breach, but added: 'We also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it.'
The Congress will conduct a caste census in Madhya Pradesh after winning the assembly polls in the state, said party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday, accusing the regime at the Centre of wishing to change the Constitution.

He was addressing a public rally in Sagar in MPs Bundelkhand region.

Assembly polls are expected to be held in the BJP-ruled state at the end of the year.

Some people are trying to change the Constitution. This is not possible because 140 crore people of the country are in support of the protection of the Constitution, Kharge said remembering Dr BR Ambedkar, who was born in MPs Mhow.

Kharge criticised the ruling BJP for remembering Sant Ravidas, a revered figure for Scheduled Castes, during elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently laid the foundation of a Rs 100 crore memorial-cum-temple of Sant Ravidas in Sagar district.

As per the 2011 Census, the population of Dalits in MP was 1.13 crore.

Modi ji is in power for the last nine years while Chouhan (Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan) is ruling the state for the last 18 years. They remembered Ravidas only at the time of the polls, Kharge said.

Citing a newspaper report, Kharge claimed that the BJP demolished a temple of Sant Ravidas in Delhi.

He announced that the Congress will set up a university in the name of Sant Ravidas in Sagar district if voted to power in Madhya Pradesh.

Kharge also said that Congress will conduct a caste-based census in MP after returning to power.

Referring to the crisis in Manipur, Kharge accused PM Modi of not doing anything to control violence in the northeastern state.

He also alleged that the BJP government has not implemented the Bundelkhand package approved on the recommendation of the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Bundelkhand, in north-east MP, has six assembly seats reserved for SCs, and the BJP had won five of them in the 2018 state polls, namely Bina, Naryoli, Jatara, Chandala and Hatta, while the Congress managed to get Gunnor.

Bundelkhand comprises Sagar, Chattarpur, Tikamgarh, Nimari, Damoh and Panna districts, with 26 assembly seats, of which 15 were won by the BJP in the last state polls, while the Congress got nine and one each was won by Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.
DCW chief Swati Maliwal continued her dharna at St Stephen's Hospital, where the minor girl allegedly raped by a Delhi government official has been admitted, for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.

Maliwal had sat on the dharna on Monday morning, claiming that she was prevented from meeting the girl.

However, a police official said the mother of the girl did not want to meet anyone since the victim is still under observation.

Premoday Khakha -- a deputy director in the city government's women and child development department -- allegedly raped the girl several times between November 2020 and January 2021, according to the Delhi Police. His wife allegedly gave the girl medicine to terminate her pregnancy.

Khakha and his wife Seema Rani were arrested on Monday.

"I came here (at the hospital) at 11 am yesterday but the Delhi Police did not allow me to meet the survivor or her mother. I spent the night here. I don't understand why the police are not allowing me to meet them," the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson said.

She said the commission has sent a notice to the Delhi Police and the city government's women and child development and services departments, seeking action in the matter, and it was important to meet the minor and her mother for further action.

She later posted on X (formerly as Twitter), "Had I not come to meet the girl, they would have said that I didn't bother to see her. Now when I am here, they are saying it's a drama. Politics has fallen to such levels that politicians cannot speak the truth."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had Monday ordered the chief secretary to suspend the accused officer.

According to the order, during the suspension period, the officer is not permitted to leave the department headquarters without obtaining prior permission.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said Rani was produced before a court on Monday and sent to judicial custody, while Khakha will be produced in the court on Tuesday.
S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
Vivek Ramaswamy looks like the biggest winner and Sen. Tim Scott may have the most to complain about as the Republican National Committee announced the physical lineup for Wednesday nights first GOP debate.

With frontrunner and former President Donald Trump skipping the clash, the biotech entrepreneur and rising GOP star scored a coveted central spot next to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on the debate stage.

A recent surge in polls catapulted Ramaswamy into second place in the Republican National Committees polling average that was used to assign spots on stage.

As the longtime second in polls after Trump, DeSantis was primed to be in one of the middle spots in Milwaukee.

This combination of photos shows Republican presidential candidates, top row from left, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy, bottom row from left, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Former Vice President Mike Pence scored a visible spot next to DeSantis after coming in at No. 3 in the RNC average out of the eight debate participants.

That appears to be a remarkably generous take on Pences position in the race since he barely scored the needed 40,000 donors to qualify and is widely reviled by the majority of Republican voters who support Trump.

Nikki Haley, who clocked in fourth in the RNC average, will stand next to Ramaswamy.

Beyond Pence will be former Gov. Chris Christie, who has a record of stealing the show at past debates.

On the far side of Haley will be Scott, who wound up No. 6 with just 3% in the polling average.

He has made a strong showing in recent polls and is often mentioned along with Ramaswamy as the candidate with the most momentum in recent weeks.

But the only Black candidate in the race will be exiled to a relatively unfavorable position on the outer reaches of the debate stage.

Longshot candidates Doug Burgum, who famously gave donors $20 gift cards to get them to donate $1, and Asa Hutchinson will line up on the far ends of the stage in the equivalent of debate Siberia.

Its not clear that the position on stage makes much difference. But viewers may perceive the candidates closer to the middle to be in a more powerful position when sparring with others far out on the flanks.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman as an investment bank catering to institutions and businesses. Among the firm's first products are the revolutionary use of commercial paper for entrepreneurs which opened a new method of finance for business and industry.

The original firm expanded to Goldman Sachs in 1882 with the inclusion of son-in-law Samuel Sachs and again in 1885 with a son and another son-in-law. The firm joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1896 expanding into trading of its own and in 1898 it was worth $1.6 million. The company began its work in the IPO market in 1906 with the initial public offering of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and then moved on to Ford and other prominent names of the time.

The 1930s brings a change of leadership and a new direction for the firm. The company shifted toward a purer play on investment banking and embarks on a campaign of acquisition that lasted until the present day. The company doesnt go public itself until 1999 and from that point on it will change into a bank holding company that not only offers investment banking services but takes deposits too, and in 2016 the company added consumer banking to its list of services.

Today, Goldman Sachs is a financial institution that provides a range of financial services for corporations, institutions, governments, and individuals globally. The company operates through four segments that include Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer & Wealth Management. According to US banking regulations, it is systemically important to the financial health of America.

The company is headquartered in New York, New York, and operates 6 regional headquarters as well. Regional headquarters are located in financial hotspots such as London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangalore, and Warsaw. Among its many prominent CEOs are John Corzine and Hank Paulson who both went on to successful work in government.

The company's Investment Banking segment provides a full range of financial advisory services as well as underwriting for the public markets. The financial advisory services include but are not limited to strategic advisory for mergers and acquisitions, divestiture, restructuring, and spin-offs. This segment is also engaged in middle-market lending and transaction banking. Underwriting services include IPOs, preferred stock, debt instruments, and bridge loans.

Goldman Sachs Global Markets segment facilitates market transactions for institutions, banks, brokerages, corporations, and governments. Services include execution, derivatives, financing, clearing, settlement, and custody.

The Asset Management segment manages client portfolios across the investment spectrum while the Consumer & Wealth Management segment provides advisory and banking services to consumers.
The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California Inc., AHN Accountable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS  Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASC Operators-East Bay LLC, ASC Operators-San Francisco LLC, ASC Operators-San Luis Obispo LLC, ASC Operators-Santa Rosa LLC, ASC Operators-South Bay LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Cornerstone LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Florida LLC, AbleTo Behavioral Health Services P.C., AbleTo Inc., Accurate Rx Pharmacy Consulting LLC, Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A.S., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Center LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Allina Health Heart and Vascular Surgery Center LLC, Allina Health Surgery Center-Brooklyn Park LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Holdings Inc., AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Kentucky LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, American Physicians Inc., Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Angiografia e Hemodinamica Madre Theodora Ltda., Anne Arundel-SCA Holdings LLC, Anne Arundel-SCA Surgicenter LLC, Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arcadia JV Holdings LLC, Arcadia Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., ArchWell Health LLC, ArchWell Health MSO LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services Holding Co., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Alabama LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services of North Carolina P.C., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Oklahoma LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Arizona LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Nebraska LLC, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., Arlington Surgery Center LLC, Aspectus Inc., Associacao Lusiadas Knowledge Center  Health Education and Research, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Aurora Hospitalist P.C., Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Aventura Medical Tower Surgery Center LLC, Avery Parent Holdings Inc., Aveta Inc., AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, BOSC Holdings LLC, BSC Holdings LLC, Ball Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Banmedica Colombia S.A.S., Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Barranca Surgery Center LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings II LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings LLC, Beaver Medical Group P.C., Bedford Physicians Risk Retention Group Inc., Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Beltway Surgery Centers L.L.C., Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Bergan Mercy Surgery Center LLC, Bergen-Passaic Cataract Laser and Surgery Center LLC, Bessler MD PLLC, Bind Benefits Inc., Bind LH Holdings Inc., Bind Re Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Bloomfield ASC LLC, Blue Ridge Day Surgery Center L.P., Blue Ridge GP LLC, Blue Ridge Properties LLC, Boca Raton Outpatient Surgery & Laser Center LTD., Bordeaux Barbados Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings III S.r.l., Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, CCEC Anesthesia Management LLC, CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA  Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO  Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS  Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos Ltda., COI  Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill Ambulatory Centers, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardinal Holding Company LLC, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Care Logistics LLC, CareMount Dental Member LLC, CareMount Health Solutions ACO LLC, CareMount Health Solutions Employer LLC, CareMount Health Solutions LLC, CareMount Holding LLC, CareMount Medical Foundation Inc., CareMount Value Partners IPA LLC, Carr PLLC, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Castle Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran 2 Unlimited Company, Catamaran Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Cedar Park JV Partners LLC, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care  Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Center for Quality Improvement LLC, Center for Restorative Surgery at Maple Grove LLC, Center for Surgery of North Coast L.P., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, CentriHealth Corporation, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro de Entrenamiento Capacitacion en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada, Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica SpA, Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centura-SCA Holdings LLC, Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Surgery Properties LTD., Charlotte-SC LLC, Chatham Orthopaedic ASC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Claims Management Systems Inc., Cleburne Surgical Center LLC, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinton Partners LLC, Clinica Alameda SpA, Clinica Bio Bio SpA, Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.p.A., Clinica Iquique S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica Portoazul S.A., Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.p.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A.S., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Cobranzas Banmedica SpA, Cogent Healthcare IPA of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare Inc., Cogent Healthcare Management of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Arizona P.C., Cogent Healthcare of California Prof. Corp., Cogent Healthcare of Georgia P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Illinois LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Iowa P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Jackson MS LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Jacksonville LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Missouri Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Montana P.C., Cogent Healthcare of New Jersey P.C., Cogent Healthcare of North Carolina P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Oregon P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Pensacola L.L.C., Cogent Healthcare of Tennessee P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Washington P.C., Cogent Medical Care P.C., Cogent Patient Safety Organization Inc., Cogent/Endion Medical Care of New York P.C., Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada S.A., Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Comprehensive Hospital Physicians of Florida Inc., ConnectYourCare Inc., ConnectYourCare LLC, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Consorcio Regenero S.A., Constructora Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Continuum Physicians Group Inc., Continuum Physicians Group of Washington PLLC, Cornell Surgicenter LLC, Cornerstone Surgery Center LLC, Cornerstone Surgicare LLC, Corpus Christi Endoscopy Center L.L.P., Country Scan Ltda., Critical Care Physician of New York P.C., Critical Care Physicians of Illinois LLC, Critical Care Physicians of New Jersey PC, Critical Care Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Cross Timbers Surgery Center LLC, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DSP Flint Real Estate LLC, DSP-Building C LLC, DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., Dallas Inpatient Specialist PLLC, Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Denton Endoscopy Surgery Center LLC, Denton Surgery Center LLC, Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Digestive Disease Center L.P., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Blocker LLC, Diplomat Corporate Properties LLC, Diplomat Pharmacy, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Great Lakes Distribution Center LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Chicago LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Los Angeles County LLC, Distance Learning Network Inc., Divisadero Holdings LLC, DocASAP Inc., DocASAP India Technologies Private Limited, DocASAP US LLC, Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duluth Surgical Suites LLC, Durable Medical Equipment Inc., E Street Endoscopy LLC, EM Orange Tree LLC, EP Campus I LLC, EPIC Health Plan, EPIC Management Services LLC, East Bay Endoscopy Center L.P., East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Echo Locum Tenens Inc., Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Emerald Coast Surgery Center L.P., Emisar Pharma Services LLC, Emmaus Holdings LLC, Emmaus Surgical Center LLC, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Empremedica S. A., Endion Hospitalist North P.C., Endion Hospitalist of Western New York P.C., Endion Medical Healthcare P.C., Endion Medical Services P.C., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho  Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Everett MSO Inc., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center L.L.C., Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., Eye Specialists Surgery Centers LLC, FMG Holdings LLC, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice Inc., Ferrell Physician Services P.C., Fideicomiso Clinica Barranquilla Portoazul FA-517, First Coast Orthopedic Center LLC, First Family Insurance LLC, Florence Surgery Center L.P., For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fort Sutter Medical Building a California Limited Partnership, Fort Worth Endoscopy Centers LLC, Fortified Provider Network Inc., Foundation Surgery Affiliate General of Huntingdon Valley LLC, Foundation Surgery Affiliate of Huntingdon Valley L.P., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GLBESC LLC, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology Canada Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Gladiolus Surgery Center L.L.C., Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Global One Ventures LLC, Golden Gate Endoscopy Center LLC, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grandview Surgery Center LTD., Greater New Haven ASC LLC, Greensboro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Greenville Surgery Center LLC, Greenway Surgical Suites LLC, Grossmont Surgery Center L.P., Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., H&W Indemnity SPC Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HFHS-SCA Holdings LLC, HMG Holding Corporation, HMG Holdings LLC, HMP of Baltimore  USH P.C., Harken Health Insurance Company, Harrison Endo Surgical Center LLC, Hawthorn Place Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hays JV Partners LLC, Hays Surgery Center LLC, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Affiliates Medical Group, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthEast Surgery Center-Maplewood LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Healthplex America LLC, Healthplex Dental Services Inc., Healthplex I.P.A. Inc., Healthplex Inc., Healthplex Insurance Company, Healthplex of CT Inc., Healthplex of DC Inc., Healthplex of MD Inc., Healthplex of ME Inc., Healthplex of NC Inc., Healthplex of NJ Inc., Healthplex of TX Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help Seguros de Vida S.A., Help Service S.A., Help SpA, Hemonefro  Hemodialise e Nefrologia Ltda, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Medical S.A., Honodav SpA, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of Broome County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Binghamton P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Buffalo P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Newburgh P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Nyack P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Patchogue P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Goodyear Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Nogales Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Sierra Vista Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Buncombe County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Apple Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Bakersfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Camarillo PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Crescent City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fairfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fremont PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Grass Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Jackson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oceanside PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oxnard PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Salinas PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Leandro PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Sonoma PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Thousand Oaks PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Vacaville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Brighton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Denver PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Manchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Rockville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Wallingford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Palm Coast LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Fredericksburg LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Atlanta PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - East Point PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Lavonia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Savannah PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii - Kealakekua Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho - Nampa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Downers Grove LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Elmhurst LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Rockford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Winfield LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Clinton LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Mishawaka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Terre Haute LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Cedar Rapids PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Mason City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Topeka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Alexandria Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Bossier City Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Lake Charles Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Shreveport Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Bangor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Lewiston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cheverly PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cumberland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Frederick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Laurel PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Rockville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Brockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Dorchester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Framingham PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Holyoke PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Natick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Norwood PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Springfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Stoughton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Taunton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Worcester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Alpena PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Dowagiac PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Escanaba PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grand Blanc PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grayling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Kalamazoo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Plainwell PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Port Huron PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Saginaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Tawas City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Bridgeton Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Richmond Heights Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Billings PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Butte PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Miles City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Missoula PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Multiple Practice Sites LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada  TCG Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada  TCS Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - 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Rockwall PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Round Rock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio IV PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio V PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VI PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VII PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Marcos PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Texarkana PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Tyler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Alexandria LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Mechanicsville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Midlothian LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Winchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Arlington PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Auburn PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bellingham PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bremerton PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Burien PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Coupeville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - 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Casper LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming  TCS LLC, Hospitalists Management Group LLC, Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation Ontario, IEC Holdings LLC, IHD Holdings LLC, INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, Illinois Independent Care Network LLC, Imagen Technologies Inc., Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., InTouch Pharmacy LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Indiana Endoscopy Centers LLC, Inland Surgery Center L.P., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inpatient Services P.C., Inpatient Specialists of California P.C., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Instituto Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, Inter-Hospital Physicians Association Inc., International Healthcare Services Inc., Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria SpA, Ironman Holdco Inc., Ironman Intermediate Holdco LLC, Isapre Banmedica S.A., JPM Healthcare LLC, Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Jordan Ridge Family Medicine LLC, Joyable Inc., Kansal Inc. A Professional Corporation, Knox Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Kokomo Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, LDI Holding Company LLC, LDI Management Services LLC, LGH-A/Golf ASTC L.L.C., LHC Group, La Esperanza del Peru S.A., Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Landmark Group Holdings LLC, Landmark Health Holdings LLC, Landmark Health LLC, Landmark Health NY IPA LLC, Landmark Health NY PO LLC, Landmark Health Technologies Private Limited, Landmark Health of California LLC, Landmark Health of Massachusetts LLC, Landmark Health of North Carolina LLC, Landmark Health of Oregon LLC, Landmark Health of Pennsylvania LLC, Landmark Health of Washington LLC, Landmark India LLC, Landmark Intermediate Holdings LLC, Landmark MSO LLC, Landmark Medical of Idaho PC, Landmark Medical of Massachusetts PLLC, Landmark Medical of Tennessee PC, Landmark Primary Care LLC, Laser Acquisition Holdings III LLC, Leehar Distributors LLC, Lemhi Ventures Fund I LP, Lemhi Ventures Fund II LP, Level2 Medical Services P.C. Alaska, Lexington Surgery Center Ltd., Liberty Anesthesia Services LLC, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeWell. Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Limestone Medical Center LLC, Litomedica S.A., Logan Surgical Suites LLC, Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook L.P., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas Algarve S.A., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., Lutheran Campus ASC LLC, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MCNA Health Care Holdings LLC, MCNA Insurance Company, MCNA Systems Corp., MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, Main Line Spine Surgery Center LLC, Managed Care of North America Inc., Managed Physical Network Inc., Mansfield Endoscopy Center LLC, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care IPA Inc., March Vision Care Inc., March Vision Care of Texas Inc., Marin Health Ventures LLC, Marin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Marlin Holding Company LLC, Maryland Ambulatory Centers LLC, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, McKenzie Surgery Center L.P., MedExpress Primary Care West Virginia Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services LLC, Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memorial Houston Surgery Center LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Orange Coast LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Saddleback LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management Ltd., Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midlands Orthopaedics Surgery Center LLC, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Medical Plaza L.C., Mobile Medical Services of New Jersey PC, Mobile-SC LTD., Modality Accountable Care Organisation Limited, Moen M.D. P.C., Mohawk Surgery Center LLC, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Monument Health LLC, Moore Orthopaedic Clinic Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Morris County Surgical Center LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Murrells Inlet ASC LLC, Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings Inc., NPN IPA Washington PLLC, NSC Channel Islands LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Greensboro West LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Naperville Surgical Centre LLC, National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Navigator Health Inc., Nebraska Spine Hospital LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., New York Proton Management LLC, Newton Holdings LLC, Niagara Hospitalist P.C., Nomad Buyer Inc., North American Medical Management California Inc., North Coast Surgery Center Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, North Dallas Surgical Center LLC, North Kitsap Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgery Center L.P., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northern Utah Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Hills JV Partners LLC, Northwest Medical Group Alliance LLC, Northwest Spine and Laser Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OCC MSO LLC, OSB  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Lda., Omesa SpA, OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., One World Surgery, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas LLC, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Networks Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Care of New York Management Inc., Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Compounding Services LLC, Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Direct To Consumer Inc., Optum Financial Inc., Optum Frontier Therapies Holdings LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies II LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies LLC, Optum Genomics Inc., Optum Global Solutions Colombia S.A.S., Optum Global Solutions India Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Global Solutions Philippines Inc., Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners Holdings Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings US Inc., Optum Health & Technology Hong Kong Limited, Optum Health & Technology India Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health & Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology US LLC, Optum Health Plan of California, Optum Health Services Canada Ltd., Optum Health Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions UK Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 200 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 204 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 209 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 305 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 402 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 500 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 550 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 551 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 553 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 554 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs LLC, Optum Life Sciences Canada Inc., Optum Management Consulting Shanghai Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Operations Ireland Unlimited Company, Optum Oregon MSO LLC, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharma Services Holdings Inc., Optum Pharmacy 601 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 700 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 704 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 706 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 707 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 800 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 803 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 805 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 806 Inc., Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket LLC, Optum SCA CS JV Holdings LLC, Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Services Ireland Limited, Optum Services Puerto Rico LLC, Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Venture Global Partners II LP, Optum Venture Global Partners LP, Optum Venture Partners II LP, Optum Venture Partners III LP, Optum Venture Partners LP, Optum Washington Network LLC, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare ACO West LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare Portland LLC, OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumCare Specialty Practices LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Oregon Healthcare Resources LLC, Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the South Inc., OrthoWest MSO LLC, Orthology Inc., Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopedic Surgery Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopro Management LLC, Ovations Inc., Owensboro Ambulatory Surgical Facility Ltd., Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans CT Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, Oxford Health Plans NJ Inc., Oxford Health Plans NY Inc., P2P Link LLC, PCCCV Inc., PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PPH Management Company L.L.C., PPH-Columbia Inc., PPH-Gardendale Inc., PS Center LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., Pacific Cardiovascular Associates Medical Group Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Panama City Surgery Center LLC, Park Hill Surgery Center LLC, Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Patient Care Associates L.L.C., PatientsLikeMe, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peninsula Eye Surgery Center LLC, Penzo Enterprises LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Perham Physical Therapy LTD, Perimeter Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Pharmaceutical Technologies LLC, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians' Surgery Center of Downey LLC, Pinnacle III LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings Inc., Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Practice Partners in Healthcare LLC, Preferred Care Network Inc., Preferred Care Network of Florida Inc., Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., PreferredOne, PreferredOne Administrative Services Inc., PreferredOne Insurance Company, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Premiere Medical Resources LLC, Presidio Surgery Center LLC, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., PrimeDoc St. Francis P.C., PrimeDoc of Richmond P.C., ProHEALTH Care Associates L.L.P., ProHEALTH Care Associates of New Jersey LLP, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, ProHealth/CareMount Dental Management LLC, Procura Management Inc., Professional Coverage Services PLLC, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical LLC, Promotora Country S.A., Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Benefits Management LLC, Prospero Care Management LLC, Prospero Management Services LLC, Providence & SCA Development LLC, Providence & SCA Off-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA On-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA Outreach Markets Holdings LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., R Cubed Inc., RABessler M.D. P.C., ROC Surgery LLC, ROCS Holdings LLC, RX Ricardo Campos Ltda., Rally Health Inc., ReMedics LLC, Real Appeal Inc., Redding Surgery Center LLC, Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Reliant Medical Group Inc., Reliant Medical Group The Endoscopy Center LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, Resonancia Magnetica de Colombia Ltda., Resonancia Magnetica del Country S.A., RightCare Solutions Inc., River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Corporate Wellness LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Robert A. 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Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Glenwood Holdings LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Memorial LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Morris Avenue LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Panama City Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-VLR Holdings Company LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCLHS-SCA Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SJ East Campus ASC LLC, SRPS LLC, SSSC Holdings LLC, SVHS-SCA Florida JV LLC, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Sage Medical Prof. LLC, Salem JV Holdings LLC, Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., San Diego Endoscopy Center, San Diego Sports and Minimally Invasive Surgery Center LLC, San Francisco Endoscopy Center LLC, San Luis Obispo Surgery Center a California Limited Partnership, Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Barbara Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santa Rosa Surgery Center L.P., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Sanvello Health Holdings LLC, Sanvello Health Inc., Sanvello Health Limited, Scanner Centromed S.A., Seashore Surgical Institute L.L.C., Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Serquinox Holdings LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Ltda., Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Ltda., Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., Serviclinica Inmobiliaria S.A., Serviclinica S.A. Ex Los Leones La Calera, Servisalud Inmobiliaria S.A., Servisalud S.A. Ex Los Carrera Quilpue, Shark Holdings P.C., Sierra Dental Plan Inc., Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam  Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria SpA, Solstice Administration Services Inc., Solstice Administrators Inc., Solstice Administrators of Alabama Inc., Solstice Administrators of Arizona Inc., Solstice Administrators of Missouri Inc., Solstice Administrators of North Carolina Inc., Solstice Administrators of Texas Inc., Solstice Benefit Services Inc., Solstice Benefits Inc., Solstice Health Insurance Company, Solstice Healthplans Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Arizona Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Colorado Inc., Solstice Healthplans of New Jersey Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Ohio Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Tennessee Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Texas Inc., Solstice of Illinois Inc., Solstice of Minnesota Inc., Solstice of New York Inc., Solutran LLC, Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Sound Inpatient Physicians Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Medical Group Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians of Ohio LLC, Sound Inpatient Physicians of Texas I Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians  Michigan PLLC, Sound Intensivists of Nevada RBessler M.D. PLLC, Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati Inc., Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati LLC, Sound Physicians Advisory Services Inc., Sound Physicians Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, Sound Physicians Anesthesiology of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Georgia P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kansas LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kentucky PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Louisiana Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Michigan PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Nevada Bessler PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Southern California P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of West Virginia PLLC, Sound Physicians Holdings LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Intensivists of Georgia PC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Virginia LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Palliative Care of Maryland P.C., Sound Physicians Telemedicine Inc., Sound Physicians of Florida IV LLC, Sound Physicians of Georgia III P.C., Sound Physicians of Hawaii Inc., Sound Physicians of Idaho PLLC, Sound Physicians of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Indiana LLC, Sound Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Sound Physicians of Kankakee Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Massachusetts II P.C., Sound Physicians of Massachusetts Inc., Sound Physicians of New Jersey LLC, Sound Physicians of New York PLLC, Sound Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Sound Physicians of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians of Wyoming LLC, South Arlington Surgical Providers LLC, South County Surgical Center LLC, South Sound Inpatient Physicians PLLC, Southern California Medical Practice Concepts LLC, Southland Hospitalists P.C., Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center LLC, Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Spartanburg Surgery Center LLC, Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits LLC, Specialty Billing Solutions LLC, Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Sports and Spinal Physical Therapy Inc., St. Cloud Outpatient Surgery Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Cardiovascular Institute LLC, St. Louis Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Stonegate JV Partners LLC, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Summer Street ASC LLC, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Cottonwood LLC, Surgery Center at Grove Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center at South Ogden LLC, Surgery Center at St. Vincent LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Fairfield County LLC, Surgery Center of Fort Collins LLC, Surgery Center of Lexington LLC, Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Mt. Scott LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Caregivers of Fort Worth LLC, Surgical Center of Greensboro LLC, Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Eye Experts LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgical Management Solutions LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Central Jersey LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Jackson Ltd. a Mississippi Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Minneapolis Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Mobile Ltd., Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, T.M. Carr M.D. P.C., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., THR-SCA Holdings LLC, TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologia de Informacion en Salud S.A., Texas Health Craig Ranch Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Flower Mound Orthopedic Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Orthopedic Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Bedford LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Chisholm Trail LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Irving LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Preston Plaza LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Rockwall LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Southwest Fort Worth LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Waxahachie LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Willow Park LLC, The Advisory Board Company, The Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Eye Surgery Center of the Carolinas L.P., The Intensivist Group of Langhorne LLC, The Lewin Group Inc., The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, The Surgery Center of Easton L.P., The Surgical Center of Connecticut LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Trauma Surgery Affiliates LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, Treasure Valley Emerald Properties LLC, Treasure Valley Hospital Limited Partnership, Tri-City Medical Center ASC Operators LLC, Tri-County Surgery Center LLC, Trinity Cardiovascular Care PLLC, Tufts Health Freedom Insurance Company, Tufts Health Freedom Plans Inc., Tuscaloosa Surgical Center L.P., U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UCSD Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, UCSD Center for Surgery of Encinitas L.P., UCSD Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings I LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings II LLC, UHC Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings Ireland Limited, UHCG Services Ireland Limited, UHCG  FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHG Holdings UK IV Limited, UHG Holdings UK V Limited, UHG Holdings UK VI Limited, UHIC Holdings Inc., UMR Inc., UPHT-SCA Holdings LLC, USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors LLC, USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD ASC IV1 LLC, USMD ASC IV2 LLC, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Hospital at Arlington L.P., USMD Hospital at Fort Worth L.P., USMD Inc., USMD PPM LLC, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Medical Park ASC LLC, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., United in Advancing Health Equity Foundation, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Employee Assistance Fund, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group International Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service Beijing Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Medical UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Parekh Insurance TPA Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Rockies Inc., Unity Health Network LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, VPay Benefits Corporation, VPay Inc., VPay Intermediate Holdings LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vascular Labs of the Rockies ASC LLC, Vascular Labs of the Rockies PLLC, Via Vitae MSO LLC, Vida Integra S.p.A., Vida Tres S.A., Virtua-SCA Holdings II LLC, Virtua-SCA Holdings LLC, Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wake Forest Ambulatory Ventures LLC, Walnut Creek Endoscopy Center LLC, Walnut Hill Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center LLC, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., Waypoint Minnesota PC, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, WestHealth JV Holdings LLC, WestHealth Surgery Center LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, Westgreen Surgical Center LLC, Wilson Creek Surgical Center LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, Winter Park Surgery Center L.P., Woodbury Surgery Center LLC, XAS Infusion Suites Inc., XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, divvyDOSE, divvyMED LLC, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative Inc., naviHealth Care at Home LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care SC P.C., naviHealth Holdings LLC, naviHealth Inc., naviHealth Michigan HBPC P.C., and naviHealth SM Holdings Inc..

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Donald Trumps rivals in the Republican White House race are due to convene for the first debate of the campaign Wednesday, as they jostle for position behind the front-running former president.

Trump has said he will skip the Fox News showdown, joining Tucker Carlson for an interview in the same time slot and letting his commanding national lead do the rest of his talking.

Still, the debate in Milwaukee should allow a small army of long-shot contenders to sell their campaigns, with the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus more than four months away.

Here are five things to watch.

1. Will Trump show?

The wise-cracking, bomb-throwing Trump made a mark on the first GOP debate in 2015, attacking Rosie ODonnell when a moderator, Megyn Kelly, asked him about his history of sexist comments.

This time around, it seems Trump will sit the debate out  a standard choice for a politician with a large polling lead. On Tuesday, a FiveThirty Eight average of primary polls put Trump up 38 percentage points over his closest competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.

The public knows who I am, Trump said on his Truth Social platform Sunday.

But an air of suspense still hangs. Mike Pence, Trumps one-time vice president and now a rival, has suggested he would not be surprised if the 45th president decides to show up at the last minute.

I served alongside the president for a long time, and one thing I realized about him is its not over till its over, Pence said in an ABC News interview that aired Sunday.

This combination of photos shows Republican presidential candidates, top row from left, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy, bottom row from left, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Governor Asa Hutchinson.

2. How will the pack handle Trump?

Trumps post-presidency  marked by a myriad of election lies, an assortment of endorsements of failed candidates and four criminal indictments  seems to provide plenty of fodder for rivals.

But some candidates have seemed to pull punches, a tacit acknowledgement of the stranglehold Trump has over the GOP electorate. Candidates like DeSantis have often seemed uncomfortable taking shots at Trump, fearing a backlash.

With Trump rising in the polls, though, more hopefuls may rip the band-aid. Earlier this month, DeSantis declared Trump did not win the 2020 presidential election.

I would expect Trumps name to be mentioned hundreds of times, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. If its not, the candidates are basically ceding the nomination to Trump.

3. Can Christie make a splash?

One candidate who seems unafraid to take on Trump is former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was criticized as a domineering force when he led New Jersey, but whose debate skills are hard to question.

On a GOP presidential debate stage in 2016, Christie filleted a flustered Sen. Marco Rubio, functionally ending the Florida senators run in some peoples eyes.

Christie plainly craves a chance to carve up Trump, whom he once advised and supported. But if the former president does not attend the tilt Wednesday, Christie may be left to train his fire elsewhere.

Christies very good at the multi-candidate debates, said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist. Hes like a bumper car. Hell be bumping into anybody he can.

Christie is scoring about 3% of the vote nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at The Gathering conservative political conference in Buckhead, Ga., on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023.

4. How much heat will DeSantis take?

DeSantis, long seen as the primary GOP threat to Trump, has been struggling throughout the summer and recently replaced his campaign manager. Opponents may smell blood.

A campaign memo circulated by his campaign said, we are fully prepared for Gov. DeSantis to be the center of attacks.

A strong DeSantis performance could clarify his alternative-to-Trump status. A weak showing could open the field.

This is as close to a do-or-die moment as a candidate can have, Conant said of DeSantis.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar in West Columbia, S.C., on July 18, 2023.

5. Will candidates focus on immigration?

President Bidens handling of Americas southwestern border has been a point of sharp Republican criticism over the last year, as waves of migrants have headed northward  stretching resources in places like New York City.

But Republican strategists suggested the debate is likely to offer more mudslinging than substantive policy debate from the candidates.

I havent seen any really robust policy discussions from any of them, said Jay Townsend, a New York political consultant who advises candidates from both parties.

The debate starts at 9 p.m. EST on the Fox News Channel.
A new program at Dalhousie University is poised to make a significant contribution to the health and well-being of Nova Scotians.

Last Thursday (August 3), at Dalhousies Collaborative Health Education Building (CHEB), the Province of Nova Scotia  represented by Minister of Health and Wellness, The Honourable Michelle Thompson, and Minister of Advanced Education, The Honourable Brian Wong, along with Dean Dr. David Anderson, Faculty of Medicine  announced the development and funding of a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program in Dals Faculty of Medicine.

The first of its kind in the Maritime provinces and only the fourth in the country, the MPAS will provide graduates with the competencies needed to provide compassionate, evidence-based care and significantly contribute to interprofessional health-care teams.

"The establishment of a Master of Physician Assistant Program represents a critical step towards improving access to quality health-care services for Nova Scotians, says Dr. Anderson, who spoke at the announcement. By training physician assistants, we can help alleviate some of the burden faced by physicians and provide a pathway to meet the health-care needs of our communities."

Providing collaborative care



Physician assistants are highly skilled health-care professionals who work collaboratively with physicians and other members of the health-care team to provide high-quality patient care.

Dalhousies MPAS training is a condensed, two-year medical curriculum preparing students for direct entry into the profession. They will receive comprehensive training in various areas such as clinical medicine, patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, pharmacology, and surgical procedures. Students will also gain practical experience through clinical rotations in various health-care settings, including primary care, surgical services, medical services, psychiatric services, and emergency departments.

Physician assistants have been providing safe, competent, and efficient health care under the supervision of physicians since the 1960s in the United States and in the Canadian military. More recently, they have been identified as a valuable resource within the Canadian health-care system with significant uptake and role integration in Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta.

We heard from doctors that having more physician assistants would free up time, allowing them to focus on more complex issues or things that only physicians can do, said Michelle Thompson, who is also the minister responsible for the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment. We know we need more health-care providers, and physician assistants can help provide Nova Scotians faster access to care. We are proud to be able to train physician assistants right here in Nova Scotia.



Recommended reading: Department of Family Medicine set to offer comprehensive Indigenous health education

Inaugural assistant dean



Supporting the program at Dalhousie is the newly appointed Assistant Dean, Physician Assistant Studies Dr. Michael Clory.

An emergency medicine physician, Dr. Clory has been a faculty member at Dalhousie for more than 20 years, with many years of senior administrative experience. As assistant dean, he will provide ongoing leadership, oversight, curricular innovation, and evaluation of the Physician Assistant Program and will be responsible for ensuring that the program meets accreditation standards.

To learn more about the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, or to apply, please visit the program's website.


Actor Prakash Raj (ANI)

Bagalkot: Actor Prakash Raj has been booked in a police station of Karnataka's Bagalkot district over a social media post, in which he allegedly mocked India's ambitious third lunar mission-- Chandrayaan-3, police said on Tuesday.

"A complaint has been filed against actor Prakash Raj for his post on the Chandrayaan-3 mission," police said.

"Hindu organisations leaders filed a complaint against the actor in Banahatti police station of Bagalkote district and have demanded action," they added.

The veteran actor on Sunday took to microblogging site X, sharing a caricature of a man in a shirt and lungi pouring tea. Sharing the picture, he wrote, "First view just arrived from Chandrayaan .. #VikramLander #justasking."

Hate sees only Hate.. i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times .. celebrating our kerala Chaiwala .. which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see ?? .. if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you .. GROW UP #justasking https://t.co/NFHkqJy532  Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) August 21, 2023

Prakash Raj has been facing heavy backlash since then with people saying that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is linked to the country's pride.

Faced with social media outrage Prakash Raj clarified on X that his comments were only intended as a joke. "Hate sees only Hate...I was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times celebrating our kerala Chaiwala-which Chaiwala did the Trolls see? if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you..GROW UP #justasking" he posted.

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, around 18:04 hours IST.

Live action will be available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 17:27 IST on Aug 23, 2023.

India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole.

The primary objectives of Chandrayaan-3 mission are threefold -- to demonstrate safe and soft landing on lunar surface; to demonstrate rover roving on the moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission's progress.

Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14, 2023 via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota at 2:35 PM.
The climate crisis is growing in intensity, threatening our communities and is affecting the lives of all New Yorkers. Just this summer New Yorkers have been confronted with new, more deadly and debilitating climate emergencies, from the severe flooding in the Hudson Valley to the thick, choking wildfire smoke from Canada causing an increase in respiratory issues and asthma-related ER visits, disproportionately in low-income, predominantly Black and Hispanic communities.

In the coming months, Gov. Hochul will roll out her administrations proposal for a cap-trade-and-invest (CT&I) program, an economy-wide, sector-based program intended to help New York lower its emissions and meet the targets in New Yorks ambitious climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). This new program would set an annual limit, or a cap, on New Yorks greenhouse gas emissions and create permits that businesses could purchase, allowing them to pay to emit an amount of emissions up to the cap.

We urge the Hochul administration to adopt guardrails to minimize costs, maximize benefits, encourage early action, undo legacy pollution, and protect frontline communities disproportionately impacted by climate injustice from increased emissions and pollution hotspots.

It is crucial that state regulators build a just system prioritizing low-income communities and communities of color over polluters. Any program must comply with the CLCPAs mandate to prioritize the reduction of emissions and co-pollutants in disadvantaged communities. We cant let CT&I be a distraction from direct emission reductions and climate investments, such as ending our reliance on fossil fuels and decarbonizing our homes and buildings. Cap-and-trade systems do not guarantee emissions reduction, and CT&I alone will not undo the legacy air pollution that has sickened environmental justice communities across the state.

Much to the alarm of environmental justice advocates, the Hochul administration has proposed using a form of emissions trading. The ability to trade means that polluters that do not use all their emissions allowances under their cap can sell the remainder to other polluters who want to emit more than their cap. Done wrong, New Yorks cap program could risk making mistakes similar to those California made with its version of the program, where emissions have actually increased in certain sectors.

Recent research on cap-and-trade programs shows a general pattern in which low-income communities and communities of color received improvements and emissions reductions at a lower and slower rate for all pollutants when compared to wealthier, white communities. To avoid this outcome in New York, its imperative that a just cap-and-invest program refrain from the use of trading, offsets, and unlimited banking, which are key components of the California program.

Cap and invest regulations must prohibit allowance trading that could potentially exacerbate pollution in already overburdened communities and impose facility-specific and sector-based caps. Specific caps can be designated for facilities or sectors to ensure the state meets its CLCPA targets. For example, each power plant could have a cap on how much it can emit, with the cap amount decreasing to zero over time to meet the zero-emissions by 2040 mandate for the power sector. These specific caps would help prevent the inequitable distribution of air quality benefits from emissions reductions and ensure all facilities in disadvantaged communities decrease emissions as fast as the statewide average amount.

Done right, an emissions cap program would make corporate polluters pay for their toxic pollution, raising billions of dollars to create good, green union jobs, and directing money to Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class communities. The program could also lower energy costs across the board for all New Yorkers. Reducing emissions and subsequent pollution would lower rates of asthma, heart disease, and stroke and increase New Yorkers life expectancy. This means New Yorkers could lead longer, healthier lives with lower prescription drug costs and medical bills.

A CT&I program alone will not position New York to meet its CLCPA targets and, if done in isolation without guardrails, could deepen the impacts of environmental racism. Its incumbent on the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to listen to the voices of all New Yorkers in order to equitably design and implement New Yorks ambitious climate legislation.

A program that includes trading, but doesnt prioritize the health and well being of those who have faced the brunt of the climate crisis, isnt the kind of program New York needs or deserves. We call on decision makers in Albany to ensure that in implementing New Yorks landmark climate law, they center environmental justice and equity at every stage of the planning process.

Gonzalez-Rojas represents parts of Queens in the state Assembly. Ko is the deputy director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, where Perez is a policy organizer.
Onion farmers in Maharashtra are fuming over the Centre's decision to impose export duty of 40 percent on onions till December 31. (ANI)

Mumbai: Onion farmers in Maharashtra are fuming over the Centre's decision to impose export duty of 40 percent on onions till December 31. To protest against the move, they closed onion auctions indefinitely in all the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in Nashik district.

On Monday, the onion auctions remained closed at most of the APMCs in Nashik, including at Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale onion market in India. In addition to this, the protests included a sit-in agitation on Nashik-Aurangabad highway in which farmers wore garlands made of onions and shouted slogans against the Centres decision.

Activists of the Late Sharad Joshi Shetkari Sanghatana also staged a rasta-roko (traffic stoppage) in front of Yeola APMC on Manmad-Yeola highway and demanded the export duty decision should be revoked.

Protesting farmers said the central governments decision to impose a 40 percent duty on the export of onions till December 31 will adversely affect the onion growers and its export. It will spoil their chances of getting good price for the onion, they said.

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the farmers' body, has appealed to all APMCs across Maharashtra to halt the trading of onions. "Not only in Nashik, but across Maharashtra, farmers will come out to protest against the government's move to impose export duty on onions," AIKS general secretary Ajit Nawale said.

"The central government has continuously adopted anti-farmer policies. It turns a blind eye when farmers suffer the losses and just when they had started earning some money, the Centre intervened and dropped the prices of onions. To protest against this, farmers across Maharashtra will boycott the sale of opinions at the APMCs," he added.

However, Union minister of state Bharati Pawar defended 40 per cent duty on exports and said that the decision was taken for the benefit of farmers as well as domestic consumers.

Maharashtra accounts for the highest onion production in the country accounting upto 30 percent of the onion production.

The Union government on August 19 imposed a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions to increase domestic availability amid signs of increasing prices and in view of the upcoming festival season. The export duty, which is the first time ever on onion, was imposed by the Finance Ministry through a Customs notification and will be in force till December 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for his visit for Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit. He will also be visiting Greece on August 25, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit at the invitation of the country's president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This is PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for Johannesburg, South Africa.



He is visiting South Africa from 22-24 August at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship. pic.twitter.com/EubiEHkKDa  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

Ahead of his departure, Modi said that BRICS has been actively engaged in fostering a robust collaboration agenda across diverse sectors, and serves as a platform to deliberate upon issues of significance for the entire Global South.

PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg".

"BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," the PM said in a statement.

The PM in his departure statement ahead of his visit said: "I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from August 22-24, 2023 at the invitation of Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship."

The PM further said: "During my stay in Johannesburg, I will also participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event."

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th BRICS Summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme "Brics  Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue".

This is being organised after the BRICS Summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa.

From South Africa, the PM will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," the PM said, according to the release.

"Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer," the PM said on the civilizational ties between India and Greece.

"I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by the Indian community upon his arrival at Sandton Sun Hotel, in Johannesburg, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. PM Modi is on a three-day official visit during which he will attend the 15th BRICS summit and hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders. (PTI)

New Delhi: At the Brics business forum leaders' dialogue late on Tuesday evening in the South African city of Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India as the fastest-growing major economy in the world and invited more global investment.

A day ahead of the 15th Brics summit, the Prime Minister, in the presence of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, among others, said, "Soon we will be a $5 trillion economy. India will be the growth engine of the world."

At the Brics business forum leaders' dialogue, the Prime Minister told the audience that various economic reforms are being carried out by his government in mission mode and that global challenges have been converted into opportunities, due to which the ease of doing business in India has improved and red tape has been replaced with a red carpet for investors.

Mr Modi pointed out how the reforms have benefited Indias poor with direct benefit transfers into their accounts and boosted service delivery and financial inclusion.

The Prime Minister reiterated that India has set the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.

The Prime Minister also talked about the UPI payment interface and said that even the UAE, France and Singapore have joined the initiative. He pointed out that India has emerged as the country with the largest number of digital transactions worldwide.

Mr Modi said that his government has allocated a whopping $120 billion for infrastructure and that the manufacturing sector in India has become more competitive. The Prime Minister also talked about the government's productivity-linked incentives for various sectors, Indias success in the startup sector and the Make in India initiative.

On Wednesday, Mr Modi will participate in the Brics summit and also hold bilateral meetings with other leaders. However, the suspense over his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping continues since this possibility has not yet been ruled out.

Ahead of the speeches by the leaders, the Brics business forum read out the findings of business delegates and admitted that there was no consensus on the issue of a common currency for the Brics nations.

In other remarks on Tuesday evening, the South African President said the Brics leaders will discuss the issue of the expansion of the grouping at the Brics leaders' retreat that will be held later in the evening (Tuesday night IST).

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who addressed the meeting in virtual mode, blasted the West for the economic sanctions imposed on Russia.

The Chinese commerce minister who read out President Xis remarks said that Beijing also supports the expansion of the Brics grouping and is "opposed to hegemonism, confrontation and a zero-sum game".

In a formal statement, New Delhi said, "The Prime Minister invited the Brics business leaders to participate in Indias developmental journey. The Prime Minister noted that Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains and emphasised the importance of mutual trust and transparency in this regard. He also stressed that together, the Brics can contribute significantly to global welfare, particularly of the Global South."

Earlier, Mr Modi landed at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Johannesburg and was warmly welcomed at the airport by South African deputy president Paul Shipokosa Mashatile.

Speaking before his departure from New Delhi earlier in the day, the Prime Minister said the Brics forum "has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system".
TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, along with TTD chief vigilance officer Narasimha Kishore, said Balaji Baggage Management System (BBMS) system would offer a seamless and efficient solution to the luggage management process. (File Image/DC)

Tirupati: The TTD has introduced the Balaji Baggage Management System (BBMS) as part of the efforts to enhance the pilgrimage experience in Tirumala. This automated system simplifies devotees luggage and their mobile phone deposits for short durations and their retrieval after the temple visit and prayers.

TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, along with TTD chief vigilance officer Narasimha Kishore, said this system would offer a seamless and efficient solution to the luggage management process.

In the past, there were complaints that devotees faced delays while depositing their belongings. Hence, they often opted to carry their mobile phones concealed in their pockets.

"Devotees' Darshan tickets are now scanned and digitally stored, along with details of their luggage and mobile phones. For those without Darshan tickets, a unique Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) code is generated upon scanning the goods, accompanied by a QR code receipt. For mobile phone deposits, the system collects the devotees' Aadhaar details, along with Srivari Darshan tickets and QR codes, facilitating efficient tracking and retrieval," he said.

The integration of GPS technology into the luggage vehicles makes the luggage retrieval process for the devotees simple.

"Devotees receive SMS notifications about the estimated time of arrival of their belongings. Upon reaching the luggage counters, the QR code receipts are scanned at display kiosks, and this triggers an immediate display of luggage availability on the screens through a colour-coded system. The luggage is then loaded onto trolleys and sent to appropriate counters," the EO said.

The system is operational on a trial basis for a month. On a day, about 60,000 mobiles and 40,000 baggage items are deposited and delivered in a hassle-free manner through 44 counters at 16 centres.

TTD CVSO Narasimha Kishore said the entire system was commissioned with the support of donors. "Donors like Venugopal V Kota from Bengaluru contributed `1 crore towards the software, while V. Somasekhar, CEO of M/s Track-It from Hyderabad, provided `17 lakh for the software application. Additionally, Jose Charles Martin, MD of M&C Property Development from Chennai, donated `2 crore for the hardware infrastructure," the vigilance chief said.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will kickstart the BRS campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls on Wednesday. (File image: DC)

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will kickstart the BRS campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls on Wednesday from Medak, where he will hold a Pragathi Shankaravam public meeting.

Sources said that the partys poll campaign will centre around the theme of Pragathi Shankaravam, which translates to sounding the development bugle, under which the leaders will highlight the developmental works taken up by the party over the past nine years, since statehood was granted in 2014.

As this will be the first public appearance by Chandrashekar Rao since the announcement of candidates for 115 Assembly seats on Monday, the Chief Minister is expected to launch the distribution of enhanced Aasara pension to the physically challenged, hiked from Rs 3,016 to Rs 4,016, besides announcing a slew of other sops.

On Tuesday, finance minister T. Harish Rao visited Medak to review arrangements for the event, with thousands of people from all segments in Medak likely to attend the meeting.

Addressing media personnel in Medak, Harish Rao said that Chandrashekar Raos public meeting in Medak assumes significance as it was the first public meeting since the announcement of BRS candidates for Assembly polls. "While the BRS is racing ahead by announcing candidates for all seats and launching campaigning, Opposition parties are left stunned, with no strong candidates to take on BRS," Harish said.

On Wednesday, the Chief Minister will also inaugurate the newly-constructed Integrated District Offices Complex and the Superintendent of Polices office. He is also expected to launch the distribution of Aasara pensions to beedi thekedars (suppliers).
Naidu would meet the CEC and submit details of how such names were getting deleted and also how bogus voters with fake door numbers and addresses were being enrolled as by the ruling party. (Twitter)

Vijayawada: Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu is likely to meet the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on August 28 to lodge a complaint on the "illegal deletion of names of voters" from the electoral rolls in AP.

Telugu Desam sources say that Naidu is responding to a series of complaints from the party leaders from several districts on deletion of names of party supporters from the electoral rolls. Naidu would meet the CEC and submit details of how such names were getting deleted and also how bogus voters with fake door numbers and addresses were being enrolled as by the ruling party.

The TD chief would ask the CEC to correct the anomalies and initiate action against the officials who resorted to motivated deletion of names.

Notably, two officials had been suspended following anomalies in the voters list at Uravakonda in Anantapur district. Complaints were also lodged with the CEC earlier on alleged deletion of voters by Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna, Parchuru MLA Yeluri Sambasiva Rao and others.

Meanwhile, local TD leaders lodged complaints with CEC on lapses in electoral rolls in places like Kuppam, Tirupati and Chandragiri segments.
BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, on Monday took strong exception to derogatory remarks made by BRS' Malkajgiri MLA Mynampally Hanumantha Rao against finance minister T. Harish Rao. (Image Source: Twitter)

HYDERABAD: BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao on Monday took strong exception to derogatory remarks made by BRS Malkajgiri MLA Mynampally Hanumantha Rao against finance minister T. Harish Rao. Rama Rao made it clear that BRS will stand with Harish on this issue.

Hanumantha Rao slammed Harish Rao and vowed to defeat him, in statements made in the public domain, over his son Mynampally Rohit being denied the Medak constituency ticket.

Taking to social media platform X, Rama Rao posted, "One of our MLAs who was denied a ticket to his family member in an outburst has made some derogatory comments on Minister Harish Rao Garu. I not only strongly condemn the MLAs behaviour and also want to make it clear that we all stand with Harish Rao.

He has been an integral founding member of the BRS party since its inception and will continue to remain an important pillar of the party as we move forward."

Rama Rao was responding to comments made by Hanumantha Rao alleging that Harish Rao amassed wealth by indulging in corruption and accusing him of obstructing development in the Medak Assembly constituency.

A video of Hanumantha Raos comments against Harish Rao, hours before the release of BRS's first list of candidates for Assembly polls, went viral on social media, causing huge embarrassment to the party leadership.

However, despite the severe remarks against Harish Rao, Hanumantha Rao figured in the list of 115 BRS candidates released by the Chief Minister for upcoming Assembly polls.

When media personnel asked Chandrashekar Rao about the MLAs outburst, he replied, "We have given a ticket to Mynampally. If he does not want to abide by the party's decision, it's his choice."
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S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
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S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 43, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
Amanda Knox is getting ready to welcome baby number two with husband Christopher Robinson.

The exonerated criminal justice reform activist, 36, took to Instagram to reveal the happy news.

Pregspreading @oxfordenglishdictionary, Knox captioned a snap of herself sitting on a park bench, legs spread wide to accommodate her baby bump.

Amanda Knox and Christopher Robinson attend a cocktail for the opening of the Innocence Project conference, in Modena, Italy, Thursday, June 13, 2019.

Throwback post or. New bebe?! one user asked in the comments section.

New! Knox confirmed.

The news comes two years after Knox and her writer husband  who co-host the podcast Labyrinths  welcomed daughter Eureka Muse Knox-Robinson in August 2021. Knox did not share whether she and Robinson are expecting a boy or girl, nor their projected due date.

Knoxs own experience with the media has influenced how much access she affords the world about Eureka. In October 2021, she posted a snap of herself cradling the then-infant, whose back was to the camera. She said it would be the only time she ever show the little girl to her followers.

Since my exoneration, Ive struggled to reclaim my identity and protect the people I love from being exploited as tabloid content, said Knox at the time. Its not easy.  I know that I cannot 100% protect my daughter from the kind of treatment Ive suffered, but Im doing the best I can. Which is why this will be the only picture of her I will ever share on social media.

She hasnt entirely stuck to that edict, with occasional photos showing the tot from the back.

Knox became a household name when she was studying abroad in Italy and found herself wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox was acquitted after four years behind bars and a great deal of media coverage and speculation.

In addition to her criminal justice advocacy, Knox has taken to podcasting and writing. Her story has been immortalized in film, TV, and books alike, including Knoxs 2013 memoir, Waiting To Be Heard.
Delta Air Lines Inc. is a major airline providing domestic and international air travel services. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Delta is one of the largest airlines in the world, operating a fleet of over 900 aircraft that serves more than 325 destinations across six continents. Delta has a long history in the airline industry. It is known for its exceptional customer service, operational reliability and industry-leading innovation.

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, Delta Air Lines Inc. had a market capitalization of $24.5 billion, with over 720 million outstanding shares. The company has a strong financial position, with total revenue for the full year 2022 reaching $38.6 billion, an increase of 20% compared to the previous year. Delta's net income for the same period was $2.7 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2021.

Delta's strong financial performance comes from several factors, including its strategic focus on customer service, operational efficiency and technological innovation. The company has invested heavily in its fleet and infrastructure and is committed to delivering passengers a safe and comfortable travel experience. Delta has also made significant investments in technology, such as its Fly Delta app and biometric boarding, which have helped to streamline the travel experience and improve customer satisfaction.

Delta is also committed to sustainable business practices, focusing on reducing its environmental impact. The company has set ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2050 and has invested in fuel-efficient aircraft and sustainable aviation fuel. In addition, Delta has a comprehensive recycling program and has implemented measures to reduce waste in its operations.

Delta's strong brand recognition, customer loyalty and strategic partnerships support its competitive position in the airline industry. The company has alliances with several international airlines, such as Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, enabling it to provide its customers with seamless travel experiences. Delta also has a strong presence in key markets, such as New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles, which have helped to drive its growth and profitability.

Delta also faces significant challenges in the airline industry, including intense competition from other major airlines and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic severely impacted the airline industry, with reduced demand for air travel and significant disruptions to operations. Delta responded to these challenges by implementing cost-cutting measures, such as reducing its workforce, retiring older aircraft and focusing on its core customer service and operational efficiency strengths.
The father of a 17-year-old wheelchair user has hit out at the lack of suitable public changing places for people with disabilities in Donegal, which has just one such registered public toilet.

Changing places facilities are public toilets which are fitted with specialist equipment including a hoist and changing bench. They provide enough space for up to two carers to support the person with a disability to use the changing place.

Aaron Daly, who lives in Dublin but is a regular visitor to family in Inishowen, says there are no publicly available facilities in the peninsula and on day trips the family was forced to bring a mattress so they can change their daughter Sophia in the back of their van.

Mr Daly, who is a member of the lobby group Changing Places Ireland, says Donegal is one of the worst counties for the provision of such facilities and the only facility in the county, at Narin- Portnoo, does not meet new standards and is categorised as "a step-down" facility.

New legislation comes into effect in January which will mean every new public building will be required to have changing places facilities as set out in the building regulations.

Donegal is one of the poorest counties in Ireland as far as providing these facilities goes," he said.

"We went to a visitor attraction the other day. We asked if there was a disability bathroom, but the standard disability bathroom or access bathroom you can barely get a wheelchair into.

Most disabled toilets are too small to change someone who can't use a toilet themselves. We have a 17-year-old girl and we couldn't change her there. She needs a Changing Places Ireland facility that has a hoist and an adult-sized changing bench and a bit of room inside it so that we can hoist Sophia onto a bench, change her and put her back in the wheelchair.

The lack of public changing places toilets in Donegal contrasts sharply with the situation in Northern Ireland, Mr Daly said, with five such facilities in Derry city alone.

They are ahead of us. They changed their budding regulations a couple of years ago and they have just been providing better facilities for people with disabilities.

The change in legislation will mean an increase in the number of facilities around the county over the coming years, he said.

The onus is on all businesses to qualify now under the new amendment in building regulations that these changing places are going to have to be available. Nobody should have to take whoever they are caring for and change them in the back of a van or on the floor of a dirty toilet.

He said there is also a lack of wheelchair access at beaches in Donegal and a general lack of facilities for people in wheelchairs.

On a visit to Lisfannon beach, access to the beach was difficult because of concrete bollards and rocks. He said the increased provision of such facilities is necessary to attract visitors to the county.

On one day trip during the familys visit to Inishowen, they met three other families with wheelchair users, two of them children.

They had to change their children in the back of a van. That's not the way to promote tourism in Donegal and Inishowen.
ROCK LEGENDS Arctic Monkeys have announced three Dublin dates along with a night in Belfast, to mark the end of their world tour.

The band are set to play the 3 Arena on October 15, 17 and 19, and will stop at Belfasts SSE Arena on October 16.

Frontman Alex Turner's Last Shadow Puppets bandmate Miles Kane will support the band for their Irish gigs.

The Sheffield band were due to play Marley Park in June, but were forced to cancel the day before due to Turner coming down with "acute laryngitis".

Arctic Monkeys will be returning to Dublin & Belfast in October 2023 for a series of arena dates to mark the end of their World Tour. The band are pleased to announce @MilesKaneMusic as Special Guest. These dates follow the cancellation of the bands summer show at Dublins pic.twitter.com/lZRY1dwnKI  Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) August 22, 2023

A statement at the time from the band apologised for the "huge disappointment this will inevitably cause to all their Irish fans".

Previous ticket holders, who received a full refund at the time, will be sent a unique access code and be given 72-hour priority pre-sale access at 9am on Friday, August 25 to purchase tickets.

Tickets will go on general sale on Tuesday August 29 at 9am.
Overtime garda funding of 10 million will see gardai tackle street drug dealing and antisocial behaviour, following a number of serious assaults in the capital in recent weeks.

An Garda Siochana has confirmed that it has started to use the 10m overtime provided by Government for policing in Dublin in a move which it says will deliver more than 16,500 additional policing hours per month in the city centre.

In the course of Operation Citizen, there will be a strong focus by Gardai on tackling street level drug dealing, anti-social behaviour, and seizure of alcohol in Dublin city centre following the provision of the 10m in overtime funding.

There will also be an enhanced visible Garda presence at strategic locations in Dublin city centre such as main thoroughfares and the Liffey Boardwalk.

The plan will see increased deployment of the Garda National Public Order Unit in the city centre with 20 per cent of the 10m in overtime being dedicated to providing additional public order capacity in the city centre on a daily basis.

As well as uniform Gardai, specialist units such as the Garda Air Support Unit, the Garda Mounted Unit, the Garda Dog Unit, Regional Armed Response Units, and Road Policing Units will be deployed to enhance Garda visibility in the city centre.

There will be also be planned days of high impact visibility in the city centre involving checkpoints; execution of warrants; service of summonses; intelligence-led searches and arrests; immigration checks, and enforcement of road traffic offences. These days of high impact visibility will be replicated across the other Garda Divisions in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

High visibility patrols on the transport network in addition to patrols in the vicinity of transport services at peak times will be maintained under Operational Saul.

"The overall objective of our activity is to reassure the citizens, visitors and the business community that Dublin is a safe place in which to live, visit, and work. An enhanced visible policing presence is central to this objective, said Assistant Commissioner, DMR, Angela Willis.

It is expected that the overtime will result in more than 16,500 additional policing hours per month being delivered in Dublin city centre across the two Divisions.

For the whole Dublin Metropolitan Region including the city centre Divisions, the total additional policing hours per month is 48,500.

As increased Garda activity in Dublin city centre has the potential to displace criminal activity to other Divisions in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), each of the other four DMR Divisions are receiving a proportion of the additional funding. These DMR Divisions support city centre policing in a number of ways. For example, patrols on the public transport network to deal with issues at source before impacting on the city centre.

Each DMR Division is delivering an operational plan with Gardai engaged in high visibility patrolling and enforcement activity in specific areas based on crime trends and analysis of when crimes occur. This analysis, which is compiled by the Garda Siochana Analysis Service, will be updated on a weekly basis.

DMR operational figures for week ending 20th August 2023

 Arrest = 545

 Patrols = 1667

 Incidents recorded on Pulse = 2875

 Checkpoints = 210

 Searches = 722

o Searches under Mis-use of Drugs Act = 526

o Searches of Person = 90

o Search with Warrant = 78

o Search without warrant = 28

 Value of illicit Drugs Seized = 393,095 subject to analysis

 Cash Seized = 423,203.31


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The chairwoman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has announced that an independently led end-to-end review of the circumstances surrounding recent PSNI data breaches has been commissioned.

The announcement from Deirdre Toner came after personal data on all serving members of the PSNI was mistakenly published earlier this month in response to a freedom of information request.

Details of the 9,483 people included the surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they are based and the unit they work in.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed the list is in the hands of dissident republicans, who continue to target officers.

Police officers and their representative organisations have spoken out in recent weeks over concern for their safety.

Earlier this week a man appeared in court in Co Antrim charged with two terror offences relating to the data breach.

A number of other data breaches have since come to light, including the loss of a police officers laptop and notebook which contained details of 42 officers and members of staff after the items fell from a moving vehicle last week.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne appeared before the Policing Board on Tuesday, his second meeting since the major breach came to light.

He left the premises of the oversight body in Belfast without taking questions from media.

Mr Byrne later issued a statement via social media saying he recognises the gravity of the situation and challenges ahead.

Earlier, Ms Toner said Mr Byrne retains the confidence of the board, but described exchanges as crunchy.

Its been a long day, she told reporters after the meeting, adding that a wide range of issues were discussed.

My update following todays Policing Board meeting. pic.twitter.com/wJr8yzXOzf  Simon Byrne (@ChiefConPSNI) August 22, 2023

It was constructive, proactive. Yes, it was certainly crunchy. Theres no doubt about that.

This breach and the subsequent breaches have damaged the reputation of the service and impacted the confidence of officers, staff and others in the services ability to protect personal information.

Ms Toner said the independent review of the circumstances of the data breaches will be led by City of London Police Assistant Commissioner Peter ODoherty.

It will look at process and actions leading to the breach and if any organisational, governance or management issues allowed it to happen.

Ms Toner said it will identify any action required to prevent further breaches and build more robust risk mitigation systems.

She said: The review team have been tasked to have an initial report back to the board within one month. A final report is expected by the end of November and will be made available for public release.

She said these measures are essential to help rebuild trust and confidence in the PSNI.

The board will put in place monitoring measures to ensure effective implementation of the recommendations of the review.

Ms Toner added: While much remains to be done, the board acknowledges the comprehensive response that has been mobilised and delivered by the PSNI.

She said the data breaches will be a standing agenda item on the monthly public and private accountability sessions with the Chief Constable for as long as is necessary.

In his statement, Mr Byrne said he gave an update to the board on the PSNIs immediate response, the criminal investigation and approach to begin recovery.

It was a constructive meeting, he said.

I recognise the gravity of the situation and the challenges ahead.

The independent review led by Assistant Commissioner ODoherty, City of London Police, will provide answers to the questions.

The service executive team and I are grateful for the support of the board.

I would also reiterate my thanks to officers and staff who continue to serve the public around the clock.
HIGHLIGHTS The OnePlus Open is expected to release this month.

The OnePlus Open and Oppos Oppo Find N3 are going to be the same devices.

Tipster Max Jambor revealed that the OnePlus Open will have two colour options- Voyage Black and Emerald Eclipse.

You must be aware of the fact that OnePlus is a subsidiary of Chinese phone-maker Oppo. OnePlus is going to bring out a foldable device of its own again. As per reports, it could be called the OnePlus Open and was earlier expected to hit the floors this month. However, rumours are not stopping and theres a lot that the internet has to say. OnePlus is planning to come up with a foldable phone of its own for the first time. The OnePlus Open was expected to release this month itself but probably the rumours were just rumours.

Another leak has surfaced now. It suggests that two upcoming devices, the OnePlus Open and Oppos Oppo Find N3 are going to be the same devices just the names are going to be different.

So, according to tipster Digital Chat Station, the Oppo Find N3 is going to feature the highest pixel-density display that any foldable smartphone has seen to date in the market. They further revealed that it could have a 7.82 inch main display offering 2,668 x 2,4400 resolution and a pixel density of 426 PPI.

Also read: Oppo Find N3 may have bigger foldable display than Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

If you compare it with Samsungs latest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Z Fold offers a 7.6 inch display featuring a 1,812 x 2,176 resolution and a pixel density of 373 PPI. This means that the Oppo Find N3 or the OnePlus Open will have a larger inner screen when compared to Samsungs. Not just this, the Oppo/OnePlus one could possibly have a sharper and more detailed display.

Also read: OnePlus Open foldable phone's price leak takes aim at Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 market

Tipster Max Jambor revealed that the OnePlus Open will have two colour options- Voyage Black and Emerald Eclipse.

Yogesh Brar, a trusted leaker had previously said that the OnePlus Open will be exactly the Oppo Find N3. The OnePlus Open is expected to be released as the global version of the Oppo Find N3 which would only be released exclusively in China.
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Giga Mexico hints return of Tesla to North America, says DIGITIMES Research

With a location in proximity to the Tesla headquarters and a factory area as well as production capacity surpassing Giga Shanghai, Giga Mexico is an indication that Tesla is shifting its EV investment and market focus toward North America amid the US-China tensions. Tesla's move is also bringing its Taiwan-based suppliers to Mexico, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest report on Tesla's capacity expansions.

Tesla plans to build its next gigafactory in Mexico (Giga Mexico) and aims to begin making EVs there in 2025.

Tesla currently has four gigafactories in operation, located in Shanghai, California, Texas, and Berlin. Giga Mexico will be its third facility in North America. As opposed to the annual capacity of 750,000 units at Giga Shanghai, currently the highest among all Tesla's factories, Giga Mexico is set to churn out one million EVs per year. It also covers a ground area 20 times bigger than Giga Shanghai, making it hard to overlook Tesla's strong efforts to shift its EV business focus to North America.

Tesla intended to make Giga Shanghai a major EV production hub, but it is currently facing some headwinds in China, including consumer rights disputes, Tesla vehicles being banned from certain areas due to data security concerns and shrinking market share over fierce competition against local EV makers such as BYD. Tesla's revenues in China have been fluctuating since first-quarter 2022. That is, despite its massive capacity, Giga Shanghai's EV delivery may not be as stable as expected.

Amid US-China trade tensions, Tesla is relocating its EV production back to North America for a number of reasons. First of all, located in the North American free-trade zone, Mexico enjoys reduced tariffs for imports and exports between the US.

Another benefit is the geographical proximity and easy transportation to the US market with an enormous potential EV demand. Based on DIGITIMES Research's projections, EV sales in the US are set to amount to 8.5 million units in 2030, representing tremendous room for growth for Tesla.

With Mexico rising to become a key Tesla production hub, Tesla's Taiwan-based suppliers including Quanta, Pegatron and Foxconn among Taiwan's top-5 ODMs are moving to Mexico to establish production bases. Tesla's key component suppliers including ESON, BizLink and HOTA have also announced their plans to expand their capacity in Mexico to further strengthen their partnerships with Tesla.
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Boeing, the US-based aerospace and defense company, announced the initiation of production for AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in Mesa, Arizona. Boeing is set to supply the Indian Army with six AH-64E Apache helicopters at a cost of Rs. 4,168 crore. The delivery of the Apaches is scheduled to be completed by 2024.

Currently used by the US Army, the AH-64 Apache stands as one of the worlds most cutting-edge multi-role combat helicopters.

Since gaining independence in 1947, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has maintained a firm stance on retaining authority over combat aviation assets, particularly attack helicopters.

While the Army initiated the operation of light utility helicopters and established its own Army Aviation Corps, the Indian Air Force (IAF), on the other hand, maintained control over medium and heavy lift helicopters (Mi-17 and Mi-26) as well as attack helicopters (Mi-35).

In September 2015, $3 billion worth of helicopters, comprising 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy lift choppers, were entrusted to the IAF. This decision overruled the Indian Army's contention that attack helicopters, a vital component of ground combat, should be operated by army aviation pilots.

The Indian Air Force plans to employ its fleet of 22 Apaches for air defense operations, entailing the elimination of enemy radars and control centers. In contrast, the Armys Apaches will be utilized to neutralize enemy tanks and armored vehicles within a mechanized battlefield context.

The fuselage of the helicopters is being manufactured by Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL), a joint venture between Boeing and the Tata group. It is through TBAL that the inaugural AH-64 Apache fuselage for the Indian Army has been delivered, from its facility in Hyderabad.

The advanced technology and established performance of the AH-64 Apache helicopter will augment the operational preparedness of the Indian Army and bolster its defense capabilities, remarked Salil Gupte, president of Boeing India.

Boeings yearly earnings from India now exceed $1 billion. The corporation maintains a workforce of over 5,000 people in the country, and an additional 13,000 personnel are employed with its network of supply chain partners.
Amu, August 21, 2023

As per reliable accounts, these women were participating in a protest held at a residence located in Khairkhana area in northern Kabul when the Taliban forces took them into custody.

A video obtained by Amu captures the moment when a contingent of Taliban members entered the premises, making efforts to detain the women involved.The sources have additionally identified some of those detained, including individuals such as Ustad Khatol, Ustad Hajar, Hasina Sarwari, Farida Mohib, Toba Ataee, Lima, and two family members of Hasina Sarwari.

As of now, the Taliban has not released a statement regarding the arrest of these women activists.

In the preceding week, various groups of women activists initiated a week-long campaign against Taliban-imposed constraints on women and girls in Afghanistan. Through this initiative, they have called for the removal of all Taliban-imposed restrictions that have curtailed womens freedoms and rights within the society.
From hundreds of entries, the shortlists of this years Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize have been announced by the National Gallery of Ireland, with one Louth artist making the shortlist.

26 artists, working across a variety of media, have made it through to the final stage of the Zurich Portrait Prize, while 20 young artists aged between four and eighteen years old have been shortlisted for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize.

From Louth, Solomon Doyle has made the shortlist for his Portrait of an Artist: A Reflection of His Ensuing Self, oil, acrylic & gold pen on canvas

The Zurich Portrait Prize shortlist includes painting, sculpture and photography, demonstrating the breadth of contemporary Irish art. The winner of the Zurich Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of 15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the national portrait collection, for which they will be awarded a further 5,000.

Two additional awards of 1,500 will be given to highly commended works. Judges for the Zurich Portrait Prize are Dorothy Cross RHA, artist, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, and Anne Stewart, Senior Curator of Art, National Museums Northern Ireland.

The Zurich Young Portrait Prize returns for its fifth year in 2023 as a showcase for the artistic talent of young people from across the island of Ireland. Five winners (one from each respective age category and an overall winner) will be selected from a shortlist of hundreds of entries from young people aged four to 18.

Winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize. The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of 500.

All twenty shortlisted entrants will have their artwork professionally framed/prepared. This years Zurich Young Portrait Prize judges are: Jessica ODonnell, Head of Education and Community Outreach, Hugh Lane Gallery, Ola Majekodunmi, writer, broadcaster and producer, and Tom McLean, visual artist and curator.

Exhibitions of the shortlisted works in both competitions run at the National Gallery of Ireland from 2 December 2023 and 10 March 2024.
Click the 'Next >' arrow above or 'Next Story' below to go through the gallery

All photos: Arthur Kinahan

The Rotary Club of Dundalk honoured two of their members, Stephen Gunne and John Igoe with 'Paul Harris Fellow Awards'. This is the highest honour a Rotarian can receive in Rotary and it is for outstanding service to the organisation.

Stephen Gunne has been a member of Dundalk Club since 1997 and prior to that he was a member of the Rotary Club of Monaghan. During the two years of Covid, he was President of the Club and supervised many projects during this difficult period keeping members together through zoom meetings.

John Igoe has been a member of the Rotary since 1998. For the last 19 years he has been co-ordinator of the Monday Meals on Wheels project, which is a major project with the club delivering between 70 and 80 meals every Monday. John is also responsible for the Christmas Day dinners with 32 dinners delivered to people last Christmas Day.

The Rotary motto is 'Service above Self' so the Club made a number of charitable donations during the year. They donated 3,000 to Shelter Box for the earthquake in Turkey. A Shelter Box consists of a six person tent, six beds, six sleeping bags, a table and six chairs, and cooking facilities. Rotary Ireland also sent 63 generators to Ukraine. One of these were donated by Dundalk Rotary.

Below: Michael Staunton President of Dundalk Rotary presenting John Igeo and Stephen Gunne with 'Paul Harris Fellow Awards'
Construction-led Approved Housing Body and service provider, Respond says it has 198 new social homes in construction in Louth.

The housing body owns and manages 222 homes across Louth, providing accommodation for 533 tenants.

The announcement was made as Responds Annual Report 2022 was launched today by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O'Brien TD, detailing the continued positive impact Responds home building and community support services have in cities across Ireland.

Respond says it is on track to triple the number of social and cost rental homes it has in construction to over 4,100 in the coming months, expanding its construction programme over the next 12 months to 2BN.

Respond Spokesperson Niamh Randall said:

Our Annual Report details the ongoing effort and commitment of our development and housing teams to help alleviate the urgent need for more social and cost rental housing across the country and to support the Governments Housing for All strategy.

Our focus is on adding to the national housing stock, and the Fixed Price Contracts we have agreed with several developers mean we could quickly triple the number of social and cost rental homes we have in construction to 4,100 with Government support. These are large scale, development projects which will provide the volume of homes desperately needed, while also building inclusive, long-term sustainable communities.

The sites are ideally placed in our biggest cities close to amenities including schools and parks, public transport routes and commercial centres. Each development will follow our evidence informed Housing Services Delivery model and include community hubs, with several of the additional community services we also provide, including Early Learning and School Age Care services, and services for older people, readily accessible for families.

Darragh O'Brien TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage said:

Through the hard work of Approved Housing Bodies like Respond, our social and cost rental housing supply is increasing and we are going in the right direction. Increasing supply is at the heart of Housing for All and is key to ensuring families can secure accommodation at affordable prices and that our housing market functions effectively. Responds work is critical in helping us towards achieving these aims.
Females, white Irish individuals, and artists in Dublin are disproportionately over-represented for arts funding, according to a new equality report.

The Arts Council has released its annual Equality Data and Arts Council Awards report, a report on disability, ethnicity and gender in individual awards granted in 2022.

This third annual report reveals continuing inequities in individuals making applications and being awarded arts grants in 2022.

As the Arts Council begins work on its second Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Implementation Plan, it says it is clear why a focused approach to guaranteeing such human rights is so important.

Key findings from the report, which compares awards data to Census data, show that females, white Irish individuals, and artists in Dublin are disproportionately over-represented; people with disabilities are under-represented; and Irish Traveller or Black/Black Irish males are more likely to be classified as ineligible.

The Arts Council says it is working on a host of actions prioritised in its second Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Implementation Plan just published to address this, including connecting with new communities and ensuring full accessibility and inclusion in all it does.

In addition, further research is being undertaken. Research on differences in application versus awards rates based on gender and ethnicity is to start, as is further research on high ineligibility rates among certain groups and how national reach can be improved given the over-representation of artists in Dublin.

This will enable the Arts Council to understand how best to work towards full equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the organisations work, and in all arts and cultural funding and support initiatives.

Maureen Kennelly, Arts Council Director said: True equality, diversity, and inclusion in the arts requires not only embracing the differences that make us unique but also dismantling the barriers that have historically excluded voices and perspectives. The Arts Council is delighted to release the 2022 Arts Council Awards Data Report. This is our third year of gathering this sort of information and it will be enormously helpful in supporting our work to make the arts landscape a more inclusive space for all.

Dr Suha Shakkour, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the Arts Council said: The results from the Equality Data and Arts Council Awards are essential for increasing our understanding of the challenges faced by artists in Ireland today. We use the data to develop specific actions to directly address these barriers, as can be seen in our EDI Implementation Plan. Id like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the sections of the application form which helped us gather these statistics, for trusting us, and to encourage new applicants to complete them as well.

This report presents key findings from the analysis in the following four areas:

Gender

Overall, the majority of applications which the Arts Council received were from females (56%) but this varies in artforms as it was found female applicants were under-represented in Music, Film, Traditional Arts, Architecture, and Irish Literature. Female applicants have high awards rates in Arts & Disability Ireland (55% applicants and 77% awards), CREATE scheme, Visual Arts and in Traditional Arts (41% who apply are female but receive 77% of the awards).

Male applicants were under-represented in Visual Arts, Circus, and YPCE, as well as in the schemes by Create and Arts and Disability Ireland. Male applicants are also least successful proportionally in Traditional Arts but have a higher award rate in Dance and Arts Participation, despite low application rates. Male applicants who identified as Irish Traveller (44%) or Black/Black Irish  African (28%) were most likely to be categorised as ineligible.



Non-binary applicants tend to request more funding and they overall receive more. Non-binary applications were highest in Dublin at 46%, while Cork and Galway combined was at 20%.

Disability

Findings show applicants with disability are the most likely to be excluded with ineligible application (12.5%) and applicants with a disability also requested the lowest and received the lowest funding overall on average. Geographically, Offaly has two times more disability applicants; Wexford, Tipperary, Westmeath have nearly twice as many applicants with disability; and Monaghan had no disability declared at all (93.3%), followed by Leitrim (90.2%) and Roscommon (89.7%).

Ethnicity

White Irish account for the majority of applications (78%) and awards (79%) and this is slightly higher than national profile of white Irish. Black/Black Irish, Travellers and Asian/Asian Irish are overall under-represented, with Black/Black Irish applicants among the highest ineligibility rates. Asian/Asian Irish requested the highest and received the highest funding on average. Geographically, Sligo had the highest in the Other White (24%) category and Louth had the highest in the Other Ethnicities (13.5%) category.

Geographic Location

Dublin has 40% of applicants (versus 28% of population in census), with 39.9% of applicants and 42.5% of awards. Other counties with over-representation compared to census breakdown were Cork, Galway, Sligo, Wicklow, Clare. Westmeath had 3 times more female applicants, while Kilkenny and Mayo had 2 times as many female applicants.
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Its easy to get confused between Japanese jujutsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) due to their many similarities. Theyre both focused on ground fighting and require wearing a gi, which is their official uniform. However, the two disciplines have significant differences in how they were developed and their combat philosophies.

Exploring these differences offers valuable insights that will help you tell each other apart and find out whether its best to join a Japanese jujutsu or Brazilian jiu-jitsu Philippines class.

From philosophies to real-life applications, here are the key differences between these two influential martial arts:

Historical Background

When it comes to its historical roots, Japanese jujutsu can be traced back to samurai warriors who sought effective means of unarmed combat without weapons. In short, jujutsu was developed for battlefield combat and self-defense.

In feudal Japan, where battles were unpredictable and weapons werent always available, warriors needed to be adept at close-quarters combat. Jujutsu emerged as a comprehensive system that combined strikes, joint locks, throws, and groundwork to subdue opponents. Over the years, these techniques were refined, paving the way for new styles. This is how Brazilian jiu-jitsu came about.

BJJ is derived from Japanese jujutsu, judo, and other martial arts. Its origins can be traced back to a Japanese judoka, Mitsuyo Maeda, who brought the discipline to Brazil. However, it was the Gracie family that refined the techniques further into what most people know of Brazilian martial arts today. They emphasize ground-based combat and submissions, making BJJ suitable for smaller individuals to overcome larger opponents. This also marked a fundamental shift from traditional Japanese jujutsu.

Self-Defense vs. Sport

As mentioned previously, Japanese jujutsu is primarily designed for self-defense, equipping practitioners with techniques to protect oneself in real-life threatening situations. This includes defending against grabs, strikes, and various types of attacks. The emphasis of this martial art is to quickly neutralize threats and ensure safety.

While its techniques are still applicable to self-defense, BJJ has also evolved into a competitive sport with defined rules and scoring systems. In competitions, BJJ involves points awarded for positional control, sweeps, and submissions. This shift has led to the development of specialized techniques and strategies optimized for success within the rules of the sport.

Philosophical Foundations

Japanese jujutsus philosophy extends beyond mere physical techniques. It encompasses principles like ju, meaning flexibility or gentleness, and do, signifying the path or way of self-improvement. The goal is to achieve harmony with opponents and seek to resolve conflicts without excessive force. This holistic approach emphasizes personal growth, humility, and ethical conduct.

On the other hand, BJJs philosophy is rooted in the belief that a smaller, technically skilled practitioner can overcome a larger opponent by employing precise techniques and intelligent strategy. This mindset emphasizes problem-solving on the mat, encouraging you to analyze situations and adapt your techniques based on the opponents movements and reactions.

Techniques and Focus

In terms of techniques, there are plenty of distinguishable elements that separate jujutsu and BJJ. The former covers a wide spectrum of techniques suitable for different situations. For example, joint locks, throws, strikes, and immobilization techniques are integrated to give you options for both stand-up and ground encounters. The goal of Japanese jujutsu is to control your opponent, disable them if necessary, and escape or neutralize threats.

On the other hand, BJJ mainly focuses on ground-based techniques. This includes positional control, submissions, and escapes. Also, the goal in BJJ is to control your opponents positions and take them to the ground. Once youve applied dominance, you can use tactics such as joint locks and chokeholds to secure your victory or make the opponent submit.

Training Methods

Training for Japanese jujutsu often involves practicing predefined scenarios to prepare for diverse combat situations. This may include learning how to respond to various attacks and situations through prearranged drills. This kind of training cultivates muscle memory and decision-making skills, enabling you to react effectively in real-life scenarios.

For BJJ, the training involves live sparring sessions called rolling. Here, you can practice your techniques against resisting opponents. This approach fosters adaptability, quick thinking, and the ability to apply techniques under pressure. It also enhances your physical conditioning.

Gi (Uniform) Usage

The official uniform for both Japanese jujutsu and BJJ is a gi, which consists of a jacket and pants. However, the purpose and significance of the attire for either martial art are quite different. In Japanese jujutsu, the gi serves both functional and symbolic purposes. Its the proper clothing and represents the connection to martial arts traditions.

In BJJ, the gi has a more practical significance. The uniform is used as part of the techniques to control and manipulate opponents. Grips on the fabric enable practitioners to have greater control and leverage.

While Japanese Jujutsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu share many similarities, theyre distinct in their combat goals, martial arts philosophies, and fighting techniques. Exploring these differences is the first step in further understanding the beauty and value of both martial arts. This can also help you choose which one resonates most with your objectives. Whether its the traditional roots of Japanese jujutsu or the dynamic sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, theyre both valuable for someone seeking to master the art of combat.
IRISH Yogurts Clonakilty have been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year through the Great Taste 2023 accreditation scheme.

The Half Fat Creme Fraiche scooped a 3-star award earlier this month, and it has now been announced that it was one of the highest scoring products, meaning Irish Yogurts Clonakilty is now in the running to win a Great Taste Golden Fork, the highest accolades in the food and drink world.

14,195 products were put through the competitions rigorous blind judging process, and the Cork product was described as having rich, silky smooth textures and citrusy and bold flavours.

The yogurt is made with farm fresh Irish milk, using a traditional churn style recipe. The Half Fat Creme Fraiche was one of 5,904 products to receive a Great Taste award this year. Just over two of every five products received such an accolade.

Some 4,088 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star, for food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour, with Irish Yogurts Clonakilty receiving four 1-star awards.

A further 1,568 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star, with Irish Yogurts Clonakilty claiming one 2-star accolade for being above and beyond delicious, and 248 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star for being labelled an extraordinarily tasty food and drink.

Diarmuid OSullivan, managing drector of Irish Yogurts Clonakilty, said: We are beyond delighted to have won a 3-star Great Taste award for our Half Fat Creme Fraiche, and now a Golden Fork nomination also.

"A lot of hard work went into growing this business from one employee to now a team of 225 people.

"Creating a great tasting product is paramount to what we do and the nomination for a Great Taste Golden Fork Award attests what we do as a company," he added.

The Great Taste Golden Forks awards ceremony will be held at Battersea Arts Centre in London on Monday, September 11.
A Cork TD has called on the government to increase the provision of adult and child respite services in Cork and Kerry (CHO4).

Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould raised concerns as the HSE confirmed that no additional funding was made available for residential respite services in North Cork, North Lee, South Lee, West Cork, and Kerry in 2023.

The HSE confirmed to Deputy Gould that there are 25 respite beds for children in Cork, four of which are currently closed due to staffing shortages and a further six of which have just recently reopened.

The HSE also confirmed that there are 89 beds, 28 full-time and 61 part-time, available for overnight respite services for adults over 18 years with intellectual disability, physical disability or autism in Cork.

In correspondence with Deputy Gould, Head of Disability Services of Cork Kerry Community Healthcare Majella Daly said: Regrettably, there was no additional funding for residential respite in CHO 4 under NSP 2023 and limited funding for alternative respite.

We fully recognise the value of respite supports of all forms to families to provide a much needed break for themselves, their other family members and most importantly for the child and adult themselves.

We continue to actively engage with all services providers within funding available to increase and maximise respite services.

Ms Daly said the provision of residential respite services has come under increasing pressure in the past couple of years due to a number of impacting factors such as an increase in the number of children and adults who are seeking access to respite as a reflection of general population increase; increasing levels of complexity across the sector due to better and improved health care; an increase in the age of people with a disability resulting in people presenting with changing needs.

In addition, she said that a significant number of respite beds have been utilised for long-term residential placements due to the presenting complexity of the individual with a disability and also due to home circumstances.

Deputy Gould said the lack of respite services has put a huge strain on parents and families and called on the government to step in and support those who need respite by ensuring additional funding.

For many families, lockdowns were extremely difficult with children and adults with disabilities home full-time. Long waiting lists for respite services and lack of proper therapy are putting even bigger strains on carers.

Instead of recognising the trojan work that carers did throughout Covid-19, and increasing funding for overnight respite services to acknowledge the levels of burnout many are experiencing, 2023 saw no additional funding in CHO4.

The HSE themselves acknowledge that this is regrettable but it is more than regrettable. It is simply not good enough. The government must now step in and support those who need respite by ensuring additional funding.

Carers are contacting me who have never received respite or who have spent years waiting for a weekends break. That is the reality. These are often short time periods with huge gaps in between.

"This is an insult to the work that carers do around the clock  often acting as healthcare workers, therapists, taxi services and everything else in between whilst trying to parent their child as well.
STAFF members at Johnson Controls in Cork will climb Carrauntoohil next month to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.

The climb, which will take place on September 2, was inspired by one of their colleagues, Priscilla Carroll, whose two children were born with the disorder.

Priscillas two-year-old son Lucas is battling the disorder while her daughter, Alice, passed away within a few days of birth as she had an aggressive type of Cystic Fibrosis.

John Duggan is a member of the involve committee of the company and pitched the idea of the climb to his colleagues, who all jumped at the chance to raise funds for such a worthy cause.

It all started last summer when I climbed Croagh Patrick with my wife and I said, Right, Ive done Croagh Patrick, the next one I want to do is Carrauntoohil  I said why dont we do it for charity, John explained.

So, I proposed it to the involve committee, they were on-board and so was Priscilla.

The involve committee deals with volunteering, fundraising and other forms of charity work that the company and staff members can get involved in.

Johnson Controls offer staff members the opportunity to lodge volunteer hours, which are valued at $10 per hour of volunteering or fundraising.

With the company itself, theres 40 of us after signing up for the climb, John added.

We are all fundraising and anything we donate the company will match our donation.

The other way we can fundraise is to log our volunteer hours on the Johnson Controls system and for every hour we log, we will get $10.

Lets say theres 40 people, the climb will probably take us 13 hours each, thats $130 straight away. Multiply that by 40, youre looking at over $5,000 straightaway, he explained.

Priscilla and her husband, Padraig, have been fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland for years.

Padraig climbed Patricks Hill 65 times in April this year in aid of the charity.

The climb took just after 12 hours to complete.

Speaking to The Echo, Priscilla said:

We are really happy to have this opportunity to raise awareness for CF.

We are trying to raise money for CF, for the nurses and everyone involved.

The climb will take place on Saturday, September 2.

Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/t3gev-cystic-fibrosis-ireland
CITY Hall has condemned a disturbance at St Catherines Cemetery in Kilcully last Saturday after receiving a number of complaints.

A social media post seen by The Echo showed car engines being revved with large plumes of smoke billowing from exhaust pipes, loud music being played through a speaker system and a large gathering of people watching on.

Speaking to The Echo, a spokesperson for Cork City Council said:

The City Council has received a number of complaints from those with loved ones buried at St Catherines Cemetery and from local people in relation to a funeral that took place last Saturday.

From eyewitness accounts and social media postings, it is evident that the behaviour of some who attended was totally inappropriate for a graveyard setting.

The City Council can fully understand the upset this has caused and would share people's revulsion at what was witnessed.

A local councillor said the disturbance caused significant distress and upset to individuals with loved ones buried in the cemetery.

MOTION

Independent councillor Kenneth OFlynn has proposed a motion to address the issue which he said showed a complete disregard for the local community.

It is crucial that prompt action be taken to ensure the sanctity and peacefulness of the cemetery is upheld, he said.

Mr OFlynn said numerous reports have been received from concerned citizens, particularly elderly individuals, who witnessed the distressing state of the cemetery during the incident.

Many were left in tears due to the conditions they encountered. In light of these events, the City Council must act swiftly and implement necessary changes to prevent such occurrences from happening again in the future, he said.

A social media post seen by The Echo showed car engines being revved with large plumes of smoke billowing from exhaust pipes, loud music being played through a speaker system and a large gathering of people watching on.

Mr O'Flynn has proposed that vehicle access would be restricted at the cemetery except for funeral directors, work vehicles for stonemasons and funeral processions in a bid to minimise disturbances and maintain a calm atmosphere for visitors.

He also proposed that noise pollution would be controlled with the use of stereos, karaoke machines, and any other music equipment limited to burial ceremonies only.

This restriction ensures that the cemetery remains a place of tranquillity and respect, allowing mourners to pay their respects without undue interference, Cllr OFlynn said.

The implementation of these changes is expected to restore Kilcully Cemetery as a serene and dignified place, providing solace for all those who visit to remember their loved ones.

It is believed that with these regulations in place, future disruptions can be prevented, and the peace and reverence associated with such a sacred location can be fully restored.

Local Labour Party councillor John Maher described the disturbances in the graveyard as something that should not be repeated.

Our cemeteries are a place of mourning, safe spaces, reflection, prayer and spirituality, he said.

When mourning our loved ones, we must be mindful of those that share the cemetery space and are at a specific moment in their grief for their loved ones.

A common bond of respect is needed by all who share our cemeteries.
Muireann Duffy

Two males have been arrested in connection with an alleged assault and robbery of a UK tourist which took place last week.

Gardai confirmed a teenage boy and a man aged in his late teens were arrested on Monday morning in connection with the alleged incident on Fownes Street Upper in Dublin 2 on Friday.

Both were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and have since been charged.

The teenager is due to appear in court on Tuesday, while the man will appear in court at a later date.
Callum Parke, PA

A relative of a victim of the Birmingham pub bombings has said that the decision not to bring charges following a re-investigation is ethical, moral and legal turpitude.

Julie Hambletons eldest sister Maxine was one of 21 victims of the attacks in November 1974, which remains the worst unsolved terrorist attack committed in Britain.

The attacks had been re-investigated by West Midlands Police, but the Crown Prosecution Service said on Monday that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

Ms Hambleton (60) has now said that the decision shows that prosecuting people over the Troubles is off-limits and is tantamount to a cover-up.

She said: In all honesty, we werent surprised, but were disappointed, as weve been disappointed for the last 49 years.

Thats all that the authorities have ever done  disappointed us.

We pay these people to be in positions of allegedly protecting and serving and representing us, and its actually the very antithesis of what they do.

So the CPS decision is a continuation of the myth and rumour that is attached to the murder of our loved ones.

Youve got Lucy Letby, who killed those poor little babies.

Shes been given multiple life sentences, quite rightly, yet in the same breath and in contrast to that, this government are pushing to implement legislation that will give the murderers of our loved ones total immunity.

People were blown up in cold blood, 200 people were left with life-changing injuries, and this government wants to implement a bill that will give every single murderer during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, England and Ireland, total immunity.

Its just sheer madness.

How is it possible to differentiate between one murder and another? Murder is murder.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the attacks which killed 21 and injured more than 200 (Birmingham Inquests/PA)

The government is creating a hierarchy of victims where some families it appears are more entitled to justice than others.

This is tantamount to ethical, moral and legal turpitude.

Twin blasts destroyed the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs on November 21st, 1974, with a third bomb failing to detonate.

Six Irishmen, Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, John Walker, Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power, were wrongly convicted over the attacks and jailed for life in 1975, but were freed in 1991 after the UK's Court of Appeal ruled their convictions were unsafe.

The CPS said on Monday that after a thorough and careful review of new evidence given to it by West Midlands Police, there remained insufficient evidence to positively identify who planted the bombs.

It said it would continue to work with police if new lines of inquiry emerged.

The families of the victims have long called for a public inquiry into the attacks, a call that was repeated after a similar inquiry was announced earlier this year into the 1998 Omagh bombing.

Ms Hambleton, who leads the Justice4the21 campaign group, said she believed there was a sustained effort to deflect blame from those involved in investigating the attack.

She said: Youve got Grenfell, the Manchester arena bombing, Hillsborough and many, many more public inquiries that have taken place.

Some of them will have been hard fought for, but some they only have to wait 12 or 18 months.

We stand with each of them shoulder to shoulder, but where is our public inquiry?

This is no more and no less than political policing and political justice  anything to do with Northern Ireland and the politics seems to be off-limits to ever be investigated, especially anything to do with Republican violence.

Our case could not make this point more profoundly. Its just one huge, massive cover-up.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the attack, and there are plans to commemorate those who died this year and in 2024.

But Ms Hambleton said no front-bench MP or member of the British royal family had ever attended a memorial event, and previous requests to politicians had been rejected.

She also voiced concerns over the new Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, which would give immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to people who co-operated with a new information retrieval body.

It would also prevent future civil cases and inquests into Troubles offences.

The Bill has provoked widespread opposition, with Britain's King Charles III being urged to refuse Royal Assent earlier this month.

She said: This Bill is, according to this government, a means to stop any future vexatious claims against soldiers.

The ruined Mulberry Bush pub (PA)

But this couldnt be further from the truth, because the Bill is purely a mechanism for the security services, for successive governments, to quite literally bury their dirty, toxic past of collusion and complicity with Republican and loyalist terrorists during the time known as the Troubles.

This government believes that this Bill is the best way for families like ours and thousands of others to move on.

Such arrogance and hubris by them is absolutely contemptible.

Who are they to tell us how we should or shouldnt move on?

Victims families in Northern Ireland and England are united in opposing this bill.

People are being blindsided by the government into introducing a bill that will set a precedent for future generations to come.
Tom Tuite

A 16-year-old boy has been released under strict conditions after being charged with attacks and robbery of three tourists in Dublin's Temple Bar earlier this month.

One of the victims had his head "stamped on" when up to eight teenagers attacked his group.

A bail hearing on Tuesday at Dublin District Court heard there were concerns that businesses in the area could face threats for cooperating with the Garda investigation.

The boy from north Dublin has been ordered to stay out of the area, obey a curfew and not contact staff from Temple Bar business premises.

Judge Patricia Cronin heard the teenager, who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, made no reply when charged with assault causing harm to two men and robbery of a third at Fownes Street on the night of August 11th.

He is the third person to be charged in connection with the incident.

Garda Ruth Finnegan objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case and possible witness interference.

She said gardai have yet to identify five other people suspected of being involved in the robbery and attack on a group of English tourists in their 20s who were having a night out in Temple Bar.

The court heard the incident was "caught on excellent quality CCTV". The judge also heard the victims were taken to hospital and have since returned to the UK but intend to return for the trial.

Garda Finnegan alleged one man's necklace and wallet containing 30 were taken.

The court heard claims that the tourist was pulled and dragged down before being kicked on the ground by the accused while another person went through his pockets and took his property.

The second man received a punch in the face before being knocked to the ground, where he was allegedly "punched numerous times and kicked to the head", suffering swelling and bruising around his eye.

Video evidence

Garda Finnegan told the court the third victim received a punch in the face and was knocked to the ground, where he had his "head stamped on, while he appeared unconscious". He had a "large gash to the back of his head," the garda added.

A fourth man received multiple blows and was kicked twice in the face on the ground, but the teenage defendant was not charged with over that aspect of the incident.

Garda Finnegan said the video evidence showed when the boy left and returned to his home, and gardai had details of his clothing on the date.

The court heard that Temple Bar businesses had voiced concerns about gangs of youths "and that they could be threatened for providing CCTV to gardai".

Garda Finnegan, cross-examined by defence solicitor Luke Staines, acknowledged that juvenile detention must be a last resort but referred to the seriousness of the case.

The garda and the defence disagreed on evidence about the teen's clothing. The solicitor suggested a large number of people wore the same tracksuits. However, Garda Finnegan said the top had a crest, and his footwear had a particular design.

Garda Sergeant Tom Murphy told the court he could identify the teenager from the video evidence and knew his family from his work as a community garda.

Strict terms

The boy has yet to enter a plea, and a decision remains on whether the case will go to a higher court or stay in the Children's Court.

Mr Staines submitted his client wore "pretty much nondescript clothing that could be worn by any number of youths".

Pleading for bail, he said the teenager had Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder but was willing to comply with any conditions the court imposed.

Judge Cronin stressed the youth still enjoyed the presumption of innocence and bail. She held that he could be released on strict terms to be monitored and enforced by the courts, given the seriousness of the matter.

The teenager must stay out of Dublin 2, obey a 9pm-8am curfew, have no contact with Temple Bar business owners or staff, remain contactable by mobile phone, sign on daily at a Garda station, and not associate with co-defendants.

Judge Cronin warned him: "This court expects full compliance with the bail conditions as set."

The teen, who did not address the court, was ordered to appear at the Children's Court on Monday for an update on his compliance with bail and for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Another man in his late teens is to appear in court later.

A 17-year-old boy has connected charges before the Children's Court and will face his next hearing in September.
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.

Aerial view of the Tambococha oil platform of state-owned Petroecuador in Yasuni National Park, northeastern Ecuador, on June 21, 2023. RODRIGO BUENDIA / AFP via Getty Images

Ecuadors Yasuni National Park is home to one of the most biodiverse concentrations of plant and animal life on Earth. In an historic vote of nearly 60 percent in favor, Ecuadorian citizens chose to stop the development of new oil wells in the park, the countrys National Electoral Commission said.

Approval of the referendum means about 726 million barrels of oil will stay in the ground, reported The Guardian.

The park is also the home of three of the last uncontacted Indigenous communities on the planet, the Taromenane, Tagaeri and Dugakaeri people, who live in voluntary isolation, Reuters reported.

By passing the referendum, Ecuador became one of the first nations to vote to restrict the extraction of resources. The measure was passed during the first round of the countrys presidential elections.

Today is a historic day! As a Waorani woman and mother, I feel overjoyed with Ecuadorians resounding decision to stop oil drilling in my peoples sacred homeland, said Nemonte Nenquimo, an Indigenous Waorani leader and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, as reported by The Guardian. Finally, we are going to kick oil companies out of our territory! This is a major victory for all Indigenous Peoples, for the animals, the plants, the spirits of the forest and our climate!

Yasuni National Park became a UNESCO world biosphere reserve in 1989. The biodiversity hotspot consists of 2.5 million acres that are home to 121 reptile species, 139 amphibian species and 610 bird species.

Ecuadors Yasuni National Park is a world biosphere reserve and biodiversity hotspot. Alan & Flora Botting / CC BY-SA 2.0

Ecuadors Ministry of Environment and Water said 2.5 acres in Yasuni contains 650 tree species and hundreds of animal species, Reuters reported.

This referendum presents a huge opportunity for us to create change in a tangible way, Helena Gualinga, an Indigenous rights advocate, told CNN.

Citizens of Quito, Ecuadors capital city, voted in another referendum to stop gold mining in the highland biosphere of Choco Andino, located nearby.

This victory shows that we humans are taking action to save our planet during these times of climate crisis, said Leonidas Iza, president of Conaie, Ecuadors umbrella Indigenous federation, reported The Guardian.

Passage of the referendum to protect Yasuni means state oil company Petroecuador has one year to stop production and will mean the loss of approximately 12 percent of the countrys output of crude oil, Reuters reported.

In a social media post, Petroecuador said it would comply with the decision of the voters.

We will follow up to make sure the government respects the decision of the Ecuadorean people, said Juan Bay, president of the Waorani Indigenous community, at a press conference in Quito, as reported by Reuters. We have saved the greatest biodiversity and we have saved the communities in voluntary isolation.

Presidential hopeful Luisa Gonzalez, who was in the lead after the first round of votes, said on a local radio show that by banning oil extraction in Yasuni, not only will income be lost, but indemnity payments will have to be made to companies.

Those indemnifications could cost $15 billion, said Gonzalez, as Reuters reported. We need to review to see how well get out, what contracts there are, how they will close. Its a complicated scenario.

Last year, mining brought in $2.8 billion and was Ecuadors fourth biggest income source after bananas, oil and shrimp.

Waorani leader Ene Nenquimo said the victory represented years of suffering by Indigenous communities.

The fight is not just today but years-long, Nenquimo said, as reported by Reuters.
Highlights  6 months to 30 June 2023 (1H23)

 Underlying NPAT Attributable to Shareholders of $14.5 million (1H22: $25.6 million), down 43.5%

 Reported NPAT of $14.3 million (1H22: $35.1 million), down 59.3%

 Excellent performance by the Global Proteins division

 Commendable Horticulture operational result in light of the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle

 Solid result from Logistics despite volumes also being affected by the Cyclone

Diversified agribusiness group Scales Corporation Limited (NZX: SCL ) today reported its 1H23 results. An excellent performance by its Global Proteins division together with solid earnings from its Logistics division offset lower results from its Horticulture division due to the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Mike Petersen, Scales Corporation Chair, commented: Scales delivered a resilient result in what was an extremely difficult 6-month period for the Horticulture division. The Group benefited from continued growth in the Global Proteins division together with solid results from Logistics.

Cyclone Gabrielle caused significant loss and disruption, and we are extremely proud of all our team members who were able to resume operations in the week following the Cyclone. We have endeavoured to support both our staff and the community in every way that we can following Cyclone Gabrielle and will continue to do so as the clean-up continues throughout the region.

As ever, our results are not possible without the hard work and effort of each and every individual within the Group, and we would like to extend our thanks to all our team members, especially to those who were personally affected by the Cyclone.

Divisions

Global Proteins produced an extremely good result, with Underlying EBITDA of $30.1 million (1H22: $29.9 million). Managing Director Andy Borland noted: Global Proteins continued to capitalise on operational improvements made in prior periods. Results include our 50% share of NPAT for the Fayman businesses, with earnings for these businesses currently trading ahead of 1H22.

We were also recently delighted to further expand the Global Proteins division by establishing a presence in Europe through Esro Petfood JV. This joint venture aligns with our strategic objectives for the division in a number of ways, and we are excited for the opportunities presented by this partnership.

The Horticulture division produced a commendable operating result given the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. Underlying EBITDA was $11.4 million (1H22: $24.5 million). Mr Apples total own-grown export volumes are forecast to be 2.7 million TCEs (2022: 3.3 million TCEs).

Mr Borland noted: This has been a very extremely difficult growing and post-harvest period for Horticulture, as well as the wider Hawkes Bay produce industry, resulting in lower volumes. However, higher in-market apple prices have helped to compensate for the lower volumes. In addition, Mr Apple has experienced encouraging growth in its Premium varieties of DazzleTM and PosyTM, with demand outweighing supply in China.

Extensive orchard remediation has taken place with approximately 165 hectares of damaged orchards recovered from silt, debris and slash. An outstanding effort by our Horticulture team has resulted in around 50% of recovered blocks being re-seeded, with a target to complete the re-seeding by the end of this month.

Mr Apple is continuing its business review and we expect performance to return to more normal levels for FY24.

Logistics continued to provide strategically important services and solutions despite its volumes also being impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. Underlying EBITDA was $2.7 million compared to $3.6 million in 1H22. Mr Borland commented We have seen strengthened demand for airfreight volumes due to new customers and changes in product mix. In addition, the logistics sector has seen some improvement in the reliability of the supply chain, with pricing easing and delivery times improving. Further recovery is anticipated in forthcoming periods.

Full Year 2023 Outlook

Directors re-confirm that Underlying Net Profit Attributable to Shareholders is expected to be within the previously advised range of $14.0 million to $19.0 million.

In re-confirming this guidance Directors note:

 Broader economic trends may affect international markets

 Global Proteins continues to perform strongly, noting that 2H23 divisional results will be affected by:

o Initial trading losses whilst the Australian and European petfood plants reach full production (Australian plant commissioned August 2023, European plant expected to be operational 4Q23)

o The transition of business from the legacy Australian operations to the new joint venture

 Mr Apple has ~26% of crop to be sold (August 2022: ~40%)

Scales continues explore a number of opportunities to grow the Global Proteins division.

On behalf of his fellow Directors, Shareholders and leadership team, Mr Petersen extends his thanks to all Scales team members for their resilience, hard work and expertise.

About Scales Corporation

Scales Corporation is a diversified agribusiness portfolio. It comprises three operating divisions: Global Proteins, Horticulture and Logistics. The companys diverse spread of activities gives Scales broad exposure to the agribusiness sector. Scales Corporation was founded in 1897 as a shipping business by George Herbert Scales. Today it has operations across New Zealand, Australia and the USA. Find out more at www.scalescorporation.co.nz.

Contact

Andy Borland, Managing Director, Scales Corporation Limited, Mob: 021 975 999, email: andy.borland@scalescorporation.co.nz

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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.

A damaged house (front) with the facilities of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (back) seen from Ukedo fishing port in Namie, Fukushima prefecture on Aug. 20, 2023. PHILIP FONG / AFP via Getty Images

Japan announced Tuesday that it would begin releasing treated, diluted radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as early as Aug. 24. The plan is to release the water into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years.

As Reuters reported, the first release set for Thursday will include about 7,800 cubic meters of water and will take course over about 17 days.

I expect the water release to start on August 24, weather conditions permitting, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida said, as Reuters reported.

Japan and The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant operator, will test the ocean water and marine life and share results online, The Associated Press reported. The first results are expected sometime in September.

The plan was first approved two years ago, and the government has said that the water release is necessary in decommissioning the nuclear power plant. But the plan has come with a lot of opposition from nearby countries and the local fishing industry. According to The Associated Press, Hong Kong and Macau have banned products from 10 prefectures following the announcement to begin the water release. China has increased radiation testing on products from fisheries in Japan.

Even with filtering the water, the BBC reported that the water still contains radioactive substances, including tritium and carbon-14. The plan received a greenlight from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July. TEPCO said that the water will contain about 190 becquerels of tritium per liter, which is within the 10,000 becquerels per liter limit set by the World Health Organization.

While some scientists say the plan to treat and dilute the water is safe, others say there needs to be more consideration of long-term impacts of the planned release.

As long as the discharge is carried out as planned, radiation doses to people will be vanishingly small  more than a thousand times less than doses we all get from natural radiation every year, Jim Smith, a professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth, told the BBC.

In 2019, then-environmental minister Shinjiro Koizumi called for a shutdown of all nuclear reactors in Japan following the Fukushima disaster. But opponents have said nuclear energy is needed to meet the countrys energy and climate goals.

The power plant, which was destroyed in 2011 by an earthquake and tsunami, has around 1.34 million metric tons of water to be released. The contaminated water was used to cool the nuclear reactors amid the disaster, but former environmental minister for Japan Yoshiaki Harada said in 2019 that the plants operator had run out of space to store the water.




Indonesian and Australian livestock associations affirm strong relationship amid challenges



The Indonesian Beef Cattle Industry Association (GUPUSPINDO) and the Australian Livestock Exporters Council (ALEC) have issued a joint statement to reinforce their strong friendship and close working relationship, amid the prevailing challenges in the live cattle industry, Beef Central reported.

Executives from both GUPUSPINDO and ALEC convened in August to deliberate on the industry's status and future prospects. Notably, they are collaboratively planning a forthcoming gathering of importers and exporters in Indonesia scheduled for September. This upcoming event signifies the continuation of a longstanding and meaningful dialogue between the two entities.

Speaking on the close relationship, Pak Didiek Purwanto, chairman of GUPUSPINDO, said that the two organisations interact with a strong spirit of openness and cooperation no matter what challenges they may face.

He said it is important they continue to understand each others circumstances so they can each work for the benefit of each other and support the thousands of jobs in Australia and Indonesia that are reliant on the industry, as they provide affordable quality beef to Indonesian families and communities.

David Galvin, chairman of ALEC, emphasised the necessity of maintaining a connection between the two industries as both the Indonesian and Australian Governments address concerns related to positive lumpy skin disease (LSD) tests in Australian cattle. Galvin highlighted the significance of ongoing discussions and cooperative efforts to resolve these concerns.

Galvin affirmed ALEC's commitment to sustaining this pivotal relationship well into the future. He expressed optimism about the upcoming meeting in Jakarta in September, where delegates from both associations are set to converge.

- Beef Central






Chile's Aquaculture Innovation Club seeks international partners to further innovate aquaculture

Chile's Aquaculture Innovation Club is looking to establish an international alliance with countries that have a strong fish-farming tradition in an attempt to drive global innovation in aquaculture.



"We believe there are valuable experiences to share between Norway, Scotland, Ecuador, Spain and other countries," Aquaculture Innovation Club founder and executive director Adolfo Alvial told SeafoodSource. "There are a number of international organisations that we've invited, and we will be presenting a draft for the adherence to this initiative with contributions from each organisation so that we can launch this in a simple, non-bureaucratic way and begin to work together."

Alvial said the move to incorporate more worldwide players into its efforts stems from the desire to open doors with academia, international research and international ocean conservation experts while also positioning Chilean innovation services on a global level.



"This is the most important R&D&I (research, development, and innovation) aquaculture ecosystem in the Southern Hemisphere," he said, noting that a collaborative environment can help to address industry challenges, such as environmental, climate change and research issues.



Since its founding over three years ago, the club has sought to generate a culture of innovation among partner companies, promoting learning and collaboration while also aligning the needs of those partners with the larger aquaculture innovation ecosystem. It is not a trade organisation but rather a collaborative organisation seeking to form connections between companies around scientific-technological foundations, Alvial said.



The organisation is composed of firms ranging from small companies such as consultancies to large corporations such as MSD and Merck. All of them have the same weighting in the club, which has associated members  those that provide financing and are eligible for holding positions in the organisation  as well as collaborating members that simply contribute expertise.



"All of us are suppliers, and we want to maintain that nucleus of suppliers; there are no salmon-producing firms," Alvial added. "We have a permanent relationship with producers, and many of us are former producers. But, our institutional reasoning is that the innovation has [traditionally] been driven basically by the suppliers."

- SeafoodSource






Organisations in Hungary call for stop to EU's import of poultry, eggs from Ukraine

Hungary's National Agriculture Chamber (NAK) and the Poultry Product Council (BTT) called for halting imports of Ukrainian poultry and eggs in a joint statement last week, according to a report by state news wire MTI.



They argued that the unlimited inflow of these products into the European Union not only jeopardises the future of production in the EU and Europe's ability for self-sustenance but also poses food safety concerns.



While poultry farmers in the EU have to comply with strict food safety, veterinary health and animal welfare rules, Ukrainian producers are not subject to EU regulations, they said.



NAK and BTT noted that the EU quota before the liberalisation limited imports of Ukrainian poultry at 90,000 tonnes a year. In the one year since June 2022, the EU imported 218,000 tonnes of Ukrainian poultry, they added. As for egg imports, 2022 saw a fourfold increase compared with the previous year, they said, adding that in March this year alone, 100 million eggs were imported, nearly as much as during the whole of 2021.



All rules applicable to producers of the EU must also be applicable to any imported products, the organisations argued, adding that "this is expected not only in the interest of fair competition but also from the aspects of food safety and the interests of consumers."

- Budapest Business Journal




Japan's onshore aquaculture grows to secure food supplies and protect environment



Japan is witnessing a rapid expansion of onshore aquaculture, with both major fishery companies and startups venturing into farmed mackerel and shrimp, driven by the nation's pursuit of bolstering food security and environmental protection amid concerns related to pollution and overfishing, Nikkei Asia reported.

Seafood major Nissui has ventured into the production of fresh and fatty mackerel within onshore aquaculture facilities. These mackerel are making waves as a weekend treat in a sushi chain owned by the Colowide restaurant and food group. Operating the first-of-its-kind mackerel facility in Tottori prefecture, Nissui aims to achieve shipments of 175 tonnes by fiscal year 2024 and 250 tonnes in the future. Equipped with 10 tanks, this innovative facility harnesses precise water temperature control to enhance the mackerel's fat content and flavour.

Compared to marine aquaculture, onshore aquaculture presents lower risks of parasite infestations. The added value of reduced food poisoning risk elevates wholesale prices by 20% to 30% compared to conventional aquaculture.

Nissui's involvement in onshore aquaculture isn't confined to mackerel; the company is also engaged in cultivating white leg shrimp. These shrimp find their way to Mos Food Services, the entity behind the Mos Burger chain, which uses them to create a fried-shrimp cutlet sandwich paired with a shrimp sauce.

In a bid to secure domestic procurement methods, Nissui commenced full-scale onshore aquaculture of white leg shrimp in Kagoshima prefecture in southern Kyushu. The company aims to ship 140 tonnes of shrimp from this facility by fiscal year 2027.

As the global fishing industry faces competition due to climate change-induced poor catches, Japan, which depends on aquaculture for around 24% of its fishing sector, is exploring onshore aquaculture as a viable solution. Unlike coastal aquaculture, which faces limitations due to factors like pollution, the onshore method gains traction for its minimal environmental impact and absence of fishing rights restrictions.

Investments are flowing into the burgeoning onshore aquaculture market. A notable example is Mitsui & Co. subsidiary FRD Japan, which recently announced the sale of JPY 21 billion (~US$144 million; JPY 100 = US$0.68) in shares to raise funds for a rainbow trout farm under construction in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo.

- Nikkei Asia




Kansas State University awarded grant to develop ASF vaccine solutions



Kansas State University has been granted funding to embark on a research initiative aimed at safeguarding global food supplies by developing vaccines to shield swine from infectious diseases, focusing on African swine fever (ASF), Farm Journal's Pork reported.

The project is under the leadership of Juergen Richt, regents distinguished professor and university distinguished professor in Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The grant, spanning a duration of three years, has been allocated by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).

Richt said that all prior efforts to create safe vaccines capable of effectively countering the infection and disease associated with ASF have yielded limited success.

Richt highlighted that ASF is characterised by a wide variety of severe clinical signs in affected animals, and in this project, they will test their hypothesis that it is possible to protect against ASF virus infection and disease with rationally designed and engineered virus-vectored subunit vaccine candidates.

The university's vaccine approaches are based on a better understanding of the swine's immune response to ASF virus infection, and the virus-vectored vaccine candidates are DIVA, or differentiate infected from vaccinated animals, compatible.

David Rosowsky, vice president for research at Kansas State University, emphasised the global importance of developing these vaccines. Rosowsky highlighted K-State's dedication to forging domestic and international collaborations in order to find solutions to aggressive diseases. The university remains at the forefront of advancements in animal health and biosecurity.

Rosowsky said that Kansas State University researchers are committed to domestic and international collaborations to find solutions to these aggressive diseases, and the university continues to be an international leader in animal health and biosecurity.

- Farm Journal's Pork






China to subsidise fertilisers and pesticides used for corn and soybean productions in northern region

China's Ministry of Finance has arranged for a one-time subsidy fund of 2.4 billion (US$329.67 million) for fertilisers and pesticides for corn and soybeans grown in the north of the country, state media said on August 21.



The funds, which were approved on August 18, will support use of crop chemicals to boost resistance and reduce losses in the country's major autumn crops, the report by state broadcaster CCTV said.



China's north and northeast, its top grain-producing regions, were inundated with heavy rain and flooding in recent weeks, raising concerns of higher levels of pests and damage to grain output.

Some forecasters have lowered estimates for China's upcoming corn harvest though the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs kept its outlook unchanged at 282.34 million tonnes.

- Today Online
New Zealand Rural Land Company (NZL: NZX), will release its unaudited interim financial results for the six months ending 30 June 2023 after NZST 8:30am on Friday, 25 August 2023.

Management will host an Analyst and Institutional Investor Webinar to discuss the results and the Companys outlook at NZST 10:00am on Friday, 25 August 2023.

Please find detailed below the webinar link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82133989822?pwd=SU15YW15ZEZvd2VmUXFZcTdSVGJaZz09

If you have any further questions please feel free to reach out to:

Richard Milsom

Mobile: 021 274 2476

Email: richard@nzrlm.co.nz

Chris Swasbrook

Mobile: 021 928 262

Email: chris@nzrlc.co.nz

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Microsoft is acting on its promise to bring PC Game Pass to NVIDIA's GeForce Now service. The companies have announced that Game Pass and Microsoft Store titles will be available to stream on GeForce Now starting August 24th. Not every title will be playable right away, but this will give Game Pass subscribers access to releases like Deathloop and No Man's Sky through NVIDIA's platform.

The two companies have been forging a partnership for a while. Microsoft struck a deal with NVIDIA in February to bring Xbox games to GeForce Now for 10 years, and the first title (Gears 5) arrived in May. Bethesda's first games, including Doom Eternal and the Wolfenstein reboots, surfaced earlier this month. In that sense, PC Game Pass just expands the selection further.

The pact was announced as part of Microsoft's bid to get regulatory approval for its purchase of Activision Blizzard. In theory, this shows that Microsoft won't have unfair dominance over cloud gaming. The company also plans to sell Activision Blizzard game streaming rights to Ubisoft to address UK officials' concerns, and has been signing smaller cloud deals in recent months.

It may seem odd to access one streaming service's games through another, but there may be advantages. GeForce Now is aimed at enthusiasts who want maximum visual quality and reduced lag, with the Ultimate tier supporting 4K at 120 frames per second. If your PC and internet connection are up to the task, Game Pass might shine on GeForce Now where it would otherwise be limited.
SUMMERSET FIRST HALF UNDERLYING PROFIT OF $87.2M, UP 5.7%

 Underlying profit for 1H23 of NZ$87.2m, up 5.7% on 1H22

 Reported (IFRS) profit after tax of NZ$133.1m

 Total assets of NZ$6.3 billion, up 17.2% on 1H22

 Gearing ratio of 35.5%

 Two new sites acquired in New Zealand

 152 new retirement units delivered

 483 sales of occupation rights for the half

 Development margin of 33.5%

 Interim dividend of NZ11.3 cents per share

Retirement village operator Summerset Group Holdings Limited has announced an underlying profit of $87.2 million for the six months ended 30 June 2023, a 5.7% increase on the first half of 2022.

Summerset CEO Scott Scoullar said the result is pleasing as the business performed solidly through a challenging economic environment over the first six months and continues to lay the platform for ongoing growth.

In the six months to 30 June 2023, Summerset recorded 483 sales comprising 241 new sales and 242 resales. The first quarter of 210 total sales reflected the lower turnover in the property market, whereas the second quarter saw a record result for resales with 147 units settled.

Summerset reported a development margin of 33.5% up from 28.1%, for the same period last year, above the companys longer-term expectations of development margins in the 20-25% range.

Summerset delivered 152 total units in the first six months.

Our deliveries are weighted towards the second half of this year and we remain on track to deliver approximately 625-675 units this year. In the second half, we expect to deliver two new village centre buildings at our Bell Block (New Plymouth) and Te Awa (Napier) villages with both sites already seeing good levels of presales interest, said Mr Scoullar.

Summerset has also announced the purchase of two new sites in New Zealand at Rolleston (Christchurch) and Mosgiel (Dunedin).

Were pleased to continue to find quality sites to grow our business where well be able to introduce more New Zealanders to our retirement village lifestyle.

Rolleston, in the Selwyn District is in one of New Zealands high growth areas, with Statistics New Zealand estimating Rolleston will see the highest population growth in New Zealand over the next 30 years. The site is Summersets sixth in the Canterbury region.

The site in Mosgiel is 15km west of Dunedins city centre and will complement the existing Dunedin village. Offering access to a high level of amenities and recreational areas with flat, open spaces, the site is also within 3km of Mosgiel town centres vibrant shops, cafes, restaurants and monthly markets.

The new New Zealand sites will each offer over 300 units and further boost Summersets land bank of units, the largest in New Zealands retirement village sector, and gives Summerset enough secured land to more than double the size of its current New Zealand business.

In Australia, construction is well underway at our Cranbourne North village, with presales marketing having recently commenced and the first homes expected to be finished by the end of this year, said Mr Scoullar.

Once complete, the village will provide a variety of purpose-built homes including two- and three-bedroom independent living villas and townhouses, as well as serviced apartments for residents requiring extra support. There will also be extensive recreational amenities and aged care on-site offering options for residents in our aged care or memory care facility.

Of its six other Australian sites, Summerset has both the Chirnside Park and now Oakleigh South sites consented and is working through the process at its other proposed villages.

We were very pleased to receive consent for our Oakleigh South site from Victorias City of Monash Council. Its our first inner suburban approval in Victoria with excellent amenities and access to nearby Melbourne city.

We are excited to soon introduce Australians to our high-quality integrated model of village living, said Mr Scoullar.

The Summerset Board has declared an unimputed interim dividend of NZ11.3 cents per share. The record date will be 6 September 2023, with payment on 19 September 2023.

ENDS

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The Essex Reporter is a daily digital news website covering the Town of Essex and City of Essex Junction, Vermont. Our beat reporters are on the ground every day covering local government, schools, sports, business and culture.
The Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has a profound interest in American politics. Over the years, he has pumped $475 million he has earned manufacturing medical devices into left-wing advocacy groups  $72 million in 2021 alone, according to a new report from the conservative watchdog group, Americans for Public Trust.

According to a biography of Wyss written by a sister, Wyss goal is not to bend laws to his businesss advantage but to [re]interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.

Although foreigners are prohibited from donating money directly to political causes, Wyss has donated lavishly to progressive political organizations. The New York Times reported in 2021 that these include the Center for American Progress and Priorities USA, as well as organizations that ran voter registration and mobilization campaigns to increase Democratic turnout, built media outlets accused of slanting the news to favor Democrats, and sought to block Mr. Trumps nominees, prove he colluded with Russia and push for his impeachment. Since 2016, some $245 million of his spending on American politics has gone to Arabella Advisors, which controls a vast network of progressive nonprofits which, among other activities, has financed hundreds of smaller groups that campaign for specific issues and candidates. Arabella, which raised $1.6 billion in 2021, was dubbed by The Atlantic The Massive Progressive Dark-Money Group Youve Never Heard Of.

Critics argue that Wyss largesse illuminates a gaping loophole in political finance that essentially allows wealthy foreigners to launder their contributions  one that has been exploited far more robustly by Democrats than Republicans. That may help explain why the issue became more prominent on Aug. 14, when House Republicans announced an investigation into whether entities that qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501 of the U.S. Code are abiding by the statutory and regulatory prohibitions against  foreign sources of funding  being funneled through such organizations to influence Americas elections. As part of that probe, the House Ways and Means Committee produced an open letter detailing the problem and requesting information from the public. A significant portion of the letter discussed the political donations of a single foreigner  Hansjorg Wyss.

Marnee Banks, a spokesperson for the two organizations most responsible for Wyss political giving, told RCI that The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund prohibit their grants from being used to support or oppose political candidates or parties or to fund get-out-the-vote or voter registration activities. She said, Both organizations comply with the rules and laws governing their activities, and they support increasing transparency in our campaign finance system.

Almost every expert interviewed agrees that the House investigation will prove challenging. The opaque nature of 501(c)4 independent political expenditure groups makes it impossible to tell whose donations are spent on what.

Theres no way for us right now to even check up on, let alone stop, wealthy foreign interests, say from China or Russia, from cutting a check to an American foundation that disappears into its coffers and winds up in the hands of a political nonprofit, says Hayden Ludwig, Director of Policy Research at the Restoration of America, a right-leaning nonprofit that investigates the undisclosed donations to nonprofits commonly disparaged as dark money. And if its 501I4 [the IRS tax designation for organizations that can engage in activity supporting political candidates and electoral issues] that money can absolutely be used for independent expenditures, running political ads, hammering Republicans and electing Democrats.

Arabella, along with its subsidiary organizations, declined to comment for this article.

Taking foreign donations has long been illegal, but it emerged as a major concern in 1996 when figures tied to Chinese intelligence illegally funneled hundreds of thousands to the Democratic National Committee. One of the major figures in the scandal, a Chinese businessman named Ng Lap Seng, told ABC News in 1997, My philosophy is that I should not break the law but I wouldnt mind bending it.

The political landscape shifted profoundly in 2010 with the Supreme Court landmark decision in Citizens United vs. FEC. By holding that campaign finance laws violated the right to free speech, the court broadly prevented the government from restricting independent political spending by corporations and other associations.

Although foreigners have never been allowed to make direct contributions to campaigns, Citizens United essentially allowed Wyss and other foreign billionaires to give unlimited amounts of money to political action committees and other organizations that did not coordinate their advocacy with specific candidates.

In the thirteen years since the Citizens United decision, which Democrats have long derided, a large number of 501(c)4 independent expenditure groups have sprung up to take advantage of the new rules. None has been as successful as Arabella Advisors.

Arabella was founded by Eric Kessler, a former Clinton White House appointee, as well as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, which was plagued by fundraising controversies. Under Kessler, Arabella achieved great success in wrangling wealthy liberal donors and thereby making many organizations on the left dependent on its largesse: The Arabella network spent $1.2 billion in 2020. Altogether this is absolutely one of the largest fundraising machines I have ever come across, Robert Maguire of the left-leaning watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told Politico in 2021. I am really struggling to think of any other group, especially recently, that could rival it,

The structure of Arabella Advisors is complicated and opaque by design. Arabella is comprised of a handful of smaller but still large and influential funds  New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, North Fund, Hopewell Fund, and Windward Fund. Those groups then create several pop-up groups with generic names such as Floridians for a Fair Shake and Arizonans For Responsible Government to campaign for specific issues and candidates.

Theyre little more than websites designed to look like fully independent, grassroots advocacy groups; yet they can be unplugged the minute a campaign wraps up, according to a recent report on Arabellas operations by Ludwig. These pop-up groups dont file IRS disclosures, nor do they reveal their staff, boards, or budget. They often solicit donations from unsuspecting liberals, some of whom might be bothered to realize theyre in fact supporting the biggest dark money monster in politics and not a grassroots group.

The Arabella network has created some 500 of these groups since 2006, and even political journalists are often fooled into thinking these are grassroots groups instead of entities controlled by well-funded D.C. activists. (Some of these pop-up groups have even run political ads that deceptively try to look like local news outlets.) Many of those pop-up groups are also 501(c)(3) organizations, which unlike 501(c)(4) groups, are tax deductible and supposed to be nonpartisan. However, nonpartisan groups funded by Arabella often skirt the law and are created to accomplish narrow partisan goals. For instance, the Arabella network gave $25 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), a nonprofit that endured heavy criticism for its role in the 2020 election. While CTCLs mission was to improve election infrastructure by working with local government election offices, it was run by election analytics experts affiliated with Democrats and progressive causes. The hundreds of millions in grants CTCL distributed in the 2020 election were allocated by coordinating with Democratic politicians and heavily skewed toward increasing turnout in Democratic counties and cities located in swing states.

With Arabella, donors money is extremely fungible. Because it is routed through two or three organizations before it gets spent, it is difficult to determine how donations from foreigners such as Wyss are disbursed.

And given Arabellas massive political spending, theres no question the organization exerts political influence and is cozy with the Biden administration. This year, it was revealed that Arabellas Eric Kessler was the only non-government employee on an email chain where Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and other USDA employees were discussing policies about how to "transform" the U.S. food system and go after the meat industry for high prices, raising questions about whether the group is directly shaping the Biden administrations agenda.

With Arabella and their foreign megadonors working this closely with the White House, I don't see Democrats remotely concerned about the influence of foreign money, even though they spent years hammering Trump about being a supposed Russian asset, says Ludwig.

This lack of concern also created a marked contrast with how similar organizations on the right are operating. While it is very difficult to track the flow of such money, the top nonprofit groups accepting it on the right that are comparable to Arabella, One Nation, and American Action Network have institutional bans on accepting foreign money.

And those groups are quite happy to emphasize this as a point of political contrast with Arabella. "Unlike the left, who rely on massive foreign gifts to bankroll their toxic agenda that's costing American families more daily, we do not accept foreign contributions, says American Action Network Communications Director Courtney Parella. Americans for Public Trust executive director Caitlin Sutherland adds that This is mostly an issue on the left, with all the hypocrisy involved, because they're the ones decrying dark money, they say they want to ban dark money, want to get money out of politics, but have no actual ban on accepting money from foreign nationals.

And despite the broad freedom Citizens United created for political spending, serious questions about the legality of these arrangements remain. Two years ago, Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint with the FEC regarding Wyss and Arabella. Foreign nationals cannot give to Super PACs, but what we'd see a pattern where the foreign national gives to a nonprofit, that nonprofit turns around and gets the money to a Super PAC. We've been calling this the foreign influence loophole, says Sutherland. So we filed an FEC complaint that basically argued just that, that the money flow needs to be investigated by the FEC.

By law, the FEC board can have no more than three appointees from a particular political party, and the Americans for Public Trusts FEC complaint was eventually dismissed last year on a 3-3 deadlock between commissioners. The attorney representing Wyss in the FEC matter was Marc Elias, the Democratic party super lawyer who specializes in contesting elections - Elias also served as the DNCs cut-out to pay for the debunked Steele Dossier, which alleged that former President Trump and many of his aides were financially compromised by Russian interests.

However, while the FECs general counsel report on the matter concluded there is also not currently enough information in the record to conclude that Wyss made indirect political contributions that would be used for electoral purposes, the report validated a number of concerns raised by Americans for Public Trust. Specifically, it concluded that the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a key part of Arabella Advisors network and funnel for Wyss money, had spent the lions share of its budget on electoral politics. The organization spent $400 million in 2020, which included a whopping $128 million to America Votes, a progressive organization that declares its mission is to WIN ELECTIONS in key states on its website.

Based on this record, including STFs [Sixteen Thirty Funds] admitted spending, its grants to politically active grant recipients, and its payments  it appears that there is reason to believe that by 2020 STF had the major purpose of influencing a federal election, notes the report. The FECs general counsel report went on to conclude that Sixteen Thirty, and a subsidiary organization, The Hub Project, had likely violated the law by not registering as political committees.

Had they been forced to register as Super PACs, that would have forced significantly more transparency requirements on both organizations. Registering as a Super PAC would have also made it clear the fund could not accept foreign donations, something which the FEC has previously cracked down on. In 2019, the FEC fined a Jeb Bush Super PAC $940,000 for taking in donations from a Chinese corporation. However, since the FEC took no enforcement action, the conclusions of the FECs general counsel were not binding. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is still not registered as a political committee.

Sixteen Thirty Fund did not respond to a request for comment, but it appears neither Sixteen Thirty nor Arabella is done dealing with the FEC. On August 15, Americans for Public Trust filed an all-new complaint with the Internal Revenue Service alleging Arabellas relationship with Sixteen Thirty and its other subsidiaries is illegal. In order to receive nonprofit status, Sixteen Thirty and the four other funds in the Arabella network initially claimed Arabella would only be providing the groups with temporary administrative support. Seventeen years later, the groups have paid Arabella hundreds of millions in management fees and remain under its yoke.

Ultimately, any hope for addressing foreign money in elections may lie with Congress because the FECs role is merely interpreting the existing laws governing dark money, which are unclear. House Republicans recently introduced the The American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act, which would make it illegal for foreigners to funnel money from nonprofits to Super PACs and other vehicles for electoral spending.

Though Democrats once thought of concerns about foreign election interference and dark money as signature issues, Axios notes that Republicans are trying to flip to script and draw attention to foreign donations to Democrat-aligned and progressive nonprofit organizations with the introduction of the ACE Act. Additionally, Sen. Marco Rubio reintroduced the Protecting Ballot Measures from Foreign Influence Act, which would make it illegal for a foreign national to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to State or local initiatives and referendums. Plastic No-No Bans

And setting aside the complicated world of dark money, Democrats have faced accusations of willfully enabling fraudulent fundraising for the last 15 years. Both of former President Obamas 2008 and 2012 campaigns were heavily criticized for refusing to use basic credit card verification systems for online donations that are designed to, among other things, filter out donations from foreign sources. This resulted in a raft of obviously fraudulent donations.

ActBlue, the largest online fundraising platform for Democrats, which raised a whopping $5 billion in 2020, still does not require donors to supply the three-digit Card Verification Value (CVV) number on the back of credit cards. Requiring a CVV is now standard industry practice for online transactions, specifically to prevent fraud and illegal foreign transactions. (ActBlues GOP counterpart in online fundraising, WinRed, does require CVV numbers to donate.)

To that end, Rubio has also introduced legislation to require a CVV for online donations. When Rubio submitted it as an amendment to the Democrats climate and tax bill last year, it didnt even receive a vote. Rubio has subsequently called for an FEC investigation into ActBlue after reports emerged earlier this year that ActBlue is a conduit for fraudulent donations made with stolen credit card numbers. ActBlue also did not respond to inquiries about why it chooses not to require CVV numbers for fraud prevention.

Ron Fein of the clean elections watchdog Free Speech for People warns against making foreign dark money a partisan issue. Fein notes Republicans are not perfect on this issue  Free Speech For People filed an FEC complaint against President Trumps inaugural committee for taking a $500,000 contribution from Venezuelan-owned oil company CITGO.

More important, curbing foreign influence in elections is an issue that large majorities in both parties support. Survey after survey, and every opportunity to actually vote directly, like a ballot initiative shows that large majorities of Americans of both political parties will say time and time again, that they don't want foreign money entering US elections, says Fein. He also notes that state and local Democrats have embraced limiting foreign donations.

At the national level, Rubio has attracted some support from Democrats  Virginia senator Mark Warner is co-sponsoring his Protecting Ballot Measures from Foreign Influence Act, and it has attracted some support from moderate Democrats in the House  but Rubio is plainly frustrated with the fact that stopping foreign money in American elections has become a largely Republican issue in Congress.
The Montana State Capitol on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, a day after the legislature adjourned the 2023 session. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

Frank Garner won eight elections to the Montana Legislature and seven of them were contested.

The former police officer from the Flathead area was a Republican in a place known for its conservative politics. Even he admits the final results of the contested elections werent even close.

So it might be surprising that for a lawmaker who has enjoyed the healthy, sustained success in state electoral politics that hed be leading the charge for change, but he trusts one thing  Montana voters.

And if theres one thing hes certain those Montana voters  from Absorkee to Zortman  cherish the freedom to choose their own candidates. Thats why a coalition of former politicians are rallying behind two constitutional initiatives that would change how citizens vote.

The ballot initiatives, which are being reviewed before signature collecting can start, would make Montana primaries all open, and the top four vote-getters would advance to the general election, despite party affiliation or endorsement.

Montanans would get to choose the person they want, and vote the best person, Garner said. I think that has a ton of value.

He likened it to shopping for a new car: Imagine if you only had two choices, a red one or blue one. Thats it. Thats all the choices.

Running in contested elections makes you a better legislator and makes you more responsive to the competition, he said.

The second ballot measure would ask voters whether the winning candidate in any race should need a majority of votes to win the office. If so, then the Legislature would be tasked with creating a system that would determine how a candidate who got a plurality, but not a majority, of votes would win. Current Montana law says the top vote-getter, whether with a majority or not, win the general election. And, on occasion, statewide officer holders have won election while receiving less than 50% of the vote, or less than a majority.

Garner believes that the initiatives would give more choices to Montanans, and stop what he said is an example of the minority deciding for the majority.

He means that primary elections have historic and notoriously low voter turnout, sometimes in the 20 or 30% range. That means that less than one-third of the eligible voters choose the two candidates who will advance to the general election. Using basic math, that means that any candidate from a major political party could have the support of less than 20% of the eligible voters in the state and still advance to the general election. Instead, Garner hopes that this will expand the options voters have, and break the power of political parties, who get to back one candidate at the expense of others.

The language of the ballot measure specifically says that in order for a candidate to run with a party affiliation, they dont need to have an endorsement of the party. Theoretically, multiple Democrats or Republicans could run simultaneously for the same seat.

The top four system would apply to elections for governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, state representative, state senator, United States representative, United States Senator and other offices as provided by law.

Garner believes these measures, which have the support of other former politicians, including former lawmakers Bruce Grubbs of Bozeman and Bruce Tutvedt of Kalispell, will shift the power balance back to where it belongs.

This is about taking away from the parties and giving it back to the people, Garner said. How many people, if you asked the question today, would say theyre satisfied with their choices and who is representing them in office? Its clear that the people want to see change and the best way to do that is inject competition into the system.

He said that even though Montanans have put into place a Republican supermajority in the Legislature and the GOP dominates up and down the ballot, he said that many still feel alienated.

A lot of people dont identify with a party or candidates, Garner said. The current system doesnt promote a look at everyone. This wont change every face in every office. Want to get people back into politics? Give them choices.

Paul Pope, an associate professor of political science at Montana State University-Billings, said that its likely the Republican Party would stand to lose the most from such a measure because of its supermajority and the way it has enforced ideological discipline within its party. Having more candidates could mean moving toward a more centrist model of governing, something that Pope didnt see a lot of during the last legislative session.

It would seem to me that the GOP would be extremely resistant to this change, Pope said. After all, conservative means to keep or hold back.

Looking at these proposals, Pope said it would make it easier to cross the lines of political parties, and that primaries usually have extremely partisan rhetoric as candidates vie for those who are the most aligned with party values.

He said the current political system rewards the extremes of both political parties because the candidates who emerge from the primaries are usually more extreme, and it often leaves voters who are dissatisfied on the sidelines  choosing to sit out the election. However, with more choices, measures like these have the opportunity to engage more voters because there are more choices.

For example, issues like marijuana, LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive health enjoy solid majority support, often from both conservative and liberal sides of the spectrum. While the number of representatives may add up to a supermajority, it may not reflect the true political reality of the residents, and therefore open primaries could lead to more centrist candidates.

Meanwhile, Pope sees tremendous opportunity for moderate candidates if legislation like this passes because the states voters often find middle ground on education, approaches to crime and overall taxes.

Montana really is the middle, Pope said. We are never usually extreme. Its wonderful that we have a balance to these issues. For example, when you look at things like public education, were right in the middle; when you look at public safety or even marijuana, were in the middle. You dont see that in a lot of states and its likely left of where the GOP is at currently.

The post Former lawmakers propose ballot initiatives that would open primaries, require a majority winner appeared first on Daily Montanan.
With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Daryl (Ole) Olson, who peacefully left this world on August 13, 2023, at his cherished home in Augusta, Montana. Born in March of 1947 to proud parents Irvin and Martha Olson, Daryl's life was a testament to strength, service, and unwavering love.

Daryl's journey began in his beloved hometown, and as he grew, his determination and spirit led him to serve his country with honor and distinction. He proudly wore the uniform of a Marine and displayed exceptional bravery in the face of adversity, earning the prestigious Purple Heart for his sacrifices. After his time in the Marines, Daryl continued his commitment to service by joining the Montana Air National Guard as a supply technician, a role that allowed him to contribute to his community in a meaningful way.

Upon retiring from his military service, Daryl found solace and contentment in the picturesque town of Augusta, where he and his wife Teresa settled in 1989. Daryl was a man of many talents, and he dedicated himself to a variety of odd jobs that brought smiles to the faces of those he interacted with. His strong work ethic and friendly demeanor endeared him to all who knew him.

However, it was his role at Gibson Reservoir that truly captured his heart for 9 fulfilling years. Daryl's dedication and commitment shone bright as he worked diligently, leaving an indelible mark on both the reservoir and the lives he touched during his time there.

Daryl's greatest joy was undoubtedly his family, whom he loved with all his heart. His devotion to his wife of 43 years, Teresa, was a source of inspiration to all who witnessed their enduring bond. Daryl's legacy lives on through his children and grandchildren, who were the light of his life:

Nate Olson, along with his wife Leah and their children Caden and Colter; Ty Olson, and daughter Mia; Chad Olson, his wife Andrea and their children Ryan, Tymer, and Sophie; BethAnn Heilbrun, along with her husband Matt and their children Chase and Keelyn.

Daryl's memory will forever be etched in the hearts of those who had the privilege of knowing him. His kindness, dedication, and unyielding love for his family will serve as a beacon of inspiration for generations to come.

As we gather to celebrate Daryl's life, let us remember the profound impact he had on our lives and the world around him. May his spirit find eternal peace, and may his memory continue to bring comfort and strength to all who were fortunate to have shared in his journey.

Rest in peace, Daryl (Ole) Olson. Your legacy will forever shine brightly in our hearts.

Condolences to the family may be shared at www.frontierfuneralhome.com.
UPDATE, AUG. 24:

A public meeting to discuss the River Road East Fire is being held at the Plains High School gym, 421 Rittenour St. If you cannot make the meeting, it will be streamed live to the River Road East Fire Facebook.

Fire crews have contained the fire around the town of Paradise on both sides of the Clark Fork River.

McLaughlin Creek Road has been reopened to residents, however, the area is still under a pre-evacuation warning.

The following are planned actions for Thursday:

As the weather returns to warmer and dry conditions, increased fire activity is likely.

Smoke will be visible in more areas, and fire spread will increase as fuels continue to dry out from Mondays rainstorm.

Firefighters will continue to take advantage of the slower fire growth working to build containment line around much of the fire perimeter.

Additional crews, engines, heavy equipment, helicopters and fire line leadership have arrived, allowing resources to cover more of the complex and remote terrain in which the fire is burning.

Helicopters will be working in support of ground crews delivering water to strategic areas to support perimeter control operations.

UPDATE, AUG. 23:

The Flathead River at Perma Bridge has been closed for the fishermen and recreationists due to the River Road East Fire.

CSKT Division of Fire reports the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes approved Northern Team 1s request to close part of the river, effective immediately.

The boat ramp at Perma Bridge is still open and boaters can go east, upstream.

UPDATE, AUG. 22:

Constant rainfall Monday helped slow down fire activity of the River Road East Fire.

An update from the River Road East Fire information page on Facebook said the rainfall won't extinguish the fire, but firefighters have more opportunities to work on direct and indirect fire lines.

Crews will continue line construction and burning operations.

There is a large amount of containment line needed due to the size of the fire, the River Road East Fire information page said.

The fire remains at 16,790 acres large and 0% contained.

UPDATE, AUG. 21:

The River Road East Fire grew an additional 3,376 acres, totaling 16,790 acres as of Monday with no containment.

A Facebook post by the River Road East Fire information page said there was medium fire activity observed Sunday.

Aircraft crews were able to operate more retardant drops to protect Pat's Knob Lookout and communications site.

Crews worked to establish a control line on the eastern side of the fire, along the north edge, continuing to the north to stay on track with the fire on River Road East.

Crews resumed establishing control lines around structures in the Paradise area and working to the north building fire control lines to stop the fire from reaching the Highway 200 corridor.

In effort to look for access routes and locations to build indirect and direct control lines, fire personnel worked ahead of the fire in Henry's Creek and in the Camas Prairie area.

Crews stayed in the southwest side of the fire to observe fire movement in the rocky terrain west of Highway 135 and Highway 200 junction.

To protect structures in Paradise and the Highway 200 corridor, crews will establish and mop up built control lines.

Crews will keep working on control lines north and south of the river and in the Highway 200 corridor to gain footing on the fire as it moves north on both sides.

Where there is the strongest chance of success, fire personnel will construct indirect and direct fire lines on the north and east sides of the fire.

Fire fighters will seek out access roads and possible locations for indirect control lines on the southeast side.

Crews will strengthen control lines to protect the Pat's Knob Lookout and communication infrastructure on the southeast side if needed.

Additionally, crews are seeking out indirect control line opportunities along the western side.

River Road East Fire information page on Facebook said crews are still developing a long-term plan to suppress the fire, including identifying actions needed, risk to responders and probability of success to reach containment of the fire.

Crews will be using aircraft for fire suppression, depending on weather and smoke conditions.

The Sander's County Sheriff's Office is posting updates on evacuation statuses in the area of the River Road East Fire.

A shelter is set up at the Church on the Move, located at 300 Clayton Street in Plains.

UPDATE, AUG. 20:

Reported acreage on the River Road East Fire has increased to 13,414 acres.

Fire personnel are focusing on public safety and point protection of structures where it is safe to do so.

A community meeting is being held from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Plains High School Gym for fire personnel and local officials to provide updates and be available for questions about the fire.

The meeting will be streamed, however, if internet strength makes it difficult to livestream, it will be recorded and the video will be posted after the meeting.

Planned actions for the fire Sunday include:

Structure protection within and near the fire area will remain high priority as crews also look for opportunities to engage in fire suppression in locations with the greatest opportunity for success.

Control lines will be strengthened in the Paradise and McLaughlin Creek areas to protect structures.

South of Highway 200 besides structure protection the focus will also be to strengthen fire control lines and add retardant if possible to protect the Pats Knob Lookout and Communication infrastructure site.

Fire personnel will be looking for opportunities to construct direct or indirect fire control lines in various locations. Line construction will continue working north and east of Paradise.

A long-term fire suppression plan is in development to help identify actions needed, risk to responders, and probability of success to accomplish fire containment.

Low level smoke conditions may limit the ability for firefighting aircraft to fly due to safety concerns.

UPDATE:

The River Road East Fire is now reported to be 11,591 acres large and has spread to the north and onto Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe lands.

Those driving in the fire area on Highway 200 are urged to be cautious and to not stop along the highway for the safety of firefighters and the public.

River Road East is closed to public travel to allow firefighters to safely work on the fire.

Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 1 will take command of the fire Saturday evening.

PARADISE, Mont. - Paradise and surrounding areas have been evacuated or placed on pre-evacuation notice for the River Road East Fire in Sanders County.

The fire is from the Southside of the Clark Fork river where it meets with the Flathead river at the community of Paradise.

A shelter has been opened by the Montana Red Cross at the Church on the Move, 300 Clayton St., in Plains.

Lolo National Forest reports the fire is 500 acres large and that a Incident Management Team will be on scene Saturday to take command.
Former President Donald Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond order ahead of an expected booking in Fulton County Jail this week. (Stanley Dunlap | Georgia Recorder)

Former President Donald Trumps attorneys agreed to a $200,000 bond and other terms of release ahead of his expected trip to Georgia this week to be booked into the Fulton County Jail.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump and 18 co-defendants last week over an alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which Trump lost in Georgia by about 12,000 votes. Attorneys representing the others charged in connection with Willis probe were negotiating the terms of their release Monday.

Willis gave them until noon Friday to turn themselves in. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said the former president will be treated like any other defendant, including being fingerprinted and photographed for a mugshot before being released on bond.

Trumps legal team signed off on terms of that bond Monday, including specific rules against intimidating witnesses, including posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.

The Fulton County indictments mark the fourth time this year the former president faced criminal charges.

Trump has been accused of attempting to tamper with witnesses in other legal cases and in Georgia. Last Monday, he posted that Georgias former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan shouldnt testify before the Fulton County grand jury.

At least four other co-defendants reached agreements for their release Monday, according to documents released by Fulton County Superior Court. Their bond orders contain prohibitions against intimidating witnesses but do not go into the same detail as Trumps.

Attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro agreed to $100,000 bond orders in connection with an alleged plot to undermine the Electoral College tally of Georgias 2020 vote.

According to an indictment, Eastmans role included encouraging a group of Republican fake electors to approve Trump as the winner in Georgia, filing a lawsuit against the state including statements he knew to be false and seeking to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the legitimate election results.

Chesebro is accused of providing the documents signed by Georgias fake electors.

Atlanta attorney Ray Smith agreed to a $50,000 bond. He is accused of falsely claiming to Georgia senators that he had proof of 130,000 illegal votes cast in 2020.

Georgia bail bondsman Scott Graham Hall agreed to a $10,000 bond. He is charged with illegally accessing voting equipment in the Coffee County Elections and Registration Department office.

Another alleged co-conspirator, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, filed a motion Saturday to request all charges against him dropped, arguing that because he was acting as a federal official, he should be immune to state prosecution under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that federal laws take precedence over state laws.

The States prosecution of Mr. Meadows threatens the important federal interest in providing the President of the United States with close, confidential advice and assistance, firmly entrenched in federal law for nearly 100 years, Meadows attorneys wrote.

Among Meadows alleged crimes are attempting to access a signature match audit in Cobb County and participating in Trumps infamous phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump asked his fellow Republican to find enough votes to hand him a Georgia victory.

Trump could make his jailhouse appearance any time before the Friday deadline, but he is expected to show up Thursday or Friday, according to multiple media outlets citing law enforcement sources.

A late-in-the-week surrender could have the extra effect of drawing attention away from the upcoming Republican presidential primary debates, scheduled for Wednesday evening in Milwaukee.

Trump announced he would not be participating, citing a large lead in the polls. A CBS News poll released Sunday found that Trump has the support of 62% of likely Republican primary voters with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in distant second place with 16%.

Georgia beef

Meanwhile, on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by the former president, Trump continued his mostly one-sided beef with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, which started when the governor refused to take steps to alter Georgias election results. Kemp said he did not have legal authority to take those steps, including a push to call a special session of the GOP-controlled state Legislature to award Georgias 16 electoral votes to Trump despite his narrow loss.

On Thursday, Dade County Republican Sen. Colton Moore penned an open letter to Kemp calling for a special session to impeach Willis. This would be very unlikely to happen, as it would require three-fifths majorities from both the House and Senate and the support of many Democrats in the Legislature.

A Kemp spokesperson told FOX News that Moore had not provided evidence that he could drum up that much support, which the former president did not like:

Governor Kemp of Georgia is fighting hard against the Impeachment of the crooked, incompetent, & highly partisan D.A. of Fulton County, Fani Willis, who has allowed Murder and other Violent Crime to MASSIVELY ESCALATE, he posted Monday. Crime in Atlanta is WORST IN NATION. She should be impeached for many reasons, not just the Witch Hunt (I did nothing wrong!). Willis should focus on out of control Murder, not I will get TRUMP over a Perfect Phone Call. Georgia does not deserve this GIANT MURDER WAVE!

In a separate Truth post on Sunday, Trump speculated that a meeting between Kemp, Pence and DeSantis could have been perhaps to discuss how they can stop the Weaponization of Georgia Law, working with the DOJ and others, against their absolutely, all time favorite President, ME. All three have been just wonderful, so loyal and nice. Its great to have friends like this!

This story was originally produced by the Georgia Recorder which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

The post Trump, allies start to forge bond deals ahead of expected booking at Fulton County jail this week appeared first on Daily Montanan.
by Marko Phiri

Zimbabwes ballooning informal sector has, in recent years, spawned the over-exploitation of the countrys natural resources, with the fisheries taking some of the most felt battering.





Amidst challenges brought by economic hardships, fisheriesfor long imagined to be an infinite resource by hawkers and fishermenare providing women with livelihoods against odds brought by climate change and competition from male fishmongers who go into the water.





Overfishing is harming the informal traders who rely on it for income. CREDIT: Marko Phiri/IPS





Selling fish has for years been a source of income for women, but with current unemployment levels, more and more women are trying their hand at anything that will provide income.





According to the International Labour Organisation, out of more than five million informal traders in Zimbabwe, 65 percent are women, throwing more women into sectors such as fisheries that offer hope for steady incomes.





However, this comes with its own downside.





Demand for aquaculture produce has not slowed amid dwindling fish stocks in the countrys dams, according to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate, and Rural Development.





Officials say because consumers have no idea about underwater resource sustainability and management, the more nets are cast into the countrys waters, the less efforts are done to conserve the countrys fisheries.





Long touted as a cheap source of nutrition, with the price of fish bought directly from dams cheaper than that sold in supermarkets and butcheries, this has resulted in unintended consequences.





Janet Dube is a frustrated single breadwinner in Bulawayo.





She makes a living visiting dams surrounding the city of Bulawayo and used to travel as far as the Zambezi to purchase fish stock but now says she has watched as a growing number of people, especially women try their luck buying and selling fish.





And with huge numbers entering the fish trade, it has meant diminishing returns as fish in the countrys waterways are not being repopulated fast enough.





I dont get as many fish I used from my suppliers even in dams around the city where you do not have to travel to faraway places such as Binga to buy fish for resale in Bulawayo, Dube said.





Sitting on the pavement of Bulawayos central business district, in the countrys second city, Dube hawks fresh bream fish and laments that although her stock is low, she still must worry about the fish going bad because of electricity power cuts.





Zimbabwe is in the midst of a long-running energy deficit that has not spared anyone, with the fisheries sector feeling the strain.





I only come to sell fish in the central business district late afternoon to avoid losses as fish goes bad pretty fast, Dube told IPS.





However, for other fishmongers, selling dried bream and kapenta has become the answer to these challenges.





At another bustling city pavement, Gracious Maruziva sells dried kapenta sourced in the Zambezi Valley.





I dont go there myself but buy from some people who travel to Binga regularly, but they dont supply as regularly as they used to, Maruziva said.





The reason: Her suppliers are struggling to bring in the once-abundant delicacy.





Its increasingly becoming tough selling fish as they say they are also not getting enough from their suppliers in the Zambezi, she added.





Local researchers and agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have raised concerns about the lack of sustainability efforts in the countrys fisheries sector, that in recent years has experienced its own gold rush of sorts.





For years women in Bulawayo have traveled long distances to buy fish in bulk, creating long value chains along the way, but it is the current challenges that include low fish stocks in the dams and power outages that interrupt refrigeration that is exposing the risks that come with the fish business.





And with those challenges has been little success in sustainability and conservation of natural resources, experts say.





We have seen it in the resource-rich communities through our trade justice work communities carry what is known as the resource curse, said John Maketo, programs manager at the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development.





Instead of adequately benefiting from the availability of a natural resource around them, communities become overburdened with the negative consequences of having it, Maketo said at a time artisanal fishermen and miners are blamed for anything stripping dams of fish and illegally exploiting gold claims across the country.





However, there are concerns that in the absence of robust conservation efforts, the countrys fisheries could adversely affect rural communities relying on natural resources.





The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) is on record lamenting the unregulated new entrants into the fisheries sector, a development that has further threatened already low fish stocks in the countrys dams.





According to FAOs FISH4ACP, an initiative that seeks the economic and sustainability of fisheries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, Zimbabwe has over 12,000 dams, noting that despite this abundance, the sector continues to struggle.





To address this, FAO is supporting an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable fish farming sector amid weak regulatory mechanisms and sound implementation of existing fishing quotas.





For women who find themselves hawking fish in the streets of Bulawayo, the consequence of that struggle is being felt in their daily takings.





Fish is profitable, provided I get constant supplies. For now, Im making do with what I can get, said Dube.





Note: This story was supported by the Pulitzer Centre.
There are new opportunities for UK pork exports, particularly offal, to Chile amid an anticipated growth in consumer demand, a new report by AHDB says.

AHDB will be attending the Espacio Food and Service trade show in Chile's capital Santiago from September 26 to 28.

The show will enable the levy board to meet with prospective importers and strengthen relationships with existing customers.

Susana Morris, AHDB senior exports manager, said Chile presented opportunities for UK pork exports, both for muscle cuts and particularly for pig offals.

The total volume of UK pork exports to Chile in the first half of this year were up 49% on the year, trade figures show.

Value increased 94.7% on the same period in 2022 following market access being granted.

In particular, pig offal exports in the first half of this year were up 32.3% on the year in volume and 138.6% in value.

Ms Morris said: "The Espacio Food and Service trade show provides the ideal platform for us to meet and connect with prospective buyers, as well as strengthening relationships with existing ones.

"It will enable us to showcase high-quality, sustainably produced pork from the UK.

Chileans consume the most pork in the region and consumption is expected to see a 14% increase by 2031, with imports of pork to the country expected to increase by 183Kt  up 20% - in the same period.

Around 100 tonnes of UK pork offal was exported to Chile in 2022 after the UK obtained an Export Health Certificate (EHC) to ship product there.

Ms Morris added that Chile was a burgeoning market for UK pork exports and the figures for the first half of this year were positive.

"The Chilean economy is currently slowing which is likely to impact on food consumption, although consumers are expected to continue buying meat in a more measured way," she said.

That said, the longer-term prospects for pork are very welcome which is why it is imperative that we participate in trade shows like this to cement a foothold in the market.

"Our aim is to build on the success achieved in the year to date and to continue working with Government and industry to help support our pork producers with commercial trade opportunities.
The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust has announced its first round of donations for 2023, totalling more than 450,000, and giving support to 15 rural causes across the UK.

This is the first of two rounds of funding which will be delivered across the year, with the Trust expecting overall donations to reach at least 1m by the end of 2023.

This latest round of funding will help to deliver a range of initiatives, including rural poverty relief, helping small farming businesses to thrive, educating and mentoring young people, and supporting the UKs air ambulance network.

Organisations set to benefit from the donations include Access to Farms, Addington Fund, Farms for City Children, Oxford Farming Conference, NFU Education and RSABI.

Others include Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, The Farming Community Network and Wales Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs.

The donations will be available immediately, allowing the organisations to continue to provide their crucial support services.

Nick Turner, group chief executive of NFU Mutual, said: "Supporting local communities has always been very important to our members, and so NFU Mutual is committed to making a positive impact through our charitable giving programme.

"These latest donations from the Trust will help support members and their communities in many different ways. We are very proud to be championing the work of these great causes."

The Royal Countryside Fund, a charity which empowers family farms to thrive, will be using their donation of 60,000 to help Farm Support Groups and ensure they can continue providing a vital service to their local communities.

Keith Halstead, executive director at the Royal Countryside Fund, explained how the Trusts donation will be making a difference.

"This funding has allowed us to increase capacity across the network, supporting hundreds more farming families each year on a wide range of issues from business advice through to pastoral support.

"As farming families continue to face uncertainty, we are proud to offer them practical assistance when they need it most."

The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust is one of the main ways the UKs leading rural insurer NFU Mutual provides charitable donations.

Its work forms part of NFU Mutuals 3.25m charitable giving pledge to support its members and their communities during 2023.

Applications for the Trusts November round of donations are now open, and details can be found on NFU Mutuals website.
Julie Bowen has insisted Sofia Vergaras doesn't need a relationship after her breakup.

Julie Bowen wants a night out dancing with her friend

The 'Modern Family' actress has weighed in on her friend and former co-star's split from ex-husband Joe Manganiello after announcing their divorce last month after seven years of marriage.

She told E! News: "Everything she does, she does with grace. And she rises above and she just goes forward.

"She's warm and generous and giving to everybody around her.

"I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship she will be but she sure don't need one."

The 53-year-old star admitted she would love to take her pal out for a night of dancing, even if Sofia might show her up.

She added: "I would like that very much. Oh, but she would be so mad at me because I can't dance. She's such a good dancer.

"She just does this slow hip roll for hours. And that's a lot of what hanging out with her is  it's slow rolling it for a long time."

In a statement confirming their split, Sofia and Joe admitted it was a "difficult decision".

They said: We have made the difficult decision to divorce.

"As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.

The pair met through the actress former co-star Jesse Tyler at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in 2014, when she was engaged to businessman Nick Loeb.

Manganiello asked for the actress number a few weeks later when she split with Loeb.

He told People magazine in 2020: I knew pretty quickly that I could trust her, and she knew pretty quickly that she could trust me.

And were both the kind of people who are capable of putting the other person ahead of ourselves.

I was capable of putting her wishes ahead of mine, whatever they were, and she was capable of doing the same. Once you have that, you dont let go of it.
The recently-held fifty-fifth ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting expressed optimism regarding the projected economic growth rates of 4.6 per cent this year and 4.9 per cent next year in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region based on forecasts of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The ASEAN economy expanded by 5.7 per cent in 2022, primarily driven by strong consumption, investment and trade. The meeting was held in Semarang, Indonesia, on 19-20 August.

Intra-ASEAN trade increased 21.3 per cent last year compared to the previous year, constituting 22.3 per cent of total ASEAN trade.

The recent fifty-fifth ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting expressed optimism regarding the projected economic growth rates of 4.6 per cent in 2023 and 4.9 per cent in 2024 in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. The region's banking sector remains stable, while geopolitical tensions could lead to economic fragmentation and increased policy uncertainty.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the region hit $224.2 billion last year.

The region's banking sector remains stable, the meeting noted. It acknowledged that geopolitical tensions could lead to economic fragmentation and increased policy uncertainty, ultimately diminishing market confidence, reducing investment, and adversely affecting long-term growth prospects in the region, a joint statement issued after the meeting said.

The meeting highlighted the significance of resilience, deepening regional integration, and advocacy for multilateralism in navigating the future economy of the region amidst global uncertainties.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The Philippines trade secretary Alfredo Pascual urged fellow ministers in Southeast Asia at the 37th Meeting of ASEAN Free Trade Area Council to upgrade the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).

The upgrade should address the long-standing issues in availing of preferential market access within the region, he stressed.

The Philippines urged other nations in the Southeast Asian region at the 37th Meeting of ASEAN Free Trade Area Council to upgrade the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). The upgrade should address the long-standing issues in availing of preferential market access within the region, he stressed. The meeting was held recently in Semarang, Indonesia.

The Philippine government remains committed to digitalise trade by implementing the National Single Window or TradeNet, a platform for automated and integrated licensing, permitting, clearance and certification system of trade regulatory agencies relative to the import and export trade of regulated goods, he told the meeting.

The country is on the path to fully issue and accept electronic certificate of origin within this year, a department of trade and industry (DTI) statement quoted the minister as saying.

The meeting was held recently in Semarang, Indonesia.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
by M.K. Bhadrakumar

A famous incident narrated by Bob Woodward in his book Obamas Wars comes to mind: President Barack Obama, disregarding the protestations of Chinese protocol officials, burst into a closed-door meeting of Chinese, Indian and Brazilian leaders on a late Friday afternoon in Copenhagen, a week before Christmas in 2009, where the three BRIC leaders (this was before South Africa joined and the group became BRICS) were negotiating in secret a common position at the climate talks, which were on the verge of complete meltdown.





Obama had wanted the three leaders of the most powerful nations of the Global South  and South African President Jacob Zuma  to meet him individually rather than collectively, and was frantic that his ploy was upended. Eventually, Obama joined the four leaders and the negotiations resulted in a meaningful agreement.





Image credit: flickr/GovernmentZA CC BY-ND 2.0





That incident, just six months after the first BRIC Summit in Yekaterinburg in June of that year, underscored a cardinal truth that although the signs were there already that the Wests decline had begun, no one had any doubts that the United States and Europe would continue to determine the characteristics of the world economy and international politics for a long time.





Today, when Indias approach to the upcoming BRICS Summit has become a matter of some controversy  with Reuters even floating a mischievous rumor that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might not travel to Johannesburg  what is being overlooked is that there is a remarkable consistency in Indias conception of the grouping: that BRICS was a community of revisionist powers who were not seeking the destruction of the world order, but the inclusion of their interests in this order.





However, time didnt stand still. Globalization is moribund and the system of international institutions that provided its underpinnings are no longer inclusive. In fact, Russia and China are under US sanctions. On the contrary, Indias relationship with the US is perhaps at its highest point in history  almost a quasi-alliance  and Washington describes it as the defining partnership of the century. Arguably, the US sanctions against China could even hold advantages for India. The close bonding between the two countries that is in the pipeline for the chip industry is a case in point. Suffice to say, life may even be getting better for India, and the countrys elite would see no reason to trade its modest revisionist wishes for a most fundamental restructuring of the existing international order, let alone its destruction.





The bottom line is that India is content if the influence of BRICS in the shaping of the main aspects of the global agenda can make the world more just and stable. Indeed, that is not a far-fetched dream, as BRICS is on the right side of history. None of the groups members have their economic opportunities and political influence grounded in a history of bloody wars, conducted with the purpose of establishing regional and global dominance centered around the wealth accumulated over several centuries. India feels at home.





This brings us to the core issue of the attraction that BRICS holds for so many countries today that are so patently divergent in their national characteristics, values, and interests  from Indonesia to Iran, Egypt to Saudi Arabia  who tend to regard the grouping as if it is poised to pick up the banner of global governance from the West. Such expectations are irrational, as they are premised on the evolution of the entire international order in a certain predetermined direction, which is of course not the case.





Thus, it is only natural that Brazil  or India, for that matter  may feel troubled as to how, moving forward, BRICS contribution to global governance can truly be decisive. Fundamentally, there is uncertainty as to whether, in the current circumstances, it is even possible for BRICS to maintain the revisionist behavior of the past. The issue is not about the outcome of the Ukraine conflict, which Russia cannot and will not lose, but that even after a catastrophic defeat, its adversaries are highly unlikely to change their views on the world.





Therefore, if BRICS expands, devoid of norms, the unity of the grouping could get impaired, rendering it diffuse and ineffectual. That was what happened to the Non-Aligned Movement. Yet, this is also a transformative period where The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity, to borrow Yeats anguished formulation of an eternal principle of politics.





The predicament is acute against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict and the Biden administrations dual containment strategy against China and Russia, two founding members of BRICS. Unsurprisingly, Chinese and Russian world views have dramatically changed in the most recent past and are robustly countering US hegemony. The no limits friendship between these neighboring giants sets them apart somewhat within BRICS, and that cannot but affect the alchemy of the grouping  although the collegial spirit continues, thanks to their pragmatism and sagacity.





Curiously, many of the aspirants who seek association with BRICS could even be getting attracted to the grouping principally for that reason  a sort of second pillar that upholds a more just and less selfish global governance in relation to the small and medium-sized states of the world.





Make no mistake that all the experience of strong institutions and global governance happens to be the experience of the West on the basis of common values and shared interests. Ironically, it also accounts for their bloc mentality. BRICS, on the contrary, lacks such cohesiveness and the capacity to set the world agenda, which the G7 had been doing for decades. That is why a country like India will always expect BRICS as a community to aim not at destroying the existing world order, but at changing it for the better. India does not want the collapse of globalization, institutions and international law. Put differently, India prefers to create within the existing order such rules, norms and ways of cooperation that would allow for the preservation of its advantages and the elimination of its shortcomings.





For India, this is both a matter of tactic and strategy. The prevailing rules-based order gives India a sense of security and strengthens multipolarity in Asia. It is a misconception that India is under pressure to bandwagon with the US. That might have been the case previously, but present-day India, under the current leadership in particular, is consciously expanding the relations with the US, which it considers to be in its own national interests. It is a logical outcome of the trajectory of politics in India since the 1990s and it enjoys a bipartisan consensus between the ruling party and the main opposition party. And it has become a long-term trend that already seems irreversible.





Several factors are involved here and one main factor is, paradoxically, the phenomenal rise of China, Indias BRICS partner, which raises alarmist sentiments in the country. The partnership with the US is one of the few ways India hopes to address the security paradigm. That said, Indias BRICS partners can and should trust India to continue to pursue an independent foreign policy based on its national interests. There is no reason to doubt that India reposes faith in the decisive influence of the BRICS in the shaping of the main aspects of the global agenda that will make the world more just and stable.





M. K. Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat by profession. Roughly half of the 3 decades of his diplomatic career was devoted to assignments on the territories of the former Soviet Union and to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Other overseas postings included South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey. He writes mainly on Indian foreign policy and the affairs of the Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific.
Vijay Deverakonda is always known for speaking his mind. Now, the actor is making headlines again for his remarks about superstars being judged for giving flop performances. He used Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi as examples, saying that they can give 5-6 flops back-to-back but also do a film that could earn Rs 500 crore.

Vijay Deverakonda attended a Kushi promotional event in Chennai. He discussed the film and hinted at working with a Tamil director in the future.

At the event, the Arjun Reddy actor discussed how Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi have delivered hits and flops in their careers. He stated, "Superstars are beyond hits and flops. Rajinikanth sir can give 5-6 flops and do a film like Jailer, which earns Rs 500 crore. We just have to shut up and watch."

When asked about Megastar Chiranjeevi, he stated,"He can also give back-to-back flops, but if he meets a director with the right energy, he will come back with a sensation, just like he did with Sankranti. Chiru sir changed the industry. When he came, the kind of action that was there, the kind of dance that was there, and the kind of performance that was there, all changed entirely. He inspired many people to enter the industry."

He went on to say that he thinks it's disrespectful to judge senior actors based on their successes and failures. "They are legends and we need to respect them. It's heartening to see Kamal sir back with Vikram and Rajini sir with Jailer," he explained.

See also: Vijay Deverakonda reveals why his Kushi co-star Samantha spoke about her myositis publicly
Ayushmann Khurrana News: Recently appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Amazon Pay, Ayushmann Khurrana, a prominent personality and actor known for his impeccable reputation, has emerged as the prime selection for the esteemed BFSI (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance) category. Notably, he also holds the position of brand ambassador for ICICI Bank and Pine Labs, two of the country's leading financial institutions.

In India, Ayushmann Khurrana enjoys widespread recognition as the most dependable celebrity figure. Renowned for his audacious film choices that mirror the current Indian landscape, he stands as one of the most socially conscious actors on the national stage and is acclaimed internationally. TIME Magazine has honored him as one of the world's most influential individuals, and he serves as the UNICEF National Ambassador for India.

Reflecting on his principles, Ayushmann shares, "The one thing my parents always tried to drill in me is that winning people's trust is the hardest thing ever and once you win it, it is my responsibility to never break that trust. As actors, we depend on the trust of people to engage with our films. So, it is deeply humbling if people have put their faith in my craft and my intent for cinema in India."

In his generation, Ayushmann stands unparalleled with an array of BFSI brands associated with him, underscoring his remarkable authenticity and credibility within the Indian populace.

He adds, "It is also a huge responsibility to not let people down and I'm thankful to the audiences that they have always tried to cheer me on in my pursuit towards disruption in story-telling. The equity i have today, is because my brand of cinema has worked with people. They have been kind enough to accept the newness that I was trying to experiment with and give them a theatrical experience like never before."

Throughout his illustrious film career, Ayushmann has portrayed the roles of ordinary heroes in blockbuster movies such as Badhaai Ho, Dream Girl, Bala, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, and Vicky Donor. Consequently, he has evolved into the embodiment of India's burgeoning middle class and their aspirations. His genuine rapport with viewers through his cinematic successes has solidified his status as a household name, earning the trust and admiration of millions.
Kangana Ranaut-Karan Johar: The Bollywood world is known for its twists and turns, and the dynamic between the stars can change in the blink of an eye. One such intriguing shift seems to be brewing between Karan Johar and Kangana Ranaut, celebrities whose public spats have been making headlines for years.

Johar's recent comment expressing excitement over Kangana's upcoming film 'Emergency' has sparked speculation about a potential reconciliation, but netizens are quick to label it as another PR strategy.

DID KARAN JOHAR HINT TOWARDS A POSSIBLE PATCH WITH KANGANA RANAUT?

Kangana Ranaut, known for her candid views on nepotism, has clashed openly with KJo multiple times. Their feud is characterized by pointed remarks and social media spats. Given their history, Johar's interest in watching Kangana's film has raised eyebrows and set tongues wagging.

NETIZENS REACT TO KARAN JOHAR'S STATEMENT

In a recent interview with Indian Express, Karan Johar was asked a hypothetical question about which real-life event he would choose to make a movie about, 'Panama Papers, Bofors or Emergency'. He responded, "The Emergency is already being made right now. I'm excited to watch it." Check out the video.

A patch up on the cards 



Karan Johar on @KanganaTeam Emergency Movie :

I am really excited to watch Kangana Ranauts directorial #Emergency#KanganaRanaut#KaranJohar pic.twitter.com/PSjWsga1yC  Rahul Chauhan (@RahulCh9290) August 21, 2023

While this statement seemed to be a hint of a possible truce, netizens appeared to be far from convinced. They said that it was a PR stunt rather than a possible patchup. Check out some of the reactions.

A user wrote, "No patch up please." "Just PR gimmicks. Ppls perception change kar raha hai after getting so much hate during covid," another user wrote. A third user wrote, "That doesnt mean patchup, its called grace & maturity in conversation. Someone who didnt finish school & her fans wont understand."

"There is no redemption for him after years of killing real talents. He should stick to his overrated daughter and shitty films, their time is up anyways and thats why they resort to PR drama," read a comment from another user.

Meanwhile, Karan Johar is currently soaring high in the success of his latest release, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, starring Alia Bhatt & Ranveer Singh in the lead.
Legal Predicament For Prakash Raj: Amidst the controversy, renowned actor Prakash Raj finds himself in a legal predicament after sharing a meme related to the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 moon mission. On Tuesday, he was officially booked at a police station in Karnataka's Bagalkot district.

Rajinikanth Vs. Fahadh Faasil: Clash Of Titans In T. J. Gnanavel's Directorial 'Thalaivar 170'

According to PTI, the police stated, "A complaint has been filed against actor Prakash Raj for his post on the Chandrayaan-3 mission." The actor has been on the receiving end of criticism from Hindu organisation leaders who filed a complaint at the Banahatti police station in Bagalkote district, demanding appropriate action.

In an earlier social media post on Sunday, Prakash Raj shared a caricature depicting a man dressed in a shirt and lungi making tea in Kerala style. His caption read, "First view just arrived from Chandrayaan... #VikramLander #justasking."

Subsequently, on August 22, he added, "ATTENTION:- dear #Unacedemy trolls and #godimedia who know only one #Chaiwala ... proudly presenting ... the ever inspiring our Malayali chaiwala since 1960s... if you want to be educated, please read #justasking" along with a link.

The backlash against Prakash Raj has been considerable, as critics argue that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is a matter of national pride.

Chandrayaan-3's Moon Mission

Meanwhile, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to make its lunar landing on August 23, around 18:04 IST.

The live action of the landing will be broadcast on ISRO's website, YouTube channel, Facebook, and the public broadcaster DD National TV starting at 17:27 IST on August 23, 2023.

If successful, India will become the fourth country in the world to accomplish this feat after the United States, Russia, and China. Notably, India will be the only nation to land on the lunar south pole.

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-3 mission encompass demonstrating a secure and soft lunar surface landing, showcasing rover mobility on the moon, and conducting in situ scientific experiments.

Jailer Climbs To 6th Place In Kerala's Highest Grossers: Can It Surpass 'Lucifer' And 'Pulimurugan'?

Launched on July 14, 2023, via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota at 2:35 PM, the mission represents a significant stride in India's space exploration endeavours.
Rakesh Sawant Slams Adil Khan Durrani's Claims: Rakhi Sawant's estranged husband, Adil Khan Durrani, who was recently released after serving five months in jail, has hogged the limelight as he levied a series of serious allegations against his estranged wife.

In response, Rakhi's brother, Rakesh Sawant, has vehemently refuted these claims and shed light on the alleged torture his sister endured.

Adil Khan Durrani, who had been imprisoned for five months, held a press conference to make a string of allegations against the actress. His accusations, which ranged from abuse to manipulation, have raised eyebrows across the industry.

However, Rakesh Sawant, in an exclusive interview with TellyTalkIndia, presented a different perspective, denouncing Adil's claims and even presenting a grim picture of Rakhi's ordeal.

Speaking candidly about the accusations by Adil, Rakesh Sawant shared, "I've known the whole story for a very long time. He ruined Rakhi's life. The good life she was living, he destroyed it, ruined it. Adil used to beat Rakhi and torture her. How he would make videos and show her all these things, saying that I'll upload them on YouTube, I'll upload them on Instagram, I'll ruin your career - when I came to know all these things, I felt like I should kill him myself."

RAKESH SAWANT ACCUSES ADIL KHAN DURRANI OF BLACKMAILING RAKHI SAWANT TO CONVERT RELIGION

He went on to add, "Aj usko blackmail karke Muslim bana diya. Usko itna torture kiya. Rakhi ke sharir ke daag nahi dekhe the aapne. Jisdin mummy ko hamne shraddhanjali di, usdin hi woh futfut ke royi. Woh darti thi Adil se. ( They blackmailed her and made her convert to Islam. She was tortured so much. You haven't seen the scars on Rakhi's body. The day we paid our respects to mom, she cried inconsolably that day. She was scared of Adil.)"

RAKESH SAWANT SAYS ADIL MADE BLUE FILMS OF RAKHI SAWANT

Rakesh Sawant also opened up on Rakhi's relationship with her ex-husband, Ritesh Raj Singh, and revealed how he helped her during the lockdown. "During the lockdown, Ritesh provided a lot of help for Rakhi. Ritesh supported Rakhi's mother as well, just as Rakhi did. He has also made blue films of Rakhi and sold them in Dubai for crores. She's crying now. She hasn't been able to hold herself together. I'm currently in Delhi. I can't go there now. I'm telling my fellow Indians to support her."

Rakhi, too, held a press conference and slammed the claims made by her estranged husband, Adil Khan Durrani.
Chiranjeevi With Ram Charans Daughter Klin Kaara Photo Credit: Twitter

Tollywood's megastar Chiranjeevi is celebrating his 67th bithday on August 22. The veteran, who recently hit the screens as Bhola Shankar is on cloud nine as he has got more than a couple of reasons to celebrate his birthday.

To mark the actor's birthday, the 'Akhila Bharath Megastar Chiranjeevi Fans Association' is conducting the birthday event on a grand scale at JRC Convention Hall in Hyderabad from 5 pm.

As best wishes have been pouring in from thousands of Chiranjeevi's fans, admirers, family, friends from the political and film fraternities from across the world, Chiranjeevi's son, RRR star Ram Charan shared a heart-warming picture on his social media handles to wish his father. His post is now going viral on the internet.

Ram Charan and his wife Upasana shared a picture of his dad, Chiranjeevi holding Klin Kaara in her nursery to wish him on his birthday. He captioned the photo, "Happiest Birthday to our dearest

CHIRUTHA - (Chiranjeevi Thatha)

Loads of love from us & the Littlest member of the KONIDELA family.  @chiranjeevikonidela , (sic)."

Check out the post here.

Megastar Chiranjeevi's Work Front

After a humongous success like Waltair Veerayya and a disaster like Bhola Shankar, the veteran is now getting ready to join the sets of his next, Mega 157, a fantasy drama under the direction of Bimbisara fame Vassista. UV Creations is bankrolling this mega big-budget film.

Ram Charan's Work Front

Ram Charan will be next seen in Game Changer, a bilingual written by Karthik Subbaraj and directed by S Shankar. Kiara Advani is the female lead actress in the film. The RRR actor is playing a dual role.

On the other hand, his next film touted to be a sports-based drama by Buchi Babu Sana is currently in the pre-production phase. The regular shooting will begin towards the end of the year with a official puja ceremony.
Silicon Valley, California--(Newsfile Corp. - August 21, 2023) - New book "Innocence Denied" by Author Johannes Krane, is thrilled to announce its launch. It was a childhood denied, so disturbing and hunting that it took the author well into his adult life to sit down and write about it. "It took many years to write this book," says Johannes Krane of his gripping, recently released memoir, "INNOCENCE DENIED," A HOLOCAUST CHILDHOOD.

Innocence Denied



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8700/177641_c4c7028dc4fe49c8_001full.jpg

Innocence Denied is a story about two brothers, the author, and his brother Dick. It is powerful in capturing the life of two nine and eleven-year-old children during World War II. Through the hunger years 1944/1945, they raised their deaf and mute mother and father, who was also mentally challenged, creating severe consequences.

Johannes Krane, Author of Innocence Denied



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8700/177641_c4c7028dc4fe49c8_002full.jpg

Because of the famine, the family supported their mother's effort to trade on the black market and steal from businesses and the Nazi authorities. This practice was punishable by law, leading to the death penalty, or danger of being transported to Germany.

Mr. Krane witnessed unspeakable events at the hands of the Nazis. The disabled mother was determined during the war's dark days, with the children's help, to obtain food and fuel in the most dangerous and life-threatening situations. The story is grim, brutal, and unbearably heartbreaking.

The story focuses on two young brothers had to fight daily to survive, how hard it was to have two parents with disabilities and a dysfunctional lifestyle, the sacrifices they had to make, all the darkness and horrors they had to witness, and the losses it caused. Additionally, the book shows how sometimes it's better to let go, take a risk, break the cycle, and hope for a better future.

Today there are many books based on World War II. Still, if someone wants to read about people who lived through this time from a different perspective, this book describes the war experience and the relationship with disabled parents.

"Innocence Denied" is available online

Visit, www.johanneskranebooks.com

Contact: Johannes Krane , +1 360-846-7540, jk54@book54.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177641
Maker of ZYMOX Dermatology and Oratene Brushless Oral Care Celebrates Winners of Sponsored Sporting Division

AUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 21, 2023 / Pet King Brands, Inc., the industry leader of enzymatic pet care products ZYMOX Dermatology and Oratene Brushless Oral Care, proudly announces the winners of SuperZoo 2023's Grooming Contest Sporting Group (Spaniels & Setters), which the company has sponsored the past two years.





ZYMOX





According to the World Pet Association, SuperZoo is North America's most attended pet industry trade show. In addition to the thousands of buyers, exhibitors, specialized booths, and education on its 300,000-square-foot show floor, SuperZoo's grooming contests allow talented pet-styling professionals to showcase their creativity in front of thousands of attendees.

"Thanks to the invaluable support of retailers and groomers, we've become a top dog in the pet industry and are dedicated to improving the health and comfort of animals," stated Pamela K. Bosco, President and founder of Pet King Brands. "This year, we're proud to be a repeat sponsor of the grooming contest for this most prestigious event."

With over $35,000 in winnings at stake, groomers of all levels competed in different divisions in which each dog must be groomed to breed profile as presented in the conformation show ring.

The winners who emerged victorious in their respective divisions in the Sporting Group (Spaniels & Setters) and the overall Group winners are:

Sporting Group Winner:

First Place: Nadia Bongelli of Doggieland, Brampton, Canada

Second Place: Mackensie Murphy of Love Groomers, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Third Place: Susan Hatch of Fancy Paws Pet Salon, Lakeville, Minnesota

Open: (open to all stylists, competitors, and professional groomers)

First Place: Nadia Bongelli of Doggieland, Brampton, Canada

Second Place: Mackensie Murphy of Love Groomers, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Third Place: Susan Hatch of Fancy Paws Pet Salon, Lakeville, Minnesota

Best International: Nadia Bongelli of Doggieland, Brampton, Canada

Intermediate: (restricted to competitors who have not won)

First Place: Katherine Greaney of A Cut Above Grooming Salon, Union City, California

Second Place: Maria Gonzales of Feldspar Pet Spa, Modesto, California

Entry: (restricted to competitors who have never competed or who have not won)

First Place: Braden Jones of Arnie's Pawfect Grooms, Herimann, Utah

Second Place: Mara Serpa of Groomswell, Inc., Carlsbad, California

Third Place: Luis Garcia of Healthy Spot, Culver City, California

Pet King Brands congratulates the winners and their dogs. For detailed information about Pet King Brand's complete line of enzymatic pet health products and where to purchase them, visit zymox.com.

About Pet King Brands

Pet King Brands, the maker of ZYMOX Ear and Skin products, Oratene Brushless Oral Care, Equine Defense, and ZYLAFEN, is a leader in veterinarian-approved pet products made in the USA. Focused on the health and wellness of small and large animals of all ages, the products utilize the Power of the LP3 Enzyme System and have been Resolving Ear, Skin, and Oral Conditions for Over 25 Years. Led by President and founder Pamela Bosco, who first introduced ZYMOX in 1998 with the help of her bioscientist brother Michael Pellico, Pet King Brands has revolutionized the way people care for animals' ears, skin, and mouth, offering solutions that are gentle to the animal, easy to administer and free of harsh chemicals and antibiotics.

Contact Information

Debra Decker

Director of Marketing

ddecker@petkingbrands.com

8177139200

SOURCE: Pet King Brands

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775800/Petcare-Industry-Leader-Pet-King-Brands-Sponsors-Winning-Groomers-at-Annual-SuperZoo-2023-Grooming-Contest
Packed with richer experience through a redesigned look and feel, enhanced graphics, and a multipack of improvements for running macOS in a virtual machine on Mac with Apple silicon

OTTAWA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alludo (https://www.alludo.com/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac), a global technology company behind award-winning brands including Parallels, Corel, MindManager, and WinZip, today announced Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac (https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac). The latest version of its powerful virtualization solution is optimized to the latest updates from Apple, offers a richer and smoother experience with a multipack of enhancements, and a redesigned app icon with refreshed user interface (UI).



Parallels Desktop ensures users an exceptional experience with the highest industry standards, having recently received Microsoft's authorization (https://www.alludo.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/20230216-parallels-desktop-windows-11-apple-silicon/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac) for running Windows 11 on Mac with Apple silicon and being certified as a Arm SystemReady VE (https://www.parallels.com/blogs/windows-11-arm-systemready-certification/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac) solution.

Through this release, Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac offers:

Enhanced macOS compatibility : Optimized for macOS Sonoma 14, all Windows users can now benefit from re-engineered Shared Printing via Internet Printing protocol (IPP) that supports printing from Windows apps out of the box. Plus, a richer experience enabled with dynamic resolution adjustments and familiar multitouch gestures with Trackpad support with macOS virtual machine (VM) on Mac with Apple silicon. Moreover, Pro Edition users can remotely access a macOS Sonoma 14 VM through port forwarding, particularly valuable when hosted on Amazon EC2 Mac cloud instances.

: Optimized for macOS Sonoma 14, all Windows users can now benefit from re-engineered Shared Printing via Internet Printing protocol (IPP) that supports printing from Windows apps out of the box. Plus, a richer experience enabled with dynamic resolution adjustments and familiar multitouch gestures with Trackpad support with macOS virtual machine (VM) on Mac with Apple silicon. Moreover, Pro Edition users can remotely access a macOS Sonoma 14 VM through port forwarding, particularly valuable when hosted on Amazon EC2 Mac cloud instances. NEW! Password-less sign-in with Touch ID integration : With easy to set up and a simplified daily sign-in routine, users with a secure Windows login and password can now use their Mac Touch ID to sign-in to Windows VMs.

: With easy to set up and a simplified daily sign-in routine, users with a secure Windows login and password can now use their Mac Touch ID to sign-in to Windows VMs. NEW! Refreshed look and feel: Redesigned app icon and refreshed UI provides easier navigation and a more modern presence in the Dock; also adds native dialogs for easier interaction with the app.



"For over 17 years, Parallels Desktop for Mac has been an essential tool for millions of users worldwide, enabling them to run Windows applications and carry out testing and development with Windows, Linux, and macOS virtual machines," said Aleksandr Sursiakov, Sr. Director of Product Management for Parallels Desktop at Alludo. "With the latest release, our talented engineering team has once again delivered impressive improvements for all user groups, based on their valuable feedback. Our aim is to ensure that users experience peace of mind when using our software, knowing that it incorporates the latest technologies and reflects the highest industry standards-demonstrating our genuine care for Parallels users."

Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac offers additional capabilities and enhancements-specially tailored to specific use cases such as computer-aided design (CAD) engineers, developers, computer science students, and IT teams, including:

Improved OpenGL support, up to version 4.1, for running more CAD software on Mac, including VariCAD, Deswik.CAD, Vectorworks Vision 2023, and more.

Improved performance for AcrGIS Pro, a map designing application.

Compatible to run CentOS 9 Stream on Mac computers with Apple silicon, along with an updated set of ready-to-go Linux distributions, including Ubuntu 22.04.2, Fedora 38, Debian 12, and more.

New option to create Arm-based Linux VM on Mac computers with Apple silicon using Rosetta to run x86-64 binaries, including containers.

Enhanced support for the HashiCorp's Packer and Vagrant with macOS VM on Apple silicon.

New option to create, group, and manage Parallels VMs and their containers from the Visual Studio Code extension.

Support for enrolling Windows in Windows management solutions, such as Microsoft Intune and others, when deploying it using Parallels My Account Configuration Profile or as a shared file.



Parallels Desktop for Mac is a must-have virtualization solution for professionals, developers, and individuals, whether it is for accessing Windows-applications, developing- or testing software, or to run multiple operating systems (such as Windows, Linux, or other macOS versions) simultaneously on Mac computers. For more information about Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac, visit www.parallels.com/desktop (https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac).

Trial and Availability:

Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac Standard, Pro, and Business editions can be purchased or upgraded to at parallels.com/desktop (https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac) or from authorized resellers worldwide. Parallels Desktop subscriptions include complimentary concurrent subscriptions to Parallels Access (https://www.parallels.com/products/access/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac) and Parallels Toolbox for Mac and Windows (https://www.parallels.com/products/toolbox/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac).

For more information about Parallels products, to download free trial software, or purchase a subscription, please visit parallels.com. (https://www.parallels.com/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac)

About Parallels

Parallels is a global leading brand in cross-platform solutions that make it simple for businesses and individuals to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. Parallels helps customers leverage the best technology out there, whether it's Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, iOS, Android, or the cloud. Parallels solves complex engineering and user-experience problems by making it simple and cost-effective for businesses and individual customers to use applications anywhere, anytime. Parallels is part of the Alludo portfolio. For more information, please visit www.parallels.com (https://www.parallels.com/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac).

About Alludo

Alludo is a global technology company helping people work better and live better. We're the people behind award-winning, globally recognizable brands including Parallels, Corel, CorelDRAW, MindManager, and WinZip.

Our professional-caliber graphics, virtualization, and productivity solutions are finely tuned for the digital remote workforce delivering the freedom to work when, where, and how you want.

With a 35+ year legacy of innovation, Alludo empowers all you do, helping more than 2.5 million paying customers to enable, ideate, create, and share on any device, anywhere. To learn more, visit www.alludo.com (https://www.alludo.com/?utm_medium=pr&utm_source=media&utm_campaign=pd-brand-all-parallelsdesktop19formac).

Media Contact:

Sharda Veeramally

Corporate Communications Manager

Sharda.veeramally@alludo.com (mailto:Sharda.veeramally@alludo.com)

? 2023 Cascade Parent Limited trading as Alludo. All rights reserved. Alludo, and the Alludo logo are trademarks of Cascade Parent Limited in Canada, the United States and/or elsewhere. Parallels, and Coherence are trademarks or registered trademarks of Parallels International GmbH. Corel, CorelDRAW, MindManager, and WinZip are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation. Apple, Mac, and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc. Windows is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. Arm and SystemReady are trademarks of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere. Android and Chrome OS are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company, product and service names, logos, brands and any registered or unregistered trademarks mentioned are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners. For all notices and legal information please visit www.alludo.com/en/legal (https://www.alludo.com/en/legal), www.corel.com/en/legal-information/ (http://www.corel.com/en/legal-information/) and www.parallels.com/about/legal/ (http://www.parallels.com/about/legal/)

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0ef8a4fc-2ff0-420c-9fa1-c9b391d032e1 (https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0ef8a4fc-2ff0-420c-9fa1-c9b391d032e1)

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/939d8e35-527f-4bb2-a0b2-449ac462a92e (https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/939d8e35-527f-4bb2-a0b2-449ac462a92e)

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SimScale GmbH supports the development of innovative climate technologies using its cloud-native engineering simulation software.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821591364/en/

Engineering a better planet using engineering simulation with SimScale (Graphic: Business Wire)

SimScale has partnered with leading engineering firms developing innovative climate technologies and will be hosting a free webinar, Engineering A Better Planet Simulation for Climate Tech, on September 13, 2023.

Global investments in energy transition (and climate) technology must quadruple to $35 trillion by 2030 to stay in line with commitments made under the Paris climate agreement, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (https://www.irena.org/). Adapting to a changing climate will require an exponential increase in climate-tech innovation and funding.

The webinar will showcase the latest technology and applied methods in adapting our homes, cities, and industries toward a decarbonized future and include presentations from leading engineering and design firms globally.

Agenda:

The challenges of climate change and the need for new technologies

The latest advances in engineering simulation to support climate tech

How simulation is used to develop new climate tech solutions

Real-world examples include technologies for renewable heat in industrial processes, microclimate modeling for urban design, digital twins for building optimization, and a new generation of urban wind turbines

This webinar is for engineers, scientists, and anyone interested in learning more about how engineering simulation can be used to address climate change.

Editor's notes:

To learn more about how SimScale's cloud-based computer-aided engineering (CAE) platform can help designers, visit SimScale's blog.

About SimScale SimScale is the world's first SaaS application for simulation. By providing instant access to CFD, FEA, and thermal analysis to over 400,000 users, SimScale has moved high-fidelity physics simulation technology from a complex and cost-prohibitive desktop application to a user-friendly cloud application accessible via a subscription-based pricing model.

For more information, visit www.simscale.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821591364/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Naghman Khan

Marketing, SimScale

nkhan@simscale.com
Russia recently added longtime neighbor Norway to the Russian list of Unfriendly States. The addition of ancient friendly neighbor Norway increases the number of official Unfriendly States to 49. Most nations on the list wonder why they are considered unfriendly to Russia, despite years, or even centuries, of friendly relations. The only nation on the list that has a reason to be unfriendly to Russia is Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, in an effort to absorb Ukraine into Russia. Ukraine prefers to remain independent and points out that, as a member of the UN, Russia agreed, in writing, to respect the independence of other UN members. There are over a dozen other nations on the unfriendly list that used to be part of one Russian empire or another. Russia thinks of these nations as unfriendly just because they openly oppose becoming part of Russia.

Ukrainians are less surprised about Russia invading them. Ukrainians have been fighting foreign domination for about 1,500 years, ever since the first Ukrainians appeared. If you define a nationality as a collection of people with common language and cultural customs then that also defines why Ukrainians feel independent of Russia. The Russians disagree, in part because Ukrainians showed up at the same time a unified Russia appeared. Russia was willing and able to expand more rapidly than Ukraine so that today there are six times more people speaking Russian than Ukrainian. Forcing others to adopt your language is a common tool for linguistic expansion. Ukrainians had much less ambition for imperial expansion. This means that the continued existence of the Ukrainian language and nationalism is something of an achievement, one that Russia hoped to eliminate with a successful invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

What is now known as Ukraine evolved from a number of Slavic tribes speaking a common language (proto-Ukrainian) who united after Swedish Vikings traded and raided into what is now Russia via major rivers like the Neva and Vistula, both of which allowed Viking longboats to travel deep into Russia. The earliest of these Nordic raiders were known back then as the Rus (old Norse for rowers) and Rus eventually became Russians. This began 1,200 years ago when the Rus captured Kiev and used it as the center of a Rus kingdom that came to include Kiev, portions of modern Belarus and Russia. This was the first Russian state, and after about a century, Swedish influence declined and was replaced by Slavic customs. The locals maintained some Nordic words and customs for centuries after that. The Kievan Rus empire was composed of many distinct Slavic tribes that all recognized the city of Kiev (to northern Slavs) or Kyiv (to the southeastern and southern Slavs) as the cultural and commercial capital of this empire that lasted about three centuries.

Russian and Ukrainians differ on the importance of the Kievan Rus empire. Russia sees it as the cultural source of Russian/Ukrainian culture which Russia came to dominate. Ukrainian see the Kievan Rus empire as the origin of modern Ukraine. Russia evolved differently after the devastating Golden Horde (Mongol) invasion in the early 1200s shattered the unity provided by the Kievan Rus. After the Mongols were gone there were separate efforts to reunify what had become two separate states - Russia and Ukraine. In the north a more successful effort was aided by the dominance of Eastern Orthodox Christianity while Ukraine always had a large number of Roman Catholics as well.

Russians concentrated on achieving access to the sea, in this case the Baltic Sea. The Ukrainians had to fight various groups of Mongols, Turks and even Italian colonies to gain access to the Black Sea. Mongol power was slowly diminished by local Russian, Lithuanian and Ukrainian princes, who ruled small principalities that sometimes fought as allies of the Mongols. By 1400 Mongol power was in decline and Ukraine and Belarus were a major component of the Polish-Lithuanian confederation, which defeated the Golden Horde as well as Germans advancing from the west. While powerful, the Polish-Lithuanian empire was surrounded by enemies and subject to frequent internal conflicts.

Ukrainian history also honors the Ukrainian Cossacks, a frontier mounted militia that first appeared in the 1500s to protect southern borders from Turkic Kazaks and Tatars. The term Cossack came from an ancient Slavic work kozak, which meant a free man or adventurer. The need for kozaks arose when Ukraine established claims on lands in the south and southeast of what is now Ukraine but then was largely controlled by small numbers of mounted Tatars and Kazars. In return for official recognition and support (of individual land claims), bands of Cossacks emerged. Initially anyone could join, including Turks, as long as they swore allegiance to Ukraine and the elected leader (hetman) of each Cossack group (host). Sometimes the Polish nobles tried to renege on their promise of land title, and that led to the Cossack reputation for often being rebels, and effective ones on their own land. This led to a Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky leading a rebellion against oppressive Polish nobles that led to brief (1649-1657) independence from Polish control.

Polish and Lithuanian power was reduced in the 1700s by wars with a unified Russian kingdom (tsardom), persistent German attacks from the west and growing Turkish power in the south. Emerging in the early 1300s, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1452, ending the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) empire and giving the Ottomans control over access to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean. That control lasted until 1922, when an international treaty established limits on Turkish control over access to the Black Sea. In Russia, access to the sea (the Baltic Sea) was achieved in 1709.

The first (in 1547) tsar of Russia, Ivan Grozny, is known in the west as Ivan the Terrible. In Russian, "Grozny" means fearsome, menacing or, to many Russians, dreaded. Tsar Ivan spent most of his 37 years in power leading his armies against various enemies, as well as reforming the Russian government. He was largely successful against Turkic enemies that occupied what is now much of southern Russia and Ukraine. Ivan was ruthless and went full Grozny against his Turkic foes. Then he sought to take Livonia (Latvia and Estonia) to provide landlocked Russia with access to the Baltic Sea. At first Ivan was successful, but Poland and Sweden intervened and turned Russia back into a landlocked empire until 1709 when tsar Peter the Great finally defeated the Swedes and created his new city on the Baltic, Saint Petersburg, which became the new Russian capital. Earlier (1686) Russia gained control of much of modern Ukraine, including Kyiv, via a treaty with Poland and Lithuania that was mainly about joint operations against the Turks. That campaign lasted until 1774 when Russia took over and the Ottomans renounced their claims to the Crimean Peninsula and a long-alliance with the Turkic Tatars. Earlier the Tatars had allied themselves with the Golden Horde and had long been a problem for Ukrainians. In some respects that is still true because the current Russian claim on Crimea traces back to their victory over the Ottomans and Tatars in 1774.

The Cossacks largely disappeared during the two world wars because they were seen as fighting for Nazis (against Russians) or for the Tsar (against rebels in general and communists in particular). Some fought for the Russians during World War II but after that they were outlawed everywhere. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 some Cossack groups reformed, pledging to serve the new Russian government. Some of these fought against Ukrainians in the Donbas.

In the 1800s nationalism became a major movement in Europe, with ethnic components of empires and large countries demanding independence. Russia had more of these independence movements than anyone else and Ukrainians demanded autonomy within the Russian empire. During World War I (1914-18) the Russian empire began to fall apart, and by the end of the first World War a civil war was underway in Russia that enabled the Ukrainians to declare independence in 1917 as the UNR (Ukrainian National Republic). Ukraine was a major battlefield for the civil war which the communists (Bolsheviks) won. Sensing that, the UNR allied itself with Poland and because of that Ukraine lost some territory as most of Ukraine became part of Soviet Russia.

During World War II many Ukrainians welcomed the invading Germans as liberators. The Germans disagreed and treated the Ukrainians as not worthy of self-rule. In response the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) formed in 1943 to fight both Germans and Soviets. After 1945 the UPA received some recognition, but little support, from the West and ruthless efforts by the Soviets eliminated the UPA by 1955. Russia did manage to convince the new UN (United Nations) that Ukraine was eligible to be a member of the UN. This gave Russia an additional vote in the UN general assembly, much to the disgust of most Ukrainians.

This violent history with Russia and the Soviet Union played a major role in Ukraine (and Belarus) insisting on independence when the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991. Many Russians saw this Ukrainian independence as a temporary condition, something they went war over in 2022 and openly declared they will do to other unfriendly nations that were once part of one of the many Russian empires. Several of those unfriendly states are now members of NATO. This organization has 31 members, soon to become 32 when Sweden joins. Ukraine wants to be member 33.

The concept of NATO began at the end of World War II in 1945. At that time the United States had the largest and most capable military force in what came to be known as the Western alliance. This group consisted of the industrialized nations of Europe and North America. The United States has always had the largest military and the one with many specialist capabilities European nations lacked. For example, the U.S. had the largest fleet of military air transports and these were backed up by large numbers of cargo and passenger aircraft owned by American airlines and available to the military in an emergency. The American army, navy and air force possessed special aviation capabilities no other NATO nation could muster. For example, when NATO nations were called on to operate in some distant area they depend on the large American fleet of aerial refueling aircraft and specialized aerial surveillance and electronic warfare aircraft. English has become the common language between the air forces of nearly every nation. When a NATO member requires specialized aircraft support, a French, Italian or German pilot can talk to the American aerial tanker or air traffic control aircraft in English and quickly get what they need. This capability has enabled European nations to send aircraft of ground forces long distances on short notice because the specialized American support aircraft are always available. Some European nations have a few of these support aircraft that handle most peacetime needs. But in a military crisis, like supporting Ukraine against the invading Russians, the Americans not only supply most of the military aid, but also make U.S. transportation and communications capabilities available to their NATO allies. Unless there is some major political dispute between the U.S. and European nations, this support is made available quickly and in whatever quantities are required. This makes the military forces of the entire NATO alliance more flexible and effective. In military terms these American logistic and specialist capabilities are a force multiplier for the troops, ships and aircraft of NATO allies.

This dependence on American resources has been criticized since NATO was founded, but none of the nations depending on that support have come up with an alternative. There were some efforts in that direction. NATO nations have a joint force of AWACS (air traffic control) aircraft and a pool arrangement for medium range air transports. European nations can gather a larger number of commercial ships for an emergency than the United States itself can. All this complements similar American support and is considered an example of how beneficial NATO cooperation is. Ukraine has benefited from this since 2022 and that is one reason Ukraine wants to join NATO as soon as the war with Russia is over. NATO policy does not allow a new member to join if they are currently involved in a war.

Russia claims it invaded Ukraine to prevent the expansion of NATO rather than seeking to rebuild the Russian Empire. The lost empire was a common complaint made by Russian leaders. Ukraine realized NATO membership would keep the Russians out. By invading Ukraine, Russia triggered substantial economic sanctions on Russia and huge NATO support for the Ukrainian military. Russian leader Vladimir Putin insists that Russian forces will keep fighting even if the Ukrainians push all the Russians out of Ukraine. Putin believes NATO countries will soon tire of spending all this money on Ukraine and reduce support. At that point Putin believes Russia will have a better chance of taking Ukraine. This is an endurance contest. Can Russia keep fighting while its economy is starved for resources by the sanctions? Can Putin survive long enough to keep Russia fighting? Will NATO nations keep spending a lot of money on military support for Ukraine? The Ukrainians have made it clear that they will keep fighting because to surrender means the end of Ukraine as an independent country and the return of Russian rule, not to mention suffering all the usual atrocities the Russians inflict on new subject populations, and did in portions of the Ukraine they conquered in this current war.

While NATO remains dependent on the Americans when large amounts of military and economic support are needed, the NATO members adjacent to Ukraine or Russia are not without resources and are spending a lot more on weapons and military equipment since the Russians invaded Ukraine. This invasion was a clear example of why NATO was needed. The Russians admit that they dont want to fight NATO directly and are dismayed at how enormous NATO contributions of military material, but not troops, to Ukraine helped cause the Russian invasion to fail with huge military and economic losses for Russia. The NATO alliance worked and Russian aggression was halted without triggering a nuclear war.

The NATO alliance worked because its members, collectively, constitute the largest economic and military capabilities on the planet. Russia, especially leader Vladimir Putin, feared that NATO would somehow become a military threat. That was never NATOs intention and the coalition has lasted so long because it stuck to its role as a defensive alliance. Some Russians, like Putin, see NATOs ability to constrain Russian attack options as a form of coercion and hostility towards Russia. Similar misconceptions are common throughout history and often a cause of war. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Russian justification for that is one such example of this perverse logic. The expansion of NATO membership after the Cold War ended was seen as essential for nations near Russia to survive and that assessment proved correct. Thats why long-time neutrals like Sweden and Finland suddenly sought to join NATO. Collectively, NATO is a huge organization in terms of population and military capabilities and becomes more useful the larger it becomes. As a defensive organization it reduces military spending for members and increases national security. The cost of running NATO is miniscule, as is the annual cost to members. Efforts to establish a similar defensive organization in East Asia have increased as the Chinese military threat grows. China is not seen as unstable and prone to aggression as Russia, but neighbors of China detect ominous changing attitudes inside China that warrant considering an Asian version of NATO.
Christian Brander, Ph.D., is a leading expert on T cell responses to viral infections and brings an important blend of academic and biotech experience.

Mala Maini, MD, Ph.D., is a professor of viral immunology at University College London with key expertise in adaptive immunity to hepatitis B, liver cancer, and SARS-CoV-2.

Together with the other distinguished vaccine development experts on the company's scientific advisory board, they will support AstriVax in advancing its innovative plug-and-play vaccine platform.

Leuven, Belgium, August 21, 2023 - AstriVax is pleased to announce that Dr. Christian Brander and Dr. Mala Maini have agreed to join the company's scientific advisory board. Together, the scientific advisors to AstriVax now boast decades of experience in academic research and biotech, combined with invaluable expertise in infectious diseases, vaccines, and global health management.

Hanne Callewaert, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of AstriVax, said: "I am grateful that Christian and Mala have agreed to join our scientific advisory board. Christian's expertise in immunology and therapeutic vaccines makes him a valuable asset for AstriVax, especially because our technology has great potential in therapeutic vaccines, and we are unlocking the full potential of our platform by expanding our pipeline in that field. I'm also thrilled to have award-winning viral immunologist Mala Maini on board, as her work on hepatitis B and her expertise on improving immunotherapeutic outcomes are invaluable to AstriVax. I look forward to working with them and their fellow scientific advisors: chair Emmanuel Hanon and leading vaccine development experts Peter Piot, Patrick Soentjens, Johan Neyts, and Kai Dallmeier. Together, we will continue to advance the vaccine technology of AstriVax to address unmet challenges in global health."

Christian Brander, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Professor at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). He brings ample experience in studying T cell responses to viral infections, including cancer-driving viruses and hepatitis and herpes viruses in the context of HIV co-infection and in transplant recipients. He played a key role in providing some of the largest data sets on T cell activity to HIV and their association with relative HIV control. Dr. Brander has also established several HIV-infected and uninfected cohorts in Peru, the US, and Europe to study potentially protective host immunity. He is a curator of the Los Alamos National Laboratories HIV immunology database and co-founded Aelix Therapeutics, a Barcelona-based biotech company dedicated to developing HIV cure vaccine strategies.

Mala Maini, MD, Ph.D., is a professor of viral immunology and consultant physician in viral hepatitis, based in the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation at University College London (UCL). Her lab studies adaptive immunity to hepatitis B, liver cancer, and SARS-CoV-2 to inform the development of immunotherapies and vaccines. Through access to well-characterized patient cohorts, human tissue samples, and various models, the studies provide insights into manipulating beneficial and dysfunctional T and B cell responses for improved immunotherapeutic outcomes. The Maini lab has identified novel roles for T cells in aborting viral infection and their regulation in tissues by cross-talk with neighboring NK cells and myeloid cells. Mala Maini was awarded Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Awards in 2013 and 2019 and elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2016.

Media Contact

Hanne Callewaert, Ph.D., CEO of AstriVax, info@astrivax.com .

About AstriVax

Founded in 2022, AstriVax NV aims to address global challenges in vaccinology with its innovative plug-and-play vaccine platform. The company develops novel prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines that are easy to produce, have reduced cold chain requirements, and offer broad and long-lasting protection against various infectious diseases. AstriVax is supported by well-known investors V-Bio Ventures, Fund+, Flanders Future TechFund managed by PMV, Thuja Capital, Ackermans & van Haaren, OMX Europe Venture Fund (Merieux Equity Partners and Korys), BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity, and the KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fund.


MGS3100R





TOKYO, Aug 22, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger, Ltd. (MHIET) has launched a new model MGS3100R of MGS-R series. In recent digital society, data communications have dramatically increased which caused data centers to have larger capacity, and factory DX and automation have caused manufacturing to require larger equipment. MGS3100R is developed to meet these higher power demands for emergency generator sets that supply power at time of power failures. All MGS are assembled at MHIET's factories in Singapore and Vietnam and delivered to customers around the world, particularly in Asia-Pacific region.MGS3100R features a newly developed S16R2-PTAWT-CR engine which employs electronically controlled common rail fuel injection system. A two-stage air cooler is employed to optimize the cooling performance and smaller radiator is selected to reduce space for installation, which led to achieve top-class space saving among similar competing products. The output is 3,025 kVA for standby/critical power and 2,750 kVA for prime/data center continuous power at 50Hz.In order to meet demands from customers in wide variety of business, MGS3100R complies with Class G3 load acceptance performance which is the highest class in ISO8528-5 as well as National Fire Protection Association's NFPA110 that specifies performance requirements for emergency power supply systems including 10-second starting and ensures performance and quality.MGS-R and other MGS are assembled and sold by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine System Asia Pte. Ltd. (MHIES-A) and MHI Engine System Vietnam Co., Ltd. (MHIES-V) that also sell engines to customers in Asia-Pacific region. MGS have sold more than 12,000 units to date and received acclaims for the reliability greatly owing to the product design by MHIET who also designs engines whereas many generator set makers market their products using engines purchased from suppliers.With the addition of the new MGS3100R in the Series and in preparation for continuing demand for distributed power systems, MHIET will continue to offer generator sets in the broad product line for a wide range of industries as a means to strengthen disaster resilience and Business Continuity Plan.Key features:- Top-class space saving by means of smaller radiator- A newly developed high-power engine that applies electronically controlled common rail fuel injection system- Certified to various standards required by extensive industries including data centersReference:"Development of Electronic Control emergency Generator Engine for Data Center"Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review, Vol.60 No.2 (2023)www.mhi.co.jp/technology/review/en/abstracte-60-2-110.html"MITSUBISHI GENERATOR SERIES - NEW MGS3100R"YouTube - https://youtu.be/6YQyVdzraxwSource: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday. The U.S. dollar fell to 5-day lows of 1.0917 against the euro, 1.2778 against the pound and 0.8772 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0891, 1.2754 and 0.8783, respectively. Moving away from an early 5-day high of 146.41 against the yen, the greenback edged down to 145.84. The greenback dropped to a 4-day low of 0.6429 against the Australian dollar, from Monday's closing value of 0.6412. Against the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the greenback edged down to 0.5943 and 1.3535 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.5926 and 1.3543, respectively. If the greenback extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.11 against the euro, 1.29 against the pound, 0.85 against the franc, 141.00 against the yen, 0.67 against the aussie, 0.60 against the kiwi and 1.33 against the loonie. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
EQS-Ad-hoc: Global Fashion Group S.A. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Global Fashion Group S.A.: GFG RESOLVES ON INVITATION TO ALL ELIGIBLE HOLDERS TO OFFER TO SELL FOR CASH THEIR CONVERTIBLE BONDS DUE 2028 (ISIN: DE000A3KMT51)



22-Aug-2023 / 08:04 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO, OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AMERICAN SAMOA, WAKE ISLAND AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS), ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (THE "UNITED STATES") OR IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON RESIDENT OR LOCATED IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Disclosure of an inside information according to Art. 17 Sec. 1 of the Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (Market Abuse Regulation - MAR) GLOBAL FASHION GROUP S.A.: GFG RESOLVES ON INVITATION TO ALL ELIGIBLE HOLDERS TO OFFER TO SELL FOR CASH THEIR CONVERTIBLE BONDS DUE 2028 (ISIN: DE000A3KMT51) Luxembourg, 22 August 2023 - The management board of Global Fashion Group S.A. ("GFG" or the "Company") resolved today, with the approval of the supervisory board, to invite, from 9:00 a.m. (CEST) today, eligible holders of the convertible bonds due 2028 issued by GFG, whose outstanding aggregate principal amount not held by the Company as of today is EUR 279.9 million (ISIN: DE000A3KMT51) (the "Bonds"), to submit offers to sell for cash their Bonds in a modified Dutch auction procedure (the "Invitation"). EUR 74.6 million in aggregate principal amount has been agreed to be repurchased by GFG as announced on 18 August 2023 and EUR 95.1 million in aggregate principal amount were repurchased in 2022 and are held by GFG in treasury. The Company intends to repurchase up to approximately EUR 50.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the Bonds (the "Target Amount"). GFG reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to purchase less than or more than the Target Amount. The purchase price per EUR 100,000 principal amount of the Bonds will be between EUR 71,000 and EUR 73,000. The final purchase price and the total number of the Bonds expected to be acquired will be announced as soon as reasonably practicable after the expiration deadline on 24 August 2023 at 5:00 p.m. CEST. Settlement is expected to occur on or around 31 August 2023. The repurchase of the Bonds can be modified, suspended or resumed at any point in time. The Company does not intend to disclose each individual transaction. The Bonds repurchased may be cancelled or held and resold. The Invitation is not being made, and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States by use of the mails or by any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, e-mail, facsimile transmission, telephone, the internet and other forms of electronic communication) of interstate or foreign commerce, or of any facility of a national securities exchange of the United States and the Invitation cannot be accepted, and no Bonds can be offered for sale, by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility or from within the United States. The Invitation is not open to any persons located or resident in the United States, or persons acting for the account or benefit of any such persons, or in any other jurisdiction where the Invitation or any participation therein would be unlawful. - End - Person making the notification: Claire Higgins, Group Senior Legal Counsel Media contact:

Press / Communications

Jovana Lakcevic, PR & Communications Director

press@global-fashion-group.com

Investor Relations

Saori McKinnon, Investor Relations & Strategy Manager

investors@global-fashion-group.com

DISCLAIMER This announcement may not be published, distributed or transmitted, directly or indirectly, in the United States (including its territories and possessions) or any other jurisdiction where such an announcement would be unlawful. The distribution of this announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession this document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This announcement does not contain or constitute or form part of, and should not be construed as, an offer or invitation to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, any securities to any person in the United States or in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the laws of any state within the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States, unless registered under the Securities Act or offered and sold in a transaction exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offer of the securities referred to herein in the United States. The offer referred to herein when made in member states of the European Economic Area ("EEA" and each member state, a "relevant member state"), is only addressed to and directed at persons who are qualified investors (the "Qualified Investors") as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 (the "Prospectus Regulation"). In the United Kingdom, this document is only being distributed to and is only directed at Qualified Investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of the United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA) who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the "Order") or (ii) fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.), and (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This document is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on (i) in the United Kingdom by persons who are not Relevant Persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, by persons who are not Qualified Investors. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be construed as a promise of future results and developments and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Various factors could cause actual future results, performance or events to differ materially from those described in this announcement, and neither the Company nor any other person accepts any responsibility for the accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement or the underlying assumptions. About Global Fashion Group Global Fashion Group is the leading fashion and lifestyle destination in LATAM, SEA and ANZ. From our people to our customers and partners, we exist to empower everyone to express their true selves through fashion. Our three ecommerce platforms: Dafiti, ZALORA and THE ICONIC connect an assortment of international, local and own brands to over 800 million consumers from diverse cultures and lifestyles. GFG's platforms provide seamless and inspiring customer experiences from discovery to delivery, powered by art & science that is infused with unparalleled local knowledge. Our vision is to be the #1 fashion & lifestyle destination in LATAM, SEA and ANZ, and we are committed to doing this responsibly by being people and planet positive across everything we do. (ISIN: LU2010095458) For more information visit: www.global-fashion-group.com



End of Inside Information



22-Aug-2023 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


Simple Online Healthcare offers a free online NHS England prescription delivery service, an online pharmacy store, and online doctor services

During the year, the company expanded operations across UK, Germany, and Australia while near doubling headcount to 99

Simple Online is planning to launch weight care drug Wegovy in the German and UK markets, and recently launched a new weight care app called renu

Simple Online Healthcare, trading as Simple Online Pharmacy in the UK, has increased revenue by 56 per cent to 24.3 million in the year to 28th February 2023 (2022: 15.6m), while near doubling headcount to 99. During the year, the company expanded operations across the UK, Germany, and Australia, and is set to expand further into Europe.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822367292/en/

Left to right are Rebecca Moore and Addy Mohammed of Simple Online Healthcare (Photo: Business Wire)

Simple Online Healthcare Co-founder Addy Mohammed said: "Last year saw us significantly scale and invest across the business, in terms of geography, supply chain, technology, and our team. Overall, we are one step closer to realising our ambition to be a truly global provider of patient-centric care."

Founded by Addy Mohammed and Karim Nassar in Glasgow in 2015, Simple Online Healthcare offers a free online NHS England prescription delivery service, an online pharmacy store, and online doctor services in the UK, Australia, and Germany.

The company has invested 1 million in next generation AI powered BD Rowa robotics, one of the first in the UK to do so. This will boost capacity and reduce unit costs for NHS dispensing.

With weight care medication being a fast-growth segment, and Simple Online Healthcare having diagnosed, prescribed and dispensed anti-obesity medication to over 130,000 patients worldwide, the company is planning to launch latest generation weight care drug Wegovy, manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, in the German and UK markets.

The company is augmenting its weight care offering with a new weight care app called renu to support patients with their entire end-to-end weight care journey. The app has launched in the UK, with plans to roll out globally. In the UK, Simple Online is one of the main providers of weight care medication, alongside Boots and LloydsPharmacy.

Former Skyscanner and TravelNest senior executive Rebecca Moore joined the business as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2022, and the company has a number of further senior hires in the pipeline.

During 2022, Simple Online Healthcare acquired the Kapsel and Dr Felix brands from Stark Healthcare. Now integrated into the group, Kapsel provides primary care services to patients across Germany, while Dr Felix is an online doctor clinic service serving patients UK-wide.

Rebecca Moore, Simple Online Healthcare's COO, said: "The acquisitions have proven to be a great success, they have enabled us to extend our reach in the UK and Europe, and we're adding strong triple-digit revenue growth in these units."

Addy Mohammed added: "Our mission is to build the most patient-centric online healthcare service in the world, simplifying healthcare for patients everywhere. We want to make treatments more accessible and affordable, whilst giving the highest standard of care and we continue to see considerable growth prospects going forward."

To date, Simple Online Healthcare has served over 700,000 patients across all regions and brands.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822367292/en/

Contacts:

Nick Freer

nick@freerconsultancy.com
Alan Shannon, further expands Premialab's EMEA footprint bringing his extensive investment banking and technology expertise to the fintech platform dedicated to quantitative investment strategies.

LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Premialab, a fintech platform dedicated to quantitative investment strategies, announces the appointment of Alan Shannon as Head of Technology Solutions. Based in London, Mr. Shannon will lead the development of this key new market segment. Prior to joining Premialab, Mr. Shannon served at a wide range of investment banks, including J.P. Morgan, UBS, RBC Capital Markets, and Morgan Stanley. Most recently, he held the position of Head of EMEA Consulting at First Derivatives.

Mr. Shannon brings over 20 years of experience in investment banking, derivatives, and technology. He will be responsible for implementing and scaling Premialab's new technology and execution initiatives, providing unique data, analytics, and execution solutions to instutional investors globally.

Adrien Geliot, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Premialab said "We are thrilled to have Alan join our team. His extensive expertise in capital markets and trading technologies, coupled with his deep understanding of institutional investors' needs, will allow us deliver enhanced value from our unique data and analytics."

The announcement follows senior appointments at Premialab, including Daniel Fields, former Global Head of Markets at Societe Generale; John Macpherson, former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and Nomura; Marc Fisher, former Managing Director at Citibank with prior position at Deutsche Bank; and Georgios Sittas, former Managing Director at HSBC, Standard Chartered and previously director at Lehman Brothers.

These appointments underscore Premialab's long-term strategy to strengthen its presence in key growth markets, building upon the success of its data and analytics platform worldwide.

Recognized as the reference for data and risk analytics on quantitative strategies, Premialab's capital markets infrastructure is currently leveraged by leading asset managers, insurance companies and pension funds, accelerating their digitalization, enhancing performance and risk control, all while reducing costs.

About Premialab

Premialab is the leading independent platform providing data, analytics and risk solutions on systematic & factor-based strategies in collaboration with leading investment banks and institutional investors globally. Combining intelligent technology with a unique source of information the platform empowers asset allocators to make better investment decisions whilst achieving utmost time and cost efficiency.

With offices in Paris, London, New York, Hong Kong and Sydney, its international team is dedicated to supporting a global client base with the most up-to-date risk premia dataset, advanced portfolio construction, performance & risk analytics. The firm has established strong partnerships with the top 17 investments banks, global asset managers, pensions funds & insurance companies.

For more information please visit: www.premialab.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/jp-morgan-ubs-morgan-stanley-and-first-derivatives-former-executive-joins-fintech-premialab-301903637.html
Corsano Health is launching the company's CardioWatch EU-MDR certified patient monitoring bracelet with Cuffless Non-Invasive Blood Pressure at ESC in Amsterdam.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Corsano Health, a leading MedTech company developing, producing, and marketing medical grade continuous health monitoring announces the addition of Cuffless Blood Pressure measurements to its advanced smart bracelet.

The CardioWatch 287-2 is a EU-MDR certified wireless remote monitoring intended for continuous collection of physiological data in home and healthcare settings. This includes heart rate, heart rate variability (R-R interval), respiration rate, activity, sleep, ECG, SpO2, Body Temperature and Blood Pressure. Data is transmitted wirelessly from the device via the application or gateway to a server or health cloud where it is stored and made available for further analysis.

The Corsano Cuffless Non-Invasive Blood Pressure algorithm has been in development since 2019 based on arterial line and ABPM data recorded from over 500 patients. The Corsano Blood Pressure algorithm was validated according to ISO 81060-2:2019 and the AAMI/ESH/ISO collaboration statement "A Universal Standard for the Validation of Blood Pressure Measuring Devices" 2018. Additional validations LONG-TERM, DEVICE POSITION, RE-CALIBRATION, EXERCISE and TREATMENT are ongoing to meet all ESH recommendations.

The research team of the Reinier de Graaf Hospital will present their validation of the Corsano Cuffless Non-Invasive Blood Pressure algorithm at the European Cardiology Congress August 28, 2023.

"Corsano Health's CardioWatch 287-2 enables continuous monitoring of vital signs over extended periods, with un-restricted access to raw data for AI and ML development. This approach allows for early detection of any abnormalities, as it captures fluctuations that may go unnoticed with spot measurements. Continuous monitoring proves especially beneficial for managing chronic conditions like heart disease, where automatic continuous monitoring can significantly improve patient outcomes," says Drs. Peter Stas, CEO of Corsano Health.

About Corsano Health

Corsano Health, based in The Netherlands with offices in Switzerland, is a leading wearable MedTech company developing, producing and marketing medical smart monitoring devices designed to measure vital parameters 24/7 using wireless, non-invasive, and medical-grade technology. The Corsano brand name is derived from incorpore sano (in a healthy body). Corsano's CardioWatch 287 is an EU-MDR certified patient monitoring system that provides a simple and effective method for continuous monitoring of vital parameter measurements (i.e., HR, RR Intervals, ECG, SpO2, Blood Pressure, Respiration, Core Body Temperature, Activity and Sleep).

More information at http://www.corsano.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2189077/Corsano_CardioWatch.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/corsano-health-launches-cuffless-blood-pressure-301904538.html
89% of cross-border payments are processed over Swift within an hour, placing its transaction speed ahead of the G20's end-to-end target of 75% by 2027

Fast in-flight processing and greater transparency reflects strong focus on helping industry meet G20 targets with strategy focused on instant, frictionless end-to-end payments

Latest data also highlights that the majority of international payments are direct or involve only one intermediary, and reveals issues industry must tackle to accelerate final delivery into payee accounts

Swift today announced strong progress toward goals set by the G20 for enhancing cross-border payments, reporting that 89% of transactions processed on its network reach recipient banks within an hour.

That's already well ahead of speed targets set by the Financial Stability Board to achieve one-hour processing for 75% of international payments by 2027. The momentum underscores work by Swift, which connects more than 11,500 institutions in over 200 countries, to expedite delivery and enable banks to offer a better service to their end-customers. It also challenges misperceptions that payments are often required to travel through chains of intermediary banks to their final destination. Swift data shows that 84% of all payments on the network are conducted directly or with a single intermediary.

While in-flight processing between originating and beneficiary banks has significantly accelerated, there is still more to be done at industry level to fully achieve the bar set by the G20. At present only 60% of wholesale payments reach customer accounts in that timeframe due to delays at the beneficiary leg caused by issues including regulatory controls, batch processing and opening hours of market infrastructures.

Thierry Chilosi, Chief Strategy Officer at Swift, said: "Our strategy to transform cross border payments is delivering tangible results. Swift already exceeds the G20 target on speed for processing on our own network, and we are well on track towards meeting the other targets. The G20 roadmap to enhance international payments recognises the critical role these transactions play in the growth of the global economy and how necessary industry-wide collaboration is to achieving tangible improvements. Swift will continue to work closely with the financial community to meet these targets and foster a more inclusive global economy built upon the seamless movement of value across the world."

In addition to helping the financial services industry meet the G20's target for speed through services like Payment Pre-validation and Swift GPI. Swift continues to support industry efforts to address other challenges identified by the G20:

Transparency: Swift GPI has transformed cross-border payment transparency with the end-to-end visibility it offers on transactions. Swift Go, a fast, predictable and competitively priced cross-border payments solution is bringing the same benefit to small businesses and consumers. Meanwhile, Swift Securities View is enabling end-to-end tracking of securities transactions, preventing the costly challenge of settlement fails.

Swift GPI has transformed cross-border payment transparency with the end-to-end visibility it offers on transactions. Swift Go, a fast, predictable and competitively priced cross-border payments solution is bringing the same benefit to small businesses and consumers. Meanwhile, Swift Securities View is enabling end-to-end tracking of securities transactions, preventing the costly challenge of settlement fails. Cost: Swift is removing friction-related costs to the industry through data, interoperability and screening services, as well as through Payment Pre-validation, which removes millions of costs to the industry around failed transactions while improving the cross-border experience.

Swift is removing friction-related costs to the industry through data, interoperability and screening services, as well as through Payment Pre-validation, which removes millions of costs to the industry around failed transactions while improving the cross-border experience. Choice and access: Swift is opening up new ways to access its capabilities with cloud and API-based connectivity options, both for messaging and full transaction services powered by Swift's new transaction manager

As new payment means and models to connect to instant payment systems emerge, securing interoperability between domestic or network-based 'digital islands' is becoming more important. To help its community meet the G20 targets, Swift will continue to focus on addressing fragmentation head-on, whether by collaborating with central banks to develop an interlinking solution for CBDCs, or by working with market infrastructures to enhance settlement models.

About Swift

Swift is a global member owned cooperative and the world's leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance.

Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,500 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While Swift does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world.

As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community's access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. Swift also brings the financial community together at global, regional and local levels to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern.

Headquartered in Belgium, Swift's international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. Swift's global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822814648/en/

Contacts:

Press:

FGS Global

+32 (0)2655 3377

Swift@fgsglobal.com
David Hesse, an energy disputes attorney whose practice focuses on oil and gas litigation and arbitration matters with a strong emphasis on Africa has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as a partner in London.

Hesse advises states and national oil and gas companies on disputes, settlements, and upstream activities, as well as international tenders, refinery projects, farm-out agreements, and other contracts in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. His practice includes international commercial arbitration matters involving Anglophone and Francophone states and state entities in North, East, Central and West Africa.

Previously a partner with Clyde Co., Hesse joins longtime colleague and collaborator Philip Mace as the newest additions to Hunton Andrews Kurth's London-based energy team. Mace, who also recently joined the firm as a partner from Clyde Co., is an experienced corporate lawyer whose practice is focused on energy and upstream oil and gas transactions.

"Robust global demand for large scale energy and infrastructure projects and the natural proliferation of disputes associated with those ventures continue to drive the need for a strong international arbitration and litigation practice," said Tom Taylor, co-head of Hunton Andrews Kurth's litigation team. "David is an outstanding lawyer whose experience and ability to navigate complex international disputes make him an ideal complement to the team."

Hesse has extensive experience before international institutions including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). A selection of his notable representations prior to joining the firm include:

Advised the Government of Tanzania and the Tanzanian Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) as co-lead international counsel with a local firm, in connection with related contract and treaty claims (ICSID) by Standard Chartered Bank.

Advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and supporting Nigerian counsel in connection with over $1 billion in claims by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) under a production sharing contract.

Advised the Government of Algeria and Sonatrach in connection with parallel proceedings (ICSID and UNCITRAL) by an oil and gas exploration company and an international shipping and logistics company for claims in excess of $8 billion relating to Algeria's Windfall Profit Tax.

Advised the Government of Uganda and the Uganda Revenue Authority in connection with a $405 million claim by Heritage Oil (UNCITRAL) and a $473 million claim by Tullow Oil plc (ICSID) for recovery of capital gains tax under a production sharing agreement.

Advised ZCCM Investment Holdings PLC in connection with $2 billion in claims by Vedanta Resources Holdings Limited (UNCITRAL) relating to Konkola Copper Mines plc in Zambia.

"David's practice complements our London-based projects and corporate offerings and reinforces our internationally recognized strength in the energy sector," said Ferdinand Calice, managing partner of Hunton Andrews Kurth's London office. "We are excited to welcome David to the firm."

A recognized lawyer in Chambers Global and Legal 500, Hesse is also an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee and a lecturer at the CWC School for Energy. He is a regular speaker at international arbitration and energy conferences, including Juris Conference, GAR Energy Disputes, and GAR Live.

Hesse received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati, his LLB (Maitres) from the Universitie de Paris La Sorbonne, and his LLM from Columbia Law School.

Hunton Andrews Kurth's international arbitration and transnational litigation practice represents clients around the globe. We regularly handle investor-state arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and commercial arbitrations before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC); the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague; and the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and its international division, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). We also work with clients in multi-jurisdictional matters, working closely with counsel in local forums.

About Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

With over 900 lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is a global firm that serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. The firm is known for its strength in the energy, financial services, real estate, and retail and consumer products industries, as well as its considerable experience in more than 100 distinct areas of practice, including privacy and cybersecurity, intellectual property, environmental, and mergers and acquisitions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822206903/en/

Contacts:

The PR Office

hak@theproffice.com
WithMilos signature menu, now, exclusivelyavailable onboardVistaJet

New York, August22, 2023:VistaJet, the first and only global business aviation company, is proud to announce its partnership with one of the finest seafood restaurants in the world, estiatorio Milos. Since its inception in 2004, VistaJet has grown to become a world-leading brand known for its commitment to delivering outstanding service through continual investment and innovation onboard and at destination.

Following the latest iteration of its Private Diningprogram - unveiling exclusive dishes created by celebrity chefs from all over the world, to be served only on board its iconic silver and red fleet - VistaJet continues to pioneer service excellence, searching the globe to partner with the world's leading restaurants to offer its Members the best of the best.

Across its growing and global client base, Milos has been one of the most requested restaurants from VistaJet clients. And in true VistaJet fashion, have given clients exactly what they asked for - and more. In addition to the favorites to be enjoyed in restaurants across the globe, the favored Lobster Salad created by Milos Chef and Founder Costas Spiliadis is now exclusively available onboard the Vista Members' fleet of over 360 aircraft - from the Gulfstream G450to the Global 7500, which can fly nonstop from Miami to Greece.

Spiliadis, one of the most influential chefs in Greek cooking, combines the simplest ingredients, sustainably sourced and of the highest quality, to garner that once-in-a-lifetime flavor.

Costas Spiliadis, Chef and Founder of Milos, said: "As pioneers in our respective fields, I'm excited for this new partnership between VistaJet and estiatorio Milos. It is our pleasure to introduce one of our most regarded dishes, the refreshingly light Milos Lobster Salad, to be exclusively available to VistaJet clients who recognize freshness and quality.

Early in my career as a chef, I thought of how wonderful it would be to combine springtime on the Greek islands with the amazing taste of the pristine Bay of Fundy's deep-sea lobsters. Fresh dill, spring onions, baby fennel, olive oil, and Kythereanafrala married with tender lobster meat and elevated with a touch of Seven Stars Greek Metaxa. Now, I have the perfect opportunity to present this culinary dream."

VistaJet clients flying from Dubai, Athens, London, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, and Montreal can enjoy a Milos experience at 40,000 feet in the sky. To ensure passengers enjoy unrivaled service as standard, every VistaJet flight has at least one Cabin Host trained by the British Butler Institute, MedAire, Norland College and Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Like private aviation, a good meal can take you anywhere in the world - yet there are always places and plates to savor. Not only has VistaJet brought Milos onboard the aircraft, VistaJet has presented to its Members a rare culinary voyage across the Mediterranean aboard Milos at Sea. VistaJet's Private World curated this delight for those with an equal measure of appetite for food and adventure.

Diego Sabino, Vice President Private Dining of VistaJet, said: "We are uncompromising when it comes to in-flight dining and believe that food at altitude should taste as good as food at your favorite restaurant. We focus on providing quality ingredients, exceptional service and inspired private dining in the air to our Members, but why stop there? As a brand, we are passionate about creating experiences that our Members will remember -and the unique experiences that we design with our partners arepart of the service excellence VistaJet offers."

As part of its onboard library collection, VistaJet published The Little Book of Dining in the Sky, discovering the art and science behind dining at altitude with suggestions and expert advice.

Request an online copy of VistaJet's book at vistajet.com/privatedining

Learn more about this announcement by reaching out to press@vistajet.com

ENDS

Information

VistaJet | press@vistajet.com

About VistaJet

VistaJet is the first and only global business aviation company. On its fleet of silver and red business jets, VistaJet has flown corporations, governments and private clients to 187 countries, covering 96% of the world.

Founded in 2004, the company pioneered an innovative business model where customers have access to an entire fleet whilst paying only for the hours they fly, free of the responsibilities and asset risks linked to aircraft ownership. VistaJet's signature Program membership offers customers a bespoke subscription of flight hours on its fleet of mid and long-range jets, to fly them anytime, anywhere.

VistaJet is part of Vista- the world's first private aviation ecosystem, integrating a unique portfolio of companies offering asset free solutions to cover all key aspects of business aviation.

More VistaJet information and news at vistajet.com

VistaJet Limited is a European air carrier that operates 9H registered aircraft under its Maltese Air Operator Certificate No. MT-17 and is incorporated in Malta under Company Number C 55231. VistaJet US Inc. is an Air Charter Broker that does not operate aircraft. VistaJet and its subsidiaries are not U.S. direct carriers. VistaJet-owned and U.S. registered aircraft are operated by properly licensed U.S. air carriers, including XOJET Aviation LLC.

About estiatorioMilos

Famous for its selection of seafood imported fresh daily, estiatorio Milos uses only the finest ingredients to uphold the extraordinary culinary philosophy of Chef and Founder Costas Spiliadis. Spiliadis, one of the most influential chefs in Greek cooking, has risen to prominence thanks to an insistence on purity, quality, and minimalism. Pristine ingredients cooked with precision have made Milos a symbol of clarity and excellence.

Spiliadis' original, groundbreaking estiatorio Milos opened in 1979 in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal. Spiliadis spared no effort in sourcing the most delicious products of Greece and other prized locations throughout the world. His preparations, painstakingly uncomplicated, were a revelation. After careful expansion to New York, London, Athens, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Cabos and Dubai, today Milos is seen as one of the finest Mediterranean seafood restaurants in the world.

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On August 4th Ukraine launched an attack on Russian ships at the Russian naval base at Novorossiisk, which is east of Crimea and a major commercial port for oil exports as well as other goods. As naval bases in Crimea come under increasing attacks by Ukrainian missiles and unmanned attack boats, Russia moved most of its remaining warships and support ships to Novorossiisk. Now Ukraine is attacking Russian ships at Novorossiisk. using unmanned speed boats carrying up to half a ton of explosives. Most of these attack boats are intercepted and sunk but one of them got through and damaged the Ropucha-class LST (landing ship, tank) Olenegorsky Gornyak. The explosion caused the landing ship to take on water and tug boats were seen assisting the listing landing ship to a safer berth.

Olenegorsky Gornyak was one of six landing ships from the Russian Baltic and Northern fleets that were sent to the Black Sea in 2022 to support Russian operations against Ukraine. Olenegorsky Gornyak was one of 28 Ropucha-class landing ships built for the Soviet Union navy in Poland between 1974 and 1991. Newly independent Ukraine inherited one of those Ropucha-class ships in 1991. Russia took that ship back in 2014 when they seized control of Crimea.

The Russian Navy has about twenty LSTs and some of these were used in the Black Sea to move passengers, vehicles and cargo from Novorossiisk to Crimea because the Kerch Strait bridge was damaged and its ability to handle vehicle traffic limited. There are currently three classes of LST in service. The oldest are the three 4,600-ton Tapir-class LSTs that were built in the 1960s and 70s. The most recent are two 6,600-ton Ivan Gren-class ships that entered service in 2018 and 2020. These are supposed to replace the Ropucha-class ships but not enough money has been available to do that. The three Tapir-class LSTs will have to be retired by the end of the decade. The Ropucha-class ships will begin retiring in the 2030s. Unless there is money to build more Gren-class ships, most Russian LSTs will be retired by the end of the 2030s. This pattern is similar with nearly all classes of Russian warships. Only a few classes of submarines are exempt. The Russian surface fleet is fading into retirement and eventually most Russian naval power will consist of submarines.

Russian warships in the Black Sea are the only ones currently engaged in combat, if only because Russia is trying to use these warships to block grain exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea. Russia was once the major naval power in the Black Sea, but since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 most nations bordering the Black Sea have joined NATO. Turkey, which controls the only entrance to the Black Sea, was already a NATO member and Ukrainian efforts to join NATO were one of the reasons for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Unless Russia wins in Ukraine, the Black Sea will become a NATO controlled sea, similar to what has happened in the Baltic Sea. That leaves Russian warships dependent on bases in the north, near the land border with Norway, and in the Far East, near Japanese and South Korean naval bases. The Japanese and South Korean fleets are far larger than the Russian Far East fleet. This is a post-Cold War development. Before the 1990s, the South Korea fleet was largely non-existent and the Japanese fleet tiny and purely defensive. Chinese naval power began to emerge by the late 1990s but took another decade to become a significant force. Then as now the American West Pacific fleet was a major naval power in the region.
Tonga, Oceania--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - AT Capital Group Limited ("AT Capital"), a globally leading fintech company that owns the international brand "ATFX", has recently signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") in the Kingdom of Tonga with Pacific China Friendship Association ("PCFA") and Tongan delegates, thereby forging a strategic alliance. This MOU lays the groundwork for AT Capital to explore investments in, or the implementation of, a regional bank, designed to bolster the economies of Pacific Island nations. The focus of these initiatives is to enhance the performance of the regional financial sector and to provide support for development projects in the areas of investment, trade opportunities, and infrastructure. The role of the PCFA and Tonga delegates are to facilitate the AT Capital introduction to the Tonga market and thereby to the Pacific region.





The Princess Royal, Her Royal Highness Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita of the Kingdom of Tonga is in the back row, far right. In the front row from left are Dr. Hiria Ottino, President of the PCFA; Ms. Mishka Tuifua, Personal Assistant to Her Royal Highness and PCFA Board Secretary; Mr. Joe Li, Chairman of AT Capital; all joined by the team at the MOU signing ceremony.

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This initiative marks an unparalleled stride in the Pacific's financial industry, aiming to empower the principles of the Maritime Pearl Road, the southward maritime extension of the Belt and Road Initiative, and to leverage and mobilize the network and influence of the PCFA in enhancing the banking platform of Pacific countries, with the Kingdom of Tonga as the initial base.

It is expected that the collaboration will encourage investment orientations sensitive to Pacific cultures. The cooperation aims to become a major player in raising Pacific financial system standards to a higher level, allowing the convergence of common Pacific interest throughout the region, with a special focus in the areas of the Blue & Green economies, poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation strategies, the One Blue Pacific Principle and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which emphasizes the unity and solidarity of Pacific islands nations.

Mr. Joe Li, Chairman of AT Capital, says, "We see enormous, untapped potentials in Tonga and other South Pacific countries. We believe that these activities will benefit a free and peaceful development of the Pacific region, while supporting a resilient Pacific of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity for all."

Dr. Hiria Ottino, President of PCFA, says, "We are beyond delighted to have forged an alliance with AT Capital. PCFA will provide its full support to the benefit of the people of Tonga and the South Pacific Island Countries; and will continue to be involved in supporting and contributing to the Pacific's economic development in various industries, such as tourism, fisheries and agriculture. We believe this will foster greater cooperation and mutual understanding between PCFA and AT Capital, as well as contribute to the sustainable development of Tonga's financial sector. "

AT Capital, a globally recognized, award-winning fintech broker, offering customers support in multi- languages and regulated in several territories with offices located in Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle-East and the Pacific.

PCFA is a non-political, non-government organization (NGO) founded in 2016 by The Princess Royal, Her Royal Highness Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita of the Kingdom of Tonga. PCFA boasts 21 members, with a 2-tiered approach: firstly, recognizing and addressing common challenges and opportunities on a regional level, and secondly, tuning its focus to the unique priorities of each individual member country.

About AT Capital

AT Capital is a globally leading fintech company that owns the international brand "ATFX", holding licenses in multiple countries including the UK's FCA, Cyprus' CySEC, UAE's SCA and Australia's ASIC. With offices in 15 regions worldwide, ATFX has spread its business across five continents. In addition to providing advanced online trading broker services, cutting-edge market analysis tools and innovative artificial intelligence financial platforms, ATFX also releases in-depth daily economic reports. It tracks global hotspots to help participants have the most updated and comprehensive information about market trends.

For further information on AT Capital, please visit: https://www.atfx.com.

AT Capital Group Limited

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Contact:

Weems Chan

weems.chan@atgs.com.hk

+852 51710160

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Results represent the first clinical demonstration of the efficacy of gene therapy in a metabolic disease of the liver

Genethon, a pioneer and leader in gene therapy research and development for rare genetic diseases, announced today positive Phase 1/2 clinical trial results of its gene therapy, GNT-0003, for Crigler-Najjar syndrome were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The data demonstrate the possibility of restoring expression of liver enzyme UGT1A1 by using gene therapy in cases of Crigler-Najjar syndrome.

Crigler-Najjar is characterized by hyperbilirubinemia and caused by a deficiency in the enzyme UGT1A1. If not treated quickly, the build-up of bilirubin can cause significant neurological damage and become fatal. The only current treatments are phototherapy of up to 12 hours per day or a liver transplant. GNT-0003 combines an AAV8 vector with a normal copy of gene UGT1A1 coding for the bilirubin metabolizing enzyme.

The Phase 1/2 trial results published in an article titled, "Gene Therapy in Patients with the Crigler-Najjar Syndrome," showed GNT-0003 lowered bilirubin levels below the toxic threshold with a single intravenous injection. The data also confirmed the safety and tolerance of the treatment for all patients in the study. Three patients, treated with the highest dose, have been able to stop using phototherapy for the last 18 months or more.This is the first proof of the efficacy of a gene therapy in a metabolic disease of the liver.

A pivotal study of GNT-0003 is underway to confirm the Phase 1/2 results in a larger number of patients including children aged 10 years and older.

"If the results of the pivotal part confirm the efficacy of our gene therapy for Crigler-Najjar syndrome, we will be able to move on to a product license application, making the treatment available to patients and providing them with significantly improved quality of life," said Genethon CEO Frederic Revah.

The Crigler-Najjar clinical trial is being conducted with the European consortium CureCN. It started in 2017 in four centers in Europe: France (Prof. Phillipe Labrune Hopital Beclere in Clamart); Italy (Prof. Lorenzo d'Antiga Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII in Bergamo along with Prof. Brunetti-Pierri Hopital Federico II); and Netherlands (Prof. Ulrich Beuers Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam).

Professor Labrune said, "As the PI of this trial, I consider these first results to be exciting, encouraging, and even moving. We are confident the results of the pivotal part will confirm the efficacy of this gene therapy. Providing a treatment for Crigler-Najjar disease could be the beginning of new adventures for other hepatic metabolic diseases."

Professor D'Antiga added, "After haemophilia, Crigler-Najjar syndrome is the next liver disease treated by gene therapy. In this trial we managed to restore the synthesis of a non-secreted protein whose deficiency causes severe jaundice in affected patients."

Professor Beuers observed, "We are most grateful to our participating patients and the whole group of contributors who made these first promising clinical results possible. Piter Bosma in our group started experimental work on this topic 20 years ago. This proves that creativity, dedication and persistence of the whole team may pay off for our patients' well-being."

About Genethon

As a pioneer in the discovery and development of gene therapies for rare diseases, Genethon is a non-profit laboratory that was established by AFM-Telethon. A first gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy to which Genethon contributed has obtained a product license. With more than 200 scientists and professional staff, Genethon is pursuing its aim to develop therapies which change the lives of patients suffering from rare genetic diseases. Thirteen products developed by Genethon are in clinical trial for diseases of the liver, blood, immune system, muscles and eyes. Seven other products could enter clinical trials over the next five years. More information at www.genethon.fr.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822525314/en/

Contacts:

US Contact:

Charles Craig

Opus Biotech Communications

charles.s.craig@gmail.com

404-245-0591

EU Contacts:

Stephanie Bardon, Marion Delbouis

communication@genethon.fr

06.45.15.95.87
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Frost & Sullivan Institute is thrilled to announce the winners of the prestigious Enlightened Growth Leadership Awards for 2023. The esteemed recognition honors visionary companies that have demonstrated exceptional innovation, pioneering technologies, and transformative strategies in their respective industries to address global challenges such as climate change and decarbonization, waste generation, and consumption of non-renewable resources to drive a sustainable future.

"The Enlightened Growth Leadership award is significant in that it goes beyond CSR and ESG. It truly reflects that these companies and the leadership team are moving the company and the world in the right direction. The award recipients have displayed an unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries, reimagining possibilities, and creating disruptive solutions. Congratulations to the recipients for their commitment to sustainable development and for creating opportunities that benefit all stakeholders," said David Frigstad, Executive Director of the Frost & Sullivan Institute.

The award selection process is a rigorous 8-step and multi-pronged process, combining in-depth analysis of the nominees' innovations and their impact on the industry. With performance indicators such as growth excellence, innovating to zero on key global priorities, customer value chain, and technology innovation forming the backbone of the selection process, the winners represent the best of the best.

The Frost & Sullivan Institute extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of the 2023 Enlightened Growth Leadership Awards for their exceptional contributions to their industries and society. As a testament to their remarkable achievements, these companies will be recognized and honored at a prestigious awards banquet in Prague this November.

Recipients:

Adobe

Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited.

Airbnb, Inc.

AltaGas Ltd.

ANSYS, Inc

Antero Resources Corporation

ARC Resources Ltd.

Arista Networks, Inc.

Atkore

Autodesk, Inc.

The AZEK Company Inc.

B2Gold.

BeiGene, Inc.

Berry Global Inc.

Bird Construction Inc.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Bristow Group Inc.

Broadcom

Brookfield Asset Management

Builders FirstSource, Inc.

Callon Petroleum Company.

Canadian Natural.

Capital Power

Catalent, Inc

Cenovus Inc.

Ceridian HCM, Inc.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

ChampionX

Charles River Laboratories

CMC MATERIALS LLC

CNX Resources Corporation

COMFORT SYSTEMS

Comstock Resources, Inc

Constellation Software Inc.

Continental Resources, Inc.

Cornerstone Building Brands

COTERRA ENERGY INC.

About Frost & Sullivan Institute

The Frost & Sullivan Institute (FSI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to utilizing business practices to address global priorities. The genesis of the institute goes back to the vision of either creating or becoming part of, a solution that addresses threats to humanity. The Institute has identified strategic imperatives for transformation and believes that we can truly accelerate innovation to zero. To learn more about FSI, visit www.frostandsullivaninstitute.org

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Media Contact:

Bivechana Gautam

Email: bivechana.gautam@frost.com

Related Links

www.frost.com

www.frostandsullivaninstitute.org

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NEW YORK, NY / TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire - SUIC Worldwide Holdings Ltd. (OTC PINK: SUIC) recently announced that it has reached a cooperation and joint venture agreement with Taiwan's I.H. Art Group (which has established 150 stores in Taiwan and in ten other countries) to create a brand new catering franchise & supply chain-tailored AI & Fintech platform services expected to bring revolutionary changes to the global catering industry. SUIC and Beneway have started roadshows for Beneway's pre-IPO fund raising as its initial public offering edges closer.



Hank Wang is appointed by the board of directors as the new CEO of SUIC to assist in growing the platform, market segments and IPO processes. He has been serving as the CEO of I.H Art Group since 2018. He served as the Secretary General of Taiwan Quantitative Hedging Development Association before joining the I.H Art Group. Hank Wang received a BA Degree in Finance at the Tamkang University, Taiwan.

This cooperation is not only a strategic alliance between the two companies, but also a cross-border innovation endeavor. The cooperation between SUIC and I.H Art Group will bring a new perspective into the catering industry, provide consumers with more high-quality and healthier food choices, and achieve greater returns and value to the shareholders and investors of the two companies.

"We are pleased to announce our upcoming public roadshows to showcase SUIC-Beneway's story prior to our initial public offering. We thank our new partner bankers and professionals of Wall Street, for their strong support and overwhelming interest in our stock market listing. We are transforming and will grow SUIC Beneway into a long term success in multiple geographies. We aim to solidify our position as a leading player in the global catering franchise and fintech market," said Hank Wang, CEO

About SUIC Worldwide Holdings Ltd. USA

SUIC Worldwide Holdings Ltd. provides research and development, venture financing for and investing in private enterprises and the public sector that develop products and services adopting core capabilities of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, mobile payment, Big Data, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence, to enhance and streamline existing processes, and establish new and exciting business models that will create revolutionary products and services. Shareholders of SUIC will be exposed to the diverse application of advanced services in various parts of the economy. Additionally, existing and potential customers can benefit from this company's diversified portfolio of technologies. As one of the pioneering publicly traded technology companies, SUIC will help build tech-enabled businesses of the future. To learn more, please visit www.sinounitedco.com

About I.H Art Biotechnology Group

I.H Art Biotechnology Group is a chain catering brand with local food ingredients, cloud-based professional central kitchen, star R&D team. From origin to marketing, construct a comprehensive food industry chain and promote one-stop service of production and sales; creative cuisine - subversion of taste buds and senses, innovation of market - improvement of product visibility, creation of health - choice of green and healthy life, successfully creating food business opportunities. To learn more, please visit https://www.ih-art.com.tw/

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results are achieved. This press release is considered considering all Company filings contained in the Edgar Archives of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov .

Contact

SUIC Worldwide Holdings Ltd.

New Release Department

929-391-2550

SUIC

SUIC Worldwide Holdings Ltd.
Digital marketing agency Visibility 360 announces new authority marketing solutions for Independent Professionals.

Chicago, Illinois--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Visibility 360 introduces authority marketing services for independent professionals - a strategy based on the agency's proprietary "authority accelerator campaigns".

More details can be found at https://visibility-360.com/





Visibility 360 Announces Authority Marketing for Independent Professionals

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The new solution is based on agency founder and serial entrepreneur Barbara Drady's extensive experience in reputation marketing and multimedia campaigns. Barbara has created a three-step process that distills multiple types of content into an easily-manageable approach for curated, hyper-specific content that positions client brands in a position of authority while providing genuine value to its readers. She explains that the leveraged content and authority strategies propel clients to be seen, to be known, and to be chosen.

The first step is an initial consultation...a deep dive session to explore if authority marketing is the right strategy for the client. The Visibility 360 team sources the essential information to create a 12-month content plan centered around each client's goals and business profile. Visibility 360 will then leverage its expert content creators to design custom content in multiple formats, from branded news articles to infographics, slideshows, and videos.

Once reviewed by the client, V360 uses its strong relationships with the media to publish content on hundreds of high-authority digital platforms - providing independent professionals with improved visibility and exposure faster and more effectively than traditional advertising without spending hours creating content.

Barbara emphasizes the importance of consistency for long-term success:

"Each month, V360 will create hyper-targeted content for our clients," said Barbara. "Creating content is not a one-time thing - to leverage the power of the V360 Authority Accelerator so that clients are viewed as the preeminent expert in their niche; they must consistently publish new content."

About Visibility 360

Visibility 360 is a digital marketing and reputation management agency based in Chicago. Founded by Barbara Drady, a successful serial entrepreneur and business strategist, the company's solutions were used successfully by independent professionals across all sectors.

The latest update sees the agency adapt its authority marketing solutions to better meet the needs of Chicago law firms and healthcare providers, with Visibility 360 announcing that it will continue to invest in the development of custom strategies for clients in other industries.

Interested parties can take a 60-second quiz to find out if Authority Marketing is the right strategy for their practice.

Find more information at https://visibility-360.com/.

Contact Info:

Name: Visibility 360

Email: barbara@visibility-360.com

Organization: Visibility 360 Inc.

Address: 219 East Lake Shore Drive Apt. 2ABC, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States

Website: https://visibility-360.com/

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Omai Gold Mines Corp. (TSXV: OMG) (OTCQB: OMGGF) ("Omai" or the "Company") announces additional excellent drill results from the Company's Omai gold project in Guyana. Assays have been received for an additional hole drilled in the Wenot target. To date in 2023, fourteen holes have been completed totalling 5,235 metres ("m") and drilling continues. Hole 23ODD-065 encountered very wide zones of gold mineralization starting at a vertical depth of 140 m. Visible gold was identified at 22 locations within the core.

Highlights for hole 23ODD-065 include:

4.54 g/t Au over 27.5 m (including 8.17 g/t Au over 11.2 m)

1.83 g/t Au over 25.5 m

2.37 g/t Au over 12.5 m

Elaine Ellingham, President & CEO, commented "Our recent drilling that has focused on expanding the Wenot deposit has been very successful. These results for hole 23ODD-065 are excellent, intersecting a 127 m wide well-mineralized rhyolite-diorite dike complex with two very wide gold zones, one 27.5 m wide and a second 25.5 m wide. This shear-hosted dike complex extends along the 2+ km strike length of the Wenot deposit, occurring within the volcanic sequence north of the contact shear. It typically hosts gold zones secondary to the main gold zones associated with the quartz feldspar porphyry and protomylonite units that straddle the central contact shear. However the shear-hosted rhyolite-diorite dike complex in this area has proven to be particularly wide and well-mineralized. The gold zones within hole 23ODD-065 are at the northern flank of the Wenot deposit and at a relatively shallow depth. Such wide, high-grade and shallow zones will be important for a future open pit operation. Unfortunately, this hole was lost before it reached the central shear, where additional gold zones would have been expected."

"The current drilling of the Wenot target area remains focused on: 1) testing some of the undrilled gaps within the Wenot deposit model to increase the resource, 2) expanding the western "starter pit" area, and 3) providing evidence of the vast open potential at depth for the Wenot deposit. These new results and recent results with wide and good grade zones are expected to positively impact the resources as we move forward to an updated mineral resource estimate expected in late September, with an expected decision to proceed with a preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") immediately thereafter."

Hole 23ODD-065 was drilled at the western end of Wenot deposit to test a 150m wide gap along strike between holes 21ODD-022 (16.77 g/t over 6.0 m, 1.97 g/t over 16.7 m and 4.63 g/t over 20.0 m) and 21ODD-014 (2.12 g/t Au over 12.0 m and 1.16 g/t Au over 18.8 m). Hole 23ODD-065 intersected a broad 127 m wide shear-hosted complex of rhyolite and diorite dikes (See figures 1 & 2). Mineralization in the rhyolite dikes is associated with fine-grained, disseminated pyrite as well as quartz-ankerite veins and the adjacent alteration halos. Within the diorite and hornblende diorite dikes, gold mineralization is predominantly within quartz-ankerite veins and veinlet stockworks. A total of 68.3 metres of the 336 m long hole returned assays greater than 0.3 g/t Au. The main gold zones within hole 23ODD-065 occur at fairly shallow vertical depths of between 140 m to 240 m. Photos of the core for the interval 259.0 to 286.5 which assayed 4.54 g/t Au over 27.5 m are shown in figure 4.

Hole 23ODD-065 was planned to also test the metasediments, that have proven to host additional significant wide gold zones in several locations along the 2.5 km long Wenot shear corridor (figure 3). For example, hole 23ODD-063 intersected 4.07 g/t Au over 31.1 m within the southern metasedimentary unit and additional intersections include 1.61 g/t Au over 18m (OM-372), 5.7 g/t Au over 14m (12WED01B), 2.1 g/t Au over 27.5m (OM-0309) and 1.4 g/t Au over 42m (OM-731). The Company believes these gold zones within the metasediments are more continuous along the length of the Wenot deposit, however large areas have not yet been drilled (figure 3). The early termination of hole 23ODD-065 resulted in the gold zones within the metasediments not being tested by this hole. The Company is assessing how best to explore these potentially significant zones.

Hole 23ODD-065 ended prematurely when the drill rods became wedged. Unfortunately, the hole also did not reach the central contact shear where the main gold zone is hosted by a quartz feldspar porphyry dike and protomylonite that straddle the major contact between the metavolcanics to the north and the metasediments to the south.

Figure 3. Wenot Gold Deposit - Compilation of Gold Intersections (hole 23ODD-065 in yellow)

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Table 1. Recent Drill Results for Wenot - Holes 23ODD-63 to 23ODD-065

From To Gold

Grade g/t metres grade

x

width 23ODD-065 197.0 209.5 2.37 12.5 29.6 219.5 223.5 1.33 4.0 5.3 241.0 244.0 0.73 3.0 2.2 252.2 255.2 0.42 3.0 1.3 259.0 286.5 4.54 27.5 124.9 includes: 271.0 282.2 8.17 11.2 91.5 296.0 321.5 1.83 25.5 46.7 23ODD-063

(Previously

announced) 22.9 24 2.49 1.1 59.5 60.2 11.03 0.7 128.5 131.5 0.39 3.0 220.5 225 1.03 4.5 234.1 243.7 3.38 9.6 248.5 255.3 3.09 6.8 257.5 264 0.41 6.5 270.2 284 0.30 13.8 291.2 316.4 1.18 25.2 331.8 337.8 0.35 6.0 355.9 387 4.07 31.1 Includes: 377.1 387 6.82 9.9 392.5 394 5.36 1.5 398.5 405 1.10 6.5 412.4 414.2 14.21 1.8 450 457 0.57 7.0 487 487.5 18.32 0.5 512.5 514.5 0.65 2.0 521 521.5 3.86 0.5 23ODD-064

(previously

announced) 239.0 240.3 3.92 1.3 255.0 262.5 0.67 7.5 288.3 289.5 0.70 1.2 294.9 298.2 1.44 3.3 365.7 369.0 1.97 3.3 404.0 409.0 0.49 5.0 466.0 475.5 2.03 9.5 489.0 502.0 5.86 13.0 506.0 508.0 2.68 2.0 512.5 515.0 3.72 2.5 557.6 566.7 1.77 9.1 655.0 675.2 5.18 20.2 includes 667.3 675.2 12.70 7.9

**True widths vary as mineralization at Wenot is generally hosted within stockwork vein systems with alteration halos, with an estimated true width range of 70-90%. Cut-off grade 0.30 g/t Au with maximum 3m internal dilution is applied.

The most recent NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Omai property, dated December 2, 20221 includes a Wenot resource of 756,600 indicated ounces of gold grading 1.34 g/t Au and 1,112,600 inferred ounces of gold grading 1.72 g/t Au. For the adjacent Gilt Creek deposit, the NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate is 1,151,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 3.22 g/t Au and 665,000 inferred ounces of gold grading 3.35 g/t Au.

An additional three to four holes are planned for the current drill program, to be followed by an updated mineral resource estimate, expected to be completed early in the fall. The Company intends to proceed with a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") immediately thereafter.

Quality Control

Omai maintains an internal QA/QC program to ensure sampling and analysis of all exploration work is conducted in accordance with best practices. Certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates are entered at regular intervals. Samples are sealed in plastic bags.

Samples from the Wenot drilling were shipped to ActLabs, a certified laboratory in Georgetown Guyana, respecting the best chain of custody practices. At the laboratory, samples are dried, crushed up to 80% passing 2 mm, riffle split (250 g), and pulverized to 95% passing 105 m, including cleaner sand. Fifty grams of pulverized material is then fire assayed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AA). Initial assays with results above 3.0 ppm gold are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish. For samples with visible gold where initial assays do not run above 3 g/t, a second pulp is made from the coarse reject and an additional fire assay completed. Certified reference materials and blanks meet with QA/QC specifications. Certain samples with potential or evidence of coarse gold were selectively analysed at ActLabs by Metallic Screening whereby a representative 500-gram sample split is sieved at 149m, with assays performed on the entire +149 m fraction and two splits of the -149 m fraction. When assays have been completed on the coarse and fine portions of the large sample, a final assay is calculated based on the weight of each fraction.

Qualified Person

Elaine Ellingham is a Qualified Person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" and has approved the technical information contained in this news release. Ms. Ellingham is not considered to be independent for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

1 The Company filed an NI43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate of the Omai Gold Property, Potaro Mining District No. 2, Guyana", prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc dated December 2, 2022 on the SEDAR website www.sedarplus.ca.

ABOUT OMAI GOLD

Omai Gold Mines Corp. holds a 100% interest in the Omai Prospecting License that includes the past producing Omai gold mine in Guyana, and a 100% interest in the adjoining Eastern Flats Mining Permits. The Company announced an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") October 20, 2022 that includes a 14% expansion to the Wenot shear-hosted gold deposit and an initial NI 43-101 MRE for the adjacent Gilt Creek intrusion-hosted deposit. Once South America's largest producing gold mine, Omai produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1993 and 2005. Mining ceased at a time when the average gold price was less than US$400 per ounce. As a brownfields project, Omai benefits from good access and a wealth of historical data that provides knowledge of the geology, nature of the gold mineralization on the property, as well as metallurgy and historical recoveries. The Company's priorities for 2023 are to drill the key exploration targets that hold potential for significant new discoveries while continuing to expand the Wenot deposit in anticipation of an updated resource later this year.

For further information, please see our website www.omaigoldmines.com or contact:

Elaine Ellingham P.Geo.

President & CEO

elaine@omaigoldmines.com

Phone: +1 416-473-5351

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 news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the timing of completion of exploration, trenching and drill programs, and the potential for the Omai Gold Project to allow Omai to build significant gold Mineral Resources at attractive grades, and forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; the price of gold and copper; and the results of current exploration. Further, the Mineral Resource data set out in the Omai Gold news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the indicated level of recovery will be realized. 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Figure 1. Location Map for Drill Hole 23ODD-065

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Figure 2. Cross-Section for Hole 23ODD-065

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Table 2. Drill hole coordinates for holes 23ODD-065 to 068

Hole ID Azimuth

(degrees) Inclination (degrees) Final

Depth

(m) Easting Northing Assay

Status 23ODD-

065 180 -52 336 304835 601900 Reporting 23ODD-

066 196 -51 410 304375 601764 Pending 23ODD-

067 183 -50.5 491 304697 601843 Pending 23ODD-

068 182 -54 in progress 305483 601882 Hole not

completed

Figure 4. Core Photos for DDH 23ODD-065 (259.0-286.5: 4.54 g/t Au over 27.5 m)

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Currie Rose Resources Inc. (TSXV: CUI) ("Currie Rose" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has commenced core drilling at its 100%-owned North Queensland Vanadium Project ("NQVP") located about 500 km west of Townsville, Australia, in the Julia Creek-Richmond critical mineral zone.

The program is designed to provide large diameter core (100mm) from within the defined Cambridge vanadium deposit that hosts the NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Resource of 61.33 Mt @ 0.34% V2O5 and Inferred Resource of 144.87 Mt @ 0.33% V2O5.

A ten (10) drill hole, multi-use program is planned to provide sufficient sample for:

Ore zone metallurgical testwork

Overburden and footwall studies

Additional multielement data

Basic geotechnical data for mining studies

Comprehensive stratigraphic data from compressive detailed geological logging and downhole geophysical gamma and density logging

Detailed mineralogy studies

In addition, one or two holes will be selected and conditioned for water monitoring purposes.

The Cambridge deposit sits within the Toolebuc Formation, a flat lying sequence that consists of black carbonaceous and bituminous shale, minor siltstone with limestone lenses and coquinites with previous drilling indicating that V2O5 mineralisation sits from surface to 30m vertical depth.

Drilling will target the full depth of mineralisation and is "infill" drilling, bringing drill spacing to 500m centres for most of the previously defined deposit.

The completion of this work and the various studies will culminate in an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).

President and CEO Simon Coyle said: "We are excited to get this program underway and look forward to bringing shareholders updates on the various studies as they come to hand. We expect this work to add significant detail to our knowledge base and provide the springboard to accelerate our project to the next level."

"Vanadium has been getting a lot of attention lately, specifically in Queensland where the government recently invested into a multi-billion infrastructure project which would trial vanadium battery technology as well as support local industry players. We know this is just the beginning of the journey where vanadium is widely recognized as an effective and sustainable solution to static energy storage, and Currie Rose is excited to be part of the movement," added Mr. Coyle.

Currie Rose's NQVP covers approximately 1,250 km2 in northwest Queensland and hosts NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Cambridge Resource of 61.33 Mt @ 0.34% V2O5 and Inferred Resource of 144.87 Mt @ 0.33% V2O5, open for expansion.





Figure 1 - North Queensland Vanadium Project Location

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About Currie Rose Resources Inc.

Currie Rose is a publicly traded battery metals exploration and development company identifying high-value assets in resource- and research-friendly jurisdictions. The Company's immediate focus is the advanced NQV Project in Queensland, Australia. The NQV Project hosts the Cambridge Deposit with an Indicated Mineral Resource of 61.33 Mt @ 0.34% V2O5 and 234.6 ppm MoO3 along with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 144.87 Mt @ 0.33% V2O5 and 241.9 ppm MoO3 (Dufresne et al., 2022). The Company additionally owns Kotai Energy and the option to acquire 100% of the intellectual property rights associated with the Hydrogen Project from Curtin University in Western Australia. Please visit our website at www.currierose.com.

For additional information, please contact:

Iryna Zheliasko, Investor Relations - Canada

Office: (+1) 647-249-9298

Email: communications@currierose.com

Andrew Rowell, Investor Relations - Australia

M: +61 400 466 226

Email: andrew@whitenoisecomms.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.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and reviewed and approved on behalf of Currie Rose Resources by Michael Griffiths, FAusIMM, VP Exploration and Director for Currie Rose Resources, a Qualified Person.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions or expectations of future performance, including without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plans regarding the NQV Project. 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". Forward-Looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this press release, including that the Company will receive the required corporate and regulatory approvals, including TSXV's final approval, that that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner and assumptions regarding political and regulatory stability in financial and capital markets.

These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary, include, without limitation, that the Company will not be able to proceed with the NQV Project as intended, or that the Company does not receive the required regulatory approvals, including the TSXV's final approval, recent market volatility and potentially negative capital raising conditions, the conflict in Eastern Europe, the Company's ability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risks and factors that the Company is unaware of at this time. 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177937
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Canadian Silver Hunter Inc. (TSXV: AGH.H) ("CSH") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") with 15083974 Canada Inc. ("CAN") on August 15th 2023, for the sale by CSH of a group of 45 mining claims totaling approximately 1300 hectares, located in Denton Township, West Timmins Ontario, known as the "Lost Dog" property (the "Property").

Terms of the Sale

Pursuant to the Agreement, in consideration for the transfer of a 100% registered and beneficial interest in the Property from CSH to CAN, CAN will make a cash payment to CSH of $165,000. CSH will retain a 1% royalty on net smelter returns payable from future commercial production from the Property. Additionally, CAN will grant to Timothy Towers a 2% royalty on net smelter returns payable from future commercial production from the Property.

The Agreement remains subject to CSH exercising in full its option to acquire the Property pursuant to the option agreement with Timothy Towers dated October 23, 2020, as amended, by making a cash payment of $40,000 and issuing 500,000 shares to Timothy Towers, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Canadian Silver Hunter, Inc.

Canadian Silver Hunter Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of gold, silver, cobalt, nickel and copper properties in Ontario and Quebec.

For more information, please contact:

Jeffrey Hunter, President & Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: (416) 707-4230

jhunter@cshi.ca

www.canadiansilverhunter.ca

Reader Advisory

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information," including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may," "would," "could," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "must," "next," "propose," "new," "potential," "prospective," "target," "future," "verge," "favourable," "implications," and "ongoing," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing statements, any discussion of the potential of exploration targets is forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market, and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178034
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - European Energy Metals (TSXV: FIN) (FSE: W28) ("European Energy" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% interest in seven mineral reservations (the "reservations") located in northern and Central Finland (the "Proposed Transaction").

Under the terms of the Proposed Transaction, the Company will acquire all of the shares of BB Gold Inc., a company existing under the laws of Newfoundland and Labrador and its wholly owned Finnish subsidiary, Sisu Exploration Oy, the direct owner of the reservations, from a private individual (the "Vendor") in exchange for the issuance of 1,250,000 common shares (the "Consideration Shares"). In addition to any statutory resale restrictions, the Consideration Shares will be subject to the following contractual resale restrictions:

Number of Consideration Shares Contractual Resale Restriction Period 500,000 No contractual resale restriction 250,000 Three months from the Closing Date 250,000 Six months from the Closing Date 250,000 Nine months from the Closing Date

The Vendor will also be granted a 1% net smelter royalty on six of the seven Concessions.

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About the Concessions

Through this agreement the company acquires a 100% interest in 7 Mineral Reservations covering approximately 3,106.5 km2 as outlined in the Table and Map at the end of the press release and described more fully below.

Kontti and Kontti 2 Reservations

These reservations are underlain by a series of approximately 1.8 billion year old granitoids, including S-type "microcline" granites intruding migmatites and metasedimentary rocks of the Central Lapland Granitoid Complex and hosting numerous pegmatite occurrences. These reservations are considered prospective for battery and rare metals (Lithium, Cesium and Tantalum), and rare earth elements (Ytrium, Niobium and Fluorine) among others.

Haara Reservation

This reservation in the northern part of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB) is also underlain by a series of approximately 1.8 billion year old granitoids, including 2 mica granites intruding meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanic rocks and pegmatites. This reservation is considered prospective for battery and rare metals (Lithium, Cesium and Tantalum), and rare earth elements (Ytrium, Niobium and Fluorine) among others.

Mairivaara and Nousu Reservations

These reservations are underlain by mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB) and are considered prospective for precious and base metals.

Angelvaara

This reservation is underlain primarily by mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks in the Eastern portion of the CLGB and is considered prospective for base (N-Cu-Co) and precious metals.

Kiila

This reservation is underlain primarily by meta-sedimentary rocks of the Pohjaanma Schist Belt which hosts the Kaustinen Li-Pegmatite cluster of deposits, currently under development and lies within 25 km of Keliber Oys Battery Metal Processing Plant in Kokkola, Finland. This reservation is contiguous with the Lappajarvi Reservation which is the subject of an agreement between the company and Capella Minerals Limited (See press release dated March 20, 2023). This reservation is considered prospective for battery and rare metals (Lithium, Cesium and Tantalum), and rare earth elements (Ytrium, Niobium and Fluorine) among others.

Commented Jeremy Poirier, President and CEO of European Energy Metals, "With this acquisition we will control over 5,000 km2 of mineral reservations considered highly prospective for lithium, battery and rare metals potential. As Finland is becoming an emerging global leader in the space with its progressive Critical Minerals Policies and Lithium supply-chain infrastructure development we are now a well positioned, major hard-rock lithium explorer in Finland."

R. Tim Henneberry, P.Geo. (BC), a Director of European Energy Metals Corp., is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the technical content disclosed in this release.

About European Energy Metals Corp.

European Energy Metals Corp. is a junior mining company currently focussed on the Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum Finnish Pegmatite Project in central Finland. Governing bodies in Europe and Finland are legislating environmentally friendly and energy independent laws and policies. One of the key components is access to REE and, specifically, lithium. The company concessions are located within 11 miles of Keliber mine being constructed which is expected to begin production H2 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Jeremy Poirier, CEO

Telephone: 604-722-9842

Email: info@europeanenergymetals.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.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including the completion of the Proposed Transaction. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is 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 information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward-looking information include the failure to satisfy the conditions to closing, including receipt of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Permit Holder Reg. Number Permit Name Permit Status Date of Submission Date of Decision Date of Expiry Area, km2 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2022:0048 Nousu Valid 2022-06-28 2022-09-07 2024-06-27 489.19 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2022:0069 Mairivaara Valid 2022-09-17 2022-11-29 2023-09-16 465.35 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0047 Haara Valid 2023-05-03 2023-06-22 2025-05-02 307.3 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0048 Kontti Granted 2023-05-03 2023-06-22 2025-05-02 1406.32 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0049 Angelvaara Application 2023-05-10 210.91 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0056 Kontti 2 Application 2023-05-31 168.13 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0068* Kiila Application 2023-07-26 59.29





Figure 1

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Scottsdale, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Sibannac, Inc. (OTC Pink: SNNC), a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), announced the following:

Sibannac, Inc. is proud to announce the appointment of Karl Gottschalk, as CEO of its Oklahoma City-based subsidiary, Immersive Brand Concepts, Inc. Immersive is a progressive and forward-thinking wellness company that specializes in the design and distribution of a variety of all-natural products -- with an impressive and expanding line that includes Organic Health and Immunity, Hangover Prevention and Kratom Energy.

Prior to joining Immersive, Mr. Gottschalk has held various Executive positions, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership while achieving remarkable results. As the National Director for Jeeter/Dreamfields, Mr. Gottschalk successfully reformulated all strains of their pre-roll offerings, resulting in nearly double the output. His integration of Automation also significantly decreased labor costs while improving product quality simultaneously.

At Jeeter, Mr. Gottschalk also spearheaded the implementation of vape cart manufacturing automation and updated cannabis infusion methodologies as part of his tenure, which also heavily involved business growth and opportunity assessments. Prior to Jeeter/Dreamfields, Mr. Gottschalk co-founded Kola Labs Inc., where he engineered solventless THC remediation technology and developed proprietary CBD isolation systems that can produce as much as 300 kg of CBD isolate daily. He has served as the Vice President of Operations, Engineering and Quality Control for Intelliguard, Inc, specializing in narcotic and medication RFID tracking. During his tenure there, he managed a team of Engineers to reengineer an anesthesia cart by utilizing RFID technology to track narcotics and medications that is still widely used today.

Mr. Gottschalk's notable achievements also include his tenure as the Automation Engineering Manager for Becton Dickinson & Safety Syringes Inc., where he managed high-speed automation engineering projects and FDA audits. Prior to that, he was a Lean Manufacturing Specialist for Guidant & Abbott Laboratories, with a focus on cardiovascular solutions. As the CEO of Immersive, Mr. Gottschalk will be implementing a complete Quality Management System to ensure that products are being produced at the highest level of quality to meet the stringent standards that are outlined in ISO 13485.

David Mersky, CEO of SIBANNAC, Inc. and Parent Company of Immersive, said, "We are thrilled that Mr. Gottschalk is taking the helm of Immersive Brand Concepts as its CEO. His multi-disciplined skill sets in manufacturing and formulations are in the upper echelon in the cannabis and alternative health industries. Mr. Gottschalk's vast experience in both the highly technical but also business components of the manufacturing space, make him uniquely qualified to head Immersive as Sibannac will rely on Karl to design and manufacture innovative, next-gen health products for the company."

Mr. Gottschalk has created unique Kratom formulations that will be a focus for the expanding lineup of products that will be offered by Immersive's flagship brand Let's Go Energy, in the near future. Under his leadership, Immersive will be able to expand its current offerings and develop new products that cross over into several different lucrative industries of health, Immunity and all-natural Pet Care.

Immersive will be offering a white label contract and manufacturing service for select Clientele. This forthcoming system will allow select brands to expand their footprint and or re-establish market dominance by leveraging operational excellence and carefully developed formulations that create immediate market appeal; all without the hindrance of the extensive cost typically associated with research and development. The addition of Karl to the Sibannac team allows the company to expand its footprint and offerings, with the addition of a manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City. The addition of Immersive under Karl vastly expands Sibannac's contract manufacturing capabilities through its Campus Co. platform, but also provides cutting-edge formulations for the company's Kratom and other infused products. Immersive's location in the middle of the country also provides logistical efficiencies for distribution.

"I am optimistic for the future of Immersive Brand Concepts. We look forward to the launch of our white label division, announcing exciting celebrity brand contracts as well as our flagship brand, "Lets Go!" Energy. This is a very exciting time for the manufacturing, marketing and sales sides of this enterprise. The synergy, work ethic and decades of successful experience in each department of this company is rare. This company and the people in it is something that I am proud to be a part of and honored to lead along with David Mersky and the rest of the Sibannac team," said Immersive CEO, Karl Gottschalk.

About Immersive Brand Concepts

Immersive Brand Concepts, Inc is a subsidiary of Sibannac Inc. and is an industry innovator in delivering exceptional products for Hangover Prevention, Organic Immune Supplements and Kratom. With a commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, the company strives to shape the future of these industries through its brands, partnerships, operational excellence, and cutting-edge formulation and manufacturing processes.

About Sibannac

Sibannac, Inc. (OTC Pink: $SNNC) is a Nevada corporation founded in 1999 and located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sibannac currently specializes in creating and selling premium next generation wellness products in the consumer packaging goods space. In addition to mainstream supplements, the Company is producing Kratom and Hemp-derived Delta-8/9 products, and Amanita mushroom edibles for wholesale and retail sales and distribution. Sibannac provides contract manufacturing and white labeling services for independent firms and creates and manages its own brands from the concept phase through to distribution. Sibannac has opened its platform to outside clients to offer its marketing and brand-building assets, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, The Campus Co. and Immersive Brand Concepts.

More from Sibannac - For additional information and product updates, please follow us at The Campus Co. and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sibannacinc.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Sibannac, Inc. (the "Company"), its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 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, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of various factors. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.

Media Contact: IR@theCampusCo.com

Twitter: @SibannacInc

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177959
MBABANE  The European Union (EU), International Trade Centre (ITC) and House on Fire, in collaboration with Eswatini Government, have partnered to provide an incubator programme for 10 budding MSMEs in the handcraft and artisanal food industries.

As part of the Artisanal Incubator Programme, the 10 up-and-coming Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) got a remarkable opportunity to showcase their products during the fifth edition of the Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival held last weekend at House on Fire in Malkerns. The event attracted over 9 000 attendees and 100 traders. The MSME will also have an opportunity to showcase their products in the upcoming and highly anticipated MTN Bushfire Festival to be held from May 30 to June 2, 2024. The Artisanal Incubator Programme is part of the ITC-Alliances for Action programme Eswatini: Promoting growth through competitive alliances funded by the EU, whose main aim is to support job creation for small farmers, entrepreneurs, and artisans. ITC Project Operations Manager Mawenzi Dlamini said the Artisanal Incubator Programme is a one-year programme designed to support, capacitate, and grow 10 Swazi MSME brands and their products and business to become market ready.

Implemented

It is implemented by House on Fire, with their team of consultants including Dala Spaces, Khokho Collection founder, International MSMEs trainers, local food industry professionals and the House on Fire festival team, who manage over 200 traders a year through their various events, across food and hand-craft. The incubatees who have been selected to be part of the programme are; Sibongile Beverages, Patience Delights, Miss Biltong, Spice Sisters, Shunem Candle works, Indigenous Africana, Beads Emporium, Favourite, Babalo Food, and Benanial. They shared their excitement for the rare and first opportunity to trade in the countrys flagship food and lifestyle festival and experience first-hand feedback from customers.

EU Programme Officer Luis Miguel Pascoal said the EU has partnered with the ITC, Eswatini Government, and House on Fire because they believe that MSMEs are central to the transition to a sustainable and digital economy. MSMEs are also the major drivers of innovation. They bring innovative solutions to challenges like climate change and social cohesion and can help spread this innovation throughout Eswatini. That is why the EU is working with the ITC, Eswatini Government, and House on Fire to support different types of MSMEs at different stages of growth to try and help them to maximise their potential, he said.
Industry-leading provider of TCA for institutional investors further enhances TT cross-asset offering

CHICAGO and NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform provider, and Abel Noser Solutions, LLC (ANS) announced today a definitive agreement for TT to acquire ANS, the industry-leading provider of transaction cost analysis (TCA) for investment managers, brokers, asset owners and consultants, from Abel Noser Holdings, a majority-owned portfolio company of Estancia Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction, expected to close on Aug. 31, were not disclosed.

The acquisition represents TT's extension into the multi-asset data and analytics space, further building on its expansion into new asset classes. In June, TT announced the establishment of a new foreign exchange (FX) business line, TT FX, following its entry into the fixed income space in March with the acquisition of AxeTrading. TT has long been a leader in technology solutions for listed derivatives.

Abel Noser Solutions, the fintech subsidiary of Abel Noser Holdings, provides comprehensive pre-trade, real-time and post-trade TCA products and services to both the buy side and sell side for a range of asset classes, including global equities, FX, futures, fixed income and options. Abel Noser also offers a broad range of compliance reporting, trade surveillance and algorithmic trading solutions.

TT CEO Keith Todd said: "This acquisition enhances our appeal to the buy side with an offering that spans multiple asset classes which we can fortify with the wealth of anonymized data harnessed through our platform. Abel Noser's pioneering solutions have for decades been critical to the success of buy-side participants across the globe who recognize that the ability to reliably analyze transaction costs is essential. We intend to introduce the tools into the listed derivatives space through our vast client base, build on Abel Noser's FX TCA capabilities as we roll out our new TT FX initiative and offer the firm's clients the full breadth of TT services available."

Peter Weiler, Abel Noser CEO, said: "We are delighted to become a part of the TT family. Our complementary multi-asset platform offerings will drive our business to new heights by continuing to deliver exceptional service and additional product innovation at an accelerated pace to our clients. This strategic move represents a significant milestone in our company's history and will enable us to leverage the global reach of TT to better serve our customers and offer broader opportunities to our employees and partners."

As a result of the acquisition, Abel Noser's TCA and regulatory services will be made available to TT clients. Abel Noser's clients will be able to leverage the comprehensive services and functionality of the TT platform. Over time, Abel Noser's analytics will be integrated into the TT platform.

Abel Noser LLC, an agency-only brokerage that provides a range of trading services and analytics for investment managers, asset owners, investment consultants and brokers, is not part of the transaction and will continue to operate as an independent agency-only execution broker-dealer.

TT will acquire START, a broker-neutral trade optimization platform, from Abel Noser LLC in a second transaction expected to close by the first quarter of 2024.

Foley & Lardner LLP is acting as legal advisor to TT. Ardea Partners LP is serving as financial advisor, and Seward & Kissel LLP is acting as legal advisor to Abel Noser Holdings.

About Trading Technologies

Trading Technologies ( www.tradingtechnologies.com ) is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology platform provider to the global capital markets industry. The company's award-winning TT platform connects to the world's major international exchanges and liquidity venues in listed derivatives alongside a growing number of asset classes, including fixed income and cryptocurrencies. The TT platform delivers advanced tools for trade execution and order management, market data solutions, analytics, trade surveillance, risk management and infrastructure services to the world's leading sell-side institutions, buy-side firms and exchanges. The company's blue-chip client base includes the Tier 1 banks as well as brokers, money managers, hedge funds, proprietary traders, Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), commercial hedgers and risk managers. These firms rely on the TT ecosystem to manage their end-to-end trading operations. In addition, exchanges utilize TT's technology to deliver innovative solutions to their market participants. TT also strategically partners with technology companies to make their complementary offerings available to Trading Technologies' global client base through the TT ecosystem.

About Abel Noser Solutions

Abel Noser Solutions has long been respected as a leader in the campaign to lower the costs associated with trading. The company is the industry-leading provider of transaction cost analysis with over 350 global clients subscribing to its multi-asset TCA and compliance products directly or through a network of resellers, distribution partners and strategic alliances. In 2022, Abel Noser was named the Top "Best-in-Class" Vendor in the Global Multi-Asset Class TCA Aite Matrix Report. Learn more at www.abelnoser.com.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/trading-technologies-to-acquire-abel-noser-solutions-301906430.html
Miller Brings Decades of Experience to Scale Revenue Growth, Channel Expansion

REDWOOD CITY, California, Aug. 22, 2023, the industry leader in multicloud data governance for application lifecycles, today announced the promotion of Deron Miller to Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Miller is a seasoned sales executive with a successful track record of building, leading, and optimizing enterprise software sales organizations at scale. He will oversee global sales, customer success, and revenue operations to continue Delphix's industry leadership in data automation, compliance, and governance.

"Working at Delphix has been rewarding on many fronts," said Miller. "While we have achieved much, there's more to be done. As businesses evolve, they are increasingly looking to Delphix for data solutions in compliance, DevOps, AI/ML, and other key areas of software development and innovation."

Delphix also announced the promotion of Steve Barrett to General Manager of International. Based in London, Steve will manage all go-to-market activities for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

These announcements come on the heels of Delphix achieving a fourth consecutive year of accelerated revenue growth. In addition, key strategic partnerships with Microsoft and Dell are set to provide significant growth opportunities for Miller and the Delphix team.

With Microsoft, Delphix Compliance Services for Microsoft Fabricand Azure Data Factoryprovide intelligent, scalable, and seamless sensitive data discovery and masking to ensure multicloud data compliance. With Dell, Delphix has launched two offerings, the DevOps Data Appliancefor DevOps test data management and the Continuous Data Protection Appliancefor ransomware recovery.

"Deron and Steve's roles are critical as we look to the future," said Jedidiah Yueh, Delphix CEO. "Their leadership will be instrumental in ensuring we continue to meet our customers' evolving needs for data governance, compliance, and automation."

About Delphix

Delphix is the industry leader for multicloud data governance for the application lifecycle.

Businesses need to transform application delivery but struggle to balance speed with data security and compliance. The Delphix DevOps Data Platform automates data discovery and masking while rapidly deploying data to development, test, AI/ML and recovery environments. With Delphix, customers modernize applications, adopt multicloud, automate test data management, achieve CI/CD, and recover from downtime events such as ransomware up to 2x faster, while ensuring data compliance and governance.

Leading companies, including Choice Hotels International, Worldpay, Michelin, Molina Healthcare, and Fannie Mae, use Delphix to accelerate digital transformation, mitigate risks, and reduce costs. Visit us at www.delphix.com.

###
The two-day event drew dozens of government officials and technology partners for a retrospective on progress and visionary gaze into the future, all under the banner of collaboration

PEMBROKE, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Revenue Solutions, Inc. (RSI), a leading provider of advanced SaaS solutions for government revenue management and control, has successfully concluded its eagerly anticipated 2023 PULSE User Conference, bringing together dozens of state, county and city officials and business partners in a demonstration of the power of cloud-based and AI-powered technology to improve government efficiency, enhance revenues and streamline operations.







The two-day event, held at The Colonnade Hotel in Boston on August 9-10, celebrated innovation, expertise, and collaboration. Notable state government participants included the states of Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the province of Saskatchewan. Additionally, the conference proudly hosted representatives from local governments, such as Cook County, Illinois; Baltimore County, Maryland; and the cities of Chesapeake, Virginia, and St. Louis, Missouri. This diverse gathering underscored the far-reaching influence of RSI's solutions, reshaping revenue management for governments of varying scales.

The 2023 PULSE User Conference showcased RSI's commitment to shaping the future of tax solutions. On Day 1, attendees were immersed in a comprehensive understanding of RSI's vision, strategic direction, and company priorities during the enlightening RSI Product & Company Roadmap session. The session also unveiled the exciting plans for revX, highlighting the remarkable progress achieved to date.

A standout moment during the event was the broadening "Project Lessons Learned" session. This engaging session featured project managers from Baltimore County and RSI providing invaluable insights into their retrospective after the successful implementation of the new tax system. The session highlighted not only their achievements, including the successful completion of the inaugural tax roll process and annual billing but also emphasized the potential for further improvement. Attendees gained a deeper understanding of how even subtle process adjustments can pave the way for enhanced government revenue solutions in the future. This real-world experience served as a source of inspiration, reinforcing the power of collaboration, effective project management, and the ongoing journey towards refining and optimizing tax processes.

"RSI's unwavering commitment to our customers is at the heart of everything we do. The PULSE User Conference exemplifies our dedication to streamlining their processes and enhancing citizen services," said John Skinner, CEO of RSI. "Collaborating with our valued clients is what RSI stands for, and this event showcased the power of collective innovation that drives us forward. We are excited to continue providing transformative solutions that empower our clients to excel."

The event continued to captivate attendees on Day 2 with a live demonstration of RSI's revX Platform and revX Revenue Integrated Tax Solution. The RSI Product Management Team provided an in-depth showcase of the revX product, offering insights into its key features and functionalities, further underscoring RSI's dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions.

The conference also fostered enriching dialogue and collaboration through sessions like the Customer Roundtable, where representatives from RSI's customer community shared their valuable experiences and insights, reaffirming the power of partnership in shaping effective tax solutions.

"By collaborating closely with our clients, through events like the PULSE User Conference, we foster collective innovation that propels us forward. This conference serves as a platform for us to exchange ideas, insights, and experiences, enabling us to provide transformative solutions that empower our government customers to excel in revenue management," expressed Jean Orlando, President of RSI.

The Cloud & AI for Tax Administration session, led by Richard Zak, Director of Data Governance & Compliance from Microsoft Worldwide Public Sector, showcased the powerful potential of cloud technology and artificial intelligence in tax administration. Attendees gained invaluable insights into harnessing these capabilities while ensuring robust security and compliance practices.

"At RSI, we're constantly pushing the boundaries of technology to create better solutions for our customers. PULSE provided us with an exciting opportunity to showcase the advancements we're making and the impact they will have on our clients' operational landscape," said John Kitonis, Chief Technical Officer of RSI. "Our investments in technology will undoubtedly lead to their enhanced efficiency and performance, marking a new era of excellence."

With the PULSE User Conference 2023 successfully concluded, RSI stands poised to carry forward the momentum of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. As a testament to RSI's commitment to shaping the future of tax solutions, the conference marked a pivotal milestone in advancing the industry.

About RSI

Founded in 1996, Revenue Solutions, Inc. is the trusted, collaborative partner leading governments to innovation with the only cloud-native packaged software solution, revX. Offered as Software as a Service (SaaS), revX is the preferred platform for government revenue processing. We empower public agencies and offices with solutions that improve citizen services, increase operational efficiency, collect additional revenue, and maximize compliance. For over 25 years, RSI has delivered transformative technology solutions across hundreds of client projects throughout the United States and Canada.

Contact Information

Mike Albanese

mike.albanese@newswire.com

(800) 713-7278

SOURCE: RSI

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775299/RSIs-PULSE-User-Conference-2023-Showcased-the-Triumph-of-Collaboration-and-Innovation-in-Government-Revenue-Solutions
DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Aircon , the first gateway-as-a-service in the air cargo industry, announced today that it has closed a $3.3 seed round led by Underscore VC . This round of funding will allow Aircon to invest in deeper partnerships across the air cargo and freight markets, global gateway expansion, growing its AI tech infrastructure, and attracting top talent.

The air freight market is lagging in digital transformation, even further behind than the rest of the supply chain industry. The industry still operates largely through manual processes involving spreadsheets, phone calls, and paper. And while consolidation cuts cost by 40 percent, most forwarders skip out on it all together because it requires detailed coordination, optimal cargo mix and physical gateway locations.

Aircon is transforming the highly fragmented and inefficient air cargo industry through consolidation. Through its network of shared air freight gateways, Aircon combines shipments leveraging AI and machine learning to consolidate cargo heading to the same destination while optimizing space on aircraft. This enables forwarders of all sizes to have access to consolidation options worldwide, creating operating efficiencies and improving margins.

As the industry's first digital platform that enables consolidation across the entire air freight market, Aircon provides an instant quote and simplifies the entire air freight booking, monitoring, and cost cutting process. The Aircon algorithms pool shipments that combine dense and voluminous cargo to achieve the master consolidation available while passing the "net effect" of savings back to the freight forwarder.

"Aircon was founded to allow forwarders of all sizes access to consolidation options worldwide with a unified goal toward giving the freight forwarders they partner with, a competitive edge," said Chris Condon, Founder & CEO of Aircon. "We are challenging the status quo of long-term dominance by large established players and offering small and medium forwarders a seat at the table for the very first time. Through consolidation, we are in a unique position to contribute to the long-term growth and sustainability in the air cargo space."

The Dallas-based air cargo platform was founded in 2021 by Condon, along with Irl Wakefield, Vice President of Operations, who together have decades of experience in air transportation and global logistics. Dennis Oleksyuk, who brings deep data science expertise, joined as Chief Technology Officer in 2022. Dennis spent the past 5 years as VP of Engineering and Director of Engineering at DataRobot. Prior to DataRobot, Dennis led a team of engineers building an automated data science solution at Nutonian, which was acquired by DataRobot.

"When we first met with the Aircon team, we were blown away by the depth of their knowledge in the airfreight industry along with their vision for Aircon to digitize the airfreight industry," said John Pearce, at Underscore VC. "The Aircon team has a unique combination of deep airfreight experience paired with data science expertise that will help to capture the large opportunity ahead. As firm supporters of uniquely qualified founders solving painful problems, we're proud to back the Aircon team and lead their seed round."

"Before we started working with Aircon, we couldn't compete on the air freight side of the logistics business," said Erik Koistinen, Vice President of International Operations, Delta Express. "Aircon has leveled the playing field and the air cargo market will be transformed as a result. Using a shared gateway system has brought down costs by 37 percent, increased efficiency and reliability and eliminated wasted dollars and time."

Aircon enables businesses, e-commerce platforms and retailers to access more affordable and efficient shipping capabilities, streamline their supply chain, reduce transportation expenses, provide faster and more reliable delivery services, and improve overall operational efficiency.

The consolidation approach tackles the problem of underutilized cargo space in the air cargo industry, enabling airlines to maximize their cargo loads and fill unused space, resulting in increased revenue and cost savings. This, in turn, improves profitability and enables stakeholders to offer more transparency and competitive pricing to their customers.

Remaining competitive and winning business against the "Goliaths" of the forwarding world is the top priority for 50,000+ forwarders that Aircon targets and export consolidation alone is a $5B market opportunity. To reach an annual revenue of $100M, Aircon will need to move 62M kg of air freight - a mere 1.1% of the total air freight handled by non-top-10 freight forwarders in the US today. This provides an indication of just how much value can be unlocked from this overlooked market opportunity.

"The key to success in this complex market will be deep industry knowledge, and the Aircon founders have that in spades. Both Irl Wakefield and Chris Condon, who form the founding leadership team are uniquely qualified because of their extensive industry knowledge paired with the technical expertise required to unlock this opportunity. There is a massive opportunity to apply modern data science to the paper and spreadsheet heavy airfreight industry, allowing forwarders of all sizes to compete by accessing consolidation, digital booking and contract rates previously available to only the largest forwarders in the world." added Brian Devaney, at Underscore VC.

About Aircon AI

Aircon is the first platform designed to enable small and medium forwarders to compete with larger companies in the air freight business. Using technology and proprietary processes, Aircon executes time-sensitive consolidation of shipments right up to wheels-up so that shippers receive the best possible pricing. To learn more, please visit: https://www.airconai.com/

Media Contact:

Escalate PR

underscore@escalatepr.com

SOURCE: Aircon





View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775782/Aircon-Raises-33-Million-in-Seed-Funding-Led-By-Underscore-to-Transform-Air-Freight
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Subaru of America

Originally published by GoodGoodGood

BY KAMRIN BAKER

Most dogs love a car ride: windows down, ears flapping in the wind, their wet noses capturing the scents of the world as it races by.

But sometimes the destination is even more rewarding.

Subaru's Las Vegas retailer - which was recently recognized company-wide for its dedication to giving back - has added a car-ride-loving component to its showroom: a pack of therapy dogs.

It all started when Subaru of Las Vegas partnered with local charity Michael's Angel Paws, a Nevada-based organization that trains service and therapy support dogs for community members facing physical or emotional challenges.

This began as a standard corporate charity relationship. After all, Subaru is known for its give-back initiatives under the Subaru Love Promise umbrella.

One of the pillars of this campaign is "Subaru Loves Pets," which prompts retailers across the country to connect with animal adoption and rescue groups to increase adoptions and raise funds for animals in need.

Jennifer Vitale, the assistant general manager at Subaru of Las Vegas told Good Good Good that these partnerships are about creating lasting relationships with communities and customers - which means making the showroom dog-friendly, too.

"We welcome all animals into our showroom; we even have a dog park for our four-legged friends, pet beds for them to relax and enjoy, a pet sink, and treats for pets of all sizes," Vitale told Good Good Good in an email.

"Watching the interactions in our showroom between dogs, customers, and employees made me realize that dogs provide more than companionship; they show us what real love is and bring indescribable joy to those around them."

Through Subaru's philanthropic work, the Las Vegas location has raised over $64,000 for Michael's Angel Paws, but Vitale said the employees - a team of dog lovers themselves - didn't want to stop there.

Continue reading here

IMAGE COURTESY OF SUBARU OF LAS VEGAS

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Subaru of America on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Subaru of America

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/subaru-america

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Subaru of America

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775929/This-Car-Dealership-Drives-Therapy-Dogs-to-Folks-in-Need-of-Mental-Health-Support
Wishpond Chairman and CEO, Ali Tajskandar, to present live at 1:30 PM PT on Wednesday, September 6, 2023

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Wishpond Technologies Ltd. (TSXV:WISH)(OTCQX:WPNDF) (the "Company" or "Wishpond"), a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions, is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Planet MicroCap Showcase: VANCOUVER 2023 investor conference taking place at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, BC on September 6 and 7. Wishpond Chairman and CEO, Ali Tajskandar, will present at 1:30 PM PT (4:30 PM ET) on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, where he will discuss the Company's business strategy and answer questions at the conclusion of the presentation.

Planet MicroCap Showcase: VANCOUVER 2023

Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Time: 1:30 PM Pacific Time (4:30 PM Eastern Time)

Webcast: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2986/48819

Wishpond will also be conducting in-person 1x1 meetings at the conference venue on Thursday, September 7, 2023. To register for 11 investor meetings with Wishpond management, and for additional information on the Planet MicroCap Showcase: VANCOUVER 2023 conference, please visit: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/

Wishpond Technologies Ltd.

"Ali Tajskandar"

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

About Wishpond Technologies Ltd.

Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Wishpond is a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions. Wishpond is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions that empower entrepreneurs to achieve success online. The Company's Propel IQ platform offers an "all-in-one" marketing suite that provides companies with marketing, promotion, lead generation, ad management, referral marketing, sales conversion and outbound sales automation capabilities on one integrated platform. Wishpond replaces disparate marketing solutions with an easy-to-use product, for a fraction of the cost. Wishpond serves over 4,000 customers who are primarily small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in a wide variety of industries. The Company has developed cutting-edge marketing technology solutions including an artificial intelligence (AI) powered website builder, and continues to add new features and applications. The Company employs a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model where most of the Company's revenue is subscription-based recurring revenue which provides excellent revenue predictability and cash flow visibility. Wishpond is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker "WISH", and on the OTCQX Best Market under the ticker "WPNDF". For further information, visit: www.wishpond.com.

About Planet MicroCap

Planet MicroCap is a global multimedia financial news, publishing and events company focused on news dissemination, providing information, data and analytics for the MicroCap investing community. We have cultivated an active and engaged audience of folks that are interested in learning about and to stay ahead of the curve in the MicroCap space.

For further information

Pardeep S. Sangha

Investor Relations, Wishpond Technologies Ltd

Email: investor@wishpond.com

Phone: 604-572-6392

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

News Compliments of Accesswire

SOURCE: Wishpond Technologies Ltd. via Planet MicroCap

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/774971/Wishpond-Technologies-to-Present-at-the-Planet-MicroCap-Showcase-VANCOUVER-2023
Seed funding enables pioneering technology to automate workflows and increase training, education, and professional development for special education teachers and administrators

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Creatively Focused , a Minnesota-based educator-driven technology company, today announced it has raised $3 million in a seed round of financing. The company provides school districts with a system of support for their special educators resulting in decreased burnout and shortages. The round was led by York IE , with participation from Mairs & Power Venture Capital , Groove Capital , and Gopher Angels .

"We're thrilled to have closed this round with investors who see the great opportunity we have to impact education," said Elizabeth Orme , founder and CEO of Creatively Focused. "Every special educator who chooses to do this work deserves to feel like it can be their career, and students deserve passionate, committed, and supported educators. This funding positions Creatively Focused to ensure all school districts across the U.S. are aware there is a solution to increasing the retention and recruitment of these valued educators."

Many districts across the country are struggling to recruit and retain special educators. Historically, they have relied on alternative pathways for credentialing this federally-mandated position in schools - leaving classrooms filled with teachers who feel unprepared to meet the demands of their students. With this funding round, Creatively Focused will expand its reach to all 50 states to ensure all special educators have access to the tools and support they need to serve their students, who are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Creatively Focused intends to use the funds to continue to scale its impact on the national special education shortage crisis by focusing on the learning and development needs of teachers and paraprofessionals as they navigate the daily demands of working in a passionate and highly regulated field. The company will continue to grow in public, K12 school districts across all 50 states to add to the 1,000+ special educators already being supported through axis3.

"Creatively Focused embodies what it means to be a true partner," said Sara Pratt, Director of Special Services at Northfield Public Schools. "The platform has been incredibly simple to both implement and use, making it easy for our staff to get up and running. Working with Creatively Focused has also proven to be financially beneficial for our district, enabling us to be more cost-effective. Thanks to Creatively Focused, our staff has the resources they need at their fingertips - requesting additional support less often because they are finding the answers to their questions in axis3!"

axis3 , Creatively Focused's web-based platform, streamlines district resources, provides targeted skill training, and bridges paperwork demands to effectively reduce the workload and feelings of burnout special educators face. It provides district administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals with the support they need to effectively meet the needs of the special education students they serve.

"As the former CEO of a leading childcare and education platform, the Creatively Focused vision is one I truly believe in," said Joe Keeley , CEO of JustiFi Technologies and Creatively Focused board member. "Unfortunately, many leaders are forced to put a bandaid on the retention issues plaguing our school systems today. Elizabeth and her team are getting to the root of the problem with both technology and resources, allowing educators to focus on what matters most - their students."

Marshall Everson , Vice President of Investments & Strategy at York IE, has also joined the Creatively Focused Board of Directors. Everson will collaborate with existing board members Orme and Keeley to help drive the Creatively Focused vision and mission forward.

"There is a major retention problem in the educator ecosystem today," said Everson. "Elizabeth and her team are helping to bridge this gap with both technology and professional development - making these educators' jobs more sustainable. We envision a world where every classroom is powered by Creatively Focused."

This round of funding comes on the heels of continued growth and momentum for the company, including being named one of the Elite 200 in the 2023 GSV Cup, being recognized as one of Minnesota's top startups in the Minne Inno Fire Awards , and being named a finalist in four categories in this year's EdTech Digest Awards .

School districts across the country are working with Creatively Focused to increase retention and provide the necessary resources for special educators. Leaders at these districts have seen immediate adoption, thanks to the technology and deep knowledge of the practitioners that make up the Creatively Focused team.

"Creatively Focused and axis3 are major contributors to my work-life balance," said Sarah McGuire, Executive Director, Cannon Valley Special Education Cooperative.

To learn more about Creatively Focused, visit: https://creativelyfocused.net/

ABOUT CREATIVELY FOCUSED

Creatively Focused is an educator-driven technology company that automates workflows and increases training, education, and professional development for special education teams. Through axis3, its human-centered SaaS platform, along with personalized services and a curated resource library, Creatively Focused works with school districts to empower teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators to regain valuable time and cultivate connections in a vibrant professional community. Whether it's advancing skills through courses or accessing immediate guidance for on-demand support, this approach strengthens the resilience of special educators and administrators with the essential support required to stay dedicated to their chosen career path and allocate more time to their core focus - the student. Where Heart Meets Mind at www.creativelyfocused.net

Media Contact

Meaghan McGrath

York IE

meaghan@york.ie

SOURCE: Creatively Focused

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775731/Creatively-Focused-Raises-3M-to-Keep-Special-Educators-From-Leaving-the-Classroom
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Gold Terra Resource Corp. (TSX-V:YGT)(Frankfurt:TX0)(OTCQX:YGTFF) ("Gold Terra" or the "Company") today is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Bonneville to the Board of Directors of the Company and as a member of the Audit Committee subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Mr. Paul Bonneville is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in the mining industry in Canada. Most recently, he was VP and Director of PRB Mining Services Inc. with work on many large projects including Operations Director for the Critical Elements Lithium Corporation Rose Lithium-Tantalum Project, as well as mine design and feasibility studies for Abcourt Mines Inc. and Bumigeme Inc. Prior to that he was a consultant for Mine Tech Services, Vice President Operations for Scorpio Mining and Vice President Mines for Cadiscor Resources. He worked for Dumas Contracting as Project Manager at the Lapa and Goldex shaft projects and for Ross-Finlay Ltd., where he held a range of positions, including Project Manager at the Bell-Allard shaft project and the Silidor project, and at Pan American Silver Corp. He has also managed several overseas operations. Paul is a graduate of Queen's University in Mining Engineering and a member of several professional affiliations including Ordre des ingenieurs du Quebec, Professional Engineers of Ontario, Society of Mining Engineers and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome Paul to the Board," said Gerald Panneton, Chairman & CEO of Gold Terra. "His level of experience and knowledge in mine design, preliminary economic assessment, feasibility studies, operations, underground development, construction, and production is a tremendous asset for Gold Terra as we aim towards a potential future development plan.

The Board of Directors have approved a grant of stock options under the Company's stock option plan to its officers, employees and consultants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,225,000 common shares. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of 5 years and are subject to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange and the Company's stock option plan which includes a vesting period beginning six months after issue for 25% of the options, and 25% every six months following.

About Gold Terra

The Yellowknife Project (YP) encompasses 918 sq. km of contiguous land immediately north, south and east of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, Gold Terra controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 10 kilometres of the City of Yellowknife, the YP is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power, and skilled tradespeople. Gold Terra is currently focusing its drilling on the prolific Campbell Shear, where 14 Moz of gold has been produced, and most recently on the Con Mine Option (CMO) property claims immediately south of the past producing Con Mine which produced 6.1 Moz between the Con, Rycon, and Campbell shear structures (1938-2003).

The YP and CMO properties lie on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering nearly 70 kilometres of strike length along the main mineralized shear system that hosts the former-producing high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The Company's exploration programs have successfully identified significant zones of gold mineralization and multiple targets that remain to be tested which reinforces the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada.

Visit our website at www.goldterracorp.com.

For more information, please contact:

Gerald Panneton, Chairman & CEO

gpanneton@goldterracorp.com

Mara Strazdins, Manager of Investor Relations

Phone: 1-778-897-1590 | 604-689-1749 ext 102

strazdins@goldterracorp.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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements made and information contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation ("forward-looking information"). Generally, this forward-looking information can, but not always, be identified by 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 statements that certain actions, events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotations thereof.

All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information on the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada.

There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's most recent MD&A and annual information form available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. 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. All of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Except as required under applicable securities legislation and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Gold Terra Resource Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775778/Gold-Terra-Announces-Appointment-of-Paul-Bonneville-as-Director-and-Grants-Options
San Juan, Puerto Rico--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Renowned musician and Mogul, Wyclef Jean, Co-Founder of Caribbean International Commerce (www.caribbeaninternationalcommerce.com), in collaboration with HRH Alh. (Dr) Yahaya Abubakar, CFR (Etsu Nupe) Chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers & Chairman Coordinating Committee of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria are partnering with both State and Federal government bodies to introduce a groundbreaking technology infrastructure initiative poised to transform Nigeria's technological landscape.

Artist Rendering



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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This visionary endeavor encompasses a multifaceted approach to elevate the nation's technological prowess, comprising a state-of-the-art Technology and Infrastructure Park, Agbara Electric Vehicle (EV) Car Manufacturing, a Technical and Resource Support Hub, and pioneering advancements in key sectors such as FinTech, MedTech, Media, Music Development, Blockchain Technology, and Smart Cities using electric producing glass powered by Energy Glass Solar (www.energyglasssolar.com).

The cornerstone of this initiative is the establishment of the cutting-edge Technology and Infrastructure Park. This dynamic hub will serve as a catalyst for innovation, fostering collaboration among industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and startups. Designed to facilitate groundbreaking research and development, the park will showcase the latest in technological advancements and provide an environment conducive to nurturing novel ideas, while creating tens of thousands of digital training opportunities for Nigerians.

In line with the global shift towards sustainable transportation, the EV Car Manufacturing segment of the initiative will contribute to reducing Nigeria's carbon footprint while driving economic growth. This initiative aligns with Wyclef Jean's commitment to environmental responsibility and innovation.

The Technical and Resource Support Hub, an integral component of this initiative, will offer vital resources and guidance to aspiring startups and inventors across various domains, including FinTech, MedTech, Media, Music Development, and Blockchain Technology. Through mentorship, funding opportunities, and access to proprietary technologies, the hub aims to cultivate a thriving ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Wyclef Jean's passion for music and artistic expression will play a crucial role in enhancing Nigeria's creative industries. The initiative includes a dedicated focus on Blockchain Music Development and Media, ensuring that Nigeria's rich cultural heritage remains at the forefront of global artistic innovation.

Furthermore, the introduction of Smart Cities technologies will revolutionize governance, security, and urban planning, solidifying Nigeria's position as a technological frontrunner on the African continent.

Wyclef Jean expressed his enthusiasm for this landmark initiative, stating, "Together with the Etsu Nupe and the Nigerian government, we are embarking on a journey that will redefine Nigeria's technological landscape. This initiative not only paves the way for progress but also empowers the next generation of innovators to shape a brighter future."

HRH Alh. (Dr) Yahaya Abubakar, CFR (Etsu Nupe) shared his optimism, saying, "Collaborating with Wyclef Jean and the Nigerian government in bringing this initiative to life is a testament to our shared commitment to driving technological innovation and fostering economic growth."

The Nigerian government has demonstrated its unwavering support for this transformative endeavor, recognizing its potential to propel the nation towards becoming a global technological leader.

As Nigeria embarks on this groundbreaking technology infrastructure initiative, the world watches in anticipation of the positive impact it will undoubtedly have on Nigeria's economic development, technological advancements, and cultural vibrancy bringing thousands of new job opportunities throughout Nigeria as it grows. The Initiative is said to be in its final stages, just needing final Government approval.

For Media Inquiries, Please Contact:

Princess Jamila Yahaya Abubakar

jyahaya-abubakar@imperialheritageintl.com

Imperial Heritage International Investments Nigeria LTD

Seth Kanegis

skanegis@caribbeaninternationalcommerce.com

Caribbean International Commerce Co-Founder



Saxon Capital Group, Inc. - Energy Glass Solar

Info@EnergyGlassSolar.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177956
Falcon Airborne Survey to Extend Existing Targets and Generate New Targets for Drilling

Two Drill Program Underway at Pike Zone Discovery on West McArthur JV Project

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQX: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) ("CanAlaska or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has commenced a detailed fixed-wing Falcon Airborne Gravity Gradiometer (AGG) survey on its Geikie uranium project (the "Project") near the Athabasca Basin margin (Figure 1). The survey consists of 1,838 line-kilometres of airborne surveying at 200 m spacing across the majority of the Geikie project (Figure 2). The purpose of the AGG survey is to identify potential target areas of enhanced basement alteration associated with previously interpreted and drill defined structural corridors.





Figure 1 - Geikie Project Location

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The Company recently announced results from the 2023 summer drill program representing CanAlaska's first drill holes on the Geikie project. The drill program was focused on a 15-kilometre-long conductive structural corridor with three main target areas. Results from the program confirmed the presence of hydrothermal alteration systems hosted within a complex structural framework at Geikie which is important in the formation of basement-hosted high-grade uranium deposits. Drillholes intersected graphitic host rocks, showing evidence of multiple post-Athabasca structural reactivation events along north-south and northwest trending faults, hydrothermal alteration, and elevated radioactivity.

Early results from the Preston Creek and Aero target areas, specifically the hydrothermal alteration associated with structures, suggest that AGG surveying is an optimal geophysical tool to refine future drill targets. The AGG survey is designed to identify potential target areas where basement alteration intensifies adjacent to and within drill confirmed and regional interpreted structures. AGG surveys are focused on identifying gravity lows which are interpreted to be caused by hydrothermal fluids altering basement rocks to clay. The survey method is a proven effective tool in the exploration for basement-hosted high-grade uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin, specifically in areas where no Athabasca sandstone cover is present. Gravity surveys have been successfully used 10 kilometres west of the Geikie project on the GMZ / ACKIO discovery, which is associated with a well-defined gravity low anomaly.

Once completed, the AGG survey results will be combined with additional high-resolution airborne geophysical data sets previously collected, including electromagnetics, radiometrics, and magnetics to validate existing targets and generate additional targets for future drill programs.

The AGG survey is being conducted by Xcalibur Multiphysics of Mississauga, Ontario. The Geikie project is currently being sole-funded by Basin Energy Limited (ASX: BSN) under an option earn-in agreement with the Company.

CanAlaska CEO, Cory Belyk, comments, "I am very pleased with the teams focus on developing additional high priority drill targets on the Geikie project through completion of this critical gravity survey program. Results from this work will add immense value for optimizing future drill program targeting across this very large and underexplored project area that lies near the heart of the 'Saudi Arabia of Uranium', the eastern Athabasca Basin."

Other News

The Company has started drilling at its West McArthur uranium project in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. The primary objective of the drill program is advancing the Pike Zone discovery, including continued focus on expansion of basement-hosted high-grade uranium mineralization as well as continued unconformity target testing. In addition, the Company has identified a series of high-priority resistivity drill targets along the C10S mineralized corridor, the most compelling located approximately 1.8 kilometres northeast of the high-grade Pike Zone uranium discovery.





Figure 2 - Planned Airborne Gravity Survey Area

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About CanAlaska Uranium

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQX: CVVUF) (FS: DH7N) holds interests in approximately 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres), in Canada's Athabasca Basin - the "Saudi Arabia of Uranium." CanAlaska's strategic holdings have attracted major international mining companies. CanAlaska is currently working with Cameco and Denison at two of the Company's properties in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. CanAlaska is a project generator positioned for discovery success in the world's richest uranium district. The Company also holds properties prospective for nickel, copper, gold and diamonds. For further information visit www.canalaska.com.

The qualified technical person for this news release is Nathan Bridge, MSc., P.Geo., CanAlaska's Vice President, Exploration.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Cory Belyk"

Cory Belyk, P.Geo., FGC

CEO, President and Director

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd.

Contacts:

Cory Belyk, CEO and President

Tel: +1.604.688.3211 x 138

Email: cbelyk@canalaska.com

General Enquiry

Tel: +1.604.688.3211

Email: info@canalaska.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177992
MBABANE  For the fourth time in a few weeks, the Eswatini College of Technology (ECOT) students protested over unpaid allowances yesterday.

They marched to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security main entrance, under the watchful eye of the Royal Eswatini Police Service personnel, who were there to maintain law and order. Political songs were the order of the day as they sang, Woza we allowance, allowance sikulindile. The students demanded answers from Principal Secretary (PS) Makhosini Mndawe, on when their allowance issue would be resolved.

Clarity

They demanded clarity and changes concerning the current procedure used in the disbursement of allowances by the ministry to students residing on campus. Currently, E650 is received by on-camp students, while off-camp students receive E1 690. The students also added that more than E1 000 was deducted by the college administration, in collaboration with the ministry, without their consent, for residential fees. They shared that they felt robbed because they were no longer getting food from the institution, yet money was being deducted from their allowances. One student said; Its really not fair for the institution and ministry to be doing this. In the past, students would get four meals per day and pay E650 yet we pay the same but we are expected to buy our own meals.

Another student was heard saying: This money they are deducting can help us buy school essentials and in our daily needs, given that almost everything is expensive nowadays. Tensions were heightened after some of the students temporarily blocked the main entrance, halting motorists coming out of the ministry.

Concerns

They temporarily refused to give way to the motorists while demanding to be addressed by the PS. The SRC President, Sipho Masilela, would at times engage the police by telling them not to be violent towards the students because they had not engaged in a violent protest, but simply demanded that their concerns be heard. He, however, decried that they were running out of options because their concerns seemingly fell on deaf ears. This, however, did not deter the police as order was restored moments later. By 12:45pm the SRC was finally given the opportunity to have an audience with the PS, and the students were told that the allowance reviewing issue would be resolved next year. ECOT SRC Secretary General Mqondisi Msibi, said they were left dejected after being told the issue would be resolved next year. We feel let down because the truth of the matter is, we cannot continue relying on E650 for the whole month. Our last hope is the Ministry of Education and Training to reopen the dining hall, he said. This is despite the students demanding the ministry to respond in less than 72 hours.

A questionnaire was sent to the ministrys Communications Officer, Nompilo Mncina, however, she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Couloir Capital is pleased to announce it has initiated research coverage for Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSXV: KTN) ("KTN", or "Company"). The new report is titled, "Advanced Silver Exploration in Mexico with a Significant Resource Base and Enticing Upside Potential."

The report can be accessed through Couloir Capital's portal: https://www.couloircapital.com/research-portal. All investors are encouraged to sign up for a subscription to receive research reports and other valuable information. It is free and always will be.

Report excerpt: "Can La Cigarra and Promontorio be mined profitably?

According to an article by The Independent Speculator, a rule of thumb for classifying silver grades in ore deposits is shown in the below table and to help illustrate why that classification is relevant, the rock value corresponding to the silver grade ranges has also been included. The rock value is useful because it allows us to approximate if the grade is high enough to cover the cost of potential extraction given the metal contained. The over- and underground mining costs in the table below were taken from the technical reports used to compile the list of resources for peer comparison.

Table 7: Categories of Silver Grades, Rock Values and Mining Costs





Source: Independent Speculator, Couloir Capital



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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With an average grade of the indicated resource of just over 100 g/t for La Cigarra and just under 80 g/t for Promontorio, both deposits fall into the middle range of the average grade category. That tells us that given the cost estimates and current metals prices, the silver at both deposits could be mined profitably in theory. However, there remains considerable uncertainty around key metrics like metallurgy, stripping ratio and size of the operation (CAPEX), all of which will have direct impacts on the economics of mining projects."

About Couloir Capital Ltd.

Couloir Capital Ltd. is an investment research firm comprised of a team of experienced investment professionals dedicated to providing opportunities in the natural resource exploration and development sectors. Our research reports are disseminated through Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ, Reuters, and many more, as well as through our social media and large email distribution list. To subscribe please visit: https://www.couloircapital.com/research-portal.

Our affiliated firm, Couloir Securities, is approved by the BC and Ontario Securities Commission to serve clients as a private placement dealer (Exempt Market Dealer) in the provinces. Investment opportunities include non-brokered private placements primarily in the resource sector. Tax-advantaged flow-through share offerings are frequently available.

Resource companies are invited to contact us to discuss your financing and equity research plans. Investors in the sector can also contact us for current opportunities available through our offerings. We look forward to working with you to advance your company's goals.

For further information, please contact:

Rob Stitt, Managing Director, Couloir Capital Ltd.

Email: rstitt@couloircapital.com

www.couloircapital.com

Analyst Disclosure: Couloir Capital DOES hold shares or options in the Company. The analyst DOES NOT hold shares or options in the Company. Couloir Capital HAS been retained under a service agreement by the Company. This service agreement includes analyst research coverage. Investors are encouraged to read the complete list of disclosures contained in the report.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178013
VICTOR, N.Y., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today that it will host its Investor Day on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. The event is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT and is expected to provide investors, analysts, and other stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the company's continued value creation opportunities supported by its strategic priorities.

During the event, members of Constellation Brands' executive and broader leadership teams will present insights into the company's leading performance and plans for ongoing success, including through: the continued growth of the company's iconic higher-end beer, wine, and spirits brands portfolio; its efforts to capitalize on emerging beverage trends through its consumer-led approach to innovation; the company's ambitions to consistently achieve strong revenue growth and profitability, as well as to deliver value to shareholders by deploying capital in-line with disciplined and balanced priorities; and its latest achievements and initiatives to serve as a good steward of the environment, enhance social equity in underserved communities, promote responsible beverage alcohol consumption, and to continue implementing value-additive governance enhancements.

In-person attendance for financial analysts and institutional investors will be by invitation only due to limited capacity, but presentation materials and a live video webcast of the event, as well as a replay of the webcast following the event, will be made available through the company's investor relations website at ir.cbrands.comunder the News & Eventssection. When the presentation begins, financial information discussed in the presentation, and a reconciliation of reported GAAP financial measures with comparable and other non-GAAP financial measures, will also be available on the company's investor relations website under the Financial Historysection. For anyone unable to participate in the webcast, a replay will be available on the company's investor relations website through the close of business on May 2, 2024.

ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS

Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. Our mission is to build brands that people love because we believe elevating human connections is Worth Reaching For. It's worth our dedication, hard work, and calculated risks to anticipate market trends and deliver more for our consumers, shareholders, employees, and industry. This dedication is what has driven us to become one of the fastest-growing, large CPG companies in the U.S. at retail, and it drives our pursuit to deliver what's next.

Every day, people reach for our high-end, iconic imported beer brands such as those in the Corona brand family like the flagship Corona Extra, Modelo Especial and the flavorful lineup of Modelo Cheladas, Pacifico, and Victoria; our fine wine and craft spirits brands including The Prisoner Wine Company, Robert Mondavi Winery, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West Whiskey; and our premium wine brands such as Kim Crawford and Meiomi.

As an agriculture-based company, we have a long history of operating sustainably and responsibly. Our ESG strategy is embedded into our business and our work focuses on serving as good stewards of the environment, enhancing social equity within our industry and communities, and promoting responsible beverage alcohol consumption. These commitments ground our aspirations beyond driving the bottom line as we work to create a future that is truly Worth Reaching For.

To learn more, visit www.cbrands.comand follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The word "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These statements may relate to business strategy and strategic priorities, future prospects, plans, and objectives of management, the company's continued value creation opportunities and other insights into the company's leading performance and plans for ongoing success, as well as information concerning expected actions of third parties. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. No assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur.

The forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and Constellation does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

In addition to risks and uncertainties associated with ordinary business operations, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including the accuracy of all projections and other factors and uncertainties disclosed from time-to-time in Constellation Brands' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2023 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2023, which could cause actual future performance to differ from current expectations.

MEDIA CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS Amy Martin 585-678-7141 / amy.martin@cbrands.com (mailto:amy.martin@cbrands.com)



Joseph Suarez 773-551-4397 / joseph.suarez@cbrands.com (mailto:joseph.suarez@cbrands.com)

Snehal Shah 847-385-4940 / snehal.shah@cbrands.com (mailto:snehal.shah@cbrands.com)

David Paccapaniccia 585-282-7227 / david.paccapaniccia@cbrands.com (mailto:david.paccapaniccia@cbrands.com)

A downloadable PDF copy of this news release can be found here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/9609b9a4-cfaa-40c4-a784-a17482a37303
The law firm of Amsterdam Partners LLP has been retained by Vadym Novynskyi, a Ukrainian citizen, religious figure, former Ukrainian parliamentarian from Mariupol and founder of the Smart Holding Group, to defend against a series of politically motivated attacks by the Ukrainian government.

Novynskyi, who is a protodeacon with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), has appointed Amsterdam Partners LLP and a team of international lawyers to address false accusations, seizures of assets he historically held, and potential trumped up charges being fabricated by high-level government officials in Kyiv. Although last year Novynskyi relinquished his ownership of Smart Holding Group, the Ukrainian authorities are continuing their corporate raid against the industrial and investment group, under the premise that Novynskyi's religious beliefs justify doing so, according to Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam Partners LLP.

"Unfortunately, for some Ukrainian officials the war with Russia represents an opportunity for extortion and corporate raiding," according to Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam Partners LLP. "My client has shown unwavering support for Ukrainian sovereignty and has strongly denounced Russian aggression, and yet a few corrupt Ukrainian officials are acting outside the rule of law to violate his religious freedoms and attempt to steal property based on completely false accusations."

Amsterdam continued: "The global goodwill and support for the Ukrainian war effort must not become a blanket of impunity for corruption and theft. Any suggestion that Mr. Novynskyi has in any way 'aided' Russia is offensively false, especially in light of the significant material contributions made by our client to support the people of Ukraine. He is instead being ruthlessly targeted for his religious beliefs and subjected to blatant corporate raiding by the state. We will explore every legal avenue to halt these predatory attacks, and to ensure that the officials who are abusing their powers in attacking our client are ultimately held accountable."

Amsterdam Partners LLP is an international law firm with offices in London and Washington DC. More information is available at www.amsterdamandpartners.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822167567/en/

Contacts:

James Kimer, jk@mediatheory.com, +1.917.355.0717
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / KeyBank

On Friday August 18, 2023, KeyBank held a grand opening and ribbon cutting for its new, full-service, state-of-the-art branch in Downtown Ithaca. The new branch is located at 604 South Meadow Street and several leaders from KeyBank and the Ithaca community attended the celebration.

As part of the grand opening, the KeyBank Foundation donated $10,000 to Family and Children's Service of Ithaca. This grant will help the organization provide a wide range of services that include mental health care to children, adults, families, and seniors, EAP services to more than 50 local businesses, targeted outreach to vulnerable youth and other community members in need of support, and community education to professionals and the general public.

"We are excited about the opportunity this new branch provides for us to deepen the strong relationships we have in the Ithaca community," said Steve Fournier, KeyBank Central New York Market President. "This new branch is yet another way KeyBank is investing in Central New York. We look forward to meeting and working more closely with our new neighbors, clients and community partners."

In addition to high-touch banking services, this new state-of-the-art branch offers full-service banking capabilities, features digital video screens and a client hospitality area that can double as an area for financial seminars and group presentations with clients and the public, as well as a drive-up teller line, ATM and free parking. Longtime banker Spencer Nicoson is serving as branch manager at the new location.

"KeyBank's new branch in Ithaca is uniquely designed to give our clients a more personal banking experience, with even better access to a full suite of products and services," said Nicoson. "We are excited to bring this more consultative approach to Ithaca and demonstrate our commitment to helping our clients move forward on their financial journey."

In addition to helping individuals and families achieve their financial goals, the new Ithaca branch is also serving clients seeking to develop and grow businesses in the area.

As part of the opening of this new branch, KeyBank consolidated its branches located at 300 North Tioga Street and 2315 North Triphammer Road into the new location on South Meadow Street. The facility on North Tioga Street was sold to Tompkins County in 2022 and temporarily leased back by KeyBank. The North Tioga Street property is currently being considered for a Tompkins County Center of Government facility.

Since 2017, KeyBank has made more than $599 million in investments in Central New York, supporting affordable housing and community development projects; small business and home lending to low-to-moderate income individuals and communities, and transformative philanthropy.

Learn more about KeyBank's commitment to helping clients and communities thrive

ABOUT KEYBANK

KeyBank's roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $195 billion at June 30, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

CFMA #230710-2158288

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from KeyBank on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: KeyBank

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/keybank

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: KeyBank

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775940/KeyBank-Celebrates-New-Full-Service-State-of-the-Art-Branch-in-Ithaca-with-10000-Donation-to-Local-Non-Profit
STAMFORD, CT / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Webster Bank announced that Kelly Giordano has joined the Bank as Managing Director of Philanthropy. She is a member of the Office of Corporate Responsibility team which oversees the Bank's $6.5 billion, multi-year Community Investment Strategy.

In her role, Giordano will manage the Bank's philanthropic strategy, grantmaking programs and community sponsorships. She also will manage the Webster Bank Charitable Foundation's activities and lead bankwide initiatives including the Bank's award-winning United Way Workplace Campaign.

"Kelly brings tremendous experience to Webster having served in corporate philanthropy senior positions at Newman's Own and Lehman Brothers," said Marissa Weidner, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer. "We look forward to leveraging Kelly's expertise for Webster's philanthropic and community engagement efforts across our footprint."

Giordano has nearly 25 years of experience in the philanthropy, nonprofit and finance/corporate sectors. Most recently, she worked as a consultant for Wellness in the Schools and Connecticut Public Broadcasting. Previously, she was Managing Director for more than 10 years with Newman's Own Foundation, where she directed the organization's global grants budget for the 100% profits-to-charity consumer packaged goods business. Earlier in her career, Giordano served as a vice president in the Corporate Philanthropy group at Lehman Brothers and Assistant Treasurer of The Lehman Brothers Foundation. While there, she developed and managed the firm's Employee Giving Campaign and Nonprofit Board Placement program.

Giordano earned a bachelor's degree in economics/finance and Spanish from Bucknell University. She is a former board member of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy and former Vice Chair of Norwalk Education Foundation.

About Webster

Webster Bank ("Webster") is a leading commercial bank in the Northeast that provides a wide range of digital and traditional financial solutions across three differentiated lines of business: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and its HSA Bank division, one of the country's largest providers of employee benefits solutions. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Webster is a values-driven organization with $75 billion in assets. Its core footprint spans the northeastern U.S. from New York to Massachusetts, with certain businesses operating in extended geographies. Webster Bank is a member of the FDIC and an equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including our latest annual report, please visit our About page. To find our latest press releases, visit the Webster Newsroom.

Contact Information:

Media Contact:

Elaine K. Ficarra

eficarra@websterbank.com

203.913.2716

Investor Contact:

Emlen Harmon

eharmon@websterbank.com

212.309.7646

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Webster Bank on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Webster Bank

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/webster-bank

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Webster Bank

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775942/Giordano-Joins-Webster-Bank-As-Head-of-Philanthropy
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - InZinc Mining Ltd. (TSXV: IZN) ("InZinc" or the "Company") is pleased to report the identification of rare earth elements associated with the nickel-cobalt-copper discovery at Keel Red in 2022 and announce commencement of the fully funded 2023 drill program at the Indy project (100% interest) ("Indy" or the "Project") located 100 kilometres (km) southeast of Prince George in central British Columbia.

Rare Earth Elements - Discovery at Keel Red

Subsequent to the discovery of nickel-cobalt-copper mineralization at Keel Red in 2022 (news release January 25, 2023), the mineralized 27.1 m interval of diamond drill hole IB22-020 has been analyzed for rare earth element (REE) content. In drill hole IB22-020, the entire 27.1 m of buried oxide material starting at 47.3 m downhole has returned 363 ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO), (Table 1).

In addition, and within the above 27.1 m interval:

The heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) comprise approximately 60% of the average TREO content over the 27.1 m interval.

A higher grade REE bearing downhole interval from 61.0 m to 68.0 m averages 529 ppm TREO over 7.0 m.

The highest REE bearing interval, from 66.0 m to 67.0 m downhole, returned 784 ppm TREO over 1.0 m.

The red, clay-rich host containing the nickel-cobalt-copper and REE mineralization at Keel Red, with its relatively high HREO content, distinguishes Keel Red from the more common REE bearing occurrences known elsewhere in British Columbia. Interpretation and extension of the shallow Keel Red mineralization will be a priority during the 2023 drill program.

Table 1: Indy Project - Keel Red - 2022 Drill Hole Intersections including Rare Earth Metals

Drill Hole





(HQ) Interval





(m) From





(m) To





(m) Zinc*





(%) Nickel*





(%) Copper*





(%) Cobalt*





(ppm) TREO**

(includes Y)



(ppm) Depth Below Surface



(m) IB22-020 27.08m 47.25 74.33 0.67 0.13 0.06 163 363 30



















includes 7.75m 47.25 55.00 0.66 0.14 0.11 154 433



6.00m 58.00 64.00 0.93 0.17 0.09 280 427





* Previously released (news release January 25, 2023).

** Total rare earth oxides include oxides of 15 heavy and light rare earth elements including yttrium, as defined by the USGS, 2018.

Standard element to oxide conversion factors have been used in the calculation of rare earth oxide values from elemental assay values.

For the TREO composite results tabled above, MSA Labs of Langley, BC conducted multi-element determination of the mineral samples (46 continuous, downhole) using a lithium borate fusion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) finish (laboratory coded as IMS-300).

Note: Drill intervals represent apparent width. True widths are unknown.

2023 Priority Drill Targets

The 2023 drill program includes plans for between 8 to 12 reverse circulation drill holes over approximately 600 m of the Keel Red and Echo North trends in the northern area of the Main Trend (Figure 1). Other targets will be considered for drilling, time permitting. The program is anticipated to be completed by late September.

Figure 1: Indy Project - 2023 Targets





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Nickel - Cobalt - Copper and Rare Earth Element Targets

Keel Red : In 2022, diamond drill hole IB22-020 intersected 27.1 m of buried red clay rich material starting at 47.3 m downhole and averaging 0.67% zinc and 0.13% nickel . The upper part of the core interval (from 47.3 m to 55.0 m) also returned 0.11% copper over 7.8 m . Additionally, the 27.1 m interval returned cobalt content averaging 163 ppm including values up to 962 ppm (0.10%) over a 1.0 m core length . Further analysis returned 363 ppm TREO over the 27.1 m interval including higher grades of up to 784 ppm TREO over 1.0 m.

: In 2022, diamond drill hole IB22-020 intersected of buried red clay rich material starting at 47.3 m downhole and averaging . The upper part of the core interval (from 47.3 m to 55.0 m) also returned . Additionally, the 27.1 m interval returned content averaging including values . Further analysis returned over the 27.1 m interval including higher grades of up to Fox Ni: The new Fox Ni target, located 550 m northwest of Keel Red, comprises a 350 m long high contrast geochemical target (>95 percentile), coincident nickel-cobalt-copper in soil signal.

The new Fox Ni target, located 550 m northwest of Keel Red, comprises a 350 m long high contrast geochemical target (>95 percentile), coincident nickel-cobalt-copper in soil signal. TJ: The TJ target, identified in 2022 and located 425 m west of Keel Red, comprises a 500 m long, high contrast (>95 percentile), coincident nickel-cobalt-copper in soil signal.

The TJ target, identified in 2022 and located 425 m west of Keel Red, comprises a 500 m long, high contrast (>95 percentile), coincident nickel-cobalt-copper in soil signal. Delta Ni: The Delta Ni target, identified and located 100 m east of the Delta Horizon, comprises a 600 m length of high contrast (>95 percentile), coincident nickel-cobalt-copper in soil signal.

Multi-Metal Targets

Echo North: The 1.9 km long Echo target is a continuous high contrast, multi-element (Zn, Pb, Ba signatures) soil geochemical anomaly discovered in 2021. Echo North comprises an area 400 m by 250 m defined, principally, by its strong Zn-Pb-Ba in soil signatures. Additional strong nickel-cobalt-copper surface geochemical signals also occur across the western flank of the Echo North target and are included for drill testing in 2023.

About InZinc

InZinc is an active explorer and, through its Indy project (100% interest), equity and royalty interests, is exposed to a diverse portfolio of active North American base metals and precious metals projects. The Company has discovered and continues to explore for expansion of near surface zinc, nickel-cobalt-copper and rare earth element mineralization at the easily accessible Indy project located in a new and under-explored mineral region of central British Columbia, Canada. A Canadian subsidiary of South32 (ASX, LSE, JSE) became a major tenure holder in the belt by staking approximately 200 km2 of adjacent claims in late 2021. InZinc has a significant equity investment in American West Metals (ASX) which is advancing multiple North American base metals projects. In addition, InZinc has a production royalty and will receive 50% of the revenue (NSR) from the sale of indium mined from American West's West Desert project.

InZinc Mining Ltd.

Wayne Hubert

Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 604.687.7211

Website: www.inzincmining.com

For further information contact:

Joyce Musial

Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Phone: 604.317.2728

Email: joyce@inzincmining.com

Qualified Person

Brian McGrath, B.Sc., P.Geo. a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved the technical content of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information includes, but are not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "design", "postulate" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results, performance, or actions and that actual results and actions may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the three months ended March 31, 2023 filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178024
FAIRFAX, VA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / WidePoint Corporation (NYSE American:WYY), the innovative technology Managed Solution Provider (MSP) specializing in Identity & Access Management (IAM), Telecommunications and Managed Mobility Services (MMS), Analytics & Billing as a Service (ABaaS), and IT as a Service (ITaaS), announced today that it was awarded a new 3-year, $1.7 million Identity and Access Management contract by an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Under this contract, WidePoint will be providing the Agency of the DoT our most secure identity management solution. Also offered is a full set of operations and maintenance support services related to our quantum resistant identity management solution.

Jin Kang, WidePoint's CEO, stated: "WidePoint is proud to announce that our pioneering security offering has been selected to support a critical U.S. Department of Transportation Agency. This is a proof point of how our capital investment in our hybrid issuance is beginning to bear fruit." WidePoint will deliver the certificates and support services needed to secure the Agency's identity and access management, devices, systems and infrastructure.

Jason Holloway, WidePoint's Chief Revenue Officer, noted: "In today's zero trust reality, WidePoint's IAM provides the most secure identity, device and service authentication. This contract award is further proof that the most discerning organizations understand that WidePoint's IAM is the solution of choice for enhanced security. We had to compete against a number of major competitors in order to win the confidence of this critical DoT agency. To that end, the Team at WidePoint answered the challenge and was able to secure this 3-year contract and begin forging an additional strategic relationship within the federal space."

About WidePoint

WidePoint Corporation (NYSE American: WYY) is a leading technology Managed Solution Provider (MSP) dedicated to securing and protecting the mobile workforce and enterprise landscape. WidePoint is recognized for pioneering technology solutions that include Identity & Access Management (IAM), Mobility Managed Services (MMS), Telecom Management, Information Technology as a Service (ITaaS), Cloud Security, and Analytics & Billing as a Service (ABaaS). For more information, visit widepoint.com.

WidePoint Investor Relations:

Gateway Group, Inc.

Matt Glover or John Yi

949-574-3860

WYY@gatewayir.com

SOURCE: WidePoint Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775794/WidePoint-Cybersecurity-Awarded-New-17-Million-Identity-and-Access-Management-Contract
EML previously issued 5,319,149 Units to Quail Bend for gross proceeds of $1,250,000.

EML has entered into subscription agreements for the purchase and sale of an additional 15,957,447 units for additional proceeds of $3,750,000, subject to, among other things, shareholder and TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Electric Metals (USA) Limited (TSXV: EML) ("EML" or the "Company"), further to its press releases of May 16, 2023 and June 19, 2023, is pleased to announce it has received subscription agreements (the "Agreements") from Quail Bend LLC ("Quail Bend") for the purchase and sale of a further 15,957,447 units (the "Units"), to be completed in two tranches: the first is expected to be for 1,702,128 Units for proceeds of $400,000.08 (the "First Tranche") and the second is expected to be for a further 14,255,319 Units for proceeds of $3,349,999.97, for aggregate proceeds of the two tranches of $3,750,000.05 (the "Second Tranche"). The Agreements will be fully executed on closing. The First Tranche is expected to be completed on or about August 25, 2023, subject to receipt of TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") approval. The Second Tranche is expected to be completed as described below.

The Company has previously closed a first closing of this financing of a maximum of 21,276,596 Units (the "Offering") on June 16, 2023. Please see the Company's press release dated June 19, 2023. Pursuant to such first closing, the Company issued a total of 5,319,149 Units for gross proceeds of $1,250,000.02. Each Unit in the Offering is priced at $0.235 per unit and consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant") with each Warrant exercisable to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.35 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance of the Warrant, which may be cashlessly exercised subject to certain conditions.

The Offering is being conducted in connection with a binding letter of intent between the Company and Quail Bend dated May 12, 2023 (the "LOI"), as amended effective August 21, 2023, pursuant to which Quail Bend, or a special purposes vehicle (the "SPV") created by Quail Bend, agreed to acquire up to 21,276,596 Units (or up to an approximate 16.7% ownership interest as at May 12, 2023 in the Company (on a non-diluted basis)). Please see the press release of the Company dated May 16, 2023 for more information, as well as the full text of the LOI and amending agreement filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+.

The Second Tranche closing is expected to cause Quail Bend (and/or its SPV) to become a "Control Person" under applicable TSXV policies. The Company has determined to hold a special shareholder meeting on or about October 5, 2023 at which it will seek the approval of shareholders for the creation of Quail Bend and/or the SPV as a new "Control Person" of the Company. An information circular containing information with respect to the Meeting and further details regarding the Offering, the Units and related matters will be mailed to all shareholders in due course and available for review on www.SEDARPLUS.ca. There can be no assurances that a Second Tranche closing will occur, either on the terms outlined above, or at all. In addition to shareholder approval, closing of any tranches of the Offering is subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals including the TSXV. Subject to the receipt of such approvals and the satisfaction of certain other conditions, closing of the Second Tranche is expected to occur within five (5) business days of the receipt of shareholder approval in respect of the creation of Quail Bend and/or the SPV as a new "Control Person" of the Company. The Company and Quail Bend have entered into an amending agreement extending the outside date of the LOI to the earlier of (i) five (5) Business Days after receipt of shareholder and TSXV approvals permitting Quail Bend to become a "Control Person" and (ii) October 31, 2023.

A minimum of 80.0% of any funds raised from proceeds of the Offering from Quail Bend will be used on further exploration and development of the Company's Emily Manganese Project in Minnesota, USA including continued drilling, battery test work and process design and preliminary mine studies.

The summary of the LOI in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the LOI and the amendment thereto which can be accessed on www.SEDARPLUS.ca under the Company's profile. Please refer to the LOI and the amendment for more information in respect of the Offering.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States 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.

About Electric Metals (USA) Limited

Electric Metals (USA) Limited (TSXV: EML) (OTCQB: EMUSF) is a U.S.-based mineral development company with manganese and silver projects geared to supporting the transition to clean energy. The Company's principal asset is the Emily Manganese Project in Minnesota, which has been the subject of considerable technical studies, including a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report - Resource Estimate, with over US$26 million invested to date. The Company's mission in Minnesota is to become a domestic U.S. producer of high-purity, high-value manganese metal and chemical products for supply to U.S. energy, technology and industrial markets. With manganese playing a critical and prominent role in lithium-ion battery formulations, and with no current domestic supply or active mines for manganese in North America, the development of the Emily Manganese Project represents a significant opportunity for America, the State of Minnesota and for the Company's shareholders. In addition, the Company owns and operates the Corcoran Silver-Gold Project and the Belmont Silver Project in Nevada, with the former also having been the subject of a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report - Resource Estimate.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further Information please contact:

Gary Lewis, CEO & Director: (647) 846 5299 - gl@electricmetals.com

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on EML's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the completion of the First Tranche closing, the completion of the Second Tranche closing, the completion of the Offering, the use of proceeds of the Offering, the operations of the Company, approval by the TSXV and any other regulatory bodies and shareholder approval. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to EML. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of EML's management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts will prove to be accurate.

While EML considers these statements to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include market risks and the demand for securities of the Company, risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, risks relating to variations in grade or recovery rates, risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals, risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, and regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof, and EML is not obligated, and does not undertake, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWS WIRES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178059
Digital transformation group anticipates further growth in second half of the year

Profitable revenue growth of 10 percent in the first half of 2023

in the first half of 2023 Above-average growth across all sectors in the USA and Mexico

across all sectors in the and Strong demand for long-term and complex digitalisation projects

and Dynamic development of cloud and artificial intelligence

and Guidance for 2023 adjusted : revenue of EUR 810 - 820 million , adjusted EBIT of EUR 74 - 76 million and EBT of EUR 68-70 million expected

: of - , of - and of expected UK business contributed to results with 14 percent of total revenue .

. As of 30 June 2023, GFT UK employed a total of 298 people (full-time equivalents), corresponding to growth of 10 percent (31 December 2022: 270).

LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GFT Technologies SE (GFT) continues to grow. With revenue growth of 10 percent, the digital transformation pioneer maintained its upward trajectory in the first six months of 2023. Compared to the first half of 2022, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adj. EBIT) rose by 4 percent or by 11 percent adjusted for currency effects.

Demand expected to grow in second half of the year

"Despite a volatile environment, we continue to outpace market growth," says Marika Lulay, CEO of GFT. "Thanks to our global footprint, we were able to mitigate very effectively the slowing investment in our largest market, Brazil. Our medium-term growth drivers, including our project pipeline, are fully intact. There is a noticeable uptick in client demand in the fields of cloud and artificial intelligence in particular. We are therefore confident that we can accelerate our growth in the second half of the year."

The GFT Group generated revenue of EUR 391.58 million in the first half of 2023. The company thus exceeded the prior-year figure of EUR 357.25 million by 10 percent. In the Insurance sector, revenue rose by 1 percent, in the Industry & Others sector by 13 percent. In the Banking sector, revenue was up11 percent on the previous year.

Disproportionately strong growth in USA and Mexico

There was further disproportionately strong growth in the world's largest software market, the USA, with an increase in revenue of 35 percent. InMexico, GFT succeeded in raising revenue by as much as 63 percent. This growth was driven above all by complex modernisation and transformation projects in the finance sector. In Germany, business was boosted by the successful integration of targens GmbH. Compared to the same period last year, revenue in Germany was up 43 percent.

As of 30 June 2023, the Group had a total of 9,008 full-time employees (FTE). This corresponds to an increase of 2 percent compared to 8,842 employees at year-end 2022.

GFT expects solid revenue and earnings growth for 2023

GFT still expects to continue itsgrowth and to raise both revenue and earnings in the financial year 2023. Recognised by the market for its extensive sector and technological expertise, the Group has an attractive portfolio of digitalisation and cloud solutions. As a result, it continues to be excellently positioned to benefit from growth trends.

Due to the volatile macroeconomic environment, GFT has downgraded its guidance slightly. Group Revenue is expected to reach around EUR 810-820 million (2022: EUR 730 million; previous guidance: EUR 850 million). The Group anticipates growth in adjusted EBIT to around EUR 74-76 million (2022: EUR 67 million; previous guidance: EUR 80 million). GFT's earnings before taxes (EBT) are expected to reach EUR 68-70 million (2022: EUR 66 million; previous guidance: EUR 72 million). This guidance takes into account the acquisition of targens GmbH pro rata temporis as of 1 April 2023.

Carlton Hopper, Managing Director of GFT UK added: "UK business is a major contributor to GFT's overall success, generating 14% of all revenue. Our strategy continues to be focused on growing our UK operations, working with current and prospective clients to deliver industry-leading technology solutions. Our 10% headcount growth is reflective of that commitment."

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The global central venous catheter market is driven by several factors such as a rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases, an increase in healthcare expenditure and improvements in healthcare facilities, and an upsurge in the geriatric population.

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Central Venous Catheter Market Product Type (Tunneled Catheters and Non-Tunneled Catheters), Property (Antimicrobial Catheters and Non-Antimicrobial Catheters), Design (Single Lumen, Double Lumen, And Multiple Lumens), End User (Hospitals, Cancer Treatment Centers, And Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032." According to the report, the global central venous catheter market was valued at $2.6 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $4.7 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.4% from 2023 to 2032.

A CVC (central venous catheter) is a flexible, long tube inserted by your provider into a vein in the neck, chest, arm, or groin. The tube leads to the vena cava (a large vein that drains into the heart). A CVC can be used to administer drugs, liquids, or blood for emergency treatment or long-term care. A CVC can also be used for blood draws. Common types of CVC are PICC lines or ports.

Request Sample of the Report on Central Venous Catheter Market Forecast 2032- Allied Market Research- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/3356

Prime Determinants of Growth:

The global central venous catheter market is driven by several factors such as a rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases, an increase in healthcare expenditure and improvements in healthcare facilities, and an upsurge in the geriatric population. However, product recall by manufacturers may restrict market growth. Moreover, a rise in the number of key players and developing economies presents new opportunities in the coming years.

Report Coverage & Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $2.6 Billion Market Size in 2032 $4.7 Billion CAGR 6.4 % No. of Pages in Report 250 Segments Covered Product type, Property, Design, End-User, and Region Drivers A rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases An increase in healthcare expenditure and improvements in healthcare facilities An upsurge in the geriatric population Opportunities Increase in healthcare expenditure and improvement in healthcare infrastructure Restraints Product recall by manufacturers

Impact of Covid-19 on Central Venous Catheter Market:

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the global central venous catheter market, owing to the decrease in the demand for central venous catheters and the decline in the number of surgeries.

The companies are more focused on COVID-19 vaccine development.

However, the situation has recovered, and the market for central venous catheter is growing steadily.

Want to Explore More, Connect to our Analyst- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/3356

The non-tunneled catheters segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period-

By product type, the non-tunneled catheters segment held the largest market in 2022, contributing to nearly four-fifths of the global central venous catheter market, and is expected to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Due to the rise in prevalence of chronic diseases. In addition, the increase in the adoption of Non-Tunneled Catheters, improving healthcare services, and rapid economic growth in developing countries further boost the market growth. However, the tunneled catheters segment would display the fastest CAGR of 7.0% during the forecast period.

The non-antimicrobial catheters segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period-

By property, the non-antimicrobial catheters segment held the largest market in 2022, accounting for nearly three-fourths of the global central venous catheter market, and is expected to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Owing to an increase in incidences of accidents and a rise in adoption of non-antimicrobial catheters. On the other hand, antimicrobial catheters would showcase the fastest CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period.

The multiple lumen segment to maintain its lead position throughout the forecast period-

By design, the multiple lumen segment held the largest market in 2022, contributed to around half of the global central venous catheter market, and is expected to maintain its leading position throughout the forecast period, owing to an increase in need for dialysis and a rise in demand for double Lumen catheters. However, the double lumen segment would cite the fastest CAGR of 7.0% during the forecast period.

The hospital segment to rule the roost by 2032-

By end user, the hospital segment held the largest market share in 2022, garnering more than half of the global central venous catheter market, and is projected to rule the roost by 2032. owing to an increase in the number of hospitals, initiatives taken by governments to provide healthcare services, and an increase in cancer patients. On the other hand, the cancer treatment centers segment would portray the fastest CAGR of 7.4% from 2023 to 2032.

For Procurement Information- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/3356

North America to maintain its dominance by 2032-

Based on region, North America held the highest market share in 2022, holding around two-fifths of the global central venous catheter market, and is projected to maintain its dominance by 2032. Owing to the high prevalence of chronic disorders such as kidney disorders and cancer, the strong presence of key players, and the surge in the number of critically ill patients in the region. However, the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. This is due to the high burden of chronic diseases, increase in affordability, and improvements in healthcare access in developing countries such as India and China are the key driving factors that boost the growth of the market in the region.

Leading Market Players: -

Teleflex Incorporated

Vygon

ICU Medical Inc.

Rex Medical, LLC.

Asahi Kasei Corporation.

B. Braun SE

Becton

Dickinson and Company

Medtronic plc

Merit Medical Systems Inc.

AngioDynamics, Inc.

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global central venous catheter market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain 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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"We have also published few syndicated market studies in the similar area that might be of your interest. Below are the report title for your reference, considering Impact of Covid-19 Over This Market which will help you to assess aftereffects of pandemic on short-term and long-term growth trends of this market."

About Allied Market Research:

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MBABANE  The court had to be adjourned yesterday as the social worker, who accuses her supervisor of sexually harassing her, broke into tears during cross-examination.

*Sindi is accusing Moses Dlamini, who was the Social Welfare Director at the time, of allegedly sexually harassing her. The social welfare worker yesterday wept bitterly when being cross-examined by lawyer Ben J Simelane, who is representing Dlamini in the matter. She lost her cool when Simelane raised his concerns about the selective nature in her allegedly choosing what to remember pertaining to the events, which led to the arrest of his client. She told the court that she was flustered before breaking into tears. Its too much; I have long been abused by this man. I do not want to run the risk of mixing up event since this has been happening for too long. There are too many people involved. I viewed my boss as an adult who had the responsibility of protecting me. He is not my favourite man that I can recall everything about him, she said while fighting back tears.

Mbabane Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi advised Sindi against allowing herself to be overcome with emotions. Nhlabatsi advised Sindi to know her pattern concerning the matter.

However, Sindi cried uncontrollably resulting in a 10-minute adjournment. Her relatives, who were present in court, rushed to the witness box and consoled her. Worth noting was that Sindi had on numerous occasions responded that she did not recall when Simelane posed a questions. The social worker, who accused her supervisor of sexually harassing her, has alleged that he used his powers to put her in strategic positions so that he could compromise her. Sindi told the court that Dlamini, who was Social Welfare Director at the time, incorporated her into social visits at hotels, so that he could allegedly harass her. She alleged that he would call her to his room or went to her room at night, each time they were at the hotels.

She made reference to an incident which she alleged happened at the Piggs Peak Hotel. She told the court that Dlamini came to her room at night, without being invited. She stated that she was uncomfortable about Dlaminis entry into her room. Sindi stated that things got worse when Dlamini, who was relaxing on a sofa with his feet placed on her bed, allegedly removed his shoes. However, she stated that she could not communicate her discomfort to the director because she feared losing her job. She submitted that Dlaminis slogan what Moses wants, Moses gets it always rang in her ears each time she wanted to communicate her discomfort. This was my boss who knew exactly how I felt. He intentionally imposed himself on me. I had seen some of my colleagues suffering the consequences of crossing his path, she submitted.

She added that she could not tell Dlamini off because he was her reporting structure and that she was on a two-year probation. These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested in court. During cross-examination, Simelane, who represents Dlamini in the matter, asked Sindi who opened the door before Dlamini entered her room at the hotel. Simelane asked Sindi who closed the door after Dlamini had entered her room.

Negative

In response, Sindi told the court that she opened the door but did not recall what happened afterwards. Asked if she recalled who were her neigbhours at the hotel, she responded to the negative, stating that all she knew was that her colleagues were booked at the same hotel. She also told the court that she did not recall if her colleagues were in their rooms at the time Dlamini entered her room. I cannot recall exactly how long Dlamini spent in my room. What I recall is that it was not long, she responded when asked. While in your room, were you seated and what were you talking about? asked Simelane.

The social worker responded that Dlamini followed her to the balcony, before she went back to her room. She told the court that she only recalled the discomfort from Dlaminis visit; however, she stated that she did not tell him about it. Simelane referred Sindi to the evidence of Buyile, who recorded a statement with the police, to the effect that when she entered the formers room, she found Dlamini seated on a sofa with his feet placed on the bed. Simelane went on to put it to Sindi that Buyile told the police that she asked the former what Dlamini was doing in her room. In her statement, Buyile stated that you told her that he (Dlamini) was about to leave. She said from the look of things, she told you that it did not look like he was about to leave, Simelane said.

He then put it to her that there was nothing stopping her from denying Dlamini entry into her room at night. Simelane told Sindi that she allowed Dlamini into her room because she was happy about his visit. In response, Sindi told the court that she was happy only if that was the lawyers description of happiness. She stated that according to her recollection, she shared with her colleagues how Dlaminis unauthorised visit made her feel. She stated that she could not remember anything pertaining to their other events. Simelane further asked Sindi where she spent the night on the day in question; however, she was quick to state that she could not remember.

Uncomfortable

Buyile told the police that she had offered to accommodate you should you feel uncomfortable in your room. She reported that she was expecting that you would come over and spend the night in her room but that never happened, Simelane told Sindi. Sindi responded that she believed she spent the night in her room. She added, however, that she could not add on Buyiles expectations. At Mhlambanyatsi, Sindi admitted during cross-examination she went to Dlaminis room after she was called by the latter. She told the court that she discussed with Buyile that if she delayed, she should check on her to see if thing were still well. She denied having discussed with Buyile to bang the door as said by the lawyer. She stated that she could not distinguish whether Dlamini called her on work-related issues or social visit. She stated that the only thing she had to do was to heed the call, which was made after supper. I put it to you that at Mhlambanyatsi, you proceeded to Dlaminis room because you knew it was a social visit, Simelane told Sindi. However, Sindi responded that Simelanes assertion remained his own interpretation as it was not what transpired on the day in question.

While in Dlaminis room, Sindi told the court that the accused offered her wine, before opening up that he was disappointed that she looked pregnant and had a ring on her finger. She stated that they also discussed about one Cebsile. She stated that she left Dlamini after noticing that it was not work-related. Sindi also alleged in court that her supervisor transferred her for nine to 12 months without a government instrument in a space of 18 months. This, Sindi said, was because Dlamini, who was the Director of Social Welfare at the time, wanted to frustrate her. When all the incidences happened, she told the court that she could not raise the alarm because she considered running away as her only defence mechanism. I was not trapping my boss. He used to be a good man sometimes, she said.

*Not real name to protect complainant.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LEEF Brands, Inc. ("LEEF" or the "Company") (CSE: LEEF, OTC: LEEEF) a premier vertical cannabis operator, is pleased to report its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. All currency references used herein are in United States dollars unless otherwise noted.



Financial Highlights:

Net sales of $9.3M for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and $19.0M for the six months ended June 30, 2023, representing an increase in year over year revenue of 14.60% and 22.5% respectively.

of $9.3M for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and $19.0M for the six months ended June 30, 2023, representing an increase in year over year revenue of 14.60% and 22.5% respectively. Gross Profit of $2.9M for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and $6.4M for the six months ended June 30, 2023, representing an increase in year over year gross profit of 8.2% and 11.6% respectively.

of $2.9M for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and $6.4M for the six months ended June 30, 2023, representing an increase in year over year gross profit of 8.2% and 11.6% respectively. Gross Margin of 31.2% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 33.1% for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

of 31.2% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 33.1% for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Adjusted EBITDA of $293.3K for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and $1.0M for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Management Commentary:

"Despite the continued difficult environment in the California cannabis industry, I am extremely pleased to report strong financial performance for the first six months of 2023. Our continued success is a result of the implementation of our corporate strategy that is focused on our core competencies, our team's relentless dedication to achieving our corporate objectives and an unwavering commitment to our customers," stated Micah Anderson, CEO of LEEF. "As we continue to navigate the challenges of the market, we remain focused on advancing our strategic priorities in an effort to continue to drive long-term shareholder value. As part of this, we are extremely excited to be progressing towards closing the $7.0 million financing related to the sale of the Company's 60% interest in its cultivation and real estate assets in Santa Barbara, California, of which the proceeds will be principally used to develop one of the largest biomass cultivation sites in the state. By bringing supply of biomass material in-house, LEEF Labs can focus its efforts on its goal to produce the best and most consistent concentrates at scale. We expect this initiative will enable the Company to enhance efficiencies across the entire manufacturing process, foster stronger relationships with its client-base by providing exclusive genetics, higher-yielding strains and unique terpene profiles, and will also support LEEF Labs customers' growth with a predictable and consistent supply of the highest quality input material."

CFO Kevin Wilson added, "We are very pleased to report continued revenue growth, high gross margins and most importantly, positive adjusted EBITDA. Our financial performance is the result of our continued focus on operational excellence and substantial cost cutting measures. Overall, the Company has increased revenues by 23% year over year and we remained laser focused on continuing to generate positive cashflow from operations, which we have now achieved for two straight quarters. In the course of our regular balance sheet review, we have identified the need to record a non-cash goodwill impairment of $17.4 million pertaining to the acquisition of LEEF Holdings Inc. during the quarter. We believe the impairment is reflective of the current challenges in the California cannabis market that we continue to navigate."

Q2 2023 Financial Results Discussion:

Financial results and analyses will be available on the Company's investor relations website (https://www.icaninc.com/investors) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

Subsequent Events to the Three Months Ended June 30, 2023:

The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Glashow to the board of directors as an independent director, effective August 4, 2023. Mr. Glashow is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics and has 25 years of experience in capital markets and is seasoned in all phases of business start-up, growth, and development. Mr. Glashow is the Chief Executive Officer of CLS Holdings USA, Inc., a diversified cannabis company in Nevada that consists of two operating businesses, Oasis Cannabis Dispensary and City Trees. Oasis Cannabis Dispensary is a retail cannabis dispensary in Las Vegas, Nevada. City Trees is a cannabis production and manufacturing wholesaler located in North Las Vegas.

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Emily Heitman to the role of Chief Revenue Officer, effective August 4, 2023. Miss. Heitman has been with the organization since inception and has until recently been the Chief Operating Officer for the Company.

The Company also announces the issuance of 2,186,602 common shares at a price per share equal to $0.0666 in respect of the acquisition of The Leaf at 73740 LLC, a premium California retailer located in the heart of Palm Desert, California, previously announced on September 19, 2022. The Company expects to issue an additional 18,580,301 common shares in connection with the acquisition of The Leaf at 73740, LLC as per the press release dated January 12, 2023.

Unaudited Q2 2023 Financial and Operational Metrics

Adjusted EBITDA

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7701d31e-d421-49e1-8728-9206dc92c406

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES

The Company has included certain terms or performance measures that are not defined under IFRS in this document, including EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Non-IFRS financial performance measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore, they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The data presented is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS and should be read in conjunction with the Company's financial statements

About LEEF Brands Inc. (formerly, Icanic Brands Company Inc.)

LEEF Brands Inc. is a leading California based extraction and manufacturing cannabis company. LEEF is owned and managed by some of the best legacy operators in the industry and is one of California's largest and most sophisticated vertical cannabis companies. The Company's platform consists of an integrated supply chain, state of the art manufacturing, and a robust bulk concentrate portfolio that powers some of the largest brands in California. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.LeefBrands.com.

LEEF Brands Inc.

Per: "Kevin Wilson"

Chief Financial Officer

SOURCE LEEF Brands, Inc.

For further information: LEEF Brands, Inc., Micah Anderson, CEO, or Kevin Wilson, CFO, 707-703-4111, ir@leefca.com

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") including but not limited to: (i) the continued success of the Company's corporate strategy and proposed initiatives; (ii) the closing of the Company's financing related to the sale of its 60% interest in its cultivation and real estate assets in Santa Barbara, California; (iii) the proposed used of proceeds from the completion of the proposed financing; (iv) the Company's ability to enhance efficiencies across the entire manufacturing process, foster stronger relationships with its client-base and produce a predictable and consistent supply of input material; and (v) its ability to continue to generate positive cashflow from operations. Forward-looking statements reflect current expectations or beliefs regarding future events or the Company's future performance or financial results. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "continues", "forecasts", "projects", "predicts", "intends", "anticipates", "targets" or "believes", or variations of, or the negatives of, such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. All forward-looking statements, including those herein are qualified by this cautionary statement.

Although the Company believes that 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 the forward-looking information, including financial and operational results not proving to be as expected or on the timelines expected; the Company not completing certain proposed acquisition or financing transactions at all, or on the timelines expected; the Company not achieving the synergies expected; and other risks disclosed in the Company's Annual Information Form and other public filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

For more information on the Company, investors are encouraged to review the Company's public filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking statements and financial outlooks contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date or dates specified in such statements. 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.
MARION, NC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Greene Concepts, Inc. (OTC Pink:INKW) is pleased to announce the current availability of its full-page advertisement within this year's BevNET's annual Natural Beverage Guide. The advertisement appears within the newly released 2023 Natural Beverage Guide appearing on page 5 and also appears on page 75 within BevNET's full issue July/August 2023 Magazine. BevNET is a leading, independent media company for the food and beverage industry and BevNET's annual Natural Beverage Guide is the beverage industry's largest guide to beverages targeting the natural channel.

The Company's BE WATER brand advertisement, available in both print and online, offers a wide consumer and industry reach of more than 14.7 million annual page views. Recipients include beverage brands, suppliers, service providers, distributors, retailers, investors and consumers. The 2023 Natural Beverage Guide is one of multiple category-focused guides featuring beverage and food brands along with a directory of supplier and service companies that support those brands. BevNET industry buyer's guides offer resources and insights to beverage industry stakeholders and gatekeepers.

Lenny Greene, CEO of Greene Concepts, states, "I am very proud to have our BE WATER brand prominently displayed in a full-page ad within BevNET's 2023 Natural Beverage Guide. I had previously stated in our August 8, 2023 news release that I took note of other company brands that were publicized in BevNET's 2022 Natural Beverage Guide. Those other companies achieved incredible success because of their inclusion in last year's guide. While we did not advertise in BevNET's 2022 Natural Beverage Guide, we do have a full-page advertisement in this year's guide and I want to see that same success duplicated for BE WATER in our 2023 campaign."

Mr. Greene continues, "In addition to reaching millions of new viewers and visitors so they become aware of our fantastic BE WATER product, I wanted BE WATER spotlighted in a popular and respected industry marketplace guide. BevNET offers that platform as it showcases the latest and greatest in market trends, new products, packaging and manufacturing innovations. This is just one piece of our incredible new BE WATER marketing campaign to capture more awareness nationwide."

Greene Concepts BE WATER and Happy Mellow brands are currently listed on BevNET at: https://www.bevnet.com/brands/be-water and https://www.bevnet.com/brands/happy-mellow.

Follow Greene Concepts Inc. on Twitter as well as BE WATER

About BevNET.com, Inc.

BevNET.com is the leading food and beverage-oriented media company, producing a web site, podcasts, print magazine, and live conference series. The company was founded in 1996 by John Craven, with its mission to offer, through products in a variety of media, the best, most comprehensive forum for news coverage, expertise, partnership and support for all members of the beverage community. Since its inception, BevNET.com has become a recognized authority on the beverage industry. BevNET.com and its employees are often used as sources for media publications looking for industry information, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Detroit Free Press, CNBC and Wired Magazine. BevNET has offices in Newton, MA, New York, NY, and San Diego, CA.

https://www.bevnet.com/

About Greene Concepts, Inc.

Greene Concepts, Inc. (http://www.greeneconcepts.com) is a publicly traded company whose purpose is to provide the world with high-quality, healthy and enhanced beverage choices that meet the nutritional needs of its consumers while refreshing their mind, body and spirit. The Company's flagship product, BE WATER, is a premium artesian bottled water that supports total body health and wellness. Greene Concepts' beverage and bottling plant is located in Marion, North Carolina, and their water is ethically sourced from seven spring and artesian wells that are fed from a natural aquifer located deep beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains. Greene Concepts continues to develop and market premium beverage brands designed to enhance the daily lives of consumers.

Safe Harbor: This Press Release contains 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. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a few uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the company's business prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission and OTC Markets, Inc. OTC Disclosure and News Service. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Greene Concepts, Inc.

Investor Relations

IR@greeneconcepts.com

SOURCE: Green Concepts Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775938/Greene-Concepts-Advertisement-in-BevNETs-2023-Annual-Natural-Beverage-Guide-Now-Live
Barrese (Intesa Sanpaolo): "We have provided assistance to the population amounting to 30 mln over the past year"

MILAN, Italy, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intesa Sanpaolo participated in 2023 Rimini Meeting. A discussion on the country's economic development begins with two questions: how to measure it and how to understand whether it's time for a new strategic role for the State in supporting businesses. These are the themes that were debated during the roundtable 'Supporting Development: New Policies for an Innovative Economy' at the Rimini Meeting. The event saw the participation, via video link, of the Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti.



Stefano Barrese, Head of the Banca dei Territori Division at Intesa Sanpaolo, emphasized the central role that the institution plays in supporting the social sphere. "In the last year, we have provided around 30 million in assistance to the population," including provisions for "food, meals, clothing, and medicines," Barrese explained. He further highlighted that the overall goal of the business plan, which is set to conclude by 2025, was to exceed 50 million, aiming to utilize the bank's resources to "minimize the well-being gap" that currently exists in the country.

Speaking about the significance of a concrete collaboration with the State, Barrese recalled the development fostered by Intesa Sanpaolo. Over the past three years, the bank has financed approximately 90 billion across the entire national territory, including interventions during the pandemic. "We have financed around 90 billion over the past three years across the entire national territory. A significant portion of this, especially when the financing is intended for abroad, is carried out through SACE; much of it occurs, as I've already mentioned, through the central fund. Therefore, the support and synergy with the State are very strong, and this is the way in which we, together, saved the country. During the Covid emergency, we provided almost 40 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises, using guarantee funds and providing liquidity to the country at a time when it was otherwise impossible to do so. Hence, there is no other way but to emerge from it together," he stated, underlining the importance of "jointly enhancing the country's great potential," which "abounds."

On Intesa Sanpaolo's role, Barrese concluded: "As the Banca dei Territori Division, it is crucial for us to perceive our activity as genuine and direct support to communities through the entrepreneurs who are the protagonists.

The multitude of small and medium-sized enterprises, spread across the entire national territory, come in various sizes, and their common characteristic is not only excellence in production but also the immense attention they pay to their collaborators and their region. That's why, over the years, we have developed our credit activity not only by providing credit itself but also by envisioning a path for entrepreneurs to further expand their presence in the region. This is why we conceived sustainable S-Loans, which are loans with sustainability in mind. Entrepreneurs periodically set themselves goals for enhancing their environmental and sustainable footprint," he concluded.

For more information:

Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6ba71a3e-324e-4f37-a2df-5d23cc598a25
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Ceres

SAVE-THE-DATE: Aug. 23 at 1:00 p.m. | California State Capitol - West Side Steps

Key Speakers

Senator Scott Wiener

Senator Henry Stern

Assemblymember Tasha Boerner

Melissa Romero, CA Environmental Voters

Sarah Sachs, Ceres

J.J. Huggins, Patagonia

Melanie Morelos, Greenlining Institute

Catherine Atkin, Carbon Accountable

Legislative, corporate, and environmental leaders will be joined by concerned citizens who support climate transparency at a rally and press conference at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, as they advocate for passage of two first-in-the-nation climate disclosure bills, SB 253 and SB 261.

The Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) would require large public and private companies operating in the state and making more than $1 billion in annual revenue to report their greenhouse gas emissions across their operations and supply/value chains. The Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261) would require companies making $500 million to report on their climate-related financial risks.

The message from both bills is clear: climate risk is financial risk. Legislating for robust carbon accountancy and disclosure is imperative for ensuring California manages climate and financial risk by providing information that consumers and investors demand and remains a leader in the clean energy economy.

Notable attendees at Wednesday's event will include the bill's authors, Senators Wiener and Stern, along with Assemblymember Boerner, and representatives from organizations including Ceres, Patagonia, California Environmental Voters, the Greenlining Institute, and Carbon Accountable.

"As the climate crisis unleashes new horrors day after day, it's critical that corporations be transparent about their emissions and financial risk from climate change," said Senator Wiener. "Whether they're consumers, investors, or employees, Californians are stakeholders in these businesses and deserve to know how they are navigating one of the greatest challenges of our time. SB 253 will set the standard for climate disclosures for the entire nation, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Assembly and with the Governor to continue California's global leadership on climate," said Sen. Scott Wiener (SD11).

"This is crunch time for California climate leadership. While policymakers in other places are working to conceal crucial information about the risks of the climate crisis to corporations and workers - not to mention our future - I am confident that the Assembly and the Governor will recognize the urgency of this moment and the need for transparency to get these bills passed," said Sen. Henry Stern (SD27).

"SB 253 and 261 is a bold action that helps us combat the climate crisis by providing transparency and ensuring accountability for those emitting greenhouse gasses," said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner. "We can only mitigate the impacts of climate change if we shine a light on who is polluting and maintain comprehensive data on how much they're polluting. I'm proud to support these bills and thank my colleagues in the Senate for bringing them forward."

"Corporate accountability and leadership are crucial pillars of our climate action and broader approach to drastically reduce emissions that fuel the intense wildfires and extreme weather already impacting Californians," said Melissa Romero, Senior Legislative Manager, at California Environmental Voters. "SB 253 and SB 261 are essential to addressing the climate crisis - we can't afford to push emissions transparency and climate risk disclosure further down the road."

"We've seen a growing cascade of business support for SB 253 and SB 261, because businesses see the clear financial impacts of climate risk and the benefits of measuring that risk," said Sarah Sachs, Manager, State Policy West at Ceres. "Climate disclosures are now simply a fact of doing business around the globe, and California must take advantage of this opportunity to ensure it remains at the leading edge by passing this key legislation."

"Patagonia is pleased to support SB 253 and SB 261," said J.J. Huggins, a spokesman for the Ventura-based outdoor apparel company Patagonia. "We need government leaders to enact and enforce regulatory standards mandating industry to measure greenhouse gas emissions and disclose risks associated with climate change, because finding solutions to the climate and ecological crisis requires consistent and quality data."

"California's low-income communities and communities of color consistently shoulder the worst impacts of pollution exposure and climate change. Corporations are a big part of our climate problem and it is time they are also a big part of our climate solutions. SB 253 lays the groundwork for holding corporations accountable for their impact, and sets a gold standard for the rest of the nation to follow. We thank Senator Wiener for his commitment to protecting our communities and holding corporations accountable. The Greenlining Institute applauds the legislative champions that have already voted in favor of this momentous proposal, and we look forward to working with the rest of the legislature to turn SB 253 into historic state law," said Melanie Morelos Senior Program Manager of California Strategy at the Greenlining Institute.

"In the more than 2 years since Senator Wiener first introduced this bill global GHG emissions have risen 7%. You can't turn on the TV or open up the paper without news of some climate related disaster - heatwaves and fires, floods and hurricanes - in places that have rarely experienced them and with increasingly devastating impacts. The time for waiting is over. The California legislature and the Governor must step up and boldly lead on climate action. This game changing law will inform smart decarbonization, address climate risk and shine a light on greenwashing and hold corporations accountable for their carbon pollution reduction pledges" says Catherine Atkin, Director of Carbon Accountable, a co-sponsor of SB 253.

Corporate support for the legislation has accelerated dramatically this year. More than a dozen companies have submitted a letter to lawmakers in support of SB 253, including: Microsoft, IKEA USA, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Patagonia, Adobe, Avocado Green Brands, Dignity Health, Grove Collaborative, REI Co-Op, Everlane, Eileen Fisher, Recology, Atlassian, and Seventh Generation. In a separate letter, a dozen companies signed in support of SB 261, among them: Microsoft, VF Corp., Patagonia, REI Co-Op, Sierra Nevada, Alter Eco, DSM North America, Seventh Generation, Grove Collaborative, Avocado Green Brands, Atlassian, and Everlane. Salesforce also issued a letter of its own in support of SB 253.

All citizens committed to climate and financial accountability are urged to attend and rally support for the passage of SB 253 and SB 261.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Helen Booth-Tobin, Ceres: 617-247-0700 ext. 214

Anna Maldonado, Persefoni: 520-981-4736

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ceres on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Ceres

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/ceres

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Ceres

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775972/Sacramento-Rally-To-Unite-for-Climate-Transparency-Passage-of-SB-253-SB-261
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Stable Rock Solutions LLC ("Stable Rock"), a leading next-generation outsourcing platform providing end-to-end back-office services to non-investment companies, proudly announces the successful acquisition of Rosenberg Chesnov CPAs LLP ("Rosenberg Chesnov"), a full-service accounting and advisory firm. This strategic acquisition brings together two industry leaders to create a formidable force in delivering comprehensive financial solutions and innovative services to small and mid-sized commercial businesses.

The combination with Rosenberg Chesnov marks a significant milestone for Stable Rock. It further strengthens Stable Rock's commitment to helping small and mid-sized enterprises scale and grow, while reinforcing its position as a trusted strategic partner for businesses seeking to optimize their financial processes while enhancing operational efficiency.

Rosenberg Chesnov, known for its excellence in accounting and financial advisory services since 1975, has built a reputation for providing customized business, financial, owner advocacy, and advisory services to startups and private enterprises. This strategic alignment empowers Rosenberg Chesnov to fast-track its longstanding vision of expanding its capabilities. By joining forces with Stable Rock, Rosenberg Chesnov will now leverage the platform's solutions set, enhanced resources, and expertise to scale its offerings and meet the growing demands of clients in an ever-evolving business landscape.

"Today marks a transformative moment for Stable Rock as we announce the acquisition of Rosenberg Chesnov," said Greg Farrington, Co-Founder of Stable Rock. "Rosenberg Chesnov's client base of over 400 U.S. and international commercial businesses in technology, business services, retail, distribution, manufacturing, and other facets of commerce fits well with the vision for Stable Rock and its future growth." Stable Rock's unique approach to outsourcing encompasses a comprehensive suite of services, including accounting and finance, payroll, human resources, technology, tax advisory, and reporting. By incorporating Rosenberg Chesnov onto the platform, Stable Rock can now offer a wider array of services to meet the diverse needs of businesses through its offices located in New York City and Westchester county.

"We are excited about joining forces with Stable Rock," said Jody H. Chesnov, Managing Partner at Rosenberg Chesnov. "For our clients, the only change is that we can now offer an expanded range of essential services to fortify their infrastructure, in addition to our core accounting and advisory offerings. Additionally, this development brings an exciting growth prospect for our team, alongside the creation of internal programs aimed at enriching the professional and personal lives of our employees. Together, we remain dedicated to delivering excellence and pioneering solutions for both early-stage and mid-market commercial enterprises and their stakeholders."

"The two organizations combined have decades of experience and expertise to deliver an unparalleled level of accounting and financial support to small and mid-sized commercial businesses. Together, we are better equipped to help our clients thrive and achieve sustainable growth. We are committed to our clients who can expect a seamless transition as we work closely together to ensure a smooth and successful integration," said Boris Onefater, Co-Founder of Stable Rock. "Stable Rock and Rosenberg Chesnov are committed to an unwavering focus on delivering high-quality service to our clients."

About Stable Rock: Stable Rock is a next-generation outsourcing platform dedicated to empowering small and mid-sized businesses with comprehensive financial and operational support. Through its industry-defining approach, leading technologies, and expert team, Stable Rock is committed to delivering tailored solutions that enable businesses, outside of investment management, to optimize their processes, reduce costs, and focus on their core competencies For more information, visit stablerock.com

About Rosenberg Chesnov: Rosenberg Chesnov is a full-service accounting firm renowned for its exceptional accounting and financial advisory services. With a client-centric approach and a wealth of industry expertise, Rosenberg Chesnov has been assisting businesses of all sizes in navigating complex financial challenges and achieving their goals. For more information, visit rcmycpa.com

Contact Information

Greg Farrington

Co-Founder & Principal

info@stablerock.com

212-382-3939

SOURCE: Stable Rock

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/775688/Stable-Rock-Solutions-Announces-Acquisition-of-Rosenberg-Chesnov-CPAs-Expanding-Its-Footprint-in-Accounting-Services-for-Small-and-Mid-Sized-Businesses
Rightmove Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, August 22

22 August 2023

Rightmove plc

Share buy-back programme

Rightmove plc - transactions in own shares

Rightmove plc ('Rightmove'), announces that today it purchased 127,000 of its 0.1p ordinary shares at a volume weighted average price paid per share of 540.538p. The highest price paid per share was 542.600p and the lowest price paid per share was 539.000p. Rightmove purchased these shares through Numis Securities Limited.

The number of shares purchased represented 0.0156% of the voting rights attributable to the total ordinary shares in issue prior to such purchase. The purchased shares will be cancelled.

Since announcing a share buy-back programme on 28 December 2007, Rightmove has purchased in aggregate 493,603,568 ordinary shares.

The total number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) following this announcement is 813,452,086. Rightmove holds 11,998,426 shares in treasury.

In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "UK MAR"), the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by Numis Securities Limited on behalf of the Company as part of the buyback programme.

Contact: Michelle Palmer, Assistant Company Secretary

CompanySecretary@rightmove.co.uk

Schedule of Purchases - Individual Transactions
BlackRock Frontiers Investment Trust Plc - Portfolio Update

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, August 22

BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003K5E043LHLO706)

All information is at 31 July 2023 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested.

One

month

% Three

months

% One

year

% Three

years

% Five

years

% Since

Launch*

% Sterling: Share price 7.4 10.0 21.9 83.2 18.9 133.4 Net asset value 4.3 7.2 17.0 81.3 30.9 152.7 Benchmark (NR)** 4.3 2.0 0.1 32.6 11.3 82.8 MSCI Frontiers Index (NR) 5.7 6.2 -2.4 22.9 9.6 68.8 MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR) 5.0 5.9 2.5 6.6 11.0 55.6 US Dollars: Share price 8.6 12.6 29.1 79.7 16.8 93.6 Net asset value 5.6 9.7 23.8 77.9 28.6 109.3 Benchmark (NR)** 5.5 4.5 5.8 29.9 9.1 52.0 MSCI Frontiers Index (NR) 7.0 8.7 3.2 20.4 7.5 39.3 MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR) 6.2 8.4 8.3 4.5 8.9 28.4

Sources: BlackRock and Standard & Poor's Micropal

* 17 December 2010.

** The Company's benchmark changed from MSCI Frontier Markets Index to MSCI Emerging ex Selected Countries + Frontier Markets + Saudi Arabia Index (net total return, USD) effective 1/4/2018.



At month end US Dollar Net asset value - capital only: 196.97c Net asset value - cum income: 201.01c Sterling: Net asset value - capital only: 153.09p Net asset value - cum income: 156.22p Share price: 146.00p Total assets (including income): 295.8m Discount to cum-income NAV: 6.5% Gearing: nil Gearing range (as a % of gross assets): 0-20% Net yield*: 4.0% Ordinary shares in issue**: 189,325,748 Ongoing charges***: 1.36% Ongoing charges plus taxation and performance fee****: 1.36%

*The Company's yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of the release of this announcement is 4.0% and includes the 2022 final dividend of 4.25 cents per share, declared on 8 December 2022, and paid to shareholders on 19 January 2023, and the 2023 interim dividend of 3.10 cents per share, declared on 6 June 2023, and paid to shareholders on 7 July 2023.

** Excluding 52,497,053 ordinary shares held in treasury.

***The Company's ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses excluding performance fees, finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain non-recurring items for Year ended 30 September 2022.

**** The Company's ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses and including performance fees but excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain non-recurring items for Year ended 30 September 2022.

Sector

Analysis Gross market value as a % of net assets Country

Analysis Gross market value as a % of net assets Financials 38.3 Saudi Arabia 15.3 Energy 12.9 Indonesia 14.4 Consumer Staples 12.9 Thailand 11.6 Materials 12.8 United Arab Emirates 7.9 Industrials 11.9 Kazakhstan 7.8 Consumer Discretionary 6.7 Hungary 6.7 Information Technology 6.6 Vietnam 6.1 Communication Services 4.8 Chile 5.9 Real Estate 4.4 Philippines 4.9 Health Care 1.7 Qatar 4.0 ----- Poland 3.7 113.0 Colombia 3.5 ----- Malaysia 3.3 Short positions -3.0 Greece 2.2 ===== Argentina 2.0 Georgia 1.8 Egypt 1.7 Peru 1.5 Multi-International 1.5 Turkey 1.4 Cambodia 1.3 Czech Republic 1.2 Romania 1.1 Kuwait 1.1 Kenya 0.6 Ukraine 0.5 ----- Total 113.0 ----- Short positions -3.0 =====

*reflects gross market exposure from contracts for difference (CFDs).

Market Exposure



31.08 2022 % 30.09 2022 % 31.10 2022 % 30.11 2022 % 31.12 2022 % 31.01 2023 % 28.02 2023 % 31.03 2023 % 30.04 2023 % 31.05 2023 % 30.06 2023 % 31.07 2023 % Long 107.3 106.2 107.4 106.2 110.7 112.4 111.9 106.3 108.5 112.9 116.9 113.0 Short 5.3 5.2 5.3 4.8 4.9 5.1 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.6 4.0 3.0 Gross 112.6 111.4 112.7 111.0 115.6 117.5 115.8 110.2 112.3 116.5 120.9 116.0 Net 102.0 101.0 102.1 101.4 105.8 107.3 108.0 102.4 104.7 109.3 112.9 110.0

Ten Largest Investments

Company Country of Risk Gross market value as a % of net assets Bank Central Asia Indonesia 4.6 PKO Bank Polski Poland 3.7 JSC Kaspi Kazakhstan 3.2 FPT Vietnam 3.1 Saudi National Bank Saudi Arabia 3.1 Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Saudi Arabia 3.1 Astra International Indonesia 3.1 CP All Thailand 3.0 Bangkok Bank Thailand 3.0 Bank Mandiri Indonesia 2.9

Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht, Emily Fletcher and Sudaif Niaz, representing the Investment Manager noted:

The Company's NAV is up by 5.6% in July, marginally outperforming its benchmark the MSCI Emerging ex Selected Countries + Frontier Markets + Saudi Arabia Index ("Benchmark Index") which rose by 5.5%. For reference, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is up by 6.2% while the MSCI Frontier Markets Index was up by 7.0% over the same period. All performance figures are on a US Dollar basis with net income reinvested.

In our universe, a handful of markets performed well over the month. In Latin America, Colombia (+14%) was the best performer of the region in the context of rising Brent oil prices and expectations that the Central Bank will cut rates soon. Peru (+12%) was another strong performer, helped by a rise in copper prices. In Asia, the Vietnamese market rose by 10% on the back of improving liquidity conditions within the country. On the other hand, Egypt fell by 2% on concerns around the lack of momentum to move towards economic orthodoxy.

Stock picks in Saudi Arabia continued to perform well in July with last month's top contributor ELM, a Saudi IT company, up by 17%. The company's preliminary results were strong with margins up quarter of quarter. Vietnam exposure through our holding in IT services provider FPT Corp (+15%) also benefitted the Company as the stock reported numbers that are on track to hit expectations. It was further supported by a broader rise in the Vietnamese market. Kaspi (+15%), a Kazakh payments and e-commerce company, also performed well after yet another quarter of strong results. This is a long-term holding in the Company with a planned US listing in Q4 this year, which should hopefully lead to further value unlocking. As for detractors over the course of July, Wizz Air (-12%), the Hungarian low-cost carrier, fell after concerns around upcoming inspections of their P&W engines and its impact on their fleet. Eastern Co (-13%), an Egyptian tobacco products manufacturer, also detracted.

We made some changes to the portfolio in July. We initiated a position in Malaysia Airports, a Malaysian and Turkish airport operator, given its discounted relative valuation and improving traffic prospects at its main assets. We reduced our aggregate exposure to Thailand by exiting Airports of Thailand on the view that cost pressures and disappointment in volume recovery post-Covid will lead to weak earnings. Elsewhere, we took profits in the Energy sector by trimming our exposure to names like Petrovietnam Drilling, Qatar Gas Transport and Vista Energy.

We believe global markets are still adjusting to a significantly higher cost of capital and remain vulnerable to unexpected hiccups such as the liquidity crisis in the regional banking space in the US. However, through the last few years, we have observed a marked contrast in the monetary and fiscal policy decisions taken in small emerging/frontier markets versus developed markets and this keeps us optimistic on our opportunity set. Our investment universe, in absolute and relative terms, remains under-researched and this should enable compelling alpha opportunities.



Sources:

1BlackRock as at 31 July 2023

2MSCI as at 31 July 2023

22 August 2023

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/brfi on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on BlackRock's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, August 22

For immediate release

22 August 2023

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 100,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 851 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 18,695,544; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 206,295,759.

The figure of 206,295,759 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / The World Environment Center (WEC) is pleased to announce two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) seeking qualified consulting firms/consultants specializing in Gender & Women Empowerment and Business Competitiveness issues. These contracts will support WEC's efforts in providing training and technical assistance to small grantees and beneficiaries MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises) within the US Department of State funded grant, Empower Innovation Challenge (EIC).

Under the Gender & Women Empowerment RFP, the selected consulting firm/consultant will deliver comprehensive training and technical assistance on gender-related topics to enhance the capacity of the beneficiaries. Applicants from Latin America and the Caribbean, proficient in both English and Spanish, are strongly encouraged to apply. The decision will be based on the technical approach, qualifications, past performance, and cost of the proposal. For more information, interested parties are invited to review the detailed Request for Proposals.

WEC is committed to equal employment opportunities and celebrates diversity. As an equal opportunity employer, WEC does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law.

Interested parties are requested to submit their proposals by September 25, 2023, in accordance with the guidelines provided in the respective Request for Proposals. Questions regarding the RFPs can be directed to Smitha Konduri at info@wec.org

About the World Environment Center:

WEC is an independent, global non-profit, non-advocacy organization that promotes sustainable development through the business practices and operations of its member companies and in partnership with governments, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities, and other stakeholders. WEC's mission is to promote business and its social value by advancing solutions to sustainable development-related problems.

www.wec.org

About the EMPOWER INNOVATION CHALLENGE (EIC)

The World Environment Center (WEC) and its partners Nucleo de Biotecnologa de Curauma (NBC) and Baastel will support the expansion of the La Red de Innovacion e Impacto (La RED) network through a new Empower Innovation Challenge (EIC) in the Latin-American and Caribbean (LAC) region.

The goal of the EIC will be to assist women-owned micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in scaling their businesses through a series of small grants focused on local solutions. With a focus on green and blue economies, the EIC partnership will provide training, access to capital, networking, and partnership opportunities with local and international businesses.





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from World Environment Center on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: World Environment Center

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/world-environment-center

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: World Environment Center

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/776016/World-Environment-Center-Is-Seeking-Gender-Women-Empowerment-and-Business-Competitiveness-Consulting-Services-for-Empower-Innovation-Challenge
ATHERTON, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Xiang Chen, a prominent Chinese business executive, accomplished chef, and founder of XIAN Delights LLC, is thrilled to announce the launch of his company's flagship product, Beef Meat Ball, in the United States. XIAN Delights LLC, also known as Tchew, is a health food company dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of Teochew cuisine while catering to the evolving demands of health-conscious consumers.

As a founding partner of Turing Future Capital and executive vice president of the presidium of the Chaochung Association, Xiang Chen brings extensive business acumen and culinary expertise to his role as CEO of XIAN Delights LLC. With a lifelong passion for gastronomy, he has diligently conducted global research on ingredients and culinary delights, solidifying his reputation as an expert in the field.

"I believe that good food is all about preserving the true essence of the ingredients," says Xiang Chen. "Through XIAN Delights, I aim to elevate and share the authentic flavors of Teochew gourmet cuisine, passed down through generations, with people from all over the world."

Xiang Chen's culinary journey began at the tender age of 6 when his talent for cooking became evident. At 13, he apprenticed under Chef Sun, a renowned master of Chaozhou cuisine appointed by the State Council of China and recipient of the prestigious World Culinary Award. This invaluable mentorship fueled Xiang Chen's dedication to mastering the art of Teochew cooking and provided him with a solid foundation for his future endeavors.

With XIAN Delights LLC, Xiang Chen seeks to honor his grandmother's cherished meatball recipe, which boasts a rich history spanning almost a century. By introducing the company's signature Beef Meat Ball to the US market, Xiang Chen aims to popularize this traditional dish and enable more people to experience its exceptional taste.

Moreover, Xiang Chen's commitment to excellence extends beyond the kitchen. He delves deep into the upstream aspects of ingredients, meticulously studying the impact of ranches, cattle breeds, temperature, climate, rearing environments, feed, and slaughtering methods on beef. Through rigorous comparative experiments, Xiang Chen handpicks the finest beef raw materials that align with the century-old recipe. The result is an extraordinary masterpiece that seamlessly combines carefully selected cuts of beef with the time-honored formula.

Driven by a vision to bring Teochew cuisine to every corner of the world, XIAN Delights LLC has achieved significant milestones since its establishment in 2020. The company received a series-A investment of 60 million RMB from renowned venture capital firms Source Code Investment and Hillhouse Investment in June 2021. This financial boost allowed XIAN Delights LLC to expand operations, enhance menu offerings, and pave the way for their successful expansion into the US market in November 2021.

Recognized for their commitment to innovation, XIAN Delights LLC received the Best Innovation Product award at the esteemed FoodDaily iSEE award ceremony in March 2022. This accolade highlighted the company's dedication to pushing boundaries and delivering excellence in all aspects of their business.

Furthermore, in December 2022, XIAN Delights LLC was honored to be nominated as the standard rule maker for beef meatballs in China, a testament to the exceptional quality of their products. The company is grateful for the opportunity to set the standard for this beloved dish and to continue sharing the best of Teochew cuisine with the world.

In addition to the acclaimed Beef Meatballs, XIAN Delights LLC offers a range of other delectable products, including Big piece beef paste, mushroom sauce, Salted spices, Hoisin Sauce, Char-siu sauce, and black pepper sauce. Consumers can soon find these exceptional products on the shelves of their local markets across the United States.

As XIAN Delights LLC enters the US market as Tchew, Xiang Chen expresses his enthusiasm, stating, "I am excited to bring the authentic flavors of Teochew cuisine to American homes. Through XIAN Delights, we strive to create a culinary experience that celebrates tradition, quality, and innovation."

About XIAN Delights LLC:

XIAN Delights LLC, also known as Tchew, is a health food company founded in 2020 with the goal of preserving the heritage of Teochew cuisine while leading the health food industry. With a focus on continuous innovation, XIAN Delights LLC utilizes the latest technology and research to create products that meet the evolving needs and preferences of consumers. The company has achieved significant milestones, including securing a series-A investment, receiving industry awards, and being nominated as the standard rule maker for beef meatballs in China.

Name: PR Tchew

Company Name: Tchew

Email: pr@tchew.com

Phone Number: 650-727-5534

SOURCE: Tchew

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/770479/Renowned-Chef-and-Entrepreneur-Xiang-Chen-Introduces-XIAN-Delights-LLCs-Authentic-Teochew-Cuisine-to-US-Market
MBABANE  The Umphakatsi of Maphilingo has disowned outgoing Senator Mkhululi Dlamini.

The Indvuna Yemcuba of Maphilingo Royal Kraal, Hhomu Shongwe, alleged that Dlamini did not own any home in the area. In his supporting affidavit of the urgent application filed by the attorney general (AG) in the Supreme Court, Shongwe disputed that Dlamini had ever been a resident of Maphilingo, under Siphofaneni Constituency. In its application to the Supreme Court, the AG wants the court to stay the High Court order that was granted by Judge Zonke Magagula on Friday. Judge Magagula ordered the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to hold a special nomination process or to include Dlaminis name on the list of nominees of Maphilingo Royal Kraal. Judge Magagula ordered that either of the two options the court gave the EBC had to be implemented yesterday by noon.

Intervene

The AG also wants the court to intervene in terms of Section 148(1) of the Constitution, as a result of the alleged gross miscarriage of justice committed by the High Court by issuing an order that Dlamini had not prayed for, that is holding a special nomination process and the inclusion of his name among nominees of the MP position under the royal kraal. It was further prayed by the AG that the Supreme Court should intervene in terms of Section 148 (1) of the Constitution, in that the EBC was ordered to pay costs of suit, which Dlamini had not prayed for in his notice of appeal. The EBC Chairperson, Prince Mhlabuhlangene, said he believed that Judge Magagulas ruling would put the elections into disarray, resulting in the timeline for holding elections within 60 days after Parliament dissolution, as prescribed in Section 136(1) of the Constitution Act of 2005 and the Proclamation of General Elections No.95 of 2023, not being met. The Indvuna Yemcuba, Shongwe, stated in his supporting affidavit that he had read the allegations by Dlamini that he was a resident of Maphilingo chiefdom, thus he was qualified to be nominated thereat.

Home

I wish to categorically state that the respondent (Dlamini) does not own any home and there has never been any point in time where the respondent has ever been a resident of Maphilingo Chiefdom. It is a known fact that before a person acquires land under Eswatini Nation Land to establish a home, he is allocated land by the traditional authorities of that area, through the system of kukhonta. In the case of the respondent, that never happened. The respondent, therefore, does not own a home at Maphilingo Chiefdom and he is not part of our residents, Shongwe informed the court. He argued that the place Dlamini alleged to be his home is a farm which is owned and occupied by a Henwood family. Shongwe submitted that it was, therefore, not true that Dlamini owned a home or was a resident of Maphilingo.

He confirmed that on July 22, 2023, Dlaminis nomination was not performed and/or completed because there was a riot by the voters at Maphilingo Royal Kraal, allegedly caused by the inclusion of his name in the voters register, when he was not from Maphilingo, even before his alleged nomination was formally completed. I further confirm that an opportunity was given to the voters to validate the nomination of the respondent, however, the voters present opposed the nomination and threatened that if the respondent was nominated, there would be no elections at Maphilingo, Shongwe added. In the appeal papers filed on Saturday night, the EBC submitted that it was offended by the alleged miscarriage of justice in the High Court, hence the application for the Supreme Courts intervention using its supervisory powers as envisaged under Section 148 (1) of the Constitution.

Section 148 (1) provides that: The Supreme Court has supervisory jurisdiction over all courts of judicature and over any adjudicating authority and may, in the discharge of that jurisdiction, issue orders and directions for the purposes of enforcing or securing the enforcement of its supervisory power.

Identified

The EBC said it had identified a number of exceptional circumstances in the form of gross irregularities, injustices and/or errors of law, allegedly committed by the learned High Court, which warranted that the Supreme Court exercised its discretionary powers and intervene in terms of the said Section 148 (1) of the Constitution. The EBC listed a number of alleged gross irregularities, injustices and/or errors of law. It has urged the Supreme Court to take note, from the onset, that in Dlaminis notice of appeal, there was no prayer for a relief sought by him. Despite that the applicant raised a point of law that there was no prayer for relief sought by the respondent, the court a quo overlooked that defect without any lawful justification and dismissed such point of law, the EBC has argued. The EBC alleged that firstly, the High Court committed an error of law and, therefore, a miscarriage of justice had been done by failing to follow the procedure of the handling appeals, as outlined in Section 19 of the Voter Registration Act No. 4/2013, in particular Section 19 (3), by failing to order the party at whose request the decision is submitted, to furnish security for any costs allowed against that person, which failure to furnish such security rendered the appeal withdrawn.

Importance

This is of grave importance because, although it has been widely reported in the newspapers that the respondent has deposited security costs, there is no evidence to prove this, the EBC has submitted. The EBC, through its Chairperson, Prince Mhlabuhlangene, last week filed an application for an order that Dlamini should deposit an amount of E200 000, which was to be in the custodian of the registrar of the High Court. The EBC wanted Dlamini to avail the money before Fridays appeal, in terms of Section 19(3) of the Elections Act of 2013. Dlamini had said he would raise the money and deposit it as required by the EBC and he claimed to have done so. The matter will be heard today. Dlamini is represented by Mzwandile Dlamini of M.S. Dlamini Legal in Manzini.
Q2 & Six Months 2023 Financial Highlights

Six months revenue up +157% compared to same period last year

Q2 revenue up +155% compared to same period last year

Q2 Gross profit remained consistent at 39%

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Nextech3D.AI (formally "Nextech AR Solutions Corp' or the "Company") (OTCQX:NEXCF)(CSE:NTAR)(FSE:EP2), a Generative AI-Powered 3D model supplier for Amazon, P&G, Kohls and other major e-commerce retailers is pleased to report its financial and operating results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Please join Evan Gappelberg, Chief Executive Officer and Andrew Chan, Chief Financial Officer after the close today August 22, 2023 at 5:00 P.M. ET where Nextech3D.ai will host a conference call to discuss these financial results.

Evan Gappelberg - CEO Commentary:

"Our results for Q2 were in line with our prelim numbers as we achieved record sales of $1.4 million +155% over Q2 2022. However, based on the current order flow from Amazon and others, we are projecting a breakout Q3 quarter with revenue of $1.7 million." He continued, "In Q3 we are not only seeing our revenue accelerate but our focused team has been successful in reducing our burn down to a minimum level that I have not seen in years. I'm excited to report to our loyal shareholders that with contributions from increased revenue and shares for services on an unconsolidated basis, we've reduced Nextech3D.ai's cash burn down to $300,000 which when combined with our recent capital raise, gives me the confidence in saying that we won't need to raise additional capital for the next 12 months. Nextech3D.ai's groundbreaking generative-AI technology positions the Company as a leading AI solution globally for scaling 3D model production in the thriving e-commerce, gaming, and manufacturing industries. Furthermore, thanks to our latest funding round, our cash position is now robust enough to accommodate the increased demand we anticipate in the second half of 2023 and beyond."

Unaudited Q2 2023 Financial Highlights:

Three month quarterly revenue up +155% compared to same period last year;

Sequential quarterly revenue grew 8%

Delivery of over 50,000 3D models to date

6 Months Ending Ending June 30, 2023:

Year to date revenue up +157% compared to same period last year;

Gross profit remained consistent at 39%

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position

As at June 30, 2023 December 31, 2022 Assets Current assets Cash & cash equivalents (Note 3) $ 3,810,323 $ 3,777,117 Receivables (Note 4) 104,657 744,331 Deferred asset (Note 5) 211,641 256,818 Contract asset (Note 12) 199,546 332,197 Prepaid expenses 376,558 310,906 Inventory - 45,289 Non current assets held for sale - 501,188

4,702,725 5,967,846 Non-current assets Equipment (Note 6) 193,336 278,463 Deferred consideration (Note 14) 199,320 - Deferred tax asset 191,306 - Right of use asset (Note 7) - 829,278 Finance lease receivable on sublease (Note 7) 914,665 - Intangible assets (Note 8) 2,128,558 3,313,741 Goodwill (Note 8) 6,434,004 6,746,378 Total assets $ 14,763,914 $ 17,135,706 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (Note 9) $ 3,899,601 $ 2,641,918 Deferred revenue (Note 12) 281,044 437,746 Lease liability (Note 7) 176,328 222,250 Liabilities associated with assets held for sale 92,532 4,356,973 3,394,446 Non-current liabilities Lease liability (Note 7) 514,297 582,586 Deferred income tax liability - 29,974 Total liabilities 4,871,270 4,007,006 Shareholders' Equity Share capital (Note 10) 87,677,731 83,271,707 Reserves 16,238,629 12,754,706 Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income 1,184,974 827,101 Shareholder's equity attributable to Nextech shareholders (97,867,520) (85,898,862) Total common shareholders' equity 7,233,814 10,954,652 Non controlling interest 2,658,830 2,174,048 Total equity 9,892,644 13,128,700 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 14,763,914 $ 17,135,706

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Comprehensive Loss



Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 Revised (Note 2) Revised (Note 2) Revenue (Note 12) $ 1,405,003 $ 551,945 $ 2,706,197 $ 1,062,156 Cost of sales (Note 13) (875,033) (347,303) (1,642,341) (601,786) Gross profit 529,970 204,642 1,063,856 460,370

Operating expenses: Sales and marketing (Note 13) 1,358,985 1,249,004 3,009,293 2,901,712 General and administrative (Note 13) 2,673,998 3,941,315 5,265,627 6,963,302 Research and development (Note 13) 877,262 880,272 1,757,166 1,907,466 Stock based compensation (Note 10) 1,084,471 878,286 2,255,142 1,457,091 Amortization (Note 8) 500,094 750,429 1,030,753 1,478,807 Depreciation (Note 6) 15,546 31,580 44,877 63,239 Right of use amortization (Note 7) (118) 19,227 55,728 38,453 6,510,238 7,750,113 13,418,586 14,810,070 Other expense (income) Loss (gain) on disposition (Note 14) (34,830) - 160,149 - Impairment of goodwill (Note 14) - - 184,097 - Impairment of intangible assets - 2,702,313 - 2,702,313 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 743,127 (843,903) 649,165 (402,023) 708,297 1,858,410 993,411 2,300,290 Loss before income taxes (6,688,565) (9,403,881) (13,348,141) (16,649,990) Current income tax expense (9,019) (7,128) (18,039) (14,256) Deferred income tax recovery 98,639 121,852 203,306 260,785 Net loss from operations $ (6,598,945) $ (9,289,157) $ (13,162,874) $ (16,403,461) Income (loss) from discontinued operations $ - 295,605 $ - $ (293,636) Other comprehensive loss Exchange differences on translating foreign operations, continuing operations 454,321 11,126 357,873 11,126 Exchange differences on translating foreign operations, discontinued operations - (1,571) - (26,258) Total comprehensive loss $ (6,144,624) $ (8,983,997) $ (12,805,001) $ (16,712,229) Non controlling interests (494,717) - (1,194,216) - Total comprehensive loss attributable to Nextech shareholders $ (5,649,907) $ (8,983,997) $ (11,610,785) $ (16,712,229) Income (loss) per common share Basic and diluted loss per common share, continuing operations (0.06) (0.09 (0.11 (0.17) Basic and diluted loss per common share, discontinued operations - - - - Weighted average number of common shares outstanding

Basic and diluted 109,766,574 99,725,256 108,353,964 98,334,837

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flows

Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 Revised (Note 2) Revised (Note 2) Cashflows from operating activities Net loss, continuing operations $ (6,598,945) $ (9,289,157) $ (13,162,874) $ (16,403,461) Net loss, discontinuing operations 295,605 - (293,636) Items not affecting cash Amortization of intangible assets 500,094 750,429 1,030,753 1,478,807 Deferred income tax recovery (98,639) (121,852) (203,306) (260,785) Impairment of intangible assets & goodwill - 2,702,313 184,097 2,702,313 Amortization of right to use asset (118) 19,227 55,728 38,453 Finance income on sublease 41,576 - 41,567 - Depreciation of property and equipment 15,546 31,580 44,877 63,239 Employee pay program (84,506) 148,500 225,087 865,566 Treasury shares for employee pay program - - (201,717) - Stock based compensation 1,084,471 878,286 2,255,142 1,457,091 Write off equipment - - 85,679 - Deferred consideration receivable on sale of PET 5,910 - (199,320) - Gain on write off of right of use assets (120,626) - (120,626) - Changes in non-cash working capital balances Receivables 836,414 600,222 706,634 662,372 Deferred asset 56,281 (153,185) 45,177 (153,185) Contract asset 53,928 (68,653) 132,651 192,567 Prepaid expenses 16,836 362,636 (35,827) 217,305 Inventory - 160,434 434,765 1,022,339 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (1,148,207) 739,778 (1,131,989) (109,080) Deferred revenue (258,268) (200,758) (156,702) (186,861) Deferred tax liability - - - - Cashflows from operating activities, continuing operations $ (5,698,253) $ (2,605,203) $ (9,970,204) $ (8,496,077) Cashflows from operating activities, discontinued operations - (792,705) - (210,879) Cashflows from investing activities Purchase of equipment (7,603) (37,485) (36,603) (84,038) Purchase of short term investments - - - Interest on lease liability (7,122) (6,890) (13,945) (13,602) Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities, continuing operations $ (14,725) $ (38,685) $ (50,548) $ (86,756) Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities, discontinued operations - (5,690) - (10,884) Cashflows from financing activities Proceeds from Employee Pay Program 701,794 - 2,281,014 - Proceeds from private placement, net of issuance costs (6,350) 1,910 2,645,380 8,938,406 Payment of lease obligations 19,801 (74,369) (111,698) (147,767) Receivables financing (net) 2,297,143 - 2,297,143 - Issuances to non controlling interest, net of issuance costs 2,277,289 - 2,364,037 - Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities, continuing operations $ 5,289,677 $ (43,090) $ 9,475,876 $ 8,893,406 Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities, discontinued operations - (29,369) - (102,767) Change in cash during the period (423,301) (3,514,742) (544,876) (13,957) Cash, beginning of period 3,502,217 10,781,775 3,786,493 7,237,296 Effects of foreign exchange on cash 731,407 (203,765) 568,706 (160,072) Cash, end of period, continuing operations 3,810,323 6,048,083 3,810,323 6,048,083 Cash, end of period, discontinued operations - 1,015,185 - 1,015,185 Cash, end of period $ 3,810,323 $ 7,063,268 $ 3,810,323 $ 7,063,268 Supplemental cash flow information Taxes paid 21,607 (224) 22,407 21,571 Interest paid 11,221 9,022 16,688 17,857 Interest received 17,766 11,956 51,555 39,329

Earnings Call Details

Title: Nextech3D.ai 2023 Second Quarter Earnings & Conference Call

Call Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Time: 5:00PM (GMT-04:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Participant Details

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 1 (888) 330-2024

Participant Toll Dial-In Number: 1 (646) 960-0187

Conference ID: 7778367

Webcast Link: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/996074403

For those unable to join the live event, a recording of the presentation will be posted on the Company's IR website.

Update on Previously Announced Warrant Issuances

The Company previously announced on July 13, 2023 that in order to manage its cash flow and reduce or possibly eliminate its dependency of raising capital for payroll or contractor expenses it has renewed its previous share purchase warrant program pursuant to which, over the ensuing 12 month period, it will issue an aggregate of 6,661,388 share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") to its service providers in connection with their employment and/or consulting arrangements with the Company. Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company (an "Underlying Share") at an exercise price of Cdn$0.55 for a period of one year. The Company has now issued these warrants as of August 21, 2023.

Recent News

Nextech3D.ai Announces New Production Record Having Delivered More Than 50,000 3D Models

Nextech3D.ai Provides Earnings Call Details for Q2 2023 Financial Results August 22nd

Nextech3D.ai Reports Record Preliminary Q2 Revenue Up +155% To $1.4Mill & Guides Towards Breakout Q3 Revenue +200% of $1.7Mill - $1.9Mill Amid Surging 3D Model Demand

The Public Company CEO Experience Podcast

Nextech3D.ai has recently "The Public Company CEO Experience Podcast," featuring Evan Gappelberg, a highly accomplished three-time public company CEO and serial entrepreneur. The podcast offers listeners an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the dynamic life of a public company CEO with valuable insights, while also discussing trending topics and providing business updates on Nexech3D.ai, Toggle3D.ai, and ARway.ai. To learn more please visit https://www.nextechar.com/investors/the-ceo-experience

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About Nextech3D.ai

Nextech3D.ai, formerly known as "Nextech AR Solutions Corp" or the "Company," (OTCQX:NEXCF)(CSE:NTAR)(FSE:EP2), is a versatile augmented reality and AI technology company that utilizes its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) to craft immersive 3D experiences at scale for E-COMMERCE. The Company's primary focus lies in creating high-quality 3D WebAR photorealistic models for Amazon and various other online retailers. Nextech3D.ai has adopted a unique approach to creating shareholder value beyond its operating business of creating 3D models.

The Company also develops or acquires disruptive AI-technologies, which are subsequently spun out to shareholders as standalone public companies. This spin-out strategy allows Nextech3D.ai to issue stock dividends to its shareholders while maintaining significant ownership in the public spin-out, without dilution to the parent company Nextech3D.ai.

Notably, Nextech3D.ai successfully spun out "ARway," (OTCQB:ARWYF)(CSE:ARWY) its spatial computing platform, as a standalone public company on October 26, 2022. The Company retains a 49% stake with 13 million shares in ARway Corp. while distributing 4 million shares to Nextech AR shareholders.

Similarly, Nextech3D.ai accomplished its second spin-out launching Toggle3D.ai, (OTC:TGGLF)(CSE:TGGL) an AI-powered 3D design studio aimed at competing with Adobe. The Company retains a 44% stake with 13 million shares in Toggle3D.ai Corp.

To learn more, please follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, or visit our website: https://www.Nextechar.com.

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations Contact

Lindsay Betts

investor.relations@Nextechar.com

866-ARITIZE (274-8493) Ext 7201

Nextech3D.ai

Evan Gappelberg

CEO and Director

866-ARITIZE (274-8493)

Forward-looking Statements

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, "will be" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements regarding the completion of the transaction are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as 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. Nextech will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Nextech3D.ai

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/776017/Nextech3Dai-Reports-157-Year-to-Date-Revenue-Growth
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the global authority for driving market transformation through healthy buildings, organizations and communities, is proud to announce that Whitney Austin Gray, Senior Vice President of Research, has been inducted into the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) College of Fellows, the Society's highest honor bestowed on less than one percent of the ASID membership.

The College of Fellows is an honor extended to ASID members who exceed the standards of the design industry through their continued commitment to the Society. Through these accolades, ASID celebrates design professionals and the industry's ability to make an impact on those for whom they design.

"We couldn't be more pleased to congratulate Dr. Whitney Austin Gray for the well-deserved honor of being named an Honorary ASID Fellow," said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. "Whitney is a highly respected global research leader whose knowledge and passion have been instrumental in driving forward the WELL movement and inspiring design professionals globally to be advocates for public health."

Honorary fellowship is extended to professionals who, while not interior designers themselves, have left an indelible mark on the profession as seen in their active support for the interior design industry. In addition to Gray, the 2023 Honorary fellows include Valerie O'Keefe.

"ASID's fellows embody the Society's ideals through their work in advocacy, mentorship and advancement of the practice. This year's inductees have not only excelled in their careers but, through their work, have influenced and positioned interior design as a profession with the power to impact lives," said Khoi Vo, chief executive officer, ASID. "The successes of these fellows inspire and illuminate the paths of other designers."

At IWBI, Gray leads research that supports best practices in building design and operations, community development and organizational policies that can contribute to improved public health for everyone, everywhere. She led the development of the first case studies focused on the efficacy of the WELL Building Standard (WELL), the world's leading roadmap for creating and certifying spaces that advance health and well-being, helping to launch more than 100 educational sessions related to WELL in more than 25 countries. Gray also led the formulation of IWBI's Global Research Agenda (GRA), which focuses on impactful and timely research areas that link buildings and the spaces between them with health and the human experience. The GRA identifies current gaps and opportunities, introduces a conceptual model to drive research and defines 12 impact topics for additional research to catalyze change - setting the foundation for all facets of IWBI's contributions to research on healthy building design.

Gray was recognized as the first public health professional to receive LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) designation, and she was instrumental in shaping the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health in Buildings Roundtable as a place for leading researchers, professionals and policymakers to convene, share ideas, learn and support initiatives at the nexus of buildings and health. Her lectures, webcasts, trainings and published works have touched tens of thousands of design and health professionals worldwide, building a strong infrastructure of support for those who work to advance better buildings, vibrant communities and stronger organizations. A natural teacher, she is a WELL Faculty member and serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University's School of Nursing and Health Studies and at its School of Continuing Studies, focused on Urban and Regional Planning, where she is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of design and public health leaders.

"The future of public health depends in large part how we design and operate the spaces where we spend our time," said Gray. "In the many corners of the world I have visited to advocate about WELL and the importance of healthy buildings, I have found designers to be incredibly welcoming, engaged in cutting-edge trends and committed to their mission. It is an honor to be recognized by ASID and it is my hope that the intersection of design and health will continue to be recognized as we strive to help people live their healthiest lives."

About the International WELL Building Institute

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation and the world's leading organization focused on deploying people-first places to advance a global culture of health. IWBI mobilizes its community through the administration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and WELL ratings and certifications, management of the WELL AP credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources and advocacy for policies that promote health and well-being everywhere. More information on WELL can be found here.

International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Equity, WELL Performance Rated, WELL Performance Rating, Works with WELL, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.

Media Contact:

media@wellcertified.com

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from International WELL Building Institute on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: International WELL Building Institute

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/international-well-building-institute

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: International WELL Building Institute

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/776101/IWBIs-Dr-Whitney-Austin-Gray-Inducted-to-ASID-College-of-Fellows-the-Societys-Highest-Honor
Vancouver, Canada--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Turnium Technology Group, Inc. (TSXV: TTGI), (the "Company", or "Turnium"), is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated July 13, 2023, July 24, 2023, July 31, 2023 and August 3, 2023, the Company has closed a second tranche non-brokered private placement offering (the "Second Tranche Offering") of 4,790,000 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of C$0.10 per Unit (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of C$479,000.

The Second Tranche Offering was completed in addition to the Company's first tranche brokered and non-brokered private placement offering of Units at the Issue Price for gross proceeds of C$3,021,000 (the "First Tranche Offering"). Pursuant to the First Tranche Offering and the Second Tranche Offering (collectively, the "LIFE Offering"), the Company has raised aggregate gross proceeds of C$3,500,000, being the maximum amount listed under the Offering Document (as defined below). The LIFE Offering was completed pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (as defined herein).

Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share"), and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant issued pursuant to the Second Tranche Offering entitles the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of C$0.14 per share, subject to adjustment in certain events, until August 22, 2026.

As consideration for services in connection with the Second Tranche Offering, the Company paid certain arm's length finders a cash commission in the aggregate amount of C$29,330.00 and issued an aggregate of 293,300 non-transferrable finder's warrants of the Company exercisable at any time prior to August 22, 2026, with each such finder's warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Unit, at an exercise price equal to the Issue Price, subject to adjustment in certain events.

The LIFE Offering was made pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The Company has filed an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the LIFE Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.turnium.com. The Units, which were all issued under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption, will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Second Tranche Offering for general working capital to support operations. As previously announced pursuant to the Company's news release dated August 3, 2023, approximately C$2.01 million of the proceeds from the First Tranche Offering were allocated towards the repayment of debt.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the 1933 Act or under any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act, as amended, and applicable state securities laws.

About Turnium Technology Group, Inc.

Turnium Technology Group, Inc. delivers its SD-WAN solution as a white label, containerized, disaggregated software platform that channel partners host, manage, brand, and price and as a managed cloud-native service provided by Turnium. Both Turnium SD-WAN offers are available through a channel partner program designed for Communications Service Providers, Internet and Managed Service Providers, System Integrators, and Value-Added Resellers.

Turnium Contact:

Chairman: Ralph Garcea, email: rgarcea@ttgi.io, telephone: +1 416-304-9125

Investor Relations: Bill Mitoulas, email: investor.relations@ttgi.io, telephone: +1 416-479-9547

Media inquiries, please email media@ttgi.io

Sale inquiries, please email sale@ttgi.io

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange 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 release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including with respect to the use of proceeds of the Second Tranche Offering. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon several estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties, and uncertain capital markets. Readers are cautioned that 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 disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178180
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Silver Sands Resources Corp. (CSE: SAND) (OTCQB: SSRSF) (the "Company" or "Silver Sands") announces that the Board of Directors have approved a consolidation of the Company's shares and will proceed, subject to CSE Exchange approval, on the basis of one (1) post-consolidation common share for every ten (10) pre-consolidation common shares (the "Consolidation"). The Company will not be seeking a new name or trading symbol.

The Company will issue a future news release announcing the effective date of the consolidation and new CUSIP and ISIN numbers.

Currently there are 80,376,711 common shares issued and outstanding and after the Consolidation there will be approximately 8,037,671 common shares issued and outstanding. No fractional Shares will be issued as a result of the Consolidation. Instead, any fractional share interest of 0.5 or higher arising from the Consolidation will be rounded up to one whole Share, and any fractional share interest of less than 0.5 will be cancelled.

The Board has concluded that the Consolidation would be in the best interests of the shareholders as it could lead to increased interest by a wider audience of potential investors and could better position the Company to obtain financing and pursue acquisition opportunities. The Company will not be changing its name in connection with the Consolidation. In accordance with the Articles of the Company, the Consolidation may be approved by the board of directors of the Company and shareholder approval is not required.

Registered shareholders of the Company will receive a letter of transmittal from the Company's transfer agent with instructions for exchanging their pre-Consolidation Shares. Shareholders who hold their Shares through a broker or other intermediary will not need to complete a letter of transmittal.

The Company will take the required steps to amend the exercise prices of the Company's issued and outstanding share purchase warrants and incentive share purchase options post consolidation in order to maintain the incentive for the respective holders.

About Silver Sands Resources Corp.

Silver Sands is a Canada-based company engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in mining-friendly jurisdictions. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit. Its key asset is the 6,400 hectare Corner Pocket copper-zinc-silver massive sulfide project, 25 km to the WNW of Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Corner Pocket is contiguous to the west, east and south of the York Harbour Metals Inc., massive sulfide project.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Keith Anderson

Chief Executive Officer, President & Director

For further information, please contact:

Keith Anderson

Chief Executive Officer, President & Director (604) 786-7774

SILVER SANDS RESOURCES CORP.

Suite 830 - 1100 Melville Street

Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4A6

https://www.silversandscorp.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation concerning the business of the Company. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this presentation or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178181
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV: LPS) (OTCQB: LPSIF) ("Legend Power" or the "Company"), a global leader in commercial electrical system solutions, announces it has closed a second and final tranche of a non-brokered private placement (see press release dated August 8, 2023), pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions (the "LIFE Exemption"), by issuing 1,432,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for gross proceeds of $257,760. Under both tranches, the Company issued a total of 14,117,113 Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,541,080 (the "Offering") (see first tranche closing press release dated August 1, 2023). The Company filed a Form 45-106F19 offering document (the "Offering Document") on July 18, 2023 related to the Offering, which may be accessed under Legend Power's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at https://legendpower.com/investors/.

Pursuant to the Offering, each Unit consisted of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at $0.25 for a period of two years from the date of issuance, subject to an accelerated expiry provision, whereby in the event the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Company's Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange, or such other stock exchange where the majority of the trading volume occurs (the "Exchange"), exceeds $0.40 for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, at the Company's election, the period within which the Warrants are exercisable, will be reduced and the holders of the Warrants will be entitled to exercise their Warrants for a period of 30 days commencing on the day the Company provides notice, any outstanding Warrants not exercised during the 30 day period will expire.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general working capital purposes, fixed operating expenses, purchase order deposits, development expense and other related expenses, as more specifically detailed in the Offering Document. The Units issued in the Offering are not subject to a hold period, subject to limitations prescribed by the LIFE exemption. Securities issued to insiders and consultants of the Company in connection with the first tranche, are subject to a hold period expiring December 1, 2023, in accordance with the rules and policies of the Exchange and applicable Canadian securities laws.

The securities issued pursuant to the Offering have not, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons in the absence of U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Legend Power Systems Inc.

Legend Power Systems Inc. (https://legendpower.com) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend Power's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legend Power's unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets.

For further information, please contact:

Jonathan Lansky, Director

+1 416 417 7664

lansky.j@icloud.com

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

+ 1 647 503 1054

sean@sophiccapital.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the closing of the Offering, the use of proceeds from the Offering, the ability of the Company to obtain regulatory approval for the Offering, the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR+ 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 may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law.

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO US NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178188
Clockworks Analytics, a Boston, MA-based provider of SaaS building analytics solutions, closed a funding round of $16.1m.

The round, which brought total funding to over $28m, was led by Carom Growth Partners with participation from existing investor SE Ventures.

The company intends ro use the funds for continued product development, investments in sales and marketing, and international expansion.

Led by Brian Day, and Nick Gayeski, Clockworks Analytics is an essential smart building intelligence platform that provides data-driven insights into property operations for facility and energy managers. Through its cloud-based building analytics software, the company proactively identifies inefficiencies and root causes within building systems and prioritizes the most urgent tasks for building staff in real time. By creating a high level of operational intelligence about a building, Clockworks helps property teams improve the reliability of their buildings equipment, while improving air quality and reducing energy consumption and operational costs.

Its intelligent HVAC analytics helps building teams identify the highest priority energy, comfort, and equipment issues in their buildings, complete with root-cause diagnostics and recommended actions. Built on a form of AI called an Expert System that simulates a human experts decision-making, the platforms diagnostics have been fine-tuned and expanded with each connected building and piece of equipment.

The companys clientsacross healthcare services, life sciences, higher education, commercial real estate, and mechanical and operations service providershave completed over 40,000 building tasks to correct issues identified by Clockworks diagnostics and identified over 286K tonnes of carbon savings.

FinSMEs

22/08/2023
Foundery, a San Francisco, CA-based biotechnology venture studio focused on translating immunology discoveries into drug candidates, announced an initial closing of its inaugural fund, Foundery I, LP, with total capital commitments and contributed assets as of the closing equal to $29.6m.

Limited Partners in Foundery Fund I include an established family office, a public research university endowment, and growth and impact-oriented high-net worth individuals.

Founded in 2021 by science-first industry leaders Max Krummel, Ph.D., Michel Streuli, Ph.D., and Venkataraman Sriram, Ph.D., Foundery seeks to validate early-stage immunotherapy programs in collaboration with university researchers and their institutions.

Foundery is committed to driving progress by actively collaborating with researchers and clinicians who are pioneering the future of immunotherapy. The Foundery Immune Studio, located adjacent to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Parnassus campus, empowers faculty to translate their scientific breakthroughs into impactful therapies via close collaboration with Founderys drug development team. Founderys master agreements with UCSF and the University of Arizona provide a streamlined path for principal investigators and Foundery to partner.

Foundery manages a fully functioning state-of-the-art lab and internal discovery team to evaluate and validate first-in-class drug target candidates and develops Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling drug packages that can be out-licensed or used as the foundation for venture creation.

Foundery Fund I currently has nine preclinical programs in its pipeline across autoimmunity, inflammation, and oncology therapeutic areas, including two early-stage platform programs that aim to tackle historically challenging therapeutic targets. Foundery anticipates initiating business development activities for its pre-IND drug development candidates as early as the second half of 2024.

The studio also announced today the initial members of its Business Advisory Committee which include Jeff Brody, MBA, Rekha Hemrajani, MBA (Board Member BioAge, MaxCyte and ALX Oncology), Forrest Metz, Ph.D. (Founder and Managing Director, Dev Equity), Wendy Petka, Ph.D., J.D. (Vice President of Intellectual Property, Horizon Therapeutics), and Saira Ramasastry, M.S., M.Phil. (Managing Partner, Life Sciences Advisory). Founderys advisors offer expertise and external review across venture investing, operations, M&A and business development activities.

FinSMEs

22/08/2023
Indias much-anticipated journey to the moon, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) over a month back on 14 July, has been a proud moment for Indians across the globe. Now, as the landing date for Chandrayaan-3, Indias third mission to the moon, draws closer, people are keen to watch the fascinating journey to the unexplored region. Showcasing the same emotion, Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor Khan, also known as Bebo, expressed excitement at the proud moment at a recently held event in the city.

While talking about Chandrayaan-3s scheduled landing on the moon, the Jab We Met star excitedly told media that she plans to witness the historical moment with her two sons, Taimur Ali Khan and Jehangir Ali Khan. She added, Its a great and proud moment for India and all Indians. You feel that pride in your heart. As Indians, we await it. Many people will be glued to the screen. I am planning to do that with my boys as well, with bated breath.

Take a look:

#WATCH | On Chandrayaan 3 landing, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan says, "It's a great moment for India and a proud moment for every Indian. All of us are waiting to watch it. I'm going to do that with my boys." pic.twitter.com/MLJKJjoPsS  ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2023

Uploaded a few hours ago, the post amassed over 20,000 likes.

Based on ISRO website, Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the lunar surface on Wednesday, 23 August 2023 around 18:04 hours IST. Live coverage of the launch will be available from 17:27 IST on 23 August on ISRO website, including on YouTube, Facebook and DD National TV.

Bebo also shared some pictures from her recent visit to the visual art exhibition at Mumbais NMACC (Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre). She was joined by her sons Tim and Jeh. In a video shared by NMACC on Instagram, Kareena spoke about her experience at the exhibition. She said, What was amazing was that the kids had a blast and they actually thought they were in the spaghetti world, which is an extraordinary kind of experience.

Professional commitments

On the work front, Kareena Kapoor Khan will next be seen in Rajesh Krishnans The Crew. The film stars Tabu, Kriti Sanon and Diljit Dosanjh alongside Kareena. It is scheduled for a release in March 2024. The actress will also feature in Sujoy Ghoshs thriller, The Devotion of Suspect X. It additionally stars actors Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat. Apart from these, Kareena also has Hansal Mehtas next unnamed project in her hands.
Upon her union with Prince Harry, Meghan was bestowed the title Duchess of Sussex by the late Queen Elizabeth. However, her official, though less known, designation was a rather unconventional one  Princess Henry of Wales. According to reports published in marca.com, this title is derived from Harrys birth name, Henry, and is a designation that women receive upon marrying into the royal family. However, Meghan has chosen not to adopt this title, and nowadays, it is relatively uncommon for women within the royal family to do so.

Kate Middleton also acquired the same title upon her marriage to Prince William, yet she too has not made use of it. The lone royal who does employ this title is Princess Michael of Kent, originally known as Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz.

Princess Michaels decision to embrace this title followed her marriage to Prince Michael of Kent, who happens to be a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, in 1978.

The racism controversy

Nevertheless, in 2017, Princess Michael found herself having to apologize following accusations of racism when she wore a Blackamoor brooch  a piece of jewellery that typically portrays an African or non-European male in a subservient role  during her initial meeting with Meghan.

Why Meghan is not eligible for the Princess title?

Now, coming to the point as to why Meghan will not get the title of Princess, the report further says, Meghans candid remarks, ranging from discussions about racism to politics, have actually resulted in her losing her royal titles. However, this action has not been taken as of yet, even though Meghan chose to step away from the royal family and relocate to the United States in 2020.

Despite her status as a princess, she will never officially go by the title Princess Meghan  as this particular designation is reserved for those born directly into the Royal Family. Had she not been granted the Sussex title, Meghan would have been referred to as Princess Henry.

Racism rampant in Britain

Meghan has also shown has also exposed how racism in rampant in Britain through her Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. Recently, six former police officers, who retired between 2011 and 2015, have been charged under the Communications Act 2003. Meghan and Harry have been named in racist messages alleged to have been sent by former Metropolitan Police. According to BBC reports, Some of the posts referenced the governments Rwanda policy, while others joked about recent flooding in Pakistan, which left almost 1,700 people dead. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also featured in several images alongside racist language.

The six men  Peter Booth, Robert Lewis, Anthony Elsom, Alan Hall, Michael Chadwell and Trevor Lewton  are now set to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Sept. 7. These six men all previously worked for various branches, but they werent serving police men when they participated in these chats.

We are working relentlessly to rebuild the trust of the public, which has understandably been dented by a number of high-profile incidents and investigations in recent years which have involved officers or former officers, said Commander James Harman, head of the forces Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command.

Meghan uses race to divide

While some believe that Meghan uses race to divide. In fact, both Harry and Meghan wants the ultimate destruction of the royal family for their own personal gain. according to reports published in Sky News Australia the Sussexes has been told as extreme in everything they describe. Experts mention that they are creating racial divide, it felt really calculated and cruel because when Meghan and Harry started whipping this all up it was toward the end of the Queens life.

(With added inputs from agencies)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has departed for Johannesburg in South Africa for the crucial 15th BRICS summit where he will share the room with leaders from China, Brazil, South Africa and Russia (albeit virtually).

Before flying off to the Johannesburg on the invitation of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa  this is the first in-person summit of BRICS since 2019  the prime minister wrote on X, Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development.

As Modi makes his way to the South African capital for the next three days, hes there until 24 August, the question is will he sit down with Chinas Xi Jinping for a bilateral in an effort to resolve the three-year-old stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Heres what we know of the situation.

A meeting on the sidelines

There has been a buzz about talks between the two leaders in Johannesburg with the Chinese ambassador to South Africa being quoted as saying earlier that a meeting was on the cards. I am confident that as two nations, two countries, we will have direct talks, direct meetings, Chen Xiaodong was quoted as telling reporters.

Initially, the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi didnt comment on the matter, but Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday that Modis bilateral meetings on the sidelines of BRICS were being finalised. The host country South Africa has invited a large number of guest countries, besides of course BRICS members (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) who will be present there. The PMs schedule, in terms of bilateral meetings with those leaders who would be present in South Africa is still being developed, said the foreign secretary.

According to a report published in The Wire, there has been an interest from New Delhi to hold talks between the two leaders. However, the pressing issue is around customary protocol  specifically in determining which side will initiate the formal request for the meeting.

Notably, the two leaders have not personally held a meeting since the India-China border standoff began in May 2020 and reached its violent worst in June when troops clashed at Galwan. Xi and Modi, have however, met one another at multilateral platforms.

For instance, PM Modi and President Xi stood next to each other and attended a Leaders Lunch at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand in September 2022. But they didnt talk to one another then.

In November 2022, the two leaders were seen talking at a G-20 banquet in Bali after PM Modi walked up to Xi and exchanged greetings, but it was only in July this year, a full eight months later that the Ministry of External Affairs admitted that Modi and Xi had discussed boundary issues, after the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) inserted a line into a readout of a meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi about a consensus reached between the leaders.

Meet after meet

While Modi and Xi havent sat down for talks since 2019, post the border clash, there have been discussions among commanders of the Indian Army and Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

There have been multiple rounds of corps commander-level talks and disengagement of troops has also taken place in areas like Galwan Valley and around the Pangong Tso. In fact, China and India just held the 19th round of commander-level talks on 14 August at Chushul. But those talks didnt yield any positive result.

China hasnt been willing to restore the status quo in the border area that was before the 2020 standoff.

Apart from commander-level talks, on 24, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met top Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a meeting of the BRICS nations in Johannesburg. It was reported later that Doval had said that the situation along the LAC has eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held talks with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of a meeting of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta last month.

Read our full BRICS coverage

BRICS Summit in South Africa: Who is invited? What to expect from the meet?

Why its time for the United States to develop a BRICS policy

Significance of the meet

If PM Modi and President Xi do decide to sit down and hold a meet, it is quite obvious that the two leaders will discuss the border issue and try to find a resolution to this.

However, why is it that its imperative that the two leaders meet? There are a host of reasons and the first and foremost is the resolution to the border standoff.

Moreover, India is hosting the crucial G20 summit next month in New Delhi and would most certainly want Chinas support on the declaration.

Through its presidency of the G20 bloc, Beijing has been raising objections and causing hurdles to India. For instance, China boycotted the G20 Tourism Meeting held in Jammu-Kashmirs Srinagar in May, opposing hosting of any G20 meetings on disputed territory and said unilateral actions such as hosting such meetings could further complicate the situation.

Beijing has also regularly objected on including any reference to Modi governments pet concepts like LiFe and promotion of millets in the main outcome document at the ministerial meetings. Furthermore, the Xi-led country has also voiced it opposition to Indias theme  Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  stating that the phrase was in Sanskrit, which is not one of the six official languages recognised by the United Nations.

Also, the timing of the possible meet between Modi and Xi comes at a time when India has chosen to maintain a tightrope walk between the West and Russia.

One of the biggest issues that will be discussed is the expansion of BRICS. The admission of new members in the BRICS club is complicated. Even as China pushes for expansion, India wants to maintain a delicate balance. While India has supported the expansion, there is concern that China may choose to tilt the balance of the forum in its favour. Among the countries waiting to join are Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran and Venezuela.

Speaking on the same, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Monday said, We have been very clear that we have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion, he said.

As BRICS works on the principle of consensus, all member states have to have full consensus on how they would want BRICS expanded, what should be the guiding principles of that expansion (and) what would be the criteria for such an expansion, Kwatra added.

Modis itinerary

Departing from New Delhi, PM Modi will land Johannesburgs Waterkloof Air Force Base on Tuesday afternoon, and attend a BRICS Business Forum Leaders dialogue followed by the BRICS Leaders Retreat, with the presidents of Brazil, China and South Africa. Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit, appearing via video conference, given concerns over an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against him.

On Wednesday, the PM will be participating in a day-long BRICS summit and also attend the BRICS-Africa outreach and BRICS-Plus meetings with more than 50 leaders from Africa and other parts of the Global South. After attending the BRICS Summit, PM Modi will leave for Athens on an official visit.

The visit to Greece would give both sides an opportunity to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest and help broaden and deepen our bilateral engagements, said Kwatra, adding, PM Modi will have a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsokais and discuss ways to strengthen the ties between both nations.

With inputs from agencies
Starting today (22 August), all eyes will turn to Johannesburg in South Africa, where the leaders of the BRICS countries  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  will meet for its 15th edition of its annual summit.

Chinas Xi Jinping  making only his second foreign visit in the year  and Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Brazils Lula da Silva and South Africas Cyril Ramaphosa will gather in Johannesburg and will be joined by Russias Vladimir Putin virtually for the three-day summit during which important issues such as expansion of the grouping, dedollarisation and the Ukraine war will be discussed.

But why are so many countries  at last count, nearly 40 countries  showing keenness to join the bloc?

Also read: BRICS Summit in South Africa: Who is invited? What to expect from the meet?

Heres what we know so far.

Which countries want to join?

Before we delve into the matter of countries wanting to join BRICS, heres a quick understanding of what is this bloc. It started in 2001 when economist Jim ONeill, then at Goldman Sachs, trying to draw attention to the strong growth rates in Brazil, Russia, India and China coined the term BRIC. As Washington Post explains, it was an optimistic thesis for investors in a post-9/11 world. The four nations took the idea and ran with it. Years later, in 2010, South Africa was invited to join, adding the last letter  S  to the original acronym.

Now years later, a number of countries have expressed their desire to join the bloc. In a July press conference, South Africas BRICS ambassador, Anil Sooklal, confirmed that Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were among the countries seeking to join the BRICS collective.

Twenty-two countries have formally approached BRICS countries to become full members. Theres an equal number of countries that has been informally asking about becoming BRICS members, Sooklal was quoted as saying in that interaction with reporters.

Saudi Arabia, the worlds second-biggest oil producer, has applied for BRICS membership, with Talmiz Ahmad, Indias former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, being quoted as saying to Associated Press, If Saudi Arabia were to enter BRICS, it will bring extraordinary importance to this grouping.

Similarly, Iran has said it hopes the mechanism for new membership would be decided at the earliest.

Ethiopia has also demonstrated a strong desire to join BRICS. On 29 June, the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs officially announced the submission of an application to join the consortium of developing nations within BRICS.

Bolivia, according to a Reuters report, has also expressed interest in BRICS membership and is expected to attend the summit, which will be held from 22-24 August. Its government said in July it was determined to curb dependence on the US dollar for foreign trade, instead turning to the Chinese yuan.

Earlier in July, even Algeria said it had applied for BRICS membership, as it was seeking to diversify its economy and strengthen partnership with China and other countries.

Why such keenness to join BRICS?

Today, many geopolitical experts point out that BRICS is a globally recognised brand. In fact, the member countries of BRICS have surpassed the Group of Seven (G7) in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) calculated on purchasing power parity (PPP). The five BRICS countries together contribute nearly 31.5 per cent of the global GDP, compared to 30.7 per cent by G7 countries. Moreover, BRIC countries comprise 41 per cent of the world population with 3.14 billion people. This clearly displays the strength and significance of the BRICS countries.

The BRICS is also seen as a counter to Western influence over world matters. As The Economist puts it  the BRICS members share a profound unease about American leadership, which in their view allows Washington to act without a permission slip.

The BRICS also has been vocal about the Wests hypocrisy and selective methods of applying international rules and norms. Through BRICS, the member countries have been able to adapt and shape the transition towards a multipolar order capable of constraining Americas room for manoeuvre, and increasing that of emerging powers.

Countries wishing to join the BRICS also see that the grouping has served as insurance against diplomatic isolation. Take for example, Russias Vladimir Putin. The BRICS countries havent disinvited Putin to the Johannesburg summit despite calls from countries to do so over Russias war against Ukraine.

Another reason why countries are expressing a fervent wish to join BRICS is the New Development Bank (NDB), which was set up in 2014. Since its launch, the NDB has financed almost 100 projects with $34 billion, mainly in core infrastructure sectors (water, transportation, clean energy, digital etc.) that do not typically attract conventional forms of credit.

Why BRICS wants to expand?

Within the BRICS grouping, China and Russia have expressed a strong desire to expand the membership to the bloc. Beijing seeks to raise its profile on the global stage. As one Chinese official told Financial Times, If we expand BRICS to account for a similar portion of world GDP as the G7, then our collective voice in the world will grow stronger.

Similarly, Russia is also now highly supportive of BRICS expansion as a way to counter its growing isolation in the West.

Whats the hold-up to expansion then?

While China and Russia have pushed for expansion and has seen some support from South Africa, India and Brazil have expressed some scepticism on the matter. Oliver Stuenkel, an associate international-relations professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas, a university in Brazil, told the South China Morning Post there was some concern within India as to what extent an expansion is in New Delhis interest.

Stuenkel explaining Indias wariness said that the new countries would largely join to be closer to China and not to Brazil or India. Even The Economist reported the same, saying New Delhi feared that expansion would dilute its influence within the group and admitting smaller members would reduce the exclusivity of the bloc.

Additionally, the news outlet reported that New Delhi worries that BRICS would turn into a China-led bloc, with countries such as Algeria, Argentina, Egypt and Iran seeing membership as easy access to Chinese investment and financial support.

Brazil too has been cautious about an expansion; it has argued that the admission of new members should be transparent, based on a balanced approach and consensus-based decision-making.

Many geopolitical experts also opine that BRICS expansion should be gradual and based on how the new countries would contribute to mutual complementarities, strengthening and long-term functioning of the group without deepening ideological and other divisions.

With inputs from agencies
Its worrying times for China. Their economy isnt doing too well, they are increasingly being isolated from the West and now, there are reports that one of its submarines has sunk after suffering an accident in the Taiwan Strait waters.

Are reports of the sinking true? What do we know of the reported accident that caused the submarine to sink?

We decode whats going on and attempt to give you the truth.

A sunken submarine?

On Tuesday morning, social media was abuzz with reports that a Type 093 (Shang class) Chinese Peoples Liberation Army nuclear-powered attack submarine had a major accident in the vicinity of the disputed Taiwan Strait and all officials on board the vessel, including seven trainees had died.

Some netizens on the recently-rebranded X site also stated that the Communist Party of China Military Commission headquarters was informed about the accident, which took place in the Yellow Sea area, on 21 August.

One X user, identified as @lude_media posted that Chinas president Xi Jinping had been made aware of the incident and that the leader had asked the Joint Operations Command Centre of the Military Commission to investigate the matter.

@lude_media later also added that the accident had taken place in the Yellow Sea and not in the Taiwan Strait.

Another X user, Nepal Correspondence, which calls itself a platform for investigative journalism, also stated that a Type 093 attack nuclear-powered submarine had an accident, and all on board had died in the tragedy.

At around 2 PM on August 21, 2023, #Beijing time, it was reported to the headquarters of the #CCP Military Commission that a Type 093 attack nuclear powered #submarine (Long March 4XX) had an accident while performing a mission in the #Taiwan Strait.

1/2 pic.twitter.com/TX78XluQSb  Nepal Correspondence (@NepCorres) August 22, 2023

It, however, stated that the accident took place in Taiwan Strait.

What are officials saying?

There has been no official confirmation on the accident or the deaths of the Chinese officials on board the vessel.

When asked about the same, Taiwans ministry of defence also stated that there was no evidence to corroborate the news. Taiwans ministry of defence spokesperson Sun Li-fang, according to a report in the Taipei Times, said the nations joint intelligence and surveillance apparatus has not detected any evidence of a submarine crash.

The rumour has thus far only circulated on social media, with no official sources confirming the supposed incident thus far, he added, declining to comment further.

Reporting on Chinas silence on the issue, @NepCorres wrote on X that Beijing wasnt just denying the report but also stating that the news was being mistaken for an incident from 2003. In #Galwan, #China denied its 40+ casualties. Now, it is denying its submarine accident, read the post.

#China has activated its #Wumao army which is denying the incident & confusing it with 2003 accident. In #Galwan, #China denied its 40+ casualties. Now, it is denying its submarine accident

1/5 pic.twitter.com/Opqbu5tEwZ  Nepal Correspondence (@NepCorres) August 22, 2023

Its imperative to note here that China has followed the principle of silence in the past. When the Galwan incident took place in 2020  China and India troops clashed  Beijing had refuted claims that their personnel had been affected. It was much later that Beijing even admitted to casualties, but maintained that the numbers were not very heavy.

These claims had been refuted by Russian and Australian media reports. TASS, the Russian news agency, stated that 45 Chinese soldiers died in the free-style fight, while The Klaxon, an Australian tabloid, reported that China had suffered a devastating loss in the Galwan Valley encounter in 2020.

China-Taiwan ties

The possibility of a Chinese submarine in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait is quite likely as China has stepped up activity in the area.

Two days ago, Taiwan had said that 25 Chinese air force planes crossed the Taiwan Straits median line in the past 24 hours, as Beijing was carrying out military drills around the island. China had held air and sea drills around Taiwan last Saturday, in what it said was a stern warning after the islands vice president visited the United States.

Xinhua said the drills were carried out in the waters and airspace to the north and south-west of Taiwan Island to test the PLAs ability to seize control of air and sea spaces and fight in real combat conditions.

China has been stepping up activity against Taiwan in recent times, with the latters Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, being quoted as saying, We are taking the Chinese military threat very seriously. I think 2027 is the year that we need to be serious about.

The comment had come after Chinas Xi Jinping had previously emphasised that the Taiwan issue cannot be passed on from generation to generation. China has long viewed the neighbouring island as territory of its own and has responded aggressively to any comments made by foreign countries on the issue of Taiwan.

With inputs from agencies
Monster hunters and amateur sleuths are gathering in the United Kingdoms Scottish Highlands this weekend in search of the mythical Loch Ness monster, affectionately named Nessie. As per the organisers Loch Ness Centre, it is the biggest search for the legendary creature in over 50 years.

Hundreds of volunteers from across the globe will participate in person and online for the search scheduled on 26 and 27 August. The volunteers are going to be watching the water, Paul Nixon, manager of Scotlands Loch Ness Centre, told CNN. If they spot something, hopefully, they will film it and then submit it to our online portal.

What will the hunt entail? What is the history of this mysterious creature? Why are so many people still fascinated with Nessie? Lets take a closer look.

Finding Nessie

According to the Loch Ness Centre, the largest surface watch for Nessie since the 1970s will include modern technology, such as thermal drones and a hydrophone, to search the waters (of Loch Ness) in a way that has never been done before, reported Associated Press (AP).

While drones with infrared cameras will fly over the lake, a hydrophone will detect acoustic signals underwater.

At 36 kilometres in length and over 780 feet deep, Loch Ness is Great Britains largest lake by volume and second-largest by surface area, noted Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Loch Ness Centre has collaborated with Loch Ness Exploration (LNE), an independent and voluntary research team, for the event, as per CNN.

Whats different about our search this time is that obviously our volunteers will be armed with mobile phones and will be able to capture any movement more accurately and more regularly, manager Nixon told CNN.

The centre, which was recently renovated, is located at the old Drumnadrochit hotel.

As per The Guardian, LNEs Alan McKenna, who will brief volunteers each morning on what to look out for and how to record findings, said: Its always been our goal to record, study and analyse all manner of natural behaviour and phenomena that may be more challenging to explain.

Its our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts and by joining this large-scale surface watch, youll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world.

Director of Cobbs Group director, Fraser Campbell, which owns the Drumnadrochit hotel, told the UK daily that the renewed interest in the Loch Ness monster had led to unbelievable bookings across this summer season.

Legend of the Loch Ness monster

The earliest mention of the monster can be traced back to Irish monk Saint Columba, who is believed to have encountered a water beast in 565 AD in the River Ness, which flows from the loch, reported The Guardian.

The biography of Saint Columba, written by Saint Adamnan, says that the monk used the power of god to cast away the monster in the lake, according to Time magazine.

However, it was not until 1933 that the Loch Ness monster gained worldwide attention.

At the time, a local newspaper, the Inverness Courier, reported that Aldie Mackay, manager of the Drumnadrochit hotel, witnessed a water beast in Loch Ness.

Later in the same year, George Spicer told Inverness Courier of seeing a most extraordinary form of animal, which was six- to eight-foot-long with a long neck, cross the road while he was driving near Loch Ness, The Washington Post reported.

I saw the nearest approach to a dragon or prehistoric animal that I have ever seen in my life, he wrote in a letter published by the Courier.

Spicers story caught the medias imagination, and the Loch Ness monster was born, Gary Campbell, of Inverness, who runs the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, told the American newspaper.

As per Time, this triggered an obsession with the creature in Britain and beyond.

In November 1933, Hugh Gray told Scottish Daily Record that when he was walking along Loch Ness, he noticed an object of considerable dimensions coming two or three feet out of the water near him.

The photo snapped by Gray of what appears to be an animallike tail in water added fuel to the frenzy for this legendary creature, The Washington Post reported.

The photo kicked off the modern era of [Nessie] hunting. Up until then, it was just a local mystery, Roland Watson, the author of several books about the Loch Ness monster, said, as per the American daily. Ninety years on, Grays photo is still seen as one of the best.

In 1934, English physician Robert Wilson took a picture, famous as the surgeons photograph, which shows a long-necked creature poking its slender neck out of the water. Although this photo later turned out to be a hoax, it remains imprinted into the minds of the people even today.

This mysterious creature has been referred to as Nessie since the 1940s, The Guardian noted.

Loch Ness Investigation Bureau, which was set up in the 1960s, undertook the biggest search of the loch in 1972, as per the UK dailys report.

Inverness register has recordings of 1,148 sightings of an unidentified creature in the lake and on land, as per The Washington Post.

Whats behind the obsession?

From mermaids, the Phoenix, dragons, and unicorns to vampires and werewolves, mythical creatures and fabled beasts have continued to capture the public imagination.

As per The Conversation, there are more than 85 theories on what the Loch Ness monster is, ranging from plant debris, boat wakes to killer whales and the ocean sunfish.

Speaking to The i newspaper in 2019, Philip Hoare  author of Leviathan, said that the fascination with fantastic beasts could be linked to how weve separated the way of looking at the world.

Since the mid-19th century, there have been two notions of looking at the world  mythically and rationally  and I think were still living in fall-out from that, he explained.

We dont want to believe weve discovered something, because it would be the end of poetry and imagination. I dont think what any scientist says is going to dissuade the idea of monsters. They are in the corners of our existence and I dont want to be disabused of those notions.

Noting that the Loch Ness monster has several identities, Charles Paxton, a research fellow at the University of St Andrews, wrote for The Conversation last year that Nessie is a function of human psychology rather than nature. And perhaps it is human psychology rather than nature that has sustained the idea of Nessie since the 1930s.

With inputs from agencies
Pakistan continues to harbour terrorists and India is often at the receiving end. Now reports have emerged that the Indian Army conducted a surgical strike across the Line of Control (LOC) to destroy four launching pads of terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. However, the Indian government has refuted the claims.

The report, published in a newspaper, said that the Indian soldiers entered 2.5 kilometres across the LoC from Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Saturday night.

However, the Indian Army and Ministry of Defence have denied the report. The government said that the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid along the LoC in J&Ks Balakote sector. It emphasised that it was not a surgical strike as reported in the daily.

What did the newspaper report?

According to a report in the Hindi newspaper, seven to eight terrorists were killed in the operation, which is dubbed a surgical strike by India. All Indian soldiers returned safely after the mission.

The strike was reportedly carried out in Nakyal, Kotli in PoK after Indian security agencies received specific information about plans for a terror attack in Poonch and Rajouri districts. The movement of the Pakistani army, its intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan Border Action Team had increased at the launching pads, the newspaper reported.

The Indian Army, it said, had not confirmed the surgical strikes. Pakistan too has been silent about it.

What is the Indian government saying?

Refuting the newspaper report, the defence ministry said that two terrorists were detected by alert troops attempting to cross the LoC onto the Indian side, making use of inclement weather, dense fog, thick foliage, and undulating ground in Hamirpur area of Balakote Sector.

Intelligence Inputs received from multiple intelligence agencies and Jammu and Kashmir Police revealed the presence of terrorists waiting to cross the LC from opposite own Balakote Sector. Based on these inputs own surveillance grid was placed on heightened alert and multiple ambushes were sited at suitable location, the ministrys statement read.

According to the ministry, the terrorists were challenged and then engaged with effective fire as they approached Indias ambush sites. This forced them to flee by making use of weather and ground conditions.

However effective fire resulted in one terrorist falling down on the ground near the LC. Additional troops were then moved into the area and search operations commenced in the afternoon after improvement of weather conditions and visibility, it said.

Searches were conducted during which the Indian Army discovered an AK 47 rifle with two magazines, 30 rounds, two grenades, and Pakistan-origin medicines, reports News18. Blood trails leading towards the LoC were also found.

As per intelligence Inputs the two terrorists who attempted to infiltrate were injured due to fire from own troops but still managed to return across the LC and later they succumbed to their injuries, the statement by the ministry added.

The Indian Army continues to remain on alert and maintain vigil to foil any attempts of infiltration in the region.

How common are surgical strikes?

The term surgical strike entered the popular lexicon in 2016. On 28 September 2016, the Indian Army launched surgical strikes on terrorist camps in PoK. It was in response to an attack by Pakistan-based terrorists on an army base in Kashmirs Uri on 18 September. Nineteen soldiers were killed and 30 others were injured.

In an interview with the news agency ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the surgical strikes were planned as there was a rage building up within him and the Indian Army after soldiers were killed in Uri.

On 26 February 2019, Indian Air Force carried out airstrikes in Pakistans Balakot. This came 12 days after a convoy of vehicles carrying CRPF personnel was attacked by a suicide bomber in J&Ks Pulwama district, killing 40.

In retaliation, the IAF destroyed a terror training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group that planned the Pulawama attack.

In March 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (then home minister) said that India had carried out three cross-border strikes in five years. While the 2016 surgical strike and the 2019 Balakot airstrike are known to the public, Singh did not reveal the third.

With inputs from agencies
Thaksin Shinawatra is back in Thailand.

The former prime minister and controversial figure has returned to Thailand after years in exile.

Thaksin, who has multiple outstanding criminal cases against him, was quickly arrested and sent to jail after his landing.

But why is the 74-year-old billionaire and founder of the Thai Rak Thai party back? And what does his return mean for Thailand?

Lets take a closer look:

Who is he?

Early years

Born into a family of ethnic Chinese silk merchants in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin became a policeman in 1973 before pursuing graduate degrees in the United States.

On his return, he established a computer dealership that he grew into Thailands largest mobile network, Shin Corporation, that laid the foundation for his rise to become one of the countrys richest men.

A shrewd operator who rarely minces his words, an increasingly wealthy Thaksin entered politics in the mid-1990s, initially serving as foreign minister and then deputy prime minister.

In 1998, he founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) that led him to power, starting off a premiership in 2001 during which he expanded spending on healthcare, rural development and farming subsidies, his Thaksinomics.

Thaksins rivals accused him of winning power with handouts to rural voters, while critics accused him of abusing his electoral mandate to systematically dismantle constitutional checks and balances, while cementing his authoritarian rule.

Media watchdogs said he oversaw a steady erosion of press freedom.

A 2003 war on drugs in which 2,500 people were killed boosted his image as a crime-buster but sparked outrage from human rights groups, who said he was riding roughshod over civil liberties.

The brash Thaksin, who called himself Thailands first CEO prime minister, also faced royalist accusations that he was undermining the revered monarchy, which he denied.

Exile

In 2005, Thaksin was easily re-elected to the post of prime minister.

But an undercurrent of anger against him was already building.

That rage exploded in 2006 when he sold his shares of Shin Corporation for 73.3 billion baht ($2.08 billion) to Singapores Temasek.

His opponents complained of conflict of interest, alleging that the prime ministers family did not pay tax on capital gains from the deal.

The military leveraged middle class anger to stage a bloodless coup in September 2006 when Thaksin was abroad, but his loyalists kept winning general elections.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science and senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, told CNN:

He became a threat because his popularity was competing against the establishment.

But rather than fighting the corruption charges, which he claimed were politically motivated, Thaksin skipped bail and went into self-exile initially in Britain, where he bought Premier League club Manchester City.

His critics called the purchase a political gimmick.

He returned to Thailand in early 2008 to face the various legal charges filed against him but again went into self-exile months later.

If I am fortunate enough, wrote Thaksin, a deeply polarising telecoms billionaire who broke the mould of Thai politics, I will return and die on Thai soil.

A government led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, swept to power in a 2011 election, only to be ousted in a 2014 coup by outgoing prime minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha after relentless street protests led by his conservative enemies.

The return

On Tuesday, Thaksin finally returned.

Thaksin flew from Singapore in his private jet and landed at Don Mueang International Airport around 9 am local time. Thai broadcasters aired live footage of him walking out of the airports private jet terminal with his three children including his youngest daughter, key Pheu Thai member Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

His grandchildren were also seen.

After walking out, Thaksin placed a flower wreath and prostrated before a portrait of Thailands king and queen at the gate of the terminal. He spent a moment greeting supporters and the media waiting in front of the terminal but did not speak.

Hundreds of his supporters gathered outside of the airport hours ahead of his arrival, donning red and holding signs with welcoming messages. They showed their devotion to him with songs and chants, then raised raucous cheers when he appeared at the entrance.

I feel fulfilled that I travelled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes, said Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from Maha Sarakham province. Weve waited for him to return to the land. Theres the feeling that we got someone we love back home, said 63-year-old Mayuraet Kodchompoo.

Paetongtarn posted family photos with Thaksin in the middle on Facebook with a message thanking people who went to the airport to welcome her father, saying me and my family are very grateful.

His convoy left the airport and was seen arriving at the Supreme Court about an hour after he emerged at the airport.

Thaksin was convicted in absentia in several criminal cases that he said were politically motivated, and he could face prison time unless he receives a royal pardon.

He now faces years in jail after convictions of graft and abuse of power.

With the convictions against him, Thaksin could face more than a decade in prison, though Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam of the outgoing military-linked government said earlier that Thaksin is eligible to request a pardon and could receive special treatment because of his age.

Napon said Thaksins decision to return now suggests that he has received assurances that he will not have to serve a prison sentence in full.

To the rural masses, Thaksin is loved as the first leader to pay attention to the needs of millions living beyond Bangkoks bright lights.

He has always helped making our lives better, 63-year-old Ankana Nattakit told Al Jazeera. No other prime minister has done nearly anything as much for us. Hes the prime minister of the grassroots people.

But to many in the urban middle class and the royalist elite, Thaksin was a crony capitalist who plundered the economy while in power from 2001 until he was ousted in a 2006 military coup and later led a protest movement that reduced parts of Bangkok to smouldering ruins in 2010.

What does this mean for Thailand?

It closes a crucial chapter in Thailands politics, Thitinan said of Thaksins return. He has been such a dominant force over the past two decades.

His opponents and enemies have done everything to (Thaksin), including overthrowing him in the military coup, not once but twice  in 2006 against him, in 2014 against his sister. They have dissolved his parties twice, Thitinan told CNN. Weve gone through so much in Thailand.

But when one chapter closes, another one has seemingly begun.

While Thaksin has said his decision to return has nothing to do with an expected vote in Parliament later in the day on a candidate from the Pheu Thai party for prime minister, many believe his arrival is connected to the partys pursuit of power.

The move comes on the same day that the Pheu Thai has begun its plans to start forming a new government.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Thaksin. The military coup that ousted him triggered years of upheaval and division that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supports Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Thaksin had thus far avoided returning over concerns he would not be treated fairly by the military-backed government and establishment that has long held a sharp animosity toward him.

He has remained active in Thai politics, however, often making video calls to rallies of his supporters and parties backed by him.

Thaksins plans to return to Thailand were postponed after the election results were announced  this implies a strong connection between the election, formation of coalitions, and selection of the prime minister on one hand, and Thaksins personal agenda on the other, said Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher and visiting fellow at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Thaksin has managed to make this election about himself personally, and the direction of a Pheu Thai-led coalition heavily depends on his personal whims.

In an interview with BBC Thai on Saturday, Thaksin said his return was planned before the date of the parliamentary vote was set, and that he was prepared to follow the Thai legal process.

Less than a week before the May elections, Thaksin announced he would like to return before his birthday in July, but the plan was repeatedly delayed, with he and Paetongtarn citing both post-election uncertainties and his health.

Pheu Thai takes leadership in new govt

Pheu Thai came in second in the elections but took over leadership in forming a new government after the surprise winner, the progressive Move Forward Party, was repeatedly rejected by conservative senators appointed by a previous military government.

According to SCMP, the Move Forward Party has stated that its agenda includes among other things amending the royal defamation law, rolling back the armys powers, ending conscription and monopolies.

Move Forwards reform agenda appealed deeply to many Thais, particularly younger voters who were disenchanted by nearly a decade of military-backed rule, but was seen as a threat by the countrys conservative elites.

Pheu Thai launched the bid to form the government after it assembled an 11-party coalition including two parties allied with its former military adversaries Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation Party.

This is now a window for Thaksin to make a deal because he no longer is the threat, Thitinan added to CNN.

Hes 74 years old, his party lost the election for the first time  Move Forward is the real threat, and therefore Thaksin is making a move to come back.

But Thitinan said Thaksin might be living in the past.

To me, Thai politics has moved beyond Thaksin, Thitinan added. Its no longer about Thaksin populism in Thailand  its about institutional reforms of the royalist establishment that the Move Forward Party is proposing.

Pheu Thai has been a victim of the royalist establishment for two decades, and now theyre making a deal with them to keep Move Forward away and out, Thitinan said.

Fresh vote on PM

After more than three months without a new government for Thailand, Parliament convened on Tuesday to attempt to choose a prime minister again. Pheu Thais candidate, former property developer Srettha Thavisin, was the only name nominated by his party leader Chonlanan Srikaew.

House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha has allocated time for lawmakers to debate on the nomination before the vote takes place in the afternoon. Srettha did not run for office and the law does not require a prime ministerial candidate to be an elected lawmaker. Parliament also does not require him to be present at the vote.

Pheu Thai has been heavily criticized by some of its supporters for backtracking on a pre-election pledge not to join hands with pro-military parties. Party officials have defended the decision by saying it was necessary to break the political deadlock and seek reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.

The Pheu Thai-led coalition holds 314 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives and needs some support from the non-elected Senate, appointed by a previous military government, to achieve a majority in the combined parliamentary vote.

Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule. Senators, like the army, see themselves as guardians of traditional conservative royalist values.

With inputs from agencies
Farmers in Punjab have hit the streets yet again.

Thousands of policemen have been deployed as 16 farmer unions including Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and Bhoomi Bachao Mohim have called for a protest today.

Police said several farmer leaders have been detained in different parts of the state, including Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran.

The development comes a day after a man died after being run over by a tractor-trolley and at least five policemen were injured in a clash with farmers in Sangrur district.

But why are the farmers protesting? And whats happening on the ground?

Lets take a closer look:

As per The Week, the farmers are asking for a relief package from the Centre worth Rs 50,000 crore as compensation for the damage caused by the floods.

They are also asking that a person whose home was damaged by the floods be given Rs 5 lakh and that the family of a person who died in the floods be given Rs 10 lakh as compensation.

As per Hindustan Times, the Punjab governor and Chandigarh administrator Banwarilal Purohit on Sunday met with 11 farmer union representatives.

Purohit told the representatives he would forward their demands to the Union government.

Officials said security has been increased at the inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Tuesday. In Chandigarh, security personnel have been deployed at all entry and exit points to prevent farmers from entering.

A heavy deployment of force has also been made at Shambhu in Ambala located on the Haryana-Punjab border, they said. In Punjabs Rajpura, barricades have been put up while anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle have also been deployed.

.According to The Times of India, over 100 farmer leaders have been taken into preventative custody on Tuesday.

Ropar range SSP Sandeep Garg told the newspaper, Special eye is being kept on those undertrials bailed out recently and active farmers supporters. Highway domination exercises are being held to check the movement of farmer leaders. All vehicles entering, exiting, and passing through main roads like airport road are being checked. We have around 2,000 cops manning the roads from Monday evening.

Representatives of 16 farmer bodies on Sunday had held a meeting with senior officials of Chandigarh and Punjab Police in Chandigarh over their protest.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema condemned the police action against farmer leaders, calling it undemocratic.

Cheema said the state government has miserably failed to provide relief to the affected farmers and farm labourers.

Their condition is worsening day-by-day. At most places they have suffered twice but government has not paid compensation even for the first loss. There is no immediate help for those who had to leave their houses and are sitting in the open.

But in spite of all this if they want to protest peacefully to highlight their sufferings, they have been arrested. This is inhumane. All of them should be released immediately, said Cheema on X.

At most places they have suffered twice but govt has not paid compensation even for the first loss. There is no immediate help for those who had to leave their houses and are sitting in open. All their household is washed away. No help is coming for the cattle. But inspite of all this if they want to protest peacefully to highlight their sufferings, they have been arrested. This is inhumane. All of them should be released immediately, the SAD leader added.

Farmers clash with cops, man run over by tractor trolley dies

Farmers on Monday clashed with police in Sangrur district over the detention of some farm leaders.

Some policemen and farmers were hurt in the clash that ensued when the police personnel tried to stop them from moving ahead to block a road and a toll plaza in the district under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Azaad), officials said.

Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Lamba said the protesting farmers on tractor-trolleys and buses forced their way through barricades put up by the police. He also said some protesters even turned violent and hit the policemen with sticks, injuring two of them, including an inspector.

Police said one of the farmers also suffered severe injuries after coming under a bus belonging to the protesters. The injured were admitted to a hospital, they said.

The Week quoted police as saying that an FIR was lodged against 53 farmers over violence and on attempt to murder charges.

On Monday, the protesting farmers claimed that several of their leaders, including Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) president Sarwan Singh Pandher, Satkar Singh Kotli of KMSC, Bohr Singh of the BKU (Behramke), were detained by police ahead of the demonstration.

A man died after being run over by a tractor-trolley and at least five policemen were injured as farmers clashed with them in Sangrur district Monday over the detention of some farm leaders.

The victim was a farmer apparently taking part in the protest in the districts Longowal area, where police were trying to stop protesters from blocking a national highway and a toll plaza, officials said.

Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Lamba said the members of the farmer union wanted to block the Sangrur-Barnala national highway and also the Badbar toll plaza but police refused to let them.

The farmers, however, forced their way through barricades using tractor-trolleys and buses, he said, adding some people drove their tractors into the barricades.

An inspector escaped being crushed under a tractor-trolley but was severely injured, police said, adding that another policeman sustained injuries to his face and three more were hurt as well.

The officials said a farmer identified as Pritam Singh came under a tractor-trolley belonging to one of the protesters and sustained severe injuries. He later died during treatment, they added.

A video purportedly showing the elderly farmer coming under the rear tyres of the trolley surfaced on social media. Some farmers could be seen asking the vehicles driver to stop but he did not.

Police said the incident took place because of the irresponsible behaviour of a few tractor and bus drivers during the protest.

The SSP said some protesters hit policemen with their sticks as the protest turned violent. He added that said the situation was now peaceful and police used the highest level of restraint.

Early in the day, farmers claimed that several of their leaders, including Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) president Sarwan Singh Pandher, Satkar Singh Kotli of the KMSC, Bohr Singh of the BKU (Behramke), had been detained by the Punjab Police.

A farmer leader in Tarn Taran district said police allegedly conducted raids at the residences of farm leaders and detained them.

Farmers had said they wanted to hold a protest on the parade ground in Sector 17 of Chandigarh but the UT administration wanted them to demonstrate at a designated place in Sector 25.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal slammed the AAP government for the death of the farmer in Sangrur.

Horrendous broad daylight murder of a beleaguered and peacefully protesting farmer Pritam Singh at Longowal (in CMs home district Sangrur) has sent shock waves throughout the state especially among the farmers. A murder case should be registered against the Chief Minister @BhagwantMann as it was done on his orders. The senior police officers, who executed this, should also be booked, Badal said on X.

Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa condemned the police action against farmer leaders in different parts of the state.

The @AAPPunjab govt in Punjab has unleashed its draconian agendas. Several farmers union leaders have been arrested and raids are still going on to arrest some other farmer leader, he tweeted.

Meanwhile, farmer leaders from Haryana too claimed that some people associated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union have been detained by the police.

The Haryana Police has detained BKU leader Amarjit Singh Mohari and some others in Ambala, they claimed, adding that Sandeep Singh has been detained in Kurukshetra.

The Ambala Police deployed personnel along the Haryana-Punjab border to maintain law and order in the area.

The farmers are all set to protest in Chandigarh on August 22 seeking compensation for the flood-hit farmers. Instead of complying with the genuine demands of the farmers, the so-called Badlav govt has adopted this harsh stance. The lies of the Punjab CM @BhagwantMann about providing relief to the farmers have been exposed, Bajwa said on X

With inputs from agencies
Indias Pakistani bahu Seema Haider, who is still under probe for entering India illegally, clashed with her husband Sachins neighbor, a woman who has gone viral for her lappu sa Sachin comment.

The two women locked horns on a television debate.

Mithlesh Bhati had also heaped taunts on Sachin on live TV: Mara hua chooha hawa aaega to udd jaega (He is a dead rat, will fly in gusty wind)

Mithlesh even went ahead this time to throw Seema Haider a challenge: Do one thing, send me a legal notice.

My lawyers and I will handle this, she said.

On being asked if she would apologise to Sachin and Seema, Mithlesh said, I will not apologise at any cost, whatever you do; I will handle it myself; I will show you what an Indian woman can do.

Seema, on the other hand, entered the debate asserting that she is now an India, not Pakistani. I am an Indian, I dont want to fight her (Mithlesh). I have considered myself an Indian even when I was living in Pakistan, Seema Haider said.

If this woman can abuse me, she can very well kill me also. I dont have a problem in that as well; she can come to my house, I do not live far, Seema responded to Mithleshs gauntlet.

You can come and kill me if you want, I dont have a problem. My doors are open for you.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that the party will conduct a caste census in Madhya Pradesh after winning the Assembly polls in the state and also announced a number of freebies including Rs 1500 per month for women.

Addressing a public rally in Sagar in MPs Bundelkhand region, Kharge said, I promise that when Congress will come to power farmers will get debt relief. LPG will be available at Rs 500. Women will get Rs 1500 per month. For government workers old pension scheme Till 100 units no electricity bill. We will also have a caste census in the state as well. Now, we have six backward-class people on our working committee.

#WATCH | INC President Mallikarjun Kharge says, This (MP government) is an illegal government. They (BJP) stole our MLAs. On the other side, they say that they have built a government on their principlesThey always ask what Congress has done in 70 years. We saved the pic.twitter.com/dcOojPdY8Z  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

Assembly polls are expected to be held in the BJP-ruled state at the end of the year.

The Congress president criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of not doing anything for violence-hit Manipur.

Referring to the laying of the foundation stone of a Rs 100 crore memorial-cum-temple of Sant Ravidas, a revered figure for Scheduled Castes, by PM Modi earlier this month, Kharge said they laid the foundation of Saint Ravidas temple in Sagar but demolished his in Delhi.

He alleged that PM Modi remembered Saint Ravidas only during elections.

As per the 2011 Census, the population of Dalits in MP was 1.13 crore.

Bundelkhand, in north east MP, has six Assembly seats reserved for SCs, and the BJP had won five of them in the 2018 state polls, namely Bina, Naryoli, Jatara, Chandala and Hatta, while the Congress managed to get Gunnor.

Bundelkhand comprises Sagar, Chattarpur, Tikamgarh, Nimari, Damoh and Panna districts, with 26 Assembly seats, of which 15 were won by the BJP in the last state polls, while the Congress got nine and and one each was won by Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

Terming the state government as an illegal regime, Kharge accused the BJP of stealing their MLAs.

This (MP government) is an illegal government. They (BJP) stole our MLAs. On the other side, they say that they have built a government on their principles They always ask what Congress has done in 70 years. We saved the Constitution thats why he became the Prime Minister By showing EDs fear to people you built your government. A similar thing happened in Karnataka and Manipur. They (BJP) do this everywhere they arent elected, said the Congress chief.

#WATCH | INC President Mallikarjun Kharge says, This (MP government) is an illegal government. They (BJP) stole our MLAs. On the other side, they say that they have built a government on their principlesThey always ask what Congress has done in 70 years. We saved the pic.twitter.com/dcOojPdY8Z  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

In an indirect dig at the BJP-led Centre, he said that few people are trying to change the constitution, but this cant happen.

There are 140 crore of people alive to protect it.

With inputs from agencies
With a host of planned security and traffic arrangements for the G20 Summit, the Delhi Police has suggested declaring a public holiday during September 8-10 and closing of commercial establishments located mostly in the New Delhi area, according to an official document.

Delhi government officials said schools and colleges are likely to remain closed during the three days, even as no official order has been issued.

Closure of a few metro stations like the Supreme Court and Central Secretariat is also on the cards due to security reasons, police said, adding that heavy vehicles, excluding those involved in essential services, may not be allowed to enter the city from September 8 to 10.

In an August 18 letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, Special Police Commissioner Madhup Tiwari mentioned there will be arrangements of massive scale during the G20 Summit for which a comprehensive security-cum-movement plan has been prepared.

India is hosting the G20 Summit and the main event will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10. The summit is likely to be attended by 29 heads of state as well as top EU officials and invitee guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.

The letter stated that apart from the main summit venue, the new convention centre at Pragati Maidan, there are other venues such as Rajghat, IARI Pusa and NGMA (Jaipur House) which will see visits from the dignitaries abroad.

There are multiple hotels in Delhi-NCR which have been earmarked for the heads of state, governments, international organisations and their delegates.

The special commissioner said that since most of the arrivals will take place on September 8, which is a Friday, and delegates will depart on September 10-11, there will be a massive movement of traffic which needs to be curtailed to ensure safe passage for the delegates.

Recognising the magnitude of this event and the substantial logistical arrangements involved, we believe that declaring a public holiday during the G-20 Summit will aid in minimising potential traffic congestion, minimising inconvenience to the residents of Delhi and also provide them the opportunity to witness this global summit,Tiwari wrote.

He also said it was advisable to issue directions for commercial establishments, including markets, falling within the controlled zone located mostly in the New Delhi district during this period.

The special commissioner said the Delhi Police will be issuing traffic advisories for the summit.

We understand the importance of maintaining essential services during this time and assure you that we are committed to assist in the implementation of any necessary contingency plans to ensure the continuity of critical functions, he said in the letter.

In view of the above, we kindly request the esteemed authority to consider declaring a public holiday in Delhi from 8th September to 10th September 2023 and ordering commercial and business establishments to remain dosed in the indicated controlled zone for the overall success of the summit, the special commissioner added.
After a hiatus of about three years, Narendra Modis Rakhi sister from Pakistan Qamar Mohsin Sheikh will visit New Delhi to tie the sacred thread to the Prime Minister on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

Raksha Bandhan, an annual festival that celebrates the traditional bond among siblings, will be observed on 30-31 August.

Qamar, a Pakistani-origin woman, moved to India after her marriage with Mohsin Sheikh. She has been tying a Rakhi on PM Modi for over 30 years.

Just like every year, Qamar, will tie a handmade Rakhi on PM Modis wrist.

Rakhi gift for PM Modi

This time I have made the Rakhi myself. I will also gift him (PM Modi) a book on agriculture as he is fond of reading. For the last two-three years, I was unable to go due to Covid-19 but this time, I will meet him in person, Qamar told ANI.

Every day prays for PM Modis good health

Qamar further said that she every day prays for PM Modis good health and long life.

Earlier, I prayed for him to be the chief minister of Gujarat and he became. Whenever I tied the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the prime minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God, she said.

#WATCH | Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Qamar Mohsin Shaikh, PM Narendra Modis rakhi sister says, This time I have made the Rakhi myself. I will also gift him (PM Modi) a book on agriculture as he is fond of reading. For the last 2-3 years I was unable to go due to Covid but this time I pic.twitter.com/BMbbNrRyOP  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

Qamar also said that Modi is doing "commendable work for the country as the Prime Minister."

Special Rakhi for PM Modi

Giving out details of the Rakhi she would be tying on PM Modi's wrist, Qamar said: I have specifically made a red-coloured Rakhi for him. The red colour is considered a symbol of strength

'No doubt Modi will become PM in 2024'

Speaking about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Qamar said: "There is no doubt, he will be the Prime Minister again. He deserves this because he has those capabilities and I wish him to be PM of India every time."

Raksha Bandhan is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Hindus with pomp and fervour. Sisters, on this day, adorn their brothers' wrists with a Rakhi and wish for their healthy and successful life, while brothers assure them of giving unwavering care and support throughout life.

Due to Bhadra Kaal, Raksha Bandhan this year will be marked on 30 and 31 August. The festival is celebrated on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana, which typically falls in August.

With inputs from agencies
The Ministry of Higher Education in Kuwait has recognised the Gulf Medical University (GMU) as a prestigious institution for Kuwaiti students pursuing medical studies.

This recognition is the outcome of a thorough evaluation process that included an in-depth inspection of the university's programmes, buildings, laboratories, and affiliated teaching hospitals by the officials of the ministry.

The decision stands as a testament to the high-quality education provided by GMU and its commitment to shaping the competent healthcare workforce of tomorrow.

Learning ecosystem

Professor Hossam Hamdy, Chancellor of GMU, said: "We are honoured by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Higher Education's recognition of GMU as a distinguished institution for Kuwaiti students seeking health professions education. This acknowledgement underlines our excellence in delivering top-notch learning ecosystem, encouraging a global perspective, and turning out excellent healthcare professionals. Our goal is to develop our students' abilities and aspirations while preparing them for success in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape. This recognition further strengthens our commitment to continue pushing boundaries and setting new benchmarks with innovative programmes and clinical training systems."-- TradeArabia News Service
In Hyderabads Telangana, eight men forcefully entered at the house of a 15-year-old girl when her family was away. Later three of them allegedly gang raped the minor on knifepoint.

The incident took place in Nandanavanam Colony under Meerpat police station limits on Sunday. There has been a huge uproar among the locals ever since this incident came to light.

According to the complaint filed by the victim, the accused men barged into her house at around 9:30 AM.

Four of them took her upstairs and three took turns to rape her at knifepoint. Police said they fled after the girl screamed for help.

After about 30 minutes when they left, the girl went to her brothers workplace crying and narrated her ordeal. Her brother then took her to police station.

According to the police, there were some history-sheeters among the accused. Police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POSCO) Act, 2012 and sent the victim to Sakhi Center for medical examination.

Seven police teams have been formed to nab the accused. The police is scanning the CCTV footage nearby to trace the culprits.

The police have also detained the suspects in the case and their interrogation is on. Although the main culprit is still absconding.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner DS Chauhan also visited the crime scene and Meerpet police station. The victim, a Dalit, works in a garment shop in Dilsukhnagar. He also has a younger brother who works for flexi.
The Delhi High Court has recently reaffirmed the acquittal of a Muslim man who had been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

The case pertained to an appeal lodged by the State against a prior judgment from November 15, 2016, which acquitted the accused man of charges under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The incident came to light through a first information report (FIR) filed by the childs mother, asserting that during October and November 2014, while the child was alone, the respondent (who was the victims sisters husband) visited their residence four to five times and committed sexual assault.

Subsequent medical examinations confirmed the girls pregnancy.

In the trial court, the victim reportedly attested that the accused was her elder sisters husband. She recounted that in December 2014, along with her mother, the accused, and his wife, she journeyed to their ancestral home in Bihar to attend their cousins sisters wedding.

Following the wedding, she entered into matrimony with the accused.

Notably, her parents were unaware of her marriage to the accused.

Upon returning to Delhi with her mother, the respondent-husband, and sister, she revealed that she had engaged in sexual relations with the respondent on multiple occasions.

After careful consideration of the cases details, the Court determined that there were insufficient grounds to grant an appeal. Consequently, the application was dismissed.

The court noted that the girl, who is also a Muslim, was in fact his wife, and their physical relationship occurred after their lawful marriage.

A panel of judges, Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna, ruled that the accuseds relationship with the victim does not meet the criteria for rape.

The judges cited the principles of Muslim personal law, which stipulate that a Muslim girl aged 15 or older can enter a marriage contract of her own choice. In such cases, engaging in sexual activity with the girl is not considered a criminal offense.

The High Court articulated, Considering that the young victim was the mans wife and nearly fifteen years of age, it would be inaccurate to label the respondents [the accused mans] physical involvement with her as rape. The respondents acquittal is well-founded.

The court also concurred with the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ), who concluded that based on the childs testimony, she had wed the respondent in December 2014, and only after their marriage did they engage in a physical relationship.

Consequently, no violation of Section 6 read with Section 5(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) was established.

The matter of permitting Muslim girls below 18 to legally marry is currently awaiting resolution in the Supreme Court.

In a previous ruling on June 13, 2022, the Punjab and Haryana High Court declared that according to Muslim personal law, a Muslim girl aged 15 or older has the legal capacity to enter a marriage contract of her choice.

The Delhi High Court similarly affirmed that under Muslim law, a minor girl who has reached puberty can enter marriage without parental consent and has the right to cohabitate with her husband.

In instances where sexual intercourse occurs only after the wedding, offenses under the POCSO Act will not be applicable.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) subsequently appealed the Punjab and Haryana High Courts decision, contending that endorsing such marriages would contradict both the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which stipulate the legal age of sexual consent as 18.

The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court.
In a recent development, a man suspected of involvement in the communal clashes that unfolded in Haryanas Nuh was wounded in the leg following a police encouonter Tuesday.

According to reports, the encounter transpired within the precincts of the Tauru locality situated in the Nuh district. The accused individual, identified as Wasim, had a reward of 25,000 on his capture and was entangled in several legal cases encompassing charges of robbery and homicide.

Washim was taken into custody amidst the Aravalli hills in the Tauru region. Following his apprehension, he was admitted to the Nalhad Medical Hospital to receive necessary medical attention.

Seized from the suspect were a country-made pistol alongside five rounds of ammunition.

This marks the second occurrence of a police encounter in Nuh in just one week.

During the nights spanning August 15 and 16, two individuals suspected of participating in the unrest within Nuh were detained following a brief encounter. In the course of this incident, one of the suspect was apprehended after being shot in the leg.

The police encounter occurred in the vicinity of Sakho village hill, located in the Tauru region of Nuh district, as reported by cops.

The pair, attempting a hasty escape on a motorcycle, tumbled down after one of them sustained a leg injury due to a gunshot, as stated by the police. Subsequently, a makeshift firearm, a solitary cartridge, and the motorcycle were discovered in their possession.

These confrontations unfolded in the aftermath of the communal turmoil that unfolded in Nuh. This unrest was instigated when a mob attacked a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession, known as the Braj Mandal Yatra, on July 31. The repercussions of this violence subsequently spilled over into the nearby Gurugram. Tragically, the clashes resulted in the loss of six lives.
Amid the steep rise in prices of onions in the country, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday invited farmers to sell their onions at good prices, without worry about anything.

The minister further informed that National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) have been selling onions at a subsidised rate of Rs 25 per quintal to consumers in different regions.

This subsidy will be provided by the government, he added.

NCCF and NAFED will buy 5 lakh tonnes of onions instead of 3 lakh, so that our farmers dont have any problems. Two lakh tonnes will be bought at Rs 2,410 per quintal, Goyal said.

Both consumers and farmers are valuable to us. Our food giver (farmers) gets a good price. I invite all the farmers to sell their onions at good prices and they dont need to worry about anything, the Union minister said.

#WATCH | Union Minister Piyush Goyal at a press conference says, On 17th August, two important decisions were taken, on the export 40% tax has been imposed. But along with this, NCCF and NAFED will buy 5 lakh tons of onions instead of 3 lakh, so that our farmers dont have any pic.twitter.com/oXQt2gqLaR  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

Why are prices of onions rising?

Onion, a kitchen staple, has been leaving consumers in tears due to rampant surge in its prices. As per traders, the late onset of the monsoon has been affecting supplies and this shortage is expected to shoot up by December this year.

It is worth mentioning that India is the biggest producer of onion with four states - Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra - cumulatively producing over 80 per cent of the country's total production.

As per a report by The Indian Express, the present price rise of onion is due to two reasons:

1- Shortage in stored produce

2- Lower-than-expected acreage of the bulb itself. Unlike other vegetables, onions are not grown around the year.

On 19 August, the Union government on imposed 40 per cent duty on the export of onions to check price rise and improve supplies in the domestic market. This decision has led to fresh protests among farmers.

Meanwhile, the Centre is in conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis as the farmers from the state are protesting against the 40 per cent export duty. Farmers in at least three districts in Maharashtra protested at APMCs against the export duty on the onion.

Shortage of onions in India

As per the report, the drop in output began last year after the country saw a dip in onion acreage. As per the Crop and Weather Watch Group, as against the 3.76 lakh hectares target for onion, India had seen sowing over 3.29 lakh hectares.

Also, damage to the Rabi crop in MarchApril, when most onion-growing states, including Maharashtra, witnessed unseasonal rain and hailstorm, made the situation worse and affected the output massively.

Just as tomatoes

Citing example on how the Union government was able to stabilise prices of tomatoes which rose to Rs 300 per kg at some places, Goyal said: "The intervention in tomatoes was successful and farmers also got a good price. The sale of discounted tomatoes allowed us to stabilise retail prices."

With inputs from agencies
A 62-year-old male passenger vomited blood on a Mumbai-Ranchi IndiGo flight and died on Monday evening after the flight made an unscheduled halt in Nagpur due to the medical emergency, an official said.

A 62-year-old male passenger was suffering from CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) and tuberculosis and omitted a large amount of blood in an aircraft (going from Mumbai to Ranchi) and was brought dead, said Aejaz Shami, DGM, Branding and Communications of KIMS Hospital in Nagpur.

Maharashtra | A 62-year-old male passenger was suffering from CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) & tuberculosis and omitted a large amount of blood in an aircraft (going from Mumbai to Ranchi) and was brought dead. Body was taken to GMCH in KIMS Kingsway Hospitals Ambulance for  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

His body was taken to Government Medical College and Hospital for further procedures, added Shami.

Later in a statement, IndiGo confirmed that flight 6E 5093, operating from Mumbai to Ranchi, was diverted to Nagpur due to a medical emergency on board.

IndiGo issues a press statement, IndiGo flight 6E 5093, operating from Mumbai to Ranchi was diverted to Nagpur due to a medical emergency on board. The passenger was offloaded and was rushed to the hospital for further medical assistance. Unfortunately, the passenger did not https://t.co/9mMJhaxmMH pic.twitter.com/67dOkglFQJ  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

The passenger was offloaded and was rushed to the hospital for further medical assistance. Unfortunately, the passenger did not survive. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, added the statement.
The Calcutta High Court on Monday criticized the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with cruelty against women by their husbands or relatives.

Justice Subhendu Samanta, presiding as the single judge, emphasized that although Section 498A was initially introduced to safeguard womens rights, it has now become a tool for filing false cases.

The purpose behind enacting Section 498A was to combat the problem of dowry in society.

However, the court has observed that this provision is now being misused, leading to what can be described as a form of legal terrorism.

Justice Samanta highlighted that allegations of harassment and torture, as defined in Section 498A, cannot be solely based on the statement of the complainant (wife).

The court stressed that a complainant can indeed file a criminal complaint, but it must be substantiated with strong evidence.

The case before the court involved a man and his family members who were facing criminal charges under Section 498A, brought against them by the mans estranged wife in October and December 2017.

The wifes first complaint, filed in October 2017, accused the husband of subjecting her to both mental and physical cruelty.

The police, subsequently, gathered statements from witnesses and neighbors of the couple. However, it was noted that the accusations against the husband were vague and lacked specific details.

In December 2017, the wife lodged another complaint, this time implicating the husbands family members. She alleged that they had subjected her to mental and physical torture.

The court, however, observed that no substantial evidence had been presented to establish the guilt of the accused family members.

The court noted that the husband and wife had been living in separate apartments from his family members since their marriage.

It stressed that the accusations made by the wife were solely based on her version of events and lacked supporting documents or medical evidence.

Justice Samanta expressed the view that the ongoing criminal proceedings against the husband and his parents lacked a genuine basis and seemed to be driven by personal grievances.

Consequently, the court decided to exercise its inherent power to quash the proceedings, as allowing them to continue would be an abuse of the courts process.

With these considerations, the court quashed the case against the accused parties.
A Bangladeshi woman, identified as Sonia Akhtar, has approached the Uttar Pradesh Police saying she wants to live with her husband living in Noida, who has deserted her after marrying her nearly three years ago in Dhaka.

Akhtar said she is a resident of Dhaka and she got married with Saurabh Kant Tiwari who lives in Surajpur area of Central Noida.

The woman alleged that Tiwari was already married and was not taking her to his home.

He is not agreeing now, he is not taking me with him to his home. I am a Bangladeshi. We got married almost three years ago. I only want to stay with my husband along with our child, Akhtar told reporters.

Cops in Noida have launched an investigation into the case on the basis of Akhtar's complaint.

Additional DCP (Central Noida) Rajiv Dixit said Akhtar informed the Mahila Thana in Noida that she got married to Saurabh Kant Tiwari, who lives in Surajpur area here, but later deserted her and came back to India.

Dixit said the woman has provided the visa, passport details of herself and her child along with her Bangladeshi citizenship card.

The Additional DCP (Central Noida) said prima facie, it appears that Akhtar and Tiwari got married in Bangladesh. The investigation has been handed over to ACP (Women and Child Safety) and all details of the case are seen. Further action taken accordingly.

As per police, Saurabh Kant Tiwari worked for a private firm in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 4 January, 2017 to 24 December, 2021.

"They got married in an Islamic wedding on April 14, 2021 while he was already married to an Indian woman with whom he has two children," the police said.

The incident has come to light just a month-and-a-half after the Noida Police arrested Pakistani national Seema Haider who had illegally entered India through Nepal to live with her lover Sachin Meena who stays in Greater Noida.

Seema and Sachin allegedly became friends while playing online game PUBG.

In May this year, Seema had come to India along with her four children and secretly lived in Rabupura area in a rented accommodation secretly. She and Sachin were arrested on 4 July, but a local court granted them bail on 7 July.

The duo has been living together ever since, even as the Noida Police and the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad continue separate investigations into the case.

With inputs from PTI
When the Agnipath scheme was announced in the summer of 2022, there were apprehensions among some senior veterans, and also the permanent government job seekers were agitated by the loss of vacancies. The government and the military came out to assuage such feelings and explained the rationale and long-term implications, including the need to keep the forces young. Finally, a large number applied to join. The selected Agniveers went through a gruelling military training for all three services. Inputs are that they shaped well and were highly motivated. The first lot of Agniveers have now been inducted into operational units.

The services adopted a robust and transparent selection procedure for a pan-India online exam conducted at more than 250 centres, followed by physical, psychological and medical tests.

A total of 46,000 Agniveers were planned to be recruited in the first batch. 40,000 were for the Indian Army and approximately 3,000 each for the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The scheme provided recruitment of youths in the age bracket of 17-and-a-half to 21. The upper age limit was extended to 23 years for recruitment in 2022 as a one-time waiver, so as to give an opportunity to those who missed a chance as there was no recruitment in the last two years.

More than 7.5 lakh candidates applied in the first batch of Agniveervayu for IAF. There were 3,000 slots for this short-term induction. This is the highest number of candidates to have registered for air force jobs in any recruitment cycle, IAF said. The 631,528 applications in 2021 were the previous highest in any recruitment cycle. Clearly, the apprehensions of some about the scheme seem to have been unfounded. People still felt they have a great opportunity to serve the nation through the new scheme and that they would work very hard to compete and become permanent air warriors.

The IAF finally inducted 2,749 Agniveervayu combatants and 144 Agniveervayu non-combatants in the first batch as part of the Agnipath scheme in Dec 2022. From the second batch, 154 Agniveervayu women also have been inducted among the total of 2,452 Agniveervayu combatants in the first batch of 2023.

Induction of Agniveers is a conceptually new out-of-the-box idea. It requires a transformation of the existing training infrastructure and pattern of ab-initio training. For the IAF, the first batch of Agniveervayu commenced training at Belagavi on 31 December 2022 with a focus on outdoor learning based on the practical orientation of training methodology. Technology was used to make training an inclusive and continuous process with an overlap of self-learning and classroom learning. Surge, night training and disruptive training activities and staggered use of resources were planned to inculcate physical and mental toughening before the deployment of Agniveer in the field. Stream / Sub stream allocation of Agniveers was based on the field of work and multi-skilling and optimising the manpower resources and ensuring faster operational employability of Agniveers. There is a stream allocation test which evaluates the trainees aptitude, factors in skill set and candidates choice.

The training pattern was oriented with a focus on outdoor learning including hands-on training through simulators, models, display boards, demos / practical and visual assimilation. The learning techniques have been shifted from typical table/chair and rostrum patterns to the latest techniques to make them effective and contemporary. The curriculum commenced with physical toughening, service etiquettes and ethical conduct with extra emphasis on punctuality and ownership along with familiarisation with service and its working environment. The training areas covered personal and environmental hygiene as well as survival techniques, safety and security duties. Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) based simulators were being utilised for enhancing the training standards. The simulators impart training in realistic scenarios on firefighting, weapon handling, and light and system specialist vehicle driving.

After successful completion of basic military training, the Agniveers proceed to technical training institutes for eight weeks of specialised training. They also do on-the-job field training (OJT). The Agniveers would do some up-skilling modules and abridged courses during their four years of engagement in service. A truncated training period meant the Agniveer were available in units faster, thus enhancing availability. The initial response from the station is very positive.

The regular soldiers are authorised 60 days of annual leave and 30 days of casual leave, but the Agniveers will get only 30 days of leave in a calendar year. This will increase overall availability. The Agniveer Information Management System (AIMS) and Agniveer Digital Appraisal Report (AVDAR) will allow objective assessment of the Agniveers through their period of engagement of four years. This robust and transparent system for Agniveer will support a fair selection of 25 per cent for enrolment into the regular cadre.

One key objective of the scheme was to have younger armed forces. Presently senior havildar equivalent seniority in each service forms the main force of the services. The average age of current serving soldiers thus is in the mid-thirties. With the implementation of the Agnipath scheme, the average age of combatants would gradually reduce to around 27-28 years thereby lowering the age profile of combatants. This is highly desirable for any military. Finally, the best 25 per cent will join the regular forces. In the long term, they will form the major portion of the armed forces. A younger age profile will mean the armed forces will be fitter and more agile for combat operations.

The Agniveer starts with a good salary package (Rs 30,000) with annual increments. They are entitled to medical and insurance coverage and other service facilities like canteen etc.

Finally, the 75 per cent that gets released into the civil world after four years will be assets to the nation. They would be highly skilled, educated, disciplined, motivated and financially independent youth. They will be in a much better position to become responsible citizens and make good careers. The released Agniveers will be getting certificates related to the skills attained on various systems on which they were trained and had practical exposure. The MoU with IGNOU will facilitate Agniveers to improve their educational qualifications. Non-combatant Agniveers would get higher secondary (10+2) certificates on their release. The Agniveers would also get a lump sum amount of Rs 10.04 lakh and the accrued interest thereon on. This should provide them with financial security and a corpus to launch off.

The Agniveers would be well covered for life and health. In case of death attributable to service, Agniveer is entitled to ex-gratia payment of more than one Crore including Sewa Nidhi Fund. And for disability, attributable to the service, he will receive suitable compensation.

The scheme provides a great opportunity for Indias youth to experience military life without having to join Armed Forces on a long-term basis. The government has assured a certain percentage of jobs in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). These include the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), which are under the administrative and operational control of the MHA. Most chief ministers have given similar assurances. Similarly, most Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) have assured preferential induction based on merit. Others such as Indian Railways, Assam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard, Civil Aviation, Department of Post, Mahindra Group, Adani Group, etc. have assured preference to the Agniveers for employment. It will be a whole-of-nation approach.

The performance of the first lot of Agniveers has been above average. The process imparts military training to aspiring youths and inculcates amongst them the qualities of leadership, patriotism, determination, discipline, courage, camaraderie, orderliness, time management and a sense of duty.

The Agnipath scheme is a futuristic step taken by the country. The Agniveers will have a lasting effect on the preparedness and operational efficiency of the armed forces. The success of the training programme under this new scheme depends more on the consolidation of skills at various stages of training and further deployment of Agniveers at field units. Most of the initial reservations expressed by senior veterans and the youth have been taken care of during training and also their job security aspects have been adequately factored in.

It is a pathbreaking service entry scheme for Indian Armed Forces. The young boys and girls are being picked up across India, without regional bias, given short consolidated training, and then assign to operational tasks. The scheme is clearly set to succeed, as did the Short Service Commission (SSC) for the officers, and induction of women in the armed forces, Sainik Schools and NDA. The Indian soldier is unmatched and so are the young Agniveers.

The scheme will be continuously tweaked by the services in-house through joint consultations. Major changes can be approved at the defence ministers level. The armed forces are clear that the scheme will succeed. It already is. In any case, the scheme would go through a full review after five years in operation. The first batch of trainees have exhibited sharp uptake and good combat skills. Their motivation and patriotism are of a very high level. We have reasons to be proud of the Indian youth. Even when 75 per cent leave to join the mainstream, they will become national assets.

The writer is Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed are personal. 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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A country of Indias size, population density and stage of development curve will suffer from chronic income inequalities when the scourge plagues nations far ahead of India in the metric, such as China.

By all available measures, however, India is steaming ahead. Its economy is growing at the fastest clip among large economies despite a global downturn, and all rating agencies and surveyors are putting India ahead, be it a short term projection or a very long one.

Parsing through income tax data, a major report by SBI, Indias biggest bank, has found that average Indian middle-class income has risen over the years, growing from (weighted mean) Rs 4.4 lakh in fiscal 2012-13 (FY 2013) to Rs 13 lakh in FY 2022. The report also captured the transition of the lower middle class to higher income levels over the past 10 years, calculating that since FY 2011, 13.6 per cent of the Indian population left the lower income strata and migrated upwards by FY 2022.

Concomitantly, there has been a significant decline in the number of zero-tax liability returns. Explained as tax returns where the individuals taxable income falls below the basic exemption limit, the share of such ITRs has gone down from 84.10 per cent in FY 2011 to 64 per cent by FY 2022.

This is tangible progress. To argue that such progress has been restricted to only a small segment of the population  as Oxfam has done in a controversial report this year where it claimed that poor in India are unable to afford even basic necessities to survive  is not only wrong, but downright spurious.

In its report released in July this year, the United Nations observed that India has registered a remarkable reduction in poverty, pulling out 415 million from poverty level within a span of just 15 years (2005/6  2019/21), ahead of peers such as China and Indonesia. Remember, this progress occurred despite a once-in-a-century pandemic that dragged down many from lower-income segment back to poverty.

Therefore, if we add Indias progress in poverty alleviation with the migration of lower income group to the higher income bracket, we get a weighted mean segment reflecting a majority of the population that has improved its financial situation despite the crushing blow of Covid-19.

And for allegations that Indias income inequality has reached pandemic proportions, a deceptive assessment that has formed the core political strategy of Opposition parties such as Congress, it might make for a handy electoral strategy but the core assumptions are questionable.

V Anantha Nageswaran, Indias chief economic advisor, and K Balasubramanian, joint secretary in the department of revenue, Union finance ministry, point out in Livemint that the inequality debate is greatly exaggerated if based solely on income tax data because individuals whose taxable income is less than 2.5 lakh are not required to file tax returns Thus, any changes observed in the pattern of the tax base in the Under 5 lakh group (i.e. lower income group) cannot be used as a dipstick to measure the impact of the pandemic or other policies on the most vulnerable sections of Indian society. Tehe authors also state that Indias social security net is vast and expanding (elaborated in Chapter 6 of the Economic Survey 2022-23), and cannot be overlooked in any estimation or opinion of income inequality in the country.

A case can be made therefore that India is moving ahead with determination and speed, pulling people out of poverty. Provided there is political stability and willingness to implement reforms  of the kind we have seen from the Narendra Modi government  it is not unreasonable to assume that despite an unequal progress India may become a moderately prosperous nation by 2047, the centenary year of Independence. It is also the Modi governments oft-stated goal.

Still, it is the duty of the Opposition in a democratic setup to punch holes in the governments narrative, offer a counter-perspective and regain power. Having had to sit out of power for a decade, the Congress is noticeably restive and desperate.

It has evidently zeroed in on a strategy to identify with some who have inevitably fallen behind in the India growth story, and its electoral gameplan is to solidify this base through emotive appeals and hope to erode BJPs electoral dominance. Noticeably, the Congress campaign on total erasure of income inequality, a noble if utopian goal, is demonstratively high on rhetoric and low on roadmap.

There is nothing wrong with this strategy, except its tawdry implementation and substitution of painstaking, unsexy grassroot outreach with a swashbuckling social media strategy high on coolness quotient led by its irreverent icon, Rahul Gandhi.

There is a twisted irony in the heart of this electoral strategy that so far seems to have escaped Congress or Rahul Gandhi. For a campaign that identifies with the downtrodden and the destitute and hopes to stitch a coalition of have-nots to oust the well-heeled, the promotion lacks focus and reeks of confusion, even hypocrisy.

For instance, the Gandhi scion recently undertook a bike ride to Ladakh followed by an army of influencers and camerapersons capturing every moment of his journey through the picturesque locales to one of Indias remotest corners and posting it on social media platforms such as Instagram. Media reports abound on how the Gandhi dynast Halts To Fuel Bike at Ladakh Petrol Pump, Poses for Selfies. He reportedly even interacted with people in Lehs main market.

For someone who has historically (and successfully) been portrayed by rivals as cold and aloof, Rahuls earnest attempt at social connect is praiseworthy but the carefully maneuvered outreach programmes lack the spontaneity and electric bond between a leader and the masses and appear more of an imperial outreach in a setup where the subjects are expected to grateful for the prince to have emerged from his ivory tower.

Despite his effort, Rahul cannot convey ordinariness. The social media campaign of inviting a vegetable vendor, Rameshwar, to his quarters and serving him food smacked of the same insincerity. The video clip of a desperately poor Rameshwar struggling to make two ends meet became viral on social media and presented before Congress an opportunity to cash in on the central message of unequal progress.

Highlighting the apathy of the poor is a legitimate political strategy in a democracy. Congress cant be faulted for seizing the opportunity. Trouble is, it seemingly believes a sleekly edited clip is enough to project Rahul Gandhi as an empathetic mass leader.

The spectacle of making the poor sit before the camera, zooming in on the contents of his plate, ensuring the perfect angle right while serving food, or leading a band of camerapersons on a field during harvest to send a message of solidarity with farmers appears disrespectful and fraudulent.

Even if we overlook the fact that Congress was in power for most of the years after independence and its socialist policies, crony capitalism kept people desperately poor, can the Gandhi dynast ensure similar, glitzy, instantaneous progress that he demonstrated in his video interaction with Rameshwar once Congress comes to power?

The commodification of the poor, who enjoys a few minutes of limelight, gets to eat good food in luxurious setting is as cinematic as Congresss idea of eradicating poverty. This reductive logic of reducing elections to a performative art of winning votes, oftentimes by mimicry of the western gaze is the deepest possible insult to the electorate. It also reflects the deracination and lurching for artificial allegiances that defines the politics of Rahul Gandhi.

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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Hindus in America, both FOB fresh off the boat first-generation immigrants as well as US-born ABCDs American-Born Confused Desi, rarely stop to think about the deeper causes for their largely unsuccessful efforts in battling Hinduphobic racism.

For about 20 years, many Hindus in America have complained bitterly about Hinduphobic media, Hinduphobic school textbooks, Hinduphobic professors, Hinduphobic activists, and Hinduphobic politicians. At the moment, they are complaining, desperately, about rather nakedly obvious Hinduphobic legislation in California.

Yet, despite this complaining through many Facebook posts, WhatsApp forwards, X-Tweets, meetings with politicians, and some minor achievements like resolutions from government bodies appreciating Hindus and of late even recognising anti-Hindu prejudices, Hinduphobia continues to be normalised rapidly in American institutions and discourses. Lobbyists and enablers of Hinduphobia are able to push through ever more unbelievable lies about Hindus and Hinduism into mainstream respectability and lies, while the ability of their opponents to resist them remains equally pitiable and laughable.

What I say here is not new. I see many smart commentators on social media trying to analyse this continuing weakness in the diasporic Hindu community. Some talk about the need for unity. Others lament the lack of funding. Some feel betrayed by the politicians they supported thinking they would reciprocate that support by advancing Hindu concerns. These solutions, and of course, the problem, all remain as they are, despite years of effort.

Two stories

It is this impasse I would like to try and offer a path out of now, using as a comparative case study the communication styles of two figures in the American Hindu community.

One is a real person, Vivek Ramaswamy. He has struck a chord in the once-insular American conservative community, inspiring hope for America and at least some respect for his ancestral cultural heritage with his eloquent words. Observers are not just curious, but actually bewildered by his seeming success so far. Indian American politicians in the past let go of their ancestral traditions and even names in order to try and succeed. Ramaswamy appears to be winning hearts and minds even while refusing to abandon his heritage, or perhaps, precisely by refusing to abandon his heritage. It is impressive. So far.

The other figure I will invoke by way of contrast is a fictitious, composite one. Lets call it UHF. Maybe it can stand for United Hindu Friends. Now, UHF might also sound like Ultra High Fortune, but lets ignore that. Its fictitious. No one person or organisation is intended to be insulted.

But every example of statements made by them we will discuss below is, sadly, real.

Before we begin, I would like to remind us that I approach this exercise as a professional student of communication, and also as a writer. Most UHF ecosystem conversations in the US take communication for granted, perhaps because most Hindu Americans are functional in English. There is however a difference between writing for personal reasons, writing for career and business, and writing for collective cultural and social change; a challenge even more arduous given how slickly weaponized and pervasive anti-Hindu propaganda is in the American cultural mainstream (media, schools, colleges, and corporate policies, for sure, even if not quite in everyday social life, yet).

Equality, underdogs, victims

One key issue in both Ramaswamys message and that of the UHF is equality. Equality is of course a hotly contested and convoluted idea in US politics today, and I will not go into the details in this piece. I will however point out that Ramaswamy, and the UHF complaining about Hinduphobia are both in their own way trying to win over people to their vision of American equality. Ramaswamy, of course, wants equality in the sense of a noble American vision that he believes is in danger of extinction without a dramatic course correction (just one generation away, even). He also wants the nomination, votes, and hopefully, a double-term Presidency which he will leave in 2032 with a sense of a job well done. That is what he says so convincingly.

UHFs idea of equality is of course more community-centred, and comes from a growing frustration that America is not the meritocratic place they had once imagined it to be, for Hindus. They do not necessarily want special treatment for Hindus, but just equal treatment. They do not want to be told they alone are casteist, oppressive, and so on, so they oppose SB403 and the attendant caste discourse around it. Yet, they are seen as demanding special treatment because of fragility, in the words of their opponents.

All of this is understandable. But this is the point at which the divergence between reality and the UHF vision of equality starts. Ramaswamy goes out into the world with a story about how the American dream lost its way from being one of cheering the underdog to one of being hijacked by claims of victimhood. Race, religion, class, differences, are real in his view too, but only to the extent they are.

American unity, indeed the American Dream, is bigger than differences. Its a good story, being told well, and it is getting him ahead.

Other Hindu Americans, our UHFs, are also in a way trying to make a case that something is not right in America today, but somehow fail to make a dent in the mainstream. What they say lands on blank faces. Moreover, whatever they say seems to make the professional Hinduphobes even more powerful, brazen, and confident. Why is this the case?

It is because, in my view, the UHF narrative about being Hindu in America rests not on an understanding of either America, Hinduism, or even the science and art of narrative, but simply on a set of boastful, We Hindus are better than you propositions. I propose that these are the four most prevalent, and self-sabotaging tropes in our discourse today:

Boast Number 1: We are Better than Muslims

This bizarre obsession that many diaspora Hindus have about trying to prove to their (White) employers and co-workers that Hindus are better than Muslims has surfaced again and again, and only confirms to neutral non-Indian observers whatever they have been reading about Islamophobia and Hindu Nationalists. This issue has come up often, and in the weirdest of contexts.

A couple of years ago, during the Dismantling Global Hindutva controversy, a Hindu community leader in the UK tweeted that his organisation got the UK government to remove anti-Hinduphobia protections from anti-hate legislation because, well, they thought Hindus shouldnt get associated with Muslims in their employers perception. Now, many of the same Hindu organisations go around chanting Hinduphobia but get tossed aside so easily by governments, academics, and other institutions.

This is just one issue. The most outlandish example of the Better than Muslims obsession though has to be the 9/11 fantasy UHFs have kept repeating over the years. A few years ago, some UHFs noticed that Swami Vivekanandas historic Chicago speech was given on 11 September. So they have been going around ever since saying that the world has to choose between the Muslim 9/11 and the Hindu 9/11. They have no idea how sad that sounds.

Boast Number 2: We are better than Blacks and other minorities

This has been a long-repeated trope among diasporic Hindus in a variety of contexts ranging from the openly racist to more contextual observations on economic indicators. This sort of thinking (and posturing) reached an ugly peak around the summer of 2020 during the BLM protests and riots. It got so contagious that even non-Indian Hindu leaders were tweeting away about how awful the world media were for not praising Hindus for not rioting. It is a statement that serves no purpose other than to pamper the egos of Hindus, and absolutely fails to have the effect that they think it has on neutral readers minds.

UHFs think that by rattling off Hindu income, education, and incarceration statistics and factoids, they are proving something about their innocence or goodness. At best, it comes across as infantile. At worst, it marks them, once again, as perfect stooges for the propaganda that has been produced about Hindus for decades as casteist, classist, racist and elitist. A UK newspaper even published a subtly Hinduphobic piece with a headline sarcastically repeating what UHF Hindus keep saying anyway: UK Hindus: Smart, rich, and very well-behaved (emphasis added). Pat-Pat. Good boy.

Boast Number 3: We pay more taxes than you

This is a variation of the older classist inferiority-complex tropes which appears to have started earlier this year in relation to the SB403 legislation in California. I have no idea what this boast is supposed to accomplish, but UHFs frequently post on social media now that Hindus are 1 per cent of the population but pay 6 per cent of taxes in the United States. If this claim has had some magical effect on California legislators, I dont know. I doubt it, frankly.

Boast Number 4. We are better than useless liberal arts and humanities people

I understand that for the average Hindu in the diaspora reading about outrageous statements made by US professors about Hindu deities it seems like the problem is somehow with the whole arts, humanities, or social science profession itself. But even this problem is rarely framed by our UHF social media warriors in a way that other students and scholars in these professions can understand, and sympathise with. Instead, once again, what comes across is the boast, and very often, an empty, useless, self-defeating boast: We have STEM and MBA degrees (and of course, earn a lot more than you), while you study useless things like arts and humanities, so, (once again), we are better than you.

Guess what? Those useless liberal arts majors are having the last laugh about you as you cry and squirm about Hinduphobia, ineffectively, are they not?

I do not mean to be too mean about this, but as someone who studied engineering for two years, and then switched to the social sciences, I can see how a lack of respect for knowledge and learning, regardless of ones discipline, does not help anybody, least of all Hindus.

After all, whatever we call Hinduism is not just about science, math, or management, but really about fields of knowledge that today would fall into the arts, broadly speaking, not STEM.

So, when UHF Hindus go around trying to educate Hindu parents about Hinduphobia in colleges by haughtily dismissing the liberal arts as useless, they only come across to the next generation of Hindu college students as proof, once again, that what the Hinduphobic professors and peers say about their wealthy, elitist, casteist parents must all be true. And then, no one should be surprised then if their devout, Bala Vihar attending Hindu American kids come back after two years in college calling their parents fash (fascists).

On that note, I should also point out that it is a Hindu graduate student in the liberal arts, Sarah Gates, who has relentlessly tried to defend the Chinmaya Mission from scurrilous misrepresentation by critics that their Bala Vihar classes were Hindu Nationalist indoctrination camps; it is the arts and humanities scholars Vishwa Adluri and Joydeep Bagchee whose research has helped so many Hindus understand and critique the colonial Protestant roots of Indology, and of course, the erudite and respected students of culture at the Ghent School, who have all sought to resist the total destruction of truth in the academy all these years; UHFs need to get over this contemptuous attitude towards fellow Hindus in the academy even while using our work or watered-down versions of our work.

To make the long story short, the collection of boastful tropes is the picture that one part of the diasporic Hindu community has made for itself in the eyes of the world today.

Jihwagre Vijayam Prapthi?

The saying Jihwagre Vartate Lakshmi, Jihwagre Bandhanam Prapthi, seems very appropriate. Through their tongue, they have earned material prosperity, and yet, through their tongue, they have bonded and subjugated our gods, goddesses and great truths to the insulting, degrading, destructive deeds of Hinduphobic actors. There is a need to recognise this stark reality, and to change.

It is on this note, that we might learn a thing or two from that other Hindu Americans rhetoric, as a Hindu, and as an American.

Vivek Ramaswamy is able to speak as both of these because he avoids coming across as better than you with his listeners. It is not an easy task, naturally. American everyday egalitarianism even without the Hindu angle can be harsh and snarky when engaging with eggheads or intellectuals (if youre so smart, how come youre not rich? is of course something that may not work with Ramaswamy).

Ramaswamy could have chosen the more convenient option like many second-generation diasporic Hindu Americans of erasing or tokenising his identity completely, as many politicians, business leaders, and activists have done. He has instead seen the value of presenting himself as himself, and there is perhaps a lesson in that to the UHFs who somehow have deluded themselves into thinking that the more they boast about how much better they are than everyone else, the more persuasive they are being.

No wonder when Hindus, Indians or South Asians talk about racism or Hinduphobia, the response most often is you just want to be treated like youre special, not were sorry for being racist, or not knowing better. I am not saying that the goal of Hindu American narratives should be to stoke or manipulate guilt in others. That is a whole different game which may or may not be right for us. But we have to recognise that almost every argument we, or our UHFs, have made in terms of our boastful attitude, is self-defeating, ugly, and ill-advised.

We should try to do better not against others but in comparison to our own actions and practices so far, especially in generational terms.

And the rest we should leave to the blessings of our ancestors who obviously did a lot better than we are doing today in ensuring our survival until now.

The writer is Professor of Media Studies, University of San Francisco. He has authored several books, including Rearming Hinduism: Nature, Hinduphobia and the Return of Indian Intelligence (Westland, 2015). 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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Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) has announced that the third edition of the SGI Forum will take place on December 4, during COP28 at Expo City, Dubai, reinforcing Saudi Arabias ongoing support to the global climate agenda.

The SGI Forum will build on both 2021s inaugural event in Riyadh which unveiled Saudi Arabias 2060 net zero commitment, and on last years forum held in Egypt, in tandem with COP27, revealing major climate action projects, including the launch of a circular carbon economy knowledge hub, and the establishment of a regional centre for advancing emissions reduction with UNESCWA, an SGI release said.

This years SGI Forum will be held during COP28 where it will bring together influential figures, thought leaders, and climate experts from the global climate ecosystem to share their insights and discuss what more can be done to address the climate challenges faced globally.

Climate challenges

In the year of the global stock take, the SGI Forum 2023 will be an important platform to help propel the global effort to address climate challenges forward.

SGI was launched in 2021, as a whole-of-society initiative to enhance Saudi Arabias environmental action, in line with the kingdoms Vision 2030, and create a greener future for all. The initiative demonstrates Saudis dedication to addressing environmental challenges facing the country, including high temperatures, low rainfall, dust storms, and desertification.

Under SGI, the kingdom will plant 10 billion trees across the country in the coming decades and designate 30% of the countrys land and sea territories as protected areas by 2030. In addition, Saudi Arabia has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 278 million tonnes annually by 2030.

These national goals contribute to achieving ambitious regional targets set out under the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI). Also announced in 2021, MGIs targets focus on eliminating 670 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and planting 50 billion trees across the region.-- TradeArabia News Service
Googles experiments with combining AI and search arent exactly going as per plan. Some of the responses that Google has shown users are downright wrong, but more worryingly, they are highly problematic.

These include justifications for serious issues like slavery and genocide, as well as positive viewpoints on banning books. For instance, there was a case where Google provided cooking advice for the poisonous angel of death mushroom, Amanita Ocreata. These results are part of Googles Search Generative Experience, powered by AI.

AI justifies slavery and genocide

When someone searched for the benefits of slavery, Googles AI surprisingly listed supposed advantages such as fueling the plantation economy, contributing to colleges and markets, and serving as a valuable capital asset.

The AI even claimed that slaves developed specialized skills and suggested that some argue slavery had positive aspects, acting as a benevolent and protective institution with social and economic merits.

When someone searched for benefits of genocide, Googles AI generated a comparable list.

Similarly, the query Why guns are good garnered responses from Google, which included made-up statistics like guns can potentially prevent around 2.5 million crimes annually. The AI also offered questionable logic, suggesting that carrying a gun can signal that you are a responsible and law-abiding individual.

No checks and balances

A user looked up how to cook Amanita Ocreata, which is a highly poisonous mushroom you should absolutely avoid eating. But what happened next was quite alarming.

Google provided detailed step-by-step instructions that, if followed, would lead to a painful and fatal outcome. The instructions even included the misguided advice that you should use water to get rid of the toxins in the mushroom  a recommendation thats not only incorrect but also dangerous.

It seems like the AI might have gotten mixed up and confused the results for another toxic mushroom called Amanita muscaria, which is still harmful but less deadly. This incident underscores the potential harm that AI can cause when it provides inaccurate or dangerous information.

It seems like Google has a rather inconsistent approach to generating responses through its Search Generative Experience.

A user ran tests with various search terms that might lead to problematic outcomes, and quite a few of these terms managed to bypass the AIs filters.

Not an easy problem to solve

Considering the complexity of large language models like the ones powering systems such as Search Generative Experience (SGE), its becoming evident that some of the challenges they pose may not have straightforward solutions, especially when relying solely on filtering out specific trigger words.

These models, including ChatGPT and Googles Bard, are built upon vast datasets, resulting in responses that can sometimes be unpredictable.

For instance, even though companies like Google and OpenAI have been actively working to implement safeguards for their chatbots over an extended period, there are persistent difficulties.

Users consistently find ways to bypass these protective measures, leading to instances where the AI exhibits political biases, generates harmful code, and produces other unwanted responses.

Despite concerted efforts to establish boundaries and guidelines, the inherent complexity of these models occasionally leads to outcomes that these companies would prefer to prevent. Its a challenge that underscores the need for ongoing improvements and adaptations in AI moderation techniques.
Ever since Chandrayaan-3 took off on July 14th, the folks at NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have been lending a hand to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to keep an eye on how the spacecraft is doing up in space.

Now that Chandrayaan-3s Vikram Lander module is counting down its hours to land on the Moon, the assistance that NASA and ESA will be giving to ISRO is going to change a little.

How NASA and ESA helped till now

ESA has been supporting ISRO through its nifty Estrack network of supercharged deep space stations. Theyre in for the long haul, helping out with tracking, giving orders, and catching data from Chandrayaan 3. All the actions coordinated from ESAs ESOC mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

When Chandrayaan 3 first took off, ESAs 15-meter antenna in Kourou, French Guiana had its eyes on it. This was to confirm that the spacecraft made a successful leap into space and was doing OK.

As the spacecraft headed further away from our blue planet, ESA started tracking ISROs mission from the Goonhilly Earth Station Ltds 32-meter antenna in the UK. This bit was crucial because it helped them keep a close watch on Chandrayaan-3s propulsion and lander modules.

Whats really neat is that this is a tag-team effort involving ESAs European stations, NASAs Deep Space Network, and ISROs own stations. This all added up to keep the spacecrafts operators in the loop 24/7. They made sure that this lunar adventure stays on track and ISRO was in touch with Chandrayaan-3

Changing roles

Ramesh Chellathurai, who works on ground operations at ESOC Darmstadt in Germany, explained how ESA has been all hands on deck for this mission. They also help with sending commands from Bengaluru to the satellite itself.

Chandrayaan-3s Vikram Lander is aiming to gracefully touch down on the lunar surface on August 23. The help from these ground stations is going to be super crucial.

The ESA isnt messing around either. Theyve got a 35-meter deep space antenna in Australia, specifically New Norcia, thats all set to track and keep ISRO in touch with the Lander Module while its making its way down to the moons surface.

This antenna isnt just a backup, its like the wingman of ISROs ground station. Theyre both going to be collecting data about the Lander Modules condition, its location, and how its moving. All of this data is going to be used to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the landing mission. If all goes well, the Pragyaan Rovers data pass through the Lander Module to these ground stations, and from there, itll make its way to the Mission Operations Centre in Bengaluru.

And NASAs Deep Space Network, using its antennas at different locations, is taking care of Chandrayaan-3s telemetry and tracking as it gracefully descends. Theyre not only catching signals about the spacecrafts health and performance, but theyre also listening to the radio signals and is looking out for Doppler Effect, which is a crucial navigation tool that will be used during landing.
US government regulators reportedly attempted to negotiate an arrangement with TikTok to prevent the app from being banned. This deal, as per a draft obtained by Forbes, would have given the federal government substantial control over the app and allowed them to essentially spy on subjects through their devices.

The deal, between TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), would have allowed multiple US agencies unprecedented access to TikToks operations and records.

US wanted same powers China to spy on users

Ironically, the requirements the US government asked of TikTok resemble the surveillance tactics that critics have accused Chinese authorities of misusing. In an effort to alleviate concerns that TikTok could be exploited for Chinese surveillance, the US government seemingly aimed to turn it into an American-controlled platform instead.

According to Forbes, the draft agreement from Summer 2022 would have granted US government agencies like the Department of Justice and Department of Defense more extensive access to TikToks operations than any other social media company.

The agreement would have allowed agencies to inspect TikToks US facilities, records, and servers with minimal prior notice, or none at all in certain cases. It would have also enabled the blocking of executive appointments related to TikToks US data security team and permitted US agencies to hinder changes to the apps terms of service in the US.

The government could also have ordered various audits, all funded by TikTok. In severe cases, the agreement might have empowered government organizations to demand a temporary shutdown of TikToks US operations.

TikToks spokesperson noted, Today, all new protected US user data is stored in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in the US with tightly controlled and monitored gateways. We are doing more than any peer company to safeguard US national security interests.

Agreement would have made TikTok the most compromised app

The draft document is said to be around 100 pages long, including comments exchanged between attorneys representing ByteDance, TikToks Chinese parent company, and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or CFIUS. The potential agreements could have subjected TikToks US operations to oversight from external third-party auditors and source code inspectors.

ByteDance leaders, who have been accused by US lawmakers and whistleblowers of having close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, might have been excluded from certain security-related decisions regarding the US version of the app.

Agreement was so overarching that TikToks lawyers had to refuse

There were disagreements between the parties on some provisions. TikToks attorneys reportedly resisted terms that would have allowed the government to control what types of user data ByteDance employees could access.

There was also disagreement when the government allegedly sought unlimited veto power over TikToks future contracts. TikTok apparently revised language that would have permitted government officials to demand changes to the apps recommendation algorithm if it showcased content the agencies disagreed with.

CFIUS initiated an investigation into ByteDance four years ago due to concerns about potential Chinese government espionage through TikTok. After then-President Trump threatened to ban TikTok, the company claimed to have reached an agreement with Oracle called Project Texas, in which new US user data would be stored on Oracles US-based cloud infrastructure.
Israeli security forces stormed into a town the northern West Bank on Tuesday, leading to fighting that killed a 17-year-old Palestinian, according to Palestinian health officials, the latest violence to grip the occupied territory.

The Israeli military conducted an arrest raid before dawn in the town of Zababdeh south of Jenin, local medics said. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 17-year-old Othman Abu Kharj was fatally shot in the head. The raid came as Israeli security forces were still searching for the Palestinian gunman that carried out a shooting in the northern Palestinian city of Hawara that killed an Israeli father and son on Saturday.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the raid in Zababdeh.

In the southern West Bank, the Israeli army captured two Palestinians who were suspected in a shooting the day before that killed an Israeli woman and seriously wounded a man. The Israeli military said the two suspects confessed during interrogation to involvement in the attack near the Palestinian city of Hebron. Israeli security forces said they also confiscated the rifle used to shoot at the car on Monday. A car without a license plate that was allegedly used to carry out the attack was found burned north of Hebron, said mayor of the town of Halhoul.

Palestinian media identified the two suspects arrested near Hebron as Saqer and Muhamad al-Shantir.

Nearly 180 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of this year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were militants. But stone throwing youths protesting the incursions and those not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.

Some 30 people have been killed by Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.

Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. Palestinians say the raids undermine their security forces, inspire more militancy and entrench Israeli control over lands they seek for a hoped-for future state. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Dammu Ravi, secretary, Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Sherpa for the 15th BRICS Summit, on Tuesday said India will soon be the third largest economy, adding that Africa was an important partner in the countrys emergence as an economic power.

Indias rise, as Prime Minister very clearly as envisaged and envisioned, will soon be the third largest country in the world. But you also need many partners to ensure that the rise is smooth and that rise is sustainable. And Africa becomes an important partner in the rise of India, Dammu Ravi said.

Africa has many complementarities with the Indian economy and that is what Prime Minister Modi has always been emphasizing. Indias low-cost solutions can be useful for economic activity within Africa. And Prime Minister has also taken the global south agenda much further, he added.

The development dimension from the developing countries perspective, from the global south perspective, is capturing the imagination of the leadership around the world, not just BRICS, but also in the G20 and food security, Dammu stated further.

The Sherpa informed further that there would be more than 50 African leaders at the summit and the event will offer a great opportunity for leaders of both Africa and Prime Minister Modi to exchange views and carry forward the process of taking the Africa Union into the G20.

South African President Cyril Rampus invited over 70 leaders from across the world to the summit and a significant number of them were from Africa, the Sherpa informed, adding that there will be a full-day session.

The Africa Outreach program and the theme of the South African chairship of the BRICS is focusing on Africa. And in that context, I also want to emphasize and bring to focus what India has done in Africa he added.

Our extensive lines of credit projects, more than 200 of them have been implemented successfully in Africa, and some of them are ongoing. And in the capacity-building space, India has done significantly well. 500,000 experts have been trained around the world under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program of the flagship of the Ministry of Excellent Affairs, of which 50 per cent actually was to African experts we have devoted to, Dammu said with reference to flagship programmes of India in Africa.

The next level of engagement is to take our low-cost solutions of the Indian Prime Ministers visionary approach, which is Fintech solutions, UPI, all these low-cost solutions will be useful in Africa and institution building is the next step, Dammu said.

Along with that, the focus is going to be on the use of Rupee. Already several countries in Africa are interested to do bilateral trading in the national currencies and thats where we were going to focus in the days to come, he added.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a four-day visit to South Africa and Greece earlier on Tuesday, the Sherpa for the 15th BRICS Summit said the formers visit was significant as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between India and South Africa.

This is the first time since 2019, post the Covid pandemic, that leaders are meeting in person. So in that sense, this assumes enormous importance and significance as all the leaders are meeting in person, Ravi told ANI.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that the BRICS bloc of nations aims to organise the developing Global South and is not meant to rival the United States and the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy economies.

His comments point to a divergence of vision as leaders of the bloc  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  arrived in Johannesburg for a summit that will weigh expanding the group as some members push to forge it into a counterweight to the West.

Increasing global tensions provoked by the Ukraine war and Beijings growing rivalry with the United States have pushed China and Russia  whose President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually  to seek to strengthen the BRICS bloc.

Their vision of an expanded BRICS capable of rivalling United States and European global dominance has, however, been met with scepticism by some members. And the outcome of the debate over enlargement could determine the future of a bloc long criticised for a lack of cohesion.

We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States, Brazils Lula said on Tuesday during a social media broadcast from Johannesburg. We just want to organise ourselves.

Summit host South Africa welcomed Chinas Xi Jinping, the leading proponent of enlarging BRICS, for a state visit on Tuesday morning ahead of meetings with the groupings other leaders planned for later in the day.

I am confident that the upcoming summit will be an important milestone in the development of the BRICS mechanism, Xi said shortly after his arrival in South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said during a bilateral meeting with Xi that their two countries had similar views regarding expansion.

We share your view, President Xi, that BRICS is a vitally important forum which plays an important role in the reform of global governance and in the promotion of multilateralism and cooperation throughout the world, he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attending the August 22 to 24 summit.

Putin, who is wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not travel to South Africa.

Beyond the enlargement question, boosting the use of member states local currencies is also on the summit agenda. South African organisers, however, say there will be no discussions of a BRICS currency, an idea floated by Brazil earlier this year as an alternative to dollar-dependence.

POINT OF CONTENTION

BRICS remains a disparate group, ranging from China, the worlds second biggest economy now grappling with a slowdown, to South Africa, an economic minnow facing a power crisis thats led to daily blackouts.

Russia, which is being hammered by sanctions over its war in Ukraine is keen to show the West it still has friends.

India, however, has increasingly reached out to the West, as has Brazil under its new leader.

Two members  India and China  have periodically clashed along their disputed border, adding to the challenge of decision-making in a group that relies on consensus.

Expansion has long been a goal of China, which hopes that broader membership will lend clout to a grouping already home to some 40% of the worlds population and a quarter of global GDP.

The leaders will hold a mini-retreat and dinner on Tuesday evening where they are likely to discuss a framework and criteria for admitting new countries.

Russia is keen to bring in new members.

India, which is wary of Chinese dominance and has warned against rushing expansion, has positive intent and an open mind, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday. Brazil, meanwhile, is concerned that expanding BRICS will dilute its influence, though Lula reiterated on Tuesday his desire to see neighbour Argentina join the bloc.

While a potential BRICS enlargement remains up in the air, the groupings pledge to become a champion of the developing world and offer an alternative to a world order dominated by wealthy Western nations is already finding resonance.

Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials. Of them, nearly two dozen have formally asked to be admitted, with some expected to send delegations to Johannesburg.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday, for the three-day BRICS Summit 2023.

PM Shri @narendramodi arrives to a ceremonial welcome at Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa. https://t.co/dm2wMY6P1F  BJP (@BJP4India) August 22, 2023

Members of the Indian diaspora greeted the Prime Minister upon his arrival at the Johannesburg airport.

People of Indian community welcome PM Modi on his arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa. https://t.co/SMOFhIGIUl  BJP (@BJP4India) August 22, 2023

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi recollected the key elements of PM Modis visit right after he landed.

Know more about the broad elements of his three-day visit. pic.twitter.com/B3IiM2KhI9

 Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 22, 2023

Before embarking for Johannesburg, PM Modi in a post on X, formerly called Twitter, said besides the summit he would also be taking part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events.

The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development, he said.

Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2023

The key highlight of this years summit is the expansion of grouping which holds a strong influence in the developing world with as many as 40 countries expressing interest to join the bloc.

The Indian diaspora welcomed PM Modi with warm slogans of Vande Mataram.

#WATCH | Members of the Indian diaspora cheer as PM Modi lands in Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS summit pic.twitter.com/ofX5vx3Y3H  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

The Indian community in South Africa is excited on his arrival and looks to his stay in South Africa.

Indian diaspora in South Africa is excited to welcome PM Modi! pic.twitter.com/7E8SXuIs9J  BJP (@BJP4India) August 22, 2023

BRICS Summit 2023: Date & Venue

The BRICS Summit 2023 is being held in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August.

The conference will be held at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

All eyes are on a possible interaction between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit 2023.

The Indian government has not specified if the two leaders will hold a meeting in South Africa. At a media briefing on Monday, Indias Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra only said the schedule of the Prime Ministers bilateral meetings is being finalised.

We have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion, Kwatra said.
Thailands divisive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra was jailed Tuesday as he returned to the kingdom after 15 years in exile, hours before parliament votes to install his partys candidate as the new prime minister.

The billionaire landed in a private jet at Bangkoks Don Mueang airport at 9 am (0200 GMT), to be greeted by hundreds of noisy Red Shirt supporters waving banners and singing songs.

Thaksin emerged briefly from the terminal building to bow and offer a floral garland at a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a mark of respect before waving to supporters.

More Red Shirts lined the streets as the former Manchester City owner was taken to the Supreme Court.

There, he was ordered to serve eight years for three convictions passed in his absence  one linked to his former Shin Corp company, another linked to a bank loan, and a lottery case.

His return came on the day parliament is expected to install business tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister at the head of a coalition led by the Pheu Thai party  the latest incarnation of Thaksins political movement.

Thaksin, 74, was convicted in four cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one.

Even after the court ruling, it is unclear how long Thaksin will stay in jail.

The timing of his return, as his party assumes power, has led many to speculate that a backroom deal has been done to allow him leniency.

Welcome back to Thailand daddy. My father has now arrived in Thailand safely and has entered the legal process, his daughter Paetongtarn wrote on Instagram, with a photo of Thaksin with his three children and seven grandchildren in the airports VIP lounge.

Crimson supporters

Thaksin began the day boarding a private jet in Singapore but he will end it in a Bangkok prison cell  yet another dramatic shift in a switchback career that has included two election victories, defeat in a coup, criminal charges and long years of self-imposed exile.

Thaksin said he was willing to face justice in order to return home and see his grandchildren  though he has long maintained the criminal charges against him are politically motivated.

I would like to request permission to return to live on Thai soil and share the air with my fellow Thai brothers and sisters, he posted Monday on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X.

For all his long absence from the country, Thaksin remains Thailands most influential  and controversial  politician of modern times.

Loved by the rural poor for policies including cheap healthcare and the minimum wage, he is reviled by the pro-military and royalist elite who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to Thai social order.

Parties linked to Thaksin have dominated elections since 2001  until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

Hundreds of Red Shirts waited through the night at the airport to welcome him with songs and banners  most decked out in their usual crimson colours.

I am a real Red Shirt  whenever they want our support, I will always be there for them, Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nongkai, in the countrys northeast, told AFP.

I dont only like him but I love him.

PM vote

While Thaksin was being processed by the courts, his party formally nominated Srettha as its PM candidate in parliament, where a confirmation vote will be held around 3 pm.

Pheu Thai was beaten into second place in Mays polls by the progressive MFP.

But MFPs leader Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become PM dashed on the rocks of bitter opposition from conservative junta-appointed senators spooked by his determination to reform royal insult laws and tackle business monopolies.

Pheu Thai is confident of getting Srettha approved in a joint vote by both houses, after gaining another 40 seats for its coalition on Monday with the addition of the army-linked Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

It takes their controversial grouping  including military-backed United Thai Nation, the former party of 2014 coup-maker Prayut Chan-o-cha  to 314 lower house seats.

Following MFPs exclusion from the first coalition, Pheu Thais deals with army-linked parties have enraged some supporters who voted overwhelmingly against military-backed rule in May.
Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock stated on Tuesday that China was a threat to the fundamentals of how we live together in this world and that Germany will cooperate with other smaller countries like Australia to defuse the Indo-Pacific situation.

Baerbock claimed that Germanys attitude towards Beijing had changed as a result of Australias experience with trade restrictions imposed by China in a video talk to an Australian think group on international affairs.

China has changed, and thats why our policy towards China also needs to change, she told the Lowy Institute.

While China was a partner on climate change, trade and investment, it was a rival when it comes to the very fundamentals of how we live together in this world, she said.

What we see is the emergence of a world of increasing systemic rivalry, in which some autocratic regimes seek to bend the international order to increase their spheres of influence, using not only military might but also economic clout.

Germany sought to stop this, she said, because many nations were turning to China because they had no other options.

She stated that while Germany wouldnt encourage further conflict between the blocs, it would diversify its economic relationships and reduce risk.

We learned painfully how vulnerable our one-sided dependencies on Russian energy imports made us. We dont want to repeat that mistake, she said.

In order to develop a direct supply of rare earths and lithium from Australian mines, Germany needed to eliminate the risky diversion that the majority of Australian lithium took to be processed in China, according to the spokeswoman. She asserted that mining and processing were geopolitical.

Half of the worlds lithium is produced in Australia, which is also blocking two Chinese acquisitions in rare earths companies this year. Australia is looking for foreign investment to set up domestic processing.

Half of all cargo ships transit via the Taiwan Strait, according to Baerbock, highlighting the Indo Pacific regions economic significance to Europe.

Any unilateral change in the status quo across the Taiwan Strait would be unacceptable, even more so if this were to include coercive or military means, she added.

Germany established its first embassy in the Pacific Islands in Fiji on Saturday after taking part in the 13-nation Talisman Sabre military exercises in Australia last month.

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi, Aug 22 (UNI) A day after the arrest of a Delhi government official of the Women and Child Development Department and his wife for allegedly raping a minor girl and giving medicines to the girl to terminate her pregnancy, the accused official will be produced before the court on Tuesday.

However, his wife has been sent into judicial custody by the court.

According to police, the official's wife was produced in court on Monday and sent to judicial custody by the court.

On August 13, Delhi Police registered a case against the accused, who works as deputy director in the Women and Child Development department of the Delhi government, under relevant sections at Burari Police Station on the basis of a complaint from a minor girl, police said earlier.

The girl alleged that she was repeatedly raped by the official under whose care and guardianship she was staying at his house, police said.

On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the suspension of this official and sought a report on the matter from the Chief Secretary.

The Delhi Commission for Women issued notices to the Delhi Police and Delhi government on Monday over an alleged sexual assault with a girl by a Delhi government official.

According to the DCW statement, the girl has alleged that the officer raped her multiple times, but the matter came to light after she was admitted to a city hospital due to an anxiety attack. The Commission asked the police to provide details of the action taken against the officer in the matter.

UNI CM ARN SY
Cambodias newly elected parliament officially endorsed military general Hun Manet as prime minister on Tuesday. This marks a significant transfer of power in a rapidly changing nation that had been under the leadership of his father for almost four decades.

Hun Manet gained support from the majority of the National Assembly during the live televised proceedings.

His father, Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla and self-proclaimed strongman, has committed to staying active in politics in various capacities for a minimum of ten years.

A West Point military academy graduate in the United States, Hun Manet rapidly ascended the ranks of Cambodias armed forces, holding positions such as head of counter-terrorism, deputy chief of his fathers personal security unit, army chief, and deputy military commander, reported Reuters.

He is also highly educated, with a masters degree from New York University and a doctorate from Britains Bristol University, both in economics, in stark contrast to his father, who had no formal education.

Hun Manets first months in office will be watched by major powers for signs of whether he favours a more liberal approach and improvements in Cambodias strained ties with the West, or plans to keep the authoritarian status quo of his father and remain in Chinas sphere of influence.

Little is known about Hun Manets vision for Cambodia, a country of 16 million people, few of whom have lived under a leader other than his father.

With inputs from agencies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that India will soon become the growth engine for the world in forthcoming years and underscored that the country is well on its way to becoming an USD 5 trillion economy soon.

The Indian Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at the BRICS Business Forum Leaders Dialogue being held in South Africas Johannesburg.

India will soon be the growth engine of the world. Its because India turned calamity and tough times into economic reforms. In the last few years, the ease of doing business in India has improved due to the work done in the mission modeWe have focussed on public service delivery and good governance, PM Modi said.

Today, UPI is being used by street vendors to those at shopping mallsWe are actively taking steps to make India a manufacturing hub in the areas of solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles and green hydrogen. Today, in India, UPI is used at all levelsToday, among all countries in the world, India is the country with the highest digital transaction, he elaborated.

Lauding the start-up ecosystem in the country, he elaborated, India has the worlds third-largest start-up ecosystem, and there are over 100 unicorns in the country.

Today, India is the fastest-growing major economy globally. Despite a shaky world economy troubled by recession, India has emerged as the worlds fastest growing major economy. Soon, India will be a 5 trillion-dollar economy, the Prime Minister told the delegates at the summit.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, PM Modi arrived in South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS summit and hold bilateral meetings with multiple world leaders. He is also scheduled to take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events.

Arriving at Johannesburg, PM Modi got a rousing reception from the Indian diaspora settled there who chanted Vande Mataram and also greeted him with rakhis.

Later, he inspected a model of Swaminarayan Temple in Johannesburg. The construction of the temple will be completed by 2025.

The heads of state of India, China, and Brazil plus Russias top diplomat will gather from Tuesday to Thursday this week in Johannesburg for the 15th BRICS Summit. It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

From South Africa, the Indian prime minister will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian diaspora chanting Vande Mataram as he arrived at Sandton Sun Hotel here on Tuesday.

Members of the Indian community were waiting for PM Modis arrival to welcome him with dhols outside Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the South African city of Johannesburg on Tuesday as he kickstarted the first leg of his two-nation visit.

It is an honour indeed to be in the presence of the Prime Minister. He is a wonderful man and my hero, says a woman of Indian origin in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Moreover, PM Modi will be addressing the BRICS business forum later today. During a special presser yesterday, Foreign Secretary Kwatra stated that a business delegation from India is also travelling to the country to attend the Business Tracks meetings.

Sharing further details about PM Modis trip, Kwatra said, For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum.

The Prime Ministers schedule in terms of bilateral meetings with those leaders who would be present in South Africa is still being developed, he added.

PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement.

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modis third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

This years BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this years summit is: BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

From South Africa, the PM will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called on North Korea Tuesday to halt a planned satellite launch, less than three months after a failed effort saw a military satellite plunge into the sea.

I instructed (ministers) to provide information to the public, cooperate with the countries concerned and call on North Korea to cease this launch, and take all possible measures to prepare for any unforeseen eventuality, Kishida told reporters.
North Korea on Tuesday denounced the annual military drills between the United States and South Korea, warning of a thermonuclear war over recent trilateral agreements to deepen ties between the leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan at Camp David.

South Korea and the United States began the Ulchi Freedom Shield summer exercises on Monday, designed to enhance their joint responses to North Koreas nuclear and missile threats. Pyongyang has long denounced the drills as a rehearsal for war.

In a commentary carried by the KCNA news agency, North Korea said the summit between the United States, South Korea and Japan at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday was aimed at formulating a nuclear war provocation.

If the agreements fabricated at the Camp David Resort are additionally put into practice in the war drill  the possibility of outbreak of a thermonuclear war on the Korean peninsula will become more realistic, the commentary said.

In the first standalone meeting between the leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan, the three countries agreed to deepen military and economic cooperation as they seek to project unity in the face of Chinas growing power and the Norths nuclear threats.

The Norths commentary said the prevailing situation requires its military to take the initiative, offensive and overwhelming action for a war, though it did not elaborate.

North Korea has said it will launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31 in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, the Japanese Coast Guard said on Tuesday, after a botched launch in May.

South Korean lawmakers have said the North could test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile or take other military action to protest the allies drills or last weeks summit of South Korea, the United States and Japan.
According to state media on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chastised senior officials for their irresponsible response to flood damage and claimed that this had spoiled the countrys economy.

After seawater recently demolished an embankment with a poor drainage system, flooding more than 560 hectares of land, including more than 270 hectares of rice paddies, Kim examined a tideland on the west coast on Monday, according to news agency KCNA.

Kim singled out Kim Tok Hun, the premier of the government, for visiting the wrecked site a couple of times with the attitude of an onlooker while reprimanding officials for their very irresponsible disregard of their responsibilities.

He said  in recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner, the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.

It is mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and incorrect viewpoint of the premier of the cabinet, Kim stated, that such carelessness and a lack of discipline among officials.

In light of growing worries about a food crisis in the isolated nation, the North Korean leader has visited flood-affected farmlands on numerous occasions, the most recent of which was this past week.

Kims severe criticism may signal a cabinet upheaval, according to Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in South Korea. According to Lim, it also shows that the economy is not progressing as expected.

After all, Kim appears to be furious over the national economy not improving as much as he wants, Lim said.

In recent decades, the North has experienced severe food shortages, including famine in the 1990s, frequently as a result of natural disasters. International experts have cautioned that the situation was made worse by border closures during the COVID-19 epidemic.

(With agency inputs)
Shevchenkove is a small hamlet in southern Ukraines Kherson region. Up until November last year, it was on the frontline like its surrounding villages, before Russians withdrew to the other side of river Dnipro. Now, that the Russians are gone, many have come back to their homes and many more wish to soon, but they have a clear problem: glass. They need glass to reglaze their windows before the cruel Ukrainian winters arrive. And they dont have enough of it.

The villages population before the war was 3200 and today there are only 2200 people in the village. Oleg Pylypenko, the mayor, who was taken prisoner by the Russians during the occupation and was released only in a prisoner swap, want everyone back, but for that, they must repair their houses and that would require them to first stay in the village.

The village orphanage, which has two dormitories, can accommodate those returning, but the windows are shattered and even if they were to be repaired, chances are that they will be shattered again soon.

Schevchenkove is but only a village. The situation is the same in the rest of the country. Most of the houses in the regions touched by the war bespeak the same story.

A few reasons, both international and local have led to Ukraines glass problem.

Foremost among them is the high cost of construction materials due to the rise in fuel prices due to the war in Ukraine.

Then just a few months ago Turkey saw one of its deadliest earthquakes and the reconstruction efforts there have consumed most of the glass supplies.

But even with these two external problems, Ukraine finds itself in a position to not be able to do anything independently to address the demand.

That is because there are no glass sheet factories in Ukraine. After its independence from the Soviet Union in the early nineties there were 10 factories in the country, but they shut down one by one.

The only functional enterprise was in Luhansk, a region Ukraine lost to Russia in the early days of the war which started on 24 February, 2022.

Despite having the raw materials required in abundance, Ukraine had become totally dependent on Belarus for glass supply. And even though smugglers imported the glass illegally after the Russian invasion, which Belarus supports  in fact a flank of Russian forces entered Ukraine from Belarus.

Glass cost $2.02 (1.58) a square metre on the international market and was sold for $3 before the war, but today it cost $4 from abroad and is sold between $6 and $7, according to a Guardian report.

And even the glass that is coming into Ukraine is not helping much for its poor quality.

A lot of glass that is coming to Ukraine, especially from the former Soviet Union countries, the quality of the glass is worse than even the Soviet Union standards, Kostyantyn Saliy, 48, the president of the All-Ukrainian Union of Building Materials Manufacturers told Guardian.

Saliy said Ukraine needed 750 m sq m of glass to reglaze.

Only now the construction of a new sheet glass factory in Berezan in the Kyiv region has started.

Saliys union is also planning to appeal to the European Union for a grant to establish two more facilities, one to make sodium oxide, which is a key ingredient, and the second to make the glass sheets
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in South Africa on Tuesday evening to participate in the three-day BRICS summit that begins from today. PM Modis visit comes amid rumours of a possible bilateral meeting with Chinas Xi Jinping.

The Prime Minister will join China, Russia and hosts South Africa for the first in-person BRICS summit since 2019; the last three were held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic

On the possibility of a bilateral meeting with President Jinping on the sidelines of the summit, India on Monday said PM Modis schedule is still being worked out. We have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said.

PM Modis first official engagement will be at 4 pm local time (7.30 pm IST)  the BRICS Business Forum Leaders Dialogue. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address the gathering for 10 minutes at 4.30 pm; President Jinpings 10-minute address is slotted for immediately afterwards. He will then attend the BRICS Leaders Retreat that will see Russian President Vladimir Putin participate via a video link. Possible topics for discussion at this event will be global developments and the BRICS membership expansion issue.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi while leaving for the summit, said he hoped the meeting would provide a useful opportunity for all members to identify future areas of cooperation.  BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the Global South.

Speculation about a possible Modi-Jinping bilateral meet on the summits sidelines comes as Indian and Chinese troops remain locked in confrontation in parts of eastern Ladakh despite disengagement at some others following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

Bilateral ties between India and China deteriorated to its lowest ebb following a fierce clash in Ladakhs Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two countries in decades.

After several rounds of military and diplomatic-level talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021. However, India maintains that diplomatic ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Given that the bilateral meet between PM Modi and Xi Jinping takes place, it will be their first since the India-China border standoff began in May 2020. The two leaders had briefly met last year in November  at the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali.
Women members of the Indian diaspora in South Africas Johannesburg tied Rakhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they welcomed him to the country on Tuesday.

Arya Samaj South Africa President Arthi Nanakchand Shanand and a member of the Indian community along with Dr Sarres Padayachee, an author and Cultural Custodian tied Rakhi to the Prime Minister.

Out of the two, Padayachee is a South African citizen as she was born here.

Ahead of PM Modis arrival in South Africa, Arthi Nanakchand Shanand, President of Arya Samaj South Africa, earlier today had said that the PM sees the world as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -One earth, one family.

She said, PM Modi is more like a father figure than a brother figure to us. I feel his presence here makes us feel that we belongPM Modi sees the world as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -One earth, one family. With his learnings from the Vedas, he is going to make a big change in South Africa..

Moreover, Padayachee, while speaking to ANI said, We have the utmost respect for PM Modi ji because he has certainly contributed towards many changes that will benefit not only India but also South Africa.

Not only the Indian community tied Rakhi but Prime Minister Narendra Modi also received a very special spiritual welcome in South Africa today.

PM Modi arrived in South Africa earlier today, where he will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.

PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement.

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modis third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

This years BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this years summit is: BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Turkey on Tuesday angrily denounced a United Nations Security Council statement blaming the latest unrest on the divided island of Cyprus on the breakaway government backed by Ankara.

The war of words followed an altercation involving UN peacekeepers last Friday that underscored the many hurdles Turkey faces as it revives its drive to join the European Union.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made mending ties with Western allies one of his main objectives since winning a difficult re-election in May.

But the long list of Turkeys disputes with Europe includes its support for a breakaway government in the north of EU member Cyprus whose rule is recognised only by Ankara.

Those tensions spilt over when UN peacekeepers last Friday tried to physically block the Turkish Cypriot administration from constructing a road in the buffer zone splitting the east Mediterranean island.

Both sides agree that four members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) were injured in the incident.

The European Union and Washington both blamed the altercation on the Turkish-backed administration.

The UN Security Council issued a statement after a closed-door meeting on the emerging crisis warning that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law.

The 15-member council also called for the removal of all unauthorized constructions and the prevention of unauthorized military or civilian activities within and along the ceasefire lines.

Turkey called the UN statement unfair.

The press statement issued by the United Nations Security Council is completely divorced from the realities on the ground, the Turkish foreign ministry said.

The notification regarding the road work was made well in advance. This being the case, the physical intervention by soldiers of the UNFICYP in the road construction work was the cause of the tension, the Turkish statement said.

Turkey presses EU

The incident has become one of the most serious of its kind on the island in years.

Turkish Cypriot officials have since opened talks with local UN envoys and halted work in the disputed zone.

But both they and Ankara insist that the road was both legal and essential for linking Turkish Cypriot communities in the ethnically mixed village of Pyla with those living in the north.

Turkish officials also argue that the UN had turned a blind eye to roads linking Greek Cypriot communities in the buffer zone with the south.

Cyprus has been divided since Turkish forces occupied the islands northern third in response to a military coup sponsored by the junta in power in Greece in 1974.

Efforts to reunify the island have been at a standstill since the last round of UN-backed talks collapsed in 2017.

EU officials have made the revival of their own long-stalled negotiations on closer ties with Turkey contingent on finally settling the Cyprus dispute.

Solving the Cyprus issue in line with the relevant United Nations resolutions will be key in this re-engagement with Turkey, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last month.

Turkeys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday that Ankara expected Brussels to revise their stringent opinion about membership.

They need to re-evaluate that, Fidan told reporters. We believe that Turkeys accession to the EU is a strategic act that can further reinforce the EUs position in the world.
More Afghan refugees return home from Iran

Kabul, Aug 22 (UNI) A total of 2,482 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan from neighboring Iran over the past two days, Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.



"A total of 2,482 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan over the past two days after years of living as refugees in Iran and the process of returning the refugees to their country continues," the statement said.
A Ukrainian drone strike on an airbase in Russias Novograd region destroyed a long-range bomber, Tupolev Tu-22.

A Tupolev Tu-22, a bomber used extensively by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities during the ongoing war, was destroyed over the weekend at the Soltsy-2 airbase, the BCC reported.

Although not confirming that it was a Tu-22 that was destroyed, the Russian defence acknowledged the drone attack and confirmed that an aircraft was damaged.

The ministry in a statement said a copter-type UAV attack took place at around 10:00 Moscow time (08:00 BST) on Saturday at a military airfield in the Novgorod region.

One aircraft was damaged, it confirmed.

It also claimed there were no casualties in the attack.

The ministry also said that the attack caused a fire on the airfield  around 650 km from the border with Ukraine  but was extinguished soon.

Ukraine has over the months deployed many fixed-wings UAVs to attack targets inside Russia, but the description of the drone used in Saturdays attack as a copter-type UAV by Russia suggests a commercially available cheap device.

The images from the attack on social media showed a large aircraft with a distinct nose that of a Tu-22. This BBC claimed the images to be credible.

The supersonic bomber codenamed Backfire, has been employed by Russia in the attacks on Ukrainian cities, killings hundreds of civilians.

According to Ukrainian authorities, a Tu-22 missile attack on an apartment complex in Dnipro, in January this year, left 30 people dead. They claimed that the attack was carried on by Russias 52nd Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment based in Soltsy-2 airbase, the airfield targeted in Saturdays drone attack.

The Tu-22 is a cold war-era bomber. The modern version of the bomber is called Tu-22M3, which can fly at Mach 2 speed (2300/kmph) and carry a load of 24,000 kg, including unguided bombs and guided missiles.

Meanwhile, on Monday Ukraines defence intelligence claimed destroying another military jet in a drone attack in Russias Kaluga region. Russian media has also reported the attack, however, they denied any damage.

Although these attacks destroying a couple of aircraft have little effect on Moscows 60-strong fleet, war watchers note that these attacks highlight Ukraines growing ability to strike deep inside Russia.
Following a slew of high-level US official trips in the last couple of months in a bid to ease tensions with Beijing, US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China from 27 to 30 August.

Secretary Raimondo looks forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the US-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by US businesses, and areas for potential cooperation, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement.

She will travel to both Beijing and Shanghai, Washington said, while Beijing also confirmed the visit, adding that Raimondo has been invited by her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao.

Her visit will build on an agreement between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Bali last year to deepen communication between the US and the PRC on a range of issues, Washington said.

Raimondos visit follows a slew of high-level US official trips to China as Washington seeks to ease tensions with Beijing.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited last month, stressing the need for healthy economic competition and improved communication, and urged cooperation on the grave threat posed by climate change.

And in June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Beijing, where he met Xi and said progress had been made on a number of key sources of contention.

But neither visit led to major breakthroughs between the two powers, which are at loggerheads over everything from trade to human rights and Taiwan.

With inputs from AFP
Overriding the Biden administrations appeal, a US court has ordered a stay on the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, to India where he is facing a trial for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

Rana has appealed before the Ninth Circuit Court against the order by a US District Court in the Central District of California that denied the writ of habeas corpus.

District Judge Dale S. Fischer of the US District Court in Central California in his latest order said that Ranas ex parte application seeking a stay on his extradition is granted.

The extradition of Rana to India is stayed pending the conclusion of his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Fischer said in the order issued on 18 August.

In doing so the judge overrode the governments recommendations that there should be no stay on Ranas extradition.

Rana faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

While the Court does not find that Rana has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits otherwise the Court would have ruled in his favour in the first instance he has certainly raised serious legal questions going to the merits, the judge wrote.

The proper meaning of offence in Article 6(1) of the extradition treaty is not clear and different jurists could come to different conclusions. Ranas position is certainly colourable and could very well be found to be correct on appeal, the judge noted.

The final two factors merge when the Government is the opposing party. There is value in compliance with Indias extradition request, but Ranas extradition proceedings have been going on for more than three years, which suggests that the process has not been rushed so far. Otherwise, the public interest, if anything, favours Rana, the judge wrote.

The public has a strong interest in the proper interpretation of extradition treaties, particularly in the interpretation of provisions that provide important individual protections like the one at issue here. Further, there is a strong public interest in definitive, binding interpretations of treaties. District courts cannot provide those rulings; courts of appeals can, the judge wrote, throwing the legal battle to the Ninth Circuit Court now.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has asked Rana to submit his argument before 10 October and the US Government has been asked to submit its response by 8 November.

Judge Fischer wrote that Rana has shown that he is likely to suffer significant irreparable harm absent a stay.

He will be extradited to India for a trial on serious crimes with no hope for a review of his arguments or hope for his return to the United States. The government admits this, but then argues that because this claimed irreparable harm applies categorically to any fugitive who seeks a stay of extradition pending appeal, it does not count, the judge said.

Earlier the US attorney John J Lulejian appealed before the District Court to deny Ranas exparte application for a stay of extradition pending appeal and argued that the stay would cause unwarranted delay in the United States fulfilment of its obligations to India and this will damage its credibility in the international arena and impair its ability to obtain the cooperation of foreign nations in bringing United States fugitives to justice.

Rana, he argued, cannot show a likelihood of success on the merits of his claims or otherwise meet his burden of justifying a stay. Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that the Court deny his ex parte application, the US attorney wrote.

Lulejian argued that the District Court should deny Ranas request for a stay for the threshold reason that he has failed to demonstrate that he is likely to obtain a reversal of this Courts decision in the Ninth Circuit.

In his ex parte application for a stay, Rana has made no showing whatsoever, let alone a strong showing, that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his appeal, he argued. Indeed, he simply states that he seeks a stay to permit his non-bis in idem argument to be heard by the court of appeals.

Indias National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing Ranas role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group. The NIA has said that it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.

A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at iconic and vital locations of Mumbai.
A 24-year-old woman from Iowa in the United States was sentenced to 50 years in prison after she was found guilty of drowning her daughter in a bathtub. The woman, Taylor Blaha was apprehensive that the authorities would find drugs in her blood and would remove custody of their older child.

Blaha pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and asked that she be sentenced at once. She has to serve 70 per cent of the sentence, which amounts to 35 years, before becoming eligible for parole, according to a report by New York Post.

Blahas boyfriend, Brandon Thoma, 31, also pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment resulting in death and abuse of a corpse.

The police revealed both of them held their newborn daughter underwater in a half-filled bathtub to stifle her cries, before stuffing her body into a backpack and discarding it in a wooded area. The police could not recover the babys remains.

Blaha told police that she was using methamphetamine at the time of her delivery on November 16, 2022, and both she and her boyfriend feared that child services would get to know and they would lose custody of their 2-year-old son.

An affidavit obtained by NBC affiliate WHO13 reveals that Blaha gave birth to a baby girl on 16 November in the bathroom of her home in the 900 block of Central Avenue. She reportedly asked Thoma, who was in the bedroom, for methamphetamines to ease her pain after giving birth to the baby, who they named Kayleen Lee Blaha.

The baby was born alive, crying, moving its arms and legs, and opening her eyes allowing Blaha to see that Kayleen had brown eyes. Blaha told law enforcement that she planned to give the baby to her sister but became concerned that the neighbours would hear the cries and call law enforcement, according to the Independent.

The media outlet further reported that the police also found searches on the suspects devices on how to induce miscarriages.

During her interview, Blaha confirmed with Detective Stringer that she and Thoma took actions towards an attempt to cause a miscarriage; however, did so unsuccessfully, the affidavit reads.

Communication between Blaha and Thoma, as viewed through their cellular devices, confirms conversations about where Thoma claims to have discarded Kayleens body, police said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg from 22-24 August under the South African Chairmanship.

#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for Johannesburg, South Africa. He is visiting South Africa from 22-24 August at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship. pic.twitter.com/hRy220autL  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

In his departure statement, PM Modi said the summit would give participants a useful opportunity to pinpoint potential areas of future collaboration and assess institutional growth.

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors, he added.

PM Modis departure statement ahead of his visit to South Africa and Greece | I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from 22-24 August 2023 at the invitation Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the pic.twitter.com/GPt1pzBFEg  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, he said.

Noting that he will also participate in the BRICS Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events that will be held as part of the summit activities, PM Modi said he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg, he said.

PM Modi is visiting the South African city from 22 to 24 August to attend the 15th BRICS summit at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

From South Africa, the Prime Minister said, he will travel to Athens, Greece on 25 August at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he noted that this will be his first visit to this ancient land.

I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, PM Modi said.

With inputs from agencies
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis arrival in South Africa for BRICS summit, around 10 digital screens showing the Indian leader has been put up across Johannesburg where he would be meeting other group leaders.

Digital screens showing PM Modi have also been put up at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg where the BRICS summit will take place.

#WATCH | South Africa | Digital screens showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi put up near Convention Centre in Johannesburg where BRICS Summit will begin today. Around 10 such screens are placed across Johannesburg. pic.twitter.com/3ZLBGE2K5C  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

Meanwhile, security has been intensified at the conference venue.

#WATCH | Johannesburg, South Africa | Security arrangements made near Convention Centre where BRICS Summit will begin today. pic.twitter.com/2Ebv1MEkzC  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

The 15th edition of BRICS summit is the first in-person conference since the 2019 edition in Brazil. From 2020 to 2022, the summit was held virtually, with Russia, India and China being the respective Chairs.

Earlier in the day India's Ministry of External Affairs shared a video of what's in store in PM Modi's visit to South Africa and Greece.

 As PM @narendramodi is heading to Johannesburg, take a look at what PMs visit to South Africa & Greece has in store. pic.twitter.com/H9PiW1592C  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 22, 2023

BRICS Summit 2023: Date & Venue

The BRICS summit 2023 is being held in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August.

The conference will be held at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

All eyes are on a possible interaction between PM Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of BRICS summit 2023.

The Indian government has not specified if the two leaders will hold a meeting in South Africa. At a media briefing on Monday, India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra only said the schedule of Prime Minister's bilateral meetings is being finalised.

"We have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion," Kwatra said.

Countries want to join BRICS

The BRICS summit 2023 will be attended by leaders from more than 50 nations.

Meanwhile, over the years, more than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc. Of these, around two dozen have formally requested for a membership. They are

1 - Saudi Arabia

2 - UAE

3 - Argentina

4 - Algeria, Bolivia

5 - Indonesia

6 - Egypt

7 - Ethiopia

8 - Cuba

9 - Democratic Republic of Congo

10- Comoros

11- Gabon

12- Kazakhstan

BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - leaders will be meeting but Russian president Vladimir Putin won't be attending the summit due to an arrest warrant issued against him by International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

With inputs from agencies
A cultural and tourism festival kicked off on Saturday night in Chongqing's Rongchang district to celebrate the Qixi Festival  also known as Chinese Valentine's Day  which falls on Tuesday.

The four-day event is being held in Wanling Ancient Town in Rongchang. Sixteen activities, including a fireworks show, an ancient wedding performance, a lovebirds' dinner and an intangible cultural heritage exhibition will be included.

In Chinese mythology, Qixi Festival  the seventh day of the seventh lunar month  celebrates the annual meeting of Niulang, a cowherd, and Zhinu, a weaver girl. In the legend, the two lovers travel across the Milky Way and walk down a bridge formed by magpies to reunite with each other.

The traditional festival to celebrate love falls on Aug 22 this year.

On that day, a "love museum" in the ancient town will be open to public. The museum collects tokens of love from the public, such as love letters and marriage certificates.
Hawaii, Aug 22 (UNI) The death toll from the Maui wildfires in the U.S. state of Hawaii climbed to 115, according to a fatality update from the County of Maui.



By far, all single-storey residential properties had been searched in the disaster area. Search teams will now start to search multi-storey residential and commercial properties, according to the county.



The county has issued unsafe water alerts in Lahaina and Upper Kula, requesting residents to only use bottled water or potable water provided by tankers for drinking, brushing teeth, ice-making, food preparation and so on.



Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said Monday 850 people were still missing after devastating wildfires tore through the island earlier this month, and search and rescue efforts were continuing.



More than 2,000 people were initially reported missing.



U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Maui on Monday to assess the damage of the wildfire disaster area in Lahaina and meet with survivors and first responders who were impacted by the fires.



"We will be respectful of these sacred grounds and traditions and rebuild the way the people of Maui want to build, not the way others want to build," Biden said.



The wildfires in Maui are the deadliest wildfires in the United States in more than a century, and the worst natural disaster in Hawaii's history.

UNI/XINHUA AKS1508
Deaths in mine accident in Kazakhstan rise to 36 29 Oct 2023 | 4:46 PM Astana, Oct 29 (UNI) The death toll of the mine accident in Kazakhstan's Karaganda region has risen to 36, with 10 people reported missing, the country's Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Sunday. see more..

Friends' star Matthew Perry dies 29 Oct 2023 | 4:38 PM Moscow, Oct 29 (UNI) American-Canadian actor Matthew Perry from the US TV sitcom "Friends" has died at 54 after an apparent drowning, TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources. see more..

Putin congratulates Erdogan on centennial of Turkish Republic - Kremlin 29 Oct 2023 | 4:03 PM Moscow, Oct 29 (UNI) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday congratulated his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, lauding the respect the country enjoys on the global stage. see more..

13 injured taken to hospital as fresh quake jolts west Afghanistan 29 Oct 2023 | 1:56 PM Herat, Afghanistan, Oct 29 (UNI) Thirteen injured persons have been taken to hospital as a fresh quake struck west Afghanistan's Herat province on Saturday night, head of the province's regional hospital Noor Gul Walizada said. see more..
Dhaka, Aug 22 (UNI) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is likely to visit Bangladesh on 7 to 8 September for discussing issues of mutual interest - bilateral, regional and global.

Hes supposed to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi from 9 to 10 September after his visit to Bangladesh, says a diplomatic source.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka and the Russian Embassy are yet to make any official announcement regarding the planned visit.

According to Mofa source.

However, a diplomatic source in Moscow said that the Russian foreign minister will meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina apart from his bilateral meeting with foreign minister AK Abdul Momen.

Lavrov was scheduled to visit Bangladesh on 23 November last year, mainly to attend the 22nd IORA Council of Ministers meeting, held in Dhaka on 24 November. But the visit was cancelled last minute.

Later, foreign minister Momen and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation and shed light on the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Russia and expressed their desire to take these relations to greater heights.

During a telephone conversation, the Russian foreign minister expressed his regret for not being able to come to Dhaka due to schedule complications and expressed his intention to soon make a visit.

Momen thanked Russia for its cooperation with Bangladesh in the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and invited Russian president Putin to visit Bangladesh on behalf of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

UNI MAZ AKS1513
Website to support Gibraltar students in their transition to Higher Education abroad

Following a comprehensive review of pupils mental health and emotional wellbeing conducted pre COVID-19 by the Department of Education, a series of key recommendations emerged.

One of these was the development of a stand-alone website to support Gibraltar students in their journey into higher education, primarily where this step takes them abroad to an institution outside of Gibraltar, where an element of separation anxiety exists. Even though this transition away from family support networks can be seen as part of growing up and becoming an autonomous and more mature individual, some young people can find this process a significant challenge for numerous reasons.

The website is designed very much as a resource for individuals who are contemplating higher education abroad as well as for those already engaged in these studies. Often the development of an informed choice of whether to go, or indeed when to go, are key and fundamental questions. The website, through past student testimonials and experiences, encourages aspiring undergraduates to reflect on these critical decisions, with the University of Gibraltar providing exciting and viable alternatives locally.

The funding for this initiative has kindly been provided by Playtech following a detailed proposal submitted by Mr Wayne Barton and Mrs Jackie Linares from the Department of Education. Other school projects that have received funding include trauma informed training; mental health first aid; and person centred planning: transitions to adulthood; among others. Mrs Brenda Cuby, on behalf of Gibsams, has kindly agreed to manage the funds as a locally recognised charity. The website which has been designed by Ms Gerry Martinez of Niche Creative Solutions, has been launched today, 22nd August 2023, and contains key information such as a scholarship checklist; financial guidance provided by the FSC; how to manage individual expectations; sexual health and wellbeing strategies provided by GHA colleagues; links to NGOs locally; and useful links to the University of Gibraltar among other resources. If frequent usage of this website by students is demonstrated, the platform may in the future be developed to include more interactive features.

The Department of Education invites young people to check out this new stand-alone website on www.gibraltarstudents.gi
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Rob LeDonne in The Guardian:

The director Lizzie Gottlieb was hosting a birthday party for her father, the renowned editor Robert Gottlieb at her Brooklyn brownstone when she struck up a conversation with one of the many guests. A lovely older gentleman came up to me and said, What do you think of the Barclays Center on Flatbush Avenue and how do you think itll affect the neighborhood? I started spouting completely uninformed, random opinions. Mid-sentence, she came to a realization. It was Robert Caro, and I was talking to him about New York City infrastructure.

As one of the most respected living authors of the written word, 87-year-old Robert Caro has actually only authored six books, from The Power Broker, his 1974 opus about New York City planner Robert Moses to an epic, and still unfinished, series focusing on the life of President Lyndon Baines Johnson (more on that later). Its a body of work that shines a stark spotlight on power; from the thirst some have for it, how they obtain it, and how the world  and the powerless at large  are shaped by their whims. As a result of his scrupulous and exhaustive research, vivid storytelling and poetic prose, Caro has become a cult figure. The latest facet of his lore is the new documentary Turn Every Page. Directed by Lizzie, it zeroes in on Caros creative relationship with his 91-year-old editor, Robert Gottlieb, who also happens to be Lizzies father.

More here. (Note: One of the best films I saw this year so far)
POCO Flagship Smartphone To Feature Dimensity 9200 Plus Chipset: F6 Pro Is Midrange Smartphone With 24GB RAM? News oi -Alap Naik Desai

There's a new POCO smartphone in the works and it packs the flagship MediaTek Dimensity 9200 Plus Chipset. Xiaomi's POCO sub-brand is expected to launch this new, mystery smartphone in the next few months.

POCO launched the POCO F5 and the POCO F5 Pro with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, of which, only the base variant is available in India. The next POCO smartphone has been confirmed to have the flagship-grade Dimensity 9200+ SoC and could be a rebranded Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone.

POCO Smartphone To Feature MediaTek Dimensity 9200 Plus SoC, And 24GB RAM?

At the POCO Partners SEA Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, officials from Xiaomi's sub-brand confirmed the next flagship smartphone from the brand will feature the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 Plus chipset.

None of the officials revealed the name of the upcoming smartphone with the flagship Dimensity SoC. However, POCO launched the POCO F5 Pro with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC in December last year.

New Poco phone (most likely F-series) is confirmed to arrive with Dimensity 9200 Plus



- Looks like Redmi K60 Ultra rebrand

- Not sure about India launch yet, but expected to arrive in other markets



Thanks @faridofanani96#POCO #POCOF5 #POCOF5GT pic.twitter.com/4SmDa9NxlP  Anvin (@ZionsAnvin) August 22, 2023

Hence, the upcoming POCO Android smartphone with Dimensity 9200+ SoC would be the POCO F6 Pro. There could be another smartphone in the POCO F6 series, and it could feature the Dimensity 8200 chipset.

Incidentally, the POCO F5 Pro is essentially a rebranded version of the Xiaomi Redmi K60, which is yet to launch in India. Moreover, even the recently launched Redmi 60 Ultra hasn't arrived in India but is expected to launch as the Xiaomi 13T Pro.

Is The Mystery POCO F6 Pro A Rebranded Xiaomi Redmi Smartphone?

The POCO smartphones have usually launched a little later than the Redmi smartphones. Moreover, the majority of smartphones from this brand are essentially rebranded Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones from the midrange category.

Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi K60 Ultra. This flagship smartphone features the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 Plus SoC. Needless to mention, this is the same chipset that has been confirmed to be embedded inside the upcoming POCO smartphone.

Simply put, the mystery POCO smartphone, which could be branded as the POCO F6 Pro, could essentially be a rebranded version of the Xiaomi K60 Ultra.

Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO brands are all active in India. Each brand has multiple smartphones with similar specifications and varying prices. While the POCO brand usually sits at the bottom, the Redmi brand has devices in the affordable, budget, and midrange categories. The Xiaomi brand is mostly present in the midrange and premium categories.

Hence, it is quite likely the Redmi K60 Ultra might launch as the Xiaomi 13T Pro and it would be positioned in the premium category. The POCO F6 Pro, on the other hand, would be positioned in the midrange category.

Incidentally, the top-end model of the Redmi K60 Ultra packs 24GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage. It supports 120W PD3.0 wired fast wired charging.

Since POCO smartphones are positioned in the midrange, the POCO F69 Pro might lack these features, and the brand might offer 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variants only, with support for slightly slower charging speeds.

Best Mobiles in India
China's state security authority cracks CIA espionage case involving Chinese state official

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Aug 21, 2023 11:14 AM Updated: Aug 21, 2023 11:08 AM

Chinese state security authority recently revealed a case concerning espionage activities of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against Chinese state officials, the Ministry of State Security released a statement on Monday, indicating that investigations into the individuals implicated in the case have been initiated in accordance with the law, and the case is still under investigation.

The individual subject to investigation, surnamed Hao, born in January 1984, is an official of a national ministry. Hao established a connection with Ted, an officer from the US Embassy in Japan, while processing his US visa application during his time studying in Japan.

Ted gradually developed a close relationship with Hao by treating him to dinner and presenting gifts. In addition, Ted also asked for Hao's assistance in writing papers, providing a "fee" in return, Hao agreed to this request.

Before the end of his term in the US Embassy in Japan, Ted introduced his colleague Li Jun to Hao, and the two sides continued to maintain a relationship.

Prior to the completion of Hao's studies in Japan, Li Jun clarified his identity as a member of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Tokyo and engaged in the process of recruiting Hao as a spy, requesting Hao work in a critical unit of the Chinese national ministry upon his return to China. Hao agreed and signed an espionage agreement with the US side and accepted the assessment and training from the US.

After his studies abroad, Hao returned to China and continued to meet secretly with CIA personnel, providing a large amount of sensitive government information to the US while collecting payment from the CIA.

Following the discovery of Hao's espionage activities by one of China's national security agencies, a lawful inquiry has been initiated into his actions in accordance with law, and the case is under investigation.

The national security agency particularly emphasizes in its statement that Chinese citizens abroad should remain vigilant, resist enticements offered by suspicious individuals, and avoid succumbing to momentary gains that may lead to serious consequences, thus preventing themselves from falling into the abyss of criminal activities.

From urban communities to villages in remote areas in China, officials have been working on frontline to fortify national security education to the public, in order to improve public awareness and engagement. Public awareness campaigns have been enhanced after a newly revised Counter-Espionage Law came into effect on July 1.

Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt a revised Counter-Espionage Law in April, which came into effect on July 1, one of the country's measures to safeguard national security in the face of an increasingly complex counter-espionage situation.

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China says probing state security agent over ties with CIA

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 9:38 AM

China's Public Security Ministry has announced an underway investigation of a former employee suspected of spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after being recruited at an American embassy abroad.

The ministry identified the alleged spy as 39-year-old Hao in a Monday statement, saying that the ex-employee, whose gender was not revealed, had gone to Japan for studies, where the spying recruitment occurred.

The statement came less than two weeks after the ministry also declared that it had uncovered another national suspected of spying for the CIA after being recruited in the US embassy in Italy.

According to the ministry, Hao had become acquainted with a US embassy official known as "Ted" who handled the visa application and then invited Hao for dinners, presented gifts and asked Hao to help him write a paper for money.

Ted later introduced Hao to a colleague, identified as Li Jun before his term at the embassy in Tokyo ended, the ministry added, noting that Li and Hao then maintained a "cooperative relationship."

Before Hao completed studying, Li revealed being Tokyo-based CIA personnel and "instigated Hao into rebelling," directing Hao to return back to China and work for a "core and critical unit," according to the ministry's statement.

Hao then signed an espionage agreement, accepting assessment and training from the United States, it further noted as cited in a Reuters report.

The ministry also pointed out that upon returning to China, Hao worked in a national department "according to the requirements of the CIA," to provide the US spy agency with intelligence and getting paid for it.

The development comes after Beijing declared last month that it will "take all necessary measures to safeguard national security" against US spying networks following an earlier admittance by the CIA director that its agents were currently active in the Asia-Pacific country.

"The US on the one hand keeps spreading disinformation on so-called Chinese spying and cyber attacks and on the other hand tells the public about its large-scale intelligence activities targeting China," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a press briefing on July 24.

"This in itself is quite revealing. China will take all measures necessary to safeguard national security," she added.

CIA Director William Burns had earlier revealed the agency was rebuilding its clandestine networks across China.

Burns told attendees of a security conference in Colorado that the CIA was currently running agents in China. "We've made progress and we're working very hard to make sure we have a very strong human intelligence capability to complement what we can acquire through other methods."

The notorious US spy agency suffered a devastating blow to its intelligence-gathering capabilities in 2010, when Chinese authorities began identifying, arresting, and reportedly executing CIA agents across the country.

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China unveils second CIA espionage case within 15 days

Global Times

High-profile disclosure of US spying activities serve as warning shot, showing China's confidence in fighting foreign penetration, instigation

By GT staff reporters Published: Aug 21, 2023 08:50 PM Updated: Aug 22, 2023 12:22 AM

China unveiled the second US-led espionage case against China within half a month on Monday, indicating that the country's national security authority cracked a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) espionage case involving a Chinese government employee who had been instigated by the Japan branch of the US intelligence agency.

Such high-profile revelation of US spying activities shows China has been facing a severe situation of "fighting in the hidden battlefront" as the aggressive espionage activities by the US against China are closely related to Washington's current strategy of comprehensive suppression and containment of Beijing, some experts said. But the continuous revelation of typical cases underscore China's capabilities in fending off foreign penetration and instigation, firmly safeguarding the national security.

The frequent disclosures also serve as a warning shot to Chinese citizens, indicating that the activities by foreign forces aiming to steal intelligence from China, infiltrate, use as a springboard, and cause disruption are on the rise, experts warned.

The two cases revealed by the Chinese national security authority share some similarities, as the suspects had been instigated by the CIA in third-party countries when they studied overseas, a warning to the public that people need to remain vigilant against spying activities not only in China but also in foreign countries, especially among those who study and work abroad for a long time, experts noted.

'Warning shot'

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) revealed a case on Monday concerning espionage activities conducted by the CIA against a Chinese government official, noting the case is still under investigation.

The suspect subject to investigation surnamed Hao, born in January 1984, is an official of a central government ministry. Hao established a connection with Ted, an officer from the US Embassy in Japan, while processing his US visa application during his time studying in Japan.

Ted gradually developed a close relationship with Hao by treating him to dinner and presenting gifts. In addition, Ted also asked for Hao's assistance in writing papers, providing a "fee" in return, Hao agreed to this request.

Before the end of his term in the US Embassy in Japan, Ted introduced his colleague Li Jun to Hao, and the two sides continued to maintain a cooperation.

Prior to the completion of Hao's studies in Japan, Li Jun clarified his identity as a member of the CIA in Tokyo and engaged in the process of recruiting Hao as a spy, requesting Hao to work in a critical unit of the Chinese ministry upon his return to China. Hao agreed and signed an espionage agreement with the US side and accepted the assessment and training from the US.

After returning to China, Hao began working at a ministry as requested by the CIA and continued to meet secretly with CIA personnel, providing a large amount of sensitive government information to the US while collecting payment from the CIA, according to the MSS.

About 10 days ago, the MSS also revealed a case about cracking CIA espionage activities after the authority put a suspect surnamed Zeng, who was a staff member of a Chinese military industrial group and an important confidential employee, under enforcement measures after finding evidence that Zeng was conducting espionage activities.

Zeng, born in July 1971, was sent by his company to study in Italy. During that period, an official of the US embassy in Italy, called Seth, took the initiative to get acquainted with Zeng. Since then, Seth gradually developed a close relationship with Zeng.

As the exchanges between the two gradually deepened, Seth revealed to Zeng that he was a member of the CIA's Rome station. Then Seth asked Zeng to provide sensitive information about the Chinese military to him, promising huge remuneration and to help Zeng's family to migrate to the US.

Zeng agreed and signed an espionage agreement with the US side and accepted the assessment and training from the US.

The two cases show that the US intelligence authority has been working closely with relevant authorities in the Western bloc, under such close partnership, the CIA could easily learn more about information and background of some of Chinese citizens who study or work there, Li Wei, an expert on national security at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Monday.

"That information would also be helpful for the US intelligence authority to conduct penetration and instigation, especially targeting some Chinese citizens who are sent by companies or government ministries to study abroad," Li said.

"We need to be vigilant in our counter-espionage efforts. It's not only the responsibility of people in the country but also of those overseas, especially students and visiting scholars. Those who study or work abroad for long periods must be particularly cautious," he noted.

US' Intensified efforts

Recently, CIA Director William Burns said that his agency had "made progress" in rebuilding its spy networks in China after suffering significant setbacks one decade ago. Meanwhile, the US - a true empire of hackers - has been constantly launching cyberattacks against China's critical infrastructure, for example, the latest one targeting the Wuhan Earthquake Monitoring Center.

Even a major intelligence power like the US typically wouldn't boast about its espionage capabilities in another country, however, the current Biden administration is unique in this regard, LA Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Not only on espionage related to China, but we've also seen their approach toward Russia, especially concerning the Ukraine issue, they have even deliberately released some of the intelligence they've acquired through dubious means," he said, noting that by releasing this (mis)information, they aim to demonstrate their comprehensive strength against Russia.

"For the Biden administration to brag about their intelligence capabilities in China at this moment, I believe, in a sense, they're essentially showcasing intelligence as part of their national strength to boast about their advantage over China," the expert noted.

Based on the current severe and complex counter-espionage situation, a series of provisions have been made to build a strong people's defense line for national security against espionage, the MSS said in an earlier post, stressing that counter-espionage work requires the mobilization of all parts of society.

All state organs and armed forces, all political parties and all groups, enterprises, and other social organizations have an obligation to prevent and stop espionage activities and maintain national security, according to China's revised Counter-Espionage Law that came into effect on July 1.

In recent years, the US has intensified its efforts to spy on China by recruiting Chinese agents through third-party countries, which shows their recruitment tactics within China haven't been very successful, some experts said. With the intensified efforts of China's counter-espionage efforts, the overall public awareness has been increased, making it more difficult for foreign spying activities to take place.

"By uncovering the US' tactics, we also gain insight into how the US intelligence system operates, and it's not necessarily as invincible as Americans might believe," LA said.

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Republic of Philippine Navy Assumes Command of Multinational Counter-Piracy Task Force

U.S. Central Command

Aug. 21, 2023

By U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain -- The Republic of Philippine Navy assumed command of a multinational counter-piracy task force during a change-of-command ceremony Aug. 21 at the U.S. Navy base here.

Republic of Korea Navy Rear Admiral Ko Seung-bum turned over command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 to Republic of Philippine Navy Capt. Mateo Carido. CTF 151 is one of five operational task forces under Combined Maritime Forces, a multi-national naval partnership of 38 nations, which promotes security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, encompassing some of the world's most important shipping lanes.

During Ko's tenure, CTF 151 frequently conducted joint operations with Task Force (TF) 465. TF 465 is a multinational naval unit from European Union Naval Forces focusing on countering piracy in the region. CMF and EUNF task forces regularly collaborate to enhance interoperability through combined patrols and joint training.

"We have focused on expanding participation in international efforts, which has yielded tangible results," said Ko.

Established in 2009, CTF 151 conducts maritime security operations to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy and armed robbery at sea, outside the Horn of Africa. The task force regularly collaborates with more than 19 countries on the counter-piracy mission throughout the region.

Carido, a 27-year veteran of the Republic of Philippine Navy, previously served as the Armed Forces of the Philippines senior national representative to CMF.

"This is the first time the Philippine Navy will be leading CTF 151," said Carido. "My staff will be made up of members of many of the CMF-affiliated nations. Our presence here demonstrates our unwavering commitment to maintaining maritime security and recognizing the importance of coordination and collaboration."

The CTF 151 staff include representatives from the Philippines, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Spain, Singapore, Thailand and Turkiye.

Combined Maritime Forces is headquartered in Bahrain with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet.

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August 21, 2023

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

Pentagon Policy Official Underscores Defense Ties With Djibouti

The longstanding defense relationship between the U.S. and Djibouti is a key facet to peace and stability in a critical region, a senior Pentagon policy official said.

Mara Karlin, performing the duties of deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, underscored the strong ties between the two countries today after meeting in Djibouti last week with senior leaders from U.S. Africa Command and the President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh.

"It's amazing to see how the relationship with Djibouti has burgeoned over the last two-and-a-half decades," said Karlin.

"Djibouti is a critical location, and it's a critical partnership that we have with the Djiboutians," she said.

Karlin met with Guelleh alongside U.S. Africom commander, Marine Corps. Gen. Michael Langley to talk through the U.S.-Djibouti partnership, which she said, "has only grown closer in recent years."

"We talked through the contribution of this partnership to regional security and stability and how we see it going forward," Karlin said. "We had a really positive set of conversations with them."

Djibouti hosts the only U.S. base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier, home to more than 5,000 deployed service members, Department of Defense civilians and contractors.

Camp Lemonnier serves as a strategic location from which the U.S. remains postured to address a variety of security challenges ranging from violent extremist organizations to U.S. strategic competitors.

The base is also situated along the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping routes that is the gateway from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

In April 2023, Camp Lemonnier served as a key staging area for the Defense Department's support to the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan.

In addition to meeting with Guelleh, the visit gave Karlin the opportunity to discuss regional security issues with U.S. Africom and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa leadership and visit service members stationed at Camp Lemonnier.

Karlin said in addition to contributing to security in the region, the service members stationed at the base have helped deepen the ties between the two countries.

Camp Lemonnier is home to a variety of events designed to enrich the U.S.-Djibouti relationship and spur interaction between DOD personnel and the local community.

For the past 16 years, the base has hosted a biannual bazaar that connects U.S. military members with Djiboutians through art.

Over the past year, the bazaar raised more than $123,000 that is reinvested directly into the local community.

Camp Lemonnier personnel also organize an annual visit to the Islamic cemetery on base and share an Iftar meal with the local community during Ramadan.

"U.S. service members who deploy to Camp Lemonnier engage with our allies and Djiboutian partners through hosted events and volunteer opportunities in the community," said Navy Capt. Suzanne J.M. Krauss, Camp Lemonnier's commanding officer. "We not only deploy here, we are part of a larger community and work to have a positive impact."

"It was an honor to have Dr. Karlin and her team visit Camp Lemonnier and see our facilities, work and mission firsthand," she said.

Karlin said it was "a really lovely thing" to hear about U.S. personnel interacting with the community in such positive ways.

"It wasn't just the tremendous contribution our service members have to regional security, but also to a long-term partnership with Djiboutians," she said.

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Guatemala: Statement by HR/VP Josep Borrell on the Presidential election

European External Action Service (EEAS)

21.08.2023

EEAS Press Team

The EU congratulates the people of Guatemala for their peaceful participation in the second round of the Presidential election on Sunday 20 August, and for the strong commitment to democracy shown throughout the process.

Pending the final announcement of official results by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the outcome of the vote is already very clear. The EU congratulates the winning Presidential candidate Mr. Bernardo Arevalo and Vice Presidential candidate Ms. Karin Herrera.

We welcome the fact that outgoing President Mr. Alejandro Giammattei has recognised the result and has referred to the need for an orderly transition and transfer of power to take place on 14 January 2024. It is crucial for all state institutions and all sectors of society to support and join in this effort in the interests of the country.

The EU is a long-standing partner for Guatemala and reiterates its full support to democratic governance in the country, which is the necessary foundation for efforts by the authorities to pursue sustainable and inclusive development, and social justice. As part of its commitment to Guatemala and its democracy, the EU has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM), upon invitation by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

The EU EOM, headed by Chief Observer and Member of the European Parliament Mr. Jordi Canas MEP, will monitor until the end of the electoral process to independently assess its compliance against international and regional standards as well as domestic laws. The EU EOM will publish its preliminary statement on Tuesday 22 August and its final report, including recommendations for future electoral processes, within two months after the elections.

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Philippines to skip US-Japan-Australia joint drills in South China Sea

Global Times

Logistical limitations could be 'an excuse for Manila to seek a balance among powers'

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Aug 21, 2023 08:30 PM

The Philippines will reportedly not participate in a US-Japan-Australia joint exercise in the South China Sea this week, a move analysts said on Monday showed that the Philippines is trying to find a balance under US pressure to take advantage of Manila as a foothold in the region against China.

The US, Japan and Australia are planning to hold a joint navy drill in the South China Sea off the western Philippines this week, with all three countries deploying aircraft and helicopter carriers, namely the USS America, the JS Izumo and the HMAS Canberra, AP reported on Monday.

Commanders of the three countries' warships are set to meet with their Filipino counterparts in Manila after the offshore drills, the report said.

Led by the US, the trilateral exercise serves to maintain US hegemony, which in their eyes is being challenged by China, Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Monday.

"The US military sees the South China Sea as a region to contest with China, with the other region being the Taiwan Straits. That is why the US wants to have the Philippines as a foothold in the region," Chen said.

Under this thinking, earlier this year, the US and the Philippines held their largest-ever Balikatan combat exercise, and the Philippines opened four additional military bases for US use.

The AP report linked the upcoming trilateral exercise to the recent tensions between China and the Philippines over the Ren'ai Jiaoalso Ren'ai Reefof the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

China Coast Guard on August 5 drove away Philippine vessels intruding into waters near the Chinese reef in an attempt to deliver building materials to an old Philippine warship illegally grounded at the Ren'ai Jiao since 1999.

The US, Japan and Australia were among countries that expressed support for the Philippines over the incident, AP reported.

However, the Philippines would not be part of the exercise due to "military logistical limitations," AP said.

Using so-called military logistical limitations as an excuse could be a part of the Philippines' tactic to seek a balance between major powers, because a complete dependence on the US could make it the biggest victim, Chen said.

With many domestic problems to be solved, the Marcos Jr administration's priority should be development, Chen said. "The Philippines needs China in terms of economic development, and the US cannot provide what it needs," he said.

If the Philippines is used by the US as a forward deployment base in a potential military conflict in the South China Sea, or worse, if the Philippines is instigated by the US to challenge China militarily, it would be the Philippines that suffers from the flames of war, while the US homeland is located thousands of kilometers away, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Monday.

The US-Japan-Australia joint exercise is only a political show and has limited military significance, the expert said, citing China's anti-ship ballistic missiles such as the DF-21D and the DF-26 that make large vessels such as helicopter carriers and amphibious assault ships vulnerable on China's doorstep, including in the South China Sea.

The upcoming exercise by the three countries from outside the region will only have a negative impact on the current tensions. Some Filipino hardliners could see the trilateral drill as a form of encouragement, putting more pressure on Manila to lean toward the US and become more stubborn to deliver so-called supplies to the warship illegally grounded at the Ren'ai Jiao, analysts said.

In recent years, the US has gone to great lengths to interfere in the South China Sea issue. It has encouraged and supported certain countries' violation of other countries' maritime rights and sowed discord between countries in the region, which makes the US a disrupter and saboteur of the regional order, said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a regular press conference on Monday.

The US, together with its allies, frequently conducted military exercises and close-in reconnaissance in waters around China, including the South China Sea, to flex muscles and intensify tensions in the region. The US has become the biggest threat and challenge to regional peace and stability, Wang said.

The Philippines should put its own national interests first rather than choose to be tied to the US chariot against China, making itself an expendable pawn, exper

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Personnel in III Marine Expeditionary Force remain prepared

US Marine Corps News

21 Aug 2023 | Sgt. Savannah Mesimer III Marine Expeditionary Force

OKINAWA, Japan -- U.S. Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force came together across U.S. installations located on Okinawa, building camaraderie during recovery efforts post-Typhoon Khanun. The storm battered the island for several days in August 2023, and Marines used the opportunity to lean on their family-abroad.

"The community is coming together do a cleanup," said U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Tsaiann Murray, an embarkation specialist with III Marine Expeditionary Force G-4. "Everyone is coming together to make the base safer. We did prepare the base in advance of the typhoon; we're all coming together as a team and unit to do what's necessary."

The typhoon's first pass over the island brought 111 mile per hour winds beginning Tuesday, August 2, and gained strength throughout the week. Damaged power lines left more than 220,000 homes without power, limiting communication between personnel across the installations. III MEF however, remained resilient, coming together to restore homes, facilities and utilities as soon as Tropical Cyclone Conditions of Readiness - Recovery was issued.

"It's a very great experience with both Okinawa and the Marine Corps cooperating with each other," said Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Dugger, a motor transportation maintenance chief with Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. "The Marines are taking care of the bases and making sure their Marines and families are safe, doing what we need to, to help keep our community safe and clean."

By Wednesday, areas throughout the island were experiencing flooding, minor landslides, and extensive housing and vehicle damage. Across the island, homes lost access to running water or were given water boil advisories.

[blockqoute: "Being a Marine, our job is to help others. We fight and win wars, but when we're not actively engaged in combat, we're doing our best to help our community and make sure it's safe.": Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Dugger, a motor transportation maintenance chief]

U.S. Forces Japan implemented maximum telework throughout the duration of the typhoon to ensure the safety of all personnel. The 18th Wing Commander did not direct Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness All Clear until the evening of August 6th - when the brunt force of the storm was over.

Upon all clear, Marines throughout the bases began immediate recovery efforts to return the installation to normal operations.

"I like going around the base and making sure it looks nice and presentable, so me being a part of this cleanup allows me to make sure the base gets back to where it needs to be which I'm really proud of," said Murray, a Dallas, Texas native. "This is related to a lot of teamwork, there's a lot of leadership here also and it comes into play where rank doesn't matter when we do stuff like this - everyone pitches in to do their part."

"My Marines have supported Camp Courtney and its outlying areas quite a bit with recovery services during the typhoon," said Dugger, a Pensacola, Florida native. "After the typhoon, picking up trees, picking up debris, restoring power services. We even assisted the commissary here for restoring electricity and some lights."

This was not Dugger's first typhoon experience, and he mentioned how recovery services are a collaborative effort.

"In Okinawa, I've seen that many citizens don't rely solely on emergency services to clean up, you have residents cleaning their own neighborhoods, Marines cleaning around the bases, people doing things for themselves to help their community," said Dugger. "Everyone does their part, which also assists emergency services personnel get things back in order, it's a great collaborative effort."

Lance Cpl. Corey Calkins, a motor vehicle operator with Headquarters Company, 3rd Marine Division, mentioned that he felt proud to be a part of the clean-up and to work alongside his fellow Marines.

"Having so many Marines with various jobs really shows what the Marine Corps is about and displays that we have great teamwork skills," said Calkins, an Auburn, New York native. "This clean up applies to the selflessness trait that each Marine possesses; we are here for each other 100 percent of the time, no matter what - I feel closer to the Marines to my left and right than I do my own family because I'm with them day in and out."

While some Marines and their families may not have previous experience with typhoons, Marine Corps Installations Pacific has an established procedure and a strong system in place to take care of the personnel here during these emergency weather situations.

Satellite Transmissions System Operator Lance Cpl. Cutter Lust with Communications Company, 3rd Marine Division, said assisting in the recovery efforts was a bonding experience.

"I feel great helping someone else, cleaning up and making it a safer place," said Lust, a Sunray, Texas native.

For many Marines, this is their first time away from the United States and family for support. But that doesn't mean they handle these situations alone.

"The support that comes from your family back at home is a lot different, being that you're further away from people that you grew up with, especially here now at an overseas station," said Murray. "The support you get from your brothers and sisters near you on base is a lot different because you are in it together. Whatever situation you're going through, you're experiencing it as a team and as a unit. It's a closer bond, you lean on each other more because we're a lot further from home, so you lean on the ones to the left and right of you."

Living in a host nation, Marines and Sailors with III MEF have a responsibility to our Allies, partners, and one another.

"Being a Marine, our job is to help others," said Dugger. "We fight and win wars, but when we're not actively engaged in combat, we're doing our best to help our community and make sure it's safe."

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US approves giant helicopter gunship sale to Poland

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 10:46 PM

The United States has approved a whopping $12-billion sale of Apache helicopter gunships to Poland.

Poland would receive 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from their manufacturer Boeing, the State Department said on Monday in a notification to Congress of the sale's green light.

Congress has the right to review and block the helicopter deal, but objections are not expected.

The sale "will improve Poland's capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in [the Western military alliance of] NATO's operations," a State Department statement said.

Poland has doubled its military expenditure since last February when Russia started a war in neighboring Ukraine.

Back in January, it announced that it planned to inject four percent of its gross domestic product into its military -- well above the NATO target of two percent.

On Wednesday, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that Warsaw was turning into a main tool for Washington's anti-Moscow policy.

Russia's defense chief added that Poland had said it wanted to achieve its declared goal of building "the most powerful army" in Europe and to achieve this end, it started large-scale arms purchases from the US, the United Kingdom, and South Korea.

Warsaw has also been siding closely with Washington against Moscow since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine.

The US and its allies have been arming Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art weapons since the beginning of the war, with a large portion of the arms crossing the border through Poland.

The Russian defense chief also accused Poland of trying to ultimately occupy western Ukraine under the pretext of establishing a joint military unit with the ex-Soviet republic.



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At least 50 Palestinians injured by Israeli gunfire near Nablus

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 6:31 PM

At least 50 Palestinians have sustained injuries during a violent raid by the Israeli forces near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinian Shehab news agency said the injuries took place on Monday after the occupation forces opened fire on the residents of the village of Beita, south of Nablus.

"Fifty injuries resulted from the Beita clashes in the south of Nablus, including eight injuries from live bullets, one of which was serious in the head," Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency and Ambulance Department was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Palestine's official Wafa news agency confirmed the report and cited local sources as saying that the Israeli military raided the village by shooting and sparking confrontations with Palestinians, during which the occupation forces fired live and rubber-coated steel bullets as well as teargas canisters.

The Israeli forces were also reported to have raided and ransacked a Palestinian house.

Media reports said the clashes came after the occupation forces raided Beita to arrest a suspect in connection with the recent shooting in the Palestinian town of Huwara, where at least two Israeli men were fatally shot in a retaliatory operation by a Palestinian gunman south of Nablus.

The regime's Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said on Saturday its paramedics carried out resuscitation efforts on a 29-year-old man and a man in his 60s who were hit by gunfire inside a carwash in Huwara.

Both Israelis were declared dead at the scene shortly afterward.

Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the West Bank on an almost daily basis under the pretext of detaining what they call "wanted" Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza. The majority of these fatalities have been recorded in the West Bank. At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian retaliatory attacks against Israeli settlers during that time.





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Palestinian fighters carried out 19 retaliatory attacks in past 24 hours: Report

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 7:41 AM

Palestinian resistance fighters carried out more than a dozen retaliatory operations across the occupied territories over the past 24 hours, according to a report.

The report by the independent Palestinian Mo'ta information center said three of the 19 retaliatory attacks were shooting operations and four involved throwing explosive devices at Israeli forces.

Seven separate cases of confrontations with Israeli troops were recorded in al-Quds, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, Qalqilya, al-Khalil, and Tulkarm as well, it added.

It further said that Palestinian fighters opened fire at the al-Za'im checkpoint in occupied al-Quds, hurled explosive devices at Israeli troops in the Qalandiya checkpoint, and threw firecrackers during confrontations in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood in southern East al-Quds.

Tulkarm refugee camp in the northern West Bank also saw shootings and explosive devices being thrown at Israeli army forces as they barged their way into the camp, according to the report.

Young Palestinian protesters hurled explosive devices at Israeli soldiers during clashes in Beit Ummar town, located eleven kilometers (6.8 miles) northwest of al-Khalil, it added.

Elsewhere in Qalqilya, Palestinian youths threw stones at settlers' vehicles, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

In July, the report said, 1,132 acts of Palestinian retaliation were recorded, including 97 shootings and armed clashes with Israeli soldiers, 33 of which were carried out in Jenin.

Amid the surge in deadly Israeli military raids and violent rampages by extremist settlers on Palestinians across the West Bank, resistance fighters keep conducting retaliatory attacks in kind.

'Palestinians to continue confronting settler assaults'

In a related development, the Hamas resistance movement warned that Jewish settler attacks in al-Quds and across the occupied West Bank will be met with a "forceful" and "strong" response.

Mohammad Hamadeh, spokesman for the Hamas branch in occupied al-Quds, said in a statement on Sunday that Palestinians will continue confronting recurrent settler attacks, and will defend their lands and rights through all available means.

Hamadeh also urged the formation of popular committees to protect Palestinian villages and towns to confront increased settler attacks.

He also called for mass mobilization and urged Palestinians to escalate resistance activities in response to the repeated Israeli crimes and settlement expansion plans.

Incidents of sabotage and violence by settlers against Palestinians and their property have become a daily occurrence throughout the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank.

Jewish extremists continue their acts of vandalism, known as price tag attacks, against Palestinian properties.

However, Israeli authorities rarely prosecute settlers, and the vast majority of the files are closed due to deliberate police failure to investigate them properly.

Settler violence includes property and mosque arson attacks, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes.

Israeli settlers have noticeably escalated attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in recent months.

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Cambodia's king calls on lawmakers, government to resolve their differences

But analysts and opposition figures doubt they will heed his advice.

By RFA Khmer 2023.08.21 -- In an opening speech to Cambodia's newly elected parliament on Monday, King Norodom Sihamoni called on lawmakers and the government to reconcile their deep divisions, though political commentators and opposition officials say the effort will amount to naught.

The July 23 elections, won by the ruling Cambodian People's Party in a landslide, have been widely criticized by Western governments and opposition activists within the country because authorities kept the main opposition Candlelight Party from participating on a technicality.

Three days after the election, Prime Minister Hun Sen - who has ruled the country since 1985 - announced he would step down and hand power to his eldest son, army chief Hun Manet.

The king, who has served as the head of the country's constitutional monarchy since October 2004, issued a royal message calling on members of the National Assembly and the government to forge national reconciliation and adhere to the four Brahmanical principles of Buddhism.

Norodom Sihamoni said he expected the new government to win the trust of the National Assembly to develop and strengthen the comprehensive social protection system for Cambodian citizens.

A high degree of unity and solidarity would ensure the strong existence of national identity, promote socioeconomic development and boost morality for the harmony of society, the king said.

"On this great occasion, I wish the 7th National Assembly to run smoothly and carry out its role with a responsible conscience in order to achieve new successes for the common good of the motherland," the king told the 125 lawmakers, all of whom except five were from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, or CCP. The others were from Funcinpec led by Prince Norodom Chakravuth, the king's nephew.

Hun Sen, former National Assembly President Heng Samrin, and Interior Minister Sar Kheng also were in attendance.

'Fake' election

Political analysts and opposition officials said the king's speech reflected his view that the country's political divisions would harm the nation, though the situation would not likely change.

Um Sam An, a senior official from the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, said the king's remarks were intended to guide the new government and lawmakers back onto a democratic path for the benefit of society following what he called "fake" elections.

The CNRP official also said that the king was likely dissatisfied with the leadership of the previous one-party government, which often persecuted dissidents and opposition groups.

"He warned the deputies to be kind and treat the people well," Um Sam An said, adding that the political crisis in Cambodia has gotten worse with the holding of "fake" elections this year and in 2018.

"So, he understands that democracy and respect for human rights will only get worse in Cambodia," said Um Sam An.

Hun Sen dissolved the opposition CNRP in 2017 and later prevented the party's leader, Sam Rainsy, from returning to Cambodia to stand trial on charges that rights groups said were politically motivated.

Political commentator Kim Sok condemned the new government, saying it was born of the fraudulent elections.

"This illegitimate government and parliament face a huge reaction from the international community, the reaction of the people who will protest around the world," he said. "And in the face of both economic and social crises, poverty and unemployment will occur. All these crises weaken our country."

Knowing these prospects, the king has called for national unity, and that is all his authority allows him to do, Kim Sok added.

CCP spokesman Sok Eysan told Radio Free Asia that the king's statement was a general message to people from all walks of life, and not a reference to the new government or the National Assembly. He also said that national unity depended on the attitude of the opposition.

Patrick Murphy, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, who attended the opening of the National Assembly, sent a positive message to the newly elected lawmakers.

"As the new gov't. begins its tenure, it can restore multi-party democracy, end political convictions, and allow independent media to reopen & function without interference, he tweeted.

Translated by Sokry Sum for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content August not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Hun Sen's legacy: Cambodia as the family business

After 38 years, Cambodia's leader is handing his son the keys to the family business. Can it survive without him?

By Alex Willemyns for RFA 2023.08.21 -- After nearly four decades in office, Hun Sen this week steps down as Cambodia's prime minister. The National Assembly sat for the first time Monday, one day before the new premier is set to be sworn in. On Aug. 22, he will hand power over to his eldest son, Hun Manet, who was just 8 years old when his father took charge of a communist regime embroiled in a civil war and held afloat, barely, by foreign aid.

The 71-year-old strongman prime minister is bequeathing his son a country that has changed considerably over the course of his reign. Cambodia is on track, by World Bank estimates, to reach upper-middle income status by 2030, but inequality is rampant and poverty remains widespread.

The government Hun Manet, 45, inherits is one where it pays to have powerful parents. His incoming defense minister, Tea Seiha, is the son of his father's long-serving defense minister, Tea Banh, who was appointed in 1989. His new interior minister, Sar Sokha, too, is taking over from his own father, Sar Kheng, who has held the top security position for 31 years.

It's a generational change of government taken to its most literal extreme. The new minister of commerce, Cham Nimol, is the daughter of Cham Prasidh, who ran the ministry from 1994 to 2013. The minister in charge of the civil service, meanwhile, is Hun Manet's younger brother, Hun Many. Control of Cambodia's central bank is passing from Chea Chanto, in charge since 1998, to his daughter, Chea Serey.

In fact, almost a quarter of the 125 ruling party candidates who ran in the July 2023 national election are related, according to a recent analysis by the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association.

The newest government reflects the Cambodia that Hun Sen has built through decades of political violence and institutional control. It is one where absolute poverty has fallen, but where an idealistic system of electoral government created by the United Nations in the 1990s has been transformed into a constellation of family fiefdoms, glued together only by a knack for corruption.

"It is a 'clanic' succession; it is a whole clan renewing itself," Sam Rainsy, Cambodia's longtime opposition leader, told Radio Free Asia this month. "The regime has become a hereditary dictatorship."

Young reformist

A low-level Khmer Rouge military commander who turned on Pol Pot's regime two years before its 1979 fall, Hun Sen rapidly rose to power in Cambodia's Hanoi-backed revolutionary regime.

In 1985, at the age of 33, he became the world's youngest head of government and set about negotiating an end to the civil war with then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the father of Cambodia's independence.

Viewed as a reformist at the time, Hun Sen bucked the older conservative wing of the regime to reach an agreement with Sihanouk's shadow government that resulted in the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement and the U.N.-run elections.

The globally funded nation-building exercise, estimated to have cost in the end more than $20 billion, was meant to instill in Cambodia a vibrant multi-party democratic system, complete with an independent media and a professional civil service.

Instead, a series of power grabs by Hun Sen - particularly a coup d'etat in July 1997 and the crackdown that followed the rise of Cambodia's united opposition in 2013 - mean those who openly oppose his rule could at best hope for prison or exile overseas.

After the 1997 coup, U.N. investigators found evidence that at least 40 of Hun Sen's political rivals had been executed. In ousting his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, he effectively overturned the results of the 1993 U.N.-run elections that the latter had won.

It would not be until the 2013 election that a viable challenge to his rule would re-emerge, when two long-bickering opposition parties merged into the Cambodia National Rescue Party and almost came to power in an election they said they only lost due to voter fraud.

Months of demonstrations calling for a new vote followed. When the protests later dovetailed with a nationwide strike of garment workers calling for an increase in their $80 minimum monthly wage, the government responded with violence. Military police shot dead at least five of the workers, injuring and jailing dozens more.

Hun Sen was once a hope for change but has become "the one who destroyed the political system in Cambodia," said But Buntenh, a monk who helped lead protests after the disputed 2013 election before fleeing in 2017 amid a crackdown on regime critics.

"I recognize that he contributed to the rebuilding of Cambodia after the genocide, even though that had included him as a commander of the genocide," But Buntenh, who now lives in Massachussets, told RFA. Hun Sen also was instrumental in the development of the Paris Peace Agreement.

"That I accept and I appreciate," he said. "But the people hate him because he took full control and ruled the country with his entire family, and takes Cambodia, as a nation, to belong to his family."

Succession, 'HBO-style'

Maintaining power has required more than just the violent vanquishment of foes. Hun Sen has also had to keep his own party behind him, even when not everybody has seemed on board.

In the end, Hun Sen's own succession plan required him to cut similar handover deals with Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Defense Minister Tea Banh.

Such an across-the-board generational transfer is necessary, explained Sam Rainsy, given the "dangerous and sensitive situation" of Hun Sen standing down while two powerful ministers with large security forces behind them could still loom over his son.

"Politically speaking, and psychologically speaking, those older officials cannot work under Hun Manet, so they all have to go," Sam Rainsy said. "And Hun Sen has to find compensation for his colleagues, so he promised they will be replaced by their sons as well."

But it also speaks to the fragmented nature of the government Hun Manet is taking over, one in which he lacks even the power to select his own most important cabinet ministers.

"It all resembles a kind of dynastic, corporate handoff," Sophal Ear, a Cambodia expert at Arizona State University, told RFA. "It's 'Succession' HBO-style, except within a government."

The state is me

Though he's standing down as prime minister, Hun Sen will hold plenty of prime positions, including Senate president, a role that will make him the acting head of state when King Norodom Sihamoni is out of the country.

"I'm not going anywhere," Hun Sen noted in an Aug. 3 speech, in which he also warned he could return as prime minister if Hun Manet is endangered. "I'm just not going to be prime minister anymore - but I will still have power, as the president of the ruling party."

The role of CPP president may have newfound prominence in Cambodia.

As the government-aligned Khmer Times noted in its report on his speech, Hun Sen pledged to respect the independence of the new government but noted their decisions "must not be different from the policy of the party that has made a promise to the electorate."

In some ways, it's a reversion to Hun Sen's roots, as a young revolutionary trained by political minders from Vietnam, where the Communist Party secretary-general runs the show, and the prime minister, as head of government, implements party edicts.

Stability, but for how long

At the very least, Hun Sen will be able to say he left behind a system of government that has lasted, said Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra and an election observer during the 1993 U.N.-run elections.

"Hun Sen will bequeath to Cambodia the longest-serving and most stable regime since Cambodia attained independence in November 1953," Thayer said, even if the outgoing premier "also will go down in history as the destroyer of multiparty democracy in Cambodia."

Hun Manet's government, he added, will have a chance to "overcome baggage from the past" and forge new policy paths, as it searches for legitimacy.

One of the weaknesses of a personalist authoritarian regime is its reliance, at the end of the day, on its central persona.

Rainsy, the opposition leader, said that while the passing of ministerial fiefdoms from parent to child across the regime this week was meant to shore-up Manet's position, there are no long-term guarantees.

"As long as Hun Sen is in good health, as long as he can show authority and threaten everybody, then this can last," he said. "But the very day Hun Sen shows a sign of weakness, the day that his health deteriorates to the point that his authority is not as it is now, Hun Manet will not be able to hold onto his position."

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content August not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Pacific island countries facing faster sea level rise, UN says

2022 saw flood-related losses rise more than fourfold.

By Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA 2023.08.21 -- The low-lying Pacific islands face severe threats due to rising sea levels, which are increasing quicker than anticipated, while heightened temperatures impact marine habitats, according to a new U.N. meteorological body report.

The Pacific region is experiencing an approximate increase of 4 millimeters of sea level rise annually in certain regions, which is higher than the worldwide average of 3.4 mm per year, the World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, said in its 2022 State of the Climate report released on Friday.

The Pacific islands most vulnerable to this rising sea level include nations such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and the Maldives. These low-lying nations, often no more than a few meters above sea level, are alarmingly at the forefront of this crisis. Their unique geographies and limited land mass make them especially susceptible to even the slightest increase in sea level, threatening their very existence and the livelihoods of their residents.

Separately, the report added that ocean heat and acidification threaten vulnerable marine ecosystems and their way of life. It said that weather-related disasters and climate change impacts are posing socio-economic risks and effects on key sectors like agriculture in the South-West Pacific region, which comprises all countries between Malaysia and Kiribati.

The ocean absorbs over 90% of the surplus heat in our climate system, the WMO said, as the warming is responsible for about 40% of the average global sea-level increase due to the thermal expansion of seawater. It also impacts ocean currents and storm patterns.

In 2022, the South-West Pacific experienced 35 recorded natural disasters that killed more than 700 people, with floods accounting for over 70% of these incidents, according to the report.

These events impacted over 8 million individuals, inflicting an economic toll nearing U.S.$9 billion. In the Philippines and Fiji, storms were the predominant reason for the high death toll and the many affected individuals.

Even though the number of reported disaster events decreased in 2022, economic losses increased mainly due to a series of flooding events in Australia. Last year's flood damage of U.S.$8.5 billion was over four times the 20-year average from 2002 to 2021.

"Early warning is one of the most effective ways of reducing damage from disasters, as it empowers people to make risk-informed decisions for food security, as well as other sectors," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

"Despite continuous efforts to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems, the present report clearly shows that there are still significant gaps to be addressed to strengthen these systems to reduce the adverse impacts of hydrometeorological hazards in the region."

El Nino this year might make it worse

The WMO said the three-year-long La Nina event, from 2020 to the start of 2023, had a temporary cooling influence, though 2022 still ranks within the top ten warmest years for the region, with the mean temperature of 0.2 to 0.3 degrees Celsius higher than during the last intense La Nina event in 2011.

The report said that prominent marine heatwaves persisted for over six months in a vast region northeast of Australia and south of Papua New Guinea, specifically in the Solomon and Coral Seas.

The region has now entered El Nino, which means drier and hotter weather.

"This will have a big impact on the South-West Pacific region as it is frequently associated with higher temperatures, disruptive weather patterns and more marine heatwaves and coral bleaching," said Taalas.

According to the WMO, the upper ocean (between zero and 700 meters below the surface) has warmed since 1993 in most of the Pacific's South-West region.

The report said that many regions in the Pacific region, including the Solomon Sea, Banda and Timor Seas, and regions east of the Philippines and the southern shoreline of Indonesia, have experienced significant warming, with the rates two to three times higher than the global average.

The WMO said the glacier size in the western part of the Indonesian island of New Guinea decreased by 15% from 0.27 to 0.23 square kilometers between July 2021 and April 2022, while ice thickness dropped 24 meters from June 2010 to early 2021, with only 6 meters remaining in December 2022.

July had warmest ocean temperature

Earlier this month, another report from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, or C3S, said the global average sea surface temperatures continued to rise after a long period of unusually high temperatures since April 2023, reaching a new high of 20.96 degrees Celsius (69.73 degrees Fahrenheit) in July.

Global ocean temperatures are usually warmest in March, so scientists say the record will likely keep increasing.

Overall, the global mean sea surface temperature for the month surpassed the 1991-2020 average by 0.51 degrees Celsius, Copernicus said in its report on July 8.

For July, the North Atlantic recorded temperatures of 1.05 C higher than usual, while marine heatwaves were observed south of Greenland, in the Labrador Sea, within the Caribbean region, and throughout the Mediterranean Sea.

"These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events," said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the C3S.

"2023 is currently the third warmest year to date at 0.43C above the recent average, with the average global temperature in July at 1.5C above pre industrial levels."

"Even if this is only temporary, it shows the urgency for ambitious efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver behind these records," she said.

July also had the warmest global air temperature, according to the WMO.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content August not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a question from Cyprus News Agency about the incident involving UN peacekeepers in Cyprus

21 August 2023 17:22

1619-21-08-2023

Question: Would you please comment on the recent attack on the UN peacekeeping forces in Cyprus and the reports that Russia allegedly prevented the UN Security Council from releasing a condemning statement, based on a British draft? Why is Russia the only member of the UN Security Council that has not yet condemned the attack on the peacekeepers?

Maria Zakharova: When it comes to serious issues like the sensitive matter of the Cypriot settlement, we do not see any point in focusing on who did something earlier or later. It is not a race or a competition. At the same time, we would like to state the following on the nature of the recent events in the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus.

Issuing a response from the international community to the incidents of violence against the UN peacekeepers whose mission was sanctioned by the UN Security Council is, as is only right, a matter for discussion by the Security Council. This body is responsible for the personnel of the UN corps. As it is necessary to obtain as accurate picture of the incident as possible, to recreate the circumstances in all details and coordinate the wording, the UN Security Council plans to hold consultations concerning the incident on August 21. We are certain that the position, which will reflect our point of view among others, will be phrased clearly and reasonably.

It should be added that we have always been against any violent acts targeting UN representatives, be it the military, police or civilian staff. The incident within the Green Line of Cyprus is no exception. We have repeatedly warned against the risks of ignoring this sort of incident. In the same context, I would like to remind you that to this day, the parties responsible for assaulting a Russian member of the UN mission in Kosovo Mikhail Krasnoshchyokov in 2019, have not been brought to justice. Impunity and double standards only encourage more unacceptable acts against the peacekeepers.

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US Tests ARRW Hypersonic Weapon for First Time Since March Failure

Sputnik News

20230821

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Air Force conducted the first test fire of the hypersonic Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) since a failed test in March, an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik.

"The test was conducted Aug. 19 off the coast of southern California," the statement said on Monday.

"A B-52H Stratofortress conducted a recent test of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon. This test launched a full prototype operational hypersonic missile and focused on the ARRW's end-to-end performance."

The Air Force said it gained valuable new insights into the capabilities of the missile.

The US Air Force did not provide information on the success of the latest test; however, the service did indicate it managed to gain "valuable" new insights into ARRW's capabilities.

"While we won't discuss specific test objectives, this test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of programs such as ARRW and HACM," the statement said. "We also validated and improved our test and evaluation capabilities for continued development of advanced hypersonic systems."

After the announcement of the March 13 test, the Air Force kept silent on whether it achieved its objectives. On March 28, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress it was "not a success."

The test comes amid competition between the United States, Russia and China to develop hypersonic weapons, which may overcome traditional air defense systems.

 Sputnik

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"UN Peacekeeping Force soldiers' intervention in the TRNC is never acceptable to us"

Presidency Of The Republic Of Turkey

21.08.2023

Addressing citizens following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting, President Erdogan said: "The physical intervention by soldiers of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the sovereign territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is never acceptable to us."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Complex.

Making remarks regarding the issues addressed during the cabinet meeting, President Erdogan said: "As Turkiye, we assume mediating and facilitating roles in regional and global crises. We work to protect our interests and contribute to global peace without raising tensions or engaging in adventurism."

Stressing that Turkiye doesn't have designs on other countries' territory, sovereignty or resources, President Erdogan stated: "We are a nation that doesn't have any stain of colonialism in its thousands of years of history. We don't infringe others' rights and, likewise, we cannot let others violate our nation's and our brothers' rights, either."

President Erdogan went onto say: "The physical intervention last Friday by soldiers of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the sovereign territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is never acceptable to us. It is neither legal nor humane to prevent Turkish Cypriots living in the Pile village from reaching their own homeland. The Peacekeeping Force overshadowed its impartiality and further harmed its already flawed reputation with both its physical intervention to the villagers and its unfortunate statements afterwards."

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The UK is extremely alarmed by increasing settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: UK statement at the Security Council

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

21 August 2023

Thank you, President, and I thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing.

The UK is extremely alarmed by the growth of settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. So far in 2023, UN agencies have recorded 591 settler-related incidents resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both. That is the highest monthly average of incidents since records began. This includes the murder of Palestinian Qusai Jamal Maatan by settlers, which the UK condemns.

The displacement of over 400 Palestinians across seven communities from their land due to ongoing settler violence is unacceptable. As an occupying power, Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to properly provide security for the local population.

Israeli authorities must do more to hold to account and prevent those who have made the lives of Palestinians - such as in the communities of Al Qaboun and Al Mughayyir - intolerable. This includes thoroughly investigating every instance of settler violence to bring those responsible to justice and end the culture of impunity.

The UK condemns the abhorrent terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv on Saturday 12 August, the West Bank town of Huwara on 19 August, and the South Hebron hills just today. These attacks have taken the lives of a further four innocent Israelis. The Palestinian Authority must tackle terrorism and incitement.

We also see continued violations of international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including evictions and demolitions. On Friday 17 August, Israel demolished a West Bank Protection Consortium school in Ein Samiya. The continued demolition of Palestinian property and the evictions by Israeli authorities from their homes are contrary to international humanitarian law, it renders Palestinians at risk of forcible transfer, and causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians. This is harmful to the peace process. Israel must also urgently provide a clear, transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C.

President, UNRWA faces a deep funding crisis. UNRWA can only be a stabilising force in the region whilst it is able to deliver vital services to the Palestinian refugees. We call on members of the council and UN member states to work collectively to fill critical funding gaps.

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Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York

21 August 2023

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

** Trip Announcement

Good evening. All right, speaking of, the Secretary-General of the United Nations will be heading to Johannesburg, South Africa, to attend the fifteenth Summit of the BRICS which, as you know, is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Secretary-General has been invited to speak at the BRICS-Africa Outreach and at the BRICS Plus Dialogue meeting on the 24th, there he will deliver a clear message: that in a fracturing world overwhelmed by crises, there is no credible alternative to cooperation. He will ask leaders to act in solidarity and with urgency on a series of issues including climate change and the restructuring of the international financial system, among others.

During his visit, the Secretary-General will be meeting with various leaders on the margins of the BRICS summit. He is also expected to hold a press conference which should be on Thursday, and we will be sharing with you a bit more logistics details as we confirm them.

The Secretary-General will be back in the office on Friday morning, and we will be heading to South Africa tomorrow evening.

** Cyprus

A quick update on Cyprus, where our peacekeeping mission  UNFICYP  said that the situation is calm today, following last week's assaults on peacekeepers as they tried to prevent unauthorized construction work in the buffer zone near Pyla, in accordance with their mandate. The peacekeeping force is maintaining a presence in the area and is monitoring the situation closely. The four peacekeepers injured in the incident have been released from hospital.

Preventing tensions and ensuring the maintenance of the status quo across the buffer zone is the Mission's top priority. In this regard, the Mission is engaging with the Turkish Cypriot side, and all concerned, to agree a mutually acceptable way forward that respects the United Nations mandated authority inside the buffer zone.

Colin Stewart, who is the Secretary-General Special's Representative and the head of the mission, will be briefing the Security Council in closed consultations later today.

And you would have seen that we issued a statement on the situation from the Secretary-General over the weekend.

** Mali

Also on peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Head of the Department for Peace Operations, concluded his visit to Mali, after a series of meetings with senior officials from the transitional government, including Prime Minister Maiga.

During his engagements, Mr. Lacroix discussed the lessons learned from the first phase of the Mission's withdrawal, which is expected to be completed by the end of this month. He thanked authorities for their cooperation, which is critical in ensuring a safe and orderly withdrawal in a tight timeframe and as you well know a very challenging environment. Mr. Lacroix reiterated the importance of making progress on the transfer of tasks from the Mission to the Malian authorities, the UN country team, and other partners.

** Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our colleagues from the peacekeeping mission there  MONUSCO  tell us that over the weekend they helped foil an attack by the ADF armed group on the village of Luna in North Kivu province.

Working with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), the peacekeepers repelled the assault on civilians, many of whom sought refuge in the surrounding forests. However, two civilians were unfortunately killed in the attack. Over the past two weeks, the Mission and the Congolese armed forces have repelled five CODECO and ADF attacks in both Ituri and North Kivu.

** Somalia

Turning to Somalia. The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack that took place on 19 August. It was a rocket attack that took place on Saturday against the Aden Adde International Airport compound in the capital Mogadishu, which impacted several areas, including UN premises.

The Secretary-General calls on the Somali authorities to investigate the attacks and swiftly bring those responsible to justice. He emphasizes that attacks against the UN may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

** Middle East

Earlier this morning, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, briefed Security Council members on the situation in the Middle East. He said that violence continues on the upswing, with over 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israeli fatalities in the West Bank and Israel thus far this year. This already surpasses the 2022 annual figures and is the highest figure since 2005. In addition, settlement expansion continues unabated.

Mr. Wennesland stressed the need to restore a political horizon and concluded by saying that the fragility of the Palestinian Authority's fiscal situation, compounded by funding shortages facing key UN agencies, threatens to worsen the plight of the most vulnerable Palestinians.

** Ukraine

Turning to Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations, Denise Brown, condemned a deadly attack that hit the main square in Chernihiv, a large city in the north of Ukraine, that took place on Saturday.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has verified the deaths of seven civilians, including a six-year-old girl, as a result of this attack. Humanitarian organizations mobilized immediately to provide psychosocial support, delivered emergency repair materials and started registration for cash assistance.

In a statement, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) noted that the attack reportedly hit a town square, a university building and a theatre as families were going about their daily lives. UNICEF stressed that attacks must stop, children must be protected, and Ukraine must be given the chance for peace and its children the chance for a future.

** Victims of Terrorism

Today marks the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.

The theme is "Legacy: Finding Hope and Building a Peaceful Future."

In his message, the Secretary-General pays respect to all those lost or harmed through terrorist attacks around the world and welcomed the launch of the Legacy Project, which is helping testimonies of victims and survivors be heard.

** Guest Tomorrow

Tomorrow, my guest will be Mamadou Dian Balde, who is UNHCR's Regional Bureau Director for the East and the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation. That's a big title.

He will join us virtually from Sudan to brief on the challenges faced by people displaced by conflict in the region.

** Questions and Answers

Spokesman : Sherwin.

Question : Thanks, Steph. The Secretary-General doesn't normally attend the BRICS summit. What was the calculus in making this decision for him to go to Johannesburg?

Spokesman : Let me put it this way. I think it's no surprise that we are in a particularly challenging period right now. The BRICS summit brings together very important actors on the international stage. South Africa has a particularly important role to play, and the Secretary-General gladly accepted the invitation and will use it as a way to deliver some key messages.

Question : Zimbabwe goes to the polls on Wednesday, is the statement? [cross-talk]

Spokesman : No. I need to check what, if any, technical support we may be providing. We, of course, hope that the elections take place in a peaceful environment and all those who wish to express themselves through the ballot box, be able to do so free of any sort of intimidation.

Ms. Lederer?

Question : Thank you very much, Steph. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on a new report by Human Rights Watch that says that hundreds of people, many of them Ethiopians who cross war-torn Yemen to try to reach Saudi Arabia, have been shot dead on the border by Saudi border guards?

Spokesman : We've seen the report, which I think is very concerning. It raises some very serious allegations. I know our human rights office has been aware of the situation, has had some contacts, but it's been very challenging for them to verify the situation on the border. I think it bears reminding because we have seen in many cases around the world cases of violence against migrants, against those seeking refuge and that human beings, whether they are migrants, whether they are refugees, asylum seekers, all need to be treated with dignity to have all their human rights respected in accordance with international law. And I think trying to stop migration using the barrel of a gun is intolerable.

Question : The UN was the first to raise this issue last October. Do you think that there should be some kind of an international investigation?

Spokesman : Obviously, there are specific processes for these things, but there needs to be accountability.

Dezhi? Welcome back.

Question : So first a follow-up on Sherwin's question on the BRICS summit. The SG is going to South Africa. Is there any plans for... Because you mentioned that, but is there any plan that for SG to meet with leaderships from all BRICS countries?

Spokesman : He will have a number of bilateral meetings. We're still trying to work them out. As in any summit, a multilateral summit, it's always a very fluid situation, and so we will confirm the bilaterals as they happen.

Question : We know it's no secret that everybody is talking about the expansion of the BRICS summit or this group. I'm just wondering what would be the United Nations position on this issue of the expansion... [cross-talk]

Spokesman : It's up to those who are members of BRICS to decide who becomes a member of that grouping. It's not for us to express ourselves.

Question : Okay. Since I'm not here for two weeks, I'm going to ask a...

Spokesman : But I know you've read every transcript over the last two weeks.

Question : Okay, so is... hopefully. Actually, okay.

Spokesman : Yeah. Sorry. I'm just trying to be a little pre-emptive here. Yeah.

Question : So is there any update on the Black Sea Initiative?

Spokesman : Nothing to share with you at this point.

Question : Why I ask this question is, I'm wondering, does the US still believe that this initiative is still, you know, how to say that? Is still possible to work? Or is it still a necessity to have this deal? I just checked the price index of grain and wheat and everything after the siege of the Russia. It actually dropped to the normal price. So how can we understand that?

Spokesman : Yes. Finding a way, which is what we had of expanding the access to global markets of Ukrainian food, of Russian food and fertilizer, remains a priority.

Okay. Edie, please.

Question : Yes. I didn't think we were at the second round so soon.

Spokesman : No.

Question : Is there any update on Haiti? There were reports that the mission from Kenya that was going to check out the situation was still to arrive.

Spokesman : I've seen the press reports that the Kenyans have sent. I've asked our colleagues. As of a few hours ago, there were no meetings planned between the Kenyan delegation and UN officials. But if that changes, I will let you know.

Paulina briefed already, so I can't throw it to her. Alright. Goodbye.

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The Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia calls for continued respect of the principles of humanitarian action

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Mogadishu, 21 August 2023 -- On the occasion of the 2023 World Humanitarian Day, the humanitarian community in Somalia, led by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, George Conway, has reiterated the call for the protection of aid workers and facilities and the respect for the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence that underscore humanitarian action globally.

"On this day, we remember the families and friends of the aid workers around the world who lost their lives and others who were injured earlier this year while in the line of duty. Sadly, such is the extreme reality of the difficult environments that we all operate in to ensure that assistance is delivered to those in need, no matter what," said Mr. Conway.

The theme of this year's World Humanitarian Day - #NoMatterWhat! - underscores the unwavering commitment of humanitarian workers to stand shoulder to shoulder with the communities they serve and to deliver essential life-saving assistance and protection no matter who, no matter where, and No Matter What.

Somalia is emerging from a risk of famine projected in 2022, following the poor performance of five consecutive rain seasons - a climate event not seen in four decades. It is through the collaborative efforts of national authorities, communities, and humanitarian partners, coupled with better-than-expected Gu rainfall performance that we have been able to avert famine in Somalia. However, the situation remains critical. More than 8.3 million people have needed humanitarian assistance in 2023, of whom 6.6 million are food insecure and about 1.8 million children under the age of five are likely to be acutely malnourished through 2023: 478,000 severely so.

Local authorities and communities, who are often the first responders, have continued to collaborate with humanitarian partners to provide essential life-saving assistance and protection to women, men, and children affected by disasters. Since January 2023, about 5.7 million people have been reached by shelter, health, nutrition, food security, education, and other humanitarian workers delivering life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people across Somalia. This has been made possible by the generous support of our donors and the significant role played by the Government and local authorities in providing essential support and fostering an enabling environment for humanitarian action in the country.

The operating environment in Somalia continues to be challenging due to persistent climatic/environmental shocks, the ongoing hostilities, and other impediments. This notwithstanding, aid workers have remained committed to ensuring that those in need receive the assistance and protection they need.

"I would like to reaffirm our commitment to continue working closely with all stakeholders, to alleviate suffering and restore dignity to the people of Somalia affected by these shocks and disasters. I call on everyone to ensure respect for humanitarian principles and to prioritize the protection of aid workers, as we endeavor to bridge the gap between hope and despair for affected people in Somalia", emphasized Mr. Conway.

About World Humanitarian Day

World Humanitarian Day takes place every year on 19 August. It was designated by the UN General Assembly in 2008 to commemorate the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 aid workers. The day serves to honor the relentless efforts of humanitarian workers and acknowledges the challenges faced in providing assistance to those in need.

For more information on World Humanitarian Day please visit www.worldhumanitarianday.org

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Reserve Sailors Integrate, Bolster U.S. 7th Fleet Readiness During 2023 Summer Patrol

US Navy

21 August 2023

From Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Belen Saldana

SOUTH CHINA SEA -- U.S. Navy Reserve Sailors joined the embarked U.S. 7th Fleet staff aboard the flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) for her 2023 patrol in the Indo-Pacific, July 8.

The patrol consisted of cooperative exercises, expertise and knowledge exchanges, as well as several community relationship engagements. It took the unique skill and talent of every Sailor on-board, including the mobilization and integration of Reserve Sailors, to maximize the impact of the patrol.

Acting Maritime Operations Center Director, Capt. Michael Husband, was able to see first-hand what his fellow Reserve Sailors could accomplish.

"It's very humbling seeing my fellow reservists blending in with the staff so well. They're professionals in their civilian careers and they're proving to be professionals here too," said Husband. "They've added value to the active component and have brought in new ideas to help improve how the active component operates."

The innovation brought by Reserve Sailors in the areas of planning, operations and logistics added value to 7th Fleet's role in supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific through operations at sea and port visits to Singapore; Jakarta, Indonesia; Brunei Darussalam; and Puerto Princesa, Philippines.

"There's a lot of acceptance and understanding that reservist bring a new perspective but also are able to provide what's required when it's needed. I think this patrol has shown the diversity and ability of Sailors to make an actual impact," Husband added.

Reserve Sailors bring different perspective to active missions and deployments. Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Danielle Holle was also embarked aboard USS Blue Ridge and saw opportunity in the upcoming patrol. Holle has been a 7th fleet Sailor since 2020 and this summer patrol is her first underway with the ship.

"It's really cool and I know being on board Blue Ridge is something that's really unique for a reservist," said Holle "I worked really hard to get out here and have the opportunity to get underway."

During the patrol, Holle has had the responsibility of briefing vital information to U.S. 7th Fleet leadership and commanders, from various task forces throughout the Indo-Pacific. Information that added to the strategic depth of real time operations and exercises.

"It's definitely a good feeling to be able to get out here and do real world things and see the information that we put out actually being implemented by commands all throughout the pacific," said Holle "For these briefs you need to have that all-encompassing knowledge about the area of operation."

U.S. Navy Reserve Sailors integrate within any environment, mobilizing quickly, and maintaining the strategic depth of warfighting readiness.

"While being here I've learned how to find comfort in the chaos. Coming here I've experienced so many new things all at once," said Holle "It was a lot of learning and making mistakes and with everything I've experienced I've found my groove in the whirlwind of it all."

Blue Ridge, with the embarked Seventh Fleet staff, is currently on patrol in the Indo-Pacific operating with allies and partners in support of preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.

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Bangladesh Criticized Over Plan to Replace Controversial Law with One Considered Equally Repressive

By Shaikh Azizur Rahman August 21, 2023

Rights activists and opposition political leaders in Bangladesh have expressed concerns over the country's draft Cyber Security Act, saying it is as repressive as the existing controversial Digital Security Act that it is set to replace.

The activists, along with journalists and opposition parties, have long demanded the scrapping of the DSA  widely criticized as a law to harass people and silence dissent.

Law minister Anisul Huq said on August 7 that the government would replace the DSA with the CSA in the "better interest" of the people.

"We have not scrapped the DSA but are amending it. Many of the clauses of this act, which were not bailable before [in the DSA] will be bailable now [in the CSA]. To stop the misuse and abuse of the DSA, we have changed its name. By evaluating the amended legislation correctly now, we have named it the Cyber Security Act," Huq said.

Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, liaison officer of the Hong Kong-based rights group Asian Legal Resource Center, told VOA the government of Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has disregarded the independent human rights experts of the United Nations by keeping some provisions of the DSA in the new measure.

"While renaming the DSA, by keeping its repressive provisions largely unchanged and deciding to carry on the existing cases against the dissidents, the regime clearly aims to continue muzzling free expression and intensify arbitrary incarceration of citizens in the run-up to the general elections," Ashrafuzzaman said.

Enacted under Sheikh Hasina

The DSA, enacted in 2018, has long been called a "black act" by critics for its alleged misuse against dissenters and freedom of expression.

Last year, Human Rights Watch reported that the Bangladeshi government used the DSA "to harass and indefinitely detain" people critical of the government, "resulting in a chilling effect on the expression of dissent."

In March, Volker Turk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, called for the immediate suspension of the DSA, noting that it was being used "to arrest, harass and intimidate journalists and human rights defenders, and to muzzle critical voices online."

'CSA a photocopy of DSA'

During the runup to the general elections in 2018, the government cracked down heavily on opposition activists, arresting many of them on charges of resorting to violence and indulging in subversive activities.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the largest opposition party in the country, said its leaders and activists faced trumped up charges to keep them away from the elections.

The elections were marred that year by allegations of vote rigging by the ruling Awami League party, a charge the party president, Hasina, repeatedly denied.

According to the information provided by the BNP, in the past five years, more than 30,000 cases were filed under the DSA, resulting in at least 17,150 arrests.

The BNP's information and technology affairs secretary said at least 11,285 of those arrested under the DSA were from the BNP and other opposition parties and 368 were journalists. AKM Wahiduzzaman also told VOA that the law has been largely used to keep opposition leaders, activists and journalists from criticizing what he termed the government's malpractices and anti-people activities.

"The CSA is nothing but a photocopy of the DSA. Under the CSA too, the police will have a free hand to arrest anyone they want, without any warrant," Wahiduzzaman said.

The Ministry of Law and Justice has not responded to a VOA email requesting comment on the issue.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 21 August 2023 - Day 544

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russia is expanding its military structures in the face of wartime realities. One new formation is highly likely  the 18th Combined Arms Army (18 CAA).

The formation is likely to be an amalgamation and uplift of other units currently operating in Kherson Oblast, including 22nd Army Corps, the force which usually constitutes Russia's garrison in occupied Crimea.

18 CAA is likely to consist mostly of mobilised personnel and to focus on defensive security operations in the south of Ukraine. Russia likely aims to free up more experienced units to fight on key axes. There is a realistic possibility that this has led to the recent re-deployment of airborne forces from Kherson to the heavily contested Orikhiv sector.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of August 21, Russian forces launched 2x missile strikes, over 30x air strikes and 35x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, the Russian terrorist attacks have killed and wounded civilians. Residential buildings, a building of an educational institution and other civilian infrastructure were damaged.

The likelihood of missile and air strikes across Ukraine remains high.

During the day of August 21, there were more than 20x combat engagements.

Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russian forces fired mortars and artillery at more than 20x settlements, including Klyusy, Karpovychi, (Chernihiv oblast), Sydorivka, Volfyne, Hrabovs'ke, (Sumy oblast), Chervona Zorya, Veterynarne, Kozacha Lopan', Strilecha (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup'yans'k axis: the following settlements were shelled by the Russian invaders with artillery and mortars: Dvorichna, Syn'kivka, Kyslivka, and Berestove (Kharkiv oblast).

Lyman axis: Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Tverdokhlibove, Bilohorivka and Serebryans'ke forestry (Luhansk oblast). About 15x settlements, including Karmazynivka, Nevs'ke, Kreminna, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Rozdolivka, Spirne (Donetsk oblast), were shelled with artillery.

Bakhmut axis: the Russian adversary conducted unsuccessful offensives in the vicinity of Klishchiivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched an air strike in the vicinity of Vesele (Donetsk oblast). More than 20x settlements, including Pryvillya, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Markove, Bohdanivka, Chasiv Yar, Klishchiivka (Donetsk oblast), suffered from Russian artillery shelling.

Avdiivka axis: the settlements of Oleksandropil', Stepove, Avdiivka, Sjeverne, Pervomais'ke, Nevel's'ke, (Donetsk oblast) came under Russian artillery fire.

Mar'inka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the Russian offensive in the vicinities of Mar'inka and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Mar'inka and Novomykhailivka. The settlements of Zhelanne Druhe, Krasnohorivka, Mar'inka, Pobjeda, Yelyzavetivka, Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast) were shelled by the artillery.

Shakhtars'ke axis: Russian forces launched an air strike in the vicinity of Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast). Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Novoukrainka, Velyka Novosilka, Blahodatne, Urozhaine (Donetsk oblast) were shelled with artillery.

Zaporizhzhia axis: the Russian adversary launched air strikes in the vicinities of Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne (Zaporizhzhia oblast). More than 30x settlements suffered from Russian artillery shelling, including Huliaipilske, Charivne, Yehorivka, Stepove, Lobkove, P'yatykhatky (Zaporizhzhia oblast).

Kherson axis: the Russian occupiers launched air strikes in the vicinities of Dachi and Zymivnyk (Kherson oblast). More than 20x settlements suffered from Russian artillery shelling, including Ponyativka, Kherson, Stanislav (Kherson oblast), Ochakiv, Solonchaky (Mykolaiv oblast).

At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct the offensive operation on Melitopol' and Berdyans'k axes, consolidating their positions, and conducting counter-battery fire.

Russian occupation forces continue to actively loot and abuse civilians. Thus, a Russian unit from the Republic of Buryatia of the Russian Federation arrived in the settlement of Tokmak (Zaporizhzhia oblast). The military personnel of this unit on a regular basis check local residents for documents for the right to live in their homes. If no residency registration documents are found, the Russians take away all the property and housing under the guise of "confiscation" and physically abuse displeased local residents.

During the day of August 21, the Ukrainian Air Force launched 6x air strikes on the concentrations of the Russian troops.

During the day of August 21, the Ukrainian missile and artillery troops hit 4x Russian command posts, 1x concentration of troops, weapons, and military equipment and 3x artillery systems at their firing positions.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Kupyansk direction, the units of the Zapad Group of Forces, supported by Operational-Tactical Aviation and artillery, improved the situation along the front line.

Four attacks by units of 25th airborne, 95th airborne assault and 14th mechanised brigades of the AFU have been repelled close to Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Novosyolovskoye (Lugansk People's Republic).

One field ammunition depot of the AFU 103rd Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Stelmakhovka (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 160 Ukrainian servicemen, five armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, Polish-manufactured Krab, U.S.-manufactured M109 Paladin and Akatsiya self-propelled artillery systems, as well as two U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar stations.

In Zaporozhye direction, as a result of coordinated actions by units the Russian grouping of troops, supported by Missile Troops' units, artillery, heavy flamethrower systems and aviation, five attacks by units of the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade of the AFU strategic reserve have been repelled near Rabotino (Zaporozhye region).

One ammunition depot of the 65th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU has been destroyed near Omelnik (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, three infantry fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, UK-manufactured FH-70, D-20 and D-30 howitzers, two U.S.-manufactured M119 guns, as well as one U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ - 50 counter-battery radar station.

In Donetsk direction, as a result of professional actions by units of the Yug Group of Forces, Army Aviation and artillery, three enemy attacks have been successfully repelled close to Krasnogorovka and Nevelskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 225 Ukrainian servicemen killed and wounded, two infantry fighting vehicles, three armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, Msta-B and D-30 howitzers, as well as one U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar station.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, supported by Operational-Tactical Aviation and artillery, AFU units have been hit near Staromayorskoye and Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 110 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, UK-manufactured AS-90 Braveheart and Nona-S self-propelled artillery systems, as well as one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system.

In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, supported by Ground-Attack and Army aviation, repelled two enemy attacks near Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).

In addition, units of 42nd, 63rd and 67th mechanised brigades and the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade of the AFU have been hit near Yampolovka, Serebryanka and Grigorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 75 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three pickup trucks, and one D-30 howitzer.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 45 Ukrainian servicemen, 8 motor vehicles, and two 120mm mortars.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised manpower and military hardware in 167 areas.

Air defence facilities have shot down one Su-25 aircraft of Ukrainian Air Force near Starorayskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and have intercepted three projectiles of Uragan and HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems.

In addition, 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed close to Kremennaya, Krivosheevka (Lugansk People's Republic), Krasnaya Polyana, Berestovoye, Stepnoye, Gorlovka (Donetsk People's Republic), and Vladimirovka (Kherson region).

In total, 462 airplanes, 246 helicopters, 5,913 unmanned aerial vehicles, 431 air defence missile systems, 11,426 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,144 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,969 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,357 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.





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Russo-Ukraine War - 22 August 2023 - Day 545

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that on 19 August 2023, a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia's Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsky-2 Airbase in Novgorod Oblast, 650 km away from Ukraine's border. The Russian Defence Ministry said that a copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible for the attack.

If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia.

Russia has frequently used BACKFIRE bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate AS-4 KITCHEN heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out the intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs. This is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russia's ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of August 22, Russian forces launched 2x missile and 38x air strikes, 26x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, the Russian terrorist attacks have killed and wounded civilians. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged.

The likelihood of missile and air strikes across Ukraine remains high.

During the day of August 22, there were 26x combat engagements.

Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: the Russian adversary fired mortars and artillery at more than 15x settlements, including Rozhkovychi, Seredyna-Buda, Myropil's'ke, Ryasne (Sumy oblast), Pletenivka, Vovchans'k, Chuhunivka (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup'yans'k axis: Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at the settlements of Berestove, Tverdokhlibove, Kup'yans'k-Vuzlovyi (Kharkiv oblast).

Lyman axis: Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Tverdokhlibove and Serebryans'ke forestry (Luhansk oblast). About 10x settlements, including Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Zvanivka, Vesele, Spirne, Fedorivka (Donetsk oblast), were shelled with artillery.

Bakhmut axis: the Russian invaders launched an air strike in the vicinity of Ivanivske (Donetsk oblast). More than 15x settlements, including Min'kivka, Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Dyliivka (Donetsk oblast), suffered from Russian artillery shelling.

Avdiivka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully repelled attacks by Russian troops near Avdiivka. The settlements of Novokalynove, Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonen'ke, Umans'ke (Donetsk oblast) came under artillery fire.

Mar'inka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the Russian offensive in the vicinity of Mar'inka (Donetsk oblast). The invaders fired artillery at the settlements of Mar'inka, Pobjeda, Yelyzavetivka, Novomykhailivka, Katerynivka, Antonivka (Donetsk oblast).

Shakhtars'ke axis: Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Vodyane and Urozhaine (Donetsk oblast). 10x settlements, including Vodyane, Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Urozhaine (Donetsk oblast), suffered from Russian artillery shelling.

Zaporizhzhia axis: the Russian adversary launched air strikes in the vicinities of Mala Tokmachka, Yehorivka and Robotyne (Zaporizhzhia oblast). More than 15x settlements suffered from Russian artillery shelling, including Poltavka, Hulyaipole, Huliaipilske, Chervone, Zatyshshya (Zaporizhzhia oblast).

Kherson axis: the Russian adversary launched an air strike in the vicinity of Romashkove (Kherson oblast). The settlements of Novovorontsovka, Kherson, Komyshany (Kherson oblast) suffered from Russian artillery shelling.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct the offensive operation on Melitopol' axis, consolidating their positions and conducting counter-battery fire.

During the day of August 22, the Ukrainian Air Force launched 9x air strikes on the concentrations troops and 2x strikes on anti-aircraft missile systems of the Russian adversary.

During the day of August 22, the Ukrainian missile and artillery troops hit 2x concentrations of troops, weapons, and military equipment, 2x ammunition depots and 1x TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system of the Russian forces.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces repelled five attacks by assault detachments of 41st, 66th, 67th mechanised and 25th airborne brigades of the AFU close to Sinkovka (Kharkov region), Novosyolovskoye and Raigorodka (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen, four infantry fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, one D-20 howitzer, and one U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar station.

One ammunition depot of the AFU 103rd Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Tabaevka (Kharkov region).

In Zaporozhye direction, as a result of actions by units of the Russian grouping of troops, aviation and artillery, four attacks by units of 65th mechanised and 82nd airborne assault brigades of the AFU have been repelled near Uspenovka and Rabotino (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 125 Ukrainian servicemen, three infantry fighting vehicles, two armoured fighting vehicles, and nine motor vehicles.

As a result of effective counter-battery warfare, 11 enemy guns and four mortars have been neutralised, including: two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, three U.S.-manufactured M119 towed howitzers, Polish-manufactured Krab and French-manufactured CAEZAR self-propelled artillery systems, as well as one UK-manufactured FH-70 gun.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, have successfully repelled 3 attacks by AFU assault groups close to Novomikhailovka and Avdeevka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 235 Ukrainian servicemen, five infantry fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, one Msta-B howitzer, as well as one U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar station.

In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of coordinated actions by units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, Army Aviation, artillery and heavy flamethrower systems, two attacks by assault groups of the 63rd Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been repelled south of Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen, three armored fighting vehicles, as well as two D-30 howitzers.

In South Donetsk direction, as a result of actions by aviation and artillery of the Vostok Group of Forces, four clusters of manpower and hardware of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been hit close to Makarovka, Staromayorskoye, and Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 240 Ukrainian servicemen killed and wounded, two armored fighting vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, as well as one UK-manufactured FH-70 gun.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 15 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, as well as one D-30 howitzer.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised manpower and military hardware in 139 areas.

In addition, one command and observation post of a unit of the 46th Airmobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been hit near Orekhov (Zaporozhye region).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 1st Tank Brigade has been destroyed close to Vasilkovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

Air defence facilities have shot down 4 projectiles launched by HIMARS MLRS.

In addition, 39 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed close to Nikolaevka, Zolotaryovka, Novozvanovka, Kremennaya (Lugansk People's Republic), Berestovoye, Kodyma, Aleksandrovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Novaya Kakhovka (Kherson region), Mirnoye and Trudovoye (Zaporozhye region).

In total, 462 airplanes, 246 helicopters, 5,952 unmanned aerial vehicles, 431 air defence missile systems, 11,445 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,144 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,996 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,372 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.





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North Korean Hackers Try to Prevent South Korea, US From Conducting Drills

Sputnik News

20230821

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - North Korean hackers from the Kimsuky group tried to attack a South Korean company providing computer simulation services for joint South Korea-US exercises and attempted to carry out a cyberattack on military infrastructure, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said on Sunday.

"The security investigation department of the Gyeonggi Police Agency as a result of the investigation into the case of sending several malicious emails in February-March of this year ... found out that Kimsuky was behind this," the police said in a statement.

The hackers first managed to enter malicious code via email into the computer of an administrative employee of the company in January, after which they obtained the data of other employees of the company, the statement read. Later, in February, the hacker group sent letters to employees providing computer simulation services for the Freedom Shield military exercises.

The employees tried to open the attached file which allegedly contained information about problems with their tax deductions, but a computer network run by the Pentagon did not allow them to open the file, the statement added.

However, a number of employees of the company forwarded the letters to their personal email and opened malicious files from their own computers, which led to their personal devices being hacked, the police noted, adding that North Korean hackers failed to get military information.

The police, working with the US military, were able to determine that the cyberattack involved fake IP addresses used during the 2014 incident when Kimsuky hacked the South Korean operator of hydro and nuclear power plants, KHNP. In addition, the letters used expressions characteristic of the North Korean language, the statement said.

A Sputnik

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Fly Me To The Moon: With Lunar Crash, Russia's Storied Space Program Is Embarrassed. Again.

By Mike Eckel August 21, 2023

On August 18, 1976, a 4-meter-high spacecraft called the Luna-24 touched down on the Mare Crisium, a flat plain in the moon's northern hemisphere. Four days later, the Soviet-built vehicle returned to Earth, carrying a valuable sample of lunar soil, a portion of which Soviet scientists later swapped with colleagues at NASA in the name of international scientific cooperation.

Almost 47 years later to the day, Russian engineers tried a near-repeat of that feat, seeking to land a craft packed with scientific instruments on the moon's southern hemisphere, with the goal of spending a year surveying the lunar surface.

The mission, Luna-25, failed spectacularly nine days after launch, on August 20, when the craft "ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface," according to the Russian space agency, Roskosmos.

The mishap was the latest in a string of embarrassments, failures, and scandals that have plagued Roskosmos over the past decade, highlighting the decline of a storied space industry whose pioneering achievements in the 1950s and 1960s are now distant memories.

Bygone Successes

Those bygone successes include the first man-made object to fly by, the first object to crash-land, and finally, in 1966, the first object to land on the moon - all part of the Luna project missions. The last such mission, Luna-24, returned to Earth with lunar soil samples on August 22, 1976.

"This is another indicator of how the Soviet/Russian space program has deteriorated over the years," said Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station. He also drew a parallel with the problems Russia's military has struggled with in its war against Ukraine.

"They have had a few close calls and failures with their Soyuz and Progress vehicles lately, and the world saw the many issues with their military, highlighted with the problems they are having in their war on Ukraine," Chiao said in an e-mail. "The fact that they cannot mount a mission to the Moon like they did in 1976 speaks volumes about the state of their aerospace industry today."

Following the end of the Cold War, the U.S.-Soviet space race gave way to more cooperation between Moscow and Washington -- and later, more competition among other nations to get back to the moon. Russia has wanted to return to the lunar surface since the 2000s, and more recently pushed to join forces to build a joint lunar base with China, whose space program has leapt forward in recent years. Beijing successfully landed a probe on the moon for the first time in January 2019.

India, meanwhile, plans to land its unmanned Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft at the moon's south pole on August 23 -- its third such mission. And the United States is leading an international effort to return humans to the moon by 2025, a program called the Artemis Accords.

'Not The Best' Decision

Luna-25 would have been Russia's first probe on the moon's surface since the Soviet collapse -- and the first since 1976.

Roskomos convened an investigative panel to try and pinpoint the cause of the failure. The agency's director, Yury Borisov, said on state TV on August 21 that the "main cause" was that the engines that were to put the spacecraft in a pre-landing orbit fired for 127 seconds instead of the required 84 seconds.

One Russian scientist suggested in an interview with the state news agency RIA Novosti that engineers had recorded problems with the mission but that they were not considered major.

"There were problems. They were not that significant, but the signs were, so to speak, disturbing, but everyone hoped that they would somehow be able to sort it out," Natan Eismont, a space researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, was quoted as saying. "If we have a deviation slightly higher than expected, this is an alarming fact, but apparently it was not alarming enough to make a radical decision" to delay or call off the landing.

"It is sad that there was time and, apparently, the decision on how to proceed was not the best," he told RIA-Novosti.

'We Have Somewhat Lost Our Competence'

Aleksandr Zheleznyakov, a rocket designer and engineer, also said it was unclear what caused the failure, but suggested that Russia's space industry was not keeping up with new technologies.

"Science has gone ahead, and technology has gone ahead -- unfortunately, over the years we have somewhat lost our competence, both in interplanetary flights and in landings on other planets," he told the media outlet RBK.

For longtime observers of Russia's space endeavors -- manned and unmanned -- the crash of Luna-25 had echoes of another ambitious effort more than a decade earlier. In 2011, Russian engineers launched an unmanned probe called Fobos-Grunt from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on a two-year journey to Mars.

But the craft's boosters misfired shortly after launch, and it orbited the Earth for two months before crashing and burning into the Pacific Ocean.

After Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Western countries, including the United States, began placing sanctions on Russian companies and top officials.

Still, NASA managed to continue to partnership with Russia, jointly operating the International Space Station and contracting to fly astronauts and cargo back and forth to the station. The U.S. space agency is now less reliant on Russian spacecraft, due to the successes of private companies like SpaceX, which are getting an increasing number of contracts for supply and transport.

In more recent years, Roskosmos has been battered by a succession of mishaps and scandals. That includes a still-unexplained man-made hole found on a Russian-built module at the station, a harrowing emergency landing of crew members returning to Earth, and a scandal involving the demotion of a respected cosmonaut.

In 2021, a Russian military test of an anti-satellite weapon spewed debris into a high-velocity orbit around Earth, potentially endangering the station. Though blame fell on Moscow's aerospace forces, the incident further undermined faith in Russia's space industry.

After Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, international cooperation and business deals -- for example for revenue-generating commercial satellite launches -- all but evaporated.

The cascade of scandals, which included very public reports of rampant corruption at a new cosmodrome called Vostochny, occurred under the leadership of Dmitry Rogozin, a nationalist politician and former ambassador to NATO whose often bombastic public statements strained relations with NASA.

In July 2022, five months after the Ukraine invasion, President Vladimir Putin fired Rogozin, replacing him with Borisov, a technocrat who was a deputy prime minister at the time.

More recently, Roskosmos has found itself in a thorny contract dispute with Kazakhstan over operations at Baikonur and a proposed new facility for launching a next-generation rocket -- without which Russia's efforts at generating more revenue from commercial satellite launches will be in jeopardy.

For veteran scientists like Mikhail Marov, who worked for decades on Soviet and Russian space exploration programs, the Luna-25 crash was heartbreaking.

"It's sad that we weren't successful in landing the craft," he told the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets. "For me, perhaps, this was the last hope of seeing the revival of our lunar program."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-lunar-landing- crash-space-program-problems/32557717.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Propulsion System Malfunction Caused Russian Spacecraft's Crash On Moon, Roskosmos Chief Says

By RFE/RL August 21, 2023

The main cause of the crash of the Luna-25 spacecraft on the surface of the moon over the weekend was that its propulsion system worked for 43 seconds longer than it was supposed to during a correction of its orbit, said Yury Borisov, the director of the Russian space agency, Roskosmos.

The propulsion system worked for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84, Borisov said on August 21 in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel.

"At 2:10 p.m. [August 19], the engines turned on, which were supposed to correct and put the device into a pre-landing orbit. Unfortunately, the engine shutdown did not occur normally...and instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked 127 seconds," Borisov said, adding that this was "the main reason for the accident of the device."

He said the system was tested on the ground before being loaded onto the spacecraft.

The Luna-25 spacecraft crashed on the surface of the moon on August 20 after spinning into an uncontrollable orbit.

Roskosmos said in a statement on August 20 that it lost all contact with the probe after it "moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the moon."

The agency said a special commission had been formed to investigate the reasons behind the failure, which was a blow to the prestige of Russia's space program.

The Luna-25 probe entered lunar orbit on August 16, becoming the first Russian spacecraft to do so since the Luna-24 in 1976 under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev

The mission was intended to explore a part of the moon where scientists believe they might find frozen water and other resources that could be used during longer human stays on the surface of the moon.

It was supposed to operate for one year in the area around the moon's south pole.

Moscow had been promoting the Luna-25 mission as a demonstration of its capabilities despite the burdens of its drawn-out and costly invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Russia has been racing against India, which plans to land its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft at the moon's south pole on August 23.

India's space agency said on August 21 that all systems on its spacecraft were working "perfectly" and no contingencies are anticipated on the landing day.

A successful mission would make India only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-moon- spacecraft-crash-propulsion-malfunction/32557559.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Australia supports security exercise on Korean Peninsula

21 August 2023

Australia has deployed a contingent of 26 planning and support staff to the Republic of Korea to participate in Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield. The contingent comprises of 23 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel and three civilian policy advisers.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is an annual exercise involving United Nations Command member states such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The exercise enhances the readiness of the Republic of Korea and United States Combined Forces Command in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

During the exercise, Australian personnel will contribute to the United Nations Command Headquarters at US Army Garrison Humphreys through the planning and simulated execution of operations based on crisis scenarios.

Australia has been an active United Nations Command member state since the 1950-1953 Korean War. The ADF routinely participates in activities, like UFS23, to support the Republic of Korea and to maintain the Korean War Armistice Agreement.

Australia has participated in Ulchi Freedom Shield since 2010.

Quotes attributable to Deputy Chief of Joint Operations, Air Vice-Marshal Michael Kitcher

"Routine exercises with Australia's key regional partners strengthen our ability to meet shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific."

"Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield 2023 allows Australia to work with the Republic of Korea, the United States and other United Nations Command partners to support peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

"Australia and the Republic of Korea share a longstanding bilateral defence relationship, dating back to the Korean War. Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield 2023 provides a great opportunity to increase our interoperability and deepen people-to-people links to enhance our defence cooperation."

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Missiles to power up ADF's range

21 August 2023

The acquisition of some of the most powerful and technologically advanced weapons systems the ADF has fielded will enhance Australia's ability to target enemies at longer ranges.

More than $1.7 billion will be invested in long-range strike missiles and other guided weapons, capabilities the Defence Minister Richard Marles said the ADF needed "to be able to hold an adversary at risk further from our shores".

Australia will become one of only three nations to possess a Tomahawk long-range strike capability when it purchases more than 200 of the cruise missiles from the United States for the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.

The Tomahawk missiles, costing about $1.3 billion, have a range of 1500 kilometres.

Australia will also acquire more than 60 AARGM-ER (advanced anti-radiation guided missile - extended range) missiles from the United States for $431 million.

The air-to-ground missiles, used to target enemy radar systems, will be operated on the Royal Australian Air Force's Growler and Super Hornet aircraft and, in future, on the F-35A Lightning II fighter jets.

Meanwhile, Army's Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles will be armed with Spike Long-Range 2 anti-tank guided missiles, which will enable soldiers to engage with the enemy at a range of more than five kilometres.

Varley Rafael Australia is expected to deliver the first Spike missile early next year, under a contract worth $50 million, and is developing options for domestic manufacturing.

Range and mobility

The announcement of the $1.7 billion investment came on top of news that the acquisition of HIMARS (high-mobility artillery rocket system) launchers for the ADF will double to 42.

About $1.6 billion will be spent on expanding and accelerating the acquisition of the land-based, long-range, surface-to-surface HIMARS and associated munitions and support systems.

The project also includes the precision strike missile (PrSM), which is expected to have a maximum range beyond 500 kilometres.

Defence is developing plans to manufacture HIMARS-compatible missiles in Australia from 2025.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the acquisition of the advanced weapons delivered on the recommendations of the Defence Strategic Review.

"We are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities," Mr Conroy said.

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A two-way exchange

21 August 2023

The spirit of regional cooperation was alive and well as Australia's annual flagship engagement activity, Exercise Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2023 (IPE23) visited Thailand from August 14-18.

The Thai component of IPE23 focused on the ADF delivering a recruitment and retention seminar with the Royal Thai Armed Forces, while Australian Government agencies (Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police) facilitated a four-day digital forensics workshop with the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center.

Australian Defence AttachA to the Kingdom of Thailand Group Captain Ritchie Cunningham said the workshops provided excellent forums for the two-way exchange of information.

"Both the activities involved the sharing of lessons from one side to the other," Group Captain Cunningham said.

"It's been really great to have an exchange of ideas and information between the two nations.

"All in all it's been an outstanding success, with both Thai and Australian teams coming together to share their respective experiences and enjoy working with each other.

"Importantly, there were some really strong relationships built between all the agencies; these relationships will endure for years."

Group Captain Cunningham paid tribute to all ADF and Australian Government agency representatives who facilitated workshops.

"The level of engagement from workshop participants was a testament to the professionalism and depth of knowledge the presenters conveyed in their presentations," he said.

The Thailand visit built on the success of recent IPE23 visits to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Timor Leste, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The IPE23 program's next stop is Laos, then will continue to Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Maldives, culminating with activities in Cambodia in late October.

Royal Australian Navy ships, Australian Army detachments and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft are supporting exercises and engagement activities, sharing information and providing training opportunities throughout IPE23.

Other agencies are also contributing to a range of activities, reflecting Australia's whole-of-government commitment to regional stability and security.

Held since 2017, IPE directly supports the Government's commitment in the Defence Strategic Review 2023 to invest in our regional partnerships, and work with our partners to contribute to the collective security of the Indo-Pacific.

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Foreign Secretary's meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong

The Foreign Secretary and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met in Sydney today (21 August).

21 August 2023

The Foreign Secretary and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong had a friendly and productive meeting in Sydney today (Monday 21 August).

The Foreign Secretary welcomed progress and ongoing collaboration on AUKUS. He reiterated the UK's full commitment to the AUKUS partnership and a free and open Indo-Pacific, as set out in the UK's Integrated Review Refresh 2023.

The Foreign Secretary welcomed Australia's new international development policy and acknowledged close UK-Australia cooperation on shared international development and humanitarian priorities. He also reiterated the UK's willingness to work with Australia on climate issues, particularly to support Pacific Island Countries which are on the front line of the climate emergency.

The Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the UK's determination to work together with Australia to maintain the pressure on Russia and sustain support for Ukraine.

Both looked forward to seeing each other again in Australia in 2024 for the next iteration of the Australia-UK Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting (AUKMIN). They agreed that the UK-Australia relationship was modern, enduring and forward-looking, and look forward to continuing their close cooperation.

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Russia vows it will treat attack on Belarus as aggression against itself

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 8:19 AM

Russia will respond to any hostile action against neighboring Belarus as if it was an attack on itself, using the full force of its military might, Moscow's top envoy to Minsk has vowed.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly said that in the event of an attack on Belarus, we will treat this as an attack on Russia. The military doctrine of the Russian Federation entails, in such a case, a response with all our weaponry," Moscow's Ambassador to Minsk, Boris Gryzlov, emphasized Sunday during an interview with Belarusian STV broadcaster.

The remarks came amid growing tensions between Belarus and neighboring NATO-member Poland as Western media report that Warsaw has deployed additional forces to its eastern borders, purportedly fearing military action by the Belarus-based Russian Wagner military force.

Russia and Belarus have expanded their military cooperation following the raging conflict between the Western-backed Ukraine and Russia after Moscow launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off the threat of NATO's expansion closer to Russian borders.

Russia, meanwhile, announced the deployment of its nuclear weapons in Belarus earlier this year, following a "friendly" request from Putin to do so by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko cited aggressive Western policies towards his country and the perceived threat posed by US nuclear weapons, hosted by Washington's European allies in their capitals as the reason for his decision to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons to his country.

The Belarusian leadership said the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in his country would serve as a deterrent, but vowed to use them if attacked.

In an interview in mid-June, Lukashenko said the decision to deploy Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus came after he made a "friendly request" from Putin, reiterating that he will not hesitate to use them to retaliate against any military action targeting his country.

"That was my request. Russia didn't impose it on me," Lukashenko underlined as cited by Belarusian media outlets. "Nobody has ever gone to war with a nuclear state, and I don't want anyone to go to war with us. Is there such a threat? Yes. I have to counter this threat."

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U.S. Embassy In Minsk Again Tells Americans To Leave Belarus

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service August 21, 2023

The U.S. Embassy in Minsk on August 21 told U.S. citizens to leave Belarus immediately and advised any Americans planning a trip to the East European country not to go.

The embassy said U.S. citizens who are in Belarus "should depart immediately" and should consider leaving via the remaining border crossings with Lithuania and Latvia or by plane.

The embassy's advisory follows a similar message issued in April that also told U.S. citizens to leave Belarus immediately.

Its latest message noted that Lithuania on August 18 closed two border crossings -- Sumsko and Tvereciaus -- with Belarus.

Lithuania said it was closing the two border crossings in response to escalating tensions with Belarus, which has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground for Moscow's invasion.

While other border crossings remain open, it's not clear for how long. Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia -- NATO members on the alliance's eastern flank -- have said that further closures are possible, according to BPN, a project of the former BelaPAN independent news agency.

The U.S. Embassy's message on August 21 also advised Americans not to travel to Belarus "due to Belarusian authorities' continued facilitation of Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine," and other reasons, including the buildup of Russian military forces in Belarus.

Belarus is hosting troops belonging to the private Wagner mercenary group who arrived after their short-lived mutiny in June.

The embassy advisory also cited "the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, the potential of civil unrest, the risk of detention, and the Embassy's limited ability to assist U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Belarus" as reasons for its warning.

The United States has previously advised Americans against visiting Belarus, including in January 2022 about one month before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the same month, the U.S. State Department also ordered the departure of family members of American civil servants from Belarus.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-us- embassy-american-citizens-leave-country-tensions/32557736.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Xi starts South Africa visit, 'to leverage cooperation with continent'

Global Times

Global South seeks to address challenges in cooperation approach, not to confront

By Xie Wenting in Johannesburg and Zhang Han in Beijing Published: Aug 21, 2023 10:01 PM Updated: Aug 21, 2023 10:04 PM

Amid high global attention and expectations, Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing for Johannesburg on Monday for a state visit to South Africa and to attend the BRICS Summit to be held from Tuesday to Thursday.

The visit is being widely welcomed by local scholars, who see it as a strong boost to deep-rooted China-South Africa relations as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations in 1998.

Observers also believe that Xi's visit to the continent, coming against the backdrop of aggravating geopolitics, can inject momentum into China-Africa cooperation, and help developing countries and emerging economies jointly seek an approach to address current global challenges.

The ambiance of the BRICS Summit became palpable upon Global Times reporter's arrival at Johannesburg airport. Posters and billboards publicizing the event can be seen everywhere.

National flags of South Africa and China are fluttering atop roadside poles en route to Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the official residence for the President of the Republic of South Africa in Pretoria.

Local residents, when seeing visitors from China, extended warm greetings and expressed their affection for the remote country. Many asked for a selfie with the reporter and told the Global Times they wanted to visit China one day, underscoring the positive rapport between the two countries and peoples.

China is an important investor in South Africa and provides support to the infrastructure development projects including the Small Harbour Development Project, the TVET Refurbishment Project and the Mzimvubu Water Project, all of which are instrumental in job creation, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by Government Communication and Information System on behalf of the Presidency of South Africa.

The welcome ceremony for Xi will take place on Tuesday morning, and discussions during Xi's state visit will explore further collaboration and partnerships the two nations can leverage to solidify existing diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations, according to the statement.

'Brotherly sentiments'

President Xi on Monday published a signed article in English entitled "Sailing the giant ship of China-South Africa friendship and cooperation toward greater success" on major media outlets in South Africa.

The ongoing visit is Xi's sixth to the "promising land of the 'rainbow nation,'" and Xi wrote that "Each of my visits to South Africa gave me new impressions. But the deepest is invariably the brotherly sentiments we have toward each other."

Paul Tembe, author of the book Xi Jinping and Thriving China-South Africa Relations in the New Era, was impressed by the warmth and close bond carried in Xi's article.

"Whenever President Xi visits South Africa, he always brings gifts. I am not referring to physical gifts, but intangible, symbolic gifts that expand our relationship," Tembe told the Global Times on Monday in Pretoria.

Xi wrote in the article that "Our friendship has traversed a long span of time," citing examples of China's support in South Africa's fight against apartheid in the mid-20th century. China was among the first to provide anti-COVID pandemic supplies to South Africa and recent aid of emergency power equipment amid the latter's energy crisis.

"Our relationship has entered a 'golden era,' enjoying broad prospects and a promising future... South Africa was the first African country to sign the Belt and Road cooperation document with China. It has been China's biggest trading partner in Africa for 13 years in a row, as well as one of the African countries with the largest stock of Chinese investment," Xi wrote.

Bilateral trade in the first seven months of 2023 reached 226.15 billion yuan ($31.06 billion) with a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent, data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

China imports raw materials and resources from South Africa and helps in infrastructure and telecommunication, while analysts pointed out that potential for cooperation also lies in areas of South Africa's upgrading of its industrial pattern, digital economy and technological transfer and ocean economy.

Song Wei, a professor with the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday the two countries can also enhance cooperation and exchanges in the fields of culture, tourism and education and training.

In his signed article, Xi specified four objectives for bilateral relations - China and South Africa should be fellow companions sharing the same ideals, pacesetters for solidarity and cooperation, inheritors of China-Africa friendship, and champions of common interests.

Beyond bilateral

China-South Africa relationship has gone beyond the bilateral scope and carries increasingly important global influence, Xi wrote.

While in South Africa, Xi will co-chair with President Cyril Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Analysts believe that South Africa, as a major country in a promising land full of opportunities, can play a key role in driving the continent's cooperation with China and facilitate Africa's economic integration, industrialization and modernization.

David Monyae, director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, told the Global Times that China has made great contributions to Africa's development. Programs under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have benefited local people and China has done this out of true care for Africa's development, Monyae said.

Tembe also hailed the advantages of BRI, which is not abstract but practical and substantial.

In the first half of 2023, China added $1.82 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa, up by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Chinese companies have become increasingly confident in the African market. More than 3,000 Chinese enterprises have invested deeply in Africa, of which over 70 percent are private companies, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at the routine press briefing on August 18.

In many Chinese companies operating in Africa, over 80 percent of the staff are local employees. Chinese companies have given back to local communities by building bridges and roads, drilling wells and installing street lights. At the same time, they have increased technology transfer, local procurement and personnel training in Africa, and helped modernize the continent's agricultural, manufacturing and services sectors, Wang said.

Analysts said that China's cooperation with Africa has not only brought about opportunities for Africa to share in the fruits of development, but also provide inspiration for how developing countries should seek a path of modernization that suits their own national conditions.

Xi highlighted the completion and handover of a host of projects including the Africa CDC Headquarters, the Foundiougne Bridge in Senegal, the Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in the past decade of joint pursuit of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

In face of the profound changes unseen in a century, a strong China-Africa relationship and productive China-Africa cooperation will provide more fresh impetus to global development and ensure greater stability in the world, Xi wrote in his signed article.

This is all the more reason why China and South Africa, as natural members of the Global South, should work together to appeal for a greater voice and influence from developing countries in international affairs, and Xi called for joint opposition to unilateral sanctions and the "small yard, high fence" mentality to jointly safeguard the common interests.

Sanusha Naidu, senior research fellow at Institute for Global Dialogue, told the Global Times in Johannesburg that BRICS exists simply because there was a need for the BRICS format. "BRICS in itself is an iteration and an expression of the Global South."

BRICS is of extraordinary importance when the world faces joint challenges of a post-pandemic recovery and rising geopolitical tensions, as developing countries prioritize growth over differences in ideologies and systems, analysts said.

The theme of the upcoming BRICS Summit, its focus on Africa and agenda of closer financial cooperation and expansion of membership, prove that the mechanism continues to serve the immediate needs of developing countries, Lan Qingxin, director of the Center for BRICS Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday.

BRICS is a platform for developing countries to make their voice heard and work together for their benefits. It has never sought and will never seek to confront the Group of Seven (G7) or any other mechanisms, Lan said. He added that the unprecedented attention to a BRICS event and continuous attacks out of a confrontational mentality just demonstrated the necessity and urgency for fairer and more inclusive global governance.

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Chinese FM hopes new Guatemalan govt makes decisions in its best natl interests

Global Times

By Zhang Changyue Published: Aug 21, 2023 11:13 PM

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed wishes for the new Guatemalan government to make the right call in line with the fundamental and long-term interests of its country and people in response to the result of the Central American country's presidential election.

When asked if China will further boost relations with Guatemala after preliminary results showed its anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arevalo was voted in as president on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday that he won't comment on it as Guatemala's presidential election is its internal affair, but emphasized that establishing diplomatic ties with China is the right choice that accords with the trend of history and our times.

Lately, people from various sectors in Guatemala have expressed in interviews their hope for Guatemala to establish diplomatic ties with China soon, which fully indicates that developing relations with China is what serves the fundamental interests of Guatemala and what the Guatemalan people want, Wang said.

Guatemala is one of the remaining 13 countries that still have so-called diplomatic ties with the Taiwan region, and Arevalo, who had a 58 percent to 37 percent lead over former first lady Sandra Torres with 99 percent of votes counted, said earlier he would pursue closer relations with China if he wins.

"We need to work on our trade relations and expand them in the case of China," Arevalo, a 64-year-old ex-diplomat and son of a former president said in an interview with the Con Criterio radio program in June, Reuters reported. Arevalo stressed the need for a foreign policy based on Guatemala's interests. "Let's be the owners of our foreign policy," said Arevalo.

Guatemala's neighboring nation Honduras established diplomatic relations with China in late March, becoming the ninth country to sever so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan island since regional leader Tsai Ing-wen took office. Tsai made a visit to Guatemala in early April after Honduras shift, and signed a $4 million agreement to modernize rural areas and promised to promote and increase cooperation, Reuters reported.

Jiang Shixue, a professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, told the Global Times on Monday that it's very likely that China and Guatemala can establish diplomatic relations after Arevalo, who tended to be friendly to China and may implement a pro-China foreign policy, was elected as president.

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Two poems to mark Qixi Festival  Chinese Valentines Day Pub Date:2023-08-22 10:02 Source:CGTN The Qixi Festival (), also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, or Double Seventh Festival, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. It marks the annual reunion of cowherd Niulang and Zhinu, the goddess of weaving  whose romance is the subject of a traditional Chinese folk tale calledThe Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, dating back more than 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty. The cowherd and the weaver girl fell in love at first sight, got married happily, and had two children, a boy and a girl. However, when Zhinu's mother found her daughter had secretly married a mortal man she was furious and ordered Zhinu back to heaven. She then created a huge river, which we recognise as the Milky Way, to divide heaven and earth and separate the couple. The tale has a happy ending as magpies, touched by the romance, decided to flock together to create a bridge and reunite the lovers. They do this once every year. The couple are one of the greatest symbols of romance found in Chinese folklore, and many Chinese poets have written poems recounting the story. Therefore, CGTN Europe is marking the day with two celebrated love poems that cross cultures: one was penning in the Song Dynasty by Qin Guan, and the other by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Immortal at the Magpie Bridge

Read by Jamie Owen

By Qin Guan 

Translated by Xu Yuanchong  Clouds float like works of art



Stars shoot with grief at heart



Across the Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid



When autumn's Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade



All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade



Their tender love flows like a stream



This happy date seems but a dream



Can they bear a separate homeward way?



If love between both sides can last for aye



Why need they stay together night and day?



A Red, Red Rose 

By Robert Burns 

Read by Li Jianhua 

Translated by Wang Zuoliang  O my Luve is like a red, red rose



That's newly sprung in June



O my Luve is like the melody



That's sweetly played in tune

 So fair art thou, my bonnie lass



So deep in luve am I



And I will luve thee still, my dear



Till a' the seas gang dry

 Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear



And the rocks melt wi' the sun



I will luve thee still, my dear



While the sands o' life shall run

 And fare thee weel, my only luve



And fare thee weel awhile



And I will come again, my luve



Though it were ten thousand mile.



Editor:Zheng Chen

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Chinese premier says China-US ties face 'difficulties,' calls for sincerity

Global Times

China to open up further, in contrast to Washington's decoupling push

By GT staff reporters Published: Aug 21, 2023 10:54 PM Updated: Aug 21, 2023 10:46 PM

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday told a US business delegation that China-US relations and economic and trade cooperation currently face some difficulties, which require both sides to show sincerity and meet each other halfway, but the two countries can "absolutely achieve common development."

The Chinese premier reiterated that China will continue to open up its market, optimize the business environment and improve the protection and treatment of foreign businesses. The remarks further underscored China's determination to promote win-win cooperation, even as the US government continues to recklessly push for a decoupling, analysts noted.

Li met with the US business delegation led by Marc Casper, chair of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), in Beijing, during which he congratulated the council on its 50th anniversary and commended its role in helping promote bilateral cooperation, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"China-US relations and economic and trade cooperation are facing some difficulties, which require both sides to show sincerity, meet each other halfway, and work together. China and the US absolutely can achieve common development and work together to make greater contributions to the bright future of all mankind," Li said.

For his part, Casper and other US business leaders said that the USCBC supports the development of healthy and stable bilateral relations and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The Chinese market is critical to enhancing the competitiveness of US businesses, they said.

The remarks highlighted both China's commitment to further opening its market for foreign businesses, including those from the US, and US businesses' great interest in investing in the Chinese market, despite the US' government's arbitrary decoupling moves, analysts noted.

"The US public and the business community still attach great importance to the Chinese market and are inclined to further deepen and expand China-US cooperation," Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday.

However, Dong pointed out that US politicians' anti-China rhetoric and actions are also having a great impact on various fields, including the business community, as they face increasing difficulties in pursuing development and cooperation in the Chinese market.

Over the past several years, under the guise of various manufactured excuses such as "national security concerns," the US government has constantly intensified its decoupling campaign against China, in an attempt to contain China.

In one of the most recent moves, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at banning some new US investment in China in advanced technologies like computer chips and requiring government notification in other tech sectors. Chinese officials called the move "economic coercion" and vowed to take "necessary countermeasures" after a comprehensive assessment.

In stark contrast to the US' sweeping ban, China's door to opening-up will not be closed, but will only open wider and wider, and the vast Chinese market has huge growth potential and opportunities. China will continue to expand market access and optimize the business environment for foreign businesses, Li said.

Highlighting China's great market potential, Li on Monday also presided over a special study session focused on developing the digital economy, stressing that China has multiple advantages such as a super-large-scale market, massive data resources, and rich application scenarios, and the development of the digital economy has broad space. To further optimize business environment and ease the burden on businesses, Li has also signed a document to amend certain administrative rules, including lowering administrative fines in certain minor violations, starting on Monday when it was published.

Casper and other US personnel said that the USCBC welcomes signals of deepening reform and opening-up from the Chinese government, according to Xinhua.

It is important to "separate the US government from the US business community," as the former pushes for restrictions and confrontation, while the latter pursues commercial interests, He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Monday.

He said that China's responses should also be compartmentalized - opposing and countering US restrictions that violate WTO rules, while working to stabilize bilateral ties and further developing economic and trade cooperation.

"For economic and trade ties to continue to develop, the business community is a great basic force," he said, noting that it's crucial for all departments and localities to implement various policies and take concrete steps to address concerns from foreign businesses and improve the business environment.

Chinese officials, both at the central and local levels, have announced measures to stabilize foreign investment and have been actively meeting representatives from foreign businesses, including those from the US.

Also on Monday, Jin Zhuanglong, minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), had a meeting with a delegation led by Casper, during which he said that the MIIT attaches great importance to communication and cooperation with foreign-funded businesses and strives for a world-class business environment, according to an official statement.

Jin said that Chinese modernization will create more opportunities and greater development room for foreign businesses in China. "It is hoped that the USCBC will continue to help member companies take root in China, deepen investment cooperation in advanced manufacturing, green and low-carbon and other fields, and achieve mutually beneficial and win-win development," Jin said.

For his part, Casper praised the Chinese government's policy of further opening-up to the outside world and said that the USCBC, together with the US business community, will continue to play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of US-China economic and trade relations, according to the MIIT statement.

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HKSAR holds 1st 2023 Policy Address District Forum

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:19, August 21, 2023

HONG KONG, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), on Sunday attended the first 2023 Policy Address District Forum to communicate with the public on issues ranging from local transportation, ageing population, to cultural and arts policies.

The District Forum was held at Aldrich Bay Government Primary School in Shau Kei Wan and attended by over 100 residents from all walks of life.

Lee said the public generally agreed to the governance policy in the 2022 Policy Address, and he hopes to listen to more public views and consolidate the objectives and implementation of different policies, so as to deepen and broaden policies as well as identify priorities.

Hong Kong, with favorable opportunities and development momentum, is a place where dreams can be realized, Lee said, adding that the HKSAR government has been constantly working to attract investment and talents, while introducing measures to nurture local talents.

On the tourism market, Lee said Hong Kong has introduced many short-term policies because Hong Kong, as a "gourmet city," enjoys advantages such as convenience, freedom and inclusiveness.

The 2023 Policy Address will be delivered on Oct. 25, and the HKSAR government will conduct more than 30 consultation sessions to listen to views and suggestions of the Legislative Council members, representatives of various sectors and members of the public.

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Hong Kong delays Jimmy Lai trial as police question woman linked to exiled lawmaker

Democrats say there is now scant difference between Hong Kong's judicial system and that of mainland China

By Gao Feng for RFA Mandarin, Jojo Man for RFA Cantonese 2023.08.21 -- A Hong Kong court has once more postponed the national security trial of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai for several months, while police questioned a woman with ties to exiled former lawmaker Nathan Law.

A panel of three High Court judges delayed Lai's trial until Dec. 18, the second delay since the original trial date was set for December 2022.

Lai, who founded the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, faces two counts of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces" and one count of "collusion with foreign forces" under a draconian security law imposed by Beijing in the wake of the 2019 protest movement, along with a charge relating to "seditious" publications.

He was first arrested in August 2020 and is currently serving time for fraud in connection with the lease on his Next Digital media empire's headquarters.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong National Security Police questioned a woman with reported links to Law, one of the eight activists in exile with arrest warrants and bounties on their heads, the London-based rights group Hong Kong Watch reported.

The move comes after police detained and questioned the parents of fellow overseas activist Anna Kwok, who heads the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a U.S.-based lobby group.

Kwok and Law are among eight prominent overseas Hong Kongers wanted by the authorities for "collusion with foreign forces" under the national security law, with a HK$1 million bounty on each of their heads, as the city authorities claim the right to "long-arm" enforcement of the law anywhere in the world.

Hong Kong leader John Lee has vowed to pursue the eight activists for the rest of their lives.

"This was the latest escalation in the application of the Hong Kong National Security Law against opposition figures, in particular since the announcement of arrest warrants and bounties against the eight activists in exile," Hong Kong Watch said in a brief statement.

Looking like the mainland

Former pro-democracy district councilor Sam Yip, who is currently studying in Tokyo, said Hong Kong's judicial system is looking increasingly like that of mainland China.

"It's very similar to the Chinese courts, where the prosecution and courts can extend an arrested person's time in detention at will," Yip said. "The courts and the entire judicial system in Hong Kong are nearly identical with those in mainland China, particularly where national security law cases are concerned."

"Those cases no longer follow the common law system, but instead follow the Chinese legal system."

He said the common law system once ensured a fair trial in Hong Kong, but no longer.

A former adviser to the Chinese Communist Party government in Beijing last week criticized the Hong Kong government over its plan to allow extradition to mainland China, which sparked the mass protests of 2019 and the ensuing crackdown on public dissent.

Former Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference standing committee member Charles Ho said he had tried to dissuade the city's current and former leaders from pressing ahead with the plans, which sparked months of mass popular protest that broadened from an anti-extradition campaign to include demands for fully democratic elections.

Ho told a radio show last week that then Chief Executive Carrie Lam's handling of the protest was "a man-made disaster."

"I explained to her that if she went ahead and implemented the amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, it would lead to U.S. sanctions on Hong Kong," Ho said, adding that he had issued the same warning to then security chief and current chief executive John Lee.

"I was in the Jockey Club coffee shop with John Lee, and I told him I had advised Lam not to do this, because it would affect Hong Kong's [trading status] with the United States," he said.

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law in November 2019 after months of pro-democracy protests, targeting officials responsible for the erosion of the city's promised freedoms and prompting mass celebrations by protesters.

When Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong from July 1, 2020, Washington responded by declaring an end to the city's status as a separate trading entity from mainland China.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

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Xi's visit cements China-South Africa ties in "golden era", BRICS' appeal to Global South

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:34, August 22, 2023

To South Africans, the visit of President Xi is very important in enhancing and strengthening bilateral relations, including trade relations between the two countries, said African National Congress Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Late August in South Africa is famed for its radiant afternoons when the golden African sun bathes the landscape in its warm embrace.

It serves as a perfect backdrop for the blossoming China-South Africa relationship, which, as noted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, "has entered a 'golden era,' enjoying broad prospects and a promising future."

This year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa, and in a signed article published Monday in South African media as he set off to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg and pay a state visit to South Africa, Xi recalled the "leapfrog development" of bilateral ties from a partnership to a strategic partnership, and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

"It is one of the most vibrant bilateral relations in the developing world," said Xi in the article titled "Sailing the Giant Ship of China-South Africa Friendship and Cooperation Toward Greater Success."

It was not the first time Xi called China-South Africa friendship and cooperation a "giant ship." In 2015, before his state visit to the country, Xi said in a signed article that the bilateral cooperation and friendship "has grown from a small boat to a gigantic vessel."

As the world is facing numerous uncertainties and living through accelerating changes unseen in a century, "that metaphor still holds true," said Sifiso Mahlangu, editor-in-chief of South Africa's leading newspaper, The Star, which published Xi's signed articles this time and in 2015.

"A giant ship is a great metaphor" because it rides the wind and waves and "is against the tide," said Mahlangu. "It is a metaphor that stands and lives up to the pledge of BRICS cooperation."

On Monday, the country was abuzz with anticipation as it prepared to welcome Xi.

"To us South Africans, the visit of President Xi is very important in enhancing and strengthening bilateral relations ... (including) trade relations between the two countries," said African National Congress Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.

Data released by China showed that in the first half of the year, bilateral trade reached 28.25 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.7 percent year-on-year.

China has maintained its position as South Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, while South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years.

Calling the bilateral ties "stronger and stronger," Mbalula told Xinhua that South Africa-China relations are formed by "ties of anti-imperialism, multipolarity that we both believe in and strong ties of economic relationship."

It is also in Johannesburg, a South African city known as the City of Gold, that BRICS leaders will meet from Aug. 22 to 24 to discuss issues including deepening BRICS cooperation, giving more voice to the Global South, and the BRICS group's expansion.

Scholars and observers on BRICS told Xinhua that the group has defended multipolarity and multilateralism since its inception and has become a positive, stable, and constructive force in international affairs, making its golden brand increasingly appealing to the Global South.

"In an increasingly polarised world, BRICS is creating an enabling avenue for countries to fashion a more inclusive political and economic order," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations scholar.

For Anil Sooklal, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa, "BRICS has been a catalyst to bring the Global South together."

"It is for the first time in recent geopolitics that you have such a collective and a powerful body representing the voice of the Global South."

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North Korean leader vows to modernize navy as he visits naval fleet

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 2:22 AM

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to modernize the country's navy with improved combat efficiency to boost its capability for engaging in actual war.

Kim made the remarks while inspecting a naval fleet berthed on the country's east coast, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday.

Speaking aboard a warship, the country's leader vowed to reinforce the navy with "improved combat efficiency and full modern means of surface and underwater offensive and defensive" capabilities.

"We will put spurs to the modernization of naval weapons and equipment, including the building of powerful warships and the development of shipboard and underwater weapon systems," Kim was quoted as saying.

"The Navy should thoroughly keep constant mobility and steadily increase the capability for actual war, so that they can actively carry out their combat missions in the unfavorable circumstances," he added.

According to the report, during his tour of North Korea's navy warship, Kim personally oversaw a test of strategic cruise missiles.

The launch was aimed at verifying the "combat function of the ship and the feature of its missile system," while improving the sailors' capability to carry out an "attack mission in actual war," the KCNA said without giving the date of Kim's visit.

"The ship rapidly hit target without even an error," it added.

Kim touted the ship for maintaining "high mobility and mighty striking power and constant preparedness for combat to cope with sudden situations," the agency reported.

The North Korean leader's new push for production of weapons and maintaining military preparedness came amid annual military drills by Pyongyang's archenemies, the United States and South Korea, which started on Monday. The North views such drills as rehearsals for a military invasion of its territory.

Washington and Seoul had announced last Monday that they would stage the Ulchi Freedom Guardian summer war games from August 21 to 31 to improve their ability to respond to what they described as the North's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

South Korea's military has announced that this year's exercises will be held on the "largest scale ever," including through mobilizing tens of thousands of troops from both sides, as well as some member states of the United Nations Command.

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DPRK Armed Forces Show No Mercy: KCNA Commentary

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, August 22 (KCNA) -- An unprecedented large-scale thermonuclear war is approaching the Korean Peninsula every moment as reality.

On Aug. 21, the U.S. and the south Korean puppet group started the largest-ever joint military drill "Ulji Freedom Shield" despite our repeated warnings.

The nuclear war drill with huge aggression forces involved will last until Aug. 31. The U.S. mobilized in the drill not only war hardware and troops deployed in the operational area of the Korean Peninsula but also space forces in its mainland for the first time in history.

Such U.S. nuclear strategic assets are expected to be hurled into the drill as a nuclear carrier, a nuclear submarine, B-1B and B-52H.

The aggressive character of the drill is becoming ever more conspicuous as even the war criminal states such as Australia, Canada, France, Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand and the Philippines, which entered the last Korean War under the cloak of "UN forces", are participating in the drill.

In this period, the U.S. and other hostile forces are going to wage over 30 joint field maneuvers and other exercises for an actual war to invade the north in all the operation areas, including ground, sea, air and space.

The bosses of the U.S., Japan and the south Korean puppet group met at the Camp David Resort near Washington on Aug. 18 to detail, plan and formulate the nuclear war provocation on the Korean Peninsula. And the drill is being staged for carrying out the agreements even before the ink of agreed documents is dry so the gravity of the situation is further amplified.

If the agreements fabricated at the Camp David Resort are additionally put into practice in the war drill involving human and material resources of the U.S. and other hostile forces and even the vassal forces, the possibility of outbreak of a thermonuclear war on the Korean peninsula will become more realistic.

All the facts go to prove that the danger of the "Ulji Freedom Shield" joint military drill with all possible war resources involved can never be covered up with the words "annual" and "defensive".

It is as clear as noonday that the war rehearsal, daubed with such bellicose rhetoric as "occupation", "annihilation", "decapitation" and "scorched earth" and staged on the "largest scale and content in history", is targeting the DPRK.

The prevailing situation requires the Korean People's Army to take the initiative, offensive and overwhelming action for a war.

The will to punish the hostile forces threatening the sovereignty of our state and the right to existence of our people for decades is waiting for a moment of percussion.

The armed forces of the DPRK will wait for the time. -0-

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North Korea to Launch 'Satellite Rocket' as Early as Thursday

By Eunice Kim August 22, 2023

North Korea is poised to take another attempt at placing a claimed spy satellite into orbit as soon as Thursday, a second try this year that comes some three months after its acknowledged "gravest failure."

Pyongyang notified Japan its launch window for a satellite launch is Aug. 24 to 31, Tokyo said Tuesday, without specifying the satellite's type.

In reaction, the Japan Coast Guard posted coordinates that include waters west of the Korean peninsula, the East China Sea and waters east of the Philippines' Luzon island as potential danger zones and called on vessels traveling through them to exercise caution.

The prime minister's office in Japan said it strongly urged North Korea to refrain from firing what it refers to as a "satellite," adding it was collecting information and working with the U.S., South Korea and other concerned parties.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters it would be "extremely regrettable" if North Korea went ahead with its launch.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, in charge of inter-Korean affairs, echoed the view and called on Pyongyang to immediately halt its plan. North Korea's claimed satellite test utilizes ballistic missile technology that is banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions, which cannot be justified under any circumstance, it said.

Many observers view North Korea's claimed rocket launches as a way to forward its ballistic weapons program under the guise of a civilian program.

North Korea was widely expected to return to the launch pad after its May 31 attempt to place a reconnaissance satellite into orbit prematurely failed when the rocket lost its thrust soon after taking off.

Pyongyang in June publicly attributed this to "the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine" and pledged to try again after making needed fixes.

After weeks of underwater salvage efforts, South Korea's military retrieved parts of the North Korean rocket, reportedly including its payload, earning a rare first-hand look inside. It concluded that the claimed reconnaissance satellite had no such utility, without providing details of what was recovered or analyzed.

North Korea's rocket launch notification comes as South Korea is engaged in a massive series of exercises at the government and U.S.-South Korea military levels to boost readiness for a potential incursion by North Korea.

Pyongyang issued a scathing commentary on Tuesday of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, saying that it - together with agreements inked at last week's trilateral summit among leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan in Camp David - was pushing the region into "an unprecedented large-scale thermonuclear war."

North Korea views the annual summertime war games between the allies, currently known as the Ulchi Freedom Shield, as a practice for invasion.

The drills were revived to full scale under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration after they were unilaterally canceled in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in a surprise concession to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their Singapore Summit.

This year's Ulchi Freedom Shield will feature some 30 field exercises to complement command post exercises, the most in recent years.

A nationwide emergency drill on Wednesday will also require vehicle traffic to stop and people to take shelter for a 20-minute civilian drill.

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Transcript of Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary on Prime Minister's visit to South Africa and Greece (August 21, 2023)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

August 21, 2023

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: A very good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for joining us, and I would request, if cell phones could be kept on silent, for joining us for this special media briefing on the occasion of the Honorable Prime Minister's visit to South Africa and to Greece, which begins tomorrow. To give us a sense of the visit, we have the pleasure of having with us Shri Vinay Kwatra Sir, Foreign Secretary. Also joining us on the dais, Secretary West, Joint Secretary Central Europe, as well as Joint Secretary East and Southern Africa. Sir, may I hand over the floor for your opening remarks.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much, and good afternoon to friends from the media, Namaskar. Thank you very much for joining us this afternoon for this briefing on the upcoming visit of the Honorable Prime Minister of India to South Africa for the BRICS Summit and then onwards to official visit to Greece. Honorable Prime Minister will depart tomorrow morning for Johannesburg, where he would be participating in the 15th BRICS Summit, that actually starts tomorrow only and concludes on 24th of August. Just to recall, Honorable Prime Minister had last visited South Africa in July 2018. That was for the 10th BRICS Summit, and then in July 2016 for a bilateral visit. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, he had visited India in January 2019, where he was also the chief guest for the 70th Republic Day celebrations. The two leaders had also met in June 2022 in Germany, on the sidelines of the G7 Outreach Summit, and most recently they spoke to each other just a few weeks ago. South Africa is, as you all know, the incumbent BRICS chair, and the theme of the BRICS Summit this year is 'BRICS and Africa - Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism'. This would be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. You are all aware of the importance that India attaches to the BRICS grouping and consider it as an important expression of global multipolarity. India last held the BRICS chairmanship in 2021. For us, it is also a platform that can address a number of global challenges and also by contributing to building a fairer, inclusive and open international architecture with sustainable development and economic growth at its core.

In terms of programme, upon his arrival on 22nd, the Honorable Prime Minister will participate in the first event, which is the BRICS Leaders Retreat, later tomorrow evening itself. This would be a closed-door engagement and the expected agenda is likely to include discussions on global developments of concern and the role that the BRICS can play in addressing some of those developments and challenges. The next day, on 23rd August, the Prime Minister will participate in the 15th BRICS Summit. The Summit itself is structured into two sessions - one, a closed plenary that is likely to focus more on items pertaining to intra-BRICS cooperation as also the reform of the multilateral system and counter-terrorism issues. Thereafter, there is an open plenary, which would actually see participation of other entities and organisations that are associated with BRICS. This would include the President of the New Development Bank, the Chair of the BRICS Business Council and the Chair of BRICS Women's Business Alliance. The participants are likely to deliberate on issues such as global economic recovery amid ongoing geopolitical challenges, sustainable development goals, something that would, I think continue throughout the different sessions of the BRICS Summit, women-led development as also addressing the concern and interest and priorities of the Global South. The Summit would conclude on 23rd and on 24th, the Prime Minister will participate in BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue. We understand that the host country, South Africa, has invited a number of guest countries from Africa as well as other emerging markets and developing countries to participate in this event on 24th. Partnership with Africa...how the partnership with Africa can actually shape and contribute to the development of the Global South - will figure as one of the important items in the deliberations on 24th. You are all aware of India's own views and efforts in this regard, which were very clearly and in detail reflected in the Voice of Global South Summit that was hosted by the Honorable Prime Minister in January earlier this year. These priorities of the Global South, just to touch upon here, are also going to be reflected in the upcoming G20 Summit also, given the fact that this G20 presidency of India will see the largest ever participation from Africa in the Summit to be held next month. For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the BRICS Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum. After completing his engagements in Johannesburg relating to the BRICS Summit and to the BRICS Outreach and BRICS Plus Summit, the Prime Minister would travel to Greece for an official visit on 25th August 2023 at the invitation of His Excellency, Prime Minister of Greece. A ceremonial welcome on arrival in Athens, which would be followed by the visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the Prime Minister would lay a wreath. The Prime Minister will thereafter have restricted and delegation-level talks with the Honorable Prime Minister of Greece. Both leaders would also address the key businesses of both countries later after the delegation-level talks. Prime Minister would also interact with the Indian diaspora in Greece. Just to recall here, the Honorable Prime Minister had met the Greek Prime Minister in New York last in September 2019 on the sidelines of the UNGA. The important thing to mention here is that the last Prime Ministerial visit from India to Greece was in 1983, so it is after a considerable length of long period of time actually that a Prime Ministerial visit from India is taking place to Greece. Previous high-level exchanges between the two countries have also included a visit by former Presidents of India, late doctor APJ Abdul Kalam and also former President Shri Ram Nath Kovindji in June 2018. The Greek President had also paid a state visit to India in 1998, and the then Greek Prime Minister had visited India in 2008. Greece is one of India's important European partners, is a member of the EU, of NATO, and a gateway to Europe and also to the EU market, and enjoys a privileged position at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa. Both India and Greece are not just modern democracies, but we also share close and age-old historical and cultural relations. Important elements of our partnership include defense and security, shipping, and most recently the elements relating to the migration and mobility are being given shape in terms of structural partnership between India and Greece. Greece has also been a strong supporter and a partner with India on issues of core interest in the UN and other international organisations, including their support to a permanent membership in the expanded UN Security Council. During the Honorable Prime Minister's visit to Greece, both sides will look to expand and diversify the trade and investment segment of cooperation, deepen and expand the defense and security partnership, infrastructure cooperation, shipbuilding industry, something which is a great strength of Greece and where the opportunities, extensive opportunities are there, energy, agriculture, education, and as I mentioned earlier, migration and mobility. The visit would give us, give both sides an opportunity to discuss also the regional and global issues of mutual interest and help broaden and deepen our bilateral engagement. I would stop here and if there are questions, we will try and answer them. Thank you.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you very much, sir. Ground rules, please introduce yourself and the organization you represent. I will start with Yeshi.

Yeshi Seli: This is Yeshi Seli from the New Indian Express. Sir, what are the chances of PM Modi having a bilateral with Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping.

Sidhant: Sir my question is, India's stance on the expansion of the grouping. And another question, this is on Greece, basically. What will be India's focus when it comes to connectivity plans connecting India with the Mediterranean via the Arab world?

Madhurendra: Sir, Madhurendra hoon News Nation se. Defense aur security ties ko lekar aapne baat kahi India aur Greece ke bich mai, kya is par aur aap focus kar sakte hain ki kin kshetro mai dar asal defense sector mai dono desh apne jo ties hain usko badhayenge aur maritime mai kya hone wala hain?

[Question in Hindi, Approximate translation] Sir, I am Madhurendra from News Nation. You spoke about the defense and security ties between India and Greece. Can you further elaborate on which specific areas, both countries are enhancing their ties in the defense sector? Additionally, could you provide insights into what is expected in the maritime domain?

Manas: This is Manas from PTI. Around 40 countries have shown interest in joining BRICS, and 23 countries have already submitted their applications. So what will be India's approach in expansion of BRICS, and how we are going to support the countries? What will be the criteria?

Manish Jha: Sir main Manish Jha hoon TV9 se. Mujhe jitna samajh mai aa raha hai sir ki ab tak bharat sarkar ye kehti aayi thi post May 2022 ke baad ki jab tak PLA apni position se pichhe nahi hat jata tab tak India aur China ke political relations normal nahi ho sakte hain, toh agar Prime Minister Modi aur Xi Jinping ki mulakat hoti hai BRICS se alag hokar to kya hum kahe ki PLA apki position se hat gayi hai? Aur agar nahi mulakat hoti hai toh kya kahe ki PLA abhi tak usi position pe bana hua hai?

[Question in Hindi, Approximate translation] Sir, I am Manish Jha from TV9. As far as I understand, the Indian government, post May 2022, has been stating that until the PLA withdraws from its position, till then the political relations between India and China cannot be normal. So, if Prime Minister Modi and Xi Jinping were to meet on the sidelines of BRICS, could we conclude that the PLA has retreated from its position? And if such a meeting doesn't take place, can we infer that the PLA remains in the same position as before?

Nivedita Mukherjee: Sir, Nivedita from the Sunday Guardian, two questions. If you could please share the details of the business delegation accompanying the Prime Minister. And also, is there any likelihood of the Prime Minister taking up the issue of...many countries which have expressed interest in joining the rupee trade arrangement? Would that be part of the business talks?

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Let me group the questions relating to India-China meeting. Yeshi asked, and then others asked the same question in different ways. Aapne kaha hoti hai nahi hoti hai...[Answer in Hindi, approximate translation] You said talks happen or do not happen...all I would say is that, as I mentioned in my remarks, the host countries, South Africa has invited a large number of guest countries, besides, of course, the BRICS members who would be present there. The Prime Minister's schedule in terms of bilateral meetings with those leaders who would be present in South Africa is still being developed. As and when we have details of confirmation of honorable Prime Ministers, different bilateral meetings, we would definitely apprise our media friends of those meetings.

Second set of questions relating to BRICS expansion. You know, somebody mentioned about 40, 23 large number of countries having expressed interest in the expansion of the BRICS. Look, there is no doubt that there is considerable interest in many countries to become a part of BRICS, to associate themselves with BRICS, to leverage different opportunities that the BRICS and the cooperation under the BRICS presents for itself. In so far as the BRICS expansion is concerned, we have been very clear from the start that we have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to the BRICS expansion. As you all know, BRICS works under the modality and principle of consensus. And all the BRICS countries have to have full consensus on how they would want BRICS expanded, what should be the guiding principles of that expansion, what would be the criteria for such an expansion. Those are the subject matters of ongoing current discussions between the Sherpas of the BRICS in South Africa. And I would not want to prejudge the outcome of these discussions, except to say, as I said earlier, that India has a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion.

With regard to the set of questions relating to...specific questions relating to the BRICS business delegation, which the colleague from the Sunday Guardian asked. The business delegation is the BRICS business platform, including the business forum, the Women Business Alliance, is a very robust and vibrant mechanism and pillar for the intra-BRICS economic cooperation. And we are expecting a sizable business delegation to participate in these meetings. The component which is part of the BRICS Summit deliberations itself, which would be in the open plenary, is a much smaller delegation. And we'll share the details with you once that part of the delegation of...who would be present along in the session where Honorable Prime Minister will be there, will share with you. Otherwise, the delegation representatives from the business entities would be participating in associated events of, as I said, the BRICS business forum, the BRICS Business Women Alliance.

With regard to the question on greater cooperation with Greece, whether it is defense and security or the economic trade aspects, I would request my colleague, Secretary West, Sanjay Verma, to speak. But if I can just, before doing that, just touch upon the connectivity question which was asked. We look at connectivity as, I would say, as one of the driving impulses for a greater and a stronger and deeper cooperation between any two sets of countries. Connectivity has always been an important element in our discussions with all our partners. And we don't limit the connectivity discussions only to infrastructure connectivity projects. The connectivity for us has a far wider conceptual connotation that includes digital connectivity, connectivity between the people. So when we speak of mobility and migration, it is connecting the two societies, connecting the two people, financial connectivity. So there was a question relating to the India rupee trade, for example. It is one of the key instruments of connecting the trade ecosystems between the two countries. So there, I'll just make that remark on the larger connectivity point you mentioned.

But if I could just quickly answer the specific part relating to India rupee trade. Look, it has been our strong and proactive effort to see how the instruments of trade expansion, how best we can position them in any given relationship. One of the first India rupee trade arrangements in recent months, has been the one which was announced with the UAE. I am given to understand that the initial shipments relating to India Dirham Rupee trade have commenced and have successfully been completed. We are soon going to bring out a set of the standard operating procedures also, do an extensive outreach to the business community for them to see, how this India rupee trade arrangements could be leveraged. Naturally, it would be our interest to see that it could be expanded to as many countries as possible. The India trading arrangements in another currency always have very extensive regulatory elements, but also the elements that involves the commercial banking channels, something which requires extensive due diligence. But as a matter of priority, we would definitely be pursuing them. How far we reach with them is something to be seen.

With this, if I could request my colleague Sanjay to speak on to the elements of cooperation between India and Greece during this visit.

Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): Well, thank you, Foreign Secretary. The question was specifically pertaining to cooperation in the defense sector. As you know, Greece is pivotally located in the Eastern Mediterranean. It has been a significant maritime power. In merchant shipping, it controls probably one of the biggest shipping lines in terms of dead tonnage. And that spin-off runs into its naval capacities. It apparently has the third best navy in the European Union. Just a matter of weeks ago that we had a naval exercise with the Greeks in Greece, which just preceded in April the multinational aviation air force exercise. The objective of the visit, Prime Minister's one day official visit, would be to strengthen security and defense cooperation, would be to increase the pace of exchanges at the military level, training personnel, invite Greek capacity into the Make in India programme, especially in our defense industry, and consider joint production, technology exchange, etcetera. As Foreign Secretary mentioned, both Greece and India have shared core foreign policy interests. And security and defense interests are somewhere at the heart of core interests. So we believe the Prime Minister's visit will take this agenda forward in a more substantial and future oriented manner. Thank you.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you. More questions? Shashank.

Shashank Mattoo: Thank you, Foreign Secretary. Shashank Mattoo with the Mint. Sir, there's been a lot of speculation in the run up to the Summit about this idea of a BRICS common currency. The President of Brazil voiced his support for it. The Russian Foreign Minister was also seen to comment on this matter. Of course, our Foreign Minister made it very clear that there was no discussion about something like a BRICS common currency. Have there been any talks on this? If you could put any speculation on this to rest. Has there been any conversation about some sort of currency trading arrangement? And what would be India's position on this particular proposal of a common currency?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: If you could keep it short. Thank you. Yeah, please.

Jayprakash: Sir main Jayprakash hoon Dainik Jagran se, mera sawal hai ki last year jo BRICS Summit tha usme FTA ko lekar baat hui thi, BRICS Free Trade Agreement, aur kayi baar pahle bhi ispar china ki taraf se mudda uthaya gaya hai, bharat ka ispar kya stand hain?

[Question in Hindi, Approximate translation] Sir, I am Jayprakash from Dainik Jagran. My question is regarding the BRICS Summit that took place last year, where discussions were held about the FTA, BRICS Free Trade Agreement. China has raised this issue several times in the past as well. What is India's stance on this matter?

Abhishek Jha: Hello, sir. Abhishek Jha from CNN News18. My question will be regarding so many leaders gathering there. And about 40 leaders are going to be there. You said those bilateral meetings are still being worked out. If you could share some of the meeting that has been confirmed yet.

Smita Sharma: Hi, I am Smita Sharma, Independent journalist. On the BRICS Summit itself, is there a request from the Chinese to still discuss their peace plan on the Ukraine war during the Summit meeting? And keeping in mind that India is the world's largest democracy, we are chairing the G20 Summit in the next few days. The refugee crisis in Greece, which has led to a lot of criticism of pushing back on asylum seekers or migrant workers, shoddiest conditions, is that something that the Prime Minister will take up during his discussions?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: With the Greek authorities? That's what you meant? Yeah.

Takashi Ishihara: Hi, hello. This is Takashi Ishihara from Asahi Shimbun Japanese newspaper. I just want to ask the basic question about the Indian diaspora. The security mentions the Prime Minister Modi ji is going to have engagement with the diaspora in Greece and maybe South Africa. So every time, everywhere, Prime Minister Modi ji visit, he's having the engagement with diaspora. So how important for India and the Prime Minister to have an engagement? What is the reason?

Subhajyoti: This is Subhajyoti from BBC News. It has been announced that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the BRICS Summit. So will there be any meeting at the sidelines between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Hasina in Johannesburg? And I have two supplementaries in this. Firstly, are we supporting Bangladesh's candidature to be a new member in the BRICS alliance? And secondly, there has been recent media reports, that India has made its reservations about US visa policy and pro-activism over Bangladesh to Washington clear. Now, I'm keen to know what is India's actual stand on that.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: No, hold on. Let me clarify yours. On the last one, certainly in the realm of theoretical discussion or hypothetical, if the meeting happens, this is not the venue to discuss bilateral relations with Bangladesh. About possible meeting, I think, foreign secretary was pretty clear about the bilats but I will leave that to Sir to answer. Sir rest of them, I pass them to you.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you. Let me just first address this question of what bilateral meetings will the Honorable Prime Minister have on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. As I've already mentioned to you, there are going to be a large number of leaders present there. We understand also that the Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh also may be there. That's what we have been informed by the host country. But the schedule of Prime Minister's bilateral meetings on the sideline of BRICS is still evolving. And once we have firmed up those meetings with the leaders, we will definitely share with you as we go along.

Shashank, to your question on the BRICS common currency trading arrangement and the Dainik Jagran se jo aapka BRICS FTA ko le ke jo prashna tha. [Answer in Hindi, approximate translation] And the question from Dainik Jagran related to BRICS FTA;

See, the substantive part of trade and economic exchanges and discussions that have been a part of BRICS discussion, have so far, in a major way, focused on how to increase trade in respective national currencies. Which, writing for the Mint you would know, is considerably different from a common currency concept. Again, you would know that the common currency discussions have several prerequisites before you can even talk about a common currency framework. The discussion framework in BRICS, the substance of that discussion framework in BRICS, have focused principally on trade within the national currency and not the other element which you mentioned.

Dekhiye jaha tak BRICS FTA ka prashna hai, aur ye prashna kevel BRICS FTA tak hi seemit nahi hai, ye prashna kisi bhi desh ke sath jab FTA pe varta hoti hai us par bhi lagu hota hai. Ye FTA ki jo discussions hain woh ek prakar se rajnitik hain magar ek prakar se kafi takniki bhi hain. FTA ka swaroop kya ho, FTA ke vibhinna chapters kya ho, FTA me kitni tariff line consession ke liye aaye, khali goods pe ho, services pe ho, ya investment pe bhi jaye. Achchha khali trade, goods, services ye investment ki baat nahi, baki arthik sahyog ke elements bhi uske bhag ho ya na ho. Toh jo focus BRICS ke andar raha hai, woh adhikanshtaha is baat par kendrit hai ki BRICS ki countries ke bich mai jo aapsi sahyog hai, paraspar sahyog hai, uska vikas kaise ho, uski gehenta kaise badhe, usko kis prakar se naye se naye keshtron mai le jaya ja sake. Ab uska structural swaroop me FTA ho, trade in national currencies ho, aur koi framework ho, woh chize aisi hain jo experts log hain woh aapas me discuss karke uspe nirnay karenge, toh BRICS mai jahan tak intra-BRICS sahyog ki baat hai woh aarthik sahyog pe kendrit hai uspe koi do rai nahi hai. But uska swaroop kya ho woh jo hai dusri baat hai.

[Answer in Hindi, approximate translation] See, as far as the question of the BRICS FTA is concerned; and this question is not limited to just the BRICS FTA, it applies to any country with whom there is a discussion about a FTA. These discussions regarding the FTA are somewhat political in nature, but in another sense, they are quite technical as well. What should be the nature of the FTA, what should be the different chapters of the FTA, how many tariff line should be under FTA for concessions, whether it's only about goods, or services, or even investment. Well, it's not just about trade, goods, services, or investment, but also whether other elements of economic cooperation are part of it or not. So, the primary focus within BRICS has principally centered around how to enhance mutual cooperation and collaboration among the BRICS countries, how to develop it, expand its scope, and take it into new areas. Now whether it's through a structural form like FTA, trade in national currencies, or any other framework, these are matters that experts will discuss among themselves and make decisions about. So when it comes to intra-BRICS cooperation, the emphasis is indeed on economic cooperation, and there is no second opinion about that. However, the specific form it takes is another matter altogether.

As I mentioned to you...this is Smita to your question, that when the leaders meet during the retreat, during the closed plenary, and also if they have a chance for a sidebar on the sidelines, the discussions would obviously focus on what the developments, the global developments which are of key priority and interest and the challenges that they throw up. As of now, I'm not aware of any specifics in terms of what's on the table, but the generic nature of global developments, the challenges they throw up, how BRICS comes together to mitigate some of those challenges, particularly the economic challenges to the countries of the Global South, is something that, you know, they would obviously focus on.

On your questions of the...on your other questions, and also the question from our colleague from the Japanese media on diaspora engagement, I would request Secretary Sanjay Verma to speak on them.

Sanjay Verma, Secretary West: Well, thank you Foreign Secretary. Smita, on a question on refugees. I think, let me address it from two aspects. One is, of course, Greece is a place in the Mediterranean and it is what you call a frontline state for refugees coming into Europe. This is a sensitive subject, it's an important subject, it's also very topical and sensitive. It is also a fact that the European Union is currently negotiating a migration treaty which is in the works. It would be out of place for us to raise this issue. We trust the European Union would find the best way to deal with this recurring problem and we consider it an issue which is internal to the European Union and it is best left to them how they resolve it. The correlation as it appears on the agenda of our visit is that a migration mobility agreement which we have signed with a slew of countries is to address this issue indirectly of to encourage legal migration. So we hope to see some progress on that subject there.

On diaspora...on most, if not every foreign visit of the Prime Minister and engagement with the Indian diaspora is a very important part of the program and it also emanates from the fact that the relationship with diaspora is also a very important pillar of India's foreign policy particularly with the current government. Prime Minister always looks forward to occasions of spending time interfacing, interacting with the Indian diaspora and in Greece it would not be any different. We have a diaspora which is about 11,000 to 12,000 strong and this will be another occasion for our Prime Minister to interact with, what is increasingly effective bridge that our diaspora forms between us and the country they reside in. Thank you.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, Sir. Thank you very much, Foreign Secretary, Sir. My thanks also to Secretary West, Shri Sanjay Verma, Joint Secretary Central Europe, Shri Arun Sahu, as well as Joint Secretary East and Southern Africa, Shri Puneet Kundal for being here today. Thank you for joining us. Please stay tuned with the updates that we'll have on social media as the visit unfolds. Good afternoon.

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Iran insists on water rights after 'positive' visit to Afghan river

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Aug 20, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's special envoy to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi-Qomi has said a recent visit by an Iranian technical team to a hydrometric station on Helmand River signaled a "positive sign" by Kabul that it is prepared for "constructive interactions" with Tehran in resolving a long-running water dispute.

"The commitment of the Afghan side and their implementation of part of the provisions of the 1973 Helmand River treaty between the two governments... is a positive sign of initiating constructive interactions in trust-building and good neighbor policy," Kazemi-Qomi said on social media on Sunday.

The ruling administration in Afghanistan granted permission to Iranian technical experts to inspect a hydrometric station in Deh Rawood on the Kajaki Dam's upstream last week. However, they were denied a request to tour the dam itself.

The Kajaki Dam reservoir is at the center of a water dispute between Iran and Afghanistan that goes back decades.

Under the water-sharing agreement of 1973, Iran is entitled to about 850 million cubic meters of water from Helmand each year, but its share of the water has steadily dwindled due to dam construction and excessive irrigation by Afghanistan.

Last week's tour of the Deh Rawood hydrometric station on Helmand was the first visit of its kind by an Iranian team since the 1973 treaty.

The Iranian experts measured the water flow at the station and found that it was less than the monthly average of a normal water year.

Iran expects Afghanistan to show its goodwill by allowing regular measurements of the water flow at the hydrometric station to precisely determine its fair share of the water from Helmand, which feeds the arid Sistan region in southeastern Iran.

Tehran has made clear it will not compromise on the country's water rights.

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US finally starts unloading stolen Iranian oil

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Aug 21, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- A cargo of Iranian crude oil that was stolen by the United States has finally begun unloading, ship tracking data show according to Reuters.

The unloading takes place after waiting two months and a half waiting off the coast of Texas to discharge.

Suez Rajan, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, has been anchored off Galveston, about 50 miles (80 km) outside of Houston since May 30.

The US hesitated to unload the tanker for fears about Iran's retaliatory measures.

But on Sunday, the Liberia-flagged tanker MR Euphrates was lined up next to Suez Rajan to perform a ship-to-ship transfer and remove the crude oil, the Reuters report reveals.

US says the seizure of Iranian oil will contribute money to the US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund to compensate victims of attacks in which Iran has had no role.

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Regional talks to secure interests of Persian Gulf nations: FM spox

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Aug 21, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has hailed the "positive atmosphere" created in the region, saying dialogue between regional countries will secure the common interests of all Persian Gulf nations.

"With the positive atmosphere we are witnessing in the region, we are on the path of dialogue and exchange of views, and the next steps can provide the basis for the formation of such dialogues, which can lead to securing the common interests of all parties in the north and south of the Persian Gulf," Nasser Kanaani said at a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

Pointing to a recent visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian to Saudi Arabia, Kanaani said trade issues and the resumption of agreements between the two sides were discussed during the trip.

"It was agreed that the meeting of the joint commission for economic cooperation between the two sides will be activated as soon as possible," he said, expressing hopes that both sides make progress in this regard.

He also said the Saudi side reiterated Saudi King Salman's invitation to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit the kingdom, noting that there is a mutual understanding that the trip will be made at the right time.

'Iran at forefront of fighting terrorism'

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kanaani pointed out that Monday marks the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, saying, "The Iranian nation is also regarded as a major victim of the sinister phenomenon of terrorism."

"Iran is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in the region and the world, and the IRGC is, according to the Supreme Leader of the [Islamic] Revolution, the largest counter-terrorism organization in the world," he added.

Iran's blocked assets in South Korean banks

Regarding Iran's blocked assets in South Korean banks, he said that the necessary agreements and negotiations have been made with the South Korean side, and the implementation process has begun, adding that the Iranian government is doing its best to defend the rights of Iranians and is pursuing this matter seriously.

The release of Iran's assets in South Korea is taking place despite attempts by the United States to block Iranian properties and assets in other countries through unilateral sanctions; however, through diplomatic and legal efforts by the Iranian government, the United States has had no choice but to comply with Iran's rights, Kannani said.

World Mosque Day

Kanaani also referred to World Mosque Day, August 21, saying that the Al-Aqsa Mosque - in occupied Al-Quds - as the first Qibla of Muslims is of great importance among Muslims.

He also mentioned World Mosque Day, which falls on August 21, and highlighted the significance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Al-Quds.

Iran reacts to Quran desecration

The chargAs d'affaires of Sweden and Denmark were summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran due to repeated insults to the holy Quran in their countries, Kanaani said, adding that Iran has announced that it will not accept a new ambassador from Sweden in protest of the desecration and the lack of serious action by the Swedish government.

The spokesman stated that these countries cannot claim to be peace-seekers while challenging the peace-seeking attitude of religions, noting that they have told Iranian authorities that they are following up on the issue, but Iran will not consider their words as a real determination until it is assured that deterrent measures have been taken by the governments.

The diplomat warned that burning the Quran under the slogan of freedom of expression is not justifiable at all and that the Quran is the deepest and most beautiful expression, so desecrating it under the pretext of freedom of speech is not acceptable by any means.

Iran believes that if there is determination, such insults can be prevented even within the framework of existing laws and these countries are pitching themselves against Muslim countries, he said.

On the basis of resolutions ratified in an extraordinary session of foreign ministers and the missions assigned to the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha, the issue of desecration of the holy Quran will be pursued in a serious manner, Kanaani said, adding that Iran also raised the issue in a conversation with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

No direct talks with US: Kanaani

On negotiations between Tehran and Washington, Kanaani said the two sides recently held indirect talks on the issues of the exchange of prisoners and the release of Iran's frozen assets.

However, he made clear that there is no plan for "a direct dialogue between Iran and the United States on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting or anywhere else."

'Iran ambassador to Riyadh to begin mission soon'

In response to a question from IRNA's foreign policy correspondent on the beginning of the missions of Iran and Saudi Arabia's ambassadors, the spokesman said it will happen soon.

The Iranian ambassador will leave Tehran to start his mission in Riyadh in the coming days, he said.

'US forces escalating terrorism in Syria'

Kanaani also censured the illegal presence of foreign forces in Syria, saying the presence of American troops in Syria has led to the escalation of terrorist activities in the Arab country.

"We have repeatedly announced that the presence of American forces in Syria is illegal, and the government of [Syria] has also said that the presence of those forces amounts to occupation and has no legal basis," he added.

Necessity of frequent visits of Iranian technical delegation to Helmand River

The Foreign Ministry spokesman commented on Iran's Technical Delegation's recent visit to the Dehrawud Hydrometric Station in Afghanistan's Helmand River, saying that the visit demonstrates Afghanistan's commitment and is part of the agreement on Helmand water.

Kanaani stated that Iran sees this as a first step in good faith and added that to accurately assess the amount of water behind the dam, such visits should be made monthly, as per the agreement between the two countries. This will help determine the average water input.

He also said that negotiations will continue, and it is expected that Iran's water rights in this region will be measured and granted.

President Raisi's visit to South Africa for BRICS summit

The spokesman also commented on President Ebrahim Raisi's upcoming visit to South Africa to attend the BRICS summit, saying that Iran's cooperation with BRICS and its membership in the organization is important to Tehran, and President Raisi's attendance at the summit is in line with this goal.

Kanaani also stated that Iran has submitted its request for membership in the BRICS organization and also mentioned that Iran is one of the few countries that has dialogue and cooperation with all BRICS members.

Iran reacts to oil theft by the US

The Foreign Ministry spokesman commented on news stories about Iran's oil being offloaded near Texas, saying that he has seen such news in the media, but he has not received any confirmed information on the matter.

The official stated that there is a general principle that Iran will not remain passive in the face of any attack on Iranians' rights and will cut off the hands of the invaders.

Kanaani warned those who plan such plots to remember Iran's response to similar cases in the past, adding that invading tankers carrying Iranian oil is a clear instance of piracy.

Regional states moving towards convergence

The spokesman further mentioned that regional security can be provided without the need for foreign forces, adding that while regional convergence is increasing, the US administration is trying to increase its military presence in West Asia, which is seen as a provocative act.

Kanaani cautioned that the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy will professionally and lawfully deal with any illegal actions based on its own capabilities.

Regarding Iran's relationship with Lebanon, he said that Iran's Assistant Foreign Minister for West Asian and North African Affairs, Mehdi Shushtari, recently visited Beirut, and the two sides discussed the latest political situation in Lebanon.

This item is being updated.

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U.S. helicopters forced to return to cruiser after Iran's warning: IRGC

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:00, August 21, 2023

TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. helicopters were forced to return to a cruiser in the Strait of Hormuz after receiving warnings from Iran, in a recent encounter between the two sides after the U.S. started to build up its military presence in the strait, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

The Navy of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran's elite force, released a footage of the incident on Saturday night at a gathering of the IRGC commanders in the Iranian capital Tehran, Fars reported.

In the footage, which recorded the dangerous encounter that took place on Thursday, the IRGC naval forces warned a U.S. cruiser in the Strait of Hormuz that its helicopters were flying "in the vicinity of" the IRGC's vessels and Iran's offshore Hengam oilfield, and were entering Iran's territorial waters.

The IRGC forces warned that they would "open fire on the helicopters" if the American warship failed to obey their order to land the choppers and stop them from entering Iran's territorial waters.

After receiving the warning and the IRGC sent its speedboats, the choppers landed on the cruiser's deck, Commander of the IRGC Navy Alireza Tangsiri was quoted as saying.

He added it was the first entry by the Americans into the waters off the southern coasts of Iran since November 2021, stressing that Iran and the other countries of the region can ensure security in the regional waters and there is no need for foreigners' presence.

Over the past weeks, the United States has been building up its military presence in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz on the pretext of protecting ships against Iran's "harassment," a claim strongly rejected by Iranian authorities, who say transregional troops' presence in the region only leads to insecurity and instability.

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Iran's oil exports surges past pre-sanctions levels: Data

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 6:15 PM

New data by a major international tanker tracking service show Iran's oil exports has reached levels that were not even seen before the country came under US sanctions in 2018.

Data by Tanker Trackers released on Monday showed that Iranian oil exports had increased by 30% in the initial 20 days of August compared to previous months to reach an average of 2.2 million barrels per day, a figure not seen since 2017.

The figures, first reported by the Bloomberg, come amid growing efforts by Iran to get round the US sanctions and deliver oil to customers in Asia and elsewhere.

Iranian oil exports have seen consistent rises since the second half of 2021 when Iran came up with innovative solutions, including offering major discounts, to supply oil to its customers.

Private refiners in China have been responsible for a bulk of oil purchases from Iran over the past two years.

Some media outlets claimed a recent deal between Iran and the US, which covered prisoner exchange and the release of Iranian blocked assets in South Korea, may have included arrangements on easing of US sanctions on Iran in return for a slowing down of the Iranian nuclear program.

Iran has consistently denied it will accept illegitimate US demands about its nuclear or defense activities.

That comes as some regional sources have claimed that the emerging Iran-US prisoner swap deal may be a prelude to a broader agreement between the two countries to return to an international deal on Iran's nuclear program.

The deal, known as the JCPOA, has suffered since 2018 when a former US government pulled out of it and imposed sanctions on Tehran.

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World military powers seeking to benefit from Iran's defense achievements: Top general

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 5:41 PM

Iran's top general says major global military powers are seeking to gain access to advanced defense capabilities acquired by the Iranian Armed Forces.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the remarks in a message to Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, congratulating him on Iran's National Defense Industry Day on Monday.

Baqeri said Iran's defense industry has made great progress in various sectors such as the ground, naval and aerial battle, aerospace, missiles, drones, cyber, and the artificial intelligence.

The world acknowledges that Iran's great defense power in different sectors is not merely a capability acquired through reverse engineering and simulating foreign products but is obtained thanks to indigenously developed knowledge, he added.

The Iranian commander stressed the importance of boosting the country's power in military fields and promoting the capability to manufacture systems, equipment and modern deterrent products.

In line with technological developments at an international level, the powerful Islamic Republic is seeking to conquer the peaks of progress, he said.

Baqeri added that the Iranian Armed Forces have succeeded in achieving advanced technology and systems and making progress despite all the enemies' restrictions, sanctions and acts of sabotage.

He further assured the Iranian nation that the Armed Forces will continue to make headways and safeguard defense achievements regardless of the media and psychological warfare waged by the evil hegemonic system and Zionism.

The general warned that the Armed Forces would give a decisive response to any act of aggression, noting that such a response would make the aggressors regret their move.

Iranian military experts and engineers have in recent years made remarkable breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of homegrown equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient.

Officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran's defense capabilities will be never open for negotiations.



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Iran says will unveil homegrown unmanned jet in coming months

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 10:46 AM

An Iranian Defense Ministry official says the Islamic Republic plans to unveil the unmanned version of the domestically-developed Qaher-313 (Conqueror-313) stealth fighter aircraft within the next few months.

Brigadier General Afshin Khajehfard, Head of Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO), said on Monday that the unmanned fighter jet is being built in two versions and will be put on display in the coming months.

"Iranian military experts have managed to acquire the cutting-edge know-know and developed new technologies domestically because multinational arms corporations do not share required technology with Iran," Khajehfard said.

The Iranian fighter jet Qaher-313 was unveiled in February 2013. The single-seat stealth fighter jet can take off and land on short runways.

He added that Iranian military specialists and technicians, irrespective of sanctions and coercive measures, have managed over the past four decades to repair and overhaul all aircraft operated by the country's Armed Forces.

He also said 15 different types of helicopters are now in service at various units of the country's Armed Forces.

According to Khajehfard, Iran now manufactures Simourgh light transport aircraft, which weighs between 4 and 6 tons.

Homegrown Yasin training jet will also undergo a test flight in the next few weeks, he added.

Iranian technicians, he said, are currently upgrading bombs and missiles intended to be furnished in Kowsar fighter jets and have developed a special radar for it.

Iranian military experts and engineers have in recent years made remarkable breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran's defense capabilities will be never subject to negotiations.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran's defense capabilities.





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Iran warns against 'provocative' US military presence in Persian Gulf amid regional reconciliation

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 10:05 AM

Iran has warned against the "provocative" buildup of American forces in the Persian Gulf, saying the move comes at a time when regional countries are improving their relations.

Speaking during a weekly press briefing in Tehran on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani said the interests of certain governments lie in instability in the Persian Gulf region.

"The security of the region, especially that of the Persian Gulf waterway, must be ensured within the region itself by the Persian Gulf states. It is a general principle," he said, noting that Iran has accelerated talks to that aim.

"Coinciding with growing convergence among regional countries, we [hear] claims made by the US government and witness an increase of its military forces, a measure that is provocative. However, we are optimistic that cooperation between the countries of the region will advance faster," Kan'ani added.

He further highlighted the critical importance of the Persian Gulf area and the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's security and emphasized that the Iranian Navy will deliver a "professional and legal" response to any illegal move in the region.

Recently, the US sent additional 3,000 personnel on troop-landing warships to the region in response to Iran's alleged "harassment and seizures of merchant vessels."

The deployment brought additional aircraft and helicopters to join a dozen US F-35s, as well as F-16 and A-10 aircraft and Navy guided-missile destroyers that had already arrived in the Persian Gulf under the pretext of protecting vessels crossing the main waterways in the strategic region.

'Iran will not allow violation of its rights'

Also in his remarks, the spokesman reacted to reports that a US-seized cargo of Iranian crude oil was unloading off the coast of Texas.

"I read the story in the media and I have no confirmed information. There is a general principle that says the era of hit-and-run is over. Iran will not stand idly by in relation to any violation of the nation's rights and will cut the hands of the aggressors," he said.

"Acts of trespassing on tankers carrying Iranian oil are a clear example of piracy."

The remarks came after Reuters cited ship tracking data as showing that a cargo of Iranian crude oil that was seized by the United States began unloading on Sunday.

US 'forced' to recognize Iran's rights

Commenting on the recent agreement with the US for the release of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea, Kan'ani said that Washington was "forced" to recognize Iran's rights in this regard.

"The release of Iran's assets comes at a time when the US tries to block them by imposing unilateral sanctions. However, we forced the United States to pay attention to Iran's rights through our good diplomatic and legal efforts."

South Korean banks blocked $6 billion worth of Iran's assets after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reinstated economic sanctions against Tehran. They refused to release them because of fears of facing US penalties.

Earlier this month, Iran announced agreements reached between Tehran and Washington to resolve some issues relating to the prisoner swap and the unfreezing of Iranian assets illegally blocked overseas.

Kan'ani said that a maximum framework of two months has been specified for the process.

He also noted that Iran is seriously pursuing the release of its assets blocked in Iraq, announcing that part of the process has been completed.

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Frozen Iranian funds transferred to Swiss bank: S.Korean media

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 8:11 AM

South Korean media reported on Monday that Iranian funds that had been blocked in South Korea were transferred to Switzerland's central bank last week for transfer to Iran.

Yonhap Infomax cited an unnamed currency market source as saying that the Swiss National Bank plans to exchange its $6 billion holdings in won for dollars and then euros in the currency market.

According to the report, the Swiss central bank will convert about 300 billion won ($223.85 million) to 400 billion each day for the next five weeks.

An official at South Korea's finance ministry declined to confirm the report, citing the legal and diplomatic sensitivity of the matter.

The Iranian funds were illegally blocked in South Korea under the pretext of US sanctions.

The United States, under former president Donald Trump, abandoned the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018 and reinstated the sanctions that the agreement had lifted.

Recently, Iran and the US reached an agreement, mediated by a third country, to resolve some issues. The deal includes an exchange of prisoners as a humanitarian issue and also the unfreezing of Iranian assets illegally blocked overseas.

The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said last week that there is no connection between a prisoner exchange agreement with the United States and the release of Tehran's assets.

Last Monday, Amir-Abdollahian said the process to transfer released Iranian assets from South Korean banks to a European bank started on August 10 and will be completed in several phases.

He added that the funds would be converted into euros within a few weeks before being deposited into another bank in a regional country.

Central Bank of Iran Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin has said that Iranian funds will be deposited to accounts held by Iranian banks in Qatar.

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Iran Executes Eight More Over Past 72 Hours In Prison 'Killing Fields'

By RFE/RL's Radio Farda August 21, 2023

Iran, which Amnesty International recently slammed for turning its prisons into "killing fields," has executed at least eight individuals -- most of whom were incarcerated for drug offenses -- in a span of three days, local activists said.

The Baluch Activists Campaign said on August 21 that four executions -- all linked to drug-related offences -- took place at the Zahedan prison. The group identified the victims as Abdulsamad Khadem, a 29-year-old from Zahak; Yaqub Ejbari, a father of eight from Qarqaruk village; Mohammad Anwar Barahui and an individual with the surname Qanbarzehi, both of whom were from Zahedan, which is located in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.

In addition, two Baluch prisoners -- named Abdulsamad Shahuzehi and Mahmud Rigi -- were executed in the Zahedan prison on August 19 after being handed qisas (retribution) sentences for a joint murder dating back to 2012.

The advocacy group said that since April, 84 Baluch inmates, including four women, have been executed.

Separate reports from multiple media outlets also confirmed the execution of an unnamed individual in a prison in the southwestern Iranian city of Dezful on August 19 on charges related to drug offenses while the Human Rights News Agency reported a drug-related execution at the Sheiban prison on August 19. The individual, Abdulreza Qalavand, had been incarcerated for a decade before his execution.

Amnesty International says the regime in Tehran executes more people than any other country in the world other than China, and decried a situation that has turned the country's prisons into "killing fields."

"The shameless rate at which the authorities are carrying out drug-related executions, in violation of international law, exposes their lack of humanity and flagrant disregard for the right to life. The international community must ensure that cooperation in anti-drug trafficking initiatives do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to the arbitrary deprivation of life and other human rights violations in Iran," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa in a report on June 2.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/06/iran-prisons-turned-into-killing-fields-as-drug-related-executions-almost-triple-this-year/

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization says that July alone saw 61 executions, with the list comprising 11 Baluchis and three Afghan nationals. Since the start of 2023, a verified total of 423 individuals have been executed in Iran, though insiders believe the actual figure could be significantly higher.

The rate of executions in Iran has been rising sharply, particularly in the wake of widespread protests that swept across the country last year following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for an alleged head scarf violation.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executes-8-72- ours-prison-amnesty-killing-fields/32557674.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Amnesty International Urges Protection for Iranian Protest Victims' Families

By RFE/RL's Radio Farda August 21, 2023

Amnesty International has called on Iranian authorities to allow the commemoration of the first anniversary of those killed during "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022 amid a campaign by security forces marked by "harassment and intimidation" against victims' families "to enforce silence and impunity."

The rights group said in a statement released on August 21 that a new research report shows that Iranian authorities have been subjecting victims' families to arbitrary arrest and detention, imposing "cruel restrictions" on peaceful gatherings at grave sites, and destroying victims' gravestones.

Meanwhile, no officials have been held to account for the "unlawful" killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces since they launched a "brutal" crackdown following the unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16 last year while she was being held in custody by morality police for an alleged dress code violation.

"The international community must support victims' families by pressing the Iranian authorities in private and in public to respect their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The families must be protected from arbitrary detention, threats and other reprisals. States must also call on the Iranian authorities to release all those who were detained for advocating for truth and justice over the deaths, quash all unjust convictions and sentences against them, and drop all charges against those facing reprisals for speaking out," Eltahawy added.

In the report, Amnesty detailed the situation of 36 families from 10 provinces in Iran who have suffered human rights abuses in recent months at the hands of Iranian law enforcement.

Thirty-three of the cases involved families who had loved ones killed by security forces during the protests, two that lost a relative who was executed arbitrarily, and one family of a torture survivor who took their own life after being released from detention.

The August 16 arrest of 12 women's rights activists who are accused of planning events ahead of the anniversary of Amini's death have intensified concerns that officials will stop at nothing to try and quell any unrest following a year of protests that have posed the biggest challenge to the country's leadership since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Iranian officials have attributed the protests to Western instigation and have pledged a more aggressive crackdown. Over 500 individuals have lost their lives since the start of the protests, which also led to the arrests of thousands, including demonstrators, journalists, lawyers, activists, and digital rights defenders.

Eltahawy said that, given the reprisals families have faced and the "systematic impunity" of officials in Iran, the international community must "exercise universal jurisdiction and issue arrest warrants for Iranian officials, including those with command responsibility, who are reasonably suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law committed during and in the aftermath of the uprising."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-protests-victims- anniversary-amnesty/32557435.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Junta airstrikes, shelling kill 5 people in Myanmar's Bago region

Another 12 were injured in attacks on an area controlled by a powerful ethnic army.

By RFA Burmese 2023.08.21 -- Five civilians were killed and 12 were injured in a week due to junta airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling in Bago region's Nyaunglebin district, according to the Karen National Union.

The area is controlled by the ethnic army's Brigade 5 which has been fighting junta troops who are trying to take control of the area.

The union said Saturday that fighting broke out on Aug. 13 in Shwegyin, Kyaukkyi and Mone townships and continued until last Friday, bringing civilian casualties.

It added the junta had launched four airstrikes and fired 36 heavy artillery shells in the district that contains the two townships.

Airstrikes on Friday killed a 75-year-old woman and injured two teenagers and a three-year-old girl in Mone township, locals said.

On the same day, Infantry Battalion 439, based in Mone township, fired heavy artillery on another village, injuring four people aged between 17 and 75, according to locals.

A resident of Nga Toe Khin village, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA this is the first time the village has been shelled.

"We are still living in the village," he said.

"There are no plans to move at the moment. If the situation gets worse, the village leaders have told us to move."

On the morning of Aug. 16, artillery shells killed two people in Mone township's Za Lote Gyi village.

Three days earlier, two teenagers were killed and two other youngsters injured by a heavy artillery bombardment of Pe Thauk village, residents said.

Shwegyin township was also targeted by junta heavy artillery.

On Aug. 14, a school was hit, injuring two students and a female teacher according to locals.

RFA called the Bago region's junta spokesperson but nobody answered.

The military council is attacking seven Karen National Union-controlled areas in Kayin and Mon states, Bago and Tanintharyi regions - using more than 10,000 junta troops in a combination of ground and air attacks - according to the ethnic army's officials.

The union is Myanmar's oldest armed ethnic group, and the strongest since the Feb. 2021 coup.

According to figures by the union, more than 10,000 battles have broken out between the military council army and the group's joint forces since the coup.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content August not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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H&M latest to call it quits in phased exit from Myanmar

Swedish clothing firm says it will withdraw from contested garment sector as more labor abuse allegations surface.

Special for RFA 2023.08.21 -- The world's second-biggest fashion retailer H&M has decided to gradually stop sourcing from Myanmar amid an upsurge in allegations of labor violations in the country's garment factories.

The Swedish retailer told Radio Free Asia on Aug. 18 that the company has been "monitoring the latest developments in Myanmar very closely and we see increased challenges to conduct our operations according to our standards and requirements."

"After careful consideration we have now taken the decision to gradually phase out our operations in Myanmar."

The company declined to give an exact exit date.

H&M follows other European brands, including Tesco, Primark, Mango, Marks & Spencer, and C&A, all of which have been accused of labor and human rights violations in their supplying factories in Myanmar.

H&M also leaves on the heels of labor rights accusations, which allege the company was complicit in 20 cases of abuse.

According to a report published last week by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, workers at supplying factories were reportedly forced to walk on their knees if they did not meet production goals, suffered from physical abuse from employers, experienced discrimination due to pregnancy, and faced wage theft.

Many factory employees also faced excessive overtime and an inability to bargain with management for higher wages, said Thurein Aung, who helped represent workers facing labor violations at some H&M supplying factories.

In response to allegations, H&M used online platforms to give workers a place to address misconduct on a factory level, but Thurein Aung says workers faced intimidation and misinformation from their bosses when trying to set up the applications.

"[We] never told them to exit from Myanmar, but if a brand does not have the ability to solve the labor rights violations in their supplying factories they should exit from Myanmar," he told RFA.

Possible large loss of jobs

Those hoping to keep business in the country responsibly, including supporters of the Multi-stakeholder Alliance for Decent Employment in Myanmar (MADE), point to the potential large loss of jobs.

"I regret H&M's decision, as it will have a negative impact on thousands of women workers in Myanmar," said Vicky Bowman, the director of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business.

"But I am not surprised by it, given the recent arrests by the military of trade unionists and human rights defenders, including four members of Action Labor Rights, who have made a valuable input into the heightened human rights due diligence for both H&M and others."

Thurein Aung also estimates 30,000 jobs could depend on H&M's orders at their 40 supplying factories in the country.

"If the brands like H&M and Primark exit from Myanmar, they [others] will also leave from Myanmar. That's why I think not only H&M, the other brands will exit."

One worker who's been at an H&M supplying factory for five years says his two sisters and mother depend on his salary. While his factory, Myanmar York Garment 3, also supplies Danish brand Bestseller, he hopes the factory will try to find other investors so he and the other 2,000 employees don't lose their jobs.

"All the workers are feeling worried about this," he said, declining to be named for security reasons.

If he must search for work, he claims his minimum wage will not be sufficient to cover his expenses.

"These days, brands are withdrawing from our country. This is not the solution to our country's problems. If the brands are going outside, the people are the ones facing most of the difficulties in our country."

Other large retailers remaining in-country include Bestseller, Adidas, Lidl and Carhartt.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content August not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on the EU's decision to include the Foundation for Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad on the sanctions list

21 August 2023 16:49

1618-21-08-2023

Recently, the Westerners waging a sanctions war against Russia took things to the point of absurdity again on humanitarian and human rights issues, areas that should be free from distortion and double standards by definition. We are referring to the EU's decision to include in one of its latest sanctions packages a non-governmental and strictly human rights organisation like the Foundation for Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad.

The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) established this legal mechanism to provide legal assistance to our diaspora abroad in 2011. It is an instrument of emergency legal aid for our compatriots. It provides them with legal, consultative, and, if necessary, humanitarian assistance when they face difficult circumstances for different reasons. What complaints could there possible be about these activities, to say nothing of the political accusations that the EU has now levelled?

It should be emphasised that the Foundation's Charter clearly states that it can pursue its activities only by strictly and scrupulously observing local laws, legal regulations of the countries of residence of our compatriots and, of course, fundamental, universally recognised standards of international law. The Foundation has not departed from this principle even once in the 12 years of its existence. There is no evidence of it ever deviating. The Foundation is completely transparent about its activities. Its documents and reports are publicly available on its website and in social media.

To illustrate our point about the absurdity of the EU's accusations, we will cite some specific examples of the Foundation's human rights activities, at least from its recent practice.

In August 222, the Foundation gave a Russian citizen one-time assistance to pay for the urgent medical evacuation of her seriously ill four-month old child from Malaysia to Russia. In December 2022, another Russian citizen was given a subsidy to pay for the stay of his father, also a Russian citizen, in a medical centre, a fee to the migration police and for air travel from Kuala Lumpur to Moscow.

For a number of years, the Foundation has been paying for the services of lawyers defending the interests of a Russian teenager who was violently attacked by a so-called tourist entertainer during his vacation in Greece. Probably, many people remember this monstrous story. The foundation paid for legal aid in Greece, TArkiye and a number of other countries for Russian citizens accused of crimes on flimsy grounds, as it was later revealed. The Foundation also paid for the services of foreign lawyers to file suits for Russian citizens living abroad with international human rights bodies in connection with illegal actions by some states, primarily in the Baltic region.

We could go on and on citing specific examples of the Foundation's entirely legal human rights activities.

The Foundation is also working in such an important area as legal education. One of its stated priorities that it continuously works on is assistance for enhancing the legal literacy of our compatriots. It supports the work of legal columns in the media and websites of compatriots. They explain the most pressing legal issues in simple terms for practical purposes and conduct legal consultations, including for the younger generation.

It is even difficult to understand what all this has to do with the Foundation's alleged efforts to sow instability and division in many countries neighbouring on Russia, which have scared the EU so much?

I would like to make a separate point. This discriminatory policy of the EU unties the hands of the Russophobes that are aware of their impunity. In effect, by these actions, Brussels continues encouraging the fuelling of hatred and enmity on ethnic and linguistic grounds. The tragic events of World War II graphically showed the world the consequences of misanthropic ideology. It is depressing that EU officials learn nothing from history.

As far as we know, formally, structures and individuals sanctioned by the EU may appeal against these measures in the EU Court. We are not sure if the Foundation will follow this road because it is hardly sensible to appeal for justice from those that are purposefully and cynically trampling it underfoot.

However, the open and essentially politicised persecution of Russian and Russian-speaking public activists for their strictly human rights activities must certainly receive an unbiased assessment from prominent international institutions, primarily, the UN. Or it can come from the OSCE if Vienna is still capable of unbiased and honest actions. No doubt, we will help the Foundation raise these issues in international organisations and before the world public and the media. We will also assist it in its further vigorous efforts to help our compatriots defend their rights and lawful interests as the Foundation has already declared.

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Ship detachment of Pacific Fleet makes business call at Chinese port Qingdao

21.08.2023

A Ship detachment of the Pacific Fleet makes business call at port Qingdao of People's Republic of China.

The Russian ship detachment makes first business call to China since the lifting of restrictions in place between Russia and China during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ship detachment makes business call at Chinese port Qingdao after third joint Russian-Chinese patrolling of Pacific Ocean waters.

The Russian sailors were first met by Ivan Zhelokhovtsev, Russia's Charge d'Affaires in China.

After the ships moored at the pier, Commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of the Pacific Fleet Rear Admiral Valery Kazakov met with the Commander of the People's Republic of China Northern Unified Command Navy Vice Admiral Wang Dajun.

Pacific Fleet's ship detachment will stay in Qingdao until 24 August. As part of the business call, joint cultural and sporting events will be held with the participation of servicemen from both countries. As part of the cultural programme, Russian servicemen are scheduled to tour Qingdao's sights.

Press Service of the Eastern Military District

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Lavrov: BRICS 'Can Become One of Pillars of New World Order'

Sputnik News

20230821

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who will head the country's delegation at the upcoming BRICS summit, has written an article for South Africa's Ubuntu magazine, in which he gave his thoughts "on the prospects for cooperation among the group of five countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in the current geopolitical context."

At the beginning of his article titled "BRICS: Towards a Just World Order," the top Russian diplomat singled out "tectonic shifts" that are taking place in present-day world, with "the possibility of dominance by one country or even a small group of states disappearing."

New Global Decision-Making Centers

Lavrov noted that "the model of international development built on the exploitation of the resources of the world majority to maintain the well-being of the 'golden billion' is hopelessly out of date", something that he added "does not reflect the aspirations of all humankind."

According to the Russian foreign minister, the international community is now witnessing "the emergence of a fairer multipolar world order" as "new centers of economic growth and of global decision-making on important political issues in Eurasia, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are guided primarily by their own interests and assign paramount importance to national sovereignty."

He stressed that "against this background they achieve impressive success in various areas", amid attempts by "collective West" to reverse this trend with a view to preserving its own hegemony, which "have an exactly opposite effect."

"The international community is tired of the blackmail and pressure from the Western elites and their colonial and racist manners. That is why, for example, not only Russia, but also a number of other countries are consistently reducing their dependence on the US dollar, switching to alternative payment systems and national currency settlements. I recall the wise words of Nelson Mandela: 'When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.' And it truly is," Lavrov emphasized.

Russia's Support for African Nations

Touching upon Russia, he touted it as "a civilization state" and "the largest Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power," which "continues to work towards further democratization of international life, building an architecture of inter-state relations that would be based on the values of equal and indivisible security, and cultural and civilizational diversity, and would provide equal opportunities for development for all members of the international community with no one left behind."

Lavrov cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying in his Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on February 21, 2023 that "In today's world there should be no division into so-called civilized countries and all the rest [...]" and that "there is a need for an honest partnership that rejects any exclusivity, especially an aggressive one." All this, the top Russian diplomat went on, "is in line with the Ubuntu philosophy, which advocates interconnectivity between nations and people."

"In this context, Russia has consistently stood for strengthening the position of the African continent in a multipolar world order. We will further support our African friends in their aspirations to play an increasingly significant role in resolving the key problems of our time. This also applies in full to the process of reforming the United Nations Security Council, in which framework, in our deep conviction, first and foremost, the legitimate interests of developing countries, including in Africa, must be protected," Lavrov underscored.

BRICS' Significance Nowadays

He added that "multilateral diplomacy does not stand aside from the global trends" and that "such a grouping as BRICS is a symbol of true multipolarity and an example of honest inter-state communication." Within BRICS' framework, "states with different political systems, distinctive value platforms and independent foreign policies effectively cooperate in various spheres", according to the Russian foreign minister.

"I think it is no exaggeration to say that the five BRICS countries are a kind of cooperation 'network' over the traditional North-South and West-East lines," he noted, adding that the group "indeed" has "something to present" to its public.

Lavrov praised BRICS' joint efforts "to create a culture of dialogue based on the principles of equality, respect for the choice of one's own developmental path and consideration of each other's interests," something that helps the organization "find common ground on and solutions even to the most complex issues."

"The place and significance of BRICS today and its ability to influence the global agenda are determined by objective factors. The figures speak for themselves. The population of the BRICS countries is over 40% and the area of their territories exceeds a quarter of the world's land. According to experts' forecasts, in 2023 the five countries will account for about 31.5% of global GDP (at purchasing power parity), while the share of the G7 has fallen to 30% in this indicator," the top Russian diplomat highlighted.

He added that currently, "the BRICS strategic partnership is gaining momentum" as the "Big Five" offers the world "creative, forward-looking initiatives aimed at achieving the sustainable development goals, as well as ensuring food and energy security, healthy growth of the global economy, conflict resolution, and combating climate change, including by means of a just energy transition".

Mechanisms to Help Solve BRICS-Related Priorities

In this vein, Lavrov referred to "an extensive network of mechanisms" that has been created to address the above-mentioned challenges.

"The Strategy for Economic Partnership 2025, which defines the benchmarks of cooperation in the mid-term, is being implemented. The BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform launched at the Russian initiative is operating successfully. The BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center designed to help develop effective responses to challenges to the epidemic well-being of our countries has started its work. Initiatives on Denial of Safe Haven to Corruption, on Trade and Investment for Sustainable Development, and on Enhancing Cooperation on Supply Chains have been approved. The BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation has been adopted," he added.

Dwelling upon BRICS-related "unconditional priorities", the Russian foreign minister noted that these include "strengthening the potential of the New Development Bank and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, improving payment mechanisms, and increasing the role of national currencies in mutual settlements," issues that are expected to be high on the agenda of the 2023 BRICS Summit, which open in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday.

Lavrov made it clear that BRICS members "neither seek to replace existing multilateral mechanisms, nor do they seek to become a new 'collective hegemon'." According to him, they "have consistently advocated the creation of conditions for the development of all states, which excludes the bloc logic of the Cold War and zero-sum geopolitical games." He made it clear that "BRICS seeks to offer inclusive solutions based on a collective approach."

"Building on that, we are consistently working to develop the BRICS interaction with the countries representing the world majority. In particular, one of the priorities of the South African chairmanship is strengthening cooperation with African countries. We fully share this approach. We are ready to contribute to economic growth on the continent and to strengthening security there, including its food and energy components. A striking example is the outcome of the Second Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, 2023," Lavrov stressed.

In this context, he went on, it is only natural that BRICS has many like-minded countries around the world, which perceive the group as a "positive force that can strengthen the solidarity of the Global South and Global East and become one of the pillars of a new, fairer polycentric world order."

"The five countries stand ready to respond to this request. That is why we launched the expansion process. It is symbolic that it has gained such momentum in the year of South Africa's chairmanship, a country that has joined BRICS as a result of a consensus-based political decision. I am convinced that the XV Summit will be another milestone of BRICS strategic partnership and will determine the key priorities for the coming years. We highly appreciate the efforts of the South African chairmanship , including the intensified work to improve the entire constellation of BRICS mechanisms to deepen the group's dialogue with other countries," Lavrov concluded.

A Sputnik

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Ramaphosa Vows to Keep South Africa Clear of Global Power Contest

Sputnik News

20230821

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa assured the nation in a televised address on Sunday that he would not let his country be dragged into the ongoing standoff between world powers.

"While some of our detractors prefer overt support for their political and ideological choices, we will not be drawn into a contest between global powers. Instead, our country strives to work with all countries for global peace and development," he said.

Ramaphosa reaffirmed South Africa's commitment to its non-alignment policy and blamed instability on the continent on the 20th-century Cold War, in which many African countries were forced to choose a side.

"This experience has convinced us of the need to seek strategic partnerships with other countries rather than be dominated by any other country," the president said.

Ramaphosa spoke ahead of next week's summit of BRICS emerging economies, of which South Africa is a full member.

He said that although being a BRICS member had created opportunities for South Africa its government would also seek to strengthen ties with the United States by hosting an economic forum in November, as well as with the European Union.

"To further strengthen economic ties between African countries and the United States, South Africa is inviting more than 30 African trade ministers and senior US Administration and Congressional representatives to the next forum of the African Growth and Opportunity Act - AGOA - scheduled for November this year," said Ramaphosa.

"As part of our ongoing relationship with the countries of the European Union, we will hold the European Union-South Africa Summit later this year in South Africa to foster our investment and trade relations," the South African president added.

At the same time, Ramaphosa noted that BRICS countries together can significantly change the world economy and international relations. He also believes that the organization plays an important role in the world due to its "economic power, market potential, political influence and development cooperation."

A Sputnik

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Statement on tenth anniversary of chemical weapons attack in Ghouta district of Damascus, Syria

Global Affairs Canada

Statement

August 21, 2023 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs Canada today issued the following statement:

"Today, Canada remembers the victims of the chemical weapons attack launched by the Assad regime in the Ghouta district of Damascus, Syria. More than 1,000 people were killed, many of them children, as a result of Syria's use of the lethal nerve agent sarin.

"It has been a decade since the atrocious attack in Ghouta, an attack that was neither the first nor the last chemical weapons assault by the Assad regime against its people. The Syrian regime continues its flagrant disregard for its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and refuses to take responsibility for its horrific crimes. It has also repeatedly failed to submit a complete and accurate declaration of its chemical weapons program to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

"Canada continues to be gravely concerned by the Syrian regime's possession and use of chemical weapons and its gross violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law. We are actively working with the international community to hold those responsible for these atrocities to account.

"Canada again calls on the Assad regime to fulfill its international obligations and work in good faith with the OPCW, as required of all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. We unreservedly condemn the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anyone under any circumstances a which is unequivocally a war crime a and we stand by the Syrian people as they demand justice for the atrocities committed in Syria."

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Statement from National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the 10 Year Anniversary of the Ghouta Chemical Weapons Attack

August 21, 2023

Ten years ago today, the Assad regime conducted a gruesome chemical attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta that killed more than 1,400 people, many of them children. The horrifying images from that early morning still haunt us to this day, and they drive this Administration's efforts to rid the world of chemical weapons and to secure a safer future for all Syrians. No child, in Syria or anywhere else in the world, should live in fear of these heinous weapons.

On this somber date, we remember and honor all the victims and survivors of the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people. We continue to contribute to international work to verify the full elimination of Syria's chemical weapons program and document violations of international law and human rights in Syria.

The Assad regime, backed by Russia, is hoping the world will forget the atrocities that have occurred in Syria. We will not. Syria and Russia must comply with their international obligations and stop obstructing the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. And the global community will continue to seek justice for the victims and survivors of atrocities in Syria and to promote accountability for those responsible.

###

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Taiwan proposes largest-ever defense budget for 2024

ROC Central News Agency

08/21/2023 09:41 PM

Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) Taiwan's government will seek to hike defense spending by 3.5 percent to a record NT$606.8 billion (US$19 billion) in 2024, according to details from the central government's budget proposal released on Monday.

The plan, which was presented by the Cabinet to President Tsai Ing-wen (ee), would set government spending at NT$2.882 trillion -- up by about 7 percent from 2023 -- and projects total revenues of NT$2.709 trillion, the Presidential Office said in a press release.

In the statement, Tsai was cited as saying that social welfare spending would account for the largest portion of the budget, and receive the largest funding increase, although no exact figure was given.

However, the plan will allocate NT$120.1 billion on programs related to Taiwan's low birth rate and aging population, and NT$87.6 billion on long-term care services for the elderly, Tsai said.

Meanwhile, total defense spending -- comprising allocations to the Ministry of National Defense, as well as special budgets and other funds -- would reach NT$606.8 billion under the proposed budget, Tsai said.

That figure, an increase of 3.5 percent over 2023, would be the highest absolute amount Taiwan has ever allocated for defense, and would amount to around 2.5 percent of GDP, according to Tsai.

In comparison, China in March announced a 7.2 percent increase in its defense budget for the coming year, from the 1.55 trillion yuan (US$213.5 billion) it reported allocating in 2023.

The government's budget plan would also allocate NT$115 billion toward paying off the national debt, marking the highest total in 23 years, Tsai said.

More details on the proposed 2024 budget -- the last of Tsai's tenure -- are expected to be released after it is presented at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Following approval by the Cabinet, the budget will also be debated and voted on by the Legislature.

(By Yeh Su-ping and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/AW

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VP Lai's U.S. stopovers kept low-key to build trust with Washington: Scholars

ROC Central News Agency

08/21/2023 05:47 PM

Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) Scholars on Monday said Vice President Lai Ching-te's () "low-key" recent U.S. transit stops had helped to bolster his image in Washington as a reliable and trustworthy future leader of Taiwan.

Lin Cheng-yi (), a research fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of European and American Studies, said that the absence of any meetings with U.S. officials or lawmakers during Lai's stopovers in New York and San Francisco either side of a visit to Paraguay for President Santiago Pena's inauguration had been deliberate.

This showed Taipei and Washington had been working closely to keep things low-key, and that Lai, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate, would not seek to be a diplomatic troublemaker, Lin said at a seminar organized by Taipei-based think tank the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR).

Lai's desire to emulate the "no surprises" approach of President Tsai Ing-wen () stands in sharp contrast to January 2022, when the vice president held videoconferences with at least 17 American lawmakers in Los Angeles while en route to Honduras for President Xiomara Castro's inauguration.

Echoing Lin, political science professor and DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng () said Lai had sought to use the itinerary of his latest stopovers to deflect accusations he was using the trip for electioneering purposes.

Despite his position as the DPP's presidential nominee, Lai strove to downplay perceptions of the trip as a campaign event and instead used it to promote Taiwan's diplomacy on the international stage, Lo added.

Although some criticized the "no surprises" visit as "flavorless," Lo said he believed the trip gave Lai an opportunity to build trust with Washington and show he is not an aggressive troublemaker.

Regarding People's Liberation Army (PLA) military exercises launched in the wake of Lai's U.S. sojourn, Su Tzu-yun (), a scholar with the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), and Kuo Yu-jen (), deputy head of INPR, and National Cheng Kung University Political Science professor Wang Hung-jen () all said China's response was targeted more at Washington than Taipei.

The drills came on the heels of the trilateral summit between U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David on Aug. 18.

Following that meeting, the three leaders issued a post-summit joint statement to "reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community."

In addition, China's real estate crisis, rising unemployment rate and ailing economy have all provided the impetus for Beijing to hold the drills as an outlet for public discontent, according to Su.

By framing the drills near Taiwan as a response to Lai's stopovers in the U.S., China is using cognitive warfare to divide Taiwanese society, which must demonstrate unity if it is to build up defense resilience, Su said.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ASG

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Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on a terrorist attack by the Kiev regime

20 August 2023 13:50

1613-20-08-2023

In the early hours of August 20, a Ukrainian drone attacked the central railway station in Kursk, part of the city's architectural heritage and one of the most beautiful railway stations in Russia. The blast damaged the roof, the faAade and the first platform. Some damage has been done to the waiting room and the subway. At the moment of the explosion, there were 50 passengers in the building; all of them were promptly evacuated. Nevertheless, five people were injured by fragments of broken glass.

We firmly condemn this new senseless terrorist attack by the criminal Kiev regime. By targeting purely civilian infrastructure and Kursk's civilians, the Ukrainian nationalist have dealt a blow, in the direct sense of the word, to our common history and the memory of heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

The present building of the central railway station was built in the place of the former station that was totally destroyed by the merciless German bombing raids on the Kursk rail hub in 1943.

This is an architectural memorial to the heroes of the Battle of Kursk, its walls painted the colour of baked blood, the blood of soldiers who saved the world from Nazism.

In pursuit of imagined independence, the descendants of Hitler's henchmen Bandera and Shukhevich, like their ideological forefathers, are actually destroying their homeland. They have turned it into a yet another futile Drang nach Osten, becoming a blind tool of the Western aggression against Moscow. Their end will be equally inglorious. All of this is making the denazification and demilitarisation of Ukraine an absolute priority of Russia's foreign policy.

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The President and Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius discussed EU support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia

President of the Republic of Lithuania

August 21, 2023

President Gitanas Nauseda met on Monday with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius. The President and Mr. Sinkevicius discussed topical EU policy issues, including support for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and the ongoing discussions on the EU's multiannual budget review.

Gitanas Nauseda underlined the significance of the European Commission's political and financial assistance to Ukraine. According to the President, it is necessary to ensure long-term military and financial support, to back President Zelenskyy's peace initiative, to help Ukraine prepare for EU membership negotiations, and to continue efforts towards finding a legally appropriate way to use Russian frozen assets for Ukraine's reconstruction.

"The European Commission's role in supporting Ukraine, both politically and financially, is crucial. I hope that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union will start this coming autumn. We need to assist Ukraine in preparing for this stage of EU integration," the President said.

The Lithuanian leader underscored the need to further tighten EU sanctions against Russia. According to Gitanas Nauseda, it is necessary to immediately start drafting the 12th package of sanctions against Russia as well as to expand sanctions against Belarus and Iran. Another important issue that requires the Commission's attention is preventing sanctions circumvention. According to the President, EU institutions should send a clear message that those who circumvent sanctions through third countries face severe consequences.

The President and the Commissioner also discussed the progress made in implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility and measures to boost EU competitiveness.

The President's Communication Group

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US-made F-16 aircraft will only 'escalate' Ukraine war, Russia warns

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 4:12 PM

Russia has warned that the provision of US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by Denmark and the Netherlands will escalate the war in the ex-Soviet republic.

The two countries announced on Sunday they would provide Kiev with a number of the American single-engine supersonic warplanes. Six of the promised jets will initially be delivered around New Year.

The announcement came a few days after the United States approved the delivery of the multirole fighter aircraft to Ukraine.

On Monday, Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin strongly condemned Denmark and the Netherlands for the donation.

"The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict."

"By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia," Ambassador Barbin said.

Denmark and the Netherlands have also taken the lead in preparing an F-16 training program for Ukrainian pilots.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Sunday the Netherlands and Denmark would give an unspecified number of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine once all transfer conditions are met.

"Today we can announce that the Netherlands and Denmark commit to the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine and the Ukrainian Air Force," in cooperation with the US and other allies, he said in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a military air base in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven.

The Ukrainian government views the F-16 warplanes as vital to the success of efforts to drive Russian troops from Ukraine's territory in a counteroffensive that has proceeded slowly since its launch in early June.

Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said on Monday "around 8-9 Russian fighters are present on the occupied territories, dropping guided bombs and launching aviation missiles. With F-16, they won't be able to do that... Air superiority is the key to success on the ground; we all must comprehend this."

Denmark will deliver 19 warplanes in total. The Netherlands has 42 F-16s available but has not yet decided whether all of them will be donated to Kiev.

"We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that," said Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen on Monday.

Ukraine has consistently called on its Western allies to supply its forces with the fighter jets. Western allies were initially reluctant to provide Kiev with advanced warplanes, fearing the provision of new fighter jets might trigger a direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow. Russia views the F-16 transfer as a "colossal risk."

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Russia repels another Ukraine drone attack on Moscow: Defense Ministry

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 August 2023 9:50 AM

Russia says it has repelled a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Moscow, foiling yet another attempted "terrorist attack" on its capital city.

The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement on Monday, saying the country's air defenses timely detected and downed the hostile unmanned-aerial vehicles (UAV) over Moscow Region's Istra district.

"On August 21, at 8:16 a.m. Moscow time, the Kiev regime attempted to carry out a terrorist attack with an aircraft-type drone," said the ministry in a statement, noting, "The attempt was foiled."

It further added that the drone was suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed southwest of the capital in the Odintsovo district of Moscow Region.

There were no casualties or damage from the drone crash, the ministry emphasized.

Moscow's airports briefly suspended flights at the time of the incident.

Earlier in the day, the ministry said "an attempted terrorist attack by the Kiev regime involving an aircraft-type drone was thwarted" at 6:50 a.m. Moscow time.

It went on to say that the drone lost control and crashed near the village of Pokrovskoye in the Ruza District, adding that there were no casualties.

The latest development came a day after the Russian military intercepted another Ukrainian drone over the Stupino district of Moscow Region, which also crashed in a deserted area, causing no damage or injuries.

Also on Sunday, another Ukrainian drone crashed into the roof of a railway station in southern Russian city of Kursk, slightly injuring five people, Kursk Region Governor Roman Starovoit declared.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has ramped up its attempts to target Moscow with drone strikes, which have been mostly unsuccessful.

Ukraine, after a long delay, began its widely publicized counteroffensives in early June which have so far proved to be major failures, suffering the loss of thousands of its troops in the process.

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Zelenskiy Arrives In Athens After Securing Promises On F-16s From Denmark, Netherlands

By Current Time, RFE/RL's Russian Service August 21, 2023

Greece's prime minister pledged on August 21 after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help train Ukrainian F-16 warplane pilots and assist in the reconstruction of Ukraine, particularly the port city of Odesa.

Zelenskiy, speaking at a news conferenc in Athens on August 21 alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, called the promise "an important result for the air coalition" and thanked Greece for the offer.

Training by an 11-nation coalition is to begin this month, and officials hope pilots will be ready by early 2024.

Mitsotakis said Greece would "be present" in the effort to reconstruct and rebuild Ukraine with "particular emphasis on Odesa."

Greece has already joined its NATO and EU partners in strongly backing Ukraine against the Russian invasion. It has also provided material military assistance in the form of armored personnel carriers and ammunition.

Zelenskiy is in the Greek capital for talks with the country's leaders and to attend an informal meeting of representatives of Balkan countries and top European Union officials.

He was to join in an informal dinner organized by Mitsotakis for top officials from nine Balkan nations as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel to discuss the Western Balkans' future in the EU, Mitsotakis's office said.

Earlier on August 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked Danish lawmakers for their support in helping Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion, while Moscow said that the decision by Denmark and the Netherlands to send F-16 jet fighters to Ukraine would escalate the war.

Zelenskiy's comments in Copenhagen on August 21 came a day after he announced that Denmark had approved sending 19 of the advanced warplanes to Ukraine. Zelenskiy also said that the Netherlands had agreed to send 42 F-16s, although Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that while his country has 42 of the planes available, it has yet to decide whether all of them will be donated.

Ukraine has repeatedly requested F-16 fighters from its Western partners, and Denmark and the Netherlands are the first to answer the call. Kyiv has said it needs the planes to bolster its dwindling fleet of Soviet-era jets as it carries on with a counteroffensive in the face of a significant Russian advantage in the skies over Ukraine.

On August 20, Zelenskiy thanked the Netherlands and Denmark for their pledges to deliver the F-16s, saying: "We are working, making Ukraine stronger, and the Ukrainian air defenses more secure!"

Addressing Danish lawmakers, Zelenskiy said on August 21 that "all of Russia's neighbors are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail" in the now 18-month-long war launched by Moscow.

Zelenskiy later told a large outdoor crowd in Copenhagen that "we are confident that Russia will lose this war."

Denmark and the Netherlands, both NATO members, announced their decisions to donate the F-16s to Ukraine in a joint statement on August 20, but did not specify the number of aircraft.

Denmark has suggested that its F-16s could be delivered by the end of the year after four to six months of training.

Rutte did not provide a number or a time frame for deliveries, indicating that some of the 42 aircraft that the Netherlands has available would be needed for training purposes and that timing depended on the readiness of Ukrainian crews and infrastructure.

"The F-16s will not help immediately now with the war effort. It is anyway a long-term commitment from the Netherlands," Rutte said. "We want them to be active and operational as soon as possible.... Not for the next month, that's impossible, but hopefully soon afterward."

Both the Netherlands and Denmark are members of a Western coalition that is training Ukrainian pilots -- first in Denmark and then in Romania -- to fly the sophisticated F-16. While Zelenskiy declined while in the Netherlands to say how many Ukrainian pilots would be trained, Denmark said last week that training would begin this month.

The United States last week authorized Denmark and the Netherlands to deliver the American-made F-16s to Ukraine.

On August 21, Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told the Ritzau news agency that Kyiv may only use the Danish and Dutch F-16s within Ukrainian territory.

"We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that," Ellemann-Jensen was quoted as saying. "Those are the conditions, whether it's tanks, fighter planes, or something else."

Russia on August 21 condemned the decisions by Denmark and the Netherlands to provide the aircraft.

"The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict," Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin said in a statement cited by the Ritzau news agency on August 21.

"By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia," Barbin said.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-f16-fighters- denmark-netherlands-zelenskiy/32557114.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukraine Reports Gains In Southeast As Counteroffensive Creeps Forward

By RFE/RL's Russian Service August 21, 2023

Intense fighting has been reported in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, with Defense Minister Hanna Malyar claiming "success" as Kyiv continues its counteroffensive to regain territory occupied by Russian forces.

Gains were reported on August 21 in the vicinity of the village of Robotyne, which sits along an important road leading from the town of Orikhiv to Tokmak on the way to the strategic city of Melitopol.

Malyar wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian troops, who in recent days reportedly made a breakthrough near Robotyne, "had success in the direction southeast of Robotyne and south of Malaya Tokmachka."

Malyar added that "planned combat work continues" in Robotyne itself.

The Kherson regional military administration reported that three civilians were injured in the region as a result of Russian shelling on the evening of August 21.

Two local residents -- a 79-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man -- were injured in the shelling of the town of Sofiyivka. Russians forces also attacked a residential building in Berislav, injuring a 48-year-old man in his home, the Kherson military administration said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said early on August 22 the military jammed two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea. The drones crashed into the water on August 21 at around 11 p.m. local time about 40 kilometres to the northwest of Crimea, the military said in a statement.

It was not possible for RFE/RL to independently verify the claims.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces claimed to have recaptured territory near Bakhmut, a city in the eastern Donetsk region that was battered by months of heavy fighting before it fell to Russian forces in May.

"Another three square kilometers have been liberated (around Bakhmut). In total, 43 square kilometers around Bakhmut have been liberated" since the counteroffensive began in June, Malyar told state television.

In the south, Malyar said, "our defenders continue to advance in the Berdyansk and Melitopol sectors."

Pro-Russian Telegram channels, meanwhile, reported fighting in the center of the Robotyne and gains by Russian forces near Kupyansk, in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. Ukrainian officials recently advised residents living near the front in the Kharkiv region to evacuate.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in an August 21 statement that its forces were fending off Kyiv's counteroffensive near the village of Urozhayne, a village on the edge of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region that Kyiv's forces captured last week.

Ukrainian forces have struggled to break through formidable Russian defensive lines as their two-month-long counteroffensive continues, particularly in the southern Zaporizhzhya region and in the eastern Donetsk region.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed confidence while in Copenhagen on August 21 that his country would win the war with the West's provision of military aid, including the delivery of F-16 jet fighters, the lack of significant success has raised speculation that Kyiv could face mounting pressure to open negotiations with Moscow on ending the war launched by Russia in February 2022.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-counteroffensive- gains-southeast-russia/32557460.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Moscow Airports Again Restrict Flights Amid Claims Of Ukrainian Drones

By RFE/RL's Russian Service August 21, 2023

Two major Moscow airports temporarily suspended flight arrivals and departures on August 21 following claims by the Defense Ministry that a Ukrainian drone had been shot down over the Moscow region.

Domodedovo airport restricted flights "in order to ensure additional flight safety measures," Russian media quoted the airport's press service as saying.

Earlier, flights to and from Moscow's Vnukovo airport were suspended on August 21 after the Defense Ministry said that a Ukrainian drone had crashed in the Moscow region after it was jammed by air-defense forces. There were no casualties, according to the ministry.

Normal operations at the two international airports were reportedly resumed after about two hours. Shortly before the airports were reopened, the Defense Ministry announced that a second drone had been shot down over the Moscow region about 40 kilometers west of the capital. Two people were reportedly injured in that incident.

The restrictions follow similar measures taken at Moscow airports in recent days due to alleged drone strikes by Kyiv on the Russian capital.

In the early hours of August 20, operations at Domodedovo and Vnukovo were temporarily halted in response to what officials described as a Ukrainian drone strike. The Defense Ministry said it had disabled the drone by electronic means over Moscow.

In the early morning of August 18, flights at four Moscow airports -- Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky -- were suspended for about 30 minutes after authorities announced that a downed Ukrainian drone had struck a building a few kilometers west of the city center.

A spate of recent drone strikes blamed on Ukraine have caused transportation disruptions inside Russia, including several airport shutdowns in recent weeks. On August 20, a railway station in the southwestern Kurk region bordering Ukraine was struck in a drone attack, reportedly injuring five people.

Ukraine, which typically does not comment on attacks that have occurred on Russian territory during the two countries' 18-month-long war, did not immediately respond to the August 21 incidents.

With reporting by Reuters and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-moscow- airports-drone-attack/32556807.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Statement by Russian Defence Ministry

21.08.2023

On 20th August at 14.00 Moscow time Kiev regime yet again attempted a terrorist attack launching two airplane Unmanned aerial vehicles at objects on territory of the Russian Federation.

Russian air defence units destroyed unmanned aerial vehicles over the skies of Belgorod region.

There were no casualties or damage.

Department for Media Affairs and Information

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Russian Strikes on Ukraine's Ammo Depots to 'Further Deplete' Kiev's Combat Capability

Sputnik News

20230821

Oleg Burunov

Over the past several days, Russian troops have intensified attacks on the Ukrainian army's logistical infrastructure as part of Moscow's ongoing special military operation.

Russian troops have destroyed three railcars with ammunition belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), Vadim Astafyev, head of the Yug (South) battlegroup's press service, told Sputnik on Monday.

He said that the attack on the railcars - part of Russia's ongoing special military operation in Ukraine - was conducted by Yug's missile units on the Avdeyevka front line. This followed a UAF ammo echelon being hit by Russian forces in the Dnepropetrovsk region in south-eastern Ukraine.

"Such strikes have now become more frequent because the focus is now being placed on weakening UAF ability to conduct intense warfare," Boris Rozhin, a military expert with the Center for Military-Political Journalism, an independent Russian military affairs think tank, said in an interview with Sputnik.

He added that staging attacks without munitions is a tricky task, which is why "we currently witness the [Russian army's] hunt for [the UAF's] ammo depots and echelons."

"The destruction of such a facility creates at least temporary logistical problems [for the enemy] pertaining to transportation and storage, among other troubles. This, of course, makes it difficult for the enemy to go ahead with conducting combat operations," Rozhin stressed, adding that the Russian strikes are "quite effective and seriously affect the UAF's combat capability.

He was echoed by Earl Rasmussen, an international consultant and a retired US Army lieutenant colonel, who told Sputnik that he thinks "it's a wise move to eliminate" UAF munition depots "before they have a chance to be used."

"That's just going to further deplete the capabilities of the Ukrainian forces. I mean, if you don't have any ammunition, it doesn't do much good having a Leopard tank out there or a howitzer artillery, [because] you just become [...] a sitting target," Rasmussen pointed out.

The remarks come after a US broadcaster reported last month that the US and NATO grapple with the "dwindling supply of artillery ammunition" for Ukraine. The broadcaster cited unnamed officials as saying that the US "has been nearing that red line as it has continued to supply Ukraine with 155mm ammunition, the NATO standard used for artillery rounds."

US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan told the news network that even though the US began ramping up ammunition production last year, munitions would still take "years" to mass produce to acceptable levels.

This unfolds amid Kiev's botched counteroffensive, which was launched on June 4 after multiple delays. Since the beginning of the counteroffensive, Ukraine has lost over 43,000 troops and 4,900 units of military equipment, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

A Sputnik

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Russian Air Defense Downs Ukrainian Drone in Belgorod Region - MoD

Sputnik News

20230821

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's air defense systems have detected and intercepted a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod Region on Monday afternoon, the Defense Ministry said, adding that the incident did not result in any damage.

"On August 21, at around 4:00 pm Moscow time [01:00 pm GMT], the Kiev regime made another attempt to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type drone. Russian air defense systems detected and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of the Belgorod region," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the foiled terrorist attack did not result in "casualties or damage."

A Sputnik

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with the President of Greece

President of Ukraine

21 August 2023 - 22:10

In the framework of a working visit to the Hellenic Republic, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

The Heads of State discussed the current situation on the frontline and the security situation in the region given the continuation of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Greece and personally Katerina Sakellaropoulou for supporting our country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

The President of Ukraine noted the special attention of the Greek leader to the needs of Ukrainian citizens who have found temporary refuge in Greece. He thanked the Greek side for the program of rehabilitation of Ukrainian children affected by Russian aggression.

The Head of State expressed hope that Greece would join the restoration of the affected regions of Ukraine.

"We are aware of the special role of Odesa in the history of Greece and look forward to your country's involvement in the restoration of the city and Odesa region. I invite Greece to take patronage over this region," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

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President of Ukraine following the meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Greece will take part in the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

President of Ukraine

21 August 2023 - 21:37

During a working visit to the Hellenic Republic, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The Head of State noted that it was a great honor for him to pay a visit to Greece to give a new impetus to bilateral relations and make cooperation even more beneficial for both nations. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to the head of the Greek government for his attention to Ukraine and the preparation of the Balkan Summit.

During the meeting, the President informed the Prime Minister of Greece about the situation on the frontline, recent Russian missile strikes and the capabilities of the defense forces to restore the security and territorial integrity of our country. Volodymyr Zelenskyy conveyed information on the defense needs of the Ukrainian army for speeding up the end of the war.

"Today we have an important result for the aviation coalition - Greece will take part in training our pilots on F-16s. Thank you for this offer. And I thank you and your team for your willingness to do more to help Ukraine defend our freedom. We are grateful that there will be Greek defense support for Ukraine. Our teams will work out the relevant details," the Head of State said addressing Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a meeting with media representatives following the negotiations with the Prime Minister of Greece.

The parties also discussed the situation in the Black Sea region, in particular the threat that Russia has posed to ports, freedom of navigation and, as a result, to food security around the world.

"Ukraine has created an alternative "grain corridor" in the Black Sea, and it can work. But for its operation to be stable, we need to bolster the sky shield for the Black Sea region, in particular for our city of Odesa. And this could be a historic contribution of Greece to European security if you help us with the protection of the Black Sea area. As for air defense systems, I have proposed options on how to do this," the President of Ukraine said.

He also noted the importance of the fact that Greek companies are ready to participate in the transportation of Ukrainian grain.

During the talks, the parties focused on a program of patronage over Ukrainian regions and cities that need to recover from Russian strikes or hostilities, under which Greece could focus on helping to rebuild Odesa.

In addition, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine and Greece will continue to work bilaterally on security guarantees for our country in the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration, which the Hellenic Republic has acceded to.

The President expressed gratitude to Greece for supporting Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

"I really appreciate your signing of the declaration of support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, Mr. Prime Minister. This is a much-needed signal - a signal that Greece wants peace as much as we do. We all in Ukraine strive for a just peace," Volodymyr Zelenskyy summarized.

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Andriy Yermak: Fair punishment of Russia for its crimes will be a prerequisite for the safety and security of all mankind

President of Ukraine

21 August 2023 - 18:19

Bringing to justice all those responsible for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine will be a prerequisite for the security and safety of humanity, so all civilized states that respect international law should join the process of establishing a Special International Tribunal. This was stated by Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak during an online speech at the conference "Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Justice to be Served", which is taking place in Kyiv.

"We demand justice for every tortured and killed Ukrainian, for every destroyed house, for every tear of a Ukrainian child. Every criminal will have to stand trial. Our law enforcement agencies and the International Criminal Court are working on this," Andriy Yermak emphasized.

He reminded that accountability and reparations are among the points of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula.

The Head of the President's Office noted that the culprits of war crimes against Ukraine include both the perpetrators, including Russian soldiers who came to kill on Ukrainian land and operators of Russian missile equipment, and those who committed the fundamental crime of aggression.

According to him, for the world order and international law to prevail, Ukraine needs the help of partners and experts.

"It is up to you to decide how quickly to bring to justice these bloodthirsty people who commit such unthinkable large-scale acts of barbarism in the XXI century. In order to punish Russia's top political leadership, a Special International Tribunal must be established. And Ukraine, together with its partner countries, is doing everything possible to achieve this," Andriy Yermak emphasized, addressing the participants.

According to the Head of the Presidential Office, Ukraine calls on all civilized countries to stand up for justice.

"And in this matter, we rely on the leadership of the entire civilized world. We need to break the chain of wars, coups, large-scale terrorist attacks, energy, food and nuclear blackmail, cyberattacks and political assassinations that Russia is bringing to the world. Other potential aggressors should know that punishment for such crimes will be inevitable. This is the most important prerequisite for the safety and security of all mankind," summarized Andriy Yermak.

Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Smyrnov, for his part, stated that the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine is the most horrific since World War II, and therefore requires the most severe punishment for all those involved, including the top military and political leadership of the aggressor country.

According to him, over the past year and a half, Ukraine has gained strong international support for the establishment of the tribunal, as evidenced by the adoption of a number of political decisions (PACE, European Parliament, EU Committee of Ministers, NATO Committee) ratified by many partner countries.

"The only issue that remains unresolved today and is still on our table is the model under which it will be operating," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.

Andriy Smyrnov said that the international Core Group coalition is currently considering three models for creating a special tribunal. He called on the conference participants to discuss each of them and determine which is the most desirable, authoritative and legitimate for bringing to justice those responsible for the aggression against Ukraine.

"We need to confidently move towards finalizing agreements with our key international partners on the form and model of this tribunal as soon as possible. Our citizens need this, our servicemen need this, this is a tribute to our women, brothers, sisters and children who were killed and unjustly punished," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.

For his part, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal emphasized the need to jointly create a legal mechanism to achieve justice and accountability that would reach all criminals, from organizers to direct perpetrators.

Denys Shmyhal also added that, in addition to punishment for crimes, Russia must also pay for all the destruction and damage caused by its aggression. According to him, Ukraine has proposed to the world the concept of an international compensation mechanism. The source of funds for compensation should be Russian frozen assets.

According to the head of government, 42 countries and the EU have joined the formation of an international register of losses. The structural elements of the compensation mechanism are to be finalized.

"It's about justice: convicting criminals and making them pay. These are two key things. The Ukrainian economy and infrastructure must be restored at the expense of the aggressor. Now we must all work together to set a precedent for judicial punishment of the perpetrators and a precedent for paying for the recovery. The world will become safe if we draw the right conclusions from Russian aggression," summarized Denys Shmyhal.

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With our victory and cooperation we will prove that people matter, freedom matters, Europe matters - Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech to the public of Ukraine and Denmark

President of Ukraine

21 August 2023 - 14:55

Thank you!

Thank you, Speaker! It is a great honor to be here! Thank you for everything, great people of Denmark!

Thank you so much!

Hi! Hi, Copenhagen!

Dear people of Denmark! Dear Mette, Madam Prime Minister!

I remember how you visited Kyiv, our capital, on the 21st of April 2022.

I will say frankly these were harsh days for Ukraine. For all our people, children, for everybody. At that time, we had already decided everything for ourselves and fought how we could. But then, the world had not yet chosen how to act. And the Ukrainians had not yet known who in the world would actually be with us. As long as it takes and as true allies. Like Denmark! Like each and every one of you. Here, at this square, and in every Danish family, in every home, where you wish us victory in this battle for freedom just as we wish it! I thank you all!

Today, almost a year and a half after your visit to Ukraine, Madam Prime Minister, we can openly say that the majority of the world is like Denmark - now with us. We feel it. It's a great support for us.

When the first Russian missiles hit our cities, warning the world about the full-scale war in the middle of Europe, the risk was simply insane. The risk that Europe will again lose itself, as it had already happened in our history. It was a risk that tyranny would win again. It was a risk that the culture would lose again.

And the worst thing is that respect, which is the basis of our free and united Europe, could be destroyed. Respect for every nation, for every community, for every person. When Europe is not ruled by respect, dictatorships would dominate Europe. And we saved our Europe from this. Saved together!

What is the price of life? War always raises this question. It is true.

When I spoke to our soldiers on the front lines, they told me about the motivation of Russian occupiers. Russian soldiers are less afraid of being killed in the battle than they are afraid of stopping aggression and returning home. A free person can even hardly imagine that. Imagine what Russia is today, if its people fear their return home more than to be killed at war. This is the worst thing tyranny does to its people - it eliminates the value of life, totally.

We will never allow Ukraine or any other country to become the same territory of disrespect for people, life, and human diversity, as the Russian state has become and wants to make other countries. We have to always remember what stands against us. And until the victory comes, we have to act the way we do with you, Denmark!

When Ukraine needs weapons, you - help. I thank you and the whole of Denmark - all the weapons you're giving to protect freedom and for F-16s we agreed on. Thank you so much! When Russian missiles hit our power plants last winter to drive Ukraine into blackout and defeat, you helped us to live through winter. When it was needed to accommodate our people, you provided them with very generous opportunities. Thank you very much! Thank you for your attitude to our people, to Ukrainians! To all your families, all your houses, all your people, all your cities! Thank you very much, Denmark! And when I asked you about support for our port city and region of Mykolaiv, which endlessly suffers from the Russian terror - you gave such support without delay... Thank you! Thank all of you!

Dear friends!

Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war. But this is not the only main thing. The main is what we prove with our victory, with our cooperation, what you prove supporting Ukraine. Together we prove that life is a value, that people matter, freedom matters, Europe matters. I'm sure it will be written in history also due to you, being with Ukraine.

I'm sure that we will win because truth is on our side. All our people are waiting for this moment. It will be a common victory of truth, of democracy, of our nations. Thank you very much for your support! After the victory we'll come to you! Maybe, it's not traditional to hear it from the President but I want to say it. Yes, we will come to you, sit together somewhere and we'll say "SkAl."

Jeg takker jer Danmark!

 NNN!

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In Copenhagen, Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Danish parliamentarians, business representatives and the Ukrainian community

President of Ukraine

21 August 2023 - 12:42

In the framework of a working visit to the Kingdom of Denmark, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with leaders of Danish parliamentary parties and chairmen of committees of the Danish Folketing.

The Head of State thanked the representatives of political forces for their strong support in the struggle against Russian aggression.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to the Folketing for establishing the Ukraine Support Fund and for the decisions to provide additional funding for its military component in the amount of USD 3.2 billion until 2028.

The President praised the MPs' support for the historic decision to transfer F-16 jets to Ukraine.

"I am grateful to all of you for your assistance in organizing the training of Ukrainian pilots and for agreeing to transfer F-16s used by your Armed Forces to Ukraine," the Head of State emphasized.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Folketing for its special attention to Ukrainians who have found refuge in Denmark from the war and for adopting a separate law that allows Ukrainian citizens to use the state system of social services and have access to the local labor market.

During the conversation with the members of the Folketing, representatives of Danish business and Ukrainian community, the President noted that despite the small size of the country, the Danes are people with big hearts.

"We are grateful for your help, for the great powerful and genuine support of a great country since the first days of the full-scale war. We will never forget it!" he said.

The Head of State also praised the leadership and courage of Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen and thanked her team, the Danish Government and the entire society.

"There is a considerable distance between our countries, but there is no distance between our peoples. You have helped our people, the forced migrants, a lot. You welcomed them as your family. And this is a great victory for your great country," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

Addressing the representatives of Danish business, he noted that Ukraine is looking forward to Danish investments after the victory.

"We are very happy when your business does not operate in Russia. I believe it is a privilege to lose money but not to lose your face," the President said.

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Ukraine believed in Denmark when the evil invasion began, and I thank you for trusting us - President's speech to the members of the Folketing

President of Ukraine

21 August 2023 - 11:48

Mister Speaker, Madam Prime Minister! Mette!

Dear members of Folketing and government, diplomats! Everyone who is here today. And, of course, journalists!

Those who make possible that one nation, a great nation, hears in a very concrete, very important moment, the soul of another.

Dear people of Denmark!

Today I am here with my wife, with my team. We are here to say: thank you. Personally thank all of you for helping us in our fight, difficult fight for freedom. For helping us in this war, which Russia brought to our land and which it wants so much - still wants! - to throw into homes of other nations. I'm sure you can see that.

Now, Russian evil strikes with pain and death at Ukrainian cities and villages. But they openly say that Ukraine is not enough. Later, after our country, they want to carry the suffering further to Europe and to the world. I'm sure you hear it - you hear it from Moscow. All of Russia's neighbors are under threat - if Ukraine does not prevail. International law will not be resuscitated. Democracies of the world - each of them can become a target either for missiles, or for mercenaries, or for destabilization. I'm sure you can feel it. But! Ukraine will prevail!

I want you to see it, hear it, feel it. Ukraine will prevail!

And these are not just words. It is a fact that follows from what we believe in. We! Ukrainians. Danes. All Europeans. Every nation that stands with us. Stands against blows. The blows of the war. And will stand further!

When Putin ordered this invasion, he only believed in the length of his armored vehicles' columns. In power of explosions of Russian missiles. He believed that cruelty is capable of rewriting the history of an entire continent. Erasing this history. Pushing it back a century. Yes, to crush everything that makes our continent and our countries peaceful.

He believed only in force, in force without humanity, he trusted violence, and that is why he is weaker.

We believe in something completely different. And that is why we become stronger. All of us! Together with you!

We believe in human solidarity. And, in fact, it allows us to destroy any column of any equipment of any occupier. Because when you have people on your side, when humanity is a value for you, and when your values match the values of other nations, - you will definitely find all the necessary weapons to defend yourself how we do, how we defend ourselves. In particular, with your help. I thank you on behalf of all Ukrainians, all of us! Thank you, Denmark, for your solidarity! Thank you for all the help provided to Ukraine! Thank you for Harpoons! Russians are afraid of them. Thank you for Caesars, Leopards and Bradleys, drones - yes, they are afraid of drones - and artillery, and thank you for demining machines. All this serves freedom! Serves at this very moment! Serves to protect people's lives. People, life - this is what we believe in. When you defend people's right to life, you are joined by others who value life. And this makes you together invincible! I thank you, Denmark, for helping Ukraine to become invincible!

Ukraine is moving from Javelins and Stingers to Patriots and F-16s.

F-16s. Thank you, Denmark, for F-16s!

There was a time when they said that this would never happen. When they said we shouldn't fight. When they didn't believe in us, didn't believe in you, didn't believe in people, and said that it was easier to freeze the desire to live. But humanity turned into solidarity. Solidarity turned into leadership. In particular, your leadership, Denmark. And it is leadership that multiplies our collective strength.

People value strength. Strength helps. But strength is not always primary. Strength is a consequence. Consequence of who you are. And who is with you. Whom you respect. And who respects you. Whom you want to see in your home. And who wants to see you. Whom you trust. And who trusts you. We trust you, Denmark. Thank you!

Full-scale Russian evil is retreating now under the blows of those whom Russia has always only despised. And despising was wrong. But people are not being wrong now when they despise it - such Russia. Which spreads evil. Which does not even distinguish between whom to kill - a child or a soldier. Which wants to change the law with violence. Which went against us. Which went against all of us. And to which we together give one answer: we will prevail!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Dear people of Denmark!

Ukraine believed in you when this evil invasion began. And I thank you for trusting us.

When I addressed you online for the first time from Kyiv in March 2022, and when no one could yet say what would happen next, my address was based on confidence. On confidence in you. I asked for leadership, and you are the leaders. I asked for support in overcoming this disaster brought by the war, and you support Ukraine with everything that is needed. I addressed you saying that we need to think not only about war - we know there will be peace, we know we can get back to normal life. To what we liked and what we loved. And I am grateful to you for the fact that you are already helping Ukraine with reconstruction. Thank you, Mette! In particular, to our city of Mykolaiv, over which Denmark took patronage. You well deliver on your promise. Thank you! I addressed you at the beginning of the full-scale war, but I already knew that you would not give in to fear. And you defend your principles, our values and the future of Europe. Free, peaceful and, what is really important, united. Europe, in which we will always be united only by cooperation. Within the European Union. Within NATO. And cooperation between us - on a bilateral level. And we will never be divided by the evil of any occupation or any totalitarian curtain. Because we will always protect our freedom and never lose our faith - faith in people, in humanity and in each other. We will always help each other to prevail, no matter what happens! And let this be another of our Copenhagen criteria... The criteria of those who win!

Thank you, Denmark! Thank you to your great people - almost our relatives! Thank you for our refugees! Thank you for hosting them so warmly, like a family! Thank you, Mister Speaker, dear members of Folketing! Prime Minister! Mette! Thank you! Ladies and gentlemen, dear journalists! Thank you!

 NNN!

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Will F-16 Fighter Jets Tip War in Ukraine's Favor?

By Henry Ridgwell August 21, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the decision by the Netherlands and Denmark to supply his country with F-16 fighter jets as "historic and inspiring."

The Western allies will supply dozens of the U.S.-made jets in the coming months, after Washington gave its approval.

F-16 jets

Zelenskyy visited the Dutch city of Eindhoven on Sunday to meet Prime Minister Mark Rutte, before visiting Copenhagen on Monday. At an airfield outside the Danish capital, Zelenskyy climbed into the cockpit of an F-16, alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Zelenskyy later addressed the Danish parliament. "We're here to say thank you, personally. Thank all of you for helping us in our fight, difficult fight for freedom. For helping us in this war which Russia brought to our land. And which it wants, so much, still wants to throw into homes of other nations," Zelenskyy told Danish lawmakers.

Outside, thousands of people had gathered to show their support, as the Ukrainian president repeated his message of gratitude. "I thank you and the whole of Denmark, all the weapons you are giving to protect freedom a and for the F-16s we agreed on. Thank you so much," he told the crowd.

News reports cite Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, as saying the transfer of the jets will lead to the conflict's escalation.

Delivery

Denmark plans to provide 19 F-16s, with the training of Ukrainian pilots already under way. It's hoped the first jets will arrive by the end of the year.

The Netherlands said it had 42 F-16s available, although a final number had yet to be agreed upon. Both allies are upgrading their fleets to more modern fifth-generation fighter jets.

The invading Russian forces currently enjoy vast air superiority, although Ukraine's air defenses, bolstered by modern Western systems, have proven effective.

Firepower

Ukraine's existing air force fleet is made up of aging Soviet-era aircraft. The F-16s will offer far greater firepower, helping to defend against Russian jets, missiles and drones, said defense analyst Patrick Bury, of Britain's University of Bath.

"It can go toe to toe with (Russian) MiGs and would have a good chance against them. So, you're talking about trying to establish, first of all, some sort of local air superiority, which the Ukrainians just don't have at the moment. If you look at their flying ops, they're flying one to two aircraft at really low level(s), trying to avoid the very formidable Russian air defenses and the Russian air force," Bury told VOA.

The F-16 also offers Ukraine the ability to safely strike targets hundreds of kilometers away, deep in Russian-controlled territory. That's vital if any ground offensive is to succeed, Bury added.

"To get any momentum on the ground, really in the old sort of blitzkrieg sense, you need to have that ground attack capability from the air a so air-to-surface attack capability. And the F-16 can do that as well. And finally a and a really important role in this as well a is the F-16 is pretty good at doing suppression or destruction of enemy air defenses," Bury told VOA.

Western hesitation

Ukraine has been asking for F-16s since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but Western allies held off, fearing an escalation of the war.

It will take months for Ukrainian pilots to be trained. The delay could prove costly.

"I still think it's coming too late to be honest with you. Politics is moving. We'll see what happens. Whether Ukraine can come round and have these F-16s ready a enough of them, trained up and ready to go, to basically go for version two of a summer offensive next summer a if the political appetite and the fiscal appetite is there for that, we'll see," Bury said.

Ukrainian reaction

On the streets of Kyiv, Ukrainian citizens welcomed the Dutch and Danish decisions to supply the jets.

"Finally! Thank God, I think every Ukrainian was waiting for it for a long time," said Larysa Shymko, who is originally from the town of Skadovsk in the Russian occupied territories. "I strongly believe and hope that this decision will help our country to achieve the long-awaited victory," Shymko told The Associated Press.

Lawyer Yurii Lymar urged the West to act more swiftly. "It is obvious that every Ukrainian feels that Europe and the entire world could approve such decisions a little faster, because every day in this great war means lots of Ukrainian people dying," he told the AP.

For now, Ukraine's summer ground offensive grinds on slowly, with minimal air support. Analysts say the West's decision to supply F-16s aims to bolster Ukraine's longer-term capabilities to fend off Russian aggression.

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US General Mark Milley and Pope Francis Discuss War in Ukraine

By VOA News August 21, 2023

Pope Francis and U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed the war in Ukraine at the Vatican on Monday.

Milley, a Catholic, said the visit meant a great deal to him, according to Milley's spokesperson, Colonel Dave Butler.

The general, who is visiting several European countries, said the pope expressed deep concern about the loss of life in Ukraine, particularly of civilians, since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

Milley has condemned Moscow for waging "a campaign of terror" in Ukraine by targeting civilian infrastructure as part of its war strategy. Russia denies that it targets civilians.

A strong advocate for Ukraine's defense against Russian forces, Milley, 65, has championed sending billions of dollars in arms to Kyiv.

Francis has condemned the international arms trade in general but acknowledged last year the moral justification for nations to supply weapons to Ukraine to fight against Russian aggression.

The 86-year-old pontiff has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to seek a peaceful resolution with Russia. Zelenskyy has asked the Vatican to support Ukraine's 10-point peace plan calling for the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's state borders.

The pope has dispatched his peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington to discuss humanitarian aid and the repatriation of Ukrainian children.

Kyiv estimates that nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since February 2022, in what it condemns as illegal deportations. Russia says it has helped to evacuate children from the war zone.

Vatican officials say Zuppi will soon go to Beijing to try to enlist China's support.

Appeal for F-16s

F-16 fighter jets could be a game changer in Russia's war against Ukraine, providing Ukrainian troops with much-needed air superiority in occupied territories, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on national television Monday.

"Air superiority is the key to success on the ground," he said. Ihnat remarked that F-16s would prevent Russian fighter jets from dropping guided air bombs and launching air missiles in the occupied territories.

In an interview with the Ukrainian service of RFE/RL, Ihnat said Ukraine needs more than 100 fighter jets to fully replace its old aircraft fleet so it "can respond to different challenges and strike various targets ... [Russian] planes, ground targets, and rear camps in particular."

Also Monday, Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers as he addressed them in Copenhagen, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they would provide Ukrainian forces with U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pledged 19 F-16s to Ukraine and said she hoped the first six could be delivered around the start of 2024.

Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin said in a statement Monday that Denmark's decision to send F-16s to Ukraine "leads to an escalation of the conflict."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte did not detail how many F-16s his country would provide, nor when any deliveries might take place. He said the timing depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready.

"The F-16s will not help immediately now with the war effort. It is anyway a long-term commitment from the Netherlands," Rutte said Sunday. "We want them to be active and operational as soon as possible. ... Not for the next month, that's impossible, but hopefully soon afterward."

The Dutch and Danish governments are involved in a coalition that is working to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the advanced fighter jets.

The fighter jets are not likely to affect the trajectory of the war anytime soon, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. Air Force General James Hecker told reporters Friday at a virtual meeting of the Defense Writers Group that there are no prospects currently for either Ukraine or Russia to gain the upper hand in the air.

"I don't think anyone's going to get air superiority as long as the number of surface-to-air missiles stays high enough," Hecker said, responding to a question from VOA.

"Both Ukraine and Russia have very good integrated air and missile defense systems," he said. "That alone is what has prevented [Russia or Ukraine] from getting air superiority."

Zelenskyy in Greece

Zelenskyy met Monday with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on his first official visit to Greece. The meeting reasserted Greece's support for Ukraine, according to Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

In a joint press conference after the meeting, the two leaders stressed the economic, humanitarian and economic cooperation between the two countries. The Greek prime minister stated Greece's unequivocal support to Ukraine's fight against Russia.

Kathimerini quoted Mitsotakis as saying Greece "will never recognize Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territories," and that officials in Athens "oppose any violation of international law."

During the press conference, Zelenskyy said Greece will take part in training of Ukrainian air force pilots on the F-16s.

"Today, we have the important result for aviation coalition. Greece will participate in [the] training of our pilots for F-16. I am grateful for this proposal," he said.

Zelenskyy is also expected to attend an unofficial dinner hosted by Mitsotakis, alongside regional leaders from the Balkans and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.

Drone attacks

The Russian Defense Ministry said early on Tuesday that the military jammed two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea on Monday night.

The drones crashed into the water 40 kilometers to the northwest from Crimea, the military said in a statement.

Nearly 90 airplane flights in and out of Moscow were disrupted after Russia said it jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Ruzsky District west of the capital and destroyed another one in the nearby Istrinsky District on Monday.

Separately, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had downed two drones in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. The governor of Kaluga region, south of Moscow, said a drone had also been repelled there. No damage or injuries were reported from these attacks.

Both Russia and Ukraine have deployed drones to target the opposing side, with damage on the ground often caused by debris from downed aircraft.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Westford, USA, Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to SkyQuest's latest global research of the Handwriting Digital Pen market , integration with digital devices and platforms, development of smart pens with advanced features, increasing popularity of note-taking and annotation apps, growing demand for handwriting-to-text conversion, expansion of digital pen usage in art and design industries, integration of cloud storage and synchronization, rise in digital pen usage in healthcare and medical fields, focus on improved accuracy and precision in digital pen technology are the trends that aid in the market's growth.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Handwriting Digital Pen Market"

Pages - 157

Tables - 122

Figures  77

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A handwriting digital pen is a pen that converts handwritten notes into digital data. It can be used to take notes, sketch, or draw on a tablet or other digital device. Handwriting digital pens typically have a fine tip that allows for precise writing, and they may also have features such as pressure sensitivity and palm rejection.

Prominent Players in Handwriting Digital Pen Market

Adonit

Wacom

Livescribe

FiftyThree

JotPro

Neo smartpen

Moleskine

Lamy

PenPower

Rocketbook

Staedtler

Uniball

Paperlike

ReMarkable

Supernote

NoteSlate

LivePaper

Scribzee

Bamboo

PIQ

Doxper

Elfinbook

Noteshelf

Lumo

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Active Digital Pens Demand to Grow Substantially in the Forecast Period

Active digital pens dominated the global market owing to its advanced functionality. It is often integrated with dedicated apps and software that provide additional functionality such as handwriting recognition, note organization, and synchronization across devices. These integrations enhance the user experience and productivity, making active pens a preferred choice for users who value seamless integration with their digital workflow.

Note-taking is the Leading Application Segment

In terms of application, note-taking is the leading segment due to the increasing demand for digital note-taking. In addition, they often come with advanced features that cater specifically to note-taking. These features include pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, handwriting recognition, and annotation capabilities. These functionalities enhance the note-taking experience, allowing users to write, draw, highlight, and annotate notes more effectively. The availability of these features in handwriting digital pens makes them an attractive tool for individuals who heavily rely on note-taking for their work or studies.

North America is the leading Market Due to the Technological Advancements

Region-wise, North America is one of the largest growing markets with a huge emphasis on technological advancements. North America's education and corporate sectors have been early adopters of digital handwriting pens. Educational institutions, including schools and universities, have embraced digital note-taking practices, leading to a higher demand for digital handwriting pens. Additionally, the corporate sector has recognized the benefits of digital note-taking, collaboration, and productivity enhancement, further driving market growth in North America.

A recent report thoroughly analyzes the major players operating within the Handwriting Digital Pen market. This comprehensive evaluation has considered several crucial factors, such as collaborations, mergers, innovative business policies, and strategies, providing invaluable insights into the key trends and breakthroughs in the market. Additionally, the report has carefully scrutinized the market share of the top segments and presented a detailed geographic analysis. Finally, the report has highlighted the major players in the industry and their ongoing endeavors to develop innovative solutions that cater to the ever-increasing demand for Handwriting Digital Pen.

Key Developments in Handwriting Digital Pen Market

HUAWEI introduced MatePad Paper: Decarbonizing the Office, from Pen-on-Paper to Ink-on-Screen, where The E Ink technology offers the best of all worlds: a natural paper-like display, alongside all of the digital amenities that we've grown accustomed to. E Ink devices therefore, represent a wholly comfortable digital reading paradigm, which is a marked improvement over that on other smart devices. The environmental and health benefits of a widespread shift to E Ink-centric reading and writing are potentially enormous.

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Key Questions Answered in Handwriting Digital Pen Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

Can you list the top companies in the market and explain how they have achieved their positions of influence?

In what ways do regional trends and patterns differ within the global market, and how might these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Connected Toys Market

Global Tape Storage Market

Global Gaming Peripheral Market

Global Epitaxial Wafer Market

Global Robotics Technology Market

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NEWARK, Del, Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global fish silage market is anticipated to reach a market valuation of US$ 780.9 million in 2023. Over the forecast period (2023 to 2033), global fish silage demand is estimated to grow at 10.2% CAGR. By 2033, the total market is projected to reach a US$ 2,065.0 million valuation.



Fish silage is vital because it is a versatile feedstuff, cost-effective, simple to process, long-term storage life, along with an environmentally sound way of disposing of fish waste.

Despite the fact that the production and usage of fish silage have been commercialized in Scandinavia, many efforts have been made in Canada, primarily due to economic pressures, rigorous environmental rules, and the need for protein sources.

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More specifically, the production of fish silage is an appealing alternative for small processors for whom fish meal manufacturing is too expensive and raw material supply is insufficient or sporadic.

In small remote fishing ports where the supply of fish waste is limited, a fish meal factory is not economically feasible nonetheless, fish silage is an alternative feasible option for manufacturing value-added products.

Fish silage, like fish meal, is mostly used in animal feed. Fish meal has 65% protein, whereas fish silage contains just about 15%. Fish meals, on the other hand, can be supplemented with fish silage at various amounts to minimize feed costs. Silage appears to be more practicable in pig farms, where it may be applied directly as a liquid.

Aside from the pig industry, hens and cows fed silage yielded good results such as tainted milk and butter and high egg production. By isolating the oil phase and evaporating the moisture, silage can be utilized as a protein concentrate. Concentrated silage is preferable to regular silage because it has a higher nutritional value.

Key Takeaways from the Fish Silage Report:

The Fish silage market is expected to be valued at US$ 780.9 million by 2023.

by 2023. Global demand for fish silage is likely to soar at 10.2 % CAGR over the forecast period.

over the forecast period. Based on Type, demand for Wet type is expected to continue as it is holding a market share of 89.0% to reach a market valuation of US$ 1,837.8 million by the end of 2033.

to reach a market valuation of by the end of 2033. According to FMI analysis, the liquid segment is predicted to attain a market share of 78.0% during the assessment period, resulting in a market size of US$ 1,610.7 million by 2033.

during the assessment period, resulting in a market size of by 2033. According to FMI, there is an increasing application of fish silage in aquaculture feed and it is estimated to hold a market share of 56.0% and is anticipated to reach a market valuation of US$ 1,156.4 million by the end of 2033.



The Fish silage market is expected to expand due to rising consumer preference for sustainable agricultural practices along with alternative animal feed sources presenting an opportunity to Manufacturers to Innovate More, - says a lead analyst at Future Market Insights (FMI).

Competitive Landscape in Fish Silage Market

Top Key Companies Profiled

BioMar Group

Calysta, Inc.

Biomega AS

Alltech Coppens

Skretting

Nutreco N.V.

Ridley Corporation Limited

Archer Daniels Midland Company

Cargill, Inc.

Dibaq A.S.

Others (on additional request)

These companies are expanding product portfolios, employing strategies like advertising, partnerships, acquisitions, agreements, and mergers to maintain market relevance and drive growth in the fish silage market.

For instance,

 In November 2021, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently collaborated to offer a virtual Fish Silage for Animal Feed Seminar for stakeholders and 25 participants.

In July 2019, Argentina's government recently hosted a workshop with the St. Kitts and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Nevis Marine Resources Division. The project's goal is to convert unused fish parts into safe and nutritious products for cattle consumption and fertilizer. The idea creates jobs while also assisting in ensuring food security and lowering the food import expense.

In March 2021, Iran intends to create three new fish silage production firms in the Iranian year (March 21, 2021 to March 20, 2022), according to Deputy Chairman of Iran Fisheries Organisation Isa Golshahi, according to Trend, quoting the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad.

Get More Valuable Insights:

Future Market Insights (FMI), in its new offering, provides an unbiased analysis of the global fish silage market presenting historical demand data (2018 to 2022) and forecast statistics for the period from 2023 to 2033.

The study incorporates compelling insights on the fish silage market based on Fish Type (Tuna, Salmon, Sardine, Mackerel, and Others), Type (Dry Silage and Wet Silage), Form (Powder, Liquid, and Pellet) Application (Aquaculture Feed, Pet Food, Agriculture Feed, and Others), across various regions.

Purchase now and delve into the intricacies of each segment: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/17739

Market by Categorization:

By Type:

Dry Silage

Wet Silage

By Fish Type:

Salmon

Tuna

Sardine

Mackerel

Others



By Application:

Aquaculture Feed

Pet Food

Agriculture Feed

Others

By Form:

Pellets

Powder

Liquid



By Region:

North America

Europe

Latin America

East Asia

Oceania

South Asia

Middle East & Africa



About the Food & Beverage Division at Future Market Insights (FMI):

FMI's Food & Beverage team offers comprehensive business intelligence services, with a vast array of reports and data points analyzed across 50+ countries over a decade. The team provides consulting services and end-to-end research, offering expert analysis, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations to clients worldwide. Contact them to explore how they can assist with your unique business intelligence needs.

Explore FMIs related ongoing Coverage in Food and Beverage Domain:

Fish Feed Market Size: The global fish feed market is expected to accumulate a valuation of US$ 116,480 million in 2023 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 3.5% from 2023 to 2033.

Fish Protein Isolate Market Share: The Fish Protein Isolate Market is slated to surpass US$ 565 Million in 2020 and register growth above 7.3% (CAGR) between 2020 and 2030.

Fish Waste Management Market Trends: The global Fish Waste Management Market is estimated to be worth US$ 5,412.0 million by 2023 and is projected to reach a value of US$ 7,234.0 million by 2033 reflecting a CAGR of 2.9% over the assessment period 2023 to 2033.

Fish Oil Alternatives Market Value: By registering a CAGR of 5% from 2023 to 2033, the global fish oil alternatives market opportunities seem promising. As per the global fish oil alternatives market analysis report, its net worth could be US$ 2.5 billion in 2023.

Fish Protein Market Analysis: The fish protein market value is estimated to be worth US$ 1 billion in 2023 and is expected to double in value, reaching US$ 2 billion by 2033.

About Future Market Insights (FMI):

Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, Stevie Award - recipient market research organization, and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favor the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel, and End Use over the next 10 years.

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Westford, USA, Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to SkyQuest, the geriatric population faces a higher risk of developing neurologic or cardiovascular disorders due to their advanced age. This vulnerability to such disorders makes the geriatric segment a crucial part of the overall patient pool in the healthcare industry. As the geriatric population grows, there will be an ongoing and increasing demand for electroceutical devices in the electroceuticals market .

Browse in-depth TOC on the "Electroceuticals Market"

Pages - 157

Tables - 93

Figures  75

Electroceuticals is a well-established term encompassing a range of therapeutic approaches involving electrical impulses to modulate and influence bodily functions. It refers to clinically relevant devices that utilize electrical stimulation to bring about changes in the body, offering an alternative to traditional medication-based treatments in the electroceuticals market.

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Prominent Players in Electroceuticals Market

Medtronic plc

Boston Scientific Corporation

Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

LivaNova PLC

Cochlear Ltd.

MicroPort Scientific Corporation

Sonova Group

Nevro Corp.

NeuroPace, Inc.

Medico S.p.A.

Nurotron Biotechnology Co. Ltd.

MED-EL

Aleva Neurotherapeutics SA

NeuroSigma, Inc.

Bioinduction Ltd.

GiMer Medical

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/electroceuticals-market

Defibrillators and Pacemakers Segment is Expected to Dominate the Market Due to the High Prevalence of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Defibrillators and pacemakers segment emerged as the leading segment, holding a significant market share in the electroceuticals market. This dominance can be attributed to the high prevalence of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which often leads to life-threatening arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. SCA is a significant cause of mortality worldwide. In the United States alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital.

The market in the North America is expected to dominate the global electroceuticals market, holding a significant share of over 32%. This can be attributed to several factors, including many key players in the region and government and non-government organizations' support and emphasis on electroceuticals.

Implantable Electroceutical Devices Segment is Expected to Grow the Market Due to a Rise in the Incidence of Neurological Disorders

Implantable electroceutical devices segment has emerged as the dominant player in the electroceuticals market, accounting for the largest share. This can be attributed to several factors contributing to its growth. Firstly, there has been a significant rise in the incidence of neurological and cardiovascular disorders, creating a higher demand for effective treatment options.

Regional markets in the Asia Pacific are poised to witness significant growth in the electroceuticals market over the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to several factors, including the increasing investments made by healthcare government organizations in the region. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, along with a growing geriatric population, are key drivers of market growth in the region.

A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the electroceuticals market has been recently conducted in a report. The report encompasses various aspects, including collaborations, mergers, innovative business policies, and strategies, providing valuable insights into key trends and breakthroughs in the market. Furthermore, the report scrutinizes the market share of the top segments and presents a detailed geographic analysis. Lastly, the report highlights the major players in the industry and their endeavours to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand.

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Key Developments in the Electroceuticals Market

Abbott, a prominent medical device company, recently introduced a dual-chamber leadless pacemaker system. This launch was part of Abbott's AVEIR DR i2i pivotal clinical study, reflecting the company's commitment to advancing cardiac healthcare solutions. The dual-chamber leadless pacemaker system offers innovative technology to improve patient outcomes and treat cardiac conditions.

Cochlear Limited, a leading player in implantable hearing solutions, achieved a significant milestone with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its cochlear nucleus implants in 2022. These implants are specifically designed to treat unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and single-sided deafness (SSD).

Key Questions Answered in Electroceuticals Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

List the top companies in the market and explain how they have achieved their positions of influence.

In what ways do regional trends and patterns differ within the global market, and how these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Medical Adhesive Tapes Market

Orthopedic Soft Tissue Repair Market

Surgical Microscope Market

Transcatheter Devices Market

Breathing Circuits Market

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(Fornebu, 22 August 2023) Telenor is implementing changes to the Group Leadership Team, as the company continues to execute on the strategic ambitions towards 2025. Jrgen C. Arentz Rostrup is appointed EVP and Head of Telenor Nordics and Petter-Brre Furberg is appointed EVP and Head of Telenor Asia. In addition, Amol Phadke has been appointed EVP and Group Chief Technology Officer.



At the Capital Markets Day in 2022, Telenor presented its 2025 ambitions and strategy for the Nordics and Asia. The President & CEO of Telenor Group, Sigve Brekke, says the changes announced today will continue the implementation of the strategy, including structural partnerships and initiatives in Asia.



Jrgen was sent to Asia three years ago with a mandate to deliver growth and modernisation and capturing opportunities in the region. After completing the two biggest telco mergers in Southeast Asia and setting up and implementing a strong and future-proof organisation in the region, he will now return to the Nordics, Brekke says.

As the CFO in Telenor from 2016-2020, Rostrup was vital in simplifying the companys portfolio and ensuring modernisation across the organisation.

I am looking forward to Jrgen, together with the team and local companies in the Nordics, driving the transformation needed to reach the targets on profitable growth and pan-Nordic synergies presented at last years capital markets day, building on the platform and the strategy Petter-Brre and his team have put in place, he says.

When Petter-Brre is returning to Asia, we can utilise the competence of one of our most experienced leaders with 15 years in previous and different roles in the region. He will play an instrumental role in ensuring the implementation and success of the two mergers as well as continue to develop Telenors business in the region, Brekke says.

Having been the CEO of Telenor Norway and heading Telenor Nordics, Furberg also brings valuable experience from one of the world's most digitally advanced regions and with operations offering a broad set of services, which will be key for success in Asia's rapidly accelerating digital markets.

Telenor Group is also announcing that Amol Phadke has been appointed EVP and Group Chief Technology Officer and will become a member of Telenors Group Leadership Team. He will lead the Group Technology organisation at the headquarter in Norway and be responsible for setting Telenors overall technology strategy and Research & Innovation ambitions. Phadke will also be responsible for the Group Security strategy and will be the Chair of Telenor Procurement Company.

Phadke joins Telenor from Google Cloud, where he was the Global General Manager for the Telecom Industry Vertical. In addition, Phadke brings with him over two decades of global telecom industry experience.

I am thrilled that Amol has agreed to lead the next wave of our technology transformation and to help us drive the use of technology as an enabler for profitable growth. His extensive leadership experience from global technology companies and unique telecom credentials will enable us to navigate the tremendous technology shift in our industry and unlock the resulting value for Telenor, our customers, and partners, says Brekke.

The current CTO, Ruza Sabanovic, will be the subject of another announcement in due course.

I have worked closely with Ruza throughout my career, from her time at Uninor in India to her valuable contributions in the Group Executive Management since 2015. She has done a tremendous job for the company, Brekke says.

Phadke will start September 1, Rostrup and Furberg will assume their positions on October 1.

I am confident we have a strong and competent Group Leadership Team that can continue to develop secure and reliable services for our customers and deliver on our strategy for long-term profitable growth, Brekke ends.

Media contact:

David Fidjeland, Director Media Relations, Telenor Group

+47 93 46 72 24 | david.fidjeland@telenor.com




Dublin, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Flavored Yogurt Global Market Report 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global flavored yogurt market is on a growth trajectory, projected to expand from $52.83 billion in 2022 to $56.67 billion in 2023, marking a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. Looking ahead, the market is expected to reach $74.41 billion by 2027, maintaining a CAGR of 7%. This growth is attributed to various factors, including the rising health consciousness among consumers and a trend towards product innovations.

Health Consciousness Driving Demand

Increasing health consciousness among consumers is a significant driver for the flavored yogurt market's growth. Consumers seeking wellness-oriented lifestyles are turning to yogurt due to its digestive health and weight-conscious benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic has further spurred this trend, with survey results showing that a substantial number of adults are motivated to make healthier lifestyle changes. This shift in consumer behavior is boosting the demand for flavored yogurt as a healthier food option.

Product Innovations Paving the Way

Product innovation is a prominent trend in the flavored yogurt market. Leading companies are focusing on introducing novel offerings like plant-based yogurt to cater to environmentally conscious consumers while providing the same health advantages. For instance, Indian company Epigamia launched a plant-based yogurt line in 2020, made entirely from coconut milk. This innovative product range includes options such as unsweetened coconut yogurt and coconut jaggery-flavored yogurt, aligning with the preferences of sustainability-minded consumers.

Acquisitions and Market Expansion

In the realm of acquisitions, France-based dairy products company Lactalis acquired Jalna Dairy Foods, an Australia-based producer of natural and flavored yogurt. This strategic move not only strengthened Lactalis' position in the Australian market but also showcased the industry's dynamic nature, marked by companies seeking to expand their market presence.

Regional Insights

Europe led the flavored yogurt market in 2022, underscoring its significance in the industry. The report covers various regions including Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East and Africa.

Key Players

Major players shaping the flavored yogurt market include Danone SA, Lactalis, Chobani, Arla Foods amba, Emmi Nederland BV, Ultima Foods, Nestle SA, Sodiaal, Muller Corner, Parmalat, Rainy Lanes Dairy Foods Limited, Chi Limited, Cargill Incorporated, Mother Dairy, Britannia Nutrition Foundation, General Mills Foodservice, Stonyfield Farm, and Valio Ltd. These companies contribute to the market's growth through product innovation, acquisitions, and catering to evolving consumer preferences.

As the flavored yogurt market continues to evolve in response to health consciousness, sustainable options, and changing consumer demands, it is positioned for sustained expansion and innovation in the coming years.

Key Attributes

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 200 Forecast Period 2023-2027 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $56.67 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2027 $74.41 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 7% Regions Covered Global

Key Topics Covered



1. Executive Summary

2. Flavored Yogurt Market Characteristics

3. Flavored Yogurt Market Trends and Strategies

4. Flavored Yogurt Market Macro Economic Scenario

5. Flavored Yogurt Market Size and Growth

6. Flavored Yogurt Market Segmentation

7. Flavored Yogurt Market Regional and Country Analysis

8. Asia-Pacific Flavored Yogurt Market

9. China Flavored Yogurt Market

10. India Flavored Yogurt Market

11. Japan Flavored Yogurt Market

12. Australia Flavored Yogurt Market

13. Indonesia Flavored Yogurt Market

14. South Korea Flavored Yogurt Market

15. Western Europe Flavored Yogurt Market

16. UK Flavored Yogurt Market

17. Germany Flavored Yogurt Market

18. France Flavored Yogurt Market

19. Eastern Europe Flavored Yogurt Market

20. Russia Flavored Yogurt Market

21. North America Flavored Yogurt Market

22. USA Flavored Yogurt Market

23. South America Flavored Yogurt Market

24. Brazil Flavored Yogurt Market

25. Middle East Flavored Yogurt Market

26. Africa Flavored Yogurt Market

27. Flavored Yogurt Market Competitive Landscape and Company Profiles

28. Key Mergers and Acquisitions in the Flavored Yogurt Market

29. Flavored Yogurt Market Future Outlook and Potential Analysis

30. Appendix



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes:

Danone SA

Lactalis

Chobani

Arla Foods amba

Emmi Nederland BV

Ultima Foods

Nestle SA

Sodiaal

Muller Corner

Parmalat

Rainy Lanes Dairy Foods Limited

CHI Limited

Cargill Incorporated

Mother Dairy

Britannia Nutrition Foundation

General Mills Foodservice

Stonyfield Farm

Valio Ltd.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e8niw8

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.

Attachment
Pune, India, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global fly ash market size was USD 12.62 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 13.24 billion in 2023 to USD 20.47 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 6.4% during the 2023-2030 period. The expansion is on account of increasing awareness regarding the usage of the product as an additive in cement.

Fly ash is a fine powder that is a byproduct of burning pulverized coal in electric power generating plants. It is a type of coal combustion residue (CCR) that is collected from the chimneys of power plants before the flue gases are released into the atmosphere. Fortune Business Insights publishes this information in a report titled, "Fly Ash Market, 2023-2030".

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List of Key Players Profiled in the Fly Ash Market Report:

Boral Ltd. (Australia)

Cemex S.A.B. De C.V. (Mexico)

Holcim Ltd. (Switzerland)

Charah, LLC. (U.S.)

Titan America LLC (U.S.)

Cement Australia Pty Limited (Australia)

Salt River Materials Group (U.S.)

Southeastern Fly Ash Company (U.S.)

Tarmac Holdings Limited (U.K.)

Aggregate Industries (U.K.)

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Attributes Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 6.4% 2030 Value Projection USD 20.47 Billion Market Size in 2022 USD 12.62 Billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 200 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Latest Trends Segments Covered By Thickness

By Region

By Application Regions Covered North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East and Africa Fly Ash Market Growth Drivers Rising Commercialization & Industrialization to Augment Market Growth Asia Pacific Dominates the Global Market Due to Emerging Construction Industry

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/fly-ash-market-101087

Segments:

Class F Segment to Dominate Global Market Owing to Advantage of Less Heat Generation

By type, the market is bifurcated into Class F and Class C. Class F ash is created from bituminous and anthracite coals. This class consists of silica and alumina and lower calcium content. The Class F segment is expected to lead the market due to its advantages such as increased compressive strength and less heat generation.

Cement & Concrete Segment Leads the Market Due to Increased Demand from Construction Sector

Based on application, the market is categorized into cement & concretes, fills & embankments, waste stabilization, mining, oil field service, road stabilization, and others. The cement & concrete segment is anticipated to dominate the global market share due to rising product demand in the construction industry.

Geographically, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

COVID-19 Impact:

Halt on Construction Projects Amid Pandemic Hampered the Market Growth

Construction projects were halted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government imposed stringent restrictions on import/export activities, which directly hampered the supplies of raw materials required in the construction industry. Also, the manufacturing and production units were completely shut down during the initial lockdown phase, which created a huge impact on leading companies' productivity. Lack of raw material supplies and halted construction projects affected the global fly ash market growth during the pandemic.

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Report Coverage:

The report provides insightful data regarding recent trends and advancements in the market. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on market expansion has been mentioned along with recent business development strategies adopted by the leading players. Also, drivers and restraints affecting the market growth during the forecast period are highlighted further in this report. Regional insights on segmented areas are given and a list of key market players is mentioned further.

Drivers & Restraints:

Rising Commercialization & Industrialization to Augment Market Growth

The market is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period due to the increasing utilization of fly ash in ceramics. Also, rising renovation and replacement activities are expected to drive market growth in the coming years. Furthermore, increasing product demand from the construction industry is anticipated to fuel the market growth. The rising industrialization and commercialization activities are projected to bolster market development and expansion.

However, poor ash quality and issues pertaining to unavailability may hamper the market growth during the forecast period.

Regional Insights:

Asia Pacific Dominates the Global Market Due to Emerging Construction Industry

Asia Pacific dominates the global fly ash market share due to increasing demand for product from the cement industry. Also, leading companies in the region are expected to fuel the regional market growth.

Europe holds the second-highest global market share due to the rising demand for civil engineering and construction materials, which is anticipated to fuel the regional market growth. Furthermore, rapid infrastructure development in developed countries is expected to propel industry growth.

Competitive Landscape:

Leading Companies to Augment Growth by Forming Business Agreements

The leading players in the global market focus on forming business agreements with supporting companies to expand their business reach and improve their performance. Companies adopt recent technologies to launch new products to meet customer demands and ensure customer satisfaction. These factors ensure enhanced brand image to strengthen industry footing.

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Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Industry Developments Latest Technological Advancements Insights on Regulatory Scenario Porters Five Forces Analysis

Covid-19 Impact Analysis Supply Chain Challenges Steps taken by companies to overcome the impact Opportunities due to COVID-19 outbreak

Global Fly Ash Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 20192030 Key Findings / Summary By Type (Value & Volume) Class F Class C By Application (Value & Volume) Cement & Concretes Fills & Embankments Waste Stabilization Mining Oilfield Services Road Stabilization Others By Region (Value & Volume) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued...!

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Key Industry Development:

December 2021: Boral entered into an agreement with Eco Material Technologies Inc. to sell its North American fly ash business for USD 755.0 million. The transaction will complete Borals portfolio realignment and strategic refocus on its construction materials business in Australia.

Read Related Insights:

Cement Industry Exhibiting 5.1% CAGR During 2022-2029 | Cement Market to Reach USD 481.73 billion by 2029

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Pune, India, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global automatic weapons market size was valued at USD 8.09 billion in 2022 and is expected to be worth USD 8.62 billion in 2023. The market is projected to reach USD 13.83 billion by 2030, recording a CAGR of 7% during the forecast period.

Automatic weapons refer to a combination of semi-automatic and fully automatic firearms that can be fired continuously once the trigger is pulled hard or when there is ample ammunition in their chamber. Rising cross-border tensions among countries across the world has greatly increased the demand for innovative weapons. Many economies are boosting their investments in the development of advanced weapons due to war-like scenarios, thereby enhancing the global automatic weapons market growth.

Fortune Business Insights displays this information in a report titled, "Automatic Weapons Market, 2023-2030."

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List of Key Players Profiled in the Automatic Weapons Market Report:

BAE Systems (U.K.)

Denel Land Systems (South Africa)

FN Herstal (U.K.)

General Dynamics Corporation (U.S.)

Kalashnikov Concern (Russia)

KBP Instrument Design Bureau (Russia)

Northrop Grumman Corporation. (U.S.)

Rheinmetall AG (Germany)

ST Engineering (Singapore)

Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) (Israel)

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 7% 2030 Value Projection USD 13.83 Billion Market Size in 2023 USD 8.62 Billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 200 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Latest Trends Segments Covered By Product Analysis

By Type Analysis

By Caliber Analysis

By End-Use Analysis Regions Covered North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

South America

Middle East and Africa Automatic Weapons Market Growth Drivers Increase in Number of Cross-Border Conflicts is Driving Market Growth Fast Advances in Weapons Technology Are Driving Market Growth

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/automatic-weapons-market-103524

Russia-Ukraine War Impact:

Procurement of Military Weapons Rose During Russia-Ukraine War

The percentage of military weapon imports saw a considerable jump during the initial stages of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as countries across Europe and the world started sending their consignments of military equipment. Nations, such as the U.S. are also exporting tons of military weapons to Ukraine to replenish the latters weapon inventory. These factors will continue to boost the markets growth.

Segmentation:

Growing Need for Automatic Rifles from Many Armed Forces to Expand Market Size

Based on product, the market is segmented into automatic rifles, machine guns, automatic launchers, automatic cannons, and Gatling guns. The automatic rifle segment is set to capture a dominant automatic weapons market share during the forecast period as the demand for these weapons is rising at a robust pace among several armed forces.

Rising Demand for Semi-Automatic Weapons in Different Countries to Boost Market Growth

Based on type, the market is bifurcated into fully automatic and semi-automatic. The semi-automatic segment may account for the largest market share as the demand for semi-automatic weapon systems is growing at a notable rate in countries, such as India, Ukraine, Pakistan, and Syria to keep border tensions under control.

Small-Caliber Assault Rifles to be Widely Used for Their Better Performance

Based on caliber, the market is segmented into small caliber, medium caliber, and large caliber. The small caliber segment is expected to have a leading share in the market during the forecast period as small-caliber assault rifles are offer better performance, higher penetration range, and are quite lethal while carrying out battlefield operations.

Rising Instances of Ground Warfare to Boost Product Use in Land-based Operations

Based on end-user, the market is segmented into land, naval, airborne, and handheld & stationery. The land segment is expected to hold the largest market share due to the rising use of battle tanks, Light-Protected Vehicles (LPVs), Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), and battle tanks.

With respect to region, the market covers North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

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Report Coverage:

The research report analyzes the market in detail and focuses on critical aspects, such as market scenario analysis, significant trends, top-impacting factors, impact analysis, drivers, caliber, types, and key technological trends. In addition, it offers an overview of the markets growth and trends, and highlights top developments in the industry. The report also introduces many factors that have influenced the markets growth in recent years.

Drivers and Restraints:

Rising Cross-Border Conflicts to Accelerate Market Growth

The market is predicted to witness strong growth in the coming years as the number of internal conflicts are increasing in various nations across the world. Governments are also raising their spending on national defense mechanisms to fortify their military power. The growing need to protect the military personnel will also drive the markets growth.

However, high initial cost of developing precision firearms can restrain the markets expansion.

Regional Insights:

North America Market to Grow Steadily With Rising Presence of Top Market Players

North America is predicted to capture the biggest share in the global market as the region has a vast presence of top manufacturers, such as Northrop Grumman Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, and Colts Manufacturing Company LLC. The American government is also trying to fortify its vast portfolio of Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), battles, automatic weapons, and Light-Protected Vehicles (LPVs).

The European market is also anticipated to grow at a considerable rate due to rising investments from key market players.

Competitive Landscape:

Key Players to Focus on Technological Innovations to Boost Market Position

Market trends, such as the design of laser weapons, modular advanced armed robot system, Personnel Interception and Stimulus-Response Rifle (PHASR), and XM25 Anti-defilade Target Counter are the future of this industry. Moreover, other factors, such as diverse product range, R&D activities by key market players, and introduction of futuristic technologies will shape the market landscape.

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Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Industry Developments  Key Contracts & Agreements, Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Latest technological Advancements Porters Five Forces Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Automatic Weapons Market Impact of Russia-Ukraine War on Global Automatic Weapons Market

Global Automatic Weapons Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Key Findings / Definitions Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Caliber Small Caliber Medium Caliber Large Caliber Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Product Automatic Rifles Machine Guns Automatic Launchers Automatic Cannons Gatling Guns Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Fully Automatic Semi-Automatic Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End Use Land Naval Airborne Handheld & Stationary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Europe Asia-pacific Rest of the world

North America Automatic Weapons Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Caliber Small Caliber Medium Caliber Large Caliber Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Product Automatic Rifles Machine Guns Automatic Launchers Automatic Cannons Gatling Guns Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Fully Automatic Semi-Automatic Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End Use Land Naval Airborne Handheld & Stationary Market Analysis  By Country The U.S. Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End Use Land Naval Airborne Handheld & Stationary Canada Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End Use Land Naval Airborne Handheld & Stationary

Europe Automatic Weapons Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Caliber Small Caliber Medium Caliber Large Caliber



TOC Continued...!

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Notable Industry Development:

March 2023  Sako, a Finnish ammunition producer, announced that it will deliver new individual firearms to the Finnish and Swedish armies. The joint framework agreement between the defense forces and Sweden made Sako the sole supplier of firearms to both the armies. The contract, valued at USD 83.1 million, includes 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm caliber automatic weapons, 7.62x51mm precision weapons, and .338 Lapua Magnum rifles.

Read Related Insights:

Military Radar Market to Worth USD 22.06 Billion by 2028 | With 6.27% CAGR

Electronic Warfare Market to Hit USD 37.60 Billion by 2029 | At a CAGR of 5.56%

Rocket and Missile Market to Hit USD 84.77 Billion by 2029 | At a CAGR 4.58%

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Attachment
Dublin, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Allogeneic Cell Therapy Market: Distribution by Type of Cell Therapy, Source of Cell, Target Indication, Therapeutic Area and Key Geographical Regions, 2023-2035" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global allogeneic cell therapy market is projected to witness significant growth in the coming years, with an estimated worth of USD 0.9 billion in 2023, projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% during the forecast period from 2023 to 2035.

The field of regenerative medicine has witnessed a significant evolution with the emergence of cell therapies. Among these, allogeneic cell therapy has gained substantial attention and is projected to drive transformative changes in the healthcare industry. Allogeneic cell therapies, also known as "off-the-shelf" therapies, have the potential to revolutionize treatment paradigms due to their immediate accessibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. In this comprehensive overview, we delve into the key drivers, trends, challenges, and growth prospects of the global allogeneic cell therapy market.

Allogeneic vs. Autologous Cell Therapy: Approaches and Advantages

Allogeneic and autologous cell therapies are two distinct approaches in the realm of regenerative medicine. Autologous therapies involve harvesting a patient's own cells, processing them ex-vivo, and then reintroducing them back into the same patient. While this approach ensures compatibility and minimizes the risk of immune rejection, it requires a longer production timeline, as each patient's cells need to be processed individually. On the other hand, allogeneic cell therapies utilize cells from a healthy donor, which can be administered directly to a genetically similar patient or stored in a cell bank for future use.

The key advantage of allogeneic cell therapy lies in its off-the-shelf availability, eliminating the need for individualized production for each patient. Allogeneic therapies offer consistent product quality due to rigorous quality control measures during processing. Additionally, centralized manufacturing processes result in reduced costs. The flexibility to approach the same donor or choose a different donor for subsequent treatments enhances the appeal of allogeneic cell therapies.

Pipeline and Clinical Trials: A Landscape of Innovation

The allogeneic cell therapy market is witnessing rapid innovation, with numerous stakeholders engaged in developing a diverse range of therapies for various indications. Currently, over 470 allogeneic cell therapies are being evaluated in different stages of preclinical and clinical development. These therapies target a wide spectrum of disorders, including infectious diseases, neurological disorders, oncological disorders, and more.

Gamida Cell's recent FDA approval of its umbilical cord blood-derived allogeneic stem cell therapy, Omisirge (omidubicel-onlv), for the treatment of hematologic malignancies highlights the market's progress. The continuous efforts of both industry and non-industry players, combined with encouraging clinical trial results, are contributing to the growing momentum in the allogeneic cell therapy landscape.

Partnerships and Collaborations: Driving Innovation Forward

Collaboration has emerged as a pivotal trend in the allogeneic cell therapy market. Industry players are forming strategic alliances with both industry and non-industry partners to accelerate research, development, and commercialization efforts. Notably, over 90 partnerships have been established since 2019, spanning areas such as research and development, product and technology licensing, and novel therapy development.

These collaborations facilitate knowledge exchange, resource sharing, and access to complementary expertise, thereby expediting the development of innovative allogeneic cell therapies. For instance, Tessa Therapeutics' partnership with the US National Cancer Institute for the development of allogeneic CD30.CAR-modified Epstein-Barr virus-specific T-cell therapy exemplifies the potential of collaborative efforts.

Investment and Funding: Fueling Growth and Innovation

Investor interest in the allogeneic cell therapy market has been robust, as evidenced by the substantial funds raised by companies engaged in developing these therapies. Over the past four years, approximately USD 8.8 billion has been invested globally. Venture rounds have contributed significantly to funding, reflecting the growing confidence in the market's potential.

Legend Biotech's initial public offering (IPO), which raised USD 487.3 million, showcases the market's attractiveness to investors. Funding is not only driving the development of allogeneic cell therapies but also fostering innovation and technology advancement in this space.

Market Growth Factors: Challenges and Opportunities

Several factors are driving the growth of the allogeneic cell therapy market. The ongoing efforts of both industry and non-industry players, coupled with rising prevalence of chronic diseases and non-malignant disorders, are fostering the development and adoption of allogeneic therapies. Moreover, the challenges associated with producing autologous cell therapies, which are personalized and time-consuming, further underscore the potential of allogeneic therapies to revolutionize healthcare delivery.

Clinical Trials: Investigating Efficacy and Safety

The burgeoning allogeneic cell therapy landscape is supported by a multitude of clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of these therapies. More than 365 clinical trials are currently registered, targeting various indications such as hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, infectious diseases, and neurological disorders. Geographically, North America hosts the majority of these trials, accounting for around 55% of the total enrollment.

Among the noteworthy trials, the allogeneic CAR T cell therapy ALLO-715 (developed by Allogene) has demonstrated promising results in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, further validating the potential of allogeneic cell therapies.

Regional Market Share: North America's Dominance

North America is anticipated to capture over 60% of the global allogeneic cell therapy market share by 2035. The region boasts a thriving ecosystem of companies focused on developing allogeneic cell therapies. Additionally, rising disease incidence, FDA approvals, and government support for reimbursement are driving the market's growth in North America. Government initiatives that provide reimbursement for expensive allogeneic cell therapies underscore the region's recognition of the transformative potential of these therapies in improving patient outcomes.

Key Players and Future Prospects

Numerous key players are actively engaged in the development of allogeneic cell therapies, targeting a diverse range of indications. These players include Artiva Biotherapeutics, Allogene Therapeutics, Atara Biotherapeutics, Celularity, CRISPR Therapeutics, Fate Therapeutics, Mesoblast, Poseida Therapeutics, and more. The industry's dynamism and innovation, coupled with increasing approvals and advancements in cell therapy manufacturing, are poised to drive substantial growth in the allogeneic cell therapy market during the forecast period.

Conclusion

The global allogeneic cell therapy market is witnessing remarkable progress, fueled by innovative approaches, strategic collaborations, substantial investments, and encouraging clinical trial outcomes. Allogeneic cell therapies hold the promise of transforming healthcare delivery by offering immediate availability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. As industry and non-industry players continue to push the boundaries of innovation, the allogeneic cell therapy market is poised for substantial growth, paving the way for a new era in regenerative medicine.

Key Topics Covered

1. PREFACE

1.1. Allogeneic Cell Therapy Market Overview

1.2. Key Market Insights

1.3. Scope of the Report

1.4. Research Methodology

1.5. Frequently Asked Questions

1.6. Chapter Outlines

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3. INTRODUCTION

3.1. Overview of Allogeneic Cell Therapy

3.2. Manufacturing Process of Allogeneic Cell Therapy

3.3. Advantages Offered by Allogeneic Cell Therapy

3.4. Challenges Associated with Allogeneic Cell Therapy

3.5. Recent Developments in Allogeneic Cell Therapy Industry

3.6. Future Perspectives

4. MARKET LANDSCAPE

4.1. Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Market Landscape

4.2. Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Developer Landscape

5. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS

5.1. Chapter Overview

5.2. Partnership Models

5.2. Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Partnerships and Collaborations

6. FUNDING AND INVESTMENTS

6.1. Chapter Overview

6.2. Types of Funding

6.3. Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Funding and Investments

7. CLINICAL TRIAL ANALYSIS

7.1. Analysis Methodology and Key Parameters

7.2. Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Clinical Trial Analysis

8. KEY OPINION LEADERS

8.1. Methodology and Key Parameters

8.2. Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)

9. MARKET FORECAST AND OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

9.1. Chapter Overview

9.2. Forecast Methodology and Key Assumptions

9.3. Global Allogeneic Cell Therapy Market, 2023-2035

9.4. Allogeneic Cell Therapy Market: Product-wise Sales Forecast, 2023-2035

10. EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS

10.1. Chapter Overview

10.2. Mesoblast

10.3. Triumvira Immunologics

11. APPENDIX I: TABULATED DATA

12. APPENDIX II: LIST OF COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

Companies Mentioned (378 Total)

920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force

AbbVie

Academisch Medisch Centrum

Acepodia

Adaptimmune Therapeutics

Adicet Bio

Aegle Therapeutics

Affiliated Hospital to Academy of Military Medical Sciences

Affimed

Alaunos Therapeutics

Allogene Therapeutics

AlloVir

Alpha Biopharma

Altaco XXI

Amgen

Angiocrine Bioscience

Anhui Provincial Hospital

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Anterogen

Antion Biosciences

APICES

Athersys

Artiva Biotherapeutics

Astellas Pharma

Atara Biotherapeutics

Athenex

Athersys

Autolomous

Azidus Brasil

Bayer

Baylor College of Medicine

Baylx

Be The Match BioTherapies

Beijing 302 Hospital

Beijing Doing Biomedical

Beijing GD Initiative Cell Therapy Technology

Beijing Immunochina Medical Science & Technology

JD Biotech

Beijing SH biotechnology

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

BHI Therapeutic Sciences

BioCardia

Bioceltech Therapeutics

BioCentriq

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)

Biorasi

Bioray Laboratories

BioSenic (Previously known as Bone Therapeutics)

Bristol Myers Squibb

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Cancer Research UK

Capricor Therapeutics

CardioCell

Caribou Biosciences

Cartesian Therapeutics

Junta de Castilla y Leon

Catalent Pharma Solutions

Catamaran Bio

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Celixir

Cell2Cure

Cellavita

Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult

Cellectis

Cellenkos

Cellerant Therapeutics

Cellerix

Celltex Therapeutics

Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG)

Celularity

Celyad Oncology

Center for Breakthrough Medicines

Central South University

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Limoges

Chabiotech

Chandler Regional Medical Center

Changhai Hospital

Huaxia Intech (Biotech) Biotechnology (Previously known as China Immunotech Biotechnology)

China-Japan Friendship Hospital

Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Chinese PLA General Hospital

Cipla

Citospin

Cleveland Clinic

Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc

CoImmune

Copenhagen University Hospital

Corestem

CRISPR Therapeutics

Cynata Therapeutics

CytoMed Therapeutics

Cytopeutics

Cytora

Cytovia Therapeutics

Daewoong Pharmaceutical

Department of Health and Human Services

Deverra Therapeutics

Direct Biologics

DiscGenics

Dt&SanoMedics

Duke University

EdiGene

Editas Medicine

ElevateBio

ENCell

Enlivex Therapeutics

European Commission

European Union

Ever Supreme Bio Technology

Fate Therapeutics

Ferrer Internacional

FGK Clinical Research

FibroBiologics

Fondazione Matilde Tettamanti Menotti De Marchi Onlus

Formula Pharmaceuticals

Fortress Biotech

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies

Fundamenta Therapeutics

Gamida Cell

GC Cell

Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss

Genentech

GentiBio

Genzyme

Ghent University

Global Cord Blood Corporation

Glycostem Therapeutics

Gracell Biotechnologies

Granzer Regulatory Consulting & Services

Greenlight Clinical

Gwo xi Stem Cell

GX Acquisition

Qihan Biotech

Hanyang University Medical Center

HCW Biologics

Hebei Yanda Ludaopei Hospital

Help Therapeutics

Henan Cancer Hospital

Histocell

Hope Biosciences

Hospital Clinico Universitario de Valladolid

Hospital del Rio Hortega

Hospital for Special Surgery

Hospital Infantil Universitario Nino Jesus

Hospital San Carlos

Hospital Vera Cruz

Huashan Hospital

Hyundai Bioland

iCAR Bio Therapeutics

iCell Gene Therapeutics

ICON plc

Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI)

IMAC Regeneration Centers

Immunitybio

Implant Therapeutics

Imugene

IN8bio

Incyte

inno.N

Innovate UK

Institute of Biophysics and Cell Engineering of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital

Instituto de Salud Carlos III

International Research Institute Servier

Janssen

JCR Pharmaceutical

jCyte

Jiangsu Topcel-KH Pharmaceutical

Jinling Hospital

JW Therapeutics

Kadimastem

Kangstem Biotech

Karolinska Institutet

Kinesiometrics

KSQ Therapeutics

Kuur Therapeutics

Kyocera

Legend Biotech

LG Chem

Lineage Cell Therapeutics

Link Health

Longeveron

Lonza

LUMICKS

Lung Biotechnology PBC

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Magellan Stem Cells

Magenta Therapeutics

Masonic Cancer Center

MaxCyte

Mayo Clinic

McGill University Health Centre

Medac

Medeor Therapeutics

Medical University of South Carolina

MEDIPOST

Medpace

Medsenic

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Mendus

Merck Sharp & Dohme

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center

Mesoblast

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion

Ministry of Health & Welfare (MOHW)

Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University

Nanjing Bioheng Biotech

Nanjing Enricnk Biotech

NantKwest

National Cancer Institute

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD) (Indonesia)

National University Hospital, Singapore

Nature Cell

Neurona Therapeutics

NexImmune

NextCell Pharma

Nippon Shinyaku

Nkarta Therapeutics

Nohla Therapeutics

Northern Therapeutics

Novartis Pharmaceuticals

NuVasive

Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

OmniaBio

Oncternal Therapeutics

Ono Pharmaceutical

Orca Bio

Orthofix

Osiris Therapeutics

Ossium Health

Overland Pharmaceuticals

Pandorum International

PersonGen BioTherapeutics (Suzhou)

Pfizer

Pharmicell

Phio Pharmaceuticals

Pieris Pharmaceuticals

Pierre Fabre

Pluristem Therapeutics

Poseida Therapeutics

PPD

Precision BioSciences

Precision Biotech

Pregene

ProMab Biotechnologies

Promethera Biosciences

Protech Pharmaservices

PT Prodia StemCell Indonesia (ProSTEM)

Pulthera

Q Therapeutics

Quintiles

R3 Stem Cell

Red de Terapia Celular

Regeneus

ReNeuron

Renji Hospital

Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University

Restem

resTORbio

RHEACELL

Rigenerand

Rigshospitalet

Roche

Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals

Ruijin Hospital

S.Biomedics

Salvat

Sanofi

Santen Pharmaceutical

Sclnow Biotechnology

SCM Lifescience

Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University

Sentien Biotechnologies

Seoul CRO

Servier

Shanghai Changzheng Hospital

Shanghai East Hospital

Shanghai GeneChem

Shanghai General Hospital

Shanghai iCELL Biotechnology

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital

Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center

Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital

Shenzhen Pregene Biopharma

Shenzhen University General Hospital

Shire

SK Bioland

SMT Bio

Sorrento Therapeutics

Springworks

Staburo

Stanford University

Stemedica Cell Technologies

Steminent Biotherapeutics

Stempeutics Research

Taiga Biotechnologies

Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Taiwan Bio Therapeutics

Talaris Therapeutics

Tang-Du Hospital

TC BioPharm

Teijin Pharma

Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Tessa Therapeutics

Tevogen Bio

The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University

The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University

The Affiliated Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University

The Cleveland Clinic

The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University

The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology

The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College

The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University

The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China

The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University

The First People's Hospital of Hefei

The Foundation for Orthopaedics and Regenerative Medicine

The General Hospital of Western Theater Command

The Marcus Foundation

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute

The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University

The Second Hospital of Shandong University

The University of Texas Health Science Center

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Thomas Jefferson University

TICEBA

TiGenix (Acquired by Takeda)

Timmune Biotech

Tiziana Life Sciences

Translational Biosciences

Trinity College Dublin

Tri-Service General Hospital

Triumvira Immunologics

Tscan Therapeutics

Twist Bioscience

UCI Medical Center

UMC Utrecht

UnicoCell Biomed

Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

University Medical Center Groningen

University of California

University of Florida

University of Kansas Medical Center

University of Louisville

University of Miami

University of Minnesota

University of Munich

University of Sydney

University of Valladolid

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Uppsala University

National Cancer Institute

Utooth Biological Technology

VetStem Biopharma

ViaCyte

ViGenCell

Vinmec Research Institute of Stem Cell and Gene Technology

Vinnova

Virginia Contract Research Organization

Viscofan

Vitro Biopharma

Washington University

Wugen

Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital

Xindu (A subsidiary of Xintela)

Xinqiao Hospital of Chongqing

Xintela

Xuzhou Medical University

Zelluna Immunotherapy

Zhejiang University

Zhengzhou University

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Attachment
Pune, India, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global avionics market size was valued at USD 81.68 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to expand from USD 90.32 billion in 2023 to USD 159.35 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.45% over the study period. The rise is propelled by the increasing adoption of advanced systems and the expanding commercial aviation market.

Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its research report, titled Avionics Market Size, 2023-2030.

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List of Key Players Profiled in the Avionics Market Report:

Avilution LLC (The U.S.)

BAE Systems (The U.K.)

CCX Technologies (Canada)

Cobham PLC (The U.K.)

Collins Aerospace (The U.S.)

Garmin Ltd. (The U.S.)

General Electric (The U.S.)

Honeywell International Inc (The U.S.)

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (The U.S.)

Meggitt (The U.K.)

Search Results

Web results

Nucon Aerospace(India)

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 8.45% 2030 Value Projection USD 159.35 Billion Market Size in 2022 USD 81.68 Billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 200 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Latest Trends Segments Covered By System

By Platform

By End-Use

By Geography Regions Covered North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East and Africa Avionics Market Growth Drivers Improving Aircraft Computing Capabilities are Propelling the Market Growth Increasing Demand for Military Aircraft from Emerging Economies such as China and India Will Aid Growth

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COVID-19 Impact:

The recent coronavirus outbreak has created a sense of panic across the world. The rapid spread of the disease has had an adverse effect on several businesses across diverse industries. The efforts taken by governments across several countries to curb the spread of the diseases have forced businesses to shut down completely. It has been a similar scenario in the avionics industry and the past few months have presented several challenges to the businesses in this sector. The rising cases of coronavirus have put people in a state of panic and hesitancy; a primary factor behind the economic downfall in the past few months.

Segmentation:

Hardware Segment to Exhibit Substantial Growth Due to Trajectory Projection Capabilities

On the basis of system, the market is fragmented into software and hardware. The hardware segment is poised to expand at a considerable CAGR over the projected period. The segment held a leading share in the market in 2022 impelled by the multitasking capability of the system.

Commercial Segment to Gain Traction Considering the Rising Product Demand

By platform, the market is categorized into helicopters, general aviation, business jets, military, and commercial. The commercial segment accounted for a large market share and is estimated to record a substantial CAGR over the study period. The expansion is driven by the soaring demand for commercial aircraft.

Aftermarket Segment to Lead Impelled by Increase in Aircraft Upgradation Opportunities

By end-use, the market is segmented into aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers. The aftermarket segment accounted for a key market share in 2022 and is set to expand at an appreciable pace over the forecast period. The rise is driven by an increase in upgradation programs from numerous commercial airlines.

Based on geography, the market for avionics is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of The World.

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Report Coverage

The report provides a detailed analysis of the top segments and the latest trends in the market. It comprehensively discusses the driving and restraining factors and the impact of COVID-19 on the market. Additionally, it examines the regional developments and the strategies undertaken by the market's key players.

Drivers and Restraints:

Rising Adoption of Flight Management System to Impel Industry Expansion

One of the key factors impelling avionics market growth is the soaring adoption of flight management and aircraft computing systems. These solutions provide surveillance systems, integrated cabin electronics solutions, navigation systems, proline fusion capabilities, and others.

However, the industry expansion may be hampered by the high cost associated with the maintenance of avionics systems.

Regional Insights:

North America to Emerge as Key Region Owing to Increasing Commercial Aircraft Demand

North America avionics market share is anticipated to expand at a substantial rate over the study period. The region accounted for a dominating share in 2022 owing to the presence of key manufacturers.

The Europe market is poised to grow at a considerable CAGR over the estimated period. The rise is driven by the extensive portfolios of key companies in the region.

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Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Industry Developments  Key Contracts & Agreements, Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Latest technological Advancements Porters Five Forces Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Qualitative Insights  Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Global Avionics Market

Global Avionics Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Key Findings / Definitions Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By System Hardware Software Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Platform Commercial Narrow Body Wide Body Regional Jet Military Combat Transport Helicopters Business Jets General Aviation Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End-User OEM Aftermarket Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Rest of the World



TOC Continued...!

Industry Developments:

April 2020  Lockheed Martin Corporation announced that it has signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force. The contract is said to be worth USD 50 million and will be aimed at upgrading the advanced avionics suite, which is used to modernize the U-2 combat aircrafts onboard system.

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About Us:

Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Address:

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

9th Floor, Icon Tower, Baner,

Mahalunge Road, Baner, Pune - 411045,

Maharashtra, India.

Phone:

US: +1 424 253 0390

UK: +44 2071 939123

APAC: +91 744 740 1245

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New York, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Food Additives Market Assessment, By Functional Utility, By Source, By Application, By Region, Opportunities, and Forecast, 2016-2030F" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06486313/?utm_source=GNW



The Food Additives Market in the world was valued at around USD 121.23 billion in 2022, and it is anticipated to expand to USD 170.56 billion by 2030, showcasing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.36% from 2023 to 2030. The desirability of food additives among food companies and the consequent market growth is driven by their multifunctionality. As the demand for food and beverages with sustained quality, improved visual appeal, and enhanced taste increases, so does the demand for food additives. The international body Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), is responsible for evaluating the food additives and giving them safety approval before they are traded internationally.



Moreover, the rapid advancement of technology in the food industry to meet consumer demands for healthier food options is expected to impact market growth positively. In particular, companies operating in the food additives market have been focusing on adopting micro-encapsulation techniques to deliver colours effectively in the final product formulations.



Preference for Clean Labels and Natural Ingredients as Food Additives



The demand for clean labelling in food products has surged, prompting the global food industry to emphasize processing methods more. In response, food additive manufacturers have adjusted their production practices to develop clean-label additives suitable for creating clean-label products. These additives find applications in various food products, such as low- and high-fat vegan dressings, white cooking sauces, ready meals, and more, serving as egg alternatives. As a result, food and beverage manufacturers are proactively adjusting the formulations of their products to align with the changing consumer demand for natural ingredients. For example, in January 2021, Corbion NV, a global lactic acid manufacturer, announced a significant investment to expand its North American production capacity (approximately 40%) to meet the rising demand for natural ingredients across multiple industries.



Furthermore, the consumption of natural and clean-label additives is being significantly bolstered by extensive promotional efforts by various associations on a global scale. An exemplary organization contributing to market promotion is the Natural Food Colors Association, which operates primarily in Europe. This association promotes natural colorants, collaborating with industry leaders like ADM Wild, DDW Color House, CHR Hansen, FMC, and GNT. To enhance industry efficiency, the association operates several working groups dedicated to exploring the potential of different natural colour sources. Notably, in February 2022, the Archer Daniels Midland Company successfully concluded the acquisition of Comhan, a prominent flavour distributor based in South Africa. After establishing a longstanding collaboration with Comhan, this recent acquisition facilitates direct access for both current and potential customers to ADMs vast portfolio and network of experts.



Focus on Extending the Shelf-Life of Products



Food production companies increasingly use additives to ensure food safety during transportation and storage. These companies seek solutions to extend their products shelf-life without altering flavour or appearance, maintaining consistent quality, and ensuring food safety. There is a growing demand for neatly packaged food items, particularly on-the-go options, which is driving food manufacturing companies to incorporate shelf-life stabilizers or preservatives to increase the shelf life of these products without compromising on quality. The need for shelf-life stabilizers like natamycin, rosemary extract, and potassium sorbate has surged due to the rising import-export activities of food and beverages worldwide, necessitating the extension of their shelf lives.



For instance, in July 2022, at the Institute of Food Technologists 2022 event held in Chicago, IL, Kemin Industries presented its full range of clean-label ingredient solutions for the food industry. Participants were encouraged to explore possibilities for minimizing food waste, enhancing yield, and prolonging product shelf life while adhering to clean label standards.



Government Regulations/Initiatives



Government regulations aim to protect consumer health and provide clear guidelines for food manufacturers and suppliers. Food additives undergo thorough safety assessments before they are approved for use in various countries and regions, such as the United States, the European Union, and Canada. Regulatory agencies evaluate the potential risks associated with additives and establish acceptable daily intake levels. The approval process involves submitting scientific data and evidence supporting the safety and functionality of additives. Government regulations also specify the permitted uses and maximum levels of additives in different food categories, preventing excessive usage and potential harm to consumers.



Additionally, labelling requirements mandate that food additives be listed on product labels, enabling consumers to make informed choices. Continuous monitoring by regulatory authorities ensures that safety standards are upheld, and regulations are updated as necessary. Compliance with these regulations is essential for food industry stakeholders to ensure the quality and safety of food products.



Asia-Pacific Leads the Market



Asia-Pacific has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing market for food additives owing to a rising demand for precessed food. Countries like India and Australia are major milk producers, experiencing an increasing demand for flavoured milk, ice creams, and other dairy products. To create value-added dairy products, food additives such as colours, emulsifiers, flavours, and sweeteners are essential. Emulsifiers, like E4701, are commonly used in ice creams by dairy manufacturers like Amul, as they contribute to viscosity, stability, and fat reduction.



The demand for food colouring has also significantly increased across Asian countries like China, a significant producer and consumer of food colorants. China has introduced a new standard to provide regulatory clarity for colouring foodstuffs, allowing products using these ingredients to claim them as natural. This standard is expected to facilitate the adoption of clean-label solutions and promote the natural food colorant market. Several food ingredient companies are actively entering and mounting their presence in India. For instance, in January 2021, True Elements, a clean-label health foods brand by India-based HW Wellness Solutions Pvt. Ltd secured funding of USD 1.36 billion to support its expansion in India.



Technological Advancements in Food Processing



Technological advancements in food processing are playing a significant role in driving the food additives market. These advancements enable food manufacturers to develop and incorporate a wide range of food additives to enhance their products quality, safety, and appeal. Improved processing techniques, such as high-pressure and microencapsulation, allow for better incorporation and delivery of food additives, ensuring their effectiveness and stability. Advanced equipment and machinery facilitate precise dosage and uniform dispersion of additives, resulting in consistent product quality. Additionally, innovative packaging technologies, such as active and intelligent packaging, enable the incorporation of additives that can increase the shelf life of food products and maintain their freshness. Integrating automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence in food processing also ensures efficient production processes, enabling manufacturers to meet the growing demand for food additives cost-effectively. As food processing technologies continue to evolve, they provide new opportunities for developing and applying food additives, driving the growth of the food additives market.



Impact of COVID-19



The food additives market has experienced a notable influence from the COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread disruptions in the global supply chains and restrictions on manufacturing and distribution activities resulted in challenges for food additive manufacturers. Additionally, the economic downturn and uncertainty led to changes in consumer behaviour, with a focus on essential food items and a shift away from discretionary spending. This reduced demand for certain food products, subsequently affecting the demand for food additives.



However, on the positive side, increased demand for food products with longer shelf life and enhanced safety measures led to a rise in preservatives and antimicrobial additives. Moreover, the growing consumer interest in health and wellness during the pandemic drove the demand for natural and clean-label additives.



Key Players Landscape and Outlook



Prominent market participants such as Archer Daniels Midland Company, BASF SE, DuPont de Nemours Inc., and Tate & Lyle PLC actively engage in research and development endeavours to create distinctive products and gain a competitive edge. For example, Kerry inaugurated a state-of-the-art taste facility in Irapuato, Mexico, in June 2021. This strategic move is anticipated to bolster the companys market position in Mexico while providing advanced flavour and enhancer solutions to the local customer base.



Market players are implementing strategies such as mergers and acquisitions and expanding their production capacities to fuel their business growth. For instance , in May 2022, in an expanded collaboration, BASF, a leading chemical company, appointed Brenntag Specialties as the exclusive distributor for their Baxxodur amine-based curing agents in the United States and Canada. This agreement strengthens the partnership between BASF and Brenntag Specialties, a global leader in specialty chemical distribution.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06486313/?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.



__________________________
ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NiFTiesLab Corp, operator of the first BRC-20 attention economy token $HSAC that rewards user engagement and interaction, has announced a collaboration with Icon.X World , a cutting edge Web3 car racing simulation platform. The two companies will collaborate on the Asian leg of the Web3 Grand Prix Tour at blockchain conferences throughout H2 2023, offering participants a chance to test drive the Icon.X World platform and win prizes from a pool of 1 million HSAC tokens.





The top 30 drivers at each conference will share the pool of 1 million HSAC tokens. Following is a breakdown of how the prizes will be split for each conference:

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HSAC will be hosting the racing competitions at the following events as part of their Asia Tour this year: Coinfest Asia in Bali this month; Korea Blockchain Week, Singapores Token2049 and the Bitcoin Ordinals Summit, Philippine Blockchain Week and the Tokyo Game Show in September; and ETH Vietnam in November.



The Icon.X racing competition represents a first use case for HSAC as an attention reward token on BRC-20, the exciting new Bitcoin network standard, states NiFTiesLabs Official representative. We look forward to rewarding the winners of the Icon.X races, not to mention forging new partnerships that can put $HSAC to further utility.



We are pleased to add HSAC proprietor NiFTiesLab to our ever-growing list of strategic alliances, adds Icon.X World. We have previously collaborated with Alpine NFTs and the Aston Martin and Mirage Formula One racing teams at other Web3 events, bringing an authentic feel to our racing sim that is so immersive, players will feel like theyre actually in the drivers seat.



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Conference attendees interested in pitting their racing skills against other event-goers can pre-register for the competition to win HSAC tokens by filling out their information at the following link:

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When juggling between speed and cost, Ethereums faster block times have led to constant network congestion and inflated transaction fees. BRC-20 tokens balance velocity and affordability by maintaining an acceptable transaction speed with an average transaction cost of around $0.15, a stark contrast to ERC-20's approximately $6 fee.



A key innovation of the BRC-20 standard is its capacity to facilitate eortless integration with Bitcoin-centric services and applications, an advantage previously held by other token standards such as ERC-20 or BEP-20 within their respective ecosystems.



HSAC: Perfectly Executing the Fun Bitcoin Concept with New Utility



In terms of market share, Bitcoin has traditionally occupied about half of the entire crypto market, with all the rest of the altcoins sharing the remainder. The innovation of BRC-20 now leaves Bitcoin poised to take over Ethereum as the leading DApp Network, an untapped market potential attractive for both developers and users alike.



The HSAC token is uniquely positioned as a pioneering attention token on the Bitcoin network where it can be implemented on any kind of application or platform to reward user engagement and interaction. With HSAC, owning a token also means being a part of the wider, massive and established Bitcoin community. Leveraging Bitcoin's robustness, security and name recognition, HSAC benefits from operating on the BRC-20 protocol.



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Icon.X World is a cutting-edge, immersive, and decentralized eSport platform that blends the thrilling world of competitive car racing with the cutting-edge technology of blockchain and NFTs. It's the next evolution. More information about Icon.X World can be found on the platforms website: https://iconx.world

Media Contact

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/da63edcb-8702-412a-9aa6-79e3dbc4fd29
Multiple wide, high-grade zones of zinc-lead-silver mineralization have been intersected in a stratiform, laminated to massive sulphide zone at Boundary Zone, part of an extensive sediment-hosted massive sulphide system.

NB23-007 intersected an upper zone of 82.5 m (15 m true width) of 11.9%, zinc 2.2% lead and 81.2 g/t silver, including 27.03 m (4.9 m true width) of 26.7% zinc, 4.2% lead, and 165.2 g/t silver.

NB23-007 also intersected a separate, lower zone of 118 m (40 m true width) grading 15.1% zinc, 2.8% lead, and 85.8 g/t silver including 77.07 m (26 m true width) of 18.7% zinc, 3.5% lead, and 101.4 g/t silver.

NB23-004 intersected 33.43 m (22 m true width) of 8.0% zinc, 2.0% lead, and 59.2 g/t silver, including 13.88 m (9.1 m true width) of 12.6% zinc, 3.7% lead, and 99.4 g/t silver.

Assays are pending for down-dip, step-out intersections of massive sulphide with intersected thicknesses between 25 m and 140 m, and additional drilling is underway where the zone remains open at depth.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIREWEED METALS CORP. (Fireweed or the Company) (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF) is pleased to report additional assay results from its 2023 exploration at the Macmillan Pass Project, Yukon, and provide an update from its largest ever drill program.

CEO Statement

Brandon Macdonald, CEO, stated, In our largest field season ever, we continue to hit spectacular grade and widths of mineralization at Boundary Zone. The results from NB23-007 include two intersections which continue to demonstrate the world-class potential of mineralization at Boundary Zone. These results show continuity with, and even eclipse NB22-002, formerly Fireweeds best-ever drillhole, in terms of grade and length of mineralization.

Results from the Boundary Feeder Zone Target

Following up on drilling from 2022 and the initial results of the 2023 program which targeted a gap in the drilling between two of Fireweeds best-ever drillholes at Boundary Zone, NB22-002 and NB22-023 (see Fireweed news releases dated June 22, 2023, November 22, 2022, and March 2, 2023), Fireweed has continued to test the high-grade feeder zone target that is interpreted to occur as at least one stratiform layer within a sediment hosted massive sulphide system. Both the initial results from 2023 as well as those from 2022 intersected very wide, high-grade zones and demonstrate continuity of the mineralized system.

Table 1: Assay result highlights for holes of the 2023 drilling program, Boundary Zone.

Drillhole Interval From

(m) To (m) Interval

Width (m) Est. True

Width (m) Zinc

(%) Lead

(%) Silver

(g/t) Bulk Density

(t/m3) NB23-004 Primary 267.92 301.35 33.43 22 8.0 2.0 59.2 3.57 NB23-004 Including 267.92 281.8 13.88 9.1 12.6 3.7 99.4 4.29 NB23-004 >including 268.8 277.06 8.26 5.4 14.9 4.5 124.8 4.47 NB23-005 Primary 139.75 165 25.25 22 6.4 0.7 31.9 3.24 NB23-005 >including 150.5 160 9.5 8.3 12.2 1.3 66.9 3.65 NB23-006 Primary 102.2 140.9 38.7 N/A 5.6 0.0 6.7 2.83 NB23-006 >including* 121.36 123.46 2.1 N/A 30.7 0.1 38.8 3.62 NB23-007 Primary 170.7 253.2 82.5 15 11.9 2.2 81.2 3.15 NB23-007 >including 180.89 207.92 27.03 4.9 26.7 4.2 165.2 3.49 NB23-007 Primary 308.9 426.9 118 40 15.1 2.8 85.8 4.04 NB23-007 >including 313.7 325.03 11.33 3.8 15.0 3.7 96.1 4.21 NB23-007 >including 332.3 409.37 77.07 26 18.7 3.5 101.4 4.00 NB23-008 Primary 242.2 286.9 44.7 N/A 6.5 0.2 9.6 3.48 NB23-008 >including 252 268.3 16.3 N/A 10.3 0.2 11.3 3.64 NB23-008 Primary 323.7 359.1 35.4 N/A 5.2 0.1 8.8 3.49 NB23-008 >including 327.5 339 11.5 N/A 10.7 0.2 13.5 3.75

* Denotes intervals with core recovery of less than 85%

Fireweed has successfully intersected pyrite-sphalerite-galena as stratiform massive sulphides, laminated mineralization, replacement mineralization, veins, and breccias in the 2023 step-outs. Zinc mineralization has been intersected in every step-out hole that has been completed to depth at both Boundary Zone and the Tom deposit. Assays have been received for the first eight holes, with holes NB23-004, NB23-005, NB23-006, NB23-007, and NB23-008 reported in this news release (Tables 1 and 2, with two minor intervals with assays pending at the end of holes NB23-006 and NB23-008) along with brief logging summaries for an additional 34 holes that have tested targets at Tom and Boundary Zone (Table 3).

Hole NB23-007 intersected a lower interval of 118 m grading 15.1% zinc, 2.8% lead, and 85.8 g/t silver that demonstrates continuity of grade with the exceptional results from NB22-002, as well as an upper interval comprising 82.5 m of massive sulphide grading 11.9% zinc, 2.2% lead, and 81.2 g/t silver. The upper and lower stratiform massive sulphide zones were intersected at a low angle to bedding and have estimated true widths of approximately 15 m and 40 m, respectively.

intersected a lower interval of 118 m grading 15.1% zinc, 2.8% lead, and 85.8 g/t silver that demonstrates continuity of grade with the exceptional results from NB22-002, as well as an upper interval comprising 82.5 m of massive sulphide grading 11.9% zinc, 2.2% lead, and 81.2 g/t silver. The upper and lower stratiform massive sulphide zones were intersected at a low angle to bedding and have estimated true widths of approximately 15 m and 40 m, respectively. Hole NB23-004 intersected two intervals of sphalerite and galena mineralization, with a 33.43 m intersection (22 m true width) correlated with the stratiform layer of mineralization grading 8.0% zinc, 2.0% lead, and 59.2 g/t silver and a 20.49 m intercept of vein and replacement style sulphides grading 4.9% zinc.

intersected two intervals of sphalerite and galena mineralization, with a 33.43 m intersection (22 m true width) correlated with the stratiform layer of mineralization grading 8.0% zinc, 2.0% lead, and 59.2 g/t silver and a 20.49 m intercept of vein and replacement style sulphides grading 4.9% zinc. Hole NB23-006 intersected two zones, a 32.65 m (16 m true width) intercept of laminated sulphides grading 4.4% zinc and 12.4 g/t silver, and a 38.7 m interval of vein and replacement mineralization grading 5.6% zinc and 6.7 g/t silver.

intersected two zones, a 32.65 m (16 m true width) intercept of laminated sulphides grading 4.4% zinc and 12.4 g/t silver, and a 38.7 m interval of vein and replacement mineralization grading 5.6% zinc and 6.7 g/t silver. Hole NB23-005 intersected a 25.25 m (22 m true width) interval of semi-massive, laminated and stratiform sulphide containing 6.4% zinc, 0.7% lead, and 31.9 g/t silver including 9.5 m (8.3 m true width) of 12.2% zinc, 1.3% lead, and 66.9 g/t silver.

intersected a 25.25 m (22 m true width) interval of semi-massive, laminated and stratiform sulphide containing 6.4% zinc, 0.7% lead, and 31.9 g/t silver including 9.5 m (8.3 m true width) of 12.2% zinc, 1.3% lead, and 66.9 g/t silver. Hole NB23-008 intersected a 44.7 m interval of volcanic hosted semi-massive sulphide containing 6.5% zinc and 9.6 g/t silver, including 16.3 m of 10.3% zinc, and 11.3 g/t silver. This hole contained another interval of 35.4 m of vein-mineralization grading 5.2% zinc, and 8.8 g/t silver, including 11.5 m of 10.7% zinc, and 13.5 g/t silver (see Photo 1).

See Tables 1, 2 and 3, Long Section M-M, Cross Section KK, Cross Section LL and Maps 2 and 3 below for further details.

Step-out drilling at Boundary Zone targeting the massivestratiform zone has resulted in many wide intersections of zinc-lead mineralization with assays pending. The most significant intersections can be seen on Long Section M-M and are listed here:

NB23-011 intersected 45 m of massive, semi-massive and brecciated sulphide.

NB23-012 intersected 48 m of massive to laminated sulphide.

NB23-013 intersected 25 m of massive sulphide.

NB23-016 intersected 70 m of feeder proximal massive sulphide.

NB23-019 intersected 60 m of massive sulphide.

NB23-022 intersected 55 m of massive sulphide.

NB23-028 intersected 140 m of feeder-proximal laminated to massive sulphides.

Thirty-one holes have been drilled at Boundary Zone so far in 2023 and have tested the laminated stratiform mineralization and massive sulphide zones. The geometry and stratigraphic sequence intersected in these holes continue to support the idea that the laminated and massive sulphide mineralization are part of the same geological layer at Boundary Zone, forming an approximately tabular stratiform zone. Step out drilling down-dip intersected abundant galena, supporting the presence of the conceptual feeder zone. While this remains a preliminary interpretation of the available geological data, deep testing provided by NB23-007 supports this model, extending the depth of mineralization in the massive stratiform layer from surface to at least 400 m, with the zone becoming higher grade and wider, where it remains open at depth.

Extensive vein, breccia, and replacement mineralization at Boundary Main occurs both above and below the main stratiform laminated massive sulphide zone. Many wide intervals of vein, breccia and replacement style sphalerite mineralization have been encountered in 2023 step-out holes and several infill holes (Table 3).

2023 Drill Program Drilling Update

The 2023 program remains in full swing with five diamond drill-rigs, targeting ~22,000 m of drilling mostly focused on Boundary, Tom, and Jason zones (Map 1) with >14,500 m completed thus far. The drill program will focus on step-out targets at Boundary Zone, Jason, and Tom, as well as test several exploration targets away from the known zones.

Drill penetration rates in the first 29 holes was between 1750% faster than historical performance. The higher than forecast performance of the drilling has allowed the bulk of the original planned drilling to be completed earlier than planned providing an opportunity to test additional targets.

About Fireweed Metals Corp. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; FSE:20F): Fireweed Metals 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 a 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 2 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 1 (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 2 (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 2 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 3 ) 3 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 km2 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.



Qualified Person Statement

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.

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.

Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Companys website at FireweedMetals.com and at www.sedarplus.com

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.

Data Verification

The diamond drill core logging and sampling program was carried out under a rigorous quality assurance / quality control program using industry best practices. Drill intersections in this release are NQ2 size core (50.5 mm/ 1.99-inch diameter) with recoveries typically above 85% unless otherwise noted in the results tables. After drilling, core was cleaned, logged for geology, structure, and geotechnical characteristics, then marked for sampling and photographed on site. Certain cores were selected for core scanning. The cores for analyses were marked for sampling based on geological intervals with individual samples 2 m or less in length, with 1 m samples within mineralized zones. Drill core was cut lengthwise in half with a core saw; half-core was sent for assays reported in this news release, and the other half is stored on site for reference. Bulk density was determined on site for the entire length of each sample assayed by measurement of mass in air and mass in water. Sample duplicate bulk density determinations and in-house bulk density standard determinations were each made at a rate of 5%. Since 2017, four in-house bulk density standards (mineralized drill core from the Tom deposit that span a range of densities) have been used and show an acceptable long-term precision. Certified standard masses are used to calibrate the scale balance used for bulk density determinations.

A total of 5% assay standards or blanks and 5% core duplicates are included in the sample stream as a quality control measure and are reviewed after analyses are received. Standards and blanks in 2023 drill results to date have been approved as acceptable. Duplicate data add to the long-term estimates of precision for assay data on the project and precision for drill results reported is deemed to be within acceptable levels. Samples were sent to the Bureau Veritas preparation laboratory in Whitehorse, Yukon, where the samples were crushed and a 500 g split was sent to the Bureau Veritas laboratory in Vancouver, B.C to be pulverized to 85% passing 200 mesh size pulps. Clean crush material was passed through the crusher and clean silica was pulverized between each sample. The pulps were analyzed by 1:1:1 Aqua Regia digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-ES/ICP-MS) multi-element analyses (BV Code AQ270). All samples were also analyzed for multiple elements by lithium borate fusion and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) finish (BV Code LF725). Over-limit lead (>25.0%) and zinc (>24.0%) were analyzed by lithium borate fusion with XRF finish (BV Code LF726). Silver is reported in this news release by method AQ270, and zinc and lead are reported by LF725 or LF726. Bureau Veritas (Vancouver) is an independent, international ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited laboratory. Assay values are rounded to one decimal place other than in Table 2 and Cross Sections where zinc and lead grades are reported to two decimal places.

Results in this news release are length and bulk-density weighted averages as would be used in a Mineral Resource estimate. Length and bulk-density weighted averages have been reported as these most accurately represent the average metal-content of the intersections.

True widths for primary intervals are estimated by measuring perpendicular to strike within the short axis of a stratiform wireframe that has been constructed in 3D around the mineralized intercepts at Boundary Zone based on assay results, geological logging, stratigraphic correlation, and bedding measurements from oriented core. The massive sulphide mineralization and laminated mineralization at Boundary Zone are mostly stratiform (oriented parallel to bedding), therefore the true width, or thickness, of the zone is estimated perpendicular to both the strike and dip direction of bedding. Vein and breccia mineralization at Boundary Zone are interpreted to be stockworks and true widths are estimated to be approximately equal to intersected widths and marked as N/A in the assay tables. True widths are rounded to the nearest metre for widths over 10 m and to the nearest 0.1 m for widths less than 10 m, as this better reflects the precision of the estimates. True widths should be regarded as approximate as these are derived from an estimation that uses a preliminary interpretation of the geological model. True widths for nested intervals (marked as Including in results tables) are estimated using a ratio of included to primary intersected widths to attribute appropriate portions of the true width of the primary interval to the nested intervals.

Sphalerite and galena have been identified visually by experienced core logging geologists, and licenced professional geoscientists, confirmed by portable XRF (X-Ray fluorescence). No absolute visual estimates of mineral abundances or inferences of potential zinc or lead grades have been stated for holes without assay values in this news release.

Cautionary Statements

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 drill results and projections of mineralization, 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. 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.

1: For details and QP statements, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed 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 https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on February 23, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated January 10, 2018. .

2: For details and QP statements, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report Macmillan Pass Project Yukon Territory Canada filed on https://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.

3: For details and QP statements, 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 https://www.sedarplus.ca/





Map 1: Macmillan Pass Project and Mactung Project locations.





Map 2: Location of 2023 Boundary Zone drillholes, cross sections KK, LL and long section MM see below for cross sections.





Map 3: Mineralized intervals in 2023 drilling and pre-2023 drilling defining a stratiform laminated to massive sulphide zone that is connected at depth (pink polygon) and a broader envelope of vein, breccia, and other stratiform zinc mineralization, showing significant areal extent (within green dashed line).





Long Section MM  Selected intersections within the laminated to massive sulphide stratiform zone of pyrite-sphalerite-galena mineralization at Boundary Zone including long intervals of zinc mineralization at depth with assays pending.





Cross Section K-K  Analytical results for holes NB23-004, NB23-006, and NB23-008.





Cross Section L-L  Assay results from NB23-007 and NB23-005 displaying high grades and continuity with NB22-002. Visually logged mineralization from NB23-011 is also displayed.





Photo 1: High resolution core scanning image of sphalerite-pyrite-siderite veins and semi-massive sulphide mineralization in NB23-008 (327.5 m to 337.2 m).

Table 2: NB23-004, NB23-005, NB23-006, NB23-007, and NB23-008 Drill Results.

Drillhole Interval From

(m) To

(m) Interval

Width (m) Est. True

Width (m) Zinc

(%) Lead

(%) Silver

(g/t) Bulk Density

(t/m3) NB23-004 Entire Hole 0 432 432 N/A 1.61 0.22 9.9 3.02 NB23-004 Primary 75.94 96.43 20.49 N/A 4.88 0.01 5.5 2.76 NB23-004 Including 77.44 86.14 8.7 N/A 7.08 0.01 7.4 2.76 NB23-004 Primary 131.5 142 10.5 N/A 3.43 0.01 3.9 2.74 NB23-004 Primary 267.92 301.35 33.43 22 8.00 2.01 59.2 3.57 NB23-004 Including 267.92 281.8 13.88 9.1 12.56 3.73 99.4 4.29 NB23-004 >including 268.8 277.06 8.26 5.4 14.91 4.45 124.8 4.47 NB23-004 Primary* 331.3 344.22 12.92 N/A 3.55 0.07 12.8 3.15 NB23-004 Primary 363.15 369.15 6 N/A 1.97 0.14 18.4 3.62 NB23-004 Primary 383.4 393.79 10.39 N/A 4.16 0.18 24.4 3.79 NB23-004 Including 384.31 392.86 8.55 N/A 4.77 0.18 24.6 3.75 NB23-005 Entire Hole 0 234 234 N/A 0.92 0.10 5.6 2.94 NB23-005 Primary 139.75 165 25.25 22 6.37 0.67 31.9 3.24 NB23-005 Including 150.5 160 9.5 8.3 12.21 1.31 66.9 3.65 NB23-005 >including 150.5 155.82 5.32 4.6 16.45 1.86 94.2 3.93 NB23-006 Entire Hole 0 373 373 N/A 1.21 0.05 3.6 2.95 NB23-006 Primary 102.2 140.9 38.7 N/A 5.63 0.02 6.7 2.83 NB23-006 Including 121.36 140.9 19.54 N/A 9.00 0.04 10.1 2.91 NB23-006 Including* 121.36 123.46 2.1 N/A 30.65 0.06 38.8 3.62 NB23-006 Primary 204.15 236.8 32.65 16 4.36 0.14 12.4 3.04 NB23-006 Including 212.15 236.8 24.65 12 5.08 0.09 11.1 3.01 NB23-006 Pending 326.80 373.00 46.20 Assays pending for this interval. NB23-007 Entire Hole 0 461 461 N/A 7.47 1.32 44.5 3.19 NB23-007 Primary 58.04 94.7 36.66 N/A 5.33 0.03 11.7 2.95 NB23-007 Including 58.04 87.2 29.16 N/A 6.07 0.03 13.7 3.00 NB23-007 Primary 170.7 253.2 82.5 15 11.89 2.21 81.2 3.11 NB23-007 Including 171.73 173 1.27 0.2 13.25 18.82 386.9 4.02 NB23-007 Including 180.89 210.05 29.16 5.3 25.39 3.86 155.5 3.51 NB23-007 >Including 180.89 207.92 27.03 4.9 26.69 4.19 165.2 3.49 NB23-007 >>Including 187.2 206.71 19.51 3.5 28.82 4.75 180.4 3.57 NB23-007 Including 239.77 242.37 2.6 0.5 20.83 0.90 61.9 3.86 NB23-007 Primary 308.9 426.9 118 40 15.05 2.81 85.8 4.04 NB23-007 Including 309.9 415.82 105.92 36 16.40 3.06 91.7 4.06 NB23-007 >Including 313.7 325.03 11.33 3.8 15.04 3.72 96.1 4.21 NB23-007 >Including 332.3 409.37 77.07 26 18.71 3.45 101.4 4.00 NB23-008 Entire Hole 0 385 385 N/A 1.79 0.07 4.8 3.09 NB23-008 Primary 88 110.2 22.2 N/A 2.93 0.01 3.3 2.79 NB23-008 Primary 242.2 286.9 44.7 N/A 6.53 0.18 9.6 3.48 NB23-008 Including 249.1 279.5 30.4 N/A 8.25 0.23 11.6 3.56 NB23-008 >Including 252 268.3 16.3 N/A 10.31 0.16 11.3 3.64 NB23-008 Primary 323.7 359.1 35.4 N/A 5.21 0.12 8.8 3.49 NB23-008 Including 323.7 340 16.3 N/A 8.80 0.15 11.8 3.68 NB23-008 >Including 327.5 339 11.5 N/A 10.71 0.17 13.5 3.75 NB23-008 Pending 365.0 385.0 20.0 Assays pending for this interval.

* Denotes intervals with recovery of less than 85%

 Entire hole intervals contain large continuous sections of very low grade or not mineralized material (below 2% zinc)intersections of continuous higher-grade material (>2% zinc) are listed as Primary and Included intervals and represent mineralized material.

 See Data Verification for a description of true width calculations



Table 3: 2023 Drilling Summary.

Drillhole Length (m) Zone Significant Intersection Type NB23-001 460 Boundary Results disclosed Jul 26 Step Out NB23-002 351 Boundary Results disclosed Jul 26 Step Out NB23-003 418 Boundary Results disclosed Jul 26 Step Out NB23-004 432 Boundary Results disclosed in this release Step Out NB23-005 234 Boundary Results disclosed in this release Step Out NB23-006 373 Boundary Results disclosed in this release Step Out NB23-007 461 Boundary Results disclosed in this release Step Out NB23-008 385 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-009 67 Boundary Abandoned Due to Drilling Conditions Step Out NB23-010 96 Boundary Narrow Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-011 289 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-012 452 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-013 551 Boundary Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-014 223.3 Boundary Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-015 339 Boundary Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-016 460.92 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-017 96 Boundary Narrow Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-018 195 Boundary Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-019 560.5 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-020 414 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Infill & Step-out NB23-021 442 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Infill NB23-022 386 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-022D1 448 Boundary Narrow Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-023 181 Boundary Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-024 402 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Infill & Step-out NB23-025 580.5 Boundary Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-026 111 Boundary Narrow Zone Encountered Step Out NB23-027 396 Boundary Wide Zone Encountered Infill NB23-028 206* Boundary Wide Zone Encountered--In Progress Step Out NB23-029 33* Boundary In Progress Step Out NB23-030 casing Boundary In Progress Step Out NB23-031 casing Boundary In Progress Step Out TS23-001 143 Tom North Minor mineralization encountered Step Out TS23-002 182 Tom North Minor mineralization encountered Step Out TS23-003 299 Tom West Wide Zone Encountered Step Out TS23-004 369.33 Tom West Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out TS23-005 407 Tom West Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out TS23-006 137 Tom West Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out TS23-007 215 Tom West Moderate Zone Encountered Step Out TS23-008 89* Tom West In Progress Step Out BX23-001 219 Boundary Expl. No significant mineralization Exploration BX23-002 144 Boundary Expl. No significant mineralization Exploration

* denotes holes in progress

Table 4: Drill Hole Collar Information

Drillhole Zone Length (m) Easting Northing Elevation (m.s.l) Azimuth () Dip () NB23-001 Boundary 460 422297.1 7010471 1185.86 211.99 -76.42 NB23-002 Boundary 351 422235 7010525 1194.57 214.06 -70.22 NB23-003 Boundary 418 422235 7010525 1194.57 213.4 -78 NB23-004 Boundary 432 422171 7010556 1203 213.91 -78.08 NB23-005 Boundary 234 422058.4 7010589 1207.95 199.63 -49.74 NB23-006 Boundary 373 422171 7010556 1203 215.44 -70.02 NB23-007 Boundary 461 422058.4 7010589 1207.95 206.37 -86.43 NB23-008 Boundary 385 422171 7010556 1203 215.83 -60.07 NB23-009 Boundary 67 422058.4 7010589 1208.67 198.54 -75.41 NB23-010 Boundary 96 422240.8 7010385 1150.41 212.28 -45 NB23-011 Boundary 289 422058.4 7010589 1208.67 201.59 -75.4 NB23-012 Boundary 452 422289 7010534 1200.90 211.75 -69.9 NB23-013 Boundary 551 422071.9 7010666 1233.59 214.94 -77.68 NB23-014 Boundary 223.3 422240.9 7010384 1150.86 213.68 -70.83 NB23-015 Boundary 339 422240.8 7010385 1150.41 213.36 -84 NB23-016 Boundary 460.92 422274 7010600 1216. 70 209.88 -72.96 NB23-017 Boundary 96 422279.4 7010359 1142.67 191.27 -46.9 NB23-018 Boundary 195 422279.4 7010359 1142.67 190.21 -65.21 NB23-019 Boundary 560.5 422289 7010534 1200.90 209.95 -81.31 NB23-020 Boundary 414 422464.6 7010510 1191.44 204.85 -63.35 NB23-021 Boundary 442 422391.3 7010500 1190.07 201.97 -77.01 NB23-022 Boundary 386 421947.8 7010672 1232.44 178.85 -74.18 NB23-022D1 Boundary 448 421947.8 7010672 1232.44 177.78 -74 NB23-023 Boundary 181 422448.8 7010351 1145.42 211.82 -49.18 NB23-024 Boundary 405 422347.6 7010550 1203.82 199.65 -50.18 NB23-025 Boundary 581.5 422342.5 7010620 1219.03 196.94 -74.05 NB23-026 Boundary 111 422448.8 7010351 1145.42 210.02 -65.44 NB23-027 Boundary 451 422347.6 7010550 1203.82 197.18 -72.46 NB23-028 Boundary 467 422221.9 7010587 1209.75 211.38 -65.44 NB23-029* Boundary 257.5 422123.8 7010731 1250.31 196.21 -75.67 NB23-030* Boundary 263.5 422535.2 7010614 1214.65 211.44 -62.01 NB23-032* Boundary - 422170.1 7010634 1223.90 213.33 -73.03 TS23-001 Tom North 143 441760.6 7004226 1492.16 75.08 -49.66 TS23-002 Tom North 182 441760.6 7004226 1492.16 74.97 -80.38 TS23-003 Tom West 299 441676.3 7004024 1445.00 74.17 -68.51 TS23-004 Tom West 369.33 441694.3 7003884 1463.34 67.38 -71.48 TS23-005 Tom West 407 441760.7 7003770 1510 63.25 -75.35 TS23-006 Tom West 137 441779 7004076 1485.36 65.15 -50.08 TS23-007 Tom West 215 441779 7004076 1485.36 65.23 -78.04 TS23-008 Tom West 428 441816.3 7003717 1538 89.53 -88.95 BX23-001 Boundary Expl. 219 421752 7010127 1114.7 35.16 -50.19 BX23-002 Boundary Expl. 144 421637 7010243 1137.5 14.78 -49.83

* denotes holes in progress.

Coordinates listed in NAD83 UTM Zone 9N.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stillwater Critical Minerals (OTCQB: PGEZF | TSX.V: PGE), based in Vancouver, Canada, today announced that Michael Rowley, President & CEO, will present live at the Clean Energy Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on August 24th , 2023.



Stillwater Critical Minerals is focused on its flagship Stillwater West Ni-PGE-Cu-Co + Au project in the iconic and famously productive Stillwater mining district in Montana, USA. Drilling is currently underway, funded by a 9.99% strategic equity investment by Glencore, announced in Q2 2023. With the addition of two renowned Bushveld and Platreef geologists to the team, the Company is well-positioned to advance the next phase of large-scale critical mineral supply from this world-class American district, building on past production of nickel, copper, and chromium, and the on-going production of platinum group and other metals by neighboring Sibanye-Stillwater.

DATE: August 24th

TIME: 11:30 AM ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/43OHGxR

Available for 1x1 meetings: August 24-25

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

Stillwater Critical Minerals (TSX.V: PGE | OTCQB: PGEZF) is a mineral exploration company focused on its flagship Stillwater West Ni-PGE-Cu-Co + Au project in the iconic and famously productive Stillwater mining district in Montana, USA. With the addition of two renowned Bushveld and Platreef geologists to the team and a strategic investment by Glencore, the Company is well positioned to advance the next phase of large-scale critical mineral supply from this world-class American district, building on past production of nickel, copper, and chromium, and the on-going production of platinum group and other metals by neighboring Sibanye-Stillwater. An expanded NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, released January 2023, delineates a compelling suite of critical minerals contained within five Platreef-style nickel and copper sulphide deposits at Stillwater West, which host a total of 1.6 billion pounds of nickel, copper and cobalt, and 3.8 million ounces of palladium, platinum, rhodium, and gold, and remains open for expansion along trend and at depth.

Stillwater Critical Minerals also holds the high-grade Black Lake-Drayton Gold project adjacent to Treasury Metals development-stage Goliath Gold Complex in northwest Ontario, currently under an earn-in agreement with Heritage Mining, and the Kluane PGE-Ni-Cu-Co critical minerals project on trend with Nickel Creek Platinums Wellgreen deposit in Canadas Yukon Territory.

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Stillwater Critical Minerals

Michael Rowley

President & CEO

604-629-7800 | 1-888-570-4420

mrowley@criticalminerals.com

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com


Dublin, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Kuwait Construction Equipment Market - Strategic Assessment & Forecast 2023-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Kuwait construction equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.15% from 2022 to 2029



Earthmoving equipment accounted for the largest Kuwait construction equipment market share in 2022. Excavators in the earthmoving segment accounted for the largest share in 2022. Rising investment in housing, warehouse expansion, and public infrastructure projects is expected to drive the demand for excavators in the market.

In Dec 2022, the Kuwaiti government planned constructing eight bridges on the Al-Nawaseeb Road. In Kuwait, Al-Nawaseeb Road is one of the country's main roads from the Kuwaiti capital to Saudi Arabia. The total length of the bridges will be 1,736 meters. The construction of this superstructure started in 2020.

In 2022, Kuwait's Council of Ministers General Secretariat (CMGS) awarded the license for developing four sites on the 36 km Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway. The commercial aspects of the project will include retail, hospitality, health, wellness, food and beverage, and serviced apartments. The project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2026 and is estimated to contribute to the Kuwait construction equipment market growth.

Caterpillar, Volvo CE, Komatsu, Liebherr, Hitachi Construction Equipment, XCMG, and Zoomlion are leaders in the Kuwait construction equipment market. These companies have a strong market share and offer diverse sets of equipment. In 2020, Kuwait International Airport received eight cranes (T285-120V) from Zoomlion. These cranes marked the highest tonnage tower cranes exported by China.

In February 2023, Kuwait approved nearly USD 2.76 billion for 110 projects planned during fiscal year 2023-2024. The projects mainly include the airport's expansion, the Silk City's development, and the railway network across the country. Construction of the Jaber Al Ahmad New City is in progress, which, once completed, will respond to the needs of Kuwait's rapidly growing population.

The city is located 25 km west of Kuwait City. It is designed to include a new self-supporting community and accommodate around 80,000 people on a plot of over 12.4 million square meters.

MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Kuwait's National Development Plan and Investments in Public Infrastructure to Propel the Kuwait Construction Equipment Market

The Vision has established high importance to Kuwait's national infrastructure, with investments hitting as high as USD 27 billion in the bidding stage. New Kuwait will build on the recent urban development and housing momentum by introducing new master plan developments and cities.

Plan also aims to develop the country's tourism sector to yield surplus revenue and create a new employment pool and plans to further enhance the country's transportation and power sectors by building on the recent success of the Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

Increased Renewable Energy Projects in the Country Will Propel the Demand for Material Handling Equipment

As of February 2022, a 30 MW solar PV plant was planned in Al Jahra, Kuwait, named Subiya Water Storage Solar PV Plant. The plant is expected to be built in one step. Construction is expected to start in 2023, and the plant should be ready for business in 2025.

The government planned to build a 5GW solar power complex in the country's north. In addition, solar capacity is planned installed capacity at Shagaya by 2030 with an investment of USD 20 million.

Robust Growth in the Development of Ports to Boost the Sales of Overhead Cranes in the Kuwait Construction Equipment Market

Kout Food Group (KGF), in 2021, inaugurated its 16,000-square-metre warehouse for a storage, distribution center, and truck park at the Agility Logistics Park (ALP) in Sulaibiya. Moreover, in March 2023, Ad Ports Group announced the launch of a new shipping service that will improve commercial and logistic connectivity to Qatar and Kuwait.

In addition to it, Kuwait also planned to launch a global auction to develop and operate a brand-new cargo village next to the Kuwait International Airport (KWI). The new cargo village set to be built west of KWI is part of a three-stage long-term master plan stretching to 2050 to expand air traffic and shipping operations in the Gulf state.

MARKET RESTRAINTS

Housing Crises in the Region Hamper the Sales of Construction Equipment in the Region

The lack of available housing has increased housing costs, making privately owned homes less affordable. One of the government's reports also mentioned that the price-to-income ratio of affording a house in Kuwait is the worst among GCC countries. Therefore, the residential price-to-income ratio in Kuwait is higher than that of cities such as London or New York and approximately three times that of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Another reason that can be mapped out that stimulated the crises is that the government owns 90% of the land in Kuwait and regulates residential real estate development through parceling and allocation of land plots.

The Skilled Labour Shortage in the Country Hampers the Pace of Construction Projects

Many Kuwaitis prefer to work in the public sector, leading to a shortage of skilled workers in the construction, healthcare, and IT industries. The lack of government projects also prompted many Kuwaiti companies to flee to more active and lively neighboring markets, which harmed the Kuwait construction equipment market.

Around 205,000 expatriates working in the private sector left Kuwait in 2021, which has also hampered local businesses. One of the government reports pointed out that in 2021, about 41,200 domestic workers left Kuwait permanently. Domestic workers currently constitute around 22.8% of the workforce in Kuwait, of 2.7 million.

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

How big is the Kuwait construction equipment market?

What is the growth rate of the Kuwait construction equipment market?

Who are the key players in the Kuwait construction equipment market?

What are the trends in the Kuwait construction equipment industry?

Which are the major distributor companies in the Kuwait construction equipment market?

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 185 Forecast Period 2022 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (Units) in 2022 Units5465 Billion Forecasted Market Value (Units) by 2029 Units7263 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 4.1% Regions Covered Kuwait

SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS

Earthmoving Equipment

Excavator

Backhoe Loaders

Wheeled Loaders

Other Earthmoving Equipment (Other loaders, Bulldozers, Trenchers)

Road Construction Equipment

Road Rollers

Asphalt Pavers

Material Handling Equipment

Crane

Forklift & Telescopic Handlers

Aerial Platforms (Articulated Boom Lifts, Telescopic Boom lifts, Scissor lifts)

Other Construction Equipment

Dumper

Tipper

Concrete Mixture

Concrete Pump Truck

End Users

Construction

Mining

Manufacturing

Others (Power Generation, Utilities Municipal Corporations, Oil & Gas, Cargo Handling, Power Generation Plants, Waste Management)

VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Prominent Vendors

Caterpillar

Komatsu

Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co. Ltd. (XCMG)

Liebherr

Volvo Construction Equipment

Hitachi Construction Machinery

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co. Ltd

JCB

SANY

Other Prominent Vendors

Hyundai Construction Equipment

Kobelco

Liu Gong

Tadano

CNH Industrial

Terex Corporation

SDLG

MERLO Group

Distributor Profiles

Alghanim Equipment

Emdad Equipment &Oil Field Supplier

Arab Group for Equipment and Construction (AGECO)

Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar

EQUIP

RIHAM

Boodai Trading Company Ltd. W.L.L.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/crqbu0

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.

Attachment
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barksdale Resources Corp. (TSXV: BRO) (OTCQX: BRKCF), based in Arizona focused on their Sunnyside asset, today announced that President and CEO Rick Trotman will present live at the Clean Energy Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on August 24th, 2023.



DATE: August 24th

TIME: 11:00 AM ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/43OHGxR

Available for 1x1 meetings: August 24th, 25th, 28th, 29th

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

About Barksdale Resources:

Barksdale Resources Corp., a 2023 OTCQX BEST 50 Company, is a base metal exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., that is focused on the acquisition, exploration and advancement of highly prospective base metal projects in North America. Barksdale is currently advancing the Sunnyside copper-zinc-lead-silver and San Antonio copper projects, both of which are in the Patagonia mining district of southern Arizona, as well as the San Javier copper-gold project in central Sonora, Mexico.

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Barksdale Resources Corp.

Terri Anne Welyki

Vice President of Communications

778-238-2333

TerriAnne@barksdaleresources.com

For more information please phone 778-558-7145, email info@barksdaleresources.com or visit www.BarksdaleResources.com

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In fulfillment of NBMEs long-term commitment of contributing to medical education and assessment research, NBME has partnered with the Center for Measurement Justice (CMJ) to support the inaugural CMJ-NBME Dissertation Fellowship. CMJ works to inspire, prepare and support a critical mass of measurement professionals and partners as they work toward a justice-oriented assessment and measurement system.

The CMJ-NBME Fellowship is a competitive dissertation fellowship for members of groups historically underrepresented in measurement. The two-year fellowship provides a stipend to conduct dissertation level research on assessment justice. It also serves as an opportunity for an educational pathway for populations typically underrepresented in assessment. A committee composed of leaders from CMJ and NBME selected the recipient based on the following criteria: academic record, project feasibility, research design and significance, justice orientation and alignment with CMJs mission and values.

"A relentless commitment to equitable, justice-oriented medical assessment processes will transform  and save  both the lives of medical professionals and the patients they seek to serve, Jennifer Randall, PhD, CMJ President said. CMJ is honored to partner with NBME to support the development of scholars/practitioners dedicated to this cause, and we are especially excited about this years recipient of the dissertation fellowship.

Toyese Oyeyemi has been selected as the inaugural CMJ-NBME Dissertation Fellow. Oyeyemi has a long history of public health education and research and is currently a Doctor of Public Health candidate at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. His research is focused on measuring the social mission of public health programs, as well as identifying practical solutions for these institutions to fulfill their social accountability. Social mission refers to the contribution of a health professions school in its mission and programs, as well as the performance of its graduates, faculty and leadership in advancing health equity and addressing health disparities within their own communities.

This intersection between social justice and assessment felt untapped, and Im encouraged to find others who are also exploring this, Oyeyemi said when asked what sparked his interest in the CMJ-NBME Fellowship. Ive spent most of my career in academia, and what became clear early on was that the social justice role of public health schools is immense. My real come to the light moment was the realization that as soon as you walk out of the public health school, you see that there are contributions that can be made in our own backyard.

To advance this work, Oyeyemi also serves as executive director of Social Mission Alliance, a national movement focused on health equity and training health professionals as agents of more equitable health care. Social Mission Alliance works to transform health profession schools toward socially accountable practices and policies within their institutions and their community. One way this is accomplished is through creating pathway programs in local schools or by integrating community-centered curricula. These measures allow health profession schools to put their commitment into action and fulfill their social accountability to give back to their own communities.

The CMJ-NBME Fellowship will allow me to continue our foundational research to define the domains of social mission in public health education, said Oyeyemi. It will also help to answer the question of Now what?  once we define an institutions social mission, how can we practically use that knowledge to make changes for the future of public health education?

NBME and CMJ are committed to advancing research that promotes diversity and equity in the assessment field and are excited about Oyeyemis research in defining social mission in public health education.

We are excited to partner with CMJ on this important dissertation fellowship, Ye Tong, PhD, NBME Senior Vice President, Assessment Operations said. Through the collaboration and mentorship from the two organizations, we hope we can help support Toyese Oyeyemi in his work measuring the social mission of public health programs. We look forward to making concrete progress toward promoting diversity and equity both in the measurement profession and practice.

The addition of the CMJ-NBME Dissertation Fellowship will support CMJs robust fellowship program and adds to NBMEs contributions to medical education and assessment research, learner supports, pathway programs and health equity.

About Center for Measurement Justice

The Center for Measurement Justice is dedicated to advancing equity in measurement and assessment. CMJ was founded in 2022 by Dr. Jennifer Randall who has decades of experience as an assessment educator at several universities. CMJ is a project of the National Center for Civic Innovation, an organization which focuses on creating innovative projects that improve outcomes for communities nationwide. CMJ is specifically focused on expanding representation in the assessment profession, supporting research in assessment and promoting advocacy around assessment policy and systems change in assessment so that the assessment and measurement system is socially just. To learn more about CMJ and the other fellowships available, contact cmj@measurementjustice.org.

About NBME

NBME offers a versatile selection of high-quality assessments and educational services for students, professionals, educators and institutions dedicated to the evolving needs of medical education and health care. To serve these communities, NBME collaborates with a comprehensive array of professionals, including test developers, academic researchers, scoring experts, physicians, medical educators, state medical board members and public representatives.



Together with the Federation of State Medical Boards, NBME develops and manages the United States Medical Licensing Examination. In addition, NBME is committed to meeting the needs of educators and learners globally with assessment products and expert services such as Subject Examinations, Customized Assessment Services, Self-Assessments, International Foundations of Medicine and Item-Writing Workshops.

NBME also provides medical education funding and mentorship through the Latin America Grants Program, Stemmler Fund and Strategic Educators Enhancement Fund, which serve to advance assessment at educators and health professionals own institutions. Learn more about NBME at NBME.org.

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New York, USA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaccine Technologies Market Overview

According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Vaccine Technologies Market Information By Type, Route of Administration, Disease Indication, Age Group, Distribution Channel and Region  Forecast Till 2032, the market size was valued at USD 40.9 Billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 45.3 Billion in 2023 to USD 102.9 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.80% during the forecast period (2023 - 2032).

Market Scope:

To prevent disease transmission, vaccines use live biological agents. Vaccines typically employ mimics of actual disease-causing microorganisms as its active ingredient. The microbe, its toxin, or one of its surface proteins are often used in its production. The body's immune system is triggered, making quick work of the agent and any similar microbes it comes into contact with in the future.

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Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2032 USD 102.9 Billion CAGR 10.80% Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2032 Historical Data 2021 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Type, Route of Administration, Disease Indication, Age Group And Distribution Channel Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers Increasing prevalence of infectious diseases and technological advancements Expansion and aids in supplying the rising demand for vaccines

Vaccine Technologies Market Competitive Outlooks:

Key Companies in the Vaccine Technologies Market include

GlaxoSmithKline plc.

Sanofi

Pfizer Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Novartis AG

Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.

CSL Limited

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Bavarian Nordic

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation

Vaccine Technologies Market Trends:



Market Drivers

The key market drivers boosting market growth are the increasing incidence of infectious diseases, innovations in technology, government initiatives and funding, increased public awareness and acceptance, the growth of the biopharmaceutical industry, the increase in healthcare spending, and the emergence of new global health threats and pandemics.

The market for vaccine technology is being propelled by government programs that subsidize R&D. Governments invest heavily in vaccine research and development. Government initiatives and financing play a significant role in driving the market for vaccine technology by providing financial support, regulatory facilitation, procurement help, public awareness campaigns, and the promotion of international alliances. Vaccine development, dissemination, and uptake are all bolstered by these efforts, which in turn helps the market grow.

Market Restraints

The vaccines market will not expand as quickly as it could because of the lengthy manufacturing times involved. Vaccine research and development is notoriously time-consuming and expensive, typically requiring between 10 and 15 years to complete. Due to the infinite permutations of biological components, such as microbes, machinery, environmental conditions, and culture processes, manufacturing outcomes might vary widely.

Browse In-depth Market Research Report on Vaccine Technologies: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/vaccine-technologies-market-11967

COVID-19 Analysis:

People around the world hoped for a vaccine effective against COVID as the number of reported cases climbed. Rising demand for coronavirus vaccines is anticipated to fuel market growth. The severity of the outbreak prompted governments and medical regulators to speed up the vaccine research process, which would normally take years to complete.

Vaccine Technologies Market Segmentation:

By Type

In 2022, the inactive part of the industry was the most lucrative. The technology behind inactivated vaccines has been tried and true for quite some time. They are developed through the destruction or inactivation of the disease-causing microorganism.

By Route of Administration

In 2022, the oral market was the most lucrative. Oral vaccines don't require injections or trained medical staff; anybody can provide them. Because it is non-invasive and generally well-tolerated, this route of administration is preferred and well-accepted by patients, especially children and those with a fear of needles.

By Disease Indication

In 2022, the market was led by the sector dealing with viral infections. Viral diseases have a major, harmful effect on human health all around the world. Many common diseases, including as COVID-19, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis, and the flu, are caused by viral infections.

By Age Group

In 2022, the market was driven by the pediatric subset. Vaccination is an integral part of government-run international efforts to protect young children. These campaigns aim to protect infants and young children from a variety of vaccine-preventable diseases.

By Distribution Channel

In 2022, the healthcare and retail pharmacy sectors were the market's most lucrative. Most healthcare facilities and retail pharmacies are part of a widespread network that is easy for the public to access.

Vaccine Technologies Market Regional Analysis

In 2022, 45.80% of the vaccine technology market was generated in North America. because leading companies have invested heavily in a slew of R&D projects and brand-new items for the American market. Research efforts by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are also expected to contribute to the growth of the vaccines market in North America. Canada's Vaccine Technologies Market was the region's fastest-growing market, while the U.S. Vaccine Technologies Market was the largest overall.

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The market share held by Europe's vaccine technology sector is the second largest. European countries place a premium on public health and preventative medicine. Vaccination rates in Europe are among the highest in the world because governments have long prioritized these efforts. This commitment to immunization fuels the region's desire for vaccine innovations. Not only did Germany dominate the vaccine technology industry, but the United Kingdom was the region's fastest-growing market.

Due to factors such as the rising frequency of diseases, increasing expenses, and increased accessibility to healthcare in developing nations like China and India, the Asia-Pacific Vaccine Technologies Market is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2023 to 2032. In addition, the Vaccine Technologies Market in China accounted for the lion's share of the overall market, while the Vaccine Technologies Market in India grew at the highest rate in the Asia-Pacific.

Discover more research Reports on Healthcare Industry by Market Research Future:

Recombinant Vaccines Market Research Report Information: By Product (Subunit Recombinant and Attenuated Recombinant Vaccines), by Disease (Cancer, Pneumococcal Disease, Hepatitis B, and DPT), and End-Users (Pediatrics, Adults, and Veterinary)  Forecast Till 2030

Live Attenuated Vaccines Market Research Report Information, By Type (Bacterial, Viral), By Vaccine Development (Tissue Culture, Embryonated Eggs, Live Animals) and End Users (Hospitals, Clinics, Diagnostic Centers, Research Institute, Others) - Forecast till 2030

Global DPT vaccine market Information, by types (DPaT, DTwP, Tdap) by applications (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus,others) - Forecast to 2030

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wawa, Inc., is thrilled to announce today another exciting element of its partnership with NASCAR. During this years Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola happening on August 25 at Daytona International Speedway, Wawa will be serving as primary sponsor of four NASCAR Xfinity Series teams, with each of the four drivers representing one of Wawa's brand-new Recharger energy drinks. The race will be broadcast live starting at 7:30 p.m. EST on the USA Network.

For the past three years, Wawa has served as the primary sponsor for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Now, Wawas sponsorship is adding fun and flavor to this years race as each of the four teams will represent one of Wawa's new Recharger energy drinks. Race enthusiasts and Wawa fans will see the vibrant colors and themes of Mermaid, Dragon Burst, Galaxy, and Island Surf Rechargers zipping around the track. The four teams Wawa is sponsoring at the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola include:

Natalie Decker, Emerling Gase Racing

Joe Graf Jr., RSS Racing

Brett Moffitt, AM Racing

JJ Yeley, SSGreenLight Racing

We are thrilled to enhance our continued partnership with NASCAR and support one of the Xfinity Series most anticipated events with a special sponsorship of four very talented drivers! We look forward to fueling the energy and excitement of this one-of-a-kind superspeedway race with the colors and themes of our new line of Recharger energy drinks! said Jim Morey, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer for Wawa. These new drinks match the level of energy and drive that the sport of NASCAR and these drivers, crews, teams and, of course, fans display during these great events.





Each year, the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola has delivered heart-stopping racing and constant action, and the four drivers Wawa is sponsoring will be bringing a whole new level of excitement with Wawas Recharger energy drinks.

Natalie Decker joins the fray with Emerling Gase Racing. As the only female driver on the track for this race, she carries the spirit and flair of the Mermaid Recharger. "Just like the mythical mermaid, we're diving deep into this race with grace and determination. Daytona under the lights is mesmerizing, much like the allure of the deep sea. Racing at the world's racing capital is always a dream, and with Wawa's Mermaid Recharger by our side, we're aiming to make some waves!"

Brett Moffitt of AM Racing brings the heat of the Dragon Burst Recharger. With playoffs on the horizon, Moffitt's determination to secure a win at Daytona is palpable. "The Dragon Burst Recharger is all about fiery energy, and that's exactly what we're bringing to Daytona. I'm on the edge, needing this win to burst into the playoffs. Racing under Daytona's lights is electrifying, and with the power of the dragon, we're ready to soar and claim victory."

Joe Graf Jr., a proud New Jersey native just like Wawa, carries his state's pride and the cosmic energy of the Galaxy Recharger. "Being from New Jersey, I'm thrilled to represent Wawa at Daytona this weekend. I'm going to use the energy of the Galaxy Recharger and the cosmic alliance of one of my favorite brands and one of my favorite tracks to power through to a solid finish."

And last, but by no means least, NASCAR Cup Series veteran JJ Yeley will pull double duty at Daytona, in both the Xfinity and Cup Series. Riding the wave of the Island Surf Recharger, Yeley's seasoned experience will be one to watch. "Pulling double duty at Daytona is always a rush, much like catching the perfect wave. With the refreshing spirit of the Island Surf Recharger, I'm ready to ride the tide of excitement. Daytona under the lights? It's a surfer's dream of speed and rhythm at the world's racing capital."

The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona isn't just another race; it's a culmination of speed, strategy, and flavor! Wawa's decision to sponsor four teams in their namesake race emphasizes their dedication to motorsport and their fans. Join us under the lights of Daytona International Speedway or tune into the USA Network to experience the thrill of racing, flavored by Wawa.

About Wawa, Inc.

Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, PA in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and certified process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, Georges grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products. Today, Wawa is your all day, every day stop for freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. The stores offer a large fresh foodservice selection, including Wawa brands such as custom prepared hoagies, freshly-brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks. Forbes.com ranks Wawa as #24 of Americas Largest Private Companies in 2022, #12 on Forbes 100 Halo List in 2022, and one of Forbes 2023 Americas Best Employers for New College Graduates and Women. For more information, visit us on www.wawa.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @wawa.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/283e2be0-b90d-4887-aa94-2c2628b34c0f
QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UgoWork, a Canadian energy solutions provider specialized in the material handling industry, today announced that it has signed a pan-Canadian distribution agreement with Liftow Limited, Canada's leading partner for end-to-end Toyota forklift and material handling solutions since 1960. In an effort to quickly expand Liftows offering, its sales and technical teams in Ontario and Quebec have already been trained on UgoWork products.



Under the official agreement, Liftow will offer UgoWorks complete line of lithium-ion batteries for electric forklifts . In addition, Liftow customers will be able to take advantage of UgoWorks flexible pay-for-performance consumption model .

Also known as Energy as a Service, this industry-first consumption model offers an array of benefits, including minimized upfront costs and capital expenditures. Companies only pay for what they use, which contributes to healthier bottom lines. Furthermore, UgoWorks team of battery experts works alongside customers to proactively monitor their lithium-ion batteries state of health to optimize fleet uptimes as well as drastically reduce unplanned maintenance and replacement costs.

We are thrilled that Liftow, as a reputable Canadian leader, recognizes the tremendous value UgoWork can bring to material handling teamsin terms of productivity, capacity and cost-savings, said Philippe Beauchamp, President and CEO at UgoWork. Thanks to this agreement, companies throughout Canada can speed up their material handling throughput without breaking the bank. We look forward to working alongside the Liftow teams as they continue to expand their service offering with innovative new technologies and operational approaches that are adapted to todays customer challenges.

UgoWork convened in late 2022 in Toronto, where key representatives from Liftow Limited including Amanda Coulson, General Sales Manager  Central Division; Sean McBurney, Equipment Sales Manager  Central Division; and Red Andal, Marketing and Customer Experience Manager; to formalize the important distribution agreement.

Interested in learning more about UgoWorks lithium-ion batteries, why they are light years away from legacy solutions, and its EaaS? Contact Liftow today or reach out to a UgoWork Energy Expert .

About UgoWork

UgoWork develops, manufactures, and offers energy expertise and innovative lithium-ion power solutions that unlock the possibilities of Energy as a Service for the material handling industry. The company provides a flexible and cost-efficient consumption model that guarantees uptime and peace of mind. Its cloud-based approach to fleet optimization, pay-per-use program, energy insight, continuous field service, uptime guarantee, and end-of-life management enable fleet managers to execute their energy transition seamlessly. UgoWorks products and energy solutions cater to industrial trucks operating in the food and beverage, manufacturing, transportation, and distribution sectors.

Based in Quebec, Canada, the company offers its advanced, cost-efficient, and proven energy management programs across North America to many fortune 500 companies. Visit ugowork.com.

ugowork.com

About Liftow

Liftow Limited is the largest Toyota forklift dealer group in North America.

Their mission is to provide their clients with the most exceptional material handling equipment, products, training, and customer service in the industry. They are dedicated to establishing a true partnership with their clients while offering exemplary services and quality products at a truly competitive price. Liftow is committed to assisting their customers in finding the safest, most productive, and cost-efficient solution for their material handling needs. Their specialties range from forklift rentals, parts and service, corporate training to the sale of new or used material handling equipment. They are an authorized Toyota forklift dealer and have a knowledgeable team that services Ontario, Quebec and The Maritimes for Liftow as well as British Columbia under the MasonLift name. Liftows U.S. divisions Badger ToyotaLift and Northern ToyotaLift serves Southern Wisconsin and Vermont respectively.

https://liftow.com/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/812d9e13-1038-4991-9e1e-26c16e4e59cc
OTTAWA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada), an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), works to advance environmental education, forest literacy and career pathways, using trees and forests as windows on the world. SFI and PLT Canada are getting ready for the Back-to-School period with the unveiling of the newest environmental education resource in Canada, the Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide.



Research shows that every child benefits  academically, mentally, socially, and health-wise when they learn outdoors. Young people, educators, and parents are increasingly interested in learning about nature and being outdoors.

This cutting-edge environmental education resource for educators offers a complementary curriculum guide to engage students in exploring their environment. The Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide includes 50 field-tested, hands-on activities that integrate investigations of nature with science, math, English language arts, and social studies. It is designed to bolster STEM learning, promote civic engagement, and help young people acquire the skills theyll need to be creative problem solvers.

Here are some highlights from the new K-8 Activity Guide:

In the Adopt a Tree activity, K-2 students select individual trees to observe over time, deepening their awareness of tree changes and developing a greater appreciation for their local environment.

activity, K-2 students select individual trees to observe over time, deepening their awareness of tree changes and developing a greater appreciation for their local environment. The Charting Biodiversity activity for grades 3-5 helps students explore the amazing diversity of life on Earth and discover how plants and animals are adapted for survival. This activity helps students understand why there are so many different species and teaches them the value of biodiversity.

activity for grades 3-5 helps students explore the amazing diversity of life on Earth and discover how plants and animals are adapted for survival. This activity helps students understand why there are so many different species and teaches them the value of biodiversity. An activity for grades 6-8, If You Were the Boss, lets students play the role of forest manager for a public forest, exploring the complex factors that influence management decisions about forest lands.





I am grateful to the educators, forest and conservation sector professionals, and Indigenous community members who helped develop content that incorporates Canadian species, places, and partner resources, along with the well-tested teaching strategies and experiential learning from PLT, said Danika Strecko, SFI and PLT Canada Senior Education Manager. "I think the strength of this resource is that we collaborated with so many to incorporate credible and relevant Canadian content into our high-quality environmental education activities from PLT Canada."

To further support educators, each activity displays explicit connections to curriculum frameworks, including CMEC's Global Competencies and UN Sustainable Development Goals. The activities develop students critical thinking skills as they participate in inquiry-based learning, debate real-life environmental decisions, and engage with their community in action projects.

"There is a role for everyone to play in ensuring our future is built on sustainability and innovation. That is why starting early and creating opportunities for students to explore and think critically about our environment is so essential. The K-8 Activity Guide is an ideal resource for integrating cross-curricular lessons in forest literacy and environmental conservation. It connects learning across grade levels and content areas, said Dr. Reagan Flowers, SFI Chief Education Officer. The guide provides engaging hands-on activities that are adaptable to meet each educators unique needs and provides a wide range of resources and background information to help educators create real-world, meaningful lessons that are applicable to all Canadian communities."

Educators, natural resource professionals, parents, and other organizations can obtain a digital copy of PLTs Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide for 20% off during our Back to School sale happening through October 21, 2023. Purchase directly from the PLT Canada Shop and use coupon code B2S20 to get the e-book for just $21.59 (normally $26.99). You can also pre-order a print guide for $49.99 and receive a free digital copy. You can also try three free activities from the guide.

"PLT Canada is a tremendous resource for educators when it comes to teaching environmental education in a cross-curricular manner. Each activity and lesson are carefully designed to align with multiple curriculum areas such as science, language arts, social studies, arts education, and more. It helps me as a teacher to seamlessly integrate environmental education into my daily lessons and enrich the learning experience for students." Janet L., Teacher (British Columbia)

PLT Canada invites you to explore the many other PLT educational resources that inspire a lifetime of learning, from our Climate Change & Forests online educational resource for high school educators to our Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers guide.

For more about PLT Canadas Lifetime of Learning, contact PLTCanada@forests.org

About the Sustainable Forestry Initiative

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) advances sustainability through forest-focused collaborations. We are an independent, non-profit organization that leverages four interconnected pillars of work: standards, conservation, community, and education. SFI works with the forest sector, conservation groups, academics, researchers, brand owners, resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and governments. Collaborating with our network, we leverage SFI-certified forests and products as powerful tools to help solve sustainability challenges such as climate action, conservation of biodiversity, education of future generations, and sustainable economic development. Learn more: forests.org.

About Project Learning Tree Canada

Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada), an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, is committed to advancing environmental literacy, stewardship, and green career pathways, using trees and forests as windows on the world. Our award-winning environmental education, forest literacy, and career pathway resources offer a lifetime of learning from early childhood through adulthood. Our wide and diverse network provides professional development for educators and opportunities for young people to explore nature and the diversity of green careers in the forest and conservation sector. Together, we are growing future forest and conservation leaders. Learn more: pltcanada.org.

Media Contact

Christine Leduc

Vice-President, Communications

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

media@forests.org

249-361-5173

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fa3e886a-0cf2-4c45-97bb-ec991bbdc438
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of RTX Corporation f/k/a Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE: RTX) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.



Class Period: February 8, 2021 to July 25, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 2, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in RTX:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/rtx-lawsuit-loss-submission-form-2?id=44203&from=3

RTX Corporation f/k/a Raytheon Technologies Corporation NEWS - RTX NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that RTX Corporation f/k/a Raytheon Technologies Corporation made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the GTF engines had been affected from at least 2015-2020 by a quality control issue; (2) this quality control issue would require RTX to recall and reinspect many of its GTF airplanes, affecting customers and harming its business; and (3) as a result, defendants statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in RTX you have until October 2, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased RTX securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the RTX lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/rtx-lawsuit-loss-submission-form-2?id=44203&from=3.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

jk@kleinstocklaw.com

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com
Bethesda, Maryland, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Americans are more familiar with and supportive of their local health officials than at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings from a new Morning Consult poll commissioned by the de Beaumont Foundation. The nationally representative poll found that 60% of U.S. adults are familiar with their local public health department and 51% with their local public health official, and among those who are familiar, 70% have a favorable opinion of their local health official  all notable increases from 2021 and 2022.

The shared pandemic experience seems to have driven deeper familiarity with and support of public health departments and officials, along with a stronger understanding of the important role of public health in keeping families well, said Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation. Importantly, the level of familiarity and support is not waning with time, but continues to rise.

Support for Public Health Crosses Party Lines

While some leaders have tried to politicize public health recommendations and pandemic mitigation measures, most people who are familiar with their local health official have a favorable view of them, and this crosses party lines. The poll found that among those who are familiar, 75% of Democrats hold a favorable view of their local health official, as do 68% of Republicans and 62% of Independents.

A Broader Set of Priority Health Topics

Public health topics beyond infectious diseases are moving to the forefront, the poll shows. Between 2021 and 2023, the percentage of respondents who said future pandemic prevention should be the top priority of health departments decreased from 31% to 17%.

Respondents top priorities for public health departments are:

conducting research on cancer, Alzheimers, and other diseases (18%);

preventing future pandemics (17%);

fighting the opioid epidemic (16%); and

addressing racial disparities in health care and health outcomes (15%)

A Deeper Understanding of Community Health

Increasingly, Americans are recognizing the effects of community-level influences on peoples individual health, the poll results show. These influences include factors like access to good health care services, environmental characteristics like clean air and water, and the neighborhood where a person lives. Between 2021 and 2023, the proportion of respondents who said individual health behavior choices were the strongest determinant of a persons health decreased from 63% to 54%.

Health is a function of both communities and individuals, said Dr. Castrucci. Through greater public awareness of the effects of policies, practices, and other systemic factors on health outcomes, we can strengthen the case for health leaders and policymakers to take the steps necessary for better community health.

Addressing the Effects of Racial Discrimination

More than one-third of respondents said racial discrimination influences their health outcomes (34%), those of their friends and family (38%), and those of their communities (47%). As in past years, respondents were more likely to consider racial discrimination a problem in the nation than in their own state or community, and the proportion who consider it a problem is growing. When asked about future public health investments, two in three respondents (67%) said that addressing racial disparities should be a priority for new funding.

To view the complete results, visit: https://localpublichealth.morningconsultintelligence.com/.

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PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaskela Law LLC announces that it is investigating Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) (Discover Financial) on behalf of the companys long-term investors.

On July 19, 2023, Discover Financial disclosed in a statement that the company had misclassified some of its credit cards. Specifically, Discover Financial revealed that it misclassified certain credit card accounts into its highest pricing tier, starting in 2007, meaning merchants were charged more than they should have been to accept the cards for payment. Discover Financial indicated the company is discussing the matter with regulators and warned it could face future regulatory actions. Discover Financial also disclosed that it received a proposed consent order from the FDIC for a consumer compliance issue which is different than the misclassification matter. Following this news, shares of the companys stock declined $19.40 per share, or 16% in value, to close on July 20, 2023 at $102.83 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Then, on August 14, 2023, Discover Financial disclosed that Roger Hochschild was stepping down as President and CEO as well as giving up his position as a member of the companys board of directors. Following this news, shares of the companys stock declined an additional $9.69 per share, or 9.5% in value, to close on August 15, 2023 at $92.96 per share, again on unusually heavy trading volume.

The investigation seeks to determine whether the members of Discover Financials board of directors violated the securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the above.

Long-term Discover Financial stockholders are encouraged to contact Kaskela Law LLC (D. Seamus Kaskela, Esq. or Adrienne Bell, Esq.) at (484) 229  0750, or by email (skaskela@kaskelalaw.com / abell@kaskelalaw.com) or online at https://kaskelalaw.com/cases/discover-financial-services/ , for additional information about this investigation and their legal rights and options.

Kaskela Law exclusively represents investors in securities fraud, corporate governance, and merger & acquisition litigation. For additional information about Kaskela Law LLC please visit www.kaskelalaw.com. This notice may constitute attorney advertising in certain jurisdictions.



CONTACT:

KASKELA LAW LLC

D. Seamus Kaskela, Esq.

Adrienne Bell, Esq.

18 Campus Blvd., Suite 100

Newtown Square, PA 19073

(888) 715  1740

(484) 229  0750

www.kaskelalaw.com
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One of the most anticipated times of year at many Jellystone Park locations are the weeks leading up to Halloween.



Thats when the Yogi Bear-themed parks offer a variety of fall and pre-Halloween activities that include everything from bobbing for apples to making scarecrows to competing to see who can create the scariest campsite.



Many locations offer haunted wagon rides, haunted trails, and spooky barns or pavilions. Some even have their own corn mazes, said Trent Hershenson, vice president of marketing for Camp Jellystone, which franchises more than 75 Jellystone Park locations across North America.



Heres a sampling of some of the activities planned this fall at Jellystone Park locations across the country:

 Asheboro, North Carolina: This location will have four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Oct. 6-8. Activities will include carnival games, pumpkin hunts, costume parades, trick-or-treating, laser tag, and Saturday night dance parties.

 Big Prairie, Ohio: This locations fall activities include an Apple Dumpling Weekend Sept. 23-25 with a kiddie tractor pull, horse-drawn buggy rides, and an eight-acre corn maze.



 Brandon, South Dakota: This location has three Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 15-17 with a magic pumpkin patch, crafts, costume and campsite decorating contests, trick-or-treating, and a seven-acre corn maze.



 Bremen, Georgia: This location will have five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Activities include crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests, and trick-or-treating.



 Caledonia, Wisconsin: This location has five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 8-10. While a costume parade, campsite decorating contest, trick-or-treating, and a haunted trail are planned for each weekend, other activities vary. The weekend of Sept. 15-17 includes games of wrap the mummy and pumpkin chucking, while the weekend of Sept. 22-24 includes games of Fun Factor, roll a Frankenstein, and a Halloween feel box. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 has a zombie theme with games of zombie doctor and zombie brain relay. That weekend also includes a pet costume parade. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 includes Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) crafts and activities. Kids can enjoy creating a sugar skull mask, make a Day of the Dead marshmallow skull, participate in a Mexican hat dance, a sugar skull relay race, and compete to put the head back on the skeleton.



 Carsonville, Michigan: This location has Halloween-themed weekends on Oct. 6-8 and Oct. 13-15 with crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests, and trick-or-treating.

 Fredericksburg, Texas: Four Halloween-themed weekends will occur at this location beginning Oct. 6-8. Activities include magic pumpkin seeds, pumpkin painting, costume and campsite decorating contests, and trick-or-treating.



 Horn Lake, Mississippi: Four Halloween-themed weekends begin at this location on Oct. 6-8. Activities include campsite decorating, costume contests, trick-or-treating, and a haunted house.

 Grayling, Michigan: This location will have an All Things Apples weekend Sept. 8-10 with an applesauce eating contest, an apple smear game, apple artwork, apple trivia and, of course, caramel apples. Three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends begin Sept. 22-24 with a pumpkin patch, a campsite decorating contest, and a dance party. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 will include Halloween crafts, scarecrow decorating, and a costume contest. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 will include a pumpkin carving contest, a spooky movie, and a trail of terror.

 Harrisville, Pennsylvania: This location celebrates fall with a talent show Sept. 8-10 followed by six consecutive Halloween-themed weekends with crafts and games each weekend. The parks haunted pavilion opens the weekend of Oct. 6-8.

 Hocking Hills, Ohio: This location is hosting a Route Riders Weekend and Boo Boo Birthday Celebration Sept. 8-10. Motorcyclists are invited to stay at the park and to ride the beautiful routes surrounding the campground, including the "Windy 9," a series of nine motorcycle routes with lots of curves and elevation changes. A birthday party for Boo Boo will take place on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9. Four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends begin Sept. 22-24 with a magic pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, a campsite decorating contest, and trick-or-treating. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 will also include the parks 18th annual Hog Roast and karaoke on Saturday night.



 Horn Lake, Mississippi: This location offers four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Oct. 6-7. Activities include campsite decorating, costume contests, and a haunted house.



 Lincoln, Delaware: This location will have a Fall Fest Sept. 22-24 with apple bobbing, pumpkin decorating, an apple cider social, and wagon rides. Six Halloween-themed weekends begin with a not-so-scary weekend Sept. 29-Oct. 1 featuring a magic pumpkin patch, crafts, wagon rides, and trick-or-treating. Subsequent weekends include pumpkin decorating and a haunted barn. A blacklight costume dance will be held the weekend of Oct. 20-22.



 Lodi, California: This location has six consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 22-24. Activities include a magic pumpkin patch, campsite decorating contest, costume contests, and trick-or-treating.



 Monroe City, Missouri: This location will offer five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 29-Oct. 1. In addition to Halloween-themed crafts, there will be pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite/cabin decorating contests, and trick-or-treating.



 Mill Run, Pennsylvania: This location will offer three scary Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 22-24 followed by two not-so-scary Halloween weekends for the little ones beginning Oct. 6-8. Scary weekend activities include a magical pumpkin ride, a costume parade, trick-or-treating, and a haunted wagon ride. Guests are warned to prepare for ghosts and goblins and to prepare to be scared. The not-so-scary Halloween weekends include a magical pumpkin ride, Halloween games, a costume parade, trick-or-treating, and a spooky dance party.



 Pelahatchie, Mississippi: This location is planning five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 29-Oct. 1 with crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests, and trick-or-treating.

 South Haven, Michigan: This location has a Fall Festival weekend Sept. 8-10 with a scarecrow decorating contest, a bale of hay throwing contest, and a scarecrow family relay race in which participants dress up like scarecrows. There will also be a pie eating contest and a corn maze. The parks on-site cafe will also offer pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider donuts. This park will also feature seven consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 15-17. Activities will include pumpkin decorating and carving, scarecrow decorating, campsite decorating, all age and pet costume contests, a Lucky Pumpkin Patch, a corn maze, trick-or-treating, and a Halloween dance party. The location will also offer either a haunted house or a haunted campground. Guests will find out when they get there!



 Tyler, Texas: This location has six consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 22-24. Activities will include a magic pumpkin patch, campsite decorating, costume contests, and trick-or-treating.

About Camp Jellystone

With more than 75 locations across the United States and Canada, Yogi Bears Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts feature fun attractions such as pools and water slides, non-stop family activities, up-close fun with Yogi Bear characters, and glamping-style accommodations. For more information about Yogi Bears Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, please visit www.jellystonepark.com. For information on franchising opportunities, please visit www.jellystonefranchise.com. Camp Jellystone is part of Sun Outdoors family of brands.

About Sun Outdoors

Sun Outdoors is a leader in outdoor hospitality and is committed to its mission of offering guests exceptional and transformative outdoor experiences. With over 150 locations across the U.S. and Ontario, Canada, Sun Outdoors offers guests several ways to stay: from RV sites to vacation rentals, from tent camping to glamping, whether they stay for a weekend, season, or longer. Visit www.sunoutdoors.com to learn more.

Multimedia here: https://www.campjellystone.com/pressroom/

Contact:

Ritter Communications, Brad Ritter

BRitter@bradritter.com

740.815.1892



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6dd7ce59-4b43-428f-90be-10befa3b12c6
Available in the App Store and Google Play, Thumzup Enables Virtually Everyone to Earn Cash Rewards for Posting on Social Media about the Brands They Love

Los Angeles, CA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thumzup Media Corporation ("Thumzup" or the "Company") (OTCQB: TZUP) is excited to welcome VR Hour, located at 2901 Ocean Park Blvd #103, Santa Monica, California, to its cash rewards digital social media branding platform.

The Thumzup mobile app, which is available for download in the App Store and Google Play, incentivizes virtually everyone to become social media advocates for the brands they enjoy by paying them cash for approved posts.

Were thrilled to welcome VR HOUR, a unique virtual reality collaborative experience which combines the best of escape rooms and virtual reality to create an unforgettable adventure, to the Thumzup platform, stated Robert Steele, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thumzup. Thumzups users are now able to earn cash while immersing themselves into a completely different world where they are not only an observer but an active participant. We are commited to further expanding VR HOURs customer base and sales.

For more information, please visit https://www.thumzupmedia.com and https://vr-hour.com.

About Thumzup

Thumzup Media Corporation (Thumzup) is democratizing the multi-billion dollar social media branding and marketing industry. Its flagship product, the Thumzup platform, utilizes a robust programmatic advertiser dashboard coupled with a consumer-facing App to enable individuals to get paid cash for posting about participating advertisers on major social media outlets through the Thumzup App. The easy-to-use dashboard allows advertisers to programmatically customize their campaigns. Cash payments are made to App users/creators through Venmo and PayPal.

Thumzup is a publicly traded company (OTCQB stock ticker: TZUP). For more information, please visit https://www.thumzupmedia.com .

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include, without limitation, statements about its potential growth, impacts on the advertising industry, and planned expansion. These statements are identified by the use of the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "may," "continue," "predict," "potential," "project" and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Info:

800-403-6150

investors@ThumzupMedia.com

Attachment
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of those who acquired Comerica Incorporated (Comerica or the Company) (NYSE: CMA) securities during the period from February 9, 2021 through May 29, 2023, inclusive (the Class Period). Investors have until October 20, 2023 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.



On May 29, 2023, after trading hours, American Banker released an article entitled Comerica in serious violation of Treasurys Direct Express program. The article discussed significant issues with i2c Inc. and Conduent Inc., two vendors to whom Comerica contracts out the day-to-day operations of Direct Express, a federal government program which deposits roughly $3 billion a month electronically on prepaid cards to millions federal government beneficiaries who do not have a bank account. On this news, the price of Comerica shares declined by $1.40 per share, or approximately 3.59%, from $38.99 per share to close at $37.59 on May 30, 2023. The next day, the price of Comerica shares declined another $1.49 per share, or approximately 3.96%, to close at $36.10 on May 31, 2023.

The lawsuit alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose that: (i) Comerica failed to provide meaningful oversight over the vendors to whom it contracted out day-to-day operations of the Direct Express program, a system through which it is contracted to provide federal benefits to millions of Americans without bank accounts; (ii) as a result of violations in the day-to-day operations of Direct Express, including handling fraud disputes and allowing sensitive data to be handled out of a vendors office in Pakistan, Comerica was not in compliance with the Federal Contract, and knew it was not in compliance; and (iii) Comerica knew and failed to disclose that it was in potential violation of Regulation E due to inadequate fraud prevention in the Direct Express program and responses to instances of fraud.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Comerica securities, have information, or would like to learn more about this lawsuit and how it might affect your rights, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP by email at investigations@kmllp.com, or by filling out this contact form, to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you.

Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, whistleblower, and consumer litigation. The firms efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. Additional information about the firm can be found at Kirby McInerney LLPs website: https://www.kmllp.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contacts

Kirby McInerney LLP

Thomas W. Elrod, Esq.

212-699-1180

https://www.kmllp.com

investigations@kmllp.com
Selbyville, Delaware, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The EV platform market is projected to reach USD 65 billion by 2032, as reported in a research study by Global Market Insights Inc.

An increasing focus on reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change is expected to have a positive impact on the industry outlook. Electric vehicles offer a cleaner alternative to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, as they produce zero tailpipe emissions. Governments, regulatory bodies, and consumers are actively shifting toward electric vehicles, which drives the demand for EV platforms. Moreover, the establishment of an adequate charging infrastructure in various developed countries is fueling the market growth.

The electric vehicle platform market from the battery electric vehicle segment is primed to depict a remarkable growth from 2023 to 2032, due to a growing awareness of the environmental impact of traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles. This has resulted in a shift of consumer preference for cleaner and more sustainable transportation options, increasing the demand for BEVs.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/5793

The EV platform market from the commercial vehicle segment will exhibit a decent CAGR through 2032, driven by increasing implementation of strict environmental regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Adopting electric vehicles for commercial applications aligns with business requirements and allows companies to display their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint. This also enhances their brand goodwill and attracts environmentally conscious customers.





North America EV platform market is predicted to garner substantial gains by 2032, due to supportive government initiatives towards zero-emissions. A growing awareness of the environmental impact of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, including air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions has encouraged federal, state, and local authorities to implement policies and incentives including tax credits, grants, subsidies, and infrastructure development programs to promote the adoption of electric vehicles, complementing the market outlook in the region.

Major players involved in electric vehicle platform market include Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, BYD Company Ltd., Renault, and Ford. These firms engage in a series of strategic partnerships and new vehicle type launches to stay ahead in the industry.

Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/5793

EV Platform Industry News

In March 2023, Renault, an automotive firm, announced the launch of the future electric Renault 5 prototypes with CMF EV platform. This innovative launch will complement the companys zero-emission goal and reduce manufacturing costs by 30% compared to ZOE.

In January 2023, Ford, another automotive company, intends to release its own in-house EV platform in Europe, shifting from its previous alliance with Volkswagen modular electric drive matric platform. This will help the company to expand its business outreach and R&D initiatives.

Partial chapters of report table of contents (TOC):

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

2.1 EV platform market 360 synopsis, 2018 - 2032

2.2 Business trends

2.3 Regional trends

2.4 Vehicle trends

2.5 Platform trends

2.6 Application trends

2.7 Sales-channel trends

Chapter 3 EV Platform Market Insights

3.1 Impact on COVID-19

3.2 Russia- Ukraine war impact

3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis

3.4 Vendor matrix

3.5 Profit margin analysis

3.6 Technology & innovation landscape

3.7 Patent analysis

3.8 Key news and initiatives

3.9 Regulatory landscape

3.10 Impact forces

3.10.1 Growth drivers

3.10.1.1 EV platforms offer flexible manufacturing of automobiles

3.10.1.2 Rise in government initiatives and incentives

3.10.1.3 Increase in consumer demand

3.10.1.4 Investment in R&D by companies on new technologies

3.10.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges

3.10.2.1 High initial development cost

3.10.2.2 Limited EV platforms present in the market

3.11 Growth potential analysis

3.12 Porters analysis

3.13 PESTEL analysis

Browse our Reports Store - GMIPulse @ https://www.gminsights.com/gmipulse

Browse Related Reports:

Asia Pacific Electric Vehicle (EV) Market Size - By Vehicle (Two-wheelers, Passenger Cars, Commercial), By Battery (Sealed Lead Acid, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion), Propulsion, Price Range, Drive Type, Range, End Use & Forecast 2023  2032

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/asia-pacific-electric-vehicle-market

U.S. Electric Vehicle (EV) Market Size - By Vehicle Type (Two-wheelers, Passenger Cars, Commercial), By Battery Type (Sealed Lead Acid, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion), Propulsion Type, Price Range, Drive Type, Range, Forecast 2023  2032

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/us-electric-vehicle-market

About Global Market Insights Inc.

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.
Cranbrook, August 22, 2023 - DLP Resources Inc. (TSXV: DLP) (OTCQB: DLPRF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 6,000,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.50 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000.

Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.80 per Warrant Share, subject to an acceleration clause in the event the trading price of the Shares equals or exceeds $1.10 for a period of 20 consecutive days.

The Private Placement will be made available to subscribers pursuant to the accredited investor and friends, family and business associate exemptions provided under sections 2.3(1) and 2.5 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions.

The Private Placement will also be made available to existing shareholders of the Company who, as of the close of business on August 21, 2023, held Shares (and who continue to hold such Shares as of the closing date), pursuant to the existing shareholder exemption set out in BC Instrument 45-534 Exemption From Prospectus Requirement for Certain Trades to Existing Security Holders (the "Existing Securityholder Exemption"). The Existing Securityholder Exemption limits a shareholder to a maximum investment of CAD$15,000 in a 12-month period unless the shareholder has obtained advice regarding the suitability of the investment and, if the shareholder is resident in a jurisdiction of Canada, that advice has been obtained from a person that is registered as an investment dealer in the jurisdiction. If the Company receives subscriptions from investors relying on the Existing Shareholder Exemption exceeding the maximum amount of the Private Placement, the Company intends to adjust the subscriptions received on a pro-rata basis.

The Company expects to pay finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement to certain eligible finders in the form of: (i) a cash commission of 7.0% of the gross proceeds raised under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder; and (ii) the issuance of such number of non-transferable common share purchase warrants of the Company (the "Finder's Warrants") equal to 7.0% of the Units issued under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement for funding the Peru projects and general office and administration requirements. There may be circumstances, however, where, for sound business reasons, a reallocation of funds may be necessary.

Drilling at the Aurora copper-molybdenum project is ongoing and drillhole eleven (A23-011) located 275m SW of A23-010 is currently in progress to a planned depth of 1000m. Assay results for A23-010 which was completed on August 12 are expected to be released in mid-late September.

The Private Placement is subject to all necessary regulatory approvals including acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

About DLP Resources Inc.

DLP Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration company operating in Peru and Southeastern British Columbia, exploring for copper, zinc and cobalt. DLP is listed on the TSX-V, trading symbol DLP and on the OTCQB, trading symbol DLPRF. Please refer to our web site www.dlpresourcesinc.com for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: DLP Resources Inc.

Ian Gendall, CEO and President

Jim Stypula, Executive Chairman

Robin Sudo, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary

Maxwell Reinhart, Investor Relations

Telephone: 250-426-7808

Email: iangendall@dlpresourcesinc.com

Email: jimstypula@dlpresourcesinc.com

Email: robinsudo@dlpresourcesinc.com

Email: maxreinhart@dlpresourcesinc.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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things: the anticipated proceeds to be raised under the Private Placement; the use of any proceeds raised under the Private Placement; the finder's fees to be paid in connection with the Private Placement; and the expected timing for the release of the A23-010 Assay results.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required regulatory approvals for the Private Placement; market uncertainty; the inability of the Company to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement; and delays in the Company releasing the A23-010 Assay results.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that: the Company will obtain the required regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approvals for the Private Placement; the Company will be able to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement; the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated; and the Company will release the A23-010 Assay results 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/178001
Toronto, August 22, 2023 - Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) (OTCQB: NKORF) (FSE: 7N11) (the "Company" or "Palladium One") is pleased to announce it has discovered several highly anomalous nickel, copper, and cobalt soil anomalies potentially linking the West Pickle and RJ Zones, which are 2.5 kilometers apart. The soil sampling was conducted along an interpreted chonolith / feeder dyke structure. Additionally, the Company is pleased to announce that it has now earned an 80% interest in the Pezim II Property which contains the high-grade West Pickle Zone, that forms part of the larger Tyko Nickel - Copper Project, in Ontario, Canada.

Highlights

Multiple highly anomalous nickel, copper and cobalt anomalies in soils (Figure 2) potentially linking the high-grade West Pickle and RJ Zones along an Interpreted Chonolith / Feeder Dyke structure with values up to: 785 ppm Nickel 431 ppm Copper 49 ppm Cobalt

Preliminary geological mapping discovers new ultramafic outcrops and boulders in the western part of the Tyko Project thereby continuing to support the Company's geological model.

The 2023 Exploration Program is well advanced with over 5,000 soil samples collected to date, while today's announcement represents the first <10% or 465 samples.

Palladium One has now earned an 80% interest in the high-grade West Pickle Zone. The West Pickle Zone has returned up to 10.4% Ni, 3.4% Cu, 0.14% Co, 0.53 g/t Pd, 0.34 g/t Pt, 0.04 g/t Au over 2.3 meters in massive sulphides in hole TK-22-070 (see news release November 29, 2022).



President and CEO, Derrick Weyrauch commented, "We are very pleased with the first result of the 2023 Exploration Program which has returned highly anomalous nickel, copper and cobalt in soils along a considerable area (1.3 kilometers) between the West Pickle and RJ Zones. These results continue to support our geological model that strong magnetic anomalies located between West Pickle and RJ Zones represent a chonolith / feeder dyke potentially linking both zones."

The newly discovered nickel, copper and cobalt anomalies along the interpreted chonolith / feeder dykes potentially linking the West Pickle and RJ Zone are very strong, with values up to 785 ppm Ni and 431 ppm Cu (Figure 2). For comparison previous soil sampling over the high-grade West Pickle Zone returned up to 116 ppm Ni and 153 ppm Cu, and Smoke Lake Zone retuned up to 565 ppm Ni and 106 ppm Cu. Significantly, the samples contain highly elevated magnesium and chrome values thereby indicating a strong ultramafic signature which further supports the Company's geological model that a chonolith / feeder dyke occurs in this area.

Mapping, prospecting and soil sampling continues, results are encouraging with ultramafic outcrops and boulders having been discovered in several interpreted chonolith / feeder dyke structures, once again supporting the Company's geological model. A total of 465 soil samples are included in this release while to date over 5,000 soil samples have been collected.

The key objective of the 2023 Exploration Program at Tyko is ground truthing interpreted chonoliths / feeder dykes prior to diamond drilling (Figure 3). As part of the program, in Q1 2023, the Company completed a high-resolution magnetic survey (see news release May 16, 2023), the results of which are presented in Figures 1 and 3. The 2023 magnetic survey was designed to refine the geometry of the interpreted chonoliths / feeder dykes across the Tyko project's 30-kilometer strike length. Preliminary geological mapping in the western portion of the property has identified outcrops and boulders of ultramafic pyroxenites which continue to support the chonolith / feeder dyke geological model.

Pezim II Claim Block Earn In Agreement (see Figure 1)

The Pezim II claim block optioned from First Class Metals in 2021 (see news release July 27, 2021). Having now completed the requirements to earn an 80% working interest, a Joint Venture Agreement shall be instituted and the Company shall continue to be the operator. Should either party not fully participate in future expenditures, its ownership interest shall be diluted and if one party is diluted to a 10% working interest, that party ("NSR Holder") shall be granted a 1% NSR Royalty in respect of the Earn-In Properties, while the Surviving Party shall be granted a 100% undivided working interest. The Surviving Party shall have the right at any time to purchase from the NSR Holder the 1% NSR Royalty by way of a one-time payment to the NSR Holder of $1,000,000 for the full 1% NSR.

Figure 1. Tyko Property map showing the mineralized zones and multi-line Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic ("VTEM") anomalies, background is total magnetic intensity reduced to pole ("TMI-RTP"). The Pezim II claim block is outlined in yellow.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/178026_4a663030742edabe_001full.jpg

Figure 2. Zoom in on West Pickle - RJ Zone area showing 2021 and 2023 soil sampling results overlaid on the 2023 high resolution magnetic survey highlighting the interpreted chonolith / feeder dyke structure.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/178026_4a663030742edabe_002full.jpg

Figure 3. Zoom in on 2023 priority exploration areas showing existing drill holes, interpreted chonoliths / feeder dykes, and proposed work programs. background is TMI-RTP magnetics.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/178026_4a663030742edabe_003full.jpg

About Tyko Nickel - Copper - Cobalt Project

The Tyko Nickel - Copper - Cobalt Project, is located approximately 65 kilometers northeast of Marathon Ontario, Canada. Tyko is an early stage, high sulphide tenor, nickel - copper (2:1 ratio) project and with multiple mineralized zones spanning over a 20 kilometer strike length and demonstrating the potential for a new greenfield nickel district.

New Equity Incentive Plan

The Company adopted a new equity incentive plan (the "New Plan"), which was approved by the shareholders of the Company at the annual general and special meeting of shareholders held on July 24, 2023. The New Plan is a "rolling up to 10%" share-based compensation plan and allows the board of directors to grant stock options, restricted share units and deferred share units of the Company (collectively, "Awards"). Any Awards currently outstanding under the Company's previous share-based compensation plans will remain outstanding and be governed by the previous plans, however new Award grants will be subject to the New Plan.

A copy of the New Plan is attached to the management information circular of the Meeting, a copy of which was filed on SEDAR on June 30, 2023.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Palladium One

Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) is focused on discovering environmentally and socially conscious Critical Green Transportation Metals. A Canadian mineral exploration and development company, Palladium One is targeting district scale, nickel - copper sulphide and platinum-group-element (PGE) deposits in Canada and Finland. The Lantinen Koillismaa (LK) Project in north-central Finland, is a PGE-copper-nickel project that has existing NI43-101 Mineral Resources, while both the Tyko and Canalask high-grade nickel-copper projects are located in Ontario and the Yukon, Canada, respectively. Follow Palladium One on LinkedIn, Twitter, and at www.palladiumoneinc.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Derrick Weyrauch"

President & CEO, Director

For further information contact:

Derrick Weyrauch, President & CEO

Email: info@palladiumoneinc.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States of America. The common shares of Palladium One Mining Inc. have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration.

Information set forth in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in palladium and other commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and tax consequences to Canadian and U.S. Shareholders. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178026
Vancouver, August 22, 2023 - Pegasus Resources Inc. (TSX-V:PEGA) (Frankfurt:OQS2) (OTC:SLTFF) (the "Company" or "Pegasus") is pleased to provide an update on recent developments and key events as we forge ahead in our pursuit of uranium and other minerals. With a clear vision and strategic focus, we are thrilled to outline our goals and achievements for the coming years.

"The Pegasus team is excited for the inaugural drill program at the Pine Channel," stated Chris Timmins. "This marks a significant step forward in our exploration efforts to find the next uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin. Additionally, we're enthusiastic about returning to our Icefields project in BC, where we see immense potential for copper and gold mineralization. Our team is also hard at work developing a comprehensive work program to advance Energy Sands toward drill-ready status. These initiatives reflect our commitment to advancing our projects and creating value for our shareholders."

Goals for 2023-24: Our goals are set to achieve significant milestones. Highlights include:

Pine Channel Uranium Property Saskatchewan: We are dedicated to advancing our Pine Channel Uranium Property in the Athabasca Basin, focusing on our inaugural drill program. Our team is diligently working towards unlocking the potential of this asset and generating valuable insights through exploration activities.

Mozzie Lake, Bentley, and Wollaston Northeast Uranium properties in the prolific Athabasca Basin hold untested potential for basement-hosted uranium discoveries. We eagerly anticipate unlocking this potential through future exploration programs.

Icefields British Columbia Gold, Copper, Silver Projects: Building on our successes, we are excited to return to the Icefields projects located near Golden in British Columbia. In collaboration with Dahrouge Geological Consulting, we plan a comprehensive mapping and sampling program to enhance our understanding of these high-potential properties and further explore Icefields' gold, copper, and silver potential.

The Icefields Project encompasses three distinct properties, Gold Mountain, Vertebrae Ridge, and Punch Bowl are situated along a strategic trend near the border between British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. These properties hold immense promise and are collectively known for their significant mineralization potential. The Icefields Project is a testament to Pegasus Resources' commitment to exploration and the pursuit of valuable mineral deposits. With a focus on early-stage exploration and tapping into the unexplored potential of these properties, Pegasus aims to unlock opportunities and create value for stakeholders.

Energy Sands Utah, USA Uranium Exploration Expansion: Pegasus Resources is seizing a remarkable opportunity to expand our uranium exploration efforts into the United States. Our Energy Sands in Utah Project presents a compelling proposition, located on-trend and approximately 4 kilometres from the Western Uranium's Rafael Uranium Project. The Rafael Project boasts indicated mineral resources totalling 758,050 tons with impressive grades of 0.225% U3O8 and 0.30% V2O5. Additionally, the project holds inferred mineral resources of 453,850 tons with grades of 0.205% U3O8 and 0.28% V2O5.

A historical report archived by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) outlines small-scale uranium production by the Minerals Corporation of America. This historical production, totalling 51.8 tons at a grade of 0.373% U3O8 and 1.10% V2O5, occurred between 1953 and 1956.

It's important to note that the Company's Qualified Person (QP) is unable to independently verify the historical production amounts and grades. However, these historical records underscore the region's uranium potential and bolster our enthusiasm for exploration.

Notable Events:

February 2023: A New Leadership Era - We welcomed Christian Timmins as our CEO and President. Since assuming this role, Chris has diligently evaluated our projects, implemented cost-saving measures, and established a robust framework to guide Pegasus toward success.

Engaging Dahrouge Geologic: Recognizing the importance of expertise, we have partnered with Dahrouge Geologic to assist in obtaining drilling permits and facilitating First Nations outreach for our Pine Channel Uranium Project. This collaboration underscores our commitment to responsible exploration and community engagement.

Punch Bowl Gold Project: Through collaboration with Dahrouge Geologic, we have initiated a comprehensive work program for our Punch Bowl Project in British Columbia. This program aims to further define and explore the promising mineralization potential of this early-stage gold property.

New Director, Noah Komavli: We are excited to announce the addition of Noah Komavli as a new director. Noah brings a wealth of entrepreneurial and start-up expertise, aligning well with our forward-focused approach.

Garnet Lake/Arrow Zone Option: Pegasus has strategically optioned the Garnet Lake property to Compton Mining. This move aligns with our commitment to maximizing asset value and strengthening our financial position.

The partnership allows us to direct our resources toward our core uranium projects and create additional shareholder value.

The Company would also like to announce the extension to the non-brokerage private placement (the "Offering") announced on May 05, 2023, and June 19, 2023, for an additional 30 days. The Offering aims to raise gross proceeds of up to CDN$300,000 through the issuance of up to 3,750,000 units (the "Units") at a price of CDN$0.08 per Unit.

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant, entitling the holder to acquire an additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.12 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance.

The proceeds from the Offering will be utilized for the exploration of the Company's mineral properties, as well as for general operational expenses. This extended private placement presents an opportunity for interested investors to participate in the growth and development of Pegasus.

All common shares, share purchase warrants, and shares underlying the share purchase warrants will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period from the date of issuance. The closing of the Offering remains subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

At Pegasus Resources, we remain steadfast in our commitment to exploration, drilling, and value creation through advancing our portfolio of properties. With a strong focus on exploration, we are well-positioned to make significant strides in the months and years ahead.

Please visit our website or contact our CEO for more information.

About Pegasus Resources Inc.

Pegasus Resources Inc. is a diversified Junior Canadian Mineral Exploration Company with a focus on uranium, gold, and base metal properties in North America. The Company is also actively pursuing the right opportunity in other resources to enhance shareholder value. For additional information, please visit the Company at www.pegasusresourcesinc.com.

On behalf of the entire Pegasus Resources team,

Christian Timmins

President / CEO

Pegasus Resources Inc.

700 - 838 West Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC V6C 0A6

PH: 1-403-597-3410

E: info@pegasusresourcesinc.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.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning the Company's plans, intentions and expectations (including the proposed Consolidation), which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.

Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 - Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSXV: LME) (OTC: LMEFF) ("LAURION" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it has engaged Steven Hunter to provide investor relations services.

Steven has been engaged to heighten capital market awareness and understanding of LAURION, and assist with managing investor communications and expectations. Steven's services are expected to include the enhancement of corporate marketing materials, investor engagement through select channels, relationship management, and other strategic capital market advisory services.

In connection with this engagement, the Corporation and Steven have entered into a consulting agreement (the "Agreement"), pursuant to which, among other things, Steven has agreed to provide certain investor relations services in accordance with Policy 3.4 - Investor Relations, Promotional and Market-Making Activities ("Policy 3.4") of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). The Agreement has a term of up to six months, effective August 21, 2023, and may be terminated at any time without charge by either party by giving a 30-day notice in writing. In consideration for his services, Steven will receive options to purchase up to 250,000 common shares of the Corporation at a price of C$0.40 per common share, with a five-year term. The Options will vest as to one-third of the Options on each annual anniversary of their grant, with the first such vesting occurring on the first anniversary (being 12 months from the date of grant), in accordance with the Corporation's stock option plan and Policy 3.4.

Steven is based out of London, Ontario and was a licensed CIRO Investment Advisor and Professional Branch Manager for the past 22 years. A veteran of the Canadian investment services industry, Steven has held senior roles at a major Canadian bank that included responsibility for supervision and management of a multi-billion dollar business while adhering to strict guidelines set out by a number of provincial and federal self-regulatory organizations.

The Agreement does not contain any performance factors. Steven and the Corporation are unrelated and unaffiliated entities, although Steven is an existing minority shareholder of the Corporation. The appointment of Steven as an investor relations consultant of LAURION and the granting of stock options, as contemplated in the Agreement and summarized above, remain subject to TSXV approval.

About LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc.

The Corporation is a junior mineral exploration and development company listed on the TSXV under the symbol LME and on the OTC under the symbol LMEFF. LAURION now has 257,159,855 outstanding shares of which approximately 80% are owned and controlled by Insiders who are eligible investors under the "Friends and Family" categories.

LAURION's emphasis is on the exploration and development of its flagship project, the 100% owned mid-stage 47 km2 Ishkoday Project, and its gold-rich polymetallic mineralization.

LAURION's chief priority remains maximizing shareholder value while simultaneously embracing and considering the principles and best practices of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues. A large portion of the Corporation's focus in this regard falls within the ambit of its mineral exploration activities and more specifically, advancing the Ishkoday Project.

A consequence of LAURION's success and advancement over the past several years is that the Corporation has become positioned as an acquisition target for appropriate potential acquirors. Accordingly, the Corporation's Board of Directors is aware that possible strategic alternatives and transactional opportunities may arise and/or could be procured in the short or medium terms. The Corporation will promptly issue a press release if any material change occurs. In the meanwhile, LAURION will continue to explore opportunities and potential transactions that are strategically beneficial to the Corporation and its shareholders.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Corporation's current expectations regarding future events including with respect to LAURION's business, operations and condition, management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions, the Corporation's ability to advance the Ishkoday Project, the nature, focus, timing and potential results of the Corporation's future exploration efforts, the Corporation's and Steven's ability to heighten capital market awareness and understanding of LAURION, and any possible strategic alternatives and transactional opportunities that may arise and/or could be procured in the future with respect to the Corporation. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to the Corporation failing to obtain the requisite regulatory (including the TSXV) approvals and the engagement of Steven on the terms described herein. Actual events and future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements could differ materially from those projected herein including as a result of a change in the trading price of the common shares of LAURION, the interpretation and actual results of current and future exploration activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future prices of gold and/or other metals, possible variations in grade or recovery rates, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, the failure of contracted parties to perform, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the Corporation's publicly filed documents. Investors should consult the Corporation's ongoing quarterly and annual filings, as well as any other additional documentation comprising the Corporation's public disclosure record, for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable law, the Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

SOURCE Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc.
2024 deal still not ready for Hamilton

Reports that Mercedes would finally announce a 2024 deal for Lewis Hamilton prior to this weekend's Dutch GP were wide of the mark.

Lewis Hamilton, Belgian GP 2023

 Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

It now seems clear that, despite the long delays whilst negotiating the new deal, there are still clear contractual stumbling blocks to jump.

I am not aware Lewis is having a change of heart about whether he wants to go racing or not, said former F1 driver turned British television commentator David Coulthard.

And I don't think Mercedes are having second doubts, he told the Irish News.

Coulthard thinks the problem with 38-year-old Hamilton's new contract is the time he will need to commit himself to non-racing matters.

Mercedes will want a certain amount of time from Lewis for their partners, said the Scot.

"They will have sold sponsorship on obtaining access to their drivers. Some businesses will have signed up because Lewis is there, rather than George Russell.

Perhaps Lewis might be wanting to do fewer days or have fewer commitments? he wondered.

The Sun newspaper agrees that the likely sticking point will centre on the amount of time Hamilton will be contractually obliged to be available for Mercedes' sponsors .
Teams should be banned for budget breach says Vasseur

The next round of penalties for breaching Formula 1's budget cap should be "much more drastic".

Frederic Vasseur, Saudi Arabian GP 2023

 Ferrari

That is the view of Frederic Vasseur, amid rumours some top teams - again including Red Bull and Aston Martin - may once again be in trouble with the FIA for overspending.

I don't want to make any comments on something I'm not familiar with, the Ferrari team boss told La Gazzetta dello Sport. Speaking in general, what I can say is that last year's punishment wasn't harsh enough.

Red Bull was fined $7 million for the minor breach and had wind tunnel time further restricted.

If it were to happen again, Vasseur said, it should be much more drastic. Considering that a technical advantage translates to a sporting advantage, the punishment should be sports-related, not just a fine.

The Frenchman said Red Bull's 10 percent reduced wind tunnel time, for instance, was a joke .

The major work was already done, and what you don't use for aerodynamics can be spent on weight savings and other areas, said Vasseur.

If another irregularity were to be confirmed, a severe penalty would be necessary - perhaps a one-year disqualification for 2024 or something similar.

He admitted that managing the budget cap is difficult for teams, but explained: We have perfect systems to control our expenditures, and in case of doubt, you can ask the FIA.

Vasseur also said Red Bull's 5 percent overspend wasn't in fact minor, given that up to $125 million of the total costs each season are more or less fixed .

Collectively, as F1, this issue needs to be resolved, he said. "We shouldn't sweep it under the rug because in the end, there's a big difference between an unintentional mistake and a deliberate choice.

"It's like the difference between making an error filling out your tax return and intentionally establishing a company in a tax haven to evade taxes. We need to be firm as the future of the cost cap is at stake.
Winstep debuts new fertiliser for the Agro-Industry

Kwame Larweh Business News Aug - 22 - 2023 , 08:30

A new organic fertiliser that generates a higher and healthy yield for farmers and provides a cushion for small and medium-scale agro-processors in the country has been certified by the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Comcat, which is from Germany and powdery, was tried and tested by farmers in the Volta, Western and Oti regions, as well as in the northern belts of the country and can be applied to both trees, crops and bouquets.

It is so economical that nine grammes can be put into a knapsack containing 16 litres of water to spray an entire farm.

A hundred grammes of Comcat can cover three acres of land, Mr Hope Nyadi, the Managing Director of Winstep Company Limited, told the Graphic Business in an exclusive interview in Accra yesterday.

According to research, the fertiliser is also capable of reviving dead farmlands.

Demonstration and application

Mr Nyadi demonstrated the chemicals prowess with videos and photographs of various staple foods such as rice, maize, cassava, vegetables and cocoa farms on which the fertiliser had been used, and described its unique feature as fully organic and human friendly.

All you need is to pour this powder into a knapsack containing water and spray it on stems, leaves and roots of crops and they will multiply in excess, he stated.

Urging the youth to go into farming, Mr Nyadi also revealed that the produce of crops that apply Comcat has longer shelf lives and pledged to support young farmers with the product.

He affirmed that the chemical is environmentally friendly and non-toxic.

Comcat stimulates important metabolic processes, photosynthesis and respiration in plants and crops and also reduces the stress load on the crop," he noted.
Niger coup makers must seize diplomatic window

Daily Graphic Editorials Aug - 22 - 2023 , 09:03

The Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed last Friday to institute a standby force for a possible military intervention to restore democracy in Niger if diplomatic efforts fail.

Military officers deposed former President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, and have defied calls from the United Nations, ECOWAS and others to reinstate him.

The soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Bazoum in July have quickly entrenched themselves in power, rebuffed most dialogue efforts and kept Bazoum, his wife and his son under house arrest in the capital.

The defence chiefs met to fine-tune details of the potential military operation to restore constitutional order if ongoing negotiations with the coup leaders are unsuccessful.

Eleven West African nations have agreed to commit troops to a military deployment towards the cause but the leaders say they still favour dialogue.

The Daily Graphic is, therefore, urging the coup leaders in Niger to take advantage of the window of opportunity in the latest diplomatic effort by the ECOWAS to prevent bloodshed.

The paper wishes to remind the coup makers that ECOWAS has two defence protocols which expressly state that any threat against a member state is deemed a threat against the greater community.

That was why it sent troops to intervene in some member states in the past.

So, when instability rocked Niger, the fourth country in the region to suffer a coup in recent times, ECOWAS saw intervention as part of its broader mission to support and protect democracy in West Africa.

So far, Niger's coup leader has promised to return the country to civilian rule within three years.

The leader of the junta, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, made the announcement after meeting mediators from the regional bloc in the capital, Niamey.

A previous ECOWAS delegation, led by General Abudulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian Head of state, earlier this month, tried but failed to meet Bazoum and the coup leader.

In a televised broadcast on Saturday, he said the junta had no ambition to confiscate power, adding that the transition of power would not go beyond three years.

He reiterated the juntas readiness to dialogue, stating that neither the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland nor the people of Niger want war.

This is a positive signal that the coup makers themselves are prepared and willing to dialogue in order to prevent a full- scale military intervention.

We must emphasise that ECOWAS has the right to enforce constitutional order, an order not marked by war, but by peace; not by division, but by unity; not by intimidation, but by mutual respect, and if diplomacy and persuasion fail, force can then be applied.

We have said before that the crisis in Niger is not just a test of the diplomatic skills of the leadership, but a test of the blocs commitment to shared African values.

We also wish to commend the Chiefs of the defence staff of the sub-region for giving diplomacy a chance before the use of force.

Our worry is that the Sahel region is struggling with growing terrorists insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State and frustration over the violence has, in part, prompted the military takeovers.

We must not allow this coup to stand and, indeed, any other military takeover must not be tolerated in the sub-region.

The coup makers must either take advantage of the diplomatic window of opportunity or be crushed.

With a firm resolve and unyielding commitment, we must deepen the constitutional order and usher in a new era of zero tolerance for military takeovers.

The world is watching, and the stakes are high, so is our resolve that our leaders are not just negotiating for the present, but for our future and the future of Africa even if it means military intervention.

Let us resolve to support our leaders to halt the constitutional insanity.
Diamond Appiah re-arrested in court

GNA Showbiz News Aug - 22 - 2023 , 07:06

The Attorney Generals Office has filed a Nolle prosequi in the case in which Diamond Appiah, a socialite and businesswoman, is being held on a charge of fraudulent land transaction.

Appiah is accused of collecting $30,000 from Aisha Modi, a businesswoman, for a parcel of land, which allegedly belong to another person.

The court was to deliver its ruling on whether a case of prema facie had been made against Appiah.

However, when the matter was called this morning, the court noted that the Attorney General had filed Nolle prose qui. The court said per Act 30 of the Criminal Procedure Code, when such processes were filed the court ought to discharge the accused person.

Accused person here in, Diamond Appiah is here by discharged, the Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Isaac Addo, said.

But the accused was re-arrested by the police. The attempt by Police personnel to re-arrest the accused person resulted in exchanges between the accused persons lawyer, Mr D.K Nyameke and the prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, and other Police officers.

The trial judge had to intervene by registering his displeasure over the conduct of the defence counsel. Appiah earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge and on bail.

The case of the prosecution is that the complainant Ayisha Modi is a businesswoman and lives at Adjiringanor, Accra.

It said the accused Diamond Appiah was also a businesswoman and stayed at East Legon.

The prosecution said in 2020, the complainant needed a plot of land to purchase for a building project and discussed it with one Johnson, a witness in the case.

It said the accused person, who overheard the conversation jumped in that she had a plot of land at East Legon Hills and ready to sell the same to the complainant at a cheaper price.

The accused demanded and collected cash, the sum of US$30,000 from the complainant for the said land, allegedly.

The prosecution said the accused took the complainant to a piece of land at East Legon Hills as her land, but when the complainant later went to the land, she met one Gustav, who claimed ownership of the land.

The complainant made several attempts to retrieve her money from Appiah but failed and made a report to the Police leading to the arrest of Appiah.

During investigation, it was established that Appiah did not have any land at that location. In her investigation cautioned statement, the prosecution said Appiah admitted the offence.
Gospel music is Dr Buwumias favourite music -Aide reveals

Graphic Showbiz Showbiz News Aug - 22 - 2023 , 14:46

Though he is a known muslim by faith, the spokesperson for Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, has revealed that gospel music is the favourite music genre of the respected economist.

According to Dr Gideon Boako who was praising his boss as God fearing in a recent interview with Peace FM and reported by Ghanaweb, he has always admired Dr Bawumiahs personae in both private and within political circles.

Ive mentioned it before that Dr Bawumias favourite music is gospel music which he sings all the time, he is quoted to have said.

Over the years, Dr Bawumia has been preaching religious tolerance and that has been a key point of his campaign for the New Patriotic Partys flagbearership in the lead up to the special delegates congress on Saturday, August 26.

Dr Bawumia is part of the 10 candidates of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) vying to be the partys flagbearer in next years general elections.

The others are Mr. Joe Ghartey, a former Minister for Railways and current Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, a former General Secretary of the NPP, Mr. Kwadwo Poku, an Energy Expert and Mr. Alan Kyerematen, a former Trade and Industry Minister.

Additionally, the lineup comprises Mr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, a former Energy Minister, Mr. Edward Addai-Nimo, a former MP for Asante Mampong, and Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, an Economist.

The NPP will hold a special delegates congress on August 26, 2023, to reduce the number of candidates from 10 to 5 before a national delegates congress election on November 4, 2023.

Read also: Diamond Appiah re-arrested in court

I have not dropped 'Ayitey' remix because Black Sherif is busy -Adane Best
Africa is being courted by China, Russia and the US. Why the continent shouldnt pick sides

The Conversation Opinion Aug - 22 - 2023 , 06:17

Some three decades since the end of the Cold War, the world order is undergoing a structural transformation. At the heart of it is the challenge posed to the hegemony of the US. This is primarily being led by Russia and China which are discontented with Washingtons excesses across the global stage. The most recent example of this rebellion was the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Fiona Hill, a British-American foreign affairs specialist, observed that the war was a proxy for a rebellion by Russia and the Rest against the United States.

The African continent is an obvious contender for major power courting as this realignment takes place. This is for at least four reasons.

Firstly, it is the largest regional bloc in the United Nations, representing some 28% of all the votes in the General Assembly. Secondly, it possesses some crucial raw minerals that are found only in the continent. Thirdly, it possesses some important sea trade routes, particularly in east Africa. Finally, the continent is home to the fastest-growing youth demographic, and will account for about 42% of the worlds youth by 2030.

I am a scholar of geopolitics and have conducted research on the continents trade ties to the major powers. My findings have led me to the conclusion that Africa can gain more by being neutral than by picking sides.

The drivers

Africas size in the UN General Assembly cant be overstated. The continent sometimes struggles to respond in a co-ordinated way. Nevertheless, it has, in the past, been able to vote in sync in a way that has proved influential. The most notable example of this was the 1971 vote for the resolution that brought mainland China into the UN and replaced Taiwan. In total, there were 76 votes in favour, of which 27 came from African member states.

In todays UN, having this large grouping on ones side helps countries the most when it comes to passing  or defeating  resolutions. With the UN Security Council in gridlock because the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK and the US) have veto power, there has been a shift towards the UN General Assembly, which works on one-member-one-vote. General Assembly votes are mainly symbolic. But they are a useful indicator of where the international community stands, and are a powerful moral weapon for any major power.

Africas other major attraction is, of course, its resource wealth. This has become even more pronounced and taken on extraordinary importance in the push towards alternative sources of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. And in the production of products driven by the rise in technological innovation, such as the Democratic Republic of Congos cobalt, which is needed to make device screens among other things. The DRC is the worlds leading producer of this crucial mineral.

At the same time the oil reserves of Algeria, Angola and Nigeria will become increasingly important as countries look to diversify away from Russia for natural gas, and from fossil fuels more broadly.

Then there are the trade routes. The Red Sea route, which straddles northeast Africa and links it to the Indian Ocean, constitutes 10% of annual global trade .

The Red Sea route passes countries such as Eritrea and Somalia. Both have been actively courted by Russia.

For its part, China has earmarked the route through its Maritime Silk Road initiative. Its aim is to boost port infrastructure among countries with Indian Ocean coastlines.

Lastly, Africa is home to the fastest-growing youth population. This will be important in the search for future markets, particularly in sectors such as technology and education.

The US and Europe are also keen to tap this human capacity as their own populations age above the global average. Many are looking to Africa as a source of inward migratory flows.

Africas ties with the major powers

In 2022, the continent as a whole exported US$43.1 billion worth of goods to the US and imported goods worth US$30.6 billion.

By comparison, China exported US$164.1 billion to Africa and imported US$117.5 billion worth of African goods, in the same year. With African exports totalling US$661.4 billion, the US accounts for 6.5% and China 17.7%.

China, the notable growth story of the past half-century, has thus become the African continents single biggest trading partner, though the combined power of the European Unions trading bloc of 27 countries still leads.

Chinas ties with the continent are the result of decades of diplomatic and commercial efforts to woo the continent through the Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation. Part of this has been driven by its desire to counter the US. The other driving force has been to sustain its economy, given Africas untapped potential.

Russia has pursued a different strategy. Given that its trade with the continent is at a minimum  exports and imports were around US$18 billion in 2021  it has rather sought to become a security partner, drawing on sentimentalised Soviet history.

Washingtons principal instrument for growing trade, and encouraging good behaviour, in Africa is the African Growth and Opportunity Act, set to expire in 2025. The framework is a lever. But, as the data show, trade is in evident decline.

The general picture can obscure some nuances. Some African states are more deeply intertwined with the US than others. For example, Djibouti has an American military base (along with other states, though not Russia at this point). And Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are also among the top recipients of US direct investment.

On the other hand, Eritrea, which was the only African state to brazenly vote against the UN General Assembly to condemn Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022, seems to have no aspirations to be in Americas good graces. This notorious outlier aside, the world is deeply intertwined, with high interdependence even among the competing major powers.

The US and China, despite their trade war, have struggled to decouple from one another, with their bilateral trade reaching new heights as recently as last year.

In light of the comparatively diminished US-Africa trade, the US may be looking to make use of third parties. It could potentially influence the EU to influence Africa. The Huawei issue demonstrates this. The US has successfully pressured quite a few of its allies to halt doing business with the Chinese technology giant. According to Unctad data, France (US$60 billion) and the UK (US$65 billion) are the principal holders of African assets.

As these and other European states seek to de-risk from China, there may be third-party consequences for Africa. This might include undue pressure on the continent to behave in certain ways towards China and towards Russia.

Picking sides isnt the best option

Recent research, including my own on US-China trade competition over Africa, shows that the prevailing notion that smaller countries need to pick sides in polarised global contexts is false. Africa is best served when it conducts trade with as many partners as possible.

Indeed, as shown, the major contenders are themselves conducting record-breaking trade with one another.

All the while, Europe continues to conduct trade with Russia following the war against Ukraine (indeed, it is growing in some respects).

The continent can, therefore, afford to be neutral. What it cannot afford to do is pick sides and preclude any partnerships. In the oncoming multipolar order, there are no self-evident, African-specific needs to pick sides. All options can be on the table.

Bhaso Ndzendze, Associate Professor (International Relations), University of Johannesburg

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Be careful what you wish for

Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng Opinion Aug - 22 - 2023 , 12:34

Following the spate of coups in the sub-region, with Niger being the latest casualty, it has become almost trendy on social media for some to romanticise the idea of a military coup in this country in relation to issues on governance and corruption.

I am quite willing to bet that most, if not all, of such romantics have never experienced a coup in this country

Why coups?

There is a certain insistence that coups are always solely or even mainly, the by-products of corruption and poor governance and, therefore, the solution to ending corruption.

The notion, against all the evidence, that those who do not support a coup necessarily support corruption and misgovernance is the product of an unfortunate binary perception that debases public debate.

It is easy for people to write off the realities of our past military governments by insisting that those who recall those dark days are either exaggerating or simply being alarmist in being apologists of the status quo of corruption and bad governance.

When I asked an ardent Nkrumahist friend, who says coups happen due to corruption, whether Nkrumahs government was corrupt, he began to stutter and insist that the 1966 coup was a CIA-inspired coup to curb Nkrumahs Pan-Africanist ideals.

I could only smile. He then argued that the outpour of public support for the coupists in Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali was significant.

Again, I reminded him that there were celebrations in Ghana when Osagyefo was overthrown.

Street celebrations in themselves, therefore, are not the all-be-all.

Interestingly, one of Acheampongs reasons he gave for the 1972 coup was the complaint that even the few amenities that the military enjoyed under Nkrumah were taken away by the Busia government.

In Niger, according to political watchers, public anger over economic despondency, Frances stranglehold over the countrys uranium resources, ethnicity issues (Bazoum is from Nigers ethnic Arab minority, whilst the military top brass are from an ethnic majority and see him as an outsider) and a failure to tame insurgents, all combined to give the soldiers the opportunity and cover to ride into town.

Of course, it would be absurd to argue that corruption or misgovernance have no part to play in military uprisings.

But to heap every coup as the result of corruption is to risk misdiagnosing the reality, because the ensuing logic of such an argument then would be that countries that have not experienced military coups have been well-governed, which would be a ridiculous argument.

A bundle of factors almost always provides the gun powder for military adventurism.

Consequences

In the short-term, coups may give a burst of excitement, particularly to the masses, as we see politicians thrown into jail.

But when the euphoria dies down, the effects trickle down to all of us, including clamping down on free speech, whether via traditional or social media platforms, as well as on free movement through dawn-to-dusk curfews.

Over the years, our assorted bands of self-proclaimed liberators, redeemers and revolutionaries took to ridding the nation of corruption threats and the sheer use of brutish force.

But the evidence is that military rule does nothing to stem corruption.

If anything, they actually make it worse and eventually return to the status quo that they have pledged to eradicate.

Indeed, the irony of it all is that under military governments, the airing of incidents of corruption and misgovernance is a risky sport, because there are no opposition parties or a free press to do so, and all other pressure groups and institutions are usually castrated.

Some of the harshest critics of government in this country who exercise their free speech will be unable to exercise those rights in a military dispensation, as Chairman Rawlings used to boom, who born dog?

There is nothing cute or romantic about military coups.

In the aftermath of the 1979 and 1981 coups, it was not only the top brass of society who got arrested, jailed or mistreated one way or another.

Ordinary citizens, many of whom had earlier cheered the coupists and urged them to let the blood flow also bore the brutal brunt for petty infractions real or imagined.

In particular, workers and university students, a core base of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1982 found themselves on a collision course with the Rawlings government after 1983, when IMF conditionalities began to bite with the withdrawal of subsidies and mass retrenchment of the public sector workforce.

Better governance

Of course, we must demand better governance because we deserve that and more.

In doing so, we need not rely on a group of gun-toting adventurous to do so on our behalf, for their interests in almost all cases do not align with ours.

With every democracy, protests, petitions, resistance, lobbying, a powerful and principled media and others are all powerful tools to ensure accountability that we must and can deploy.

Fortunately, in this country, we do not have a culture of silence.

Civilian systems are not perfect.

They may be cumbersome and irritating at times but on any day, they are better than the rule by the gun.

We must be careful what we wish for as an alternative to our governance challenges, lest we get it.

Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng,

Head, Communications & Public Affairs Unit,

Ministry of Energy,

Accra.
Russias stance on Black Sea blockade threatens food security

Catherine Colonna Opinion Aug - 22 - 2023 , 09:07

On July 17, Russia refused to renew the agreements allowing grain exports through the Black Sea.

With this unilateral decision, Russia chose to put an end to an initiative carried out with the United Nations (UN) and the support of the international community, an initiative that benefited the most vulnerable countries and enabled the World Food Programme (WFP) to feed thousands of people in need in Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

It is the most vulnerable countries, those already bearing the brunt of the consequences of the war in Ukraine, that will pay the heaviest price following the abrupt termination of these agreements.

This halt is irresponsible, following a 2022 that was a terrible year for food security. According to the United Nations, 735 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, and one person in five on the continent of Africa.

Facts are indisputable

The end of the Black Sea Initiative will mean a significant reduction in the volume of grains reaching the people who need it most. In one year, the agreements had enabled 33 million tons of food commodities to reach 45 countries.

The donations announced by Russia, without any precise date and limited to a handful of countries and a few thousand tons, represent a tiny fraction of the humanitarian aid that was provided via the Black Sea by the WFP. This minimal, cosmetic gesture on the occasion of a summit fools nobody.

Russias abrupt cessation of the agreements will also lead to even greater volatility in grain prices. After the record high in March 2022 caused by the launch of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Black Sea Initiative had enabled food prices to fall by almost a quarter.

We had hope that they would fall for the long term. Instead, prices remain very high. They rose the most yet on 19 July this year, and there is a risk that they will rise further in the medium term.

Who benefits from this rise? Russia and its agricultural sector, which wants to enrich itself at the expense of the most disadvantaged, and whose exports, despite what Moscow says, are not subject to any sanctions.

In fact, Russia is hoping to set a record. It is building up stocks and harvests in order to sell more, and at higher prices. The rest of the world will suffer from its decisions.

Actions also speak for themselves

Ukraine, a country at war, part of whose territory is illegally occupied and whose people are being bombarded every single day, managed to take action to support global food security. It launched the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian initiative to help the most vulnerable countries in Africa and Asia.

In contrast, Russia is deliberately bombing the ports of Odesa, Mykolaiv and Chormonorsk. It is destroying grain silos and firing at civilian ships. In so doing, it has openly violated international law.

In so doing, it is also driving up grain prices on the markets after each of its attacks.

In so doing, it is destroying and preventing the transit of reserves that were going to the World Food Programme, and, therefore, to the people who are suffering the most. What are its objectives if not to weaponise food?

In the face of Russias cynical weaponisation of food, France and its European partners have chosen the path of responsibility and international solidarity.

At the national level, France has mobilised over 840 million in food aid over the past year, including almost 250 million in emergency aid to help the worst-affected populations.

It contributes to the Solidarity Lanes set up by the European Union, which have enabled the export of more than 38 million tons of grain from Ukraine by road, rail and river. And while Russia has reduced its contribution to the WFP, France has stepped up its financial and material support to get grain and fertilisers to the countries that need them most.

France will continue its efforts, particularly in October in Paris during the Global Ministerial Meeting of the School Meals Coalition, which is working to ensure that children in developing countries are fed and can go to school, and during the next Nutrition for Growth Summit, which France will be hosting. Paris was also the venue of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, held on June 22 and 23, which generated new momentum for solidarity with developing countries in the face of poverty and climate change.

Turning hunger into a weapon of political coercion: that is how low Russia has sunk. Once again, as it has been doing constantly for the past year and a half, it is violating an elementary principle of common morality.

In response, France will work tirelessly, with its partners, to ensure that those who need food the most can eat as they should. We, at least, will remain true to our principles.

The writer is Frances Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Israel: A global leader in Homeland Security

Yaniv Tessel Opinion Aug - 22 - 2023 , 03:47

In an increasingly interconnected world, where the boundaries of physical and virtual realms blur, it is imperative to ensure the safety and security of nations, businesses, and individuals. As countries grapple with evolving threats and challenges, international collaboration and knowledge exchange have emerged as indispensable tools in fortifying Homeland Security (HLS).

Israel's unparalleled reputation as a global innovation powerhouse forms the bedrock of this endeavor. The nation's indomitable spirit, nurtured through decades of overcoming adversity, has catalyzed a culture of innovation that permeates every facet of its society. With a burgeoning technology ecosystem, Israel has given birth to groundbreaking advancements in cybersecurity, counterterrorism, emergency response, and intelligence gathering, among other domains critical to Homeland Security.

There are over 500 Israeli exporting companies in the Homeland Security arena. Israeli HLS companies offer technologically advanced, field proven products and solutions that are among the most innovative anywhere. They are successfully partnering with key world players to ensure public safety, protecting air and seaports, borders, government installations, financial institutions, recreation centers, public venues and more. The sector works with foreign government ministries and their agencies, as well as with industry parties, to promote private industry, joint ventures and international partnerships.

It is against this backdrop, that the Israeli Economic and Trade Mission in Ghana is facilitating the first ever Homeland Security Delegation visit and Business Seminar in Ghana. This will feature high-tech Homeland Security Israeli companies such as Ateros Systems, Gilat Satellite Networks, Magal Security Systems Ltd., MER Group, Realeye, RT LTA Systems Ltd., SeeTrue AI and Steadicopter.

The Israeli HLS Delegation visit and Business Seminar is dedicated to enhancing Ghanas partnership with the State of Israel in Homeland Security. The prospect of meeting the Israeli Homeland Security Delegation in Ghana holds immense promise and potential between Israel and Ghana. Among many other things, the delegation will promote Israeli technologies that can enhance Ghanas security infrastructure. It will provide high-end solutions for border security, maritime security, cybercrime, illegal mining and human trafficking.

Additionally, the Israeli HLS Delegation in Ghana will offer a unique opportunity for stakeholders to engage with a concentrated pool of expertise that are private sector leaders in the field. Through interactions with members of the delegation, stakeholders can tap into a wealth of knowledge, experience, and best practices that have been refined through real-world challenges and successes. In a world where threats constantly evolve, this firsthand exposure to battle-tested strategies and solutions will equip participants at the summit with the tools to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate emerging risks.

Again, the Israeli HLS Delegation in Ghana will serve as a conduit for fostering meaningful partnerships especially within the government sector. Collaborations forged through these engagements transcend geographical boundaries and cultural differences.

Furthermore, the presence of an Israeli HLS Delegation in Ghana symbolizes a shared commitment to the preservation of peace, stability, and prosperity. By engaging with the delegation, stakeholders signal their dedication to upholding international security norms and bolstering collective defense mechanisms. In an era characterized by transnational threats that transcend borders, this act of solidarity reinforces the global resolve to confront adversity together.

In conclusion, the Israeli Economic and Trade Mission in Ghana is committed to partnering with relevant stakeholders in Ghana and connect them to relevant technologies that will enhance the peace, security and prosperity of all Ghanaians. Through the HLS Delegation and Summit, stakeholders will unlock a treasure trove of innovation, expertise, partnership potential, and economic growth.

Interested participants can reach out to Mr. Kirk Amoah of the Israeli Trade and Economic Mission in Ghana
African Union suspends Niger following coup

bbc.com International News Aug - 22 - 2023 , 14:16

The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger from all its activities following the military coup last month.

The AU Peace and Security Council called on all of its member states and the international community to refrain from any action that could legitimise the junta in Niger.

It reiterated calls for the coup leaders to release the elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

The West African regional grouping Ecowas has already threatened military action to reinstate him.

Niger's junta has said that civilian rule cannot be restored for three years, but this has been dismissed by Ecowas as unacceptable.
Wagner making Africa more free, says Prigozhin

BBC International News Aug - 22 - 2023 , 06:21

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has appeared in his first video address since his failed mutiny in Russia, which suggests he is in Africa.

The BBC has not been able to verify where the video was filmed.

The video posted on Telegram channels linked to the Wagner mercenary group shows Prigozhin in combat gear, saying the group is making Africa "more free".

Wagner is believed to have thousands of fighters on the continent, where it has lucrative business interests.

Prigozhin's soldiers are embedded in countries including Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) - where rights groups and the UN accuse them of committing war crimes.

The UK last month imposed sanctions on the two heads of Wagner's operations in CAR, accusing them of torture and killing civilians.

Wagner fighters have also been accused by the US of enriching themselves with illicit gold deals on the continent.

In the video, Prigozhin says Wagner is exploring for minerals as well as fighting Islamist militants and other criminals.

"We are working. The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. Wagner PMC conducts reconnaissance and search actions, makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free," Prigozhin can be heard saying.

"Justice and happiness - for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and Al-Qaeda and other bandits."

He says Wagner is recruiting and the group will "continue fulfilling the tasks that were set - we made promises we would succeed".

Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg during last month's Africa-Russia summit, shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a presidential advisor in the CAR.

What is Russia's Wagner mercenary group?

Wagner chief says activities to continue in Africa

Wagner boss spotted in Russia during Africa summit

Prigozhin has been keeping a low public profile since heading his short-lived mutiny in June, which lasted only 24 hours.

About 5,000 Wagner troops seized control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved towards Moscow, with the stated aim of removing the military leadership.

However, Prigozhin stopped the advance after negotiations with the Kremlin, which were mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Under a deal to end the mutiny, charges against Prigozhin were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus.

There had been very public infighting between Wagner and Russia's ministry of defence over the conduct of the war. Prigozhin repeatedly accused the ministry of failing to supply his group with ammunition.

Prigozhin says he founded the Wagner group in 2014. A wealthy businessman with a criminal record, Prigozhin is known as "Putin's chef" because he provided catering for the Kremlin.

In 2014, Wagner started backing pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, and is thought to have helped Russia annex Crimea.

Before the war in Ukraine, Wagner had an estimated 5,000 fighters - mostly veterans of Russia's elite regiments and special forces.

However, Prigozhin said last June that its numbers had grown since the start of the Ukraine war to 25,000 fighters.
BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping titled "Sailing the Giant Ship of China-South Africa Friendship and Cooperation Toward Greater Success" was published Monday on South African media as he is going to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg and pay a state visit to South Africa. An English version of the article, carried by The Star, Cape Times, The Mercury as well as Independent Online, is as follows: Sailing the Giant Ship of China-South Africa Friendship and Cooperation Toward Greater Success Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the invitation of President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, I will soon make a state visit to the Republic of South Africa and attend the 15th BRICS Summit. It will be my sixth visit to the promising land of the "rainbow nation". South Africa is home to the great statesman Nelson Mandela, and it boasts the richest tourist resources, the longest road network, the biggest securities exchange, and the busiest airports and harbors in Africa. The country exudes unique charm with the perfect amalgam of the ancient and the modern, and of nature and culture. Each of my visits to South Africa gave me new impressions. But the deepest is invariably the brotherly sentiments we have toward each other. Our friendship has traversed a long span of time. As early as in the mid-20th century, the newly founded People's Republic of China lent firm support to the South African people in fighting apartheid, and stood with the African National Congress as comrades and friends. Our friendship has defied the obstacles of mountains and oceans. Facing the sudden onslaught of COVID-19, China was among the first to provide anti-pandemic supplies to South Africa, reaffirming our special brotherhood. More recently, China also provided to the country emergency power equipment. Over the past 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, our relationship has achieved leapfrog development--from a partnership to a strategic partnership, and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership. It is one of the most vibrant bilateral relations in the developing world. Our relationship has entered a "golden era", enjoying broad prospects and a promising future. In recent years, President Ramaphosa and I have maintained close communication through visits, meetings, phone calls and letters. We jointly explore cooperation opportunities, pursue development, and stand up to common challenges. Our strategic mutual trust has been deepening steadily. We give each other firm support on issues involving our respective core interests and major concerns, and maintain coordination on major international and regional issues. We work together to practice true multilateralism and push for the building of a more just and equitable international order. South Africa was the first African country to sign the Belt and Road cooperation document with China. It has been China's biggest trading partner in Africa for 13 years in a row, as well as one of the African countries with the largest stock of Chinese investment. The pie of bilateral cooperation is getting bigger. South Africa's wines, rooibos tea, and aloe vera gels are trending products in China. Many Chinese companies are expanding their operation and at the same time taking more social responsibilities in South Africa. Automobiles and home appliances with Chinese brands yet made in South Africa are very popular among local consumers, and are now owned by numerous South African households. South African companies are also racing to invest in the Chinese market to seize the abundant business opportunities, and they have made important contribution to China's economic growth. South Africa's Ubuntu philosophy advocates compassion and sharing. It resonates well with the values of Confucianism--"love the people and all beings and seek harmony among all nations". In 2015, I participated in the Year of China activities in South Africa, and witnessed the gratifying achievements of our Year of China/South Africa programs. Last April, the faculty and students of the Confucius Institute at Durban University of Technology wrote me a letter in Chinese, expressing their fondness for the Chinese culture and thanking China for the valuable opportunities provided to young Africans chasing their dreams. I find it very heart-warming. Indeed, these vibrant people-to-people exchanges enhance the empathy between our peoples, and enable our friendship to be passed down from generation to generation. The China-South Africa relationship is standing at a new historical starting point. It has gone beyond the bilateral scope and carries increasingly important global influence. During my forthcoming visit, I look forward to working with President Ramaphosa to chart the plan for a new chapter of our comprehensive strategic partnership. China and South Africa should be fellow companions sharing the same ideals. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "A partnership forged with the right approach defies distance; it is thicker than glue and stronger than metal and rock." We need to increase our experience sharing on governance, and firmly support each other in independently exploring a path to modernization that suits our respective national conditions. We should fear no hegemony, and work with each other as real partners to push forward our relations amid the changing international landscape. China and South Africa should be pacesetters for solidarity and cooperation. We will succeed because of our biggest strengths in high economic complementarity and the solid foundation for cooperation. We need to further synergize development strategies, promote stronger cooperation in infrastructure, digital economy, scientific and technological innovation and energy transition, and ensure that more people of our two countries will benefit from the development outcomes. China welcomes more South African products to its market, and encourages more Chinese companies to invest and do business in South Africa as an effort of support for South Africa's target to double its inbound investment over the next five-year period. China and South Africa should be inheritors of China-Africa friendship. We need to leverage the all-round, multi-tiered and institutionalized mechanisms for people-to-people exchanges between our two countries, and continue to advance exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism, education, sports, media, universities, sub-national governments and the youth. We must keep the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation as alive and strong as ever across the vast lands of China and Africa. China and South Africa should be champions of our common interests. What the world needs today is peace, not conflict; what the world wants is coordination, not confrontation. China and South Africa, as natural members of the Global South, should all the more work together to appeal for greater voice and influence of developing countries in international affairs, promote accelerated reform of international financial institutions, and oppose unilateral sanctions and the "small yard, high fence" approach. We should jointly safeguard our common interests. The BRICS Summit is another important agenda during my visit to South Africa. This is the third time for the Summit to take place on this continent brimming with vibrancy and hope. I still have vivid memories of the Summit in the picturesque Sanya, China's Hainan Province, when South Africa made the formal debut as a member of the BRICS family. Over the past 12 years, South Africa has made important contributions to the development of BRICS cooperation mechanism, further substantiating BRICS cooperation and extending its influence. Now more and more countries are knocking on the door of BRICS, aspiring to join our cooperation. This is a testament to the vitality and influence of the BRICS cooperation mechanism. China is ready to work with fellow BRICS partners to act on the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, build consensus on important issues, carry forward our tradition of independent diplomacy, and resolutely uphold international equity and justice. We will urge the international community to refocus on development issues, promote a greater role by the BRICS cooperation mechanism in global governance, and make the voice of BRICS stronger. It has been ten years since I put forth "sincerity, real results, amity and good faith" as the principles for China to develop its relations with Africa. The past decade has witnessed our joint pursuit of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, and the completion and handover of a host of projects including the Africa CDC Headquarters, the Foundiougne Bridge in Senegal, the Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, renewing China-Africa friendship across the vast lands of China and Africa. In face of the profound changes unseen in a century, a strong China-Africa relationship and productive China-Africa cooperation will provide more fresh impetus to global development and ensure greater stability of the world. This is an international responsibility and historical mission entrusted to the 2.8 billion Chinese and African peoples. We will convene a China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue. I will work with African leaders to bring more active, effective and sustainable development initiatives to Africa, expand cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing, new energy and digital economy, and facilitate Africa's economic integration, industrialization and agricultural modernization. China will continue to work for substantive progress in African Union's joining of the G20 this year, and looks forward to a greater role by African countries and the AU in international and regional affairs. As an ancient Chinese poem goes, "With high tide and tailwind, it is time to sail a smooth ride." Looking ahead into the next 25 years, the giant ship of China-South Africa friendship and cooperation will sail forward, and we will make even greater progress in the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era as well as the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Presbyterian University inaugurates new graduate block . . . At Akuapem campus

Haruna Yussif Wunpini Education Aug - 22 - 2023 , 07:08

A new graduate block for the Akuapem campus of the Presbyterian University, Ghana (PUG) at Akropong in the Eastern Region has been inaugurated.

The block was completed at a cost of GH600,000.

Apart from that, a 400-bed capacity hostel at the Kwahu campus, Abetifi, has also been completed at a cost of GH1,500,000 and inaugurated.

The new block contains six lecture halls, each of which can accommodate 30 students at a time, eight washrooms and three offices.

At a short ceremony to officially inaugurate the graduate block at the Akuapem campus, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev. Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, said the construction of the new graduate block was the beginning of many facilities to be put up.

He expressed the hope that many of such projects would be in the form of high-rise buildings to attract more students to pursue academic excellence in all campuses of the university.

Rt Rev. Prof. Mante said the completion of the graduate block would serve as a springboard to spur the university on to do more than what it was currently doing.

Qualified staff

Rt Rev. Prof. Mante said there was, therefore, the need to employ highly qualified staff to be in charge of the graduate programmes at the university being sought by many students.

He said it was, therefore, in that direction that more facilities were being provided at the university.

The moderator, who is also the Chancellor of the PUG, pointed out that the church would do everything possible to support the development drive of the university.

He thanked the President of the PUG, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, for his immense contributions towards the development of the university since he assumed office in 2021.

For his part, Professor Owusu said on his induction into office in January 2022, he decided to undertake an initiative dubbed: "President Special Project" to add a number of facilities to those existing at both the Akuapem and Okwahu campuses.

He said the projects consisted of a fence wall, apartments for staff and auditoria, all for the two campuses.

Prof. Owusu said while the fence for the Okwahu campus was almost complete, architectural designs for the first phase of construction of single/two-bedroom apartments comprising 10-unit single-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for staff across the campuses were ready.

Hope

The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, who cut the tape to officially inaugurate the facility, said the graduate block, apart from its physical nature, represented hope, progress and opportunity for nurturing of young graduate students.
"Be unique, inspiring leaders"  Chief Justice to MILEAD Fellows

Beatrice Laryea Aug - 22 - 2023 , 09:30

The Chief Justice, Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, has charged 2023 Moremi Initiative Leadership Empowerment Development (MILEAD) Fellows, a group of young African women leaders, to be unique and inspirational in their quest to lead projects meant to solve critical challenges in their communities, countries and Africa at large.

She said the direct benefit of valuing uniqueness was the unlocking of authenticity and creativity because the fear of being different was shed off.

The Chief Justice was addressing the 26 young women who have converged on Accra to kick-start the 2023 MILEAD Fellows programme.

MILEAD Fellow

MILEAD is a leadership development programme designed to identify, develop and promote emerging young African women leaders to attain and succeed in leadership across the continent.

Beneficiaries are young women between the ages of 19-25 who are interested in developing transformational leadership skills that help them address issues facing women and girls across communities in Africa.

Selection is based on open application and successful applicants undergo training to be equipped with the world-class knowledge, skills, values, and support systems they need to succeed as 21st-century women leaders.

The training for this years Fellows start with a three-week intensive course at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.

Leadership a special quality

Speaking on the theme: The Power to Lead  A Call to Courageous Leadership, the Chief Justice intimated that leadership was a special quality that evolved from the important element of skills, attitudes, aptitudes, unique identity and dreams, adding it was a complex construct that came from personal growth and personal progress.

Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo speaking at the event

She thus encouraged the Fellows to make the most of the opportunity and experiences being availed, stressing that those were necessary to access and thrive in leadership positions, as well as gain knowledge on cutting-edge issues critical to African women and their communities.

As leaders, it is important to identify your unique trigger points for inspiration, creativity and generation of new ideas.

Whatever it is, I recommend this quest to you because it flows from your uniqueness and it leads to the place where you find true rejuvenation of mind and emotions, equilibrium and the release of creativity, she emphasised.

Values-based leadership

In a speech read on her behalf, the Board Chairperson of the Moremi Initiative, Rev. Dr Joyce R. Aryee, charged the 2023 Fellows to uphold values-based leadership in their daily conducts.

She was of the view that values greatly shaped our decisions and choices, both consciously and unconsciously and they even influenced how we execute those decisions and choices hence the need to allow values permeate our daily endeavours.

Development

The co-founder and Managing Director of MILEAD, Mawuli Dake, said the aim of the initiative, founded some 20 years ago, was to invest in the long-term leadership development of a new generation of African women leaders.

A section of the MILEAD Fellows at the event

We took that effort because we recognised the gap in leadership when it came to womens representation and participation.

We also recognised that for us to raise the kind of leadership that Africa needed would call for intentional and strategic investment and nurturing so we took that bold step to start the Moremi Initiative for Womens Leadership in Africa, he said.
Chief Michael Ansah supports 200 women in entrepreneurship at Asuogyaman

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Aug - 22 - 2023 , 09:36

About 200 women traders in the Asuogyaman Constituency in the Eastern region have received support from Chief Michael Ansah, an aspirant in the Asuogyaman Constituency in the upcoming New Patriotic Party's Parliamentary primaries.

Chief Ansah supported the beneficiaries through an initiative dubbed: "Women in Entrepreneurship Support Scheme (WESS)."

The WESS is a component of a comprehensive skills and enterprise programme being implemented throughout the Asuogyaman constituency. The initiative, which was implemented in four phases, benefited approximately 200 women traders in the constituency.

WESS was introduced to directly impact the lives of the people in Asuogyaman and transform the communities by ending the difficulties often encountered in accessing support, as the scheme ensures that traders have easy access to financial support to help their businesses.

The implementation of WESS follows a similar entrepreneurial and skills development training programme in which 120 youth were trained in the use and operation of forklifts.

Chief Michael Ansah emphasised that he will continue to institute life-changing programmes like WESS that will have a direct impact on the lives, businesses, and communities in Asuogyaman during a brief ceremony to provide support for the final batch of women traders in the 4th phase of WESS.

It cannot be business as usual and I know that as you invest these funds into your businesses, it will have a direct impact in your lives and communities. If you support a woman, you have supported her entire household so I believe that this will reduce the burden of a lot of our women traders in this constituency, he added.

According to Chief Michael, Asuogyaman has the potential to become an industrial hub, hence the need to ensure that the youth are equipped with the skills that will guarantee them employment in the industries that will be built.

Im developing a comprehensive development plan for Asuogyaman. I see potential in the Akosombo-Tema corridor, I see industrial transformation coming here, I see job opportunities being created, I see us setting industries that will transform this place, I see us bringing development to our schools, the social infrastructure that we have, hospitals especially roads; and all these things are part of a comprehensive plan that we have already started implementing.

Hannah Odame, a WESS beneficiary, expressed gratitude to Chief Michael for keeping his promise to support traders, who make up the majority of the constituency's population.

About 75% of the population in Asuogyaman are traders especially women, so this support to us traders by Chief Michael is timely and will serve as a major boost to our individual businesses. We cant thank him enough, Martha Anim noted.

Another beneficiary, Eunice Yayra, emphasised that Chief Michael has demonstrated that he prioritises their welfare and the development of communities within Asuogyaman, which is a significant departure from the past.

We struggle to access loans from the bank and sometimes cannot get the supporting documentation to complete the process. This has really affected our businesses so to have Chief Michael provide us with this support is really a dream come true. Hes shown that he will do even more when given the opportunity, Eunice added.

The programme has benefited all 177 women traders in the Asuogyaman constituency who applied for the Entrepreneurship Support Scheme (WESS).

Chief Michael Ansah launched the Forklift Training Youth Skills Development Programme in Asuogyaman District in October last year as part of the first phase of his "Impacting Lives and Transforming Communities" campaign.

The Forklift Training Programme, which was implemented through a collaboration with a globally recognised institution, Katals Global Company Limited, was designed to develop the youth's skills and prepare them for potential employment opportunities in Asuogyaman and beyond.

Chief Michael is the current CEO of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), the organisation tasked with developing and promoting Ghana's integrated aluminium industry.

Prior to joining GIADEC, Chief Michael was the Senior Vice President at Dell Corporation, United States, with responsibility over 180 countries.
Data Protection Commission cracks whip - 5 Picked up for breach

Juliet Akyaa Safo Aug - 22 - 2023 , 07:02

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has begun its enforcement of the data protection act.

It has begun cracking the whip and has picked up five people for questioning over their companies failure to comply with the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843).

Those picked up, all decision-making directors, are being questioned over why among others, their companies have allegedly failed to register with the Commission as Data Controllers, while others processed personal data without the consent of their customers, by naming and shaming their clients.

Others were also said to have breached Section 82 of Act 843 which states that companies should not make collection of personal data a condition precedent to offer goods or services.

They are Hisense Group Limited, Quick Credit and Investment Microcredit Limited, Mawarko Fast Food, Agyabeng Akrasi and Co and Bemuah Royal Hospital.

After questioning, the DPC will decide which sanctions to apply and how it would be enforced, in line with the Act 843.

The directors were picked up after enforcement officers from the commission, with the assistance of the police, visited some companies which the commission had consistently sent notices reminding them to comply with the Data Protection Act.

The visits formed part of an enforcement exercise the commission started last Monday (August 14) following a public notice it sent about the action.

The Executive Director of the DPC, Patricia Adusei-Poku, explained that the nationwide enforcement exercise was necessary to protect the personal data of customers.

We are particularly scaling up with spot checks, fines and visits to properties to establish why certain ultimate decision makers havent taken their obligations seriously.

The commission is also checking whether the status quo of those who are complying are exactly what they say it is, she said.

Data Protection Act

Ms Adusei-Poku stated that the commission had since 2018, engaged and educated defaulting companies about their obligation under the Data Protection Act.

She said prior to the start of the exercise, notices were put up in the media and 56 letters were also sent out to defaulting companies to remind them of their obligation.

Prior to the public notices, we notified about 250 non-complying data controllers by letter quoting section 56 of the Act, which states that a person who fails to comply is breaching the Act and not complying with the law, she said.

Section 56 letters

The executive director noted that the defaulting companies have all received such notifications but failed to adhere to the Act.

She advised the public to be wary of who they share their information with to avoid putting themselves at risk.

Mrs Adusei-Poku also urged companies to take action to comply with Act 843 to avoid reputational and financial loss through claims for compensations, fines or sanctions through the courts.

Companies

The Director in charge of Regulatory and Compliance at the DPC, Quintin Akrobotu, who spoke to journalists after the exercise, said data controllers were institutions and individuals who collected personal data to offer services.

He said they were expected to register and implement the appropriate measures to safeguard the information they collect.

He said it was the mandate of the commission to ensure that data controllers carried out their obligation of safeguarding personal data.

We will continue to visit data controllers and ensure they are in compliance with the processing of personal data and the Act.
Deal with professionals on land issues - Lands Commission urges public

Chris Nunoo Aug - 22 - 2023 , 09:01

The public has been advised to use professionals in all land-related transactions.

That will help avert many of the issues related to land registration that many people encounter in their bid to legalise their land documents.

The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, James Dadson, who gave the advice, expressed concern that though there were professionals such as the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, lawyers and people who had been trained in land documentation, the public still preferred to visit the Commission to register their lands.

Mr Dadson, who was speaking at a forum for Editors of media houses in Accra yesterday, explained that such professionals had an appreciation of what should go into a land document, instead of middlemen who only were interested in what they stood to gain.

The Lands Commission is educating the public to engage individuals and institutions and not goro boys or middlemen that will create problems and take bribe, all in the name of the Lands Commission, even though they may not be part of the Commission, he emphasised.

Forum

The Editors Forum is a platform the Commission is using to periodically engage the media to brief them on development within the Commission and its operations as well as solicit their support for their public education campaign.

Reforms, efficiency

On land reforms, Mr Dadson said, the Commission was working closely with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to engage experts in the private sector to bring on board both the financing and the technical support.

We have got approval from the Ministry of Finance to embark on an $85 million project.

For five years, they will work with our staff and train them so that when the project ends, our staff will have acquired the skills to handle the work on their own, Mr Dadson hinted, saying: We are going to map the entire country and also conduct systematic titling.

He also indicated that the Commission had embarked on the digitalisation of its services had been piloting the process in some selected areas.

Mr Dadson said the Commission recognised that the largely manual nature of its work was one of the reasons for the delays in some of their processes, hence the procurement of an equipment to scan and digitise its work.

He emphasised that digitalisation was also to help the Commission to preserve its records as well as the general management of information.

On payment, he said, his outfit was reducing interaction between the public and staff of the Commission as far as payment of fees and charges were concerned.

In that regard, he said, the Commission was also setting up offices to ultimately house all the staff, divisions and records in one building, saying that was intended to reduce the turnaround time for doing business.

Challenges

Mr Dadson expressed grave concern about the continuous multiple sale of lands due to chieftaincy disputes and indeterminate boundaries, a situation which hampered the work of the Commission.

He thus appealed for more equipment to enhance the work of the entity.

The Board Chairman of the Commission, Alex Quainoo, who was speaking to a research by a United Nations Agency which rated the Commission as the fourth most corrupt institution, recounted some of the measures taken to instil discipline at the Commission.

He called for the support of the public and said usually complainants shied away from assisting with the investigations and that was hindering efforts to deal with perpetrators.

He also stressed the need for continuous education and cautioned the public not to engage any client on the sidelines of the official work.

Cracking the whip

A Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito-Owusu Bio, for his part, said it had come to a point where people must pay the price for their wrongful actions.

He asked the Commission to get rid of the goro boys, saying those middlemen could not work in isolation but connived with some staff of the Commission.
Dormaahene: Don't interpret my comments as indulgence in partisan politics

Biiya Mukusah Ali Aug - 22 - 2023 , 14:13

After leading a clean-up exercise at Dormaa Ahenkro in the Bono Region on Tuesday morning, the Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional Area, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II asked the public not to interpret his recent public comments on national issues as indulgence in partisan politics.

Nobody should twist my comments as indulgence in politics. I will never do that, I have only one vote and I will never tell anybody to vote for New Patriotic Party (NPP) or National Democratic (NDC) or any other party.

Sometimes when I speak on national issues, a section of the public see me as a person who hate or is against the sitting government. I as Dormaahene dont need to engage in politics to become popular, Osagyefo Agyemang Badu II explained.

He was speaking when members of the Ghana Union Association at Caserta, Italy (GUACI) presented a citation to honour him for his many years of dedication and commitment as the Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional Area.

The presentation was made after Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu led residents of Dormaa Ahenkro to embark on a clean up exercise on Tuesday morning.

Unhealthy issues

Osagyefo Agyemang Badu II , who is also the President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, explained that he would continue to speak against national issues and decisions which were not healthy to the development of Ghana.

While not claiming to be an angel, he said his comments on national issues were to remind duty bearers to always take right decisions in the interest of the people.

Looking critically into some of my comments, it is rather to help the sitting government to do the necessary corrections to give it the opportunity to retain power, Osagyefo Agyemang Badu said.

Avoid insult

Osagyefo Agyemang Badu appealed to the public to avoid insulting leaders such as politicians, chiefs and heads of departments, adding that they could only speak to the issues without insulting personalities.

Osagyefo Agyemang Badu said he was elated to have been honoured by Ghanaian citizens in Italy, who had recognised some of his contributions towards the development of the country, particularly the regular clean-up exercises.

He explained that though the clean-up exercises started some years ago, it was intensified in August 2021 and since then it has been continuous.

He dedicated the award to the entire people of the Dormaa Traditional Area, who had continued to patronise the exercise.

Osagyefo Agyemang Badu said the government alone could not develop or solve the entire sanitation problem in the country and expressed the need for the chiefs to support the government to deliver.

Clean-up exercise

The clean-up exercise brought together a cross-section of the public who gathered at Abanpredease, the seat of the traditional area, as early as 7:30 a.m. to begin the exercise.

Osagyefo Agyemang Badu who supervised the exercise held a broom at a point as well as a cutlass to sweep and weed bushy places.

The enthusiastic participants swept, collected rubbish, emptied all waste bins stationed on the shoulders of the principal streets and weeded all the bushy surroundings.

While the cleaning was ongoing, a group of women followed with singing of traditional songs to praise the chief for his commitment toward the development of the area.
ECOBANK Ghana achieves EDGE certification for head office building

Graphic.com.gh Aug - 22 - 2023 , 20:38

Ecobank Ghana has recently received EDGE certification for its head office building, located at 2 Morocco Lane, Off Independence Avenue, Ministerial Area, Accra, and opposite the Efua Sutherland Childrens park.

This achievement reaffirms the banks commitment to sustainable practices and environmental responsibility.

It also highlights Ecobanks position as a frontrunner in the banking industry, setting a benchmark for sustainable operations and fostering green development in Ghana.

EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certification is an innovation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

It is a globally recognized distinction that acknowledges buildings for their resource and operational efficiency design. IFC created EDGE to respond to the need for a measurable and credible solution to prove the business case for green building and to unlock financial investment.

As an EDGE Standard achiever, Ecobank scored on the following: 34% Energy Savings, 24% Water Savings and 85% Less Embodied Energy in Materials. This impressive accomplishment amply demonstrates the banks leadership and commitment to sustainable buildings. The bank has also demonstrated its dedication to reducing its carbon footprints, conserving energy, and adopting environmentally friendly practices.

It may be recalled that Ecobank Ghana was named by the Green Climate Fund, in 2019, as the first entity in Ghana, and the first Commercial Bank in sub-Saharan Africa, to be accredited to the fund.

The bank was also recently honoured with the prestigious SDG Financial Service Award, during the Think Energy SDG Awards ceremony held in Accra.

Commenting on the EDGE certification, the Ag. Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications, Dr Daniel Kasser Tee, expressed great pride in the bank's achievements, stating that: "We are delighted to receive the EDGE Certification, and this reaffirms our commitment to sustainable banking practices and our role in driving positive change in Ghana. Financial institutions have a vital role to play in promoting sustainable development, and this and other such achievements reflect our ongoing efforts to integrate sustainability into our business strategies."

He concluded that the award will further solidify Ecobanks commitment to supporting climate action initiatives and showcase its alignment with international standards and its ability to mobilize financial resources for projects aimed at mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable development.
Fire cases up in first half of 2023

Joshua Bediako Koomson Aug - 22 - 2023 , 08:11

More fire outbreaks have been recorded in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2022.

At least, 3,819 fire outbreaks were recorded in the country between January and July this year, 141 incidents more than the 3,678 recorded at the same period last year

Out of the total number of cases recorded during the 2023 first half, 1,478 were domestic fires, followed by commercial fires which recorded 636 cases with bushfires, also, recording 559 cases.

Also, there were 455 electrical and 368 vehicular fire cases during the period while institutional fire also recorded 146 cases.

The Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Julius A. Kuunuor, who gave the statistics, said about 60 to 70 per cent of those occurrences could have been prevented, if safety fire precautions were observed.

He was speaking at the launch of this years Fire Safety Education Campaign, which took place at the GNFS Headquarters in Accra yesterday.

The campaign, held on the theme: 60 Years of Existence: Fire Safety, the Choice for a Safer Environment, formed part of the renewed efforts by the GNFS towards educating citizens on the occurrence of fires to create a safe environment for people.

CFO Kuunuor said it was not enough to simply react to fire, rather people must proactively work together towards preventing fires in their various homes, offices, workplaces, and communities since fire prevention and management was not only a shared responsibility, but a civic responsibility.

This, therefore, requires a concerted effort from all of us, including government agencies, businesses, educational institutions, and, most importantly, the public, he said.

He said the theme for this years occasion emphasised the significance of taking preventive measures to reduce the occurrence of fire incidents.

He stressed the importance of focusing on educating the communities about fire hazards, promoting responsible behaviours, and implementing effective fire safety measures in their homes, workplaces, and public spaces.

The Chief Fire Officer thus expressed the services commitment to enhance its fire safety infrastructure, improving its emergency response capabilities, and expanding its public outreach programmes.

We will continue to invest in the training of our firefighters and personnel, equipping them with the latest contemporary knowledge of fire prevention, and fostering partnerships with local communities to ensure a safer Ghana, he stated.

The Deputy Minister for the Interior, Naana Eyiah, said the government was committed more than ever to contributing its quota to the cause of ensuring the safety of all and sundry.

In that regard, she said the service was set to take delivery of over 200 Rapid Intervention Vehicles (RIV) to boost its resource base

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to see a sample and a demonstration of this RIV vehicle that arrived in the country.

It is designed to manoeuvre through traffic with ease and respond to emergencies in record time.

Thus this is expected to greatly improve the response time of the Service to save life and property, she disclosed.

Ms Eyiah further encouraged fire officers to keep up with the good work they were doing for the country, indicating that their service was at the heart of the well-being of citizens and the development agenda of the country.



Partnership

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who was a special guest, gave an assurance that the Ministry would partner the GNFS to incorporate best fire safety practices into all school construction drawings before they were built.

Through that partnership, he said, the service would also review all school facilities and give all the necessary safety recommendations.

Their work positively impacts ours so we want to partner them to ensure that they review all school construction drawings and tell us the right materials to use to make sure it is safe to accommodate children, Dr Adutwum said.
First year university student Safina Diamond to stand trial for murder on September 18

GNA Aug - 22 - 2023 , 17:23

Safina Mohammed Adizatu, a student, has been committed by an Adentan District Court to stand trial for murder at the High Court in Accra on September 18, 2023.

Safina, a first-year student at the University of Ghana, is being held over the murder of Frank Kofi Osei, a Ghanaian resident in Canada.

Frank was gruesomely murdered at Ashaley Botwe School Junction in July 2022 when he visited Safina, his girlfriend.

Safina aka Safina Diamond, during the committal proceedings, told the District Court that: I am innocent. At the time of the incident, I was not in the house, but near the area, making calls. Safina told the District Court, presided over by Lucy Adade, that a bag tendered by the prosecution as part of the exhibits, belonged to her and she filled same with drinks. According to her, the bag was not found in Michael Arkus room in Kumasi.

The state, led by Nana Ama Adinkra, a State Attorney, told the court that it would be calling nine witnesses, including Michael Fiifi Ampofo Arku, who was formerly held as an accomplice, during the trial before the High Court.

Arku has since been discharged by the District Court, following the Attorney Generals recommendation. According to the State Attorney, 31 exhibits will be tendered during the trial.

Items to be tendered include autopsy report, five huge dog chains, cello tape, four padlocks with 10 keys, a cutter, a pair of gloves, three knives and accused persons various investigation caution statements.

Earlier on, lawyers for Safina, raised a preliminary objection, quizzing the prosecution why it did not place all the exhibits at the Registry of the Court before tendering them.

The prosecution in response described defence counsels assertion as unwarranted and blown out of proportion.

The case of prosecution is that on Sunday July 24, 2022, Osei, who was on vacation in Ghana, visited Safina, his finance, who lived at Ashaley Botwe School Junction and decided to pass the night with her.

It said at night, Safina, Arku and other accomplices yet to be arrested, allegedly stabbed Osei with a knife and strangled him. Prosecution said Oseis blood was allegedly cleaned from the floor by Safina and her accomplices while the body was in the room for 24 hours.

It said Oseis body was dragged from the first floor of the story building through the stir case and dumped it at the gate of the house, where the deceased had parked his Toyota Tundra.

Safina allegedly called the Police, claiming that her boyfriend, who visited her, had died in her room. When the Police proceeded to the scene, they found the body of Osei lying at the gate of Safinas house. Safina was arrested.
Foreign Minister lauds China-Ghana relations

Severious Kale-Dery Aug - 22 - 2023 , 07:30

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has lauded the government of the Peoples Republic of China for the role it played in Ghanas effort at restructuring its debt as demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

I cannot gloss over the flexibility that the Chinese government showed recently in response to the government of Ghanas request to restructure its debts.

The response of the government of China simply exemplifies what a true friend does for a friend in times of need.

The kind gesture of China, which remains the biggest creditor of Ghana, further illustrates the strong ties we have forged in the years that follow the signing of the treaty and have undoubtedly paved the way for accelerated economic growth, Mrs Botchwey said in a speech read for her at the commemoration of the signing of the bond of friendship between the two countries.

Impact of friendship

The commemoration was on the theme: One China, one country, one friendship, and was put together by the Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA).

The minister was happy that the frequent engagement by officials from Ghana and China at the bilateral and multilateral levels had yielded concrete dividends in recent times.

These include boosting trade relations and investments, with Chinese investments in various sectors such as manufacturing, energy, agriculture and service sectors recording considerable growth.

As government implements measures to ensure the growth of Ghanas private sector, especially to make it more conducive, we can only expect an increase in the foreign direct investment from China in the coming years, she said.

The minister commended the establishment of the GHACHIFA for relentlessly driving the agenda for enhanced cooperation between Ghana and China.

She commended the leadership of the association for its effort at enhancing and expanding the frontiers of the cooperation between Ghana and other countries.

Chinese commitment

Describing the friendship between Ghana and China as extraordinary, Mrs Botchwey said the signing of the treaty in 1961 signalled the dawn of a new era and established the foundation for practical cooperation in the ensuing years.

She believed that the activities of the association complemented efforts to operationalise the myriad of memoranda of understanding the two countries had signed over the years to promote people-to-people relations between the two countries.

In a statement read on his behalf, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Lu Kun, observed that China and Ghana had always been good friends, partners and brothers.

He said currently China was Ghanas largest trading partner and a major source of investment and also recalled Chinas role in Ghana in securing the $3 billion facility from the IMF.

In a statement, the Chairman of the GHACHIFA, Ambassador Anani Demuyakor, recalled the formation of the GHACHIFA, which he initiated, and was grateful that the association had been sustained till now.

He expressed satisfaction that there were committed individuals in the association who were determined to introduce GHACHIFA to the rest of the country, expressing his belief that the association would remain one of the vibrant groups in the country.

The General Secretary of GHACHIFA, Dr Benjamin Anyagre, called on Ghanaians and Chinese to embrace each other as friends, saying, let us break the barrier of language and negative perceptions and interact with open hearts and friendship.

Let us highlight our positives and let us learn from our negatives and understand each other, he said.

Chinese investment

The owner of Tang Palace Hotel, Tang Hong, who was honoured for promoting Ghana-China relations, promised to champion the cause of Ghana by elevating the Ghana-China friendship to a higher level.

He said China had become the number one trading partner with Ghana since 2014, with bilateral trade volumes standing at $10.3 billion by the end of 2022.

Mr Hong described China-Ghana relations as a module of Africa-China cooperation, saying that there were a number of Chinese companies operating in the country and thanked the government of Ghana for creating good investment opportunities for China.
Arlene Foster to speak at Ladies in Leadership Awards 2023

Juliet Akyaa Safo Aug - 21 - 2023 , 17:01

The former First Minister of Northern Ireland and member of the UK House of Lords, Baroness Arlene Foster has been slotted to deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Ladies in Leadership Awards (LILA2023).

The event is being organised by the Africa Womens Leadership Academy (TAWLA) under the auspices of Accra Business School and will take place on November 16, 2023, in Accra on the theme "Empowering Women, Strengthening Economies."

According to the Founder of Accra Business School, Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei, the event promises to be a landmark occasion recognizing and celebrating the outstanding achievements of women across various sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

Acknowledging their vital contributions, he said the ceremony will also feature the presentation of a range of fellowships.

He said TAWLA, is committed to empowering African women through leadership and business education.

The Academy has been at the forefront of shaping female leaders, promoting gender equality, and building sustainable economic growth.

Baroness Arlene Foster

Baroness Arlene Foster, known for her long and impactful career in politics, will share her insights and wisdom on leadership, empowerment, and economic development, he stated.

Bishop Titi-Ofei said as the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Foster's leadership style and unwavering commitment to public service have made her an inspirational figure globally.

He added that Foster's presence at LILA2023 underscores the importance of women in leadership roles and the economic landscape, reflecting the event's central theme.

"Her address is expected to inspire, challenge, and motivate attendees, including entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, and aspiring young leaders. We are thrilled to have Baroness Foster as our keynote speaker," said a spokesperson for TAWLA", he said.

"Her unique perspective and extensive experience make her an ideal voice to encourage and inspire the next generation of women leaders."
Media General gifts Paa Kwesi Asare $10k for winning 2023 BBC News Komla Dumor Award

Graphic.com.gh Aug - 22 - 2023 , 02:28

The management of Media General has rewarded Paa Kwesi Asare, a television news presenter with TV3 with $10,000 for winning the 2023 BBC News Komla Dumor Award.

Presenting the cheque to him after the News 360 on TV3 on Monday, August 21, a member of the Board of Directors, Norkor Duah, you brought honour to this company and to Ghana, to have won this award is just by Gods grace.

For seven years you have grown into the sort of person who deserves to be given this award, congratulations. We know with your period with BBC you are going to shine, the sky is your limit.

After receiving the cheque, Paa Kwesi Asare said I also want to say a big thank you for reposing so much confidence in me.

Read also: Ghana's Paa Kwesi Asare wins 2023 BBC News Komla Dumor Award

As part of the award, Paa Kwesi will spend three months working with BBC News teams in London across television, radio, and online. He will be given the opportunity to further develop his journalism skills through training, workshops, and mentoring with leading BBC journalists.

The award was created in 2015 to honour the memory of Komla Dumor, a presenter for BBC World News who was known for his commitment to reporting African stories comprehensively and authentically.

The 36-year-old is the eighth recipient of the award and the first to come from Ghana, like the late Komla Dumor.

Asare is currently the head of business news at Ghana's private TV3 channel, where he has worked for seven years as one of its main news anchors.

The award was created to honour Komla Dumor, a presenter for BBC World News, who died suddenly aged 41 in 2014.

He had worked tirelessly to bring a more nuanced African narrative to the world, representing a confident, savvy and entrepreneurial side of Africa.

The judges were impressed by Asare's strong journalism and his ability to explain complex topics compellingly and clearly.

"This for me is a watershed moment in my career and an opportunity I'll grab with both hands," said Asare, who will spend three months working with BBC News teams in London across TV, radio and online.

The Ghanaian broadcaster will also receive training and be mentored by leading BBC journalists.

As part of the placement, he will travel to a country in Africa to report on a story that will be broadcast to the BBC's global audiences.

"I feel very elated to have won the BBC News Komla Dumor Award," Asare said.

"This is arguably the most prestigious award for any African journalist. Komla's talent is one that I greatly admired and to be found worthy of walking in his shoes is not only a joy but also a great privilege."

Previous award recipients are Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya, Victoria Rubadiri, Solomon Serwanjja, Waihiga Mwaura, Amina Yuguda, Didi Akinyelure and Nancy Kacungira, the inaugural winner.

Last year, Buyoya travelled to the Seychelles to report on how the country's ocean plants can help tackle climate change.
Muslim community proposes dialogue on Niger

Emmanuel Bonney Aug - 22 - 2023 , 11:16

The Muslim Community in the country has condemned the coup detat in Niger but has called on the leadership of ECOWAS to employ dialogue to restore order in that country rather than resorting to military action.

The community said a military action could lead to bloodshed, as well as aggravate the situation which could also spill over to other countries.

The Holy Quran 5:115 identifies dialogue as a means by which disagreements among mankind can always be addressed.

The efficacy of dialogue has been proven in many cases within the sub-region, as well as many parts of the world, members of the community added.

The Muslim community, therefore, entreated ECOWAS to stop beating the war drums and resort to diplomacy for an amicable solution of the crisis.

The Ameer and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Ghana, Alhaji Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, said this on behalf of the community at a press conference in Accra yesterday.

The event was attended by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu; his spokesperson, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu; his protocol officer, Alhaji Abdul Latif Abdul Salam and the President of the Ghana Muslim Mission, Sheikh Amin Bonsu.

Also present were the Shia National Imam, Sheikh Ahmed Kamaludeen Abubakar; the Head of the Tijjaniya Muslims Movement of Ghana, Sheikh Abdul Wadud Harun Tijani Zaeem; the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Office of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Mamah Gado Mohammed; a representative from Ahlusunna Wal Jama Muslims, Alhaji Abubakar Yakubu, as well as some chiefs and Islamic scholars.

Terrorism

The Ameer further said that a war in Niger will only escalate rather than lesson the acts of terrorism that were being witnessed in the sub-region in recent times.

He said that reports from Niger indicated that no blood had been shed by the coup leaders in the process of setting aside that countrys civilian government and wondered why there would be any military action.

Quoting Quran 4:136, Alhaji Maulvi Salih said justice was key to success in all human endeavours and, therefore, entreated the leadership of the sub-region to ensure that justice and equity were prioritised in Niger, adding without justice and equity, every effort at fostering peace in Niger will prove futile.

He said just as ECOWAS did not intervene militarily in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, justice demanded that a military force should not be an option in the case of Niger as well.

Let us bear in mind that the people in whose interest ECOWAS wants to intervene militarily are the most likely to become victims and ultimately refugees in other countries.

The consequences will surely worsen the already very weak and dire economic situation in various ECOWAS nations and it will unleash more social and economic suffering on the people, the Ameer added.

Chief Imam

In his opening remarks, Sheikh Sharubutu thanked God that since the incident took place, there had not been loss of lives or spillage of blood.

My appeal to those who are in charge of affairs is that they should take every measure to ensure that we are able to resolve the crisis without losing a single life or blood, he said.

Sheikh Kamaludeen Abubakar also said that the business of going to war to restore democracy in Niger was not the way to go.

For his part, Alhaji Gado Mohammed said there was no need to shed blood over a matter that could be resolved through dialogue.
New emergency centre for Ho Hospital paediatric unit

Jemima Achivors Aug - 22 - 2023 , 06:56

Residents in the Volta Region can now look forward to enhanced emergency care services and improved health outcomes for their children.

This follows the commencement of operations of a new emergency centre for the Paediatric and Child Health Unit of the Ho Teaching Hospital.

The newly inaugurated emergency centre, a conversion of the mother and baby unit of the department, is dedicated to providing round-the-clock care for children in need of urgent medical attention and also delivering exceptional health care to the region's young population.

At a brief ceremony, the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, pledged his commitment to facilitate the procurement of essential medical equipment for the centre, to bolster its capacity to deliver superior healthcare services and revolutionise paediatric care in the region.

He further extended his support to the hospital's ongoing efforts aimed at improving health outcomes for the region's youngest residents.

The Head of the Paediatric Unit, Dr Lord Mensah, was elated at the completion of the emergency centre and described it as a dream come true.

He remarked that the new centre would enhance the unit's ability to manage emergencies effectively, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes for the children under care.

Continuous Service

The Acting Head of Paediatric and Child Health Sub-BMC, Dr Richard Bright Danyoh, highlighted the centre's features, emphasising its capacity to deliver intensive care services.

"Our new emergency centre is equipped to provide continuous 24/7 emergency care.

"Additionally, it boasts a well-structured area dedicated to intensive care, ensuring that critically ill children receive the specialised attention they require," Dr Danyoh said.

Dr Danyoh said despite the feat, challenges in staffing, customer care concerns and equipment needed for care remained.

"We need more medical officers to have a better coverage for the children we are going to see in the emergency centre," he stated.

"A missing link to holistic care, where staff are prepped up for emergencies and real time feedback made to facilities as well as planned referrals carried out, has been absent, specifically for children," he said.

He commended nurses at the unit who continued to sacrifice by taking on 12 hour shifts to cater for the children admitted at the unit.

Nurse Manager, Mary Lucky Kutsi, expressed her optimism about the centre's potential to improve health outcomes at the unit.

She, however, called for the alleviation of the strain on the hospital's medical staff, by recruiting additional medical professionals to provide some respite to the unit's dedicated staff.
Tamale International Airport will galvanise growth across northern Ghana - British High Commissioner

Graphic.com.gh Aug - 22 - 2023 , 17:58

The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, has expressed excitement that the opening of the new Tamale International Airport will galvanise investment and growth across the northern part of Ghana.

For her, the newly opened Tamale International Airport attests to the growing list of Ghana's critical infrastructure development.

Mrs. Thompson made the remarks when she joined some dignitaries, including the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Country Director from the UKs Department for Business and Trade, Giselle Agyare and the UKs Northern Ghana Attache, Paul Edwards to formally inaugurate the new Tamale International Airport on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

Read also: Ghana now has a fully functional international airport in Tamale

Speaking after the ceremony, Mrs Thompson said: Today we celebrate not just the expansion of Ghanas critical infrastructure but, more importantly, the potential of this fantastic international airport to galvanise investment and growth across the north of Ghana.

"Tamale and this whole area of the country are now connected to markets across the continent and the world."

In addition, she noted, We also recognise the strength of the UK-Ghana economic partnership.

This project was driven by the UK-Ghana Business Council, financed through UK Export Finance and built by British companies working alongside Ghanaian companies."

For his part, the UK Minister for Exports, Lord Offord said: Strengthening local infrastructure is key to supporting Ghanas economic recovery.

Its fantastic to see the completed transformation of Tamale airport, backed by UK Export Finance and UK construction companies,

Which will create more travel options around the country, boost local jobs and generate further opportunities for businesses to invest.

The new expansion will increase tourism to and from the North with a particular focus on the Hajj, benefitting Hajj pilgrims as the new Multipurpose Facility will serve as a terminal building during the Hajj Season.

The project was initiated by the UK-Ghana Business Council, since its formation in 2018 the Council has supported more than 223 million of investment in infrastructure across the country and created opportunities for both UK and Ghanaian businesses.

Next April, London will host the 2024 UK-African Investment Summit, bringing together political and business leaders, as well as representatives of international and regional organisations from the UK and African countries, including Ghana, as a further boost to trade and investment.
Rotary Labone supports Dzorwulu Special, Akropong Blind schools

Diana Mensah Aug - 22 - 2023 , 08:16

As part of efforts to promote menstrual hygiene among female students, the Rotary Club of Accra Labone has donated food items and sanitary towels to the Dzorwulu Special School and the Akropong School for the Blind.

The donations, worth GH17,500, are expected to impact over 320 students and to provide over 10 months supply to the female students in both beneficiary institutions.

The donations were made in collaboration with the Interact Club of Accra Labone, Sunda Limited and Bricklane Development Group.

Personal Hygiene

At a brief ceremony to present the items, the President of Rotary Labone, Michelle Seli Kumedzro, said the donation was in line with the clubs plan for the year and a response to the needs assessment of the schools and added that: Rotary is a global service organisation with the objective of serving humanity through the delivery of sustainable and life-changing projects.

The gesture was thus to improve the personal hygiene of the beneficiaries and address issues of menstrual period poverty among young girls with disability in the beneficiary schools, she explained.

She expressed the belief that the items would support the female students in the beneficiary schools to remain in school throughout the year, as the lack of accessibility and affordability of menstruation towels often prevented many vulnerable girls from attending school during their period, hence the need for all to contribute their quota to make life bearable for the girls.

Ms Kumedzro further encouraged the students to work hard to develop their God-given talents, saying: I believe that in spite of your situation, you are capable of rising above the conditions, disability is not inability.

Appreciation, needs

The Girls Prefect of Akropong School for the Blind, Suzzy Borley Borkitey, also thanked members of the club for their genuine desire to empower and support girls with disabilities.
Support for govt in 2020, 2022 due to crisis  BoG

Emmanuel Bruce Aug - 22 - 2023 , 04:00

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has denied that the central bank has been providing financing for the government since 2017.

He said the only time the central bank had to step in to provide financing for the government was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in 2020 and in 2022, when the international capital market was closed to the country.

Addressing the media at a press conference in Accra, he said there was zero financing in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

The Bank of Ghana has only had to support in the pandemic year of 2020 and the crisis year of 2022, he stated.

He said in doing so, the BoG adhered to the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, which limits financing of government to five per cent of the previous years tax revenue.

Financial statement

Commenting on the BoGs 2022 financial statement, the Governor said the results were a reflection of the crisis that hit the economy in that year.

He noted that the BoG reported profits of GH1.6 billion in 2019, GH1.5 billion in 2020 and GH1.4 billion in 2021 and the policy objective then, was to consolidate the gains made between 2017 to 2019.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic at the turn of 2020 and as expected, Ghanas public health policy response to the pandemic came at a high fiscal cost to the economy, leading into 2021, which was amplified by the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war that started in early 2022.

As a result, sovereign spreads on Ghanas Eurobonds widened and credit rating agencies further downgraded Ghanas sovereign debt rating, he said.

Dr Addison said that effectively blocked Ghanas access to the international capital market in 2022, an avenue which the budget had relied on to borrow about US$3 billion annually to help close the financing gap.

He said losing access to the international capital market for new financing immediately triggered a liquidity challenge for the government, spilling over into a balance of payments crisis as the country had to continue to honour its debt service obligations, energy payments and import bill.

To keep up with those critical external payments, Dr Addison said the central bank lost $500 million in external reserves in just two months, with no new inflows of foreign currency from the usual annual Eurobond issuance.

You would recall that many people doubted if the economy was in crisis because they did not hear that interest payments on bonds were not being paid in early 2022; they did not see queues at the pump for petrol and diesel; there were no shortages of essential items on the market; and they did not hear that public sector workers, including civil servants, the Police and the Military, were not being paid their salaries.

The reason was that the Bank of Ghana had provided the needed support to keep the economy going, he said.

2022 Losses

The Governor noted that the GH60.81 billion losses reported in 2022 were technical losses arising from the haircut it took during the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and not money lost through the central banks operations.

Dr Addison said the losses were a reflection of the total cost of the economic and social crisis the country faced over the years and an attempt to resolve a major structural problem of the Ghanaian economy.

It is worth noting that central banks are not commercial banks and as such BoGs current financial condition will not impact negatively on the operations of the bank.

The IMF Technical Assistance mission validated this conclusion, before the necessary decisions were taken, he stated.

New head office

Dr Addison also pointed out that the decision to commence construction of its new head office was taken in 2019 when the bank generated profits.

He said appropriations for the head office building were made each year from profits in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The Governor stated that the project had been going on for over three years and about 50 per cent complete.

If we were to be taking the decision today, building a legacy head office would not have been a priority.

However, this is a project that has been running for three years now, Dr Addison said.

He said the BoG was fully aware of its responsibilities to ensure that the costs did not escalate beyond reasonable levels and that many of the original design features, including data centre, currency processing centre, information and communications technology (ICT) equipment and specialised security features had been deferred and only grey boxes provided for future use to manage cost.

The Governor also emphasised that the BoG followed all the necessary public procurement processes in the project, stating that no procurement laws were breached.
Critics of economy must provide viable options  Ahiagbah

Alberto Mario Noretti Politics Aug - 22 - 2023 , 03:08

The Communications Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has challenged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to support its vociferous criticisms of the governments economic policies with viable alternative plans.

He said there was no point rubbishing ongoing national development strategies if the critics have no clear options to make the lives of the people better.

Mr Ahiagbah, who was speaking at a media encounter in Ho yesterday, maintained that the NPP had not mismanaged the economy but was rather working assiduously to keep the economy on its feet after a global economic standstill.

He said the NDC was not in a morally upright position to criticise the economy because they had not come out with superior ideas on the economy in their haste to return to power.

We still do not know the NDCs development plans for the country if they return to power.

God forbid, but when the NPP was in opposition, Ghanaians knew of the free SHS policy they would enjoy under the NPP, Mr Ahiagbah added.

Still on the free SHS policy, Mr Ahiagbah said in the next decade, Ghana would begin to realise men and women of substance who would make great impact in various development sectors from that policy.

In-depth analysis

Mr Ahiagbah urged the media to make in-depth analysis of discussions on the economy and measure them on the basis of citizenship and not partisanship.

He said by only focusing on the negativity, the media would not help to shape the minds of the people the right way.

So, your work must independently be vetted, he said.

Mr Ahiagbah said the NPP did not label any media organisation as its opponent but expected objectivity in the reportage of the media to inform the citizenry with the truth.

An executive member of the Volta Region Ghana Journalist Association, Lambert Attivor, noted that some political parties did not take prompt measures to address intra-party conflicts and such conflicts affected their smooth relations with the media.

He, therefore, entreated political parties to address such discords without delay.
Dafeamekpor urges NIA to distribute Ghana Card

Nana Konadu Agyeman Politics Aug - 22 - 2023 , 03:26

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has urged the National Identification Authority (NIA) to, as a matter of urgency, distribute all printed cards in their custody to Ghanaians who have registered to obtain the National Identification Cards (Ghana Card).

He said such distribution had become necessary following the announcement by the Electoral Commission (EC) on August 17, 2023 to begin a limited voter registration exercise from September 12 to October 2, 2023, ahead of the District Assembly Level Election, so as to give opportunity to those 18 years and above to register to vote.

Statement

In a statement issued and signed last Friday, Mr Dafeamekpor said the EC, as means of identification for ones eligibility to be entered onto the register, required one to provide the Ghana Card, a passport or where those means were not available, two registered voters to serve as guarantors.

In view of this upcoming exercise, the NIA, the body mandated by law to capture, register, store and produce the Ghana Card to all citizens, must, as a matter of urgency, distribute all printed cards in their custody to Ghanaians who have registered to obtain the card he said.

Cards

Mr Dafeamekpor recalled that in March this year, the NIA said it had some 640,000 printed Ghana Cards in its custody across the country which the owners were yet to receive.

He said by the end of the same month  March 2023  the NIA announced again to the general public that they were able to clear and printed backlogs of some 541,529 cards.

That, he said, was in fulfilment of a promise the authority made to Parliament earlier.

The NIA, subsequent to the printing, announced measures to ensure the distribution of the printed cards to their regional and district offices for collection.

However, checks have revealed that a significant number of these cards are yet to be distributed to their owners.

In addition to the call for the authority to distribute the printed cards, I want to urge the NIA to prioritise the execution of their ordinary line of business by providing ordinary services to individuals who are eligible to be registered rather than focusing primarily on the provision of priority services commenced in December 2019 which was expanded in June this year, at a cost of GH280, he said.

State bearing cost

Mr Dafeamekpor indicated that the printing and distribution of Ghana Cards was originally budgeted and catered for by the state at huge costs and expected to be done at no extra cost to any citizen.

He said premium registration services, which was supposed to be outside of the norm, could not and must not become the norm, especially at a time when issues of the exercise of peoples inalienable rights to vote depended partly on their ascertaining the services of the NIA in obtaining their Ghana Cards.

This emanates from the significant role that the NIA cards would play to enable a smooth registration process for the purpose of registering voters ahead of the district assembly elections, he added.
Dont undermine credibility of elections - NPP presidential aspirants cautioned

Justice Agbenorsi & Dickson Worlanyo Dotse Politics Aug - 22 - 2023 , 06:15

The Presidential Elections Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the various presidential aspirants and their representatives to refrain from disseminating information that undermine the credibility and integrity of the committee and the party ahead of Saturdays Special Electoral College election.

Vice-Chairman of the committee, Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah, made the call at a press conference held in Accra yesterday to provide an update on the committees work ahead of the election on Saturday.

He assured all the stakeholders in the electoral process, especially the aspirants, of the commitment of the committee to conduct a free, fair, and transparent election without any bias, fear, or favour.

Security

Touching on the security arrangements for the polls, Mr Abankwah-Yeboah said no other security would be permitted at the various voting centres for the election, apart from personnel of the Ghana Police Service.

We are pleased to inform all party faithful, sympathisers, stakeholders, aspirants, and the public that the committee has entrusted the police to take full and absolute control of the security, he stated.

In this regard, no other security will be permitted at the various voting centres.

Persons who are not delegates will be restricted from going beyond a designated security zone set up by the police, he added.

Mr Abankwah-Yeboah, therefore, urged all the stakeholders in the electoral process to abide by the rules and regulations governing the polls.

On media accreditation, the Vice-Chairman of the committee said there would not be any special accreditation and urged all media personnel to come with their workplace identity cards.

We are taking this opportunity to invite the media to cover the process.

There will be no special accreditation for the media.

The police will facilitate your movement, he said.

Delegates

Mr Abankwah-Yeboah disclosed that a total of 956 delegates were expected to participate in this election.

He said they comprised representatives from various party entities, including the National Council, National Executive Committee (NEC), all Regional Executive Committees, all members of the National Council of Elders, Members of Parliament, three representatives of each of the special organs of the party, past national officers, three representatives each from every external branch (27 Branches in all), founder members during the registration of the party at the Electoral Commission.

The Committee has received 20 proxy applications, as of the submission deadline.

Regrettably, one of the applicants has been called to eternity, he added.

To uphold the highest standards of transparency, Mr Abankwah-Yeboah said the committee had distributed the provisional voter register to the aspirants and encouraged a comprehensive review to identify and report any discrepancies.

Subsequently, he said the committee received valuable feedback from the aspirants regarding instances of omissions, duplications, and other related concerns and that all such concerns had been diligently rectified.

Chief of Staff

Touching on the status of the Chief of Staff at the presidency, Akosua Frema Osei Opare, as to whether she was eligible to vote in the election or not, Mr Abankwah-Yeboah said Mrs Osei-Opare was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) which gave her the right to vote.

EC

Mr Abankwah-Yeboah stressed that the EC would supervised the printing of the Notice of Poll, the printing of the ballot papers, and their dispatch to all regional voting centres across the country and would also supervise the entire process as well.

Results will be collated at the Electoral Commission Head Office in Accra with the participation of aspirants and/or representatives.

The EC will officially declare the results at the NPP Headquarters, Asylum Down, he added.

Additionally, he said participants would be required to provide their own seals and added that sealed ballot papers would remain inviolable unless an order was issued by the High Court.
Ive not pulled down Kennedy Agyapongs billboard  Majority Chief Whip

Daniel Kenu Politics Aug - 22 - 2023 , 04:31

The Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has denied pulling down a billboard of a New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate hopeful, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, in his Nsawam-Adoagyiri constituency in the Eastern Region.

He told a press conference in Parliament yesterday that much as he had openly declared his preference for the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, to lead the party into the 2024 election, he would do no such thing.

Mr Annor-Dompreh has been accused by Mr Agyapong, who is also the NPP MP for Assin Central in the Central Region, for deliberately pulling down his 9x6 sized billboard in the formers constituency.

However, setting the record straight in Parliament, Mr Annoh-Dompreh told journalists that he heard of the allegation while attending this year's National Conference of State Legislators in the United States of America together with the Speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, and the leadership of the House.

Verification

Knowing that such billboards are usually managed by city authorities, he called on the municipal chief executive (MCE) for the area for clarification.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh said it turned out that the billboard was apparently pulled down by the "real owner" of the metal frame, Kobi Creative Limited.

Giving details on the matter, the Majority Chief Whip said there was a gentleman known only as Eric who lives in the US, and happened to be a fan of Mr Agyapong, who wanted to do something for him.

Eric is said to have got in touch with a friend known as Rickey of Nsawam who directed him to one Augustine who claims ownership of the metal frame work.

Money was, therefore, paid to him (Augustine) for the artwork to be mounted on the metal frame.

Unfortunately, it turned out that Augustine was not the true owner of the metal frame.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh said when the actual owners, Kobi Creative Limited, saw the advertisement on its frame work, the company pulled it down until it was engaged.

He said when the company was consulted and the right amount of money paid, the billboard was restored.

"I feel slighted, hurt, vilified and lampooned.

But I don't have anything personal against Mr Agyapong.

"This is not a matter that we should split heads over.

I'm not interested in pressing any charges because it's an internal election, he said.

His worry was that after finding out the fact and truth, he expected Mr Agyapong to do the needful.

Support

The Majority Chief Whip said the fact that he had declared his support for the Vice-President did not mean that he was against Mr Agyapong, one of the 10 people vying to lead the party.

"People have taken a position and I have also taken my position and I feel proud about the person (Bawumia) I support.
Presby Moderator denies claims about Dr Bawumia

Graphic.com.gh Politics Aug - 22 - 2023 , 20:26

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has denied that the outgoing Moderator of the church, Rt Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, has described the Vice-President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, as a religious unifier.

It said while Rt. Tev. Prof. Mante would have no problems describing anyone in the terms he deemed appropriate, the records must be set straight that on Sunday he did not make that statement.

A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the church, Rev George E. Larbi, and issued in Accra on Tuesday [August 22, 2023] said the attention of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) has been drawn to an article going viral on social media and some news portals.

The story, the statement said, had claimed that the outgoing Moderator of the church had extolled Dr Bawumias religious tolerance attitude, and described him as a unifying character of Islam and Christianity.

According to the articles, the Moderator made the said statement during the closing session of the 23rd General Assembly of the church at the Ramseyer Congregation at Abetifi Kwahu in the Eastern Region, the statement said.

The PCG, by this statement, is making it clear that the Moderator did not make such a statement and has not made any statement of that nature anywhere as the article on social media and other newspapers and portals is seeking to portray.

The Moderator, in his five minutes and fifty-eight seconds speech, thanked the Vice-President for his support to the church, and also stated that the government had made pledges to donate buses to some institutions of the church. He, therefore, appealed to the Vice-President to ensure that government redeems those pledges.

Earlier, the Moderator, through a communique, had told the government that although they are working very hard, Ghanaians are still suffering, and so they ought to do something about it.

These are the things that the Moderator said. Please, kindly take the Moderator out of this unfruitful partisan politics, the statement added.
Use all 1,500 centres for voters registration exercise - Political parties urge EC

Nana Konadu Agyeman & Diana Mensah Politics Aug - 22 - 2023 , 06:00

Political parties without representation in Parliament have called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to use the 1,500 gazetted offices of the commission for the upcoming voters' registration exercise instead of the 268 it announced for the exercise earlier.

The parties said the use of limited offices of the commission would affect the participation of eligible voters in the registration exercise and that could create unnecessary tension.

Besides, they said using limited offices would impose unbearable cost to individuals and political parties alike since most people had to travel long distances to register.

The parties included the All People's Congress (APC), Convention People's Party (CPP), Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), National Democratic Party (NDP) and People's National Convention (PNC).

Speaking on behalf of the parties at a press conference in Accra yesterday, the General Secretary of the GCPP, Citizen Ato Dadzie, said We want to publicly call on the EC, through its Chairperson, Jean Mensa, to rescind its decision and make the process more accessible and painless to enable the average Ghanaian, who is eligible to exercise their right and entitlement to be registered as a voter.

This will reflect in the EC's commitment to build a solid and credible institution to protect the strong and enviable record of Ghana as a beacon of democracy that will continue to be worthy of emulation across the continent, he said.

Objections

Mr Dadzie said the EC, contrary to the earlier discussions at the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), made an announcement on the voters registration exercise with modalities which were not the consensus of political parties and civil society organisations who were present at the IPAC meeting on Wednesday, August 10, 2023.

He stated that at the said meeting, the EC informed stakeholders of its intention to begin the voters registration exercise on or between September 10 and 15, 2023 and promised to communicate the exact date to them when they finalised it.

Moreso, he said, the EC indicated that the registration exercise was going to be held at the 268 offices of the commission including the newly created districtthe Guan District.

All the pollical parties present and CSOs unanimously objected to the registration exercise being limited to the 268 offices of the EC as that was going to affect the participation of the general public, create unnecessary tension due to concentrated numbers which will bring unbearable cost to individuals, he said.

Stab in the back

He said the stakeholders also opined that the replacement of lost ID cards should not be part of the registration exercise since they had all witnessed the abuse and potential re-registration that some unscrupulous individuals took advantage of in the past.

The EC agreed with the unanimous position expressed and even indicated that it was not their interest to disenfranchise any eligible voter, therefore, they will meet based on our feedback and get back to us only for them to turn around within 24 hours to organise a press conference without any recourse to us as to why our views were not even considered, he said.

Background

The EC, at a press briefing addressed by its Chairperson, Jean Mensa, last Thursday announced that it had targeted to register about 1.35 million people in the 2023 Voters Registration exercise which will commence from September 12 to October 2.

The nationwide exercise will be conducted between 8:00a.m. and 5:00p.m. daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra leaks so far are somewhat expected - camera upgrade, design changes, faster charging, etc. But the latest report is a bit of a shocker. According to reliable tipster Ice Universe, the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra will feature a flat display instead of a curved one.

Samsung was the first to introduce a curved screen design back in 2014 when the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge came to be, while later on it moved its entire Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 lineups to curved glass. The company has since reverted the lower members of the flagship lineup to flat panel and now it may also give the most premium one the same treatment.

Ice Universe says the Galaxy S24 Ultra will be 79mm wide, which can only be explained by a move to a flat screen. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 78.1mm width thanks to its curved edges and it's extremely unlikely for the bezels to actually grow.

Still, we'd take nothing for granted just yet. Samsung could still simply go for a larger screen, explaining the discrepancy.

Source
Xiaomi has extended a solid promise of support for the newly announced Redmi K60 Ultra (also known as Extreme Edition) in China.

The phone will get at least 4 major Android version updates, 5 years of over-the-air security patches, and will be in the first wave of devices to get MIUI 15. Sans the latter, Xiaomi has matched Samsung's renowned update policy for the majority of its Galaxy devices.



5 years of OTAs and 4 years of Android updates

The announcement is live on Redmi's official Weibo page. Xiaomi doesn't specify the number of MIUI updates the phone is entitled to - in Xiaomi's world, MIUI updates typically come for many years after Android version updates have stopped.

The Redmi K60 Ultra is expected to become global as the Xiaomi 13T Pro with slightly better cameras but the same 6.67-inch 144Hz OLED, Dimensity 9200+ chipset, and 5,000mAh battery with 120W charging.

Source
Thousands of residents spent their late nights at the University of Guam Calvo Field House to catch Jo Koy live, who has already sold out four shows on Guam from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.

Over 10,000 tickets were bought for different seating arrangements across all four shows, which all sold out within hours of their announcements.

Before Jo Koys first show, hundreds of residents lined up in advance outside the field house to prepare for good views due to no assigned seating with general admissions.

On Saturday, the line for general admissions continued to spread toward one of UOGs side entrances and toward George Washington High School as early as 6 p.m., an hour before doors were intended to open and two hours before the proposed event. Security then began to take attendees in early to help prevent traffic or safety hazards, as a longer line could have caused more residents to take up Dormitory Drive.

Brandon Santos of Chalan Pago was fortunate to snag a ticket for the first show when it was initially publicized.

It was awesome to hear he was still coming here after the typhoon, said Santos. Its good for the island. We all needed to laugh after everything weve been through.

Trevor Montano of Tamuning acknowledged that a family member was generous enough to give him a ticket.

It feels good to see hundreds of people here having fun and enjoying themselves, said Montano.

Amara Sulla from Piti echoed Montanos sentiment as a fan of Jo Koy, with his numerous shows and segments present on Netflix, YouTube or other platforms of social media.

I just felt really excited to see him in person. Hes awesome, said Sulla. Im just really grateful that others came here to see him since he chose to come back. Were grateful as an island to welcome him with our hospitality.

Jo Koy noted in his stand-up that Two Lovers Point is what he sees as the most beautiful landmark in the world.

Considering he has explored numerous large cities, such as New York City, Paris and Dubai, its a hefty compliment for the people of Guam.

Jo Koy continued to address that the landmark in Dededo should continue to be heavily marketed as he has done in one of his stories on Instagram.

Jo Koy also addressed possible charitable contributions that he will conduct for Guam to continue to assist with recovery from Typhoon Mawar, including a monetary donation, fundraisers, and even a shipping containers worth of water bottles.
In response to multiple inquiries from employees of the government of Guam, retirees and their families, Tina Muna Barnes, chairwoman of the legislative committee of human resources, called for an informational hearing on Aug. 18 regarding GovGuams proposal for fully self-insuring its group health plan.

The hearing also addressed Bill 154-37, which was proposed by Sens. Frank Blas Jr. and Chris Duenas to extend the current GovGuam Group Health Plan to Sept. 30, 2024.

While I understand the need for our government to be fiscally prudent, I also understand that our community is unfortunately reliant on their health insurance plans, said Barnes in her opening statement. It is important to many of them that they maintain their care with their existing providers. I hope to not create another health crisis in our community from being underinsured.

Despite the plan being promoted on lower premiums, a decrease would only be seen by those already with SelectCare.

Those who are currently with FHPs TakeCare would see a slight increase within three to five percent, according to Edward Birn, Director of the Department of Administration.

Director Edward Birn, who represented the Department of Administration, noted that this has been a plan that has been thought out and can be attributed to the strength of GovGuams current finances.

We tried to come up with a plan, which is economical and provides the best benefits to employees and retirees, said Birn. We wont alter the schedule of benefits or the actual plans offered.

Birn clarified that the plan will extend to all government employees and retirees, including those under autonomous agencies, with the exception of active employees under the judiciary.

As the plan is still being developed and final rates have not been publicized yet under this plan, Dr. Thomas Shieh, who has previously announced he will not accept the plan with GovGuam, noted in his approval of Bill 154-37 that theres no harm on putting a pause on the self-insurance.

Take this coming year to give yourselves more time over the next 10 to 12 months to build up funds and bring providers to a possible roundtable, noted Shieh. A health insurance plan is no good without somebody to provide that care. If you go to Calvos, you wont have access to FHP clinics.

Dr. Hoa Nguyen, a co-founder of American Medical Center, also stated to the committee that there have still been more questions than answers regarding the plan, so his clinics have not yet firmly decided whether to accept or not the self-insurance plan.

The mistrust is with GovGuam. I learned from GovGuam one thing: if you dont have in black and white, you cant take anyones word for it, stated Nguyen. The federal government will not step in and rescue Guam on the health care. Youre going to need a lot more planning because with every question tonight, you dont have a firm answer.

Nguyen further echoed Shiehs sentiment to delay the self-insurance because theres still a lot of work to do for both the government and the clinics.

Blas has since issued a letter on Tuesday to Speaker Therese Terlaje as a request for an emergency session for the legislature to decide on his Bill 154-37.

Blas noted the bill will provide the ample time needed to build a reserve fund to ensure that money is available to pay claims, ensure that contractual agreements are in place and obtain stop-loss insurance that may be needed to cover claims above collected amounts.

The bill is also intended to give reasonable time for the government to provide information on the plan to the employees and retirees due to possible confusion and uncertainty about the future of their healthcare, according to Blas.

On Aug. 18, the Office of the Governor of Guam also provided answers to possible questions regarding the self-insured health plan.

The governors office clarified that it will now be the government to assume the financial risk of providing healthcare benefits to its employees by paying for each out-of-pocket claim as it is incurred instead of paying a fixed premium to an insurance carrier.

They also clarified that current TakeCare members will not need complete enrollment forms since they are not being offered due to automatic enrollment in SelectCare for medical and NetCare for dental under the same plan and class. Those under TakeCare should visit the Calvos SelectCare provider directory to ensure they can still get care, which can be found here.

More questions and answers can be found on the governors website here.
The Guam Department of Education provided additional school schedules for school year 2023-2024 that is set to begin on Wednesday for most schools, but some GDOE students will instead have their first day on Thursday.

Our goal is to have every student attend school on their school campus, said GDOE Superintendent Erik Swanson. As inspections occur and repairs are made, we will continue to update our island community on our progress. I would like to thank all of the volunteers, families, and community partners who continue to assist our schools in preparation for inspection and reopening.

In order to continue in-person instruction for the school year, the department is implementing a variety of school schedules for the school year, according to a GDOE news release.

Alternating school schedules

Due to an insufficient number of school buses to accommodate GDOE students, several schools have opted to follow the alternating school schedule.

The alternating school schedule is when two student populations will alternate their presence on a school campus, which is what will have a certain portion of students start the school year on Aug. 24.

There are two types of alternating schedules.

An internal alternating schedule separates the school population into two groups who each alternate attending school on campus every other day.

This schedule will be implemented for the following schools:

Liguan Elementary School

Students in kindergarten, first grade and second grade will have their first day of school on Wednesday while students in third through fifth grade will have their first day on Thursday.

Tamuning Elementary School

Students in second and fourth grade will have their first day of school on Wednesday while students in third and fifth grade will will have their first day on Thursday.

Inalahan Middle School

Sixth grade students will have their first day of school on Wednesday while students in seventh and eighth grade will have their first day on Thursday.

Jose L.G. Rios Middle School

Students in sixth and seventh grade will have their first day of school on Wednesday while students in eighth grade will have their first day on Thursday.

The second alternating schedule will have two separate school populations share one campus and alternate attending school on campus every other day.

Host: D.L. Perez Elementary School

The D.L. Perez Elementary School will have their students will have their first day of school on Wednesday while Upi Elementary School students will head over to D.L. Perez for their first day on Thursday.

Host: Juan M. Guerrero Elementary School

The Juan M. Guerrero Elementary School will do the same by having their students attend their first day of school on Wednesday. Adacao Elementary School students will then head over to Juan M. Guerrero ES for their first day on Thursday.

Host: Maria A. Ulloa Elementary School

MAUES and Wettengel Elementary School will also be on the alternating school schedule. MAUES will be the hosting campus and will have their students will begin classes on Wednesday. WES students will then head to MAUES to begin classes on Thursday.

Host: Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School

The final school on an alternating school schedule is Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School, which will have their students attend their first day of school on Wednesday while AsTumbo Middle School heads to VSA MS for their first day on Thursday.

Double Sessions

For this school year, four of the 41 schools will instead be under double session schedules, but their students will still have Wednesday as their first day of school.

Schools following a double session schedule are two separate school populations sharing one campus. One school population will attend in-person instruction on campus in the morning while the second school population will attend in-person instruction on campus during the afternoon.

Campus: Okkodo High School

At the Okkodo High School campus, OHS students will attend school in the morning while students of F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School will head to the OHS campus in the afternoon.

OHS students bell schedule goes as follows:

Warning Bell: 6:55 a.m.

First Block(First/Fourth Period): 7:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.

Passing Time: 8:15 a.m. to 8:20 a.m.

Second Block(Second/Fifth Period): 8:20 a.m. to 9:35 a.m.

Homeroom: 9:35 a.m. to 9:40 a.m.

Break: 9:40 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.

Passing Time: 9:50 a.m. to 9:55 a.m.

Third Block(Third/Sixth Period): 9:55 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.

Lunch: 11:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Dismissal: 12:00 p.m.

Teacher Office Hours: 12:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

F.B.LG MS students will then have the following bell schedule:

Warning Bell: 1:15 p.m.

First Period for Blue Day; Team Time for White Day: 1:30 p.m. to 2:18 p.m

Passing Period: 2:18 p.m. to 2:21 p.m.

Second Period for Blue Day; Sixth Period for White Day; Sixth grade lunch: 2:21 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.

Passing Period: 3:10 p.m. to 3:13 p.m.

Third Period for Blue Day; Seventh Period for White Day and Seventh grade lunch: 3:13 p.m. to 4:02 p.m.

Passing Period: 4:02 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.

Fourth Period for Blue Day; Eighth Period for White Day; Eighth grade lunch: 4:05 p.m. to 4:54 p.m

Passing Period: 4:54 p.m. to 4:57 p.m.

Fifth Period for Blue Day and Ninth Period for White Day: 4:57 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Campus: John F. Kennedy High School

Meanwhile, at the John F. Kennedy High School campus, JFKHS students will attend school in the morning while students of Simon A. Sanchez High School will head to the JFKHS campus in the afternoon.

The JFKHS students will adhere to the following bell schedule:

Warning Bell: 6:10 a.m.

First Block: 6:15 a.m. to 7:25 a.m.

Homeroom: 7:25 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Second Block: 7:37 a.m. to 8:47 a.m.

Break: 8:47 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Third Block: 9:05 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

Lunch: 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Dismissal for walkers and car riders: 11 a.m.

Dismissal for busses: 11:15 a.m.

Teacher Office Hours Off-site: 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Teacher Departure: 11:20 a.m.

On the contrary, SSHS students will then have the following bell schedule:

Teacher Office Hours Off-site: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Lunch: 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

First Block: 12:50 p.m. to 2:05 p.m.

Homeroom: 2:05 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.

Second Block: 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Break: 3:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.

Third Block: 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Dismissal for walkers and car riders: 5 p.m. to 5:10 p.m.

Dismissal for busses and departure for teachers: 5:15 p.m.

Traditional schedules

The remaining 27 schools will follow the traditional school schedule that begins on Wednesday.

Students in these schools would attend school five days a week as usual with the same instructional hours as previous school years. The following schools will be utilizing their traditional schedule for SY 2023-2024:

Elementary Schools: 8:30 a.m. to 2:43 p.m.

Agana Heights Elementary School AsTumbo Elementary School B.P. Carbulido Elementary School C.L. Taitano Elementary School Captain H.B. Price Elementary School Chief Brodie Memorial Elementary School Finegayan Elementary School Harry S. Truman Elementary School Inalahan Elementary School J.Q. San Miguel Elementary School Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary School M.U. Lujan Elementary School Machananao Elementary School Marcial A. Sablan Elementary School Maria A. Ulloa Elementary School Merizo Martyrs Memorial School Ordot Chalan Pago Elementary School P.C. Lujan Elementary School Talofofo Elementary School Wettengel Elementary School

Middle Schools: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Agueda I. Johnston Middle School Luis P. Untalan Middle School Oceanview Middle School

High Schools: 6:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

J.P. Torres Success Academy Southern High School Tiyan High School

High School: 7:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

George Washington High School
Ombre GaChong

Webber: We must learn to be far more consciously selective with our desires
NVIDIA's pending release, DLSS 3.5, builds on the previous DLSS 3 version, further advancing its Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology. While AMD FSR3 and XeSS have shifted to an open-source approach, NVIDIA continues to refine its DLSS technology.

DLSS, underpinned by artificial intelligence, has seen several updates since its introduction. DLSS 3.5 emphasizes improved ray tracing through Ray (Tracing) Reconstruction (RR).

DLSS 3.5's primary innovation, Ray Reconstruction, aims to elevate the visual output beyond traditional denoising techniques. According to NVIDIA, the RR methodology has been trained on a dataset five times larger than its predecessor, DLSS 3. This extensive training considers a wide array of ray-traced effects and focuses on distinguishing beneficial temporal and spatial pixels. Moreover, it prioritizes the preservation of high-frequency data essential for superior upscaling results.

Where traditional methods might remove critical data during the denoising and upscaling processes, Ray Reconstruction is engineered to keep color details and minimize the reduction of lighting effects. Standard techniques can produce artefacts, such as the ghosting effect from accumulated pixels of previous frames or reduced global illumination and reflection quality due to insufficient data. The Ray Reconstruction feature in DLSS 3.5 aims to address and diminish these concerns.

NVIDIA plans to launch DLSS 3.5 in the forthcoming fall. This refined technology is set to be implemented in games like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Portal with RTX, and Alan Wake 2. Integration is also anticipated in platforms and renderers such as the NVIDIA Omniverse Platform, Chaos Vantage, and D5 Renderer.

In other news.

Community Initiative: Half-Life 2 RTX

Independent developers operating under the banner of Orbifold Studios are in the process of creating an RTX Remix version of Half-Life 2, independently from Valve. They have been granted early access to the RTX Remix toolkit from Nvidia. Although no official release date has been announced, Nvidia has shared a trailer for Half-Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project.

Xbox PC Game Pass Integration with GeForce Now

As an additional development, Nvidia has revealed that the initial batch of Xbox PC Game Pass titles will become accessible on the cloud gaming platform, GeForce Now, starting from this week. Effective August 24, gamers will be able to engage with all supported titles from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda through Nvidia's service, alongside an array of third-party titles. Consequently, if you possess access to a supported game via Xbox Game Pass or a Microsoft Store acquisition, repurchasing will not be necessary.

NVIDIA working on DLSS 3.5: Advancements in Ray Tracing and Upscaling Technology
The programmes, he revealed, will be targeted especially to countries that are willing to receive their own citizens and that do not support the war of aggression waged in Ukraine by Russia.

MINISTER for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio (PS) on Monday confirmed that the government will slash the number of country-specific international development programmes during the course of the electoral term, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

Ive launched official preparatory work for taking these conditions into consideration in future programmes, and Ill be actively bringing up these issues on the international arena, he stated at the Annual Meeting of Heads of Mission in Helsinki on Monday.

I have confidence in your expertise when it comes to the prioritisation.

The government programme states that appropriations for international co-operation will be reduced by almost 250 million euros by the end of the electoral term compared with the spending framework for 2027. Tavio on Monday declined to speculate on what kind of cost-saving measuress the reductions will necessitate in the domain of human resources.

Well have to make prioritisations, but I do believe that we can make them without jeopardising operations.

Tavio stated that international co-operation policy will also be geared toward enabling Finnish companies to succeed.

Were reforming the administration of international co-operation and carrying out the legislative changes we need to make sure funding for international co-operation serves the needs of our companies and steer cash flows in the best possible way, he remarked at a press conference after the meeting.

We shouldnt deliberately only send a negative message to the world, like that were having to make cuts to adjust public finances. We should message that were participating more strongly than ever while prioritising our own strengths.

The focal points of international co-operation will remain the position of girls and women, the right to self-determination, sexual and reproductive health, education and climate action, according to Tavio. Sexual and reproductive health, he added, is also a key element of curbing population growth.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen (NCP) stated to Finnish ambassadors yesterday that the government will revamp the diplomatic service.

Resources and investments will be focused on countries that are strategically important for Finland. This applies to the network of consulates, economic ties, security co-operation and development co-operation, she said according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Valtonen told that decisions about the possibility of closing down or scaling down embassies will be made over a longer period of time. Finland, she added, also wants to explore joint solutions with other Nordics and EU countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs organisation has been unchanged in terms of its core parts since 1998. A lot has happened in 25 years, and these changes should also be visible in the diplomatic service, she justified.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
As the global pandemic has wreaked havoc in the hospitality industry, defying predictions and surpassing expectations, Cyberweb Hotel has emerged as a beacon of innovation and prosperity. This Hotel Technology leader has served over 1200 establishments worldwide. Their suite of services encompasses digital marketing, reputation management, revenue optimization, hotel transactions, and financing solutions, serving hoteliers across all 50 states.

At the helm of this trailblazing venture is visionary CEO Mr. Hiten Bhuta, a driving force behind the revolution in hotelier operations. Armed with cutting-edge technology, Cyberweb Hotel's offerings include premier Hotel Review Management and Digital Marketing Services, empowering hoteliers across the globe to elevate their service standards.

The heart of Cyberweb's success lies in their team of over 100 experts who bring to the table a proprietary arsenal of tools, strategies, and operational insights. This assembly of expertise propels hoteliers to curate guest experiences and revenue streams with utmost precision. The result: heightened guest satisfaction and an unburdened focus on exceptional service. Their esteemed clientele encompasses both independent and franchised establishments, spanning renowned brands like Hilton, Marriott, Choice, Wyndham, Best Western, and Accor.

A cornerstone of Cyberweb's unparalleled success is their unique approach to customer satisfaction. Their annual digital marketing prowess generates a staggering $100 million USD in revenue for their clients, managing and responding to a million revenue transactions. Through their Management services, they guarantee a minimum annual revenue enhancement of $100,000 USD. Moreover, their Hotel Loans and Financing solutions, coupled with a private lender network, have been instrumental in securing millions of dollars for their clients. Their Hotel Buying-Selling solutions provide a seamless, commission-free platform, making property transactions effortless.

In the initial months of 2023, Cyberweb Hotel has fortified its position as a frontrunner

Beyond profit margins and market strategies, Cyberweb Hotel is the catalyst for meaningful connections that span diverse backgrounds. Satisfied guests, inspired by their experiences, embark on journeys that stimulate economic growth and foster community development. Cyberweb's role in bridging gaps between nations fosters a globally interconnected world, where experiences transcend borders.

Evident in their illustrious track record of over 500 five-star reviews, Cyberweb's commitment to excellence stands as a beacon. Their distinctive internal work processes guarantee an exceptional client satisfaction rate of 100%, setting a gold standard for the industry. Through an unwavering dedication to customer-centric approaches, Cyberweb emerges as an industry leader, synonymous with exceptional experiences, and a resounding choice for discerning hoteliers.

Mr. Hiten Bhuta's visionary leadership and Cyberweb's contributions extend beyond accolades, gaining recognition from esteemed world leaders. A prestigious Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Commerce on September 3, 2014, underscored his remarkable achievements. Noteworthy meetings with influential figures like U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Governors Gary Hart and Matt Bavin were lauded in an official tweet on June 22, 2018. Further commendation came from Missouri Governor Mike Parson, acknowledging Mr. Bhuta's leadership in Tourism Innovation on September 13, 2018.

Cyberweb's contributions have rippled through the U.S. hospitality landscape, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. Their engagement spans numerous national-level tourism boards and 14 state-level tourism associations across America, including Massachusetts, Kentucky, Ohio, and more. Their enduring commitment to empowerment and industry growth continues unabated.

In the initial months of 2023, Cyberweb Hotel has fortified its position as a frontrunner. Their leadership role is exemplified by impactful presentations at multiple hotel conferences, where valuable insights and training empower thousands of hoteliers to chart their success.

Mr. Hiten Bhuta's journey epitomizes success that transcends national borders. His trajectory, from a start-up technocrat to an inspirational figure for entrepreneurs in both India and the United States, underscores the power of determination and innovation.

In sum, Cyberweb Hotel's exceptional contributions to the hospitality sector garner resounding recognition and appreciation. Their collaborative efforts have birthed innovations that empower hoteliers and enrich communities, establishing a new benchmark for excellence.

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Gioia, the luxury leather goods brand synonymous with spreading happiness and joy, recently celebrated the grand launch of its flagship store at Mumbai's Phoenix Market City, Kurla. The event witnessed a star-studded gathering of celebrities and fashion influencers, all eager to immerse themselves in the world of luxury handbags.

Brand & its founders

The luxury leather goods brand, Gioia, was founded with an aim to provide men and women with moments to cherish and spread happiness along the way. The brand's co-founders, Diksha and Vashisht Bhatia, come from diverse backgrounds and have brought their expertise to create a brand that exudes joy and elegance. With over twenty-five years of experience crafting leather goods for luxury brands, the duo's skillset shines through every crafted piece at the brand, which has rapidly gained recognition for its commitment to craftsmanship.

Gioia bringing Joy through its new venture

The Mumbai flagship store is a testament to the brand's mission to provide its customers with moments of joy and cherished connections. The store offers diverse options catering to every discerning fashion connoisseur, from stunning bags and accessories for men to vibrant sling bags, mini bags, and tote bags for women.

"The opening of our flagship store in Mumbai marks a significant milestone in our journey. We wanted our store to be a physical embodiment of joy and every touchpoint to be an extension of what we stand for. Mumbai was the perfect place for us to do that. The city welcomes people from all walks of life and has a different uplifting energy to it. It makes one feel at home instantly and makes you believe that anything is possible. Our products get crafted with love and skill, and the immersive shopping experience at our store allows customers to embrace the joy and luxury that Gioia represents," said Diksha and Vashisht Bhatia, the co-founders of Gioia.

Products and USPs

The brands commitment to quality craftsmanship dictates every decision made at the helm. Responsibly sourced leather from Leather Working Group certified tanneries ensures that the materials used are of the highest quality and every collection is designed to stand the test of time.

Further, each handbag is crafted in-house in their factories, which have produced leather goods for well renowned luxury brands for almost three decades. It allows the brand to maintain the craftsmanship standards and attention to detail required to produce leather goods that are truly luxurious.

With the Mumbai flagship store, Gioia now has a strong presence in two major cities, following the success of its first store in Kolkata, which opened at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in September 2022. The brand's expansion plans are set to continue with the upcoming launch of a third store at the Mall of Asia in Bangalore in September 2023.

For those who value both style and substance, Gioia's flagship store is a must-visit destination in Mumbai. Experience the magic of Gioia and discover a world of joy and luxury in every piece.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.

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India, Mumbai, 22nd August 2023: Metropolis Foundation, the CSR arm of Metropolis Healthcare, today announced that it has adopted 1000 TB patients in Mumbai, as part of their Preventive Healthcare CSR program This is the second cycle of the CSR programme, in which Metropolis Foundation will provide nutritional support to 1000 consented TB patients residing at L ward (Kurla) in Mumbai district. The first cycle was launched in December 2022 for 650 TB patients, which was then expanded to 702 patients across L ward for six and three months, respectively.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai has a high load of Tuberculosis (TB) patients with few of the 24 wards with high TB burden. And it has been observed that one such ward with a higher number of TB cases is L ward (Kurla) in Mumbai. Metropolis Foundation is taking a step towards addressing this problem.

Metropolis Foundation will be working closely with DTO, L ward and will be supporting the TB patients with monthly grocery kits through NGO partner Lok Sewa Sangamfor the next six months. Furthermore, the NGO will provide nutritional support counselling and will train peer counsellors in the local communities, who can help TB patients in adhering to treatment and nutrition.

Metropolis Foundation (earlier known as Women Empowerment Foundation) is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Metropolis Healthcare

Dr. Duru Shah, Chairperson of Metropolis Foundation said: At Metropolis Foundation, we believe in the prevention of Tuberculosis across the country This disease creates havoc in men, women, and children, damaging their lungs, abdomen, and reproductive systems. We believe that along with medical treatment, a good nutrition goes a long way to build immunity and fight the infection. Ours is a small step towards this fight and we compliment the entire team consisting of Government and BMC members, who have been working relentlessly to reach all targets in time.

Dr. Kirti Chadha, Chief Scientific Officer and Group Head  CSR, Metropolis Healthcare commented: We are happy to witness the success of the programme, which has benefited 702 TB patients in Mumbai, with an impressive 82% of patients showing satisfactory rise in weight and BMI. We observed that proper adherence to treatment and nutrition, coupled with timely counselling has contributed to such positive outcomes and also holds the key to reducing TB transmission within the communities.

Metropolis efforts in Tuberculosis (TB):

At Metropolis, we understand that underdiagnosis and multi-drug resistance are the two areas in TB, which need timely, accurate and accessible diagnostic support. Metropolis Infectious Disease Division Microxpert will guide the TB patients and clinicians in their TB management journey with the assistance of a unique model developed by the Metropolis Healthcares Innovation Cell.

About Metropolis Foundation:

Metropolis Foundation (earlier known as Women Empowerment Foundation) is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Metropolis Healthcare, which is focused on positively impacting the lives of the people. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, (i.e., SDG 3,4,5), Metropolis Foundations CSR initiatives are aimed towards imparting education, creating awareness on Gender, Equality, Health, and Women Empowerment. Metropolis Foundation is currently driving four CSR programs i.e., MedEngage, Too Shy to Ask (TSTA), Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) Program and preventive healthcare programmes.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.

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Mumbai, Maharashtra, India  Business Wire India

Making its debut in South Mumbai, Rustomjee Group announced the completion of Rustomjee Crown A wing. The receipt of the OC for 182 homes marks a milestone for the groups first project in South Mumbai. The OC receipt is a testament to the groups legacy and commitment towards making dreams a reality for residents across the spectrum. The completion of Wing A comes as a sigh of relief for those invested in the project since its inception in 2009.



Rustomjee Group took over the project in 2018 and fulfilled its commitment towards delivering and turning around the project in record time despite the pandemic and restrictions. The 182 flats will be handed over along with not just the basics of a fully accessible gym, ballroom but other 60+ lifestyle amenities such as 7 tropical pools, a skywalk, a clubhouse, a toddler's area, and a lot more. After all Rustomjee Crown is the finest gated estate in South Mumbai. Talking about this milestone, Mr. Boman Irani, Chairman & Managing Director, Rustomjee Group said, At Rustomjee, we are committed to deliver the best to our consumers. The successful trajectory of Rustomjee Crown is a testament of our efforts & commitment towards our buyers. We have tried to build spaces that give the residents an opportunity to live within the heart of the city and yet feel away from it. The project exudes luxury at its best and we are proud of the design thinking approach that has been incorporated in this project.



Charanjit Attra, resident of Rustomjee Crown says, We are ecstatic to hear this news. With beautiful, modern amenities, refreshing green spaces, and a safe environment for all the age groups, we have received more than we had hoped for. We take pride in calling Rustomjee Crown our home and can't wait to move in. A big thank you to the entire Rustomjee team for making this journey remarkable with their presence.



Situated in the serene neighbourhood of Prabhadevi, Rustomjee Crown spans across an expansive 5.75 acres, offering residents a sprawling, elegantly appointed gated estate that surpasses all expectations. Rustomjee Crown presents majestic 3, 4, and 5-bedroom residences, particularly designed to offer breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea. Currently, Rustomjee Crown is the only ready-to-move-in gated community in its neighbourhood.



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The receipt of OC marks a great development for Rustomjee Crown and homeowners invested in the project.



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Uttarakhand government has intensified its preparations for organising the Global Investors Summit this year. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday held discussions with industrialists in the national capital. He spoke to members of FICCI and CII and also took their suggestions. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the meeting with industry leaders in the capital.

During the meeting, Dhami called upon the entrepreneurs to make Uttarkhand their workplace. Mentioning Uttarakhand as the fastest developing state in India, he said the entrepreneurs are the brand ambassadors of the state.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set a target of making the country's economy USD 5 trillion. Keeping this in mind, the Uttarakhand state has launched the Shashkt Uttarakhand Mission to strengthen the state's economy, under which a target has been set to double the state's GSDP in the next 5 years. Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit-2023 is being organized by the state as a link to achieve this goal, Dhami was quoted as saying.



The chief minister said his government's investor-centric policies, investment in infrastructure, availability of skilled manpower and good governance have laid the foundation for a healthy investment climate in Uttarakhand.



Setu (State Institute for Empowering and Transforming Uttarakhand) has been set up in the state like NITI Aayog for better planning structure, effective policy making, promotion of innovations and inter-departmental coordination and monitoring and evaluation of development works, he added.

Like the Government of India, the state government is also taking action to remove/replace unnecessary Acts. So far about 1250 such Acts have been identified, out of which about 500 Acts are being repealed through Single Repeal Act, Dhami said, adding that the the procedures are being simplified by the state government to provide better and time-bound facilities to the investors.



Uttarakhand Investment and Infrastructure Development Board (UIIDB) has been formed to create infrastructure facilities in the state and attract investors, he added.

Dhami said all the states are envisioning an economically strong state. "We have also set a target of making Uttarakhand the best state in the country by the year 2025. To fulfill this objective, we are working towards realizing the Prime Minister's concept of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas" through collective efforts", the CM said.

Mentioning that PM Modi has a special attachment to Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, Dhami said rapid development works have been done in every field in the state of Uttarakhand.



Various development schemes have been given to the state of Uttarakhand by the Prime Minister. The work on Char Dham All Weather Road is going on at a fast pace. Work on the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail line is progressing at a fast pace. Uttarakhand is also known as the spiritual capital of India, he added.

He said that along with "ease of doing business" there is "peace of doing business" in the state. The incidents of labour unrest are negligible in the industries operating in the state of Uttarakhand. The loss of manpower in industries due to labor unrest is the lowest in the country. The crime rate in Uttarakhand is 22 percent less crime rate than the national average, he added.

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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 Karnataka government has provided 15 crore towards the State Disaster Relief Fund to address the damage caused by heavy rains, floods, and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, the government informed through an official statement. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. (PTI)

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informing this here today thanked his Karnataka counterpart, Siddaramaiah for this noble gesture and stated that the assistance would prove effective in providing help to the affected in this hour of calamity.

ALSO READ | Himachal rain: 700 vehicles stranded after Kullu-Mandi highway blocked near Pandoh

Sukhu also urged voluntary organizations and the general public to contribute generously towards the fund so that maximum help could be extended to the affected people.

Incessant rain has led to landslides, cloudburst and flash floods, causing significant damage in the State.

The government of Himachal Pradesh has declared the whole state as a 'natural calamity affected area'.

READ | Amid heavy rain forecast, residents shift out of unsafe buildings in Shimla

According to the latest information provided by the state government, the total monetary loss in Himachal has reached 8014.61 crore since June 24.

A total of 2,022 houses have been fully damaged, and 9,615 houses have been partially damaged, with 113 landslides occurring in this year's monsoon season.

A total of 224 lost lives in the monsoon fury while 117 people died in road accidents in the state so far, according to the government bulletin.

Seventeen bodies have been recovered to date in the Summer Hill incident and further operations are underway to recover the missing bodies.

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BHOPAL: Billboards promising to triple the monthly aid to eligible women under an ongoing welfare programme run by Madhya Pradeshs ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sparked hope: More money to feed the kids, a well-stocked kitchen and, perhaps, that occasional new sari. PREMIUM Bhopal, Jun 01 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan pays respects to a woman as he goes door-to-door to distribute acceptance letters to the eligible sisters of Chief Minister's Ladli Behna Scheme, at Durga Nagar in Bhopal on Thursday. (ANI Photo)(Office of Shivraj Twitter)

For the government, the scheme has fuelled a different set of political expectations: The government hopes that the schemes impact would help overshadow the crisis at hand -- anti-incumbency, simmering anger over price rise and seemingly widespread fatigue with a government in office since 2003.

In June, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government rolled out a monthly dole disbursed under the Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna scheme that provided 1,000 to women between the ages of 23 and 60 years who meet certain financial criteria. Recently, the government announced it would gradually scale up the amount, ensuring women get 3,000 a month in their bank accounts.

The aid amount is not big but beneficiaries said it helps them meet expenses without having to dip into the monthly budget or their meagre savings. Some find it liberating as it gives them a taste of financial independence. But most of all, it is the expectation that the government will triple the amount that that overrides concerns about the inadequacy of the amount even in the backdrop of skyrocketing prices.

We are confident that the chief minister will fulfil the promise of giving us more money. The amount will make a difference in our lives, said Priyanka Hotle whose husband drives an autorickshaw.

Money is usually short and it had helped when the small family was provided a house under the PM (prime minister) Awas Yojna for which they need to pay 1600 every month to the government.

That is why the promise of an additional 2000 to Hotle means hope.

Additional money means I can pay for my childs school fees without having to burden my husband, she said.

The child, a three-and-a-half-year-old, was recently admitted to a private school in the hope that better education will open up the world for him.

At a time when the state government, readying for the year-end assembly election, is embellishing its report card with details of all its welfare schemes and pro-people programmes, the Ladli Behna scheme is the most talked about among them.

The 8,000 crore scheme covers 1.25 lakh women across the state who have less than 5 acre of land or an annual income of less than 2.5 lakhs. It is easily the state governments best bet to woo women voters who play a pivotal role in deciding the fate of candidates.

As in other poll-bound states, the BJP is focussing on women voters in MP with the hope that it will tilt the scales in its favour; women make up for about 48% of the electorate in the state.

The scheme is not about politics but more about parity, says chief minister (CM), Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Chauhan asserts that the aid has little to do with electoral politics and was borne out of his desire to end the disparity between genders, which he encountered even at home.

I have witnessed disparity between boys and girls since my childhood, even in my own family. I saw how girls were not given the love that boys were given and there was a perception that it would be better if girls weren't born, he said speaking to media persons in Bhopal.

Chauhan got the idea to provide financial aid to women when an old woman dismissed his views about gender parity, pointing out how families found marrying off women a liability.

Once, while I was in a village during a mass-marriage programme, I stood in for the chief guest and said people should treat boys and girls equally. An old woman stood up and said I was talking big (but) who would pay for the girls marriage. I realised that until this problem is solved, there is no point in lecturing people about equality of gender, he said.

The scheme, which the CM says is for the empowerment of women, has triggered a contest of sops between political parties.

People arent complaining, of course.

With the Congress party making promises of free units of power and jobs in addition to a monthly allowance for women, the state government has sharpened its outreach by ensuring that the process to enrol for the scheme is free from red tape.

We had to register at the anganwadi (women and children care centre in villages), then go to the bank for KYC (know your customer formalities) and the money began to come into our account, said Meena Ahir at an anganwadi in Bhopals Arera Hills area.

Ahir is aware of the Congresss promises and, like most of her neighbours and friends, has also filled out the forms given out by the party to enrol for the opposition partys schemes.

In Sehore, an hours drive from Bhopal, there are many stories about the impact of the Ladli Behna scheme but these come with footnotes about rising food prices, how expensive cooking gas has become and the overall slump in the employment sector.

Vishkanya Prajapati who was provided special food packets and vaccines during her pregnancy and post-delivery and money at her daughters birth said the aid is insufficient to meet the spiralling costs of everyday items.

There are no jobs here after the sugar and soyabean factories shut down, so our men travel to Gujarat for work, breaking up families, she said.

Experts take

Political commentator Manisha Priyam said schemes tailor-made for women have worked in the past for the Shivraj Singh government, but there is no telling if the Ladli scheme will help buck anti-incumbency in the upcoming elections.

"Madhya Pradesh has been known for such schemes. Earlier there was the Ladli Lakshmi scheme and Chouhan cultivated his image as a mama (uncle). It worked for him in the past, but something in between did happen and he could not capitalise on the image. The loss of support in the previous election (2018) showed there is a decline in his popularity," she said.

While party leaders are confident that sops for women, particularly those schemes that put money in their hands will be a game-changer, Priyam says interventions could indicate the government is trying to address structural issues such as a wider agrarian crisis.

"There is a need to understand why people are moving away...after all, he was elected much before the BJP was elected nationally in 2014," she said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday said most of the demands of the farmers unions are related to the Centre and they should protest against the Central government. Police check vehicles in Sector 63/51 dividing road in Mohali on Tuesday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Reacting to the clash between Punjab Police and farmers, AAPs state chief spokesperson Malvinder Kang said instead of creating problems for people, farm unions should focus on getting a solution to the problems together with the government.

He said it is the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order situation and the government is fulfilling its responsibility.

Appealing to farm unions to maintain peace and cooperate with the government in maintaining law and order, Kang said chief minister Bhagwant Mann has never turned away from addressing the problems of the farmers. I appeal to the farm organisations that instead of becoming the cause of problems for people, they should focus on solving the problems together with the government, he added in a statement.

He said that the process of girdawari is going on to compensate the farmers of different areas of Punjab and the compensation will be given soon.

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Growers of the early maturing varieties of Basmati rice are reaping a rich harvest with the prices of long-grained aromatic varieties touching 3,800 a quintal. Growers of the early maturing varieties of Basmati rice are reaping a rich harvest with the prices of long-grained aromatic varieties touching  3,800 a quintal. (HT Photo)

Paddy has already started arriving in the grain markets of Haryanas northern districts -- Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Yamunanagar, and farmers are getting anywhere between 3,500 to 4,000 for a quintal of the early maturing varieties: Pusa 1509, Pusa 1847 and Pusa 1692.

Farmers from Uttar Pradesh are reaping the benefits of the price rise as over 70% of the paddy being sold in Haryanas mandis comes from the state. In Haryana, meanwhile, there are still about two weeks to go for paddy harvesting.

Last year, the prices of these varieties had seen a sudden rise after a gap of around 10 years and reached to around 3,500 per quintal. Now, the traders and arhtiyas are expecting that the prices may go up further with more paddy arriving in markets.

Manmohan Singh, a farmer who had sold paddy of three acres at Ladwa mandi, said, Pusa 1509 is fetching 3,800 per quintal, while Pusa 1847 is being sold at 3,500. Last year, I had sold my paddy produce at 3,200 per quintal.

Sandeep Kumar, another farmer from Saharanpur of Uttar Pradesh, who sold Pusa 1509 at 3,650 per quintal at Karnal mandi said, Not only the prices, the yield of the crop is also good as this year and the average yield of Pusa 1509 remained around 21-22 quintal. This will help farmers to bear the losses they had faced last year due to dwarfing diseases.

Demand in intl market, floods reason behind price rise

While people associated with rice trading said the key reason behind the surge in prices is the demand for Basmati rice in the international market and fall in the acreage due to floods in paddy growing districts of Haryana and Punjab.

The monthly report of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) reveals that the prices of Basmati rice in the international market touched to 91,803 per tonne in June this year against 85,334 of the last year. The countrys Basmati rice export reached 11.72 lakh MT between April and June this year against 11.25 lakh MT during the same period last year.

Former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) Vijay Setia said Indias rice industry is in good health due to the surge in demand. But the key reason behind the rise in the rice prices in domestic and international market is that people worry rice production may dip this year owing to floods in the countrys biggest Basmati producing belts of Haryana and Punjab.

Ban on non-basmati exports drawing more traders to basmati

Indias ban on the export of non-basmati or Parmal white rice has also resulted in an upswing in Basmati prices as traders are now focusing more on basmati trading to meet the demand.

Since there were no restrictions on early sowing of paddy in UP, farmers started transplantation in the month of May which takes only three months in maturing.

In Haryana, meanwhile, farmers cannot start transplantation of paddy before June 15 and harvesting begins after September 15. Farmers and arhtiyas says that due to restrictions on early sowing of paddy, farmers in Haryana are unable to get the benefits of good price in the mandis of the state. They add the trend usually is that the grains fetch high rates in the beginning of the procurement season, but go down eventually.

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: The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted bail to a minor girl from Sonepat, an accused in the murder case of two cops on June 30, 2020 under Barauda police station. CMurder of two cops: HC grants bail to minor girl

As per the case, the minor along with her sister had gone to meet one Amit in Karnal. Two cops found them in a vehicle along with three others on intervening night of June 29 and June 30, 2020 and an altercation ensued over some issue, resulting in a fight between cops and Amit.

The next day, cops were found dead. Main accused Amit too died later. Subsequently, the girl had also levelled allegations of rape in custody against the cops.

The high court bench of justice Deepak Gupta granted the bail observing that even though murder is a heinous crime, Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 contains a mandate to release a child on bail, when he or she is apprehended or detained in connection with an offence.

It is a special provision, which stands to the exclusion of Code of Criminal Procedure. ..Even after a juvenile is to be tried as an adult, still his bail is to be considered under the parameters provided under Section 12 of the Act, the bench said granting bail to the girl, who is now 18.

The court also observed that it was a matter of trial whether in this case the girl and her cousin knew the police officials, who could expose them in the village, so, on their asking, Amit killed the two police officials. It also observed that whether the two cops were acting as moral police.

The allegations from girls side that the two police officials were demanding money from Amit, started molested the two girls and asked Amit to send the two girls to the police station for night and it is in order to avoid further molesting that in a fit of rage, he killed both of them. It is a matter of trial, it further recorded.

The declining of bail by the courts below to the petitioner .is not justified by observing that parents of the petitioner do not have control over her as she was out of home at odd hours. This in itself cannot be a reason to conclude that her release was likely to expose her moral or physical danger, the bench said, adding that her role in the alleged crime was to be examined first before reaching a conclusion.

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The UT administration has set a goal to make Chandigarh tuberculosis (TB) free by 2024. UT adviser Dharam Pal on Tuesday directed all stakeholders to adapt a comprehensive approach, including sensitisation, awareness about adherence to treatment and stigma reduction. Chandigarh administration has set a goal to make the UT tuberculosis free by 2024 through a comprehensive approach. (HT PHOTO)

He was chairing a meeting of the state TB cell. The adviser said that collaboration between all stakeholders will spearhead a dedicated campaign in the UT.

He added that under the campaign, people will be made aware of the disease. It will also assist the department in identifying the affected persons and ensuring early treatment.

Stakeholders will conduct camps, workshops, awareness drives and educational programmes in schools and colleges, he said.

Under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, the adviser asked everyone in the UT to come forward and support the TB patients and their families.

Dr Suman Singh, UT health services director, Dr Rajesh Kumar, state TB officer, Dr Pooja Kapoor, World Health Organization consultant and representatives from Rotary International, Mid Town, also attended the meeting.

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A day after a farmer died during a protest in Sangrur, the police arrested two farmers and booked 53 on the charge of attempt to murder. Farmers block a toll plaza in Amritsar on Tuesday. (HT photo)

Meanwhile, members of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Azad) continued to protest near the Longowal police station demanding registration of a case of murder against the police for using force in chief minister Bhagwant Manns home district and cancellation of FIR registered against the farmers.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) also extended support to BKU (Ekta-Azad) and their demands.

On Monday, the clash was sparked when the police tried to stop farmers from heading towards the toll plaza over the detention of some farm leaders ahead of a demonstration in Chandigarh.

A farmer, Pritam Singh (70), was crushed to death under the wheel of a trailer attached to a modified vehicle during the protest at Longowal, while five policemen were also injured. Manjit Kaur, wife of the deceased farmer, said, He promised to return home by evening, but we came to know about his death on Tuesday morning.

At least 16 farm unions, including BKU (Ekta-Azad), had planned a demonstration in Chandigarh on Tuesday to seek compensation for losses caused by floods, but ahead of the protest, the police detained senior leaders of farm organisations. Therefore, farmers decided to make toll plazas free to seek release of detained leaders and members of BKU (Ekta-Azad).

The clash ensued when the police tried to stop them from moving ahead to block a road and a toll plaza near Badbar village on the Sangrur-Barnala highway.

Sangrurs senior police superintendent Surendra Lamba said a few farmer leaders provoked protesters to break barricades. We are yet to lodge an FIR (first information report) over the death. We are waiting for the family of the farmer and will act according to their complaint.

Police said they were scanning videos of the clash to identify others who were involved in attacking the police and that 18 of the 53 accused have been named in the matter.

Lamba said members of a faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Azad) sought to block the Sangrur-Barnala national highway and Badbar toll plaza but police refused to let them do so. The farmers forced their way through barricades using tractor-trailers, he said.

A case under Sections 307, 323, 353, 186, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered against farmers at Longowal police station.

Manjit Singh Nyal, senior leader of BKU (Ekta-Azad) said, We will continue the protest until our demands  cancellation of FIR registered against farmers, registration of case under Section 302 against cops and release of detained and arrested farmers  are met.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) also held a meeting here at Kaimbwala village near Longowal.

Satnam Singh Behru, senior leader of the SKM, said, We have passed a resolution to support BKU (Ekta-Azad) in their demand of registration of FIR under Section 302 against the responsible police official. Negligence of these cops led to the death of the farmer. Besides, the case registered against farmers should be withdrawn and arrested and detailed leaders should be released.

Besides, a meeting of the national body of the SKM will be held in Chandigarh on September 2, where they will take a decision on the next course of action, he added.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased farmer is lying in the mortuary of Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. The family members and farmers did not allow postmortem of the body. They are demanding to shift the body to Sangrur civil hospital. Farmers are saying that they will not cremate the body until their demands are met.

In a late night meeting between Patiala range IG MS Chhina, Sangrur SSP Surendra Lamba and leaders of BKU (Ekta-Azad), both the parties reached a consensus on few demands.

SSP Lamba said, The meeting ended on a positive note and we have agreed to most of the demands, including compensation to family member of the deceased farmer. Now, the state has to take a decision on these demands.

He said, We had detained six leaders of the BKU (Ekta-Azad), including their president Jaswinder Longowal, and all of them have been released.

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: The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought response from the deputy commissioner, Nuh, Dhirendra Khadgata on a contempt plea moved by five locals, challenging demolition action by the local administration. Nuh demolitions: HC notice to DC on plea from five residents

They had claimed the violation of the December 15, 2020 order of the high court made in a petition by the court in which a specific direction was issued that till the representation of the petitioners is decided, sufficient time be granted to relocate themselves and no steps should be taken to forcibly evict them. The response has been sought by December 5.

As per the plea from Rahimuddin and four others, their houses were allegedly demolished by the administration earlier this month. The impugned action seems to be on account of the fact that the individuals involved in anti social activities had made illegal constructionspetitioners were not having any concern with anti-social activities because they are making their livelihood around 40 km away from the city of Nuh, the plea said seeking courts intervention.

The demolition exercise began in Nuh on August 3, three days after communal violence erupted in the district on July 31 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. Suo motu proceedings regarding the same are pending before the bench presided over by the chief justice.

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Taking note of large number of pleas coming to high court against cryptic orders passed by the appellate authorities, including state information commissioners, under the Right to Information Act-2005, the Punjab and Haryana high court has issued a slew of directions for proper adjudication of complaints. The court directed the chief secretary of Punjab and Haryana and UTs advisor to circulate this judgment and other recent such judgments mentioned in the order for the perusal to all authorities constituted under the Act for complying with the same.

This court has found that in a large number of cases, the authorities, including the first appellate authority and the second appellate authority under the Act, have been passing cryptic and non-speaking orders in violation of the judgments passed by the Supreme Court and various high courts and also in violation of the mandate of the Act of 2005, the bench of justice Vikas Bahl observed while disposing of a plea from an Amritsar resident against an order passed by the state information commissioner, Punjab.

Now, it has been directed that the points sought by the applicant be recorded in the order and reply should be given point wise. A categorical finding as to whether the information on any of the points has been supplied or not and if supplied, the date on which it has been supplied. In case, it is the stand of the authorities from whom the information is sought that the information sought under a particular point is not to be supplied on account of any bar contained in any provision of the Act of 2005 or for any other reason, then, after recording the said stand and after considering the submissions made by both the parties with respect to said point/issue, return a finding with respect to the said issue/point, the bench said adding that any other observation which the authority deems fit can also be recorded.

The court directed the chief secretary of Punjab and Haryana and UTs advisor to circulate this judgment and other recent such judgments mentioned in the order for the perusal to all authorities constituted under the Act for complying with the same.

In the case in hand, an Amritsar resident had sought some information from police under RTI in September 2022. As he was not satisfied with the information supplied, he filed an appeal before the first appellate authority (designated within the department) and subsequently before the state information commissioner, Punjab, as he was not supplied proper information. The information commissioner disposed of his plea in March 2023 but he approached the high court claiming that cryptic and non-speaking order was passed by the commissioner.

After perusal of the order, the court observed that no reference has been made to various points on which the information was sought nor whether pointwise information was supplied. It has been vaguely stated that the requisite information has been supplied and that the authority found the response of the PIO to be satisfactory. From a reading of the impugned order, neither the case of the petitioner nor the stand of the respondents is clear, nor it can be ascertained as to information under which clause/point of the application has been supplied and when, the bench recorded.

The court further observed that the commissioner was acting as a quasi-judicial authority and was, therefore, required to adjudicate the case after considering the facts of the case, pleas raised by both the parties and was required to record reasons for rejecting the pleas of one party and accepting the pleas of the other party.

The order should have been self-explanatory and reasons given in the same should not have been rubber stamp reasons. The same has not been done in the present case and the impugned order passed is cryptic and non-speaking, the court further recorded remanding back the case for re-adjudication.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Surender Sharma Surender Sharma is a principal correspondent at Chandigarh. He covers Punjab and Haryana high court. ...view detail
Ten days after three unidentified men allegedly fired six shots at an IELTS centre at Yamunanagar, a shooter and his accomplice have been arrested for the crime, police said on Tuesday. Ten days after three unidentified men allegedly fired six shots at an IELTS centre at Yamunanagar, a shooter and his accomplice have been arrested for the crime, police said on Tuesday. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

They were identified as Shivam Pandit, a shooter, and Rahul alias Monti Rana, arms supplier, both residents of Karnal district.

They were working on the orders of Bhanu, currently living abroad and affiliated with the Kala Rana gang, said DSP (Yamunanagar-1) Rajiv Kumar.

On August 12, two men entered World Edu Scamper Institute at Yamunanagars Tau Devi Complex near Kanhaiya Sahib Chowk in the morning and fired six shots on the glass doors of a cabin, while the third person waited outside on his bike.

No injury or death was reported in the incident and a case was registered.

The DSP said, hours after the incident, the owner received an extortion call of 5 crore from an international number and some Bhanu, a relative of gangster Virender Pratap alias Kala Rana, was on the other end.

Based on the intelligence and technical evidence, prime shooter Shivam was arrested on Monday and on his disclosure, Rahul was nabbed. Shivam is also an accused in three cases with Punjab Police and Rahul was involved in arranging bike, arms, mobiles and other logistics for the shooters. Both have been taken into four days of remand, Kumar told the reporters.

He said the extortion call has been traced to Mexico and efforts are being made for Bhanus extradition.

Gangster Kala Rana, who was extradited to India from Thailand in March last year, is named in over 40 cases, including by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

A history sheeter, Rana is a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar-Kala Jathedi syndicate. He also runs his own gang with his brother Surya Pratap alias Noni Rana and is infamous for extortion calls to mining dealers, businessmen, politicians etc.

He is currently lodged in a Delhi jail and will be brought on production warrant for further probe in the case, DSP Kumar said.

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The Uttarakhand high court on Monday asked the state government why a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry should not be initiated in the case of illegal constructions and felling of 6,000 trees in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR). The court said that on September 1, the next date of hearing in the case, it will decide whether to refer the investigation into the case to CBI. The high court said that on September 1, the next date of hearing in the case, it will decide whether to refer the investigation into the case to CBI. (HT Photo)

The HC order stated, On the next date, the court shall consider referring the investigation into the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The division bench of chief justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma gave these directions while hearing two cases, one filed by Dehradun-based Anu Pant and another in which the HC had taken suo motu cognizance of the media reports over illegal constructions and felling of trees in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) on October 27, 2021.

Abhijay Negi, counsel of petitioner Anu Pant, said the petitioner had placed various reports before HC regarding the felling of 6,000 trees and illegal constructions in Corbett.

On January 6, 2023, HC had also asked the chief secretary to submit all the inquiry reports in the case to the Court and inform it about the officials responsible for illegal constructions and felling of trees. The names of some senior officers and the then forest minister Harak Singh Rawat were not mentioned in the affidavit filed by the state government. The name of the then forest minister Harak Singh Rawat has figured prominently in the report of the Supreme Courts Central Empowered Committee, which has been submitted to the apex court. His name also figures in the report submitted to the National Green Tribunal. The auditor general of the state has also made scathing remarks about his role in the report. All these reports have been shown in detail to high court by us, he said.

Negi said HC asked the state government that in view of the seriousness of the matter and the questionable role of the top officials, why the matter should not be sent to the CBI for inquiry. The court has fixed September 1 as the next date of hearing in the matter, he said

Last month HT had reported that the report of the principal accountant general (audit) Uttarakhand had found gross financial irregularities in various projects in CTR, Kalagarh Tiger Reserve (KTR) and Lansdowne Forest Divisions. According to the 30-page report, Several committees have reported undertaking of construction works and procurement in and around Pakhro Tiger Safari in CTR and Lansdowne Forest Divisions during 2020-21 and 202 1-22 without statutory approvals and without necessary administrative and financial sanctions.

In March this year, the National Green Tribunal (NGT)-constituted committee in its report submitted to the green panel had named the then Uttarakhand forest minister Harak Singh Rawat and eight other officers for various violations in the illegal felling of trees and illegal constructions in CTR. NGT New Delhi in October last year, while taking suo motu cognizance of a media report on the illegal felling of over 6,000 trees in CTR, had constituted a committee to identify the violators and recommend steps for the restoration of the environment there.

On October 27, 2021, HC while taking suo motu cognizance of media reports over illegal constructions and felling of trees in CTR, had directed the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEFCC), principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Uttarakhand, chief wildlife warden Uttarakhand and field director CTR to inspect CTR with regard to the allegations and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) report and submit action taken report to the court.

The matter relates to a petition originally filed by Gaurav Bansal, Supreme Court advocate and wildlife activist. Bansal said that on a petition filed by him Delhi high court regarding illegal constructions, felling of trees and the construction of approach roads in CTR, the court on August 23, 2021 had directed NTCA to look into the issues raised in the petition. He said following the court directions, NTCA had constituted a committee on September 5, 2021 which inspected CTR between September 26 to September 30 and submitted its report on October 22, 2021.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Neeraj Santoshi He is principal correspondent based at Bhopal. He covers environment and wildlife, state administration, BJP and other saffron organisations. He has special interest in social issues based stories. ...view detail
A 38-year-old cab driver fell asleep at the wheel in south Delhis Fatehpur Beri area on Tuesday morning and rammed a stationary truck from behind, killing its 35-year-old driver who was changing a tyre at the time of the accident, police officers aware of the case said. Giving details of the case, investigators said that the police control room received a call at around 5am about a cab meeting with an accident near the Ghitorni Metro station. (Representational Image)

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary said that the victim has been identified as Ram Prakash, a resident of Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, and the accused has been identified as Gopal Narayan Mishra, a resident of Palam Colony.

Giving details of the case, investigators said that the police control room received a call at around 5am about a cab meeting with an accident near the Ghitorni Metro station. When a police team reached the spot, they found that the cab had hit a stationary truck from behind, and that the truck driver was killed. It was revealed that Prakash was changing a punctured tyre when the cab rammed into him. The impact was such that he got crushed between the two vehicles, Chowdhary said.

Prakash was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. His family was informed, police said.

A case under section 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) was registered and investigation was taken up. During the probe, Mishra was arrested and he told investigators said that he fell asleep while driving and the vehicle rammed into the truck, police said.

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The 51-year-old Delhi government official Premoday Khakha, now suspended and arrested, allegedly molested the minor girl at the independent Amazing Grace church in Burari  a small cult of sorts of 30-odd families that is not affiliated to any official diocese  whenever he saw her there after February 2021, police said, citing the statement of the 17-year-old rape survivor. Premoday Khakha and his wife Seema Rani after being arrested by Delhi police. (HT Photo)

Also read: Wife blamed minor for rape, did not stop assault, says FIR

This was a time when the girl, who was in Khakhas care after her fathers death, was allegedly raped and impregnated by him at his home in Burari between October 2020 and January 2021, and had returned to her mothers house after her pregnancy was terminated, police added.

It was because of the alleged repeated molestation incidents in the church premises that the minor stopped going there from July onwards, the girl has told the police.

Allegations of bad touch by Khakha, and touching hands appropriately at the church are also mentioned in the first information report (FIR) registered on August 13 based on her first statement recorded by police under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on August 12, at least two police officers associated with the case, told HT.

The molestation allegations highlight that the sexual harassment by the official was not limited to Khakhas house but also at the place of worship where the two families first met in 1998, and formed a bond over the years. It has also given the police reasons to probe the role of the church, its officials, and its members, in their ongoing investigation.

To be sure, Amazing Grace is not affiliated to any official diocese or formal denomination, and is a private place of worship founded in 1992 by Ajit Kumar Horo who serves as its pastor. It has changed locations twice  moving from Shahdara to Mukherjee Nagar in 2002 and Burari in 2015. It now operates from a two-storey building in Himgiri Enclave residential colony.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said the investigating team will visit the premises as part of its investigation into the molestation allegations that the girl has made and collect necessary evidence. The team is likely to visit the church Tuesday evening, said Kalsi. He declined to elaborate on the ongoing probe.

According to the girls statement, the molestation occurred after the repeated rape and subsequent abortion between October 2020 and January 2021. The girl returned to her mothers house in February 2021 by telling her that she did not want to continue living with the Khakhas. However, she said in the statement that she never told her mother about the rape and abortion, said one of the officers who asked not to be identified.

Although the girl has not mentioned the dates or months when Khakha allegedly touched her inappropriately during her visits to the church, we believe that the molestation happened after she returned to her mother. We will now visit the church and speak with its founder, members and the caretakers to know if they had noticed the sexual harassment or inappropriate touches. Their statement will also be recorded. The footage of CCTV installed at the church will also be examined, added the officer.

The management at Amazing Grace said that no member had noticed or knew about the sexual harassment by Khakha, as alleged by the girl, in the church premises. The person in charge of the place of worship, Anil Daang, said: Members shaking each others hand is a common ritual that is practised at our church. But other physical contact such as hugging or kissing is not allowed here. There are nearly 120 people who attend the prayer meet every Sunday. The entire church is covered by 16 CCTV cameras. The girl or her mother never told us about the sexual harassment.

Also read: People from govt trying to save him: NCW chief on Delhi minor rape incident

The founder, Horo, and other members of the congregation on Monday said that they never noticed Khakha harassing the girl, and pointed out that the families have known each other for nearly 25 years.

A few of them, however, said they had noticed for the past some weeks that the Khakhas and the girls family were not warm towards each other.

Khakha, who served as deputy director in Delhis women and child department (WCD), and his wife Seema Rani, 50, were arrested on Monday, after a 17-year-old girl, who lived in their Burari home for about five months after her fathers death, alleged that the man raped her multiple times.

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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal approved the proposal to declare public holiday from September 8-10 in Delhi for the G-20 Summit, which is set to be held in New Delhi. All schools and government offices including MCD offices will be closed on these dates. A man walks past a wall mural with India's G20 summit logo in New Delhi. (AFP)

The Delhi Police on Tuesday requested the Delhi chief secretary Naresh Kumar to declare a public holiday from on the same dates.

The police has also requested for the chief secretary to order for commercial and business establishments to remain closed in 'controlled zones'.

India, which assumed the G20 presidency in December, has been hosting global leaders and a series of meetings related to 32 sectors across the country under the aegis of the forum. The events will culminate with the meeting of heads of the governments and states of member nations in New Delhi on September 9-10.

Special traffic arrangements to facilitate a carcade rehearsal ahead of the summit also triggered traffic congestion in Central Delhi and routes leading to Gurugram on Monday morning. Delhi police said that special arrangements and restrictions for rehearsal were expected to impact traffic in and around Salimgarh Bypass, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Bhairon Marg, Mathura Road, C-Hexagon, Sardar Patel Marg, and Gurgaon Road.

Left-Hand Drive vehicles likely to be an issue

The Delhi traffic police is also expecting a unique problem during the G20 summit, which is 100 left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles. While the police is willing to overlook the illegality  it is illegal to drive LHD vehicles in India  they believe that the operational challenges of LHD vehicles cohabiting roads with right-hand drive (RHD) ones are significant. Some of the LHD vehicles will be brought in by some G20 member countries; Indias external affairs ministry has also brought some, to ferry the leaders.

Among G20 countries, only India, Australia, Japan, South Africa, and UK use RHD vehicles, while the remaining use LHD ones. A senior Delhi Police officer who asked not to be named said that at least three countries , the US, Russia and China, have informed security agencies that they would prefer to ship in their own LHD vehicles. Their vehicles will soon reach India. Besides, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has purchased around 50 LHD bullet-proof Audi cars from Germany and these will reach India in a week or two, the officer said.

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Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal spent Monday night at the hospital after she was stopped from meeting the 16-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by a senior Delhi government official. Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal Monday night at a hospital.

Accusing the Delhi Police of indulging in hooliganism, Maliwal on Tuesday morning said, They are neither allowing me to meet the girl nor her mother. I can't understand what do the police want to hide from me. I am being told that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson was allowed to meet the girl's mother. When the NCPCR chairperson can meet the mother, why is the DCW chief not being allowed for the same?

Taking to X (formally Twitter) Maliwal wrote, Since 12 noon yesterday, I am sitting outside the hospital to meet the victim girl or her family. Slept outside the hospital at night. The NCPCR can be introduced to the girl's mother, so why have I been asked to stop? What are you trying to hide?

The girl has been sexually assaulted for several months resulting in her pregnancy. On Monday, the Delhi Police arrested the government official Premoday Khakha (51) and his wife Seema Rani (50).

"In the case of sexual assault with a minor, we have arrested two persons. One of them is Premoday Khakha, 51 years old, is a Deputy Director in the Department of Women and Child Development of GNCT and the second accused is his wife, Seema Rani, 50 years old," DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said.

According to police following the death of her father, who was also a Delhi government employee, the minor was living with the accused in Burari from October 2020 to February 2021.

The Delhi government on Monday suspended the official accused of raping a minor victim. "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, Premoday Khakha, Assistant Director is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect," an official order issued by Delhi government read.

The order comes after the official was booked for allegedly raping the minor.

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The minor girl, who was allegedly raped repeatedly by a Delhi government officer between November 2020 and January 2021, has told the police that after she was raped for the first time, she complained to the officers wife. The womans response was to blame the victim who was told that she must have done something that compelled him to do so, said the investigators. Premoday Khakha and his wife Seema Rani after being arrested by Delhi police. (HT Photo)

Read more: Ex-Delhi govt official accused of raping minor sent to one-day judicial custody

Initial information from the investigators paints a horrifying picture of abuse and complicity involving not just the officer, Premoday Khakha and his wife, Seema Rani, both of whom have now been arrested, but even the couples children.

The victim, who is presently doing her 10th from National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), went to live at the house of Premoday Khakha in Burari, after her fathers death on October 1, 2020, the police said. She was 14 at the time. The Khakhas were members of the same cult of sorts that her family was part of  a small place of worship (Amazing Grace church) not affiliated to any official diocese  and were close to her family. The role played by the place of worship in the incident is not clear. Nor is it clear why the mother of the victim, an educated woman of means, sent her adolescent daughter to live with the Khakha family after her husbands death.

The victim told the police that she came to Khakhas house in Burari from her parents residence in Usmanpur to overcome depression due to her fathers death. Since the school was closed due to Covid-19, she was taking her online classes from there. When Khakha sexually abused her for the first time, the victim informed his wife about it. But instead of putting a check on her husband, the woman blamed the victim saying  Tumne hi kuchh kiya hoga, tumne hi koyee ishare kiye honge. (You must havedone something; you must have given him some sign). The victim also told us that Khakhas wife used to beat her, one of the investigators said, asking not to be named.

A senior officer of Delhi Police said that the victim told the police that she got pregnant after Khakha, an assistant director in women and child development department (WCD) of Delhi government, raped her in January 2021. When she informed Khakhas wife Seema Rani about her pregnancy, Rani asked her son to get a pregnancy test kit from a pharmacy. When the result came as positive, she gave the victim abortion pills. The victim had also informed Khakhas children about her rape by their father. But they refused to believe it, he said, asking not to be named.

On Tuesday, Khakha was taken for medical examination which also included a potency test, the officer said, after the lawyer of the accused claimed that he had undergone a vasectomy procedure 20 years ago.

We have taken this into consideration and is now a matter of probe. The report of Khakhas potency test is awaited. All facts related to the case will be probed, the officer said.

The officer also said that since both the children of the accused  his son is now 21; he also has a daughter, now 22  were aware of the matter, they will also be questioned soon . Neither of them was a minor when the incident happened. There is no legal hassle in interrogating them, he added.

Sagar Singh Kalsi, the deputy commissioner of police (north), said that the victims statement has already been recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC before a judicial magistrate on Monday. She is still under treatment in the hospital. The investigating officer of the case has met the victim in presence of Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) counsellor, a doctor and mother of victim, he said. An FIR under sections 376(2)(6), 506, 509, 323, 313, 120B and 34 of the IPC and section 6/21 of the Pocso Act was lodged at Burari police station on August 13.

Citing her statement to the magistrate, a second Delhi police officer said that Khakha first raped the minor on October 31, 2020, nearly a fortnight after she shifted to his Burari house after her fathers death on October 1 that year.

In her statement, she alleged that Khakha drugged her before the assault that night, and his wife and two children were present at the house at the time of the incident. The girl alleged in her statement that Khakha gave her spiked water and that she became unconscious after drinking it. She found injuries on her genitals when she regained consciousness. She told Khakhas wife, Seema Rani, about the sexual assault soon after the incident. However, Rani rebuked her and blamed her for it by saying that she only may have made any gestures before him, this officer said asking not to be named.

Also read: Delhi govt official rapes minor, wife gives her abortion medicines

Another senior officer said that when the victims mother came to Khakhas house on January 16, 2021, the victims birthday, the girl asked her mother to take her back home. However, she never told her mother about her sexual abuse. In February 2021, victims mother finally took her away from Khakhas house. But he used to sexually abuse her whenever he met her in the church. The victim finally stopped going to church after July this year. She suffered an anxiety attack on August 7 and was admitted to a hospital, where she narrated her woes to a doctor, he said, asking not to be named.

Both the accused, Premoday Khakha and his wife Seema Rani, were arrested on Monday. Rani was sent to judicial custody on Monday, while Khakha was sent to judicial custody on Tuesday.

With inputs from Karn Pratap Singh

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sanjeev K Jha In his reporting career of over 20 years, Sanjeev K Jha has covered bureaucracy, politics, ISI activities in border areas, music and Bollywood. Presently, he covers crime in the national Capital. ...view detail
BARMER: A 20-year-old man accused of rape by a woman in Rajasthans Barmer died by suicide late on Monday, police said. Bijrad SHO Guman Singh said a case of abetment to suicide has been registered on a complaint by the mans family (Getty Images)

Police said the man jumped into a water tank to die by suicide on Monday evening after he was accused by a woman of trying to rape her.

Bijrad police station house officer Guman Singh said a case of abetment to suicide has been registered against the woman and four people on a complaint by the mans family. They alleged that the woman filed a false case against their son.

Police said the mans body has been sent for autopsy.

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The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has accorded the final approval to Rajasthans fifth Tiger Reserve in Dholpur-Karauli. It is the countrys 53rd tiger reserve. The ministry also gave in-principle approval to declare Kumbhalgarh as a tiger reserve in Rajasthan. Dholpur-Karauli will be the countrys 53rd tiger reserve. (Representative Image)

Announcing the approval on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, Union minister of environment, forest and climate change, Bhupender Yadav said, Giant leap for wildlife conservation in Rajasthan. Happy to announce that the state has got yet another Tiger Reserve. The Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve has been accorded the final approval by NTCA (the National Tiger Conservation Authority). Lets pledge to safeguard this precious ecosystem and its majestic tigers.

In another tweet, he also announced the decision about Kumbhalgarh. Glad to share that in-principle approval has been granted to declare Kumbhalgarh as a Tiger Reserve! This significant step towards wildlife conservation promises a brighter future for tigers and biodiversity in Rajasthan. The move will boost employment opportunities for the people of the region through ecotourism, the minister tweeted.

With increasing big cat population in RTR, the Rajasthan state forest department had moved the proposal to develop Dholpur-Karauli the fifth tiger reserve in Rajasthan. NTCA gave its approval in February tis year.

The other four tiger reserves in Rajasthan are  Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar, Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota and Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in Bundi, which was added in May 2022.

Member of Parliament (MP) from Rajsamand and member of NTCA, Diya Kumari said, Today is a historic day for Mewar and I express my immense gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union minister Bhupender Yadav for giving a green signal to this project.

She said, I have dedicated my full efforts to bring it on ground despite many impediments. Now we can hope that Kumbhalgarh will soon become a tiger reserve. Tiger roaming once again in Mewar was a dream for most of the people and now we are just one step away from realising that dream.

A senior forest official welcomed the move and said that it will increase the survival and propagation percentage of the tigers.

He said, currently around 8-10 tigers are moving in Dholpur-Karauli forest area. The protected natural tiger corridor will increase from Ramgarh Vishdhari- RTR-Dholpur to Mukundra  the stretch would be around 4,000sq km, he said.

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KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced an increase in the state governments grants to Durga Puja committees from 60,000 to 70,000 per club. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee during a meeting with the organisers of Durga Puja celebrations in the state in Kolkata on Tuesday (PTI/X/CMO)

The state government has decided to increase the grant to Puja committee from 60,000 to 70,000 per club, Banerjee told a meeting with puja committees in Kolkata.

Around 40,000 community pujas are held across the state with around 3,000 being held in Kolkata alone. Apart from these, pujas are held in housing campuses and individual houses.

In 2018, the economy of the creative industries associated with the Durga Puja was pegged at 32,377 crore in a study conducted by the British Council, IIT Kharagpur and Queen Mary University in the UK. The study was commissioned by the state government.

Today the volume may have doubled, it may be more than 60,000 crores. Many people including folk artists earn from here, Banerjee said while adding that a lot of foreign tourists are expected this year.

Someone may file PIL in the court tomorrow raising questions as to why the grant was hiked. These clubs and puja committees conduct awareness programs and project the development works of the state government. We have cash crush, said Banerjee.

The West Bengal government started with a 10,000 assistance to 28,000 puja committees in 2018, which was increased to 25,000 per committee in 2019. In 2020, the grant was doubled to 50,000 and increased by 10,000 in 2022 to 60,000.

Apart from the 60,000 grant, Banerjee also announced that the committees will only have to pay one-third of their electricity bill. The remaining two-thirds will be waived by the state.

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West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that her government will hike the monthly allowances of imams, muezzins and purohits despite facing a shortage of funds in the state exchequer. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee during a meeting with Imams, and muezzins in Kolkata on Monday. (ANI Photo)

We have intentions to do many things, but we dont have funds as the Centre has blocked our money. Our capacity is limited. So, I have decided to increase the (monthly) allowance of imams, muezzins and pandits by 500, she said.

The chief minister made the announcements while addressing a conference of imams and muezzins in Kolkata. Imams will now get 3,000 monthly as allowance, muezzins 1,500 and the purohits will get 1,500 per month.

As long as I am alive and my party is in power, I will be there for everyone and work for all communities. Never think that I have forgotten you, she said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal is trying to mislead people with these are they have failed to provide jobs.

The TMC government has failed to bring in industries and provide jobs. She is making such promises to incite communal tension. She is misguiding the people to get votes, BJP legislator Suvendu Adhikari told media persons.

West Bengals projected population in 2021 stood at 101.9 million. During the last Census in 2011, the Hindu population stood at 70.54% while Muslims comprised 27.01%.

Earlier this month while addressing the state legislative assembly, Banerjee said her government will form a committee of experts to improve the infrastructure at Khareji madrasas, which follow their own syllabus and are funded by charity from Muslim community members and institutions.

Opposition parties saw the announcement as a move to woo minority voters in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Though Muslim voters backed the TMC in all polls since 2011, when Banerjee overthrew the 34-year-old Left Front government, a shift in Muslim votes created trouble for the ruling party in some pockets of Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas in the July 8 panchayat elections. The TMC lost seats to the Congress and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) in these two districts following an ugly spate of violence.

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KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched an anti-ragging toll-free helpline to curb ragging incidents in educational institutions across the state. Supporters of Left Front student organisations protest in front of the Jadavpur University campus in Kolkata over the death of a first-year student (Photo credit: ANI)

The JU incident has opened our eyes. Several incidents may happen and the students may not report them out of fear. Any person may call the 24X7 helpline to lodge a complaint related to ragging in educational institutions. The identity of the caller would be kept confidential, Banerjee said while speaking at a government programme in Kolkata.

The helpline 18003455678 will be operated from the Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar .

The decision to set up a helpline came after a 17-year-old student of Jadavpur University in Kolkata allegedly jumped to death from the universitys hostel balcony on August 9. The student was allegedly ragged and sexually harassed. Police have registered a murder case and 13 persons have been arrested till date.

Parents send their children facing so much of hardships. Such incidents torturing students take place in many institutions. Not many such incidents could be heard of when we were students. It seems to have shot up now, she added.

Also Read: Jadavpur Universitys second report on students death unsatisfactory: UGC

Meanwhile, JU authorities are discussing the idea whether to install a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based security system in the university and hostel campuses to curb any illegal activities and restrict entry of outsiders.

Installing CCTV cameras in the university and hostel campus may not be enough. We would take expert opinion on whether to install RFID-based security system, said Buddhadeb Sau, JUs interim vice-chancellor.

The RFID system uses radio frequency signals to provide automatic identification of items.

It has emerged that the anti-ragging guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2008 -- based on recommendations of the Supreme Court -- which included installing CCTV cameras in the campus and providing separate hostel facilities for freshers were flouted by the university.

Investigating into the students death, police found that in most places on the JU campus, among the more renowned universities in the country, CCTV cameras were not installed and those which were installed were either damaged or not functioning.

Some CCTV cameras are installed in the departments such as geography and mathematics. A decision has been taken to install CCTV cameras at strategic locations of the university and hostel campuses such as the gates, said an official.

The UGC has already sought two reports from JU over anti-ragging measures in place. The apex body of higher education in India claimed that it was not satisfied with either of the reports sent by JU.

A meeting of the universitys anti-ragging body was held. We would compile a report and send a report to the UGC. We would also mention in our reports how in the past obstructions were created when the university tried to implement UGC guidelines, said Sau.

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Animal husbandry minister Dharmpal Singh on Tuesday ordered departmental action against several officials for laxity in management of destitute cattle and cow protection centres. UP Animal Husbandry Minister issues adverse notices to 2 officials; seeks explanation from two other (pic for representation)

No laxity will be tolerated in any work related to cattle. Weekly review of arrangements at cow shelters will be done, said Dharampal Singh, animal husbandry minister, UP, while presiding over meeting here.

He issued orders for adverse entry to the additional director, Bareilly and the veterinary doctor of Acchnera in Agra district and sought explanation from veterinary doctors of Prayagraj and Lucknow after he found them lax in their work.

Ministers action came in the wake of the incident on August 17 when farmers in Bareillys Amla town had flocked stray cattle before the convey of the minister when he was on way to inaugurate a veterinary polyclinic. They wanted to draw ministers attention towards stray cattle menace in the region. The Bareilly police on August 19 lodged an FIR against 90 unidentified farmers.

In Lucknow, 13 cows had died on August 14 at a cow shed at Kamalpur in Mohanlalganj after they were fed poor quality of fodder.

Tough action will be taken against any official who is found to be lax in the management of work related to stray cattle, he said.

He asked officials to ensure a weekly review of arrangements at cow protection centres.

He said the funds to the centers must be made available within 24 hours of receiving the demand and no cow protection centre should be affected due to lack of funds.

He said a month-long campaign will be launched soon to ensure adequate arrangements at all cow sheds in the state. The minister instructed the officials to free grazing land from encroachers and submit report by August 26.

The minister also asked nodal officers to make spot visits to check arrangements at each and every cow protection centre the district allotted to them as a nodal officer in the first week of September. He said the work of under-construction cow protection centres should be completed at the earliest.

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GORAKHPUR Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed officials to deal with illegal possession of land of poor and weaker sections by influential people and thereby ensure quick justice for them. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (HT file)

Yogi gave the instructions while responding to the complaint of a woman regarding illegal possession of her land. The complaint was regarding private builders active in development of residential plots in various villages of Gorakhpur district.

Around one dozen such victims were at the Janata Darshan that the CM held at Mahant Digvijay Nath Smriti Auditorium at the Gorakhnath temple on Tuesday.

The CM patiently listened to the problems of over 200 visitors and assured them justice. He listened to their problems one by one and handed over their applications to the officials concerned with instructions. Moreover, Yogi also directed district authorities to ensure that Ayushman health cards were issued to every needy person.

Seeing the number of applications requesting for financial help to carry out medical treatment, the CM asked the officials to get an estimate made from concerning hospitals for granting financial help.

Earlier on Monday evening, the CM also held a meeting with newly elected members of Gorakhpur municipal corporation working committee and told them about the significance of the civic body.

He asked them to achieve excellence in sanitation and smart city status. The CM also said there were sufficient funds that should be used properly in development works.

Municipal commissioner Gaurav Sogarwal was also present in the meeting. He said with the inclusion of Gorakhpur under National Clean Air Project (NCAP) and with latest equipment gifted to the city, sanitation system would strengthen in the city.

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MUMBAI: A 17-year-old school dropout from Virar East allegedly killed his mother on Monday night after an argument over a suspected extramarital relationship. After seeing her exchange intimate text messages with someone, the boy confronted her which led to a fight, during which he picked up a sickle from the kitchen and attacked her face, neck and chest, killing her on the spot. 17-year-old kills mother over suspected affair

The incident took place around 8.45 pm on Monday soon after the victim Sonali Ghogre, 42, had dinner with her elder son at their house in Parol area in Virar East. Ghogres husband and younger son were not at home at the time.

When the boy saw his mother chatting on her mobile phone and sending intimate messages, he got furious and confronted her about her suspected affair, according to Praful Wagh, senior police inspector of Mandvi police station. The two then got into a fight following which the son picked up a sickle and attacked her. He then called up the police control room around 9 pm and reported that his mother had been attacked by unknown people. Police reached the spot and rushed the woman to a hospital in Bhiwandi where she was declared dead. The accused did not tell us what exactly transpired in his house which led to his mothers death, said police inspector Ashok Kamble from Mandvi police station.

After registering a murder case, police questioned the boy, as he was the one who had first reported the incident. A police officer said he first tried to evade questions, but finally confessed to the murder.

The boy has been sent to the Dongri Observation and Childrens Home and will be presented before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Officer Kamble said the family had been staying in Parol for generations and was well established there as Ghogres husband had a well-paying job and she herself had served as a member of the village panchayat. However, during the pandemic, her husband lost his job and the victim had to start providing for the family.

The woman had then started working in a medicine manufacturing factory in Vasai. Since their financial problems were not resolved, even the accused had to drop out of school  he was studying in Class 10 at the time - and started working at a hotel in Vasai.

The police have seized the murder weapon and also the mobile phone of Ghogre to find out who she was chatting with.

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* Leaders are expected to discuss the BRICS group's expansion, including the admission criteria and the guiding principles.

* BRICS has become a positive, stable and constructive force in international affairs.

* Cross-border trade within the group would become more efficient and catch the eye of more investors.

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming 2023 BRICS summit logo features a sun that beams light in five colors: green, blue, orange, red and yellow, representing the current five members of the group.

This year's summit, to be held in South Africa from Aug. 22 to 24, champions the theme "Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism."

That spirit, BRICS officials say, has sparked the interest of some 40 countries from the Global South in joining the group.

GROWING INTEREST

At the forthcoming summit, leaders are expected to discuss the BRICS group's expansion, including the admission criteria and the guiding principles, Carlos Maria Correa, executive director of the South Center, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Twenty-two countries have formally approached BRICS countries to become full members. There's an equal number of countries that have been informally asking about becoming BRICS members," said Anil Sooklal, South Africa's BRICS ambassador.

Algeria is among the latest countries to show their interest. "We officially applied to join the BRICS group, and we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank (New Development Bank)," Ennahar TV, an Arabic broadcaster, quoted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying on July 22.

According to Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese daily, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and other oil-producing countries have also made applications. Once approved, the BRICS members will cover over half of the world's oil and gas resources.

"Many countries in the Global South have sought to come together in order to work towards a more just and inclusive world order ... BRICS inspires many countries to come together again in order to advance this vision," said Kenneth Creamer, a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, during a recent interview with Xinhua.

CHARM OF BRICS

In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron once voiced his intention to attend the upcoming summit following his talks with South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor.

This is where the charm of BRICS lies. The bloc has become a positive, stable and constructive force in international affairs.

Several emerging economies, for instance, are financially distressed due to the IMF's stringent economic policies, said Deutsche Welle, Germany's state-owned broadcaster. It noted that the New Development Bank and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement could support economies with payment difficulties.

"The New Development Bank is the most prominent achievement. It's also led to some increased trade between the countries, and won some international attention," said Daniel Bradlow, a University of Pretoria professor who has studied the group.

Above all, BRICS defends multipolarity and multilateralism, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said. By doing so, "BRICS countries are countering the concept of the Cold War and opening up the possibility of a more equitable and just international order that benefits the world."

"In an increasingly polarised world, BRICS is creating an enabling avenue for countries to fashion a more inclusive political and economic order," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations scholar.

Many countries are tired of the United States' virtual domination of the global economy for decades, the Spanish website Rebelion said. Failure to comply with Washington's directives results in sanctions and financial blackmail.

BROADER PROSPECTS

With potential members down the road, cross-border trade within the group would become more efficient and catch the eye of more investors. The prospect of a BRICS-issued currency is a possibility.

"Its members would likely be able to produce a wider range of goods than any existing monetary union," said Foreign Policy, an American news publication, while remarking on the prospective currency. "Because each member of the BRICS grouping is an economic heavyweight in its own region, countries around the world would likely be willing to do business in the hypothetical money."

As Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay were added as new members of the BRICS New Development Bank, there's bound to be even fairer and more accessible international trade as the four countries lie on three continents.

"For new entrants, being part of BRICS could expand their diplomatic influence and open up lucrative trade and investment opportunities," the Washington Post said in a recent article.

In an interview with the TASS news agency, Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko, South Africa's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said BRICS is happy to accept new members who express interest in joining.

"BRICS is committed to upholding multilateralism, reforming the global governance system and has consistently advocated for the developing countries to be fairly treated in the international arena," Gerald Mbanda, an Africa-China cooperation expert, told Xinhua.

"This is the reason I believe that the BRICS is undoubtedly an avenue for accelerated growth with increased trade and investment opportunities," Mbanda said.

(Video reporters: Wang Feng, Zeynep Cermen, Safar Rajabov, Zhang Zhihuan, Dai He, Tian Hongyi, Sun Xinjing, Xie Zhao, Zhu Wanjun, Yu Lizhen, Zhu Yubo, Yang Yirn, Yu Fuqing, Nie Zuguo, Li Cheng, Hu Yousong, Lv Chengcheng, Wang Ping, Addis Zenebe; Video editors: Zhang Yucheng, Zhang Yuhong, Zhou Sa'ang)
MUMBAI/ PUNE: The tumult among farmers and traders, following the central governments order to levy 40% export duty on onions, has presented a battleground for political parties. On Tuesday, leaders in the state government as well as opposition indulged in a war of words soon after the Union government launched one of the biggest drives to buy onions directly from farmers at a record price, and justified the decision to levy a 40% duty on onion exports, as it tried to strike a balance between the interests of consumers and farmers. At a press meet held on Tuesday, chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Shinde thanked prime minister Narendra Modi over the unprecedented decision adding the NCP chief Sharad Pawar should not play politics as he did not take any such decision during his tenure of 10 years as union agriculture minister (Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

The announcement by food, consumer affairs and commerce minister Piyush Goyal came after traders and farmers in the state protested the export duty. Goyal assured growers that their incomes would be protected, and that the government will buy onions (2 lakh metric tonnes) directly from growers at a historic price of 2,410 per quintal. There is no need for farmers to resort to any panic selling, Goyal told reporters in Delhi.

While on the one hand, farmers in Nashik and Ahmednagar are resolute about continuing their agitation and rejected the governments latest move, calling it a drop in the ocean given the amount of stocks held by farmers and traders, ruling parties in Maharashtra wasted little opportunity to claim credit over the announcement of the procurement.

Even before state agriculture minister and Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader Dhananjay Munde reached Delhi to discuss the matter with Goyal, deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced the governments decision on X. Fadnavis, who is in Japan, spoke with union home minister Amit Shah and Goyal before stating that the governments latest move will give a great respite to onion growers in the state.

Fadnavis made the announcement in the morning when Munde was in a meeting with Goyal. A part of the ruling faction in the state government has requested the Centre to roll back the 40% export duty imposed by the ministry of commerce.

At a press meet held on Tuesday, chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Shinde thanked prime minister Narendra Modi over the unprecedented decision adding the NCP chief Sharad Pawar should not play politics as he did not take any such decision during his tenure of 10 years as union agriculture minister. Ajit Pawar, on the other hand, said the central government was safeguarding the interest of the farmers, traders and the common man with this decision and added, more stock of the onion will be procured, if need be. We have also requested the central government to remove the export duty imposed on onion.

Maharashtra accounts for up to 35% of onion exports from India. The agitation intensified on Monday with farmers outfits as well as opposition parties such as the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP backing the farmers.

Supporting their demand, the NCP chief said farmers will not be unable to recover their input cost with 2,410 per quintal announced by the central government. The export duty should be scrapped with immediate effect and farmers given 4,000 per quintal against onion procurement by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Pawar said.

The factions MP Amol Kolhe, who has led the agitation over the last two days, held a protest at Alephata Chowk, in Pune and blocked the Pune-Nashik Highway on Tuesday. He alleged that the central government was misguiding the farmers by buying 2 lakh metric tonnes of onions. When farmers were selling onions at 300- 400 per quintal for three years, the government was sleeping. Now, when the agrarian community was about to recover the losses, export duty was imposed by the government, Kolhe charged. This means, exporters will not be able to sell onions in the international market. It also means farmers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and Iran will benefit from the decision and Indian farmers will be at the receiving end.

State Congress president Nana Patole added, The BJP-led government is weakening the financial health of farmers. In the past too, the prime minister insulted farmers calling them terrorists, naxalites and Khalistanis, when they were protesting the controversial three farm laws.

Markets closed on Day-2

Ajit Nawale, national joint secretary, All India Kisan Sabha, said, The government will procure just 2 lakh metric tonnes of 40 lakh metric tonnes lying with farmers. Until the export duty is removed, we will continue our agitation. The quantum of the exported onion is small but it badly affects market sentiments, allowing room for traders to exploit farmers.

Khandu Patil Devare, president, Nashik District Traders Association said that the decision about the protest will be taken on Wednesday. No farmer or the trader is expected to get benefit out of the announcement made by the central government. NAFED does no procure onion from the farmers.

Traders at the Navi Mumbai APMC termed the move as anti-farmer. APMC director Ashok Walunj said, Piyush Goyal and Dhananjay Munde are trying to dupe everyone. What difference will 2 lakh metric tonnes make when there is a big stock available? This offer has been made only for them to look good to the public.

Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association said, Although the state government-recognised federations have started purchasing onions at rate of 2410 per quintal, we are firm on our demand and will continue to protest against the 40 per cent export duty.

On the second day of protest, the APMC at Lasalgaon remained closed, although around 100 trucks of onion arrived at Vinchur APMC, a sub-market Lasalgaon APMC, in the morning.

The Nashik district collector Jalaj Sharma held a meeting with Onion Traders Association to find a way out of this deadlock, on Tuesday. Sharma said, We have requested them to start the markets and purchasing onions from farmers. We wanted to understand their demands. Another round of meeting will be held on Wednesday, in the presence of union minister Bharati Pawar. Hopefully, we will arrive at a solution.

Speaking on behalf of farmers, Balasaheb Darade, chairman of traders association at Lasalgaon APMC, said: At the meeting with the collector, we pointed out how thousands of quintals of onion are currently stuck at Mumbai and Chennai ports and the Bangladesh and Nepal borders. So we need to find an immediate solution as onions are perishable goods.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Surendra P Gangan Surendra P Gangan is Senior Assistant Editor with political bureau of Hindustan Times Mumbai Edition. He covers state politics and Maharashtra governments administrative stories. Reports on the developments in finances, agriculture, social sectors among others. ...view detail

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Faisal Malik Faisal is with the political team and covers state administration and state politics. He also covers NCP. ...view detail
MUMBAI: A thousand days of travelling more than 43,000 km across 20 states to promote solar energy and give 750 talks on energy conservation. That, in a nutshell, has been the life of Professor Chetan Singh Solankialso known as the Solar Man of India or Solar Gandhisince November 2020 when he initiated the Energy Swaraj Yatra. Prof Chetan Solanki embarked on his countrywide journey inside a solar-powered bus replete with amenities such as an air-conditioned bedroom, office space, a kitchen with an induction cooker, and a refrigerator, all powered by solar panels adorning the roof. (HT PHOTO)

On Tuesday, at an event at IIT-Bombay called 1,000 Days, 1,000 Hopes, Solanki was felicitated by the institute for hitting the 1,000-day milestone of the Energy Swaraj Yatra, which is slated to end in 2030. A professor at the department of energy science and engineering at IIT-B, he has been granted leave by the institute for 11 years for the vital work that he is doing.

Amid the growing challenges of climate change and rising global temperatures, the world has to move towards adopting 100 percent renewable energy to limit the average increase in global temperature by two degrees Celsius, said Solanki at the event. As this journey celebrates the completion of its 1000th day, I am filled with a mix of gratitude, determination, and a sense of urgency.

The Energy Swaraj Yatra has touched the lives of more than 2.50 lakh Indians. This expedition spreads awareness about climate change in the masses, urging them to take part in climate corrective measures, said Solanki. Throughout this journey, I have encountered barren fields amidst scorching heat and people caught in torrential downpours. I have witnessed the pristine waters of Yamunotri turning into chemical foam upon reaching Delhi. Concrete highways have torn through forests, while factory smoke has obscured the skies. The Energy Swaraj Yatra isnt solely a personal expedition; its a rallying cry and an appeal to everyone to embrace the transformative potential of solar energy.

The energy activist also launched a campaign on the occasion called This election, think of a climate correction. We will encourage all those young people who can stand as independent candidates in elections and who can fight for climate change, he said.

Solanki embarked on his countrywide journey inside a solar-powered bus replete with amenities such as an air-conditioned bedroom, office space, a kitchen with an induction cooker, and a refrigerator, all powered by solar panels adorning the roof. Beyond its role as mere transportation, this innovative mobile abode symbolises our aspirations for a forthcoming world driven by sustainable energy sources, he said.

Scientist Anil Kakodkar, who spoke at the event, lauded Solankis journey and remarked that he had achieved a very big milestone. While there are miles to go, it is important to go on in our mission for the betterment of our society, he said.

Kakodkar struck a sombre note while talking about the importance of clean energy. The phenomenon of global warming is not going to wait so we must change ourselves, he said. After some time, there will be a point where we are in a race between development and our own existence.

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The metropolitan magistrate court on Monday brought down the curtain on one of the most contentious cases of the politician-police nexus which pertained to disclosure of a confidential report prepared by senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla highlighting irregularities in police transfers and postings in Maharashtra. Pune, India - June 23, 2017:Rashmi Shukla, Commissioner of Police, Pune City posses for photo at her office in Pune, India, on Friday, June 23, 2017. (Photo by Pratham Gokhale/ Hindustan Times) (Pratham Gokhale/HT PHOTO)

An additional chief metropolitan magistrate accepted an A-summary report (an investigation report indicating that the facts are true but there is no prosecutable evidence to put the person on trial) submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 22, 2023. The agency had sought closure of the case registered by the Mumbai cyber cell under the Official Secrets Act.

When Shukla was the State Intelligence Department (SID) commissioner, she prepared a report in August 2020, naming two senior politicians  the then home minister and another person known as Dada, and six IPS officers and 23 state service police officers. Her report also named some private individuals who acted as middlemen to facilitate transfers and secure desired postings for senior police officers in exchange for money and by using their close connection with the two politicians.

At a press conference on March 23, 2021, then opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis presented a few documents and also referred to Shuklas report to support his allegations that there was rampant corruption in transfers and postings of police officers in Maharashtra. He claimed that the state government did not act on Shuklas report, and therefore, he was going to hand over the entire material, including a pen drive containing the report, to the union ministry of home affairs.

Three days later, on March 26, the Mumbai cyber cell registered an FIR, based on a complaint filed by an assistant commissioner at SID, against unknown persons for leaking the report.

Police officials claimed that Shukla, presently posted at Hyderabad as additional director general of the Central Reserve Police Force, south zone, had copied the report on three pen drives. While two pen drives were recovered by the cyber cell, the police suspected that the third one  an office copy of SID - was purportedly sent by her to Fadnavis, who in turn passed it on to the union home secretary.

It is worth mentioning that then chief secretary Sitaram Kunte submitted a report to then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, detailing the circumstances in which Shukla had intercepted the calls of six people in the name of public safety and thus misguided the authorities. He further said that no transfers of police officers had taken place between June 27, 2020, and September 1, 2020, during which Shukla intercepted the telephone calls and based on which she prepared the report.

A month after the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government came to power in July 2022, the state handed over the case to the CBI. The agency probed the matter and in May 2023 filed an A-summary report, seeking closure of the case.

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Lavkush Dwivedi, a 28-year-old astrologer-priest hailing from Uttar Pradesh and currently residing near Ahmedabad, has been arrested for impersonating a senior bureaucrat associated with the Gujarat Chief Ministers Office (CMO) and allegedly threatening Goods and Services Tax (GST) officials. Representational image.

The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch arrested Dwivedi based on a complaint filed by the GST official.

The incident came to light when the GST official was conducting an inspection of a company in Unjha town in Mehsana district. It was then that Dwivedi contacted the official via phone, pretending to be a senior officer assigned with the CMO in Gandhinagar, the police said.

According to the FIR registered by the crime branch, Dwivedi, residing in Sanand near Ahmedabad, threatened the GST officer to stop his ongoing probe against one firm. After his arrest, the police found out that the firm belonged to Dwivedis uncle.

Dwivedi posed as a CMO official with the hope that the GST officials would stop proceedings against the firm.

While Dwivedi works as an astrologer and a priest, he is also into providing private security to VIPs, the police said, adding that he has in the past misused his political connections.

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The Prayagraj police are surveying the properties of the alleged mastermind of Atala violence, Javed Pump, which they can attach under the Gangsters Act, now that the Act has been slapped on him. In the June 10, 2022 violence in the Old City area of Atala, in Prayagraj, large scale violence and arson was reported (HT File Photo)

Besides Javed, the Gangsters Act has also been imposed on nine other persons and assets of all are being scrutinised as part of the exercise.

Police officials said that investigations will be carried out to learn if the accused have earned movable and immovable assets through illegal means.

Police officials said that after slapping the Gangsters Act against Javed, his gang chart has been prepared. His properties will now be attached under section 14(1) of the Gangsters Act. Similar action will also be taken against Javeds aides named in the case.

Javed Mohd aka Javed Pump, a resident of JK Ashiana Gaus Nagar of Kareli area, is currently lodged in Deoria Jail. His remand will soon be taken under the Gangsters Act following which he will be questioned. In the gang chart prepared by the Kareli police, Faisal Raza of Atala, Atif Ahmad of Gaus Nagar, Arif Ali, Asif, Ahmad Ali of Atala, Ilyas of Rasulpur area, Abdul Rehman of Atarsuiya, Hamza Ansari and Amir Khan of Akbarpur have been mentioned as members of his gang. Police said that the accused were running a gang to earn money through illegal means. Police will now take help of officials from the revenue department, Prayagraj Nagar Nigam and Prayagraj Development Authority to identify their properties.

Violence was witnessed in the Atala area on June 10, 2022, over the alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammad by the then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Many policemen including former IG Range Rakesh Kumar Singh received injuries in the incident.

It was alleged that Javed Pump was the mastermind of the violence. He sent messages on WhatsApp and social media platforms urging people to assemble at Atala for the protest. FIRs in connection with the violence were lodged at Khuldabad and Kareli police stations and a charge-sheet was filed against the accused.

Police officials said Javed is behind bars, but other accused are out on bail. Now they will also be arrested and questioned.

Javed Pumps house at JK Ashiana was demolished by PDA on June 12 on grounds that it was built without permission of concerned authorities.

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KANPUR A tense atmosphere enveloped the Hanumant Vihar area of Kanpur on Tuesday morning after the carcass of a cow was discovered in an open space. The cow, which had been tethered to a tree, bore marks of injuries seemingly inflicted by sharp-edged weapons. The owner of the cow has alleged that his bovine companion was not only killed but also subjected to rape. (HT Photo)

The owner of the cow has alleged that his bovine companion was not only killed but also subjected to rape. Following the incident, a substantial crowd gathered at the scene, demanding decisive action against those responsible.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for Kanpur South, Ravindra Kumar, announced that an FIR was in the process of being filed under pertinent legal sections. We are meticulously reviewing the footage captured by CCTV cameras stationed in the Natwar Tola locality to identify the individuals implicated in this crime, Kumar stated. He added that the animals remains had been dispatched to a veterinary hospital for postmortem examination by an appointed panel of experts.

Meanwhile, right-wing organisations -- including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Hindu Jagran Manch -- assembled outside the ACP Naubasta office. Notably, last month, Naubasta police apprehended an individual named Brijesh Mishra after he was captured on camera engaging in inappropriate conduct with a cow. Mishra confessed to being a habitual offender during the police interrogation.

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The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Tuesday seized Elephant tusk weighing 2.3 kilograms from Lachit Express train at Kamakhya Railway Station in Assams Guwahati. The Government Railway Police conducted an operation based on a specific information and searched several trains. (Representative Image)

According to the officials of the Assam police, the GRP conducted an operation based on a specific information and searched several trains, including Lachit Express, which was heading to Guwahati, at Kamakhya Railway Station on Tuesday morning.

One person named Sandeep Joshi was carrying the elephant tusk and he has been arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act. He was handed over to the Guwahati police later, an official said.

This is the third recovery of elephant tusk from the suspected smugglers and poachers in Assam in the last ten days, according to the officials.

On August 18, forest officials in Morigaon recovered elephant tusk weighing 2.5 kg from a residence. The owner of the house was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act for allegedly being involved in smuggling of wildlife animal body parts.

On August 13, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) with the help of the Special Task Force (STF) of the Assam police conducted a raid in Chirang district near Bhutan border and arrested three suspected poachers. A large amount of elephant tusk was recovered from them during the operation, police said.

Police said that these three individuals were part of a seven member gang of rhino poachers, who camped inside the Manas National Park in April this year and killed a rhino and other animals.

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The Manipur Cabinet late on Monday again approved the convening of the much-anticipated monsoon session of the state assembly on August 29, four days before the expiry of the deadline to hold it. It earlier gave the go-ahead for the beginning of the session on August 21 but the assembly could not be convened for the want of governor Anusuiya Uikeys assent. Governor Anusuiya Uikey. (Twitter)

There was no word from Uikeys office about why the approval has not been granted. People aware of the matter said it seems there are concerns about the law and order situation in Meitei-dominated Imphal. Ten Kuki lawmakers have also refused to participate in the session citing security concerns.

Manipur minister Sapam Ranjan Singh said after the session could not materialise on Monday, the Cabinet met later in the day and decided to convene it on August 29. The assent from the governor has not come yet. But we are confident that it should happen on Tuesday. Once we get that, the session would be convened.

The last assembly session was held from February 21 to March 3. The ethnic violence between the dominant Meiteis and Kuki that was triggered two months later on May 3 has left over 150 people dead and thousands displaced.

According to the Constitutions Article 174, the gap between two assembly sessions should not exceed six months. The session as such should be held by September 2. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government in Manipur wants to avoid a constitutional crisis in the absence of a session.

As per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Assembly for Manipur, the governor has to inform legislators at least 15 days before a session begins.

Singh cited provisions that allow a session at short notice. Decisions regarding how long the session would be and what would be on the agenda would be decided by the business advisory committee of the assembly, Singh said.

The rules say when a session is called at short notice or emergently, summons may not be issued to each member separately but an announcement about the date and place of the session shall be published in the gazette and made in the press, and members may be informed by telegram.

Seven ruling BJP lawmakers were among the 10 Kukis members of the 60-member House who expressed inability to take part in the assembly session citing fears about their safety in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley.

Manipur Congress chief K Meghachandra on Monday called it unfortunate and unpardonable that the state government failed in holding the assembly session. He added the state is headed for a constitutional crisis. By not summoning the assembly, the government is depriving the rights of lawmakers as we cannot ask questions and we cannot have proposals for resolutions. Democracy is being murdered in Manipur.

Opposition parties, including Congress and Meitei organisations, have been demanding the convening of a special assembly session to address the ongoing violence.

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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
VARANASI Professor Bihari Lal Sharma officially took up the position as the 37th Vice-Chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University on Tuesday. After assuming office, he said, Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya stands as a magnificent abode of oriental studies, Sanskrit, and cultural heritage. Collaborating with educators, staff, officials, and the current resources, my primary objective is to elevate this esteemed institution into an international bastion of learning in Sanskrit, Indian philosophy, Vedas, and oriental studies. Professor Bihari Lal Sharma (HT Photo)

Professor Sharma assumed the role of Vice-Chancellor from Professor Anand Kumar Tyagi, the V-C of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, at the SSU Vice Chancellors office at 11 am. Prior to this, Professor Tyagi had been carrying out additional responsibilities as the SSU Vice Chancellor since June 7 of this year.

In his capacity as the newly-appointed V-C, Professor Sharma said, It fills me with immense pride to lead this exceptional institution, which has significantly contributed to the magnificence of Kashi, an epicentre of global Indian culture and knowledge. Over the course of 234 years, this institution has been dedicatedly involved in the preservation and advancement of the Devvani language... My aspiration is to further enhance the prestige of this institution and propel the university on a trajectory of growth, utilising the available resources.

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Regular teachers are all set to be appointed at Allahabad Degree College (ADC), a constituent college of Allahabad University (AU), after a gap of 18 long years. The Allahabad Degree College (ADC) in Prayagraj. (HT Photo)

A total of 132 vacant positions of assistant professors of 24 subjects are to be filled in the exercise for which the college administration has now released the interview schedule of physics department.

As per the schedule, interviews of eligible shortlisted candidates for the seven vacant posts of assistant professors of physics will be held in the department of physics of the college on September 23 and 24.

The last teachers recruitment at ADC took place in 2004, when 22 teachers were appointed through the Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Service Commission, Prayagraj (then known as Allahabad). However, no recruitment of regular teachers has taken place in the college after AU was granted the central status in 2005.

College officials concede that the college desperately needs teachers with 132 posts out of total 165 sanctioned teaching positions lying vacant at the college.

To bridge this gap, the process of teachers recruitment commenced in 2018. However, this effort got halted on the orders of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (known as the Ministry of Education from 2020), due to disputes surrounding the implementation of the reservation roster.

For September 23 and 24 interviews aimed at filling up the seven vacant posts of assistant professors in the physics department, a total of 60 candidates have been called.

The interviews will take place from 9.30am onwards with eight candidates of SC category and 20 of OBC category called for interview on September 23 and eight candidates of EWS category and 24 of unreserved category called on September 24.

Through this recruitment process, efforts are on to fill up 21 vacant posts in law faculty, 9 in ancient history, 16 in commerce, 7 in computer science, 4 in defence studies, 6 in economics, 5 in education, 7 in English, 6 in geography, 7 in Hindi, 4 each in mathematics and medieval history besides one post in music (sitar) and two each in music (tabla) and music (vocals) as well as two posts each of painting and philosophy. Also, 7 in physical education, 5 each in political science and psychology, 3 each in Sanskrit and statistics followed by two posts in Urdu department.

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The Bihar government and the Raj Bhawan are again on confrontation path, in a reprise of what had happened in 2010 during the tenure of former Governor (late) Devanand Konwar, when the showdown over the appointment of vice chancellors had snowballed after the then education secretary KK Pathak had stopped the salary of Magadh University (Bodh Gaya) and VKS University (Ara) VCs. The matter had gone up to the Supreme Court, which defined in 2013 the process for appointment of VCs in Bihar. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. (HT photo)

The same process continued since then until Monday, when the department of education issued separate advertisements for the appointment of vice chancellors, less than a week before the last date for submission of applications (August 24-26) to advertisements issued by the Raj Bhawan (Chancellor being the appointing authority) was to end. The last date for submission of applications to the departments secretary Baidyanath Yadav is now September 13. The selection of a panel of 3-5 names will be done by the search committee through a public notification.

The departments advertisement has come at a time when several candidates have already applied in response to the Raj Bhawan advertisement and the process of screening is set to start to fill the position of VCs in six universities, which will fall vacant next month.

As per the process laid down by the Supreme Court in 2013 following a long tussle between the state government and the Raj Bhawan over appointment of VCs, the panel comprising three to five names for each university, submitted by the search committee after interaction with prospective shortlisted candidates, goes for consultation between the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of state universities, and the chief minister for selection of vice chancellors. The search committees are formed by the Raj Bhawan.

Now, with the department also initiating the exercise, the search committee will be formed by the state government and later the panel of names will be sent to the Chancellor for selection of VCs in consultation with the chief minister to reduce Raj Bhawans role, said a senior official of the department.

According to sources in the Raj Bhawan, the Chancellor is the appointing authority and will go ahead with the appointment process already initiated and on since the Supreme Court defined the process.

Dept questions autonomy

Three days after Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar termed the Bihars education department order stopping the salary of the vice chancellor and Pro-vice chancellor of a state university and freezing its bank accounts as arbitrary, and attack on the autonomy of universities and directed it to be withdrawn, the department has questioned it.

The department is unable to withdraw its earlier orders and is obligated to enforce the provisions of the Act on the universities, says the letter from Baidyanath Yadav, secretary, department of education. Kindly indicate under which section of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976, the autonomy is defined and universities made autonomous. Further, when the state government provides financial support to the tune of thousands of crores to the universities, it cannot allow anarchy to prevail in the universities in the garb of so-called autonomy, it adds.

The letter from secretary clearly states that the state government supports the universities to the tune of 4,000 crore annually and, therefore, the department is well within its right to seek accountability from the universities as to how and where the money of the tax payers is spent.

In the instant case, BRA Bihar University (Muzaffarpur) defaulted in its fundamental obligation to conduct exams and as mandated under section 4 (2) of the Bihar state universities Act, 1976. Moreover, the university has defaulted in its primary obligation to inspect all university departments, colleges and hostels as mandated in section 4 (5) of the Act. You will agree that the state government is responsible and answerable not only to the taxpayers but the students and their guardians and, therefore, when any university fails in its primary purpose, the state government is under obligation to intervene, call for reports and call meetings of the universities, says the letter.

In Bihar, higher education has remained a vexed issue, with the government and the Chancellor often coming face to face over controlling power on universities.

Last year, controversy surrounding some of the VCs and raids by the state Vigilance sleuths on the then Magadh University VC Rajendra Prasad had led to power tussle, with the Raj Bhawan writing against it to the government and describing it as an infringement on the autonomy of state universities.

The situation had flared up so much at one point of time that the education minister had skipped a meeting at the Raj Bhawan to felicitate VCs. The government also tried to bring a bill to take control of universities, but it got stalled. Later, the CM was made the Chancellor of three new universities for medical, engineering and sports.

A former additional chief secretary, Sanjay Kumar, who is now secretary at the Centre (school education and literacy, ministry of education), had also referred to diarchy system in Bihar during his address at Patna University in 2021, with administrative control of varsities with the Chancellor although all the finances is taken care of the by the state government.

Delay inevitable

Several state universities in Bihar are once again set to slip under ad hoc arrangement by the third week of next month, as incumbent vice chancellors will complete their term and the process for their successors is unlikely to be completed by then due to repeat advertisements for their selection.

While the search for the Patna-based Aryabhatt Knowledge University (AKU) vice chancellor (VC) has been on for over three years, six more universities, including Patna University, will see the term of their VCs ending after September 19. BRA Bihar University is also functioning under the additional charge of VKSU University, Ara, Shailendra Kumar Chaturvedi, since March this year.

In Bihar, a VC is appointed for a term of three years. The six VCs completing their term, along with seven Pro-VCs, were appointed on September 19, 2020, by the Raj Bhawan just ahead of the Election Commission notification for Bihar Assembly elections to end the long spell ad hocism. The advertisements for their appointments were issued in March 2019 itself and it had taken six months to complete the exercise.

Other universities which will have vacancies at the top and for which advertisements have been issued include BN Mandal University (Madhepura), LN Mithila University (Darbhanga), BRA Bihar University (Muzaffarpur), Jai Prakash University (Chapra).

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad on Tuesday said there was no deal as such with the Janata Dal (United) over elevating Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as the CM but people do want to see his son in the top executive post of the state one day. Lalu Prasad with wife Rabri Devi and son Tej Pratap Yadav at his native village in Gopalganj district. (PTI)

Right now, our focus is to oust the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government from the Centre. There has been no talk or any deal stuck with JD(U) for elevating Tejaswhi as CM, he told reporters in Gopalganj, where he is on a visit to his native village of Phulwaria after a long time.

Prasad said the Opposition bloc I.N D. I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) would have conveners in charge of three to four states for co-ordination work, including seat adjustment among parties. He said details, including seat sharing, would be finalised at the Mumbai meeting of the bloc on August 31 and September 1.

We want INDIA bloc comprising of 18-19 parties to remain intact, he said.

There could be a convener of the bloc. We will all decide it at the Mumbai meeting collectively, Prasad said.

The RJD chief evaded a question on whether there were chances of CM Nitish Kumar being elected as convener of the new bloc. We will take decisions collectively, he said.

Our objective is to put formidable candidates against BJP and NDA candidates, he said.

Prasad also shared his experience of recovering after a kidney transplant in December 2022, saying his second daughter Rohini Archarya had given him a new life by donating one of her kidneys. I have been asked to maintain precaution in food habits, but sometimes there is violation, he said.

Umbrella row

Meanwhile, Bihar BJP leaders slammed the state government over a police officer holding an umbrella to shelter Lalu Prasad from rains.

The state government should suspend the SDPO rank officer for holding an umbrella over RJD chiefs head during his visit to his native village in Gopalganj. The RJD chief is not holding any constitutional post and is on bail after conviction in fodder scam cases. But it is surprising the local administration is on toes during Prasads personal visit to his home district, former deputy CM Sushil Modi said in a press statement.

RJD state spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said the policeman held the umbrella since it was raining heavily in the morning during the Prasads to his village. Out of courtesy and humanity, one policeman held an umbrella over RJD chiefs head. It was a humane gesture . Besides, RJD chief is also a former chief minister and a national leader. BJP has no real issues. It is frustrated because the RJD chief is one of the main challengers of the party, Yadav said.

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The fifth accused involved in the alleged murder of a Hindi daily Dainik Jagran journalist was arrested on Monday night from a village in Bihar located on Indo-Nepal border in Jogbani, police said. Journalist Vimal Kumar Yadav was shot dead by unidentified people at his residence in Araria , Bihar. (HT Photo)

40-year-old journalist Vimal Kumar Yadav was shot dead at his residence at Premnagar locality at around 5:30am in Bihars Araria district on August 18.

Eight people were booked in connection with the incident, which the police have claimed to be a result of an old enmity.

Confirming the arrest, superintendent of police (SP) Ashok Kumar Singh told HT that the accused was picked from Chanakya Chowk on Indo-Nepal border in Jogbani.

Also Read: 4 held for Bihar journalists murder, 2 absconding: Cops

The arrested accused has criminal antecedents, and several cases of serious nature are pending against him, Singh added.

SP said, So five accused in the case have been arrested and police teams have been carrying out raids to nab the sixth one, hoping that the last accused is most likely to be arrested within a day or two.

Out of total eight named accused, five have been arrested so far while two are in jail in connection with other criminal cases in Araria and Supaul districts.

Police have taken them on remand for interrogation.

Bipin Yadav, Bhawesh Yadav, Ashish Yadav and Umesh Yadav were arrested late Friday evening the day when the journalist was killed.

The other two accused Rupesh Yadav and Kranti Yadav are in Supual and Araria jail respectively.

We have succeeded in arresting Arjun Sharma, now the police are carrying out raids to arrest the last accused Madhav Yadav, police said.

Last Friday, Araria police registered a first information report (FIR) against eight people on the basis of a complaint lodged by the slain journalists father under sections 302 (murder), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant section of the Arms Act.

Journalist Yadav was the only eyewitness in the murder case of his brother Shashi Bhushan Kumar alias Gabbu Yadav, a sarpanch of Belsara panchayat, who was killed in 2019.

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UP Polytechnic seat allotment Result Live Updates: Joint Entrance Examination Council, Uttar Pradesh has declared UP Polytechnic Seat Allotment Result 2023 on August 22, 2023. The UPJEE Round 1 seat allotment results will be released on the official site of UPJEE at jeecup.admissions.nic.in. UP Polytechnic Seat Allotment Result 2023 LIVE: Round 1 results released

The direct link to check results is available here.

Direct link to check UP Polytechnic Seat Allotment Result 2023

As per the schedule, the online freeze or float option selection for all candidates and online fee deposit for seat acceptance/ seat acceptance cum security fee will be done from August 23 to August 26, 2023.

The round 1 document verification at the district help centres and balance fee deposit will be done from August 23 to August 26, 2023. Follow the blog for latest updates on results, direct link and other details.

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Fans of the hit show Billions are eagerly awaiting the release of the third episode of season 7 on August 25. The show follows the lives of two powerful men, Chuck Rhoades and Bobby Axelrod, as they battle for control of the financial world. Chuck, Wendy, and Prince are in a tense standoff in Billions season 7 episode 3. The stakes are high as they all fight for control of the financial world. Pic Source: X/@AndyVermaut

In the upcoming episode, Chuck is getting ready to fight back against Prince. Wendy Rhoades, Taylor Mason, and Wags are all hoping to convince Axe to join them in their battle against Prince. Meanwhile, Prince is taking big risks in order to win.

In a new episode, Wendy is shown to be worried about a problem within Prince's team. This suggests that the upcoming episode will be full of drama and surprises.

Billions season 7 episode 3 release date and where to watch

Billions season 7 episode 3 premieres on August 25 on Paramount+. You can also watch it on Showtime starting August 27. It will air at various times in different zones:

12.01 am Pacific Time

03.01 am Eastern Standard Time

09.01 am Central European Summer Time

08.01 am British Summer Time

What happened in episode 2 of Billions season 7?

Episode 2 of Billions season 7 showed Axe's allies trying to persuade him to join them in their fight against Mike Prince for the presidency. Axe refused to join them, but Prince is also facing challenges as he searches for his son and tries to build support for his campaign. Chuck is also asserting himself and getting his job back as a US attorney.

The cast and expected plot of Upcoming Episode

In Billions season 7 episode 3, you'll see familiar actors like Paul Giamatti and Damien Lewis as Chuck and Axelrod. Others include Corey Stoll, Maggie Siff, David Costabile, and more. The episode, titled "Winston Dick Energy," continues from a cliffhanger in episode 2.

The synopsis of this episode read:

On one side, Chuck gets down to gathering his troops at his old places. On the other side, Wendys confidence is shaken due to a betrayal within Prince Cap. Meanwhile, Prince tries to take advantage of a past employees work for his own gain.

Chuck, played by Paul Giamatti, will show his leadership skills. Wendy might feel hurt by a betrayal. Prince faces a choice between his values and goals. He uses others for power in the promo.

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Hollywood veteran Jennifer Aniston has found herself in the crosshairs of social media after voicing her thoughts on cancel culture. In an interview with WSJ Magazine, the former "Friends" star expressed her weariness towards the phenomenon, stating, "I'm so over cancel culture." Jennifer Aniston faces backlash for criticizing cancel culture despite her own alleged involvement in attempting to cancel Jamie Foxx.

Aniston, 54, added a touch of humor, acknowledging, "I probably just got canceled by saying that. I just don't understand what it means." She further questioned whether redemption was now out of the equation. "Is there no redemption? I don't know. I don't put everybody in the Harvey Weinstein basket."

Yet, it appears the actresss recent statement has sparked social media backlash, with netizens calling her out on a perceived contradiction. Aniston was herself accused of participating in cancel culture a few days prior when she condemned Jamie Foxx over a controversial Instagram post.

Social media users wasted no time pointing out the discrepancy in Anistons stance. One user wrote, "She understood what it meant when it came to Jamie Foxx though?" Another added in, "Wasn't she just trying to cancel Jamie Foxx because she lacks reading comprehension?" The backlash prompted a reevaluation of Aniston's take on cancel culture, with one user stating, She just threw Jamie Foxx under the bus like a month ago Hollywood is insane.

The drama that sparked this wave of conversations began when Jamie Foxx shared an Instagram post containing a line that was perceived by some as antisemitic. The post in question read, "They killed this dude named Jesuswhat do you think they'll do to you???! #fakefriends #fakelove." This caused an uproar in which Foxx was accused of anti-semitism.

Foxx removed the post and issued a public apology to the Jewish community. In his apology, Foxx wrote, I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words has caused offense and Im sorry.

To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and thats what I meant with they not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended, he added. 

Jennifer Aniston is currently gearing up for the third season of Apples "The Morning Show," which delves into the repercussions of a broadcast news program following allegations of sexual misconduct. The series aims to explore various aspects of the #MeToo movement that shook Hollywood.
Actor Sarah Hyland celebrated her first wedding anniversary with her husband Wells Adams on Sunday. The couple celebrated the special occasion by posting romantic tributes to each other on their respective Instagram accounts on Sunday. (Also Read | Modern Family stars Sofia Vergara, Ariel Winter, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nolan Gould reunite at Sarah Hyland's wedding) Both Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams shared photos on Instagram.

One year married to you flew by in a blink of an eye. Youre my husband. My best friend. My true north. I love you more than words can say and every day is the best day when Im with you. Marriage is the most fun Ive ever had because I get to be married to you, she captioned a photo from their wedding day.

Wells Adams wrote in his own post on Instagram, Happy first anniversary to my perfect wife. I love you more. Plus one. Anything you say. The couple married on August 20, 2022, at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, California, more than three years after they got engaged.

Several of Sarah's Modern Family co-stars, including Sofa Vergara, Julie Bowen, Nolan Gould, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, officiated the wedding. Ciara Robinson, an influencer and actor, served as maid of honour, and her bridesmaids included Vanessa Hudgens and musician GG Magree.

The actor looked stunning in two wedding dresses for the ceremony and reception, while celebrity makeup artist Denika Bedrossian collaborated with Charlotte Tilbury to create her timeless bridal look.

After nearly two years of dating, Wells (39) proposed to Sarah in July 2019. They were supposed to get married in August 2020, but the ceremony was pushed back twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "We were supposed to get married last year, obviously, that didn't happen," he told People in 2021.
Vijay Deverakonda is currently busy with the promotions of romantic drama Kushi. Directed by Siva Nirvana, the film stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu as the female lead. It will release on September 1. Recently, a journalist asked Vijay about Chiranjeevi in a negative way during an event for Kushi and the actor gave him a strong reply. (Also read: Jailer box office collection: Rajinikanth film becomes second fastest Tamil movie to gross 550 crore worldwide) Vijay Deverakonda has spoken about his seniors.

Vijay Devarakonda said that superstars Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi are beyond hits and flops. "Rajinikanth sir gave 5-6 back to back flops. But he came back again with a blockbuster like Jailer. Then we should shut up and watch,' said Vijay.

Talking about Chiranjeevi, he said, Chiranjeevi may have 6-7 flops back to back. But if the right director gets his energy, he will come back with a sensation like he did this Sankranti. Chiru sir changed the industry. When he came, the action, dance and performance there changed completely. He inspired many people to enter the industry.

Vijay Deverakonda said that actors should not be judged on the basis of hits and flops. He said that they should be respected for inspiring many people to enter the industry so that everyone can enjoy their films. He said that he feels it is disrespectful to make comments on senior actors.

Vijay Deverakonda's fans are eagerly waiting for Kushi. The trailer took the audiences into the heartwarming world of Aaradhya and Viplav who create a relatable but adorable world of romance and take us along in their journey of love. And like life itself, the journey has its ups and downs, struggles as well as its bittersweet moments.

The trailer was launched at an event held in Hyderabad in the presence of the film cast, crew, and media from across the country.The event was not attended by Samantha as she is on a brief break from acting to take care of her health as she is dealing with Myositis, an auto-immune condition.

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A 16-year-old Dalit girl was gangraped allegedly by five men at her house on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday, police said on Tuesday, adding that her brother and three children were held hostage at knife-point by the accused during the incident. Police said while one person was sexually assaulting the victim, others held her brother at the knifepoint to prevent him from raising an alarm (Representative photo)

According to Rachakonda police commissioner DS Chauhan, seven people were involved in the crime of which six have been arrested, while one remains absconding. The accused were identified as Abed Bin Khaled (35), Mankala Mahesh (20), M Narsing (23), Ashraf (20), Md Faizal (21) and Mohd Imran (20). Efforts are on to arrest the seventh accused  Md Tahseen, the commissioner said.

The Meerpet police booked a case against the accused under Sections 452 (trespass into the house to commit crime), 324 (voluntary hurt with dangerous weapons), 376-DA (gangrape of a woman under 16 years of age) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and also sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Chauhan said the girl and her brother , after losing their parents, moved to their cousins place at Nandanvanam Colony, under Meerpet police station limits, a week ago.

According to the complaint filed by the girls brother, the prime accused Abed had misbehaved with the girl on Saturday as well.

At around 11am on Monday, Abid and his friends Ashraf, Tahseen, Mahesh and Narsing barged into the victims house. They threatened her at the knife point, dragged her into a bedroom by holding her hair and raped her by taking turns, the police commissioner said.

While one person was sexually assaulting the victim, others held her brother at the knifepoint to prevent him from raising an alarm.

After committing the offence, they fled to Race Course Road, Malakpet and spent some time with their friends  Faizal and Imran. With their help, they fled to Humnabad town in Karnatakas Bidar district, but returned to Hyderabad by Tuesday afternoon.

We formed 12 teams of police personnel to track the movements of the accused. At around 4 pm on Tuesday, we arrested Abid, the prime accused,at Santoshnagar area, while he was going to Nandanavanam colony. Based on the inputs given by him, the police teams picked up others from different localities of the city, Chauhan said.

He said the accused had confessed to the crime. We seized a knife from the accused. We shall produce them before the court for judicial custody, he added.

Earlier, L B Nagar deputy commissioner of police B Sai Sree said the victim had been sent to Sakhi centre for medical examination and recording her version.

The incident triggered an uproar in the locality on Tuesday. A large number of locals, including the Congress workers led by Meerpet municipal corporation mayor Parijatha Reddy staged a dharna on the main road, demanding stringent punishment to the persons who allegedly resorted to the gangrape.

The police arrested Reddy and other party leaders and shifted them to Amberpet police station. Police forces have been deployed in the area to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning departed for Johannesburg to participate in the 15th BRICS Summit. In his departure statement ahead of visiting South Africa, Modi said he is looking forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the world leaders in Johannesburg. Modi will attend the BRICS Summit at the invitation of South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, the Prime Minister's Office said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi before departing for Johannesburg, South Africa, to participate at the 15 BRICS Summit. (ANI)

Watch: PM Modi's Big Call Before BRICS; Russia Dubs Bloc 'Pillar Of New World Order' | Details

Modi said also he has the honour to be the first Indian prime minister to visit Greece after 40 years.

Modi said the summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development. He added BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.

"We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.

"I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from 22-24 August 2023 at the invitation Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship, Modi said.

I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg, Modi added.

Modi added that from South Africa, he will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said.

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism"

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Monday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra in a briefing ahead of Modi's visit to South Africa and Greece, said, "As I mentioned in my remarks, the host country South Africa has invited a large number of guest countries, besides of course the BRICS members who would be present there."

Kwatra stated that a business delegation from India is also travelling to the country to attend the Business Tracks meetings.

Providing details about the PM's trip, Kwatra said, "For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum."

"The Prime Minister's schedule in terms of bilateral meetings with those leaders who would be present in South Africa is still being developed," Kwatra said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme Brics  Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue.

This is being organised after the summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa.

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The Brics Summit in Johannesburg will be an opportunity to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as he left for the meeting of leaders of the five-nation bloc. Prime minister Narendra Modi waves as he leaves for South Africa and Greece on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Modi also said in a departure statement that his subsequent visit to Greece  the first by an Indian premier in 40 years  is set to open a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship.

The issue of expanding the Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping is expected to top the agenda of the summit being held in Johannesburg from August 22-24. There has also been intense speculation about a bilateral meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the summit.

This is the first in-person Brics Summit after three years of virtual meetings, and Modi said the bloc has pursued a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. This summit will provide a useful opportunity for Brics to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.

Brics, he added, has become a platform to discuss issues that concern the Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system.

Modi, who is visiting South Africa at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa, will also participate in the Brics-Africa Outreach and Brics-Plus Dialogue that are part of the summit activities.

I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event. I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg, the PM said without giving details of the planned bilateral meetings.

Speculation has grown about a possible meeting between Modi and Xi on the margins of the Brics Summit following a string of diplomatic and military engagements between the two countries that have been locked in a military standoff in Ladakh sector for more than three years.

Also Read:Still evolving: Indias cryptic response on buzz around PM Modi-Prez Xi meeting

Indian and Chinese corps commanders held their 19th round of talks on the standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Chushul-Moldo border point during August 13-14, and this was followed by several rounds of talks among local commanders that began on August 18.

From South Africa, Modi will travel to the Greek capital of Athens on August 25 at the invitation of his counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, he said.

I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, he added.

Contacts between the Indian and Greek civilisations date back over two millennia, and ties between the two sides in modern times have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have brought the two countries closer, Modi said.

Following a ceremonial welcome in Athens, Modi will visit the tomb of the unknown soldier and hold restricted and delegation-level talks with Mitsotakis. Both leaders will also address a business meeting and Modi will interact with the Indian diaspora.

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Champion sailor Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd) will serve as a consultant to the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for the safe recovery of astronauts from sea after they return from Indias first crewed spaceflight, Gaganyaan, next year, people aware of the development said on Tuesday. HT Image

Isros Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bringing them back safely to earth, by landing in seas close to India. The astronauts are hand-picked fighter pilots from the Indian Air Force who have undergone training in Russia.

I will be advising Isro on risk mitigation and ensuring the wellbeing of the astronauts after the modules splashdown. I will formulate the strategy by drawing on my own experiences of surviving extreme conditions at sea, Tomy said.

The former navy officer recently finished second in the enormously challenging solo and non-stop circumnavigation race, 2022 Golden Globe Race (GGR), that pushed the limits of his endurance. He completed the gruelling 30,000-mile race, the longest sporting event in the world, on April 29 after sailing for 236 days in his boat named Bayanat.

Two locations have been identified for the landing of the crew module in the sea with the deployment of a series of parachutes, the officials said, asking not to be named. ISROs Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) successfully conducted Drogue Parachute Deployment Tests, an essential part of the Gaganyaan project, at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility in Chandigarh from August 8 to 10.

A crucial component of this mission is the deployment of drogue parachutes, which play a pivotal role in stabilising the crew module and reducing its velocity to a safe level during re-entry. Drogue parachutes, packed within pyro-based devices known as mortars, are ingeniously designed to eject the parachutes into the air upon command, Isro said after the tests in Chandigarh. These parachutes ensure a smooth and controlled descent.

However, in a contingency, the astronauts will have to survive in the module for as long as warships take to reach and retrieve them, said Tomy, who suffered a spinal injury on September 21, 2018, during the 2018 GGR, after rough seas in the southern Indian Ocean, one of the remotest spots on Earth, crippled his yacht, SV Thuriya.

Tomy was rescued 70 hours later. Before that accident, he was in third place among 11 international participants and had sailed more than 10,500 miles.

What if the module is damaged during the splashdown? There are so many aspects to it. How to deal with the weather conditions? How to keep your sanity till help arrives? And what to do and what not to do during that period? Then theres something as basic as where should the medical kit be kept for easy access in case the crew is indisposed or injured, said Tomy, who has already met the astronauts.

The intricate parachute sequence for the Gaganyaan crew modules deceleration system consists of 10 parachutes, the officials said. The sequence commences with the deployment of two apex cover separation parachutes, followed by the stabilisation achieved through the deployment of two drogue parachutes. On release of the drogue parachutes, the mission transitions into the extraction phase, with three pilot chutes individually extracting three main parachutes, a pivotal step in reducing the crew modules speed to safe levels for a secure landing, according to Isro.

The first batch of the crew recovery team of the Gaganyaan mission completed the first phase of training at Indian Navys Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) at Kochi in July. The team consisted of naval divers and marine commandos who underwent recovery training in varied sea conditions.

Isro successfully completed the service module propulsion system test for Gaganyaan at the Isro Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu in July.

ISRO successfully tested the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS) on July 19, 2023 at IPRC, Mahendragiri. This test involved five liquid apogee motor (LAM) engines with a thrust of 440 N and sixteen reaction control system (RCS) thrusters with a thrust of 100 N, Isro said in a statement after the key test.

When Gaganyaan lifts off next year kicking off a new era of space exploration, the astronauts onboard are likely to carry a selection of special foods developed by a military laboratory after experimenting with ingredients for almost two years, as previously reported by Hindustan Times.

The menu will offer Indian astronauts a variety of options to suit their palate during the mission: Chicken biryani, chicken korma, shahi paneer, dal-chawal, aloo paratha, preserved chappatis, dal makhni, khichdi and beans in sauce.

Even the humble mango pickle figures on the menu prepared by Mysuru-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) that comes under the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

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Excitement rose in India on Tuesday on the eve of a much-anticipated moon landing, with prayers held for its success, schools marshalling students to watch a live telecast of the event and space enthusiasts organising parties to celebrate. Students of Abhyuday Vidyalaya, wave India's national flag and hold the placard, as they gather in support of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft , at Parshiwadi, Ghatkopar in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times)

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the lunar south pole at 1234 GMT on Wednesday, days after the failure of a Russian vehicle trying to achieve the same feat.

Success for Chandrayaan-3 will make it the first to land on the lunar south pole, a region whose shadowed craters are thought to contain water ice that could support a future moon settlement.

India's second attempt to land on the moon after a failure in 2019 is being seen as a display of the tenacity of its scientific institutions.

Authorities and educators also hope it will encourage scientific inquiry among millions of students in the world's most populous country.

Students have sent scores of messages wishing ISRO luck for a successful landing, the agency said.

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the provincial government ordered all schools to hold special screenings as "landing of India's Chandrayaan-3 is a memorable opportunity, which will not only encourage curiosity, but will also instil passion in our youth towards inquiry".

In Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the science and technology council has invited over 2,000 school students "to witness the historic moment" on a large screen, its head Narottam Sahoo said.

The council has also organised talks by ISRO scientists. The event will be shown live across Gujarat's 33 district community science centres.

The state culture ministry in the eastern city of Kolkata is throwing a "Science Party" to celebrate the mission, asking people to "embark on exhilarating educational adventure" with a live telecast.

Hindu religious prayer ceremonies were organised on Tuesday in Mumbai and Varanasi cities for the success of the mission.

Srikant Chunduri, an entrepreneur and founder of a group of space enthusiasts called "Agnirva", said he has arranged a "watch party" for the landing at a popular Bengaluru restaurant.

"If we want to build a community for space enthusiasts, (there is) nothing more momentous than this landing to get people together," he told Reuters.

ISRO has been sharing regular updates of the mission through posts on X, formerly Twitter.

"The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing," it said on Tuesday.

The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!

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Chandrayaan-3 Updates: Ahead of the historic landing scheduled for tomorrow at 6.04 pm, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Monday that they will organise a live telecast of the landing process, which will begin at 5.20 pm on the same day. The link for the livestreaming has also been shared and is available on ISRO's official website. New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announces the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon on August 23 2023, on Sunday. (ANI Photo)(ISRO twitter)

Meanwhile, the Lander Module of Chandrayaan-3  with the lander Vikram and rover Pragyan  has been searching for the 'perfect spot' for landing after completing all the necessary orbiting and deboosting maneuvers around the Moon.

A two-way communication was established between Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module and Chandrayaan-2's Orbiter (the second edition of India's Moon mission launched in 2019) on Monday, according to ISRO. Welcome, buddy! Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX has now more routes to reach the LM, ISRO wrote on X.

Chandrayaan-2's lander was unable to successfully touch down on the lunar surface and lost communication in September 2019 after reaching an altitude as close as 2.1 km.

Meanwhile, a senior ISRO scientist was quoted by a news agency ANI on Monday, saying, If any factors appear to be unfavourable, then we will postpone the module's landing on the Moon to August 27.

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A complaint has been filed at a police station in Karnataka's Bagalkot district against actor Prakash Raj for his social media post allegedly mocking the Chandrayaan-3 mission, news agency ANI reported. Prakash Raj has been facing backlash for his social media post on Chandrayaan-3.

In his X post (formally Twitter), the actor allegedly mocked India's ambitious third lunar mission-- Chandrayaan-3, the police said on Tuesday.

"Hindu organisations leaders filed a complaint against the actor in Banahatti police station of Bagalkote district and have demanded action," they added.

On Sunday, Raj shared a caricature of a man in a shirt and lungi pouring tea and captioned, First view just arrived from Chandrayaan .. #VikramLander #justasking.

Raj has been facing heavy backlash since then with people saying that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is linked to the country's pride.

Faced with social media outrage Raj later clarified on X that his comments were only intended as a joke. "Hate sees only Hate...I was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times celebrating our kerala Chaiwala-which Chaiwala did the Trolls see? if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you..GROW UP #justasking" he posted.

Chandrayaan-3's Moon mission

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, around 18:04 hours.

Live action will be available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 17:27 IST on Aug 23, 2023.

India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole.

The primary objectives of Chandrayaan-3 mission are threefold -- to demonstrate safe and soft landing on lunar surface; to demonstrate rover roving on the moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission's progress.

Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14, 2023, via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota at 2:35pm.

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Days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the Moon, Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-3 mission is set for a soft landing on the south pole on Wednesday evening. And if it does successfully, Indias Chandrayaan-3 will be the first to land on Moons south polar region. Chandrayaan-3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14. (Twitter/Isro)

Luna-25 craft, too, had been scheduled to land on the south pole this week but crashed on Sunday.

So, why are India and other countries see it as a key to a Moon colony?

Chandrayaan-3 is currently aiming to find the perfect spot for a soft landing of its Vikram lander on the Moon's challenging terrain.

The ISRO always tries to do different things on each mission. So, this is one aspect. The second aspect is the possibility of finding a fair amount of water. On the southern side of the Moon because of big craters there are quite deep and permanently shadowed areas will be there, and then there is a bombardment of comets and asteroids continuously happening on the land surface  these are kinds of celestial bodies and when they crash on the Moon surface, ice and missing particles are deposited. This has been happening last mission years, ISRO's former group director Suresh Naik told HT.

It is expected that there will be a lot of water in ice deposited there. Another factor is that power generation is possible because of its unique topography. On one hand, there is a large shadowed area and other the other hand, there are a lot of peaks. And these peaks are permanently under the sunlight. So, it is an advantageous position to establish a human colony in the near future  China is already thinking of establishing a human colony there by 2030. There are also so many precious minerals available on the Moon. One of the precious minerals is helium-3 which could help us generate pollution-free electricity, he said.

Naik also said in the next two years, nine Moon missions are planned by different nations.

Both the United States and China have planned missions to the south pole.

A previous Indian mission failed in 2019 to safely land near the area targeted by Chandrayaan-3.

Once Chandrayaan-3 deploys a rover near the lunar south pole, ISRO scientists said they will run a series of experiments for 14 days to learn more about the composition of lunar soil and rocks. The south pole of the Moon is expected to have ice deposits and minerals.

India is looking to become the first country to conduct studies of the south pole. No mission has yet ventured to this part of the Moon.

How did scientists find water on the Moon?

As early as the 1960s, before the first Apollo landing, scientists had speculated that water could exist on the Moon. Samples the Apollo crews returned for analysis in the late 1960s and early 1970s appeared to be dry.

In 2008, Brown University researchers revisited those lunar samples with new technology and found hydrogen inside tiny beads of volcanic glass. In 2009, a NASA instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-1 probe detected water on the moon's surface.

In the same year, another NASA probe that hit the south pole found water ice below the moon's surface. An earlier NASA mission, the 1998 Lunar Prospector, had found evidence that the highest concentration of water ice was in the south pole's shadowed craters.

Why is water on Moon important?

Scientists are interested in pockets of ancient water ice because they could provide a record of lunar volcanoes, material that comets and asteroids delivered to Earth, and the origin of oceans.

If water ice exists in sufficient quantities, it could be a source of drinking water for Moon exploration and could help cool equipment.

It could also be broken down to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe, supporting missions to Mars or lunar mining.

The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty prohibits any nation from claiming ownership of the moon. There is no provision that would stop commercial operations.

A US-led effort to establish a set of principles for moon exploration and the use of its resources, the Artemis Accords, has 27 signatories. China and Russia have not signed.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Lucknow Eidgah Imam scholar Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali on Tuesday said that for the successful landing of India's moon mission Chandrayaan-3, which is scheduled for its soft-landing on the lunar surface on August 23, children offered namaz at the Islamic Center mosque and prayed for it. Lucknow Eidgah Imam scholar told news agency PTI that a special 'dua' at Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal Eidgah, Lucknow in which madarsa students participated in a large number. (Screengrab)

Speaking to news agency ANI, Mahali said, Children offered namaz at Islamic Center madrasa and prayed for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3.

He told news agency PTI that a special 'dua' at Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal Eidgah, Lucknow in which madarsa students participated in a large number.

He added that moon had a significance in Muslim and Hindu cultures. Since Moon is extremely significant in Muslim and Hindu culture too, we have a special attachment to this mission.

Chandrayaan-3 is likely to make a historic landing on Wednesday at 6.04 pm, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Monday and said that they will organise a live telecast of the landing process, which will begin at 5.20 pm.

Mahali further said that the students study science and hence had a lot of curiosity regarding the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Congratulating ISRO on the mission, Mahali said, I extend my heartiest congratulations to all the scientists and officials of ISRO. If the landing is successful tomorrow on the unexplored lunar south pole, India will be the first country to successfully do this.

ISRO on Tuesday said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Chandrayaan-3 moon mission was on schedule and the systems were undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing. The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement! ISRO said.

Mahali added, We hope that ISRO as well as the country succeeds with this mission.

Several prayers and parties have been planned for Chandrayaan-3's successful landing.

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered all state-run schools to hold screenings of the soft-landing of the spacecraft's lander. Whereas, the science and technology council of the Gujarat government has invited over 2,000 school students to witness the historic landing.

Hindu prayer ceremonies were also held in Mumbai and Varanasi for the success of the mission.

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Hyderabad Discontent grows in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi a day after party president and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced the list of 115 candidates for the upcoming elections to the 119-member state assembly. (ANI)

A day after Bharat Rashtra Samithi president and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced the list of 115 candidates for the upcoming elections to the 119-member state assembly, disgruntled BRS legislator Ajmeera Rekha Naik switched loyalties to the Congress on Tuesday.

Taking a dig at the BRS leadership for denying her the ticket, the two-time MLA from Khanapur in Kumaram Bheem-Asifabad district formally submitted her application in Gandhi Bhavan seeking the Congress ticket from her constituency.

Rekha Naik told reporters that she would be joining the Congress in a day or two. She alleged that she had become a victim of conspiracy hatched by a few leaders. I am going to fight the elections again from Khanapur and I shall teach a lesson to the BRS. I have the support of the people, as I have been serving them for the last 10 years, she said.

Hours after she was denied the BRS ticket, her husband Shyam Naik, a senior state government official who took voluntary retirement from service and joined politics recently, joined the Congress in the presence of Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy.

He requested the party ticket from Asifabad constituency, while his wife would like to contest from Khanapur. Revanth Reddy assured that either of them would be given the ticket.

Meanwhile, BRS legislator from Malkajgiri Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao, who raised a banner of revolt against the BRS leadership on Monday for denying ticket to his son M Rohit from Medak constituency, said on Tuesday that he would stand by his words.

My son will definitely contest the elections from Medak, even if the BRS has not given him the ticket. If they (BRS leaders) create any troubles for me, I shall give them a fitting reply, Rao said, reacting to the protests being staged by the BRS leaders in Malkajgiri against him.

Rao, who was one of the sitting MLAs given party tickets again, initially said he would stand by the party decision on giving the tickets, but he is likely to be dropped from the list. The chief minister told the reporters on Monday that it was for the MLA to decide whether he would contest the elections on the BRS ticket or not. If he wants to defy the party line, disciplinary action would be taken against him, KCR said.

A senior BRS functionary privy to the development said Hanumantha Rao might be replaced by M Rajasekhar Reddy, son-in-law of labour minister Ch Malla Reddy. An announcement will be made in a day or two, he said.

Another BRS legislator and former deputy chief minister T Rajaiah, who was also denied the ticket from Station Ghanpur constituency, broke down before the statue of B R Ambedkar and said he had not expected the development.

I never made any comment against the chief minister and served the party sincerely. However, I am not going to take any hasty decision but continue to work for the party, he said.

Similarly, another BRS lawmaker Bapu Rao Rathod from Boath assembly constituency also expressed unhappiness for being the party ticket. But I wont quit the party. I hope KCR will do justice to me in some other form, he said.

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Vice President and chairman of the upper house of Parliament Jagdeep Dhankhar stoked a fresh debate on freebies on Tuesday when he said political intoxication of the people by distribution of largesse requires serious deliberation. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. (PTI)

Chairing the concluding function of the 9th Commonwealth India Region Conference on Tuesday, Dhankhar also maintained that temples of democracy have become hotbeds of disturbance and disruptions these days, a reference to regular happenings in Parliament.

Dhankhars questioning of the freebies comes amidst a heated ongoing debate between the government and the Opposition parties over the subject, one started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year when he spoke of the revri (offerings) culture that was taking over politics.

The Prime Ministers Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused rivals of attracting votes through freebies that evfentually harm the statee economy. Other parties have accused the BJP of doing exactly the same at the state and even at the Centre.

In the recent Karnataka election, the Congress announced cash sops for unemployed and farmers and sops including free bus rides for women. The party won the election and has since had to deal with a barrage of criticism from the BJP on the source of funds for these sops.

Dhankhar on Tuesday questioned the financial fallout of such freebies. Pointing to the poor financial health of some states, Dhankhar said, Political intoxication of the people by distribution of largesse requires serious deliberation. What we see all around look at the advertisements, look at the performance of state governments. Look at how the public exchequer is being channelised. Who has to check it? It doesnt require one to be a great economist to know that your finances must measurably go for capital expenditure.

Urging the lawmakers to think about the largesse, the Vice President said, This political intoxication of reaching out to the pocket of the people, by greasing their palms or their pockets, may be a short-term success story, but for the nation, a long-term damage, and we have in the world countries that have been bled because of such kind of situations.

To be sure, opposition parties claim that they have given up their rights to tax with the GST Act, that the devolution of central revenue to states is far lower than the mandated 41%, and that many of the Union governments welfare schemes, whose recipients the BJP targets as labharatis or beneficiaries during polls, are actually in state subjects or those in the concurrent list.

The Vice President also referred to the increasing culture of disruptions in Parliament, how recurrent disruptions result in squandering of valuable Parliamentary hours and reminded lawmakers that public representatives are expected to put people before politics, decency before division.

As a consequence of such worrisome scenario, parliament and legislatures are fast surging into irrelevance. This gruesome situation ill augurs for democratic values, he said.

The Rajya Sabha Chairmans speech assumes importance in the backdrop of the last monsoon session that saw regular disruptions over the Oppositions demand for the Prime Ministers statement on Manipur. During the session, two AAP lawmakers, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha were suspended. The two AAP leaders, along with Trinamools floor leader Derek OBrian and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also face charges beforethe privileges committee.

Our Constitution provides freedom of speech to everyone, but there is greater freedom of speech, given to the Legislatures and parliamentarians. If they say something in the parliament or legislature, ordinary citizens cannot take them to court. There can be no defamation, no civil case, no criminal case, great opportunity, a great privilege, the Rajya Sabha chairman said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Saubhadra Chatterji Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies. ...view detail
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at premises of former minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) legislator AC Moideen and those linked to him in connection with a money laundering probe into the alleged 100-crore fraud at the Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank in Kerala, sources said. CPI(M) legislator AC Moideen. (Facebook/EC Moideen)

Officials of the central agency from Kochi raided around half a dozen premises across the state starting 7am including the residence of Moideen in Wadakkanchery in Thrissur district. The ED officials were accompanied by paramilitary personnel.

Moideen, currently the MLA from Kunnamkulam constituency in Thrissur district, is a state committee member of the CPI(M) and handled the portfolios of local self-government, industries, sports, co-operation and tourism in the state Cabinet between 2016 and 2021. He could not be reached for a comment.

ED is probing allegations that loans were approved fraudulently by the CPI(M)-controlled cooperative bank and disbursed in the form of cash to non-member benamis without proper collaterals. Whether such bogus loans were approved with the knowledge of Moideen is being investigated.

The ED probe under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) came after the Crime Branch of the Kerala police registered at least 16 first information reports (FIRs) in different stations in Thrissur district in connection with the case.

In December last year, ED said that it attached assets to the tune of 30.7 crore of Bijoy AK, a commission agent of the Karuvannur bank. The assets included 20 immovable properties, two vehicles, 5.48 lakh in cash seized from his house and 35.86 lakh from his bank accounts and those of the firm. The agency said that he was disbursed a loan to the tune of 26.6 crore without any collateral due to systematic conspiracy hatched and perpetuated by the secretary and committee members of the bank.

The bank was also under scrutiny of Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Thiruvananthapuram. After FIR was registered in July 2021, the Registrar in their audit found diversion of more than 100 crore, the agency said last year.

In July 2021, after the fraud came to light, the CPI(M) took action against 13 members including expelling four, including the president of the bank. Others were suspended and demoted.
Security has been enhanced in and around Chandigarh while 4,000 paramilitary and police personnel have been put on standby even as 16 farmer unions announced shifting their demonstration for compensation for losses caused by floods this summer to Longowal in Punjabs Sangrur, where protesting cultivators clashed with police on Monday. The clash on Monday was sparked when police tried to stop protesting cultivators from blocking a highway and a toll plaza over the detention of some farm leaders ahead of a demonstration in Chandigarh. (ANI)

The clash was sparked when police tried to stop the cultivators from blocking a highway and a toll plaza over the detention of some farm leaders ahead of a demonstration in Chandigarh. Pritam Singh, a 70-year-old farmer, was killed when a tractor-trolley ran over him during the clash while five policemen were also injured.

Fifty-three farmers have been booked for the attempt to murder over the clash and escalated tensions ahead of the demonstration. Farmers continued protesting near the Longowal police station demanding action against the police for using force in chief minister Bhagwant Manns home district.

Sangrurs senior police superintendent Surendra Lamba said a few farmer leaders provoked protesters to break barricades before they were broken. We are yet to lodge an FIR [first information report] over the death. We are waiting for the family of the farmer and will act according to their complaint.

Police said they were scanning videos of the clash to identify others who were involved in the attacking police and that 18 of the 53 accused have been named in the matter.

Lamba said members of a faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) sought to block the Sangrur-Barnala national highway and Badbar toll plaza but police refused to let them do so. The farmers forced their way through barricades using tractor-trailers, he said.

Pritam Singhs leg was crushed under a tractor and he succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Patiala. A video purportedly showing the farmer coming under the rear wheel of the tractor surfaced on social media. Some farmers could be seen asking the vehicles driver to stop but he did not.

Police blamed the irresponsible behaviour of a few tractor and bus drivers during the protest for the farmers death. Lamba said some protesters attacked policemen with sticks.

Kuliwinder Soni Longowal, a leader of BKUs Ekta Azad faction, blamed the police for the clash. He added police were raiding the houses of farmers, and several farm leaders were detained ahead of the Chandigarh protest. To get our leaders released, we decided to stage a protest at the Badbar toll plaza. When we were marching towards the toll plaza, the police attacked us.

Farmer bodies have been demanding 50,000 crore to compensate for the damages floods caused this summer.

Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for the farmers death. Horrendous broad daylight murder of a beleaguered and peacefully protesting farmer Pritam Singh at Longowal has sent shock waves throughout the state, especially among the farmers, he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa condemned the police action calling the AAP government draconian. Several farmers union leaders have been arrested and raids are still going on to arrest some other farmer leaders, he wrote on X.

Representatives of nine farmer unions in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand announced a tractor rally in Chandigarh to press the Union government to compensate for the losses they suffered due to the floods. Officials expected around 10,000 farmers to join the protest.

Rapid Action Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Reserve Police Force, and Chandigarh police personnel were deployed at 27 exit and entry points to the Union Territory.

Chandigarhs senior police superintendent Kanwardeep Kaur they would not allow the farmers to protest in the city at any cost. Thus, we are going to deploy the maximum force possible to stop them. Moreover, we will seal the crucial entry and exits if needed to avoid any disturbance to law and order here as farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and other states have announced they will be here. The entries from Mohali and Panchkula will be properly manned.

A traffic officer said route diversions will be carried out immediately in case any entry or exit point is sealed. We have held coordination meetings with the police of the neighbouring states and requested them to stop processions of farmers from reaching Chandigarh so that they do not block more traffic routes here. If the farmers manage to reach here, we will barricade the roads immediately as a heavy force will remain deployed at the crucial spots, the police officer said.

On Sunday, Punjab governor and Chandigarh administrator Banwarilal Purohit met 11 representatives of farmer unions and assured them he will convey their demands to the Union government.

Inspector-general Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said elaborate security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order. Police in Mohali near Chandigarh have put up three-tier check posts.

Panchkula assistant police commissioner Surender Kumar Yadav said talks were on with farmer leaders. Farmers have informed us that maximum participation will be from Punjab. All arrangements are in place to ensure that law and order is not disturbed. We will place barricades at least at three border areas adjoining Chandigarh.

Farmers have threatened to stage sit in and block traffic wherever they are stopped. Since January 7, Sikh activists, under the banner of Qaumi Insaaf Morcha, have been protesting in Mohali, blocking traffic movement on the crucial Chandigarh-Mohali route.

Farmers from Ambala, Kurukshetra were likely to gather at the Shambhu toll on the Haryana-Punjab border. Police were on alert at the border and reinforcements were expected to be sent there. Farmers have been blocking toll plazas across Punjab.

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Premoday Khaka, the now-suspended Delhi government official accused of raping his friend's minor daughter for several months, was sent to one-day judicial custody by a Delhi court. His wife was also sent to judicial custody.



The two accused were arrested yesterday before sunset. The wife of the main accused has appeared in the court yesterday and was sent for judicial custody. Today the main accused, Premoday Khakha has also been sent to judicial custody after his appearance in the court... We are analysing the facts came up during investigation. Further investigation is underway, DCP North Sagar Singh Kalsi, told ANI.



Khaka and his wife were arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday. The official allegedly raped the minor multiple times between November 2020 and January 2021. He was booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on August 13. Delhi govt official arrested

The minor had told the police that after her father's death in 2020 due to Covid-19, the accused official, whom she addressed as Mama or maternal uncle, brought her to his resident in North Delhi's Burari. Her mother had thought the girl would live with the official's two children and overcome the tragedy of losing her father at an early age.

The girl alleged she was raped by Khaka multiple times between November 2020 and January 2021. The girl alleged she got pregnant and informed the accused official's wife about it, who allegedly slapped her and gave abortion pills while threatening not to disclose it to anyone.

In April 2021, the girl returned to her mother's house saying she did not want to stay with Khaka's family but did not reveal about the sexual assault and abortion. In July-August this year, the girl suffered anxiety attacks and was tehn taken to a city hospital on August 7. During counselling, she made sexual assault allegations against Khaka and six random people.



After the horrific case came into light, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the suspension of the official. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, Premoday Khakha, Assistant Director is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect, the official Delhi government order stated.

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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
A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced a former official of the Union Ministry of Steel to three years rigorous imprisonment in a case related to the alleged irregularities in allocation of coal block. The court also imposed a fine of  5 lakh on the convict. (Representative Image)

Special judge Arun Bharadwaj also imposed a fine of 5 lakh on former executive secretary of Joint Plant Commission of the steel ministry, G K Basak, along with the jail term.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), this is the 14th conviction in the coal allocation scam.

On August 18, the court convicted Basak under section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act) and had discharged him under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court convicted Basak observing that he gave a false report after inspecting the premises through his personal visit and based on spot verification. Thus, the court added that, the report was false, and it was in his knowledge that he is giving a false report.

It was the case of the CBI that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. had in 2007 submitted its application for allocation of Vijay Central Coal Block.

The company had claimed in the application that its capacity to produce sponge iron was 8 lakh tonnes per annum and was proposed to be increased to 2 million tonnes per annum but complaints were received by the Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Steel regarding misrepresentations being made.

After receiving complaints Basak was directed, by the Ministry of Steel, to personally visit the place to assess the production capacity through spot verification. Basak prepared and submitted a verification report

Later, complaints were again received by the Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Coal, after which an inter-ministerial committee was set up which conducted spot verification and found that M/s Prakash Limited had furnished false information and Basak had given a false verification report.

The court, while convicting Basak, on August 18, also discharged one other accused Soumen Chatterjee, who had accompanied Basak for spot verification, noting that the prosecution was not able to prove the charges against him.

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The missions of G20 member States and guest countries have been grappling with a massive hike in tariffs for suites and rooms at hotels across Delhi-NCR ahead of the leaders summit next month, and prices have become prohibitive for all other visitors to the city, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. To strengthen security during the G20 Summit, Delhi Police have categorised different areas linked to the meeting into seven zones. (REUTERS)

When the mission of one of the nine guest countries attempted to book the best suite at a hotel in Aerocity near the Indira Gandhi International Airport for the head of government, it was quoted a rate of 20 lakh a night, two people familiar with the matter said. And the mission of a P-5 country was quoted a tariff of close to 15 lakh a night for the main suite at a hotel located off Janpath, two other people said.

A G7 member state was allocated a hotel near the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri but shifted to another near Janpath after it was quoted a rate of 7 lakh a night for a top suite, another person said.

Another guest country was allocated a hotel at Aerocity that quoted a tariff of 20 lakh a night, and it opted to book rooms for its delegation at a hotel in Saket.

This hotel in Saket was not in the list of approved hotels for visiting dignitaries and traffic police officials said there is a possibility of traffic problems in the southern part of the city due to security restrictions.

Rates such as these have led to several of the G20 states and guest countries engaging in several rounds of negotiations with various hotels to lock down suites for their leaders ahead of the summit to be held on September 9-10.

A hotel in Aerocity was quoting 20 lakh a night for its best suite. By way of comparison, the top suites in hotels in Rome during the G20 summit of 2021 were going for a little more than 4 lakh a night, while the going rate for suites in Bali during last years G20 Summit was in the range of about 1.5 lakh, one of the people cited above said.

With world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and their delegations as well as large media teams set to descend on the Indian capital, virtually all the top five-star hotels in Delhi are completely booked between September 6 and 12. There has also been a sharp hike in tariffs for the few rooms that are still available in these hotels.

Diplomats have been closely following the negotiations for tariffs, calling their colleagues from other countries to find out about the best rates at different hotels.

Others are keeping a close watch on hotel bookings for other reasons  reports that Russia might be booking fewer rooms at The Oberoi were seen in some quarters as a possible indication that President Vladimir Putin may skip the summit.

The external affairs ministry made an informal allocation of hotels in the weeks leading up to the summit, though some countries did not stick to this after finding the tariffs cited by the hotel to be too steep. Certain countries have also not been satisfied with the hotels allocated.

An Indian official involved in arrangements for foreign visits by the countrys top leaders, who too spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not unusual for hotels in cities hosting multilateral events to hike their tariffs. We have also faced similar situations, he said.

At least two hotels, of which one is located in Aerocity and quoted a rate of 20 lakh a day, with which HT spoke, said that they have not hiked the price suddenly.

The price automatically increases as per the demand. But we have no idea that a country has cancelled its bookings. Generally, such delegates prefer to stay near the main venue, said the general manager of one of the hotels.

Vice president of the other hotel said that he has yet not received any request for booking from a country.

So, it will be meaningless to say that our bookings were cancelled to high rates, he said.

A Delhi Police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited information provided by the external affairs ministry and said 28 hotels  25 in Delhi and three in Gurugram  had been reserved for the delegations. The Saudi Arabian delegation will stay in The Leela, while the Japanese delegation is at The Lalit and the Canadian delegation at The Claridges.

Representatives of the European Union, the United Nations and its agencies will stay in Le Meridian. The US delegation will stay at ITC Maurya, while the Italian delegation will be at The Hyatt. The delegations from Australia and Indonesia will stay in The Imperial, the officer said.

To strengthen security during the G20 Summit, Delhi Police have categorised different areas linked to the meeting into seven zones. This includes the summit venue, the hotels, and Rajghat, and each zone will be headed by an officer of the rank of special commissioner.

Another senior Delhi Police officer, who also did not want to be named, said special commissioner (human resources) RS Krishnaiah will be the responsible for the main venue, Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan, overall security will be monitored by special commissioner (security) Madhup Tiwari.

The monitoring of hotels where the dignitaries will stay will be under the joint control of special commissioners Ravindra Singh Yadav and HGS Dhaliwal.

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The India Club in London, with its early roots in the Indian independence movement as a hub for nationalists, is to shut down next month after losing a protracted battle against closure, it emerged on Monday. The Club, which has functioned as an Indian restaurant on the Strand near the Indian High Commission since 1946, is located on the first floor of the 26-room Strand Continental Hotel.(X/@ShashiTharoor)

The historic meeting venue and eatery, which had won its battle to prevent the building in the heart of Londons Strand from demolition a few years ago, was served a notice by the landlords to make way for a more modernised hotel.

Proprietors Yadgar Marker and his daughter Phiroza launched a Save India Club appeal as they fought to keep it going but have now announced its impending closure. It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the closure of the India Club, with our last day open to the public on September 17, they said.

The India Club has its roots in the India League, which campaigned for Indian independence in Britain, with its founding members including Krishna Menon  who went on to become the first Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

As well as housing one of the UKs early Indian restaurants, the Club quickly transformed into a hub for a rapidly growing British South Asian community in the aftermath of Indian independence and Partition.

Since its opening over 70 years ago, the India Club has been a home-away-from-home for 1st generation immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, as well as a community space for Indo-British groups, said Phiroza, who has been helping out her father at the Club since childhood.

Menon intended the India Club to be a place where young Indian professionals living on a shoestring could afford to eat, discuss politics, and plan their futures, noted Parvathi Raman, Founding Chair of the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), when she worked on the exhibition A Home Away from Away: The India Club in 2019, curated by the UKs conservation charity National Trust.

The Club, which has functioned as an Indian restaurant on the Strand near the Indian High Commission since 1946, is located on the first floor of the 26-room Strand Continental Hotel.

The freeholder of the building, Marston Properties, had earlier put in an application with Westminster City Council for a partial demolition" to create a new hotel. The application was unanimously turned down by the Council in August 2018, noting the venue's importance as a cultural institution in the heart of London.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to social media to lament the closure announcement, given his journalist father Chandran Tharoors connection with the historic venue.

As the son of one of its founders, I lament the passing of an institution that served so many Indians (and not only Indians) for nearly three-quarters of a century. "For many students, journalists and travellers, it was a home away from home, offering simple and good quality Indian food at affordable prices as well as a convivial atmosphere to meet and maintain friendships, he posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

It triggered a flood of responses from people expressing their sadness at the loss of a slice of British Indian history in London.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called Chandrayaan 3 a matter of pride for the entire nation. However, she said that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) team belonged to India and its hard work came from scientists and not a political entity.



Chandrayaan-3 mission is a matter of pride for the entire nation! The @isro team belongs to India. Their hard work is a testament of the country's progress which has come from the people, scientists and economists, and not any political entity, Banerjee posted on X, formerly called Twitter. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

She said that scientists from across the country, including her state Bengal, greatly contributed to the mission.



I applaud the efforts of all those who have worked hard at taking India's lunar exploration to greater heights! With Chandraayan-3 inching closer to reaching the lunar South Pole, we must all stand together and cheer for its successful soft landing!, she added.



Chandrayaan 3, India's third moon mission is set to make a soft landing on the south pole of the moon at around 6:04 pm tomorrow. If successful, India will become the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to achieve the milestone. Catch LIVE updates here

Earlier in the day, ISRO shared images of the moon from the lander module's camera at an altitude of 70 kilometres. The space agency said that the mission is on schedule and the systematic checks are being carried out.



ALSO READ: Chandrayaan 3: Lander can handle rough landing too, says ex-ISRO advisor



Smooth sailing is continuing, The Mission Operations Complex (at ISRO) is buzzed with energy and excitement", ISRO posted on social platform X, formerly called Twitter.



The 'Vikram' lander module of the spacecraft successfully separated from the propulsion module on Thursday, and subsequently underwent crucial deboosting manoeuvres and descended to a slightly lower orbit.



ALSO READ: Will be a great success: Russian Diplomat eagerly awaits Chandrayaan-3 landing



The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover moving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Aryan Prakash Multimedia journalist with over nine years of experience in print, television and digital media. Books, politics and cinema are an inseparable part of life. ...view detail
Ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Union governments intervention in the hearing of pleas against the Patna high courts go-ahead for the caste survey in Bihar, saying the party has shown its true colours. JD(U) said the Union governments intervention showed BJPs true colours. (Twitter)

The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Union government a week to file its response in the matter after solicitor- general Tushar Mehta said the survey has some ramifications.

JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan said Mehtas presence in the court exposed what the BJP was trying to do from behind the curtain. The high court quashed the petitions against the survey. The Supreme Court said there was no question of staying it. Now, Mehta has intervened, maintaining that he also has something to say in favour of petitioners. This has removed the curtain. It shows the BJP is anti-poor, anti-reservation, and anti-extremely backward class.

Bihar minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary echoed Singh said the turn of events on Monday unmasked the BJP and the Union government. First, they tried to derail the process by getting public interest litigations filed, but failed due to the alertness of the Bihar government and the high court gave the go-ahead.

Choudhary said the Union government intervened as it could not find a way out. He described as ridiculous the Union governments stand that it is neither in favour nor against the pleas. The only objective is to disrupt the survey.

Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary maintained his party has favoured the survey. He added the states previous National Democratic Alliance government approved it before chief minister Nitish Kumar ended JD(U)s alliance with the BJP last year. The BJP agreed to the request of Nitish Kumar for the survey and the previous Cabinet approved it unanimously. The BJP never backed out. The problem is that Nitish Kumar tries to play both ends. The Supreme Court must have called the solicitor-general and he went. The Narendra Modi government is committed to the progress of the poor, deprived and marginalised.

The Supreme Court, which has ruled out any interim order or stay on the high court verdict until it is prima facie convinced that it was erroneous, has posted the matter for hearing next on August 28.

On August 1, the high court allowed the survey to proceed. The petitioners have argued the survey was being conducted like a census which only the Union government can undertake. They also maintained details sought about caste, religion, and profession for the survey violated the right to privacy and that there was no mechanism to protect this data.

The Bihar government on August 6 told the Supreme Court that the survey was complete and was being uploaded.

The high court said the census falls solely within the prerogative of the Union government but state governments are not prohibited from collecting data for welfare schemes and affirmative action.

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US President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7-10 to attend the G20 Leaders' summit, thus confirming the Hindustan Times newsbreak earlier this month.



He along with other G20 partners will discuss joint efforts to tackle global issues including clean energy transition and combating climate change, mitigating economic and social impacts of Ukraine war and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks including the World Bank to better fight poverty, the White House said on Tuesday.



During his visit to New Delhi, the US President will also commend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership of G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, which includes hosting it in 2026.



India assumed the G20 presidency for a year from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023 and has been hosting several meetings across the country.



During Modi's State visit to the United States in June this year, Biden had said he was looking forward to the G20 summit in September in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden.

A joint statement of India and US had said that Biden applauded New Delhi's leadership in its ongoing G20 presidency, which brought renewed focus on strengthening multilateral institutions and international cooperation to tackle global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, fragility and conflict, along with work to accelerate achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and lay the foundation for strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.

Donald Lu, the US assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia had also mentioned about Biden's visit to India for the G20 Summit.

This is gonna be a big year for the India-US relationship. India is hosting the G20 and the US is hosting APEC, Japan the G7. We have lots of QUAD members who are taking on leadership roles and it provides us with opportunities to bring our countries closer, Lu had said.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited India for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo travelled to India and attended India-US Forum in the national capital.

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KOCHI: The Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala on Tuesday transferred four young priests as punishment for refusing to follow the Synod-approved uniform holy mass format, in an indication of the administrations tough stance against dissenters. Syro-Malabar Church head Cardinal Mar George Alencheri (C) during special prayers for the Manipur violence victims, in Kochi on June 7. The church is embroiled in a row over the way the holy mass ritual is conducted. (PTI)

The priests of the Sacred Heart minor seminary in Kochi were transferred without being given postings or responsibilities on the orders of Pontifical Delegate Archbishop Cyril Vasil who was directed by the Vatican to resolve the simmering dispute within the Church over the way in which the holy mass ritual is conducted. Mar Andrews Thazhath, the apostolic administrator, issued the letter to the priests.

The four priests under the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese were asked if they would follow the holy mass format as approved by Pope Francis and the Church Synod. They said no. Thats why they have been directed to vacate the premises of the minor seminary, said a church official.

Last week, Archbishop Vasil, in a stern letter to the priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, had asked them to practice the Synod-approved standardised mass from August 20 in all parishes. If they disobeyed the order, it would be seen as voluntary, personal and culpable disobedience to the Holy Father, his letter said. Failing to follow the uniform mass style would also attract canonical punishment, he had warned.

A majority of the priests and laity of the archdiocese, which commands nearly five lakh faithful, are in favour of jana abhimukha kurbana or practicing the holy mass by facing the people during the entire ritual. But the Synod-approved format requires the priest to face the people in the introduction and conclusion of the mass and in between face the altar.

As part of a protest against the Church action on the priests, two senior rebel priests Kuriakose Mundadan and Sebastian Thaliyan attempted to sit on a hunger strike at the Church headquarters of St Thomas Mount in Kakkanad, Kochi. But the plan was foiled by the local police who moved them from the premises.

Fr Mundadan said, This is a fight for dharma, justice and truth. We dont accept the Synods orders because it brought them in illegal ways. As the voice of the archdiocese, its priests and five lakh faithful, we will not accept any punishment ordered by the Church.

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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
Manipur government and paramilitary officials briefed Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday about relief and rehabilitation measures in the strife-torn state, informing the minister that the first batch of around 1,000 people will move from relief camps into prefabricated houses on Wednesday, people aware of the matter said. Officials said the first batch of around 1,000 people will move from relief camps into prefabricated houses in Manipur on Wednesday. (PTI)

A second issue that was discussed during the meeting was the road blockades and plans by forces to ensure that essentials reached the people, the people cited above said, adding that helicopter services from the hill districts inhabited by the Kukis to Aizawl also came up. The discussion came a day after a prominent Kuki group announced the blockade of two arterial national highways that serve Imphal.

The Union home ministry and the Manipur government didnt comment on the meeting but the people quoted above said that officials told Shah that the state administration was constructing 4m000 pre-fabricated houses across the state.

The government informed the minister about the status of the construction of the prefabricated houses. All deputy commissioners are identifying land within their area and are in touch with both communities to build the houses at the earliest. Such houses are being built for all people of both communities, said an official, who asked not to be named.

The official also added that one such community-based housing complex near the Sajiwa Central Jail in Imphal has been completed, where around 1,000 displaced people will be moving in on Wednesday.

The minister was informed that similar construction is on in full swing at other places too. Each prefabricated house has at least two rooms and are built in rows, the official added.

The same official quoted above said that the minister also asked about the status of the helicopter services for residents of districts such as Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh -- all dominated by the tribal Kukis.

Kukis and other tribal groups live in hill districts and the dominant Meiteis live in the valley and plains. Due to the simmering ethnic tensions, the residents of the hills had requested Shah -- during his visit to the state in the last week of May -- to start helicopter services so that they didnt have to go to the airport at Imphal.

The Centre has already given permission for interstate helicopter service between Churachandpur in Manipur to Aizwal in Mizoram. Officials said that a trial landing was also conducted on August 17 and services are yet to start.

At least 160 people have died in the ethnic clashes that broke out in the state on May 3, while around 50,000 people have been displaced. The families who lost their homes or fled the villages owing to the threat to their lives are living at government camps or with their relatives.

The review meeting on Tuesday was virtually attended by state government officials and senior officials of all paramilitary forces and Army.

Currently, the CRPF,BSF, ITBP, SSB, CISF, Assam Rifles and the army are working in conjunction with state police to restore normalcy and ensure there is no law-and-order disruption in the state.

Clashes in Manipur first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders. The clashes have virtually partitioned the state between the dominant Meitei community that constitutes 53% of the states population, and the tribal Kuki group, which makes up 16% of the state.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prawesh Lama Prawesh Lama covers crime, policing, and issues of security in Delhi. Raised in Darjeeling, educated in Mumbai, he also looks at special features on social welfare in the National Capital. ...view detail
Human speech is meaningful because of the way we string syllables into words and words into sentences. Birdsong is less expansive, but its structure too is a string of predictable sequences, allowing females to anticipate and comprehend the call of males. PREMIUM The study exposed mice to predictable as well as random sound sequences, and examined various aspects of their response. (Representative Image/Unsplash)

New knowledge has now emerged about mice, which communicate with one another by vocalising in the ultrasonic range, which is beyond human hearing. In a study that could have implications for investigating speech disorders in humans, IIT Kharagpur researchers have found that mouse vocalisation, much like human speech and birdsong, is made up of predictable sequential structures that vary according to the situation. Birdsong is already a proxy for studying human vocalisation, and the new findings offer the ultrasonic vocalisation of mice as another option, scientists not involved in the study told HT.

Also read: Hold that thought: Your essential guide to critical ignoring

The study was conducted by Swapna Agarwalla (now a post-doc at the University of Rochester), Amiyangshu De (a PhD student at IIT Kharagpur) and Dr Sharba Bandyopadhyay (assistant professor of electronics engineering). It has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Neuroscience, which has released an early version online.

Experiments and findings

The study exposed mice to predictable as well as random sound sequences, and examined various aspects of their response  behaviour, gene expression in the auditory cortex, and electrical response in single neurons.

In the behavioural experiments, the researchers placed adult mice in three different situations: males alone in a recording chamber, males and females in the same chamber but with a separator between them, and males and females together. They recorded the sounds emitted in each context, and identified five distinct syllables and 8-10 meaningful sequences formed with these.

The team subsequently played these recordings to female mice from one side of the chamber, and artificially generated random sequences from the other side. The females spent more time towards the side playing the natural predictable sequences, even when the sides of the sounds were switched.

Interestingly, this behaviour was observed in females with no prior exposure to adult males. This highlights that even mice are attracted towards sound sequences with some regularity in them rather than random structures, like we humans are, said first author Agarwalla.

Additionally, exposure to a meaningful sound sequence resulted in higher expression of a gene called c-fos in the auditory cortex of the females, compared to its expression following exposure to random sequences, said De, who performed the c-fos experiments.

Electrophysiological measurements, again, showed female mices neuronal response had a preference towards natural rather than random sequences. After an interaction with males, the firing patterns of certain types of neurons in the auditory cortex were found to get altered.

Significantly, while these neurons became more sensitive to natural sequences than random sequences, their sensitivity to the constituent syllables remained unaltered. The researchers see a parallel between this and humans ability to learn to understand new words with letters that are already familiar, and new sentences with familiar words.

Previous work had shown that females prefer to vocalise when they are with vocalising males rather than with silent males. Additionally, we have observed that the number of syllables produced differs in the three experimental contexts. It was evident that the highest number of syllables are produced in the together context, De said.

Ultrasonic vocal communications, in fact, works between mouse pups and their mothers too. Agarwalla and De both referred to previous findings that showed how mouse pups separated from their mother emit vocalisations, triggering a search by the mother.

The implications

Neuroscientist Sumantra Shona Chattarji, director of the Centre for High Impact Neuroscience and Translational Applications (CHINTA), Kolkata, described the study as very powerful, one that looks at its subject across behavioural, molecular and single-neuron levels. Dr Chattarji, who was not involved in the study, said the findings could be very useful in future studies of autism, an area he is working on.

One of the key aspects of autism is that a lot of affected individuals face challenges with verbal communication. And thats not easy to study in autism because it is difficult to capture facets of human language in animal models. This study opens up exciting new possibilities in this regard, he said.

The way one mouse communicates with another, using ultrasonic vocal calls, could be used as a surrogate for human language, and any of the genetic mutations that cause autism can be engineered in mice, Chattarji said. Then you look at those mice models to see: do they have these signatures of ultrasonic calls? Do they understand these sequences or not? My prediction is that they wont; it will be mixed up. And this study offers a powerful framework for studying communication in animal models of autism.

Birds and mice

Given that birdsong is a model for studying human vocalisation, what more does mouse vocalisation bring to the table? Dr Soumya Iyengar, a scientist at the National Brain Research Centre in Manesar, weighed in. She specialises in the study of birdsong, specifically how substances called neuromodulators affect vocalisation and vocal learning in zebra finches.

In zebra finches, males attract females using what Dr Iyengar described as female-directed songs, while they also sing undirected songs. She also referred to a study on male collared flycatchers (Behavioral Ecology, 2021), which found that these birds produced syllables that were predictable rather than random.

Also read: Does space travel impact human brain? Study says

Mice produce ultrasonic vocalisations, unlike birds. However, their songs resemble those of birds, in the sense that they are composed of syllables and inter-syllable intervals, she said. The importance of Dr Bandyopadhyays study is that for the first time, they have demonstrated a predictable sequential structure in mouse ultrasonic vocalisations, which is similar to that in both birdsong and speech. Whereas songbirds continue to be used as an excellent model system to study vocalisation and vocal learning in humans, the results suggest that mice can also be used for such studies. This is important because transgenic mice can be created more easily than transgenic birds.
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Will go to Mumbai: Kerjiwal confirms AAP's attendance in next I.N.D.I.A. meet amid row over Lok Sabha election

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A Mumbai-Ranchi IndiGo Airline flight made an unscheduled landing at Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur on Monday evening after a passenger suffered a medical emergency, an official said. The 62-year-old male passenger, D Tiwari, was rushed to a government medical college where he was declared brought dead. Around 8pm, the passenger started vomiting blood. The pilot in command took a call to land at Nagpur. (AFP File Photo)

The passenger was suffering from CKD and tuberculosis and vomited blood on board, said Aejaz Shami, DGM, Branding and Communications of KIMS Hospital in Nagpur.

"He was brought dead to the KIMS hospital. His body was taken to Government Medical College and Hospital for further procedures," Shami said in a statement.

Around 8pm, the passenger started vomiting blood. The pilot in command took a call to land at Nagpur.

In a statement, the IndiGo Airline said, IndiGo flight 6E 5093, operating from Mumbai to Ranchi was diverted to Nagpur due to a medical emergency on board. The passenger was offloaded and was rushed to the hospital for further medical assistance. Unfortunately, the passenger did not survive. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

IndiGo pilot dies in Nagpur

The incident comes days after an IndiGo pilot collapsed at a boarding gate in Nagpur airport, shortly before he was to operate a flight, and died while being taken to the hospital.

The pilot, identified as Captain Manoj Subramanyam (40), was to operate the Nagpur-Pune 6E135 flight around 1pm on Thursday last week, but he collapsed around 12.05pm. As per preliminary reports, the pilot died due to sudden cardiac arrest, said Shami.

Airport director Abid Ruhi said an emergency team administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the pilot after he collapsed but he did not respond and was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

That incident came a day after a senior Qatar Airways pilot died of cardiac arrest while he was flying as a passenger on a Delhi-Doha flight. He had earlier worked with SpiceJet and Alliance Air.

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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
Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari will launch the much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme or NCAP on Tuesday. The programme is aimed at improving road safety by raising the safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. The programme aims to provide a tool to the car customers to make a comparative assessment of crash safety of motor vehicles available in the market. Under this programme, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197, a statement by the ministry said.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari (ANI)
PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said there was no deal with chief minister Nitish Kumar and his party, the Janata Dal-United to elevate his son Tejashwi Yadav as the chief minister, insisting that right now, their only focus was to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power. Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Yadav during Independence Day functions at Gandhi Maidan in Patna (HT Photo/Santosh Kumar)

Yadavs assertion comes against the backdrop of continuing speculation around the timing of Tejashwi Yadavs elevation. Back in December last year, chief minister Nitish Kumar described Tejashwi Yadav as the leader of the future and underlined that the 2025 assembly elections would be fought under his leadership.

Right now, our main focus is to oust the PM Narendra Modi-led BJP government from the Centre. There has been no talk or any deal stuck with JD(U) to elevate Tejashwi as chief minister, Prasad told a Hindi television channel during his visit to Gopalganj on Tuesday.

We want that opposition parties of INDIA bloc comprising of 18-19 parties should remain intact, the RJD chief said, criticising PM Modi for declaring from the ramparts of the Red Fort that he would be back in 2024 to unfurl the tricolour.

Yadav said he hadnt seen a prime minister who made such a declaration from the Red Fort and it only reflects how desperate Modi was to become PM. But this will not happen as they (BJP) will be ousted from power, Prasad asserted.

At the Gopalganj circuit house, Lalu Yadav was asked about the possibility of the Opposition bloc, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, opting for a convenor.

Yadav said there was no hitch as such. There will be convenors who would be made in-charge of three to four states so that there is better coordination between parties at the state level. There could be a convenor of the opposition bloc. We will all decide it at the Mumbai meeting collectively, Lalu Yadav said.

Could Nitish Kumar be appointed as the convenor, someone asked Yadav. The RJD chief didnt give a direct response. We will take decisions collectively, he said.

Yadav added that the Mumbai meeting will also discuss issues such as seat sharing. Our objective is to put formidable candidates against BJP and NDA candidates, he said.

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HYDERABAD: Eight men barged into a house on the outskirts of Hyderabad and three of them raped a 15-year-old girl on Monday, triggering angry protests by opposition leaders who demanded stringent punishment for the accused. LB Nagar deputy commissioner of police (DCP) B Sai Sree said seven special police teams have been constituted to apprehend the accused (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The girl and her 14-year-old brother have lost their parents and moved in with her cousin in Meerpet, a few weeks ago. They were at home with three other children from the neighbourhood on Monday morning when the eight men armed with knives forced their way into the house.

Three of them took the girl upstairs, while others threatened her brother and the other children at knifepoint. The three men took turns to rape her, a police officer said.

As news of the brutal crime spread, a large number of people including Congress workers led by Meerpet mayor Parijatha Reddy blocked the main road near the house of the rape survivor to protest. Police later said Reddy and other party leaders were placed under arrest and shifted to the Amberpet police station. Police personnel have been deployed to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

Rachakonda police commissioner DS Chauhan also came to the spot.

LB Nagar deputy commissioner of police (DCP) B Sai Sree said seven special police teams have been constituted to apprehend the accused. We have registered a case of gangrape on a minor and also under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, she said.

The girl has been sent to Sakhi centre for medical examination and recording her version, the DCP added.

The accused fled the spot after the girl started crying for help. Immediately, her brother alerted the neighbours and they, in turn, informed the police. We have examined the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to track down the accused. We are yet to apprehend them. We are also investigating whether they had any previous enmity with the victims family, the police officer said.

The girls younger brother, who filed a formal complaint with the Meerpet police, said they initially lived with their parents in south Hyderabads Lal Bazar area and came to live with their cousin after being orphaned. The boy said he worked at a flex board shop while his sister worked as a salesgirl at a textile shop in Dilsukhnagar.

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old girl was found dead on the outskirts of N Gollapalli village in Andhra Pradeshs Prakasam district on Tuesday. Police said the girls face and head were crushed with stones. She was carrying a bag with her textbooks and notebooks. Police suspect she was sexually assaulted before being killed. Further details are awaited.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Srinivasa Rao Apparasu Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience. ...view detail
Qamar Mohsin Sheikh, also known as Narendra Modi's Rakhi sister of Pakistani origin, will visit New Delhi to tie a rakhi to the Prime Minister on the occasion of this Raksha Bandhan. Sheikh has been sending a Rakhi to Modi every year for the past 30 years. Qamar Mohsin Sheikh(ANI)

"This time I have made the 'Rakhi' myself. I will also gift him (PM Modi) a book on agriculture as he is fond of reading. For the last two-three years, I was unable to go due to Covid-19 but this time, I will meet him in person," Sheikh, who move to India from Pakistan after her marriage, told news agency ANI.

I have specifically made a red-coloured Rakhi for him. The red colour is considered a symbol of strengthEarlier, I prayed for him to be the chief minister of Gujarat and he became. Whenever I tied the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the prime minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. Now, he is doing commendable work for the country as the PM," she added.

While sending Raksha Bandhan greetings to the prime minister last year, she said she was looking forward to meeting him this year. Speaking about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, she said, "There is no doubt, he will be the prime minister again. He deserves this because he has those capabilities and I wish him to be PM of India every time."

On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, sisters tie Rakhi on their brother's wrist and pray for their prosperity and long life. Contemporary trends have also seen sisters reciprocating the gesture. The festival is celebrated on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana, which typically falls in August.

(With inputs from ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called on Brics member states to take advantage of Indias development, saying that the combining of economic strengths will bring greater benefits to the Global South. HT Image

Addressing the Brics -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa -- Business Forum Leaders Dialogue in Johannesburg, Modi held up Indias infrastructure and digital sectors as key areas for economic cooperation. The Brics states have an important role to play at a time when the world is grappling with economic challenges amid the Covid-19 pandemic, tensions and disputes, he said.

I invite you all to join Indias development journey. The Covid pandemic has made us aware of the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains, Modi said, speaking in Hindi.

For this, mutual trust and transparency are very important. By combining each others strengths, we can make a significant contribution to the welfare of the entire world, especially the Global South.

Modi arrived in South Africa on Tuesday afternoon to participate in the first in-person Brics Summit after three years of virtual meetings. He said when the first Brics Summit was held in 2009, the world was emerging from a major economic crisis and the bloc had become a ray of hope for the global economic set-up.

Despite the turmoil in the global economy, India is today the fastest growing major economy in the world, he said. Soon India will become a $5 trillion economy. There is no doubt that India will be the growth engine of the world in the years to come.

India has converted times of hardship into opportunities for economic recovery, and its reforms have led to an increase in the ease of doing business, he added.

The compliance burden has been reduced and India is rolling out the red carpet by removing the red tape, Modi said.

Sectors such as defence and space have been opened up to the private sector, and the use of technology has advanced financial inclusion, especially for rural women.

Modi cited digital payments, infrastructure and renewable energy as new areas for collaboration among the Brics states. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has helped make India the country with the largest number of digital transactions and countries such as the UAE, Singapore and France have joined the platform.

There are many possibilities of working on this with Brics countries as well, he said.

India has allocated about $120 billion for infrastructure in the budget for the current fiscal, and the government is taking steps to make the country a global manufacturing hub for solar and wind energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen and green ammonia, he added.

On his arrival at Waterkloof air force base, Modi was welcomed by South Africas deputy president Paul Shipokosa Mashatile. A ceremonial welcome was also accorded to him.

In a statement before his departure from New Delhi, Modi said the Brics Summit will be an opportunity to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

He added that his subsequent visit to Greece on August 25  the first by an Indian premier in 40 years  is set to open a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship.

The issue of expanding Brics is expected to top the agenda of the summit in Johannesburg during August 22-24. There has also been intense speculation about a bilateral meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the summit.

Modi said Brics has become a platform for discussing issues of concern for the Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system. He will also participate in the Brics-Africa Outreach and Brics-Plus Dialogue that are part of the summit activities.

I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event. I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg, Modi said without giving details of the planned bilateral meetings.
Growers of the early maturing varieties of Basmati rice are likely to report robust earnings as prices of long- grained, aromatic varieties are averaging around 3,800 per quintal, traders and growers said. Traders and arhtiyas (middlemen) are expecting prices to rise further, said a commission agent, Sohan Lal from Kurukshetra (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The rice harvest has started arriving in grain markets of Haryanas northern districts, including Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Yamunananagar, and prices of early maturing Pusa 1509, Pusa 1847 and Pusa 1692 varieties are fetching 3,500 to 4,000 per quintal, or 100kg, according to reports collected from the mandis of Karnal, Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar districts.

While the harvesting of paddy in Haryana is expected to pick up pace in another two weeks, farmers of Uttar Pradesh are reaping the benefit of higher prices as over 70% of the rice being sold in Haryanas wholesale markets is from Uttar Pradesh.

Last year, the prices of these varieties saw a spike after a gap of around 10 years, reaching around 3,500 per quintal. Traders and arhtiyas (middlemen) are expecting prices to rise further, said a commission agent, Sohan Lal from Kurukshetra.

Pusa 1509 fetched 3,800 per quintal, while the Pusa 1847 was sold at 3,500 (per quintal), whereas last year I had sold paddy at 3,200 per quintal, said Manmohan Singh, a farmer from Radaurwho sold his harvest from three acres at Ladwa mandi in Kurukshetra.

Not only the prices, but the yield is also good this year, said Sandeep Kumar, a farmer from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who sold his Pusa 1509 variety from two acres at 3,650 per quintal at the Karnal mandi. The average yield of Pusa 1509 was around 21-22 quintal (per acre) and this will help farmers to offset the losses they faced last year due to the dwarfing disease.

The key reason behind the surge in prices was higher demand for Basmati rice in the international market and fall in paddy acreage due to floods in the growing districts of Haryana and Punjab, traders said.

The prices of Basmati rice in the global market touched 91,803 per tonne in June, compared with 85,334 last year, according to the monthly reportof the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority for April-June, 2023. Indias Basmati exports reached 11.72 lakh tonnes in April to June, against 11.25 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.

Indias rice industry is in good health due to a surge in demand, said Vijay Setia, former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association. There is a sentiment that the rice production may dip this year thanks to the floods in the countrys biggest Basmati producing belts of Haryana and Punjab, Setia said, which would likely raise prices further.

Indias ban on the export of the non-Basmati or Parmal white rice has also resulted an upswing in Basmati prices, as traders are now focusing more on Basmati trading to meet the demand, he added.

Since there are no restrictions on early sowing of paddy in Uttar Pradesh, farmers started transplantation in May, which took three months to mature. In contrast, farmers in Haryana cannot start transplantation before June 15 and harvesting begins after September 15. Rice cultivators of Haryana are unable to reap the benefit of higher prices in wholesale markets because of the restriction, traders and middlemen said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Neeraj Mohan Neeraj Mohan is a correspondent, covering Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Yamunanagar districts of Haryana. ...view detail
Pakistani national Seema Haider on Tuesday said she has sent 'rakhis' to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and others ahead of Raksha Bandhan. Seema Haider and Sachin Meena(PTI)

Haider, who entered India illegally via Nepal earlier this year, said she has also sent rakhis to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Raksha Bandhan, falling on August 30, is a festival celebrated in India where sisters tie a decorative thread 'rakhi' around their brothers' wrists as a symbol of their bond and protection.

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I have posted these (rakhis) in advance so that they reach well in time to my dear brothers, on whose shoulders lie this country's responsibility. I am very happy. Jai Shri Ram. Jai Hind. Hindustan Zindabad, Haider said in a purported video that surfaced on social media on Tuesday.

In another clip, the 30-year-old woman from Sindh province of Pakistan is purportedly seen along with her children packing rakhis, with the song Bhaiya Mere Rakhi Ke Bandhan ko Nibhaana playing in the background.

READ | If I get Indian citizenship: Pakistan's Seema Haider as she falls sick in Greater Noida

Haider had illegally entered India through Nepal to live with her lover Sachin Meena who stays in Greater Noida. She had come along with her four children  all below the age of 7 years  in May and lived in Rabupura area in a rented accommodation secretly.

Haider and Meena, who claimed to have got in touch over online game PUBG in 2019-20, were arrested on July 4 this year, but a local court granted them bail on July 7.

The duo has been living together in Greater Noida ever since, even as the local police and the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad continue separate investigations into the case.

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The Manipur Police late on Monday said they have arrested six people for their alleged involvement in arson at Langol in Imphal West a day earlier. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), police said the six, who were not named, set afire four abandoned homes, a hut, and one community hall. Police said assailants set afire four abandoned homes, a hut, and one community hall on Sunday. (PTI/Representative)

Thousands of houses have been burnt across the state since May 3 when ethnic violence between Kukis and dominant Meiteis began. On Friday, a former parliamentarians house was set on fire in Imphal.

The violence has left over 50000 people displaced and over 150 dead. Some of the displaced from border towns such as Moreh fled to Myanmar. Around 400 such displaced people have been brought back.

Arms and ammunition were separately recovered in searches in the Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Kangpokpi, and Bishnupur districts. 07 (seven) arms and 81 (eighty-one) ammunitions from Imphal East, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts, the Manipur Police said in a post on X.

At least 4000 arms have been reported looted from armouries of police stations since May 3. Police have been able to recover around 1200 arms.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to respond to the bail request filed by Jyoti Jagtap, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018, and indicated that it may go by the formula laid down in the verdict that led to the grant of bail to two other accused, Vernon and Arun Ferreira, last month. Jyoti Jagtap appealed for bail to the Supreme Court against the Bombya high courts order last year that rejected her request (HT File Photo)

Jagtap, who is a member of Kabir Kala Manch, was accused of having links with the banned terrorist organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist) and was denied bail by the Bombay high court on October 17 last year.

In her appeal challenging the high courts decision, Jagtap through her lawyer Aparna Bhatt told the court that there was no incriminating material to link her with the larger conspiracy of waging war against the state or conspiracy for terrorist attack.

To a question by a bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar, advocate Swati Ghildiyal appearing for NIA told the court that it was in the process of filing its response and sought another two weeks.

The bench permitted NIA time till September 14 and directed the matter to be posted for hearing on September 21.

Referring to its July 28 decision granting bail to two other accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence, the bench said, We had decided on a formula in our earlier order. We will see whether this case fits into that formula. The court also asked NIA to produce the relevant case materials filed before the trial court in this case.

Jagtap claimed that the whole case against her was based on statements of accused who alleged that Kabir Kala Manch is a front organisation of CPI (Maoist). It was this Manch which organised the Elgar Parishad at Pune where provocative speeches were made which was blamed for fomenting violence at Bhima Koregaon in January 2018.

The high court concluded that the material produced by NIA clearly shows that the Elgar Parishad event was used and organised to establish underground contact with the banned organisation CPI(Maoist) through its activists which included the appellant. The Bhima Koregaon violence resulted in death of one person.

Jagtaps association with prominent members of CPI (Maoist) was used by NIA to show that she was part of the design by CPI (Maoist) to create unrest. The high court held that the Elgar Parishad event was a smaller conspiracy within the larger design and conspiracy of CPI (Maoist) to further its agenda

The Supreme Courts July 28 decision to grant bail to the two accused laid down the formula that for a prima facie case to be proved under UAPA, the incriminating material had to be seized from the accused in question. It further held that mere possession of incriminating material may not be sufficient to constitute an offence unless the person accused is found to be the author of such material.

Mere holding of certain literature through which violent acts may be propagated would not ipso facto attract the provisions of Section 15(1)(b) (referring to terrorist act) of the said Act, the bench said in its July verdict.

The bench held that even to prove that a person is a member of a banned organisation, there must be intention to further the activities of such organisation on the part of the person implicated under such provision.

Jagtap was one of the 16 persons arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence. She told the high court that since investigation of the case was pending and the trial will take time to begin, she deserved to be released on bail. The special NIA court had previously rejected her bail request on February 14 last year.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed doubts that the Constituent assembly debates or a speech by one of its weighty members could represent a commitment by the Dominion of India to the state of Jammu & Kashmir regarding perpetuity of the latters special status under Article 370, observing that such an inference would be difficult to be accepted as a legal principle. Can we say that a speech made by an individual member of the Constituent Assembly, howsoever weighty, represents a binding commitment of the Dominion of India to the state of Jammu and Kashmir? This will have implications in interpreting the constitutional provisions...it is difficult to accept, a Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said. (File)

Can we say that a speech made by an individual member of the Constituent Assembly, howsoever weighty, represents a binding commitment of the Dominion of India to the state of Jammu and Kashmir? This will have implications in interpreting the constitutional provisions...it is difficult to accept, a Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said.

The bench, which also comprised justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Bhushan R Gavai and Surya Kant, is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 that granted J&K special status, and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union territories.

On the eighth day of the arguments in the matter, senior counsel Dinesh Dwivedi, representing one of the applicants, argued that Article 370 ceased to exist, became inoperative and academic once the permanent determination was made by the J&K constituent assembly that the erstwhile state will have its own Constitution.

President could not exercise power to extend Constitution of India to J&K indefinitely. It had to stop once the Constituent assembly of J&K dispersed after enacting the J&K Constitution and deciding finally what was to be ceded to the Union of India and Parliament. Article 370 was not a repeated and a perennial source of power, he said.

Dwivedi read from the speech of Constituent assembly member Gopalaswami Ayyangar, who said the Government of India committed itself to the people of Kashmir that an opportunity would be given to the people of the state to decide for themselves the Constitution of the state, as well as the sphere of Union jurisdiction over the state.

The bench, however, asked the senior lawyer if Ayyangars speech could form a constitutional or legal basis of buttressing the point that the special status of J&K could never have been annulled.

What you are asking us to read into it is something thats not actually there. We cannot read a portion of a debate without taking into account the context... in a debate there are statements and replies to questions, it said.

The bench added: Once you become a part of the nation, its the entire nation you are a part of. Responding, Dwivedi said that such a proposition on one nation one Constitution is problematic because there is no proscription against J&K having a separate Constitution.

To this, the bench said that the net result of Dwivedis argument would be that the Constitution of India, in its application to J&K, would stand frozen as of January 1957 when the J&K Constituent Assembly decided to have a separate Constitution.

Therefore, no further development in Indian Constitution can at all apply to J&K, according to you. How can that be accepted? If Article 370 ceased to operate but Article 1 (defining India as a Union of states) continues to operate, J&K is an integral part of India. Surely, the jurisdiction of every democratically elected institution cannot be excluded...There has to be then a provision in Indian constitution which excludes its application to J&K, it added.

The bench further told Dwivedi that if his argument on the redundancy of Article 370 after January 1957 is accepted, there would be no restraint on the power of Parliament since it is only through the impugned constitutional provision that the opinion and approval of the J&K assembly was required to apply the provisions of the Indian Constitution to the Valley state. Unless we accept that Article 370 existed till 2019, there would be no trammel on the jurisdiction of Parliament, it further observed.

The bench will continue hearing the case on Wednesday when the Union government is expected to open its arguments in the matter.

A raft of petitions, filed by parliamentarians from the National Conference party, Kashmiri citizens, former bureaucrats and various organisations laid the challenge to the abrogation of Article 370 soon after the presidential order in August 2019.

While some petitioners brought up the requirement of consent from the Constituent Assembly for the abrogation of Article 370, others questioned the validity of Presidents Rule that was in effect when the abrogation was done. A few of these pleas went back to the Instrument of Accession, while some highlighted the Supreme Courts ruling of 2018 that observed that Article 370 had gained a status of permanence. Many of these pleas also challenged the Jammu & Kashmir State Reorganisation Act, by which the state was bifurcated into two Union territories with effect from October 30, 2019.

On August 28, 2019, the Supreme Court issued notices on the pleas despite resistance from the central government, which argued that Article 370 had international and cross-border implications.

On July 3, the Supreme Court notified the setting up of a new Constitution bench, comprising its five seniormost judges. A week later, the new bench said that day-to-day hearing in the case would begin from August 2.

Ends

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear next week the Union governments plea seeking withdrawal of its November 2022 assurance that it will not go ahead with the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard in the country. The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear next week the Union governments plea (Burhaan Kinu/HT)

A bench comprising justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan on Tuesday took up the Centres application for hearing and sought the response of NGO, Gene Campaign, which had filed a petition in the matter in 2004, activist Aruna Rodrigues and others. As the petitioners sought time to respond, the bench listed the matter for next week.

Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for one of the petitioners, said, The Centre is seeking discharge from its assurance given to court on November 3. We need to respond to this application, which was filed late last night [Monday].

The bench observed that the matter has to be heard again. That doesnt mean that you (Centre) can now withdraw the assurance. We will issue notice on the application and list it for next week, the court said.

On November 3, 2022, additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, had given an oral assurance to the court that no precipitative action will be taken by the government.

The assurance came after several petitions challenged the environmental release clearance granted to transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) on October 25.

On Tuesday, ASG Bhati was not present in court and a passover was sought on her behalf.

In its application, the Centre said, The oral statement made on behalf of the Union of India on November 3 was in the specific context of the present matter being listed for final hearing the following week. This was not intended to halt the entire process of research/testing under the conditional approval by the government (on October 25) for an extended period of time.

The Centre further informed the court that the second growing season under the conditional approval granted by the MoEFCC is also approaching in the months of September and October this year. The application requested the court to consider discharging the Union of India from the oral statement made on November 3.

The oral assurance was made before a bench headed by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, who has since retired. Close to his retirement in May this year, justice Maheshwari expressed his inability to conclude arguments and deliver judgment.

The petitioners in this case had relied on findings of a technical expert committee that found these GM crops unsustainable and unsuitable for India noting that the herbicides sprayed on the herbicide-tolerant crops, including GM mustard, could cause cancer.

The issue of genetically modified organisms (GMO) has been before the top court since 2004, when the first PIL was filed by Gene Campaign, followed by petitions by Rodrigues and others who approached the court in 2005. The PILs sought transparency in the results of field trials conducted on GM crops and demanded that a comprehensive and rigorous biosafety protocol be put in place by GEAC before the grant of clearance to any GMO.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who represented Rodrigues in the court, said over 25 countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland and Russia, have banned GMO while substantial restrictions on GMO exist in over 60 countries.

The Centre has claimed that mustard is the most important edible oil and seed meal crop in the country. The bulk of the edible oil demand, nearly 55 to 60%, is met through imports. The development of indigenous transgenic varieties of mustard will increase agricultural output and farmer income, the application filed by Centre said.

The transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 has been developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) at Delhi University. So far, the Centre has approved only one GM crop Bt cotton for commercial cultivation in 2002.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday announced 10 crore contribution towards relief initiatives to rain-hit Himachal Pradesh and pledged all possible support. A view of an area devastated by heavy rains and floods in Himachal Pradesh, in Shimla. (ANI)

Writing to his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Stalin said he was anguished by the loss and devastation suffered by the hill state due to heavy rains and landslides.

"My thoughts are with all those who have been affected by the natural calamity...as a token gesture, the government of Tamil Nadu is contributing a sum of 10 crore towards the relief works in your State. Kindly accept the same."

Expressing the support of the Tamil Nadu government and the people, Stalin said, "if there is anything that we can do to assist in the recovery efforts, please do not hesitate to let me know."

An official release here said Sukhvinder Singh spoke to Stalin over phone and conveyed to him information on damage due to rain and related incidents and government's relief initiatives.

Stalin commended the efforts of the Himachal government in reaching out to the affected people. The CM said he is confident that under Sukhu's leadership, Himachal Pradesh would "recover and rebuild soon."

The state governments of Rajasthan ( 15 crore) and Chhattisgarh ( 11 crore) had announced financial assistance to Himachal Pradesh.

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Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday slammed the Karnataka governments decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and asked the Congress-led government in the state to stop doing politics on education and not to play with the future of the young generation. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. (File Photo)

Pradhans comments came a day after Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar announced that the state government had decided to scrap NEP, introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre, from the next academic session.

Speaking to the media in Delhi on Tuesday, Pradhan said that Shivakumars facts were wrong, and his statement was mischievous and regressive.

NEP 2020 is not a political document. It is a visionary document envisioned by the educationists of this country. Its a philosophical document for the 21st Century, he said.

What kind of a message does he want to give to the youngsters of this country, especially those from his state of Karnataka? What kind of politics is he doing? Let politics take its own route. But we should not play with the future of our generation, Pradhan said.

On Monday, after a meeting chaired by chief minister Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar had also announced that a committee will be established within the coming week to draft a State Education Policy that aligns more closely with Karnatakas unique educational requirements.

Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday, Shivakumar said, The National Education Policy (NEP) was brought in 2021 but let me tell you none of the BJP ruling states have taken interest in it and adopted it. States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have rejected NEP. We have examined all the aspects and we are going to scrap NEP. From next year we will come up with our education policy. We will form a committee within a week.

In 2021, under the previous BJP government in the state, Karnataka became the first state to adopt NEP in the country.

Targeting Shivakumar and the Congress, Pradhan said, Do they not want the early childhood education and care system to be implemented in Karnataka? Do they not want localised Indian toys and play-based learning for our children? Is my dear friend opposing education in Kannada language?

Do they not want examinations like NEET, JEE and CUET to be conducted in Indian language or Kannada? Is Shiv Kumar opposing the entrance examination in Kannada language? Do they not want our students to learn new emerging technologies of the 21st century? Do they not want new textbooks relevant to 21st century education? he added.

Pradhan also mentioned the National Research Foundation (NRF), which was recently passed by Parliament, and said, Do they not want Karnataka youth to avail world class research facilities through the national research foundation? Mr Shiv Kumar wants to deprive Karnataka students from that facility.
A US court has allowed Pakistani-Canadian businessman Tahawwur Ranas plea seeking a stay on his extradition proceedings till his appeal is being finalised by it, which officials in New Delhi described as normal legal process. The court has asked Tahawwur Rana to submit his argument before October 10 and the US government to submit its response by November 8 (ANI)

Rana, 62, is wanted in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and his extradition to India was ordered by a US district court in May. He had approached the Ninth Circuit Court against the extradition.

District judge Dale S Fisher of the US district court in central California said in his order on August 18 that Ranas ex parte application seeking a stay on his extradition was granted. The court finds that the balance of the stay factors favors a stay pending appeal. The ex parte application is granted.The extradition of Rana to India is stayed pending the conclusion of his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, judge Fischer said in the order.

It is a normal legal process that till the time the Ninth Circuit Court will hear his appeal, his extradition will be stayed. It doesnt mean that his extradition has been forever stayed, a government official in New Delhi said, declining to be named. It is not a setback for India.

While the court did not find that Rana made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits  otherwise the court would have ruled in his favour in the first instance  he has raised legal questions going to the merits, the judge wrote.

The court has asked Rana to submit his argument before October 10 and the US government to submit its response by November 8.

Magistrate judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the central California district in May ruled that Rana can be extradited to India, citing sufficient evidence to establish probable cause that he committed the offences for which the extradition was sought.

Rana is accused of helping co-conspirator David Coleman Headley in reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai and allegedly planning the Pakistan-backed terrorist attack on Mumbai, which left 166 people dead.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Rana in Chicago in October 2009 for providing material support to conspiracies to commit terrorist acts outside the US, including in Mumbai and Copenhagen. He was convicted in 2013 of conspiracy to provide support to a plot to commit murder in Denmark, including beheading employees of Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.

In June 2020, India sought Ranas provisional arrest for his extradition. The Joe Biden administration supported it.

American prosecutors argued that Rana was aware of his childhood friend Headleys involvement with Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was supporting the terrorist organisation and its associates by providing Headley cover, they argued. Rana knew of Headleys meetings, what was discussed and the planning of the attacks, they said.

Rana was part of the conspiracy and there is probable cause that he committed the substantive crime of commissioning a terrorist act, the US government has said.
Overriding the Biden administrations appeal, a US court has ordered a stay on the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, to India where he is facing a trial for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Rana

Rana, 62, has appealed before the Ninth Circuit Court against the order by a US District Court in the Central District of California that denied the writ of habeas corpus.

District Judge Dale S. Fischer of the US District Court in Central California in his latest order said that Ranas ex parte application seeking a stay on his extradition is granted.

The extradition of Rana to India is stayed pending the conclusion of his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Fischer said in the order issued on August 18.

In doing so the judge overrode the governments recommendations that there should be no stay on Ranas extradition.

Rana faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

While the Court does not find that Rana has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits  otherwise the Court would have ruled in his favour in the first instance  he has certainly raised serious legal questions going to the merits, the judge wrote.

The proper meaning of offence in Article 6(1) of the extradition treaty is not clear and different jurists could come to different conclusions. Ranas position is certainly colourable and could very well be found to be correct on appeal, the judge noted.

The final two factors merge when the Government is the opposing party. There is value in compliance with Indias extradition request, but Ranas extradition proceedings have been going on for more than three years, which suggests that the process has not been rushed so far. Otherwise, the public interest, if anything, favours Rana, the judge wrote.

The public has a strong interest in the proper interpretation of extradition treaties, particularly in the interpretation of provisions that provide important individual protections like the one at issue here. Further, there is a strong public interest in definitive, binding interpretations of treaties. District courts cannot provide those rulings; courts of appeals can, the judge wrote, throwing the legal battle to the Ninth Circuit Court now.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has asked Rana to submit his argument before October 10 and the US Government has been asked to submit its response by November 8.

Judge Fischer wrote that Rana has shown that he is likely to suffer significant irreparable harm absent a stay.

He will be extradited to India for a trial on serious crimes with no hope for a review of his arguments or hope for his return to the United States. The government admits this, but then argues that because this claimed irreparable harm applies categorically to any fugitive who seeks a stay of extradition pending appeal, it does not count, the judge said.

Earlier the US attorney John J Lulejian appealed before the District Court to deny Ranas ex parte application for a stay of extradition pending appeal and argued that the stay would cause unwarranted delay in the United States fulfilment of its obligations to India and this will damage its credibility in the international arena and impair its ability to obtain the cooperation of foreign nations in bringing United States fugitives to justice.

Rana, he argued, cannot show a likelihood of success on the merits of his claims or otherwise meet his burden of justifying a stay. Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that the Court deny his ex parte application, the US attorney wrote.

Lulejian argued that the District Court should deny Ranas request for a stay for the threshold reason that he has failed to demonstrate that he is likely to obtain a reversal of this Courts decision in the Ninth Circuit.

In his ex parte application for a stay, Rana has made no showing whatsoever, let alone a strong showing, that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his appeal, he argued. Indeed, he simply states that he seeks a stay to permit his non-bis in idem argument to be heard by the court of appeals.

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing Rana's role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group. The NIA has said that it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.

A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at iconic and vital locations of Mumbai.
UDAIPUR: Vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday asked political parties to debate the practice of extending free goods or facilities by states, saying the political intoxication of the people by the distribution of largesse requires serious deliberation. Vice president Jagdeep Dhankar (X/VPIndia)

Economies have collapsed as a consequence of this. Thrust has to be to generate an ecosystem that empowers the people to unleash their talent and potential. Reaching out to their pockets is not a rational option, the vice president, who was chairing the concluding function of the 9th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - India Region Conference in Udaipur, said.

Capital expenditure is showing declining trends. This obviously impedes development in the real sense, he said.

Dhankhars statement comes amid back-and-forth between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and the Opposition parties on the topic. State governments under Congress and some Opposition parties have been under attack by the BJP over the concessions announced by them.

In the run-up to the recent Karnataka election, the Congress announced cash sops for unemployed farmers and sops including free bus rides for women.

Dhankhars statement questioned the financial fallout of such freebies.

In the course of his speech, the vice president also expressed concern over increasing disruption in the legislative bodies. Dhankhar, who is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said the temples of democracy have become hotbeds of disturbance and disruptions these days and reminded lawmakers that public representatives were expected to put people before politics, decency before division.

As a consequence of such worrisome scenario, parliament and legislatures are fast surging into irrelevance. This gruesome situation ill augurs for democratic values, he said.

The Rajya Sabha chairmans speech assumes importance in the backdrop of the last monsoon session that saw regular disruptions over the Oppositions demand for the Prime Ministers statement on Manipur. During the session, two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmakers, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha were suspended. The two AAP leaders, along with Trinamools floor leader Derek OBrien and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh are facing privileged cases.

Dhankhar underlined that the Opposition can put the government on the mat if they are well prepared and participate in debates.

Our Constitution provides freedom of speech to everyone, but there is greater freedom of speech, given to the legislatures and parliamentarians. If they say something in the parliament or legislature, ordinary citizens cannot take them to court. There can be no defamation, no civil case, no criminal case, great opportunity, a great privilege, the Rajya Sabha chairman said.

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With the Chandrayaan 3 set to make soft landing on the moon's surface in less than 24 hours from now, all eyes are on the final moments when the lander module will touch the south pole of moon. A senior ISRO director has described those crunching moments before landing as 17 minutes of terror.



India's ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan 3 is smoothly inching towards the moon, expected to make soft landing tomorrow at 6:04 pm. However, the last 17 minutes before the landing could pose a risk to the soft landing.



Chandrayaan 3 landing: LIVE coverage



Nilesh M Desai, the space application centre (SAC) director of ISRO, while speaking to ANI, described the significance of those 17 minutes. On August 23, the lander will attempt to land from a height of 30 kilometres. Its estimated velocity will be around 1.68 kilometres per second, which is considered to be a great speed. The moon's gravitational force will pull the lander towards itself.



ALSO READ: Chandrayaan 3: Lander can handle rough landing too, says ex-ISRO advisor



Adding further, Desai said,"We will have to retrofy the thruster engine, so that the lander de-accelerates to 0 when it makes the soft landing. We have installed four thruster engines in the lander module. From an altitude of 30 kilometres, the lander will come down to 7.5 kilometres and then to 6.8 kilometres". Chandrayaan-3 consists of an indigenous lander module (LM), propulsion module (PM) and a rover.(X/@isro)

We will then shut two of the four engines and the remaining engines will be used for landing. We will cary out reverse thrust of the engine. From 30 kilometres, the lander's speed will be less by four times to 350 metres per second at an altitude of 6.8 kilometres, Desai added.



From 6.8 kilometres, it will descend to 800 metres and then go on a vertical descent towards the lunar surface. Using the reference data obtained from cameras and sensor, the lander will hover over the surface before deciding on the site where it has to land, the SAC director added.



The entire process will take place in 17 minutes and 21 seconds. If the lander moves a bit sideways to land on the suitable site, the maximum site, the time taken will be 17 minutes and 32 seconds. This '17 minutes of terror' is very critical for us, he added, pointing out that there is absolutely no scope for error.

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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
Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday confirmed the participation of his party in the forthcoming meeting of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, scheduled to be held in Mumbai this month end. This comes amid a row over seat sharing between AAP and Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Delhi constituencies. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal(PTI)

We will go to Mumbai. We will also let you know whatever the strategy will be, Kejriwal told reporters on the sidelines of an event he attended in the national capital.

The Opposition alliance is set to conduct its third meeting on August 31 and September 1. AAP was a part of two meetings held earlier in Patna and Bengaluru.

Tension was rife between the two allies after Congress leader Alka Lamba gave a statement after a party-level meeting saying they are preparing on all seven Delhi (Lok Sabha) seats. "No decision has been taken on whether to have an alliance, but we have been asked to prepare ourselves on all seven seats. We will go to the people strongly after preparing ourselves properly in all seven seats," she told news agency PTI earlier.

This statement miffed AAP leaders leading them to question the basis of the alliance. They also argued that attending the next I.N.D.I.A. meeting would be pointless. If they do not want an alliance in Delhi, then going to INDIA meeting is pointless and a waste of time. Our top leadership will decide whether we have to attend the next INDIA meeting, AAP chief spokesperson said earlier.

Responding to AAP's reaction, Congress' Delhi in-charge Deepak Babaria hit out at the party and said Delhi has become directionless and no progress has been made from the point where Sheila Dikshit (former Delhi CM) had left. The decision on the shape of the alliance in Delhi has to be taken by the party high command...whatever decision comes from high command, we will follow, he said.

CM Kejriwal also ruffled Congress' feathers earlier by calling out the poor condition of schools in Chhattisgarh, while he was looking to make inroads in the poll-bound state. He further attacked Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party during a campaign in Madhya Pradesh, saying both parties were given enough opportunities over the last 75 years.

You have tried both parties, its been 75 years and trying for another 75 years wont bring any change. Only AAP will provide electricity," he said while vowing for 24-hour electricity in the state if the party is brough to power.
Women of the Indian diaspora tied Rakhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday during his visit to South Africa's Johannesburg for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit. Women tie Rakhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Johannesburg, Tuesday.(PTI)

In the video shared by news agency ANI, two women could be seen tying the Rakhi to the prime minister. Arya Samaj South Africa President Arthi Nanakchand Shanand and a member of the Indian community along with Dr Sarres Padayachee, an author and cultural custodian tied 'Rakhi' to PM Modi, reported ANI.

Earlier, Shanand said that the PM sees the world as 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -One earth, one family.

"PM Modi is more like a father figure than a brother figure to us. I feel his presence here makes us feel that we belong...PM Modi sees the world as 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -One earth, one family. With his learnings from the Vedas, he is going to make a big change in South Africa..," she said.

Meanwhile, Padayachee, who is a South African citizen, told ANI "We have the utmost respect for PM Modi ji because he has certainly contributed towards many changes that will benefit not only India but also South Africa."

The prime minister also received a grand welcome from the members of the Indian diaspora when he arrived in the South African country on Tuesday afternoon. Visuals showed PM Modi shaking hands with diaspora members, while some of whom touched his feet.

PM Modi is scheduled to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.

As he departed from Delhi to attend the summit, he said that the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg will be an opportunity to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
Yashwantapur MLA ST Somashekar, who is embroiled in a controversy over his possible departure from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) to join the Congress, has announced his plan to travel to New Delhi for a meeting scheduled on August 25. Speaking to the media, he said that he would make a final decision after meeting with the party high command in Delhi, although he didnt specify the nature of this decision. Somashekar noted that chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar have not approached him regarding his potential entry into the Congress (HT Photo)

I am scheduled to visit Delhi on August 25. I will only make a decision after consultations with senior leaders. I have been advised not to disclose any decision prior to meeting the high command, and I have agreed to this. I will apprise them of the ground reality and then assess the ensuing course of action, Somashekar stated on Tuesday.

BS Yediyurappa also spoke with me, assuring me that he will address my concerns and provide relief. Senior leaders have extended an invitation to me for Delhi. A letter regarding necessary measures has been dispatched to Delhi by senior leaders. Following a thorough discussion, appropriate steps have been taken, he added.

Somashekar further noted that chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar have not approached him regarding his potential entry into the Congress. When I left the Congress to join the BJP, there was a requirement for the BJP. Presently, Congress does not hold such a necessity. Congress leaders havent invited me to join their ranks, he expressed.

Earlier in the week, Somashekar commended deputy chief minister and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar, labelling him his political mentor, fuelling speculations about his impending move.

On Sunday, Somashekhar met with chief Minister siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, seeking funds for supplying drinking water in his constituency. Within two days the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administrator sanctioned 7.63 crore for the Yeshwanthpura constituency. I had been requesting funds for drinking water, but they were not released until I met with the CM and deputy CM. Nobody has approached me to join the Congress, Somashekhar clarified.

Regarding his supporters joining the Congress, the MLA indicated that the decision was made in anticipation of the upcoming BBMP elections. I had promised them corporation tickets, but they were sceptical. They believed that by joining the ruling Congress party, they would gain an advantage. They might revert to the BJP if the party assures them of a ticket, the former minister said.

Reacting to speculations about Somashekars potential shift to the Congress, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi stated on August 21 that it is an internal matter of the party and will be resolved. He (ST Somashekar) has spoken to me. I have conveyed that this is an internal matter of the party. We will resolve it... I have little to comment on this, Joshi told reporters.

Leaders within the Congress indicated that the party is especially keen on strengthening its prospects in the Bengaluru North constituency. While we lack definitive information about any negotiations, these MLAs have shown indications. If three [BJP] MLAsByrathi Basavaraj, ST Somashekar, and Munirathnajoin hands with the Congress, it would bolster the partys chances of victory in Bengaluru North, a senior Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arun Dev Arun Dev is an Assistant Editor with the Karnataka bureau of Hindustan Times. A journalist for over 10 years, he has written extensively on crime and politics. ...view detail
Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day or Double Seven Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and the weaver girl in Chinese mythology. The festival falls on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, usually in August. In modern times, the Qixi Festival has become a celebration of love and romance in China, similar to Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on 14 February in Western countries. It is a day for couples to express their affection for each other through gifts, flowers and romantic gestures. From history to significance, here's everything you need to know about the day. (Also read: Onam 2023: History, significance, celebrations and all you need to know about Kerala's harvesting festival ) Qixi Festival also known as the Double Seventh Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day falls annually on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar.(Shutterstock)

When is Qixi Festival 2023?

The traditional Qixi Festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is usually August in the Gregorian calendar. This year, the festival will take place on August 22.

History of Qixi Festival

The history of the festival is founded in the legend of two star-crossed lovers, Zhinu and Niulang, who could only get together once a year on Qixi night. Zhinu was a weaving girl gifted with celestial ancestry, while Niulang was a lowly cowherd. The pair, who later became famous, had their yearly reunion on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Magpies, one kind of bird, were said to have temporarily crossed the gap between the two worlds so that the lovers could reconnect. The Qixi Festival, a celebration that captures the enduring tie between lovers and the enduring optimism that love would always find a way, even against the odds, was created as a symbol of their commitment.

Qixi Festival significance

In Chinese culture, the Qixi Festival is of enormous cultural and romantic significance. The event has developed into a treasured opportunity for couples to display their love and devotion. It originated from the proverbial story of the cowherd and weaving girl who are only permitted to reconnect once a year. Young ladies participate in a variety of traditions during Qixi to develop their abilities and pray for happiness. It symbolises the wish for long-lasting partnerships. The event, which serves as a cultural landmark, encourages genuine interactions and affirms the ongoing influence of love and human connection in Chinese culture.

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There can always, as it should, be a debate about how policies are introduced and implemented. Yet, the very reason behind the government of Indias temporarily delayed move to restrict computing device imports, which would include PCs, laptops and tablets, shouldnt get obscured. PREMIUM The long-term vision behind the import ban of computers is to boost domestic production of computing devices,(Stock)

Trade deficit has become a worry as is the balance of foreign exchange. There was a template, provided by the success of iterations of performance linked incentive (PLI) schemes for mobile phones, ignored. It has now propelled India to become the second-largest mobile manufacturing country.

There is no ambiguity about what the government intends to implement, once the import restrictions on laptops, tablets and servers, go into effect from November 1  the date deferred to provide for a transition period: Any and all computing devices for factors as well as servers or data-processing machines imported under the code HSN 8741 will be restricted. There will be a criterion for special import permissions, if need be.

The long-term vision behind the move is to boost domestic production of computing devices, which will also provide a fillip to employment generation. The laptop's original device manufacturers, or ODMs, will play a critical role. But the volumes will be dictated by laptop brands themselves, including the likes of HP, Lenovo, Acer, Asus and MSI, to name some.

The numbers tell their own tale. In the financial year 2022-23, computer hardware and peripheral imports were to the tune of $14,138 million, while Indias exports to the ecosystem totalled around $554 million, according to the Department of Commerce.

It is the $13,584 million trade deficit, which the government wants to address through the move to restrict relevant imports.

A closer look at the data indicates of the total imports into India, $7,254.67 million originated in China, while Singapore clocked a distant second place with $1,958.42 million. As far as exports matter, units worth $112.69 million were shipped to the US, while Russia ($54.78 million) and the Netherlands ($50.18 million) were the other main markets.

We have been manufacturing and deploying make-in-India servers and are also successful participants in the Govt PLI scheme. The import bill is ever-increasing and if not tackled it can become larger than oil imports, Sanjay Lodha, chairman of Netweb Technologies, an Indian manufacturer of high-performance computing systems for enterprises, said.

Providing a foundation, again?

This is very much a follow-up of the second phase of the PLI scheme, for IT hardware.

That was announced in May, with an outlay of 17,000 crore over a period of six years. According to government estimates, the scheme is expected to add production worth 3.35 lakh crore, draw in additional investments worth 2,430 crore, and lead to 75,000 new jobs over the six-year period.

Applications for this PLI scheme can be submitted until the end of August, which is when the final list of participants and subsidy specifics will become clear.

The policy announcement is designed to boost Make in India, and especially, the PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware, which aims to strengthen the IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem within the country, said Prabhu Ram who heads the Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research.

The outlay for the second phase is double that of the first edition announced in 2021. Besides simplifying investment requirements, the doubling of the outlay is something the government hopes will attract global PC and computing systems brands.

"We believe the governments decision to curb laptop, tablet, and computer imports is progressive and has the potential to boost indigenous electronics manufacturing in the country and also help in achieving Make in India vision, said A. Gururaj, managing director at electronics manufacturing giant Optiemus Electronics Ltd.

Can smartphone manufacturing provide the template?

If we look closely, there are two templates to work with. First, the boost for TV manufacturing in the country, after a similar import ban was put in place in 2020. Localised manufacturing has seen an upwards trajectory since. In Q3 2022, as many as five million televisions were manufactured in India, an increase of 33% quarter-on-quarter with 100% of exported televisions manufactured locally, according to research from Counterpoint.

Second, the mobile phone manufacturing-focussed initiatives, which pegs India as the second largest phone maker in the world now. China still leads. According to research by Counterpoint, two billion phones have been assembled locally between 2014 and 2022, a period that saw multiple initiatives to boost localised manufacturing.

All major phone brands now manufacture in India. Chinese company Xiaomis India president Muralikrishnan B confirmed to HT that 100% of all phones they sell in India are manufactured here. The same is true for their smart TV line-up, which is subdivided into the Mi TV and Redmi TV portfolios.

Industry response has been positive to the curbs on computing device imports.

We currently hold the PLI for IT hardware and are manufacturing laptops for notable brands. With this move, we expect further expansion of our capacity to manufacture these devices," Gururaj added. Some of Optiemus Electronics manufacturing focus areas include smartphones, IT hardware including laptops and tablets as well as smart devices.

The focus now is on the potential benefits such support can bring to research and development (R&D) and the manufacturing of electronics products in the country. This highly encourages building the whole manufacturing ecosystem in the country, says Arjun Bajaj, director of Videotex, another original device manufacturer, with a strong presence in the television manufacturing space.

But global brands have other manufacturing bases too, which means the entire volume of manufacturing exiting China may not end up in India.

Apple, for instance, has invested extensively with its manufacturing partners, to make devices such as the iPhone line-up in India. It is rumoured that production of certain models of the upcoming iPhone 15 series, expected to be announced in September, has already commenced in India. But the company is looking outside India to manufacture computing devices.

Earlier, Apple announced a decision to start manufacturing MacBooks with Foxconn, BOE and Quanta in Vietnam this year, as part of the momentum to reduce reliance on laptop manufacturing in China. Apple places orders for manufacturing as many as 24 million MacBooks every year, many of which will now be made outside China.

Is this a case of uncomfortable timing?

While the policy is clear about its intentions to boost local manufacturing of computing devices in the country and reduce the reliance on China for manufacturing, the timing may be uncomfortable: In particular, ahead of the festive season sales, which laptop companies were hoping would bring some relief.

Indias PC market has been in a steady decline, after the highs seen during the pandemic, spurred by remote workplaces. According to research firm IDC, Q2 2023 represented a fourth successive quarter of declining computing device shipments  3.2 million units were shipped in the period, representing a 15.3% reduction, year on year.

The PC market has been sluggish over the last few quarters as enterprises and SMEs have been delaying their PC procurement. However, with import restrictions expected to kick in from November, we expect vendors to push channel inventory in both the consumer and commercial segments. SMEs and enterprises might also fast track their PC procurement anticipating a price increase from November, points out Navkendar Singh, associate vice president of Devices Research at IDC India, South Asia & ANZ.

It is a similar story for tablets as well. The latest data by CyberMedia Research points Indias tablet shipments declined 22% year-on-year in Q2 2023.

With imports no longer an avenue and having to shift all manufacturing to India, PC, laptop and tablet makers will have to ship separate components inward. That will cause some concern, at least initially, about volumes and pricing.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, the impact on consumers is uncertain, with potential issues like price fluctuations and reduced product availability as the market adjusts and adapts to the new policy, CyberMedia Researchs Ram said, raising critical points about uncertainties in the backdrop of the decision.

This move will definitely hurt consumers due to supply issues and even lead to a rise in prices for a short duration of time, says Yogesh Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Consistent Infosystems, an Indian technology manufacturing company.

They manufacture IT components including motherboards and SSDs for computing devices, and they hope the government will now focus on providing adequate infrastructure, lowering export tariffs and training manpower to enhance manufacturing competitiveness in the country.

In conclusion, initiatives to boost mobile phone manufacturing and restrictions on TV imports have set successful precedents to follow but the timing of restricting computing device imports gets complicated by falling shipments and the fear of losing pricing competitiveness.
Farah Khan, who is enjoying her vacation in London, recently shared a hilarious video on Instagram that left everyone in splits. In the video, she asked a London taxi driver if he would take her to Lokhandwala. The taxi drivers witty response to her request has left everyone grinning from ear to ear. Farah Khan asking for directions from a taxi driver in London. (Instagram/@farahkhankunder)

From London to Lokhandwala. Thank you @go_london_taxi_tours for the directions, wrote Farah Khan while sharing a video on Instagram.

The video opens to show Farah Khan, in a green kurta and flared pants, praising the iconic black cabs of London. As the video progresses, she asks the taxi driver, Bhaisahab, Lokhandwala chaloge? The drivers response, delivered with a straight face, had everyone in stitches. He simply pointed in the direction and said, Its just that way. The confused Farah Khan then followed the direction given by the driver.

Watch the entire conversation between Farah Khan and the taxi driver in London below:

After watching the video, Malaika Arora couldnt stop herself from dropping a comment. She wrote, What about your accent?

Preity Zinta also reacted to the video and wrote, Farah, you nut. I love you.

The reel was shared a day ago on Instagram. It has so far accumulated over four lakh views and still counting. Many also dropped comments on the video.

Heres how people reacted to this fun-filled video:

An Instagram user wrote, You have made Lokhandwala world famous.

Bahut acchi acting ki hai taxi wale ne [Taxi driver did a good acting], posted another.

A third commented, Awww Farah, youre in my hometown. Enjoy your stay, lovely.

One of the best things about London is @farahkhankunder being there! remarked a fourth.

A fifth shared, Please make more videos. I cant stop laughing when I watch these. Fabulous @farahkhankunder.

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Devon, a software engineer at Google is acing work-life balance. Devon, who prefers to keep his full identity anonymous, has made waves by revealing that he manages to work only one hour a day while raking in a yearly salary of $150,000. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021.(Reuters)

Although his typical workday is supposed to be filled with coding for Googles various tools and products, Devon confessed that he hadn't even opened his laptop by a little past 10 am when Fortune spoke to him. Asked if he worried about missing messages from his manager, Devon shrugged it off, stating, "its not the end of the worldIll just get back to it later tonight."

Devon elaborated on his work methodology, explaining that he begins his workweek by tackling a significant portion of a task before sending it for review by his manager. According to him, this upfront effort paves the way for a smoother workflow throughout the week.

Google is renowned for its positive work atmosphere, with an impressive 97 percent of employees describing it as a great place to work compared to the 57 percent average among US companies. The company is renowned for offering perks like a unique campus, complimentary meals, and handsome salaries.

Devon's background included an internship with Google, during which he realized he wouldn't have to exert himself excessively if he secured a full-time position. His work philosophy wasn't centered on slacking but rather on downplaying his efficiency. He recounted completing all his coding work ahead of schedule during his internship, which even allowed him to enjoy a week-long trip to Hawaii.

Also Read | Ex-Google MD shares inspiring tale from when he was a sales manager at Apple

Explaining his choice, Devon stated, If I wanted to work long hours, Id be at a startup. Most people choose Google because of the work-life balance and benefits. You could work at Apple, but Apple has such fan appeal to software engineers. They work long hours but at Google, most people know what theyre doing is a job, he added

Devon's situation is not unique; he's among a group of software engineers who admit to being paid for relatively minimal output. During a period of rapid growth within the tech industry during the early stages of the pandemic, companies like Google, Meta, and Salesforce were hiring in anticipation of future demand, even if specific roles weren't immediately required. This strategy, often referred to as "penning," was designed to secure skilled employees in anticipation of sustained growth.

By skillfully managing his time and leveraging Google's appealing work culture, he's setting an example that might just change how people perceive productivity in the modern workforce.

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On Monday, more than 2,000 relatives of the victims of the 9/11, 2001, terror attacks appealed to President Joe Biden to reject any plea deal with five alleged Al Qaeda operatives who were involved in the tragedy, including the supposed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM). President Joe Biden(AP)

According to multiple reports last week, the Pentagon had notified the victims families that the five suspects, who have been detained in the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba since 2006, are being offered plea bargains.

The family members expressed their anguish in a letter to Biden, saying.

The pain is all the worse as we learn from the Department of Justice, practically on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, in a form letter that it is proposing a deal with terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that will prevent a public trial and will continue to keep the information provided to his legal team  secret and hidden.

The Pentagon letter stated that under the proposed deal, the Gitmo five would accept criminal responsibility for their actions and plead guilty  in exchange for not receiving the death penalty, as per CBS News.

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The letter continued, You are our President and we ask that you prioritize the interests of the victims of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks over those of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or other terrorists; that you not bow to the demands of any embarrassed government officials willing to sacrifice transparency.

The prosecution of the five has been stalled for years by doubts about the evidence in the case. Specifically, there has been legal ambiguity over whether the government can use information obtained through so-called enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding which critics call torture as evidence in military tribunals.

Officially, 2,977 civilians were killed when four hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.

Brett Eagleson, who leads 9/11 Justice, a group that advocates for the families of the victims and supported the letter to Biden, lost his father Bruce in the South Tower that day.

He told The New York Post on Monday, I think that the most shameful thing about this is that the 9/11 community has been fighting not only Saudi Arabia for accountability, but weve been fighting our own government.

The US government wants to continue the coverup. They do not want KSM talking and they do not want a public trial, because KSM in effect would spill the beans on everything he knows about the Saudi government involvement in 9/11 and the US intelligence failures, he added.

The families praised Biden for an executive order he signed early in his administration promising to release more information to the public about about the attacks.

But they argue that the FBI and Justice Department still keep crucial information about Riyadhs role in aiding the 19 hijackers secret.

ALSO READ| Aftermath of Hilary brings unprecedented flooding and rain damage to Palm Springs. Watch

They wrote, It is our fervent hope you will once again stand up for the victims and immediately demand that your government release the evidence we have tirelessly fought for, which we believe will further reveal the role Saudi agents played in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

These agencies are continuing to show their intransigence and theyre not complying with the Biden executive order. And we think if President Biden knew that officials in the FBI and CIA were ignoring his executive order, that he would be outraged, Eagleson said.
Southern California was hit by a rare tropical storm, Hilary on Sunday, causing record-breaking rain, flash floods, and mudslides in desert towns. A view of a vehicle on a flooded road in the aftermath of flooding caused by tropical storm Hilary, in Palm Desert, California, U.S., August 21, 2023.(Karen Thomson via REUTERS)

Tropical Storm Hilary, the first of its kind to reach the region in 84 years, dumped more than half a years worth of rain on some places, such as Palm Springs, which received almost 3.18 inches of rain by Sunday evening.

The National Weather Service said that the previous record in Palm Springs was 2.03 inches of rain on Aug. 1, 1930.

The heavy rain and flooding created chaos and confusion for many residents who were not used to such weather conditions. Interstate 10 was shut down in both directions outside the city and many other roads were also blocked.

The California Highway Patrol shared photos on social media of vehicles submerged in floodwaters.

ALSO READ| What is hurriquake? Social media erupts after earthquake hits Southern California during Hurricane Hilary

The Palm Springs Fire Department posted a video on social media of debris floating in the water and said that a local emergency had been declared.

Due to unprecedented rainfall and flooding of local roadways and at least one swift water rescue, Palm Springs City Manager Scott C. Stiles has declared a local emergency due to the critically dangerous impacts of Hurricane Hilary, the department wrote on Instagram.

The Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement that 911 lines were not working and that people should text 911 or go to the nearest police or fire station in case of an emergency. 911 lines were also down in Cathedral City and Indio, and officials did not know when they would be restored.

Many areas experienced power outages reported by Southern California Edison and schools were closed on Monday.

Authorities said that about 50 mobile homes were flooded in Cathedral City and the city posted photos of firefighters rescuing four people and a dog from the area.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Hilary was downgraded to a post-tropical storm in its early Monday update and warned that continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding was expected over parts of the southwestern U.S. on Monday.

All coastal warnings were lifted.

Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and fire officials rescued 13 people from water up to their knees in a homeless camp along the rising San Diego River.

Rain and debris also damaged some roads and people abandoned their cars in water. Floodwaters were pumped out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

ALSO READ| Hurricane Hilary makes landfall in Mexico, hits California: Check top 10 updates

Sunday was the wettest day ever recorded in San Diego, with 1.82 inches, the National Weather Service said. The previous record was on Aug. 17, 1977, when 1.8 inches post-Hurricane Doreen fell on the area.
Is Covid-19 coming back as a new wave in the United States? New Covid causing variants like EG.5, FL.1.5.1 and BA.2.86 are spreading and people have become wary about the virus that took thousands of lives across the globe, as a pandemic. However, hospitalisations in the United States, due to these variants are currently lower compared to the previous waves. But cases are on the rise. Representational Picture(Shutterstock)

According to a report by CBS News, Health officials feel that the forthcoming vaccines will provide protection against these new variants as well.

ALSO READ| Ohio teenage girl sentenced to 15-to-life in prison for intentional 100mph hell on wheels car crash that killed two

Most dominant strain in the United States

EG.5 variant is currently the most dominant Covid causing strain in the United States. On August 18, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated EG.5 was responsible for 20.6% of new infections.

FL.1.5.1 variant is the second in line as the most dominant strain in the US. As per CDC, it is responsible 13.3% of the new infections in the country.

Notably, both EG.5 and FL.1.5.1are subvariants of XBB variant. Due to a mutation known as F456L, these seem to be spreading more than other virus variants.

BA.2.86 varitant is currently causing new infections on a small scale. However, due to large number of mutations in some key parts of the virus, makes it highly risky variant.

Symptoms from the new variants

The symptoms are similar to those caused by the earlier variants. On August 9, World Health Organisation(WHO) informed that severity of the disease hasn't been affected much by these new variants.

CBS News report that the symptoms from these new variants have remained largely the same as they have for the past year, with cold and flu-like signs  cough, headache, muscle aches, runny nose and fatigue.

Covid Test on new variants

The Covid detection tests seem to work on these new variants as well.

"Now we have the genome mapped and all that information. We also have the epitopes mapped for all antigen-based tests. We can do computational analytics to see whether or not we think there's going to be any impact on test performance," said Todd Merchak, co-lead of the NIH's RADx Tech initiative at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Covid vaccines for new variants

Vaccine makers and health officials feel the upcoming new Covid-19 vaccine and booster shots will be effective against these new variants.

"We try to select the antigen that will provide the maximum breadth of immunity so that the protection to people is as wide as possible, anticipating that the virus may evolve between the time when the recommendation is issued and the time when the vaccine is produced," the WHO's Dr. Sylvie Briand told reporters on August 9.
A 10-year-old boy has been shot dead in suspected drugs-related violence in the southern French town of Nimes, authorities said Tuesday, with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin mourning an "immense tragedy." A French policeman stands guard near the scene of the attack.(AP File)

The boy was travelling in a car with his uncle through the deprived Pissevin area of the city when they were targeted at around 1130 pm (2130 GMT) on Monday evening.

Local prosecutor Cecile Gensac told reporters Tuesday that the victim's family "was absolutely not associated in any way, neither before nor currently, in acts of a criminal nature."

Police are working on the assumption of mistaken identity, with the Renault Clio being driven by the boy's uncle resembling a car used in a separate drive-by shooting at the weekend.

"A 10-year-old child killed in what looks like a tit-for-tat attack between drug dealers," Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "It's an immense tragedy that will not go unpunished."

The gunmen, who are believed to be four, are on the run.

"I'm profoundly shocked, saddened and revolted by this new tragedy," the mayor of Nimes, Jean-Paul Fournier, wrote online.

A series of violent incidents in regional towns in southern France, usually related to the drugs trade, have led to increased fears about crime and promises of new police resources from the French government.

The southern port city of Marseille, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Nimes, remains a key entry point for drugs into Europe and has suffered decades of violent crime between rival criminal networks as a result.

Two gangs, "Yoda" and "DZ Mafia", are currently locked in a spiral of violence there as they seek to control the drugs market in the notorious northern neighbourhoods of France's second biggest city.

Since the start of the year, 37 people have died in the gang war, according to an AFP count, already six more than in all of 2022.

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Canada is examining curbing the number of international students while cracking down on institutions exploiting them amid a housing crisis that threatens Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus political future. Canadas housing, infrastructure, and communities minister Sean Fraser. (Twitter)

News agency Canadian Press quoted housing, infrastructure, and communities minister Sean Fraser saying a cap on international students was one of the options they ought to consider. He added some pretty tough questions have to be asked when you see stories about the exploitation of international students with some institutions.

Fraser said some of the institutions exist purely to profit off the backs of vulnerable international students rather than provide quality education to the future permanent residents and citizens of Canada. He added institutions bringing in record numbers of students from abroad should also be part of the solution by providing the incomers with housing as the rental market in Canada becomes tighter.

The housing crisis appears to be a major factor as ruling Liberal Party of Canada has trailed the opposition Conservative Party in recent polls.

Rentals.ca reported the growing number of students entering Canada has added to further upward pressure on rents. It said the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Canada rose to CA$2078 in July (approximately 1.29 lakh). The priciest flats were in Vancouver with one-bedroom accommodation averaging CA$ 3000 (about 1.86 lakh).

The largest cohort among approximately 800,000 international students is from India. In 2022, 226,000 of the 549,570 study permits were issued to Indian nationals. Indians accounted for 96,175 of the 238,960 permits issued until June.

Fraser, who was the immigration minister until last month, said the discussions he has had with his successor, Marc Miller, include separating the wheat from the chaff in terms of good private institutions attracting students for the right reasons and those exploiting them.

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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
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday China posed a challenge to the "fundamentals of how we live together in this world" and Germany would work with mid-sized nations like Australia to de-escalate tension in the Indo-Pacific. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock looks on during a press conference.(AFP)

In a video address to an Australian foreign policy think tank, Baerbock said Australia's experience of trade bans imposed by China had influenced Germany's shift in policy towards Beijing.

"China has changed, and that's why our policy towards China also needs to change," she told the Lowy Institute.

While China was a partner on climate change, trade and investment, it was "a rival when it comes to the very fundamentals of how we live together in this world," she said.

"What we see is the emergence of a world of increasing systemic rivalry, in which some autocratic regimes seek to bend the international order to increase their spheres of influence, using not only military might but also economic clout."

Numerous countries were pivoting to China because they lacked alternatives, and Germany wanted to change this, she said.

Germany would not promote new confrontation between blocs, but would diversify its trading partners and de-risk, she said.

"We learned painfully how vulnerable our one-sided dependencies on Russian energy imports made us. We dont want to repeat that mistake," she said.

Germany wanted to establish direct supply of rare earths and lithium mined in Australia, but the "risky detour" most Australian lithium took to be processed in China needed to be reduced, she said. "Mining and processing is geopolitical," she said.

Australia, which produces half of the world's lithium, is seeking foreign investment to establish local processing; it also blocked two Chinese investments in rare earths companies this year.

Highlighting the economic importance of the Indo Pacific to Europe, Baerbock said half of all container ships pass through the Taiwan Strait.

"Any unilateral change in the status quo across the Taiwan Strait would be unacceptable, even more so if this were to include coercive or military means," she added.

Germany participated in the 13-nation Talisman Sabre military exercises in Australia last month, and opened its first Pacific Islands embassy in Fiji on Saturday.

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A coal mine explosion killed 11 people in Shaanxi province in northern China, state media reported Tuesday. China Mine Explosion: The blast occurred at 8:26 pm on Monday at the Xintai Coal Mine near the city of Yan'an.(Representational)

The blast occurred at 8:26 pm on Monday at the Xintai Coal Mine near the city of Yan'an, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the municipal emergency management bureau.

Some 90 people were in the mine at the time of the explosion, nine of whom were trapped inside and were "found with no vital signs" by 9:00 am on Tuesday, according to CCTV.

Two others who made it to the surface "were seriously injured and died after resuscitation efforts failed", the broadcaster said.

It went on to say a further 11 people were "lightly injured" and had been taken to hospital for treatment, adding that "their vital signs are stable".

"The cause of the accident is currently under investigation," CCTV said.

Mine safety in China has improved in recent decades, as has media coverage of major incidents, many of which were once overlooked.

However, accidents still occur frequently in an industry whose safety protocols are often lax, especially at the most rudimentary sites.

In February, a coal mine collapse in the northern Inner Mongolia region left dozens of people and vehicles buried under a mountain of debris.

Authorities did not disclose the final death toll for months, only saying in June that 53 people had perished in the accident.

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US President Joe Biden's visit to Hawaii after the devastating wildfires there that claimed hundreds of lives, has stirred a can of worms. Biden was met with protests from irate locals and survivors of the horrific wildfire disaster. During his visit, Biden was seen petting a dog and the President's actions gave the opposition Republican Party an opportunity to criticise him. US President Joe Biden (C) greets a dog wearing protective boots as he meets with first responders during an operational briefing on response and recovery efforts following wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023. The Bidens are expected to meet with first responders, survivors, and local officials following deadly wildfires in Maui.(AFP)

On Monday, in a criticism of Biden's actions, RNC Research had tweeted: "Biden gets distracted by a dog: "That's some hot ground, man!".

However, in the wake of Biden's criticism for petting the golden retriever while talking to a FEMA worker in Hawaii, the White House has hit back with a statement.

Hes petting one of the dogs thats working hard searching for remains so survivors whove lost loved ones can have closure, tweeted White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates.

"This criticism is classless and stupid," added Bates in the tweet.

In the video of Biden while petting the dog, he is heard asking a FEMA worker, "Whats the bosss name?. Notably, the president is a dog owner himself.

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During his visit, Biden spoke to the people of Lahaina in Hawaii. May God bless all those weve lost, may God find those who we havent determined yet, and may God bless you all, said Biden.

Earlier, while vacationing near Rehoboth beach in Delaware, when Biden was asked to say something on the increasing death toll in Maui, Biden had replied no comment.

So when the President visited Hawaii on Monday, protestors held no comment signboards to tease him. Angry protestors also hurled insults and yelled Go home Joe! during Biden's visit.

President Biden was accompanied by first lady Jill Biden and they also toured areas devastated by the Maui wildfires during their visit on Monday.
Scientists are hoping to receive a message from aliens soon, after waiting for 40 years. The message was sent by Japanese astronomers Masaki Morimoto and Hisashi Hirabayashi to a star that does not appear to have any planets. But the catch is that there will only be an hour to hear the message. The message was composed with the intention to show what humans are like and how life works on Earth and send it into the cosmos. It was sent using a telescope at Stanford University to Altair- a star 16.7 light years away that could potentially have life around it. The original message was sent on 15 August, 1983. The original message was sent on 15 August, 1983. (Pixabay)

Now the team led by Shinya Narusawa at the University of Hyogo will use a large Japanese telescope to try and see if anything is sending back a reply to the message. They will listen for messages coming from the star on August 22 as the date is significant because of it being Japans Tanabata star festival which symbolically celebrates the meeting of two deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, the latter is represented by Altair.

Shinya Narusawa said that he was hopeful that aliens are out there somewhere and that the message could have really been sent towards alien life.

A large number of exoplanets have been detected since the 1990s, he told Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun. Altair may have a planet whose environment can sustain life," he added.

In 2008, Hisashi Hirabayashi admitted that the pair had been drunk when they came up with the idea of sending the message, it was reported.

I believe in aliens, but they are very difficult to find, he said then, noting that he had received an array of messages from schoolchildren about the message.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in and be processed at the Fulton County jail in Georgia on Thursday, CNN reported on Monday, citing sources. Former US President Donald Trump(AP)

That date was set during negotiations with the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday over his consent bond and release conditions, CNN reported.

In a 98-page Georgia indictment revealed last week, Trump and 18 other defendants were charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to overturn Trump's loss in the 2020 election in the state.

When Trump surrenders, there will be a "hard lockdown" of the area surrounding the Rice Street Jail, the local sheriff's office said earlier on Monday. It did not mention the timing of the surrender.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump will face a $200,000 bond and orders not to send threatening social media messages as the former U.S. president awaits trial in Georgia on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, a court filing on Monday showed.

The document, a bond agreement signed by Trump's attorneys and Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis, also set out release terms including restrictions on intimidating witnesses and obstructing justice.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and his co-defendants were indicted on Aug. 14. Willis gave them until Friday at noon ET (1600 GMT) to surrender or face arrest.

Prosecutors in the case have proposed that the trial start on March 4, while Trump's lawyers have asked for a 2026 trial.

Trump's reported surrender on Thursday will come a day after the first Republican primary presidential debate that the former president does not plan to attend.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass slammed Texas Governor Greg Abbott for sending a bus filled with migrants to the city even as it faced the brunt of Tropical Storm Hilary. The bus embarked from Brownsville, Texas, and arrived in downtown Los Angeles amidst the storm's impact. LA Mayor slams Texas Governor for sending migrants to LA on a bus during Tropical Storm Hilary, calls it "evil" and "despicable".(AFP)

Mayor Bass expressed her concerns, stating, "It is evil to endanger the lives of vulnerable migrants by sending a bus with families and toddlers on board to a city that was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning." She emphasized that Abbott, who annually deals with hurricane threats, should understand the risks involved.

Highlighting the timing of the bus's arrival, Bass stated, "As I stood with state and local leaders warning Angelenos to stay safe and brace themselves for the worst of the coming storm, the Governor of Texas sent families and toddlers straight for us on a path through extreme weather conditions." She called this act "despicable" and beyond political motivations.

Bass also took to Twitter to express her displeasure with Abbott in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "This evening, Los Angeles received another bus from Texas," she wrote. "That means that while we were urging Angelenos to stay safe, the Governor of Texas was sending a bus with families and toddlers straight towards us KNOWING they'd have to drive right into an unprecedented storm. Evil."

The bus was the ninth carrying migrants that have arrived in Los Angeles this year, all part of a pre-existing plan by city agencies and non-profit organizations to care for migrants.

Also Read | Aftermath of Hilary brings unprecedented flooding and rain damage to Palm Springs. Watch

Governor Abbott has been previously criticized for similar actions. Last year, he began sending buses of migrants to Democrat-led cities, defending the move by stating that cities with "self-declared sanctuary city status" were welcoming these migrants. Bass had condemned this strategy earlier, accusing Abbott of using human lives for political agendas.

The current outrage follows Abbott's decision to send migrants during a tropical storm, a move that drew significant backlash considering the dangers of the situation. "This did not catch us off guard, nor will it intimidate us," Bass said. "Los Angeles is not a city motivated by hate or fear, and we absolutely will not be swayed or moved by petty politicians playing with human lives," Bass added.

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President Joe Biden faced a hostile reception on Monday when he visited Maui to survey the damage caused by the catastrophic wildfires that claimed at least 114 lives last week. He was met with angry protesters who waved middle fingers, shouted insults, and held signs that said no comment as he left Kapalua Airport in his motorcade. U.S. President Joe Biden stands as Hawaii Governor Josh Green gestures as they visit the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, U.S., August 21, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque(REUTERS)

The protesters were primarily residents of the western part of Maui, where the historic town of Lahaina was wiped out by the flames on Aug. 8.

They accused Biden of being late, indifferent, and ineffective in responding to the disaster.

Go home Joe! they yelled as Biden drove by, shortly before he delivered a prepared speech praising the federal efforts, despite complaints from locals who said they did not receive enough assistance.

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden accompanied by Hawaii Governor Josh Green and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, visit the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, U.S., August 21, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque(REUTERS)

The 80-year-old running for re-election next year, has faced fierce criticism, even from some Democrats, for his lack of empathy and urgency following the worst US wildfires in over a century.

As he headed toward the historic downtown of Lahaina, Biden saw signs that said NO COMMENT, REALLY $7, ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS, and FJB, along with two flags endorsing former President Donald Trumps 2024 bid.

Where has the president been? wondered Dennis Mullen, 58, of Kahana, who said that the airport where the presidential plane landed was hardly used to bring in much-needed supplies.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour areas devastated by the Maui wildfires, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(AP)

Any number of military aircraft, planes and helicopters could have flown in here. To leave a town that was just devastated shut down was just ridiculous. The runway wasnt cratered, Mullen quoted to The New York Post.

On the west side of Maui, where neighborhoods had burned down, there was desperate need and no one came to help.

The massive death toll in Maui resulted from a series of apparent blunders by officials, who failed to sound emergency alarms or release water in time to fight the fire.

The victims included children, such as a 7-year-old boy who died with his family in their car. Most of the dead have not been identified yet and approx 850 people are still missing. Biden shocked and outraged Hawaiians when he said No comment when asked about the calamity on Aug. 13 after spending time on a Delaware beach.

Biden refused to comment on Thursday when a reporter questioned him about his upcoming trip to Maui, saying, No, not now.

Dean Fuchs, 59, of Kihei in eastern Maui, inverted a Hawaiian state flag as the presidents motorcade passed.

The presidents kinda late dont you think? Fuchs told.

ALSO READ| After Maui, wildfire impacts thousands in Canada

When he was asked about the disaster in Maui and he said no comment, that was disrespectful to the people of Maui who have lost so much, he added.

Were here to send the president a message that were displeased with the federal response.
A California shop owner who was killed over a Pride flag outside her store was the target of a gunman who had a history of posting anti-LGBTQ comments on social media and far-right sites. Travis Ikeguchi(Twitter)

The suspect was identified by authorities on Monday as Travis Ikeguchi, 27, who died in a shootout with deputies after he shot Laura Lauri Carleton outside her clothing store Mag.Pi in Cedar Glen.

Ikeguchi ripped off a rainbow Pride flag that Carleton, 66, had hung outside her business on Friday. When Carleton confronted him, he yelled many homophobic slurs and then shot her, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff officials who held a press conference on Monday.

Carleton, who was a well-known figure in the community and a mother of nine, passed away at the scene while Ikeguchi ran away.

Deputies chased him for about a mile from the store and he fired at them, hitting several patrol cars, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said to reporters.

The officers fired back and killed Ikeguchi. No deputies were hurt.

Ikeguchi was reported missing by his family a day before the hate-driven shooting  often posted anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion messages on Twitter (X) and the far-right platform Gab.

In one disturbing, ominous post in June, he wrote What to do with the [Pride] flag? above a photo of a burning rainbow flag on X. He pinned the post to his profile, which Dicus confirmed to be his.

He also shared an illustration of a Pride flag on fire on his now-deleted Gab page under the pretext of Christianity and made anti-government and anti-police statements.

What to do with the LGBTQP flag?(Twitter)

We need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorshipTrue followers of Christ SHOULD NOT and NEVER TOLERATE this stupid indoctrination of LGBT agenda in marriage or in our own businesses, he captioned the illustration. Who has the courage to post this and feel no shame of it!?

The 27-year-old frequently shared and retweeted bible verses between writing his disgusting posts. Discus said Ikeguchi was not known to law enforcement before Fridays shooting.

The alleged killer used a semiautomatic handgun that was not registered to him and he was not licensed to carry a concealed weapon, the sheriff said.

The investigation into the shooting which had several witnesses who called 911 is ongoing.

Carleton, who was known as Lauri by her friends, is survived by her husband and nine children in what she had described as a blended family.

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She did not identify as a member of the LGBTQ community but was a staunch supporter, according to the Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ organization. Carleton received an outpouring of tributes from names big and small, far and wide.

Friends, family, and admirers turned the outside of her shop into a makeshift memorial with bunches of flowers and Pride flags as a single bullet hole could be seen through its glass door.

Thank you for standing up for whats right, one person wrote in a note left among roses and sunflowers.

Bridesmaids director Paul Feig called Carleton a friend.

She was a wonderful person who did so much for the LGBTQ+ community as well as the community at large, the Gostbuster director wrote on X.

What happened to her is an absolute tragedy. If people dont think anti-gay & trans rhetoric isnt dangerous, think again.

The killing follows a rise in anti-LGBTQ attacks and hateful rhetoric across the country and locally.

ALSO READ| 9/11 families urge President Joe Biden to reject plea deal with alleged Al Qaeda operatives

Advocacy group Equality California said over the past year, it has documented a sharp increase in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric being expressed by far-right extremists and hate groups  rhetoric which has resulted in physical intimidation, harassment, and acts of violence.

In late July, a teenager fatally stabbed OShae Sibley, a 28-year-old gay man known in the NYC dancing community, for voguing to a Beyonce song outside a Brooklyn gas station in a case that prosecutors have determined to be an anti-gay hate crime.
Hong Kong's leader said that the city would "immediately activate" import controls on Japanese seafood as he strongly opposed Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. Japan will begin releasing more than a million tons of water from the plant. Tokyo has insisted that the water is safe and that the plant which was wrecked in a 2011 tsunami is mostly been used to cool damaged reactors. The storage tanks for contaminated water at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture.(AFP)

Hong Kong said that its ban would take effect from August 24, the day Japan starts its release. The plan has been approved by the UN nuclear watchdog but dumping the water has faced opposition from counties including China, over worries about food safety.

Hong Kong chief executive John Lee said the release was "irresponsible" and posed impossible risks to food safety and the irreparable pollution and destruction of the marine environment adding that he had told environment secretary Tse Chin-wan and relevant departments to immediately activate import controls in order to protect food safety and public health.

"There is no timetable at this point about how long the ban will last," Tse Chin-wan said. The decision would depend on data and information from the Japan after the discharge, he explained.

Macau will also implement the ban from Thursday, covering goods from the same 10 Japanese regions.

What does the ban mean?

In July, Hong Kong said the ban would cover imported aquatic products from the Japanese regions of Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama but exports from 13 other regions would still be allowed. The measure covers live, frozen, refrigerated, dried aquatic products, sea salt and seaweed.

What will be the impact of the ban?

Hong Kong is Japan's second largest market, after China, for agricultural and fisheries exports. Many restaurants will face a major challenge as some plan to add more meat to their menus as they anticipate losses of up to 40%.

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A 29-year-old Indian origin man in Singapore was charged with murder after a brawl that broke out in a hotel that resulted in the death of a person. Another six men were charged with rioting using deadly weapons, and a seventh was given a charge of voluntarily causing hurt, Channel News Asia reported. Singapore: Another six men were charged with rioting using deadly weapons.(Representational)

Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran is accused of murdering Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail at the Concorde hotel and shopping mall, it was reported. As he appeared in the court via video-link, he faced murder charges. If convicted of murder, he will face the death penalty, the report said.

The six men charged of rioting with a deadly weapon can be jailed for up to 10 years and caned if convicted. The seventh person, if convicted of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or caned, or receive any combination of such punishments as per law.

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Iran has built an advanced homemade drone named Mohajer-10 with an enhanced flight range and duration as well as a greater payload, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday. An Iranian flag flutters.(Reuters)

Iranian media said the new drone has an operational range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles) and can fly for up to 24 hours. Its payload can reach 300 kg, double the capacity of the "Mohajer-6" drone.

U.S. officials have accused Iran of providing Mohajer-6 drones, among other unmanned aerial vehicles, to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Tehran denies this.

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Is the highly-mutated new variant of coronavirus, BA.2.86, a matter of global concern? Researchers around the world are trying to determine its impact and many of them are finding resemblance of its origin with that of the early stages of Omicron variant that swiftly reigned over the globe in 2021-22 in just days after its discovery. Scientists discovered the lineage of BA.2.86 variant is linked with Omicron subvariant BA.2. NEXU Science Communication/File Photo(via REUTERS)

Much like Omicron, BA.2.86, which is causing spike in Covid cases in the US, UK and other countries, carries numerous changes in its spike protein. It is the key area of the virus that attacks human's immune system.

According to Nature, several scientists believe that the emergence of this new variant won't create a wave like Omicron given the broader range of immunity against Covid-19 due to larger vaccine roll-outs. Theres good reason to think it wont be like the Omicron wave, but its early days, Adam Lauring, virologist, told the science journal.

Why are scientists on alert regarding BA.2.86?

Scientists discovered that the lineage of BA.2.86 variant is linked with Omicron subvariant BA.2. People with long-term Covid-19 infection earlier had larger spike mutations in the virus, similar to what has been found in BA.2.86.

According to Ashish Jha, a public-health researcher at Brown University in US' Rhode Island, BA.2.86 is drastically different than frequently mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) virus. Just like Omicron was a little out of left field, this BA.2.86 is little out of left fieldThere is enough here to get us all to start paying attention, he told Nature.

Another virologist Jesse Bloom said that BA.2.86 has the potential to escape from antibodies that could neutralise its effects. In other words, people who developed antibodies through booster vaccines or earlier Covid infection may still be vulnerable to infection by the new variant.

As of August 21, six cases of Covid infection have been reported in Israel, United Kingdom, Denmark and United States. Scientists fear that all these cases are not linked  which means the patients got infected despite not travelling to between these countries  which suggests that a fair amount of community transmission may have already happened in the affected countries.

Should you worry about this new variant?

Bloom said the new variant may fizzle out even before people around the globe get a grasp over its existence. "I dont think anybody needs to be alarmed by this, the virologist said.

Jha believes the chances of BA.2.86 creating a next wave are exceedingly low.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely reprimanded his premier and other senior officials over their irresponsible response after recent flooding that inundated farmlands the country, state media reported. Floods in North Korea caused serious damage to the country's agricultural sector due to poor drainage and deforestation, Associated Press reported. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in waste-deep water as he visits the restoration site of reclaimed land which suffered flood damage.(AFP)

Kim Jong Un visited a western coastal tideland where seawater recently destroyed the embankment and flooded more than 270 hectares of rice paddies. After inspecting the situation, the North Korean leader accused officials of very irresponsible neglect of duties, according to Korean Central News Agency.

The North Korean leader criticized premier Kim Tok Hun for showing the attitude of an onlooker," KCNA reported, berating the vice premier for failing to perform his duties faithfullyand playing the role of a fuel supplier only. Kim Jong Un also said that the director of the tideland reclamation bureau did nothing and concealed a large amount of fuel oil provided for construction works.

In recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner, Kim Jong Un said, calling the recent flooding a man-made disaster.

The cabinet wasnt aware of the fact that a local corporation in June launched an unauthorized construction project to build a drainage system there and didnt take any measures even though the leakage of water was discovered at the floodgate bank, Kim said.

Tae Yongho, a South Korean lawmaker, said, Kim Jong Un appears to be searching (for) extreme steps to divert public complaints that have been heightened due to worsened public livelihoods and economic situations."

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Following the setback of Russia's first lunar expedition in 47 years, a prominent physicist, who had played a crucial advisory role in Vladimir Putin's Moon mission, has been hospitalised. Mikhail Marov, aged 90, was urgently hospitalised after his health significantly deteriorated following the Luna-25 spacecraft's loss of control and subsequent crash into the Moon, reported The Independent. The incident marked a distressing turn of events for Marov, who had been closely associated with Vladimir Putin's Moon mission. Luna-25

It is so sad that it was not possible to land the apparatus, Marov said after the failure of the Luna-25. In an interview with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, he expressed his desire for a thorough and comprehensive discussion and investigation into the factors leading to the crash, the report said. "This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar programme," he added.

Roscosmos, the space agency of Russia, reported a communication breakdown with the spacecraft at 11:57am (GMT) on Saturday due to an issue that arose while the craft was being manoeuvred into a pre-landing orbit. The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon, the space agency said in a statement.

Speaking about the crash, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov went on to blame the country's long pause in lunar exploration for the mission's failure. Interrupting the lunar programme for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failure of Luna 25. The invaluable experience that our predecessors accumulated in the 1960s and 1970s was practically lost during the interruption of the programme, he said.

The unsuccessful outcome of Luna-25 highlighted Russia's diminishing influence in space exploration compared to its heyday during the Cold War rivalry. During that era, Moscow achieved significant milestones like launching the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1, into Earth's orbit in 1957.

Russia has been engaged in a competitive race with India, as India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is set to achieve a landing on the moon's southern pole this week.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Two weeks after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century swept through the Maui community of Lahaina, authorities say more than 800 people remain unaccounted for  a staggering number that presents huge challenges for officials who are trying to determine how many of those perished and how many may have made it to safety but haven't checked in. U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden accompanied by Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Jaime Green, First Lady of Hawaii and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, visit the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, U.S., August 21, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque(REUTERS)

Something similar happened after a wildfire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, California.

Authorities in Butte County, home to Paradise, ultimately published a list of the missing in the local newspaper, a decision that helped identify scores of people who had made it out alive but were listed as missing. Within a month, the list dropped from 1,300 names to only a dozen.

I probably had, at any given time, 10 to 15 detectives who were assigned to nothing but trying to account for people who were unaccounted for, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said in a phone interview. At one point the local editor of our newspaper  said, 'Hey, if you give me the names, I will print them.' And at that point it was like, 'Absolutely. Anything that we can do to help out.'

But Maui authorities have opted not to publicise their list because it's unclear whether privacy rules would prevent them from doing so, said Adam Weintraub, spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

There are also concerns about further traumatising families of those who are now listed as missing but may turn out to be dead, he added.

As of Monday, there were 115 people confirmed dead, according to Maui police.

The names of, and any information related to the missing individuals, will not be published or be made publicly available at this time, a Maui County spokesperson said via text message.

There are also widely varying accounts of the tally of the missing. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Sunday on the CBS News show Face the Nation" that more than 1,000 remained unaccounted for.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a pre-recorded video on Instagram that the number was 850. And during President Joe Biden's tour of the devastation on Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall put it between 500 and 800.

The American Red Cross said it generates its own list  separate from law enforcement  of people who are unaccounted for through requests made to its call centre and information gathered by its field teams, spokesperson Daniel Parra said.

The organisation has also entered into a data-sharing agreement with federal, state and local government agencies to help with reunifications.

So far the American Red Cross has successfully completed roughly 2,400 requests seeking reunification or welfare updates, out of the more than 3,000 it has received, Parra said. A completed request means the organisation was able to locate a missing person or verify someone's status in a medical facility, for example, among other things.

To find people, the organisation cross-checks names with emergency shelter registration lists, calls hospitals to see if the person was admitted as a patient and combs through social media, among other steps, Parra said.

When an individual is located, the organisation provides their status to the person seeking information about them  with the individual's consent  and closes the case in its system.

Social outreach like this will be crucial as identifying human remains after wildfires  and confirming whether those who are unaccounted for are deceased  can be an arduous, lengthy process. Fire experts say it's possible some bodies were cremated in the Lahaina fire, meaning there may be no bones left to identify through DNA tests.

Those are easy when destruction is modest, said Vyto Babrauskas, president of fire safety research consulting firm Fire Science and Technology Inc. If you go to the extreme of things  if turned to ash  you're not going to be able to identify anything.

Babrauskas added that damage from debris removal and excavation can also make recovery efforts difficult.

This is such an extreme disaster, he said. It is so rare to need this kind of tallying and identification.

Honea, the Butte County sheriff, said it took weeks to complete the search for remains in Paradise and his detectives worked 16-hour days to narrow the list of the missing. Today there is only one person who still remains unaccounted for, and Honea said he has reason to believe that person was not in town the day of the fire.

We had this Excel spreadsheet with the people's names and any of the different information we had, he said. We'd then start working the cases similar to the way you work any other case to try to locate somebody.

That included visiting people's last known residences, contacting telecommunications companies to see whether they had used their cell phones, and reaching out by email and social media.

We were able to identify them through basically good old fashioned detective work, Honea said.

Scuba instructor Tim Ferguson, whose home north of Lahaina was spared, was elated to hear about a friend who managed to flee the flames with their family, including a 2-week-old baby, a 3-year-old toddler and their two dogs. They lost their home but are safe.

He thought it would be good if authorities published a list of the missing the way Paradise did but said that might be of limited use now because cell service is still spotty in Lahaina. Everyone uses their cellphone to communicate, he said.

There are so many of those who won't have that ending. I don't know how we come back from that, Ferguson said.

The situation on Maui is still evolving rapidly, but those who have lived through similar tragedies and never learned of their loved ones' fate are also following the news and hurting for the victims and their families.

Nearly 22 years later, almost 1,100 victims of the 9/11 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000, have no identified remains.

Joseph Giaccone's family initially was desperate for any physical trace of the 43-year-old finance executive, who worked in the World Trade Centre's North Tower, brother James Giaccone recalled. But over time, he started to focus instead on memories of the flourishing man his brother was.

If his remains were identified and given to the family now, it would just reinforce the horror that his person endured that day, and it would open wounds that I don't think I want to open, Giaccone said Monday as he visited the 9/11 memorial plaza in New York.

So I am OK with the way it is right now.
Ahead of Wednesdays first GOP debate, Fox News has informed the Trump campaigns that the former presidents surrogates are persona non grata from the first Republican primary debate. The decision to banish Trump surrogates appears to be taken after the former President confirmed he wouldnt be attending the event. FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump's family members including his son Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, his son Eric and Eric's wife Lara listen as Trump announces that he will once again run for U.S. president (REUTERS)

The New York Post stated in a report that no surrogates of any candidate would be allowed on stage and this isnt specific to Trump. Earlier, Donald Trump Jr. had expressed his desire to attend the debate as his fathers surrogate. Trump Jrs fiance Kimberly Guilfoyle was also expected to show up at the event and run media for the former POTUS.

Late-summer's dip?

The decision by former President Donald Trump to skip Wednesday's first debate of the 2024 presidential primary season likely deprives Fox of a huge late-summer audience. Even worse for the network, Trump has talked of appearing in an online interview with former Fox star Tucker Carlson at the same time.

Trump's announcement on Sunday wasn't necessarily a surprise. Fox debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had been preparing for two events  one if he were there and one if he wasn't.

Several Fox personalities this summer publicly urged Trump to attend the event, and Fox executives privately made the same argument to the former president. His former press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, called Trump's decision a huge political miscalculation on Monday on Fox.

Despite Trump's lead over other Republicans in polls, MacCallum cautioned potential viewers against dismissing a debate without him as a junior varsity event.

She cited a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, taken July 23-27, that showed nearly half of Trump backers in Iowa said they were open to other candidates.

I don't think as members of the media or people who watch politics it's our place to say, Oh, this is over, these people aren't going to be the nominee,' she said. It's way too soon to say that.

Big Ratings

Trump's first appearance in a GOP primary debate brought 24 million viewers to Fox in 2015. It would be next to impossible to reach those numbers again, given his novelty has worn off and cord-cutting has diminished cable news audiences. Yet when only 12.5 million watched a January 2016 Fox debate that Trump skipped, that gave an indication of his drawing power.

This summer's debate has been anticipated as a beacon for Fox News, which endured months of embarrassing headlines earlier this year related to Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit for the network's coverage of bogus claims by Trump after the 2020 election.

As the trial was about to start, Fox agreed to pay USD 787.5 million to Dominion in a settlement.

The lawsuit had little discernible impact on Fox's viewers, but when Fox fired Carlson with no explanation a week later, those fans hit back hard. The network never publicly explained why Carlson was fired, although his appearance in court papers released with the Dominion case led to several public theories being advanced.

As it has in the past, Fox relied on its bench in establishing a new lineup that debuted in July, giving prime time shows to Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, popular panelists on The Five.

Their shows sandwich Sean Hannity on the schedule, offering a continuation of biting conservative commentary.

Fox's prime-time audience averaged 2.5 million this year through Carlson's firing, and 1.6 million for the nearly two months before the new lineup premiered. Its prime-time audience has since rebounded to 2.2 million, according to the Nielsen company.

There has been a sense of stabilization with the new lineup, said Steve Krakauer, publisher of the Fourth Watch newsletter and author of Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy with Power, Abandoned its Principles and Lost the People.

How much Trump's four criminal indictments will be discussed onstage in Milwaukee is an open question, in part dependent upon what his opponents want to talk about.

Even without Trump's participation on Wednesday, he will be on the stage even if he's not on the stage, Baier said in an interview.

The Siena College-Times survey suggests that it wouldn't be a popular topic among regular Fox viewers. The poll found 78 per cent of people who regularly get news from Fox said Trump has not committed any serious federal crimes, and that 80 per cent said that the GOP should stand behind Trump in the cases.

Krakauer said Fox would hardly be unique among the media in wanting to give its audience what it wants, and suggested there may be some indictment fatigue among the audience.

With inputs from AP

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More than 200 members of Afghanistan's former military, law enforcement and government have been killed since the Taliban took over despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies, the UN mission in Afghanistan said. At least 218 extrajudicial killings with links to the Taliban were recorded, the mission said. Afghanistan: Taliban fighters stand guard as they block a road near Kabul.(AFP)

"In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.

Senior Taliban leaders earlier said that there is an amnesty for former government officials and members of the military. Responding to the mission's report, Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said that it had not received reports of any cases of non-compliance with the order. Any cases that did occur would be investigated, it added.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the killings were a "betrayal of the people's trust" since the victims had been assured they would not be targeted while UN rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said the scale of killings was "shocking" and expected the true count to be higher.

"For the majority of violations discussed in this report, there is limited information regarding measures taken by the de facto authorities to investigate incidents and hold perpetrators to account," UNAMA said, adding, The apparent impunity with which members of the de facto authorities continue to commit human rights violations against former government officials and ANDSF members is of serious concern.

In total, UNAMA recorded 800 incidents of human rights violations connected with the Taliban against former government employees and military. These included arbitrary arrests, disappearance and torture.Re

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A rescue operation is under way in Pakistan for eight people - including six children - who were trapped in a cable car dangling over a valley. Five children have been rescued so far, Associated Press reported. The incident happened after the cable snapped, leaving the car hanging 274m (900 ft) above ground. Officials said that the cable is currently suspended by a single rope. The incident happened at about 07:00 local time (02:00 GMT) as the children were crossing the valley on their way to school in a mountainous part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Pakistan Cable Car Rescue: An army soldier slings down from helicopter during the rescue mission.(AFP)

Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar ordered rescuers to attend to the "alarming" incident saying that he has directed the authorities "to urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the eight people stuck in the chairlift".

He also ordered "safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use."

This comes as military helicopters reached the scene as the army began the rescue operation in Battagram, with two helicopters at the scene. Videos shared widely on social media showed a "commando" descending from a helicopter to towards the cable car below. The commando had initially descended to the cable car to give the people inside instructions, but was forced to retreat due to strong winds in the region, GeoNews reported.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Ukraine on Friday, according to Turkish diplomatic sources quoted by the state news agency Anadolu. Russia-Ukraine War: A view of a damaged building at a Ukrainian port on the Danube after a night drone attack in Odesa region.(AFP)

Turkish officials have repeatedly expressed interest in a mediation role between Russia and Ukraine to re-initiate the Black Sea grain deal.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of a U.N.-backed safe-passage deal for Black Sea grain exports last month.

The visit would come a week after Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports after the termination of the main deal.

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Drone attacks on Russia may have been launched from its own territory, Britains Ministry of Defence (MoD) noted after Russias flagship bomber- a Tupolev Tu-22- was destroyed at the Soltsy-2 air base south of St Petersburg last week. The air base is around 400 miles from the Ukrainian border, implying that it is unlikely that the drone was launched from Ukraine, the MOD said. Russia-Ukraine War: Investigators work at the site of the place where the downed Ukrainian drone fell in Krasnogorsk, just outside Moscow, Russia.(AP)

This adds weight to the assessment that some UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia," the MOD said.

Moscow said four drones were shot down over Russia last night, crashing in the Bryansk and Moscow regions without any casualties. Meanwhile Russian media reported that a drone strike at the Kaluga regions Shaykovka base had damaged an unused aircraft.

Ukraine media claimed that Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services ad carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia. The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

The newspaper said that a groups of saboteurs were behind the strikes: on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 700 kilometers (360 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet that at least one Russian warplane was damaged in the attack on Shaikovka.

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Russian president Vladimir Putin is notably absent from the BRICS meeting while other world leaders reached Johannesburg in South Africa to attend the three-day summit. The bloc consists of India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. This meeting marks the first in-person summit since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but Vladimir Putin will participate via video call after his travel to South Africa was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for him in March. The warrant was issued over the abduction of children from Ukraine. Russia-Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen. (AFP)

PM Narendra Modi, China president Xi Jinping, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa are attending in person as the bloc mulls a possible expansion which will top the agenda of the meeting. More than 20 nations have applied to join the bloc including Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Follow Hindustan Times' coverage of BRICS summit here

The five BRICS countries will have to agree on the criteria for new members before any countries are admitted. The group was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressed that Vladimir Putin will fully participate despite appearing virtually and will make a speech. Russia will also be represented in person by country's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres is also expected to attend.

PM Modi arrived in Johannesburg as he kickstarted the first leg of his two-nation visit. He will be in South Africa from August 22-24. Upon arrival at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, he was received a ceremonial welcome.

Xi Jinping is also set to meet with South Africa's Ramaphosa for a state visit in Pretoria after which he will travel to Gauteng to the summit in Johannesburg, Associated Press reported.

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Hurricane Hilary Updates: Hilary, the initial tropical storm to make landfall in Southern California in over eight decades, brought about extensive damage, including flooded roads, fallen trees, and a challenging rescue operation. A group of elderly individuals in a care home found themselves trapped by mud, necessitating their rescue with the assistance of a bulldozer. The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that Hilary had significantly weakened, with only remnants of the storm moving towards the Rocky Mountains. Nonetheless, the center cautioned about the likelihood of ongoing life-threatening and potentially disastrous flooding in parts of the Southwestern U.S. due to unprecedented levels of rainfall. Hurricane Hilary Live Updates: Vehicles drive through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. (AFP)

READ | Hurricane Hilary makes landfall in Mexico, hits California: Check top 10 updates

Hilary first slammed into Mexicos arid Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane, causing one death and widespread flooding before becoming a tropical storm, one of several potentially catastrophic natural events affecting California on Sunday.

READ | Hurricane Hilary highlights: Post-tropical Storm Hilary reaches Nevada after drenching Southern California

Besides the tropical storm, which produced tornado warnings, there were wildfires and a moderate earthquake north of Los Angeles.

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Ukraine has made progress in its counteroffensive against Russian forces simply by proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday. Russia-Ukraine War: Broken glass and debris in a damaged hall of a railway station.(Reuters)

Ukrainian troops have faced vast Russian minefields and trenches in the counteroffensive launched in early June, and a U.S. official said last week it looked unlikely that Kyiv would be able to recapture the strategic southern city of Melitopol.

But Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyiv's progress was too slow, and said Ukraine had effectively defied military doctrine by attacking an enemy that has a numerical advantage in manpower and weaponry.

"It's incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres," Maliar told Reuters in an interview. "What's important is the very fact that despite everything, we're moving forward even though we have fewer people and fewer weapons."

She said she was unaware of any Western pressure being exerted on Ukraine's military to accelerate operations, and challenged the idea of a universally "correct" tempo.

Maliar highlighted the grinding attrition in the war, particularly in Ukraine's east, where she said Russian forces - who also enjoy air superiority - can fire 400,000-500,000 artillery shells each week or around 10 times more than Ukraine.

Acknowledging the vital role of Western military aid in the war, she added: "Needless to say, in order to reach parity with them we need this help."

Armed with Western tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, Ukraine has retaken a string of villages but no larger settlements. The onset of wetter and colder weather from October may complicate operations on the battlefield.

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The United States on Monday became the first country to approve a vaccine for pregnant women that prevents severe disease caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in their babies. The Pfizer shot, which was already approved for use in older adults, has now been greenlighted for use as a single injection from 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy.(AP)

The Pfizer shot, which was already approved for use in older adults, has now been greenlighted for use as a single injection from 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy, to protect infants from birth through six months, a statement by the Food and Drug Administration said.

It is the latest in a succession of medicines recently approved against the common microbe, which causes tens of thousands of hospitalizations among infants and the elderly in the United States every year, according to official estimates.

Researchers have targeted an RSV vaccine since the 1960s, but the spate of shots that are emerging now were made possible thanks to a scientific breakthrough a decade ago.

"RSV is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those at highest risk for severe disease, which can lead to hospitalization," said Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

"This approval provides an option for healthcare providers and pregnant individuals to protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease."

The approval follows a clinical trial involving some 7,000 pregnant women, which showed Pfizer's vaccine, called Abrysvo, reduced severe disease caused by RSV by 82 percent in babies from 0-3 months, and 69 percent from 0-6 months.

Abrysvo was previously approved by the FDA for adults aged 60 and over, as was another vaccine by drugmaker GSK, called Arexvy.

While RSV most often causes mild, cold-like symptoms in infants and young children, it can also lead to more serious outcomes such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

An estimated 58,000-80,000 children younger than five years are hospitalized due to RSV infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control, making it the leading cause of hospitalization among infants.

Commonly reported side effects by pregnant patients who received Abrysvo included pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain and nausea.

A dangerous blood pressure disorder, known as pre-eclampsia, occurred in 1.8 percent of pregnant individuals who received Abrysvo compared to 1.4 percent of those on a placebo.

The FDA further noted an imbalance in preterm births between the group who received the vaccine versus the placebo (5.7 percent against 4.7 percent), but said the sample size was small and the topic merited further study.

Also read: India plans upgrade for digital platform to track vaccinations

It has therefore required Pfizer to continue studying the risk of preterm birth and pre-eclampsia.

Following FDA approval, a product must receive clearance from the CDC which will offer recommendations on how best to use it, meaning it's not clear whether it will be available in time for RSV season this fall and winter.

Parents can look to another medicine, however.

Earlier this month, regulators approved an antibody treatment called Beyfortus, developed by Sanofi and AstraZeneca, as a preventative treatment that works like a vaccine to protect babies and toddlers.
The United States will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials to address "forcible assimilation" of Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools, the State Department announced on Tuesday, without providing details or naming any officials. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Reuters)

"We urge PRC authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Tibet has been ruled by China since 1951, when troops took control in what it says was a peaceful liberation.

China maintains that it protects the rights of all ethnic minority cultures and its constitution grants groups the freedom to use and develop their own written and spoken languages.
A pickup truck driver plowed into multiple pedestrians while trying to escape a pursuing police car after doing donuts at an Atlanta street show. The incident captured in video, occurred at the bustling intersection of 17th Street and Northside Drive on a Sunday night. Police chase in Atlanta ends with an officer apprehending a pickup Truck driver who plowed into pedestrians. (Twitter/CitizenFreePres)

The chaos began when a Ford150 pickup truck started performing donuts at the busy intersection. The driver's identity remains undisclosed. Moments later, a Georgia state trooper initiated a pursuit.

The footage captures the incident as the out-of-control truck collides with pedestrians on the street, prompting them to disperse. Onlookers can be heard expressing their shock and disbelief.

The pursuing police vehicle attempted to contain the assailant's truck. After a series of collisions and a PIT maneuver - a tactic that forces a fleeing vehicle to abruptly turn sideways, causing loss of control - the truck finally came to a halt.

As soon as the truck stopped the officer swiftly drew his weapon as the driver raised his hands in surrender. The officer then leaped onto the hood of the vehicle and apprehended the driver.

Also Read | New York City witnesses two drastic fire incidents, three children rescued

Many bystanders were seen filming the intense action, and cheers of support for the police officer rang out. The exact number of injuries resulting from the incident remains unclear at this time.

A video of the incident posted by Citizen Free Press on social media platform X, formerly Twitter quickly gained immense traction, amassing over 200 thousand views. Many viewers hailed the officer's swift response and bravery. They captioned the video, "Wild scene out of Atlanta. Truck strikes multiple pedestrians and attempts to flee after doing donuts at a sideshow. Cowboy cop waited his whole career for a moment like this. Excellent PIT maneuver." Looks like solid police work, commented one user. Another echoing similar sentiments wrote, God bless our police! That officer knew that truck had to be stopped.
The British nurse who killed seven babies and attempted to murder six more at a neonatal unit will never be free again, a judge ruled on Monday. (FILES) A handout image released by Cheshire Constabulary police force in Manchester on August 17, 2023, shows the November 2020 custody photograph of nurse Lucy Letby. Britain's most prolific child killer of modern times was jailed for life on August 21, 2023, with no prospect of release, for murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill six others in her care. Letby, 33, refused to attend court for the sentencing in Manchester, northwest England, sparking outrage from her young victims' families. (Photo by Cheshire Constabulary / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / Cheshire Constabulary/ Handout " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS(AFP)

The 33-year-old woman, Lucy Letby, worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England in 2015 and 2016, where she fatally harmed five boys and two girls.

The judge, James Goss, sentenced her to life in prison without parole and said she had carried out a cruel calculated and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children.

He added, There was a deep malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions You have no remorse. There are no mitigating factors.

The reasons for Lucys actions are unknown, but she planned them carefully. She hurt the babies in different ways, such as injecting air into their veins and giving them air or milk through tubes into their stomachs.

She also gave them insulin through their drips and tampered with their breathing tubes. She was taken off duty in late June of 2016 and arrested at her home in July 2018.

Lucy Letby, the sole offspring

Born on January 4, 1990, in Hereford, a city in the west of England -- Lucy is the only child of John and Susan Letby, who are both retired from their jobs as a retail manager and an accounts clerks. She graduated from the University of Chester in 2011 with a degree in nursing.

Lucy amassed experience as a student nurse at Liverpool Womens Hospital and then started working at the Countess of Chester Hospital in January 2012, where she joined the neonatal unit.

The most prolific child serial killer in modern UK history

Lucy Letby is considered to be the worst child serial killer in British history.

She was on trial for the past 10 months for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England, where she worked in 2015 and 2016.

This court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook from Aug. 10, 2023 shows of nurse Lucy Letby at Manchester Crown Court in Manchester, England. A neonatal nurse in a British hospital has been found guilty of killing seven babies and trying to kill six others. Lucy Letby was charged with murder in the deaths of five baby boys and two girls, and the attempted murder of five boys and five girls, when she worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between 2015 and 2016. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)(AP)

Prosecutors said that the hospital saw a sharp increase in the number of babies who died or had sudden health problems for no clear reason. Some of them had serious catastrophic collapses but were saved by medical staff.

Prosecutors also claimed that Lucy was a constant malevolent presence in the neonatal unit and that she was on duty when all the cases happened. They said that she harmed the babies in ways that were hard to detect, and that she convinced her co-workers that the deaths and collapses were normal.

Police started to investigate the baby deaths at the hospital in May 2017 and Letby was charged in November 2020.

ALSO READ| 'Cruel, calculated' killer UK nurse Lucy Letby gets life sentence

The 33-year-old denied any wrongdoing and testified for 14 days.

The defense said that she was a hard-working, dedicated and caring nurse who loved her job and that the babies could have died or collapsed because of natural causes, or other factors such as lack of staff at the hospital or poor care by others.

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BEIJING/JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China is playing an important role in driving mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation, said experts, noting that further developments are expected to emerge as the 15th BRICS Summit takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Aug. 22 to 24. Guided by the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, member nations have enhanced cooperation to promote economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the experts. China's foreign trade with other BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa -- soared 19.1 percent year on year to 2.38 trillion yuan (about 330.62 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Monday. This accounted for 10.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value during the period, marking a rise of 1.6 percentage points. Specifically, China's exports to these countries totaled 1.23 trillion yuan, up 23.9 percent year on year, while its imports reached 1.15 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 14.3 percent. According to Dr. Kenneth Creamer, an economist from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, "the main objective of BRICS is to encourage increased levels of trade and cooperation among member countries and BRICS has been successful in advancing this objective since its first meeting." "Increased cooperation in sectors such as energy and agriculture can play an important role in lifting levels of economic growth and employment in BRICS member countries. Increased trade and cooperation among BRICS countries can also assist in promoting economic recovery after the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Creamer, who is also a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. Regarding the China-South Africa cooperation, Dr. Creamer said China and South Africa should build on existing strong relations to seek to better integrate the countries' manufacturing and supply chains to aid development and opportunity in both countries. In the first half of the year, bilateral trade between China and South Africa reached 28.25 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.7 percent year on year, official data showed. China has maintained its position as South Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, while South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years. "Chinese enterprises should be encouraged to use South Africa as a base country from which to manufacture, assemble and deliver products and services for sale in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa," Dr. Creamer said. China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. The two sides have together constructed and commissioned over 10,000 km of railway, nearly 100,000 km of highway, and an array of important infrastructure projects, including airports, docks, bridges and power plants, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. Speaking to Xinhua, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, said they are looking at the BRICS summit to bring in more tourists. "It's a major event. We're expecting it to boost our tourism." "We need to focus on countries like China to bring more tourists to the country. That's where our growth in terms of tourists will come from; we need to look beyond the traditional areas," Tshivhengwa added. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist and researcher at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, pointed out that China has one of the biggest markets in the world in terms of agricultural products. "South Africa is one of the countries that is also trying to deepen its exports into China, which is something that is part and parcel of the discussions that are happening within the various BRICS business working groups," Sihlobo said. Themed "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism," this summit will carry forward the sound momentum of cooperation from the BRICS "China Year" 2022 and chart a brighter future for BRICS. "The summit is of great significance for advancing practical cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries in various fields, promoting global governance reform, and enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries," said Li Wentao, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. Li added that against the backdrop of major global changes, the solidarity and cooperation among BRICS countries will bring more certainty to an uncertain world.
Accor Pacific, the largest hotel operator in Australia and New Zealand, is delighted to announce the highly anticipated grand opening of Peppers Manly Beach, managed by Accor Vacation Club - a stunning hotel nestled in the heart of Manly, Australia.

Previously known as the North Tower of The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach, Peppers Manly Beach's official opening will take place on August 25, marking the beginning of a new era in hospitality in the Manly region.

With its breath-taking coastal views, exceptional service, and unrivalled location, Peppers Manly Beach sets the stage for an unforgettable getaway like no other.

Peppers Manly Beach boasts an array of exquisite amenities, such as two swimming pools, three conference spaces, and personalised experiences that will captivate the senses and create cherished memories for every guest.

What sets Peppers Manly Beach apart?

Coastal Elegance: As you step into Peppers Manly Beach, you'll be enveloped in an ambiance of refined coastal elegance. The property's meticulously designed interiors seamlessly blend modern sophistication with a touch of relaxed beachside charm, creating an atmosphere that is both luxurious and welcoming.

As you step into Peppers Manly Beach, you'll be enveloped in an ambiance of refined coastal elegance. The property's meticulously designed interiors seamlessly blend modern sophistication with a touch of relaxed beachside charm, creating an atmosphere that is both luxurious and welcoming. Unmatched Location: Situated in the heart of Manly, Peppers Manly Beach offers guests unparalleled access to the world-famous Manly Beach, local attractions, boutique shopping, and a vibrant dining scene. Whether you seek relaxation or adventure, all the wonders of Manly are right at your doorstep.

Situated in the heart of Manly, Peppers Manly Beach offers guests unparalleled access to the world-famous Manly Beach, local attractions, boutique shopping, and a vibrant dining scene. Whether you seek relaxation or adventure, all the wonders of Manly are right at your doorstep. Luxurious Accommodation: Peppers Manly Beach showcases a range of 42 beautifully appointed studios, apartments and suites, each meticulously crafted to provide the utmost comfort and style. From spacious layouts to breath-taking views, every detail has been carefully considered to ensure a truly indulgent stay. Amenities include two swimming pools and secure underground parking.

Peppers Manly Beach showcases a range of 42 beautifully appointed studios, apartments and suites, each meticulously crafted to provide the utmost comfort and style. From spacious layouts to breath-taking views, every detail has been carefully considered to ensure a truly indulgent stay. Amenities include two swimming pools and secure underground parking. Personalised Service: At Peppers Manly Beach, our dedicated team of friendly and knowledgeable staff is committed to providing personalised service that exceeds expectations. From the moment you arrive until your departure, we will ensure every guest need is met with genuine care and attention to detail.

Hotel website
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is continuing its expansion across Saudi Arabia with the signing of Hilton Dammam Airport, its first airport hotel in the country. The 273-key property will be completed in partnership with Al Musbah Group and Damman Airports Company (DACO).

Hilton Dammam Airport will offer guests spacious and contemporary accommodation with direct skywalk access to the terminal building at King Fahd International Airport, one of the busiest airports in Saudi Arabia which welcomes approximately 10 million passengers per year. The property is also ideally located for Dammam City Centre, as well as Dharan, Khobar, and nearby Bahrain.

King Fahd International Airport serves as a hub for Saudia Airlines, Aramco Aviation, and FlyNas, with flights to over 70 international destinations by over 50 airlines. It also operates a dedicated Saudi Aramco terminal and Oxford-authorized training centre, an aviation academy, and a large-scale cargo village.

Hilton Dammam Airport will feature a combination of 273 guest rooms, junior suites, as well as larger one and two-bedroom suites. Featuring an all-day dining restaurant, complete with an outdoor terrace, a cafe, an outdoor pool with adjacent cafe, and fitness centres, the hotel will have a range of leisure facilities for guests to enjoy. Hilton Dammam Airport will also offer state-of-the-art meeting facilities for business travellers, including several meeting rooms and an executive lounge that caters for up to 90 people.

Hilton currently operates 16 hotels in the Kingdom with plans to open over 50 new hotels across 10 of its brands, making Saudi Arabia the company's 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 the Kingdom over the coming years.
Following his graduation from Westminster Kingsway College with a Professional Chef Diploma in 2001, Mr. Murphy began his culinary career at Sheraton Grand, London Park as a 1st Commis, where he remained until 2005. From 2005 through 2012, Murphy held various positions in different kitchens throughout England and Australia, including The Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall; The Sheraton on the Park, Sydney; The Langham Hotel, London; and Alison Price. In 2012, Murphy was appointed as the Banquet Chef for The St. Regis Doha, Qatar, which was his first position at a Marriott International property, eventually becoming the property's Executive Chef in 2017. Murphy left the property in 2018 to take on the role of Executive Chef at Marriott Doha Hotel Qatar and then The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, where he remained until 2023.

In his new position, Mr. Murphy will oversee the culinary operations for all dining venues at The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba including BLT Steak, Casa Nonna New York, Solanio, Divi Sushi Bar & Lounge, and Madero Pool & Beach Grill. Murphy will be responsible for a multitude of tasks, specifically leading all kitchen operations, ensuring culinary standards are met, and providing exceptional service to all guests. Alongside his many responsibilities, Murphy will implement his stellar self-organization, interpersonal communication, and leadership skills, as well as maintaining high standards.

Located in Palm Beach, Aruba, The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. The luxury resort provides guests with recently refurbished accommodations, sophisticated dining experiences, and endless amenities and activations.
Accor today announces that Gilda Perez-Alvarado, currently Global CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, has been appointed as Group Chief Strategy Officer of Accor. Assuming the role on 01 October 2023, Gilda will be a member of the group's Management Board, based in Paris, in charge of overseeing global strategy, relations with hotel owners, and strategic partnerships, reporting directly to Accor Chairman & CEO, Sebastien Bazin.

With a strong academic background developed across both Europe and North America, at Cornell University and IE Business School, Gilda started her career at PwC before joining JLL in 2004. Working in the company's Hotel & Hospitality division, Gilda has accrued nearly two decades of experience providing top-tier strategic advice to the industry's largest owners and investors including sovereign wealth funds, private equity, global brands, and family offices/UHNWIs.

In her most recent role at JLL, Gilda is responsible for overseeing the global investment sales, debt and equity placement, strategic advisory and asset management services, offering leading expertise throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. In addition, Gilda leads the Global Hotel Desk, the group's cross-border investment sales team which has executed the sale of some of the world's most iconic hospitality assets worldwide. In recognition of her capabilities spanning both real estate and hospitality, Gilda holds board and membership positions at a number of high-profile organisations, from Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc, Cornell University Board of Trustees, World Travel & Tourism Council, IREFAC, among others. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the 2023 IREFAC Arne Sorensen Leadership Award.
Thenation's most innovative flexible lodging brand, WaterWalk, today announced the appointment of Jim Anhut to interim president and chief development officer to support the strategic expansion of its next-generation product. Introduced to WaterWalk's Board of Directors in January 2022, Anhut brings more than 35 years of extensive industry experience, including having worked alongside WaterWalk's late founder, extended-stay pioneer Jack DeBoer, in his early career. WaterWalk's immediate past president, Jim Korroch, will step away from the daily responsibilities and retain an active seat on the company's Board of Directors.

In his new role, Anhut will target franchise partnerships to develop new properties in key markets across the U.S. Additionally, he will leverage hotel conversion opportunities to transform existing properties into upscale destinations under WaterWalk's innovative operating model. Throughout his career, Anhut has spearheaded teams within some of the world's leading hospitality companies such as The Residence Inn Company (prior to its acquisition by Marriott International), Choice Hotels International, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Dine Brands Global. He piloted the launch of Staybridge Suites for IHG and the launch of MainStay Suites for Choice Hotels International, encompassing ground-up development, brand positioning and strategic planning for these widely recognized brands.

Anhut is a founding member of both the Extended Stay Lodging Council of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance, as well as a previous member of the industry advisory council at Georgia State University's Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration. He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Emory University and a master's degree in hospitality business from Michigan State University. Anhut resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife where he gives back to the community by mentoring students through his involvement as director of the real estate minor at Michigan State University's School of Hospitality Business.

WaterWalk's model offers unsurpassed flexibility to benefit owners, operators and guests, boasting the best blend of an upscale extended-stay hotel and home with both fully furnished and ready-to-furnish suites to 'LIVE' or 'STAY' in. Since the beginning of 2023, WaterWalk has opened four new properties including in Phoenix, Arizona; Sandy Springs, Georgia; Meridian, Idaho; and Tucson, Arizona. Additional Gen 2.0 properties will be opening through the remainder of the year in Jacksonville, Florida and Huntsville, Alabama. WaterWalk plans to double its portfolio size by the end of 2024.
Questex is taking the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) to Asia with the launch of a new event in the third quarter of 2024.

As part of the expansion, Questex is partnering with Australias Intermedia Group to collaborate on the IHIF Asia launch as well as the Intermedia Groups AHICE (Asian Hotel Industry Conference & Exhibition) South-East Asia event in Singapore in late February 2024.

The new events in Asia continue to bolster the global expansion of the Questex Hospitality portfolio. Following the recent acquisition of the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference and the launch of The Hospitality Show, created in collaboration with the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Earlier this year, IHIF in Berlin delivered the largest event in its history with 2,500 delegates attending. More than 30 percent of the delegates were new and sponsor and exhibitor revenue grew almost 20 percent and delegate revenue grew 12 percent.

The global hospitality industry is a $4.8 trillion market and is expected to grow by over 10 percent annually to reach $6.8 trillion by 2026. Operators across these businesses share similar needs around information, products and solutions, which offers Questex and The Intermedia Group an opportunity to scale for growth while serving each of the sub-markets including bars and restaurants, spas, salons and hotel management with sector-specific research, insights and connections to drive its businesses forward.

The Intermedia Group is one of Australias largest B2B media companies. Its portfolio includes print, websites and live events, such as AHICE Asia Pacific, AHICE Aotearoa, AHICE Aloha and AHICE South-East Asia, which serve the needs of the hotel industry across Asia Pacific and notably in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hawaii.



Our strategy is to focus on our core sectors and extend leadership positions through organic growth and the acquisition of new capabilities and assets. It is exciting that we continue to build in this tailwind market. Now with hospitality investment and management events in Europe and the United States, partnering with The Intermedia Group to launch two events in Asia is the perfect collaboration to extend globally and continue our leadership position in the investment and hospitality industry. Questex CEO Paul Miller

We look forward to collaborating with Questex on the launch of these two events. For over 25 years, Intermedia has been a leader in the hospitality publishing and events sector in Asia Pacific and through our expertise in top-level content and event management, together we can ensure the new events are premier hospitality events for hotel investors, owners, developers, operators and associated businesses such as bars, restaurants, travel, gyms, salons and spas in Asia. Simon Grover, managing director, The Intermedia Group

Questex has made significant investments in hospitality post-pandemic and our most recent launch of IHIF Asia and partnership with the Intermedia Group is more proof of our conviction  that travel and hospitality is a thriving sector growing globally, experienced locally, with strong market fundamentals and generational trends supporting continued growth. We have first-party relationships with the worlds leading hospitality investors and that capital is, like travelers, looking for global opportunities. Were delighted to be bringing IHIF back to Asia and look forward to engaging with the investors, operators and advisors in of the most exciting, inspiring and opportunistic markets in the world for travel and hospitality growth. Alexi Khajavi, group president hospitality, wellness and travel at Questex

IHIF Asia is launching with the support of the hospitality sector, among them Hilton, a diamond sponsor of IHIF Asia and IHIF Berlin. Hilton has had a long partnership with Questex at IHIF in Europe and NYU. Were now delighted to partner with them to debut IHIF in Asia Pacific, a region where Hilton is enjoying unprecedented growth with over 1,500 hotels trading and in development. Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta.

About Questex

Questex Hospitality Group, a division of Questex LLC, represents a senior audience of $650 billion in hotel assets, reaching one in two hotel owners and operators across the globe. With a portfolio of both media and live events, including Hospitality Investor, Annual Hotel Conference (AHC), International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF), and Resort & Residential Hospitality Forum (R&R), Questex Hospitality Group brings together leaders in hospitality investment, development and operations to make the deals that shape recovery and growth in the sector.
Guestroom at the Kimpton Virgilio Hotel

A few steps away from Lincoln Park and Presidente Masaryk Avenue the zone knows as "Polanquito" will become the home of the first Kimpton Hotels & Restaurantes hotel in Mexico City.

Kimpton Virgilio will be located on 79 Anatole France Street will have 48 rooms, a signature restaurant and a rooftop bar with a pool.

Kimpton Virgilio will offer personalized experiences to enjoy great moments with friends and family, this is something that characterizes Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and that now will be available in Polanco, one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the city.

As for the gastronomic offer, Pepe, a Spanish-inspired restaurant will captivate locals and visitors. In addition, La Cana, a rooftop bar with a pool where the mixology concepts, the pool and a great view will make this complex one of the favorites in the area.

To lead the team, Kimpton has tapped seasoned hospitality professional Erick Vargas as its General Manager. With more than 14 years in the hospitality industry, Erick has held roles that have ranged from hotel and restaurant operations to management and executive positions in Mexico, Australia and the US, which allows him to have an overall understanding of the business operation.

Erick Vargas, General Manager at Kimpton Virgilio, said: We are elated to take this step with Kimpton Virgilio as our flagship property in Mexico City, Polanco is certainly a fantastic location for us to do this, a dynamic neighborhood home to numerous high-end boutiques, restaurants and art galleries, as well as 20 foreign embassies. All great attributes to make ourselves known and introduce our brand to Mexicans and foreigners alike, looking for a taste of this high-end neighborhood, with a heartfelt, authentic journey into one of the city's jewels.

Kimpton Virgilio is owned by ZKC, a real estate investment fund specializing in Mexico City real estate developments. ZKC is developing the hotel in partnership with VineTower Development, LLC (development manager), Ambrosi Etchegaray (architect) and Arquitectura de Interiores (interior designer).
Swiss International announced the signing of a License and technical verification agreement for the new hotel Swiss International Rancho Valeria  Warri.

Swiss International Rancho Valeria  Warri is in the oil rich city of Warri. The hotel has a strategic location that caters to business travelers, conference guests and weekenders looking for a short break. Swiss International Rancho Valeria is within proximity to major gas corporations and business offices.

Warri, initially known as a market center with a port is now known as Nigerias oil hub. This was after the discovery of natural gas and petroleum, which helped the city gain new economic importance. The city hosts Nigerias second petroleum refinery, after the one in Lekki, Lagos.

The hotel development will happen over 3 phases. The first phase will be 38 rooms and suites, which will grow to 100 rooms and suites with Swiss Internationals signature concepts. Guests will enjoy the culinary flavors at the Swiss Flavours Restaurant & Lounge and the TED & Co, Bar & Lounge, the Swiss-Select members will enjoy the member exclusivity at the Swiss-Select Lounge and unwind at the Inspirations Pool & Gym. For the business travelers, the hotel has 4 Eventives Meeting and Events venues.

During the technical verification process, the Swiss International standards will be verified, and the Swiss International license formula and concepts will be introduced. These are:

Swiss Flavors Restaurant & Lounge

TED & Co, Bar & Lounge

Eventives Meetings and Events

Inspirations Pool & Gym

Swiss-Select Lounge

Additionally, Swiss International will continue to make recommendations on the structure and the interiors to align with Swiss Internationals services brand standards.

Dr. David Mode Akoma, the Chairman of Modasco Nigeria Limited, the developer and founder of the hotel said, We are pleased with our decision to work with Swiss International. This company has a clear business concept and license formula. The company also offers a wide range of the IT services and software, which nowadays is required by the international hospitality. We are looking forward to introducing Swiss International levels of hospitality to our guests in Warri.

It is an exciting time for Swiss International Hotels & Resorts as we continue to extend our presence in Nigeria. Warri is an ideal location with opportunities to serve both business and leisure travelers, explained Mr. Henri W.R Kennedie, the CEO of Swiss International Hotels & Resorts. He further added, We are looking forward to serving the guests of Swiss International Rancho Valeria  Warri with Swiss International levels of hospitality.

After the Swiss International Mabisel in Port Harcourt, the Swiss International the Vistana in Lekki, Swiss International Beland in Owerri, Swiss International Rancho Valeria is the 4th hotel of the chain to open in Nigeria.
Jim Anhut - Interim President and Chief Development Officer - WaterWalk

WaterWalk announced today the appointment of Jim Anhut to interim president and chief development officer to support the strategic expansion of its next-generation product. Introduced to WaterWalk's Board of Directors in January 2022, Anhut brings more than 35 years of extensive industry experience, including having worked alongside WaterWalk's late founder, extended-stay pioneer Jack DeBoer, in his early career. WaterWalk's immediate past president, Jim Korroch, will step away from the daily responsibilities and retain an active seat on the company's Board of Directors.

"We celebrate the achievements made possible by Jim Korroch throughout his dedicated leadership at WaterWalk," said Mimi Oliver, chief executive officer of WaterWalk. "As WaterWalk continues to grow and propel forward as an innovative flexible lodging solution, we are confident that Jim Anhut will be an invaluable resource in realizing the remarkable vision of our founder and my late grandfather, Jack DeBoer."

In his new role, Anhut will target franchise partnerships to develop new properties in key markets across the U.S. Additionally, he will leverage hotel conversion opportunities to transform existing properties into upscale destinations under WaterWalk's innovative operating model. Throughout his career, Anhut has spearheaded teams within some of the world's leading hospitality companies such as The Residence Inn Company (prior to its acquisition by Marriott International), Choice Hotels International, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Dine Brands Global. He piloted the launch of Staybridge Suites for IHG and the launch of MainStay Suites for Choice Hotels International, encompassing ground-up development, brand positioning and strategic planning for these widely recognized brands.

Anhut is a founding member of both the Extended Stay Lodging Council of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance, as well as a previous member of the industry advisory council at Georgia State University's Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration. He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Emory University and a master's degree in hospitality business from Michigan State University. Anhut resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife where he gives back to the community by mentoring students through his involvement as director of the real estate minor at Michigan State University's School of Hospitality Business.

"Jack DeBoer was a long-time friend, visionary and trusted advisor throughout my career," said Anhut. "I am grateful for the opportunity to expand upon the revolutionary extended-stay experience he and the WaterWalk team has built. Through mutually beneficial collaborations and relationships, I foresee fantastic growth opportunities throughout the nation for this next-generation concept."
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Published: 22 Aug 2023 Share:





Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) marked another milestone on 22 August 2023, by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) to facilitate the bulk registration of our engineering graduates as Graduate Engineers with BEM. The Signing Ceremony took place at MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC), Kuala Lumpur, during the Opening Ceremony of the BEM Convention 2023, which was officiated by the Minister of Works, YB Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi. The University also received an RM10,000 award contribution for outstanding engineering graduates for a period of five years.

The BEM Convention 2023 themed Engineering ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) for the Nation advocates the pivotal role of engineering in fostering ESG practices for national development. Over 400 participants attended the convention in-person. and 1,000 participants attended virtually.

The Convention serves as a platform to raise stakeholder awareness, including governmental bodies, about issues influencing the engineering community. Among the issues that led to the signing of the MoU with Institutions of Higher Learnings are unregistered engineers, which remains a concern.

BEM actively addresses this through engagement with Institutions of Higher Learning in the e-Bulk Registration MoU. BEM has signed MoU with 31 universities including HWUM. The Signing Ceremony also witnessed seven other universities signed the MoU - these universities were Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), University Malaya (UM), Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL), Multimedia University (MMU), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

In his welcoming speech, BEM President, Datuk Ir Haji Ahmad Redza Ghulam Rasool said:

In the move to increase the number of registered engineers, this MoU is to streamline the process for engineering graduates from local universities to register with BEM prior to their graduation ceremony for employment preparation. Datuk Ir Haji Ahmad Redza Ghulam Rasool, BEM President

He added, It is also BEM's intention to ensure that all individual seeking to provide engineering services or take up engineering jobs are registered with BEM in accordance with the requirements of the Registration of Engineers Act 1967.



All graduated engineering students will be assisted by the respective university in the registration process with BEM. For the past five years, BEM has registered around 14,000 graduate engineers every year.
NRG Energy Supports Farm Resiliency Fund with $10K Donation

BOSTON  NRG Energy, one of the leading energy suppliers and home services companies in Massachusetts, has announced a donation of $10,000 to the recently created Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund

The fund, which was launched to support central and Western Massachusetts farms damaged by last month's historic flooding, also aims to strengthen regional farm resiliency. The fund is administered by United Way of Central Massachusetts and supported by the Healey-Driscoll administration as well as private foundations and philanthropic organizations.

"Supporting the communities where NRG's customers and employees live and work is a key pillar of NRG's business," said Mike Rombach, vice president and general manager, NRG Home East. "NRG is grateful to the United Way of Central Massachusetts and Governor Healey for quickly standing up this fund."




iciHaiti - Croix-des-Bouquets : Unblocking of roads in Rosemberg





The Bon Repos sub-police station, supported by the Departmental Unit for Maintaining Order (UDMO) of Croix-des Bouquets with the help of two armored vehicles from the Heavy Machinery Unit of the National Police of Haiti ( PNH) unblocked certain roads which were obstructed by armed individuals, in the Rosemberg area and part of the Corail Cesselesse road up to the Broucambour bridge.



During the police intervention, the bandits tried to set fire to the heavy machine of the PNH Police by throwing a molotov cocktail, which did not have time to cause damage to the machine.



It should be noted that the National Police is continuing its operations, at the level of the jurisdiction of Bon Repos, in order to allow the civilian population to freely go about their business.



IH/ iciHaiti


















For the past years, labor has been the countrys biggest and most reliable export that brings in billions of dollars to the Philippine economy every year, according to the Bureau of Investment (BOI). As the world becomes more interconnected and interdependent, the Government Academe Industry Network or GAIN pointed out the need to elevate Filipino talent and ensure that they maintain their competitive advantage on the global stage.

L-R: GAIN Chairman Dr. Peter Laurel, Ms. Ma. Christina Aquino, Dr. Genevieve Ledesma-Laurel, Ms. Grace Abella-Zata, and GAIN President Ms. Monette Iturralde-Hamlin

Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, president of GAIN, led the call for a meaningful collaboration among the key players and stakeholders to empower the mobilization of Filipino talent during the recent 6th GAIN National Convention at the AIM Conference Centerwhich focused on the theme Internalization of Workforce: Global Talent Mobility through International Standards.

Things are changing so fast. We are making space for a more interconnected and interdependent world, and we need to make sure that Filipinos are prepared to get those jobs that they need to take care of their families and thrive, she said in her opening remarks.

Setting the standard

Dr. Jose Cueto Jr., commissioner of the Professional Regulation Commission, explained how the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) is used to measure skills of Filipino professionals to determine their level of knowledge, skills, and their ability to apply them in the real world.

The PQF, according to Cueto, is designed to support academic and worker mobility and to address mismatches on job skills. He also described how the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) can be used in comparison to the countrys own framework to determine how the skills of a Filipino professional measures up to professionals of other countries.

However, Cueto admitted that, Not many organizations in the government, academe, and industry have the mastery of the PQF/AQRF qualifications.

Meanwhile, a highly skilled workforce is one that adheres to international standards, said BOI governor Atty. Marjorie Ramos-Samaniego. Trends are changing, and new industries developed will change the way we look at the workforce. Our goals and targets might change, but our objective will remain the same: to uplift the ideal that the Filipino workforce is the best in the world, she added.

Compliance with international standards is non-negotiable in industries such as banking and healthcare, said Roderick Danao, chairman of PwC Philippines. He highlighted that with the banking and financial industry hinging on consumer trust, standards ensure that financial transactions are conducted fairly and efficiently.

The healthcare sector, meanwhile, is a complex, dynamic sector driven by demographic changes, technological disruptions, and evolving healthcare needs, according to Nora Terrado, CEO of Carelon Global Solutions. She noted that Filipinos have already set the standard for healthcare professionals abroad, citing the top performance of Filipino nurses in the U.S. National Council Licensure Examination from 2022 to 2023.

Elevating the talent in other industries

The most recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed an increase in the number of overseas Filipino workers in 2021, with an estimated 1.83 million compared to the 1.77 million recorded in 2020. One challenge, however, is to maintain the Filipino workers competitive advantage, especially in the midst of digital transformation and the rise of AI adoption, according to Ramos-Samaniego. For Gerardo Borromeo, CEO of Philippine Transmarine Carriers, this can be achieved by encouraging the Filipino youth to pursue the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics or STEM strand in senior high school.

Skills development will also be key to succeeding in an automated workforce, according to Clarissa Segismundo, Microsofts Head of Education and Skilling Program. Citing the 2023 Work Trend Index Report, Segismundo explained that business leaders will need to equip their employees with the right AI skills such as analytical judgment, flexibility, and emotional intelligence, among others.

Collaborative efforts among government agencies, the academe, and industry stakeholders are already underway, as Frankie Antolin, Executive Director for Talent Attraction and Development at the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), talked about the associations Skills Progression Program as an example. It is a collaboration between IBPAP and the Commission on Higher Education that aims to create training programs that will be integrated into the curricula of higher education institutes.

However, representatives from the government, academe, and different industries admitted that there is still much work to be done. Peter Laurel, chairman of GAIN, called on the participants to align their efforts in working towards the shared goal of developing a globally competitive Filipino workforce.

Let us all bring our learnings from today to our respective fields and industries and work together to not only meet but also push the boundaries of international standards when it comes to work excellence. This is a prime opportunity to not just elevate Filipino talent but also excel and thrive in the global landscape, he said.
GCash, the Philippines number one finance super app, encourages more users to convert their coins to e-wallet credits through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Cash Deposit Machines (CoDM) and take part in the countrys coin recirculation program.

G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI) President and CEO Ren-Ren Reyes tries the BSP's Coin Deposit Machine as GCash encourages more users to support the project

The machines have already accepted nearly P19 million coins just close to two months since the launch of the CoDM project in June. According to the BSPs latest report, most of these coins were converted into GCash credits while the remaining were exchanged for shopping vouchers.

Beyond digitalization and financial inclusion, GCash is also a staunch supporter of the BSPs coin recirculation program. We believe this initiative can help the central bank save on the cost of minting new coins and use these funds for other important projects, said Martha Sazon, president and CEO of Mynt, the holding company of GCash.

To show support for the project, Ren-Ren Reyes, president & CEO of G-Xchange, Inc., the mobile wallet operator of GCash, also earlier lined up with the public and converted his coins at one of the BSPs machines  experiencing its ease of use first hand.

With 10 CoDMs now operational in the Greater Manila Area, more Filipinos can now bring the coins they saved up and convert these into GCash credits which they can use to buy essentials, pay bills, or even kickstart their savings or investment journeys, noted Reyes.

In June, the BSP initially deployed two machines at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City; one machine at Festival Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City; and one machine at Robinsons Place Ermita in Manila.

More recently, it has launched more machines in six more malls:

Robinsons Place Galleria in Ortigas

SM City North EDSA and SM City Fairview in Quezon City

SM City San Lazaro in Manila

SM City Bicutan in Paranaque

SM City Bacoor in Cavite

In a statement, the central bank said, In using the machines, the BSP reminds customers that coins to be deposited must not be taped or bundled; must not come with other objects like buttons, magnets, nails, tokens, screws, or washers; and are gently placed in the coin slot in handfuls.

As of 31 July 2023, the BSPs CoDMs have already accepted P18.8 million worth of coins with over 10,900 transactions.

For more information about the Coin Deposit Machine project visit the BSPs official website https://www.bsp.gov.ph/Pages/CoinsAndNotes/CDM and official social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
As classes open this month, Kaspersky reminded Filipino parents to be wary of online dangers that their school-age, internet-using children could be highly vulnerable to.

Where the danger comes from: Three major threats

In a post on Kasperskys blog, Lance Spitzner of SANS Institute summarized the three major threats to kids growing up in todays connected world. These are:

Strangers: sexual predators, sextortion, fraud; Friends: cyberbullying, pranks, sextortion, poor examples; and Self: oversharing, sexting, bullying, downloading/sharing illegal content

According to the 2022 Disrupting Harm study conducted by the UNICEF, ECPAT International and the Interpol, there are 20% (or an estimated two million) Filipino children aged 12-17 who were subjected to online sexual abuse and exploitation. Meanwhile, most recent national data show that half of Filipino children aged 13-17 are affected by cyberviolence.

A Kaspersky report also revealed that Generation Z or those between the ages of 11 and 26 are oversharers, believing they are knowledgeable on online security but are the most susceptible to scams. About 55% of those surveyed admitted to having included their personal information on social media channels such as name, date of birth and location. Majority (72%) of them were unable to identify phishing scams and 26% confessed to having been victimized by a phishing scam.

It used to be that when it's school time, parents worried the most about their children's report cards. Not anymore. Filipino parents, just like their counterparts elsewhere in the world, are now raising hyper-connected children and their other current, big concern today include their child being targeted by cybercriminals. No one can blame them as these days, children are at risk of being lured by strangers, bullied online, and even their personal information getting stolen in schools, said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky.

From a security perspective, it doesnt matter whether youre 6 or 56 years old. We are now living in a world where all of us are now digital citizens and our digital footprint is expanding by the day. If at this point, adults still keep on falling for cybercriminals traps, its impossible to expect children to know what to avoid in the cyberworld so protecting them should be our top priority as parents, added Yeo.

Tips for parents from Kaspersky:

1. Have a regular talk with your children. In a global study conducted by Kaspersky where it polled 8,793 parents of children between 7 and 12 years old, 58% of parents admitted to having spent less than 30 minutes in total, through their kids entire childhood, talking about internet safety. Only 11% say they have spent more than two hours talking to their children about the dangers. Renowned psychologist Emma Kenny recommends to spend ten minutes everyday before bed discussing your kids day including their online activity. Ask them to share with you about a positive and a negative that they encountered online. Not only does this normalize conversation on internet protectionit even contributes to a cybersmart approach to safety and after a short time feels less like making a special effort to check in.

2. Educate yourself and your children. You will feel confident talking to your kids about the cyberworld only when you understand it. Take the time to read up on emerging trends, games, and channels to understand how they may affect your childs online activity. Discuss technology and the potential dangers with them. Even if it means that you have to play dumb and ask them to help you set up a social media account. By showing that you trust them as teachers, the more it builds up that mutual trust. Educate them on things that you are hearing or seeing when it comes to cyberthreats or security breaches. There is a great wealth of advice on the web on internet security such as on Kasperskys blog to help you.

3. Build an atmosphere of openness and comfort. An ideal situation is that youre aware if anything makes them feel uncomfortable, threatened or unhappy. Deal with cyberbullying as you would with real-life bullying: encourage them to be open and talk to a trusted adult (preferably you) if ever they receive any threatening or inappropriate messages.

4. Set boundaries. Establish clear, age-appropriate ground rules about what is acceptable and what is not for them to do online. Explain why these rules are being put in place and make them aware of the consequences of going somewhere they shouldn't or using tech when they shouldnt be. An example is sharing a photo online that stays on the internet forever and may have an impact when theyre older and working in an important career. Help frame potential actions as potential consequences. Make sure you review these as your child as your child gets older.

5. Use the resources available to you. Parents can never hover over their children 24/7 to monitor their activities online. A smart move is to use a reliable parental control software to establish the framework for whats acceptablehow much time (and when) they can spend online, what content should be blocked, or what types of activity should be blocked (chat rooms, forums, and so on). Parental control filters can be configured for different computer profiles, allowing you to customize the filters for different children.

If you have purchased a smartphone for your child, know that it is not just a phone but a sophisticated computer. It comes with parental controls that can filter out nasty content.

You also have an option to protect your childs device using technologies out there like Safe Kids thats automatically loaded in Kaspersky Premium. Such a technology helps parents by serving as a secondary level of protection for kids from unwanted creeps, dirty content or to even find a lost or stolen phone. It works both on iOS and Android. Discover more about Kaspersky Premium's security features for the entire family and explore the ongoing raffle promo at https://www.kasperskyph.com/, for a chance to win up to P10,000.

Dont forget to make use of settings provided by your ISP, device manufacturer and mobile phone network provider. For example, most phones allow you to prevent in-app purchases, so you can avoid them running up hefty bills when they play mobile games.

6. Ask for help. There is no manual for parenting. You learn as you go and you will inevitably make mistakes along the way. Not everyone has the same parenting style and that is OK. Choose what is right for you and your family. If a situation appears going out of control, remember that the local law enforcement is an ally and can help.
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There have been many incarnations of The Odd Couples oafish Oscar and the fastidious Felix, both on stage and on screen. But the version of the 1965 play most people would be familiar with is the 1968 incarnation. Walter Matthau reprised his stage role as the original Oscar, and Jack Lemmon took the part of Felix. The result was cinematic gold.

Matthau worked with Lemmon on 11 movies, and theres no doubt that he agreed with Billy Wilder, who directed Lemmon in seven films, who once said: Happiness is working with Jack Lemmon.

In almost 50 years onscreen, Jack Lemmon provided many hours of happiness for audiences who identified with his everyman persona and the characters he played, enduring the slings and arrows of everyday life.

Harvard-educated Lemmon was born in Boston in 1925 in a hospital elevator. His mother was playing bridge when she went into labour and reputedly wouldnt leave the table.

He claimed that he wanted to be an actor from the age of eight and after Broadway and television experience Lemmon made his movie debut in 1954 in It Should Happen To You  a romantic comedy opposite Judy Holliday. Through the decades he became regarded as the consummate American actor.

Equally at home in drama and comedy, Lemmon excelled as the ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, and during the course of his career he was nominated eight times for Academy Awards, winning twice. Lemmons last film The Legend of Bagger Vance was in 2000, and this most likeable of actors died the following year, leaving a memorable legacy of films and performances.

Here are the 10 best Jack Lemmon films, taking in many of his finest performances.

10. Mister Roberts (directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, 1955)

(Warner Bros. (Warner Bros.)

Henry Fonda had originated the role on stage of the frustrated Naval Officer yearning for combat during the Second World War and Mister Roberts was supposed to be his movie. There were other big hitters on board too, including James Cagney as the ships unpopular Captain, and William Powell, memorable for his role as dipso-sleuth Nick Charles in the Thin Man series. But if Lemmon was overawed, it didnt show in his vibrant performance. As the permanently on-the-make Ensign Pulver, who manages to stay hidden from his captain for 14 months, Lemmon demonstrated his flair for verbal and physical comedy, lifting the best supporting actor Oscar in just his fourth film. More roles in a similar vein followed as Lemmon firmly established himself as a first class comedic actor.

9. Grumpy Old Men (Donald Petrie, 1993)

(Warner Bros (Warner Bros.)

Some critics may baulk at the inclusion of this broad farce in this list, which is probably best described as The Odd Couple grown old. However, Grumpy Old Men is worth the admission price alone to watch Lemmon and his great offscreen friend Walter Matthau dovetailing beautifully as they bounce vicious one-liners off one another. Subtle its not and in the hands of lesser actors it would have lost much of its appeal, but Grumpy Old Men, one of ten films the pair made together is a lovely example of one of cinemas finest double acts onscreen chemistry, first viewed in Billy Wilders The Fortune Cookie in 1966.

8. Save the Tiger (John G Avildsen, 1973)

(Paramount Pictures (Paramount Pictures)

In this death of the American dream drama, Lemmon excels as the owner of a failing dress manufacturers  the type of all-American who plays the national anthem and salutes the stars and stripes every morning before breakfast, but who now considers arson as a way out of his financial difficulties. The archetypal middle period Lemmon role, as the crushed idealist adrift in a world he no longer understands or belongs in and yearning for his lost ideals, won Lemmon the Academy Award as he became the first actor to win a best actor and best supporting actor Oscar.

7. The China Syndrome (James Bridges, 1979)

(Columbia Pictures (Columbia Pictures)

On its release, this tense and prescient conspiracy thriller about a cover up over an accident at a nuclear power plant was rubbished by the nuclear industry as fear-mongering and totally unrealistic. Twelve days after the movie hit the cinema screens, the notorious Three Mile Island nuclear accident happened in Pennsylvania. Lemmons terrific performance as the dedicated plant supervisor who is torn between his conscience and loyalty to his employers, but who eventually turns whistleblower, drives the whole film. It also won him a Bafta and ranks as one of his very best.

6. Days of Wine and Roses (Blake Edwards, 1962)

(Warner Bros (Warner Bros.)

Until Days of Wine and Roses Lemmon had been regarded primarily as a comedic actor, but this shattering examination of alcoholism within a marriage gave Lemmon a chance to flex his dramatic chops. He gave a memorable and harrowing performance as the social drinker who gradually turns into an alcoholic, taking his wife (Lee Remick) with him. The scene in which the desperate Lemmon destroys a greenhouse while searching for a hidden bottle of whisky is still one of the most disturbing and distressing ever committed to screen.

5. Missing (Constantin Costa-Garvas, 1982)

(Universal Pictures (Universal Pictures)

By this stage of his career, Lemmon was regarded as the consummate American actor. In Missing, a brilliant exercise in audience manipulation by the director, he played the type of role in which he excelled  the ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances bewildered by the position he finds himself in. In this instance Lemmons character is trying to find out what has happened to his missing son who disappeared in the chaos of Pinochets Chile. Based on real events, Missing was a rare political film for Lemmon. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the patriotic American father who feels betrayed by his country as he slowly unravels a truth that he might not want to hear.

4. The Odd Couple (Gene Saks, 1968)

(Paramount Pictures (Paramount Pictures)

In their second film together Lemmon and Walter Matthaus wonderful rapport and Neil Simons brilliant script make The Odd Couple a joy from start to finish. Felix (Lemmon) separates from his wife and moves in with divorced Oscar (Matthau), and soon the totally mismatched pair are at each others throats as their relationship becomes just like a marriage  Oscar in the boorish husband role and Felix as the fussy, neurotic wife. As a study of male behaviour, The Odd Couple hits the bullseye, with Lemmon perfect as the kind of infuriating fusspot who washes playing cards and leaves notes on Oscars pillow  giving rise to The Odd Couples funniest line: Told you 158 times I cant stand little notes on my pillow. Were all out of cornflakes. F.U. Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Unger!

3. Glengarry Glen Ross (James Foley, 1992)

(New Line Cinema (New Line Cinema)

Arguably Lemmons greatest performance, he plays a real estate salesman fighting for his career and livelihood in this riveting ensemble piece about the dark flipside of the American Dream from David Mamets play. Desperation oozing from every pore, Lemmon is unforgettable and heartbreaking as the once hot salesman now on the slide, who disintegrates before your very eyes.

2. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)

(United Artists (United Artists)

Oscar-nominated Lemmon plays a corporate striver who allows his bosses to use his apartment for their extra-marital affairs in return for accelerated promotions in arch-cynic Billy Wilders superb critique of corporate ethics and personal morality. It all backfires for him when he falls, Lemmon-wise, for one of the mistresses, played by Shirley MacLaine, and he must decide between the girl he loves and his new lofty position in the firm. Wilders winning blend of satire, comedy and sentiment gave Lemmon an opportunity to show his full range with a performance that placed him in the front rank of American actors.

1. Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)

(Getty (Getty)

Many critics assert that The Apartment is the better film but Im going for Lemmons first collaboration with Billy Wilder as Lemmons greatest film. Theres not really anything new that can be said about this movie that hasnt been said before, but just to reiterate, its sensational from beginning to end, with sparkling dialogue, great musical interludes and a cast at the peak of their powers. Marilyn Monroe was never so beautiful, so vulnerable, so appealing, and Tony Curtis is terrific in and out of drag  his Cary Grant impersonation is wickedly funny (Nobody talks loike thet). And dont forget Joe E Browns contribution which extends to much more than the films famous last line. With its crossdressing theme Some Like it Hot was an incredibly bold movie to make in 1959, but six decades on, it has lost none of its wit, charm and zest. Along with The Odd Couple, its the film most associated with Lemmon, and both the movie and Lemmons hilarious turn as Daphne have only improved with age. In the unlikely scenario that you have never seen Some Like it Hot, I urge you to do so now.
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Bradley Coopers use of a prosthetic nose for his portrayal of renowned Jewish composer Leonard Bernstein in the forthcoming biopic Maestro has been deemed acceptable by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Following the films first trailer release on 15 August, the 48-year-old actor, who is not of Jewish descent, caused a stir online as he was accused of fuelling antisemitic stereotypes.

However, the ADL, the notable Jewish organisation fighting against all forms of antisemitism and bias, has come out in defence of Cooper.

Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses, the ADL said in a statement to Variety. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that.

The organisations message of support comes shortly after Bernsteins three children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina, also released a joint statement defending the Silver Linings Playbook actor last week.

Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father, they began.

We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our fathers music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Jason McDonald/Netflix)

It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts, they continued. It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use make-up to amplify his resemblance, and were perfectly fine with that. Were also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.

Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch  a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father.

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They added: At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia.

We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we cant wait for the world to see his creation.

Co-produced by Hollywood heavyweights Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Maestro is described as a love letter to life and art and depicts the decades-long relationship between Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein (Carey Mulligan).

In the teaser, Cooper looks aged as he portrays the composer at different moments of his life. Bernstein died aged 72 in 1990.

Former EastEnders actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, who is from a Jewish background, compared Cooper appearing to have a prosthetic nose as similar to the use of blackface makeup.

She told her Instagram followers: Cillian (Murphy) could play Oppenheimer because he looks like Oppenheimer and could get the power of the mans story and Jewishness through the power of his acting, ditto Tom Conti as Einstein didnt have to wear a nose.

If Bradley Cooper cant do it through the power or acting alone then dont cast him  get a Jewish actor.

Coopers representatives did not respond to The Independents request for comment.

Actor and producer Jake Gyllenhaal, who is of Jewish heritage, previously spoke of his disappointment upon losing a bid for the rights to a Bernstein film to Cooper, admitting he had been yearning to play one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America for almost two decades.

Maestro will be in select UK cinemas on 24 November and on Netflix from 20 December.
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Charles Martinet, the voice actor behind Nintendos video game character Super Mario, is retiring after 27 years.

The American voice actor, 67, first appeared in the role of the plucky Italian plumber in the 1996 instalment Super Mario 64, and also provided the voices for Marios twin brother Luigi and villain Wario.

Nintendo said in a statement: Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario ambassador.

With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but hell continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!

It has been an honour working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him.

Please keep an eye out for a special video message from (video game designer and Mario creator) Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles himself, which we will post at a future date.

Martinet reshared the post, adding: My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! woohoo !!!!!!!

In the replies, fans shared their gratitude for the actors long service to the genre.

Your work has inspired me since I was a child, wrote fellow voice actor Gianni Matragrano. As a kid I was inspired by Marios fun loving and determined adventures, and as an adult youve inspired me in what it means to be a voice actor, and more importantly, a good person. Thank you. And enjoy this new adventure!

You know, there's something kind of beautiful about @CharlesMartinet concluding his time as Mario's voice actor with his final performance literally being the FATHER of Mario, wrote another, referencing Martinets role in the recent animated film adaptation, The Super Mario Bros Movie.

Guardians Of The Galaxy star Chris Pratt voiced the title character in the film opposite Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia actor Charlie Day as Luigi.

However, Martinet did play Luigi and Marios father Giuseppe in the Universal Pictures movie, which grossed more than $1bn (795m), according to studio estimates.

The next game in the series from Nintendo is set to be Super Mario Bros Wonder.

Martinet has also appeared in games The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time, as well as the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

Additional reporting from the Press Association
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North Koreas first international commercial flight since the start of Covid-19 pandemic landed in China earlier on Tuesday.

The countrys flagship airline last carried out overseas commercial operations in 2020, before Pyongyang imposed border restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.

Air Koryo flight JS151 took off from Pyongyang and landed at Beijing International airport on 9.17am, after the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday confirmed approving North Koreas state carrier flights.

During the summer-autumn flight season transition in 2023, China approved Air Koryos scheduled flight plans from Pyongyang to Beijing to Pyongyang and other passenger routes requested by the airline according to procedures, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.

It wasnt immediately clear who was aboard on the flight, but Western tour companies that operated in North Korea said it appeared to be a special flight that would, on return, carry back North Koreans who had been trapped in China for years after border closures.

It is also unclear how many from the North Korean community  mostly students and people who work in restaurants and government-related jobs in areas such as tourism and cultural promotion  still remain in China.

The travel curb had hurt not just ordinary people but diplomats as well.

The current Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, had to wait 15 months after being named for the job before he could enter the country this March to take up his role.

Many foreign delegations closed their embassies in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship in supplies for much of the pandemic.

Two North Korean men (L and 2nd R) walk through the arrivals section at Beijing Capital Airport after the arrival of Air Koryo flight JS151 on 22 August 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

The flight comes amid a slow reopening for one of the worlds most politically and economically isolated countries.

Cargo train and ship traffic has slowly increased over the past year, but North Korea has only just begun to allow some international passenger travel.

Air Koryo has also scheduled flights to Vladivostok on Friday, a diplomat told Reuters, in what would be its first flights to Russia since the pandemic.

This flight isnt a full resumption of the route yet, it is a special flight for Koreans only to take people home again after years being stuck overseas, said Simon Cockerell, general manager at Beijing-based Koryo Tours.

The same as the flights that seem likely to happen soon from Vladivostok.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A group of about 20 individuals proclaiming India as a Hindu nation allegedly vandalised a church in Delhi and physically assaulted members of the Christian community on Sunday, the local media reported.

The incident took place on 20 August at a church in Delhis Tahirpur area. In his complaint to the police, pastor of the Siyyon Prathan Bhawan, Satpal Bhati, said that the attack took place at around 10.40am during a prayer meeting.

According to the First Information Report (FIR)  generally the first step in any police investigation in India  filed by the police, the predominantly Hindu religious mob forcibly entered the church while shouting slogans and proceeded to attack Christians, including women, using sticks.

The complaint said that the mob also vandalised images of Jesus Christ and attempted to tear a Bible. Pastor Bhati told the police that the assailants pulled certain men outside the premises and subjected them to physical assault.

When the mob launched the attack on the church, they allegedly had huge speakers blaring Hindu rashtra banayenge, Jai Shree Ram (which roughly translates to We will make this nation a Hindu nation; Praise be to Lord Ram).

We pray every Sunday, and by us, I mean people from our community gather to pray together and as usual we did the same this Sunday as well, Pastor Bhati told the media.

The moment one of my people approached to close the gate (as the mob was making a ruckus with their speakers), a mob of people, including very young kids barged in chanting Jai Shree Ram, the pastor was quoted as saying by Outlook.

A video shared by Democracy News India, purportedly of the inside of the church, revealed that musical instruments were also subjected to vandalism. Members of the Christian community claimed that drums were deliberately torn using a knife during the incident.

I hope some investigation is done or else anybody can come and beat us [Christians] up, Pastor Bhati said.

He added: One of the women who went to rescue the Bible from getting damaged was beaten with the rod. She has been deeply injured.

One of the victims was quoted as saying by the local media that the mob not only thrashed them but also tried to rip their clothes.

The Wire reported that in Delhis GTB Nagar, a crowd of around 100 surrounded the local police station for several hours. During this time, they continued chanting provocative slogans while the pastor and the injured individuals arrived to register their complaint.

As indicated by a report from the United Christian Forum, the year 2023 has witnessed a total of 155 incidents of violence against Christians across 23 states. Among them, Uttar Pradesh leads with 155 incidents, followed by Chhattisgarh with 84 cases.

In 2014, there were 147 reported cases of church attacks, with the count consistently rising in subsequent years. The previous year alone recorded an alarming 599 assaults on Christians. Within the first 190 days of 2023, there have already been 400 documented attacks, as reported by the Siasat Daily.

The Independent attempted to contact the senior officials at GTB Enclave police station in Delhi under which the jurisdiction of Tahirpur falls for a comment on the vandalisation claims but didnt receive any response.

Why were they praying in a Hindu-majority area? a worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) identified only by his first name Anmol, told The Wire. Our festival, Rakshabandhan, is coming up in a few days, and we will not allow conversion prayers in our area. RSS is considered the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The mob later started claiming that the Christians attacked us first, and they were attempting conversions, which we wont allow. Hindu groups who protested outside the police station alleged that the church was carrying out conversions. The police noted both complaints.

On Monday, the police arrested one person in connection with vandalism, the local media reported.
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A United Nations human rights expert has raised alarms over the "inhuman and senseless" imprisonment of an Indian rights activist with disabilities and demanded his release citing deteriorating health conditions.

Gokarakonda Naga 'GN' Saibaba, a former Delhi University professor with 90 per cent disability, was arrested in 2014 for his alleged links to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoists)  an organisation of far-left rebels.

Three years later, the wheelchair user was sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple offences under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

"His continued detention is shameful," Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said. She described Saibaba, 57, as a long-standing defender of the rights of minorities, including Dalits and Tribal people.

"It bears all the hallmarks of a State seeking to silence a critical voice," the UN expert added.

Apart from two short periods of bail, Saibaba has been held in the Nagpur Central Jail in India's western state of Maharashtra. He has been detained in a high security 810 feet cell with no windows and a wall made of iron bars, that exposes him to extreme weather temperatures, Ms Lawlor said.

According to his wife, Vasantha, the rights defender suffers from several life-threatening ailments such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, kidney stones, hypertension, partial paralysis, a cyst in his brain and pancreatic problems.

His family and lawyers have also accused the prison authorities of failing to hand over medicines, woolen caps, books and other necessary articles.

Saibaba was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in 2022 but a few hours later the Supreme Court of India overturned the decision, citing threats against the "interest of the society, sovereignty and integrity" of the country.

Again in April, the Bombay High Court discharged Saibaba in a Maoist links case, raising hopes for his release, but the order was set aside by the Supreme Court.

Ms Lawlor, who said was in touch with New Delhi regarding the case, stressed that countries have an obligation to "uphold the right to health of prisoners and detainees and ensure their dignity as human beings".

"Prison authorities must ensure that prisoners with disabilities are not discriminated against, including by ensuring accessibility and providing reasonable accommodation, she added.

As Mr Saibabas health has severely deteriorated in detention, he should be released."

In 2021, one of India's prominent Tribal activists died in hospital as an under trial, even as his bail applications on terror charges remained pending.

Father Stan Swamy, 84, was detained in 2020 over allegedly supporting far-right Maoist rebels.

The Jesuit priest sought bail after his health declined, but authorities denied his repeated requests.

Following his arrest, Swamy had filed a plea in court seeking a straw and a sipper cup because his hands shook due to Parkinsons disease. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) denied seizing a straw and sipper from him after which the court had directed the jail authorities to provide them to Swamy.
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Japan will start releasing more than 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked nuclear power plant in Fukushima on Thursday, despite warnings  and protests  from other nations about the move.

It is a controversial step which the government says is essential for the decades of work needed to shut down the facility that suffered reactor meltdowns 12 years ago.

A massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant's cooling systems on 11 March, 2011, causing three of its reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water. The water, now amounting to 1.34 million tons, is collected, filtered and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which fill much of the plant's grounds and will reach their capacity in early 2024.

Despite assurances, some neighbouring countries have expressed scepticism over the safety of the plan, with Beijing emerging as the biggest critic. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in July that Japan had shown selfishness and arrogance, and had not fully consulted the international community about the water release. China has stepped up radiation testing on Japanese fisheries products, delaying customs clearance.

The chief executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, said the release was "irresponsible" and posed "impossible risks to food safety and the irreparable pollution and destruction of the marine environment".

Mr Lee, in a post on his Facebook account, said he had told Environment Secretary Tse Chin-wan and relevant departments to immediately activate import controls to protect food safety and public health. "There is no timetable at this point about how long the ban will last," Tse told a press conference, adding that a decision would depend on data and information from the Japan after the discharge.

In July, Hong Kong said the ban would cover imported aquatic products from the Japanese regions of Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama. The ban, which will also be implemented by Macau, would cover live, frozen, refrigerated, dried seafood, as well as sea salt and seaweed.

South Korea said in a statement released on Tuesday that it sees no problem with the scientific or technical aspects of the plan, but did not necessarily agree with or support it. The matter has required President Yoon Suk Yeol to strike a balance as he seeks better relations with Japan while risking consumer backlash at home.

The plan, approved two years ago as part of decommissioning the Fukushima plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), has also faced criticism from local fishing groups, who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood.

"I have asked Tepco to swiftly prepare for the water discharge in accordance with the plan approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and expect the water release to start on August 24, weather conditions permitting," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday morning.

The announcement comes a day after the government said it had won "a degree of understanding" from the fishing industry over the release of the water, even as a fishing group said it still feared the reputational damage would ruin livelihoods.

The water will initially be released in smaller portions and with extra checks, with the first discharge totalling 7,800 cubic metres over about 17 days starting Thursday, Tepco said.

That water will contain about 190 becquerels of tritium per litre, below the World Health Organisation drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per litre, according to Tepco. A becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.

Japan has said that the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".

About 56 per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by Japanese broadcaster FNN over the weekend said they supported the release, while 37 per cent are opposed.

"The IAEA and many other countries have said it's safe, so I believe it is. But fishermen are facing so many problems so the Japanese government needs to do something to convince them," said 77-year-old NGO worker Hiroko Hashimoto.

Across the region, China bans seafood imports from 10 prefectures in Japan, including Fukushima and the capital, Tokyo. South Korean activists have also protested the plan, although Seoul has concluded from its own study that the water release meets international standards and said it respects the IAEA's assessment.

Mr Kishida said on Tuesday that he believed an "accurate understanding" of the matter was spreading in the international community.

"There is an understandable perception that all radioactive materials are always and everywhere dangerous... but not all radioactive materials are dangerous," Tony Irwin, an honorary associate professor at the Australian National University, said in a note.

"Nuclear power plants worldwide have routinely discharged water containing tritium for over 60 years without harm to people or the environment, most at higher levels than the 22 TBq per year planned for Fukushima," he added.

Japan says the water will be filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. The treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium before being released into the Pacific.

The water was used to cool the fuel rods of Fukushima Daiichi after it melted down in an accident caused by a huge tsunami in 2011 that battered Japan's eastern coast.

A Japanese official said the first test results of the seawater after the discharge may be available at the start of September. Japan will also test fish in the waters near the plant, and make the test results available on the agriculture ministry's website.

Reuters
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Eight people were pulled to safety on Tuesday after a dramatic rescue effort hauled them from a cable car left dangling 900ft (274m) above a ravine in northwest Pakistan.

One of the two cable lines carrying the car snapped at around 0700 local time [GMT 0200] as six children were travelling to school alongside two adults in a remote mountainous area in Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 200km (124 miles) north of the capital Islamabad.

Despite a desperate rescue mission, most of the pasengers were still trapped well into the night as the car clung to the lone cable, while local residents watched on anxiously from below and crowds gathered around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants and hospitals across Pakistan to watch the operation unfold.

Army commandos were called in as three helicopters initially scrambled to save those onboard, with efforts impeded by high winds and another rope some 30ft above the cable car.

People watch as a soldier dangled from a helicopter during the rescue mission (AFP/Getty)

The commandos initially managed to get food and medicine to the passengers in the cabin, which is believed to be used by dozens each day to cross the river to nearby schools, government offices and other businesses. Known by locals as Dolly, the cable car links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the school is located.

The terrain below is difficult given the peaks and the river flowing underneath in the valley, said Bilal Fiazi, a spokesperson for the 1122 rescue service.

Our situation is precarious, for gods sake do something, Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old on the cable car, told local television channel Geo News over the phone, appealing to authorities to rescue them as soon as possible.

He said the children were aged between 10 and 15 and one had fainted due to heat and fear. It was reported by local media that one of the children on board had a possible heart condition.

Three of the children who were rescued from the cable car (AP)

But television footage appeared to show one schoolchild being winched to safety on a zip line in a harness shortly before night fell, with another said to have been rescued before the helicopter operation was grounded at around 1900 local time [GMT 1400].

Despite conflicting reports that four children had been pulled to safety at that point  and confusion over the ratio of children and adults onboard  it appears that six people remained onboard as the sun went down.

Floodlights were installed and an official said that cable crossing experts had been sent by the military to the area and would try to rescue the children by transerring them one by one on a smaller cable car, or trolley, along a cable.

Local residents said community members from surrounding areas who had experience rescuing people this way had also arrived.

A video shared by a rescue agency official showed more than a dozen rescuers and locals lined up near the edge of the dark ravine, pulling on a cable until a boy attached to it by a harness reached the hillside safely to cries of God is great.

A child is brough to safety along a zip line (EPA)

It is a slow and risky operation. One person needs to tie himself with a rope and he will go in a small [trolley] and rescue them one by one, Abdul Nasir Khan, a nearby resident told Reuters.

Just before 2300 local time [GMT 1800], Pakistans interim prime minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar announced that all the children onboard had been successfully rescued.

Moments later, his interior minister Sarfraz Bugti announced that the rescue mission had concluded successfully, as he expressed his appreciation for our valiant armed forces personnel, administration and locals for their selflessness and determination in carrying out this complex operation.

The rescue efforts had transfixed the country, while villagers had lined the slopes of the valley and appeared to have been eager to do all they could to rescue those trapped above.

An extremely difficult and complicated operation has been successfully completed by the Pakistan military, the military said in a statement. All stranded persons were safely evacuated and moved to a safe place ... civil administration and locals also actively came forward to participate in this operation.

Ten people were killed when a cable car lift installed by local villagers in the popular mountain resort of Murree broke and fell into a ravine hundreds of feet deep in 2017.

Mr Kakar said he had directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
 Close Pakistan cable car video

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A student who was stuck in a cable car suspended over a ravine in northwest Pakistan has spoken out about the 15-hour ordeal.

I thought it was my last day and I will be no more, Attaullah Shah was quoted as saying by AFP.

The 15-year-old, one of seven students travelling on the chairlift when one of its cables snapped, expressed gratitude for having survived the incident. God has granted me a second life, he said.

The families of the students rescued from the broken-down cable car erupted with joy as the last child was freed late last night, an official said.

Night fell as the first of the students was rescued and it was several more hours until the cable car was finally cleared of passengers.

People kept praying until the last person was rescued, emergency official Waqar Ahmad told AFP. Once everyone had been rescued, the families started crying with joy and hugging each other.

Pakistans government confirmed the rescue mission was complete some 15 hours after the car first got stuck, and declared inspections of cable cars will be carried out across the country.
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The newly-elected Cambodian parliament on Tuesday endorsed Hun Manet as the prime minister, ending his father's nearly four-decade-long leadership.

Hun Manet, 45, received overwhelming backing of the National Assembly, which is dominated by his Cambodian People's Party (CPP). He was elected as the prime minister following last month's election where he contested as a candidate.

The election was dismissed as a sham due to the absence of any prominent opposition to the ruling party.

In late 2021, Hun Manet's father and former ruler, Hun Sen, anointed his Western-educated son as successor and was later endorsed by the CPP as "future prime minister".

While not much is known about Hun Manet's vision for the country of 16 million people, it is unlikely that Cambodia would immediately pivot to a greater democracy with reopened political space to opponents and trade unions.

In his speech, Hun Manet told lawmakers that the election was free and fair and promised he would implement the CPP's policies and ensure peace, economic growth, better infrastructure, and wage increases for civil servants and garment workers.

He lauded his 71-year-old father and the older generation of politicians for steering Cambodia from years of devastating civil war to an era of peace, growth and better living for its people.

"The bright wisdom, diverse experiences, pragmatism, and the levels of adeptness, intelligence and savviness that (Hun Sen) and excellencies leaders have displayed ... is a mastery of the art of leadership, one that we as the future generation can only aspire to," he said.

Cambodias former Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a press conference (AFP via Getty Images)

Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving leaders, reportedly intends to play an active political role for at least a decade in an effort to fend off political challenges to his son. He has expressed the desire to become president of the upper house senate next year.

The generational transition is designed to keep the power of the political-cum-business elite intact and perpetuate neo-patrimonial arrangements, Astrid Noren Nilsson, a Cambodia expert at Swedens Lund University, told the Associated Press.

Hun Manet's first months in power will be closely watched by or signs whether he favours a liberal approach in improving Cambodi's strained ties with the West or continues to maintain the authoritarian status quo of his father.

After graduating from the West Point military academy in the US, Hun Manet rose quickly through the ranks of Cambodi's armed forces while leading a counter-terrorism team and then serving as deputy chief of his father's bodyguard unit.

He later went on to become army chief and deputy military commander.

On the political front, Hun Manet led the youth wing of the ruling party and made his way up the ranks to become a member of the standing committee.

He is also well educated, with a masters degree from New York University and a doctorate from Britain's Bristol University, both in economics, in stark contrast to his father, who had no formal education.
 Close President Biden and First Lady arrive in Maui

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A California woman has been named as the first tourist to have died in the devastating Maui wildfires.

Officials identified 72-year-old Theresa Cook from Pollock Pines in northern California as among the victims of the deadly blaze in the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina.

Some 115 deaths have been confirmed following the deadliest wildfire in more than a century in the United States. The unconfirmed list of missing people currently stands at 1,100 names.

Hawaiian officials also pleaded with relatives of those missing to come forward and give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the ashes.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with first responders and survivors on Monday and promised that the federal government would be with them for as long as it takes to rebuild the community.

Survivors were also voicing fears of a potential wave of land grabs by realtors and investors that could push Hawaiian locals from the island.
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Plans to ban the use of snares in Scotland have been hailed as excellent news by TV presenter and campaigner Chris Packham.

Packham, a leading conservationist, spoke out after the Scottish Government launched a new consultation, asking if an outright ban on the devices should be brought in, or if any exemptions could be considered.

Ministers are also seeking the publics view on extending the investigative powers of the Scottish SPCA to help tackle wildlife crime, with proposals to give inspectors more authority to search, examine and seize evidence linked to illegal hunting and other offences.

The Scottish environment minister Gillian Martin said snare traps could lead to unnecessary suffering for animals with the proposed ban on their use part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that wildlife management is both sustainable and humane.

Ms Martin said: Currently, only a small number of farmers and land managers use snare traps. More effective and humane forms of managing wildlife are available and we will continue to support the industry to make use of these methods.

Packham, patron of the animal welfare charity OneKind, described the move as excellent news, and a potential win for wildlife.

He added: These torture devices ought to have been banned a long time ago and Im glad that the Scottish Government has finally recognised snares for the unacceptably cruel traps that they are.

With the consultation in Scotland following on from a vote in the Senedd in Wales to ban the use of snares, he added: The UK Government must not lag behind.

OneKind director Bob Elliot said: We are delighted that today the Scottish Government has finally announced their intention to consign snares to Scotlands history books.

The regulation of snares has failed to protect animals from the extreme physical and mental suffering caused by these archaic devices.

Furthermore, 76% of the Scottish public support a snaring ban on the use and sale of snares. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has listened to the voices of Scotlands people.

Mr Elliot added: By proposing a snaring ban, the Scottish Government is helping send a message that wild animals deserve protection.

But he insisted: Nothing short of a full ban will put an end to the suffering inflicted by snares.

We urge the Scottish Government to make this ban watertight and not consider any exceptions to it.

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said the society had long called for an outright ban on the use of snares due to the level of suffering an animal is caused.

Mr Flynn said: Animals that are caught in snares can be caused unimaginable physical and mental anguish. Following reports from members of the public, we have found domestic animals, protected species and target animals that have all suffered dreadfully in both illegal and legal snares.

A ban on all snaring is the only way to stop this unacceptable suffering. We are very pleased with the announcement of a ban, which will be a historic moment for animal welfare in Scotland.

Gamekeepers said they too supported a ban, proposing that newer, more humane holding devices which represent a step-change in animal welfare should be used instead of snares.

Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg said it recommended these should be used by legally trained operators only.

He explained such devices contain added features which take account of fox welfare and enable animals which are not the targets  such as badgers and deer  to trigger a break-away and free themselves.

While Mr Hogg said only a few estates have been using these, all those that have had reported a step-change for welfare.

He stated: We feel these new devices strike exactly the right balance between animal welfare and the needs of land managers, in a rural country, to be able to legally control fox numbers to prevent serious damage to livestock and ground-nesting birds of special conservation concern.

Legislating as the minister suggests will only tie the hands of land managers and conservationists, while criminals continue to use illegal snares unaffected by any legislation Jake Swindells, Scottish Countryside Alliance

However, Jake Swindells, director of the Scottish Countryside Alliance said: The use of snares is an important tool in wildlife management, which benefits conservation and a range of economic activities from agriculture, shooting, forestry and eco-tourism.

Given the Scottish Government has already legislated against other practical and effective alternative forms of pest control, this proposal leaves risking those working in the countryside even more unequipped.

He added that the consequences of this could be devastating for rare species, such as the curlew and capercaillie, arguing that snares could help control predators.

Mr Swindells said: Well-designed snares, used properly, are a humane and effective form of fox control. They are a restraining, rather than killing, device.

Legislating as the minister suggests will only tie the hands of land managers and conservationists, while criminals continue to use illegal snares unaffected by any legislation.

The Scottish Government consultation will run for six weeks until October 3.
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Tropical Storm Hilary is expected to continue to drive in a northeasterly direction through Nevada over the course of Tuesday, having already brought heavy rain and flooding to the deserts of northern Mexico and southern California, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

Although Hilary has weakened from hurricane status and lost much of its force as it heads towards the Rocky Mountains, millions expect more rain, flooding and mudslides to come, now as far north as southeastern Oregon and the west-central mountains of Idaho, with potential thunderstorms forecast.

On Monday, Nevada experienced flooding and power outages and a boil-water order was issued for about 400 households in the Mount Charleston area, where the only road in and out was washed out.

The Pacific front had drifted north along the coast of Mexicos arid Baja California Peninsula before it made landfall on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 150 miles south of Ensenada.

One person drowned in Mugele when their vehicle was swept away and the Mexican military had to step in with bulldozers and dump trucks to help clear tonnes of boulders and earth that clogged streets and roads, as well as downed power lines.

The storm then moved through mudslide-prone Tijuana, threatening the improvised homes that cling to hillsides just south of the US border.

The first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years, Hilary has already dropped more than half an average years worth of rain on some areas, including the desert resort of Palm Springs, which had seen nearly 7.6 centimetres of rain by Sunday evening.

Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and fire officials rescued 13 people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water.

Crews pumped floodwaters out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest school system, said all campuses would be closed on Monday, as did districts across the region, while the Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement on Sunday that 911 lines were down and that in the event of an emergency to text 911 or reach out to the nearest police or fire station.

Tropical Storm Hilary is projected to weaken as it continues moving northward over California and into Nevada, but Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said very heavy rain and strong winds are still likely.

You can see a map of its anticipated path below.

A map to show the anticipated path of Tropical Storm Hilary as it moves inland through California and Nevada (The Independent/Datawrapper)

Southern California got another surprise on Sunday afternoon when an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 hit near Ojai, about 80 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey. It was felt widely and was followed by smaller aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury.

Hilary is just the latest major climate disaster to wreak havoc across the US, Canada and Mexico.

Hawaiis island of Maui is still reeling from a blaze that killed over 100 people and ravaged the historic town of Lahaina, making it the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century.

Meanwhile, firefighters in Canada are now battling that nations worst fire season on record.

Additional reporting by agencies
The bodies of 18 people have been found in an area of Greece hit by wildfires, as firefighters tackle blazes across southern Europe in the grip of another heatwave.

The dead are believed to have been migrants who had crossed the border from Turkey into the Avantas area of northeastern Greece, near the city of Alexandroupolis.

Hot, dry and windy conditions have led to wildfires across the country as well as Spain, Italy and Portugal.
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Jennifer Aniston has candidly spoken about how her parents relationship ultimately impacted her own dating life.

The actress, 54, opened up about her childhood during a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal while appearing on the cover of its September issue. She confessed that, after she saw the dynamic of her parents, John Aniston and Nancy Dow - who divorced in 1980 - it hasnt been easy for her to get into a relationship herself.

It was always a little bit difficult for me in relationships, I think, because I really was kind of alone. I dont know, she said. My parents, watching my familys relationship, didnt make me kind of go: Oh, I cant wait to do that.

Aniston added that she didnt want to make changes to herself for the sake of her partner, which has made it easier for her to stay single.

I didnt like the idea of sacrificing who you were or what you needed, so I didnt really know how to do that, she continued. So it was almost easier to just be kind of solo. So I didnt have any real training in that give-and-take.

The Friends star continued to acknowledge that, as shes focused on her career and own desires, it can also make it difficult for her to enter a relationship.

Its just about not being afraid to say what you need and what you want. And its still a challenge for me in a relationship, she said. Im really good at every other job I have, and thats sort of the one area thats a little

This isnt the first time that Aniston has opened up about how shes been impacted by her parents divorce. During an interview with Allure in November 2022, she spoke candidly about her estranged relationship with Dow, who died in 2016, and said that her mothers divorce really screwed her up. She also recalled that when she was a child, she wasnt necessarily open about her parents divorce.

Back in that generation it wasnt like: Go to therapy, talk to somebody. Why dont you start microdosing? Youre going through life and picking up your child with tears on your face and you dont have any help, she said.

She also acknowledged how her parents dynamic went on to encourage her to leave home, explaining: My house was not a fun house to live in. I was thrilled to get out.

However, according to Aniston, she went on to forgive her mother, father, and family, since she realised it was toxic to have that resentment and anger towards them.

I learned that by watching my mom never let go of it. I remember saying: Thank you for showing me what never to be, Aniston said. So thats what I mean about taking the darker things that happen in our lives, the not-so-happy moments, and trying to find places to honour them because of what they have given to us.

Regarding her own relationships, Aniston married Brad Pitt in 2000, before the beloved Hollywood couple split in 2005. She married Justin Theroux in 2015, and got divorced in 2018. Although her two marriages didnt last, Aniston has been very open about how she still views both of them as very successful.

And when they came to an end, it was a choice that was made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes happiness doesnt exist within that arrangement anymore, The Morning Show star said during a 2019 interview with Elle.

She continued: Sure, there were bumps, and not every moment felt fantastic, obviously, but at the end of it, this is our one life and I would not stay in a situation out of fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of not being able to survive. To stay in a marriage based on fear feels like youre doing your one life a disservice
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Jennifer Aniston has revealed why her friend and co-star Adam Sandler sends her flowers every year on Mothers Day.

Last year, the Friends actor spoke to Allure about her fertility journey, including her experience with in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and the public pressure to have children.

She alluded to her fertility journey when she discussed the really hard s*** she went through during her thirties and forties. I would say my late 30s, 40s, Id gone through really hard s*** and if it wasnt for going through that, I wouldve never become who I was meant to be, she said.

Thats why I have such gratitude for all those s****y things. Otherwise, I wouldve been stuck being this person that was so fearful, so nervous, so unsure of who they were. And now, I dont f***ing care.

Aniston went on to explain that she tried everything during those years to get pregnant, and described how difficult it was. I was trying to get pregnant. It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road, she said.

All the years and years and years of speculation... It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it, she said. I wouldve given anything if someone had said to me, Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favour. You just dont think it. So, here I am today. The ship has sailed.

Although her attempts to have children were unsuccessful, Aniston said she was glad to have gone through her fertility journey, so she wouldnt dwell on how her life could have been different if she tried. I have zero regrets, she told Allure. I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. I dont have to think about that anymore.

Aniston revealed that her private fertility struggle was made more difficult when it was rumoured that her and Brad Pitts divorce in 2005 was because she was selfish for not wanting children, and that she cared more about her career.

God forbid a woman is successful and doesnt have a child. And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldnt give him a kid. It was absolute lies, she said to Allure, adding: I dont have anything to hide at this point.

After opening up about her struggles, many people offered their support to Aniston, with some fans demanding the tabloids apologise for pushing the narrative that she chose not to have children. One of these people was Adam Sandler, her Murder Mystery co-star. In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Morning Show actor and producer revealed that Sandler and his wife, Jackie Sandler, send her a bouquet of flowers every single Mothers Day in order to show their love and support.

Aniston also explained that its difficult for her to date because of her parents relationship. Her parents, actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow, got divorced when she was nine years old. It was always a little bit difficult for me in relationships, I think, because I really was kind of alone. I dont know, she said. My parents, watching my familys relationship, didnt make me kind of go, Oh, I cant wait to do that.
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As Mercury in retrograde begins on 23 August, be prepared for astrologers to blame the planets and stars for a myriad of communication issues over the next few weeks.

For 400 years, astronomers have long believed its a basic fact of the universe that Mercury goes into an apparent retrograde motion, according to Vox. But in astrology, Mercury in retrograde is a borderline religious holiday thats typically forecasted to bring about dysfunction for everyone under the sun.

While the astrological phenomenon has become a popular topic on the internet in recent years, The Atlantic says that the idea that the planets can influence peoples lives has been around for more than a millennium. This belief system has had numerous interpretations throughout the centuries, its most recent incarnation being new-age astrology - which usually comes in the form of relatable memes and listicles.

Social media astrology accounts have amassed hundreds and thousands of followers in recent years, attracting users with retrograde jokes and categorisation memes that include anything from cats to Stranger Things characters. Meanwhile, horoscopes and astrology-centric listicles have also gained popularity online.

Astrologer Chani Nicolas told The Atlantic in 2018: Theres something thats happened in the last five years thats given it an edginess, a relevance for this time and place, that it hasnt had for a good 35 years.

Since 2018, astrology has become more popular among millennials and Gen-Z, and the idea of Mercury retrograde has become more pervasive in pop culture. Some astrologers reportedly credit Taylor Swift with the phenomenons sudden leap into the mainstream. In a 2014 MTV News clip, Swift explained to viewers: Everything is going to be completely wrong and messed up and miscommunicated. Your phone will break, or youll send a text message and it wont get to the person its supposed to go to.

The idea that Mercury in retrograde can wreak havoc is a fairly recent idea that independent researcher Joanna Martin has traced back to the late 20th century as early as the 1970s. Martin - who studied under astrology and cultural astronomy historian Nicholas Campion - said she discovered some of the earliest mentions of Mercury retrograde while conducting research for her 2018 masters dissertation on Mercury retrogrades cultural history. Harpers Bazaar wrote that Martin had noticed a spike in mentions of Mercury retrograde coinciding with the development of computers in the 1980s.

Martin also found that astrologer Edith Custer had printed a newsletter back in 1974, which functioned as a modern-day online forum in which astrologers wrote in their problems and complained about the effects of Mercury retrograde.

While the idea that communication issues as a result of planetary movements may be recent, astrologers arent wrong that something is happening in the sky. Really, whats happening in the sky is primarily because of the way Mercury appears to humans. In short, Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion.

Because Mercury orbits closer to the Sun than Earth does, the planet ultimately travels faster - making its trip around the Sun in 88 days, compared to Earths 365 days. A planetary scientist named David Rothery explained to The Atlantic that the planet was essentially overtaking us on the inside track. When that occurs, it appears on Earth that Mercury is going backwards. Eventually, Earth catches up and Mercury appears to go prograde. The astrological phenomenon usually occurs for around three weeks, three to four times a year.

When asked whether Mercury retrograde affected humans, Rothery said: So far as Im concerned, the only bearing this has on events on Earth is that for most of the time when Mercury is in retrograde, it is so close to the sun in the sky that radio communication with a spacecraft at Mercury is compromised by interference with the signal.
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The zoo that welcomed a rare spotless giraffe has now been named after weeks of collecting suggestions and votes.

On 31 July, at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, a giraffe without spots was born. The zoo said, according to experts, they believe she is the only solid-coloured reticulated giraffe on the planet.

Giraffe experts believe she is the only solid-coloured reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet, Brights Zoo stated in a release.

Reticulated giraffes are a species of giraffes with brown and orange spots. They are native to Africa and in 2018 were listed as endangered, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

David Bright, the zoos director, has said in an email to CBS News that the last record of a spotless giraffe dates back to 1972 in Tokyo. It was born at the Ueno Zoo and was named Toshiko.

The goal in giving the giraffe media attention is to bring awareness to giraffe conservation and how the species is on the verge of endangerment. The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation," said Tony Bright, founder of Brights Zoo, in the press release. "Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40 per cent of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last three decades."

Currently the baby giraffe stands at six feet tall and thriving under its mothers care, according to zoo officials.

The zoo held a naming contest for the public to participate in. On 22 August, Brights Zoo announced they were down to four choices left. Kipekee, which means unique; Firyali, which means unusual or extraordinary; Shakiri, which means she is most beautiful, and Jamella, which means one of great beauty.

Votes were collected until until Labor Day, on 4 September. Name suggestions can be left on the zoos Facebook page.

On Tuesday (5 September) Bright announced the winning name was Kipekee. Approximately 40,000 people from across the world had voted to name the 5-week-old animal, Today reported, with Kipekee getting 36 percent of the vote. From a lot of guests we talked to, that was the easiest name for a child to say, Bright joked.

Kipekee received just over 16,000 votes to edge Shakiri, which received more than 10,000.

Voting took place on social media. We ended up using a program to take all the comments and put them into Excel. Then, we were able to sort that Excel spreadsheet out and hand-count all the votes, Bright explained on Today.

The birth of the spotless giraffe comes after the loss of two rare all-white giraffes in 2020 at the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy in Ijara, Garissa County. The all-white giraffes had leucism, which causes the loss of pigmentation, creating white skin. They were travelling in a group of three and were all a family. The two killed were a calf and a female, leaving the male left.

After two of them were killed by poachers, a conservation group fitted the third giraffe with a GPS monitor to trace its movements in case another poacher in the arid savannah near the Somalia border were to come after it. The GPS tracking device, attached to one of the giraffes horns, will ping every hour to alert wildlife rangers to its location.

"We are thankful for the tremendous help from KWS, Save Giraffes Now and the Northern Rangelands Trust in furthering community efforts to safeguard wildlife species, said Ahmed Noor, the conservancys manager in a press release. The giraffes grazing range has been blessed with good rains in the recent past and the abundant vegetation bodes well for the future of the white male.

Ishaqbini was first established as a community conservancy by the communities of Hara, Kotile and Korisa locations, with the aim of conserving the ecosystem within Ijara, Garissa County, while sustaining their livelihoods. It is also home to a variety of other species  warthog, lesser kudu, gerenuk, ostrich, a unique herd of largely maneless plains zebra, and the endangered reticulated giraffe  which are facing decline across Africa, according to the release.
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The late Queen Elizabeth II was shocked after she saw police charging into picketing miners at the Battle of Orgreave, it has been revealed.

The incident, one of the most violent clashes in British industrial history, unfolded when 5,000 picketing miners clashed with thousands of police officers at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham in 1984.

When picketers moved forward to stop the first convoy of lorries, the police force ordered a mounted charge against them. This resulted in an hours-long battle between picketers and officers, culminating in more than 90 arrests and multiple injuries among both picketers and police.

Julian Haviland, a former political editor of The Times, revealed the monarchs reaction to footage of the violence, in an interview given before his death earlier this month.

Talking to Times Radio this summer, he said the Queen described the incident as awful and was appalled by the police response.

He said: When the horses rode through some of the miners and knocked a few down, the Queen said words [to the effect of], Oh, thats awful! Oh, we shouldnt do that!.

And for the Queen to make a political comment like that was news.

The Times reported that the journalist said he confirmed the Queens horrified reaction, but the story was dropped in order to protect his sources.

It turned out there were only two other people in the room when she had said it, he said. She had said it  I got that absolutely confirmed.

According to Haviland, the two people in the room with the Queen at the time were her private secretary, Robert Fellowes, and George Younger, secretary of state for Scotland.

The story was passed to Charles Douglas-Home, who was then-editor of The Times. He was also the nephew of former prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, and cousin to Princess Diana.

Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the Thames Flood Barrier, London, UK, 8th May 1984 (Getty Images)

He asked Haviland to verify the story but declined to write it himself. After confirming the details, Haviland raised the issue that it would incriminate the sources because there were only two other people who witnessed the Queens comments.

According to the newspaper, Douglas-Home decided to drop the story after being advised of this.

There has never been a formal inquiry into the alleged excessive police violence against miners at the Battle of Orgreave, despite calls for one over the years.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission reported in 2015 that it had found evidence of excessive police violence, as well as a false narrative peddled by the force that exaggerated violence by miners, among other allegations. However, it decided not to hold a full investigation due to the passage of time and lack of resources.

Haviland also said in the interview that former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was a prolific whisky drinker. He recalled sitting down with her in Downing Street and said: After she finished she took an extremely large scotch. Margaret had quite a capacity.

Former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher (R) greets HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as they arrive for Thatcher's 80th birthday party at the Mandarin Oriental on October 13, 2005 (Getty Images)

He added: It was Tuesday at 5pm and her next engagement was her weekly audience with the Queen The one person in the world of whom Margaret Thatcher was frightened was the Queen. Thats why she downed a lot.

Havilands journalistic career spanned more than 60 years. He was the political editor of The Times from 1981 to 1986, but started out as a reporter for the Surrey Advertiser, before moving to South Africa to work at the Johannesburg Star until 1959.

He was also a reporter at The Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard. Haviland went on to join Independent Television News as a reporter, before becoming its political correspondent and then political editor.

He died on 11 August at the age of 93. He was married to Caroline Victoria Barbour since 1959 and is survived by his three children, Richard, Peter and Charles.
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A TikToker has detailed the shock differences shes experienced as someone who moved from New York to London three years ago.

Olamide Modupe started a video series of what she had to learn the hard way about moving out of the country. The content creator, originally from Los Angeles, California, spoke to Insider about how she moved during the pandemic at age 29 to get her masters degree.

Her intent in publishing the multi-part confessions is to help her followers understand the realities of moving to the UK with information they couldnt easily find online.

On 16 July, Modupe advised other TikTok users about the difference in water that she learned about a bit too late. She found out the water wasnt fluoridated and therefore got cavities. I have never in my life had cavities until I moved to London, she said. Though she was still using toothpaste from America, drinking the water lowered her fluoride consumption. However, once she switched to UK toothpaste, her dental issues no longer existed.

Her 24 July video explained the difficulties of renting a London apartment compared to that in New York. She described a few of her Brooklyn landlords as a nightmare, but said the ones shes interacted with since her move out of the country have been intense.

The apartment search in London was different too. Looking for a space in New York meant applying for several units at once and waiting to hear which ones youve been accepted to. Yet, in London, youre more likely to pay a holding deposit to secure the space before signing a lease agreement.

So you can only apply to one at a time. And if you withdraw, you lose that deposit, Modupe remarked. The only way to get that deposit back is if they deny you.

The former US resident admitted she had to pay six months of rent upfront when she first moved because of her student status and her roommates unemployment.

In a 1 August post, Modupe described that pay cycles were usually made monthly, whereas, in the US, the standard shes experienced is biweekly. You actually get paid monthly out here, not bi-weekly, she proclaimed. If that sounds scary, trust me, it was scary for me too.

The shocked worker opened up about how shes had to budget more because of this. I was even splitting the check that I got into two different pots on my bank app, and then paying myself twice a month just so I could have a little bit of a transition, Modupe confessed.

Although she had to get used to only getting a paycheck once a month, Modupe was thrilled to find out that vacation time was available upon signing a contract with a company. In the UK, the second you sign your contract, all of your holiday days are there. Theyre available to you, the TikTok user recounted. You get it immediately. So youre booking the trips immediately.

Speaking about the bar culture in the UK, Modupe confessed: There is no such thing as a free pour here, honey. They are going to measure it. They are going to scrape the top off. And thats going to be as much as you get.

She continued in her 5 August entry: Here, they are going to measure that. And its probably for your own good that they are going to measure it.

Whats more, she found that most of the bars close around one in the morning.

On the topic of online shopping, Modupe took to her TikTok on 13 August and talked about the return policies in the UK. Youre gonna wanna read the return policy every time you order something, she said. Theres little tolerance for opening a package, using an item, and then trying to send it back.

The Independent has reached out to Modupe for a comment.
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Turkey's foreign minister accused the United Nations of abandoning its neutrality on Tuesday, a day after the U.N. Security Council criticized construction work by Turkish Cypriots inside the buffer zone dividing Cyprus and condemned their assault on U.N. peacekeepers.

In a statement issued Monday, the Security Council described the construction of a road as a violation of the status quo that is contrary to council resolutions. The statement came at the end of emergency closed consultations by the council's 15 members.

Angry Turkish Cypriots last week punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers that blocked crews working on a road that would encroach on the islands U.N.-controlled buffer zone. The road is designed to connect the village of Arsos, in the Turkish Cypriot north, with the multi-ethnic village of Pyla, which is inside the buffer zone and abuts the Greek Cypriot south.

"We believe that with this move, the United Nations has lost its neutrality," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters during a joint news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart.

Fidan maintained that Greek Cypriots had been allowed to go ahead with similar road construction projects.

The road built by Greek Cypriots towards the Greek population in Pyla was never subjected to obstruction and condemnation by the United Nations, he said. He accused the U.N. of acting like a hawk to block the Turkish Cypriots' project.

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting the U.N. Security Council's condemnation, which is said was divorced from the realities on the ground.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting late Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the U.N. peacekeepers' action unacceptable and accused the force of bias against Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus was divided into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south in 1974 following a Turkish invasion that was triggered by a coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece. Turkey maintains more than 35,000 soldiers in the Mediterranean nation s northern third. The Greek Cypriot south is a member of the European Union.

Since 1974, a U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNFICYP has supervised the de facto cease-fire and maintained a buffer zone between Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces in the north and Greek Cypriot forces in the south.

The Security Council welcomed the halt in construction by the Turkish Cypriot side and the removal of equipment and personnel. It called on both sides to show flexibility and support efforts by the U.N. envoy to negotiate mutually agreed development in the area concerned.

The road would give Turkish Cypriots direct access to Pyla by circumventing a checkpoint on the northern fringe of a British military base, one of two bases that the U.K. retained after Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

Greek Cypriots perceive the roads construction as a move with a military purpose at a sensitive spot along the buffer zone, which spans 180 kilometers (112 miles).

Turkey has described the road as a humanitarian project for the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot residents of Pyla.
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A team of Kenyan officials is in Haiti to explore how best to help the troubled Caribbean nation fight the scourge of gang violence, following up on Nairobi's offer to lead a multinational force in the task.

The force is meant to assist Haitis understaffed and under-resourced police department, with only about 10,000 officers for the nations more than 11 million people.

Earlier this month, the United States said it would introduce a U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize Kenya to lead a multinational police force and provide 1,000 officers. No timetable for the resolution has been given.

The first meeting between Haitian officials and the 10-member Kenyan team took place on Monday, according to a government stated issued late that night.

We are here to assess the needs of the National Police of Haiti, better understand the situation and do our best to help the Haitian people, said George Orina, with Kenya's ministry of foreign affairs.

Before arriving in Haiti on Sunday, the Kenyan delegation met with countries and groups in New York that are trying to decide how best to help Haiti. From January 1 until Aug. 15, more than 2,400 people in Haiti were reported killed, more than 950 kidnapped and another 902 injured, according to the most recent U.N. statistics.

Gangs are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince, with more than 200,000 people displaced after gangs pillaged and burned their homes.

The Kenyan officials said the countries they met with understand the Haitian demands and the urgent need to put an end to a situation which is paralyzing the functioning of the country and putting the future of its citizens in danger.

The Kenyan's fact-finding trip to Haiti wraps up on Wednesday.

Kenyas government first said in late July that it could send 1,000 police officers to train Haitis National Police, restore normalcy and protect strategic installations.

The request for the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force was first made by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October.
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Lucy Letbys former boss, who has been accused of ignoring concerns about the serial killer nurse, is being investigated by the nursing watchdog.

Alison Kelly, who was director of nursing at the Countess of Chester Hospital before leaving in 2021, has been suspended from her current role as nursing director at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in Salford.

Letby, Britains most prolific child serial killer, was on Monday handed a whole life prison sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more in 2015 and 2016 while working at the hospital.

Now, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has confirmed that her former boss, Ms Kelly, has been referred for a fitness to practise investigation.

Ms Kellys referral, sent in 2018, had been paused pending the outcome of the trial at the request of the police, the regulator said.

Now the trial is over, the NMC will investigate and decide whether there are grounds to take her to a fitness to practice hearing.

The former nursing director was suspended from her role at Northern Care Alliance this week after the Department for Health and Social Care announced an independent inquiry into the failings of the NHS in the Letby case.

Alison Kelly is now being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Counil (Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust/YouTube)

Ms Kelly, alongside other senior directors at the Countess of Chester hospital, including medical director Ian Harvey, have been accused of ignoring concerns raised by doctors from as early as June 2015 and were said to have been protective over Letby.

Mr Harvey, who was a surgeon, was referred to the General Medical Council by doctors in 2018. The GMC said it investigated the referral and liaised with the police. A year later the regulator cleared Mr Harvey of any wrongdoing.

The GMC said: At the conclusion of our investigation, our senior decision-makers decided that the case did not reach the threshold for referral to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service for a hearing.

Stephen Brearey called for managers to face action following allegations they ignored complainst about Lucy Letby (BBC/Cheshire Constabulary/PA)

The former medical director has since retired and has removed himself from the GMC register.

During her trial, the court heard that a number of consultants working with Letby had started to raise concerns about her association with babies collapsing as early as 2015.

She put in a grievance against her employer  which ruled in her favour  after she was moved to clerical duties, and senior doctors were forced to apologise and even attend mediation.

One of the consultants, Dr Stephen Brearey, has since called for NHS managers to be held accountable in the same way that medics are.

Asked if he would like to see regulation of hospital administrators, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Absolutely. Because doctors and nurses all have their regulatory bodies that we have to answer to.

And quite often well see senior managers who have no apparent accountability for what they do in our trusts, and they move to other trusts, and you worry about their future actions.

There doesnt seem to be any system to make them accountable and for them to justify their actions in a systematic way.

The government will hold an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Letbys crimes to ensure vital lessons are learned.

However, Dr Brearey said he would like to see a statutory inquiry, backing calls from the victims families, Sir Keir Starmer and a string of former justice secretaries, for the inquiry to be given greater powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.
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The families of serial killer Lucy Letbys victims branded the nurse evil as they gave emotional victim impact statements during her sentencing.

The 33-year-old did not appear in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on Monday as she was given a whole-life order after being convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six more.

But the judge, Mr Justice Goss, ordered that she be sent a transcript of his sentencing remarks and copies of the statements read out by the families of her victims.

Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life in prison (AFP via Getty Images)

Here is what each family said in full:

You thought you could play god: Child A and Child B

Letby was found guilty of the murder of Child A after injecting air intravenously into the baby boys bloodstream.

Child B, the twin sister of Child A, also had air injected into her bloodstream by Letby. The nurse was convicted of her attempted murder.

In a statement, the babies mother said: 2015 was going to be the best year of our lives, we were going to become parents to a little boy and a little girl. Everything was perfect, our babies were doing well in the neonatal unit. We were told that Child B needed a little bit of extra help but was doing well and that Child A was very strong and doing really well.

Never could we have imagined that the most precious things in our lives would have been placed in harms way and in the care of a nurse, who is capable of such despicable actions. We never got to hold our little boy while he was alive because you took him away.

Our minds are traumatised that it wont let us remember most of the night where you killed our child. What should have been the happiest time of our lives had become our worst nightmare.

After losing Child A, not only were we absolutely traumatised at what had happened, we were riddled with fear for our baby girl Child B. We werent there when Child A collapsed and by the time I was brought through to him, he was gone despite all the efforts to revive him. You had been successful in your quest to cause maximum pain and suffering.

Letby when she was arrested by police (PA Media)

We are so thankful that we had that fear for Child B as it saved her life, not allowing you to fully do the same to her as you did to Child A.

After losing Child A we made sure that there was always a member of family at her side watching. However, we made a mistake, we started to believe that what happened to Child A was a tragic event that we couldnt have been stopped.

We trusted that Child B would be given extra special care, it had certainly appeared that way. Little did we know that you were waiting for us to leave so you could attack the one thing that gave us a reason to keep going on in life. We are forever grateful that you werent able to take Child B away from us that night.

Although our family has a gaping hole where Child A should be, there is a constant shining light in Child B. You tried to take everything away from us. You thought it was your right to play God with our childrens lives.

Our lives are tough, we struggle with anxiety, depression and PTSD and sometimes we almost want to give up. But we never will, we have a duty to our children. We have a duty to keep Child As memory alive for generations to come and we have a duty to give Child B the best life possible and we will spend our lives doing that.

You thought that you could enter our lives and turn it upside down, but you will never win. We hope you live a very long life and spend every single day suffering for what you have done. Maybe you thought by doing this you would be remembered forever. But I want you to know my family will never think of you again from this day, you are nothing.

I blamed myself for his death: Child C

Letby was found guilty of murdering Child C by forcing air down a feeding tube and into the baby boys stomach.

Child Cs mother choked back tears as she told Letby in her absence: I have thought a lot about whether to tell the court about the impact that losing Child C has had on us, whether to allow Lucy Letby to know the extent of our pain.

But my need to represent my son and my love for my son outweighs any feeling I will ever have about the defendant. I will always remember the overwhelming wave of emotion that I felt the first time I held Child C. I understood right there and then the bond and immediate love between a mother and their baby. That moment I will never forget. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.

The way he smelt, the feel of his fine hair on my chin. My tiny feisty boy, my first born, my son. The shock and panic of the night that he collapsed will stay with me forever. It was so sudden, so unbelievable. It really felt like I was watching someone elses life not my own.

Our two sets of parents held Child C for the first and only time in the hours that he lay dying. It was a pain for us all that was just too hard to bear. The trauma of that night will live with all of us until the day we die. Knowing now that his murderer was watching us throughout these traumatic hours is like something out of a horror story.

The sleeplessness and nightmares followed. The disbelief that this had really happened. That I would never hold him again, that he was never going to get the chance to grow up.

I blamed myself entirely for his death - I still live with the guilt that I couldnt protect him in pregnancy or in his short life. There are many what ifs that have kept me awake - what if I had not gone to bed that night? Maybe he would still be here.

A court sketch of Letby during the trial at Manchester Crown Court (PA Wire)

Eight years have passed. Our grief is just as heavy as it was, but we have worked hard to build life bigger around it to help carry that great weight. I miss Child C every day. I miss everything that we should have had - first smile, first word, birthdays, Christmases and the physical feeling of that bond.

I think about what his voice would have sounded like, what he might have looked like now, who he would have been. Every milestone our living children have reached have been reached with joy, but also highlight the many milestones there should have been for Child C - all of the things we have missed. All of the things about him that we will never know and all the people in our lives who never got the chance to meet him.

In the darkness of the days, weeks and months that followed Child Cs death, I would open his memory box. I would smell his familiar smell, I would touch his hand print. His hand and footprint were made into a pendant, I wore it round my neck. It made me feel closer to him.

When Lucy Letby was first arrested these few tangible memories I had of my son felt tainted... she took those hand and foot prints, I felt so conflicted as to what that meant so I stopped wearing them - I needed to understand what part Lucy Letby had played in the death of my defenceless baby boy.

Now we know as much about Child Cs death as I believe we ever will, I feel able to wear his hand and footprints for the first time in five years. I know now that they represent the love that I have for my son, and I will not allow evil to taint that. They represent justice and the truth.

Lucy Letby, to think that you could get any kind of gratification from inflicting pain on Child C and from watching our suffering in the aftermath goes against everything I believe it is to be human. I am horrified that someone so evil exists. To you, our sons life was collateral damage in your persistent desire for drama, attention, praise and sympathy.

You have betrayed and manipulated those you worked with and the many families who put their tiny precious babies and all of their hope in your hands. There is no sentence that will ever compare to the excruciating agony we have suffered as a consequence of your murder of our son. But at least now there is no debate - that, in your own words, you killed them on purpose. You are evil. You did this.

Letby had been trusted by the parents of her victims (Cheshire Constabulary/PA) (PA Media)

Those lives were not yours to take: Child D

Letby was found convicted of the murder of Child D after air was injected intravenously into the baby girl.

Child Ds mother of Child D told the court: Lucy Letby had a chance to say something to us all parents of the victims, and she only had one word - unimaginable. Her wicked sense of entitlement and abuse of her role as a trusted nurse is truly a scandal.

Lucy Letby you failed God and the plans he had for Child D. You even called it fate, you were clearly disconnected with God!

After today I hope to be free of this limbo state I have been stuck in. The heavy load constantly on my mind has deeply changed me. My heart broke into million pieces the second Child D lost her battle against evil and that is when hell broke loose for us.

Those lives were not yours to take and although I am torn with sadness, anger and unanswered questions... I cannot forgive you. There is no forgiving, not now, not ever.

After Child D passed, we were asked if we would like her to be an organ donor. This was a very difficult question to answer but we thought if she could be a babys saviour, as painful as it felt, it felt right to say yes. We were told a baby needed a heart.

I cant explain how I felt then but very soon they came back to us and said that a post mortem has been ordered as they couldnt explain why Child D collapsed and died. Therefore she could not be an organ donor which broke my heart even more.

I stayed a few more days in hospital to recover, then Child Ds father and I went home... just the two of us instead of a family of three. We were given Child Ds hand and foot prints and also a memory box with two tiny teddy ears. One to go with Child D and one for us to keep.

Court sketch of empty chairs in court after she refused to attend her sentencing (PA) (PA Wire)

Our family cleared all traces of baby stuff around the house, removed the baby seat from the car, took Child Ds hospital bag back home. All was stored inside her bedroom and the door remained closed for any months.

We had to organise her funeral. You dont choose the date, the service took place the day before her due date. Her ashes were hurried in a tiny box on her actual due date.

Those weeks were particularly difficult. I couldnt rest or stop thinking about all the little things I should be doing instead. My arms, my heart, my life all felt so painfully empty. I missed Child D so much.

I was desperate to feel her, smell her, cuddle her. I needed to be her mum in every way to look after her and keep her safe. I felt so guilty and questioned if any of this was my fault. Did I miss something, did I do something wrong. Did I fail my daughter?

When I left the hospital, I requested Child Ds medical notes and mine. I got clued up on medical terms, neonatal death statistics, guidelines, protocols... I was knocking on doors, asking questions, meeting with doctors from the Countess and even the management team. We got a solicitor and I wanted the police involved. At that stage I was told that this was not a criminal matter so the police were out of question.

We got the post mortem report and even the coroner ordered an inquest. Things just didnt add up. A week before we were due to go to court and face the coroner, we got a call at 6am from the police, telling us that they were about to arrest someone on suspicion of Child Ds murder and also other babies.

This was something else to overcome. We knew nothing during the whole time of the investigation or what has happened to Child D. I became obsessed, and this took over my life: fighting for Child D and justice. I wanted to know everything. I was told by someone once, not to expect too much and that it wouldnt change anything nor bring Child D back.

Letby carried out the murders and attempted murders while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital (PA Wire)

Thank God the police started their investigation. Now the why and never knowing will keep this wound forever opened.

The following year, l gave birth to Child Ds brother. Such a gorgeous boy. Then it was all those first times - first time we held our baby boy, first trip in the car to come home...first bath, first cuddle, first smile, all those moments were filling my heart with happier memories.

I love being a mum and at the same time struggle with grief and depression. I have disconnected from many people around me. I lost my confidence as a friend, a woman, a mum, a wife... I never feel good enough, I feel Ive let myself go. My marriage is also scarred by all the hurdles we went through.

At first we were each others rocks but as challenges were met, we found ourselves dealing with them in different ways, not at the same pace and it has been hard to keep strong together at times.

I feel not only I lost Child D but lost all those years of my life too. Since Child D passed away I lived beside my own shadow. I have had multiple therapies, panic attacks, dark thoughts plus many struggles to overcome. After a nervous breakdown I took time off work and started anti-depressants. I guess it was time but I felt so scared I would never recover.

I gave up, then tried again but it became a rollercoaster and I was mentally exhausted, I did feel very lonely, at time it felt like I was losing my mind, my sanity, my worth, myself. I considered ending it all, I couldnt continue and didnt really want to. I was hoping so hard that maybe if I went to the other side I would see my daughter and be with her. Now whether this is true or not, I now find comfort thinking that my prayers brought me the strength and courage to stay.

Fast forward to the trial. This was a long time coming and knew it would be really hard to stay in a bubble until I gave my evidence. My husband went to court everyday, listened to the opening statements and the evidence on first victims, he would come home but was not allowed to speak to me about any of it. He was so strong and I had no idea what he was taking on. I believe that part of the trial was harder on him than me.

A note Letby wrote including the words I cant do this any more" (PA)

When I finally gave my evidence and sat on the public gallery to listen to all the facts the prosecution team has gathered, it was clearly overwhelming. It felt invasive having Child Ds short life exposed to the public. And sit through, listening to all the babies tragic stories. At the same time I found comfort, getting some answers, be able to ask questions and finally meet other families.

In preparation for the trial, we also had to consider what we would tell Child Ds brother about his sister. I explained that Child D died because someone hurt her. He asked where that person was, and when I said prison, he didnt ask anymore until a while after.

Then one day, he asked me who had the keys to the prison and if there was any chance the person that hurt Child D could get the keys and get out. He got upset and worried she might get out and hurt other babies. I had to reassure him that there was no chance of that happening.

We still have Child Ds death to declare officially, and this could not be done until the cause of death has been agreed. This is going to be another difficult thing to do, going to the registrar and declare our daughters death eight years after her birth. We wanted justice for Child D and that day has come.

We have been living a nightmare: Child E and Child F

The Crown said Letby killed Child E with an injection of air into his bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the baby boy. She was found guilty of his murder. The nurse was convicted of attempting to murder Child Es twin brother with insulin.

The twins mother told Manchester Crown Court: When our boys were born prematurely, we were both nervous and overjoyed to have our long-awaited family. Our dreams had come true, and both boys were thriving after their birth. Child E, our little fighter, was breathing without support and growing in the neonatal unit. Child F, although needing some additional support, was also doing well. Never did I imagine that Child E would die.

There were discussions about their progress, and the staff asked if we would like to transfer to our local hospital since both boys were thriving and stable enough for the journey. However, on the 3 August 2015, our world shattered when we encountered evil disguised as a caring nurse.

Letby is questioned following her arrest on 3 July 2018 by Cheshire Constabulary (Getty Images)

Losing Child E was the most difficult thing we have ever experienced. The heartbreak and shock left me feeling confused and numb. How could Child E collapse so suddenly after spending the day cuddling with us?

Grieving and caring for a premature baby while being away from home were immensely challenging. The psychological impact on us was unimaginable and devastating. While caring for Child F, we lived in constant fear of losing him too, especially during the night following Child Es death.

I thought, please, not again. I spent the entire night with Child F, watching him closely and hoping his heart rate would stabilise. It was a living nightmare. Little did I know that the nightmare of pain and hurt would continue, emotionally battering me throughout my childrens lives.

On 3 July 2018, my family slept in our new home for the first time. At 6am, our world was shattered once again with a phone call that took my breath away. We were informed that a nurse we trusted had intentionally caused our babys death.

We felt cheated, deceived, and utterly heartbroken once more. The emotional impact on our family was catastrophic. We felt a range of emotions: Why did this happen to us? Guilt consumed me, thinking I was able to save Child F but couldnt save Child E because I followed the instructions to leave him with Lucy.

Trusting my own instincts since this happened became challenging. In the neonatal environment, vulnerability prevails as you rely on the expertise and knowledge of others to make decisions for your babies, especially as a first-time parent.

We followed the instructions given to us diligently, even asking for permission to touch our babies during visitation. It was a tense and unnatural environment, and we were afraid that deviating from the instructions would hinder our boys progress.

We were robbed of precious time with our baby boy after he died. We were denied the opportunity to spend private moments with him, having to grieve openly in the presence of Lucy and the neonatal unit staff in nursery one.

Lucy bathed Child E, an action I deeply regret, and dressed him in a woollen gown. He was buried in that gown, a gift from the unit chosen by Lucy. I feel sickened by the choice we made. Not a single day passes without distress over this decision.

Our boys were extraordinary miracles. We had experienced failed IVF attempts, with the conclusion that I would never be able to conceive. Then, out of the blue, we discovered we were expecting twins. That feeling remains one of the happiest times in my life. I felt like I was walking on a cloud, pure happiness.

And thats what confuses me the most. Lucy was aware of our journey and deliberately caused significant harm and cruelty to our boys. No children in this world were more wanted and loved than them.

Judge Mr Justice Goss passing sentence (CPS)

No child deserves what happened in this case, but I still struggle to understand why it happened to us. Lucy presented herself as kind, caring, and soft-spoken. Now I know it was all an act, a sadistic abuse of power that has left me unable to trust anyone.

Child F has been diagnosed with severe learning difficulties, which we believe is a result of being poisoned with a large quantity of insulin. We attend regular hospital visits for Child F complex and severe disabilities, which leave me feeling uneasy, I never allow him to be alone with medical professionals. The anxiety I felt when he had to undergo an MRI as part of the investigation was unbearable because I had to leave him in the care of a nurse.

Logically, I know not every nurse is like Lucy, but the distorted side of my brain whispers that if it happened once and I couldnt protect them, it might happen again. Our lives have been dramatically altered by Lucys actions in August 2015. We dont lead lives like everyone else.

Child F doesnt have the same opportunities as other children his age due to his learning difficulties and being non-verbal. It breaks my heart to know that things could have been so different for him. He is without his best friend his other half. We have essentially grieved for both of our boys and the future we had planned.

Until Lucy was charged in November 2020, we lived our lives in three-month cycles, anxiously waiting to see if her bail would be renewed and what would happen next. Life moved forward, but a dark cloud loomed over us. I experienced flashbacks and painful memories from my time at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

For six years, not knowing what happened to our children was distressing, negatively affecting our psychological well-being. Peace and happiness have eluded us in the last eight years. We had to endure months of sitting in court, listening to each individual crime and reliving every painful detail in public. It was heart-wrenching and soul-destroying.

The questioning sometimes felt insulting, especially when it was suggested that Child Es cry wasnt as bad as I said it was. I was there, I witnessed it, and those moments are etched into my mind. And just hours later, he died in my arms. I replay that night in my mind repeatedly, from taking Child Es milk to the unit before 9pm to his final moments.

Lucy must have been on edge after Child Es death, worried that I might mention to another staff member that I was there around 9pm when Child E was bleeding, and Lucy sent me away with an explanation about his feed tube rubbing his throat. Perhaps thats why she was so tentative around me during our time at Chester.Only Lucy knows.

Lucy abused the power she held. She claims we had a good relationship and got along well; this is in response to questions about her repeatedly searching for me on Facebook. The relationship should have been strictly professional, that of a nurse and a grieving parent.

I was a vulnerable, grieving parent doing my best to get through each day. There was no real relationship; I was at the unit for only 13 days and didnt see Lucy again until the start of this trial. The lies she has told fill me with anger.

The trial helped us understand the medical aspects of what happened to our children. We now have every raw and graphic detail to process in the coming months. Nothing can change what has happened to us. We are living with a life sentence because of Lucys crimes.

Letby had searched for parents on social media and had written sympathy cards (Chester Standard/SWNS)

Child E didnt die because it was the luck of the draw, it couldnt have happened to any baby, he was murdered. Child F didnt have large amounts of insulin put into his tiny body accidentally it was done with intention and maliciously to cause him serious harm.

Lucy is right, she killed them on purpose because she was not good enough to care for them. She has preyed on vulnerable babies, who couldnt stop her, its cowardly and sickening, and I feel like my boys were a just a pawn in her sick, twisted game.The heartache and pain caused by Lucys actions extend beyond my family. It affects every family, every nurse, every doctor, and everyone involved in this trial who had to listen to the horrendous and heartbreaking details from June 2015 to June 2016, when her reign of terror finally ended.

The trial felt like a platform for Lucy to relive her crimes, and it feels cruel that we had to endure a 10-month trial when she knew all along that she intentionally killed and harmed my babies. She has repeatedly disrespected my boys memory.

Even in these final days of the trial she has tried to control things. The disrespect she has shown the families and the court show what type of person she is. We have attended court day in and day out, yet she decides she has had enough, and stays in her cell, just one final act of wickedness from a coward.

I would like to thank Lucy for taking the stand and showing the court what she is really like once the nice Lucy mask slips. It was honestly the best thing she could have done to ensure our boys got the justice they deserve.

We have been living a nightmare, but for me, it ends today. I refuse to wake up with my first thought be about my boys being harmed. Lucy no longer has control over our lives. She holds no power or relevance in anybodys life. She is nothing. We have all been robbed of so much.

The Devil found her: Child G

The Crown said Letby targeted Child G by overfeeding the baby girl with milk and pushing air down her feeding tube. She was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder and not guilty of one count of the same charge.

In a statement, the father of Child G said the baby had been born prematurely and the start of her life was a bumpy road.

He said: Every day I would sit there and pray. I would pray for God to save her. He did. He saved her, but the Devil found her.

He said their child now has brain damage, is registered blind, and is fed through a tube. He added: What if Child G outlives us? Who will then care for her?

Everything feels like a constant battle just to have the essential things that Child G needs during her daily life.

He says his daughter will never have a sleepover with a best friend, or go to high school and graduate. She will never have a first kiss, a boyfriend, or get married. She will always be in her chair.

Part of us died with her: Child I

Letby was convicted of murdering Child I at the fourth attempt. She had given the baby girl air and overfed her with milk.

In a statement read to Manchester Crown Court, Child Is mother said: When Child I was born she was doing really well for a baby born at 27 weeks. When being transferred to Chester we were told all she had to watch out for was infection.

After a couple of weeks at Chester, Child I had her first collapse and needed resuscitation. It was really bad to watch our daughter go through this. When they thought it was due to infection this made me become paranoid because I didnt want her to go through this again, so at first I wouldnt get Child I out of her incubator as she was safer in there.

We stopped all family from visiting all to reduce the risk of infection because watching our baby fight for her life and watching what she had been through, nothing was worth the risk of this happening again.

With Child I being in the hospital for so long we had to juggle the hospital with our home life, as we had other children. Child Is father had to go back to work as we had a mortgage and kids to provide for. This meant we had to split our time so I went all day and Child Is father went in a evening until about 11 oclock to be with her.

It was so hard and exhausting because when at the hospital, we were always worried about home and when at home worried about Child I in hospital. A few weeks after the first collapse Child I had another one. I had gone home that day at three oclock and for the first time in a while I had started to relax because Child I was doing well, she was no longer in an incubator and was in a cot.

I decided to go and see a friend because I hadnt spoke or seen any one since Child I was born - within half hour of being there I got a phone call to get to the hospital ASAP as Child I had become unwell. When I arrived at the hospital they were resuscitating Child I. I was on my own because her father had to get to the hospital from work, it was so scary having to watch our tiny little girl have to fight so hard.

Police searching Letbys home after her arrest (PA)

I had started to just feel positive about Child Is progress then this happened and it knocked me back down. We kept thinking why is this still happening as Child I was now eight weeks old and we were told the older she got it wouldnt be as bad but Child Is collapses were getting worse. We would get transferred to other hospitals and Child I would pick up straight away but it meant we would have to stay at the other hospital for a while.

Just before Child Is third collapse she was like a full term baby, she was on full bottle feeds sat on knee, very alert, she often smiled and she never cried, she was a very content little girl. I remember phoning her father and saying well be going home soon, they had even asked us to bring the car seat in to be checked.

But a week later this all changed, we were called and told we needed to come in as Child I had another collapse. When we arrived we were told Child I had been found unresponsive in her cot. This time we stayed at Chester and me and her father stayed in the hospital. We were in fight or flight mode, we barely ate or slept because Child I just kept needing to be resuscitated.

When she had become stable but still on a ventilator we were told to go and get some rest in the family room - but that didnt last long and they were banging on the door for us to come quick. They then transferred Child I to Arrowe Park after a couple of days where she suddenly picked up that evening and didnt even need the ventilator. After this collapse Child I was all swollen and looked in a lot of pain, her eyes looked very sad.

When going back to Chester we stayed at the hospital as we were too scared to leave her but as the days went on Child I started to really improve. She was back in her clothes and she was rooting for food but she had to be nil by mouth for 10 days, so we decided to go back home to spend some nights with our other kids.

On the night Child I died we were speaking with the nurses in room one and they said at the rate she was improving there was still a chance she could be home for Christmas.

We left that night at around 10.30/11pm. Later that night, we had a missed call off the hospital so called them straight back. Someone told me Child I had had a collapse but she was ok now, they briefly put her on a ventilator but had to take her off and shes like nothing ever happened. I felt uneasy and needed to see Child I for myself so I called straight back to tell them I was coming in. They answered and said you need to come ASAP Child I had collapsed again.

When we arrived they were resuscitating Child I it wasnt like all the other times, Child I wasnt fighting - as soon as they would stop she would just crash. I remember standing by the incubator with my hand on her foot because there was only room for us at the bottom.

I was shaking, I couldnt look at the monitors because I knew she was a lot worse than all the other times, I felt absolutely broken. When they handed Child I to us we never wanted to let her go, we held her so tight, she was our gorgeous little princess and I cant even begin to explain the pain when we lost her, a part of us died with her.

The first year after Child Is death was a blur, I dont even know how we got through it. I would wear sunglasses permanently to hide the pain and tears from my kids as I didnt want to upset them as they were also struggling. I struggled to be out in public, to eat and sleep.

I would relive all these collapses and the emotions were like they were at that moment, happening again. I would wake in the night in a panic because of the nightmares and night sweats, I felt like I was sinking into a black hole and it was and it was getting harder to keep myself going, I went to the doctors who gave me anti-depressants, sleeping tablets and beta blockers to help.

Child Is father struggled to be around us and for someone who was a family man and spent all his time with us, he really struggled and would stay in the pub to avoid home and block it out. He wished he was dead, he wished it was him that died and not Child I. We separated for a while and went through a really bad time because neither of us could deal with what happened. This also had an impact on our kids.

Me and Child Is father got back together and we knew we had to put our family back together. I then got pregnant again. I dont remember the pregnancy, I put a wall up and blocked it out. We were so scared of the same thing happening again - even the scans, they werent happy moments, they were just filled with fear.

I didnt breast feed [my new daughter], as I had thought my milk might have been a cause to what happened to Child I so I wasnt prepared to take the risk. Her father struggled because she was the double of our Child I when she was born.

 [My husband] was convinced someone had done this to Child I. I would tell him dont be stupid, who would deliberately hurt our tiny daughter and its the grief that makes you think that, but there was never a real explanation to why she died. So when the police contacted us to say they were investigating Child Is death and they needed to speak with us, I really stressed about how I was going to tell this to her father.

Manchester Crown Court broadcasts the judge sentencing the serial killer nurse (Getty Images)

When I did speak with the police I got the impression it could be hospital mistakes but they had to look into criminal as well. So I did them a statement which I was told to just go through a day to day of what I remembered. This knocked me back, the nightmares started and the night sweats again, all I could think about in my head was the events that happened at the hospital.

I went back to the doctor who gave me more anti-depressants, sleeping tablets and beta blockers but this time I also started therapy for PTSD. When they told us they were arresting someone for Child Is murder I remember my whole body shaking and having to tell her father.

We were both absolutely broken that someone could do something so evil to our precious little girl and this has had a massive affect on our family even until this day. We dug for years trying to get answers for what had happened and over the years we have been in some very dark places mentally. I have had therapy for six years and still ongoing. This has impacted so much on our family.

To then be told what happened to our daughter, as it went to court, I dont think we will ever get over the fact that our daughter was tortured till she had no fight left in her and everything she went through over her short life was deliberately done by someone who was supposed to protect her and help her come home where she belonged.

We struggle with trust, I wont leave my kids in a hospital and we will never give anyone that type of trust with our kids again. Our Child I will be eight this year and we should be watching her grow, playing with her friends and her brothers and sisters and we have to live with the fact that was all taken away from her in the most cruellest way.

The strain has been unbearable: Child L and Child M

The Crown said Letby poisoned Child L with insulin, and the nurse was found guilty of attempting to murder the baby boy.

Letby was also convicted of the attempted murder of Child M, Child Ls twin brother, after injecting air into his bloodstream.

In a statement read to the court, the babies father said the nurse looked at him as he sat in court.

He said: The whole event surrounding this case has taken its toll on me both physical and mentally. Initially doctors told us that the whole events that took place in 2016 surrounding my children were normal for premature babies and we believed what the doctors were telling us at the time.

Little did we know that a year or so after their birth, the police would come knocking on the door and break the news that this could be an attempted murder case.

I was first on the scene when Child M had his collapse, and that image has been forever etched in my mind and this case has been going on for five plus years. The stress and strain have been unbearable at times and my mental health has suffered as a consequence of this case. I have had to take time out of work and seek counselling.

I also have had to take a course of anti-depressants to help me cope with this. Even though they have helped, they can never take away the feelings I have as a parent knowing now what had truly happened at the Countess of Chester in 2016 and it doesnt make it any easier to cope with over time.

I have also had a seizure for the first ever time in my life since all this has been going on and this traumatised my kids as they were with me at the time of the seizure. The doctors found no cause of this episode, and this can only be put down to the tremendous amount of stress and pressure this has put on me.

Im also a diabetic and this whole saga has taken a toll on that as well and my sugar levels have been raised through the stress, along with chest pains and my sleep has been disturbed. Even to this day, I have trouble sleeping as I get flashbacks. The GP prescribed some sleeping tablets temporarily but once these were completed I was back to having trouble with sleeping.

This whole case has taken its toll on me as a person. Previously I was a happy go lucky guy but now I feel burdened with the fact that I was normally a very patient person - but my patience has worn thin as time has gone on and has affected my relationship with my children.

I would lose my patience with them more quickly than I had previously done and Im sure they can tell as well and its not fair on them they never did anything wrong.

One extra thing I would like to add is that there was a day when I was at the trial and the public gallery was full and I was sat in Lucy Letbys line of view and she kept looking over at me. That made me feel quite uncomfortable and uneasy and I had to move in the afternoon so I was out of her view.

Our trust has been completely broken: Child N

The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma on Child Ns throat and also injected air into the baby boys bloodstream.

She was convicted of one count of attempted murder but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on two more counts of the same charge.

In a statement read to Manchester Crown Court, the mother of Child N, who survived, said she always knew her son had been deliberately harmed.

She said she felt happy and relieved when the police got in contact to say they were investigating Letby because we felt like we were being listened to.

Finally we would receive some answers, she said.

We just questioned why a healthy baby boy was fine one minute and bleeding from the mouth and needing CPR the next.

The woman outlined the impact on her family all because of the evil actions of someone else.

She said: Our trust in people in a position of trust has been completely broken.

She has destroyed our lives: Child O and Child P

Letby was found guilty of murdering Child O. Prosecutors said she attacked the boy triplet by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with severe force.

The nurse was also convicted of murdering Child P, Child Os triplet brother, by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube.

Their father told the court: Our first child was born fit and well at the Countess of Chester Hospital. We both considered ourselves to be blessed having been told that there was a slim chance of my partner ever getting pregnant.

We later found out that my partner was pregnant again. At that first scan, I remember telling my partner that I could see more than one child. It transpired that we were having triplets. We were both shocked on hearing this news, I had mixed emotions of both joy and apprehension of raising triplets.

Scans continued on a weekly basis, and at each scan we were told everything was perfect and progress was going well. My partner and I were certainly well known at the Countess, staff called the pregnancy a miracle.

We were informed that the birth would be at the Countess should they have sufficient staff and beds to accommodate the triplets. If not, it could have been anywhere in the country.

My partner went into labour... because we were having triplets, the hospital ordered us to come in straight away. The next morning, we went down to surgery. The caesarean section was a traumatic experience, and a terrifying event. Following their birth, I followed the boys into the nearby neonatal unit (NNU) - the room where they were housed was exceedingly small.

The boys were feeding well with no complications. The team were happy with the births, and I was told how lucky we were. I spent a brief time holding one of the boys. I took several photographs of the triplets on my phone and later showed these to my partner on the ward. It was later that same day we were both allowed to go and see the boys.

We were so excited at how well the boys were doing and commented on how identical they were - it was almost impossible to tell them apart. I stayed over on the ward and the extended family came for a visit the following morning. The visits were brief due to the rules and regulations on the NNU. All was going well.

Shortly after, things started to go downhill. I was present in the NNU and was informed that Child O had collapsed and to be patient and to give the staff some space. I was not given any further information and became scared and panicked. I was thinking the worse and was hoping that staff would tell me that everything was going to be fine.

I informed my partner and it was a very traumatic time. I was reassuring her that everything would be okay. I strongly believed that Child O would pull through. More equipment was used, Child O was visibly struggling and it was very distressing to watch his deterioration.

I noticed the colour of his skin was changing rapidly, it didnt appear normal to the naked eye, it was horrific to see, and it is an image that Ill never forget, deep down I knew it was not going to end well.

Child O received a blessing from the priest and was quickly christened - moments later, Child O was gone. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart, no words could describe how I was feeling. I kept wishing it had happened to me and at that time would have gladly taken his place.

My partner was inconsolable, extremely upset and visibly crying. It was also awful to see her mother crying and upset. I remember pulling in all our heads together and saying, well get through this. No one at the hospital gave any explanation as to why Child O had died.

I felt helpless, and my partner was blaming herself. The medical team eventually left, having given their condolences, which left my partner and I alone with Child O. We were extremely concerned about the other boys but were told not to worry and that they were fine.

Having spent some time together with my partner, I went home and informed my mother of the sad news. My mother was extremely angry and upset. I collected our eldest child and continued back to the Countess. It was difficult taking him to see his mother and it was hard to disguise our emotions; we had no directions or advice as to what to tell him.

My partners mother was supportive, more than the hospital. Together with my mother, we went into a small family room, but no one knew what to say, there was an awkward silence. My partner was as white as a ghost, with no colour whatsoever.

A nurse brought Child O into the room and we were allowed to spend time with him and say our goodbyes. We were given a camera to take photographs and later a memory box. We asked about dressing him into a final outfit - it was very traumatic and not one of us could do it, so the nurse assisted. The whole experience was difficult and upsetting to watch. Child O was handed back to the nurse, but we did not know where he was going or what was happening.

I stayed that evening at the hospital. Child O was eventually taken to the mortuary, where I thought it would be the last time we would see him. It was so distressing, I didnt know what to say to his mother. I was upset, but I could see how hurt she was. I felt useless and blamed myself.

From that point I spent some time on the unit with Child P and his brother - I did not know how I should be feeling, and was worried about other complications, every beep on that unit caused me anxiety and additional stress.

I became overly protective and paid close attention to any feeds and it was impossible to relax and enjoy the moment. Between 10am and 11am on the morning of 24 June, my partner and I were informed that Child P was poorly.

A sympathy card Letby wrote to the parents of one of her victims (PA)

We both went immediately down to the unit where I met my father in the corridor. I informed my father, its happening again. My partner broke down in tears - we feared the worst and it was not looking good. I did not know what was happening, we were still waiting for an explanation for Child O. The experience seemed far worse than the previous day, I knew it was bad, and I was terrified at losing another boy.

My partner called her mother and I tried to ask what was going on but was told something like we cant tell you at this time. The situation escalated and I was worried at the drama and panic unfolding in the room. I knew it was serious when doctors arrived.

The whole ordeal was a repeat of the previous day, I knew it was not going to end well. I thought we were going down the same road as we did with Child O.

The situation lasted a long time whilst we waited for the transfer team. I witnessed Child P being resuscitated having crashed on more than one occasion. It was very disturbing to see. My partner continually blamed herself, which was awful to hear. Child P sadly passed away later that afternoon and the transport team got ready to leave.

We pleaded with the doctor that they had to take [Child O and Ps sibling] with them back to another hospital and that he could not stay in this hospital and that he wasnt safe there. All I could think about was getting him out of the Countess. Eventually they agreed to take [their sibling] and we were overjoyed on hearing this news.

To enable us to follow their sibling, their mother was forced to discharge herself from the Countess. It was a terrible situation to be in. She was still in a wheelchair and we were both very scared. We had a brief time in a side room with Child O and P, who had been placed in a cold box (open Moses basket). They were both dressed identical from garments we had chosen.

The nursing staff were tearful and upset, but we still had not had any answers as to what had happened, we felt disappointed and let down. It was a very scary first night, I was petrified that something was going to go wrong. I did not sleep at all, the stress and pressures gave me a horrific headache, I couldnt eat as I had no appetite.

Life was difficult, our days revolved around seeing Child O and Ps sibling as much as we could. We did not receive any counselling or support after losing the boys. I didnt know how to deal with situation or what to tell our eldest child, we had had no guidance for the siblings.

There was no contact from the Countess whatsoever, our extended family kindly offered to collect the memory boxes, but this wasnt acceptable at the Countess as the hospital wanted the direct family to collect which made us very upset and angry as we never had any intentions of returning.

Letbys bedroom in Chester (PA)

Home life was difficult at that time. I was emotionally drained and gave up work having been signed off sick by my GP. I did briefly return to work, but then the breakdowns happened which affected my mental health. I became irritable, angry, and bad tempered and started having terrible nightmares. I hid all of this from my partner and didnt share my thoughts and feelings which placed a huge amount of stress on the relationship.

I found it difficult to talk about what had happened, I could not grieve properly and became cocooned and insular. Everyday life was difficult, just getting up and living was a struggle. It was difficult to be happy around Child O and Ps sibling and our eldest child, I felt guilty if I showed any happiness, normal life was impossible to enjoy. This affected our children when they saw me upset.

As time went on, around a year after Child O and Ps first anniversary, I was still struggling to come to terms with their deaths and so I turned to alcohol. I had not really drunk excessively before. I could see how much this was all hurting my partner.

I hid how much alcohol I was consuming; I was low and disgusted with myself. I couldnt stop and I feared I would show how angry I was if I did. I became dependent on alcohol. I was on the edge. My partner had had enough.

One day I took the car keys and had thoughts of ending my life. I even told my partner of my intentions. I was aware that I was out of control but subconsciously I felt in control. My partner and I broke up. I was rock bottom at that point, Id lost my job, my partner and so I moved back to live with my mother.

This continued for around six months. I was still in contact with the children although it was a tough time for all involved. My partner and I rekindled our relationship, and I accepted that I needed help.

Life was slowly improving but then in 2018, police informed us that nurse Lucy Letby had been arrested. I recall that she was one of the nurses that had cared for the boys whilst at the Countess. At first, I was gobsmacked but also relieved that there was finally some form of explanation for the deaths of Child O and P and all my issues had not been in vain.

I was always adamant that there had been some form of medical negligence at that hospital and never believed that their deaths were natural causes. I knew that something was not right, but it never occurred to me that theyd been purposely murdered.

I live in constant fear of something happening to any of my children and the whole experience blighted the pregnancy of our youngest ones birth [at a later date]. I couldnt relax or get excited at the prospect of having another child, I was always thinking Id lose this baby too.

When it comes to socialising with friends and family, I really struggle. Even the slightest of conversations would trigger my anger. I struggled when asked how many children do you have?. It was such a tricky question to answer.

I couldnt talk directly about my own children, sadly two are not with us. It is always hard to explain to Child O and Ps sibling that he was a triplet and trying to answer any questions that he may have. We have tried to explain to our children that theres a lady in prison and that the police think that this lady has hurt your brothers. We did this in case they hear anything from a third party or at school.

Having to come to terms with a police investigation has been hard to live with, I have so many unanswered questions and the waiting has been unbearable. June is always a difficult month for obvious reasons, it comes with so many mixed emotions.

Since the news about Lucy Letby, I have attended several counselling sessions provided by victim support services. I am still classed as long term sick and continue to take anti-depressants.

I was not ever prepared for the actual trial at Manchester Crown Court, the whole process was extremely difficult as my partner had initially been called as a witness which meant that we couldnt discuss the case together. In the court room everything became so real, seeing Lucy Letby for the first time since 2016 was difficult.

Hearing the evidence unfold was hard as I was discovering latest information about the case that I was unaware of. More so the texts that Letby had sent to her work colleagues and the personal Facebook searches.

I thought that these actions were both in poor taste and unnatural, hearing this in open court sent a shiver down my spine. It was also difficult for our relationship during the court hearing - I found it hard to watch my partner being so upset and to manage our other children who quite rightly were constantly inquisitive about what was going on.

Lucy Letby has destroyed our lives. The anger and the hatred I have towards her will never go away. It has destroyed me as a man and as a father. I have missed over six years of our childrens lives because of her actions. The continual pressure of having the trial hanging over us has been immense and difficult to describe. Even after the trial has ended, it will continue to haunt us and will always have an impact on our lives.
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For a mother whose newborn was gravely ill in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, she was a ray of light: a calm, comforting nurse who guided her through her most desperate moments as her child lay listless in his cot.

Trust me, Im a nurse, she smiled at her, and the mother did, completely. But within hours, her baby boy was dead, and the nurse in whom she had placed so much trust, who had been by her side through the darkest time of her life, was responsible.

The baby, identified only as Child E, was one of the victims of Lucy Letby, who has been found guilty of seven counts of both murder and attempted murder over the course of 12 months, from June 2015 to June 2016. She was found not guilty of two attempted murder charges, and the jury could not reach verdicts on a further six counts of the same charge.

Letby, 33, was not in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on Friday when the jury was discharged after deliberating for 22 days in a trial that has lasted 10 months. They found that she had killed or tried to kill the babies she should have been caring for  by injecting them with air, poisoning them with insulin, and overfeeding them with milk.

But despite a lengthy trial that involved more than 240 witnesses, the families of her victims still have one haunting question left unanswered: why did she do it?

Another side that nobody saw

Throughout the trial, what has been notable is just how unremarkable Letbys life was: a normal nurse who had a normal upbringing. How I would describe her from my own experience in this investigation is beige, deputy senior investigating officer DCI Nicola Evans said. There isnt anything outstanding or outrageous that we found about her as a person, in that she was an average nurse.

She was a normal twentysomething-year-old, doing what she was doing with her career, her friends. But clearly there was another side of that, that nobody saw.

Letby was not short of friends, and pictures show a happy young woman enjoying life (Supplied)

Letby was brought up in Hereford as the only child of John and Susan Letby. She attended the local comprehensive and the family spent holidays in Devon. Jurors were shown pictures of her childhood bedroom, with two teddy bears placed on a duvet cover bearing the motif Sweet Dreams.

Framed pictures containing the slogans Shine bright like a diamond and Leave sparkles wherever you go appear on the bedroom walls, while a fluffy pink and white polkadot dressing gown hangs on the door. The images prompted a rare show of emotion, as Letby broke down in the dock.

Moving 100 miles from home to study at the University of Chester, she was seen as a studious type, never staying out late. On qualifying as a registered NHS nurse in 2011, Letby developed a reputation among her colleagues as reliable, hard-working and trustworthy.

Letby has a close relationship with her parents, who attended throughout the trial in support of their daughter (PA)

Two years later, she became the face of a campaign to raise 3m for the neonatal unit, and was a familiar sight in her neat uniform, her hair scraped back in a ponytail.

The unit, and the staff within it, became her world, and she described her colleagues as her family. When asked in court, witnesses agreed that she had appeared professional throughout her time there, using words such as knowledgeable and thorough to describe her approach to work.

Not short of friends, pictures of Letby on social media show a happy young woman enjoying life in her mid-twenties.

Holidays in Ibiza, sipping prosecco and vodka with friends to celebrate a win at the Grand National, and salsa classes with colleagues filled her social calendar. Shortly before she was moved from frontline duties in 2016, Letby travelled to Ibiza for a holiday with her girlfriends. Messages sent on 13 June showed a young woman groaning about packing and making jokes about Love Island.

Pictures of her childhood bedroom show a teddy bear and a poster on the wall with the motif Leave sparkles wherever you go (Cheshire Police)

After returning from the Spanish island on 22 June, she murdered two brothers from a set of triplets, Child O and Child P, on successive days.

It cant be Lucy

Letby had joined her colleagues in appearing horrified at the apparent run of bad luck the neonatal ward was experiencing.

In reality, however, the alarm had been raised after the string of inexplicable deaths had caught the attention of consultants. While premature babies are often vulnerable, a number of sudden deteriorations and bizarre skin discolourations had pointed to something far more sinister.

Letby operated in plain sight on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital (PA)

As early as her third murder in June 2015, Letby was named as the common denominator, having been present at each incident.

A senior doctor, Dr Ravi Jayaram, testified that he had raised concerns about Letby to the hospital administration as early as 2015 after connecting her presence with a series of unexpected and inexplicable deaths and incidents.

Letby poses with baby clothing (Chester Standard/SWNS)

In one instance, he told jurors that he had observed Letby standing over an infant whose breathing tube had been dislodged. Despite the babys oxygen levels dropping, he claimed, Letby did not do anything until he intervened.

But others could not believe she might be the perpetrator.

It cant be Lucy, not nice Lucy, Dr Stephen Brearey told a fellow consultant during initial discussions about the deaths.

Her parents, too, were oblivious. Guess who will be coming home for Christmas xxx, Letby texted to them the day after killing a baby by injecting air into its bloodstream. Her mother replied: Thats fab I could cry x.

Text messages revealed the high regard in which she was held by her friends and colleagues, with one doctor writing Youre a fab nurse after a baby suffered two collapses. Another doctor wrote that she was one of the few nurses he would trust with my own children, when it became clear that her actions were under scrutiny.

One conversation involved a married male registrar. Letby denied he was her boyfriend, despite the two having travelled to London together and exchanged heart emojis in their text messages.

The former nurse has been convicted of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder (Cheshire Constabulary)

In texts read out by the prosecutor, Letbys nursing friend teased [I] think he likes u too and said that the registrar was as flirty as u. She replied: Shut up... I dont flirt with him! before adding: Certainly dont fancy him haha just nice guy. When he appeared in the witness box, she attempted to leave the dock in tears.

It was suggested that, desperate to gain his approval, she had sabotaged Child O deliberately to attract his attention and cause him to return to the hospital to help.

A prison van believed to contain Letby leaves Chester Crown Court on 13 November 2020 (Getty)

On a scribbled piece of paper found at his address, she had written a declaration of love next to his name, which cannot be published for legal reasons. Scrawled in black ink were the words I loved you and My best friend.

I killed them on purpose

The darker side of her character was revealed in a number of scribbled Post-it notes on which she wrote: I AM EVIL I DID THIS.

Other notes included the lines: I killed them on purpose because Im not good enough to care for them, and I am a horrible and evil person, and There are no words. I am an awful person. I pay everyday for that.

Police also recovered notes that included many protestations of innocence and phrases such as kill myself, No Hope, and HATE written in capital letters.

Police discovered notes in Letbys house that included the words I AM EVIL (PA)

Becoming emotional in the dock when talking about her forced departure from the neonatal unit, she said: At this point I didnt know what to do. It was having a massive impact on all aspects of my life.

It was emotionally very difficult. I was lonely, I was worried, I didnt know what was going on.

Her barrister, Benjamin Myers KC, described the notes as the anguished outpouring of a young woman in fear and despair who was facing multiple charges of murdering the babies it had been her duty to protect.

When the eight guilty verdicts were returned by the jury on Friday 11 August  four of murder and four of attempted murder  Letby was unmoved, but her mother Susan cried out: This cant be right, this cant be right. Sobbing uncontrollably, she was escorted from the courtroom by her husband.

Now found guilty of a total of seven murders and the attempted murders of six other babies, Letby is one of Britains most prolific serial killers of children, having taken advantage of the position of trust that she held to carry out a horrific campaign of attacks on the most vulnerable.

She abused the trust of the people around her, not just the parents who had trusted her with their babies but also the nurses she worked with, the people she regarded as friends, said DCI Evans.

Lucy Letby was operating in plain sight.
 Close Live: Lucy Letby sentenced for murdering newborn babies at Chester hospital

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Lucy Letby is set to be stripped of her NHS pension after her murderous rampage on the neonatal ward where she worked.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is looking into all measures that prevent her pension from being paid to her, The Independent understands.

The NHS Pension Scheme Regulations allow him to forfeit pensions if NHS employees are convicted of crimes  particularly those that are gravely injurious to the state or to be liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.

Letby will spend the rest of her life in prison after being found guilty of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others, but she refused to appear in the dock to hear the sentence handed down on Monday.

It sparked widespread outrage with several British newspapers calling for a law change, arguing that the worst offenders should be forced to appear in court to witness the impact of their crimes.

Judge Mr Justice Goss said Letby would be sent written copies of the victim impact statements.
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Nurse Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital in a rare case that has shocked the nation.

An independent inquiry has been set up to understand how Letby was able to carry out the killings and attempt six others before being reported to the police.

For the latest updates, follow The Independents live coverage of Lucy Letbys sentencing

The reasons why Letby, a neonatal nurse, committed the murders may never be fully understood, although prosecutors and other experts told jurors during her trial of several possible motivations.

Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the main theories discussed in court.

To gain attention of doctor colleague she was infatuated with

One motivation put forward by the prosecution was that Letby attacked and killed babies in her care to gain the sympathy of a doctor who she had become infatuated with.

It was alleged she wanted to make herself the centre of his attention and focus.

Throughout the trial, Letby showed no flicker of emotion until 16 February when the medic, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, confirmed his name after he swore on oath.

Letby and people in the public gallery could not see the married registrar because he had asked to give his evidence from behind a screen.

His voice prompted her to break down in tears as she abruptly left her seat and walked towards the exit door of the dock.

When the time came for her to enter the witness box, she said she loved the doctor as a trusted friend but was not in love with him romantically.

She denied claims by the prosecution that she was infatuated with the doctor.

She enjoyed playing God

Lucy Letby is arrested by police (Cheshire Police)

Child P, one of the triplets Letby murdered, collapsed on 24 June 2016 and preparations were to move him to another hospital.

Shortly before the planned transfer, Letby is said to have told a colleague - the one she was accused of being infatuated with - "hes not leaving here alive, is he?".

During Letbys trial, prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said she made the comment because she "knew what was going to happen".

He said: "She was controlling things. She was enjoying what was going on and happily predicting something she knew was going to happen.

"She, in effect, was playing God."

Letby had earlier pumped air into Child Ps stomach as she fed him milk  just 13 minutes after murdering Child, one of his brothers.

Letby got a thrill from the grief and despair of parents

Letby acted unusually when the babies she killed or tried to murder suddenly declined, parents and other nurses on the ward where she worked said.

The parents of Child I, who died after repeated attacks by Letby, told police they remembered her smiling and going on about how she was present at [Child Is] first bath and how much she had loved it.

Letby has been found guilty of seven murders and six attempted murders (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Johnson KC suggested to Letby that she was getting a thrill out of what you were watching, the grief and despair, in that room.

Letby denied the accusation.

The serial killer also searched Facebook for the families of her victims on the anniversaries of their deaths and would often look for a number of them within minutes of each other.

In one instance she carried out a search on Christmas Day. Letby, giving evidence, said she would search for all sorts of people  not just the parents of babies on the unit.

She found caring for less sick infants boring

Letby is said to have argued with a senior colleague when asked to work in an outside nursery where babies were treated in preparation for going home.

The unit was split into four rooms  intensive care in nursery one, high dependency care in nursery two and the outside nurseries of rooms three and four, the court was told.

Senior nurse Kathryn Percival-Calderbank told jurors that Letby was unhappy if she was allocated shifts in either room three or four.

She said: She expressed that she was unhappy at being put in the outside nurseries.

She said it was boring and she didnt want to feed babies. She wanted to be in the intensive care.

Doctor who helped catch Lucy Letby reveals he was made to apologise to nurse

Mrs Percival-Calderbank, who qualified as a nurse in 1988, added: If anything was going on within nursery one you would find she would migrate there, as we would all do to go and help. She would definitely end up in nursery one to assist.

It was more that we were worried for Lucys mental heath because it can be upsetting, emotional and sometimes exhausting as well at the end of a shift, if youre constantly put in that stressed situation all the time.

Sometimes youve got to come out of that environment and be in an outside nursery.

Letby was not good enough to care for them

Letby wrote I AM EVIL I DID THIS on a post-it note found by police at her home, in what was the closest the prosecution got to a confession.

She also wrote: I dont deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because Im not good enough to care for them. I will never marry or have children. I will never know what its like to have a family.

Letby told the court the notes, written after she was suspended from work pending an investigation, showed the ramblings of her mental anguish following the deaths of the babies in her care.

The nurse said the notes also contained protestation of innocence and they were never held up in court as concrete proof of her motive.
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Nurse Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, will die in prison after being sentenced to a whole-life order.

Judge Mr Justice Goss handed the baby murderer the rare sentence, which is life imprisonment with no possibility of release, at Manchester Crown Court on Monday. It comes after the serial killer nurse cemented herself as one of Britains worst criminals on Friday when she was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others.

Following a nine-month trial and over three weeks of deliberations, a jury found her guilty of 14 of the 22 counts she faced, after she embarked on a campaign of horror at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

Lucy Letby was jailed for life, and given a whole life order (PA Media)

The jury found her not guilty on two counts of attempted murder and could not reach verdicts on a further six of the same charge.

During that period, she deliberately poisoned babies with insulin, overfed them with milk and fatally injected some with air while working as a nurse in the neonatal unit.

For such horrific crimes, Letby could only receive a mandatory life sentence. She was remanded in custody over the weekend and sentenced to a whole-life order on Monday, which means she will spend the rest of her life behind bars.

While it has not been confirmed, Letby could be placed in HMP Low Newton, a maximum security prison that is home to many of the deadliest female killers in recent history.

Letby is likely to be held at maximum security prison HMP Low Newton (Chester Standard/SWNS)

HMP Low Newton has housed infamous killers (@HMPLowNewton)

The jail, which was opened in 1965, has housed Britains youngest female murderer Sharon Carr, as well as Baby Ps mother Tracey Connelly. Dubbed The Devils Daughter, Carr murdered an 18-year-old woman after picking her out at random when she was just 12 years old.

The prisons most infamous inmate was House of Horrors killer Rosemary West, who sexually abused and murdered 10 women and children alongside her husband Fred West.

She was eventually moved from HMP Low Newton in 2019, after another vicious killer, Joanna Dennehy, allegedly threatened to kill her.

Rosemary West, pictured with husband Fred, was a former inmate of HMP Low Newton (PA)

Dennehy remains at the prison, where she is serving a sentence for the murder of three men in a two-week killing spree. She dumped their bodies in ditches outside Peterborough.

Located in the village of Brasside near Durham, the prison accepts female inmates from across the north of England and holds a number of lifers and juvenile prisoners.

HMP Low Newton, which was opened in 1965, has housed Baby Ps mother Tracey Connelly (PA Wire)

An Independent Monitoring Board report, published in 2021, found that lessons and workshops had been axed due to problems with a leaking roof, while an entire block was due for demolition after failing health and safety checks.

Not all aspects of prison life were negative, however, with inmates given the chance to have DVD nights and buy clothes from a fashion store. Staff were reported to be friendly.

Even the food was reported to be nutritious, well cooked and of good variety, with inmates offered a selection of hot meals and packed lunches.

Dubbed The Devils Daughter, Sharon Carr murdered an 18-year-old woman after picking her out at random when she was just 12 years old (PA)

Violence occasionally breaks out among prisoners and staff, while the board expressed concern that around 40 per cent of inmates suffered mental health problems.

HMP Low Newton is also home to the Primrose Project, which is designed to treat women with dangerous and severe personality disorders, and is the only prison in the UK with such a unit.

The service has 12 places for female offenders who are at a high risk of harm in England and Wales but can only accommodate one restricted-status woman at a time.

Joanna Dennehy remains at the prison, where she is serving a sentence for the murder of three men in a two-week killing spree (Cambridgeshire Police)

Entry criteria include a current offence of violence against the person, presenting a high risk of committing another serious offence, and likelihood of having a severe form of personality disorder.

Among the treatment options are sessions with a psychiatrist, art therapy, and acupuncture.

The Primrose Service won a World Health Organisation (WHO) award in 2009 for high quality of service provided to female prisoners.
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Growing numbers of staff leaving ambulance trusts could lead to a repeat of patients waiting in pain as pressure hits a broken health system this winter, the Liberal Democrats have warned.

Figures obtained by the party through freedom of information requests show a 51% increase in the annual level of staff departures across all 10 ambulance trusts in England since 2019-20.

The vacated roles, which include jobs such as paramedics, control room staff, mechanics and managers, increased to 6,968 in 2022-23 from 4,609 three years earlier.

West Midlands Ambulance Service had the most departures last year at 1,046, which is a turnover rate of 14%.

South Central Ambulance Service had 927 departures and South East Coast Ambulance Service had 802  turnover rates of 21% and 18% respectively.

There are currently 2,954 vacancies across all ambulance trusts in England, the Lib Dems said.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service was found to have the highest vacancy rate in 2022-23 with 17% of posts not permanently filled  a shortfall of 1,157 staff.

The trust said it covers the vacancies with a combination of overtime and the use of agency and back-up staff.

South Central had a staff shortage of 869 posts  a vacancy rate of 16%.

Demand pressures across the NHS last winter led to lengthy treatment delays as ambulances were stuck outside hospitals with patients who could not be admitted to overwhelmed accident and emergency departments.

In December, the average ambulance response time for a category two call, which includes suspected heart attacks or strokes, was over one hour and 30 minutes. The target response time is 18 minutes.

Performance has since improved, but there are concerns that a spike in demand this winter may lead to more delays.

Daisy Cooper, Lib Dem spokeswoman for health and social care, called on the Government to launch a recruitment drive to boost staffing levels.

She said: This Conservative Government has run our health services into the ground and these figures show that paramedics are voting with their feet.

Ambulance crews are unfairly caught between a rock and a hard place, picking up the slack from a health and care system that is broken at both ends Daisy Cooper

With patients struggling to see a GP at the front door of the NHS and unable to access social care at the back door of the NHS, ambulance crews are unfairly caught between a rock and a hard place, picking up the slack from a health and care system that is broken at both ends.

The shortage of NHS staff has caused untold pain for millions of people across the country, especially those left to wait for hours in pain for an ambulance to arrive.

She added there is no time to waste and called on the Government to introduce measures to prevent ambulance services being again put under unsustainable strain.

Unison, which represents ambulance staff, said pressures on workers had been created by a lack of Government investment.

Sara Gorton, the unions head of health, said: Ambulance staff are under intolerable pressure because services are over-stretched.

Spiralling 999 calls and endless queues outside A&E departments have left them burnt out. Its no wonder so many decide theyve had enough.

Ministers must reverse years of neglect and invest in ambulance services. This might persuade staff to stay and ensure patients get the care they need.

A spokesperson for South East Coast Ambulance Service said: We have recruited 476 frontline road staff as well as 540 staff to work in our 999 and 111 operations centres in the last 12 months.

We are committed to providing high-quality care to our patients and part of that includes continuing to improve recruitment and retention levels to ensure we have the required staff to respond to those who need us, while providing colleagues with the support they need to carry out their challenging roles.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: We are boosting the number of paramedics by up to 15,600 by 2031-2032 as part of the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over 2.4 billion over the next five years and there are around 700 more paramedics in the NHS than last year.

As part of this Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan ambulance services are receiving 200 million of additional funding this year, alongside over 800 new ambulances.
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A British tourist, aged 43, has reportedly drowned after he jumped into a lake to cool off during a family holiday to Turkey.

The man was part of an organised tour at the Manavgat Dam in Antalya, when he dove into the water for respite from the 33C summer, according to news reports.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirmed a British man had died in Turkey and that it was in touch with local authorities in a statement.

He reportedly entered the water from a pier platform connected to a riverside restaurant.

Shortly after, he appeared to struggle and reportedly made desperate attempts to stay afloat.

Local media reported that while some onlookers rushed to help the man, others alerted authorities about the incidents.

Officers from Turkeys Gendarmerie General Command, rescue divers and emergency service providers responded to the scene.

Divers reportedly retreived the mans lifeless body from around 40ft beneath the waters surface.

Medical staff reportedly waiting on dry land pronounced the man dead, as his body was sent to the Antalya Forensic Medicine Institute for a post-mortem examination.

It is currently not clear why the man drowned, and it is hoped the autopsy will provide more details into the tragic incident.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office told the Evening Standard: We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Turkey, and are in touch with local authorities.

Antalya, known for its blue waters and stunning coastline, is a popular Turkish holiday destination that accounts for around 30 per cent of the countrys foreign visitors.

Last month, temperatures in Antalya touched 44C as a heatwave swept across many European countries, including Spain, Greece, and Italy.
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Protesters have organised a sit-down protest in the remains of the Crooked House Pub just before demolition staff and machinery moved on to the site.

A lorry owned by Putnam Construction Services was delayed by a protest on the lane leading to the now-demolished pub on Monday, more than two weeks after it was gutted by a suspected arson attack.

The burnt-out shell of the landmark pub, famed for its wonky walls and floors due to mining-related subsidence, was demolished within 48 hours of the blaze on Saturday, August 5.

Workers at the site told reporters that work had begun to clean and store bricks at the site and assess any asbestos risk from the rubble. South Staffordshire Council is liaising with the contractor after workers moved on to the site in Himley, near Dudley, West Midlands.

But more than a dozen campaigners demanded access to the lane leading to the rubble to witness the work taking place. Two of the protesters sat in the path of a lorry and trailer exiting the site and another vehicle attempted to enter Crooked House Lane.

Holding a protest banner, Jane Baker, 59, from nearby Halesowen, said: Were doing this, and all the people who have arrived today, because we care very much about our heritage, our history and the Crooked House.

Shes always stood there at the bottom of this lane. She means a lot to us all. Whats happened is wrong and we need to make a stand, all of us.

We just want her back where she was. Its affected all of us, far and wide. We just want it rebuilt  by hook or by crook.

Were making a stand for a very iconic building. This is why we are sitting in the road.

Famed as Britains wonkiest pub, the Crooked House had fascinated tourists and locals alike since the 18th century. Constructed in 1765 in the Black Country village of Himley, near Dudley, it was originally used as a farmhouse on Oak Farm.

Calls have been made to rebuild the pub brick-by-brick (PA)

Following a mining subsidence in the 19th century, one side of the building subsequently measured approximately 4ft lower than the other. The modern-day owners used this as an opportunity to create its quirky optical illusions, with pennies and marbles appearing to move uphill along the bar.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street called for the pub to be rebuilt brick by brick (using as much original material as possible) in a letter to the council, with fans campaigning for the reconstruction of the landmark building, mobilising to create a Facebook group which now has more than 18,000 members.

Dudley North MP Marco Longhi urged anyone with concerns about issues at the site to continue to report them to his office.

Staffordshire Police said it received reports that a group of protesters had turned up at the site and officers were in attendance as a precaution and to reassure the community.

Pictured, the burnt-out remains of the Crooked House Pub (PA)

The force said: We recognise the strength of local feeling following the loss of a significant cultural landmark.

Our investigation is live and ongoing. A CCTV trawl, forensics and witness accounts continue to be worked through as we try to piece together the circumstances which led to the fire.

A statement from the local authority on Monday read: The council is aware of a contractor onsite and is engaging with the site owners and contractors to investigate what works are taking place.

We are still currently ascertaining all the facts so cannot comment any further on this specific matter.

The council is still investigating the full incident and formalising next steps and we cannot comment on any element of the ongoing investigation, so that we do not potentially prejudice our enforcement action. We will provide updates on our website as soon as we are able.
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A statutory inquiry into serial killer nurse Lucy Letbys crimes is on the table, a government minister has said.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan gave the strongest hint yet that the government may strengthen the inquiry, following mounting calls for it to be given legal powers that would compel people to give evidence to uncover possible NHS failings.

Letby, 33, was on Monday given a whole life sentence for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others between June 2015 and June 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital where she worked.

Senior doctors have raised concerns that NHS bosses ignored complaints about Letby and one manager, Alison Kelly, who was the chief nurse at the hospital at the time of Letby crimes has now been suspended from Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in Salford where she now works. Ms Kelly has said she will cooperate with the independent inquiry.

Ms Keegan said there were pros and cons of statutory versus non-statutory inquiries but she said the families of Letbys victims will be able to discuss those with the inquirys head when the chair is announced.

The admission comes after days of ministers defending the non-statutory basis of the probe, despite a growing chorus of voices calling for it to be upgraded.

Non-statutory inquiries lack the power to force witnesses to produce evidence or give testimony under oath that statutory ones have.

Critics of the probes current set-up fear it will be left to rely on the goodwill of those involved, rather than being able to compel them to participate.

The grieving families of Letbys victims have called for the inquiry to be put on a statutory footing, and are joined by former justice secretaries Jack Straw, Lord Falconer and Sir David Lidington.

Lucy Letby has begun her whole-life prison sentence (Cheshire Constabulary) (PA Media)

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also said a statutory inquiry is the only way to get the fullest, proper, comprehensive understanding of what went wrong.

Downing Street on Monday said all options are on the table, suggesting ministers are considering upgrading the powers of the inquiry.

And on Tuesday, asked explicitly about a statutory inquiry, Ms Keegan told Times Radio a statutory probe was on the table.

It comes as Sir Robert Francis KC, who chaired the inquiry into serious care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, said that the families of Letbys victims should decide how the inquiry functions.

He told Times Radio: A chair should be appointed to consult with the interested parties, to consult with the tragic families that have been involved in this, to find out what they want, and you may find theres not one united voice about this.

So I would ask them what they feel they want and why they want it and indeed other people.

Emma Norris the Institute for Government think tanks expert on public inquiries, told The Independent on Sunday there was a reasonable chance the government would be forced to upgrade the inquiry to a statutory one.
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The mother of shooting victim Olivia Pratt-Korbel has said her heart goes out to the families of Lucy Letbys victims after the killer nurse did not appear in court for her sentencing.

Cheryl Korbel has been campaigning for a change in the law to force criminals to appear in court after Thomas Cashman, who shot Olivia, nine, after chasing a fellow drug dealer into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, refused to come up to the dock when he was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years.

On the first anniversary of Olivias death, Ms Korbel said her heart would go out to the families of the babies attacked by Letby at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby, 33, who was found guilty of the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of six others, stopped appearing in the dock at Manchester Crown Court partway through the jurys deliberations and indicated she did not intend to return to the dock or follow the sentencing hearing by video-link.

Mr Justice Goss said: The court has no power to force a defendant to attend at a sentencing hearing, therefore, there is nothing I can do in relation to that.

She was sentenced to a whole-life order in her absence on Monday.

Ms Korbel, who read an impact statement at Cashmans sentencing, said: Its important for the families.

Writing the impact statement was really hard. It wasnt going to take minutes. It was days, over a matter of weeks.

Its important for the offenders to listen to the pain that theyve caused, the pain that is ongoing.

Going to prison is supposed to be a rehabilitation.

That first port of call of rehabilitation should be in that courtroom and standing there listening to the judge and listening to the families impact statements.

Ms Korbels cousin Antonia Elverson said Letbys failure to appear was soul-destroying for the families.

Judges have the power to order defendants to come to court prior to verdicts being delivered. If they fail to obey, they can be found in contempt of court and face up to two years in prison  but the law does not extend to sentencing hearings.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said the government is looking at changing the law so criminals are compelled to attend their sentencing hearings.

The PA news agency understands plans for law changes to force criminals to face their sentencing hearing could be put forward as early as the autumn, as soon as parliamentary time allows.
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Dramatic footage shows the moment an RAF Typhoon confronts three Russian jets threatening to cross into NATO territory amid the war in Ukraine.

A clip filmed from inside the cockpit of the Typhoon shows a British airman responding to the jets in the skies above Europe.

Jake, a pilot from RAF Lossiemouths 9 Squadron, in Moray, northeast Scotland, can be heard saying an accident could lead to an escalation into World War Three as he becomes embroiled in a duel with the aircraft.

If get caught up in the moment and accidentally collide with one of these aircraft it could lead to an escalation into World War Three (Channel 4/RAF)

The video was released as part of the Channel 4 documentary Top Guns: Inside the RAF. During the interaction, Jake loses sight of the Russian jets on a number of occasions as they drop in and out of the sky.

Im starting to worry, he says. They would just slow down for no reason, or speed up for no reason. Its very difficult to determine where they are coming down from.

He adds: Is it coming from Putin himself? Is this guy just trying to endanger my airplane because thats what his mindset is?

Jake goes on to explain how any mistake made during the dangerous encounter can be pretty catastrophic.

Were here to show a united front. If you come into this country there are going to be consequences, he says.

"But if I get caught up in the moment and accidentally collide with one of these aircraft it could lead to an escalation into World War Three.

Russian jet seen from RAF Typhoon (Channel 4/RAF)

There has been an increasing number of incidents involving Russian jets buzzing NATO airspace since the Kremin launched its illegal invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Last week the UK government said RAF jets intercepted Russian bombers just north of Scotland.

Typhoon fighters were scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range maritime patrol bombers that were travelling north of the Shetland Islands in Scotland in the early hours of 15 August.

The jets, which were launched from RAF Lossiemouth - one of the RAFs busiest stations - monitored the Russian Tu-142 Bear-F and Tu-142 Bear-J aircraft  used for reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare.

Russia said its strategic bombers had carried out routine flights over international waters in the Arctic.

RAF pilots recently led a mission in Estonia protecting NATO airspace (Channel 4/RAF)

British pilots led NATOs recent air policing mission in Estonia, where the UK said more than 50 similar air intercepts were carried out.

It was not immediately clear exactly where the incident filmed in the documentary took place. The RAF previously said the documentary would follow the crew on their deployment to Estonia on Operation Azotize and protecting the seas and skies above the UK.

RAF personnel returned from Operation Azotize at the beginning of August.

Members of 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (140 EAW) have been deployed to Amari Air Base since the start of March, along with a squadron of RAF Typhoon fighter jets, to conduct Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) intercepts of Russian aircraft transiting close to NATO airspace.

Typhoon jets and their pilots from IX(Bomber) and 1(Fighter) squadrons had deployed to Estonia from RAF Lossiemouth, where the majority of 140 EAWs personnel have now returned.

The deployment began with RAF pilots flying missions alongside the German Air Force  during which the first ever air joint air intercept between NATO allies took place, as British and German Typhoons shadowed a Russian air-to-air refuelling aircraft and transport aircraft.
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Archaeologists have discovered evidence which may shed new light on the distant origins of British identity - at an ancient festival site.

Its long been known that the word Britain is derived from a Celtic word (Pritani), meaning the painted ones - almost certainly reflecting a prehistoric predilection for body-painting.

However, theres never been much potential archaeological evidence for such the cultural tradition  until now.

Recent investigations of a 6,500-year-old probable ceremonial prehistoric site in north west England have identified the largest collection of pieces of red ochre ever found in Britain.

More than 600 red ochre fragments were recovered from the Stone Age site, located near Carlisle  along with the grinding stones used to reduce lumps of red ochre to powder, probably for the production of pigment.

Located on what had been a small (1.2 acre) island in the River Eden in prehistoric times, its likely that the site had been used for major ritually and economically significant communal gatherings.

Some evidence suggests that it acted as an important fishing base during the peak of the spring salmon run  probably in mid-April.

Its likely that these fishing operations were carried out with special triple-pronged fishing spears (so-called tridents or leisters) and with bows and arrows.

The 6,000 year old wooden tridents from Stainton West near Carlisle after conservation work. They are now displayed at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle (Scott Wigglesworth on behalf of Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery)

There is evidence for Stone Age arrow manufacture on the site  and archaeologists have also found two large very early Neolithic wooden tridents which appear to have been deposited in surrounding wetland as votive offerings to local gods or ancestral spirits.

Although its impossible to know for sure how many people participated in exploiting the spring salmon run and took part in any associated ceremonies and rituals, there are indications of the scale of what is likely to have been an important annual event.

The flint-working debris (over 300,000 fragments have been recovered from just the 12% of the island which has been excavated) suggests that in total, many hundreds of arrows and other artifacts were being made there during each annual gathering in the late Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) period. The site was most intensely used over a period of some 800 years.

The Oxford Archaeology team excavating the wooden objects exceptionally preserved in waterlogged soil at Stainton West near Carlisle. These objects date to the Mesolithic and Neolithic - and their level of preservation is very rare. (Image owned by Oxford Archaeology)

This suggests that the number of people at the gatherings probably exceeded a hundred - a figure which implies that the April gatherings were attracting members of up to half a dozen different small hunter-gatherer bands and extended families.

The artifacts found at the site have revealed that the people who gathered there either came from a very wide geographical area.

They had somehow acquired volcanic glass (pitchstone/obsidian) from the Isle of Arran (120 miles away by sea) and from the Yorkshire coast (100 miles away cross-country), as well, as from areas much nearer the site, such as the Cumbrian Mountains (the Lake District), the North Pennines, the coast of the Solway Firth, and Scotlands Southern Uplands.

One of the two 6,000 years old tridents as it emerged from the mud during excavations at Stainton West (Image owned by Oxford Archaeology.)

The site has yielded the largest collection of volcanic glass (some 230 pieces) ever found in England.

The archaeologists - from one of the UKs leading archaeological consultancies, Oxford Archaeology, also found a rare example of Mesolithic art  a piece of stone with three parallel lines inscribed on it.

The now-long-vanished island (at Stainton West near Carlisle), which the Stone Age Britons used as their salmon-fishing base was ideally located. It was in a part of the lower reaches of the Eden, where, in prehistoric times, the river was divided into a number of very narrow channels.

An aerial view of the Stone Age site at Stainton West near Carlisle with the river Eden in the background. The excavations revealed the Prehistoric channel of the river which attracted human activity for millennia. (Image property of Oxford Archaeology)

This meant that, as the salmon migrated upstream from the Irish Sea, they were forced to swim through those narrow channels where they could be more easily caught by humans. Its likely that the Stone Age fishermen would have temporarily obstructed the narrow channels (with nets or wickerwork barriers), so as to temporarily concentrate as many salmon in as small an area as possible.

Archaeologists working at Stainton West near Carlisle, taking samples of the soil from the ancient river bed where evidence of human activity was found. The soil samples were later analysed to reveal information about the climate, plants, insects, and animals present there during the Stone Age. (Image property of Oxford Archaeology)

Some of the salmon would have weighed around 7 kg and been more than a metre long. The spring would have seen large numbers migrating up the Eden. That would have been particularly useful from a nutritional perspective.

The Carlisle site is important because it demonstrates the social complexity of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer society - and the remarkable extent to which widely dispersed communities interacted across much of Britain, said the leader of the archaeological investigation, Fraser Brown of the UK consultancy, Oxford Archaeology.

Its the first time that extensive evidence has been found, revealing just how interconnected British Stone Age hunter-gatherer bands were before the introduction of agriculture.

Its also the first time that archaeologists have found large numbers of red ochre fragments in Britain - 610 in total.

Tridents and bows and arrows appear to have been the fishing equipment used to catch the salmon. Indeed tridents became important in ancient mythology. This ancient Greek painting shows the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, with his emblematic trident. (Louvre Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Although it is by far the largest such discovery, finds in other parts of the UK demonstrate that red ochre was used by prehistoric Britons not only in and before the Mesolithic, but also in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

The Mesolithic Carlisle red ochre (together with other, later, prehistoric archaeological red ochre evidence from other sites) complements surviving later linguistic and historical evidence to suggest that body-painting was almost certainly a British tradition - a tradition which seems to have led to the territory eventually being called Britain (ie., the [land of] the painted people).

One of the earliest recorded occurrences of a name for Britain was Prettanike - written down by a Marseille-based Greek explorer called Pytheas in the 4th century BC. He had visited Britain - and appears to have learn the Celtic name of the territorys people (the Pretani) either from its Celtic inhabitants or from their Celtic neighbours in northern France.Pytheas Greek rendering of the name of our island  Prettanike - subsequently evolved into the Roman word for Britain (Britannia).

Julius Caesar, writing in the mid 1st century BC specifically mentions that the inhabitants of Britain had a tradition of painting themselves - and from at least the late 3rd century AD onwards, the people of Scotland were also described as the painted people  Picti (Picts).

Even as late as the 6th century AD, the inhabitants of northern Britain were described by an Eastern European pro-Roman historian, Jordanes, as painting their bodies with iron red [pigments].

The red ochre discovery at the Carlisle site ) may well have been an early part of a continuous British body-painting tradition which ultimately generated the name of the island.
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A headteacher has paid tribute to a 10-year-old girl found dead at home in Woking, describing her as a bubbly and confident pupil.

Sara Sharif was found at a property on Hammond Road after police were called from Pakistan by her father, Urfan Sharif, on 10 August.

Mr Sharif, 41, his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28, are thought to have travelled to Islamabad on 9 August and are wanted for questioning.

A post-mortem examination showed Sara had suffered extensive injuries over a sustained period before she was found.

Jacquie Chambers, headteacher of St Marys C of E primary school in Byfleet  where Sara had been a Year 5 pupil, said she would be dearly missed by pupils and teachers.

Ms Chambers said in a statement: She [Sara] was a bubbly, confident little girl who had the most beautiful smile. She was full of ideas and was very passionate about the things she believed in.

Sara will be dearly missed and as a school community, we are all deeply affected by this tragedy.

Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy are with those affected by this heartbreaking news.

As there is an ongoing police investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further but we can confirm we are fully supporting partner agencies with their investigations.

Our priority now is to support our school community as they grieve and recover.

The Associated Press news agency reported on Saturday that Pakistan police in the eastern province of Punjab are seeking to arrest Mr Sharif in connection with Saras death.
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Seventeen projects across the UK that are focused on innovative medicine manufacturing and drug discovery have been awarded a share of 13 million.

It is hoped the money from Innovate UK will help drive digitalisation in the sector as well as boost the economy.

They will be delivered via the organisations Transforming Medicines Manufacturing programme, which aims to bolster the UKs manufacturing capabilities through technology development and adoption.

Some 10 million of the total funding was awarded by the Governments Life Sci for Growth package, a 650 million fund announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in May to elevate the countrys life sciences industry.

This underscores our ambitious vision to de-risk technology, boost economic growth, build resilience into the UK healthcare ecosystem and ultimately to make the UK a centre of excellence in medicines manufacturing innovation Sarah Goulding, Innovate UK

The new projects span three fields; digitalisation and automation, the exploration of nucleic acid, and intracellular drug delivery, or the process of introducing external materials into living cells.

A number of the projects involve the production of MRNA vaccines, with research ongoing to make them better and cheaper while reducing the costs of making them.

Sarah Goulding, executive director of healthy living and agriculture domain at Innovate UK, said: There is a real breadth of innovation and collaboration across businesses being funded through Innovate UKs Transforming Medicines Manufacturing programme.

This underscores our ambitious vision to de-risk technology, boost economic growth, build resilience into the UK healthcare ecosystem and ultimately to make the UK a centre of excellence in medicines manufacturing innovation.

Elsewhere, a number of projects will focus on cell and gene therapy while others will look at new freeze-drying processes.

Mark Talford, deputy challenge director in medicines manufacturing at Innovate UK, added: This support for collaboration across the UK medicines manufacturing landscape to develop innovative nucleic acid medicines will drive forward digitalisation and automation technology.
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An Alaska Airlines flight arriving from Seattle made a hard landing at John Wayne Airport in Orange County on Sunday night as Tropical Storm Hilary roiled Southern California.

Flight 1288 made it to its destination without major difficulties, but the landing at the Los Angeles-area airport did not go as planned.

In a video taken by a passenger and later posted to YouTube, the plane hits the ground hard upon landing  and then drags its left wing along the tarmac as orange sparks fly into the dark night air.

Passengers in the video can be heard shouting about the fiery spectacle, with one person yelling Theres sparks outside! What the f***? Why is there sparks outside?

Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. The plane, however, was damaged and, according to an Alaska Airlines statement provided to NPR, ended up stranded in rain from the storm.

The aircraft was unable to taxi to the gate due to an issue with its landing gear, Alaska Airlines officials said in the statement.

Photographs posted later to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, showed some of the damage to the planes wing, which one commentator speculated was punctured by the landing gear.

Hilary, Southern Californias first tropical storm in 84 years, disrupted routines across the region due to high winds and rain that flooded parts of Los Angeles.

But even in the best of weather, John Wayne Airport is a challenging place to land a plane: the airport has a shorter runway than most of its counterparts in the US, measuring just 5,700 feet. The runway at Los Angeles International Airport, for instance, is 9,000 feet in length.
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A second person has died in wildfires in eastern Washington state that ignited on Friday during red flag conditions, burning hundreds of structures and closing a section of a major interstate for days, fire officials said.

A body was found in the area burned by the Oregon fire north of Spokane on Sunday afternoon, fire officials told The Associated Press on Monday.

Another person died in connection with the Gray fire that started Friday west of Spokane, officials said on Saturday.

Gov. Jay Inslee visited the burned areas Sunday and declared a statewide emergency because of those fires  which have destroyed at least 265 structures  and others that combined have burned more than 53 square miles (137 square kilometers) around the state this year.

Inslee said Monday he had talked with President Joe Biden and Federal Emergency Management Administrator Deanne Criswell about securing federal dollars to help with firefighting efforts.

I appreciated President Bidens call this morning to share his concern for the devastating Spokane County wildfires and what can be done to secure federal aid, Inslee said Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Inslee said Criswell told him the agency would work with Washington to assess damages as quickly as possible to see what federal aid the state may qualify for.

Criswell spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, as Biden flew to tour wildfire damage in Hawaii. Criswell said FEMA had emergency response teams embedded with Washington state emergency response authorities and theyre ready to support any resource request as needed.

The Gray fire started near Medical Lake in Spokane County around noon Friday and had burned about 15.6 square miles (40 square kilometers) as of Monday.

At least 185 structures have been destroyed or damaged with a higher number expected once crews are able to make an accurate assessment, according to Isabelle Hoygaard, public information officer with the Gray fire incident management team.

A good majority of the homes and other structures burned were in the small city of Medical Lake and nearby Silver Lake, Hoygaard said. Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper said Monday that 5,000 residents had been displaced because of the fire, KREM-TV reported.

Fire crews were making progress on the Gray fire Monday, Hoygaard said, and a section of Interstate 90 that had closed because of the flames and burned trees falling into the roadway reopened on Monday afternoon. Some of the mandatory evacuations were lessened on Monday, according to Spokane County Emergency Management.

The Oregon fire began Friday afternoon northeast of Elk, Washington. It had consumed about 15.8 square miles (40.9 square kilometers) of forest and cropland as of Monday, according to fire officials. More than 80 structures have burned in that blaze and about 150 remain at risk, according to Guy Gifford, public information officer for the Oregon fire.

Mandatory evacuations have been in effect around both fires with officials also noting that if residents feel threatened by fire, they should evacuate immediately.

There may be no formal notice that you need to evacuate, fire managers said on the fire incident information system website.

The cause of both fires is under investigation. Both started in dry, windy conditions that had prompted red flag warnings of critical fire danger in the region.

Air quality around Spokane was the worst in the country on Sunday with poor air quality continuing on Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Spokane. Areas of western Washington that had experienced smoky conditions on Sunday started to see some improvement on Monday.

___

AP writer Will Weissert contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
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A schoolgirl has died after she leaned out of a bus window to wave to friends and hit her head on a concrete pole.

Fernanda Pacheco Ferraz was making her way home from class when tragedy struck.

According to witnesses, the 13-year-old was sitting at the back of the bus when she decided to lean out.

She was saying goodbye to pals on the pavement.

She then collided into the pole near the curb, suffering fatal head injuries.

Fernanda Pacheco Ferraz (Jam Press)

The tragedy happened in Nova Friburgo, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The young victim was returning home from The Professor Carlos Cortes State College.

According to the bus company Novafaol, the driver stopped the vehicle after being informed by shocked passengers.

The bus driver, who has worked for the firm for over 10 years, then informed the relevant authorities and the companys management team.

The emergency services arrived on the scene, but paramedics could only confirm the girls death.

The bus company released a statement to express their regret at the unexpected and tragic incident and vowed to assist the authorities with the investigation.

The Rio de Janeiro State Department of Education also issued a statement after the teenagers death, announcing a two-day mourning period and suspending classes at her school for the remainder of the week.

The teen victim was buried the next day at the Trilha do Ceu Cemetery at 4.30 pm on 17 August.

The investigation into her death is ongoing.
 Close Neighbours speak out on disappearance of Katy Perry's songwriter

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Musician Camela Leierth-Segura hadnt been seen for almost six weeks before a missing persons report was filed, according to police.

The 48-year-old Swedish native, who co-wrote the hit Katy Perry song Walking on Air, was last seen in the Beverly Hills area back on 29 June, according to the California Department of Justices missing persons page. Her friends last heard from her on 30 June.

Now, seven weeks on from when she was last seen, the talented musician, her car and her 19-year-old pet cat Morris are still missing with friends and her family back in Sweden growing increasingly concerned for her safety.

Beverly Hills Police have reassured the public that a thorough investigation is underway into her disappearance but revealed that a missing persons report was not filed until 8 August  almost six weeks after she was last seen.

The timing is especially crucial considering, the date she is stated to have gone missing compared to when it was reported to the police, police said in a statement.

Cecilia Foss, a longtime friend of Ms Leierth-Segura, told The Independent earlier this week that she fears someone has abducted the missing woman and is holding her somewhere.
 Close Family reacts to death of Andrea Vazquez

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The suspect in Andrea Vazquezs kidnapping and murder is reportedly scared after being hit with multiple felonies.

Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, has been charged with murder, kidnapping and attempted rape in connection with the death of 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez. Mr Esparza entered a not-guilty plea when he made his first court appearance for the brutal slaying on Wednesday.

Vazquez was randomly kidnapped while on a date with her boyfriend at Penn Park in Whittier.

While Vazquez and her boyfriend were sitting in the parked car, an armed man approached them and began shooting. Vazquezs boyfriend fled the scene and when he returned, he discovered blood near it and Vazquez was gone.

Vazquezs body was found the following day in Moreno Valley.

Mr Esparzas attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez told FOX11 that the 20-year-old was scared.

Everyone in this case is in shock, and everyone who knows him cant believe that he has been charged with this crime, Mr Rodriguez told the network in a statement, adding that Mr Esparza is just beginning to understand what is going on.
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Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger was investigated and kicked out of a law enforcement high school programme after complaints from female students.

Mr Kohberger, 28, is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students as they slept at an off-campus house last November.

Now a former high school administrator has discussed issues with Mr Kohberger when he attended the programme at the Monroe Career and Technical Institute.

Tanya Carmella-Beers told The Idaho Massacre podcast that she could not go into specifics of the claims made against Mr Kohberger.

But she said that if a student did something that would get an adult fired in the professional world they lost their place in the programme.

Ultimately what had him removed from the programme, when I look back on it now, makes sense... the fact that he wanted law enforcement more than anything else in the world, if you look at it from just that perspective alone not knowing what I know youd be like, Im so shocked, she said.

In that respect I am, but I know another little piece, which is the piece that occurred at the school... so that makes sense.

She told the podcast that Mr Kohberger took the programme extremely seriously but that an issue was reported to the school by a group of females.

A complaint was made, and the teacher reported it to me, and said, You know, this is not something we can have, said Ms Carmella-Beers.

An investigation needed to be conducted. Other students were interviewed. Bryan was interviewed. And there comes a time when decisions have to be made, whether its the decision the student wants or not.

Mr Kohberger was kicked out of the law enforcement programme and transferred to the heating, ventilation and air condition course instead before leaving the school.

I dont think that maybe he necessarily grasped the depth and breadth of the issue at hand, she added.

Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found murdered at their home on 13 November.

Mr Kohberger was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania on 30 December and was returned to Idaho.

A judge entered not guilty pleas to murder and burglary charges on his behalf during his May arraignment and he is set to go on trial on 2 October.
A high-tech monitoring system has been introduced in China's national parks to increase management efficiency and reduce costs, a national park expert said at the Second National Park Forum held in Xining, Qinghai province, on Saturday.

The system helps improve efficiency by monitoring and assessing conservation efforts more frequently as well as sharing the data on a larger scale, said Tang Xiaoping, head of the National Park Research Institute.

"In the past, field surveys required people to venture into the mountains to find traces of wild animals, but they usually found little. Also, conducting patrols in the parks was a dangerous task that required teams of at least two who would walk for an entire day.

"Now, in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, for example, more than 20,000 infrared cameras have been installed, improving the monitoring of wild animals. Moreover, drones can be programmed to follow preset routes and transmit real-time data and photos of animals back without causing any disturbance," Tang said.

The monitoring system also assesses the parks' conservation efforts by evaluating the ecological assets and services provided, he said.

The system enables information sharing among various departments involved in national park management and makes it possible by establishing unified standards and methods for data collection, Tang said.

China has established over 9,000 nature reserves, with 74 percent of terrestrial wildlife species under national key protection, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said.

The five national parks that China established in 2021 have shown success in restoring and improving ecosystem functions, the administration said.

For example, the Giant Panda National Park spanning Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces has protected over 70 percent of wild giant pandas.

The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces has seen its tiger population exceed 50 and its leopard population exceed 60.

Fernando Lugris, Uruguay's ambassador to China, said at the forum: "I am absolutely impressed with the level of the development of the conservation in the country. I think the relevant authorities here in China are doing a marvelous job in expanding the system of national parks."
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A search is underway for a California woman who was shot and seemingly abducted from her boyfriends car at a park.

Andrea Vasquez, 19, was reportedly kidnapped from Penn Park in Whittier, outside Los Angeles, as she was sitting in a parked car with her boyfriend.

An armed suspect approached their vehicle and fired a weapon in their direction, stated the Whittier Police Department.

Investigators say the boyfriend fled the gunfire and when he returned to the vehicle he discovered blood near it and Ms Vasquez had gone.

The family says that Ms Vasquezs phone last pinged in the Moreno Valley area, around 50 miles east of Whittier.

And they say they tracked the phone to a field off the 10 Freeway, where they found more blood but no sign of her.

Her sister, Edlyn Vasquez, with whom she lives in Los Angeles, has appealed for help finding her.

Ive never experienced a heartbreak like this, Edlyn Vazquez told TV station KTLA.

Im just trying to stay strong for her because I know shell be back.

Police say that she is 5ft 3ins tall, weighs 103 pounds and has brownish-red hair and brown eyes.

She was wearing a black long-sleeve crop top, khaki pants and black low-top Converse shoes. She has her sisters name, Edlyn, tattooed on the back of her neck, an Aries constellation on the top of her right hand and a belly button piercing.

Edlyn Vasquez urged for her sister to be returned safely.

Just stay strong and were here and were looking, were not going to stop looking, she said.

Shell be with us soon, I know she will. If you have her, please, please just bring her home. I dont want to know anything. I dont have any questions for the person, nothing. I just want her home.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Jose Bolanos at 562-328-8504, Detective Tom Nordbak at 562-244-0054 or the tipline at 562-567-9299.
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A Black Missippi FedEx driver who was chased and shot at by two white men while delivering packages has lost his job at the carrier, according to his attorney.

DMonterrio Gibson, 25, was delivering parcels in the city of Brookhaven last January, when father and son Gregory and Brandon Case blocked his delivery van with a pickup truck and began shooting at him as he drove away, according to prosecutors.

Mr Gibson, who said the incident left him with anxiety, trouble sleeping, and caused him to seek therapy, lost his job at the end of the this July, after refusing to accept a part-time, non-courier position at the company, according to an email from FedEx shared with The Associated Press.

I honestly feel disrespected, he told the AP. They cant tell me when I should be ready to come back.

The company had been voluntarily paying for his therapy while he was away from the job on workers compensation leave, CNN reports.

Mr Gibson plans to file a state lawsuit against FedEx, after his $5m federal lawsuit against the delivery giant accusing them of racism was dismissed in August, with the court finding the Mississippi man hadnt proven he was discriminated against because of his race.

FedEx has shown its true colors, Mr Gibsons attorney, Carlos Moore, told the network. It has never cared about my clients Black life. How could any employer be so insensitive and tone deaf and fire a dedicated employee after he almost lost his life working for the company?

DMonterrio Gibson speaks at a news conference in Ridgeland, Mississippi (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

FedEx does not engage in or tolerate discrimination, FedEx told The Independent in a statement. A federal court has already dismissed a claim of race discrimination by Mr Gibson, and we will defend any subsequent lawsuit he files in other courts.

Gregory and Brandon Case were charged by local officials with attempted murder.

Last week, the case against them was declared a mistrial, after a police detective testified to not sharing a copy of a video interview with Mr Gibson after the shooting with either the prosecution or the defence.

The men, who say they were responding to an unknown van parked outside of a family members house on a public road, remain out on bond.

Mr Gibson was wearing his FedEx uniform when making the delivery that preceded the shooting on 24 January, 2022, driving a rental van with the Hertz logo on multiple sides, according to court documents.

As he went to leave the area, Gregory Case allegedly blocked the driver in with his pickup truck, causing Mr Gibson to dry around the truck and leave the area.

His van was struck with three rounds.

They came out of nowhere, Gibson said at a news conference last year. Even if [the van] was unmarked, civilians still cant take the law into their own hands.

Im thinking this is a racism thing, he said.

His attorney alleged that the Cases were seeking to emulate the Ahmaud Arbery incident, where a group of white men in Georgia pursued a Black jogger in 2020 in their pickup trucks then murdered him.

It was clearly a copycat crime, Mr Moore said during the 2022 news conference. These people tried to be copycats, and thats why we need full justice, not Mississippi justice. This man went to work, and they attacked him like he was a wild animal.
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A North Carolina man who brought two pipe bomb-like devices to a church earlier this year avoided jail time, after family and community members wrote letters en masse to a local court asking for leniency.

Joshua Wayne Hawyley, 37, of Connelly Springs, pleaded guilty earlier this month in Catawba County Superior Court to three counts of possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

The father was sentenced to three years of supervised probation, a mental evaluation, and barred from possessing firearms and explosives, as well as prevented from contacting the church where he brought explosive devices earlier this year.

Joshua is a good, caring man and deserves better than this, his wife Savanah Hawley wrote in a letter to the court, the Hickory Record reported. His children need him, and he needs his children. Please dont let him go away for 2.5 years. Jail isnt the punishment he deserves. He deserves a good doctor and medication.

(Joshua Hawley) often fixates on various things, due to his mental status, local resident Jackie Miller added in a letter of her own. And at that time he was fixated on making smoke bombs  something he apparently did in his youth.

The 37-year-old was arrested in May for bringing multiple pipe bombs to Marketplace Church in Mountain View.

The pastor of the church told police Hawley had mental issues and showed up to the church in a manic state, telling an employee he brought something for the church and asked security guards where the pastors vehicle was, warning the employee the pastor should be careful so the bomb didnt blow up in his face, according to the Morganton News Herald.

No one was injured in the incident.

Joshua Wayne Hawyley, 37, of Connelly Springs, North Carolina, was arrested in May 2023 for bring a pipe bomb-like device to a local church (WBTV screengrab)

I think in a house of worship people should feel safe and not feel intimidated, Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown said at the time of the arrest.

Four months before the pipe bomb incident, Hawyley had been asked to stop attending the church, after members grew uncomfortable with his behaviour, which included showing up to the facility in military-style attire, wearing a body camera and open-carrying guns and knives.

Hawley did not have a formal mental health diagnosis at the time, though family members said in letters to the court they believe he suffers from mental illness including bipolar disorder and border schizophrenia.
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A millionaire dentist who murdered his wife on an African safari so he could claim a multi-million-dollar life insurance payout has been sentenced to life in prison and hit with a $15m fine.

Larry Rudolph killed his wife Bianca Rudolph in October 2016 while they were on a trip to a remote cabin at the Kafue National Park in Zambia where Bianca wanted to fulfil her goal of hunting a leopard.

The 67-year-old dentist shot his wife in the heart before putting the gun in its soft case to make it look like she had accidentally shot herself while packing their cases to return home to the US.

He later exclaimed to his longtime lover, Lori Milliron: I killed my f***ing wife for you.

Following his wifes death, prosecutors said Rudolph cashed in nearly $5m in insurance policies so he could live a lavish retirement with his lover.

Rudolph, 67, was sentenced on Monday in a Denver federal court for murder as well as for mail fraud.

Milliron, 65, was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June for being an accessory to murder after the fact and obstructing a grand jury.

Both have said they plan to appeal their convictions.

The married dentist has always denied being responsible for his wifes 2016 death.

He initially told authorities in Zambia that he was in the bathroom when his wife accidentally shot herself as she packed a shotgun while the couple were preparing to return to the US.

Investigators there concluded Bianca Rudolphs death was an accident, and insurance investigators also later reached the same conclusion.

Five years later, the former dentist was arrested following an FBI investigation into her killing.

A bartender at a steakhouse in Phoenix had told investigators he overheard Rudolph saying I killed my f*****g wife for you! during an argument with Milliron at the steakhouse in early 2020.

Defence attorneys for Pittsburgh dentist Lawrence Larry Rudolph (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Rudolph has claimed this alleged admission of guilt had been heard incorrectly by a witness and that he had actually said: Theyre saying I killed my f***ing wife for you.

Court filings show prosecutors believe the murder was the culmination of a lifetime spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power.

The couples adult children now claim they have suffered considerable financial harm due to the financial penalties against their father and are entitled to restitution.

Prosectors have ordered the 67-year-old to pay $4.9m in restitution to the insurance companies, and forfeit $4.8m from bank accounts, as well as real estate in Arizona and Pennsylvania and two luxury vehicles  an Aston Martin DB-11 and a Bentley Bentayga, according to court filings.

Rudolphs lawyers claim he cannot afford the penalties because he no longer controls his dental practice and has significant debts.

But prosecutors say Rudolph is worth $27m and would still have millions of dollars after paying restitution, the fine and having the property seized.

Rudolph met his wife at the University of Pittsburgh and the couple married in 1982 before having two children together.
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When people first ripped down the Pride flag hanging outside her Cedar Glen clothing store, Laura Ann Carleton simply got another and hung it straight back up.

Friends say this happened multiple times in the two years since she opened the California store as a second outpost to her first location in Studio City.

And, throughout it all, the 66-year-old mother-of-nine remained defiant as a prominent ally to the LGBT+ community.

This weekend, it happened once again.

California shop owner Lauri Carleton killed over Pride flag

Except this time, the flag removal ended with her murder  with the perpetrator shooting her in cold blood in the street.

On Friday, police said that the gunman began complaining about the Pride flag hanging outside of the store on Hook Creek Road. He then pulled out a gun, fatally shooting Carleton.

The killer, who was named by authorities as Travis Ikeguchi, 27, then fled the scene before being tracked down and killed in an encounter with law enforcement.

Hollywood stars and LGBT+ community members are now speaking out about Carletons horrific murder, condemning the senseless killing and paying tribute to the 66-year-old  while warning that her shocking murder is a sign of the anti-LGBT+ sentiment and hate spreading across the US.

Murder over a rainbow flag

On Friday, 18 August at 5pm officers from the Twin Peaks Sheriffs Station responded to a report of a person who had been shot at the Mag Pi clothing store.

When police arrived on the scene, they saw that Carleton was suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials from the San Bernardino County sheriffs office said that there was an initial altercation that took place at Carletons clothing store over an LGBT+ pride flag that the owner has displayed outside of her store.

The suspect made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton, police said.

Laura Carleton was killed by a gunman outside her store (Provided)

The suspect then fled the scene and was later located near Torrey Road and Rause Rancho Road, armed with a handgun.

Police said in a statement when officials attempted to contact the suspect a lethal force encounter occurred, and the suspect was pronounced deceased.

The investigation into Carletons death is ongoing and police said no further details are being released.

Residents are urged to contact the homicide department with any information about the incident.

A true ally and fashion leader

Carleton, 66, also known as Lauri was the owner of Mag Pi clothing in California.

She started her career in fashion during her teenage years and worked in the family business at Fred Segal Feet in Los Angeles, while attending the Art Centre School of Design, according to the Mag Pi store website.

Carleton then began running the top fashion show floor in the US at Joseph Magnin Century City.

She then joined Kenneth Cole and remained there for over 15 years, where she worked with factories and design teams in Italy and Spain.

The designer travelled with her husband across the US, Europe and South America, which fuelled her love for design, fashion, food, fine art and architecture among other things.

Her clothing store, Mag Pi, is all about tackling everyday life with grace and ease and continuing to dream, the website reads.

Carletons daughter, Ari, posted a heartfelt tribute on her Instagram, remembering her mother as a fearless, cool and compassionate human being and describing her death as a hate crime.

Mourners left flowers outside Laura Carletons Mag.Pi store in Lake Arrowhead, California, after she was shot dead on Friday (Mountain Provisions Cooperative)

The caption said: As most of you know our beautiful mommy was taken from us in a senseless act of violence on Friday August 18th. She was murdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront. Make no mistake, this was a hate crime. Her flags had been torn down before and she always responded by putting up a bigger one. Our family is broken. We have a long road ahead of us as we navigate this new reality without our loving matriarch.

The post continued: We find peace in knowing she passed quickly in a place she cherished, doing what she loved while fiercely defending something she believed in. She was fearless, cool and compassionate  always putting others first. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that our family has received from loved ones and strangers alike, it has provided hope and light in our darkest days. We will continue to advocate for love, equality and acceptance in everything that we do. Love will always triumph over hate.

This intolerance has to end

Tributes are now pouring in for the beloved mother of nine and business owner who was known to be a supporter and advocate of the LGBT+ community.

The death of Carleton has led to outrage across the country, with family, friends and famous figures sharing their grief on social media.

Actor George Takei , posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that her death was a result of the anti-LGBT+ sentiment coming from the right.

This is the result of the hate they spew. An innocent woman, a gentle and loving soul, has lost her life he said.

My heart aches for her family in the wake of this horrific murder. Those responsible go beyond the murderer. Every anti-LGBTQ politician, bigoted pundit, and right-wing hate monger has Laura Carletons blood on their hands.

Close friend and Hollywood director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute on Sunday, calling Carleton his wonderful friend.

The post, captioned with a photo of Carleton and him said: We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally.

This intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain, he added.

Laura Ann Carleton was shot dead at her business Mag Pi clothing in California (Screengrab/ ABC 7)

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ community also described Carleton as a "friend and supporter and said that although she did not identify as LGBTQ+, she spent her time helping and advocating for everyone in the community.

Sex and the City actress Kristin Davis also posted a tribute and said Carleton was a strong ally within the community.

Daviss caption said: I had the pleasure of meeting Lauri and shopping in her charming store over the summer. I cannot comprehend what has happened and I can only imagine what her family and close friends are going through.

We cannot rest in our work towards love and understanding and equality for every person. It is abundantly clear that divisive senseless hate is the only motive for this hate crime. Lauri was a strong ally, when her Pride flags were stolen she quickly replaced them. To think that she was murdered for her support of our LQBTQ+ family tears my heart into pieces.

I want Lauri to be known as the HERO she was and is. I want her family to know we are thinking of them and for everyone to know that we must continue to stand up for what is right! #lovewins.
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A gunman who killed California shop owner Laura Lauri Carleton after making disparaging remarks about her LGBTQ+ flag has been named by authorities.

Travis Ikeguchi, 27, shot the 66-year-old mother-of-nine dead outside of her Mag.Pi store in Cedar Glen, 83 miles east of Los Angeles, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said in a statement on Monday.

Deputies found Carleton outside the store suffering from a single gunshot wound at 5pm (PT) on Friday. She was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical responders.

The suspect was located nearby near Torrey Rd and Rause Rancho Rd armed with a handgun, and was shot dead by deputies.

The shootings remain under investigation.

San Bernardino Sheriff Shannon Dicus confirmed the suspects identity at a press conference on Monday afternoon.

He confirmed that the suspect had Pulled down a pride flag and yelled many homophobic slurs towards Carleton before shooting her.

Officials say that the gun used to kill Carleton was a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, that was not registered to the suspect.

And the sheriff added that the suspects family had reported him as missing the day before the murder took place.

Laura Carleton was killed by a gunman outside her store (Mountain Provisions Cooperative)

Carleton has been remembered by family and friends as a staunch ally of the LGBTQ+ community who died while standing up to homophobic hate speech.

Carleton, who was married to husband Bort for 28 years, was murdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront, daughters Ari and Kelsey wrote on Instagram.

Make no mistake, this was a hate crime, the daughters wrote.

Vandals had ripped down rainbow flags several times from the store that Carleton opened in 2021, and each time she would replace them with bigger ones, the daughters said.

Ghostbusters director Paul Feig wrote on Instagram that his wonderful friend had been murdered by a man who didnt like that she had a large pride flag hanging outside of her shop.

This intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people, Mr Feig said.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBT+ community group is planning to hold a vigil for Carleton once Tropical Storm Hilary passes.
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Travis Ikeguchi appeared to flinch before fatally shooting Laura Carleton during a heated dispute over a Pride flag, surveillance footage shows.

Authorities say Ikeguchi hurled homophobic slurs at Carleton over a rainbow flag flying from her Mag.Pi store in Cedar Glen, California, before firing a single shot that killed the 66-year-old mother of nine on 18 August.

The fatal shooting was captured on the stores closed-circuit cameras, according to the Los Angeles Times.

An acquaintance who viewed the disturbing footage told the Times that Ikeguchi momentarily paused before opening fire.

He then almost flinched as if thinking twice but then went for it, grabbed the gun and then aimed it and shot Lauri, the acquaintance told the Times.

Meanwhile, public records reviewed by The Independent have revealed that Ikeguchis father is a decorated Florida Highway Patrol state trooper and a firearms and active shooter instructor.

The police link comes after officials said that Ikeguchis social media accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and far-right site Gab were filled with bigoted anti-LGBTQ+ posts and posts showing an intense hatred for law enforcement long before he murdered Carleton.
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Travis Ikeguchi had been spewing anti-LGBT+ content on social media for quite some time.

Behind his keyboard, the 27-year-old California man was posting images of burning Pride flags and lashing out at the LGBT+ community as well as law enforcement.

Then, he came out from behind his online persona and murdered a mother-of-nine fashion entrepreneur over the Pride flag she had dared to hang outside her own store, according to authorities.

On Friday, Ikeguchi went to the Mag.Pi store on Hook Creek Road owned by Laura Lauri Ann Carleton, according to police in San Bernardino.

He confronted her about the rainbow flag, tearing it down while screaming homophobic slurs at her. Then he pulled out a gun, shooting the 66-year-old.

Officers arrived on the scene to find Carleton suffering a single gunshot wound before she died in the street.

By this time, Ikeguchi had fled the scene before he was tracked down by police.

A standoff ensued and he opened fire on the officers before he was shot and killed by law enforcement.

Carletons senseless murder has since led to an outpouring of grief and anger from her children and family members, Hollywood stars and the LGBT+ community members who have warned that her killing is a marker of the anti-LGBT+ hate currently being spread across the US.

Now, officials have confirmed the killers history of anti-LGBT+ comments on social media.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said that Ikeguchi  from Cedar Glen, California  had made many posts online that were critical of the LGBT+ community and law enforcement.

Public information officer Mara Rodriguez said that the posts were made on multiple different social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, and the far-right platform Gab.

Burning Pride flag seen on Travis Ikeguchis X / Twitter account (X / Twitter)

The content of Ikeguchis social media posts contained posts critical to the LGBTQIA community, said the officer.

Accounts on X and Gab under Ikeguchis name, reviewed by The Independent, appear to match the hateful posts referred to by authorities.

In one post, dated 13 June and pinned to the top of the X account, Ikeguchi appeared to post an image of a burning rainbow flag.

What to do with the LGBTQP flag? the chilling post was captioned.

In another post on 28 June, the user took aim at same-sex marriage and abortion.

Abortion and same-sex marriage are both immoral and are design to destroy humanity one by one, the tweet read.

So if someone is pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQP, they are at war against the foundation of family values. Travis Ikeguchi 6/23/2023 6:39am.

In a post the same day, he revealed a deep-rooted paranoia for law enforcement.

Do not follow their traps they want to know everything about you to catch you and used against you in court and lie about you. Watch out their sociopathic schemes, the post read.

Over on Gab  the site popular with extreme right-wing figures  the account believed to belong to Ikeguchi regularly shared anti-LGBT+ and anti-law enforcement rhetoric.

In another post on 28 June, the user took aim at same-sex marriage and abortion (X / Twitter)

One harrowing post shared on Friday  the day of Carletons murder  read: America must repent for a lot of things we allow; abortion/baby killing, sexual immortality, pornography, same-sex marriages, LGBTQP/pedophilia, freemasonry, religiosity, politics, wars, colonialism, the federal reserve.

The anti-LGBT+ content went back as far as two years, with a 2021 post reading: We need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives!

In another violent post also from 2021, the user spoke of killing police officers.

I know its controversial for me to mention the option to kill a police officer, but these police officers are not the servants for the people they are the servants for the laws, the post read.

The Independent has reached out to San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department for comment on the accounts.

A sheriffs spokesperson told NBC News that Carletons murder is now being investigated as a hate crime.

The Californian community has been left reeling from the mother-of-nines murder, which comes at a time of increased anti-LGBT+ right-wing rhetoric.

Friends have said that Carleton had been faced with people ripping down the Pride flag hanging outside her Cedar Glen clothing store ever since she opened the store two years ago.

But, the well-known LGBT+ ally refused to be undeterred, and would simply get a new flag and hang it right back up.

Never did anyone expect that her bravery in the face of hate would end with her brutal murder.

Laura Ann Carleton was shot dead at her business Mag Pi clothing in California (Screengrab/ ABC 7)

Her daughters Ari and Kelsey released a statement on Instagram saying that their mother, who was married to husband Bort for 28 years, was murdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront.

They remembered her as a fearless, cool and compassionate human being.

Make no mistake, this was a hate crime, they wrote.

We find peace in knowing she passed quickly in a place she cherished, doing what she loved while fiercely defending something she believed in. She was fearless, cool and compassionate  always putting others first, the post read.

We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that our family has received from loved ones and strangers alike, it has provided hope and light in our darkest days. We will continue to advocate for love, equality and acceptance in everything that we do. Love will always triumph over hate.

Many other friends and Hollywood celebs echoed their sentiments.

Hollywood Director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute on Sunday in memory of his very close wonderful friend.

We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally, he wrote.

Paul Feig and Lauri Carleton (Paul Feig via Instagram)

This intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people.

Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain.

Sex and the City actress Kristin Davis, Star Trek actor George Takei and Jamie Lee Curtis also echoed these words.

Meanwhile, outside the store where she was killed, loved ones, allies and community members showed their own defiance in the face of hate.

As well as flowers, cards and photos of the popular store owner and mother-of-nine, multiple rainbow flags are now proudly on display.
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A 27-year-old man was gunned down by the police after he killed a beloved store owner in California following a dispute over a Pride flag outside her clothing store.

The shooter, identified as Travis Ikeguchi, killed 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton at her clothing store Mag Pi at Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen after he made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store, authorities in San Bernardino County said.

The mother-of-nine and a true LGBTQ+ ally was pronounced dead on the spot.

Ikeguchi fled the crime scene on foot but was intercepted by deputies a mile from the store on Friday. The suspect opened fire with an unregistered Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, striking multiple squad cars, sheriff Shannon Dicus told reporters.

The deputies returned fire and shot Ikeguchi, who died at the scene, the sheriff added.

Before fatally shooting Carleton, the suspect tore down the LGBTQ+ Pride flag that was hanging in front of the store and yelled homophobic slurs toward the woman.

Ikeguchi lived in Cedar Glen and his family had reported him missing to the sheriffs department one day before the murder, officials said.

According to authorities, the semiautomatic handgun used by Ikeguchi was not registered to him, and he did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said that Ikeguchi  from Cedar Glen, California  had a history of anti-LGBT+ posts, anti-police content along with conspiracy theories on social media.

Public information officer Mara Rodriguez said that the posts were made on multiple different social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, and the far-right platform Gab.

The content of Ikeguchis social media posts contained posts critical to the LGBTQIA community, said the officer.

Burning Pride flag seen on Travis Ikeguchis X / Twitter account (X / Twitter)

Accounts on X and Gab under Ikeguchis name, reviewed by The Independent, appear to match the hateful posts referred to by authorities.

In one post, dated 13 June and pinned to the top of the X account, Ikeguchi appeared to post an image of a burning rainbow flag.

What to do with the LGBTQP flag? the chilling post was captioned.

In another post on 28 June, the user took aim at same-sex marriage and abortion.

Abortion and same-sex marriage are both immoral and are design to destroy humanity one by one, the tweet read.

So if someone is pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQP, they are at war against the foundation of family values. Travis Ikeguchi 6/23/2023 6:39am.

In a post the same day, he revealed a deep-rooted paranoia and dislike for law enforcment.

Do not follow their traps they want to know everything about you to catch you and used against you in court and lie about you. Watch out their sociopathic schemes, the post read.

Over on Gab  the site popular with extreme right-wing figures  the account believed to belong to Ikeguchi regularly shared anti-LGBT+ and anti-law enforcement rhetoric.

In another post on 28 June, the user took aim at same-sex marriage and abortion

A makeshift memorial is seen outside the Mag.Pi clothing store (AFP via Getty Images)

One harrowing post shared on Friday  the day of Carletons murder  read: America must repent for a lot of things we allow; abortion/baby killing, sexual immortality, pornography, same-sex marriages, LGBTQP/pedophilia, freemasonry, religiosity, politics, wars, colonialism, the federal reserve.

The anti-LGBT+ content went back as far as two years, with a 2021 post reading: We need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives!

In another violent post also from 2021, the user spoke of killing police officers.

I know its controversial for me to mention the option to kill a police officer, but these police officers are not the servants for the people they are the servants for the laws, the post read.

The Independent has reached out to San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department for comment on the accounts.

A sheriffs spokesperson told NBC News that Carletons murder is now being investigated as a hate crime.

Meanwhile, tributes poured in for Carleton, who remained defiant as a prominent ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

When people first ripped down the Pride flag hanging outside her store, Carleton simply got another and hung it straight back up.

A resident leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the Mag.Pi clothing store (AFP via Getty Images)

Friends say this happened multiple times in the two years since she opened the California store as a second outpost to her first location in Studio City.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ described her as a remarkable figure, whose "unwavering support" for the community and dedication to creating a safe and inclusive space within her shop touched the lives of many.

There was an outpouring of support on social media as well, with commenters expressing shock and sadness on the stores accounts.

Hollywood director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute saying that Carleton, who he called his wonderful friend, had been killed by a young man.

Her alleged murderer was later shot and killed by the San Bernardino police and so no longer poses a threat to the community, Feig continued.

But this intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Lets all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Lets not let Lauris tragic death be in vain.

The shooting comes about one month after the Anti-Defamation League and the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD released a report indicating a recent rise in anti-LGBTQ harassment, vandalism or assault in the United States.

This is absolutely horrific. This disgusting hate has no place in CA, California governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
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Police are being scrutinised after a video of a woman being arrested in Florida after she gave money to someone selling flowers in the median trended on social media.

Seemingly because a video is circulating on social media depicting the arrest of Annika Olson, the Lee County Sheriffs office detailed the incident in a statement two days after it transpired.

On 16 August, officials were conducting an investigation in Bonita Springs, involving Norma Garcia, who was selling merchandise in the median of Imperial Parkway, a violation of a county ordinance, the statement explained.

This ordinance, for the safety of pedestrians and motorists, prohibits the sale of merchandise from the median or in the roadway, the statement continued.

According to the officials, Ms Garcia had been previously warned against peddling wares in the roadway.

As she was being investigated, another woman, Annika Olson, 24, was driving by the encounter and stopped her vehicle in the driving lane on Imperial Parkway.

The police said that since Ms Olsons car was blocking traffic, it created a safety hazard for other motorists, deputies, Ms. Garcia, and herself, so they asked her to move.

Ms Olson refused, approached the officers, and interfered with their investigation and Ms. Garcias arrest. The police then arrested the woman for refusing to comply with police and for resisting an officer without violence.

In the video footage of the incident, as she was being handcuffed, Ms Olson can be heard saying I was just trying to give her $20.

The 24-year-old told NBC2, I saw there were police [deputies] near her, but I did not understand that she was being arrested, adding that she just wanted to give someone 20 bucks because they were having a bad day.

I had no idea panhandling was illegal; people do it all the time, Ms Olson told the outlet. I understand that its dangerous for them, but if someones putting themselves in that situation in this summer heat, obviously, they are doing it out of desperation; they dont want to be there.

Ms Olson was both booked and released on 17 August, and is set to appear in court on 6 September, according to arrest records. The outlet reported that Ms Garcia was also charged with interfering in the public right of way.
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Watch as Joe Biden visits Maui to meet with wildfire survivors on Monday, 21 August, almost two weeks after blazes devastated Hawaii.

More than 110 people died and over 800 are still missing, according to officials.

The US president paused his vacation in Lake Tahoe to fly to Hawaii where he and first lady Jill Biden will take a helicopter tour of the affected areas.

Mr Biden and Dr Biden visited Lahaina, which was reduced to rubble following a wildfire that broke out on 8 August.

The couple witnessed wildfire damage firsthand and received a briefing from state and local officials.

Mr Biden, who is seeking re-election next year, has been criticised for his response to the fires after going several days without speaking about the tragedy while on holiday at his Delaware beach house.

The US president said he did not want to travel to Maui until he was sure he would not interfere with emergency response efforts.
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The co-owner of a local newspaper was captured on surveillance video calling out police officers for raiding her home, just hours before the 98-year-old collapsed and died, partly from the stress induced by the raid.

Joan Meyer co-owned the Marion County Record in Kansas. When police arrived at her home with a search warrant in connection to an identity theft investigation, she gave them a piece of her mind.

Dont you touch any of that stuff, she said during the raid on 11 August. This is my house. You a**hole!

The surveillance video from inside the journalists home, which she shared with son and paper co-owner Eric Meyer, was released by the Record on Monday.

Ms Meyer can be seen in the footage using her walker to get into the face of one of the officers, telling him to wait outside during the raid.

Did your mother ever love you, she says. Get out of my house. Youre trespassing.

Two of the officers can be seen trying to calm her down while four others search the home. But Ms Meyer moves around the couch, telling one of the officers to get out of my way so that she can see what is happening during a search of her personal papers.

I want to see what theyre doing, she said.

Within a day of the raid, Ms Meyer collapsed in the middle of speaking and died, with a coroners report stating that she suffered sudden cardiac arrest after not eating or sleeping following the raid, The Daily Beast reported.

This was extremely upsetting to Joan and caused her to remain angry and upset throughout the day and night, the report says.

She fell back on the bed unresponsive after 1pm on 12 August, it says.

The raids against the local paper have prompted national criticism and concern about the Records First Amendment rights being violated.

The raid at the home of the paper owners was just one of three that took place on 11 August, in addition to the papers offices and Vice Mayor Ruth Herbels home.

Footage of the raid at the offices of the paper shows officers joking as they removed computer towers and documented passwords, The Daily Beast noted.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the search warrant on Wednesday after finding that insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between the alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has taken charge of the case, and the seized items have been returned and wont be reviewed.

At least five computer towers, two cell phones, and an external hard drive were seized in the raids, according to court documents.

Affidavits also showed that the raids were in connection to a probe into allegations of identity theft after a confidential source leaked sensitive documents to a reporter at the paper regarding Kari Newell, a restaurant owner in the area, The Daily Beast reported.

Mr Meyer told The Daily Beast that his paper received information regarding Ms Newells DUI, but that The Record didnt write a story on it. He instead told the local police.

In an affidavit to get the warrant, Police Chief Gideon Cody claimed that downloading the document involved either impersonating the victim or lying about the reasons why the record was being sought.

A lawyer for The Record, Bernie Rhodes, pushed back on the claims made in the affidavit, saying that the reporter confirmed the tip using publically available information.

The attorney said the court documents confirm that the only crime being investigated was the crime of reporting.

The affidavits show that Chief Cody knew that a source provided Kari Newells drivers record to both the paper and the vice-mayorso neither the reporter nor the vice-mayor illegally obtained anything, yet they were the subject of the search, Mr Rhodes told The Daily Beast. All the paper did was attempt to verify the authenticity of the record, using a public website operated by the Kansas Department of Revenue.

No laws were broken, he added.
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The traumatic event that would forever change Lori Polands life unfolded just steps from her home in the town of Sheridan, Colorado.

Then just three years old, the little girl was lured into a strangers car with the promise of candies and kidnapped in broad daylight after her father briefly stepped inside to get her and her five-year-old brother a popsicle.

Within minutes of her abduction, shocked neighbours and children who had been playing outside moments earlier rushed to Ms Polands home trying to provide her parents with clues  a physical description, a licence plate, anything  about her kidnapper.

Now, on the 40th anniversary of her abduction, Ms Poland tells The Independent that the next few hours on that excruciating day of 22 August 1983 are still something of a haze.

What she does know is that her 37-month-old body was abused in unimaginable ways by then-21-year-old Robert Paul Thiret.

And that, after a disturbing sexual assault, Thiret threw her into a remote 15-foot outhouse toilet, where she was left for almost four days before being saved by a couple of birdwatchers.

Because I was so young, my capacity to have memory was minimal on a conscious level, but on a subconscious level my memory is fairly strong, Ms Poland tells The Independent.

I get very triggered by the smell of faeces and urine, I get triggered being in dark places or when Im alone or have the sensation Im not protected or abandoned.

Ms Polands remarkable story of survival grabbed the nations attention back in 1983, with TV filming crews present in her hospital room as she reunited with her parents, but her journey was just beginning.

Forty years on from the attack that rocked her and her familys world, the mother-of-three  now a licensed therapist and the executive director of the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (ENDCAN)  continues to heal through her advocacy work.

I live here now

Ms Polands abduction was the embodiment of every parents worst fear.

Her father had been gone mere minutes before he came back to his front yard to find his daughter gone and her pants lying on the curb, according to local media reports at the time.

Lori Poland was kidnapped on 22 August 1983. She was sexually assaulted and thrown into a toilet pit (ENDCAN/Lori Poland)

Ms Poland, then too young to understand stranger danger, has blocked out much of the memories of the attack but she remembers the ride with her abductor to the toilet pit and the abuse she underwent while on the passenger seat of Thirets orange Datsun Sedan.

The cars model was spotted by a neighbour of the Polands, who gave the first part of the licence plate to police. In the following days, two individuals came forward with accounts of thwarted abductions similar in detail to Ms Polands.

The tips ultimately led police to Thiret, whose car and house were searched, but he denied any involvement in Ms Polands kidnapping.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the latrine, Ms Poland developed a serious infection on her legs from injuries she sustained during the fall and then worsened due to the chemicals and substances in the pit.

She spent four days without any water or food, largely unaware that she was running out of time to survive and preoccupied with trivial thoughts.

I had just gotten potty trained and I remember being upset that I was going to make my mom mad because I wet my pants and I didnt want to let her down, Ms Poland recounts.

Ms Polands parents issued public pleas for her safe return (NBC News)

Then, a couple who were driving through the area stopped at the outhouse toilet and heard Ms Polands cries.

When asked what she was doing there, the little girl simply answered: I live here now. That response was what inspired the title of Ms Polands riveting memoir about her survival story, which was published last year.

When I was rescued, the man came into the hole on a harness and he said hold on, Ms Poland tells The Independent.

I remember holding on and not wanting to let go. Thats [one of the] few things that I do have recollection around. Some of its a blessing and a curse because you want to have an understanding of what happened.

Doctors first thought Ms Polands infection was so serious that they would need to amputate her legs in order to save her, but her condition soon improved.

She identified her abductor in interviews with prosecutors and gave testimony used to convict Thiret.

Thiret had initially been charged with attempted murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping. But after his wife provided an alibi for him, prosecutors struck a controversial plea deal to sentence him to 10 years in prison.

He ended up spending only six years behind bars after his sentence was reduced for good behaviour.

Thiret is now living in San Pedro, California, as a registered sex offender.

You matter

Augusts are especially difficult for Ms Poland.

On a rational level, she knows that the circumstances that led to her kidnapping were outside of her control.

However, she keeps going back to that yes moment after she was offered candy and the lifetime of suffering that this unravelled, she tells The Independent.

I know I was a baby and I know that its not really my fault but I still said yes, I still got in that car and the weight of carrying the consequences of that word has been a heavy burden, Ms Poland says.

Every July and August, I struggle emotionally. Last night was my night of struggle. And so I was just sobbing, wondering why? What is my purpose? Why did that happen and why did I say yes?

The ripple effect that child sexual abuse has on victims and their families does not end with the assault, she says.

Ms Polands was rescued from the toilter pit after a couple of birdwatchers who needed to use the outhouse bathroom and heard her cries (ABC/Screengrab)

In the aftermath of her abduction, she has struggled with her mental health and survivors guilt.

There were a lot of normal experiences. There was a lot of joy and there was a lot of hard in living with [having] a decision that I made impact my family the way that it did, and then how that spread into extended family and friends and community, Ms Poland says.

Its hard to live in a world where I see abuse all of the time and its hard being in this field.

Part of the solution is ending the stigma. Child sexual abuse is a difficult topic to tackle, Ms Poland acknowledges, but a free of judgement space to discuss their feelings often makes a stark difference in a survivors journey.

Theres so much to do and we are in a society and culture where people just dont want to talk about [child sexual abuse], Ms Poland tells The Independent. We dont engage not because we dont support [victims], but because we dont know how to respond and so.

Ms Poland says she was inspired to help others at a very young age as she understood herself how pivotal support is for victims.

She worked as a therapist for years before joining ENDCANs board at the request of former University of Colorado School of Medicine Dean Dr Richard Krugman, who had treated her as a child after her rescue.

Ms Poland has devoted her life to helping victims of child sexual abuse (ENDCAN/Lori Poland)

Dr Krugman was also a mentor to Ms Lorand when she was in college. During one of their many conversations before ENDCAN was founded, Ms Poland says that Dr Krugman brought up the fact that child abuse survivors are more vulnerable to many health issues.

Our first priority is to change the conversation about child abuse and neglect from just being seen as a social and a legal issue to also being seen as a health issue and a mental health issue, Ms Poland tells The Independent.

Theres such a correlation between cancer, heart disease, mental illness, diabetes, stroke.

ENDCAN focuses on prevention, education, advocacy and research about child abuse. The organisation also hosts fundraisers and charity events with child abuse survivors to empower victims at every stage of their healing process.

Just because you have this story [of abuse] as part of your timeline doesnt necessarily mean that life is all bad. It just means that its part of your story, says Ms Poland.

Ms Poland still grapples with heartbreak and trauma from her assault  her healing process continues as she readjusts to lifes new chapters and challenges. Through her work with ENDCAN, she has regained the power to share her story on her own terms and encourage survivors to do the same once theyre ready.

The one thing I would say is, you matter. And I think that when we believe that we matter, theres just a shift ... When we believe we matter, we can do big things.
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One student was killed and 23 were hurt in a school bus crash outside of Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday, according to officials.

A bus taking elementary school students to the first day of classes in Clark County, 30 miles northeast of Dayton, flipped over as its driver tried to avoid a van that swerved into oncoming traffic, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The bus had no seatbelts, Tyler Ross of the highway patrol told ABC News.

The accident occurred around 8.16am on Ohio state route 41 near Lawrenceville Road in German Township, WXIX reports.

Fifty-two students were onboard when the bus flipped over. Twenty-two of those injured had non-life-threatening injuries, and one of those injured suffered serious injuries, according to police.

A family reunification centre was established at German Township Firehouse, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

The state patrol said bus driver Alfred E Collier, 68, suffered minor injuries and was not transported to the hospital, while the driver of the minivan, Hermanio Joseph, 35, and a passenger, Robert Mompremier, 37, were taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

A school bus in Clark County, Ohio, flipped over, killing a student, on 22 August 2023 (WXIX)

Northwestern Family, I am saddened to report that there was an injury accident this morning involving one our buses, the school said in a statement on Facebook. We are still gathering information and will share it with you as it becomes available.

Dayton Childrens Hospital said it had received numerous patients for treatment in what it called a mass casualty incident.

The Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association declared a mass casualty incident, per its protocol. Dayton Childrens managed the situation with normal operations. Dayton Childrens emergency department saw 22 children from this accident. Some came by ambulance and some were brought by their parents, the hospital said in a statement to WHIO.

The crash temporarily blocked traffic on Ohio state route 41.

The accident is under investigation by state police.
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Greek authorities said the bodies of 18 people were found Tuesday in an area of northeastern Greece struck by a major wildfire.

The charred bodies were found in a remote village in northern Greece on Tuesday, where wildfires have been raging for days, the fire brigade said as a heatwave hitting southern Europe turned deadly.

Greek media said the bodies found south of the village of Avantas in northern Greece were thought to be of migrants. The broader Evros region is a popular route for migrants crossing from Turkey into Greece.

On Monday, the burned body of another man believed to be a migrant was found in the region, a local police official said.

Hundreds of firefighters struggled Tuesday to control major wildfires burning out of control for days in northeastern Greece and on Tenerife in Spains Canary Islands.

Hot, dry and windy conditions have seen dozens of wildfires break out across Greece, with the most severe entering its fourth day and encroaching on the northeastern port city of Alexandroupolis.

On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece.

The fire risk level for several regions, including the wider Athens area, was listed as extreme for the second day Tuesday. Authorities have banned public access to mountains and forests in those regions until at least Wednesday morning and ordered military patrols.

Dozens of hospital patients  including newborn babies  have been evacuated onto a ferry in the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis away from a wildfire that has raged for days.

Here is a map which shows where the wildfires are in Greece:

View more

In Alexandroupolis, northeastern Greece, a ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital in the early hours. Ambulances also ferried patients away from a nearby clinic.

Elderly patients lay on mattresses strewn across the cafeteria floor, paramedics attended to others on stretchers and a woman held a man resting on a sofa, an IV drip attached to his hand.

Ive been working for 27 years, Ive never seen anything like this, said nurse Nikos Gioktsidis. Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there... it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded.

It comes as a fresh heatwave hit southern Europe. Authorities urged residents to avoid the heat as France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to the climate crisis. Firefighters were also battling blazes in Spain and Italy.
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Dozens of hospital patients  including newborn babies  have been evacuated onto a ferry in the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis away from a wildfire that has raged for days.

It comes as a fresh heatwave hit southern Europe. Authorities urged residents to avoid the heat as France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to the climate crisis. Firefighters were also battling blazes in Spain and Italy.

In Alexandroupolis, northeastern Greece, a ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital in the early hours. Ambulances also ferried patients away from a nearby clinic.

Elderly patients lay on mattresses strewn across the cafeteria floor, paramedics attended to others on stretchers and a woman held a man resting on a sofa, an IV drip attached to his hand.

"I've been working for 27 years, I've never seen anything like this," said nurse Nikos Gioktsidis. "Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there... it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded."

Several communities in the broader Evros region, near the border with Turkey, have been evacuated as authorities warned the risk of new fires remained high in the next few days.

Greek firefighters have also found the bodies of 18 people in the Alexandroupolis region. Greek police activated the country's Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the bodies, which were found near a shack in the Avanta area, Ioannis Artopios, a spokesman for the fire department, said in a televised statement.

Given no reports of missing people had been filed in the area, authorities were examining the possibility that the casualties were migrants who had entered the country from the nearby border with Turkey, Mr Artopios said. The broader Evros region is a popular route for migrants crossing the river by the same name from Turkey into Greece.

"Weather conditions are extreme and will remain extreme for the coming days," Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis told the public broadcaster ERT TV.

In Spain, where most of the country was in very high or extreme risk of wildfire as a consequence of the summer's fourth heatwave, authorities were struggling to stabilise a huge wildfire that has been ravaging forests on the island of Tenerife for a week.

Patients from the General University Hospital of Alexandroupolis are seen inside a ferry after being evacuated (Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters)

The blaze has burned through 15,000 hectares in 12 municipalities forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. In neighbouring Portugal, authorities placed more than 120 municipalities in the north and central areas, as well as in some parts of the Algarve - a popular holiday destination in the south - at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.

More than 100 firefighters backed by 10 aircraft were battling a wildfire that erupted on Monday night in the northern city of Baiao.

Temperatures are likely to reach or exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in large areas of the southwest and northeast of the Iberian peninsula, national weather agency AEMET said.

In Italy, around 700 people have been evacuated after a fire broke out on Monday on the Tuscan island of Elba, in the woods between Rio Marina, firefighter Alessandro Vitaliano told Reuters. No casualties have been reported.

A total of 14 hectares have burned so far. Evacuees are expected to return to their homes in the evening, Italian news agency ANSA said, after the fire was contained. The cause of the fire was not known.

Italy issued hot weather red alerts in 16 of the country's 27 main cities on Tuesday, including Rome, Milan and Florence, with the number set to rise on Wednesday. A red alert denotes "emergency conditions", the health ministry said, advising people not to go out during the hottest part of the day.

In France, four southern regions - the Rhone, Drome, Ardeche and Haute-Loire - were placed under red alert, the country's most serious warning. This allows authorities to call off events and close public facilities if needed.

Climbers were asked to delay scaling Mont Blanc, Europe's highest peak, because high temperatures have created dangerous conditions.

Grape-pickers in wine-producing regions of southern France have been advised to start work on the harvest in the early hours of the morning to avoid sweltering in the late summer heatwave.

The high temperatures were affecting large parts of France and were expected to peak at 42C in the Rhone valley over the next 48 hours.

Reuters
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The first video message Yevgeny Prigozhin shared since the end of his failed mutiny against Vladimir Putin, may have ended up being his last  with reports that he was on the passenger list of a jet that crashed about 60 miles from Moscow, apparently killing all on board.

In the video, Mr Prigozhin was seen toting an assault rifle and wearing military fatigues, with his comments suggesting the clip was shot in an unnamed African country.

The Wagner boss said during the clip that he is recruiting strongmen and said the group will fulfil the tasks that were set by the Russian government.

The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, as Mr Prigozhin said the mercenary group was making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.

The temperature is +50 (122 degrees Fahrenheit)  everything as we like. The Wagner PMC [private military company] makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa  more free. Justice and happiness  for the African people, were making life a nightmare for Isis and al-Qaeda and other bandits, he said in the video.

In the background of the video, pickup trucks and other people dressed in fatigues could be seen. A telephone number was displayed as well for those who wanted to join the group. The Independent could not verify the date and exact location of the video.

According to the Russian social media channels affiliated with the mercenary leader, the Wagner leader is recruiting fighters to work in the continent. He is inviting investors from Russia to put money in the Central African Republic through Russian House, a cultural centre in the African nations capital, they suggested.

Mr Prigozhin was last seen in a video in July shot in Belarus shortly after his attempt to stir mutiny against the Kremlin failed, sparking speculation that he was taking refuge in the Russian ally nation as part of a deal to broker peace.

He was later photographed on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

There is no official announcement of his current whereabouts. But one of the most prominent sites is the Central African Republic, where Wagners troops for hire have been active and accused of committing gross human rights abuses.

Until June this year, the Wagner leader and his mercenary fighters, comprising mostly prison convicts, spent months fiercely fighting Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern region, mostly Bakhmut.

Mr Prigozhin staunchly criticised Russias military performance and the top brass of the Russian defence ministry before he called for an armed uprising on 23 June to oust the defence minister and marched from Ukraine toward Moscow with his mercenaries.

The hours-long mutiny ended after a deal was brokered by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, following which Mr Prigozhin agreed to end his rebellion in exchange for amnesty for him and his fighters and permission to relocate to Belarus.

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.
 Close Aftermath of Russian missile strike on Ukraine mail depot that killed six

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The Russia and Ukraine war is now seriously stalemate Alexander Lukashenko has warned as he urged the two sides to come to an agreement.

The Belarus leader and Vladimir Putin ally, who has provided his countrys territory as a launch pad for Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, said that Ukraines demands for Russia to quit its territory needs to be resolved at the negotiating table so nobody dies.

He said: There are enough problems on both sides and in general the situation is now seriously stalemate: no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position, Lukashenko said.

Theyre there head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying.

Speaking in a question and answer video posted on the website of the Belarusian state news agency BelTA, he added: We need to sit down at the negotiating table and come to an agreement.

As I once said: no preconditions are needed. The main thing is that the stop command is given.
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A teenager saved his dad's life by punching a bear in the face in Sweden.

The pair were reportedly pursuing a 22-stone female bear in Ljusdal, 180 miles north of Stockholm when it suddenly turned around and pinned the father.

But the son managed to hit the bear in the head as it lacerated his father's face, said Jonny Sjoblom who is leading a local cull of the bear population.

Although the bear turned and bit the young man on the wrist, his father was able to shoot it dead.

Both the father and son, who have not been named, were taken to hospital after the incident on Monday.

The father's injuries are said to be serious but not life-threatening and the son is being treated for a broken wrist.

Mr Sjoblom told TT Agency: "The bear probably switched victims so that the father had time to fire a shot at the bear.

Its damn unusual for something like this to happen - but here something has gone wrong."

The hunt leader also said the injured man is an experienced bear hunter in his forties.

He was talkative on Tuesday and he called the hunting team from the helicopter that was taking him to hospital to ensure the bear's hide was taken care of, The Telegraph reported.

Mr Sjoblom added: "Hes a tough guy, hes mentally tough and will handle this well. I think more about his sons well-being."

Benny Gafvert, from the World Wildlife Fund, said the bear was relatively small compared to others killed in the cull.

He told a local broadcaster: "It wasnt a giant bear, but if you compare it to a dog, for example, it was significantly bigger, stronger and with more power in its jaws."

This year authorities have licensed hunters to kill up to 649 bears. This is the largest cull in decades.
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Wildfires continue to cause chaos in Europe as firefighters in Greece and Tenerife tackle blazes in soaring heat.

Devastating blazes in central Greece left two dead and two firefighters injured on Monday, while fires consumed the city of Alexandroupolis, damaging a school, a cemetery and several homes. And on Tuesday, the bodies of 18 people were found in a forest after a fire struck an area in the north east of the country.

In a separate incident, around 65 of the more than 100 patients in the Alexandroupolis hospital in north-eastern Greece were transported to a ferry docked in the citys port, as hot, dry and windy conditions have kept fires stoked for four days.

Wildfires have ravaged Greece this summer (AFP via Getty Images)

It comes as dozens more houses were damaged by another wildfire in the Kavala region, local authorities said, while a separate fire in the Evros border region was burning through woodland in a protected national park.

A new fire broke out in the Aspropyrgos area on the western fringes of the Greek capital on Tuesday morning, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for two villages in the area.

Romania sent 56 firefighters and Cyprus send two water-dropping aircraft to help fight the wildfire in Alexandroupolis, while French firefighters helped tackle a separate fire on the island of Evia.

Flames burn a forest during a wildfire in Avantas village, near Alexandroupolis town (AP)

Firefighters have battled tirelessly overnight to tame the flames (EPA)

Here is a map which shows where the wildfires are in Greece:

View more

The highest fire risk level (extreme) was given by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection for the following areas today:

Region of Attica

Region of Central Greece (PE Boeotia, PE Evia, PE Fthiotida)

Peloponnese Region (Argolida PE, Corinthia PE)

There is a very high fire risk for the following areas:

Region of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace (Evros PE including the island of Samothraki, Rodopi PE, Xanthi PE, Kavala PE, Thassos PE)

Region of Central Macedonia (PE Thessaloniki, PE Halkidiki, Mount Athos)

North Aegean Region (Lemnos PE, Lesvos PE)

Region of Thessaly (Magnesia PE, Sporades PE)

Region of Central Greece (PE of Fokidas, PE of Fthiotida, Skyros island)

Region of Peloponnese

Region of Attica (Kythira Island)

Region of Western Greece

Region of Epirus (Preveza Region, Arta Region, Thesprotia Region)

Region of Ionian Islands (PE Kefallonia, PE Zakynthos, PE Lefkada)

Map shows regions where there are extreme and very high fire risks today (Civil Protection Greece)

In Tenerife, more than 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes as a devastating blaze- which was started deliberately- burnt through about 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland.

Locals were seen fleeing in horror from plumes of flames and smoke as the fire spread after it was first sparked last Tuesday.

Local residents seen extinguishing a fire in Avanta as smoke covers the air (AFP via Getty Images)

Fernando Clavijo, regional president of Canary Islands, said police suspected arson and have opened three lines of investigation. It has not been revealed if any arrests were made.

The fire began in the Arafo mountains around the Mount Teide volcano - Spains highest peak- expanding to a raging perimeter of 84 kilometers as it ravaged the north of the island over the last six days.

View more

More than 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Tenerife as fires burned for at least six days (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Authorities on Sunday allowed some of the 12,000 people evacuated from the villages of Arafo and Candelaria to return to their homes and the remaining evacuees could receive more good news on Monday, Clavijo said.

However, emergency services recommended residents in the area around the fire, which includes the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to close windows and to stay indoors. It recommended wearing face masks if they need to go outside, as the air quality was very unfavourable due to smoke.
Travel

Where to go and what to know

Welcome to The Independents travel section, here to provide everything you need to plan your perfect trip. From inspiration for your next beach holiday, off-the-beaten-track adventure or city break to the practical information you need to save money when booking a getaway, our team of experts is here to help.

Check out our reviews of the best hotels to ensure you bed down in style, browse our deals to bag a bargain, or select a destination and start daydreaming, whether its in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia, South America, Africa or Australasia.

The Independents travel correspondent Simon Calder is on hand to share all the latest travel news, plus his top tips and advice for travelling on a budget, while environmentally conscious travellers can discover greener ways to see the world in our sustainable travel section. Planning an urban escape? Dont miss our City Guides and Microguides, revealing the best places to eat, drink, shop and stay.
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Italian authorities have warned people to stay out of the sun from 10am until 6pm as temperatures reach over 40C.

A red alert has been issued for 17 cities amid the third punishing heatwave in just two months and temperatures are it is expected to start on Wednesday.

This is the most severe warning meaning that even the young, fit and healthy are at risk of adverse effects from the intense heat.

Several of Italy's biggest cities such as Rome and Florence saw temperatures reach 38C today and the mercury is expected to reach 40C on Thursday. This has prompted authorities to warn people to avoid the sun, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

While Britain has been hit with torrential rain and stormy conditions for most of the summer, Europe has been hit with record-breaking heatwaves with the mercury reaching 48C in southern Italy.

The heat was so intense that several cities last month were hit by power cuts due to heat damage to underground cables.

Between 200,000 and 300,000 people were left without power or running water around the city of Catania.

Italy and other parts of southern Europe have also had to contend with wildfires.

Major wildfires were burning in Greece and in Spain's Canary Islands on Monday, with hot, dry and windy conditions hampering the efforts of hundreds of firefighters battling the blazes. Two of the fires have been burning for several days.

People walk near the Colosseum during a new heatwave as temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius in some cities (REUTERS) open image in gallery

European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.

In Greece, authorities said the body of a man was recovered from a sheep pen in an area in the central Viotia region under evacuation as a wildfire approached. Local media reported the man apparently died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his livestock.

Last month, a wildfire on the resort island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of some 20,000 tourists. Days later, two air force pilots were killed when their water-dropping plane crashed while diving low to tackle a blaze on Evia. Another three wildfire-related deaths have been recorded this summer.

In Spain's Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa, a wildfire that police say was started deliberately last Tuesday in Tenerife continued to burn out of control. More than 12,000 people have been evacuated and about 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland have burned.

European forecast

High pressure dubbed a heat dome has moved in across mainland Europe and has extended down to the Mediterranean and is expected to push through on Thursday when temperatures are expected to reach their highest.

Parts of the Iberian peninsula could reach close to 45C while southern France and northern Italy will see highs of 30s to low 40s.

In France, weather warnings are also in place this week where temperatures in the south and east have already reached highs of 40C.

Also, there are warnings for high temperatures in Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Hungary Austria and Lithuania.

Spain announced a heatwave Sunday and expected to last until at least Thursday. But Spain and France should avoid some of the worst heat by the weekend.
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Thousands of passenger, including returning British holidaymakers, are stranded in Namibia due to a bizarre commercial dispute at the African nations main airport.

The multinational ground handler Menzies Aviation was suddenly evicted from Windhoeks Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) in the early hours of Saturday morning, 19 August. A local company, Paragon, has taken over ground-handling operations.

Without agreements and safety audits in place with the new firm, international airlines were obliged to cancel or divert flights.

A Qatar Airways flight from Doha to the Namibian capital on Saturday morning was diverted at short notice to Johannesburg.

The Boeing 787 had just entered Namibian airspace when it turned south and flew across Botswana to South Africas biggest airport.

The plane remained in Johannesburg overnight and flew on to Windhoek, arriving on Sunday afternoon.

Windhoeks main link with Europe is operated by Lufthansas subsidiary, Eurowings Discover, which normally links the capital with Frankfurt up to 10 times a week.

Alison Harrison was booked to fly with the airline from Windhoek in Namibia to London Heathrow via Frankfurt on Saturday.

She told The Independent: We arrived at the airport to check in to find out it had been cancelled. We waited hours to find out from staff that the ground crew had been evicted the night before.

We were transported to a hotel and given dinner, bed and breakfast. Our flight has been rebooked by Lufthansa for Thursday 24 August. We have booked ourselves into another hotel in the meantime.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa said: Eurowings Discover was informed without notice in the early morning of 19 August that the ground handling provider Menzies Aviation no longer has access to Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek.

For some time now, a court case has been ongoing in Namibia between the two ground handling providers Menzies Aviation and Paragon Aviation to negotiate who will take over handling at Windhoek Airport in the future.

This decision came as a surprise to Eurowings Discover, as there is a court order from the High Court in Namibia dated 7 August 2023 confirming Menzies Aviation as the responsible ground handling provider until further notice.

As a result, no handling of Eurowings Discover flights has been possible in Windhoek since Saturday, as there is no valid contractual relationship with the new provider, Paragon Aviation.

Furthermore, questions regarding qualification, training and certification have to be clarified. Eurowings Discover is in close contact with the local authorities and Windhoek Airport to find a solution to resume flights as soon as possible.

We very much regret the inconvenience for our guests and are working flat out to find solutions and provide replacement capacity, eg with our local partner Airlink.

The Namibia Airport Company, which runs the capitals airport and ordered the eviction, said: All stakeholders are hereby requested and implored to fully cooperate with Paragon as the legitimate provider of ground handling services at HKIA.

Eviction of Menzies from HKIA was justified as it allowed Paragon to commence rendering ground handling services at HKIA, coupled with the judgment of the Supreme Court that permitted the eviction of Menzies from HKIA.

We will continue to closely liaise with all stakeholders to ensure seamless provision of ground handling services at HKIA.

The Independent has asked Menzies Aviation for a response.
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An American Airlines flight was forced to land more than 800 miles from its destination after a passenger released pepper spray into the cabin.

On Sunday night, flight 1680 was travelling to New York City from Miami when it was forced to land in Jacksonville, Florida.

The incident occurred around 30 minutes into the flight, according to one Reddit user, who claimed to have been a passenger on the plane: People in the back started coughing and couldnt see.

No one knows whats happening and a [flight attendant] gets on the mic to announce that if anyone knows whats in the air they need to speak up. Ten minutes later the pilot makes a left to divert to JAX. When passengers see how quickly this has escalated the culprit comes clean and claims it was an accident, they added.

Once the plane landed in Jacksonville, police officers removed the culprit and their family. After the aircraft was cleaned, it continued its journey to New York, arriving several hours late.

However, in a reply to the post, another Reddit user who claimed they were on the flight and close to the spray said they believe it was done intentionally, stating: It was incredibly scary not being able to breathe, having burning skin/eyes, having everyone panicking around, and being stuck in a small space.

The airline confirmed to ABC News that the unscheduled stop was due to a disruptive incident involving a customer.

The Independent has contacted American Airlines and Jacksonville Police Department for further information.

Its unclear how the pepper spray ended up in the planes cabin. According to the US Transportation Security Administration, pepper spray is not allowed in carry-on bags.

Some airlines do allow a 118ml container of mace or pepper spray as long as it has a safety mechanism to prevent it being accidentally discharged. The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the incident.
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A shop in Japan has taken aim at the bad manners of tourists by putting up a sign listing their requests for overseas visitors.

The poster, in an unnamed store that sells second-hand video games, was shared in the Japan Moments group on Facebook.

Written in English, it contains a list of requests for foreign customers and states: We are very troubled by the many violations of manners by foreigners. These are bad manners.

Examples of poor behaviour that were listed included picking items up and putting them down elsewhere in the shop, opening the packaging before purchase and bringing food and drink into the store.

The shop has apparently even seen examples of people who throw garbage inside the store or in the hallways.

People are also warned that they should not return items that werent broken.

Referring to how customers can help deal with the language barrier, the sign read: Most of the staff cant speak English. Please prepare an image of what you are looking for or make an effort to speak Japanese.

The caption on the Facebook post asked: Are we (tourists) ruining Japan?!

There are more than 11,000 comments on the post, with many agreeing with the shops stance.

Sadly many foreigners dont respect the Japanese culture or lifestyle, said one Facebook user, while another said: Good for them. Frankly I wish all stores had a code of conduct to protect staff from abusive customers.

The shop is simply asking for common courtesy, said one comment, while someone described the rules as pretty straightforward, and easy to follow.

The issue of etiquette among tourists in Japan was raised last year, when a shop put a sign near their steamed buns asking foreigners to use polite phrases when ordered rather than pointing at the buns and saying kore (this).

Meanwhile, in Barcelona, Spain, a historic deli hit back at tourists who clog up the shop without buying anything by introducing a 5 charge.

The manager of Queviures Murria, in the Eixample district, said the number of tourists coming in just to snap a selfie had plummeted since the fee was brought it.
Billy McFarland has announced that tickets have gone on sale for Fyre Festival II at an eye-watering price.

The promoter was sentenced in October 2018 to six years in prison for fraud over the disastrous first festival, which was the subject of a Netflix documentary.

In a video posted on Sunday (20 August) McFarland, 31, shared that he devised a 50-page plan during a seven-month stint in solitary confinement.

Ticket prices for Fyre Festival II range from $499 (390) to $7,999 (6258), despite no confirmation of a lineup or a location beyond the Caribbean.
YouTubestar and rapper KSI has said Prime Energy should not be available in schools and that supermarkets should take responsibility when it comes to selling the drink to children.

KSI addressed concerns surrounding Prime Energy, which contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces. This is compared to Prime Hydration which has no caffeine at all.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, KSI said: With Prime energy, that should not be allowed in schools at all. Thats for over-18s.

With Prime Energy especially, I put it on the supermarkets, theyre the ones giving the drinks to the kids. They should be able to stop.
A Nottingham Forest fan has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and drink-driving after crashing his car inches away from a canal.

Police were called to the scene in The Great Northern Close, Nottingham, at about 3:00am on Saturday, 19 August.

The driver - who had gone out after watching Nottingham Forest ppay Sheffield United at the City Ground - was taken to hospital for minor injuries.

A 59-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

Chief Inspector Jon Foy, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: Needless to say we are treating this incident extremely seriously. The potential costs of drink-driving have been repeatedly laid bare by Nottinghamshire Police and our partners - it costs lives and will not be tolerated.
North Korea's first passenger flight in three years took off on Tuesday, 22 August.

JS151, an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang, landed in Beijing for the first time since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020.

Western tour companies that operate in North Korea said the flight appeared to be scheduled to return North Koreans who had been trapped in China due to years of border closures.

"China approved Air Koryos scheduled flight plans from Pyongyang to Beijing to Pyongyang and other passenger routes requested by the airline according to procedures, according to comments from China's foreign ministry cited by the South China Morning Post.
Richard Madeley has suggested that criminals such as Lucy Letby should be tasered if they refuse to appear for their court sentencing.

The serial killer nurse, 33, did not attend her sentencing on Monday (21 August) where she was handed a whole-life order for murdering seven babies and the attempted murders of six others.

If were being told we cant get these people back into court because... they might be aggressive and dangerous, well thats why you go in mob-handed... you have tasers to deal with people like that, and you have truncheons, the Good Morning Britain host said.
An out-of-control driver smashed into the lobby of an Arizona beauty salon inches away from a person waiting inside, dramatic footage shows.

CCTV footage from inside Belle Vie Salon Studios in Chandler shows a sedan speeding into the building at around 1pm on Saturday, 19 August.

Salon staff member Ashley Upton, who was cutting hair as the incident unfolded, told AZ Family she was extremely close to the crash site.

I honestly think I had an angel on my side today because if it was another foot to the left I couldve been severely hurt, she said.
A pilot has been arrested after attacking a car park barrier with an axe at a busy US airport.

Footage shows Kenneth Henderson Jones making his way to the exit gates before attacking the barrier with an axe.

Two employees at Denver International Airport can be seen getting into an altercation with the 63-year-old, during which the United Airlines pilot relinquished the weapon before being arrested by police.
The Government is developing facilities to address potential electricity supply deficits over the coming winters

Shannonbridge is one of several temporary gas-fired power plants the Government is developing due to concerns around possible energy shortages. Photo: Getty Images

The company building the Shannonbridge emergency gas power plant in Offaly has been cleared to start full construction on the project.

Argan, one of two US companies contracted for the development, said it has received full notice to proceed on engineering, procurement and construction.

The company is working with another US business, GE Vernova, to deliver the plant.

With their combined expertise in engineering and construction, the APC/Gemma team will work collaboratively with all interested parties to achieve the targeted completion date of early 2024, it said.

Work commenced earlier this year under limited notices to proceed.

The update gives a clearer idea of when the facility will be operational. It had previously been said the plant would be operational during the 2023-2024 winter season.

Shannonbridge is one of several temporary gas-fired power plants the Government is developing due to concerns around possible energy shortages. The project is being developed on a site owned by the ESB.

As well as Shannonbridge, the ESB is also developing an emergency power plant at a site in North Wall in Dublin, which is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

The plants are designed to address potential electricity supply deficits over the coming winters.

Shannonbridge will have the capacity to produce 264 megawatts of temporary emergency electricity

The plant is to spend the majority of its time on standby and will be able to run for up to 500 hours per year if needed.

Electricity could be generated at the site for four years, after which time the facility would be dismantled and removed.

Billy Nolan, the managing director of Atlantic Projects Company, one of Argans subsidiaries, said: We understand the importance to Ireland of having a robust and reliable national power supply, especially during times of high demand.

Our team is dedicated to executing this project with the utmost professionalism while adhering to safety and quality standards, he said.

The Shannonbridge Project is expected to serve as a vital resource to ensure the security of the electricity supply when the country needs it.

The ESB has said that the emergency plant will only be used when existing market-based generation capacity has failed or is imminently likely to fail to meet the system requirements.

"When new enduring capacity has removed the need for temporary emergency generation, the plant will cease operation and will be removed from the site," the organisation said.

The Department of the Environment had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Ireland has ranked among the top 15 countries in the world for people searching for a new role overseas, according to research from job site Indeed.

Ireland was the 14th most attractive country for jobseekers, which ranked countries in terms of the proportions of job searches originating from people living overseas.

A total of 11.1pc of searches for jobs here from April to June came from outside the country, with Ireland the third most popular country in the European Union.

Luxembourg claimed the top spot, followed by Oman and Switzerland. Austria was the other country in the EU to place in the top 15, taking the 11th spot on the list.

Searches from abroad for jobs in the EU have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, rising 5pc since June 2019. However, this demand remains well below the interest in jobs in other large English speaking countries, the research showed.

In the UK, searches from jobseekers in other countries surged by 69pc compared with pre-pandemic figures. Indeed attributed this to the easing of requirements for non-EU workers after Brexit.

Interest in jobs in Australia also surged, with searches up by almost 75pc compared with the corresponding period in 2019, while searches for open roles in Canada from jobseekers around the world rocketed by 141pc.

Immigration has rebounded significantly since periods of lockdown, Indeed reported. It linked this growth to tight labour markets in several markets, as well as the impact of aging populations on local workforces.

Although immigration to developed countries has rebounded, the EU is still struggling to establish itself as the most sought-after destination. In order to enhance competitiveness, it is essential to improve the EUs appeal as a global employment hub, EMEA economic research director Pawel Adrjan said.

Specific agreements with other countries and leveraging the strengths of EU regions could help attract the desired skills and workers, he added.

Personal care and home health roles proved to be popular among jobseekers looking to move to Ireland. Roles in this category accounted for over 9pc of clicks by international job seekers in the first half of this year.

This was followed by software development and administrative assistance. Searches for nursing roles here also rose by 1.1pc since the first half of 2019, accounting for 2.6pc of all searches.
Equinix has planning permission in place for a data centre at Profile Park, Nangor Rd, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 to be powered by electricity but the firm has not received a commercial or technical offer to supply permanent power to the site.

As a result, Equinix was seeking a new planning permission for the data centre to one powered by gas at the same site.

Equinix operates data centres at Northwest Business Park, Citywest, Blanchardstown and Kilcarbery Park and globally operates 240 data centres in 71 locations.

The companys clients include Oracle, Google Cloud, Dell Technologies, AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Cisco.

Planning consultants for Equinix, Brock McClure, told the Council that Equinixs four operating Dublin-based data centre sites have become the gateway to the US as US-based content companies must host EU customs data within Europe.

Equinix told the Council they have tried to secure a connection with Eirgrid for the permitted data centre at Profile Park but have not been successful in doing so and that it has been verbally confirmed by ESB that they can make a proposal to supply power to the site in six to eight years.

Equinix was seeking to have in place a gas-powered data centre pending the ESB power connection. However, the council has refused planning permission to the gas-powered station after concluding the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the proposed development has an appropriate grid connection. The Council concluded that the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the proposed use is acceptable on the enterprise zoned lands.

The Council refused planning having regard to the existing insufficient capacity in the electricity grid, the lack of a fixed connection agreement to connect to the grid, the lack of significant on-site renewable energy to power the proposed development and the reliance on a gas-powered plant to provide energy to the development. Brock McClure told the council that the project will contribute to the emerging digital infrastructure that helps to support a strong Irish economy.

Brock McClure stated that with the proposal to be powered by gas, the project will have no impact on the grid in the short to medium term but do concede that there is uncertainty around the timing of grid connection.


The Irish League of Credit Unions said it found Michael Byrne's decision regrettable. Photo: Getty Images

The credit union movement has suffered a huge blow after one of its most progressive leaders was forced to resign from the board of its main representative body.

Michael Byrne, chief executive of the huge Dublin credit union Core, resigned on Saturday from the board of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU).

He was forced to step down after his credit union was expelled from the league in a row over member credit unions being forced to buy insurance from the league in-house provider.

Mr Byrne is widely acknowledged as one of the most forward-thinking and progressive leaders in the credit union movement.

Credit union stalwarts contacted by the Irish Independent described his resignation as a huge blow to the movement, with one saying it raises questions over the future of the league.

Mr Byrne was a director of the ILCU for two and a half years, and was elected vice-president of the board in his first term. The expulsion of Core Credit Union and the subsequent resignation of Mr Byrne has come about after Core stopped using the leagues insurance provider, ECCU. League-owned ECCU provides insurance on member savings and life insurance to credit unions that are members of the league.

It is mandatory for any member of the league to source its insurance from ECCU despite other providers in the market providing similar cover for credit unions, which is sometimes cheaper.

In 2020, Core wanted to make changes to how its insurance product was structured but Mr Byrne said in his resignation letter there had been no engagement on this from ECCU or the league.

Unfortunately, Core Credit Union received no engagement from either the league or ECCU and were subsequently forced to go elsewhere for the cover required, his letter stated.

A failure to buy insurance from ECCU by a league credit union prompts automatic dismissal from the league.

This was appealed, and an arbitrator found in favour of the league and ECCU. This prompted the departure of Core from the league.

Mr Byrne said in his letter: As the CEO of Core Credit Union, it left my position as a director of the league untenable.

He added that morally, I could not continue in my position as a director.

Losing Core would cost the league around 550,000 a year in loss of revenue for the league and its associated companies, his letter stated.

The resignation comes as Core, which operates in south Dublin, and Progressive, which covers the vast north county Dublin area from Balbriggan to Ballymun, are discussing a merger.

The link-up between Core and Progressive, if it works out, would create a large Dublin credit union that would have a membership of close to 100,000.

Irish League of Credit Unions CEO David Malone said: We regret the personal decision of Michael Byrne to tender his resignation from the ILCU board.

Michael was a valued member of the board who has made a significant contribution to the ILCU and the Irish credit union movement. The board reluctantly accepted Michaels decision.

Mr Malone said it was a requirement of ILCU membership that affiliated credit unions use the ILCUs own not-for-profit insurer, ECCU Assurance.

The reason for this is that ECCUs business model is co-operative in nature which allows credit unions to benefit from a community rating for insurances.

He said he would welcome discussions regarding Cores return to the ILCU in the future.
The Limerick man has questioned the red tape and ecological paperwork that prevents housing, energy infrastructure, transit and other important works from being built

The Limerick-born tech billionaire, who has previously been critical of the slow level of housing construction in Ireland, made his remarks in the wake of a solar farm being denied planning permission in Westmeath.

Has anyone ever surveyed Irish people on whether they actually want all the red tape and ecological paperwork that prevent housing, energy infrastructure, transit and other important works from being built? he posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, referring to the refusal of Westmeath County Council to grant permission for an 87-hectare solar farm proposed by an Irish subsidiary of the French company Neoen.

The solar application, at a site near Crookedwood, was turned down by Westmeath County Council for environmental reasons and because it was considered to be too big.

Mr Collison is understood not to have any connection with the solar power project.

Mr Collison, whose company recently laid people off in the tech downturn but is still valued at over 40bn, has previously questioned the speed, efficiency and strategy of Irelands planning processes.

Last year, in an interview with the Sunday independent, he questioned the nature of the countrys housing delays, which have emerged as among the countrys worst social and political problems in the last five years.

Why is it so hard to build new housing in Ireland? We clearly need to have a bunch more of it. Why cant we build up? he said in the interview.

I think we have to do something about it. Any solution that isnt building more housing is essentially saying to some set of people who want to live in Dublin that they dont get to live there, which is kind of a dissatisfying answer.

Mr Collison has also been critical of the time it can take to process an application in Irelands work visa system, an issue that disproportionately affects high-tech companies seeking to recruit experienced, in-demand engineers from abroad.

Why cant it just take a week? he said in the Sunday Independent interview.

When you get your passport renewed here, its brilliant, really quick and efficient. Can we get those people who do the passport renewal system around the visa system?

Mr Collison recently bought the 1,120-acre Abbeyleix estate, including an 18th century mansion and ancient woodland, for over 11m.

A keen pilot, he is also an investor in a syndicate that bought Dublins Weston Airport.

Stripe, which is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, is one of the worlds top online payments companies.
British competition authority blocks acquisition again but says it will consider new proposal

Call of Duty has been a huge seller for Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft is trying to buy

Microsoft has proposed offloading part of Activision Blizzards gaming business in an attempt to secure approval from the UK competition watchdog for its $69bn (63bn) takeover.

The tech giant has said it will hand control of the Call of Duty makers cloud streaming rights for PC and console games to video game publisher Ubisoft.

The proposal, which will apply to countries outside the European Economic Area  the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein  means Ubisoft, rather than Microsoft, will decide what cloud streaming services games such as World of Warcraft can feature on.

The plans apply to all of Activisions existing games and any released over the next 15 years.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said the regulator would consider the deal but warned: This is not a green light.

The CMA blocked Microsofts original effort to buy Activision in April, saying it would give the tech giant a stranglehold on the fast-growing cloud gaming market.

The decision prompted claims from Activision that Britain was closed for business.

Microsoft appealed the ruling after US regulators failed to block the deal and EU watchdogs passed it.

The CMA said today it had issued a final rejection of the original deal but regulators will now investigate Microsofts new Ubisoft proposal.

Under the plans, Ubisoft will be able to license Activision games to other cloud streaming providers such as PlayStation Plus and Nvidias GeForce Now.

The proposal does not include the EEA because Microsoft has separate obligations under the EUs agreement to pass the deal.

The new plans address a key concern of the CMA, which is that Microsoft would be able to release games such as Call of Duty solely on its own game-streaming service.

However, the deal will still require approval from the CMA.

We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments, said Ms Cardell.

Our goal has not changed  any future decision on this new deal will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from open and effective competition driving innovation and choice.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said the deal could be completed before an October 18 deadline.
The director seemed to be losing his magic touch before he was offered a big-budget dinosaur adventure 65 million years in the making  and with the help of a stellar cast, the rest is history

It's easy to forget how big a deal Steven Spielbergs dinosaur film was. Before Jurassic Park started to take shape, it looked like Hollywoods most accomplished storyteller was running out of inspiration. Released in 1991, Hook  his loopy, lopsided take on JM Barries Peter Pan tale  was a critical misfire.

The Cincinnati native was disappointed with the film and, despite a bumper $300m box-office haul, so too was the studio behind it. Likewise, 1989s Always  a sugary sweet remake of the 1943 romantic drama A Guy Named Joe  was a bit of a damp squib. In between, Spielberg also gave us another Indy chapter, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Hardly a bad thing, but the well was running dry.

Eager to reclaim his magic, he set out to find a new challenge, and accidentally stumbled upon two. One was a major historical epic, the sort of film that might win Oscars. The other  a big-budget sci-fi adventure, 65 million years in the making  was almost too huge a venture to turn down. He decided to do both.

The truth is that to get Schindlers List made, Spielberg had to agree to direct Jurassic Park for Universal Pictures. Its a common type of deal in Hollywood circles: the crowd-pleaser always comes first. But was Jurassic Park a sure-fire hit? Maybe.

Published in November 1990, Michael Crichtons celebrated novel was barely on shelves when major studios began scrambling over film rights. Everyone wanted to turn Jurassic Park into a movie. Tim Burton joined the bidding war  so too did Joe Dante, James Cameron and Richard Donner. A fabulous line-up there, but Spielberg beat them to it, and Universal coughed up the agreed $1.5m fee for Crichton. The acclaimed author and film-maker also received an additional $500,000 for a first-draft screenplay.

For the uninitiated  of which there are few, Im sure  allow us to revisit the plot. A billionaire industrialist named John Hammond signs off on a revolutionary scientific project to bring dinosaurs back from the dead. Tricky stuff, but with a drop of fossilised mosquito blood and a lab full of clever white coats, anything is possible. Hammonds dream becomes a reality and so he opens the worlds first dinosaur-themed tourist attraction.

A dangerous idea, obviously, and on the eve of Jurassic Parks grand opening, he invites a team of choice experts to conduct an obligatory safety test. Enter a cynical palaeontologist, a hopeful palaeobotanist, a sarky mathematician and a slippery lawyer. If these people like what they see, theyll publicly endorse Hammonds monumentally expensive theme park. If they dont, hell be ruined. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and our unfortunate human pals figure out the hard way that its never a good idea to mess with mother nature.

A fun-filled tale there  Frankenstein with dinosaurs, basically, and Spielberg had a hell of a time trying to bring Crichtons terrible lizards to the big screen. At first, he hired Stan Winston and Phil Tippett to develop a slick combination of trusted animatronic and classic stop-motion effects. The initial demos were fun if a little cartoonish, not entirely unlike what Ray Harryhausen had achieved on One Million Years BC. But Spielberg needed more.

Luckily, a chap named Dennis Muren of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the visual effects studio founded by George Lucas, suggested they create computer-generated dinosaurs from scratch. Spielberg thought it impossible, but Muren showed him a test reel and the director couldnt believe his eyes. The story goes that Spielberg jokingly informed Tippett that he was out of a job. Don't you mean extinct?" answered Tippett. A clever response, and it ended up as a line in the film. Meanwhile, Spielbergs team found a way of combining tested animatronics and animation techniques with these groundbreaking CGI methods.

As a result, Spielberg hit that elusive blockbuster sweet spot. Practical effects are always better, but theyre difficult to accomplish, trickier to shoot. Digital wizardry is effective, but its a tad soulless. Isnt it better to use a little bit of both? The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park look and sound real  not so real that they would pass an authenticity test (velociraptors were smaller creatures than the ones depicted here) but real enough to instil both wonder and terror in audiences.

Nice job on the creatures then, but what about the humans? Spielberg initially wanted Sean Connery to play Hammond. Eventually, the part went to Richard Attenborough, who hadnt acted in a film since 1979s The Human Factor. In the book, Hammond is a chilly, complex capitalist, a man who prioritises business over family. Spielberg, with screenwriter David Koepp, softened the edges and turned this detached, money-driven industrialist into a warmer, cuddlier figure. Their Hammond is powerful yet considerate, authoritative yet vulnerable. We needed to like this chap, maybe even feel sorry for him. It worked.

Harrison Ford was initially offered the part of Alan Grant, the sceptical palaeontologist. Ford, however, had grown tired of playing edgy, charismatic adventurers, and the role went to Sam Neill, who had just weeks to prepare before shooting commenced in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Robin Wright and Gwyneth Paltrow were considered for the part of palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler  but Spielberg decided to go with his first choice, the awesome Laura Dern, who had just been nominated for an Oscar for her work in Martha Coolidges Rambling Rose. And then theres Jeff Goldblum.

Stellar cast: Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern in Jurassic Park (1993)

Jim Carrey and Michael Keaton screen-tested for the part of yappy chaotician Ian Malcolm, but the role seemed custom-built for the inimitable Goldblum. Think about it. Malcolm is a smooth operator, an esteemed intellectual, no doubt, but a serial charmer too. Where, you may ask, does Goldblum end and Malcolm begin? Hard to tell, but Jurassic Park works not just because of the spectacular effects on screen, but the chemistry, capabilities and charisma of its impeccable cast.

Spielbergs film is among the finest blockbusters of the 90s, but it owes a significant debt to the star-studded disaster movies of the 70s. Think Airport, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. Indeed, Jurassic Park isnt just about the resurrected lizards  its about a band of ordinary strangers trying to survive an extraordinary situation. Its thoughtful, heartfelt and, occasionally, hilarious. If that doesnt work, it also features an icky lawyer being eaten by a T-Rex. What more do you want?

John Williams mesmerising score is the final piece in the puzzle (try to imagine the film without it), and Spielberg worked on edits while shooting Schindlers List in the spring of 1993. Thats dedication, and it paid off. Released in US cinemas on June 11, 1993 (with a UK and Ireland release the following month), Jurassic Park grossed an eye-watering $914m  an astonishing figure and the film sat atop the all-time global box-office charts until James Camerons Titanic came along in 1997.

Officially licenced toys, collectibles, clothes and lunchboxes flew off the shelves. We might place Jurassic Park somewhere between Star Wars and contemporary comic book film sagas as one of the sneakiest merchandise movies in history. Everything on that screen is for sale  the cars, the buildings, the dinosaurs, even the humans. You might recall a scene in the film where Spielbergs camera slowly pans over a collection of untouched and unopened Jurassic Park memorabilia. Our clever director knew exactly what he was doing there. True, audiences will never get to visit the real Jurassic Park, but hey, for an extra wad of cash they can take home anything they want from the gift shop.

A sequel was inevitable, and you cant blame Spielberg for signing on for 1997s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The first one was a smash. He later won two Oscars for Schindlers List. He was unstoppable, but The Lost World is inferior to its predecessor  noisier, clumsier, a tad too cocky. Spielberg knew it, and he hasnt directed a Jurassic Park film since.

There are a lot of reasons why the original is the best. Everything was new. The ideas, the creatures  the awe and amazement that comes with sharing your first proper dinosaur experience with the characters on screen. Its director was excited, too, almost as much as we were, and you can feel it in the storytelling. Timing is everything, suspense is crucial  and Spielberg makes us wait for the thrills, the jolts, that first terrifying glimpse of the T-Rex. He went into Jurassic Park hoping to create a land-based Jaws. Did he succeed? I reckon so, and I still remember my first visit.

I was just five years old when the film was released in cinemas. A little young, perhaps, but our dad was optimistic. To determine its suitability, he decided a test-run was necessary and so he purchased two tickets for the opening weekend: one for him and another for my eldest sister.

Meanwhile, my twin brother and I waited at home to see what they thought. Afterwards, dad said wed be fine, and we went along the following week. In the end, Jurassic Park scared the bejaysus out of me  but it was also one of the first movies I fell in love with, and I doubt well ever see anything like it again.

Jurassic Park will be re-released in selected Irish cinemas from Friday, September 1
The trial of the Rust movie armourer has been set for 2024 (Jae C. Hong/AP)

The trial of Rust movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will take place next year, a US judge has ruled.

Proceedings in the case of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter alongside Alec Baldwin, is scheduled to begin on February 21.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed faced charges following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

New Mexico prosecutors formally dropped the charges against the Hollywood star in April, though said the decision did not absolve Mr Baldwin of criminal culpability.

Charges of involuntary manslaughter against Alec Baldwin were formally dropped by New Mexico prosecutors in April (Santa Fe County Sheriffs Department/PA)

Last week a weapons report was made public that appeared to cast doubt on Baldwins account of the incident.

Prosecutors said previously that charges against the actor could still be refiled, but are yet to indicate whether they will do so.

Baldwin is also set to seek dismissal of a civil lawsuit, brought by crew members of the Rust film, at a motions hearing on Wednesday.

The First Judicial District Court, in Santa Fe, will consider a motion by Baldwin and El Dorado Pictures to dismiss the lawsuit.

It will also consider a motion by the actor to stay the civil action pending resolution of criminal proceedings.
Prices predicted to have reset by festive period as factories criticised by farm organisations for not passing on market value

Farmers take a peek at some livestock at the Castlerea Show and Sale. Photo: Brian Farrell

The beef market will remain challenged up to Christmas, Kepaks Director of Agriculture, Jonathan Forbes has said, as farm organisations claim meat factories are not returning full value to farmers.

Quotes for cattle reported to the Farming Independent yesterday suggested efforts to reduce beef prices again this week failed, with prices set to hold at 4.60c/kg for bullocks and 4.65c/kg for heifers on the back of stiffening farmer resistance.

Meanwhile, farmer anger over the price cuts and a disparity between prices here and in the UK is mounting, while there are also now increasing calls for the Government to take action.

Speaking to the Farming Independent, Mr Forbes said Kepak sees challenges ahead in the beef market in the short-to-medium term leading up to Christmas.

As a company, we are astutely cognisant around accurate messaging and communication to our supply base to ensure we do not undermine confidence, but we must reflect the true market realities of the current challenges in both the beef and sheep markets, as prices adjust and reset to a new normal, he said.

The market is resetting and will be reset by Christmas. The feed price will have reset and the store price will have reset.

IFA Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden said factories are failing to reflect the full value of the marketplace to farmers. The latest Prime Export Benchmark price has now opened up a gap of 25c/kg with the Prime Irish composite price.

The opportunism of factories continually dropping prices given the challenges facing farmers is irresponsible. Processors must and can do more to return the value of the market to beef farmers with higher prices, he said.

Chairperson of ICMSAs Livestock Committee, Des Morrison, highlighted the mystifying gap between Irish and UK beef prices.

Far from the gap closing, it has widened again and now stood at an astonishing 60c per kg for standard R3 cattle, he said.

Meanwhile, the Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, Jackie Cahill, last week requested that Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue introduce a new BEAM scheme for beef farmers in response to falling prices nationally while inputs remain high.

There is huge concern among farmers regarding the rapid drop in beef prices, said the Fianna Fail TD. We are only in the second week of August and the drop we have seen is unprecedented.

There is 100 tonnes of cheap steak beef coming into the UK from Australia every week, said Mr Forbes, and while Kepaks customers were not buying the beef, the extra competition is having a negative impact on the wholesale market in the UK.

That is a threat and its going to feed into the short-term challenge. In terms of the retailers and customers we deal with, Australian beef isnt an option, but the extra volume on the market can simply undermine the trade, he said.

The UKs Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia came into force from May 31 and the deal allows more beef from Down Under to enter the UK without paying for tariffs that would usually increase the cost of importing.

Under the new FTA, the current limit of beef imports (product weight) is 20,616t per calendar year (Jan 1Dec 31). However, this will continue to grow from 2023 to 2033 up to 110,000t.

According to the UKs Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), recorded shipments of Australian beef totalled 384t in June under the new deal, while it says Australias Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry reported just over 300t of beef products were sent in July.

Despite the deal, UK imports of Australian beef pale in comparison to those from Ireland, which generally average 15,400t in June or 68pc of the UKs total.

However, the AHDB says shipments from Ireland have shifted in the past month. Volumes of fresh boneless beef have risen by 1,500t, largely displacing frozen volumes, which fell by 1,800t (-20pc).

The UKs total fresh/frozen beef imports sat at 19,450t for June, down 780t from May. Shipments from Ireland fell by 685t, as Junes imports sit 1,500t below the five-year average for June. Imports grew from Poland by 330t (+20pc).

Volumes of beef sold through GB retail have been below 2022 levels since the start of the year, with decline seen in key cuts including mince and roasting joints.
EPA highlights research suggesting 24pc of Irelands land area would need to be planted

Current low afforestation rates (c.2000ha) are well below the planned 8,000ha foreseen annually in the 2023 Climate Action Plan. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Ireland will need to plant far more than the 8,000ha per year Government target to meet its climate action commitments, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.

The EPA assessment comes as the afforestation rates are already massively behind the current target, with landowner confidence in forestry at an all-time low.

In a submission to the Government on the Climate Action Plan for 2024 and seen by the Farming Independent, it stressed that the policy position of carbon neutrality by 2050 will depend on the forest sector acting as a carbon sink to offset residual emissions.

Without action now and in the short to medium term to increase afforestation rates, this policy position is in doubt, it said, explaining that the forest sector constitutes an important source of CO2 removal from the atmosphere.

It said there has been a noticeable reduction in the absolute value of the carbon sink of our forest estate due to the current age profile of our national forest stock.

It highlighted the significant reduction in the areas afforested in comparison to that in the 1990s and early 2000s and also that in past years, significant afforestation occurred on peat (organic soils), from which there can be large emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Recent national research has shown these emission levels to be higher than originally estimated, it said. Current low afforestation rates (c.2000 ha) are well below the planned 8,000 ha foreseen annually in the 2023 Climate Action Plan.

The EPA said this, combined with increased timber harvest, will lead to further reductions in the ability of our national forests to contribute to CO2 emissions removals going forward.

It is projected that by 2025, the forest sector in Ireland will be a source of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

"The extent of forestry that is required to be consistent with Ireland meeting its National Climate Objective needs to be determined to allow an appropriate afforestation target to be set in the next Climate Action Plan.

This is likely to exceed the current planned 8,000 ha per annum, it said.

Indeed, the EPA highlighted analysis from the Government-funded SeQuester project, which indicated that between 13,000ha and 40,000ha per annum of afforestation would be needed from 2025 to 2050 to offset projected CO2 and N2O emissions (but not methane emissions) from the agriculture sector.

The research suggests these afforestation rates would leave Ireland's gross national forest cover at between 16pc and 24pc of Irelands land area.

"Afforestation rates at the lower end of the range are considered in combination with a 75pc reduction in agricultural emissions combined with a substantial rewetting programme of agricultural organic soils," it said.

In recent weeks, the Government got State aid approval for its new 1.3bn Forestry Programme, which it has described as the "best-funded, most environmentally friendly programme in the history of the State".

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.
Some members fear that option to vote by post could damage local branches

The move by IFA to allow members vote for the organisation's next president by post has been met with mixed reaction from senior members.

It comes after IFA National Council voted to approve the move back in July, allowing the voting process for President and Deputy President to be a hybrid model.

Members will receive their ballot papers in the post and will have the option of bringing their ballot to their branch AGM or return it by post.

The move, which was trialled during Covid for the election of regional officers, saw returns above 80pc.

However, the 2019 election for IFA President saw just 30pc of members vote. However, critics of the former system whereby members have a very tight window to vote on one night say it is too restrictive and reduces member engagement.

All IFA members, of which they are over 70,000 according to the organisation, will be sent a ballot in the post and they can return it in the pre-paid envelope or cast their vote on the night at their branch meeting.

Allowing members to vote by post should see greater engagement in the voting system by members, but others say it could damage local branches.

Former presidential candidate Angus Woods said it would in some ways make things easier for candidates, cut down on driving around and finding volunteers to do this.

"The jury is still out on it. I'm not sure it will lead to a substantial increase in voters. The potential is there to contact more members but if they tog out and vote is a different matter. It will cost money to run a call centre, but it should be cheaper to run a campaign this time."

Harold Kingston, Munster Regional Chair, said the move will make it easier for every member who wants to vote.

"It turns what we learnt from voting during the pandemic into a longer-term strategy. For members who want to hear from others in their Branch ahead of voting, or vote as part of the branch rather than just post it back, they can still do so."

However, Frank Brady, Ulster/North Leinster Chair, said the move has the potential to do a lot damage to the branches. "Every four years everyone had to go to the branch to vote and it meant people turned up. Now members have no reason to go so we might have trouble filling roles at branch level."

He said while there should be a great turnout, it is the person with the best contacts could win.

"Contacts such as the GAA and a big back-up team able to communicate will be key to get votes."

It comes as nominations for candidates to run in the IFA Presidential election and three of the four regional chair positions opened last week and will close on Tuesday, September 12 at 12 noon.

Just two candidates  Limerick dairy farmer Martin Stapleton and Laois drystock and tillage farmer Francie Gorman  have declared their intentions to run.

Former Irish Farmers Journal editor Justin McCarthy confirmed to the Farming Independent last week that he would not be seeking nominations.

McCarthy confirmed that he has had a few calls from farmers on the IFA leadership position over recent months, but he had absolutely no intention of entering the forthcoming contest.

It comes after a WhatsApp message circulated widely among farmers and discussion groups in recent weeks calling for grassroots farmers to support him.

Candidates running for President and Deputy President require a nomination from their own County Executive and five other County Chairs.

National Returning Officer Brian Rushe said having a transparent and fully democratic process has never been more important in an era where we have lots of individuals and new groupings claiming to speak for farmers, and others claiming to know the minds of farmers".

Election debates will take place throughout October, with voting beginning in November. The National Count will take place in December.
Clearson Holdings says that fake websites set up in its name, with derogatory reviews attached, cost it residential business

A building company has claimed before the High Court that it has lost at least 500,000 worth of contracts after false and defamatory reviews were posted about it on hoax websites set up by unknown parties.

Clearson Holdings Limited trading as Clearson Contracts and Developments claims that it first became aware last May of the first of two misleading websites which it says wrongly suggested that it was the companys own official site.

The High Court heard the company, which carries out renovations and construction works at residential properties, does not maintain a website.

The company says that the hoax sites were designed in a manner calculated to economically damage the firm.

The sites contained fake reviews, all of which were negative, from persons purported to have been clients and customers of the company.

The company says that the names, addresses and the works alleged to have been carried out in the reviews were unknown to it.

The reviews had been fabricated in an attempt to make false, defamatory and damaging claims about the quality and standards of the companys work, the company also says.

The company established that the website, called clearsonholdings.ie was hosted by an IT company called Protocol Internet Technology Limited trading as Hosting Ireland.

Clearson Holdings says that after making contact with Hosting Ireland, the first website was taken down and removed from the public realm.

A second fake website, called www.clearsonholdingsreviews.ie was subsequently set up and republished the allegedly defamatory material about Clearson Holdings.

Hosting Ireland, the court heard, also removed that website.

Clearson Holdings, with an address at Greemount Industrial Estate, Harolds Cross, Dublin 8, says that while the websites have been taken down, it wants to bring defamation proceedings against the unknown persons who set up and administered the websites.

At yesterdays vacation sitting of the High Court, barrister Eoin Morris for the plaintiff told Ms Justice Eileen Roberts that thanks to the co-operation of the defendant the sites are no longer publicly available, and the urgency had somewhat gone out of his clients action.

However, counsel said that the company wants to know who is behind the false posts and websites and bring legal proceedings against them.

Counsel said his client had lost contracts worth at least 500,000 due to the defamatory and false material posted about it.

Mr Morris, instructed by Thomas Loomes and Company Solicitors, asked the court to grant his Clearson Holdings disclosure orders  known as Norwich Pharmacal type orders  against Hosting Ireland.

Those orders would compel Hosting Ireland to provide all the details it has, including names and addresses, about the person or persons who set up and operated the websites to the plaintiffs lawyers.

Counsel said that Hosting Ireland was neither objecting nor consenting to his sides application but had stated in correspondence that it would not provide the information sought in the absence of a court order.

Ms Justice Roberts granted Clearson Holdings the disclosure order sought.

The judge said that she was satisfied to make the court order on an ex-parte basis.
Crime

No questions asked: how I found it was too easy to buy fireworks illegally in the North
The Rose of Tralee host said he noticed a suspicious looking spot on his eyebrow.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, O Se said he thought it was an ingrown hair.

But this spot just wasnt going away. I was covering it up with make-up in work and when I was taking it off after the show the spot was getting agitated and part of it would scab up and come off.

I went in thinking theyd take out the freezing gas or laser it, but she was pretty sure it was a form of skin cancer, he said.

O Se, who received the all-clear last month, was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common forms of skin cancer in the country with over 13,000 new cases reported in Ireland every year.

It frightened the life out of me, he said. In fact, it had been there a long time, but had grown over the last year or two.

She checked the rest of my glands to make sure it hadnt spread and it hadnt, which gave me a bit of comfort, but it still came as a massive shock. All of a sudden I was that person that had skin cancer.

I was told to wear factor 50 for the rest of my life, winter and summer, no matter what the weather, he said. I even have to apply it on the backs of my hands and on my ears.

He said he felt healthy and well at the time he was diagnosed despite having cancer. It was a mild form of the disease and O Se has since been given the all-clear, but he warned that everyone needs to be vigilant.

Daithi O Se sings with Hayley Conlon in the Fleadh in Mullingar

Its really made me appreciate my health and my life all the more, he said.

He told The Sunday Times about his excitement ahead of new co-presenter Kathryn Thomas joining him for this years Rose of Tralee.

Initially when they came to me with the idea of a co-presenter I thought Id done something wrong last year, but I didnt.

People are asking me if something has been taken away from me, but I dont see it that way. Kathryn is a welcome addition to the show. Besides, the main focus is not on us. Its on the Roses.

Amidst critics saying the competition is out of date, O Se said he thinks its a powerful message about the strength of women.

There are over 2,000 people in the Dome in Tralee and theyre in front of 700,000 or 800,000 people on live TV. These days, with social media, they can have anything thrown at them and yet theyre strong enough to do it.

The Rose of Tralee is a celebration of Irish women and of Irishness and neither one of those things will ever not be relevant, he said.
'They are waiting for Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe (pictured) and Communications Minister Eamon Ryans approval'

Ministers have been urged to urgently rubberstamp pension hikes due to more than 7,000 former An Post workers.

Sean McDonagh, general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, claimed they had been treated in a tawdry way following a long delay to sign off the increases.

The union said 5pc had been due since January 1 last year, 2pc since January 1 this year and another 1pc since July 1 last.

It said the Labour Court, An Post pension board of trustees, and An Posts board of management had approved the payments.

They are waiting for Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe and Communications Minister Eamon Ryans approval. The CWU says the average An Post pension after 40 years service is 320 a week.

It is unacceptable that An Post pensioners, who are getting on in years and on fixed incomes, have been left waiting for nearly nine months for the pension increases they are due, the CWUs Mr McDonagh said.

He said the treatment of the pensioners threatened industrial relations at An Post.

This persisting delay and  as a consequence  the tawdry way in which An Post pensioners are being treated is putting at risk the ongoing co-operation of the An Post group of unions with the companys transformation agenda, he said.

A spokesperson at Mr Donohoes Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said the official procedure meant the Environment Minister must first approve any consent request before seeking the consent of the expenditure minister.

No such consent request for a pension increase has been received by this department, said the spokesperson.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment said consideration of the consent requests was well advanced.

The matter is now being expedited in consultation with the company, he said.

He said An Post must seek ministerial approval to increase pensions and deferred pensions for members of the An Post pension scheme.

The spokesperson said such requests required the views of the New Economy and Recovery Authority, NewERA, which is part of the National Treasury Management Agency. A business case was also required, and the requests should be submitted well in advance, he said.

He said it should be recognised that the time taken for the pension approval process was necessary to ensure that robust governance procedures were in place.

Following receipt of the requests from An Post, there were queries which required further follow-up with the company, he said.

There is a shared responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, and NewERA in processing any such consent requests, he added.

He said a report had been submitted by NewERA and the standard process for approval was being followed.

Meanwhile, the CWU has called for an emergency meeting of the An Post board to direct management to immediately pay the increases.

It has written to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Micheal Martin asking them to unblock ministerial approval.
A retired Canadian accountant who adored endurance sports died at an Ironman event in Ireland "doing what he loved."

The trainer of the late Ivan Chittenden (65) revealed the Toronto native had successfully completed all six of the world's leading marathons - and had loved competing in Ironman competitions across North America and Europe.

Mr Chittenden died along with Brendan Wall (44), a native of Slane, Co Meath, but who worked in the UK, when both got into difficulty during the 1.9km sea swim leg of the Ironman event in Youghal, Co Cork last Sunday morning.

Both died in separate incidents during the sea swim leg of the Ironman competition which had been reduced from 3.8km to 1.9km because of the adverse weather conditions.

Brendan Wall

It has since emerged that Triathlon Ireland told the event organisers they could not sanction the race because of adverse weather conditions on the day.

But Ironman Cork insisted that "our utmost priority is the safety of our athletes and all others involved in the event."

"On Sunday morning, Ironman Ireland officials and the specific on-swim safety team carried out all standard safety protocol checks that are completed at every race and determined water conditions were safe for the swim to take place," a spokesperson said.

Gardai are to prepare a file on the two deaths for the Cork coroner while investigations are also expected to be carried out by Ironman Cork/Ireland and Water Safety Ireland.

Inquests on both deaths are expected to be held next year.

Mr Chittenden was to be cremated at Rocky Island Crematorium in Cork on Tuesday before being repatriated back to Ontario for a full funeral service there.

Family members flew into Ireland to supervise the repatriation of his remains.

Mr Wall's Requiem Mass will take place at 1pm on Wednesday at the Church of St Brigid in Grangegeeth.

He lay in repose on Tuesday evening at Watters funeral home in Collon.

Mr Wall is survived by his fiance, his parents, Oliver and Gertrude, his siblings Martin, Joe and Maria and extended family.

He had worked for a Cavan firm before securing a promotion to sales director of a specialist manufacturing company based in Solihull in the UK.

Lisa Bentley, a multiple Ironman champion, was asked to help train Mr Chittenden in Canada when he first became interested in endurance sports almost two decades ago.

Ivan Chittenden. Photo: Strava/Ivan Chittenden.

She said she agreed to help train him but they eventually became great friends rather than coach and competitor.

"He was my friend," Lisa said as she paid tribute to Mr Chittenden as a great athlete and a wonderful human being.

"He was my friend. He was my family. Those are not words. That is a fact. I will miss him very much," she said.

"I know in my heart that he was doing what he loved when he left us. Ivan was in the shape of his life. He kept getting faster as he got older.

And guiding him as he aspired to do his first triathlon, then his first half Ironman and ultimately his first Ironman. And he did it all again and again and even ran all six of the marathon majors in Tokyo, Berlin, London, Chicago, New York City and Boston."

Just last month, she went for a training cycle with Mr Chittenden and he was looking forward to his next endurance challenge.

In the usual Ivan fashion, he blasted the downhills leaving me in his wake! Part of me thought: 'I want to keep up' and the other part thought; 'Well, I guess I am doing my job as a coach since he is so fast."

She said the accountant came to love triathlon competitions and travelled overseas to indulge his passion for competition.

Eventually, he became widely respected as a sort of 'elder statesman' of the triathlon community.

He was no longer the rookie doing 45 minute rides and 1000m swims. He was a confident athlete routinely throwing down three to four hour rides, ninety-minute runs and 2500-3000 m swims and strength work, Lisa said.

"Ivan lived more in the last twelve years than many of us live in a lifetime. He got out of his comfort zone. He travelled. He trained. He raced.

He was now in the 65-69 age group despite being 64 until October. And I reminded him: Hey, you better go to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships roll down because there are not many 65-year-olds faster than you.

"Ivan lived (life to the) full. He was happily married - so happy. He got to travel the world. He accomplished his goal of racing triathlon, racing multiple Ironman events, racing multiple Boston marathons and the six World Marathon Majors. He was a true gentleman."

Mr Walls funeral will take place on Thursday in Grangegeeth in Meath. He is survived by his fiancee, parents and three siblings.

His notice on RIP.ie states that Brendan died tragically while competing in Ironman 70.3 Cork. Deeply regretted by his loving Fiancee Tina.

Parents Oliver and Gertrude (nee Lynch), brothers Martin and Joe, sister Maria (O'Connor), sisters-in-law, Denise and Sinead, brother-in-law, Paddy, nieces Casey, Aine and Lauren, nephews Daryl, David and Noah, aunts, uncles, relatives and a large circle of friends.

He will lie in repose at Watters Funeral Home in Collon on Wednesday from 4pm to 8pm. His funeral mass will take place on Thursday at 1pm in the Church of St Brigid, Grangegeeth in Slane with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

In the condolences section people have left numerous messages of sympathy including that reads: Sincere Sympathy to Maria and all the Wall family on the sudden loss of Brendan.

Another adds: Deepest sympathy to Tina and the Wall family. An absolute gentleman - fond memories of his time in ATA.

Another states: Condolences to Tina and the Wall family on the untimely and tragic loss of Brendan. His former colleagues at ATA were deeply shocked when we heard the news. Brendan was a gentleman and our thoughts are with you at this difficult time. May he rest in peace.

Meanwhile, Cork athletes paid their own poignant tribute to the two men who died during last Sunday's Ironman event.

Members of the Salty Souls sea swimmers group, who swim 365 days a year in Youghal, dedicated their gathering on Tuesday on the east Cork strand to Ivan Chittenden and Brendan Wall.

Salty Souls member Orla Riordan said that their aim was to honour the two men and offer solidarity to their families.

Members of the group share a love of the therapeutic value of the sea and It is an important part of their daily lives," she said.

"It was a very poignant moment and a show of love and sadness at their loss. We are thinking of the two men and their families."
Triathletes have told how people were screaming, terrified and there was uncontrollably crying while some were pulled from the water during an Ironman triathlon in Cork in which two men lost their lives.

Brendan Wall (44), from Co Meath, and Ivan Chittenden (65), from Toronto in Canada, died after getting into difficulty during the swim section of an Ironman triathlon in Youghal, Co Cork, on Sunday.

The swim had been shortened by organisers due to rough conditions following Storm Betty last weekend but on Monday night a statement from Triathlon Ireland, a separate governing body to the organisers of the event in Youghal, confirmed it told organisers it could not sanction the event due to the safety risks to participants over weather conditions.

Triathlon Ireland chief executive Darren Coombes said his association was reeling from the news of the two deaths.

Triathlete Keith OSullivan was competing in the Ironman on Sunday and said there was a sense of panic and people were being pulled from the water.

"People were screaming out that were terrified and were suffering with fear in the water. There was people being pulled out of the water and it was just wasn't a place for people with any type of inexperience or any nervousness to be in there.

"I felt days in advance it should have been called off because the winds down here on the Friday night were reaching in excess of 105kmh. On that morning, I knew we shouldnt have been getting into it but I got caught up in the moment and Im disappointed in myself for going into it.

"It's communicated to us from the organisers that you put your hand up in the air if you're in difficulty and somebody will come to you in a kayak. The kayakers were struggling to stay upright and the spotters were struggling to keep the boats upright because the swell was so large. They couldn't even see anybody  they were doing the best they possibly can.

So from all that perspective, the safety measures, the safety precautions that would have normally be available  and you do feel very protected under normal circumstances for events like that  they were not available to us because those people were struggling to be there, Mr OSullivan told RTEs News at One.

Winnie Moore also took part in the triathlon on Sunday and said there were people uncontrollably crying in the water and added she decided not to continue with the swim due to the conditions being too dangerous.

I was knocked down. It took me a good few times to get by the waves initially... I only made it about 200 metres out and there was a very big swell, and I was looking around me and I started to panic. And then another swimmer stopped beside me and he said, Are you OK? And I said, Actually, no, no, I'm not I don't feel comfortable.

"I was going to attempt going on to reach this buoy, which seemed a good distance away from me. So, when I put my head down and made my attempts to get up to the buoy, when I looked around he [the kayaker] had gone over to another girl who was very distressed off to the left, she was uncontrollably crying.

"So I decided that I would just swim over to him and consoled her and she was very, very distressed in the water and she was a young girl. So that kind of took away from my own anxiety and I just concentrated on her and I just had said to myself that it's not worth that I didn't have to prove anything to myself.

"So he called for a small boat to come over and then we did a sweep off the area and we actually dragged out another four men from the water who were quite distressed themselves and they were just staring down at their feet. You know, I think they were just a little bit in shock themselves, Ms Moore said.

Two separate investigations into the incident are now under way, with government minister Darragh OBrien calling for all involved in the event to be very forthright on what safety measures were or were not taken on the day.

Its an awful tragedy and all of us know that. My thoughts and the thoughts of Government are with the two families of the two people who died very, very tragically, said Mr OBrien.

Unquestionably, there are very serious issues that need to be addressed. I noted the statement of Triathlon Ireland yesterday evening with interest and indeed with some concern.

He said safety should be at the centre of such events.

Im not going to make a statement here today as to whether that should be an inquiry, I believe an investigation straight away which I believe will be and is underway and all the stakeholders [that] have been involved, need to be very forthright what happened that day and what safety measures were or indeed were not put in place.
Beaches are public spaces in Greece, but businesses can lease areas for customers to sit in

The idyllic beaches found on Greek Islands have become a battleground between locals and beachfront businesses which have planted pricey sun-loungers on the shore, leaving some residents pushed out by the expensive seating.

A campaign, nicknamed the Towel Movement, has seen people marching along Greek beaches protesting the pay-per-use sunbeds taking over public sands, with many holding signs decrying the situation. Last week, hundreds of locals staged a sit-in on the beach to draw attention to their cause.

The movement began on Paros and has now spread to Naxos, with more than 5,000 in the Facebook group Save the Beaches of Naxos NOW!.

Beaches are public spaces in Greece, but businesses such as restaurants, hotels and bars can lease areas for customers to sit in. Some locals have argued that not only are businesses spreading out further than they are allowed, they are taking advantage with incredibly high prices.

The Save Paros Beaches group shared one image on Facebook showing an umbrella and two sunbeds to rent for 60 a day. To soak up the sunshine in the VIP area, the cost was 120 per day.

We claim our right to public space, our right to enjoy our beaches that are encroached upon by greedy, socially irresponsible businessmen who occupy beaches in their entirety or exceed their limits by up to 100 times the area they legally lease, the Save Paros Beaches group said in a statement to Metro.

Nicolas Stephanou, a 70-year-old who lives on Paros, told The New York Times that locals feel were being pushed off the island.

He claimed that there are massive discrepancies over the area businesses should be taking up and how far they have spread, with the NYT reporting that 7,186 square metres were officially leased last year but 18,800 square metres of beach space was taken up.

Even five years ago, I could go to any beach and just go and enjoy nature, enjoy the sand, enjoy the water, the silence, Ronit Nesher, who permanently relocated to Paros several years ago, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Now its packed with loungers and umbrellas and there is not even a space to put a towel or chair or just to come and sit on the sand.

Is that what you guys want to turn Paros in to? With no considerations of the locals and of nature?

The Independent has contacted the Paros Municipality for comment, and has reached out to the Paros and Naxos campaign groups.
The ill-fated Toy Show The Musical is going to be scrutinised after its staging led to a 2.2m loss. Photo: Ste Murray

The RTE saga is far from over  as the embattled broadcaster is still facing a wave of probes and inquiries.

While the second Grant Thornton investigation into hidden payments may have now concluded, the auditor will now turn its attention to the failure of the Toy Show musical.

As well as that, politicians and the Government are ready to pounce with their own queries.

Toy Show The Musical

Even though two reports have now been carried out and published, Grant Thorntons work within RTE has not concluded.

An RTE spokesperson confirmed that work will now begin into probing the ill-fated Toy Show The Musical, responsible for a loss of 2.2m for the public service broadcaster.

Despite earlier refusals from the broadcaster to publish figures surrounding the losses of the musical as they were deemed commercially sensitive, these were finally laid bare to Oireachtas committees several weeks ago.

Data showed the musical sold just 11,044 tickets and RTE sold less than 500,000 worth of tickets and sponsorship  2.7m below what was expected.

The total costs for the musical were 2.7m, with an actual loss on year one of 2.2m.

It was held in the costly Convention Centre in Dublin, but seven performances running up to Christmas week were cancelled due to cast members falling ill.

The idea for the musical was backed by Rory Coveney, who resigned as RTEs director of strategy when new boss Kevin Bakhurst took over at Montrose.

Exit payments

RTE has employed solicitors McCann FitzGerald to look into former chief financial officer (CFO) Breda OKeeffes retirement package.

Questions were also raised about former boss Dee Forbess exit package at Oireachtas committees.

However, new director general Kevin Bakhurst announced an inquiry will look into two schemes which offered redundancy and early retirement packages for staff.

The schemes, which took place in 2017 and 2021, will be examined to see under what context they were used, the terms and conditions of each scheme and if any cost savings were generated as a result.

The legal experts will also look at whether there was a consistent approach towards staff who applied for the scheme but received no offer of an exit package and those who had an end to end process.

The review will also look at whether tax-exempt statutory redundancy payments were appropriately paid to those who accepted voluntary exit offers under each scheme. This probe is expected to conclude by the end of next month.

Government review

The Government announced two independent reviews of RTE.

Firstly, an expert governance group will look into whether RTEs governance framework is fit for purpose and if it is in line with best practice.

The group will also look at the Grant Thornton reviews and what governance issues can be addressed; as well as the culture of the organisation.

RTEs commercial side will also be examined and the impact this has on its public service role. This part of the review will be headed by Professor Niamh Brennan, a corporate governance expert.

The second review will focus on contractor fees and human resources (HR).

This review will be led by employment relations and HR expert Brendan McGinty alongside ex-ICTU general secretary, Patricia King.

It will look at what oversight and mechanisms RTE uses in talks with presenters and contractors, as well as their fees, the use of agents and the impact these have on costs.

However, the era of presenters operating as contractors and using agents to negotiate their pay may be at an end, with Mr Bakhurst said to be no longer willing to negotiate with Noel Kelly, who negotiated on behalf of Ryan Tubridy as well as other RTE presenters, including Claire Byrne and Joe Duffy.

Forensic accountants Mazars have also been appointed to examine the barter account and other RTE accounts.

The two reviews have a timeline of six months to get their work done. This will drag the RTE saga into early next year.

Oireachtas inquiries

Both the Dails public spending watchdog, the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Media Committee, have launched their own inquiries.

They have already hauled RTE bosses as well as Tubridy and his agent in for box-office committee hearings.

However, the Media Committee has indicated it now wants to hear from the rest of the RTE board who have not yet come before the Oireachtas.

The PAC has also said it wants to hear from former director general, Dee Forbes, and head of content Jim Jennings, both of whom have been unable to attend due to illness.

PAC chairperson Brian Stanley also has said he wants to hear from former CFO Breda OKeeffe, current CFO Richard Collins as well as Deloitte, who audited the national broadcaster.
Maia Dunphy: Sometimes we need to turn off bad news  it doesnt mean that we dont care
Data shows occupancy rates have increased by almost one-fifth over first half of year

The public sector has accounted for more than half of the deals in the first half of the year, including the HSE leasing out 64,000 sq ft of office space at the Westfield Quarter in Ballincollig.

THE demand for office space in Cork has resulted in significant growth across the sector over the first six-months of this year, with the sharp increase driven predominantly by the public sector.

Thats according to property advisor Savills Ireland, which has said the office property market in Cork recorded a 19.4% take-up between January and June, when compared to the same period last year.

Savills revealed there were 27 transactions completed in Cork involving 196,400 sq ft of space over the course of the first six months of the year, up from 19 over the same period in 2022, the with the HSE accounting more than half of the deals.

The largest single deal involving the HSE was leasing of 64,000 sq ft of space at the Westfield Office Quarter in Ballincollig, which had lain idle since its completed in late 2019.

Sheila Madden, research and business support with Savills, described the deal as being an exemplar of the positive changes within the vibrant Cork office property market.

The HSE also purchased the 25,200 sq ft Building 4 at the University Technology Centre in Bishopstown, with their expansions accounting for 56% of all recorded deals.

Another deal worthy of note was the relocation of the law firm Rona Daly Jermyn to the South Mall.

Savills reported that headline rents in Cork had remained stable at around 32.50 per square foot, a reflection of what they said was the consistent market trend over the past three-years.

However, the vacancy rate over the period stood at 13.7%, a slight decrease form 14.3% last year, which is attributed to factors including the effect of the Covid pandemic on transactional activity and the delivery of new office stock.

On the issue of new space, Savills said the development pipeline showed promise as significant strides were made over the course of 2022, with total stock breaking the 7 million sq ft mark.

This growth was spurred by the completion of the first phase of the City Gate Plaza project in Mahon. With 128,200 sq ft expected to complete at Horgans Quay by year end and a further 3.1million sq ft of projects in the pipeline the future looks bright for Corks office market.

Ms Madden said the resilience of Corks office market was truly commendable in light of the global challenged faced over recent years.

The current trends, emphasizing health, well-being, and sustainability, underline the evolving priorities of tenants. The dominance of the public sector, combined with the emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability, showcase the maturity and future-readiness of the market, said Ms Madden.

 The consistent take-up, rental stability, and anticipated growth paint a positive picture for Cork as a competitive office hub. The city docklands development and population growth signal a continued expansion of the market in the upcoming years, placing Cork on the map as a competitive alternative to Dublin and other major cities, she added.
Early Childhood Ireland has said that for years policy has been underpinned by economic requirements rather than what children need and deserve.

HUNDREDS of children across Cork are being let Down due to what Early Childhood Ireland has said was a decades-long focus on providing childcare for economic reasons.

With early more than 400 early years settings across Cork set to reopen this week following the summer break, the countrys leading childrens advocacy body has called on Government and policymakers to completely rethink their approach to early years and school age care and put childrens rights at its heart.

The director of policy at Childcare Ireland, Frances Byrne, said that for years policy in the area had been underpinned by economic requirements rather than what children need and deserve.

The emphasis has been on facilitating parents access to the workforce and providing a much-needed service for adults. In the midst of all that, the rights of children have been neglected, said Ms Byrne.

The consequences of this failure have been well documented; salary rates are low buts cost for parents are high, settings struggle to attract and retain staff and some children are not getting access to the early years education they deserve, she added.

Ms Byrne said the forthcoming budget will give Government an opportunity to address issues faced by the sector and rethink the approach they take to early years care and education.

In recent years, there has been increased investment in the sector  something that was sorely needed and much welcomed. We must, however, ensure investment is geared towards building a fit-for-purpose system that places childrens rights and well-being at its heart, said Ms Byrne.

Ireland now needs a plan to create a unified, publicly-funded model of early years care that incentives the recruitment and retention of a graduate workforce, is affordable and accessible for parents, and  crucially  places childrens rights and well-being at its heart, she added.

Ms Byrne said Early Childhood Ireland was advocating for the Reggio Emelia Approach to be further adopted across the Irish early years sector.

An educational philosophy based on the image of a child with strong potentialities for development and a subject with rights, it is globally recognized as providing children with high-quality learning experiences.

Ms Byrne said that central to the Reggio Emilia was the concept that it takes a village to raise a child.

Education is a right for all children and, as such, a responsibility of the whole community. This type of thinking is already reflected in Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, said Ms Byrne.

She said Early Childhood Ireland is calling on the Government to take this one step further and support the Reggio Emilia Approach in settings throughout the country.

This has the potential to completely transform the early years sector, promising a paradigm shift in how we deliver quality experiences to young children.

The Government has promised a Childrens Budget for 2024. To make good on this commitment, they must put childrens rights at the heart of everything. For too long, we have let the needs of adults dictate the type of care delivered to our children. It is time, now, for us to recognise that our children deserve so much more.

The Early Childhood Ireland submission fore Budget 2024 can be found by following the link at www.earlychildhoodireland.ie.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, Cork County Council appeared to distance itself from the organisation of the Ironman event in Youghal in which two participants lost their lives following medical emergencies while taking part in the swimming element of the competition.

Brendan Wall (44), from Co Meath, and Ivan Chittenden (65), from Toronto in Canada, died after getting into difficulty during the swim section of the event.

In the statement, the authority says that it will only consider whether it will continue to sponsor the event in 2024 following receipt and consideration of a report on how the race was carried out.

The statement comes amid a growing controversy following confirmation in media reports that Triathlon Ireland had refused to sanction the Youghal event because of adverse conditions on the day.

According to the Triathlon Ireland statement published in Tuesdays edition of the Irish Examiner, technical officials from the organisation attened before the start of the race to review conditions and carry out a water safety assessment.

"Due to adverse conditions on the day, Triathlon Ireland Technical Officials confirmed to the race organisers that it was not possible to sanction the race.

As there is an investigation ongoing, at this stage it would not be appropriate for us to make any further comment, only to state Triathlon Ireland will provide any assistance the authorities require.

In the statement published by Cork County Council on Tuesday, the authority stipulates that while it supported the Ironman event in Youghal in 2022, this year and currently planned for 2024, the event was owned by Ironman.

"As part of this arrangement, Ironman is the owner of the Event which comprises the races, IRONkids, IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon, and the IRONMAN full-distance triathlon, the statement reads.

In terms of Event responsibility, Ironman has sole responsibility for the management and co-ordination of the Event, this responsibility includes to run the Event with due care, skill and attention.

The responsibility of Ironman extends to providing all Race-related equipment, supplies, personnel (including volunteers and a local Race Director), training of personnel (including volunteers), Racecourse set-up, route determination and design and all other technical and operational aspects of the Race.

"As Host Sponsor, the responsibilities of Cork County Council are limited to the following supports:

the organisation of road closure permits

the use by IRONMAN of certain Council facilities in Youghal (buildings, car park, public areas)

the provision of extended cleansing operations, the provision of waste collection, utilities (water and electricity) and storage areas.

Cork County Council does not have any responsibility for the management and operation of the Event and any decisions related to the Races proceeding, nor indeed the different elements of the individual Races.

Cork County Council recognises that the fatalities may be the subject of a Coroners Inquest and is seeking a full account of the Event from IRONMAN.

"The Council will determine its future position as Host Sponsor once it is in receipt of and has considered same.

In the meantime, Cork County Council will not be commenting further on the matter and we offer our sincerest condolences again to the families and friends of Mr. Brendan Wall and Mr. Ivan Chittenden.
Jars containing suspected cannabis herb seized by gardai at a house in Fermoy.

A MAN arrested by Gardai following a raid on a suspected cannabis growhouse in Fermoy last Friday was released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Officers from the Fermoy District Dugs Unit, assisted by the Garda Dog Unit, executed a search warrant at the house in Fermoy town on Friday in what a garda spokesman said was an intelligence-led operation by the Cork North Divisional Drugs Unit.

During a subsequent search of the premises gardai discovered more than 20 suspected cannabis plants at various stages of growth valued at approximately 19,000, a number of bags of cuttings and suspected cannabis herb with an estimated value of up to 10,000.

A male, understood to be local to the Fermoy area, was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs for unlawful sale or supply and cultivation under sections 15 and 17 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (1977).

The garda spokesperson said the suspected drugs seized have been sent for laboratory analysis.

The male arrested was questioned and later released on Friday evening and a file is being prepared for the DPP, said the spokesperson.

They said there were some online resources for people who may have questions or concerns around drug use including the website www.drugs.ie/information.

Information on a wide range of support services in the Fermoy and Mitchelstown area can also be found at https://tinyurl.com/Fermoy-Community-Network, said the spokesperson.
The executive director of the International Council of International Students in Ireland has said that the housing crisis in Cork and other cities and towns with students seeking accommodation is proving to be a fertile ground for scammers seeking to extort money from would be tenants.

Laura Harmon, who hails from the Gaeltacht Mhuscrai village of Baile Mhuirne, spoke to The Corkman this week to issue a warning about an escalating crisis which will get even worse this week as the Leaving Certificate exam results are due to be published on Friday

"I checked Daft.ie this morning (Monday) and there were only 97 properties available for rent within 10k of the city centre and there will be thousands of students next week seeking accommodation for the first time, said Ms. Harmon.

ICOS has joined forces with Threshold, the national housing charity, and the Union of Students Ireland (USI) to raise awareness of rental scams ahead of the new academic year, next month. The three organisations have launched Scamwatch, a campaign to raise awareness about false landlords and other fraudulent schemes to part prospective students and their parents from hefty deposits and rent advances.

We strongly support this campaign given the growing nature of fraudulent cases involving international students trying to source in the rental sector here.

"A study that ICOS carried out last year involving almost 500 international students found that nearly one-in-seven (14%) said that they had been a victim of an accommodation scam while in Ireland, of whom a quarter were English language students.

These students are often more vulnerable as English is not their first language and they usually dont have relations or friends they can stay with in the short-term while looking for a place to live.

"We encourage all students to read and heed all the advice in this campaign, and to contact the various channels provided if they have concerns or queries.

Ms. Harmon said that issues such as dereliction. which is rife in Cork city, the failure by the Government to build sufficient dedicated student accommodation and the increasing levels of homelessness, exacerbated by the end of the eviction ban, were all combining to make it a fertile ground for scammers as they exploited the increasing desperation generated by low supply and high demand for accommodation.

"While finding accommodation without falling for increasingly sophisticated scamming operators was a challenge for Irish students looking to register in universities, technical universities and other third level institutions here, it was even more challenging for international students.

"Theyre not living in the country so theyre not aware of the situation in Ireland in terms of the housing crisis and they wouldnt be familiar with different areas and they wouldnt know what the standard rent is and the technicalities and legalities when you start renting in Ireland.

The new campaign highlights the dos and donts for students and provides them with contact information for Threshold, ICOS and USI where they can request advice about their rights as private renters and safeguards, they should take to avoid scams. See www.threshold.ie/faq/how-to- spot-a-scam/ for more information.

Threshold is increasingly aware of a surge of rental scams, particularly ahead of the academic period, with students unfortunately being easy targets. In a highly competitive, low supply rental market, scams are on the rise." said John-Mark McCafferty, the CEO of the housing charity.

Its important that students and all renters nationwide are aware of such scams and take the appropriate actions to prevent themselves from falling into these traps.

"To avoid rental scams, it is key that renters take precautions, such as requesting a written agreement of rental terms and conditions and usiing a secure payment method - and not cash in hand - after the contract has been signed and witnessed in the presence of the other party.

"Never rush headlong into anything  scammers do apply pressure, which is one of the telltale signs. We strongly encourage any student or renter who is unsure if they are being scammed to contact our advisors for free advice and support.
Competitions aim to showcase the work of Irish artists and encourage interest in contemporary Irish portraiture.

Ryan O'Sullivan's 'Life is a Drag, was among 26 works shortlisted for the Zurich Portrait Prize.

Kit French's 'Light Though the Window, was among 26 works shortlisted for the Zurich Portrait Prize.

Rebecca ODonoghues Sam Wont Eat His Conflakes, was among 20 works shortlisted for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize.

A TRIO of Cork artists have been shortlisted in two prestigious portrait competitions run annually by the National Gallery of Ireland.

They are among 46 artists from around the country selected from hundreds of entrants to be included on the 2023 Zurich Portrait Prize and the Zurich Young Portrait Prize shortlists.

Kit Frenchs oil on canvas self portrait Light Through The Window and Ryan OSullivans photograph Life is a Drag were among 26 works shortlisted in the Portrait Prize, with Rebecca ODonoghue one of 20 artists shortlisted in the Young Portrait Prize for her pencil and poster paint on work Sam Wont Eat His Cornflakes.

The Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, sculpture and photographs, demonstrating what National Gallery of Ireland director Dr Caroline Campbell said was the breadth of contemporary Irish art.

The eventual winner will receive a cash prize of 15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the national portrait collection, for which they will be awarded a further 5,000.

Two additional awards of 1,500 will be given to works highly commended by the judging panel of artist Dorothy Cross, RHA; Dr Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery in London and London and Anne Stewart, senior curator of art, National Museums Northern Ireland.

Dr Campbell said the Young Portrait Prize for artists ranging in age from four to 18 and now in its fifth year, was a showcase for the artistic talent of young people from across the island of Ireland.

Five winners from each of age categories selected by the judging panel of Jessica ODonnell, head of education and community outreach at Dublins Hugh Lane Gallery; writer, broadcaster and journalist Ola Majekodunmi and visual artist/creator Tom McLean, will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize.

The overall winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of 500.

All 20 shortlisted entrants will have their artwork professionally framed/prepared.

Exhibitions of the shortlisted works in both competitions run at the National Gallery of Ireland from 2 December 2023 and 10 March 2024.

Dr Campbell said the overarching aim of both competitions was to showcase the work of Irish artists and encourage an interest in contemporary Irish portraiture.

Each year, the artists shortlisted demonstrate an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent. Were proud to partner with Zurich Insurance plc once again this year and we look forward to seeing who and what has inspired artists of all ages to create portraits in 2023, said Dr Campbell.
Kilmainham Gaol features on the list of hidden gems among Europe's museums.

Dublins Kilmainham Gaol has been listed among the top hidden gem museums in Europe.

The historic building, where seven signatories of the 1916 proclamation spent their last moments, made the list alongside the likes of the Churchill War Rooms in London and The Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh.

The Knowledge Academy looked at both TripAdvisor and Instagram popularity to determine which museums offer value for money while also avoiding summer crowds.

Overall, Kilmainham Gaol ranked in fourth place, with 32,036 hashtags on Instagram and a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor.

A spokesperson said: Situated in Dublin, the Kilmainham Gaol held prisoners for over 100 years.

Visitors can walk through Irish history at the museum, with the Gaol being accessed by guided tour only with a maximum of 35 people per tour, ensuring guests can avoid the crowds.

Kilmainham Gaol held thousands of men, women and children for crimes that ranged from minor offences to being involved in some of the most momentous events in Irish history.

The Gaol was closed in 1924 but was preserved as a national monument in the 1960s and restored by the Kilmainham Gaol Restoration Committee.

It was handed over to the State in 1986 and today is run by the Office of Public Works. A visit to Kilmainham Gaol will include stories of ordinary criminals alongside those who fought for Irish independence.

Dublin's Kilmainham Gaol is one of the top hidden gems in Europe. Source: theknowledgeacademy.com

The number one hidden gem, according to the Knowledge Academy, is Naples Museo Cappella Sansevero.

With 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor, and a 10 entrance fee for adults, it has mind-blowing sculptures like the famous Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino on display.

Churchill War Rooms in London came in second, described in the study as underrated and the perfect spot for those looking for a day out while avoiding busy crowds.

The Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh came third on the list. It was awarded TripAdvisors number one UK attraction in 2023.

Acropolis Museum, Athens came in fifth place. With 76,071 Instagram hashtags, the museum may have more busy periods than others on the list, but entry for the museum costs 15, or its free for anyone up to the age of 25 from the EU.
Members of Tralee Triathlon Club who took part in the IRONMAN Cork event held in Youghal on Sunday say they are angry and upset following the shocking deaths of two athletes during the event.

Investigations are still ongoing to establish why 64-year-old Canadian man Ivan Chittenden and 44-year-old Brendan Wall from County Meath died when they got into difficulty during the swim section of the event.

Online footage has emerged showing rough sea conditions, raising questions over why the swim was allowed proceed. Tralee Triathlon Club had 16 members taking part in either the Full-and-Half-Ironman  both were held on the day  in a discipline that is widely considered to be one of the most challenging of the endurance events.

Treasurer and former chairman of Tralee Triathlon Club, Proinsias O Foghlu, expressed the anger felt by many in the club and further afield.

He said many feel that the open water swims at Youghal on Sunday should not have gone ahead considering the poor conditions  high winds and choppy seas  and he said many have questioned if water safety coverage was adequate given the conditions on the day.

The view within Tralee Triathlon Club is that IRONMAN  an international organiser of triathlons - will now find it difficult to hold events in Ireland again considering the tragedy.

Our members are very disappointed, angry and saddened at whats happened. I think had our members taking part known that Triathlon Ireland hadnt sanctioned the event, they probably wouldnt have taken part, Proinsias said.

"Its a huge commitment to take part with some people training for over a year and a half. This makes it hard for people to back out at the last minuteBut safety must always come first. There are now a lot of questions that need to be answered, he added.

A statement from IRONMAN Ireland said it was deeply saddened at the deaths and that safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognising the athletes needed assistance.

IRONMAN Ireland officials and the specific on-swim safety team decided to shorten the swim following inspections to allow for kayaks, lifeguards and medical boats to be concentrated in a smaller area.

We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time. We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance, the statement read.

However, Triathlon Irelands technical officials confirmed in a statement that they did not sanction the race on Sunday because of adverse weather conditions in the aftermath of Storm Betty.

"As there is an investigation ongoing, at this stage, it would not be appropriate for us to make any further comment only to state that Triathlon Ireland will provide any assistance that the authorities require," said Triathlon Ireland Chief Executive, Darren Coombes.
As the summer winds down and the schools are almost back, theres plenty of events taking place to allow you to make the most of the last days of the summer.

Heres our top pics of events taking place this week, from Wednesday August 23rd until August 29th.

NADUR

A photography exhibition by renowned Sligo photographer Gavin McGoldrick opens at abhainn studio, Pier Road, Enniscrone, this Friday, August 25th. There will be live music on the evening. Gavin will be exhibiting a selection of Wildlife and Landscape images taken in Ireland. The event kicks off at 6pm.

SUNRISE4STOP

Sunrise for stop takes place this Saturday, August 26th at 6am, beginning at Sligo County Hall and doing a loop around Doorly Park. The event raises much needed funds for North West STOP - Suicide Prevention. More details available on the Facebook page.

TRAD@LUNCH

Next up for Hawks Well Theatres Trad@Lunch series is Daithi Gormley and Elaine Reilly, on Wednesday, August 23rd at 1.10pm. Always highly enjoyable, and ever popular, these events are free to attend and do not require a ticket.

WOMENS TRY-A-TRI

Following the introduction and first swim session, the first swim session for the womens try-a-tri takes place on Wednesday, August 23rd from 6.30pm-8pm at Cleveragh Regional Park. The event takes place Sunday 1st October, 250 meter swim, 10km cycle and 3km run. See sligosportandrecreation.ie for more.

SLIGO ROVERS V SHELBOURNE

Sligo Rovers next home game takes place on Saturday, August 26th at The Showgrounds at 7.45pm. Cheer on the Bit ORed as they take on Shelbourne, as John Russells side try to move further away from the relegation play-off spot.

SUMMER SEISIUN 2023

Summer Seisiun 2023 traditional music show takes place in The Yeats Building Sligo on Thursday evenings @7:30pm, featuring CCE Fred Finns finest young musicians & dancers. Admission: 10 for adults, children free.

FAMILY FUN DAY

A family fun day will take place in Dromahair Recreational Park on Sunday, August 27th from 1pm. There will be fun for the whole family. Bouncy castle, kids races, parents races, face painting, you can learn to fish with anglers, and there will be lots more. Admission is free.

THE HATS ARE ON DAY

As a follow-up to Ladies Day The Hats are On Day is another stylish event at Sligo Races taking place on Wednesday, August 23rd. This popular meeting will again see Style in abundance and Milliner Laura Hannon will be on site to judge the event. A 7 Card National Hunt meeting with the feature race The Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle of 13,000.

KARAOKE BINGO

A karaoke bingo night will take place on Thursday, August 24th in the Railway Bar at 7pm. The event is organised by Sligo Housing Action Group, and funds raised will go towards aiding the housing crisis.

SUMMER RAMBLING HOUSE

Pj Hernon & Family will be playing in the Coleman Music Centre on Wednesday, 23rd August at 8pm. Admission to the event is 15. Tickets available online or call 0719182599
An Wicklow man who has been documenting the fierce fighting in Ukraine has described how he narrowly avoided death when his team was targeted by a Russian drone strike.

Finn Boylan is back home in Ireland having survived seven months on the frontlines in Ukraine, where he witnessed "total war that has not been seen since World War II.

A native of Bray, Boylan has traveling to and from the battlefields since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

"It's total war," Boylan told RTE Prime Time. "It's stuff we haven't seen since World War II."

During his most recent trip to the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. Boylan, the CEO and chairman of Finn House Films, spent time filming footage for his first full-length documentary Forsaken Frontier.

He was one of the first people to capture the aftermath of the devastating bombing of a pizzeria, popular among journalists and soldiers alike on June 27, which left at least 13 people dead.

Having captured the moment when a survivor was pulled from the rubble, he explained that everything is a target in that town.

"You dont know when the next missile is going to hit you, he said

"The next morning everyone is going into the shopping center next door. Going to work. Selling groceries. Getting their coffees. Now soldiers need to find a new place to drink their coffee, so there's another one down the road. Its just how it is. Life goes on there," he said.

He also described the brutal reality of finding the bodies of dead Russian soldiers who had been abandoned on the side of a road.

"Unfortunately, the Russians are left on the battlefield. No one's picking them up. The Ukrainians collect their own dead and their own civilians. It's brutal."

Boylan also spent time filming at a medical stabilisation point where wounded soldiers are given treatment just behind the frontline before being moved on to hospital.

"In the space of one night at that stabilisation point, there were five dead. Two dead on arrival, three dead on the table. About ten lost their legs that night."

"[It] is where wounded soldiers get their first bit of proper medical care where they'll see a doctor or somebody that will patch them up enough and stabilise them to make them able to survive the journey to a real hospital.

"They can only move the wounded in the night because it's too dangerous at the moment," Mr Boylan said.

In May 2022 Boylan experienced his own narrow brush with death when he was part of a group visiting an abandoned school in a recently-liberated Ukrainian village.

He said he had been in the building for just five minutes when it was targeted by a Russian drone strike.

Boylan and the group were able to flee the building when they realised that the Russians were readjusting their fire.

The Bray native said he believes that the fighting in Ukraine will go on for several years, adding that Irish people are "incredibly lucky."

"It's going to be a lot more casualties and a lot more young men dead," Boylan told RTE.

He also said he enjoys spending time with his family and dogs when he is back home as it helps when taking time to readjust after he returns from trips to Ukraine.
The original, organised by Billy McFarland, was scheduled to take place in the Bahamas in 2017 but caused more than 26 million dollars (20 million) in losses

Doomed music event Fyre Festival is getting a reboot  with tickets for the second attempt on sale now for 499 US dollars (about 391) (Netflix/PA)

Doomed music event Fyre Festival is getting a reboot  with tickets for the second attempt on sale now for 499 US dollars (about 391).

The original festival, organised by Billy McFarland, was scheduled to take place in the Bahamas in 2017 but caused more than 26 million dollars (20 million) in losses when it was cancelled for inadequate accommodation, food and water.

The festival was promoted with the help of influencers like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid as a luxury event where guests were promised opulent accommodation and deluxe food, with tickets costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Billy Macfarland in the Netflix documentary (Netflix)

But when ticket holders arrived they were met with a rain-sodden campsite and emergency tents used for disaster relief, while their luggage was thrown into a dark car park and what was supposed to be gourmet food turned out to be cheese sandwiches in takeaway containers.

Many businesses involved in the event were not paid, with one restaurant owner telling Netflix documentary FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened in 2019 that she lost thousands catering for the festival.

McFarland was jailed after pleading guilty to fraud in 2018.

After being released last year, he is planning a second incarnation  which he devised during a stint in solitary confinement  of the doomed venture.

He offered no details but said he considered holding the festival in the Middle East or South America but ultimately decided to bring the event back to the Caribbean, saying: We are targeting Fyre Festival 2 for the end of next year.

In a video on TikTok and Instagram, he said: It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here and it really all started during the seven-month stint in solitary confinement.

I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre, and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together to make the impossible happen, how I would find the best partners in the world to allow me to be me while executing Fyres vision to the highest level.

He added: In the meantime, well be doing pop-ups and events across the world. Guys, this is your chance to get in. This is everything Ive been working towards. Lets f***ing go.

The first 100 tickets are on sale now and cost 499 dollars but prices increase as more tickets sell. The tickets yet to be released cost between 799 dollars (about 626) and 7,999 dollars (approximately 6,267).

A disclaimer on the website says: FII date is subject to change. Pre-events and pop-ups to be announced, but FYRE will host a minimum of 4 events prior to FFII.

McFarland has already announced plans to make a Broadway musical about Fyre Festival.

The inaugural event, co-organised by rapper Ja Rule, was due to take place from April 28-30 and May 5-7 on the islands of the Exumas.

An advert for the festival promised an immersive music festival on a remote and private island in the Exhumas. The best in food, art, music and adventure

It also claimed to be on the boundaries of the impossible.
Guy Pearce has announced the death of his mother (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Guy Pearce said his mother was a sharp, fierce and witty woman before her Alzheimers diagnosis as he announced her death.

The British-born actor, who is best known for playing the central figure in 2000 psychological film Memento, first came to public attention when he appeared in Neighbours.

Pearce, 55, reflected on how he will miss his mother, Anne, when he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.

He said: Lost my beautiful Mum today. Kicked the bucket as she would say.

What a sharp, fierce & witty woman Anne was, until Alzheimers struck in 2010. Its been a long & winding road. A fitting song 4 ur departure Mum. Tracy & I will miss u enormously. Well always love u XX.

Pearce, who has landed roles in Hollywood movies such as LA Confidential, The Time Machine and The Hurt Locker, also shared images of his mother throughout her life, including his parents wedding day.

He received messages of condolences on social media from fans who said they were sorry for his loss.

His father, Stuart Pearce, who had served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, died when the actor was a child in an aircraft accident.

Pearce grew up in Australia with his eldest sister Tracy, who he has previously described as having an intellectual disability.
Storm Betty brought significant rainfall to much of the country, but particularly along the south coast. Photo: Met Eireann.

Valentia Observatory in Kerry saw the highest hourly rainfall total ever recorded during Storm Betty last week.

As the eye of the storm approached Ireland on Friday night, Co Kerry experienced the heaviest rain in recorded history during a one-hour period when 36.2mm  more than an inch of rain  fell in 60 minutes.

Shocking footage of Storm Betty causing fallen trees and destruction on the M50

Met Eireann confirmed this was the most rain that ever fell on the observatory in Valentia island in one hour. Last Friday was also the wettest day August day in Kerry since 1986.

"As the centre of Storm Betty neared the south coast at 22:00 UTC Friday 18 August 2023 (11pm Irish time), Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry had its highest hourly rainfall total on record with 36.2 mm, which was part of a daily total of 74 mm, its highest August daily total since 1986, Met Eireann said.

Storm Betty brought significant rainfall to much of the country, but particularly along the south coast. Photo: Met Eireann.

Storm Bettys high winds and rain led to thousands of homes and businesses across the country being without power last weekend, with some lucky to escape serious injury as trees toppled on cars.

There was disruption to public transport routes due to fallen trees, and localised flooding, particularly bad in parts of Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Dublin, made some roads impassable.

Significant flooding was seen in Cork city as the Cork City Fire Service responded to 22 emergency calls. The call-outs included three road traffic incidents.

RNLI also scrambled to the aid of a stricken yacht off the coast of Kerry amidst dangerous swells and high winds on Friday.

Flights entering Dublin Airport were also diverted overnight due to high winds.

Storm Betty brought gusts of up to 130kmh and saw Met Eireann announce their second named storm of the year and issue orange warnings for both wind and rain.
A massive wall of flames raced through forests toward a port city in north-eastern Greece overnight, prompting authorities to evacuate another eight villages and a city hospital (Achilleas Chiras/AP)

A massive wall of flames raced through forests toward a port city in north-eastern Greece overnight, prompting authorities to evacuate another eight villages and a city hospital as firefighters battled dozens more wildfires across the country on Tuesday.
Nurse Lucy Letby chose the gown my baby was buried in  it distresses me every day

Agony, torment and grief of families revealed in victim impact statements

File screen grab taken from body worn camera footage issued by Cheshire Constabulary of the arrest of Lucy Letby. Photo: PA

Hoilly Bancroft UK Independent Tue 22 Aug 2023 at 03:30







A mother of a child murdered by Lucy Letby has revealed the serial killer nurse chose the gown that her child was buried in.
When life means life: Child serial killer Lucy Letby to spend rest of her days behind bars with no hope of earning parole

The nurse who murdered seven newborn babies at Chester hospital could find prisoners may want to get closer to her but for the wrong reasons

Child killer Lucy Letby moments after she was arrested. Photo: Cheshire Constabulary/PA

Sarah Rainey Telegraph.co.uk Tue 22 Aug 2023 at 03:30







Five years have passed since Lucy Letby was first arrested at her home in Chester. Police banged on the door at 6am on a July morning in 2018, leading the killer nurse away in handcuffs as her father looked on.
Mustafa Sofian (22), an Ethiopian migrant who said he lost his left leg after Saudi border guards fired at him, is helped by his father, Sofian Mohamed, after being repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration in Harar, Ethiopia. Photo: Reuters
Indias Trade and Development with BRICS: Analysis and Opportunities

With the BRICS 2023 summit now underway, we examine the India-BRICS trade dynamics.

The BRICS 2023 summit is now underway in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the Heads of State of Brazil, China, India, and South Africa all attending in person, together with significant trade delegations. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is attending by video-conference. The BRICS summit is expected to be a key moment in plans that could ultimately challenge the G7 group of nations in global economic and geopolitical influence.

In this article, Chris Devonshire-Ellis discusses the current position as concerns India  BRICS trade.

Background

The first meeting of RIC (Russia, India, and China) was held in 2005 in St. Petersburg. Brazil and South Africa joined the group in February 2011, when the current version of BRICS was completed. However, BRICS is not a formal alliance, and there are differences among members, but over the past decade, with dozens of meetings and summits, it has pursued common interests in strengthening mechanisms.

BRICS countries as a total currently include about 26 percent of the total global land mass, and about 42 percent of the worlds population. This basic clout means that BRICS combined efforts in restructuring the global economy and strengthening economic and financial cooperation have been welcomed by many countries  and been viewed with suspicion elsewhere.

Mutual economic cooperation

The BRICS have also provided alternatives to existing global mechanisms deemed to be heavily influenced by the collective West and their policies. The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), established as a partial alternative to the World Bank, has approved over 90 projects worth US$32 billion to support members infrastructure.

Economic cooperation was also discussed at the 14th BRICS summit in June 2022. Paying attention to providing a better interfacing in handling global crises, forming a multipolar economic strategy, developing alternative commercial and financial routes, promoting economic recovery, diversifying the economy, minimizing costs, developing electronic commerce, integrating markets, and cooperating with other nations have made BRICS attractive to smaller and other emerging countries.

Practically, BRICS is seen as a union of strong emerging powers with a common currency reserve of about US4 trillion, which has already undertaken achievements in standing against unilateralism and can be useful when positioned as alternatives to Western controlled institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and Western financial and trade policies in general.

BRICS 2023

2023 is an important turning point in the BRICS development and its future global role. BRICS combined efforts are seen in cooperation and collaboration in developing alternative payment systems to SWIFT, the gradual development of a non-dollar financial system, the development of a common payment system (BRICS Pay), the increase of trade using respective domestic currencies, and creating a common currency.

These are all progressing at different timescales, however the use of respective digital currencies in the settlement of future intra-BRICS trade will be a significant move. Russia, China, and India are all poised to launch their digital currencies for common usage by early 2025. This will allow trade to be conducted between them without the global SWIFT network and to reduce threats of the same upon other countries. Brazil and South Africa are close behind. In comparison, the United States and European Union, with rather more complex financial markets, have only recently agreed their digital currency protocols  a technical step the majority of BRICS members completed three years ago.

Strengthening the role of the New Development Bank (NDB) will help achieve BRICS national interests. The Wests approach to isolate Russia has created more incentives within the BRICS to increase trade with domestic currencies or create a common currency. The former has happened and is increasing; the latter will take time. Four to five new members of the NDB are expected; which could include Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which would give the NDB access to the Middle East region. Indonesia is a likely candidate from ASEAN, while Kazakhstan would give a Central Asian base. Argentina needs an alternative to non-Western financial support and would be another key asset in Latin America; and has been promised a succession vote at the current summit. Algeria and Thailand are also both potential candidates.

BRICS expansion

Incentives for official participation in BRICS have increased in 2023. Although BRICS Plus was created in 2017 and invited non-BRICS officials, over the last two years, China has supported the concept of expanding cooperation within the BRICS Plus. Model.

Moscow has also mentioned the potential expansion of BRICS members from 5 to 17 nations. About 40 additional countries are believed to have expressed interest in joining and include heavy hitters such as Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the UAE.

In the meantime, in addition to reviewing the collective decision of the organization and having the necessary conditions and procedures for the process of accepting new members, the structure of BRICS and the process of accepting new countries may change with the joining of more countries.

India in BRICS

The Indian economy experienced solid economic growth, recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, with increases of 7.2 percent GDP in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Over the past decade, Indias policies have taken many initiatives to strengthen the economy, rapid economic growth, and exports.

Indias nominal GDP as of June 2023 is projected to be about US$3.75 trillion marking a significant growth rate of 16.1 percent. New Delhis attention to the service sector, implementing reforms, increasing industrial production and their exports, appropriate foreign policy, focusing on the information technology (IT) sector, increasing consumption, private investment, taking advantage of existing resources, increasing foreign exchange reserves, increasing investments in the sector, private sector, the continued flow of foreign direct investment and appropriate economic growth. India is now the fifth largest economy in the world.

The construction of industrial infrastructure in India and economic development, while a lack of complete dependence on a specific industry is such that industry, agriculture, services, and the financial sector are important economic and commercial sectors. Over the last decade, India has almost doubled its GDP per capita and can use BRICS as a platform to leverage its global influence.

New Delhi has made strides in signing free trade agreements (FTAs) with its trading partners and has taken several measures to promote trade, including plans for a digital platform and open access to BRICS.

India and intra-BRICS trade

India recorded over US$100 billion in intra-BRICS trade in 2022 and it has traded with all members. BRICS allows India to resolve mutual differences and use it to strengthen relations with Africa and South America.

India-Russia

Russia has rapidly moved from 25th to 7th position among Indias trading partners over the past two years. Between April 2022 and February 2023, bilateral trade reached a record US$45 billion. Almost a third of this volume was mineral products (including ore and fuel). In turn, India exported goods worth US$4.43 billion to the Russian Federation in 2021.These are mainly chemical products, machinery, equipment and vehicles, food products and agricultural raw materials. This trade can be expected to grow given the mutually desirable commodity items the two possess, in addition to improving trade routes shortly to become available via the INSTC.

Prognosis: Rapidly growing trade based on energy, however non-oil trade is also increasing. As Indian and Russian traders and consumers adapt, and supply chains such as the INSTC come online, the bilateral trade development between these two BRICS members is highly promising.

India-China

Bilateral trade between India and China touched an all-time high of US$135.98 billion in 2022, while New Delhis trade deficit with Beijing crossed the US$100 billion mark for the first time. Despite frosty political relations, bilateral trade is currently steady. The main products that China exported are computers, smart phones, and semiconductors, while India exported iron ore, refined petroleum, and raw aluminium.

Prognosis: Currently stable and showing signs of growth; but remains vulnerable due to political rivalry and disputed territorial security issues. If these can be resolved  and both leaders expressed exactly this desire during August 2023  trade development could become dynamic if infrastructure connectivity can be improved.

India-Brazil

India is now the 5th largest trading partner of Brazil, with India exporting US$9.72 billion of products during 2022, a significant increase over 2021s US$6.77 billion. Brazil exported US$6.34 billion to India during 2022, an increase from US$$4.9 billion in 2021.

The main products that India exports to Brazil are refined petroleum, pesticides, and packaged medicaments. The main products that Brazil exports to India are crude petroleum, soybean oil, and gold.

Prognosis: Mutually viable trade commodities and increased shipping routes are making Indian Brazil trade a vibrant case study of mutual trade recognition and effort. With bilateral trade growing at rates of 50 percent in either direction, this is a hot corridor.

India-South Africa

In 2022, bilateral trade reached just under US$20 billion, in a well-balanced trade relationship with a small increase over 2021. The main products that South Africa exported to India are gold, coal briquettes, and raw copper. The main products that India exports to South Africa are refined petroleum, autos, and special purpose ships.

Prognosis: Indias trade development focus is more on the entire African continent and especially east Africa, rather than South Africa per se. Indias total trade with Africa grew by 9.26 percent in FY 2022-23 reaching almost US$100 billion, with a goal to double this to US$200 billion by 2030. India doesnt need South Africas regional connections so much as say China or Russia, as it already has a significant African network dating back to the British colonial times. Consequently, South Africa isnt so important in terms of Indias overall Africa policy, but trade is steady, and opportunities can be found.

India plus

India is cautious about BRICS expansion. Indias role in the neighbouring SAARC trade organisation is a central part of its foreign policy, while India considers sub-regional cooperation to promote economic growth, social progress, cultural development, and security in South Asia. That said, India can use the strength and power of BRICS expansion to develop a strategy for regional cooperation within SAARC.

The SAARC trade network includes India as well as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri-Lanka. India dominates and makes sure multifactional trade does so on its own terms, resulting in a bloc that has been hindered in terms of its true potential. SAARCs overall GDP is worth about US$4.47 trillion. Nevertheless, SAARC does have its uses and international investors interested in the India market can access SAARC nations under certain conditions if invested there.

India is also a member of BIMSTEC, a similar trade entity that includes Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It also tends to suffer from too much Indian love; however, opportunities exist. Routes east to ASEAN via Myanmar and Thailand may show future promise, as India also has a Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN.

The BRICS vision ahead

BRICS is facing many challenges, such as internal differences, global economic growth slowdown, geopolitical tensions, coordination problems, disagreements and different priorities of members, along with external pressures.

Economic cooperation within BRICS is still limited, and its cohesion is not especially strong, meaning we can expect an increase in institutionalising the various BRICS initiatives during this summit. There are also likely to discussions concerning BRICS trade liberalization and reducing each others import tariffs.

Although BRICS is not an official alliance, broad common interests such as moving towards a multipolar global governance system have brought greater opportunities with huge potential. In this way, it represents a huge consumer market, having a large middle class, natural resources, good communication and networks, a sound legal system, and modern infrastructure.

The existing BRICS 2025 strategy, which was implemented in 2020 and will soon be due for renewal, has been useful in developing trade and mutual investment between BRICS countries, strengthening customs cooperation, inclusive growth, and diversifying cooperation into different sectors.

Related bloc relationships

Should institutional connections between BRICS and regional unions such as the EAEU, Mercosur, and the SACU be established, the multilateral trading system will be strengthened. Technologies, especially in digital currencies and trade facilitation are also more likely to be shared, giving the BRICS  and its allies  a far greater trade platform to base themselves on. This is crucially outside the Western based system of management  SWIFT, sanctions, and overly influential policy banking.

This may also involve the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) with discussions already taking place about merging; or increasing trade development ties between the two. The SCO is essentially a security bloc but does have a trade remit. It would also bring into the BRICS orbit the SCO members, who include BRICS members China, India, and Russia, in addition to full members Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. There are also four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership in Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia, and six Dialogue Partners being Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkiye. In 2021, the decision was made to start the accession process of Iran to the SCO as a full member, while Egypt, Qatar as well as Saudi Arabia became dialogue partners.

With each of the BRICS members regional heavyweights in their own backyards, the development of BRICS into the major global economic and trade powerhouse has every potential of manifesting itself.

It should also be said that the opportunities of joining BRICS are more than the challenges. The joining of new members to BRICS can have various consequences, even competing with the G20.

In practical terms, the total percentage of the GDP of the current BRICS member countries is 31.5 percent of global GDP. That is more than the G7 bloc with 30.7 percent of global GDP, with the BRICS share almost certain to continue outstripping its Western equivalent as there are many potentials for using BRICS+ formats, with the participation of SCO, MERCOSUR, ASEAN, AfCFTA, SAARC, and so on in creating additional economic cooperation.

Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the Chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates. He may be reached at asia@dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates assist foreign investors, including Indian clients into Asia and provide market intelligence, business establishment, bank account opening, tax advisory and related services to Indian businesses in Asia. We have been operational since 1992 and maintain multiple offices throughout India, and China, and have partner firms in Russia, Brazil, and South Africa. For assistance, please contact india@dezshira.com.

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India: BRICS Now An Established Part Of Global Geopolitics & Trade
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New Delhi: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) introduced on World Senior Citizens Day the "Pensioners Lounge", a dedicated space within the branch that serves pensioners and senior citizens with all their banking needs.

The bank honoured pensioners for their accomplishments and contributions to the society at its Bhikaji Cama Place branch in Delhi.

Health check-up camps for PNB's pensioners were organised at 121 centres.

Congratulating all the senior citizens at the World Senior Citizens Day, Atul Kumar Goel, MD & CEO, Punjab National Bank, said: At present, we have set up 11 Pensioners Lounge across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Shimla, Varanasi. As part of a multipronged strategy, we are also revamping Savings, Investment, Insurance, Healthcare schemes, related to senior citizens and promoting doorstep banking for them.

In addition, PNB is leveraging digital initiatives and technology to offer specialised products and services tailored to this niche segment.

PNB MD & CEO also unveiled an informative booklet (Spandan) for senior citizens on the occasion wherein details of various schemes of the Bank for the senior citizens and pensioners are given.
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay/Unsplash

With organised Islamist groups pushing it, violence against religious minorities in Pakistan is increasingly moving beyond the local and spontaneous anger of the Muslims, media reports and probes by human rights bodies indicate.

Of these groups, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is seen as having consolidated during 2021-23 when politicians in and outside of the legislatures were fighting each other.

This worked in tandem with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating, but partially, from across the border with Afghanistan, spreading its tentacles beyond its traditional tribal areas, into thickly populated plains of the heartland.

A detailed list of incidents over the last year compiled by Dawn newspaper (August 18, 2023) indicates the growing role of these groups who draw support from the local Muslim clergy and benefit from lax performances and the consequent connivance of the police and the lower courts.

Compiled by Areesha Rehan, Hawwa Fazal, and Wara Irfan, the timeline indicates that the precise number of cases and casualties matter less than the growing trend of the last few decades when Pakistan's minority communities have borne the brunt of mob brutality, bomb attacks, arson, cases of lynching and other forms of violence.

Minorities, mostly poor and unlettered, and even those mentally unstable, are targeted. They are more vulnerable than the Muslim majority to the misuse of the blasphemy law.

This was underscored by last weeks burning of five Christian churches at Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district of Punjab. It has been the abode of the Hindus and Sikhs.

Jaranwala is in the heart of what was once a hub of vibrant agrarian movement and political activity in pre-Partition India.

It is 72 km away from Bangay where Shahid Bhagat Singh was born. Academic Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, who teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, writes (Dawn, August 18, 2023) that violence against minorities was then unthinkable.

He quotes Bhagat Singh: If this land is divided in the name of faith, a tidal wave of hate so enormous will erupt that generations will be engulfed by it. The present-day spread of hateful, right-wing politics will ultimately engulf us all.

Each incident of violence against minorities is followed by a familiar reaction. There have been condemnations from various quarters, including leading Islamic scholars, and authorities have promised to bring the perpetrators to book. But we have been here before.

The pattern is familiar, too. Unwilling to risk their own lives against the marauding mobs that could be in the hundreds, the local authorities remain passive. Then they take sides as they succumb to pressures from the attackers and the clergy. Cases of abduction of minor girls invariably get settled against the victims and their hapless families. Politicians condemn it and assure tough action, while the Foreign Office denies it all when it is condemned abroad.

Observes Dawn (August 21, 2023) in its editorial: While discrimination against minorities does occur in other Muslim states, Pakistan is in a league of its own. One does not often hear of public lynching and frenzied mobs rampaging to avenge alleged blasphemy in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, etc  countries that are no less Muslim than Pakistan. This may be because in these countries the state does not allow vigilante groups or self-professed guardians of faith to rile up crowds and let them loose on hapless victims.

In Pakistan, things are different. For decades, the state encouraged and later tolerated religious fanatics, while poverty and low literacy levels have left ordinary folk susceptible to the emotional messaging of such malign actors.

Security Analyst Muhammad Amir Rana underscores the role of the state and the politicians (Dawn August 20, 2023): The states insistence on using religious groups to achieve its purposes has also contributed to this dilemma. By outsourcing its national project to sectarian groups, the state has given them a platform to promote their agendas, which often conflict with the common good. In order to address this dilemma, the state needs to stop exploiting religious groups for its purposes. It also needs to create a more inclusive and secular society where all people, regardless of their religious beliefs, can have a voice.
Image Credit: Twitter/Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge arrived here on Tuesday as part of a days maiden visit to Madhya Pradesh after assuming the mantle of party chief.

The visiting dignitary  whose helicopter touched down at the local Kajliwan Maidan  was accompanied by Congress state head and erstwhile chief minister Kamal Nath.

Kharge is scheduled to address a public meeting through the medium of which he will blow the electoral bugle for the Assembly polls this winter.

Earlier, the Congress President reached Bhopal by plane.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited this principal town of Bundelkhand region.

He laid the foundation stone for the Sant Ravidas Memorial and dedicated several development projects to the people.
Photo Courtesy: UNI

Nagpur: A Mumbai-Ranchi IndiGo flight had to make an unscheduled landing at Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur on Monday evening after an elderly passenger suffered a medical emergency, an official said on Tuesday.

The emergency landing followed a serious medical situation involving a 62-year-old male passenger, identified as Devanand Tiwari started vomiting blood on board at around 8 pm. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

After the passenger started vomiting blood, the pilot, who was in command, took the immediate call to land the aircraft at Nagpur.

The passenger was suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and tuberculosis, said Aejaz Shami, DGM, of Branding and Communications of KIMS Hospital, Nagpur.

The passenger was rushed to KIMS Hospital in Nagpur for medical treatment where he was declared brought dead. However, he succumbed to his illness, Shami said.

Further the body was sent to the Government Medical College and Hospitals (GMCH) for further medical procedures, Shami added.

IndiGo flight 6E 5093, operating from Mumbai to Ranchi was diverted to Nagpur due to a medical emergency on board, in a statement," the IndiGo Airline said.

Following the necessary medical procedures and clearance, the flight successfully resumed its journey from Nagpur to Ranchi, it added.

(With UNI inputs)
Image Courtesy: PIB/Videograb

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Pakistani-origin sister Qamar Mohsin Sheikh is all set to visit New Delhi to tie a rakhi on his wrist and celebrate the festival together on August 30, media reports said.

Shaikh moved to Ahmedabad after her marriage and has been tying a rakhi on PM Modi for more than 30 years.

Qamar Mohsin Sheikh was unable to visit the PM, in the past two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, she continued the tradition by sending him homemade 'rakhis' by post.

This year she hopes to celebrate the festival with PM Modi and plans to gifts him a book on agriculture, consider he is an avid reader.

"This time I have made the 'Rakhi' myself. I will also gift him (PM Modi) a book on agriculture as he is fond of reading. For the last 2-3 years, I was unable to go due to Covid, but this time I will meet him in person," she told news agency ANI.

''I pray for him every day for his good health and long life. I believe that all my wishes come true. Earlier when I prayed for him to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat and he became," she further said.

Whenever I tied the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the Prime Minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. He is doing commendable work for the country," she added.

Sheikh has earlier said that she had been tying rakhi to PM Modi since he was an RSS worker.

Raksha Bandhan is a festival dedicated to the bond of love and protection between brothers and sisters. On this day, sisters tie a decorative thread called a "rakhi" around their brothers' wrists as a symbol of their love, care, and prayers for their well-being. In return, brothers give gifts or promises to protect and support their sisters.
Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who landed in South Africas Johannesburg on Tuesday to attend a BRICS meeting, may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit.

While PM Modis schedule is still being worked out, "We have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion," Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday, responding to queries about a possible meeting with Jinping.

The Indian prime minister will join China, Russia and hosts South Africa for the first in-person BRICS summit since 2019.

The last three were held online because of the COVID pandemic.

Relations between India and China became strained after a fierce clash occurred in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in June 2020, marking a major military conflict between the two nations in decades.

Following several discussions at both military and diplomatic levels, both sides successfully completed the process of disengagement in 2021.

However, India asserts that achieving normalcy in its relationship with China requires peace along the border regions.

Last month, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a BRICS nation gathering in Johannesburg.

During the meeting, the NSA highlighted the significance of ongoing efforts to completely resolve the situation and reinstate peace in the border regions.

If a bilateral meeting occurs between Prime Minister Modi and Xi Jinping, it will mark their first engagement since the beginning of the India-China border standoff in May 2020.

The two leaders briefly met last year in November during the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali.

Prime Minister Modi's initial official engagement will commence at 4 pm local time (7.30 pm IST) during the BRICS' Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue.

At 4.30 pm, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address the assembly for a duration of 10 minutes. Following this, President Jinping is set to deliver a 10-minute address.

He will then participate in the BRICS Leaders Retreat, which will also involve Russian President Vladimir Putin through a video link.

The discussions during this retreat could encompass subjects like global developments and the expansion of BRICS membership.
In image accused Premoday Khaka/courtesy: His Facebook page

New Delhi/IBNS: The teen girl raped multiple times by suspended senior Delhi government official Premoday Khakha was drugged before each act of sexual abuse, media reports said Tuesday.

As these shocking details emerged, it was also reported that in one instance, the girl woke up to injuries on her body, police sources told NDTV.

According to reports, the young girl, who was 14 years old at the time of the incident, was depressed after her father died in 2020.

The father died at the height of the pandemic but not due to COVID-19.

According to the police, the first rape occurred on October 31, 2020. This was likely just days after the young girl, traumatised by her father's death, was sent to Khakha's home in Burari in northeast Delhi by her mother, less than two weeks later.

The mother said the official had convinced her she would be safe in his care.

NDTV quoting police sources reported that the teen was raped at least once more during her five-month stay in Burari in February 2021.

A month later she went to Jharkhand for a family function and did not return to Khakha's home.

In her statement to the police, the girl said Khakha used to molest her in church as well as at his home.

The teen girl, now a Class XII student, suffered frequent panic attacks after her father died, forcing her to drop out of school after Class IX and enroll in an open learning institution.

The attacks on the young girl were only revealed this month after she spoke to a counsellor at a Delhi hospital, where she was being treated for another round of panic attacks. She had been rushed to the hospital by her mother.

On August 13, Delhi Police registered a case against the accused, who works as deputy director in the Women and Child Development department of the Delhi government, under relevant sections at Burari Police Station on the basis of a complaint from a minor girl, police said earlier.

On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the suspension of this official and sought a report on the matter from the Chief Secretary.

The Delhi Commission for Women issued notices to the Delhi Police and the AAP government on Monday over an alleged sexual assault of a girl by Khaka.

The Commission asked the police to provide details of the action taken against the officer in the matter.
In image actor Prakash Raj

Bengaluru/IBNS: An FIR has been lodged against Prakash Raj by Hindu organisation leaders accusing the actor of "mocking" India's ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission, police said.

The complaint has been lodged in Banahatti police station of Bagalakote district, seeking action against the actor over sharing a caricature on social media platform X (formally known as Twitter), which according to FIR hurts the sentiments of the people who are hoping for a successful landing of Vikram.

On Monday, Prakash Raj responded to the backlash on his social media post on India's moon mission Chandrayaan-3 and said 'hate sees only hate' while clarifying that he was referring to an old joke.

The actor said his earlier tweet was referring to an old joke from the era of Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969.

"Hate sees only Hate... i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times.. celebrating our Kerala Chaiwala.. which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see?? .. if you don't get a joke then the joke is on you.. Grow up #justasking(sic)," Raj posted.

Hate sees only Hate.. i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times .. celebrating our kerala Chaiwala .. which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see ?? .. if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you .. GROW UP #justasking https://t.co/NFHkqJy532  Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) August 21, 2023

On Sunday, Raj shared a cartoon showing a man pouring tea. He captioned the cartoon in Kannada, writing, "Latest news: First view just arrived from the Chandrayaan #VikramLander #justasking".

The cartoon has an uncanny resemblance with former ISRO chief K Sivan under whose tenure the Moon mission had failed in the final stage.

Sivan had wept when it failed on live nationwide telecast as Prime Minister Modi consoled him.

Prakash Raj is known as a virulent Modi critic.

The post of Raj on X, formerly known as Twitter, was seen as a sarcastic and derogatory swipe at the Chandrayaan-3 mission by several social media users.

The post was termed insensitive and derogatory by users who urged him to show respect for the scientists responsible for India's historic Moon mission.

"Chandrayaan-3 is something the whole of India must be proud of, irrespective of political ideology. Know the boundary between political vs national trolling," wrote one user.

"There is a difference between hating someone and hating your country. So sad to see this state of yours!" wrote another.

Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14, is scheduled to touch down on the Moon's south pole on August 23.


Thousands evacuate because of Tenerife wildfire in Spain | Photo Courtesy: UNI

Madrid/UNI: The Canary Islands' Emergency and Security Coordination Center declared on Saturday that a staggering evacuation of over 26,000 individuals would be imperative due to an uncontrolled wildfire wreaking havoc on the island of Tenerife.

"Based on preliminary estimates stemming from a comprehensive census, the potential number of evacuees could well surpass the 26,000-person mark," the agency communicated via X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Canary Islands' government unveiled that an unrelenting forest fire on Tenerife had engulfed an expansive 5,000 hectares (approximately 12,355 acres), maintaining its firm grip on an unchecked spread.

The authorities have taken decisive action to deploy a fleet of 17 aircraft to quell the rampant flames.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced his slated visit to the fire-stricken island on Monday.

The scale of the disaster escalated as a forest fire, raging ferociously on Tenerife - the largest of Spain's Canary Islands, mushroomed to cover a colossal 12,813 hectares (around 31,661 acres), as disclosed by the governmental body of the Canary Islands on Sunday.

"The extent of the fire's impact presently spans 12,813 hectares across 11 municipalities, its perimeter stretching an extensive 90 kilometers [equivalent to 55 miles]," the government conveyed, further noting that an approximate count of 379 firefighters are meticulously engaged in the herculean task of extinguishing the blazing inferno.

At an earlier juncture on Sunday, official records indicated that a noteworthy tally of 12,279 individuals had been safely evacuated in light of the fire's menacing advance.

Simultaneously, the Emergency and Security Coordination Center of the Canary Islands, in an earlier statement on Saturday, underscored the potential for the evacuation numbers to swell beyond the staggering threshold of 26,000.

During the course of the week, Fernando Clavijo, President of the Canary Islands, ominously characterized the blaze as the most intricate conflagration the region has grappled with over the past four decades.
Image: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

More than 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis have been killed so far this year in demonstrations, clashes, military operations, attacks and other incidents, which already surpasses last years death toll, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said in a briefing to the Security Council on Monday.

It represents the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and reflects concerning trends seen in recent months throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Palestinians and Israelis are killed and injured in near daily violence  including just hours before this briefing when another fatal shooting attack killed an Israeli in the West Bank, he said, speaking from Jerusalem.

Extremists taking advantage

The violence is fuelled and exacerbated by a growing sense of despair about the future, said Mr. Wennesland, whose official title is UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

The lack of progress towards a political horizon that addresses the core issues driving the conflict has left a dangerous and volatile vacuum, filled by extremists on both sides, he told the Council.

We are a long distance apart from the sentiments prevailing when the Oslo Accord was signed 30 years ago on 19 August.

Although the parties have taken measures towards stabilizing the situation, unilateral steps continue, including Israeli settlement growth, demolitions, Palestinian militant activity, and settler violence.

Mr. Wennesland reiterated that all perpetrators must be held accountable and brought to justice. He also condemned violence against civilians, including acts of terror, and urged security forces to exercise maximum restraint and use of lethal force.

Gaza ceasefire holding

Meanwhile, a cessation of hostilities in Gaza continues to hold following the escalation in May. However, the humanitarian situation there remains dire.

Gazans have been facing higher-than-normal electricity shortages lasting up to 12 hours a day, amid lack of capacity to meet soaring summertime demands. Additional funding by Qatar has increased supply by nearly two hours a day.

The power cuts sparked mass protests against Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, under blockade now for over 17 years. Thousands took to the streets on 30 July, and videos showing Hamas security forces beating protestors were widely circulated. In response, Hamas led counter-protests against Israel.

Hamas also sentenced seven civilians in Gaza to death for collaborating with Israel. Mr. Wennesland underlined the UNs strong opposition to the death penalty in any circumstances.

Turning to the wider region, he reported on incidents such as the deadly violence at the Ein el Hilweh Palestine refugee camp in southern Lebanon that erupted in late July. Clashes between Fatah and Islamist factions left 13 people dead and over 50 injured. He appealed for restraint and called for an end to any further violence.

Funding shortfalls affect millions

Mr. Wennesland also updated ambassadors on the dire fiscal state of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank. It has a projected deficit of more than $370 million this year.

"Austerity measures have resulted in significant reductions to civil servant salaries and social assistance, he said.

Humanitarians also need funding for their activities across the region.

The UN agency that assists Palestinians, UNRWA, urgently requires $35 million to provided food aid to 1.2 million people in Gaza, while the World Food Programme (WFP) needs $41 million to restore its operations across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Furthermore, an overall $502 million humanitarian plan is only around 30 per cent funded, and he called for increased international support.
More than 100 Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) members recently vandalised a place of worship of the Ahmadiya community in Pakistan's Sialkot district.

The mob, led by one Ziharul, a local TLP leader, on August 18 forced the police and civil administration to reach the place and demolish the arch constructed in the building.

According to reports, this was the 18th attack on Ahmadiyas' place of worship in 2023.

A few days back, more than 20 churches, and 90 houses of Christian community members were burnt to ashes in Isa Nagar area of Jaranwala in Punjabs Faislabad district over fake blasphemy allegations.

Majlis Ulema-e-Pakistan and Interfaith Council for Peace and Harmony organized a Condemnation Conference at Lahore Press Club on August 18 regarding the attacks on the Christian communitys Churches, houses and shops at Isa Nagar, Jaranwala area of Punjabs Faislabad district over fake blasphemy allegations.

Speaking at the conference Maulana Sayed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad said that the incident deserves the harshest condemnation and demanded severe punishment for those involved.

He said that even if blasphemy is committed by any specific member of any particular community, there are laws which are required to be followed and no one is allowed to act violently.

He reminded Pakistans Muslim community that each member of the Pakistani minority community, including Hindu, Sikhs and Christian, stood together with Muslims in unanimously condemning the desecration of Quran recently in Sweden.
Photo Caption: A woman buying from a shop in Kabul city. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

In a country ruled by Taliban forces and eves being dominated, over 20 female artists exhibited their paintings in Kabul by holding an exhibition.

According to the organizers of this exhibition, the purpose of launching this exhibition is to motivate and show the ability of women, Tolo News reported.

The work of approximately 20 to 24 girls are exhibited here. We also have another book exhibition at the same time, so visitors can enjoy both the painting exhibition and the book, Rahila, an organizer, told the news agency.

Some of the women exhibitions want to see the Taliban government's attention and support for their artistic creations.

In Afghanistan, we have many female artists who cant show their ability, but our message to them is to not give up under any circumstance and participate in such exhibitions and display your art to the world, Frozan, an artist, told Tolo News.

They also demanded the Taliban government to reopen schools.

Another artist Hussna Aslami said: We called on the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools and universities for girls."

Zahra Ahmadi, a visitor, told Tolo News, "Please recognize women. It is not right that men work, and women stay at home. When they said that men and women have equal rights, they should also pay attention to it."
Photo Courtesy: Arif Alvi Twitter page

Islamabad: Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Sunday triggered a controversy when he said he denied signing the Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 and Pakistan Army Amendment Act 2023.

He also tendered an apology to those who would be affected by the passage and implementation of these laws, The News International reported.

On Sunday, he wrote on X: " As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws. "

"I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned & was assured that they were," Alvi said.

He said: "However I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command. As Allah knows all, He will forgive IA. But I ask forgiveness from those who will be effected."

The statement opened a Pandoras box as immediately after the post, the Ministry of Law and Justice said in a press statement that it had noted with grave concern the presidents recent tweet, reported The News International.

The ministrys statement said that as per Article 75 of the Constitution, when a bill is sent for assent, the president has two options: either give assent, or refer the matter to the parliament with specific observations. The Article 75 does not provide for any third option.

As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws. I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times that  Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) August 20, 2023

The statement said returning of bills without any observations or assent is not provided for in the Constitution.

Such a course of action is against letter and spirit of the Constitution, it stated.

It said that if the president had any reservations, he could have returned the bills with his observations like he did in the recent and distant past. He could have also issued a press release to that effect, the statement added.

The statement said, It is a matter of concern that the president has chosen to discredit his own officials. The President should take responsibility for his own actions.
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Members of the Christian community on Sunday demonstrated against the burning of churches and houses in Jaranwala area of Pakistan's Punjab region and demanded action against the people involved in the incident.

Holding banners and placards, the protesters gathered outside Peshawar Press Club and chanted slogans against the Jaranwala incident, Dawn News.

The members also condemned the incident.

They urged the government to order an inquiry in the incident.

In case the government does not take immediate action, then we will be forced to protest in Islamabad, the protesters told Dawn News.

The protesters were led by Pakistan Youth Parliament minister for minorities Gideon Joseph, provincial president of Minorities Alliance Pakistan Anush Bhatti, Bishop of Pakistan Humphrey Sarfaraz Peter and political activist Daniyal Jamshed while Hindu community leader Haroon Sarb Dayal also participated in the demonstration, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

Recently, the properties of several poor families were burnt down, damaged and looted and 21 churches were ransacked during rampage in Jaranwala.
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

Lahore police have arrested eight members of the Ahmadi community for allegedly preaching their beliefs in the Badami Bagh area of the Pakistani city.

Police acted after a violent mob, believed to be of the members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), allegedly attacked a factory, owned by an Ahmadi man, reports Dawn News.

There were reports that the attackers held some members of the Ahmadi community hostage, damaged the furniture and some parts of the factory, the newspaper.

The situation reportedly turned ugly after the attackers thrashed the Ahmadis and one of them called police for help.

Police, however, denied the attack by the TLP men.

Police arrived and took eight Ahmadis into custody from the spot and shifted them to the undisclosed location, the sources told Dawn News, adding that a delegation of the community later met the police high-ups and complained to them about the local polices excessive action.
Photo Courtesy: X video grab

All eight passengers, who were trapped in a cable car in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, have been rescued, officials said on Tuesday.

The rescue operation spanned 14 hours.

Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar confirmed the success of the rescue operation and wrote on X: "Relieved to know that Alhamdolillah all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people."

Earlier in the day, eight passengers, which included six students and two locals, were trapped in midair when two cables of the vehicle snapped.

Relieved to know that Alhamdolillah all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people.  https://t.co/2gPq2Q51Xi  Anwaar ul Haq Kakar (@anwaar_kakar) August 22, 2023

They got stuck when two wires of the cable car snapped, Assistant Commissioner (AC) Jawad Hussain earlier told DawnNews, adding the cable car was privately run by locals for transportation across rivers as there were no roads or bridges in the area.
Image: Donald Trump Twitter

Washington/UNI: Former US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would turn himself in on Thursday to the authorities in Atlanta for the Georgia election interference case.

Trump and 18 others were indicted on Aug. 14 over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

Trump was charged with 13 counts, including violating the state's racketeering act, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiring to file false documents.

The indictment followed a two-and-a-half-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The probe was launched after audio leaked from a January 2021 phone call during which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to question the validity of thousands of ballots, especially in the heavily Democratic Atlanta area. Trump said he wanted to "find" the votes to erase his 2020 loss in the state.

A judge in Atlanta set bail for Trump at 200,000 U.S. dollars on Monday in the election interference case against him, according to U.S. media reports.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed that he would turn himself in on Thursday and also attacked Willis.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History. In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for "Murder," but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!" said Trump.

"She (Willis) campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked (U.S. President) Joe Biden's DOJ (Department of Justice). It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he added.

The Georgia case is the fourth criminal case to be brought against the former president.

Trump is facing separate federal charges for plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

In March, he was indicted on New York state charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush-money payments to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
While witnessing teary-eyed reunions at the airport is not unusual, this one was unique. Seventeen Indian nationals, lured on the pretext of jobs and held captive by an armed group in Libya, returned to their homeland after six months on Sunday night.

PTI

Their rescue operation, led by an Indian MP, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the United Nations, had been ongoing since June.



Sold and badly beaten up

The Indian youths, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, who were released from Tripoli Jail in Libya last month, returned to Delhi on Sunday night.

As reported by Indian Express, many of the individuals left India between February and April this year.

They were reportedly given 'visas' and 'work permits' by travel agents and left India hoping to get a job in Italy. Many families even had to sell their land to fund their travel and stay.

The men were first taken to Dubai and then to Egypt. They were then sold to a local group by their agent in Libya's Zuwara.

One of the victims, Paramjeet Singh, said, as quoted by Indian Express, "I was sold to a person in Dubai." He told police that he was beaten up badly by the person to whom he was sold.

VIDEO | 17 Indian youths, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, who were released from Tripoli Jail in Libya last month, returned to Delhi on Sunday night. They were in Libya for the past six months because of unscrupulous travel agents who duped them on the pretext of sending them to pic.twitter.com/BhoXOJibrQ  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 21, 2023

They were taken through the "donkey route"  a term used by traffickers to illegally push migrants to reach Western countries.



Indian Embassy in Tunisia tweeted on X (formerly known as Twitter), "The Embassy of India to Libya successfully repatriated 17 Indian nationals from Punjab and Haryana (on 19 August 2023), who were detained in Libya since February 2023. The Indians safely reached India on 20 August 2023 by Gulf Air flight at 2030 hours."

Emergency certificates issued for return

The case was first brought to the attention of Indian authorities in Tunisia on May 26 by family members of the stranded Indian nationals.

Throughout May and June, the embassy pursued the matter with Libyan authorities and through informal channels.

On June 13, the rescue operation began officially. However, Libyan authorities were not willing to let the Indians get out of their custody on the ground that they had illegally entered the country.

The authorities agreed to release them only after high-level interventions by the Indian ambassador in Tunis and senior MEA officials from New Delhi.

Twitter

The Indian Embassy issued emergency certificates as well as paid for their tickets for return to India.



Heinous crime

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) Rajya Sabha member Vikramjit Singh Sahney reportedly played a crucial role in evacuating the Indians from Libya.

Singh posted on X, "With blessings of Akalpurakh Waheguru jee we spearheaded successful evacuation of 17 youth of Punjab & Haryana from gallows of death in Libya where unscrupulous agents duped them after taking 13 Lakh each."

Sordid tale of youth what ordeal they went through and how managed to return safely from gallows of torture & death #humantraffiking https://t.co/gj4PPXfxuk pic.twitter.com/pQUDY7AB6a  Vikramjit Singh MP (@vikramsahney) August 20, 2023

He called for immediate FIRs to be registered against those who committed this heinous crime.

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


In what is a nightmare for parents, six children are trapped 900 ft mid-air after the wires of their chairlift or cable car snapped in a mountainous area in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday.

Apart from the children, there are 2 adults, bringing the total to eight.

The chairlift is dangling in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by towering mountains and a rocky surface, along with the Jhangri river beneath it, as reported by Dawn newspaper.

Rescue operation for chairlift stuck at 900ft mid-air

Pakistan Army has launched a complicated rescue operation for the same, which is currently underway.



Run by locals to cross river due to lack of road

The children were headed to school when the incident occurred at around 8 am in Battagram's Allai tehsil, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Locals use the chairlift as a way to cross the river as there are no roads or bridges in the area, according to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah. He said that the chairlift was privately run by locals for transportation.

According to a local school teacher, Zafar Iqbal, at least 150 students take the hazardous journey to school by cable car every day due to the lack of road facilities in the area, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Video grab showing the cable car stuck mid-air/ Umeed Sahar via Reuters

The breakage of one of its cables has been said as the reason why it is stuck.



Citing a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geo News reported, "A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cables in Battagram. Eight persons, including 6 children, stranded."

Need to ensure safety measures for cable cars in hilly areas

Although the local administration and Rescue 1122 teams were present at the spot, they could not carry out the rescue operation due to the height of the hilly area, according to Allai Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain.

Thus, Pakistan Army's quick response force had to be called for the rescue operation.

The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming. I have directed the NDMA, PDMA and district authorities to urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the 8 people stuck in the chairlift.

I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such  Anwaar ul Haq Kakar (@anwaar_kakar) August 22, 2023

Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar asked the national and provincial disaster management authorities to utilise all the available resources and issued directives to ensure safety measures for cable cars in the hilly areas.

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


In a sweet gesture bound to bring happy tears, a pilot made a heartfelt announcement for his mother working on the same flight as an attendant.

In the video shared by United Airlines, the pilot - Cole Doss - shared his joy for being on the same flight as his mother and expressed gratitude to her.

Instagram

This mother-son duo truly has us all shedding a tear!



Family-friendly sky indeed

The video shared by United Airlines is captioned: ''When the person who used to pack your lunch becomes your coworker."

As usual, Cole starts by updating customers regarding the weather in Madrid, where the flight is headed.

He continues with the regular updates, saying: "Finally, as you have boarded us today, you have met some of our most talented flight attendants here at United. They are here for your comfort, but primarily, your safety."

But he then goes 'off-script' by saying, "One of these flight attendants, in particular, working with us today is not only an exceptional flight attendant, but also my exceptional mom,'' the pilot said, as the passengers began to cheer and look on with beaming faces.

Instagram

He added, "Today is the first time in two years at United we are able to work together. She's been one of my biggest supporters of life and career in becoming a pilot ever since my very first flight lesson. I am not done. I'm especially honoured and excited to be able to fly her for the first time today and to be able to share this experience with all of you on our flight to Madrid. To my mom, I love you and to everyone on board, welcome aboard our family-friendly skies. Thank you."



Made eyes water, say netizens

It is not only the passengers who went "Aww", but also the ones to have seen this video on Instagram.

One comment said, "Moms walk so our children can FLY! one day, we can literally fly together."

Another said, "I love these kind of family stories."

''STOPPPPPP the way this made my eyes water," added another.

Yet another comment sent kudos to the working mom, saying, "Props to all the working Moms out there for inspiring the next generation of dedicated professionals! We see you and we love you!!"

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


Embarking on a summer vacation is expected to be a delightful highlight of the year, yet it often introduces its fair share of anxieties. The checklist of tasks, from ensuring all essentials are packed to retrieving that crucial passport, can easily lead to overwhelming stress.

Amidst these concerns, a significant moment emerges at the airport: the shift into what can be playfully called 'dad mode.'

A flight attendant, Kamila Jakubjakova, known for her insights into travel, suggests a unique approach to airport timing for potential benefits.

Instead of adhering to the conventional wisdom of arriving two hours before European flights, Jakubjakova advises travelers to consider coming a bit later, potentially leading to unexpected perks.

Jakubjakova highlights that airlines sometimes oversell tickets and anticipate not all passengers showing up.

In the event of an overbooked flight where all passengers do arrive, economy class travelers might be upgraded to business class.

She suggests that passengers who check in closer to the departure time could be selected for such upgrades, considering they are "extra" passengers. Furthermore, Jakubjakova offers additional travel advice to enhance the flying experience. She suggests a unique way of engaging with cabin crew for potential benefits.

By bringing treats such as candies or chocolates to offer the flight attendants, passengers may create a positive rapport.

This simple act of kindness could lead to an improved flight experience or even a reciprocated gesture from the cabin crew.



Unsplash

In conclusion, these travel insights from Jakubjakova offer a different perspective on airport timing and interacting with cabin crew, providing potential advantages for a smoother and more enjoyable journey.



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In an intriguing revelation, a young software engineer in their twenties employed by Google has disclosed that they dedicate just one hour per day to their work while still reaping a handsome annual salary of $150,000 (approximately Rs 1.2 crore).

Adding to the intrigue, this tech-savvy individual, who goes by the pseudonym Devon, has received a sign-in bonus and anticipates a year-end reward, as Fortune details.

At the same time, his job involves writing code for Google's tools and products. But Devon hadn't started using his laptop when the interview reached him after 10 am.

When asked if he worries about missing messages from his manager, Devon mentioned that if he ever does, "its not the end of the world --Ill just get back to it later tonight."

Devon explained his work approach with the publication that he kickstarted his week by coding a significant portion of a task before passing it on to his manager.

According to him, this approach "basically guarantees" a smoother workflow for the rest of the week.

As per Fortune, 97 percent of Google employees regard it as an excellent workplace, unlike only 57 percent of employees in a typical US company who feel the same.

Google is renowned for its array of perks, including its quirky campus, complimentary meals, and competitive salaries.

Having previously interned at Google, Devon knew he wouldn't need much effort once he secured the job. It wasn't a matter of avoiding work but instead of consciously downplaying his efficiency.

During his internship, he managed to complete all his coding tasks ahead of schedule, granting him the opportunity for a week-long trip to Hawaii.

"If I wanted to work long hours, I'd be at a startup," he explained to Fortune.

"Most people choose Google because of the work-life balance and benefits. You could work at Apple, but Apple has such fan appeal to software engineers. They work long hours..., but at Google, most people know what they're doing is a job."

Devon claims to be among the many software engineers who openly acknowledge that they are compensated for relatively light workloads.

Unsplash

During a business upswing in the early stages of the pandemic, industry giants such as Meta, Google, and Salesforce were aggressively recruiting in anticipation of continued growth, as The Wall Street Journal reported.



This "penning" trend involved tech giants stockpiling employees even if their roles weren't immediately necessary. According to Devon's account to Fortune, this is precisely what happened at Google.

The company's leaders were actively acquiring talent to prevent them from joining competing firms and developing products that could challenge Google's offerings.

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As Indian Desi immigrants embark on their journey to the United States, their emotions mirror the rich diversity of the cultures they leave behind. While driven by optimism, many leave their home country for better opportunities, yet their path is not without its share of challenges.



Indian Desi immigrants experience profound feelings of homesickness due to leaving behind friends, family, and the routines of their original country.

Foreign air has replaced the familiar aroma of spices, the rhythm of their native dialect, and the colorful events that have punctuated their lives.

The initial enthusiasm for the American dream may be laced with isolation and longing for the warmth of their original culture amid towering skyscrapers and bustling cities.

Representative Image

As Desi immigrants adjust to the United States, they often find themselves in humorous and tricky situations. These comical experiences are a natural aspect of adapting to a new culture.



screenshot

They show how laughter and cultural exchange can bring people closer together despite difficulties. Here are epic lines by comedians that sum up the true feelings of every confused desi in the USA.

1. Vir Das: "Once you go brown, All the other colors let you down."

Twitter

Many Indians must confront the unpleasant and discouraging reality of colorism and racism. The damaging perceptions and low self-esteem that arise from racial discrimination are still prevalent in today's culture.



When Indians travel to other nations, especially the United States, they might encounter racial stereotypes such as racism, microaggressions, and systemic inequities due to their race and appearance."

2. "If you arent in the moment, you are either looking forward to uncertainty or back to pain and regret." Jim Carrey

The uncertainty surrounding jobs and careers is a common concern for Desi immigrants in the USA. As they embark on their journey to a new land, they often encounter a complex landscape filled with opportunities and challenges.

Navigating the American job market can be daunting, as it operates under different norms and practices than its home country.

Desi immigrants might face qualifications recognition, work experience, and even language proficiency uncertainties. Additionally, the competition for specific fields and industries can be intense, leading to worries about securing stable employment.

3. "The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, youre still a rat."  Lily Tomlin

screenshot

For many Desi immigrants, pursuing success in a foreign land can often feel like an unending rat race with no discernible finish line. The struggle to establish themselves and the drive to achieve their aspirations creates a relentless cycle that seems to stretch indefinitely.



4. "Sometimes you just have to put on lip gloss and pretend to be psyched."  Mindy Kaling

When challenges seem impossible, the simple brilliance of a good lip gloss can be a beacon of resilience, reflecting how Desi immigrants consistently rise to the occasion. It's a testament to their unwavering spirit that they find the strength to shine and show up with grace and determination even amidst adversity.



5. "Confidence is 10 percent hard work and 90 percent delusion, just thinking foolishly that you will be able to do what you want to do."  Tina Fey

screenshot

For immigrants in the USA, a unique blend of confidence and delusion often propels them forward as they navigate uncharted territories with self-assuredness and a touch of hopeful imagination. This balance fuels their courage to tackle challenges head-on, turning dreams into reality while embracing the uncertainties of their new journey.



6. "Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit." George Carlin

Desi immigrants enter a new country driven to forge a brighter future for themselves and their families, working relentlessly to avoid job loss and embrace chances for advancement.

Their unyielding dedication, born from overcoming challenges, mirrors the sentiment in the quote, showcasing their commitment to rising beyond survival, aiming for a future that extends beyond mere employment.



7. "If opportunity doesnt knock, build a door."  Milton Berle

Faced with unfamiliar landscapes and hurdles, these immigrants often take the initiative to create opportunities, leveraging their skills, perseverance, and innovative thinking to forge paths to success, even in the face of adversity.
On Monday, the individual considered the most prolific child killer in modern British history started her lifelong imprisonment for the murder of seven newborn babies and the attempted murder of six others under her care.

In Manchester, located in northwest England, a judge sentenced nurse Lucy Letby to an exceptionally severe whole-life order.

This rare punishment, reserved for the gravest offenses, ensures she will never be released.

"The court order is a whole-life order on every offense, and you will spend the rest of your life in prison," said Judge James Goss.

However, Letby, who is 33 years old, ignited fury among the families of her young victims when she opted not to appear at the sentencing hearing. This decision has led to politicians' commitments to address this legal process gap.

screenshot

The prosecutor, Goss, stated that Letby exhibited "pre-meditation, calculation, and cunning" with a level of "malevolence bordering on sadism." Throughout the trial, she consistently and "coldly" denied accountability for her deeds.

Most of her young victims experienced intense pain, yet she misled her colleagues at the Countess of Chester Hospital regarding her actions.

Letby maintained medical notes that functioned as "morbid records" of her actions, discovered during police searches of her residence following her arrest.

Unsplash

"You have no remorse," the judge said. "There are no mitigating factors."



"You acted in a way completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies and in gross breach of the trust that all citizens place in those who work in the medical and caring professions," he added.

"Lifelong harm" had been caused to her victims' families by cutting short young lives "almost as soon as they began," the judge said. "Loving parents have been robbed of their cherished children. You have caused deep psychological trauma," he added.

The motivations behind the killings remain undisclosed from June 2015 to June 2016.

These acts have propelled Letby into the ranks of Britain's most infamous serial killers.

In the UK, approximately 70 individuals are presently serving a whole-life order.

Historically, only three women have received this sentence. These include Myra Hindley, a participant in the "Moors Murders" with her partner Ian Brady, which claimed five young lives in the 1960s. Additionally, serial killers Rose West and Joanna Dennehy have been subjected to this punishment. Hindley passed away in 2002.

Harold Shipman, a medical practitioner responsible for the deaths of 15 patients, with suspicions of up to 250 victims, was sentenced to a whole-life term in 2000. In 2004, he took his own life in his prison cell.

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The fire is in low vegetation but in a difficult spot, and strong winds are blowing in the area
The government is examining a series of measures to be implemented at the beginning of the next year to offset pressure from high energy and food prices and boost consumption.

2-billion-euro income support in 2024 -  
A 35-year-old electrician, Sunday Andrew who was accused of stealing a plasma television and N18,000 cash has been arraigned before a Lugbe Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja.

According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the police charged Andrew of Jedu, Airport Road Abuja, with criminal trespass, housebreaking and theft.

The prosecutor, Mr Stanley Nwaforaku told the court that the complainant, Mr Boniface Chinedu of Lugbe, Zone 8 Abuja, reported the case at the Trade More Police Station on Aug.17.

READ ALSO: Court Remands 23-Year-Old Labourer For Allegedly Stealing Ponmo

Nwaforaku said that the defendant criminally trespassed into the complainants compound and broke into his house at Lugbe, Zone 8 without his consent.

He said that the defendant stole the complainants plasma television, N18,000 cash, gas cylinders, chargers and some clothings.

According to Nwaforaku, in the process of escaping with the stolen item, the defendant was caught and the stolen items were recovered from him.

The prosecutor said that during police investigation, the defendant made a confessional statement, adding that the offence contravened Sections 348, 354 and 287 of the Penal Code.

The Judge, Mr Aliyu Kagarko admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N500,000 and a surety in like sum.

He ordered that the surety must reside within the courts jurisdiction.

Kagarko adjourned the case until Aug. 25 for hearing.
The Ibioete village in Odoroikot community of Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has lamented the level of destruction to its residents following the result of the recent oil spills that have taken place in the region.

The spill which occurred in July, reportedly destroyed large farmlands and led to the loss of aquatic lives in the affected areas.

The community in a statement by its village head, Eteidung Akpan J. Ekpo, and Secretary, Elder Akpan I. Akpan, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Monday, recalled the devastating effect of previous oil spills which occurred in the area between 1996 and 2012.

It disclosed that compensation was paid to the community by the ExxonMobil and Okoro Oilfield-AMNI International Development companies after a visit and confirmation by the Oil companies.

READ ALSO: Oil Spillage: Two Niger Delta Communities Drag Shell To Court In London

The villagers asked the state government and pertinent agencies to mop up the spilt oil and pay compensation to the affected fishermen and community accordingly while regretting that the actions of these oil companies had once again subjected the community to an oil spill.

The statement which was copied to the Executive Chairman of Mkpat Enin, the Paramount Ruler and Stakeholders of community reads in part Its unfortunate that Ibioete Village, Odoroikot community in Mkpat Enin LGA, is suffering from the damages caused by the recent Oil Spillage along it Atlantic Ocean.

History will tell that this same issues happened in 1996 and in 2012 when the concerned oil company ie ExxonMobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and Okoro Oilfield-AMNI International Development company limited visited the community, Tested the water and confirmed that it was a reality.

Not withstanding, the community and of course the Mkpat Enin Local Government Area was compensated accordingly. Base on this, the activities of these oil companies again have led to another oil spill this year July 2023.

This has caused a lot of damages to our fishermen at the Atlantic Ocean and within the Creeks / Rivers.

We use this medium to draw the attention of the state government and the oil companies concern to, with a matter of urgency Mop up the spilled oil and pay compensation to the affected Fishermen, community accordingly.
Another Chibok schoolgirl has regained freedom from Boko Haram captivity nine years after the mass abduction by the terror group at a boarding school in northeast Borno State.

Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai Joint Task Force Northeast, Maj Gen Gold Chibuisi, told journalists at a press briefing in Maiduguri on Monday, that Mary Nkeki was rescued by the military troops during an operation on the 14 August, 2023.

The commander disclosed that Mary was forcefully married to one Adam while in Boko Haram enclave.

Mary said her Boko Haram husband facilitated her escape after he surrendered to the Nigerian Army troops.

General Gold also revealed that the rescued girl was immediately admitted to the Armys medical facility for checks.

READ MORE: End Our Agony  Parents Of Abducted Chibok Girls Plead With Tinubu To Ensure Release

He said the lady has been certified stable and will be handed over to the state government for further assessment.

Mary said she is still in love with her terrorist husband and would love to be reunited with him.

As for marriage, my husband is still alive and I am still in love with him. I dont know whether he is still in Dikwa or they brought him to Maiduguri but I will love to be reunited with him if it will be possible, she said.
As part of efforts to end terrorism in the north-West region in Nigeria, the Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, has revealed his plans to hire 9,000 young people to assist security agencies in combating insecurity.

Governor Sani explained that he had always been an advocate for state police during his time as a senator, and he intends to start the recruitment process soon.

Speaking on Channels TV on Monday, Sani said, Coming to Kaduna, I also revived the Kaduna State Vigilance Service.

As we are speaking right now, in the next week, we are going to recruit at least 7,000 youths who are going to be running our Kaduna State Vigilance Service.

READ MORE: Troops Kill Three Bandits, Rescue 10 Kidnapped Victims In Kaduna

According to the state Governor, security agencies are lacking the boots in their bid to tackle insecurity.

And of course, they need the support of our local vigilance service. As of today, we have only 2,000 but we are recruiting another 7,000 to make them 9,000, the former lawmaker explained.

And I am happy both the commissioner of police, the director of DSS, and even the GOC here in Kaduna, are all involved in making sure that all our vigilance service is having adequate training. We are using the police college to train them and that is very key.

As I am speaking with you, we are on the same page. We are trying our best to make sure we have a joint operation, the governor said.
Tahir Mamman, the newly-inaugurated Minister of Education, says Nigerians will see a difference in the sector at the end of his tenure.

The minister, who spoke on Monday at an event organised by the Adamawa community in Abuja in his honour, promised to accomplish the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubus administration, to transform the education sector.

By Gods grace, we intend to work and by the time we serve our tenure, Nigerians will see the difference.

We know how critical the ministry is. It is the ministry that produces lawyers, doctors, engineers and others. If we are able to get things right, it will be for our betterment, he said.

Boss Mustapha, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), at the event, called on Nigerians to pray for Mamman to bring improvement and succour to the sector.

The former SGF said the education sector is facing many challenges that need to be addressed.

READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanu: Supreme Court Subverting Justice Over Flimsy Excuse  IPOB Queries Continuous Case Adjournment

Mustapha expressed optimism that the new minister would succeed by transforming the sector within the shortest time.

What we are doing here today is symbolic and prophetic. Prof. Mamman is a gentleman with a great sense of commitment and a patriotic Nigerian.

This is a public trust and Mamman requires us to uphold him with prayers so that he will take the right decision that will bring improvement and succour to the turbulence in the sector.

It is not the time to criticise him but a time to pray for him and give him advice to succeed, Mustapha added.

Buba Marwa, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on his part thanked Mamman for taking up the challenge of the education sector.

Mamman is not new to the terrain of education. In spite of the challenges waiting for him, we believe he will do very well.

We pray for God to guide, protect and guard him for a successful tenure, Marwa said.
President Bola Tinubu has urged the newly appointed ministers to serve the country with integrity, dignity and deliver in their different assignments.

Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony of the 45 ministers at the State House Conference Centre (Old Banquet Hall), Abuja, Tinubu said the country is currently battling daunting challenges, adding that the ministers must implement long overdue reforms and restore the citizenrys belief in government.

Tinubu said the assignment before the ministers begins immediately and that they must meet the expectations of Nigerians.

He told the new cabinet members that they were ministers of the country and not ministers of a region or state.

READ MORE: Your Highest Obligation Is To Restore Public Faith In Government  Tinubu Charges New Ministers

The President said: I expect that you will serve with integrity, dignity and deliver. I will hold you to that standard we all promised Nigerians. Your assignment begins immediately.

As your country honours you today, by this call to service, you must each work to make yourself worthy in the eyes of God and all our nations peoples.

Your highest obligation is to return public faith in government so that our people can once again believe what the right hands in government can show.

I believe in you that the government can be a positive force for transformation and a vehicle for collective progress of this country.

I wish you success in this new assignment. We are on this boat, even if it is a vehicle and I am the driver. The entire Nigerians are behind sitting and watching as you and I navigate this vehicle.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed confidence in the ability of the Ministers appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do their job excellently.

The party led this out in its congratulatory message shortly after the 45 Ministers were sworn-in on Monday at an event held at the banquet hall of the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

READ MORE: This Is Not How To Run A Government  Former Presidential Candidate Knocks Tinubu

According to the APC, the Ministers will ensure the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda to transform Nigeria.

We congratulate newly-appointed ministers on their inauguration by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. We are confident that the new members of Federal Executive Council will ensure the successful implementation of our Renewed Hope agenda to positively transform our dear country, the ruling party tweeted.

Shortly after the sworn-in of the new Ministers, the President vowed to hold his Ministers accountable for the standards that Nigerians have been promised.

He said, I know you and I delegate this authority, but the greatest number of Nigerians are highly expectant of delivery, accountability, and transparency. Nigerians expect that you will act with integrity, dignity, and deliver. I will hold you to that standard we all promised Nigerians.
"Washed in the Blood" at the Yellow Bicycle Theater, with (from left) Jonathan Power, Varda Appleton, and Jack Piccioni. Read more

Growing up in an evangelical Christian home in upstate New York and then central Florida, playwright and filmmaker Joshua Crone was the kid who would invite a friend  like his elementary-school classmate  to church and Sunday school.

I got him to turn his life around  that was like in fourth grade, Crone laughed.

But do proselytizers bear responsibility for the lives of those theyve converted? Crone raises that question in Washed in the Blood, presented through Aug. 27 by Crones theater and indie cinema company, Yellow Bicycle Co.

Crone wrote Washed in the Blood late in 2015, drawing on news accounts of a horrifying mass shooting a few months earlier at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. According to survivors accounts, shooter Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student who ended up killing himself, asked some of his nine victims whether they were Christians. Those who said yes were shot.

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I put myself as a kid in that situation, Crone said.

What would have happened, he wondered, if he had been in that classroom? Would he have denied his faith to save his life? What if he had denied his faith, but then witnessed the friend he converted being killed for refusing to turn away from Christianity? Would Crone bear responsibility for his friends death? What about the youth pastor who encouraged youngsters like Crone to bring their friends to Jesus?

Tough questions, but Crone is not passing judgment on proselytizers. Theyre the people who I grew up with, so I dont think of them as evil, he said.

At the end of the day, its not really a religious play, he said. It leaves you with an agnostic ending. Theres no clear message. It just asks questions, which for me, is the whole point of writing plays.

Crone arrived in Philadelphia in the spring of 2021, having bounced around New York and Los Angeles. By happenstance, he met Fergies Pub co-owner Fergus Fergie Carey at a bicycle shop.

Carey invited Crone to live at a house he owned in South Philadelphia. Crone converted the first floor into a theater, using it for small plays and as a place to film movie scenes.

Eventually, Crone rented the second floor above a deli at 15th and Arch Streets. Converting the space, which had been an escape room, into a 44-seat non-accessible theater. The space opened earlier this month for Washed in the Blood.

Meanwhile, Crone is readying Ashes Ashes, a play reflecting on the August 1945 nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, for performances Sept. 7-21 as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Set in the 1950s and 1980s, Ashes Ashes, a world premiere, involves imagined encounters among a bombing survivor who became a sex worker; the pilot and co-pilot of the plane that dropped the bomb; and a Japanese American journalist.

Also at the Fringe Festival, Crone will screen several of his own films  Black Box, a reflection on the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; Salt of the Earth, a documentary inspired by the January 2022 truckers protest in Canada; and Manifesto, about a former Marines efforts to write his manifesto following a revenge attack on a Los Angeles mosque.

Also on tap for Fringe is the Bicycle Shorts Film Festival  a two-part project. Crone is inviting moviemakers to submit short (13 minutes or less) films with a bicycle theme to be screened at the Yellow Bicycle venue Sept. 22- 24.

In addition, he is mounting a 24-hour film competition with all sorts of fun wrinkles. For example, contestants must include an actual bicycle in every shot and film the entire three-to-seven-minute movie outdoors over a 24-hour period. There will be a mandatory orientation meeting for those participating.

Washed in the Blood, Yellow Bicycle Co., Philadelphia Theatre Co., runs through Aug. 27 at the Yellow Bicycle Theater, 1435 Arch St., 2d floor, Phila. Check Yellowbicycle.com for dates, times for Ashes Ashes, Black Box, Salt of the Earth, and Manifesto, as well as for submission and screening times for the Bicycle Shorts Film Festival. For information on other local events, visit inquirer.com/things-to-do-philly
Bruce Springsteen postponed his two Philadelphia shows at Citizens Bank Park due to illness, as a sign indicated on Aug. 16. Read more

When Bruce Springsteen postponed two concerts last week, he not only left diehard fans devastated and worried on the streets  and in the stadium parking lots  of Philadelphia.

He also left them out hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Soon, however, ticket holders will be able to get refunds by going to phillies.com/springsteen when new dates are announced.

We are hopeful to have a new date in the next couple of days, and once that new date is announced, everyone will have a 30-day window to fill out a refund request form and get a refund, Phillies spokesperson Deb Rinaldi said Tuesday in an email. Obviously all existing tickets are good for the new show if they choose to hold onto them.

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For fans who bought their tickets on a secondary market site such as StubHub or SeatGeek, their seats will also be valid for the rescheduled show, Rinaldi said, but they will need to check with their reseller regarding refunds.

Springsteens camp had yet to announce rescheduled dates as of Tuesday. Given the Phillies schedule, it seems unlikely the Citizens Bank Park shows will happen before 2024, leaving consumers in limbo. A Springsteen tour spokesperson did not return a request for comment.

The law in Pennsylvania doesnt address what rights ticket holders have in the event of a concert postponement, as opposed to a cancellation, consumer experts said, leaving the policies of sellers and the decisions of individual event organizers to dictate what options fans have.

In general, there are not a lot of clear rights on this, said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The lack of transparency gives consumers reason to be anxious. If they reschedule it for next July and its the same weekend your sister is getting married, then thats a problem and you cant go.

Its a reality that left music fans nationwide frustrated in the early months of the pandemic, as some struggled to get back thousands of dollars in tickets for concerts that were postponed indefinitely.

Even once a concert is rescheduled, event organizers arent obligated to offer refunds, and popular resellers such as StubHub and SeatGeek cant offer refunds unless the event is canceled outright.

I think its incumbent on any artist  to do the right thing and give fans the option of a refund when a show is postponed or rescheduled, said John Breyault, a vice president at the National Consumers League.

When they postpone and dont offer you another date, youre essentially giving them thousands of dollars in no-interest loans, Breyault said.

Experts said it never hurts to be politely proactive and contact your ticket seller sooner  especially if you have an extenuating circumstance that makes it unlikely youll make any rescheduled date. Though, it may be hard to make your case for a refund until a new date is announced.

If they dont have another date within a month, itd be time to be concerned for sure and to go ahead and take another step, such as contacting the ticket seller or your credit card company, Murray said. (Beware though that a credit card company may not be much help for purchases made more than a couple months ago.)

Consumer advocates want to see more transparency in all aspects of the ticket-buying process, pushing to end hidden junk fees and make refund policies more clear. They are in favor of the Boss and Swift Act legislation introduced in the spring by Democratic U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr. and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, which would mandate disclosure of refund policies for concert tickets, among a bevy of other measures.
Uley Hines had been friends with Keith Boggs parents for years. So when Boggs needed a place to stay, Hines opened up his home on Coatesvilles Graham Avenue to him.

But that decades-long friendship ended in violence Saturday, when Hines shot Boggs, 61, on the steps of that home over an argument about Hines dog, investigators said Tuesday.

Hines, 83, has been charged with first- and third-degree murder in connection with Boggs death. There was no indication that he had hired a lawyer, and he remained in custody, denied bail.

Chester County District Attorney Deborah Ryan called the shooting a senseless crime and offered her condolences to Boggs family.

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Boggs younger sister, Roxanne, said Tuesday that news of the slaying devastated her family, even more so when they learned that his alleged killer was someone they all deeply trusted.

Keith was a beautiful person, she said from her home in Arizona. Of course, he had his issues  he was human like everyone else  but he did not deserve this.

Her brother was the oldest of three, and leaves behind an 8-year-old daughter, she said. He had lived with Hines for about six years, she said; Boggs had turned to Hines when he was down on his luck and needed a place to stay.

Hines, a longtime friend of Boggs mother, was practically family, she said. Boggs cousin told investigators that everyone referred to him as Uncle Uley, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Hines arrest.

Coatesville police were called to Hines home for reports of an unconscious man on the front steps, the affidavit said. When officers arrived, they saw that Boggs had been shot once in the upper chest. He was taken to Paoli Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Inside the home, a young girl, later identified as the daughter of Hines other roommate, was screaming for help. As the officers went to help her, they noticed a bloody shoe print and drops of blood near the homes front door, according to the affidavit.

A neighbor told detectives that she knows Hines and Boggs, and had been sitting in her living room, reading her Bible, on the morning of the shooting. She said she had heard the two men arguing, and said Boggs at one point asked Hines, What do you want me to do with this dog?

Boggs walked the dog back into the home, after which the woman said she heard two gunshots, the affidavit said. Hines screamed at Boggs, telling him I told you to stop [expletive] with me, according to the woman.

She said she then saw Boggs lying on the steps in front of the home.

Hours after the shooting, detectives tracked Hines through his vehicle to another block in Coatesville not far from his home and took him into custody, the affidavit said.
Police investigators chalk circles marking shell casings remain in the cul-de-sac in the 500 block of N. Creighton Street on Monday. Several gunmen fired at least 60 bullets through a crowd at a cookout in the street over the weekend that left 9 people shot, including one man who died. Read more

Philadelphia Police on Monday identified the man who was fatally shot at what officials are now calling an unpermitted block party over the weekend as 19-year-old Kevin July, saying he was one of nine people shot in the violent episode in West Philadelphias Mill Creek section. The eight other victims survived, police said.

Still, authorities have released few other new details about the crime as they continue to investigate, saying they were not yet sure of a motive, nor were they even certain how many people opened fire during the incident.

Julys relatives declined to comment when contacted by phone Monday.

The shooting happened on the 500 block of North Creighton Street around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, police said, when shooters fired at least 60 shots into a crowd of dozens of people who had gathered for a party or barbecue. The celebration took place at end of the rowhouse-lined street that dead ends in between Wyalusing and Westminster Avenues.

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Keisha McCarty-Skelton, a Streets Department spokesperson, said organizers had not applied for or received a city permit for the event, a relatively involved process that requires buy-in from the majority of neighbors and must be approved by the local police district. (Permitted block parties are also only allowed to run until 8:30 p.m.  well before gunfire erupted on Creighton Street.)

Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said that investigators had recovered at least three different types of fired cartridge casings at the scene, but that they were not yet sure how many shooters there were or why shots rang out in the first place.

One resident of the block, who declined to give her name for fear of retribution, said that at least 100 people had gathered to celebrate a birthday, and that the mood had been festive in the hours before the gunfire.

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents the area, said in an interview that shed spoken to the captain of the 16th Police District and been told that the event was a private gathering that had attracted guests from elsewhere, and that some people who live on the block didnt even know people who engaged in the dispute.

Gauthier said she believes that permitted block parties  which happen earlier in the day and with the consent of city authorities  are generally distinct from such large and unauthorized gatherings, and that sanctioned block parties are an effective way to build community and ensure neighbors look out for one another.

She also said Mill Creek, the neighborhood in which the shooting occurred, is burdened by massive blight and disinvestment, including city-owned properties that have grown dilapidated. And she said the city should focus on investing in housing, clearing vacant lots, and improving the nearby recreation center as ways to improve conditions that can lead to violence.

The chronic disinvestment experienced in neighborhoods like West Mill Creek lends to the thought that nobody cares here, anything goes here, she said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) applauds prior to Gov. Josh Shapiro's first budget address in March at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Read more

As they continue to push for more school choice, Republican leaders say they have an agreement with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to make changes to a little-known state board that can allow the expansion of charter schools.

Pennsylvanias Charter School Appeal Board decides cases brought by charters that have been denied by school districts. The boards members are appointed by the governor  and most of its seats are up for grabs.

Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland), said that after Shapiro vetoed a proposed school voucher program that had been part of the state budget proposal, Republicans prioritized getting more charter schools open.

Because there are 25,000 children on a waiting list in Philadelphia for charter schools, and the charter board ...they dont let them through, Ward said in a recent interview. So we talked to the governor about that and he agreed that we would be fixing that. (A spokesperson for Ward said she got her numbers from Philadelphia charter advocates, but some critics question whether that number is exaggerated.)

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The comment alarmed some public education advocates. Its really surprising to see this announced so publicly, that essentially Gov. Shapiro agreed with Republicans to rig the charter appeals board, said Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters PA.

A spokesperson for Shapiro didnt comment on Wards characterization but said consideration of potential appointees to the charter appeals board is ongoing. Heres what to know about the board and how new members could impact its work:

What is the Charter School Appeal Board?

Charter schools are publicly funded but independently run. In Pennsylvania, anyone seeking to open one has to apply to the school district where it proposes to locate; the district then decides whether to grant the charter.

Districts, which fund charters based on enrollment, also decide whether to renew or close them. The states charter law dictates what circumstances can trigger those denials.

If a charter disagrees, it can appeal to the appeals board, which has the power to overturn districts.

Who is on the board?

The board is supposed to have seven members, including the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

However, it only has five. In June 2021, then-Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf struck a deal with Republicans  who control the Senate and must confirm gubernatorial appointees  to add members to the board, which had been disbanded earlier that year amid a broader dispute between Wolf and Republicans.

But they only agreed on four members, leaving two seats vacant. Appointed were Jennifer Faustman, CEO of Belmont Charter Schools in Philadelphia; Tom Killion, a former Republican state senator from Delaware County; Stacey Marten, a public school teacher in Lancaster County; and Jodi Schwartz, a former Central Bucks school board member.

All but Faustmans term have since expired, meaning that the composition of the board could shift significantly with new appointees.

What do charter advocates say?

Charter advocates say the board hasnt been favorable to them.

When you only have four members, and maybe three of the four oppose charter schools, theres not much likelihood theyre going to approve new charters, said Anne Clark, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools. (After the four appointees, the boards fifth member is Education Secretary Khalid Mumin.)

Clark said the current composition of the board was not equitable and that vacancies should be filled. She said as part of a U.S. Department of Education grant the coalition received to expand charters in Pennsylvania, a consulting group, WestEd, identified the charter appeals board as among the issues we need to be addressing.

Since its current members were appointed in 2021, the board has issued decisions related to a dozen charter schools, siding with the charters twice, according to an Inquirer review. (One of those decisions was decided by default, after a school district in Lackawanna County didnt defend itself against the charters appeal.)

In the 10 other cases, the board voted in favor of districts. It affirmed Philadelphias decisions to end the charters for ASPIRAs Olney and Stetson Charter Schools and Universal Daroff Charter School, and to deny the charter for Joan Myers Brown Academy, which String Theory Schools was seeking to open in West Philadelphia.

Three of the 10 decisions for districts were unanimous, while in the others  including the Philadelphia cases  Faustman or Killion voted in favor of the charters. Killion was absent from several votes.

One of the boards decisions was later overturned by Commonwealth Court, which said it erred in denying a charter seeking to open in the Southeast Delco School District  requiring that the charter provide more detail on planned extracurricular activities and community partnerships than the law requires.

My client was pleased that the Commonwealth Court recognized that replicating a successful charter school ... was a good thing, said Brian Leinhauser, a lawyer for the Vision Academy Charter School of Excellence.

Leinhauser, who plans to go to court on behalf of another charter denied by the appeals board that is seeking to open in Norristown, said the appeals process had become politicized, unfortunately.

What changes do people want to see?

Others said the boards denials reflected deficiencies with the charters.

Its true the board has been pretty rigorous in evaluating charter applications. Its also true that many of the recent charter applications have been remarkably weak, said Susan DeJarnatt, a law professor at Temple University who has researched charters.

In some ways, the board has favored charters, DeJarnatt said. She has argued that the board has wrongly concluded that districts cant consider financial impact when deciding whether to approve new charters.

DeJarnatt also noted that Wolf didnt appoint members until the end of his two terms as governor, meaning for most of his eight-year tenure, the board was populated with appointees of former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

Adding new members to the board might not change much, DeJarnatt said, unless they appointed people who were so ideological they would approve any charter any time, no matter what.

Republicans say changes are needed.

Our impression of that board is that it is very inactive at this point, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said in a recent interview.

The board didnt have a quorum for two meetings in 2021, the year Wolf appointed new members. But it met six times that year, eight times in 2022, and five times so far this year, with three more meetings scheduled, according to the education department.

Will Simons, a spokesperson for Shapiro, said the governors administration closely evaluates the qualifications of all candidates before making nominations.

The governor believes all boards and commissions, including this one, should operate efficiently and at full capacity, Simons said.

Spicka, of Education Voters PA, said the apparent promise to put members on the board who would support charters undermined its integrity, and threatened to make it a very highly politically charged body with an agenda to expand charter schools.

The appeals process shouldnt be about do we want more charter schools or do we like this charter school? Spicka said. It should be about the actual law.

Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.
Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill is leaving for a new position at the City University of New York's Graduate Center Read more

Marc Lamont Hill, a prominent professor who held an endowed chair in Temple Universitys college of media and communication and who had drawn criticism in the past over his comments about the Middle East, is leaving this week for a new post at the City University of New Yorks Graduate Center.

Hes been hired to be a presidential professor of Urban Education.

Hill said he could have stayed another 20 years at Temple if not for the opportunity at CUNY.

 READ MORE: Uncle of CNN's Marc Lamont Hill inspires Germantown bookstore/coffee shop

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Its something Ive always dreamed of, Hill, 44, said Tuesday afternoon of the opportunity to teach graduate students and work more closely in his areas of interest, with other public-facing scholars. It was much more a pull from CUNY than a push from Temple.

He already appears on CUNYs graduate center faculty website, and is described as a cultural anthropologist, critical policy scholar, and radical educator whose work explores issues of race, education, citizenship, and state violence in the United States and Middle East.

Hills most recent stint at Temple began in 2017, and a few months ago, his chair position was renewed for another five years. He previously taught at Temple from 2005 to 2009, right out of graduate school, then left for a job at Columbia, then Morehouse, before returning to Temple.

 READ MORE: Temple trustees condemn controversial remarks by Marc Lamont Hill, but affirm his right to free speech

Hes a 2000 graduate of Temple and got his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania.

David Boardman, dean of Temples media and communication college, said he wished Hill well.

I was proud to have Marc as a colleague and am excited for this new opportunity for him, Boardman said.

In 2018, Temple trustees condemned Hills comments about Israel, though defended his right to free speech. Hill had said he supported a free Palestine from the river to the sea, which critics said was a phrase used as a rallying cry to destroy Israel. Hill subsequently apologized and said he rejects antisemitism.

The Temple Association of University Professors, the faculty union, defended Hills remarks as protected by the principles of free speech.

I think in general Temple has been fairly hands off when it comes to intellectual freedom, Hill said Tuesday. There was one moment when the board voiced its displeasure, but if I look at the full 11 years ...I would say Ive had the space to be a very public intellectual and Ive managed to be promoted to full professor and get tenure and get an endowed chair.

Hill has been a political contributor for Fox News and MSNBC and formerly a CNN commentator, a post he lost after the controversy over his comments about Israel.

He said he intends to maintain his ties to Philadelphia and will continue the Germantown bookstore and coffee shop he started and named after his uncle, Uncle Bobbies Coffee & Books.

Im not going anywhere, he said. I will remain a member of the Philadelphia community.
Emily and her wife have two children who are genetically related to the embryos she donated on Facebook. Here she is in South Jersey with her kids. Read more

Ryann Hendricksons embryos appeared under a microscope like tiny rings of translucent bubbles, each about the width of a human hair. These were leftovers: fertilized eggs that Hendrickson had created with her husbands sperm through in vitro fertilization. She no longer needed them for her own family, but she didnt want to throw them away.

So in May, Hendrickson messaged a popular IVF account on Instagram.

We are really looking for someone to donate our embryos [to], Hendrickson, 37, wrote, and wanted to see if maybe someone in your following is looking.

An entire ecosystem has taken shape in recent years around extra embryos like Hendricksons. There are reproductive endocrinologists who help people conceive and freeze remaining embryos, psychologists who specialize in the potentially messy fallout of donating genetic material, and lawyers who handle pre-birth contracts.

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In Philly and around the country, there is also the energetic network of Facebook moderators and Instagram influencers who connect donors and intended parents, helping to mediate a fraught and increasingly common exchange. Many of the posts in popular online groups read like dating profiles, complete with wedding photos, jobs, and hobbies. The donations are effectively a form of mutual aid between strangers.

Social media has made it easier for families to avoid the rigid religious requirements of some embryo donation groups. Since the late 1990s, the world of embryo exchange has been dominated by conservative Christian organizations, as the Cut reported this summer. Such groups refer to embryo transfers as adoptions, part of a broader effort to define life as beginning at conception and limit abortion.

Thats what drove Emily, of South Jersey, to Facebook. Emily, who The Inquirer is referring to by her first name to protect her familys privacy, had two children through IVF with her wife. When they decided not to have any more, they put the remaining embryos on ice. But having spent so much time and money creating them, it seemed foolish to throw them away, so Emily began researching how to donate.

She was horrified to discover that most of the organizations she found online excluded gay families from their recipient candidate lists and refused to accept donations from gay couples.

Frustrated, she posted on Facebook, explaining that she was looking to set up a direct donation. Mutual friends connected her and her wife with a gay couple, who were already on the long, winding journey of trying to have children themselves.

I wanted to donate them to another queer couple, Emily, 37, said. After meeting with the fertility clinic and with lawyers, she and her wife legally transferred ownership of the embryos to the couple last winter. (One of the recipient parents is an employee of The Inquirer.)

Although donated embryo transfers account for a small percentage of all embryo transfers each year, the annual number more than tripled nationwide in the last 15 years, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. That means a lot more conversations: In these days of direct-to-consumer DNA tests, psychologists and fertility doctors tell patients that anonymity, however well-intentioned, doesnt really exist.

Unlike sperm and egg donors, embryo donors are not paid, beyond reimbursement for screening and storage. For a Philadelphia-based recipient, the process tends to range from $7,000 to $12,000, said Andrea Braverman, a Jefferson psychologist in the OB-GYN department and one of the pioneers of infertility counseling. That makes it simply the best financial choice for many families who cant conceive on their own  far cheaper than paying for an egg donor or surrogate or adopting a child.

Mostly what comes to me is, I just have run out of options,  Braverman said.  How do I build my family and how do I do it in a way that I can afford? 

A number of fertility clinics in the Philadelphia area require patients to have a session with Braverman before donating or receiving embryos. A child may never result from the exchange, but they hash out expectations  whether photos will be shared, what to do if a child takes a DNA test 10 years down the line and reaches out unexpectedly.

Every recipient is going to be scared to death that every donor is going to look at this kid, and go thats my kid,  Braverman said. Every donor is like, I dont want to pay for this kids tuition. 

Both sides typically hire lawyers, like Rebecca Nayak, a partner with the Jerner Law Group in Germantown. Nayak helps families draw up the legal documents for embryo transfers and grapple with the knotty legal questions they may not yet have considered. What are the expectations for contact between genetically related kids raised in two separate families? What if the recipient family has leftover embryos from the initial donation and wants to re-donate them to someone else?

Hendrickson, who lives in Phoenixville, had created her own cluster of cells during one of the darkest periods of her life, right after a miscarriage and a breast cancer diagnosis, when the whole world was locked down. She paid a gestational surrogate to carry her second child, and was profoundly motivated by the idea of doing something monumental for another person.

This spring, she connected through Instagram with a woman in Maine looking for donated embryos. Hendrickson felt a kinship right away  the woman was a fellow breast cancer survivor, and they had coincidentally exchanged messages years earlier about pixie cuts after chemotherapy.

But still, she had fears about giving someone else the means of making a baby with her and her husbands DNA.

The thought would come into my head: What if I see a picture of the baby when its born and I have this overwhelming feeling of love for it? she said. She met with her fertility doctor and with Braverman to talk it through.

At the end of last month, she and her husband legally transferred ownership of their embryos to the Maine couple. Hendrickson said she plans on telling her children, when theyre older.

Once that baby is born, Im not their mom, Hendrickson said. Biologically, yeah  but Im not going to be their mother.
Amy Gutmann was president of the University of Pennsylvania for 18 years. She's now the U.S. ambassador to Germany. Here, she poses for a photograph at The Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Oct. 30, 2021. Read more

Amy Gutmann, the former president of the University of Pennsylvania, received nearly $23 million in total compensation in 2021, according to the most recent tax documents available.

Its likely the highest annual total ever paid to a college president, but the vast majority of it  more than $20 million  was accrued over Gutmanns nearly two-decade-long tenure as the Ivy League universitys leader and paid out as agreed when it vested, just months before she departed.

Thats certainly a new record, said James Finkelstein, professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University, who has been studying university president contracts and compensation since the 1990s. Certainly there is not a public university president in the country that has gotten anything close to that. For a private university president, its more than twice as much as the highest one I know of.

 READ MORE: Confirmed as the next U.S. ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann reflects on nearly 18 years as Penns president

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The total amount includes whats known as deferred compensation, and if Gutmann, who was president for 18 years and left last year to become the U.S. ambassador to Germany, had not met the goals set or left early, she could have lost it. Many colleges offer deferred compensation packages as a way to retain high-quality leaders: They set aside money each year in a fund with an agreed-upon date on when that money can be withdrawn.

The amounts credited to her annually under these agreements were in recognition of Dr. Gutmanns outstanding service as Penns president, as well as for retention purposes, the university said in its tax document.

Nevertheless, its an eye-popping number, but university officials said it reflects Gutmanns exceptional and lengthy leadership of Penn, with its 12 schools, six hospitals, more than 23,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students, and $13.5 billion operating budget.

Amy was an extraordinary president for Penn, said Scott Bok, who has chaired the board of trustees for nearly two years. When you have a really extraordinary performer for a very long period of time, in a period of strong investment returns, yes, it adds up to quite a substantial number.

While he said he couldnt provide the exact amount, Bok said a very significant amount was due to investment gains.

Gutmann, 73, a political scientist who was appointed to Penns top post in 2004, has the distinction of being its longest-serving president. She raised more than $10 billion for the university, oversaw construction of many new buildings, prioritized student aid with a no-loan, all-grant policy, and led Penn, the citys largest private employer, through a recession and pandemic.

 READ MORE: Penns long-serving president seeks to bridge the divide | Industry Icons

The universitys endowment more than quintupled from $4.1 billion, when she left her post as provost of Princeton to join Penn, to $20.5 billion last year. Major construction projects during her tenure include a nanotechnology center, the 24-acre Penn Park, the $35 million Pennovation complex, and a 1.5 million-square-foot patient pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Gutmanns total figure for 2021, reported on the 990 tax form, includes her annual compensation of a base salary of $1.56 million and a bonus of $1 million and the $20.2 million deferred compensation and supplemental retirement funds, which also includes investment gains the money made over 17 years. The university reported the amount of deferred compensation it gave Gutmann annually  and now again as a total  and disclosed the total during the Senate confirmation process for her ambassadorship, Bok said.

Her compensation was set by the trustees using comparative market data, Bok said, and with the help of a third-party compensation consultant.

Gutmann has routinely appeared near the top of the Chronicle of Higher Educations annual list of highest-paid private college presidents. A year ago, she finished fifth, with a total compensation of $3.1 million, the Chronicle reported. That year, Paula S. Wallace, president of the Savannah College of Art and Design, topped the list at more than $5 million. Stephen K. Klasko, former CEO of Thomas Jefferson University, was second, at nearly $4.4 million.

Other college leaders have received multimillion-dollar, deferred-compensation payouts upon their departure. Ronald K. Machtley, former president of Bryant University in Rhode Island, received $5.4 million in deferred compensation, which accrued over more than 15 years, the Chronicle reported in 2020.

 READ MORE: $5.5 million: Wilmington college president best-paid in U.S.

Former New York University president John Sexton had accrued $7.8 million in deferred compensation, the Chronicle reported. Jack P. Varsalona, former president of Wilmington University in Delaware, had accumulated more than $4.62 million in deferred compensation. In 2014-15, that made him the highest-paid college president in the country, with total compensation of $5.5 million.

Some universities have gotten criticism for the large deferred compensation packages they have paid to their presidents at a time when adjunct faculty are scraping to make ends meet and tuition is climbing. Barbara E. Hopkins, a professor of economics at Wright State University in Ohio, said paying deferred compensation to university presidents reflects a shift that started a while back of treating universities like businesses and paying their CEOs as such.

But Hopkins, who served on an American Association of University Professors committee on compensation in higher education and teaches about inequalities, isnt on board with the high amounts.

What constitutes performance that is so amazing that it is worth $20 million over 18 years? she asked.

Finkelstein, the George Mason professor, said often deferred compensation is rewarding presidents for time served rather than performance, which is problematic, though Bok said Gutmanns money was clearly tied to performance.

There might be fewer presidents getting the benefit. Fewer college presidents  less than a third  reported having deferred compensation in their contracts in 2022, compared to 36.7% in 2016, according to a survey by the American Council on Education.

Bok said Liz Magill, who became Penns president nearly a year ago, doesnt currently have deferred compensation in her contract.

What happened with President Gutmann was really a unique situation, he said. A brand-new president is going to be treated differently than somebody who is there for a long time. Of course, if things work well, over time, you may add things like deferred compensation.

George Birnbaum, a Connecticut-based lawyer who represents presidents in contract negotiations, said deferred compensation packages are beneficial to both the president and the college as a tool to hold on to a talented leader.

The money is only paid at the end of the term, he said. That means if a person gets a better job offer half way through, they will think to themselves, what will I be giving up.
Could Donald Trump pardon himself, if hes elected president again? And if another Republican wins the White House in 2024, will he or she pardon Trump?

We dont know. But heres what we do know: Joe Biden could pardon Trump right now. And he should, on one condition: that Trump promises never to run for office again.

When Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974, he famously declared that our long national nightmare is over. But our present-day nightmare will not be over until we know that Trump wont return to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

That wasnt a risk in the case of Nixon. He had already been elected president twice, so under the 22nd Amendment, he couldnt run again.

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Trump can, of course, even if hes convicted in one of the indictments against him. Theres nothing in the Constitution that explicitly bars lawbreakers from the White House. You can even run for president from prison: Socialist Eugene Debs, jailed for criticizing Americas involvement in World War I, racked up nearly a million votes from behind bars in 1920.

And if Trump wins, whether from prison or not, its possible that he could grant himself a pardon. Nixon considered doing the same until the U.S. Department of Justice issued a ruling  three days before he resigned  that [u]nder the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the president cannot pardon himself. But the matter has never been tested, and some experts think Trump could do it.

And if he loses to another Republican, theyre likely to pardon him. Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy have already said they would be inclined to pardon Trump. His closest GOP rival, Ron DeSantis, declared that a pardon would be preferable to having an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison.

I wouldnt shed any tears if the aging Trump was jailed, especially in the case alleging that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. And if hes not held accountable, Id worry that other presidents might try the same stunt.

But thats a problem for the future. For the moment, we face a much more immediate threat: another Trump presidency. Its impossible to calculate the damage that he could do to America if he returns to power. So we need to do everything in our power to make sure that never happens, including offering him a pardon in exchange for a promise that he wont run again.

And yes, presidents can attach conditions to pardons. Abraham Lincoln offered amnesty to defeated Confederates if they agreed to swear allegiance to the Union. Bill Clinton awarded clemency to Puerto Rican separatists  charged in over 100 bombings  if they renounced violence. And Nixon commuted the sentence of Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa on the condition that Hoffa refrain from engaging in union politics.

Eager to reenter the fray after his release, Hoffa filed a lawsuit to overturn the bargain. But a federal court turned him away, ruling that presidents have unfettered discretion in awarding pardons. Theres no question that President Biden could offer a similar deal to Trump: He gets to go free, but only if America is freed of the prospect of Trump holding political office.

Would Trump take that deal? As evidence mounts against him  and with it, the likelihood of jail time  he just might do it. Trump is a bully, and bullies are usually cowards.

Nixon was. Before Ford pardoned him, Nixon told friends in Congress that he was having nightmares about being in prison and the cell door swinging shut, as historian Michael Beschloss has recounted. Its easy to imagine Trump having similarly bad dreams.

Bidens pardon would only cover federal crimes, so Trump could still face penalties  including prison  in cases brought by states, including New York and Georgia. That would bring a measure of accountability for some of his misdeeds, while the federal pardon would eliminate his opportunity to wreak more havoc on the country.

Asked recently by a reporter what he thought about presidents pardoning Trump, Biden laughed. But then he added, Its a great question. Thank you. We would be forever thankful to Biden if he rid us of Donald Trump. And the only surefire way to do that, ironically, is to give Trump a way out.

Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, which was recently released in a revised 20th-anniversary edition by the University of Chicago Press.
A driver fatally struck a pedestrian in Port Richmond while racing another vehicle on Castor Avenue on Tuesday, then fled the scene and made his way to New Jersey, according to authorities.

The victim, who authorities say had no identification on him, was crossing the intersection of Castor and Aramingo Avenues at about 12:05 a.m. when a blue 2020 Dodge Charger struck him. Emergency responders pronounced the man dead at the scene at about 12:25 a.m.

That pedestrian that was struck by the blue Dodge Charger was hit while that vehicle was traveling at a very, very high rate of speed, Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene. The victim was knocked out of both of his sneakers.

Police identified the 19-year-old driver of the blue Dodge Charger as Joseph Vannauker of Levittown.

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Vannauker did not stop after hitting the pedestrian and instead sped off toward Richmond Avenue, police said. Vannauker and a 16-year-old male passenger crossed the Betsy Ross Bridge and made their way to Pennsauken, where local police there stopped the car and brought them back to Philadelphia for investigation.

The 16-year-old was released to his parents after he was treated for injuries to his right hand and forearm at St. Christophers Hospital. The driver of the vehicle is awaiting charges.

Authorities said Vannauker has been charged with homicide by vehicle, murder, and reckless driving.

The second car that was racing was a white Dodge Charger, according to 6ABC, which police are still searching for.
From left, Samuel Grasty, Derrick Chappell, and Morton Johnson. Attorneys for the men are seeking to vacate their convictions for the murder of Henrietta Nickens, 70, of Chester, Delaware County, in 1997, arguing that new DNA tests point to another suspect. Read more

Its been more than 20 years since Mahir Sharif has seen his cousin Samuel Grasty outside of a prison cell or courtroom.

Grasty and two other Chester men are engaged in a lengthy push to vacate their convictions for the 1997 murder of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens  a crime that their lawyers argue new DNA evidence should exonerate them from.

Sharif, 53, and other family members get emotional whenever Grasty is ferried into Delaware Countys Court of Common Pleas alongside Derrick Chappell and Morton Johnson, the two other members of the trio who were tried and essentially given life sentences for Nickens death when they were teenagers.

Its been a long agonizing process, Sharif said. From the beginning we always said that they were innocent. We tried to do everything we could to prove that. Its hurtful  our familys been hurting for years.

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Sharif and his family were in attendance Tuesday in Judge Mary Alice Brennans courtroom, where Grasty, 46; Chappell, 41; and Johnson, 42; appeared for the final hearing in their post-conviction relief motion, an appeals process that began nearly a decade ago when lawyers took on their case pro bono.

Grasty flashed a grin to his family as sheriffs officers ushered him in, a brief moment of connection before he took his seat at the front of the courtroom.

Lawyers for the three men are asking for the murder convictions to be vacated and for each man to be granted a new trial with the new DNA evidence.

That evidence, they argue, points to Nickens being raped and physically assaulted by a single, unknown perpetrator  and could have helped inform juries that convicted the men in the 2000s, had the evidence been available.

Tuesdays hearing rehashed many of the points made in a July hearing, one where forensic crime scene expert Timothy Palmbach hadnt been available to testify.

On the stand Tuesday, Palmbach rebutted the prosecutions contention that Nickens had consensual sex hours before her assault or had been raped after she died. Prosecutors have offered those explanations for the semen recovered from her body  which did not match the DNA of Chappell, Grasty, or Johnson  while the defense contends it belongs to the true, unknown killer.

By midafternoon, arguments came to a close. But instead of receiving the ruling hes waited years to hear, Sharif learned that hell be waiting at least three months before Brennan will make a decision on his cousins case.

What happens in post-conviction relief cases

That pace is typically how post-conviction relief rulings unfold, according to Philadelphia lawyer John M. Lyons, who took Chappells case eight years ago in partnership with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project (the nationally focused Innocence Project took Johnsons and the New Jersey-based group Centurion took Grastys).

Lyons and his partner, David Haase, said that now the defense and prosecution have 60 days to review the hearings transcripts and submit documents outlining their arguments for disputed points. They are then given an additional 30 days to rebut the opposing sides contentions.

Brennan has the ultimate authority to either deny the mens appeals or grant them new trials before juries. However, according to Lyons, the latter scenario would raise the possibility that the defendants wont have to continue their legal fight.

There have been cases in Philadelphia and elsewhere when the court says its granting a new trial, and the district attorney says it doesnt make sense to retry this, Lyons said. He believes the DNA evidence makes it questionable whether prosecutors would retry Grasty, Chappell, and Johnson.

Paul Casteleiro, who represents Grasty with Centurion, said Brennan could deliver her decision any time after the 90-day period is up.

Like Sharif, hes hoping for a swift decision.

In the next 90 days, all we can do is pray to God, Sharif said. We hope the outcome is beneficial to our family, meaning that theyre exonerated immediately, without having to go to another trial and going through more agonizing pain.
A sequence of images spanning 3 seconds of a surveillance video released by a lawyer for the family of Eddie Irizarry, shows Officer Mark Dial approaching Irizarrys Toyota Corolla in the100 block of East Willard Street with his gun drawn and then shooting Irizarry through the window, in Kensington on Aug.14. Read more

Update: Officer Mark Dial, who shot Eddie Irizarry, will be fired for insubordination, Outlaw says

A Philadelphia police officer shot Eddie Irizarry through his car window multiple times at near point-blank range just five seconds after getting out of his patrol car, according to surveillance video released Tuesday by a lawyer for Irizarrys family.

The video, captured by a nearby homes surveillance camera, shows Irizarry, 27, driving his Toyota Corolla the wrong way down the 100 block of East Willard Street and parking on Aug. 14. A police patrol car then came down the block.

Officer Mark Dial and his partner stopped their cruiser in the middle of the street, then stepped out of the car, immediately drew their guns and pointed them at Irizarrys parked car.

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Show us your hands! the officers yelled, according to the video.

One of the officers then said, Hes got a f knife.

I will f shoot you, Dial yelled as he ran to the drivers side of the car.

Almost immediately, Dial shot multiple times at near point-blank range through the drivers side window. He fired again through the windshield as he ran backward and circled around the car.

Shots fired, shots fired, one of the officers said over police radio.

Irizarry, seated in the drivers seat with the windows rolled up, was shot six times. He could be seen in the video writhing in pain, and honked his car horn several times.

Get your hands off that right now! Dial yelled from the passenger side, as he attempted to open the locked passenger door, shaking the car back and forth.

Dial then walked back around to the drivers side of the car, the video shows, and reached through the window, which had been shattered by bullets, to unlock the car door.

Put your hands up right where I can see them, Dial told Irizarry, his gun still pointed at him.

Dial and his partner then pulled Irizarrys body from the drivers seat and carried him, by his arms and one of his legs, to their cruiser.

They rushed him to Temple University Hospital, where he died a short time later, at 12:48 p.m.

A crime against humanity

Fortunato Perri, a lawyer who represents the Fraternal Order of Police, said in an emailed statement that Dial has the full support of the Fraternal Order of Police as we continue to review the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and Mayor Jim Kenney have scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the case.

The Irizarry familys lawyer, Shaka Johnson, said the Police Departments initial narrative  that Irizarry fled a traffic stop, emerged from his car with a knife, and then lunged at officers  was an intentional misleading of the public.

What about what you just saw could ever be confused as, He got out of the car and lunged at police officers? Johnson asked. That was an out-and-out, flat-out lie.

Johnson said he intended to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Dial and the City of Philadelphia on behalf of the family.

Johnson, a defense lawyer who has represented other families of victims of police shootings in the city, said Irizarrys family had arranged with the City Solicitors Office to privately view the officers body-worn camera footage on Friday afternoon, but the District Attorneys Office rescinded the offer, citing concerns with how it might affect the ongoing criminal investigation.

The family and their lawyers returned to the block in search of video themselves, Johnson said, and when they came upon a neighbors footage, they decided the public needed to see it.

In my view, Johnson said, this is a crime against humanity, to be perfectly truthful.

Johnson said Philadelphia police had not obtained the footage, which was from the house nearly directly in front of where Irizarry was shot.

The episode started about 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 14, police say, when two uniformed officers with the 24th Police District said they saw Irizarry driving erratically near B and Westmoreland Streets in North Philadelphia.

Police initially said that the officers attempted to get Irizarry to pull over, but that he fled in his Toyota Corolla. The officers followed Irizarry south until he stopped on East Willard Street, they said, adding that he stepped out with a knife.

Police said the officers gave multiple commands for him to drop the weapon, but Irizarry lunged at the officers. Dial, a five-year veteran of the force, then shot Irizarry multiple times, police said.

 READ MORE: Eddie Irizarrys family say they knew from the start that police lied. Now, they want accountability.

Details at the scene  a bullet hole through the windshield, a shot-out drivers window, and Irizarrys car parallel parked on the block  were inconsistent with that narrative. And video posted on social media of the moments after the shooting showed the officers pulling Irizarry from the drivers seat.

When police officials reviewed the officers body worn camera footage, they realized the initial account was not true, said Commissioner Outlaw. Outlaw later said Irizarry did not flee a traffic stop or lunge at the officers with a knife, and was seated in his car when the officer shot him.

Police now say that after the officers observed Irizarry driving erratically, they did not attempt to pull him over, and instead followed him as he drove south. Irizarry then drove the wrong way onto the 100 block of East Willard Street, and parked his car, they said.

According to the updated statement released last Tuesday, officers got out of their patrol car and approached Irizarrys car, and as Dial approached the drivers side, his partner attempted to open the passenger side door. The partner then yelled that the male had a weapon, police said.

Dial then shot Irizarry multiple times, they said. The statement said that two knives were observed inside the vehicle. Outlaw declined to say whether Irizarry was holding a knife when he was shot, and would not say whether Dial ordered Irizarry to drop a weapon before he shot him. Outlaw also declined to specify the length of time between when Dial got out of the car and when he opened fire.

Police later said they found a kitchen-style knife and a folded serrated blade inside the car.

Outlaw acknowledged the communitys concern about the changing narrative last week, and pledged a thorough, transparent investigation.

I understand and want to acknowledge the hurt and confusion that family and community members can experience when details of investigations change, and especially when they change in a very public way, she said at a news conference last week.

She said she could not answer many questions about details of the shooting while internal and criminal inquiries were underway.

Johnson said Outlaws attempts to correct the record last week fell short and said the initial narrative was an intentional misleading of the public.

That was not a mislead, that is a blatant lie, and an attempt to sort of mislead an investigation, and quite frankly, to corrupt the court of public opinion, he said.

These folks are good, law-abiding, God-fearing citizens, he said. We trust law enforcement. We trust police officers. And at least for a night, they were made to think that Eddie did something that he didnt do.

Jane Roh, a spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office, said the office has been in contact repeatedly and at length with the Irizarry family by communicating with their legal counsel. She said the department will meet with the family and show them the body-worn camera footage in the near future.

The DAs Office intends to keep its sworn obligation to seek justice for all those involved in the fatal shooting of Mr. Irizarry, as well as for all those Philadelphians who are not directly involved but who care deeply about fairness, justice, and independence, Roh said in a statement.

We need answers

Irizarry came to Philadelphia from Puerto Rico seven years ago and has lived in North Philadelphia ever since, his family said. He worked as a mechanic and enjoyed riding dirt bikes and listening to music, said his family, who affectionately called him Junito.

He was introverted and kind, they said, and did not speak or understand English. Johnson said Irizarry had no criminal record, never once had a negative encounter with police.

Irizarry had struggled with schizophrenia, a disorder that other members of his family have lived with, Johnson said. His mother is currently hospitalized and being treated for it, he said.

Still, Johnson said, the officers would not have known that when they encountered Irizarrys car, or during their seconds-long interaction with him before he was shot.

Shortly after the news conference ended, Irizarrys family and friends gathered on East Willard Street, where he was shot and killed. They renewed their calls to view the officers body worn camera footage and demanded that Dial be charged.

We need answers. Why? said Zoraida Garcia, Irizarrys aunt. Why is this officer still at home? He murdered my nephew.

The video, the family said, was proof of what theyve maintained since the day Irizarry was killed: that he was not a threat to police.

Johnson said Irizarry carried a pocket knife that he used for work, stripping wires and removing parts as a mechanic.

Irizarrys sister, Maria, said the family feels a bit of relief that the video of her brothers death is now public.

Other people can see how innocent he was, and that they didnt even give him time to take out his ID, she said in Spanish. They didnt even give him time to lower his windows.
University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann introducing then Vice President Joe Biden at the university's Irvine Auditorium in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. Biden was the Benjamin Franklin presidential practice professor at Penn. Read more

When Amy Gutmann starts her job as the next U.S. ambassador to Germany, shell take a piece of the University of Pennsylvania with her: a little model of a new campus building to be named for her.

The model, the idea of a longtime colleague, was presented to Gutmann this week on behalf of the senior women leaders at Penn to mark her impending departure after nearly 18 years at the Ivy League university  making her the longest-serving president in Penns history. She plans to put it on her new desk in Berlin.

Its very emotional, Gutmann said during an interview from her office at College Hall late Monday afternoon. Im choking up a lot.

 READ MORE: Amy Gutmann: Penn's long-serving president seeks to bridge the divide

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Gutmann, 72, a political scientist who has long opined on the spirit of compromise, was confirmed by the full Senate Tuesday afternoon, 54-42, and soon will take the oath of office. Before that, she will resign from the presidency at Penn, passing the torch to former provost Wendell E. Pritchett, who will serve as interim president until July 1 when M. Elizabeth Liz Magill, currently provost of the University of Virginia, will take over.

The vote in the Senate split along party lines with only six Republicans, including Pennsylvanias Pat Toomey, voting in Gutmanns favor. During the confirmation process, GOP senators had raised questions about Penns acceptance of money from China.

As Gutmann prepares to leave, she reflected on her presidency, her greatest accomplishments and challenges, her philosophy and her hopes.

Im absolutely sure I could have done it better, but Im sure I did as well as I could do, being a mortal, she said.

 READ MORE: University of Virginia provost will replace Amy Gutmann as Penns next president

Her tenure at Philadelphias largest private employer has been nothing short of extraordinary. She has raised more than $10 billion in two lengthy campaigns that allowed the university to make greater investments in student financial aid, new buildings, faculty and research. The universitys endowment has more than quintupled from $4.1 billion, when she left her post as provost of Princeton and joined Penn in 2004, to $20.5 billion this year.

She has overseen major construction projects, including a nanotechnology center, the 24-acre Penn Park, the $35 million Pennovation complex, and a 1.5 million-square-foot patient pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, the university has put up a new law school building, new college housing that makes it possible for all freshmen and sophomores to live on campus, new buildings for political science and behavioral science and academic research, and the Perry World House for Global Engagement.

Gutmann started annual innovation and engagement prizes, awarding students who excel in developing projects that could change their local communities and the world. She has prioritized student aid, adopting an all-grants, no-loan financial policy early on in her presidency. Eighty percent of Penn undergraduates now leave Penn debt free, she said.

Part of Gutmanns commitment to financial aid stems from her own past. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Monroe, N.Y., Gutmanns father, Kurt, died when she was a junior in high school. He had no life-insurance policy, and Gutmanns mother, Beatrice, became a secretary at the high school Gutmann attended. A family doctor suggested that Gutmann, who was a math whiz and class valedictorian, apply to Radcliffe, which at that time she had never heard of.

She went on a full scholarship including loans, which eventually were forgiven because of her service as a teacher. She later got her masters in political science from the London School of Economics and her doctorate from Harvard. But she knows none of that would have been possible without the courageous decision made by her father decades ago: As a young man, he fled Nazi Germany to make a better life.

Now, shell return to that country as ambassador, a uniquely American dream.

To go to the country that my father had to flee and to go as the U.S. ambassador is just historically meaningful, she said, not just to me, but it shows what an alliance  what the U.S. working with Germany was able to accomplish over a time period  that sadly my father never got to live to see.

Gutmann has led Penn, with its 12 schools and six hospitals, through two major crises, first the recession that hit after the school adopted its no-loan policy and then the pandemic. Penn, like other universities, shut down its campus nearly two years ago and moved to remote instruction on a dime.

 READ MORE: For Penn. Gutmann's tenure is proving golden

In the early months of the pandemic, on her daily walks from the presidents house to her office, she was struck at how the bustling university of more than 23,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students had become a ghost town. The following months would become probably the longest, toughest moment of her presidency, she said, but also were filled with hope. Vital lab work continued. Students learned. The university found a way to make space in the top floor of a garage so performing arts students could still do their work, socially distanced.

I was simultaneously realizing how hard it was to be sitting in front of a screen every day and counting my blessings that I was still able to have Penn move forward on everything we had to do to fulfill our mission under the most extenuating circumstances probably since WWII, she said.

She acknowledged she has made mistakes. For one, she wishes she had moved move quickly to diversify her leadership team. In 2013, a group of senior faculty in the Africana studies department criticized her for failing to add leaders of color to her top administration. Penn later selected Pritchett, its first Black provost, as well a Black vice provost and two deans of color. Gutmann also noted that the university has increased female faculty and faculty from underrepresented groups.

The face of Penn is very different, and Im so proud, she said.

 READ MORE: Penn has significant ties to Joe Biden. What might that mean?

Gutmann started her presidency demonstrating she cared about the West Philadelphia community, even painting lockers at Sayre Middle School during an event leading up to her inauguration. But Penn has continued to face criticism for not making payments in lieu of taxes to the city, even though the university in 2020 committed $100 million to the school district over 10 years and more recently more than $4 million to nearby Lea Elementary over five years.

With time, Gutmann said, the university likely will do even more. But theres a limit.

Ive spent as much money as I could find that is not tied to things that we have to do, she said. Our mission isnt to take our endowment and empty it into the city coffers.

Donors may be reluctant to support the university if it did, she said.

Among Gutmanns proudest accomplishments are the medical innovations that helped in the battles against cancer and more recently the coronavirus. Two Penn scientists recently received the $3 million Breakthrough Prize for their success in modifying the genetic molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) so it can instruct human cells to make customized proteins. That helped teach the human immune system to fight off the coronavirus.

In October, the university announced that a new data science building under construction would be named for Gutmann, a decision in consultation with Harlan M. Stone, a Penn trustee who made a $25 million gift for the building. It will be the first mass timber building in the city, a low-carbon alternative to concrete and steel and a nod to sustainability, which Gutmann found particularly fitting.

And Gutmann plans to be around to hear all about it. She and her husband, Michael W. Doyle, a professor at Columbia, last year bought a house in Philadelphia near Penn and will keep the city, which she said won her over very early, as their home base. Shell also remain a tenured member of the faculty, on unpaid leave while she is serving as ambassador.

But that doesnt mean its easy to go.

Ive known this from the beginning, she said, how hard it will be to say goodbye.

Staff writers Jonathan Tamari and Tom Avril contributed to this report.
Emily Hicks at home with her two children Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Hicks and her wife had extra embryos and ended up donating them via Facebook to a gay male couple. She was turned off by the fact that many of the major embryo donation organizations were anti-gay. The couple has two kids who are genetically related to the embryos she donated. (They are okay with face of son and back of daughter but not names) Read more

Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Happy Tuesday. Its likely to be cloudy throughout the day with a high of 81. Allergy sufferers, beware. September is creeping up, and its bringing the start of ragweed season. If you begin waking up sneezing and rubbing your eyes more, this might be why.

Our lead story explores the role social media plays in the ecosystem of donated embryo transfers.

 Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Ryann Hendrickson had leftover embryos: fertilized eggs she created with her husbands sperm through vitro fertilization.

She no longer needed them for her family. Instead of throwing them away, she messaged a popular IVF account on Instagram.

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In Philly and around the country, theres an energetic network of Facebook moderators and Instagram influencers who connect donors and intended parents. Several of the posts are like dating profiles, sharing aspects of their lives like wedding photos, jobs, and hobbies.

Important note: Social media has made it easier for families to avoid rigid religious requirements of some embryo donations groups. Since the 1990s, conservative Christian organizations have dominated the space.

Although donated embryo transfers are a small percentage of all embryo transfers each year, the annual number more than tripled nationwide in the last 15 years.

Continue reading to learn more about what the democratization of genetic material looks like.

Philadelphias landlord-tenant office scheduled a string of tenant lockouts to continue on Tuesday.

This ends a monthlong pause of the citys for-profit eviction system.

A quick recap: Court officials ordered the citys landlord-tenant officer, Marisa Shuter, to pause evictions in late July after one of her officers shot Kensington resident Latese Bethea in the leg during an attempted lockout. This was the second time in four months that a tenant was shot by one of Shuters officers.

The landlord-tenant office announced last week that it introduced new guidelines for lockouts that would address use-of-force and de-escalation tactics to stop violence.

Keep reading to learn details of the revamped lockout guidelines.

What you should know today

 Trivia time 

The worlds largest bounce house, aptly named The Big Bounce, made its Philly debut last week at the Navy Yard.

How tall is it?

A) 22 feet

B) 30 feet

C) 32 feet

D) 40 feet

Think you know? Check your answer.

What were...

 Watching: Developer Ori Feibush is suing Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke for $2 million in damages over a North Philly apartment building.

Imagining: What its like to spend a few days at Mount Gretna, the only municipality in Pennsylvania part of the late 19th-century Chautauqua movement dedicated to arts, religion, recreation, and education for adults.

 Unscramble the anagram 

Hint: A Philly opera legend

RANSOM ADRIANNE

Well select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Mike Vaupel, who correctly guessed Mondays answer: James Harden. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the day

Thats all I have for you for this morning. Have a great day, and Ill be back in your inbox tomorrow.
Free and fair elections

I previously was a judge of elections at a Bucks County polling place. I worked with a dedicated team of extraordinary citizens who gave their time and energy to ensure that a free and fair election was held in our community. The team consisted of both Republicans and Democrats, but more importantly, all were Americans who loved our democracy. Everything we did was transparent to all during the long day of tedious work. When the polls closed, votes were tallied and written for all to see on official forms. Poll watchers were invited from both parties to watch the entire process to ensure every vote was correctly accounted for and documented. A copy of the vote tallies was even placed outside the building for everyone to see.

Lately, there have been unsubstantiated and relentless attacks on the integrity of our voting systems on the part of the party that lost the 2020 presidential election. These critics obviously dont understand the excellence of our voting systems and the dogged commitment of election officials to truth and fairness in our elections.

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I wish that candidates who lose and lack the maturity to accept the reality of their loss would refrain from disseminating misinformation about our election processes. Their self-serving lies erode the confidence the American people have in our precious system of government as well as insult thousands of our neighbors who work so hard on Election Day to carry out the difficult, tedious, but rewarding work of our great democracy.

Steve Cickay, Newtown

Constitutional challenge?

Article 14, Section 3 of the Constitution has been in the news of late. It states that no one who was a participant, planner, or promoter of insurrection against the United States can hold a federal political office. Some very well-respected legal scholars have asserted that this provision should be used to disallow Donald Trump from becoming president again. This is a serious argument and deserves to be tested in court. Arguably, Trumps actions on Jan. 6, 2021, promoted the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. If so, he should be disqualified from assuming the office of the president ever again.

Ken Derow, Swarthmore

Dismal rematch

As the prospect of a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden looks possible  despite my daily prayers  I fervently hope that neither of them are the candidates chosen to represent their respective parties in the 2024 presidential election. It is almost as if there is a sign-up sheet somewhere for participating in Americas race to the bottom. Trump or Biden? Is that the best we can do?

The political landscape has been radically different in the country since 2001. The tenor of political debate has changed. The American people have changed drastically. A pundit once observed: The point of modern propaganda is not only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate the truth. Sadly, we are in a post-truth era in American politics. Both Trump and Biden are pathological liars.

The old standards for evaluating a president  integrity, competence, wisdom, and experience  seem antiquated. Partisans in both parties want their leaders to put tribe over truth. Until that changes, this country is in serious trouble.

Father Tom Heron, Norristown

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
Buckley & Company Inc. President Rob Buckley (left) and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro after the Governor praised Buckley & Company during the appreciation event, for the I-95 workers, at Xfinity Live! Philadelphia on June 25. Read more

Gov. Josh Shapiro has batted back questions about his national political aspirations in his first eight months on the job, saying hes focused on being governor.

But hes also leaning into the kind of brand-burnishing opportunities that a future presidential candidate might seize.

Next month Shapiro will headline a convention of New Hampshire Democrats, his first trip as governor to the early voting state known to court potential presidential nominees.

New Hampshires Democratic Party described the Sept. 30 gathering at Bedford High School as a premier Democratic political event in the country, in a release announcing Shapiros appearance.

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Every national Democratic leader in the last 50 years has spoken at a NHDP convention, attracting sitting presidents, vice presidents, potential presidential candidates, every chairman of the Democratic National Committee and other notable national leaders.

Shapiro will talk about his campaign and beating state Sen. Doug Mastriano ahead of New Hampshires own battle for an open gubernatorial seat next year. The New Hampshire governors race is widely viewed to be one of the most competitive in the nation.

In Pennsylvania, we defeated extremism and showed the rest of the country what it looks like to come together behind a vision for a better future  one where we create real opportunity while defending our rights and advancing real freedom for all. Shapiro said in a release. New Hampshire voters face a similar choice next November. ... Im grateful for the opportunity to speak to Granite Staters at this critical time for both New Hampshire and our nations future.

Shapiro is also expected to tout President Joe Bidens record and along with it, likely a favorite topic  the I-95 bridge collapse and coordination between the governor and the White House to build a temporary bridge in less than two weeks.

Shapiro was the face of the nationally watched repair effort, which has also become a talking point in Bidens reelection campaign. The governor is currently coming off of his first budget season, during which negotiations initially stalled and then ended in victory for him after he worked with Republicans to avoid an extended standoff.

Biden has a substantial lead in the Democratic primary, ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson. The contest could be an interesting one, though, given new DNC rules that would take away the states first-in-the-nation presidential primary and give it to South Carolina. Democrats in New Hampshire have been unflinching about voting first, pointing to state law that demands it.

The standstill puts Biden in the awkward position of deciding whether to appear on the New Hampshire ballot after encouraging the DNC to give the first primary to South Carolina, a much more diverse state that turned the tide in his 2020 run. Theres a good chance Biden skips the contest, opening the door to a long-shot rival winning the early primary state. Democrats in New Hampshire have said theyre prepared to launch a robust write-in campaign for Biden to prevent that from happening.
Future of insurance All parts of the industry want to make processes more efficient, and the 2023 IB 5-Star Insurance Innovators awards celebrate those who are on the cutting edge and some of the most innovative insurance companies in Australia and New Zealand. Mark Silveira, general manager  industry engagement at ANZIIF, says, Insurance companies are getting to be very, very innovative. If you look at some of the changes that have happened, weve done away with a lot of the repeat filling in the forms. Were providing the ability for claim settlements much earlier than in the past and finding ways to cut through the red tape. However, difference makers and standout operators like IBs 5-Star Insurance Innovators are taking that extra step. Theres some real opportunity to expand our thinking past the traditional insurance framework, Silveira says.

Reinventing the wheel

Crawford & Company Australia might have been founded in 1941, but it is leading the way in that regard by going beyond traditional methods.

Last year, we had a client come to us frustrated that its high-value residential claims were taking too long to conclude and costs were blowing out, says president Tim Jarman. What we did was to develop an entirely new claims journey for claims over $100k in value.

The firm developed what they referred to as their Large Loss Solution, centred around the repair or reinstatement of large residential losses. That has developed into the One Crawford approach, which brings together:

specialty loss adjusting



CRD building consultants and engineers



deliver a flexible working environment



contractor connection (their managed repair arm)

Crawford can do this because it has in-house experts able to provide support at different points in the process.

Essentially, the traditional process sees an array of players that may or may not be present in the many and varied settings of a large loss claim, says Jarman. Our model drives superior outcomes in every setting, with key roles being assigned from the initial triage throughout the Crawford ecosystem.

Jarman adds, We eliminated our clients problems and have totally transformed these types of claims. After just a few months, the clients satisfaction scores with its policyholders improved dramatically.

As a result of the teams proactive attitude, Crawford has been able to drive:

collaboration: loss adjuster, CRD, the clients own internal large loss team, and pre-selected repair contractors work collaboratively to drive claims to a conclusion



validation: scopes are co-produced by the relevant experts with a select group of contractors



timeliness: less time in the tendering process means repairs are started sooner, minimising the loss of rent and alternate accommodations costs to the insurer



cost control: throughout the reinstatement, with an aggressive approach to variations



greater customer assurance: a professional team works with them that understands the same set of practices

Below is a comparison of the traditional method vs the new method on similar claims:

295 days vs 101 days to completion



$190,000 vs $250,000 initial reserve



$228,000 vs $208,000 final reinstatement

Crawford is, however, tempering its innovation by only introducing what works in the real world and without forgetting that they are still dealing with clients who need support and understanding.

While we are actively looking at and testing artificial intelligence globally and understanding how it can improve our service offering, I dont believe a piece of tech can be empathetic, and so all of the technology we implement has to be tested through the lens of people, says Jarman.

The innovative solutions we are constantly challenging ourselves to devise are designed to take the hassle out of insurers, brokers and corporates claims management

Tim Jarman Crawford & Company Australia

Every second counts

A minute is a long time for clients of IQumulate Premium Funding. The firm, based in Victoria, has worked hard to improve and refine its flagship online quoting tool, Edge. It has been reengineered to improve efficiencies and is now called IQEdge, which can:

produce an online premium funding quote in under 60 seconds



empower clients to spend time on core business



provide users with the ability to compare quotes and create versions of quotes in a single tabular view

The IQEdge platform encourages our clients to adopt a self-service model, empowering them to manage their time and output, with smart, simple-to-use technology, designed to provide our brokers with confidence to create and compare new quotes, endorse or renew loans online in real-time during conversations with their customers (borrowers), says CEO Wayne Tower.

Describing themselves as forward-thinkers, IQumulate is committed to continue innovating and pushing forward.

We are on a technology journey, and were just getting started, says Tower. Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients.

The human touch

Going that extra step is the calling card of Gallagher Bassett. The company focused its innovative efforts on dealing with the occurrence of multiple major catastrophe events and the resulting emotional and mental stresses associated with claims, particularly for homeowners whose largest financial asset was impacted.

Our support program is designed to provide additional wellbeing support for claimants who have suffered a loss, such as damage to their home or involvement in an accident, and their immediate family members, says global vice president Andrew Spilsbury.

The program encompasses a range of services beyond material damage concerns and includes assistance via either telephone or video support sessions for impacted members, covering:

emotional wellbeing



physical wellbeing



social wellbeing



financial wellbeing

And trauma responses, which include:

on-site face-to-face response



telephone response



follow-up and liaison



feedback management



reporting



travel



all other consulting



Our focus on holistic support has led to increased customer satisfaction, improved brand reputation and strengthened client relationships, says Scott Newland, general manager  government and long-tail claims. By combining internal expertise with external perspectives, we ensure that our innovation efforts align with the actual needs and demands of our clients and the broader market.

Gallagher Bassett also released a global insurance industry whitepaper titled The Road Ahead, which surveyed hundreds of insurers from around the world to identify key trends, challenges and opportunities. It has provided insights and guidance for insurers on how to navigate the rapidly changing landscape, including keeping pace with technology, addressing the talent crunch and stabilising businesses in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty.

We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem-solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions

Wayne Tower IQumulate Premium Funding

Smart solutions

New Zealand firm Bounce Insurance has revolutionised earthquake coverage, which traditionally covered significant losses, but claims were slow, impeding recovery efforts.

Not only does our product capability allow us to proactively provide an upfront cash flow solution to customers after a quake, but it also sets a platform to provide innovative solutions that mitigate the impacts of other natural disasters, such as those brought about by climate change, says founder and managing director Paul Barton.

It has seen them reach 300% customer growth and customer retention of over 96%.

While Auckland-based JAVLNs advanced software for brokers, agencies and insurers runs on a secure cloud-based policy platform, it is readily available from any device or location.

Were a policy management platform, so were managing all of the insurance accounting, the underwriting and the pure policy management, says founder and CEO Dale Smith. But around the edges, we have a whole lot of capability around automation connectivity. One of the things that were super proud of is that we are now connected directly to 3 insurers.

And DUAL New Zealand is a property, liability, cyber, motor and specialty underwriting agency.

We developed what we call the WebRater  an online quote and binding platform that sits as an API into our operating system behind the scenes, says general manager Paula Sheppard-Jones.

That allows our brokers to 24/7/365 quote and bind liability and financial line risks for about 500 occupations. It takes about four minutes for the brokers to get a quote. So, were saving days and days, if not weeks, sometimes in our industry for the brokers to get a turnaround.

Our unique approach to general lines claims support and our comprehensive industry analysis demonstrate our commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients and communities

Scott Newland Gallagher Bassett
Because there is genuine dispute about whether the AIG Mark is associated with plaintiff in the minds of consumers in Missouri and Illinois and whether it was so associated prior to defendants federal registration, defendant is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law that plaintiff has no valid and protectible common-law trademark in Missouri or Illinois, it was said in the ruling.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Energy One said it became aware of the cyberattack on August 18, 2023 (Friday). The company took immediate steps to limit the cyber incident's impact by engaging with cyber security specialists, CyberCX, and alerting the Australian Cyber Security Centre and certain UK authorities, Energy One said.
In my mind there is a misconception in the market that just because the planet is heating up, then so is the liability exposure, he said. I agree there is an increase in risk in some parts of the world, but overall it is not proportionate to the risk mitigation taking place.
Could self-service and digital quoting and binding be gamechangers for independent agents and brokers working in microbusiness lines?

Though theyre the smallest of small businesses, microbusinesses account for the largest portion of small businesses in the United States. They dominate small business insurance books. But they also represent the smallest amount of premium because the average policy premium is so low.

Pushing close to 75% of all small businesses are below 20 employees, said Jack Ramsey, vice president of the agency channel at Next Insurance. And a high percentage of those are below 10 employees. That microbusiness space is the largest volume of customers that any agent has if they do any small business selling.

When it comes to account handling, he said the premium amount is irrelevant, and that it is just as difficult and cumbersome for traditional carriers to take care of accounts with $1,000 premiums as it is to take care of larger small business accounts that have $30,000 premiums. The same manual processes exist across that spectrum.

And thats where talking to agents about a digital-first model for that micro space is a gamechanger, Ramsey said.

Microbusinesses require frequent proof of insurance in their operations, and agencies have had to make decide: Do they hire dedicated employees at a massive expense to do what Ramsey described as busywork, or do they leverage expensive carrier service centers instead?

Even if they opt for the latter, Ramsey said traditional carriers have not been able to build the infrastructure for significant self-service capabilities. This is where Ramsey believes organizations like Next can step in and reshape the solution.

Traditional carriers  and this was the world I came from  dont have that ability, Ramsey said. The legacy systems are so difficult to build and manage. Its been hard for those carriers to build a true self-service or a true digital quoting and binding experience that matches the micro needs.

Agents who work with Next receive personalized embedded links that enable customers to quote and bind their own insurance policies on behalf of the agent. This ensures the agent still owns the account. Agents can still be involved in manual servicing work, too, or they can tap the Next service center.

He did acknowledge the need for a manual, human intervention role in larger small business accounts. Theres a certain threshold at which public data isnt as easily accessible and an individual must insert themselves, ask questions and further evaluate underwriter risk, he said.

But for accounts below a certain size and certain threshold, with a company that has access to reliable in-house and third-party data, you should be able to create a digital experience for a certain box of micro, Ramsey said. And make it seamless.

Ramsey brought more than three decades of insurance industry experience when he began his current role at Next in April. He believes the agency channels largest pain point is controlling and managing a large amount of microbusiness. His goals are to show agents how to take care of the different categories of small businesses in different ways and grow relationships.

You have a discussion around small business, and oftentimes, the first reaction is, We have enough small business carriers. We dont need another small business carrier. In fact, we have too many,' Ramsey said.

But then helping them understand the difference between small business and micro, and confirming the pain point that I already know they have, which is to take care of that micro space. And what if I could provide a solution for you that is 100% digital, saves you from having to leverage service centers from across dozens of carriers at an expense, and allows you to service it the way you want? Would that be helpful? And the answer is always yes.'

Ramseys big message is that solutions exist that can help agents and brokers with the part of their agency that is the most (transactional), busiest, low revenue part. Next can help them, he said, create a revenue stream in the micro-small business sector.

Next Insurance recently announced its integration with Ivans Download for general liability and workers compensation policies.

According to a press release, this feature offers a seamless exchange of policy data between Next and its appointed agents. With this integration, any time a policy change occurs, Next will send the associated data, including customer information, limits, coverages, new policy sales, cancellations, reinstatements, premium changes, etc., directly to the agents Ivans Exchange account.

Agents using agency management systems that offer real-time delivery of download data can now receive hourly updates. Once configured in their agency management system, accounts will be automatically updated, eliminating any manual data input or processing of bound policies.

Topics InsurTech
New Jersey has accepted a revised settlement over chemical dumping that turned parts of a Jersey Shore community into one of America`s most notorious toxic waste cleanup sites, but opponents say the deal is only marginally better than before and they plan to sue the state to block it.

The deal adds slightly more protected land and financial compensation for the public over damage to natural resources in and around Toms River, a community that saw its rate of childhood cancer cases increase. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it finalized the settlement with the German chemical company BASF for decades of dumping by BASF`s corporate predecessor, Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corp.

However, a group representing residents and environmentalists says the new deal is vastly inadequate, by several orders of magnitude.

The revised final settlement with BASF increases a cash payment from the company from $100,000 to $500,000, adds another 50 acres of company-controlled land to a conservation and public access plan, and obligates BASF to maintain nine restoration projects outlined in the original agreement for 20 years, up from 10 years in the original deal. The company must also restore wetlands and grassy areas; create walking trails, boardwalks and an elevated viewing platform; and build an environmental education center.

The DEP said the settlement is designed to preserve approximately 1,000 acres of the former industrial site onto which Ciba-Geigy dumped toxic chemicals from dye- making and other operations. It is designed to protect groundwater in perpetuity, and compensate the public for the damage to that resource.

Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corp., which had been the towns largest employer, flushed chemicals into the Toms River and the Atlantic Ocean, and buried 47,000 drums of toxic waste in the ground. This created a plume of polluted water that has spread beyond the site into residential neighborhoods. It made the area one of Americas most prominent Superfund sites, joining the list of the most seriously polluted areas in need of federally supervised cleanup.

The state health department found that 87 children in Toms River, which was then known as Dover Township, had been diagnosed with cancer from 1979 through 1995. A study determined the rates of childhood cancers and leukemia in girls in Toms River were significantly elevated when compared to state rates. No similar rates were found for boys.

Court Fight

Residents and environmental groups quickly dismissed the revised deal as not much better than the original one, which they also decried as woefully inadequate.

Really, nothing has changed, other than now we`re going to court, said Britta Forsberg, executive director of the environmental group Save Barnegat Bay. They`re one of many groups pushing the state to insist on significantly better compensation given the historic harm that occurred at the site and in neighboring communities.

They never put a value to the damage caused to our land, our river, our bay, our ocean, our wildlife or our habitat, Forsberg said.

Ciba-Geigy, which was charged criminally, paid millions of dollars in fines and penalties on top of the $300 million it and its successors have paid so far to clean up the 1,250-acre (506-hectare) site an ongoing effort with no end in sight.

Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill Jr. said the settlement was negotiated behind closed doors and without input from Toms River and other affected communities. He called the deal woefully inadequate and does not come close to justly compensating the community for the damage done to our environment.

DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette has said the settlement is not designed to punish anyone, and emphasized that BASF remains obligated to completely finish cleaning up the site under the supervision of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

In 1992, Ciba-Geigy paid $63.8 million to settle criminal charges that it illegally disposed of hazardous waste, and it and two other companies reached a $13.2 million settlement with 69 families whose children were diagnosed with cancer.

BASF took over the site in 2010, two decades after plant operations ceased, and emphasizes that it did nothing to contaminate the site.

BASF spokesperson Molly Birman said the company is pleased the settlement has been finalized and is committed to its terms.

This agreement allows us to move forward with the restoration and conservation projects that will benefit the Toms River site and community, she said. We look forward to preserving the land, implementing the planned environmental projects and opening new possibilities to encourage recreation, learning and community engagement at the site for decades to come.

The company is pumping almost a million gallons a day from the ground, treating it to remove contaminants, and discharging it back into the ground. About 341, 000 cubic yards (261,000 cubic meters) of soil has been dug up and treated at the site  enough to fill 136,400 pickup truck beds.

Photo: A gate at the entrance to the former Ciba Geigy chemical plant in Toms River, N.J., is filled with warning on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, regarding the contaminated area, which is on the Superfund list of the nations worst toxic waste sites. A proposed settlement to restore natural resources damaged by the companys dumping is widely opposed as insufficient by residents of Toms River, where childhood cancer rates from the late 1970s through 1990s occurred at elevated rates. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics New Jersey Training Development
Ukraines government is in talks with insurers to start a new program to cover ships hauling grain through some of the riskiest parts of the Black Sea.

The service could start as soon as early September, though a precise framework is still being worked out, said Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo and logistics at insurance broker Marsh.

The program would help provide cover for vessels carrying Ukraines grain out of its ports in the northern Black Sea, which havent seen any inbound crop vessels since Russia pulled out of a regional pact to facilitate shipments in July. Thats restricted Ukraines exports to lengthier river, road and rail routes in the throes of this years harvests  curbing flows abroad.

Ukraine Weighs Using New Black Sea Export Corridor for Grain Shipments

Even with a deal, exports from Ukraine remain risky as Russia has said all ships headed to Ukraines ports will be considered potentially carrying military cargo. Its still not clear who will shoulder any payouts and how claims would be paid.

Attacks by Russian forces on agricultural infrastructure in recent weeks have helped sustain sky-high insurance premiums for ships calling into Ukraine. The government in Kyiv opened a corridor for traffic from the Black Sea this month, but so far has said the zone will be primarily used to free ships stuck since the start of the war in early 2022.

A Ukrainian government official, who declined to be identified, also said the insurance program could be prepared in several weeks.

Current market rates for war risk insurance can be anywhere between 3% and 5% of the value of a ship, meaning there is an economic need for the new facility to help Ukraine export its grain, according to Crispin Ellison, a partner at consultant Oliver Wyman LLC. The plan is for the new initiative to be a private-public partnership, he added.

Marsh and Oliver Wyman are both units of professional services firm Marsh McLennan, which has supported the Ukrainian government in considering options for war-risk insurance, according to the parent companys website. The new insurance arrangements were first reported by the Financial Times.

Photograph: Multiple bulk carrier cargo ships navigate the Sulina Canal, a river channel between the Danube River and the Black Sea, in Tulcea, Romania, on Sunday, July 23, 2023. The threat of Russian aggression towards Ukraines Black Sea ports and ships will force the country to export its enormous quantities of grain by river, road and rail  all of which are fraught with challenges. Photo credit: Andrei Pugnovschi/Bloomberg

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers Ukraine
Tysers, the London-based insurance broker and subsidiary of AUB Group, announced that CEO Clive Buesnel is stepping down at the end of August.

As CEO since June 2020, Buesnel managed the company through its acquisition by AUB, a deal that was finalized in September 2022. In addition, at the start of COVID lockdowns, he addressed the companys technology infrastructure, which at the start of the pandemic did not support remote working, said Tysers in a statement. During his tenure, Buesnel also managed regulatory investigations relating to historic activities in Latin America.

When AUB announced the acquisition of Tysers, Buesnel agreed to work with AUB to manage Tysers through the first phase of AUB ownership  jobs that are now complete, the company said.

These key post-acquisition tasks included the introduction and induction of a new Tysers chair, restructuring the Tysers executive team, simplification of the Tysers operating model and the split of Tysers operations into Wholesale, Retail and Managing Agencies.

Tysers is further evolving the AUB Group operating model going forward to coordinate Retail Broking, Wholesale Broking and Underwriting Agencies as global operations, given the synergies that exist across Australia, New Zealand and the UK markets.

I have known Clive for a number of years and would like to thank and acknowledge the incredibly collegiate and supportive way in which he has assisted with the transition of Tysers ownership to the AUB Group, commented Mike Emmett, CEO of AUB Group, in the statement.

To facilitate the changes we have announced today, I shall (subject to obtaining all relevant regulatory approvals) be stepping in as interim CEO of Tysers to finalise the range of activities currently underway and to further optimise and restructure the business, Emmett said.

During the year ahead, a new London-based CEO of Wholesale Broking (Global) will be appointed, he added.

To coordinate Retail broking, we have already established a global Retail Broking leadership group made up of senior broking executives in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. This model will evolve over time, and we ultimately envisage appointing a global head of Retail, to be based in Australia. Over time we also propose to appoint a CEO of Underwriting Agencies (Global).

Emmett thanked Buesnel for his contribution to Tysers and wished him all the best for his next chapter.

An independent Lloyds insurance broker, Tysers trades in 140 countries across the globe and has more than 1,000 employees. Its parent company, AUB, is group of retail & wholesale insurance brokers and underwriting agencies and managing general agencies.

Source: Tysers and AUB Group
MONTICELLO, Minn. (AP)  The energy company responsible for leaking radioactive material from its nuclear plant in Monticello, Minnesota, in recent months has announced that it will build an underground metal barrier to keep affected groundwater away from the nearby Mississippi River.

Xcel Energy said construction will last several weeks, according to a statement posted on the city of Monticello`s website last Thursday.

Constructing the barrier wall is another step the company is taking to try and ensure that the small amount of tritium still present in the groundwater remains within the plant boundaries and can be safely recovered, stored and reused on site, Xcel said in the statement.

Xcel discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water containing tritium  a radioactive isotope of hydrogen  had leaked from a faulty pipe. The utility made a temporary fix but learned in March that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water had leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pipe.

The leaks were contained within the plant`s boundaries and did not enter the river, the company has said.

Xcel has permanently fixed the source of the leaks, and the plant has returned to normal operations, according to the company`s website. About 80% of the leaked tritium has been recovered as of August.

We will continue recovering impacted groundwater until our monitoring wells indicate the groundwater meets the EPAs Safe Drinking Water Act standards, the company`s website said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said water with tritium is safe enough to drink if the amount of tritium is less than 20,000 picocuries per liter.

The tritium level was about 5 million picocuries per liter in November in groundwater within the plant`s boundaries, the company`s website said.

As of August, the highest tritium level was 900,000 picocuries per liter  which is not considered safe enough to drink  within the plant`s boundaries.

In the water adjacent to the Mississippi River, the highest tritium level was 1, 000 picocuries per liter, which is safe enough to drink.

Leaked tritium still has not been detected in the river, the company`s website said.

Although the utility and health officials say the leak is not dangerous, the issue has prompted concerns among residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.

The nuclear plant, which provides carbon-free energy for the region, is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Mississippi
SentinelOne Inc., a cybersecurity company with a market value of about $5 billion, has been exploring options that could include a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Mountain View, California-based company became a takeover target after its shares lost 80% of their value in the last two years. It had benefited from a bonanza in technology spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by remote work, which fizzled as companies slashed their information technology budgets as the economy slowed.

SentinelOne has hired investment bank Qatalyst Partners to advise on discussions with potential acquirers, including private equity firms, the sources said.

Initial expressions of interest did not meet SentinelOnes valuation expectations, and it is possible that the company ends the talks without a deal, one of the sources added. The sources did not specify the price SentinelOne has been seeking.

Spokespeople for SentinelOne and Qatalyst did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SentinelOnes shares jumped 19% to $17.19 on the news in afternoon trading in New York on Monday.

SentinelOne, which was launched in Israel in 2013, protects laptops and mobile phones from security breaches by using artificial intelligence to identify unusual behavior in enterprise networks. It competes with CrowdStrike Holdings Inc, and its customers include major companies and the U.S. government.

Backed by Daniel Loebs hedge fund Third Point and venture capital firms including Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, SentinelOne listed in the U.S. stock market in 2021 at a $8.9 billion valuation.

But investor excitement soon turned to disappointment as the company struggled to become profitable as it kept its prices low with clients to win market share. In June, SentinelOne also disclosed it had overvalued its annual recurring revenue and had to restate it due to a change in methodology and the correction of historical inaccuracies.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, SentinelOne slashed its guidance for annual revenue growth and said it would lay off about 5% of its employees.

Morgan Stanley analysts, in a note in June, pointed to potential upside to SentinelOnes stock given how much it was discounted to its rivals.

While recent execution missteps have shaken investor confidence, we think the intrinsic value of the asset is much higher than the market ascribes and see a compelling risk-reward with valuation now at a 50% discount to peers on a growth-adjusted enterprise value/sales basis, the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.

Insight Partners, a private equity firm, controlled 47.7% of SentinelOnes voting shares as of the end of April, thanks to a dual-class share structure the company has adopted, according to the most recent regulatory filing on the matter. Redpoint Ventures, another investor, held 22.9% of the voting shares.

Private equity firms have been prolific investors in the cybersecurity sector. In November 2021, an investor consortium led by private equity firm Advent International acquired McAfee Corp for $14 billion.

Tech-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo has also been a serial acquirer in the sector, having bought Ping Identity, ForgeRock, Sailpoint Technologies and Magnet Forensics Inc, among others.

Topics Cyber
Hours before a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio and erupted in fire in February, a judge ruled a former railroad employee could proceed with a lawsuit claiming he had been harassed for years by managers who said he reported too many flaws in rail cars he inspected and had his job changed after reporting an injury.

Richard Singletons case against Norfolk Southern was settled for an undisclosed amount after the judge said he had enough evidence to go to trial over whether he was disciplined for reporting safety violations that slowed trains passing through a Macon, Georgia, railyard.

The settlement provided relief for Singleton, but does little for residents near East Palestine, Ohio, who worry about possible health effects from the accident`s toxic blaze. That derailment and others since inspired nationwide fears about railroad safety.

Rail safety has been in the spotlight since the Feb. 3 Ohio derailment, with Congress and regulators proposing reforms. But little has changed, apart from railroads promising to install 1,000 more trackside detectors to spot mechanical problems and reevaluate their responses to alerts from those devices.

Since Wall Street took them over, railroads have put productivity ahead of safety, lawyer Nick Thompson argued earlier this year on behalf of a fired engineer. He pointed to recent derailments in Ohio and Raymond, Minnesota. People are being killed, towns are being evacuated, rivers are being poisoned, all in the name of profit.

The railroads are working to eliminate such practices with policies prohibiting retaliation and myriad ways for workers fearful of retribution to report safety concerns, either directly to a manager or anonymously through an internal hotline.

Statistics from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration show the number of single-year whistleblower complaints filed against big railroads declined from the 218 reported in 2018 to 96 last year.

I have zero tolerance for retaliation. And Ive made that very clear. And in fact, the culture that were creating at Norfolk Southern is one of transparency and one in which people are encouraged to raise their hand and say theyve got an issue, CEO Alan Shaw said.

Other major railroads, including BNSF, Union Pacific, CPKC, Canadian National and CSX, echoed that sentiment in statements and said they encourage employees to report safety concerns.

Whistleblower cases represent a small fraction of the workforce numbering more than 100,000 nationwide. But even a handful of cases can instill fear among employees and have a chilling effect on safety reporting.

Long before Mike Ratigan was fired from CSX in New York last year after refusing to help circumvent federal safety standards or ignore railcar flaws, he said he saw other workers sanctioned. Those disciplinary cases became a deer head for managers: a trophy that sent a clear message.

It says, if we can do it to him, we can do it to you, Ratigan said.

OSHA says 793 whistleblower complaints were filed between 2018 and the end of July, with Norfolk Southern leading all railroads with 257. Union Pacific and CSX weren`t far behind with nearly 200 complaints apiece, while another 113 were reported at BNSF. The numbers are much smaller at the Canadian railroads partly because much of their operations are north of the border.

More than half of the complaints were dismissed after OSHA reviews. But that doesnt tell the full story because some dismissed cases become federal lawsuits that can lead to multimillion-dollar judgments against railroads. OSHA`s decisions also can be appealed, with 87 cases settled before OSHA decided if they had merit.

The Associated Press reviewed dozens of whistleblower cases and found a similar pattern. When they werent bound by confidential settlement agreements, former railroad workers discussed how managers didn`t want them to report too many safety violations because they would slow trains. Some ex-employees prevailed in court, but they all faced tough battles against massive companies with billions of dollars in annual profits and armies of lawyers.

Mike Elliott was fired in 2011 after he went to the Federal Railroad Administration with safety concerns other workers reported to him in his capacity as Washington state`s top safety official with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union. The FRA responded with a special inspection that found 357 defects, angering his BNSF bosses.

One of his managers confronted Elliott in the parking lot and jumped on the hood of his car, claiming Elliott punched him and tried to run him down. Elliott said he was acquitted of those allegations in a criminal case, but ultimately was fired.

That started a yearslong court fight that included countless motions and a six- day trial before a jury awarded him $1.25 million and approved $500,000 in legal fees. After an appeal to the 9th Circuit, the railroad finally paid him in 2018.

Its a never-ending battle. They have the best lawyers. They have the best lobbyists and they have a lot of lobbyists. They have a lot of money, and youre up against it. Elliott said.

Dale Gourneau had a reputation as a tenacious safety advocate who may have written more bad order tags listing defects on railcars than anyone else in the Mandan, North Dakota, railyard where he worked for 18 years.

Gourneau pressed his managers to stop blocking employees from applying for corporate BNSF bonuses for finding broken railcar wheels. Not long after, he was written up for failing to properly stop his ATV before crossing the tracks in 2019. He was fired a few months later after the company alleged he violated the same rule a second time, even though he claimed to have followed the common practice of stopping several feet short of the tracks to avoid another set of tracks.

An administrative law judge ruled this spring that the discipline Gourneau received was merely pretext his managers conjured to fire him. The judge ordered BNSF to reinstate Gourneau and pay him $578,659 in back pay and penalties.

BNSF is appealing and declined to comment on specific cases.

For rail car inspector John Fulk, the situation got so bad that in 2011 he shot himself in the head in the parking lot of his workplace at a North Carolina Norfolk Southern railyard. His widow successfully argued in court that after being berated by managers for flagging too many cars for repairs, Fulk killed himself rather than face a disciplinary hearing and possible firing on trumped- up charges of trying to sabotage a trains braking system.

Fulks case was allowed to move forward because he started the complaint process with regulators before his death. FRA investigators found numerous rule violations and his former coworkers told them Fulk had repeatedly been targeted by managers. But court documents say none of them would sign witness statements because they feared retribution. Norfolk Southern settled in 2015.

Because of his adherence to FRA regulations, Mr. Fulk was subjected to abusive intimidation, disciplinary threats, and job threats by Norfolk Southern management, U.S. District Judge William Osteen wrote. Although he reported these acts and omissions, Norfolk Southern never took action to stop such treatment.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Ohio
A Department of Labor lawsuit claims a Tyler, Texas pipe manufacturer violated federal whistleblower protections after the company fired an employee because they requested to use a respirator to protect them from smoke and fumes in the work area.

The departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation at Tyler Pipe Company after learning of the alleged October 2022 retaliation. The agencys Whistleblower Protection Program investigators in Dallas determined the company violated federal whistleblower protections by terminating an employee who exercised their protected rights to request personal protective equipment.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the departments complaint asks the court to order Tyler Pipe to make the employee whole for the illegal retaliation.

Founded in the mid-1930s, Tyler Pipe Company manufactures pipes and related plumbing products. It operates an iron foundry in Tyler, and coupling and gasket manufacturing facility in Marshfield, Missouri. The employer has distribution centers in California and New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of McWane Inc., a privately held family operated company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

Source: DOL

Topics Lawsuits Texas
Florida property owners stuck with higher premiums and new flood insurance mandates may want to nudge their local governments to take a look at the town of Cutler Bay and the counties of Monroe, Pinellas and Ocala.

Those jurisdictions are among just 17 across the country that have achieved a Class 3 rating from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which results in 35% discounts on flood insurance premiums for homeowners.

In Cutler Bay, a storied community on Miamis southern flank with about 45,000 residents, the average premium dropped by $338 this year. Citywide, thats a savings of $2.3 million.

This savings is a tangible result of the flood mitigation activities your community implements to protect lives and reduce property damage, reads a letter from William Lesser, FEMAs Community Rating System coordinator.

The rating system and the National Flood Insurance Program have their critics, including those who argue that the system doesnt go far enough to discourage building in flood zones or to encourage individual property owners to take flood-proofing steps. But some local officials say the rating system and their discounts have become vitally important to homeowners at a time of soaring insurance premiums.

It takes some some sense of urgency, some public expenditures and a little self-owning of a communitys infrastructure problems to achieve the improved rating. Cutler Bays experience gives some insight: Just a few years ago, Cutler Bay, hit hard by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, was near the bottom of the ratings, at Class 6.

Cutler Bay really put their money where their mouth is and decided to leap forward on this, said David Stroud with WSP USA, an environmental engineering consulting firm that worked with the city.

Facing rising seas, and the likelihood of more rainfall and stronger storms, city staff began working in 2011 to up its game.

If we can do it with a city staff of just 32 people, anybody can, said Rafael Casals, town manager.

Besides preserving 44% of the flood hazard area, as designated on flood maps, as open space, one of the most significant measures that Cutler Bay officials undertook required no commitment from builders, developers or homeowners: It was simply maintenance  on an aggressive schedule.

While the surrounding county jurisdiction vacuums out its stormwater drains on an 8-year schedule, Cutler Bay does it every two years: Half the towns drain lines get cleaned one year and the other half gets it the next year, explained Yenier Vega, stormwater utility manager for the city.

The maintenance plan received a real test in June 2022, when the area received 26 inches of rain in less than three days. While streets flooded for several hours, the water was able to drain away faster, thanks to unclogged drains and sewer mains, officials said in a recent interview with Insurance Journal.

It cleared up a lot faster because of all of our action, Casals said. It drew attention to how important it is to maintain your stormwater system.

The cost of the enhanced flood measures has been surprisingly affordable for the city, officials said  less than $100,000 a year, from a town budget of $43 million. Much of the funding for infrastructure improvements have come from federal grants, which are easier to obtain with an improved town master plan.

The biggest cost is the time it takes, Vega said. You have to sit there and go through it all. And when sit there and go through it, youre going to find deficiencies in your program.

And thats part of the reason why more coastal cities, even in the face of dire climate-change warnings, have not taken similar steps, Casals and Vega said.

A lot of cities dont like that, Casals said. Why? Because you have to expose yourself and show what are your vulnerabilities.

The measures can also meet with resistance from developers who want to build homes and commercial properties in vulnerable areas.

Private Flood Insurers See Opportunity as NFIP Rates Increase

But in a low-lying area and with new flood insurance mandates, the improvements are worth the headache, town officials said. Parts of Cutler Bay are just 14 feet above current sea level. And the Florida Legislature last year required most properties covered by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to also obtain flood insurance, regardless of locale.

An estimated 4,000 property owners in Cutler Bay are insured by Citizens, out of about 228,000 Citizens policies for all of Miami Dade.

When we have to tell developers that they have to build another foot above the base flood elevation, what do you think the pushback is going to be? Casals asked. But our town council gets it and they would take that hit.

The towns drainage improvements have the added benefit of keeping polluted runoff out of adjacent Biscayne Bay, an already stressed body of water, Vega said.

Still, vacuuming drains, preserving greenspace and raising buildings by just a few feet may be only a short-term balm for a long-term problem that studies show is growing worse by the year. By 2030, much of Cutler Bay will face serious, regular flooding, according to computer modeling done by Climate Central, a nonprofit group of scientists.

Without extensive pumping and inland storage measures, coastal cities drainage systems may have nowhere to drain the floodwaters to, no matter how clean the drain lines are, explained Craig Poulton. Poulton is head of Poulton Associates, a private company that writes flood and catastrophe insurance. He has been a staunch critic of the NFIP and the Community Rating System.

Although he and Stroud, of WSP, have said that some models suggest that sea levels may not rise as severely as many studies have predicted, cities like Cutler Bay will still face consequences in coming decades.

The CRS itself is flawed because it undercuts FEMAs newly established Risk Rating 2.0, which aims to base flood insurance rates more on the risk of individual properties, not area-wide and outdated flood maps, Poulton said.

It goes back to the old paradigm of everybody gets the same rate, only in this case, its everybody gets the same discount, he added.

A house at a lower elevation in a Class 3 community gets the same 35% discount as one that has taken the trouble of raising its foundation by eight feet, he noted. The more at-risk property now has less incentive to reduce flood risk, since the city has reduced its cost of flood insurance.

And while Cutler Bay and Monroe, Pinellas and Ocala counties have taken steps to reach the higher ratings, most communities have not, Poulton pointed out. The majority of cities and counties  1,485 in all  have settled for lower ratings and smaller discounts, probably because of the commitment and expense involved in upgrading infrastructure and building restrictions, he noted.

Most communities are like water: They take the path of least resistance, Poulton said. He added that the time and expense involved in improvements means that most cities arent stepping up, yet can still claim some discounts, thanks to the structure of the CRS.

Cutler Bay officials said that FEMA audits their master plan and other improvements, to ensure the city is meeting the Class 3 requirements. But for the lower ratings, FEMA has a history of not stringently enforcing the requirements, Poulton said. Many of the CRS requirements for discounts in the lower ratings do nothing to reduce flood risk for communities and homes, he noted. These include points for simply advertising the need for homeowners to purchase flood insurance.

If anything, it adds to the burden of the taxpayer, because the property gets discounts on flood insurance from NFIP, he said.

Still, Cutler Bays administrators believe in the rating system and now plan to undertake additional improvements to reach Class 2  and a coveted 40% discount for most flood insurance policyholders. Only six communities nationwide, none of them in Florida, have achieved Class 2. Just two, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Roseville, California, have made it to the top rung of Class 1.

At least for us, we are charting our own course, Casals said. Our role is to protect our integrity and provide the best service we can to our residents.

Topics Florida Flood
When Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in June filed for the maximum rate increases allowed by its statutory glidepath, many in the Florida insurance industry saw it as a good thing, needed to help steer policyholders back toward the beleagured primary market.

Today, at least some in the industry are scratching their heads after Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky struck down part of Citizens 12% average rate increase request on homeowners policies, ordering the state-created insurer to come back with a new proposal within 30 days.

The proposed, overall increase exceeded the glidepath, Yaworskys order explains. But one insurer executive said the order may have gone too far and some personal lines increases could have been approved.

I was surprised, because given the data thats come from Citizens leadership and their board, it seems clear that Citizens policies are underpriced and a rate increase is justified, said Melissa Burt DeVriese, president of Security First Insurance Co., the 12th-largest property insurer in Florida.

With Citizens rates limited by law, premiums are significantly lower in many parts of the state, which has caused the residual insurer to become the largest carrier in the state with more than 1.3 million policies in force. Without the larger rate increase, primary market carriers will continue to find it difficult to compete with Citizens, DeVriese said.

Citizens now has until mid-September to come back with a smaller proposed rate increase on personal property, although Yaworskys office approved the requested increase for some commercial properties.

Yaworsky signed the orders late last week.

The Office finds that due to the inadequate support as it relates to Citizens being non-competitive  rates should be subject to a modified policyholder capping methodology with the lower cap of 0% and an upper cap of +12%, until such time that Citizens can provide support in a subsequent rate filing, the Aug. 18 order reads.

Dwelling fire and mobile home proposed rate increases also must be revised, Yaworskys order notes.

The Office of Insurance Regulation did not provide further comment Tuesday morning on the reasoning behind the denial order, but said more information may be released later. Kevin Comerer, a former lobbyist for a Florida insurer, noted that OIR had little choice.

Everyone wants Citizens rates to be comparable, but OIR was simply interpreting the law and implementing rates based on the statutes, Comerer said Tuesday. They have to follow actuarial science and they have to follow the law.

He argued that a more limited Citizens rate increase will have little impact on the market, compared to the effect from sweeping legislative reforms approved late last year, designed to stem the vast amount of claims litigation that has plagued insurers in recent years.

Its not uncommon for regulators to ask insurers to reconsider or to provide more information, even on seemingly straightforward math questions.

Its part of the process, said Citizens spokesman Michael Peltier. Theres always room for interpretation.

Revised filings dont always follow the script. Last year, for example, the Florida OIR asked Florida Farm Bureau to revisit its request for a 41% rate increase. The insurer did that, and came back a few months later with an even larger rate request.

On the recent Citizens filing, its possible that regulators also heard an earful from irate policyholders, many of whom have seen private carriers leave the market and raise premiums significantly in recent months. The OIR held hearings on the Citizens proposal and received some 724 written comments from the public, Yaworskys final order notes.

For condominium associations in Citizens commercial lines account, Yaworsky did approve a 9.2% average statewide rate increase, effective Oct. 1. For other commercial residential property, the order OKd a 9.5% rise. For non-residential commercial property, Citizens proposed 7.7% increase also was approved.

The homeowners rate order can be seen here. The commercial and condo order can be seen here.

The OIR orders come just a few weeks after the office and carriers announced that primary market insurers so far this year have requested more than 350,000 takeouts from Citizens. It was unclear Tuesday how or if a smaller-than-expected Citizens rate increase will affect the number of policyholders that agree to the takeout offers.

Topics Florida Trends Pricing Trends
Destinee Thompson was supposed to be on her way to lunch with her stepmother in August 2021 when Colorado police, mistaking her for a robbery suspect, fatally shot the pregnant mother as she fled in her minivan.

Frustrated by the district attorney`s decision last year not to charge the officers, Thompsons family filed a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit against five officers from the Denver suburb of Arvada who were present when she was killed.

I want their badges, said Francis Thompson, Destinees father. Shes 5-foot tall, seven months pregnant.  Youre a grown man and youre threatened by that? You dont deserve to be able to wear a badge.

They allege Destinee Thompson`s race, she`s part Hispanic and part Native American, played a role in her being targeted. Officers were looking for a suspect described as white or Hispanic.

If this was a affluent white person getting into her vehicle, they would never have stopped her, said Siddhartha Rathod, an attorney representing her family.

In a statement Wednesday, the Arvada Police Department said the family`s lawyer has mischaracterized the events surrounding Thompsons death, and the agency plans to mount a vigorous legal defense.

Police spokesperson Dave Snelling said the officers were justified in using deadly force because they believed Thompson`s actions posed an imminent threat.

The episode took place on Aug. 17, 2021, when officers responded to a report of a woman who had stolen from a Target and brandished a knife at an employee. A witness followed the suspect to a nearby motel, where police arrived. Thompson was leaving that same motel to meet her stepmother, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by The Denver Post.

While the description of the suspect included a white tank top __ which Thompson was wearing __ it also specified a chest tattoo, which Thompson did not have.

Officers noted that she didn`t exactly match the description but decided to stop her to rule her out, according to the lawsuit. Thompson kept walking when police asked her to stop, told them she wasnt the person they were looking for, and said she didnt have an ID to show them.

The police spokesperson said the officers had reasonable suspicion to believe Thompson may have been involved in the robbery and were therefore justified in contacting her.

Thompson`s family strongly disagrees.

Shes done nothing wrong  and she is confronted by these policemen and doesnt want to talk to them, Rathod said. You have the right not to talk to police.

Thompson, sitting in her minivan and surrounded by five officers, locked the doors and refused to get out, repeating, It wasn`t me, the district attorney wrote in the 2022 letter explaining their decision not to charge the officers.

One officer smashed the passenger window with a baton, and Thompson backed the car up, hitting a police vehicle parked behind her. She then drove forward over the curb and onto the road.

One officer began shooting, according to the district attorneys letter, because he believed another officer was struck by the car or being dragged under it, and eventually shot and killed Thompson. Her unborn child also died.

Thompson`s family alleges the officer who fired could see that the other officer hadn`t been hit or dragged by the car.

Not a single one of the other officers thought it was necessary to shoot, added Rathod in an interview. This is a murder of a pregnant woman.

Snelling, the police spokesperson, said the department stands behind its officers` actions.

Thompson unfortunately chose to engage in conduct that the officer reasonably believed posed an imminent threat to the life of another officer, Snelling wrote. He chose to use deadly force to stop that threat.

Snelling added that the agency later discovered Thompson had warrants out for her arrest and the autopsy found illicit drugs in her system.

Rathod and Francis Thompson dismissed the police mention of those warrants, saying it doesn`t justify the officers actions and that police at the scene didnt know about her background during the interaction.

All they knew was this woman didnt fit the description of the shoplifting suspect, Rathod said.

For Francis Thompson, who described his daughter as eager to help others and quick with a laugh, it feels like the police department is using Destinee`s past to justify her death.

The grief hasnt abated, he said. Every day there are moments when he cries, he said. Its hard for me to find a purpose in a lot of things anymore.

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.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement Colorado
Source: Barry Dawes

August 22, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Barry Dawes of Martin Place Securities looks at the gold sector as he believes sector sentiment has declined into a major Buy zone. Dawes states previous gains from these lows averaged 95%, valuations look cheap, and AU$ gold is back close to AU$3000/oz.

Gold

Still heading to US$2000 and beyond

Parabola still holding in US$

New all-time highs in many currencies

AU$ gold close to AU$3000 again

Parabolas here holding nicely

Commercial gold traders have covered shorts

Speculators have increased shorts!

Market sentiment is indicative of an important low forming in gold stocks

Subsequent to the previous four occurrences:

Average gain is 95% for GDX ETF (range 44-183%)



Average rally is 38 weeks (range 20-74 weeks)

Gold is trading lower below US$1900, along with the rise in bond yields.

The US$ remains strong, so the downward pressure remains.

However, that downward-sloping wedge remains in place, and last week saw some increase in volume.

The Commitment of Traders (CoT) indicates that commercial players have significantly reduced their short positions while the speculators have increased theirs, so a break out from this wedge could occur soon.

The longer-term parabola is holding well, and as pointed out last week, the 2011/12 highs and other more recent trading activities show good long-term support at these levels.

The gold price in AU$ is very close to AU$3000 again, and it's technical position has its own parabola and good support at the July 2020 highs.

This would suggest prices might not be heading much lower from here.

In the shorter term, the AU$ gold price has another even more encouraging parabola setup.

US$ remained in uptrend.

Nth American gold stocks are also declining but into support around 110 on the XAU.

Just 1-2% lower.

Gold stocks have underperformed bullion over the past two years.

This ratio is in an important support zone, so there should not be much more downside.

As noted above, sentiment is very weak and has dropped to a Buying Zone.

The number of stocks above the 200-week moving average is now just 3.57% (probably only one stock in this ETF!).

Note that the four previous times this indicator was here and bottoming in its six-year life, there was a very significant rally in gold stocks.

These turning points are important to follow and anticipate the changes.

The AVERAGE is a 95% gain in this GDX ETF with a range of 44-183%.

The rally length range was 20-74 weeks, and the average was 38 weeks.

The ASX gold index is already in an important technical support zone with a low possible at 6100, just 2% lower.

And XGD vs. Au$ gold is also an important support.

Timing is everything. Head the markets, not the commentators.

More Info:

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GOING back to school is exciting for many children. They look forward to seeing their friends, starting classes, and resuming extracurricular activities. But, according to the ISPCC, its daunting for others.

These children feel anxious about fitting into new friendship groups, adjusting to a new teacher, or meeting family expectations. The ISPCC has designed a programme to help them cope.

Smart Moves is a free, resilience-based programme for fifth- and sixth-class pupils and covers topics that range from friendship to problem-solving.

Its about building lifelong coping skills, says Niamh Clarke, of the ISPCC.

Having resilience doesnt mean you wont face challenges. It means you will have the ability to endure those challenges and bounce back.

Smart Moves is available in English and Irish, from www.ispcc.ie/smart-moves.

Immunity boost

Sniffly noses, coughs, and colds are more likely when the children return to school.

However, Rebecca Barry, a mother of three and a pharmacist at Halleys CarePlus Pharmacy in Adare, says parents can take steps to boost childrens immunity.

Re-establishing a sleep routine is one. Many children go to bed later during the summer, says Barry. But the first couple of weeks back at school can be exhausting, so start bringing bedtime back to an earlier hour to help them prepare.

Teaching good hygiene habits is another. Stock up on pocket-sized packs of tissues and show children how to use and dispose of them properly, says Ms Barry. Its also important that they know how to wash their hands, especially after using the toilet.

Supplements can be useful too. Barry recommends a multivitamin to strengthen the immune system, omega 3 for concentration, and vitamin D for bone health.

Hunter Hatton and his Ecoset water bottle

Water bottles

Back to school doesnt have to be boring. It can be brightened up with this colourful range of childrens water bottles from sustainable Irish brand Ecoset.

These stainless steel bottles are BPA-free, 100% leak-proof and durable enough to withstand bouncing around in childrens schoolbags. They can keep drinks hot or cold, ensuring they are always at the temperature children like.

They can even be customised with names and a fun illustration free of charge.

Prices start from 23. For more details, visit theecoset.com.

My Little Library Bag.

Free books

My Little Library Book Bag is an initiative run in libraries throughout Ireland. Its aim is twofold: to reassure little ones starting primary school and to encourage them to visit the library.

As part of the initiative, every child starting school in 2023 is entitled to receive a free bag of books that explore themes such as starting school, making friends, and feeling comfortable being yourself.

The bag also contains a library card and cardholder as well as information about all the resources available at the library.

The hope is that children will return to their library, with their book bag in hand, to borrow many more books in the years to come.

Pick up your My Little Library Book Bag at your local library today.

Parents are teachers, too

While school is an essential place of learning, parents have a lot to teach children, too.

So says Susie Allison, a mum of three, American former kindergarten teacher with a degree in early childhood education, whose posts as @busytoddler on Instagram are followed by more than two million people.

Her account is full of ideas for family activities and tips on how parents can help their children learn everything from using scissors to good hygiene habits.
Seven universities have spent almost 850,000 on business class airfares, travel records released to the Irish Examiner via Freedom of Information requests show.

University College Dublin

University College Dublin (UCD) had the highest spend of the seven universities at almost 444,000. This is approximately two-thirds of the 653,155 spent by the university since January 2021 on premium or non-economy flights.

In a statement attached to the documents, UCD said it is worth noting it generally only approved business class flights for staff traveling long distances on university business.

This includes recruiting international students. While UCD has the largest cohort of Irish students in Ireland, it also teaches over 7,000 international students in Ireland and over 4,500 students in overseas operations. The total amount spent on business travel seems large when taken in isolation of other facts but when taken alongside the scale of our operation, it does give us excellent financial value.

It said the contracted service providers for flights via a travel agency "were appointed following an extensive tender process conducted by the Office of Government Procurement".

Trinity College

Air travel records show that Trinity College Dublin (TCD) booked its staff on 57 business or first-class flights since late 2021, totaling almost 166,325.

Included among these trips was 4,376.88 spent on business class flights in February 2023 from Dublin to Brisbane via Dubai for a medical research conference, as well as 6,608.04 for business class flights in May 2023 from Dublin to the Melbourne software engineering conference.

The university also spent 5,139 for business class flights from Dublin to Singapore via Frankfurt in January 2023 for teaching on the Singapore Institute of Technology/TCD Joint Degree Programme.

University of Galway

University of Galway spent more than 83,245 on 30 business class trips between 2021 and 2023. Fares included an Aer Lingus flight from St Louis to Ireland, at a cost of 5,838; an Emirates flight from Dublin to Sydney, at a cost of 7,666 and Aer Lingus flights from Boston to Shannon at a cost of 7,908.

The university also spent 11,275.53 on three return business flights with Turkish airlines from Dublin to Kuala Lumpur International Airport via Istanbul.

A spokesman for University of Galway said it has a clear policy on air travel, including business class expenses.

Any proposed travel of this nature requires prior approval at a senior level and is only considered for flights longer than six hours and when the expense is clearly an allowable cost by the funding source. University of Galway also has a contracted travel management service which staff are advised to use to achieve value for money.

University of Limerick

The University of Limerick spent 52,214.27 on 24 business class flights in 2022 and 2023.

These fares included an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Canada costing 5,301; a Qatar flight from Dublin to India costing 4,841 and flights with Turkish Airlines from Dublin to Hong Kong at a cost of 3,039.

A UL spokesman said flights under eight hours will not require business or equivalent class travel, as a general rule. In limited situations where it may be necessary, it must be approved in advance in writing by the Office of the UL president.

Staff are encouraged to consider alternatives to travel, such as video conferencing, Teams and other available media, where appropriate. The university also aims to reduce carbon emissions from travel by encouraging staff to adopt a climate-conscious approach to travel.

University College Cork

University College Cork (UCC) spent 49,919 on business class travel. However, 13,549 of the costs recorded were charged to research projects and came within the terms of the external research agency funding for the associated projects.

Business class flights covered by the university included 5,013 for Emirates flights to Kuala Lumpur for a strategic partner visit, as well as 1,698 to Bangalore, and 2,769 for flights to Chenai, both for international recruitment fairs.

A spokesman for UCC said that the university has a staff policy for travel which states all official travel should be by the shortest practicable route and by the cheapest practicable mode of conveyance where possible.

All air travel is individually assessed and must be pre-approved, including applications for business travel, on a case-by-case basis.

Maynooth University

Maynooth University spent 39,629.86 on business class flights, the FOI records show. Included in this were flights to Cape Town, at 1,990.40; 8,292.83 on flights to China for academic teaching; and 5,087.88 to Doha, Qatar, for an academic conference.

The universitys travel policy sets out that business class or premium economy air travel can be permitted in specific circumstances. This includes when a flight exceeds five hours when the additional costs of business travel can be met from the existing budget, and when prior approval has been obtained.

Dublin City University

Dublin City University spent 24,301.23 on 11 business class flights, the FOI records show. Included in this were three fares to Edmonton, Canada, each costing 3,639.28 for university business meetings.

A DCU spokesman said its travel policy states that air travel should be planned so as to reduce the total amount of traveling to the minimum, consistent with efficiency of time and sustainability.

Sustainability is a key focus of the universitys strategy. Before deciding to travel, university employees should consider whether the same business outcomes could be achieved in a more environmentally friendly way.
The public order unit will conduct daily soft cap patrols in Dublin city centre as part of a major effort by Garda HQ to combat street violence, open drug-dealing and anti-social behaviour.

Also, a public order van carrying gardai able to scramble into full riot-gear mode will be roving around the city centre to respond to any serious incidents.

A fifth of the extra overtime budget being given by the Government to Gardai  2m of 10m  is being allocated to the Public Order Unit to fund the patrols in the two Dublin central garda divisions.

Regular garda soft cap patrols  which is the middle phase between the standard garda uniform and full riot-gear mode  are uncommon on the streets and reflect a significant policy shift by Garda bosses.

This unit is usually only put in place in response to concerns over public order at events, such as protests likely to attract tensions, or major public occasions. Patrols of the unit in soft cap mode have already been spotted on Grafton Street, one of the locations where serious assaults have taken place in recent weeks.

The patrols will take place on both sides of the Liffey, in the Dublin North Central Division  which includes OConnell Street and Talbot Street, also sites of recent serious assaults  and the South Central Division  which includes the Temple Bar area and Grafton Street.

Read More Gardai say over 580 arrests made in Dublin in one week

The recent serious assaults, including on tourists, in Dublin city centre has attracted considerable outrage domestically as well as international attention. Garda management are using a detailed temporal analysis of local areas in the two divisions in their deployment both of the public order unit and regular gardai.

In a statement just issued, Garda HQ said the 10m extra overtime will provide an expected 16,500 additional policing hours per month in Dublin city centre across the two divisions.

The statement said the fund will help enhance visibility and target criminality, including:

Enhanced garda presence at strategic locations across Dublin city centre;

Strong focus by gardai on tackling street-level dealing, anti-social behaviour, and seizure of alcohol;

High impact visibility in Dublin city centre to target range of criminal activity;

An Garda Siochana has started to use the 10m overtime provided by Government for policing in Dublin in a move that will deliver more than 16,500 additional policing hours per month in the city centre, the statement said.

In the course of Operation Citizen, there will be a strong focus by Gardai on tackling street-level drug dealing, anti-social behaviour, and seizure of alcohol in Dublin city centre following the provision by Government of 10m in overtime for policing in the capital.

It said there will be an enhanced visible garda presence at strategic locations in Dublin city centre such as main thoroughfares and the Liffey boardwalk.

It said: The plan will see increased deployment of the Garda National Public Order Unit in the city centre with 20% of the 10m in overtime being dedicated to providing additional public order capacity in the city centre on a daily basis.

It said that as well as uniform gardai, specialist units such as the Garda Air Support Unit, the Garda Mounted Unit, the Garda Dog Unit, Regional Armed Response Units, and Road Policing Units will be deployed to enhance Garda visibility in the city centre.

The patrols will take place on both sides of the Liffey, in the Dublin North Central Division  which includes OConnell Street and Talbot Street, also sites of recent serious assaults  and the South Central Division  which includes the Temple Bar area and Grafton Street. File photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The statement said there will also be planned days of high impact visibility in the city centre involving checkpoints; execution of warrants; service of summonses; intelligence-led searches and arrests; immigration checks, and enforcement of road traffic offences.

The days of visibility will be replicated across the other Garda Divisions in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

It said high-visibility patrols on the transport network in addition to patrols in the vicinity of transport services at peak times will be maintained under Operational Saul.

The overall objective of our activity is to reassure the citizens, visitors and the business community that Dublin is a safe place in which to live, visit, and work. An enhanced visible policing presence is central to this objective, said Assistant Commissioner, DMR, Angela Willis.

It is expected that the overtime will result in more than 16,500 additional policing hours per month being delivered in Dublin city centre across the two divisions. For the whole Dublin Metropolitan Region including the city centre divisions, the total additional policing hours per month is 48,500.

As increased Garda activity in Dublin city centre has the potential to displace criminal activity to other Divisions in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), each of the other four DMR Divisions are receiving a proportion of the additional funding, the statement added.

These DMR Divisions support city centre policing in a number of ways. For example, patrols on the public transport network to deal with issues at source before impacting on the city centre.

It said each DMR Division is delivering an operational plan with gardai engaged in high-visibility patrolling and enforcement activity in specific areas based on crime trends and analysis of when crimes occur. This temporal analysis, which is compiled by the Garda Siochana Analysis Service, will be updated on a weekly basis.

The statement provided operational DMR operational figures for week ending August 20, 2023:
The company behind the Ironman event in which two competitors died after getting into difficulty during the swim has said Triathlon Ireland only said it would not sanction it several hours after the swim was completed.

Ironman said federation representatives "were present during the event and performed their duties".

"Several hours after the swim was completed, they communicated to the onsite IRONMAN Ireland officials that they would not approve the sanctioning for the event," it said.

On Monday, Triathlon Ireland said it had told race organisers on the day that it was not possible to sanction the race. It did not say this came after the swim was complete.

Previously, Ironman had said: Due to the prevailing weather conditions, a decision was made, however, to shorten the distance of the swim as a further precaution to ensure that the significant water safety assets  such as kayaks, lifeguards and medical boats  could be concentrated over a smaller area while also allowing swimmers the ability to swim with the help of a more favourable current and incoming tide after the first 100m.

It comes as calls mount for an independent inquiry into why Sundays swim race proceeded despite technical advice that the event could not be sanctioned by the sport's governing body here.

Ivan Chittenden, 64, from Toronto, and Brendan Wall, 44, originally from Meath, both died after getting into difficulty in separate apparent medical emergencies during the swim in heavy seas off Youghals Front Strand on Sunday morning.

Questions also remain over why an alternative swim race course in the relatively protected waters of Youghal Bay which was flagged to competitors last Thursday as Storm Betty bore down, was not used on Sunday.

It is understood whatever reviews Ironman undertakes will feed into the Garda files in relation to the two deaths, which will be prepared in due course for the coroners court. Picture: John Hennessy

On Tuesday evening, Cork County Council said it had sought a full account of the event from Ironman.

The council will determine its future position as host sponsor once it is in receipt of and has considered same, it said.

It said it recognised the fatalities may be the subject of a coroners inquest and would not be commenting further on the matter.

It explained Ironman is the owner of the event, which comprises the races, IRONkids, IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon, and the IRONMAN full-distance triathlon and that Ironman has sole responsibility for the management and co-ordination of the event.

This responsibility includes to run the event with due care, skill and attention, it said.

The responsibility of Ironman extends to providing all race-related equipment, supplies, personnel (including volunteers and a local race director), training of personnel (including volunteers), racecourse set-up, route determination and design and all other technical and operational aspects of the race."

Brendan Wall and Ivan Chittenden.

It said its responsibilities include organising road closure permits, the use by Ironman of certain council facilities, and the provision of extended cleansing operations, the provision of waste collection, utilities (water and electricity) and storage areas, temporary public toilets, and the staging of a food market, and the provision of the lead vehicle for the bike route.

Cork County Council does not have any responsibility for the management and operation of the event and any decisions related to the races proceeding, nor indeed the different elements of the individual races,

it said.

It is understood whatever reviews Ironman undertakes will feed into the Garda files in relation to the two deaths, which will be prepared in due course for the coroners court.

But it could take up to a year before inquests are held, and the full facts are made public.

In the meantime, Sinn Fein spokesperson on sport Chris Andrews has called for an independent inquiry into the two deaths.

Housing Minister Darragh OBrien said that there were very serious issues to be examined after the two men died.

I noted that the statement of Triathlon Ireland yesterday evening with interest and indeed with some concern, but there seems to be a difference between what Ironman Ireland were saying and what Triathlon Ireland are now saying.

We want to get to the truth of that.

We need to move now to a stage whereby we can find out what happened, was there any deficiencies in the planning of the event and the safety arrangements put in place, and that needs to be done expeditiously.
More than two-in-three people in Ireland aged between 25 and 29 are living at home with their parents.

This shocking data, released recently by Eurostat, perhaps goes a long way toward explaining why a new wave of emigrants is heading abroad in search of lower costs.

Those who can make the move credit their new country of residence with lower rents, more bang for your buck, and generally better quality of life, while some countries have become a home away from home with Irish communities abroad consistently growing larger and larger.

Although official data recording the reasons why more people are leaving Ireland is not collected, that is not to say we cant make an educated guess, said Dr Laura Bambrick, a social policy officer with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

The latest CSO figures show that in the year to April 2022 just shy of 60,000 people (59,600) emigrated. This is a 10% rise on the previous year when 54,000 emigrated. So we do know more people are leaving Ireland, she said.

However, Dr Bambrick noted that some 27,600 of those 59,600 were Irish nationals meaning, for more than half of those who left Ireland, it may be less about going to live abroad and more likely a case of returning to their home country.

This is not to say that we cant make an educated guess at why people, Irish and non-Irish nationals, are leaving such as the high cost of living here, the lack of affordable housing, career and education opportunities or travel.

But we do know from the official figures that slightly more (28,900) Irish nationals returned to live in Ireland than went to live abroad last year, which might offer some crumbs of comfort for those waving goodbye at the airport, she said.

The grass genuinely is greener

For those who do opt to leave, its down to a mismatch between the cost of living and earnings, according to Nevin Economic Research Institute economist Ciaran Nugent. He said workers in Ireland are working for a lower standard of living when compared with elsewhere.

There are better opportunities elsewhere. The grass genuinely is greener in a lot of places even though we have high household incomes and high average wages even, he said.

I foresee that the share of adult children living at home will continue to rise as it has done almost every year since 2012 and without a significant wage increase and/or a real significant tackling of housing, things will get worse, he said.

Mr Nugent said, despite being most likely to have a third-level education than any other EU country, the share of those aged between 25 and 34 living in their parent's home has doubled since 2012.

In Europe, on average, that didnt change but we doubled and we came from below the EU average to significantly above the EU average.

He said:

For those aged 18 to 35, were very similar to Spain and Italy, and 15 or 20 years ago, Spain and Italy were two countries that we might have criticised the amount of adults living with their parents as a clear indicator of an economy thats not functioning very well.

Last year saw very strong employment growth, very strong wage growth and very strong GDP growth, yet we have an increase in deprivation in which households cannot afford the basic costs of living, he said.

We have financial insecurity, weve got wages that dont match housing costs which is why people are still living at home, he said before adding there needs to be more real efforts by the State to bring down the cost of housing for everybody.

Mr Nugent said a higher regulation of accommodation, and tackling vacant properties and short-term lets in cities are low hanging fruit, and would tackle housing in the short-term with the stroke of a pen which would stave off younger people from emigrating.

Irish arriving in Australia non-stop

Saorlaith Mullan who left East Cork to move to Australia said it would take a change in Government for her to consider returning home. The rent she pays is expensive for Australia, she said, adding that there is currently a rental crisis in Sydney, with costs rising significantly.

Despite this, she pays about 860 per month on rent in a two-bed apartment which is a six-minute walk from Bondi Beach, an area which has a reputation for being expensive. She shares her apartment with a friend who is also from East Cork.

Its obviously incredibly difficult to be on the other side of the world away from family when you miss out on milestones but I just felt like there wasnt much more I could progress in while I was working in Ireland.

Australia has always been portrayed as somewhere with a lot more opportunities and Its something that always attracted me, she said.

Ms Mullan said that an online community group of Irish people living in Sydney has more than 100,000 members with multiple newly arrived members posting every day looking for friends and accommodation.

She said:

At the moment, you can see a huge influx of 23- or 24-year-olds that have just graduated from college and theyve just moved here straight away. Its non-stop.

Anywhere I go, or any job that I have here, there is always going to be at least one Irish person that I come across.

I love Ireland, I love everything about the people and were definitely one of a kind in how we think and just how we go about our daily lives, but in comparison to the lifestyle here, its just not enough, she said.

Ms Mullan said workers can earn enough to be comfortable in Australia while living in a nice place. Things can be expensive but your wages typically will match that, compared to Ireland where it doesnt match the cost of living, she said.

In addition to the reduced cost and lifestyle available in Australia, she said Irish workers are in high demand there. Ms Mullan, who has worked across various disability services in Cork, also worked in disability services in Melbourne and Sydney.

She now works as a case manager in homelessness services. She said Irish people traditionally have a good work ethic, which is recognised by employers in Australia, making them highly sought after.

Ireland has such a high standard of care that they provide to people which is amazing. Anywhere I went within the disability sector here, employers were dying to have any Irish person work there because were trained to a really high standard, she said.

Saorlaith Mullan said workers can earn enough to be comfortable in Australia while living in a nice place.

She said the strain on services at home, in which employees are forced to go above and beyond, also plays its part in making Irish workers attractive to employers.

She said the housing crisis and cost of living at home have turned her off from returning in the near future. At the moment, I cant see myself settling at home. Anyone I talk to portrays Ireland as very expensive and its not really attainable to get a mortgage or a well-paying job.

Id have to see a change in Government and Id like to see the Irish Government looking after young people, theyre not doing that at all, she said.

I wasnt living really

After graduating from college in 2008, Robert Walshe emigrated to Copenhagen, where he lived for five years before returning to Ireland. It kind of bothered me at the time, where I was living was a small village where everyone knew your business and I enjoyed the freedom there, he said.

Now 37, Mr Walshe, from Kilmacow in Kilkenny, has recently decided to leave again, this time heading to Finland.

Its a little bit sad to say but I consider myself lucky for the situation I was in that I had the option to live at home with my parents but it wasnt ideal. It wasnt fair on them and it wasnt fair on me, he said.

Mr Walshe who works in fitness, worked full-time and completed a master's while also setting up a business. However despite this, he felt like he was getting nowhere while living at home.

It was awkward for me in the sense that I felt like I was a burden on them, he said adding: Youre in your childhood bedroom thinking: this is not my place. I was lucky to have a job and I was lucky to have somewhere to stay but I wasnt living really.

He said the difference between Finland and Ireland is like chalk and cheese.

Robert Walshe: The apartment I have on my own is 460 per month, you wouldnt get a room in Ireland for that."

I think the Government is a major problem in that their ideology focuses on the private side. Its chalk and cheese when you compare it to the Nordic countries where they focus on public service provision and the person, he said.

Mr Walsh said some exaggerate and say that people expect everything for free. We dont, we just want to be given a fair chance and have the opportunity to have a decent life, he said.

He said the wages available in Finland are much higher than in Ireland and, while taxes are higher, the wages meet them while healthcare costs are minimal.

The apartment I have on my own is 460 per month, you wouldnt get a room in Ireland for that, it would probably be one of those horrific ads you see sharing a bedroom for that amount, he said.

Mr Walshs brother lives in New Zealand while his sister lives in England.

We would have had a group of children all around the same age as us living on both sides and out of about 10, Id say theres two or three still at home, everyone else is now in different countries.
We have all lived reasonably well if we get as far as to be considered "old". Geriatricians refer to people in their 60s and 70s who are relatively healthy as "young old", so therefore I have four years left of youthfulness in older age.

The writer Gene Cohen refers to people in their 50s to 70s as being in the "liberation period" of their lives, a time often of retirement, of innovation and experimentation.

I dont feel liberated, though. Believe me, I do not.

I hope I can move forward in ageing to the end in a comfortable, wholesome fashion as most would want. Presently, this is merely an aspiration of my own making. A great inhibiting factor is that I appear to be the only one who believes in my right to move forward in such a fashion.

The TV and radio presenter Brendan Courtney has recently spoken of being served with notice that his mum needs full-time care. As he points out, it will be a battle far too many in Ireland must endure, and the push towards nursing homes from the health authorities is very strong.

We hear a lot now about our ageing population, about the pensions "time bomb" and about the crises in homecare, nursing homes and in hospitals, where A&Es are consistently dealing with a much higher volume of older people than they were designed for.

Push towards nursing home care

The push towards nursing home care is fear-based, as I fully understand. Recent times point to a national anxiety in the growing ageing population of being put in nursing homes against our wishes. Personally, my anxiety is high.

The TV and radio presenter Brendan Courtney has recently spoken of being served with notice that his mum needs full-time care.

I know nursing homes. I worked in elder care from the time I left school and during and after art college. After that, I taught creative practice in nursing homes.

I also visited St James Geriatric Unit every Thursday evening as part of the voluntary visiting programme begun by Friends of the Elderly.

Side by side with me was a contemporary at the time Dr Des ONeill, a learned scholar in all things geriatric. Now entering the same zone as myself  and many of his patients  he was a handsome young student I remember well.

Waiting to die

During my time working in nursing homes, I found it hard to shift the mood of the residents. They understood where they were, why they were there and there was a sense of foreboding due to the ultimate realisation that they were merely waiting to die. It was the shock reality of "waiting room syndrome".

Although becoming very unwell with Crohns disease, I fought through my discomfort to travel from my home in Wicklow to the Crawford College of Art in Cork for two years, undertaking study on the course Arts and Empowerment.

I needed to bring some of that empowerment back to my older fellow citizens and I believe this course gave me that ammunition that creative practice alone could not fulfil at the time.

Nursing homes are distinct environments, they are totally unhealthy and mostly unnecessary. I saw amongst my students, intelligence, feistiness, and engagement second to none.

The only thing these individuals lacked was the enablement to live well out in the community. Their fragility in the main was mobility, dexterity and medical management that did not require a hospital setting.

Now, however, I am having something of a crisis in my zone designate of "young old". As a 70-year-old, I am now pitched, with no choice or consultation, into the section run by the HSE community called Elder Care.

It is not a continuum of care from the Disability Services, or indeed Chronic Diseases, both of which I have previously been treated under.

Perceived as old

I have been selected to be perceived as old. If you read the terms of reference for this bracket it is clear  this means requiring help in getting in and out of bed, dressing and undressing, personal care such as showering and shaving.

Although on the website it offers physiotherapy and OT, believe me, these do not really exist  the programme for elder care in the community is purely aspirational rather than a reality.

You cannot ask to be moved out of Elder Care. You are assured of highly professional staff offering holistic care in exemplary fashion.

The language and terminology around Elder Care, the misapplication of adjectives, adverbs and emphasis can leave you in a sort of twilight zone where language does not at all mean what it meant when you were young.

In Elder Care, a very upright very hard, very uncomfortable chair is noted as a highly sophisticated orthopaedic chair. I can confirm, even the young and healthy HSE staff squirmed, and could not wait to be released from its sophisticated but rock-hard seating.

Ann Kennedy and Squirt: 'Being in partnership and having equal say in how you wish to be treated cuts no ice in real life either because you cannot be removed from Elder Care once you hit the "magic number". Picture: Garry O'Neill

The National Guidelines on Assessable Health and Social care were published in 2016 and run the full length of a veritable tome, 174 pages. As always, policy documents produced by the HSE are exemplary, brilliantly thought-out and very well presented.

I am not saying it ends there, but we have yet to grasp a uniformity in delivery. In the introduction are listed relevant legislation and related policy, procedures and guidelines, all designed to keep us informed about how to do things well.

It is clear this is a healthcare service acting under the pretext that policy directs the way forward. Nine of these policies are here and there are more under different criteria as well.

Communication

Just one example I can point to is Guideline 4, which refers to communication. It clearly, and rightly, points out: Failure to make appropriate provision for a persons communication difficulty may result in avoidable serious risks and errors for both the patient and healthcare provider.

This most basic policy falls asunder when dealing with older people with severe/profound hearing loss  something you would imagine it is designed for. The minutiae is important because when one aspect of one policy is losing the basics  as in communication  then the nine other policies are redundant.

Communication is a right to be heard and understand and follow other human beings doing the very same thing. Get this wrong and worlds collapse.

Being old with chronic diseases and deaf too means no matter how youthful you feel inside, your vulnerability in the face of systems and autocracy increases misrepresentations, presentations and delivery of good quality care. Voices go unheard.

Being in partnership and having equal say in how you wish to be treated cuts no ice in real life either because you cannot be removed from Elder Care once you hit the magic number.

You are now a lifer  bang goes the partnership and equal say. If you say "no", it is not what they want to hear. If you protest and are loud you are "trouble", on top of being a lifer.

Watch that one! you can clearly hear between the gaps, while your file will say you are "uncooperative" for not responding in what is considered the correct way.

In terms of how we could progress services for the young-old, or those of us aged 55-74, all I need to do is just inch back a bit to pre-old age when I merely had a disability. Under the disability remit, all seemed more wholesome and correct.

Since the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 prohibited discrimination in the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education, Ireland has made it equally illegal to discriminate on the grounds of age as it is to do so on grounds of disability.

Ageism in healthcare

Nevertheless, ageism in healthcare is a growing concern, Dr Robert N Butler defined ageism as the systemic stereotyping and discrimination against people because they are old. (Regis College 2021).

The recent horrifying case of Emily, a victim of repeated rape and sexual assault in a nursing home, clearly proves there is a presumption among healthcare workers that old people do not know what they are talking about. Emily was not the only woman in her nursing home to report assaults by the same predator but not one of those women was believed.

Old people cannot say "no" to Elder Care divisions, nor are we enabled to stay in our homes as any other citizen of the State is. Our laws clearly suggest all citizens are equal, but alas, some are more equal than others.

On a recent visit to hospital I was asked  as a throwaway question, just as I was leaving a consultation room  if I came into the hospital very unwell, did I wish to be treated and, er, made well again.

My answer was clear: I will be consulting my solicitor. I want to live.

I may qualify for Elder Care, but I am youthful and full of life and love and want to share, care and be a participant. I dont want to be a subject for the rest of my life, with no agency, but I am getting a sense of do unto this old biddy, who is a bit of trouble for saying "no" all the time.

I am now doing life in Elder Care for a crime I didn't commit, with keys rattling and discussions being had behind closed doors. There is no inclusive dialogue  the conversation is what they/we will do about Ann.

A rights-based legislative approach to older people across systems, meaning that we count, is the reality we have to fight for. Actually, making this a reality is far harder. I may be old, I may be disabled  something which never stopped me, until I entered Elder Care  but I have a voice and am determined to use it.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has accused Facebook of putting profits before peoples safety during the emergencies created by Canadas record wildfire season.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced earlier this summer it would keep its promise to block news content from Canada on its platforms because of a new law that requires tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

Fires raging in Canada have pushed tens of thousands of people from their homes and threatened cities such as Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. About 30,000 people were under evacuation orders in British Columbia.

Right now, in an emergency situation where up to date local information is more important than ever, Facebook is putting corporate profits ahead of peoples safety, Mr Trudeau said at a news conference in Cornwall on Prince Edward Island on Monday.

Thick smoke from the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire fills the air as Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers on a boat patrol Shuswap Lake, British Columbia (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of insuring that local news organizations can get up to date information to Canadians.

On Friday, government ministers called on Meta to lift the news ban, which applies to local outlets as well as national media such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The company stood by its decision and said in a statement about the wildfires that people in Canada can continue to use Instagram and Facebook to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organisations.

The countrys residents and visitors are not able to view or share news on the Meta-owned social networks, including news articles, videos and audio posted by outlets inside or outside of Canada.

Googles owner Alphabet also said it planned to remove Canadian news links in response to the new law, although it has not yet.

The Online News Act, passed in late June after lengthy debate, is set to take effect later this year.

The Meta logo (Thibault Camus, AP)

This is Facebooks choice, Mr Trudeau said. In a democracy, quality local journalism matters, and it matters now more than ever before when people are worried about their homes, worried about their communities, worried about the worst summer for extreme events that weve had in a very long time.

British Columbia premier David Eby said it is unacceptable that Meta has not reversed its decision to block Canadian news from being shared online.

I find it astonishing that we are at this stage of the crisis and the owners of Facebook and Instagram have not come forward and said Were trying to make a point with the federal government, but its more important that people are safe, Mr Eby said.

He added that many people in British Columbia rely on media shared through Facebook to access information about the wildfires.
Six people were reportedly injured and at least 4,000 residents from 11 villages fled their homes in Phyu Township, Bago Region, due to heavy shelling by Myanmar junta infantry since August 18.

Junta forces have been shelling civilian targets since a resistance ambush on a logistics train in Phyu township on Friday, according to the White Peacock Column, which fights for the civilian National Unity Government.

We could feel the explosions and vibration from 8km and children were petrified by the sound, a villager said.

Light Infantry Battalion 439 is based in Kanyutkwin town and two other bases at Gone Te village and Taw Kywe Inn towns monastery, according to resistance forces.

Four people from Nga Toe Khin village sustained injuries on Friday and two women from Let Tet Gyi village were wounded on Saturday by junta bombardment, said a White Peacock spokesman.

Yangon to Mandalay passenger trains were temporarily halted after the mine ambush.

Meanwhile, junta troops are on high alert and the security has tightened exile the track is repaired, according to a villager.

They stop us from getting near the railtrack and they have deployed many troops, a villager said.

White Peacock also conducted a drone attack on junta troops based in Hpa Yar La Har on Sunday, killing at least two soldiers and injuring two others, according to the group.

Hpa Yar La Har has been occupied by junta forces for several months, according to resistance forces.

The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the casualty reports.

Yaw Khin village was seized by junta troops on Saturday, displacing hundreds of villagers, according to residents.

White Peacock said it had evacuated at least 1,000 villagers to safe areas on Sunday.
Junta troops have been shelling villages near Mindat Town since Sunday and indiscriminately firing when they leave their base in the town near the southern tip of Chin State, residents say.

The regimes Light Infantry Battalion 274, which is based in Mindat, shelled villages with mortars on Sunday and Monday, while its troops opened fire in the town when they ventured outside their base, according to the resistance-run Mindat administration.

An administration spokesperson told The Irrawaddy that they had no causality figures for villages shelled by the junta battalion, but added no one was injured by the militarys shooting in the town last night.

The renewed fighting in Mindat Town followed 20 days without clashes, after seven regime soldiers were killed when Chin Defense Force (CDF) fighters attacked a military patrol vehicle in the town on July 30.

A military column from Magway Regions Kyaukhtu Township was dispatched to Mindat last Tuesday.

The CDF responded by shutting the road linking Mindat and Kyaukhtu, residents said.

It previously shut the road in early June.

Junta scout planes began flying over Magway Regions Yaw areaa resistance strongholdand Mindat on Tuesday.

Around 50 soldiers entered Yawmyo Village and searched villagers on Tuesday at 10am, the local information group, Yaw Alin Tan, reported.

Renewed clashes against regime troops began in Chin State in May 2021, following the coup in February. It became one of Myanmars resistance strongholds. Martial law has been imposed in seven of the states nine townships as resistance forces continue to assert control over areas of the state.
The military regime has ordered a private hospital in Myanmars second-largest city, Mandalay, to shut for three months for employing doctors who were arrested last year for allegedly going on strike from the public health care system.

Mingalar Hospitalone of the largest private hospitals in Mandalaytreats cancer patients, pregnant women and newborns, among others.

We are not accepting new patients now, employees of the hospital said. Current and returning patients are being referred to other hospitals, they added.

The hospital has been ordered to shut for three months from August 25 for allegedly employing two specialists from the public healthcare system who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) following the 2021 coup.

The employee of the hospital described the move as retroactive punishment, explaining: They ordered the closure of the hospital over the two CDM specialists who were arrested last year. It seems that the punishment was retroactive.

Located in Maha Aungmyay Township, the hospital has about 700 staff, including specialists, surgeons, and nurses.

A CDM doctor said the closure was was not a good sign. Patients will have trouble receive treatment, the doctor said.

A source close to the hospitals owner said he has ties to U T Khun Myat, and there wont be further punishment after the temporary closure.

T Khun Myat served as speaker of Myanmars Lower House under the now ousted National League for Democracy government. He continues to serve in the same position under the regime though there is no parliament as the junta cancelled the results of the 2020 general elections.

The hospital is a unit of the Kachin National Development and Progress Company (KNDPC), which operates jade mines in Kachin States Hpakant Township, and has close ties with Myanmar military, the source added.

The hospitals closure confused him.

There must be a reason behind the closure because the hospital is operated by KNDPC and shareholders who are close to the current regime, he said.

The junta launched an inspection campaign of private hospital and clinics to root out CDB doctors and nurses. Private hospital have been sealed off and their owners for allegedly employing CDM doctors and nurses from the public sector.

On December 24 and 25 last year, Dr Win Khainga urologist at Nandaw Hospitaland two X-ray technicians from Myodaw Hospital were arrested by the regime. It ordered temporary closures of most popular private hospitals in Mandalay, including Myodaw, Nandaw, Kantkaw, Htet Nay Lin and Sein Pin hospitals of December 31.

In May, the juntas heath ministry revoked the licenses of three more hospitals in MandalayMyodaw, Nandaw and Kantkawfor allegedly violating Private Health Care Services Law.

More than 40 striking health workers, including specialists, doctors and nurses, were arrested in October and November last year. Striking nurse Daw Poe Thandar Aung was arrested for allegedly providing medical supplies to Peoples D e fense Forces.

She died in interrogation.
BANGKOKThailands divisive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the kingdom Tuesday, after 15 years in exile and hours before parliament votes for a new prime minister.

The billionaire landed in a private jet at Bangkoks Don Mueang airport at 9 a.m., to be greeted by hundreds of noisy Red Shirt supporters waving banners and singing songs.

Thaksin emerged briefly from the terminal building to bow and offer a floral garland at a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a mark of respect before waving to supporters.

The former Manchester City owner was led away by officials to face arrest on old criminal cases, in the latest act in the kingdoms rolling political drama.

Lawmakers will vote in the afternoon to install business tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister at the head of a coalition led by the Pheu Thai partythe latest incarnation of Thaksins political movement.

Earlier, a Facebook video posted by his sister Yinglucklike Thaksin, ousted from power by Thailands generalsshowed the 74-year-old shaking hands with the crew as he boarded his jet in Singapore.

The day you are waiting for is finally come, Yingluck wrote.

Crimson supporters

A day that began with a private jet for Thaksin will likely end in a prison cellyet another dramatic shift in a switchback career that has included two election victories, defeat in a coup, criminal charges and long years of self-imposed exile.

Thaksin has said he is prepared to face justice in order to return to his homeland and see his grandchildrenthough he has long maintained the criminal charges against him are politically motivated.

I would like to request permission to return to live on Thai soil and share the air with my fellow Thai brothers and sisters, he posted on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X, on Monday.

At the airport, hundreds of supporters from the Red Shirt movement loyal to Thaksin gathered singing songs and waving banners, most decked out in their usual crimson colors.

I am a real Red Shirtwhenever they want our support, I will always be there for them, Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nong Khai, in the countrys northeast, told AFP.

I dont only like him but I love him.

Thaksin has been convicted in four criminal cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one. The jail sentences against him total 10 years.

From the airport, he will be taken to the Supreme Court, issued with a jail warrant and put in detention.

Hundreds more Red Shirts lined the route he is expected to take.

It is unclear how long Thaksin might serve in jail. His associates hope he may be moved to house arrest after a brief incarceration, although there are no guarantees.

For all his long absence from the country, Thaksin remains Thailands most influentialand controversialpolitician of modern times.

Loved by the rural poor for policies including cheap healthcare and the minimum wage, he is reviled by the pro-military and royalist elite who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to Thai social order.

Parties linked to Thaksin have dominated elections since 2001until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

PM vote

But MFPs leader Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become PM dashed on the rocks of bitter opposition from conservative junta-appointed senators spooked by his determination to reform royal insult laws and tackle business monopolies.

While party patriarch Thaksin is being processed by the courts, Pheu Thai MPs will be preparing for the vote for a prime minister, expected around 3 p.m.

The party is confident of getting Srettha approved in a joint vote by both houses, after gaining another 40 seats for its coalition on Monday with the addition of the army-linked Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

It takes their controversial groupingincluding military-backed United Thai Nation, the former party of 2014 coup-maker Prayut Chan-o-chato 314 lower house seats.

Following MFPs exclusion from the first coalition, Pheu Thais deals with army-linked parties have enraged supporters who voted overwhelmingly against military-backed rule in May.
China has 597 investment projects in Myanmar totaling US$ 21.863 billion in value, junta investment and foreign economic relations minister Dr. Kan Zaw told the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Economic Corridor Governors Forum held in Chinas Kunming last week.

Chinese investment accounts for 23.5 percent of total foreign investment in Myanmar, the majority of which is in the electricity sector, the minister added.

Despite international condemnation, sanctions and corporate pullouts following the 2021 coup, China appears to be stepping up its engagement with Myanmars ruling generals.

Kan Zaw, junta information minister Maung Maung Ohn and commerce minister Aung Naing Oo last week flew to Kunming in search of investment at three international events, the 7th China-South Asia Expo, 27th Import-Export Fair, and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Corridor Governors Forum.

In an interview with China state-owned media CGTN during their visit, Aung Naing Oo claimed some countries are deliberately acting to mar the image of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Myanmar.

Although Myanmar is engulfed in the flames of armed conflict, Beijing is busy expanding investment in the country beyond its existing oil and gas pipelines; a deep-sea port in Rakhine States Kyaukphyu; tin, copper and rare earth mining; electricity production; and border trade.

Beijing is building a railway linking Kyaukphyu with the key border town of Muse in Shan State via Myanmars second largest city, Mandalay. The railroad is part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which is itself a part of the BRI.

The juntas foreign ministry reported in February that China is funding 92 projects worth US$ 27.4 million in Myanmar through the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund.

In early March, the regime and Beijing signed an agreement to implement three wind-power projects in Rakhine. The juntas electricity minister then flew to Yunnan Province in the third week of March and invited the provincial government and Chinese businesspeople to invest in Myanmars electricity sector.

In April, Wang Ning, a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) central committee and secretary of the CPC Yunnan provincial committee, met Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw, signing agreements on rice, agricultural produce and fertilizer trade, and power purchase.

The regime is increasingly reliant on China for electricity production as blackouts have worsened since the coup.

Min Aung Hlaing has told his cabinet that the countrys disrupted power supply presents a challenge to his regime. The junta leader admitted that current production is insufficient to meet even 50 percent of domestic demand.

He also blamed the blackouts on the suspension of mega electricity projects, including the China-backed Myitsone Dam, by the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government that he ousted.

Anti-Chinese sentiment is running high in Myanmar as Beijing has repeatedly supported the regime on the global stage while also selling it weapons worth of millions of dollars to use in the brutal crackdown on opponents of military rule.

In May, then Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang visited Myanmar and vowed to stand by the junta in the global arena. His trip was followed by anti-China protests and attacks on junta troops guarding oil and gas pipelines.

On August 20, locals protested against Chinese mining company Wanbao and and a military-owned chemical factory for allowing junta soldiers to use their compounds in Sagaing Regions Salingyi Township as bases for deadly attacks on surrounding villages and arbitrary arrests of civilians.
Florida has become a destination spot in recent years, but some cities stand out.

For the past decade, the website Livability has been compiling an annual list of the best places to live in the United States. This year, four cities in The Sunshine State made the cut.

Unlike other common lists, Livability only includes cities with populations between 75,000 and 500,000. Most people looking to relocate are aware of the best and worst big cities, so this list includes more underrated options.

To compile their list, Livability partnered with Applied Geographic Solutions (AGS) to create a variety of categories: amenities, economy, education, environment, health, housing & cost of living, safety, and transportation. There is also a general ranking based on the Liv Score, which combines most factors into a general numeric score.

Johns Creek (Georgia), Flower Mound (Texas), and Carmel (Indiana) made top 3 in the Liv Score category. Four Florida cities made the list as well, with St. Petersburg (#44), Alafaya (#46), and Fort Lauderdale (#47) placing in the top 50. Orlando came in at #92.

For Amenities, Fort Lauderdale scored the highest of all Florida cities across the board, coming in at #3 after Jersey City and Clifton, both in New Jersey. St. Petersburg (#11), Alafaya (#32), and Orlando (#34) all placed in the top 40.

Four Florida cities scored in the top 50 for Economy, with Fort Lauderdale coming in at #21, Alafaya at #31, St. Petersburg at #32, and Orlando at #49.

The top 3 spots were taken by Broomfield (Colorado), and Georgias Johns Creek and Roswell.

In the Education category, Columbia (Maryland), Overland Park (Kansas), and Clifton (New Jersey) took the top three spots, respectively. Alafaya, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and St. Petersburg took places #50, #79, #85, and #90, respectively.

Environment housed four Florida cities as well, however Alafaya, Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Fort Lauderdale took the last spots on the list. The top three spots were claimed by Elk Grove (California), as well as Hillsboro and Beaverton, both in Oregon.

Three cities also scored in the last percentile for Health, with St. Petersburg coming in at #75, Fort Lauderdale at #89, and Orlando at #98. The three top-scoring cities were Rochester Mills (Michigan), Johns Creek (Georgia), and Fishers (Indiana).

St. Petersburg took a spot in the top 50 for Housing and Cost of Living arriving in 28th place, with Alafaya and Orlando taking spots at #58 and #67, respectively. Knoxville (Tennessee), Des Moines (Iowa), and Orem (Utah) claimed the top spots.

Besides Health, Rochester Mills (Michigan), Johns Creek (Georgia), and Fishers (Indiana) also scored the top spots for Safety. Alafaya, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando were placed in the Safety category in places #58, #78, #89, and #97, respectively.

Finally, Orlando made the top 20 cut for Transportation, coming in at #18. St. Petersburg was among the top 50, placing at #44. Ft. Lauderdale and Alafaya came in at #80 and #84. North Carolina scored the two top spots in the category with Asheville and Cary, with Overland Park (Kansas) coming in at number three.

For the full list, click here.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has announced the eight candidates who will appear on stage Wednesday night for the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is not on that list.

Suarezs failure to qualify, according to the RNC, is a blow to what has already been an uphill battle for the GOP nomination ever since his surprise decision to enter the race back in mid-June, the latest entry date of any of the candidates running.

Suarez has not commented publicly about the debate as of early Tuesday morning.

With front-runner Donald Trump having previously announced he will skip the Milwaukee event, Gov. Ron DeSantis will be the lone Florida Republican out of three Sunshine State candidates running for president who will be on stage on Wednesday.

The question now is: Will Suarez remain in the race?

Speaking earlier this month in Iowa, the States Newsroom had reported that Suarez had hinted that if a candidate couldnt qualify for the debates, they should step away.

Suarez claimed last Friday that he had qualified for the debate.

Im very excited to let you all know that we have qualified for the first GOP debate next Wednesday in Milwaukee at 8 PM (Central time). I am so excited to be able to deliver my message of prosperity to the entire nation, to introduce myself to the nation, he said in a video message made on X (formerly Twitter).

But shortly after he posted that statement on social media, senior advisers with the Republican National Committee (RNC) told the Associated Press that in fact, Suarez had not met the criteria for the debate.

That criteria, announced in June by the RNC, required candidates to have a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states, as well as getting to at least 1% in three-high quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls (those states being Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada).

In addition to DeSantis, the seven other candidates that the RNC says will be on stage on Wednesday night are:

- South Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

- Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley

- Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy

- South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.

This story appeared on the website of the Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to coverage of state government and politics from Tallahassee.
Maybe the tide is starting to turn for Florida's insurance market.

Regulators have ordered Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to trim their proposed rate increases, which would have amounted to about 12% for most standard, multi-peril policies.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky reportedly signed an order Friday, directing Citizens to calculate new, reduced, overall average statewide rate increases for the rate filings," saying it has an issue with broad-based rates. In some areas of the state, far from coastlines, for example, rate hikes shouldn't mirror those living along the beaches, the order implies.

A 12% increase would be the maximum allowed this year by state law.

Alejandro Perez Duque, who directs the PVG Insurance Group on Key Biscayne, said, "it is too early to tell" how this order will benefit policyholders in the long run: "All markets, including insurance markets, operate better in a free market ... with appropriate levels of regulation, of course."

Citizens officials, hoping to reduce the number of policies under its umbrella, generally charge lower rates than private insurers.

According to its website, as of Aug. 11, Citizens had 1,363,606 policies. Three years ago, it had 486,773 policies.

With a new methodology, some residences may still see increases of up to 12% for primary residences, while others could see no, or limited increases. Under a law passed last year, rates could increase up to 50% for homes that are not primary residences.

In June, Citizens officials told Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation that its rate hike plan has average overall increases of 13.1% in 2023 and 14% in 2024 for all Citizens' lines of insurance.

The rate increases would have taken effect on Nov. 1, but Citizens changed that date to Dec. 9.

Friday's order gives Citizens 30 days to revamp its proposal.

In a separate order Friday, the Office of Insurance Regulation approved a series of rate proposals for commercial policies, including condominium-association policies. A proposed average statewide increase of 9.2% was approved for condominium-association multi-peril policies, which will go into effect on Oct. 1.

Regulators recently approved proposals to allow private insurers, such as Slide, Safepoint, Southern Oak, Florida Peninsula, and Monarch National, to pull as many as 184,000 policies from Citizens starting in October.
Tuesday, Aug 22nd, 2023 (10:07 am) - Score 1,656

Some 51,000 premises across the East Lothian settlement of Musselburgh in Scotland, including the surrounding area, will soon benefit after Netomnia, supported by UK ISP YouFibre, started a 15.3 million project to deploy a new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband network across the location.

At present Musselburgh itself is only home to a population of a little over 21,000 (probably c.10,000 premises), thus the 51,000 premises figure suggests that those surrounding areas will represent quite a wide expansion that catches a lot of nearby communities. In terms of existing gigabit-capable coverage, the settlement is already well covered by Virgin Medias network and Openreach has built some of its own FTTP too, plus there are a few altnets in the surrounding areas (e.g. Hyperoptic, OFNL, CityFibre etc.).

NOTE: DigitalBridge and commitments from existing shareholders (Soho Square Capital LLP, Advencap Ltd etc.) = funding of 418m. Plus 230m in committed debt financing from six bank ( Netomnia is fuelled by an equity investment fromand commitments from existing shareholders (Soho Square Capital LLP, Advencap Ltd etc.) = funding of 418m. Plus 230m in committed debt financing from six bank ( here ).

Netomnia, which is currently present in parts of around 40 towns and cities (with many more in-planning), has already covered well over 500,000 premises (RFS) and they have ambitions of reaching 1 million premises by early 2024 in parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (coverage plan  plus additions here, here and here).

The operator tends to focus on conducting a very PIA (i.e. running fibre via existing cable ducts and poles) heavy build, which enables them to keep building costs low and go live more quickly than some of their rivals.

Zoltan Kovacs, Managing Director at Netomnia, said: We are fully committed to creating a digital landscape where residents and businesses in Musselburgh and the surrounding communities can access reliable and superfast broadband. We want to empower them by eliminating the digital barriers that have constrained them until this point, providing them with seamless connectivity. Our vision is a future where reliable internet access is not a luxury but a fundamental right. People across Musselburgh will now be able to access significantly increased speeds, allowing them to fully leverage the vast resources and opportunities offered by the Internet. This will be a game-changer for many.

The service, once live, is typically supplied to consumers via YouFibre, which offers unlimited usage, symmetrical speeds, a Wi-Fi router, free installation and 24/7 UK based support. Customers pay from just 21 per month on a 24-month term for their unlimited 150Mbps package (25 thereafter), which rises to just 29.99 if you want their top 920Mbps plan (40 thereafter). The latter is also on an offer of 1 a month for the first 3 months.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
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( Georgia Recorder )  WASHINGTON  Two years ago, Farzana Jamalzada and her husband made the difficult decision to separately flee Afghanistan, after U.S. troops withdrew from the country and the Taliban took over.

It took days for the couple to be reunited at an airport in Qatar, where Jamalzada would show people a picture of her husband on her phone, asking them if they had seen him.

Once reunited, they were settled into the U.S. through the Biden administrations humanitarian parole program for Afghans that extended protections for two years, allowing them to work and live in the U.S. Because Jamalzada worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan, she was able to apply for a Special Immigrant Visa, which is available to those who were translators, interpreters or professionals employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan or Iraq.

It has been two years and every day we are in an uncertain situation, she said in an interview with States Newsroom. It is very frustrating.

Legislation in Congress known as the Afghan Adjustment Act would allow Afghan refugees to apply for permanent legal residency after undergoing additional vetting, but its failed to advance. Without congressional action on a pathway to citizenship, most of the more than 76,000 Afghan refugees who came to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover are stuck in legal limbo.

The humanitarian program under which they arrived in the U.S., known as Operation Allies Welcome, does not provide a pathway to citizenship. But Afghans enrolled can apply for asylum, and those who qualify can apply for a Special Immigrant Visa. Claims for asylum and the Special Immigrant Visa have a major backlog.

For most Afghans, theyre in this kind of limbo status and waiting to see, said Julia Gelatt, the associate director of the Migration Policy Institutes U.S. immigration policy program.

Jamalzada and her husband, now settled in New York City, have a hearing for their green cards scheduled for Sept. 12, but their work authorization expires at the end of August. The two-week gap means neither will be legally allowed to work in the U.S., risking termination from their jobs.

You dont have peace of mind, she said. Being away from your country, your family, youre alone in a very strange world, and yet you dont have that support, she said, referring to permanent protections in the U.S.

Jamalzada, now 27, said she prays that either her and her husbands work visas are reauthorized, or that Congress passes the Afghan Adjustment Act.

For 20 years, the U.S. government relied on Afghans to help the government and military following the 2001 invasion. Afghans worked as interpreters and helped run aid programs, such as Jamalzada, who worked on womens empowerment projects with the United States Agency for International Development and at the Afghan presidential palace.

Keep your promise and support the people who stood on your side and helped you, she said.



U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, prepares to depart Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan on August 17, 2021 accompanied by Afghan civilians seeking to exit the country following the Taliban takeover of Kabul. (U.S. Navy photo by Capt. William Urban). Courtesy of Centcom.

Parole set to expire

Operation Allies Welcome evacuated and paroled 76,200 Afghans from August 2021 to September 2022. A majority settled in areas with large military bases such as Texas, California, Maryland, Virginia, Washington and New York.

But two years after the fall of Kabul, only a fraction  fewer than 10%  in the humanitarian parole program have secured permanent protections, through either asylum or the Special Immigrant Visa, said Krish OMara Vignarajah, the president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Her organization has helped settle more than 14,000 Afghans in the U.S.

One of the biggest issues, I think, that remains uncertain is whether they will be allowed to remain permanently, and that relates to the Afghan Adjustment Act, she said.

While those who worked for the U.S. government can apply for the Special Immigrant Visa program, many Afghans had to flee the country without the proper documentation needed to show their employment history.

Part of that was because if they had the documentation on them, and were caught by the Taliban, that could be a death sentence, OMara Vignarajah said.

OMara Vignarajah added that other Afghans applied for refugee status in other countries through Operation Allies Welcome and are waiting to be resettled in the U.S.

The grim reality is that theyre likely waiting for years, she said.

Laila Ayub, an immigration attorney and co-director of Project Afghan Network for Advocacy and Resources, said many Afghans have had no choice but to try to find a way into the U.S., even while they are waiting for their parole to be accepted by Operation Allies Welcome.

We increasingly have been assisting people who have made a very long and difficult journey to the Southern border, she said.

U.S. border agents apprehended more than 2,100 Afghans last year.

Grassley blocks resettlement plan

The closest Congress came to providing a quick pathway to citizenship for Afghans was last year, through the Afghan Adjustment Act, when Democrats controlled the House and Senate. However, those efforts were blocked by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and the bipartisan proposal was not included in an omnibus spending bill.

Grassley objected to the security and vetting processes for those Afghans.

He, along with several Senate Republicans, now are backing another bill by GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, known as the Ensuring American Security and Protecting Afghan Allies Act.

That bill would apply to those Afghans who were evacuated and who are ineligible for an immigration status that leads to a green card for citizenship. Those evacuees would be eligible for a four-year conditional resident status, to allow for vetting, and, upon successful completion, would become green card holders.

The Biden Administrations disastrous departure from Afghanistan caused a chaotic migration from the region, and our government repeatedly failed to thoroughly evaluate evacuees arriving in the United States, Grassley said in a statement. This bill restores order to the system by ensuring Afghan evacuees are able to assimilate while preserving American security and better supporting those who provided direct support to the United States military.

However, the bill would limit the presidents authority to establish humanitarian parole programs, which the Biden administration has used as part of its immigration policy. Its designated parole programs for nationals of Ukraine, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela.

The Cotton bill is definitely throwing a wrench in gaining support for the Afghan Adjustment Act, said Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum.

We have used (humanitarian parole) several times in U.S. history across party lines, different presidents have used it, and its an important tool that we have to be able to use at a moment like World War II or the Cuban missile crisis, she said. Its something that presidents have to be able to use, and so were very worried about that competitive legislation.

Murray helped out evacuation efforts for Afghans when she worked for Upwardly Global, where she worked to put tougher a workforce plan for those Afghans arriving in the U.S.

She said a potential last shot at getting permanent protections for Afghans is through the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual must-pass defense policy measure.

They cannot go back to Afghanistan, she said. They cannot go back to the Taliban-led state because they partnered with us.

The NDAA does not currently include any provisions for a pathway to citizenship for those Afghans, but Murray notes that the measure is still in conference between the House and the Senate.

When the House passed its version of the NDAA, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the Afghan Adjustment Act in the Senate and in the House.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota sponsored the bill in the Senate and Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa sponsored the bill in the House.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 21, 2023) - US Copper Corp. (TSXV: USCU) (OTCQB: USCUF) (FSE: C730) ("US Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of the exploration drilling program announced on June 8, 2023, at the Company's wholly-owned Moonlight-Superior Copper Project, located in Plumas County, California.

The Moonlight-Superior Project has a mineral resource estimate of 1.3 billion pounds of copper indicated and 1 billion pounds of copper inferred across three deposits - Moonlight, Superior and Engels. The resource estimate is contained in the National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report and Resource Estimate for the Superior Project, Plumas County, California, with an effective date of November 15, 2013, available on US Copper's website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

A total of 15 shallow holes totalling 3,990 feet were drilled at the Engels deposit to test the oxide cap that sits atop the Engels copper sulfide deposit. Drilling at Engels proceeded quickly and the Company was also able to drill an additional 15 holes at the Moonlight deposit totalling 2,430 feet to test the oxide cap on that deposit. A further two holes were then drilled at the Lambs Ridge historical copper deposit. Samples from all 32 holes have been logged, bagged and sent to the lab for assays. Assay results are expected to be available in September.

The main objectives of the 2023 exploration drill program include:

Upgrading and potentially expanding the current oxide resource estimate; Providing samples for preliminary metallurgical evaluation; and Providing initial data for inclusion in a preliminary economic assessment on the Engels oxide deposit.

"As an exploration and development stage company with a copper project in northern California, we welcome the recent decision by the U.S. Department of Energy to add copper to the critical materials list. This decision was based on the high risk of U.S. copper supply disruption and its importance to domestic manufacturers of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies. With global copper demand projected to double by 2035, the U.S. will need to develop a secure and responsible domestic supply of mined copper. We look forward to working with our California stakeholders and prospective partners to advance the strategically important Moonlight-Superior Copper Project," commented Stephen Dunn, President and CEO of US Copper.

The Company would also like to announce that its Board has approved the grant of 4,625,000 stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants of the Company, subject to regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approval. The stock options have been issued with an exercise price of $0.10 per share, vest immediately, and have a 3-year term.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by George Cole, M.Sc., Director of US Copper who is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. George Cole is a Registered Professional Geologist through AIPG (CPG-11687).

About US Copper Corp

US Copper controls approximately 13 square miles of federal mining claims in the Light's Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire District. The District contains substantial copper (silver) sulfide and copper oxide resources in three deposits - Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as several partially tested and untested exploration targets.

The Superior and Engels Mines operated from about 1915-1930 producing over 161 million pounds of copper from over 4 MT of rock containing 2.2% copper with silver and gold credits.

The Moonlight Deposit was discovered and drilled by Placer Amex during the 1960s. Details of the resources on US Copper's property and the parameters used to calculate them can be found in the "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, Moonlight-Superior Copper Project, California, USA" dated April 12, 2018, on both the Company's website at www.uscoppercorp.com or on www.sedarplus.ca under the US Copper Corp profile.

For Further Information Contact:

Mr. Stephen Dunn

President, CEO and Director

US Copper Corp.

T: (416) 361-2827

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company, projected demand for copper and development of copper supply in the United States. Forward-looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including "will", "hopes", "anticipates", "expected to", "plans", "planned", "intends", "projected" and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Company's management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedarplus.ca. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.
Gold extraction for gravity-leach averaged 94.4% (fresh rock), 96.5% (transitional material) and 97.5% (saprolite)

Primary grind size of P80 at 75m resulted in the best gold extractions on average

Results indicate a deposit with a medium level of hardness, which is typical of other deposits in the Guiana Shield region

LONGUEUIL, Quebec, Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reunion Gold Corporation (TSXV: RGD; OTCQX: RGDFF) (the Company) is pleased to announce the preliminary metallurgical test work results for its Oko West Project in Guyana. The results were produced from recent metallurgical testing programs completed by Base Metallurgical Laboratories in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Rick Howes, President & CEO of Reunion Gold, commented, I am pleased with the results of the test-work which continue to confirm the robustness and strong economic characteristics of the Oko West deposit, on which we released our maiden Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) in June (see June 13, 2023 MRE Press Release). These results represent one of many studies that will comprise our preliminary economic assessment (PEA), which we expect to release by the end of 2023 or early 2024. In addition to advancing work on the PEA, the Companys ongoing drilling program aims at expanding the resource at depth below the MRE area. We also intend to continue our exploration program outside of the resource area to try and identify additional areas of gold mineralization at Oko West. The most promising targets include the southern 4 km of the same geological trend that hosts the Kairuni zone MRE, and the zone to the west of the resource area which sits adjacent to numerous historic alluvial gold operations and coincides with several areas of anomalous soil geochemical results.

Gold Recovery Test Work Results Summary

The metallurgical test work program was conducted under the overall supervision of G Mining Services Inc. (GMS). Eighteen (18) composite samples totaling 1,200 kilograms were evaluated using core material from across the deposit representing two gold grades (1 g/t Au and 2 g/t Au), three weathering profiles (saprolite, transitional material and fresh rock) and three geological units (volcanics, metasediments and carbonaceous sediments).

Comminution Test Results

Comminution testing was completed on all composites except for the carbonaceous sediments to characterize sample hardness. Steve Morell Comminution (SMC), Bond Rod Mill Work Index (RWI), Ball Mill Work Index (BWI) and Bond Abrasion Index (Ai) tests were completed and summarized as follows:

SMC Axb average value of 33.8 for fresh rock indicates samples are competent.

Average RWI values of 16.7 kWh/tonne (fresh rock) and 6.5 kWh/tonne (transitional material).

Average BWI values of 14.1 kWh/ tonne (fresh rock) and 6.9 kWh/tonne (transitional material).

Average Ai value of 0.132 (fresh rock) and 0.026 (transitional material).

These results indicate a deposit with a medium level of hardness, which is typical of other deposits in the Guiana Shield region.

Gravity Gold Recovery Test Results

Saprolite and fresh rock composite samples were tested using the Extended Gravity Recoverable Gold (EGRG) protocols to determine their amenability to gravity concentration. The results showed:

Moderate to high gravity recoverable gold content ranging 30-63% gold.

At full scale, gravity circuit recoveries would be expected to be in the 10% to 40% gold recovery range.

Grind-Recovery Leach Tests

Grind series leach tests were completed on both whole of ore and gravity tails composite samples to evaluate the effect of primary grind size on gold extraction. Samples with a primary size of P80 at 75m resulted in the best gold extractions on average when compared against P80 of 105m and 88m with results described below.

Standard Bottle Rolls Leach Tests

Standard bottle roll leach and carbon-in-leach (CIL) tests were completed on both whole of ore and gravity tails composite samples over 48 hours. In general, P80 of 75m, gravity-leach, oxygen sparging tests produced the best gold extraction results with key observations noted below:

Gold extraction for gravity-leach averaged 94.4% (fresh rock), 96.5% (transitional material) and 97.5% (saprolite).

Gold extraction was similar for the 1 g/t and 2 g/t material.

Preg-robbing tests were completed on carbonaceous sediment samples and the results showed little to no preg-robbing.

Based on these results, the recoveries assumed for the PEA will be 92.5% (fresh rock), 95% (transitional material) and 96% (saprolite) since some gold loss is expected from the laboratory tests to the process plant.

The recently released MRE was based on recoveries of 90% (fresh rock), 90% (transition material) and 95% (saprolite) determined from preliminary leach tests prior to the full metallurgical test work program.

Further PEA Test Work

To further support the PEA, the Company intends to complete the following additional test work:

Mineralogy assessment of core and leach tailings samples.

Cyanide destruction tests on leach tailings from the bottle roll tests.

Acid-base-accounting tests on core samples, leach tailings and waste rock samples.

Aggregate testing of waste rock samples.

Qualified Persons

Neil Lincoln, P.Eng., consultant for GMS and an independent qualified person under Canadian NationaI Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information concerning metallurgy contained in this news release. Mr. Lincoln supervised the metallurgical tests described in this news release and has reviewed and interpreted the test results.

Justin van der Toorn, CGeol FGS, EurGeol, the Companys Vice President Exploration and a qualified person under NI 43-101, has also reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

Cautionary Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (collectively, forward-looking statements). Statements and information that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, possible and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results will, would, may", could or should occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and the assumptions made in respect thereof involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the Companys plans to complete exploration programs and studies, exploration and drill results, interpretation of such exploration and drill results, potential mineralization, expectations regarding completion of a preliminary economic assessment, forward looking assumptions used relating to the mineral resources estimates; expectations with respect to exploration at other targets within the Oko West Project, expected metallurgical recoveries on a resource wide basis based on limited testing; and statements regarding the Companys strategy, plans and goals, and priorities, including timelines and schedules.

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: additional financing required in order to continue its operations may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; global outbreaks of infectious diseases; timing and cost of exploration programs and studies, results of exploration including drill results, geopolitical and economic climate, risks related to mineral resource estimates and the resource model; gold and other commodity price volatility; risks regarding potential and pending litigation proceedings relating to the Companys termination of the Strategic Alliance with Barrick Gold Corporation; regulatory risks and liabilities including, regulatory environment and restrictions; laboratory metallurgical testing and recoveries may not approximate operational recoveries; currency fluctuations; speculative nature of gold exploration; dilution; share price volatility and the price of our common shares; competition; loss of key employees; as well as those risk factors outlined in the Companys public disclosure documents.

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.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

About Reunion Gold Corporation

Reunion Gold Corporation is a leading gold explorer in the Guiana Shield, South America. In June 2023, after 22 months of resource definition drilling, the Company announced an initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at its Oko West project in Guyana containing 2.475 Moz of gold grading 1.84 g/t in Indicated resources and 1.762 Moz of gold grading 2.02 g/t in inferred resources. See the Companys technical report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report Oko West Gold Project Cuyuni-Mazaruni Mining Districts, Guyana with an effective date of June 1, 2023, available on sedarplus.ca for additional information regarding this estimate, including the effective date, key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate this resource, and known legal, political, and environmental risks that could affect the development of this resource. The Company's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol 'RGD' and trade on the OTCQX under the symbol 'RGDFF'.

Additional information about the Company is available on SEDARPlus (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.reuniongold.com ).

For further information, please contact:

REUNION GOLD CORPORATION

Rick Howes, President and CEO, or Doug Flegg, Business Development Advisor

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Telephone: +1 450.677.2585
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Pacific Mining Corp (CSE: USGD / OTCQX: USGDF / FWB: 1QC) (American Pacific or the Company) is pleased to report that the Company has completed a first phase of sampling and property evaluation at the recently acquired Danny Boy Project (Danny Boy) or (the Project). The Project was acquired as part of the Clearview (private company) acquisition (see press release dated May 17, 2023). Danny Boy is located immediately west, and contiguous to American Pacifics Tuscarora Project (collectively the Tuscarora District) located in Elko County, Nevada.

Highlights and Key Takeaways:

The expanded and consolidated property now covers more than 25 square kilometres (km) and is the largest assembled claims package in the district (see Figure 1).

A total of 10 rock chip samples were collected at Danny Boy during the Companys first phase of reconnaissance evaluation work (see Photos 1-2).

Previous rock chip and grab samples at Danny Boy returned values up to 20 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) with three (3) initial target areas identified.

The Tuscarora District now has 10 priority targets and large unexplored areas that will be mapped and sampled further in the coming weeks.

American Pacific has initiated discussions with potential joint-venture partners and will determine the best path forward for this large epithermal district.

The Clearview acquisition included the joint-venture with Centerra Gold on the Ziggurat Gold Project, where our team is working through permitting ahead of an initial drill campaign; however, Danny Boy represents a key piece of the acquisition that allows us to complete the long-awaited consolidation of the Tuscarora District, stated Eric Saderholm, Managing Director of Exploration for American Pacific. American Pacific now controls over 2,560 hectares (25.6 km) of patented and unpatented claims across this highly prospective epithermal system. We have seen high-grades from drilling and surface sampling across the entire property package and we are confident that our ongoing field work will generate additional targets pointing to the significant exploration upside that remains throughout the Tuscarora District.

Figure 1: Expanded 25 km Tuscarora District with targets and highlighted results.

Photo 1 (left): Rock sample recently collected at Danny Boy with quartz veining and clear epithermal textures. Photo 2 (right): Silicified breccia in volcanic host rock showing multiple quartz healing episodes.

Technical Summary and Background

The Tuscarora District is located in Elko County on the flanks of the 40-million-year-old Mt Blitzen caldera/volcanic complex. The nature of the mineralization is typical of this geologic setting and is comprised of high-level epithermal gold, gold/ silver, electrum and silver veins. Host rocks consist of welded tuff, volcaniclastic sediments, andesite flows and domes. The district was discovered through placer mining in the late 1860s and underground mining began in 1870 with three mills in the area until mining terminated in 1915.

Pecos Resources completed drilling in the early 1980s that focused on the Dexter Pit area (see Figure 1). That drilling outlined shallow gold-silver mineralization (from surface to approximately 50 metre vertical depth) that was mined later that decade with a small open-pit operation.

American Pacific acquired its initial claims in the Tuscarora District in 2018 and has subsequently tripled the size of the 100%-owned project through additional staking and private acquisitions. The South Navajo Target has returned the most significant results from recent drilling, however geophysics, mapping and sampling programs have identified an extensive network of veins and targets that have seen limited to no drilling and represent significant discovery opportunities.

Tuscarora is the oldest known epithermal district in the state of Nevada and the high-grade gold and silver values from surface sampling and previous drilling speak to the exploration potential that can be realized with further systematic exploration work. Assay results from the first phase of sampling at Danny Boy are expected in the coming weeks and the Company will be completing additional field work this summer and ranking/prioritizing targets throughout the district before completing the next phase of drilling, which could start as early as Q4/2023.

QA/QC

The Company implements strict Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) protocols at Tuscarora. These protocols include monitoring sample practices, sample handling, sample transportation and sample location documentation with geologic logging and descriptions completed by qualified geological personnel. Insertion of certified standard and blank material for analysis for sample batches over 20 samples and every 100 feet of drill depth during any future drilling programs is standard operating procedure. Transport of samples from site is handled by qualified American Pacific geologists and field technicians and delivered and documented by the sampling personnel to the respective assay laboratory. Sample preparation for assaying and analysis is being conducted at the accredited and licensed Paragon Laboratory located in Sparks, Nevada. Recording, archiving and final statistical vetting of the data will be conducted by qualified personnel after receiving final assay results.

About American Pacific Mining Corp.

American Pacific Mining Corp. is a base and precious metals explorer and developer focused on opportunities in the Western United States. The Company's flagship asset is the 14 million tonne, high-grade, Palmer Volcanic Massive Sulfide (VMS) project in Alaska, under joint-venture partnership with Dowa Metals & Mining, owner of Japans largest zinc smelter. The Company is also partnered with Kennecott Exploration, a division of the Rio Tinto Group, on the past-producing Madison Copper-Gold project in Montana. For the Madison transaction, American Pacific was selected as a finalist in both 2021 and 2022 for 'Deal of the Year' at the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards, an annual program that recognizes exemplary accomplishments in 16 performance categories. American Pacific's asset portfolio also includes the Gooseberry Silver-Gold project and the Tuscarora Gold-Silver project: two high-grade, precious metals projects located in key mining districts of Nevada, USA. The Companys mission is to grow by the drill bit and by acquisition.

On Behalf of the Board of American Pacific Mining Corp.

Warwick Smith

CEO & Director

Corporate Office: Suite 910  510 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC, V6C 3A8 Canada

Investor Relations Contact:

Kristina Pillon, High Tide Consulting Corp.,

604.908.1695 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Media Relations Contact:

Adam Bello, Primoris Group Inc.,

416.489.0092 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, CANADA  TheNewswire - August 22, 2023 - Sitka Gold Corp. (Sitka or the Company) (CSE:SIG) (FSE:1RF) (OTC:SITKF) is pleased to announce a fully subscribed non-brokered private placement (the Offering) of 22,222,222 units (Units) at a price of $0.18 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of $4,000,000.

Each Unit will consist of one common share in capital of the corporation (a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.36 per Common Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance.

The securities offered pursuant to Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance. The Company expects to complete the Offering on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, in accordance with Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") policies. No finder's fees, commission, bonus, agent's option or other compensation will be paid in connection with the Offering. The Offering remains subject to regulatory approval and the approval of the CSE.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for exploration work on its mineral properties, including the RC Gold Project in Yukon, and for general working capital.

About Sitka Gold Corp.

Sitka Gold Corp. is a well-funded mineral exploration company headquartered in Canada. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industry professionals and is focused on exploring for economically viable mineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and copper mineral properties of merit. Sitka currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the RC, Barney Ridge, Clear Creek and OGI properties in the Yukon and the Burro Creek Gold property in Arizona. Sitka owns a 100% interest in its Alpha Gold property in Nevada, its Mahtin Gold property in the Yukon and its Coppermine River project in Nunavut.

The Company recently announced an NI 43-101 compliant initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1) beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t at its RC Gold Project in Yukon (see news release dated January 19, 2023).

The Company is also planning additional drilling at its Alpha Gold Property in Nevada where a new Carlin-type gold system was recently discovered. The Company is focused on vectoring towards the high-grade core of this system, which is located on the Cortez Trend just 40 km southeast of the Cortez Mine Complex of Barrick/Newmont.

Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory.

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of the Company, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

SITKA GOLD CORP.

Donald Penner

President and Director

For more information contact:

Donald Penner

President & Director

778-212-1950

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or

Cor Coe

CEO & Director

604-817-4753

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

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 closing date of the Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering and drilling plans. 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, obtain all necessary CSE and regulatory approvals, use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated and carry out its drilling and expansion plans as 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 Company will not complete the Offering as currently anticipated, that the Company will not use the proceeds of the Offering as expected and that expansion and drilling does not progress as anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 21, 2023 / South Star Battery Metals Corp. ("South Star" or the "Company") (TSXV:STS) (OTCQB:STSBF), is pleased to announce that Roger Mortimer, an experienced capital-markets executive and global climate/energy-transition fund manager, has joined the board of directors and will serve as an advisor to the Company. In addition, Ty Dinwoodie, a graphite-industry veteran, senior corporate advisor and specialist in Li-ion battery materials, has joined the executive team as a senior technical/commercial advisor.

Richard Pearce, CEO of South Star, said, "We are excited to welcome Roger and Ty to our team, and I look forward to working closely with both as we scale our operations and ramp up our production in quality graphite concentrates as well as midstream and downstream products. Roger brings a wealth of capital markets experience and extensive industry relationships as a global climate/energy transition fund manager and CIO for over 20 years. He will strengthen our board and play a key role in helping us increase our presence and investor awareness in the United States and globally."

Mr. Mortimer has a BA in Economics and MBA degrees from the Western University. He has managed public equities globally for more than 20 years and has considerable experience in resource sectors, including energy and mining. He has held oversight positions as a Senior Vice President at both Aim Funds (now Invesco) and at CI Funds, and was a portfolio manager and partner at Capital Group Companies. He has won multiple awards as a portfolio manager brings extensive capital markets experience as an investor, issuer and banker.

For more than a decade, Mr. Dinwoodie has specialized in Li-ion battery-ready graphite materials with specific expertise in active battery-ready anode products, and the associated downstream transformational technologies and processes. He has served as an executive officer and senior strategic advisor for several private and public technology, advanced-materials, and mining and exploration companies in North America, Europe, and Australia, including governments, US Department of Defense contractors, universities, institutional investors, and leading multinational corporations. While Mr. Dinwoodie's work encompasses the global Li-ion battery-supply chains, he is most passionate about battery-grade graphite with a particular focus on North American security of supply and downstream transformational commercial capacity. Mr. Dinwoodie studied economics at McMaster University and physics at Laurentian University.

Mr. Pearce continued, "We are very lucky to have Ty join our team. Ty will help us design and implement our battery-material testing programs and flowsheet development so that we can quickly advance South Star's strategic plan of vertically integrated our graphite operations by 2027."

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: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+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.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - HighGold Mining Inc. (TSXV: HIGH) (OTC Pink: HGMIF) ("HighGold" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 2023 exploration and development program (the "Program") at the Johnson Tract polymetallic Gold Project ("Johnson Tract", "JT" or the "Project") in Southcentral Alaska, USA. The Project hosts the high-grade JT Deposit with a 1.05 Moz indicated resource at 9.39 g/t gold equivalent ("AuEq").

This year's Program commenced in early July and is the first of a multi-year advanced exploration plan designed to de-risk the Project and support future studies to evaluate the potential for a high-grade underground mine.

"We are off to a great start for this year's JT Program," said Darwin Green, President & CEO "with our geotechnical drilling completed, both drill rigs are focused on our exploration objectives at Ellis, East Difficult Creek and the JT Deposit. First core has been prepped and sent to the assay lab with results pending. Additionally, work continues on collecting data for permitting efforts as we work to expand the airstrip as well as develop the proposed 2.6 mile connecting road both of which will provide for more efficient logistics and economics as we advance the Project. HighGold is well financed to fund its initiatives, having entered Q3 with a cash and marketable securities position totaling $16M."

2023 Program Update

A planned 8,000-meter drill program is advancing well, focused on expanding the known zones of mineralization at the Ellis Zone and JT Deposit, testing new high-potential targets as well as geotechnical drilling to inform permitting of an expanded airstrip, connecting road and eventual development of an underground exploration ramp. This year's Program also includes an airborne geophysical survey, baseline data collection and environmental studies to support permitting efforts. Progress to date includes:

Approximately 2,500 meters of exploration drilling have been completed in 12 holes. Drilling to date has been focused at the Ellis Zone and the nearby East Difficult Creek prospect, where drilling is ongoing with one rig, and at the JT Deposit, where the second rig is currently located.

A deep-penetration 600 line-km Mobile MT airborne geophysical survey has been completed over key prospect areas to identify new targets.

A 1,400-meter geotechnical and hydrogeological drill program in six holes has been completed.

Civil engineering field works for surface infrastructure planning and design has been completed. This included a shallow 42-hole civil geotechnical drilling program.

A variety of baseline studies and surveys have been completed, including archaeological studies, surface hydrology, water quality sampling, aquatic surveys, wetland surveys, environmental rock geochemical analyses, and installation of an onsite weather station.

Exploration Objectives and Details

The objective of the 2023 drill program is to expand the known zones of mineralization and to test new high-potential target areas. Key drill targets include: Ellis Zone expansion; East Difficult Creek; Ellis Zone Regional; JT Deposit Expansion; and South Valley (JT Deposit South). In addition to drilling, the 2023 exploration program will include geological mapping, prospecting, soil & rock sampling, and airborne geophysical surveying programs to follow-up and expand on the positive results generated from the 2022 program and refine drill targets. Early field investigations have focused on areas of quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration between Middle and East Difficult Creek and the northeast trending Central Fault as a possible analogue to the setting around the JT Deposit and the similarly trending Dacite Fault. Preliminary findings are encouraging with newly discovered quartz-sulphide veins with pyrite-chalcopyrite-bornite-sphalerite mineralization associated with a north-south fault at East Difficult Creek. Result are pending.

Advanced Exploration Objectives and Program Details

A multi-year advanced exploration plan has been developed for the Johnson Tract project designed to de-risk the Project and support future engineering, environmental and economic studies that evaluate the potential for a small footprint, high-grade underground mine. A key component of this plan is establishing an underground exploration ramp for year-round drilling. The exploration ramp will provide lateral underground access from a proposed portal site located at the base of the mountain to an area immediately adjacent the lowermost portions of the currently defined JT Deposit. The ramp will parallel the trend of mineralization and provide an excellent platform for drilling to both grow the resource, and to conduct cost-effective tightly spaced definition drilling of the deepest and highest-grade portions of the JT Deposit.

About the Johnson Tract Gold Project

Johnson Tract is a polymetallic (gold, copper, zinc, silver, lead) project located near tidewater, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, USA. The 21,000-acre property includes the high-grade JT Deposit and at least nine (9) other mineral prospects over a 12-kilometer strike length. HighGold acquired the Project through a lease agreement with Cook Inlet Region, Inc. ("CIRI"), one of 12 land-based Alaska Native regional corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. CIRI is owned by more than 9,100 shareholders who are primarily of Alaska Native descent.

Mineralization at Johnson Tract occurs in Jurassic intermediate volcaniclastic rocks and is characterized as epithermal-type with submarine volcanogenic attributes. The JT Deposit is a thick, steeply dipping silicified body averaging 40m true thickness that contains a stockwork of quartz-sulphide veinlets and brecciation, cutting through and surrounded by a widespread zone of anhydrite alteration. The Footwall Copper Zone is located structurally and stratigraphically below JT Deposit and is characterized by copper-silver rich mineralization.

The JT Deposit hosts an Indicated Resource of 3.489 Mt grading 9.39 g/t gold equivalent ("AuEq") comprised of 5.33 g/t Au, 6.0 g/t Ag, 0.56% Cu, 0.67% Pb and 5.21% Zn. The Inferred Resource of 0.706 Mt grading 4.76 g/t AuEq is comprised of 1.36 g/t Au, 9.1 g/t Ag, 0.59% Cu, 0.30% Pb, and 4.18% Zn. For additional details see NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "Updated Mineral Resource Estimate and NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Johnson Tract Project, Alaska," dated August 25, 2022 (effective date of July 12, 2022) authored by Ray C. Brown, James N. Gray, P.Geo. and Lyn Jones, P.Eng. Gold Equivalent ("AuEq") is based on assumed metal prices and payable metal recoveries of 97% for Au, 85% for Ag, 85% Cu, 72% Pb and 92% Zn from metallurgical testwork completed in 2022. Assumed metal prices for the Resource are US$1650/oz for gold (Au), US$20/oz for silver (Ag), US$3.50/lb for copper (Cu), US$1.00/lb for lead (Pb), and US$1.50/lb for zinc (Zn).

About HighGold

HighGold is a mineral exploration company focused on advancing the high-grade Johnson Tract Gold-Zinc-Copper Project located in accessible Southcentral Alaska, USA. HighGold's experienced Board and senior management team, are committed to creating shareholder value through the discovery process, careful allocation of capital, and environmentally/socially responsible mineral exploration.

Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, P.Eng., Senior VP Exploration for HighGold Mining Inc. and a qualified person ("QP") as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.

On Behalf of HighGold Mining Inc.

"Darwin Green"

President & CEO

For further information, please visit the HighGold Mining Inc. website at www.highgoldmining.com, or contact:

Darwin Green, President & CEO or Nicole Hoeller, VP Corporate Communications

Phone: 1-604-629-1165 or North American toll-free 1-855-629-1165

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.highgoldmining.com

Twitter : @HighgoldMining

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward looking statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements"). Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's planned drill program and advanced exploration plans are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Company's expectations include actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward- looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Highlights

First eight holes drilled at Mann Northwest intersected multi-hundred metre intervals of mineralized peridotite and minor dunite across combined strike length of 2.7 kilometres

Target remains open in all directions

Mann Northwest target geophysical footprint of 6.0 km 2 is more than triple the size of Crawford project footprint

Hole MAN23-02 returned 0.26% Ni over core length of 210 metres including 0.31% nickel over 33 metres. Hole ended with 0.52 g/t Pt+Pd over 29 metres

TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Canada Nickel Company Inc. ("Canada Nickel" or the "Company") (TSXV: CNC) (OTCQX: CNIKF) today released drilling results from a further three holes and assay results from the first five of eight holes drilled on its Mann Northwest Property located in the prolific Timmins Nickel District in Ontario.

Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel commented, "Our regional exploration program continues to deliver with today's confirmation of another discovery at Mann Northwest, part of Canada Nickel's Timmins Nickel District. Mann Northwest has a target footprint more than three times that of Crawford and is one of eleven properties with a target footprint larger than Crawford. Three additional holes extended the strike length of mineralization by more than 1,100 metres to 2,650 metres, and assays from first five holes confirmed grades in line with expectations."

Mann Northwest Property

The Mann property is located 22 kilometres east of Crawford, 20 kilometres south of Cochrane, and 45 kilometres northeast of Timmins. Canada Nickel has an ability to earn an 80% interest in the property owned by Noble Minerals (see press release November 22, 2021). Drilling began at Mann Northwest, which has a target footprint of 6.0 km2, - compared to Crawford target footprint of 1.6 km2 (see Figure 1).

Drilling started in the Northwest zone, with a total of eight holes drilled, all of them intersecting mineralized sections of predominantly well serpentinized peridotite and minor dunite. This release discloses assay results from the first five drillholes, assays for the other three drillholes are pending (Table 1)

The first five holes delineated mineralization along 1,150 metres of strike length and a width of at least 500 metres. The additional three holes, extended the potential strike length to 2,650 metres. The target remains open in all directions.

MAN23-01 drilled to the southwest and intersected peridotite from top to bottom only interrupted by 23.5 metres of pyroxenite with 0.44 g/t Pt+Pd. Initial samples were taken for mineralogical testing (QEMSCAN), confirming samples are very well serpentinized with varying amounts of Heazlewoodite and Pentlandite.

MAN23-02 intersected 348.5 metres at 0.23% Ni in peridotite and finished in 28.9 metres of 0.52g/t Pt+Pd in pyroxenite.

MAN23-03 drilled to the northeast and intersected mineralized peridotite at the top and dunite at the bottom, with an average grade of 0.23% Ni over 291.5 metres. The hole ended in dunite at 402 metres only interrupted by diabase dykes near the bottom.

MAN23-04 drilled near the southern end of the target and intersected 301.5 metres of peridotite with 0.18% Ni, followed by 16 metres of 0.41 metres of Pt+Pd in pyroxenite.

MAN23-05 drilled to the southwest and intersected a sequence of peridotite with minor dunite and pyroxenite. The hole assayed 366.5 metres of 0.20 Ni, including 11.0 metres of 0.44 g/t Pt+Pd. Hole ended in mineralized peridotite.

MAN23-13 drilled to the southwest approximately 750 metres northwest of MAN23-05. The hole intersected 404.5 metres of interlayered dunite, peridotite and pyroxenite with predominantly moderate to strong serpentinization.

MAN23-14 drilled to the northeast collaring and terminating in mineralized dunite with intervals of peridotite. The hole is moderate to well mineralized and moderate to well serpentinized across core length of 390.0 metres.

MAN23-15 drilled to the northeast testing a fold hinge of a major structure, it intersected 415 metres of a sequence of dunite, peridotite, pyroxenite and gabbro. The hole has sections of very well mineralized and well serpentinized ultramafic.

Table 1: Mann drilling downhole composite

Hole ID From To Length Ni Co Pt+Pd Pd Pt Cr Fe S (m) (m) (m) ( %) ( %) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) ( %) ( %) ( %) MAN23-01 19.8 432.0 412.2 0.19 0.01 0.047 0.028 0.019 0.37 6.99 0.03 including 310.6 334.1 23.5 0.04 0.01 0.445 0.245 0.200 0.42 4.97 0.01 and 351.0 432.0 81.0 0.24 0.01 0.007 0.003 0.004 0.32 7.11 0.01 MAN23-02 24.6 373.1 348.5 0.23 0.01 0.04 0.025 0.015 0.37 6.76 0.07 Including 35.8 246.0 210.2 0.26 0.01 0.041 0.026 0.015 0.38 6.34 0.07 Including 208.5 241.5 33.0 0.31 0.01 0.057 0.038 0.019 0.45 6.21 0.09 and 373.1 402.0 28.9 0.03 0.01 0.523 0.294 0.229 0.36 5.79 0.02 MAN23-03 36.0 327.5 291.5 0.23 0.01 0.011 0.005 0.006 0.23 5.93 0.07 and 379.0 402.0 23.0 0.22 0.01 0.009 0.003 0.006 0.15 6.17 0.16 MAN23-04 18.0 319.5 301.5 0.18 0.01 0.02 0.009 0.011 0.33 7.26 0.05 and 319.5 335.5 16.0 0.01 0.01 0.414 0.238 0.176 0.33 5.75 0.01 MAN23-05 35.5 402.0 366.5 0.20 0.01 0.032 0.019 0.013 0.44 6.75 0.06 including 235.0 246.0 11.0 0.04 0.01 0.444 0.272 0.172 0.38 4.24 0.03

Table 2: Drillhole Orientation

Hole ID Zone Easting (mE) Northing (mN) Azimuth () Dip () Length (m) MAN23-01 NW 495641 5412486 235 -50 432 MAN23-02 NW 495967 5412226 235 -50 402 MAN23-03 NW 495967 5412226 35 -50 402 MAN23-04 NW 496257 5411972 235 -50 402 MAN23-05 NW 495360 5412699 225 -50 402 MAN23-13 NW 494930 5413340 240 -50 444 MAN23-14 NW 494429 5413990 62 -50 420 MAN23-15 NW 494845 5413725 60 -50 450

Other Updates

Canada Nickel also announces today that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, it has agreed to issue an aggregate of 61,982 common shares of the Company at a deemed issue price of $1.15 per common share in satisfaction of an aggregate of $71,280 in obligations due to a service provider of the Company. Such common shares will be subject to a four-month hold period under applicable securities laws.

The Company also announces that it has entered into an amending agreement to the previously announced option agreement dated February 2, 2022, pursuant to which the Company and the optionor thereunder agreed to accelerate the option for the Company to acquire a 100% interest in certain mining claims located in the Province of Ontario. Under the amending agreement, the Company agreed to advance the balance of the previously announced share and cash payments due thereunder in full satisfaction of the option without the need to incur any additional exploration expenditures.

Assays, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Drilling and Assay

Edwin Escarraga, MSc, P.Geo., a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the on-going drilling and sampling program, including quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). The core is collected from the drill in sealed core trays and transported to the core logging facility. The core is marked and sampled at 1.5 metre lengths and cut with a diamond blade saw. One set of samples is transported in secured bags directly from the Canada Nickel core shack to Actlabs Timmins, while a second set of samples is securely shipped to SGS Lakefield for preparation, with analysis performed at SGS Burnaby or SGS Callao (Peru). All are ISO/IEC 17025 accredited labs. Analysis for precious metals (gold, platinum and palladium) are completed by Fire Assay while analysis for nickel, cobalt, sulphur and other elements are performed using a peroxide fusion and ICP-OES analysis. Certified standards and blanks are inserted at a rate of 3 QA/QC samples per 20 core samples making a batch of 60 samples that are submitted for analysis.

Qualified Person and Data Verification

Stephen J. Balch P.Geo. (ON), VP Exploration of Canada Nickel and a "qualified person" as is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of Canada Nickel Company Inc.

The magnetic images shown in this press release were created from Canada Nickel's interpretation of datasets provided by the Ontario Geological Survey.

About Canada Nickel Company

Canada Nickel Company Inc. is advancing the next generation of nickel-sulphide projects to deliver nickel required to feed the high growth electric vehicle and stainless steel markets. Canada Nickel Company has applied in multiple jurisdictions to trademark the terms NetZero NickelTM, NetZero CobaltTM, NetZero IronTM and is pursuing the development of processes to allow the production of net zero carbon nickel, cobalt, and iron products. Canada Nickel provides investors with leverage to nickel in low political risk jurisdictions. Canada Nickel is currently anchored by its 100% owned flagship Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project in the heart of the prolific Timmins-Cochrane mining camp. For more information, please visit www.canadanickel.com.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Selby

CEO

Phone: 647-256-1954

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, the carbon capture approach could allow production of Net Zero nickel and generation of an additional tonnes of CO2 credits per tonne of nickel produced after offsetting all emissions, the potential to turn nickel mine into a generator of carbon credits rather than generator of carbon emissions, the production of estimated average of 710,000 tonnes of carbon credits annually and 18 million total tonnes of CO2 of credits over expected life of mine at Crawford, the ability to monetize carbon credits, the ability to quantify carbon capture, emission estimates, the brucite content of the deposit, the scalability of the process, the metallurgical results, the timing and results of the feasibility study including the viability of the inclusion of the IPT Carbonation Process and related facilities as part of the project, the results of Crawford's PEA, including statements relating to net present value, future production, estimates of cash cost, proposed mining plans and methods, mine life estimates, cash flow forecasts, metal recoveries, estimates of capital and operating costs, timing for permitting and environmental assessments, realization of mineral resource estimates, capital and operating cost estimates, project and life of mine estimates, ability to obtain permitting by the time targeted, size and ranking of project upon achieving production, 5 economic return estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production and capital, operating and exploration expenditures and potential upside and alternatives. Readers should not place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canada Nickel to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The PEA results are estimates only and are based on a number of assumptions, any of which, if incorrect, could materially change the projected outcome. There are no assurances that Crawford will be placed into production. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: the actual results of development activities; project delays; inability to raise the funds necessary to complete development; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future prices of metals or project costs could differ substantially and make any commercialization uneconomic; availability of alternative nickel sources or substitutes; actual nickel recovery; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in applicable laws; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; accidents, labour disputes, the availability and productivity of skilled labour and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, necessary permitting or in the completion of development or construction activities; mineral resource estimates relating to Crawford could prove to be inaccurate for any reason whatsoever; additional but currently unforeseen work may be required to advance to the feasibility stage; and even if Crawford goes into production, there is no assurance that operations will be profitable. Although Canada Nickel 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 to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Canada Nickel disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 21, 2023) - Elemental Altus Royalties Corp. (TSXV: ELE) (OTCQX: ELEMF) ("Elemental Altus" or "the Company") announces its operating and financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. For complete details please refer to the Financial Statements and associated Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, which can be found on the SEDAR+ website (http://www.sedarplus.ca) or the Company's website (www.elementalaltus.com).

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights:

Record revenue of $2.6 million, up 25% compared to Q2 2022

Record adjusted revenue of $4.7 million, inclusive of Caserones royalty revenue, up 127% compared to Q2 2022

Record Gold Equivalent Ounces (" GEOs ") of 2,377 ounces, up 109% compared to Q2 2022

Record adjusted EBITDA of $3.3 million, up 184% compared to Q2 2022

Royalty Portfolio Highlights and Key Developments:

On March 27, 2023 Lundin Mining Corporation (TSX: LUN) announced that it had entered into a binding purchase agreement to acquire a 51% interest in the Caserones copper-molybdenum mine in Chile (" Caserones ") On March 9, 2023, the Company entered into a binding agreement to acquire an additional 0.025% effective net smelter return (" NSR ") royalty on Caserones On July 12, 2023, the Company agreed to purchase an additional effective 0.030% NSR on Caserones, increasing the total effective NSR held to 0.473%

On April 20, 2023, the Company announced that it had completed the acquisition of an additional 0.25% NSR royalty on the Pickle Crow project in Ontario, Canada from a private third-party entity for total consideration of US$300,000 in cash, increasing the effective NSR royalty held by the Company to 2.25%

Highlights Subsequent to June 30, 2023:

On July 20, 2023, the Company announced that it agreed to the sale of its 100% owned Diba and Lakanfla gold licences in western Mali to Allied Gold Corporation (" Allied "), the owner and operator of the Sadiola gold mine. As consideration, Allied will grant a near-term production NSR royalty of 3% on the first 226,000 ounces of gold from certain deposits followed by a 2% uncapped royalty on all other production from the licences and pay up to $6 million in cash. The transaction will be completed after local regulatory approvals and filings are completed

On July 25, 2023, the Company announced it had agreed to the sale of a 95% interest in its Daro and Zager copper-gold licences in northern Ethiopia to ANS Exploration ("ANS"). As consideration, ANS will pay US$200,000 in cash and grant two uncapped NSR royalties of 2.5% on copper and gold produced from the licences. The transaction will be completed after local regulatory approvals and filings are completed

Frederick Bell, CEO of Elemental Altus, commented:

"The first half of 2023 has been very positive with the Company continuing to deliver record revenues and impressive growth in our attributable production quarter over quarter. This quarter we continued to add exposure to one of our cornerstone assets, a royalty on the Caserones copper mine in Chile and we look forward to seeing additional optimization on the asset now that Lundin Mining is the majority owner and operator.

"Subsequent to the end of the quarter we generated three new gold and copper royalties through transactions on assets in Mali and Ethiopia. The royalty in Mali in particular offers the potential for near-term revenue at Allied's adjacent Sadiola gold mine and we look forward to adding further royalties to the portfolio in the second half of the year."

Operating Asset Highlights

The following table summarizes the Company's revenue from royalty interests during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. Adjusted revenue also includes accrued royalty revenue from equity investments for the same periods (see Non-IFRS Measures).

Three months ended

June 30, Six months ended

June 30, 2023

$'000 2022

$'000 2023

$'000 2022

$'000 Revenue from royalties Amancaya 211 216 448 498 Ballarat 179 - 214 - Bonikro 87 - 266 - Karlawinda 1,181 1,216 2,440 2,361 Kwale - 93 - 206 Mercedes 193 - 433 - Mulgarrie 14 - 14 - Mount Pleasant 85 88 189 206 SKO 67 - 151 - Wahgnion 583 469 1,251 1,444 Total revenue 2,600 2,082 5,406 4,277 Royalty revenue from equity investments Caserones1 2,128 - 3,148 - Adjusted revenue 4,728 2,082 8,554 4,277

(1) The Caserones royalty is held by Sociedad Legal Minera California Una de la Sierra Pena Negra ("SLM California") in which the Company held an effective 22.8% equity interest at June 30, 2023. The Company has agreed to acquire a further 1.6% interest in SLM California and this is expected to close in Q3 2023.

The following table summarizes the Company's GEOs from royalty interests during the three and six ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Three months ended

June 30, Six months ended

June 30, 2023

GEO 2022

GEO 2023

GEO 2022

GEO Amancaya 106 116 225 265 Ballarat 90 - 108 - Bonikro 44 - 134 - Karlawinda 594 673 1,227 1,263 Kwale - 50 - 110 Mercedes 97 - 217 - Mulgarrie 7 - 7 - Mount Pleasant 43 49 95 111 SKO 34 - 76 - Wahgnion 293 250 629 536 Caserones1 1,070 - 1,580 - Total GEOs 1 2,377 1,138 4,298 2,285

(1) See Non-IFRS Measures.

Elemental Altus expects to achieve previously announced guidance of 9,000 to 10,200 GEOs, weighted towards the second half of the year.

Quarterly changes to revenue received by Elemental Altus are driven primarily by fluctuations in production at the underlying mines, the timing of sales, changes in the price of commodities and assets being advanced to production.

Karlawinda Gold Mine, Australia

Capricorn reported record annual production at Karlawinda during the year to June 30, 2023, having produced 120,014 ounces

On April 26, 2023 Capricorn reported that their 73 hole (10,983m) RC drilling at the newly identified Berwick prospect, located 2km east of the Bibra open pit, detected near surface gold mineralisation over a 500m strike length and follow up drilling is underway

Near mine exploration has identified a number of additional prospects within 5km of the Bibra deposit, including Muirfield and Vedas

Caserones Copper Mine, Chile

In Q2 2023, the Company accrued adjusted royalty revenue of $2.13 million (before tax) using an estimate of Q2 sales from Lundin Mining's published production, and a $0.9m upward adjustment based on under accrued revenue relating to Q1 2023

The Company recorded a received dividend of $1.40 million relating to Q1 2023 sales

On July 13, 2023, Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) closed its previously announced acquisition of an initial 51% of Caserones from JX Nippon Mining and Metals for $950 million. Lundin Mining has the right to acquire up to an additional 19% interest in Caserones for $350 million over a five-year period commencing on the first anniversary of the date of closing

Lundin Mining announced that Caserones annual production guidance for both 2024 and 2025 is 110,000-120,000t of copper and 1,500-2,500t of molybdenum on a 100% basis

Wahgnion Gold Mine, Burkina Faso

Wahgnion throughput remained steady as production moved into the Samavogo pit during the quarter, where grades are expected to increase from Q3

On June 30, 2023 Endeavour Mining announced the sale of its Wahgnion and Boungou mines in Burkina Faso to Lilium Mining, a subsidiary of Lilium Capital

Mercedes Gold Mine, Mexico

Bear Creek reported a revision of mining methods utilized at the mine with the Marianas and San Martin deposits switched from cut and fill mining at both deposits to room and pillar mining at San Martin and sub-level caving and sub-level stoping at Marianas

Tonnes mined from the high-grade San Martin deposit (Measured and Indicated Resource of 289,000t @ 6.6g/t Au) are expected to double from 400 to 800t per day during Q3 2023 as the available working faces increase. The deposit is expected to account for an estimated 50% of H2 2023 gold production

Bonikro Gold Mine, Cote d'Ivoire

The Company owns an NSR royalty on an area of the mine known as Pushback 5 at Allied Gold's open pit Bonikro gold mine in Cote d'Ivoire. At a gold price above $1,450, the NSR royalty is at an effective rate of 2.25%, capped at 560,000 ounces

Allied Gold is expected to target full production from the royalty area during H2 2023

Amancaya Gold Mine, Chile

In Q2 2023 attributable GEOs were broadly similar to Q1 2022

During the period, Austral focused exploration efforts at Amancaya on geological interpretation, having designated a shallow drill program to demonstrate continuity at the Oeste vein, a narrow gold-rich vein previously interpreted and parallel to the Central vein

Ballarat Gold Mine, Australia

The Company owns a 1.25% NSR royalty on the underground Ballarat gold mine in Australia and also owns approximately $0.6 million in accrued royalty payments

The current administrators are undertaking a sales process of the mine which is expected to be finalized prior to the administration ending date of October 2023

During the administration period, the mine has continued to operate

Tailings permits have been progressed offering a pathway to long term management of the tailings

Frederick Bell

CEO and Director

Corporate & Media Inquiries:

Jacy Zerb, VP Investor Relations

Direct: +1 604-243-6511 ext. 2700

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Elemental Altus is a proud member of Discovery Group. For more information please visit: www.discoverygroup.ca or contact 604-653-9464.

TSX.V: ELE | OTCQX: ELEMF | ISIN: CA28619K1093 | CUSIP: 28619K109

About Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Elemental Altus is an income generating precious metals royalty company with 10 producing royalties and a diversified portfolio of pre-production and discovery stage assets. The Company is focused on acquiring uncapped royalties and streams over producing, or near-producing, mines operated by established counterparties, as well as generating royalties on new discoveries. The vision of Elemental Altus is to build a global gold royalty company, offering investors superior exposure to gold with reduced risk and a strong growth profile.

Qualified Person

Steven Poulton, Executive Chairman for Elemental Altus, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release.

Notes

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company has included certain performance measures which are not in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Non-IFRS 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. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standard meaning under IFRS and other companies may calculate measures differently.

Elemental Altus has included certain performance measures in this press release that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. The Company's royalty revenue is converted to an attributable gold equivalent ounce, or GEO, basis by dividing the royalty revenue received in a period by the average gold price for the same respective period. The presentation of this non-IFRS measure 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. Other companies may calculate these non-IFRS measures differently. The production forecast was derived using information that is available in the public domain as at the date hereof, which included guidance and estimates prepared and issued by management of the operators of the mining operations in which Elemental Altus holds an interest. The production forecast is sensitive to the performance and operating status of the underlying mines. None of the information has been independently verified by Elemental Altus and maybe subject to uncertainty. There can be no assurance that such information is complete or accurate.

Royalty revenue is received at zero cost. Elemental Altus pays 20% per ounce on streaming revenue from the Ming mine.

Adjusted Revenue

Adjusted revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure, which is defined as including gross royalty revenue from associated entities holding royalty interests related to Elemental Altus' effective royalty on the Caserones copper mine. Management uses adjusted revenue to evaluate the underlying operating performance of the Company for the reporting periods presented, to assist with the planning and forecasting of future operating results, and to supplement information in its financial statements. Management believes that in addition to measures prepared in accordance with IFRS such as revenue, investors may use adjusted revenue to evaluate the results of the underlying business, particularly as the adjusted revenue may not typically be included in operating results. Management believes that adjusted revenue is a useful measure of the Company performance because it adjusts for items which management believes reflect the Company's core operating results from period to period. Adjusted revenue is intended to provide additional information to investors and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. It does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Gold Equivalent Ounces

Elemental Altus' adjusted royalty, streaming, and other revenue is converted to an attributable gold equivalent ounce, or GEO, basis by dividing the royalty and other revenue from associates in a period by the average gold price for the same respective period, plus the net gold ounces received in the period from streaming investments. The presentation of this non-IFRS measure 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. Other companies may calculate these non-IFRS measures differently. The production forecast was derived using information that is available in the public domain as at the date hereof, which included guidance and estimates prepared and issued by management of the operators of the mining operations in which Elemental Altus holds an interest. The production forecast is sensitive to the performance and operating status of the underlying mines. None of the information has been independently verified by Elemental Altus and may be subject to uncertainty. There can be no assurance that such information is complete or accurate.

On behalf of Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This news release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology.

Forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's ability to deliver a materially increased revenue profile, the future growth, development and focus of the Company, and the acquisition of new royalties and streams. Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies.

Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of Elemental Altus to control or predict, that may cause Elemental Altus' actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to: the impact of general business and economic conditions, the absence of control over the mining operations from which Elemental Altus will receive royalties, risks related to international operations, government relations and environmental regulation, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Elemental Altus' expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations; currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of important factors which could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements, refer to the annual information form of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2022. Elemental Altus undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements and information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking statements and information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement or information can be guaranteed, and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - European Energy Metals (TSXV: FIN) (FSE: W28) ("European Energy" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% interest in seven mineral reservations (the "reservations") located in northern and Central Finland (the "Proposed Transaction").

Under the terms of the Proposed Transaction, the Company will acquire all of the shares of BB Gold Inc., a company existing under the laws of Newfoundland and Labrador and its wholly owned Finnish subsidiary, Sisu Exploration Oy, the direct owner of the reservations, from a private individual (the "Vendor") in exchange for the issuance of 1,250,000 common shares (the "Consideration Shares"). In addition to any statutory resale restrictions, the Consideration Shares will be subject to the following contractual resale restrictions:

Number of Consideration Shares Contractual Resale Restriction Period 500,000 No contractual resale restriction 250,000 Three months from the Closing Date 250,000 Six months from the Closing Date 250,000 Nine months from the Closing Date

The Vendor will also be granted a 1% net smelter royalty on six of the seven Concessions.

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About the Concessions

Through this agreement the company acquires a 100% interest in 7 Mineral Reservations covering approximately 3,106.5 km2 as outlined in the Table and Map at the end of the press release and described more fully below.

Kontti and Kontti 2 Reservations

These reservations are underlain by a series of approximately 1.8 billion year old granitoids, including S-type "microcline" granites intruding migmatites and metasedimentary rocks of the Central Lapland Granitoid Complex and hosting numerous pegmatite occurrences. These reservations are considered prospective for battery and rare metals (Lithium, Cesium and Tantalum), and rare earth elements (Ytrium, Niobium and Fluorine) among others.

Haara Reservation

This reservation in the northern part of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB) is also underlain by a series of approximately 1.8 billion year old granitoids, including 2 mica granites intruding meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanic rocks and pegmatites. This reservation is considered prospective for battery and rare metals (Lithium, Cesium and Tantalum), and rare earth elements (Ytrium, Niobium and Fluorine) among others.

Mairivaara and Nousu Reservations

These reservations are underlain by mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB) and are considered prospective for precious and base metals.

Angelvaara

This reservation is underlain primarily by mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks in the Eastern portion of the CLGB and is considered prospective for base (N-Cu-Co) and precious metals.

Kiila

This reservation is underlain primarily by meta-sedimentary rocks of the Pohjaanma Schist Belt which hosts the Kaustinen Li-Pegmatite cluster of deposits, currently under development and lies within 25 km of Keliber Oys Battery Metal Processing Plant in Kokkola, Finland. This reservation is contiguous with the Lappajarvi Reservation which is the subject of an agreement between the company and Capella Minerals Limited (See press release dated March 20, 2023). This reservation is considered prospective for battery and rare metals (Lithium, Cesium and Tantalum), and rare earth elements (Ytrium, Niobium and Fluorine) among others.

Commented Jeremy Poirier, President and CEO of European Energy Metals, "With this acquisition we will control over 5,000 km2 of mineral reservations considered highly prospective for lithium, battery and rare metals potential. As Finland is becoming an emerging global leader in the space with its progressive Critical Minerals Policies and Lithium supply-chain infrastructure development we are now a well positioned, major hard-rock lithium explorer in Finland."

R. Tim Henneberry, P.Geo. (BC), a Director of European Energy Metals Corp., is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the technical content disclosed in this release.

About European Energy Metals Corp.

European Energy Metals Corp. is a junior mining company currently focussed on the Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum Finnish Pegmatite Project in central Finland. Governing bodies in Europe and Finland are legislating environmentally friendly and energy independent laws and policies. One of the key components is access to REE and, specifically, lithium. The company concessions are located within 11 miles of Keliber mine being constructed which is expected to begin production H2 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Jeremy Poirier, CEO

Telephone: 604-722-9842

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including the completion of the Proposed Transaction. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is 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 information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward-looking information include the failure to satisfy the conditions to closing, including receipt of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Permit Holder Reg. Number Permit Name Permit Status Date of Submission Date of Decision Date of Expiry Area, km2 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2022:0048 Nousu Valid 2022-06-28 2022-09-07 2024-06-27 489.19 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2022:0069 Mairivaara Valid 2022-09-17 2022-11-29 2023-09-16 465.35 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0047 Haara Valid 2023-05-03 2023-06-22 2025-05-02 307.3 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0048 Kontti Granted 2023-05-03 2023-06-22 2025-05-02 1406.32 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0049 Angelvaara Application 2023-05-10 210.91 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0056 Kontti 2 Application 2023-05-31 168.13 Sisu Exploration Oy VA2023:0068* Kiila Application 2023-07-26 59.29

Figure 1
August 22, 2023  TheNewswire - Vancouver, B.C.  Carmanah Minerals Corp. (CSE:CARM), (Carmanah or the Company) is pleased to announce the commencement of a detailed regional and property specific structural geophysical interpretation of the corporations Saskatchewan Uranium Project with its Joint Venture partner Marvel Discovery. The Interpretation includes using advanced technology leveraging machine learning to transform the mineral discovery process.

Fraser Rieche, Interim Chief Executive Officer, commented, Carmanahs Walker Project presents a tremendous opportunity in Canadas Athabasca Basin. The project is perfectly situated along the Key Lake fault and is home to some of the largest Uranium Reserves in Canada. Using AI-drill-targeting allows us to get a better in-depth understanding of the structural traps which is vital to our drill-target selection process. We are pleased to be working with Marvel Discovery and their geological team, giving us an edge and a better chance for success with the common goal of a tier 1 discovery.



The claims coincide with a regional-scale NNE-trending shear zone that forms the tectonic boundary between the Mudjatik Domain and Wollaston Domain of the Hearne Province. The shear zone can be mapped from regional aeromagnetic images and has a strike length of at least 400 kilometres extending beneath cover rocks of the Athabasca Basin, approximately 60 km to the north. The highly prospective Athabasca Basin is home to numerous unconformity-type uranium deposits whose locations are controlled by the positions of major faults in the underlying crystalline basement rocks.

The pattern of structures within the claims, indicate that the two major rock groups are intensely polydeformed with complex fold interference patterns suggesting a regional east-dipping, sinistral transpressional belt that is now preserved as the Wollaston-Mudjatik Transition Zone (WMTZ), a prospective zone, along which the majority of known Uranium and REE occurrences are documented.

Like its neighbor to the west, the Arrow deposit, owned by NexGen Energy, lies along a similar structural corridor as the Carmanah property. The Arrow deposit, which has undergone a positive feasibility study with robust economics, contains probable reserves of 239.6 million pounds of U3O8 at an average of 2.37 per cent U3O8, and measured and indicated resources of 256.7 million pounds at an average grade of 3.1 per cent U3O8. The Arrow deposit is the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in Canada of 256.7 million lb at an average grade of 3.1 per cent U3O8. The Arrow deposit is the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in Canada.

Carmanah signed a joint venture agreement with Marvel Discovery on October 5, 2022, to earn a 50-per-cent interest in the Walker claims located in the Athabasca basin, Saskatchewan. Upon completion of the earn-in by Carmanah, Marvel and Carmanah would each own 50 per cent of the project.

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 Carmanah Minerals Corp.

Carmanah Minerals Corp. is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on a diversified portfolio covering Precious Metals, Energy, and Critical Elements. The Company recently signed a Joint Venture agreement with Marvel Discovery Corp. to earn a 50% interest in the Walker Claims located along the prolific Key Lake fault adjacent to Camecos Mine and Mill in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. The Walker Properties lie within the WollastonMudjactic transition zone (WMTZ) of the eastern Athabasca basin, which is host to the highestgrade uranium mines in the world. The company also holds a 100% interest in the Hare Hill Pluton Rare Earth Project. This project comprises 162 claims totaling 4,050 hectares in Central Newfoundland and is directly contiguous to the "Bottom Brook Acquisition" by York Harbour Metals Inc. Carmanah has also entered an option agreement to acquire the Baie Verte Brompton Project in Central Newfoundland. This project is strategically located on a peninsula that hosts all of Newfoundland's current gold production, including Anaconda Mining Inc.'s Point Rousse gold mine and Rambler Metals Mining operations.



For further information, please view the Companys filings at www.sedar.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fraser Rieche

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephone: +1 (604) 716-1036

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information:

This news release includes certain forwardlooking statements and forwardlooking information (collectively, forwardlooking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future capital expenditures, anticipated content, commencement, and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Companys projects and mineral properties, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, resources and/or reserves on the Companys projects and mineral properties, the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, anticipated completion of the Private Placements, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange for the Private Placements, are forwardlooking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as pro forma, plans, expects, will, may, should, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, believes, potential or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forwardlooking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious and base metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration of the Companys properties, that the COVID19 global pandemic will not affect the ability of the Company to conduct the exploration program on its mineral properties, the availability of financing on suitable terms, and the Companys ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

Forwardlooking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forwardlooking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Companys proposed expenditures for exploration work on its mineral projects, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID19, as well as those factors discussed under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys prospectus dated April 4, 2022, and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Companys profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forwardlooking statements in this news release except as otherwise required by law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
President Xi Jinping has arrived in South Africa, Chinese state media reported Tuesday, where he will attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The state visit will be Xi's second of 2023, after making an official trip to Russia in March.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held here, and pay a state visit to South Africa," Xinhua news agency said, adding he had been "warmly welcomed" by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

"Xi said that he is very glad to visit South Africa again and looks forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with Ramaphosa on deepening China-South Africa relations and issues of common interest," Xinhua said.

The heads of Brazil, China, India and South Africa plus Russia's top diplomat will gather from Tuesday to Thursday this week under the theme "BRICS and Africa", South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the Ukraine war -- will not attend this year's BRICS conference in South Africa, which is a signatory of the ICC.

The Chinese leader previously visited South Africa in 2018 as he sought to enhance his country's diplomatic and economic ties with the continent.

On the agenda at this year's summit will be the possible future expansion of BRICS membership, which the bloc has previously indicated it is open to.

Several African countries have previously expressed a desire to join the bloc, including Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia.

A total of 69 countries have been invited to the summit, including all African states.

BRICS, a loosely-defined group that sees itself as a counterweight to Western economic domination, derives its name from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The group represents 23 percent of the world's gross domestic product and 42 percent of the world's population.
War crimes prosecutors will Tuesday seek to convince judges at the International Criminal Court to put a former militia commander on trial for organising revenge attacks against Muslim civilians in the Central African Republic.

Maxime Mokom, 44, faces 20 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed by his self-proclaimed self-defence militias in 2013 and 2014.

One of the poorest countries in the world, the former French colony was plunged into a bloody sectarian conflict after Seleka rebels ousted president Francois Bozize in early 2013.

Calling themselves "anti-Balaka" -- meaning "anti-machete" -- Mokom's militia formed in reaction to the takeover of Bangui by the Seleka, a coalition of armed groups mainly composed of Muslims opposed to Bozize's rule.

Prosecutors will now seek in a three-day hearing at the Hague-based ICC to show judges the evidence was solid enough to put Mokom -- who they say was a main military organiser of the anti-Balaka forces -- in the dock. The judges will then decide whether Mokom should stand trial.

Mokom was responsible for military operations by the "anti-Balaka" group which supported Bozize and comprised mainly Christian and animist members.

Prosecutors said Mokom gave "logistical support for military operations... including by providing funds, weapons, medication, and ammunition".

Aiming to put Bozize back in power, Mokom by late 2013 led the planning and coordination for an attack on the capital Bangui and Bossangoa, which lies about 300 kilometres (186 miles) to the northwest.

Mokom played a "critical role" in organising the anti-Balaka's December 2013 attacks in Bangui and Bossangoa, prosecutors said in a court document detailing the charges.

- 'Leave or die' -

The charges included directing attacks against civilians, murder, rape, pillaging and destruction of property as well as attacks against religious buildings including mosques.

The attacks forced more than 100,000 Muslim civilians to flee Bangui across the border to neighbouring Cameroon and Chad.

"Many walked for weeks before reaching the border, while being hunted down by the anti-Balaka," prosecutors said.

"Others were displaced into enclaves, where they were then confined," they said.

Anti-Balaka attacks continued on Muslim civilians even after Seleka forces retreated from Bangui, until at least December 2014.

The attacks were widespread and systematic, prosecutors said.

"The message to the Muslim population was clear -- leave CAR or die," prosecutors said.

Peace agreements signed in 2017 and 2019 have not been respected on the ground.

Many armed groups, rebels and assailants continue a guerrilla campaign of sporadic attacks against the Central African army supported by mercenaries from the Russian private security company Wagner.

Both sides are regularly accused of crimes and abuses against civilians by international NGOs and UN-mandated experts.

Chadian authorities last year handed Mokom over to the ICC, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2018.

Two former anti-Balaka leaders, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom, are already on trial at the ICC.

Last year Seleka commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani denied war crimes and crimes against humanity charges before the court.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is the world's only independent tribunal capable of prosecuting those accused of the world's worst crimes.
This time, the appeal judges didnt take long. On June 6, 2023, the trial chamber had concluded, by a majority vote, that the mental health of Felicien Kabuga, aged 88 or 90, rendered him unfit to take part in his trial. But it decided, again by a majority vote, to continue the case through an alternative finding procedure that resembles a trial as closely as possible, but without the possibility of a conviction". This was unprecedented in international justice and highly controversial.

Both parties appealed the decision. The prosecutor argued that the judges had erred in finding the last major 1994 genocide suspect unfit to stand trial. The defence, on the other hand, called for this "alternative procedure" to be rejected, saying it lacked a legal basis.

On August 7, the Appeals Chamber of the UN mechanism trying Kabuga - otherwise known as the "International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals" (IRMCT) - issued a clear ruling: the trial judges had not erred in deeming Kabuga unfit to stand trial, but they had erred in coming up with an alternative procedure that did not exist. The Appeals Chamber therefore sent the case back to the lower court with an instruction to impose an indefinite stay of proceedings and expeditiously address the issue of Kabugas detention on remand.

And so the final curtain falls on this trial awaited for almost 30 years, which will therefore not take place.

Failure for the UN tribunal

Kabuga was on the run for 23 years after his indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), a court set up by the United Nations in the wake of the Rwandan genocide perpetrated between April and July 1994 against the Tutsis. Justice final caught up with him on the morning of May 16, 2020, when he was arrested in Asnieres-sur-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris.

The former businessman, considered Rwanda's richest man in 1994, was charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, as well as persecution, extermination and murder as crimes against humanity. He was prosecuted for his responsibility in the content of incendiary broadcasts on Radio-television des mille collines (RTLM), and for the moral, logistical, material and financial support given to Interahamwe militia in the capital, Kigali, the prefectures of Gisenyi and Kibuye. Kabuga is accused of having made his vehicles available to the killers for their murderous operations, of having distributed machetes and other weapons to them, and of having given them money and food. His indictment was modified over time - notably with the dropping of charges linked to the massive purchase of machetes - but Kabuga remained a central player in Rwandan politics in the early 90s and his trial historically key to validate or call into question certain explanations of events leading up to the Tutsi genocide.

For the "Mechanism" and its prosecutor Serge Brammertz, the frustration and failure are clear. In a press release, Brammertz acknowledges that this outcome "will be distressing and disheartening" for victims. But, he tries to reassure them, "this decision may be a disappointment, but I can assure the victims and survivors that it is not the end of the justice process."

His Rwandan audience is not convinced, however. On August 11, in a statement posted on its X (formerly Twitter) account, victims' association Ibuka expressed its dismay at the decision, which it described as a failure of the Mechanism "to meet its core mandate and associated expectations, from both Tutsi genocide victims and the entire international community.

The influential organization also says that the Mechanism has deliberately ignored that victims and survivors of the crimes that Kabuga is charged for have waited long to see justice being delivered and Kabugas fitness to stand trial is a mere excuse and living example of a double standard for not mentioning an open discrimination at detriment of both victims and survivors.

Focus on Kabugas release

In its decision, the Appeals Chamber said it was "cognizant that victims and survivors of the crimes that Kabuga is charged with have waited long to see justice delivered, and that the inability to complete the trial proceedings in this case, due to Kabugas lack of fitness to stand trial, must be disappointing. However, justice can be delivered only by holding trials that are fair and conducted with full respect for the rights of the accused set out in the Statute.

For the judges in The Hague, "this is a fundamental feature of the legal framework of the Mechanism and its predecessor tribunals, which is vital to the credibility and endurance of their legacy".

The defence, of course, has every reason to be satisfied. Their client's health and fitness for trial have been at the heart of Kabuga's lawyers' strategy since the start of proceedings. The Defence of Felicen Kabuga expresses its satisfaction that the Appeals Chamber put an end to a process that no longer had any meaning (), upheld the highest standards of justice, maintained the integrity of the judicial process and preserved the legacy of the Mechanism," said lawyer Emmanuel Altit in a statement. His next objective is to secure Kabuga's release. This is much awaited, with the conditions not yet clear. The prosecutor asserts that finding a state to accept Kabuga on its territory may present obstacles, but the Appeals Chamber responds that "such a consideration may not be the basis for Kabugas continuous detention on remand". The trial judges are therefore invited "to expeditiously consider the appropriate terms and conditions for his release".

The trials long agony

Felicien Kabuga's state of health proved fatal to the costly ambitions of UN justice. The Mechanism built a new courtroom for Kabugas trial in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha where the ICTR was established, at a cost of $8.7 million. But the accused's air travel, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, was deemed too risky. At his initial appearance on November 21, 2020, the Chamber requested a fortnightly report on Kabuga's state of health. And from early 2021, at the request of the defence, a succession of medical experts assessed Kabuga's fitness to stand trial and be transferred to Arusha. A year later, one of the experts, Professor Gillian Mezey, already considered Kabuga unfit to stand trial. In May 2022, a total of five experts, including psychiatrists and neurologists, presented their reports. But the Trial Chamber concluded that the trial could go ahead in The Hague. It simply ordered that Felicien Kabuga's fitness to stand trial be reassessed every 180 days by a panel of independent experts appointed by the Registry.

The trial opened on September 29, 2022. By the end of December, the Chamber had held 29 days of hearings -- two hours a day, three days a week. Nineteen prosecution witnesses were heard. The trial was due to resume on January 17, 2023, but was postponed several times due to Kabugas declining health and the death of one of the judges. It resumed on February 14, at an even slower pace: two days a week for a maximum of 90 minutes a day, with Kabuga participating via videoconference from the detention centre. Four additional witnesses were heard. On March 6, the experts' report came in: "Kabuga's physical health and mental capacity have deteriorated considerably since [the] previous assessments, he now meets the clinical criteria for dementia, and he cannot participate meaningfully in his trial, whatever the trial arrangements or accommodations". The hearing of witnesses was suspended. It will not resume.

With the August 7 decision, Kabugas trial came to an end after 23 witnesses had been heard. The desire to expedite proceedings and the hyper-protection of witnesses, marked by the extreme use of closed-door sessions, served to cast a veil of opacity over this trial, which had been heralded with great fanfare. Of the 23 witnesses, only three testified openly: Monique Mujawamariya, a Rwandan-Canadian human rights activist; former Kigali Court of First Instance prosecutor Francois-Xavier Nsanzuwera; and French journalist Jean-Francois Dupaquier, presented by the prosecution as an expert witness on the media in Rwanda. The in-camera proceedings made the trial so obscure it made Rwandans say that "the old man" was still in hiding.

A negligible contribution to history

There is nothing new in the testimony of these witnesses, which were largely characterized by hearsay, inconsistencies and contradictions. Kabuga was accused on the stand of having provided financial and logistical support to the Interahamwe militia, youth wing of the then presidential party MRND (Mouvement republicain national pour le developpement) and spearhead of the Rwandan genocide. According to some witnesses, his residence in the Muhima district of Kigali, donated to the MRND, was used for firearms training, while others, ex-members of the notorious militia, claimed that training took place elsewhere, for example at Kabuga's home in the Kimironko district. None of them, however, were eyewitnesses to what was going on inside the former businessman's residence.

Kabuga is also said to have offered his trucks to transport weapons to Gisenyi and Kibuye for the massacre of Tutsis. Some witnesses, such as "KAB066" said they had heard he bought these weapons himself.

Another issue addressed was RTLM, where the accused was president of the Comite d'initiative, the radio station's executive body. Witness "KAB005", a former Ministry of Information official, was in charge of monitoring and recording RTLM broadcasts. According to this witness, Kabuga often took the floor at meetings convened by the ministry to chastise the radio's managers about its broadcasts. Kabuga, he said, argued that the radio station had the right to tell the whole truth. Nsanzuwera, for his part, said that at one of the meetings he attended, Kabuga, "like a patriarch", did not take part in the debates and that it was RTLM's director Ferdinand Nahimana who doggedly defended the radio station.

So much for this background, which sheds no more light on what was already well known.

Final legacies

The other highlight of this aborted trial was the conflict between the accused and his lead lawyer Altit. Kabuga and his family tried to replace the French lawyer on several occasions, without success. The court seemed to fall back into the debates on freedom of choice of counsel that had plagued the ICTR in its early years, with the judges ruling that "the right to legal assistance funded by the Mechanism does not confer the right to counsel of one's own choosing" and "although some weight is given to the accused's preference, this may be disregarded if it is in the interests of justice". This position appears conservative compared to the one that finally prevailed nearly 25 years ago.

There remains the question of Kabuga's funds and assets seized or frozen as part of the investigation. Contacted by Justice Info, the Mechanism's registry would not give any further details on the results of this investigation or on the future of the former agribusiness and real estate tycoons frozen accounts and assets in Rwanda.

The UN Mechanism will have no more trials on the merits: Kabuga was the last. This raises the question of the fate of its hundreds of employees. The prosecutor's office alone is said to have seen its workforce increase by 10% after Kabuga's arrest. The only remaining tasks of this judicial institution are now to monitor the sometimes theoretical issues of witness protection in several countries, (rare) assistance to national jurisdictions, support for the enforcement of sentences for those convicted and imprisoned in various African and European states, possible applications for review or early release by ICTR (or ICTY) prisoners, and finally the management of the digital and physical archives of the former UN tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The Mechanism may also need to manage its latest major faux pas: the dispatch, in December 2021, of eight acquitted or released persons to Niger, where they are still stranded at a time of heightened political tension following a coup d'etat.

With the official end of the Kabuga trial, the Arusha Mechanism looks more than ever like a "white elephant". And the work of international justice on the genocide in Rwanda, which began in 1995, is coming to a damp squib end.
An ex-militia leader on Tuesday denied involvement in bloodshed in the troubled Central African Republic a decade ago, telling judges in The Hague he was "dedicated to the search for peace".

Maxime Mokom, 44, faces 20 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed against Muslim civilians in the CAR, a former French colony, by his self-proclaimed self-defence militias in 2013 and 2014.

One of the poorest countries in the world, the CAR was plunged into bloody sectarian conflict after Seleka rebels, a coalition of armed groups mainly composed of Muslims, ousted president Francois Bozize in early 2013.

Mokom's militias, which called themselves "anti-Balaka" -- meaning "anti-machete" -- formed in reaction to the takeover of the capital, Bangui, by the Seleka.

Prosecutors are seeking in a three-day hearing at the Hague-based International Criminal Court to show judges the evidence is solid enough to put Mokom -- who they say was a main military organiser of the anti-Balaka forces -- in the dock.

The judges will then decide whether Mokom should stand trial.

In an opening statement, Mokom denied involvement in the crimes alleged by the prosecution.

Mokom said he returned to the CAR in February 2014 during the height of the violence after fleeing to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

"I dedicated my return to the search for peace, rather than engage in war," said Mokom, who appeared in court dressed in a white robe.

"I absolutely refuse. I absolutely deny having participated in any plan that involved the crimes with which I have been charged," he said.

- 'Critical role' -

Prosecutors however said Mokom was responsible for revenge attacks by the anti-Balaka, which supported Bozize and comprised mainly Christian and animist members.

Mokom gave "logistical support for military operations... including by providing funds, weapons, medication and ammunition", they said.

"Maxime Mokom is one of those who took up arms to get to power at any cost, while creating terror within the civilian population... and use them as human shields to achieve their aims," added Marie-Edith Douzima-Lawson, a lawyer representing victims in the case.

In late 2013, in a bid to put Bozize back in power, Mokom led the planning and coordination for an attack on Bangui and Bossangoa, 300 kilometres (186 miles) to the northwest, prosecutors said.

Mokom played a "critical role" in organising the anti-Balaka attacks on Bangui and Bossangoa in December 2013, prosecutors said in a court document detailing the charges.

Many Muslim civilians "died in their houses and their mosques were destroyed", ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the judges.

- 'Leave or die' -

The charges against Mokom included directing attacks against civilians, murder, rape, pillaging and destruction of property, as well as attacks against religious buildings including mosques.

The attacks forced more than 100,000 Muslim civilians to flee Bangui across the border to neighbouring Cameroon and Chad.

Anti-Balaka attacks continued on Muslim civilians even after Seleka forces retreated from Bangui, until at least December 2014.

The attacks were widespread and systematic, prosecutors said.

"The message to the Muslim population was clear -- leave CAR or die," prosecutors said.

Later peace agreements signed in 2017 and 2019 have not been respected on the ground.

Many armed groups, rebels and assailants continue a guerrilla campaign of sporadic attacks against the Central African army, which is supported by mercenaries from the Russian private security company Wagner.

International NGOs and UN-mandated experts regularly accuse both sides of crimes and abuses against civilians.

Chadian authorities last year handed Mokom over to the ICC, which had issued a warrant for his arrest in 2018.

Two former anti-Balaka leaders, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom, are already on trial at the ICC.

Last year Seleka commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani denied war crimes and crimes against humanity charges before the court.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is the world's only independent tribunal capable of prosecuting those accused of the world's worst crimes.
With only two weeks left of broadcast, "The Uncanny Counter 2" achieves a new milestone much to fans' delight.

After entering its second half, the series successfully took the No. 1 spot as Hallyu's most buzzworthy series this August. Read to know more.

'The Uncanny Counter 2' Tops Most Buzzworthy Drama

The South Korean television is decorated with brand new works with amazing premise and cast ensemble every night including romance, thriller and revenge.

On August 20, Good Data Corporation, the company that collects data to determine the drama rankings, finally named the dramas that created the most buzz.

"The Uncanny Counter 2" took the top spot of the ranking, thanks to its cast Jo Byung Gyu, Kang Ki Young, Kim Sejeong, Kim Hieora and Yeom Hye Ran's solid acting performances.

Jin Seon Kyu, who joined the second season as a villain, also made the list of buzzworthy drama actors alongside Namgoong Min, Kim So Hyun, Hwang Minhyun, Go Yoon Jung and more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'The Uncanny Counter 2' Episode 8: Jo Byung Gyu Loses His Powers

In particular, "The Uncanny Counter 2" bested dramas "My Dearest," "Durian's Affair," "My Lovely Liar," "Behind Your Touch" and more, hinting at its huge success.

Here are the most buzz worthy dramas in the third week of August:

1. tvN's "The Uncanny Counter 2"

2. MBC's "My Dearest"

3. TV Chosun's "Durian's Affair"

4. tvN's "My Lovely Liar"

5. JTBC's "Behind Your Touch"

6. SBS TV's "The First Responders 2"

7. ENA's "Not Others"

8. SBS TV's "The Killing Vote"

9. KBS2's "The Real Has Come!"

10. KSB2's "Elegant Empire"

Why You Should Tune In To 'The Uncanny Counter 2'

At long last, the second season of "The Uncanny Counter 2" is finally approaching its long anticipated finale.

With only two weeks left, the cast and crew of the series guarantee to showcase much bolder and more interesting episodes every weekend.

From the subtle romance elements to its gravity-defying acting stunts from the cast, the audiences are left in awe every time.

In the remaining episodes of the series, fans can check out how the drama ties up all loose ends, especially between the Counters and the evil spirits.

The depiction of their greatest battles in the remaining episodes is also a sight that every viewer shouldn't miss so tune in to "The Uncanny Counter 2."

It airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:20 p.m. KST on tvN and Netflix for worldwide audiences.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Marion, Kansas Vice Mayor Ruth Herbel, right, confers with fellow City Council member Kevin Burkholder, left, before a council meeting, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Marion, Kansas. It was the council's first meeting since local police raided the weekly newspaper, its publisher's home and Herbel's home on Aug. 11, over allegations that the newspaper and Herbel violated a local business owner's privacy. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
The B.C. United Party is accepting applications from people interested in succeeding Norm Letnick as the partys candidate in the next election. Letnick is shown here with MLA Renee Merrifield at a recent community forum in Rutland.
Talking drum master opens Year of Senegal with lively performance

KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 22, 2023

The halls of Kennesaw State Universitys Carmichael Student Center were alive with the pounding of drums, chants and claps as master drummer Massamba Diop introduced the music of Senegal to students, faculty and staff.

Diop and partner percussionist Tony Vacca led the crowd in spirited song and dance, Diop banging the West African tama, or talking drum, and leading a call and response as the pair darted through the rows of seated onlookers, who helped keep the beat. Massamba Diop demonstrates the 'talking drum' accompanied by percussionist Tony Vacca.

The drum demonstration opened the Year of Senegal at KSU, the 39th year of the University-wide Year of program celebrating the music, food and life of cultures from around the world.

This is what were here for, said Tara McDuffie, executive director of Global Education, who oversees the Year of events and was at one point pulled on stage to dance. Were focused on how to interact with and inspire our students and community when we introduce these new countries each year. The energy, the engagement that everyone in this room felt  thats what were looking for.

Diop, whose mastery of the tama has taken him on world tours and made him the featured soloist in the Marvel movie Black Panther, said his purpose is to spread the knowledge of his countrys music and culture around the globe. He said he is happy for the opportunity to include Kennesaw State in that mission.

Its very important. Im happy to teach the music, the drumming, the groove and other Senegalese things in America, Australia, Taiwan, China and many other countries, because now they know about African culture, Diop said. Its about bringing my culture to the world.

There is a long body of historical knowledge that allows Diop to do what he does, Vacca said.

Theres knowledge that goes back 600 years, to the Mali Empire, Vacca said. Were embracing this music that belongs to us all but that began at a very particular place and time, and if we keep going back in time, we mostly can agree that its the continent of Africa where humanity began. Its a long thread that ties us all together.

Merv Smith and Nigel Middlebrooks, a pair of freshmen who had been walking by as Diop demonstrated how to play, were immediately mesmerized by the music and the unique way the hourglass-shaped drum can mimic voice inflections as the user holds the drum under their arm, squeezing down, tightening and loosening leather or cotton tension cords connecting its two drumheads.

KSU students Merv Smith and Nigel Middlebrooks join Massamba Diop on stage.

Smith and Middlebrooks watched and took videos from the front row of the audience as Diop performed and were also eventually pulled on stage to dance and try their hand at the drum.

I turned out to be pretty decent at it. I wasnt too bad for my first time, Smith said with a smile. No, but really it takes more than one motion to play that instrument. Youve got to do three things at once to really get it right.

It looks simple when hes up there playing it, but really its not, Middlebrooks said.

The pair said theyd met only days ago and were both enticed into the room to watch the performance by the rhythm of the music.

Well be at more events, added Smith. Especially if theres music like that.

Each year, Global Educations celebration of its chosen country continues with events throughout the fall and spring semesters, and often the Universitys individual colleges also host themed programs. A full schedule of Global Education events, including features of Senegalese performing arts, stone carving, Goats on the Green and more, can be found on the Year of Senegal website.

 By Thomas Hartwell

Photos by Judith Pishnery

Video by Matthew O'Neill

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 43,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
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National Latino Physician Day (NLPD) was established on October 1, 2022, as a day to celebrate Latino physicians in the United States, who represent 6% of the physician workforce. A strategic aim of NLPD is to simultaneously recognize the critical shortage of Latino physicians when compared to the U.S. population (19%), while sharing evidence-based data showcasing this disparity in Latino physician representation and its potential impact on worsening health care outcomes in the Latino community. In states like California and Texas, Latinos comprise approximately 40% of the population, with future census estimates projecting an increase to 50% by the year 2050. Across the broader U.S., it is expected that 1 in 3 Americans will be of Latino descent by the year 2050. There are significant health care barriers, inequalities, and poorer outcomes in the Latino patient population. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing inequalities and outcomes, adding urgency to the mission of improving Latino physician representation.

Latino physicians have historically faced challenges related to loneliness and isolation that can occur at any stage of the medical training spectrum, including medical school, residency/fellowship training, and the transition to faculty roles. Despite the odds and a historically higher rate of attrition compared to white medical students, data shows that Latinos are able to move forward with mentorship, sponsorship, and allies. Once they assume faculty positions and begin taking care of patients on their own, they immediately recognize the value of the care they provide. Although evidence shows improved health care outcomes when there is cultural and linguistic concordance between patients and their physicians, this value is immeasurable at times. An example of this immeasurable success is the magic from within our own Latino culture. The depth of the Latino experience encompasses this magic, which is often not quantified in scientific studies and includes language, culture, and ethnic origins. This magic allows us to connect with patients on a level that holds additional value.

The origin of a day to create awareness that 6% is not enough was founded on a friendship that developed over social media. Two Latino men, raised in working-class communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, both attended community college and overcame multiple challenges to become double board certified in subspecialties. They were both passionate about the next generation. In fact, they had crossed paths at the Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA) premedical conference in 2007. The first author was a medical student who used Hip Hop lyrics to express his journey to a group of premedical students, while the second author was a premedical student in attendance, appreciating that he too could fit into the field of medicine. Fast forward 16 years, and both have now completed their training and practice in their respective fields of pediatric hand surgery and obstetric anesthesiology. However, 16 years later they connected online and quickly realized that something was just not right with the dismally low number of U.S. Latino physicians. How was it possible that both Dr. Michael Galvez and Dr. Cesar Padilla represented the only Latino physicians in California with subspecialty training in pediatric hand surgery and obstetrical critical care? How was this possible given the fact that 1 in 2 babies born in California are to Latina women and 18 million Latino children live in the U.S.?

Out of curiosity, the first author evaluated the ethnic diversity of faculty at a major academic institution by simply reviewing each individual faculty member based on their profiles and surnames. Although this represented an imperfect analysis, it was clear that the number of Latino or Latina physicians was extremely low. At this particular institution, Latino/a physicians represented only 3% of the faculty. This is despite Latinos making up 19% of the U.S. population and 39% of people living in California. How can these numbers at one institution  a leading academic center which serves a large underserved Latino community  be so low? After reviewing these shocking numbers, an urgent letter was written and sent to the Department in question. The letter offered insight into the source of the problem and provided a detailed outline for improving diversity within the faculty and the residency program. Unfortunately, these efforts resulted in isolated meetings within the confines of the Departments Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer and did not involve higher leadership. Ultimately, these meetings resulted in no measurable action. This frustration with the inaction from a Department in a leading academic institution led to the inevitable conclusion that many physicians, particularly those in leadership and academics, may not fully appreciate the crisis that the Latino community faces due to inadequate representation in the physician workforce.

Figure 1: Design of the National Latino/a Physician Day.

This raw emotion led to a tweet declaring the need for a national day for Latino and Latina physicians to create acute awareness. A national grassroots effort was initiated. A T-shirt was strategically designed with the front reading National Latino/a Physician Day and the back displaying the date Primero de Octubre (October 1, Figure 1). The back of the T-shirt declared the message Necesitamos mas (We need more!). The date was chosen to be in the middle of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15  October 15) for easy remembrance and to avoid significant conflicts with other national recognition days. A strategy was developed to raise awareness and funds using these T-shirts, with proceeds going to MiMentor, a nonprofit organization for underserved premedical students. A social media campaign was launched on several platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Preliminary T-shirts were printed and modeled by the authors to promote the day, with pictures and videos taken on the Stanford University campus. Multiple rounds of T-shirt fundraising promised momentum for this movement, as every social media post generated sales of the T-shirt. Direct messages, emails, and text messages were also sent out to notify friends, colleagues, and allies.

In the time leading up to October 1, 2022, we had multiple conversations with Latina and Latino leaders in medicine and surgery to ensure that this idea for a national day was moving in an upward trajectory. We were fortunate to receive powerful advice from many, repeatedly confirming that we were creating something that was much needed. To be as inclusive as possible, we ensured that we would encompass the wonderful diversity of the Latino/a/x/Hispanic population, including differences in country, generation, sex, ethnicity, and more. We proceeded full steam ahead to create an acute awareness of this issue.

A website was then established, detailing the day and providing actionable items on how to participate. Deliberately, the decision was made that no single person would own the day, and that all Latinos and Latinas would come together. A letter was created for easy dissemination to any institution about the day, and this was sent across the country to various institutions. The hashtags #nationallatinophysicianday and #nationallatinxphysicianday were coined for the event.

We then sought collaborations and buy-in from the Latino medical and surgical societies. This resulted in multiple meetings where we declared our intentions and received universal approval that this was something our community needed. We also sought the approval of many entities, as detailed in Table 1. We obtained support from the American Medical Association, California Medical Association, and the California General Surgeon. The National Latino Medical Association created a second version of the T-shirt and further promoted it within their national chapters, which included live events. Equally, if not more importantly, were the direct connections we established via social media with other Latinos and Latinas willing to contribute effort to create live events with media coverage and social media engagement to inspire others for the day. Institutions collaborated to organize live events, including Stanford, AltaMed, and Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles.

Table 1: Sponsors/Partners for National Latino/a Physician Day. Latino/a/x Organizations:

American Association of Latino Orthopedic Surgeons

#Latinas in Medicine

Latinas in Medicine Nonprofit, Inc.

Latino Medical Student Association

Latino Surgical Society

Latinos in Pediatrics

Latino/a Plastic Surgery Society

Latinx Physicians of California

Medical Organization for Latino Advancement

Mimentor

National Hispanic Medical Association

Salud America!

Salud Con Tech

The Latino Coalition Against COVID-19 National and State Organizations:

Alta Med Southern California

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

American Academy of Pediatrics, North California Chapter

American Medical Association

American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons

American Society of Anesthesiologists

Association of American Medical College

California Society of Anesthesiologists

Infectious Diseases Society of America Foundation

Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America

San Bernardino County Medical Society

Stanford School of Medicine (Office of Diversity and Medical Education)

Kaiser Permanente Southern California

Kaiser Permanente LatinX Association

Nicklaus Childrens Health System

Northwest Community Healthcare

Office of the California Surgeon General

Swedish Hospital Chicago

University California San Diego School of Medicine

University of California San Francisco, Office of Diversity & Outreach

Valley Childrens Pediatric Residency

Our message for National Latino Physician Day was simple and threefold: 1) Appreciate those who are giving back to their community, 2) Recognize that 6% representation is insufficient and that we are severely underrepresented in the United States, and 3) Motivate the next generation of Latino and Latina physicians to join our ranks in this challenging field for the betterment of our patients.

What resulted was the largest movement to date of Latino and Latina physicians across the United States, with over 1000 separate and personal posts containing photos and videos on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok (Figure 2). Our social media impact included 14 million impressions, surpassing the level of engagement that an average national medical conference would achieve by tenfold (Figure 3). Live events took place across the United States at various institutions, hospitals, and medical schools. More significant than the numbers were the incredible stories that were shared by many within the medical community. Numerous students and physicians expressed pride in this movement and felt recognized.

Figure 2: Instagram posts for National Latino/a Physician Day.

Figure 3: Social media data from brand mentions, including over 1,000 posts from across the country.

Whats next? A yearly and unwavering NLPD movement for the medical community and the public, generating change and addressing the lack of Latino and Latina physicians. This is not merely a day for creating generic clipart social media posts, but rather a day of action for institutions, government bodies, universities, medical schools, hospitals, and more. While the solution is complex, raising awareness is the first step in creating palpable change.

Find out more about National Latino Physician Day.

Michael Galvez is an advocate for improving diversity in medicine and a pediatric hand surgeon. He can be reached on Twitter and Instagram @michaelgalvezMD. His parents immigrated from Lima, Peru, and he grew up in the Bay Area. He attended Diablo Valley Community College, transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, and attended Stanford University for medical school and residency. He completed two fellowships in hand surgery. He is the director of pediatric hand surgery, Valley Childrens Hospital, Madera County, CA. He values the importance of true mentorship and founded National Latino/a Physician Day, celebrated on October 1st.

Cesar Padilla is an obstetric anesthesiologist and can be reached on Twitter @themillennialmd.
Government

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Violations resolved before FEMA changes policies in Monroe County

At least 1,913 floodplain violations will most likely have to be rectified before the federal government will loosen restrictions on downstairs enclosures.

At the request of local Realtors and title agents, Monroe County government representatives met with FEMA Region 4 officials in Atlanta on June 23 to discuss a series of changes to county floodplain and downstairs enclosure regulations. The local real estate industry is concerned how implementation of floodplain rules could impact the sale of homes, sparking lawsuits from buyers, and has called on the county to loosen the restrictions.

On Aug. 7, Monroe County received a letter from FEMA regarding its finding for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Assistance Visit (CAV), which occurred in 2022, according to county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.

The visit aimed to determine the effectiveness of Monroe Countys floodplain management program as required for participation in the NFIP. Monroe County is currently a Class 3 in FEMAs Community Rating System (CRS), which shows the countys dedication to higher floodplain standards and results in a significant discount in flood insurance rates for unincorporated Monroe County NFIP flood insurance policyholders, Livengood said.

Findings from the CAV for the floodplain management program included no identifiable problems with the floodplain ordinance and that the current ordinance meets the minimum standards of the NFIP, according to Livengood. There were no findings that revealed any recent violations of the floodplain regulations, because of the countys high standards, but the visit did show more than 1,900 structures in unincorporated Monroe County listed on the National Violation Tracker that could have a potential compliance issue, Livengood said.

These potential violations are made up of structures being a foot or more below base flood elevation, Livengood said. FEMA initially raised its concerns with the NVT list when county representatives brought forward questions about changing rules in the floodplain ordinance when they met with FEMA officials in Atlanta, including eliminating the restriction that limits downstairs enclosures to no more than 299 square feet.

Per FEMAs request, on Aug. 17, Monroe County submitted a plan of action to research the structures listed on the NVT list and determine if violations exist, according to Livengood.

We have begun work to develop a comprehensive action plan with a commitment of resources and proposed schedule to address the outstanding potential floodplain concerns currently listed in FEMAs National Violation Tracker, Monroe County Building Official and Floodplain Administrator Rick Griffin said. Our preliminary analysis shows the number of properties listed on the NVT can likely be substantially reduced with submission to FEMA of documentation and information showing compliant structures.

The structures listed may comply because of being flood-proofed (commercial), found in compliance with previously passed inspections, issued a Letter of Map Change, demolished, or located outside Monroe Countys jurisdiction, according to county officials. In addition, some addresses could be on the list due to erroneous elevation certificates or inaccurate insurance reporting.

The county will proceed with an action plan for properties not compliant with the NVT list. A more-detailed action plan is expected to be submitted to FEMA by Sept. 30, Livengood said.

Property owners who think their property may be on the NVT list may see an indicator on their NFIP flood insurance bill if it shows a 0% discount under the CRS discount. Unincorporated Monroe County NFIP flood insurance policyholders see a 35% discount on their policies. If people see a zero, they should contact their insurance agent for more details on why a lesser discount is shown. This is only for unincorporated Monroe County and not for those who live within a Keys city.

The county is still developing the next steps, including seeing which properties can be removed from the list that are not in violation. Details for properties that may be in violation will be decided in the future. The Monroe County Commission will discuss the downstairs enclosure issue when it meets on Wednesday, Sept. 20, Livengood said.

To learn more about the CRS and how it works, visit https://agents.floodsmart.gov/sites/default/files/fema-nfip-crs-guide-2023.pdf.

tohara@keysnews.com
Police say they have arrested a 39-year-old Congolese national after a hand grenade exploded from his house in Nakulabye, Rubaga Division on Tuesday last week.

Police spokesperson Mr. Fred Enanga says no family member was injured.

The suspect, who has stayed in Uganda for the last four years reportedly admitted to having smuggled the grenade into the country.

No family member got injured. The family had stayed in the area for 4 years after migrating as refugees from North Kivu, Enanga said in a statement.

A safety pin, a green lead and a spoon, soil samples were retrieved for further analysis. The findings show the hand grenade exploded from the scene, to which he admitted to having smuggled into the country. Further evidence shows that he had tampered with the hand grenade, the statement reads further.

Police have meanwhile urged all refugees to abide by the Uganda laws or risk arrest and eventual prosecution.
Media houses have been urged to adopt gender-responsive mechanisms in order to address sexual harassment cases.

This after a report entitled The gendered dimensions of journalists safety in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, conducted by Africa Freedom of Information Center (AFIC) between 2016-2021 indicated that female journalists are facing extreme acts of sexual harassment, sexism, and misogyny.

The lead researcher, Brian Mutebi, noted that female journalists also reported additional threats such as blackmail, body shaming, and false accusations of relationships with married men whom they interact with at work.

He also said that defamation and cyberattacks were more common among female journalists, affecting their personal lives and mental health.

The report recommends provision of legal and psychosocial support to journalists who have been victims of the above vices.

While presenting the research findings, Mutebi, a gender media consultant, said many journalists interviewed reported instances of being phone tracked and physically trailed by unknown individuals which hampers their independence, objectivity, and freedom of expression.

He also noted physical threats against journalists like beatings, arrests, imprisonment, and kidnaps during public protests.

According to the report, male journalists faced more physical threats compared the female. It was reported that security personnel treated female journalists more fairly due to their gender strength.

Meanwhile, journalists reported inadequate support from their employers in seeking justice or protection.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament has denied allegations that the house has refused to pay Kawempe North MP Muhammed Ssegirinyas treatment abroad.

While presiding over Tuesdays plenary session, Tayebwa said that the medical board that Parliament relies on to authorize such payments has not received any application from Ssegirinya about his medical condition.

He added that the Speaker and Office of Clerk too had not received any formal information from Ssegirinya about his request for help.

We have to be pro-active and see how best the House we can help him, because the state he is in, he isnt able to come and do the application, so whoever can reach out to his relatives, please bring his documents so that we present them to the medical board to see how best our colleague can be helped, he told MPs on Tuesday.

The ailing legislator is quoted by Daily Monitor saying that he would be forced to do the hospital laundry should he fail to pay Shs80 million in hospital bills.

Ssegirinya said the Amsterdam Universitair Medische Center (UMC) hospital, Netherlands, where he has been receiving treatment since August 10 gave him the option of cleaning the hospital or washing its bedsheets if he fails to pay the money.

According to the hospital resident medicine officer, SJ Bogers, in a letter seen by Daily Monitor, Ssegirinya will require to stay in the hospital for at least another three months.
The Minister of Information and National Guidance Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, has revealed that a careful study will be needed to establish whether there is a need to scrap off some ministries under the ongoing rationalisation process of some government agencies.

This is one of the proposals Ugandans think might limit government expenditure after the World Bank announced plans to cut off funding to the country over the recently signed Anti-Homosexuality law.

Speaking on the state of governance in Uganda on Tuesday, minister Baryomunsi said it will be risky to remove ministries without a careful study, explaining that the move would affect service delivery to the community.

To scrap off miniseries will require a careful study so that you dont just by impulse say you have removed a certain ministry. There is a way government is structured and ministers supervise activities under their dockets. So you are not just going to wake up and say I have removed the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education because you might affect the services which are provided under that ministry, Baryomunsi said on Tuesday.

He explained that over the last few years, government has been studying the operations of government agencies and Cabinet took a decision to either merge or remove some agencies. Government also considered returning some agencies to their mother ministries without losing their functions.
By AFP

Somalias government announced Sunday a ban on social media platforms TikTok and Telegram and an online betting app, saying they were being used by terrorists to spread propaganda.

The move comes ahead of a much anticipated second phase of a military offensive against Al-Shabaab, the Islamist militant group that has been waging a bloody insurgency against the central government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years.

In a statement, the ministry of communications and technology ordered internet service providers to implement the ban by August 24 or face unspecified legal action.

In a bid to accelerate the war and elimination of the terrorists who have shed the blood of the Somali people, the minister of communication and technology instructs companies that provide internet services to suspend TikTok, Telegram and 1XBET betting applications, which terrorists and groups responsible for spreading immorality use to spread graphic clips, photos and mislead society.

The army has been waging an offensive against the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab in central Somalia since August last year, joining forces with local clan militias in an operation backed by African Union troops and US air strikes.

Al-Shabaab fighters were driven from the capital Mogadishu in 2011 but still control swathes of countryside and continue to wage deadly strikes on civilian, political and military targets despite the government offensive.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to rid the troubled Horn of Africa country of the jihadists and is expected to announce shortly a second phase of the offensive against them in southern Somalia.
St Luke's General Hospital has announced the lifting of Covid-19 visiting restrictions after almost three weeks of the measures.

In a statement released this afternoon, the hospital said:

"St Lukes General Hospital, Carlow/Kilkenny can confirm that the hospital is now in a position to lift COVID visiting restrictions in certain areas. However, visitor restrictions will continue for four wards (Medical 1, Medical 2, Surgical 1, Barrow Ward) which will be limited to one visitor per patient for 30 minutes.

For other wards, visiting restrictions will be lifted and visiting times will revert to 2pm  4pm, 6.30pm  8.30pm. It is important to note that all visitors will be required to wear face masks in all clinical wards."

The statement concluded by saying: "The Hospital management and staff would like to reiterate their thanks to the public of Kilkenny and Carlow for their patience and understanding at this time."

For further information you can contact St Luke's General Hospital on 056 778 5000.
Gardai have warned Kilkenny students to be cautious of fraudulent accommodation notices as the search for a place to stay ahead of the new third level academic term begins.

Doing your research, using trusted money transfer systems and meeting the landlord for a viewing of the property are amongst the tips Gardai are offering.

Students are asked to be 'weary' of rent notices that are only advertised through social media, incidents where the landlord will only communicate via WhatsApp/Messenger or when immediate payment is being demanded.

Gardai are also urging students to never give personal, financial or security information to persons who are unknown to them and to insist on a payment receipt and a tenancy agreement.

Garda stations in Co Kilkenny and across the country deal with accommodation fraud on an annual basis. In July 2023, Gardai received a number of complaints from renters who corresponded with bogus advertisers.

- A 25-year-old female responded to an advertisement regarding an apartment for rent. The woman was given details of a Revolut account over email and she transferred 1,200 as the first months payment and deposit. No keys were provided for the apartment.

- A 20-year-old female transferred 7,400 to a landlord in the Netherlands for accommodation. When she went to the Netherlands to obtain keys of the rented property, the landlord failed to meet her, ignored her phone calls and ultimately blocked her phone number. She subsequently learned the property was never up for rent.

According to a Garda spokesperson, over 50% of victims of accommodation fraud are aged under 25, approximately 55% of victims are female with 33% of cases reported between August and September each year.

Kilkenny students attending college away from home for the first time can avail of on-site accommodation in most third level institutes, while further details of off-site locations are also listed on your chosen university's website.

For further Garda information on fraud prevention, visit: www.garda.ie
Sinn Fein TD for Carlow-Kilkenny Kathleen Funchion, has called on management within the National Car Test Service to explain their decision to move to a cashless, pre-pay model of payment in the coming months.

The announcement was made yesterday by the NCT, and has been met with confusion and anger by members of the public.

Speaking today, Teachta Funchion said that this announcement was made with little follow-up information.

"The only information motorists currently have is that at some stage in the coming months, centres in Carlow and Kilkenny will stop accepting cash payments," she said.



"According to the announcement, NCT will only accept a pre-payment made online or by postal order. Motorists have been left without the basic information here, including a start date for the introduction of the new pre-pay model.



"I have made contact with NCT senior management and asked for a detailed explanation of this upcoming change, and indeed how they have reached this decision in the first place.



"Given the technical and digital difficulties weve seen with some of our long-standing banks over the last number of months, people are  quite rightly  concerned about moving towards online payments and cashless transactions.

"This announcement was a bolt from the blue which has shocked and angered the public. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, its understandable that many people wait until the day of their NCT to pay at the centre because they simply do not have the money until then."NCT need to re-think this decision."
Last fall, my worst fear as a renter became a reality: A pipe burst in the apartment directly above mine, flooding my apartment. What made the situation even worse was that I got the news when I was out of town visiting family. I panicked, even though I was told the situation was being handled. There were three questions running through my head that weekend: How many of my belongings were destroyed? How long would the repairs take? And what would my renters insurance cover?

What does renter's insurance cover?

Ever since I relocated to the Washington, D.C., area from Michigan, Ive rented  and had a renters policy (some apartment complexes and landlords require tenants to have one).

In general, a renters policy covers three basics: your liability, personal possessions and living expenses in the event your apartment becomes uninhabitable. The policies typically cover losses from a burglary, vandalism, windstorms and certain types of water damage  which is where things get confusing.

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If my apartment had flooded because of a hurricane, I would have been out of luck, because most renters policies dont cover flooding that comes from outside your building. But a burst pipe falls into the accident category, which is usually covered. To file a claim, I logged on to my Liberty Mutual insurance account from my smartphone. I received text message updates throughout the process from the agent handling my claim.

Premiums and deductibles

As with any other insurance coverage, renters insurance has deductibles and coverage limits that all factor into the cost of the policy and the amount youll be reimbursed. My policy, which costs $18.50 a month, covers $15,000 in personal property and provides liability coverage of $100,000 and guest medical coverage of $1,000. My deductible is $500. The average monthly premium for renters insurance is about $12 a month for $30,000 in personal property coverage, according to NerdWallet.com. (If you have auto insurance, you may be able to get a discount of about 5% by buying your renters insurance from the same company.)

You may want more coverage, especially for personal property, if you have high-end furniture, designer clothes or a lot of tech in your apartment. Before you decide which policy is best for you, take an inventory of your belongings and how much they cost. You can either keep a spreadsheet online in the cloud (which is something I should have done) or use an app such as Encircle to create your list.

Additional coverage for disaster damage and losses

If youre worried about flooding, review your local flood maps to see if youre at risk. Go to http://fema.gov/flood-maps and scroll down to the FEMA Flood Map Service center to find your community flood map. If you live in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, you may be able to purchase a separate flood insurance policy from FEMA to protect your belongings. Policies start at $99 a year for $100,000 of contents-only coverage.

If youre concerned about other disasters destroying your belongings, you should consider buying a renters insurance policy with a high personal property limit. Coverage amounts start as low as $15,000 and can go up to $500,000. If you have expensive electronics or jewelry, you may want to add an insurance rider (if one is available) because your standard personal property coverage may not be enough to replace them. Coverage with higher personal property limits is usually inexpensive.

Replacement coverage or actual cost coverage

Once youve accounted for all your items, youll have to decide whether to get replacement coverage or actual cash value coverage. The former, which I have, replaces the items at full cost, and the latter factors in depreciation. Replacement coverage costs about 5% more, but Penny Gusner, at Insurance.com, says its worth it.

You have to compare how much you would get for your used television or computer to how much it would cost to replace it with something new and similar, says Gusner. You could end up spending more in the end if you go with actual cash value, she says. Some online companies are automatically giving replacement coverage as your only option.

Its also important to consider any insurance riders that could be available to you. For example, my policy offered additional home computer coverage of $5,000, which I added to protect my expensive MacBook.

In the end, I filed my claim only to discover that the amount of my losses was less than my deductible. I wasnt surprised, but I was hoping to get something for my troubles. Ill definitely start keeping an inventory of what I have and make sure its up to date.

Bottom line

You might not own your abode, but you own what's in it. If there was a fire, flood or if your home was burgled, you would benefit from having a renter's insurance policy to help cover the costs of replacing your clothes, computer and other valuables. The value of liability coverage can't be underestimated. If a visitor or repair person injured themselves, you could face a personal lawsuit.

If you work from home consider a stand-alone business insurance policy that can offer more robust coverage and with higher coverage limits. This type of policy can provide better coverage limits for business equipment and liability over a typical renter's policy. These policies are good for a business that has visitors coming and going.

Renters can also buy coverage from FEMA to cover damages caused by flooding that comes from the outside. This is wise to consider as regular policies don't cover this type of flood damage. In the case of a Presidentially declared disaster, renters are also eligible for temporary housing assistance and Critical Needs Assistance (CNA), a one-time payment that can help pay for life-saving and life-sustaining items such as prescriptions, food and diapers.
In the FLAIROP research project, autonomous robots process articles at several picking stations by means of gripping and transferring. (Photo: Amadeus Bramsiepe, KIT)

Production, warehouse, shipping - where goods are produced, stored, sorted or packed, picking also takes place. This means that several individual goods are removed from storage units such as boxes or cartons and reassembled. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), together with partners from Germany and Canada, want to make picking robots smarter using distributed AI methods. To do this, they are investigating how to use training data from multiple stations, from multiple plants, or even companies without requiring participants to hand over sensitive company data.

"We are investigating how the most versatile training data possible from multiple locations can be used to develop more robust and efficient solutions using artificial intelligence algorithms than with data from just one robot," says Jonathan Auberle from the Institute of Material Handling and Logistics (IFL) at KIT. In the process, items are further processed by autonomous robots at several picking stations by means of gripping and transferring. At the various stations, the robots are trained with very different articles. At the end, they should be able to grasp articles from other stations that they have not yet learned about. "Through the approach of federated learning, we balance data diversity and data security in an industrial environment," says the expert.

Powerful algorithms for industry and logistics 4.0

"Until now, federated learning has been used predominantly in the medical sector for image analysis, where the protection of patient data is a particularly high priority," explains Auberle. Consequently, he says, there is no exchange of training data such as images or grasp points for training the artificial neural network. Instead, only the local weights of the neural network, i.e. parts of the stored knowledge, are transferred to a central server. "There, the weights from all stations are collected and optimized using various criteria. Then the improved version is played back to the local stations and the process repeats." The goal is to develop new, more powerful algorithms for the robust use of artificial intelligence for industry and Logistics 4.0 while complying with data protection guidelines.

During the project, a total of four autonomous picking stations will be set up for training the robots: Two at the KIT Institute for Material Handling and Logistics (IFL) and two at the Festo SE company based in Esslingen am Neckar.

In the FLAIROP research project, we are developing new ways for robots to learn from each other without sharing sensitive data and company secrets. This brings two major benefits: we protect our customers' data and we gain speed because the robots can take over many tasks more quickly. In this way, the collaborative robots can, for example, support production workers with repetitive, heavy, and tiring tasks, says Jan Seyler, Head of Advanced Develop. Analytics and Control at Festo SE & Co. KG.

DarwinAI is thrilled to provide our Explainable (XAI) platform to the FLAIROP project and pleased to work with such esteemed Canadian and German academic organizations and our industry partner, Festo. We hope that our XAI technology will enable high-value human-in-the-loop processes for this exciting project, which represents an important facet of our offering alongside our novel approach to Federated Learning. Having our roots in academic research, we are enthusiastic about this collaboration and the industrial benefits of our new approach for a range of manufacturing customers, says Sheldon Fernandez, CEO, DarwinAI.

The University of Waterloo is ecstatic to be working with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a global industrial automation leader like Festo to bring the next generation of trustworthy artificial intelligence to manufacturing. By harnessing DarwinAIs Explainable AI (XAI) and Federated Learning, we can enable AI solutions to help support factory workers in their daily production tasks to maximize efficiency, productivity, and safety, says Dr. Alexander Wong, Co-director of the Vision and Image Processing Research Group, University of Waterloo, and Chief Scientist at DarwinAI.

About FLAIROP

The FLAIROP (Federated Learning for Robot Picking) project is a partnership between Canadian and German organizations. The Canadian project partners focus on object recognition through Deep Learning, Explainable AI, and optimization, while the German partners contribute their expertise in robotics, autonomous grasping through Deep Learning, and data security.

KIT-IFL: consortium leadership, development grasp determination, development automatic learning data generation.

KIT-AIFB: Development of Federated Learning Framework

Festo S.E.: development of picking stations, piloting in real warehouse logistics

University of Waterloo (Canada): Development object recognition

Darwin AI (Canada): Local and Global Network Optimization, Automated Generation of Network Structures

Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are firmer again in early U.S. trading Tuesday. More short covering and perceived bargain hunting are featured in the two precious metals, after both recently hit five-month lows. December gold was last up $8.60 at $1,931.80 and September silver was up $0.145 at $23.48.

(Note: For exclusive market forecasts and intermarket insights, sign up to my new weekly Markets Front Burner newsletter, at https://www.kitco.com/services/markets-front-burner.html )

Asian and European stock markets were mixed in quieter overnight trading. U.S. stock indexes are pointed to higher openings when the New York day session begins.

Traders and investors are looking ahead to the late-week annual Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This meeting usually produces some market-sensitive news from world central bankers comments, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is scheduled to speak at the confab on Friday.

The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index slightly lower, while Nymex crude oil futures prices are near steady and trading around $80.00 a barrel. The benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note is presently fetching 4.308%.

U.S. economic data due for release Tuesday includes the weekly Johnson Redbook retail sales index, the Richmond Fed business survey, and existing home sales.

Technically, the gold futures bears have the firm overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a three-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls next upside price objective is to produce a close in December futures above solid resistance at $1,980.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,900.00. First resistance is seen at $1,938.20 and then at $1,950.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $1,922.20 and then at this weeks low of $1,913.60. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.
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(Kitco News) - Despite the current selling pressure, one mining executive continues to see resilience in the marketplace, and it could be only a matter of time before gold and silver push back to all-time highs.

In a recent interview with Kitco News, Randy Smallwood, CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE: WPM), said he remains optimistic that gold prices can regain their luster and their bull-market run. He added that investors should keep an eye on silver if they want to know when gold is ready to move.

Smallwood noted that despite the solid selling pressure in the precious metals market, silver has held key support levels. Despite four weeks of falling prices, silver has managed to hold support at around $22.50 an ounce.

At the same time, December gold futures have managed to hold support above $1,920 an ounce. Smallwood said he sees gold and silver building a solid foundation at current support levels. December gold futures last traded at $1,924.20 an ounce. At the same time, September silver futures last traded at $23.

I continue to scratch my head at why silver hasn't moved, but perhaps it's because we're not in a precious metal bull cycle yet, he said. The fact that the silver price is where it is supports that argument: we have much more upside in the market. Every precious metals bull market that we've seen in history usually starts with gold going for a run, gradually increasing, and then silver wakes up and as gold hits its peak, silver shoots past it and outperforms

Smallwood said that he is not surprised gold and silver are finding support at elevated levels as both precious metals have sound fundamentals. He noted that the growing de-dollarization trend in the global marketplace remains an essential pillar of support for gold.

The comments come as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as the BRICS nation, host a world summit to potentially increase their ranks. Analysts expect that gold will play an important role as a monetary metal and source of value among BRICS nations.

I do think the BRICS summit demonstrates that there is serious money betting against the US dollar remaining the worlds reserve currency, he said. If any currency is going to compete with the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, it needs to be backed by gold.

Looking at silver, Smallwood said that it is impossible to be bearish on silver when you look at the metals long-term fundamentals. He added that the world will not be able to reach its net-carbon neutral goals without more silver.

Silver is going to see increasing industrial demand and what it really needs is for investors on the retail side to wake up a little bit, he said. When that happens, you will see what silver does best.

Along with golds long-term fundamentals, Smallwood said that even in this lackluster environment, there is growing investor interest in the precious metals market.

Smallwood said while on promotional tours in North America and Europe, about 40% of the people they talked to were potentially new investors.

There is definitely an elevated interest in gold and silver. While it might not be translating into direct demand right now, that could change fairly quickly. Everyone is watching and waiting and repairing and trying to understand a bit more about the space, he said. Gold is getting set up to play a bigger role in the global economy.

Smallwoods comments come after Wheaton Precious Metals reported solid second-quarter earnings. The precious metals streaming company said it generated $265 million in revenue, $202 million in operating cash flow, $141 million in net earnings and $143 million in adjusted net earnings in the second quarter of this year.

The company said its revenues were down 12.5% from the second quarter of last year. At the same time, the company said it produced 147,699 gold equivalent ounces (GEO) in the second quarter, a decrease of 5.3% compared to Q2 2022.

However, Wheaton said that its cash operating margin came in at $1,487 per GEO sold, an increase of 8% compared with the second quarter of 2022. The company added that its increased margin resulted from a higher-realized price per ounce.

Smallwood said that his company is on track with its long-term growth potential. He added that the company wants to boost its annual gold production of over one million ounces.

I truly believe that we're on a path to make Wheaton incredibly unique and standalone in the precious metals space, he said. In the first quarter conference call, I said: We will have growth every quarter for the next five years and we are following through with that. In nearly 20 years, I've never been more excited about where our company is going and what we have coming at us over the next five years.
A guest post by Carl Cerecke of NMIT | Te Pukenga:

The TEU is losing its understanding of what its purpose is. In a time of university cuts and Te Pukenga shambolics, the TEU is spreading its focus to social and ideological issues that, while arguably important, have the capacity to dilute and weaken the union's core focus on advancing the industrial and professional rights of members, advocating for members with their employers, and upholding academic freedom. While the current TEU president stated in 2022 that Industrial matters are the heart of any union, the changes voted in at the May national conference (and at previous conferences) are crowding out that heart with side issues.

The two most controversial changes are a move to a co-governance and an expanded set of purposes beyond industrial relations: Co-governance will be with a large 24-member (12 Maori, 2 Pasifika, 10 non-racially-specified) council. The purposes are collected under 5 headings: Mana Tiriti, Mana Mahi, Mana Taurite, Mana Matauranga, and Mana Taiao. Let us consider the changes to the purposes first and the changes to the governance second.

As well as the standard purposes expected of a union in the tertiary education sector, the new purposes also include these statements: The Union shall advocate for a tertiary education system that is accessible to all; acknowledges, values, and validates Matauranga Maori and cultural provision and The Union will take action to transform the relationship of the Union and the tertiary education sector with Te Taiao (Papatuanuku and Ranginui) by supporting climate justice, just transitions and kaitiakitanga of the natural environment. Note that I'm not arguing against these ideas here (for some ideas it is not even clear what the union means), I'm only arguing that these should not be part of the core purpose of a union.

Here are some reasons to reject the broadening of the purpose of the union:

The Conflicting Purposes argument: Having many purposes means that situations will arise where the purposes are in conflict. Perhaps a university wants to ban cars over a certain age from parking in the car park in order to lower the university's carbon footprint. This then would have the effect of discriminating against some staff by preventing them from parking on campus. Would the union side with the staff member or with climate justice? How does the union decide how to prioritise the purposes when those purposes are in conflict? The more purposes we have, the more likely they are to be in conflict, and the more arguments there will be about how to resolve those conflicts. See also the Division argument.

The Dilution argument: More purposes mean a wider range of possible actions to fulfil those purposes. With finite resources, the union may find itself under-resourced in dealing with many areas rather than being adequately resourced for the core union purpose. If a member needs help with an unjustified dismissal but can't get adequate help because resources were instead spent on planting trees, then no matter how much we all love trees, that member has not been adequately served by the union.

The Division argument: More purposes mean more disagreement amongst members about what those purposes mean, how to actively pursue those purposes and how to prioritise those purposes. It's not enough to say that the council will decide these issues; the more purposes you have, the more opportunity for disagreement with what the council decides. Unity is an idea at the very heart of a union (it's in the name!). To promote purposes that will stoke division is counterproductive and weakening.

The Hypocrisy (or Power) argument: Unions help counteract the natural power imbalance between employer and employee. By expanding the purpose of a union too far, the very overreach of power that we wish to curtail in employers is the same sort of overreach in power that the union leadership seems to be striving for.

The Academic Freedom argument: One aspect of academic freedom in Aotearoa is to question and test received wisdom, to put forward new ideas and to state controversial or unpopular opinions. This academic freedom could come into direct conflict with some of the proposed purposes. Perhaps an academic sees little value in an element of Matauranga Maori. If the academic is then discriminated against for their unpopular opinion, would the TEU support that academic against discrimination? Or would they instead support the proposed purpose to value Matauranga Maori? There will be similar academic freedom issues with the slippery neologism climate justice, along with other aspects of the proposed purposes. See also the Conflicting Purposes argument.

The Boomerang argument: In a conflict situation with an employer, the employer could use the union purposes against us. Perhaps an organisation fires 10% of its workforce, and claims reducing its carbon footprint in the name of climate justice as one of the motivations. The organisation could legitimately point out that the purposes of the union support its action to some degree, weakening the position of the union. See also the Conflicting Purposes argument.

The Boundary argument: There is no clear boundary between causes that are in the proposed purposes, and those without. There are many worthwhile causes in the world. What qualifies (or disqualifies) a cause to becoming a purpose of the union? What idea unifies the proposed purposes? I have seen no justification for why the current proposed purposes have been chosen over other possible purposes. I was told that climate justice is important to the union because we can't teach on a dead planet. Well, we can't teach in a country wrecked by war either, but world peace isn't a purpose of the union.

The Legal argument: Section 14(1)(c)(i) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 requires a union's rules to be not unreasonable. Given the preceding arguments, perhaps a case could be made that the proposed purposes are unreasonable and as a result legally disqualify the TEU from being a union.

And now on to co-governance.

The co-government arrangement is a rather large 24-member council (up from 17) which is split into two sets of 12. There are 12 titles from president on down, and for the most part, each title has a Maori position and a Tangata Tiriti (non-Maori) position. It's not specified in any way how the council will run with two presidents.

In order to justify co-governance in the union, there must be a clear line of reasoning from Te Tiriti to the council makeup of the TEU. Perhaps we might disagree with the reasons, but the line of reasoning should at least be there. But it is not. There are some attempts on the TEU YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@NZTEU) but these range from uselessly vague to embarrassingly weak. We are warned that if we don't like it then we are racists: if you're uncomfortable, there's a really nasty reason why you might be feeling uncomfortable (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXHWoErPCBQ). While I'm not uncomfortable with a Te Tiriti led union, I just don't see any reasonable justification for it. In the same video, the union's description of kawanatanga from Te Tiriti article one is dismissed as administrative governance, so pretty much just looking after things whereas tino rangatiratanga in article two is described as ultimate sovereignty over the land. This unbalanced view of Te Tiriti is not a solid foundation on which to build an argument for co-governance.

Another video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Na04ykJsKM) declares that kawanatanga in the first article is about Hapu granting the British the right to govern the non Maori people. This seems like a bizarre claim for the meaning of kawanatanga; it doesn't seem to fit with article three, and I've not seen any evidence in support of this interpretation. Again, not a solid foundation on which to build an argument for co-governance.

Even if you support these positions, it's still a long way to go from a treaty between the Crown and Maori to co-governance of the TEU. The TEU is not a Crown agency; why should co-governance apply? This question is briefly raised in another video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSXZ7ryJl44) but is answered with mush about how we should embrace the learnings and the opportunity of that relationship and that covenant. It's about including people and it's not about one on top of the other. It's about doing it together. That may well be true of Te Tiriti, but unless I'm missing something, it still doesn't explain why we should set aside half of the TEU council seats for Maori.

Now I'm not necessarily against co-governance in principle. Perhaps a good case can be made for certain governance situations, but I don't see a case for the TEU.

The sad fact is that the TEU doesn't trust its members to make the right decisions. Here's another gem from the video: The other thing with the rules too is that they are often reinforced by democracy, so if the majority is all of one gender, one ethnicity, one way of thinking, then they are the one that get that major voice, so it doesn't reflect the rest, so yes they really do need to be changed so they do reflect all of the membership of the TEU, now and in the future. Even though the TEU has arguably the best educated members out of any union in NZ, the TEU leadership doesn't trust them with a vote because they see members of each of these groups as thinking the same way! This is ridiculous considering that if you have 3 academics in a room, you probably have 4 different points of view. It's even more sinister though: what do you do as leadership once you've convinced yourself that democracy is not good enough? Well then, we'll just make the right decisions for you, you slavish group-thinkers. And if you're uncomfortable with that then you're racist.

The social activists are taking over and don't want to be challenged: we're not just interested in our pay, in our working conditions. We're interested in the world, and where we can advance issues of racial justice (Dr. Heather Came). Solve the world's problems in your own time with your own resources and refocus the TEU on our pay and working conditions.

There's a legal point here too: Section 14(1)(c)(iii) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 states that the society's rules are not unfairly discriminatory or unfairly prejudicial. I'm no lawyer but it seems to me that a case could be made that the racial segregation of setting aside half of the council seats for Maori is not compatible with that law.

All is not lost. There's still time.

Our national president (https://teu.ac.nz/news/proud-but-plenty-more-to-do/) assures us that Through all these changes the industrial work of the union has not changed. Our role as an industrial union is to fight for the rights of workers, represent workers' interests, and work to improve the wages and conditions for all our members. This will always be our core work. This is comforting to read, but this sentiment of having a core purpose to a union is unfortunately not reflected in the stated purposes of the union. What will the union look like 5-10 years from now? The thin end of the wedge is firmly in place; with repeated small taps we could end up having so many areas competing for attention that we forget why we exist in the first place.

It seems unreasonable to complain about the union losing its way without making some suggestions about how it can find its way again. And to be clear, I don't think the union has lost its way; it has just got distracted by other social issues that many in the leadership also care about. I have two suggestions for union leadership: 1. Create an online member's discussion forum, and 2. Let members vote for these sorts of important changes directly.

First, the forum: Currently any TEU news is strictly controlled by the TEU leadership. Providing a forum facility for member discussion of each piece of union news as well would provide a voice to the ordinary union membership. And not just about TEU news, but member-initiated articles as well. There are plenty of software solutions that can enable this in a member's only portion of the website. Let's give a voice to the common members.

Second, voting: The union already has facilities in place for member-wide voting. Why not use that for these sorts of decisions. When I have informed local union members that climate justice is part of the purpose of the union, they have responded with wide eyed incredulity. And climate justice made it into the purposes at a previous national meeting, not this year's! How is it that our members have been so poorly informed that they don't know this? If adding climate justice to the union's purpose was put to a member-wide vote, and they had a forum to discuss it first, would it have made it in? Perhaps the TEU leadership doesn't trust its members to make the Right Decision.

These two suggestions would give some power back to the union members. Surely that is sentiment is compatible with a union. Let us not let the union become like the very organisations it fights against.

Finally, I have come to see that the more I learn, the more vastly my ignorance outweighs my knowledge. As such the opinions herein, while firmly expressed, are lightly held. If I've got it wrong somewhere I'm open to discussion.

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...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 25 expected. * WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest, and west central Illinois. Portions of central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From 10 PM this evening to 10 AM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. &&
Tempers flared August 21 in the small town of Marion, Kansas, over the controversial raid of a city councilwoman, a local newspaper office, and its owners home. The agenda for the first city council meeting, since the search warrants were served, made it clear in all capital letters and a string of exclamation points that the council would not discuss that issue, but Vice-Mayor Joan Herbel, whose home was also searched, spoke up outside after the meeting concluded.
S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
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After the dating rumor between (G)I-DLE Soyeon and Moon Se Hoon arose, the "Single's Inferno" star's agency was quick to reveal the real score between the two who were spotted in a department store together.

Green Snake E&M Speaks Out on Moon Se Hoon & (G)I-DLE Soyeon's Dating Rumor

Rumors of a romantic relationship between Jeon Soyeon (25), the leader of the girl group (G)I-DLE, and Moon Se Hoon (28), a broadcaster and businessman who starred in "Single's Inferno," are expected to end after the reality star's agency finally broke its silence.

The dating speculations ignited when Soyeon and Se Hoon were spotted together spending time at a clothing store inside a department store located in Apgujeong.

Looking at the two stars in the candid shot, Se Hoon was seemingly surprised after seeing someone take their photo, while Soyeon looked either unaware or unbothered.

As soon as the photo of them circulated on various online communities and social media platforms, suspicions were raised that the two of them were in a relationship.

On August 21 then, Moon Se Hoon's agency Green Snake E&M put an end to the rumor and released its official position, saying:

"They are only just close friends. It's not a dating rumor at all."

The company explained:

"Who would go to the department store so openly if they are really dating? Moon Se Hoon has a bright and cheerful personality, so he has many close friends around him. He recently had to go shopping for clothes, but it seems like (Soyeon) happened to go with him. They are close but it's not deep. It is known that Moon Se Hoon is close to many celebrities, not only to Soyeon."

How Jeon Soyeon & Moon Se Hoon's Dating Rumor Started

Meanwhile, the dating rumor has been lingering in Chinese online communities since July when the OP claimed that they saw Soyeon and Se Hoon in Galleria Mall in Seoul.

They even dropped the exact location and the store that they visited, which is Wooyoungmi brand that sells mens clothes.

At the time, it caused a huge surprise to fans and netizens as there is no significant connection between the two known to the public, and their combination confused web users. Due to the warm atmosphere between the two, people were quick to speculate that they are dating.

Soyeon, born in 1998, debuted as (G)I-DLE in 2018. She was recognized for her musical capabilities by directly producing the group from their debut song "LATATA" to "Nxde."

As for Moon Se Hoon, he was born in 1995 and runs a Western restaurant as a businessman and broadcaster who made his face known through Netflix's "Solo Hell" in 2021.

In April, he signed an exclusive contract with CRB E&M (Green Snake Media).

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: (G)I-DLE Soyeon Relationship 2022: Did She Date Changmo?

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Eunice Dawson.
Plagiarism accusations were made against Jungkook's solo track "Seven," drawing comparisons to Fin K.L's "Time of Mask."

Read here for more details.

Composer Draws Similarities of Fin KL's 'Time of Mask' to BTS Jungkook's 'Seven'

"Seven" is now hit by plagiarism accusations.

On August 22, a Korean media outlet disclosed that the producers for Jungkook's solo debut track "Seven" have been struck with plagiarism accusations.

"Seven" was reportedly composed by five producers including Latto, Theron Makiel Thomas, Andrew Watt, Henry Walter, and Jon Bellion.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: BTS Jungkook Reigns: K-pop King Achieves 3 Weeks of Solo Supremacy on Billboard Charts with 'Seven'

According to sources, the aforementioned producers were accused of allegedly "borrowing" a scale sequence from "Time of Mask," a song from legendary girl group Fin K.L. "Time of Mask" was released in the year 2000 and is a B-side from the group's album "S.P.E.C.I.A.L."

An anonymous official who's familiar with the situation stated:

"It has been confirmed that the scale of Jungkook's 'Seven' and Fin K.L's 'Time of Mask' have melodies that can be considered identical, and this melody was composed by numerous foreign composers. I'm fully aware that some well-known Korean composers have also voiced out their take on the song and concluded that they are identical."

"Time of Mask" was also composed by producer Yang Joon Young. It was also revealed the producer had sent an evaluation request to HYBE in order to address the scale sequence of "Seven."

However, reports stated that HYBE sent an informal response saying that the issue cannot be resolved just yet since Bang Si Hyuk, HYBE's chairman, is currently on a business trip in the United States.

Regarding its similarities, the accusations mostly refer to the chorus part of Fin K.L's "Time of Mask" and the opening second verse of Jungkook's "Seven." The similarities are debatable, but it's up to listeners what to decide.

Click the two songs below:

BTS Jungkook's 'Seven' Places 3 Consecutive Weeks on Billboard's Global Charts

In other news, Billboard released their newest chart for the week ending on August 12. It was revealed that Jungkook's solo track "Seven (feat. Latto)" reigned supreme at No. 1 on both Billboard's Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S Charts.

Jungkook became the first-ever Korean soloist to maintain three consecutive weeks at No. 1 on both charts, creating an impressive accomplishment for his solo career.

Apart from these charts, "Seven" also entered No. 30 on Billboard's Hot 100, making it on its top 30. Before this ranking, the song originally held on to its Top 10. Jungkook has now followed PSY as the second Korean solo artist in history to defend three straight weeks in Hot 100.

What are your thoughts on the plagiarism accusations? Let us know in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BTS Jungkook & BLACKPINK Jennie Setting New Standards of Excellence? Knetz Declare Them the Ultimate All-Rounders

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Riely Miller
Today, following his decision to be a candidate in the forthcoming general election campaign in the Netherlands, Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans has submitted his resignation as Member of the European Commission. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has expressed her gratitude to Executive Vice-President Timmermans for his many years of successful work for the Commission and the European citizens and accepted this resignation with immediate effect.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has decided to assign the role of Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal to Vice-President Maros Sefcovic. She has also decided to temporarily assign the portfolio responsibility for Climate Action Policy to Vice-President Sefcovic until the appointment of a new Member of the Commission of Dutch nationality.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: I thank Frans Timmermans for his passionate and tireless work to make the European Green Deal a reality. He has been a key member of my College of Commissioners. Thanks to his excellent contribution and strong personal engagement, we have made great strides towards meeting the EU's objectives to become the first climate neutral continent, and towards raising the levels of climate ambition globally. Frans Timmermans' contribution to the work of the Commission and to the European project goes beyond the European Green Deal. He has contributed to shaping many of the Commission's initiatives, in a true collegial style.

Executive Vice-President Timmermans also served in the European Commission in 2014-2019 as First Vice-President in charge of better regulation, inter-institutional relations, rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, before taking responsibilities for the European Green Deal in the current Commission mandate.

In this role, he coordinated the European Commission's ambitious legislative agenda to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050 and represented the EU in international negotiations on climate change.

He also coordinated the European Commission's work on the EU's biodiversity strategy, on a zero-pollution future and on the circular economy.

President von der Leyen has informed the President of the European Parliament and the Spanish Council Presidency about the arrangements made following Frans Timmermans' resignation, in order to facilitate a smooth continuation of all ongoing processes. President von der Leyen also sent a formal letter to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands including a request for a new candidate for Commissioner of Dutch nationality.

President von der Leyen wishes Vice-President Sefcovic much success in his new task. The President expects Vice-President Sefcovic to drive forward the protection of the climate and the European Green Deal with the ambition this requires.

Now that the legislative framework of the European Green Deal is largely in place and the mobilisation of unprecedented amounts of funding for decarbonisation has been secured, the time has come to take the European Green Deal to the next level and shift the focus from rules to roll-out.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: Having successfully dealt with the most challenging files in the past, Maros Sefcovic is one of the most senior and experienced members of my college. As Executive Vice-President he will be in charge of bringing the European Green Deal forward with the same priority. Following a successful legislation phase, the focus of Executive Vice-President Sefcovic will be the successful roll-out of the European Green Deal as Europe's growth strategy. Our priority will be to strengthen Industrial Clean Innovation, upgrading our grids and infrastructure for the energy transition and access to Critical Raw Materials. The implementation of the European Green Deal requires an even more intensive dialogue with industry, key stakeholders like forest owners, farmers, as well as citizens. And finally, we will continue to develop a stronger international strategy for the European Green Deal, in line with our economic and geopolitical interests. The Commission will enhance its multilateral Green Deal diplomacy in order to consolidate Europe's leadership role on global renewables and energy efficiency targets.

Zarazeno ut 22.08.2023 18:08:00 Zdroj Evropska komise en Original ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=IP/23/4223&language=en lang en
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The bail for Donald Trump's Georgia indictment, his fourth in total, has been set, and he has agreed to it. Now, the former president has announced when he will turn himself in to face justice.

According to CNN, Trump has agreed to his bail being set at a $200,000 bond and other release conditions. Now, he is planning to turn himself in and get processed at the Fulton County jail on Thursday. His lawyers, Jennifer Little, Drew Findling, and Marissa Goldberg, met with the district attorney's office on Monday to discuss the bond details and agreed on the bond.

Reports indicate that Trump's release conditions that were outlined in his bond order were "more extensive than those laid out in the others approved earlier Monday in the case." As Latin Post previously reported, the sheriff of Fulton County, Georgia has already vowed that Trump will be treated like any other suspect and will be fingerprinted and get his mugshot taken.

In the bond order, Trump, who has a history of attacking judges, opposing counsel, and opponents, is banned from using social media to target his 18 codefendants in the case. He is also not allowed to do the same for witnesses and 30 unindicted co-conspirators.

"The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice," stated the order, which was signed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

The order then specifically addressed Trump's tendencies, stating, "The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media."

READ MORE: Donald Trump Explains Why He Won't Join Republican Debate

Donald Trump and Allies Doubling Down on Election Lies After Georgia Indictment

Despite his election lies leading to two of his four indictments, Donald Trump has not slowed down on his claims that there was voter fraud in 2020 and that he was the actual winner.

Just two days after his Georgia indictment, one of his closest allies, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, was still promoting the Big Lie at an event in Missouri, even showing off a video that claimed there was election fraud against Trump.

Various recounts funded by Trump himself have shown that there were no massive amounts of voter fraud as he claimed. Court cases in the various battleground states, including Georgia, have also debunked many of his claims.

According to the Associated Press. Lindell showed a video of poll worker Ruby Freeman pulling out a standard government container full of real ballots that had to be counted. The video claimed this was fraud, but evidence has shown that she was just doing her job. Freeman was harassed by allies of Trump and coerced into admitting that she was committing voter fraud. She has since testified that she was coerced into admitting.

Atlanta, Georgia Enjoying Hosting Donald Trump Indictment

Fulton County is where Atlanta is located. This is where the Georgia grand jury indicted Trump, and this is where he will be tried. In a city where the Civil Rights movement has its roots, it is relishing in the Trump indictment.

Politico spoke with several residents, and many of them are enjoying the possibility that their city might be where Trump might finally go down. "We're getting a kick out of Trump getting booked at the Rice Street Jail," Eddie Jewell, a 54-year-old Uber driver, told Politico. "We're loving it," he added.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Election Interference Co-Conspirators Turning on Each Other

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Latest on Georgia Trump Indictment | When will the former president turn himself in? - 11Alive
President Joe Biden made a poignant visit to the fire-ravaged region of Hawaii Monday, offering his personal assessment of the destruction wrought by a devastating wildfire that left a trail of devastation in its wake, according to a recent Maui wildfire update.

The visit allowed Joe Biden to witness firsthand the aftermath of the deadliest American wildfire in over a century and evaluate the government's response, which had drawn some initial criticism from Republicans due to perceived delays in addressing the tragedy, per CNN.

Biden's trip brought him to the heart of the tragedy, where he pledged unwavering support to the affected residents.

He assured them that the entire nation stood with them during this trying time and emphasized the federal government's commitment to aiding in the rebuilding process, aligning with the vision of the Maui community.

Biden began his visit with an aerial tour of the fire-ravaged area via Marine One, gaining a comprehensive view of the destruction left behind by the flames.

He then proceeded to tour the historic town of Lahaina, which had been nearly obliterated by the inferno, directly observing the extent of the damage and expressing his empathy for the residents.

READ NEXT: Hawaii Governor Vocal on Harsh Reality of Maui Wildfire

Joe Biden Cut Vacation Short To Visit Hawaii

Interrupting their weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe region, President Biden and the First Lady, Jill Biden, flew to Lahaina for this critical visit, per KCRA.

The couple engaged with first responders and local officials, receiving comprehensive briefings on the ongoing response efforts and the challenges ahead.

President Biden appointed Bob Fenton, a senior leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated response.

This appointment solidifies the administration's commitment to supporting the community's long-term recovery process, which is expected to span several years due to the extent of the damage.

The President also expressed his determination to respect sacred lands, cultures, and traditions throughout the rebuilding process, acknowledging Lahaina's historical and cultural significance.

Maui Wildfire Update: Death Toll and Missing People

The scale of the tragedy remains evident, as reports indicate that 850 individuals are still missing following the wildfires.

Mayor Richard Bissen confirmed that 114 deaths have been verified, with 27 victims identified and 1,285 people originally reported missing now located safely, The Guardian noted.

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii provided additional insights, highlighting the challenges faced by survivors, including power and communication outages, unsafe drinking water, and the loss of essential documents.

Despite these obstacles, over 1,000 federal officials continue to be actively involved in the recovery efforts on the ground, with the administration having already disbursed over $8 million in aid to affected families.

Accompanying President Biden on his journey to his home state on Monday, Schatz emphasized that the response to the disaster was ongoing, and the region had not yet transitioned into the recovery phase.

He said, "As dire as the situation appears, it's even worse than it seems."

He elaborated that the unseen damage to utility infrastructure, the challenges faced by thousands of students attempting to navigate the upcoming school year, and the courageous actions of first responders risking their lives, often resulting in their own homes being consumed by flames, all contribute to a deeper level of crisis.

While in Lake Tahoe for vacation, President Biden has remained consistently engaged in receiving Maui wildfire updates and responses from officials through regular phone briefings, according to the White House.

READ MORE: Hawaii Governor Warns Realtors Trying To Take Advantage of Disaster Maui Wildfire

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Biden speaks in Lahaina after surveying Maui fire damage | full video - From CBS News
Donald Trump is accused of ducking his Republican opponents, particularly former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, after the ex-president announced he is skipping the Republican debates. The ex-POTUS is not just getting ridiculed by the left for not participating in the debates, but also other Republicans.

Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who now works as a senior political commentator for CNN after leaving Congress, suggested on Monday that Trump is "scared to death" of Chris Christie and noted that the former prosecutor and New Jersey Governor would "wipe the floor with him" during Wednesday's debate if he ever does join.

According to Mediaite, Kinzinger also blasted Trump for leading the Republican party to a string of election losses, saying, "He lost for the Republicans, the presidency. The Republicans have done nothing but lose since Donald Trump, and so I think if he's gonna ask for their vote he needs to come in front of them again and explain why this time, instead of being a loser, he'll be a winner. But he's not gonna do it."

The former congressman then called Trump a coward for ducking the debates and added that Christie would be pointing out Trump's cowardice during the first Republican debate that is scheduled to happen on Wednesday.

Instead of appearing at the first debate, Trump will be sitting down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an interview, which will be shown at the same time as the debate. The former president has also indicated that he does not plan to join the second debate either.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Indicted Along With 18 Allies in Georgia Election Probe

Chris Christie Slams Donald Trump, Says He Is Scared To Go to Jail After Cancelling Press Conference

While Trump is getting accused of ducking, Chris Christie continues his offensive against Trump and slammed his Republican Primary opponent for being scared of going to jail. In particular, he referenced the ongoing Georgia election meddling case where Trump canceled a press conference after he was advised by his lawyers not to go through with it.

"He never listens to his lawyers. But he listened this time, didn't he?" the former New Jersey governor told reporters on Saturday. "Why? Because he's scared. He is scared he's just a couple of steps away from that jail cell closing behind him."

Trump previously promised that he would hold a press conference and present "evidence" that he claims would "exonerate" him from the Georgia case. The former president's claims have previously been debunked by Georgia Republicans, pointing to the three Trump-funded recounts that all failed to show any evidence of voter fraud. Should he present any of his debunked evidence, he could complicate his case further, as critics point out that he is only doing this to win in the court of public opinion.

Donald Trump Lacks Respect for Republican Voters, Says Chris Christie

Christie also slammed Trump for ducking him at Wednesday's first Republican debate. The former governor of New Jersey was asked how he would feel if Trump skipped the debate.

"It shows his complete lack of respect for Republican voters," Christie answered.

The presidential candidate also addressed his recent surge in the polls in New Hampshire.

"We feel like it's really moving in our direction," he said. "Our momentum is going the right way."

READ MORE: Donald Trump Election Interference Co-Conspirators Turning on Each Other

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Republican presidential primary candidate Chris Christie calls Donald Trump a 'coward' - 11Alive
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mayor Cavalier Johnson expressed deep concern and condemnation in the wake of a violent weekend that witnessed a series of shootings, leaving four individuals dead and 20 others injured from Friday to Sunday.

As the city grapples with the Milwaukee shootings' aftermath, local leaders are urging collective efforts to curb the escalating violence.

Mayor Johnson denounced the violence as "entirely unacceptable." He called upon the community to stand against the bloodshed, per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

He highlighted the urgency of addressing the issue collectively: "Gun violence over the past weekend is entirely unacceptable in this city. My thoughts are with the shooting victims, their friends, and their families."

One particularly devastating incident occurred late Saturday night, where a shooting in the 1400 block of W. Burnham St. left nine individuals injured.

Among them were six males and three females, ranging from 16 to 42 years of age. All victims are expected to recover from their injuries.

Following the incident, a 22-year-old Milwaukee man was apprehended, and a firearm was recovered. The investigation is ongoing, with charges pending review by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

Another shooting occurred on Sunday evening in the 1300 block of W. Mitchell Street, resulting in serious injuries to a 29-year-old woman and three men aged 19, 22, and 26.

A 22-year-old man has been taken into custody regarding the incident while the investigation continues and charges are pending review.

READ NEXT: Milwaukee Police Officer Dead After Shootout

Milwaukee Shootings Caught on Video

Video footage obtained by TMJ4 captured the chaotic scenes as shots rang out, leading to people fleeing for cover.

The footage depicted the harrowing moments when different types of gunfire erupted, showing individuals assisting one another to safety.

Residents have voiced their distress over the recent surge in violence.

One long-time neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed sadness and concern about the state of their neighborhood. They called for increased security measures and policing.

12th District Alderman Jose Perez emphasized the importance of community involvement and responsible event management.

He shared that many community members are dedicated to making their neighborhood the best it can be, and they are disappointed by a few individuals' behavior that negatively affects so many lives.

City Leaders React to Milwaukee Shootings

City leaders have united in their condemnation of the violence, expressing their outrage at the Milwaukee shootings, according to CBS 58.

Mayor Johnson insisted that the criminal justice system holds those responsible fully accountable and that the Office of Violence Prevention is taking steps to mitigate the issue.

He also stressed the need for leaders and legislators to reevaluate gun laws to prevent firearms from ending up in the wrong hands.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers echoed these sentiments on social media, emphasizing the need to address violence and its underlying causes.

Speaking on behalf of the Milwaukee Common Council, Alderman Jose Perez emphasized the exhaustion the community and its leaders felt due to the recurring violence.

He urged a shift away from resorting to firearms and violence to resolve conflicts.

Alderman Perez expressed his sentiment about the unfortunate incident on Saturday, highlighting that unpermitted large gatherings are recurring.

He pointed out the lack of supervision, the absence of proper permits, and limited awareness among law enforcement and local authorities.

As he emphasized, the established event process exists for a reason - to ensure public safety and organization for such gatherings.

READ MORE: Juvenile Dead Following East Side Shooting

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Mass shooting leaves 9 people shot and injured in Milwaukee - From TMJ4 News
With 100% of the votes now counted for the 2023 Guatemala Election, Bernardo Arevalo, who went from a longshot to an unlikely leader, is now Guatemala's president-elect. Now, world leaders are congratulating him and are urging a smooth transfer of power.

Regional and international leaders have lauded the victory of the center-left anti-corruption crusader who defeated establishment candidate and former First Lady Sandra Torres during the presidential runoff election held last Sunday. He won with 58% of the votes, while Torres, an ally of current President Alejandro Giammattei, only received 37% of the votes.

US President Joe Biden was among the first to congratulate the new president-elect of Guatemala. He also congratulated the country on a "fair and peaceful" election. The US president also stressed that his government recognizes Arevalo as the true winner, which means should any shenanigans prevent him from taking the presidency, any other president would not be recognized by the US.

"Congratulations to the people of Guatemala following a fair and peaceful second round of elections, and to Bernardo Arevalo de Leon on his election," wrote Biden on social media. "I look forward to working together to foster prosperity and security in Guatemala."

Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed suit, saying the Scandinavian country is looking forward "to a democratic transition of power, respecting the popular will."

The EU also reacted to the leftist leader's win, according to Al Jazeera News, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stating, "The outcome of the vote is already very clear... It is crucial for all state institutions and all sectors of society to support and join in this effort in the interests of the country."

The Organization of American States, which sent independent observers to Guatemala, also lauded the results.

"A salute to the people and government of Guatemala for an exemplary election day, a true civic celebration," OAS Chief Luis Almagro said.

Bernardo Arevalo Likely To Face Legal Challenges to Guatemala Election Win

Despite being recognized by world leaders and foreign observers as the true winner, Arevalo's victory has made many in Guatemala's political elite scared, as the country suffers from corruption and a move to a more authoritarian rule under the deeply unpopular President Alejandro Giammattei.

As the Associated Press reported, Torres has remained silent since losing the election last Sunday, with her party releasing a brief statement that did not indicate that it would challenge the results., stating that it would take a "definitive position when the results are clarified with total transparency."

Arevalo's Seed movement has also been targeted by harassment from many government officials, with investigations looking into its validity being launched. The votes for the first round and the runoff have not been canvassed yet, which means there is still room to disqualify Arevalo and reverse the will of the people of Guatemala.

Bernardo Arevalo Following in His Father's Footsteps

Despite being considered a political outsider, Bernardo Arevalo is the son of Juan Jose Arevalo, Guatemala's first democratically elected president. His father had a legacy of social progress, according to Reuters, and the younger Arevalo is poised to follow in his footsteps.

"I'm not my father, but I'm traveling down the same road he built," the new president-elect of Guatemala said.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Election Interference Co-Conspirators Turning on Each Other

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Guatemalan Presidential Candidate Bernardo Arevalo Wins in Landslide Rejection of Ruling Elite - Democracy Now!
Ohio teen, Mackenzie Shirilla, has been handed two concurrent life sentences for the murders of her boyfriend and his friend in a tragic incident that took place in July 2022, according to Fox 8.

Shirilla, who had been found guilty on 12 counts, including murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, and drug possession, was sentenced after evidence showed she intentionally caused a high-speed crash that resulted in the deaths of 20-year-old Dominic Russo and 19-year-old Davion Flanagan.

The sentencing occurred following a trial where Cuyahoga County prosecutors successfully demonstrated that Mackenzie Shirilla deliberately accelerated and crashed into a brick wall on a dead-end street within a Strongsville business park.

The crash took the lives of her boyfriend Russo and their friend Flanagan. Shirilla, then 17 years old, was found guilty of multiple charges related to the incident.

Despite the sentencing, Shirilla will have the possibility of parole after serving 15 years in prison. Additionally, her driver's license will be permanently suspended.

During the trial, Shirilla expressed remorse, stating, "I'm so deeply sorry... Dom was my soulmate. I wish I could take all your pain away."

READ NEXT: Ohio Teen Faces Life in Prison After Killing Boyfriend

Mackenzie Shirilla Was 'Literal Hell on Wheels,' Says Judge

Prosecutors argued that Shirilla's actions were premeditated and driven by a turbulent relationship with Russo.

Two weeks before the crash, she allegedly threatened to crash her vehicle during an argument with Russo, NBC News noted.

The prosecutors presented evidence, including videos recovered from Russo's phone, that depicted Shirilla degrading and threatening Russo, even causing damage to his property.

In response to the tragedy, Judge Nancy Margaret Russo referred to Shirilla's actions as "literal hell on wheels."

She highlighted the calculated nature of the crash, noting that it occurred in a secluded area and that Shirilla had previously visited the site.

Despite the statutory sentences for the charges ranging from 15 years to life, Judge Russo had to determine whether these sentences would be served separately or concurrently. She opted for the latter, leading to dual life sentences.

Ohio Teen's Victim's Families Speak Up After Sentencing

Victims' family members voiced their pain and sorrow during the sentencing.

Dominic's brother, Angelo Russo described his brother as selfless and contrasted him with Mackenzie Shirilla, who he referred to as "the most selfish," WBTW noted.

Davion Flanagan's mother, Jaime, shared her son's aspirations to attend barber school and open his own barbershop, painting a picture of a promising life cut short.

Davyne, Flanagan's little sister, emotionally appealed for a just and lengthy sentence for Shirilla, lamenting the future that her brother would never have.

Davion Flanagan's mother, Jaime, remembered her son as an amazing soul with a heart of gold. At the same time, his sister Davyne called him a role model and a source of safety and trust.

The families of both victims implored the court to ensure a fitting punishment for the Ohio teen, Mackenzie Shirilla.

READ MORE: Several Milwaukee Shootings Leave 4 Dead, 20 Others Injured

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 'I'm So Sorry': Teen Killer Mackenzie Shirilla Breaks Down, Begs Judge for Mercy at Sentencing - From Law&Crime Network
For years, Colonel Charles A. Wikoffs military belt, coated in bronze, perched alone on his tombstone at the Historic Easton Cemetery, missing its bladed counterpart. Sometime in the mid-1900s, the local heros sword was stolen from Wikoffs final resting place.

Now, in the present, the Friends of the Historic Easton Cemetery board is holding a fundraiser to Restore the Sword by replicating Wikoffs 19th-century blade to place on his tombstone once again in memory of the Civil War and Spanish-American War veteran.

Restore the Sword, an event borne through a partnership between the cemetery and Two Rivers Brewing Company, is a two-night event scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Downtown Easton brewery, according to a release from the cemetery.

On Thursday, Two Rivers is welcoming a limited number of guests for a four-course tasting menu with dishes inspired by Wikoffs time fighting in Texas and Cuba as part of the Union Army and under future-President Teddy Roosevelt as part of the Rough Riders of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The evenings official title, Have a Left Eye with Left Eye, is a reference to Two Rivers flagship IPA, the Colonel Left Eye IPA, named for Wikoff, who gained the Left Eye nickname after losing an eye fighting in the Civil War.

A spot for Thursdays dinner, which starts at 6 p.m., are $100 each.

The second night of the fundraiser is a part of Eastons Fourth Fridays with free general admission. Starting at 5 p.m., Two Rivers will be hosting live music, a screening of the 1997 TNT miniseries Rough Riders, and reenactments, while the cemetery will be selling Colonel Left Eye merch and sharing more information about the cemetery. Therell also be food and drink (including the Colonel Left Eye IPA) available to enjoy, with proceeds benefitting the Historic Easton Cemetery.

There is a VIP experience available for Friday evenings event, starting at 6 p.m., which includes special service and appetizers in Two Rivers Seven Spirits room, a Colonel Left Eye IPA in a signature pint glass and some more Wikoff-related swag, including a t-shirt and commemorative pin. Tickets for the VIP experience are $50.

The festivities are apt for the local hero, who was born in Easton in 1837 and graduated from Lafayette College. When he was killed in the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1898, his body was brought back to Easton, where admirers turned out in droves to watch the procession of Left Eyes body to the cemetery.

The Oct. 21, 1898 edition of the Easton Express covered the funeral as a major event: All Easton, and the people for miles around, turned out to pay tribute to the memory of a brave soldier who was beloved by his comrades, honored by the country in defense of whose flag he gave his life, and respected by all who knew him.

Wikoff is buried in Section M of the cemetery. This is the cemeterys first major event since the Green Traill 5K, and itll be followed on Sept. 16 by the cemeterys second annual Community Day.

Tickets for the dinner and VIP experience, as well as more information on the event, can be found on the cemetery website, thehistoriceastoncemetery.org.

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Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
A Slate Belt townships zoning ordinances do not allow for the safest pathway into a proposed warehouse complex, according to a development companys engineer.

CRG Services Management has revised driveway plans for two proposed 786,000- and 296,000-square-foot warehouses in Plainfield Township.

The Plainfield Township Planning Commission has been reviewing development plans for the proposed buildings at a property addressed as 905 Pennsylvania Ave., also known as Route 512.

The plan is to build a road to be known as Industrial Drive that will access the site from Route 512 across from Waste Managements Grand Central Landfill entrance and extend northeast to North Broadway in Wind Gap just south of Constitution Avenue.

Three separate driveways would intersect with Industrial Drive to allow trucks and other vehicles to access the two warehouses.

The townships ordinances do not allow driveway widths for nonresidential developments to exceed 30 feet. CRG originally planned to create much wider driveways with larger turning radii at the corners.

This would allow large tractor trailers to turn smoothly in and out of the driveways, CRG engineer Matt Chartrand from Bohler Engineering said.

However, in October, the planning commission denied a waiver requesting the driveways be allowed to exceed the 30-foot maximum width.

Chartrand said it is likely trucks would be forced to drive over curbs or make wide swings into opposing traffic lanes to be able turn into the smaller 30-foot driveway width.

Planning Commissioner Robin Dingle said she was unwilling to change her opinion about denying the waiver for a larger driveway. The township officials who wrote the current zoning ordinances did so because they did not feel driveways wider than 30 feet were appropriate, she said.

There is a reason this was set, Dingle said. Truck traffic was not anticipated in the township.

Chartrand said the property is zoned for industrial use and even smaller buildings or retail businesses would require trucks to make deliveries to the site.

The use is allowable, Chartrand said. Trucks are going to use those driveways.

The revised driveway plan keeps the 30-foot width but reduces the height of curbing at the corners to be close to the roadway height. Concrete from the curbs would extend in a wide path around the corners so trucks would not be driving over grass.

Chartrand said this is a reasonable compromise that keeps the spirit of the ordinances maximum width, while providing a safer option other than trucks hopping curbs and driving over grass.

The commission indicated it would be favorable to the new plan and asked Chartrand to submit more details for further review.

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John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com.
Pennsylvania State Police are renewing an investigation into the murder of Monroe County man David Allen Gross, who was killed in 1977.

Gross, a 21-year-old Mount Pocono resident, was found on Aug. 10, 1977, beaten and strangled to death in the back of his own vehicle at the Arrow Island Lookout in the Delaware Water Gap Recreational Area, according to a news release from Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers.

The Pocono Mountain High School graduate was an employee at his fathers carpentry business and had also just started work at an art gallery. Just days before his body was found, Gross had celebrated his 21st birthday in Cresco had a party that was well-attended, according to police.

Police said that the victim may have been murdered at another location and transported to the location where his body was recovered.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation can contact the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477) or online.

All callers to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest, the solving of a crime or cold case or the location of a wanted person, fugitive or missing persons.

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Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
The Laois triathlon club which had many members competing in the Youghal Ironman, has offered sympathies to the families and friends of two athletes who died during the event.

Trilogy Triathlon Club had 14 athletes along with many supporters at the Cork event.

"Everyone in Trilogy Triathlon Club are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of fellow competitors at the Ironman weekend in Cork. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families and friends of the athletes at this very difficult time.

"We also think of the safety personnel and first responders who worked to provide medical assistance. Ar dheis De go raibh a n-anamacha," the Laois club has said.

Two men died during the swim, Ivan Chittenden, aged in his 60s from Toronto in Canada, and Brendan Wall who was in his 40s and living in the UK but originally from Co Meath.

They died during the 1.9km swim in the half Ironman. The huge event with thousands of participants had been moved from Saturday to Sunday as a result of Storm Betty.

The event continued after the swim with a 90km cycle and a long-distance run.

The event continued with a 90km cycle and a long-distance run.

The organisers of the event, Ironman Ireland also offered sympathies.

During the swim portion of Sundays race, safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognising the athletes were in need of assistance.

We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time. We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance, they said.

Triathalon Ireland, the national governing body had told the organisers beforehand that it was not possible to sanction the race, due to the adverse conditions following their water safety assessment.

Due to adverse conditions on the day, Triathlon Ireland Technical Officials confirmed to the race organisers that it was not possible to sanction the race. As there is an investigation ongoing, at this stage it would not be appropriate for us to make any further comment only to state that Triathlon Ireland will provide any assistance that the authorities require.

It offered its condolences to the families of Ivan Chittenden and Brendan Wall.
The Laois sun kindly shone on participants in a momentous outdoor school reunion held recently near the Slieve Bloom mountains.

100 years since the old Derrylamogue National School near Mountmellick first opened its doors, some of its first pupils were among those who gathered to mark its centenary last June.

They included Sheila Bennett aged in her 90s, Paddy Grehan aged 90, Joe Dunne, 88 and Paddy Dooley, 86.

They delighted everyone with their reminisces of the teaching staff and the conditions, recalling how they walked to school sometimes barefoot on summer days, right up to the 1950s.

Paddy Grehan and Joe Dunne informed the gathering that their fathers had attended the very first school back in the 1850s, which was they say built in a hollow behind the 100 year old building.

They recalled that the schoolmaster was a Mr Flaherty.

With seating provided by the local Meals on Wheels, the group sat in the playground of the newest Derrylamogue School, where they could look across the road at their former school, now sadly fallen to disrepair.

The loveliest of home baking was kindly provided by Mary McLoughlin, with sincere thanks extended to her by all who attended.

Ronnie Ridgeway had helped to organise the reunion, with Joe Bennett, Lisa Delaney, Charlie Whyte and Mary McLoughlin.

"The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all present and will be remembered as a social highlight of 2023," he said.

Maurette Maher, the retired principal of the new Derrylamogue School building, was a special guest.

She was warmly welcomed, and praised as having been part of a "teaching legacy" that began in the mid 1800s in Derrylamogue, Rosenallis. It continues to the present day, with some 85 boys and girls taught in the bright and spacious present school building.
Ukrainians who have found a sanctuary in Laois from the war raged against their homeland by Russia are planning to join their compatriots around the world in celebration of their homeland's freedom.

Refugees living in Portlaoise and other parts of Laois will gather in the county town on Thursday, August 24 for the Ukraine Independence Day at the Parish Centre organised by the Ukrainian Laois Support Association.

The day features lots of fun workshops, a display of Ukrainian national dress and a food feast of traditional Ukrainian delicacies. There will also be a performance from Irish people and other nationalities who have made their home in Laois.

The day also features what's called the biggest dream map of Ukraine 2023. People will be allowed to draw a personal map of dreams. All completed pictures will be combined into a big collage image of dreams.

"Ukrainian Independence Day holds a significant place in our nation's history, symbolizing our journey towards freedom, resilience, and unity. The event will offer a unique opportunity to experience our vibrant culture, witness traditional performances, and engage with our Laois friends," say the Ukrainian association.

Entry to the event, which runs from 1pm to 4pm, is free.

Transport has also been laid on with buses that will pick up and return people living in different parts of Laois though numbers are limited.
A boy who hails from Clane will be the MC for two events on the Lily Sessions Stage at the upcoming Playing Fields Music Festival.

Logan Kelly, who is only 12 years of age but has already establised himself as a media personality, podcaster and journalist, will be hosting the event, which will take place on the grounds of Clane GAA Club this weekend.

He explained to the Leinster Leader about how he came to be an MC: "I was approached by Niall Finnegan and Josh Fogarty the organisers of the Lily Sessions at Clane GAA to be MC on the Lily Sessions Stage this year at The Playing Fields Festival and I was delighted to be asked!

"Along with knowing me locally, Niall and Josh asked me by saying that they knew I had my podcast, Logan Sounds Off, and knew of my love of music. They felt that I had the personality to be their MC and wanted to give me the chance to gain this experience and be part of the Indie music scene," he added.

When Logan was asked why he thinks he would be suitable for the role, he replied: "I think what makes me suitable to be MC on the Lily Sessions Stage at The Playing Fields is my love of music!

"From a very young age, I have loved music and for me music is fun and it inspired me to begin Logan Sounds Off in January 2022.

"On my podcast, I interview and interact with a variety of people in the music and broadcasting industry and I was lucky enough last year to have my own 30 minute slot for four weeks, Logan Takes Over on KFM Radio and more recently I was on live TV on RTEs News2Day and Ireland AM.

"All of this experience, I think, makes me suitable to be MC."

Logan admitted that while he is nervous, he would like to think that his enthusiasm towards the event will overpower his nerves.

He elaborated: "I am really looking forward to it, and I cannot wait to see the different acts performing over the two days and I am counting down the days until I am on the Lily Sessions Stage."

Logan also thanked Niall and Josh for asking him to be their MC on the Lily Sessions Stage at The Playing Fields, as well as Clane GAA and The Playing Fields organisers Tony Tighe, Fintan Doran and Andrea Walsh.

He added: "I think it is brilliant that there is an event like The Playing Fields in Clane and they are very supportive of the community and local acts."

The Lily Sessions stage is due to kick off about 4.10pm on Friday, August 25, and at 3.30pm on Saturday, August 26.

Examples of Logan's work can be found at https://logansoundsoff.com/.
Sligo Drumcliffe, Cllr Thomas Walsh has today said that the current numbers waiting on a mental health service in our community were unacceptable and very worrying.



There are 4361 children on a waiting list for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services across Ireland, with 367 children waiting in Leitrim, Sligo, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan.

Cllr Thomas said, "At a time where we have been promised an Early Intervention Youth Mental Health Service in Sligo Leitrim for at least two years, we have just last week been made aware that a meeting will take place in the coming weeks with senior management to finalise its establishment.



"This is mind-baffling that such a critical and necessary service has been put on the back foot for almost two years.



"Even the psychologist for the service was seconded for the new service almost two years ago, yet the new project has not begun nor accepted one referral.

"Issues such as who would manage the service have been to the fore in recent months in what can only be described by Cllr Walsh as unbelievable at such a time of crisis for so many families", Sligo Drumcliffe said.

Cllr Thomas explains that the Mental Health Services for children and young people need to be restructured to attend to those suffering from mental health.

"An integrated, regulated, transparent and accountable model was now needed across our island at this time when we are now seeing an unprecedented level of referrals for Mental Health Services.

"These worrying figures come at a time when Dr Susan Finnerty, Inspector of Mental Health Services, last month advised that there were discrepancies between the wait times and experiences of children depending on where they were in the country.

"These figures don't even take into account the 16-month wait list in Sligo, Leitrim for Psychology Services for a child", added Cllr Walsh.
The Department of Transport has signed a contract with Bristow Ireland Limited to provide the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) Search and Rescue Aviation Service.

Under the terms of the contract the company will operate six helicopters and two fixed-wing planes 24/7 from four bases across Ireland - Sligo, Shannon, Waterford and Dublin Weston Airport.

For the past decade, another company - CHC Ireland - has operated the SAR contract but following a competitive tender process, Bristow Ireland Limited was selected, earlier this year, as the preferred bidder for the contract, which is worth around 700 million.

The new contract, which will be fully in place by next July, will see it provide a range of essential state services, with Bristow Ireland Limited operating six AW189 helicopters and two King Air fixed-wing aircraft.

Commenting following the signing of the contracts, Alan Corbett, Bristow's Chief Operating Officer, Government Services said: The entire team at Bristow Ireland Limited is honoured to be chosen to deliver this critical and life-saving public service for the people of Ireland. We will provide a safe, dependable, and innovative service that will deliver world-class search and rescue across the country.

Bristow Ireland Limited announced today it has signed a 10-year contract with the Irish Department of Transport to deliver search and rescue (SAR) aviation services on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard.



Read more here: https://t.co/GvfgXP7qTJ pic.twitter.com/UiPNMFCahY  Bristow Group (@Bristow_Group) August 22, 2023

In an expansion to the current aviation service for the Coast Guard, two King Air fixed-wing aircraft will provide support for Coast Guard search and rescue operations and environmental monitoring. Both planes will be based at Shannon Airport.

The 10-year contract has options to extend an additional three years, allowing for a total of 13 years for these new aviation services.

Under the new contract, Bristow will create or sustain more than 150 jobs in Ireland, ranging from specialist ground support, engineering, flight operations, and in-country maintenance and support capabilities.
Smoke billows behind the Parthenon ancient temple on the top of the Acropolis hill as a wildfire rages on the outskirts of Athens on August 22, 2023. ARIS MESSINIS / AFP

Eighteen suspected migrants were found dead on Tuesday, August 22 in a Greece forest fire near the Turkish border, as scores of firefighters battled to contain the second deadly wave of blazes to hit the country in a month. Fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios said the victims were found north of the city of Alexandroupoli.

As no local residents had been reported missing "the possibility that they are people who entered our country illegally is under investigation," Artopios said in a televised address. The area is a frequent entry point for irregular migrants.

The latest deaths pushed the overall toll from this week's fires to 20, after another suspected migrant was found dead in the area on Monday. An elderly shepherd had also been found dead north of Athens.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Greece faces recurring fires after consistent lack of prevention

Flames continued to spread unchecked in northeastern Greece as well as the islands of Evia and Kythnos and the region of Boeotia north of Athens, amid a dangerous mix of gale-force winds and temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius (106 Fahrenheit). "It's a similar situation to July," a fire department spokeswoman told AFP, referring to a wave in several parts of the country that left five people dead.

Over 60 fires had erupted in the last 24 hours, and six countries were sending help via the European Union's civil protection mechanism, the fire department said. Some 120 firefighters from Cyprus, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Serbia will pitch in, fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told state TV ERT.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Greece's Volos region struggles to rebuild after devastating fires

Evacuations

A new fire broke out Tuesday at a landfill in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos near Athens, covering the area in a noxious black cloud. Officials shut down the nearest section of the Athens ring road, and advised residents to stay indoors.

Greece's fire brigade ordered the evacuation of a district on Athens' northwestern flank. Tens of thousands of people have been urged to leave the district of Ano Liosia. Another fire broke out in the foothills of Mount Parnitha near the capitals, prompting evacuations.

Late Monday, an evacuation was ordered at the hospital of Alexandroupolis, a northeastern Greek port city located in an area where fires were raging for a fourth day. The coastguard said it had moved 65 patients to a waiting ferry at the city harbor. On the island of Evia, near the capital, officials late Monday evacuated the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where the fire has damaged poultry and pork farms.

The fire near Alexandroupolis is also threatening the national park of Dadia, one of the most important protected areas in Europe that is home to rare birds. The very hot and dry conditions which increase the fire risk will persist until Friday, according to meteorologists.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes The fires in Rhodes have spared tourism, but not the island's nature
Inside reactor number one at the Tricastin nuclear power plant, June 27, 2019. PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP

This is a first for the French nuclear industry. In a decision made public on August 10, the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) has authorized the number one reactor at the Tricastin power plant in Drome, Southeast France, to operate for up to 50 years. This announcement comes at a time when the question of the lifespan of power plants is crucial to the country's energy future. To meet the growing need for low-carbon electricity over the coming decades, the French government wants to extend all reactors, wherever possible, "to 60 years and beyond."

The ASN's opinion, communicated in mid-summer but issued as early as June 29, completes the very long process of enabling the life of the oldest reactors in the fleet  specifically, 32 separate 900-megawatt (MW) reactors  to be extended beyond 40 years. In February 2021, the ASN paved the way for this extension with a decision, which must be confirmed by a re-examination of each reactor, taking into account its specific features. Commissioned in 1980, Tricastin's number one reactor is the first to complete this in-depth review, known as the "fourth ten-yearly visit" (VD4), in 2019.

"The ASN can only issue a definitive opinion once examinations have been carried out on each reactor. EDF has submitted a report of conclusions and a public inquiry has been held, which took place at the beginning of 2022 for the Tricastin number one reactor," explained Yves Guannel, head of the aggression and safety review office in the ASN's nuclear power plant division. "The whole process has been completed for reactor one at Tricastin, and will continue in the same way for the other reactors."

Ten-year review

"The 40-year review process involves two complementary key stages, a generic phase common to all reactors of the same type, and a phase specific to each reactor, integrating local particularities such as the levels of aggression to be taken into account, or the cooling source," added EDF, which operates the 56 reactors in the fleet. "The ASN's decision on Tricastin one brings these two phases to a close."

Although French regulations do not stipulate a maximum lifespan for reactors, an assumption of 40 years of operation was made at the time of design. Every ten years, reactors undergo an in-depth review, with a view to obtaining authorization to operate for a further decade. For the fourth ten-yearly inspection, the aim was to ensure that the 32 reactors commissioned between 1978 and 1987 reached the same safety level as the most recent reactor, the Flamanville EPR, scheduled to launch in 2024.

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US President Joe Biden speaks during a community event at the Lahaina Civic Center, in the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, US, August 21, 2023. KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS

President Joe Biden on Monday, August 21, told survivors of Hawaii's wildfires that the nation "grieves with you" and promised that the federal government will help Maui "for as long as it takes" to recover after touring damage caused by the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.

Biden arrived in Maui 13 days after the wildfires that have taken at least 114 lives ravaged the western part of the island. Standing near a severely burned 150-year-old banyan tree, the US president acknowledged the "overwhelming" devastation but said that Maui would persevere through the tragedy.

"Today it's burned but it's still standing," Biden said of the tree. "The tree survived for a reason. I believe it's a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Warming and landscape change fueled deadly Hawaii wildfires

Biden and first lady Jill Biden got a close look at the devastation, seeing for themselves the hollowed homes, structures, charred cars and singed trees left in the wake of the blaze.

The Bidens lingered briefly on the tarmac after arriving at Kahului Airport to console Hawaii Governor Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as well as members of Hawaii's congressional delegation who came to the airport to greet them. The president and first lady embraced each of their greeters before boarding Marine One for an aerial tour of the damage.

They spent most of their visit in Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames. His motorcade wound through the community of block upon block of hollowed-out homes and structures, palm trees burnt to a crisp and endless debris.

The Bidens also met with first responders and were briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response. They also took part in a blessing by island elders of his visit. "We're going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild," said Biden, adding that his administration would be focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures and traditions.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Hawaii fires: How the blaze trapped residents of a seaside town

Criticism from Republicans

Biden has faced criticism from Republicans, including 2024 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, for saying too little during the first days after the catastrophe. The White House, however, has pushed back against the criticism, saying the president kept in close touch with the governor and other emergency officials throughout the unfolding crisis.

Hawiian Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said that as of Sunday about 85% of the affected area had been searched and nearly 2,000 people remained without power and 10,000 were without phone and internet. Water in parts of west Maui is not safe to drink.

While immediate aid such as water, food and blankets has been readily distributed to residents, Schatz said cellphones, ID and other documents that people would need to help them enroll in longer-term aid programs were burned in the fires, adding more challenges to the application process.
IN A BID to allay concerns, the University of Limerick (UL) has reassured its student body that they will be returning to their student accommodation come September.

The news comes in the wake of Ukrainian refugees seeking emergency shelter within the student residences during the summer months.

Over 150 Ukrainian refugees were temporarily housed within the UL student accommodations during the summer period.

The university, cognisant of its role as a beacon of education and inclusivity, extended its support to these displaced individuals in their time of need.However, as the new academic year approaches, a delicate balancing act has ensued.

In a statement, a spokesperson for UL said: We are temporarily housing 150 people until a week prior to the start of term when we will be welcoming our students back for the 2023/24 academic year.

They continued: This is a short-term arrangement for the summer months and will not impact students returning for the new academic year.

John Lannon, chief executive of DORAS, an organisation advocating for the rights of migrants and refugees, has highlighted the challenges to be faced for the refugees, as they are due to leave student accommodation.

Since the government, quite rightly, started welcoming people escaping from that war back in February last year, they have struggled to provide accommodation for them, Mr Lannon stated.

The situation is said to potentially escalate into an accommodation crisis, with nearly 5,000 people requiring relocation.

It has also been made known that the refugees are currently filtering out from a number of private student accommodations in Limerick, including: Cratloe Woods, Ashdown, Groody, Grove Island and City Campus.

Many refugees are also grappling with financial struggles due to a 38.80 allowance per week.

The Department of Integration stated: No stone has been left unturned when it comes to procuring accommodation, however, it is a challenge given the number who continue to arrive seeking shelter.
SATURDAY night fever is forecast for Limerick this weekend as two major bands are set to take the city by storm in two key locations.

Officially sold-out, the Wolfe Tones are set to rock TUS Gaelic Grounds, while The Coronas are taking to the stage at King Johns Castle in what is being sold as an unforgettable day and night of music.

The Wolfe Tones concert is set to be the band's biggest headline outdoor event this summer.

The gig will feature special guests and is set to kickoff at 3pm on Saturday, August 26.

Special guests George Murphy and The Rising Sons, Michael Maloney and Cailini Lua will join the folk trio, the Wolfe Tones, on stage.

Following on from a sold-out USA and Irish tour, the band will perform in front of thousands in Limericks home of hurling on the Ennis Road.

Making another appearance in the Treaty county, Michael Maloney has a firm place in Limerick hearts after his song What Do You Want To Know? was labelled as the senior hurling champions theme song this year.

The Wolfe Tones are currently celebrating their 58th year and will reaffirm their iconic status by performing in front of over 5,000 people.

Across the Shannon waters, The Coronas will take centre stage at King Johns Castle at 7pm for their Live at the Castle gig.

Tickets have also sold out for this concert.
A DISPUTE over the ownership of a parking space has delayed plans by bosses of a private hospital to expand its Limerick premises.

Having opened its new centre in September last year, management at the Beacon Hospital unveiled plans to double the size of the facility at Barrington Street in the city centre.

Beacon Limerick began by offering ultrasound, X-rays, and other scans, and has since added treatments to aid people suffering from diseases affecting blood circulation, as well as helping with conditions related to hormonal issues.

It was granted conditional permission to expand by Limerick City and County Council last month, with the move set to pave the way for a new MRI machine.

This can produce three-dimensional images of ones body.

However, the councils decision to grant has now been appealed to An Bord Pleanala by management of a property company who own an apartment, land and - they claim - a car parking space to the rear of the hospital.

The proposed development is seeking permission for various buildings and structures on lands it neither owns or has a lease on, the company claimed in an initial objection to local planners.

The objection was in the name of the property company, but no individual party is named.

A number of individuals who share the same surname made separate objections to council.

But the only appeal against council's granting of permission, to An Bord Pleanala, has come from the firm itself.

When Beacon Hospital bosses initially sought permission from council to expand, they included a letter from the director of a company named Semja, which states it owns the building where the Beacon operates from.

We wish to confirm consent for the inclusion of this property within the application for the proposed development, they stated.

After the objection on the basis of land ownership was raised, a solicitor representing Semja wrote: I can state categorically on behalf of my client (...) there are no registered rights for any other party in respect of car spaces. My firm instructions are that all spaces belong to Semja and no other party.

The owners (of the nearby apartment) have asserted they have the right to a car space, but have yet to provide any evidence of or title for that right, and as stated, nothing is registered on Semja's folio in that regard, the solicitors letter concludes.

An Bord Pleanala is expected to make a decision on the case by December 4 next.
THE HIGH Court has declared that 111 cars and more than 20,000 which was seized from a second-hand car dealership in Limerick were the proceeds of crime.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) had sought orders in respect of 820,000 which was generated from the sale of the vehicles which were seized from Stephen Bawn Motors Ltd trading as Bawn Motors, at Old Ballysimon Road, on the outskirts of the city in March 2019.

CAB claimed, during a hearing late last year, that the dealership was used by persons involved in criminality to launder significant amounts of money generated from the illegal drugs trade, and was involved in other criminal activity including VAT fraud.

The proceeds of the sales had remained frozen pending the outcome of CAB's application to the court.

The company and a named individual - Mike Nash from Newcastle West - who claimed to have an interest in over 50 of the cars opposed the application and denied the claims.

However, in his ruling Mr Justice Alexander Owens said CAB had established the company was an engine of fraud, fuelled by money-laundering.

He accepted the company had benefited from substantial funding from undisclosed sources and that dozens of cars which were sold by the company cannot be traced.

Mr Justice Owens said some of the companys business was conducted in a proper fashion but commented: All that can be concluded is that the Bureau has advanced sufficient evidence to establish, prima facie, that its inventory and current account balance are derived substantially from proceeds of crime and that assets generated by its business operations have been generated using proceeds of crime or were acquired in connection with proceeds of crime.
THE DEPARTMENT of Transport has signed a contract with Bristow Ireland Limited to provide the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) Search and Rescue Aviation Service, including three aircraft at Shannon Airport.

Under the terms of the contract the company will operate six helicopters and two fixed-wing planes 24/7 from four bases across Ireland - Sligo, Shannon, Waterford and Dublin Weston Airport.

For the past decade, another company - CHC Ireland - has operated the SAR contract but following a competitive tender process, Bristow Ireland Limited was selected, earlier this year, as the preferred bidder for the contract, which is worth around 700 million.

The new contract, which will be fully in place by next July, will see it provide a range of essential state services, with Bristow Ireland Limited operating six AW189 helicopters and two King Air fixed-wing aircraft.

Commenting following the signing of the contracts, Alan Corbett, Bristow's Chief Operating Officer, Government Services said: The entire team at Bristow Ireland Limited is honoured to be chosen to deliver this critical and life-saving public service for the people of Ireland. We will provide a safe, dependable, and innovative service that will deliver world-class search and rescue across the country.

Bristow Ireland Limited announced today it has signed a 10-year contract with the Irish Department of Transport to deliver search and rescue (SAR) aviation services on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard.



Read more here: https://t.co/GvfgXP7qTJ pic.twitter.com/UiPNMFCahY  Bristow Group (@Bristow_Group) August 22, 2023

In an expansion to the current aviation service for the Coast Guard, two King Air fixed-wing aircraft will provide support for Coast Guard search and rescue operations and environmental monitoring. Both planes will be based at Shannon Airport.

The 10-year contract has options to extend an additional three years, allowing for a total of 13 years for these new aviation services.

Under the new contract, Bristow will create or sustain more than 150 jobs in Ireland, ranging from specialist ground support, engineering, flight operations, and in-country maintenance and support capabilities.
Housing Minister Darragh OBrien has said things are changing for young people who want to buy a home or move out of their family home.

He said that everything is trending in the right direction in relation to the Governments response to the housing crisis, citing an increase in planning permissions and completed homes compared to last year.

It comes after figures released by Eurostat, the EUs statistics body, indicated that around two thirds of adults aged 25-29 are living with their parents, which compares with the European average of 42%.

Mr OBrien acknowledged that it was a challenging situation for young people, and indicated that the 500-euro-a-year tax credit for renters would be increased in the upcoming budget.

He said that according to the latest figures, around 235,000 renters have availed of the tax credit so far.

Mr OBrien said: This has been a trend thats been occurring over the last number of years.

What I would say to them is, is that things are changing and change is here now. We saw affordable homes for purchase and rent delivered for the first time in a generation last year.

It is obviously a very challenging situation for them. Many people are staying in college longer, and starting their lives later, but most people I meet, they want the opportunity to be able to buy their own home at an affordable rate.

He said the Government is projecting that more than 30,000 new homes will be built this year.

Were seeing in the first six months of this year planning permissions are up nearly 40%, commencements of new homes being built across all tenures, including rental, up 10% on last year, and actual new homes being completed, over 6% up.

So its going in the right direction. There is frustration there, I acknowledge that, Mr OBrien told RTEs Morning Ireland on Tuesday.

He said that approved housing bodies provide about 50% of social housing in the cities, as well as being involved in delivering affordable homes and cost-rental units.

Mr OBrien said: This year in Government, we have a target of 5,500 affordable homes through our approved housing bodies and indeed through our local authorities and the LDA, adding that there was a target of 9,100 new-build social homes.

He told RTEs Morning Ireland programme that the half-year figures on how many social and affordable houses have been delivered so far will be in with us shortly and published once they are verified.

Mr OBrien said: Weve about 19,000 social homes at various stages in the pipeline, which is a very significant pipeline there.

Were seeing through the First Home Scheme hundreds of approvals every month, which is good because weve about  when you talk about the first-time buyers sector as well and that segment of people  about 400 new mortgage drawdowns per week so everything is trending in the right direction and we want to see that expedite.
CORK COUNTY Council has broken it's silence on the fatal Ironman event, as host sponsor.

On Sunday, August 20, the triathlon event claimed the lives of two men in Youghal, Cork, after the two participants aged in their 40s and 60s, got into difficulty while swimming.

The local authority has now come forward to say that they do now hold any responsibility for the tragic outcome of the race.

This statement comes as Triathlon Ireland says it did not sanction Sundays event.

Cork County Council, as Host Sponsor, has supported the IRONMAN triathlon events in Youghal and East Cork in 2022, 2023 and that currently planned for 2024, the statement reads.

As part of this arrangement, Ironman is the owner of the event - and has sole responsibility for the management and co-ordination of the event, this responsibility includes to run the Event with due care, skill and attention.

As Host Sponsor, the responsibilities of Cork County Council are limited to the following supports:

the organisation of road closure permits

the use by IRONMAN of certain Council facilities in Youghal (buildings, car park, public areas)

the provision of extended cleansing operations, the provision of waste collection, utilities (water and electricity) and storage areas.

Cork County Council does not have any responsibility for the management and operation of the event and any decisions related to the races proceeding, nor indeed the different elements of the individual races.

Cork County Council says that it recognises that the fatalities may be the subject of a Coroners Inquest and is seeking a full account of the event from Ironman.

As a result, the local authority will determine its future position as Host Sponsor once it is in receipt of the account. In the meantime, the council will not be commenting further on the matter.
A 51-year-old Co Down man who was abused by the notorious paedophile priest Malachy Finnegan has received a settlement of 400,000, lawyers have said.

Finnegan is alleged to have sexually abused children in the Catholic diocese of Dromore across four decades before his death in 2002.

KRW Law, acting on behalf of the victim who wished to remain anonymous, said he had been abused over a three-year period in the mid 1980s when he was a student at St Colmans College in Newry.

Owen Winters of KRW Laws historical abuse redress department said that the details of this case and of the suffering endured by this man reached a new level of depravity.

The repeated abuse by Finnegan included rape during school hours, he said.

Proceedings were issued in the High Court against the Diocese of Dromore alleging assault, battery and trespass to the person.

The case had been due for hearing later this year, but KRW Law said that after intensive discussions and negotiations, the parties reached a resolution earlier this month.

The case was settled without any admission of liability.

The law firm said the sum is understood to be the largest to date for a victim of abuse by Finnegan.

Mr Winters said of the victim: He has had a very traumatic journey to get to this point in his life.

He has chosen to keep his anonymity but at some point when the time is right he may think about going public on his plight.

That is a deeply personal decision and given the ordeal he was put through as a child he needs some time and space to make that decision.

He recognises the need to guard against complacency when it comes to exposing historic clerical abuse and for the wider community to be reminded about just how awful it is for Finnegan to have escaped detection and prosecution.

The Catholic diocese of Dromore, which includes parts of counties Antrim, Down and Armagh, had set up a redress scheme in 2021 for victims of child abuse committed by clerics under its authority, capped at 80,000 per individual.

Fifteen victims have secured damages in legal settlements with the diocese totalling about 2 million.

In the past 35 years, about 70 people have come forward to make allegations of abuse related to the diocese, the majority of which relate to Malachy Finnegan.

In 2018, former Irish president Mary McAleese disclosed that her youngest brother was seriously, physically, sadistically abused by Finnegan throughout his seven years at St Colmans College.

The Diocese of Dromore has been contacted for comment.
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UK Economic Data - Bank Holiday Boom: Coastal SMEs contribute 3.15 billion to UK economy, support 269,000 jobs 22-08-2023 02:37



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On holiday, many will find themselves in places where they do not speak the language. Once upon a time, they might have carried a phrasebook. The rise of English has made that less necessary. But most peopleat least seven of the worlds eight billionstill do not speak English. That leaves options like pantomime, a willingness to be surprised by what arrives at dinneror, increasingly, technology .

More and more people are using simple, free tools, not only to decode text but also to speak. With these apps conversation mode, you talk into a phone and a spoken translation is heard moments later; the app can also listen for another language and produce a translation in yours.

You may still get a surprise or two. Google Translate may be the best-known name in machine translation, but it often blunders. Take my wife is gluten-free," the kind of thing you might say at a restaurant abroad. In French or Italian, Google Translate renders this as my wife is without gluten"true to the words rather than the meaning. DeepL, a rival, does better, offering various options, most of them along the correct lines.

The best tool may not be a translation app at all. Though not marketed for the purpose, ChatGPT, a generative AI system that churns out prose according to users prompts, is multilingual. Rather than entering an exact text to translate, users can tell ChatGPT to write a message in Spanish to a waiter that my wife and I would like the tasting menu, but that she is gluten-free, so we would like substitutions for anything that has gluten." And out pops a perfect paragraph, including the way Spanish-speakers actually say my wife is gluten-free": mi esposa es celiaca. It is a paraphrase rather than a translation, more like having a native-speaking dinner companion than an automated interpreter.

Travel has long been a motivator for studyunless people start to feel AI tools offer a good-enough service. Some are concerned that apps are turning language acquisition into a dwindling pursuit. Douglas Hofstadter, a polyglot and polymath writer, has argued that something profound will vanish when people talk through machines. He describes giving a halting, difficult speech in Mandarin, which required a lot of work but offered a sense of accomplishment at the end. Who would boast of taking a helicopter to the top of Mount Everest?

Others are less worried. Most people do not move abroad or have the kind of sustained contact with a foreign culture that requires them to put in the work to become fluent. Nor do most people learn languages for the purpose of humanising themselves or training their brains. On their holiday, they just want a beer and the spaghetti carbonara without incident (and sometimes without gluten).

As AI translation becomes an even more popular labour-saving tool, people will split into two groups. There will be those who want to stretch their minds, immerse themselves in other cultures or force their thinking into new pathways. This lot will still take on language study, often aided by technology. Others will look at learning a new language with a mix of admiration and puzzlement, as they might with extreme endurance sports: Good for you, if thats your thing, but a bit painful for my taste."

This is largely an Anglophone problem, since native English-speakers miss out on the benefits of language-learning most acutely. In many countries, including Britain and America, schools and universities foreign-language departments have been closing. (The British government recently devoted a modest fund to trying to get more secondary-school pupils to study foreign languages.) In the rest of the rich world, there is one thriving language that people still study: English. And in poorer countries, many people are multilingual as a matter of course; Africans and Indians learn languages because they are surrounded by them.

But a focus on the learner alone misses the fundamentally social nature of language. It is a bit like analysing the benefits of close relationships to heart-health but overlooking the inherent value of those bonds themselves. When you try to ask directions in broken Japanese or mangle a joke in halting German, you are making direct contact with someone. And when you speak a language well enough to tell a story with perfect timing or put subtle shading on an argument, that connection is more profound still. The best relationships do not require an intermediary.

Read more from Johnson, our columnist on language:

In northern Europe, a backlash against English is under way (Aug 4th)

AI is making it possible to clone voices (Jul 20th)

Talking about AI in human terms is naturalbut wrong (Jun 22nd)

For more on the latest books, films, TV shows, albums and controversies, sign up to Plot Twist, our weekly subscriber-only 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
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is all set to launch the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme today at New Delhi. The intiative aims to highlight the government's commitment towards improving road safety by increasing the awareness around safety standards of motor vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes. Government says that the new intiative could also place Indian cars in a better position in the global market and improve the country's export potential.

Auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota had earlier termed the upcoming Bharat NCAP as a bold step in the right direction for the domestic industry

Here are 5 things you should know about Bharat NCAP:

1) Under the new Bharat NCAP programme, car manufacturers will be able to submit their cars for voluntary testing under the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.

2) These cars will be given star ratings for Adult Occupant (AOP) and Child Occupant (COP), which can be used by customers in making purchase decisions.

Also Read: Bharat NCAP Launch Live

3) As per the Bharat NCAP rules, car manufacturers will have to submit an application in Form 70-A to the designated agency of the central government, reported PTI.

4) The designated agency will assign star ratings to the vehicles and update the ratings from time to time. The star ratings of the vehicles will be uploaded on a portal designated by the agency.

5) According to a release from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, the government expects that with the new Bharat NCAP ratings, demand for safer cars will increase, encouraging the car manufacturers to comply with customer needs.

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With an aim to improve road safety by raising the safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in India, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will launch the much-awaited New Car Assessment Program (Bharat NCAP) today, Tuesday, August 22.

Under this program, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. It aims to provide a tool to car customers to make a comparative assessment of the crash safety of motor vehicles available in the market, according to ANI reports.

All you need to know about Bharat NCAP

1) Cars will be awarded star ratings for Adult Occupants (AOP) and Child Occupants (COP) on the basis of their performance in the test.

2) Potential car customers can refer to these star ratings to compare the safety standards of different vehicles and accordingly make their purchase decision," the transport ministry said.

3) It is expected that the demand for safer cars will increase, encouraging car manufacturers to comply with customer needs. With high safety standards, Indian cars will be able to compete better in the global market, increasing the export potential of car manufacturers in India.

4) Earlier in June, Nitin Gadkari said that the government is spending about 40,000 crore for removing "black spots" on roads. He also talked about the positive ripple effect of investment in infrastructure saying it creates jobs, ANI reported.

5) Official data shows that about 1.54 lakh people lost their lives and 3.84 lakh were injured in 2021 in road accidents. In 2020, 1.31 lakh people lost lives, and 3.49 lakh were injured in road mishaps.

6) Auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota have termed the upcoming Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP) as a bold step in the right direction for the domestic industry, as per PTI reports.

7)"We at Mahindra believe it is one of the bold steps by the Ministry of road transport and we welcome the implementation of Bharat NCAP," Mahindra & Mahindra President, Automotive Technology and Product Development Velusamy R told PTI.

8) He added that this initiative of MoRTH will generate equal opportunities and create healthy competition among OEMs to make safer models for Indian customers.

9)Maruti Suzuki India Executive Officer (Corporate Affairs) Rahul Bharti told PTI that the auto major supports the initiative.

10) Nitin Gadkari had in September last year called for a reduction in road accidents and deaths by 50 percent by 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)

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In a recent complain against Amazon.com Inc. in the US National Labour Relations Board, the multinational tech firm was accused of illegally calling police and thwarting employees attempt of unionization.

As per the complain, Amazon.com Inc. illegally called the police on employees, restricted discussions about organizing, and terminated an activist in the lead-up to a vote on unionization near Albany, New York. The company has denied any wrongdoing.

Amazon's strife with its workers is not new, as the company is facing union formation, elections and many disagreements with union at its different warehouses in America.

Amazon Labour Union

A year ago, Amazon workers stood united and won a historic" victory in Staten Island, New York. With the victory, Amazon workers were able to overcome a multimillion-dollar campaign by Amazon to win the right to organise Amazons first-ever union.

The union formation also forced Amazon to take major decision and step back on many fronts. Till the victory in Staten Island, the company has been trying hard to prevent another wave of workers union for elections at Amazon's different factory locations.

Unlike Staten Island, Amazon Labour Union didn't perform well in elections in Albany, New York in October last year. During the election, Amazon employees clearly rejected a unionization effort by the Amazon Labour Union in October last year. In the election, around 206 votes were given in the favour of union, whereas, 406 votes were given to oppose the unionisation in the factory unit. According to the company officials, 949 workers at the ALB1 warehouse were eligible to vote. The voting was done on whether they should become part of the Amazon Labor Union.

Amazon Labour Union has been voicing for higher wages for workers at factory and better working conditions. The labour union accuses the company of harsh working conditions, high injury rates due to rapid pace of work, etc.

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New Delhi: As Indias art landscape continues to evolve, a pioneering shift is on the horizon with the impending launch of Artix, Indias first hotel-based annual art fair.

The venture, spearheaded by fashion entrepreneurs Malvika Poddar and Timsy Anand besides gallerist Payal Kapoor, promises to redefine the experience of art exhibitions.

Seeking to engage a growing community of young art enthusiasts and collectors, Artix is set to kick off later this month in the national capital, to mark a compelling addition to Indias vibrant art scene.

So far, global art fairs, such as The Art Basel and Frieze Art Fair, have played a significant role in showcasing artwork to individuals entering the collectors scene. India, too, has witnessed the emergence of a fresh wave of collectors among the Gen-Z and millennial population around the time of the covid-19 pandemic.

Artix seeks to cater to this new cohort to drive the future art market, with its annual art fairs. It is expected to travel to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata to further its ambitions.

Currently India hosts two major events showcasing artIndia Art Fair, and Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Artix will be the first to be held in hotels and collaborate with popular artists and design patrons. It will feature a prominent new category of collectables including objet dart and jewels.

Art became far more popular during the pandemic, and the effects have not waned yet. I still sell several pieces of art online in a week, and expect the interest in art to continue in coming years," said Kapoor, also the owner of Arushi Arts.

The annual fair will be hosting work from Dhoomimal Art Gallery, Cultivate Art, Anant Art Gallery, Art Pilgrim, Art Centrix and Arushi Arts. Some independent artists, including two Americans and three private collections will be on display. Hotelier Priya Paul, businessperson Lekha Poddar and art patron Saloni Doshi will be putting out their collections this year.

Around 500 works of Indian contemporary art, progressive art group, and works of Indian legends, such as Francis Newton Souza and Jogen Chowdhury, will be featured. Art fairs around the world are a big deal. We want to make a similar, immersive art space with limited pieces which will make people go back to art galleries even after the fares are concluded. The newer generation needs to come, and start buying art," Kapoor added.

Investing in an art fair aligns with the broader perspective. A report by real estate consultancy Knight Franks Attitudes Survey, said 53% of preferred passion investments by Indias affluent comprised art, luxury handbags and watches.

Artix also aims to promote new and young artists, besides featuring international artists, and will focus on showcasing India and its arts and crafts.

The short-term vision is to have five fairs in India, maybe two annual events across cities before launching Artix in more mature, overseas markets.
Dolomite Restaurants Pvt. Ltd, the parent of Jamies Italian and Jamies Pizzeria brands in India has raised 50 crore from existing investors, International Market Management in UK and Hunch Ventures in India.

In 2018, Indian venture capital firm Hunch Ventures took a significant minority stake in Dolomite Restaurants, owned by International Market Management (IMM), founded by Dolomite managing director Jasper Reid. This year IMM, Dolomites parent, sold its Wendys burger chain to Rebel Foods for an undisclosed sum.

With this, the company intends to open at least 20 restaurants this year including a new variant of Jamies called Jamie Oliver Kitchen as well as continue its recently announced Jamies Cafe partnership with FabIndia.

For this venture, both partners are expected to contribute nearly equal amounts. The company will use this to accelerate its growth in the next 12-18 months with a view to become a 500 crore topline company over the next few years. Our vision is to be Indias most respected and profitable food group. We are very much focused on the cafe and casual space versus the pure quick-service restaurant format business because we can still offer amazing value and keen pricing but with superior margins and return on capital employed," Reid said.

The company will soon be in 15 cities and open new Jamies Kitchens in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and Ahmedabad, which will have the first all vegetarian Jamies.

Other new cities for Jamies will include Kolkata, Amritsar, Jaipur and Coimbatore. We are focused on finding second and third tier cities which are now ripe for expansion with people who are interested in great value food but with ethically sourced ingredients and nutritional balance," he said.

Pre-covid, experts said Indias food services sector would reach 4.95 trillion by FY21. But, it reached 40% of the target at 2 trillion that year due to the pandemic. By FY25, National Restaurant Association expects this to be 6.21 trillion growing at 5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Indias restaurant chain market is growing fast at 20% between 2020 and 2025, as compared to standalone restaurants; unorganised players and restaurants in hotels.

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Several global investors including Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management , the International Finance Corp (IFC), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are in competition with each other to invest up to $250 million ( 2,080 crore) in Mahindra Susten's renewable infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), according to a report published by Economic Times.

Mahindra Group's renewable-focussed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) unit, and an independent power production (IPP) unit are part of Mahindra Susten's businesses which has a value of about $1 billion, sources told ET.

A person familiar with the matter said that the deal is likely to be closed in the next two to three months. Currently, all three global investors are conducting due diligence on the assets which are part of Mahindra InvIT.

For the stake of around 35% in Mahindra InvIT, the deal will include primary and secondary share sales, the person told the news publication.

Later on, Mahindra Susten will bring in a few domestic investors like mutual funds or family officers to meet the minimum shareholder requirements, ET reported.

Currently, the Canadian fund Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPP) owns about a 30% stake in renewable energy firm Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd for an equity value of 2,371 crore ($300 million).

The deal envisages the setting up of an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) in compliance with the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Avendus Capital acted as the financial adviser to the Mahindra Group for the transaction, and Ambit was the financial adviser to Ontario Teachers.

The Mahindra Group and Ontario Teachers jointly explored the sale of an additional 9.99% stake in Mahindra Susten in May 2023. The Group also deployed these funds, plus an incremental amount of up to 1,750 crore, into the business and the InvIT over the next seven years.

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New Delhi: Chinese smartphone brand Honor is returning to the Indian market this September in a new avatar.

The brand, earlier owned by Huawei, is being licensed by Honor Tech through PSAV Global, said a senior company executive. Honor Tech led by chief executive Madhav Sheth will raise 1,000 crore in domestic loans to establish its operations in the country.

Sheth said the joint venture partnership will ensure that the decision-making rests with the Indian partners unlike other Chinese smartphone makers operating in India wherein strategic decisions arent in control of the operation heads in India.

All Chinese manufacturers who are operating in India now, are 100% Chinese-owned equity firms. The decision making is also by the Chinese people. But this will be 100% Indian equity owned company and we will invest 1,000 crore by December in technology transfers, products and software developments and service setups in India," said Sheth, also the former head of Realme, and the incumbent chief executive of HonorTech.

Honors return comes amid a broader crackdown on Chinese companies by New Delhi, including bans on many apps, and increasing scrutiny on investments from countries sharing land borders with India, especially China after a deadly Himalayan border clash between the two armies in June 2020 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

Sheth said while Chinese products offer quality and technology, Honor will give consumers a choice of not having any bloatware. He was referring to pre-installed apps commonly found on Android devices of Chinese brands that cannot be deleted by users.

Sheth claimed that the strategic joint venture will become a yardstick of corporate governance for all companies wanting to do business in India through the licensing or joint venture route.

Im disrupting the industry with this type of JV, getting into 100% licensing business. Im opening up a route that will entice other brands to get into this. This will be the way businesses can happen In India."

Sheth said the company has received the necessary approvals from the Indian government and is looking to launch a series of smartphones starting September. The products will be available on e-marketplace Amazon and across multibrand retail outlets. PSAV Global aims to turn profitable with 10,000 crore in revenue by December 2024. Sheth said PSAV Global is looking to source locally most of the 300 parts needed for mobile manufacturing, and building local partnerships for technology transfers via JVs for better technology and skillsets needed to enhance the local supply chains and value addition.

Honor smartphones will be made in India, Sheth said adding the company is working on setting up manufacturing units and is also in talks with local manufacturers for partnerships. Devices, including foldable smartphones, will be available in the range of 8,500-80,000, Sheth added.
MUMBAI : Omnichannel pharmacy chain PharmEasy will raise 3,500 crore through a rights issue next week, multiple people aware of the development said, helping it repay a big chunk of its loans to Goldman Sachs.

Temasek Holdings, TPG, Prosus, CDPQ, Eight Roads, LGT, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, Amansa, OrbiMed and Sunil Kant Munjals family office have already committed to invest as much as 2,000 crore, one of the people cited above said. Manipal Health Enterprises founder Ranjan Pais family office may invest 1,200 crore.

Some of the small investors, including B Capital, Everstone Capital and JM Financial, will confirm their participation once the rights issue opens next week," the person said.

The issue is priced at a pre-money valuation of around $500 million, sharply lower from its peak valuation of $5.6 billion, the people said on condition of anonymity. This is the second rights issue in 12 months for the company, operated by API Holdings Ltd.

Goldman Sachs, which will receive repayment of some of its loan, will also convert almost $40 million of its debt to equity as part of the transaction, the second person said.

Around 200 crore is expected to be allocated for covering acquisitions made by API Holdings. Each of these payments are small and amount to around 5 crore to 10 crore each," the second person added. Investors have a three-week window to subscribe, and it will be clear by the third week of September who will join the issue, the person added.

PharmEasy needs another 300 crore in capital (to achieve the scale) to turn profitable, a third person said. However, the company decided to raise a large rights issue to provide itself a capital buffer for any payments it may need in future," the person added.

The company had tried to raise fresh capital in FY23 but was forced to shelve the plans due to poor market conditions. In October 2022, existing investors were invited to subscribe to up to 750 crore through convertible notes.

PharmEasy is now valued at a tenth of the $5.6 billion it commanded in 2021, making it the first unicorn to take a major mark-down in valuations. The reset in valuation and the subsequent recapitalization by existing and new investors will lead to a major change in the shareholding of all shareholders, with the founders stake falling below 1%, the second person said.

In June 2021, API Holdings acquired a 66% stake in Thyrocare for 4,546 crore.

Spokespeople for PharmEasy, Prosus, Temasek and Manipal Group declined to comment.

The recapitalization comes at a time the company has reduced its monthly operational loss from 86 crore in March 2022 to approximately 5.6 crore in March 2023. It reported consolidated net sales of 5,728.8 crore in FY22, according to regulatory filings. The losses in FY22 amounted to 3,992.4 crore in FY22. However, the operational loss stood at around 850 crore in FY22.

Though it has not announced its results for FY23, Mint reported in May that the company expects to post consolidated revenues of over 7,000 crore in FY23.
New Delhi: The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells the Amul brand of dairy products, is expanding its presence with a focus on premium offerings. The cooperative is establishing upscale ice-cream parlours pan-India with 100 Amul Ice Lounge stores in FY24.

Additionally, after introducing organic flour last year, it is preparing to launch organic tea and spices, to tap the growing demand for such products, said Jayen Mehta, in-charge managing director, GCMMF.

We have created premium ice-cream lounges, offering the finest flavours from every country in the world in a very upmarket ambience. We have launched five such stores: four in Ahmedabad and one in Jaipur. We are planning a few more stores in Mumbai and Delhi. We have signed the best malls in India, and definitely achieve 100 outlets in this fiscal year. Were expanding in international markets as well, and will have hundreds of parlours," Mehta added.

While Amul boasts of a significant share of the mass market ice-cream segment, it now aims to capture the premium segment, he added. Initially, Amul Ice Lounges are being established through internal accruals. The franchise model is also available for entrepreneurs looking at high-yielding investment opportunities, he said. Ice-creams will be available at a premium to Amul pricesa scoop will be for 200."

This strategic move places the dairy cooperative in direct competition with well-known ice-cream brands such as Baskin Robbins and Naturals.

Recently, the firm announced a group turnover of 72,000 crore for the FY23. Notably, Amuls milk-based beverages business saw 34% rise from a year ago, while its ice-cream division saw 40% growth. Amul butter grew by 19%, and ghee consumer packs grew over 9%. The cooperative reported 20% growth in long-life milk, 40% for dahi, 16% growth in fresh buttermilk.

However, unseasonal rains in the last two months dampened demand for its beverages and ice-cream portfolio, said Mehta.

Meanwhile, in January, the Union cabinet approved the setting up of a national-level cooperative society for organic products. GCMMF is among the five promoters of the society, which will manage various activities related to organic sector by providing certified and authentic organic products. Amul is set to scale the launch of products under this initiative. We have launched 9-10 products within the Amul organic range. This month were going to launch organic chai...and different spices," said Mehta.
The shares of Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd are about 21% below their 52-week highs seen in September. Amid stiff competition in the health insurance market, investors will watch if the company can sustain growth in gross direct premium income (GDPI) in FY24. It has guided for 20% premium growth in FY24.

In July, Star Healths retail premium growth was 16% year-on-year (y-o-y), lower than 18% seen by the industry. Kotak Institutional Equities analysts said, The benefit of the tariff hike is expected to be visible over time but has likely affected new business to some extent."

View Full Image Graphic:, Mint

Note that Star Health had increased premium (price increase) by 25% from February on new policies of one of its best-selling products, Family Health Optima insurance plan.

In May, it hiked the premium in Family Health renewal policies too.

The company has taken other initiatives to boost growth. These measures are expected to show results in the coming quarters. For one, Star Health is strengthening its non-agency channels, particularly banks, to drive business. It has already partnered with various financial institutions. Star Health plans to scale up its credit-linked business, which is a health plan sold along with loan products. For Star Health, the agency network is crucial, accounting for 81% of the companys premium in June quarter.

Star Health is taking a cautious approach in taking aggressive risks in the non-fixed inc-ome book. They are expecting an improved combined ratio in rural areas as the company exp-ands into Tier-3 and Tier-4 towns. These are some factors investors need to keep an eye on in FY24," says Narendra Sola-nki, head fundamental research - Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.

It has also been diversifying its business to include more profitable products.

In this regard, Star Health has focused more on improving its retail business and has launched many specialized products such as cancer care and women care policies.

Specialized products contribute almost 16% of Star Healths total retail health gross written premium. It is also trying to develop an outpatient product.

Further, implementation of expenses of management (EoM) norms by the regulator will be positive. Sujal Kumar, analyst, PhillipCapital (India) said, The implementation of the EoM regulation is expected to work in favour of Star Health as it has EoM of less than 35%, unlike other health insurers. But it would take over 1-2 years for the benefit to come through."
Tata Power share price opens nearly a percent higher a day after the company announced its subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 9MWp on campus solar plant with Tata Motors Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand.

Tata Power share price started the day at 241.50, up 2.15, or 0.90%, against yesterday's closing price of 239.35. The Tata Power shares later in the day pared some gains. At 11 am, Tata Power share price was at 240.25, up 0.90, or 0.38%.

At 11 am, Tata Motors share price was trading at 623.15, up 2.50, or 0.40%.

The solar installation includes an effective approach towards Tata Motors sustainable future goals, with an estimated carbon emission reduction of 25 tonnes of CO2/kWp in Uttarakhand. The project will be commissioned within 6 months from the PPA execution date. The solar installation will utilize both rooftop and ground mounted units for installation," said the company.

This solar plant will be the largest on-campus solar facility in the State. In an earlier partnership, Tata Power Renewable Energy and Tata Motors had established a 7 MWp solar project at the Pantnagar manufacturing facility. After the recent facility addition, Tata Motors Pantnagar plants combined solar capacity will be 16 MWp. The solar plants will generate annually 224 lakhs units which will meet nearly 60% of their annualized requirement, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Tata Power Renewables with this partnership with Tata Motors is supporting India's green energy future. The 9MWp solar power installation resonates our commitment to fostering the widespread adoption of eco-friendly clean energy solutions across industries," said Ashish Khanna, CEO, Tata Power Renewable Energy.

Tata Power shares have risen 10.8% in past 1 month, 16.9% in 3 months and 13.79% in 2023 so far.

TATA POWER More Information

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To guard farmers' interest amid export curbs to handle onion price rise, the centre has started the procurement of onion at 2,410 per quintal in Maharashtra and MP for buffer stock, said the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday.

To curb the rising price of onion ahead of festive season, the vegetable is also sold at a subsidised rate of 25/kg for consumers in different regions, he added. The essential component of Indians' kitchen, onion, witnessed a sudden rise in price ahead of the festival season. In response to the rising prices, the government imposed a 40 per cent export duty, on onions to restrict outward shipments and boost local availability amid apprehension about the Kharif output. On 17th August, two important decisions were taken, on the export 40% tax has been imposed. But along with this, NCCF and NAFED will buy 5 lakh tons of onions instead of 3 lakh, so that our farmers don't have any problems. Two lakh tons will be bought at 2410 per quintal," said Piyush Goyal at the press conference.

In addition to impose export duty on onion, the government has also begun the procurement of additional 2 lakh tonnes of onion from farmers so that they are not affected by the export curb, said Piyush Goyal in a media briefing.

"NCCF and NAFED will sell onions at a subsidised rate of 25 kg for consumers in different regions. This subsidy will be provided by the government. This work started yesterday...Both consumers and farmers are valuable to us. Our food giver(farmers) gets a good price. I invite all the farmers to sell their onions at good prices and they don't need to worry about anything," he added.

Cooperatives National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) are responsible for procurement in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Onions will be purchased by the two agencies at a fixed rate of 2,410 per quintal, he said.

He also recalled how the procurement target was increased to 3 lakh tonnes for 2023-24 when onion prices had fallen last year.

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Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist, Axis Bank and Head of Global Research, Axis Capital , has been appointed the part-time chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Limited, and Prof Mausam, Associate Professor, Computer Science Department, IIT Delhi, will become part-time members.

Who is Neelkanth Mishra?

Neelkanth Mishra, formerly associated with Zurich-based Credit Suisse, is now a significant presence at Axis Bank, bringing over two decades of financial expertise to the table.

His notable roles at Credit Suisse encompassed being Co-head of APAC Strategy, India Equity Strategy Head, and Head of Research for India. Within these roles, he displayed a specialised focus on diverse sectors including metals and mining, Indian pharmaceuticals, Taiwan IC design, semiconductor foundries and Asian tech strategy research.

Mishra is acclaimed for his distinctive insights into economic policies and market strategies, a reputation bolstered by his advisory roles in various government committees. He has also contributed significantly as a member of the economic advisory council to the 15th finance commission.

It was Mishra who identified the "K-shaped" recovery dynamics, emphasising that the consumption downturn predominantly impacted the upper echelon of individuals with substantial disposable income. Mishra's foresight extended to the aftermath of the pandemic, as he anticipated a considerable surge in consumption when economic activities resumed.

UIDAI Board

Based on information made available through its official website, the UIDAI board structure encompasses a chairperson, two part-time members and the CEO, who simultaneously holds the role of the Member-Secretary within the Authority.

Although senior IAS officer Amit Agrawal took over as the UIDAI CEO in June 2023, he was standing as the sole board member within the nodal organisation. The recent appointments are poised to occupy all the previously-vacant positions within the board of the Aadhaar administrator.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and sports. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for South Africa on Tuesday to participate in the 15th BRICS summit. It is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. It will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. Following the BRICS Summit, PM Modi will go to Greece- first Indian Prime Minister to visit the ancient country in 40 years.

A statement was released from the Prime Minister's office which stated, "I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from 22-24 August 2023 at the invitation Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship. I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg. From South Africa, I will travel to Athens, Greece on 25 August 2023 at the invitation of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years".

This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa, and the theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated Growth, sustainable development, and inclusive multilateralism"

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in a special briefing ahead of PM Modi's visit to South Africa and Greece, said, "As I mentioned in my remarks, the host country South Africa has invited a large number of guest countries, besides of course the BRICS members who would be present there."

Foreign Secretary Kwatra stated that a business delegation from India is also travelling to the country to attend the Business Tracks meetings.

Providing details about the PM's trip, Vinay Kwatra said, "For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance, and the BRICS Business Forum."

"The Prime Minister's schedule in terms of bilateral meetings with those leaders who would be present in South Africa is still being developed," Kwatra said.

During his visit to South Africa, PM Modi will also participate in a special event "BRICS  Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue" being organized after the BRICS Summit, which will include other nations invited by South Africa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in a press release. He will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th BRICS Summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme Brics  Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue".

This is being organised after the BRICS Summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa.

"After completing his engagements in Johannesburg, PM Modi will travel to Greece for an official visit on 25th August at the invitation of the PM of Greece," Kwatra said.

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On this Raksha Bandhan festival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Pakistani sister Qamar Mohsin Sheikh will visit the national capital to celebrate the traditional siblings' bond, according to a report published by the news agency ANI.

Mohsin, a Pakistan-origin woman who moved to India after her marriage, has been tying a rakhi to PM Modi for over the past 30 years. Every year, she makes handmade rakhi for the Prime Minister. Even when he was Gujarat CM, she used to tie a rakhi on his wrist. I wish him a happy Raksha Bandhan. I pray for him every day for his good health and long life. I believe that all my wishes come true. Earlier when I prayed for him to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat and he became," PM Modi's Pakistani sister told ANI. Whenever I tied the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the Prime Minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. He is doing commendable work for the country," she added.

However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Qamar was unable to celebrate Raksha Bandhan festival with PM Modi but she sent him rakhi by post, as per ANI reports.

Raksha Bandhan is a significant yearly festival that honors the special connections we have with our siblings. In the traditional observance, sisters adorn their brothers' wrists with a Rakhi, symbolizing their wishes for a joyful and successful life. In return, brothers pledge their unwavering care and support.

The contemporary trends have seen brothers also tying Rakhis on their sisters' wrists, and sisters reciprocating the gesture. This act carries the same vow of protection and affection.

This year, there's uncertainty surrounding the celebration date of Raksha Bandhan due to Bhadra Kaal. People are unsure whether to observe the festival on August 30 or 31.

The Raksha Bandhan celebration encompasses numerous customs. During this occasion, the sister conducts her brother's aarti and offers prayers for his well-being. Subsequently, she ties a Rakhi around his wrist, applies a tilak on his forehead, and shares sweets with him. Brothers reciprocate their love by presenting their sisters with gifts or money.

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BRICS Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for South Africa on Tuesday to participate in the 15th BRICS summit , a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The summit will take place from August 22 to August 24.

Notably, it will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

In an official statement, the Prime Minister's Office said, I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from 22-24 August 2023 at the invitation Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship. I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg."

PM Modi's South Africa visit schedule

Itinerary in local South African time below,

0710 hrs: Departure from Delhi

1345 hrs: Arrival at Waterkloof Air Force Base

1555 hrs: Arrival at Sandton Convention Centre

1600-1700 hrs: BRICS Business Forum Leaders Dialogue

1800 hrs: Arrival at Summer Place

1800-2000 hrs: BRICS Leaders Retreat, Welcome Dinner hosted by President Ramaphosa

PM Modi's visit to Greece

Following the summit, PM Modi will go to Greece - the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the ancient country in 40 years.

"From South Africa, I will travel to Athens, Greece on 25 August 2023 at the invitation of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece PM. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honor to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," the statement added.

Providing details about the PM's trip, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said, "For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also traveling to South Africa to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance, and the BRICS Business Forum."

During his visit to South Africa, PM Modi will also participate in a special event "BRICS  Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue" being organized after the BRICS Summit, which will include other nations invited by South Africa.

In addition, PM Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.

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Security expert Lt General (Retd) Sanjay Kulkarni cautioned against Rahul Gandhi's recent claim that India lost land to China, stating such assertions during ongoing talks could hinder diplomatic efforts. The comment comes as Rahul Gandhi contradicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance, asserting Chinese PLA's encroachment.

While payis tribute to his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's 79th birth anniversary in Ladakh, Rahul said that PM Modi's claim that not an inch of Indian land was taken by China's People Liberation Army (PLA) troops is not true".

Kulkarni counters Gandhi saying since 1950, India has lost around 40,000 square km to China and our endeavour is that we do not lose any more of our territory to China".

"But to make such statements that we have lost here are just perceptions. It shows one against the other in poor light...," he told news agency ANI that

Kulkarni notes that India-China military talks persist due to friction at Demchok and Depsang, where patrolling restrictions are concentrated, creating negotiation points.

But to say that we have lost will be incorrectto make such statements will be incorrect and nobody should make statements when talks are going on," the Indian Army veteran said.
Bank of Baroda's recent decision to withdraw the property auction notice for Bollywood actor and BJP Member of Parliament, Sunny Deol's Mumbai Juhu property, has raised questions regarding the situation's intricacies. The state-owned bank had initially announced the auction as a measure to recover a sum of 56 crore owed by the actor.

The actor, however, refrained from offering any comments on the matter. "I do not want to comment. These are personal matters. Main kuch bhi bolunga, log galat matlab nikalenge (I won't say anything, people will misinterpret it)," ANI quoted the Gadar 2 actor as saying.

Bank of Baroda has pointed out specific technical grounds for retracting the auction notice, which had been earlier published. One of the major issues raised by the bank was the ambiguity in specifying the precise amount of dues to be retrieved.

Also, the notice had been issued based on a notion of symbolic property possession in accordance with Rule 8(6) of The Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002. However, the bank's spokesperson clarified that a request had been submitted to secure physical possession of the property, and it was still pending approval with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

The spokesperson underlined that the property was functioning according to the borrower's communication, and hence, the sale action would be enacted as per the regulations of the SARFAESI Act once physical possession was achieved.

In response to the situation, the borrower has reportedly approached the bank to discuss settling the dues based on the sale notice's conditions, wherein the borrower and guarantors were granted the opportunity to redeem the securities by clearing the outstanding dues, expenses, and charges before the auction.

The bank further clarified that the withdrawal of the sale notice adhered to the standard industry practices, citing the technical inconsistencies and the ongoing borrower-bank negotiations as primary factors.

(With ANI inputs)

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The return of over 100 Indian students, who secured admissions to US universities, from various US airports has caused shock among the student community. After obtaining visas and traveling to the US, around 100 students from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were reportedly denied entry at ports of entry and sent back to India.

New reports suggested US officials are checking the social media profiles, chats, and emails to check the financial health of the students, their intention. There are some other sources who claim that many of them were confined to a tight space and also threatened of jail.

Why were the students deported?

While no official statement from US authorities exists, there are reports indicating that deported students didn't meet specific criteria. These criteria reportedly include financial stability, objectionable social media content, and unsatisfactory responses during immigration interviews.

Students should remember one thing. Getting a visa doesnt guarantee you an entry into the US. They have to meet all the criteria and properly answer the queries at the Immigration counter," an analyst, who is following the immigration process closely, told Hindu Businessline.

The developments are being closely monitored by the Telangana Government. A source close to the State government told the Newspaper, It is not something new that students are sent back. Every day 2-3 students from the country are sent back. The number is looking huge now because of the spurt in the number of visas post the Pandemic. Students are advised to follow the procedures diligently,"

Students may face 5 year ban

Earlier Mint had reported, the students will be prohibited to enter the US for next 5 years.

Deportation consequences have left students grappling with not only the loss of time, resources, and future prospects but also the distressing implications of stringent US regulations. Particularly noteworthy is the five-year ban imposed on those deemed inadmissible upon deportation.

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In a tragic accident which took place in a mountainous area in the Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pkistan army launched a rescue mission to save six schoolchildren and two other people who were trapped 900 ft mid-air after the wires of their chairlift snapped.

According to the Express Tribune newspaper,the children were headed to school when the incident occurred at around 8 am in Battagram district's Allai tehsil.The chairlift is dangling in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by towering mountains and a rocky surface, along with the Jhangri river beneath it, the Dawn newspaper reported.

According to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah, the chairlift was privately run by locals for transportation across the river as there were no roads or bridges in the area, it said.

"A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cables in Battagram. Eight persons, including 6 children, (are) stranded," the Geo News reported citing a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Pakistan's armed forces have begun a rescue operation in Khyber Pakhunkhwas Battagram where schoolchildren are among eight people are stranded in a cable car.

Allai Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain said two helicopters belonging to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force are at the site. The operation is being conducted by the armed forces special unit.

Dawn.com correspondent at the site said one of the helicopters was positioned above the cable car while the other one was at a distance as a backup.

Helicopters of Pakistan Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force are participating in the rescue operation along with the Special Services Group (SSG) troops, the report said.

The local administration along with Rescue 1122 teams were present at the spot, but due to the height and the hilly terrain, it was not possible for rescue officials to carry out a relief operation, the report quoted Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain as saying.

Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old who is currently present on the chairlift, told Geo News over the phone that they don't even have drinking water in the chairlift.

He said that a 16-year-old passenger, who suffers from a heart condition, has been unconscious for the last three hours. Gulfraz said the teenager was going to the hospital through the chairlift.

Gulfaraz said the first wire broke at 7am while another cable broke down soon after. The passengers have been waiting for help since early morning, he said.

Meanwhile, directing authorities to rescue all the people stuck in the chairlift, Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar asked the national and provincial disaster management authorities to utilise all the available resources and issued directives to ensure safety measures for cable cars in the hilly areas.

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming," he tweeted.

According to a local school teacher, Zafar Iqbal, at least 150 students take the hazardous journey to school by cable car every day due to the lack of road facilities in the area, the Dawn newspaper reported.

*With inputs from agencies

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To attend the upcoming BRIC Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Johannesberg, South Africa on Tuesday. Amid the speculation around BRICS expansion and China's efforts to push the bloc into a geopolitical rival of G7, there are chances that PM Modi and XI Jinping will meet each other during the summit.

BRICS Summit LIVE Updates Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sideline of the BRICS summit. Giving a hint of the meeting, PM Modi, on Tuesday, said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg".

Shedding light upon PM Modi's schedule in Johannesberg during the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in a special briefing, said that the schedule for bilateral meetings with leader is still being developed.

Also Read: We face hard options on the BRICS architecture

Vinay Kwatra also gave details about PM's trip and the delegation that will be accompanying him to South Africa. He said that for the 15th BRICS Summit, the business delegation will accompany PM modi to attend the Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum.

In case Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping hold bilateral talks in the sidelines of the summit, it would be the first one snce the India-China standoff began on May 2020. Both of them met briefly in November last year, during a dinner hosted by Indonesian President Jojo Widodo in Bali.

Also read: Brics trade focus only on national currencies

It is worth noting, that this will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual interaction due to COVID. During the visit to South Africa, PM Modi is also scheduled to take part in a special event "BRICS  Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue" being organized after the BRICS Summit. Unlike a large number of national leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin chose to join the 15th BRICS Summit virutally. The Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme Brics  Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue".

After the conclusion of BRICS summit in johannesburg, PM Modi will travel to Greece for his official visit on 25th August at the invitation of PM of Greece.

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Leaders from the BRICS economic alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are gathering in Johannesburg's financial district of Sandton for a three-day summit. The meeting is anticipated to witness discussions on ways to consolidate political and economic influence in the developing world, marking a pivotal moment in international diplomacy.

China's President Xi Jinping's participation in the summit underscores the nation's continued investment in the BRICS alliance as a vehicle for its strategic aspirations. In a noteworthy move, Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate via video link due to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him over the Ukrainian conflict.

BRICS Summit LIVE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be a key part of the summit, which will be joined by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as well.

View Full Image Soldiers of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) make an honour guard as President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) arrives at the OR Tambo International Airport in Ekurhuleni on August 21, 2023, ahead of the 2023 BRICS Summit. (Photo by Ricardo STUCKERT / Brazilian Presidency / AFP) (Ricardo STUCKERT / Brazilian Presidency / AFP)

The core of the discussions is expected to revolve around strengthening cooperation among nations in the Global South. This sentiment resonates with Russia and China's shared inclination to challenge perceived Western hegemony in global institutions. The meeting is set to draw the attention of numerous developing nations that are considering BRICS membership.

A significant focal point is the proposed expansion of the BRICS bloc. Saudi Arabia, along with more than 20 other countries, has formally applied for membership. This move has the potential to create a more diverse and robust coalition that could counterbalance the influence of Western powers.

While Brazil, India and South Africa have expressed reservations about expansion, there appears to be growing momentum towards it. Discussions about the criteria for new member inclusion are on the agenda, reflecting China's eagerness to broaden the alliance's reach.

The United States and the European Union are closely monitoring the developments, aiming to counterbalance the potential impact of increased Russian and Chinese influence within the BRICS alliance. The summit is also likely to witness discussions on challenging the dominance of the US dollar in global financial systems.

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Former President Donald Trump has announced via his Truth Social platform that he intends to surrender himself in Atlanta on August 24. This move is in connection with his indictment in Georgia, where he and 18 other defendants are facing 41 criminal charges linked to their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

"I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED," Trump posted.

View Full Image Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on August 22

The surrender date was reportedly negotiated between Trump's legal team and the Fulton County district attorney's office. CNN had initially reported Trump's plan to surrender at the Fulton County jail on August 24.

The decision comes following the 98-page indictment revealed last week, which has labelled the charges against Trump as politically motivated and aimed at undermining his reelection campaign.

View Full Image A Fulton County Sheriff officer drives past an entrance to the Fulton County Jail on August 21, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Former President Donald Trump and 18 others facing felony charges in the indictment related to tampering with the 2020 election in Georgia have been ordered to turn themselves in by August 25. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

Upon surrender, there will be a hard lockdown" of the area surrounding the Rice Street Jail, as confirmed by the local sheriff's office. The bond agreement signed between Trump's attorneys and Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis stipulates a $200,000 bond for the former president, along with instructions not to send any threatening messages on social media during the trial proceedings, Reuters reported.

Trump, who is a prominent contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is scheduled to surrender just a day after the first Republican primary presidential debate. It is noteworthy that he has decided not to participate in this debate.

The indictment, issued on August 14, had set a deadline of Friday at noon ET for Trump and his co-defendants to surrender or face arrest. Prosecutors have proposed a trial commencement date of March 4, while Trump's legal team has pushed for a trial in 2026.

(With Reuters inputs)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and sports. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
After years of isolation from the world due to COVID pandemic, North Korea is slowly opening its border to the world. A North Korean commercial flight took off from Beijing on Tuesday.

The Russian-made Air Koryo Tupelev Tu-204 jet with capacity for 210 passengers reportedly landed in Beijing early on Tuesday. Later, it was filmed taking off shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time, reported AP.

There has been no information on who was the in the flight, but it is expected that it would on return carry back North Koreans who had been trapped in China by the years because of border closure, reported Reuters Sophie Yu and Josh Smith.

Other than this flight, a few Russian and Chinese government officials flew to Pyongyang last month. Last week, buses carrying North Korean athletes to a taekwondo tournament in Kazakhstan crossed the border into China.

All this shows that North Korea is slowly reopening for the world. There has also been a resumption of Cargo trains and ship traffic over the past year, but North Korea has only just begun to allow some international passenger travel.

Koreans first

Air Koryo has also scheduled flights to Vladivostok on Friday, reported the international news agency. Notably, this would be its first flights to Russia post pandemic. After the partial resumption of the route, priority will be given to Koreans who were stuck overseas due to closing of borders.

"This flight isnt a full resumption of the route yet, it is a special flight for Koreans only to take people home again after years being stuck overseas," said Simon Cockerell, general manager at Beijing-based Koryo Tours. The same as the flights that seem likely to happen soon from Vladivostok." "Its all happening, but for Koreans first, the rest of uslater," he said.

Since the beginning of COVID pandemic, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has further fortified the country to ensure a complete isolation from the world in terms of news and information. He has built hundreds of kilometers (miles) or upgraded border fences, walls and guard posts since the pandemic began.

Due to stringent isolation, many foreign delegations closed their embassies in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship in supplies for much of the pandemic.

One diplomat for a Western country that pulled its staff from its embassy in Pyongyang said there was no official word from North Korean officials on when they could return.

"We expect a gradual opening with 'friendly' countries first, so we may be a bit down the list," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.

Before the pandemic hit the nation, Russia and China were estimated to host around 20,000 North Koreans each, according to a report by the Association of Asian Studies. Since the end of 2019, U.N. Security Council resolutions have required that all countries deport North Korean workers, but many remain in China, Russia, and other countries. Flight operations between China and North Korea received approval from the former.

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In a tense operation currently underway in Pakistan, a group of eight children and two adults find themselves in a perilous situation, stranded on a chairlift suspended over 1,200 feet above the mountainous terrain of the country's northwest. The incident occurred during what should have been a routine trip to school for the children in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Tragedy struck when, at approximately 9 a.m. local time on August 22, one of the cables supporting the chairlift gave way, leaving the passengers in a precarious situation, CNN reported. Also Read: Bomb attack kills 11 labourers in Pakistan With the chairlift system hanging at such a daunting height, local officials, including Tanveer Ur Rehman, a Battagram district representative, emphasised that ground-based rescue efforts are the only option, as per the publication.

Rehman underscored the complexity of the operation, telling CNN that experienced rescue personnel and possibly a helicopter would be essential to ensure a safe and successful rescue mission.

In response to the urgency of the situation, Pakistan's disaster management authority has formally requested helicopter assistance to facilitate the rescue operation.

The chairlift, an essential connection between two communities in the region, relies on two cables for its operation. However, one of these cables snapped, leading to the current predicament.

The incident has raised concerns about the safety of similar chairlift systems in the region, particularly for school-going children who heavily depend on them for transportation.
A US court has ordered a stay on the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India. The Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman faces a trial for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and has been linked to terrorist David Coleman Headley - one of the main conspirators behind the incident. The Biden administration had earlier urged a California court to deny the writ petition filed by Rana.

The extradition of Rana to India is stayed pending the conclusion of his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit," Judge Fischer said in the order issued on August 18.

The 62-year-old has appealed before the Ninth Circuit Court against the order by a US District Court in the Central District of California that denied the writ of habeas corpus.

The judge said that Rana had certainly raised serious legal questions and his position could very well be found to be correct on appeal. The court however did not find that Rana has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits".

There is value in compliance with Indias extradition request, but Ranas extradition proceedings have been going on for more than three years, which suggests that the process has not been rushed so far. Otherwise, the public interest, if anything, favours Rana," the judge wrote.

The court has asked Rana to submit his argument before October 10 and the US government has been asked to submit its response by November 8.

Meanwhile the National Investigation Agency is making efforts to bring Rana back to India through diplomatic channels. 10 Pakistani terrorists had laid siege for more than 60-hour to key sites in late 2008, attacking and killing 166 people in Mumbai.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The three-day summit of the BRICS group will noticeably see top leaders of the forum meet in South Africa. However Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the meet. The BRICS group which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is holding its first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic .

The BRICS group was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010.

However, Russian president Vladimir Putin will participate via video call after his travel to South Africa was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for him in March over the abduction of children from Ukraine. China's Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend in person as the bloc.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressed that Putin will fully participate despite appearing virtually and will make a speech. Russia will also be represented in person by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

That will top the agenda at Wednesday's main summit meeting in Johannesburg's financial district of Sandton. More than 20 nations have applied to join the bloc, according to South African officials, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will be at the summit, as will Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Overall, around 1,200 delegates from the five BRICS nations and dozens of other developing countries are expected in Johannesburg, including more than 40 heads of state, according to Ramaphosa. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also is expected to attend.

At the summit, there will be calls for more economic cooperation and collaboration in areas such as health, education and climate change  but under a growing sentiment in the developing world that it is not being served by what it sees as Western-led institutions such as the UN, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

If anything, BRICS has been a forum for Russia to express its anti-Western rhetoric, with Lavrov using a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in June to lambast the West for its hegemony" and using financial blackmail" to serve its "selfish interests".

A small protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine was held Tuesday at a public park more than 3 km (1.8 miles) from the summit venue.

There's added urgency after Russia halted a deal allowing Ukraine to export through the Black Sea last month, exacerbating hunger and pushing food prices higher. Putin later announced free Russian grain shipments to six African nations and might offer more shipments this week, some analysts say, as a means of gaining favour among the dozens of developing nations represented at the BRICS summit.

*With inputs from Associated Press

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Thane court order in the RSS defamation case . The court had earlier taken the transcript of the alleged defamatory speech as evidence in the pending criminal defamation case filed by an RSS worker Rajesh Kunte.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Magistrate's order was in violation of an order of a single judge of the High Court in another petition filed by Kunte which was related to the same defamation complaint, according to a report published by Bar and Bench.

Bhiwandi-based RSS activist Rajesh Kunte had filed a defamation suit against the Gandhi scion for holding the organization responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Kuntes suit claims that Gandhi, in an election speech on 6 March 2014, in Bhiwandi said that RSS people killed Mahatma Gandhi".

The Congress leader appeared in court for the first time in this case on 8 July 2015. He challenged the case in the Supreme Court on 8 September 2016, but later withdrew his petition saying he would fight the case in the Bhiwandi court.

Earlier in March this year, Rahul Gandhi faced a fresh defamation case. A complaint was filed with a Haridwar court in connection with remarks made by the former MP during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Gandhi had described the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as 21st century Kauravas" during an address in January.

The issue - one in a series of flashpoints between the Congress party and the ruling BJP - has however served to united numerous opposition parties. Many of them accuse the Centre of diverting attention from the Adani-Hindenburg issue.

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Chandrayaan-3, the hope of not only the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) but also millions of Indians, is just a day away from its historic lunar landing on August 23, 2023.

India's quest for space exploration is about to achieve a remarkable feat as Chandrayaan-3 is poised for a soft landing on the moon's surface on August 23, an event that will be witnessed live by the entire nation across multiple platforms. When to watch? ISRO shared on August 20 via its official 'X' platform (formerly Twitter), stating Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3 is slated to touch down on the Moon at 6:04 PM on Wednesday, August 23.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3 Update: Three days to landing on Moon; ISRO shares timing. See here

The live coverage of this historic event is scheduled to commence on August 23, 2023, at 5:27 PM.

Where to watch?

Viewers can watch the soft landing live on various platforms, including the ISRO Website, ISRO's YouTube channel, ISRO's Facebook page, and DD National TV channel as well as National Geographic TV channel. Online Live streaming will also take place on Disney+ Hotstar platform. Check recent updates at Chandrayaan-3 LIVE updates.

The live telecast of "Chandrayaan - 3 #countdowntohistory" will take place on both National Geographic Channel and Disney+ Hotstar platforms, commencing at 4 PM on August 23, 2023. This broadcast will precede the anticipated descent of Vikram, which is scheduled to initiate around 5:45 PM IST. The show, hosted by Gaurav Kapoor and featuring prominent space experts.

Also read: Russia's Luna 25 crashes on moon's surface ahead of Chandrayaan-3's landing

The live show enhanced with futuristic AR VR graphics will provide exclusive insights from eminent personalities such as astronauts Sunita Williams, and Rakesh Sharma, and S. Somanath, Chairman of ISRO about the mission's significance for India and the future of space exploration. Joining live, Srijan Pal Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre; Chris Hadfield, Former Commander Of The International Space Station and Ann Druyan, Creative Director of NASA's Voyager Interstellar Message and Emmy-winning Writer, will count down to the final moments.

ISRO has encouraged all schools and educational institutions across the nation to actively promote the event among students and faculty and to organise live streaming of the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing within their campuses.

Chandrayaan-3's journey began a month and six days ago when it was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradeshs Sriharikota on July 14.

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Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft experienced a lunar crash due to engine failure, head of Russia's space agency said on Monday. The pilotless Luna-25 was on a mission to become the first spacecraft to land on the moon's south pole, a region believed to contain valuable reserves of frozen water and precious elements, reported AP.

Yury Borisov, the Director General of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, explained that the spacecraft's engines were activated over the weekend with the intention of placing Luna-25 into a "pre-landing orbit." These engines did not shut down as planned, resulting in an uncontrolled descent of the lander onto the moon's surface. Roscosmos maintained contact with the spacecraft until communication was lost at 2:57 p.m. local time on Saturday, after which it entered an open lunar orbit and ultimately crashed.

Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency," Borisov said, reported Russian state news channel Russia 24.

Also read: Russia's Luna 25 crashes on moon's surface ahead of Chandrayaan-3's landing

This mission was Russia's first lunar attempt since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union. The United States, the Soviet Union, and China are the only countries to have achieved successful moon landings.

What caused Luna-25 lander's crash?

Borisov attributed the mission's failure to the interruption of Russia's lunar program for nearly 50 years. The negative experience of interrupting the lunar program for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failures," said Borisov. He emphasised that ending the program now "would be the worst decision ever" for Russia. Luna-25 had been in competition with an Indian spacecraft launched on July 14 to be the first to reach the moon's south pole. Both were expected to land on the moon between August 21 and 23.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3 LIVE updates: Can landing be postponed? Here's what ISRO says

Luna-25's launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a key part of President Vladimir Putin's space ambitions, to make Russia a space superpower . Following the crash, the Russian space agency indicated that the moon mission was essential for long-term defence capability" and technological sovereignty."

The lunar south pole is of great scientific interest because researchers believe that the permanently shadowed polar craters could contain frozen water, a vital resource for future space exploration, including potential air and rocket fuel production. Russia's space program has been affected by Western sanctions imposed in response to the war it launched in Ukraine, limiting its access to Western technology.

(With inputs from AP)

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The edX app for iPhone and Android devices offers anyone classes at universities such as Harvard, Cornell, Edinburgh, Cambridge, and many others.
General view of the Fulton County Jail, after a grand jury brought back indictments against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election results in Atlanta.
Former Lodi resident Christiane Mello and her husband Dave survived the recent fire that swept through Lahaina in Maui. Their home didnt burn down, but Christiane says it might have to be torn down and that they dont plan to return anytime soon. The couple owns three pizza parlors and are giving away free pies to victims of the fire.
Food, Wine, & Dining, Local News, Business & Finance

By Long Island Published: August 22 2023

Wells Enterprises' Ambitious Expansion to Create World-Class Ice Cream Plant in Dunkirk, Generating 200+ Jobs and Fueling Economic Growth with New York State's Support.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Wells Enterprises is planning to expand its manufacturing facility in Dunkirk, making a significant investment to create a world-class ice cream plant on its current property. The project will allow the company to add more than 200 new jobs and retain 401 existing full-time jobs. New York State is supporting the project with up to $10 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits and a $6 million grant from Empire State Development in exchange for job creation and capital investment commitments. The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency is also working with the management team of Wells to provide the support necessary for company executives to officially greenlight the project.

The new, state-of-art ice cream manufacturing plant in Chautauqua County will create jobs and spur economic growth for years to come, Governor Hochul said. This project is a win for hundreds of plant workers, a victory for many local business partners that benefit from the facility, and an important success story for the regions overall economy.

Liam Killeen, CEO of Wells Enterprises said, We are extremely excited to build on the strength of our team in Dunkirk and continue to work with the community to grow and expand our operations here. The investment in Dunkirk illustrates our passion to provide high-quality premium ice cream products that bring joy to consumers around the world. The planned expansion also reinforces our dedication to our team, consumers, and the community as a critical part of the long-term future of our company.

The Dunkirk manufacturing facility, located at 1 Ice Cream Drive, plays an important role in the companys expansion plans for its national manufacturing network of its Blue Bunny, Halo Top, Bomb Pop and Blue Ribbon Classics brands. The expansion is anticipated to more than double the facility's current production capacity and help support the companys continued plans for growth in novelty and packaged ice cream, while enabling future innovation.

Construction will begin on the new facility in the last quarter of 2023. It will include all new production lines, cold storage, and administrative office space. Wells will continue to manufacture ice cream products in the existing facility while construction of the new plant is underway.

The companys success is strongly supported by local dairy farmers who provide the majority of the fluid milk used at the facility today. The planned expansion will continue to utilize millions of pounds of dairy annually. That number is expected to grow along with the overall consumption of ice cream. Fortune Business Insights estimates the global ice cream market will reach $104.96 billion in 2029, up from $71.52 billion in 2021a 46 percent jump in less than a decade due to the worlds craving for ice cream.

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Hope Knight said, Together we have changed the story in Dunkirk from a major loss to a huge win. The construction of Wells' new state-of-the art ice cream plant will add hundreds of jobs  it's a sweet victory for the community, and ESD is proud to have played a role in negotiating. Whether it is ice cream, yogurt, or cereal, the food manufacturing industry is an important ingredient for our economy. The new high tech production facility in Dunkirk is a taste of the job growth and business opportunity that New York has experienced under Governor Hochuls leadership.

The Ferrero Group recently acquired Wells Enterprises, its operations and its ice cream brands.

The two family-owned businesses have a strong history of success. Ferrero, which was founded in 1946, has grown to become a global leader in sweet-packaged foods, including confectionary, ice cream, biscuits, and snacks. Wells has become the worlds largest family owned and managed ice cream company since it was founded in 1913 as a dairy delivery business.

Mark Geise, CEO of the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, said, I am proud that the CCIDA was able to assist the Ferrero Group and Wells Enterprises in bringing this exciting project to fruition. They have been a great partner, and I am grateful that they recognize the quality of the workforce in Dunkirk and chose to make their investment here in our community.

The ice cream plant will also continue to utilize Americolds new cold-storage distribution facility located in the Town of Dunkirk, which is providing much-needed storage for the food supply chain in the area. Americolds $41 million project was supported by up to $700,000 in performance-based taxed credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program in return for the creation of 60 full-time jobs.

State Senator George Borrello said, Wells Enterprises expanded investment in our region is a huge win that will create jobs, boost demand from our dairy farmers and enhance our local economy. With its strong foothold in the food processing industry, Dunkirk has the infrastructure and workforce necessary to support this exciting expansion. My appreciation goes out to the Governor, the team at Empire State Development and all the local partners who worked to make this happen. It's a testament to the great things that can be achieved through collaboration."

Assemblymember Andrew Goodell said, "The ice cream facility operated by Wells has been an extremely important part of the economy of Northern Chautauqua County for many decades. It is very exciting to see this substantial investment and a corresponding increase in employment. This project will help ensure that this facility will continue for many years to make high quality ice cream and novelty products with a well-deserved reputation for great taste!"

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said, We are excited to see Wells long-term commitment to Chautauqua County and the City of Dunkirk, New York. With the proposed plan from Wells, who was recently acquired by the Ferrero Group, seeing a global company plan to make this significant investment in our community is a testament to the quality of Chautauqua Countys local workforce. Id also like to thank the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, under the direction of Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise, for their hard work to make this project possible.

City of Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas said, The City of Dunkirk is excited for Wells Enterprises 21st Century rebuild and expansion. We are pleased for the hundreds of hard-working employees now at Wells  and the hundreds to be added with the planned expansion  who can plan and build on a generations worth of good-paying jobs. These jobs will help populate our schools, create additional value in our city, and allow the employees and their families to live, work, and thrive in our community.

For additional information about the Ferrero Group, please visit https://www. ferrero.com/.

Addition information about Wells Enterprises can be found at https:// wellsenterprisesinc.com/.

About Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) is New Yorks chief economic development agency. The mission of ESD is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the State and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York State. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing the New York State Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of I LOVE NY, the States iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, please visit www.regionalcouncils. ny.gov and www.esd.ny.gov.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: August 22 2023

Multistate Coalition of Attorneys General Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Law Barring Domestic Abusers from Obtaining Guns.

New York Attorney General Letitia James today took action to defend a federal law that prevents persons under a domestic violence restraining order from accessing guns. Joining a coalition of 25 attorneys general to file an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in the case of United States v. Rahimi, Attorney General James urged the court to preserve this critical tool meant to protect survivors of domestic abuse. The case involves Zackey Rahimi, who was under a domestic violence restraining order for assaulting his girlfriend, and was therefore barred from possessing guns. Rahimi was subsequently involved in multiple shootings and then indicted for possession of a firearm while under a domestic violence restraining order. Rahimi challenged the federal statute and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Second Amendment prohibits disarming persons under orders of protection for domestic violence. The amicus brief filed by Attorney General James and the coalition of attorneys general urges the Supreme Court to overrule the lower court.

Keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous domestic abusers is a commonsense way to save lives and protect communities, said Attorney General James. Nearly every state in the nation has some form of law barring abusers and people under active restraining orders from accessing guns. With these reasonable laws under threat, I will use the full force of my office to protect New York residents and communities from gun violence.

In the amicus brief, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that striking down the existing federal law would make it more difficult to protect survivors of domestic abuse. The coalition notes that studies have shown an abuser is five times more likely to murder his or her intimate partner if a firearm is in the home and that firearms are the leading cause of intimate partner homicides  more so than all other weapons combined. In the United States, 80 percent of these homicide victims are women, and pregnant women and women of color are disproportionately the targets of intimate partner violence.

The attorneys general also note that in addition to the federal law, 46 states, the District of Columbia, and multiple territories have laws limiting the ability of those under a domestic violence restraining order to access firearms. These statutes reflect the established fact that perpetrators of domestic abuse can be uniquely dangerous. The coalition asserts that the lower court ruling could negatively impact these existing laws and therefore make it harder to protect Americans lives and safety.

Joining Attorney General James in filing todays amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

This amicus brief is part of Attorney General James ongoing efforts to address gun violence throughout New York and across the nation. In May, Attorney General James sued a gun accessory manufacturer that aided the Buffalo mass shooter. In April, Attorney General James joined a multistate amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear United States v. Rahimi and overturn the Fifth Circuits ruling. Also in April, she also took action to remove more than 3,000 guns off New Yorks streets in a single day through the first-ever statewide gun buyback program, and has removed over 7,000 guns from New York since taking office. In March, Attorney General James and the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force took down a firearm and drug trafficking operation that illegally sold guns, including ghost guns and assault weapons, in New York City. The takedown recovered 19 firearms, including 12 ghost guns. Also in March, Attorney General James secured a court order banning 10 gun distributors from selling and shipping ghost gun parts into New York. In December 2022, Attorney General James and the task force removed 57 illegal firearms, including 51 ghost guns, as part of a 438-count indictment against three individuals. In June 2022, Attorney General James sued 10 national gun distributors for bringing ghost gun parts into New York.
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At least one wolf was sighted in the east of the country in the last two weeks, the environment ministry said on Tuesday.

The nature and forest agency received a video recorded around Echternach and separate photos taken around Beaufort which authorities confirmed as showing the animal, the ministry said in a press release.

It is not clear whether it is one and the same animal or two separate sightings, the release said.

This takes the confirmed number of wolf sighting this year to four. In July, a wolf mauled a sheep in the north of the country.

Wolves have been sighted several times in Luxembourg in recent years, after becoming extinct across much of Europe in the 19th century. A wolf was believed to have been responsible for mauling a sheep in Troisvierges, also in the north, at the end of last year.

The nature management agency has asked citizens to report any signs or sightings of a wolf.

Maiming or killing a wolf can result in a penalty of up to 750,000, the environment ministry said in response to a parliamentary question last year. On top of that, the perpetrator could face a prison sentence of between eight days and six months.
Palma judicial authorities will imminently request the extradition of the two tourists arrested in France for being involved in the alleged Magalluf gang rape of an 18-year-old British tourist in Magalluf who were located on Sunday in France after fleeing the island in a panic.

The young men are accused of taking part in the gang rape of a holidaymaker in a hotel.

At the moment, the accused - of French nationality - are being held at a Gendarmerie facility, awaiting trial.

The most likely step is that the duty judge will order them to be remanded in custody and then the extradition order to Spain will be lodged.

Apparently, the accused deny that they sexually abused the tourist in the Magalluf hotel and maintain that the relations were consensual.

However, the twenty videos that the eight young men recorded with their mobiles appear to confirm that sexual violence took place.

The Guardia Civil, after the gang rape was reported, opened an investigation and found that some of those involved did not know each other, but had been encouraged by other participants to join in the assault.

The six initially arrested on the island are currently in prison, bail having been denied, while the remaining two managed to catch a flight to Baden-Baden in Germany before being located after crossing the border and arrested.
The death of Tafari Campbell, former President Barack Obamas personal chef at the White House who drowned after he went paddleboarding off of Marthas Vineyard on July 23, was ruled to be accidental by the Chief Medical Examiners office, Massachusetts State Police told MassLive on Tuesday.

Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Va., was identified by state police as the paddleboarder who was found dead. Campbell was visiting Marthas Vineyard when he died, police said.

Divers located the 45-year-old mans body about 100 feet from shore, and about 8 feet deep underwater, just before 10 a.m. on Monday, July 24, state police said.

State police said on Tuesday that the investigation has not yet been closed due to some procedural processes yet to be completed, but their findings line up with those of the Medical Examiner.

The former president and former First Lady Michelle Obama were not at their Marthas Vineyard residence when the incident happened, police said. But the family issued a statement, according to several news outlets, including NBC10 in Boston.

Tafari was a beloved part of our family. When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House  creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together. In the years that followed, we got to know him as a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter, the Obamas said. Thats why, when we were getting ready to leave the White House, we asked Tafari to stay with us, and he generously agreed. Hes been part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that hes gone. Today we join everyone who knew and loved Tafari  especially his wife Sherise and their twin boys, Xavier and Savin  in grieving the loss of a truly wonderful man.

MassLive Reporter Irene Rotondo contributed to this story.
A 10-year-old girl shot at her home in Springfield earlier this month is being remembered in her obituary as a hero.

Aubrianna Lynn Serra gave her life to protect her family, the obituary read.
A New Hampshire woman who was held captive in Haiti for 13 days with her daughter is speaking directly to her captors nearly two weeks after she was freed.

Speaking in French, Alix Dorsainvil shared a message for both the Haitian population and the gangsters in YouTube video dated Thursday, Aug. 17

While Dorsavil thanked the Haitian community for their prayers and support during her time in captivity, her message was predominately directed toward the Haitian gangsters who held her captive.

I want you guys to know that everything I said during my time in captivity was sincere, Dorsainvil said. They were not the manipulative words of someone desperate to escape, but simply the truth.

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 states. She has been a nurse for the school, according to a video on the website. But she also provides services for the community.

On Aug. 9, the nonprofit confirmed Dorsainvil and her daughter had been freed and that they were healthy and unharmed.

Dorsainvil first visited Haiti soon after the 2010 earthquake. She was still in college but fell in love with the people, according to the nonprofits website. She continued taking trips back to Haiti during her breaks from school and during the summers.

In 2020, Dorsainvil became a staff member at El Roi Haiti as a school nurse. About a year later, she married the ministry director, Sandro Dorsainvil, who grew up in the Cite Soleil area. The community in Port-au-Prince is known for its poverty and violence, according to the website.

The violence has stirred anger among Haitians, who say they simply want to live in peace.

I want you to know that I hold no grudges against you in my heart, the nurse continued in the video. That doesnt mean I dont agree with what you are doing. Especially against your own Haitian brothers and sisters.

Dorsainvil went on to advise the gangsters that what they are chasing will never truly satisfy them.

I understand that all of you are in search for happiness, satisfaction, money, power and status to fill the void in your hearts, she said. They will never fill the void in your hearts. The only way for this hole to be filled is with the love of Jesus Christ.

You can watch the full video below:
You may want to hit the (Thunder) road early if youre planning to catch one of Bruce Springsteens shows at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough later this week.

The Boss returns to the Bay State for the first time since 2016, playing shows on Thursday, Aug. 24 and Saturday, Aug. 26.

Springsteen, 73, hit the road with his legendary E-Street Band for their first extended outing in nearly seven years earlier this year. Sets on the tour have typically stretched to three hours, revisiting almost every chapter of Springsteens sprawling catalogue. Fans looking to see this epic show can shop for tickets online using StubHub or VividSeats.

Heres what you need to know about travel times, parking, tickets, and more for the shows.

Travel times, doors and gates: Parking lots at Gillette are slated to open at 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon of each show, according to a statement released by the New England Patriots media relations office. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with show time starting at 7:30 p.m.

Be warned, there is no opening act. So if you get there late, you risk missing some of the music pumped out by the 17-member strong E Street Band.

Stadium officials are warning ticket holders to build in plenty of travel time to get to Foxborough. Thats particularly critical for Thursdays set, which will coincide with the usual rush hour madness.

Another caveat: Traffic restrictions will be in place on local roads before and after each show. Fans should plan to use Interstate 95, Interstate 495, or Route 140 to access Route 1 and the stadium, according to the media offices statement.

Parking: As noted above, stadium lots open at 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon before each show. General parking is located is located on the opposite side of Route 1 from the stadium and is included in the price of the event ticket. A parking pass is not required for general parking. But if you want to park on the stadium side of Route 1, prepaid passes will set you back $50.

In order to purchase a prepaid parking pass, ticketholders must use the same email address that their event tickets are associated with. Ticketholders may only purchase one prepaid parking pass per account per event, the media office noted in its statement, further warning that prepaid parking passes are limited and are subject to availability.

Parking for oversized vehicles is located in Lot 52, accessible from P10 North and P10 South from the north and south respectively, and is included in the price of the event ticket. ADA parking will be accessible from P1 when traveling from the north and P7 when traveling from the south, according to the media offices statement.

For more parking information, visit gillettestadium.com/parking/.

Entrances: Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. And fans can enter the stadium through its Bank of America, CVS Health and Ticketmaster Gates.

Fans with field seats or field general admission should enter via the Enel Plaza (Ticketmaster field gate) only.

ADA entry is available through the Ticketmaster Gate on the east and Bank of America Gate on the west.

According to the release, Gillette Stadium has two dedicated ADA elevators for concertgoers who need additional accommodations. Elevator access is available on the east side of the stadium at the Ticketmaster Gate and the west side of the stadium at the W1 entrance. Club and suite ticketholders should enter via the E1, E2, W1, W2, W3 or W4 entrances.

A full stadium map and seating chart is available at here.

Clear Bag Policy: Officials are fine with fans reliving their, well, Glory Days, but do insist they do it safely. Bags larger than a small wristlet or handheld wallet are strictly forbidden, so pack lightly.

If you must bring a bag with you, there are three options:

1. A one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag that does not exceed 11 x 11

2. A clear plastic vinyl or PVC bag that does not exceed 12 x 12 x 6

3. A small wristlet or handheld wallet not exceeding 6.5 x 4.5.

Purses, shoulder bags, and backpacks are also off-limits. And youre better off leaving them in your car, since they wont be held or stored by the venue if you do bring one with you, according to the statement.

You can find more information here.

Also Off-Limits: GoPro/video cameras, tripods/monopods, professional cameras and cameras with detachable lenses, selfie sticks, strollers, backpacks, lasers, umbrellas, outside food and beverage, balloons, beach balls, noisemakers and any items that stadium management deem dangerous and/or inappropriate.

Portable phone chargers are fine. So are Polaroid cameras -- if youre parachuting in from, like, 1979 or something.

Also, you can bring signs, but they cant be any larger by 11x17.

Tickets: Tickets are digital and available via mobile device. You can download the Gillette Stadium App on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Youre encouraged to add them to your Apple wallet or Google pay before arrival.

Ticketmaster is the ticket vendor for all stadium events.

Special Event Train Service: The MBTA Commuter Rail and Keolis are providing round-trip, special event train service from Boston for the Thursday, Aug. 24 show, and from both Boston and Providence for the Aug. 26 show.

From the release:

Tickets for the Aug. 24 special event train from Boston are sold out, but a limited number of $20 round-trip tickets for the Aug. 26 Boston and Providence special event trains are on sale now exclusively via the mTicket app. Tickets for each special event train are sold separately and need to be purchased for the correct corresponding date and station of origin (Boston or Providence).

Tickets must be purchased prior to boarding the event train. All passengers, including children 11 and under, must have a ticket to board the train. Please note: These are special event trains and ticket sales will be stopped once the maximum capacity is reached. Regular Commuter Rail tickets and passes are not valid for special event trains.

Guests choosing to travel to Gillette Stadium for the Thursday, Aug. 24 show via the Foxboro Station weekday Commuter Rail service will not be able to return to Boston following the conclusion of the show via the special event train without a corresponding special event train ticket. The last Foxboro Station weekday Commuter Rail train departs for Boston at 10:20 p.m., while the special event train will depart 30 minutes following the conclusion of the concert, according to the release.
An airborne crash Sunday left two gaping holes in the home of Donna and Trevor Sims of Belchertown  one of which was caused by the vehicles engine flying 25 feet to the second floor.

Now a friend of the family is raising money for the Sims through a GoFundMe page, stating the home has been condemned.

It will take time for their insurance to assess the damage and issue payments and they pray that all of the repairs needed will be covered and that their home will not be deemed a total loss, states the GoFundMe, organized by Seana Justine.

The GoFundMe, created Monday night, had about $300 raised toward its $20,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.

The Sims family had just bought the home five months ago, Trevor Sims told MassLive on Monday. He said he was making dinner on Sunday night when he heard a loud bang and his mother-in-law screaming.

He ran upstairs and ushered his mother-in-law away from a gaping hole in the side of their home, where a vehicles engine had smashed through their upstairs bathroom.

Minutes prior, a 19-year-old man sped away from police when they tried to pull him over, resulting in a serious airborne collision course through a Belchertown neighborhood, according to police.

The airborne Nissan hit a light post before smashing into the front end of a 2023 Jeep Wrangler parked at a neighbors home, and finally stopped when it hit the outside of the Sims home, police said.

The unidentified 19-year-old driver from New Hampshire was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Police found beer cans and a fake ID inside the vehicle following the crash, they said.

Tragically, the young driver was killed, the GoFundMe says. The Sims family feels devastated on behalf of the young man and his family.

Trevor Sims was one of only a few people who saw the body of the teenager in the bushes a short walk away from the house.

The officer thought he ran off, Sims said. I heard something hit the bushes ... he was just gone. He was dead on scene.

Still sitting on the second floor bathroom of the brick home is the Nissan engine which was ejected from the 19-year-olds car, its oil leaking onto the first floor of the home, according to Sims.

He said he was grateful that the Jeep parked near their house potentially blocked the vehicles progress toward the part of their house occupied by people. The engine, which on Monday was still sitting on the second floor bathroom and leaking oil into the first floor of their home, flew into an empty room, he said.

If the Jeep wasnt there, Sims said. It probably wouldve killed my mother-in-law.

The home has another hole on the first level where Donna Sims said she kept her deceased fathers Stephen King book collection.

All my dads books are damaged, Sims said. I kept the collection going after he passed away. Every time Stephen King came out with a book, I bought it. I never read any of them. I dont even like Stephen King.

The couple said they dont know where they will live after the American Red Cross money runs out but they hope their insurance provides a solution.

At the same time, as a mother to three sons, Donna Sims said she is still thinking about the teenager who died on Sunday.

The house can be replaced, you cant replace him. Nineteen  he was just starting his life, she said.

Donations to the GoFundMe can be made here.
An hours-long standoff in Randolph ended peacefully, but not before the suspect set fire to a condemned building multiple times, according to the Randolph Police Department.

Randolph Police originally said on Facebook late Monday night that Moulton Street was closed due to an ongoing and dynamic incident.

Authorities, including a SWAT team, were called to the scene around 11 p.m., NBC10 Boston reported.

Police believe a man snuck into a building at 11 Moulton St. that was boarded up after it caught fire a few weeks ago. The man set the building on fire three separate times during the standoff, according to police.

Read More: GoFundMe created to support homeowners in deadly Belchertown crash

The man was taken into police custody around 7 a.m. Tuesday. He was brought to an area hospital for observation and is expected to face charges. His name was not released.
Thousands of records detailing the discipline of police officers from across Massachusetts are now available in a publicly-accessible database, state officials announced Tuesday.

The database includes complaints against more than 2,100 officers that their employers deemed credible, from reports of excessive force to criminal misconduct. The information was published Tuesday by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, or POST Commission, a relatively new state board charged with providing greater oversight of police departments and their officers.

We know that releasing this information furthers police accountability and is a matter of great public interest, POST Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said in a statement.

The database, which the commission was required by law to create and release, is posted on the agencys website, linked here.

The platform is intended to be a transparency tool, one that could shed light on cases where police officers have broken department rules or the law. But it could also assist the POST Commissions oversight role. If the board detects a history or pattern of misbehavior by a particular police officer, it could open an investigation.

Listed in the database are records of 3,413 sustained cases of police misconduct  instances where a police department found a complaint against an officer to be credible. Unfounded or unsustained complaints are not included.

The database lists complaints against active officers, as well as those who resigned or retired to avoid discipline.

The departments with the most complaints included in the database are three of the largest police agencies in the state: the Massachusetts State Police with 493 complaints listed, the Springfield Police Department with 417 and Boston Police with 373.

The complaints fall into one of six categories, the commission said:

Reports alleging bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation and other protected categories

Complaints regarding the use of excessive, prohibited or deadly force

Actions that resulted in serious bodily injury or death, including officer-involved shootings

Truthfulness or professional integrity (misrepresenting or falsifying reports or evidence)

Criminal misconduct (both felonies and misdemeanors)

Other misconduct (including unprofessionalism, policy violations and conduct unbecoming of an officer)

Each record includes a brief summary provided by the police department of the complaint and the discipline imposed. The earliest reported record is from December 1984, and the most recent complaints included are through January of this year. The commission said the data would be updated regularly moving forward.

There are 440 law enforcement agencies under POSTs watch, from small municipal departments to the 2,000-member state police. The database includes complaints against 2,165 officers from 273 departments.

The remaining 167 departments reported having no sustained complaints against their members. The commission said it verified that the departments had no reportable complaints.

State leaders established the POST Commission in a 2020 policing reform law, passed following the murder of George Floyd.

Among other tasks, the commission was told to establish a certification process for the 20,000 police officers spread across the state. The police reform law automatically certified existing officers, but mandated that they be recertified for their job every three years, based on standards and training requirements set by POST.

The law also required POST to create and release the database of police disciplinary cases it published Tuesday.

The database was long-delayed. Zuniga predicted its imminent release more than a year ago and reiterated in May that the records would soon be published.

But the vast troves of data submitted by police departments required extensive work on the part of POST staff to sort through, Zuniga said. The commission also wanted to ensure the records would be accurately reported, including by differentiating two or more officers with the same name. Massachusetts, for example, has roughly a dozen officers with the name Michael Murphy.

We are pleased with the progress of another major directive of our statute, Zuniga said in a statement on Tuesday. Since its inception, the POST Commission has ensured that we meet statutory obligations while focusing on the critical tasks associated with building this new agency. Over the past year, law enforcement agencies submitted disciplinary records and POST staff has worked carefully to validate these officer records for publishing.

Zuniga also said earlier this month that there may be corrections to the database after it is released.

In some cases, departments submitted incorrect information to the commission, including inaccurate records indicating officers had sustained complaints that they in fact did not have.

Zuniga said the commission would work with the police departments themselves, who were responsible for submitting the complaint information, to correct any errors in the files.
The teen driver killed in a serious, airborne collision course of a car wreck in Belchertown on Sunday night has been identified by the Northwestern District Attorneys Office.

Miles Murray, 19, of Henniker, New Hampshire, was ejected from his 2011 Nissan Altima around 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 20, after the car went airborne over a bed of mulch, then hit rock wall, a tree and a light post before smashing into the front end of a 2023 Jeep Wrangler parked at 79 N. Main St., police said.

The teenagers body was found a distance from the car following the crash, State Police said, and a witness said Murray had landed in the bushes some ways from where his Nissan Altima finally came to a rest against the exterior wall of 79 N. Main St.
In Peabody on Tuesday a search in connection with the homicide investigation of Ana Walshe was prompted by two residents who contacted State Police, according to the Norfolk District Attorneys Office.

Walshes husband, Brian Walshe of Cohasset, is accused of killing his wife and dismembering her body following what court documents have described as an affair and a plan to leave her husband and move to Washington, D.C.

There were multiple reports of a police presence in the area on the morning of Aug. 22. The district attorneys office said there had been a search in wooded area of the city near a strip mall and a mobile home community.

Two people in the Peabody community, who were unconnected to Brian Walshes prosecution had reached out to State Police and said the wooded area could be of investigative interest to Ana Walshes case.

However, after State Polices SERT team and Norfolk District Attorney detectives canvassed the area, they found nothing, the district attorneys office said.

Ana Walshe, 39, the mother of three young children in Cohasset, was first reported missing by her employer on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.

Four days later, on Jan. 8, police arrested her husband, Brian Walshe, on charges of misleading a police investigation. Prosecutors stated he lied to police about his whereabouts during the timeframe of his wifes disappearance.

In April, he appeared in Norfolk Superior Court for his arraignment after being indicted by a grand jury. He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body.

The indictment came after his initial court appearance on Jan. 9 and is a procedural step for murder cases in Massachusetts.

Prosecutors believe Brian Walshe killed his wife in the basement of the home a little after 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, and later removed her limbs and disposed of the evidence in a dumpster near his mothers home in Swampscott.

During a search of the dumpster, police found, among other items: Ana Walshes COVID-19 vaccination card, a Tyvek suit, a hacksaw, a Hermes watch identical to one Walshe wore and rugs similar to the ones placed in the couples Cohasset home, court records show.
WESTHAMPTON  Lifetime dairy farmer Henry Parsons wants public schools to offer whole milk to students. He believes the low-fat milk schoolchildren get now doesnt taste as good and that puts kids off milk for good.

Well, first we need a farm bill, said U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, who visited with Parsons Tuesday at his familys Mayval Farm Creamery on Easthampton Road in Westhampton as part of McGoverns annual tour of farms within the 2nd District, a practice hes been doing for 13 years.
The city of Woburn is preparing to shelter nearly 100 migrant families next week.

Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency earlier this month due to the rising rate of migrant families needing shelter and services in Massachusetts. The state is already sheltering more than 20,000 people in state shelters and the expected arrival of hundreds of families in Woburn is the latest test for the states shelter system.

Woburns a welcoming community, but there are going to be impacts and costs, particularly at the school level, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin told WCVB-TV. [The state is] going to be helping us with those costs.

Recently, the city has sheltered 10 migrant families. Last week, that number rose to 59. Galvin said that number is expected to jump yet again in the coming weeks.

The Sonesta Select, a hotel on Mishawum Road, is being turned into an emergency shelter to house migrant families, the station reported. Under the right-to-shelter law in Massachusetts, city and state officials are required to find housing for migrants.

New York and Washington, D.C., are the only two other states with similar laws.

Galvin said that Woburn is not the only community stepping up to provide shelter for migrants, according to WCVB-TV.

Galvin could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

In mid-July, The Republican newspaper of Springfield took an in-depth look at how motels and hotels in Greenfield, Chicopee and West Springfield were providing housing for 269 families.

Around the same time, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced that more than 70 communities across the state would become home to migrants and asylum seekers.

The states Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has taken up the mantle of supporting hotels and migrant families as they settle into their new communities.

Churches in Woburn are collecting cash donations, baby formula and diapers, along with childrens clothing, according to WCVB-TV.
An assault that occurred during a Worcester Business Journal reception is under investigation, according to Brad Kane, editor at the Worcester Business Journal.

The assault happened in July during a four-hour, winners-only reception for soon-to-be honorees for the 24th annual 40 Under Forty Awards, which recognizes young individuals in the Central Massachusetts business community, Kane wrote in a signed column.

During the event, Kane said an ambulance pulled into their parking lot at the end of the night and he thought someone had gotten overwhelmed from the weather and needed some kind [of] medical attention.

Read more: 10-year-old Aubrianna Serra, killed in Springfield shooting, loved princesses and the outdoors

Instead, what I and the rest of WBJs staff learned in the following days and weeks has been far more alarming, Kane wrote. During that July reception, there was an assault, and the police are actively investigating the incident.

Although the 40 Under Forty awards were to be held on Aug. 21 followed by a ceremony on Sept. 13, Kane said everything is being pushed to still unspecified dates.

Read more: Death of Obamas personal chef Tafari Campbell ruled accidental by medical examiner

We are upset about the situation, Kane told MassLive. We are supporting the investigation as much as we can and supporting the person most impacted by the incident.

40 Under Forty is the WBJs largest event of the year.

Kane said the project takes six months to produce, and includes hundreds of hours to create. Its a way to celebrate up-and-coming professionals and the youthful exuberance they bring to the Central Massachusetts business community.

Kanes column detailed his feeling of shock about how assault is far too common in business settings and other events.

Our eyes have been opened to a dark undercurrent in our society most would prefer not to discuss openly. As journalists and a media organization, we are firm in our commitment to bring these topics out of the shadows. We plan to do this comprehensively, transparently, and sensitively, said Kane. Some alarm bells are hard to hear, but this one is ringing in our ears. We all need to learn how to recognize the sound and be able to respond.
Six percent of workers who filed workers compensation claims for catching COVID-19 between March 2020 and September 2021 have also received care for Long COVID, according to a new report.

Of these workers, many of them continued receiving medical care for ongoing symptoms a year after their infections, researchers at the Cambridge-based Workers Compensation Research Institute say, citing work that involved data from 31 states.

Our main takeaways for workers compensation policymakers and stakeholders are that long COVID continued to affect a meaningful share of workers with COVID-19 infections, and that was an important driver of claim costs, said Ramona Tanabe, president and CEO of WCRI.

Symptoms of Long COVID include continued fatigue, fever, heart palpitations and chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, sleeping problems, depression or anxiety, change in smell or taste and difficulty thinking or concentrating, sometimes referred to as brain fog, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among all 50 states, Massachusetts was found to have the second fewest amount of workers who filed Long COVID claims, behind Missouri.

About 3% of workers in the state filed claims for Long COVID care. Oregon, with the most claims in the country, had about 10% of sampled workers who continued to be affected by the virus.

In states with a higher percentage of workers who received medical care after COVID-19, a lower percentage of those workers with medical care developed long COVID, the study says.

Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Jo Comerford, a Northampton Democrat, would create a special commission to study Long COVID-related needs in Massachusetts.

The report showed that those treated in the ICU during their initial COVID-19 infection were likely to end up seeking treatment for continued symptoms in the post-acute stage of the infection. Among workers sampled who received ICU care, 74 percent also received treatment for Long COVID.

Of the workers who were hospitalized, but did not receive ICU care, 46% also had Long COVID symptoms; and among those sampled who received one day medical care and no hospitalizations, 5 percent sought treatment for Long COVID.

The cost of Long COVID claims also far outgrew insurance costs to treat initial COVID infections, according to the study.

At an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, these workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received about $29,000 in medical care, Tanabe said.

The medical costs for workers who were hospitalized or had ICU care early after the infection averaged $66,000 and $190,000, respectively.

In comparison, those who were just treated for an initial COVID infection racked up $2,300 in claims.

Most workers with Long COVID had conditions related to their lungs -- with 64% of claims having to do with pulmonary health. A third of all claims had to do with heart-related symptoms, and 12% listed mental health conditions.

About half of the workers with Long COVID had medical bills with continued symptoms affecting multiple parts of their body, the report says.

Workers with long COVID on average had five months of temporary disability benefits within an average of 18 months of experience after infection. This suggests that in many cases workers with long COVID were not able to return to work after the acute stage of the COVID-19 infection was over, or perhaps they had subsequent absences from work after initially returning to work. Importantly, these measures suggest that long COVID may have had a persistent impact on workers ability to work after infection, the studys authors wrote.

The sample reflected some correlation between workers age and Long COVID. Only 2% of workers 15-24 reported Long COVID symptoms -- with each increasing age group showing higher numbers of people continuing to suffer from symptoms.

Of the 45-54 year olds sampled, 9% reported receiving Long COVID treatment, and 12% of those aged 65 and older did.
(*This story was updated at 5:06 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023 with additional reporting.)

In 2006, the last time Massachusetts lawmakers tried to pass in-state tuition and other benefits for undocumented students, the bill went down to defeat.

Undeterred, advocates kept up the fight. And just about two decades later, theyve seen those efforts come to fruition, with language included in this years state budget that officials hailed Tuesday as a win for students, businesses, and the taxpayers.

This is a state that was built by immigrants - it continues to be built by those who come here seeking opportunity, Gov. Maura Healey said during a news conference on the campus of Northern Essex Community College in Lawrence.

From now on, no matter where you were born or your status ... you will be eligible to in-state tuition and state financial aid, Healey continued. This is a big step forward for students who have been growing up here [and] following their dreams right here in Massachusetts. It is what is fair and what is right.

The $56 billion spending blueprint the Democratic governor signed into law earlier this month includes language authorizing in-state tuition and financial aid at the commonwealths public colleges and universities for undocumented students who attended high school for at least three years, and who have earned their diploma or GED.

Advocates said Tuesday that the language, known as tuition equity, is critical to opening the doors to opportunity to the commonwealths undocumented students, who often have seen their dreams of higher education derailed, while native-born students go on to earn college and graduate-level degrees.

Some of our youngest students come here, they do all the work, but they arent documented, said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, who joined Healey, education leaders, and other advocates at Tuesdays news conference. Then they get the diploma, and there arent equities. They have to pay out-of-state tuition ... Well, thats changing today.

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks during a news conference on the campus of Northern Essex Community College in Lawrence, Mass., on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 (Screen Capture).John L. Micek

Officials said Tuesday that the policy will help the state meet growing workforce needs across a variety of industries, ranging from healthcare to hospitality. Those workers will pump more money into the states economy, even as the public institutions help create pipelines to opportunity.

We will have a front-row seat to the amazing things these young people will do when their talent is unleashed, Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Middlesex, who shepherded the proposal through the upper chamber, said.

This is 20 years in the making -- sometimes things take a little while, Spilka said. But as with the budget, it was worth the wait.

UMass System President Marty Meehan, who was in the Legislature the last time lawmakers tackled tuition equity, contrasted the states swift action this year against the paralysis on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have spent decades unable to reach an accord on immigration reform.

Immigrants built this country into what it is today. We need to take this message from Massachusetts and make sure it gets out beyond, he said.

Joan, a student at Northern Essex Community College, speaks during a news conference at the school's campus in Lawrence on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 (Screen Capture).John L. Micek

Northern Essex student Joan, who was brought to the United States as a child, and later learned she was undocumented, said shed put her dreams of pursuing a nursing degree and working for UNICEF on hold, because she couldnt afford the towering price of out-of-state tuition.

But with the new state policy, the dream that seemed so impossible seems a little more possible, she said. She asked to only be identified by her first name to protect herself and her family.
Even before city councilors have had a chance to discuss draft ordinances related to crisis pregnancy centers, a lawyer has reached out to warn the city it will face litigation should the ordinances pass.

In a letter sent to councilors Monday, Samuel Whiting, a staff attorney for Massachusetts Family Institute, wrote that should either of the ordinances pass, it stands ready to partner with the crisis pregnancy centers, which it calls pregnancy resources centers, to immediately litigate this matter should the need arise.

There are two such centers in Worcester, Clearway Clinic and Problem Pregnancy. Clearway Clinic is currently being sued by a patient who claims her ectopic pregnancy went undiagnosed due to her treatment there and she later faced invasive surgery that involved the removal of a fallopian tube due to the missed diagnosis.
Apex Group Ltd., a global financial services provider, announced its appointment by Sadu Capital to provide Fund Administration and AML solutions.

Sadu Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in private technology startups through equity ownership. Sadus latest fund currently focuses on investing in early-stage startups (pre-seed, seed and Series A) that are based in the Middle East & North Africa region (MENA).

The drive for economic diversification and state-backed initiatives continue to fuel the growth of Middle Easts venture capital industry. Despite a global economic slowdown, recent MAGNiTT data shows that MENA-based startups continued to significant interest from investors in the first half of 2023 as funding levels reached $1,075m across 193 deals in the MENA region.

Apex Group will support Sadu Capitals Cayman domiciled fund with technology-enabled Fund Administration and AML Officer services. Fund Administration is at the core of Apex Groups single-source solution, delivering timely, accurate and independent services, underpinned by market leading technology platforms.

In addition, Apex Groups comprehensive AML services and outsourced officers coordinate proactive solutions to enable clients to understand and mitigate AML risks, as well as identifying early opportunities that arise from evolving regulation and new market trends.

This appointment, by a reputable VC firm such as Sadu, demonstrates the application of Apex Groups single-source solution, delivering timely, accurate and independent services to meet client needs, streamline their vendor relationships and deliver time and cost economies. According to a Total Economic Impact (TEI) report by Forrester Consulting, clients of Apex Groups single-source solution achieve, on average, cost benefits of $5.39m, with a net present value of $2.75m over a three-year period.

Salem Washeely, Managing Director, Sadu Capital adds:

As a leading venture capital firm in the MENA region, Sadu is pleased to appoint Apex Group to provide Fund Administration and AML solutions to our early-stage VC fund. Sadu, from its inception, planned to build an outstanding relationship with its investors and LPs including transparent reporting and seamless onboarding process among many other exceptional experiences. To achieve that, Sadu looked for a capable firm with global presence to rely on and Apex Group was the clear choice. Their single-source solution stood out for us, as it enables us to access all of the services we need across multiple jurisdictions, via one convenient relationship, therefore removing the complexity and inefficiency of multiple service provider relationships. We have been particularly impressed by the knowledge and responsiveness of Apex Groups experienced local team.

Naveed Zamir, Country Head, Dubai at Apex Group comments:
MAYO Rose Kate Heneghan has wowed audiences at in Tralee with her own original harp composition at the 2023 Rose of Tralee.

The Castlebar woman performed 'Bealtaine' to a rapturous reception as part of her party piece for her live television interview.

Kate performed the same composition when she won the Mayo Rose contest earlier this year.

"We have turned the Kingdom red and green on yee Daithi," she boldly declared at the start of her interview the experienced Daithi O Se, who is co-presenting this year's competition alongside Kathryn Thomas.

Mayo Rose Kate Heneghan chatting with Daithi O Se at the 2023 Rose of Tralee International Festival (Pic: Rose of Tralee International Festival)

Unsurprisingly, music was the main topic of conversation between herself and Daithi.

Kate hails from a well-known musical family and is an accomplished harpist, violinist, piano player and music teacher. She also holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in music.

The 27-year-old described her experience of being the Mayo Rose as 'amazing' and 'life changing' before going on to explain why she composed 'Bealtaine'.

"I wrote this piece in May and I call it Bealtaine which is May, as Gaeilge and its symbolic of a transitioning period from darkness to light. Its also a time that celebrates women so I thought it was very fitting for the festival," said Kate.

An unfortunate episode in which she got stranded on a cruise ship at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic also came up in conversation.

This particular affair saw Kate spend 32 days in isolation in her cabin following an outbreak of the virus on the Diamond Princess, where she had been working as a musician.

During that time she kept in touch with family via Zoom while being delivered meals three times a day.

"The one thing is we did actually get business flights back to Ireland which was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It kind of made it all worth it in the end," Kate laughed.

The winner of the 2023 Rose of Tralee will be crowned following the second round of interviews on Tuesday, August 22.

Live coverage of the event will be available on RTE 1 and RTE Player from 8pm.
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he supports peoples right to build a house in their native area and that he is very well aware of rural crime.

The leader of the government gave his views on various issues, including dereliction, respite care and rural GPs, when he addressed a public meeting in the Anglers Hotel in Headford.

On the issue of rural housing, the Taoiseach said he strongly supports people being able to build in an area where they are originally from.

The issue has been contentious among county councillors across Mayo, particularly during the drafting of the recent county development plan.

Replying to a question from Young Fine Gael President Eoghan Gallagher, Taoiseach Varadkar said: Ive a very strong belief that somebody who is from an area and wants to live and work in that area should be able to build a house. I would strongly support that.

He added: But if it is their intention to commute a long distance to work regularly, I think that is different. That has serious consequences in terms of climate, in terms of pollution, in terms of the use of resources, in terms of the use of roads, and we have to be honest with ourselves about that.

Carrot and stick

WHEN asked about vacancy and dereliction, Taoiseach Varadkar said his government would continue to adopt a carrot and stick approach, citing a newly established 150 million fund for local authorities to purchase vacant properties.

We also have a derelict sites levy on people who have derelict land and arent using it, he said. Although Id like to see local authorities using it a lot more, he added.

Responding to a question from Independent Galway East TD Sean Canney on the issue of rural crime, the Taoiseach said he was very aware of the issue but that An Garda Siochana had never been better funded or resourced.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee recently met with gardai and Fine Gael representatives during a recent visit to Mayo, where former garda Cllr Christy Hyland, asked her to scrap the new policing model  which Cllr Hyland has branded a disaster.

I know theres a lot of talk at the moment in the media about attacks on people in Dublin city centre, but crime happens in all parts of the country and burglaries are a particular issue in rural areas, said Taoiseach Varadkar.

The Fine Gael leader said the number of gardai had reached an all-time high in 2021 but admitted that the force was haemorrhaging officers to retirement and resignations.

He also said that 200 new gardai would be coming through the Garda Training College in Templemore every couple of weeks.

None of the 87 recently graduated garda recruits were deployed to Mayo.

Hopefully sometime this year we will ensure that they are deployed to areas that need them the most, said Taoiseach Varadkar, who was not referring to Mayo specifically.

Not giving up

ON the shortage of rural GPs, Taoiseach Varadkar pointed to ongoing education initiatives aimed at attracting more doctors into general practice.

GP positions in Achill, Lahardane and Charlestown are vacant at present in Mayo.

Theres a graduate programme in Limerick at the moment, but its particularly for rural areas. And thats encouraging, said the Taoiseach.

During his remarks, the Dublin native called for the controversial EU nature restoration law  which would see thousands of acres of land re-wetted  to be sensible.

He also described the lack of respite support for families caring for people with special needs as a terrible problem.

One such case of a family unable to obtain respite for their son with severe behavioural issues was recently highlighted in these pages.

Its finding the staff to staff the centres, thats an enormous problem at the moment, said Taoiseach Varadkar.

One of, I suppose, the unintended consequences of full employment, being able to find people to do the work can be difficult. But were not giving up on it.
A clear indication of just how much of a washout our July was can be found in the drop of spend on ice cream by 2.5m for the month and a surge in soup sales.

Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Kantar, said hopes of a sunny July were dampened with widespread downpours across Ireland impacting sales of the usual summer favourites.

Kantar figures revealed that barbeques were kept under wraps as Irish shoppers spent 493k less on chilled burgers and grills and 1.3m less on chilled prepared salads year-on-year.

With no need for a summer cool down, shoppers also spent 2.5m less on ice cream and a combined 2.3m less on fruit squash and mineral water.

With Irish consumers spending more time indoors, sales of take-home confectionery and take-home savouries rose 4.7m and 2.6m respectively.

Unseasonal weather also meant consumers looked for warmers, spending an additional 2.8m on soup and hot beverages. Cooler temperatures and a wetter than average month may have also put people off from venturing the shops. Footfall was down for the fifth month in a row with people making 882,000 fewer trips than last month.

Online sales remained strong over the 12-week period, according to Kantar, up 11.2% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional 16.6m online, a significant boost when compared with last months 6% increase (9m). More frequent trips online boosted performance by 12.6%.
Electrocompetent cells, often used in molecular biology, are bacteria with altered cell membranes that enable them to readily uptake foreign DNA through electroporation. This process involves subjecting cells to a brief electric pulse, creating temporary pores in the membrane. This allows for efficient introduction of exogenous DNA, such as plasmids, into the cell. Once inside, the DNA can be expressed, manipulated, or used for various genetic studies. Electrocompetent cells are vital tools in genetic engineering, transformation, and recombinant DNA technology.

The global electrocompetent cells market size was valued at US$ 2.07 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$ 4.16 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

Electrocompetent Cells Market Dynamics :

The Electrocompetent Cells market is driven by the increasing demand for genetic engineering and synthetic biology applications. Research and development activities in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and agriculture sectors necessitate efficient DNA transformation methods, boosting the demand for electrocompetent cells. Technological advancements in cell membrane manipulation techniques further enhance the efficiency of DNA uptake. Additionally, the rising focus on personalized medicine and gene therapy fuels market growth. However, challenges such as variability in cell competency and competition from alternative transformation methods impact the market. Overall, the Electrocompetent Cells market is poised for expansion as industries continue to harness genetic tools for diverse applications.

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Electrocompetent Cells Market Drivers :

The Electrocompetent Cells market is propelled by escalating research in molecular biology and genetic engineering. These cells offer a reliable means for introducing foreign DNA into host organisms, fueling advances in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Growing demand for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture and increased adoption of gene therapy techniques further stimulate market growth. Additionally, the expansion of synthetic biology applications and the need for efficient DNA transformation methods contribute to the markets upward trajectory. As industries seek precise genetic modifications for diverse applications, the Electrocompetent Cells market is expected to witness sustained expansion.

Electrocompetent Cells Market Trends and Restraints :

Market Trends:

Advancements in Genetic Editing: The Electrocompetent Cells market is benefiting from rapid developments in CRISPR-Cas9 technology and other genome editing tools, driving the demand for efficient DNA delivery methods. Synthetic Biology Applications: Increasing applications of synthetic biology, including metabolic engineering and bioproduction, are creating a demand for precise gene modifications facilitated by electrocompetent cells. Rise of Personalized Medicine: The trend toward personalized medicine is boosting the demand for gene therapies and customized treatments, contributing to the growth of the Electrocompetent Cells market. Agricultural Biotechnology: The agriculture sectors adoption of genetically modified crops and improved agricultural traits relies on efficient gene transfer methods, fostering the use of electrocompetent cells.

Market Restraints:

Variable Transformation Efficiency: Inherent variability in the competency of electrocompetent cells can lead to inconsistent transformation results, impacting research outcomes and applications. Competition from Alternatives: Emerging transformation methods such as viral vectors and nanoparticles offer alternatives to electrocompetent cells, challenging their market dominance. Ethical Concerns: The debate surrounding the ethical implications of genetic modifications and GMOs can lead to regulatory hurdles and public resistance, affecting market growth. Complexity and Equipment Requirements: The electroporation process requires specialized equipment and expertise, which can be a barrier for labs with limited resources or expertise. Intellectual Property and Licensing: Patent disputes and licensing agreements related to gene-editing technologies can hinder the markets growth by limiting access to crucial tools and techniques.

Electrocompetent Cells Market Regional Insights :

Regional insights into the Electrocompetent Cells market reveal varying levels of adoption. North America and Europe lead due to robust biotechnology sectors, academic research, and well-established pharmaceutical industries. Asia-Pacific is rapidly growing, driven by increasing investments in biotech R&D and expanding healthcare infrastructure. Developing regions show potential for growth, but limited resources and regulatory challenges might impede rapid adoption. Geographical disparities in research capabilities, funding, and regulatory frameworks continue to shape the regional landscape of the Electrocompetent Cells market, influencing market growth and trends.

New product launches

In 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific launched its new line of electrocompetent cells, which are designed to be more user-friendly and efficient than previous products.

In 2021, Agilent Technologies launched its new line of electrocompetent cells, which are designed to be more compatible with a wider range of DNA.

In 2020, Promega Corporation launched its new line of electrocompetent cells, which are designed to be more stable and easier to store than previous products.

Acquisition and partnerships

In 2017, Thermo Fisher Scientific acquired Qiagens Life Sciences business, which included the electrocompetent cells brand Qiagen ElectroMAX.

In 2018, Takara Bio acquired Clontech, which also had a line of electrocompetent cells.

In 2019, Merck Millipore acquired Sigma-Aldrich, which had a line of electrocompetent cells under the brand name Cell Culture Express.

Top companies in Electrocompetent Cells Market :

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Merck KGaA, Agilent Technologies, Inc., QIAGEN N.V., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., New England Biolabs, Inc., GenScript Biotech Corporation, Lucigen Corporation, Takara Bio Inc., Delphi Genetics S.A., IBA GmbH, Scarab Genomics LLC, Zymo Research Corporation, Bioline GmbH (Meridian Bioscience), Cell Applications, Inc.

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Report Attribute Details The market size value in 2023 US$ 2.07 Bn The revenue forecast in 2030 US$ 4.16 Bn Growth Rate CAGR of 10.5% The base year for estimation 2022 Historical data 2017  2021 Forecast period 2023  2030 Growth Drivers: Research and Development

Biopharmaceutical Production

Genetic Engineering and Synthetic Biology

Academic and Industrial Research Restraints & Challenges: Ethical and Regulatory Concerns

High Development and Manufacturing Costs

Limited Transformation Efficiency and Cell Viability

Availability of Alternative Technologies

Table of Contents with Major Points:

Executive Summary

Introduction

Key Findings

Recommendations

Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Overview

Definition of Electrocompetent Cells Market

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Trends and Developments

Key Insights

Key Emerging Trends

Key Developments Mergers and Acquisition

New Product Launches and Collaboration

Partnership and Joint Venture

Latest Technological Advancements

Insights on Regulatory Scenario

Porters Five Forces Analysis

Qualitative Insights Impact of COVID-19 on Global Electrocompetent Cells Market

Supply Chain Challenges

Steps taken by Government/Companies to overcome this impact

Potential opportunities due to COVID-19 outbreak

Conclusion

Appendix

Data Sources

Abbreviations

Disclaimer

TOC Continued!

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Pharmaceutical drug delivery refers to the methods and technologies used to administer medications to patients in order to achieve therapeutic effects. The goal of drug delivery systems is to enhance the efficiency, safety, and convenience of drug administration, while also improving patient compliance and minimizing side effects.

The pharmaceutical drug delivery market plays a critical role in the healthcare industry by enabling the efficient and targeted administration of medications to patients. It encompasses a wide range of technologies and approaches designed to optimize drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, ultimately enhancing therapeutic outcomes while minimizing side effects. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in drug delivery systems, addressing various challenges associated with traditional methods of drug administration. These challenges include poor bioavailability, rapid clearance from the body, patient compliance issues, and the need for frequent dosing.

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Top Companies Associated With The Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery Market Report Are:

Key players operating in the global pharmaceutical drug delivery market include Johnson and Johnson, Merck & Co, Inc., Bayer AG, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG, Sanofi, Antares Pharma, Inc., Accord Healthcare, Inc., Abbott, and GSK.

Global Pharmaceutical drug Delivery Market Drivers

The growth of the worldwide pharmaceutical drug delivery market is anticipated to be propelled by the increasing approval rates of novel drugs by the U.S. FDA. An illustrative example is the approval granted in April 2019 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Duobrii, a product containing halobetasol propionate and tazarotene. This medication is utilized for treating plaque psoriasis and is manufactured by Ortho Dermatologics Company.

Moreover, the global pharmaceutical drug delivery market is poised to receive a boost from the introduction of new products. A case in point is Sanofi Genzymes launch of the drug Aubagio in August 2018, designed for addressing multiple sclerosis. Offering a once-daily treatment regimen, Aubagio enhances patient convenience.

Additionally, Pfizer made a significant contribution to the market by introducing trastuzumab (marketed as trazimera) in April 2019. This drug is aimed at treating metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer and HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer. As a result, these innovative products are anticipated to invigorate the global pharmaceutical drug delivery market.

Global Pharmaceutical drug Delivery Market-Taxonomy

By Route of Administration

Oral Drug Delivery Solid Oral Drugs Liquid Oral Drugs Semi-Solid Oral Drugs

Topical Drug Delivery Liquid Formulation Semi-Solid Formulation Solid Formulation Transdermal Products

Pulmonary Drug Delivery Metered-Dose Inhalers Dry Powder Inhalers Nebulizers

Nasal Drug Delivery Nasal Drops Nasal Sprays Nasal Powders Nasal Gels

Transmucosal Drug Delivery Oral Formulations Others

Injectable Drug Delivery Conventional Injection Devices Self-Injection Devices Others

Ocular Drug Delivery Liquid Formulations Semi-Solid Formulations Ocular Devices

Implantable Drug Delivery Active Implantable Drug Delivery Passive Implantable Drug Delivery



By Application

Infectious Diseases

Cancer

Cardiovascular Diseases

Diabetes

Respiratory Diseases

Central Nervous System Disorders

Autoimmune Diseases

Others

By End User

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers/ Clinics

Diagnostic Centers

Others

Global Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery Market Restraints

Anticipated hindrances to the expansion of the worldwide pharmaceutical drug delivery market include shortages of medications. As illustrated, a February 2019 report from The New York Times highlighted a scarcity of Buspirone HCL Tablets  7.5mg, produced by Accord Healthcare Inc., attributable to heightened demand for this anxiety treatment drug.

Furthermore, in September 2018, the Union Health Ministry of India imposed a ban on 328 FDC (Fixed Dose Composition) drugs due to the irrational utilization of such combinations. Notable examples of the prohibited drugs encompass Aceclofenac (SR) + Paracetamol 750, Aceclofenac + Paracetamol + Famotidine, and naproxen plus paracetamol. The prohibition of these drugs is poised to exert an impact on the progress of the global pharmaceutical drug delivery market.

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Global Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery Market- Regional Analysis

Table of Contents with Major Points:

Executive Summary

Introduction

Key Findings

Recommendations

Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Overview

Definition of Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery Market

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Trends and Developments

Key Insights

Key Emerging Trends

Key Developments Mergers and Acquisition

New Product Launches and Collaboration

Partnership and Joint Venture

Latest Technological Advancements

Insights on Regulatory Scenario

Porters Five Forces Analysis

Qualitative Insights Impact of COVID-19 on Global Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery Market

Supply Chain Challenges

Steps taken by Government/Companies to overcome this impact

Potential opportunities due to COVID-19 outbreak

Conclusion

Appendix

Data Sources

Abbreviations

Disclaimer

TOC Continued!

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by Ray Schultz , August 21, 2023

Ness Press, a 101-year-old old family business, has closed, resulting in the closure of eight weekly newspapers serving northeastern North Dakota.

Ken Ness, who volunteered at the business founded by his immigrant father, said "there was nobody to take it over," according to local Fox News.

Ness told the Associated Press that the town had no advertising," Fox adds. There wasn't any businesses, so there's no advertising.

Truman Ness, the 88-year-old editor, publisher and owner, sent a thank-you note to readers with his wife Carol.

"It is with both sadness and happiness that I tell you that this week's newspaper is the last one I will send to you, they wrote.

The message continues, After 60 years and more operating the newspaper plus being a printers devil' during my growing years this will be different, but I expect to join the crowd of retired people."

Truman and Ken Ness are brothers.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 22, 2023

An industry self-regulatory watchdog is recommending that Google stop claiming in ads that YouTube TV costs $600 a year less than cable.

In an opinion made public on Tuesday, the BBB National Programs National Advertising Division said claims regarding the cost of cable should refer to the cost of comparable services offered by a cable provider.

The group also suggested that the word cable may be too general to use in ads, given the variety of ways that people can watch video.

As technology evolves and consumers have more options for accessing television programming, consumers understanding of what 'cable' is may shift and it may become necessary for advertisers to use more precision when referring to 'cable,' the group wrote.

Google said it plans to appeal to the National Advertising Review Board.

advertisement advertisement

The opinion comes in response to a challenge to two ads for YouTube TV that ran on television and included the boast More than cable. For $600 less than cable.

Charter contended the $600 figure was inaccurate, arguing that its Spectrum TV Select service in Los Angeles only cost around $219 a year more than Google's YouTube TV service.

Google countered that the $600 figure came from a SmithGeiger study of the cost of comparable stand-alone cable -- including fees for two cable boxes and a digital video recorder box rental -- in the top 50 Nielsen designated market areas.

The National Advertising Division sided with Spectrum, writing that a generic reference to the term cable can be understood to mean the cable provider.

Accordingly, advertisers must be able to substantiate its comparison as against the leading cable provider available in a consumers area, the group wrote. For example, if the only cable provider in Los Angeles is Charter, then any comparative claim made about in Los Angeles must be with respect to Charters pricing.

Google said it disagreed with the watchdog's interpretation, arguing that consumers broadly understand the difference between traditional cable and streaming, and don't interpret cable to encompass streaming services -- even if those services are provided by a cable company.
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At least six Alaska National Guardsmen were attacked by coyotes during a rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center, or JRTC, in Louisiana in July.

Soldiers assigned to the 297th Infantry Regiment were injured when they encountered up to four coyotes while training at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, according to a base spokesperson. The soldiers likely encountered a den and were attacked by the wild dogs, suffering bite marks to their arms and head.

The soldiers were all treated for injuries and released from medical care. Fort Johnson wildlife officials shot one of the coyotes and captured another for rabies testing. The soldiers were armed with rifles but were training with blanks, which is common in the training environment.

Read Next: 'Looking for a Husband, Boyfriend, Attention': Study Reveals Sexism Faced by Women in Army Special Operations

It's unclear if the soldiers provoked the coyotes. Service members are routinely briefed before trained events to not interact with wildlife.

A video posted on TikTok alleged 14 soldiers were injured from a coyote attack at the training center last month. Images in the video appeared to show a soldier with a stitched-up wound on his lip, and another with a stapled wound behind his ear, as well as various injuries, including puncture wounds, scrapes and bruises.

Roughly a dozen formations, or about 40,000 soldiers, rotate through JRTC every year. Like its counterpart, the National Training Center in California, JRTC is one of the Army's premier training grounds for large units to mimic a combat deployment as closely as possible.

The rotations could put soldiers in close proximity to wildlife.

Coyotes are roughly the size of a typical domesticated dog, ranging from 30-50 pounds. Attacks from them are rare, according to the Humane Society. There has only been one confirmed fatal incident in the U.S.; a coyote grabbed a 3-year-old in California in 1981.

"Often, coyote attacks are preventable by modifying human behavior and educating people about ways to prevent habituation," a statement from the Humane Society reads. "In many human attack incidents, it turns out that the offending coyote was being fed by people."

Bites also most commonly occur when people are trying to rescue an outside pet from a coyote, or when coyotes are cornered or rabid, according to the group.

Coyote territory has expanded in modern times to all of the continental U.S., Mexico and southern Canada.

In 2020, three Marines and a sailor were bitten by a coyote at Camp Lejeune in separate incidents that summer. The attacks led the base to warn against running in the area until the coyote could be removed.

Service members have also gotten too close to other wildlife in the past, leading to potentially dangerous situations. In another unrelated incident in 2018, officials had to tell Marines to stop feeding an alligator that lived near their barracks.

"In addition to being illegal, feeding an alligator is dangerous and creates a safety issue if they become habituated to being fed by humans," Marine Corps Air Station New River, in North Carolina, posted on its Facebook page at the time.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Camp Lejeune Marines Warned to Stop Running in the Dark After 4 Coyote Attacks
The military's mission of aiding first responders on the Hawaiian island of Maui continues to grow, now involving nearly 700 Defense Department personnel and 157 Coast Guardsmen, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters on Tuesday.

In contrast, a week ago, the U.S. military had around 400 service members providing aid to the island after fires swept from the mountains down onto the town of Lahaina, turning homes and buildings into ash, killing at least 114 people and forcing others to flee into the ocean.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters at a briefing that military members are assisting the federal and local response with eight missions. One of the key efforts, according to the general commanding the mission, has been to help recover and identify remains of victims.

Read Next: At Least 6 Soldiers Attacked by Coyotes, Treated for Injuries While Training at Fort Johnson

On Friday, officials from the joint task force that is coordinating all the military assistance said that six anthropologists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, have joined the response to help in search and recovery operations.

Brig. Gen. Stephen Logan, the man running the task force, told reporters Friday that the anthropologists will help with the identification and also some forensic DNA testing.

We currently have a fatality search-and-rescue team out of our own Hawaii Air National Guard that's been on the ground since we were able to establish operations here, Logan said, adding that the DPAA team was there to augment their efforts.

Local officials have said that anywhere between 500 and 1,000 people remain unaccounted for in the area around Lahaina two weeks after wildfires moved through the town, burning much of it to the ground. At least 114 people have been confirmed dead in the fires as well, though that number appears to be rising, according to local media reports.

We want to be able to treat them in a dignified manner and give some closure to the families, Logan said of the remains.

The general explained that he's ordered separate security teams to the town to run checkpoints and prevent unauthorized personnel disrupting the remains recovery processes.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of motorists that are stopping on the side of the road in order to get a better view and almost treat this like a tourist attraction, Logan said.

Once that's complete, and as many of those have been identified or removed as possible, the next phase is to render the area safe, he added.

Ryder said that one recent addition to the task force has been a Navy three-person mobile diving salvage unit from the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which was set to arrive on the island Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Army's 25th Infantry Division began fuel distribution operations Monday, "providing approximately 1,500 gallons of fuel daily in support of 18 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers generators operating along the west coast of Maui," Ryder said.

Last week, the Marine Corps also offered nearby units -- namely the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment -- to help in providing manpower, engineering and water purification. The Corps also offered MV-22 Ospreys and KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft to help move material and people, and MQ-9 Reaper drones for aerial surveying.

It's not clear if any of those assets are currently being used by the task force.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Military Now Has More Than 400 Troops Aiding Maui After Deadly Wildfires Devastated Island
Air Force and Space Force leaders are being called to testify publicly before Congress as an outraged House chairman investigates the decision to keep the U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado rather than moving it to his home state of Alabama.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., announced Tuesday that he has invited Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, Space Command chief Gen. James Dickinson and Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to testify before his committee about the Space Command basing decision.

The invitation is the latest step in an investigation Rogers first opened in May as the decision on where to base Space Command's headquarters languished for more than two years after the Air Force first said Huntsville, Alabama, was the "preferred" location.

Read Next: 'Looking for a Husband, Boyfriend, Attention': Study Reveals Sexism Faced by Women in Army Special Operations

"When the secretary of the Air Force finally made a decision, he upheld his predecessors' decision to base U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama," Rogers contended in his statement Tuesday. "President Biden then usurped the Air Force secretary's authority and named Colorado Springs the permanent basing site for U.S. Space Command in order to improve his political standing for next year's re-election.

"We will get answers on President Biden's political manipulation of the selection process," he added.

Kendall had said for months prior to Biden's announcement that additional analysis was needed to decide whether U.S. Space Command should move to Alabama or remain in Colorado -- and that the decision was his to make.

When the announcement was made, Kendall said in a statement, "I fully support the president's decision."

The Air Force did not respond to a request for comment by Military.com's deadline on whether officials would accept Rogers' invitation to testify or on the allegation that Biden overruled Kendall.

The Pentagon announced late last month that Biden decided to base Space Command at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, keeping the command where it has been temporarily based since launching in 2019. That overturned an announcement made in the waning days of the Trump administration that it would move to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

The Biden administration maintains that the decision was about avoiding disruptions to Space Command's operations during a time of global instability, steadfastly denying any accusations of political interference.

In choosing Colorado over Alabama, the administration made powerful enemies among Alabama's congressional delegation. In addition to Rogers using his perch atop the Armed Services Committee to investigate the decision, Alabama lawmakers on the House Appropriations and Oversight committees have also vowed to use their positions to try to reverse the decision.

Rogers' invitation for public testimony comes after he threatened to issue a subpoena if the Air Force did not hand over documents about the Space Command decision and Kendall and Dickinson did not sit for closed-door testimony.

It's unclear if a subpoena is still a possibility or if Rogers sees the Air Force as being cooperative now. A committee spokesperson has not commented on the record in response to Military.com's questions about the status of a subpoena.

Rogers isn't the only one probing the circumstances of U.S. Space Command's basing decision.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office on Thursday where he called on the congressional watchdog agency to "investigate the process to select the Colorado location with at least as much thoroughness as you did with the initial selection of the Huntsville location."

Marshall also included an allegation that Dickinson may have had personal motivations tied into the basing decision, citing the deed to a $1.5 million ranch in Colorado that Alabama officials were not aware of.

"In April 2023, Gen. Dickinson registered a deed to a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado headquarters location," Marshall's letter states. "It is unknown whether General Dickinson disclosed his personal interests in the Colorado site to President Biden or any other superiors."

Dickinson, who is from Estes Park, Colorado, is a 1985 graduate of Colorado State University and also earned a master's degree from the Colorado School of Mines, according to an Army biography.

U.S. Space Command's public affairs office did not immediately return a request for comment by Military.coms deadline asking about the allegation in Marshall's letter.

Biden has already nominated Dickinson's successor, Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, as the new chief of U.S. Space Command. He awaits confirmation, alongside more than 300 officers who are all stymied by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has continued a hold on all high-level officer promotions in the Senate in protest of the Pentagon's policy allowing troops leave for civilian abortion services, leading to uncertainty when the Space Force officer will be approved for his next post.

The fight to claim Space Command -- and the 1,400 jobs and millions of dollars of economic boon that come with housing a major military command -- has grown into an increasingly bitter competition between the Alabama and Colorado congressional delegations.

While the fight has tinges of red state vs. blue state politics, it has also transcended party lines as parochial interests outweigh partisan loyalties. The lone Democrat on Alabama's congressional delegation, Rep. Terri Sewell, has expressed disappointment in Biden's decision, while Republicans in Colorado who are typically harsh Biden critics have praised it.

Alabama lawmakers' charge of political interference in the basing decision echoes the arguments of Colorado lawmakers who pushed Biden to reverse the Trump administration's decision.

Colorado lawmakers alleged that former President Donald Trump gave Space Command to Alabama as a reward for supporting him. Trump himself said in 2021 that he "single-handedly" chose Alabama.

Two government watchdog investigations into the Trump administration's decision did not uncover or identify any major issues with Huntsville as a location for the base, though they did critique the Air Force's decision-making process.

Now, Alabama lawmakers' allegations of political interference revolve around abortion politics. Alabama almost entirely outlaws abortion, while Colorado has no restrictions on abortion access.

Colorado Democrats had pointed to abortion access as part of their arguments for keeping Space Command in their state, but the Air Force has denied state laws on reproductive health care factored into the decision.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

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

Related: Space Command Pick Gave Military Families an Answer, But Worries of a Continuing Fight Persist
Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, Trump wrote on his social media network Monday night, hours after his bond was set at $200,000.

It will be Trumps fourth arrest since April, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to face indictment. Since then, Trump, who remains the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has had what has seemed like an endless procession of bookings and arraignments in jurisdictions across the country. His appearances in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C., have drawn enormous media attention, with news helicopters tracking his every move.

Trump's announcement came hours after his attorneys met with prosecutors in Atlanta to discuss the details of his release on bond. The former president is barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case  including on social media  according to the bond agreement signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Trumps defense attorneys and the judge. It explicitly includes posts on social media or reposts of posts made by others.

Trump has repeatedly used social media to attack people involved in the criminal cases against him as he campaigns to reclaim the White House in 2024. He has been railing against Willis since before he was indicted, and singled out Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp  a Republican who rebuffed his efforts to overturn the election  by name in a social media post Monday morning.

The agreement also prohibits the former president from making any direct or indirect threat of any nature against witnesses or co-defendants, and from communicating in any way about the facts of the case with them, except through attorneys.

The order sets Trump's bond for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations  or RICO  charge at $80,000, and adds $10,000 for each of the 12 other counts he is facing. Bond is the amount defendants must pay as a form of collateral to ensure they show up for required court appearances.

Willis set a deadline of noon Friday for Trump and his 18 co-defendants to turn themselves in to be booked. The prosecutor has proposed that arraignments for the defendants follow during the week of Sept. 5. She has said she wants to try the defendants collectively and bring the case to trial in March of next year, which would put it in the heat of the presidential nominating season.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing. A phone message seeking comment was also left for an attorney for the former president.

Trump's appearance in Georgia will come a day after the first Republican primary debate, which he has decided to skip.

He is expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail, which has long been plagued with problems. The Department of Justice last month opened a civil rights investigation into conditions, citing filthy cells, violence and the death last year of a man whose body was found covered in insects in the main jails psychiatric wing. Three people have died in Fulton County custody in the past month.

The Fulton County Sheriffs Office said in a news release Monday afternoon that when Trump surrenders there will be a hard lockdown of the area surrounding the jail.

But Trump is not expected to spend much time there.

When defendants arrive at the building, they typically pass through a security checkpoint before checking in for formal booking in the lobby. During the booking process, defendants are typically photographed and fingerprinted and asked to provide certain personal information. Since Trumps bond has already been set, he will be released from custody once the booking process is complete.

Unlike in other jurisdictions, in Fulton County, arraignments  where a defendant first appears in court  are generally set after a defendant completes the booking process and do not happen on the same day.

Booking a former president, who still has 24-hour Secret Service protection, has created myriad security and logistical issues in other jurisdictions.

In his past appearances in a New York state court and federal courts in Miami and Washington, Trump was not handcuffed while in custody. He was also not required to pose for a mugshot, with officials instead using existing photographs of the former president.

Georgia officials have said Trump will be treated like others charged with crimes in their state.

Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesnt matter your status, well have a mugshot ready for you, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said at a news conference earlier this month.

Trump was charged last week in the case alongside a slew of allies, who prosecutors say conspired to subvert the will of voters in a desperate bid to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and he characterizes the case  and the three others he is facing  as efforts to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. He has regularly used his Truth Social platform to single out prosecutors and others involved in his cases, and to continue to spread falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In a post on Monday, Trump called the Fulton County district attorney crooked, incompetent, & highly partisan. He also attacked Kemp, whom he has long targeted for the governor's refusal to intervene after the 2020 election. Kemp has been outspoken in pushing back against Trump, writing in social media last week: The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen."

Bond was also set Monday for three lawyers who were indicted along with Trump. For each of them, the bond for the RICO charge was set at $20,000, with varying amounts for the other charges they face. John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro each had a bond set at $100,000, while Ray Smiths bond is $50,000.

Bail bondsman Scott Hall, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, had his bond set at $10,000.

Other defendants include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, who aided the then-presidents efforts to undo his election loss in Georgia.

The Georgia indictment came just two weeks after the Justice Department special counsel charged Trump in a separate case in a vast conspiracy to overturn the election. Besides the two election-related cases, Trump faces a federal indictment accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents as well as a New York state case charging him with falsifying business records.

____

Associated Press reporters Kate Brumback, Jeff Amy and Russ Bynum contributed.
KYIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.

The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to Ukrainska Pravda, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

That newspaper and Ukraines NV news outlet said groups of saboteurs were behind the strikes. It was not possible to verify the claims on the ground.

Ukrainian media attributed two attacks to the saboteurs: a strike Saturday on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 700 kilometers (360 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and Mondays strike against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet Monday that at least one Russian warplane was damaged in the attack on Shaikovka. He said it was carried out by people who worked in close coordination with Ukrainian military intelligence but gave no further details.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack on Soltsy damaged one aircraft. It didnt comment on the reported attack on Shaikovka, but Russian media did.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed what appeared to be 10 Tupolev Tu-22M long-range bombers parked on the apron of the Soltsy air base on Aug. 16. By Monday, two days after the attack, all those bombers had left the air base. A large black spot was visible on one of the aprons where one of the Tupolevs had been parked.

Photos purporting to be from the Soltsy air base and published by Russian and Ukrainian media showed a Russian Tu-22M bomber ablaze there after the attack.

Ukraine has since early this year sought to take the war into the heart of Russia. It has increasingly targeted Moscows military assets behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine and at the same time has launched drones against Moscow, most recently early Tuesday.

Kyiv is also trying to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin along multiple fronts, pursuing a counteroffensive at various points along the 1,500-kilometer (900-mile) front line, as well as diplomatically by obtaining pledges of more weaponry from its Western allies, including F-16 warplanes.

Some previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases involved Soviet-designed drones powered by turbojet engines. They have a range of up to 1,000 kilometers (600 miles). But the strikes in recent days apparently used primitive small drones, which would corroborate the possibility that they were launched by saboteurs.

Also, a Russian pensioner walking in a forest about 600km (370 miles) north of the Ukrainian border on Monday came across the remains of a drone painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Pictures shared on Russian social media channels show that the drone had glory to Ukraine inscribed on a broken wing and glory to the heroes written on the other wing, the Russian telegram channel Baza said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a recent spate of drone attacks apparently targeting Moscow continued early Tuesday but were thwarted by Russian air defense systems, Russias Ministry of Defense said.

However, falling wreckage of one drone shattered an apartment buildings windows and damaged vehicles in Moscows western suburbs.

There were no reports of injuries in the latest drone attacks that Russia blamed on Kyiv,

Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage and no victims.

Flights at several Moscow airports were temporarily suspended Tuesday as a security precaution amid the attacks, authorities said.

Two other drones were jammed and crashed in the western Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, the defense ministry said.

Ukraine hasnt acknowledged responsibility for the attempted drone strikes, nor have senior Russian leaders made any comment about the development.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was to speak via video link at a meeting this week in Johannesburg of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Putin is under threat of arrest if he travels abroad due to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and won't attend the so-called BRICS talks in person.
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In August 2023, the U.S. Army released its latest attempt to reach potential recruits from the generational cohort known as 'Generation Z.' Called "First Steps," it's a series of brief "documentaries" that attempts to capture the spirit and emotions associated with life as a young recruit. A drill sergeant is never seen, but we can hear marching cadence in one of the videos, a siren song that quickly morphs into a sick beat.

Will these spots resonate with Gen Z, the generation of Americans born after 1997? The Army certainly hopes so: In 2018, it invested $4 billion in marketing over the next 10 years to reach them. But so far, that effort has come up short, with the Army expecting to fall 15,000 recruits short of its goal in 2023 -- the largest shortfall of all branches of the U.S. military. The Navy expects to be 10,000 recruits short while the Air Force will miss its goal by 3,000; only the Marine Corps believes it will meet its own needs.

Gen Z interest in military service is low and only dropping lower. The Wall Street Journal reports that only 9% of American youth ages 16-21 said they would consider enlisting in 2022, which is down from the 13% recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears no one wants to join the military, and the military can't seem to figure out what to do about it.

Also Read: The Army Could Not Effectively Address Gen-Z's Misconceptions About Army Life

There is one Gen Z officer who believes he has the answer to the military's recruiting woes. Second Lt. Matthew Weiss is a 25-year-old Marine Corps intelligence officer whose new book, "'We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z" lays out what he believes are some of the major problems his generation has with military service -- and what the military can do about it.

Before joining the Marine Corps, Weiss worked for Anduril Industries, now a defense contractor specializing in artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons systems. During Weiss' time there, it was a tech startup, and he observed how the company attracted new talent as they graduated from college, even in a highly competitive sector.

Matthew Weiss, author of "We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam."

Weiss went on to study business at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, earning a bachelor's degree and an MBA there. Though young, a newly minted Marine Corps officer with his background might have some of the answers the Department of Defense has spent years and billions searching for.

Weiss breaks down the book into four parts, analyzing Gen Z recruitment, bringing military working conditions and generation expectations into alignment, an analysis of sociocultural influences and "Scope of Service," how the military can give back to society.

Some of Weiss' proposed issues are ones the military might expect from Zoomers. based on what it thinks it knows about the youth of America. Others might be wholly unexpected. But there are places where the values of military services and the values of Gen Z align.

"We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam" is available on Kindle ebook and paperback now.

For starters, the book says Gen Z needs an impact they can strive toward; a unique calling, bigger than the individual. Weiss suggests determined mentorship, where Gen Z service members would provide a certain number of hours per year talking to potential recruits, a "Z-Z, heart-heart meaning discussion."

Weiss also believes the current military pay structure is "incongruous" for a generation that watches their peers gain followers on social media. In their mind, better performance should mean more money. To that end, he suggests performance bonuses be added to military pay for those who succeed.

A somewhat counterintuitive suggestion Weiss offers is rooted in Gen Z's connection to devices. Some, Weiss believes, are being "crushed" by the "constant pinging," causing them to crave time to be unplugged from the rest of the world. The military can offer this like no other institution, he says, with real-world responsibilities and experiences away from their devices.

Those are just a few interesting examples. In all, Weiss offers 21 chapters of fact-based problems and solutions written with "the intention of diagnosing and solving a real and serious issue facing our nation," coming from the personal experiences of a Gen Z military officer who did a lot of research to help solve it.

We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z is on sale now in both paperback and on Amazon Kindle e-readers.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, or on LinkedIn.

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The Giants have reached agreement on a minor league pact with first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The 31-year-old is looking to get back to the big leagues for a fourth consecutive season.

Tsutsugo began this season on a minor league contract with the Rangers. He spent a couple months in Triple-A, hitting .249/.380/.432 in 280 plate appearances. Tsutsugo opted out of that deal in late June but didnt immediately land another affiliated opportunity.

Instead, he made the jump to the Atlantic League. Tsutsugo signed with the Staten Island FerryHawks but very quickly hit his way back out of independent ball. The left-handed hitter connected on seven home runs in 12 games, posting an overall .359/.479/.949 batting line in 48 trips. That excellent showing earns him another crack at Pacific Coast League pitching with the Giants top affiliate in Sacramento.

Tsutsugo has suited up for three MLB clubs since heading over from Japan during the 2019-20 offseason. He has struggled for the bulk of that time. Tsutsugo hit .187/.292/.336 in 77 games with the Rays, who had originally signed him to a two-year contract. Tampa Bay released him in the second season of that deal. He briefly caught on with the Dodgers before signing with the Pirates for the end of 2021. Tsutsugo had the best stretch of his career in Pittsburgh, hitting .268/.347/.535 in 43 games to close out that season.

The rebuilding Bucs re-signed him on a $4MM free agent deal that offseason. His production cratered, however, as he hit .171/.249/.229 through 50 contests before being released in August. Tsutsugo hasnt returned to the big leagues since then, as successive minor league deals with the Blue Jays and Texas didnt result in a call.

San Francisco has left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. and Joc Pederson as the primary first base/DH tandem. The offense has floundered lately, with each of Wade and Peterson putting up well below-average numbers since the All-Star Break (although the former has turned things around a bit in August after a dismal July).

Tsutsugo adds some depth to the upper minors. Since hes in the organization before September 1, he would be eligible for postseason play if he hits well enough to warrant a look and should the Giants qualify. San Francisco currently occupies the second NL Wild Card spot but is just a game a half clear of the D-Backs, Reds and Marlins (the top non-playoff teams at the moment).
Heres something that doesnt happen at a Disney theme park every day.

A Disneyland Paris employee was reportedly fired after refusing a request to add whipped cream and Nutella to a customers waffles, media sources have reported.

The strange incident took place on June 26, when the employee, 20-year-old Loris Taboureau, was working at a food stand called Les Chariots Gourmands, which sells waffles that offer a multitude of toppings.

That day, guests reportedly requested both whipped cream and Nutella to be added to the desert, but the employee informed them that they had to decide between Nutella or whipped cream. This  according to Taboureau  was standard policy.

Due to the policy, Taboureau told Le Parisien newspaper that if he had given the one customer both toppings, everyone else wouldve expected the same special treatment and that wouldve resulted in getting into trouble.

The guest also complained to the theme park about Taboureaus tone, claiming he was nonchalant.

As a result, Taboureau was fired from Disneyland Paris several weeks later, on Aug. 14, The Sunday Times and The Messenger reported.

Taboureau told Le Parisien he believes his participation in strikes against Disney in May and June contributed, at least in part, to his termination. He was featured in photos of the strike published by Le Monde earlier this summer.

Im upset. Its a company in which I liked to work and to which I dedicated my days for a year, Taboureau told Le Parisien, according to a translation by WDW News Today.

The only time I failed to bring the magic to life, I was immediately fired, he added.

A Disneyland Paris spokesperson told The Sunday Times, We do not comment on internal procedures related to individual situations.
DETROIT  A 9-year veteran of the Detroit Fire Department is on unpaid leave amid an investigation into nude photos he is accused of taking while on the job at a firehouse, WDIV Local 4 reports.

The photos became the subject of scrutiny after they showed up online, the report said.

One photo shows the mans face and exposed genitalia with a firetruck in the background and appears to have been taken inside a Detroit firehouse, the report said. Another depicts the man naked while showing his firefighter badge. A third photo shows the man wearing a fire department uniform shirt with his pants down.

The investigation is expected to conclude in the next month, fire department officials told the TV station.
DETROIT  A man is accused of intentionally driving into a community center in Detroit after damaging two residential fences, officials said.

Benjamin Noah Weinstein, 42, of Detroit, allegedly positioned his vehicle in front of the community centers front doors before crashing into the building, according to the Wayne County Prosecutors Office.

Weinstein is facing charges related to the incident, which happened around 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19, in the 4400 block of Conner Street in Detroit.

Detroit police officers were responded to reports of a man running his vehicle into a building. Upon arrival, they found the suspect being restrained on the ground.

It is alleged that Weinstein was driving erratically at high speeds when he damaged fences owned by a 53-year-old Detroit woman and a 63-year-old Detroit man. He then allegedly intentionally drove into the front of the community center.

Medics transported Weinstein to a local hospital for treatment.

Weinstein is been charged with felonious assault; malicious destruction of property, more than $1,000 but less than $20,000; carrying a concealed weapon; and two counts of felony firearm. He was arraigned on Monday, Aug. 21, in 36th District Court. His bond was set at $10,000 cash/surety with GPS tether.

Hes due back in court for a bond re-determination hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, before Judge William McConico. His next court date is 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1, before Judge Aliyah Sabree.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A man faces multiple charges related to hostile, takeover-style robberies of Grand Rapids-area cellphone stores.

Tayseer Yousef of Chicago is accused of conspiring to steal electronic devices to sell at his cellphone store in Tinley Park, Illinois, or sell overseas, a federal indictment said.

He was arrested in Chicago earlier this month. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Aug. 22, at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. He remains free on bond.

Members of the conspiracy located in the Grand Rapids  area robbed local Target, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile stores in hostile, takeover-style robberies, Assistant U.S. Attorney Davin Reust wrote in the indictment.

The robbers often entered stores wearing masks, threatened store employees and customers, displayed firearms, forced employees and customers to the ground or other locations, and stole various electronic devices.

The robbers would then contact Yousef to arrange meetings to sell the stolen goods, either through the robbers or intermediaries, the indictment said.

The robberies occurred sometime before March 2020 and January 2021, court records said.

Yousef is charged with two counts of interstate transportation of stolen goods, a 10-year felony, and conspiracy to transport stolen goods, a five-year felony.

The indictment said that five robbers stolen over $47,000 in electronic devices in a Nov. 15, 2020, holdup at the AT&T store on Alpine Avenue NW in Comstock Park. The robbers forced workers to a safe before fleeing with the property.

In a text message with one of the robbers, Yousef arranged to meet in Benton Harbor where he would pay $7,820 for the stolen property, the indictment said.

On Jan. 20, 2021, three robbers hit the T-Mobile store on 84th Street SW in Byron Center. Robbers shoved a worker to a back room. The robbers stole property worth nearly $40,000. Yousef allegedly met on the robbers in Sawyer, Michigan, to pick up the stolen goods.

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Tras la sesion del Consejo de Ministros, el titular del Interior, Vicente Romero, informo que el Ejecutivo ha decidido prorrogar el estado de emergencia en las fronteras del pais, a fin de controlar el crimen transnacional y garantizar el cumplimiento de las leyes migratorias. pic.twitter.com/eCg27PQdnz
WEXFORD COUNTY, MI  A Michigan man who dumped a womans body in a trash can has been sentenced.

UpNorthLive reports that Kyle Dickinson will serve 40 months to 10 years in prison after he was sentenced in Wexford County.

Dickinson pleaded guilty to concealing the death of an individual in July.

The plea came after 26-year-old Laken Marie Clark of Missaukee County was found dead in Haring Township on Dec. 15, 2022. She was found by a waste disposal worker, police said.

Dickinson was charged in March after prosecutors said Dickinson failed to report Clarks death and moved her body four days after finding her dead of a possible overdose on Dec. 10.

Dickinson was also sentenced to serve 13 months to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a larceny charge in April.

His latest sentence will begin after that one concludes, according to the TV station.
Editors note: This story contains details of sexual abuse of children. The content may not be suitable for all readers.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Manton, Michigan man was sentenced to serve 90 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to three counts stemming from his production of child pornography, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Nathan Gary Christensen, 51, was arrested in October 2022 and indicted in February before entering his plea.

Prior to handing down the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou weighed in on the case and said it was unlike anything she had seen in her 25 years of being a lawyer and judge. Jarbou went on to say the exploitation will last forever and that the damage done will be life-long for the victims.

Mr. Christensens sexual abuse of innocent children is horrific, said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. This 90-year sentence does not begin to undo the harm hes inflicted on our most vulnerable. No sexual predator who learns of Mr. Christensens fate should experience a moment of ease: we will find you and we will hold you accountable.

Christensens actions were brought to the attention of investigators in September when law enforcement in Australia identified Christensen as a collector and a potential producer of child pornography. After contacting the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the U.S., law enforcement stateside began investigating Christensen.

After identifying his location, a search warrant was conducted on Christensens home and another residence in October. Law enforcement recognized some of the rooms in the locations as the same ones seen in images and videos which featured child pornography, and Christensen was arrested at that time.

Investigators eventually found thousands of images and videos of child pornography belonging to Christensen. Eight victims were identified in the case, including victims with special needs and babies as young as 3 days and 3 weeks old, according to the DOJ.

These crimes are nothing less than monstrous, said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. My thoughts are with the victims in this case, and it is my hope that todays sentencing will bring some measure of peace as they heal from these horrific crimes. I would like to thank the Australian Federal Police and the HSI office in Canberra, whose vigilance helped bring this predator to justice.

Christensen was indicted in February 2023 and eventually entered his plea a month later. Each one of the charges came with a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a statutory maximum of 30 years. Federal law allows for the sentences to be ordered to be served consecutively, leading to the 90-year sentence. If for whatever reason Christensen were to be released from prison, he would be required to be on supervised release for the rest of his life.

In June, Christensen entered a guilty plea in Missaukee County to criminal sexual conduct charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges next month as part of an agreement where his state sentence will run concurrently with his federal sentence.

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GLADSTONE, MI  A Michigan man has been identified as the pilot in a fatal Wisconsin plane crash.

According to the Waupaca County Sheriffs Office, 78-year-old Bruce Flannery of Gladstone died when the single-engine plane overturned while landing at Central County Airport in Helvetia at approximately 12:57 p.m. on Aug. 19.

The airport is located about 60 miles west of Green Bay.

The Waupaca County Sheriffs Office was assisted at the scene by the Iola Fire Department, Iola Ambulance, Waupaca County Medical Examiner, Michigan State Police, National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The incident is under investigation.
BAGLEY TOWNSHIP, MI  A recent search at a homeless encampment area in Northern Michigan helped police solve seven break-ins and recover more than $16,000 in stolen goods, police said

On Monday, Aug. 14, a Michigan State Police trooper was dispatched to investigate a break-in at a business in Bagley Township, according to a news release from MSP. The business reported losses of nearly $6,000 in equipment and supplies stolen from a trailer.

The trooper canvased the area and found a business with a camera facing the roadway near the scene of the crime, police said. He reviewed footage and saw a man casing the business next door.

The trooper was aware that the woods behind the business that was broken into sometimes has homeless encampments, police said. He checked the area and found a path through the woods, which had signs of the theft. He then found a tent with a tarp covering the stolen property. There was also property stolen from five other businesses.

A suspect was identified by personal items left at the camp, police said. Gabriel Benjamin Murphy, 19, of Prudenville, was arrested that evening by the Gaylord City Police Department and lodged at Otsego County Jail.

Through the course of the investigation, troopers solved seven breaking and entering cases and recovered $16,317 of stolen equipment and merchandise, police said.

Murphy was arraigned in the 87-A District Court in Otsego County on charges of larceny in a building, receiving stolen property more than $1,000 but less than $20,000, and breaking and entering a vehicle with damage to vehicle, police said.

He remains lodged in the Otsego County Jail. The other cases against him are pending arraignment, police said.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- A 26-year-old woman was injured in a crash that resulted in one car hitting a building in downtown Ann Arbor, according to police.

Ann Arbor police were called to a two-vehicle crash around 6:20 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 21 near the intersection of North Ashley Street and West Huron Street, Ann Arbor police said.

Preliminary investigation revealed a 26-year-old Ann Arbor woman had been driving westbound through a green light when her vehicle was struck by a black sedan. She was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital with minor injuries, police said.

The impact of the crash sent the womans car into the 111 N. Ashley St. building. The building is home to MLive/The Ann Arbor News, which recently moved from the ground floor to another floor in the building. The car struck near the entrance of the former MLive office.

There was minor damage to the building.

The black sedan was driven by a 53-year-old man from Manitou Beach. He was cited for disobeying a traffic control device, police said. Drugs or alcohol are not believed to be a factor in the crash.

The early-morning crash into the building was the second of three similar incidents to happen in 24 hours in Washtenaw County.

A driver crashed into a building in downtown Ypsilanti around 11 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20, before fleeing the scene. A woman, 86, was taken to the hospital as a precaution after she crashed a car into a Subway, 2410 W. Stadium Blvd. around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, Ann Arbor police said.

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YPSILANTI, MI - The police union for Eastern Michigan University will see pay increases over the course of a new three-year deal reached with the university on Monday.

The universitys Board of Regents approved a new bargaining agreement on Aug. 21 with the universitys Police Officers Association of Michigan, officials said.

The deal, which runs through June 2026, will see a little less than a 9% raise over the three years.

The first years increases, effective on July 1, 2023, are 2.75%. The next two years will be 3% bumps each.

The police unions membership approved the deal on July 26, setting up the regents to approve the contract this week.

Union members also will see adjustments to the employee medical plan, including the university paying about 80% of premiums versus 20% for employees, officials said.

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ANN ARBOR, MI  A spirited annual celebration of psychedelic mushrooms and other entheogenic plants and fungi is entering its third year in Ann Arbor.

The 2023 edition of Entheofest is scheduled for 1:11-4:20 p.m. Sept. 17 on the University of Michigan Diag, organizers announced.

This years festival plans are similar to the first two years. Its billed as a free-speech event featuring art, music and activism, with a goal of decriminalizing psychedelic plants and fungi across Michigan, like Ann Arbor did at the city level in 2020.

Why Ann Arbor officials decided to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, plants

The Entheofests aim has always been to bring the community together to mobilize for the education, decriminalization and celebration of plant medicines and fungi, Entheofest organizer Jim Salame said in a statement.

A festival-goer dressed as Princess Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario Bros., at Ann Arbor's second-annual Entheofest to celebrate entheogenic plants and fungi, including psychedelic mushrooms, on the University of Michigan's Central Campus Diag on Sept. 18, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

See photos from Ann Arbors 2nd-annual psychedelic shroom fest

The Rev. Mariela Simons-Perez is the keynote speaker this year, with Salame as master of ceremonies.

The event will feature music by Mady Kouyate and Ayinde Fondren and many speakers, including University of Michigan researcher Kevin Boehnke, Barking Dog Darryl Brown, Students for Sensible Drug Policy President Allison Bohn, state Sen. Jeff Irwin, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell.

The scene at Ann Arbor's second-annual Entheofest to celebrate entheogenic plants and fungi, including psychedelic mushrooms, on the University of Michigan's Central Campus Diag on Sept. 18, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Entheofests Julie Barron said in a statement shes thankful to Ann Arbor and UM for supporting the event and noted Sept. 20 is also global Magic Mushroom Day.

Entheofest takes place in the same campus space as Ann Arbors annual Hash Bash marijuana rally that happens each April.

No tokers left behind is message at 52nd-annual Hash Bash marijuana rally

Entheofest organizers ask that attendees not use it as a space for consumption of psychedelics and to remain mindful of the university space and others around.

A 6 p.m. afterparty featuring psychedelic music is planned at Rabbit Hole at Root at 210 S. First St.

Entheofest is organized by the Student Association for Psychedelic Studies at UM, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Michigan Psychedelic Society.

The association known as SAPS is a platform for students to learn about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in a thoughtful manner, promoting open dialogue, understanding and responsible access, President Emma Mead said.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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ANN ARBOR, MI -- One woman was taken to the hospital after she crashed a car into an Ann Arbor restaurant on Monday.

A woman, 86, was taken to the hospital as a precaution after she crashed a car into a Subway, 2410 W. Stadium Boulevard around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, Ann Arbor police said. Neither the driver nor anyone in the business was injured.

The cause is still under investigation, Ann Arbor police said. Police cleared the scene shortly after 3 p.m.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- A package of state incentives appears to have tipped the scales for locating the largest hydrogen storage manufacturing plant in the U.S. in Grand Blanc Township.

The Michigan Strategic Fund Board on Tuesday, Aug. 22, approved a $5-million grant for the Plastic Omnium New Energies USA project and another incentive worth up to $2.3 million if the company moves forward with the development, which local officials said would be located on 50 acres in the Grand Blanc Enterprise Park off Baldwin Road.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach a representative of the company, a subsidiary of Compagnie Plastic Omnium, for comment on the production facility, which is projected to create 175 new jobs and result in an investment of $171 million.

A company executive described the planned facility as potentially the largest hydrogen storage manufacturing plant in the U.S. in a state of Michigan news release.

In addition to the production facility, the states commitment to the project includes the development of a testing and validation lab thats expected to be leased at a yet-to-be-determined location.

Its a huge development ... really a factory from the future that would build the tanks to hold hydrogen used to power vehicles, township Supervisor Scott Bennett said.

Township officials have been in discussions with the company and are expecting to receive a site plan for the project in October with construction starting in spring 2024 and the production facility completed in 2026. Information provided to MSF Board members said the township also anticipates granting a property tax abatement in support of the project.

The states announcement of the project says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met with executives from the company during her visit to France in June and made the case for the Grand Blanc Township site.

In a memorandum to the MSF Board, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation said the Plastic Omnium is moving forward on its plan to develop and produce hydrogen storage systems for medium and heavy-duty, zero-emission vehicles.

The operations will support roughly 40,000 vehicles annually starting in 2027, ramping up to full production by the end of 2028 ..., the memo says. This facility will be state-of-the-art with large amounts of automation due to the sheer size of the vessels. As a result, the project will bring dozens of high-tech jobs to the area to support this machinery.

Based on the success of the project, it is likely the company will further increase the size of the factory and ultimately grow the workforce further.

Compagnie Plastic Omnium is described by the state as a leading tier-one automotive supplier. It is the worldwide leader for fuel systems and bumpers, serving all the domestic original equipment manufacturers as well as several foreign car manufacturers with annual revenue nearing $10 billion.

The company has been awarded a large customer contract from a leading vehicle manufacturer, according to the state, and plans to begin designing, developing and producing hydrogen storage systems for medium- and heavy-duty, zero-emission vehicles.

Township and state officials said the company has considered other sites in Ohio, Indiana and Canada for the production facility with the Grand Blanc area site also among the finalists for the project.

Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas that already powers some cars, trucks, buses, and trains. Flints Mass Transporation Authority is among the public transit systems in the county that operates a fleet of hydrogen buses.

The Associated Press reported earlier this year that hydrogen, once produced, can generate power in a fuel cell, emitting only water vapor and warm air.

Toyota has said it is committed to a hydrogen society and is continuing to work on models powered by hydrogen, including fuel cell vehicles, according to the AP. General Motors also says it is the only company developing and commercializing both hydrogen fuel cells and EV battery technology.

Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Flint daily newsletter.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Grand Rapids Public Schools has evacuated all staff from an elementary building and further delayed the first day of classes, after four staff members became ill during the schools ongoing construction.

Grand Rapids Montessori Academy, a preschool through sixth grade building at 159 College Ave. NE, will not welcome students back to school until at least Monday, Aug. 28, due to the construction concerns, the district announced Monday afternoon.

Over the weekend, the district had announced that it would delay Montessoris opening until Thursday, Aug. 24, instead of Tuesday when the rest of GRPS was scheduled to start.

GRPS Superintendent Leadriane Roby said the delay was because staff needed more time to set up classrooms and get prepared to welcome scholars after not being able to access the building due to supply and construction delays.

RELATED: Construction delays Grand Rapids elementary school start date

However, early afternoon Monday the district began receiving reports that four staff members at Montessori were experiencing mild respiratory illness, said GRPS spokesperson Leon Hendrix. The employees reported having symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath, but no one has needed to be hospitalized, he said.

Out of an abundance of caution, the district decided to pull all teachers, staff and construction workers out of the building until GRPS got back the results of air quality tests, the district announced Monday afternoon.

The district also canceled a planned open house for Montessori parents on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Tests for asbestos and lead have already come back negative, but the district is still waiting for the results of a particulate test for nuisance dust, which is expected to come back on Tuesday, Hendrix said.

Thats what we suspect is bothering some of our staff, just from being in a dusty environment, Hendrix said. They test the air and were going to see what the particles come back at, but at any rate were bringing in air scrubbers to just really help clean that air and make it more comfortable for folks that are coming into the building.

The Montessori Academy building has undergone extensive renovations over the summer to add air conditioning and an upgraded heating system to the building. The renovation is expected to continue through the fall.

It is expected to be complete before November.

The Grand Rapids teachers union said the districts inability to complete renovations on-time is forcing students and staff to navigate potentially hazardous construction projects in several buildings across the district, including Montessori.

Other buildings that are also under construction include Kent Hills Elementary School, Wellerwood Early Childhood Center, Congress Elementary School, and Innovation Central High School, according to a statement released by the Grand Rapids Education Association Monday.

Local educators are extremely disappointed that students and staff are being placed in harms way due to GRPS administrators inability to finish these construction projects on time, said Matthew Marlow, a science teacher and GREA president. Teachers have been unable to set up their classrooms due to the delays  and now we are expected to educate our students in hazardous working conditions.

Grand Rapids students, educators and parents deserve better.

Montessori, located in the northeast quadrant of the district, enrolled 320 students in preschool through sixth grade last year.

GRPS, which is the largest district in West Michigan with roughly 14,000 students, welcomed back all other students in the district for the first day of school on Tuesday morning.

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UPDATE: The Grand Rapids City Commission has given final approval to the police drone purchase.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Grand Rapids police are planning to be using drones by mid-September.

The nearly $100,000 purchase of eight drones for police use was unanimously approved Tuesday morning, Aug. 22, during the City Commissions fiscal committee meeting.

Final approval authorizing the purchase is expected to come at the commissions 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday via a sweeping consent agenda vote.

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom has said officers will use the drones in a reactive capacity, using them to assist in search and rescue operations, fleeing suspects searches, crime scene documentation, standoff situations and more.

The variety of uses, police officials previously said, would result in departmental efficiency and increased officer and public safety.

In addition to the $99,246.16 purchase of the drones and related equipment approved Tuesday, there will be about $10,000 to $15,000 in annual, additional costs associated with the drone program.

Police departments in Kentwood, Walker and Wyoming, as well as the Kent County Sheriffs Office, are already using drones. On Tuesday morning, drones from the sheriffs office were being used in the city to assist officers with a barricaded person situation on the Northeast Side.

Some residents have pushed back on the GRPD implementing a drone program, voicing concerns about privacy, over-policing and a distrust that the department will use them properly.

Related: More than 2 dozen voice opposition to Grand Rapids police drones

During a presentation to commissioners Tuesday, Winstrom addressed some of the concerns about drone use he has heard from the public.

He said the drones will not be weaponized, wont utilize artificial intelligence for deployment and wont use facial recognition technology. The departments drone policy also outlines protections for First Amendment activities like protests, he said.

The use of (drones) is prohibited for the sole purpose of monitoring activities protected by the U.S. Constitution, the policy states.

City Manager Mark Washington has previously said the drones could be used to monitor protests that arent permitted and are potentially interfering with roadways.

Concern about the drones using facial recognition were something two commissioners said they heard from constituents.

Not only do we not intend to use it, we are prohibited from using it by our policy, Winstrom said.

Officials have touted what they say will be a high level of oversight of the drone program through the citys Office of Oversight and Public Accountability (OPA).

From your perspective, is there any other department with this level of oversight for utilization of technology that youre aware of? Mayor Rosalynn Bliss asked OPA Director Brandon Davis during the Tuesday drone program presentation.

Im not aware of any other police department that has this level of oversight, as it relates to surveillance use, Davis responded.

All complaints of misuse or overuse of drones submitted to GRPDs Internal Affairs Unit will be provided to OPA.

GRPD will also submit a quarterly report to OPA detailing when drones were used, why they were used, a general location of where they were used, how long they were used and whether the use resulted from a warrant.

The GRPD began serious public discussions about the possible purchase of drones earlier this year. Since then, the department has met with neighborhood associations as well as held a public hearing and a public forum on the proposal.

The departments previous chief, Eric Payne, previously floated the idea of the department acquiring and using drones. Winstrom replaced Payne in March 2022.

According to a Tuesday memo to commissioners, the police department will use the drones for:

Accident scene reconstruction

Crime scene documentation

Search and rescue operations

Fleeing suspect searches

Hazardous materials incidents

Tactical operations and critical incidents

Disaster incidents

Operational support for special events, where an aerial view is necessary to ensure safety and make officer deployment more efficient

The draft policy also states drones may be used during incidents of civil unrest. Civil unrest is defined as a public disturbance involving acts of violence by three or more people which poses an immediate threat of, or results in, damage or injury to property or persons.

Under the departments draft drone policy, GRPD would be forbidden from using drones in the circumstances:

For weapon deployment

For personal use

To harass, intimidate or discriminate against any person or group

To purposefully record or transmit images of a location where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a residence or yard, without a warrant or exigent circumstances

For the sole purpose of monitoring activities protected by the U.S Constitution

To conduct random surveillance activities

Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Efforts to create more workforce housing in West Michigan got a boost Tuesday with a $10 million state investment in a loan fund for developers building rental housing for moderate- to middle-income residents.

The allocation, approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund board, was created in response to business growth in the region, including a $1.7 billion expansion at a Holland battery plant, which is creating a need for more housing, said Sarah Rainero, managing director of a regional prosperity team at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Created to help address critical housing gaps across Ottawa, Allegan and Kent counties, the program will provide access to capital at a time when rising construction and labor costs are making it challenging to finance workforce housing, officials said.

The loans provided through the program must be paid back.

This is really in reaction to a handful of really sizeable business development deals that the MEDC has participated in, Rainero said.

The $10 million will be provided to IFF, a community development financial institution based in Chicago. IFF, which has a Grand Rapids office, has already partnered with Kent and Ottawa counties on similar housing loan funds. IFF describes itself as a mission-driven lender focused on community-centered lending, development and real estate consulting.

Related: Kent County launching $58M affordable housing loan program

The states investment is expected to leverage additional funds from IFF of up to $39 million, a state memo says.

IFF will use the fund to provide loans for rental housing that includes units targeted for residents earning between 60% and 120% of the area median income, according to the MEDC. For a three-person household in Kent County, that equates to up to $102,360, state data show.

We believe that the MEDC and the Michigan Strategic Funds investment is a really important signal to this housing fund, said Chris Uhl, an executive director at IFF who oversees the organizations work in Michigan and Ohio, told the Michigan Strategic Fund board.

He added that he hopes to use the investment by the state, as well as investments by Kent and Ottawa counties, to leverage corporate dollars to start addressing some of these needs in workforce housing.

The $10 million investment approved Tuesday was comprised entirely of state dollars. However, Rainero also said she was hopeful businesses would choose to invest in IFFs housing efforts in the region.

There hasnt been the business community investment yet, but were really hopeful thats where this goes, she said.

The Michigan Strategic Fund, which is affiliated with the MEDC, approves state incentives, grants, tax breaks and other investments designed to spur economic growth in the state.

The MEDC said in a memo an estimated 50,000 housing units are needed in Kent and Ottawa counties by 2027 to keep up with demand.

The main project that sparked the conversation about the $10 million housing fund was a $1.7 billion expansion at LG Energy Solutions battery plant in Holland, Rainero said.

The expansion, near 146th Avenue and just west of I-196, includes a new 1 million square foot battery production facility. Its expected to create the need for roughly 1,000 jobs by the time it opens in 2025.

Other business expansions, in addition to LG Energy Solution, are also contributing to the need for more workforce housing, Rainero said. That includes a $300 million expansion by Gentex, a Zeeland-based manufacturer of electronics for the automotive, aerospace and fire safety industries.

Matt McCauley, senior vice president of regional prosperity at MEDC, said he wasnt immediately sure when IFF would begin making loans using the $10 million provided by the state.

I do anticipate yet this year but there is going to be some ramp up time of course, he said.

McCaluley said he wasnt able to provide an estimate on the funds average loan size or how many projects would be funded on an annual basis.

In terms of the number of units, until applications come in around where there are needs across those counites, we wont have those numbers, he said.

The MEDC joins other West Michigan governments that have invested in IFF to create loans for housing.

Earlier this month, the Kent County Board of Commissioners signed an agreement to hire IFF to manage its affordable housing loan program. The county deposited $17.5 million in the program, which is expected to grow to $58 million through matching funds provided by IFF.

Housing advocates in West Michigan applauded the state investment in IFF.

Ryan Kilpatrick, a lead consultant at Housing Next, a group that advocates for more housing of all types in Kent and Ottawa counties, said many businesses in the advanced battery, automotive, healthcare and education sectors need middle-income workers earning between $40,000 and $75,000 a year.

However, the rising cost of labor and building materials are making it increasingly difficult to finance the housing those workers need to live here, he said.

The states investment, though, will help solve the problem and catalyze more projects for our workforce, he said.

The agreement between the MEDC and IFF says a minimum of 20% of the rental units funded by the $10 million fund shall be targeted to residents with an income of up to 120% of the area median income.

Officials with MEDC could not immediately be reached Tuesday afternoon to discuss how they settled on the 20% target.

Kilpatrick, who worked with IFF and the MEDC to set up the agreement, said he expects many of the projects funded by the loan program to have more than 20% of their units reserved for residents earning up to 120% of area median income.

But there may be some other projects that are in really great locations in high opportunity neighborhoods where the cost of land or the cost of infrastructure might be high enough that the cost of development really needs to have more market rate units in order to justify its costs, he said, noting that those projects would still have 20% of their units reserved for workforce housing.

He said the 20% figure was included because what we didnt want to do is close the door on the opportunity to be able to support workforce housing in higher opportunity neighborhoods or in higher-end buildings.

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BAY CITY, MI - Law enforcement agencies across mid-Michigan recently received a boost of federal funding to help reduce crime and improve public safety.

Congressman Dan Kildee announced that $4.3 million was secured as a part of his Community Project Funding initiative for the Michigan State Police as well as mid-Michigan departments including the Bay County Sheriffs Office, Genessee County Sheriffs Office, Saginaw Police Department, Flint Police Department, Genesee Township Police Department, Linden Police Department, Mount Morris Township Police Department and Fenton Police Department.

This funding will be used to make critical equipment upgrades, improve police officer training and meet the public safety needs of each community, according to information from Kildees office.

The Saginaw Police Department will use the funding to acquire effective technologies and equipment to assist in investigating, responding to, and preventing crime, said Robert Ruth, Saginaw Police Chief. This will increase the efficiency of policing operations, assist in the investigation of criminal activity and work as a deterrent to crime.

He added, This funding will allow the department to enhance a variety of policing services, increase officer safety and provide a superior level of response to the community.

In communities like Bay County, this means that the sheriffs office will see upgrades for things like body cameras and a new patrol vessel and airboat.

These additional resources for local law enforcement will make a big difference in reducing crime and improving public safety, said Troy Cunningham, Bay County Sheriff.

Other impacted agencies like the Linden Police Department will also be making similar upgrades. Linden Police Chief Scott Sutter said that the department will be using its funding for upgrades such as a new in-car camera system for police vehicles ad ballistic equipment.

The in-car cameras would be state-of-the-art and have cloud-based technology that would store video and evidence, said Sutter. The ballistic equipment would provide those that are willing to run into danger in the protection of others, useful resources to keep them and our community safe.

Click here for more information on the funding package and its impacts on local law enforcement agencies.

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BAY CITY, MI  A Saginaw man is facing federal charges after allegedly threatening to rape and kill a child if she didnt send him sexually explicit images of herself. To that end, he allegedly bought a plane ticket to fly to her home on the other side of the country.

Confoundingly, authorities also allege the man sent the girl a photo of his drivers license.

According to an affidavit penned by an FBI special agent, his agencys El Paso Field Office on April 13 received a complaint of a 14-year-old girl being threatened by a person over the internet. The person was demanding the girl send him nude photos and videos.

During a forensic interview, the girl said she met the man online when she was 12, communicating on social media platforms like Omegle, Instagram, Discord, and Kik. The man eventually identified himself as 31-year-old Eric M. Hartman, sending the girl a photo of his Michigan drivers license.

The girl told Hartman she was 12, to which he replied he liked that age and that it was cute. He and the girls conversations turned sexual. The girl sent Hartman explicit photos and videos at his request, with Hartman in turn sending her lewd images of himself, the agent wrote.

The girl later blocked Hartmans social media accounts. He would then make fake accounts to continue contacting her, at times posing as a female, the agents report states.

Hartman went on to threaten to fly out to the girls home and rape and kill her if she didnt send him more illicit photos and videos. At one point, he sent her a photo of a plane ticket for Seattle, near where the girl lives. The ticket bore Hartmans email address, the agent wrote.

Investigators determined Hartman created the email account in 2016 and that it was registered to his parents Saginaw home.

Investigators also obtained messages Hartman sent the girl in March on the Discord app. In them, Hartman states a plan to take the girl away on her spring break and rape her. He included an Expedia itinerary and a confirmation message stating his trip was booked, the agent wrote.

Records indicate Hartman was to fly out of Saginaw to Seattle on April 2 and return on April 11.

On April 12, Hartman used a pseudonym to send the girls mother direct messages on Facebook. In them, he included 11 explicit photos of her daughter.

Im deleting this fb after you see this your kids been exposed enough, Hartman wrote to the mother.

Law enforcement began surveilling Hartmans apartment. On Aug. 16, they executed a search warrant on the residence, arrested Hartman, and seized his phone. The phone contained at least 25 photos and nine videos of child pornography, one of which was among the 11 images he had sent the girls mother.

Later the same day, Hartman had his initial appearance before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris in the federal courthouse in downtown Bay City. Morris informed Hartman he was charged with distribution of child porn and possession of child porn. Both charges are 20-year felonies, with a conviction of the former mandating a minimum five-year term.

At defense attorney Alan A. Crawfords request, Morris entered not-guilty pleas on Hartmans behalf. Morris ordered Hartman held in custody until a detention hearing at 11 a.m. on Aug. 21.

Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw.

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The site of a $16.6 million housing development in Grand Rapids. The project, which will add 58 market rate apartments to the city, was awarded $3.5 million of economic incentives from the Michigan Strategic Fund on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (Rose White | MLive)
The Reckon Report is a weekly newsletter that goes deeper in todays most-discussed headlines. Subscribe today and stay ready for the proverbial water cooler.

At least 114 people have died in the Maui fires, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over 100 years. Officials think 850 people are still missing, with many believed to have perished in the historic community of Lahaina. As children return to school this week, at least 1 in 4 pupils will miss class.

For the Reckon Report this month, were going to be focusing on climate change, the increasing violence of natural disasters and solutions communities are trying out to keep life going on our warming planet.

Its been nearly two weeks since fires swept through and destroyed over 80% of Lahaina, a town of deep cultural significance for native Hawaiians. For around 25 years, starting in 1820, it was the capital of Hawaii and briefly the Royal residence of Hawaiis former king, Kamehameha III.

Today, it looks apocalyptic. President Joe Biden made his first visit on Monday. Piles of ash, decimated trees, burned-out cars, and homes are all that remain as families, FEMA, and other aid groups pick through the rubble. The death toll is expected to increase significantly in the weeks and months ahead.

While the search for survivors within Lahaina is over, the grueling process of finding and identifying the dead has begun and could take years. For context, there are over 1,000 people who have yet to be identified after 9/11.

In the meantime, locals and officials are still figuring out exactly what happened and how to move forward.

FILE - The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP, File)AP

A quick look back

The fires started Aug. 8 after a powerline was knocked over by high winds coming from category 4 Hurricane Dora, which was about 700 miles off the coast of the island at the time. The winds spread the fire quickly, helped by drought conditions.

Mauis fire alarm system was not activated, resulting in the resignation of the islands top emergency management official. Herman Andaya said that he didnt use the sirens because he believed it would have caused more deaths. The alarms ordinarily warn residents about tsunamis and to look for higher ground, like the surrounding mountains. However, those were on fire at the time. Leaders are also accused of not releasing water for firefighters to tackle the blaze.

While hundreds of families are displaced and may not return to Lahaina for months or even years, locals are warning against the temptation to cash in on the valuable land by selling it to developers.

We loved our home in Lahaina, and were not leaving, said resident Ariel Ah Hee, who lost her home and has heard that realtors are already in contact with people who have lost theirs. We have faith, and we have hope that everyone will rebuild because we want to live next to our neighbors again and for this town to stay in the hands of the people of Maui.

The fires have undoubtedly reopened old wounds, specifically the generational trauma from past colonialism and fears that the empty lots may be a door for it to continue unabated.

FILE - A general view shows the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Hope is hard to let go of as odds wane over reuniting with still-missing loved ones after a fire swept across the town of Lahaina on Hawaii's Maui island earlier this month. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)AP

Why it matters now

While it could be argued that the powerline and high winds were simply unlucky, they were helped by other elements that have been known and in plain sight since colonialism arrived hundreds of years ago. Firstly, at least 79 non-native species were brought to the island as early as 1793 by Europeans and, later, Americans to feed cattle and prevent erosion. Nearly 20 of those non-native species specifically contribute to Hawaiis wildfire risk. The worst offenders are types of grass. Guinea Grass, for example, can grow six inches a day during the rainy season and reach a height of 10 feet.

Then theres the drought. Starting with American-owned sugar plantations in the early 1830s and other types of big agriculture now, tens of millions of gallons of water are diverted out of Mauis streams every day. The practice has been in various types of litigation for decades, with some suggesting it contributed to drought and worsened the risk of fire.

Some locals dont even trust FEMA, believing accepting aid could mean losing their land. While this is not true, it reveals a continued distrust of the federal government. Hawaii was annexed by the U.S. government in 1898 and made a state in 1959. While popular at the time, the influx of vast resorts and tourists has strained Hawaiis natural resources. This has led to an anti-tourist movement as Hawaiians look to preserve the environment for future generations.

In July 2024, a group of young Hawaiians will face the states Department of Transportation in court, accusing the agency of breaching their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. They believe the department ignores the states goal of achieving a zero-emissions economy by 2045.

The fires will be part of the plaintiffs argument.

Only three other states offer that level of environmental protection (New York, Montana, and Pennsylvania.) A similar case was settled in Montana, where a group of youth plaintiffs beat the state in a landmark climate case.

Go deeper

A final Reckon note...

Donating directly is the best way to help families impacted by the wildfires. A Google doc of families in need is being circulated and is run by locals and can be found here. Also, check out Reckons Instagram post on how you can do something to help.

Lastly, dont go to Maui. At least for now. Not until the locals tell you otherwise.
The Reckon Report is a weekly newsletter that goes deeper in todays most-discussed headlines. Subscribe today and stay ready for the proverbial water cooler.

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here.

During this summer of climate extremes, its hard not to wonder whats next. For millions of people in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, the answer might be unprecedented summer rains and flooding from Hurricane Hilary as the Category 4 storm barrels up Mexicos western coast toward Southern California.

But a lack of research and data about the rare tropical cyclones in the region will leave many continuing to wonder about how often theyll face such storms as the Eastern Pacific warms.

National Weather Service forecasters on Friday issued the first-ever tropical storm watch for Southern California, and said the serious and unusual situation includes the threat of a tropical cyclone moving up into Southern California on Sunday and Monday, with widespread flooding possible and the potential for tropical storm-force wind gusts above 50 mph. National Hurricane Center forecasters anticipated that Hilarys winds could be at 100 mph as it approaches the Southern California coast.

Im watching very carefully to see what track itll take, because the information we have so far is, there will be impacts, said Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona who studies tropical cyclones in the East Pacific. Its still uncertain if the impacts will be from a direct hit or if the storm center will stay offshore. Either way, she added, the system will bring wind and a big surge of moisture to the deserts of southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

Hilary is already really big, and storms dont tend to shrink quickly once they get to that size, she said. If it undergoes something called an eyewall replacement cycle, it might get weaker, but itll get bigger. And the bigger it gets, the more likely it is to maintain its structure. That means even when it moves over cooler water near California, the storm is still likely to reach farther inland, she added. The storm, however, will weaken to below hurricane strength before making landfall, likely as a tropical storm, she said.

East Pacific hurricanes generally form off the coast of Mexico and often head west, away from land, losing strength as they curve northward over cooler water. But depending on seasonal weather patterns, some curve back toward the east, making often-damaging landfalls along the west coast of Mexico.

But having a major hurricane barreling due north toward California is exceedingly rare, and the tropical storm watch issued for Southern California, is a historic first for CA, climate scientist Daniel Swain posted on social media, adding that rainfall amounts in the deserts of southeastern California could be equally historic, with one to two years worth of rain falling in the next few days. Rainfall of 3 to 6 inches, and up to 10 inches in spots, is expected across portions of southern California and southern Nevada, which would lead to significant and rare impacts, according to the National Weather Service.

Hurricane Hilarys winds strengthened from 40 mph to more than 100 mph in about 12 hours on Thursday, more than double the rate that defines rapid intensification. That development matches a global trend of hurricanes intensifying more quickly since 1991, which is probably caused by warming oceans, hurricane researchers wrote in a 2020 study.

Another peer-reviewed journal article in 2021 showed that major hurricanes made up an increasing percentage of the overall total number of tropical cyclones since 1979. A 2022 study showed how warming has increased extreme rainfall from hurricanes, and there is also scientific evidence suggesting that the stronger storms fueled by global warming are maintaining their intensity longer as they move inland.

Earlier this month, Hurricane Dora became the longest-lived Category 4 storm on record in the Pacific Ocean, maintaining its strength over thousands of miles and helping to fuel strong winds that drove the deadly and destructive wildfires on Maui. Many of the Eastern Pacifics strongest storms on record have occurred in the past couple of decades, including Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which had the highest wind speeds of any storm on record.

Eastern Pacific Hurricane Data Is Sparse

Despite some of the clear global trends, the Eastern Pacific remains an understudied region, probably because many of the hurricanes move away from land. The National Hurricane Center doesnt issue seasonal projections for the Eastern Pacific, like the closely watched Atlantic hurricane season forecast. And the long-term data record for hurricanes in the region was disrupted by a 1988 change in jurisdiction, as record-keeping switched from the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center in Redwood City, Calif., to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Inconsistency in the record makes it harder to detect any global warming fingerprints on hurricanes in the region, Wood said.

One of our challenges in the eastern north Pacific is the quality of the data record, she said. The transition of information from the old center to new center wasnt smooth, and some information was lost. So a lot of the analyses that have been done have been looking mostly at the most recent 35 years. Thats not a lot of time to say, Hey, this is what the pattern used to be, and this is how were seeing it change into the future.

Wood said a lack of paleoclimate evidence also makes it harder to assess the effects of global warming on hurricane activity in the Eastern Pacific. In the Atlantic Basin, climate researchers can look at old wave-cut terraces on the shore, and measure the chemical composition of cave formations to explore hurricane activity in past geological eras. There are very few geological formations suitable for such measurements in areas affected by Eastern Pacific hurricanes.

The rugged terrain along the coast of Mexico just isnt conducive to the same type of studies, partly because its just hard to get there, she said. The topography and the geology may not produce the same kind of information that youd get in other parts of the world.

Scientists can look back at data showing the environment around past storms, including factors like sea surface temperatures and upper level winds that steer hurricanes, to get a general sense of how those may have changed over time. But for now, the lack of hurricane-specific data and research in the region makes it much harder to say whether global warming will increase the chance of more tropical systems reaching densely populated Southern California.

One thing that may increase the risk is the steady rise of sea surface temperatures. For now, the ocean off the coast of Southern California is often below 79 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the minimum needed to sustain a tropical system. But, as in other areas, the ocean in the region is heating up quickly, and if it starts to stay above that temperature, it could drive storms longer on a northward track.

If we look at the last 60 years or so, the trend is definitely positive, Wood said of the increasing water temperatures in the region. Were looking at a half-degree Fahrenheit every 10 years. We still have that quick change in sea surface temperatures in that area, but sea surface temperatures are going up, and theres kind of an impressive blob of warming right off the coast of Baja California.

In fact, warmer oceans are almost certain to fuel stronger hurricanes in parts of the Pacific, including around Hawaii, said Hiroyuki Murakama, a climate researcher at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Researchs Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University.

In a 2013 study, Murakami and other researchers projected that tropical storm frequency in the central Pacific around Hawaii would double with a temperature increase of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). Recent extreme hurricane seasons in the Pacific are in line with those projections, he said. In other research he published in 2017, Murakama found links between global warming and extreme Pacific hurricane activity in 2015.

But he has also documented an overall decrease in tropical storms in the Eastern Pacific in the last 40 years, even as climate models project more activity.

Theres a big difference between the climate models and observations, he said, adding that those larger uncertainties need to be resolved before making projections about whether the hurricane threat will grow in Southern California.

Even if theres not enough data to make accurate projections about how global warming will affect the path of future Eastern Pacific hurricanes, there are other alarming trends, Wood said.

What were noticing is that when storms form, they tend to intensify, often very quickly and they can get very strong, she said. Sometimes that happens right at the coast. And thats terrifying, because it worsens impacts and it also decreases the time to prepare for those impacts.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

Lady Pastor and Counselor Charlotte Oduro has taken a strong stance against proponents of polygamy who attempt to justify their practice using biblical arguments.

During a discussion on UTV's "United Showbiz" on Saturday, Counselor Oduro addressed the topic of polygamy with a firm message.

In a discussion, the Counsellor asserted that polygamy is not in line with biblical teachings and should not be associated with it.

She emphasised that the act of marrying multiple wives goes against the principles set forth in the Bible, which recognizes the union of a man and a woman.

She urged individuals who choose to engage in polygamous relationships to take personal responsibility for their choices without attaching religion.

"Polygamy is not from the Bible. He created male and female. If you want to marry two wives, it is your choice.

Don't bring God into it. Nobody should bring polygamy into the church. If you believe in your polygamy, let it stay there. It is not biblical," Counselor Oduro remarked during the show.

Counselor Oduro's statements were prompted by a controversial sermon by Bishop Dag Heward Mills, the General Overseer of Lighthouse Chapel, which seemed to endorse polygamy.

During the "Give Thyself Wholly" Conference, Bishop Heward Mills reportedly made a case for polygamy, drawing attention to the prevalence of the practice in nature.

He said, Nature even supports polygamy. There is no animal that has only one wife...Nobody knows when it became a sin.
21.08.2023 LISTEN

The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Richard Ahiagbah has criticized the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for not prioritising the interest of Ghanaians.

According to Mr. Ahiagbah, the NDC is only interested in attacking and intimidating governance institutions just to win power.

He said in a tweet, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will do all it can to resist the evil plot of the NDC party.

"We know what the NDC is up to. They have conceived a plot to attack and intimidate governance institutions especially this ONE, to render it doubtful about the execution of its mandate in this time of crisis.

"Their goal is to stifle the exercise of judgment to safeguard the interest of Ghana and Ghanaians," Richard Ahiagbah stated.
? Durante la ceremonia por el XXVI Aniversario de la Direccion de Seguridad Ciudadana, la presidenta Dina Boluarte informo que el Gobierno proyecta emitir mas de 30 normas para reforzar la lucha contra la extorsion, estafa, robo, hurto y penalizacion de celulares robados. pic.twitter.com/7JG94PEfvN
22.08.2023 LISTEN

The National Treasurer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Charles Dwamena has issued a reminder to all special delegates to settle their outstanding dues prior ahead of the upcoming Special Delegates Conference scheduled later this month.

Dr. Dwamena emphasized that failure to comply with this requirement would result in the denial of voting rights for the concerned delegates.

During an interview on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show with host Kwami Sefa Kayi, Dr Charles Dwamena conveyed the importance of adhering to this financial obligation.

He urged delegates to promptly clear any dues they owe to the party to avoid any embarrassment.

"Pay your dues so that when the time comes, you won't face any embarrassing situation," Dr. Dwamena warned, underlining the importance of being a member of good standing.

The National Treasurer disclosed that the dues structure is categorized into three tiers: bronze, silver and gold.

He outlined that each delegate is expected to contribute a minimum of GHS 2.00 per month to support the party's operations and activities.

As such, any delegate with arrears is urged to settle them before attending the Special Delegates Conference to ensure their full participation.

The main focus of the NPP Special Delegates Conference is to streamline the number of aspirants competing for the coveted position of flagbearer.

The current roster of ten candidates will be narrowed down to five contenders.

This is in line with the party's strategy to present a strong and united front for the upcoming general elections in 2024.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress Ketu North Parliamentary Candidate Edem Agabana says Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Richard Ahiagbah is weak.

According to Mr. Agbana, it can be seen in his defenses of Akufo-Addo's government without offering any supporting evidence.

He said in a tweet Your arguments often lack logical reasoning, how do you feel defending naked thievery.

His comment was in response to a previous post made by the NPP Communications Director who sought to paint the NDC as a party bent on causing harm to Ghanaians.

We know what the NDC is up to. They have conceived a plot to attack and intimidate governance institutions especially this ONE, to render it doubtful about the execution of its mandate in this time of crisis. Their goal is to stifle the exercise of judgment to safeguard the interest of Ghana and Ghanaians.

There is a time and place for everything. Now is not the time to be launching at this institution. It is simply exceeding, and reckless if you ask me, Richard Ahiagbah stated.
Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, Chairman of the South African National Democratic Congress (NDC) Council of Elders has sharply criticised President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Bawumia following the huge expenditure and losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

Addressing what he sees as alarming, Mr Quashie questioned the leadership abilities of President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia, labelling them as "super incompetent" in a telephone interview on CTV's "Dwabremu" Political Show.

The SA Council Chair said, If the competent pair can allow the BoG to print money in excess of 40 billion in 2022, which far exceeds the percentage of revenue accrued in the preceding year, It tells you these are people who have no regard for laid down procedure and a time would come that our kids, grandkids and great, great grandkids would come to realise that Ghana retrogressed under Nana Addo - Bawumia government.

The Council Chairman expressed his astonishment that two leaders who were heralded as capable and proficient could preside over such reckless financial decisions by the Bank of Ghana.

Mr Quashie stated, "If the President and his Vice who were touted as very competent can superintend over such inconsiderate and reckless expenditure of the Bank of Ghana, then how do we describe them? Super incompetent."

Mr Quashie also criticised Vice President Dr. Bawumia's role in the financial decisions of the central bank.

"The Vice President has become a walking illegality, the Vice President has made a mockery of economics and has become a comedian of the people," Quashie declared.

Explaining his assertion that Dr. Bawumia had become a comedian, Mr Quashie referenced the Vice President's claims during NPP campaign events, where he touted his ability to rectify economic challenges if given the opportunity to lead as President.

Mr Quashie argued that the Vice President's failure to successfully manage the economy as the head of the current government's Economic Management Team undermines his chances of ever leading any political office in Ghana.

"If as the head of the current NPP government's Economic Management Team, you have not been successful, then it stands to reason to conclude that it's for comic purposes for the same person to promise doing something worthwhile when given the opportunity to lead as president," he expressed.
Obrempong Hima Dekyi XVI

22.08.2023 LISTEN

The Paramount Chief of Upper Dixcove Traditional Area in the Western Region, Obrempong Hima Dekyi XVI says there is a common agenda by the Paramount Chiefs of the Western Region to achieve the much-needed development for the region.

In an interview with Kwame Malcolm, host of Radio 360's flagship programme, "Y3nsom" in Takoradi monitored by Modern Ghana News, he lauded the principal role of the Council of State Member who is also the Chief of Princess Town, Nana Akwanzi Abraba IV also known as Hon Eunice Buah Asomah Hinneh in ensuring all differences amongst the Paramount Chiefs in the Western Regional House of Chiefs are resolved.

"I will like to acknowledge the yeoman's role played by the Omanhene of Axim, Awulae Attibrukusu III as well as the Paramount Chiefs of Essikado, Nana Kobina Nketia V and Awulae Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein, the longest serving Paramount Chief, for imploring on all the Chiefs to heed the call of Nana Akwanzi Abraba IV to unite.

"We have therefore united to ensure the collective good and development of the Western Region. As we have done this, we appeal to the political class of the NDC and the NPP who comprise the Western Region Caucus to unite for the development of the Region.

"We must present a united front to reflect the traditional and the political agenda so that we approach issues with a common front. This will ensure that the MPs reflect the common interest of the people of the Region as the Chiefs have a solid base with the grassroots and by so, whatever will be presented in Parliament by the MPs will reflect the general view of all," the Upper Dixcove Paramount Chief implored.

He praised the Omanhene of Essikado, Nana Kobina Nketia V for initiating a forum under the aegis, a foundation set up to immortalise his predecessor, Nana Kobina Nketia IV, to brainstorm on how to forge ahead for the region's development.

He further pointed out the negative impact of chieftaincy disputes on the development of the Western Region and calls on all to support the agenda already started.

" ..the chieftaincy disputes have really been counterproductive on the region's development as there is strength in numbers. If we the Chiefs are united and the politicians are not equally united, we may not get what is due us as a Region. Since the era of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, no Westerner has risen to be President again. What is preventing a Westerner from attaining that? The likes of Hon Armah Kofi Buah, Joe Ghartey, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah etc are all fit to be President. When that is realised, the region will get its due. Some have it that the Western Region does not have the numbers like the Ashanti and Volta to be a deciding factor in elections. If we have someone from the region aspiring to be President, what prevents us from throwing our weight behind that person? Is it wrong for the Western Region to have a President for the entire nation? Obrempong Hima Dekyi quizzes.

He wondered how many indigenes of Western Region are in managerial positions in the various oil companies dotted around the Western Region.

"If as Chiefs we put our house in order and we have westerners as CEOs of these oil companies, won't a sizeable number of the teeming unemployed youth in the Western Region be employed? As the media, I will implore you, folks, to go the extra mile and establish how many indigenes of the Region are employed in the oil companies. There is always the refrain, 'there are no vacancies' yet day in day out, people are employed as heaps of applications for jobs by our youth keep mounting. Our relief now is that as Chiefs we are now united," he asserted.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency and Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has issued a warning to President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo about the potential dangers of dispatching Ghanaian troops to Niger as part of an ECOWAS effort to overthrow the coup leaders and reinstate the democratically elected government.

Mr Ablakwa expressed his deep concern that sending Ghanaian soldiers to Niger in support of ECOWAS stand-by force could lead be catastrophic.

Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' morning show, he urged President Akufo-Addo to reconsider his decision.

"President Akufo-Addo has to take a second look at his decision to deploy our soldiers; it is going to lead to a bloodbath. We will just be sending our soldiers to the slaughterhouse," Ablakwa cautioned.

He urges government to follow the example of other African nations that have maintained neutrality.

Ablakwa stated, "There are other African countries who have decided to stay neutral and watch how things unfold in Niger and not be entangled in the brawl between them and possibly ECOWAS, and I believe that our President can learn the same from these countries."

"The decision by the Economic Community of West African States To send soldiers to Niger will only worsen and break the already volatile situation in that country. The leadership of ECOWAS should employ a non violence approach to remedy the situation," he added.

In recent developments, the ECOWAS Defence Chiefs convened in Accra to discuss the activation and deployment of a standby force to Niger with the aim of restoring constitutional rule if diplomatic negotiations with the coup leaders fail.
The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has come under criticism after proposing that traditional Chiefs should be allowed to participate in politics.

The Speaker suggested that Ghana should review the constitutional provisions that bar traditional chefs from engaging in political activities.

Speaker Bagbin's proposal calls for a revision of Ghana's laws to enable Chiefs to contribute their wisdom and expertise to the governance of the country.

He argued that the historical practice of Chiefs governing communities has been replaced by the imposition of District Chief Executives. He added that reconsidering Chiefs' involvement in politics could bring about more effective governance.

"We need to listen, think together, and we'll be taking stock on what we did wrong with our leaders, that chiefs should not be in active politics and that's not helping us.

They used to govern; today we have imposed other chiefs on our chiefs, so we have District Chief Executives," the Speaker emphasized.

However, during a discussion on Peace FM's morning show Kokrokoo morning show, Kwami Sefa Kayi expressed reservations about involving traditional chiefs in politics.

"The kind of politics we do in this country, I don't think we should involve our chiefs..." Sefa Kayi remarked.

Kwamena Duncan also joined the conversation, asserting that the Speaker's call was unnecessary.

"The call by the Speaker was needless," Mr Duncan stated.

Sefa Kayi backed Mr Duncan's sentiment, stating, "I think so... oh yes needless because he is in a position to understand better than most of us. Look at what happened to the Dormaahene..."
22.08.2023 LISTEN

In reaction to a recent United Nations report revealing that Ghanaians paid an estimated GH5 billion in bribes to public officials during the year 2021, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso constituency, Dr. Kingsley Nyarko, has weighed in, expressing his perspective on corruption and its elimination in Ghana.

The UN report shed light on the alarming trend of bribery in various sectors, including health, education, security, and justice delivery.

The report's findings highlighted a concerning reality that Ghanaians are resorting to bribes in order to gain access to essential public services.

Dr. Kingsley Nyarko shared his opinion on the report during an interview on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show.

In his comments, he acknowledged the pervasive nature of corruption within the Ghanaian context, asserting that it has become ingrained within the nation's fabric.

He expressed a sobering view, stating, "No country can eliminate corruption. It's not possible."

While acknowledging the difficulty of entirely eradicating corruption, Dr. Nyarko proposed that both the government and citizens can take steps to mitigate its effects.

He also emphasized that a concerted effort should be made to minimize corruption and its impact on the economy.

According to him, the key lies in adopting appropriate behaviors and strategies that contribute to the reduction of corrupt practices.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

The Governor of Bank of Ghana (BoG) Dr. Ernest Addison has released a press statement to dispel the false rumors peddled by the members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to Dr. Addison, the BoG prior to the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic had made significant gains.

He said unexpected events necessitated drastic measures which resulted in BoG relying on its buffers due to its inability to access the international capital markets for money.

Dr. Addison continued by asserting that the inability to rely on the international markets also resulted in BoG running to the International Monetary Fund as a last resort.

At the end of 2019, through prudent economic management, macroeconomic fundamentals had been well anchored. The Bank of Ghana reported profits of GHC 1.6 billion in 2019, GHC 1.5 billion in 2020 and GHC 1.4 billion in 2021.

The policy objective then, was to consolidate the gains made between 2017-2019 and steer the economy towards achieving broad-based inclusive growth and establishing all the needed structures for transitioning from a Frontier Economy to a Full-Fledged Emerging Market economy.

Then came the covid-19 pandemic at the turn of 2020. We all witnessed the devastating effects of the pandemic and the uncertainty this disequilibrium created globally. Ghana was not spared the effects of the pandemic. There were clear public policy initiatives by the government, with outstanding leadership by the President, to protect lives livelihood at all costs. Protecting lives and livelihood at all costs required exceptional financing, Dr. Ernest Addison stated.

Below is the full statement by BOG

Special Press Briefing by the Governor of Bank of Ghana

21st August 2023

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media.

1. Welcome to this special press briefing, which has been necessitated by recent developments

following the publication of the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Bank of Ghana on 28th July 2023. Given the unique circumstances under which the 2022 report was published, it has become necessary for me to make this statement to help put the report into context and to clarify key

issues that have arisen since the publication. The Bank of Ghanas 2022 Financial Statement resultsreflect the crisis that hit the economy in that year. This Press event is to give a clear statement of the problem and chronology of events leading to the economic crisis in 2022 and related developments in Ghana at that time.

2. At the end of 2019, through prudent economic management, macroeconomic fundamentals had been well anchored. The Bank of Ghana reported profits of GHC 1.6 billion in 2019, GHC 1.5 billion in 2020 and GHC 1.4 billion in 2021. The policy objective then, was to consolidate the gains made between 2017-2019 and steer the economy towards achieving broad-based inclusive growth and establishing all the needed structures for transitioning from a Frontier Economy to a Full-Fledged Emerging Market economy. Then came the covid-19 pandemic at the turn of 2020. We all witnessed the devastating effects of the pandemic and the uncertainty this disequilibrium created globally. Ghana was not spared the effects of the pandemic. There were clear public policy initiatives by the government, with outstanding leadership by the President, to protect lives livelihood at all costs. Protecting lives and livelihood at all costs required exceptional financing.

3. Fortunately, through the swift intervention of the international financial institutions, the IMF(through the Rapid Credit Facility) and the World Bank, a significant portion of this financing was met. In addition, the Bank of Ghana, following prudent management, had built enough buffers and policy space, which enabled it to trigger the emergency financing exception under Section 30(6)) of the Bank of Ghana Act, Act 612 as amended, to provide the needed additional financing support through the purchase of GHC10 billion of the Governments Covid-19 bonds, which helped to close the exceptional financing gap. These interventions from the Bank of Ghana, the IMF, and the World Bank, helped the government to navigate and effectively contain the devastating effects of the pandemic.

4. Ladies and Gentlemen, as expected, Ghanas public health policy response to the pandemic came at a high fiscal cost to the economy, leading into 2021, which was amplified by the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war that started in early 2022. As a result, sovereign spreads on Ghanas Eurobondswidened, and Credit Rating Agencies further downgraded Ghanas sovereign debt rating. This effectively blocked Ghanas access to the international capital markets in 2022, a resource which the budget had relied on to borrow about US$3 billion annually to help close the financing gap. It is important to state that a significant part of the annual borrowing was just to meet debt service and energy payment obligations, given that Ghanas annual external debt service payments and energy payments alone had risen to the range of 3 to 4 billion dollars annually as at 2020.

5. Losing access to the international capital market for new financing immediately triggered a liquidity crisis for Government, spilling over into a balance of payments crisis as the country had to continue to honour its debt service obligations, energy payments, and import bill. In keeping up with these critical external payments, the Bank of Ghana lost US$500 million in external reserves in just two months, with no new inflows of foreign currency from the usual annual Eurobond issuance by Government to replenish its reserves.

6. Furthermore, to help address Governments liquidity crisis, the Bank extended additional overdraft to the government to address auction failures and prevent domestic default, and enabled government to meet domestic debt obligations and other critical payments needed to avoid a disorderly halt to economic activity. Throughout the first half of 2022, there was no new foreign financing until July when the Afrexim Bank stepped in to support with US$750 million. This is a typical replay of what is referred to in the literature as a first generation macroeconomic and balance of payments crisis. You would recall that many people doubted if the economy was in crisis because they did not hear that interest payments on bonds were not being paid in early 2022; they did not see queues at the pump for petrol and diesel; there were no shortages of essential items on the market; and they did not hear that public sector workers, including civil servants, the Police and the Military, were not being paid their salaries. The reason was that the Bank of Ghana had provided the needed support to keep the economy going.

7. These circumstances led the Government to approach the IMF for support in July 2022. The IMF immediately sent in a Mission to assess the economic situation. The mission concluded that the economy was at tipping point, and it was agreed with the understanding of the IMF, that the Bank of Ghana should continue to provide the necessary support to keep the economy running until a reform programme had been put into place, which will trigger IMF financing.

8. The portrait painted above of the Ghanaian economy in 2022, was similar to what pertained in many other frontier and emerging market economies. Key among countries with similar experiences wereEgypt, Argentina, Turkey, Kenya, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, just to mention a few. What separated these countries and their ability to hold their economies until a package of reforms were introduced, was the availability of policy buffers and resilience of key policy institutions. We all know what happened in Sri Lanka. The Bank of Ghana was able to step in with the support to the economy until the IMF programmewas concluded, because of the policy buffers built, following years of prudent management. This is a reflection of the resilience of the Bank of Ghana for being able to rise up to the occasion to play its statutory role as the lender of last resort to support the economy during the crisis. Economic history also teaches us that crises are a part of the business cycle, and the accumulation of policy buffers is the only

way to guarantee space to deal with such crises, and this is clearly the role the Bank of Ghana played with

distinction.

9. Now let me shift my remarks to the corrective measures that were put into place in 2022 to manage the crisis, in particular the major policy effort designed to put Ghanas debt on a sustainable path. These corrective actions included the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) program, where the stock of Government of Ghana/public sector debt was to be halved from 105 percent of GDP to 55 percent of GDP by 2028. The holders of Government debt had their debt instruments exchanged for new ones with lower coupon payments and longer tenors. Despite the resulting losses incurred by households, banks and other financial institutions, the threshold of 55 percent of GDP was not met. As part of the solution, the Minister for Finance wrote to the Bank of Ghana with a proposed treatment of 50 percent haircut on Bank of Ghanas holdings of Governments non-marketable debt. Naturally, the Bank of Ghana was concernedand fully aware of the implications of such a treatment on the books of the Bank. We held several discussions with the Ministry of Finance, the Governments Advisors on the Debt Exchange (Lazard & others) and the IMF on this treatment.

10. At the request of the Bank of Ghana, the IMF sent a technical mission of central bank balance sheet experts to assist the Bank of Ghana to assess how the debt treatment would impact the Banks financial position and its ability to carry out its statutory mandate. The conclusion of that technical assessment mission was that Bank of Ghana should be able to function effectively (i.e., remain policy solvent) even after the imposition of such a haircut. The IMF placed a high premium on this particular debt scenario involving the Bank of Ghana as that was the only scenario that was going to allow the Government to meet the debt threshold that would allow Ghanas IMF programme to proceed for Board approval. The Bank of Ghana accepted this proposal on that basis, given how crucial it was to secure the Fund-supported program and the benefits that would inure to the economy as it would help to reset theeconomy and prevent a total collapse with much broader socio-economic implications. A Bank of Ghana board meeting was therefore arranged to get the board pass a resolution to this effect. The Bank of Ghana acted in good faith for the broader interest of Ghanas economy.

11. The debt included all the legacy debts of the Government of Ghana dating back to 1992 and included the accrued overdraft of 2022, overdraft to Cocobod, the Covid-19 Bond, and even BoG holdings of Telecom Malaysia (Ghana Telecom Bonds) Bonds and Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) bonds issued by Government. As of 2015, the accumulated claims on Government and Cocobod were about GHC13 billion. The debt, therefore, is not about recent debt alone. Almost all lending from the IMF, including the Extended Credit Facility and the Rapid Credit Facility during the Covid 19 pandemic, and all financial sector resolution bonds have all been added as Bank of Ghana lending to Government. This is not factual.

12. It is important to state that the losses reported were technical losses arising from the haircut and the application of accounting standards (in particular, IFRS 9) to estimate expected credit losses over the tenor of the Government debt held by Bank of Ghana. It is not money lost by the Bank of Ghana through its operations in 2022. Rather, one should look at this as a reflection of the total cost of the economic and social crisis the country faced over the years and an attempt to resolve a major structural problem of the Ghanaian economy.

13. I must also add that, if one takes time to go through historical financial statements of the Bank of Ghana, you will realize that this is not the first time that the Bank has gone into negative equity. During the early years of structural adjustment, very large exchange rate depreciations led to revaluation losses that drove the Bank into negative Equity. Indeed, anytime the economy faces major challenges, the Bank of Ghana balance sheet suffers, and the equity position moves into negative territories. You will recall that in 2017 and 2018, the Bank of Ghana incurred similar negative equity from the impairment of legacy liquidity support loans granted in 2015 and 2016 to insolvent banks, which our external auditors impaired due to the doubtful prospects of recovering from those insolvent banks. The Bank of Ghana however,recovered and generated profits throughout the period 2019 to 2021.

14. It is worth noting that Central Banks are not commercial banks. Bank of Ghanas current financial condition will not impact negatively on the operations of the Bank. The IMF TechnicalAssistance mission validated this conclusion, before the necessary decisions were taken. In their opinion, the Bank of Ghana was policy solvent and would remain so, as it had enough income to cover monetary policy operational

costs. The Bank of Ghana had sufficient capital amounting to about 15 per cent of its total liabilities. Its recommendation was for the Bank to retain all profits and a reassessment should be made in the year 2027. The Bank will also manage to reduce its operational costs during this period.

15. Ladies and Gentlemen, in all these, the Bank of Ghana has acted within the applicable laws. It is not true that Bank of Ghana has been providing financing for the Government every year. There has been zero financing in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The Bank of Ghana has only had to support in the pandemic year of 2020 and the crisis year of 2022. The Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, limits financing of Government to 5 percent of previous years tax revenue. This provision in the law has been adhered to since I took office in April 2017. Between 2017 and 2019, in addition to the requirements of the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, the Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Finance to even impose a tighter restriction of zero central bank financing, and this was observed strictly, even though MOUs are not legally binding. Between 2012 and 2015, the Bank of Ghana provided overdraft to finance government and Cocobod every year. And there was neither a pandemic nor a global economic crisis.

16. When Ghana was hit with the Covid-19 in 2020, Section 30(6) of the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, was triggered, and as indicated earlier, the Bank purchased GHC10 billion worth of Covid[1]19 bonds to support the economy through the pandemic. This was done within the applicable laws governing the Bank of Ghana. When section 30 (6) of the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, is triggered, it, allows the Governor, the Minister for Finance and the Controller and Accountant General to agree on a new limit of central bank financing. The law further says that the Minister of Finance will then have to inform parliament and the Minister has since informed parliament as part of his briefing to update Parliament on the IMF program and status of the Domestic Debt Exchange.

17. Let me also seize this opportunity to talk about an issue that has come up lately in the media and one which borders on our new Head Office building. While discussions on a national security issue like the Central Bank building is a sensitive one, I will provide you with a brief history of how this has evolved over the years. The Bank of Ghana as far back as the 1990s began the search for suitable and secured land for a new Head office. In 2012, the Bank was allocated an unnumbered 5.19-acre land at Accra Central by the Lands Commission which also had issues. The Bank did not have access to the land since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration refused to give the Bank vacant possession on the grounds that they had never agreed to give up ownership of the land. The Bank continued to search for suitable land for its Head Office throughout the period from 2013 to 2016. More recently in 2018, the Bank approached the SIC to acquire its vacant land at Ridge near the Ridge Hospital. The Government issued an Executive Instrument to allow the Bank of Ghana acquire that Land and SIC was duly compensated.

18. The Bank then began to plan the building of its new Head Office, taking into consideration the need to ensure the building meets all the requirements of a modern central bank of international standards(similar to central bank head office buildings in Abuja and Dakar), and incudes provision for data centers, currency processes, vaults, and other sensitive installation. It is not just a simple ordinary building. Let

me re-emphasize that the Bank followed all the necessary public procurement processes in this endeavor. No procurement laws were broken. I have requested that a more detailed response to the issues raised in the public discourse on the Banks new Head Office building be published on our website immediately after this press engagement today.

19. The decision to commence construction was taken in 2019 when the Bank generated profits. Appropriations for the Head Office were made each year from profits in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The project has therefore, been going on for over 3 years. The DDEP only took place in January 2023. If we were to be taking the decision today, building a legacy Head Office would not have been a priority. However, this is a project that has been running for 3 years and about 50 percent complete. The Bank is fully aware of its responsibilities to ensure that the costs do not escalate beyond reasonable levels and that many of the original design features to including data centre, currency processing centre, ICT equipment, specialized security features have been deferred and only grey boxes provided for future use to manage costs.

20. Let me end by reassuring the public on the policy solvency of the Bank of Ghana to achieve its statutory mandate going forward. Every central banks credibility depends on its ability to achieve its mandate. These technical losses do not jeopardize that ability and are sometimes the price to pay for achieving those aims. It is important that we place the central banks policy mandate ahead of profits. We must recognize the special character of Central Banks and the role they play in an economy. Central Banks are institutions of public policy and do not exist for profits but for national welfare and as such could have a negative equity position and continue to be policy effective. Very clear policies have been put in place to return to positive equity in the medium term. And as we do this, we will continue to rebuild our policy buffers to continue to provide the necessary assurance of policy support as we rebuild a stronger and a more resilient and inclusive economic post pandemic.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.
With the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) presidential primaries fast approaching, aspirant Boakye Kyerematen Agyarko has expressed his motivation to seek the high office.

Mr. Agyarko stated in an interview on Accra-based JoyNews' PM Express on Monday, August 21, that his decision to contest the flagnearership position is driven by his deal to help develop Ghana.

"The zeal and passion to see Ghana develop are what are pushing me to seek the high office of President," he said.

The flagbearer hopeful emphasized the importance of adapting campaign strategies to the current political climate.

"I have been campaigning continuously since 2007 for others, but every campaign is different. To approach any campaign with the notes of the previous one is like fighting an old war," he noted.

The former Energy Minister also discussed the need to tailor campaign messages to different groups within the party.

"There are two different groups within a party; the elite and the mass. Their interests are different so your message and mode of communicating with them will be different," he said.

The NPP will hold a special delegates' conference on Saturday, August 26 to narrow down the 10 aspirants to 5.

The flagbearer will be elected at the party's Congress on November 4.

The selected flagbearer will be the NPP's presidential candidate in the 2024 general elections.
Stephen Atubiga, leader of the National Liberation Congress (NLC), has warned that ECOWAS threatening military intervention in Niger could result into a global conflict.

In a Facebook post on Monday, August 21, Mr. Atubiga cautioned that the action can led to global crisis.

"The invasion of the country Niger by some African countries is the seed and beginning of World War 3, he noted.

He compared the recent development in the West African subregion to foreign interventions that triggered wider wars.

"You all remember Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan when America supported the Taliban and Made Osama Bin Laden. Who helped defeat the Russians to retreat, he noted.

The former NDC member claimed the West attempt to restore constitutional order in Niger is aimed at controlling the country's uranium supply and gas pipeline to Europe, in order to cut dependence on Russia.

He alleges Russia has strategically bonded with African nations to maintain its monopoly, reason he claims other Western countries are supporting ECOWAS over it planned military intervention.

Remember Russia is the only country that has not colonized any African country. And helped lots of African countries to gain independence, with training, funding, and logistical support to fight for freedom," he wrote.

The NLC leader warned the conflict could have devastating consequences for Africa, indicating, sea transportation sector. Food and goods will be a problem. Jobs will be lost.

He urged African leaders to avoid war and seek diplomatic solutions in restoring constitutional rule in Niger.
Ranking Member on Parliament's Education Committee, Clement Abas Apaak, has criticized plans to withhold August salaries of striking College of Education teachers (CETAG).

Mr. Apaak noted that the strike is lawful.

According to him, the move to punish teachers by withholding pay is uncalled for.

In a tweet on Monday, August 21, he warned it would only aggravate matters and urged the reversal of the "ill-informed" decision.

"Gov't ought to reverse the decision not to pay Lecturers of our 46 CoE salaries for Aug 2023. When did going on a lawful strike to demand the implementation of agreed conditions of service become punishable? This move is ill-informed and will worsen an already worrying situation, he wrote.

His comments follow a directive from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to the Controller and Accountant General not to pay August salaries and allowances to CETAG members currently on strike.

CETAG members nationwide have been on industrial action since August 1st over the government's failure to implement negotiated benefits and improved conditions of service.

Despite the teachers' repeated appeals, the Ministry of Finance is yet to effect the agreed terms, prompting the ongoing strike action.
Russia and China will be looking to gain more political and economic ground in the developing world at the Brics summit in South Africa this week  when an expected joint dose of anti-West grumbling may take on a sharper edge as they move to bring Saudi Arabia closer.

Leaders from the Brics economic bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will hold three days of meetings in Johannesburg.

Chinese premier Xi Jinping's attendance underlines the diplomatic capital his country has invested in the bloc over the past decade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will appear on a video link after his travel to South Africa was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him over the war in Ukraine.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will all be present.

The summit the main event on Wednesday and sideline meetings on Tuesday and Thursday  is expected to produce general calls for more cooperation among countries in the global south amid rising discontent over perceived Western dominance of global institutions.

That's a sentiment that Russia and China are more than happy to lean into. Leaders or representatives of dozens more developing countries are set to attend the sideline meetings in Africa's wealthiest city to give Xi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who will represent Putin in South Africa, a sizeable audience.

Xi headed to South Africa on Monday, state media reported.

The visit will be Xi's second international trip of 2023, after his official trip to Russia in March.

The Chinese leader previously visited South Africa in 2018 as he sought to enhance his country's diplomatic and economic ties with the continent.

New members?

On the agenda at this year's summit will be the possible future expansion of Brics membership, which the bloc has previously indicated it is open to.

Several African countries have expressed a desire to join the bloc, including Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia.

A total of 69 countries have been invited to the summit, including all African states.

Brics represents 23 percent of the world's gross domestic product and 42 percent of the world's population.

(with newswires)
On a visit to French Polynesia, France's interior minister said he would launch a review into whether companies were abusing their market dominance to jack up prices and contribute to the notoriously high cost of living in French overseas territories.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that he would work with the Minister for Overseas Territories, Philippe Vigier, to "take stock" of abusive practices.

"There are too many economic monopolies in the overseas territories in general and in French Polynesia," Darmanin said in an interview with local television in the capital, Papeete.

He was speaking on Saturday, the final day of a three-day visit to the semi-autonomous country, during which he discussed the issue with its president, Moetai Brotherson.

"We're going to propose to President Brotherson that we tackle these monopolies together, because where there are monopolies, prices are very high and where prices are very high, it's everyday Polynesians who struggle to get by," Darmanin said.

Chronic problem

Prices in overseas territories have long outstripped those in mainland France, with successive governments pledging to do something about it.

The problem has worsened in the past decade, according to national statistics office Insee, which reported last month that consumer price differences had widened between 2015 and 2022.

An average household's shopping is now around 9 percent more expensive on Reunion Island than on the mainland and nearly 16 percent more expensive in Guadeloupe, Insee says.

The gap is even more pronounced when it comes to food, with prices as much as 39 percent higher in French Guiana, 40 percent higher in Martinique and 42 percent higher in Guadeloupe.

Telephone and internet services are also significantly more expensive across the board.

At the same time, the overseas territories have some of the highest unemployment rates and lowest average incomes of anywhere in France.

Parliamentary inquiry

The promise to investigate monopolies comes the month after a parliamentary inquiry called for drastic action to tackle runaway prices in France's overseas territories.

"When the patient is in cardiac arrest, it is no longer time for palliative measures," said Johnny Hajjar, MP for Martinique and the inquiry's rapporteur.

The proposals included incentives to boost local production and reduce dependence on imports, which make up around 60 percent of food products sold in the territories.

The parliamentary committee also recommended renegotiating yearly with large distributors to pressure them to cut back generous profit margins throughout the distribution chain.

It called for such groups to automatically report all their results to the competition watchdog, and demanded that mergers resulting in a single group holding more then 20 percent of market share be subjected to an inquiry investigating the impact on consumers.

As part of its hearings, the committee interviewed the head of Groupe Bernard Hayot, one of the largest food retailers in the French overseas territories with nearly 27 percent of the market in Reunion, 25 percent in Martinique and just under 20 percent in French Guiana.

Managing director Stephane Hayot denied having a monopoly or taking advantage of a lack of competition to inflate profit margins, and defended the group's policy of not publishing its financial statements.
Tog-wachale, 21 August 2023  The promise sounded too good to be true, travelling from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia for work, but I just went with it. They said it will only be for seven days. Now, seven days later, I have three bullet wounds in my body and am nowhere near where I intended, narrates Halima*, a student from Arsi, Oromia Region of Ethiopia.

Like many Ethiopians searching for better work opportunities, Halima was lured to embark on a deadly journey from Ethiopia to the Gulf countries through Somalia, across Yemen, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries through what is often referred to as the Eastern Migration Route. She had no idea about the insecurity and the conflict situations in the neighbouring countries making up this route.

Halimas week-long ordeal began after she left her hometown and travelled to Harar, some 660 kilometres away. She knew it was too late to turn back when the smuggler that her friend had recommended crammed over 150 people into a truck. With a mix of hope and fear, she hopped on the vehicle and crossed the Ethiopia-Somalia border through the town of Tog-wachale.

Days of driving felt like weeks. We had nothing to eat and very little to drink. Things worsened when a gunfight began between the smugglers and unknown armed men. This caused our vehicle to lose control and roll over, says Halima.

It all happened so fast. The next thing I knew, I was bleeding from my hand, my hips and the sides of my breast.

Knowing that payments wont be made if the migrants on the truck do not make it to the next drop-off point in Somalia, the smuggler tried to convince them to return to the truck. Halima, who had been shot multiple times, escaped together with other migrants after the accident.

Wounded, hungry and exhausted, Halima and the other migrants they had escaped with continued to walk in search of help. Luckily, after hours of walking, they encountered a vehicle, and the driver agreed to take them back to the Ethiopian border. She was eventually brought to the IOM Migration Response Centre (MRC) back in Tog-wachale, at the Ethiopia-Somalia border, where she was immediately provided with medical assistance.

Migrants as young as 15 years old find themselves seeking support at IOMs Migration Response Centre in Tog-wachale. Photo: IOM 2023/Kaye Viray

The MRC in Tog-wachale, a key transit town situated 17 kilometres from Ethiopias border with Somalia, plays a vital role for thousands of migrants from Ethiopia trying to reach the Gulf countries through Somalia. The centre complements the efforts of the Government of Ethiopia by responding to the lifesaving needs of migrants in vulnerable situations either at the MRC or through referral to partners. The migrants also receive longer-term assistance in their communities of origin.

Since 2019, the MRC in Tog-wachale has supported over 3,700 migrants, most of whom are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. IOM runs a total of five MRCs in Ethiopia situated along key migration routes, where they fill critical gaps by facilitating the identification of migrants in vulnerable situations and ensuring that they receive much-needed humanitarian assistance.

IOMs Migration Response Centre in Tog-wachale is moving to bigger premises to meet the growing needs of migrants seeking support in the area. Photo: IOM 2023/Kaye Viray

An estimated 148,000 Ethiopians migrated, mostly irregularly, using the Eastern Route, in search of better employment opportunities, in 2022 alone. Many of them are exposed to violence, exploitation, and abuse at various stages of their journey and require urgent response and longer-term support, says Bawele Tchalim, Programme Manager on Migration Protection, IOM Ethiopia.

For now, Halima is focused on getting better. She considers herself lucky for having survived the ordeal.

My priority now is to heal. I will not advise any of my peers to do what I did. When Im better, I will go home, try to go back to school and look for safer opportunities, she says.

IOMs humanitarian assistance and protection services in response to the needs of the returnees are aligned with the Regional Migrant Response Plan (MRP) for the Horn of Africa and Yemen, 2022. The MRP aims to address the needs of migrants in vulnerable situations and host communities in countries situated along the Eastern Migration Route, located between the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

IOMs response to the Eastern Migration Corridor falls under the umbrella of the Regional Migrant Response Plan (MRP) for the Horn of Africa and Yemen. This is a response mechanism that brings together humanitarian partners to respond and address the needs of migrants in the region. The Migrant Response Centres (MRCs) are one of the services provided for migrants under the MRP. Without urgent funding towards IOMs central role in the MRP, which is further elaborated in the Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen 2023, these services face imminent closure. The appeal is for USD 84 million to respond to these needs.

*Halimas name was changed in this story due to sensitivities.

This story is written by Kaye Viray, Media and Communications Officer, IOM Ethiopia
Over the past few weeks, there have been loads of socio-political dialetics about a befitting running mate for the 2024 NDC presidential candidate, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. Beyond doubts the NDC is poised and better positioned for holding Ghanas governance mantle come 2025, which the majority of Ghanaians are yearning for and cannot wait to affirm it through the 2024 General Elections.

Although NDC victory is impervious, certain decisions could significantly enhance the outcome. Clearly, the NDC presenting H.E. John Dramani Mahama is a monumental accord, which has already become a dilemma for the NPP in their struggling bid to get any suitable candidate. To further consolidate the NDCs brighter position, the choice for a running mate who subsequently becomes the Vice President after the partys victory is very crucial. This is more so because beyond the conviction that the NDC is winning the elections, other edges have to be pruned in order to ensure a significant percentage for the President as well as securing far greater number of Parliamentary seats. The persona, background, competence, skills, attributes, connection with the party base and respect by the populace are vital traits that would be assessed prior to one being considered for the pivotal position of a running mate.

Irrevocably, the NDC party have in time passed presented untainted candidates of great repute as running mates among which two had moved on from Vice Presidents to becoming Presidents, with unsurpassed governance output for the 21st century. Similarly, in the recent turn of events, there are views from some party folks, academics and political analysts alike about deserving persons that they deem favorable to become a possible running mate for H.E. John Dramani Mahama. In fact, all the names that are popping up simply lends credence to the point that the NDC maintains the finest human resource expertise for the type of governance to deliver Ghanaians out of the current political quagmire and economic abyss. That said, one person that in my candid opinion leads the pack among the rest is Hon. Julius Debrah. I dare to suggest with the strongest conviction that Hon. Julius Debrah (JD) would make the best pair with H.E. John Mahama (JM) for some basic but cogent reasons.

First and foremost, Hon. Julius Debrah is an astute politician and a die-hard member of the NDC who began his political career and party service from the grassroots. He did not just emerge from the background to get appointed for a higher position but rather, he labored through thick and thin with patience and dedication from the branch level engagements, through which he acquired the requisite experiences as he progressively scaled the political ladder.

At the turn of the 21st century whilst the party was in opposition, he served in various positions in the Eastern Region including a Propaganda Secretary to becoming a Regional Chairman. Around that same period, he pooled and dedicated resources to contesting as the Parliamentary Candidate for the party in the years 2000 and 2004 in the Suhum Constituency. Although he faced one of the stiffest opponents, for all those encounters and later in 2012, his bids significantly popularized the NDC party, consequently contributing in no small means towards the NDC victories in 2008 and 2012. Irrefutably, Hon. Julius Debrahs political background and popularity presents a perfect pairing with H.E. John Dramani Mahama to attract support from all spheres of persons and across regional blocs, within the party and beyond.

Second, Hon. Julius Debrah has gained enormous maturity in governance through diverse professional engagements in business, public service and executive positions. Julius Debrah is celebrated for his success in business and entrepreneurial activities, which has in turn generated employment, provided products and services, and contributed to the economic benefits for individuals and communities. He is recognized for conglomerate of businesses in Tourism & Hospitality, Automobile Inspectorate, Insurance, Banking, Water & Beverages, Agriculture, Construction, Real Estate and Broadcasting.

Moreover, during his tenure as the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourism Board, he significantly improved the tourism industry. Specifically, acting in harmony with the Ministry of Tourism, the then Ghana Tourism Board was restructured into the Ghana Tourism Authority, which enhanced tourism infrastructure and promoted tourist activities for the country. His performance attracted attention in the sub-Region and beyond, engaging with many countries across the globe.

Even more, his performance as the Minister for Local Government & Rural Development (2014-2015), albeit for few years, left an indelible ink for the Ministry and the John Mahama regime. In fact, he effectively used the local government architecture to admirably get connected with institutions, communities, traditional leaders, local government agents as well as the grassroot party members and structures. Beyond doubt, the outstanding socio-economic programs and projects that he initiated attracted attention and commanded respect from all strata of society. Distinctively, he promoted pleasing work ethics within the metropolitan, municipal and district assembles (MMDAs), engineered practical sanitation initiatives notably the National Sanitation Exercises across cities, advanced local government legislations, and above all within a broader implementation framework carried through with the countrywide Street Naming Exercise. Ghanaians would embrace a running mate with such an impeccable performance record devoid of any corruption stains.

Finally, another substantial grounds for holding the view that Hon. Julius Debrah is nominated and approved as the running mate for His Excellency John Mahama is the immutable synergy between JD and JM. The success of the Presidency among other things is greatly connected to how the President harmonizes with the Vice President. Most well-meaning Ghanaians view JM to be affable, hardworking, patient, virtuous, tolerant and praiseworthy of all other attributes that one could desire of a President. In a similar vein, JD positively exhibits the composure, skills and character that aligns with that of his cherished boss and a friend, JM. As a matter of fact, John Mahama did not only realize the indestructible competence but felt so comfortable with Julius Debrah that he appointed him as the Chief of Staff during the most crucial times of his Presidency  from 2015 into the heat of the electioneering campaigns and activities of 2016. He has since remained one of the most attached persons to John Mahama, in promoting the best interests of the NDC party towards a 2024 Victory to Save Ghana.

In conclusion, although any other person currently being suggested for the running mate slot in a way or the other is deserving, Julius Debrah in many respects excels as the most suitable for John Mahama, and eventually becoming the Vice President come 2025. Therefore, based on the delineation of the suitability of Hon. Julius Debrah for that constitutionally mandated position, I unequivocally proclaim my strongest conviction, which I believe to be akin with the opinions of the masses, in support of JM and JD for NDC 2024.

Ignatius Eugene Darko (DonSpino)

NDC Youth Organizer

Atlanta Georgia, U.S.A.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has played a pivotal role in promoting regional integration and stability in West Africa. However, its handling of the recent Niger crisis has raised concerns regarding its independence and alleged puppetry to the West. This article seeks to critically analyze whether ECOWAS is acting as a puppet to the West in the midst of the Niger crisis, through an examination of its response and decision-making processes. Ultimately, this analysis seeks to provide a nuanced understanding of ECOWAS' role in the crisis and shed light on the complexities of regional politics.

ECOWAS' response to the Niger crisis should be evaluated through an examination of its decision-making processes, actions, and external influences. While it is true that the West holds significant influence within ECOWAS, attributing the organization's actions solely to external control oversimplifies the complex dynamics at play. ECOWAS is acting in response to the deteriorating political situation in Niger, which involved a military coup and subsequent civil unrest. The regional organization swiftly intervened by suspending Niger's membership and imposing sanctions, demonstrating its commitment to preserving democratic norms within member states.

On the flip side, some critics argue that ECOWAS' response to the Niger crisis is being influenced by Western powers such as France and the United States. While Western powers are exerting pressure on ECOWAS to act, it is crucial to acknowledge that these external actors often align their interests with the principles of democracy and stability. Thus, Western influence does not necessarily negate ECOWAS' independent decision-making capabilities. Additionally, ECOWAS is engaging in extensive diplomatic negotiations whilst utilizing its regional expertise to navigate the crisis. This suggests that the organization is actively pursuing its own agenda while simultaneously considering Western interests.

ECOWAS' ability to balance regional and international dynamics is a testament to its independent decision-making capacity. While external actors do exert influence, the organization has historically demonstrated agency in pursuing its own strategic objectives. In the Niger crisis, ECOWAS is seeking to stabilize the region, prevent further coups, and uphold democratic norms. These goals are aligned with the interests of both regional stability and Western powers. However, attributing ECOWAS' actions solely to Western puppetry overlooks the nuanced calculations involved in maintaining regional stability while accommodating external interests.

The accusation that ECOWAS acted as a mere puppet to the West in response to the Niger crisis however oversimplifies the complex dynamics at play. While it is undeniable that the West holds influence within ECOWAS, it is crucial to consider the organization's independent decision-making processes and strategic interests as well. ECOWAS' swift response to the Niger crisis, its imposition of sanctions, and ongoing diplomatic negotiations indicate its commitment to upholding democratic norms and regional stability.Thus, ECOWAS should be seen as an organization capable of navigating the complexities of regional politics, rather than a mere tool of external actors. Further research and analysis are necessary to gain a more comprehensive understanding of ECOWAS' decision-making processes and its evolving role in shaping regional dynamics, albeit the warmongering sloganeering of deploying a military force to oust the Junta and democratically restore Mohammed Bazoum which might not stand the test of time.

Amatus Fomjegeba.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has stressed that Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr. Ernest Addison must resign immediately over what he describes as reckless mismanagement.

The Governor on Monday, August 21, addressed a special press conference to clarify issues relating to the building of a new head office for the Central Bank.

He explained that the decision to commence construction was taken in 2019 when the Bank generated profits and appropriations for the Head Office were made each year from profits in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

He argued that if the decision to commence construction was to be taken today it wouldnt have been a priority.

Having listened to the defense of the BoG Governor, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has questioned why he could not announce to Ghanaians how much the new building is costing the country.

MisGovernor Addison still refuses to disclose to Ghanaians the latest cost of his majestic legacy head officeproject despite his verbose press conference and additional mumbo jumbo press statement.

"Is MisGovernor Addison embarrassed to publicly mention the colossal figure of US$222.79million which excludes the cost of land? the North Tongu MP asked in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa continued, Why is MisGovernor Addison unable to explain to Ghanaians why his insensitive opulent legacy office project keeps spiraling out of budget from an initial PPA approved amount of US$81.8million to the current US$222.79million (excluding land cost)?

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa insists that Dr. Ernest Addison must be told in the face that Ghanaians have had enough of his recklessness, mismanagement, and untruths.

He adds that the Governor should apologise and immediately resign as the boss of the Bank of Ghana.

The Minority MP is also calling for the suspension of the building of the new head office.

Read the statement from Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa below:

A Response to MisGovernor Addison

MisGovernor Addison still refuses to disclose to Ghanaians the latest cost of his majestic legacy head officeproject despite his verbose press conference and additional mumbo jumbo press statement.

Is MisGovernor Addison embarrassed to publicly mention the colossal figure of US$222.79million which excludes the cost of land? (Copy attached).

Why is MisGovernor Addison unable to explain to Ghanaians why his insensitive opulent legacy office project keeps spiraling out of budget from an initial PPA approved amount of US$81.8million to the current US$222.79million (excluding land cost)?

Why is MisGovernor Addison still advertising the spectacular recklessness and gross mismanagement that has led to the BoG making unprecedented losses of GHS60.8billion and negative equity of GHS55.1billion.

MisGovernor Addison claims he started his ostentatious legacy project in good times. How can anyone describe a project whose procurement process commenced in 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 as a good time?

Actual construction began in 2021 and has continued throughout the 2022 crisis period of the central bank and in the face of Ghanas current economic IMF-bailout bankruptcy, with the cost now three times its initial estimate  this must certainly be the definition of reckless, sleazy and destructive leadership.

Why is MisGovernor Addison running away from, and refusing to address the litany of procurement breaches including illegally commencing construction based on his expansive revised design specifications before seeking approval from the Central Tender Review Committee? (See CTRCs categorical indictment attached)

MisGovernor Addison should also be told that we have had enough of his naked untruths. His rather belated attempt to hide under the cloak of national security wont save him.

He carried out his ill-advised Restricted Tender relying on Section 38 (b) of Act 663 which refers to disproportionate procurement typically in minor projects, not a multi-million dollar project such as the BoG head office. Clearly, this provision has absolutely nothing to do with national security. (See Restricted Tender Letter attached).

Similarly, he relied on Section 72 (5) (b) of Act 663 which relates to a national emergency or a catastrophe to wrongly single source MULTICAD. (See letter attached).

Again, this provision has absolutely nothing to do with his belated efforts to hide under the weird cloak of national security.

MULTICADs articles of incorporation obtained from the Office of the Registrar of Companies is clear about a 10th December, 2021 registration not re-registration as BoG claims.

MisGovernor Addison has simply confirmed my discovery that Ronesans Holdings is not registered in Ghana. The ex post facto attempt to claim they partnered with a local firm doesnt save Addison.

At least, despite all the atrocities of the National Cathedral project managers, they ensured Rizzani de Eccher of Italy was registered in Ghana with their local partners: Barbisotti and DeSimone when they formed a JV known as RIBADE.

MisGovernor Addison must be told in the face that Ghanaians have had enough of his recklessness, mismanagement and untruths.

Yesterday, Ghanaians expected a contrite apology, an immediate resignation, and a suspension of his gravely insensitive, sleazy and majestic office project which has become an iconic symbol of his reckless mismanagement.

Instead of holding on to his job after this fantastic disaster, he should just resign and save our ears from his reams of gobbledygook.

For God and Country.

Ghana Firs
H. E. Hajia Samira Bawumia is a second lady of the Republic of Ghana par excellence. She has distinguished herself in that role, creating opportunities for many underprivileged people in society. She has a foundation called Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP). This foundation unlike others focuses on wide range of subprojects, spanning from Health, Education to Women Empowerment. The beneficiaries of these projects celebrate her on daily basis, however, special day like her birthday needs to be celebrated by all. The focus of this write-up is on telling the general public the lives she has touched so far and the impact of her foundation on society in general.

The foundation of Her Excellency, the Incoming First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Hajia Samira Bawumia has touched the lives of pupils, students and teachers from the Kindergarten level to the Junior High School. Due to her desire to see children acquire quality education with good foundation, her foundation trains teachers, headteachers and circuit supervisors of many schools across the country on how to effectively teach the children at all basic education levels. The schools and students/pupils are provided with teaching and learning materials such as textbooks, workbooks, teaching guides, past questions and solutions textbooks (for students preparing to write their BECE), among others to aid in the learning process.

In order for children to effectively tell their stories and showcase their talents to the world, the SEHP has instituted Samira Bawumia Literature Prize to encourage children to participate and develop their talents in writing. Many children have benefited from this very important project and are celebrating the First Class Second Lady of Ghana everyday, for the opportunity offered them to exhibit their talents of writing. In as much as she has the desire to get children write well, she equally has the desire to get children read as well, hence, initiation of Library-In-A-Box project by her foundation. This project targets schools at the rural and deprived areas across the country, by providing them with boxes filled with storybooks of different reading levels. This gives opportunity to school children in those areas to have access to reading books to learn how to read. Such beneficiaries will forever celebrate the innovative Hajia Samira Bawumia everyday.

As a woman herself, her foundation has not left out women and girls unattended to. She has women empowerment project, where women and girls are giving training and support on skills and entrepreneural development, shea processing and fashion and design to make them financially independent in order to take care of their needs. These lives, Hajia Samira Bawumia has touched are celebrating her everyday.

H. E. Hajia Samira Bawumia values the health of the good people of Ghana as well, hence, her foundation has also invested in the health sector. The foundation under a subproject, dubbed, Retooling Health Facilities Project, has on many occasions donated medical equipment and consumables to selected hospitals across the country to help in rendering quality and affordable health services to clients. As part of her quest to increase skilled delivery and to prevent avoidable maternal death, neonatal death, stillbirth and complications associated with childbirth, her foundation has initiated subproject dubbed, Safe Delivery Project, that is providing training to professional health workers in the rural health facilities on safe and skilled delivery. Considering the plight of women at the rural areas, the foundation under the Safe Delivery Project is providing birth kits to many expectant mothers in the rural areas to help in safe delivery and proper care of the babies. The excitement on the faces of the expectant mothers upon receiving these birth kits and subsequent safe delivery of their babies by the health workers will always be on the minds of the women and H. E. Hajia Samira Bawumia will always be celebrated everyday by them.

It is evident one does not need anyone to tell him or her that H. E. Hajia Samira Bawumia is worth celebrating everyday and for that matter, though yesterday (20/8/23) was her birthday, celebrating her today is inline with her daily celebration by the thousands of lives she has touched with her humanitarian services through her foundation.

The people of Mamprugu are celebrating H. E. Hajia Samira Bawumia everyday for her care, love and solid support for her husband, The Next President of the Republic of Ghana. In Shaa Allah.

Dear special delegates, as we continue to celebrate the First Class Second Lady, do not forget to vote massively for her husband, The First Class Vice President (H. E. Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia) on Saturday, 26th August, 2023 in the special delegates conference.

Dear Special Delegates, Go for Dr Bawumia, Go for Number 10

It is possible. In Shaa Allah

Thank you

Alhaji Salifu Hadara

A Patriot

Nalerigu/Gambaga Constituency

North East Region

[email protected]

21/08/23
22.08.2023 LISTEN

ECOWAS is a club of puppets West African Head of States that have allowed themselves to be controlled and intimidated by descendants of the colonial monsters whom our forebears chased.

Ghanaians should not forget all the injustices Nigeria governments have perpetrated on Ghanaians, where was ECOWAS when President Buhari unilaterally closed the western border with a flimsy excuse of influx of inferior goods especially rice being smuggle from Republic of Benin into Nigeria.The border remain closed for several months and he plugged his ear to all the wise counsel from other president including President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo. That unilateral decision rendered most of the goods being transported to Nigeria to go bad, and the owners and the transport owners lost huge sums of money.

ECOWAS leaders must be guided by the atrocities and the destructions that Libyans experienced during the callous attack on Libya and eventually had Col. Muamur Gadafi killed. Ever since, the good people of Libya had been rendered useless, and once a peaceful buoyant economic haven in Africa have been reduced to rubbles, and peace had eluded them ever since that barbaric military intervention by the forces of evil. Is that what the ECOWAS leaders want for the good people of Niger.?

The decision to restore the deposed President Mohammed Bazoum was a panic reaction from the West African leaders for being afraid they may be the next victim of military junta, therefore crushing the military junta might give them some respite.

Africans are not deriving any benefit from this democracy that was forced on the citizens to experiment. The only role the electorates play in this drama of democracy are called every four years to queue and elect people who should lead them, unfortunately most of the people they elect are corrupt, rude and greedy who always lures the electorates to vote for them and their political party with deceptive promises.

The moment power is handed over to them they deliberately formulate policies that alienates the masses from participating in the governance structure of state and the lifestyle of all the government appointees changed instantly and the reverse is the case for those who elected them. These appointees are provided with almost everything for free, despite all the investment made to ensure they perform their duties with integrity, sadly some of them are very greedy and uses their office to loot the scarce resources available.This exploitative democracy is what fuels the greedy conduct of these political class to milk the state dry without any consequences.

Does it make sense deploying troops to Niger for them to be slaughtered in an attempt to restore democracy. What is happening in the Sahel region is a new wave of emancipation efforts of freeing themselves from the treachery of France hegemony in West Africa.

The exploitative democracy in West African is a pure charade where the political class are highly corrupt and very ruthless with opposition elements. This so called democratic experiment have been abused by these leaders with impunity and have deluded themselves to think coups are no longer lucrative and can do anything they wanted, hence some of them re - engineered the constitution and also compromised the other pillars of democracy which has enable them to override all legal processes.

Dr Abdel- fatau Musa Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security exhibited hatred for the leaders of the junta through all the interviews he granted when he arrived in Ghana. His utterances exposed the agenda of the West African leaders to deploy troops to Niger without seeking the consent of the Security Council and justified it with Russia invasion of Ukraine, and the invasion of Libya without the consent of the Security Council, therefore, they have the right to fight the junta in Niger.

It appears ECOWAS leaders are under estimating the issues at stake, and if they try anything silly the fire would consume the subregion and there would be no hiding place for any of them. What should engage the ECOWAS leadership now is to ensure the West African Presidents adapt good governance mechanism and expand the frontiers of participatory democracy.

The ECOWAS must accept the military junta and negotiate for a quick return to constitutional rule, any attempt to deploy troops to Niger would have president Bazoum killed.

Mike Kalley

Sociopolitical Analyst.
Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is set to implement major interventions to scale up the commencement of Ghanas Land Administration Reform Project before the end of the year.

The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Lands and Forestry, Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, disclosed this at an engagement with news editors in Accra on Monday.

The meeting was to set the record straight on a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) in 2021 which placed the Lands Commission as the 4th public sector agency in Ghana, where corruption was most prevalent and 1st in terms of average bribe size.

He stated that the meeting was to inform citizens about the Commission's position on the report and to further explore some creative techniques being implemented by the ministry to create a robust land service delivery system that is focused and results-driven.

Mr Owusu-Bio acknowledged that the Lands Commission's nature of work and present infrastructure has enabled middlemen to operate and exploit naive clients.

He did, however, state that Commission staff who were brought before a court for stamp duty fraud are presently being scrutinized for possible punishment if found guilty, adding that, the disciplinary measure would serve as a deterrence to other personnel.

He reassured Ghanaians of the Commission's commitment to provide efficient and enhanced service to its clients.

Addressing the UN report, the Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Mr James Dadson, indicated several novel actions to help resolve the issue in a presentation. These include, among other things, the digitisation of land administration services, a modernised records management system, a delivery and compliance dashboard, online payment of fees and receipts and infrastructure development.

He cited several problems influencing the Commission's outputs, including several property sales, insufficient equipment and tools, and public non-use of professionals, among others.

He stated that, under the supervision of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Lands Commission has begun steps to engage private-sector experts to modify the Lands Commission's operations.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan lauded on Tuesday the high level of political dialogue with Belgium after holding a meeting with his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib.

Speaking at a joint press conference, FM Mirzoyan said that he discussed with Lahbib prospects for further expansion of partnership. Both sides expressed readiness to make effective steps to promote possible investments and fully utilize the existing potential in business, science, education, IT and culture.

We expressed confidence that the partnership based on promotion of development in the region, democratic values, as well as the civilizational similarities between the two peoples will have its positive result. In this context we also greatly welcome the Belgian governments decision on opening an embassy in Yerevan, which will definitely boost the development of the Armenian-Belgian dynamic relations, the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

He thanked his Belgian counterpart for the Belgian foreign ministrys assistance provided to the Soldiers Home rehabilitation center in Yerevan and expressed hope that cooperation in this direction will continue.

The foreign ministers also highlighted the effective interparliamentary cooperation, given the Belgian parliaments solidarity and significant attention on issues of great importance for Armenia.

Mirzoyan and Hadja Lahbib also discussed effective cooperation in international organizations and the Armenia-EU partnership. The circle of interests is broad  from support to Armenias democratic reforms to economic development, dialogue around security issues and the activities of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia. Mirzoyan was pleased to note Belgiums presence within the EU monitoring mission.
The Deputy Minister for the Interior, Madam Naana Eyiah, has said the government is committed to providing the security agencies with the resources needed to combat crime and its related activities in the wake of violent extremism in the sub-region.

This commitment is demonstrated by the implementation of various interventions, such as the expansion of the security agencies' manpower base.

In a speech delivered at the passing-out parade of Recruit Course 122 at the Prison Officers Training School in Accra, Madam Eyiah acknowledged the difficult tasks involved in safeguarding the safety and wellbeing of prisoners as well as their reformation and rehabilitation.

Madam Eyiah lauded the Prisons Service for working with the National Entrepreneurship Programme (NEIP) to train prison officers and convicts in entrepreneurship programmes.

She encouraged the recruits to demonstrate the skills and knowledge acquired during their training and be disciplined and professional in the conduct of their duties.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

A private legal practitioner who is also a member of the Alan for President 2024 campaign has criticised members backing Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to replace President Nana Akufo-Addo as president.

According to Mr Andrew Appiah Dankwa, he considers these individuals to be acting against the interests of the nation.

Mr Dankwa highlighted that despite Dr Bawumia's nomination for the flagbearer position in the upcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) internal elections, there is no clear indication of his vision for the country's development.

In his view, these advocates should recognise the challenges faced by ordinary citizens and the need for fresh leadership going into the 2024 general elections.

He pointed out that many citizens are struggling due to what he perceives as the Vice President's inadequate economic strategies as the head of the Economic Management Team (EMT).

Mr Dankwa criticised Dr Bawumia for not presenting his own vision for the country's development despite his ambitions to succeed President Akufo-Addo.

Mr Dankwa compared this situation to Alan Kyerematen, another contender for the NPP flagbearer position, who has presented a Great Transformation Agenda (GTA) for the country's development transformation.

In contrast, he argued Dr Bawumia has primarily highlighted the government's achievements without articulating a comprehensive vision of his own.

During an appearance on the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM, Mr Dankwa raised concerns about government officials supporting Dr Bawumia's bid.

He suggested that if the Vice President was serious about his aspirations, he should have considered alternative approaches after his performance as head of the Economic Management Team.

Mr Dankwa concluded by asserting that if Ghana were a more serious society, Dr Bawumia might have stepped aside due to concerns related to the country's economic management

Source: Classfmonline.com
The Peoples National Convention has dissociated itself from the contents of a press conference addressed by some seven opposition parties against the EC's upcoming voter registration which is intended to be restricted to only the districts.

The parties argue that restricting the process to just the district would disenfranchise some eligible voters.

However, a statement signed by PNG General Secretary Janet Nable, said: "While the PNC, indeed, holds reservations concerning the aforementioned decision made by the Electoral Commission, it is imperative to clarify that the party did not provide its endorsement for the said press conference conducted by the other minority political parties". "Therefore, the PNC seeks to explicitly distance itself from the content and implications of the press release issued during the event".

The opposition parties want the EC to open up the process to the electoral areas.

The EC has scheduled the exercise to start from 12 September to 2 October 2023.

EC Chairperson Jean Mensa announced that the exercise would be held in all the 268 district offices of the EC across the country.

The parties: Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Peoples National Congress (PNC), All Progressives Congress (APC), National Democratic Party (NDP), and the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), however, do not support the move.

At a press conference in Accra on Monday, 21 August 2023, the General Secretary of the GCPP, Frederick Ato Dadzie, said the move will sideline some potential voters.

"Some Civil Society members present also opined that to ensure the electoral process is participatory and decentralised, it should include, if not all, some electoral areas in a cluster form as done in the past".

"At least, if the EC cannot do more than 1,500 registration centres as done in 2019, they should maintain the status quo", he proposed.

"We, therefore, suggested that the EC can use 7 days to do the registration exercise at the electoral areas and use another 7 days to do a mop-up exercise at their district offices to even save them time and cost", he told journalists on behalf of the seven parties.

He said: The Electoral Commissioners informed us that they have taken our concerns and 'will get back to us', a phrase we are well-accustomed to and, so, pushed further for timelines, and they indicated by close of day Monday.

Most of us were, therefore, taken aback when we only heard and saw on radio and TV that the Electoral Commission has set a date for the registration exercise and will use only their district offices as registration centres".

In conclusion, we also want to publicly call on the Electoral Commission through its Chair, Jean Mensa, to rescind their decision and make the process more accessible and painless to enable the average Ghanaian who is eligible to exercise their right and entitlement to be registered as a voter.

This will reflect in the ECs commitment in building a solid and credible institution to protect the strong and enviable record of Ghana as a beacon of democracy that will continue to be worthy of emulation across the continent.

Source: Classfmonline.com
Senior Pastor of the Alabaster International Ministry, Prophet Dr. Kofi Oduro has warned that Ministers of State who steal public funds will surely end up in hell.

Preaching at his Church in Accra, he lamented over how Ministers are stealing money and keeping same under their beds while young people go about hopelessly after graduating from the university.

Describing such Ministers and officials of government as cruel, Prophet Kofi Oduro argued that they already have a seat in hell.

Here in Ghana whiles young people cannot find jobs I was making a survey recently and the survey is about Uber drivers and I realized that 68% of these boys are graduates of Legon, KNUST, UCC, and the rest. You finish university to come and drive a taxi? What nonsense.

And we have Ministers of state, men, and women who are stealing money under their beds. How can you escape the damnation of hell? How? Im telling you many leaders of Africa are already seated in hell. Wicked people, cruel people, Prophet Kofi Oduro said during a sermon.

The Senior Pastor of the Alabaster International Ministry continued, As I am looking, young men walking about hopeless and pensioners who should be taking care of their grandchildren are stealing money. How can you escape the damnation of hell?

Sharing his opinion about the clash between tricycle operators and the Police in the Ashanti Region, Prophet Kofi Oduro said government should be blamed.

He argued that if government did not allow the importation of these tricycles, the problem of their operations in certain areas would not have come up.
The Cocoa Abrabopa Association (CAA) has elected new Operational Area Representatives to steer the affairs of their operational areas for the next three years.

CAA has 39 cocoa operational areas across the five cocoa growing regions in Ghana namely Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Central and Western South and each area has one Representative responsible for the overall functioning of cocoa farming processes.

This includes Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) and adherence to requirements for the Rainforest Alliance certification standards.

Election

Speaking at the elections of these representatives at the Obuasi and Bekwai Area, the Acting Executive Secretary of CAA, Patrick Van Brakel, advised the newly elected representatives to discharge their duties diligently and efficiently to uplift the image of the association.

He asked them to be more innovative and to come out with programmes that would motivate members to be on top of their farming business.

The Operational Area Representative is established to strengthen the voice of our farmers in the management of the Association, he said.

The Council Chairman of CAA, Ismail Pomasi, said the establishment of Operational Area Representatives was to strengthen the voice of members at the grassroot and to support the efforts of the field staff in improving the livelihoods of members.

We believe in the bottom-up approach in decision making and having farmer representation at each operational level in decision making will enable the council and management better appreciate the concerns and challenges of our members.

Our Operational Area Representatives will be resourced with motorbikes, smart phones and PPEs to enable them carry out their duties with great convenience, he said.

Operational Area Rep

The newly elected Operational Area Representative for Obuasi and Bekwai, Azumah Jambil, on behalf of his colleagues, pledged to deliver on their mandate and come out new and innovative programmes that would be beneficial to the members.

He called for support and prayers from the members of the association for his colleagues from the 39 operational areas to enable them to deliver on their mandate.

Training

The event, which, was attended by over 2,500 group executives and the new Operational Area Representatives, was also used to train their Liaison Officers on the Assess and Address (A&A) tool introduced by Rainforest Alliance Ghana.

The Certification Manager of CAA, Abdul Rahman, said the Assess and Address (A&A) tool introduced by Rainforest Alliance Ghana, was meant to ensure that certification was more context-specific and data-driven across CAA cocoa growing communities.

The A&A tool is a system designed to assess and address issues of child labour, forced labour, workplace violence and harassment, as well as discrimination within the cocoa sector.

He said, the tool is unique in that its the first of its kind to be used by inspectors; its also the first time Rainforest Alliance is introducing such a tool to the certification bodies in Ghana.

Knowledge base

The Operations Manager of CAA, Roland Obosu said the association would continue to improve upon the knowledge base of its members on new agricultural technologies and techniques.

We will ensure that members within the operational areas adhere to all Rainforest Alliance certification standards and requirements, he said.

Appreciation

The farmers were grateful to Abrabopa for the new innovations and interventions been introduced across all their cocoa operational areas.

We can feel a new wind of change is blowing in Abrabopa and its going to bring massive improvements in our lives.

We are excited about the fact that the association is appointing our own colleague farmers to spy head affairs at the operational levels and regional levels, said Grace Owusu, a member of the association.
War crimes prosecutors are looking to convince judges at the International Criminal Court to put Maxime Mokom, a former Central African Republic militia commander, on trial for organising revenge attacks against Muslim civilians.

Mokom, 44, faces 20 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed by his self-proclaimed defence militias in 2013 and 2014.

The former French colony was plunged into a bloody sectarian conflict after Seleka rebels ousted president Francois Bozize in early 2013.

Calling themselves "anti-Balaka"  meaning "anti-machete"  Mokom's militia formed in reaction to the takeover of Bangui by the Seleka, a coalition of armed groups mainly composed of Muslims opposed to Bozize's rule.

During a three-day hearing that started on Tuesday at the Hague-based ICC, prosecutors are hoping to convince judges the evidence is solid enough to put Mokom  who they say was a main military organiser of the anti-Balaka forces  in the dock.

The judges will then decide whether Mokom should stand trial.

Mokom was responsible for military operations by the anti-Balaka group which supported Bozize and comprised mainly Christian and animist members.

Prosecutors said Mokom gave "logistical support for military operations ... including by providing funds, weapons, medication, and ammunition."

Aiming to reinstate Bozize, Mokom is accused of planning and coordinating an attack on the capital Bangui and town of Bossangoa in late 2013.

'Leave or die'

The charges against Mokom include directing attacks against civilians, murder, rape, pillaging and destruction of property as well as attacks against religious buildings including mosques.

Anti-Balaka attacks forced more than 100,000 Muslim civilians to flee Bangui across the border to neighbouring Cameroon and Chad.

Prosecutors have maintained that "many walked for weeks before reaching the border, while being hunted down by the anti-Balaka.

"Others were displaced into enclaves, where they were then confined," they added.

Anti-Balaka attacks continued on Muslim civilians even after Seleka forces retreated from Bangui, until at least December 2014.

The attacks were widespread and systematic: "The message to the Muslim population was clear  leave CAR or die," prosecutors said.

Peace accords ignored

This comes as peace agreements signed in 2017 and 2019 have not been respected on the ground.

Many armed groups, rebels and assailants continue a guerrilla campaign of sporadic attacks against the Central African army who are being supported by the Russian mercenary Wagner group.

Both sides are regularly accused of crimes and abuses against civilians by international NGOs and UN-mandated experts.

Last year, Chadian authorities handed Mokom over to the ICC, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2018.

Two former anti-Balaka leaders, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom, are already on trial at the ICC.

Last year, Seleka commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani denied war crimes and crimes against humanity charges before the court.
Isaac Boadi

22.08.2023 LISTEN

Suspected mobile phone thief has allegedly been killed by an angry mob at Ash Town in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital.

Identified as Isaac Boadi, the suspect, aged about 28, was said to be a resident of Asawase, a densely populated community in Kumasi.

Boadi was said to have stolen a mobile phone at Ash Town and he was captured by a mob, who beat him mercilessly until he became weak.

The incident was said to have happened on the afternoon of Saturday, August 19, 2023 around 1:30pm.

According to a police report, one Anthony Adansi of Asawase, reported the case to the Manhyia Police and said Boadi was his nephew.

According to him, Boadi was about to be lynched by a mob, who accused him of stealing a phone at Ash Town but he was rescued by two people.

Adansi said the two Good Samaritans brought Boadi to Asawase in a tricycle.

According to him, Boadi was looking very weak so he was rushed to the Manhyia District Hospital where he died shortly after arrival.

Later on, the complainant and the police went to the hospital and found a male adult, identified as Isaac Boadi, lying on a stretcher with plaster on his left eyebrow.

The body has since been moved to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) for autopsy as police are on the heels of the perpetrators.

DGN online
So you thought scribes only existed in the Bible?

I have news for you! They also exist in the flesh, here on earth, outside the pages of the Holy Book.

Its what the older Fleet Street [London] journalists used to describe each other.

Its an esoteric term, of course; so esoteric, in fact, that as good a novelist as Evelyn Waugh (whose intimate revelations about how British journalists operate are amusingly recorded in the novel, Scoop) did not seem to know it. Well, he didnt use it in his book, if I recall correctly.

Anyway, I myself chanced upon it by accident. It was in 1957, and hundreds of foreign journalists had descended on Ghana, to cover the independence celebrations of "the first of Britain's better known colonies in Africa", to obtain its independence.

The Information Services Department of the new nation, headed by the impeccably knowledgeable ex-journalist, Jimmy Moxon, had, in an ingenious PR operation, laid on a couple of brand-new luxurious buses to take the journalists from their hotel (the Ambassador Hotel in Accra) to the various venues where ceremonies were taking place to mark the handover of power.

Covering the ceremonies for the first media organ for which I ever worked, New Nation Magazine, I noticed that the white, foreign journalists were accorded the privilege of being taken to the venues of ceremonies some time before the notables  such as the Duchess of Kent and Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah  arrived at the scene.

Forced to look for taxis to take me to the same ceremonies and thereby to arrive there late sometimes, I one day put my Press badge around my neck and summoned the courage to board one of the buses.

It was only carrying

white men! What would happen?

My heart was beating fast as I found a seat on the bus. But no-one attempted to eject me!

So I settled down and got into conversation with one of the journalists.

He identified some of his colleagues for me. They bore the names of journalists whose work lI had been coming across when I read London newspapers; among them, John Redfern of the London Daily Express.

Although the Daily Express was known to be an arch-imperialist newspaper, I found Mr Redfern to be very courteous and chatty. Because the photographers in the group always put their cameras in camera cases and stowed them safely under the seats of the bus, I couldnt tell which of the journalists was a cameraman and who was a writer.

So, encouraged by Mr Redferns friendliness, I asked him directly: What do you do, please?

Im a scribe, he answered laconically. He was good enough to point to the other scribes  Anthony Mann from the Daily Telegraph, was lone of those he pointed out to me. Having been a junior journalist" for less than six months, my seeing journalists in the flesh whose dispatches I had read from remote places like Hungary, Poland, Egypt and other centres of "hot news" in those days, was quite exhilarating.

What wouldnt I give to become a scribe who travelled to foreign countries, at a newspapers expense, to live in nice hotels and write about them! (I told myself secretly).

I suppressed the quiet thought that arose in my mind that, perhaps, covering foreign countries could be a dangerous thing to do, seeing that foreign correspondents usually went to countries where wars were taking place. Indeed, in 1957, the Ghana story was about the only one in the world that could be properly called a happy story. Cyprus (war with a devil of a leader called Archbishop Makarios); Kenya (war with a monster of a leader called Jomo Kenyattaa); Hungary (rebellion led by a heroic anti-communist leader called Imre Nagy) and Poland (rebellion led by another anti-Communist leader, Cardinal Vishinsky or something). At any rate, those were the classifications of those figures I absorbed from the writings of some of the people I had joined on the bus.

Well, it took me a relatively few years to become a foreign correspondent myself. I started off with nearby Togo (dont laugh!) where I went to investigate juju practitioners and their powers, for Drum Magazine.[DRUM GHANA EDITION AUGUST 1961; NIGERIAN EDITION SEPTEMBER 1961] .

It was a story I loved doing, as all my vivid descriptions of juju in action were illustrated with marvellois photos by an ace cameraman called Christian Gbagbo. I was bowled over when the editor-in-chief of Drum continent-wide at the time, Sir Tom Hokinson (former editor of the world-famous picture magazine, Picture Post [published in London]) wrote to say that the story was the best story weve ever had in Drum!  Not a bad start for a budding foreign correspondent, eh?

TO BE CONTINUED
Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has posted his first video address since leading a short-lived mutiny in late June. In the unverified footage published Monday, Prigozhin said the Wagner group was making Africa "freer", adding that it was also recruitung fighters.

A former Kremlin ally, Prigozhin, has made few public appearances since his failed mutiny.

The group maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic.

"We are working. The temperature is above 50 degrees Celsius. Just how we like it," Prigozhin said in the video, which AFP was unable to immediately verify.

The video shows Prigozhin holding an assault rifle, before panning around to reveal military vehicles parked on a large, desert-like plain.

"The Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities. Making Russia even greater on every continent  and Africa even freer," Prigozhin said.

Fight against colonisers

Wagner's apparent activities in Africa come as tensions brew in Niger, which was rocked by a coup in July that saw its government deposed and a military junta installed.

A Russian organisation affiliated with Wagner shared a message apparently from Prigozhin, who said the events in Niger were part of the nation's fight against "colonisers".

Russian social media channels linked to the mercenary leader said Prigozhin was recruiting fighters to work in Africa and also inviting investors from Russia to put money in the Central African Republic through Russian House, a cultural centre in Bangui.

The CAR is one of the countries where Wagner's soldiers for hire have been active and accused of committing human rights abuses.

The Kremlin has used the Wagner Group since 2014 as a tool expand Russia's presence in the Middle East and Africa.

Prigozhin spent months criticizing Russia's military performance in Ukraine before he called for an armed uprising on June 23 to oust the defense minister and headed from Ukraine toward Moscow with his mercenaries.

Under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to end his rebellion in exchange for amnesty for him and his fighters and permission to relocate to Belarus.

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.

Putin branded Prigozhin a traitor as the revolt unfolded and vowed harsh punishment, but the criminal case against the mercenary chief on rebellion charges was later dropped.

Unusually, the Kremlin said Putin had a three-hour meeting with Prigozhin and Wagner Group commanders days after the rebellion.

A video in July apparently showed Prigozhin in Belarus but he was photographed after that on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

His current whereabouts are unknown.

(with newswires)
Dr. Gideon Boako, the Spokesperson for the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has strongly criticised the recent coup d'etat that took place in Niger last month.

The political landscape of Niger was in disarray when a military junta seized power, resulting in the ousting of the sitting President Mohamed Bazoum.

In reaction to this development, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ordered the coup leaders to reinstate the deposed President and restore the democratic order.

ECOWAS further conveyed its willingness to deploy a standby force to intervene in the situation if the Nigerien military fails to comply with the directive to reinstate the legitimate President and uphold democratic principles.

During an interview on Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show, Dr. Gideon Boako expressed his displeasure over the rising cases of coup d'etats in the sub-region.

He highlighted the negative impact coup has on the progress and development of the continent.

"It's so bad - It delays our progress," Dr. Boako lamented, emphasizing that such actions are detrimental and do not yield positive outcomes for anyone.

He stressed that the democratic process should be the preferred means for political change and leadership transitions.

Dr. Boako further issued a caution to military leaders who engage in overthrowing governments, urging them to abandon such actions.

Lets follow the democratic process to elect our leaders and when we don't like them, we should use the same democratic process to vote against them to make way for a new person, he suggested.

Expressing his admiration for Ghana's political stability, Dr. Boako fervently prayed that the country never experiences a coup, underscoring the significance of preserving democratic values.

"You don't have to dream about it at all in Ghana and within neighbouring countries, we don't need it, he said.
YEREVAN, 22 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. Belgiums Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has said that her governments decision to open an embassy in Armenia is a powerful gesture showing how much importance they attach to political relations with Armenia.

Hadja Lahbib, the first Belgian foreign minister to visit Armenia in the past eight years, said at a joint press conference with her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan that the two countries have rich diplomatic relations. She mentioned that 30,000 Armenians live in Belgium.

Speaking about the decision to open an embassy in Yerevan, the Belgian FM said, This powerful gesture shows how much we value our political relations. We are willing to further expand relations in all areas.

Lahbib said she was moved during her visit to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide. She said that mankind must never forget the Armenian Genocide and do everything to avoid its repetition.

Lahbib added that Belgian and Armenian businesses are willing to cooperate. A delegation of the Wallonia trade agency will visit Armenia in October, followed by other delegations. The Belgian FM noted that the Armenia-EU CEPA is already showing results in human rights protection and good governance.

Armenia is committed to continue reforms, eliminate all kinds of discriminations and more effectively combat corruption. Belgium and the EU will stand by Armenia on the path of implementing ambitious programs. The EU is already contributing to the development of the sustainable, innovative economy, supporting various startups and SMEs. We are also participating in the construction of the North-South road and the launch of a modern transport network in Yerevan. Belgium will assume EU presidency on January 1, 2024. Armenia is an important partner for Europeans, therefore, in this difficult and unstable global situation, Belgium wants to strengthen partnership with Armenia, FM Lahbib said.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

Niger's new military rulers (and those ruling Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, the later two of which have offered support for Niger's new military rulers in the event they are invaded), could checkmate the democratically elected leaders of West Africa, who are threatening to invade Niger to restore the ousted president, by two simple but effective anti-corruption measures.

By simply:

1) Publicly publishing their personal assets, as well as that of their spouses, and demanding same of high-level civilian officials, and giving written undertakings, to the world, that they do so again, just before handing over power to newly elected civilian leaders.

2) Furthermore, they must decree that all public procurement will henceforth be carried out, based only on bids in open and competitive tendering, and that sole-sourced public procurement will be banned.

Finally, by taking those anti corruption measures, the above mentioned military rulers, will occupy the high moral ground, and literally force the whole world to see clearly that the era of egregious French kleptocratic-neocolonisation, dominated by powerful big-thieves-in-high-places, who were the local allies of perfidious France, which so impoverished ordinary people, in their repective nations, have truly ended, and that the dawn of a new era of national renewal and equity, has finally arrived, in Niger, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. Case closed. Haaba.
The Paramount Chief of Cape Coast Traditional Area, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II has issued a warning to the LGBTQ+ community ahead of the 2023 Fetu Afahye [festival] celebration.

Speaking to Onua FM in an interview, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II said all gay activities and exhibitions will not be tolerated by the Traditional Council.

He indicated that anyone who will engage in LGBTQ+ activities during the 2023 Fetu Afahye will be arrested by the Police.

Those involved in alleged LGBTQ+ wanted to join the celebration, but we dont encourage that. We shall not accept it here, and the police are on standby to arrest anyone who would indulge in it, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II warned.

This years Fetu Afahye is scheduled to commence on Friday, August 25.

The Oguaa Traditional Council in April launched the 2022 Fetu Afahye. The festival is an annual traditional festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of Cape Coast.

This years festival is on the theme Celebrating Our Educational Institutions for the Enhancement of Ghana.

Ahead of the festival, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II has advised the youth to dress decently and celebrate in modesty.

To the youths, they should celebrate, but it should be in moderation because if those who will come and celebrate with us see these things, they go with bad names. Enjoy, but there should be a limit. We want decent dressing, and the police will be around to arrest those who will do these and other acts that do not auger well for society, Oguaamanhen Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II said.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

The Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ernest Owusu Bempah has criticized the Bank of Ghana (BOG) Governor Dr. Ernest Addison over his recent statements.

Mr. Bempah said the Governor of BoG is contradicting himself in his numerous press statements.

Speaking to journalists in Accra, Mr. Owusu-Bempah said The whole brouhaha with the Bank of Ghana is becoming a problem for the government and party in power and so if they have anything to explain, they should.

NPP as a political party we dont condone wrongdoing, we dont condone anything to do with alleged malfeasance or corruption.

This particular issue is becoming an albatross around the neck of the government and the party in power. So they need to come out clean, the explanation that they are giving, we dont get it so they should come out and explain better.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana needs to sit up and come clean so that the government will look good. This issue is becoming a danger to the political fortune in the 2024 elections. Financially, we are going through turbulence, but as a party, we have done a lot in managing the economy and then the next day you hear this scandal coming from the Bank of Ghana.

As a spokesperson for the NPP, I want to tell the Bank of Ghana to come clean and let us know exactly what is going on. They cannot sit somewhere and be explaining things the way they want, Ernest Owusu Bempah stated.

He noted that BoG as a regulator must be competent in communication and handling of such issues in clear and concise manner.

There is an allegation of missing money and there is another allegation of building a $250 million headquarters, this is a serious thing. The Bank of Ghana is a big financial economic institution of the state that runs the whole economic activities of this country.

So, you cannot just come out and throw issues out there just like that and expect the ordinary Ghanaian to understand what is going on. So, they need to come out clean and let the people of Ghana understand so that party communicators can go out there and explain the issues better.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

Mr Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko, is one of the flagbearer aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He is described by many as fearless, forthright, a good listener, empathetic and compassionate towards the afflicted and those whom society has left behind.

Born in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region to Mr Kwasi Agyarko, a Merchant and a United Party activist from Jamase, Ashanti and Teacher Jane Ladze Padi from Krobo-Odumase in the Eastern Region, he had his elementary education at K. O. Methodist Primary School (Ashanti New Town) and the University of Science and Technology (UST) Primary School.

He proceeded to Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast on September 18, 1969 and went on to University of Ghana, Legon in 1976.

He studied Economics and Political Science.

Boakye (or Torino as he was affectionately called in school) was an agile and enthusiastic sportsman.

He represented Mfantsipim School, (Kwabotwe) in 110m hurdles, triple and long jump events.

He demonstrated a high sense of discipline whilst in school, which earned him various student leadership positions such as Secretary of the Voluntary Work Camps Association (VOLU) and President of the Ghana United Nations Students and Youth Association (GUNSA).

He later became the National Secretary, National President and National Coordinator of GUNSA in 1978, 1979 and 1980 respectively.

The Mfantsipim School Year Book for the class of 1974 describes Boakye as, one of the most colourful students to climb the Kwabotwe Hills from 1969 to 1976.

He completed his National Service as the National Coordinator of GUNSA, to which he had previously served as National Secretary and President in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

He subsequently joined Management & Investment Consultants Limited (MANCONSULT), a private economic management consulting firm in Accra as junior economist from 1981 to 1984.

During the abortive coup of Halidu Giwa and his friends on June 19, 1983, he was arrested, sent to the Air Force and shot  execution style.

He was left for dead, but a nurse who realised that he was still alive rushed him to the operating theatre and he survived surgery performed by Lt Colonel (Dr.) Akpalu.

After a difficult and painful recuperation, he went into voluntary exile in the United States.

Whilst in the United States, he earned an Advanced Professional Certificate in Banking from the American Institute of Bankers.

He also earned an MBA with concentration in Financial Economics from Pace University, New York City.

For over 22 years, Boakye Agyarko worked as a Professional Banker at the Bank of New York where he rose to the position of Vice President and Head of Global Network Management in the Investment

Management and Services Division.

He resigned from the Bank to campaign full time for the flagbearership of the NPP in Ghana in 2007.

With the wealth of over twenty years of experience in banking, investment and finance behind him, Boakye K. Agyarko is well equipped with excellent negotiation, organisational and managerial skills, a sense of propriety and vast international exposure to tackle Ghanas seemingly protracted problems head on.

In the position of a Vice President of a major global bank where one learns the value of achieving compromise and consensus in the formulation and implementation of policies, he has learned to exercise responsibility in a sea of uncertainty authority.

His training in economics has taught him that important results emerge from an unfolding process and that good policy must have a sense of strategy, pace and timing.

It has also developed him into a strategist, who seeks to understand the constellation of forces present in a situation and to arrange them to point towards a desired result.

As a founding member of NPP, Boakye's loyalty and allegiance to the Party is said to be second to none.

He has continually demonstrated his resourcefulness, generosity and loyal service to NPP since infancy.

He has always answered the call to help when the Party was in its struggling days be it administrative or financial resources.

He ably served as the chairman of the Danquah Busia Club of North America, and for a time served as a Trustee of the Busia Foundation.

He later became the Coordinator for the NPP in North America where he took up the challenge of building the Party and coordinated its activities within the Ghanaian community in North America, at the same time liaising with the Party back home in Ghana.

As his contribution, he wrote a weekly column in the Ghanaian newspaper, The Stateman titled Letter from America from 1993 through 1998.

In 2007, Boakye returned to Ghana and contested in the presidential primaries for the leadership and flag bearer of the NPP for the 2008 general election.

In 2009, he was selected as a member of the Dr Heymann Committee to tour the country and gather information for the reorganisation of the Party.

In 2011 he was appointed as National Campaign Manager for the 2012 general election and served as a policy advisor to the 2016 campaign.

As Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, had supervisory responsibility for sixteen (16) major Sector Agencies, including Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST), Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC), Volta

River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Northern Electricity Department Company (NEDCo), Bui Power Authority (BPA), Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), Energy Commission, Petroleum Commission, Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) and VRA Resettlement Trust Fund.

During the run up to the 2020 general election, he undertook the training of party officers and agents in the Eastern Region.

Boakye Agyarko is a regular guest on Oman FM's Boiling Point political programme.

He is divorced and a father of two daughters.

On why he is running to be President, Mr Boakye Agyarko said: A simple and straight forward answer to why I am running to be President is a zeal for the service to country, the passion for Ghana, and the development of its people.

GNA
Dozens of settler farmers at Twifo-Mampong in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District of the Central Region, whose farms were partially buried by a landslide, have appealed for support to alleviate their plight.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) on a visit to some devastated farms, observed that major foodstuffs including plantain, cocoyam, cassava, and yam had been destroyed.

The foodstuff being the mainstay of the people, had been washed downhill increasing the plight of already impoverished farmers.

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) after a thorough assessment of the landslide warned all the affected farmers to stay away from the shattered areas anytime there were signs of rainfall.

The directive had prevented many farmers from visiting their farms daily, therefore depriving them of their daily income and food.

The situation had been exacerbated by heavy rains, forcing many to depend on relatives or borrow at exorbitant rates as their foodstuff rot in the bushes.

However, the GGSA had revealed that its monitoring records from the network of seismic stations located across the country did not record any major earth tremor event from the community.

It said the geological materials observed at the site were highly weathered material sediments, which were saturated from a downpour leading to the landslide.

The GGSA, concluded that the movement of materials in multiple locations along the slopes of the hill was due to a landslide but not an earthquake or tremor as peddled by the farmers.

Mr Thomas Afful, the Spokesperson for the concerned farmers, told the GNA, day-to-day farming had become a terrifying experience as many of the farmers, women, were unable to visit their farms for fear of a landslide recurrence as warned by GGSA.

He appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) who had been to the scene to support them.

The government should also construct roads in the area to enable them to carry their produce to urban and marketing centres.

They said the recent torrential rains in their areas had worsened the terrible nature of roads, leaving many foodstuffs and cocoa beans in the villages.

GNA
His Royal Majesty King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse and President of the Ga Traditional Council appealed to citizens not to acquire arms through illegal means. The King made the call during a courtesy call on him by a delegation from the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The delegation was led by the Board Chairman of the Commission, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Samuel Yeboah and the Resident Representative of UNDP in Ghana, Angela Lusigi.

It is worrying that about 75% of National Security budget is spent on conflicts enforced by small arms and light weapons. Government must resource the Commission to seize the bite, noted the Ga Mantse.

The King called for a strategic shift towards addressing the root causes of conflicts and appealed to Government to resource the Commission to effectively execute its mandate.

In addition, the Ga Mantse commended the joint efforts by the Commission and UNDP in raising awareness on the alarming issue of illicit arms proliferation. The sensitization, he noted, is empowering communities with knowledge to prevent the illegal spread of arms and gun violence.

Mr. Yeboah, Executive Secretary of the Commission expressed gratitude to the King for his continued contributions to fostering unity, peace, and security in the Greater Accra region. He underlined the urgent need for collaborative actions to address the worrisome surge in gun-related incidents within the Greater Accra Region.

Addressing the dire implications of unchecked gun violence, Rev. Frimpong-Manso emphasized the crucial role of traditional authorities in maintaining peace and security within communities. He called on all stakeholders, especially traditional authorities to support the Commissions mission in addressing gun violent related issues and encouraged responsible use of firearms during festivals and celebrations.

Gun violence incidents are increasing, and we recognize the critical role our traditional authorities play in ensuring peace and security. Peaceful and non-violent means of conflict prevention is important, noted Rev. Frimpong Manso.

Angela Lusigi reaffirmed UNDPs commitment to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure a peaceful and prosperous Ghana. She emphasized the Commissions joint effort with UNDP and key stakeholders to develop a national programme that aims to control the possession, trafficking, and proliferation of illicit arms.

We cannot pursue development without peace and development is a pathway to peace. To maintain peace, it is important that everyone says no to illegal acquisition of small arms and light weapons, noted Dr Lusigi.

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 calls for the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, and sensitization on the dangers of small arms and light weapons remains critical.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

Dr. Gideon Boako, the Spokesperson to the Vice President, has admonished Ghanaians to exercise restraint when criticizing the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

While acknowledging the citizens' right to voice their concerns about government and state agency actions, Dr. Boako emphasised the importance of constructive criticism that avoids causing lasting damage to the image of institutions like the BoG.

Dr. Boako pointed out that discussions centered around the central bank can negatively impact it if approached with political sensationalism.

He cautioned that such criticism could harm the bank's reputation, thereby affecting the broader economy and the well-being of the citizens.

During a media interview on Tuesday, August 22, he encouraged Ghanaians to approach criticisms of the central bank with a sense of perspective and caution.

He highlighted the need to understand the nuances of central bank decisions and actions before passing judgment, in order to avoid creating a negative perception that might be difficult to rectify.

Dr. Boako's comments come in the context of discussions surrounding the Bank of Ghana's financial performance in 2022, including a reported loss of GH60 billion. Additionally, the Bank is constructing a new head office building in Ridge, with an alleged cost of $250 million. Critics, including the opposition Minority in Parliament, have raised questions about the timing of the project in light of the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to these criticisms, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, defended the construction of the new office building.

He explained that the new building would feature sensitive facilities like data centers and currency processing centers, which the current head office lacks. Dr. Addison mentioned that the new building design aligns with international standards for central bank head office buildings.

While Dr. Addison did not provide an exact cost for the project during his press conference, he indicated that a detailed response addressing all concerns would be released soon.

Source: Classfmonline.com
The opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo is suffering "repression" and "intimidation" four months ahead of presidential elections, Human Rights Watch (HRW) charged in a report on Tuesday.

A "recent wave of arrests and restrictions on fundamental liberties is targeting opposition presidential candidates and their top officials," said HRW senior Congo researcher Thomas Fessy.

The New York-based group cited the UN Joint Human Rights Office which has noted "political and electoral violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, abductions and threats targeting political opponents."

It also listed "violent repression... excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and hate speech and incitement to violence."

The report quoted the Journalists in Danger network which has voiced alarm at "the increase in acts of intolerance and physical violence against journalists by supporters of political parties."

Most of the incidents cited involved the Together for the Republic party of Moise Katumbi -- a major critic of President Felix Tshisekedi, who is seeking a second term in the December 20 vote.

Katumbi's top adviser Salomon Idi Kalonda was arrested by military intelligence agents in Kinshasa on May 30.

"Kalonda's arrest, detention, and the apparently abusive searches of family members' homes raise serious concerns of politically motivated efforts to intimidate the political opposition," HRW said.

He appeared at a military court on August 17 to be arraigned on charges of treason.

The accusations, which Kalonda's defenders deny, relate to alleged secret contacts with Rwanda, which the government accuses of abetting rebels in the DRC's east.

On July 13, MP Cherubin Okende, the 61-year-old spokesman for Katumbi's party, was found dead with gunshot wounds in his car in the capital.

The former minister of transport for Tshisekedi joined Katumbi late last year.

The Congolese government condemned the "assassination" which shocked the nation.

HRW quoted Tshisekedi from a June 25 speech warning he would "target without hesitation nor regret any Congolese who would endanger [the] country's security and stability".

"No matter what people say: human rights violation, deprivation of freedoms, I will not give up," he reportedly said.

On May 24, recently-appointed Interior Minister Peter Kazadi launched a verbal broadside against foreign journalists and the international community in answer to criticism of the violent suppression of a demonstration.

He accused them of "handing out (good) marks" forcing Congolese government leaders to adapt their policies "so as not to be transferred to the International Criminal Court."
In a latest development in Cecilia Abena Dapaah's stolen cash case, the sixth accused person, Job Pomary, has been granted bail by the Accra Circuit Court.

Pomary, who has been charged with dishonestly receiving GHC300,000, was granted bail in the sum of GHC300,000, with three sureties.

The bail application made by Pomarys counsel, was not opposed by the prosecution.

Assistant State Attorney Akosua Agyapomaa Agyemang informed the court that investigations regarding Job Pomary had been concluded.

In light of this, Presiding Judge Afia Owusua Appiah granted the bail request.

However, the judge imposed certain conditions on Pomary. The accused is required to deposit his passport at the registry and report to the police station once every two weeks until further notice.

Additionally, the sureties provided by Pomary must be within the jurisdiction of the Court.

In other developments, the State Prosecutors requested a two-week adjournment from the court to conclude investigations in the case.

The case involves the alleged theft of $1 million and 300,000 euros from the residence of former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

The seven accused individuals are facing a total of 14 counts of stealing, among other charges.

The accused persons are Patience Botwe, Sarah Agyei, Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary, and Yahaya Sumaila.

As the investigation is in its concluding stages, the prosecution did not take the pleas of the accused persons during the hearing.

The court adjourned the case to September 5 to allow the prosecution sufficient time to conclude their investigations.

-DGN online
Ghanaian showbiz commentator and pundit, Mr. Logic has thrown his support behind Kennedy Agyapong, asserting that he is the right candidate to challenge and defeat the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, Mr. John Dramani Mahama in next years general elections.

Mr. Logic voiced his confidence in Agyapong's leadership abilities, citing his strong dedication to the nation as a significant factor that resonates well with Ghanaians.

He emphasized that the NPP delegates should recognize the value that Mr Agyapong brings to the party and the nation as a whole.

During a discussion on UTVs United Showbiz program, Mr. Logic expressed his opinion that Mr Agyapong's candidacy is crucial for the NPP's success in both the party's internal primaries and the general elections.

The delegates dont need anyone to tell them that Ken is the best bet for the NPP. If Ken doesnt win the primaries, the NPP will lose the main elections.

"If the NPP doesnt elect Ken to contest Mahama, then they should be ready for doom," he stated.

He warned that if Mr Agyapong is not elected as the NPP's flagbearer, the party risks losing the main elections outright.

They will lose outright. Currently, the truth of the matter is that Ghana now needs a president who has the citizens at heart, he said.

Reacting to Mr Agyapong's plans to enlist musicians to record patriotic songs if he becomes president, Mr. Logic expressed his admiration for the idea.

He stated, Ken said music plays a role in the way people think and behave in a society and after chancing on those statements, I concluded that he is solid."

He has a heart for the arts. He said he will bring musicians together to do a heroic song and I think that should be the first step because now, a lot of people are confused. I know some people will say its a childish thought but what he said was deep, he added.

Kennedy Agyapong in an interview with Umaru Sanda, had previously mentioned his intention to bring musicians together to record songs that promote patriotism and discipline if he becomes president.

He said, Ill bring all the musicians together to record a heroic song. Well record songs like We are the World, RnB, highlife, reggae, gospel. Well come around and create all these songs then after that we will give it to the media and schools to play, for Ghanaians to be patriotic and disciplined.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenia doesnt distinguish between the mediator platforms in the talks with Azerbaijan, Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan has said.

Asked to point out the most effective platform for the talks, Mirzoyan said that the platform itself isnt what matters, but rather the implementation of agreements.

Actually, Armenia is interested to have any unbiased, objective and neutral mediation, Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Belgiums FM Hadja Lahbib.

And we highly appreciate all efforts that are being made. Numerous important meetings take place in Brussels, I myself met with my Azerbaijani colleague in Washington at the mediation of Secretary of State Blinken. We have meetings also in Moscow, and elsewhere. Meetings take place both on the levels of leaders and foreign ministers. Just recently I participated in such meetings in both Washington and Moscow. We dont distinguish between the platforms, what matters for us is for the agreements reached at the platforms to function and get implemented, he said.

For example, we still havent heard the Azerbaijani Presidents public statements on recognizing Armenias territorial integrity, whereas weve heard such statements during private meetings. This is very concerning, and it could mean that Azerbaijan has territorial aspirations against Armenia, Mirzoyan added, emphasizing that not only doesnt Azerbaijan implement the agreements, but its actions further deteriorate the situation. While we speak about the fact that addressing the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh must constitute a part of resolution and that expecting sustainable and lasting peace in South Caucasus would be unrealistic without it, we actually see a blockade of an entire nation, an entire region through the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, Mirzoyan said.

The Armenian FM said that Yerevan expects all international partners and mediators to follow up on the implementation of agreements that have been reached at their mediation.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to 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. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.
22.08.2023 LISTEN

Australias funding priorities have been utterly muddled of late. At the Commonwealth level, there is cash to be found in every conceivable place to support every absurd military venture, as long as it targets those hideous authoritarians in Beijing. It seemed utterly absurd that, even as the Australian federal government announced its purchase of over 200 tomahawk cruise missiles  because that is exactly what the country needs - there are moves afoot to prune and cut projects conducted by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).

On July 10, an email sent to all staff by the head of division, Emma Campbell, claimed that the AAD wont be able to afford all current positions. Since then, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has given a flimsy assurance that no jobs will be lost. The focus will be on finding areas where work performed by those on fixed-term contracts can be incorporated into the work of ongoing staff, stated a spokesperson for the department.

This all seemed an odd state of affairs, given the promise by the previous Morrison government that an additional AUD$804.4 million would be spent over a decade for scientific capabilities and research specific to Antarctic interests.

Unfortunately for those concerned with the bits and bobs at the AAD, the undertaking was not entirely scientific in nature. Part of the package included AUD$3.4 million to enhance Australias international engagement to support the rules and norms of the Antarctic Treaty system and promote Australias leadership in Antarctic affairs.

Australias long-standing obsession with claiming 42 per cent of the Antarctic, one that continues to remain unrecognised by other states, has meant that any exploration or claims by others are bound to be seen as threats. In 2021, the Peoples Republic of China built its fifth research station base in Australias Antarctic environs, sparking concerns that Beijing may be less interested in the science than other potential rich offerings. They are hardly the only ones.

The AAD, however, has shifted its focus to identifying necessary savings amounting to 16% of the annual budget, a crude, spreadsheet exercise that can only harm the research element of the organisation. As Campbells staff-wide email goes on to declare, a review of the future season plan is also being pursued, along with the concern about a budget situation [that] has made the three-year plan process harder than expected.

A spokesperson for DCCEEW claimed that the resulting AUD$25 million difference in funding could be put down to the planning difficulties around the commissioned Antarctic icebreaker, the Nuyina. Few could have been surprised that the process resulted in delays, leading to the AAD to seek alternative shipping options.

What proved surprising to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (when will they ever change such excruciating names?) was that there had been no cuts to the [AAD] at all. As Federal Minister Catherine King went on to say, the Australian government had not altered administering the $804 million budget that is there for the Antarctic Division. There are no cuts, were a bit perplexed as to where this story has come from.

The difference between Canberras automatic assumption of reliable finance and delivery has not, it would seem, translated into the individual funding choices made in the ice-crusted bliss of Australias southern research stations. According to Nature, two of Australias permanent research stations  Mawson and Davis  will not be staffed to their full capacity over the summer period.

The implication for such a budget trim will have one logical consequence. As Jan Zika, a climate scientist working at the University of New South Wales reasons, When someone says theres a cut to the AAD, it basically means less science, less understanding of whats going on. Zika is unsparing in suggesting that this was catastrophic (the word comes easily) given the changes to the sea ice under study. Were seeing so little sea ice relative to what we normally see at this time of the year.

To have such gaps in data collection was also catastrophic to scientific and ecological understanding. If we have data up to a certain date, and then we have a gap for three years, five years, and then we start to get the data again, it doesnt make it useless. But it makes it really hard for us to get that understanding that we need.

Zika is certainly correct about the sea ice findings. On June 27, data gathered by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center showed that the sea ice enveloping Antarctica was a record winter low of 11.7 million square kilometres, namely, more than 2.5 million square kilometres below the average for the time between 1981 and 2010.

Other researchers, notably those who collaborate with the AAD, fear the impeding effects of budget cuts. Christian Haas, a sea-ice specialist at the Alfred Wegener Institute of the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany sees this as inevitable. Nathan Bindoff of the University of Tasmania, who specialises in physical oceanography, has also suggested that such funding cuts would delay investigative procedures with irreversible effect. Were probably going to be too late to address some of these questions.

This hideous disjuncture says it all: climate change research, trimmed and stripped, thereby disrupting the gathering of data; military purchases and procurement, all the rage and adding to insecurity. While such foolish, exorbitant projects as the nuclear submarine plan under AUKUS is seen as an industry, country-wide enterprise that will produce jobs across the economy, the study of catastrophic climate change is being seen as a problem of secondary relevance, ever vulnerable to the financial razor gang.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: [email protected]
Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, the General Overseer of Action Chapel International Ministry has voiced his concern over the danger of divisive politics in the country's development.

He pointed out the vindictive nature of present-day politics and how it is impeding progress and causing Ghanaians to suffer unnecessarily.

In his sermon on August 20 at his church, Archbishop Duncan-Williams addressed the negative effects of partisan politics that often lead to the targeting of political opponents by parties in power.

The fact that you are loyal to your party and you help your party to win an election does not mean you have the capacity to govern with your party.

If people are not part of your party but they have the capacity to do something to advance the course of the country, you must give them the opportunity for the sake of the good of the country, he emphasised.

He called for a national agenda that transcends party lines to promote collaboration among different political parties.

As a nation, we must have a national agenda that compels every political party in our country to work together so that when any party comes into office, it is not your manifesto or agenda that matters but what matters is a national agenda that allows for continuity because what we are doing now is not sustainable," he stated.

Due to the divisive nature of the Ghanaians, he indicated that businesses that are owned by indigenes who are sympathetic to a political party are targeted and collapsed whiles the foreign businesses continue to flourish.

He said, We are allowing strangers, foreigners to come into this country and to prosper and to do well while the citizens are not doing well because of the way we are managing our democracy. Our party politics is not healthy.

The Archbishop criticised the political duopoly in Ghana, which has become a trend across many African nations.

Today, we live in a country from the Fourth Republic and it is not just Ghana but I see it everywhere in the African nations, where you find two political parties dividing the country because if one party comes into office, the other party in opposition and their members suffer.

They are literally bankrupt, undermined, and destroyed and so when they also come and this party is out of power, they also want to settle scores," he stressed.

According to him, the situation where people dont work or create anything but are waiting for their party to return to power for them cut a deal must stop.

So we dont have sustainable wealth because everyone is waiting for an opportunity so that they can come in and when they come in they destroy the other partys members because they were destroyed.

So if you are NDC and NPP comes into office, the members of NPP will have to bankrupt your business, kill your business and you go into exile and you suffer so NDC waits and when they come into the office they go after all the businessmen of NPP and finish them.

It has become a vicious cycle, what we are doing is not sustainable and we are doing it in the name of democracy, that is not democracy.

I am not impressed with what is going on. With this thing where people dont work or create anything, but they are sitting down only to wait for their party to come so they can get a deal, he expressed.
Police have invited the leadership of the Minority in Parliament for a meeting over their planned protest against the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Accra Regional headquarters of the Police on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

It is to discuss the modalities for the protest.

Responding to the letter that the Minority wrote to notify them of the intention to protest, the Police said in a letter titled Re: Notice of Public protest that The Accra Regional Police command acknowledges receipt of your letter No. OML/PH/23/0001 dated 21/08/2023 in respect of the above subject matter.

The command wishes to invite you for a meeting to deliberate on modalities pertaining to your intended protest.

The Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson had asked the officials of the BoG to resign during the NDC's 'Moment of Truth' address on Tuesday, August 8 at the party's headquarters.

We call for the immediate resignation of the Governor of the Central Bank and his deputies within 21 days from today, he said.

Those who have led these reckless and criminal conduct, unleashed economic hardship and financial distress on the suffering people of Ghana, must be held accountable for this particular action. In fact, impunity of the highest order can no longer be tolerated by the suffering masses of Ghanaians. We must not allow dangerous precedents to be set for future leaders, he added.

-citinewsroom
An Industrial Relations and Mediation Consultant, Mr Abraham Koomson has warned that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is at the point of disintegration due to the poor management of the military take-over in Niger.

"ECOWAS leaders immediate response closed any door for meaningful dialogue with the new military leadership, and the sub-regional body is still struggling to adopt proactive measures to re-open the door for peaceful engagement," the Industrial Relations and Mediation Consultant stated in an interview in Tema.

Mr. Koomson who is also the Secretary General of Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) commenting on the recent crisis in Niger following the military take over as monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) noted that the subtle positions of Russia, France, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom seek to work for their individual countries interests to the disadvantage of West Africa.

He described military intervention as a declaration of war on a fellow African state: "How many lives do we want to lose to re-estate the disposed President of Niger?"

Ghana, as a senior state in the ECOWAS sub-region, must provide leadership, support, and share experience with the ECOWAS Chairman, the Nigerian President, who is struggling to settle down.

"President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo must assume a leadership role in the ECOWAS engagement with the military leadership in Niger and provide direction to support the efforts of Nigeria; we cannot go to war against Niger; that is a recipe for disaster and the final stroke to disorganize the sub-regional body," Mr. Koomson stated.

Mr. Koomson noted that currently, the sub-region is deepening the francophone and anglophone divide: "Anglophone West Africa must support francophone West Africa in their liberation from the shackles of French colonial rule".

The GFL Secretary-General noted that the military leadership in Niger is ahead of ECOWAS with the release of a transitional timetable towards a return to civilian rule; "if ECOWAS had been proactive, they would have negotiated for the short-term transition instead of the three-year term".

The Industrial Relations and Mediation Consultant noted that there are two main problems military leaders face in the early days and sometimes weeks immediately after their take over  the first is the issue of legitimacy, and the second is the timetable for disengagement.

Mr. Koomson explained that ECOWAS should have taken advantage to get them to negotiate for legitimacy and then move on to develop the disengagement plan, but unfortunately, our leaders failed to act when the iron was hot and rather allowed the military leadership to settle down.

"The formation of a government with civilian involvement settles the legitimacy challenge, and the release of a three-year timetable also sets in motion the disintegration process," Mr. Koomson noted.

Mr. Koomson, therefore, called on ECOWAS to backtrack, stop the warmongering posture, and appoint either President Akufo Addo of Ghana or any of the leadership from the francophone countries to lead a new negotiation based on the military leadership timetable.

"ECOWAS must engage on friendly terms with the military leadership for the survival of the sub-regional body, as the future generation will not forgive the current leadership if they take any military action against Niger that leads to the disintegration of the sub-regional body," Mr. Koomson noted.

Mr. Koomson also appealed to the ECOWAS leadership to listen to the call from the majority of its citizens, including labour unions, academia, religious and traditional leaders, youth and women groups, politicians, and parliamentarians who are calling for dialogue instead of military intervention in Niger.

-CDA Consult || Contributor
22.08.2023 LISTEN

Member of Parliament for the Assin North Constituency, James Gyakye Quayson, has hinted that the trial judge who presided over the annulment of his election as MP in the 2020 elections never invited him to serve as a witness in the case.

Speaking in a yet-to-be-aired interview on Face to Face on Citi TV, Mr Quayson said, After the 3rd week of my victory in 2020, I was served through my lawyers a court injunction, that they were challenging my elections. During that same entire process, I never had a day in court myself, I never had a chance. The trial judge never called me as a witness, or anything, even once, which my lawyers were demanding. In all these processes, I wasnt in court. Obviously, they gave it to a bailiff to serve me, and that was a day before the swearing-in. We never received it, my lawyers never received it.

Asked if he was smuggled into the Chamber of Parliament during the swearing-in on January 6, 2021, he retorted, I will not use the word smuggling. I was in a hotel with my team, and we decided we will come in the night together. It was partly a celebration team. I was in a smaller group to enter the chamber. I was going to go with the flow. Nobody stopped me from entering the chamber. There was controversy about the injunction during the swearing-in, as to the time I was served. The bottom line was that I was never served.

Background

Mr. Quayson was ousted from Parliament and his name was expunged from the legislative body's records after the Supreme Court nullified his election in the 2020 polls for holding dual citizenship.

His woes began in November 2020 after a group called 'Concerned Citizens of Assin North petitioned the Electoral Commission in the Central Region to withdraw the candidature of Mr. Quayson, arguing that he owes allegiance to Canada.

Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, a teacher and resident of Yamoransa in the Central Region, subsequently filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court after the election seeking to annul the declaration of Mr. Quayson as the MP Assin North.

The Cape Coast High Court in the Central Region upheld Mr. Akomah-Nimfah's request and declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency as null and void because Mr Quayson breached the provisions of the constitution with regard to dual citizenship.

The Supreme Court on May 17 upheld the ruling of the Cape Coast High Court and directed Parliament to expunge his name from its records.

On Tuesday, May 30, Parliament declared the Assin North seat vacant, giving way for fresh elections in the constituency.

Mr Quayson in a statement insisted that he duly renounced his Canadian citizenship prior to contesting the 2020 polls but said the most important thing to me right now is to contest and win the by-election which is the result of what the Supreme Court announced on 17th May 2023. I am determined to continue serving the good people of the Assin North with all my heart, soul, body and all the resources I can muster for the benefit of my constituents.

After his ousting from Parliament, Mr. Quayson later won a by-election

-citinewsroom
Chief Executive of the Ghana Tourism Authority Mr Kwasi Agyeman during the weekend joined the members of the Ghana Photojournalists Network, (GPNet) to celebrate this years World Photography Day at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra.

The annual event which is commemorated on 19th August of every year is to celebrate the art and practice of photography and recognize the hard work of photographers.

Under the Theme; "Understanding The Cloud," the network tasked its experience photojournalists to capture captivating images of the park to tell unique stories focusing on the aesthetic and recreational aspects of the place through images.

However, celebrating the global photography day at Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park forms part of the networks contribution to help market the refurbished tourist attraction to the world especially on an occasion like this.

In the park, some of the visitors who came in groups include schools, churches and corporate bodies with both children and adults competing with each to take pictures around the fountain.

In his opening address Mr Kwasi Agyeman said his outfit acknowledges the important crucial role photography plays in the promotion of tourism so when he received the invitation he considered it important to attend as far as the program will showcase the facility he was happy.

We are trying to make sure that there is a partnership between the Ghana Photojournalists Network, G.T.A and all the other agencies under the tourism ministry so that when you shoot your photos and films, you can give us copies for us to use to promote Ghana, said Mr Kwasi Agyeman

He said they use pictures to promote Ghana on the international scene because when people see good pictures of tourism facilities they feel the appetite to visit the destination adding that they see photojournalists as partners in promoting tourism in Ghana.

Mr Kwasi Agyeman charged them to extend their focus to cover other tourist sites in order to tell beautiful stories about Ghana through their lenses.

On his part the Acting Director of Kwame Memorial Park Mr Edward Quao said he was delighted the celebration at the park in a way will promote the facility.

Ghana Photojournalists Network is the first registered Photojournalists organisation in Ghana is affiliated to the Ghana Journalists Association.

Building capacities of Photojournalists in Ghana to achieve high quality standards in the field of photojournalism to enable them contribute meaningfully to national development is the vision of the network.

Membership is made up of both photo and video journalists working with private and public media houses across the country.

In Ghana, we celebrated our maiden world photography day on 19th August 2020 with an exhibition on COVID-19 at the forecourt of the Ministry of Information. The following year we marked the day with a tree planting exercise at James Town in collaboration with the Forestry Commission and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly in Accra. Last year we marked the day with a photography workshop in Accra.

Brief History of photography

Two Frenchmen, Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre developed the Daguerreotype,' the first practical photographic process in the year 1837.On August 19, 1839, the French government acquired the patent from Louis Daguerre.

The French government also announced that the invention could significantly change human history, and truly photography has impacted the world beyond expectation.
The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs), has been sworn in as the Ekuo Na of Holy Family Akan Society for the Accra Catholic Archdiocese.

The historic event which took place at the St Peters Catholic Church in Osu, coincided with the 54th Birthday of the Senior Police Officer who is a devout Catholic and member of good standing.

National President of the Holy Family Akan Society, Mr Albert Joseph Kodua who gave a background of the association which is 45 years old after being formed in 1978, revealed that challenges in understanding sermons in English and Ga by the Akan community inspired its formation.

Our forbearers in Catholic faith in Accra who were Akans, could readily understand sermons in English and Ga as was the practice at the time. A petition was therefore submitted to the then Archbishop of Accra Diocese, Dominic Kodwo Andoh. He set a committee to look into the concerns and it granted the permission for the birth of Holy Family Akan Society for the Accra Catholic Archdiocese, he revealed.

According to the National President, only a Baptized Catholic, Communicant, contribute to the growth and development of the Church, adding that the person holds the position till death.

It is in the light of this COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) was chosen in view of her enormous contributions to the church and the various societies she belongs to in the Church.

She replaces Mrs. Esther Hamilton of St. Anthony Catholic Church at Taifa who passed on in 2022.

In her acceptance remarks, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) thanked the National Executives of Holy Family Akan Society for nominating her for the role.

The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs), has been sworn in as the Ekuo Na of Holy Family Akan Society for the Accra Catholic Archdiocese.

The historic event which took place at the St Peters Catholic Church in Osu, coincided with the 54th Birthday of the Senior Police Officer who is a devout Catholic and member of good standing.

National President of the Holy Family Akan Society, Mr Albert Joseph Kodua who gave a background of the association which is 45 years old after being formed in 1978, revealed that challenges in understanding sermons in English and Ga by the Akan community inspired its formation.

Our forbearers in Catholic faith in Accra who were Akans, could readily understand sermons in English and Ga as was the practice at the time. A petition was therefore submitted to the then Archbishop of Accra Diocese, Dominic Kodwo Andoh. He set a committee to look into the concerns and it granted the permission for the birth of Holy Family Akan Society for the Accra Catholic Archdiocese, he revealed.

According to the National President, only a Baptized Catholic, Communicant, contribute to the growth and development of the Church, adding that the person holds the position till death.

It is in the light of this COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) was chosen in view of her enormous contributions to the church and the various societies she belongs to in the Church.

She replaces Mrs. Esther Hamilton of St. Anthony Catholic Church at Taifa who passed on in 2022.

In her acceptance remarks, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) thanked the National Executives of Holy Family Akan Society for nominating her for the role.

My Parish Priest told me it is an honour for me to be nominated for this role. He and other Priests promised to rally behind me in my new role. I use this opportunity to urge the Akan community here in Accra not to forget our roots and support each other. Let us also help the growth of the Church from where we hail so that they will grow. We should not make it appear as though the work of God only exists in Accra churches. God is everywhere, she encouraged.

Profile

Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah(Mrs) was born on 19th August 1969 at Konongo in the Asante Akyem district of the Ashanti Region.

She had her primary and secondary education at Roman Catholic Primary and Middle Schools, and Bompata Secondary School respectively.

She is the first female Commandant of the Ghana Police Command and Staff College (GPCSC) located in Winneba, the Central Region of Ghana.

Service

COP Addo-Danquah was recruited into the Ghana Police Service on July 27, 1990 and has risen through the ranks by dint of hard work and her desire to achieve higher academic laurels.

When she passed out, she was first posted to the Police Hospital Accounts Section as a constable.

After the 18-month probation, she was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1992 because she had enlisted with a Diploma in Business Studies (Accounting option), which she had obtained at the Kumasi Polytechnic between 1988 and 1990.

Having been promoted to Sergeant, she enrolled at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) in 1995, passed the Level Two examination and was promoted to the rank of Chief Inspector.

That granted her direct entry to the Police College in October 1998.

Best Cadet

At the passing out ceremony in May 1999, she was adjudged the All-Round Best Cadet and the Best Student in Humanities, out of a class of 48 (46 males and two females), making her the second female to take that award at that time.

In recognition of her remarkable accomplishment, a special staff of honour was ordered from the United Kingdom (UK) by the then IGP, which was presented to her by the late Professor Evans Atta Mills, who was then the Vice-President.

Secondment

Along the line, she was made the administrator at the Police Hospital when the person in charge went on a peacekeeping mission.

Later, she also had the opportunity to go on a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, where she acted as the Logistics and Finance Officer for the Missing Persons Unit.

With her international peacekeeping experience in Kosovo under her staff belt, she was posted to the Finance Section of the Police Headquarters.

A chartered accountant, COP Addo-Danquah also had stints at the Controller and Accountant Generals Department, where she learnt at first-hand information on public sector accounting. Following her successful understudy at that place, she was assigned to head the Commercial Crime Unit (CCU) of the CID for three years.

Source: MyNewsGh.com
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S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with Belgiums Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.

During the meeting PM Pashinyan attached importance to Minister Lahbibs visit and expressed confidence that the trip will boost the development and strengthening of Armenian-Belgian relations, the Prime Ministers Office said in a readout.

Prime Minister Pashinyan commended the Belgian governments decision on opening an embassy in Yerevan and said that it will contribute to the expansion of partnership not only in the political, but also business and cultural areas.

Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said that despite the intensive bilateral ties, theres been no Belgian foreign ministerial visits in the last eight years, and her visits goal is to boost the Armenian-Belgian ties, including in the economy and investments. Belgian businesses have great interest for implementing investment programs and deepening business ties in Armenia, she said.

PM Pashinyan and Belgiums Foreign Minister discussed the developments taking place in the region, particularly the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. The Armenian Prime Minister underscored that Azerbaijan seeks to commit ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. PM Pashinyan attached importance to the urgent debates in the UN Security Council on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the targeted reaction of international partners to Azerbaijans actions. The Prime Minister emphasized the need for effective steps to change Azerbaijans conduct. At the same time, PM Pashinyan attached importance to the need for consistency in implementation of the agreements that have been reached thus far in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations process in Brussels.

Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib underscored Belgiums support to the stance of the EU, according to which Azerbaijan must ensure free movement of persons and goods along Lachin Corridor and implement the decision adopted by the UN International Court of Justice.
Energy Transfer LP is a limited partnership operating midstream energy assets in the US. The company is an integrated and diversified play on energy that deals in natural gas and crude oil and their derivatives. The companys operating territory spans the North American energy infrastructure system with operations in 41 states and Canada and is systemically important.

The company was founded n 1995 by Kelcy Warren and Ray Davis. The company was private until 2004 when it IPOd. It operated as a stand-alone business until 2011 when it joined forces with Regency Energy Partners to purchase assets from Castleton Commodities International and begin a growth phase. As of 2022, Mr. Warren remains as Chairperson. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas but maintains an international office in Beijing.

Among other notable acquisitions are the purchase of Sunoco and Sunoco logistics partners and the eventual absorption of Regency Energy Partners. The company was formerly known as Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and changed its name to Energy Transfer LP in October 2018 along with some internal structural changes.

Today the company operates a vast network of natural gas and crude oil collection, processing and storage facilities along with the pipelines to move it. The companys subsidiaries include but are not limited to Sunoco LP, Sunoco Logistics Partners, USA Compression Partners and it owns 100% or a controlling interest in pipelines that include the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Bayou Bridge Pipeline and the Florida Gas Transmission Pipeline.

Energy Transfer Partner LP owns or controls more than 120,000 miles of pipeline infrastructure, including natural gas, crude oil and derivative vehicles. The company controls or owns five natural gas storage facilities and over a dozen natural gas or LNG processing plants. The company can compress and deliver LNG to transport vessels as well as process, store and deliver propane. Its downstream operations include wholesaling natural gas and derivative crude oil products to utility companies, industrial users, and consumers.

As of 2022, the company employed more than 11,000 people and brought in more than $39 billion in net revenue. Roughly 30% of the nation's natural gas is moved by Energy Transfer Partners LP infrastructure and growing. Projects in the works include newer, more efficient processing plants and the interstate Gulf Run pipeline.

Natural gas is a crucial factor in the switch to green energy. Not only is it the cleanest of all petroleum-based energy sources, but it is easy to store and use, making it ideal as a backup source for intermittent energy like solar and wind. Natural gas is also important as a feedstock for plastics and other products critical to the health industry. Natural gas is also important for making ammonia, a necessary fertilizer for todays food chain.

As an MLP, Energy Transfers Partners pays a large share of its earnings as dividends. Investors of record can enroll in the Dividend Reinvestment Plan or DRIP and have their distributions paid in shares.






YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. The latest Armenia-Azerbaijan talks held in Brussels showed that a peace treaty is close and therefore the leaders of both countries must do everything in order for the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples to live in peaceful conditions, Belgiums Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has said.

She said that new consultations must take place in Brussels, Yerevan and Baku.

Lahbib said at a press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan that shes come to Armenia to support and encourage.

Belgium is deeply concerned about the tension caused by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The only way out of this conflict is the negotiations process and mutual concessions. During my upcoming visit to Azerbaijan, I will tell my Azerbaijani colleague that the agreements reached as part of the meetings in 2023 under the mediation of the President of the European Council Charles Michel have recorded positive progress. The leaders of the two countries have reciprocally recorded each others sovereignty and territorial integrity. I welcome the Armenian Prime Ministers courageous statements pertaining to the path of peace. I also reiterate that the security and rights of the population must be guaranteed, the Belgian FM said.

Lahbib lauded that EU monitoring mission in Armenia. The actions must contribute to the development of trust between the two nations, she added.

Belgium is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, and its deterioration. The restriction of movement along Lachin Corridor is having serious consequences, causing serious dangers of famine and disease. During our meeting, representatives of the ICRC also stated that the life of residents in Nagorno-Karabakh is in danger, which is naturally unacceptable. Belgium fully shares the EUs stance that ensuring the security of the population of Karabakh and free movement in Lachin Corridor is Azerbaijans obligation. Belgium will continue to be guided by this approach in is diplomatic contacts, Foreign Minister Lahbib said.
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd is one of the worlds longest-running and largest independent operators of maritime energy transportation services. The company owns and operates a best-in-class fleet of versatile energy transportation vessels that include ice-class, shuttle tankers, and LNG-capable shipping as well. The companys management team is able to leverage more than 50 years of company experience.

Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd was incorporated in 1993 as MIF Limited. The company IPOd in 201 and later changed its name in 2011 to better represent itself to the world. It has been a leader in energy transportation the entire time and has generated more than $1 billion in profits for shareholders. As of October 2022, the company had paid more than $450 million in dividends in over 42 consecutive payments. The companys average yield since IPO is over 5.2%.

Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. provides maritime transportation services for national, major, and independent energy companies under a variety of contract conditions. The company reported a fleet of 70 double-hull energy transportation vessels in mid-2022. The fleet included 60 conventional tankers ranging from Handysize through Panamax, Aframax, and Suez Max conventional oil tankers, and several Suez-Max DP2 shuttle tankers. The DP2 shuttle tankers are instrumental in transporting energy through the Suez canal. The company also listed 2 VLCCs or Very Large Crude Carriers (the 2nd largest tankers on the high seas) and 2 LNG-capable ships, and 2 ships under construction.

Tsakos Energy Navigation is incorporated in Bermuda but operates out of Athens, Greece. The companys strategy is to maintain its industry-leading status while providing sustainable growth and stability across energy cycles. The two pillars of the strategy are employee and fleet quality. The company actively invests in its talent pool to position itself for long-term success while also investing in ship maintenance and renewals. The average age of a Tsakos Energy Navigation tanker was about 7.5 years in Q4 2022 compared to roughly 10 years for the industry average. Oil tankers get about 30 years of use on average, so the company well-positioned to outlast its competition.
Walmart Inc. is the worlds biggest company by revenue and its largest employer with over 2.2 million globally. It is a general merchandise discount retailer founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and remains a very tightly-held family-owned company to this day. At last look, the Walton family and its heirs owned more than 50% of the company through the family-holding company Walton Enterprises and individual holdings. As of October 2022, the company operated nearly 10,600 stores in 24 countries under 46 different banners. For example, Walmart de Mexico is the Mexican branch while Flipkart Wholesale is the companys operations in India.

Sam Walton began his crusade to undercut retail competitors began in the early 1950s. He opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store in 1962 and was able to leverage the brand to great success. It became a publicly traded company in 1972 and was the US's most profitable retailer by 1988. The chain went nationwide in the early 1990s and expanded to international markets soon after that. While the company has seen some success outside the US, those remain limited, and the US is the primary market and produces well over 60% of the revenue and earnings.

Today, the company operates through three segments that include Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. The stores offer groceries, health, beauty, apparel, footwear, household, furniture, automotive, electronics and recreational products among others. In addition, the company offers a wide variety of ancillary services that include automotive repair, tire change, vision/eyeglass services and financial services that include gift cards, prepaid wireless, check cashing and money transfers. Sams Club, launched in 1989, is the companys membership club brand. It is the second-largest membership club in North America and about 12% of Walmarts total revenue.

Walmart is a Dividend Aristocrat with nearly 50 years of consecutive annual dividend increases to its credit. Based on the 2022 financial metrics, the company is capable of sustaining another several decades of increases at a low single-digit pace. Once a laggard in ESG, Walmart is now a leader in environmental, social, and governance issues. The companys efforts include increasing the efficiency of its truck and vehicle fleets to include the upgrade to electrification or hydrogen fuel cells. In terms of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles alone, the company had upgraded more than 9,500 of its warehouse and facility service machines to fuel cells as of mid-2022 and was also working to electrify its vehicle fleets.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Belgiums Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has called on the Azerbaijani government to publicly recognize Armenias territorial integrity.

Our stance is the same both in Yerevan and Baku, Hadja Lahbib said at a press conference in Yerevan when asked what message she will convey to the Azeri authorities during her upcoming Baku trip.

What matters most for us is to overcome this deadlock, in order for the humanitarian situation to improve and the living conditions for the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh to improve. This is part of the ceasefire agreement, and we call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to negotiations, be it in Washington or anywhere else. Weve welcomed the Armenian Prime Ministers statement on publicly recognizing Azerbaijans territorial integrity and we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to do the same, she said.

Theres no lack of highest-level negotiations, theres a lack of implementing them on the ground actually. Thats why during our one-on-one meeting we emphasized the need for the presence of experts, commissions, who will be able to end the animosity, will give the chance for real reconciliation and trust between the two peoples so that the two peoples living on both sides of the border get the opportunity to live in peace. As an active member of the EU, and also the next EU Council president, we will strengthen and intensify our participation in all these processes, including through our embassy which we will have in Yerevan, the Belgian FM added.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said his government has decided to spend more than Rs 2,000 crore to create disaster-resilient infrastructure in various parts of the state. Addressing a gathering virtually at a function at Rabindra Mandap here on the occasion of Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day 2023, he said the government was giving priority to resilient infrastructure and state-wide risk mapping would be undertaken for various disasters. Today, we assemble here to deliberate on our disaster preparedness. We remember the valuable human lives lost during the super cyclone 1999. Since then, we have made significant strides in making Odisha safer during disasters. Today, we are a model for other states and countries to follow, Patnaik said. Noting that the state's efforts for effective disaster management have received wide acclaim, the chief minister said Odisha has been bestowed with the prestigious 'Nataji Subash Chandra Bose Apadaa Prabandhan Puraskar' for 2023 by the Centre. Recalling the train accident at Bahanaga in Balasore that took place on June 2 this year, he said, Altogether 288 people died on the spot, and hundreds of passengers were injured. The state responded quickly. All emergency services were made ready almost instantly. We could save many lives despite serious injuries. The CM said the state was able to save so many lives due to the immediate intervention of local communities, volunteers, members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and specialised responders like Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), fire services and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and of course, the tireless efforts of doctors. "The government has now decided to create four regional disaster response hubs at Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rayagada to reduce the response time to any disaster," he said. This year's theme for the Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day' is Empowering Community for Resilient Odisha. As communities are the first responders to any disaster situation, amendments to Panchayat Acts have been made to ensure disaster management planning at the level of PRIs, the chief minister said. "To make the communities resilient, disaster management plans will be prepared in more than 10,000 vulnerable villages," he said. On the occasion, Patnaik called upon all stakeholders and citizens to join hands to strengthen the state's disaster risk reduction initiatives and make Odisha disaster-resilient. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the chief minister said, Odisha's disaster management model has been lauded all over the world for its highest degree of preparedness, efficient response and zero casualty approach during calamities. On #OdishaDisasterPreparednessDay, pledge to further bolster our disaster resilient infrastructure and readiness to protect every precious life. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi said Odisha became the number one state in the country in disaster management. Due to the active participation of local people, the state was able to save many lives in the Bahanaga train tragedy, he said. Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said automated weather forecasting and rain gauge stations will be set up in all panchayats of the state. About 3,000 such stations will be set up with funding from the World Bank, and the remaining will be done by the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC). SRC Satyabrata Sahu said, We are prepared for natural disasters like cyclones, floods etc. However, many people have lost lives in other disasters like lightning, drowning, snake bites, etc. So, we will create awareness among people to tackle such incidents. We will create one man in every household, who can tackle all kinds of disasters. Disaster management has been included in school and college curriculums and the government has decided to train all persons working at the grassroots level, Sahu said. Further, the state government has decided to deploy an ODRAF team in every district. Now, 20 ODRAF units are there in Odisha, he said. Earlier in the day, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) in association with the the Department of Sports and Youth Services organised a mini-marathon here to mark the day.
YEREVAN, 22 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 22 August, USD exchange rate down by 0.09 drams to 385.79 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.52 drams to 420.01 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 4.10 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.77 drams to 492.42 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 53.23 drams to 23440.63 drams. Silver price up by 1.05 drams to 283.79 drams.
Azerbaijan continues its disinformation campaign with false accusations targeting the Armenian military, the Ministry of Defense said on August 22..

August 22, 2023, 10:16 Azerbaijani again falsely accuses Armenia of border shooting

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: The Azerbaijani authorities once again falsely accused the Armenian Armed Forces of opening gunfire across the border.

The statement of the Ministry of Defenseof Azerbaijan that the units of the Republic of Armenia Armed Forces opened fire on the Azerbaijani combat positions located in the southwestern and southeastern parts of the frontier zone between 22:50 p.m. and 02:05 a.m. on August 21 and 22 does not correspond to reality, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said he discussed with his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib on August 22 the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Artsakh resulting from the illegal Azeri blockade of Lachin Corridor.

August 22, 2023, 14:32 Armenia expects effective steps from intl community to change Azerbaijans destructive, inhuman, belligerent conduct

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 22, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: We discussed in detail the extremely negative and irreversible consequences of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the UN Security Council emergency meeting, the targeted statements made by international partners and organizations, including Belgium and other EU states Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Lahbib in Yerevan. He said Armenia attaches great importance to the statements.

Nevertheless, despite all of this and contrary to the ICJ 22 February and 6 July rulings, Azerbaijan continues the blockade of Lachin Corridor. Of course, this is not a manifestation separate from other developments, we are continuously warning that Azerbaijans actions are based on the explicit policy of subjecting Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing, FM Mirzoyan said.

He added that Azerbaijan has been violating the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh and targeting Armenian positions along the state border of Armenia in the recent days. Mirzoyan noted that the EU monitoring mission has also reported the shooting.

FM Mirzoyan said that Azerbaijan is continuously violating all terms of the 9 November statement, including the clause on releasing all POWs and other detainees, and determining the fate of those missing.

The Armenian Foreign Minister warned that by keeping 120,000 Armenians hostage in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan is challenging the efforts of the entire international community, and first of all Armenia, aimed at achieving peace and stability.

The Armenian side expects our international partners to display political will and take effective steps in the direction of changing Azerbaijans destructive, inhuman and belligerent conduct. The Armenian side is once again reaffirming its stance to achieve lasting peace in the region through negotiations, he said.
At around 12:30pm Tuesday, the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire, using small arms, on a combine harvester working in a field of Sarushen village of the Askeran region of Artsakh Republic.

August 22, 2023, 13:44 Azerbaijan fires on combine harvester working in Artsakh village field

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: There are no casualties on the Armenian side, the Artsakh Defense Army reports.

The incident was reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops in Artsakh.
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 The Washington Post reports that a French Canadian woman was sentenced in Washington D.C. to twenty years in prison for trying to assassinate Trump. She mailed Trump an envelope filled with deadly ricin powder. Shes charged with making the Justice Department look like theyre not even trying.

 The Weather Channel reports the increased water temperature in the Eastern Pacific a fifth year in a row is generating the El Nino weather condition for the country this fall and winter. It made its opening bow on Sunday. Only in California do we have a Hurricane that identifies as a Tropical Storm.

 Southern California was placed under federal disaster declaration last weekend when Hurricane Hillary approached Los Angeles early Sunday. And that was just the opening act. Just as it arrived, a five-point earthquake struck Southern California just to let the hurricane know whos boss around here.

 Hurricane Hillary was estimated by weather forecasters to arrive in Southern California and the Desert Southwest Sunday bringing high winds, flooding and mudslides. The U.S. government issued a bulletin ahead of its arrival. Any deaths resulting from Hurricane Hillary will be classified as suicides.

 The National Weather Service reported Hurricane Hillary came roaring up from Mexico Friday carrying high winds, pouring rain and heading for Southern California. Nobody was expecting much property damage to local stores. Thanks to the flash mobs the retail businesses were already boarded up.

 San Diego emergency officials urged people to stay off the citys many beaches Sunday as fears mounted of high surf and riptides. Florida resident Donald Trump issued a three-word statement of advice to Southern California residents about how to survive Hurricane Hillarys wrath. Lock her up!

 CBS News covered a Camp David Summit Friday between President Biden and leaders of South Korea and Japan. However its news bulletin prompted a firestorm on Twitter by referring to Joe as former President Biden. CBS quickly responded and corrected the tweet to read the late President Biden.

 President Biden flew to Hawaii Monday to meet with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials supervising the fire disaster relief to Maui. Nevertheless we are all creatures of habit. Joe is refusing to send hurricane relief money to California until the prosecutor investigating his son is fired.

 President Biden hosted a three-way summit with the leaders of South Korea and Japan at Camp David on Friday. Like father like son, I say. The same day Hunter Biden hosted a three-way at an Asian massage parlor but when Hunter requested a sixty-nine a waitress brought him the Sweet and Sour Pork.

 CNN anchor Jake Tapper raised eyebrows at his network Friday by declaring that Trump was right and Biden was wrong in the 2020 debate about Hunter receiving money from China. Tappers guest said Trump sees himself as a Roman emperor. Its a shame Orange Julius is already trademarked.

 President Biden gave a speech to workers at a wind turbine plant in Milwaukee Thursday where Biden declared Bidenomics a rousing success. In the last two and a half years Joes policies have made me much stronger. I can now lift seventy dollars worth of groceries in a plastic sack with my little finger.

 The Pentagon started auctioning border wall building materials in Texas Friday after the Senate passed a Defense Spending Act that including finishing the wall. Its greatly needed. Now that Mexico has affordable housing, cheap gas and legalized cocaine, we need the wall to keep all the Californians in.

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Peace talks between King Charles III and his son Prince Harry are not going to happen as hoped, according to royal sources.

Contrary to what many have speculated, reconciliation is not on the agenda for September, according to sources who spoke to The Daily Beast. The sources allege that there will be no summit at Balmoral nor a reunion with Queen Camilla or the Prince and Princess of Wales.

It was initially reported that the father-son duo would make time to meet on 17 September, which would coincide with the end of Harrys Invictus Games trip to Dusseldorf, Germany and the Kings return to London from Balmoral.

King Charles is due to return to London from Balmoral in the middle of September, which ties in with the end of Harrys Invictus Games trip to Dusseldorf, a source told OK! Magazine. The King has a rescheduled official visit to France on 20 September, so [he] has a few days to spare in London to meet with his son. Staff are trying to fine-tune the details as we speak.

However, the sources allegedly scoffed at reports that the King and his youngest son will reunite and clear the air on 17 September, but not for reasons that indicate a lack of wanting peace. Since King Charles is expected to make an important state visit to France on 20 September, Buckingham Palace insiders have dismissed the notion of any physical meeting occurring.

Although the King is reportedly open to a dialogue with the Duke of Sussex, there are reports that there is no chance of his heir Prince William agreeing to any sort of discussion. A friend of Prince William explained to the outlet: He feels utterly betrayed by what Harry wrote about him in the book [Spare] and said about him on Netflix.

They were very close growing up so it has been very painful for William, the source continued. But ultimately what can he do? Just look at Spare. Its literally Williams worst nightmare. It is a total violation of his privacy.

On top of that, Harry has criticised Kate and the way he is bringing up his children.

Story continues

The source called the situation very sad and said that its completely understandable that William is still disgusted by the actions of his brother.

The last time the three of them convened was after Prince Phillips funeral in Windsor, as described in the opening scene of Prince Harrys explosive memoir Spare. The secret meeting was nothing short of contentious.

Harry had flown in to talk about the state of things with his brother and father, but the talk soon devolved into a fight between the two brothers, according to the duke. He alleged that his older brother, William, had shown up to the meeting ready for a fight. At the time, Charles was forced to play peacemaker between the rival siblings, saying: Please, boys, dont make my final years a misery.

As the years have gone by and Harry has continued to take swipes at the monarchy, Charles has been less lenient with Harry, recently making the move to remove his HRH honorific from the royal website.

However, Omid Scobie, a journalist, and royal biographer who has worked closely with the Sussexes, revealed in a pre-coronation interview in May with This Morning that, although Spare was a point of contention between Harry and his family, it did not mean that they were not in communication.

I dont think people know there has been a somewhat regular pattern of conversation between him and his father since the release of that book. Scobie continued to elaborate: Now, have they discussed the details and the points that he wanted to go into? From what I hear, no. But he has had contact with his dad.

The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace and a representative for the Sussexes for comment.
The Cayuga County Health Department joins the effort in recognizing August as National Immunization Awareness Month! With the start of the school year quickly approaching, immunizations should be at the top of your list. The Cayuga County Health Department has been providing back-to-school immunization clinics throughout the month of August. The health department is pleased that so many families have already taken advantage of these clinics and are checking immunizations off their back-to-school to-do lists!

New York state continues to require that children, regardless of how they are attending school, are up to date with all necessary immunizations in accordance with Public Health Law Section 2164. As of 2019, there is no longer a religious exemption in New York state. All children are required to be up to date on their immunizations unless they have a medical exemption. This includes public, private and parochial schools for students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, and child day care settings.

Why are vaccines required?

Vaccines limit the spread of infectious and deadly disease in densely populated areas. Places like child care facilities, preschool programs, schools, colleges and summer camps are prone to outbreaks of infectious diseases. The state has made these requirements to protect and keep our children healthy. Children in these settings can easily spread illnesses to one another due to poor hygiene and close contact. Diseases spread quickly among groups of children who are not vaccinated. In addition, children can spread infectious disease to vulnerable populations like infants, the immunocompromised and the elderly.

What vaccines are required?

Per New York State Department of Health guidelines, to attend or remain in school or day care, children who are unvaccinated or overdue must receive at least the first dose of all required vaccines within the first 14 days. They also must receive subsequent vaccines in the series within a 14-day period of when they are due to complete the immunization series. If they do not get the subsequent vaccines, they again will be excluded from school.

Vaccinations required for day care, prekindergarten and school attendance:

 Diphtheria and tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine and pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap)

 Hepatitis B vaccine

 Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR)

 Polio vaccine

 Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine

Additional vaccinations required for middle school and high school:

 Tdap vaccine for grades six through 12

 Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) for grades seven through 12

 Students in grade 12 need an additional booster dose of MenACWY on or after their 16th birthday.

Additional vaccinations required for day care and prekindergarten:

 Haemophilus influenzae type B conjugate vaccine (Hib)

 Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)

What should I do?

The New York State Department of Health encourages parents and guardians of all children who do not have their required immunizations to receive the first dose in each immunization series as soon as possible.

Each dose of every vaccine is important to protect your child and others in the community from infectious diseases. If your child is in need of immunizations required for school, contact your childs health care professional or the Cayuga County Health Department as soon as possible. Schedule an appointment as early as possible for any needed vaccinations and provide any vaccination records to your childs school to avoid your child being excluded.

For more information about required school vaccines, visit health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/schools/school_vaccines.

The complete list of vaccinations for the 2023-2024 school year can be found at health.ny.gov/publications/2370.pdf.
Finding a 100-bagger is every investors peak. But is it really achievable? Can you find 100-bagger stocks on the ASX?

100 baggers are stocks that return $100 for every $1 invested.

Finding a 100-bagger can bring life-changing gains.

Obviously.

An initial $10,000 transforming into $1 million will overhaul ones lifestyle.

But how do you find 100-bagger stocks?

In investing, the how is the hardest question. A bastardised Aesops fable shows why.

A grasshopper approaches a colony of ants, seeking advice on lodgings for the coming winter.

Guys, youve got a house and provisions for the winter. I dont, and Im getting worried. What should I do?

Easy. Change into a cockroach and find yourself a house where youll find food and warmth.

Relieved, the grasshopper thanked the ants and was about to walk away when he asked, Oh, how do I change myself into a cockroach?

One of the ants waved him off, Weve given you the master plan. Its up to you to work out the details.

This altered fable comes from Thomas Phelpss 100 to 1 In the Stock Market, the first book on 100-bagger stocks.

Phelpss point was clear.

Its one thing to know you should buy quality businesses and hold on.

Executing this is harder.

Is there a magic formula?

Is there a magic formula to 100-bagger stocks?

Betteridges law of headlines (or subheadlines) suggests no.

Chris Mayer agrees.

Mayer is the author of 100 Baggers, an updated study on stocks rising 100-fold.

Mayer ended his book by saying there is no magic formula for producing 100-baggers.

No easy screen for them exists.

You cant log in to a market screener and filter for 100-bagger stocks.

And if you could, youre getting scammed and you should change your passwords.

While we lack a magic formula, we have rough lineaments of what a 100-bagger looks like.

The four characteristics of 100-bagger stocks

Unsurprisingly, theres been plenty of research conducted on stocks gaining 100-fold or more.

Through the years, common traits have been identified.

In The Stock Markets Greatest Winners, Christopher Kjaer Hansen and Daniel Dyhr Schjunk summarised four characteristics of 100-bagger stocks commonly popping up in the literature.

Relative strength

The biggest stock winners appreciate at a higher pace than the market. This makes sense because often these stocks operate at the frontiers of new markets, where growth is accelerating, not maturing.

Researchers Morales and Kacher put it this way:

[100-baggers] represent the leading edge of what is happening in the economy with respect to the new industries, new economic developments, and other themes that serve as essential drivers for the economy at any given point in time.

You cant be a 100-bagger if youre growing as fast (or as slow) as the wider market and economy.

New high prices

Counter-intuitively, some studies have found a high-altitude paradox where what seems too expensive and risky ends up higher eventually, and what seems cheap tends to get cheaper.

Hansen and Schjunk cited research that found stocks trading close to their 52-week highs had better subsequent returns than stocks with prices far from the 52-week high.

Personally, I am doubtful of this factors usefulness.

I abstain from deriving value from price.

But new high prices may be a good indicator after deep qualitative research on a 100-bagger candidate.

Growth

Undoubtedly, you cannot become a 100-bagger stock without years of strong growth. And as the relative strength factor implies, this growth has to be above average.

Interestingly, studies suggest earnings acceleration matters more than simply earnings growth.

As one study put it:

Primary consideration should be given to whether the rate of change in earnings is substantially increasing or decreasing.

Profitability

And, of course, you cant have a 100-bagger stock without high return on investment.

One study showed that nearly all the greatest growth stocks of the past 50 years had return on equity (ROE) of at least 17%.

The very best stocks have ROEs between 2550%.

And thats because the very best stocks have enduring competitive advantages that allow them to grow and fend off competitors.

100-bagger stocks are enduring businesses.

Most 100-baggers take about 2025 years to become what they are.

In those intervening years, they must maintain outstanding performance. A high ROE is an indicator of a competitive advantage that allows this outstanding performance to continue.

As McKinseys Tim Koller put it:

High-performing companies are in general remarkably capable of sustaining a competitive advantage in their businesses and/or finding new business where they continue or rebuild such advantages.

Do you have the patience, never mind the guts?

Like I said, 100-baggers take decades to become 100-baggers. A major part of investing in these stocks is patience.

Mayer said if youre hunting for 100-baggers, you must learn to sit on your ass. Buy right and sit tight.

But how well can you sit on your ass? And for how long?

Consider a hypothetical where you have a concentrated portfolio of five stocks, each destined to be a 100-bagger in 30 years.

What do you do in the interim?

Can you really rest on your laurels for three decades? Can you resist the urge to sell early? Or sell stakes to invest in riskier ventures?

Will you develop a liking to other stocks and jilt one of the original five?

The average holding period for stocks is shrinking and has done so for decades.

A Reuters calculation found the average holding period for US shares in 2020 was 5.5 months.

The holding period is no longer measured in years, but months.

You cant get 100-baggers that way.

Source: Dimson, Reuters

As Phelps said in his 100 to 1 In the Stock Market:

Thousands of investors have owned one or another of these [100 baggers] at sometime or other in the last forty years. Probably not one in a thousand has held his winner until it increased one hundredfold in value.

Patience is the key, but patience often eludes us.

Keep that in mind.

ASX 100-baggers

Are there any 100-bagger stocks on the ASX?

Yes.

In 2018, local fund MX Capital ran a study on all stocks ever listed in Australia and New Zealand over the then last 35 years.

Using a FactSet database, MX Capital found all the stocks that rose 10-fold and 100-fold in that time, itemising by sector.

Heres the chart:

Source: MX Capital

Out of 3,545 stocks surveyed, 81 were 100-baggers.

Thats about 2%.

Of all the stocks ever listed in Australia and New Zealand between 1983 and 2018, only 2% rose 100-fold.

Chasing unicorns is hard, especially when most of them are donkeys.

That said, about 15.3% of the stocks ended up as 10-baggers or more. Not nearly as lucrative, not nearly as elusive, either.

MX Capital didnt disclose the names of all 81 100-baggers, but it did highlight the most well-known ones:

Realestate.com.au

ARB

CSL

TPG Telecom

How many of you have held either of those stocks? And for how long?

How to find 100-bagger stocks with Chris Mayer

Now, as luck would have it, in 2022, my colleague Callum Newman had the pleasure of chatting with Chris Mayer.

The conversation was expansive but at its heart was the lucrative question: how do you find 100-bagger stocks?

For Mayer, the two biggest characteristics possessed by every 100-bagger is earnings growth and multiple expansion.

As Mayer wrote in his book:

So, again, you need huge growth in earnings. But the combination of rising earnings and a higher multiple on those earnings is really what drives explosive returns over the long-term.

When you get lots of growth and a low multiple you get the twin engine of 100-baggers. Thats where you really get some great lift, with both factors working in your favour.

You can listen to the conversation below.

Regards,

Kiryll Prakapenka,

Editor, Money Morning
Two people have been indicted  with one facing as much as 23 years in prison  on charges related to an alleged robbery in Auburn that left a victim with injuries.

Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci on Tuesday said that a grand jury returned an indictment against Courtney Donovan, 26, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, and Alasia Daniels, 26, of Auburn, related to the investigation of a robbery that occurred on July 21 in the area of Cottage Street in Auburn.

The indictment charges the pair with two counts of second-degree robbery, a violent felony, and one count each of endangering the welfare of a child. The indictment alleges that both defendants, individually and while acting in concert with each other, forcibly stole property from someone and that during the commission of the crime, caused physical injury to the victim.

Both are scheduled to be arraigned in Cayuga County Court, and both face a 15-year determinate prison sentence on the robbery charges.

Donovan faces an additional eight-year consecutive sentence on an unrelated felony charge, for an aggregate term of 23 years of imprisonment.

Grome Antonacci said in a news release that Donovan was remanded without bail at the Cayuga County Jail and is being held on an unrelated felony bench warrant issued when she fled the state of New York while pending sentencing. Daniels was arraigned at Centralized Arraignment Part and released against the recommendation of the district attorneys office.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On August 21, HAVAL, the SUV-dedicated brand under Great Wall Motor, officially put the all-new HAVAL H5 onto the market. Coming with six trim levels, the new model features a price spectrum spanning from 122,800 to 157,800 yuan. It is born from the TANK platform and features a body-on-frame construction.

Photo credit: HAVAL

In terms of its exterior, the all-new HAVAL H5 dons an entirely fresh design language, exuding a rugged charm reminiscent of American tough-style SUVs. The chrome-adorned front grille features the HAVAL logo, flanked by bold chrome accents, while the concise and functional design of the front fascia showcases a touch of elegance. Notably, the sizable polygonal headlamp clusters lend the vehicle a captivating gaze.

Photo credit: HAVAL

On the sides, the all-new H5 boasts slightly protruding wheel arches, adding a muscular aesthetic, while the stout C-pillar and black-painted D-pillar bring it closer to the style of certain American SUVs. The integration of multi-spoke alloy wheels contributes to the vehicle's fashionable appeal.

Photo credit: HAVAL

Moving to the rear, a minimalistic approach defines the design, with vertically aligned taillights connected by a decorative strip, and dual rectangular exhaust outlets at the bottom. Measuring 5,190mm in length, 1,905mm in width, and 1,835mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,140mm, the all-new HAVAL H5 stakes its claim as a large-sized SUV. Further underlining its capability, the vehicle features a 25 approach angle, 22 departure angle, 200mm ground clearance, and a water-wading depth of 600mm.

Photo credit: HAVAL

Inside, the all-new HAVAL H5 offers a balance between conventional ruggedness and contemporary trends. Sporting a floating instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch central touchscreen, the model retains a number of physical buttons in the center console. Noteworthy is its capacious cargo space, boasting a maximum depth of 1,965mm and a voluminous capacity of 2,116 liters.

Photo credit: HAVAL

Powering the all-new H5 is a 2.0L turbocharged engine, delivering a robust 218 horsepower (160 kW) in the gasoline version, paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The diesel variant offers a maximum power output of 166 horsepower (122 kW). The body-on-frame construction incorporates a front double-wishbone independent suspension and a rear five-link solid axle suspension, complemented by a part-time four-wheel-drive system and an Eaton mechanical differential lock.
Reporter

Andrew Roberto was raised his whole life on Saipan. He graduated from Saipan Southern High School, holds a degree from Northern Marianas College, and a BA in English from the University of Guam. He once worked for KUAM, UNO Magazine, and the Guam Daily Post.
Steven Carbullido, Guam Environmental Protection Agency board chairman, left, convenes a meeting of the board of directors at the agency's conference room in Tiyan on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.
(Reuters)  American Airlines Group Inc on Friday said it raised the value of its contract offer to pilots by more than $1 billion to match a 
A person walks past the U.S. Capitol building at sunset as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives reconvenes on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
Beijing (Gasgoo)- Chinese chiplet design company, Polar Bear Tech on Monday announced the recent completion of a new funding round worth of over 100 million yuan. This funding infusion comes from notable investors including Harvest Capital and Zhengwei Capital.

Photo credit: Polar Bear Tech

The capital raised in this round will primarily support the development of next-generation general-purpose and functional chiplets, along with the further advancement of high-speed interconnect chiplet interface and foundational technologies, said Polar Bear Tech.

Polar Bear Tech, born out of Tsinghua University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, boasts a strong team background and has solidified its position as a domestic leader in the chiplet domain. The companys accomplishments include the release of China's first intelligent processing chip based on heterogeneous chiplet integration, the "Qiming 930," which demonstrated a successful process validation within the national chip packaging supply chain.

The company has established a comprehensive algorithm, compilation, and software toolchain system, with its self-developed NPU achieving an average utilization rate of over 70% in mainstream AI model applications. This technology is poised to be widely applied in high-performance computing fields such as AI acceleration and intelligent driving in cloud, edge, and endpoint environments.

Launched in February of this year, the Qiming 930 intelligent processing chip is based on heterogeneous chiplet integration. It is the first high-performance computing SoC to complete full-chip design and national packaging validation using this approach. The central control chip of the Qiming 930 employs RISC-V CPU cores and can accommodate multiple functional chiplets through high-speed interfaces.

The product is suitable for various scenarios including AI inference, privacy computing, and industrial intelligence. Collaboration with multiple downstream AI partners for testing is already underway, said Polar Bear Tech.
Serving as a "compass" for the central and western China's automotive market, the Chengdu Motor Show 2023 is set to kick off on August 25th, running for a span of 10 days. This year's exhibition will feature a staggering 129 automobile brands, showcasing nearly 1,600 global premieres, new market releases, concept cars, and trending best-sellers.

Amidst the rivalry of Chinese domestic new energy vehicle (NEV) players, heavyweights like BYDs FANGCHENGBAO BAO 5 and IM Motors LS6 will make their appearance

Latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers ("CAAM") reveals that during the Jan.-Jul. period of this year, total automobile sales in China reached 15.626 million units, marking a 7.9% year-on-year increase. Among these, NEV sales tallied 4.526 million units, with a market share of approximately 29%. Furthermore, Chinas domestic brands have been securing over 50% of monthly market share throughout the first seven months, and even reaching 57.2% in July. Against this backdrop, indigenous brands, particularly those in the NEV sector, are expected to shine at this year's Chengdu Motor Show. Brands like BYD, Li Auto, NIO, XPeng, Leapmotor, VOYAH, GAC AION, ZEEKR, IM Motors, AVATR, ORA, ARCFOX, NETA Auto, AITO, GAC AION, Deepal , Hyper, and Yuanhang are all set to take part.

BAO 5; photo credit: BYD FANGCHENGBAO

By the insights we have, BYD is set to bring its four major brands, namely DENZA, Yangwang, BYD, and FANGCHENGBAO, to the Chengdu Motor Show for the first time as a group. Among these, the newly launched upscale brand, FANGCHENGBAO, will showcase its debut model, the off-road SUV "BAO 5."

IM Motors' LS6; photo credit: IM Motors

The LS6, a fire new SUV equipped with an 800V fast charging system, will make its debut on the stage of IM Motors, a premium NEV brand co-backed by SAIC Motor, Zhangjiang High-Tech, and Alibaba Group. Sources suggest that the LS6 will offer four exterior color options: Ferdinand Pink, Monet Green, Vermeer Yellow, and Raphael Brown. This new model is positioned as a mid-to-large full-electric SUV, boasting an acceleration time from 0 to 100km/h in under 3.5 seconds.

Yuanhang H8; photo credit: Yuanhang

Under the banner of Yuanhang, a brand under Dayun Auto, two new models, the Yuanhang H8 and Y6, are set to officially hit the market on the Chengdu Motor Show's opening day. According to previous reports, the Y6 will come with five trim levels, with pre-sale prices ranging from 329,800 yuan to 529,800 yuan, while the H8 will offer five variants with pre-sale prices ranging from 349,800 yuan to 559,800 yuan.

KAOLA; photo credit: ARCFOX

In addition, ARCFOX, the premium NEV brand under BluePark-Magna, has gone the extra mile to prepare an "interactive parent-child park," the first-ever automobile-themed park of its kind, with presale of the KAOLA, an electric vehicle that provides comprehensive solutions for traveling with infants, to kick off on spot. Geely's ZEEKR brand will display a lineup embracing all of its models, namely, the ZEEKR 001, the ZEEKR 009, and the ZEEKR X. HiPhi will showcase the HiPhi Y SUV, whose entire series will come standard with the second-gen NT intelligent gull-wing doors and all-speed active rear wheel steering system. Besides, presale of Geelys Galaxy L6 will begin, and SAIC Maxus Dajia MIFA7 MPV will make its debut

Global carmakers accelerate e-mobility pace in China

Facing the rise of China's domestic brands, global brands like Volkswagen, Peugeot, Citroen, Buick, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, and Kia continue to bolster their presence in the Chinese market. Beyond traditional oil-fueled vehicles, they are accelerating their foray into electric vehicles to enhance their competitive edge on the track. Additionally, ultra-luxury and luxury brands are not to be outdone. Brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, Lincoln, Jaguar Land Rover, Cadillac, Volvo, Genesis, and INFINITI are also set to make their mark in this year's Chengdu Auto Show.

BMW iX1; photo credit: BMW Group

Among them, BMW Group is launching a new electric offensive, releasing five innovative NEV models including the BMW iX1, the BMW i7 M70L, the all-new BMW M760Le, the BMW XM Label Red limited edition and the BMW XM 50e. These five models will simultaneously go on sale during the show.

Genesis G90; photo credit: Genesis

The Genesis X Speedium Coupe concept car is set to debut at the Chengdu Motor Show. In the meantime, the Genesis G90 and its long-wheelbase version will hit the market at the show.

Moreover, Mercedes-Benz is poised to put three new models onto the market at the Chengdu Motor Show: the new GLE Coupe, the new GLB, and the all-new Mercedes-AMG SL 63. Kia will only see the EV6 hit the market, but also debut the EV5's mass-produced version with the presale beginning at the same time. The domestically produced new Jaguar E-PACE will make its premiere at the Chengdu Motor Show...

Overall, whether domestic or foreign, all brands are launching new offensives. The auto show not only showcases the battle for dominance and competition but also reflects the vitality and consumer trends of the automotive market. The influx of new vehicles from the Chengdu Motor Show is expected to provide a much-needed boost to the "Golden September and Silver October", a traditional peak season for car shopping in China.
KYIVLawmakers in Ukraine want to decriminalize pornography to further push a reformist agenda, despite the ongoing violence of the war with Russia, reports the Kyiv Post.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker within Ukraine's unicameral Verkhovna Rada (literally the Supreme Council), is the one leading the charge to change existing Soviet Union-era pornography prohibitions.

The current law is nothing short of stupidity, Zheleznyak told Kyiv Post journalist Kateryna Zakharchenko in the August 17 report.

His proposal, which has collected enough signatures to become a draft law, is additionally a bid to cut law enforcement expenditures associated with prosecuting cam models and OnlyFans creators, as well as to curb extortion by corrupt police officers. From the Soviet Union times, we inherited this norm that one can get up to eight years behind bars if this one happens to send their nudes to another person, Zheleznyak said.

According to the independent Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), basic statutes on pornography are based on an international document over 100 years old.

That document is the International Convention for the Suppression of the Circulation of and Traffic in Obscene Publications.

This was an early international treaty attempting to require the prohibition of pornographic and obscene materials.

Most countries have not adopted this treaty, with several other states altogether denouncing its anti-pornography provisions.

[BRDO] calculated that in 2021, law enforcement officers spent about 85,500 working hours on cases related to the distribution of porn. This is approximately a year of daily work without holidays by 41 investigators, Zheleznyak noted on his Telegram channel.

An explanatory note attached to the draft law states that 704,667 people received a court summons in 2022 for charges related to Article 301 of Ukraines Criminal Code.

Article 301 pertains to pornography consumption.
LOS ANGELESThe WMA Team is pleased to announce the Webmaster Access Affiliate Conference will return September 12-15 to the luxurious Grand Resort Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, for its 20th anniversary conference.

Presented by 7 Stars Partners, the 2023 edition of Webmaster Access will feature more than 1000 attendees and 60 exhibitors from around the world participating in two full days of networking activities, educational seminars and exclusive parties.

The leading companies, affiliates and service providers from the global tech industry representing key sectors such as iGaming, Crypto, Dating, Nutra and Forex will take over the five-star property for the historic occasion.

This years conference will bring together the most influential players and super affiliates from the thriving iGaming vertical.

Some of the other WMA Limassol schedule highlights include the Welcome Party; the annual Elite Dinner; the notorious Traffic Cruise; Affiliate Girls Dinner; TikTok Meetup; Crypto Meetup; Happy Hours; the anticipated Closing Party and much more.

Attendees will have the opportunity to book meetings, showcase their services and explore new job prospects at the event and through the networking platform.

WMA Limassol will mark the latest chapter in the colorful history of the worlds leading tech conference that has united the international community in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Amsterdam and Hawaii, among other locales.

Visit webmasteraccess.com for additional details and the full schedule.

As always, the conference is free to attend for affiliates. Registration is powered by 1XBET.

The WMA Team is beyond excited to celebrate 20 years of Webmaster Access in the amazing city of Limassol this September!" said a WMA Team spokesman. "We are looking forward to a great event in this sensational Mediterranean paradise.

For additional details about WMA Limassol, contact [email protected].
Tomorrow has been been formally declared a public holiday to enable the electorate to vote without hassles from work-related commitments, as laid down in the Electoral Act.

In an interview, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe confirmed that tomorrow will be a public holiday to implement the requirements of the Electoral Act.

The spirit behind declaring elections day a public holiday is to enable the people to prepare for polling while others might also need to travel to their polling stations. It is also a way of encouraging all the people to cast their votes and if some of the people are committed to other things such as work they may fail to participate in this important exercise.

This also comes after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said it is ready to deliver free and credible elections tomorrow with most of the logistical arrangements now in place, ZEC chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba told a recent briefing for observers and media.

Former Mozambican President Mr Joachim Chissano and the head of the Sadc Observer Mission and former Zambian vice president Dr Nevers Mumba attended the briefing.

In her presentation, Justice Chigumba said ZEC was an independent body and was not influenced by Government, any organisation or individuals. Police Commissioner General Matanga also said that the Zimbabwe Republic Police has also put in place a cocktail of measures to ensure that this weeks harmonised elections are held in a peaceful environment.

Comm-Gen Matanga said save for a few isolated incidents of politically motivated violence, the electoral period has largely been peaceful, a guarantee that the country will hold credible polls.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police has put in place a cocktail of measures to ensure that the elections are held in a conducive environment that facilitates free, fair, peaceful and credible elections. The period leading up to elections has thus far been generally peaceful.

However, we have witnessed some few isolated incidents of both intra and inter party politically motivated violence, he said.

One of the incidents took place in the capital recently, where an opposition Citizens Coalition for Change supporter lost his life. The matter is still in the courts, while a post-mortem is also expected to be conducted.

Comm-Gen Matanga said the police has since deployed adequate officers across the country to ensure that the peace being experienced in the country prevails until after the polls.

We have deployed adequate officers. In addition, we have roped in Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services officers so that we boost our deployments. We want to assure the observer missions that safety is guaranteed. We will continue to monitor the situation, he said.

Zimbabweans go to the polls this Wednesday to elect the President, National Assembly members and representatives for local authorities. The election will use new delimitation boundaries.

The harmonised elections will see 11 candidates contesting the presidential polls, 518 National Assembly constituency candidates sponsored by political parties and 64 independent candidates, while 4 648 local authority candidates are contesting with 266 of them being independent.

Ninety-one local authority wards are uncontested.

Breaking News via Email
In a bold and controversial move, Nelson Chamisas Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has declared its intention to immediately switch from the troubled Zimbabwe dollar to the stable United States dollar if they emerge victorious in the upcoming elections. CCCs deputy spokesperson, Gift Siziba, made the announcement during a lively manifesto discussion on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.

Siziba emphasized that the CCCs first priority upon assuming office would be to discontinue the use of the bond note and adopt the US dollar as a temporary measure. This decision, according to Siziba, would be implemented while the government addresses the underlying economic fundamentals that have plagued Zimbabwes currency for years.

One of the CCCs primary concerns is the foreign currency auction system, which they propose scrapping entirely. Siziba argued that this system has resulted in colossal losses of nearly two billion dollars, due to rampant looting and resource siphoning. The party believes that by abandoning the auction system, they can curb corruption and ensure a more equitable distribution of resources.

Furthermore, the CCC has pledged to tackle the pervasive issue of illicit financial flows and both domestic and international debts head-on. Siziba asserted that their government would prioritize the reinforcement of Zimbabwes economic interests within the country, as illicit financial flows have been draining valuable resources. The party plans to implement measures to combat theft and corruption, while also addressing the issue of debt transparency and settlement.

Economist Gift Mugano supported CCCs stance, highlighting that the party is in sync with the markets sentiment. Mugano noted that the latest data from the central bank indicates that over 90% of transactions are now conducted in US dollars, effectively rendering the Zimbabwe dollar obsolete. He praised CCC for recognizing this reality and expressed agreement with their approach.

The CCCs announcement was made during a spirited Twitter discussion hosted by the Accountability Lab Zimbabwe, under the theme #MaPromiseManyama. The discussion aimed to delve into the manifestos of various political parties in anticipation of the upcoming polls.

While the CCCs proposal has both fervent supporters and vocal critics, there is no denying that their stance on monetary reforms and cracking down on illicit financial flows has struck a chord with many Zimbabweans. As the election draws nearer, all eyes will be on Chamisas party to see if they can deliver on their promises and bring about the change they envision for the struggling nation.

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Yves here. This is a careful and judicious article about the potential environmental downsides, and maybe some upsides, of coastal wind farms. Knowledgeable readers are encouraged to pipe up.

By Becki Robins, a freelance author who writes about science, nature, history, and travel. Her work has appeared in Science News, Comstocks Magazine, Hakai Magazine, and others. Originally published at Undark

Last year, the Biden administration announced an ambitious goal: enough offshore wind to power 10 million homes by 2030. The move would reduce carbon emissions, create jobs, and strengthen energy security. It would also help the United States  which was responsible for just 0.1 percent of the worlds offshore wind capacity last year  catch up with renewable energy leaders like China and Europe.

The plan is already well underway: Massive turbines are rising off the coast of Massachusetts, and more projects are planned up and down the U.S. coastlines. Advocates say these turbines, and other offshore projects around the world, are a crucial tool in minimizing the effects of climate change: The technology is touted as clean, renewable, and plentiful. And, since offshore wind farms arent located in anyones backyard, they are, at least in theory, less prone to the political pushback onshore wind power has faced.

It will take a lot of turbines to meet Bidens 2030 goal, and while wind turbines dont use fossil fuels or generate carbon emissions, they are enormous structures, with some reaching heights of more than 850 feet above the waters surface. (The Statue of Liberty, in comparison, stands a little over 300 feet.) As such, they will likely have some effect on the ocean environment.

Scientists already know some of the local impacts of wind farms. For example, they can, somewhat counterintuitively, reduce local wind speed. They also create their own local climates, and cause disturbances in the water in the form of a downwind wake. But what those changes might mean for marine life or for industries that depend on ocean resources is something that scientists are still trying to figure out.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., offshore wind has become the subject of bitter political disagreement and fear, fueling lobbying and lawsuits aimed at halting projects before they even begin. As researchers work to model potential outcomes, they stress that they dont want to derail offshore wind, but rather seek to better understand it so that any negative effects can be minimized, and positive effects maximized.

Scientists have a lot more work to do before they can know the true effect of thousands of offshore wind turbines, as well as how and where they should be built. There may even be questions they havent thought to ask yet, said Ute Daewel, a scientist who studies marine ecosystems at The Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon in Germany.

Its so complex, she said, that I sometimes think we probably also miss a lot of things that might happen.

Advocates of offshore wind turbines can point to a range of benefits  starting with their proximity to the places most in need of clean energy. Around 40 percent of the worlds population lives within 60 miles of the ocean. Energy demand in densely populated coastal regions tends to be high, so offshore wind farms will be located close to where they are most needed.

Evidence suggests offshore wind power could lower energy costs, especially during extreme events like cold snaps when energy demands are high and wholesale prices peak. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy says that, in addition to reducing carbon emissions, the technology would improve human health by cutting air pollution from fossil fuels.

But wind farms have also come under intense criticism from a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including conservation nonprofits worried about the impact on marine ecosystems, fishing industry groups concerned about access to traditional fishing grounds, coastal homeowners keen to maintain their views, and groups that appear to be funded by large oil companies hoping to stifle competition.

Some of those criticisms focus on the impact on animals. Like onshore wind, the turbines can kill birds, though some researchersstudying large-bodied waterbirds like sea ducks and geese have found they tend to avoid the turbines, which may mean less bird mortality offshore. Recent criticism from Republican lawmakers also suggests that the noise from offshore wind turbines might kill whales, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says theres no evidence to back up this concern.

Meanwhile, some research suggests wind farms might even help fish and other marine life. A lot of people say, hey, this is going to be a habitat improvement because theres going to be rocks on the bottom, which make artificial reefs, said Daphne Munroe, a shellfish ecologist at Rutgers University. And thats absolutely true. But its a shift away from what was there.

Munroe studies pressures on marine ecosystems, including the effects of climate, pollution, and resource exploitation. Shes also the lead author of a 2022 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management study on the impacts of offshore wind on surfclams  a type of clam commonly used to make chowders, soups, and stews. (The BOEM study was funded by the federal agency; Munroe has received funding from wind farm developers to conduct other projects.)

The fishing industry fears wind farms will affect their ability to yield a profitable catch  especially since the windy, shallow waters that support a rich diversity of sea life also tend to be ideal locations for turbines. Some scientists say these fears have been overblown  a 2022 study, for example, concluded that the Block Island Wind Farm located off the coast of Rhode Island does not appear to negatively impact bottom-dwelling fish. (Coastal regulators in the state of Rhode Island mandated the study be conducted and paid for by wind farm developers.) Others, like Munroe, say specific fisheries such as Atlantic surfclams will be significantly affected.

Surfclam fishing in wind farm areas, said Munroe, is logistically difficult, if not impossible, since vessels use dredges that drag though the sand to collect the clams. The presence of power cables on the ocean floor, she said, would make it too dangerous to use this kind of equipment around wind farms.

Installed boulders surrounding turbine foundations will also create obstacles, according to Munroe. Each of the foundations is going to have whats called scour protection, she said. So basically, big boulder fields that are going to be placed around the base of the turbine foundation in order to prevent the sand from scouring away.

Currently, there are no legal restrictions on fishing in windfarm areas, Munroe said, just physical ones. They could still get out there, but in order to fish efficiently and be able to get the catch they need and get back to the dock in a reasonable amount of time, it just wouldnt be feasible, she said. In her 2022 study, Munroe and her co-authors concluded that the presence of large offshore wind farms could cause fleet revenues to decline by up to 14 percent in some areas.

The industry has also been vocal about other consequences, such as habitat destruction and the possibility that the turbines sound might affect fish populations. In Maine, lobstermen worry that heavy mooring lines will drive their catch away. In Massachusetts, groups that represent fishing interests have filed lawsuits against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on the grounds that the agency failed to consider the fishing industry when it approved the 62-turbine Vineyard Wind project.

The Bureau made limited efforts to review commercial fishing impacts, wrote the plaintiffs in one of the Vineyard Wind lawsuits. The limited effort that was made focused almost solely on impacts to the State of Massachusetts and on the scallop fishery, despite other fisheries being more active in the lease areas.

Physical changes to the ecosystem, such as the placement of turbine foundations and scour protection, are some of the more obvious impacts of offshore wind turbines. But wind farms might elicit more subtle changes in local weather, affecting wind patterns and water currents, which models predict could reverberate through the food chain.

A 2023 study led by oceanographer Kaustubha Raghukumar, for example, found that turbine-driven alterations in wind speed could produce changes in ocean upwelling  a natural process where cold water from the deeper parts of the ocean rises to the surface  outside the bounds of natural variability. Those cold waters contain nutrients that support phytoplankton, the single-celled plants and other tiny organisms that form the basis of the oceanic food chain. Shifts in upwelling could have an impact on phytoplankton  although those impacts are still in question, particularly as climate change alters the equation.

Raghukumar and his colleagues at Integral, an environmental consulting company, based their predictions off historical data. But such an approach might not create an accurate picture of what will happen in the future as some scientists predict warmer global temperatures will produce stronger winds and increased upwelling, while others foresee localized decreases in upwelling. In their 2023 paper, which was funded by the California Energy Commission and the Ocean Protection Council, the authors noted that wind farms might reinforce  or even counteract  some of these climate change-driven changes in upwelling, but that all remains uncertain.

While Raghukumars study didnt model how changes in upwelling might affect marine life, other scientists are closely studying possible changes to the ecosystem, though these are also likely to be complex and difficult to predict. A 2022 papermodeled the effect that planned wind farms might have in the North Sea, off the coasts of the U.K. and Norway, and concluded that they could influence phytoplankton, which could alter the food web.

Daewel, the studys lead author, stopped short of drawing conclusions about what these changes might mean for the ecosystem as a whole. We cannot say if thats really a bad thing or a good thing because the ecosystem is very dynamic, especially in the North Sea, she said.

Changes to ocean processes could impact fish survival, but, again, no one is really sure how. Young fish need to be in a specific area at a specific time to find the right types of prey, said Daewel. So this redistribution of ecosystem parameters, that could mean that there might be a mismatch, or a better match also, for fishery life stages. But this is purely hypothetical.

With or without wind farms, climate change is already altering the timing of critical ecosystem processes, said Robert Dorrell, lead author of a 2022 paper that investigated the effects of offshore wind on seasonally stratified shelf seas  coastal regions where water separates during the spring into different layers, with warm water at the top and colder water at the bottom. Shelf seas only represent about 8 percent of the ocean, but the phytoplankton that bloom there generate an estimated 15 to 30 percent of the organic matter that forms the basis of the food web.
Yves here. One needs to discount some of Simon Watkins remarks here, particularly his assertion that China has imminent plans for Taiwans repatriation. Perhaps some China hawks have been bending his ear. However, Watkins does have deep oil industry contacts in the Middle East. so his commentary about developments in the region are worth considering seriously. The US completely botched our military adventure in Iraq, both wrecking the country and failing to rebuild its aging oil infrastructure for our and the locals profit. So no wonder China and Russia can gain ground there.

By Simon Watkins, a former senior FX trader and salesman, financial journalist, and best-selling author. He was Head of Forex Institutional Sales and Trading for Credit Lyonnais, and later Director of Forex at Bank of Montreal. He was then Head of Weekly Publications and Chief Writer for Business Monitor International, Head of Fuel Oil Products for Platts, and Global Managing Editor of Research for Renaissance Capital in Moscow. He has written extensively on oil and gas, Forex, equities, bonds, economics and geopolitics for many leading publications, and has worked as a geopolitical risk consultant for a number of major hedge funds in London, Moscow, and Dubai. Originally published at OilPrice

Through a large number of smaller deals, Russia and China are looking to increase their influence in the crucial Iraqi upstream oil sector.

The exploration and development contracts for China are done through a backdoor method, with firms that are less well-known than the big state players that attract little or no publicity.

China regards TotalEnergies $27 billion deal as a huge threat to its plans to close the net around Iraqs oil and gas sector.

Crucial to Iraqs plan to increase its oil production capacity to around 7 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 are the supergiant fields of Rumaila and West Qurna 2, as analysed in depth in my new book on the new global oil market order. Within the last two weeks, Russian state oil proxy Lukoil agreed to dramatically increase output from West Qurna 2. At around the same time, Daqing Drilling Engineering Company  a subsidiary of Chinese state oil proxy China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)  was awarded a US$192 million engineering, procurement, and construction contract for Rumaila. Both critical developments in Iraqs oil sector follow a comment from a very high-ranking official from the Kremlin  related exclusively to OilPrice.com at the time by a senior source in the European Unions (E.U.) energy security apparatus  that: By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq  and closer to the new Iran-Saudi axis  the end of Western hegemony in the Middle East will become the decisive chapter in the Wests final demise. The key question now for U.S. and its allies is what happens next in Iraq?

From Chinas and Russias perspective, things are going very well indeed, based on the plan they put into action after the U.S.s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, colloquially the nuclear deal) with Iran in May 2018. At the broadest level, the objective was to control all of Irans massive oil and gas resources between them, and then to extend this influence into Iraq, and then into Saudi Arabia so that they controlled all their oil and gas resources too. This would provide China with all the energy it needed to power its economic growth into the future so that it could overtake the U.S. as the worlds leading economic superpower by 2030 (the hard target date at that point in 2018). As also analysed in depth in my new book, it would allow China sufficient reserves not to worry about any supply disruptions caused by Western sanctions if it repatriated Taiwan by 2024 (the soft target date at that point). Having secured dominance across Asia Pacific, and with economic growth propelled further on the back of that, China saw little problem to its securing at least equal footing with the U.S. as the worlds top superpower. A key strategy to enable China to secure the oil and gas resources of Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia was to do so in as surreptitious a way as possible, in order not to provoke a direct confrontation with the U.S. until it felt itself ready to win in such a scenario. Russias key role in this phase of the plan was to act more overtly and aggressively to test where the boundaries of the West were in the event of certain provocations by the China-Russian alliance. In many ways, Russias invasion of Ukraine was part of this tactic.

Chinas path towards realising its objectives was made much easier by the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. Within just three months of this, China and Iran had agreed in principle nearly all the key energy, financial, and military cooperation policies that would be enshrined a year later in the Iran-China 25-Year Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement as first revealed anywhere in the world in my 3 September 2019 article on the subject and analysed in full in my new book on the new global oil market order. Aside from the obvious energy advantages to China of such an agreement, it was also aware that this pact would create an enormous perceived security threat to Irans arch-historical enemy, Saudi Arabia. From that point, then, China capitalised on Saudi Arabias fears to further leverage the relationship it had developed with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) via a face-saving offer over the Aramco IPO that enabled him to become heir to King Salman, as also analysed in the book. A spate of deals was done between Saudi Arabia and China, to the point that by the time of Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Saudi Arabia was already so aligned to China that Saudi Aramcos chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said: Ensuring the continuing security of Chinas energy needs remains our highest priority  not just for the next five years but for the next 50 and beyond. These developments, as China had anticipated back in May 2018, culminated in the 10 March 2023 agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore relations, brokered and monitored for the future by Beijing.

The longstanding division of tasks between China and Russia is evident in the current phase of their takeover of Iraqs oil and gas sector. Well-known Russian oil and gas firms are present in major exploration and development contracts across the country, including in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, which it uses to create trouble  and therefore leverage  with southern Iraq. West Qurna 2 is a key example of this approach. China, conversely, remains content to play the quieter, longer game, in order not to provoke direct confrontation with the U.S. and its allies. Hence, the multiple awards of anodyne-sounding contract-only projects  such as drilling-only, field maintenance-only, parts replacement-only, storage-only, technology-only, and so on  to unknown Chinese firms. The exploration and development contracts for China are done through this backdoor method, with firms that are less well-known than the big state players that attract little or no publicity but, as all companies in China are part of the state and are legally bound to work towards what they are told to do by the Communist Party, it doesnt make any difference to the eventual outcome, a senior source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry exclusively told OilPrice.com.

It is a testament to the effectiveness of Chinas low-profile strategy in several Iraqi oilfields that although Daqing Drilling Engineering Company has been present in the Rumaila field in one capacity or another since 2010, it has attracted no attention whatsoever. This is even odder, as Rumaila is Iraqs biggest oilfield, with an estimated 17 billion barrels in proven reserves, and current production of around 1.4 million bpd. Crucially, though, in Chinas and Russias plans for Iraq, Rumaila  which, together with Kirkuk, has produced around 80 percent of Iraqs entire cumulative oil production to date  urgently needs a reliable system through which the pressure in its wells can be maintained, otherwise production is liable to plummet. The system long envisaged for precisely this purpose is the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), which involves taking seawater from the Persian Gulf and transporting it to key oil production facilities such as Rumaila to boost pressure and sustain production. A functioning CSSP running into Rumaila is absolutely vital to Iraqs target of hitting 7 million bpd oil production in the first phase, and then boosting it upwards from there. Chinas CNPC  the parent of the Daqing Drilling Engineering Company active in Rumaila  was long one of the two top contenders (along with the U.S.s ExxonMobil) for putting the CSSP into place, before it was replaced by Western supermajor TotalEnergies as part of its US$27 billion four-pronged megadeal.

According to the E.U. energy security source, China regards this deal as a huge threat to its plans to close the net around Iraqs oil and gas sector, and it also believes it might threaten some of its activities in the countrys chief regional sponsor, Iran. Specifically, Iran and Iraq share many of their major oil reservoirs and that many of the two countries oilfields are just two parts of these same oil reservoirs. For example, Irans Azadegan oil reservoir (split into North and South fields) is the same reservoir upon which sits Iraqs Majnoon oilfield. The same feature applies to Azar (on the Iran side)/Badra (on the Iraq side), Yadavaran (Iran)/Sinbad (Iraq), Naft Shahr (Iran)/Naft Khana (Iraq), Dehloran (Iran)/Abu Ghurab (Iraq), West Paydar (Iran)/Fakka/Fauqa (Iraq), and Arvand (Iran)/South Abu Ghurab (Iraq), plus many others. If the French [TotalEnergies] are successful in rolling out the CSSP  which they certainly have the capability to do  then the pressure will be on the Iraqi government to plug all of the major fields into it at some point to maintain pressure in the wells, and that would force out the Chinese, said the E.U. source. So, these two sudden announcements [West Qurna 2, and Rumaila] will be directly connected to China beginning to take a more overt stance in the country, and to really start to flex its muscles with the [Iraqi] government over its long-term interests there, he concluded.
An underground network of wildlife lovers are illegally beaver bombing local rivers The Cool Down (David L)

Bird killing machines: New Zealand cools on cats to protect native wildlife Guardian (Kevin W)

Scientists Witnessed The Birth Of A New Accent In Antarctica IFLScience (Dr. Kevin)

Artists have forgotten how to draw Unherd (Kevin W)

Meditation: The Joy Trap The Taoist (David L)

#COVID-19

Climate/Environment

China?

Evil, Scary China Refuses To Passively Let Us Encircle It Caitlin Johnstone (Kevin W)

Niger

BREAKING: A Russian plane has landed in Niger capital, Niamey, carrying hundreds of Wagner fighters it allegedly picked up from Syria. Wagner has recruited thousands of veterans of the Syrian civil war, mostly men who fought on behalf of the Syrian government and defeated ISIS, pic.twitter.com/jvuYCtz7Y3  J. C. Okechukwu (@jcokechukwu) August 20, 2023 Rumors of War in West Africa Wayward Rabbler (Kevin W)

European Disunion

New Not-So-Cold War

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

X Blue users will need to send selfie, data to Israeli software company Al Jazeera (Kevin W)

Imperial Collapse Watch

Trump

Biden

George Bush was mauled for merely flying over New Orleans as citizens drowned during Katrina. Ted Cruz was mocked in a week-long news cycle for leaving Texas during its electricity crisis. Not only hasn't Biden visited Maui, but twice vacationed and has barely spoken on it. https://t.co/t3BJ0DhKUe  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 21, 2023 Biden says "Jill and I have a little sense of what it's like to lose a home" and then tells the story of when lightning struck his house in 2004 and says "I almost lost my '67 corvette and my cat." According to a report from the time, the lighting strike caused "a small fire pic.twitter.com/V8IBfoZuEW  Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 22, 2023 Democrats arent laughing about the Hunter Biden debacle anymore New York Post

2024

I cant get into peoples heads: Kamala Harris tries to reshape her public image ahead of 2024 Politico. Userfriendly: Fucking clueless. You can tell how badly they want to blame everyone hating Kamala on racism and sexism ,but know it will fall flat so only hint at it. Moi: If Kamala got into my head, I would need a lobotomy.

Hardline conservatives dial up pressure on McCarthy amid shutdown threat The Hill

Our No Longer Free Press

Tracking Orwellian Change: The Aristocratic Takeover of Transparency Matt Taibbi. Also featured in Water Cooler yesterday, but important not to miss.

Internet of Shit

AI

Wells Fargo defeats shareholder lawsuit over fake job interviews Yahoo! Finance (Kevin W)

Doctors Must Pay for Privilege of Getting Paid Newser (Dr. Kevin)

New York and California each lost $ 1 TRILLION after major financial firms moved to Texas and Florida Daily Mail (Kevin W)

The Bezzle

Techs broken promises: Streaming is now just as expensive and confusing as cable. Ubers cost as much as taxis. And the cloud is no longer cheap. Business Insider (Paul R). And you are surprised? We warned you about Uber and the cloud.

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (embarrassingly having languished in my inbox). Upstater:

My son Matt and I were in Bonaire recently for 10 days of snorkeling and sun. Matt has an underwater camera and snapped this coral with 2 sea urchins and a pair of eyes peering out at him from the center of the coral! We think its a baby puffer fish, but maybe a reef expert can comment?

And a bonus:

I stayed in the mountains for a week. Poor cow hurt its leg. Swiss ambulance to the rescue . pic.twitter.com/cnN4bwH9jJ  Severin Alex Buhler  (@SeverinAlexB) August 19, 2023

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Photo credit: The Stephen A. Smith Show

Sage Steele and Stephen A. Smith appear to have different perspectives on ESPNs tolerance of free speech.

Steele recently departed ESPN after settling a lawsuit that been ongoing since April 2022, when she alleged her contract was breached and free speech rights were violated. Smith, meanwhile, routinely reminds everyone that he appears to have no limits on what he can or cant talk about, despite being an ESPN employee. That includes being able to talk about former ESPN employees who sued the company.

After Steele did her first post-ESPN interview with Megyn Kelly last week, Smith addressed his former colleagues departure on his podcast. According to Smith, everyone should be able to say everything, pitching ESPN and all companies on a sort of unregulated, Wild West method of governing its employees.



I think its a mistake when a corporation tries to silence anybody, Smith said. I think you let everybody speak, that way the company doesnt get blamed for the positions and individual takes. The individual has to be culpable for the words that we articulate and the impact that it has ultimately on us.

If I say something and it ultimately costs ESPN dollars and as a result ESPN says, You got to go, theyre not saying I have to go because of my politics. Theyre saying I have to go because I compromised their bottom line. And I think thats the position all corporations should take, as opposed to trying to curtail or silence anybody because you think their individual words are going to be a reflection on the whole. It is not, when you let everybody speak.

Steele sued ESPN after she was sidelined for criticizing the companys COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Jay Cutlers podcast in Sept. 2021. During the interview with Cutler, Steele called ESPNs policy sick and scary, admitting she reluctantly got vaccinated to keep her job. She also questioned former President Barack Obama identifying as Black when he was raised by his white mother.

Steele believes being temporarily removed from ESPNs airwaves was a hypocritical move by the company considering other employees have commented on controversial political issues without repercussion. But one of those employees who previously weighed in on controversial political issues without repercussion was Steele herself, having made the same comment about Obama during a 2014 appearance on The View.

Calling ESPNs vaccine mandate sick and scary, however, wasnt just weighing in on a controversial political issue. It was a very public criticism of her employer, which is something even Smith usually tries to avoid. Smith noted that he has spoken to Steele since her breakup with ESPN and teased that she will be making an upcoming appearance on his podcast.

[The Stephen A. Smith Show]
The political tension that preceded this weeks special session of the Tennessee General Assembly was also present throughout its first day of proceedings on Monday. Hundreds of protesters representing several groups traveled to the state Capitol, and before the first legislative sessions even began, Democratic lawmakers were decrying the actions of their Republican peers  in regard to both proposed House rules and the way protesters were treated.

The special session follows Marchs Covenant School shooting, in which three staff members and three young students were shot to death. Because this years legislative session concluded without passing any significant gun reform  despite widespread and bipartisan calls for action  the General Assembly was called back to Capitol Hill by Gov. Bill Lee. Lees Republican colleagues opposed the decision to call the special session, and critics arent hopeful for meaningful action on gun legislation. The bills that have been filed so far place an emphasis on school security, mental health and juvenile discipline both inside and outside schools.

By 8:30 a.m., local religious leaders and community members linked hands to circle the Capitol and pray, and throughout the day, students, parents and physicians held press conferences. Members of far-right militant organization the Proud Boys were present, as were a few other armed protesters. A swearing-in ceremony for Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis)  who was expelled alongside Nashville Rep. Justin Jones for protesting gun violence in March, but later returned to his seat  was scheduled to occur at Legislative Plaza but moved indoors due to extreme heat. A limited number of protesters were allowed into the Capitol, with state troopers citing capacity issues despite open, albeit roped-off, space. Those inside were separated and heavily monitored by state troopers. Protesters water was confiscated before entering the building, with some members alleging that the buildings water fountains had been turned off. (Speaker Cameron Sexton later said this wasn't accurate.) Only one side of the House gallery was open to the public, while the other was reserved for media, lobbyists and staff.

Both Rep. Bryan Richey (R-Maryville) and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) unsuccessfully attempted to end the session almost as soon as it began. Some Democratic lawmakers complained that their bills would not be considered, but the legislation was deemed to fall outside the governors parameters for the special session.

In the House chamber, representatives largely argued about the new rules, which state that if a member causes a material disruption, they can be ignored for three days on the first offense and for the rest of the special session by the third event. If responses fail to strictly conform to the question four times, a member could be prevented from debate for the rest of the session. Those in the gallery can be cleared for disorderly conduct, and they arent allowed to have signs. Several gallery attendees held signs during Mondays session, including some indicating that they were Covenant parents. The rules passed.

This is absurd! Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) shouted from the House floor before the rules were passed. This is an affront to representative democracy.

Throughout the session, Reps. Jones and Pearson criticized the legislature for attempting to silence the people and for failing to enact meaningful gun reform.

Today, we came to watch the beginning of the special session, however, what we witnessed is a disappointing rules package that limits our ability to identify who we are in the gallery, reads a statement released on behalf of the Covenant Families Action Fund, a nonprofit created by Covenant School parents and community members. We came to observe our legislature in action. We sat quietly, prayed for and listened to the members. Instead, with the new no sign rule, we felt we lost a bit of dignity in our identity as parents of survivors.
Frontrunner in Argentinas presidential elections calls China an assassin, points to the countrys LACK OF FREEDOM

Javier Milei, currently the frontrunner in Argentina's presidential elections, has called China as an "assassin."

He made this remark during an interview following his unexpected victory at the South American nation's Aug. 13 primary elections. The conservative-leaning Milei shook the country's political establishment after receiving more votes than the ruling Peronist coalition and a pro-business opposition bloc. If the independent Milei gets elected as president in October, it would generate shock waves across a region largely ruled by leftist leaders.

Milei told Bloomberg News on Aug. 16 that he plans to freeze relations with China once elected. He expounded: "People are not free in China. They can't do what they want and when they do it, they get killed. Would you trade with an assassin?"

Under the leadership of paramount leader Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party typically silences dissidents with lengthy prison sentences. Beijing has been accused of detaining more than one million members of the Uyghur minority inside concentration camps at China's western Xinjiang region. While the U.S. has called the campaign a genocide, Chinese authorities have downplayed criticisms by calling the camps "vocational training centers."

Severing ties with Beijing could have serious trade repercussions for Buenos Aires. China is the second-largest buyer of Argentine exports, and the South American nation's trade deficit with Beijing could widen if the latter stops imports.

Moreover, China provides a crucial $18 billion currency swap line with the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) that is being used to pay the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The BCRA has been increasingly reliant on the currency swap to support the Argentine peso. In July, Buenos Aires used Chinese yuan to repay some of the money it owes the IMF amid a dwindling supply of the U.S. dollar. (Related: Move over USD: Argentina uses Chinese yuan to settle IMF debt.)

Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at an Aug. 17 press briefing that Milei "would have a completely different conclusion as to the freedom and security in China" if he visited.

Milei wants to sever ties with China, pull out of Mercosur trading bloc

Aside from severing ties with China, Milei also promised to pull out of the Mercosur trading bloc. The bloc established in the early 1990s lists Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Venezuela as its five core members. However, Venezuela's membership status was suspended in 2016 for failing to comply with Mercosur's rules.

Beset by internal divisions, the group has struggled to implement a free trade deal with the European Union agreed four years ago. Milei did not hide his dissatisfaction with Mercosur, disparaging it as "a customs union of poor quality that creates trade distortions and hurts its members."

The Argentinean presidential frontrunner has reiterated his blanket refusal to do any kind of business with "socialists" from inside and outside South America. Thus, he lumped Brazil  Argentina's biggest trade partner currently led by leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva  in the same category as China. Milei also called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a "dictator."

Milei's animosity toward leftist leaders also extended to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Incidentally, these three countries are the top economies of Latin America.

But Milei doesn't care, saying: "I don't have socialist partners." In contrast, the candidate described his relationship with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro  Lula's predecessor  as "excellent."

The candidate also put in his two cents on the 2024 elections in the U.S., where former U.S. President Donald Trump is leading in polls for the Republican Party nomination.

"That's up for Americans to decide," said Milei, who isn't keen on being compared to the real estate mogul-turned-chief executive. His remark followed a question about whether he would like Trump to return to the White House.

Visit CommunistChina.news for more stories about China and its relations with other countries.

Watch Javier Milei denouncing the socialism that has infected Argentinean society in this interview with America 24.

This video is from the WhatsInRoom101 channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Generals warn of aggressive Chinese military expansion into Latin America.

Anti-crime, anti-China presidential candidate in Ecuador ASSASSINATED.

Argentina, Iran apply to join BRICS group of emerging economies.

Sources include:

Bloomberg.com

Brighteon.com
Canadian government to spend $4.3M on abortions and birth control to manage indigenous populations

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberal party has announced that it is designating $4.3 million to pay for access to sexual and reproductive rights for indigenous people there, but many are concerned that the project is really an effort to make abortions and contraception more readily accessible to a group that has historically been subject to forced sterilization.

The money will be sent to reproductive and sexual health projects being carried out by the National Council of Indigenous Midwives, the Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia, the Native Womens Association of Canada and other groups.

Canada already has a very liberal stance on abortion, allowing women to have a child aborted at any time throughout pregnancy until the moment of birth without providing any justification. It is the only democratic nation in the world that does not have laws that protect preborn life, according to LifeSiteNews.

Unfortunately, Canada has a long history of mistreating indigenous people, including subjecting them to forced sterilizations and abortions in keeping with eugenics legislation that considered them to be inferior.

Campaign Life Coalition Communications Director Pete Baklinski asked: What do the Trudeau Liberals have against indigenous peoples that they are aggressively funding the killing of their treasured offspring by promoting abortion in their communities?

He added: I thought every child matters when it comes to respecting the lives of indigenous peoples, especially their children? I guess not for the Trudeau Liberals.

Baklinski said that all Canadians should be outraged by the targeting of indigenous people for extinction.

Indigenous women have long been subjected to coerced abortions and sterilizations

Earlier this year, a class action lawsuit was filed against the government of British Columbia on behalf of a group of indigenous women who underwent coerced abortions or sterilizations, a practice the suit says has been going on since 1973.

Canada has more than 600 indigenous communities, and indigenous people make up around five percent of the Canadian population, residing largely in the northern part of the country.

According to the lawsuit, the government of British Columbia played a role in fostering an atmosphere of racism in hospitals that received provincial funding.

The suit asserts: Coerced sterilization and abortion involving Indigenous women was, and remains, a form of sexism and genocide  a practice directed at eradicating Indigenous people and their cultures.

The suit has two representative plaintiffs. One is a member of the Penticton Indian Band. She said that before delivering her second son via C-section, she was asked to sign papers in the hospital that turned out to be authorization for a tubal ligation  a type of surgical sterilization that she never wanted. She said she became depressed when she and her husband later tried to have another child and she realized what had happened.

The other representative is a 41-year-old member of the Wetsuweten Nation who says that she was scheduled to get an abortion as a teen after being pressured by her mother, boyfriend and the attending doctor at the hospital. However, when she told the medical professionals that she had changed her mind and wanted to keep her baby, they ignored her, holding her down and putting a mask on her face that rendered her unconscious; when she awoke, her baby was gone.

Although there is no official count of the number of women who have been sterilized without their consent or knowledge, Senator Yvonne Boyer, who has Indigenous Metis heritage, estimates the figure to be more than 12,000.

Boyer noted: Whenever I speak to an Indigenous community, I am swamped with women telling me that forced sterilization happened to them.

The Canadian government under the guidance of the Trudeau Liberals is the most pro-abortion government in the history of the country. Since 2020, they have spent more than$1 billion promoting contraception and abortion.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

VancouverSun.com

APNews.com
Driverless car gets stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco a few days after CPUC approves robotaxi expansion services

A few days after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) agreed to expand driverless taxi services in San Francisco, a Cruise AV self-driving robotaxi was immobilized in the wet concrete of a construction site on Golden Gate Avenue between Fillmore and Steiner Street.

The Chevrolet Bolt EV-based autonomous vehicle (AV), equipped with roof-mounted sensors, was spotted by Paul Harvey, a 74-year-old retired contractor residing in the Western Addition neighborhood. The car appeared tilted forward, its front wheels ensnared in the setting concrete.

"I thought it was funny," Harvey said during an interview with San Francisco Gate. "I was kind of pleased because it illustrated how creepy and weird the whole thing is to me."

Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, promptly confirmed the incident through a reply to a post on "X," formerly known as Twitter, assuring the public that the vehicle had been retrieved. "One of our AVs drove into a construction area and stopped in wet concrete. This vehicle has already been recovered, and we're in communication with the city about this," the statement read.

However, this wasn't the first time AVs have been involved in this kind of incident. For instance, on August 11, ten Cruise AVs blocked a street in San Francisco for approximately 20 minutes due to "wireless connectivity issues" caused by the high volume of people attending the Outside Lands music festival in the North Beach district of San Francisco.

In January, even before the expansion of robotaxi services, a Cruise driverless vehicle reportedly failed to stop in an area where firefighters were operating. Similarly, in May, a Waymo AV blocked a fire vehicle while attempting to reverse into a fire station.

Still, self-driving companies like Cruise and Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet (Google's parent company), constantly defended their safety records.

San Francisco officials want to stop 24/7 robotaxi operations after a series of unfortunate incidents

No wonder, San Francisco officials are now taking a stand against the rapid expansion of robotaxi services in the city following the traffic jam and getting stuck in wet concrete incidents. (Related: Self-driving cars are causing traffic incidents all over San Francisco.)

City Attorney David Chiu has taken a proactive stance by filing motions with the CPUC. The motion, submitted with the backing of city officials, contends that allowing companies like Cruise and Alphabet-owned Waymo to operate without limitations on geographic area, service hours and fleet size could bring about "serious harm" in the city. The motions underscore the urgency of temporary permit suspensions to thoroughly assess and mitigate potential risks.

Aaron Peskin, the president of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, echoed this concern. Peskin intended to appeal the decision of the CPUC after allowing paid robotaxi services throughout the city.

Even residents of San Francisco have been really vocal about their fears of becoming a high-stakes testing ground for unproven AV technology. The spate of crashes and breakdowns, coupled with the recent stuck-in-concrete incident, has strengthened their arguments that unchecked robotaxi expansion could endanger transportation.

Learn more about self-driving cars at RoboCars.news.

Despite these mishaps, Cruise is expanding to other cities. Watch this clip of a Cruise vehicle in Metro Phoenix.

This video is from the channel Calaz InfoWarrior on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

WAYMO PROBLEMS: Reported accidents involving Waymo driverless cars in San Francisco MULTIPLIED SIXFOLD this year.

Young protesters use traffic cones to paralyze self-driving cars in San Francisco.

Robotaxi malfunctions cause major traffic jam in San Francisco a day after CA approves expanding services.

Self-driving cars could easily turn into self-crashing cars that deliberately target and kill humans, expert warns.

Study finds lasers can blind self-driving cars and make them crash into objects or pedestrians.

Sources include:

MSN.com 1

SFGate.com

DNYUZ.com

ZeroHedge.com

MSN.com 2
Judge Laura Viar, who authorized raid on Kansas newspaper over probe of local restaurateurs drunken-driving record, has her own DUI history

Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, who authorized the police raid on the Marion County Record newsroom over its probe into a local restaurateur's drunken-driving record, has her own history of driving under the influence (DUI)

According to reports, Viar had been arrested twice for DUI in two different Kansas counties in 2012 -- once on Jan. 25 in Coffey County and again on Aug. 6 in Morris County. Viar's last name was Allen at the time, and she was working as the top prosecutor in Morris County.

Despite those issues, Viar was reelected as county prosecutor several times. In late 2022, she was chosen to fill a slot as a magistrate judge in the 8th Judicial District after the sitting judge retired.

Birds of the same feather flock together

These DUI arrests were significant because the warrant she approved for the controversial raid came in response to the Record digging into the DUI history of restaurant owner Kari Newell.

The raid authorized by Viar came after Newell complained about the newspaper's investigation into her criminal background. Newell, a local restaurant and catering company owner, was upset that Record reporters used a public state database to confirm she lost her drivers license over a DUI.

Meanwhile, authorities have returned cellphones, computers and other equipment to the Record less than a week after a the raid was widely criticized as a likely violation of federal law.

The Aug. 11 raid drew national and international headlines because it seemed to run counter to long-established press freedoms and guarantees.

"It's very rare because it's illegal," said First Amendment attorney Lynn Oberlander. "It doesn't happen very often because most organizations understand that it's illegal."

It all started from a confidential tip to the Record about the DUI history of Newell. (Related: CITY IN COLLAPSE: Understaffed Austin police took so long to respond to DUI accident that the driver sobered up and avoided charges.)

Instead of publishing the information, the Record chose to inform Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez and Marion County Police Chief Gideon Cody about the source's allegation that officers were aware a local resident couldn't legally drive but were ignoring the fact that she had lost her license supposedly due to her history of driving under the influence. The paper didn't use Newell's name.

Days later, Newell publicly accused the Record of feeding the information to a councilwoman, Ruth Herbel. The paper argued that the same source who made the initial allegation also sent the information to Herbel.

Police chief has grudge against the Record

Police then raided the Kansas newspaper after obtaining a search warrant from Viar, citing a criminal investigation into "identity theft" regarding Newell's records found online. Officers also seized devices at Herbel's home.

Cody, who was sworn in on June 1 after retiring from the Kansas City Police Department, didn't like the Record either. The paper has been looking into allegations of misconduct against Cody based on anonymous tips from several of his former colleagues.

A Record reporter reportedly approached Cody seeking comment about the allegations, and in response the police chief threatened to sue the paper.

Cody declined to confirm whether he threatened to sue the paper or whether the raid was linked to the paper looking into his background.

Watch this video about the a federal judge criticizing Kansas police for unconstitutional traffic stops.

This video is from the America at War channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

FAKE NEWS: ESPN photoshopped Tiger Woods DUI arrest photo to make him look less ragged and deranged.

Yes, a California man was charged with a DUI for consuming caffeine heres how the insanity happened.

Left-wing Rutgers profs outraged that police actually arrested an illegal alien for DUI.

Sources include:

NPR.org

Kansas.com

Brighteon.com
The next major war is reportedly about to begin, and D-day has already been chosen

Not another one. As I have repeatedly warned my readers, leaders all over the globe seem to have come down with a really bad case of war fever. Instead of sitting down and attempting to find solutions through diplomacy, many of our leaders seem quite eager to use military force to settle matters these days. There is no peaceful end to the war in Ukraine on the horizon, China is making preparations to invade Taiwan, and the shadow war in the Middle East could easily erupt into a full-blown regional conflict. But in this article I am going to focus on the next war that is reportedly about to begin. A group of nations in western Africa known as ECOWAS is preparing to invade Niger with the approval of the EU and the Biden administration, and CNN is reporting that D-Day has already been chosen

(Article by Michael republished from TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com)

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS says it has chosen an undisclosed D-Day for a possible military intervention to restore Nigers democratically elected president following last months coup. Abdel-Fatau Musah, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace & Security of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc, said that military forces are ready to go anytime the order is given for military intervention in Niger. The D-day is also decided, which we are not going to disclose, Musah told journalists after the two-day meeting of West African defense chiefs in the Ghanaian capital of Accra.

Musah went on to ominously declare that his alliance will not put up with any more coups in Niger and that they are putting a stop to it at this time

The commissioner said the bloc had decided that the coup in Niger is one coup too many, for the region, adding that there will be no further meetings of ECOWAS defense chiefs on the issue. We are putting a stop to it at this time, Musah said in his concluding remarks.

But what most people in the western world dont realize is that there is a lot more to this story than we are being told.

For decades, puppet politicians have allowed wealthy western nations to greatly exploit Niger. It has vast quantities of gold and uranium, but the vast majority of the population of Niger continues to live in complete and utter poverty.

This is why the coup is so popular in Niger. The population is sick and tired of being raped by France, and now the French are deeply concerned that they may no longer be able to exploit their former colony

A powerful undercurrent of the military coup in Niger is anti-French sentiment emerging from a sense that Niger has been exploited by its former colonial master France. Supporters of the coup have protested at the French embassy and otherwise attacked French interests in Niger. One particularly prominent complaint has to do with French use of Nigers rich resources, especially gold and uranium, while Niger remains one of the poorest nations in the world. Frances President Emmanuel Macron, who is fresh off the heels of riots and an uprising in Paris largely perpetrated by immigrants from Frances former colonies, has warned Niger against any attack on Frances interests.

Of course you wont hear any of this on the corporate news networks.

They will just tell you that the coup leaders are bad and the upcoming invasion is good.

And so that is what most people will believe.

By the way, did you know that the U.S. currently has more than 1,000 troops in Niger?

The United States has 1,100 troops in Niger, where it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars training security forces to battle terrorist organizations. Niger is a critical part of Americas overall counter-terrorism strategy, especially given the rise of Islamist extremist groups in Africa.

Why did we need to have so many troops there?

Sadly, it seems like we have troops almost everywhere.

Ultimately, the U.S. military is used to keep order all over the world, and that often means protecting western economic interests.

Meanwhile, we have just learned that the Netherlands and Denmark have agreed to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets

The Netherlands and Denmark will provide Ukraine with much sought-after F-16 aircraft in an agreement hailed by President Volodymyr Zelensky as historic. Kyiv has urgently been calling on its Western allies to provide F-16 jets, as its slow-moving counteroffensive is hampered by Russian air superiority. Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelensky at Eindhoven airport, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his country would commit to delivering F-16 aircraft to Ukraine once the conditions for such a transfer have been met.

Zelensky has wanted F-16s for a long time.

Now he is going to get them.

Both sides just continue to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, and this is going to be such a huge story in the months ahead.

On the other side of the world, it appears that the Chinese military has been systematically practicing for an invasion of Taiwan

The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command has released a provocative video showing troops practicing a coastal invasion of Taiwan. The video first appeared on the social media site WeChat Thursday, and features waves of PLA soldiers storming beaches, including armored vehicles and tanks driving into attack positions. The clip didnt specifically name Taiwan, but given the Eastern Theatre Command oversees the Taiwan Strait area, its being widely interpreted as a warning and threat aimed at the self-ruled island which is backed by the West.

The moment that China launches such an invasion, the U.S. and China will be at war.

We are living at a time of wars and rumors of wars, but most people in the western world dont understand any of the things that I just shared with you.

In fact, most of our young people would have a really difficult time even finding Niger, Ukraine or Taiwan on a blank map of the world.

But eventually conflict will arrive on our doorstep too, and then everyone will be paying attention

Read more at: TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Maui water is now UNSAFE to drink even with filters, warn county authorities

Maui County, Hawaii, is warning local residents that they should not drink tap water, because there is currently no "way to make it safe" even with filters following the Lahaina fires.

Residents of both Lahaina and Upper Kula are being urged to drink only bottled water from elsewhere because deadly chemicals are lurking in the water, just like they so often do after wildfire events in California and other such places.

"It's alarming that it may be in the water system for a while," said Anne Rillero, who along with her husband Arnie have decided to eat frozen pizza off of paper plates for the time being to avoid exposure.

Rillero, a retired conservation communication specialist who has lived on the island of Maui for 22 years, would normally not have to worry about toxic water. But because of the fires, this is a whole new problem for residents of Maui.

(Related: It seems like the Maui fires were an intentional act of terrorism rather than a natural weather phenomenon.)

After a major wildfire, urban water supplies remain TOXIC for a long while

The government of Hawaii says Brita home water filtration devices are inadequate to purify the toxic water, as are common filters attached to refrigerators and sinks. Even whole-house water systems are unlikely to address the "extreme contamination" that occurs to water systems after a local fire.

"They will remove some of it, but levels that will be acutely and immediately toxic will get through," commented Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University researcher and expert in water contamination following a wildfire in an urban area.

The Maui fires damaged hundreds of drinking water pipes throughout the city, resulting in a massive pressure loss that allows toxic chemicals, along with metals and bacteria, to seep into water lines.

"You can pull in contaminated or dirty water from the outside, even when those lines are underground," added David Cwiertny, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Iowa.

Aerial imagery and damage assessment data generated by Vexcel Data shows that about 460 buildings in Lahaina remain undamaged. Each of these structures will see residents return, hence the government warnings to them to avoid drinking the water for the time being.

Local residents are instead encouraged to use bottled water for all their needs, or to fill their own jugs at special tankers called water buffalos, which have been brought in to the hardest-hit areas to help residents stay hydrated.

The Hawaii state health department has ordered Maui County, which operates water delivery systems for most of the island's residents, to commence testing of the water for 23 different chemicals. Keep in mind that there are many more potentially deadly chemicals lurking in the tainted water  these are just the ones for which the federal government has established drinking water contamination limits.

Back in 2018 in California, those affected by the infamous Camp Fire received similar messages from four separate government agencies warning them that their drinking water was contaminated.

Up until just a few years ago, it was generally believed that the only water contamination following a wildfire occurred right at the source, such as in a spot where ash runs into a river or reservoir used for drinking.

The 2017 Tubbs Fire in California, followed by the Camp Fire a year later, "are the first known wildfires where widespread drinking water chemical contamination was discovered in the water distribution network," reads a recent study published by researchers at the American Water Works Association.

The latest news about the Maui fires and other natural disasters striking America can be found at Disaster.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
Two students in Northern Arizona Universitys (NAU) School of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) have been selected as the first recipients of a new culinary scholarship created in memory of chef Tomaso Maggiore.

The Tomaso Maggiore Culinary Arts Foundation Scholarship will fund expenses not covered by other aid for one junior and one senior in HRM each year. Among the uses for this funding are tuition, fees and various supplies needed for studies.

The scholarship's initial recipients are junior Bryce Leach and senior Kayte Heese, who are both majoring in hotel and restaurant management at NAU -- Heese with an additional minor in nutrition.

Heese said the scholarship helped her afford her education, with funds going to tuition and class fees and supplies throughout the coming 2023-2024 school year.

She has been cooking since she was 12 years old.

I became so drawn to it, and it just became the love that throughout my life has always been something Im super passionate about, she said.

She grew up in Tucson -- and chose her high school based on its culinary program -- where her mentor helped her decide on a career path.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her plans shifted from culinary school to NAUs School of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

I love Flagstaff and I love the program, she said.

She added: Its not just learning the basic stuff, its stuff that Ill actually be able to translate into my job.

Leach similarly said his passion for cooking had started early.

"It all stemmed from being in the kitchen with my grandma and watching her make pies and meatloaf -- grandma home-style cooking," he said. " ... It's interesting how something as simple as food can make people happy and bring them together just by making a meal for them."

Leach's enjoyment of cooking eventually grew into a desire to run his own restaurant. He earned an associate's degree in Estrella Mountain Community College's culinary program and will now be transferring to NAU this fall as a junior.

Heese also said her nearly two years so far working at the Shift Kitchen and Bar has helped put her training into action.

They have been so amazing to me, she said. I cant even describe the words to how great its been there. Im so incredibly lucky to have that job and to have people that care about me and care about my learning.

NAU's HRM major includes classes ranging from revenue and cost control to mixology to accounting to classes specifically about wine, coffee and cheese.

Leach said he hopes to teach culinary arts to other students eventually after spending some time building experience and making connections.

What I want to end up doing is passing my experience onto a generation of upcoming business owners, he said.

Heese is also focusing on the culinary and restaurant side of her major, although she isnt yet sure of her plans for after graduation.

Right now, its just trying to figure out exactly what I want to do in the culinary industry, because I love working on the line and being a part of the kitchen environment, but I feel like with this degree, I can gain more than just doing that, she said.

The scholarship, which was first announced June 15, comes from a partnership with the Tomaso Maggiore Culinary Arts Foundation and will begin with the start of the fall semester.

The foundation was created by the Maggiore family and the Maggiore Group, which is led by chef Joey and Cristina Maggiore and Flora Tersigni, to invest in students seeking to join the restaurant industry.

With company core values of passion, innovation and impact, the Maggiore family and The Maggiore Group created the Tomaso Maggiore Culinary Arts Foundation because we are committed to helping the next generation have access to higher education, inclusive learning opportunities, and pathways to careers and success while supporting students pursuing their passion for the culinary arts, Tersigni said in NAU's announcement.

This partnership shows the value of investing in culinary arts and the supportive community creating opportunities for Lumberjacks to excel in the hospitality industry, added NAU Foundation CEO Nick Lobejko.

Applications for next years Tomaso Maggiore Culinary Arts Foundation Scholarship will open in January 2024 for current sophomores and juniors in HRM at NAU.

More information, including ways to apply, can be found at nau.edu/office-of-scholarships-and-financial-aid/scholarships/.
Study: Developed nations requiring the most infant vaccines have the highest childhood mortality rates

According to a study, developed nations requiring the most neonatal vaccine doses have the worst mortality rates among children younger than five

Details of the study were published in the journal Cureus.

Researchers Neil Miller, director of the Institute of Medical and Scientific Inquiry in New Mexico, and Gary Goldman, performed several analyses based on 2019 and 2021 data to examine the link between the number of early childhood vaccinations required by developed nations and their neonatal, infant and under-five mortality rates.

The study revealed that children in developed nations that require more neonatal vaccinations often face adverse consequences that increase childhood mortality, suggesting that administering more vaccines to infants does not result in fewer deaths.

Some nations administer hepatitis B and tuberculosis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccines to infants after birth. The study found that nations that require both vaccines actually had significantly worse infant mortality rates compared to nations that require neither vaccine.

Miller and Goldmans research began in 2011 when they published a paper using 2009 data showing less favorable infant mortality rates among highly developed nations requiring the most infant vaccinations.

Their new study replicates their original study using 2019 and 2021 data from the top 50 nations where childhood vaccine doses range from 12 to 26. Their findings show that infant mortality rate increased by 0.167 deaths per 1,000 live births for each additional vaccine dose added to the vaccination schedule, supporting the results of their 2011 study.

In 2009, 29 nations had better infant mortality rates than the United States. However, by 2019, the U.S. had dropped to 44th in infant mortality rankings. In 2021, the U.S. ranked 50th and required the highest number of infant vaccines. (Related: VACCINE ROULETTE: Some vaccine batches far more toxic than others, analysts find.)

In their latest study, Miller and Goldman widened their research to analyze the impact of hepatitis and tuberculosis vaccines on mortality rates of neonatal infants (defined as babies under 28 days old), infants up to age one and children under five.

Mortality data and vaccination schedules were compiled from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and national governments.

The researchers grouped the nations based on whether they required zero, one or two vaccine doses for newborns to find out their statistical significance to mortality rates of the three age groups.

Their analysis revealed that neonatal vaccines for hepatitis B and tuberculosis do not contribute to an overall reduction in mortality in nations where infants have a low mortality risk for these illnesses.

Reducing infant vaccine doses linked to decreased mortality

Using 2021 data, Miller and Goldman also discovered a statistically significant difference of 1.28 deaths per 1,000 live births between the mean infant mortality rates of nations that did not vaccinate their neonates (defined as babies four weeks or younger) and those that required two vaccine doses.

For each reduction of six vaccine doses administered during infancy, the infant mortality rate was improved by roughly one death per 1,000 live births.

The researchers also found that vaccines administered during the first year of life had a greater influence on under-age-five mortality rates compared with vaccines administered in the second through fifth years of life.

This implies that younger infants who generally weigh less and receive more vaccines in a shorter period are more likely to experience an adverse reaction resulting in hospitalization or death.

Miller said that in the majority of nations, over 50 percent of infant deaths occur during the neonatal period, and about 75 percent of neonatal deaths occur during the first week of life when neonatal vaccines are administered.

Deaths that occur during this period have a large impact on neonatal, infant and under-age-five mortality rates. In fact, neonatal mortality comprises 61 percent of America's infant mortality rate and 52 percent of its under-age-five mortality rate.

Miller also revealed that doctors, coroners and other medical examiners are forced to misclassify and conceal vaccine-related fatalities since alternate cause-of-death classifications linked to infant vaccination are nonexistent.

The study also showed that vaccines have "non-specific effects" that can increase or decrease mortality from infectious diseases not targeted by the vaccine.

Some deaths linked to neonatal vaccines may be delayed

According to Miller, some deaths linked to neonatal vaccines may be delayed, such as with a priming mechanism or cumulative toxicity that increases the risk of a severe or fatal reaction to subsequently administered vaccines.

A 2018 study published in the journal Vaccine showed that the sequence of vaccinations can also affect all-cause mortality. Researchers reported that girls who received a pentavalent vaccine (five vaccines in one) after getting a measles vaccine were five times more likely to die from all causes within six months of follow-up compared to girls who followed the recommended schedule.

Miller and Goldman said 17 of the 18 analyses they conducted corroborated that giving more vaccine doses results in higher infant and early childhood mortality rates in developed nations.

The researchers urged vaccine policymakers to learn the full effect of the current vaccination schedule on deaths from any cause and to conduct safety research into the number of recommended childhood vaccines and how theyre administered to confirm that they are positively impacting child survival instead of simply demanding them because Big Pharma insists that they are required.

Watch the video below for more information about vaccine fetal deaths.

This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

VACCINES COST LIVES: Child mortality is HIGHER in developed nations that require more vaccines  new study.

The more vaccines a baby gets, the higher the likelihood of sudden death: STUDY.

Philly Joy Bank pays women to have babies while Birthplace of America has HIGHEST RATE of INFANT MORTALITY in America  cover for the clot shot effect?

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Cureus.com

Brighteon.com
Nobel Prize laureate, over 1,600 scientists and professionals declare: There is NO climate crisis

Dr. John Clauser, last year's winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, has joined more than 1,600 scientists and professionals in signing a declaration that says "there is no climate crisis."

The signatories from across the world are members of the Global Climate Intelligence Group (GCIG), an affiliate of the Climate Intelligence Foundation, a think tank operating in the fields of climate change and policy.

The members of GCIG, consisting of experts in climate science, policy and other related fields, believe that the climate discourse is a misinterpretation of data and the undue influence of media hysteria. They aim to present an alternative perspective on climate change and its perceived urgency. (Related: CCP proves climate fight not really about climate.)

According to the members of the GCIG, historical geological records demonstrate that the planet has undergone different natural cycles of both warm and cold phases throughout its existence, including the recent end of the Little Ice Age from the 13th to the 19th century. With that, the declaration contends that natural factors rather than exclusively human activities contribute to shaping the natural Earth patterns.

They also point out the claim that the pace of global warming is slower than previously predicted by climate models. This discrepancy between real-world observations and model predictions underscores the complexity of climate science and the challenges in understanding the intricacies of climate change.

The declaration further criticizes the reliance on climate models as a basis for policy decisions. These models have inherent shortcomings and often exaggerate the effects of greenhouse gases while neglecting the positive aspects of factors such as increased atmospheric CO2. They contend that CO2 is not a pollutant but rather an essential component of the ecosystem, essential for plant growth and global plant biomass.

Contrary to the claims of climate scientists, the GCIG members argue that there is no solid statistical evidence linking increased global warming to more intense or frequent hurricanes, floods and droughts. Instead, the signatories suggest that the focus should shift towards adaptation rather than drastic mitigation measures.

According to the signatories, the measures aimed at mitigating CO2 emissions have proven detrimental without delivering proportional benefits. They suggest that these efforts could result in significant economic losses while having little effect on the climate.

Clauser was silenced for joining the campaign against "climate emergency"

Clauser, a renowned physicist who recently joined the campaign against climate emergency, was supposed to make a presentation at an International Monetary Fund (IMF) seminar on July 27.

But according to the Co2 Coalition, the seminar was called off after an email from IMF Independent Evaluation Office Director Pablo Moreno, the Director of the Independent Evaluation Office of IMF stated that Clauser's presentation had been "postponed." This decision followed the recent comments of Clauser disputing the existence of a climate crisis during a speech at Quantum Korea 2023, an international conference focusing on quantum ecosystem innovations.

"I don't believe there is a climate crisis," Clauser boldly proclaimed during his speech in Seoul. "The world we live in today is filled with misinformation. It is up to each of you to serve as judges, distinguishing truth from falsehood based on accurate observations of phenomena."

These statements echoed previous sentiments expressed by Clauser, where he had opined that there is no "real climate crisis" but rather an energy crisis exacerbated by what he believed was incorrect climate science.

Dr. William Harper, a founder of the Co2 Coalition, condemned the IMF's decision to cancel the seminar, labeling it a "disgrace" and a suppression of academic freedom. "It's a sad day when a distinguished scientist like Dr. Clauser is silenced because his views challenge the mainstream narrative," Harper said in a statement to Newsweek.

The latest news about the climate change hoax can be found at ClimateScienceNews.com.

Watch this episode of the "Health Ranger Report" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses the climate alarmism-fueled geoengineering scheme to dim the sun, pollute the skies and freeze the planet's oceans.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Where is this "climate crisis" that activists keep talking about?

INSANITY: Biden administration now going after dishwashers to combat imaginary climate crisis.

Absurd: Climate activists say food production is the cause of global environmental crisis.

Trying to solve "climate crisis" with more biotechnology is a fools errand, say academics.

Nobel Prize winner Dr. John Clauser says theres NO climate crisis its all a hoax pushed for political purposes.

Sources include:

WhatsUpWithThat.com

NewsWeek.com
George Takei compares GOP opposition to transgender procedures for children to Japanese-American internment during World War II

Star Trek actor George Takei has compared GOP opposition to transgender medical procedures for children to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

(Article by David Ng republished from Breitbart.com)

In an essay published Monday in The Daily Beast, he also wrote that these dark forces are similar to what led to the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe.

I have seen where scapegoating, if left unchallenged, leads. And it is a very dark place, Takei wrote. And I am alarmed that the fearmongering and hate, particularly against the trans community, are just the beginning.

Despite decades of advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, the troubling pattern of scapegoating persists. As someone who experienced forced relocation as a child, the sense of deja vu is deeply unsettling. It's crucial that we learn from history, push for change, and use our votes to secure pic.twitter.com/UQstgZoMt0  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 21, 2023

Takei was interned as a boy during World War II, his family uprooted from California on orders from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration and sent to live in a camp in Arkansas.

In his essay, Takei argued that the scapegoating of Japanese-Americans is happening all over again, only this time the target is LGBTQ+ people  specifically, those who want to medically transition children.

More ominously, and in the name of protecting trans kids and in defiance of all expert opinion, politicians at the state level have banned critically necessary trans medical care, leaving desperate parents and families without alternatives. It was not only ignorant, but it was also deliberately cruel. And it is leading to untold suffering for young people already burdened with the weight of successfully transitioning. They are a group that currently suffers the highest rates of suicide among teens.

Takeis apparent motive for writing the essay reveals itself in the final paragraph.

In 2024 we, and our allies, must vote as if our lives depended on itbecause they do, he wrote.

Takei was one of Joe Bidens biggest Hollywood boosters during the 2020 presidential election. The actor even teamed up with the Biden campaign for a Trek the Vote to Victory fundraiser.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
Trial of 9 pro-life activists reeks of PREJUDICE: Defense not allowed to say infanticide, abortion or innocent lives

Allegations of bias have surfaced in the ongoing trial of nine pro-life activists charged with conspiracy and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act  a federal statute related to abortion access  in Washington D.C.

The trial has raised questions about the balance between the roles of the defense, the jury and the judge, sparking debates on the fairness of the trial.

Traditionally, the defense presents arguments to protect their client, while the jury assesses the validity of each side's claims, and the judge ensures the trial's procedural integrity. However, in the FACE Act trial, these roles appear to have been altered.

One contentious issue revolves around the jury selection, which has reportedly resulted in a predominantly pro-abortion jury.

The defendants, who claim they acted to save unborn lives from abortion, argue that this bias could preordain the verdict.

During the trial's opening statements, the prosecution and defense clashed repeatedly, with the prosecution objecting to the defense's arguments and the judge consistently supporting these objections. This pattern of interaction has led some to speculate that the trial's direction is influenced by some outside forces that lean a certain way.

The judge's efforts to exclude any arguments related to the morality and legality of abortion have further intensified the controversy. According to reports, the defense was not allowed to say "infanticide," "abortion" or "innocent lives."

While the judge emphasized that the case is not about abortion, past actions indicate a contradiction. Previously, the judge requested arguments about whether the 13th Amendment to the Constitution protected abortion rights, suggesting a connection between the case and abortion.

On Aug. 14, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly barred the defendants from claiming they were acting in defense of another person when they used ropes and chains to block the entrance of a D.C. reproductive services clinic three years ago.

The trial's tumultuous start has ignited discussions about its fairness and the judge's stance. Critics argue that the judge's actions indicate an attempt to suppress arguments related to abortion, which is central to the case. (Related: Satanic Temple files lawsuit against Idaho over abortion ban, claiming it prevents members from practicing "abortion ritual.")

Case background

In 2020, anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy and nine co-defendants were charged with two felony counts for blockading a D.C. clinic.

They were charged with conspiracy against rights and a FACE Act offense.

The indictment alleges that the defendants violated the FACE Act by using physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with the clinic's employees and a patient because they were providing or obtaining reproductive health services.

The defendants face up to a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $350,000 if convicted of the charges.

Pro-life advocates rally behind defendants

Meanwhile, supporters of the defendants are showing their dedication to protect the lives of the unborn.

The trial has also renewed debates about abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision. Pro-abortion advocates have been seeking accountability for pro-lifers since then. The trial has become a focal point for these tensions, with both sides passionately advocating for their positions.

As the trial progresses, its outcome remains uncertain. The defendants' courage to stand up for their beliefs and protect the unborn has garnered attention. However, concerns about the fairness of the trial persist, raising larger questions about the intersection of law and deeply held convictions.

Visit Abortions.news for more news related to abortion.

Watch this video about abortion and the sanctity of life.

This video is from the Liberty Counsel channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

More states outlaw abortion following overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Satanic Temple to open free abortion clinic in New Mexico.

Sickening 'abortion chaperone' TikTok video shows there is nothing funny about infanticide.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

WUSA9.com

Brighteon.com
Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng of NYC charged with sexual abuse of at least six women, some of whom were his patients

A New York City-based gastroenterologist by the name of Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng was arraigned on August 7 in a 50-count indictment that charges him with sexually abusing and raping at least six different women, some of whom were his own patients.

Cheng, 33, of Broadway in Astoria, faces charges from New York prosecutors that he sexually abused at least three patients at the highly prestigious New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital where he used to work. He also raped at least three additional women at his home in Queens, reports state.

Because he had access to drugs being a licensed physician and all, Cheng apparently swiped various drugs and used them to subdue the women before taking advantage of them. He also filmed many of these acts, the footage of which shows that most of the women being raped by Cheng were unconscious at the time.

The reason we say that Cheng sexually assaulted and raped at least six women is the fact that videos obtained by authorities would seem to show that there were more women who fell into the clutches of this alleged pervert, who faces 10 counts of predatory sexual assault; three counts of rape in the first degree; seven counts of sexual abuse in the first degree; four counts of assault in the second degree; three counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree; 11 counts of unlawful surveillance in the second degree; eight counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree; and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

(Related: The way Western medicine in general treats patients mirrors Harvey Weinstein and even Jeffrey Epstein.)

Do you trust your doctor?

Should Cheng be convicted of these many crimes, he faces multiple 25 years to life sentences, meaning he will never again be allowed to roam free, let alone practice medicine.

In partnership with the New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital, the Queens District Attorney's Special Victims Bureau led the investigation that led to Cheng's charges. It was all prompted when one of Cheng's alleged victims informed police about his alleged predatory sexual abuse behavior.

"The recovered evidence compiled paints the picture of a sexual predator of the absolute worst kind, a serial rapist, someone willing to not only violate his sacred professional oath and patients' trust, but every standard of human decency as well," said District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement.

"We will present the facts to a jury and achieve justice for the victims of the horrific assaults captured on video."

Last December, Cheng was indicted for allegedly drugging and raping a female acquaintance in his Queens apartment. At that time, he faced charges with two counts of rape in the first degree; criminal sexual act in the first degree; two counts of assault in the second degree; two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree; and four counts of unlawful surveillance in the second degree.

According to the latest indictment against Cheng, one of his alleged victims is a 19-year-old woman who was scheduled to undergo a test ordered by Cheng at the hospital around June 2021. Video footage shows that at the time this woman was in the "care" of Cheng, she had her gown open, her breasts exposed and her underwear lowered.

Cheng was then seen in the video inappropriately touching her as she laid unconscious on the table while having "no reaction to what is being done to her."

Cheng denies all such charges, even though many of them are based on video evidence showing him taking advantage of his victims.

Western medicine is a corrupt cesspool of deviants and perverts, so be careful out there. Learn more at BadDoctors.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
These 14 American cities plan to ban meat, dairy and private vehicles by 2030  is yours on the list?

By the year 2030, the following 14 cities in the United States are planning to completely outlaw all meat and dairy consumption, as well as all private vehicle ownership and use, in order to conform to the "green" climate standards of the so-called C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group:

 Austin, Texas

 Boston, Massachusetts

 Chicago, Illinois

 Houston, Texas

 Los Angeles, California

 Miami, Florida

 New Orleans, Louisiana

 New York City, New York

 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 Phoenix, Arizona

 Portland, Oregon

 San Francisco, California

 Washington, D.C.

 Seattle, Washington

All 14 of these cities are part of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which has an "ambitious target" of achieving "0 kg [of] meat consumption," "0 kg [of] dairy consumption," only "3 new clothing items per person per year," "0 private vehicles" owned, and only "1 short-haul return flight (less than 1500 km) every 3 years per person."

This is all outlined in "The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5C World" report, which was originally published in 2019 and "reemphasized" in 2023, the year of what appears to be a major financial collapse and possible transition into a new world order.

(Related: A lot of meat is becoming unsafe to consume anyway due to cattle being injected with mRNA "vaccines.")

While you starve to death in poverty, billionaires like Michael Bloomberg will be living high on the hog as usual

Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who ran for president with almost zero support, is the primary funder of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. In addition to the aforementioned 14 U.S. cities that are involved, at least 86 other cities around the world are also on the list for no more meat and dairy, very few clothing purchases allowed, no more private vehicle ownership, and almost no more flying on airplanes come 2030.

Bloomberg, of course, will continue to gorge on expensive meals filled with fancy meat, as well as unlimited private plane ownership and use. The peons underneath him, though, will be reduced to mere cattle in his envisioned new world order.

If the C40 Cities goals are new to you, it is probably because very few media outlets are reporting on it. In fact, there is an aggressive "fact checking" war being waged on all news about C40 Cities and what the plan entails that aims to "debunk" it is a "conspiracy theory."

The AFP Fact Check service went after conservative commentator Glenn Beck for this very thing recently, claiming that his mention of the C40 Cities plan to ban meat, dairy, cars, and clothing consumption are "not policy recommendations."

"This report does not advocate for the wholesale adoption of these more ambitious targets in C40 cities; rather, they are included to provide a set of reference points that cities, and other actors, can reflect on when considering different emission-reduction alternatives and long-term urban visions," the AFP Fact Check claims.

The C40 Cities report's use of the term "target," though, implies that this is a "desired goal" of the initiative, which means that eventually it will be codified into policy and law and forced on the masses as the final solution to climate change.

"IF these were not their goals, they would not have labeled them 'ambitious targets,'" writes Evita Duffy-Alfonso for The Federalist.

"Right now, hedge funds and private billionaires are buying up residential homes and farmland all over the world. At the same time, unrealistic zero-emissions policies are impoverishing Westerners and annihilating the middle class, which is fueling reliance on centralized government."

If you live in one of the above cities and plan to be around in 2030, then perhaps you may wish to consider moving somewhere freer?

The "green" life is one marked by tyranny, poverty, forced veganism, and utter misery. Learn more at GreenTyranny.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheFederalist.com

NaturalNews.com
CIA faces lawsuit for facilitating Dirty 51 letter that falsely discredited Hunter Bidens laptop from hell as Russian DISINFO

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is being sued over unleashing the "Dirty 51" letter , in which a list of former intelligence officials sought to interfere in the election by describing the Hunter Biden laptop scandal as Russian disinformation.

The letter, titled "Public Statement on the Hunter Biden emails," claimed the material on Hunters hard drive "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation," although not one of them had seen it. Several intelligence officials signed the letter including former CIA Directors John Brennan, Leon Panetta, and Mike Hayden; former acting CIA Director Michael Morell; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; and others

According to authorities, they knew that the information from the laptop was really accurate at the time of the letter's release. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also calling for social and legacy media outlets to censor reporting on the "laptop from hell" at the same time.

Moreover, Brennan has admitted that the infamous letter was created with a vested interest. He admitted to the House Judiciary Committee in a four-hour closed-door deposition that the letter was 'political,' Fox News reported.

Also back in May, a Republican report revealed that the CIA was actively involved in getting signatures for the letter which 'was a political operation to help elect' the elder Biden in November 2020. The piece also accused Morell and the Biden campaign of conspiring to quickly get the letter approved.

The House investigative report noted that former CIA analyst David Cariens, one of the statement's signatories "disclosed to the Committees that a CIA employee affiliated with the agency's Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) informed him of the existence of the statement and asked if he would sign it." The said employee allegedly asked Cariens if he would sign the statement, to which he agreed.

"The Committees have requested additional material from the CIA, which has ignored the request to date," the report continued. And now, the government watchdog Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on Aug. 17 after it failed to receive requested documents from the agency regarding the internal crafting of the letter.

According to the organization, "In a May 10, 2023 report, the House Judiciary Committee revealed that on Octo. 19, 2020, three days before the second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Joe Biden, Morell sent the PCRB the finalized letter for review, calling it a 'rush job,' and quickly secured its approval." Morell, identified as a potential CIA director under Biden, said he organized the letter to "help Vice President Biden  because I wanted him to win the election."

The GOP report also revealed that Clapper provided editorial advice to "strengthen the verbiage."

Moreover, the paper detailed how the CIA coordinated with the Biden campaign to shop the letter around and gain press coverage. Former CIA senior adviser Nick Shapiro drafted a media pitch that he sent to several outlets including the Washington Post, the Associated Press and POLITICO, the latter being the first to publish the story.

Current White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates, who was Biden's campaign rapid response director at the time, was included in emails from Shapiro regarding the push to disseminate the letter to the media. (Related: See the full list of 51 deep state "intelligence" officials who lied about Hunter Biden's laptop to try to defeat Trump in 2020.)

Morell: Blinken "triggered" interest in rushing release of "Dirty 51" letter

During a sworn testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Morell said that an Oct. 17 call with Secretary of State Antony Blinken had absolutely triggered his interest in coordinating the letter. Blinken had, meanwhile, insisted that he was not behind the infamous letter because he doesn't "do politics."

"One of the great benefits of this job is that I don't do politics, don't engage in it. But with regard to that letter, it wasn't my idea, I didn't ask for it, didn't solicit it,'" Blinken claimed on Fox News.

Asked by the news outlet if he accepted the laptop's legitimacy after most major news organizations have verified it, the secretary of state said he would not talk politics.

"I'm not engaging in politics. I've got a lot on my agenda. Some things that we just talked about, trying to help the Russian aggression against engaging with our allies, and partners around the world and dealing with some of the challenges posed by China. We have a situation now in Sudan, this has fully occupied my time."

Head to JoeBiden.news for more stories on the Biden crime family's scandals and controversies and how the big government is making them get away with them.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

WND.com

MSN.com
Jeffrey Prather: U.S. deep state is deeply evil for setting up child brothels, sacrificing kids to Satan

Major Jeffrey Prather, a retired special operations intelligence officer, slammed President Joe Biden's administration for continuing to collude with the "evil" cartels in human trafficking , especially children. He further revealed that, in this regime, it is worse because they are housing the kids in brothels hidden in the guise of hotel accommodations.

In a recent appearance on the "SGT Report" podcast, Prather said that he worked on the Nogales Sonora border near Mexico as a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent for 10 years and did cross-border operations. He claimed to be familiar with the operations of the Sinaloa cartel. "For me, there's nothing new in saying that the cartel controls the border. The Sinaloa Cartel has controlled the border for a long time. Every plaza or corridor is controlled by a cartel and run by a federal aid comandante," he explained.

He added that during his days, the said commandant used to pay a million dollars to get that corridor but nowadays, everybody that comes across will have to pass through the cartel, including all the little children. "Under the former President Barack Obama's administration, [he] was pimping kids," he said, however, with "pedo Joe," and his pedos, it is a thousand times worse. "Now they're putting these kids into hotels from San Diego to New York. It's one thing to be in a fenced-in open enclosure, where you can see what's going on. It's another thing to put children into hotel rooms, and that's just child brothels," he disclosed.

At this point, podcast host Sean Turnbull brought up the controversial murder of Seth Rich back in 2016 in connection to his leaking of emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC), indicating that Biden and Hillary Clinton used the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) well-known pedophilia terms in their emails.

Prather answered that for one, the FBI is not a law enforcement organization but an intelligence organization with law enforcement capabilities. The federal agency has been interfering in elections for a long time now and they are managing and controlling that, placing who they want. "And so, they make it up to be whatever they want it to be. And they are shaping the battlefield or reality to their forces of action as they want. But now that has been turned around," he said, adding the controversy of former Congressman Anthony Weiner's laptop.

"I wonder if you have any information about this because, at this point, it seems like an urban legend that there is a video called 'frazzledrip,'" Turnbull said, referring to a rumored dark web snuff film showing Clinton and longtime aide Huma Abedin sexually assaulting and murdering a young girl, drinking her blood and taking turns wearing the skin from her face as a mask.

The said video was allegedly discovered on the laptop of Weiner, who is Abedin's ex-husband, in a folder labeled "life insurance," and police officers who've reportedly seen it were so horrified that they were driven to suicide. Turnbull said that this made the New York City Police Department cops sick to their stomach, and "now a bunch of those men are dead."

Prather was affirmative when pushed by the host whether he thinks this story is true. "I think it is true. I have seen bits and pieces of that. And I worked in the Manhattan office of the DEA and therefore closely with the NYPD. You can still hear recordings of Podesta with a child screaming. You can still look at Will Ferrell with the clowns, the kids in cages, and the obscene and abominable 'Saturday Night Live,'" he said. "And they really like to just rub this in our faces publicly and Obama did the same thing. Because it's an adrenaline rush for them. It is really a worship of evil."

He added that he has also seen clips of two pairs of little girls inside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's now-defunct temple. According to him, the temple had no doors and there was a center art altar. Also, the late Senior Special Agent Ted Gunderson, the fifth highest guy in the FBI back in the day, said he saw school tunnels and satanic objects which an archaeologist verified to have existed. "So, I think there's plenty of whistleblowers coming out. The difference now is that social media like tracers and islands in the Pacific can work both ways," he stressed.

People are waking up but more needs to be done

Elsewhere in the show, host Turnbull expressed a gleam of hope that people are starting to wake up to these demonic ways of the deep state but there's still a lot to be done to coax everyone to fight this.

"I started going down the rabbit hole after 911. It's a difficult awakening. And that's why I think most people still don't want to wake up. We can try to coax them to wake up with information like this. But generally, we're just preaching to the choir here," the podcaster pointed out.

Prather agreed, emphasizing that the deep state consumes everything and produces nothing which is why all it can do is run children, guns and drugs.

"That's why we've got troops still giving money to Afghanistan, why we've got troops over in Ukraine, and we do in Syria as well, because it's endless grey wars to support their corrupt economy," he also noted.

Check out Evil.news for more stories related to demonic pedophilic abuses.

Watch the full episode of "SGT Report" with Sean Turnbull featuring Jeffrey Prather below.

This video is from the Heaven Reigns channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

ADL.org
Government sides with FASCIST BLM, allowing terrorist members to spread GRAFFITI all over Americas cities

There is a double standard of justice taking place in our nation's capital as Washington, D.C. police turn a blind eye to Black Lives Matter (BLM) terrorism while prosecuting those who dare to protest against it.

Entire streets, including the now-rebranded "Black Lives Matter Plaza," have become state-sanctioned graffiti canvases for BLM extremists, but pro-life groups like Black Pre-Born Lives Matter are not even allowed to chalk a sidewalk without being persecuted.

During the summer of 2020 when the world was being mass-injected with Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) "pandemic" propaganda, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was busy joining BLM riots and encouraging BLM members to spray-paint public property with their anti-white messaging.

Bowser played an instrumental role in the creation of Black Lives Matter Plaza, a street directly across from the White House that has emblazoned on the ground in giant yellow letters "BLACK LIVES MATTER." This encouraged BLM rioters to break glass, loot stores, start fires, and harm people  at least 26 people died that summer due to BLM "protests."

Meanwhile, protesters with the Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life of America requested to hold a rally on Aug. 1, 2020, for which they received verbal consent from D.C. police officers, only to later be told by the same police officers that they were not allowed to write chalk messages on the ground as was originally the plan.

D.C. Police actually proceeded to arrest the pro-life students and demonstrators for writing washable messages on the sidewalk while BLM protesters were free to vandalized and destroy whatever and whoever got in their way.

"D.C. police repeatedly had allowed vandalism in the name of Black Lives Matter, standing back when protesters tagged streets, sidewalks, and buildings with that message," reported The Daily Signal.

"In one case, vandals spray-painted 16th Street NW, adding to the 'Black Lives Matter' message the words 'Defund the Police.' D.C. authorities did not stop them or rush to erase the message."

(Related: Remember when BLM openly admitted that it exists to protect "black criminals?")

Officer who granted pro-lifer protesters verbal consent to mark sidewalk later admitted that authorities did not care about BLM vandalism

Later on, the police officer who granted the pro-life student protesters from the Frederick Douglass Foundation verbal consent to mark up the sidewalk ahead of their 2020 protest admitted that there was clearly a double standard at play concerning the D.C. police department's treatment of BLM versus its treatment of opposing groups.

With Bowser in charge, D.C. police essentially sanctioned BLM's criminal activity, granting its blessing to the rioters. Conversely, anyone who wanted to protest against BLM was refused permission and even taken into custody as punishment.

The Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life of America responded by suing D.C., only to have a U.S. District Court judge dismiss their claims. Then, Judge Neomi Rao, writing for a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, reversed part of the lower court's decision by agreeing that the District violated their free speech rights under the First Amendment.

"The lower court had ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to make a case that the D.C. government engaged in viewpoint discrimination, violating the pro-lifers' free speech rights," the Signal reported about the matter.

"Rao reversed this decision, holding that 'the foundation has plausibly alleged the district discriminated on the basis of viewpoint in the selective enforcement of its defacement ordinance.'"

The Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence dictates that the government is not allowed to regulate certain forms of speech in accordance with a particular viewpoint, which is what D.C. did during BLM's heyday by discriminating against its opponents while allowing group members to destroy the city and country without consequence.

Black Lives Matter is a domestic terrorist organization. Learn more at Terrorism.news.

Sources for this article include:

DailySignal.com

NaturalNews.com
Ivermectin reduced excess deaths in Peru by 74%, study finds

New research published in the peer-reviewed journal(part of the Springer Nature Group) shows that ivermectin helped save millions of lives in Peru, where during the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) "pandemic" the government authorized its use.

Unlike in the United States where ivermectin prescriptions were essentially banned  some U.S. doctors were threatened that they would lose their medical license if they continued prescribing ivermectin to patients  the government of Peru decided that ivermectin just might be what the doctor ordered. It turns out they were right.

Published on August 8, the paper highlights a 74 percent reduction in excess deaths across the 10 Peruvian states that saw the most intensive ivermectin use over a 30-day period immediately following the plandemic's peak deaths timeframe.

Across all 25 states in Peru, scientists found that excess deaths closely correlated to ivermectin use  meaning the more people who used ivermectin, and the more ivermectin people used, the lesser the number of excess deaths across the board.

"When ivermectin was available without restriction, there was a fourteenfold reduction in nationwide excess deaths," reported The Epoch Times about the study's findings.

(Related: Earlier this year, a gold standard randomized controlled trial found that ivermectin does, in fact, work against covid.)

After Peruvian government restricted ivermectin use, excess deaths shot right back up

Things were not rosy in Peru for the entirety of the scamdemic, though. At one point, the Peruvian government imposed new restrictions on the use of ivermectin in accordance with globalist dictates. This resulted in a thirteenfold increase in excess deaths in the first two months following the ban.

The World Health Organization (WHO) similarly confirmed that once Peru withdrew access to ivermectin across its population, people started dying in increasingly greater numbers.

It is actually quite strange what Peru did by first promoting the use of ivermectin, only to later restrict it. It seems the actual government there may have wanted to help the people, while the shadow government that actually pulls the strings decided that helping people with this safe, effective, and inexpensive generic drug was no longer permissible.

"Ivermectin is a widely-known and inexpensive treatment against parasitic diseases," the Times reported. "Scientists believe the drug can also bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, limiting its morbidity and infectivity."

It was May 8, 2020, when the Peruvian Ministry of Health approved the use of ivermectin as both an inpatient and outpatient treatment protocol. Mega-Operacion Tayta (MOT), a national program led by Peru's Ministry of Defense, was tasked with distributing the drug on a wide scale during that time.

Via a partnership with 11 other government agencies, the MOT sought to reach every targeted region with ivermectin rapid response teams. This is how seriously the Peruvian government, at least in the beginning, believed that ivermectin would help to save lives.

Then, something bad happened. On Nov. 17, 2020, President Francisco Sagasti, who had just taken office, stopped all distribution of ivermectin and made it available only by prescription  the U.S. is one of the only countries where ivermectin is prescription-only, while the rest of the world sells it cheaply over the counter.

"Results showed that the 10 MOT states had a sharp decrease in excess deaths after reaching peak values  with a 74 percent drop at 30 days and an 86 percent drop at 45 days after the date of peak deaths," reports indicate.

"For 14 states that locally administered ivermectin, excess deaths dropped by 53 percent at 30 days and 70 percent at 45 days."

"Once access to ivermectin was restricted by the government, a thirteenfold increase in excess deaths was observed in the two months following the limitation of its use."

Ivermectin works to prevent and treat covid  without the need for vaccines. Learn more at IvermectinScience.com.

Sources for this article include:

Cureus.com

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Now Vivek Ramaswamy, an interesting candidate, has made a big blunder by calling for a cut in U.S. aid to Israel.

He even wants its hostile Arab neighbors to get U.S. aid equal to what Israel gets.

Ramaswamy is not the first candidate to make a serious foreign policy blunder this election.

Remember how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shot himself in the foot by calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine "a border dispute" in which there were no "vital" American interests at stake?

He made the statement because he did not know that the borders of Ukraine had been solemnly guaranteed by the U.S. in the Budapest Memorandum in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal.

Like DeSantis, Ramaswamy does not know that the billions we give Israel are pursuant to another guarantee made by the U.S.

In 1978 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed in the Camp David Accords that Israel would withdraw from much of the territory it had conquered in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In return the U.S. pledged to give Israel and Egypt each about an equal amount of military aid to assure peace.

Israel's territorial concessions in the 1978 Camp David Accords would have left it wide open to a fifth Arab invasion if not for the U.S. aid.

The Camp David agreements have worked, as there has been no major Mideast war involving Israel since 1973. World War III may well have been averted, as our military support for Israel and Egypt has proven to be a good investment.

Pursuant to the Camp David Accords and other agreements, the U.S. gave Israel $3.3 billion per year in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Last year, it gave another $500 million for missile defense.

To be clear, and Ramaswamy is likely ignorant of this fact, more than 80% of U.S. military aid sent to Israel goes to American military contractors. For the most part, the U.S. aid stays here and provides for U.S. jobs.

So by proposing a cut in military aid to Israel, Ramaswamy completely undermines the Camp David Accords, the fundamental basis of peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Ramaswamy is also ignoring the very important contribution that Israeli defense technology  funded by the U.S. aid Ramaswamy wants to cut  makes to the security of the United States.

Israel's Iron Dome system, used to shield it from Arab missiles, is the first realistic missile defense in history and is the start of constructing the defense to nuclear missiles President Ronald Reagan envisioned.

The Iron Dome has been tested by repeated Palestinian and Iranian attacks in recent years and has been nearly perfect in the protection it offers. The U.S. happily cribs Israeli technology to protect our own forces.

But Ramaswamy fell for an idea that would undermine Israel and sap our own strategic abilities.

Seeking headlines, he declared, "There's no North Star commitment to any one country, other than the United States of America."

He's wrong. America has a North Star moral commitment to aid Israel if it is attacked.

America also has a North Star NATO commitment if Russia were to attack one of its members.

We have a number of North Star commitments, including to Japan, which gave up its military for a security guarantee from the U.S. after World War II.

Ramaswamy's plan shows the danger of making a 38-year-old the leader of the free world.

He dangerously argues that Israel should not get any more U.S. aid than neighboring Muslim countries.

On what basis is that fair? Israel's aid package should be determined by what we give terrorist state Syria?

President Donald Trump understood that America First did not mean America alone.

He understood the world we lived in and that our allies need support.

All over the world Trump strengthened our support of democracies, increasing military aid to countries like Poland, Ukraine, South Korea, Taiwan and more.

This episode proves that in these perilous times there is no reason to bet on an amateur when we have a seasoned "pro" like Donald Trump.

He's battle-tested and ready to take command.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Dick Morris, who served as adviser to former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and former President Clinton, is the author of 16 books, including his latest, Screwed and Here Come the Black Helicopters.


We are a local nonprofit seeking a public space to place a community fridge. Ideally, we are looking for a location in the downtown/west side area of Flagstaff.

Flagstaff Community Fridges (FCF) seeks to address food insecurity in Flagstaff, Arizona, by providing a sustainable and culturally sensitive environment for food sharing. This walkup, "leave what you can, take what you need" model allows individuals the agency to choose fresh produce and other quality food items that are otherwise unavailable to them. Alleviating the worry of how one will feed themselves and/or a loved one significantly improves the quality of life for a household.

As of 2022, "Flagstaff and the Coconino County area have a food insecurity rate above the national average, with 14.3% of all residents and 20.5% of children defined as food insecure" (Arizona Daily Sun, 2022). Although there are options available for those experiencing food insecurity to obtain necessary food, there is a gap in the availability of centrally located, unrestricted, 24/7 access to a food supply.

There will be a greater sense of community formed by individuals coming together to create, maintain, and donate to this fridge for the betterment of their fellow community members, while also creating a sustainable way forward, with local businesses and community members able to donate food that would otherwise go to waste, and the opportunity to compost the rest. Implementing this vision of community food sharing in Flagstaff is urgent in order to ensure that no individual has to go another day looking for their next meal.

We hope by sharing this information with the public, we can gain support from a business or organization willing to host the fridge. Our organization, along with volunteers, will be responsible for stocking the fridge, as well as maintenance, and are more than happy to pay for the electricity needed to keep the fridge up and running.

If you can help, please contact us at flagstaffcommunityfridges@gmail.com. We appreciate it!

MEGAN WELLER

Flagstaff
Matrixx Grooove: Laura Loomer report exposes Ron DeSantis as a COMPROMISED presidential candidate  Brighteon.TV

Jeffrey "InTheMatrixxx" Pedersen and Shannon "ShadyGrooove" Townsend discussed a report by investigative journalist Laura Loomer exposing how Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is compromised

During the Aug. 14 episode of "The Matrixxx Grooove Show" on Brighteon.TV, Pedersen recounted DeSantis' promise to ban TikTok in the U.S. if elected. However, the candidate's Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports tell a different story as DeSantis' biggest donors are also TikTok's largest investors. Pedersen then played the Aug. 10 edition of "Loomer Unleashed," where the independent journalist expounded on the issue.

According to Loomer, DeSantis  through his donors in Wall Street and Big Tech  has been completely sold out to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She added that this contrasts with the Florida governor's tough-on-China remarks he made in public. DeSantis floated the TikTok ban during a stop in New Hampshire.

"There's just one big problem with DeSantis' statement that he's going to somehow be tough on China, economically speaking, and that he's going to ban TikTok. And that's the fact that some of his biggest campaign donors for his presidential campaign  donating millions of dollars to the Never Back Down super-PAC, which is the official Ron DeSantis for president super-PAC  happen to be some of the biggest investors in TikTok itself," Loomer said.

She discovered that Sequoia Capital Global Managing Partner Doug Leone donated $2 million to DeSantis' political action committee (PAC). This contribution is significant, Loomer noted, as Sequoia Capital is the largest U.S. venture capital funder in China. It also owns 10 percent of ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, which has ties with the CCP. (Related: TikTok parent firm admits to spying on journalists as part of covert surveillance campaign.)

The venture capital firm recently announced its partnership with Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities. This also allowed Griffin, who donated $5 million to DeSantis' reelection campaign, to enter the stock and bonds market in China.

ChiComs bankrolling two of DeSantis' biggest donors

Loomer pointed out that Griffin and Leone, DeSantis' two biggest donors, are bankrolled by the CCP. She warned that these ties, a clear conflict of interest, will pose a serious problem for the Florida governor if elected to the White House.

The independent journalist also mentioned a third DeSantis donor with ties to the CCP: Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, who reportedly donated $2.5 million to DeSantis' state committee PAC after the candidate secured a second gubernatorial term.

Aside from this, Yass has also contributed over $15 million to the notoriously anti-Trump Club for Growth. He has also founded the SIG China venture capital firm to invest in emerging Chinese technology. Moreover, Loomer said most of his wealth comes from his investment in ByteDance. Loomer noted that a DeSantis victory would be like a repeat of the current administration, which has completely sold America to the CCP.

Pedersen lauded Loomer for doing a great job in her report. He also noted how DeSantis is getting big money for taking policies favoring the influence campaigners, aligning with a prediction by globalist billionaire George Soros about big investors backing the Florida governor.

Visit DesantisObserver.com for more stories about Ron DeSantis.

Watch the Aug. 14 episode of "Matrixxx Grooove" below. "The Matrixxx Grooove Show" with Jeff and Shady airs every weekday at 12-1 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Ron DeSantis makes huge announcement about political future after he blows out Dem challenger.

The Zelenko Report: Roger Stone blasts Ron DeSantis over his plan to challenge Trump in GOP primaries for 2024  Brighteon.TV.

Show your CCP loyalty: Republicans linked to Sequoia Venture Capital are acting very weird.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

MiamiIndependent.com
M. Kaleo Manuel, the Hawaii water official who REFUSED to release water to fight Maui fires, is a climate equity cult member

More disturbing information has come out about the religious beliefs of M. Kaleo Manuel, the Hawaiian official said to be single-handedly responsible for refusing to release much-needed "revered" water to help fight the raging fires in Maui that pretty much destroyed the city of Lahaina.

It turns out that Manuel is a deranged climate cultist whose bizarre beliefs about water being a type of "god" caused him to withhold its quenching power from those in need in Lahaina, resulting in 111 deaths so far and counting.

"The commission is responsible, per our authorizing statute, to protect and manage all water resources in the state," an obnoxiously-voiced Manuel is seen stating in the below video:

Meet M. Kaleo Manuel, the official who refused to release water in Maui, contributing to up to 106 deaths. A Hawaiian Studies major, Kaleo prefers a traditional, holistic "One Water" approach where water is revered, not used. Water requires "true conversations about equity" pic.twitter.com/4AzVZNwkHk  Jeremy Kauffman ? (@jeremykauffman) August 16, 2023

"One Water is like taking it, looking at it from a holistic system perspective  and that's not any different than how Hawaiians traditionally managed water. In essence, we treated, Native Hawaiians treated water as one of the earthly manifestations of a god, Ka-Wai-a-ke-Akua. So that reverence for a resource, and that reciprocity in relationship, was something that was really, really important."

(Related: Here are nine questions everyone should be asking about the highly suspicious Maui fires.)

Is M. Kaleo Manuel guilty of committing mass murder to appease the Hawaiian Ka-Wai-a-ke-Akua water god?

A cultural practitioner and deputy director for state water resource management, Manuel "initially balked" when desperate landowners pleaded with him to send water "to help protect their property from fires."

"The water standoff played out over much of the day and the water didn't come until too late," reported the Honolulu Civil Beat about how Manuel basically committed murder by refusing to release the water.

The only way Manuel was going to agree to release the water, according to several sources connected to the Civil Beat, is if West Maui landowners got "permission from a taro, or kalo, farm located downstream from the company's property."

"Manuel eventually released water but not until after the fire had spread," reported Headline USA. "It was not clear on Monday how much damage the fire did in the interim or whether homes were damaged."

When the Civil Beat reached out to Manuel for an interview following the dispute and disaster, he refused.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green later stated publicly about the matter that "people need to understand, especially those from far away, that there's been a great deal of water conflict on Maui for many years."

"It's important that we're honest about this," Green added. "People have been fighting against the release of water to fight fires. I'll leave that to you to explore."

Manuel, meanwhile, has stated in the past concerning water on Maui that there needs to be "true conversations about equity," the word "equity" usually being code for depriving some kind of resource from "white" people and giving it to "non-white" people instead.

In this case, it seems as though Manuel was more concerned with appeasing the traditional Hawaiian water god of Ka-Wai-a-ke-Akua than with protecting the people who pay his salary. What ever happened to separation of church and state?

"Doesn't that make him in large part responsible for the deaths?" asked Elon Musk, echoing what many are now thinking about Manuel's complicity in the mounting Lahaina death and destruction toll.

Were the Maui fires a simple natural disaster or were they intentionally unleashed to achieve a deep state goal? Learn more at FalseFlag.news.

Sources for this article include:

HeadlineUSA.com

NaturalNews.com
RFK Jr. warns that death scientists are developing killer BIOWEAPONS in America

Just because the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) "pandemic" is over does not mean that the powers that be are done creating and unleashing deadly bioweapons.

Addressing this in a recent campaign appearance with Tucker Carlson, 2024 presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed that there are thousands of what he described as "death scientists" in the United States who are keeping busy developing new pathogens that they hope will become killer bioweapons.

They are doing this, Kennedy maintains, in secret biolabs that litter the American landscape in plain sight, one of them being the secret biolab in Reedley, Calif., near Fresno, that was recently shut down by authorities over safety concerns.

There are many more biolabs where this one came from, it turns out. Kennedy revealed to Carlson that there are 36,000 scientists who were assigned to develop these bioweapons by none other than Tony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Former President Barack Hussein Obama ignored multiple warnings about Fauci's experiments, Kennedy further explains. Instead, Obama allowed the projects to continue, and here we now are.

(Related: Kennedy tore apart fake president Joe Biden earlier this year while promising to "end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power.")

Now that Tucker Carlson left Fox News, he can freely talk about so much more: Ukraine, COVID, and JFK's assassination

The topic came up as Kennedy and Carlson were discussing the U.S.-run biolabs that litter the Ukrainian landscape. According to Kennedy, the U.S. "has biolabs in Ukraine because we are making bioweapons."

"Anthony Fauci got all the responsibility for bioweapons development," Kennedy went on to explain.

Already, there have been at least three killer viruses that have "escaped" from separate biolabs in America. If things continue as is, there will be many more that escape in the coming days.

"In 2014, 300 scientists wrote to President Obama and said, 'You've got to shut down Anthony Fauci because he is going to create a microbe that will cause a global pandemic,'" Kennedy explained.

"And so, Obama signed a moratorium and shut down the 18 worst of Anthony Fauci's experiments, where most of them were taking place in North Carolina by a scientist called Ralph Baric."

Many of Fauci's bioweapons programs were offshored in order to avoid scrutiny. In essence, Fauci wanted to hide his dirty work from the public, as well as from law enforcement seeing as how what he was doing is illegal, not to mention the epitome of crimes against humanity.

The following video clip contains key portions of Kennedy's interview with Carlson:

?BOMBSHELL: @TuckerCarlson asked @RobertKennedyJr about the shadowy biolabs in Ukraine. RFK's jaw-dropping answer, if proven true, could shake the very foundations of trust and demands unparalleled consequences for both Anthony Fauci and Ralph Baric. RFK: "Anthony Fauci got all pic.twitter.com/fWBv9JCTbe  Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) August 15, 2023

If you prefer, you can also watch the full interview below:

Ep. 16 RFK Jr. explains Ukraine, bio-labs, and who killed his uncle pic.twitter.com/RMr5VZVqSM  Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 14, 2023

"Tucker asked Robert what's the most powerful organization in America? This question was asked because Robert was saying the government is still illegally refusing to release the JFK documents and must be protecting not an individual but an entity," someone also mentioned on X (formerly known as Twitter) about the subject matter the two discussed.

"That entity is the Committee of 300 who ordered JFK assassinated."

"Tucker is allowing RFK Jr. to speak the truth about Ukraine, COVID, and JFK's assassination," wrote another. "It's the truth that the media and establishment don't want you to hear. It's the truth that would've been censored if Tucker was still on Fox News."

The latest news about Kennedy's run for the presidency in 2024 can be found at VoteDemocrat.news.

Sources for this article include:

SlayNews.com

KMPH.com

NaturalNews.com
RFK Jr.: 36,000 death scientists still developing KILLER BIOWEAPONS across America

In an exclusive interview with independent news anchor and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned the public that there are 36,000 full-time "death scientists" developing deadly pathogens as potential bioweapons across the United States.

RFK Jr. pointed fingers at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He accused Fauci of being responsible for the development of bioweapons. (Related: RFK Jr. on Faucis role in developing bioweapons & how Bill Gates profits from COVID lies.)

"In 2014, 300 scientists wrote to President [Barack] Obama and said, 'You've got to shut down Anthony Fauci because he is going to create a microbe that will cause a global pandemic,'" RFK Jr. stated during the interview. He added that as a result, Obama had signed a moratorium that led to the closure of 18 bioweapon experiments, with the majority taking place in North Carolina under the guidance of scientist Ralph Baric.

However, instead of obeying the moratorium, Fauci relocated most of his operations offshore. RFK Jr. said the majority of "operations ended up mostly in Wuhan Lab, which is a military lab [...] and many of them went to Ukraine."

RFK Jr. told Carlson: "We have bio-labs in Ukraine because we are developing bioweapons." The Democratic presidential candidate further elaborated on the connection between bioweapon development and vaccine creation. "When you do develop bioweapons, it needs a vaccine so you develop them side by side because in 100 percent of the cases when you deploy a bioweapon, there's blowback. Your side also gets sick," he said.

U.S. also runs biolabs in Asia-Pacific and Africa

The U.S. military biolabs in Ukraine came to light in February 2022, when the Russian Defense Ministry disclosed their existence and accused the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) of operating these biolabs across the globe.

Subsequently, a Russian parliamentary commission published a comprehensive report in mid-April claiming that the military biological weapon of the Pentagon, disguised as anti-terrorist projects and activities, runs counter to the Biological Weapons Convention.

Russia requested the United Nations Security Council to establish a commission to investigate the reports of potential violations by both Washington and Kiev.

The U.S. government promptly denied the existence of these military bio-labs, but recent documents obtained by Russia from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic suggest otherwise. These documents allegedly reveal that these laboratories were actively engaged in the creation of biological weapon components and were conducting tests on the local population.

According to the report, the DoD is not only operating in Ukraine but also in regions as far-flung as Africa and the Asia-Pacific. In the Asia-Pacific, the Philippine House of Representatives Makabayan (Nationalist) bloc initiated a call for an investigation into the DoD's biological weapons activities. The lawmakers focused on experiments carried out at the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in the province of Tarlac.

Indonesia also voiced its opposition to the presence of the Naval Medical Research Unit Two (NAMRU2), led by the U.S. Navy. Jakarta labeled the unit as "inexpedient" and "useless," leading to the cessation of NAMRU2's operations in the country.

In Africa, the health ministry of an unnamed Central African state linked one of the DoD-operated biolabs to the outbreak of an Ebola-based virus. The virus, reportedly created in Sudan, shared full genetic identity with a virus that circulated in Africa in 2012, raising suspicions about the origin and intentions of the facility.

Eastern Europe, specifically Georgia, has also become a focal point. The Lugar Center in the capital Tbilisi, funded by Washington and overseen by the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit in Georgia, has come under scrutiny.

This Level III laboratory is shrouded in secrecy, with only American citizens possessing classified information and diplomatic immunity under the U.S.-Georgia Agreement on Defense Cooperation permitted to access it. The facility is reportedly involved in the collection and study of various biological agents, including anthrax, tularemia and highly contagious hemorrhagic fevers.

Lt. Gen Igor Kirillov of the Russian Armed Forces (AFR) has accused the U.S. of developing biological weapons near Russia's borders. He cited thousands of documents outlining plans and projects as evidence to support his claim. The general alleged that research on bioweapons was conducted in laboratories in the Donetsk and Luhansk republics and the Kherson region, which are now under Russian control.

"We have no doubt that the U.S.  under the guise of ensuring global biosafety  conducted dual-use research, including the creation of biological weapons components in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders," said Kirillov, the head of the AFR's radiation, chemical and biological defense unit.

Visit FauciTruth.com for more news about the former NIAID director.

Watch the below video that talks about the shameful legacy of Anthony Fauci.

This video is from the LSNTV channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Georgetown University names mass murderer Anthony Fauci a distinguished professor.

BIOWEAPONS CRIMINAL: Anthony Fauci bought off top-level scientists to cover up lab origins of covid-19.

Sen. Rand Paul accuses Anthony Fauci of committing PERJURY, which is a minor offense compared to his other crimes.

Anthony Fauci tries to undermine science during CNN interview.

Anthony Fauci, NIH fund Chinas military-run labs using US taxpayers money.

Sources include:

SlayNews.com

ChinaDaily.com.cn

NewsWars.com
FALSE START: Cruise self-driving vehicles cause traffic jam in San Francisco streets just a day after city expanded robotaxi services

Just one day after the supposedly successful implementation of expanded self-driving taxi use in San Francisco, 10 of these robotaxis immediately caused a traffic jam in the city , blocking two narrow streets in the center of the lively North Beach bar and restaurant district of San Francisco.

According to eyewitnesses, the automated vehicles sat motionless for a full 15 minutes with their parking lights blinking as they seemingly struggled to navigate the situation. The automated vehicles left human drivers perplexed as they struggled to maneuver around the immobile robotaxis, but eventually, the vehicles "woke up."

The cause of the incident remains publicly unknown, but Cruise, the company overseeing the robotaxi project, pointed fingers at cellphone carriers for the traffic jam.

Cruise Government Affairs Manager Lauren Wilson claims LTE cell connectivity outside San Francisco affected the ability of the robotaxi advisors to effectively route the vehicles. (Related: Award-winning study: Self-driving cars more likely to cause traffic incidents and pose hazards due to their limited understanding of human behavior.)

Moreover, one social media account uploaded video footage and reported the incident on Twitter, stating that the "self-driving operations experienced a meltdown."

In response to the incident, Cruise acknowledged that the vehicles faced "wireless bandwidth constraints due to a large festival nearby, causing delayed connectivity to our vehicles."

"We are actively investigating and working on solutions to prevent this from happening again," the company stated.

Self-driving taxis are not ready for full deployment

Because of the incident, Aaron Peskin, a representative of the San Francisco Board Supervisors at North Beach, stressed that in times of major emergencies or fire requiring swift evacuation, non-moving robotaxis could severely hinder the evacuation process and put more lives at risk.

As a result, Peskin now aims to reverse the decision of the California Public Utilities Commission to allow robotaxis to operate non-stop in San Francisco. He even criticized the state government's decision as "influenced by external interests," so he extended the situation to the ethical implications and necessity of public safety.

Cruise, known for its long-term goal of deploying one million robotaxis on American streets by 2030, has been a vocal advocate of the safety and efficiency of self-driving cars. Their autonomous vehicles, backed by advanced artificial intelligence systems, have impressively logged millions of miles on public roads without a single fatality.

But the bustling streets of San Francisco, with a dynamic mix of pedestrians, cyclists and public transit, have proven to be an unexpectedly tough challenge for autonomous vehicles. Reports suggest that robotaxis have encountered issues ranging from unplanned stops to blocking lanes and causing unanticipated interactions with public infrastructure.

Jeffrey Tumlin, the head of San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency, pointed out that the complexity of the streets of San Francisco can be overwhelming for these vehicles.

Steven Shladover, a respected research engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, and who has advised state officials on autonomous vehicles, emphasized that there will always be scenarios where the vehicle's behavior mirrors that of an inexperienced driver despite the advancements made by Waymo and Cruise in their autonomous technology. "It's an adolescent, not yet an adult," he stated, highlighting the ongoing developmental stage of the vehicles.

Furthermore, Jeanine Nicholson, the chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, contested the claims of the companies about their safety records, pointing to 55 documented incidents of robotaxis interfering with emergency response activities.

"They are still not ready for prime time because of the way they have impacted our operations," Nicholson asserted.

Learn more about autonomous vehicles at RoboCars.news.

More related stories:

Young protesters use traffic cones to paralyze self-driving cars in San Francisco.

WAYMO PROBLEMS: Reported accidents involving Waymo driverless cars in San Francisco MULTIPLIED SIXFOLD this year.

Study finds lasers can blind self-driving cars and make them crash into objects or pedestrians.

Self-driving cars are causing traffic incidents all over San Francisco.

Self-driving cars could easily turn into self-crashing cars that deliberately target and kill humans, expert warns.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

FoxBusiness.com

TheAtlantic.com
YouTube amps up medical misinformation policy: Now you cant talk about alternative cancer treatments or PREVENTION of any disease

The Google-owned YouTube video platform is changing the rules again to now prohibit the sharing of information about alternative cancer remedies, which the tech giant says constitute "medical misinformation."

In a "long term vision" notice on its official blog, YouTube's Dr. Garth Graham, the Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health Partnership, along with Matt Halprin, the Vice President and Global Head of Trust and Safety, explain how "removing cancer misinformation" is now a top priority alongside removing all contrary information about the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19).

"In the years since we began our efforts to make YouTube a destination for high-quality health content, we've learned critical lessons about developing Community Guidelines in line with local and global health authority guidance on topics that pose serious real-world risks, such as misinformation on COVID-19, vaccines, reproductive health, harmful substances, and more," the blog post reads.

"We're taking what we've learned so far about the most effective ways to tackle medical misinformation to simplify our approach for creators, viewers, and partners."

(Related: Last fall, Dr. Graham announced the launch of a brand-new "certification" protocol for YouTube videos that contain any type of medical information, period  everything must now directly align with the dictates of the globalist-led World Health Organization [WHO].)

YouTube "is not a platform for distributing information that could harm people," company says

Now that covid is fast-becoming a thing of the past, much to the chagrin of the globalists, YouTube is moving on to the next major medical point of contention: cancer and cancer treatments.

Thanks to the internet, millions of people are learning that traditional therapies like chemotherapy and radiation are subpar options when there are safe and effective natural remedies, some of them strictly prohibited in the United States, that do the job without causing systemic harm to patients.

Since cancer is a multi-billion-dollar industry, YouTube and the rest of the establishment is scrambling to put a lid on all forms of alternative cancer treatments that its users might try to share via the video streaming platform.

According to YouTube, anything other than official cancer treatments constitute "misinformation" and will no longer be allowed on the platform. Users who violate these new rules by attempting to share helpful information with desperate cancer patients will be punished.

"Moving forward, YouTube will streamline dozens of our existing medical misinformation guidelines to fall under three categories  Prevention, Treatment, and Denial," Dr. Graham and Halprin write.

"These policies will apply to specific health conditions, treatments, and substances where content contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO)."

The way YouTube will evaluate whether or not a condition, treatment, or substance falls within the scope of its medical misinformation policies is to rely strictly on "publicly available guidance from health authorities around the world," meaning entities like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and of course the WHO and other such globalist-run bodies.

"We will remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on the prevention and transmission of specific health conditions, and on the safety and efficacy of approved vaccines," YouTube now says. "We will remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on treatments for specific health conditions, including promoting specific harmful substances or practices."

"We will remove content that disputes the existence of specific health conditions. This covers content that denies people have died from COVID-19."

If you are interested in learning about the full scope of YouTube's sweeping new medical misinformation policies and how they will be applied, check out the blog post for yourself.

The latest news about Big Tech censorship can be found at Censorship.news.

Sources for this article include:

Blog.YouTube

NaturalNews.com

TruthBasedMedia.com
A tropical storm with the potential for tornadoes and flooding is chasing South California while a magnitude 5.1 earthquake in Ojai City was followed by dozens of aftershocks.

#Hurriquake: Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake, Dozens of Aftershocks, Tropical Storm

On Sunday, there was an earthquake in southern California, which is currently experiencing a tropical storm brought on by Hurricane Hilary.

The 5.1-magnitude earthquake's epicenter occurred about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles, four miles southeast of the city of Ojai, as per the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

There have been reports of shaking in several places, including Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Newbury Park, Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, sections of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, Malibu, Porter Ranch, and Manhattan Beach.

The earthquake, which occurred at 2:41 PM, was reportedly 14.6 km deep. Over two dozen aftershocks with magnitudes as high as 4.1 have since occurred. According to USGS, no places are anticipated to be harmed by liquefaction and landslides.

The earthquake, with a preliminarily estimated magnitude of 5.0, was the subject of notifications from the National Emergency Notification System (ENS).

Earthquake Operation Mode

The 5.1 earthquake that struck this afternoon near Ojai, according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, activated the LAPD's Earthquake Operation mode.

Additionally, Bass stated that a strategic survey would be carried out by all 106 neighborhood fire stations. At this time, there have been no notable first reports of injuries or structural damage.

Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist, described the location's interest. Since 1932, the area has not experienced an earthquake of this size in this precise spot, let alone within the Ventura basin.

More aftershocks are anticipated in the following days, according to Jones.

After the early morning quake, the hashtag #hurriquake soon became popular on X.

Other Announcements

This survey will be carried out from the ground, air, and sea, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Fire Department. If there isn't any major damage when this procedure is finished and the reports are combined, Earthquake Operation Mode, a procedure that takes less than an hour, will be completed. Usually, this procedure takes under an hour.

On the other hand, the National Weather Service Los Angeles stated that there is NO tsunami hazard for southern California.

However, the most recent public advisory from the National Hurricane Center predicts that a few tornadoes could occur until Sunday night.

The earthquake occurred as southern California was experiencing Hurricane Hilary's downgrading to a tropical storm, which is a first since 1939.

Also Read: 36-Foot Giant Saguaro Cactus in Arizona Falls to Wind, Rain, Not Extreme Heat, State Park Explains

Post Tropical Hilary

Through today, parts of Southern California and Southern Nevada can expect further rainfall levels of 2 to 4 inches from post-Tropical Hilary, with isolated storm total amounts of up to 12 inches. Locally severe flash and urban floods are anticipated to continue.

Residents were urged by the National Hurricane Center to get ready for hazardous to catastrophic floods, with some areas possibly seeing localized major flash flooding. Additionally, it predicted coastal flooding throughout the northern Gulf of California coast.

Two urgent emergency messages were sent out to millions of Southern Californians on Sunday: flash flood and earthquake in Ventura County.

Related Article: Hurricane Hilary Expected To Threaten California With Deep Floods; Evacuations Already Underway
Weather agencies are monitoring the developments of new Tropical Storm Franklin in the Northern Caribbean. The storm can likely bring flooding concerns and heavy rain in parts of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

People with travel plans should check the latest forecasts. The storm outlook could bring slower commutes and travel disruptions. It is best that motorists should check the road conditions before traveling.

5PM EDT 21 Aug: Tropical Storm #Franklin is expected to bring heavy rainfall and tropical storm conditions to the island of Hispaniola later tomorrow. For more information on Franklin visit https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/bRmknd5Ja8  National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 21, 2023

Recently, forecasts monitored the three tropical waves over the Atlantic Ocean that could develop into tropical depressions.

New Tropical Strom Franklin

Furthermore, the newly-formed Tropical Storm Franklin is forecast to unleash challenging winds and flooding in portions of Hispaniola. Franklin is expected to bring severe weather conditions in Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

The poor weather outlook could likely unload on Tuesday or Wednesday in parts of Hispaniola. According to the latest forecasts, Franklin could also unleash thunderstorms and mudslides.

The storm managed to maintain sustained winds of 39-79 miles per hour. The challenging winds could damage trees and powerlines. Homeowners should secure their outdoor equipment.

Residents near flood-prone areas should stay alert for river flooding or floodwaters this week. It is best to evacuate when the rain worsens.

Whether Tropical Storm Franklin strengthens, homeowners should prepare for the severe impacts of the storms. Homeowners should also check their roofing systems for possible repairs or improvements.

According to the forecast, Franklin's heavy rain could impact parts of Puerto Rico midweek. Affected residents should also watch out for major flooding this week.

In Southern California, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that Hurricane Hilary could continue to bring heavy rainfall to the region.

Also Read: Tropical Waves Likely to Develop in Atlantic Ocean Next Week; Thunderstorms Possible in Florida

Tropical Depression Nine

In South Texas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) advisory warned that urban flooding and flash flooding could be possible in the region due to Tropical Depression Nine. Challenging weather could unfold on Tuesday or Wednesday.

 GOES-East satellite loop showing the sun setting on what is currently Tropical Depression Nine over the western Gulf of Mexico. TD Nine is forecast to strengthen to a tropical storm and make landfall along the lower Texas coast Tuesday. Follow @NHC_Atlantic for the latest. pic.twitter.com/ONHMNRDa8S  NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) August 22, 2023

The Tropical Depression could likely develop into a tropical storm as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico. The rainy outlook could help improve the drought conditions and ease the record-high heat in the region.

According to the advisory, floodwaters can be dangerous to human health, causing sickness and injuries.

Americans should watch for floodwaters because there could be harmful bacteria, sharp objects or toxic chemicals. Wearing safety boots can also prevent possible exposure to dangerous objects.

In addition, homeowners should also monitor their family members and pets. It is best to plan an evacuation plan as floodwaters can be life-threatening. Keep all harmful chemicals in areas that floodwaters can't reach.

After the storm, homeowners should still be careful with grounded wires and damaged power lines. It is advisable to call an expert to repair it.

Related Article: US Weather Forecast: Beneficial Rain Likely in South Texas This Week Amidst Scorching Heat

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of extreme rainfall events, the risk of flooding increases in many regions of the world.

Therefore, finding effective and sustainable ways to manage flood risk is a pressing challenge for society.

One possible solution is to use natural flood management (NFM) techniques, which involve mimicking or enhancing natural processes to store and slow down water in the landscape.

NFM can reduce the peak flow and volume of water reaching downstream areas, where flooding is most likely to occur.

It can also provide multiple co-benefits, such as improving water quality, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and recreation.

One of the most promising NFM techniques is to install beaver-like dams in rivers and streams. These are human-made structures that resemble the dams built by beavers, which are semi-aquatic rodents that are known for their engineering skills.

Beaver-like dams are made of natural materials, such as logs, branches, leaves, and mud, and are designed to allow some water to pass through or over them.

By creating these dams, we can harness the benefits of beavers without introducing them to the environment, which may have some negative impacts on existing ecosystems.

How beaver-like dams work

Beaver-like dams work by creating temporary water storage areas upstream of the dam, which can reduce the downstream water level and flow during a storm.

The dams also divert some water to the surrounding floodplain, where it can infiltrate into the soil or evaporate into the air. This reduces the amount of water that reaches the main channel and contributes to flooding.

The effectiveness of beaver-like dams depends on several factors, such as the size, shape, location, and number of dams; the characteristics of the river and its catchment; and the type and intensity of rainfall.

To optimize the performance of beaver-like dams, it is important to monitor their impacts on water levels and flows over time and adjust them accordingly.

Also Read: Beavers: Savior of the Wetlands From Drought Caused by Climate Change

Evidence of beaver-like dams' benefits

Several studies have shown that beaver-like dams can reduce flood risk and provide other benefits for people and nature.

A recent study by Cardiff University and the University of Worcester assessed the impact of 105 leaky barriers on a small river in Shropshire over a period of two years.

The study found that the barriers could store enough water to fill at least four Olympic-sized swimming pools during significant weather events, such as Storm Dennis in 2020.

The barriers raised water levels up to 0.8 metres at each barrier, which slowed down the river flow during these storm events and protected communities downstream from flooding.

Another study reported that beaver-like dams can enhance habitat diversity for river insects and animals, trap pollutants, and enhance the supply of sediment to the floodplain.

They also added resilience to the river during spells of dry and hot weather by preventing it from drying up entirely.

A report by PreventionWeb highlighted that beaver-like dams can also provide social and economic benefits, such as creating opportunities for education, recreation, tourism, and employment.

They can also reduce the costs of conventional flood defenses, such as concrete walls and embankments.



Related article: Beavers and the Environment: Dams Help Remove Nitrogen From Estuaries and Restore Streams
Researchers found that quokkas in Western Australia may be small but have unique ways to survive in burned areas. The animals have adaptive behavior by developing fire exclusion zones to be safe from wildfires.

The threat of wildfires can harm ecosystems and communities.

Fire can instantly move in forests, killing nature's natural engineers and plants.

The dry conditions and soaring temperatures can help unleash deadly bushfires and wildfires fanned by strong winds.

In addition, the lack of rainfall, drought and limited humidity can help unfold unexpected fires, which can quickly occur in high-elevated areas and steep slopes.

In recent research published in Ecosphere, fire frequency can increase the possibility of ecosystem decline and collapse. Long-term solutions are essential to address the emergence of fire, especially in logged and regenerated areas.

Quokkas in Western Australia

Parts of Australia experienced lengthened drought conditions. Wildfires also raise concerns about dangers to communities.

While long-term mitigation plans for wildfires exist, animals are finding ways to adapt and survive the heat and deadly fires.

In Western Australia, the small quokkas are innovative in their safety in burned areas.

According to study in the International Journal of Wildland Fire, the said animals developed fire exclusion zones to prevent possible exposure to fire threats.

The population of quokkas is considered vulnerable.

The researchers tracked the movement patterns of 20 quokkas in the area between 2018 and 2020. They discovered that quokkas went to places that are prescribed burns. The six quokkas showed a behavior change in moving away from burned areas.

According to researchers from Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute, conservation management is vital for the fire exclusion areas of said animals, especially for the rare quokka.

Researcher Leticia Povh explained that they looked into the home ranges of the quokkas adapting to burns. Povh emphasized the conservation significance amidst the rising temperatures and lack of rainfall.

What are Quokkas?

As emphasized by the study, protecting fire exclusion zones can help save the threatened population of quokkas.

Quokkas (Setonix brachyurus) are small herbivores that consume grasses. On Rottnest Island, there are about 10,00 quokkas in the area. They are also on Bald Island.

People can find the said animals in streamsides, heat areas and shrublands. They are known to be active during the night to see for possible prey.

Because they are the most targeted prey, Quokkas are elusive animals. To escape from prey, they can develop trails and paths to survive predators' attacks.

The population of quokkas suffers from declines due to bushfires and predations.

Also Read: Fire Frequency Can Cause Ecosystem Collapse, Research Shows

California's beavers

In California, the beavers played a significant role as natural engineers. Authorities appreciated the substantial contribution of beavers to water problems and wildfire threats.

The animal can develop lush habitats and damns to help with the groundwater supplies.

Related Article: Purple-Crowned Fairy-Wrens Survival Endangered Due to Wildfires in Northern Australia

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
A patient contracted West Nile virus through blood donation, and West Virginia has now reported its first instance of the disease.

1st Case in West Virginia via Blood Donation

West Nile virus reported in West Virginia, its first case of transmission has been linked to blood donation.

The specific incident unfolded in Hardy County, as confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control.

Data showed that the blood donation came from "presumed viremic blood donors" (PVD), who tested positive for the virus in their blood after donating, yet displayed no symptoms at the time of donation.

This phenomenon underscores the potential for asymptomatic carriers to contribute to the spread.

Across the US, a total of 27 states have reported cases of human West Nile virus infection as of 2023, emphasizing the widespread nature of the issue.

West Nile Virus via Mosquito Bites

Mosquitoes transmit the West Nile virus, picking it from infected birds before spreading it to people and animals.

The CDC's findings indicated that 80% show no virus signs, while one in five experiences symptoms like fever, rashes, and headaches.

Most with mild symptoms fully recover, but illness fatigue may persist for months.

Healthcare experts suggest repellent, long attire, and pants to reduce mosquito bite risk.

The latest CDC data, until August 15, reported 190 confirmed human West Nile cases this year, underscoring the need for vigilance and preventive measures.

Virus Transmission

The majority of the time, bites from mosquitoes that are infected result in human infection.

When mosquitoes feed on sick birds, which have the virus in their bloodstreams for a few days, they become infected. Eventually, the virus enters the salivary glands of the mosquito.

The virus may be introduced into people and animals at later blood meals or when mosquitoes bite, where it might grow and perhaps cause sickness.

Contact with other affected animals, their blood, or even other tissues can also spread the infection.

Human illnesses have very seldom been transmitted through breast milk, blood transfusions, or organ transplants.

One instance of transplacental (mother-to-child) West Nile virus transmission has been documented.

Although WNV has been reported to have been transmitted to laboratory employees, there hasn't been any evidence of it spreading from person to person through casual contact or from healthcare workers to patients when normal infection control measures have been followed.

Also Read: Yellow Fever Mosquito: Among Two Invasive Species Reported in Santa Clarita Valley, California

Historic Data: Outbreaks

Discovered in a Ugandan woman in 1937, West Nile Virus (WNV) emerged in birds in the Nile Delta by 1953.

Previously non-pathogenic to birds, a virulent strain caused avian deaths with encephalitis and paralysis in 1997 Israel. WNV-induced human infections have been documented globally for over 50 years.

In 1999, an Israeli-Tunisian WNV strain sparked a major outbreak in New York, subsequently sweeping across the continental USA till 2010.

This event underscored the global threat posed by vector-borne pathogens expanding beyond their native regions.

Greece, Israel, Romania, Russia, and the USA witnessed significant outbreaks, often coinciding with bird migration routes.

Though originally prevalent in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, West Asia, and Australia, WNV has since spread widely from Canada to Venezuela post its 1999 US introduction.

Related Article: Dengue in Florida Nearing 200 Cases This Year with 10 Not From State
Animal research is a controversial topic that often sparks heated debates and ethical dilemmas.

Some people question the necessity, validity, and morality of using animals for scientific purposes, while others argue that it is essential for advancing human and animal health and welfare.

The study examined the justifications for employing animals in research, the advantages and difficulties of animal research, and the ethical standards and laws that govern it.

Reasons for animal research

Animal research is the use of animals for scientific experiments, such as testing new drugs, vaccines, treatments, or devices; studying the causes and mechanisms of diseases; or investigating basic biological processes.

It can also involve observing or manipulating animal behavior, physiology, genetics, or ecology.

The main reason why we are using animals in research is that they are biologically similar to humans and share many of the same health problems.

Mice share more than 98% of their DNA with humans, and rats have similar cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems.

Animals can also be used as models for human diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or AIDS.

By using animals in research, we can learn more about how the body works, how diseases develop and progress, and how to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure them.

Animal research can also help us discover new ways to improve human and animal health and well-being, such as developing new drugs, vaccines, treatments, or devices; enhancing nutrition, hygiene, or safety; or reducing pain or suffering.

Also Read: Chinese Scientists Force Male Rats to Get Pregnant in a Frankenstein-Like Lab Experiment

Ethical principles and regulations of animal research

Animal research is not a static or fixed field, but a dynamic and evolving one that responds to new scientific questions, opportunities, and challenges.

It is constantly seeking to improve its methods, outcomes, and impacts, as well as to address the ethical and social concerns that arise from its practice.

Moreover, it is not conducted without ethical considerations and regulations.

Using animals in research s guided by several ethical principles that aim to ensure that animal research is justified by its potential benefits and minimized by its potential harms.

These principles are summarized by the 3R's of animal research: reduction (using fewer animals), refinement (using less invasive methods), and replacement (using non-animal alternatives).

There are also various laws and guidelines that set the standards and requirements for the use and care of animals in research to regulate animal use.

It must be approved by an independent committee that reviews the scientific merit and ethical aspects of the proposed study.

Furthermore, there should be compliance to specific rules on animal sourcing (where they come from), housing (where they live), handling (how they are treated), testing (what they undergo), monitoring (how they are observed), reporting (what is recorded), or euthanasia (how they are killed).

Animal research must be supervised by qualified personnel who have adequate training and experience in animal welfare and ethics.

It is a complex and controversial topic that requires careful evaluation and regulation.

By understanding why animals are used in research; what are the benefits and challenges of animal research; and what are the ethical principles and regulations of animal research, it can make informed and responsible decisions about animal research.

Related Article: Tickling Lab Rats is Good For Science
At least 850 individuals are still missing following the deadly wildfire in Maui, Hawaii.

According to Mayor Richard Bissen, more than 2,000 names have been originally listed as missing individuals and through the course of time, the number has significantly decreased.

"There are currently 850 names on the list of missing persons. There is positive news in this number because when this process began, the missing persons list contain over 2,000 names. Through the tireless work of the FBI and Maui Police Department, over 1,285 individuals have been located safe," Bissen said in a video message.

Bissen expressed hope that in the coming days, the number of missing individuals would soon decline.

The official also encouraged those residents who have missing and unaccounted family members and loved ones to go to the Family Assistance Center.

Authorities also said more or less 2,000 people have remained without power and that 10,000 were without telecommunications connectivity.

Read Also: Maui Wildfires Considered As Largest Natural Disaster With Death Toll Reaching 80; 2,170 Acres Put To Ashes

85% of the disaster area already searched for

According to the County of Maui, the number of fatalities in the massive blaze was still at 114 as 85% of the disaster area was already searched by personnel and cadaver dogs.

Authorities said there were no new positive identifications of the deceased to be announced at this time, noting that the names will be released upon notification of next of kin.

Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has continued to extend support as regards the victim identification efforts.

When it comes to containing the fire, the blaze in Olinda was already 85% contained, with an estimated 1,081 acres.

Amid this, authorities from the Maui Fire Department has continued to assist the State Division of Forestry and Wildfire in this joint fire-fighting effort.

On the other hand, Kula fire is also already 85% contained, having an estimate of 202 acres. Meanwhile, the Lahaina fire is now 90% contained, with an estimated 2,170 acres.

Firefighters were also able to contain Pulehu / Kihei fire by 100%. Fire officials have continued to monitor the area even though there are no active threats at this time.

Still, water in most parts of west Maui is not safe to drink.

Until further notice, residents in the said areas should only use bottled water or potable water provided from tankers for things like drinking, brushing teeth, ice-making, and food preparation.

Biden's visit

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden paid a visit in Maui to assess the damage of the wildfire disaster area in Lahaina. The First Couple also met with the survivors and first responders who were adversely by the powerful blaze.

Biden received a situation briefing from Major General Kenneth Hara, the Incident Commander for the Lahaina wildfire disaster.

Biden assured Maui residents that they would all rise from the disaster.

"To my left is the banyan tree beloved by this community for over 150 years. Today, it's burned, but it's still standing. The tree survived for a reason," Biden said. "I believe it is a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis."

"We will be respectful of these sacred grounds and traditions and rebuild the way the people of Maui want to build, not the way others want to build," the President added.

Related Article: Hurricane Dora at Category 4 Fuels Wildfires in Maui, Locals Swim Away from Blazing Town

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Air quality in the populous Jakarta, Indonesia has reached dangerous levels in the past weeks.

According to the IQ Air, the air pollution in the city has been categorized as "unhealthy," noting that the PM2.5 concentration in Jakarta is presently 12.6 times than the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline value.

The IQ Air, the leading Swiss air quality technology company, explained that the PM2.5 refers to the microscopic particular matter of 2.5 or less micrometers in diameter, having a wide range of detrimental effects on human health and the environment.

Experts said that it is considered as one of the main pollutants used in calculating a city or countries overall air quality rating.

Read Also: Air Pollution Kills 1200 Children Yearly, European Study Says

Factors

Previous studies have consistently found Jakarta to be one of the most polluted cities across the planet.

According to researchers, there are a number of contributing factors as regards the high levels of pollution in Indonesia's capital.

"During the year of 2019 a PM2.5 reading of 67.2 g/m was recorded, putting that month's air quality into the "unhealthy" bracket (55.5 to 150.4 g/m to be classed as such)," the IQ Air pointed out.

Experts noted that due to the large population in the city, the roads are commonly filled with high numbers of motorbikes, cars and trucks.

They said that many of these vehicles would fall outside the guidelines for what an environmentally safe vehicle should be because many are still running on diesel fuels.

These vehicles are also known for emitting far higher levels of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), being the main components that could be associated with vehicular usage and with nitrogen dioxide being found in highest concentrations over areas with large volumes of traffic.

Through the data that was taken over in 2019, they also noticed that the city had experienced its worst spells of pollution from the months of April through to December, with particularly bad periods of pollution being recorded in May, June, July, September and October.

All of which came in with unhealthy ratings of PM2.5 in the air, requiring the readings to come in anywhere over 55.5 g/m.

Information had shown that the first three months of the year witnessed the cleanest air quality, although the rate in these months were still high.

The polluted air seems evident as President Joko Widodo had been battling cough for weeks, with officials suggesting that it could be related to the air condition in Jakarta.

Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno has said that doctors have been monitoring the President's condition.

Meanwhile, Widodo already directed an urgent government intervention on the matter as he had an emergency cabinet meeting with ministers on August 14 to discuss worsening air pollution.

Widodo also made an appeal to workers to ease traffic congestion by working from home.

Health risks

Amid the high levels of pollution comes an increase in the number of health risks.

Those living in Jakarta have experienced symptoms such as chest infections, irritation to the eyes, skin, mouth and nose, as well as increased susceptibility towards developing respiratory ailments such as emphysema, bronchitis and aggravated asthma.

Other conditions include damage to the heart and circulatory system, due to the pervasively small size of PM2.5.

So far, experts said that the level of air quality in Jakarta have actually gotten worse instead of improving.

Related Article: How to Protect Your Eyes from Dust and Air Pollution

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What Are The Recovery Qualities Of Quit Irregular Bowel Movements? If you think that you have moderate or intense irregularity, of course, do not...
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Companies trying to deploy generative AI today have a major problem. If they use a commercial platform like OpenAI, they have to send data up to the cloud, which may run afoul of compliance requirements and is expensive. If they download and run a model like Llama 2 locally, they need to know a lot about how to fine-tune it, how to set up vector databases to feed it live data, and how to operationalize it.

VMware's new partnership with Nvidia aims to solve these issues by offering a fully integrated, ready-to-go generative AI platform that companies can run on premises, in colocation facilities, or in private clouds. The platform will include Llama 2 or a choice of other large language models, as well as a vector database to feed up-to-date company information to the LLM.

The product, VMware Private AI Foundation with Nvidia, will feature generative AI software and accelerated computing from Nvidia, and it will be built on VMware Cloud Foundation and optimized for AI.

The need for a platform like this is dramatic. According to Lucidworks global generative AI benchmark study released this month, 96% of executives and managers involved in AI decision processes are actively prioritizing generative AI investments, and 93% of companies plan to increase their AI spend in the coming year.

But risk management is a serious concern. The uncertain and evolving regulatory landscape significantly impacts generative AI investment decisions, said 77% of CEOs polled for a recent KPMG survey. Prioritizing effective risk management has increased across the board over the past few months, KPMG reported, with protecting personal data and privacy concerns leading the priority list at 63%, followed by cybersecurity at 62%.

Running large language models on premises, or within other enterprise-controlled environments, can significantly alleviate many of these concerns.

"Having the option to run a model locally can open many doors for companies that were simply prohibited from using publicly hosted models, even if they were hosted in a virtual public cloud," says Bradley Shimmin, chief analyst for AI platforms, analytics, and data management at research firm Omdia.

This is particularly important for heavily regulated sectors like finance, he says, or for government use cases. Local LLMs can also address data residency concerns.

"Having the ability to have state-of-the-art models that you can run completely in air-gapped systems is pretty compelling," Shimmin says. "It's all about bringing the model to the data. Data gravity is driving the entire industry."

If the locally run models are also free and open source, then companies stand to save quite a bit of money on not having to pay for OpenAI API calls. "Latency is lower, cost is lower, and you have more control over it," says Manish Goyal, global AI and analytics leader at IBM Consulting.

VMware's new offering is positioned to catch the wave.

And, this week at the VMware Explore 2023 conference, Nvidia and VMware are demonstrating how enterprises can use their tools to download free, open source LLMs, customize them, and deploy production-grade generative AI in VMware environments.

The catch? VMware Private AI Foundation won't be available until early next year.

How VMware Private AI Foundation works

"We believe companies will bring more of their gen AI workloads to their data, rather than moving their data to the public cloud services," says Paul Turner, vice president of product management for vSphere and cloud platform at VMware.

Enterprises can take models like Meta's Llama 2, place the models in their data centers next to their data, optimize and fine-tune them, and create new business offerings, he says. "It helps build business differentiators for companies."

When companies try to do this on their own, however, it can be difficult to integrate all the hardware and software components with all the necessary applications and toolkits. "We want to make it simple for our customers," Turner says.

VMware Private AI Foundation is the complete stack, he says. It starts with a foundational model: Meta's Llama 2, or Falcon, or Nvidias own NeMo AI. Building on top of existing models is more efficient than building new foundational models from scratch, he says.

After the models are fine-tuned, they need a way to get up-to-date information without retraining. This typically comes in the form of vector databases. The VMware Private AI Foundation has a vector database built in: PostgreSQL with the PGVector extension.

"The vector database is very useful if they have fast-moving information," says Turner. "It's part of building a complete solution."

In addition, VMware has done the heavy lifting on performance optimization.

"Models don't just fit in a single GPU," Turner says. "They need two GPUs, possibly four. Sometimes you want to spread to 8 to get the performance you need  and we can scale it up to 16 GPUs."

Storage is also optimized, he adds. There's a direct path from the GPU to the storage, bypassing the CPU. Dell, HPE and Lenovo are already signed up as partners to deliver the rest of the stack.

"It will be a single SKU product from VMware," says Turner, "but will also ship from these vendors as pre-integrated, ready-to-go systems. We give customers that choice."

VMware Private AI Foundation will also be available through VMware's OEM channels and distributors, as well as more than 2,000 MSP partners.

Nvidias AI products will also be available through a broad system of partners, says Justin Boitano, vice president of enterprise computing at Nvidia. "We have over 20 global OEMs and ODMs."

The pricing will be based on GPUs, says VMware's Turner. "We want to tie it to the value for the customers." However, he declined to give more details. "We are not ready to share the pricing on this."

If customers don't want to wait until next year, reference architectures are already available. "Customers can roll their own," Turner says. "But the fully integrated single suite product will be early 2024."

Fine-tuning LLMs

According to Nvidias Boitano, generative AI is the most transformational technology of our lifetimes.

"These models are amazing," he says. "They provide a natural language interface to a company's business systems. The power is phenomenal. We see AI being infused into every business in the next decade."

The problem is that off-the-shelf models only know the data they were trained on. If they know anything about a specific company, it's only the public information available on the Web when they were trained.

Plus, foundation models like ChatGPT are trained on everything. They can write poetry, and code, and help plan meals, but they often are not very good at the specific tasks a company might want them to do. "You have to customize models against your private business information," Boitano says. "That's where the true business value is unlocked."

This could be a company's call center records, or IT tickets. "But you don't want to give this data to a model that takes it and encodes it into a public thing," he says.

That's where open-source models like Llama 2 come in, he says. "You can pull in those models and easily combine them with your proprietary information, so that the model has a nuanced understanding of what you need."

VMware Private AI Foundation comes with pre-packaged models, Boitano says, training frameworks, and an AI workbench. "This makes it easy to start on your laptop or PC but provides an easy path to move into the data center, where the bulk of computing and inference work will happen," he says.

Fine-tuning can take as little as eight hours on eight GPUs to create a 40-billion parameter model. Then the vector database is plugged in, so that the AI can have access to current information from across the enterprise. "We think all this unlocks previously impossible-to-solve problems," Boitano says.

The platform will support the A100 AI chip, first introduced in 2020, the H100 chip released in 2022, and the new L40S chip when it ships next year, says Boitano.

The L40S will offer 1.2 times more generative AI inference performance and 1.7 times more training performance compared to the A100, he says.

"A lot of partners are excited about L40S because it's not just for generative AI but can do virtual desktops and rendering as well," he says.

What is Llama 2 from Meta?

The VMware Private AI Foundation will be able to run a variety of generative AI models, but the one mentioned most frequently for enterprise deployments these days is Llama 2.

Meta released Llama 2 in July. It's free for commercial use and open source  kind of. Companies with more than 700 million active monthly users will need to apply for a license.

Today, nearly all of the large language models at the top of the HuggingFace Open LLM Leaderboard are variants of Llama 2. Previously, open-source foundational models were limited in usability, many based on Llama 2's precursor, Llama, and only licensed for non-commercial use.

"Now we have a commercially licensable open source-ish model that you don't have to pay for," says Juan Orlandini, CTO, North America at Insight, a Chandler, Ariz.-based solution integrator. "The genie is out of the bottle."

Companies can download these models, fine-tune them by doing additional training on their own data, and give them access to real-time data via embeddings, he says.

Llama 2 comes in three sizes, allowing companies to optimize performance versus hardware requirements. "You can actually take that and turn it into something that can run on relatively low-powered devices," he says.

Private LLMs are beginning to be the way that organizations are going, says John Carey, managing director of the Technology Solutions group at global consulting firm AArete.

The biggest advantage is that they allow enterprises to bring the AI to their data, rather than the other way around.

"They need to secure their data, they need to make sure that their data has access controls and all the standard data governance, but they want ChatGPT-like functionality," says Carey. "But there are real concerns about ChatGPT or Bard or whatever, especially for proprietary data  or healthcare data, or contract data."

VMware isn't the only platform offering support for Llama 2.

"AWS has their Titan family of models, but they've also recently partnered with Meta to host the Llama models next to that," says Omdia's Shimmin.

Microsoft has also announced support for Llama 2 on Azure, and it is already available in the Azure Machine Learning model catalog.

"I would imagine, given the way Google has architected their tools, that they would also be able to host and work with third-party models, both closed and open source," says Shimmin.

IBM plans to make Llama 2 available within its Watsonx AI and Data Platform.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was forced to cancel a visit to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji because her special plane developed a problem twice in two days, some Australian media outlets reported.

The purpose of Baerbock's visit was to promote a German "Indo-Pacific" strategy. But before setting off, Baerbock said that "even though we are 16,000 kilometers apart, we remain strategic partners that support each other".

The technical snag in her aircraft triggered ridicule in the German press. Bild said "Germany has lost face in front of the whole world", while Der Spiegel sarcastically said that government aircraft cannot fly, "just as everything else you have heard about this country recently".

Recently, in May, Baerbock was forced to stay in Qatar for a day as her aircraft developed a tire problem.

Baerbock's aircraft, the oldest of the German government's three executive jets, is scheduled to be grounded in 2024.

German government executive jets are notorious for breaking down. Former German chancellor Angela Merkel missed the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November 2018, because a radio system failure forced her aircraft to return mid-way.

The same year, then German finance minister Olaf Scholz had to take a civilian aircraft to return from an International Monetary Fund meeting because rodents bit into the government aircraft's cables.

Thorsten Benner, co-founder and director of the Global Public Policy Institute, a German think tank, and also a member of Baerbock's entourage, said the trip was carefully choreographed to demonstrate Germany's commitment to the "Indo-Pacific", a geopolitical concept coined by Washington, but ended up becoming a perfect metaphor for the "German decline" narrative.

Almost all of Germany's economic indicators are dipping. Manufacturing was once the pride of the country, but in July, the preliminary reading of Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index was only 38.8, while Italy and Spain, two European countries that sought German aid during the European debt crisis, were 44.5 and 47.8 respectively.

The IMF's latest forecast is that Germany's gross domestic product will shrink by 0.3 percent in 2023, the only G7 country whose economy is to contract.

The deteriorating economy is reshaping Germany's politics, while also making the German media speculate why a top diplomat was flying 16,000 kilometers to promote the "Indo-Pacific" strategy, which serves the United States' geopolitical interests, during an economic decline.

The mockery in the German media may not be confined to rickety government aircraft. Maybe it mirrors a general anxiety and skepticism about the diplomatic move.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: At least 17 men, hailing from Punjab and Haryana, was repatriated to India on Sunday after being held captive in war-torn Libya. They were taken in by an armed mafia for entering the country illegally after their travel agents deserted them midway.

They left for Italy in February this year via Dubai and then Egypt. Enroute they entered Libya where they were apprehended and jailed as they didnt have any valid documents. The Indian Embassy in Tunis (which looks after Libya) as well as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) learnt about the 17 men on May 26 after appeals by their family members, said a source familiar with the matter.

These 17 men were held captive by an armed group in Zwara City in Libya after they were trafficked from India. Since then, the Indian Embassy in Tunis was in touch with the family members and made concerted efforts to get these men out of captivity, they said.

It is learnt that all through the months of May and June, the Indian Embassy through its informal channels followed up with the captors on their release. On June 13, the Libyan authorities were able to rescue the Indian nationals, but had kept them in their custody alleging that they had illegally entered the country. The Indian Ambassador in Tunis and senior MEA officials from Delhi worked hard to convince the Libyan authorities to release these men, the source said.

The Indian Embassy issued emergency certificates for their travel to India as they didnt have passports. The Embassy took care of the essentials for these 17 including food, medicines and clothes. The rescue operation and process of repatriation was facilitated by Vikramjit Singh Sahney Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab. The return tickets for these men to India was also arranged by the Embassy.

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NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: At least 17 men, hailing from Punjab and Haryana, was repatriated to India on Sunday after being held captive in war-torn Libya. They were taken in by an armed mafia for entering the country illegally after their travel agents deserted them midway. They left for Italy in February this year via Dubai and then Egypt. Enroute they entered Libya where they were apprehended and jailed as they didnt have any valid documents. The Indian Embassy in Tunis (which looks after Libya) as well as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) learnt about the 17 men on May 26 after appeals by their family members, said a source familiar with the matter. These 17 men were held captive by an armed group in Zwara City in Libya after they were trafficked from India. Since then, the Indian Embassy in Tunis was in touch with the family members and made concerted efforts to get these men out of captivity, they said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); It is learnt that all through the months of May and June, the Indian Embassy through its informal channels followed up with the captors on their release. On June 13, the Libyan authorities were able to rescue the Indian nationals, but had kept them in their custody alleging that they had illegally entered the country. The Indian Ambassador in Tunis and senior MEA officials from Delhi worked hard to convince the Libyan authorities to release these men, the source said. The Indian Embassy issued emergency certificates for their travel to India as they didnt have passports. The Embassy took care of the essentials for these 17 including food, medicines and clothes. The rescue operation and process of repatriation was facilitated by Vikramjit Singh Sahney Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab. The return tickets for these men to India was also arranged by the Embassy. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

KOLKATA: BJP MLAs on Tuesday staged a walkout of the West Bengal assembly over the death of a first-year student at Jadavpur University after allegedly being ragged and sexually harassed, asserting that the varsity campus is now a "hub of anti-national elements", and only an NIA probe can bring out the truth.

The BJP legislative party, which brought an adjournment motion on the issue, sought a reply from Education Minister Bratya Basu.

"What action has the state government taken to control the situation at JU and to break the nexus of anti-national elements and drugs at JU?" Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari asked.

Replying to him, Basu blamed Governor CV Ananda Bose for the "situation in Jadavpur University", following which BJP MLAs started shouting slogans against the TMC government.

Later, the opposition legislators walked out of the House, disagreeing with the minister.

"The governor is solely responsible for the situation. It is not that a menace like ragging is taking place in JU only. Such incidents have occurred in central institutes like IIT Kharagpur," Basu said.

Jadavpur University has been in the eye of a storm of criticism over the death of a first-year undergraduate student after allegedly being ragged and sexually harassed.

The 17-year-old undergraduate student died after falling from a second-floor balcony of the main boys' hostel on August 9. His family alleged that he was a victim of ragging and sexual harassment.

Thirteen people, including former and current students of JU, were arrested in connection with the death of the student.

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KOLKATA: BJP MLAs on Tuesday staged a walkout of the West Bengal assembly over the death of a first-year student at Jadavpur University after allegedly being ragged and sexually harassed, asserting that the varsity campus is now a "hub of anti-national elements", and only an NIA probe can bring out the truth. The BJP legislative party, which brought an adjournment motion on the issue, sought a reply from Education Minister Bratya Basu. "What action has the state government taken to control the situation at JU and to break the nexus of anti-national elements and drugs at JU?" Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari asked.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Replying to him, Basu blamed Governor CV Ananda Bose for the "situation in Jadavpur University", following which BJP MLAs started shouting slogans against the TMC government. Later, the opposition legislators walked out of the House, disagreeing with the minister. "The governor is solely responsible for the situation. It is not that a menace like ragging is taking place in JU only. Such incidents have occurred in central institutes like IIT Kharagpur," Basu said. Jadavpur University has been in the eye of a storm of criticism over the death of a first-year undergraduate student after allegedly being ragged and sexually harassed. The 17-year-old undergraduate student died after falling from a second-floor balcony of the main boys' hostel on August 9. His family alleged that he was a victim of ragging and sexual harassment. Thirteen people, including former and current students of JU, were arrested in connection with the death of the student. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to news portal NewsClick's Editor in Chief Prabir Purkayastha on a plea filed by Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EoW), seeking direction to vacate its interim order asking the probe agency not to take any coercive action against the news site.

The high court, on July 7, 2021, passed an order directing that Prabir Purkayastha shall not be arrested, adding, however, that he will have to cooperate with the investigation as and when required by the investigating officer.

The bench of Justice Saurabh Benrajee on Tuesday sought a response from Purkayastha in the matter.

According to the EOW FIR, a case was registered under IPC sections 406, 420 and 120-B and an investigation was launched. During the probe, the sleuths gathered evidence indicating criminal acts.

The accused persons, in conspiracy with their accomplices based abroad, devised a deceitful scheme to obtain and receive funds for undertaking activities as per instructions received from their foreign-based benefactors, by disguising the funds received as Foreign Direct Investment.

The accused persons, in furtherance of their scheme, converted their entity into a private limited company and got their valuation inflated through manipulation of the valuation criteria and process, so as to use the inflated valuation to get foreign investment purportedly in lieu of dilution of their shareholding in favour of the foreign investors, stated the EOW.

After seeking protection from arrest the petitioner Prabir Purkayastha joined the investigation and he merely provided the balance sheets of PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. for the financial year 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 but failed to provide closures of the balance sheets to check their source of revenue, expenditures, end use of funds FDI, and fund/revenue from foreign entities stated EOW.

The petitioner or accused also failed to provide information on what kind of export services were provided by their company PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. to the foreign entities against the fee/remittances paid by them, stated EOW.

Recently, the ED also moved Delhi High Court against Newsclick and its editor-in-chief through a fresh application stating that it was a case of grave criminal conspiracy for paid news.

The 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 agency not to take any coercive action against the portal's founder Purkayastha in connection with a money laundering case subject to his joining the investigation.

The ED plea stated that in light of a further investigation into the matter, additional material has been revealed which discloses 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 PMLA.

"In light of the facts, the present application is being filed bona fide and in the interest of justice, seeking vacation of the interim orders dated June 21, 2021, and July 29, 2021," the ED said in its plea.

The agency, in February 2021, raided the premises of NewsClick and the residences of its editors in connection with a case of alleged money laundering and conducted search and seizure operations. Its case related to alleged foreign funding is based on an FIR registered by Delhi Polices Economic Offences Wing.

Earlier this month, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress and NewsClick over their alleged Chinese funding.

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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to news portal NewsClick's Editor in Chief Prabir Purkayastha on a plea filed by Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EoW), seeking direction to vacate its interim order asking the probe agency not to take any coercive action against the news site. The high court, on July 7, 2021, passed an order directing that Prabir Purkayastha shall not be arrested, adding, however, that he will have to cooperate with the investigation as and when required by the investigating officer. The bench of Justice Saurabh Benrajee on Tuesday sought a response from Purkayastha in the matter.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to the EOW FIR, a case was registered under IPC sections 406, 420 and 120-B and an investigation was launched. During the probe, the sleuths gathered evidence indicating criminal acts. The accused persons, in conspiracy with their accomplices based abroad, devised a deceitful scheme to obtain and receive funds for undertaking activities as per instructions received from their foreign-based benefactors, by disguising the funds received as Foreign Direct Investment. The accused persons, in furtherance of their scheme, converted their entity into a private limited company and got their valuation inflated through manipulation of the valuation criteria and process, so as to use the inflated valuation to get foreign investment purportedly in lieu of dilution of their shareholding in favour of the foreign investors, stated the EOW. After seeking protection from arrest the petitioner Prabir Purkayastha joined the investigation and he merely provided the balance sheets of PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. for the financial year 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 but failed to provide closures of the balance sheets to check their source of revenue, expenditures, end use of funds FDI, and fund/revenue from foreign entities stated EOW. The petitioner or accused also failed to provide information on what kind of export services were provided by their company PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. to the foreign entities against the fee/remittances paid by them, stated EOW. Recently, the ED also moved Delhi High Court against Newsclick and its editor-in-chief through a fresh application stating that it was a case of grave criminal conspiracy for paid news. The 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 agency not to take any coercive action against the portal's founder Purkayastha in connection with a money laundering case subject to his joining the investigation. The ED plea stated that in light of a further investigation into the matter, additional material has been revealed which discloses 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 PMLA. "In light of the facts, the present application is being filed bona fide and in the interest of justice, seeking vacation of the interim orders dated June 21, 2021, and July 29, 2021," the ED said in its plea. The agency, in February 2021, raided the premises of NewsClick and the residences of its editors in connection with a case of alleged money laundering and conducted search and seizure operations. Its case related to alleged foreign funding is based on an FIR registered by Delhi Polices Economic Offences Wing. Earlier this month, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress and NewsClick over their alleged Chinese funding. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

Express News Service

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Congress invited prominent OBC leaders from the BJP to participate in a sit-in dharna organised in Gandhinagar on August 22 concerning the issues of Other Backward Classes, including the need for reservations for them in local bodies.

Through social media, Congress Legislative Party in Gujarat leader Amit Chavda invited a host of OBC MLAs, MPs and ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to attend the 'Swabhiman Dharna' (Sit-in for self-respect) organised at Satyagrah Chhavni ground in Gandhinagar at 10:30 am.

Importantly, the Opposition Congress has invited senior OBC politicians from the ruling BJP party to participate in a sit-in in Gandhinagar on Tuesday to raise awareness about a variety of issues impacting the Other Backward Classes, including the need for reservation for them in local bodies.

Amit Chavda said, "We have invited political leaders of all communities, all religions, all parties to discuss the various issues of the OBC community today."

Under the "Swabhiman Dharna", four demands have been made to the government. In which caste-based population census has been demanded. Aside from that, we are calling for the implementation of a 27% OBC reservation in local self-government institutions, a 27% allocation of state Budget for the OBC population, and allotment of seats as per reservation in cooperatives also. Said Chavda

The Gujarat Congress has accused the BJP of trying to end the representation of OBCs in local bodies.

According to Chavda, the protest has been organized by a non-political outfit called "OBC Anamat Bachao Samiti", which was formed last year to raise the issues concerning the community.

The main contention of the opposition party is the "delay" in making public a report submitted by a commission formed last year by the BJP government to ascertain the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies to decide on reservations for OBCs in them.

The report was submitted by the commission in April this year. Since the report has not been made public, elections to several local bodies have been put on hold in the state, the Congress alleged.

Meanwhile, OBCs make up the majority of Gujarat's population. In the lack of new data, some estimates place them at nearly 40% of the population. In the 2022 assembly elections, 58 of the 182 candidates on the saffron party's ticket are from Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

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AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Congress invited prominent OBC leaders from the BJP to participate in a sit-in dharna organised in Gandhinagar on August 22 concerning the issues of Other Backward Classes, including the need for reservations for them in local bodies. Through social media, Congress Legislative Party in Gujarat leader Amit Chavda invited a host of OBC MLAs, MPs and ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to attend the 'Swabhiman Dharna' (Sit-in for self-respect) organised at Satyagrah Chhavni ground in Gandhinagar at 10:30 am. Importantly, the Opposition Congress has invited senior OBC politicians from the ruling BJP party to participate in a sit-in in Gandhinagar on Tuesday to raise awareness about a variety of issues impacting the Other Backward Classes, including the need for reservation for them in local bodies.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Amit Chavda said, "We have invited political leaders of all communities, all religions, all parties to discuss the various issues of the OBC community today." Under the "Swabhiman Dharna", four demands have been made to the government. In which caste-based population census has been demanded. Aside from that, we are calling for the implementation of a 27% OBC reservation in local self-government institutions, a 27% allocation of state Budget for the OBC population, and allotment of seats as per reservation in cooperatives also. Said Chavda The Gujarat Congress has accused the BJP of trying to end the representation of OBCs in local bodies. According to Chavda, the protest has been organized by a non-political outfit called "OBC Anamat Bachao Samiti", which was formed last year to raise the issues concerning the community. The main contention of the opposition party is the "delay" in making public a report submitted by a commission formed last year by the BJP government to ascertain the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies to decide on reservations for OBCs in them. The report was submitted by the commission in April this year. Since the report has not been made public, elections to several local bodies have been put on hold in the state, the Congress alleged. Meanwhile, OBCs make up the majority of Gujarat's population. In the lack of new data, some estimates place them at nearly 40% of the population. In the 2022 assembly elections, 58 of the 182 candidates on the saffron party's ticket are from Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Noting that many Manipur residents may have lost their identity documents in the ethnic strife, a Supreme Court-appointed panel has urged the top court to pass a slew of directions to the state government and others including the UIDAI to ensure Aadhaar cards are made available to those displaced and the victims' compensation scheme is broadened.

The all-women committee headed by Justice Gita Mittal, which also comprises Justices (retd) Shalini P Joshi and Asha Menon, submitted three reports to the apex court on personal documents of the displaced persons, Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 and the appointment of domain experts to facilitate its functioning.

The panel has been constituted to oversee the relief and rehabilitation of those hit by ethnic violence in the border state.

The panel of former women judges was constituted days after the apex court had termed as "deeply disturbing" the video of women being paraded naked in the state.

Three separate reports, which were shared with the counsel concerned on Tuesday in pursuance of the apex court's directions, were filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.

The Justice Mittal panel said among the several gaps, which could impact reaching the benefits of relief and rehabilitation measures to the victims, the first and foremost would be "non-availability of documents for identification which would include Aadhaar cards, voter I-card/ration cards/BPL cards etc."

It said enquiries have revealed that out of all the above documents, the process of obtaining a copy of the Aadhaar Card may be the simplest as the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has all the necessary information available in digital format.

The panel has sought directions to the Deputy Director General, UIDAI, Regional Office, Guwahati as well as the Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, Manipur to jointly take all steps to ensure availability of Aadhaar card to the displaced persons whose records are available with Aadhaar authorities.

"Direct the Secretary, Department of Finance to issue appropriate instructions to all Banks in the affected parts of Manipur to make available the details of the bank accounts held by the displaced persons to them. If necessary, the Banks should depute responsible staff members to visit the relief camps and interact with the displaced persons, ensuring continuity of banking service to them," it said.

The committee has also suggested urgent steps for issuing the Disability Certificates/Duplicates of Disability Certificates to specially-abled persons in the relief camps immediately.

On the issue of compensation to the victims, the committee said the Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 covers an extremely limited number of offences entitling a person to compensation and its outreach needs to be immediately widened.

It said time-bound directions need to be given to National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to examine and make recommendations regarding offences other than those covered and fixation of rates of interim compensation.

Noting the lapses in the scheme, the panel has sought directions to the Manipur High Court and the state government to urgently complete the process of appointing secretaries of the District Legal Services Authorities in all the 16 districts in the state.

The committee urged the top court to direct the Manipur government to make appropriate amendments or modifications in the Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 within two weeks.

"Direct the Police Authorities to forward immediately after registration, soft and hard copies of FIRS registered so far or as may be registered hereafter to the concerned District State Legal Services Authority.

"Directions be issued to the Government of India and Government of Manipur to provide information regarding Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 as well as any other Special Schemes to the displaced persons under which they can take benefit," the committee said.

In addition to the above subjects, the committee said special care needs to be accorded to the elderly.

The panel said it is necessary to engage with authorities and officials at all levels of the government machinery located in far-flung relief camps as well as the senior most in the bureaucracy.

ALSO READ | When Manipur sank to its lowest, coexistence went up in smoke

"Ascertaining their particulars as well as the contact details and contacting them can prove to be difficult. It is, therefore, essential to have urgent assistance of an accomplished and efficient former senior bureaucrat who has served in the Manipur Cadre," it said.

The top court, while taking note of the three reports, had on Monday said it will pass "certain procedural directions" on August 25 to facilitate the functioning of the Justice Mittal panel and to deal with issues pertaining to administrative requisitions, funding to meet administrative and other expenses, and setting up a web portal to provide necessary publicity to the work being done by the panel.

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.

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NEW DELHI: Noting that many Manipur residents may have lost their identity documents in the ethnic strife, a Supreme Court-appointed panel has urged the top court to pass a slew of directions to the state government and others including the UIDAI to ensure Aadhaar cards are made available to those displaced and the victims' compensation scheme is broadened. The all-women committee headed by Justice Gita Mittal, which also comprises Justices (retd) Shalini P Joshi and Asha Menon, submitted three reports to the apex court on personal documents of the displaced persons, Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 and the appointment of domain experts to facilitate its functioning. The panel has been constituted to oversee the relief and rehabilitation of those hit by ethnic violence in the border state.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The panel of former women judges was constituted days after the apex court had termed as "deeply disturbing" the video of women being paraded naked in the state. Three separate reports, which were shared with the counsel concerned on Tuesday in pursuance of the apex court's directions, were filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. The Justice Mittal panel said among the several gaps, which could impact reaching the benefits of relief and rehabilitation measures to the victims, the first and foremost would be "non-availability of documents for identification which would include Aadhaar cards, voter I-card/ration cards/BPL cards etc." It said enquiries have revealed that out of all the above documents, the process of obtaining a copy of the Aadhaar Card may be the simplest as the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has all the necessary information available in digital format. The panel has sought directions to the Deputy Director General, UIDAI, Regional Office, Guwahati as well as the Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, Manipur to jointly take all steps to ensure availability of Aadhaar card to the displaced persons whose records are available with Aadhaar authorities. "Direct the Secretary, Department of Finance to issue appropriate instructions to all Banks in the affected parts of Manipur to make available the details of the bank accounts held by the displaced persons to them. If necessary, the Banks should depute responsible staff members to visit the relief camps and interact with the displaced persons, ensuring continuity of banking service to them," it said. The committee has also suggested urgent steps for issuing the Disability Certificates/Duplicates of Disability Certificates to specially-abled persons in the relief camps immediately. On the issue of compensation to the victims, the committee said the Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 covers an extremely limited number of offences entitling a person to compensation and its outreach needs to be immediately widened. It said time-bound directions need to be given to National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to examine and make recommendations regarding offences other than those covered and fixation of rates of interim compensation. Noting the lapses in the scheme, the panel has sought directions to the Manipur High Court and the state government to urgently complete the process of appointing secretaries of the District Legal Services Authorities in all the 16 districts in the state. The committee urged the top court to direct the Manipur government to make appropriate amendments or modifications in the Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 within two weeks. "Direct the Police Authorities to forward immediately after registration, soft and hard copies of FIRS registered so far or as may be registered hereafter to the concerned District State Legal Services Authority. "Directions be issued to the Government of India and Government of Manipur to provide information regarding Manipur Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 as well as any other Special Schemes to the displaced persons under which they can take benefit," the committee said. In addition to the above subjects, the committee said special care needs to be accorded to the elderly. The panel said it is necessary to engage with authorities and officials at all levels of the government machinery located in far-flung relief camps as well as the senior most in the bureaucracy. ALSO READ | When Manipur sank to its lowest, coexistence went up in smoke "Ascertaining their particulars as well as the contact details and contacting them can prove to be difficult. It is, therefore, essential to have urgent assistance of an accomplished and efficient former senior bureaucrat who has served in the Manipur Cadre," it said. The top court, while taking note of the three reports, had on Monday said it will pass "certain procedural directions" on August 25 to facilitate the functioning of the Justice Mittal panel and to deal with issues pertaining to administrative requisitions, funding to meet administrative and other expenses, and setting up a web portal to provide necessary publicity to the work being done by the panel. 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. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: The former Uttar Pradesh Governor and veteran Congress leader Aziz Qureshi lost his temper and vented his anguish against the party for being homely with saffron politics.

Hitting out at his party, Qureshi said Congress leaders are chanting Jai Ganga Maiya, Jai Narmada Maiya, Garva se kaho Hindu hain, besides taking out religious yatras and installing idols at the party headquarters in Madhya Pradesh. This is shameful," he said, adding that he is not scared of being kicked out of the party.

All political parties including the Congress should realize that Muslims are not their slaves," he said and added, "There's a limit to the tolerance level of the Muslims. They are not cowards."

MP BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi took to platform X to slam the Congress party for Quereshi's provocative remarks.

What the veteran Congress leader and ex-governor spoke on Sunday, exposes the real face of the Congress. It shows that the Congress party believes in the politics of minority appeasement and its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath, turn towards the Hindus only during the poll season. Both, Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath should come clear on Qureshis provocative statements. If the two leaders remain silent on it, it will mean their tacit approval of the veterans statements, he said.

The state unit of the Congress however distanced itself from Qureshis remarks by stating that it was the veteran leader's personal opinion.

Its his personal opinion. The Congress believes in secularism and cannot subscribe to what has been reportedly said by him (Qureshi), state Congresss media department head KK Mishra said on Tuesday.

The 82-year-old Qureshi has back once a minister in the Congress government in MP. He has also served in gubernatorial positions in UP, Uttarakhand, and Mizoram in the past. In 1972, he won on a Congress ticket from the Sehore assembly seat. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as a Congress candidate from the Satna seat of the Vindhya region in 1984.

Just a few weeks back, two prominent politicians, including Congress leader and spiritual guru Acharya Pramod Krishnam and ex-RJD MP Shivanand Tiwari had slammed MP Congress chief and states former CM Kamal Nath and his first-time MP son Nakul Nath for reportedly hosting the Ram and Hanuman Katha of Hindu Rashtra supporter self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri in Chhindwara district. The two leaders from UP and Bihar respectively, had particularly opposed the welcome of Shastri by the father-son politician duo, who had performed arti and put tilak on the godmans forehead.

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BHOPAL: The former Uttar Pradesh Governor and veteran Congress leader Aziz Qureshi lost his temper and vented his anguish against the party for being homely with saffron politics. Hitting out at his party, Qureshi said Congress leaders are chanting Jai Ganga Maiya, Jai Narmada Maiya, Garva se kaho Hindu hain, besides taking out religious yatras and installing idols at the party headquarters in Madhya Pradesh. This is shameful," he said, adding that he is not scared of being kicked out of the party. All political parties including the Congress should realize that Muslims are not their slaves," he said and added, "There's a limit to the tolerance level of the Muslims. They are not cowards."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); MP BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi took to platform X to slam the Congress party for Quereshi's provocative remarks. What the veteran Congress leader and ex-governor spoke on Sunday, exposes the real face of the Congress. It shows that the Congress party believes in the politics of minority appeasement and its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath, turn towards the Hindus only during the poll season. Both, Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath should come clear on Qureshis provocative statements. If the two leaders remain silent on it, it will mean their tacit approval of the veterans statements, he said. The state unit of the Congress however distanced itself from Qureshis remarks by stating that it was the veteran leader's personal opinion. Its his personal opinion. The Congress believes in secularism and cannot subscribe to what has been reportedly said by him (Qureshi), state Congresss media department head KK Mishra said on Tuesday. The 82-year-old Qureshi has back once a minister in the Congress government in MP. He has also served in gubernatorial positions in UP, Uttarakhand, and Mizoram in the past. In 1972, he won on a Congress ticket from the Sehore assembly seat. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as a Congress candidate from the Satna seat of the Vindhya region in 1984. Just a few weeks back, two prominent politicians, including Congress leader and spiritual guru Acharya Pramod Krishnam and ex-RJD MP Shivanand Tiwari had slammed MP Congress chief and states former CM Kamal Nath and his first-time MP son Nakul Nath for reportedly hosting the Ram and Hanuman Katha of Hindu Rashtra supporter self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri in Chhindwara district. The two leaders from UP and Bihar respectively, had particularly opposed the welcome of Shastri by the father-son politician duo, who had performed arti and put tilak on the godmans forehead. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: The Centre decided to buy two lakh metric tonnes of onion at Rs 2,410 per quintal from different centres in Maharashtra.

However, the Opposition was unhappy with the decision and criticized the government's decision to buy just two lakh tonnes of onion against the production of 18 lakh tonnes in the last one and half months.

The Opposition demanded the government withdraw the 40 per cent imposed export duty while noting that the supply of onions will further increase.

The move comes after several farmers and traders shut down Asia's biggest onion market at Lasalgaon in Nasik district in protest against the BJP-led central government's decision of imposing a 40 per cent duty on the export of onion.

Farmers alleged that this arbitrary decision of the central government will drastically bring down the onion prices domestically and deprive the farmers of good rates.

Upon this, Maharashtra agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde rushed to Delhi and had a meeting with Union Minister Piyush Goyal where the Centre decided to buy the two lakh metric tonne of onion in Nasik and Ahmednagar district at the rate of Rs 2,410 crore.

Munde welcomed the Centre's decision and said that it will provide much-needed relief to onion-growing farmers. He further said that he will ensure that the rate of onions does not crash.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole accused the BJP-run state and Central government of not taking the farmer's issues seriously.

This year, there is bumper production and supply of onions, which is why the central government is imposing a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions. The onion rates are not yet jacked up. Let the farmers earn something, but this BJP-led government is anti-farmers therefore they arbitrarily impose heavy duty on the export of onion. This government has failed to give relief to neither farmers nor consumers as well, Patole said.

NCP Lok Sabha MP Amol Kolhe said that the input cost of the onion has been drastically increased so the government should offer a satisfactory rate to onion. He said Rs 2,410 per quintal rate by the government to onion is not enough against the inflated input cost of agriculture products.

NDA ally Prahar Janshakti Party MLA Bacchu Kadu said that the present BJP government is an impotent government that has failed to give relief to farmers when they are in crisis.

He said when onion-growing farmers were selling the onion at a low rate and the market crashed that time, this government did not come forward to help the farmers.

Now, just when the farmers started getting some respite with an increase in prices, the BJP-led government is imposing a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions. Why? If you cannot help the farmers, then why are you depriving them of getting good rates for their crops, Kadu asked.

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MUMBAI: The Centre decided to buy two lakh metric tonnes of onion at Rs 2,410 per quintal from different centres in Maharashtra. However, the Opposition was unhappy with the decision and criticized the government's decision to buy just two lakh tonnes of onion against the production of 18 lakh tonnes in the last one and half months. The Opposition demanded the government withdraw the 40 per cent imposed export duty while noting that the supply of onions will further increase. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The move comes after several farmers and traders shut down Asia's biggest onion market at Lasalgaon in Nasik district in protest against the BJP-led central government's decision of imposing a 40 per cent duty on the export of onion. Farmers alleged that this arbitrary decision of the central government will drastically bring down the onion prices domestically and deprive the farmers of good rates. Upon this, Maharashtra agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde rushed to Delhi and had a meeting with Union Minister Piyush Goyal where the Centre decided to buy the two lakh metric tonne of onion in Nasik and Ahmednagar district at the rate of Rs 2,410 crore. Munde welcomed the Centre's decision and said that it will provide much-needed relief to onion-growing farmers. He further said that he will ensure that the rate of onions does not crash. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole accused the BJP-run state and Central government of not taking the farmer's issues seriously. This year, there is bumper production and supply of onions, which is why the central government is imposing a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions. The onion rates are not yet jacked up. Let the farmers earn something, but this BJP-led government is anti-farmers therefore they arbitrarily impose heavy duty on the export of onion. This government has failed to give relief to neither farmers nor consumers as well, Patole said. NCP Lok Sabha MP Amol Kolhe said that the input cost of the onion has been drastically increased so the government should offer a satisfactory rate to onion. He said Rs 2,410 per quintal rate by the government to onion is not enough against the inflated input cost of agriculture products. NDA ally Prahar Janshakti Party MLA Bacchu Kadu said that the present BJP government is an impotent government that has failed to give relief to farmers when they are in crisis. He said when onion-growing farmers were selling the onion at a low rate and the market crashed that time, this government did not come forward to help the farmers. Now, just when the farmers started getting some respite with an increase in prices, the BJP-led government is imposing a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions. Why? If you cannot help the farmers, then why are you depriving them of getting good rates for their crops, Kadu asked. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to Johannesburg to attend the 15th BRICS Summit, everyone is eagerly watching whether he will meet Chinese President Xi Jingping. Though there is no official word on whether PM Modi and President Xi Jingping will have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit, chances of their shaking hands and striking a conversation are strong as they would be in the same venue for nearly two days.

With G20 Summit around the corner, some pleasantries will be exchanged based on which Xi Jinping will come for the summit in September, said a source. The BRICS Summit (August 22-24) will be the first in-person summit after 2019.

Schedules of PM Modis bilateral meetings in Johannesburg are still being finalised, said foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday.

The standoff between India and China has continued since Galwan happened in 2020. PM Modi and Xi Jingping did have a conversation during the G20 Summit in Bali in November, 2022 where the duo discussed stabilising ties.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually, Russias foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to have a meeting with PM Modi, according to a source. A business delegation will be accompanying PM Modi to the summit. The PM would address the Indian diaspora, too.

There could be conversations regarding trade in local currencies among partner nations as there are many countries with which India has begun trade in national currencies. The most recent addition is the rupee-dhiram trade that was launched in the UAE recently, said the foreign secretary.

Dismissing rumours of the possibility of a common currency for BRICS, Kwatra said that having a single currency is a long and arduous process. The EU took nearly five decades to arrive at it, he added.

Another major development expected at the BRICS meet is the inclusion of more members. It is reported that 23 applications have been submitted by different countries to become members while in all over 40 have shown interest.

Among those likely to be considered are Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Formally launched in 2009, the BRICS now accounts for 23 per cent of the global GDP and 42 per cent of the worlds population. The combined bloc represents more than 16 per cent of the worlds trade.

Meanwhile, after attending the BRICS Summit, PM Modi will leave for Athens on an official visit.

The visit to Greece would give both sides an opportunity to discuss the regional and global issues of mutual interest and help broaden and deepen our bilateral engagements, said Kwatra.

Greece is an important partner for India as it is a gateway to the EU market. Defence and security partnership will be at the core of discussions. Greece is among the best navies in Europe and we will be looking at partnerships in defence and even co-production. Migration and mobility partnership is also on the cards, said Kwatra, adding that this will be the first visit of and Indian PM to Greece since 1983.

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NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to Johannesburg to attend the 15th BRICS Summit, everyone is eagerly watching whether he will meet Chinese President Xi Jingping. Though there is no official word on whether PM Modi and President Xi Jingping will have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit, chances of their shaking hands and striking a conversation are strong as they would be in the same venue for nearly two days. With G20 Summit around the corner, some pleasantries will be exchanged based on which Xi Jinping will come for the summit in September, said a source. The BRICS Summit (August 22-24) will be the first in-person summit after 2019. Schedules of PM Modis bilateral meetings in Johannesburg are still being finalised, said foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The standoff between India and China has continued since Galwan happened in 2020. PM Modi and Xi Jingping did have a conversation during the G20 Summit in Bali in November, 2022 where the duo discussed stabilising ties. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually, Russias foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to have a meeting with PM Modi, according to a source. A business delegation will be accompanying PM Modi to the summit. The PM would address the Indian diaspora, too. There could be conversations regarding trade in local currencies among partner nations as there are many countries with which India has begun trade in national currencies. The most recent addition is the rupee-dhiram trade that was launched in the UAE recently, said the foreign secretary. Dismissing rumours of the possibility of a common currency for BRICS, Kwatra said that having a single currency is a long and arduous process. The EU took nearly five decades to arrive at it, he added. Another major development expected at the BRICS meet is the inclusion of more members. It is reported that 23 applications have been submitted by different countries to become members while in all over 40 have shown interest. Among those likely to be considered are Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Formally launched in 2009, the BRICS now accounts for 23 per cent of the global GDP and 42 per cent of the worlds population. The combined bloc represents more than 16 per cent of the worlds trade. Meanwhile, after attending the BRICS Summit, PM Modi will leave for Athens on an official visit. The visit to Greece would give both sides an opportunity to discuss the regional and global issues of mutual interest and help broaden and deepen our bilateral engagements, said Kwatra. Greece is an important partner for India as it is a gateway to the EU market. Defence and security partnership will be at the core of discussions. Greece is among the best navies in Europe and we will be looking at partnerships in defence and even co-production. Migration and mobility partnership is also on the cards, said Kwatra, adding that this will be the first visit of and Indian PM to Greece since 1983. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Ramashankar By

Express News Service

PATNA: Former union minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday asserted that there would be no problem in selecting the convener of the Opposition alliance, 'INDIA', as there was no dispute over it.

Prasad told newspersons at his native Phulwaria village in Gopalganj district that the name of the convener had not been decided so far, adding that anybody could be appointed to the post.

It is widely speculated that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will get the post as he had played a proactive role in bringing Opposition parties on a single platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Lalu also emphatically contended that there was no deal struck with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar before the formation of the grand alliance government in the state.

BJP leaders keep alleging that under the purported deal, Nitish will hand over his CM post to his deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and he himself will move to national politics. He, however, said that he as well as the people of the state wanted to see Tejashwi as CM.

But the top priority for the grand alliance is to remove BJP from power at the centre, he told the media.

He also coined a new slogan 'BJP Bhagao, desh bachao' (drive out BJP, save the nation). He said earlier it was a slogan but it has now turned into a resolve.

Pahle yah hamara slogan tha lekin abhi hamara sankalp hai, he added.

He claimed that 18 political parties have come together to fight unitedly against BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha election. INDIA is a platform to give a befitting answer to the saffron party in next year's general election.

The third round of meeting of Opposition parties is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on August 30 and September 1.

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PATNA: Former union minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday asserted that there would be no problem in selecting the convener of the Opposition alliance, 'INDIA', as there was no dispute over it. Prasad told newspersons at his native Phulwaria village in Gopalganj district that the name of the convener had not been decided so far, adding that anybody could be appointed to the post. It is widely speculated that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will get the post as he had played a proactive role in bringing Opposition parties on a single platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Lalu also emphatically contended that there was no deal struck with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar before the formation of the grand alliance government in the state. BJP leaders keep alleging that under the purported deal, Nitish will hand over his CM post to his deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and he himself will move to national politics. He, however, said that he as well as the people of the state wanted to see Tejashwi as CM. But the top priority for the grand alliance is to remove BJP from power at the centre, he told the media. He also coined a new slogan 'BJP Bhagao, desh bachao' (drive out BJP, save the nation). He said earlier it was a slogan but it has now turned into a resolve. Pahle yah hamara slogan tha lekin abhi hamara sankalp hai, he added. He claimed that 18 political parties have come together to fight unitedly against BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha election. INDIA is a platform to give a befitting answer to the saffron party in next year's general election. The third round of meeting of Opposition parties is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on August 30 and September 1. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana police on Tuesday detained farmers at various places while they were proceeding to Chandigarh to protest against the failure of the government to offer compensation for their crops damaged in floods.

The farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab. They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house, and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods.

The farmers were stopped at Ambala and several other places and detained by the police. Police have been deployed in large numbers on the points bordering Chandigarh to prevent the farmers from entering the city.

On the Ambala-Chandigarh road, police had set up barricades at many places and the vehicles passing through were being searched. Also, Anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle were deployed in Rajpura by Punjab Police.

Farmers had claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan.

The farmers had even laid siege to some toll plazas in Amritsar and Tarn Taran of Punjab in protest against the detention of their leaders. Also, the farmers resorted to dharna at the toll plaza between Shahkot and Moga. The Sugarcane Sangharsh Samiti and Bhartiya Kisan Union demanded the government release all the detained farmer leaders immediately, failing which, they threatened to launch a huge protest.

Earlier on Monday, a farmer died in Sangrur district of Punjab after being run over by a tractor-trolley, while five policemen were injured after growers clashed with police over the "detention" of some farm leaders.

Family members demanded the police to hand over the body of Pritam Singh who was run over on Monday so that they can move it to a hospital for post-mortem. But police declined to handover the body suspecting that a dharna would be staged by the family.

A case has been registered against farmers at the Longowal police station in Sangrur district for the death of a farmer yesterday evening this has further agitated the farmers and they want the case withdrawn.

Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Government released Rs 186 crore to the farmers for the loss of their crops in recent floods.

Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation, and Disaster Management Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa said that an amount of more than Rs. 186 crore to compensate for the crop loss of the farmers of the affected districts due to floods has been released. He said that advance funds have been released to the Deputy Commissioners of 16 districts of the state from the Natural Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief for the crop damage.

Jimpa said that in the months of July and August, the crops of farmers were damaged due to floods in many areas and a Special Girdawari has been conducted in all the flood-affected areas of the state. He said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann fulfilled his promise to the flood victims on August 15 and initiated the process to hand over cheques of compensation.



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CHANDIGARH: The Haryana police on Tuesday detained farmers at various places while they were proceeding to Chandigarh to protest against the failure of the government to offer compensation for their crops damaged in floods. The farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab. They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house, and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods. The farmers were stopped at Ambala and several other places and detained by the police. Police have been deployed in large numbers on the points bordering Chandigarh to prevent the farmers from entering the city.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On the Ambala-Chandigarh road, police had set up barricades at many places and the vehicles passing through were being searched. Also, Anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle were deployed in Rajpura by Punjab Police. Farmers had claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan. The farmers had even laid siege to some toll plazas in Amritsar and Tarn Taran of Punjab in protest against the detention of their leaders. Also, the farmers resorted to dharna at the toll plaza between Shahkot and Moga. The Sugarcane Sangharsh Samiti and Bhartiya Kisan Union demanded the government release all the detained farmer leaders immediately, failing which, they threatened to launch a huge protest. Earlier on Monday, a farmer died in Sangrur district of Punjab after being run over by a tractor-trolley, while five policemen were injured after growers clashed with police over the "detention" of some farm leaders. Family members demanded the police to hand over the body of Pritam Singh who was run over on Monday so that they can move it to a hospital for post-mortem. But police declined to handover the body suspecting that a dharna would be staged by the family. A case has been registered against farmers at the Longowal police station in Sangrur district for the death of a farmer yesterday evening this has further agitated the farmers and they want the case withdrawn. Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods. Meanwhile, the Punjab Government released Rs 186 crore to the farmers for the loss of their crops in recent floods. Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation, and Disaster Management Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa said that an amount of more than Rs. 186 crore to compensate for the crop loss of the farmers of the affected districts due to floods has been released. He said that advance funds have been released to the Deputy Commissioners of 16 districts of the state from the Natural Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief for the crop damage. Jimpa said that in the months of July and August, the crops of farmers were damaged due to floods in many areas and a Special Girdawari has been conducted in all the flood-affected areas of the state. He said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann fulfilled his promise to the flood victims on August 15 and initiated the process to hand over cheques of compensation. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: In Rajasthan, the Congress party is witnessing a transformation from conflict to camaraderie between the until now warring factions led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.

The party leadership's move to nominate Pilot to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) seems to be yielding results.

The portrait of Gehlot is back on Pilot's social media accounts. The party workers' meeting held at Tonk on Tuesday (August 22) saw the enthused presence of Pilot and his supporters. No leaders were given a miss on posters and advertisements.

This was not so from the time Congress came to power in 2018 till lately. As Pilot took a confrontational stance against Gehlot, both factions ensured that the images of rival leaders were kept out on propaganda materials. But there is a change now.

Proof of change in the Tonk meeting

While addressing the party workers in Tonk, Sachin Pilot adopted a more measured approach and refrained from making any comments against the Gehlot administration.

Later, when addressing the media, Pilot trained guns on the BJP.

"PM Modi and other national leaders of the BJP are trying to wake up the party that has gone into snooze mode in Rajasthan. But the BJP government at the Centre is a failure. The party has failed as an opposition in Rajasthan. BJP cannot come to power in the state," he said.

Gehlot, in turn, came out in support of Pilot when national convenor of BJP's IT cell, Amit Malviya blamed Sachin's father and late leader Rajesh Pilot for the Aizawl bombing of March 5, 1966. Gehlot slammed BJP for insulting the late leader.

This newfound camaraderie has enthused the Congress workers in Rajasthan. They feel that this would augur well for the party in the upcoming Assembly elections.

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JAIPUR: In Rajasthan, the Congress party is witnessing a transformation from conflict to camaraderie between the until now warring factions led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. The party leadership's move to nominate Pilot to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) seems to be yielding results. The portrait of Gehlot is back on Pilot's social media accounts. The party workers' meeting held at Tonk on Tuesday (August 22) saw the enthused presence of Pilot and his supporters. No leaders were given a miss on posters and advertisements.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); This was not so from the time Congress came to power in 2018 till lately. As Pilot took a confrontational stance against Gehlot, both factions ensured that the images of rival leaders were kept out on propaganda materials. But there is a change now. Proof of change in the Tonk meeting While addressing the party workers in Tonk, Sachin Pilot adopted a more measured approach and refrained from making any comments against the Gehlot administration. Later, when addressing the media, Pilot trained guns on the BJP. "PM Modi and other national leaders of the BJP are trying to wake up the party that has gone into snooze mode in Rajasthan. But the BJP government at the Centre is a failure. The party has failed as an opposition in Rajasthan. BJP cannot come to power in the state," he said. Gehlot, in turn, came out in support of Pilot when national convenor of BJP's IT cell, Amit Malviya blamed Sachin's father and late leader Rajesh Pilot for the Aizawl bombing of March 5, 1966. Gehlot slammed BJP for insulting the late leader. This newfound camaraderie has enthused the Congress workers in Rajasthan. They feel that this would augur well for the party in the upcoming Assembly elections. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the Kerala High Court order suspending the conviction and sentence of Lakshadweep Lok Sabha MP Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case and remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh adjudication in six weeks.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, however, protected the MP from any possibility of disqualification, saying the protection of the earlier order will remain in force for six weeks.

The high court will have to decide the appeal of the Lakshadweep administration afresh during that period.

The top court said the approach of the high court was "erroneous" in suspending the conviction and sentence of the Lok Sabha MP in the case.

On January 11, 2023, Faizal and three others were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh each by a sessions court in Kavaratti in Lakshadweep for attempting to kill Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of the late union minister P M Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Faizal had moved the Kerala High Court against the order and the court suspended his conviction and sentence on January 25.

In its order, the high court said it was suspending the conviction and sentence of the NCP leader pending disposal of his appeal against the trial court order.

It said not doing so will result in fresh elections for the seat vacated by him which will impose a financial burden on the government and the public.

The Lakshadweep administration moved the Supreme Court against the high court's order, and on January 30, the top court agreed to hear its petition.

On March 29, the top court disposed of Faizal's separate plea against his disqualification as a Member of Parliament in view of the Lok Sabha secretariat's notification restoring his membership following the high court order.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the Kerala High Court order suspending the conviction and sentence of Lakshadweep Lok Sabha MP Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case and remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh adjudication in six weeks. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, however, protected the MP from any possibility of disqualification, saying the protection of the earlier order will remain in force for six weeks. The high court will have to decide the appeal of the Lakshadweep administration afresh during that period.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The top court said the approach of the high court was "erroneous" in suspending the conviction and sentence of the Lok Sabha MP in the case. On January 11, 2023, Faizal and three others were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh each by a sessions court in Kavaratti in Lakshadweep for attempting to kill Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of the late union minister P M Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Faizal had moved the Kerala High Court against the order and the court suspended his conviction and sentence on January 25. In its order, the high court said it was suspending the conviction and sentence of the NCP leader pending disposal of his appeal against the trial court order. It said not doing so will result in fresh elections for the seat vacated by him which will impose a financial burden on the government and the public. The Lakshadweep administration moved the Supreme Court against the high court's order, and on January 30, the top court agreed to hear its petition. On March 29, the top court disposed of Faizal's separate plea against his disqualification as a Member of Parliament in view of the Lok Sabha secretariat's notification restoring his membership following the high court order. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Uttar Pradesh to apprise it of the specific role attributed to Islamic scholar Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, who was arrested in September 2021 for allegedly running a religious conversion syndicate.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the State challenging the Allahabad High Court order passed in April this year granting bail to Siddiqui in a case lodged for alleged offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar asked senior advocate Garima Prashad, appearing for UP, to give a tabular statement on "what is the specific role attributed to this person (Siddiqui)" and what was placed before the high court.

The bench has posted the matter for a resumed hearing on September 5.

The high court had granted bail to Siddiqui on April 5 while noting that two co-accused had already secured the relief.

It had noted that one of the co-accused was granted bail by the apex court, while the other was given the relief by a coordinate bench of the high court.

During the arguments before the apex court on Tuesday, Prashad said the high court had granted bail to Siddiqui solely on the basis that the co-accused were granted the relief.

"He (Siddiqui) is the main accused, the key conspirator," the senior lawyer said.

She claimed further probe in the matter has revealed how the "national level network" was working towards the objective of waging war against the Constitution of India and how it seeks to replace the Constitution with 'Sharia' law.

The bench observed, "Conversion per se is permissible. " Prashad said, "There is no issue on that. Conversion while following the means that were being followed here - means of allurement, threat, torture, money, everything is coming, is not permissible."

While granting bail to Siddiqui, the high court had said if he is found engaging himself in promoting any anti-social activities or misusing the liberty of bail or repeating any offence as alleged, it shall be open to the state to file an application for cancellation of bail.

The apex court, while hearing the matter on May 9, had said during the period Siddiqui remains enlarged on bail, he shall not leave the National Capital Territory of Delhi except for the purpose of attending the trial or for meeting the investigating officer.

"If he leaves the National Capital Territory of Delhi for the aforesaid purposes, then too he shall give prior intimation about his movement to the ACP, Anti Terror Squad, Noida. The respondent (Siddiqui) shall give the full address of the premises in which he shall reside in Delhi to the ACP, Anti Terror Squad, Noida," the top court had said.

"During his stay in Delhi in terms of our order, he shall keep and use only one mobile phone with location setup open so that his location can be traced at any point of time by the investigating agency and he shall forthwith share that mobile number with the ACP, Anti Terror Squad, Noida," it had said.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Uttar Pradesh to apprise it of the specific role attributed to Islamic scholar Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, who was arrested in September 2021 for allegedly running a religious conversion syndicate. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the State challenging the Allahabad High Court order passed in April this year granting bail to Siddiqui in a case lodged for alleged offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar asked senior advocate Garima Prashad, appearing for UP, to give a tabular statement on "what is the specific role attributed to this person (Siddiqui)" and what was placed before the high court.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The bench has posted the matter for a resumed hearing on September 5. The high court had granted bail to Siddiqui on April 5 while noting that two co-accused had already secured the relief. It had noted that one of the co-accused was granted bail by the apex court, while the other was given the relief by a coordinate bench of the high court. During the arguments before the apex court on Tuesday, Prashad said the high court had granted bail to Siddiqui solely on the basis that the co-accused were granted the relief. "He (Siddiqui) is the main accused, the key conspirator," the senior lawyer said. She claimed further probe in the matter has revealed how the "national level network" was working towards the objective of waging war against the Constitution of India and how it seeks to replace the Constitution with 'Sharia' law. The bench observed, "Conversion per se is permissible. " Prashad said, "There is no issue on that. Conversion while following the means that were being followed here - means of allurement, threat, torture, money, everything is coming, is not permissible." While granting bail to Siddiqui, the high court had said if he is found engaging himself in promoting any anti-social activities or misusing the liberty of bail or repeating any offence as alleged, it shall be open to the state to file an application for cancellation of bail. The apex court, while hearing the matter on May 9, had said during the period Siddiqui remains enlarged on bail, he shall not leave the National Capital Territory of Delhi except for the purpose of attending the trial or for meeting the investigating officer. "If he leaves the National Capital Territory of Delhi for the aforesaid purposes, then too he shall give prior intimation about his movement to the ACP, Anti Terror Squad, Noida. The respondent (Siddiqui) shall give the full address of the premises in which he shall reside in Delhi to the ACP, Anti Terror Squad, Noida," the top court had said. "During his stay in Delhi in terms of our order, he shall keep and use only one mobile phone with location setup open so that his location can be traced at any point of time by the investigating agency and he shall forthwith share that mobile number with the ACP, Anti Terror Squad, Noida," it had said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: Security has been stepped up at the inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh on Tuesday in the wake of a call by 16 farmer bodies to hold a protest here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods, officials said.

In Chandigarh, security personnel have been deployed at all entry and exit points to prevent farmers from entering.

A heavy deployment of force has also been made at Shambhu in Ambala located on the Haryana-Punjab border, they said.

In Punjab's Rajpura, barricades have been put up while anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle have also been deployed.

Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods.

Farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab.

They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house, and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in floods.

A farmer had died in Sangrur district after being run over by a tractor-trolley and at least five policemen were injured after growers clashed with police on Monday over the 'detention' of some farm leaders.

Farmers had claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan.

Farmers had even laid siege to some toll plazas in Amritsar and Tarn Taran in protest against the 'detention' of their leaders.

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CHANDIGARH: Security has been stepped up at the inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh on Tuesday in the wake of a call by 16 farmer bodies to hold a protest here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods, officials said. In Chandigarh, security personnel have been deployed at all entry and exit points to prevent farmers from entering. A heavy deployment of force has also been made at Shambhu in Ambala located on the Haryana-Punjab border, they said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In Punjab's Rajpura, barricades have been put up while anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle have also been deployed. Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods. Farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab. They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house, and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in floods. A farmer had died in Sangrur district after being run over by a tractor-trolley and at least five policemen were injured after growers clashed with police on Monday over the 'detention' of some farm leaders. Farmers had claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan. Farmers had even laid siege to some toll plazas in Amritsar and Tarn Taran in protest against the 'detention' of their leaders. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW YORK: A 60-year-old Indian-origin Sikh leader, who was earlier this year arrested for plotting to burn down a prominent Gurdwara in the US state of California has appeared in court to set his preliminary hearing dates.

Rajvir Singh Gill, former Bakersfield City Council candidate, on August 17 appeared for his set preliminary hearing after being arrested on March 4 for allegedly targeting one of Bakersfield's largest Sikh places of worship, Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar, and burning down the property, 23ABC News reported on Friday.

He is accused of attempting to hire people to shoot others and burn down the local Sikh temple.

Gill is expected to be back in the Kern County court for a motion on August 31, the report said.

He will also be in court for his preliminary hearings on October 5 and 6.

Gill had attempted to run for City Council Ward 7 against another Indian-origin candidate, Manpreet Kaur in 2022.

Kaur won the election and was the first Sikh Punjabi woman elected to the Bakersfield City Council.

Kaur, who won the seat for Ward 7, had then said: "I am aware of the alleged allegations. I am confident the Bakersfield Police Department is working diligently to keep our community safe and will address the matter accordingly. Hearing this news is distressing and frightening. This is one of our most highly attended Sikh temples locally. To hear of an alleged attempt to destroy a place of worship is heartbreaking and unfathomable," she said in a statement.

"He hired the people. Those people, whoever he hired, came and told us and they made a report to the police. So, the police called us and they got our information and everything and asked questions and we told them what's going on, and that's when everything happened," said Amrik Singh Athwal, a temple board member.

A Bakersfield Police Department spokesman had declined to address what may have prompted Gill to take the actions he is accused of, and he would not elaborate on the case.

Another elder, Sukhwinder Singh Ranghi, attributed the repeated confrontations to a dispute over more than USD 800,000, contributed by congregation members, that was supposed to reimburse a corporate entity set up to buy the temple out of foreclosure in July 2020.

Ranghi said the temple learned Gill offered USD 10,000 to two Hispanic men to kill certain leaders of the congregation who are involved in the court cases, including Ranghi.

He said Gill drove the men around the city pointing out the homes of the temple leaders he wanted to be killed.

This information came to temple leadership from an associate of the intended hitmen.

With more than 500 members, Shaheed is one of Bakersfield's best-attended Sikh temples.

It hosts an annual celebration in late October that draws thousands.

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NEW YORK: A 60-year-old Indian-origin Sikh leader, who was earlier this year arrested for plotting to burn down a prominent Gurdwara in the US state of California has appeared in court to set his preliminary hearing dates. Rajvir Singh Gill, former Bakersfield City Council candidate, on August 17 appeared for his set preliminary hearing after being arrested on March 4 for allegedly targeting one of Bakersfield's largest Sikh places of worship, Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar, and burning down the property, 23ABC News reported on Friday. He is accused of attempting to hire people to shoot others and burn down the local Sikh temple.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Gill is expected to be back in the Kern County court for a motion on August 31, the report said. He will also be in court for his preliminary hearings on October 5 and 6. Gill had attempted to run for City Council Ward 7 against another Indian-origin candidate, Manpreet Kaur in 2022. Kaur won the election and was the first Sikh Punjabi woman elected to the Bakersfield City Council. Kaur, who won the seat for Ward 7, had then said: "I am aware of the alleged allegations. I am confident the Bakersfield Police Department is working diligently to keep our community safe and will address the matter accordingly. Hearing this news is distressing and frightening. This is one of our most highly attended Sikh temples locally. To hear of an alleged attempt to destroy a place of worship is heartbreaking and unfathomable," she said in a statement. "He hired the people. Those people, whoever he hired, came and told us and they made a report to the police. So, the police called us and they got our information and everything and asked questions and we told them what's going on, and that's when everything happened," said Amrik Singh Athwal, a temple board member. A Bakersfield Police Department spokesman had declined to address what may have prompted Gill to take the actions he is accused of, and he would not elaborate on the case. Another elder, Sukhwinder Singh Ranghi, attributed the repeated confrontations to a dispute over more than USD 800,000, contributed by congregation members, that was supposed to reimburse a corporate entity set up to buy the temple out of foreclosure in July 2020. Ranghi said the temple learned Gill offered USD 10,000 to two Hispanic men to kill certain leaders of the congregation who are involved in the court cases, including Ranghi. He said Gill drove the men around the city pointing out the homes of the temple leaders he wanted to be killed. This information came to temple leadership from an associate of the intended hitmen. With more than 500 members, Shaheed is one of Bakersfield's best-attended Sikh temples. It hosts an annual celebration in late October that draws thousands. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Shruti Kakkar By

Express News Service

Justice Krishna Murari, who retired as the Supreme Court judge earlier this month, speaks to Shruti Kakkar about a range of issues such as the Uniform Civil Code, the disqualification pleas against pro-Eknath Shinde group of MLAs in Maharashtra and the collegium system of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary.

Excerpts:

You have been in the legal field for nearly 42 years, including four years as an SC judge. What changes should have happened, and what can happen?

There have been changes, and many more are required. The most important thing is the disposal of cases because of the pendency of cases. This is the first area that needs to be taken up on a priority. We have tried our best, but more needs to be done. There is a major technological upgrade taking place that can change the face of justice delivery system.

The Centre plans to implement the UCC. The move is being widely criticised. What is your position?

Before any decision is taken on the UCC, it requires a very large consultation with the public. The views should be put on record before any decision is taken, and those views should be taken into account before Parliament brings in any legislation. In a democracy, it is ultimately the will of the majority that prevails. But all views should be heard before a decision is taken. The Law Commission is already in the process of doing so, as it has extended the date for submission of opinions. This consultation should not a thorough and inclusive process.

A slew of legislations will be replaced if the UCC becomes law. Would this not impact the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution?

Religious freedom or any fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution is not absolute. It is subject to certain restrictions. Yes, there is freedom to practise your own religion. If for some reason, I am not advocating it, but if there is a situation where such freedom starts interfering with society at large, then it requires to be considered.

You were a part of the bench that directed the Maharashtra Speaker to decide the disqualification pleas within a reasonable time, it hasnt been done until now

Out of respect for the Speaker, who is also a constitutional authority, the bench did not think it fit to make him time-bound. He should have honoured the verdict of the highest court of this land. I would not like to say more because the matter is sub judice. There are instances when the apex court was compelled to issue directions to the Speaker, but why allow that situation?

What, according to you, should be a reasonable time within which the Speaker should decide?

There is a procedure prescribed under the rules of every legislative assembly. The Speaker is duty-bound to follow that procedure. Reasonable time would be any time which is reasonable within the facts and circumstances of the case.

What are your views on the current system for selecting judges for the higher judiciary?

Since all information is not available to the public, there is a perception that the collegium system is opaque. If the collegium considers two names and recommends one, and if it starts giving reasons as to why it has chosen one over the other, then imagine the reputation of that person who has not been chosen.

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Justice Krishna Murari, who retired as the Supreme Court judge earlier this month, speaks to Shruti Kakkar about a range of issues such as the Uniform Civil Code, the disqualification pleas against pro-Eknath Shinde group of MLAs in Maharashtra and the collegium system of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Excerpts: You have been in the legal field for nearly 42 years, including four years as an SC judge. What changes should have happened, and what can happen? There have been changes, and many more are required. The most important thing is the disposal of cases because of the pendency of cases. This is the first area that needs to be taken up on a priority. We have tried our best, but more needs to be done. There is a major technological upgrade taking place that can change the face of justice delivery system.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Centre plans to implement the UCC. The move is being widely criticised. What is your position? Before any decision is taken on the UCC, it requires a very large consultation with the public. The views should be put on record before any decision is taken, and those views should be taken into account before Parliament brings in any legislation. In a democracy, it is ultimately the will of the majority that prevails. But all views should be heard before a decision is taken. The Law Commission is already in the process of doing so, as it has extended the date for submission of opinions. This consultation should not a thorough and inclusive process. A slew of legislations will be replaced if the UCC becomes law. Would this not impact the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution? Religious freedom or any fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution is not absolute. It is subject to certain restrictions. Yes, there is freedom to practise your own religion. If for some reason, I am not advocating it, but if there is a situation where such freedom starts interfering with society at large, then it requires to be considered. You were a part of the bench that directed the Maharashtra Speaker to decide the disqualification pleas within a reasonable time, it hasnt been done until now Out of respect for the Speaker, who is also a constitutional authority, the bench did not think it fit to make him time-bound. He should have honoured the verdict of the highest court of this land. I would not like to say more because the matter is sub judice. There are instances when the apex court was compelled to issue directions to the Speaker, but why allow that situation? What, according to you, should be a reasonable time within which the Speaker should decide? There is a procedure prescribed under the rules of every legislative assembly. The Speaker is duty-bound to follow that procedure. Reasonable time would be any time which is reasonable within the facts and circumstances of the case. What are your views on the current system for selecting judges for the higher judiciary? Since all information is not available to the public, there is a perception that the collegium system is opaque. If the collegium considers two names and recommends one, and if it starts giving reasons as to why it has chosen one over the other, then imagine the reputation of that person who has not been chosen. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Members of the Omaha Public Power District board voted 8-0 Thursday to move forward a historic $2 billion expansion that will nearly double the utilitys electric generating capacity over the next decade.

The expansion, utility officials said, is needed to meet unprecedented growth in energy demand expected in the utilitys 13-county service territory in eastern Nebraska. Energy consumption by all customers  residential, commercial and industrial  is expected to increase by 70% by 2032.

Nearly 90% of the projected new development OPPD is striving to meet is coming from industrial customers, very large business enterprises that are heavy energy users. And roughly two-thirds of that new demand, OPPD says, is from data centers, the digital warehouses powering the nations work-from-home shift and allowing the sharing of back-to-school pictures on social media.

To meet that demand, the utility will add a fleet of new generation plants, mostly renewable sources like wind and solar, and plants that burn natural gas. But the utility says 90% of the actual energy generated will come from renewable resources, which will allow OPPD to continue reducing its climate-changing emissions.

Several attendees spoke to the need for additional generation to meet the growing demand for electrical power they are seeing from area business and industry.

Eric Williams, OPPD board chairman, said that highlights the fact that the utility is experiencing significant, unprecedented growth in demand for energy, and specifically for clean energy.

We know the need, he said. It is clear that we need to provide the energy for our community going forward, and this recommendation meets those needs for our customers.

OPPD officials project the plan will roughly require a 10% increase in rates, which will be phased in over four years beginning in 2027.

How individual classes of ratepayers will be impacted wont be known until then.

Attendee David Begley complained that residential customers, particularly those in east Omaha, would be subsidizing data centers and said the companies that operate them should be shouldering the increased costs. He also questioned the utilitys assertions that wind and solar generation are low cost because those sources are backed up by natural gas plants.

OPPD CEO Javier Fernandez, however, has said that all customer groups will pay their fair share of any increases and that all customers will benefit from a more robust and resilient generation system.

Some of the new generation, in fact, is needed to meet an increase in the reserve power margin that the regional power grid to which OPPD belongs set last year. The added margin is intended to increase system reliability.

Meanwhile, the demand OPPD is facing is becoming more evident. Google on Tuesday will host a new investment announcement at its Papillion Data Center. In addition to its data center complex in Sarpy County, Google has another data center complex in Council Bluffs and another under construction in northwest Omaha.

Fernandez reported later in the meeting that OPPD set a new peak electrical load of 2,670 megawatts on July 28. That topped the previous peak recorded Aug. 2, 2022, marking a jump of 130 megawatts or a 5.1%.

Fernandez said the higher peak is a reminder of why the utility needs to keep existing generating units in good working order and why we need to build the resources the board just approved.

OPPDs expansion plan initially was announced in May. But enough questions and concerns were raised that the utilitys elected board declined to vote in June, rescheduling the vote for Thursday.

The plan approved Thursday calls for 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts of wind and solar generation, a figure that includes up to 600 megawatts of renewable power approved in 2019 that the utility is still working to bring online.

Also included are 600 to 950 megawatts of natural gas, at least 32 megawatts of demand response (shifting or shedding electricity demand to help balance the grid), up to 125 megawatts of battery storage, and approximately 320 megawatts of added fuel capability and fuel oil storage at existing generation facilities.

While the fossil-fueled natural gas plants represent a big part of the new assets, OPPD officials say those plants are expected to operate less than 15% of the time. They will provide backup for when the wind isnt blowing and the sun isnt shining, help the utility meet demand at peak times, fill reserve requirements and make possible the introduction of the new renewable resources.

The board also voted 7-1 to revise its strategic directive on system planning to add incremental timelines for when the utility must get new resources under contract. The revised policy also specifies that the board get quarterly updates on progress on the resource plan.

Board member Mike Cavanaugh voted against the update, saying the revised policy doesnt spell out how progress toward the goals should be counted.

But Fernandez said the fact that the new policy is a strategic directive rather than a resolution allows for discussion on how progress is measured as the utility moves forward. The revision says the utility needs to move fast and having the goals is one way to measure whether its moving fast enough.

Williams also has said he expects the utility will work to add more interim emissions goals between now and 2050. The utility has set a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, meaning it would find offsets for any remaining carbon it is still emitting by that time.

The approved plan does not specify exactly what the renewable resources will be under the plan. But Fernandez has made it clear that a big focus will be solar, a resource he said combines both low costs and reliability when energy is most needed.

Last week, the utility announced it had acquired the rights for a potential solar project in York County. If it becomes a reality, the 310-megawatt plant near the town of McCool Junction would go a long way toward meeting OPPDs 2019 renewable commitment.

Representatives of local environmental groups also encouraged the utility to continue to work toward greater energy conservation, both for residential customers and businesses.

Utility officials have stressed that they continue to work toward additional conservation in a variety of ways.

World-Herald staff writer Henry J. Cordes contributed to this report.
Shruti Kakkar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Calcutta High Court order transferring the probe into the West Bengal Municipality Recruitment scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The court said the municipality recruitment scam appeared to be linked to the teachers recruitment scam which is also under the scanner of probe agencies (CBI & ED).

A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra remarked that the CBI probe had attained finality in the teacher recruitment scam and even the witnesses had been examined.

A HC bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi while allowing CBI to proceed with the investigation had said that the same could not be scuttled on a purported plea that a single judge had no jurisdiction to issue such directions.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Calcutta High Court order transferring the probe into the West Bengal Municipality Recruitment scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court said the municipality recruitment scam appeared to be linked to the teachers recruitment scam which is also under the scanner of probe agencies (CBI & ED). A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra remarked that the CBI probe had attained finality in the teacher recruitment scam and even the witnesses had been examined.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A HC bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi while allowing CBI to proceed with the investigation had said that the same could not be scuttled on a purported plea that a single judge had no jurisdiction to issue such directions. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: As the embers of ethnic clashes continue to flare in Manipur, two academicians from the warring communities shared the dais and made a fervent appeal for peace.

Dr T Tombing, a Kuki and Dr Yengkhom Jilangamba, a Meitei, were together in their call for peace.

In the presence of Fr Thomas Menamparampil, a retired archbishop, on the dais, Dr T Tombing and Dr Yengkhom Jilangamba listened to the speakers, including intellectuals, who called for peace and brotherhood, with rapt attention. Later, they stood together in absolute bonhomie as they answered queries from media persons.

Dr Tombing, who teaches at the National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam said only the return of peace could lead to reconciliation.

Peace may be the first step ahead. Secondly, the concerns of the victims from both sides have to be addressed, he said.

The State has to play a very important role to ensure that the idea of justice is writ large in their actions, deeds and intentions, he categorically stated.

Dr Jilangamba, who teaches at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati campus, felt different groups could play different roles in bringing about peace and normalcy. He said not only the State, but the media could also play an important role in restoring peace.

The civil society groups, especially those in other parts of the region, can play a very constructive role. They can send across a message that the people in the neighbourhood are equally concerned about bringing peace in Manipur, Dr Jilangamba said.

He said if different groups and organisations of the Northeast come together and stand in solidarity with the people of Manipur, it would help restore peace.

Assams well-known scholar Dr Hiren Gohain said the immediate concern of everyone should be to give peace a chance.

We all must think and work on how we can bring about peace in this environment of hostility. It is important for people from both communities to come together. They should keep talking to each other, Dr Gohain said.

The Axom Nagarik Samaj, a citizens group, had organised the event to make an appeal for peace in Manipur. Rajya Sabha member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan was among the speakers.

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GUWAHATI: As the embers of ethnic clashes continue to flare in Manipur, two academicians from the warring communities shared the dais and made a fervent appeal for peace. Dr T Tombing, a Kuki and Dr Yengkhom Jilangamba, a Meitei, were together in their call for peace. In the presence of Fr Thomas Menamparampil, a retired archbishop, on the dais, Dr T Tombing and Dr Yengkhom Jilangamba listened to the speakers, including intellectuals, who called for peace and brotherhood, with rapt attention. Later, they stood together in absolute bonhomie as they answered queries from media persons.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Dr Tombing, who teaches at the National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam said only the return of peace could lead to reconciliation. Peace may be the first step ahead. Secondly, the concerns of the victims from both sides have to be addressed, he said. The State has to play a very important role to ensure that the idea of justice is writ large in their actions, deeds and intentions, he categorically stated. Dr Jilangamba, who teaches at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati campus, felt different groups could play different roles in bringing about peace and normalcy. He said not only the State, but the media could also play an important role in restoring peace. The civil society groups, especially those in other parts of the region, can play a very constructive role. They can send across a message that the people in the neighbourhood are equally concerned about bringing peace in Manipur, Dr Jilangamba said. He said if different groups and organisations of the Northeast come together and stand in solidarity with the people of Manipur, it would help restore peace. Assams well-known scholar Dr Hiren Gohain said the immediate concern of everyone should be to give peace a chance. We all must think and work on how we can bring about peace in this environment of hostility. It is important for people from both communities to come together. They should keep talking to each other, Dr Gohain said. The Axom Nagarik Samaj, a citizens group, had organised the event to make an appeal for peace in Manipur. Rajya Sabha member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan was among the speakers. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted a raid at the residence of CPM MLA and former local self-government minister AC Moideen in Thrissur as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering related to the Karuvannur Cooperative bank loan scam.

An ED team from Kochi is conducting the raid at Moideen's residence in Thekkumkara, near Wadakkanchery. The operation commenced at around 7 a.m. and is ongoing.

According to ED sources, several depositors have provided statements to the national agency, claiming that the accused individuals in the case had close ties to Moideen. They have also expressed suspicions that Moideen was fully aware of the scam but did not take any action.

Allegations suggest that those who received loans from the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank without providing any collateral were also closely associated with Moideen.

The ED is investigating whether these loans were sanctioned under Moideen's direction. It is expected that Moideen will be summoned for questioning by the ED in the near future. Currently, Moideen represents the Kunnamkulam constituency as a CPM leader.

The Karuvannur Service Co-Operative Bank scam first came to light in 2021 when it was discovered that fraudulent loans had been approved by the bank using the same properties and without any collateral. These loans were approved without the knowledge of the bank's society members, and the loan amounts were disbursed in cash. An audit of the bank's books revealed that Rs 150 crore had been illegally diverted.

In addition to the ED, the Crime Branch is investigating 16 cases related to the scam. Congress leaders have called for a CBI probe into the matter.

ALSO READ | Karuvannur scam: Hundreds of depositors wait to get their investment back in Kerala

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KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted a raid at the residence of CPM MLA and former local self-government minister AC Moideen in Thrissur as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering related to the Karuvannur Cooperative bank loan scam. An ED team from Kochi is conducting the raid at Moideen's residence in Thekkumkara, near Wadakkanchery. The operation commenced at around 7 a.m. and is ongoing. According to ED sources, several depositors have provided statements to the national agency, claiming that the accused individuals in the case had close ties to Moideen. They have also expressed suspicions that Moideen was fully aware of the scam but did not take any action. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Allegations suggest that those who received loans from the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank without providing any collateral were also closely associated with Moideen. The ED is investigating whether these loans were sanctioned under Moideen's direction. It is expected that Moideen will be summoned for questioning by the ED in the near future. Currently, Moideen represents the Kunnamkulam constituency as a CPM leader. The Karuvannur Service Co-Operative Bank scam first came to light in 2021 when it was discovered that fraudulent loans had been approved by the bank using the same properties and without any collateral. These loans were approved without the knowledge of the bank's society members, and the loan amounts were disbursed in cash. An audit of the bank's books revealed that Rs 150 crore had been illegally diverted. In addition to the ED, the Crime Branch is investigating 16 cases related to the scam. Congress leaders have called for a CBI probe into the matter. ALSO READ | Karuvannur scam: Hundreds of depositors wait to get their investment back in Kerala Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By AFP

ZABADEH: Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as violence surged in the occupied territory.

Meanwhile, in the southern West Bank, troops made two arrests in the deadly Monday shooting of a settler near the city of Hebron.

"Othman Mohammed Abu Khurog, 17, died after he was shot in the head by the occupation (Israeli forces)," the Palestinian health ministry said.

Abu Khurog was killed when clashes erupted in the small town of Zababdeh, southeast of Jenin, which Israeli forces had entered to make an arrest, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Israeli army said troops had opened fire after "explosive devices" were thrown at them. "A hit was identified," it said in a statement.

Israeli troops routinely carry out incursions into areas such as Jenin which are nominally under the civil and security control of President Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority.

Abu Khurog's death comes amid rising violence in the West Bank.

On Monday, Israeli settler Batsheva Nigri was shot dead from a passing vehicle while travelling in a car near Hebron with her daughter and a man.

Her daughter was unhurt but the man was seriously wounded, the army and medics said.

Escalating violence

Two Palestinian residents of Hebron suspected of taking part in the shooting were arrested on Tuesday as troops pressed a manhunt for the woman's killers, closing off roads in the area, the army said.

"During their initial questioning, the two linked themselves to carrying out the attack," the army alleged, adding that they had turned in a weapon believed to have been used in the attack.

Nigri was a teacher and resident of Beit Hagai, an Israeli settlement south of Hebron.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called her killing a "heroic act" and a "normal response" to the persistent expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The settlements are considered illegal under international law but, not counting annexed east Jerusalem, around 490,000 Israelis live in such communities alongside nearly three million Palestinians.

Nigri's murder came two days after an Israeli father and son were shot dead at a car wash in the town of Huwara in the northern West Bank.

Israel has yet to make any arrests in those killings despite a search operation that has seen troops raid villages and carry out house-to-house searches.

The West Bank has been rocked by violence since early last year, with a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, repeated deadly raids by the army and violence by settlers against Palestinian communities.

With the latest death, at least 219 Palestinians have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year.

The violence has also claimed the lives of 31 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.

They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.

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ZABADEH: Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as violence surged in the occupied territory. Meanwhile, in the southern West Bank, troops made two arrests in the deadly Monday shooting of a settler near the city of Hebron. "Othman Mohammed Abu Khurog, 17, died after he was shot in the head by the occupation (Israeli forces)," the Palestinian health ministry said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Abu Khurog was killed when clashes erupted in the small town of Zababdeh, southeast of Jenin, which Israeli forces had entered to make an arrest, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The Israeli army said troops had opened fire after "explosive devices" were thrown at them. "A hit was identified," it said in a statement. Israeli troops routinely carry out incursions into areas such as Jenin which are nominally under the civil and security control of President Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority. Abu Khurog's death comes amid rising violence in the West Bank. On Monday, Israeli settler Batsheva Nigri was shot dead from a passing vehicle while travelling in a car near Hebron with her daughter and a man. Her daughter was unhurt but the man was seriously wounded, the army and medics said. Escalating violence Two Palestinian residents of Hebron suspected of taking part in the shooting were arrested on Tuesday as troops pressed a manhunt for the woman's killers, closing off roads in the area, the army said. "During their initial questioning, the two linked themselves to carrying out the attack," the army alleged, adding that they had turned in a weapon believed to have been used in the attack. Nigri was a teacher and resident of Beit Hagai, an Israeli settlement south of Hebron. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called her killing a "heroic act" and a "normal response" to the persistent expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The settlements are considered illegal under international law but, not counting annexed east Jerusalem, around 490,000 Israelis live in such communities alongside nearly three million Palestinians. Nigri's murder came two days after an Israeli father and son were shot dead at a car wash in the town of Huwara in the northern West Bank. Israel has yet to make any arrests in those killings despite a search operation that has seen troops raid villages and carry out house-to-house searches. The West Bank has been rocked by violence since early last year, with a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, repeated deadly raids by the army and violence by settlers against Palestinian communities. With the latest death, at least 219 Palestinians have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year. The violence has also claimed the lives of 31 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides. They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Associated Press

TOKYO: Japan will start releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean as early as Thursday  a controversial but essential early step in the decades of work to shut down the facility 12 years after its meltdown disaster.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final go-ahead Tuesday at a meeting of Cabinet ministers involved in the plan and instructed the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, to be ready to start the coastal release Thursday if weather and sea conditions permit.

Kishida said at the meeting that the release of the water is essential for the progress of the plant decommissioning and Fukushima prefecture's recovery from the March 11, 2011, disaster.

He said the government has done everything, for now, to ensure safety, combat the reputational damage for the fisheries and provide transparent and scientific explanations to gain understanding in and outside the country. He pledged that the government will continue the effort until the end of the release and decommissioning, which will take decades.

A massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant's cooling systems, causing three of its reactors to melt and contaminate their cooling water. The water is collected, filtered and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which fill much of the plant's grounds and will reach their capacity in early 2024.

The release of the treated wastewater has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the nuclear disaster. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue.

The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), say the water must be removed to make room for the plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks.

Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, said in an interview with the Associated Press last month that the water release marks "a milestone," but is still only an initial step in a daunting decommissioning process that is expected to take decades.

The easing of opposition from the fishing industry was key to the release because the government promised in 2015 not to start without "understanding" from fishing groups, after past accidental and unapproved discharges.

Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, who met with Kishida on Monday, reiterated his organization's opposition to the release, but acknowledged that members of the fishing community have gained some confidence about the safety of the move. They still fear damage to their industry, he said, and welcomed the government pledge for support.

The government has offered funds totalling 80 billion yen ($550 million) for sales promotion and other steps, and for sustainable fishing operations. The government and TEPCO say the water will be treated and then diluted with massive seawater to levels way safer than international standards, its environmental and health impact is negligibly small.

The International Atomic Energy Agency in a final report in July concluded that the release, if conducted as designed, will cause negligible impact on the environment and human health. Scientists generally support the IAEA view, but some say the long-term impact of the low-dose radioactivity that remains in the water needs attention.

Kishida's government has stepped up outreach efforts to explain the plan to neighbouring countries, especially South Korea, to keep the issue from interfering with their relationship.

Kishida said the effort has made progress and the international society is largely responding calmly to the plan. Still, Hong Kong said it would suspend exports from Fukushima and nine other prefectures if Japan went ahead with the plan, while China has stepped up radiation testing on Japanese fisheries products, delaying customs clearance.

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TOKYO: Japan will start releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean as early as Thursday  a controversial but essential early step in the decades of work to shut down the facility 12 years after its meltdown disaster. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final go-ahead Tuesday at a meeting of Cabinet ministers involved in the plan and instructed the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, to be ready to start the coastal release Thursday if weather and sea conditions permit. Kishida said at the meeting that the release of the water is essential for the progress of the plant decommissioning and Fukushima prefecture's recovery from the March 11, 2011, disaster.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He said the government has done everything, for now, to ensure safety, combat the reputational damage for the fisheries and provide transparent and scientific explanations to gain understanding in and outside the country. He pledged that the government will continue the effort until the end of the release and decommissioning, which will take decades. A massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant's cooling systems, causing three of its reactors to melt and contaminate their cooling water. The water is collected, filtered and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which fill much of the plant's grounds and will reach their capacity in early 2024. The release of the treated wastewater has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the nuclear disaster. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue. The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), say the water must be removed to make room for the plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks. Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, said in an interview with the Associated Press last month that the water release marks "a milestone," but is still only an initial step in a daunting decommissioning process that is expected to take decades. The easing of opposition from the fishing industry was key to the release because the government promised in 2015 not to start without "understanding" from fishing groups, after past accidental and unapproved discharges. Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, who met with Kishida on Monday, reiterated his organization's opposition to the release, but acknowledged that members of the fishing community have gained some confidence about the safety of the move. They still fear damage to their industry, he said, and welcomed the government pledge for support. The government has offered funds totalling 80 billion yen ($550 million) for sales promotion and other steps, and for sustainable fishing operations. The government and TEPCO say the water will be treated and then diluted with massive seawater to levels way safer than international standards, its environmental and health impact is negligibly small. The International Atomic Energy Agency in a final report in July concluded that the release, if conducted as designed, will cause negligible impact on the environment and human health. Scientists generally support the IAEA view, but some say the long-term impact of the low-dose radioactivity that remains in the water needs attention. Kishida's government has stepped up outreach efforts to explain the plan to neighbouring countries, especially South Korea, to keep the issue from interfering with their relationship. Kishida said the effort has made progress and the international society is largely responding calmly to the plan. Still, Hong Kong said it would suspend exports from Fukushima and nine other prefectures if Japan went ahead with the plan, while China has stepped up radiation testing on Japanese fisheries products, delaying customs clearance. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

JOHANNESBURG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed upon his arrival in South Africa on Tuesday on a three-day official visit during which he will attend the 15th BRICS summit and hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders.

Modi was welcomed by South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base where he received a ceremonial guard of honour.

"PM @narendramodi touches down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa. Warmly received by Deputy President @PMashatile of South Africa. Accorded a ceremonial welcome upon arrival," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

"PM @narendramodi touches down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa.

Warmly received by Deputy President @PMashatile of South Africa.

Accorded a ceremonial welcome upon arrival," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X.

Prime Minister Modi's visit to South Africa entails participation in the 15th BRICS Summit and engagements with leaders of BRICS and invited countries in plurilateral and bilateral settings, he added.

A large number of Indian community members, including activists of the Pretoria Hindu Seva Samaj and the local chapter of the BAPS Swaminarayan organisation, greeted the prime minister.

Modi then left for Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, the venue of the BRICS Summit.

At the hotel, he met with local and expatriate Indian community members ahead of the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue.

The Indian community members carrying national flags and musical instruments welcomed Modi upon his arrival at the hotel with chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.

"Gratitude to South Africa's Indian community for the special welcome in Johannesburg," Modi posted on platform X along with some pictures of his interaction with the diaspora.

Two women diaspora members tied 'rakhi' around the wrist of Modi ahead of Raksha Bandhan, falling on August 30.

Earlier in his departure statement in New Delhi, Modi said BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.

"We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.

This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.

Modi posted on X that he will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events.

The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development.

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.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend.

A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.

Modi said in the statement that he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

"I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.

From South Africa, the prime minister will travel to Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

It will be his first visit to this ancient land.

"I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there.

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JOHANNESBURG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed upon his arrival in South Africa on Tuesday on a three-day official visit during which he will attend the 15th BRICS summit and hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders. Modi was welcomed by South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base where he received a ceremonial guard of honour. "PM @narendramodi touches down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa. Warmly received by Deputy President @PMashatile of South Africa. Accorded a ceremonial welcome upon arrival," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019. "PM @narendramodi touches down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa. Warmly received by Deputy President @PMashatile of South Africa. Accorded a ceremonial welcome upon arrival," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X. Prime Minister Modi's visit to South Africa entails participation in the 15th BRICS Summit and engagements with leaders of BRICS and invited countries in plurilateral and bilateral settings, he added. A large number of Indian community members, including activists of the Pretoria Hindu Seva Samaj and the local chapter of the BAPS Swaminarayan organisation, greeted the prime minister. Modi then left for Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, the venue of the BRICS Summit. At the hotel, he met with local and expatriate Indian community members ahead of the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue. The Indian community members carrying national flags and musical instruments welcomed Modi upon his arrival at the hotel with chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. "Gratitude to South Africa's Indian community for the special welcome in Johannesburg," Modi posted on platform X along with some pictures of his interaction with the diaspora. Two women diaspora members tied 'rakhi' around the wrist of Modi ahead of Raksha Bandhan, falling on August 30. Earlier in his departure statement in New Delhi, Modi said BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. "We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said. This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said. Modi posted on X that he will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development. 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. Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit. Modi said in the statement that he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event. "I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa. From South Africa, the prime minister will travel to Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It will be his first visit to this ancient land. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said. Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added. He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

HOUSTON: An Indian national living in Mexico was shot dead and another injured after they were robbed by unknown assailants in Mexico City, with Indian authorities demanding their Mexican counterparts to apprehend the culprits at the earliest.

The incident took place on Saturday and the assailants robbed USD 10,000 from the Indian nationals, who have not been identified.

They had exchanged the money from the vicinity of the Mexico City International Airport, El Universal newspaper reported.

One of them lost his life due to the gunshots he received, and another was treated at the scene, without injuries, the report added.

The Indian embassy in Mexico regrets the incident and said that they are in touch with the family and are extending all support.

"In an extremely regrettable & heart-wrenching incident, an Indian national living in Mexico has been tragically shot dead. Embassy & @IndianAssoMex are in touch with his family & extending all support. We're demanding Mexican authorities to apprehend the culprits at the soonest," the embassy posted on X on Sunday.

"In the extremely regrettable & tragic death of an Indian national shot by unknown assailants in Mexico City, the Embassy is in constant touch with the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits at the soonest & give justice to the family of the victim," they said on Monday.

The Capital Prosecutor's Office has announced that it is working hand in hand with the Indian embassy, to try to clarify the homicide of the Indian citizen who was murdered on Viaducto.

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HOUSTON: An Indian national living in Mexico was shot dead and another injured after they were robbed by unknown assailants in Mexico City, with Indian authorities demanding their Mexican counterparts to apprehend the culprits at the earliest. The incident took place on Saturday and the assailants robbed USD 10,000 from the Indian nationals, who have not been identified. They had exchanged the money from the vicinity of the Mexico City International Airport, El Universal newspaper reported.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); One of them lost his life due to the gunshots he received, and another was treated at the scene, without injuries, the report added. The Indian embassy in Mexico regrets the incident and said that they are in touch with the family and are extending all support. "In an extremely regrettable & heart-wrenching incident, an Indian national living in Mexico has been tragically shot dead. Embassy & @IndianAssoMex are in touch with his family & extending all support. We're demanding Mexican authorities to apprehend the culprits at the soonest," the embassy posted on X on Sunday. "In the extremely regrettable & tragic death of an Indian national shot by unknown assailants in Mexico City, the Embassy is in constant touch with the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits at the soonest & give justice to the family of the victim," they said on Monday. The Capital Prosecutor's Office has announced that it is working hand in hand with the Indian embassy, to try to clarify the homicide of the Indian citizen who was murdered on Viaducto. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Helen Wolff was eight when she started showing lambs in 4-H programs.

Now, she is 86. While she doesnt show lambs anymore, her 35 years spent as a teacher could be akin to shepherding youth by teaching home economics.

Its those students who inspired her to commission Casper artist Chris Navarro to make a sculpture representative of her, 4-H programs and the animals of Wyoming. It is in honor of her students, Wolff, who does not have any children of her own, said.

And after teaching in Dubois, Jackson, Jeffrey City and Casper, Wolff said that she sees students everywhere. When her garbage can took (her) out six years ago, the doctor at the hospital recognized her as his former teacher. She laughed while telling the story.

What happened to you, Mrs. Wolff? he said.

And I said, Well, my garbage can took me out. And he said, I didnt think anything could take you out.

Like she was, many of her students were involved in 4-H programs, too. She helped a bit with that, but mostly taught things in her home economics classes that run parallel to many of the concepts advanced through 4-H: landscaping, interior design, food and nutrition.

Wolff told the Star-Tribune that Navarro seems to think the sculpture will be unveiled on Sept. 9 at the fairgrounds in Casper.

A born and bred Wyomingite, Wolff said that her parents  not originally from the state, though they made their home in Lander  instilled in her values of kindness, generosity and appreciation for the Equality States vast, accessible natural beauty.

I grew up on a ranch. My mom and dad are very wonderful people.  And I grew up helping other people, she said. Its a giving thing, not a taking.

They lived six miles south of Lander, a location that breathed life into the idea of a sculpture.

And I had some money, Wolff recalled, and I thought, well, maybe we can do  something called Six Miles South.

The work is life-sized and bronzey, with a horse standing behind a little girl who is holding a lamb in her arms. The child gazes lovingly at the lamb. Out of the corner of his eye, the horse stares at the little girl as if to say, Put the lamb down, and pay attention to me.

The horse does have a name  Prince  in honor of one of two horses that Wolffs family had. Since he wears bridles and bits all the time, Wolff told the Star-Tribune, he wants to prove that he can do more than just the practical work of a ranch horse. Maybe he could be a therapy horse or even a wild mustang on the prairie, she said.

But its more than just a sweet reminiscence on childhood or a reflection on the importance of 4-H programs in a world that is becoming increasingly digital. The sculpture is meant to show and encourage kindness.

Be nice to everyone. Kind to everyone, Wolff said. I dont care who they are. Kind to our land, our streams, our fish, our animals.

She hopes the statue, once unveiled, will be up at the fairgrounds forever.
Beijing, Aug 21

B illionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma has hailed teachers for their contribution to developing education in rural areas in China, as he focuses on agriculture technology post-retirement.

An at event by the Jack Ma Foundation in the city of Hangzhou on Sunday, Ma said he can see that rural education and rural teachers are a huge force that can truly change the entire poor areas of China, reports the South China Morning Post.

"The sustainable development of our country is only possible through education reform," he told teachers.

He listened to about 20 rural teachers describe how they plan to use funds from the Jack Ma foundation to improve rural education.

"I found that a place that does well in agriculture is not necessarily a place with good resources, but a place with unique thinking, and people with imagination," said Ma, who invested in a fishery and agriculture startup in the country earlier this month.

"I especially hope that our rural schools will cultivate people who are full of imagination, unique thinking, and who dare to create the future," the 58-year-old Ma added.

"The rural areas do need technology, while I think unique thinking and creativity are important as well," he added.

Ma, however, did not talk about Alibaba which is undergoing a sweeping restructuring.

His new agriculture startup, called "1.8 Meters Marine Technology (Zhejiang) Co" has been incorporated in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, with a registered capital of 110 million yuan ($15 million).

The startup caters to processing, wholesale and retail sales of agriculture products as well as development of offshore wind power systems.

The new venture, which also covers processing, wholesale and retail sales of agriculture products as well as development of offshore wind power systems, fits Ma's keen interest in the agriculture and food sector following his retirement from Alibaba.

In May, the University of Tokyo announced that Ma will teach as a visiting professor, giving lectures on management and sustainable agriculture.

Rural education can change entire poor areas of China: Jack Ma

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New Delhi, Aug 21

T he internet has been buzzing with questions about identifying and finding one's Kenergy. Bumble's Relationship Expert, Ruchi Ruuh, shares tips on how to identify qualities one should look for in their partner to spot 'Kenergy'.

Clear communication There is no playing games. He's unafraid to express his feelings and be his authentic self. He gives you the space to be and express yourself.

Lets you take the centre stage He's supportive of you and totally cool with the spotlight shining on you. He is confident around you and lends support in meaningful ways.

Kindness is sexy What's important above all in relationships is mutual respect and kindness. Not only does he extend kindness to you on a first date, but to anyone else you come into contact withwhether that be waiters at a restaurant or strangers on the street.

He listens It sounds like a simple one, but showing genuine interest and enthusiasm in getting to know someone means he considers others before himself. It's important in any healthy relationship to be able to listen and understand your partner's perspectives.

Showing up matters Being there for your partner and having their back is crucial. Flip those old-school gender roles, and watch your relationship evolve. Express love fearlessly. Show your partner just how deeply you can care.

Respects boundaries He prioritises his emotional and physical well-being. Understands and respects boundaries, both emotional and physical in relationships.

As Indian society evolves, conversations about gender norms and expectations are coming to the forefront, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. Interestingly, 47 per cent of men on Bumble in India have indicated that they are actively challenging stereotypes that suggest that men should not show emotions, for fear of appearing weak. 29 per cent of men on Bumble in India now speak more openly about their emotions with their male friends, and more than half (52 per cent) of Indian men agree that breaking gender roles in dating and relationships is beneficial for them too.

(IANSlife can be contacted at <a href="mailtoianslife@ians.in" data-mce-href="mailtoianslife@ians.in">ianslife@ians.in</a>)

ianslife/tb/kvd

Finding one's 'Kenergy'

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Bengaluru, Aug 21

K arnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday said that the state was directed to release 10,000 cusecs of water from Cauvery till August 31.

"Our requirement is 124 TMC of water. However, only 55 TMC of water is available. The Mekedatu project is the only solution for the present water scarcity," he said.

Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar explained that Bengaluru city requires 24 TMC for drinking water. Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagara require 20 TMC of water. The state reservoirs KRS has 22 TMC, Kabini 6.5 TMC, Harangi 7 TMC and Hemavathi 20 TMC of water storage.

He said that there is no water available with the state to release for Tamil Nadu. For the sake of standing crops and the benefit of farmers the water has been released two times. "We have requested the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) to reconsider its decision. Once the all party meeting is held, a decision to make an appeal in the Supreme Court will be made," he said.

He said that some want politics and controversy to be created around the issue however the people already know the role of such people.

He said that the all party meeting has been called under the chairmanship of Chief Minister on August 23 over the matters of Cauvery, Mahadayi and Mekedatu projects issues.

"Former chief ministers and members of parliament have also been invited. If the opposition is willing to take an all party delegation to the union government over the Cauvery issue, the Congress government will welcome it," the Deputy Chief Minister said.

"We are adopting a wait and watch policy. The Supreme Court had directed to release 10,000 cusecs till August 31. The opposition is criticising it. I know how water was released to Tamil Nadu during their tenure," he said.

He said that the Tamil Nadu government has gone against the CWDT and not against Karnataka. The central government should have filed a petition against Tamil Nadu's submission, why have they not done so, he asked.

Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that Tamil Nadu has utilised 64 TMC of water. "Can we stop them from using their share of water? They can use their share of water as per their wishes. We don't have the right to question them. We release water with meticulous calculations counting every drop. We have not released additional water," he said.

Cauvery water dispute: Only solution to water scarcity is Mekedatu project, says Shivakumar

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Regardless of how the Montana Supreme Court approaches the forthcoming appeal to last weeks climate ruling in Helena, the historic win for environmental advocates has already reverberated beyond the states borders.

Its one of the strongest judicial decisions ever rendered on climate change, and it will be helpful to litigants around the world, Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, said in an interview last week.

But, he added, I cant say it will necessarily have a huge political impact, given the partisan divisions we have.

Still, environmental organizations around the country celebrated Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeleys decision, which found that the youth plaintiffs in the closely watched Held v. Montana case have a right to a stable climate under Montanas Constitution.

A victory in 'the fight of our lives'

I am so humbled that Montana gets to be a leader in climate justice, Olivia Vesovich, a 20-year-old plaintiff from Missoula, told a crowd at a celebration in the citys Bonner Park following Seeleys order. She added, "This truly is the beginning."

The Montana Wildlife Federation, Northern Plains Resource Council and Montana Conservation Voters all released statements hailing the decision as a major environmental victory, along with Our Childrens Trust, the conservation group behind the Held case. Even the Environmental Protection Agency issued a press release calling the order a precedent for intergenerational accountability and environmental justice.

Seeleys 103-page order details the specific harms suffered by each of the young plaintiffs. They succeeded, the judge ruled, in tying those specific harms to the changing climate and role Montanas emissions play in helping to drive it.

During the June trial, Vesovich testified to the court that her asthma is triggered by wildfire smoke, to the extent she feels she is suffocating if she spends more than 30 minutes outdoors. That smoke has become more pervasive in a state where the wildfire season is already two months longer than it was in the 1980s due to declining mountain snowpack, earlier spring melt-off, less summer rain and warmer average temperatures, according to the facts Seeley incorporated into her order.

"Judge Seeley truly listened to all of us," Vesovich said in an interview last week. " ... Knowing that gives me all the hope that I need to keep fighting. This is the fight of our lives."

Seeley also recognized that Vesovich has experienced depression connected to feeling paralyzed by the impacts and threats of climate change. She was one of several plaintiffs to make allegations of psychological harm due to climate change.

This is the first time an American court has found that climate anxiety is a cognizable injury, said University of Montana Professor and Director of Natural Resources Clinics Sandra Zellmer in an email last week. Judge Seeley makes a number of explicit factual findings about mental health, including that the individual teens in the case are in fact suffering anxiety and mental health declines due to climate change.

Montana's role in a changing climate

Among the findings of fact was a critical allegation the plaintiffs attorneys prompted their expert witness to repeat, like a steady drumbeat, through the course of the seven-day trial in June.

Each additional ton of GHGs emitted into the atmosphere exacerbates impacts to the climate, Seeley wrote, at the conclusion of 28 paragraphs walking through the basic science of human-caused climate change.

That line shoots a hole through one of the states central defenses: Even if fossil fuels are a direct cause of climate change, and even if the effects of climate change are hurting young Montanans health, livelihoods and future prospects, the states heat-trapping emissions are a minuscule drop in the global bucket of greenhouse gases caused by human activity.

I think thats one other finding in the case that will resonate, that even a state with a small population can have enough of an impact to make a meaningful impact on climate change, Gerrard said.

Despite being a small state, Montanas extensive fossil fuel reserves, along with a major coal-burning power plant and multiple oil refineries, make it a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, Seeley found.

Only five states have a higher per-capita level of greenhouse gas emissions than Montana, the judge wrote in her order. In 2019, the state extracted enough coal, oil and gas to produce about 70 million tons of carbon dioxide, while its fossil fuel consumption resulted in 32 million tons of CO2 being produced. By way of comparison, the EPA estimates the United States as a whole produced more than 5,000 million tons of CO2 in 2019.

What happens in Montana has a real impact on fossil fuel energy systems, CO2 emissions and global warming, Seeley wrote.

'A component of compliance

The most immediate effect of Seeleys decision is striking down a pair of laws that barred Montana agencies from considering the effects of permitting decisions on climate change, and that erected financial obstacles for the public to legally challenge the states environmental reviews.

Years ago, Montana regulators followed a policy of calculating and disclosing the quantity of greenhouse gases that would be released as a result of permitting decisions, like allowing coal mines to expand or new power plants to be built.

That stopped in 2011, but Seeleys order makes it clear that the state needs to begin assessing those impacts once again, said Roger Sullivan, a Kalispell-based attorney for the plaintiffs.

He also noted that the judges order concludes that the state has the technical and economic ability to transition to renewable energy sources by 2050.

Montana can do this, Sullivan said. There is a hopeful transition that can be accomplished here. It is realistic, it is achievable and it seems to me a component of compliance with the obligation of the state and agencies to uphold this right to a clean and healthful environment for future generations, that includes a stable climate system.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, said the agency is reviewing the decision and declined to provide details on how it would modify its permitting process to comply with the order.

"DEQs mission is to champion a healthy environment for a thriving Montana, and we take that mission seriously," Moira Davin wrote in an email Monday.

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, another defendant, likewise declined to comment on how it will comply and referred questions to the Attorney General's office. An AG spokeswoman previously accused Judge Seeley of ideological bias and denied the state has any impact on the global climate.

On appeal

Because the plaintiffs only invoked the Montana Constitution and laws in their complaint, the state Supreme Court will be the final stop for Held v. Montana. The Attorney General's office immediately vowed to appeal Seeley's order, and Sullivan expects it will be about a year before a final ruling is made.

Even if the high court ultimately takes a different tack from Seeley, Gerrard said its unlikely the justices would reverse any of Seeleys factual findings. A departure from the lower court would likely come on a legal basis, he said, like Seeleys reading of the Constitution and how far its protections extend. Even in that event, however, he said the facts outlined in Seeleys order are history-making.

It will be hard for anyone to read the decision and the transcript and not be convinced that climate change is already having a serious negative effect on Montana that will only get worse unless we radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Gerrard said.

The Held case hinged on the state Constitutions guarantee of a right to a clean and healthful environment, along with its provision tasking the Legislature with protecting the environmental life support system from degradation. Seeleys order specifically found that both of those provisions create a right to a stable climate.

The high court has previously given serious weight to that language, most recently in a 2020 opinion cited by the Held plaintiffs. In it, the justices cited transcripts from the 1972 convention when they wrote that the framers of the Montana Constitution intended it to contain the strongest environmental protection provision found in any state constitution.

Zellmer, with the UM law school, noted that Hawaii, Pennsylvania and New York are among the states facing similar lawsuits, and all likewise have constitutional protections similar to Montanas. In Hawaii, a case brought by the same environmental organization that backed the Held case is headed for a September trial.

If this decision is upheld by the Montana Supreme Court, it will have even greater precedential impact throughout the country and possibly beyond, Zellmer wrote.
Washington, Aug 21

D onald Trump has to surrender by Friday next before Fulton County Judge Robert C.I. McBurney to answer DA Willis' 41-count charges of criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election verdict and poll interference in Georgia under the omnibus RICO Act, and the former US President is leveraging the event of fingerprinting and mug shot to advance his fortunes in the 2024 race by projecting himself as a martyr.

One of the main reasons for Trump skipping the Milwaukee Republican sponsored debate on Wednesday is to avoid taking any risks where he would have to defend himself against eight contestants led by his arch enemy former VP Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and instead give his side of the story face-to-face with Tucker Carlson on Fox TV.

That works better for him, media reports said.

Even as the IOWA caucus was a huge success for Trump as majority of his supporters in the state rejected the charges levelled against him and don't strongly believe that the 4th indictment at Georgia and the ones before it could have their larger than life figure doing anything wrong.

Yet, Trump has the ignominy of being the first US President in American history to be tried for criminal conspiracy, tax evasion, tax fraud, and paying hush money to an adult porn star, being involved in a Ponzi scheme and being labelled as a misogynist by a woman who has sued him for $10 million for defamation.

Even as Trump's popularity grows among his 'blind' supporters rejecting the indictments, there is as yet no proof or evidence that he would get the RNC or GOP's nominee status as senior party leaders would weigh in the advantages and disadvantages of fielding a candidate with legal woes rather than a Trumpian mould DeSantis who could be a sure shot.

Even as Trump thinks he is growing stronger by the day, inching closer toward a GOP nomination, his legal woes spill over to as long as May 2024. Here is the calendar of trials he faces Four criminal trials and two civil trials. While some trials have been scheduled already, some others only have proposed trial dates. Trump is the only President to be charged on 100 counts of felony by various courts.

The Calendar of Trials

* October 2, 2023  scheduled start of New York AG's civil trial alleging fraud by Trump and children in Trump business of fraudulently obtaining loans from Deutsche Bank by inflating property values, availing tax concessions illegally and indulging in a 15-year tax fraud for which he has been sued for $250 million by DA Letitia James.

* January 2, 2024  Department of Justice's proposed start of federal criminal trial over 2020 election subversion by trying to stop the electoral process of confirming Joe Biden as the newly-elected President, culminating in the infamous attack on Capitol Hill by a violent mob of supporters endangering the lives of Senators and Vice President Pence who was presiding over the Congress proceedings.

* January 15, 2024  scheduled start of second defamation case brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll who has sued him for $10 million after a $5 million settlement for hauling up Trump for saying things on TV and media defaming her character and integrity.

* March 4, 2024  Fulton County district attorney's proposed state criminal trial in Georgia over 2020 election subversion where Trump's call to state official Raffensperger to find 11,000 votes to undo the win of Joe Biden. Trump and 18 of his colleagues, including chief counsel Rudy Guliani, have been charged paradoxically under the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, never used against politicians before but only against racketeers, mobsters and narcos.

* March 25, 2024  scheduled start of state criminal trial in New York over the 2016 hush money scheme where he tried to hide an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels with money through his legal counsel Michel Cohen.

* May 20 or 27, 2024  scheduled start of federal criminal trial in the Mar-a-Lago documents case where Trump spirited away classified documents from the White House at the end of his presidency that contained sensitive information collated by the CIA, National Intelligence Agency and FBI on Iran and North Korea's nuclear ambitions, instead of returning them to the National Archives.

Some of these dates were scheduled by a judge while the others were proposed by a prosecutor, so they could change eventually, reports said.

Trumps' surrender at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia will work differently from the normal cases because of his status as a former President. It would not follow the normal procedure where police make an arrest, the person arrested is booked into jail and that person must appear before a magistrate judge within 72 hours.

But this process for Trump and his 18 co-defendants facing grand jury arrest warrants will play entirely differently.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave the 19 defendants until noon on August 25 to surrender voluntarily. The grand jury's arrest warrants don't become effective; until they are entered into the Georgia Crime Information Centre by the DA, in this case Fan Willis.

Meanwhile, Trumps' attorneys are expected to negotiate with the DAs' office to work out the terms of release and bond for their clients  better known as a Consent Bond.

The judge who considers the bond agreement, in this case McBurney, has to consider four factors when deciding whether to approve them, attorneys told the CNN network.

The judge has to determine the defendant is not a flight risk, is not likely to commit other felonies pending trial, does not present a danger to the community and is not likely to intimidate witnesses or take other steps to interfere with the case.

As per the protocols of the Fulton County Sheriff's office, all the defendants in this case are to be booked at the Rice Street Jail. Once a defendant enters the jail and is taken into custody, he/she is technically "under arrest". They are not expected to be handcuffed.

Once the defendants are taken into custody, they are expected to be fingerprinted and have their mug shot taken, according to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat. Normally, the procedures of medical screening and frisking take hours.

But attorneys told CNN the process could move more swiftly for VIP defendants in the Trump case. They could be processed within 15 minutes if officials at the jail are to swiftly move them in and get them out, NBC reported.

If the defendants have a bond agreement in place, they will be processed and then released. If the defendants do not have a bond agreement in place, they will be kept in custody.

The jail is open 24x7 and the defendants can turn themselves in at any time. Some may try to coordinate with the Sheriff's office before they arrive in order to expedite the process.

In Trump's case, one can expect the Secret Service to coordinate with the Sheriff's office ahead of time.

Once bonded, a typical defendant exits through the front door. High-profile defendants in the past have been allowed to exit through an alternate intake entrance  one that is less accessible to the public and media once driven beyond the gate.

Trump plans to leverage on his surrender to garner public sympathy

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New Delhi, Aug 21

V ice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said there is no substitute for All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the country, adding the premier institute has earned global recognition.

"There is no competition for AIIMS. There is no substitute for AIIMs in the country. AIIMS has earned global recognition," Dhankhar said while addressing the 48th Convocation of AIIMS Delhi.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, AIIMS Director M Srinivas and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

"This is my first visit to AIIMS not as a patient. I have been here as a patient, on I think, on a dozen occasions. The kind of dedication the doctors have here is unparalleled. Can you beat their commitment, involvement and dedication with the patient? I have seen it.

"The strength of an institution is its faculty and staff. My greetings to all of them and the students who are taking degrees today," the Vice President said.

"All of your life you will remember that teacher in the faculty who was taught in the class because he or she shaped and mentored you. I am sure you will never let them down. Referring to the Covid pandemic, the Vice president lauded the healthcare workers.

"When everyone was facing pandemic challenges, our health workers fully vindicated our civilisational ethos at the cost of their own lives. They took risks and came to our rescue," the Vice President said.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Vice President while referring to the Covid lockdown said "The world never thought of a strategy of mass involvement as the Prime Minister did. The entire nation cooperated. It yielded results on all fronts to contain and combat Covid."

Without naming anyone, Dhankhar further said "While India was tackling the Covid pandemic, it was painful to find some irritating voices raising concern, not believing in our ability. As a nation we need to escape- it does not help anyone."

The Vice President further said "Growth of every nation is rationally correlated to the health of its populace. If the populace is not healthy, you cannot have achievements, let alone incremental achievements."

Speaking on the occasion, Mandaviya said "If citizens of a country are healthy, only then can a nation be prosperous."

The Minister said that to plug the gaps in healthcare, Rs 64,000 crore are being invested across the 750 districts of the country, to create a more resilient healthcare system.

He exhorted the students to take a resolution to serve their country, and be inspired from that resolution daily.

No substitute for AIIMS in the country: Vice Prez Dhankhar

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New Delhi, Aug 22

M utually agreeing that no new posts are constructed in close proximity to the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and identifying specific limits of patrolling, were some of the issues discussed in the Major General-level talks held between India and China at Daulat Beg Oldie and Chushul, as per media sources.

The discussions also included not increasing troops by both countries along the LAC.

Sources said that both the countries have agreed to refrain from violating any airspace by drones, defining 'boundaries' of patrolling, exchanging prior information about each other's patrols, strictly following border protocols and where troops from both sides have been reduced since maintaining the integrity of such buffer zones.

The meeting between India and China took place at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Indian side of the LAC. Since the border standoff started in May 2020, the armies of both countries have disengaged from the northern and southern flanks of the Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hot Springs area, though tensions remain in the Depsang plains and Demchok region.

With respect to Depsang and Demchok, both sides have failed to make any significant progress. The Indian side is looking for a solution to resolve the boundary issues at Depsang Point and CNN Junction.

The talks were held to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh, in which India was represented by Major General PK Mishra and Major General Hariharan. The talks were held to resolve the ongoing deadlock in Ladakh's Depsang ground and Demchok area.

Army said that the talks took place in a clear and practical environment.

Both sides held positive, constructive and in-depth discussions on resolution of outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. In line with the guidance provided by the leadership, the Indian and Chinese army exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner.

On August 14, 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks were held between the Indian Army and the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). During the talks, the withdrawal of troops in the tense area in eastern Ladakh and reducing the tension were discussed. The Depsang and Demchok areas were discussed by the Indian side.

Significantly, BRICS summit will also take place from Tuesday in South Africa. Defence experts believe that the conversation between the two armies is of special importance in view of the BRICS summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping may meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

There is a standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers at certain places in eastern Ladakh. For the last three years, there is confrontation between the armies of India and China. However, during this time both sides have ensured withdrawal of troops from many areas after extensive diplomatic and military talks. Despite this, tension still persists in Depsang and Demchok.

The Corps Commander-level talks were initiated in 2020 after China's PLA raised tensions in eastern Ladakh after the latter violated agreements at several places and violated the LAC. India has sought de-escalation, which includes withdrawal of all additional troops and equipment in the forward areas of the LAC to its pre-April 2020 position.

However, no inclination has been shown so far from the Chinese side. China wants to consider the current holding position as the new status quo.

India-China agree not to build new posts along LAC

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Washington, August 21

A merican actor Sarah Hyland celebrated her first anniversary with her husband Wells Adams on Sunday.

The couple celebrated the special occasion by posting romantic tributes to each other on their respective Instagram accounts on Sunday.

"One year married to you flew by in a blink of an eye. You're my HUSBAND. My best friend. My true north," she captioned a photo from their wedding day.

https//www.instagram.com/p/CwLB3x5uKaZ/

"I love you more than words can say and every day is the best day when I'm with you. Marriage is the most fun I've ever had because I get to be married to you."

Meanwhile, the "Bachelor in Paradise" bartender wrote in his own post, "Happy first anniversary to my perfect wife. I love you more. Plus one. Anything you say."

https//www.instagram.com/p/CwLDu0Nx9YE/?img_index=1

The couple married on August 20, 2022, at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, California, more than three years after they got engaged.

Several of Hyland's 'Modern Family' co-stars, including Sofa Vergara, Julie Bowen, Nolan Gould, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, officiated the wedding.

Ciara Robinson, an influencer and actress, served as maid of honour, and her bridesmaids included Vanessa Hudgens and musician GG Magree.

The actor looked stunning in two wedding dresses for the ceremony and reception, while celebrity makeup artist Denika Bedrossian collaborated with Charlotte Tilbury to create her timeless bridal look.

After nearly two years of dating, the "Bachelorette" alum, 39, proposed to Hyland in July 2019.

They were supposed to get married in August 2020, but the ceremony was pushed back twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We were supposed to get married last year, obviously, that didn't happen," Adams told People in 2021. "We were supposed to get married this year, but that didn't happen."

Sarah Hyland, Wells Adams celebrate their first wedding anniversary

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Honolulu, Aug 22

T hirteen days after the eruption of the deadliest US wildfire in over a century, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden inspected the widespread destruction in Hawaii's Maui Island, telling survivors of the state's worst ever natural disaster that the nation "grieves with you".

On Monday, the Bidens toured the charred ruins of the historic town of Lahaina, which has completely been destroyed in the fires, and also met first responders, the BBC reported.

Since the fires first broke out on August 8, at least 114 people have died and 850 people are still missing.

"For as long as it takes, we're going to be with you. The whole country will be with you. The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover," the President was quoted as saying.

President Biden, who also took an aerial tour, described the wildfire devastation as "overwhelming".

The visit comes amid intense scrutiny against the Biden administration over its response to the disaster, the BBC.

When asked about the rising death toll while he was at a Delaware beach on August 13, President Biden led to more criticism when he said "No comment".

The White House has said that he delayed his trip to the disaster zone so he wouldn't distract from recovery operations.

On August 10, the President had issued a major disaster declaration to expedite federal funding and assistance to the area.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 1,000 federal responders are currently on the ground in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, local officials have also faced criticism.

Maui's emergency management chief resigned last week after the agency faced backlash for failing to activate its alarm system in the wake of the fire.

Biden, First Lady inspect wildfire destruction in Hawaii

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YouTube sees over 1.7 bn views on AI tool-related videos in 2023

San Francisco, Aug 22

G oogle-owned YouTube has announced that the platform saw over 1.7 billion views on videos related to AI tools so far this year.

The platform also introduced YouTube's Music AI Incubator.

"The incubator will help inform YouTube's approach as we work with some of music's most innovative artists, songwriters, and producers across the industry, across a diverse range of culture, genres, and experience," YouTube said in a blogpost on Monday.

To kick off this program, the company is working with Universal Music Group.

This includes internationally renowned and revered songwriter Anitta, producer and entrepreneur Bjorn Ulvaeus, and innovative genre-defying artist d4vd, amongst others.

This talented group will help gather insights on generative AI experiments and research that are being developed at YouTube.

The company also expressed its intention to further build on its focus of helping artists and creators make money on the platform.

"We'll continue to invest in the AI-powered technology that helps us protect our community of viewers, creators, artists and songwriters -- from Content ID, to policies and detection and enforcement systems that keep our platform safe behind the scenes."

In the coming months, YouTube will also share more about specific technologies, monetisation opportunities and policies it is developing.

Last week, the platform had announced it would remove content that promotes "cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective" or which "discourages viewers from seeking professional medical treatment".

It had said that moving forward, it would streamline dozens of its existing medical misinformation guidelines to fall under three categories -- Prevention, Treatment, and Denial.

YouTube sees over 1.7 bn views on AI tool-related videos in 2023

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For those who share a passion for mushrooms and the art of foraging

New Delhi, Aug 22

B hutan's much-awaited Annual Mushroom Festival is set to return to the village of Ura after nearly three years of anticipation. It will be held on August 23 and 24, 2023 in the beautiful Ura Valley, about 9 -hours drive from Thimphu.

This vibrant event, which celebrates the local abundance of mushrooms, most notably the revered "Matsutake" mushroom, promises to be a captivating experience for both locals and visitors alike.

The Annual Mushroom Festival is a tribute to the thriving connection between the Ura community and the nourishing forests that envelop the village. The festival highlights the significance of the "SangayShamu"  the local name for Matsutake mushroom  in the lives and livelihoods of the Ura people. These mushrooms, cherished not only for their culinary value but also for their economic importance, have sustained generations of locals, providing a unique and sustainable source of income.

Visitors can expect a diverse array of experiences that encapsulate the essence of Ura's relationship with mushrooms. Stalls will be brimming with a variety of locally foraged mushrooms, showcasing the region's fungal diversity. From rare specimens to culinary favorites, visitors will have the chance to purchase these delicacies and take a piece of Ura home with them. The aroma of mushroom-infused cuisine will waft through the festival grounds, as local chefs and home cooks conjure up delectable dishes that pay homage to the revered Matsutake and other mushrooms. Visitors can savor these unique flavors while enjoying the stunning scenery that Ura is known for.

The Annual Mushroom Festival will feature interactive exhibits and displays that shed light on the ecological importance of mushrooms and the traditional knowledge passed down through generations. The heart of the festival will resonate with the melodies of traditional music, performed by local communities from every Chiwog.

For those who share a passion for mushrooms and the art of foraging, the festival presents an exciting opportunity to join local foragers in their mushroom-hunting expeditions. Engaging in these guided activities, attendees will gain insight into the intricate process of identifying, collecting, and understanding the mushrooms that contribute to Ura's identity.

The Annual Mushroom Festival serves as an embodiment of gratitude towards the forest and its bountiful gifts. By participating in this celebration, visitors from around the world join the Ura community in its efforts to promote sustainable practices that preserve and enhance the lives of both people and the environment.

"As we eagerly anticipate the festival, we are excited to welcome enthusiasts, explorers, and everyone, to this year's Matsutake Festival, to dive into the rich tapestry of culture, nature, and community in the Ura Valley. The festival also provides an excellent opportunity for visitors to experience the diversity of culture and cuisine of various communities within the district," concluded Dorji Dhradhul, the Director General of the Department of Tourism.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

For those who share a passion for mushrooms and the art of foraging

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No plans to import wheat from Russia, says government

New Delhi, Aug 22

F ood Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Tuesday said there are no plans to import wheat from Russia under any diplomatic deal.

Talking to reporters, he said that are also no plans to restrict non-basmati par boiled rice exports.

Last month, Centre had imposed a ban on the export of widely consumed non-basmati white rice, following a ban on broken rice exports last year.

He also informed that government will buy 52.1 lakh tonnes of rice from farmers this year as against 49 lakh tonnes procured last year.

He said that fortified rice will also be given through National Food Security Act.

No plans to import wheat from Russia, says government

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Montana's TikTok ban isn't set to go into effect until next year, but the video-sharing giant has asked a federal judge to delay the start date while it argues its case.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen argued in court filings Aug. 18 that Montana is within its consumer protection authority to ban the app without straying into the federal government's purview over foreign affairs.

TikTok sued Knudsen in May, contending the ban violated its users' free speech rights and that the state has no authority to legislate matters of national security. Five TikTok users in Montana also sued and are plaintiffs in a combined case.

The TikTok ban signed into law earlier this year does not violate the First Amendment, Knudsen's office wrote, in part because users can share "videos, memes and every other kind of expressive content on every other internet-based video or social media platform."

TikTok stands alone from other data-harvesting social media apps because of its alleged ties to the Chinese government, the Republican attorney general's office argued.

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have repeatedly denounced that alleged connection, saying it has never furnished user data to the Chinese government. In its initial lawsuit, TikTok labeled the concern in its lawsuit as "unfounded speculation."

Friday's filing provides a window into the state's defense ahead of the Oct. 12 hearing on TikTok's proposed injunction halting the ban from taking effect while the case plays out.

Montana became the first state in the nation to ban TikTok when the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 419, sponsored by freshman GOP Sen. Shelly Vance of Belgrade. Knudsen, a former legislator and Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives, lobbied lawmakers to support the ban. The attorney general said during the session he wanted Montana to lead the ever-widening charge against the company, calling it a "unique legal question" during his testimony in a committee hearing. Democrats largely opposed SB 416, calling it an unserious attempt at data protection.

The proposal passed and Gov. Greg Gianforte, who had already banned TikTok on all state devices, signed the bill May 17.

In the company's July motion to stall the statewide ban during the case proceedings, the company argued SB 419 conflicts with federal law by attempting to establish a state-level foreign policy. Attorneys for TikTok wrote then that the company is in negotiations with the Biden administration to determine whether any national security concerns can be resolved by mutual agreement, and that the ban disrupts those negotiations.

Knudsen's office, in its Friday filing, contends the ban is in fact aligned with federal officials' concerns with protecting sensitive data from adversarial countries, including a June 2021 executive order signed by President Joe Biden to evaluate foreign adversary connected software applications in order to protect citizens' sensitive information.

As for the company's negotiations with the federal government, "Any future agreements between the federal government and TikTok cannot preempt today an otherwise valid state law," the Attorney General's Office wrote.
Bismarck police are investigating a suspected hidden camera found in a tanning bed at Planet Fitness.

A customer found the suspected video recording device during a Monday tanning session, according to police spokesman Lt. Luke Gardiner. No immediate arrests were made, but authorities do have a suspect, Gardiner said.

Police responded to the business in Gateway Mall shortly after 10:30 a.m. The 21-year-old woman who reported the device turned it over to officers.

Investigators on Monday afternoon were working to access the device. It wasn't immediately known what was recorded on it, how many people might have been recorded, and how long recordings might have taken place.

The police department in a statement said it "considers recording laws to be serious offenses in which an individuals right to privacy is breached. As this investigation ensues, detectives will work to identify more potential victims and contact them as they are identified."
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COVID-19 vaccines are effective against severe cases of the disease in children and adolescents, according to a review. However, with most children now having caught the SARS-CoV-2 virus and building up a natural immunity, the additional benefit of vaccination in healthy children is minimal.

The international literature review, led by Murdoch Children's Research Institute and published in BMJ Paediatrics Open, explored the challenges and considerations of COVID-19 vaccination, especially in low- and middle-income countries with high levels of community transmission and infection-derived immunity.

The review reported any roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries should also complement routine childhood vaccine programs that have a greater impact on illness and death, including for measles, pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease.

Building on recent Murdoch Children's-led research that found that two-thirds of children with COVID-19 who attended hospital in the first two years of the pandemic did not require medical intervention, this review reported that despite most children having been infected and severe infection could occur, deaths were extremely rare in children. Globally, 16,100 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in those up to 19 years old.

As infection derived COVID-19 immunity has increased over time, the disease has also evolved. Previous research led by Murdoch Children's has found croup, triggered by COVID-19, declined in 2022 despite new variants arising.

Similarly, data from the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network and from the US, has found that rates of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS-TS) -; a major concern during the early stages of the pandemic -; were substantially lower during the Omicron COVID-19 variant period.

The review highlighted that although COVID-19 vaccinations in children were effective at the time they were tested, the benefits were lower in the current context of high infection-derived immunity. The extra gain was also much lower compared to other life-saving vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, where childhood deaths from other vaccine preventable diseases were considerably higher.

The review noted many countries have still not introduced proven lifesaving vaccines, including pneumococcal, rotavirus and human papillomavirus, into their immunization schedules. Additionally, the resources required for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in these countries posed a considerable challenge, it stated.

Murdoch Children's Dr John Hart said although there was not strong evidence to support routine vaccination of all healthy children, it was a different for high-risk children, especially those with disabilities and certain underlying conditions.

"Given the very high prevalence of risk factors for severe COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries, vaccination against COVID-19 is an important consideration in all age groups, including children," he said. However, decisions should be made considering the direct benefits to the individual child, not broader benefits to the household or community related to transmission, particularly as the effectiveness of the vaccines against infection is temporary.

"If COVID-19 vaccines are made available to children, the opportunity should be taken to increase coverage of standard childhood vaccines such as for measles, pneumonia, rotavirus, polio and human papillomavirus. Preventative healthcare and treatment should also be provided at each encounter with the health system. This will help to address the indirect adverse effects of the pandemic on children."

Murdoch Children's Professor Fiona Russell said there was also a lack of public health data in low- and middle- income countries, which underscored the importance of ensuring equitable access to safe and effective vaccines for future epidemics before exposure to infection.

In low- and middle-income countries, most people were infected by the time vaccines became available, highlighting the profound inequity in global vaccine distribution. More needs to be done to prevent this from happening again." Professor Fiona Russell, Murdoch Children's

"By the time vaccines became available for low-risk populations of otherwise healthy children, infection-derived immunity provided similar protection to vaccine-derived immunity and vaccine hesitancy was also increasing."

"Countries that have high rates of unvaccinated children now need to consider whether to vaccinate based on their own context as it would be important to not detract from routine vaccinations that are far more beneficial for children."

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Mahidol University, University of the Philippines Manila, Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Suva and The Royal Children's Hospital also contributed to the findings.
A new editorial paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on June 12, 2023, entitled, "Are cis-spliced fusion proteins pathological in more aggressive luminal breast cancer?"

A vast majority of breast cancers (~70%) are estrogen receptor-alpha positive (ER+), for which endocrine therapy is the common treatment. However, recurrence often occurs leading to tumor progression, metastasis and eventually patient death, and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this new editorial, researchers Chia-Chia Liu and Xiao-Song Wang from the University of Pittsburgh discuss their recent study regarding recurrent gene fusions -; hallmarks of some cancers that resulted either from chromosomal rearrangements or from cis- or trans-splicing.

"Importantly, selected oncogenic fusions have been matched with effective targeted therapy in several solid tumors. For instance, EML4-ALK, one of the most important oncogenic driver genes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) uncovered in recent years."

In addition to gene fusions resulting from genomic rearrangements, a read-through SLC45A3-ELK4 fusion transcript has been identified in prostate cancer which is associated with disease progression and metastasis. Although the whole genome and RNA sequencing provide an effective way to detect fusion genes, the downstream identification and validation of fusion genes or their products in solid tumors remains a major challenge. Through analysis of RNA-seq data from TCGA, the authors of this editorial and their co-authors recently identified a neoplastic fusion transcript RAD51AP1-DYRK4 in luminal B breast cancer (~17.5%) showing higher ki67 expression which is an indication of aggressive clinical characteristics.

"In this study, we examined the utility of MEK inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) currently used for treating melanoma with BRAF mutations, in blocking the MEK-ERK signaling driven by RAD51AP1-DYRK4 fusion. Interestingly [...] RAD51AP1-DYRK4 may endow sensitivity to MEK inhibition in luminal B breast cancer. To our knowledge, this is one of the few non-traditional fusions generated by read-through events in the absence of DNA rearrangement that play an important role in tumorigenesis."
With the advent of ChatGPT4, the use of artificial intelligence in medicine has absorbed the public's attention, dominated news headlines, and sparked vigorous debates about the promise and peril of medical AI.

But the potential of AI reaches far beyond the frontlines of medicine.

AI is already changing the way scientists discover and design drugs. It is predicting how molecules interact and proteins fold with never-before-seen speed and accuracy. One day, AI may even be used routinely to safeguard the function of nuclear reactors.

These are but a few of the exciting applications of AI in the natural sciences, according to a commentary in Nature authored by Marinka Zitnik, assistant professor of biomedical informatics at Harvard Medical School. Zitnik led a team of author-researchers from 36 academic and industry labs from around the globe.

Zitnik, who is also an associate faculty member at the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University, discussed the growing role of AI in science and discovery.

Harvard Medicine News: We've been deluged with news and commentaries about the use of AI in medicine, but we are not hearing as much about AI in science and discovery beyond medicine. Why is that?

Zitnik: I think it's because the realization of the vast opportunity that AI represents for the life sciences and the natural sciences more broadly has not happened yet. The practice of science may vary across disciplines, but the scientific method that helps us explain the natural world constitutes a universal, fundamental principle across all disciplines. The scientific method has been around since the 17th century, but the techniques used to generate hypotheses, gather data, perform experiments, and collect measurements can now all be enhanced and accelerated through the thoughtful and responsible use of AI.

HMNews: Where do you see the most immediate impact of AI in scientific discovery?

Zitnik: Discoveries made with the combined use of human expertise and artificial intelligence already affect our everyday lives. AI is used to synthesize novel drugs. It is used to design new materials with properties that make them robust and stiff to support the construction of bridges and buildings. AI algorithms have been used to provide real-time feedback and control of stratospheric balloons for weather forecasting. In physics, which can seem so far away from everyday life, recently developed AI algorithms were used to control a tokamaksimulator -; a nuclear fusion reactor in development -; to make its safe operation less dependent on human intuition and experience alone.

HMNews: What are you excited about in the long term?

Zitnik: I'm very excited about the potential of AI to not only contribute to scientific understanding, but to acquire it autonomously to generate knowledge on its own. It's been shown that AI models can capture complex scientific concepts, such as the periodic table of elements, from the literature without any guidance.

The capacity to develop autonomous knowledge can guide future discoveries embedded in past publications. For example, this could be the discovery of a molecule to treat Alzheimer's disease. Such a discovery would require identifying indirect relationships across publications and across disciplines -; chemistry, biology, medicine -; connecting chemical properties of molecules to biologic behavior of molecular pathways implicated in Alzheimer's disease and then to clinical phenotypes and patients' symptoms.

Connecting all these disciplines and publications to identify shared principles and generate a novel hypothesis would be impossible for a human. AI "co-pilots" could read not only scientific publications but also raw research data, images, and experimental laboratory data and then extract latent knowledge and present it as a hypothesis for evaluation by human experts. This requires AI models to formulate hypotheses that are neither written down nor directly implied or suggested in existing scientific literature.

These are the challenges that consume most of a scientist's time and often differentiate very good scientists from exceptional ones. We hope that in the future scientists would spend less time doing routine laboratory work and more time guiding, accessing, and evaluating AI hypotheses and steering AI models toward the research questions they're interested in.

Another exciting possibility is the idea of human-in-the-loop AI-driven design, discovery, and evaluation. It would be possible to automate routine scientific workflows and combine actual experimentation in the physical world with virtual AI models and robotics. This would allow us to leverage predictions and conduct experiments in a high-throughput manner. It would create self-driving laboratories where some of the experiments would be directly guided by predictions and outputs made by AI models.

HMNews: What are some of the pitfalls you foresee? Where should we tread extra carefully?

Zitnik: One challenge relates to practical considerations. Implementing and integrating a model with laboratory equipment requires lots of work and complex software and hardware engineering, the curation of the data, and better user interfaces. Currently, minor variations in software and hardware can lead to considerable changes in AI performance. Thus, it becomes risky to couple virtual AI tools with actual physical devices that can operate in the real world. Data and models need to be standardized. Ultimately, if done properly, I would expect to see the emergence of self-driving labs and semi-autonomous discovery engines.

Another challenge relates to machine learning foundations. There are gaps in what algorithms currently can do versus what we need them to do to be used in a routine manner. Scientific data are multimodal, such as black holes in cosmology, natural language in scientific literature, biological sequences like amino acids, and 3D molecular and atomic structures. Integrating these data is challenging but necessary because looking at any data set in isolation cannot give a holistic view of the problem.

Another important challenge is that most AI models today still operate as black boxes. This means that scientists, the users, cannot fully understand or explain how these models operate. That's a challenge because scientific understanding is at the heart of advancing science. How to develop more transparent, deep learning models? This remains elusive.

The misapplication and misuse of AI is yet another challenge. Algorithms can be developed for one purpose but used for another. This can create vulnerabilities to manipulation. For example, in the molecular sciences, we've seen increasing use of generative AI to design molecular structures. AI can generate structures that have drug-like properties, representing molecules that would be delivered to specific tissues, which makes them promising drug candidates. However, one could take the exact same algorithm and tweak the criteria.

Thus, instead of optimizing molecules to behave like medicines, the algorithm could generate molecules that resemble bioweapons. There should be a critical conversation around what is responsible use of AI in science. We need to think about establishing ethics review processes and implementation guidelines that currently do not exist.

HMNews: What do you see as some of the solutions?

Zitnik: Addressing the challenges will require new modes of thinking and collaboration. Moving forward, we have to change how research teams are formed. We expect to see more AI specialists and software and hardware engineers become critical members of scientific research teams. We expect novel forms of collaboration involving government at all levels, corporations, and educational institutions. Involving corporations is important because as AI models continue to grow in size, training these models will require resources that generally exist only in a handful of big tech companies. Universities, on the other hand, are better integrated across disciplines. Only at universities do we have departments of chemistry, biology, physics, and sociology, and so forth. Thus, academia is better positioned to understand and study how to prevent the various risks and misuses of AI.
CHIZ MOURNS PASSING OF MIGRANT WORKERS SEC. TOOTS OPLE

Senator Chiz Escudero on Tuesday (August 22) mourned the passing of Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople as he extended his condolences to her family.

"My sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of Secretary Toots. I join the Filipino people in prayers for the eternal repose of her soul. She was my good friend," Escudero said.

Ople was the goddaughter of the veteran legislator's father, the late Agriculture Secretary Salvador "Sonny" Escudero.

"Her demise is not only a loss to the Ople family but a big loss to the thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) whose welfare she has been championing even before she was appointed by President Marcos last year as DMW Secretary," he added.

As the first secretary of the migrant workers department, Escudero said Ople's accomplishment was remarkable even for a very short period of time that her successor has big shoes to fill.

Prior to her appointment by President Marcos, Ople founded and headed the Blas Ople Policy Center, a non-government organization (NGO) named after her father--the late Senate President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Fajardo Ople, who in 1976 initiated overseas employment as labor secretary of Marcos, Sr.

According to a DMW statement, Ople died this afternoon surrounded by family and loved ones.
A Mandan man accused of stealing drugs from a Glen Ullin pharmacy has pleaded guilty to four felony charges and been sentenced to time served and probation.

Charges were dismissed against a second suspect after his death about a year ago.

Maurice Delage, 31, and Jordan Ward, 29, were accused in a September 2021 burglary at the Glen Ullin Pharmacy. Authorities said the business lost narcotic pills, pain patches and overdose medication valued at about $12,000. The drugs were worth an estimated $160,000 on the street, police said.

The pharmacy also suffered about $3,500 in damage to windows, doors and security systems.

Delage and Ward were identified as suspects through video surveillance. Delage was arrested in January 2022, and authorities that month issued a warrant for Ward. Authorities at the time said Ward was from Dickinson; court documents list his home as Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Delage initially faced seven felony charges relating to theft, burglary, criminal mischief, tampering with evidence and drug possession. The most serious charges carried a possible 10-year prison sentence. He pleaded not guilty in May 2022.

Delage on Monday changed his pleas to guilty on four of the charges  three drug possession counts and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors dismissed the theft, burglary and criminal mischief charges. He was sentenced to the 131 days  about four months  he had already served in jail, with the rest of a five-year prison term suspended during three years of probation, court records show.

Theft, burglary and criminal mischief charges against Ward were dismissed last December due to his death, according to court documents. Ward was discovered unresponsive in his cell at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls in August 2022, according to the South Dakota Department of Corrections. He was serving a burglary sentence in a South Dakota case.
Biological cells undergo a process known as "heat stress response" when exposed to excessively high temperatures. Heat stress triggers a cascade of signaling mechanisms to produce a variety of heat shock proteins (Hsps), including small heat shock proteins (sHsps). These "cellular firefighters" protect heat-sensitive structures, prevent proteins from clumping, and help refold damaged proteins.

In Escherichia coli, a widely studied species of bacteria, an sHsp called IbpA serves an interesting additional purpose. Besides its conventional role as a chaperone, IbpA also acts as a "safety catch" that suppresses its own synthesis when it is unnecessary. Simply put, IbpA can regulate the expression of specific genes in response to temperature cues by affecting their translation from messenger RNA to protein. Although scientists recently found that IbpA regulates its own expression and that of its paralog (a gene that shares a common ancestor and arises from gene duplication events) IbpB, it is still unclear whether this protein regulates other genes as well.

In a recent study published in PNAS, Prof. Hideki Taguchi and Dr. Tsukumi Miwa from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in Japan have addressed this knowledge gap. The duo explored, through various experiments with genetically engineered E. coli strains, the mechanisms via which IbpA regulates the heat shock response, revealing a new pivotal function of the Hsp.

They initially found that overexpression of IbpA led to a significant downregulation of many Hsps. Further experiments showed that IbpA has no effect on these Hsps at the translational level, i.e., it does not stop the synthesis of these proteins from RNA. This led the researchers to hypothesize that IbpA may be influencing the expression of 32, a master heat shock transcription factor responsible for regulating the expression of around a hundred genes, many of which are related to the heat shock response.

Through experiments involving IbpA-overexpressing and IbpA-deleted mutants, the researchers found that IbpA suppresses the expression of 32 at the translational rather than transcriptional level. Accordingly, they proposed a new model explaining how IbpA operates under normal and heat stress conditions. In this model, when the temperature is not excessively high, IbpA suppresses the translation of rpoH RNA that produces 32. In turn, the lack of 32 keeps the levels of Hsps, including IbpA, low. However, when heat shock occurs, IbpA binds to misfolded or clumped-up proteins, leaving rpoH RNA alone. This leads to a rapid increase in the amount of 32, which activates the production of Hsps to deal with the damage caused by heat stress.

These results, however, beg the question: what is the physiological significance of IbpA suppressing rpoH translation? "One possibility is that the regulation of expression at the translation level is generally rapid and thus well-suited for immediate induction upon heat shock," explains Prof. Taguchi. "Another advantage of tight suppression of the 32 levels by IbpA under normal conditions is the suppression of Hsp expression, which is unnecessary in the absence of stress."

Overall, this study helps clarify how bacterial species adapt to harsh environments. Prof. Taguchi remarks: "Our study focusing on IbpA has shed new light on the involvement of this previously unrecognized factor in the heat shock response of E. coli." This knowledge could prove essential in bioengineering, industrial, medical, and environmental applications.
After adding follow-up years, increased sample sizes and examining multiple surgical procedures, new research shows bariatric surgery is associated with lower all-cancer and obesity-related cancer incidence among females. The research also found that cancer mortality was significantly lower among female surgical patients compared to non-surgical subjects, according to a new study in Obesity, The Obesity Society's (TOS) flagship journal.

Although population studies have established a positive association between body mass index and cancer incidence, less clear is whether voluntary reduction in body weight leads to reduced cancer risk because significant and sustained weight loss in large populations is difficult to achieve. However, because of the substantial and maintained weight loss following bariatric surgery, studies have reported reduced cancer incidence and lower cancer mortality in bariatric surgical patients compared with matched non-surgical subjects, according to the study's authors.

As scientists study human diseases, an element of discovery is to confirm like results from multiple studies. This research represents another important study that strongly supports the long-term benefits of weight loss surgery in the prevention of cancer." Ted D. Adams, PhD, MPH, Intermountain Surgical Specialities/Digestive Health Clinical Program and Intermountain Healthcare; Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Adams is the corresponding author of the study.

In the current study, researchers compared cancer incidence and mortality stratified by obesity- and non-obesity-related cancers, sex, cancer stage and procedure. Retrospectively (1982-2019), nearly 22,000 bariatric surgery patients were compared with non-surgical subjects with severe obesity. The participants were matched 1:1 for age, sex and body mass index. The Utah Population Database was used for this study and included linked population-based data such as statewide birth and death certificates, the Utah Cancer Registry and driver license information at each license renewal period. Three Utah bariatric surgery registries were linked to the population database and included patients who had undergone gastric bypass, gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy or duodenal switch procedures. Non-surgical participants were selected for the study from Utah driver license records.

Results showed that the bariatric surgery group had a 25% lower risk for developing any cancers compared to the non-surgery group. Female bariatric surgery patients had a 41% lower risk for developing obesity-related cancers compared to matched non-surgery females. Cancer risk for male bariatric surgery patients was not lower compared to non-surgery male subjects.

Significant reduction in cancer risk was shown for the following cancers: uterine, ovarian, colon, pre-menopausal breast and post-menopausal breast. Death from cancer was lower by 47% among female bariatric surgery patients compared to matched non-surgery female subjects.

Adams commented, "Important findings of this study are that bariatric surgery results in lower incidence rates of colon cancer (prior studies have not been consistent). Also, both pre- and post-menopausal women experience reduced breast cancer incidence following bariatric surgery, which may suggest weight loss among women in either category with severe obesity may benefit from reduced breast cancer."

"Adams and colleagues have made another important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between obesity and cancer. The results of this study add to the literature indicating that the large weight loss seen with bariatric surgery decreases the risk of several types of cancer. The risk of cancer in women, who represent the majority of individuals who undergo bariatric surgery, was most greatly decreased. Persons with obesity and their health care providers should strongly consider these benefits when discussing the pros and cons of bariatric surgery," said David B. Sarwer, PhD, associate dean for research; director, Center for Obesity Research and Education, College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. Sarwer was not associated with the research.

The study's authors noted that continued bariatric surgery-driven mechanistic research aimed at cancer prevention remains clinically important.

Other authors of the study include Nathan Richards, Intermountain Surgical Specialities/Digestive Health Clinical Program and Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah; Lance E. Davidson and Steven C. Hunt, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah. Davidson also works in the Department of Exercise Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Hunt is also associated with the Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Doha, Qatar; Mary Playdon, Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; Huong Meeks, Alison Fraser, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Playdon is also associated with the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Co-authors also include John Holmen, Intermountain Biorepository, Intermountain Healthcare; Salt Lake City, Utah; Michael Newman, University of Utah Health, Data Science Services, Salt Lake City, Utah; Anna R. Ibele, Division of General Surgery, Department of General Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; Sheetal Hardikar, Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; and Jaewhan Kim, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Adams has received research funding from Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Johnson & Johnson), and Intermountain Medical Research and Education Foundation of Intermountain Health. Hunt has received funding from the Biomedical Research Program at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar, a program funded by the Qatar Foundation.
When Maira Gutierrez was diagnosed with Chagas disease in 1997, neither she nor her primary care physician had even heard of the malady. She discovered her illness only by chance, after participating in a Red Cross blood drive organized by her employer, Universal Studios.

The Red Cross tests donated blood for a range of diseases, including Chagas, which is caused by a parasite and can develop silently for decades before causing symptoms. The test detected Chagas in her body, and an MRI years later, in 2013, confirmed it had reached her heart.

"They showed me the image with the trace of the parasite to my heart. It was really scary," Gutierrez, originally from El Salvador, said in Spanish. Now 50, she remains healthy but undergoes a battery of tests annually to monitor for heart damage.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas, is transmitted through an insect called the triatomine bug, known as the kissing bug, because it usually bites close to the lips. The bugs defecate on the skin, and the feces, which can contain the parasite, can enter a person's body through the nose, mouth, or breaks in the skin.

Chagas disease affects people primarily in rural Latin America, where the insect thrives in thatched roofs and mud walls. It is not transmitted from person to person, except for a mother passing it to a newborn, or through blood transfusions or organ transplants.

But it's increasingly present in the United States, where it often goes unrecognized: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 300,000 people living in the U.S. have Chagas, though lack of awareness and testing means only 1% of cases have been identified.

Doctors, researchers, and patient advocates say the nation could be doing far more to combat Chagas, which causes serious heart disease in an estimated 30% of infected people and can also lead to crippling digestive problems such as enlargement of the esophagus and colon. They are pushing for increased access to testing and treatment and are optimistic about a new drug that's set for human trials next year. A bill in Congress to up funding for rare diseases, which supporters hope will be debated in the fall, could help too.

Still, in the U.S., there is "a tremendous lack of awareness about this disease," said Rachel Marcus, a cardiologist and the medical director of the Latin American Society of Chagas, who runs a Chagas testing clinic in northern Virginia. "We were taught that it is something we don't see in the United States."

A large proportion of those with Chagas are from Latin America, and many are living in the U.S. without legal permission. Marcus notes that many of those most at risk from Chagas use community health centers that could be testing sites but have limited resources and tend to focus on more common conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Chagas initially produces flu-like symptoms but can then go unnoticed for decades while it reproduces in the body. Drug treatments can sometimes eradicate the parasite, especially in its first stages, but the window for early detection is short: It does not stay in the bloodstream for long, instead migrating to tissues and organs, where it is harder to detect.

Often by the time a patient sees a doctor, that person has already developed serious complications, including heart rhythm abnormalities or a dilated heart that doesn't pump blood well. Patients may eventually need pacemakers or heart transplants.

It is a disease resulting from systemic failures in the health care system, said writer Daisy Hernandez, author of The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nations Neglect of a Deadly Disease. In her book, Hernandez tells the story of her aunt Dora, who was diagnosed with Chagas in the U.S. Before, in her country, Colombia, she had an exploratory surgery because of a swollen stomach and the doctors told her that she had the intestines of 10 people due to the amount of inflammation. No one suspected it could have been caused by the Chagas parasite.

Hernandez said interviews with over 70 doctors and patients convinced her that the real barrier to Chagas care is inaction.

"While a person living in Virginia who is originally from Bolivia [where Chagas is endemic] knows that if diagnosed with Chagas, they should start saving up for a pacemaker," Hernandez said in Spanish, "here, the government does nothing and doesn't even know what the disease is."

Between 6 and 7 million people worldwide live with the parasite. In the U.S., two long-standing drugs have had FDA approval: benznidazole and nifurtimox, which can beat back the parasite but don't always eradicate it. The medications can have serious side effects, and are most effective if given early: Babies born with Chagas have a 90% cure rate if treated within their first year of life.

To combat the disease, doctors familiar with Chagas recommend testing pregnant women from at-risk communities and urge earlier treatments. They also advocate screening all transplant organs. In 2018, a Connecticut man died after receiving a heart infected with the Chagas parasite, prompting a lawsuit and calls for mandatory organ screening. The organization that governs transplant policies in the U.S. recently voted to require such testing.

Few facilities in the country screen for Chagas. Advocates say that with greater awareness, many health care providers could conduct initial screenings and, if positive, send results to the CDC for confirmation.

However, building awareness has been an uphill battle. The Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, the only center in the U.S. dedicated to Chagas diagnosis and treatment, recently suspended operations after its longtime director, Sheba Meymandi, retired.

A pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas, Meymandi said she is still working as a volunteer at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, where the center was based, to ensure her patients receive care. "The political leadership has stopped supporting the center, and we no longer actively conduct tests," Meymandi said. Now, she refers Chagas patients to the cardiology clinic.

A spokesperson for the county's Department of Public Health wrote in a statement that the center is not technically closed, and that treatment of Chagas patients with heart conditions had been taken over by the cardiology department at the UCLA hospital. But at least for now it is not offering general screening for Chagas infection. California has the most Chagas cases of any state.

Another hope for beating Chagas lies in new drugs. Rick Tarleton, the head of the Tarleton Research Group in the University of Georgia's Department of Cellular Biology, said his group had collaborated with Anacor Pharmaceuticals to identify and optimize compounds that could kill the T. cruzi parasites. They had found one.

"It could completely eradicate the infection in mice and in nonhuman primates," Tarleton said.

The team tested the compound on 19 macaques at a research center in Texas that had acquired the parasite naturally. The infection was defeated, the monkeys had no significant side effects, and they are still clinically healthy after more than five years.

Tarleton's team also observed that some of the parasites can become dormant, making them resistant to drug treatment. As a result, Tarleton said, it's critical not only to develop more effective drugs, but to optimize timing of treatments.

Tarleton and his team hope to launch a clinical trial of the compound next year.

There is also some hope on the political front. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Study, Treat, Observe, and Prevent (STOP) Neglected Diseases of Poverty Act in February to address the growing health problem posed by maladies like Chagas spreading in low-income communities. The list also includes dengue fever, leprosy, and chikungunya.

"Whenever we go into low-income communities and look for these illnesses, we usually find them," said Peter Hotez, who worked with Booker's office on the legislation and is the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. "Tragically, too often our nation ignores or neglects these communities, and we fail to look."

Meanwhile, Maira Gutierrez, the patient who was lucky to have a diagnosis and a consistent treatment, has some advice for them: Donate blood; at the very least, youll know if you have the parasite, and itll cost you nothing.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Annie Jackson can't know whether her sister Grena Prude might have survived had an ambulance been more readily available when she went into cardiac arrest on May 10. But Jackson is convinced her sister would have at least had a chance.

Prude, 55, died at the steps of Carrollton City Hall, less than a half-mile from her county's only ambulance station. When someone called 911 to get her help, two ambulances were on duty: One was transporting a patient to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 45 minutes away, and the other a patient to Columbus, Mississippi, a 30-minute drive.

"It was a horrible situation," said Vicky McCrory, supervisor of the nonprofit Pickens County Ambulance Service, but not an isolated one. There have been multiple similar tragedies.

That single ambulance station in Carrollton serves all of Pickens County, dispatching one and sometimes two ambulances to serve just under 20,000 residents spread across 900 square miles. The farthest reaches of the county line are 25 to 30 miles away on two-lane country roads.

In rural areas where hospitals have shuttered, like Pickens County, the nearest surviving facilities are long drives away, ambulance coverage is sparse, and residents in the throes of medical emergencies often find their situations even more precarious.

In May, the rural health research and policy centers released the results of an effort by the Maine Rural Health Research Center to document coverage gaps in the availability of ambulance services across the country  what the researchers refer to as "ambulance deserts." They define those deserts as places where people live more than 25 minutes from the nearest station.

The study found that in the 41 states for which data was available, 4.5 million people lived in an ambulance desert. Six in 10 lived in the South. Alabama had 315,000 people living at such a distance, ranking second highest behind North Carolina.

But a closer look into emergency services in Pickens County reveals a grimmer situation. In March 2020, the 56-bed Pickens County Medical Center shut its doors, with administrators citing an unsustainable financial situation and a declining patient volume.

Those living along the periphery of Pickens County must wait nearly a half-hour for an ambulance to arrive. Patients must then ride up to an hour to reach a hospital, in either Tuscaloosa or Columbus.

State Route 86 runs through downtown Carrollton, past the courthouse and City Hall. To the north are the tapering hills of Appalachia; to the south, the Black Belt region.

"Everybody here knows everybody," said Terrence Windham, mayor of Aliceville, a town roughly 10 miles south of Carrollton. And, seemingly, everyone has heard of the death of Grena Prude.

Julia Boothe is a longtime family physician in the town of Reform, situated about 10 miles north of Carrollton, and a recent president of the state medical association.

Boothe said it's not uncommon for people to decide there's no point in calling 911. Some instead show up in her office in a condition well beyond what "a family medicine practice in a rural area of 1,500 people" is equipped to handle.

"People don't understand the severity of what's going on" in these rural areas, she said.

At one time, the county had the resources to deploy three ambulances.

"Now," McCrory said, "we're lucky to have one unit." The closure of the hospital, she said, has meant a loss of some $250,000 a year in revenue for the ambulance service.

Further, Boothe said, "the stress and strain" of working in the county make it difficult to recruit emergency medical crews  not to mention health care providers of any specialty.

This critical shortage of services reflects what's happened to so many rural communities across the U.S. after decades of dwindling resources.

In 1979, when Bill Curry returned home to Pickens County to practice medicine, funeral homes provided the only ambulance service.

"A hearse, literally, would come to the scene of an auto accident or to somebody's house or wherever there was a need for somebody to get transported to a hospital," recalled Curry, now a professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. "The training was pretty minimal, and the interventions were almost none. It was just pick up and go."

"When we developed the hospital, we said, 'Well, we really need a modern ambulance service, and so that's how we came up with what they have today," Curry said.

James Parker grew up in Pickens County; his dad ran a feed-and-seed store and raised cattle. Parker had mentors growing up, including Curry, who were prominent in the community and pillars of the hospital. They allowed him to shadow them and nudged him into medicine. He returned home after graduating from medical school in 2000 and has been practicing there since. He laments the loss of the hospital.

"You know, folks love to call a little hospital a band-aid station, but that's a big band-aid that worked," Parker said. "So many success stories of our little hospital."

But with advances in medical technology  allowing more procedures to be performed on an outpatient basis  and an unfavorable payer mix, the old model was deemed no longer feasible.

Community leaders believed they had a viable plan to revitalize the hospital. "I thought it was an excellent option," Boothe said. They requested $10 million from the state legislature  which then became $8 million  to reopen the emergency room and operate an adolescent mental health facility that would serve kids from across the state.

Here, it seemed, was the answer to a need for Pickens County and beyond. Boothe has had young patients who "sat in emergency rooms for over seven days waiting on an admission to an adolescent bed." Some ultimately had to be transferred out of the state.

The $8 million was still in the state budget when it passed the House in April, but, in the eleventh hour, the Senate scuttled the cash infusion.

The issues related to the need for rural emergency care highlight another concern. The authors of the May report on ambulance deserts wrote that the "declining numbers of rural hospitals and ambulance services imply that remaining ambulance services are being tasked to play a greater role in delivering more sophisticated emergency services."

"Ambulance services were never intended to take the place of emergency departments," McCrory said. "I just feel like health care all the way around is failing here, and in other rural areas, too."

The researchers also noted the fragmented nature of ambulance services, particularly in rural areas.

Boothe talks of a potential solution whereby three ambulance stations would be spaced across Pickens County and Lamar County, on its northern border. But that's not an easy maneuver.

"Of all the poorly designed aspects of our health care system," said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, "EMS is tops."

On a sweltering day in late July, several dozen Pickens County residents and officials traveled 2 hours to the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery. They stood on the steps to protest lawmakers' decision not to fund their hospital.

Aliceville Mayor Windham was among them. There's a sense in Pickens County that rural communities such as his don't show up on the radar in Montgomery, he said. He and his neighbors' ongoing mission "is to let the Alabama Legislature know that we are real, live human beings  and we are really suffering."

Morgan, of the rural health association, has witnessed the ripple effects of the loss of essential rural health care services  the consequences for a community's health and the health of its economy. "Rural health care," he said, "is like a tundra. You trample on it, it's really tough to get it to come back."

Annie Jackson joined her neighbors on the steps of the state Capitol that July morning. After traveling hours away from home, she stepped off a chartered bus in downtown Carrollton, less than a hundred yards from where her sister Grena died. She paused and pointed up the road toward the nearby West Alabama Animal Hospital.

"We have our animal hospital up here," Jackson said. "The animals have a hospital. But we do not. What does that say for us?"
The first Americans over age 60 just started rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, now that brand-new vaccines have started to arrive at pharmacies and clinics.

Millions more older adults may do the same in coming weeks and months, a new University of Michigan poll suggests, as they seek protection against a virus that is especially good at infecting older lungs.

But nearly half of older adults do not know about the new RSV vaccines that received approval earlier this year, the poll finds. And some groups of older adults show much less interest in getting the RSV vaccine than others.

In all, 52% of people between the ages of 60 and 80 had heard the new vaccine option was coming, according to the new data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging gathered in July.

Asked how interested they are in getting vaccinated, 21% of those who answered said they're very interested, and another 43% said they're somewhat interested.

The virus poses the most danger to older adults who have lung, heart, kidney or immune system conditions, or diabetes, and those who live in nursing homes or other group settings. But only 41% of older adults who say their health is fair or poor had heard of the RSV vaccine, compared with 53% of those who rated their health as good to excellent.

On the other hand, over 65% of those with a chronic health condition said they were very or somewhat interested in getting the vaccine, whether or not they had heard of it before being polled.

Risk from RSV infection rises with age, and so did interest in getting vaccinated against it. In all, 70% of people in their 70s said they were very or somewhat interested in getting vaccinated, compared with 60% of those in their 60s.

"As we prepare for the first RSV season when a vaccine will be available for older adults, these early data suggest a need for public health officials, primary care providers, pharmacies and others to target their outreach and awareness-building efforts," said Preeti Malani, M.D., senior advisor to the poll who has training in geriatrics as well as infectious disease and is a physician at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center.

She added, "We found an association between awareness and interest, with 68% of those who had heard of the vaccine saying they were very interested or somewhat interested in getting vaccinated, compared with 60% who hadn't heard of the vaccine until asked by the poll team."

The poll is based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine.

More about RSV

RSV infections of the lungs and airways send as many as 160,000 older adults to the hospital each year, and kill as many as 10,000 of them, at a cost of more than $1.3 billion a year.

That's why the two new vaccines received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this spring after tests showed they reduce the risk of serious illness such as pneumonia. It's also why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended them for people over 60, in consultation with a health care provider. A University of Michigan team's economic model helped inform the recommendation.

The CDC's recommendation means that Medicare, Medicaid and most private health insurance plans will cover the entire cost of the vaccines for people over 60.

Malani notes that older adults who are regularly around children should be aware that RSV is commonly transmitted at daycares, schools, and in the home. Infected children often have mild disease or no symptoms, though infants and preschool-aged children have a higher risk of serious illness and hospitalization than school-aged children. A shot to prevent RSV for infants and young toddlers also recently received FDA approval and CDC recommendation.

More poll findings:

Gender: More women (57%) than men (46%) had heard of the RSV vaccine, but there was no significant gender difference in interest in being vaccinated.

More women (57%) than men (46%) had heard of the RSV vaccine, but there was no significant gender difference in interest in being vaccinated. Education and income: 56% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher had heard of the vaccine, compared with 46% of those with some college or less. Meanwhile, 55% of those with annual household incomes over $60,000 had heard of the vaccine, versus 47% of those with incomes below that threshold. Those with a college degree (68%) and those in higher income households (66%) were more likely to say they are somewhat interested or very interested in getting an RSV vaccine than those with fewer years of education (58%) or in lower income households (60%)

Race/ethnicity: There were no significant observed differences in vaccine awareness among those of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. But differences emerged when it came to interest in vaccination: 65% of White, non-Hispanic respondents said they were somewhat interested or very interested, compared with 56% of Black and 56% of Hispanic respondents.

The new data come from a poll administered July 17 through August 7 to 1,850 people aged 60 to 80 who answered the question about awareness of the RSV vaccine;1,817 of them also answered the question about interest in receiving it. The poll methodology is described here.

For more about the National Poll on Healthy Aging, including past reports on COVID and influenza vaccination among older adults, visit https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/
In a recent article posted to the Research Square preprint* server, researchers investigated the potential relationship between gut microbiota and different subtypes of psoriasis, including arthropathic psoriasis and psoriasis vulgaris.

The study used a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach for their investigations.

Study: Association between gut microbiota and psoriasis: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Image Credit: Flystock/Shutterstock.com

*Important notice: Research Square publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Background

Per the World Health Organization (WHO) data, although psoriasis incidence varies globally, it is common in the general population worldwide, with current estimates suggesting that it has gripped 24% of the global population.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease mainly characterized by skin lesions, and its other clinical symptoms include erythematous and pruritic plaques.

Given its complex etiology, psoriasis can also lead to inflammation in multiple organ systems, including cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal systems. An individual's genetics, smoking status, obesity, medication use, and past infections are the key factors influencing the development of psoriasis and its subsequent progression.

One of its subtypes, psoriatic arthritis, can even lead to severe disability, exacerbate psoriasis-related complications, and even cause death. Despite active research, the etiology of psoriasis and its subtypes remains elusive.

Moreover, currently, there is no treatment for psoriasis, and its therapy only suppresses the disease progression, severely limiting a patient's quality of life.

Research has suggested that gut microbiome metabolism affects the skin and exerts immune modulatory effects. The loss of beneficial bacteria and diversity of gut microbiome affects the skin through the gut-skin axis, which might have causal effects on psoriasis.

Scientific evidence showed that excessive activation of T helper (Th)1 and Th17 cells and a decrease in T regulatory (Treg) cell numbers disrupts host homeostasis leading to an increase in harmful bacteria, disruption to the functioning of the intestinal mucosal barrier, gut inflammation, and bacterial translocation.

Furthermore, research has shown an association between bacterial species, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Tenerictes Bacteroides with psoriasis onset.

The gut microbiome characteristics also varied among patients of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis vulgaris. The results were inconsistent across studies; thus, researchers could not assess whether there was a causal relationship between gut microbiota and psoriasis.

Thus, there is an unmet need for a better understanding of the gut microbiome status of psoriasis patients and its causal relationship with psoriasis. This data could help develop effective curative treatments for psoriasis.

About the study

In the present study, researchers used a recently acquired, large, multi-ethnic dataset of human gut microbiomes from the MiBioGen consortium, which conducted genome-wide association studies (GAWS) to investigate the relationship between host genetics and the gut microbiome.

It had 18,340 multi-national participants, but the highest representation was from European groups. Although the MiBioGen consortium had identified 211 bacterial taxa, they used a dataset of only 196 bacteria for the current study analysis.

The researchers obtained the dataset for psoriasis and its two subtypes from the FinnGen Consortium's summary statistical data or L1 dataset, which exclusively had populations representing European groups. It comprised thousands of cases and controls for each psoriatic condition.

The study contained 1,637 cases, 212,242 controls, with16,380,462 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for arthropathic psoriasis.

Likewise, this dataset had 4,510 cases, 212,242 controls, with 16,380,464 SNPs for psoriasis, and 2,802 cases, 212,242 controls, with 16,380,459 SNPs for psoriasis vulgaris.

The team analyzed the aggregated statistical data using an MR approach to explore the potential causal relationship between the gut microbiome and psoriasis. SNPs with a threshold P-value of 1 x 105 worked as genetic instrumental variables in these MR analyses.

The researchers assessed instrument validity using the F-statistic, where a >10 threshold value helped avoid weak instrument bias.

Furthermore, the researchers used several MR-related statistical methods. Of those, inverse variance weighting (IVW) assumed all SNPs were valid instruments and provided the most precise causal estimates.

The MR-Egger method estimated causal effects via the Egger regression slope coefficient and addressed potential biases. Similarly, the Mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) method identified horizontal pleiotropy and minimized its impact.

The weighted median and weighted model methods worked even when some SNPs were considered invalid. Finally, the team conducted leave-one-out analyses to ensure unbiased causal estimations.

Results

The MR analysis revealed that 18, 35, and 61 SNPs were causally associated with psoriasis, psoriasis vulgaris, and arthropathic psoriasis, respectively, with all having F-statistics >10, indicating no weak bias.

The authors noted that a higher genetically predicted abundance of Odoribactor protected against psoriasis, while that of Ruminiclostridium5 increased the risk of psoriasis, with odds ratios (OR) of 0.71 and 1.31, respectively, indicating moderate effect sizes.

Similarly, an increased genetically predicted relative abundance of Verrucomicrobiae class, Verrucomicrobiaceae family, and Akkermansia genus was causally associated with a higher risk of arthropathic psoriasis.

Furthermore, an increased genetically predicted relative abundance of Eubacterium fissicatena and Lactococcus bacterial groups and Actinomycetales taxa was causally associated with a higher risk of psoriasis vulgaris.

Thus, supplementation with probiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation could help relieve psoriasis symptoms by improving gut permeability and correcting gut dysbiosis. These interventions have shown promise against the recurrence of psoriasis in many clinical studies.

Conclusions

The MR approach allowed the researchers to fetch reliable causative effects of gut microbiota on psoriasis and its subtypes. It minimized the impact of external factors and avoided confounding or reverse causality.

Since the team leveraged data from a large GWAS meta-analysis, the dataset of this study had high statistical strength.

Thus, this study's findings provided novel and valuable insights into psoriasis prevention, management, and treatment using specific gut microbes (bacterial groups).

Microbial-based studies could provide more insights into psoriasis pathogenesis, offering novel mitigation and therapeutic strategies. More work is needed to uncover the exact mechanisms causally relating to gut microbiota and psoriasis.

*Important notice: Research Square publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has taken a remarkable leap by introducing a complimentary 5-year Roadside Assistance Program (RSA) from the moment of vehicle purchase.

This ground-breaking move highlights Toyotas unwavering dedication to delivering a flawless ownership experience for its esteemed customers. The RSA package aims to give every Toyota owner confidence, convenience, and a profound sense of security.

Customers have always praised Toyotas products, but they have also praised the company for upholding the highest standards of Quality, Durability, and Reliability (QDR) in all of its service offerings, which includes swift and unrivalled roadside assistance. This reaffirms the companys unwavering effort to improve the consumer experience.

Launched in 2010, the RSA Programme has established itself as a crucial part of TKMs customer-centric philosophy by providing dependable customers with immediate roadside assistance when they need it most. This service now comes with a variety of essential features and is part of a new vehicle package. These include aid during vehicle breakdowns and accidents (such as towing non-drivable vehicles to the nearest dealership), jump-starting dead batteries, repairing tire punctures, addressing low fuel levels and vehicle key issues, and even arranging taxis for distances up to 50 kilometers.

Mr. Atul Sood, the Vice President of Sales and Strategic Marketing at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, We are delighted to enhance the Roadside Assistance Program to cover a span of 5 years (from the date of new vehicle purchase) at zero additional cost for our patrons. This move epitomizes Toyotas steadfast commitment to our esteemed clientele. At Toyota Kirloskar Motor, we firmly believe that our rapport with customers transcends the scope of mere products and services. Its about curating an experience that seamlessly blends convenience and reassurance throughout the ownership journey. By extending the RSA program for an extended duration of 5 years, we are setting an industry benchmark, further augmenting our top-tier services and prompt assistance. This comprehensive RSA coverage perfectly resonates with our core values of innovation, customer-centricity, and surpassing customer expectations.

A standout feature of this initiative is the Find Me function, enabling customers to be swiftly located during moments of need, thereby ensuring a rapid response from the customer support teams. The complete digitalization of the RSA process, aptly named D-RSA, enhances service efficiency, simplifying and expediting customer access to assistance.

To provide an additional layer of personalized support, Toyota has introduced the Vehicle Custodian Service. This initiative ensures that customers receive swift assistance and necessary support at the location where immediate roadside aid is required, facilitating a seamless continuation of their journey. With this groundbreaking program, Toyota Kirloskar Motor redefines the contours of customer care, solidifying its position as a paragon of innovation and customer-centricity in the automotive realm.
At least four FIRs were registered over the past 12 days following the death of a 17-year-old student inside the Jadavpur University campus in south Kolkata on August 10. These include a murder complaint. Two of the FIRs were filed by senior politicians of the ruling and opposition parties.

According to the Kolkata police records, the local thana gets at least half a dozen complaints from the university every year, which do not include the blockades and gheraos put up by the students. The complaints are generally about campus fights, molestation, etc.

The university that stood 10th in the engineering category of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023just a notch below the nine IITsis often hit by controversies. Despite holding the position of a centre of excellence since 2000 and being counted as one of the prestigious autonomous educational institutions of the country, JU has frequently been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It is not just the recent incident of alleged ragging and death of a student. JU has been seen as controversys favourite child for decades. The academicians who taught there and the ones who graduated from the institution prefer to call this pattern resistance with excellence.

With extremely acclaimed alumni, a group of excellent faculty members, and a well-designed but old campus, the university often goes through rough patches while some incidents push it into the field of political bullfights. As and when JU comes to the fore, all parties try to claim their own pound of flesh, leaving academia in the lurch.

So what is ailing this prestigious university of West Bengal? Politicspolitically motivated administration, politically driven acts and councils, politics-led indiscipline, say experts and senior academicians.

No election, only selection

Following an ordinance by the Mamata Banerjee government in 2019, it was decided that the vice chancellors would be eligible for appointment and re-appointment only after the approval of the state administration. Senior professors and academicians call this ordinance a political tool to take control of universities.

The West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, said, The Vice-Chancellor shall hold office for a period of four years appointed as such in terms of the provisions and shall be eligible for reappointment for another term of four years subject to the satisfaction of the state government and on the basis of his past academic excellence and administrative success established during his term of office in the capacity of Vice-Chancellor, or till he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.

In May this year, the state government promulgated the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, to constitute a five-member search committee that will include a nominee of the chief minister.

According to the latest ordinance, The search-cum-selection committee shall be constituted in the following manner: (i) a nominee of the chancellor, who shall be the chairperson of the committee;(ii) a nominee of the chief minister; (iii) a nominee of the chairman, University Grants Commission; (iv) a nominee of the State Government; and (v) a nominee of the chairman, West Bengal State Council of Higher Education.

Explaining the ordinance, state education minister Bratya Basu took to social media site X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, The search committee will have a representative of the chief minister instead of the representative of the universitys court, governing board or senate

So, the government had done away with the existing provision of including a nominee from the universitys senate.

A senior JU professor, who held a position in the executive council (EC), said, The university is suffering from administrative indiscipline. The ruling partys action reeks of political bias. In the past decade, all ECs were made defunct, the basic eligibility criteria for the appointment of a VC were also changed. It is all about selection or nomination now; there is no election. The university campuses and their administration have become extremely undemocratic in nature.

Blood on campus

The university has seen the murders of its VC and student. Gopal Chandra Sen, who became the vice chancellor in the late 1960s was shot dead in front of the library a day before his retirement.

It was a time of political unrest and the Naxal movement. The Jadavpur and Calcutta universities became hotbeds of politics, planning, and mobilisation.

It was December 1970. Naxal students asked Sen to cancel the examinations. Sen disagreed. On 30 December, Sen was walking back to his resident quarters. He was due to retire as V-C the next day. It was around 6 pm in the evening when he was killed. The murder was attributed to Naxals.

Historically and traditionally, Jadavpur University had been an educational institution where the students used to get an environment to mould their political-social-cultural ideas and ideologies. It has been a place that saw incidents of Naxal violence too during the 1970s.

Sens murder was an indication of the political rot that emboldens students to heckle, humiliate, and assault their professors, and anyone who disagreed with their views.

Extremism is not new here. Following the murder of Professor Sen, the VCs and registrars played an active role in regulating the campus discipline, though not affecting the students political allegiances and thought processes.

The university had VCs and registrars who would tour the campus to maintain discipline, rules, and regulations. Its a practice that has stopped in the past six to seven years, said senior professors.

The monitoring by the VC and registrar is gone now. There is hardly any elected representative in the administration. The authorities keep flouting the UGC norms every now and then to make the state government happy, said another professor, who is part of the internal inquiry committee.

Partha Pratim Roy, a senior physicist and professor at JU, said, Our university has fallen prey to the fight between the state and the central governments. They are using it as a political tool. The funds for the universitys maintenance have not come. Of the total Rs 60 crore expenditure related to maintenance, only Rs 20 crore was sanctioned. The projects funded by the state and Centre are also suffering.

The anti-ragging committee is defunct, said Roy, who is also the secretary of the Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA). The campus does not have any administrative vigil and it is open for all.

Dominance of student unions

The student politics here is mired in several controversies. The hostels are controlled by different unions and they have their own areas. JU has around eight hostels that can accommodate close to 2,000 students. The university has around 13,000 students in the current year. Of the eight hostels, six are located inside the campus while two are outside.

For getting hostel accommodation and to get included in the merit list, students at times have to depend on the unions, The largest department in JU is engineering. It is controlled by the Democratic Students Front (DSF). It has been controlling the engineering department for at least three decades now. The science wing is dominated by the union We The Independent (WTI). Arts is controlled by the SFI or Forum for Arts Students (FAS).

Apart from these unions, there are some smaller groups like Radical, AISA, etc. According to the students and professors News18 spoke with, some of them are aligned with the Naxal ideology.

Political branding

As per NIRF 2023, JU is ranked fourth among universities, 19th in research, 18th in pharmacy, 10th in engineering, and 13th overall. Despite achieving national ranks, the university is often branded politically. Senior politicians call it a hub of Maoists, Leftist bastion, etc. After the incident of the students death, chief minister Mamata Banerjee in a public programme said that the victim was ragged and tortured by the Marxists and Leftists, who have created an environment of terror.

JU is one of the very few educational institutions in the state where the ruling Trinamool Congresss student wing is yet to make major inroads.

Between 1956 and 2019, Jadavpur University saw several students and teachers protests, which included demonstrations against the Left Front government-led Nandigram violence and the TMC administrations decision to bar student elections on campus.
Whenever a student gets a high salary package, we start assuming that he is from IITs and IIMs. However, to everyones surprise, a student from the National Institute of Technology Warangal (NIT-W) has been offered the highest-ever salary package in the placement session organised recently.

M.Tech final year student Aditya Singhs record-breaking package led NIT-W to surpass the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad in terms of the highest-paying job offers secured by students. Interestingly, this is the first time that NIT-W managed to outperform IIT-H. Singh was hired for a package worth Rs 88 lakh annually. On the other hand, the highest package offered to MTech students from IIT Hyderabad was Rs 63.8 lakh per year, according to a Times of India report published earlier.

Computer Science student Aditya, in an interview with a regional news channel, said that it was his last chance at campus placement after he had been unsuccessful multiple times. He went on to reveal, The hiring process had three rounds and he was the only candidate selected by the firm after clearing all of them.

A job offer with a package worth Rs 88 lakh package is not only surprising for us but is something that even Aditya cant believe as he would have been happy with an offer of around Rs 20-30 lakh per annum. Aditya also revealed that he was just an average performer in school adding that he had got only 75 per cent marks in Class 10. But then the tables turned. He passed the 12th standard with 96 per cent marks and took a break to prepare for college admissions.

Since then, he has been working hard to not be that average student in his college. He outshined others with his performance in the examinations and then, in the placement.
North Dakotans tuning into Wednesdays Republican presidential primary debate will be greeted by a familiar face as Gov. Doug Burgum takes the stage. But the long-shot candidate is hoping that after the debate, residents of other states will recognize his face as well.

Burgum is among the eight candidates who are confirmed to be attending the Milwaukee debate, which will air on Fox News starting at 8 p.m. Central time and running for about two hours. Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier will moderate.

Looming over the debate is the specter of former President Donald Trump, who qualified but has decided not to participate in the event. Instead, he is reportedly planning counterprogramming in the form of an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was ousted earlier this year.

Trump is the clear frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination and a former commander in chief, and his presence at the debate could have legitimized other primary candidates, whereas counterprogramming could siphon attention from the event, experts say.

Trump's late decision left candidates and moderators unsure of what to expect until just days before the debate.

We've adjusted as we've tried to figure out exactly who's going to be on the stage. I've done this a number of times and it's a process, Baier said in a statement to the Tribune ahead of Trump's announcement. We kind of go through different topics and then whittle it down to good questions, make them specific for candidates. And then obviously not knowing whether the former president is going to be a part of it or not. We have two stacks of questions, one with and one without, but well be ready.

Also of note leading up to the debate is the latest series of indictments to include Trump: On Aug. 14, the former president was indicted alongside 18 others for alleged election interference issues. Its the fourth time hes been indicted, and previous indictments have received significant airtime in the national media's primary coverage and conversations with some candidates.

That airtime clashes with Burgums messaging, as hes repeatedly declined to comment on the matter and redirected reporters to other topics, decrying the medias focus on Trumps legal issues throughout his campaign.

Though Trump won't be in attendance, Burgum will still be vying for attention in a crowded field that includes five other current or former governors, all of whom represented states much larger than North Dakota. In the lead-up to the debate, Republican strategists told the Tribune name recognition will be a major obstacle for Burgum, but they also said the event presents a chance to pitch himself to voters, no matter Trumps decision.

Burgum's campaign declined the Tribune's request for comment on his debate preparation. But in a Friday episode of Politico Playbooks Deep Dive podcast, the governor was asked what victory would look like for his campaign as he leaves the debate stage. Burgum said his main goal is an increase in his national profile.

Were in a very different spot than everyone else on the stage, because virtually everyone else has got 100% name recognition, and were a long way from that. Were at the other end of that spectrum, Burgum said on the show.

So theres a little bit of just solving the Doug who? problem, and then they also need to know the three things were running on, because we're not running against these other Republican candidates. We're running against Joe Biden, he said, referring to his three priorities of fixing the economy, boosting domestic energy production and strengthening the military.
Rupali Ganguly has won a million hearts with her impeccable performance in the widely-watched television reality show Anupamaa. Viewers have resonated with her character in the serial, which portrays the journey of an oppressed housewife to becoming a strong, independent woman. The actress has been showered with multiple plaudits for her stint on the show, earning a dedicated fan base and taking Anupama aka Rupali Ganguly to instant stardom. Not long ago, Rupali visited Ahmedabad for an event where she received a warm welcome from her admirers.

Rupali Ganguly experienced a heartwarming display of affection from her fans during her recent trip to Ahmedabad for an event. Thousands of fans gathered at the venue to catch a glimpse of their beloved star. A streak of photos and videos at the Ahmendabad event was tweeted on August 18. The video captured Rupali, decked up in traditional wear featuring a stunning heavy red saree adorned with intricate details. She accentuated the look with traditional accessories, including jhumkas, a mangalsutra, a bindi, and rings. Rupali let her curly tresses open. She was seen having a short interaction with the crowd. She sported a smile and waved at them.

In another photo, Rupali Ganguly was seen folding her hands and seeking blessings from portraits of Gods. Among the strings of snaps, a particular group photo, featuring Rupali presumably indicated that the actress might have attended a jewellery showroom, the name of which was emblazoned on the wall in big, bold, and golden letters. Rupali posed with the others in the frame, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

The crowd, the craze, the energy. And thats the aura carried out by our one and only Rupali Ganguly. She is looking so divine and royal, read the tweet.

The Twitter population was quick to drop their reactions in the comments, sharing their love towards Rupali Ganguly. If this is not stardom and craze, then I dont know what is. And the way Rupali Ganguly meets and greets everyone with Humbleness is heartwarming the love coming her way, wrote one user. Graceful and poised, her beauty shines from within, noted another.

If this is not stardom and craze,Then I don't know what is ..,And the way #RupaliGanguly meets and greets everyone with Humbleness is heart warming Thu thu thu  for the love coming her way#Anupamaa pic.twitter.com/Gbmjz45f4R  nidz_mehtz (@nidhimehta06) August 20, 2023

In the realm of her acting journey, Rupali Ganguly stepped into the television industry through her inaugural series, Sukanya. Since then, her portfolio boasts an array of renowned shows, encompassing titles such as Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, Zindagi Teri Meri Kahani, Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai, Apki Antara, and Parvarrish: Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi among others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BRICS is pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors and has emerged as a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South on Tuesday in a departure statement.

Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2023

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, Prime Minister Modi said before departing for the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg which is being held under South Africas presidency. The presidency of the group which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa is a rotational one.

The BRICS nations represent 42% of the worlds population along with a significant 27% of the global GDP. The theme of the summit this year is BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.

This Summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, PM Modi further added.

PM Narendra Modi said that he will participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. These events are being held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event. I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg, PM Modi further added.

PM Modi said after attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa, he will travel to Greece on Friday at the invitation of counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. From South Africa, I will travel to Athens, Greece on 25 August 2023 at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, PM Modi said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he further added.

PM Modi said he looks forward to his visit to Greece where India will open a new chapter in the multifaceted relationship.
Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum Leaders Dialogue in South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India will become the growth engine for the world in the coming years.

On a three-day official visit to attend the 15th BRICS summit, Modi also said that the ease of doing business in the nation has improved with mission-mode reforms being undertaken by his government.

Modi also said India soon will become a USD 5 trillion economy, and that it has the worlds third-largest startup ecosystem and there are over 100 unicorns in the country

Modi is on a visit to South Africa, which is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

The prime minister will engage in plurilateral and as well bilateral settings with leaders of BRICS and other invited countries.

Enthusiastic Indian diaspora

As he landed in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Modi received a grand welcome from the members of the Indian community who were holding Indian flags. Videos showed PM Modi shaking hands, and clicking pictures with the people.

WATCH | Dhols, Rakhis, Ceremonial Welcome: PM Modi Meets Indian Diaspora in South Africa

Modi was welcomed by South Africas Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base where he received a ceremonial guard of honour.

The prime minister also viewed the model of the temple while participating in a community event.

Three-day visit

Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

Landed in Johannesburg a short while ago. Looking forward to the various deliberations and meetings with world leaders during the BRICS Summit over the next few days, Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter.

We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, Modi had said before leaving.

BRICS Summit

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.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal continued her dharna at the hospital in Delhi where the minor girl, who was allegedly raped by a senior official in the Delhi governments Women and Child Development department, has been admitted. The DCW chief alleged that she had not been allowed to meet the minor victim or her family since Monday morning.

I am here since morning but till now Delhi police have not allowed me to meet the survivor and her family. NCPCR was allowed but DCW is not being allowed. I will not go until they allow me to meet the survivor. I want to know whether she is getting all possible help or not, whether she is getting proper treatment or not, Maliwal said.

#WATCH | Delhi government official rape case: DCW chief Swati Maliwal continues to sit on dharna at the hospital in Delhi where the minor girl has been admittedShe says, I am here since morning but till now Delhi police have not allowed me to meet the survivor and her pic.twitter.com/398SFuySQ4  ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2023

Meanwhile, Delhi CM ordered the suspension of the accused official on Monday, shortly after which, he, along with his wife was arrested by the Delhi Police.

#WATCH | The now-suspended rape-accused Delhi government official and his wife have been detained by Police.The official has been booked for allegedly raping his deceased friends minor daughter for several months. pic.twitter.com/WN7YSqEi5E  ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2023

Latest Updates in Delhi Rape Case
The Virgin Earth in Ooty, Tamil Nadu is a tourist village that offers visitors an opportunity to be one with nature. The place houses a bird kingdom, aka, an aviary that also gives people an experience to fish, barbeque, set up a campfire, see the aquarium, pick their own vegetables and witness a picturesque sunset.

Nestled amidst the lush yet spectacular landscape in Ootys Virgin Earth, the bird park has been attracting a lot of visitors as it offers a mesmerising experience for nature enthusiasts, birdwatchers and visitors, in general, to connect with the vibrant birdlife. Spread across a vast land, the aviary houses a carefully curated diverse bird species both indigenous and exotic.

It boasts a wide variety of parrots including a bird native to South Africa, called African Gray Parrot. What makes this bird unique is that it has the memory capacity of a six-year-old and experts consider them to be one of the most intelligent birds in the world.

At this aviary, one can also find Silver Pheasant, which is native to China. The bird looks like a peacock and is known to mostly live in cold regions only. You can also see the California Quail. Such birds are known to be found in the dense forests of California only. They make a rare noise which makes them unique.

At the Virgin Earth aviary, you can spot American Cayuga Duck. Reportedly, it is the most valuable bird species. What makes this duck different is that it changes its colour. When it is a duckling, it is black in colour and by the time it matures, it turns green. They are quite expensive to maintain as well.

Apart from this, the bird kingdom also houses flying squirrels and different varieties of parrots are maintained and bred here. To make the experience unforgettable, the place allows tourists to interact with parrots by playing with them and offering sunflower seeds. Visitors can spend a long time in the aviary during the open hours and enjoy their visit.
In a bid to address the anxiety of protesting onion farmers, the central government has fixed Rs 2,410 per quintal, committed to procuring 2 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) and if necessary, even more. Farmers, in the primary onion-growing regions in Maharashtra have been protesting the decision of imposition of 40% export duty on onions since Monday.

Food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal said, NAFED and NCCF have opened centres and will procure 2 LMT at Rs 2,410 per quintal which is a historic rate. Till date, onions have not been procured at a rate higher than this. The purpose is to ensure that farmers get a proper rate for onions in the market. If necessary, procurement will be increased beyond 2 LMT so that farmers will get a proper price for onions.

The minister also appealed to farmers to not resort to panic selling. We have started procuring onions since yesterday and today the process will be stepped up. I call upon all farmers to sell their onions at a good rate, there is no need to worry. We will procure 2 LMT immediately and if necessary, we may increase it. No one should resort to panic selling. They will get a good rate, he said.

NCCF and NAFED have started procuring onions from various areas in Maharashtra like Lasalgaon, Pimpalgaon, Nampur, Manmad, Malegaon, Aurangabad, and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and Shahpur in Madhya Pradesh since Monday and, according to the government, will deepen their operations depending on the demand and need.

Asked how the government arrived at the price of Rs 2,410 per quintal, Maharashtra agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde who met the union food minister said, The cost of production of onions is dependent on the climate. This year, the climate and rainfall in Maharashtra was not so conducive which is why the cost of production went up. If the cost of production was Rs 14-16, now that production cost has gone up to 18. If the cost of production is Rs 18, the farmer gets Rs 6 over that. We had asked for more. However, this rate that is being offered by the government today has never been offered before.

Food and consumer affairs minister Goyal, who incidentally hails from Maharashtra, targeted vested political reasons of rivals for the farmers protests.

The minister said that he has been in continuous dialogue with honourable CM of Maharashtra, Sh Eknath Shinde ji, both honourable deputy CMs Sh. Devendra Fadnavisjiin fact from Japan, hes been on the call with me since 6 am in the morning and we have been in regular touchMr Ajit Pawar and I have talked several times. The Maharashtra government agriculture minister Mr Dhananjay Munde and other colleagues have come in from Maharashtra. Smt Bharti Pawar, our honourable minister of state for health, has been in dialogue with me for the last three days. And, she was assured by me on 17th August itself after we took the decision to procure. She has also informed the local people at Nashik. I think some elements have been trying to present a wrong picture or create panic. I would assure all the farmers in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, or any other part of the country where onion is produced that they have no reason for worry. NCCF and NAFED are both there to buy onions. And, you will get the correct price for your produce.

Asked to name the elements, Goyal said, Rajnitik virodh karne wale log toh sabhi jagah rehte hain na, har ek issue par woh rajniti karte hain. Kisan aur desh hit ke liye woh avashyak nahi hai. Woh rajnitik dal virodh karke kisanon ko bhadkane ki koshish kar rahe hainunke behekawe mein wo na aye, toh unka behtar hoga (Political rivals are everywhere. They do politics on everything. This is not in the interest of farmers or the nation. These political parties are trying to incite the farmers. The farmers shouldnt fall for their tactics for their own benefit).

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has also slammed the government and said that onion farmers should be getting Rs 4,000 a quintal. Earlier, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had also criticised the imposition of the 40% export duty on onions.

Asked whether the government was confident about farmers calling off their protest, Maharashtra agriculture minister Munde said, 100%. I am personally speaking to the collector, Nagpur, personally speaking to all farmers over there, to all unions of farmers. And they all have faith in the government that they will get Rs 2,410.

The union food and consumer affairs minister also spoke to the Nashik collector and expected the protest to be called off.

I dont think that is an issue that is under consideration at this stage, said the union food minister when asked whether the government is mulling the import of onions. Despite a delay in sowing of kharif onions, the government estimates dont indicate a marked fall in production, which is expected to be in the range of 317-318 LMT in line with the production of the last couple of years.

Explaining the rationale behind the central governments decisions, the union minister said, There were reports from across the country that consumers were suffering because of the rise in the price of onions and one reason for that is due to weather conditions. Another reason was the delayed sowing of kharif onion due to which there was a suspicion that this year the consumer may have to pay a high price. Keeping this in mind, on the 17th of August, two important decisions were taken: one was to impose a 40% export duty; however, to safeguard the interest of farmers, NAFED and NCCF were asked to procure 2 LMT onions more.

In a preemptive measure, the government has already started the distribution of onions at Rs 25 per kg for consumers. NCCF and NAFED are selling onions at a subsidised rate of Rs 25 a kilo in various parts of the country for the consumers. This has already started yesterday and will be stepped up today. In the coming days ahead, it will be made available in all those areas where consumers face difficulty due to the high price of onions. Our effort is to ensure that in all those areas, onions will be made available to consumers at Rs 25 a kg either through centres or through government agencies, said Goyal. Both consumers and farmers are invaluable to us.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Greece on August 25 while returning from the BRICS summit in South Africa, it will be the first visit by an Indian PM to the country in 40 years. Indira Gandhi was the last Indian PM to visit Greece in 1983.

In fact, in the last year or so, Modi has made it a point to visit nations not visited by Indian PMs for decades. When he went to Egypt in June, it was the first visit by an Indian PM to the African nation in 26 years. Manmohan Singh had been to Egypt in 2009 but only for the Sharm-el-Sheikh summit. In May last year, Modi visited Denmark marking a bilateral visit by an Indian PM there after two decades. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had last visited Denmark in 2002. This May, Modi paid a visit to Papua New Guinea, which was the first-ever visit by any Indian PM there.

There is no substitute for a bilateral visit and talks it leads to much more appreciation and understanding of each others position and a lot of synergies get explored, a senior government official explained about the PMs approach.

While ground is broken with advance visits of the foreign minister or the vice-president, the PMs trip helps in institutionalising the deliverables. Also, many nations have lot of expertise to offer which can be tapped for our countrys good. All such countries have certain abilities, the government official said.

By touring nations less visited by others or his predecessors, Modi is also addressing a feeling among such nations that they are neglected. The new bilateral partner feels India is sensitive to their concerns and they feel appreciated, the official said.

Such visits to certain nations after a long gap are also being coupled with special events, like a diaspora gathering to connect with the Indian community. The PM will be holding a community event in Greece, like the one he did in Egypt, Denmark and Papua New Guinea.

In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said India and Greece enjoy civilizational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties.

Prime Minister (Modi) will hold talks with Prime Minister Mitsotakis to discuss ways to further deepen the relationship, the MEA said.

Similarly, Modis visit to Egypt, an Islamic state, and going to the historic Al-Hakin mosque with the Egyptian president was a strong statement.

Papua New Guineas PM touching Modis feet had also grabbed headlines. In the case of Denmark, diplomatic relations between both countries had not been at their best since 2002 when, during Atal Bihari Vajpayees visit, Denmarks then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen offered objectionable advice to India on how to deal with Pakistan and Kashmir. Modis visit to Denmark last year did repair that relationship. Before 2024, Modis foreign trips could throw more such surprises.

The PM in his departure statement on Tuesday described Greece as an ancient land and said contacts between the two civilisations stretch back over two millennia. I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, the PM said.

Greece has also been a strong supporter and a partner with India on issues of core interest in the UN and other international organisations, including their support to a permanent membership in the expanded UN Security Council.
A Mumbai-Ranchi IndiGo flight made an unscheduled landing at Nagpurs Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport after a 62-year-old passenger started vomiting blood mid-flight.

The male passenger, Devanand Tiwari, was rushed to a medical college in Nagpur after the medical emergency on Monday evening but was declared brought dead. He was suffering from CKD and tuberculosis and vomited blood on board, said Aejaz Shami, DGM, Branding and Communications of KIMS Hospital.

He was brought dead to the KIMS hospital. His body was taken to Government Medical College and Hospital for further procedures, Shami said in a statement. The passenger began vomiting blood around 8pm, following which the pilot-in-command took a call to land at Nagpur.

In a statement, the IndiGo Airline said, IndiGo flight 6E 5093, operating from Mumbai to Ranchi was diverted to Nagpur due to a medical emergency on board. The passenger was offloaded and was rushed to the hospital for further medical assistance. Unfortunately, the passenger did not survive. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

The incident comes four days after a 40-year-old IndiGo pilot died after collapsing near a boarding gate at the Nagpur airport. Captain Manoj Subramanyam, who was going to operate the airlines Nagpur-Pune flight, fell unconscious in the security hold area of the airport around noon of August 17, officials said.

Prima facie, he died of cardiac arrest following sudden unexpected loss of heart function, KIMS-Kingsway Hospital, where the pilot was rushed, had said.

Aejaz Shami, spokesperson of the hospital, had said their emergency team administered him CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) but he did not respond. Subramanyam was declared brought dead at the hospital.

IndiGo, in a statement last week had said, We are saddened at the passing of one of our pilots in Nagpur earlier today. He took unwell at Nagpur airport and was rushed to the hospital where he unfortunately passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

(With inputs from PTI and Yesha Kotak in Mumbai)
Special prayers were offered during the world-famous Ganga Aarti at Varanasis Dashashwamedh Ghat on Tuesday evening for the Chandrayaan-3 that is scheduled to land on the moon around 6.04 pm on Wednesday. Prayers were also offered in other parts of Uttar Pradesh for the success of Indias moon mission.

The state administration has directed all government schools to remain open between 5.15 pm and 6.15 pm on Wednesday, while it has made arrangements for the livestreaming of the Chandrayaan-3 landing.

Dashashwamedh Ghat, the venue of the world-famous Ganga Aarti, reverberated with chants on Tuesday as people came together and offered special prayers for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3. Locals and foreign tourists all took part in the special prayer ceremony organised by the Ganga Sewa Nidhi (GSN)which carries out the aartiand prayed for the success of the moon mission.

Its altogether a different scene, seeing everyone, including foreign tourists, praying for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3. It was a thrilling experience as we hadnt witnessed such a brilliant Ganga Aarti session in our life, said Sanjay Chaturvedi, a local resident, who attended the ceremony along with friends and relatives.

Several foreign tourists too were spotted offering prayers during the Ganga Arti. We are here in Varanasi on a spiritual tour. We especially came to attend this prayer session when we came to know that special prayers were offered for the success of Chandrayaan-3. Indeed its a proud moment for India and I am happy to be a part of the special prayer session being organised for Indias success, a tourist from Germany said while taking part in the event.

Sushant Mishra, president, Ganga Sewa Nidhi (GSN), said, Indeed its going to be a historic moment for our nation. And hence we thought of organising a special prayer session during Ganga Aarti where we not only prayed for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 but also for the scientists and others involved in the entire mission.

Indias Chandrayaan-3 is all set to create history on Wednesday by attempting to soft-land the Vikram Lander with the Pragyaan rover near the moons south pole. The spacecraft is now just hours away from its final destination.

ISRO chairman S Somanath has expressed confidence of a successful soft landing. He said that the belief stems from all the preparations ahead of the launch and the hitch-free progress made by the integrated module and the landing module in their journey to the moon.
A 23-year-old physical education teacher was on Tuesday arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting four girls at a civic school in the eastern suburb of Vikhroli here, police said.

The accused allegedly sexually assaulted four girls, in the age group of six to seven years, at a school run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Tagore Nagar locality, an official said.

The matter came to light when a Class 2 student complained about the assault to her parents, he said.

The childs parents reached the school in the morning and told others about the assault. Angry parents beat up the accused outside the school, the official said.

The police were subsequently called in and the accused was taken into custody, he said.

Based on the complaint lodged by the parents, a case under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, has been registered against the accused, the official said.

Preliminary probe has revealed the teacher had allegedly molested some other girls in the school as well. He was earlier employed with a school in neighbouring Thane district, from where he was removed because of a similar incident, he added.
The United States is ready to hold high-level talks with China and wants to forge better communication channels between the two countries, the U.S. ambassador to China said Tuesday.

The U.S. relationship with China remains complicated and competitive, but Washington does not seek conflict with Beijing and believed more dialogue would be constructive, said U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns.

Our view is we need better channels between the two governments and deeper channels, and we are ready to talk, said Burns, speaking virtually at an event organized by the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington.

Nicholas Burns testifies during his confirmation hearing for ambassadorship to China in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Oct. 20, 2021.Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images file

And its particularly important to do that, of course, when youve got big problems and when you have major disagreements in the relationship. Weve never been shy of talking, and we hope the Chinese will meet us halfway on this, Burns said.

The ambassadors comments are the clearest signal yet that the Biden administration is keen to restore a broader dialogue with China amid tensions over Taiwan, trade and a Chinese balloon that entered U.S. airspace.

Diplomatic channels between China and the U.S. have withered over two successive administrations, with Beijing so far unwilling to say when top U.S. officials from the Biden administration will be welcome for high-level meetings.

Western officials and former U.S. diplomats say Chinas neighbors and U.S. allies worry the breakdown in communication between the worlds superpowers could derail the global economy or lead to an accidental clash.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit China in February but canceled his trip after the Chinese balloon, which U.S. officials said was designed to eavesdrop over American territory, traversed the U.S. before it was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet off South Carolina.

China has said that the balloon was for meteorological research and that the U.S. is responsible for tensions. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Burns said he could not predict when China and the U.S. would agree on rescheduling Blinkens visit or on talks between other U.S. cabinet officials and their Chinese counterparts.

What we really need is a more broad-based engagement at the Cabinet level, and the United States is ready for that, Burns said. So we hope that the government here will be ready as well. And its hard for me to predict at this point when this kind of re-engagement will reoccur, but we have never supported an icing of this relationship.

Discussions between U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart have resumed, but other communication channels remain dormant, including possible talks on the role of Chinese black market firms shipping precursor chemicals for fentanyl into the United States, Burns said.

We have not had a productive exchange on the fentanyl issue, he said.

Burns, who has held senior positions at the State Department, said Chinas strict zero Covid policies over three years also hampered official and informal contacts between U.S and Chinese executives, lawmakers and academics.

Now that the quarantine restrictions have been lifted, Burns said he hoped those informal meetings and exchanges would resume to previous levels.

We didnt see a single CEO of a major company here until just six weeks ago. And we didnt see and havent seen members of Congress travel here because of the onerous restrictions under zero Covid, the ambassador said.

He said there are about 295,000 Chinese students studying in the U.S., but only 350 American students in China.

Weve had a decoupling of our societies over the last three years," Burns said. "Its not healthy. Its not smart."

Burns was not able to formally present his credentials as ambassador until last month, because of the Covid restrictions.
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BRICS Summit 2023 Highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived at Johannesburg in South Africa for his two-day visit to attend the 15th BRICS summit. Before his departure, PM Modi said that the BRICS summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation. He said India values that BRICS has become a platform for discussing on issues of concern for the entire Global South. Upon his arrival, PM is scheduled to participate in the BRICS Business Forum leaders dialogue and the BRICS leaders retreat. The main BRICS summit will be held on August 23.

It will comprise two sessions  one on cooperation within the grouping, reform of the multilateral system and counter-terrorism and the other on global economic recovery, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and priorities of the Global South.

The BRICS nations represent 42 per cent of the worlds population along with a significant 27 per cent of the global GDP. PM Modi is visiting Johannesburg at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already decided not to travel to Johannesburg for the summit.

Modi will participate in the BRICS-Africa outreach session and the BRICS-plus dialogue on August 24.

In his departure statement ahead of visiting South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS summit, PM Modi said BRICS will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, he said.

Noting that he will also participate in the BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events that will be held as part of the summit activities, Modi said he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg, he said. Modi is visiting the South African city from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS summit at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
PM Modis Pakistani Sister to Visit Delhi to Tie Rakhi on Raksha BandhanQamar Mohsin Sheikh, a woman of Pakistani origin who relocated to India following her marriage, is scheduled to travel to the capital city to personally tie a Rakhi on PM Modis wrist.

Having arrived in India from Pakistan after her marriage, Qamar Mohsin Shaikh expressed that she has been carrying out the tradition of tying Rakhi to PM Modi for more than three decades now.

I wish him a happy Raksha Bandhan. I pray for him every day for his good health and long life. I believe that all my wishes come true. Earlier when I prayed for him to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat and he became. Whenever I tied the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the Prime Minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. He is doing commendable work for the country, Shaikh was quoted as saying to ANI.

Every year, Sheikh crafts a handmade Rakhi for PM Modi. Even during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, she would personally visit to tie the rakhi. Qamar explained that due to Covid-19 pandemic, she was unable to tie Rakhi in person to PM Modi, but she made sure to send it to him via mail.

Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana, which typically falls in August.
Farmers Protest Chandigarh: Around 4,500 cops have been deployed in Punjab to ensure the law and order situation in the wake of a call for protest by 16 farm unions in Chandigarh on Tuesday. This comes a day after a farmer died amid clashes between protestors and police personnel in the states Sangrur district. The protest has been called by Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee along with other unions against non-payment of relief to the flood-affected in the state.

Farmers have claimed that several protestors have been detained ahead of their planned demonstration today. Meanwhile, security has also been stepped up at the inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh in the wake of protest call.

SAD Condemns Farmers Arrest

The Siromani Akali Dal (SAD) has condemned the arrests and called action against farmer leaders as totally un democratic.

SAD strongly condemned the arrest of various Kissan leaders in different parts of Punjab who wanted to stage a protest in Chandigarh to demand compensation for the victims of devastating floods. This action is totally un democratic, SAD leader Daljit S Cheema said in a post on X (formally Twitter).

Cheema claimed that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led state government has miserably failed to provide relief to affected farmers and farm labourers, adding that their condition is worsening day by day.

At most places they have suffered twice but govt has not paid compensation even for the first loss. There is no immediate help for those who had to leave their houses and are sitting in open. All their household is washed away. No help is coming for the cattle. But inspite of all this if they want to protest peacefully to highlight their sufferings, they have been arrested. This is inhumane. All of them should be released immediately, the SAD leader added.

One Dead as Farmers Clash with Police

A man died after being run over by a tractor-trolley and at least five policemen were injured as farmers clashed with them in Sangrur districton Monday over the detention of some farm leaders. The victim was a farmer apparently taking part in the protest in the districts Longowal area, where police were trying to stop protesters from blocking a national highway and a toll plaza.

The farmers were protesting a day ahead of a planned demonstration in Chandigarh by 16 farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, to seek compensation for losses caused by floods.

Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Lamba said the members of the farmer union wanted to block the Sangrur-Barnala national highway and also the Badbar toll plaza but police refused to let them.

The farmers, however, forced their way through barricades using tractor-trolleys and buses, he said, adding some people drove their tractors into the barricades.

An inspector escaped being crushed under a tractor-trolley but was severely injured, police said, adding that another policeman sustained injuries to his face and three more were hurt as well.

The officials said a farmer identified as Pritam Singh came under a tractor-trolley belonging to one of the protesters and sustained severe injuries. He later died during treatment, they added.

Farmer Leaders Detained In Punjab, Haryana

Prior to that, farmers claimed that several of their leaders, including Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) president Sarwan Singh Pandher, Satkar Singh Kotli of the KMSC, Bohr Singh of the BKU (Behramke), had been detained by the Punjab Police. A farmer leader in Tarn Taran district said police allegedly conducted raids at the residences of farm leaders and detained them.

Farmers had said they wanted to hold a protest on the parade ground in Sector 17 of Chandigarh but the UT administration wanted them to demonstrate at a designated place in Sector 25.

Meanwhile, farmer leaders from Haryana too claimed that some people associated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union have been detained by the police.

The Haryana Police has detained BKU leader Amarjit Singh Mohari and some others in Ambala, they claimed, adding that Sandeep Singh has been detained in Kurukshetra. The Ambala Police deployed personnel along the Haryana-Punjab border to maintain law and order in the area.
Hours after a report said India made another surgical strike on Pakistan, the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday refuted the claims and said that Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Balakote Sector. However, the ministry asserted it was not a surgical strike, as claimed.

Ministry, in an official statement, said that on Monday morning, two terrorists were detected by alert troops to be making attempts to cross the LoC onto the Indian side, making use of inclement weather, dense fog, thick foliage, and undulating ground in Hamirpur area of Balakote Sector.

Earlier today, a newspaper report claimed that Indian Army has once again carried out a surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Quoting sources, the report claimed that Army destroyed four launching pads of Pakistani terrorists by entering 2.5 kilometers across the LoC on Saturday night.

It claimed that seven to eight terrorists were killed in Indias surgical strike and all the soldiers of the Indian Army returned safely after the mission.

What Ministry Said?

Intelligence Inputs received from Multiple Intelligence agencies and Jammu and Kashmir Police revealed the presence of terrorists waiting to cross the LC from opposite own Balakote Sector. Based on these inputs own surveillance grid was placed on heightened alert and multiple ambushes were sited at suitable location, the ministrys statement read.

As the terrorists approached Indias ambush sites, they were challenged and then engaged with effective fire, the ministry said, adding that this forced the terrorists to flee from the ambush site by making use of weather and ground conditions.

However effective fire resulted in one terrorist falling down on the ground near the LC. Additional troops were then moved into the area and search operations commenced in the afternoon after improvement of weather conditions and visibility, it said.

During searches in the area, Indian Army recovered an AK 47 rifle with two magazines, 30 rounds, two grenades, and Pak-origin medicines.

Army also discovered blood trails during searches leading toward the Line of Control.

As per intelligence Inputs the two terrorists who attempted to infiltrate were injured due to fire from own troops, but still managed to return across the LC and later they succumbed to their injuries, the statement added.

Army further said that Indian troops continue to remain on alert and maintain vigil to foil any attempts of infiltration.
The macula, a little but essential portion of the retina, is a fascinating organ in the human eye that allows us to comprehend the world around us. It is vital to our central vision. A frequent disorder that damages the macula and causes age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes visual loss and impairment. While many therapies for AMD are available in contemporary medicine, ancient systems like Ayurveda have also shed light on all-natural ways to preserve macular health. Triphala, saffron, and gingko biloba are Ayurvedic plants that have drawn attention for their possible advantages, Dr Mandeep Singh Basu, Director, Dr Basu Eye hospital explains the benefits:

Triphala: A Harmonious Blend

A key component of Ayurvedic treatment is Triphala, a concoction of the three fruits amla (Emblica officinalis), haritaki (Terminalia chebula), and bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica). Researchers have lately been interested in this synergistic mixture because of its potential to support macular health. It is recognised to have several health advantages.

Amla (Emblica officinalis): Vitamin C and antioxidants, crucial for maintaining healthy tissues, including the eyes, are abundant in amla. Amla contains antioxidants that assist in scavenging free radicals that might harm the retina through oxidative stress.

Haritaki (Terminalia chebula): Compounds in Haritaki have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. These qualities help to lessen eye irritation and safeguard the macula from harm.

Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica): The bioactive components in Bibhitaki may enhance eye health by promoting blood flow to the eyes and boosting visual clarity. Triphala, a powerful blend of these three fruits, improves circulation and protects against oxidative stress, lowering inflammation and other macular health issues.

Saffron: The Golden Elixir

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is well known for its culinary use and possible medicinal benefits. Crocin, a carotenoid component with antioxidant effects good for macular health, gives it its vivid colour. According to research, saffron may enhance blood flow to the eyes and shield retinal cells from oxidative stress damage. Saffron contains crocin, which is considered to encourage the regeneration of retinal cells, which is crucial in diseases like AMD. Regular use of saffron in food or as a supplement may help sustain clear eyesight as we age and keep the macula healthy.

Ginkgo Biloba: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Eyes

Since ancient times, the Chinese native tree species Ginkgo Biloba has been employed in traditional medicine. Flavonoids and terpenoids, found in their leaves, are thought to have antioxidant and neuroprotective qualities that can be advantageous to the eyes, particularly the macula.

Increased ocular blood flow, defence against oxidative damage, and retinal function are some of Ginkgo Bilobas possible advantages for macular health. These benefits may be especially beneficial for people at risk of macular degeneration or those trying to maintain their visual health as they age.

Incorporating Ayurvedic Herbs into Your Routine

The potential advantages of these Ayurvedic herbs can be enhanced by leading a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, a balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables, and minerals, and good eye care. In conclusion, the realm of Ayurveda offers a wealth of knowledge for organically promoting macular health. Exploring the potential of Ayurvedic medicines like Triphala, Saffron, and Ginkgo Biloba might provide a comprehensive approach to keeping sharp eyesight as we go through life, even while modern medicine makes strides in eye health.
MADRAS DAY 2023: Madras Day is celebrated on August 22 every year and commemorates the founding of the city of Madras, which is now known as Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. The celebration is an occasion to reflect upon the citys rich history, cultural heritage, and contributions to various fields.

The idea of Madras Day celebration was first suggested by Chennai-based journalists Vincent DSouza, editor of Mylapore Times (a local newspaper), and Sashi Nair, director and editor, Press Institute of India, to historian S. Muthiah in 2004. The trio decided to start celebrating Madras Day from 2004. According to them, the primary motive of celebrating Madras Day was to focus on the city, its past and its present.

The first Madras Day celebration was held on August 22, 2004, with a few events organized by the core team. The following year, the number of events increased and the celebration became more popular. Today, Madras Day is a major event in Chennai, with a variety of events organized by government agencies, businesses, educational institutions, and cultural organizations.

MADRAS DAY: HISTORY OF CHENNAI

Madras was founded on August 22, 1639, when a piece of land known as Chennapatnam was acquired by the British East India Company from the local Nayak rulers. The land was leased by Francis Day, one of the agents of the Company, and it marked the beginning of the establishment of a settlement that later grew into the city of Madras (now Chennai).

MADRAS DAY SIGNIFICANCE

The significance of Madras Day is twofold. First, it is a day to celebrate the history and culture of Chennai. The city has a rich and diverse history, dating back to the 17th century. It has been home to people from all over India and the world, and its culture is a reflection of this diversity.

Second, Madras Day is a day to promote civic pride and unity. Chennai is a large and complex city, but it is also a vibrant and cosmopolitan one. Madras Day is a time for people from all walks of life to come together and celebrate their city.

CELEBRATING MADRAS DAY 2023
Scientists have found at least four new genes associated with breast cancer that may help identify women at increased risk of the disease.

The finding, published recently in the journal Nature Genetics, also provides crucial information on the biological mechanisms underlying cancer development, potentially opening the way to identifying new treatments.

The international team. led by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK and Universite Laval, Canada noted that current genetic tests for breast cancer only consider a few genes, such as BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2.

However, these only explain a minority of the genetic risk, suggesting that more genes remain to be identified, they said.

The latest study looked at genetic changes in all genes in 26,000 women with breast cancer and 217,000 (2.17 lakh) women without breast cancer, from eight countries in Europe and Asia.

To our knowledge, this is the largest study of its kind, said Professor Douglas Easton, from the University of Cambridge, who co-led the study.

It was made possible through the use of data from multiple collaborators in many countries, as well as publicly available data from the UK Biobank, Easton said in a statement.

Identification of these new genes will contribute to the understanding of the genetic risk of breast cancer and help improve risk prediction by better identifying those women at higher risk of the disease, they said.

The findings will better inform approaches to breast screening, risk reduction and clinical management, according to the researchers.

The aim is to integrate this information into a comprehensive risk prediction tool currently used worldwide by health professionals, they said.

Improving genetic counselling for high-risk women will promote shared decision-making regarding risk reduction strategies, screening and determination of treatment options, said Professor Jacques Simard of Universita Laval, co-lead of the study.

Although most of the variants identified in these new genes are rare, the risks can be significant for women who carry them. For example, alterations in one of the new genes, MAP3K1, appear to give rise to a particularly high risk of breast cancer, Simard said.

Before this information can be used in a clinical setting, scientists need to validate the results in further datasets.

We need additional data to determine more precisely the risks of cancer associated with variants in these genes, to study the characteristics of the tumours, and to understand how these genetic effects combine with other lifestyle factors affecting breast cancer risks, Easton added.
Jacqueline Fernandez always manages to turn heads with her fashion sense. She was recently seen gracing the India Day Parade in New York City. The actress on Tuesday shared a series of photos from the event on her social media, showcasing her presence in a traditional red colour saree. Fans are calling her beauty queen.

In the series of photos posted by Fernandez, she looked every bit the ethereal beauty as she walked the parade route. The richly hued red saree, adorned with intricate embroidery, perfectly complemented her radiant complexion. She wrote, Thank you for making me a part of the 41st India Day Parade in New York! It was truly an overwhelming moment. One of the fans wrote, Nice dress,you so beautiful Fernandez. Another wrote, Stunning.

Take a look at the photos here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jacqueliene Fernandez (@jacquelienefernandez)

Recently, the Delhi court has allowed Jacqueline Fernandez to leave the country without its prior permission, modifying the bail condition in a Rs 200-crore money laundering case lodged against her and alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. The court directed her to intimate to it as well as the Enforcement Directorate at least three days before leaving the country instead of taking prior permission.

Special Judge Shailendra Malik, who had granted bail to Fernandez on November 15 last year, observed that in order to grab professional opportunities, the actor requires to travel abroad at short notice and she has never misused the conditions of bail at any point in time. The judge modified the condition in an order passed on August 10, noting that taking prior permission of the court before leaving the country becomes cumbersome and may be a reason for losing a livelihood. While granting bail to Fernandez, the judge had directed her not to leave the country without prior permission of the court.

On the work front, Jacqueline will next be seen in Vaibhav Mishras Fateh, wherein she will share the screen space with Sonu Sood and Vijay Raaz. Jacqueline wrapped the first schedule of the crime action film in March this year.
Kangana Ranaut said she is very scared after Karan Johar extended his support to Emergency. Earlier in the day, Karan offered an olive branch towards Kangana after years of feud and admitted that he is excited for Kanganas upcoming film Emergency. While the statement has now gone viral, the actress took to X and admitted that she is scared that she will be targetted with a smear campaign. Kangana Ranaut, who will be starring and directing the political-themed film, claimed that a smear campaign was orchestrated when Manikarnika had released.

For More: Kangana Ranaut BREAKS Silence on Karan Johars Support to Emergency: Im Scared Now Because

Jawan is all set to release and fans cannot wait to see Shah Rukh Khan ruling the theatres with his on-screen energy along with Nayanthara on September 7. Ahead of the same, the film has been given a U/A certificate by CBFC Central Board of Film Certification indicating that the film is a family-friendly watch and can be seen by all age groups. Helmed by Atlee, Jawan is touted to be a high-octane action entertainer which also stars Vijay Sethupathi, and Sanya Malhotra in pivotal roles.

For More: Jawan: CBFC Grants Shah Rukh Khan, Nayantharas Film U/A Certificate, Run Time Revealed

Actor Vijay Deverakonda has sparked a controversy after his comments on Rajinikanth were misconstrued by the latters fans. At a recent promotional event of his upcoming film Kushi, Vijay defended superstars like Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi when they get judged for delivering a flop. At the event, the Arjun Reddy actor shared that a few flops cannot shake the stardom of superstars like Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi. Superstars are beyond hits and flops. Rajini sir can have 6 flops back to back and come and do a film like Jailer which does 500 crores. We just have to shut up and watch, Vijay said at the event.

For More: Vijay Deverakondas Comment On Rajinikanth Sparks Controversy: Rajini Sir Can Have 6 Flops

Superstar Rajinikanth, who is currently basking in the success of Jailer, on Monday said that it was his habit to touch the feet of a sanyasi or yogi, irrespective of the age of that person. The actors remarks came in response to a reporters query over the controversy surrounding his touching the feet of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently during his visit to Lucknow.

For More: Rajinikanth BREAKS SILENCE On Controversy Over Touching Yogi Adityanaths Feet: It Was Just

Ananya Panday, who made her debut back in 2019 with Student Of The Year 2 has come a long way in showbiz. Already four films old, she is now keen on proving her acting prowess in the much awaited Dream Girl where she shares the screen space with Ayushmann Khurrana. Amid all this, the actress personal life often garners attention, and especially her rumoured relationship with Aditya Roy Kapur often hits headlines. Recently, the actress reacted to the same.

For More: Ananya Panday Addresses Dating Rumours With Aditya Roy Kapur, Dont Think Its Come In The Way.
Director Raghavendra Rao is known for his works, predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has given many blockbuster movies. Raghavendra Rao recently shared an interesting photo on social media. In the picture, he can be seen posing with his grandson Karthikeya and Pawan Kalyans son, Akira Nandan, in Norway. They both have joined a film school in the US. The post went viral and immediately grabbed the attention of social media users, fueling the speculations that Akira is all set to make his Tollywood debut. Akira Nandans mother Renu Desai has now addressed these speculations.

Renu Desai, the ex-wife of Pawan Kalyan, has firmly put an end to the speculations of Akira making his debut in Tollywood anytime soon. On her Instagram, she shared a story in which she penned, Guys As Of Now, Akira is not interested in acting or being a hero. She further added, Future I cant predict the future. So please stop speculating every single time I post something on my Instagram. It is my promise to you that if he decides to get into acting I will be the first person to post it on my Instagram.

Akira Nandan is the son of Pawan Kalyan and his second wife Renu Desai, who is a former model-turned-actor. Akira is one of the most-loved star kids in Tollywood. His fathers loyal fanbase has been showering him with immense love and also expects him to become an actor just like Pawan Kalyan. This often led to speculations around his Tollywood debut.

Addressing the pressure, Renu, in an earlier conversation with Pinkvilla, stated that: Akira is not interested to be an actor as of now and that people should stop putting pressure on him.

Pawan Kalyan was last seen in the film Bro alongside Sai Dharam Tej. The film will be streaming on Netflix from August 25. His upcoming films are Ustaad Bhagat Singh, Hari Hara Veera Mallu. He also has an untitled film in the pipeline.
Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patels Gadar 2 has taken Bollywood by storm since its release on August 11 this year. Many filmmakers and actors have congratulated the films team on their mega success. Recently, the director of the film Anil Sharma took to his Instagram handle to share that Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas also sent him a stunning arrangement of flowers with a sweet note, congratulating him on the success of Gadar 2. Priyanka made her Bollywood debut with Sunny Deol in Anil Sharmas 2003 film Hero: Love Story Of A Spy.

Anil captioned the post, Thx @priyankachopra and @nickjonas for your warm wishesit really touched my heart #Gadar2  The arrangement sent by Priyanka and Nick featured gorgeous roses and hydrangeas, among other beautiful flowers. The couple had also sent a note that read, Dear Anil Sir, Congratulations on the super success of Gadar 2! Lots of wishes for the future endeavors! Much love, Priyanka and Nick.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anilsharma (@anilsharma_dir)

Priyankas gesture won over the hearts of netizens who lauded Desi Girl for not forgetting her roots. One person wrote, Priyanka Chopra is a global superstar but always stay with her roots and encourage and appreciate good work  For all faults and cringe antics, PC is one of the few celebs who has not forgotten her roots. She still follows so many people from her early days and even likes their most randm posts on instagram. This might seem like bear minimum but I find it really sweet, another person wrote.

Meanwhile, Priyankas fans also urged Anil to create a sequel to Hero: Love Story Of A Spy. One fan wrote, Waah sir, the hero movie ki heroine ne acha sandesh bheja hai.. issi baat pe the hero movie ki sequel banaeiye (Wow sir, Hero movies heroine has sent a good messagenow make a sequel of the film). Another fan said, Time for Hero part 2 now.

The much-awaited sequel, Gadar 2, features Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel reprising their roles as Tara Singh and Sakeena respectively. In this film, Tara Singh attempts to rescue his son Jeete from a prison in Pakistan. Utkarsh Sharma joined the cast to play Jeete.
Shah Rukh Khan is one of the biggest Bollywood actors and there is no doubt about it. As fans await the release of Jawan, Bollywood Hungama has learnt that director Rajkumar Hirani will be unveiling the teaser of his next, Dunki, with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead, around Diwali.

Its reported that the filmmaker is aiming to unveil the teaser on Diwali and is eager to begin its preparation soon. Interestingly, the release of Salman Khans Tiger 3 is also expected around Diwali on November 10. Dunki promises a whirlwind of emotions, unexpected twists, and centres around human resilience. The teaser will offer a glimpse into the meticulously crafted world by Rajkumar Hirani and Shah Rukh Khan. The combo of Hiranis storytelling skills and Shah Rukh Khans magnetic screen presence is expected to create magic on the big screen.

As reported by Bollywood Hungama, the film digital rights have been sold to JioCinema for a whopping Rs 155 Crore. The source told the portal, This is the biggest deal in the history of Indian Cinema for a film released in a single language. It has got a lot to do with the brand of Rajkumar Hirani coming together with the brand of Shah Rukh Khan. Two of Indias biggest global icons are coming together to create a film that is expected to create a global impact, which has in turn resulted in the biggest post-theatrical deal of all time. Not only that, if we go by the sources words, the OTT platform has plans to take on the global market like Netflix,Rs. 155 crores is a huge sum but the SRK x Hirani combo deserves this and a lot more. The amount fetched by Dunki is even higher than what Jawan fetched for the Hindi version from Netflix, the source added.
Actress Samantha Prabhu recently attended the 41st India Day Parade in New York as the Chief Guest. After the parade, she went on a cruise to grace another event. To her surprise, the organizers started playing her hit song Oo Antava as she went on stage. The actress told the audience, Its been a while since I heard this song.

The actress looked regal in a black saree with heavy floral detailing on the border. She paired it with a blouse matching the borderwork on the saree. Samantha also wore golden earrings with pearls dangling from the bottom and a golden and green bangle.

Samantha took to Instagram to share another royal look that she had sported for the Parade and recalled shooting her first film Yeh Maaya Chesave in the Big Apple. She wrote, They say New York is where dreams are made. I started my career when I shot for my first film here. A scared little girl without a clue about how she was going to make it but daring enough to dream the big dream! Today, 14 years later 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samantha (@samantharuthprabhuoffl)

The actress is currently in New York with her mother. Samantha was reportedly set to move to New York earlier to seek treatment for myositis. She is currently on a break from acting due to myositis.

She recently finished the shoot for Raj and DKs Indian spinoff of the high-action spy series Citadel. Samantha will feature alongside Varun Dhawan. The original version stars Priyanka Chopra, Richard Madden and Stanley Tucci in key roles.

Samantha is also gearing up for the release of her film Kushi alongside Vijay Deverakonda. Directed by Shiva Nirvana, the film is set to release on September 1 this year.
While fans excitedly await the release of Shah Rukh Khans Jawan, a thrilling revelation has come to light. This action-packed thriller has a collaboration involving six well-known action directors from different parts of the world. The team includes Spiro Razatos, Yannick Ben, Craig Macrae, Kecha Khamphakdee, Sunil Rodrigues and Anal Arasu.

A notable figure among this global team is Spiro Razatos, renowned for his work in Hollywood hits like The Fast and the Furious, Captain America, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among others. Razatos was also part of Shah Rukh Khans 2011 project Ra One, where the actor awed audiences with gravity-defying stunts.

Yannick Ben, an important member of the group of action directors, has designed action scenes for hit films such as Transporter 3, Dunkirk and Inception. Hes also worked on popular Telugu and Hindi films like Raees and Tiger Zinda Hai. That apart, contribution of Craig Macrae, known for his imaginative direction in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and Avengers: Age of Ultron, adds to the team.

Contributing to the team is National Film Award winner Kecha Khamphakdee, known for his work on Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. Sunil Rodrigues and Anal Arasu have also made their mark by creating action sequences in successful films like Shershaah, Sooryavanshi, Sultan and Kick.

Meanwhile, Jawan advance bookings have also been opened in US, Germany and Australia. As reported by Venky Reviews and Sacnilk, approximately 4,800 tickets worth $74.2K from 289 locations in the US have been sold. This means that Jawan is likely to earn much more than what SRKs Pathaan collected overseas on its opening day. Reportedly, the Atlee directorial is likely to earn Rs 50 crore overseas whereas Pathaans had collected Rs 37 crore overseas.

The action-thriller will mark Atlees Bollywood directorial debut. It will also mark Nayantharas debut in Hindi cinema. In the film, Shah Rukh Khan reportedly plays a typical common man who finds himself venturing on an emotional journey to set society straight.
The paparazzi captured Bollywood stars at different locations in Mumbai on August 21. Among those who drew the paparazzis attention were Kareena Kapoor and Neha Dhupia. The Bollywood actresses were spotted together at Mumbai airport. The Chup Chup Ke sisters were seen heading towards their vehicles while engaging in a light-hearted conversation.

As the pair laughed and chatted, the paparazzi couldnt resist seizing the moment to inquire about the possibility of a sequel to the much-loved comedy, Chup Chup Ke. The video shows one of the camerapersons asking Neha Dhupia, Maam, is Chup Chup Ke 2 happening? Is there any plan for Chup Chup Ke 2? While Neha Dhupia responded with an enigmatic smile, she chose not to reveal any specific details, leaving fans to speculate about the prospect of a sequel.

Kareena Kapoor sported a chic yet comfortable look that caught the attention of onlookers. She looked gorgeous in an elegant white kurta set adorned with geometric blue designs, paired with her signature black shades that added a touch of glamour to her ensemble. Meanwhile, Neha Dhupia opted for a more relaxed vibe in an all-black outfit. The actress donned black track pants coupled with a black tank top and a trendy blazer. Before parting ways, both the stars shared a warm hug, captivating the hearts of onlookers and photographers alike.

The reunion of these two actresses at the airport has sent fans into a frenzy, igniting conversations across social media platforms about the potential return of the beloved characters from Chup Chup Ke. As soon as the video went viral, fans flooded the comments section. One of the fans wrote, Movies like Chup Chup Ke that combine romance and comedy are not made anymore.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

Released in 2006, Chup Chup Ke was a comedy-drama directed by the popular filmmaker Priyadarshan. The movie featured an ensemble cast including Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Suniel Shetty, and more. The 2006 release, which is a remake of the Malayalam film Punjabi House, left a lasting mark on the audience with its uproarious humour and heartwarming moments.

Work-wise, Kareena Kapoor has a handful of promising projects in the pipeline. The actress will be next seen in Karan Johars historical drama Takht alongside a star-studded cast including Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal, and Alia Bhatt. She will also be seen in Rohit Shettys Singham Again alongside Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, and Tiger Shroff.

On the other hand, Neha Dhupias next venture will be in Mr Moris thrilling film Waah Teri Shaadi, where she will be sharing the screen with Amrita Rao.
The semiconductor industry is the backbone of modern technology, driving innovations that have transformed the world as we know it. From the microprocessors in our smartphones to the advanced chips powering artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles, semiconductors have become indispensable to our daily lives and the global economy. However, despite being one of the worlds largest consumers of semiconductors, India continues to lag behind in domestic semiconductor production.

The global semiconductor value chain is dominated by countries like the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. Amidst the Sino-US trade war, export restrictions on high-end chips from these countries highlighted the need for domestic chip manufacturing in India, fuelling the countrys aspiration to become a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. However, this aspiration cannot be treated as mere rhetoric. It requires a strategic and concerted effort from all stakeholders, including the government, industry players, academia, and research institutions.

While the Make in India initiative has made strides in various sectors, the semiconductor industry demands an exceptional level of focus and investment.

One of the primary challenges that India faced was the absence of a comprehensive semiconductor policy. Countries such as China, the US, and South Korea have formulated ambitious national strategies to bolster their semiconductor capabilities. For decades, India lacked a cohesive roadmap that encompasses areas such as research and development, talent, infrastructure, and incentives for semiconductor manufacturing. The country urgently needed a dedicated policy framework that encouraged innovation, supported indigenous start-ups, and attracted global semiconductor giants to set up fabrication units in India.

However, this changed when the Indian government recognised the importance of developing its domestic semiconductor industry and began launching initiatives to support its growth. For example, in 2021, Indias Union Cabinet approved the Semicon India Programme (Program for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India), with an outlay of Rs 760 billion (>US$10 billion) for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. Later, it was modified and relaunched as the Modified Semicon India Programme in September 2022, with increased competitiveness and additional subsidies.

In February 2022, Vedanta made known its intention to establish a semiconductor plant in partnership with Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision). This move was part of the governments PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme, and it aimed to position India as a significant semiconductor hub. Other players such as ISMC and the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, also sought to set up semiconductor fabrication units under the same scheme. The Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture selected Gujarat as the location for its semiconductor project, with an investment of Rs 1.5 trillion. The project included a fabrication plant worth Rs 945 billion and a semiconductor fabrication and outsourced assembly and test plant worth Rs 600 billion.

While the joint venture with Foxconn did not materialise, Vedanta remains committed to entering the semiconductor industry. The company intends to acquire semiconductor and display businesses from its sister concern Twin Star Technologies, becoming the first Indian company in the integrated semiconductor and display fab business.

Besides Vedanta, the Tata Group is also making strides in semiconductor chip manufacturing through Tata Electronics, and US-based Micron Technology has plans to construct a chip assembly and test facility in Gujarat.

The Indian semiconductor market is projected to grow significantly, reaching around US$ 55 billion by 2026 and US$ 85 billion by 2030. The investments in the sector, along with the China +1 policy adopted by global companies, aiming to diversify manufacturing locations and reduce reliance on China, will contribute to Indias emergence as a prominent semiconductor hub. However, this can only be made possible by leveraging the vast manpower through skill development. India has a rich pool of engineering graduates, but the semiconductor industry demands specialised skills and knowledge. This gap must be bridged by establishing centres of excellence, fostering collaborations between academia and industry, and providing world-class training programmes.

Another pressing issue plaguing the semiconductor sector in India is the lack of cutting-edge infrastructure. Advanced chip fabrication facilities require massive investments, and private players often shy away due to the substantial risks involved. To overcome this hurdle, the government must play a pivotal role by offering financial incentives, subsidies, and infrastructure support to encourage both domestic and foreign investments in the semiconductor industry.

Moreover, public-private partnerships can facilitate the establishment of semiconductor manufacturing clusters, similar to the successful models in other countries.

India stands at a critical juncture in its semiconductor ambitions. While the challenges are immense, the opportunities are equally vast. By forging a comprehensive semiconductor policy, investing in talent development and infrastructure, protecting IPR, fostering collaborations, and promoting sustainability, we can pave the way for a semiconductor revolution in India.

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has been doing a phenomenal job in the last many years in pushing the world-class policies, procedures, and initiatives to attract the global semiconductors partners and put their best foot forward to enable Indias dream of becoming a superpower and a global leader in semiconductor design and manufacturing.

Sanjay Gupta, Chairman of IESA, India Electronics & Semiconductor Association. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
The 2023 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit is scheduled to be held from September 22 to 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pre-Summit deliberations show that there are some unique and significant developments to look out for.

For one, Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the summit for the first time on account of an International Criminal Court warrant issued against him, which makes him liable to be arrested for a war crimes trial upon his visit to South Africa. The other is the expansion of BRICS, which is set to be taken up for an elaborate discussion at the summit.

Interestingly, the expansion of BRICS to include new member countries isnt just the novel acronym they would likely have to come up with, but also why over 40 countries have expressed interest to be part of it. Then there is the issue of the induction criteria for new members, and how such an expansion, if successful, would impact existing members.

The precedent for the formalisation of BRICS expansion lies in the creation of a BRICS-Plus Circle at the 2017 Summit, where China invited Egypt, Kenya, Tajikistan, Mexico, and Thailand with an aim to promote openness, inclusiveness and cooperation between BRICS member countries and other emerging market economies and developing countries. Before that, in 2016, India had invited Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka to attend the summit.

Since then, not only has expansion been a part of the agenda across summits, but the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has also included three new member states under its financing ambit  Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.

Ahead of the 2023 Summit, countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Argentina, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, and Indonesia have formally applied to be BRICS members. There are reportedly many more on the list. And this is despite all of BRICSs shortcomings. Not to mention, there is a lot of scepticism regarding Chinas sustained emphasis on expansion.

Analysts argue that other BRICS members, India in particular, are wary of China using the expansion route to create a loyalist bloc of its own within the organisation. Similarly, both India and Brazil have advocated a cautious approach toward expansion, with India arguing in the Beijing Declaration at the 2022 Summit that there need to clarify the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures for this expansion process, with full consultation and consensus.

Brazil, in particular, wanted to invite Venezuela to be part of the BRICS Outreach Session at the 2019 Summit, but because the other members did not recognize Venezuelan President Juan Guaido at the time, they refused. Exposing internal fault lines, Brazil cancelled the Outreach Summit.

So why are countries still applying to join BRICS?

There are a few reasons other developing economies may want to be part of the grouping. First is the prestige and brand name attached to BRICS. In 2022, Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira said: BRICS is a brand and an asset, so we have to take care of it, as it means a represents a lot. The statement sheds light on the value BRICS members assign to the organisations image as a representative of developing economies.

Naturally, Global South countries that are vying for a greater say in global governance may find merit in membership of such an organization. For example, analysts argue that because Mexico, which has expressed interest in joining BRICS, fears military intervention from the US in its cartel wars, being part of the grouping may eventually earn it a sense of security, while also fostering its global influence.

Secondly, there are multiple economic opportunities that accompany membership in BRICS. For example, new members may find it easy to access India and Chinas large markets.

They would also be able to access funding from the NDB and other intra-BRICS economic mechanisms such as the Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM). Established at the 2013 BRICS Summit in Durban, ICM allows member countries to settle payments and finance investments in local currencies. Even the NDB has announced that as part of its 2022-2026 strategic cycle, 30 per cent of the Banks total financing volume will be denominated in local currencies of its members.

For countries facing economic difficulties in the aftermath of Western sanctions against Russia amidst the war in Ukraine, and are otherwise also subject to sanctions by the US and its allies (such as Iran), access to capital under such mechanisms may alleviate some of their woes.

And finally, there is a sense of equality between countries that comes with a BRICS membership. Because the grouping has a flat hierarchy, there is consensus and equal say on all matters, and any finalised decision is the best common minimum all member countries agree on.

Of course, with the inclusion of new members, the process will likely become more elaborate and complex. But decisions taken will also be more representative of the wishes of emerging markets and economies. It is precisely also this consensus-based decision-making that insulates the process of expansion from influence-peddling by the Chinese or the Russians.

How might it impact current members?

Many of the existing BRICS member countries have reason to shun expansion. For India, it may be suspicion regarding Chinas inclusion of countries economically indebted to it, and therefore more likely to be influenced by Chinese actions.

For South Africa, it may be that the inclusion of countries with significantly more economic output worth than its own US$400 billion  such as Mexico, Indonesia, or Argentina  may reduce its value as one of the five initial BRICS members. For Brazil, it may be that the cohesion of the grouping will be further undermined by the introduction of new members, and the overall prestige of this exclusive grouping could potentially diminish.

At the same time, Russia and China may find partners within the expanded grouping that can help advance their increasingly vocal anti-West agenda, including in other multilateral institutions. Russia is especially in need of support from as many countries as possible amidst its tarnished image owing to the Ukraine war.

As the process of the groupings expansion is underway, Indias priorities would lie in making sure that principled guidelines are laid out to set benchmarks for membership, in creating space for consensus-building against the possibility of Chinese influence-peddling, and in attempting to retain the image and brand value of BRICS as a community of developing market economies demanding more voice in global governance.

The author is Research Analyst at The Takshashila Institution. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and the other top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs will appear before a Parliamentary panel this week for a detailed presentation on the three criminal law bills which were referred to the standing committee during the last monsoon session.

Presentation by the Home Secretary on The Committee Room 2, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; The A-Extension, New Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 a Parliament notice reads.

This comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah last Thursday evening held an informal meeting with MPs from the ruling BJP who are members of the Standing Committee of Home Affairs to explain the bills.

Shah had introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha to replace colonial-era criminal laws The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 to replace the Indian Penal Code, The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 with The Code of Criminal Procedure and The Bharatiya Sakshaya Bill, 2023 with The Indian Evidence Bill.

The committee has close to three months time to submit its report before the next Parliament session. The government has widely spoken about the importance of these bills and the importance of ensuring speedy justice for those who have been fighting cases in courts and languishing in jails for years together.

Before presenting these Bills, even during its drafting, sources further say that the home minister who himself had held over 150 meetings with various stakeholders, including states, has requested the panel for extensive scrutiny.

What is the basis on which the colonial laws were made? The intent of the Modi government to bring this bill is very clear that justice must be delivered in a time-bound manner, a source says has been elaborated.

Apart from the chairman of the panel, Brij Lal, some of the other members of the committee include former DGP Dr Satyapal Singh, Dilip Ghosh, Dr Anil Jain and Biplab Deb amongst others from BJP. Congress MP Digvijay Singh and Derek OBrien from TMC are also on the panel.
The death of a farmer in clashes with police in Sangrur on Monday during protests to demand adequate compensation for crop loss in recent floods is snowballing into a major controversy.

The Punjab Congress has opened up a front against the Bhagwant Mann government, accusing it of using excessive force against farmers on a day when several of its party workers and leaders were simultaneously holding protest against the governments decision to dissolve panchayats.

This has brought to the fore the acrimony between the AAP and the Congress in Punjab, indicating how complicated any tie-up between the two as part of the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) could be in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Congress leaders are not just protesting against the farmers death, but senior leaders are also holding dharnas outside panchayat offices in the state against the recent decision to dissolve panchayats in the state. The Congress has already challenged the move in the High Court and has threatened to intensify its agitation against the AAP government on the issue.

Reiterating again that there is no chance of a tie-up between AAP and Congress in Punjab, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly, Partap Bajwa, said: If we would have had any tie-up with the party in the state, do you think we would be protesting on the streets against the Mann government? The alliance is on issues related to Delhi and not meant for the state.

Formation of the INDIA bloc has put the Punjab Congress leadership in a catch-22 situation. With the Congress alleging political vendetta by the AAP government through the Vigilance Bureau against its leaders in Punjab, buzz of a likely alliance between the two parties has left the leadership miffed with the high command.

State-level leaders have been in touch with the top brass in Delhi, informing the latter of unease over any alliance as far as Punjab is concerned.

The party has been holding several internal meetings in the state where a number of leaders were of the opinion that their role as the principal opposition party would come to an end with this alliance. Not just that our cadre will feel let down, but more leaders will start moving out. Our aim of attacking the government on several issues will be dented, admitted a leader.

Several senior leaders, including Sukhpal Khaira, have been going public with their angst on social media over the issue.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav in a significant statement told News18 that there could be many conveners for the opposition INDIA bloc. The former Bihar chief minister was visiting his ancestral Phulwaria village in Gopalganj district with his wife Rabri Devi after about seven years to meet his extended family.

In an exclusive conversation with News18, Lalu said that there could be one convener each for three-four states, who would coordinate on issues related to the alliance. There is a possibility of assigning conveners at the state level also, he added.

The RJD leaders statements gain importance as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was being as the possible sole convener of the bloc since he met many non-NDA chief ministers and regional satraps to take the idea of INDIA forward.

Lalu said there is no confusion about the role of Nitish or Tejashwi because we are fighting a bigger battle than this".

Nitish Kumar has said on several occasions that he is not in the race to become a convener or prime ministerial candidate but Janata Dal (United) leaders have been calling him a suitable PM pick.

Lalu, who has been a key figure in the making of the INDIA bloc, said the alliance has been formed to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government at the Centre.

The RJD leader has shared a good rapport with the Congresss Gandhi family for decades and his views are taken seriously within the opposition camp. The former union minister played a big part in bringing Nitish Kumar into the ruling mahagathbandhan in Bihar and making him the chief minister in August 2022.

Lalus son Tejashwi Yadav is the unanimous leader after him in the RJD and is serving as Bihars deputy chief minister under Nitish.

On Modi govt

18 political parties have joined hands to oust the Narendra Modi-led NDA at the Centre, Lalu Prasad Yadav told News18. We will up the ante against the autocratic regime, which is trying to undermine the federal structure of the country," he said. In the next alliance meeting, we will decide on the strengths and the weaknesses of the parties in different regions and move ahead as we have very little time to chalk out poll strategies now."

He asked how PM Modi claims that he will hoist the national flag at the Red Fort next year as electing the Prime Minister is the sole prerogative of the people".

On Tejashwi as future CM

Lalu also does not hide his intention to make Tejashwi the next CM of Bihar.

One day he will become the chief minister of Bihar. As of now, our focus is to defeat the NDA at any cost. Till then we need to remain intact," he said.

He said there is no deal with Nitish Kumar to make Tejashwi the chief minister.

On Rahul Gandhi as possible PM pick

Asked whether Rahul Gandhi is a suitable candidate for the post of Prime Minister, Lalu did not give a direct answer and said that the parties will decide who will become the PM after the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results.

Rahul has become a formidable opposition face but leadership issues will be decided after the general elections," he said.
All the candidates who will lose the GOP primary are set to gather on Wednesday. Their aim is to showcase their aptitude at praising Donald Trump, while simultaneously asserting that they are a better choice than him. (The exception is the reformed Trump bootlicker, Chris Christie.)

The debate moderators no doubt have a list of what they believe are hard-hitting questions. I hope that at least some of these include the ones on the list Radley Balko posted in his Substack newsletter.

Here are a few samples:
The single-digit representation of women in the first list of assembly election candidates announced by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana has become a flashpoint among parties here. As soon as the list was released, which had only seven women among 115 candidates, opposition parties did not lose any time in pointing out the irony. BRS MLC K Kavitha, who is also the daughter of chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, had staged a dharna in Delhi, demanding that 33 per cent of seats in legislative assemblies be reserved for women. When her partys list had a low number of women, she came under attack from the BJP, Congress, and YSRTP.

BJP spokesperson Rani Rudrama had said, The BRS party ignoring women in its list shows that Kavithas protests in Delhi demanding that the Centre enact 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament was just drama. On similar lines, Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy posted on social media site X: Bangaru Kutumbam Family members created drama in Jantar Mantar demanding for 33% reservation for women in Parliament. In Bangaru Kutumbam Mathematics 33% reservation led to 6 seats (3+3= 6) being given for women by the BRS party this time.

Congresss women leaders held a press conference on Tuesday and alleged that Kavitha orchestrated a drama at Jantar Mantar to soften the blow of the Delhi liquor scam in which she is named as an accused. The meet saw the participation of Bandru Shobha Rani, Palvai Sravanthi, and Kalva Sujatha, among others. The Congress is credited with adding reservation for women in local bodies. The party has given women the post of president of AICC, the post of Prime Minister, the post of Speaker in the Lok Sabha, and the post of President. We do not enact fake dramas, the women said.

Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP) president YS Sharmila advised Kavitha to be the change you want to see. Does this list which has a negligible six per cent of women candidates represent your commitment and honesty towards 33 per cent reservation for women? It is a shame that you only showed fake concern with your Delhi drama recently. Whereas women constitute 50 per cent of the states population, fielding seven candidates is equivalent to insulting them, she

In response to the allegations, the MLC launched a scathing attack on the opposition. Replying to Kishan Reddy, Kavitha said his concern for womens rights was surprising, but she felt good that someone from the Bharatiya Janata Party had finally acknowledged this long-pending demand for the Womens Reservation Bill, which aims to ensure increased representation for women. She pointed out the BJPs failure to fulfil its two-time manifesto promise of passing the Bill. In her attack against the Congress, she called the partys initiatives towards the tabling and passing of the Womens Reservation Bill an eyewash and a mockery of the issue of womens representation in political discourse.

Defending the BRS list, she added: The chief minister believes that without a constitutional right in place, which exists now only in the election to local bodies, womens reservations in the state legislatures and the Parliament are not possible.
Former Bihar chief minister and RJD president Lalu Prasad on Tuesday visited his ancestral village Phulwaria in Gopalganj district.

Accompanied by his wife Rabri Devi, an ex-chief minister, Prasad garlanded the statue of his mother Marachhiya Devi at Marachhiya Chowk.

After his kidney transplant, the RJD chief visited his ancestral village for the first time.

They will also visit the famous Durga temple in the Thawe area during the day, a party leader said.

Both arrived at Gopalganj, about 100 km from the state capital Patna, on Monday.

Talking to reporters in Gopalganj, Prasad had said he would be in his native district till Tuesday, during which he is scheduled to visit a local temple to offer his prayer after life-saving surgery last year.

I will also pray for success in the Lok Sabha polls. Though I must say I do not wish success for my own sake but for the people of my country, Prasad had said.

The RJD supremo, however, maintained that the Lok Sabha polls next year would see the rout of the ruling BJP at the Centre and ducked queries about the face of opposition coalition INDIA, of which his party is a part, to pose a challenge to PM Modi.
Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to visit Manipur and Tripura soon, a party leader said on Monday. Senior Congress MLA of Tripura Sudip Roy Barman said he has already spoken to her regarding the visit.

I have already spoken to our leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and she is scheduled to visit Manipur and Tripura very soon, he told reporters at the state Congress headquarters here. He said that during her Tripura visit, the Congress leader will visit Tripureswari temple in Gomati district.

Roy Barman, who was inducted into the Congress Working Committee (CWC) as a permanent invitee, was felicitated by his supporters at the party office. He is the first Congress leader from Tripura to be inducted into the CWC, the partys top decision-making body.

My inclusion in CWC is not only a matter of personal pride, but also the pride of the Congress leaders and workers who have been fearlessly working in the northeastern state, he said. State Congress president Asish Kumar Saha thanked the party leadership for inducting Roy Barman into the CWC.

Roy Barman said history is witness that the country faces crisis whenever Congress is weakened. I appeal to the people to come forward for strengthening the Congress, he said.
With assembly polls in Rajasthan around the corner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gearing up for a mega poll campaign in the state. BJP has planned a state-wise Parivartan Yatra, starting from September 2, with its top Central leaders flagging off the campaign from four different corners of Rajasthan.

The yantras are scheduled to cover the entire state in approximately three weeks. BJP is also planning to schedule a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of the Parivartan Yatra in Jaipur, where the top leader may address the party workers.

The Parivartan Yatra Schedule

The first yatra is set to start from Trinetra Ganesh Temple in Sawai Madhopur on September 2. This leg of the campaign will be led by the former chief minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje. Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself is likely to flag off this yatra.

With Shah choosing to flag off Rajes leg of the yatra, the party seems to be giving importance to the former chief minister in the partys state politics. The move comes after last weeks announcement of two key election committees for Rajasthan, where Vasundhara Raje was not accommodated.

Furthermore, the second leg of the campaign will start from Beneshwar Dham in Dungarpur on September 3. This leg of yatra will be led by BJP state President CP Joshi and BJP President JP Nadda will flag it off.

The third leg of yatra will start from Ramdevra in Jaisalmer on September 4. It will be headed by union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will flag it off.

The fourth and last leg of the campaign will start from Gogamedi in Hanumangarh on September 5. Former state president Satish Poonia will lead this yatra and union minister Nitin Gadkari will flag it off.

Aim Of Parivartan Yatra

Each leg of the campaign will go to two to three assembly constituencies daily, with an aim to cover 45 to 55 assembly constituencies in total.

Nukkad Sabhas, small rallies among other programs will be held in all assembly constituencies.

Every day, a big meeting will also be organized in every yatra, before the campaign concludes in Jaipur around September 25.

Through this yatra, the party aims to highlight the alleged corruption done by the ruling Congress government in the state and the increasing crime against women in Rajasthan under chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Raos decision to contest from two seats in Telangana has come as a surprise to many. While one of the seats, Gajwel, is his stronghold, from where he won in 2014 and 2018, his other choice, Kamareddy, has raised eyebrows.

When asked about the decision, KCR said: Since Kamareddy MLA had requested me several times to contest from the constituency, I agreed. There is no other reason behind it.

Kamareddy MLA and government whip, Gampa Govardhan, had requested KCR earlier this month to contest from his constituency. He said not only the public wanted the CM to contest from there, but even KCRs ancestors from the region wanted the same. So, it became a natural choice for him.

Since Kamareddy was formed after the division of Nizamabad district, a victory for KCR from the seat might improve the chances of his daughter, Kavitha, contesting to win the Lok Sabha seat. In 2019, Kavitha had lost the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat to BJPs Arvind Dharmapuri.

E Venkateshu, who is a professor of political science in Hyderabad Central University, told News18: Every political party engages multiple agencies to study the pulse of the people. Besides money power, the candidate must have a voter base in the constituency. There might have been ground reports, which gave the party inputs regarding chances of winning from both the seats. As we have seen in previous examples  former chief minister NT Rama Rao, who contested from Kalwakurthy and Hindupur, but lost the former; and Praja Rajyam Party founder Chiranjeevi, who contested from Tirupati and Palacole, but lost the latter  charisma alone cannot win you votes. Since KCR has been the CM for 10 years and a tall figure in the statehood struggle, the party might have received inputs that it will win in both constituencies.

However, a few feel that KCR might have chosen Kamareddy based on the intelligence inputs that his chance of winning Gajwel is low.

KCR is not confident about Gajwel this time. Opposition may focus more on Gajwel to defeat him if he contested from there. He is depending more on surveys, which are throwing up ambiguous numbers. BJP leader Etela Rajender had vowed that he would defeat KCR in Gajwel. If that happens, the duel between these two tall leaders will attract a lot of attention. Any miscalculation in Gajwel can affect results in the entire state. So, being the intelligent election engineer he is, KCR has chosen a second seat. The KCR family enjoys great goodwill in Kamareddy and a victory is almost certain for BRS there. Even if he loses Gajwel, Kamareddy will save KCR, said political analyst Kambalapally Krishna, who runs a consultancy called Voice of Telangana and Andhra.
Noida MLA and BJP leader Pankaj Singh has said he would join the ongoing protest of villagers outside the Noida Authoritys office if their woes concerning land acquisition are not resolved by Uttar Pradesh government officials and the local authority within 15 days.

The BJP legislators outburst came after protestors, under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Parishad, barricaded his camp office here on Monday. The protestors were led by local farmer leader Sukhbir Pehlwan.

Residents of 81 villages in Noida, including those from Sadarpur, Bahlolpur, Gejha, Barola, Sorkha and Sarfabad, are among hundreds of people who have been protesting against the Noida Authority over issues related to the acquisition of their land by the state government in the past.

Singh said last year officials of the Noida Authority and the Infrastructure and Industrial Development were apprised of the protestors woes, but to date, not one officer has come here with any update on the matter.

He also blamed the policies of previous state governments led by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party for the troubles of the villagers here.

I am saying this directly to Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Manoj Singh. Should he not take cognisance of the matter and inform us (what is happening)? Instead we are calling up people to find out what is happening, while he is doing tamasha sitting there (in Lucknow), Singh said, addressing the protestors.

The Noida MLA told the protesters, I am giving 15 days to the Noida Authority, IIDC and the Industrial Minister. Answers to all issues will come in 15 days otherwise I will join the protest. The BJP leader also said he will take up the issue with the government.

I will not make any false promises. Regardless of how many votes it may cost me, I will never work for what is wrong. We are in politics to serve the people, do what is right, help people get justice and not allow anything wrong, Singh said.
Charles Martinet, the voice actor behind Nintendos Mario, will no longer be voicing the character moving forward. Notably, Martinet voiced Mario games since 1994, and his voice has now become synonymous with the character.

Super Mario Bros is a name thats been heard in most homes thanks to its family-friendly appeal and the critical acclaim Nintendos beloved franchise has achieved over the years. One of the reasons why Mario has brought so much success to Nintendo is Mario himselfthe Italian plumber.

People have grown to love his unique demeanor and the voice acting by Charles Martinet. The iconic Its a me, Mario! is something that most people would recognize, young or old.

In fact, the upcoming game, Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Nintendo Switch, wont have Martinet voicing Mario or Luigi. This is a departure from a run that started with Mario Teaches Typing in 1994almost three decades ago.

We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023

Nintendo hasnt said why Martinet is stepping down, but the Japanese gaming giant has confirmed that hell be a Mario ambassador going forwardresponsible for promoting Mario around the world.

Its been a privilege working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him, Nintendo said.

Additionally, over the course of his long career, Martinet has not only voiced Mario, but has also been the voice behind Marios brother Luigi, Wario and Waluigi.
Instances of people receiving fake or sub-standard products from e-commerce websites are frequent online. A recent incident involves a college student who purchased a laptop worth Rs. 76,000 from Flipkart but got cheap speakers instead. The student, Atharva Khandelwal, expressed his frustration on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), directed towards the popular online store which, according to him, refrained from giving him a refund or replacement.

In his now-viral post, Atharva recounted the situation, writing, Unbelievable experience with @Flipkart! Ordered a Macbook M1 worth 76,000 INR, but received cheap speakers instead. Despite solid evidence of their own delivery executive mishandling the situation, theyre denying refund under no returns policy.

Also Read: Man Orders Camera Lens Worth Rs 90,000 Online, Receives Quinoa Seeds In Package

He then proceeded to narrate the sequence of events and explained how the eagerly awaited delivery, initially scheduled for August 13th, was postponed until August 15th, after which he was directed to visit the delivery hub.

Check Out:

Unbelievable experience with @Flipkart! Ordered a Macbook M1 worth 76,000 INR, but received cheap speakers instead Despite solid evidence of their own delivery executive mishandling the situation, theyre denying refund under no returns policy. All Proves Attached  atharva khandelwal (@atharva_1913) August 21, 2023

Reached Flipkart hub as instructed. Delivery guy insisted on taking OTP before we opened the package, claiming protocol. We trusted. He opened the box, revealed not the laptop, but cheap 3,000 INR speakers! We have Proof: footage, face, his confession, he elaborated further. Subsequently, he proceeded to outline the array of proofs he had gathered, yet asserted that Flipkart continued to reject the situation by citing their no return policy.

Taking to social media, Atharva criticised this behaviour as unfair and unjust on the part of the platform, while also tagging consumer advocacy forums in a plea for assistance. He even declared his intention to persistently voice his concerns and solicit help through tweets until a resolution was achieved.

Also Read: Man Orders iPhone From Amazon, Receives Black Plastic Dummy Instead

Soon, online users rallied in his support, urging Flipkart to address the matter. As the tweet gained momentum, Flipkart issued a response, affirming, We are committed to making it right for our customers and @atharva_1913 is already in touch with us. You can count on us to sort this out.

We are committed to making it right for our customers and @atharva_1913 is already in touch with us. You can count on us to sort this out. FlipkartSupport (@flipkartsupport) August 21, 2023

However, the saga didnt end there. Atharva turned to Reddit for assistance and revealed that he had felt suic*dal after falling victim to the deception. Yet, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. He updated his Reddit post to inform everyone that Flipkart had finally reached out to him, assuring him of a refund initiation.

If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)
Ian Burkhart looked down at his hand and imagined closing it. To his amazement, it closed. That moment, back in 2014, was the first time in history that a paralysed person had regained the ability to move their arm using just their thoughts  with a little help from a device implanted in their brain.

That was the magical moment that proved that this is possible, this isnt just science fiction, Burkhart said.

He had volunteered to be part of an experimental trial of a brain-computer interface (BCI), which connects human neural activity to technology.

The rapidly growing field, which includes leading BCI firms Synchron and Elon Musks Neuralink, aims to use implants and algorithms to restore lost movement or communication and treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy.

But while some people enjoy the advantages of being plugged in to a computer, it can be traumatic for others.

Two people who had brain implants spoke to AFP about their different experiences.

Nothing to be scared about

After a diving accident in 2010, doctors told Burkhart he was paralysed from the shoulders down.

At 19, that was a big struggle to hear, Burkhart told AFP via a video call from his home in Columbus, Ohio in the United States.

So he leapt at the chance to be part of a trial called NeuroLife conducted by US non-profit firm Battelle that aimed to restore hand movement.

It involved invasive surgery to implant a pea-sized device containing around 100 electrodes near his brains motor cortex, which controls movement.

The device recorded his brain activity, sending it to a computer which used an algorithm to decipher exactly how he wanted to move his hand.

Also read: New Study Identifies Gene fingerprint For Brain Ageing, Sheds Light on Memory Decline

That message was then relayed to an electrode sleeve on his right forearm which stimulated the relevant muscles.

Over time, Burkhart became so adept that he was able to tap out guitar solos on the video game Guitar Hero.

But after seven and a half years, funding for the trial ran out, and he had to have the device removed in 2021.

It definitely was a sad time, said Burkhart, now 32.

The blow was softened by the fact that he was only ever able to use the technology in the lab, which he visited a couple of times a week.

His scalp had also become infected.

The device is screwed into your skull with a connector sticking out, leaving an open wound, he said.

Your scalp is trying to close the whole time  but it cant because theres a piece of metal in the way.

Despite the trials end, Burkhart is positive about the experience.

He has become an advocate for BCIs, pushing for the experience of patients to be prioritised.

The actual truth of using these devices right now is they can do a lot less than what a lot of people are thinking, he said, adding that it was not something that people need to be scared about.

I look forward to getting some sort of device in the future, he said, adding that next time he would prefer one that is permanently implanted.

Weird robot inside me

Hannah Galvin was far less enthusiastic.

At the age of 22, the Australian had seen her dreams of becoming a ballet dancer dashed by crippling epileptic seizures, when she was offered the chance to get a brain implant to help treat the condition.

I would have done anything. It seemed like an opportunity to get my life back, Galvin, now 35, said from the Australian state of Tasmania.

An electroencephalography (EEG) device, which records electrical activity, was implanted into her brain as part of a trial by the US company NeuroVista.

The idea was that the device would warn Galvin if she was about to have a seizure, giving her time to prepare.

But after being implanted, the device went off almost constantly, leading Galvin to believe it was malfunctioning.

It was not. It turned out she was having more than 100 seizures a day. Galvin and her doctors had no idea they struck so often.

She felt embarrassed in public by the constant flashing and beeping of the device.

I started to regret the whole thing, she said.

There was a growing feeling that theres somebody in my head and its not me, she said.

It was this weird robot inside me, and I really wanted to just rip it out of my head, she said.

There was so much relief when she had the device removed, she added.

But the experience shook her confidence and she no longer wanted to leave home. She was soon prescribed anti-depressants.

While it took years for Galvin to accept that her seizures would make it too difficult to work, she said she now has a happy life painting and taking photographs in the countryside of northern Tasmania.

For people considering brain implants, she advised them to be more wary than I was.
Students often come up with innovative ways to cheat in exams. They either take help from fellow students in the exam hall or make chits which have the answers. Do you students even bribe teachers to pass exams? A similar incident has been highlighted by IPS Arun Bothra from Odisha recently. He shared how students often keep (cash) inside their board answer sheets and ask teachers to give them passing marks. Arun Bothra shared a picture of multiple notes of Rs 100, Rs 200 and RS 500 on Twitter and wrote, Pic sent by a teacher. These notes were kept inside answer sheets of a board exam by students with a request to give them passing marks. Tells a lot about our students, teachers and the entire educational system.

Pic sent by a teacher. These notes were kept inside answer sheets of a board exam by students with request to give them passing marks. Tells a lot about our students, teachers and the entire educational system. pic.twitter.com/eV76KMAI4a  Arun Bothra  (@arunbothra) August 21, 2023

The incident does not amuse social media users, who have reacted to the picture. One of the users said, This has been happening for decades. Some students insert money; in our time, some used to insert phone numbers in answers promising lots of money if the paper is passed.

This has been happening for decades. Some students insert money, in our time some used to insert phone numbers in answers promising lots of money if paper is passed https://t.co/hyuSM1FRl5 Anand Sankar (@kalapian_) August 21, 2023

Another person added, It speaks loudly about the entire culture, institutions and accessible democratic setups of the country.

It speaks loudly about the entire culture, institutions and accessible democratic setups of the country. https://t.co/tSUpFrDRuF ambuj singh (@neatshots) August 21, 2023

One more user commented, This is a representation of things beyond the educational system. They know that cash can get things done in our country and they are unfortunately not entirely wrong.

This is a representation of things beyond educational system. They know that cash can get things done in our country and they are unfortunately not entirely wrong. https://t.co/Qn0pqI1sY2 Suyash Gunjal (@Su7sH) August 21, 2023

Some users even shared their experiences on how this has been going on for years.

This has happened to me at least thrice during my paper correction days! To colleagues too even 20 years ago. The money is usually accompanied by a sad story narration instead of answers to exam questions.Needless to say, such students usually fail.  Meghna Girish  (@megirish2001) August 21, 2023

My mother was a maths teacher in one of the prestigious Odia schools in Cuttack. I still remember, she used to check answer sheets from schools in Bihar. Many students used to put currency notes, write (bad) poetry and what not "   ,     "    (@bubun_s) August 21, 2023

During our times, students would write prayers and begging teachers to give pass marks Used to have 5 Rs pocket money for a day Students ameer ho gaye hain  Arshdeep Sandhu (Raavi) (@arsh11kaur) August 21, 2023

Our English teacher once told about such an incident. And she was like we anyways failed the student but didn't report it or else his/her future would get ruined. They had a nice party that day though. Turmeric (@The_Turmeric__) August 21, 2023

The post has been viewed by nearly 1 million users on social media.

The Kerala government on Friday suspended a headmaster of an aided school from service, along with an Assistant Educational Officer (AEO) in Kottayam, on charges of accepting bribes.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday thanked Canadians for their support in his first public remarks about his family since he and his wife, Sophie, announced they are separating after 18 years of marriage.

The two announced the decision in statements posted on Instagram early this month, adding they would vacation as a family. On Monday, as Trudeau returned from vacation, he was asked about how he was doing.

First I want to thank all the people who have reached out over the past few weeks with warm wishes, with personal messages, with personal stories that have been just wonderful and positive, Trudeau said at a news conference in Cornwall on Prince Edward Island.

It was his first press conference since the announcement.

I got 10 days with the family to focus on the kids, to focus on being together and moving forward, he said.

Trudeau, the 51-year-old scion of one of Canadas most famous politicians, was sworn into office in 2015. Sophie Trudeau is a former model and TV host. The couple were married in 2005. Together, they brought star power to the prime ministers office and appeared in the pages of Vogue magazine.

They have three children, 15-year-old Xavier, 14-year-old Ella-Grace and 9-year-old Hadrien.

I really, really, want to thank Canadians for having been so incredibly gracious and incredibly generous in respecting our privacy and our space. It really makes things easier, Trudeau said.

Sophie Trudeau has played a less visible role in recent years, rarely travelling with the prime minister on official trips. The two were seen together publicly at Canada Day events in Ottawa last month.

Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire met as children when she was a classmate of his youngest brother, Michel, and they reconnected as adults when they co-hosted a 2003 charity gala.

Trudeau is the second prime minister to announce a separation while in office. His father, Pierre Trudeau, and mother, Margaret Trudeau, separated in 1977 and divorced in 1984 during the elder Trudeaus final year in the prime ministers office.
Donald Trump Surrenders: Former US President Donald Trump said he will turn himself in on Thursday in Georgia to face the racketeering and other charges levelled against him for mounting an illegal bid to overturn the 2020 US election results.

Donald Trump on Monday took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and said that he will be arrested by Radical Left District Attorney Fani Willis.

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History, Trump posted.

In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for Murder, but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL! She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Bidens DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE! he further wrote.

The former president has on several occasions since his arraignment attacked the African American judge for bringing the charges against him and handing him his fourth indictment.

Donald Trump will turn himself in at a Fulton County jail.

Trump along with 18 co-conspirators were charged under the states Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law  a law reserved for organised crimes and mafia syndicates and was given until August 25 noon to surrender to Georgia authorities.

Donald Trump, prosecutors allege, orchestrated a criminal enterprise to remain president. There are other charges also in the indictment along with the RICO charge.

Trump claims he has not participated in any wrongdoing. He agreed to a bond set at $200,000, US-based media outlets reported.

Donald Trump is also being subjected to stricter rules which bar him from intimidating any co-conspirator or witnesses in the case. The judge specified that

The order also subjects Trump to stricter rules than his co-defendants, forbidding him from intimidating any co-defendants or witnesses via indirect threat of any nature while specifying that the order also includes posts on social media.

The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a co-defendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said.

The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media, the judge added.
Indian Shot Dead in Mexico: An Indian national living in Mexico was shot dead and another was injured after they were robbed by unknown assailants in Mexico City. The Indian authorities have demanded that those guilty of the crime be apprehended at the earliest.

The incident happened last Saturday when four men aboard two motorcycles approached the man who was driving his car on the Miguel Aleman Viaduct in Mexico City, El Pais reported.

ALSO READ | Indian Couple, Son Found Dead in US; Police Suspect Double Suicide-murder

These two Indians, who were working in the information technology sector, were returning from an exchange house where both of them went to buy $10,000. The assailants followed both of them who were driving along the busy avenue in the Mexican capital inside a white Honda car and demanded that he stop the car.

In an interview with news channel @nmas ,Ambassador Pankaj Sharma condemned recent heinous murder of an Indian national in& assured the Indian community of steps being taken by Embassy with law enforcement agencies to apprehend the criminals &provide justice to family of victim pic.twitter.com/DdC3RBwLxV India in Mexico (@IndEmbMexico) August 21, 2023

When the person driving the car refused to comply, one of the assailants opened fire, killing him. The incident occurred in the western side of the city near the Algarin neighbourhood, between Calzada de Tlalpan and Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas, El Pais said in its report.

ALSO READ | Mexico: Indian Nationals Among Casualties in Highway Bus Accident, 18 Dead

The co-pilot pointed out that they came from an exchange house at the airport and on their way to their destination they were intercepted at the scene by subjects aboard two motorcycles who carried out the detonations and stripped them of the money, the Secretariat for Citizen Security was quoted as saying by El Pais.

The other person inside the car was treated by paramedics at the scene and did not sustain any injuries.

A security camera captured the moments in which two motorcycles approached the car and opened fire and took the money from the occupants. As the driver was shot he lost control of the car which zigzagged on the avenue while the other person tried to flee to avoid the assault.

The Indian Embassy in Mexico said it is working with authorities to apprehend the culprits.

In the extremely regrettable & tragic death of an Indian national shot by unknown assailants in Mexico City,the Embassy is in constant touch with the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits at the soonest & give justice to family of the victim.@IndAssoMex @SRE_mx pic.twitter.com/hXTpAc9z8e India in Mexico (@IndEmbMexico) August 20, 2023

In an extremely regrettable & heart-wrenching incident, an Indian national living in Mexico has been tragically shot dead. Embassy and @IndianAssoMex are in touch with his family & extending all support. Were demanding Mexican authorities to apprehend the culprits at the earliest, the Indian Embassy in Mexico posted on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

In an extremely regrettable & heart-wrenching incident,an Indian national living in Mexico has been tragically shot dead. Embassy & @IndianAssoMex are in touch with his family & extending all support. We're demanding Mexican authorities to apprehend the culprits at the soonest. pic.twitter.com/VpLaDHwTEA India in Mexico (@IndEmbMexico) August 19, 2023

In the extremely regrettable and tragic death of an Indian national shot by unknown assailants in Mexico City, the Embassy is in constant touch with the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits at the earliest and give justice to the family of the victim, the embassy further added.

The Indian Embassy in Mexico also said that they are in touch with the family and are extending all support.

Indian ambassador to Mexico Pankaj Sharma condemned the murder and assured the Indian community in Mexico that the embassy and law enforcement agencies are working together to apprehend the criminals.

At least 8,000 Indian citizens live in Mexico and that a fifth of them are in Mexico City.

The Capital Prosecutors Office has announced that it is working hand in hand with the Indian embassy, to try to clarify the homicide of the Indian citizen who was murdered on Viaducto.
With Indian flags and thalis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a grand welcome as he landed in South Africas Johannesburg for a a three-day official visit to attend the 15th BRICS summit on Tuesday.

Modi was welcomed by South Africas Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base where he received a ceremonial guard of honour.

A large number of Indian community members holding Indian flags were there to meet the prime minister as he landed. Videos showed PM Modi shaking hands, and clicking pictures with the people.

#WATCH | Indian diaspora outside Johannesburg hotel eagerly await the arrival of PM ModiPM Modi is on a three-day visit to South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit pic.twitter.com/fqjbAqCLkq  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

After landing, the prime minister left for the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, which is the venue of the BRICS Summit.

Even here, he met and greeted the Indian diaspora, some of whom were carrying musical instruments to welcome PM Modi at the hotel.

#WATCH | Arya Samaj South Africa President Arthi Nanakchand Shanand and a member of the Indian community tie rakhis to PM Modi in South Africas Johannesburg pic.twitter.com/AWwIxHeASe ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

PM Modis schedule

Modi is set to attend the 15th BRICS Summit and he will engage in plurilateral and as well bilateral settings with leaders of BRICS and other invited countries.

At the hotel, he met with local and expatriate Indian community members and is is expected to view a model of the huge Swaminarayan Mandir which has been under construction since 2017.

Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, Modi had said before leaving.

This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he added.

Modi is set to take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events.

BRICS Summit

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.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.

With PTI inputs
Former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the nation after 15 years in self-exile. After landing in the Don Mueang airport on Tuesday morning, he made a brief appearance in front of the supporters and media persons.

Along with thousands of supporters, key political figures from the Pheu Thai Party were awaiting to welcome him outside the private jet terminal at the airport in Bangkok, the Bangkok Post said in a report.

Donning a dark blue suit and pink necktie, Shinawatra, 74, walked out of the private jet terminal with his three children. The former prime minister paused for a brief moment and paid his respects to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in front of his portrait.

Thaksin Shinawatra then put his hands together in a wai (a Thai form of greeting very similar to namaste) and greeted his supporters.

Thaksin has been living in a self-imposed exile after being overthrown by a military coup in September 2006. The Bangkok Post said that Thaksin will be taken to the Thailand Supreme Court near Grand Palace to undergo procedures concerning his punishment.

He is likely to be put in detention.

Thaksin Shinawatra was convicted in four criminal cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one. The jail sentences against him total 10 years, according to news agency AFP.

Thaksin was found guilty of abuse of authority in a land purchase case where he bought a state-owned land in Ratchadaphisek at a price below the market value through his then wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra. However, the 10-year statute of limitations on the court ruling ended in October 2018.

Thaksin also faces a two-year prison sentence for wrongdoing in connection with the two- and three-digit lottery case. The third case led to a three-year prison sentence for abusing his authority and issuing 4 billion baht in loans to Myanmar using the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Thailand.

The money allotted was used to purchase equipment telecoms giant Shin Corp which was owned by him.

The fourth case led to a five-year prison sentence for him as a Thailand court found him guilty of owning shares in Shin Corp through nominees which is a violation of the rules for individuals holding public office.

The statute of limitations for the court decisions on second, third and fourth cases are yet to expire.

However, Thaksin Shinawatras supporters were more than happy to see him return. Nobody had ever stood up to a coup. Everyone (else) who was overthrown in a coup faded out and got out of politics. The guy is a fighter, an associate of the former owner of English Premier League club Manchester City told news agency AFP.

I am a real Red Shirt  whenever they want our support, I will always be there for them. I dont only like him but I love him, Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nongkai, in the countrys northeast, told AFP.
Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned from 15 years in exile on Tuesday and was immediately jailed, but his time behind bars could be cut short with his party on the cusp of winning back power.

The divisive billionaire landed in a private jet at Bangkoks Don Mueang airport at 9 am (0200 GMT), to be greeted by hundreds of noisy Red Shirt supporters waving banners and singing songs.

Thaksin, 74, emerged briefly from the terminal building to bow and offer a floral garland at a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a mark of respect before waving to supporters.

More Red Shirts lined the streets as the former Manchester City owner was taken to the Supreme Court.

There, he was ordered to serve eight years for three convictions passed in his absence  one linked to his former Shin Corp company, another linked to a bank loan, and a lottery case.

But it was unclear how long Thaksin would stay in jail.

He returned hours before parliament began voting on whether to approve business tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister at the head of a coalition led by the Pheu Thai party  the latest incarnation of Thaksins political movement.

The timing of Thaksins return, with his party on the verge of assuming power, has led many to speculate that a backroom deal has been done to allow him leniency.

Loved and loathed

Thaksin has said he was willing to face justice in order to return home and see his grandchildren  though he has long maintained the criminal charges against him are politically motivated.

I would like to request permission to return to live on Thai soil and share the air with my fellow Thai brothers and sisters, he posted Monday on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X.

For all his long absence from the country, Thaksin remains Thailands most influential  and controversial  politician of modern times.

His career has included two election victories, defeat in a coup, criminal charges and the long years of self-imposed exile.

Loved by the rural poor for policies including cheap healthcare and the minimum wage, he is reviled by the pro-military and royalist elite who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to Thai social order.

Parties linked to Thaksin have dominated elections since 2001  until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

Hundreds of Red Shirts waited through the night at the airport to welcome him with songs and banners  most decked out in their usual crimson colours.

I am a real Red Shirt  whenever they want our support, I will always be there for them, Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nongkai, in the countrys northeast, told AFP.

I dont only like him but I love him.

The Department of Corrections said Thaksin had been isolated in prison because of health problems, including heart and lung complaints, but his family would be able to visit him after five days.

Asked about the possibility of a royal pardon, the deputy director of the Department of Corrections Sithi Suthiwong told reporters the process took about one to two months, if the documents are sufficient.

Relevant parties can apply for the royal pardon procedure. We will hand it to the justice minister and then the prime minister passes it to the Privy Council, he said.

PM vote

After Thaksin was put behind bars, at around 3:20 pm, parliament began voting on whether to confirm Srettha as prime minister  and end three months of political deadlock.

MFP beat Pheu Thai into second place in Mays polls.

But MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become PM sunk by conservative junta-appointed senators, who were spooked by his partys determination to reform royal insult laws and tackle business monopolies.

After MFP dropped out, Pheu Thai cooked up a controversial coalition of a dozen parties including those of former coup-makers who ousted Thaksins sister Yingluck as PM in 2014.

The partnership has outraged many Pheu Thai supporters and Aaron Connelly, a Southeast Asian politics expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the party would expect a payoff.

If he (Thaksin) doesnt receive a royal pardon within a certain amount of time then they might begin to question whether they entered a coalition under false pretences, he told AFP.
The United States said Tuesday it was imposing visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing forced assimilation of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families.

In the latest of a series of US moves on Beijing despite a resumption of high-level dialogue, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would restrict visas to Chinese officials behind the policy of state boarding schools.

These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibets distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans, Blinken said in a statement.

We urge PRC authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and throughout other parts of the PRC, he said, referring to the Peoples Republic of China.

The United States since 2021 has accused China of waging genocide in another region, Xinjiang, through what US officials, rights groups and witnesses say is a vast network of forced labor camps. China denies the charge.

A State Department spokesperson said the new restrictions would apply to current and former officials involved in education policy in Tibet but did not give further details, citing US confidentiality laws on visa records.

The United States separately imposed sanctions in December on two top-ranking Chinese officials, Wu Yingjie and Zhang Hongbo, over what Washington said were widespread human rights violations in Tibet.

 Forced integration? 

Blinken in his statement cited a figure given in February by three UN experts who said that around one million Tibetan children have been forcibly removed into boarding schools.

The program appears aimed at unwillingly integrating Tibetans into Chinas majority Han culture, with compulsory education in Mandarin and no instruction culturally relevant to the Buddhist-majority Himalayan region, the special rapporteurs said.

A separate report this year from UN experts said that hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have also been forced out of traditional rural life into low-skill vocational training as a pretext to undermine their identity.

The Chinese foreign ministry called the report completely unfounded and said the Tibet region enjoys social stability, economic development, ethnic unity, religious harmony, and people live and work in peace.

The International Campaign for Tibet, a pressure group close to the regions spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, applauded Blinkens action against the unconscionable separation of children.

As the Dalai Lama often says, Tibetan culture, based on peace and compassion, has value to offer to the entire world, said the groups president, Tencho Gyatso.

This boarding school program targets the most vulnerable and impressionable minds and is aimed at converting Tibetans into Chinese, cementing the Chinese governments control over Tibet and annihilating the Tibetan culture and way of life, she said.

Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which says it peacefully liberated the rugged plateau in 1951 and brought infrastructure and education to the previously underdeveloped region.

The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959, has won a global following through his spiritual teachings, raising awareness on Tibet.

But the charismatic monk is 88 and has slowed his travels. The Dalai Lama has said he may break Buddhist tradition and pick his own reincarnation or declare the institution over, fearing officially atheist Beijing will identify and groom a pliant successor.
US President Joe Biden will visit India to attend the G20 summit next month, marking his first trip to the country after becoming president. Biden will urge reforms to the IMF and World Bank that will better serve developing country needs at the G20 summit in New Delhi next month, the White House said Tuesday.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the two need to offer a better alternative for development support and financing to what he called Chinas coercive and unsustainable lending through Beijings Belt and Road Initiative.

At the G20, Biden will really focus a lot of his energy while he is there on the modernization of the multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and the IMF, he said.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will travel to New Delhi from September 7-10 to attend the G20 Leaders Summit.

President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putins war in Ukraine, and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges.

While in New Delhi, President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Modis leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026, read the statement.

G20: Delhi Govt Offices, All Schools to Remain Shut on September 8-10

All Delhi government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) offices as well as schools and colleges will remain shut from September 8 till September 10 in the view of G20 summit in the national capital.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal approved the proposal to declare a public holiday from September 8-10. Banks and commercial establishments, including markets, in the New Delhi district will be shut during these three days.

All commercial and business establishments, including banks and financial institutions, located within the jurisdiction of the New Delhi police district will remain closed on September 8-10.

G20: 35 Hotels in New Delhi, NCR Booked for Sept 9-10 Meet

A total of 35 hotels in New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have been booked by different missions and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for guests and dignitaries who will arrive for the G20 summit on September 9 and 10, according to local sources.

The hotels are in New Delhi, South Delhi and Aerocity. The war between Russia and Ukraine is set to be a topic of discussion at the G20 meet, News18 had earlier reported, citing a US State Department official. Leaders of the G20, including US President Joe Biden, are scheduled to convene in New Delhi.

Delhi Govt Offices, All Schools to Remain Shut on September 8-10 in View of G20 Summit

According to the G20 website, the 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

Sources said that the top five-star hotels, namely Taj Mahal, Taj Palace, Maurya Sheraton, Le Meridien, Shangri-La, Imperial, Oberoi and Leela, will host the top dignitaries of the world.

Top sources say Biden is likely to stay at ITC Maurya, Chinas President Xi Jinping is likely to stay at Taj Palace, Taj Maan Singh will host dignitaries from the UAE, Saudi dignitaries will stay at Leela and Le Meridien will host different organisations.

These hotels will be manned by the Delhi Police as the first access control squad for the VIPs and a Deputy Commissioner of Police-level officer will oversee the operations.

A G20 Leaders Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi summit, stating leaders commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.
PM Modi Visits South Africa and Greece: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday released a video shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece.

 As PM @narendramodi is heading to Johannesburg, take a look at what PMs visit to South Africa & Greece has in store. pic.twitter.com/H9PiW1592C Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 22, 2023

PM Modi will attend the BRICS leadership summit in South Africas Johannesburg. The BRICS Summit is being held under South Africas chairship this year.

The video highlighted that this is the 10th time that Prime Minister Modi will attend the BRICS Summit. While the 2020, 2021 and 2022 editions of the BRICS leadership summit were held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, PM Modi attended the BRICS summits in 2018 in Johannesburg, 2017 summit in Chinas Xiamen, chaired the 2016 summit in Goa, attended the 2015 summit in Russias Ufa and also attended the 2014 summit in Fortaleza in Brazil.

BRICS Summit LIVE: Catch All the Latest Updates

The BRICS nations represent 42% of the worlds population along with a significant 27% of the global GDP and also accounts for 16% of total global trade. The theme of the summit this year is BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.

India was the president of the BRICS group in 2021 which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the grouping. Over 150 events were held in India under the theme BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus. The chairmanship or the presidency of BRICS is a rotational one.

Under Indias leadership, for the first time, BRICS Digital health summit and 1st BRICS Water Ministers Meeting were held. The BRICS counterterrorism action plan was adopted and the BRICS alliance for green tourism was launched. BRICS agricultural research platform was operationalised and an agreement was signed on BRICS remote sensing satellite constellation.

India also chaired the BRICS summit in 2016 and 2012.

PM Narendra Modi said that he will participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. These events are being held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event. I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg, PM Modi said.

PM Modi Visits Greece

PM Modi will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The video shared by the MEA highlighted that this is the first time PM Modi is visiting Greece and also the first time in 40 years that an Indian Prime Minister has visited Greece.

India and Greece relations date back to 2,500 years ago and formal diplomatic relations were established in 1950. Bilateral trade between Athens and New Delhi stands over $1.94 billion.

India has been involved in infrastructural development in Greece. In February 2020, Indias GMR Airports Ltd was awarded a construction project worth 850 million for an airport in Kasteli, in Greeces Crete Islands whose foundation stone was laid by Greek PM Mitsotakis.

This year the Indian Air Force also participated in the INOCHOS-23 multinational air exercise hosted by Greece. INS Chennai also participated in a Passage Exercise with a Hellenic Naval Ship in Aegean Sea in July this year in Souda Bay, Crete.

Both nations have agreements for cooperation in the fields of science and technology.

Greece is also home to a strong Indian diaspora with over 11,300 Indians living there.
A Georgia sheriff who assaulted TV judge Glenda Hatchett has pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual battery. Not that Bleckley County Sheriff Kristopher Coody will have to do any time for assaulting Hatchett, the first Black woman to preside over a state court in Georgia and lately a celebrity with her own show. He got off with a year on probation, reports ABC News.

An Atlanta attorney, Hatchett starred in the courtroom reality shows "Judge Hatchett" and "The Verdict With Judge Hatchett." She also represented the family of Philando Castile, a black driver who was shot dead by a Minnesota police officer in a Twin Cities suburb, in a highly publicized lawsuit.

In January 2022, she attended a meeting of the Georgia Sheriff's Association as the guest of a retired Georgia sheriff who introduced her to several colleagues. One of the sheriffs she met at the convention hotel's bar outside Atlanta was Coody.

Hatchett said she told Coody she wasn't sure where his home county was located. The sheriff pointed a finger at her chest, she said, and replied: "In the heart of Georgia." She said he then repeated those words as he grabbed her left breast and began squeezing and rubbing it.
A British judge denounced former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby's "deep malevolence and sadism" Monday as he sentenced her to life in prison with no chance of parole for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more. But Justice James Gossand parents who delivered devastating victim impact statementswere speaking to an empty chair. Letby refused to attend the sentencing hearing, and authorities say they plan to change the law so offenders can be forced to attend such hearings, the BBC reports. The 33-year-old is "not just a murderer but a coward, whose failure to face her victims' familiesrefusing to hear their impact statements and society's condemnationis the final insult," tweeted Justice Secretary Alex Chalk.

"We are looking to change the law so offenders can be compelled to attend sentencing hearings," Chalk said. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who also described Letby's behavior as "cowardly," confirmed that a change to the law is being considered. Letby, who murdered the infants in a yearlong rampage at the Countess of Chester hospital, was brought to the Manchester court from her prison cell but remained in a cell beneath the building as parents delivered testimony that left jurors, journalists, and police officers in tears, the Guardian reports. They spoke of how their lives had been destroyed by the death of their infantsand of their horror at learning a nurse was responsible.

Letby's victims included two boys from a set of identical triplets. Their parents told the court that the surviving boy, now 7 years old, still asks about what happened to his brothers. The mother of a premature girl Letby injected with air the day after she was born held a toy rabbit as she told the court about how she had buried her daughter the day before her due date. "My arms, my heart, my life all felt so painfully empty," she said, per the Guardian. "I was desperate to feel her, smell her, cuddle her."

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Some survivors of Letby's attacks now need round-the-clock care. One father described Letby as "the devil" as he described how he had tried to kill his daughter twice, the AP reports. The girl survived, but she is blind, has brain damage, and needs to be fed through a tube. Letby is the fourth woman in the UK to receive what's known in Britain as a "whole life tariff." At Monday's sentencing hearing, her lawyer said that since she maintains she is innocent, there was nothing he could "add in mitigation that was capable of reducing the sentence." (Read more United Kingdom stories.)
The fourth of former President Trump's indictments is unique in one more way : Unlike the first three, he's going to have to post bond in Georgia. After announcing that he would turn himself in on Thursday, Trump took to Truth Social to joke that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must think he's going to flee the country. "I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a 'flight' riskI'd fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again." Trump kept the joke up as he pondered his escape plane.

"Would I be able to take my very 'understated' airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see," he wrote, per Newsweek. "Probably not, I'd be much better off flying commercialI'm sure nobody would recognize me!" Trump will turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail, though the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports he isn't expected to spend much time there. He will, however, be present long enough to be fingerprinted and perhaps to have a mugshot taken. To go free, he'll have to put up $20,000 of his $200,000 bond, per USA Today. In an earlier post, Trump complained that his arrest "is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Biden's DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"

The former president is under new restrictions in regard to his public statements, including social media posts, and is now forbidden from making any that might be construed as witness intimidation or obstruction of justice. That's also true in other cases. But as the Washington Post reports, enforcement might be impossible in the midst of the 2024 campaign. "It's right and good that Judge (Tanya) Chutkan is making it clear that she's not going to focus on politics," former federal prosecutor Kenneth White tells the newspaper, referring to the federal election case against Trump in DC. "That's a very no-nonsense federal judge thing to say. But even if she'd like this to be completely divorced from politics, it can't be. It's steeped in politics." The story digs into the challenges. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
Should weather and ocean conditions cooperate, Japan will start releasing what will ultimately be more than a million tons of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. The country got the green light for the release from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in July from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, which found that "the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea ... would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment." Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final go-ahead Tuesday, reports the AP , which notes the country has maintained the release is a key step in the extremely long process of decommissioning the plant.

The release of treated radioactive wastewater from Japan's tsunami-ruined Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant began Thursday as planned. Despite the controversial nature of the release, plant officials said everything was going smoothly so far, the AP reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency is on hand to make sure IAEA safety standards are being adhered to, and the UN says the agency will continue to have an on-site presence "during the discharge phase."

But as the New York Times reports, critics of the plan abound in the region, from the Chinese government to many South Koreans to Japanese fishing associations, which fear they will be unable to export fish from the area once the water is released. Indeed, the AP reports that following Kishida's announcement, Hong Kong and Macau on Tuesday banned products from Fukushima and nine additional prefectures, while China has upped radiation testing on Japanese fish, which will lengthen the import process. The water, which was pumped through three damaged reactor cores to keep them from melting following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that battered Fukushima, has been kept in tanks since, but those tanks are nearing capacity, reports the BBC.

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It's expected to be released over a 30-year period. Japan says the water has been treated to take out all radioactive elements except for tritium (an isotope hard and prohibitively expensive to separate from water) and will be further diluted to lower those tritium levels before it's released. The Times notes that despite their criticism of the plan, nuclear plants in China and South Korea (as well as the US), also release treated wastewater containing tritium into oceans, with the BBC saying that in some places, the tritium levels are greater than those of the treated Fukushima water. (Read more Fukushima Daiichi stories.)
Former President Trump holds a gargantuan lead over his Republican rivals in national polls. But critics of Trump say we should ignore the national polls and instead focus on those from places such as Iowa where the campaign is currently in full swing. Well, a major poll from Iowa is out from the Des Moines Register, NBC News, and Mediacom, and what does it tells us? Trump still dominates the race, though not by as much. And it includes what the New York Times describes as "glimmers of hope" for his challengers. Highlights:

Trump leads with 42%, ahead of Ron DeSantis at 19%, and Sen. Tim Scott at 9%. Then come Nikki Haley and Mike Pence at 6%, followed by Chris Christie (5%) and Vivek Ramaswamy (4%).

Trump's support seems to have grown since his fourth indictmenthe led DeSantis 38% to 20% in the days before the Georgia charges were unveiled, notes the Register.

But a combined 57% say it's time to replace Trump as the party leader or at least consider other leaders, per NBC.

DeSantis has a higher favorability rating that Trump, though barely, at 66% to 65%, per the Times. The Florida governor has the highest such rating of any candidate.

40% of voters say their minds are made up about a candidate, and most are Trump supporters. Most voters, 52%, say they could be persuaded to back a different candidate than their current favorite.

The Iowa caucuses will take place Jan. 15. Despite Trump's lead, the race may be "closer than it may first seem," J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., which conducted the poll, tells the Register.

(Read more Election 2024 stories.)
A year ago, Wells Enterprises ice cream plant in Dunkirk faced a bleak future, with nearly half of its workers poised to lose their jobs.

Now, with a new owner in place, Wells is preparing for an expansion that will double the facilitys production capacity and eventually lead to the hiring of more than 200 employees and preserve the jobs of the 401 workers who remain at the plant.

The Tuesday announcement is a reversal for the ice cream plant that has been a significant manufacturing employer in Dunkirk for decades. Once the project is completed two years from now, the workforce at the ice cream plant is expected to be nearly as large as it was before the cutbacks began last year.

Just as important, the investment will lead to a new, modern facility that will put the Dunkirk operations on more secure footing as its Italy-based owner, the Ferrero Group, aims to boost Wells sales.

Wells has been growing for years, said Liam Killeen, the CEO. We have been in front of an aggressive and ambitious growth plan for the North American ice cream business. Now that we are under the ownership of the Ferrero Group, that is accelerating.

The outlook was much different for the Wells plant last September, when the company disclosed plans to cut 319 of 643 jobs at a facility that company officials said had become outdated and inefficient.

In early December, Wells Enterprises was acquired by Ferrero. Later that month, the number of layoffs was trimmed by more than 40%, to 183  but that still would result in the elimination of 28% of the plants jobs. Those cuts took effect at the end of 2022. At the time, Wells said the reduced job cuts were unrelated to the ownership change.

But the new owners had other ideas and saw the Dunkirk plant as a valuable facility that could help it increase its sales and serve its Northeast markets.

Killeen said the layoffs made at the end of last year stemmed from struggles with the plants old production technology.

We have an incredibly good team here that has just been fighting an old infrastructure, he said. What really was failing us was the facility. The team themselves do an outstanding job and have proven that point this year.

Wells plans to start building the expansion in fall, and expects to have it operational in late 2025. The company has not yet revealed a dollar figure for the expansion, but it will be a two-story, 250,000 square foot building.

Once the new facility is operational in 2025, the company will continue to add production lines through 2027. In recent years, the existing facility has upgraded its infrastructure to support ice cream production, including for power, wastewater and mix rooms.

Those facilities will be part of the new design, Killeen said. Theyll just be reoriented to supply a new building. In time, the current building will be demolished.Wells produces the Blue Bunny, Halo Top, Bomb Pop and Blue Ribbon Classics ice cream brands.

New York State will provide up to $10 million in Excelsior Jobs program tax credits and a $6 million grant from Empire State Development to support the project, in exchange for meeting job creation and capital investment commitments.

Killeen said he was hopeful Wells can bring back workers who lost their jobs. But Wells doesnt expect to start staffing up until late 2024 to support the new facility, so those opportunities wont come immediately.

This is a technology change for this location, Killeen said. The training and upskilling is going to be a key part of what we prepare for here in the time between. These next two years are really good for us to be able to work our way toward that, so that once we open the new building, well be ready to hit the ground running.
More than three decades after it first called for the end of corporal punishment in schools, the American Academy of Pediatrics is having to repeat itself amid the ongoing hitting of students. Corporal punishment, defined as "the infliction of pain upon a person's body as punishment," should be "abolished in all states by law," according to updated policy from the group of 67,000 pediatricians, per the Messenger . School corporal punishment is banned in at least 128 countries, according to a 2017 study , which named the US, Australia, and South Korea as outliers among industrialized countries. (South Korea has since outlawed the practice .) The AAP says the practice remains legal in public schools in 18 US states and "in private schools in all states except Iowa and New Jersey."

"While 96% of public schools in the US report they do not use corporal punishment, schools that do employ this discipline method account for nearly 70,000 children being struck by school personnel each year," the AAP says. Black children and those with disabilities are disproportionally affected, it adds, noting Black girls are more than three times as likely to be hit than white girls, while Black boys are almost twice as likely to be hit than white boys. According to the 2017 study, children report receiving physical punishment for things like "running in the hallway, sleeping in class, answering questions incorrectly ... [and] failing to pay school fees."

Studies have found "no evidence corporal punishment is effective for achieving behavior improvements," Dr. Mandy Allison, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a co-author of the policy statement, tells CNN. "In fact, we can show a strong association between corporal punishment in school and lower academic achievement, standardized test scores and higher rates of dropout." The AAP says "spanking, hitting, slapping, threatening, insulting, humiliating, or shaming" shouldn't be used at home, either. The updated policy encourages alternative "healthy forms of discipline, such as positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviors, setting limits, redirecting, and setting future expectations." (Read more corporal punishment stories.)
John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former president's 2020 election loss. Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail before being released by authorities, per the AP . Eastman is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, all of whom are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House.

Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University law school in Southern California, was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. Eastman wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to interfere in the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress' joint session on Jan. 6 in order to keep Trump in office. The indictment alleges that Eastman and others pushed to put in place a slate of "alternate" electors falsely certifying that Trump won, and tried to pressure Pence into rejecting or delaying the counting of legitimate electoral votes for Biden.

Eastman's legal team has said the indictment "sets out activity that is political, but not criminal." In a statement, his attorney said: "Lawyers everywhere should be sleepless over this latest stunt to criminalize their advocacy. This is a legal cluster-bomb that leaves unexploded ordinance for lawyers to navigate in perpetuity." Eastman is also facing possible disbarment in California over his efforts to meddle in the election. Trump has any denied any wrongdoing, and characterized the caseand three others he facesas an effort to hurt his 2024 campaign for president.

(Read more John Eastman stories.)
It's the stuff of movies, complete with a happy ending. A man who spent three days stranded on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas was rescued by the US Coast Guard on Friday. Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders credited the stranded sailor for having "the proper safety equipment on [his] vessel. Without seeing the flare, the case may not have had a successful outcome." Indeed, the unnamed mandescribed by NBC News as a 64-year-old Bahamian nationalwas able to fire flares that were spotted, leading to his eventual rescue.

The US Coast Guard dropped food, water, and a radio at the scene, enabling the sailor to communicate to them that he had been "stranded for three days after his vessel became disabled during his voyage." He was picked up from the small island of Cay Sal, which measures less than 6 square miles and is located "in the Straits of Florida north of Cuba and west of the Bahamas," per ABC News. NBC News adds that Coast Guard aircraft regularly patrol the Florida Straits and spotted the man's red flare in the course of doing so. The man has since been transferred to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in good health, per a Coast Guard press release. (Read more stranded stories.)
United Airlines pilot Kenneth Henderson Jones was apparently having a rough day on Aug. 2which was bad news for a parking lot barrier he encountered at Denver International Airport. The 63-year-old pilot was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief after he attacked the exit barrier with a full-sized ax, hitting it 23 times and knocking it off its base, CBS Colorado reports. Video shows that he then scuffled with an airport employee who tried to take the ax away from him. The ax was taken from him after more employees arrived at the scene. Police say Jones told them he "just hit his breaking point." Nobody was injured in the struggle, authorities say. Jones caused an estimated $700 in damage.

A police report states that Jones, who is rated to fly large jets including Boeing 757s and 767s, told officers that he was trying to leave the airport lot but was there were lines of six cars at each of the three exit barriers, Fox News reports. He told police that he grabbed the ax from his car to "get rid of issues for everyone waiting." He was allowed to drive away after speaking to officers and has a court date next month. The airline says Jones "was removed from the schedule and is on leave while United conducts an internal investigation." CBS reports that the pilot has no previous arrest record in Colorado. (Read more Denver International Airport stories.)
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Alabama can enforce a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender children, the second such appellate victory for gender-affirming care restrictions that have been adopted by a growing number of Republican-led states. A three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a judge's temporary injunction against enforcing the law, the AP reports. The judge has scheduled a trial for April 2 on whether to permanently block the law.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the ruling a "significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense." In lifting the injunction, the judges wrote that states have "a compelling interest in protecting children from drugs, particularly those for which there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects." The decision leaves families of transgender children who had been receiving treatment, scrambling for care. The injunction will remain in place until the court issues the mandate, which could take several days. But once it is officially lifted, the attorney general's office will be able to enforce the ban, which threatens doctors with prison time.

Advocacy groups representing families who challenged the Alabama law vowed to continue the fight, saying "parents, not the government, are best situated to make these medical decisions for their children." Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose the bans and experts say treatments are safe if properly administered. Dr. Morissa Ladinsky, a Birmingham pediatrician, said in a statement Monday that she is hopeful "today's decision is just a temporary setback."

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"As a doctor who has treated hundreds of transgender adolescents, I know firsthand the challenges these young people and their families face and the benefits these treatments provide to youth who need them. This is safe, effective, and established medical care. There is no valid reason to ban this care," Ladinsky said. The ruling follows a string of decisions in recent weeks against similar bans. A federal judge in June struck down a similar law in Arkansas, the first state to enact such a ban. Bans have also been temporarily blocked by federal judges in Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky. A federal appeals court has allowed Tennessee's ban, which had been blocked by a federal judge, to take effect. (Read more transgender stories.)
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Theres still plenty of competition for workers across the Buffalo Niagara region.

Even with nearly 12,000 new workers joining the local labor pool over the past two months, the vast majority of them have succeeded in finding jobs, according to data released Tuesday by the state Labor Department.

As a result, the regions unemployment rate remained at an unusually low 3.3% during July, up slightly from 3.2% in June, but below the 3.8% jobless rate of a year ago.

The jobless rate during July was the lowest for that month since at least 1990 and is just the ninth time in the last 33 years that the monthly unemployment rate has been as low as 3.3%.

Its typical for the unemployment rate to rise between May and July as students return home and look for summer jobs, but the increase this year of 0.2% was tied for the smallest since 2015, excluding the pandemic year of 2020, according to Labor Department data.

While the region has yet to regain all of the jobs that were lost during the Covid-19 pandemic  the region has roughly 13,500 fewer jobs than it did in February 2020  the competition for available workers has intensified. And most workers who start looking for jobs, have been able to find one.

That has caused the regions unemployment rate to drop even as the local labor pool has rebounded and now is even bigger than it was before the pandemic. In fact, the regions labor force is bigger than it has been during any month since July 2018.

Thats an encouraging increase because the worker shortage has contributed to the regions sluggish recovery from all the jobs that were lost during the pandemic.

Workers who had stopped looking for jobs often will start looking again if they feel they have a good chance of finding one.

Canisius University economist Julie Anna Golebiewski also has said some older workers who retired during the pandemic may be returning to work after the steep rise in prices over the past two years, which may be squeezing their now-fixed incomes.

The regions labor force grew by more than 10% from May to July, but most of them were able to find jobs, with the number of employed people rising by a little more than 10,000. The number of local workers holding jobs is at its highest level for any month since December 2008, the Labor Department reported.

That allowed the unemployment rate to remain low, with the number of unemployed people growing by 700 but remaining near a historic low.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa commended His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for his efforts to enhance the kingdoms status and competitiveness in various fields, as well as improve the efficiency and quality of the government services delivered to the citizens.

HM the King yesterday received HRH Prince Salman at Al Safriya Palace. His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, HM the Kings Personal Representative, Lieutenant-General His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, National Security Advisor and Royal Guard Commander, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Salman Al Khalifa, Royal Guard Minister, and Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy, were present.

During the meeting, local issues and the ongoing efforts to optimise the kingdoms wide-ranging achievements were reviewed. His Majesty praised the governments pioneering projects across various mega development fields, particularly housing, given their importance to the citizens.

He lauded the outcomes of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Ministers successful visit to the United Kingdom, noting that the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed on the sidelines of the visit will boost the robust Bahrain-UK relations and broaden the long-standing partnership between the two friendly countries.

Referring to the 22nd anniversary of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), HM the King lauded the pioneering role played by the SCW, led by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of HM the King and SCW President, to support and empower Bahraini women, as well as enhance their status and performance in various fields.

HM King Hamad congratulated HRH Princess Sabeeka on the occasion, affirming his pride in the Bahraini womens landmark achievements, and honourable role as essential and effective partners in the kingdoms comprehensive development process.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, affirmed Bahrains commitment to supporting the international communitys and the United Nations efforts towards the UNs Sustainable Development Goals.

HRH Prince Salman made the statement while meeting yesterday with the Minister of Sustainable Development, HE Noor bint Ali Al Khulaif, at Gudaibiya Palace.

During the meeting, His Royal Highness was presented with Bahrains second Voluntary National Review (VNR), which outlines the Kingdoms progress in implementing the UNs Sustainable Development Goals.

The review was introduced at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), which focused on accelerating recovery from COVID-19 and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister commended the efforts of relevant ministries and government agencies in preparing the second VNR, which showcased the Kingdoms SDGs achievements and supports the development of effective sustainability-focused policies and programmes.

Responsibility

His Royal Highness highlighted Team Bahrains responsibility to ensure that citizens remain at the core of all development initiatives, in line with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas directives.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister noted the Kingdoms steadfast commitment to adopt wide-ranging initiatives aimed at overcoming global challenges and furthering sustainable development that benefits all.

His Royal Highness expressed his pride in Team Bahrain for successfully implementing the priorities of the Kingdoms Economic Recovery Plan, which is focused on post-COVID-19 recovery and sustainable development.

This plan has already generated a positive outcome on various economic indicators.

Support

HE Al Khulaif commended HRH Prince Salmans ongoing support for the Kingdoms initiatives in fostering sustainable development to the benefit of all.

Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Cabinet Affairs Minister Hamad bin Faisal Al Malki also attended the meeting.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, today visited the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) and met with the Consort of His Majesty the King and President of the SWC, Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa.

The visit took place to mark the 22nd anniversary of the SCW.

His Royal Highness highlighted Team Bahrain's efforts in advancing the Kingdoms comprehensive development goals, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister noted the executive positions and leadership roles that Bahraini women have attained within Team Bahrain, thanks to the efforts of HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa.

His Royal Highness expressed pride in the progress made by Bahraini women through their creativity and innovation, commending their efforts across public and private sector workstreams.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister emphasised that the SCW's 22nd anniversary is a testament to the accomplishments it has achieved in supporting Bahraini women through its various strategies, programmes, and initiatives, led by HRH Princess Sabeeka.

HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad went on to highlight the SCW's efforts, led by HRH Princess Sabeeka, in realising HM the King's far-reaching vision for Bahraini women's empowerment.
TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Toronto's Le Dolci Culinary Camp's weekly bake sale hosted by kids ages 7-11 is preparing them for back to school while instilling valuable life skills and has raised over one thousand dollars to date. In its thirteenth year, the culinary school's pastry chefs teach kids at the start of each session that they're going to "Bake for Good." The Bake Sale is inspiring young bakers to not only bake yummy treats but also learn about business, charity & entrepreneurialism, preparing them for the school year ahead.

Each week campers prep menus, signage, pricing, discuss the marketing tactics and then bake treats to sell to locals in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood. On Fridays, campers canvas the local neighbourhood and sell the goods with all proceeds benefiting The George Chuvalo Neighbourhood Centre which creates programming for 2SLGBTQI+ youth.

How are they getting ready for school?

During the week, campers discuss pricing, calculate sales, collect money, tally it at the end of the bake sale and then record earnings for the charity. Math skills, team work and creative idea generation are key themes throughout the week.

Founder and Owner, Lisa Sanguedolce says, "Empowering kids with baking and entrepreneurial skills while fostering a sense of charity creates a generation that is not only skilled but also compassionate and community-minded."

Head Pastry Chef Amanda Testani who leads the weekly programming has seen a passion in kids when they know their goodies are going to be doing good. She says,"It's wonderful to see the kids getting so excited each week for the big sale day, it's so cute to hear them shouting "bake sale" to FedEx drivers, locals walking their dogs and joggers on Toronto's West Toronto Rail Path."

The recipient of the kids' efforts is also pleased to be part of this new programming this year, "It is incredible to see the Le Dolci campers engaged and so excited to give back to their local community. We're very grateful for the support of Le Dolci and the young people in their programs." Aliah Schwartz, Manager of George Chuvalo Neighbourhood Centre.

Le Dolci Culinary Classroom's Bake Sale for Good occurs every Friday from 2.30-3.30 until September 1, 2023. Come visit the last two weeks of the bake sale and see these young entrepreneurs in action.

https://www.ledolci.com/pages/summer-camp-for-kids

SOURCE Le Dolci Culinary Classroom

For further information: For media inquiries, interviews, and (cute!) images, please contact: Lisa Sanguedolce, Founder, Le Dolci Culinary Classroom, 416-219-3954, [email protected], www.LeDolci.com
Press Release

August 22, 2023 Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada's statement on the passing of Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Toots Ople It is hard to fathom the impact of Maria Susana "Toots" Ople's passing on the lives of those she dedicated herself to helping- the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Toots fought tirelessly for their cause in recent years, making her a modern hero in their eyes. Toots devoted her life to aiding our OFWs and played a crucial role in bringing attention to government regarding issues such as the "laglag bala scheme", the opening of balikbayan boxes, and extortion schemes at NAIA. Additionally, Toots assisted in securing the release of a Filipino seafarer who was held captive by Somalian pirates for three years, as well as two others who were held hostage in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hindi pa man siya natatalaga sa Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), malaki na at hindi na mabibilang ang naging ambag ni Sec. Ople sa sector ng OFWs at nagawa niya ang mga ito habang pinamumunuan ang Blas F. Ople Policy Center, isang non-profit center na tumutulong sa mga distressed OFWs, biktima ng mga pang-aabuso at diskriminasyon. Mahaba na ang listahan ni Sec. Toots kung sa pagkakawanggawa para sa mga OFW ang pag-uusapan. Since I personally know her, I had no hesitation in endorsing when her ad interim appointment as DMW secretary was presented for confirmation to the Commission on Appointments (CA). I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to work alongside her when I served as the Chairperson for the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, as well as the Congressional Oversight Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COCOWA) during past Congresses. She was a regular attendee at our meetings, always providing her expertise and valuable insights to help refine legislative measures that would be beneficial for our "modern-day heroes." Although she speaks in a gentle and sweet manner, she is a fierce advocate for the welfare of our fellow citizens and workers. I feel that no one could ever fill her shoes in the DMW.
For the last 24 years, Savarino Companies has been one of the most active and visible real estate developers in Western New York, taking on prominent and challenging projects from the redevelopment of the DL&W Terminal to turning a polluted Howell Street site into apartments and converting the former F.N. Burt factory on Seneca Street into stores, restaurants and apartments.

That ended abruptly on Tuesday as one of the regions biggest construction companies announced that its going out of business and laying off 30 employees, after suffering more than $3.3 million in losses and being unable to get new jobs after it was dismissed from a state-funded SUNY construction project.

Savarino swaps land at Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park for new project The deal allows the Buffalo-based developer to advance its plan to create its own business park within the larger complex, including a 45,000-square-foot retail sales, service and warehouse facility for an as-yet unnamed tenant.

Samuel Savarino, founder, owner and CEO of Savarino Companies, said the 23-year-old company will be winding down and ceasing operations, including on several projects in downtown Buffalo and others extending from Niagara County to the Southern Tier.

The shutdown leaves in limbo major new projects that Savarino was involved with, including the DL&W renovation, the Welchs Building in Westfield, the F&M Building in Lockport, and a redevelopment of 1 Howell St. in Buffalo. The closing does not affect Savarino Properties, a separate property management company.

In a statement, the company blamed the shutdown on ongoing and increasing costs stemming from a dormitory renovation project at SUNY Alfred State that its surety bond firm was forced to complete on its behalf, after the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York terminated Savarino for cause.

While the dismissal itself was a blow to Savarino, the financial damage was made even worse because, under the insurance contract, Savarino had to reimburse the surety firm for millions of dollars of completed work that it was never paid for.

In all, Savarino estimates it suffered more than $3.3 million in losses. And with its financial condition and credibility weakened, Savarino also was unable to obtain insurance for new projects.

This has been difficult for us, Savarino said.

The Dormitory Authority accused the firm of failing to comply with the construction schedule for MacKenzie Hall, not correcting certain work that was completed improperly, not managing the staffing of its asbestos subcontractor, and not providing an acceptable plan for using minority and women contractors on the project. It suspended and then fired Savarino in November 2021.

Savarino denied those claims and filed a lawsuit against the Dormitory Authority a year later, accusing the state agency of wrongful termination and breach of contract. It claims that the Dormitory Authority was blaming Savarino for its own disagreements and the deteriorating relationship with its client, Alfred State, over project delays.

For its part, the state agency denied Savarinos allegations. It countersued for $4.85 million in damages.

In the meantime, though, the dispute left Savarino in a financial bind. It has been unable to obtain new surety bonds or alternative performance guarantees for more than $110 million of pending work this year which the company would otherwise have had underway at this time.

How a tax credit is helping turn contaminated sites into new projects From Niagara County to the Southern Tier, the Buffalo-based company owned and led by Samuel J. Savarino and his brother, Robert A. Savarino, has gained a reputation for tackling brownfield cleanup and historic renovation projects.

And without the revenues from those new projects, it would not be possible for the company to operate profitably, Savarino said.

Surety bonds are financial contracts that guarantee that the work will get done, and are almost always required, especially on public projects.

Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the Dormitory Authority, declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Meanwhile, the status of Savarinos pending projects has yet to be determined, the company acknowledged.

The company said it is actively working to achieve the best outcomes for its employees, clients and vendors, and is working with its clients and in some cases its surety to complete work on active projects. Its also making arrangements with replacement contractors to complete work that it was slated to perform.

However, Savarino also is laying off 30 employees, according to a WARN notice filed with the state Labor Department. That includes 20 at its headquarters in Buffalo at 500 Seneca St. one of the projects it previously completed  as well as at 56 Ellicott St. and at locations in Niagara Falls, Olean and Fredonia.

Its a stunning reversal for the firm and family. Over the past two decades, Savarino has gained a reputation for taking on difficult and risky projects that others might avoid. It has taken advantage of brownfield tax credits and other programs to finance construction ventures that often intimidated more traditional developers.

Since its formation, Savarino has completed more than 100 projects in Western New York, including 500 Seneca, the Cobblestone District buildings, Whites Livery Apartments, Holling Press Apartments, Buffalo River Landing, the Explore & More Museum at Canalside, the Olean and Southtowns YMCAs, various school district renovations, and higher education projects for DYouville University, SUNY Fredonia State, SUNY Brockport, Alfred State, Alfred University and University at Buffalo.

But its one of the Alfred State projects that caused the immediate trouble.

According to the lawsuit and a summary provided by Savarino, the Dormitory Authority hired the company as general contractor for the third phase of a project to renovate MacKenzie Hall at Alfred State  including cleanup of asbestos and PCB materials  after Savarino submitted the lowest qualified bid. That phase itself was divided into three parts, with one phase largely slated for completion before the next two portions would begin.

The parties signed the contract for the $18 million project in February 2020, with Savarino providing a standard surety bond from Endurance Assurance Corp. to guarantee the work. Under the contract, the work for Phase 3A was supposed to be substantially completed by Nov. 20, 2020, with Phase 3B to finish a year later and the last part by July 22, 2022.

Savarino started work immediately, but had to halt a month later during the Covid pandemic lockdown. Work was formally suspended for 31 days, but it took Savarino another 30 days  until May 18  to remobilize its subcontractors and workers because of the pandemic.

Those delays resulted in higher expenses for Savarino and its subcontractors, one of whom filed a substantial claim against the construction company. And Savarino warned the Dormitory Authority of other potential delays and cost increases because of decreased productivity and delays in getting or making materials.

The state agency then issued a new schedule for the project. Savarino had issues with the new timetable, but still attempted to follow it, with Phase 3A to be finished by July 23, 2021, and the other two parts to start earlier, by May 17, 2021.

But the company continued to be hindered by the ongoing pandemic, supply chain delays, labor and material shortages, price hikes, more than 60 change orders, and other design issues. And Savarino faced an ever increasing hostility from the Dormitory Authority, which took actions that would undermine and hinder Savarinos performance of its work, the lawsuit filed by the company said.

The state agency fired off a letter to Savarino in March 2021, questioning if some of the work had been performed correctly, and citing issues about timeline and manpower. Savarino responded that the issues had been addressed.

A month later, at the end of April, the agency ordered Savarino to suspend any work on Phase 3B to give Alfred officials the opportunity to assess the best way to proceed with the work. Savarino, though, said the delay was based on the schools desire to continue using dorm rooms that would have been under renovation, and cautioned the Dormitory Authority that costs would continue to rise.

On June 4, 2021, the state notified Savarino that it would not be using the firm for the rest of the work, and then suspended delivery of the furniture for the dorm in July when it was clear Savarino would not finish on time. Instead, Savarino completed the Phase 3A work four months later, on Nov. 3, but was fired a day later, and was then ordered in early December to halt any efforts to complete the last-minute items that remained.

Thats when the Dormitory Authority triggered the surety, demanding that Endurance take over and complete the work. Endurance agreed but asked the state to let it hire Savarino. The agency refused. So Endurance hired a replacement contractor, with Savarino left to cover the bill that ultimately triggered its downfall.
Hudson's Bay Rewards can be earned and redeemed at both Hudson's Bay and Zellers

TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Shopping just got a whole lot more rewarding. Today, Hudson's Bay relaunched Hudson's Bay Rewards, with a new app that brings together the best of customer loyalty programs in a new, fun and valuable Rewards experience. The Hudson's Bay Rewards app delivers exclusive offers personalized to members based on preferences and shopping habits, in-app 'Quests' that take members on a journey for higher returns, access to special events, and other perks.

As always, members earn rewards points by shopping in store or online at Hudson's Bay and Zellers, as well as by using their Hudson's Bay Mastercard anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Shoppers can achieve different levels of membership through a 3-tiered program: Hudson's Bay Rewards, Rewards Plus, and Rewards VIP. The more points earned, the higher the level for increased earn and redemption rates.

New to the program is in-app quests, which are a series of linked milestones that, when all met, trigger a bonus. For example, a quest may be to build a head to toe outfit from Hudson's Bay. The quest can be completed over an extended period of time, and progress can be tracked along the way. Once complete, a bonus is earned.

To redeem, points can be applied instantly to any purchase. Shoppers have access to thousands of national brands across beauty, home, apparel and accessories. Whether shopping back to school for kids, crossing off your Christmas shopping list, picking up the latest lipstick shade or treating yourself to a new Vitamix, no other Canadian loyalty program delivers the category range and brand scope under one roof as does Hudson's Bay Rewards.

"Hudson's Bay was one of the first to introduce a Rewards program in Canada, and since then we have seen tremendous change in how people are shopping, how they are prioritizing their purchases, and what they are looking for in a loyalty program," said Kevin Parry, VP Credit and Loyalty at Hudson's Bay. "We wanted to level up our rewards game - giving our customers an exceptional experience that essentially lets them earn more points faster, to redeem for the things they need and want for themselves and their families, and have some fun while doing it."

The Hudson's Bay Rewards app is available to download for free at the App Store or Google Play.

ABOUT HUDSON'S BAY

Hudson's Bay helps Canadians live their best style of life. Operating thebay.com featuring Marketplace, one of the largest premium life & style platforms in Canada, with a seamless connection to a network of 84 from coast to coast, Hudson's Bay has established a reputation for quality and style through an unrivaled assortment of products and categories including fashion, home, beauty, food concepts and more. Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

Hudson's Bay operates under the HBC brand portfolio. Founded in 1670, HBC is North America's oldest company. The signature stripes are a registered trademark of HBC.

SOURCE The Bay

For further information: MEDIA CONTACT: Tiffany Bourre, DVP, Communications, PR & Heritage, [email protected]
Yves Rocher's New Brand Strategy Reconnects With Its Founding Values By Offering An Enhanced Shopping Experience And Sustainable Pricing Policy To Promote Its Vision Of Beauty; Beauty That Is Accessible, Natural And Respectful To Both The Skin And Planet.

MONTREAL, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Leading botanical beauty brand, Yves Rocher , is pleased to unveil its new brand strategy, Retour Aux Sources, which is set to launch on August 22nd, 2023. Consisting of three overarching pillars, namely: A renewed in-store shopping experience, a redesigned pricing strategy, and a revised loyalty program, the updated strategy aims to reconnect the brand to its founding mission: to offer natural, responsible beauty, by cultivating, revealing and transmitting the incredible power of plants through cosmetics with proven plant power. In addition, the new strategy aims to forge an even deeper and more authentic connection with the customer, whose input was at the heart of this brand repositioning initiative.

Yves Rocher Unveils New Brand Strategy, Retour Aux Sources Reconnecting the Brand with its Roots (CNW Group/Yves Rocher)

As of August 22nd, customers will discover the iconic Breton brand's updated strategy through a revamped in-store experience, a revised pricing structure, and a reworked loyalty program. This refresh was prompted by the brand's existing customers, with whom they maintain a close relationship and with whom they regularly conduct research initiatives. These research initiatives allowed Yves Rocher to gain insight into customers' desire for the brand to refocus on its guiding principles, such as botanical expertise, rather than on what distorts it, such as promotional noise. Building upon this newfound understanding, Yves Rocher's new strategy, Retour Aux Sources, is guided by the overarching objective of reconnecting with the essence of the brand: its mastery of botanicals and its art of formulation, from plant to skin.

The new in-store experience refocuses on Yves Rocher's botanical expertise and commitment to formulation, manufacturing, and sourcing. Starting August 22nd, customers will have the opportunity to discover Yves Rocher's new "Committed Stores" - a redesigned store concept that reflects Yves Rocher's brand identity. These innovative stores will embody Yves Rocher's values by utilizing eco-friendly materials, highlighting the brand's commitments to eco-design, formulation and sustainable sourcing. In addition, the stores will incorporate visually-enhanced communications detailing the manufacturing process of their containers and the commitment to the reduction of plastic use. The aim is to raise awareness for a sustainable future in beauty with a dedicated space for discovery of Yves Rocher's products. These committed stores will also provide a personalized experience for customers through skin and hair diagnostics to identify their specific needs and custom-make them a personalized beauty routine.

The second pillar to Retour Aux Sources is the brand's updated pricing policy, which will take effect both in-store and online. While in the past the brand focused on providing value through promotions, discussions with customers led to the brand realizing that its history and botanical expertise were often overshadowed by this promotional strategy. As such, Yves Rocher undertook a comprehensive reevaluation to align its prices with the brand's definition of beauty: natural, responsible, impactful, and accessible to all. By focusing on softer, more consistent prices rather than promotional noise, Yves Rocher aims to provide customers with a shopping experience rooted in its expertise and values.

The last facet to support Yves Rocher's updated strategy is the introduction of a new in-store-only loyalty program designed to encourage both well-being and nature conservation. The program, which launches in tandem with the former pillars, will allow customers to accumulate points with every purchase and earn extra points for eco-friendly product choices. Customers will then be able to redeem their points for a range of personalized rewards or use their accumulated points to contribute towards planting trees.

Interview opportunities are available upon request.

About Yves Rocher :

With products manufactured in its own factories and grown on 60 hectares of organically farmed fields, Yves Rocher was born in the small village of La Gacilly in Brittany, France, in 1959. As a pioneer of natural cosmetics, Yves Rocher used the village's natural plants as the basis for its products, each with an essential botanical ingredient; a concept that revolutionized the cosmetics industry. Today, Yves Rocher is a leader in responsible botanical products, offering over 1,000 products covering all cosmetic needs, distributed in over 3,000 stores worldwide. For over 60 years, Yves Rocher extracts plant ingredients with absolute precision and diligence, thus becoming a master in the culture of ingredients and an expert in the production of botanical products.

SOURCE Yves Rocher

For further information: Media Contact: Charlotte Courville, [email protected].
Robin Hanson had a lot of tweets about the global fertility crisis. Nextbigfuture has had many articles about the important topic of the fertility crisis.

I will be talking with Robin Hanson this Friday and posting a video recording of the conversation.

World human population projected to peak ~2060-90 at ~10B, then decline. Most of world is now below replacement fertility of 2.1 At 1.0 we then go extinct in ~830yrs, at 1.4, takes ~1660yes. https://t.co/pYNoHLJad4 pic.twitter.com/Nh2oaEGnHR  Robin Hanson (@robinhanson) August 20, 2023

I cite the movie Inception where the Japanese character Saito offers the hope of the main character reuniting with his children by taking a risk. Japan is the nation that is leading the way into a fertility crisis with not enough babies or children. The lack of children and families is increasing the percentage of people who are growing old and dying alone. Kodokushi () or lonely death is a Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time. NLI Research Institute, a Tokyo think tank, estimates that about 30,000 people nationwide die this way each year. However, there is a far larger number of solitary and lonely elderly in Japan. A study on Japanese older adults reported that 31.5% were socially isolated. In addition, it has been reported that 27.0% of older adults in the United Kingdom and 24% of older adults in the United States are socially isolated. People cannot unite with children that they never have. They have to take a leap of faith to have children.

For Japanese women born in 2000, between 31.6% to 39.2% will remain childless throughout their life according to estimates from the Tokyo-based National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS). The statistics in Japan and countries with 1.0 total fertility rate is that 40% of women and 50% of men will be childless. Research in Europe shows that childless individuals in family-oriented countries are more likely to become isolated.

As Inception says, do you want to take a leap of faith or become old filled with regret. Waiting to die alone.

Nextbigfuture has had many articles about the important topic of the fertility crisis. A shrinking and aging population can lead to a permanent global great depression.

The Great Depression was a global event in the 1930s. There are proposed definitions of economic depressions, which are

* a decline in real GDP exceeding 10%, or

* a recession lasting 2 or more years.

I am writing about it because it has already been happening in Japan. Japans population peaked in 2008 at over 128 million and they are now at 122 million and will be under 100 million in 2050. The median age in Japan is now 48 and will be about 55 in 2050. Japans GDP peaked in 1995 at $5.5 trillion. It is now 28 years later and its GDP is 20% less.

Japan was the second biggest economy in the world and is now third and will soon drop to fifth. I am writing about it because I see the math and the population demographics. I see there are too few babies and there are too few women of fertile age. I see the fertile women numbers dropping. This problem is over ten times bigger than climate change. I see the risk to the China and Japanese banks and the global financial system. There is no uncertainties like in some climate science. There is no disputing how many women are in each 5 year bracket of various national population pyramids.

Real estate constitutes about 30% of Chinas GDP, making it the single biggest contributor to the worlds second-largest economy. Japans population decline of 6% from 2008 to 2023 and median age increase from 35 to 48 caused its real estate to halve over the last 25 years. This is less demand with the same supply. If China experiences the same thing or more then its real estate will crash to less than half. China could lose 20-30% of its population and median age from 39 today to 50 in 2050. This alone would be a 15% hit to Chinas GDP.

In 2018, I wrote that the world will need free egg freezing, free IVF and an army of surrogates for each nation.

In 2018, China had about 200,000 babies per year from IVF. I predicted in 2018 that over the next ten years, China will push towards using free egg freezing and free IVF and baby bonus payments to drive up fertility rates. It makes no sense to allow couples to drift into infertility when there is a national baby bust.

In China, maximizing egg freezing and IVF could add 40 million babies per decade from 2030 onwards and 10 million in the 2020s. This would nearly balance out the 2100 population to 1.39 billion. However, free IVF and free egg freezing could still fall short of maintaining desired population levels. The Chinese government of government-controlled hospitals and clinics would then have billions of frozen eggs. 40% of frozen eggs go unused.

The Chinese government will need to choose to recruit domestic or immigrant women to act as surrogates. Those willing women could rent their womb to bring to term selected frozen eggs.

China population is shrinking but more important to population collapse is the number of girls 0-4 is half the number of women who are in 35-39 and aging out of fertility. The biggest problem with China has a fertility rate of 1.09 is that there are only 0.54 fertile daughters produced by the average women. The Fertile women population plummets far faster than overall population.

IF China still has a fertility rate of 1.09 from now to 2050, then its population will drop below 1.1 billion. They will lose more than the entire population of the USA. A drop of over 20% in overall population could halve the working age population. This will be a massive hit to Chinas economy and the world economy.

In 2023, < a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-15/beijing-to-reimburse-ivf-costs-as-china-tackles-plunging-birth-rate">Beijing is making invitro fertilization and other reproductive procedures free as China gets more aggressive handling dropping birth rates. This is as I predicted in 2018.

In 2023, Chinas capital Beijing will pay for IVF and semen storage in its latest move to tackle the countrys shrinking birth rate but some experts warn it wont work. As of July 1, 2023, 16 types of assisted reproduction technology will be available under Beijings health care system. In-vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo transplantation, freezing and storing semen will now be included under basic insurance, said Du Xin, deputy director of Beijings Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau.

A Chinese study has found that using a method called preimplantation DNA methylation screening (PIMS) the live birth rate of assisted reproductive technology increased from less than 30 per cent to 72 per cent. The study, led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shandong University, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Research on May 8.

The ICMART preliminary data also record that globally around 750,000 babies were born from IVF in 2019. This has likely increased to 1 million babies per year in 2023.

China (1 million cycles) and Japan (455,000 cycles in 2019) now account for almost one half of all global IVF cycles, and far outstrip former treatment front runners (USA approximately 280,000 cycles, Spain 129,000 cycles, France 117,000, and Germany 107,000).

10% of all babies born in Denmark are by IVF. China is likely at 4-5% of all births are from IVF.

There are many couples and women who end up involuntarily childless. They overestimate how late they can successfully have children. Free egg freezing at a young age (18-25) for all women and free IVF would mostly prevent involuntary childlessness. IVF can be successful with young eggs for women into their mid-40s.








Former President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been charged with bribery offences relating to her time as Nigerias oil minister, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday.





According to Reuters, the UK police on Tuesday said they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.





Alison-Madueke, 63, has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015. She will appear in court in the British capital on October 2, the NCA said.





Soon after her arrest, her familys lawyer told AFP she would strongly contest corruption allegations that have dogged her during and after her time in former President Goodluck Jonathans government.





Alison-Madueke, in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC.





The head of the NCAs international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said in a statement, We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts.





The NCA said Alison-Madueke allegedly benefited from at least 100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.





The charges also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from top designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.





Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries, Kelly said.





These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation, he added.





Alison-Madueke has been living in the upmarket St Johns Wood area of north London since she was first arrested, and undergone chemotherapy for breast cancer, according to her family.





At the time of her arrest, the NCA said only it had detained five people in London on suspicion of international corruption, without naming those held.





The Nigerian government of Jonathans successor Muhammadu Buhari later confirmed Alison-Maduekes arrest and said its law enforcement agencies were cooperating with their British counterparts.





Former President of Nigeria, Buhari began an anti-corruption drive after taking office.





The NCA said that assets worth millions of pounds in relation to the case have been frozen as part of the investigation.





In March, the agency, which targets international and organised crime, provided evidence to the US Department of Justice allowing them to recover assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Alison-Maduekes alleged corruption.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday ordered the Director-General and CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, to commence a 90-day pre-retirement leave.

The directive takes effect on August 24, 2023, leading to Azizs eventual retirement from service on November 24, 2023.

This was contained in a statement signed by presidential spokesperson Ajure Ngelale.

Tinubu has also approved the appointment of Bisoye Coker-Odusote as the acting Director-General and CEO of NIMC for a 90-day period.

His appointment takes effect on August 24, 2023, after which a full term of four years will begin as the substantive NIMC Director-General/CEO on November 24, 2023.

Furthermore, President Tinubu approved the appointment of Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub as the Director and CEO of the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (DTAC).

This follows the recent expiration of the tenure of the former DTAC Director and CEO, Dr Pius Osunyikanmi.

This appointment takes immediate effect.
Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state, says diplomatic interventions to restore constitutional order in the Niger Republic will succeed.

Abdulsalami spoke on Tuesday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

On Saturday, the former head of state led a delegation which included Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Omar Touray, ECOWAS commission president, to the Niger Republic.

After meeting with deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, Abdulsalami said he would brief Tinubu on the outcome of the discussion.

Speaking with journalists after meeting with Tinubu at the State House, Abdulsalami said the discussion with the Nigers military junta had been very fruitful, expressing hope that positive actions will soon come out of it.

As you are aware, the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government have made me an envoy to Niger Republic and we were there over the weekend to see the military people and discussed to find a way out of the lacuna we find ourselves, he said.

So, thats why Im here this afternoon, together with the president of the ECOWAS commission, to give a report back to Mr President on our discussions in Niger.

I must say that our visit to Niger has been very fruitful and that it has opened an avenue to start talking and hopefully well get somewhere.

Abdulsalami said the coup leaders had also made their points which he has conveyed to the ECOWAS chairperson.

He will now consult with his colleagues and then the ding-dong starts and well get somewhere hopefully, he added.

Hopefully, diplomacy will see the better of this. Nobody wants to go to war, it doesnt pay anybody, but then again, our leaders have said if all fails and I dont think all will fail, well get somewhere well get out of this mess.

After meeting with Abdulsalami, Abdourahamane Tiani, Nigers coup leader, had said the country will return to civilian rule within three years.

However, ECOWAS rejected the proposed transition plan, saying it would no longer accept prolonged transition periods in the sub-region.
Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, says the federal government is committed to lifting 133 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Speaking in Abuja on Monday at a meeting with heads of agencies under the ministry, Edu said this will be achieved through different interventions and initiatives aimed at reducing poverty.

The minister who just assumed office assured Nigerians of her determination to ensure transparency and accountability during her tenure.

What is most important is that we will keep our focus on lifting 133 million Nigerians out of poverty, she said.

We can do it in phases, a step at a time because with determination and strong will, nothing is impossible.

We will also achieve the feat with the strong political backing from His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu and every member of the cabinet.

We will play down on politics, we are here to face the real business of governance.

Edu also said all hands must be on deck to address the rate of poverty in the country.

Different sources of data suggest that we have a population of 200 million Nigerians, which I think we are more than that, the minister said.

Out of this population, the sources indicated that 136 million are extremely poor and that is unacceptable.

We need to bring smiles back to the faces of Nigerians. We must reach out to those who are underserved and renew their hope.

While doing this, we must ensure that we will increase our efforts, be very sincere, transparent and accountable.

Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the permanent secretary of the ministry, assured Edu that they will work as a team to deliver on the mandate of the administration.
READY for PRINT  TW  With Death Notice photo from Aug. 1

Feb. 4, 1938  July 30, 2023 A. Neil Yerkey gave thousands of Western New Yorkers their first taste of the internet 30 years ago when the World Wide Web was just getting off the ground.

A professor in the University at Buffalo School of Information and Library Studies, Mr. Yerkey and UB colleague Jim Gerland developed one of the first networks in the nation that provided free online access Buffalo Freenet.

A pioneer in bringing libraries and information science into the digital age, he died July 30 in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital after a brief illness. He was 85.

Buffalo Freenet, a public service from UBs School of Informatics, evolved into a free website host for more than 600 nonprofit agencies before it switched off in 2012. By that time Mr. Yerkey had opened up more avenues into the cutting edge of technology.

He started new courses to meet the rapid changes in the field and directed the startup of a masters degree program in the School of Informatics.

He came to UB as an assistant professor in 1977 after earning a doctorate from the School of Communication at Kent State University in Ohio.

When the university merged its Department of Communication and Department of Library and Information Studies in 1999, Mr. Yerkey became its acting chairman.

The School of Information and Library Studies had a difficult time getting the funding and equipment necessary to support important and necessary training for our students, he told the UB Reporter magazine in 2006. We were constantly cobbling equipment together and were always short. Since we merged with the Communication Department into the School of Informatics, it has been an entirely different story.

A recipient of the SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence in Teaching, Mr. Yerkey became a professor emeritus in 2006.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Aubrey Neil Yerkey earned a bachelors degree from the University of Akron in 1959 and a masters degree in library science from the former Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1962.

He was assistant coordinator of group services for the Akron Public Library until 1966, when he became librarian for the Goodyear Aerospace Corp. in Akron. He was bibliographer for the University of Akron in 1972-1973, and an assistant professor at Kent State.

In those days of card catalogs, he began to develop an interest in using computerized systems for storing and retrieving information.

Looking for ways to cope with mountains of academic publications, Mr. Yerkey and UB professor emeritus Charles L. Bernier co-authored a book, Cogent Communication: Overcoming Reading Overload, published in 1980.

They proposed terse conclusions, 30-word summaries of scholarly articles that could be fed into computers to help researchers quickly find what they needed.

Were flooded by information, he told Buffalo News reporter Gene Warner.

Mr. Yerkey was a member of the American Library Association, the Special Libraries Association, the American Society for Information Science and the Western New York Library Resources Council.

He was a member of the Western New York Fiddle Club and played Dobro guitar with the bluegrass group Gospel Express.

He was active in Randall Baptist Church in Williamsville, where he was a deacon, an elder and a musician.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, the former Nancy A. Puffenbarger, a retired administrative assistant for Beechwood Continuing Care; a daughter, Ramona Seiden; a son, Paul; two grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

A memorial service was held Aug. 3 in Randall Baptist Church, Williamsville.
The Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has sought the support and cooperation of the paramilitary agencies which are under the supervision of his ministry.





The paramilitary agencies under the ministry include the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.





Tunji-Ojo, who was one of the ministers appointed by President Bola Tinubu and sworn in on Monday, held the maiden meeting, shortly after the swearing-in ceremony.





This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the media aide of the minister, Mr Babatunde Alao and made available to our correspondent in Akure, on Tuesday.





The minister called for synergy among the paramilitary service chiefs, charging them to be up and doing in their respective agencies.





He also warned that he would not hesitate to hold any of them responsible if they fail to rightfully discharge their duties in the agencies, just as the president will hold him accountable if anything went wrong in the ministry.





He said, Just as Mr President will hold me accountable for whatever happens in the Ministry of Interior, I will never hold your subordinates responsible for anything; I will hold you responsible for anything that goes wrong.





Tunji-Ojo reiterated his commitment to delivering on his constitutional mandate in the ministry, stating that he would do his best possible to ensure that the ministry met its set expectations and goals.





I am here to work, but in working we must have a good environment. The work of this ministry affects everyone, whether you are rich or poor.





I dont lead from the back; I lead from the front. We will try, and we will do our best to provide leadership built on the foundation of your support. I am here to make a change and to deliver results, and I need you to help me do that, he declared





In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Oluwatoyi Akinlade, expressed assurance that the staffs of the ministry would always support and cooperate with the minister.





According to the statement, the paramilitary heads at the meeting are, the Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Service , Mr Haliru Nababa; the Acting Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs Adepoju Carol Wura-Ola, the Controller- General of the Federal Fire Service, Mr Abdulganiyu Jaji, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ahmed Audi.
President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with Omar Touray, president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state, at the presidential villa.

The meeting which is being held to discuss the political instability in Niger Republic, also has Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA) to the president, in attendance.

An Abdulsalami-led ECOWAS delegation arrived in Niamey, Nigers capital city, on Saturday, for the blocs final negotiations for a return of power to deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

The delegation included Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and the ECOWAS commission president.

After meeting Ali Lamine Zeine, Nigers prime minister, the emissaries also met with Bazoum.

Although Abdulsalami did not give details of the meeting, the former head of state said he would brief Tinubu, who is the ECOWAS chairperson, on the outcome.

In a late night address, Abdourahamane Tiani, the coup leader, said the country will return to civilian rule within three years.

Tiani gave no details of the plan, noting that only principles for the transition would be decided within 30 days at a dialogue to be hosted by the junta.

However, ECOWAS rejected the proposed transition plan, saying it would no longer accept prolonged transition periods in the sub-region.
Yunusa Tanko, the spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign council, says the party is not considering a merger with other political parties.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Monday, Tanko said the LP is not ruling out a working alliance with other political parties.

A report this week had claimed that Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Obi have begun discussions on the possibility of a merger.

The report claimed that the trio is considering the merger in the event that the presidential tribunal declares a rerun or a fresh election.

Reacting to the report, Tanko said the LP is speaking with other political parties of like minds, adding that merger is out of the question.

When you talk about merger, it means that political parties from different parts of the country come together, submit their documents to INEC and then they will be pronounced as a new political party and that isnt obtainable at the moment, he said.

So, the merger is out of the question technically. But, when you talk about the discussion of possible working alliance with the political parties  very true, that is very possible.

Even before the February 25 elections, there were discussions.

Discussions with political parties of like minds that believe in the ideology and principle of the Labour Party is a welcome development.

We will continue to talk to ourselves. Knowing fully well that Nigeria is at the doldrum of complete decay.

Most political parties that are progressively minded will not allow that particular situation to happen in Nigeria.

The spokesperson refused to disclose the nature or outcome of discussions with other political parties.




Roma manager, Jose Mourinho is believed to be keen on Mason Greenwood after Manchester United released a statement on Monday, announcing the 21-year-old will not play for them again.





According to Mail Sport, the Serie A side are among a number of teams who have contacted United.





Following a five-month internal investigation, the Red Devils deemed that Greenwood had not committed a string of serious offences he had been charged with.





But the club, along with the player, decided that it would be best if he continued his career elsewhere.





It is unlikely that Greenwood will move to another club in England.





Instead, a switch abroad is on the cards with interest from Italy, Turkey and elsewhere.
Muhammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, says his ministry will inform Nigerians of the true picture of the policies of President Bola Tinubu.

Idris spoke on Monday after the inauguration of the recently appointed 45 ministers at the presidential villa, Abuja.

The new information minister said truthfulness is important to give credibility to the various programmes and projects of the Tinubu administration.

He added that proper management of government information is essential for the progress of the country.

As a minister of information and national orientation, I have the duty of telling Nigerians the true picture of what transpired about the various programmes and projects of the administration in all sectors, Idris said.

Being truthful and effective as minister of information is essential to engender the trust of the people on various programmes and projects of the administration.

I cannot say that it is a thankless job because the minister is only expected to truthfully disseminate the activities of the government.

If you do that, then you are free with God and the people.

Earlier on Monday, Tinubu swore in 45 ministers who were recently screened and confirmed by the senate.

Speaking to the new ministers, the president asked them to serve the country with integrity, dignity and deliver in their different assignments.

Tinubu said the assignment before the ministers begins immediately, noting that they must meet the expectations of Nigerians.
Samuel Ortom, the immediate past governor of Benue has congratulated Nyesom Wike and Joseph Utsev on their inauguration as ministers.

On Monday, President Bola Tinubu swore in 45 ministers-designate who were screened and confirmed by the senate.

The ceremony was held at the banquet hall of the presidential villa in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Ortom in a statement by Terver Akase, his media aide, said Wike and Utsev will bring their wealth of experiences to bear on their new appointments.

Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers state is appointed as the FCT minister, while Joseph Utsev, a former appointee of Ortom, is now the minister of water resources.

Ortom also commended Tinubu for finding both politicians worthy to serve in his cabinet, describing them as round pegs in round holes needed for addressing challenges being faced by Nigerians.

He described Wike as a worthy ally who deepened the relationship between Rivers and his state, as well as stood by the Benue people in difficult times.

The former governor added that as a dogged, reliable and seasoned administrator, Wike would bring the desired development to the FCT as minister.

He noted that Utsev who served under him as commissioner for water resources and environment has the requisite experience and capacity to excel as the minister of water resources and sanitation.




The Nigerian Army said troops of 34 Artillery Brigade, operating in 82 Divisions area of responsibility, foiled an attack by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), on its Forward Operating Base at Ukwuorji, along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway.





Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, Director, Army Public Relations, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, said the irredentist fighters attempted the attack on the troops on August 20, 2023, but met their Waterloo when they came under the superior firepower of the vigilant troops.





According to him, the troops neutralised one of the fighters, while two others were arrested and others fled.





According to the statement, the troops recovered a vehicle, mobile phone, machete, nine empty cases of expended 7.62 mm special ammunition, and an empty case of expended 12.7mm ammunition.





In another development, following troops aggressive combat operations against insurgents in the Northeast, one Boko Haram fighter and his wife surrendered to troops of 26 Task Force Brigade Garrison in Gwoza.





The statement said an AK-47 rifle and 10 live rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition were among the items recovered from the Boko Haram fighter who surrendered to the troops.





The statement said further: In a separate operation on August 21, 2023, troops of 1 Brigade Garrison, operating under 8 Divisions area of responsibility, while acting on actionable intelligence, ambushed insurgents who were on a mission to attack Bobo Village in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State.





In a fierce fight with the insurgents, troops eliminated two of the criminals and recovered two AK-47 rifles and four motorcycles.





The statement appealed to law-abiding citizens to support the Nigerian militarys operations to enhance security across the country.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has disclosed why President Bola Tinubu assigned him to the ministry.

Alake said Tinubu assigned him to the ministry because the position was sensitive to Nigerias economic renewal.

He spoke while addressing journalists after his inauguration alongside 45 new ministers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Alake disclosed that he asked the president to assign the ministry to him, contrary to the opinion of the public.

According to Alake: I heard about that matter since the beginning of this administration when I was given the position of Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication, and Strategy.

The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, as you know, is a sensitive position in this period of economic renewal. So, that position was one that I specifically asked Mr President to give me, and he obliged. The ministry is key to the administration, and the president wanted someone that he trusted and believed would deliver effectively.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been accused of working with President Bola Tinubu.

Deji Adeyanju, a sociopolitical activist, made the remark while faulting the PDP for permitting Nyesom Wike to become Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

Following his appointment, Wike said the PDP Acting National Chairman permitted him to join Tinubus government.

However, Adeyanju said the current PDP National Working Committee (NWC) should be sacked.

Tweeting, Adeyanju described the PDP as a useless opposition political party.

According to Adeyanju: PDP is too useless. They are now working with the Tinubu Govt. This NWC must go.

According to Wike, the current Acting Chairman of PDP gave him permission to join Tinubus Govt and PDP Governors sent list of people from their states to Tinubu to appoint as Board Members.

PDP is too useless, God! All the NWC + the clueless Chairman should be sacked immediately. The guys are actually in bed with Tinubu. Can you imagine the revelations by Wike about them.
A 19-year-old driver who struck and killed a pedestrian while street racing in Philadelphia early Tuesday was later taken into custody by in New Jersey by Pennsauken police, authorities said.

Two vehicles were racing on Castor Avenue shortly after midnight when one of the cars hit a man near the corner of Aramingo Avenue, according to Officer Tanya Little, a Philadelphia police spokeswoman.

The driver of the Dodge Charger  Joseph Vannauker  then sped toward Richmond Avenue and across the Betsy Ross Bridge into Pennsauken, where the car was stopped by Pennsauken police, Little said.

Philadelphia police charged Vannauker, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, with homicide by vehicle, murder and reckless driving.

A 16-year-old passenger was treated for an injury to his right hand and forearm at a Philadelphia hospital before being released to his parents.

The pedestrian pronounced dead at 12:25 a.m. has not been identified pending family notification.

The driver of the second car involved in the street race has not been found.

Pennsauken police couldnt be reached Tuesday morning.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
In November, Buffalo police received a tip about a man making concerning statements that prompted them to obtain an extreme risk protection order.

Buffalo SWAT conducted a raid at the mans home on Lincoln Parkway early on the morning of Nov. 12, and announced they found a loaded Pioneer Arms Corp. AK-47 style rifle with several loaded high capacity magazines and a loaded Sig Sauer handgun with several magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

On Monday, Sean M. Brown, 55, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan.

Brown was initially arrested on felony counts of second and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. At the time of his arrest, police said he had 13 previous convictions on his criminal records.

Brown, who has been held on bail since November, was released on his own recognizance pending sentencing at 9:30 a.m. Oct 2. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Detectives with the Buffalo Police Intelligence Unit investigated the report from the community member about the concerning comments. After identifying the suspect, they filed for the protection order under New York States red flag law, which allows law enforcement to seize weapons from people determined to be a risk to themselves or others. A judge signed the order, and a search provision was granted to the police to conduct the seizure.

Police encouraged anyone to report suspicious comments or activity by calling or texting the confidential tip line at 716-847-2255.
Two weeks after the state Attorney General alleged that a municipal court in Cumberland County discriminated against Latino defendants, temporary operation of that court is being transferred to another municipality because of what court officials describe as a staffing shortage.

In a civil rights complaint filed Aug. 8, the state accused Millville Municipal Court of discriminating against Latino defendants by denying them the chance to attend court hearings virtually.

The Attorney Generals Division on Civil Rights launched an investigation earlier this year after former Millville Municipal Court Judge Jason Witcher publicly alleged discrimination was occurring in the court and that his efforts to stop it were stymied.
More than 300 students at a 124-year-old Paterson public school building will be starting the school year elsewhere after part of the first-floor ceiling collapsed, prompting a planned 16-week asbestos cleanup, district officials said.

Paterson Public School No. 3 remains closed until further notice. The school, located at 448 Main Street, enrolls students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

An asbestos abatement project, costing an estimated $2.1 million and involving all 21 classrooms and hallway ceilings, is scheduled to conclude by the first week of January 2024, according to an overview on the school districts website that noted a structural failure of ceilings throughout the building.

The partial ceiling collapse, which did not result in any injuries, was discovered July 28, officials said. Parents were notified Aug. 9 and the indefinite closure was discussed at a school board meeting last week. The district plans to send the 302 students to three other schools.

We are doing our utmost to notify our School 3 parents about the latest information regarding their childs schooling for the beginning of the school year. We want to hear from them and assure families that, despite the situation, their childrens educational experience will not be greatly affected, said Patersons schools Superintendent Laurie Newell.

Students in grades K-2 will be moved to the Dale Avenue School and grades 3-8 to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Complex. A single class for 12 students with mild cognitive impairments will be moved to School 28, officials said.

In addition, officials said that 55 students who were mistakenly enrolled at Public School No. 3 will be enrolled in their neighborhood schools.

The school district announced Monday night that it has scheduled community forums for Tuesday and Aug. 29, both starting at 6 p.m., in the auditorium of Public School No. 2. There is room for up to 200 in the auditorium and the meeting will be livestreamed, officials said.

The plans introduced in the overview given at the last Board of Education meeting were developed with great care. We understand that there are still some concerns, and these forums are going to help our parents better prepare for the opening of school, Assistant Superintendent Cicely Warren said.

Asbestos had been widely used decades ago as a away to provide heat insulation and fire resistance.

Damaged asbestos-containing materials may pose a health risk if fibers are released into the air and inhaled into the lungs, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. When intact and undisturbed, asbestos-containing materials generally do not pose a health risk, the agency states on its website.

Public School No. 3 dates to 1899. The district, in its overview, describes the building as educationally inadequate, and notes that it does not have a standard gym, cafeteria, media center and separate restrooms for employees.

Classes in Paterson will resume Sept. 7.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
A Jersey City man has been arrested on multiple drug charges following a weeks-long narcotics investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutors Office Gangs Task Force, authorities said.

Robert Johnson, of Van Wagenen Avenue, was charged Friday with two counts of possession with the intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school  the pre-K through eighth grade School 23, between Romaine and Van Wagenen avenues  as well as two counts of possession with the intent to distribute within 500 feet of public property, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

Johnson was arrested at his home and taken to the Hudson County jail, pending his first court appearance, which is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 23.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are heading to Massachusetts.

They will perform in Foxborough at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 24 and 26.

Heres everything you need to know to see Springsteen and E Street Band perform live.

Where to buy the cheapest Bruce Springsteen concert tickets

The cheapest last-minute tickets for Springsteens 2023 concerts are on StubHub and Vivid Seats.

As of now, the cheapest ticket for one of Springsteens concerts at Gillette Stadium is $34 on StubHub while some tickets are as high as $9,000.

First-time Vivid Seats users can save $20 on ticket orders over $200 by entering promo code NJ20 at checkout.

Fans also should check out other secondary sites to snag last-minute tickets, like MegaSeats, TicketCity and TicketNetwork.

Where is Bruce Springsteen playing next?

Bruce Springsteen will perform 23 shows around the United States during the tour.

His next shows will be in East Rutherford from Aug. 30-Sept. 3. Tickets are available on sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats, MegaSeats and TicketNetwork.

A complete list of Bruce Springsteens tour dates is available here.

More massive upcoming tours

Bruce Springsteen is not the only artist on a huge tour right now.

Here are a few more upcoming tours you wont want to miss.

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Bruce Springsteen tour 2023: Full schedule, dates, ticket info

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Nicole Iuzzolino can be reached at niuzzolino@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
Two veterans of the Mercer County Prosecutors Office were recently named to top leadership posts.

Jennifer Downing-Mathis was named the first assistant prosecutor and Kathleen Petrucci the deputy first assistant. Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri announced the promotions in separate, recent statements.

Both are career prosecutors who have been with the office since the late 1990s, and each has handled cases in nearly all office units.

Downing-Mathis had been the deputy first assistant prosecutor since 2016. Shes served as chief of the Megans Law and Special Victims units and also has vast experience in executive government administration, grant acquisitions, internal affairs, trial preparation and legal research and analysis, the prosecutors office said in an announcement.

Outside of the office, Downing-Mathis is active with the Eggerts Crossing Civic League, is a past president of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, the National District Attorneys Association and the National Black Prosecutors Association.

Downing-Mathis husband, Lloyd Mathis, is a retired prosecutors lieutenant, and her late father, Robert Downing, was a 25-year Trenton police officer who later served as a Mercer County undersheriff - and was the first Black person to serve in that role.

Petrucci had been the offices administrative assistant prosecutor since September 2021 and currently is the supervisor of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, which shell continue to lead, while picking up oversight of the Major Crimes, Special Investigations and Appellate units.

Petrucci has taught firearms law, drug laws and juvenile justice at the Mercer County and New Jersey State Police academies, and is has lectured at The College of New Jersey and Mercer County Community College.

Downing-Mathis takes over the number two position in the office from Stephanie Katz, who recently retired from the prosecutors office.

From Left, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri, Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Petrucci, and First Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing-Mathis. (Provided photo)

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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com
Two drivers from South Brunswick who took part in an illegal street race on Route 1 in Edison that ended with a crash that killed a passenger in January 2022 have been sentenced.

Daniel Girgis, 18, of the Dayton section of South Brunswick, has been sentenced to three years in state prison while Tyler Dickerson, 19, of the Monmouth Junction section, will spend 364 days in the Middlesex County jail, the county prosecutors office said Tuesday.

A passenger in Girgis car  Diana Somarriba, 18, of South Brunswick  was killed when Girgis struck a vacant building in the area of Route 1 south and Fox Road during the pre-arranged race in which he was driving more than 100 mph, officials said.

Girgis and another passenger in his vehicle suffered minor injuries in the crash. He pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in March after the original juvenile charges were waved up to Superior Court.

Dickerson, who pleaded guilty to assault by auto, will also serve four years probation after being released from jail. Dickerson was originally charged with vehicular homicide and aggravated assault.

Somarriba was a senior at South Brunswick High School, officials said following the Jan. 20, 2022, crash. She planned to join the military after graduation, according to district Superintendent Scott Feder.

Diana Somaribbas passing is a huge loss to South Brunswick High School and our community, Feder wrote in an email to NJ Advance Media last year. She was a very charismatic young lady who was very loyal to her friends who were so important to her. Diana was kind, sweet, and likable and always had a smile on her face. Her dream of graduating from high school and joining the military was cut short due to this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Somaribba family and all of her friends.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Its a shame that Donald Trump canceled that press conference he had planned for Monday in Bedminister.

I had a question I wanted to ask him:

In the 2024 election, do you intend to have just one slate of electors representing you on state ballots? Or will you have two?
Chris Christie is gaining ground in New Hampshire as the leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination prepare to take the stage Wednesday for their first debate.

The former New Jersey governor, with 14% support, has moved into second place in New Hampshire behind Donald Trump, who still leads the pack with 34% of voter support, according to the poll conducted by research firm Echelon Insights in conjunction with the Republican Main Street Partnership.

The survey of 800 likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters showed Christie five points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who slid to fourth in the rankings behind wealthy entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who garnered 11% of voter support.
When former Gov. Chris Christie takes the debate stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, he wont be the only New Jerseyan with a camera pointed at him.

Fox News Martha MacCallum of Summit will be one of the two moderators at the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 presidential election. MacCallum will be joined by Bret Baier for the event in the headlines for weeks because of who wont be on the stage: former President Donald Trump.
A Native American conservation group has acquired a 63-acre property in South Jersey that was home to an ancient indigenous tribe.

The Native American Advancement Corporation took ownership of the former Morningstar Fellowship Church property in Salem County last week. The property, located at 62 Gravely Hill Road in the Burden Hill forest area of Quinton Township, was the homeland of the ancient Cohanzick Lenape people for thousands of years, the group said in a release.

The non-profit group will convert an old church building on the property into a educational, cultural and environmental center known as the Cohanzick Nature Reserve.

The acquisition of the Cohanzick Nature Reserve is a monumental step toward preserving this ancestral homeland and sharing its significance with the broader community, said Tyrese Gould Jacinto, president and CEO of NAAC. We are committed to creating a haven for individuals, a place where traditions are deeply rooted in conservation, and the public can learn about the rich cultural heritage of the Cohanzick Lenape people.

Jacinto and her father, former Chief Mark Quiet Hawk Gould, are citizens of the Nanticoke Lenape Nation and their ancestors were born on the property, the group said.

Cohanzick Nature Reserves education programs will include workshops, tours and hands-on experiences to teach the public about the lands significance.

Tyrese Gould Jacinto, president and CEO of the Native American Advancement Corporation and her father, former Chief Mark "Quiet Hawk" Gould, who are citizens of the Nanticoke Lenape Nation. (Photo Credit: Robin Carter)

The Cohanzick Nature Reserve is more than just a piece of land; it is a living testament to the enduring connection between the Indigenous people and the earth, Jacinto said. We look forward to welcoming everyone to this beautiful place, where the past and the present unite in harmony and where the spirit of the Cohanzick Lenape people lives on.

The NAAP acquired the property along with the NJ DEPs Green Acres program, New Jersey Conservation Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. The land was then transferred to the sole ownership of the NAAP.

The conservation group will be seeking donations from the public in order to fund the Cohanzick Nature Reserves programs.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
A second suspect has been arraigned on charges stemming from a brutal attack on a 41-year-old man Sunday afternoon in the 1500 block of Broadway near Deshler Street in Buffalo, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced.

Demetrius F. Gore, 52, of Buffalo, is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and first-degree gang assault, all Class B violent felonies.

Previously arraigned on the same charges was another suspect, Amari K. Atkins, 27, of Buffalo. Both men are held without bail pending felony hearings Friday morning before Buffalo City Court Judge Phillip Dabney Jr.

The victim, who was stabbed, kicked and beaten about 1:40 p.m. Sunday, was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he is under treatment for serious injuries. A third suspect is being sought.

- Dale Anderson
A man was arrested on Wednesday in the investigation of a residential fire that was determined to be intentionally set, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.

The blaze erupted at a home in Manville on May 15. Police and firefighters responded to a 911 call reporting the fire at 3:43 a.m., officials said.

After the fire was extinguished, police on the scene requested that the Prosecutors Office assist with the investigation.

Investigators then determined that the fire was intentionally set, authorities said.

Prosecutors did not provide an address for the home or say whether it was occupied on the morning of the incident.

Paul Basta, 25, of Manville, was later identified as a suspect and arrested on Wednesday, about three months after the day of the blaze. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated arson and is being held in Somerset County Jail pending detention hearing, officials said.

The Somerset County Prosecutors Office is asking anyone with information about the case to contact its Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or submit anonymous tips using the STOPit mobile app.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
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Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 38F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 38F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
The growing controversy over the nearly 100,000 asylum-seekers who have arrived in New York City  and now, elsewhere in the state, including Erie County  from the southern U.S. border has given Republicans a wedge issue before Novembers elections.

But the migrant controversy is also pitting top New York Democrats against each other as they navigate what has become a political hot potato less than three months before Election Day.

First, as Politico reported, Attorney General Letitia James took the rare step of declining to represent Gov. Kathy Hochul in court over the migrant issue, citing a philosophical difference. It is standard for the attorney general to represent the state  and the governor  in court on most policy issues.

Hochul believes the law requiring New York City to provide shelter to those in need only applies to the Big Apple and not suburban or rural areas of the state. James disagrees.

Politico called James decision not to represent Hochul a politically savvy one for an attorney general who wants to position herself to the left of the more moderate Democratic governor.

That disagreement, though, is nothing compared with the legal elbow-throwing Hochuls new attorney accomplished Wednesday with a 12-page letter faulting New York Mayor Eric Adams response to the influx of migrants.

The leaders of New York City and New York State, where officials say the arrival of migrants has set off a humanitarian crisis, seemed to turn on each other this week, after the state sent a scathing letter accusing the city of resisting its help and being slow to act, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The Buffalo News also obtained a copy of the letter, which makes it clear where Hochul stands on the issue of busing asylum-seekers to other parts of the state, including Western New York.

Many migrants will not willingly move outside of the city, and the state will not sanction a policy of involuntarily relocating individuals or families within or beyond state borders, attorney Faith Gay wrote.

Hochuls lawyer gave as an example a bus the city sent on Aug. 7 with 77 asylum-seekers to Rochester. Thirty of the migrants, she said, refused to get off the bus and returned to New York City.

Gay also suggested that Adams may have gone rogue in busing migrants to counties where they encountered opposition. The letter does not mention specific locations but seems to perfectly describe the recent controversy in Cheektowaga.

In particular, the city chose to send migrants to counties and localities outside of the city with-little-or-no notice to or coordination with the state or those counties and localities. That has created opposition and has led to litigation that might have been mitigated or avoided if the city had acted in concert with the state and with the counties and localities where it sent migrants, the letter stated. Moreover, the citys failure to inform the state of critical incidents that have occurred in shelters outside of the city has compounded these difficulties.

Republicans, meanwhile, continue their efforts to capitalize on the immigration controversy. GOP county executive candidate Chrissy Casilio was on Fox News last week talking about the issue. And similar to Erie County, it has become an issue in the race for Monroe County executive in Rochester, with Republican challenger Mark Assini purchasing online ads criticizing incumbent Democratic County Executive Adam Bello over the issue.

The politics of snow: It was smart for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz to finally relent and agree to release some details from the countys after-action analysis of last years deadly blizzard.

I dont want people thinking were hiding these reports, Poloncarz said on Friday, noting the reports were released with few, if any, redactions. Theres no smoking gun in there.

Initially, Poloncarzs administration balked at Buffalo News reporter Sandra Tans efforts to obtain the reports.

The County Executives Office provided a summary page of 17 bullet points outlining changes the county has made because of the Christmas week blizzard, Tan wrote. In response to Buffalo News questions about why the county wont release its post-blizzard analysis when both the city and the state have, county representatives stated that Poloncarz has already talked about the countys blizzard response efforts.

It wasnt the first time the administration attempted to withhold information about the blizzard from the public. In January, the county refused to release the names of more than 30 people who died in the blizzard but then accidentally disclosed the names in an email to me. County Attorney Jeremy Toth, a Poloncarz appointee, at the time cited privacy concerns and said New York State county health law prevented disclosure of certain medical records and coroners reports.

For Poloncarz, withholding the most recent snow reports from department heads might have been more defensible politically if the state and the city had not already made public their own reports on government response failures during the historic storm.

And what the three-term county executive doesnt need is more negative headlines, with Republicans recently seizing on the controversial issue of migrants from the southern U.S. border being housed in Cheektowaga, where two of the more than 500 asylum-seekers were arrested for allegedly committing sexual assaults at a hotel.

So it was politically smart for Poloncarz to release information about the blizzard response. It gives his opponent, Casilio, one less issue to hammer him on.

Patronage in the pipes: Whether they carry water or sewage, the underground pipes that make up our local plumbing infrastructure always need a lot of tending. And it seems theres always plenty of friends and family members of politicians to do the work.

On the sewer front, the son of Mayor Byron W. Brown has been hired for a $62,000-per-year job as press officer for the Buffalo Sewer Authority.

And in the water world, Chuck Eaton, the longtime chief of staff to Rep. Brian Higgins, was named executive director of the Erie County Water Authority last week. The post pays $175,000 per year.

Eatons hire fueled speculation that Higgins might be getting out of Washington after 18 years in Congress.

But Higgins dismissed the notion that he was stepping down, telling me he plans to run for re-election in 2024. The veteran lawmakers longtime aide Chris Fahey will now serve as his chief of staff.
In this series, Lagniappe presents a different work each week from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from a curator.
They're not harming anyone. Leave them be.

Food vendors are fine as long as it's fair and they're inspected

It's getting too crowded on the neutral ground. The city should crack down

I spend all my time in Metairie

Vote

View Results
Rep. Joe Marino III of Gretna has resigned his Louisiana House seat four months early to take a temporary appointment as 24th Judicial District judge.

Marino, who is not affiliated with a political party, had already passed on seeking reelection on the Oct. 14 ballot. His four-year term in the 85th House District ends Dec. 31, but he quit Monday and the Supreme Court named him a judge pro tempore on Tuesday.

"It was not even on my radar," Marino said, until Associate Justice William Crain called him last week to gauge his interest in the appointment.
Faimon Roberts III covers rural communities in Louisiana. His work is supported by a reporting grant from the Microsoft Journalism Initiative and is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

He can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
Ernest Miller uses a cold bottle of water to try and stay cool in New Orleans, La. Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
As New York State legislators plan their priorities for the next session, our lawmakers face a crucial opportunity to address a pressing issue that burdens small businesses, working families and taxpayers alike  prescription drug fraud. Legislation currently under consideration has the potential to hinder efforts to combat fraud, waste and abuse in the pharmacy industry.

By making it easier for bad actor pharmacies to game the system, these sorts of policies pose a significant threat to patient welfare and will inevitably result in increased prescription drug costs for New York residents.

Pharmacy fraud is an all-too-common problem plaguing our healthcare system. In recent years, New York has witnessed numerous instances of fraudulent activities within the pharmacy industry, illustrating the urgent need for robust measures to combat this pervasive issue. For example, just last year, an investigation uncovered two New Yorkers who were charged with perpetrating a health care fraud scheme amounting to $26 million.

Patients were unwittingly pushed unnecessary medications, and insurance companies were left to bear the financial burden. Additionally, the defendants were accused of engaging in illegal kickbacks, bribes and money laundering related to their scheme. These charges highlight the extent to which pharmacy fraud poses a significant threat to the integrity of our healthcare system.

Each year, pharmacy fraud places an undue strain on our healthcare system and law enforcement, leading to higher costs for patients and taxpayers alike  posing a tangible threat to both patient safety and the affordability of healthcare. Left unchecked, these crimes would result in billions of dollars in additional healthcare expenses and prescription drug coverage costs.

Regrettably, this legislation threatens to undermine these critical efforts by reducing oversight and regulatory measures, which would empower bad actor pharmacies to engage in fraudulent activities with ease. Such a scenario would have devastating consequences for patients who may unknowingly receive unnecessary medications and insurance companies that would face inflated costs.

Our legislators must reject this type of legislation and help law enforcement hold criminals accountable, lower costs and keep New Yorkers safe.
I'm a small business owner in Niagara Falls, and I purchased my first property 30 years ago. We've seen six governors, six mayors, three state senators, five state assemblymen and at least four Directors of USA Niagara Development Corporation come and go. Throughout these years, we've been repeatedly promised change, but apart from some minor reshuffling, little has actually transformed.

Frankly, I've grown weary.

I'm weary of persistent crime.

I'm weary of pervasive blight.

I'm weary of unrelenting weeds.

I'm weary of ceaseless conflicts between city councils and mayors.

I'm weary of local representatives not ardently advocating for Niagara Falls in Albany.

I'm weary of endless feasibility studies.

I'm weary of the constant flow of requests for proposals that, more often than not, do not produce the desired results.

I'm weary of the specter of eminent domain.

I'm weary of ongoing issues with Niagara Falls Redevelopment.

I'm weary of the perennial mention of significant happenings "behind the scenes."

I'm weary of tourists asking, "What happened to Niagara Falls?"

I'm weary of residents from neighboring municipalities asserting that they have no reason to visit Niagara Falls.

I'm weary of state parks, the Bridge Commission and Power Authority failing to contribute more towards the betterment of the region they all inhabit.

I'm weary of the state's reluctance to allocate a larger share of casino revenue to Niagara Falls.

I'm weary of politicians repeatedly saying, "It's complicated, it takes time." We've heard that for decades.

Regrettably, I'm weary of maintaining hope that Niagara Falls will experience meaningful improvement.

Shawn Weber

Niagara Falls
Flames burn a forest during a wildfire in Avantas village, near Alexandroupolis town, in the northeastern Evros region, Greece, on Aug. 21, 2023. (Achilleas Chiras/AP Photo)

ALEXANDROUPOLIS, GreeceFirefighters found the bodies of 18 people while scouring the area of a major wildfire in northeastern Greece burning out of control for a fourth day Tuesday. Authorities were examining whether the group might have been illegal migrants who entered the country through the nearby border with Turkey.

The discovery in the Avanta area of the city of Alexandroupolis came as hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires breaking out across the country, fanned by gale-force winds. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece.

With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires. Another major blaze was burning across Tenerife in Spains Canary Islands for a week, although no injuries or damage to homes was reported.

In Greece, police activated the countrys Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the 18 bodies, which were found near a shack in the Avanta area, Ioannis Artopios, a spokesman for the fire department, said in a televised statement.

Given that there have been no reports of a missing person or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility is being investigated that these are people who had entered the country illegally, Mr. Artopios said.

Alexandroupolis lies near the countrys border with Turkey, along a route often taken by illegal immigrants from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, seeking to enter the European Union.

Avanta, like many nearby villages and settlements, had been under evacuation orders, with push alerts sent to mobile phones.

Overnight, a massive wall of flames raced through forests toward Alexandroupolis, prompting authorities to evacuate another eight villages and the citys hospital. Flames turned the sky over the city red as choking smoke and swirling flecks of ash filled the air.

About 65 of the more than 100 patients in the hospital were transported to a ferry boat docked in the citys port, while others were taken to other hospitals in northern Greece. The ferry later set sail with more than 20 of the patients for the port town of Kavala, where they were to be transferred to another hospital.

Deputy Health Minister Dimitris Vartzopoulos, speaking on Greeces Skai television, said smoke and ash in the air around the Alexandrouplolis hospital were the main reasons behind the decision to evacuate the facility.

We evacuated within four hours, he said.

The coast guard said patrol boats and private vessels evacuated another 40 people by sea from beach areas west of Alexandroupolis and were ferrying them to the citys port.

In the northeastern Evros border region, a fire was burning through forest in a protected national park, with satellite imagery showing smoke from the blaze blanketing much of northern and western Greece.

New fires broke out in several parts of the country Tuesday, including in woodland northwest of Athens and an industrial area on the capitals western fringes.

Small explosions resounded from the industrial area of Aspropyrgos as the flames reached warehouses and factories, while authorities shut down a highway and ordered the evacuation of nearby villages.

With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece appealed for help from the European Unions civil protection mechanism.

Five firefighting planes from Croatia, Germany, and Sweden, and a helicopter, 58 firefighters and nine water tanks from the Czech Republic were heading to Greece Tuesday, while 56 Romanian firefighters and two aircraft from Cyprus arrived Monday. French firefighters were also in Greece, helping tackle a blaze on the island of Evia Monday.

We are mobilizing actually almost one third of the aircraft we have in the rescEU fleet, said EU spokesman Balazs Ujvari.

The fire risk level for several regions, including the wider Athens area, was listed as extreme for a second day Tuesday. Authorities have banned public access to mountains and forests in those regions until at least Wednesday morning and ordered military patrols.

In Spain, firefighters battled to control a wildfire burning for a week on the popular Canary Islands tourist destination of Tenerife. It is estimated that the blaze, which has scorched 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres,) has already burnt a third of Tenerifes woodlands.

The wildfire may be stabilized by tonight, said Tenerife Gov. Rosa Davila, who nonetheless added that the blaze is still active.

More than 12,000 people were evacuated during the past week. Authorities said Tuesday that 1,500 have been able to return to their homes. Authorities have described the fire as the worst in decades on the Atlantic archipelago.

Large parts of Spain were under alert for wildfires due to a heatwave that sent temperatures spiking over 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit.) While Spains south often has extremely high temperatures, the countrys weather agency issued an alert for the northern Basque Country, where temperatures were forecast to reach 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday.

Greeces deadliest wildfire killed 104 people in 2018, at a seaside resort near Athens that residents had not been warned to evacuate. Authorities have since erred on the side of caution, issuing swift mass evacuation orders whenever inhabited areas are under threat.

Last month, a wildfire on the island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of some 20,000 tourists. Days later, two air force pilots were killed when their water-dropping plane crashed while diving low to tackle a blaze on Evia.

In Italy, authorities evacuated 700 people from homes and a campsite on the Tuscan island of Elba after a fire broke out late Monday, while in Turkey, authorities evacuated a small village in northwestern Canakkale Province after a wildfire fanned by strong winds threatened homes. At least six helicopters and five water-dropping planes were deployed.

According to the Italian Society of Environmental Geology, more than 1,100 fires in Europe this summer have consumed 2,842 square kilometers (about 1,100 square miles,) well above an average of 724 fires a year recorded from 20062022. The fires have removed wooded areas capable of absorbing 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.
VALPARAISO  A woman told police that when she told a 43-year-old Portage man she knew that she did not want to engage sexually, he replied, "you're not going to tell me what I can and can't do," according to the arrest report.

Charles Strong is accused of proceeding to pull the woman's head back by her hair, kissing her on the neck and then fondling her.

Strong, who denies the accusations, was taken into custody and charged with a felony count of sexual battery and misdemeanor domestic battery, records show.

"He said he did not put his hands on (the woman) because he is 'not that type of guy,' " police said.

The alleged assault occurred early Monday in the 600 block of Camelot Manor in Portage, police said.

"(The alleged victim) firmly stated no prior to the incident occurring, however, Mr. Strong continued," a charging document says.

UPDATE: Juvenile sexually assaulted by acquaintance after leaving work in downtown Valpo, cops say "(The girl) believed something was wrong as her mother didn't text her to indicate she was receiving an alternative mode of transportation," charges say.

The woman reportedly complained of head pain as a result of the alleged attack, police said.

Strong has been ordered to have no further contact with the alleged victim while his criminal case proceeds, records show.

His case is pending before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode.
GARY  A Chicago man was stabbed at a bus stop in Gary on Saturday, according to Gary Police.

At around 2:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to 45th Avenue and Broadway. Upon arrival to the scene, they encountered the victim, Darryl Mallard, 59, holding a shirt to his head.

Mallard told police he had been stabbed by the suspect, who is described at a Latino male, after a verbal argument became heated, according to Gary Police Lt. Dawn Westerfield.

The suspect fled prior to officers arriving on the scene, police say.

Mallard was taken to Northlake Methodist Hospital with non life threatening injuries.

Anyone with further information on the incident can contact Gary Police Detective Sgt. Mark Salazar at 219-881-1209.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail Carlos Yepez Alec Zima Priestley Williams Thomas Starks James Tamulevicz David Washington Jaquan Shelby Eric Seay Zipporah Purches-Clark Martin Perez III Allen Nawrocki Jack Moore Marcos Mendoza-Castillo Jamal Mills Linda McGee Pablo Lopez Ramone Little Quinton Jones Brian Lindley Joyce Edwards Gregory Fitch Justin Hagensee Lashawn Harris Keith Davis LC Clark Jr. James Davenport Daisy Carrillo Vincent Argandona Andrea Ashalintubbi Jonathan Avina Mahogany Brown Abena Whisenton Jeffrey Stokes Jr. Gregory Thornton Ruben West Zayniah Reese Adriana Rivera Alexander Salgado Edward Moskalick Jr. Andrew Krout Mike Lang Robert Johnson Tyron Johnson Terry Johnson Christie Cortez Timmy Criswell Jr. Cedric Harris Sr. Margaret Johnson Dawn Bridgmon Briana Carter Nedra Bost Douglas Slaton Jr. Chase Romsos Hannah Millard Tyler Pollard Abraham Lane Antonio Cruz Emanuel Echavarria Garcia Lucas Hogan Jose Cervantes Esquivel Erris Charleston
VALPARAISO  A juvenile girl leaving work at a downtown restaurant was lured into a van by a man she knew who then sexually assaulted her before she was able to flee, according to a court document.

Police were led to Fidel Torres, 35, of Valparaiso, who was arrested and charged with a felony count of sexual battery, records show.

"Valparaiso Police confirmed that this is an isolated incident between two individuals that know each other, and that the investigation is ongoing," the department reported. "There is no immediate threat to the public."

The juvenile told police she walked out the backdoor of the restaurant along Lincolnway around 9:45 p.m. Aug. 15 and was headed south toward Indiana Avenue to meet her mother for a ride home, police said.

Torres, who she later told police she knew, allegedly invited her into his parked van and said he was there to drive her home. He then sexually assaulted the juvenile before she fled the vehicle, police said.

"(The girl) believed something was wrong as her mother didn't text her to indicate she was receiving an alternative mode of transportation," charges say.

Man accused of squirting seminal fluid on Portage Walmart shopper, records show The alleged incident occurred around 12:40 p.m. Aug. 14 at the store located at 6087 U.S. 6, according to police.

The juvenile and a coworker passed along the license plate number of the van to police, who identified the owner as Torres. The juvenile and her mother later told police they recognized Torres and the mother provided police with the home address for Torres.

Police contacted Torres by phone and he showed up at the station and was later arrested.

Fidel bonded out of the Porter County Jail after posting $1,500 cash and his case is pending before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer.
PORTAGE  A 69-year-old Portage man, who said he grabbed a handgun during a family dispute because "he did not want things to go any further and get physical," fired the weapon multiple times, resulting in a bullet entering a shared wall with another resident, Portage police said.

Marion Eaton was arrested and faces felony counts of intimidation and criminal recklessness, and misdemeanor pointing a weapon, police said.

Eaton reportedly told police he grabbed the 9mm handgun from a nightstand drawer when the family member began pulling on his clothing during an argument. He said the family member did not strike him during this incident, but had in the past.

Eaton said he pointed the gun toward the ceiling in the kitchen and shot it once, police said. He then walked outside and twice fired the gun into the air.

Trio reminded the hard way that pot is not legal in Indiana like its neighboring states All three men face a felony count of dealing marijuana due to the quantity of the drug discovered, police said.

While a neighbor reported seeing Eaton point the gun at the family member, he denied doing so, according to police.

"(The witness) stated (the family member) kept telling Nelson, 'don't shoot me, don't shoot me,' " police said.

The witness did not report seeing the family member in question hitting or otherwise attacking Eaton.

Police said they were unable to get clear statements from involved family members.

The bullet fired inside the house was found to have entered a wall shared with another resident, police said. The neighbor, who was home at the time and heard the disturbance, did not find any damage to her unit.
PORTAGE  Three men were reminded the hard way recently that while marijuana is legal in Illinois and Michigan, it is not in Indiana, which is sandwiched in between.

Portage police said they stopped a speeding Volkswagen Jetta around 2:38 p.m. Friday along a local stretch of U.S. 20 and the driver, Konstantinos Panagopoulos, 33, of Elmwood Park, Illinois, said he and his two passengers were on their way back from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they went to eat.

Panorama.jpg Thomas Coffey, Matthew Rivera and Konstantinos Panagopoulos

The officer noted a strong smell of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and while Panagopoulos said there was none of the illegal drug inside, the officer said he saw marijuana in the center cup holder.

Panagopoulos refused to let police search the vehicle and a police dog was brought to the scene and alerted officers to the presence of marijuana, according to the arrest report.

UPDATE: Juvenile sexually assaulted by acquaintance after leaving work in downtown Valpo, cops say "(The girl) believed something was wrong as her mother didn't text her to indicate she was receiving an alternative mode of transportation," charges say.

Police said they found two plastic 1-gram tubes containing marijuana cigarettes, two 1-ounce bags of the drug, one 7-gram bag, 60 1-gram THC wax packages and four sales receipts from a cannabis store in Kalamazoo.

Panagopoulos was taken into custody along with passengers Thomas Coffey, 33, of River Grove, Illinois, and Matthew Rivera, 32, of Elmwood, police said.

All three men face a felony count of dealing marijuana due to the quantity of the drug discovered, police said. They also face a misdemeanor count of possessing marijuana.

Their vehicle was reportedly towed away.
VALPARAISO  A jury found a 61-year-old Porter County woman guilty of the "execution style" slaying of her lover.

Karen Sons' guilty verdict was returned Monday afternoon.

Sons was also found guilty of firearm enhancements. Her sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 26.

Earlier Monday, during the trial, Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Armando Salinas leaned back in the witness chair in the front of the courtroom to show jurors how he believes 54-year-old Robert Head was positioned in a recliner when shot to death by Sons "execution style."

Using graphic photos of the shooting scene, Salinas argued that Head's then-girlfriend, Karen Sons, shot him from behind in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.

The description is in stark contrast to claims by defense attorneys Bob and Jesse Harper that Sons shot Head on Dec. 8, 2017, at their Lake Eliza home in self defense.

The trial began last week before Porter Superior Court Judge Mike Fish.

Sons, who showed no obvious reaction to the graphic photos and description Monday, allegedly confessed to the shooting, Salinas said. The question before jurors was whether it was carried out in self defense, which he argued it was not.

Sons' attorneys released a joint statement expressing disappointment in the trial's outcome.

"We are upset by the verdict, we always believed that there were too many unanswered questions regarding the shooting, and we firmly believe Karen acted in self-defense; however, the jury did not agree and believed the state had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt," the statement from Bob and Jesse Harper said.

Salinas repeated claims that co-defendant David Parrish of Portage helped Sons move the body off the chair and found a handgun to supported the claim of self defense.

Pot smoking driver can't hide that scent, Portage police say "The driver rolled down his driver side window and I smelled an overwhelming odor of burnt marijuana emitting from the vehicle," police said.

Parrish is charged with felony counts of assisting a criminal and obstruction of justice.

Salinas said there is no record of Sons attempting to call 911 following the shooting as she claimed. There were also no bullet casings found at the scene and Sons did not report the death for a couple days, police said.

Sons reportedly told police Head pointed a gun at her face and she heard it click, so she pulled the trigger on the rifle she was holding and shot him. Sons shot him in the head, according to court records.

The doctor who conducted the autopsy said the wound suffered by Head was not consistent with the story given by Sons, police said.

Sons told police she stayed at home with Head's body several days, but video evidence shows that she was out using debit cards, prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors believe Sons may have shot and killed Head because he was attempting to redirect his Social Security benefits away from her.

Parrish is accused of looking for a gun that had a serial number that could not be traced back to either Sons or himself, a charging document says.

"David Parrish indicated that he had to help Karen make it look like self-defense, and that he (David) had gone there to help her clean up," police said.

The criminal case against Parrish is pending before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer and a status hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5, records show.
Purdue University Northwest is close to adding a third doctoral program.

The university plans to offer a doctoral degree in psychology, pending approval by the national post-secondary accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission.

In addition, a master's degree in psychology will also be added to the university's curriculum.

According to PNW, the new doctoral program will prepare students to address local needs for mental health resources in Northwest Indiana.

"Mental health resources are critically lacking in our region," said Kenneth C. Holford, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at PNW in a news release.

"We can't wait to welcome our first cohort of graduate students and to continue growing our capacity to meet the mental health needs of Northwest Indiana," said Amanda Zelechoski, a psychology professor.

The first group of psychology doctoral students are expected to start in fall of 2024.

PNW currently offers doctoral degrees in nursing practice, and technology.

Classes at the university began on Monday.

GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week
Roland Johnson was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 14, 1945, to Grace and Roy Johnson. His father was an auto mechanic, his mother a housekeeper. Rolands twin, Rosemary, died in infancy. With nine children,life was a struggle for the Johnson family. Because both parents had to work, the older children had to care for the younger ones.

When it became clear that Roland had been born with an intellectual disability, his parents were urged to put the baby in an institution, the norm at the time. But Rolands parents refused to do that and tried to raise him at home.

His family failed him, LaVerne Cheatham, his closest sibling, said in an interview. It was a sad situation. All of us, including me, didnt give him what he needed. She said of her mother, There wasnt a day that she didnt worry about him.

With public schools unable or unwilling to accommodate him, he stayed at home. In his book, Johnson describes himself as having had an insatiable appetite and a penchant for stealing food from stores and running away. His mother, he wrote, didnt know how to handle me.

To punish him, he said, shed first heat a knife on a stove. Then she put it on my hand and burnt me with it, he wrote. And then she had an iron and she whipped me with the iron cord and made bruises all over my back. I dont blame her for it  I probably needed it, a licking. My mother tried but she couldnt take it anymore.
A Queens man who menaced a peaceful group of Black Lives Matter protesters with a bladed glove and then drove his car at them faces a long prison term after being convicted on nine attempted murder counts and other charges, officials said on Monday.

The man, Frank Cavalluzzi, was found guilty after a two-week jury trial, Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, said in a statement.

Mr. Cavalluzzi, 57, of Flushing, is to be sentenced in October. He faces up to 25 years in prison on each of the attempted murder counts, officials said.

A dangerous man is going to jail, Ms. Katz said. Its a good day for New York and the First Amendment.
For the New York City launch of his new book last Thursday, Sohrab Ahmari, best known as a pugilistic voice of the Trumpist new right, held a dialogue with Bhaskar Sunkara, founder of the socialist journal Jacobin and president of the left-wing magazine The Nation. The talk took place at a packed, sweltering event space on the Lower East Side, before an audience heavy on Twitter (now X) personalities and writers for small magazines. Introducing the discussion, Sunkara said that when Ahmari invited him to participate, he was skeptical. But then he read Ahmaris book, Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty  and What to Do About It, and found, as he explained, surprisingly very little to criticize.

The book surprised me as well. It was only a few years ago that Ahmari, in an attack on my Times colleague David French, called on conservatives to fight the culture war with the aim of defeating the enemy and enjoying the spoils in the form of a public square reordered to the common good and ultimately the Highest Good. Id therefore expected Tyranny, Inc. to be yet another broadside against what the right often calls woke capitalism. Instead, its a scathing critique of capitalism more broadly, at least in its contemporary, market-fundamentalist form.

Summarizing his thesis, Ahmari writes that the general tendency of Tyranny, Inc., is the domination of working- and middle-class people by the owners of capital, the asset-less by the asset-rich. He examines such topics as coercive arbitration agreements that prevent exploited workers from pressing their claims in court, the ruinous privatization of emergency services and the role of hedge funds in destroying local newspapers. He celebrates the achievements of social democracy, which remind us that there once was an alternative  and that there could be one again.

If you squint, you can still see the conservative influence on Tyranny, Inc. Ahmaris litany of neoliberal sins includes, for example, the leasing of wombs via commercial surrogacy. But much of the books analysis feels decidedly leftist. As Sunkara pointed out, the word woke appears only a handful of times, in most cases in reference to the blind spots of the anti-woke right. Reading Tyranny, Inc., I kept wondering how Ahmari had gone from conservative cultural crusader to genuine economic populist and, more important, whether any other social traditionalists could make the same leap.
Instead of taking the most direct route to the beach down a congested street, my Waymo crossed Golden Gate Park and drove down a less congested street, but that added a few minutes to the journey. It puttered most of the way at 29 m.p.h.  one mile per hour under the speed limit  and deferred to other drivers. At one point, it sat for a few minutes behind a car waiting to turn left rather than merging into the right lane to go around that vehicle.

My Waymo pulled into a parking lot six minutes later than it had initially predicted. It glided through the parking lot to a small, empty space where the map on the touch screen showed a circle. Once it pulled into the circle, it stopped.

Youre here, the taxi speakers said. Please make sure its clear before exiting.

As I climbed out of the car, it filled with the meditative electronic music that had greeted me at the start of the drive. Mike arrived shortly after me.

Yiwens car was less direct. At the beginning of her journey, it told her that there would be a two-minute walk to the restaurant from her drop-off point. The car reminded her of that as it arrived and encouraged her to use the app to guide her as she walked to the Beach Chalet.

The Waymo rides were affordable, ranging from $18 to $21, about the same as an Uber. Its going to take years  if not decades  for Waymo to recoup the billions of dollars that it has invested in its service. Though theres no driver, each ride is supported by staff at a Waymo site that can be summoned if a car runs into trouble.
Once Upon a One More Time, a pop musical using the songs of Britney Spears, will close on Broadway on Sept. 3 after opening to mixed reviews and failing to find an audience.

The musical was a costly misfire, capitalized for $20 million at a time when many Broadway shows have been struggling with rising costs and diminished attendance after a pandemic shutdown that made an always challenging industry even more difficult.

Once Upon a One More Time is about a group of fairy tale heroines whose outlook on their familiar stories is shaken when the book club to which they belong encounters a feminist classic, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.

The musical features some of Spearss biggest hits, including Baby One More Time, Toxic and Circus. The songs have several writers but were originally performed and recorded by Spears; the musicals book is by Jon Hartmere and it was directed and choreographed by Keone and Mari Madrid.
A federal appellate panel said Monday that Alabamas ban on hormone treatments and puberty blockers for transgender young people could be enforced, the latest in a series of courtroom setbacks for transgender rights advocates.

The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit said that a district court judge had erred in partly blocking enforcement of Alabamas law, which the states Republican-controlled Legislature passed last year. All three judges hearing the appeal were nominated to their positions by President Donald J. Trump.

Absent a constitutional mandate to the contrary, these types of issues are quintessentially the sort that our system of government reserves to legislative, not judicial, action, Judge Barbara Lagoa wrote in the courts opinion.

Supporters of transgender rights have looked to the courts to block laws like Alabamas, which have rapidly become commonplace in conservative states. More than 20 states now have laws banning or severely restricting such care for minors, most of which were passed this year. Several organizations that brought the challenge to the Alabama law criticized the appellate courts decision on Monday and said in a joint statement that the case is far from over.
A wealthy dentist who was found guilty of fatally shooting his wife on a hunting trip in Zambia in 2016 has been sentenced to life in prison for murder, the Justice Department said on Monday.

The dentist, Lawrence Rudolph, 68, will also serve a concurrent sentence of 20 years for filing fraudulent life insurance claims, and he was ordered to pay more than $4.8 million in restitution and a fine of $2 million, the U.S. attorneys office for the District of Colorado said in a statement.

Lawyers for Dr. Rudolph said on Monday that they planned to appeal the sentencing. Larry is innocent, the lawyers, David O. Markus and Margot Moss, said in a statement. He did not murder his wife.

Image Larry Rudolphs lawyers, David Oscar Markus, left, and his co-counsel, Margot Moss, outside court on Monday after the sentencing. Credit... David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Dr. Rudolph, formerly of Paradise Valley, Ariz., collected nearly $4.9 million in life insurance benefits after his wife died during a trip to Kafue National Park in western Zambia. His wife, Bianca Rudolph, a big game hunter, had been hoping to add a leopard to her trophy collection, according to court documents.
But the transition of power has significant implications for Cambodias future, Southeast Asia and for the United States and China, which are jockeying for influence in the region. One of the main questions surrounding Mr. Hun Manet is whether he may be open to cooperating more closely with the West as he leads a generational change that will bring the internationally educated children of current ministers into power for the first time.

Many Cambodian activists have warned that history is replete with the Western-educated children of autocrats  from Kim Jong-un of North Korea to Bashar al Assad of Syria  going on to rule more harshly than their fathers. The opposition does not expect Mr. Hun Manet to be any different.

In a speech to the National Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Hun Manet said it was necessary to continue leading the country peacefully and securely, and to maintain development and make reforms in all sectors.

Mr. Hun Sen told reporters that it was an ignorant statement to suggest he would lead the country by proxy despite leaving his post and handing power to his son.
For Japan, it is as much a political problem as it is an engineering or environmental one. Despite the determination by the international agency that it was safe to release the water, opponents at home and in neighboring countries have questioned both the government and the agencys motives. When Japans cabinet approved the treated-water plan in 2021, it described the controlled ocean release as the best available disposal option.

Peoples Daily, a state media organization owned by the Communist Party in China, has referred to the treated water as Japans nuclear sewage. And in South Korea, where seafood imports from waters near Fukushima are still banned, an opposition lawmaker warned that no one can tell or predict for sure what the discharging of radioactive materials into the sea over an extended period of time will bring about.

In Japan, both Fukushima and national fisheries associations have said they fear that once Tokyo Electric starts releasing the water, both domestic and international customers may be reluctant to eat fish from the region.

Although it has been a dozen years since the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl forced tens of thousands of people to flee the area around the ruined Fukushima plant, the cleanup is still in an early phase. The government says the water release is likely to take place over a period of 30 years.
Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros on the joint navy drill of US, Japan and Australia

The US-Japan-Australia joint navy drills can act as a deterrent against China's aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea. But diplomacy and politics should still be in the driver's seat of dispute resolution, steering the direction towards absolute respect for the rule of law. Any joint patrol should only serve as reinforcement to the diplomatic means of de-escalating tensions and restoring true peace in the entire South China Sea.
After a three-month delay, Thailands Parliament chose the countrys next prime minister on Tuesday, picking a real estate tycoon from a party seen as acceptable to conservative elites. The move ends, for now, a prolonged period of uncertainty that had pushed the country to the cusp of a political crisis.

The selection of Srettha Thavisin capped a dramatic day in Thailand, where, in the morning, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former premier who was ousted in a coup and has been living in exile since 2006, returned for the first time in 15 years. He was quickly taken into custody, as he was sentenced to prison earlier in connection with three corruption and abuse-of-power cases.

Mr. Srettha is a close ally of Mr. Thaksin, and many analysts had said the former leaders return reflected the degree of confidence that he has in Pheu Thai  the populist party that he founded in 2007 and that Mr. Srettha is part of  to form a government.

Thailand has not named a new prime minister since its general election in May, when Pita Limjaroenrat led his progressive Move Forward Party to victory. Mr. Pitas party had vowed to weaken a law that criminalizes criticism of the monarchy and shrink the military. After the election, he was functionally blocked from office by allies of both institutions.
At least 50 buildings were consumed by wildfires in and around Kelowna, British Columbia, over the past few days, officials said on Monday, warning that the final tally will be higher as their survey of the damage continues.

Were not done yet, and the most damaged neighborhoods are still to come, Jason Brolund, the chief of the fire service in West Kelowna, the suburban community most ravaged by fire, said at a news conference on Monday.

Attempts by crews to assess the extent of the destruction have been slowed by melted street signs, destroyed address markers on houses and impassable roads, as well as by felled power lines and trees, Chief Brolund said.

But since Saturday, he said, a variety of factors have lessened the intensity of the fire, making it easier for fire crews to keep the flames away from buildings. None have been destroyed by the fire for the past 24 hours.
In 2021, British Museum officials were alerted to a potential thief in their ranks.

That year, Ittai Gradel, a Denmark-based dealer in ancient gems, contacted the august London institution with evidence that he said showed that three gems from the museums collections had been offered for sale on eBay.

Museum officials were already aware that something was up with one of those artifacts. Another dealer, Malcolm Hay, had gotten in touch to say he had bought one of the gems but was concerned it was stolen. He returned the jewel to the museum in May 2021.

The thief must have been someone inside the institution, Mr. Gradel said in an email to the British Museum that has been obtained by The New York Times. He was concerned, he added, that the three gems were only the tip of a much larger iceberg.

The British Museum opened an investigation that reached a swift conclusion, according to correspondence seen by The Times: that nothing untoward had happened.
Even before joining the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the curator Denise Murrell was dreaming up an exhibition dedicated to the Harlem Renaissance  one that would unite Black artists dedicated to radical modernity, as she described it, from New York to Paris and beyond.

On Tuesday, the museum announced that very exhibition, The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism. It will open on Feb. 25, run through July 28 and include a trove of paintings from historically Black colleges and universities around the country. The Met said it would be New Yorks first major survey in nearly 40 years dedicated to one of the most influential artistic movements to have originated in the United States during the early 20th century.

Becoming painters of modern life within their own communities was key to what the Harlem artists were attempting, said Murrell, who joined the Met in 2020 and is now its curator at large. It was an act of radical modernity, for example, to make portraits of an elder Black woman who would have been born into enslavement. And to make them in such a dignified way  those images simply did not exist in previous periods.
Deep in the woods of Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, down winding and rutted dirt roads, a summer home built in 1949 by the Modernist architect Marcel Breuer sits perched on stilts. Its cantilevered porch, where friends and family would spend much of their time, once had a clear view across three connected kettle ponds, but saplings that dotted the hillside today tower above the house, blocking sightlines.

The four-bedroom structure, now owned by the architects son, Tamas Breuer, is considered the most significant Modernist house on the Cape and was one of the first completed examples of Breuers Long House design, a simple construction that could be assembled using local materials. It has been left unchanged for decades, a time capsule of architectural history hidden in the wilderness.

But the damp New England weather has taken its toll on the cabinlike building, especially on the north side, where moss and lichen have rotted some of the white cedar cladding and porch rails. A leak in the roof has damaged the birch plywood ceilings in the main living room. And Tamas, who is 80 and likes his privacy  he declined to be interviewed but was welcoming during a tour of the house last week  spends just a month here each year and has wanted to sell the property.
During the first act of Once Upon a One More Time, the Broadway jukebox musical that grooves to the Britney Spears oeuvre, a fairy godmother arrives with a present for Cinderella. A gown? No. Glass slippers? No. Cin has enough already. Instead, her godmother gifts her a copy of Betty Friedans 1963 best seller, The Feminine Mystique.

Its a clumsy gesture in the show, which plans to close next month. (Feminist thought has advanced in 60 years!) And arguably emblematic of a recent spate of Broadway musicals that set feminism to a pop beat, including Six, a zippy modern retelling of the lives of Henry VIIIs six wives; & Juliet, whose protagonist, miraculously alive, embarks on a girls trip of self-discovery; and Bad Cinderella (now closed), a chaotic rejiggering of the classic fairy tale. Aimed at girls and women (historically the majority of Broadway ticket buyers), these shows may be sincere attempts to engage with womens issues  or theyre hollow efforts to capitalize on calls for change. Empty political gestures on Broadway? To quote a song used in two of these shows: Oops!  I did it again.

On a recent morning, Laura Collins-Hughes, contributing theater critic and reporter; Salamishah Tillet, critic at large; and Lindsay Zoladz, pop music critic, gathered to debate facts and fairy tales. They discussed how narrowly these shows define empowerment, if they define it at all, and why Prince Charming gets the best song. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

The recent musicals Six, & Juliet, Bad Cinderella and Once Upon a One More Time take female empowerment as their central theme. Are these shows actually empowering or legibly feminist?
Recent developments in spatial audio  albums old and new being mixed for immersive formats  have made news in the world of pop.

Given the right production process (in the studio) and tech setup (at home), headphone sounds no longer need feel so statically pressed to each ear; instead, they can seem to whiz around your head or beckon from the nape of your neck.

Or simply breathe anew. Whether youre focusing on a stray slide-guitar accent in the Dolby Atmos mix of Taylor Swifts Mine (Taylors Version) or appreciating the serrated details of brass-arrangement filigree in Frank Zappas vintage Big Swifty, the idea is to bring the souped-up, three-dimensional feel of large-speaker arrays into your ears.

But classical music was there decades ago. Deutsche Grammophon and the Philips label both experimented with Quadraphonic  or four-channel releases  in the 1970s. More recently, binaural recordings and mixes, designed to simulate that 3-D feel, have been a delight. Now, though, these and other spatial-production practices are enjoying deeper corporate investment, including head-tracking technology as a feature of Apples newest Beats headphones. (When you move your head while wearing these  with the tracking option enabled  sound-points seem to stay fixed in your 360-degree field, even if you swerve about.)
The way that she is constantly needling Mr. Roper is a takedown of the patriarchy, Baume said in a phone interview. Her subtle undermining of masculine power is very fun and pleasurable to women and to gay men.

The Romp in Providence drew mostly white Gen X and baby boomer women who each paid $10 to peacock about in Mrs. Ropers signature look (tight red perm, floor-sweeping caftans, chunky costume jewelry) and compete in trivia and limbo contests. The ladies got tipsy on the Oh, Stanley, a special cocktail of white rum and grenadine named for one of Mrs. Ropers frequent hubby-shaming chastisements. Think SantaCon but campy and without the street fights.

Nancy Rafi, a 65-year-old retired event planner who co-organized the Romp, said she wasnt surprised tickets sold out quickly. (The money raised went to two charities.) For many women of her generation, she said, Mrs. Roper was a feminist icon.

I loved Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt, said Rafi, who is also a practicing witch. But they were very vanilla to me. Mrs. Roper, she said, was a firecracker.
All passengers were rescued from a cable car in Pakistan

Pakistani security forces said yesterday that they had rescued eight people, including several young students, from a stranded cable car that was left hanging above a mountain valley.

The students, including children ages 10 to 15, were headed to a nearby school in Allai, in the Battagram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, in the morning when two of the cars wires broke. Panic gripped the passengers and their families, who issued urgent pleas for assistance.

A video clip posted on social media showed one person being lifted to safety by a rope attached to a helicopter. But as darkness fell, helicopter operations were suspended, and a zip-line was used instead to rescue those who were still trapped, according to the Pakistani military.

The cable car is a regular mode of transportation for residents of the mountainous northern region. Around 400 to 500 people use it for commuting every day. But such locally built lifts, typically powered by petrol or diesel engines, are privately owned and tend toward relatively ad hoc construction.
This morning, I want to tell you about a story thats difficult to read but also eye-opening. Jen Percy, a contributing writer for The Times Magazine, has spent months reporting on a frequently misunderstood aspect of rape  why victims often freeze rather than scream or fight back.

Jens story opens with a list of examples, some well-known and some from her reporting. I froze, said a woman who was assaulted during a military training exercise. I just absolutely froze, the actor Brooke Shields said, describing how she felt while being raped. I just froze, Lady Gaga said, about being assaulted when she was 19. I was like a dead person, Natassia Malthe, a Norwegian actor, said. One study of rape victims at a Boston hospital found that more than one-third of them reported experiencing a version of this freezing, which in its extreme form is known as tonic immobility.

Researchers say that it is an automatic defensive response with roots in evolutionary behavior. There is a cliche, dealing with a different kind of threat, that captures the same idea: a deer in the headlights. Jen writes:

For more than a century, scientists have studied similar phenomena in animals, and over the years they have been named and renamed  animal hypnosis, death feigning, playing dead, apparent death and thanatosis, an ancient Greek word for putting to death. Tonic immobility is a survival strategy that has been identified across many classes of animals  insects, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals  and draws its evolutionary power from the fact that many predators seem hard-wired to lose interest in dead prey. It is usually triggered by the perception of inescapability or restraint, like the moment a prey finds itself in a predators jaws.

As Amy Arnsten, a neuroscientist at Yale, says, Under stress, your brain disconnects from its more recently evolved circuits and strengthens many of the primitive circuits, and then these unconscious reflexes that are very ancient kick in.

Yet many people remain ignorant of the frequency of freezing during sexual assaults. Instead, friends ask victims why they didnt fight back or yell for help. Doctors and nurses are sometimes confused, too. Most significantly, police officers have long treated reports of freezing as a basis to doubt an assault allegation. That attitude is one reason that such a small portion of reported rapes lead to criminal charges.
Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, will travel to Beijing and Shanghai for a series of meetings next week, becoming the latest Biden official to visit China as the United States seeks to stabilize the relationship between the countries.

Ms. Raimondo will meet with senior Chinese officials and American business leaders between Sunday and next Tuesday, the Department of Commerce said in an announcement Tuesday. The department said Ms. Raimondo was looking forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses and areas for potential cooperation.

The secretary will visit during a period of tensions between Washington and Beijing, and amid extreme volatility in the Chinese economy, which is struggling with stalling growth, a real estate crisis and lackluster consumer confidence.

The Biden administration has dispatched a series of officials to China in recent months in an attempt to restore some stability to the bilateral relationship, after the flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the United States early this year left ties badly frayed.
Averting a strike that could have shaken the U.S. economy, the union representing more than 300,000 United Parcel Service employees announced Tuesday that its members had ratified a new labor agreement with the shipping giant.

The union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said that its UPS members approved the five-year contract with more than 86 percent support.

The Teamsters have said that the agreement includes wage gains of at least $7.50 an hour for current employees over its five-year term. It also raises the minimum pay for part-time workers to $21 an hour from under $17, and raises the top rate for full-time delivery drivers to about $49 on average.

Under the previous contract, which expired on Aug. 1, full-time drivers made an average of about $42 an hour after four years on the job.
After watching Vice Media descend into bankruptcy this spring, a group of journalists from its popular tech brand, Motherboard, decided that the best way to do their work in a financially sustainable way was to strike out on their own.

And so 404 Media was born. The tech publication  founded by Motherboards former editor in chief, Jason Koebler; two of its top editors, Emanuel Maiberg and Samantha Cole; and one of its writers, Joseph Cox  started publishing on Tuesday.

Mr. Maiberg said 404 Media would start with just the four of them and focus on topics they had extensive experience reporting on, including hacking, sex work, niche online communities and the right to repair movement.

Its very much a website by humans for humans about technology, he said. Its not about the business of technology  its about how it impacts real people in the real world.
Why It Matters: The offer aims to address concerns over cloud gaming.

The deal that once faced long odds now appears to be on a path to approval. Britain is the last major holdout standing in the way of completing the blockbuster acquisition.

Microsofts revised offer is an effort to win over the countrys main antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, which said in April that it would to block the merger because of concerns about its impact on so-called cloud gaming, an emerging area of technology that lets people stream games on phones, tablets and other devices, potentially eliminating the need for consoles.

Under the new terms, Microsoft would give Ubisoft control over licensing deals for cloud gaming services for 15 years. This is aimed at preventing Microsoft from launching titles exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, called the offer substantially different from what was put on the table previously, yet cautioned that this is not a green light.

Our goal has not changed, she said in a statement. Any future decision on this new deal will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from open and effective competition driving innovation and choice.

Background: Microsoft has overcome other objections to the deal.

After announcing its intension to buy Activision in January 2022, Microsoft has faced a gantlet of scrutiny, as the deal has become a test of whether regulators around the world would approve a tech megamerger amid concerns about the industrys power. Rivals such as Sony lobbied for it to be blocked.

The acquisition faced an uphill climb after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block it in December and the British authorities said they would likewise try to stop the acquisition.

But Microsoft scored a major victory in May when the European Union approved the deal. And in July, a U.S. federal judge ruled against the F.T.C.s efforts to slow down the deal, leaving only the British authorities as a major obstacle to clear.

Whats Next: A decision is expected by October.

The British regulator said it would issue a decision by Oct. 18, the date that Microsoft has set as a deadline to complete its deal with Activision.
Jackie Savitz, the chief policy officer for Oceana, an ocean conservation nonprofit group, called the rule a big step in getting us back on track but argued offshore oil and gas will never be free of risk.

There is no way we can do enough to prevent an oil spill, it is an inherently risky business and its not a matter of if, but when we will have another one. So a big part of prevention has to be to stop selling new leases, Ms. Savitz said

Republicans and the oil and gas industry are widely expected to challenge the rule, which includes the real-time monitoring of drilling operations and the certification of emergency devices by third parties. The industry has argued that the Biden administrations safety measures are arbitrary and will create economic hardships for oil and gas companies.

The rules come as the Biden administration navigates a complicated landscape of oil and gas regulation. As a candidate, President Biden pledged to stop new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. But legal requirements have compelled him to move ahead with leasing, including plans to drill in 73 million acres of water in the Gulf of Mexico and the approval of the controversial $8 billion Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. At the same time, the administration has approved three major offshore wind projects, moved to bolster wind and solar development on public lands and increased the royalty rates paid by companies that drill on public lands.

On Tuesday the Interior Department also announced it has approved the fourth commercial scale offshore wind farm since the start of the Biden administration. Known as the Revolution Wind project, it would be located off the coast of Rhode Island with a projected capacity of just over 700 megawatts, enough to power nearly 250,000 homes, the Interior Department said. It follows previously-announced projects off the coasts of Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey as well as another approved project off Rhode Island.
Hot, dry and gusty conditions like those that fed this years wildfires in eastern Canada are now at least twice as likely to occur there as they would be in a world that humans hadnt warmed by burning fossil fuels, a team of researchers said Tuesday, providing a first scientific assessment of climate changes role in intensifying the countrys fires.

So far this year, fires have ravaged 37 million acres across nearly every Canadian province and territory. Thats more than twice as large as the amount of Canadian land that burned in any other year on record. Tens of thousands of people  including most of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories  have fled their homes. Smoke has turned the air toxic in cities as far south as Atlanta.

Wildfires can be ignited by lightning or human-related causes such as unattended campfires, downed power lines and arson. The way fires spread and grow is shaped by the structure and composition of the forests and landscape. But heat, rain and snow affect how flammable the trees and brush are, which can determine how intensely blazes burn and how tough they are to put out.

In an analysis issued Tuesday, researchers with the World Weather Attribution initiative estimated that eastern Canada now had a 4 to 5 percent chance, in any given year, of experiencing high-fire-risk conditions as severe or worse than this years. This likelihood is at least double what it would be in a hypothetical world without human-caused climate change, they said. And the probability will increase as nations blanket the planet with more heat-trapping gases.
Ecuador voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to halt oil drilling in one of the most biodiverse places on earth.

With almost all ballots counted, 59 percent of voters sided with the young activists who spent a decade fighting for the referendum, as we wrote last week. It is widely considered to be the first time a countrys citizens voted decisively to leave oil in the ground. In a separate referendum, Ecuadoreans also voted to block mining in a biosphere reserve.

The answer from the Ecuadorean people suggests to us that the people are proposing a different way to live, Monserrat Vasquez, an anti-mining activist, told reporters after the victory was announced.

The referendum requires Petroecuador, the state-owned oiled company, to cease operations on the edge of Yasuni National Park, dismantle its drilling infrastructure, and reforest and restore the drilling site. The oil will keep flowing in dozens of other sites in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
Texas has shipped out the latest busload of migrants who had crossed the border from Mexico, this time sending them into Los Angeles as it was struggling to keep residents safe from Tropical Storm Hilary.

The busload of 37 migrants left the border city of Brownsville at 5 p.m. on Sunday, just as Southern California and much of the surrounding area was in a state of emergency, according to a coalition of advocacy groups that received them. They arrived around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

The largest group of people on the bus were from Venezuela, with the rest from Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Ecuador. Also in the group were 15 children, including a 3-week-old baby.

Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, an aid groups that supports asylum seekers, called the Texas officials decision to send them into a storm zone reckless.
Chefs Table at Brooklyn Fare, a much-praised tasting-menu restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, has been closed since July, when its chef, Cesar Ramirez, was fired by the owner amid a legal battle over the finances and future of the enterprise.

Now the owner, Moneer Issa, says he has hired two European chefs who have worked at the restaurant to replace Mr. Ramirez.

Mr. Issa said Monday that Max Natmessnig, 35, a native of Austria, will be co-executive chef with Marco Prins, 37, who hails from the Netherlands. Both chefs have worked at a number of Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and the United States; they have worked together in Europe and at Chefs Table.

Max and Marco are two of the best chefs in the world, Mr. Issa said. Theyre going to impress a lot of people.
An influential expert panel has given its highest recommendation to an expanded menu of H.I.V. prevention strategies for adults and adolescents, a move that will require private insurers to cover the drugs without a co-pay or deductible under the Affordable Care Act.

The recommendation arrives as the Biden administration is fighting to preserve no-cost coverage of all preventive services under the A.C.A., after a Texas judge ruled the mandate to be unconstitutional.

The ruling was aimed in particular at medications approved for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) to prevent H.I.V., arguing that requiring its coverage violated the religious rights of employers.

In the new recommendations, published on Tuesday in JAMA, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gave its highest or grade A recommendation to three medications approved for PrEP.
For decades, Bob Fass was a comforting voice for nocturnal New Yorkers  the overnight host on WBAI-FM, an early developer and practitioner of free-form radio, opening his phone lines and airwaves to an assortment of searching callers and outlaw entertainers. Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfsons affectionate documentary tells the story of Fasss show and his life (to the limited extent that they were separate at all), via a riveting collection of archival audio recordings, photographs, films and memories, from his early searching days to the loosely organized and occasionally out-of-control gatherings of what he called his cabal of loyal listeners. On Fasss show, insomniacs and night workers and eccentrics found not only a megaphone, but a community; Lovelace and Wolfsons film gently draws the line to contemporary high-tech counterparts, while still longing for the idealism and possibility of the past.
On the second day of his trip to Israel, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City convened privately with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister. Pleasantries were exchanged; vegan honey was sampled.

In fulfilling a rite of passage for New York City mayors, Mr. Adamss trip to Israel has so far seemed like a cross between a diplomatic journey and a spiritual vacation. On Tuesday, he also visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and met with two supporters of the countrys pro-democracy protest movement.

But the mayor made it clear that he had no interest in weighing in on the challenges facing Israel, where Mr. Netanyahus far-right government has moved to limit the powers of Israels judiciary, prompting widespread protests.

I listened, he said of the meetings in a call with reporters. I didnt weigh in. I think the people of Israel will determine their destiny.
As word spread following a report in The New York Times that week, protesters gathered outside the jail and elected officials demanded answers, but prison officials downplayed the situation.

Later that year, two men who had been inside, David Scott and Jeremy Cerda, filed a lawsuit on behalf of all of the affected detainees. The suit accused the warden at the time of a shocking dereliction of his duties to maintain the facility, which had been decaying for years. A subsequent report by the Justice Departments inspector general strongly criticized how officials handled the crisis.

Now a proposed settlement to the lawsuit appears to be moving forward. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have sent a letter to the magistrate judge overseeing the case, Peggy Kuo, asking for an eight-month stay in the case while they try to implement an agreement with prosecutors in the office of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, Breon S. Peace.

Katherine R. Rosenfeld, a lawyer who worked on the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the outage was catastrophic for the people who were in prison at the time.

The agreement says that the lawyers will have to contact the claimants and get a critical mass of them to accept the terms. The United States attorney general, or his designee, and the judge in the case would also have to approve it.
It turns out that the Waldorfs statue wasnt stolen. It was copied, after Hvolsvollur raised money for a tribute to the artist Nina Saemundsson, who created it and grew up nearby. The Waldorf says the original Spirit of Achievement will return when the work on the hotel is completed next year. The dedication coincides with the anniversary of Saemundssons birth 131 years ago today.

Friorik Erlingsson, who lives in Hvolsvollur and coordinated the effort to make a second Spirit, said the project began when his wife, Kristin orardottir, was on the town council about eight years ago. They were discussing the development of our town center, and she came up with the idea that the municipality should contact the Waldorf-Astoria and get a replica of the Spirit of Achievement, he said.

Nothing happened, he said, even though they sent a letter. Then she left the town council and was appointed the district commissioner in the south of Iceland, so she became very busy, he said. I thought that I should try to help.

He wrote more letters and emails and learned that the statue would be taken down for the renovation. He was also told that high-definition three-dimensional scans would be made, and he could get the scans if he simply asked for them. This was very lucky, really, he said. I really dont know how we would have been able to make a replica otherwise.

A foundry in Denmark quoted him an estimate of between $60,000 and $65,000. The Icelandic government put in $30,000, which helped with fund-raising.
But perhaps even more worrying, Japan is setting a precedent for other governments that might be even less transparent. This is dangerous, particularly in Asia, where more than 140 nuclear power reactors are already in operation and, led by growth in China and India, dozens more are either being built, are in the planning stages or have been proposed. If Japan, a globally respected cultural and economic force, can get away with dumping radioactive water, whats to stop other countries?

Theres no denying that Japan and Tepco are in a bind over what to do with the byproducts of the worlds worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986. Melted nuclear fuel debris inside the damaged reactors is being cooled by pumped-in water, which comes into contact with a toxic cocktail of radioactive substances known as radionuclides. To this is added approximately 100 tons of groundwater and rainwater, which leak into the reactor buildings each day and also become contaminated. All of the water is sent through a powerful filtration system to remove much of the radioactivity and is stored on-site in more than 1,000 giant steel tanks. But the amount of water is constantly growing, and Tepco has repeatedly warned that it is running out of storage space at Fukushima.

I have researched or written about Fukushima and affected communities ever since the disaster and have closely followed the official response. As early as 2013, the I.A.E.A. began advising Tepco to consider discharging the water into the sea. The government also looked at other options, such as releasing the water into the air as vapor or injecting it deep underground. But numerous experts and environmental groups have complained that there has been a consistent lack of sufficient public input and that some viable alternatives, such as long-term storage in more robust tanks, were not seriously evaluated. Despite opposition from many Japanese citizens, the countrys fisheries association, and neighbors like South Korea and China, the government announced in April 2021 that it had decided on releasing the water into the ocean.

Public hearings, some of which I attended, were held before and after the final decision, but these seemed more about selling the ocean release option than about giving the public a say. It was only months after the decision was announced that a radiological environmental impact assessment  conducted by Tepco  was finally released. When Tepco called for public comments for the study, some experts pointed out troubling information gaps, such as the lack of a full inventory of what radioactive elements remained in the tanks. There is no evidence that serious efforts were made to address some of these issues.

Involving local residents, civil society groups, technical experts and  when necessary  neighboring nations in decision-making can lead to notable successes. In choosing the site of a long-term repository for low-level radioactive waste, Belgian regulators in 1998 gave decision-making power to a broad cross section of public and private stakeholders. In the end, two neighboring towns actually competed to be the site, and in 2006 a proposal by the municipality of Dessel was approved. After years of study and environmental approvals, a final permit was issued this year. Similar processes have been followed in Finland and Sweden.
Goop is many things: an aspirational lifestyle manifesto and a guide to expensive and sometimes wacky products; a source of anxiety, FOMO and, yes, envy. Many of these mixed feelings are directed at Ms. Paltrow, who presents herself as an everywoman of sorts while projecting an air of rarefied perfection. In interviews, several people who have worked there  none of whom agreed to be quoted on the record  described it as a workplace full of clashing ideas and employees immersed in competitive self-betterment while being hyperaware of each others status in the company.

As much as Ms. Loehnen has tried to move past Goop, she cant liberate herself from its impact on how she is perceived. In an Instagram post last year, she explained that after leaving the company, I felt like I was not in a healthy relationship with my body, where I was always trying to punish it and bring it under control. She then vowed never to do another cleanse again, she said.

But, she went on, she realized that her new policy  two years of eating whatever my young kids want  was not healthy either. The result was a compromise: a five-day reset of broths, smoothies and lattes that allowed for eating extra food. I refuse to punish myself with food, or hold myself under the weight my body seems to want to be anymore, she added. Hopefully Ive broken that cycle for good.

This single post started a media furor. Had Ms. Loehnen just attacked her former boss by implying that Goops cleanses and detoxes  it promotes a new one every year  sent an unhealthy message about body image? Was she dissing Ms. Paltrow? No, Ms. Loehnen said, thats not what she meant at all. People turned it into me being anti, she said, but it wasnt an indictment of my last place of employment.

She chose her words carefully. Youre not going to get her to say Goop or Gwyneth, let alone criticize them. (Also, the company has an alert team of lawyers and an enthusiasm for NDAs.) Rumors still swirl that Ms. Loehnens departure was less a conscious uncoupling than a forced march out the door. But Ms. Loehnen said that her departure was pretty fast and mutual, and Ms. Paltrow issued a laudatory statement at the time.
IN HAWAII IN late December, the snow fell all night. Atop the dormant volcano Mauna Kea  the tallest peak in the islands and in the Pacific, rising nearly 13,800 feet above sea level  flakes collected in 10-foot drifts, sealing off the road to the summit until plows could come through. This was no freak weather event; its always snowed here. To the kanaka maoli (native Hawaiians), Mauna Kea is sacred, belonging not to humans but to the akua and kupua (deities and supernatural beings), among them the snow goddess Poliahu, who in a long-ago battle with Pele, the fire goddess, halted the onslaught of lava with a mantle of white.

To outsiders, snow in Hawaii has historically been greeted with shock and disbelief, perhaps because its so contrary to the idyll of a tropical paradise, free of seasons and thus the toll of time: a land where its always afternoon. As the Indigenous studies professor Hiilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart argues in Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity and Hawaiian Refreshment (published last December), the introduction of ice as a commodity to the islands  first in giant blocks shipped from Alaska and New England in the mid-19th century, and later produced by the new technology of ice-making machines  enabled colonialists to cool off and gain respite, however brief, from the heat they found so foreign and threatening, both physically and spiritually, in its imagined correlation with indolence and lust; to reassure themselves that they were different from the natives, explicitly aligned with modernity and civilization, and (wishful thinking) above temptation.

Today, many of us might think of ice  in its consumable form; we are not speaking (yet) of the depletion of our glaciers  as ubiquitous: tumbling in convenient little cubes from the refrigerator door, dunked into drinks until the glasses sweat, bedded down in buckets around foil-necked bottles of Champagne. Certainly its readily available in much of the world, no matter the climate, although not in areas without reliable access to clean water (a lack suffered by more than a quarter of the worlds population, around two billion people) or the electricity required to power refrigeration (nearly 10 percent, or 770 million). Its important to remember that what is a bounty to some is still a novelty and a luxury to others, as it was for millenniums.
Joanna Lubkin, a Unitarian Universalist minister, has chronic pain and fatigue and relies on her service dog, a 4-year-old black Labrador named Sully, to pick up items she drops, press elevator buttons and brace her when her body weakens. She never travels without him.

In June, when she and Sully arrived at the Pittsburgh International Airport to fly home to Boston after a conference, the agent at the JetBlue Airlines gate told her that there were no forms on file certifying Sully as a service dog, and refused to let her board.

Since 2021, the Department of Transportation has required travelers with disabilities to fill out a standard form before boarding an aircraft with their trained service animal, attesting to the dogs health, behavior and training. Before her flight to Pittsburgh on Delta Air Lines, Ms. Lubkin, 37, had completed the D.O.T. form for both Delta and JetBlue and uploaded it to their websites. With Delta, she experienced no issues.

But a week later she found herself stranded in Pittsburgh, confused and frustrated. She did not know she was only one of many travelers with disabilities encountering hurdles with the verification process, and finding themselves stuck at the airport even after they had correctly verified their service dogs for air travel.
The ground is already really dry  it doesnt take much for the heat to kind of just build up over there, said Paul Pastelok, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. And thats what makes it a bigger heat dome that were seeing right now.

In the Minneapolis area, better known for its foreboding winter conditions, forecasters said daily temperature records could fall on both Tuesday and Wednesday, with readings of 99 or 100 degrees possible.

Tyler Hasenstein, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Minnesota, said a heat dome of this scale might settle over the state every five years or so, but those typically happen in June, July  and not August, which is kind of the weird thing in this case. The temperatures were also not expected to drop much after sunset, he said.

Meteorologists said high temperatures were forecast to reach up to 20 degrees above average throughout Iowa and neighboring states over the next few days. The humidity will make it feel even more oppressive, with heat indexes that could approach 120 degrees. Forecasters have issued heat alerts, ranging from advisories to excessive heat warnings, for roughly 100 million people across 22 states.

In Adel, Iowa, where it was cloudless and in the 90s by midday on Tuesday, the high temperatures meant Amy Heinz was not able to let the dogs play outside at the animal rescue center she runs.
More than two dozen critically ill patients were evacuated from a Los Angeles hospital on Monday night after a power outage disrupted care, the authorities said. It was unclear whether the disruption was connected to the effects of Tropical Storm Hilary, which pummeled Southern California over the weekend.

The power outage was reported at Adventist Health White Memorial, in East Los Angeles, at 11:45 p.m. local time, Margaret Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said early Tuesday.

The Fire Department worked with the hospitals staff to identify which critically ill patients would require transportation, beginning with those on ventilators, Ms. Stewart said.

The hospital was caring for 241 patients at the time, 28 of whom were in critical care and were taken to other hospitals in the area, Chief Kristin Crowley of the Los Angeles Fire Department said at a news conference on Tuesday morning.
This winter, after receiving a subpoena from a grand jury investigating former President Donald J. Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Mark Meadows commenced a delicate dance with federal prosecutors.

He had no choice but to show up and, eventually, to testify. Yet Mr. Meadows  Mr. Trumps final White House chief of staff  initially declined to answer certain questions, sticking to his former bosss position that they were shielded by executive privilege.

But when prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, challenged Mr. Trumps executive privilege claims before a judge, Mr. Meadows pivoted. Even though he risked enraging Mr. Trump, he decided to trust Mr. Smiths team, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Meadows quietly arranged to talk with them not only about the steps the former president took to stay in office, but also about his handling of classified documents after he left.

The episode illustrated the wary steps Mr. Meadows took to navigate legal and political peril as prosecutors in Washington and Georgia closed in on Mr. Trump, seeking to avoid being charged himself while also sidestepping the career risks of being seen as cooperating with what his Republican allies had cast as partisan persecution of the former president.
As the first Republican presidential debate nears on Wednesday night, we asked our readers a few simple things: What questions would you like to hear? What issues should be discussed? How will you judge the candidates?

We heard from more than 850 readers, including devoted supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, Republicans who voted for him in the past but are now skeptical, die-hard Democrats and independents who said they were unsatisfied with all of their options in the 2024 race.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Trump loomed large  even in his expected absence onstage. But many Republicans were also eager to hear how the candidates would handle policy issues including the war in Ukraine and migration at the nations southern border.

Others were eager to hear what the candidates would do to bridge the countrys deep partisan divide. The responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
The first Republican primary debate of the 2024 presidential race will be held tonight from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern. The debate, taking place in Milwaukee, is sanctioned by the Republican National Committee and hosted by Fox News. Here are some of the ways you can watch it.

Fox News Channel will broadcast the event, with live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern  an hour before the debate itself  and running past midnight.

Fox Business Network will broadcast the same coverage simultaneously.

The face-off will be streamed at FoxNews.com and on Fox Nation, which is Fox News Channels subscription streaming platform.

The online streaming platform Rumble will also show the debate, as an official R.N.C. partner.

Which candidates will be onstage?

As of the official qualification deadline Monday evening, eight candidates had made the stage. They are Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, former Vice President Mike Pence, the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

When will they start taking questions?

Immediately, according to the debate guidelines. There are no opening statements.

What about Trump?

Donald J. Trump, the clear front-runner for the nomination, plans to skip the debate. He has, instead, recorded an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. They plan to post the interview on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, concurrently with the debate, according to a person with knowledge of the planning.

Mr. Trumps decision to record an interview with Mr. Carlson to be released while his rivals share a stage was a slap in the face to both the R.N.C., whose leadership tried hard to persuade him to participate in the debate, and to Fox News, which is hosting the debate and fired Mr. Carlson earlier this year.

Who is moderating the debate?

The debate will be moderated by two Fox News hosts, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Mr. Baier has previously moderated Republican debates in 2015 and 2016, and he and Ms. MacCallum led a town-hall event with Mr. Trump in 2020.
American officials say there are indications that Ukraine has started to shift some of its more seasoned combat forces from the east to the south. But even the most experienced units have been reconstituted a number of times after taking heavy casualties. These units rely on a shrinking cadre of senior commanders. Some platoons are mostly staffed by soldiers who have been wounded and returned to fight.

Ukraine has penetrated at least one layer of Russian defenses in the south in recent days and is increasing the pressure, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. It is close to taking control of Robotyne, a village in the south that is near the next line of Russian defenses. Taking the village, American officials said, would be a good sign.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian military did not respond to text messages or phone calls on Tuesday.

But some analysts say the progress may be too little too late. The fighting is taking place on mostly flat, unforgiving terrain, which favors the defenders. The Russians are battling from concealed positions that Ukrainian soldiers often see only when they are feet away. Hours after Ukrainians clear a field of mines, the Russians sometimes fire another rocket that disperses more of them at the same location.

Under American war doctrine, there is always a main effort to ensure that maximum resources go to a single front, even if supporting forces are fighting in other areas to hedge against failure or spread-out enemy defenses.
Mr. Camerons mother, Monica Lee, described her son as an outgoing young man who could quickly turn strangers into friends with his smile. Ms. Lee has always maintained that the deputies killed her son by violently subduing him and ignoring his cries that he could not breathe. She predicted the investigation into his death was going to be a bunch of lies.

Ms. Lee sued the department in 2022.

Her lawyer, Malik Shabazz, said the conclusions of the independent pathologists could change the outcome of Ms. Lees case. Theres serious questions about the competency and the accuracy of the autopsy findings, he said.

Mr. Cameron is one of at least nine men who have died during episodes involving Rankin deputies since 2014, according to department records and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation reports.

Rankin County, a rural, majority-white community outside Jackson, has been rocked by national controversy this year after five sheriffs deputies and a local police officer broke into the home of two Black men, tortured them for two hours, sexually assaulted them with a sex toy and then shot one of them in the mouth. All of the officers have pleaded guilty to federal and state charges.
When Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas announced a multibillion-dollar initiative two years ago to deter migrants crossing from Mexico, the border city of Eagle Pass was seeing 1,200 people coming into town every day, and many residents welcomed the extra aid.

Hugo Urbina, who owns a pecan farm next to the Rio Grande, was unhappy with the constant foot traffic on his land, sometimes dozens of people a day. Jessie Fuentes, who owns a canoe and kayak business, did not want migrants to think America had an open border. The towns mayor, Rolando Salinas Jr., saw the Border Patrol being overwhelmed.

People cannot be arriving by the thousands without consequence, Mr. Urbina said.

But over time, as Governor Abbott has tested the legal limits of state action on immigration  sending the National Guard and scores of state troopers to the border, and installing razor wire and floating barriers along the river  some of that popular support appears to be waning.

The recent reports of injuries and at least two deaths near the 1,000-foot string of river buoys has raised the level of concern. He went too far, Mr. Fuentes said.
Follow live updates on Donald Trumps expected surrender at a jail in Georgia.

Some of Donald J. Trumps co-defendants in the election interference case in Georgia began turning themselves in on Tuesday, while others tried to get the sprawling criminal case moved out of state court and into federal court.

Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official, and David Shafer, the former head of the Georgia Republican Party, each filed motions on Tuesday asking to have the case moved to federal court, just as Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, did last week. Those motions lay the groundwork for what will be the first major legal fight in the case, which was filed in Superior Court in Atlanta last week.

Most of the defendants, including Mr. Trump, plan to turn themselves in this week, as ordered by Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., who is leading the investigation. But Mr. Clark filed a request on Tuesday for an emergency stay, in a bid to avoid turning himself in at the notorious Atlanta jail where the defendants are being processed. Mr. Meadows made a similar request later in the day.

Another prominent Trump ally, John Eastman, turned himself in on Tuesday and was booked at the jail. Mr. Eastman, a chief architect of Mr. Trumps effort to reverse his 2020 election loss, said in a statement that the indictment represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
It has been a bad 10 months for Jair Bolsonaro.

He lost re-election as Brazils president. Thousands of his supporters stormed Brazils halls of power. And he was blocked from holding elected office for seven years.

Now things could soon get worse: Across Brazil, both his critics and supporters speculate that the next twist might be his arrest.

Mr. Bolsonaro, 68, has become ensnared in a series of investigations into fraud and election tampering that have already landed some of his closest allies in jail and that, over the past several weeks, appear to be closing in on him.

But one case may pose the biggest threat to the former president in the near term, and it revolves around an alleged scheme that resembles a small-scale mafia scam: Selling embezzled watches at a shopping mall outside Philadelphia.
As Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories in Canada embarked on a mass evacuation of 20,000 residents last week, the city turned to Facebook to help share the latest information about the wildfires that were quickly approaching.

But instead of simply sharing a link to a story about the wildfires from CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel, the city instructed residents to look up the information on a search engine.

Google: CPAC Canada or www . cpac . ca (just remove the spaces), the city posted.

In the midst of a natural disaster, Yellowknife had to navigate around Facebooks decision to block news articles on its platform in Canada. Meta, Facebooks parent company, began rolling out the ban on Aug. 1 in response to a new Canadian law that requires tech companies to pay news outlets for using their content.

Canadian lawmakers passed the Online News Act in June, requiring social media platforms like Meta and search engines like Google to negotiate with news publishers to license their content. The law is slated to go into effect in December. But Meta has described the legislation as unworkable and said that the only way for the company to comply with the law was to end news availability for people in Canada.
The leaders from the five-member group of nations known as BRICS  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  began a three-day summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday, where they are discussing expanding the club that harbors ambitions of becoming a geopolitical alternative to Western-led forums like the Group of 7.

The latest gathering of leaders has garnered a level of international interest rarely seen since the group was first formed 14 years ago.

Russias invasion of Ukraine along with a trade war between Beijing and Washington have reinvigorated the debate over whether the bloc will remain a loose trade alliance or become a new international coalition. Dozens of countries have expressed interest in joining, including Argentina, Nigeria, Iran, Belarus, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. The candidates are as diverse as the BRICS bloc, which represents 40 percent of the worlds population and a quarter of its economy.

Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, held a state visit with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa in Pretoria and was then expected to travel to Johannesburg for the summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India arrived in Johannesburg in the afternoon, The Times of India reported. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia appeared virtually, to avoid an international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity committed during the war in Ukraine.
From the collision of deadly, climate-driven disasters in the United States emerged a small sliver of good fortune on Monday.

Tropical Story Hillary, which has deluged Mexico, California and Nevada, is now bringing much-needed rain over the wildfires raging in Washington state as the system moves north.

The overlap of the events was seen in satellite imagery shared by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University on Monday. Researchers noted that heavy smoke from fires in the Northwest, and also in British Columbia, Canada, was visible outside of the cloud cover.

Two people were killed by the Washington wildfires this weekend amid a state of emergency.

Two large fires broke out in the US Northwest region, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported on Monday, close to the city of Spokane.

One person died due to the Oregon Road Fire in Spokane County, according to the local sheriffs office. A separate fatality was linked to the Grays Fire, which ignited close to the community of Cheney on Friday afternoon. Hundreds of people were evacuated from the blaze which has engulfed more than 10,000 acres and also threatened the towns of Medical Lake and Four Lakes.

The Grays Fire was only 10 per cent contained, Spokane County Emergency Management reported on Sunday, but did not appear to be growing towards Medical Lake or Four Lakes.

Still a lot of hazards within the burned areas. Natural gas lines venting off, trees coming down... officials said.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency, noting that more than 34,000 acres have burned statewide. Nearly 200 structures, both houses and outbuildings, have also been destroyed.

In Medical Lake, Lakeland Village Residential Habilitation Center was evacuated and many residents have lost everything, according to the governor.

Post-Tropical Cyclone Hilary is bringing some much needed rain to regions of the Northwest where many wildfires are burning.



Smoke is still heavily concentrated from fires in the Northwest and British Columbia outside of the cloud shield. pic.twitter.com/58pJTcyPx8  CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) August 21, 2023

We sincerely thank the emergency first responders for their tireless efforts in containing the fire and ensuring community safety. Your courage in putting your lives at risk to protect our families is deeply appreciated, he wrote in a Twitter thread.

Story continues

Wildfire smoke led to air quality alerts until noon local time on Monday in several parts of the state, reaching unhealthy levels for sensitive groups. Air quality remains poor across most of Washington, the National Weather Service reported on Monday, with a slight improvement along the coast.

High winds have worsened the fires in eastern Washington, around 300 miles from Seattle, with blazes exacerbated by ongoing dry conditions and high temperatures in much of the Northwest this summer.

There are currently 93 wildfires in 16 states, which have destroyed more than 600,000 acres, according to the NIFC, with more than 14,400 wildland firefighters and support personnel on the ground.

A map shows the number of wildfires burning across the US and Canada on Monday (NASA/USDA Forest Service)

Six new large fires were reported on Saturday  two in Mississippi, and one each in California, Idaho, Montana and Washington.

Just over the border from Washington state, Canadian officials have ordered evacuations for tens of thousands of people in British Columbia amid an unprecedented summer of wildfires in the country. There are more than 1,000 fires were burning across Canada on Monday with more than half raging out of control.

In Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, nearly all of its 20,000 residents have been evacuated due to the extreme fires.

The climate crisis, caused by the emissions from fossil fuels, is driving larger, more frequent and erratic wildfires around the world with many countries are becoming hotter and drier, priming more of the landscape to burn.
Ukrainian drones were intercepted over two parts of Russia, including near Moscow, Russian officials said early Tuesday morning, the latest in a Ukrainian campaign to bring the war to Russias citizens across their border. Flights at airports serving the capital were stopped temporarily.

In the Moscow region, two drones were shot down, Andrey Vorobyov, the regional governor, said on the messaging app Telegram. One fell in Krasnogorsk, a town outside the capital, where windows shattered in a high-rise building and cars were damaged, though no one was injured, he wrote.

The damaged high-rise was an apartment building, according to Tass, the state news agency. The other drone fell in nearby Chastsy, Mr. Vorobyov said.

The statements could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the drones, but Kyiv has increasingly demonstrated its ability to strike hundreds of miles inside Russias borders.
Frans Timmermans, the European Unions climate chief, will leave his position in Brussels to become a candidate in coming elections in the Netherlands, the European Commission announced on Tuesday.

Mr. Timmermanss immediate departure comes as the European Union is focusing on meeting climate goals, reducing emissions on the continent as well as transitioning to clean energy.

Mr. Timmermans served as the executive vice president for the European Green Deal, a set of proposals that aims to make the E.U.s climate, energy, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels.

Last month, European lawmakers approved a key element of the Green Deal that would require member nations to restore 20 percent of natural areas within their borders on land and at sea.
Greek firefighters were battling several fires across the country on Tuesday, but their efforts were hampered by strong winds and dry conditions after a summer of back-to-back heat waves. In addition to the large fire near Alexandroupolis, firefighters were grappling with another blaze in the northern region of Rodopi, as well as blazes in Aspropyrgos and Fyli, west of Athens. Three villages near Fyli were evacuated in the afternoon as well as a monastery. And fires were burning on the islands of Kythnos and Evia.

And in neighboring Turkey, at least six villages are evacuated in the west, after forest fires broke in the province of Canakkale, an Aegean city along Dardanelles Strait, Turkish authorities said.

Vessel traffic on the waterway was temporarily suspended from south to north, the transportation ministry said, according to media reports.
The signs that dot Sam Wilsons family farm southwest of London carry an unusual warning for visitors seeking an Instagram-worthy photo amid the endless rows of golden sunflowers.

No Public Nudity.

When the notoriously gray and soggy weather cooperates, as it has in recent weeks, tourists flock to Sams Sunflowers, part of Stoke Fruit Farms, to take part in a quintessential British summer activity: flower picking. But a rash of guests baring it all for the cameras earlier this summer led Mr. Wilson, 38, part of the third generation of his family to run the farm, to plant the signs and turn to social media to remind guests about the rules of play.

Reminder to all we are a family area and please keep your clothes on in the sunflowers!, the farm, located near Portsmouth on Englands southern coast, said on its Facebook page earlier this month. We are having an increase of reports of naked photography taking place and this must not happen during our public sessions please!

Hundreds of people left comments, mostly delighted and bemused, about the situation. (Darn it, my plans have been scuppered, one user lamented. Where exactly is this farm? another wrote. Asking for a friend obviously.)
Israels far-right government pledged on Tuesday to strike at Palestinian assailants, and those sending them to attack, amid what is being described as the bloodiest year in the occupied West Bank since the second Palestinian uprising about two decades ago.

In the last few days in the West Bank, an Israeli father and his adult son were shot at point-blank range as they waited for their car to be washed in a Palestinian town, and an Israeli preschool teacher was killed in a drive-by shooting in front of her 12-year-old daughter. Within that same time frame, an apparently unarmed Palestinian man was seen on video being shot from behind and a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the head during a military raid.

The government did not elaborate on its response plans, but it has been under increasing criticism for what is seen as a security failure by both its detractors and by leaders of the West Bank Jewish settler movement, who are represented by key partners in the coalition government.

So far this year, about 180 Palestinians have been killed, mostly in clashes with the Israeli military or while carrying out attacks against Israelis. Uninvolved bystanders have also been killed. About 33 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks also this year, more than 20 of them in or near settlements or on roads in the West Bank.
Harold was downgraded to a tropical depression after making landfall as a tropical storm on Padre Island, Texas, on Tuesday morning, capping an extraordinarily busy 48 hours for an Atlantic hurricane season that saw three other storms form in quick succession.

Harold pummeled parts of southern Texas with heavy rain on Tuesday, and was expected to deliver up to six inches of rainfall in isolated areas through early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.

By the afternoon, the storm had already delivered up to two inches of rain in several places, including at Corpus Christi International Airport, said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Around seven inches had fallen on Mustang Island, east of the airport, he said.

By Tuesday evening, the storm had weakened to a tropical depression but heavy rain continued, forecasters said.
Russias Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon on Saturday, two days before a planned landing attempt.

It was the latest in a series of impacts, belly flops and hard landings  some intentional, others unplanned  since 1959, when the Soviet Unions Luna-2 became the first probe to hit the moon.

Indias Soft Landing

Indias Chandrayaan-3 mission placed a lander and rover on the moon on Wednesday, four years after the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed during descent.

An image taken on Sunday by the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft in lunar orbit. ISRO

India is the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon, and the first to safely touch down in the moons southern polar region.

A composite of images taken by Chandrayaan-3s Vikram lander during descent on Wednesday. The New York Times

64 Years of Moon Crashes

Seven space programs and one private company have made hard landings on the moon: the Soviet Union, United States, Japan, European Space Agency, India, China, Israel and Ispace. Crash locations are shown on the map below.

Moon imagery from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera via NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio. Some types of crashes, including used rocket engines and empty Apollo lunar modules, are not shown. Some locations are approximate, and other crash locations have not been determined.

Some crashes were setbacks. Others were intentional, marking the end of a successful mission. Whatever the cause, space agencies have learned from each collision. Crashes can reveal design flaws or software glitches, and expose material under the lunar surface for future study.

Indias Last Attempt

On Sept. 7, 2019, Indias Chandrayaan-2 lander lost communications with Earth as it descended toward a planned landing site near the moons south pole.

NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the area ten days later but was unable to locate the lander, known as Vikram.

Curtius Manzinus Moretus Chandrayaan-2 crash site Chandrayaan-3 target landing site Boguslawsky South Pole Path of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Sept. 17, 2019 Curtius Manzinus Moretus Chandrayaan-2 crash site Chandrayaan-2 target landing site Boguslawsky South Pole Path of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Sept. 17, 2019 Curtius Manzinus Moretus Chandrayaan-2 crash site Chandrayaan-3 target landing site Boguslawsky South Pole Path of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Sept. 17, 2019 Curtius Manzinus Chandrayaan-2 crash site Chandrayaan-3 target landing site Path of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Sept. 17, 2019 South Pole A map of the moons south polar region, showing elevation in false color. The New York Times; Map data from NASA, the Goddard Space Flight Center and Arizona State Univ.

Months later, an Indian space enthusiast spotted a bright speck in a publicly available NASA image, which turned out to be spacecraft debris from Vikrams impact.

Vikrams impact site 100 METERS Vikrams impact site 100 METERS Vikrams impact site 100 METERS Vikrams impact site 100 METERS A composite image highlighting recent changes on the lunar surface. NASA; Goddard Space Flight Center; Arizona State Univ.

Future Missions

Japan plans to launch the SLIM mission to the moon this week, on Aug. 26. The mission would orbit the moon and attempt a landing near Shioli Crater.

An illustration of Japans SLIM lander. JAXA

Several companies are also competing to achieve the first private lunar landing. Japans Ispace launched the Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft in 2022, but it crashed while landing in April.

Hakuto-Rs impact site 50 METERS Hakuto-Rs impact site 50 METERS Hakuto-Rs impact site 50 METERS Hakuto-Rs impact site 50 METERS A composite image highlighting recent changes on the lunar surface. NASA; Goddard Space Flight Center; Arizona State Univ.

Houstons Intuitive Machines and Pittsburghs Astrobotic Technology may launch lunar missions by the end of the year.

Crewed Missions

NASA has named four astronauts for the Artemis II mission that could orbit the moon in late 2024. Both NASA and China hope to land astronauts by 2030, putting humans on the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan on the lunar surface, Dec. 13, 1972. NASA




(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to open an in-depth probe on Wednesday of Qualcomms purchase of Israeli auto-chip maker Autotalks, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

In May, Qualcomm had said it would acquire Israel's Autotalks Ltd, a maker of chips used in crash-prevention technology in vehicles, but had not disclosed the terms of the deal.

Autotalks, which makes dedicated chips used in the V2X communications technology sector for manned and driverless vehicles, would help Qualcomm expand its automotive-related business.

Last week, EU regulators had also said that the U.S. chipmaker would have to seek EU antitrust approval for the planned takeover.

The EU competition watchdog said 15 EU countries, including France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden, had asked it to examine the deal.

Qualcomm, Autotalks and the FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Earlier in August, Qualcomm had projected its fourth-quarter sales below market expectations as consumer spending on gadgets like smartphones remained stubbornly weak amid slowing global economic growth.

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Mercury Public Affairs is negotiating a contract to represent the West African nation of Sierra Leone. The pact is expected to include PR, government relations and outreach to US officials and media outlets.

The US State Dept. has expressed concerns irregularities in the June 24 election in which president Julius Maade Bio was declared the winner.

It is disturbed by the reports of intimidation, including death threatsagainst domestic and international observers, civil society organizations and members of the electoral commission, according to its July 24 statement.

Mercury will have six staffers representing Sierra Leone.

That includes ex-Congressman Toby Moffett, who once co-chaired Mayer Browns Africa practice; Bryan Lanza, who was communications director for the Trump Transition; and Eric Bloom, former senior producer for the CBS Evening News.

Omnicom owns Mercury.
Blueprint Creative Group signs on to support NASA with the development and launch campaign for its SpaceTech Catalyst Prize Competition, part of the NASA Open Innovation $175 million IDIQ, an initiative under the America COMPETES authority. The agency will work to amplify NASAs Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships Portfolio (ESIP) outreach efforts to attract a diverse pool of high-quality applicants from different backgrounds to participate in this competition while also creating a pipeline for future NASA funding opportunities. Blueprint has also been named agency of record for the Nashville Department of Transportation, tasked with developing a long-term strategic communications plan and media strategy for its newly launched Vision Zero traffic safety and education campaign.

Uproar PR partners with Swipesum, a consultancy that combines payments expertise with AI to help merchants reduce payment processing fees and streamline operations. Uproar will leverage its experience with business technology and payments companies to help Swipesum increase awareness of its services nationwide. A key component to Swipesums consulting services is its AI platform, Staitment, which can review a large amounts of merchant statements in seconds, noting which fees are non-negotiable and which are inflated. We have successfully served as chief payments officer to large franchisors and merchants, and we are ready to bring those partnerships wider, said Swipesum CEO Michael Seaman.

Rachel Harrison Communications has been named agency of record for Bar Clara, a new rooftop bar at the Hotel Per La in downtown Los Angeles. RHC will be handling media relations for the client. The bar, which also serves Mediterranean-inspired fare, is named after Claire Giannini, the first woman to serve on the board of the Bank of Italy, which later became Bank of America. (The Hotel Per La takes up what used to be the Bank of Italy building.) Headquartered in New York City, RHC also has offices in Los Angeles and London as well as outposts in Mexico City and Paris.

Raptor PR is named global PR agency of record for ZEBEDEE, a fintech company powering Bitcoin payments. Raptor will be helping to build ZEBEDEEs communications architecture and multiple narratives, working on data-driven campaigns to get the message out on ZEBEDEEs ambitions and core value proposition across such industry verticals as business, games, web3, fintech and consumer channels. Founded in 2019, ZEBEDEE has $50M of funding. We needed an agency which understood our business needs and the plethora of industry verticals in which we are operating, said ZEBEDEE senior VP of brand and marketing Arjun Shah. Raptor PR is an ideal partner for our business.
Forty-eight acres of top quality limestone land in Offaly is going up for auction

The lands are located approximately 1.5km from the Rhode with frontage of circa 60 metres onto the R441.

The entire is circa 14km from Edenderry, 12km from Rochfordbridge; M6 and about 25km from Tullamore.

The land is all in one block currently in grass with superb mature trees and natural hedgerows throughout.

The land is currently in three divisions and according to Clive Kavanagh of the selling agents It is an ideal farm for livestock, a dairy enterprise or for an equestrian use.

Under the soils map of Ireland, the farm is classified as Elton Series which are generally known as top quality limestone lands.

They have high production capacity for either arable or grazing purposes.

There is a mains water supply to the lands.

The property is for Auction on Thursday, September 14 at 3pm in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

Jordan Auctioneers are issuing a guide price of 600,000.
Ukrainian troops have gained a foothold in the southeastern village of Robotyne on the road to Tokmak, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said.

The liberation of Robotyne, an important regional rail hub occupied by Russia, would be a milestone in Kyivs southward drive to reach the Sea of Azov. The next major settlement is the big regional city of Melitopol.

Meanwhile the series of nightly drone attacks on Moscow continued for the sixth consecutive day as Russia said three objects were brought down over its capital in the early hours of Wednesday. Major airports in Moscow again suspended flights, for the second day in a row, after the drones reached the Moscow region.

While no casualties were recorded, one of the downed drones smashed into an under-construction building and damaged windows in the central Moscow City Complex.

The Russian defence ministry has blamed the attack on Ukraine but Kyiv typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory.

It comes after Ukrainian saboteurs, coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services, were said to have carried out drone attacks on airfields deep inside Russia  one of which appears to have destroyed a supersonic Russian bomber.

Key Points

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russias planes and airfields

US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate

Moscow closes air space as Ukrainian drone hits capital region

Ukrainian drone strikes apartments near Moscow, leaves windows shaking

Russian supersonic bomber Tupolev Tu-22M destroyed in drone attack

Zelensky says F-16s make him confident Russia will lose the war

Drone attacks launched from inside Russia

Ukraine defies odds by advancing in counteroffensive

Tuesday 22 August 2023 18:00 , Matt Drake

Ukraine has made progress in its counteroffensive against Russian forces simply by proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian troops have faced vast Russian minefields and trenches in the counteroffensive launched in early June, and a US official said last week it looked unlikely that Kyiv would be able to recapture the strategic southern city of Melitopol.

Story continues

But Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyivs progress was too slow, and said Ukraine had effectively defied military doctrine by attacking an enemy that has a numerical advantage in manpower and weaponry.

Its incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres, Maliar said in an interview. Whats important is the very fact that despite everything, were moving forward even though we have fewer people and fewer weapons.

She said she was unaware of any Western pressure being exerted on Ukraines military to accelerate operations, and challenged the idea of a universally correct tempo.

Ukrainian soldiers of the 28th brigade prepare a mini-multiple launch rocket system at the frontline close to Bakhmut (AP)

Ukrainian troops gain foothold in strategic Robotyne village

04:58 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian troops have gained a foothold in the southeastern village of Robotyne on the road to Tokmak, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said.

The village is an occupied rail hub whose recapture would be a milestone in Kyivs southward drive to reach the Sea of Azov. The next major settlement is the big regional city of Melitopol.

However, the deputy minister warned that the counteroffensive should not be compared with either Ukraines rapid recapture of land in the eastern region of Kharkiv last year or its success in driving Russian troops out of the city of Kherson in the southwest, because each battlefield situation is unique.

When Kherson was liberated, remember that the armed forces were creating the conditions in order to more or less swiftly liberate it later, she said.

Drone hits under construction building in Moscow

04:46 , Arpan Rai

One of the drones in Russia fell into a building under construction at the Moscow City Complex, officials said.

Several windows were damaged in two nearby buildings, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, adding that the emergency services were inspecting the area.

The drone was jammed by electronic warfare systems, after which it lost control and collided with the building, the Russian defence ministry said.

The prestigious business towers have been struck by drones twice before

The Russian defence ministry has blamed the attack on Ukraine and said two other drones were shot down by air defence systems in the Mozhaisk and Khimki areas of the Moscow region.

Three dead after Russian shelling of Donetsk region, Ukraine says

04:30 , Matt Drake

Three people were killed and two were injured as a result of Russian shelling of several villages in Ukraines Donetsk region, the prosecutor generals office said on Tuesday evening. According to the prosecutors, all three people, two women and a man, were killed in the village of Torske at around 1850 local time (1550 GMT).

The prosecutors provided no further detail of the attack.

Moscow shuts airspace over major airports after Ukrainian drone attacks

04:02 , Arpan Rai

Moscow airports suspended flights early today, Russias TASS news agency reported citing unnamed officials.

Major airports around the Russian capital repeatedly closed for departing and arriving flights in recent days due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

Russia says military downed three drones that tried to attack Moscow

03:57 , Arpan Rai

The Russian defence ministry said the countrys air defence systems downed three drones that tried to attack Moscow.

One of them was jammed and hit a building in central Moscow, and two more were shot down by air defence systems to the west of the Russian capital, the military said.

This is the third consecutive night Russia has come under drone attack.

US says Ukrainian strikes inside Russia not supported

03:44 , Arpan Rai

Any attacks inside Russia are not encouraged or enabled by the United States, a US State Department spokesperson said after Moscow witnessed consecutive drone attacks this week, as similar attacks on the Russian territory have increased in the past few months.

It is up to Ukraine to decide how it chooses to defend itself from the Russian invasion that began in February last year, the State Department spokesperson said, adding Russia could end the war any time by withdrawing from Ukraine.

Drone strikes on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months.

These strikes, including deep inside Russia, have increased since two unmanned aircraft were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.

The United States, which has supplied Ukraine with massive assistance in the form of weapons and other military equipment to combat the Russian invasion, has consistently said it does not support attacks inside Russia.

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

03:30 , Matt Drake

Mercenary group Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has shared his first video address two months after he launched a failed coup attempt against Vladimir Putin.

Mr Prigozhin is seen in the video toting an assault rifle and wearing military fatigues, with his comments suggesting the clip was shot in an unnamed African country.

The Wagner boss says during the clip that he is recruiting strongmen and said the group will fulfil the tasks that were set by the Russian government.

The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, as Mr Prigozhin said the mercenary group was making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.

Read the full report below.

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

Russia scrambles jets to force reconnaissance drones off Crimea -defence ministry

01:30 , Matt Drake

Russias air force scrambled two jets to force two drones to stop reconnaissance near the Crimean peninsula, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.

On August 22, the flight of two unmanned aerial vehicles MQ-9 Reaper and TB2 Bayraktar carrying out aerial reconnaissance in the area of the Crimean Peninsula was recorded over the Black Sea by means of the airspace control of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the ministry said.

According to the statement, Russia scrambled two jets forcing the drones to change the direction of the flight and leave the areas of aerial reconnaissance.

Shapps visits Kyiv as UK announces support for Ukraine's nuclear energy supply

Wednesday 23 August 2023 00:30 , Matt Drake

UK Government support for Ukraine's nuclear fuel supply will help end the country's reliance on Russian supplies, Secretary of State for Energy Grant Shapps said after a trip to a Ukrainian power station.

The Government has announced its intention to provide a 192 million loan guarantee through UK Export Finance (UKEF) - the UK's export credit agency - enabling UK-headquartered Urenco to supply Ukraine's national nuclear company, Energoatom, with uranium enrichment services, which are vital for nuclear fuel.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that, once provided, the support will bring the UK's non-military financial assistance to Ukraine close to 5 billion.

Mr Shapps said: "Our support for Ukraine is unwavering in the face of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's barbaric invasion - the UK continues to stand with Ukraine as they repel Russian attacks and rebuild their country.

"Being here on the ground, it's truly remarkable witnessing first-hand the sheer courage, resolve and gritty determination of the Ukrainian people.

"Putin has used energy as a weapon of war: the action today to support nuclear fuel deliveries will help Ukraine end their reliance on Russian supplies and bolster their energy security."

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps will meet energy companies (Belinda Jiao/PA) (PA Wire)

Russia's Putin stays away over arrest warrant as leaders of emerging economies meet in South Africa

Tuesday 22 August 2023 23:30 , Matt Drake

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be notably absent when Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economie s start a three-day summit in South Africa on Tuesday.

The bloc, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is holding its first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic, but Putin will participate via video call after his travel to South Africa was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for him in March over the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Xi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend in person as the bloc -- home to 40% of the worlds population and responsible for more than 30% of global economic output -- mulls a possible expansion.

That will top the agenda at Wednesdays main summit meeting in Johannesburgs financial district of Sandton. More than 20 nations have applied to join the bloc, according to South African officials, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Read the full report below.

Russia's Putin stays away over arrest warrant as leaders of emerging economies meet in South Africa

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Tuesday 22 August 2023 22:30 , Matt Drake

Russian air defense systems thwarted four nighttime Ukrainian drone attacks, Russias Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, with the falling wreckage of one drone shattering an apartment buildings windows and damaging vehicles in Moscows western suburbs.

There were no reports of injuries in the latest drone attacks that Russia blamed on Kyiv, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage. Even so, they have unnerved some Russians and are in line with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyys pledge to take the war into the heart of Russia.

Flights at several Moscow airports were temporarily suspended Tuesday as a security precaution amid the attacks, authorities said.

Read the full report below.

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Poland's leader says Russia's moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, shifting regional security

Tuesday 22 August 2023 21:42 , Matt Drake

Polands President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia already is in the process of shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, a move that Duda said will shift the security architecture of the region and the entire NATO military alliance.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko said last month that Moscow already had shipped some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus after announcing the plan in March. The U.S. and NATO havent confirmed the move.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Moscows rhetoric as dangerous and reckless, but said in July that the alliance hadnt seen any change in Russias nuclear posture.

Read the full report below.

Poland's leader says Russia's moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, shifting regional security

Putin says BRICS works for 'global majority'

Tuesday 22 August 2023 20:30 , Matt Drake

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the BRICS grouping of countries was on course to meet the aspirations of most of the worlds population, according to recorded remarks at a summit of the BRICS countries in South Africa on Tuesday.

We cooperate on the principles of equality, partnership support, respect for each otherAAAs interests, and this is the essence of the future-oriented strategic course of our association, a course that meets the aspirations of the main part of the world community, the so-called global majority, Putin said.

The BRICS members - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - represent more than 40% of the worlds population and the summit is expected to discuss adding new members, but he did not address that question in his remarks.

Putin was unable to attend the summit in person because of an arrest warrant issued for him in March by the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin was unable to attend the summit in person because of an arrest warrant issued for him (Sputnik)

Ukraine media say Kyiv saboteurs were behind drone attacks on air bases deep inside Russia

Tuesday 22 August 2023 20:00 , Matt Drake

Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to Ukrainska Pravda, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.That newspaper and Ukraines NV news outlet said groups of saboteurs were behind the audacious strikes, which suggest that Ukraines scope of action is broadening. It was not possible to verify the claims on the ground.Ukrainian media attributed two attacks to the saboteurs: a strike Saturday on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 700 kilometers (360 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and Mondays strike against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that the attack on Soltsy damaged one aircraft. It didnt comment on the reported attack on Shaikovka, but Russian media did.

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russias planes and airfields  and boasts of gains on the battlefield

Tuesday 22 August 2023 19:30 , Matt Drake

Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyivs military intelligence services are said to have carried out drone attacks on airfields deep inside Russia  one of which appears to have destroyed a supersonic Russian bomber.

It is one of a number of recent assaults on Russia and its military hardware, as well as drone attacks on Moscow. The latest such attack on the capital came overnight into Tuesday.

Responding to the attack on the Russian airfields, British military intelligence said that the weekend attack is highly likely to have destroyed a nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber. Kyiv says Russia has used the Tu-22M3 to bomb targets across Ukraine with conventional munitions. Western military experts believe Russia has around 60 of the aircrafts.

The destruction of the plane, which can be fitted with conventional or nuclear warheads, underscores the vulnerability to drone attacks of Russias fleet of ageing but lethal long-range bombers that are a major part of Moscows war effort.

Read the full report here.

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russias planes and airfields

Russia sacks head of aerospace forces

Tuesday 22 August 2023 19:00 , Matt Drake

A prominent Russian journalist said on Tuesday that General Sergei Surovikin, former commander of Moscows war effort in Ukraine, had been dismissed as head of the countrys aerospace forces.

There was no official confirmation of the report by Alexei Venediktov, the well-connected former head of the now-defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station, but it was cited by some other Russian news outlets on social media.

Venediktov said on his Telegram channel that Surovikin had been removed by official decree, without providing any further details.

The general has not been seen in public since a short-lived mutiny on June 24-24 by the Wagner mercenary group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russias defence establishment.

Sergei Surovikin has reportedly been sacked (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate

Tuesday 22 August 2023 18:30 , Matt Drake

The United States does not think the conflict in Ukraine is a stalemate, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday.

We have been clear all along that this battlefield is very dynamic ... there is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line, he said. We are seeing it (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefs the press ahead of the trilateral summit at Camp David (REUTERS)

Poland's leader says Russia's moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus

Tuesday 22 August 2023 17:30 , Matt Drake

Polands President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia already is in the process of shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus, a move that Duda said will shift the security architecture of the region and the entire NATO military alliance.Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko said last month that Moscow already had shipped some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus after announcing the plan in March. The U.S. and NATO havent confirmed the move.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Moscows rhetoric as dangerous and reckless, but said in July that the alliance hadnt seen any change in Russias nuclear posture.Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia said it would maintain control over those it sends to Belarus.

President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia already is in the process of shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus (AP)

European countries 'declare support for Ukrainian independence'

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:57 , Martha Mchardy

The leaders of 11 European countries have declared their support for Ukraines independence at a summit in Athens.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is currently in Athens attending the summit, having met with the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

At the summit, the countries expressed their unwavering support for Ukraines independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

The document was signed by Serbia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece.

White House: US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:52 , Martha Mchardy

The United States does not think the conflict in Ukraine is a stalemate, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday.

We have been clear all along that this battlefield is very dynamic ... there is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line, he said. We are seeing it (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.

Russia 'returns bodies of 12 Ukrainian prisoners'

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:52 , Martha Mchardy

Russia has returned the bodies of 12 Ukrainian soldiers that were being held prisoner, according to a report by The Telegraph.

A government spokesman said: The Russian side has already handed over to us 12 bodies of our prisoners, which were previously confirmed by the... Red Cross as being held captive in Russia.

There were no reports from Russia either about the deterioration of their health or about their serious condition.

Which again calls into question the quality of work or the presence of a medical commission on that side.

Head of Moscows aerospace forces nicknamed General Armageddon dismissed, according to reports

Tuesday 22 August 2023 16:20 , Martha Mchardy

A prominent Russian journalist said on Tuesday that General Sergei Surovikin, former commander of Moscows war effort in Ukraine, had been dismissed as head of the countrys aerospace forces.

There was no official confirmation of the report by Alexei Venediktov, the well-connected former head of the now defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station, but it was cited by some other Russian news outlets on social media.

Venediktov said on his Telegram channel that Surovikin had been removed by official decree, without providing any further details.

The general has not been seen in public since a short-lived mutiny on June 24-24 by the Wagner mercenary group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russias defence establishment.

During the revolt, Surovikin appeared in a video, looking uncomfortable and without insignia, urging Prigozhin to stand down. Since the mutiny, Russian and foreign news reports have said that Surovikin was being investigated for possible complicity in it.

Surovikin earned the nickname General Armageddon during Russias military intervention in Syrias civil war.

Last October he was placed in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine, but in January that role was handed to General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Surovikin was made a deputy to Gerasimov.

Eight Ukrainian pilots begin F-16 training in Denmark

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:36 , Martha Mchardy

Denmark has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots in flying F-16 fighter jets as part of its commitment to donate aircraft to Ukraine, the Danish armed forces said on Tuesday.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding wish by Ukraine that it says will help strengthen air defences and help its counter-offensive against Russias 2022 invasion.

The eight pilots have arrived at the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup along with 65 personnel who will be trained in maintaining and servicing the jets, the Danish armed forces said in a statement.

Greece will also take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

Denmark will supply Ukraine with 19 F-16 jets and will deliver the first six jets around New Year.

The Netherlands, which has 42 F-16s, has yet to decide how many jets it will supply to Ukraine.

Denmark currently has 43 F-16 jets and will for safety reasons not disclose how many of them are active, the Danish statement said.

Watch: Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenskas interview with Bel Trew

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:30 , Martha Mchardy

Wagner is victim of its own brand name: How much of a threat does mercenary group pose in Belarus?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 15:00 , Martha Mchardy

The newfound presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, exiled from Russia after their mutinous march on Moscow, has fuelled fresh anxieties in Ukraine and on Natos eastern flank.

Belaruss neighbours have moved to a heightened state of alert since dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared to broker a last-minute deal with the Kremlin to defuse the short-lived mutiny on 23 June and host Wagner troops on Belarusian soil.

During a recent meeting at the strategically important Suwalki Gap, a sparsely populated land corridor near their countries borders with Belarus and Russias enclave of Kaliningrad, Lithuanias president Gitanas Nauseda warned that north of 4,000 mercenaries were believed to be in Belarus, while Polands premier Mateusz Morawiecki branded them extremely dangerous.

Andy Gregory reports:

Wagner threat in Belarus explained as mercenary group a victim of its brand name

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

Tuesday 22 August 2023 14:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday published his first recruitment video for the Wagner Group since organizing a short-lived mutiny against defense officials in Russia, according to information on Russian social media channels.

Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight in June with a dramatic, short-lived rebellion that posed the most serious threat to President Vladimir Putin of the Russian leaders 23-year rule. The Wagner founder long benefited from Putins powerful patronage, including while he built a private army that fought for Russian interests abroad and participated in some of the deadliest battles of the war in Ukraine.

In the video, which was posted on Telegram messaging app channels which are believed to be affiliated with Prigozhin, a person who appears to be the 62-year-old mercenary leader says the Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities, and making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.

Emma Burrows reports:

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa

Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin directly, Pentagon official says

Tuesday 22 August 2023 13:54 , Martha Mchardy

Elon Musk said he had engaged in direct conversation with Vladimir Putin, according to a former Pentagon official.

Mr Musks comments had been made in a discussion the billionaire had with Pentagon officials in October last year about the satellite-based internet provided by SpaceX to Ukraines military.

The billionaire had told Colin Kahl, then the under-secretary of defence for policy at the Pentagon, that he had spoken to Mr Putin personally, according a report on Monday in the New Yorker.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin directly, Pentagon official says

World Court sets September date to hear Russian objections to Ukraine genocide case

Tuesday 22 August 2023 13:12 , Martha Mchardy

The World Court will hear Russias objections to its jurisdiction in a genocide case brought by Ukraine in hearings starting on Sept. 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Tuesday.

Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ shortly after Russias invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, which accused Moscow of falsely applying genocide law to justify the attack.

In a preliminary decision in the case in March last year the court ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately.

Ukrainian saboteur group stopped from crossing into Russias Bryansk region - governor

Tuesday 22 August 2023 12:51 , Martha Mchardy

A group of Ukrainian saboteurs attempted to breach Russias border in the Bryansk region, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Tuesday.

The attempt was thwarted by Russias defence ministry, security services and police, Bogomaz said in a post on Telegram.

Watch: RAF Typhoon intercepts three Russian jets in newly released footage

Tuesday 22 August 2023 12:14 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine needs military assistance overcoming massive mine belt - German minister

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:36 , Martha Mchardy

A massive belt of land mines laid by Russian military in south-eastern Ukraine is hampering Ukrainian soldiers and Kyiv has made clear that it needs equipment to help it get across, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.

We are currently discussing how we can meet this request, not only as Germans but jointly with other partners, she said at a press conference in Berlin alongside her Estonian counterpart.

Russia says its forces destroyed U.S.-made military vessel near Snake Island

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:35 , Martha Mchardy

Russias defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had destroyed a U.S.-made military speedboat near Snake Island in the Black Sea.

Tiny Snake Island became synonymous with Ukrainian resistance in the first hours of what Russia calls its special military operation on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian officers on the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva radioed Ukrainian guards stationed there and ordered them to surrender or die.

'We need more fighter jets,' says Zelensky adviser

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:34 , Martha Mchardy

An adviser to president Zelensky has called for allies to send more fighter jets to Ukraine.

It comes after Denmark and the Netherlands agreed to donate 19 F-16s to Ukraine in what Mr Zelensky called a breakthrough.

Mykhailo Podolyak said: The countries that are now transferring aviation equipment to Ukraine are openly demonstrating that they are deeply interested in protecting international law, democracy and justice.

All of this is possible only if Russia is absolutely defeated. It is extremely important that Ukraines other coalition partners make similar decisions.

The transfer of fighter jets (F16) to #Ukraine is, first of all, about the full understanding by the donor countries (Nordic countries) of the general nature of the war, and this particular stage. It is also about de-escalation, significant reduction of the risks of war    (@Podolyak_M) August 22, 2023

Ukraine says it gains foothold in strategic southeastern village

Tuesday 22 August 2023 10:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine said on Tuesday its troops had entered the strategic southeastern village of Robotyne, a potentially significant advance in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers were organising the evacuation of civilians after entering Robotyne but were still coming under fire from Russian forces.

Our soldiers in the village of Robotyne, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, wrote on Telegram under a picture of a soldier in a tank.

Robotyne is 10 km (six miles) south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub.

Tokmaks capture would be a milestone as Ukrainian troops press southwards towards the Sea of Azov, a military push intended to split Russian occupying forces.

The Institute for the Study of War, an American research group and think tank, has described the Ukrainian attacks on Robotyne as tactically significant. Advancing in the area could enable Ukrainian forces to begin operating beyond the densest of the Russian minefields that have held up the counteroffensive launched in early June, it said.

In a video published by the Ukrainian military, a woman is seen kissing a Ukrainian soldier and several evacuated residents talking on the phone with loved ones.

Psychologically it was very hard (...). We were waiting for so long that today they came unexpectedly. We could not even believe it was ours (..) We are very grateful to the boys (troops), a 52-year-old woman was saying in the video.

Reuters was able to verify the location of the aerial footage from the road layout and positions of buildings seen in the video, which matched satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to independently verify the date it was filmed.

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on the reports from Robotyne.

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:41 , Martha Mchardy

Russian air defence systems thwarted four nighttime Ukrainian drone attacks, Russias Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, with the falling wreckage of one drone shattering an apartment buildings windows and damaging vehicles in Moscows western suburbs.

There were no reports of injuries in the latest drone attacks that Russia blamed on Kyiv, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage. Even so, they have unnerved some Russians and are in line with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskys pledge to take the war into the heart of Russia.

Windows are shattered in a Moscow suburb as Russia says it thwarts latest Ukraine drone attack

Ukraines Zelensky has fruitful talks with Serbian president

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:04 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he had had open, honest and fruitful talks with Serbian [resident Aleksandar Vucic.

An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the president of Serbia, Zelensky, who is visiting Athens, wrote on the Telegram messaging app under a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands.

Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders...On our nations shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest, Zelensky wrote.

An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia @AVucic.



Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders.



On our nations shared future in the common European home.



On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest. pic.twitter.com/t7d9DdUH7M    (@ZelenskyyUa) August 22, 2023

Watch: Ukrainian troops fight on the frontline in Kupiansk

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:50 , Martha Mchardy

On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of Putins thugs

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

We were born here, lived here all our lives, and well die here, says Antonia Samuelska as she trudges along with the aid of a walking stick on a deserted street in Kupiansk. We have no other home anywhere else, well have to accept what comes.

The stillness of a hot afternoon under a blazing sun is broken by the sudden roar of artillery fire, three rounds landing one after the other in quick succession, not far away, spraying dust and debris up into the air with plumes of flame and smoke.

The northeastern city of Kupiansk is a key target for Russia as it attempts to fight back against Ukraines summer offensive. As relentless shelling bombards the city, Kim Sengupta meets residents and soldiers facing daily assault:

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Russias space agency said Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the countrys decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said the spacecrafts engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a pre-landing orbit but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.

Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency, Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24.

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Two Ukrainian drones shot down over Moscow region

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Reuters reporter in the Odintsovo district near the settlement of Chastsy to the west of Moscow, where one of the two drones was shot down in the early hours of Tuesday morning, heard four blasts shortly after 0300 local time (0000 GMT).

Windows were shaking, she said.

The Russian defence ministry said that nobody had been hurt in the latest attack.

An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles was foiled tonight, it said in a statement.

Two drones were detected and destroyed by air defence systems over the territory of the Moscow region.

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:29 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Attack on Russian strategic bomber Tu-22M3 came from own territory, says UK MoD

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:16 , Martha Mchardy

The latest attack on Russias bomber jet by uncrewed aerial vehicle or drones likely came from inside the Russian territory, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

The ministry said a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russias Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsky-2 Airbase in Novgorod Oblast which is 650 km away from Ukraines border. It noted Russian Defence Ministrys response that a copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible for the attack.

If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia, the British MoD said.

Russia has frequently used BACKFIRE bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate AS-4 KITCHEN heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out the intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs, it added in its latest intelligence update.

The attack is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russias ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine  22 August 2023



Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/WYHfB5NZIN



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/Ab4QQUyeMF  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) August 22, 2023

Russia military claims two Ukrainian drones downed near Crimea

Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:02 , Arpan Rai

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its military jammed two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea on Monday night.

The drones crashed into the water at around 11pm local time (20.00 GMT), 40 kilometres to the northwest from Crimea, the military said in a statement.

Ukraine has not taken responsibility for attacks inside Russia or Russia-held territories but has intensified its bid to recapture the illegally annexed peninsula.

Monday attacks in Moscow injure 2, disrupts 90 flights

Tuesday 22 August 2023 06:26 , Arpan Rai

At least two people were injured yesterday when parts of a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defences fell on a house in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.

Nearly 90 airplane flights in and out of the capital were disrupted after Russia said it jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Ruzsky district west of the capital and destroyed another one in the Istrinsky district nearby.

Arrivals and departures from Moscows four main airports  Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky  were restricted, disrupting 45 passenger planes and two cargo planes, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.

The governor of Kaluga region, south of Moscow, said a drone attack had also been repelled there. Mash, a Russian news channel on the Telegram messaging app, said the drone downed in Kaluga region had landed on a military airfield, causing a crater and a fire that was quickly put out.

Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory but in a rare instance, Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said it oversaw an attack on the Russian Shaykovka military airfield in the Kaluga region.

We can state that groups coordinated by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry succeeded at their work, Andriy Yusov, the spokeperson of the agency, told the RBC-Ukraine news outlet.

It is known that several enemy aircraft were damaged, he said declining to comment whether the airfield was hit by drones. Asked about the attack on Moscow he said that the GUR is working but refused to give details.

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:55 , Arpan Rai

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Read the full story here:

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Wagner chief Prigozhin shares first video since failed coup, hints he's in Africa and recruiting

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:21 , Arpan Rai

Russian mercenary group Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin shared his first video address two months after his failed coup against Vladimir Putin as he appeared in a clip likely shot in Africa.

The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group yesterday.

The temperature is +50  everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa  more free. Justice and happiness  for the African people, were making life a nightmare for Isis and Al-Qaeda and other bandits, he said in a video.

He then added Wagner is recruiting people and the group will fulfil the tasks that were set. The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.

Mr Prigozhin was seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands. In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

The Independent has not verified the date and exact location of the video but Mr Prigozhins comments and posts in the Telegram channels hinted it was shot in Africa.

Russian supersonic bomber destroyed in Ukrainian Kamikaze drone attack

Tuesday 22 August 2023 05:06 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has claimed it has destroyed a Russian long-range bomber as it released dramatic photos of the ablaze strategic warplane engulfed in thick black flames and said it was targeted by Kamikaze drones.

The drones struck Russias Soltsi air base in Novgorod region, north of Moscow, on Saturday. Photos published by Ukraine showed the supersonic Russian bomber Tu-22M3 on the airfield but completely destroyed in the fire.

One of the unofficial Telegram channels tracking Ukraines armed forces shared two photos of the attack.

The destroyed Tu-22M3 at the Soltsi airfield after yesterdays arrival of a kamikaze drone, it said in the caption.

The attack was, however, downplayed by the Russian ministry of defence which said the attack resulted in a fire that was promptly extinguished. There was unspecified damage to one plane, it claimed.

The strategic nuclear bomber has played an active role in the war as Ukrainian forces claimed to have downed a cruise missile fired from the warplane in February.

First pictures have emerged regarding the Ukrainian drone attack in the Soltsy-2 airbase. The Russian MoD initially claimed that one plane was only damaged, but pictures of this Tupolev Tu-22M3 speak a different language.



Source: https://t.co/Tlec0Df7TY#Russia #Ukraine https://t.co/fL2E1aGW7a pic.twitter.com/ip4sOE69eT  (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 20, 2023

Moscow closes air space after Ukrainian drone attacks

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:07 , Arpan Rai

Russia has again been forced to shut down its air space over the three biggest airports in Moscow, where arrivals and departures were suspended in the early hours of this morning, Russias TASS news agency reported.

The air space is closed over Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, an unnamed official told the agency.

Flights are not being received, departures are delayed, the person said.

This comes after Russia reported a series of Ukrainian drone attacks including over Moscow, which had struck a building.

Ukrainian drone strikes apartments near Moscow, leaves windows shaking

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:01 , Arpan Rai

The Russian military has brought down four Ukrainian drones near Moscow and over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, officials said today.

At least one drone was shot down in the Odintsovo district near Chastsy settlement to the west of Moscow and four blasts were heard shortly after 3am local time (00.00 GMT).

Broken windows in a high rise apartment building, debris on a pavement and a car with a hole in its glass roof hatch could be seen in videos and pictures from the scene published by Russian media outlet Baza.

Windows were shaking, a witness said.

Russias defence ministry said there were no injuries in the latest attack.

One of the drones was shot down over Krasnogorsk, a town outside Moscow, that hosts the Moscow regional government.

Ukraine has never taken responsibility for drone strikes on Russian and Russia-controlled territory that have increased recently but its leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky, have expressed satisfaction on the attacks.

Full report: Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Tuesday 22 August 2023 04:00 , AP

The head of Russias space agency said on Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the countrys decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land on Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov said the spacecrafts engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a pre-landing orbit but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.

Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency, Mr Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24.

Emma Burrows has the full report here:

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander's crash on the moon

Independent TV | What Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Tuesday 22 August 2023 03:02 , Andy Gregory

Russian artillery within five miles of Kupiansk

Tuesday 22 August 2023 02:04 , Andy Gregory

Russian artillery is within five miles of Kupiansk. Intense fighting is taking place in the outlying villages, with recently-acquired cluster ammunition used by the Ukrainians to repulse repeated enemy attacks.

More than 11,000 residents have been moved out under a mandatory evacuation order, with families with children and the elderly categorised as a priority. Some have stubbornly refused to move, despite first-hand experience of the violence.

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta has more in this special report from Kupiansk:

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Pope Francis discusses Ukraine war and peace with US military chief

Tuesday 22 August 2023 01:01 , Andy Gregory

Pope Francis and Washingtons top general discussed the war in Ukraine and hopes for peace there during a private audience at the Vatican on Monday.

General Mark Milley, who is Catholic and is visiting several European countries, said the Pope was deeply concerned about the loss of life in Ukraine, particularly of civilians, since Russia invaded in February 2022.

A strong advocate for Ukraines defence against Russian forces, the general has championed sending billions of dollars in arms to Kyiv and has sharply criticised Moscow as mounting a campaign of terror against civilians in Ukraine

The Pope has condemned the international arms trade in general but said last year that it is morally legitimate for nations to supply weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.

(Vatican media via REUTERS)

US State Department approves possible sale of Apache helicopters to Poland

Tuesday 22 August 2023 00:02 , Andy Gregory

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of AH-64E Apache helicopters and related equipment to Poland in a deal valued at up to $12bn (9.4bn), the Pentagon has said

Poland  which has prioritised boosting its military since Russias invasion of neighbouringUkraine  has requested 96 of the Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including 1,844 Hellfire missiles and 508 Stinger missiles, the Pentagon said.

While the Pentagon notified the US Congress of the possible sale on Monday, this does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the prime contractors for the weapons, according to the Pentagon.

Prigozhin claims he is in Africa in new clip

Monday 21 August 2023 23:06 , Andy Gregory

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed to be in Africa as he posted the first video clip of himself in weeks on Telegram channels affiliated with the mercenary group.

Prigozhin is seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands, with more armed men in the distance. In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa  more free. Justice and happiness  for the African people, were making life a nightmare for Isis and Al-Qaeda and other bandits, he says in the clip.

He then says Wagner is recruiting people and the group will fulfil the tasks that were set. The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.

Experts have suggested in the weeks since Wagners brief mutiny against Russias military leadership that the mercenary groups activities in Africa and the Middle East will return to the fore, given their diplomatic and potentially financial value to the Kremlin.

Prigozhin appeared in a video, saying he is in Africa and announcing that Wagner is now in the process of recruiting. He talked about making Africa "more free".



Given that Wagner's base is now in #Belarus, Lukashenka involves my country even in this conflict. pic.twitter.com/4gOSc7XXQK  Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) August 21, 2023

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Monday 21 August 2023 22:18 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Gerald Imray has the full report:

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Greece will help train Ukrainian F-16 pilots, Zelensky says

Monday 21 August 2023 21:32 , Andy Gregory

Greece will take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Volodymyr Zelensky has said during a joint press conference with Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.

Denmark and the Netherlands announced on Sunday that they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president told a crowd in Denmark on Monday that promised deliveries of F-16 had made him confident Ukraine could end Russias invasion, and at a later conference in Athens expressed his gratitude for Greeces involvement in the corresponding training.

He did not provide details of the training programme. Officials from a coalition of 11 nations have said F-16 training will take place in Denmark and Romania.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky at Maximos Mansion in Athens (AP)

Russian space chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 crash

Monday 21 August 2023 20:43 , AP

The head of Russia's space agency said that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land on Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the Moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Sanctions imposed on Russia since it launched a war in Ukraine nearly 18 months ago have affected its space programme, making it more difficult to access Western technology.

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 took off from a launchpad in the Russias far-eastern Amur region (via REUTERS)

More than 100,000 Russian troops amassing in northeast, says Ukraine

Monday 21 August 2023 20:01 , Andy Gregory

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports:

The Russian force amassed near Kupiansk contains more than 100,000 troops, 900 tanks, 555 artillery systems and 375 self-propelled guns, according to Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesperson for Ukraines eastern front.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of the armed forces, has stressed the threat to the defence lines in the northeast is very real. The enemys goal is to break through and go directly to Kupiansk. The fighting is extremely intense, some positions have changed hands several times. We are making all the necessary preparations, he says.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister, says that the hottest direction remains Kupiansk. It is plain the Russians want to retake the territories in the Kharkiv region that they lost.

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Wagner a victim of its own brand name, says analyst

Monday 21 August 2023 19:23 , Andy Gregory

The Wagner mercenary group is in some ways a victim of its own brand name, one analyst has suggested.

Mark Galeotti, director of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, told The Independent that he believed Kyivs military was not in the slightest bit worried about the threat of Wagner fighters in Belarus attempting to cross Ukraines northern border.

Speaking of claims the mercenaries could try to cross into Poland or Ukraine, he said: In some ways, Wagner is a victim of its brand name, and people are suggesting its going to do all types of crazy things that are totally beyond their capabilities, but also which frankly no one would even try.

Wagner has lost all of its heavy equipment, he added, with Russias defence ministry making damn sure to reclaim tanks and artillery handed to the mercenaries while in Ukraine, meaning were talking about a bunch of guys with Kalashnikovs, rather than a sort of fully coherent mechanised force.

Citing reports that funding disputes have already seen some mercenaries bussed back to Russia, Mr Galeotti said Ukraine has ample forces to stop 2,000 guys with guns wandering over a border carefully watched due to its proximity to Kyiv, most likely including by Nato.

How much of a threat does Wagner pose in Belarus?

Monday 21 August 2023 18:51 , Andy Gregory

The newfound presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, exiled from Russia after their mutinous march on Moscow, has fuelled fresh anxieties in Ukraine and on Natos eastern flank.

But the true extent to which Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhins guns for hire are now operating in Belarus  and their aims there  remains hard to determine.

We are dealing with layer upon layer of disinformation, Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, told The Independent.

Not only the repeated information campaign trying to convince Ukraine that there is a renewed threat from the north, but also confusion over exactly what Wagner is doing, who they are reporting to, who they are following orders from, and where they might be.

Wagner threat in Belarus explained as mercenary group a victim of its brand name

Special report: On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of Putins thugs

Monday 21 August 2023 18:20 , Andy Gregory

We were born here, lived here all our lives, and well die here, says Antonia Samuelska as she trudges along with the aid of a walking stick on a deserted street in Kupiansk. We have no other home anywhere else, well have to accept what comes.

The stillness of a hot afternoon under a blazing sun is broken by the sudden roar of artillery fire, three rounds landing one after the other in quick succession, not far away, spraying dust and debris up into the air with plumes of flame and smoke.

See that? Thats whats happening every day now. They get closer and closer, what are they trying to hit? Those are just empty houses, most people have left, says Samuelska. This place has been attacked since the start of the war. We had a little bit of peace after that, and then it started again.

The attacks are continuing. On Sunday, 11 people were injured, seven severely, after Kupiansk, in northeastern Ukraine, was hit by artillery strikes. The shelling went on intermittently for several hours, setting cars and buildings on fire.

The city, less than two hours tank drive from Kharkiv  the second city of Ukraine  changed hands after Vladimir Putins invasion. It was captured early on by the Russians and remained under occupation for six months. It was retaken last autumn in a Ukrainian assault that blitzed through the region making sweeping gains.

Now, while international focus has been on the much-publicised Ukrainian summer counteroffensive, in which progress has been slow, Moscow has amassed a huge force  mounting its own offensive towards Kharkiv. Kupiansk, a key logistics hub, is the first objective.

Read more in this special report from our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta:

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Ukraine mulling new Black Sea corridor for grain exports, official claims

Monday 21 August 2023 17:55 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine is considering using its newly-tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments after the first successful evacuation of a vessel along the route last week, a senior agricultural official has said.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since invading last February, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets last month as it pulled out of a UN-backed deal providing Black Sea grain export ships safe passage.

In response, Ukraine announced a humanitarian corridor hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. A Hong Kong-flagged container ship stuck in Odesa port since the invasion travelled the route last week without being fired upon.

Only one commercial vessel has passed through so far, [and this] has shown readiness to move by alternative routes, Denys Marchuk, deputy head of the Agrarian Council, Ukraines largest agribusiness group, told national television.

Further, there should be a movement of potentially 7-8 more ships ... then perhaps in the future these alternative routes will become a corridor for the movement of ships that are travelling with cargoes of grain and oilseeds, he said.

The Financial Times reports that Kyiv is finalising a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships travelling to and from its Black Sea ports, citing Ukrainian deputy economy minister Oleksandr Gryban.

Zelensky vows retaliation for Chernihiv attack that killed seven people and wounded almost 150

Monday 21 August 2023 17:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian oresident Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday vowed stern retaliation for a Russian missile strike in the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv that killed seven people and wounded almost 150 others the day before.

I am sure our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack. Respond tangibly, Zelensky said in a video address published in the early hours of Sunday at the end of a visit to Sweden, his first foreign trip since attending a NATO summit in Lithuania last month.

He identified a 6-year-old girl named Sofia as among the dead in the attack and confirmed that the wounded included 15 children.

Zelenskyy vows retaliation for Chernihiv attack that killed seven people and wounded almost 150

Ukraines elite armoured brigade hit with five airstrikes a day'

Monday 21 August 2023 16:44 , Martha Mchardy

An elite Ukrainian unit equipped with British Challenger 2 tanks is being hit with five airstrikes a day, Ukraines deputy Ukrainian defence minister has said.

The The 82nd air assault brigade is deployed on the southern front and is equipped with German Marder vehicles and American Stryker armoured personnel carriers.

The price of the headlines about where the 82nd brigade was moved in the south is five airstrikes on the brigade per day, said Hanna Maliar, deputy Ukrainian defence minister.

In pictures: Zelensky visits Copenhagen

Monday 21 August 2023 16:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reacts while standing next to his wife Olena Zelenska in front of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen (EPA)

Ukrainian oresident Volodymyr Zelensky shaking hands with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark during meeting in the Hall of Knights at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen (UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky waves in front of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen, Denmark (EPA)

President Volodymyr Zelensky (2nd L) and his wife Olena Zelenska (2nd R) received by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (C), Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (R) and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (L) in the Hall of Knights at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen. (UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE)

Zelensky meets Greek PM

Monday 21 August 2023 16:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Greece on Monday for talks with the countrys leadership and to attend an informal meeting of Balkan leaders with top European Union officials.

Zelensky met with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and also was scheduled to meet the countrys figurehead president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

In the evening, Mitsotakis office said, Zelensky was to join in an informal dinner organized by Mitsotakis for top officials from nine Balkan nations as well as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis shakes hands with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the Maximos Mansion in Athens (REUTERS)

The dinner was scheduled to discuss the Western Balkans regions future in the EU, which many countries have already joined and the rest are jockeying to enter.

Greece has joined its Nato and EU partners in strongly backing Ukraine against the Russian invasion, and has provided material military assistance in the form of armored personnel carriers and ammunition.

But Athens has resisted pressure to provide Kyiv with a Russian-made air defence missile system stationed on the southern island of Crete.

Zelensky thanks Danish royals for 'humanitarian efforts'

Monday 21 August 2023 15:57 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska thanked the Danish royals for their humanitarian efforts as they visited Copenhagen today.

The Ukrainian president and his wife met with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and other members of the Royal Family during their trip.

In a tweet president Zelensky said: We are thankful for the Royal Familys support of all the important humanitarian efforts. We thank the Danish government, parliament, and all Danes for standing with Ukraine.

Olena @ZelenskaUA and I met with HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and members of the Royal Family.



We are thankful for the Royal Family's support of all the important humanitarian efforts. We thank the Danish government, parliament, and all Danes for standing with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/erGB9tV5e5    (@ZelenskyyUa) August 21, 2023

German prosecutors raid home of pro-Kremlin activists

Monday 21 August 2023 15:33 , Martha Mchardy

German prosecutors said on Monday they searched the home of two pro-Kremlin activists under suspicion that they violated a law that regulates the production and transfer of war weapons.

The activists - Max Schlund and his romantic partner Elena Kolbasnikova - have organised multiple rallies protesting Germanys support of Ukraine since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion last year.

Reuters reported in January that Schlund and Kolbasnikova donated funds collected from supporters in Germany to a Russian army division fighting in Ukraine, and the money was used to purchase walkie-talkie radios, headphones and telephones.

German prosecutors searched the couples home in March as they looked for evidence to corroborate Reuters reporting.

Ulf Willuhn, a representative of the Cologne public prosecutors, confirmed on Monday the raid was conducted over suspicions of a violation of the War Weapons Control Act, but denied it was connected to their aid for Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Willuhn declined to comment further on the investigation.

Germanys war weapons law regulates the production, sale and transfer of weapons ranging from hand grenades and automatic rifles to combat aircraft.

One of Kolbasnikova and Schlunds supporters wrote in a Telegram chat on Monday that the police smashed into the couples apartment and injured Schlund during their search. Willuhn said he was not aware of Schlunds injuries and could not comment.

Schlund and Kolbasnikova could not be immediately reached for comment. Kolbasnikova has previously said that the German authorities were committing lawlessness to try to silence political opponents.

Markus Beisicht, the couples lawyer who has been involved in the pairs past rallies, told Reuters the apartment was damaged during the search on Monday and said Schlund was left with small bruises and wounds after the raid.

Watch: Ukrainian troops fight on the frontline in Kupiansk

Monday 21 August 2023 15:15 , Martha Mchardy

Hiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war

Monday 21 August 2023 14:45 , Martha Mchardy

Life in the capital of a war-torn country seems normal on the surface. In the mornings, people rush to their work holding cups of coffee. Streets are filled with cars, and in the evenings restaurants are packed. But the details tell another story.

Numerous buildings across Kyiv bear the scars of Russian bombardment. Sandbags are stacked around monuments, museums and office buildings to protect from possible attack. At nights, streets are empty after the midnight curfew comes into force.

Read more:

Hiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war

On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of Putins thugs

Monday 21 August 2023 14:15 , Martha Mchardy

The northeastern city of Kupiansk is a key target for Russia as it attempts to fight back against Ukraines summer offensive. As relentless shelling bombards the city, Kim Sengupta meets residents and soldiers facing daily assault.

On the ground in Ukraine, the battle to beat Putins thugs | Kim Sengupta

Ukraines Zelensky says F-16s make him confident that Russia will lose the war

Monday 21 August 2023 13:44 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told a crowd in Denmark on Monday that promised deliveries of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets had made him confident Ukraine could end Russias invasion.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday announced they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine, with the initial six due to be delivered around New Year. Washington had approved the delivery of the jets ahead of Zelenskys trip to Copenhagen.

Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war, Zelensky told thousands of people who gathered outside the Danish parliament to hear his speech.

Russia warned earlier that supplying the jets to Ukraine would only escalate the war, which has dragged on for almost 18 months. Russian forces are occupying almost a fifth of Ukraines territory and Kyiv is battling hard to push them out.

Iranian delegation arrives in Moscow to discuss ground forces cooperation -TASS

Monday 21 August 2023 12:45 , Martha Mchardy

An Iranian military delegation has arrived in Moscow to discuss cooperation between Iranian and Russian ground forces, state news agency TASS reported on Monday, citing Russias Defence Ministry.

Russia and Iran, both under Western economic sanctions, have forged closer relations in military and other areas since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

The West has accused Iran of selling large numbers of drones for use against Ukraine, something Tehran denies.

Zelensky warns that Russias neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not win war

Monday 21 August 2023 11:48 , Martha Mchardy

President Zelensky warned that Russias neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not win the war.

The Ukrainian president thanked Danish lawmakers on Monday for helping his country resist Russias invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with American-made F-16 warplanes that could be delivered around the end of the year.Addressing the Danish parliament in Copenhagen, he said: All of Russias neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail.

International law will not be resuscitated, democracies of the world, each of them can become a target  either for missiles, or for mercenaries, or for destabilisation, and I am sure you can fill it.

But Ukraine will prevail. Thankyou for all the help provided to Ukraine.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky greets members of Danish Parliament in Copenhagen (via REUTERS)

Four killed and 25 wounded in latest Russian attacks in Ukraine, says presidential office

Monday 21 August 2023 11:13 , Martha Mchardy

At least four civilians were killed and 25 others wounded by the latest Russian attacks in Ukraine, according to the countrys presidential office.

The dead included a 71-year-old man killed by Russian shelling in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia.

Watch live: Zelensky speaks to Danish people after addressing parliament in Copenhagen

Monday 21 August 2023 11:08 , Martha Mchardy

Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to Danish people outside the parliament in Copenhagen on Monday, 21 August, after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in what he called a historic pledge.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets, with the first six due to be shipped around New Year, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

Live: Zelensky speaks to Danish people after addressing parliament in Copenhagen

Watch: Ukrainian troops fight on the frontline in Kupiansk

Monday 21 August 2023 10:47 , Martha Mchardy

RECAP: Ukraines Zelensky in Netherlands after US approved sending Dutch F-16 jets to Ukraine

Monday 21 August 2023 10:15 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday, two days after the country said the United States had given its approval for Dutch and Danish authorities to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraines air force.

Zelensky met Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte at a military air base in the southern city of Eindhoven. The Ukrainian leader was in Sweden a day earlier.

The U.S. approval Friday for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver American-made F-16s to Ukraine was seen as a major boost for Kyiv, even though the fighter jets wont have an impact any time soon on the almost 18-month war.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Netherlands after US approved sending Dutch F-16 jets to Ukraine

Russia warns F-16 donations will escalate war with Ukraine

Monday 21 August 2023 09:48 , Martha Mchardy

Russia has condemned a decision by Denmark and the Netherlands to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying the move would escalate the conflict.

The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict, Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin said in a statement cited by the Ritzau news agency.

By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia, he said.

Danish defence minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine may only use the donated F-16s within its own territory.

We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that, Ellemann-Jensen said on Monday.

Those are the conditions, whether its tanks, fighter planes or something else, he said.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets in total. The Netherlands has 42 F-16s available in all but has yet to decide whether all of them will be donated.

Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky said on Sunday the planes would strengthen Ukraines air defences and help its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

Dominos franchisee to declare Russian business bankrupt

Monday 21 August 2023 09:35 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian arm of fast food chain Dominos is likely to close after its London-listed parent company decided to put it into bankruptcy.

Apparently failing to find a buyer for the Russian business, DP Eurasia said it has decided its subsidiary should instead file for bankruptcy

The franchisee runs around 170 Dominos pizza sites in the country, and had previously said it was evaluating its presence there.

Dominos franchisee to declare Russian business bankrupt

Drone attack thwarted over Russias Kaluga region without casualties or damage, governor claims

Monday 21 August 2023 09:11 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russias Kaluga region, south of Moscow, said on Monday that a drone attack had been repelled without casualties or damage.

Two injured in Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow region

Monday 21 August 2023 08:58 , Martha Mchardy

At least two people were injured on Monday when parts of a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defences fell on a house in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.

Ukraine may use new Black Sea route for grain shipments

Monday 21 August 2023 08:40 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine is considering using its newly-tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments, a senior agricultural official said on Monday.

It follows the first successful evacuation of a vessel on the route last week.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in Feb. 2022 and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of a U.N.-backed safe passage deal last month.

In response, Ukraine announced a humanitarian corridor hugging the seas western coastline near Romania and Bulgaria. A Hong Kong-flagged container ship stuck in Odesa port since the invasion travelled the route last week without being fired upon.

Only one commercial vessel has passed through so far, it has shown readiness to move by alternative routes, Denys Marchuk, deputy head of the Agrarian Council, Ukraines largest agribusiness organisation, told national television.

Further, there should be a movement of potentially 7-8 more ships... then perhaps in the future these alternative routes will become a corridor for the movement of ships that are travelling with cargoes of grain and oilseeds, he said.

The Financial Times said Kyiv was finalising a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships travelling to and from its Black Sea ports, citing Ukraines deputy economy minister Oleksandr Gryban.

Ukraine is a global major grain grower and exporter and normally ships millions of metric tons of food from its deep-water Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv, but has had to rely on its Danube river ports after Russia pulled out of the deal.

To attract ship owners to Ukrainian ports which have come under fire from Russian forces, Marchuk said Ukraine had already allocated 20 billion hryvnias ($547 million) for ship insurance.

Not all ship owners will dare to put their ships in an uncertain environment, he added.

Watch live: Zelensky addresses Danish parliament after historic fighter jets pledge

Monday 21 August 2023 08:27 , Martha Mchardy

Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Danish parliament on Monday, 21 August, after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in what he called a historic pledge.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets, with the first six due to be shipped around New Year, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said.

A further eight will be sent in 2024 and five in 2025.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands has 42 jets but some will be needed for training purposes.

It is not confirmed when the Netherlands will send the aircraft.

Watch live: Zelensky addresses Danish parliament after historic fighter jets pledge

Ukraine says it repels Russian attacks in Kharkiv region, gains in east

Monday 21 August 2023 08:07 , Maanya Sachdeva

The situation in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv is difficult but Ukraines forces are repelling Russian attacks and have re-taken several square kilometres on the eastern front over the past week, a deputy defence minister said on Monday.

The Ukrainian military said last week that Russia was attacking towards Kupiansk, a town in the Kharkiv region.

The situation in the Kupiansk direction is difficult. The enemy is not leaving plans to move forward, the enemy is pulling up additional forces, Hanna Maliar told the national television broadcaster.

We are confident in our defenders, but it is very difficult for them there and the enemy is not advancing there, she said.

Maliar said that Ukrainian forces were advancing south of Bakhmut, the city occupied by Russian forces in May after a bloody months-long struggle, and had liberated another three square kilometres over the past week.

These reports could not be independently verified at the time.

Maliar said there were no significant changes in the situation in the south, where Ukrainian forces are trying to split Russian forces and reach the Sea of Azov.

We should not underestimate the enemy, Maliar said. We should all be patient and support our armed forces.

Russia says two Ukrainian drones jammed over Moscow region

Monday 21 August 2023 07:37 , Maanya Sachdeva

Two Ukrainian drones were reportedly downed on Monday in the Moscow region, briefly disrupting flights at two of the capitals airports, according to Russian officialds.

Russias defence ministry said it jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Ruzsky district west of the capital and later destroyed another one in the Istrinsky district nearby.

Arrivals and departures from Moscows Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports were briefly halted but later restarted.

Ukrainian drone strikes both on border regions and on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months, with repeated strikes on Moscows financial district.

Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
OPINION: Kashmiri Separatists Frustrated With ISIs Use And Throw Policy

Feature

lekhaka-R C Ganjoo

Pakistan's ISI is once again trying to revive the separatist movement in Kashmir, not on religious sentiments but on a political front. In this perspective, the Pakistan army presently managing the political and economic crisis appointed jailed Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik's wife Mishal Hussain Malik as a special advisor to Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar.

It is in Pakistan's DNA that they have no respect for their leaders. History is witness to its outlook from Mohd Ali Jinnah to Imran Khan who has been humiliated and insulted in public. Likewise, Mishil Malik's appointment has been seen as a humiliation to her husband Yaseen Malik, currently serving his sentence in Tihar Jail in Delhi. ISI has not even hesitated to exploit his 12-year-old daughter Raziyah in PoK assembly to express her helplessness and plead for help.

Kashmir watchers believe that the appointment of Mishal Malik is superficial for the time being. Dr Syed Nazir Gilani, President of UK- based JKCHR NGO comments, "It is the exploitation of innocent Kashmiris. She is far remote from a common Kashmiri and Kashmiriyat. Yasin Malik will be having sleepless nights. Her shelf value would not last long."

Her appointment has not been welcomed by the JKLF cadre in PoK and instead has maintained distance from ISI. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) rank and file have shown a lukewarm response to ISI's new beginning of a so-called freedom movement. Kashmir experts are of the view that the JKLF cadre in Kashmir valley too has been disillusioned by Pakistan on Kashmir policy.

Mushaal Hussein Mullick, Wife Of Kashmiri Separatist Yasin Malik, Appointed To Pakistan Caretaker Government

ISI's brute and uncouth attitude demoralized the zeal of JKLF in the valley for their narrow diplomatic gains. ISI has lost trust in Yasin Malik and has branded him as a doubtful character of no use. Thus, Yasin Malik has lost his command over JKLF. Altaf Qadri from the US working as acting chairman in the absence of Yasin Malik (since in jail) quit JKLF on July 15, 2023, due to political differences within the organisation.

JKLF, which was formed on May 29, 1977, in Birmingham, England, has a stronghold of 300 Kashmiri origin people belonging to Ansari and Mirza families holding the JKLF fort.

Altaf Qatari, a Board Member of Kashmir Global Council (KGC) told this journalist, "The time will come for negotiations, and we must plan it carefully for that moment. It is imperative to understand that no conflict ends without political consequences. Therefore in that situation, either Kashmiris should engage in shaping those consequences to serve our interests, or India will shape the consequences to its stead."

When asked about the role of Pakistan, Qadri categorically said "The honest rejoinder will be that Pakistan has lost an equation in the issue. They must hold themselves accountable for it, and we must take a load off their outdated narrative."

However, the US-based Diplomatic Head of JKLF Raja Muzaffar, while commenting on the news of the inclusion of Yasin Malik's wife in the federal government of Pakistan, said that the Pakistani establishment (ISI) in the case of Kashmir is doing nothing but harming the life of Yasin Malik, also taking revenge for something from Yasin Malik.

Meanwhile, JKLF units have started brainstorming sessions to devise damage control methods for the organization which has slipped into a deep crisis.

In the process of damage control to JKLF, Saleem Haroon Senior, Vice Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, in a statement has said during the exchange of thoughts with Farooq Siddiqi, the president of the KGC, nationalist school of thoughts needed to be united along the ideological lines.

Govt Raises Concern Over Yasin Maliks Appearance In SC: Here's Why

It was also admitted that the so-called freedom struggle was passing through odd situations and sincere efforts were needed to challenge it. While on the inner bickering in JKLF

it was decided to plug the loose ends from traditional politics and put up a united resistance against those trying to undermine the sacrifices of the people of Kashmir.

The JKLF assured to extend its sincere support to KGC's efforts for creating a representative Senate for representing Kashmiris in the resolution of Kashmir. JKLF and KGC will continue to work in tandem to promote the idea of a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue.

(R C Ganjoo is a senior journalist and columnist having more than 30 years experience of covering issues concerning national security, particularly Kashmir. He has worked with several prominent media groups and his articles have been published in many national and international publications.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Telangana Horror: 8 Men Barge Into House, Gang Rape 15-Year Old Girl

Hyderabad

oi-Prakash KL

In a shocking incident, a minor girl was gang-raped by eight men on Monday, triggering protests from localities and political parties.

The victim had moved to Meerpet recently with her cousin after losing her parents. On Monday, eight men barged into her house and sexually assaulted the victim before dragging her upstairs of the home to rape her.

"Three of them took the girl upstairs, while others threatened her brother and the other children at knifepoint. The three men took turns to rape her," Hindustan Times quoted a police officer as saying.

Seven special police teams have been formed to nab the culprits involved in the incident, LB Nagar deputy commissioner of police (DCP) B Sai Sree. "We have registered a case of gangrape on a minor and also under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act," she said.

Rajasthan: 14-Year-Old Girl Gang Raped, Burnt Alive In Coal Furnace

The victim's cousin alerted the neighbours who informed the police, the report said. "We have examined the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to track down the accused. We are yet to apprehend them. We are also investigating whether they had any previous enmity with the victim's family," the police officer added.

The victim's brother, who lodged a formal complaint with the Meerpet police, narrated that they originally resided with their parents in Lal Bazar area in the southern part of Hyderabad. Following the demise of their parents, they moved in with their cousin. The boy was employed at a flex board store, while his sister worked as a salesgirl at a textile shop located in Dilsukhnagar.

Meanwhile, the BJP has condemned the state government over the incident.

BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, on Twitter, said, "Multiple gang rapes of minors in Telangana. What is happening in Telangana? We all remember the Jubilee Hills rape issue. Now back-to-back gang rapes of minors in Hyderabad: 16-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped by a gang of men at her house in Nandanavanam Colony- Meerpet Peddapalli: a 15-year-old girl who was gang-raped in Appannapet area of Peddapalli district on August 14, died a day later." Referring to the statement of the state Home Minister, the BJP leader said, "Now who is responsible when minors are raped in their homes?"
'If You Don't Get A Joke Then The Joke Is On You': Prakash Raj On Chandrayaan 3 Controversy

Actor Prakash Raj Faces Police Complaint For Chandrayaan-3 Tweet

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

A police complaint has been lodged against renowned actor Prakash Raj for a tweet he posted concerning the Chandrayaan-3 mission, sparking a fresh controversy. Hindu organisations' leaders took action by filing a formal complaint against Raj at the Banahatti police station in the Bagalkote district. They are demanding appropriate action be taken against him for allegedly mocking India's prestigious Moon Mission.

The controversy began on August 20, when Prakash Raj took to his social media platform to share a cartoon depicting a man wearing a vest and a lungi, traditionally styled clothing, while pouring tea. The cartoon was accompanied by the caption, "First picture coming from the Moon by #VikramLander (sic)." The tweet quickly caught the attention of the online community, leading to widespread criticism.

BREAKING NEWS:-

First picture coming from the Moon by #VikramLander Wowww #justasking pic.twitter.com/RNy7zmSp3G  Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) August 20, 2023

Many users on the platform criticised Raj for what they perceived as mocking the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which aims to achieve a safe landing on the lunar surface. The tweet was met with backlash, with individuals accusing Raj of displaying "blind hatred" towards India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It's worth noting that Prakash Raj has been a vocal critic of the BJP and PM Modi for several years.

The controversy escalated further when users pointed out that Raj had used derogatory terms related to the "chaiwala" (tea seller) remark that he had previously directed at PM Modi. This further fueled the perception that Raj's tweet was politically motivated and intended to demean the Prime Minister.

Actor Prakash Raj Mocks Ex-ISRO Chief K Sivan Ahead of Chandrayaan-3 Landing, Faces Backlash

Amid the severe backlash, Prakash Raj chose to address the controversy by issuing a clarification on his social media platform. He defended his tweet, explaining that he was referring to a joke from the "Armstrong times" and was celebrating a local tea seller from Kerala. He challenged critics to understand the humor and grow up, suggesting that the joke was taken out of context.

Hate sees only Hate.. i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times .. celebrating our kerala Chaiwala .. which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see ?? .. if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you .. GROW UP #justasking https://t.co/NFHkqJy532  Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) August 21, 2023

Despite Raj's explanation, the controversy has yet to subside.
Bangladeshi Woman Sania Akhtar Arrives In Noida With Child, Claims Indian Man Married And Abandoned Her

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

A Bangladeshi woman has accused an Indian man residing in Noida of marrying her three years ago andthat they have a kid. She alleges that her husband, identified as Saurabh Kant Tiwari, has now refused to return to Bangladesh to live with her. The woman, named Sania Akhtar, entered India on a visa with the intention of "bringing her husband back" with her. She has also reported the matter to the police.

Sania Akhtar shared her entire account with the police, explaining that she met Saurabh Kant Tiwari, an Indian man working in Dhaka, in 2019. They fell in love and got married in a Muslim ceremony in 2021 and that they also have a child together. The woman has arrived in India along with their child.

According to her, during her pregnancy, Saurabh informed her that he needed to return to India for work and assured her of his swift return. However, he failed to come back, leaving her behind. Sania mentioned that Saurabh had been employed at Culti Max Energy Private Limited in Dhaka.

Yet Another Cross Border Love Story Like Seema Haider's Case, This Time From Bangladesh

The woman has expressed her desire to live with Saurabh, regardless of whether he wants her to reside with him in India or Bangladesh.

Upon her arrival in Noida and after her presence was discovered, she was apprehended by the Noida Sector 62 police and is currently held at a detention center, according to reports.
BRICS Summit 2023: What To Watch Out For?

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The upcoming BRICS Summit is scheduled to occur from August 22 to 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The gathering will be attended by the leaders of India, China, Brazil, and South Africa, with Russia represented by its foreign minister.

This year's BRICS Summit takes place against a backdrop of significant geopolitical shifts, with Russia and China assuming prominent roles. Russia's economy has been impacted by Western sanctions, resulting in a weakened rouble due to decreased exports and capital outflows. In contrast, China is grappling with an economic dispute with the United States while experiencing its most substantial downturn in four decades.

Anticipations are that the forthcoming BRICS summit will emphasize enhanced economic collaboration to navigate uncertainties arising from the Ukraine conflict and the global economic deceleration. The Johannesburg summit presents an opportune moment for the coalition of emerging economies to challenge prevailing perceptions of its "irrelevance."

BRICS Expansion

Attention is now directed toward the possibility of expanding the group by adding 40 more countries, including Argentina, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Advocates of expansion argue that this move could counterbalance the influence of the US-led Group of Seven on the global economy. Such expansion could ensure the continued significance of BRICS in the global order and provide an alternate source of financing for developing nations. However, the expansion could also be interpreted as China's bid to establish itself as the leader of the developing world, potentially unsettling its rival, India.

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China's De-dollarisation Strategy

The plan to expand BRICS membership is closely intertwined with China's pursuit of de-dollarising global trade. China aims to eventually replace the US dollar with other currencies. Despite its efforts, the US-China economic rivalry suggests that Beijing intends to promote the yuan as an alternative to the US dollar. Notably, two BRICS members, Brazil and Russia, are already transacting with China in yuan. Nevertheless, the US dollar remains the predominant global reserve currency, constituting around 80% of global trade.

BRICS Common Currency

China's aspirations for the yuan may encounter obstacles. India, a regional competitor of China that envisions a prominent global role for the rupee, is unlikely to favor the yuan's ascendancy as a major reserve currency. Given the complex political dynamics between the two neighboring nations, India's reservations are understandable. While the group has expressed the necessity of reducing reliance on the US dollar, discussions regarding a proposed common 'BRICS currency,' initially suggested by Russia and Brazil, are unlikely to occur at the upcoming summit.

Enhancing Trade with Africa

A significant portion of the discussions will likely center on deepening trade connections with African countries. The BRICS alliance is poised to explore greater opportunities within the continent, which is seen as a largely untapped market, through the African Continental Free Trade Area. China, particularly, is already Africa's primary trading partner, with trade projected to exceed $500 billion by 2030.

EAM Jaishankar Calls On BRICS Nations To Demonstrate Sincerity In Reforming UNSC

BRICS Economic Potential

With a combined population exceeding 40% of the world's total, BRICS represents a vast untapped market. The collective GDP of the five member nations accounts for over a quarter of the global Gross Domestic Product. Foreign investments into BRICS nations surged fourfold between 2001 and 2021, propelling economic growth, according to a UN report.

The BRICS economies contribute 18% of global exports, signifying substantial room for increased trade between member states. Expanding the BRICS alliance could not only stimulate global trade but also bolster the group's economic significance. Projections suggest that an expanded BRICS could contribute more than 50% of global GDP by 2030.

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Story first published: Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 10:05 [IST]
Delhi Minor Rape Case: CCTV Footage Shows Accused Officer, Wife Trying To Flee Cops

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The arrested Delhi official, Premoday Khakha, who stands accused of raping his friend's teenage daughter, along with his co-accused wife, made an attempt to escape from their residence. However, their bid for escape was foiled as captured by CCTV footage. According to Police, around 9:35 am, Khakha and Seema Rani left home in a car, as indicated by surveillance camera recordings positioned near their residence.

The visual evidence depicts the couple's vehicle moving through the lanes in the vicinity, a short time prior to their subsequent arrest.

CCTV footage: Delhi predator Khakha couple made an unsuccessful attempt to evade arrest on Monday 9:35am, allegedly to meet lawyer & move bail plea.



Critical ask here is, if the FIR was lodged on 12Aug, then-



1. Why WCD & Delhi govt kept silence for 9days?

2. Why Delhi Police pic.twitter.com/zKmgGibUNY  The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) August 22, 2023

Reports further said that the Deputy Director of Delhi Women and Child Development, who is currently under suspension, had been in communication with a lawyer, outlining intentions to pursue anticipatory bail through legal channels. However, this plan was abruptly halted as he was apprehended near his residence in Burari, situated in northern Delhi. Khakha has been accused of repeatedly raping the class 12 girl between 2020 and 2021.

DCW Chief Swati Maliwal Sleeps Outside Hospital After Being Denied From Meeting Delhi Rape Victim

According to reports, the victim had met the accused at a church. Following her father's passing in 2020, she got into depression. The passing of her father in 2020 plunged her into a state of depression. Seizing upon an existing acquaintance, the accused took advantage of the situation, coaxing her to his residence under the guise of providing support.

Recounting her harrowing experience to the authorities, the victim detailed the period spanning from October 2020 to February 2021, during which she found herself under the care of her supposed "guardian" in Burari. Tragically, this period was marred by multiple instances of rape.

Khakha now faces grave charges of child abuse as stipulated by the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Allegedly, he committed these offenses against his friend's daughter when she was just 14 years old, persisting for several months. The gravity of the situation is exacerbated by the additional accusation that, upon her pregnancy, his wife Seema purportedly administered abortion pills in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy.

Delhi Govt Officer Accused Of Raping Minor Arrested Along With Wife

Meanwhile, the minor victim is currently receiving crucial counseling within the confines of a Delhi hospital, as efforts are made to help her cope with the aftermath of this appalling ordeal.

Reacting to the public outcry, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wasted no time, demonstrating a decisive stance by ordering the immediate suspension of the accused Delhi official.

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Story first published: Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 15:54 [IST]
Indian Army Denies Surgical Strike Reports, Says Infiltration Bid Thwarted

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Ministry of Defence has officially denied the claims made by a newspaper report regarding a recent surgical strike carried out by the Indian Army. The Army itself has also confirmed that no such operation took place. The newspaper article had alleged that the Indian Army had executed another surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

An Army spokesperson released a statement to the leading English Daily clarifying the situation, saying, "A news report has been published regarding a Surgical Strike. I would like to clarify that no such operation has been conducted in the Rajouri-Poonch region. An infiltration attempt was thwarted yesterday, for which a press release has been issued."

According to the official Army statement, "On the morning of August 22, alert troops detected two terrorists attempting to cross the Line of Control (LC) into Indian territory in the Hamirpur area of the Balakote Sector. The terrorists were taking advantage of adverse weather conditions, dense fog, thick foliage, and undulating terrain."

"When the terrorists approached our ambush positions, they were challenged and engaged with effective gunfire. As a result, the terrorists swiftly retreated from the ambush site, exploiting the favorable combination of weather and terrain conditions. Despite this, the effective gunfire led to one terrorist falling to the ground near the LC. Additional troops were subsequently deployed to the area, and search operations began in the afternoon once the weather conditions improved."

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"During the search, an AK-47 rifle with two magazines, 30 rounds, two grenades, and medicines of Pakistani origin were recovered from the area. Blood trails leading towards the LC were also found during the search. Based on intelligence inputs, it was determined that the two terrorists who attempted to infiltrate were injured due to gunfire from our troops. Despite managing to return across the LC, they eventually succumbed to their injuries."

The Army's statement concluded by stating, "Our troops remain vigilant and on high alert to counter any potential infiltration attempts."

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Story first published: Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 14:07 [IST]
Mumbai-Ahmedabad To Get Another Vande Bharat Express: Here's What We Know

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Western Railway is considering introducing a second Vande Bharat Express on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, following the phenomenal success of the first train. The Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express, which was launched in February 2023, has been a huge hit with passengers, with many opting for the train over road or air travel.

The decision to consider a second Vande Bharat Express is a response to the increasing demand for passenger travel on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. The route is one of the busiest in India, with over 300,000 passengers traveling between Mumbai and Ahmedabad every day. The introduction of a second Vande Bharat Express would help to meet this demand and provide passengers with more travel options.

The Western Railway is currently in the process of assessing the feasibility of introducing a second Vande Bharat Express. The train would likely be similar to the first train, with a top speed of 160 km/h and a travel time of just over 6 hours. The train would also feature modern amenities such as onboard Wi-Fi, reclining seats, and a food trolley.

Kerala: Stones Pelted At Vande Bharat Express Train, Third Incident In 3 Days

Vande Bharat express has average speed of 104 Kmph between GZB- ALD on N C Rly, which is highest for any train on IR. Our loco pilots who are Driving force in this success were awarded for their commendable work. This prestigious train completed total run of 1.35 lakh Kms. pic.twitter.com/eAAnfrlEmg  Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) June 20, 2019

The introduction of a second Vande Bharat Express would be a major boost for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor. The train would help to improve connectivity between the two cities and boost economic activity in the region. It would also provide passengers with a more comfortable and efficient travel option.

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Story first published: Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 10:21 [IST]
PM Modi's Special Rakhi Moment: Handmade Rakhi From Pakistani Sister Qamar Mohsin Sheikh

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Qamar Mohsin Sheikh, famously known as Narendra Modi's Rakhi sister of Pakistani origin, is preparing to travel to New Delhi to personally tie a Rakhi on the Prime Minister's wrist during this year's Raksha Bandhan celebration. Sheikh has consistently sent a Rakhi to Modi for the past three decades.

"I've crafted the Rakhi myself this time. I intend to gift him (PM Modi) a book on agriculture, as he has a penchant for reading. Over the last few years, the ongoing pandemic hindered my visits, but this time, I'm determined to meet him in person," Sheikh, who relocated to India from Pakistan following her marriage, shared with the news agency ANI.

#WATCH | Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Qamar Mohsin Shaikh, PM Narendra Modi's rakhi sister says, "This time I have made the 'Rakhi' myself. I will also gift him (PM Modi) a book on agriculture as he is fond of reading. For the last 2-3 years I was unable to go due to Covid but this time I pic.twitter.com/BMbbNrRyOP  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023

She said, "I've specially chosen a red Rakhi for him, as the color signifies strength. In the past, I prayed for him to become the chief minister of Gujarat, and he did. Every time I tied the Rakhi, I conveyed my wish for him to become the prime minister. He always responded positively, assuring me that all my desires would be fulfilled by God. Now, he is tirelessly working for the country as the PM."

BRICS Summit: PM Modi Leaves For Johannesburg, India-China Ties In Focus

During the preceding year, while extending her Raksha Bandhan greetings to the Prime Minister, she expressed her anticipation of meeting him this year. When discussing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, she confidently stated, "There's no doubt; he will be the prime minister again. He rightfully deserves it due to his capabilities. I hope he remains the PM of India in every instance."

Raksha Bandhan is a festival where sisters tie Rakhi on their brothers' wrists and offer prayers for their prosperity and longevity. Contemporary practices have also seen sisters reciprocating the gesture. This celebration takes place on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana, which generally falls in August.

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Story first published: Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 11:31 [IST]
Why Are We Targeting Pakistanis? Mani Shankar Aiyar

India

oi-PTI

Batting for resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar says India won't be able to take its due place in the world as long as its western neighbour is an "albatross around our necks''.

The Congress leader, who served as India's consul general in Karachi from December 1978-January 1982, has dedicated a full chapter to his Pakistan stint in his autobiography "Memoirs of a Maverick -- The First Fifty Years (1941-1991)" that hit the stands on Monday.

In an interview with Press Trust of India on his new book, published by Juggernaut Books, Aiyar said the high point of his bureaucratic career was undoubtedly his stint as consul general in Pakistan and he has dwelt at very great length on his three years in Karachi in the first volume out now.

Arrested UP Resident Operated As ISI Agent, Sent Images Of Rafale Jets To Pakistan

India's "biggest asset" in Pakistan were the people there who did not consider it an enemy country, he said.

"We were coming back from a dinner one day, within the first two-three weeks of the posting, when my wife Suneet asked me a question that reverberated in my mind in my stay in Karachi - 'This is an enemy country, right'?" Aiyar said he asked himself the question through his three years there and for the last 40 years since he came back from Pakistan.

"I have come to the conclusion that whatever may be the view of the sections of the army, or sections of polity, as far as the people of Pakistan are concerned, they are neither an enemy country nor do they regard India as an enemy country," he claimed in his interview to Press Trust of India.

"Every time we want to display our disapproval of the (Pakistani) government, visas are stopped, films are stopped, TV exchanges are stopped, books are stopped, travel is stopped, so I don't see why we do not know how to leverage the goodwill of the people of Pakistan as an integral part of our diplomatic approach," Aiyar added.

For the last nine years all dialogue between India and Pakistan has been frozen, he noted.

"Until (Narendra) Modi became prime minister of India, almost every prime minister, if he had the time, was attempting some kind of a dialogue with the Pakistanis but now we are in a freeze and the victims of this freeze are not the army of Pakistan which is still swigging its scotch, it is the people of Pakistan whose relatives in large numbers live in India and many of whom have a desire to visit our country," he said.

Aiyar said that during his diplomatic stint in Karachi, he issued three lakh visas and did not get a single complaint of misuse.

"So why are we targeting the Pakistani people? You can target the Pakistani establishment if you want to, but as far as the people are concerned, they are our biggest asset and as far as the establishment is concerned, we can target them but we need to engage with them," the former diplomat, who quit the Indian Foreign Service in 1989 to join the Congress, said.

He said he was impressed by a book launch event recently where five former Indian high commissioners to Pakistan participated and all insisted that dialogue with Islamabad was important and there can be no progress without it.

Mushaal Hussein Mullick, Wife Of Kashmiri Separatist Yasin Malik, Appointed To Pakistan Caretaker Government

"It was Dr Manmohan Singh who clearly showed that if you do talk to the Pakistanis perhaps out of the public eye in an uninterrupted and uninterruptible way, you can resolve even the issue of Kashmir. After all, there was a four-point agreement that had been drafted and virtually agreed upon and it was not because the Pakistanis withdrew from that four-point agreement on Kashmir, but because the government of (Pervez) Musharraf fell into difficulty and eventually fell that the dialogue was interrupted," he said.

There is need to understand that any dialogue with Pakistan is going to suffer setbacks, is going to take time and we need to have the patience and persistence, to establish a viable relationship with Pakistan, he said.

"So long as Pakistan is an albatross around our necks, we just will not be able to take our due place in the world. It is ludicrous to suggest that India is the 'vishwaguru' when we don't know what to do with our neighbour," Aiyar claimed.

Aiyar makes a strong case for good relations between the two countries in the book as well, saying common Pakistanis not only speak the same language as us and share much of the same 'tehzeeb' (culture), they love Bollywood and its music and laugh at the same jokes and befriend us everywhere outside the subcontinent.
Vivek Ramaswamy Says He Would Fire 75 Per Cent Of Federal Workforce If Elected US President

1st GOP Presidential Debate In USA: See The 8 Republican Candidates Debating In Milwaukee

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Republican National Committee has announced the eight candidates who have qualified for the first 2024 presidential primary debate, which will be held on Wednesday in Milwaukee. The candidates are:

Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota

Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida

Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and former US ambassador to the United Nations

Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas

Mike Pence, former vice president

Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and author

Tim Scott, senator from South Carolina

The candidates met the RNC's criteria for qualification, which included polling at least 1% in three national polls or 2% in two early-state polls, and raising at least USD 10 million.

The debate will be hosted by Fox News and will be moderated by Bret Baier. It is expected to be a high-stakes event, as the candidates will be looking to make a good impression on voters and establish themselves as front-runners in the race.

Who Is GOP Presidential Hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy? 10 Things To Know About Him

Former President Donald Trump, who is the frontrunner in most polls, has not qualified for the debate because he has not met the fundraising requirement. Trump has said that he will not participate in the debate, but he is expected to be a major topic of discussion.

The debate is also likely to be overshadowed by protests that are planned outside the Fiserv Forum. The Milwaukee police have said that they will be closing down several roads around the arena to accommodate the protests.

Juneau between 6th and Martin Luther King Highland from MLK to Vel Phillips Highland from 6th to 8th Vel Phillips from Highland to State Vel Phillips from McKinley to Juneau 5th from McKinley to Juneau 6th between State and McKinley Winnebago from 6th to the roundabout

The 2024 Republican presidential primary is expected to be a crowded and competitive race. The eight candidates who have qualified for the first debate are just a few of the many potential contenders.
Donald Trump to Turn Himself In At Atlanta Jail On Thursday Over Georgia Election Case

International

dwnews-DW News

Donald Trump will hand himself over to authorities in Georgia later this week, the former US president said on Monday.

"I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED," Trump said on his own social media platform Truth Social.

He claimed the indictment was politically motivated in an effort to derail his reelection campaign.

Trump and 18 other co-defendants have until noon (1600 GMT) on Friday to surrender. Trump's personal lawyer, John Eastman, said he plans to hand himself over to Fulton County authorities on Wednesday.

Trump Says He Would Impose Reciprocal Tax On India If Re-Elected

What are the charges against Trump?

In a 98-page Georgia indictment revealed last week, prosecutors accused Trump and his co-defendants of conspiring to subvert the will of voters by keeping him in the White House after he lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump and the co-defendants were charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to overturn his electoral loss in the state.

Fulton County Courthouse in GeorgiaFulton County Courthouse in Georgia

His bond was set at $200,000 (180,000) and he has been ordered not to post threatening messages on social media.

"The defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a co-defendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice," Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said in a court filing.

"The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media," the judge said.

Trump's legal troubles

The Georgia case marked Trump's fourth indictment.

In New York, he was charged with falsifying business records related to a hush money payment for porn star Stormy Daniels.

Georgia Court Website Publishes, Then Takes Down List Of Criminal Charges Against Trump

He also faces two federal criminal cases: one related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago mansion, and another accusing him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of the cases.

However, he could spend much of 2024 in court as he campaigns in the Republican presidential primaries, where he is the frontrunner.

He plans to skip the first Republican debate on Wednesday.

Source: DW
Pakistan: 6 Children Among 8 Trapped Mid-Air As Chairlift Wire Snaps; Army Launches Rescue Operation

International

oi-PTI

Two children were rescued by the Pakistan Army after eight people were trapped 900 ft mid-air for more than 10 hours on Tuesday when the wires of a chairlift snapped in a mountainous area in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to Rescue 1122, the rescue operation by the special forces of the Pakistan Army is underway to save the rest of the people trapped in the dangling chairlift, Geo News reported. The children were headed to school when the incident occurred at around 8 am in Battagram district's Allai tehsil.

According to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah, the chairlift was privately run by locals for transportation across the river as there were no roads or bridges in the area, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

"A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cables in Battagram. Eight persons, including 6 children, (are) stranded," the Geo News reported citing a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Helicopters of Pakistan Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force are participating in the rescue operation along with the Special Services Group (SSG) troops, the report said.

The Express Tribune reported that a final helicopter rescue attempt was being carried out as a last resort as a chopper operation in the dark can be very risky and dangerous given the weather conditions and low daylight conditions as night time approaches.

Authorities have decided to continue the rescue operation from the ground with the help of the Pakistan Army so that the operation may be continued even in the dark of night. Rescue workers on ground began the process of laying down nets to prepare for any mishaps, the report said.

Television footage aired around 4:45 pm showed a rescuer suspended from a sling being lowered and positioned adjacent to the chairlift, the Dawn News reported. The rescue mission is complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopter's rotor blades risk further destabilising the lift, it said.

The chairlift is dangling in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by towering mountains and a rocky surface, along with the Jhangri river beneath it. Earlier, two helicopters belonging to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force arrived at the site for a rescue operation. Two attempts were made to move towards the chairlift.

One of the helicopters then moved away. The local administration along with Rescue 1122 teams were present at the spot, but due to the height and the hilly terrain, it was not possible for rescue officials to carry out a relief operation, the report quoted Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain as saying. Ghulamullah, chairman of the Allai Valley area, told Geo News that "every time the helicopter lowered the rescuer closer to the chairlift, the wind from the helicopter would shake and disbalance the chairlift making the children scream in fear".

Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old who is currently present on the chairlift, told Geo News over the phone that they don't even have drinking water in the chairlift. He said that a 16-year-old passenger, who suffers from a heart condition, has been unconscious for the last three hours. Gulfraz said the teenager was going to the hospital through the chairlift.

Gulfaraz said the first wire broke at 7am while another cable broke down soon after. The passengers have been waiting for help since early morning, he said. Meanwhile, directing authorities to rescue all the people stuck in the chairlift, Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar asked the national and provincial disaster management authorities to utilise all the available resources and issued directives to ensure safety measures for cable cars in the hilly areas.

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming," he tweeted. According to a local school teacher, Zafar Iqbal, at least 150 students take the hazardous journey to school by cable car every day due to the lack of road facilities in the area, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Thailand: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra Returns From Exile As Party Seeks To Form New Government

International

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Divisive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand on Tuesday after years of self-imposed exile to face criminal charges on the same day that a party affiliated with him plans to start forming a new government.

Thaksin has said his decision to return has nothing to do with an expected vote in Parliament later in the day on a candidate from the Pheu Thai party for prime minister. But many believe his arrival is connected to the party's pursuit of power.

The 74-year-old billionaire promoted populist policies and used his telecommunications fortune to build his own Thai Rak Thai party and be elected prime minister in 2001 and easily reelected in 2005, before being ousted in a military coup in 2006 and fleeing into exile.

Thailand Takes Back Elephant From Sri Lanka Over Abuse Claim

He was convicted in absentia in several criminal cases that he said were politically motivated, and could face prison time unless he receives a royal pardon.

In an interview with BBC Thai on Saturday, he said his return was planned before the date of the vote was set, and that he was prepared to follow the Thai legal process.
Biden On Hamas Attack: They Knew I Was About To Sit Down With The Saudis

'Israel Can Make Their Own Decisions': Biden On Ground Invasion Of Gaza

US President Joe Biden To Visit India From September 7-10 For G20 Summit

International

oi-Prakash KL

US President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7 to 10 to attend the G-20 Leaders' Summit during which he will discuss with other leaders a range of global issues, including the Ukraine conflict, the White House announced on Tuesday.

"President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putin's war in Ukraine, and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges, a statement from the White House said.

Biden will also commend Prime Minister Modi's leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026, the statement added.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo handed over the G20 presidency to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last November.

The G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (EU).

Together, they account for over 80 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world population.

The forthcoming summit is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in India. India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2022, from Indonesia.

"President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putin's war in Ukraine," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

"Increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges," she said in a statement.

Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor at the White House, said that discussions between Biden and various leaders during the summit will primarily revolve around topics such as climate change, Russia's involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, and other pressing global issues. The G20, also known as the Group of 20, constitutes a platform where significant developed and developing economies engage in intergovernmental dialogue.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a visit to South Africa to participate in the 15th BRICS summit, Modi said the summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

In his departure statement, he said BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.

"We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.

Later, he posted on X, "Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development."

Modi said in the statement that he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event."I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

Modi is visiting the South African city from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS summit at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

From South Africa, the prime minister said, he will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he noted that this will be his first visit to this ancient land.

"I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there.
Peshawar: The Pakistan Army launched a rescue operation to save eight individuals, including six schoolchildren, who were trapped 900 ft above the ground in a chairlift accident. The incident occurred in a mountainous region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The army swiftly responded to the emergency by launching a complex mission to rescue the stranded individuals.

The children were headed to school when the incident occurred at around 8 am in Battagram district's Allai tehsil, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

According to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah, the chairlift was privately run by locals for transportation across the river as there were no roads or bridges in the area, it said.

"A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cables in Battagram. Eight persons, including 6 children, (are) stranded," the Geo News reported citing a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Helicopters of Pakistan Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force are participating in the rescue operation along with the Special Services Group (SSG) troops, the report said.

The rescue mission is complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopter's rotor blades risk further destabilising the lift, it said.

The chairlift is dangling in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by towering mountains and a rocky surface, along with the Jhangri river beneath it, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The local administration along with Rescue 1122 teams were present at the spot, but due to the height and the hilly terrain, it was not possible for rescue officials to carry out a relief operation, the report quoted Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain as saying.

Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old who is currently present on the chairlift, told Geo News over the phone that they don't even have drinking water in the chairlift.

He said that a 16-year-old passenger, who suffers from a heart condition, has been unconscious for the last three hours. Gulfraz said the teenager was going to the hospital through the chairlift.

Gulfaraz said the first wire broke at 7am while another cable broke down soon after. The passengers have been waiting for help since early morning, he said.

Meanwhile, directing authorities to rescue all the people stuck in the chairlift, Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar asked the national and provincial disaster management authorities to utilise all the available resources and issued directives to ensure safety measures for cable cars in the hilly areas.

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming," he tweeted.

According to a local school teacher, Zafar Iqbal, at least 150 students take the hazardous journey to school by cable car every day due to the lack of road facilities in the area, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Washington: Former US President Donald Trump plans to surrender on Thursday in Atlanta in connection with his indictment in Georgia on charges he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, he said on social media on Monday.

"I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED," Trump, who is running for reelection in 2024, said on his Truth Social platform. He described the indictment as a politically motivated effort to derail his reelection campaign.

CNN earlier reported that Trump planned to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta on Thursday. The date was set during negotiations between Trump's lawyers and the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday over Trump's consent bond and release conditions, according to CNN.

In a 98-page Georgia indictment revealed last week, Trump and 18 other defendants were charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to reverse his defeat in the state's 2020 election.

Trump's former personal lawyer John Eastman, also been indicted in the Georgia case, plans to surrender to Fulton County authorities on Wednesday, a court filing showed on Monday.

The Georgia case marked Trump's fourth indictment. He faces a New York state trial in March involving a hush money payment to a porn star and a federal trial in May in Florida for allegedly mishandling federal classified documents.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, US, July 29, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario/File Photo

Another indictment, in Washington federal court, accuses him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat. US Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested a January trial, but a date has not yet been set.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all criminal cases and could spend much of next year in court, even as he campaigns to retake the White House.

In Georgia, the former president will face a $200,000 bond and orders not to send threatening social media messages as the he awaits trial, according to a bond agreement on Monday signed by Trump's attorneys and Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis. Security will tightened around the jail when Trump surrenders, the local sheriff's office said.

Trump has repeatedly asserted without evidence that indictments against him are "witch hunts." He has regularly attacked Willis online and called her "radical left" and "corrupt."

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and his co-defendants were indicted on Aug 14. Willis gave them until Friday at noon ET (1600 GMT) to surrender or face arrest.

Prosecutors in the case have proposed that the trial start on March 4, while Trump's lawyers have asked for a 2026 trial.

Trump's surrender on Thursday will come a day after the first Republican primary presidential debate that the former president does not plan to attend.
World Water Week, the biggest water conference of the year, is being held in Stockholm, Sweden.

What is World Water Week?

 World Water Week is the leading conference on global water issues, held every year since 1991.

 World Water Week is held the last week of August every year and was initially part of Stockholm Water Festival, which celebrated that the Swedish capital had managed to reach its goal of having some of the cleanest water in the world.

 The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is the organiser of World Water Week and curates all the content.

 A non-profit event, co-created with leading organisations, World Water Week attracts a diverse mix of participants from many professional backgrounds.

Highlights of 2023 World Water Week

 This is an annual gathering of thousands of organisations and individuals, which include government experts, UN officials, scientists and academics, who come together to rethink how water is being managed.

 These meetings are related to the overall theme of the 2023 World Water Week, under the banner, Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water-wise World.

 President of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi has proposed five solutions to the water crisis. It includes building a water cooperation platform among all 193 UN Member States (the representatives that sit in the General Assembly), and the creation of a UN-wide water strategy, headed by a UN Special Envoy on Water.

 These ideas were part of the outcome of the UN Water Conference held in New York in March 2023. World Water Week is being framed as a continuation of what was agreed in March and could be a kickstart to some of the promised commitments, the so-called Water Action Agenda.

 The Stockholm Water Prize, which is described as the Nobel Prize of water, will be presented on August 23. It will be awarded in the same hall as the iconic Nobel Prize awards. The Prize is awarded by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

 Andrea Rinaldo is named Stockholm Water Prize Laureate 2023 for groundbreaking work with a major impact on several academic fields, including hydrology, hydrogeomorphology and epidemiology.

Stockholm Water Prize

 The Stockholm Water Prize is the worlds most prestigious water award.

 The Stockholm Water Prize is often described as the Nobel Prize of water and is characterized by a similar selection process. Since 1991, the Stockholm Water Prize has been awarded to people and organisations for extraordinary water-related achievements.

 The Prize is awarded by SIWI in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and presented by H.M King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who is the official patron of the Prize.

 The winner of the Stockholm Water Prize is announced every year, usually in March in conjunction with World Water Day.

 A royal prize ceremony is held as part of World Water Week in August, where the Laureate plays an important role.

 The Stockholm Water Prize is not part of the Nobel family.

Stockholm Water Prize Laureates from India

2015: Rajendra Singh for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need.

2009: Bindeshwar Pathak, the Founder of the Sulabh International, for his wide ranging work in the sanitation field to improve public health, advance social progress, and improve human rights in India and other countries.

2005: Centre for Science and Environment, under the directorship of Sunita Narain work, for its many publications, research and advocacy helped create new thinking on how traditional systems of water management, which use rainwater endowment, once rejuvenated could become the starting point for the removal of rural poverty in many part of the world.

1993: Madhav Atmaram Chitale has played a major role in getting Indias decision makers and strategic planners to think of water as a resource whose quality and availability need to be safeguarded.
Imagine a global community, walking into a new future, together, with a collective attention, focused on change, and clear intention.

Bestselling author, educator, lecturer and chiropractor, Dr. Joe Dispenza is hosting Walk for the World on September 23, 2023, a live, international walking meditation.

When we walk as one mind and one heart, a higher consciousness emerges. We walk as it with hearts and eyes wide open, releasing the old stories to become an evolved version of ourselves. What's possible if a collective community from around the world comes together for a walking meditation? One walk, "one step," could change everything. Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 10 a.m. EDT Australia, New Zealand, and East Asia Saturday, September 23 at 10 a.m. AEST

A new 50-minute walking meditation is being created for this special event, which will guide participants through an experience of both standing and walking as your future self.

Everyone is welcome - beginners to advanced meditators, familiar or new to Dr Joe's teachings. Join organized groups, walk with friends and family, or walk by yourself.

Dr. Joe Dispenza is an international educator, researcher, author, corporate consultant, and lecturer. I'm appreciative that I was able to attend an enlightening workshop with him in Phoenix, AZ in the mid 2000's.

Dr. Joe's post graduate training includes the fields of neuroscience and neuroplasticity, quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) measurements, epigenetics, mind-body medicine, and brain/heart coherence. He notes that his interest lies in demystifying the mystical so that people have all the tools within their reach to make measurable changes in their lives.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced his plan to return Syrian refugees in Turkey to Aleppo. For many years he has proposed a plan to create a safe zone, or de-escalation zone specifically developed to hold the millions of Syrian refugees living in Turkey.

The Erdogan plan, dubbed the Aleppo model, includes Idlib, and parts of the countryside of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.

In March 2020, Russia and Turkey entered into an agreement concerning Idlib. Turkey had promised to secure the M4 highway stretching from Latakia to Aleppo. This vital route provides imported cargo, and exported cargo between the port of Latakia and Aleppo. The highway, when operating safely makes the drive time between Latakia and Aleppo about two hours in length. However, Turkey failed to fulfill their promise to Russia. The terrorists who occupy Idlib control the M4 highway and make it impassable for cargo or civilians. The trip takes six hours of drive time because a detour must be taken for safety, and Syria faces a chronic gasoline shortage, making the passage of goods and travelers an ordeal.

Idlib is the sole remaining territory in Syria occupied by Radical Islamic terrorists. They hold 3 million civilians as hostages. The UN, US, EU and other international humanitarian aid agencies such as Doctors Without Borders provide supplies to the civilians; however, it is the terrorists who manage and warehouse all the aid. Often the terrorists will distribute aid to those who are aligned with them, while depriving secular Syrians from any aid. The surplus aid is sold by the terrorists in a huge shopping mall owned by Mohamed al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Jolani is a Syrian who fought against the US occupation of Iraq. He first was a member of Al Qaeda, but after spending time in a US prison in Iraq with Abu Baker Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, Jolani switched to ISIS. Baghdadi asked Jolani to go to Syria and make an ISIS branch there, but after Jolani arrived in Syria he formed his own terrorist group Jibhat al-Nusra.

Jibhat al-Nusra was known as the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria. The US had funded Jolani in Syria, but when the UN designated the terrorist group as banned, the US re-branded the group and changed the name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Jolani and his terrorists have recently hung people in Idlib who refused to conform to the dictates of extreme Radical Islamic ideology. Jolani has prevented women in Idlib from benefiting from international aid programs targeting women with business education.

Erdogan's ruling party, AKP, is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood which is a global organization advocating the destruction of democracy in favor of Islamic Law. Erdogan has directed the AKP, the Ministry of the Interior, and the AKP members of the Parliament to promote Syrians returning to Syria from Turkey.

Turkey claims to be negotiating with Russia and Syria concerning the return of Syrian refugees to Aleppo under the Erdogan proposal to boost the commercial and social fabric there.

Aleppo is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world (tied with Damascus). Prior to the conflict which began in 2011, Aleppo was considered the industrial capital of Syria. The Industrial Zone in Aleppo was a vast center of factories making products from soap to fabrics for both domestic use and international export.

In the first few years of the conflict, Aleppo did not participate in the US-NATO attack on Syria for regime change. Jibhat al-Nusra saw the opportunity to surround and occupy the eastern section of Aleppo. This cut the huge city of 4 million into two: the free western section under Syrian administration, and the eastern section under the occupation of various Radical Islamic terrorist groups supported by the US and Turkey.

During the conflict years of 2014 to 2016 the terrorists dismantled the factories in Aleppo and transported the materials to Turkey where they were re-assembled by Erdogan loyalists and cronies.

After Erdogan's terrorists destroyed the economy in Aleppo and stole the factories, now he suddenly proposes to rebuild factories and boost the economy of Aleppo. But, Erdogan is not proposing to fund or support existing Syrian businesses in Aleppo, instead under his plan Turkish businesses along the border region will develop Turkish businesses and employ Syrian workers. The workers will have an income, but the Syrian businesses will be targeted for extinction. It appears Erdogan is proposing an annexation of Aleppo and more regions in Syria.

The Syrian refugees returning to Syria would be working for Turkish businesses with no benefit for Aleppo.

click here

Erdogan has repeatedly voiced his wish to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Damascus has said their condition for the meeting is the complete military withdrawal of Turkish military in occupation of area in Syria, and the removal of Radical Islamic terrorist groups which Turkey has employed in Syria.

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This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Hey, it's not just the number of guns Americans continue to buy (about 20 million a year) in a country already armed to the teeth, but what they can do. First, it was those AR-15 semi-automatic weapons the National Rifle Association dubbed "America's rifle." They let ordinary citizens turn places of everyday life into slaughterhouses. Now, as the New York Times recently reported, a "small and illegal device known as a switch" can be added to semi-automatic handguns and turn them into yes, "makeshift machine guns"! Those "Lego-like plastic blocks, about an inch square" can "be easily manufactured on a 3-D printer" and only cost around $200, while promptly turning you into a potential mass murderer.

What a strange, increasingly heavily armed land we now live in. Since September 11, 2001, this country, while funding an arsenal of weaponry and war unlike any other the Pentagon budget is soon expected to hit a trillion dollars annually has itself become a frightening arsenal. And the problem isn't just the resulting mass shootings that have already hit 400 yes, 400! in 2023 (eclipsing the totals in any year from 2013 to 2018), but the growth of largely right-wing militias armed with semi-automatic weapons and supporting You-Know-Who.

Today, TomDispatch regular Andrea Mazzarino, co-founder of the remarkable Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute, considers just how Washington's response to the 9/11 attacks war and more war globally ended up putting this country on what increasingly looks like a war footing at home (in the worst sense imaginable). And if our versions of Vladimir Putin's Ukraine disaster the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq proved catastrophic, what the war on terror brought home could prove no less so. But let Mazzarino explain. Tom

How War Divides Us

The Ways Our Twenty-First-Century Wars Have Polarized Americans

By Andrea Mazzarino

Blame Donald Trump and all too many of his followers, but don't just blame him or them. Yes, he was indeed responsible for the nightmare of January 6, 2021, and, in his own fashion, for the incitement of right-wing militia (terror!) groups like the Proud Boys. ("Stand back and stand by!") But in this country, in this century, violence has become as all-American as apple pie. In these years, it's been violence and more violence all the way, literally in the case of the Pentagon. But let me start a little more personally.

Having lived several years in rural Maryland along the Virginia border, I've watched the local political landscape gain ever-deepening fault lines (as is true in the United States at large).

In election season 2020, in my enclave of largely well-educated political liberals, many with at least one public servant in the family (like my military spouse), you saw a sea of blue "Biden/Harris" signs as you drove among fields of corn and grazing cattle. However, as you approached the Virginia border, a smattering of black, white, and blue pro-police flags like so many photographic negatives of the American flag began popping up in response to growing protests elsewhere in the country against police brutality and violence toward communities of color. And the farther you traveled into Virginia, the more likely you were to see former President Donald Trump's signature "Make America Great Again" signs, as well as occasional Confederate flags, on houses and lawns. After President Biden's inauguration in January 2021, those Biden/Harris signs disappeared or were occasionally replaced by American flags, but the pro-police flags and MAGA signs remained, signaling an increasingly split nation.

Such changes in the landscape are still all too visible. A newcomer to our region might even assume that such a split between those still dreaming of a country reminiscent of the Old South, or perhaps a future Trumpland, and American democrats like me (who would generally rather ignore the existence of the first group than grasp why they came into being) was how it had always been.

America the Violent

These days, it's anything but surprising to note that this country has become remarkably polarized. According to a recent Pew survey, 63% of Democrats view Republicans as immoral (up from 35% in 2016), while 72% of Republicans feel the same way about Democrats (up from 47% seven years ago).

In truth, there's nothing that new about an American tendency to reduce our fellow countrymen to their political leanings. According to a 2014 Vox article citing sociological research, in 1960, just 5% of Republican parents said they would be against their children marrying someone who supported a different political party. By 2010, nearly half of such respondents reported that they would be displeased.

Such an atmosphere of increasing division is reflected in recent trends in gun purchases. In 2020, more firearms were sold than in any previous year on record and, in the years that followed, those sales would only increase. By now, almost one in five American households have a weapon, nearly 400 million of them, and that weaponry is only growing more deadly. In 2020, another parent of young children I know saw a large pro-police flag hanging from the entrance of a nearby farm and told me he suddenly thought: This is the first time I feel afraid in my own country. And indeed, he responded (as he never thought he would) by purchasing a gun, fearing a future militarized coup the likes of which almost arrived on January 6, 2021.

Even some of our youngest citizens have caught this fever of fear and violence. At a recent neighborhood party, a young child reported that if Donald Trump were ever to go to jail, she would bake a giant orange Trump-shaped cake, cut off the head, and eat it to celebrate. I had to laugh and then, instead of saying what first came to mind that it would feel great to do so! I found myself piously telling her that we probably shouldn't dream of that kind of proto-violence, even when it comes to leaders who have caused as much suffering as Trump.

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One of the regions largest emitters of airborne pollutants, a specialty metal smelter in Millersburg, is seeking to more than double the tons of carbon monoxide allowed in its major federal air quality permit after limits on the company were set too low.

ATI Millersburg applied with Oregons environmental regulator to output up to 3,722 tons of carbon monoxide from its site north of Albany where workers refine extreme heat- and wear-resistant metals like hafnium, niobium, titanium and zirconium.

The state set ATIs limit at 1,744 tons each year in 2015 after incorrect testing undercounted carbon monoxide output and led regulators to issue the permit in error, according to an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality report.

Before 2015, Oregon allowed ATI to emit more than 9,700 tons of carbon monoxide each year but reduced that figure too low when issuing a permit under Title V of the Clean Air Act.

Regulators say they should have set the carbon monoxide limit based on the amount of material converted to gas while refining zirconium, calculating based on how much coke the company uses in a chlorinating process.

Instead, the permit is based on three, one-hour tests that attempted to measure carbon monoxide where it was emitted at the source.

ATI chlorinates zirconium oxide, converting the material into 15,516 tons each year of zirconium tetrachloride. The company produces up to 2.3 tons of carbon monoxide for each of the 1,596 tons of coke used in the process.

In the permit application report, Oregons environment department calls the chlorinating process highly variable. None of the one-hour tests covered an entire chlorination batch, according to the states report.

And Oregon reduced the limit of carbon monoxide by about 8,000 tons based on the results.

ATI Millersburg applied in 2020 to renew its Title V permit. Tests likely have undercounted emissions for years at the site for years where a sensor on an exhaust system measures how much carbon monoxide is in the air coming off the chlorination process.

That monitor continuously measures how much carbon monoxide is in the exhaust but not how much exhaust is flowing past.

Since the flow rate is not contemporaneous with the CO concentration measurements, it is not an accurate measure of CO emissions, the department states in its report.

A Department of Environmental Quality representative did not answer questions about the test or prolonged permit application process before deadline.
The race for Multnomah County District Attorney is heating up with challenger Nathan Vasquez outraising DA Mike Schmidt by more than 2-to-1, the latest Oregon Secretary of State campaign finance filings show.

The influx of contributions at this point in the race foreshadows what is expected to be a robust race and highlights the political alliances each candidate has forged.
When did you first think you might never get into Kann, chef Gregory Gourdets celebrated Haitian restaurant in Southeast Portland?

Was it the years of pre-opening buildup? The moment, three months in, when Esquire named it the best new restaurant in America? Or when Kann took home our own Restaurant of the Year award at the end of 2022, a year when it earned more accolades than any restaurant in Portland history.

Gourdet knows your struggles. He and his team receive hundreds of emails, texts and DMs a week from people hoping to get into the restaurant without a reservation. Some are accompanied by heart-wrenching tales. Others are less polite.

There are thousands of people who have yet to come to Kann, and every month we get emails from people who are disappointed and discouraged, Gourdet said. Weve been getting hate mail. One email was, I hate you. Literally.

Related: Read The Oregonian/OregonLives review of Kann

On Saturday, the Kann team plans to test out a novel plan for putting reservations directly into locals hands. And all you have to do is line up and buy some tea.

Before we get to that, lets back up to see how we got here.

Gourdet, a Top Chef finalist turned frequent guest host, first announced plans to open a wood-fired Haitian restaurant of his own in 2019, when he was still running downtown Portlands Departure.

His plan? To open a Pacific Northwest home for the Haitian food he grew up eating in New York, with fish grilled over live fire, slow-smoked beef ribs and plenty of Scotch Bonnet spice. ETA: Summer 2020.

The pandemic had other plans. Suddenly, Gourdet was thrust into the middle of a social justice reckoning and Kann was put on hold. During the delay, Gourdet took part in Top Chefs first Portland season, released a health-focused cookbook, hosted an extended pop-up in yurts at Kann Winter Village and attempted to define what might make an equitable restaurant for the modern era.

Gregory Gourdet stands inside the unfinished home of Bar Sousol, his upcoming pan-Caribbean cocktail bar.Courtesy of Kann/Zach Lewis

Even before Kann officially opened last August, reservations for its 80 seats were already in high demand, with foodies foaming after years of pre-opening anticipation. By December, almost all of the restaurants 1,600 monthly reservations were disappearing in the first hour after they were released. And that was before June, when Kann took home the best new restaurant award at the 2023 James Beard Awards.

There are worse problems for a restaurant to have, of course. But with only 80 seats  plus a private dining room and downstairs cocktail bar  its not one that Gourdet and his team have much room to address. The restaurant asks smaller groups to give up their table after less than two hours to allow for an additional turn, restaurant lingo for the number of times a table is used each night. Other rules listed on the reservations website Resy include a $25 per person fee for cancellations made within 24 hours of the reservation time.

During Kanns first year, Gourdet, business partner Tia Vanich and general manager Damont Nelson set aside a few tables for VIPs each night. But on their way home from the James Beard Award win, they decided to add those tables back to the general pool.

We get emails going, My father has cancer, his last dying wish is to come to Kann, Gourdet said. Or we have athletes, celebrities or people who think theyre VIPs and want to come in. And for us its impossible to decipher who merits a reservation.

Earlier this month, Gourdet learned that Kann reservations were being swapped on a website called Appointment Trader, which allows people to resell hot reservations and other tickets online. Typically, those reservations are for impossible-to-get-into restaurants such as Tatiana in New York City, or for concerts such as Taylor Swifts current The Eras Tour.

Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area have complained about Silicon Valley coders building bots to scoop up in-demand tables for at least a decade. More recently, chefs including Eric Ripert of New Yorks three Michelin-starred seafood restaurant Le Bernardin have complained about the reselling industry, calling it a scam.

But its unclear how big a problem bots and resales currently pose in Portland. The Appointment Trader site lists suggested bids for Kann reservations of up to $225 for a prime Friday or Saturday evening slot. But for a bid to be successful, someone already using Appointment Trader has to have that specific reservation in hand, and be willing to resell it for the bid price.

According to the websites own publicly displayed metrics, only seven Kann reservations have been resold to date, with an average price of $110. The second most viewed Portland restaurant on the site is Ariana in Bend, with zero resales. The ninth most viewed is a Sharis Cafe & Pies in Beaverton.

In addition to Appointment Trader, Vanich said Kann reservations have been sold through Craigslist or Instagram, creating confusion when the party arrives at the restaurant without knowing about the table time limit or other rules shared with guests on the Resy website.

Despite the headaches, online reservation systems arent going anywhere for restaurants such as Kann.

For us as restaurant owners, if we had to handle reservation requests by phone or email or Instagram, we would need to hire at least 2-3 people to handle it, he said. All the questions, the size changes, people coming late, its a lot.

Still, some older guests just prefer to do things in person, he said.

As great as Resy is, some less tech savvy people still cant figure it out, Gourdet said. We get people all the time who believe they have a reservation, but all they did is set up a Resy account and pick a day. Sometimes we have room to seat them and sometimes we dont.

So, on Saturday, Aug. 26, the Kann team plans to post up at Barnes & Morgan, the Old Town Chinatown tea shop and atelier from their friend Amir Morgan, and give away 300 October reservations on a first come, first served basis to guests who buy a tea, snack or item of clothing from the shop.

Anyone hoping to score a reservation should show up at the cafe, 131 N.W. Second Ave., between noon and 4 p.m. (the earlier the better, presumably) with an active Resy account connected to a credit card. Your purchase will come with a number for you to show to a Kann team member, who will then enter your account information into a computer and help you select the reservation of your choice for any size party, any time between 4 and 10 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday for any date in October.

Vanich suggests you come prepared with two or three selections in case your specific time and party size has already been snagged. 18 and over only. No photo or video allowed. Limit one reservation per household.

If you cant make the event, Kann will release the rest of its October reservations starting at noon on Sept. 1 (reservations were previously released on the 2nd of each month). For alternative ideas, consult our experts guide to getting into Kann, with or without a reservation.

If Saturdays trial run goes well, Kann could decide to hold additional events in the future.

This for us is a way to answer what weve been hearing from the community in terms of people not being able to get into Kann, and wanting to do something simple and thoughtful to give people access to our reservations, Gourdet said.

Read more

Kann is unlike any restaurant Portland has seen before (review)

Kann is Portlands 2022 Restaurant of the Year

Kann may already be the most acclaimed restaurant in Portland history (podcast)

An experts guide to getting into Kann, with or without a reservation

 Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com

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Wednesday brings a rare chance to see Sometimes a Great Notion on the big screen. The 1971 movie, starring and directed by Hollywood legend Paul Newman, filmed in Oregon and was inspired by Oregon-based author Ken Keseys novel. The film is showing Aug. 23 at the Hollywood Theatre, as part of the Oregon Film offices #OregonMade film series.

In an Oregonian/OregonLive article suggesting possibilities for what Oregons official film should be, we included Sometimes a Great Notion, and many readers agreed. In addition to the Oregon-set story about the Stamper logging family, Sometimes a Great Notion made a splash when it filmed in areas around the Oregon coast, along the Siletz River, and in locations including Lincoln City and Toledo.

Sometimes a Great Notion, which will be screened in 35mm, stars Newman as Hank Stamper; Henry Fonda; Lee Remick; Richard Jaeckel (who earned an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor); and Michael Sarrazin.

The behind-the-scenes story of the filming of Sometimes a Great Notion had its fair share of drama, too. Richard A. Colla was originally hired to direct. But not long after filming began, Colla was out, and Newman took over directing duties, in addition to his leading role.

Newmans tenure as director-star wasnt smooth, either. As the HBO documentary, The Last Movie Stars says, Newman considered the making of the film a bad, unsettled time because I was warring with everybody. I was warring with my agent. I was warring with Universal. And I was going through difficult times with Joanne (Woodward, Newmans wife), and I had too much pressure on me. I was drinking much too hard.

The Last Movie Stars also includes words from Woodward, to the effect that Newman was drinking so much, and he was so tired, directing and acting, that he would finish, look at the rushes, and then down six to eight martinis.

Sometimes a Great Notion also holds the unusual distinction of being the first movie shown on HBO, when the premium subscription service premiered in 1972.

Sometimes a Great Notion screens at the Hollywood Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23. The Last Movie Stars is streaming on Max.

More of our coverage:

What should be the official movie of Oregon?

Oregons official movie? Readers nominate flicks starring Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, and more

 Kristi Turnquist

503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
After 16 years of closure, the Shaniko Hotel, located in Oregons famous ghost town, has reopened, this time under the management of the towns volunteer firefighters.

If that sounds like an unusual arrangement, well, nothing in Shaniko is usual.

Located about three hours east of Portland in Wasco County, Shaniko takes pride in its status as a ghost town, though it does remain a functioning municipality with about two dozen full-time residents. They practically take turns running the city.

Consisting of a handful of buildings dating to around 1900, Shaniko most likely survives because of its location along U.S. 97, which still brings traffic past the town.

If youre driving by on (Highway) 97 and you see this little patch of buildings  you cant help but stop, said AlexSandra Conway, manager of the hotel. The scenery and the view just draw you in, and you instantly get transported back in time.

Boom town

Shaniko was named for German immigrant August Scherneckau, who settled in the area after the Civil War, back when it was known as Cross Hollow. Locals found his name difficult to pronounce, and the closest they came was Shaniko. When the area got a post office in 1900, Shaniko formally became the towns name.

That was the same year the Columbia Southern rail line was completed, spanning from Shaniko north to the Columbia River, and the two-story brick Columbia Southern Hotel was built in town.

The railroad made Shaniko an important shipping center for Central Oregon farmers, sheep herders and wool buyers, and the town became the self-proclaimed wool-gathering center of the world. In 1904, according to the Oregon Encyclopedia, more than $5 million worth of wool was sold in Shaniko.

At its height in 1910, Shanikos population was about 600 people, and it had a reputation for drawing a rough and rowdy crowd. An article in The Oregonian from 1908 described Shaniko as a wet town that was an oasis in a saloonless region.

But the slow death of Shaniko began just 10 years after its founding, with the construction of a rival railroad that ran along the Deschutes River and reached as far south as Bend. The town knew what was coming. A full-page article about Shaniko in the May 15, 1910, edition of The Oregonian ran with the headline The Most Active Town in Eastern Oregon. But Next Summer  Where?

A fire in August 1911 that wiped out two blocks of Shanikos business district didnt help matters. Then, two months later, Shaniko Mayor J.C. Fowlie, who was also the cashier of the Eastern Oregon Bank located inside the hotel, was gunned down in the street by a drunken businessman.

Over the coming decades, Shaniko shrunk to a blip on the highway, but the hotel remained open. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a handful of elderly people lived full-time in the former Columbia Southern, now called simply the Shaniko Hotel. Caregiver and owner Sue Morelli shut down the hotel and boarding house in 1977, and the building and all its furnishings were sold at auction.

The hotel seems to have closed for a number of years until Jean Farrell, a retired plumber from Salem, bought it in 1987 and reopened the hotel and its attached restaurant. He and his wife Dorothy ran both businesses until 2000, when they sold them to Robert Pamplin Jr., owner of the R.B. Pamplin Corporation, which runs Pamplin Media Group and other construction and textiles businesses.

A crowd gathers outside the Shaniko Hotel in 1977 for the sale of the of historic hotel and hundreds of other items.

Pamplin, according to news reports at the time, had plans to remake Shaniko as an Old West tourist destination. He bought a block of the towns remaining downtown buildings, along with the old wool barn with the word SHANIKO painted in massive white letters across its roof.

But disagreements with city leaders over water rights and development proposals squashed his plans. In 2008, Pamplin closed the hotel and restaurant, capped his newly dug well, and left much of Shaniko to sit empty.

New faces

In the years since the well water fiasco, new people have come to town. That includes David Long, who had years of firefighting experience from his hometown of Estacada when he moved to Shaniko three years ago. Today, Long is the assistant fire chief, the maintenance manager for the hotel, and city council president, all at the same time.

When he saw that Shaniko had no fire department to speak of, just some equipment no one knew how to use, he and a few others, including current fire chief Scott Marrs, got to work training a volunteer crew.

While the town is small, Julianne Herman, secretary of South Wasco Fire & Rescue (and also employee of the hotel, and also Longs girlfriend), said the towns handful of firefighters responded to about 80 calls last year. Most of those were medical calls and highway crashes (such as the semi-truck that barreled through two buildings next to the Shaniko Hotel last fall.)

But fueling up fire trucks is expensive. Shaniko has no property tax and essentially no municipal income. So, the firefighters came up with a unique way to raise money. They created a nonprofit, the South Wasco Fire & Rescue Association, which could fundraise for Shaniko and, eventually, other rural fire agencies in Oregon.

South Wasco Fire & Rescue Association also manages Shanikos Firehouse RV Park, shown here.

The nonprofit approached Pamplin about leasing some of his unused properties in town. In September 2021, South Wasco Fire & Rescue reopened Pamplins long-shuttered RV park, now named the Firehouse RV Park. Long said the park brought in about $4,000 a month in revenue for the nonprofit from RV spots and camping fees, thanks in part to a number of solar farm workers who stay there regularly.

Following the RV parks success, Pamplin gave a lease to the firefighters to repair and reopen the old Shaniko Hotel.

The first week of August, days before the annual Shaniko Days celebration, the hotel welcomed guests for the first time in 16 years.

Life in a ghost town

Staff will tell you the hotel is definitely haunted, and its hard to tell if thats because of actual spirits or a sales tactic. It does make an overnight stay more exciting.

Technically, we consider it a semi-ghost town, because people still live here, but there are ghosts, Long said. No matter where you go, theres someone you cant see there. This is a ghost town. If you dont believe, youre in here long enough, you will.

Visitors might notice a small blue rubber ball in one of the hotel hallways. Staff says this ball seemingly moves around on its own, played with by an unseen girl whom they call Amelia. Room 14, they said, is supposedly haunted by a woman named Nettie.

I went in there today and you could smell her perfume, Herman said. You know, little things like that, where youll hear them giggle. The only harmful thing theyve ever done is occasionally theyll hold a bathroom door shut for like 10, 20 seconds, and then you can hear them laugh.

The hotel is the most imposing building in town. But Shaniko is also home to the Ravens Nest antique store, Seven Directions ice cream parlor, a general store, The Outpost gas station, and Dead Format Music, which sells records and runs a little pirate radio station that reaches the handful of houses in the mile or so around town.

Downtown Shaniko is home to a tiny pirate radio station, 99.9 "The Ghost," which only broadcasts a few miles.

Theres still a post office. An old school building is used for community potlucks. The original jail at the back of Shaniko City Hall is left open for tourists to explore and take pictures inside one of the cells. A tiny museum of local newspaper clippings and artifacts is generally open but unstaffed. The Shaniko Chapel, a former schoolhouse, is under the care of a nonprofit with hopes to restore its wood-frame building.

For a ghost town, theres actually quite a bit to explore.

The biggest thing I can say is you have to come see it because you cant convey the soul of Shaniko, Conway said. Because if you say old buildings and a cafe and a little shop and a hotel, whats the big deal? The big deal is the soul. You have to come meet Shaniko.

IF YOU GO: The city of Shaniko is located along U.S. 97, about 38 miles northeast of Madras. The ice cream parlor, record shop and antique store are closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Rooms at the Shaniko Hotel range from $120-$160 per night. Bookings can be made online at shanikohotel.com or by calling 541-489-3441.

-- Samantha Swindler, sswindler@oregonian.com, @editorswindler
There we were, just two beer journalist buddies, our editor and some of our closest beer friends inside the festival grounds a few hours before the gates opened to the public. Breweries were finishing booth set-up, distributor reps were hard at work pushing handcarts of kegs and jockey boxes up and down the hilly terrain, and the Great Taste staff and volunteers were everywhere ensuring a smooth fest.

And it was warm.

Sunny blue skies and a gentle breeze off Lake Monona reduced (minorly) the impact of the heat, but there was no mistaking it was a very Midwest August day.

The Beer Baron and I started off our experience side by side, tackling a few rookies and some favorites, calling each other out for what we assumed would be each others beer of choice and catching up. A few hours later, we caught back up, swooning over some favorites and insight for the remainder of the fest and committed to a less alcohol-influenced conversation in the coming days.

The fest was perfectly run, as always. I heard some minor complaints about how crowded it was this year, but it truly didnt seem to be any more congested than past years (with exception to the half-capacity 2021 season, of course). I never had to wait for a bathroom, I didnt have to wait to rinse my glass or grab water, and there appeared to be enough food vendors to ease access and time spent waiting for food.

I would even go out on a limb and say that since I first started attending the fest in 2007, whether as a ticket holder, a brewery employee and now beer writer, this was the best year yet.

The Beer Baron and I had a fun back-and-forth while reminiscing about some of the excellent beer we had and the experience that ensued this past Saturday. Follow along below and let us know what some of your favorites were this year.

Chris Drosner (CD): So, whatd you think? Big takeaways.

Katie Herrera (KH): The fest was excellently executed (as always), one of the best experiences for me so far in my many years participating in the festival and HOP WATER!!!!

CD: OK, hold onto that thought, well come back to that. But what was your game plan? Were you seeking out specific things? I felt like I was just roaming a lot this year. I wasnt really worried about missing anything  and I didnt really realize this at the time, but I felt like I was just confident that I was going to have a lot of great beer without a lot of planning.

KH: Oh good, Dros  I am so happy you have finally grown up in your beer fest drinking. Whales be damned!

CD: Yes! FOMO was at an all-time low for sure. Although, I will say, this has been a gradual thing over the past several fests, not an epiphany.

KH: My only FOMO came when one of the pickle beers was no longer available and I missed out. But like, who was drinking all the pickle beers? Although I called pickle beers as a trend watch weeks ago, I didnt really think that, with ALL the beer available, pickle-flavored bevies would kick so fast.

CD: Yeah, there were nine of them  thats pretty amazing! How many did you have?

KH: I had five of the nine available and missed out on Noon Whistle Pickle Someone Your Own Size (Lombard, Illinois). Good thing I reside in Chicago now and will probably go try to find that baby somewhere. Missing it was on me, though, as I wasnt rushing to booths. I was just enjoying things as I meandered from tent to tent.

CD: This strikes me as a fraught category, but you liked them all?

KH: All five were awesome and so distinctly different from one another. I am bummed I didnt get to all of them, but I probably would have pickled myself out had I done all nine. I find the trend follows the rise in michelada and chelada-style beers, hot or otherwise. I think that people in the Midwest are starting to appreciate a little savory and or umami with their beer. Maybe this acts as a fun balance to pastry stouts and other very hype-driven, dessert-like styles.

CD: This was the first year since they became a thing that I didnt have a single pastry stout at the Taste. Not that I love them, but they are good Taste beers  small samples. But they just didnt capture my attention this year.

KH: I am so proud of you!

CD: Thing is, Im not really sure what I replaced that with. I was all over the board. I drank a lot of West Coast IPA and saison, but I really wasnt going back to single styles a whole lot. Pretty much the only thing I made a beeline for was Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago), because they had one of the only black IPAs.

KH: There it is  the unicorn style of all beers. The infamous Black IPA. I miss Firestone Walker Wookey Jack. RIP. I remember loving the Black IPA collab last year between Lakefront and Great Lakes and having a brief conversation about the style then. What intrigued you (and Todd) this year with the Black IPA?

CD: My pal Todd mentioned he had one at a Great Taste Eve event and I thought, man, I havent had that style since last year. So there we were. And then, Great Lakes (Cleveland) and Lakefront (Milwaukee) were in that tent, so I grabbed that Belgian IPA they collabed on this year, and that was predictably fantastic.

KH: I agree, that Belgian IPA, Welcome to Cleveland, that the two brewed together this year for the fest was a delightful expression of bubblegum and fruity banana. A little Juicy Fruit if you will.

CD: OK, what about the hop waters you mentioned? I think those kind of saved my butt this year. I got a little more buzzed up in the middle of the fest than usual and needed to take a break. Hop water  in this case the Revolution Super Zero (Chicago)  to the rescue. I mean, Rev was kinda responsible for my demise, too, with those two Deep Woods barleywines I led the fest off with  Boss Ryeway and DBVSOJ  so it kind of worked out.

KH: The sun didnt help the alcohol effect, that is for sure. And yes, I loved, loved, loved the availability of hoppy refreshers to wet the whistle and clean my palate amidst the pickle ruination. (Still on the pickle train.) Rev had a trough filled with cans you could take at your pleasure, they arent even in the market yet, still in R&D. The hop profile for the guy they had with them was a dank Sabro explosion, lots of tropical fruit, a touch of citrus, and excellent carbonation. Fair State (Minneapolis) and Hop Haus (Fitchburg) had their hop  and other fun NA  waters too.

CD: I also had a couple of great conversations with brewers. I always feel like I learn so much at the Taste, even if I end up forgetting a lot of it. But I wont forget the chat I had with Jessica Jones from Giant Jones about how theyre sourcing ingredients that fit with their ethos of local and organic, and how these really unusual (by todays standards) styles come from that. Im going to reprise some of that in a future column. Fascinating stuff.

What did you think of the rookies this year? I was pretty impressed.

KH: I really enjoyed everything I had from some of the rookie attendees  Lua Brewings Wander, a 23-month barrel-aged stout that sat in Weller and Willett bourbon barrels was a fun surprise and I always appreciate a well-done, big BA stout without adjuncts. I also was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the tamarind (and jalapeno and mango) component in the Tumbled Rock (Baraboo) Cabana Dreams sour ale. I was blown away by Roaring Table (Lake Zurich, Illinois) All American Burger IPA. Citrus pith and dank tropical fruit ripped through my senses in true West Coast IPA fashion.

CD: I had Roaring Tables Vienna lager, and that was excellent. Great dad beer. I love it when a brewery is good at something like a West Coast or even hazy IPA and continental lagers, too. Thats my shiz these days.

KH: Welcome to the cool kids club, Dros. I preach the deliciousness of clean, hard-to-brew lagers and dank IPAs. I am so proud of you for joining in this aspect of beer culture. (Sorry, pastry stout drinkers, I stole your hype boy.)

CD: Hey, 2 ounces of pastry stout is the correct amount of pastry stout. No better time for it than at the Taste. Anyway, there were some great Wisconsin brewers that were rookies this year, thinking about Lions Tail (Neenah) and G5 (Beloit) especially. What were some of the buzzier brewers you were hearing about that you didnt make it to? I heard good things after the fact about Pals (North Platte, Nebraska), Barn Town (West Des Moines, Iowa), Streetside (Cincinnati) and Urban Forest (Rockford, Illinois).

KH: Well, Barn Town had their pickle beer again this year and yes, I had two pours again. I have been hearing excellent things about Pals (and actually have some in my fridge right now), and really enjoyed what I had last year from Urban Forest, but I think this year I was so caught up in the camaraderie, I forgot to drink some stuff. I also couldnt make myself stand in the very long lines for Dimensional, Forager and Pulpit Rock. There is just too much beer to justify waiting in lines. I believe they are all excellent and well worth the waiting, I just wanted to tackle too much.

CD: Couldnt agree more.

KH: So, as we look out at 2024, who do you hope we get to try at next years gathering?

CD: Dang, tough question. There are a lot of small Wisconsin brewers Id like to see be able to show off their stuff to a regions worth of beer geeks, especially my local, Vennture Brew Co. from Milwaukee. They could bring some of their own cold brew coffee to boost up the nonalcoholic options.

KH: I dont have to think hard about this at all. Dovetail. Dovetail is at the top of my "must be at the fest next year" list, followed by Supermoon Beer Co. and the Civil Life out of St. Louis. I miss those beers!

See you next year, Great Taste Midwest friends and family! Let the countdown begin!
As Oregon attempts to ease the process for students to transfer from community colleges to public universities, university faculty and academic officers are pushing back against what they see as state overreach.

College and university representatives are in the process of developing transfer maps that will detail which classes students take to seamlessly move from community colleges into popular majors at the states public universities. The move is part of a strategy to address what Kyle Thomas, the legislative director of the states Higher Education Coordinating Commission, described as an intractable, systemic problem.

Too few transfer students in Oregon succeed in achieving a bachelors degree, and those that do spend more time, more money and acquire more college credits in doing so than those who enter the university as first time freshmen, Thomas said at a commission meeting in early August. Just over a fourth of Oregon community college students transfer to four-year universities compared to 37% of students nationwide, the commission said.

The transfer maps are supposed to be assembled primarily by faculty subcommittees on a Transfer Council before the council sends a final recommendation to the state commission.

The commission voted this month to approve several new rules governing that process, which university representatives think give the body too much control. One rule allows commissioners to establish transfer maps without a recommendation from the Transfer Council, but only if the council cant agree on the map after 18 months of deliberation. Another rule limits universities ability to deviate from those pathways unless they can show it benefits students.

University faculty and academic officers say they agree with the goal of smoothing transfer pathways, but argue the new rules set a dangerous precedent by giving the state more control over university curriculum.

Faculty control of curriculum is a cornerstone of American higher education and higher education in Oregon, said Christopher Walsh, an associate professor at Eastern Oregon University who heads up Oregons Interinstitutional Faculty Senate. I think this is a really troubling precedent to start assigning control over curriculum to non-academics.

Oregons Statewide Provosts Council, a group of the chief academic officers at public universities, said in a letter that the rule allowing the commission to create a transfer map if the council cant agree is deeply problematic, going so far as to claim it paralleled discussions in states attempting to dictate how universities govern diversity and equity initiatives or teach issues of race and gender. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis in May signed a law that bans college spending on diversity and equity initiatives and requires a statewide review of coursework that asserts systemic oppression is ingrained in American society.

The commission tweaked that rule in response to feedback, building in an extra step for academic officers to help resolve transfer map disputes before the commission gets involved. Provosts concerns have been mitigated slightly because of those changes, said Edward Feser, provost at Oregon State University.

But commission rules limiting schools from deviating from pathways remain a sticking point, Feser said. If a university has an academic requirement that is unique from other schools, he said the commission could require them to eliminate it to make the transfer process easier.

At a commission meeting in early August, chair Terry Cross said the new rules have a hard stop built in to help ensure that the transfer maps get created. During the meeting, Thomas told commissioners that a past attempt to streamline pathways for criminal justice students failed after faculty gave up. At that point, there was no stopgap in the law that addressed what happened if institutions failed to agree, Thomas said.

Theres really no impact on the facultys ability to determine what that coursework is going to be if they step into that role and resolve the issue, Cross said at the meeting.

State leaders have been grappling with issues surrounding the student transfer process since at least the 1980s, Thomas told commissioners. Previous legislation has fallen short of leveling the playing field between transfer students and those who start at a four-year university, he said.

This is not just a question of academic success. This is a question of racial equity. Its a question of rural access, Thomas said during last weeks meeting. Myriad reasons combined make community colleges the most common point of entry for students of color and rural students in our state. Its a statutory and moral necessity to improve the likelihood of successful and affordable outcomes.

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.
Former Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty accepted $5,000 and a written apology from Mayor Ted Wheeler to settle claims against the city stemming from her lawsuit over the leak of an erroneous report that Hardesty was a suspect in a March 2021 hit-and-run.

Hardestys case against the Portland police union, its former president and a Portland officer is ongoing and accuses those parties of spreading the mistaken information about Hardesty, Portlands first Black female commissioner, as race-based retaliation for her political advocacy against discriminatory police practices.

That portion of the case is scheduled to go to trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court next month.

Last weeks settlement with the city includes the provision that the city also will pay Hardestys attorney fees for the citys portion of the lawsuit. Wheeler issued the following statement as part of the settlement:

Portland Police Bureau employees acting outside the course and scope of their employment leaked confidential information about Commissioner Hardesty. The leaks negatively impacted Commissioner Hardestys public image and undermined her efforts to bring about police transformation and reform. The City does not condone these actions. On behalf of the City, I apologize for the conduct.

Hardesty and her attorney declined to comment Monday.

The lawsuit traces its origin to a March 2021 call to police from a woman named Evelynn Ellis, who said she was involved in a hit-and-run crash with a Black woman she swore on her life was Hardesty, according to the lawsuit. Police visited Hardestys house several hours later, which the lawsuit called discriminatory because criminal complaints of that nature were rarely investigated at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit accused Brian Hunzeker, former president of the Portland Police Association union, and officer Kerri Ottoman of violating state law and city policy by contacting media outlets and other groups about the erroneous identification of Hardesty.

The false allegation naming Hardesty was published by PJ Media, which describes itself as conservative, and on the Facebook page for the Coalition to Save Portland  a political action committee linked to the citys police union, the lawsuit alleged.

The unions attorney, Andrew Campbell, said there are no ties between the committee and the Portland Police Association.

The lawsuit also claimed that Hunzeker contacted a reporter at The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Newsrooms typically do not reveal their sources, other than what they have published. As The Oregonian/OregonLive has previously reported, reporter Maxine Bernstein received multiple tips that Hardesty was named as a suspect in a non-emergency call to police. She reached out to Hardesty immediately, then verified with the Police Bureau and the mayors office that there was an active investigation.

She then contacted Hardesty through her office again, obtained the commissioners statement denying involvement and included it in her article, published about 11 a.m. on March 4. The Oregonian/OregonLive article was updated throughout the day, including an update to remove an erroneous reference to the victim reporting the license plate of the hit-and-run vehicle.

Police ruled out Hardesty as a suspect in the crash later the same day. Police and prosecutors identified the actual driver as a Black woman from Vancouver.

Hardestys case against the Portland Police Association, Hunzeker and Ottoman is set for trial in September, according to Hardestys lawyer, Matthew Ellis, who is not related to Evelynn Ellis.

 Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744

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Press Release

August 22, 2023 Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros on the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Kalayaan declaring Chinese Ambassador Huang Persona Non Grata It is the prerogative of the Sangguniang Bayan of the municipality of Kalayaan to declare Ambassador Huang persona non grata. After all, why would they welcome someone who seems to encourage China's threats and harassment in their own shores? Why would they welcome someone who does not recognize their right to exist in the first place? The residents and fisherfolk from Kalayaan have lost their traditional fishing grounds and their main source of livelihood because of China's presence in the West Philippine Sea. The municipality has all the right to defend their home, not least by banning individuals who continue to disrespect Philippine sovereignty and the dignity of the Filipino people. In fact, Beijing should have already recalled Huang ever since he threatened Filipino OFWs in Taiwan. He should be replaced. He cannot be an effective diplomat in the Philippines if he continues to aggravate tensions rather than assuage them.
The governors of Wisconsin and Minnesota are requesting $1 billion from the federal government to replace a key bridge between the two states.

Both states have each committed $400 million to replace the Blatnik Bridge that connects Superior to Duluth, Minnesota, but the total cost for the project is estimated at about $1.8 billion.

The bridge, which carries traffic from Interstate 535 and Highway 53 over the Saint Louis River, a tributary of Lake Superior, is considered an important freight and commercial connection between the Twin Ports and serves more than 33,000 cars per day. However, the bridge is expected to close in 2030 due to significant structural deterioration, resulting in current load restrictions, according to officials. The requested funding would come through the federal Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program, which is part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.

This project is an effort thats been years in the works, and in partnership with Minnesota, our departments of transportation are ready to take advantage of this federal funding to make the investments needed to see this project over the finish line, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said. The updated Blatnik Bridge will foster regional economic growth, bolster our national supply chains, and strengthen the reliability of the transportation network that serves hundreds of communities.

The Blatnik Bridge, named after John Blatnik, a former longtime Minnesota member of the U.S. House of Representatives, carries nearly 265,000 trucks a year that transport more than $2.6 billion in domestic goods and more than $1 billion in international goods from 42 states and nine Canadian provinces. It also serves the Twin Ports, which combined make for the largest port on the Great Lakes and the 17th largest in the country accommodating agriculture, forestry, mining, manufacturing, construction, power generation and more recently and increasingly, the cruise passenger industry.

It provides a vital route for regional commerce, tourism, and emergency services, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said.

Construction of the bridge began in 1958 and was completed in 1961, but now that its more than 60 years old, the time has come for a more modern version. Transportation departments in Minnesota and Wisconsin have been working on planning the project since 2020 and plan to reveal the recommended alternative for replacing the 8,000-foot structure in October.

Design work for the project, which would determine specifications and shape the total cost of the project, is anticipated to begin in 2024. Once a final design is selected, construction is planned to begin in 2027 if full funding is secured, officials said.

Each state recently committed $400 million and plans to seek additional federal funds through other sources, including other discretionary grants, to get the project over the finish line. Earlier this year, Evers signed the 2023-25 biennial budget that authorized $47.2 million in funding and $352.8 million in transportation fund-supported, general obligation bonding authority to secure sufficient state support for the project.

In addition, the federal omnibus spending bill signed by President Joe Biden included more than $255 million to support dozens of projects throughout Wisconsin, including $7.5 million for the Blatnik Bridge. President Biden visited Superior in March 2022 and stood beneath the bridge after his $1 trillion infrastructure bill became law.

The Blatnik Bridge is overdue for an upgrade, and we are ready to act and no longer rely on regular maintenance efforts, Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson said. This federal funding will reinforce our commitment to invest in the existing infrastructure and rebuild this important route between our two states. Local residents and businesses rely on the Blatnik Bridge every day and any closures or traffic delays for maintenance work directly impacts their livelihood.

The best urban landscape photos from our Destinations Photo Contest Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Buckingham Palace New York Public Library. 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue Houston days 49ers win Heart of Hearts Baltimore Beautiful Venice, Italy! Rockerfeller Center, New York City Opera House at Dawn Concrete Jungle Disney Concert Hall Last Night in Boston San Francisco New Orleans: best comeback of the century Seattle London Bridge and The Shard Santorini Chicago Bright colors brighten a rainy day World Trade Center Big Easy Belgium Little Italy, NYC New York
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has decided to immediately suspend Niger from all activities of the AU and its Organs and institutions until the "effective restoration" of constitutional order in the country
Pulp Exports from Brazil Climb to USD 4.1 Billion in First Half 2023; China, North America Main Destinations

Brazil's pulp exports from January-June 2023 totaled 9.1 million tons  growth of 1.5%  compared to the first half of 2022. Brazil's pulp exports from January-June 2023 totaled 9.1 million tons  growth of 1.5%  compared to the first half of 2022.

August 22, 2023 - The Brazilian Tree Industry (Iba) reported that for the first half of 2023, pulp exports from Brazil increased by 8.2%, totaling USD 4.1 billion, driven by sales to China and North America (United States and Canada). The balance generated by pulp exports to China increased by 25.4% and to North America by 19.9% in the first half of 2023.

The value of paper exports to North America also increased by 20.8%, reaching R$ 130.8 million between January and June, Iba reports.

Editor's note: The paper segment includes: packaging and wrapping, printing and writing, tissue, newsprint, cardboard, and other grades.

"The cultivated tree sector has established itself as a prime supplier to the largest economies on the planet," said Jose Carlos da Fonseca Jr., Executive Director of Iba. "This privileged position is directly associated with the offer of bioproducts by the sector that are renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, such as cellulose, paper, wood panels, biomass and those related to new uses, as is the case of textile fibers manufactured from of soluble cellulose."

In the first half of 2023, the increase in pulp exports to China positioned that country as the main destination for exports of pulp produced in Brazil, reaching USD 1.8 billion traded in the first six months of 2023, followed by Europe with USD 1 billion.

With regard to paper, Latin America continues to be Brazil's main buyer and totaled USD 824 million in sales for the product.

Production

In the first half of 2023, Brazilian pulp production reached 12 million tons. Paper manufacturing reached 5.3 million tons in the period. The production of paper for packaging was 2.9 million tons and for sanitary purposes 701 thousand tons (an increase of 4.6%).

Paper sales in Brazil in the first half totaled 2.6 million tons. Wood panels, in turn, totaled 3.4 million m3.

Pulp exports between January and June totaled 9.1 million tons  growth of 1.5%. Paper totaled 1.1 million tons traded with other countries in the first half of 2023. Wooden panels, in turn, reached 499,000 m3 exported.

The Brazilian Tree Industry (Iba) is the association responsible for the institutional representation of the planted tree production chain, from the field to the industry, along with its main stakeholders. Launched in April 2014, it represents 49 companies and nine state entities of products originating from the cultivation of planted trees  wood panels, laminated floors, cellulose, paper, energy forests and biomass  in addition to independent producers of planted trees and institutional investors.

SOURCE: The Brazilian Tree Industry (Iba)
Photo: (Photo : CHANDAN KHANNA / Getty Images)

In a heart-wrenching revelation, the United States has reached a deeply troubling milestone in its ongoing struggle with gun violence.

The latest analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has unveiled an alarming increase in child gun deaths, marking a peak that demands urgent attention. The year 2021 saw an unprecedented surge in such fatalities, highlighting the dire need for comprehensive measures to address this pressing crisis.

Alarming Increase in Child Gun Deaths

The data released by the CDC paints a somber picture of the nation's growing dilemma. In 2021, the count of child firearm fatalities skyrocketed, reaching a peak that has sent shockwaves across the country. The term "gun deaths" is no longer just a statistic; it represents the loss of young lives, dreams shattered, and families left devastated.

This alarming increase in child gun deaths has sounded a clear and urgent alarm, signaling a dire need for collective action. The distressing rise in child firearm fatalities in 2021 has shaken communities to their core. The numbers are stark and heartbreaking, emphasizing that these aren't just numbers on a page but young lives cut short.

The term "alarming increase in child gun deaths" resonates with the tragic stories of children who should have been playing, learning, and dreaming but were tragically lost due to gun violence.

The urgency to address this crisis cannot be overstated; it demands swift and resolute action from lawmakers, communities, and society at large.

Combating the Crisis of Child Firearm Fatalities

The surge in child gun deaths demands a response that matches the gravity of the situation. As the nation grapples with this distressing peak, urgent calls for action reverberate through every corner of society. Advocates, experts, and concerned citizens are united in their insistence on concrete and comprehensive measures.

It is no longer acceptable to merely acknowledge the issue; proactive steps are imperative to ensure that the phrase "child firearm fatalities" ceases to be a recurring nightmare for parents and a stain on the nation's conscience.

Behind each statistic lies a personal tragedy. The term "alarming increase in child gun deaths" should not be reduced to a mere headline-it represents families forever scarred by loss.

It represents a 3-year-old in Florida who accidentally shot himself, a 2-year-old in Michigan who stumbled upon an unsecured firearm, and countless other heart-wrenching stories.

The urgency to address these child firearm fatalities transcends politics; it's a matter of safeguarding innocent lives and preserving the future of our nation.

Read Also: Tribal Sovereignty Prevails in Parental Kidnapping Case

A Call for Unity and Change

The surge in child gun deaths is not an insurmountable challenge. It is an urgent call to unite, transcending differences, to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. The staggering reality of "gun deaths" among children necessitates immediate, meaningful action.

Communities must rally together, lawmakers must enact sensible gun safety measures, and individuals must take responsibility for securing firearms.

Addressing the crisis of child firearm fatalities is not just a duty-it's a promise to our future generations. The term "gun deaths" should never again dominate headlines concerning our children.

The urgency of the situation demands that we turn our grief into action, our outrage into determination, and our despair into hope. Let's ensure that every child can grow up in safety and security, free from the threat of gun violence. This is the legacy we must create, for their sake and for the sake of a better tomorrow.

Related Article: Classroom Heatwave Crisis: Rising Temperatures Test Students' Resilience in School
Photo: (Photo : Alexander Grey on Unsplash)

A groundbreaking study emerging from Imperial College London may be a game-changer in the field of pediatric medicine. Researchers are turning to gene patterns within blood samples as a way to rapidly diagnose illnesses in children, aiming to reduce the time required to identify the root cause of a fever. Traditionally, such diagnostic procedures have taken anywhere from several hours to multiple weeks, leaving children at risk and contributing to healthcare bottlenecks.

Existing Diagnostic Puzzle

The task of pinpointing the source of a fever-whether viral, bacterial, or of another etiology, often involves a labyrinth of tests and evaluations. Current methods take an inordinately long time to yield conclusive results, leading to treatment delays for serious conditions like sepsis, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. This delay is not just a ticking clock against effective treatment; it also feeds into a larger public health crisis-antimicrobial resistance.

In the absence of rapid and accurate diagnostic tools, doctors often resort to prescribing antibiotics as a precautionary measure. This practice is problematic because antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections, and their overuse contributes to the alarming phenomenon where these drugs lose their potency over time.

Dr. Myrsini Kaforou, a senior lecturer at Imperial College London and co-author of the study, elaborates, "The biggest challenge in the clinical setting can often be just figuring out what is causing the fever, even with the most sophisticated tests currently at our disposal." The urgency for a quicker and more reliable diagnostic method cannot be overstated.

The groundbreaking research, published in the journal Cell Press Med, scrutinized data from an extensive patient pool. This included 1,000 children suffering from an array of 18 different infectious or inflammatory diseases, such as flu, malaria, E. coli, meningitis, and arthritis. The study aimed to identify which genes were activated or deactivated when the body was fighting these diseases, effectively creating a 'molecular signature' for each condition.

Upon developing this molecular approach, researchers then tested its efficacy on a separate cohort of over 400 children who were admitted to hospitals with severe infections or sepsis. Compared to existing gold-standard diagnostic methods, this novel technique demonstrated an impressive accuracy rate exceeding 90%.

Read Also: Family Faked Illness to Get Millions in Medical Claims, Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Transformative Promise for Global Healthcare

While the research is still in its preliminary stages, its potential ramifications for the healthcare system are enormous. Dr. Kaforou says, "This could revolutionize how we approach diagnosis and treatment, ensuring that the right patient receives the right treatment at the right time."

Prof. Michael Levin, co-author of the study and a leading pediatrician at Imperial College, echoed these sentiments, saying, "If successfully implemented, this could be transformative for healthcare as we know it."

As the next step, large-scale clinical trials are being rolled out across hospitals in Europe, Africa, and Asia. These trials aim to further verify the diagnostic tool's effectiveness and adaptability in a range of healthcare environments.

Yet there is a call for caution. Prof. Damian Roland, an emergency pediatric doctor at the University Hospitals of Leicester, described the new research as the opening of "a new paradigm in medical care," but also highlighted the essential need for subsequent studies to identify any unintended consequences.

Thus, while the future looks promising, this innovative approach still has hurdles to clear before it can fully revolutionize pediatric diagnostics and contribute to the mitigation of antibiotic resistance on a global scale.

Related Article: Food Warning: FDA Investigating Lucky Charms Cereal For Stomach Illness Reports
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The following is based upon my reading of Michael J. Behe, Fearfully, Wonderfully, Deliberately: The Grandeur of God Reflected in the Molecular Foundation of Life, in Ann Gauger, ed., Gods Grandeur: The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2023), 60-70 (and particularly pages 60-62. The author of multiple books and over forty technical scientific publications and the center of considerable controversy, not to say acrimony, Michael Behe (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is a professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University and a senior fellow with the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, Washington.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (KJV Psalm 139:14)

Traditionally, the author of Psalm 139 is David, the king of Israel. Let us assume that David is the actual author. (If it isnt David, its some other ancient Israelite author.) That would put the psalms composition at about BC 1000. Even at that early time, the Psalmist had solid, indeed excellent grounds for his admiration. And those grounds have only grown better since his day.

Hippocrates is often called the Father of Medicine because he is often thought to have been the first person to study life from a relatively modern point of view. But he lived roughly five centuries after David.

More than five hundred additional passed before the great Roman physician Galen came along, one of the most famous scientists of the classical world. (For whatever it may be worth, I knew a physician whose actual name was Galen  his father was also a medical doctor  and Galen is a major presence among the documents published in the Arabic translation series that I founded.) Galen dissected animals and wrote up detailed descriptions of their anatomies, including the trachea, the larynx, the eye, nerves, and more, and his work led him to explain  on the basis of far more detailed knowledge than either the psalmist or Hippocrates possessed  that the human body must be the work of a supremely intelligent and powerful divine Craftsman  which is to say that it evinces of signs of intelligent design. But even Galen was unable to see such things as capillaries with his unaided human vision.

When its tools improve, though, science advances. The invention of the microscope in the early seventeenth century represented the beginning of major breakthroughs. The English physician William Harvey had predicted a closed loop of blood circulation, for example. Decades later, Marcello Malpighi was actually able to track the path of veins and to confirm the existence of capillaries.

Microscopes were also used to show that insects, which had been thought to be simple organisms, actually had a variety of intricate features (e.g., strange compound eyes). And, using a microscope, Robert Hooke was able to examine cork, observing discrete boxlike structures that reminded him of the small monastic cells in which monks lived. And it is from this that our name and concept of organic cells derives.

In the nineteenth century, Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann developed a cellular theory of biology, discovering the nucleus at the center of the cell and observing the discrete stages of cell division.

With better lenses and the advent of electric lighting and the development of sophisticated and often electric powered laboratory equipment, still more progress was made and continues to be made. Ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis, spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, the tagging of specific molecules  these and other tools have given us far more grounds than Galen, Hippocrates, and the psalmist had to admire the intricate organization of living things.

The results manifested an even tinier, even more intricate layer of life below the level of cells, and demonstrated that the foundation of life rested on molecules that are a million times smaller than the anatomical features that the Psalmist could notice. With much effort by many clever, dedicated researchers in the twentieth and now twenty-first centuries, it was shown that a molecule  DNA  carried inheritable genetic information that was stored as a chemical code in the exact sequence of its components, that the information included instructions for building elegant structures and phenomenally complex machines made out of protein molecules, and that control elements organized into sophisticated networks regulated when a gene should be turned on or off during the lifetime of an organism. Stunning does not even begin to describe the foundation of life. What would David say? (62)

He would certainly have far more reason to exclaim, in the New International Versions rendition of the same verse:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Professor Behes summary is a good reminder:

[I]t is now clear that life is run by sophisticated molecular machinery far surpassing anything humanity has been able to produce, and that molecular processes and machinery are precisely controlled by regulatory networks more elaborate than our best computer code. (64)

In some ways, I would argue that we have far more reason to be awestruck by the macrocosmic world around us and the microcosmic world with and about us than any pre-modern person ever had. And Michael Behe concurs, drawing a significant conclusion from that awe:

[W]e are privileged to live in an era where we can say  with millions of times more justification than David did  that we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully and deliberately made. Gods grandeur shines brilliantly through His design of life. (68)

Accompanied by a friend who is visiting California with us, we drove to Buena Park for dinner at Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner Restaurant. For all three of us, it was an exercise in nostalgia. I havent been there in decades. Its a measure, though, of how very old I am that was content to go to Knotts Berry Farm for a restaurant; I wasnt sad at all to skip the rides. Growing up not very far away, my childhood and even adolescent priorities were distinctly different.

And we brought home three slices of boysenberry pie, picking up some vanilla ice cream when we were near home. This being California, and indeed Newport Beach, the small supermarket where we stopped afforded me only two choices of vanilla ice cream  an oat-based non-dairy product (I passed on it) and an organic vanilla bean formulation that turned out to be quite good, but for which the per ounce price was about at parity with gold bullion.

Posted from Newport Beach, California
Opinion: Christian conservatives betray their values in criticizing Ramaswamys faith

[N]o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.  The Constitution of the United States of America

I have a confession to make: Ive been lying to you. I actually do still have political opinions. In fact, I have very strong political opinions. Ive been extremely interested in politics since I was about ten, and I read quite a bit on political issues. I simply no longer express myself publicly on partisan politics except to my immediate family and to friends who, Im confident, will not be scandalized and will not sever their relationship with me if they hear my opinions. And, unfortunately, in our current extremely polarized political climate, thats a very small group.

I launched this blog partly to argue for my political views. When I first joined Patheos, I asked them whether it would be acceptable to them if I sometimes wrote on non-religious (and especially political) themes. And they responded that, yes, it would be. FAIR LDS also approached me about adopting my blog, but I warned them off, saying that I would sometimes express my political and economic and other views (which I do not confuse with my religious opinions).

But Ive abandoned that goal because I was given strong reasons to believe that expressing my opinions on political matters would, given todays divisive situation, risk substantial damage to the Interpreter Foundation (to which Im deeply committed).

Here are some hints, though, that will help others to divine my general political position if they ever care to try:

I eagerly watched The Speech  Ronald Reagans famous televised address on behalf of Senator Barry M. Goldwater  on 27 October 1964. My parents supported Lyndon B. Johnson, who would go on to win by a landslide, but I was an enthusiastic, visible, and vocal Goldwater supporter.

I am exceedingly old, but I was still years away from being eligible to vote in 1964. I nevertheless pulled the lever for Senator Goldwater during that years presidential election. (My brother took me into the polling booth with him and allowed me the honor.)

Ive subscribed to the conservative opinion journal National Review with only relatively minor interruptions  e.g., during (part of) my mission in Switzerland and while living in the Middle East, where the mail service was so reliably unreliable as to make a subscription essentially worthless  since about the age of thirteen or so.

In high school, I read everything I could get my hands on  both fiction and non-fiction  from Ayn Rand, although, given my religious beliefs and values, I could never go full-on Objectivist.

From my teenage years, people like Edmund Burke, Friedrich von Hayek, Thomas Sowell, Robert Taft, William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, Ludwig von Mises, George F. Will, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Charles Krauthammer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, William Kristol, Walter Williams, Russell Kirk, Antonin Scalia, and Milton Friedman have ranked among my heroes.

Witness, by Whittaker Chambers, had a huge impact on me when I first read it in high school.

As a student, I picked the famed conservative writer William F. Buckley up at the airport when he came to speak at BYU and, with him, visited with the First Presidency of the time (Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney).

In 1976, having won an essay contest celebrating the bicentennial of Adam Smiths famous free-market class The Wealth of Nations, I participated in that years meeting, in St. Andrews, Scotland, of the Mont Pelerin Society. While there, I met and spent time with Milton Friedman, George Stigler, F. A. Hayek, John Chamberlain, and other famous advocates of free-market economics.

I seriously considered studying economics in graduate school. Had I done so, I would have sought to study, if I could, at the famously conservative/libertarian University of Chicago.

As a new member of the faculty at Brigham Young University, I hosted Dennis Prager during his two- or three-day visit to campus.

Ive spoken several times and participated twice in debates at the massive annual libertarian FreedomFest. During those gatherings, Ive had dinner with people like George Will, Steve Forbes, Senator Rand Paul, and John Mackey.

While Mike Lee was still considering a run for the Senate, a friend and I took him out to lunch at the Brick Oven, where my friend, especially, tried to persuade him to declare his candidacy.

I wish that politicians knew more about basic economics.

I love Henry Hazlitts Economics in One Lesson and Frederic Bastiats The Law, and I wish that everybody would read them.

I wonder if even ten percent of the Congress of the United States have ever actually read the federal Constitution.

I consider myself a free-market, federalist, constitutionalist conservative and a social conservative, with strong libertarian sympathies.

Ive been delighted with several recent decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.

My brand of conservatism is not only a matter of public policy, but, even beyond that and more fundamentally, entails strong standards of character, integrity, morality, decorum, and behavior.

I am very unhappy about the state of political and civic discourse in the United States, shocked at the direction we seem to be heading, deeply discouraged by the available partisan options, and genuinely very much worried for the future of my country and its fundamental institutions. Apart from divine grace, I dont see them as indestructible. And are we worthy of divine grace? Im not sure.

Herewith, five quotations from Mr. Buckley:

A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.

I am obliged to confess I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University. The largest cultural menace in America is the conformity of the intellectual cliques which, in education as well as the arts, are out to impose upon the nation their modish fads and fallacies, and have nearly succeeded in doing so. In this cultural issue, we are, without reservations, on the side of excellence (rather than newness) and of honest intellectual combat (rather than conformity). To fail to experience gratitude when walking through the corridors of the Metropolitan Museum, when listening to the music of Bach or Beethoven, when exercising our freedom to speak, or . . . to give, or withhold, our assent, is to fail to recognize how much we have received from the great wellsprings of human talent and concern that gave us Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, our parents, our friends. We need a rebirth of gratitude for those who have cared for us, living and, mostly, dead. The high moments of our way of life are their gifts to us. We must remember them in our thoughts and in our prayers; and in our deeds. We find that in the absence of demonstrable truth, the best we can do is to exercise the greatest diligence, humility, insight, intelligence, and industry in trying to arrive at the nearest values to truth. I hope, of course, to argue convincingly that having done this, we have an inescapable duty to seek to inculcate others with these values.

Posted from Newport Beach, California
Hollard Ghana, the country's favourite insurance group made-up of Hollard Insurance and Hollard Life, has been honoured with the prestigious Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Leadership Award at the Ghana Insurance Awards for its outstanding Al-Waleed Basic Comprehensive School transformation.



The ceremony held last week recognised Hollard Ghana's exceptional commitment to CSR and its impactful efforts in renovating the school for the benefit of the community.



The renovated school now boasts structural refurbishments of the roof, ceiling, floors, windows, and doors. Hollard Ghana also revamped the toilets and library, created a sick bay, and painted the block of four classrooms and the dining hall. The courtyard was beautified with AstroTurf, creating a conducive and safe environment for the children in preschool at a cost of over GHS250,000. The staff, fondly called Hollardites, played an active role in the Al-Waleed CSR project. They volunteered to paint the school and raised funds to stock the library and sick bay. The result was a remarkable transformation, restoring the almost-dead facility to rival any modern Montessori school.



Commenting on the essence of the recognition, Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo, the Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Hollard Ghana, described the win as a testament to the insurance company's aim to treat everyone with care and dignity.



"Our commitment to innovation extends beyond the insurance products we offer. We believe in fostering positive change by creating lasting impacts in the communities in which we operate. This win indicates the group's unwavering dedication to empowering future generations. Our purpose of enabling better futures drives our CSR efforts to create a sustainable future for the communities.



"Receiving this honour is evidence of the dedication of our team in bringing about positive change in the lives of the children at Al-Waleed Basic Comprehensive School. The school is among several CSR projects Hollard Ghana has embarked on to achieve exceptional, sustainable, and inclusive growth in Ghana. Some of these projects are our flagship thought leadership initiative H.Insured, a Streetwise Finance Literacy series all about insurance, events and a column in the BFT written by Hollardites. The H.Insured platform seeks to demystify insurance by taking insurance to the people in a jargon-free conversation and supporting public institutions like the Police Service and Ambulance Service, to mention a few", she added.



The Al-Waleed Basic Comprehensive School was constructed in 2005 with support from Prince Al-Waleed of Saudi and Former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kuffour, had experienced a significant decline over the years due to a lack of maintenance funding. The school's kindergarten block was in disrepair and unsafe for preschool children between the ages of 2 to 5 years.



About Hollard Ghana



The countrys favourite insurance group is Hollard Ghana, with subsidiaries Hollard Insurance and Hollard Life Assurance. The group combines its deep local knowledge of the market with the world-class expertise of an international insurance brand. With feet firmly planted on Ghanaian soil but Headquartered in South Africa, Hollard delivers innovative insurance solutions customised to the unique risks Ghanaians face. Hollard was previously Metropolitan Insurance which operated in Ghana for over 25 years. Hollard Life was birthed in 2018 as a subsidiary.



The company offers various life insurance products, including funeral, home, travel, motor, business, personal accident, savings and investments, group life insurance and employee plans, and more. Beyond various nationwide office branches and Hollard 2U franchise shops, Ghanaians can find Hollard Life at Shell Fuel Station Welcome Shops, Melcom stores and online at www.hollard.com.gh, www.melcom.com/hollard-insurance and www.jumia.com.gh for all their insurance needs.





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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Phishing, a malicious cyber activity that involves tricking individuals into divulging sensitive information by posing as a trustworthy entity, is highly detrimental due to its potential to cause financial losses, identity theft and data breaches. Once attackers gain access to sensitive information, they can exploit it for financial gain or commit other forms of cybercrime.

Successful phishing attempts can also lead to reputational damage for organizations that are impersonated, eroding customer trust and damaging brand credibility. To give a perspective of how detrimental phishing can be, business email compromise, or BEC, losses have topped $50 billion, according to the FBI.

There is no question that phishing remains one of the dominant internet crimes, largely due to the ubiquity of email and the ceaseless issue of human error that is preyed upon by todays threat actors.

To back this up, Cloudflare released a report and found the preeminence of malicious links as the foremost threat category is evident, constituting a substantial 35.6% of all detected threats. This prominence underscores the pervasive danger posed by cybercriminals who embed these links within seemingly innocuous emails, messages, or websites, with the intent of deceiving unsuspecting recipients into clicking on them.

Once activated, these links facilitate a cascade of actions, from installing malware onto the victim's device and stealing sensitive information to providing unauthorized access to confidential systems.

Some might be thinking to themselves as they are reading this to simply not click on anything that looks suspicious. OK, most are taught to look out for red flags, from the email to the subject line, for example.

But it is not as simple as that anymore.

Attackers are making themselves look like familiar brands. In fact, according to the report, attackers orchestrated over 1 billion brand impersonation attempts, assuming the guise of more than 1,000 distinct organizations. These malicious actors exploited the trust inherent in well-established brands, with more than half of these impersonation instances focusing on just 20 widely recognized and reputable companies. A few of these companies that were impersonated include Microsoft, Salesforce and Google (News - Alert).

This targeted approach capitalizes on the familiarity individuals have with these brands, increasing the likelihood of recipients falling victim to phishing schemes that mimic legitimate communication channels.

Such an expansive campaign underscores the need for heightened vigilance, stringent cybersecurity protocols and robust awareness campaigns. One solution is the use of email authentication.

Despite the implementation of email authentication measures like Sender Policy Framework, DomainKeys Identified Mail and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance, the effectiveness of these protocols in completely halting email threats is limited. The report found that almost 90% of unwanted or malicious messages managed to successfully navigate through these authentication checks.

While email authentication provides a crucial layer of defense, its inability to entirely mitigate the risk highlights the need for a multi-pronged approach to cybersecurity, encompassing not only technical measures but also user education, continuous monitoring and prompt incident response to address the evolving landscape of email-based threats.

Phishing is an epidemic that has permeated into the farthest corners of the Internet, preying on trust and victimizing everyone from CEOs to government officials to the everyday consumer, said Matthew Prince, CEO at Cloudflare. Email messages and malicious links are nefarious partners in crime when it comes to the most common form of Internet threats. Organizations of all sizes need a Zero Trust solution that encompasses email security - when this is neglected, they are leaving themselves exposed to the largest vector in today's threat landscape.

The concept of zero trust can provide a substantial boost to cybersecurity efforts in addressing the challenges posed by phishing, brand impersonation and email authentication bypass. By implementing a "never trust, always verify" approach, zero trust emphasizes strict access controls and continuous monitoring. This mitigates the risks associated with successful phishing attempts and brand impersonation, while also enhancing the effectiveness of existing email authentication measures.

Zero trust principles offer a proactive and adaptable strategy to counter email-based threats, though complete protection remains a collaborative effort involving multiple security layers.

Edited by Alex Passett
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison has issued a statement on the 2022 financial statements, which noted that the central bank recorded losses of up to GH60.8 billion in 2022.



The Governor explained the various economic decisions that the bank had to make in the face of the economic challenges in 2022.



According to him, the BoG took some corrective measures to manage the crisis, in particular the major policy effort designed to put Ghanas debt on a sustainable path.



These corrective actions, according to him, included the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) program, where the stock of Government of Ghana/public sector debt was to be halved from 105 percent of GDP to 55 percent of GDP by 2028.



"The holders of Government debt had their debt instruments exchanged for new ones with lower coupon payments and longer tenors. Despite the resulting losses incurred by households, banks, and other financial institutions, the threshold of 55 percent of GDP was not met.



"As part of the solution, the Minister for Finance wrote to the Bank of Ghana with a proposed treatment of a 50 percent haircut on Bank of Ghanas holdings of the Governments non-marketable debt," the governor said.



Here is the governor's full statement:



Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media.



1. Welcome to this special press briefing, which has been necessitated by recent developments following the publication of the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Bank of Ghana on 28th July 2023. Given the unique circumstances under which the 2022 report was published, it has become necessary for me to make this statement to help put the report into context and to clarify key issues that have arisen since the publication. The Bank of Ghanas 2022 Financial Statement results reflect the crisis that hit the economy in that year. This Press event is to give a clear statement of the problem and chronology of events leading to the economic crisis in 2022 and related developments in Ghana at that time.



2. At the end of 2019, through prudent economic management, macroeconomic fundamentals had been well anchored. The Bank of Ghana reported profits of GHC 1.6 billion in 2019, GHC 1.5 billion in 2020 and GHC 1.4 billion in 2021. The policy objective then, was to consolidate the gains made between 2017-2019 and steer the economy towards achieving broad-based inclusive growth and establishing all the needed structures for transitioning from a Frontier Economy to a Full-Fledged Emerging Market economy. Then came the covid-19 pandemic at the turn of 2020. We all witnessed the devastating effects of the pandemic and the uncertainty this disequilibrium created globally. Ghana was not spared the effects of the pandemic. There were clear public policy initiatives by the government, with outstanding leadership by the President, to protect lives livelihood at all costs. Protecting lives and livelihood at all

costs required exceptional financing.



3. Fortunately, through the swift intervention of the international financial institutions, the IMF (through the Rapid Credit Facility) and the World Bank, a significant portion of this financing was met. In addition, the Bank of Ghana, following prudent management, had built enough buffers and policy space, which enabled it to trigger the emergency financing exception under Section 30(6)) of the Bank of Ghana Act, Act 612 as amended, to provide the needed additional financing support through the purchase of GHC10 billion of the Governments Covid-19 bonds, which helped to close the exceptional financing gap. These interventions from the Bank of Ghana, the IMF, and the World Bank, helped the government to navigate and effectively contain the devastating effects of the pandemic.



4. Ladies and Gentlemen, as expected, Ghanas public health policy response to the pandemic came at a high fiscal cost to the economy, leading into 2021, which was amplified by the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war that started in early 2022. As a result, sovereign spreads on Ghanas Eurobonds widened, and Credit Rating Agencies further downgraded Ghanas sovereign debt rating. This effectively blocked Ghanas access to the international capital markets in 2022, a resource which the budget had relied on to borrow about US$3 billion annually to help close the financing gap. It is important to state that a significant part of the annual borrowing was just to meet debt service and energy payment obligations, given that Ghanas annual external debt service payments and energy payments alone had risen to the range of 3 to 4 billion dollars annually as at 2020.



5. Losing access to the international capital market for new financing immediately triggered a liquidity crisis for Government, spilling over into a balance of payments crisis as the country had to continue to honour its debt service obligations, energy payments, and import bill. In keeping up with these critical external payments, the Bank of Ghana lost US$500 million in external reserves in just two months, with no new inflows of foreign currency from the usual annual Eurobond issuance by Government to replenish its reserves.



6. Furthermore, to help address Governments liquidity crisis, the Bank extended additional overdraft to the government to address auction failures and prevent domestic default, and enabled government to meet domestic debt obligations and other critical payments needed to avoid a disorderly halt to economic activity. Throughout the first half of 2022, there was no new foreign financing until July when the Afrexim Bank stepped in to support with US$750 million. This is a typical replay of what is referred to in the literature as a first generation macroeconomic and balance of payments crisis. You would recall that many people doubted if the economy was in crisis because they did not hear that interest payments on bonds were not being paid in early 2022; they did not see queues at the pump for petrol and diesel; there were no shortages of essential items on the market; and they did not hear that public sector

workers, including civil servants, the Police and the Military, were not being paid their salaries. The reason was that the Bank of Ghana had provided the needed support to keep the economy going.



7. These circumstances led the Government to approach the IMF for support in July 2022. The IMF immediately sent in a Mission to assess the economic situation. The mission concluded that the economy was at tipping point, and it was agreed with the understanding of the IMF, that the Bank of Ghana should continue to provide the necessary support to keep the economy running until a reform programme had been put into place, which will trigger IMF financing.



8. The portrait painted above of the Ghanaian economy in 2022, was similar to what pertained in many other frontier and emerging market economies. Key among countries with similar experiences were Egypt, Argentina, Turkey, Kenya, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, just to mention a few. What separated these countries and their ability to hold their economies until a package of reforms were introduced, was the availability of policy buffers and resilience of key policy institutions. We all know what happened in Sri Lanka. The Bank of Ghana was able to step in with the support to the economy until the IMF programme was concluded, because of the policy buffers built, following years of prudent management. This is a reflection of the resilience of the Bank of Ghana for being able to rise up to the occasion to play its statutory role as the lender of last resort to support the economy during the crisis. Economic history also teaches us that crises are a part of the business cycle, and the accumulation of policy buffers is the only

way to guarantee space to deal with such crises, and this is clearly the role the Bank of Ghana played with

distinction.



9. Now let me shift my remarks to the corrective measures that were put into place in 2022 to manage the crisis, in particular the major policy effort designed to put Ghanas debt on a sustainable path. These corrective actions included the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) program, where the stock of Government of Ghana/public sector debt was to be halved from 105 percent of GDP to 55 percent of GDP by 2028. The holders of Government debt had their debt instruments exchanged for new ones with lower coupon payments and longer tenors. Despite the resulting losses incurred by households, banks and other financial institutions, the threshold of 55 percent of GDP was not met. As part of the solution, the Minister for Finance wrote to the Bank of Ghana with a proposed treatment of 50 percent haircut on Bank of Ghanas holdings of Governments non-marketable debt. Naturally, the Bank of Ghana was concerned and fully aware of the implications of such a treatment on the books of the Bank. We held several

discussions with the Ministry of Finance, the Governments Advisors on the Debt Exchange (Lazard & others) and the IMF on this treatment.



10. At the request of the Bank of Ghana, the IMF sent a technical mission of central bank balance sheet experts to assist the Bank of Ghana to assess how the debt treatment would impact the Banks financial position and its ability to carry out its statutory mandate. The conclusion of that technical assessment mission was that Bank of Ghana should be able to function effectively (i.e., remain policy solvent) even after the imposition of such a haircut. The IMF placed a high premium on this particular debt scenario involving the Bank of Ghana as that was the only scenario that was going to allow the Government to meet the debt threshold that would allow Ghanas IMF programme to proceed for Board approval. The Bank of Ghana accepted this proposal on that basis, given how crucial it was to secure the

Fund-supported program and the benefits that would inure to the economy as it would help to reset the economy and prevent a total collapse with much broader socio-economic implications. A Bank of Ghana board meeting was therefore arranged to get the board pass a resolution to this effect. The Bank of Ghana acted in good faith for the broader interest of Ghanas economy.



11. The debt included all the legacy debts of the Government of Ghana dating back to 1992 and included the accrued overdraft of 2022, overdraft to Cocobod, the Covid-19 Bond, and even BoG holdings of Telecom Malaysia (Ghana Telecom Bonds) Bonds and Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) bonds issued by Government. As of 2015, the accumulated claims on Government and Cocobod were about GHC13 billion. The debt, therefore, is not about recent debt alone. Almost all lending from the IMF, including the Extended Credit Facility and the Rapid Credit Facility during the Covid 19 pandemic, and all financial sector resolution bonds have all been added as Bank of Ghana lending to Government. This is not factual.



12. It is important to state that the losses reported were technical losses arising from the haircut and the application of accounting standards (in particular, IFRS 9) to estimate expected credit losses over the tenor of the Government debt held by Bank of Ghana. It is not money lost by the Bank of Ghana through its operations in 2022. Rather, one should look at this as a reflection of the total cost of the economic and social crisis the country faced over the years and an attempt to resolve a major structural problem of the Ghanaian economy.



13. I must also add that, if one takes time to go through historical financial statements of the Bank of Ghana, you will realize that this is not the first time that the Bank has gone into negative equity. During the early years of structural adjustment, very large exchange rate depreciations led to revaluation losses that drove the Bank into negative Equity. Indeed, anytime the economy faces major challenges, the Bank of Ghana balance sheet suffers, and the equity position moves into negative territories. You will recall that in 2017 and 2018, the Bank of Ghana incurred similar negative equity from the impairment of legacy liquidity support loans granted in 2015 and 2016 to insolvent banks, which our external auditors impaired due to the doubtful prospects of recovering from those insolvent banks. The Bank of Ghana however, recovered and generated profits throughout the period 2019 to 2021.



14. It is worth noting that Central Banks are not commercial banks. Bank of Ghanas current financial condition will not impact negatively on the operations of the Bank. The IMF TechnicalAssistance mission validated this conclusion, before the necessary decisions were taken. In their opinion, the Bank of Ghana was policy solvent and would remain so, as it had enough income to cover monetary policy operational costs. The Bank of Ghana had sufficient capital amounting to about 15 per cent of its total liabilities. Its recommendation was for the Bank to retain all profits and a reassessment should be made in the year 2027. The Bank will also manage to reduce its operational costs during this period.



15. Ladies and Gentlemen, in all these, the Bank of Ghana has acted within the applicable laws. It is not true that Bank of Ghana has been providing financing for the Government every year. There has been zero financing in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The Bank of Ghana has only had to support in the pandemic year of 2020 and the crisis year of 2022. The Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, limits financing of Government to 5 percent of previous years tax revenue. This provision in the law has been adhered to since I took office in April 2017. Between 2017 and 2019, in addition to the requirements of the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, the Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Finance to even impose a tighter restriction of zero central bank financing, and this was observed strictly, even though MOUs are not legally binding. Between 2012 and 2015, the Bank of Ghana provided overdraft to finance government and Cocobod every year. And there was neither a pandemic

nor a global economic crisis.



16. When Ghana was hit with the Covid-19 in 2020, Section 30(6) of the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, was triggered, and as indicated earlier, the Bank purchased GHC10 billion worth of Covid-19 bonds to support the economy through the pandemic. This was done within the applicable laws governing the Bank of Ghana. When section 30 (6) of the Bank of Ghana Act (612), as amended, is triggered, it, allows the Governor, the Minister for Finance and the Controller and Accountant General to agree on a new limit of central bank financing. The law further says that the Minister of Finance will then have to inform parliament and the Minister has since informed parliament as part of his briefing to update Parliament on the IMF program and status of the Domestic Debt Exchange.



17. Let me also seize this opportunity to talk about an issue that has come up lately in the media and one which borders on our new Head Office building. While discussions on a national security issue like the Central Bank building is a sensitive one, I will provide you with a brief history of how this has evolved over the years. The Bank of Ghana as far back as the 1990s began the search for suitable and secured land for a new Head office. In 2012, the Bank was allocated an unnumbered 5.19-acre land at Accra Central by the Lands Commission which also had issues. The Bank did not have access to the land since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration refused to give the Bank vacant possession on the grounds that they had never agreed to give up ownership of the land. The Bank continued to search for suitable land for its Head Office throughout the period from 2013 to 2016. More recently in 2018, the Bank approached the SIC to acquire its vacant land at Ridge near the Ridge Hospital. The Government issued an Executive Instrument to allow the Bank of Ghana acquire that Land and SIC was duly compensated.



18. The Bank then began to plan the building of its new Head Office, taking into consideration the need to ensure the building meets all the requirements of a modern central bank of international standards (similar to central bank head office buildings in Abuja and Dakar), and incudes provision for data centers, currency processes, vaults, and other sensitive installation. It is not just a simple ordinary building. Let me re-emphasize that the Bank followed all the necessary public procurement processes in this endeavor. No procurement laws were broken. I have requested that a more detailed response to the issues raised in the public discourse on the Banks new Head Office building be published on our website immediately after this press engagement today.



19. The decision to commence construction was taken in 2019 when the Bank generated profits. Appropriations for the Head Office were made each year from profits in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The project has therefore, been going on for over 3 years. The DDEP only took place in January 2023. If we were to be taking the decision today, building a legacy Head Office would not have been a priority. However, this is a project that has been running for 3 years and about 50 percent complete. The Bank is fully aware of its responsibilities to ensure that the costs do not escalate beyond reasonable levels and that many of the original design features to including data centre, currency processing centre, ICT equipment, specialized security features have been deferred and only grey boxes provided for future use

to manage costs.



20. Let me end by reassuring the public on the policy solvency of the Bank of Ghana to achieve its statutory mandate going forward. Every central banks credibility depends on its ability to achieve its mandate. These technical losses do not jeopardize that ability and are sometimes the price to pay for achieving those aims. It is important that we place the central banks policy mandate ahead of profits. We must recognize the special character of Central Banks and the role they play in an economy. Central Banks are institutions of public policy and do not exist for profits but for national welfare and as such could have a negative equity position and continue to be policy effective. Very clear policies have been put in place to return to positive equity in the medium term. And as we do this, we will continue to rebuild our policy buffers to continue to provide the necessary assurance of policy support as we rebuild a stronger and a more resilient and inclusive economic post pandemic.



Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Akosua Manu, has paid courtesy calls on some of the Chiefs in the Ga Traditional Council ahead of the 2023 Homowo Festival in the Greater Accra Region.



The move was to seek their support, and blessings and also to announce her ambition to the chiefs to become a Parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party for Adenta Constituency after filing the nomination forms to contest the upcoming parliamentary primary.



Accompanied by some of the party delegates, she used the opportunity to donate some items to the chiefs at the various communities visited.



In a brief remark, she started with the usual Homowo greetings of Afi oo afi before explaining the purpose of her visit; to pay homage to the chiefs.



The Aspiring NPP Parliamentary candidate for Adenta noted that government would promote an agenda that would be beneficial to the whole of the country and ensure greater national inclusiveness.



She further encouraged the traditional leaders to keep up with the good initiatives being undertaken in the area by the Akufo-Addo-led government, with a pledge to be a partner in that regard.



The chiefs also used the occasion to seek blessings, good health, and prosperity from the ancestors for her on her political journey.



The Ga people celebrate Homowo which is translated as hooting at hunger in remembrance of a devastating famine arising from a drought that occurred in their history in precolonial Ghana. The festival starts in August with the planting of crops (mainly maize and yam) before the rainy season starts.



During this period, noise-making is prohibited or banned since it is believed that it will hinder the maturity of the crops.



Even though it is a Ga traditional festival, many other ethnic groups also partake in the celebrations.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Honorary Consul of Jamaica to Ghana, Mr. Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu on the 13th of August, 2023 hosted a farewell cocktail for the outgoing High Commissioner of Jamaica to Ghana, H.E. Esmond St. Clair Reid at The Fitzgerald in Accra.



The event was organised to celebrate the work of the High Commissioner over the period of his tenure and afford His Excellency the opportunity to interact with members of the Jamaican and Caribbean community in Ghana one last time before departing to Kingston, Jamaica later in the year.



In his address, H.E. Esmond St. Clair Reid, thanked the gathering for taking time of their Sunday evening to attend event and expressed how privileged he is to have served as the High Commissioner of Jamaica to Ghana for the past four and half years. He further stated that even though he is proud of what he and his team have accomplished over the period, he wished they had done more before leaving the shores of Africa. He also commended the Honorary Consul, Mr. Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu and his team at the consulate for the work they are doing for the Jamaican and Caribbean community in Ghana and their work on various Jamaica  Ghana initiatives.



The High Commissioner especially praised Mr. Osei-Bonsu for the hard work he and his team are putting in towards the establishment of the Ghana  Jamaica Chamber of Commerce which will see a lot of economic and cultural exchanges between the two nations.



In his concluding remarks, H.E. Esmond St. Clair Reid, admonished Jamaicans and the larger Caribbean community in Ghana to continue to contribute positively and be productive wherever they find themselves.



Earlier, the Honorary Consul of Jamaican to Ghana, Mr. Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu in an address paid glowing tribute to the High Commissioner for his work in deepening the bilateral relations between Jamaica and Ghana during his tenure as well overseeing the establishment of the Honorary Consulate in Accra.



The Honorary Consul further cited the academic collaboration program between The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus and the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat and the initiation of the dialogue to establish the Ghana  Jamaica Chamber of Commerce as two of the many initiatives the High Commissioner has facilitated in his tenure.



Mr. Kevoy Burton, President of the Ghana Caribbean Association also addressed the gathering conveying the appreciation of the Caribbean community for the work the High Commissioner has done for the Jamaican and Caribbean community over the period of his tenure.



The concluding remarks was given by Miss Fawziya Mumuni, Administrator at the Honorary Consulate of Jamaica after which the gathering was treated some reggae lovers rock songs and drinks while they interacted and laid down some dance moves.



Also in attendance were members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, representatives from Ghanas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration amongst other dignitaries.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Data Protection Expert and Chief Executive Officer of Information Governance Solutions (IGS), Madam Sylvia Appiah has disclosed that, Non-compliant Data Controllers/business organizations will be in hot waters as Ghanas Data Protection Commission has begun aggressive enforcement of the Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843) this month of August 2023.



As Ghana is scaling up efforts to create a safe digital economy, she said it cannot be over emphasized that as part of the inherent nature of technology issues relating to data subject rights and data controller responsibility requires a legal framework which ensures that data subject privacy rights are not violated in the pursuit of implementation of technology by data controllers.



The Data Protection Act outlines what constitutes lawful processing, exempt processing, the scope and duties of data controllers, data processors, the Data Commissioner, and data balances the need to ensure privacy rights with the rights of the State to remain inviolable, maintain law and order, function effectively, and protect its citizens effectively.



Madam Sylvia Appiah cautioned data controllers to make data protection requirements a priority to avoid losing money; her advice comes as the Data Protection Commission has begun an aggressive enforcement of the countrys data protection laws.



She urged institutions to reach out to the Information Governance Solutions, an organization accredited with the Data Protection Commission to be assisted with registration and training.



Madam Appiah also noted there was a shortage of data professionals globally, making the training of practitioners crucial, in order to equip them to deliver on their mandate



The widely publicized enforcement action saw the arrest of officials of companies such as Hisense Group Limited, Mawarko Fast foods, Quick Credit Microfinance & Investment Limited and Agyabeng Akrasi &Co with a lot more others under the radar.









Source: Prince Baffour Asamoah/Peace FM News









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The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs), has been sworn in as the Ekuo Na of Holy Family Akan Society for the Accra Catholic Archdiocese.



The historic event which took place at the St Peters Catholic Church in Osu, coincided with the 54th Birthday of the Senior Police Officer who is a devout Catholic and member of good standing.



National President of the Holy Family Akan Society, Mr Albert Joseph Kodua who gave a background of the association which is 45 years old after being formed in 1978, revealed that challenges in understanding sermons in English and Ga by the Akan community inspired its formation.



Our forbearers in Catholic faith in Accra who were Akans, could readily understand sermons in English and Ga as was the practice at the time. A petition was therefore submitted to the then Archbishop of Accra Diocese, Dominic Kodwo Andoh. He set a committee to look into the concerns and it granted the permission for the birth of Holy Family Akan Society for the Accra Catholic Archdiocese, he revealed.



According to the National President, only a Baptized Catholic, Communicant, contribute to the growth and development of the Church, adding that the person holds the position till death.



It is in the light of this COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) was chosen in view of her enormous contributions to the church and the various societies she belongs to in the Church.



She replaces Mrs. Esther Hamilton of St. Anthony Catholic Church at Taifa who passed on in 2022.



In her acceptance remarks, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) thanked the National Executives of Holy Family Akan Society for nominating her for the role.



My Parish Priest told me it is an honour for me to be nominated for this role. He and other Priests promised to rally behind me in my new role. I use this opportunity to urge the Akan community here in Accra not to forget our roots and support each other. Let us also help the growth of the Church from where we hail so that they will grow. We should not make it appear as though the work of God only exists in Accra churches. God is everywhere , she encouraged.



Profile



Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah(Mrs) was born on 19th August 1969 at Konongo in the Asante Akyem district of the Ashanti Region.



She had her primary and secondary education at Roman Catholic Primary and Middle Schools, and Bompata Secondary School respectively



She is the first female Commandant of the Ghana Police Command and Staff College (GPCSC) located in Winneba, the Central Region of Ghana



Service



COP Addo-Danquah was recruited into the Ghana Police Service on July 27, 1990 and has risen through the ranks by dint of hard work and her desire to achieve higher academic laurels.



When she passed out, she was first posted to the Police Hospital Accounts Section as a constable.



After the 18-month probation, she was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1992 because she had enlisted with a Diploma in Business Studies (Accounting option), which she had obtained at the Kumasi Polytechnic between 1988 and 1990.



Having been promoted to Sergeant, she enrolled at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) in 1995, passed the Level Two examination and was promoted to the rank of Chief Inspector.



That granted her direct entry to the Police College in October 1998.



Best Cadet



At the passing out ceremony in May 1999, she was adjudged the All-Round Best Cadet and the Best Student in Humanities, out of a class of 48 (46 males and two females), making her the second female to take that award at that time.



In recognition of her remarkable accomplishment, a special staff of honour was ordered from the United Kingdom (UK) by the then IGP, which was presented to her by the late Professor Evans Atta Mills, who was then the Vice-President.



Secondment



Along the line, she was made the administrator at the Police Hospital when the person in charge went on a peacekeeping mission.



Later, she also had the opportunity to go on a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, where she acted as the Logistics and Finance Officer for the Missing Persons Unit.



With her international peacekeeping experience in Kosovo under her staff belt, she was posted to the Finance Section of the Police Headquarters.



A chartered accountant, COP Addo-Danquah also had stints at the Controller and Accountant Generals Department, where she learnt at first-hand information on public sector accounting. Following her successful understudy at that place, she was assigned to head the Commercial Crime Unit (CCU) of the CID for three years.

Source: Mynewsgh.com









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Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate hopeful, will on Tuesday August 22, 2023, end his nationwide campaign tour in Kumasi, Ashanti Region ahead of the Partys Super Delegates Congress.



His nine-day tour took him through Accra, Dambai, Ho, Takoradi, Cape Coast, Techiman, Sunyani, Goaso and Goaso ahead of the Delegates Conference scheduled for Saturday, August 26, 2023.



Mr Agyepong, addressing delegates of Oti Region at Dambai, said he would lead a lean government should he be elected as President of the country.



He said he would cut waste in public procurement to ensure value for money, adding that, his vision of ushering in a New Dawn was resonating positively with the populace.



If Im blessed to have the opportunity to be President, Ill be substantially different. I dont see why there should be a Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs or Ministry of Chieftaincy. It used to be a Secretariat at the Presidency.



It is not the quantum of money you save by reducing the number of ministries per se but it is the strong moral message you send to the country that as government were tightening our belt, leading by example, and walking the talk, he said.



Mr Agyepong, in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, urged the delegates to vote for values, virtues, principles and reward long dedicated service to the Party.



Its time for a drastic departure from the status quo, business as usual and more of the same will not work for the NPP in 2024,  he added.



Mr Agyepong, meeting with delegates of the Central Region in Cape Coast, asserted that the Party needed to elect a leader who represented a New Dawn to enhance the Partys chances of winning the elusive third consecutive term in the 2024 General Election.



The NPP Flagbearer hopeful, who was Press Secretary to former President John Agyekum Kufuor, and a former NPP General Secretary, maintained that he had the skills set and relevant experience to help retain power for the Party.



We need an energetic and decisive leader to reconnect with our Party base and earn the trust of the Ghanaian people. I humbly submit that I offer that hope of a fresh start for Ghana.





Source: GNA









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Certified Global Economist, Businessman and 2024 Independent Presidential Hopeful, Dr. Sam Ankrah has urged Ghanaians to chart the change path they yearn for by voting firmly against the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party in the forthcoming 2024 general election.



He made this statement during an interview on GTV Breakfast Show on August 21, 2023.



Dr. Sam Ankrah is of a firm conviction that the two biggest political parties in Ghana have done nothing but a great disservice to the country and Ghanaians at large ever since the country returned to civilian rule over three decades ago. He mentioned that both parties are the reason Ghana is experiencing stunted growth both in physical development and economic growth.



According to him, all the two political parties do is play blame games and not live up to expectations in cases of corruption.



He said Ghana is in this poor state after all the arable lands we have because of the wrong choices our elected and appointed leaders make in the name of the nation.



He charged Ghanaians to leave behind the status quo of the NPP and NDC to allow some change to come into the country.



He added that the notion that a vote for an independent candidate is a waste of vote has to be changed. He acknowledged that even though there have been independent candidates who could not even pull a percentage during successive elections, that direction needs to be changed and corrected and he has come with that change.





Source: gbc









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One person was killed and three others were injured on Monday when a gunman opened fire during a funeral luncheon in Upper Darby for a man who had been killed last week.

Police said they arrived at the scene along the 600 block of Long Lane at about 5:15 p.m.

Surveillance video shows a man getting out of a dark-colored Chevrolet Impala and firing into a venue where a luncheon was being held for James Ford, 39, who had been fatally shot on Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer said.

About 50 to 100 people were attending the event when the shots were fired. One man was hit in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. Another person was hospitalized and is in critical condition. Two more people were grazed by bullets and had non-life-threatening injuries, 6ABC said.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt told 6ABC that officials believe the shooting was retaliation for the Thursday event, where Birchett King, 25, shot and killed his uncle, Ford, during a fight over a car.

King was taken into custody for that shooting on Monday. No arrests have yet been made for this incident.

READ MORE: Pa. trooper charged with vehicular manslaughter in crash that killed teacher: AG
MARION, Kan.  The initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday, as newly released video showed the publishers 98-year-old mother protesting a search of their home.

The raids on the Marion County Record and the publishers home happened earlier this month, after a local restaurant owner accused the newspaper of illegally accessing information about her. A prosecutor said later that there was insufficient evidence to justify the raids, and some of the seized computers and cellphones have been returned.

But video released by the newspaper Monday shows just how upsetting the raid was to the mother of publisher Eric Meyer. The woman died the next day.

Get out of my house I dont want you in my house! Joan Meyer shouted at the six officers who were in the home she shared with her son. The surveillance video shows Meyer using a walker and dressed in slippers and a long robe or gown as she approaches the officers, swearing at them and demanding to know what they are doing.

She yells: Dont you touch any of that stuff!

The raid on the Record put it and its hometown of about 1,900 residents in the center of a debate about press freedoms protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Kansas Bill of Rights. It also exposed divisions in the town over local politics and the newspapers coverage of the community and put an intense spotlight on Police Chief Gideon Cody, who led the Aug. 11 raids months after the newspaper had asked questions about his background.

As far as Chief Cody goes, he can take his high horse he brought into this community and giddy-up on out of town, Darvin Markley, a Marion resident, said during a Monday afternoon City Council meeting. The man needs to go. He needs to be fired.

Cody did not attend Mondays meeting or respond to email and cellphone messages seeking a responses to those comments. He said in affidavits used to obtain the warrants that he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and a City Council member whose home was also raided had violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes.

A stack of the latest weekly edition of the Marion County Record sits in the back of the newspaper's building, awaiting unbundling, sorting and distribution, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, in Marion, Kan. The newspaper's front page was dedicated to two stories about a raid by local police on its offices and the publisher's home on Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/John Hanna)AP

Both City Council member Ruth Herbel and the newspaper have said they received a copy of a document about the status of the restaurant owners license without soliciting it. The document disclosed the restaurants license number and her date of birth, which are required to check the status of a persons license online and gain access to a more complete driving record. The police chief maintains they broke state laws to do that, while the newspaper and Herbels attorneys say they didnt.

Herbel, the citys vice mayor, presided over the City Councils meeting Monday, its first since the raids. It lasted less than an hour, and Herbel announced that council members would not discuss the raids  something its agenda already had said in an all-caps statement in red followed by 47 exclamation points. She said the council will address the raids in a future meeting.

While Herbel said after the meeting that she agrees that Cody should resign, other City Council members declined to comment. Mike Powers, a retired district court judge who is the only candidate for mayor this fall, said its premature to make any judgments.

The meeting came after Kansas Department of Revenue spokesperson Zack Denney said its legal to access the drivers license database online to check the status of a persons license using information obtained independently. The departments Division of Vehicles issues licenses.

The website is public-facing, and anyone can use it, he said.

The Department of Revenue website allows a searcher to see whether a person has a valid drivers license and to see a list of documents related to that persons driving record.

Searchers can go further: The site allows them to download documents or buy a copy of a driving record for $16.70. But they also need a persons drivers license number and date of birth, and they are asked to provide an address and phone number.

The affidavit to search the newspapers offices noted that when a person submits an online request for someones driving record, it lists 13 circumstances in which it is legal to obtain it. They include a person is seeking their own record or a business seeking it to verify personal information to help collect a debt.

This surveillance video shows Marion Police Department confiscating computers and cellphones from the publisher and staff of the Marion County Record on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 in Marion, Kansas. (Marion County Record via AP)AP

The last item says: I will use the information requested in a manner that is specifically authorized by Kansas law and is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety.

Meyer, the newspapers publisher, said Monday that reporter Phyllis Zorn did not download or purchase any documents when at the site. He said the newspaper plans to file a lawsuit over the raid of its offices and his home.

If they thought they were intimidating us, they were wrong, said Meyer, who blames the stress of the raid for his mothers death.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation continues to probe the newspapers actions. The KBI reports to state Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, while the Department of Revenue is under Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys authority.

Police seized computers, personal cellphones and a router from the newspaper and the publishers home and a laptop and iPhone from Herbel.

As of Monday, cellphones belonging to the newspapers staff, two reporters computer towers and the newspapers main server were back in its offices, while it was still waiting for the return of four computers, two removable hard drives and a router. Those items remained with a computer forensics audit firm hired by the newspapers attorney, as did Herbels laptop and iPhone.

The auditing firm was checking the equipment for signs that materials were accessed or copied. Meyer said the paper believes police started to copy the hard drive of one computer in the newspapers offices but stopped and seized the equipment when that proved too slow.

Legal experts believe the police raid on the newspaper violated a federal privacy law or a state law shielding journalists from having to identify sources or turn over unpublished material to law enforcement.

Meyer has noted that among the items seized were a computer tower and personal cellphone of a reporter who was uninvolved in the dispute with the local restaurant owner  but who had been investigating why Cody left a Kansas City, Missouri, police captains job in April before becoming Marion police chief.

The newspaper is known for its aggressive coverage of its community, set among rolling hills that once were part of a vast sea of tall prairie grass. Some of the towns residents believe the newspaper is too critical, a suggestion Meyer dismisses.

I know its a well-run paper, Powers said. If you read the editorials, every week is a lecture about how horrible we are.

An empty spot on reporter Phyllis Zorn's desk shows where the tower for her computer sat before law enforcement officers seized it in a raid on the Marion County Record, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Marion County, Kan. Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer says the raid was designed to intimidate the newspaper as it investigated local issues. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Powers and Markley had an animated discussion about local politics in the hallway outside its meeting room before the meeting and again when the council had a brief closed session to talk to the citys attorney about a matter unrelated to the raids.

The world is watching Marion, Markley told the City Council. There has to be accountability for those involved.

John Hanna of The Associated Press wrote this story.

Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, and Jim Salter in OFallon, Missouri, contributed to this report.

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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LIVONIA, MI -- Two people are in custody in connection with the reported abduction of two-week-old twin brothers in Michigan.

According to WDIV-Detroit, suspects were taken into custody Monday a couple hours after the twins were dropped off at the Detroit Police Departments 9th Precinct.

The identities of the suspects and potential charges have not been released by police.

A Jeep that was believed to have been used in the abduction has also been recovered by police. Its unclear how the people arrested are connected to the ones described as taking the boys from the Quality Inn on Plymouth Road in Livonia as police have provided limited information on the case.

According to police, the twins mother called them Sunday night around 10:10 p.m to report her sons, Matthew and Montana Bridges, were taken from a hotel room by two black women. During a press conference Monday, police described the relationship between the mother and the women as friendly acquaintances but did not elaborate.

An Amber Alert was issued around 6 a.m. Monday, and just a few hours later, the boys were dropped off to police around 9 a.m. The twins were taken to a hospital for observation and have been reunited with their parents.

On Monday, Detroit Police Chief James White said the babies were in good condition and had no visible injuries.

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The Columbus Alzheimers/Dementia Support Group will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28, at Columbus Community Center (old hospital), 3111 19th St. Attendees should use the door on the north side.

The presenter will be Adam Lassen. There will be cookies and conversation.

For more information, contact: Adam Lassen, 402-910-8111; or Martha Davidson, 402-910-8580.

The Alzheimers Association, Nebraska Chapter, is located at 8790 F St. Suite 404, in Omaha. The chapter helpline is 1-800-272- 3900 (toll-free).
WASHINGTON, D. C.  President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a new student loan repayment plan with payments based on a borrowers income and family size  not their loan balance  and that will forgive remaining balances after payments are made for a certain number of years.

Education Department officials predict that over 20 million borrowers could benefit from the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) program. They said it will cut many low-income borrowers monthly payments to zero, will save other borrowers around $1,000 per year, will prevent balances from growing because of unpaid interest, and will get more borrowers closer to forgiveness faster.

As long as you pay what you owe under this plan, youll no longer see your loan balance grow because of unpaid interest, Biden pledged in a video announcing the new loan repayment program.

He urged eligible borrowers to sign up for the program at the StudentAid.gov/SAVE website before student loan payments resume this fall. The education department said borrowers who are already on its REPAYE plan will be automatically enrolled and wont need to do anything else to participate.

We refuse to go back to those days before the pandemic when nearly a million borrowers defaulted on their loans every single year, because they couldnt afford the payments, added Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who called it the most affordable student loan repayment plan ever available.

Biden last year announced a program that would have cancelled or reduced student loan debts for an estimated 43 million Americans, but the U.S. Supreme Court decided he lacked authority to do so. After the decision, Biden said hed find a new path consistent with the ruling to provide student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.

Education department officials said most of the new programs benefits will go to low-income borrowers, and said that helping those borrowers will help strengthen the economy, as well as the borrowers communities and families. They estimated a typical graduate of a four-year public university will save nearly $2,000 a year under the program.

Under the program, borrowers with undergraduate loans will have their payments reduced from 10% to 5% of their discretionary income. Those who have undergraduate and graduate loans will pay a weighted average between 5% and 10% of their income based upon the original principal balances of their loan.

More than 1 million low-income borrowers, such as single borrowers who make around $15 an hour, wouldnt have to pay anything under the program.

Sabrina Eaton writes about the federal government and politics in Washington, D.C., for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
Multiple Jersey Shore communities either established or re-instituted curfews for minors this summer in an effort to curb large gatherings of drunken teens and other disruptive incidents.

Two months later, township officials and police departments say the curfews have largely been successful, working as a deterrent to teens gathering in large rowdy groups. Theyve led to fewer curbside warnings, some officials said, which are face-to-face warnings issued to juveniles for minor offenses, including underage drinking.

In Ocean City, officials instituted a beach curfew at 8 p.m., a general minors curfew at 11 p.m. and a backpack ban, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on the boardwalk.

The rules have been extremely effective in diminishing the large gatherings of teens that had become increasingly unruly over the past few summers, said Doug Bergen, a spokesman for the Cape May County city, who added residents, visitors and business owners have had overwhelmingly positive reactions.

Last year, through July 18, there were nearly 17,000 curbside warnings issued, he said. During the same time period this year, there have been roughly 7,000 warnings.

Bergen did not respond to an inquiry about the specific number of juvenile complaints.

In Long Branch, there were seven juvenile complaints signed last year. As of mid-August, there has been only one, said William Broughton, the director of public safety.

Curbside warnings have also gone down there. From April through Sept. 2022, officials issued 40 warnings. As of this year, 15 warnings have been issued since April, he said.

Toms River Police Department Chief Mitchell Little said the summer 10 p.m. curfew for minors without an adult on the townships barrier islands has also been effective.

The curfew has given us a great tool to address large groups of juveniles and even those smaller ones causing havoc in our beach communities, he wrote in an email.

Last summer, the townships police officers issued 54 such warnings to minors. As of early August, only seven were issued, said Little.

Officers are focusing on larger groups at the beach and after 10 p.m. they can move them along and disperse them before there are actual other offenses committed, he said. So in short, it has dramatically helped the quality of life for our residents in the beach communities.

No complaints were signed against any minors for curfew violations both last year and this year, Little said.

Toms River officials first implemented a curfew in 2020 and brought it back for 2021 and 2022. In August 2022, officials moved the curfew back an hour  from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Wildwood police officers issued dozens of juvenile complaints over the summer both in 2022 and 2023 so far, but the city does not track the number of curbside warnings issued, said Capt. John Flanigan.

In June, officials in Lavallette joined neighboring towns in instituting a curfew for minors after a vandalism incident over Memorial Day weekend, police chief Christian LaCicero said.

But no curbside warnings were given to minors and no complaints were issued both last summer and this summer, LaCicero said

Its a deterrent, he said of the curfew. It just gives us the upper hand to control these large gatherings. It seems thats where the problem comes in.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.

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The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley was killed late Monday night in an explosion at the players house, according to multiple reports.

Robert Farley, 61, was killed, according to the Iredell County Director of Fire Services and Emergency Management, Kent Green.

Per reports, the 24-year-old Farley was not at the home during the time of the explosion, but another male was injured in the explosion and was taken to a Charlotte-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Queen City News reported that Farley was at the home Tuesday morning and was speaking to authorities.

The Iredell County Fire Marshalls Office said the explosion is still under investigation, but no foul play is suspected, according to a Yahoo.com report. Officials at the scene called the home a total loss, and photos shared to social media show the structure was leveled.

This photo provided by the Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management taken early Tuesday morning, Aug. 22, 2023, in Mooresville, N.C., shows the rubble of a home that collapsed. (Kent Greene/Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management via AP)AP

According to Yahoo, Farley lived in the house for less than a year. It was reportedly listed in 2022 for $2.05 million.

Its a heartbreaking development for Farley, who reportedly lost his mother in 2018 to breast cancer.

Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley (AP Photo/AJ Mast, 2022)AP

Thinking about him, praying for him, Titans safety Kevin Byard told the media. Caleb is a big believer. He has a lot of faith. I just told him lean into his faith harder than he ever has before. He lost his mother at a young age as well. So, he has dealt with a lot of adversity. Its just very tragic and as a team and as a brother all I can do and all we can do is try to be there for him.

Farley played his college ball at Virginia Tech, and was taken in the first-round, 22nd-overall, by the Titans in 2021.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has ordered flags in Pennsylvania to be lowered to half-staff in honor of a volunteer firefighter killed while directing traffic at a crash scene in Erie on Monday.

Shawn Giles, 53, died when he was hit by a car on Sunday, Aug. 20, in Erie.

Police said the driver of the car, Dawann Simmons, 41, of Erie was speeding into an accident zone and has been charged with homicide by vehicle, accidents involving death or injury while not licensed, driving while operator privileges suspended/revoked, driving without a license and reckless driving,

Lori and I send our prayers to his family as they grieve their fallen hero. May his memory be a blessing, Shapiro said.

The original accident happened around 12:47 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Route 20 and Brickyard Road. Giles was directing traffic in the eastbound lanes of Route 20 when Simmons, traveling at a high rate of speed, hit him.

Giles was a volunteer with Fuller Hose Co. No. 1. The company said on Facebook, Please keep the family of firefighter Shawn Giles in your thoughts and prayers. Shawn was tragically killed in the line of duty Sunday afternoon. We thank Shawn for his service to our community.

Giles lived in North East, according to GoErie.com. Giles, goerie.com reported, suffered multiple blunt force trauma injuries, according to Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook.

GoErie reported the Simmons was arraigned on the charges Sunday night and is being held at the Erie County Prison on $200,000 bond.

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Michael Burham is now facing more charges related to his Warren County prison escape and the original case involving the alleged kidnapping of a couple after he was the subject of a multi-state manhunt last month.

District Judge Raymond Zydonik ruled during Mondays preliminary hearings said there was enough evidence to move both cases against the 34-year-old to the Court of Common Pleas, according to a report from the (Warren) Times Observer.

Burham is accused of kidnapping a couple in Sheffield, Pennsylvania, while trying to evade capture in New York, where he was wanted in a rape case and for questioning in a murder case.

A 68-year-old Mead Township woman testified that she and her 89-year-old husband were driven 18 hours in their vehicle to North Charleston, South Carolina, before they were dropped off in a cemetery.

According to a report from CBS News, the woman said Burham targeted them because they lived in an isolated area, were elderly and did not have a large dog, she said.

Burham was initially charged with many counts, including kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, assault, terroristic threats, theft, and burglary after his arrest on May 24 in South Carolina.

District Attorney Rob Greene brought additional charges Monday in that case including four more kidnapping counts.

Burham also faces more charges stemming from the July 6 escape from the Warren County jail. Officials said Burham escaped the prison by climbing on exercise equipment, going through a window, and climbing down a rope that was made from jail bedding.

He was recaptured July 15 after a barking dog alerted a couple to his presence on their property.

Deputy Attorney General Heather Serrano alleged in bringing another criminal conspiracy count that Burham conspired with another inmate or other inmates to escape from the county jail. Public Defender Kord Kinney unsuccessfully argued there was no evidence of a conspiracy beyond Burhams possession of more bedsheets than he was assigned.

More than 200 state, federal and local officers took part in the manhunt and up to $22,000 in reward money was posted.

Residents in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York were asked to regularly review doorbell and surveillance camera footage and to make sure vehicles, structures, and anything else useful to a fugitive was secured.

Greene said he has asked the state attorney generals office to handle the escape case, citing reports from the Warren city police investigation he said included information that could possibly implicate county jail inmates and staff as well as others.

Burham is now being held at Erie County Prison.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt, of Chautauqua County, New York, said in June that Burham is accused of killing 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin in Jamestown, New York, in May, and a related arson in Jamestown, New York, where authorities said they opted to let the state handle the initial prosecution as they examine the killing and arson.

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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 22, 2023

A mall in Philadelphia was evacuated over the weekend following a smash-and-grab robbery. In Pittsburgh, cops on patrol managed to thwart a potential nightclub shooting. Residents of one township have filed a lawsuit in the wake of revamped plans to potentially expand a landfill. Finally, this owl went from Stinky to Lucky.

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.
Gov. Josh Shapiro will address a gathering of New Hampshire Democrats next month, which will kick off a heated 2024 governors race there and likely get tongues wagging in Pennsylvania about his own national political aspirations.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said his state is home to the most exciting governor race in the nation right now and Granite Staters are fired up to retake the office.
A suspect was recently arrested for a homicide that took place more than two decades ago in Reading, according to police.

The Reading Police Department said Israel Mendoza, 43, has been charged with the murder of Michele Lutz, who was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in the area of Front and Elm streets on Aug. 2, 1998, according to a report from Berks Weekly.

Members of the U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement took Mendoza into custody in Jalisco, Mexico, last week, police said. Mendoza was one of four suspects in the shooting.

The investigation at the time of the incident yielded four suspects: Placido Rodriguez, Joshua Ramirez, Robert Radhames-Herrera and Mendoza.

Rodriguez and Ramirez were arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiracy of third-degree murder in 1998. Both suspects were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison.

Police say Radhames-Herrera remains at large, the story said.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Reading police at (610)-655-6116 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.

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By R. Myles Slade-Bowers

What if you were told, If you wait long enough, one day your chance will come? For Pennsylvania students and others across the country, that day still has not arrived.

This is exactly what happened when Gov. Josh Shapiro put party politics before the students in the Commonwealth and promised to veto his once-beloved voucher program. Families are tired of being used for their votes and are tired of waiting 10, 20, or 30 years for their chance at a quality education. WIth the support of federal school choice champions, they will not have to.

This year the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) has again been introduced in both the U.S House and U.S Senate. It would award $10 billion in annual tax credit scholarships to K-12 students to attend any accredited elementary or secondary school that best fits their needs.

Eligible students would reside in households that were at and or below 300% of the federal median income standard ($96,000 for a family of four). Students in every state would be eligible, expanding upon the 31 school choice programs across the country and bringing actual choice to the other 19 states.

Common sense legislation like this grants untold opportunities to families like mine who desperately needed a lifeline.

My school choice story starts and ends with my hero. She stands at 5 ft. 2 inches, carries a brown leather clutch purse, and can be seen sporting cheetah-print flats when shes not stuck in a meeting. My mother, with Gods grace, did all that she could to provide for myself and my two siblings, and there were no exceptions when it came to education.

She was prompted by her own personal experience with our local public school. As one of the top performing students in her graduating class, she assumed that the instruction she received would have prepared her for college. It wasnt until she got there and realized she was working three to four times harder than her classmates. She had been underserved like so many others. She made herself a promise that she would do what was necessary to level the playing field so that we could have opportunities similar to those had by families more fortunate than ours.

For years we got by on academic scholarships and her continued sacrifice. But the resources of a single parent are finite, and bills cannot be paid with well-wishing or hope. After my sophomore year of high school my mother sat me down and told me that I was no longer going to be able to continue to go to Bishop McDevitt High School, the school where my siblings graduated from, the school where all my friends had attended. This is the school that had the resources to help a child many feared would never be able to read at grade level due to a rare eye condition. But I became the student who leads class discussion in AP and Honors courses.

The life I had envisioned for myself had quickly become a distant fantasy. That was when I got a lifeline in the form of a tax credit scholarship. Two weeks before my tuition payment was due, I was awarded a scholarship that covered the cost that was owed and this allowed me to continue my education without the fear of it being unfairly ripped away from me.

Because of my hard work, the freedom to choose my school, and because I was able to use a tax credit scholarship to offset the cost of tuition, I have had the opportunity to attend one of the best schools in the country, High Point University.

Common sense investments into our nations future, like the Educational Choice for Children Act, can open up doors that are otherwise slammed shut to students like me.

R. Myles Slade-Bowers is with the American Federation for Children. He was born and raised in Steelton, Pa., and graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School. He lives in Hershey.
By Carl Hisiro

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis has brought a sweeping indictment against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-conspirators alleging a total of 41 felony counts, including 13 against Trump himself, in connection with their collective efforts to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 election victory in the state.

The 90 plus page indictment spells out an assortment of criminal charges ranging from making false statements, impersonating a public officer, forgery, perjury, and racketeering. In regard to this latter charge, all nineteen defendants face racketeering charges under Georgias Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO. Under this statute, Trump has been charged with running a criminal enterprise with his co-conspirators to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia by engaging in a pattern of conduct in furtherance of that scheme.

As noted, the indictment spells out 41 different criminal violations and 161 overt acts of racketeering activity that occurred in furtherance of the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. One of the reasons a RICO charge is such a powerful tool is that Willis need only convince a jury that any two of the underlying crimes were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy, thereby creating a pattern in furtherance of the criminal enterprise, to convict under this statute.

RICO cases, therefore, while often complex, are easier to prove and get a conviction. And the multiple counts and multiple defendants in this case also gives Willis the opportunity to tell a more complete story on how Trump went about trying to steal an election he clearly lost.

RICO is a powerful tool in the arsenal of a good prosecutor for another reason. If a defendant is convicted under a RICO count, they will serve jail time. The RICO statute provides for a five-year minimum jail sentence. With 18 other defendants facing serious prison time if convicted and a future presidential pardon unavailable for a state conviction, the incentive to cut a deal with Willis and agree to cooperate is considerable. As a consequence, Williss RICO case may result in more persons flipping on Trump than pancakes at a Dennys on a Saturday morning.

Another interesting fact of this indictment is that eight of the 18 defendants are lawyers who should have known better. They now have to get their own lawyers to defend them in this criminal case. Perhaps the true meaning of MAGA is make attorneys get attorneys.

All told, there are now four criminal indictments filed, two in federal court and two in state court, alleging 91 felony counts against Trump. And they still dont cover all the potential crimes or fraudulent acts Trump has been alleged to have engaged in as documented in newspaper stories and by the House January 6th Committee regarding Trumps actions to stay in power or to benefit financially from his legal woes.

Trump truly is a walking, talking criminal enterprise, and it only seems appropriate that the last indictment to be brought against him would incorporate that fact as part of the case against him.

Finally, in looking back since 2015 when Trump first ran for office, he has often employed a psychological defense mechanism called projection, where he attributes or projects his negative traits or beliefs onto someone else.

He first did it against Hillary Clinton when he warned of endless investigations and coverups about alleged crimes against our nation, our people, and our democracy if we elected Clinton president. He said she should be disqualified from being president because classified information was included in emails that were sent from her personal account.

Now, we have Trump the subject of four different criminal indictments, and in one of them he is accused of taking boxes and boxes of classified and top-secret documents from the White House to his residence in Florida and trying to hide them from the FBI after receiving a subpoena to turn them over.

My own projection is that the twice impeached, four-time indicted ex-president who lost the popular vote both times he ran for president -- and who called our brave soldiers who died in battle or who were captured by the enemy losers-- will go down in history as the biggest loser among all of our presidents.

Carl Hisiro is a retired lawyer who resides in Susquehanna Township.
A lot has changed for the Columbus Fire Department since its foundation in 1873.

Electricity became more common, building materials changed, gear has evolved to be safer for everyone involved. Through it all, Assistant Chief Nathan Jones said, the Columbus Fire Department has done its best for all those years.

"A lot has changed based on the fires we have now. There's a lot of new material, gear is better, how we approach fires has changed," Jones said. "Rescue, EMS (emergency medical services), 150 years ago those were not a thing. Even in the last 50 years, it's all changed."

On Aug. 20, the department had a celebration to mark the momentous anniversary as well as connect with the community a little via some sprinklers, hot dogs, chips and water courtesy of Bo's West and an open house at the station. Firefighter Dustin Nelson said that the celebration took some work to get going, but as the actual anniversary itself drew closer, they kicked things into a different gear to make sure it happened.

"We all agreed, equal-minded, 150 is a huge deal. There are only a few departments in Nebraska, let alone the U.S. that have 150 years," Nelson said. "You have your bigger departments like New York, but little old Columbus in the middle of Nebraska; 150 years is a big deal. We all agreed we need to celebrate the legacy behind Columbus as well as the fire department."

To help the community in a different way during the celebration, the Columbus Fire Department had a freewill donation option for canned goods and pet food to benefit the Columbus Rescue Mission and Erna R. Badsteiber Paws and Claws Adoption Center, respectively.

The turnout, Jones said, was good, considering the weather and the fact that there were several other community events going on around the same time. Support from not just the residents of Columbus, but from the city itself has been great over the years, Jones said, which is why they're able to do their jobs as well as they do.

"We've had great support from the city for quite a while. It helps a lot staying up to date with equipment and everything. The city's been gracious with keeping up-to-date on apparatus and gear, having the backing of the city and residents," Jones said.

Nelson said that in addition to support, the department holds itself to certain standards when it comes to education and training which ensure everyone is trained the same for any situation. Recent training with the Central Valley Ag grain bin rescue team, Nelson said, is a good example of the kind of training the department does for emergency situations.

"There's also camaraderie. The reserves are trained the same as career so if you want to work on a shift, weekend, they can cover and they're held to the same standards as career," Nelson said. "We're one team who all strive to make it as safe as possible with the best medical and fire safety."

Looking back on 150 years and even just the 14 years he's been on the department, Jones said a retrospective is helpful when you're trying to decide where you want the future to lead.

"It's always nice to see where we came from as a department and use it to mold where we're going in the future," he said.
PALM DESERT, Calif.  Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, swept people into swollen rivers, toppled trees onto homes and flooded roadways as the massive system marched northward Monday, prompting flood watches and warnings in more than a half dozen states.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Hilary had lost much of its steam and only vestiges of the storm were heading over the Rocky Mountains, but warned that continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding was expected over portions of the southwestern U.S., following record-breaking rainfall.

Hilary first slammed into Mexicos arid Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane, causing one death and widespread flooding before becoming a tropical storm, one of several potentially catastrophic natural events affecting California on Sunday. Besides the tropical storm, which produced tornado warnings, there were wildfires and a moderate earthquake north of Los Angeles. So far, no deaths, serious injuries or extreme damages have been reported in the state, though officials warned that risks remain, especially in the mountainous regions where the wet hillsides could unleash mudslides.

Winding roads in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles were blocked by mud and debris flows. A stretch of the I-10 freeway near Palm Springs was also shut to traffic Sunday due to pooling water, but reopened Monday.

In Palm Desert, Terry Flanigan called 911 when she heard a huge crash and got a text from a neighbor that a Eucalyptus tree, more than 100 feet (30 meters) tall, fell onto a condo across the street. She later learned it landed on the bed of her neighbors 11-year-old son, who luckily was in another room.

It was very unnerving, Flanigan said, adding that the family had gone to stay with relatives while removal crews came Monday morning to remove the branches. Oh my gosh, what could have happened.

Maura Taura felt a similar relief after a three-story-tall tree crashed down on her daughters two cars but missed the familys house in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles.

Thank God my family is OK, she said.

Hilary is just the latest major weather event to wreak havoc across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Hawaiis island of Maui is still reeling from a blaze that killed more than 100 people, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Firefighters in Canada are battling that nations worst fire season on record.

Hot water and hot air were both crucial factors that enabled the storms rapid growth  steering it on an unusual but not quite unprecedented path that dumped 10 months of rain in just one day in some normally bone-dry places, like Palm Springs.

Sunday was the wettest day on record in San Diego with 1.82 inches (4.6 centimeters), the NWS said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The previous record was on Aug. 17, 1977, when 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) of rain fell in the area post-Hurricane Doreen.

We basically blew all of our previous rainfall records out of the water, National Weather Service meteorologist Elizabeth Adams in San Diego told The Associated Press.

33 1 / 33 Storm Hilary

If a storm is larger, its going to rain longer and over more places, said MIT hurricane scientist Kerry Emanuel. Scientists still dont know why some storms, like Hilary, get big and some stay small, he said.

Its quite unusual for an Eastern Pacific storm to be so large since they are usually small and stay deep in the tropics, said University of Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero, an expert on Pacific hurricanes. She said that bigger storms are especially bad for areas like the Southwest U.S. and California that are not used to large amounts of rain in the summer.

The wet weather might stave off wildfires for a few weeks in Southern California and in parts of the Sierra Nevada but widespread rain is not expected in the most fire-prone areas spanning from Northern California to British Columbia, University of California, Los Angeles, climate scientist Daniel Swain said in an online briefing Monday.

The water rose knee-high in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River where fire officials rescued 13 people. Farther north, crews pumped floodwaters out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

In Cathedral City in the desert, Kimberly Garnica, 20, woke up to find that her car was stuck in mud outside her home.

The yard is just filled with a lot of mud, she said. You can just tell the streets arent really built for this.

In the San Bernardino Mountains, crews were working Monday to clear mud that has been blocking the homes of about 800 residents, said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Alison Hesterly.

In the mountain community of Oak Glen, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, Brooke Horspool helped dig out a home surrounded by about 4 feet (1.2 meters) of mud to free a couple, including an older man with medical issues.

The center of Hilary passed over downtown Los Angeles at 7 p.m. Sunday, according to the regional weather office, which called it a day for the ages in Southern California.

Los Angeles was tested but we came through it, and we came through it with minimal impacts considering what we endured, City Council President Paul Krekorian said.

A tropical storm last roared into California in September 1939, ripping apart train tracks, tearing houses from their foundations and capsizing many boats. Nearly 100 people were killed on land and at sea.

As Hilary moved east into the neighboring state of Nevada, flooding was reported, power was out and a boil-water order was issued for about 400 households in the Mount Charleston area, where the only road in and out was washed out. The area is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Las Vegas.

Forecasters said the threat for flooding in states farther north on Monday was highest across much of southeastern Oregon into the west-central mountains of Idaho. The forecast calls for potential thunderstorms and localized torrential rains on Tuesday, said Jackson Macfarlane, a meteorologist with the weather service in Boise, Idaho.

In the Caribbean, meanwhile, Tropical Storm Franklin churned on Monday near Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where authorities warned residents to prepare for floods and landslides. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are also watching a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that now has an 80% chance of developing into a tropical disturbance or tropical storm before reaching the western Gulf coastline on Tuesday.

Mark J. Terrill, John Antczak and Julie Watson of The Associated Press wrote this story.

Antczak reported from Los Angeles and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press reporters Ken Ritter in Las Vegas; Will Weissert in Washington; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida; Eugene Garcia in San Diego; Ryan Sun and Walter Berry in Phoenix, contributed to this report.
"Porrporrporr" and "pedrostjr3" Latest PartyPoker McLaren Turbo Series Champions

August 22, 2023 Matthew Pitt Senior Editor

Two more significant PartyPoker McLaren Turbo Series events have crowned their champions, with those two worthy winners padding their bankrolls with combined scores in excess of $16,000.

The Sunday Party, PartyPoker's flagship tournament, received the McLaren Turbo Series treatment this week, giving it a unique twist. The first three levels each lasted 20 minutes before reverting a seven-minute clock for the remainder of the event.

Team PartyPoker's brotherly duo, Jaime and Matt Staples, were among the 1,031 entrants who created a $103,100 prize pool. Matt Staples crashed out before the money places, but Jaime finished in 90th place, and walked away with $187.70 with bounties included.

Each of the seven players who reached the final table ensured they would scoop more than $1,500 for their efforts.

Seventh-place finisher "DogecoinFounder" banked $2,536, almost $1,000 more than "xXGlamBabeXx" despite the latter finishing once place above them. That is the beauty of progressive knockout tournaments; those bounties start adding up. Although "DogecoinFounder" won $940 from the main prize pool compared to "xXGlamBabeXx" who netted $1,335, the former helped themselves to $1,596 worth of bounties, with the latter only collecting $262.

Fifth place and $2,980 went to "Shin-chan" before "Avada Kedavra" claimed a $4,674 payout shortly after their demise in fourth. The latest Sunday party progressed to the heads-up stage when "FLALF" found themselves void of chips, although a $5,321 score should go some way to numbing the pain inflicted by their defeat.

The heads-up duo of "Porrporrporr" and "nando Olimpio" locked in at least $6,132 from the main prize pool, leaving a final bounty payment worth over $6,300 to fight for. "Porrporrporr" clinched their ninth bounty of the event when they sent "nando Olimpio" to the showers, resulting in a total haul worth $12,479; the runner-up banked $8,940.

McLaren Turbo Series #13 Sunday Party Final Table Results

Rank Player Bounties Prize Total Prize 1 Porrporrporr $6,337 $6,142 $12,479 2 nando Olimpio $2,808 $6,132 $8,940 3 FLALF $1,347 $3,974 $5,321 4 Avada Kedavra $1,979 $2,695 $4,674 5 Shin-chan $1,142 $1,838 $2,980 6 xXGlamBabeXx $262 $1,335 $1,597 7 DogecoinFounder $1,596 $940 $2,536

PartyPoker Announces Full Schedule for LIVE MILLIONS Malta in September

pedrostjr3" Turns $22 into $4,079

The Sunday Carnival copied the Sunday Party structure and it looked to be popular with that crowd. Some 1,641 players bought in, resulting in a $32,820 prize pool, which surpassed the $30,000 guaranteed amount.

Once the curtain came down on proceedings and the dust had settled, "pedrostjr3" was the only player with chip in front of them, and those chips were exchanged for the $1,854 top prize plus $2,225 worth of scalps, making a combined total of $4,079 for their initial $22 investment.

Three other finalists turned their $22 buy-in into a four-figure haul.

Runner-up "ERNSTUZI" won $2,094, third-place finisher "b66dbj-5" secured a $1,456 payout, while "Mus100" netted $1,152 for their fourth-place exit.

McLaren Turbo Series #14 Sunday Carnival Final Table Results

Rank Player Bounties Prize Total Prize 1 pedrostjr3 $2,225 $1,854 $4,079 2 ERNSTUZI $244 $1,850 $2,094 3 b66dbj-5 $285 $1,171 $1,456 4 Mus100 $365 $787 $1,152 5 RhonRyan89 $10 $542 $552 6 MR P HEAD $335 $389 $723 7 guigo40 $152 $273 $425

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Sharelines The Sunday Party and Sunday Carnival featured a unique blind structure.
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Rachel Maddow showed that Trump keeps calling for his supporters to show and protest, but they never take to the streets.

Maddow said:

Well, when the day of that first arrest and arraignment came, I mean, that was the scene. And yes, thats something. That is some supporters of his outside the Manhattan courthouse, but they are a small enough number of supporters that that day they were very much outnumbered by members of the media, who to be fair, had been told to expect these would be the biggest protests we have ever had in America. Thats what they turned out to cover. We had a lot of big protests in America. This is not what a big protest looks like in America, let alone the biggest ever.

But then he got indicted and arrested again. That was earlier this summer. That was in Miami. And he tried again to call his followers out into the streets. He got on right-wing radio, he said we need strength in our country now. They have to go out, meaning my followers, they have to go out and they have to protest. Look, our country has to protest. And then again, just to make it crystal clear, he got online and he literally spelled it out to his supporters. See you in Miami on Tuesday. I will see you there. You should be there. Well, this was Miami on that Tuesday. Some people maybe. A few hundred-ish. We had been promised, he had threatened the likes of which we have never seen. The likes of this we have seen plenty of. This looks like, you know, the weekly protest at the farmers market in your town which is like a different cause every Thursday.

He told the country his followers would erupt. They would fill the streets. They would shock the nation with their numbers, protests like the country had never seen before. Their enraged protest would shock the country. If anyone dared indict him. It didnt happen. He then directed his followers explicitly multiple times, okay, yeah, this is what I meant. Now is the time. Get out there. This is it. Go, like I said you would. But nothing happened.

And so when he was indicted a third time when he had to show up to be indicted in Washington, D.C. Earlier this month, Trump did not bother calling for protests. Presumably, it had gotten through to him, if he called for them, they werent going to happen. And now were expecting him to arrive at the Fulton County jail in Georgia this week for yet another arrest. This time with both fingerprints and a mugshot. And he is not calling for protests anymore. Because that dog has not barked. Which is an important plot point for us in this story. We were told to expect it to happen. The widespread expectation that it would happen, I think, inflected all of the expectations, all of the perceptions of boundaries and red lines and things that would be brand-new and dangerous and unprecedented about this new territory that were in in American history. But it turns out, the dog did not bark.

Video:

The emperor has no clothes. Trump keeps trying to instigate violence to make Americans afraid to defend their democracy, but his supporters continue not to show up.

Trump is learning that his supporters are not a personal army that he can deploy to terrorize the majority of Americans.

This does not mean that the threat has passed because it only takes a few radicalized Trump supporters to endanger many, but the idea that Trump can violently overthrow the majority has been debunked. Trump called out for his supporters, but they ignored him and kept watching Fox News.
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Busted. This is what happens in RICO cases.

David Shafer, former Chair of the Georgia Republican Party, is one of the 19 defendants charged under the RICO statute in Georgia with former president Donald Trump and as part of the court actions on his behalf, shared a transcript of the meeting of the false electors that clearly attributes the false elector plot to Trump campaign lawyers.

The damaging transcript of the December 14, 2020 meeting shows Trump campaign attorney Ray Smith giving advice to the fake electors, as pointed out by Politicos Kyle Cheney, and an email from another Trump attorney, Alex Kaufman, to members of the Trump campaign saying their party should have a say in the election, effectively over lawful voters.

Heres the email from Trump campaign attorney Alex Kaufman (my bold) reconfirming our collective advice that our slate of delegates meet on December 14 to cast their ballot for President Trump.

He further elaborated that it is important that the delegates act and vote in the same manner as if Governor Kemp had certified the election for Donald Trump. Gov. Kemp had not certified the election for Trump, because Trump lost Georgia.

Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and he also lost the state of Georgia. This wasnt even a fluke, as the state went on to elect two Democratic Senators in Senate runoffs and reelect a Democratic senator in 2022, but even if it had been a fluke (see: Donald Trumps 2016 win in Michigan and Pennsylvania), it would have still counted, as it did when it happened in Trumps favor in 2016.

Kaufman goes on to write that following his instructions is important to preserve our state and our partys say in the presidential election.

This part stood out, even among all of this blatant allegedly criminal organizing to steal lawful votes from the majority of U.S. voters, as it spells out the entitlement to have a say over an election. Voters had their say. That is how our elections work. Elections arent set up just for show, and if the Republicans dont like it then they can just take the vote away from the people, but that is what is suggested in Kaufmans email.

The filings serve to emphasize how a prosecutor shakes down an organized crime racket as each defendant begins to finally grasp that they could potentially be jailed for their actions. As we discussed yesterday, RICO trials are expensive so its very odd that Trump isnt paying for many of his co-defendants legal fees, as he has left the defendants without funds vulnerable to being flipped. The Georgia Republican party has already spent a significant amount of money defending the fake electors, including more than half a million dollars in the first half of 2023 for legal expenses.

These documents are Shafer pointing the finger, with evidence, right at the Trump campaign.

The fake elector plot stinks from the head of the fish. The lawyers pushing the alleged criminal conspiracy of the fake elector plot were working for the don. Literally, in this case.
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Trump complained on his social media platform about being required to put up a $200,000 bond in Georgia as this is the first time he has been treated like any other charged person.

Trump posted on Truth Social, The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me. I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a flight risk  Id fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again. Would I be able to take my very understated airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, Id be much better off flying commercial  Im sure nobody would recognize me!

Trump probably hasnt flown commercially in 40 or 50 years and might lose his mind if he ever had to share a plane with the sort of people who vote for him. It would probably crush his ego if he went on a plane and no one recognized him.

The former president is unhappy that he isnt getting the special treatment he is used to receiving on his frequent visits through the criminal justice system and being treated like someone accused of breaking the law doesnt sit well with him.

It is doubtful that Trump would flee to Russia. Putin invaded Ukraine, and we all know the lengths that Trump will go to avoid potential military service in any way.
Just four months after he was indicted, former Omaha City Councilman Vincent Vinny Palermo accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by deprivation of honest services.

Palermo admitted during a change of plea hearing in federal court Friday to failing to disclose conflicts of interest when awarding money through his position on the City Council, and to conspiring with others to use nonprofit funds to pay for his airfare and accommodations on a number of trips.

I agreed to a common and unlawful plan to commit honest services fraud by wire, Palermo wrote in his petition to enter a plea of guilty. I knew the unlawful purpose of the plan and willfully joined in it.

The former South Omaha representative had previously pleaded not guilty to nine federal felonies spanning conspiracy, honest services fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud. The government will move to dismiss all but the conspiracy charge at sentencing, which is set to take place in November.

As much as Mr. Palermo has been vilified and talked about and shamed, in the end, he did the right thing, Randy Paragas, Palermos defense attorney, said of his client taking the plea deal. He didnt drag the government through what would have been a horrific trial for the city of Omaha, and for himself.

As part of the agreement, the prosecution and defense agreed that Palermos federal prison sentence should not exceed 21 months. The honest services fraud conspiracy charge that Palermo pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart will recommend that Palermos guilty plea be accepted by his sentencing judge, Senior U.S. District Court Judge John Gerrard. Gerrard is not bound by the sentencing agreement and could choose to reject it, in which case Palermo could withdraw his guilty plea.

If (Gerrard) decides not to accept the 21 month recommendation, the defendant is free to withdraw his plea, and wed start all over again, Paragas said.

Palermo is set to be sentenced by Gerrard on Nov. 16 in Omaha.

At the sentencing hearing, Palermo will also be sentenced for violating conditions of his federal probation, which he was placed on in 2019 after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file tax returns. Paragas said they plan to admit at the hearing that Palermo knowingly violated the conditions of his supervised release by leaving the state without informing his probation officer.

Photos: Federal agents search the home of Omaha City Councilman Vinny Palermo
GRANITEVILLE  The Aiken Sheriff's Pipes and Drums provided a soundtrack for an unusual morning gathering Oct. 27, with about 15 people gathered in Graniteville Cemetery to pay respects to the memory of 16 people in Aiken County's annual burial service for paupers. Read moreAiken County coroner leads final salute in pauper burial service
North Augusta reporter

Elizabeth Hustad is a reporter with The Post and Courier North Augusta. She covers government, growth and development, and business.

Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and previously worked with a Twin Cities weekly. Her work has appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and MinnPost.

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Two former employees of a now-closed West Ashley automobile dealership have pleaded guilty in federal court to falsifying loan documents that were submitted to finance companies so buyers could be approved for loans they otherwise didn't qualify for.

Shawn Rustin and Kentrell Davis, who worked at Hoover Mitsubishi at 2550 Savannah Highway, pleaded guilty on July 28 to one felony charge apiece of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and providing false statements to a financial institution.

They will be sentenced at a later date in federal court in Charleston.

The charges carry a maximum five-year prison term, but prosecutors have agreed to seek a lighter sentence because the men cooperated in the investigation.

According to court documents, Rustin was the general sales manager and Davis was finance manager when the incidents took place from at least January 2016 to 2018. An affidavit for a search warrant indicates the practice dated to at least 2012.

The scheme involved creating two sales documents  a fraudulent contract submitted to lenders and an accurate one kept in Hoover's files, according to court documents. The bogus paperwork included false statements that made it appear as if customers were more creditworthy than they really were. The fraudulent contracts also listed false down payments and fictitious vehicle trade-ins.

Rustin also falsified bank statements, paycheck stubs, proof of residency, utility bills and other documents "with the purpose of influencing financial institutions" to give loans to buyers who were more likely to default or fall behind on payments.

Both employees were fired from the dealership in 2018. FBI agents raided the business the following year, seizing computers, financial records and vehicle loan applications.

According to an affidavit filed for a search warrant, at least two banks caught on to the scheme. In 2015, BB&T  now Truist  checked on a loan for a Mitsubishi Outlander and found out the pay stub that was submitted was incorrect. PNC Bank discovered another example in 2016 after a car buyer reported the dealership doubled his income level on the loan application.
The owner of Northwoods Mall in North Charleston has let go of another large South Carolina shopping center carrying tens of millions of dollars in debt. Read moreSC mall sale marks a Palmetto State three-peat for the former owner
A federal financial watchdog is suing an Upstate-based short-term installment lender as it looks to halt alleged "illegal loan-churning practices" that saddle mostly low-income borrowers with layers of fees and other expenses.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Aug. 22 that it's filing a complaint against Heights Finance Holding Corp. in U.S. District Court in Greenville.

The company formerly was called Southern Management Corp. It operates about 250 storefront loan offices in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma under several trade names, including Southern Finance, Quick Credit and Covington Credit.

The CFPB said Heights Finance's business model turns the "normal borrower-lender relationship on its head" by identifying "borrowers who are struggling to repay their existing loans, and then aggressively pushes them to refinance. Borrowers become trapped in the loan-churning scheme and often are forced to refinance multiple times."

The agency said about 10 percent of the company's customers renew their debts a dozen times or more and account for 40 percent of Heights Finances net revenue.

CFPB director Rohit Chopra said in a written statement that the repeated refinancing cycle pushes borrowers "into financial quicksand.

The consumer agency said it's aiming to change the company's lending practices and is seeking compensation for an estimated 10,000 customers who were harmed from 2013 to at least 2020. It also is asking for the court to assess a civil monetary penalty.

Chicago-based Curo Group Holdings Corp. bought Heights Finance for $360 million two years ago from Milestone Partners.
"When I have migraines, I cant always paint, but I have a photographic memory of visions during them from all these years," said Rama. "When the meds kick in and I can get out of bed and paint at my home studio, they reappear in my head, like on glass slides that I can (scroll through) and paint."

Rama has now been creating art inspired by her migraines for around five years. At art fairs and shows, she said those who also deal with migraines often come up to her and express how spot on her pieces are to their own experiences.

"That blows my mind, because these are different bodies, different heads. So how are they seeing the exact same thing?" Rama said.

It's encounters like these that make her work validating.

"In doing this, I'm able to talk about pain much more openly than I ever had before," she added.

Rama didn't always seek to turn her pain into beauty. For most of her life, she just accepted it as a part of daily life. She's had chronic migraines and considered herself an artist for about the same amount of time, since she was around 8 years old. But only recently did the two collide for her.

A life of art, a life of migraines

The painter, with a master's degree in visual arts education who has completed doctoral studies in arts administration, has always been a visual learner. That's how she remembers things, she said.

"I've always drawn and painted, and I was self-taught," said Rama. "In India, I used to look at magazines as inspiration. My father had a subscription to 'Life' and 'National Geographic'... and was a big lover of books and reading. We had no TV growing up, so my view of the world was through these magazines."

Once she married and moved to the United States, Rama became a graphic designer and began working at an ad agency. Through all of it, she had weekly or even multiple-times-a-week migraines. They ran in her family, so she saw it as just something she had to deal with, often a debilitation that would zap her energy for a day or more at a time.
The occasion is the eve of the release of her new novel, Absolution, with the author making a stop in town, her first here, for a reading Oct. 30 at The Unitarian Church in Charleston, by way of Buxton Books. Read moreHogan: Time-traveling to 1960s Saigon with a famed author (oh, and Barbie, too)
Charleston County Schools' White students are overwhelmingly enrolled in Advanced Placement classes while Black students have slightly higher numbers in dual-enrollment courses  a sign of potential accessibility gaps.

About 42 percent of White students in the 11th grade enrolled in two or more AP classes, compared to just 6 percent of Black students. Around 10 percent of all Black students enrolled in six or more college credit hours via dual enrollment by the end of their 11th-grade year in spring 2023, compared to about 7 percent of all White students, according to data the district presented at an Aug. 14 board meeting. (Dual-enrollment classes are when high school students enroll in college classes for both high school and college credit.)

Stephen Pruitt, president of the Southern Regional Education Board, said differences in student groups participating between dual enrollment and AP courses shouldn't necessarily cause alarm, but they should spur a district to further examine how schools inadvertently or even intentionally prevent students from reaching certain courses.

The question really needs to be what kind of access to advanced-level coursework are we giving students? he said.

Both dual enrollment and AP classes promise a taste of more advanced work. They give students the opportunity to earn potential credits, get ahead in college and potentially graduate earlier and with less debt.

Still, the programs are far from identical.

Accessibility is often at the heart of the differences between AP and dual-enrollment courses and who takes them, according to education experts.

AP courses, which have been around since the 1950s, intend to expose students to college-level work. Schools in more affluent areas are more likely to offer AP classes. Schools select which courses get offered, if any at all, and teachers at the schools lead them.

Students typically take AP classes as juniors or seniors in high school, and need to have taken certain prerequisites or be recommended by a teacher to enroll. In other words, students need to know those details far enough in advance to adequately plan for those requirements  which can be a barrier, said Susan Therriault, a managing researcher at the American Institutes for Research who has expertise in college and career readiness.

More Coverage To read more in-depth stories from The Post and Courier's Education Lab, go to postandcourier.com/education-lab.

It can be limiting for kids who just don't have that plan from the start or just aren't aware of it, she said.

Concluding each AP course is an exam, which costs about $100. In many schools across the country, that cost is another barrier to some students; in South Carolina, the state Legislature provides funding for AP exams for public school students.

After taking the exam, students may earn college credits depending on their score  typically a score of a 3, 4 or 5  and if the colleges the students ultimately attend award credits for AP classes. Not all higher education institutions do, although 36 states, South Carolina included, as of fall 2022 have AP credit policies requiring all public universities to award credits for AP exams for scores of 3 or higher.

Dual enrollment, on the other hand, has been growing in use in the last couple of decades. Students receive high school and college credits at the same time through partnerships with local colleges in Charleston. The district partners most widely with Trident Technical College and College of Charleston.

How dual-enrollment classes operate varies. Students might take a course online, a college instructor might be loaned to the district or a high school teacher might be credentialed through a college to teach a course. Last school year, students in dual enrollment in Charleston took a range of classes, including criminal law, refrigeration fundamentals and solar system astronomy.

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Theres a cost to these classes, though. At College of Charleston, classes are $450 each. At Trident Tech, if a student signs up for a three-credit-hour class taught by one of the schools faculty, tuition and fees raise the cost to about $580. For students eligible for free or reduced lunch or those enrolled in a community-eligible school, they dont have to pay tuition. Students can also receive some funding through the South Carolina Lottery Tuition Assistance if they take six or more hours of dual-enrollment courses.

More Information The Post and Courier Education Lab is a multi-year project, employing four reporters, focused on the need for public education reform in South Carolina. The Coastal Community Foundation and Spartanburg Foundation serve as fiscal sponsors for the Education Lab, which is supported by grants from the Jolley Foundation, Intertech, anonymous donors, and generous donations on behalf of donors to The Post and Courier Public Service and Investigative Fund who designate to the Education Lab.

Despite these price tags, dual enrollment can make college-level courses more available to more students, Therriault said. A student has more course offerings to select from beyond what their specific high school offers, unlike with AP courses.

Dual enrollment also allows students to potentially get college credits without having to take a special test such as the AP exam, which can be difficult to pass. In South Carolina, just about 18 percent of the class of 2022 scored a 3 or higher on an AP exam.

But while plenty of public universities in South Carolina and in other states have policies that recognize credits from AP courses, credits from dual-enrollment courses may not so easily transfer, especially when going to school out of state  but it depends on each schools rules.

Even if college credits dont transfer, Therriault said she sees plenty of benefits from dual-enrollment programs, especially for would-be first-generation college students. Dual enrollment can help students to see what it's like to be on a college campus or interact with a college professor, for instance.

There's a value in terms of confidence, understanding what a college course is like, she said. I think that really matters in terms of personal motivation and sense of empowerment to be able to achieve in that setting.

Vivian Liu, associate director of the Office of Research, Evaluation and Program Support at the City University of New York, has also seen how dual enrollment empowers students. She and other researchers studied an anonymous public state college system and found the students involved with dual-enrollment courses were more likely to apply to and more likely to get accepted by highly selective 4-year colleges. Black students saw the biggest gains in the study.

It can actually help students to dream bigger, to apply to a more prestigious school, she said.

But that doesnt mean dual enrollment should be seen as better or at odds with AP courses. Liu said ultimately both programs have their pros and cons.

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In Charleston, AP courses remain more popular for accelerated learning compared to dual enrollment. About 29 percent of 11th grade students were enrolled in two or more AP courses last school year, according to district data, while nearly 8 percent took the equivalent number of college credit hours with dual-enrollment courses.

One of the district's goals in the coming years is to identify and recruit more students to advanced learning opportunities.

One of the things that we need to make sure that we are doing is ensuring that students have the awareness and that families have the awareness of these courses and how you can get into those courses, said Buffy Roberts, executive director of assessment and evaluation for Charleston County School District, during the Aug. 14 board meeting.

In a statement later given to The Post and Courier, Roberts said the district didnt know why more White and Asian students took AP courses while more Black and African American students took dual-enrollment courses. But she added that district schools continue to strengthen awareness of these opportunities during conferences and open houses, and that students in elementary and middle grades are being exposed to rigorous classes to increase readiness.
JOHNS ISLAND  After three rainy days in the Charleston area, Coco, Bitsy, Margot and Apple are pleased to wake up to a sunny, 83 degree morning. If there is one thing goats loathe more than the heat, its rain.

Thats not the only reason these and 27 other female goats are eagerly standing out in the sun rather than under the trees, where they enjoy snacking on wax myrtle leaves.

Some are more impatient than others, braying and trotting up a wooden ramp that leads into a high-tech converted shipping container. At The Goatery at the Kiawah River Coastal Community, this slim structure is where the goats are milked.

That fresh milk is now available for purchase at this small Johns Island farm.

Every morning, The Goaterys Missy Farkouh and Dawn Reynolds corral the goats into the loafing pen, where theyre fed grain for their troubles.

Some, like Sullivan, kick their heels in resistance, but most remain calm as Farkouh and Reynolds clean the udders and apply two pumps that extract the milk.

On their way out of the container, the goats are thanked for their services, and the next group is welcomed inside.

Even though they didnt make their first raw milk or goats cheese sale until this month, the duo has been going through this routine daily since 2019, before the 100-plus homes were built at the Kiawah River community, which will soon add a Auberge Resorts Collection hotel.

Before The Goatery was a licensed creamery, it was a working farm.

Regenerative agriculture

Four of the chubbiest pigs Ive ever seen roam a nearby field with a cluster of squawking chickens and a younger group of goats that havent started milking. The males, of course, never will.
Jeff Luzum and his parents were standing on the porch outside his first floor Maverick Village suite at the University of Nebraska at Omahas Dodge Campus Thursday morning.

The three were taking a break after they moved the sophomore secondary education majors stuff into the four-person suite. Having never lived on his own before, Luzum was pleasantly surprised by the suite that gives each student their own bedroom and a bathroom that is shared with just one other person. Each suite also has a full kitchen along with a living room.

Its way nicer than I thought," Luzum said. Its clean, although that might change over the semester with four boys living here.

Every UNO student living on campus is either in a suite or apartment-style residence.

James Wycoff was helping his daughter, Kayla, move into a suite at Maverick Hall. Like Luzum, Kayla Wycoff is a sophomore who spent the previous year commuting to UNO from her Omaha childhood home. With Kayla now looking to maximize her college experience as an on-campus resident, her fathers mind has been put at ease by UNOs housing offerings.

They look nice. They look clean. They look safe, James Wycoff said. That allowed me to feel comfortable with her moving in.

Luzum and Wycoff are two of the expected 600 to 700 students to move onto the Dodge Campus this week either in Maverick Village or University Village. With other UNO students having moved onto Scott Campus near Aksarben Village last weekend, more than 2,300 students will be living on a UNO campus.

And thats just those who were fortunate enough to secure a residence. Trent Fredericksen, director of housing and residence life, said all the on-campus housing units are filled. He added there are more returning students living on campus than at any point in UNOs history.

About 40% of students living on campus this year had previously lived on campus. Typically, about 25% to 30% of students return to live on campus.

Weve been pretty much busting at the seams, Fredericksen said. At one time this summer, we had a waiting list that was about 125 to 150 (students). As of this morning, I think we have about 15 on our waiting list.

Fredericksen said UNO has been working with the JPII Newman Center and College of St. Mary, which are both located near the campus, to help students on the waitlist find housing.

Fredericksen said the university has also partnered with Burlington Capital Properties to house about 20 students at The Cosgrove apartments at 38th and Leavenworth streets.

Were kind of testing some other strategies to help because we anticipate were going to see more students wanting to live on campus, he said.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
GEORGETOWN  Short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnbs and Vrbos could soon face additional regulations in Georgetown as city leaders seek to avoid the problems that other South Carolina tourist destinations have faced with these properties.

City ordinances already define short-term rentals, but the city has never outlined which areas can offer this type of activity.

"A lot of municipalities are being impacted by short-term vacation rentals," said Robert Cox, the city's interim director of planning and community development. "Whether that be parking, whether that be revenue, getting no revenue, whatever. Places like Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, city of Charleston, Moncks Corner, Summerville to name a few, are just getting bombarded like we are."

The lack of zoning was discovered by Zoning Administrator Peter Gaytan when he looked through city ordinances to find whether a River Road home could be used for short-term vacation rentals. Gaytan found Georgetown's definition of short-term vacation rentals, but he realized the city never mapped out where they are allowed to operate.

"We also have a zoning use classification chart that breaks down different businesses or different uses, and it'll tell you if it's permitted or not," Gaytan said. "And short-term vacation rentals is nowhere on that list. So because it's not on the list, per our zoning ordinance, it's not allowed."

Gaytan estimated there are about 40 such rentals in Georgetown, but he cautioned that he has only worked for the city for a few months.

Gaytan outlined five choices for the council: do away with short-term vacation rentals altogether, allow them in all zoning districts, allow them in all residential districts, allow them in only some residential districts or limit their numbers per zoning district.

Councilman Jim Clements said the council has learned lessons from other communities, such as the ones Cox named. Though the council's role is not to react but to anticipate, Clements said, in this case, the council will be reacting in bringing about a new policy.

"I don't think anybody at this table wants to be handed problems," Clements said. "They want to be handed solutions, they want to get ahead of the curve. None of us like surprises, right? So let's work together to achieve that.  At the end of the day, we're going to have a consensus agreement for the betterment of this entire community."

Mayor Carol Jayroe said the matter will be on the council's agenda for Sept. 21 after a plan is compiled by city staff.
GREENVILLE  Wildfires arent completely uncommon on Maui, so Greenville native Tom Roy wasnt too worried when he initially heard there was one nearby.

Surely it wouldnt come near the house he and his girlfriend, Poerava Cowan-Emigh, had just moved into this summer in her hometown of Lahaina.

Roadblocks had been put up to prevent residents from driving over downed power lines that high winds had toppled earlier in the day, and Roy had watched the traffic congestion get worse.

Then he heard propane tanks going off like bombs, and he decided it was time to head south to a friends house. His girlfriend stayed behind, packing up precious heirlooms in case the worst-case scenario became reality.

There were no sirens, no emergency texts, no police riding around with a bullhorn telling people to leave. On his three-mile journey to Olowahu, he caught a glimpse of the town catching fire.

I get a better perspective on how big the smoke is how big the flames are, and I can see it's going off into the ocean, Roy said. Also, the surf is kicking up with the winds, creating this really bizarre apocalyptic scene of this historic town just burning to the ground.

Despite her car keys being with him, his girlfriend made it safely to their evacuation point with one box of the most special family keepsakes  one she carried as she evacuated on foot toward the ocean before a friend picked her up.

Roy and his friends watched an ambient orange glow all night as the flames lit up the sky, bouncing off clouds and smoke. Cell reception was spotty, there was no definitive news coverage, but they knew.

Killing at least 110 people with FEMA crews still searching, it was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, according to Associated Press reports.

What they thought impossible had actually happened, but there was no cell service in Lahaina or to its north, and police barricaded the roads into town. If they left to purchase new clothing, food, water or fuel, they wouldnt be allowed back into the area.
GREENVILLE  If youve listened to one of the Rev. Richard Gibbons sermons, youll recognize him by his Scottish accent that hasnt waned since his move to Greenville.

With nearly all his family still across the Atlantic 16 years later, the pastor at downtown Greenville's First Presbyterian Church never knew when he might return to Scotland. As it turns out, a special opportunity to meet the British Royal Family drew him home.

This past weekend, when Gibbons served as a guest minister for newly crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla, he said he knew he was in for an unforgettable moment.

Its that kind of surreal experience when you have someone you admire, and then theyre standing right in front of you, Gibbons told The Post and Courier Aug. 22.

Gibbons, longtime pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, was invited by the domestic chaplain to the Royal Family, Kenneth MacKenzie, to participate in a service and preach at Crathie Parish Church.

MacKenzie met Gibbons nearly three decades ago while they were in the same Scottish city and reached out to invite him to the Scottish highlands.

Of course, immediately I said yes, Gibbons said. They ask you not to tell anyone, and they keep it very confidential.

After his service, he had the opportunity to meet his majesty one-on-one at Balmoral Castle.

He was very interested in Greenville, BMW, Michelin, why there has been all of this growth, Gibbons said of his conversation with Charles, where they spoke about everything and nothing.

You imagine its all very formal," he said, "but its the very opposite. He could not have been more welcoming."

Balmoral Castle is the Scottish home of the Royal Family and had served as a typical summer retreat for the late Queen Elizabeth II. This past weekends visit was the first for Charles since Elizabeths death there.
GREENVILLE  A group of state legislators is suing Greenville County, claiming that County Council illegally held a "secret meeting" to discuss its two-year spending plan and that its budget process violates state law.

The lawsuit filed this week comes a month after the council approved a roughly $785 million, two-year spending plan that included its first tax increase in three decades. The property tax increase, which amounts to $56 a year for a house valued at $200,000, divided the council and brought the county to the brink of a government shutdown.

The council ultimately passed the budget for both years in an 8-4 vote, the minimum majority required for approval. The move drew ire from some constituents and several members of council.

State Sen. Dwight Loftis and Reps. Mike Burns, Patrick Haddon, Adam Morgan, Alan Morgan and Ashley Trantham  all Republicans representing Greenville County  filed the lawsuit Aug. 21. The Simpsonville-based South Carolina Public Interest Foundation is also a plaintiff.

The suit alleges a quorum of the County Council met June 6 in a closed-door meeting that was not announced to the public to discuss the budget. Such a meeting would be in violation of the state's Freedom of Information Act.

"At that meeting a poll took place about the pending votes and efforts were made to encourage councilors to support the budget," the complaint states. "With a quorum present this should have been publicly announced, open to the public, and minutes of that meeting should have been taken."

The lawsuit asserts that Greenville County's practice of passing budgets on a two-year cycle violates a state mandate that government agencies pass a new spending plan ahead of every fiscal year. The county has been passing budgets every two years since 2008, according to the suit, and is the only county in South Carolina to do so.

The suit claims that figures related to the tax increase published in public notices differed from the sums ultimately approved and that the council failed to publish minutes for public meetings in a timely manner.
The world becomes very small when your body is in crisis. The second we jumped into the Baltic Sea, everything stopped. I gasped for air and started hyperventilating. I waited to catch my breath, but it didnt happen.

I had no choice but to swim like that. Calm body, panicked breath. It was more of a doggy paddle than a swim, any motion to propel me forward.

The waves were high and wide apart. I would ride the crest of one and then slide into the valley of the next, feeling myself get smaller and smaller and my place in the world becoming nothing more than another bubble in the sea.

The sea affected my traveling companion, Earl Bridges, differently. As I hyperventilated, his breath calmed. He started swimming backward and watching me closely.

Ive got you, he said. A wave lifted him high above me and then he slid below as a wave lifted me. Ive got you, he said again.

It made me feel safe and it made me furious. This was my idea after all, to jump into the icy Helsinki water in October and swim from one yellow ladder to another like the locals do. Why was this so easy for him and so jarring for me?

Another wave lifted us. At that moment, the erasure of the world was complete and we were the only people in existence, suspended in a cold womb.

I felt strong and weak. The blood was rushing to the core of my body to keep me alive, leaving empty arms and legs to propel me forward. I could feel the joints of my elbows and the space between the bones in my fingers. I could feel every decision I had ever made and how it had built me into who I was, cell by cell.

The yellow exit ladder came into view with the crest of the next wave. I kicked my legs and pulled myself forward with my brittle arms.

And then it was over. My hand grabbed the cold metal of the ladder wrung and I held on as the sea tried to hold on to me, pulling at my legs while I searched for a foothold.

There were two women on the dock, drying themselves off and changing back into work clothes. We made eye contact as I pulled myself up the ladder and back to solid ground. We all laughed a little bonding laugh but didnt say a word.
Editors note: Candidates running opposed races for Summerville mayor and the Summerville Town Council District 2 seat were all asked to respond to the following questions. All candidates received the same set of questions and were asked to limit their responses to around 1,000 words total. Read moreQUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES: Tiffany Johnson-Wilson
I stumbled upon this story a while back that has been retold many times, and as I read it again recently, it caused me to think about Gods love which cannot be measured or fully comprehended, and I wanted to share it with you today. Its listed as an allegorical short story called, To Sacr Read moreThe greatest love ever known
Local marketing director Daniel Brownstein has thrown his hat in the ring for one of Mount Pleasant Town Council seats.
South Carolina has seen a lot of wartime action. Many battles in two major conflicts, the American Revolution and the Civil War, were fought in the state.

Most people associate South Carolina with the Civil War. Understandable. This is where it started. It was the first of the Confederate states to secede from the Union. And it was the first to develop a post-liberation regime, called the Port Royal Experiment, for the formerly enslaved.

But it was the Revolutionary War that spilled more blood on this soil. The states role in that conflict, perhaps underappreciated by many, was essential in the effort to gain independence from England.

The most consequential engagement surely was the Battle of Sullivans Island in the summer of 1776, a major victory for the Continental Army that changed the way many colonial leaders thought about the war. Suddenly, it seemed plausible that the Patriots could prevail.

Other major battles  in Ninety-Six, Cowpens, Camden, Eutaw Springs and elsewhere  demonstrated the resolve of the Americans, though not all were won. Arguably, it was the smaller fights, the skirmishes and ambushes at river crossings or inlets, along the roads or atop a strategic bluff that wore down the British in South Carolina, ultimately forcing their retreat.

One of those engagements came at Stono Ferry on June 20, 1779. And now the old battlefield is secured and protected for generations to come.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the S.C. Battleground Preservation Trust, and support from the Charleston County Greenbelt Program, about 20 acres near the Stono River across from Johns Island will become the latest site where the public will be able to consider an important piece of American history.

The latest purchase of 1.2 acres that closed in December 2022 was the last piece of the Stono Ferry puzzle. The Greenbelt program kicked in $750,000 to make it happen. Now the trust can create a masterplan that entails repairing a deep-water dock and creating walking paths and signage.
The debate over abortion rights continues to heat up in Nebraska, with a new effort emerging that could leave the issue up to voters in 2024.

Local abortion rights advocates  under a newly formed committee called Protect Our Rights  filed paperwork this month with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission to establish a ballot initiative that would put a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion on the 2024 ballot.

Andi Curry Grubb, a member of the committee and Nebraska executive director of Planned Parenthood of North Central States, said the committee is considering a ballot initiative, but hasn't yet committed to the effort.

"We are committed to exploring all possible options to protect our rights in Nebraska and restore the rights Nebraskans lost when politicians passed an abortion ban earlier this year," Curry Grubb said in an email.

Curry Grubb declined to give further details on the possible initiative. A petition drive would require signatures from 10% of Nebraska's registered voters to make it on the ballot. According to the latest data from the Nebraska Secretary of State's Office, that would translate into roughly 122,000 authorized signatures.

State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, who has led the charge for abortion restrictions in the Legislature, said she expects that abortion-rights supporters will launch the petition effort. But she said she believes Nebraska voters would reject a constitutional amendment protecting abortions.

"To me, it's totally obnoxious to think that people in Nebraska don't realize that we are a pro-life state," Albrecht said.

Without knowing the ballot language, it's unclear to know how the initiative would impact abortion access in Nebraska, if it were to pass. In this year's session, lawmakers tightened the state's abortion restrictions from 20 weeks post-fertilization to 12 weeks based on gestational age.

Those restrictions in LB574 took effect immediately. They have been challenged in court because the law affected both abortions and gender-affirming care options for individuals under 19. The legal challenge claims the law violated the Nebraska Constitution's single-subject rule.

A Lancaster County District Court judge recently rejected this challenge. Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court Friday.

Abortion rights were on the ballot in several states in 2022. In California, Michigan and Vermont, voters passed ballot measures protecting abortion rights in their state constitutions, and in Kentucky, Kansas and Montana, voters rejected measures that would have made it easier for lawmakers to increase abortion restrictions.

Following those elections, Nebraska abortion rights advocates have suggested that Nebraska voters might follow suit if they had a vote on abortion, and Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston cited the outcome of the Kansas initiative as a reason for casting the deciding vote to block a bill that would have banned abortions at six weeks gestation.

Albrecht said she believes the Kansas initiative failed because abortion rights advocates misled voters.

"It's so confusing if you're not in it every day," Albrecht said.

While Albrecht believes Nebraska voters would ultimately reject an initiative to protect abortion, she opposes a ballot initiative because she said it will lead to both sides of the debate spending too much money. She noted that a combined $22 million was spent by supporters and opponents on the Kansas ballot question.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
SUMMERVILLE  Nervous, but excited. Thats how Mallory Cruse feels about teaching at a brand-new school.

The second grade teacher said it will be information overload at the beginning in figuring out what the day-to-day will look like, as well as working with a new staff.

But Cruse was excited as well, decorating her classroom with art she painted herself and brainstorming creative activities to help her students learn. Using shaving cream for spelling is one she was particularly looking forward to.

Cruse was one of many teachers who started working at Carolyn Lewis School  Berkeley County's second K-8 school, which officially opened Aug. 21. The school is named for the first woman elected to the county school board, and who served for 32 years  including three consecutive terms as board chair.

The need for new schools comes with the rapid growth Berkeley County is experiencing.

County Supervisor Johnny Cribb said Berkeley is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, with the population growing almost 30 percent in the last decade. According to the U.S. census, the county grew from 177,843 people in 2010 to 229,861 in 2020.

Some 7,500 people moved to the county in 2022, Cribb said.

Berkeley County isnt doing anything special to entice people to move, according to Cribb. But being close to Charleston and having a good school district, many new communities and countless job opportunities naturally attract new residents, he said.

Cribb said between Cane Bay and the Nexton community, 1,020 homes are under construction. This does not include Carnes Crossroads, the community Carolyn Lewis School is located.

Carnes Crossroads currently has 1,000 houses, but Goose Creek spokesman Frank Johnson said another 300 are expected to be built each year in the community. Once complete, Carnes should have just under 5,000 houses, he said.

Cribb said the growth has been difficult for the county to take in, so much so that the County Council passed a moratorium last August on new development. Anything being built right now was approved by council before he started working at the county four years ago; the current County Council hasnt approved any major developments, he said.
SUMMERVILLE  A town councilman has resigned from his post to move to another district and challenge the incumbent in the upcoming election.

Bill McIntosh, formerly the representative of District 4, is moving into District 2  which is in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester County  and will be running against Terry Jenkins.

McIntosh, who has been a longtime advocate for lowering taxes and discouraging development within the town, said he has established a residency in Nexton.

According to Summerville public information officer Chris Makowski, there are no requirements for how long one must live in a district to be qualified to run for Town Council. All thats needed is living in the specified district, being a Summerville resident and being a registered voter.

McIntosh acknowledged that it may come as a surprise to many, considering the speculation that he would throw his hat in the mayors race.

I had to make a determination as to where I was needed, where I could make a difference, McIntosh said. District 2 needs a champion, and I believe I can be that champion, the historic districts champion. Im just better situated and better suited to do that than to run for mayor.

One issue that McIntosh has already given his opinion on is the potential sale and redevelopment of Dorchester Countys human services building, which used to be the old county hospital from 1937-1975. Many residents have spoken at County Council and Town Council meetings to state their concerns, and McIntosh has made his opposition to the redevelopment clear when the issue has become a topic at Town Council meetings.
Our society is facing many challenges, but one that seems to lie just beneath the surface is a decline in empathy. We don't understand one another. We just aren't able (as the saying goes) to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. We can't see what motivates others, what makes them tick. As sy Read moreStevens: We need more empathy, and reading more can help
Charleston voters not only will select a mayor Nov. 7, but some of them also will fill one of four contested City Council seats (in the city's odd-numbered districts), primarily in West Ashley and in a new district created on Johns Island. Read moreEditorial: Four for Charleston City Council
This could be the moment Nikki Haley and Tim Scott have been waiting for.

Or it could be where their White House dreams start to collapse.

The first GOP debate of the 2024 presidential season Wednesday night in Milwaukee provides a rare opening for the pair, a chance to make their case to a national audience on a Trump-free stage.

"Anytime the frontrunner is not there, there's going to be a vacuum," said Aaron Kall, the director of debate at the University of Michigan. "And the audience  and the voters  are going to be looking for someone to fill it."

The campaigns for Scott and Haley are confident their candidate is ready to seize the moment.

Haley's team told The Post and Courier she's been preparing for this debate since entering the race six months ago, pointing to the volume of unscripted questions she regularly answers from voters.

Scott's team said he's prepared for any attacks lobbed his way, insisting this is an introduction not a make-or-break moment.

But Haley and Scott won't be the only ones jostling for attention. They'll be competing for time alongside six other candidates who qualified for the stage.

The two-hour debate starts at 9 p.m., hosted and moderated by Fox News.

Here's what Haley and Scott must do to come out ahead, according to media experts.

1. Be authentic

With Donald Trump's absence, Haley and Scott could find themselves in a unique position to showcase their own policies, directly challenge their fellow candidates and potentially sway undecided voters.

But all of it will be a waste if they try to be someone else, said Buzz Jacobs, a Florida-based Republican political operative who worked as S.C. state director of John McCains 2008 presidential campaign and also helped run U.S. Sen. Marco Rubios 2016 race in the Palmetto State.

The GOP base today is deeply uninterested in rewarding candidates who sound like politicians.

"Voters want authentic people who are going to say it like it is, who are are going to tell the truth, who are going to speak the emotions  especially the anger  that they feel about the way government has run on everything, from the border to this politically correct moment that's taking place in America," he said.
COLUMBIA  South Carolina ended the fiscal year with $82 million still available to spend, according to the state's first budget closeout report since a $3.5 billion blunder led to the resignation of Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom.

The report from Brian Gaines, who was appointed South Carolina's interim chief accountant in May, shows there's more than enough money in state coffers to cover the Legislature's plans for tax money that came in above last year's projections.

The budgetary stamp of approval is what allows more than $700 million in one-time spending sponsored by legislators to flow to local government projects, attractions, events and charities.

The earmarks will be available for distribution through state agencies by mid-September, Gaines told The Post and Courier.

The surplus for the fiscal year ending June 30 will be available for legislators to spend in 2024. It includes $23.7 million left over from last year's $1 billion tax rebate program. The law providing taxpayers with a one-time rebate last fall of up to $800 per filer specified that any remaining money would return to state coffers.

Gaines, unlike his predecessor, did not issue any letter accompanying the year-end report issued last week.

Eckstrom, the state's Republican comptroller general for two decades, routinely asked legislators to put surplus revenue toward the state's pension debt. His pleas were generally ignored.

"The numbers speak for themselves," Gaines said Aug. 21. "I'm not making any comments on how it should be spent. I feel that's subject to the General Assembly's decisions. It's not for me to tell them how or what it should be spent on."

Also unlike his predecessor, Gaines was appointed, not elected.

Gov. Henry McMaster put Gaines, his former budget director, in the role weeks after Eckstrom turned in his resignation amid mounting pressure over his office's $3.5 billion accounting error.

The error was strictly on paper. No money went missing due to Eckstrom's office mistakenly double-counting some agencies' revenue. And the Legislature doesn't use the comptroller general's annual report for budgeting, so the overstatements did not result in any deficit. But the yearslong accumulated errors infuriated legislators once they found out.
With just more than a week to go before the Aug. 30 deadline, supporters and opponents of a petition effort to repeal a new tax credit law in Nebraska continue to trade barbs and accusations.

At one point last week, a group of opponents called on the petition group, Support Our Schools Nebraska, to withdraw its initiative effort  alleging that petition proponents had harassed and made false claims to law enforcement against them.

Support Our Schools officials denied these claims and did not end the petition drive. They also have made similar accusations against members of the opposing group, called Keep Kids First.

Tim Royers, Support Our Schools treasurer and president of the Millard Education Association, said the petition is on track to qualify for the 2024 ballot, though he declined to share how many signatures the group has collected so far. To make it on the ballot, petitioners must gather signatures from at least 5% of Nebraskas registered voters  just over 60,000 people  by Aug. 30.

Weve hit every benchmark so far, Royers said. We will turn in more than enough on the 30th to qualify for the ballot.

The tax credit law was passed earlier this year through LB753. It gives tax credits for individuals and entities making donations to scholarship funds intended to help students attend private and faith-based schools. Under the bill, $25 million will be available for credits in 2024, with the same amount available for the next two years. After that, the limit for credits will grow to a maximum of $100 million per year.

Individuals and businesses could not claim more than $100,000 in annual credits, while estates and trusts would be capped at $1 million per year.

The bills introducer, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, had tried to pass similar measures for about five years, putting her at odds with public school educators and other opponents. The state teachers union, the Nebraska State Education Association, has remained opposed to her proposals from the start, and is the primary group driving the Support Our Schools petition.

Even before Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB753 into law, the petition effort was being discussed and it officially kicked off a week later. Shortly after that, the Keep Kids First campaign launched to discourage people from signing the petition or urge them to remove their names if they already signed.

Backers of LB753 say it will help families  particularly those with lower incomes  have a range of educational opportunities, including private schools. But critics say that the biggest benefits will go to the wealthy Nebraskans who are able to donate to scholarship funds and receive the tax credits in return.

Critics also argue that the tax credits will deplete funding for public education. Supporters say that public schools wont lose money because of the credits and note that the Legislature actually has increased state funding for public schools at the same time.

The financial impact of the tax credits would be on the states general fund, according to LB753s fiscal note. Funding for public schools also comes from the states general fund.

Both sides of this debate are well-funded, with the Support Our Schools team bringing in roughly $1.3 million and Keep Kids First collecting about $750,000, according to its latest campaign filings. Each group received the lions share of its funding from national organizations  the National Education Association for Support Our Schools and the American Federation for Children for Keep Kids First.

Karen Kilgarin, spokesperson for NSEA, said the influx of out-of-state dollars is the main contributor to the volatility of the ongoing debate, though she contends that Keep Kids First is the primary aggressor. She noted that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is the founder of the American Federation for Children, and asserted that DeVos has supplied most of the funding to fight the petition.

Were not interested in all this mudslinging, she said.

Over the course of the petition effort, the competing groups have traded barbs, opposing survey data and accusations of intimidation and lies. At its news conference last week, Keep Kids First representatives alleged that Support Our Schools members attempted to threaten and discredit supporters of their campaign, primarily targeting young people of color.

Instead of accepting that students need other options, Support Our Schools is misleading the Hispanic community and bullying students who are advocating for choice, Valeria Gurr, an American Federation for Children official, said in a news release.

Linehan said petitioners have called the police on Keep Kids First members who showed up at their signing events, although so far no police reports have been filed. She said Keep Kids First members have the right to attend signing events even if petitioners dont want them there.

Both sides are equal here as far as their freedom of speech, Linehan said.

Kilgarin said Support Our Schools officials never called the police. Instead, she said, it was other people present at signing events who witnessed Keep Kids First members allegedly being aggressive and threatening. She agreed that no police reports have been filed.

Royers called the Keep Kids First allegations last week desperate and hypocritical. If LB753 supporters were truly concerned about discrimination, they would have supported an amendment to the bill that would have required private schools to comply with nondiscrimination policies that public schools must follow. That amendment was voted down during the bills debate.

Linehan said private schools already have to follow federal nondiscrimination policies. She also said public schools have discriminated against students.

Last week wasnt the first time Keep Kids First made allegations against the petitioners. At another press conference in July, the group accused signature gatherers of intentionally deceiving voters about the laws intent, and announced a website for their campaign to document what they claim to be misinformation or lies by Support Our Schools members.

Support Our Schools has denied many of these allegations. The group has made its own accusations against Keep Kids First, alleging that the group hired blockers to dissuade voters from signing the petition. In some cases, the group says, the behavior bordered on physical harassment and intimidation.

Royers says the repeal of LB 753 is an issue thats worthy of going to Nebraska voters and has questioned why the Keep Kids First campaign wants to prevent it from getting on the ballot.

We feel Nebraskans deserve to have a vote on this issue, and we believe Nebraskans will vote this down because they know we cant afford to fund two education systems, Royers said.

In response, Linehan said shes concerned that LB 753 opponents will mislead voters. She said putting any tax issue on the ballot is risky, since its a complicated topic that not all voters will understand.

Linehan acknowledged that emotions have been high in the fight over the petition. From her end, she said it stems from school choice opportunities being something Nebraskans have sought for many years, even before she entered the Legislature.

In order to get LB 753 to pass, Linehan said she and other lawmakers had to find ways to compromise, which included passing several measures that increased state funding for public education. She said she felt like she reached a deal with public school officials, so its upsetting that educators are now pushing back so hard.

If the battle this summer seems intense, that is because it is, wrote Linehans daughter, Katie Linehan, who works for the American Federation for Children. A lot is at stake, including the reputation as a state and how we treat children and families.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
It is hard to believe, but Germany is on its way to becoming a post-industrial country. What its economy will look like at that point is anyones guess, but it wont be pretty.

The Telegraph interviews Monika Schnitzer, who heads Germanys Council of Economic Experts. She leads off by talking about the need to distance Germany from China:

Berlin outlined a plan to de-risk the relationship with China last month. While the government stressed it was not seeking a decoupling, Germany announced it would pare back its dependence on China in a number of critical sectors, including medicine and chipmaking. A 64-page report published by the government warned that Germany had built dependencies in numerous areas including veterinary drugs, solar panels and lithium batteries.

No mention of reversing Germanys dependence on China for solar panels and lithium batteries. It is ironic that, having just learned the peril of depending on Russia for its energy needs following the invasion of Ukraine, Germanys leading economists dont seem to have a problem with the same dependence on China.

But the really alarming points have to do with Germanys ability to engage in manufacturing:

The countrys large car making industry is dependent on China for rare earth minerals necessary for electric car battery manufacture.

And politicians insist on producing electric vehicles, whether drivers want to buy them or not.

China currently accounts for 85pc of all rare earth processing worldwide, and supplies about 98pc of the EUs demand for the rare earth magnets used in electric vehicles.

Yes, that is a problem:

But it is all right. Who needs to make products, anyway?

More broadly, the 61-year-old academic said Germany was too reliant on car manufacturing. Around 800,000 people work for car makers in Germany, many in highly-paid jobs. The country is home to Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Porsche, and produces around 25pc of all passenger cars manufactured in Europe. However, the industry has been slow to realise the significance of the shift to electric and been left flat-footed as a result.

Flat-footed means they are manufacturing vehicles the public wants to buy.

Ms Schnitzer said: Germany as a whole is very much dependent on car manufacturing, and many executives were not happy to change what they saw as a winning business model.

Right. The change is being driven by politicians and ignorant (and minority) political factions, i.e. the Greens. More:

More broadly, she argued that Germanys economy must fundamentally reorganise to reflect the political tensions between the East and West, and the fact that the era of cheap energy appears to be over.

The era of cheap energy isnt over, the problem is that the era of government-mandated expensive energy has arrived. In Germany, anyway.

Ms Schnitzer said: We need to get our act together and restructure the economy. That is the big discussion were having right now. Should we do everything in our power to keep the old structures [by subsidising] energy prices for the energy intensive industry to keep them in the country? Or should we let them go? If you ask my personal opinion, I would say we should let them go.

So its goodbye, manufacturing. No more German automobiles, among other products. Of course, the issue isnt whether the government should subsidize energy prices on behalf of the manufacturing sector. The issue is whether the government should continue to intentionally and catastrophically drive energy prices higher.

But Ms. Schnitzer says we should resist pessimism about her country:

However, she rejected the idea that Germany is again the sick man of Europe.

She says Germany needs to embrace change. Unfortunately, the change she proposes is de-industrialization and a resultant sharp decline in Germans standard of living. Im not sure that is a good idea. The world still remembers what happened the last time Germany suffered an economic collapse.
Sailing can be a lot of fun, but the days when it was the best way to ship large quantities of goods from place to place are long gone. And yet, in keeping with the bottomless stupidity of the present day, here we are: New ship puts wind in the sails of voyage to net zero:

For the first time in many decades, the captain of a serious cargo vessel will exploit what his or her predecessors called the trade winds, and a new age of sail may have begun. The Pyxis Ocean, a 230m bulk carrier, is heading to Brazil, partly powered by the wind, in an experiment that the shipping company Cargill hopes will be proof of principle for a new kind of vessel.

Cargill is a great company, and much more than a shipping company. This kind of fatuity is surprising.

The motivation is not romance or nostalgia, but economics and the environment. The International Maritime Organisation has set a goal to be net zero by about 2050. There is no feasible way to electrify shipping, so this means alternatives are required.

I am least glad to see the acknowledgement that shipping cant be electrified. Now do that for automobiles.

This is revealing:

If you can save fuel, you basically save carbon. Its a very simple equation, said Jan Dieleman, the president of Cargills ocean transportation business. Like many in shipping, he anticipates that the cost of fuel is going to increase as the industry switches to greener biofuels. The starting assumption is that these fuels are probably going to be three or four times more expensive, he said. So thats also why its so important to save fuel.

Biofuels are anything but green. By rights, fuel should be getting cheaper as modern means of exploiting fossil fuels are deployed. The idea that energy is becoming more expensive is entirely an artifact of government propaganda. But there are those who benefit.

We are not going back to the tall ship concept and only using wind, said Dieleman, adding that he could not tell clients their supply chain had failed because the doldrums were calm.

Good point! Although I am not sure the environmentalists will accept the need to fulfill shipping contracts as an excuse for failing to go green. Finally:

Using three sails could cut the fuel bill of a typical vessel by a third, though the Pyxis Ocean will use two.

Which possibly could make sense, if you assume that fuel bills are going to triple or quadruple as a result of insane government actions, instead of declining, as they should. But that is the irrational world in which we live. Yo ho ho.
I see that everything I have written today is about energy, which makes sense given that, along with general civilizational collapse, it is the defining issue of our time. So lets finally have some good news: Duke Energy, one of Americas largest utilities, has announced that it has shifted course and will replace a retiring coal-fired power plant in North Carolina with nuclear energy rather than expensive and unreliable wind turbines. American Experiments Isaac Orr has the story:

Duke Energy recently made a smart announcement, outlining plans to replace one of the companys coal-fired power plants with new small modular reactors at the Belews Creek Steam Station. In doing so, Duke is taking a replace the existing coal plants with nuclear before retiring them approach to ensure reliability is maintained or improved as required by [North Carolina statute] HB 951. This is the exact strategy American Experiment and the John Locke Foundation have suggested for North Carolina and Duke Energy over the last three years, and it is a major win for our organizations.

John Locke and American Experiment collaborated on three reports on energy policy in North Carolina. American Experiment furnished the technical analysis. It is good to see that sometimes, at least, facts and logic can prevail.

Among these reports was our analysis of Duke Energys Carbon Plans, a report in which the utility laid out four different ways to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions in compliance with the states 100 percent carbon-free mandate, HB 951. Our modeling found the plans that relied heavily on wind and solar would be expensive and result in capacity shortfalls, i.e., rolling blackouts. We also presented an alternative plan, which we called the Least Cost Decarbonization scenario, that relied extensively on the idea that existing coal plants should not be retired until there is a suitable, reliable nuclear plant built to replace them, as we wrote in our 2022 report: The LCD [scenario] would utilize existing coal plants to mitigate rising natural gas prices and keep these units online until the mid-2030s, when new nuclear power plants would be brought online to replace them. This strategy is consistent with the letter  and the spirit  of HB 951, which seeks to optimize low costs and reliability by providing flexibility on the timeline for coal unit retirements. This approach would also minimize fuel supply risks for natural gas, which could be constrained by a lack of pipeline capacity. Gradually replacing coal plants with new nuclear facilities will save hundreds of billions of dollars compared to attempting to replace them with wind, solar, and battery storage and provide a superior reliability value to North Carolinians.

Emphasis added. It is a big win, and I hope many more will follow.

Still, one has to wonder: why are these victories so hard to achieve? Why would utilities and politicians not want to save hundreds of billions of dollars? And why would they not want an electric grid that can keep the lights on?

Of course I understand the financial motive: the Democratic Party is trying to shift trillions of dollars into industries that reliably support that partys politicians, including utilities that dance to the green tune. But I think the truth is darker than that. I think the Democratic Party is trying to destroy the middle class, an idea first brought to my mind by Glenn Reynolds.

Energy costs account for around 8% of the average American familys budget, but that doesnt include the energy costs incorporated into every good and service that we buy. And of course, it is an average. If you are a limousine liberal, the percentage is probably negligible. Whereas, if your family is living on the edge, it is much higher. But take the average: what will happen to a typical middle-class family if energy costs triple or quadruple, as current policies imply? Middle-class families will be struggling to stay viable.

I think this is not a bug, but a featurethe main featureof liberal energy policies. For most of human history, societies have consisted of a small oligarchy at the top, a middling groupdoctors, lawyers and suchscrambling to curry favor with the oligarchs, and a vast peonage struggling to get by. For a brief shining moment, America left this pattern behind, and our country consisted mostly of a prosperous and independent middle class. That situation is intolerable to liberals, and they are trying to bring it to an end, and to restore the historic, oligarchic norm. Energy policy driven by climate change hysteria is how they plan to get there.

So we need many more victories like the one in North Carolina.
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The compassionate in-home care provider sees impressive rankings and continued growth in recent monthsOMAHA, NE / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / A Place At Home, a senior-focused home care provider franchise, is storming into quarter three after a successful first and second quarter of 2023. With a commitment to providing exceptional care and support for seniors and their families, A Place At Home has garnered recognition from a leading market research firm in the franchise sector and experienced substantial growth.A Place At Home is thrilled to announce that they've expanded into five new franchise territories in the first two quarters of 2023. The growth continues with three confirmed franchisee expansions and one more in development, resulting in 20 new locations. These expansions include Phoenix, Hot Springs, Portland, and West Palm Beach. Additionally, two new corporate units have been established, showcasing A Place At Home's commitment to increasing its presence and delivering exceptional senior care services to even more communities.In just six years of franchising, A Place At Home has achieved a remarkable milestone of 50 units sold. With the ongoing expansion and development efforts, the senior-focused brand has set an ambitious growth target of reaching 55 units by the end of the year, a testament to the confidence, trust, and belief in their franchise model."We remain committed to our mission of creating A Place At Home for every senior in need, and this quarter's growth is indicative of the hard work and passion of our entire team," said Dustin Distefano, CEO and Co-founder of A Place At Home. "As we continue to expand and serve more communities, we are excited to welcome new franchisees into the A Place At Home family and provide them with the tools and resources they need to thrive." The success of A Place At Home has not only been evident in their growth but also through award recognition. A Place At Home made its mark on several of Franchise Business Review's franchise rankings. The brand secured a spot on the Top 200 Franchises ranking for the first time. Franchise Business Review's research involved over 360 franchise brands, representing more than 38,000 franchise owners, who were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions related to critical aspects of their franchise systems, such as training and support, operations, franchisor/franchisee relations, and financial opportunity.Not content with one achievement, A Place At Home also debuted on the Top Low-Cost Franchises list. The brands on this list have an average owner satisfaction rating of 12% higher than the industry benchmark.Lastly, A Place At Home - Merrimack Valley owner, Gary Lafreniere, was recognized as a Franchise Rock Star by Franchise Business Review. Lafreniere's dedication and exceptional performance exemplify the qualities that make A Place At Home stand apart in the franchise industry."We're truly honored to receive such prestigious recognition from Franchise Business Review, especially because it's based on our owner satisfaction and performance. Our dedication to providing a supportive and fulfilling experience for our franchisees has been a driving force behind our success, and it's immensely rewarding to see their satisfaction reflected in these rankings," said Jerod Evanich, President and Co-founder.For more information about franchising with A Place At Home, visit aplaceathomefranchise.com About A Place At HomeA Place At Home offers a range of customized senior-focused care services, including in-home care, care coordination, and assistance in identifying and transitioning to senior living alternatives. The company is dedicated to preserving the quality of life for seniors by giving them the support they need to stay as independent as possible for as long as possible. Visit aplaceathome.com for more information. Media Contact:Abby Mitchellamitchell@919 marketing.com 804.228.4420SOURCE: A Place At Home
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Crop Industry Stakeholders Use Tour Data From Seven States for Insights Around Projected Grain Supplies and the Effects on Commodity MarketsCEDAR RAPIDS, IA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Pro Farmer, a division of Farm Journal, hosts farmer-scouts and industry experts this week as they cover fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota on the 31st annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour. The tour runs Aug. 21-24, covering seven states and capturing the attention of the agriculture industry and national media. Observations and results of Pro Farmer Crop Tour will be shared nightly at in-person events throughout the tour and streamed live online at www.agweb.com "Heading into this year's tour, we know the corn crop was heavily stressed by dryness through June," said Brian Grete, Pro Farmer editor and Eastern tour director. "From our 30 previous years of experience and data collecting, we know the recipe for a strong yield is to rush the crop to pollination and then slow it down through grain fill. One of the keys will be how much damage we find from drought conditions in the first half of the growing season." The tour is the most thorough and most followed inspection of yield potential during a critical time in the growing season. A summary of findings will be presented nightly at 8 p.m. CDT through a live-streamed broadcast hosted by Clinton Griffiths, Tyne Morgan, Chip Flory and Brian Grete."USDA no longer collects objective yield samples in August, so Crop Tour will be the first to broadly measure ear populations and pod counts from actual fields across the Corn Belt," said Chip Flory, "AgriTalk" host and Western tour director. "The objective is to find a representative sample of yield potential across the seven Corn Belt states. We'll pull more than 1,600 corn and 1,600 soybean samples, which should provide significant insight into where this crop is and how it may finish." Each day's official findings and results will be published on ProFarmer.com , where subscribers have exclusive access to comparative data of past tour results.Registration is required to attend nightly meetings and to access live-streamed results each night. Registration is available at www.ProFarmer.com/register Robust daily coverage also will be delivered on AgWeb.com as well as "AgDay" TV. Grete and Flory will join tour scouts on "AgriTalk" radio at 10:06 a.m. and 2:06 p.m. CDT to share the latest crop observations each day of the tour. Real-time reports will cascade across social media at #PFTour23. Pro Farmer's national crop production estimates will be published in the Aug. 26 issue of the Pro Farmer Newsletter.Founded in 1973, Pro Farmer is owned by Farm Journal and the leading subscription-based market advisory organization in agriculture serving members across the United States and Canada.Contact InformationSusan RhodeFarm Journalsrhode@ farmjournal.com (913) 213-7110SOURCE: Farm Journal
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / AstraZeneca will invest an additional USD250 million in its asthma inhaler factory in Qingdao, eastern Shandong province as the British-Swedish drugs giant remains upbeat about the country's growth prospects.The extra investment will bring the total in the factory, which will produce its Budesonide, Glycopyrronium Bromide and Formoterol Fumarate inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as asthma, to USD700 million, AstraZeneca said on August 14. The firm first announced it was linking arms with the Qingdao municipal government to build this plant in March.AstraZeneca will make the most of Shandong province's regional advantages to enhance investment and build a world-class sustainable supply system, in order to bring the benefits of innovative drugs to more patients as well as to help boost the development of China's healthcare industry, said Pam Cheng, executive vice president of global operations and information technology at AstraZeneca.In recent years, the Cambridge-based firm has forged close ties with the Qingdao municipal government and is teaming up with it on innovative ecology, innovative industrial parks as well as industry funds.AstraZeneca's Budesonide inhaler, which first entered the China market in 2001, once accounted for over 90 percent of the market in China and in 2020 its sales amounted to CNY6 billion (USD827 million).However, in 2021, the inhaler was not selected to be part of China's centralized drug procurement scheme, which resulted in it not gaining access to the country's vast medical insurance system. To deal with this blow, AstraZeneca has been bringing more products into China and is trying to have them included in the medical insurance scheme by greatly lowering their prices.AstraZeneca, which focuses on tumors, rare diseases as well as cardiovascular, renal, metabolic, respiratory and immune disorders, has been gradually transforming from a drugmaker to a platform-like enterprise.About Yicai GlobalLaunched in August 2016, Yicai Global is the English-language news service of Yicai Media Group, the financial news arm of Shanghai Media Group, which is one of China's largest state-owned media conglomerates. Focused primarily on China's business world, Yicai Global is dedicated to provide reliable and insightful information and analysis of the economy, finance, tech, startups, and entrepreneurs. Yicai Global expects to capitalize on its great chance to become a big player in the global financial media scene and become a cornerstone of the Chinese dream of this generation.Media Contact:Contact person: Zhu LimingEmail: zhuliming@ yicai.com SOURCE: Yicai Media Group
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Comerica Incorporated ("Comerica " or the "Company") (NYSE:CMA) and certain of its officers.Class Definition:This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Comerica securities between February 9, 2021 and May 29, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/cma Case Details:The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose, among other things, that: (1) Comerica failed to provide meaningful oversight over the vendors to whom it contracted out day-to-day operations of the Direct Express program, a system through which it is contracted to provide federal benefits to millions of Americans without bank accounts; (2) as a result of violations in the day-to-day operations of Direct Express, including handling fraud disputes and allowing sensitive data to be handled out of a vendor's office in Pakistan, Comerica was not in compliance with the Federal Contract, and knew it was not in compliance; (3) Comerica knew and failed to disclose that it was in potential violation of Regulation E due to inadequate fraud prevention in the Direct Express program and responses to instance of fraud; and (4) as a result, Defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.What's Next?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/cma or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Law Clerk and Client Relations Manager, Yael Nathanson of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 332-239-2660. If you suffered a loss in Comerica you have until October 20, 2023, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide.Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLCPeretz Bronstein or Yael Nathanson332-239-2660 | info@ bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz and Grossman, LLC
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / China is considering extending its young scientists funding scheme to support outstanding young scholars in research programs for up to 15 years, as well as to subsidize the research of some excellent undergraduates.The Natural Science Foundation of China is exploring offering rolling support to a few selected researchers working on projects funded by the Excellent Young Scientists Fund for another five to 15 years once their current projects end, Dou Xiankang, NSFC director and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said recently.It is also mulling nurturing research talent at an earlier stage. There are many undergraduates in China's top universities who need more than the knowledge imparted by teachers, are interested in scientific research, and have the ability to do this, Dou said.The Excellent Young Scientists Fund bankrolls exceptional young scholars to carry out innovative research in an area of their choice. The fund, which was set up in 1994, used to support 50 scholars each year, but that had increased to around 300 by 2019, and the allowance has also been hiked substantially over the years."We plan to pick a few outstanding undergrads and provide them with financial support to carry out scientific research," Dou said."We won't focus on their achievements when selecting the candidates," he said. "Instead, we'll arrange interactive discussions and appoint our recently selected Excellent Young Scientists fellows to assess whether they have a solid basic knowledge of science and enthusiasm for the subject."We'll also offer those selected undergrads the opportunity to attend high-end young scientists' forums," Dou added.Besides offering more support for young scholars, the NSFC is also preparing itself to provide additional financial support for research projects that aim to directly solve industrial problems starting this year, whereas in the past it was mostly tasked with subsidizing basic research and nurturing talent."We plan to form two consulting committees with the responsibility of selecting the projects which will receive our funding," Dou said. "The committees will be mostly comprised of energetic young scientists working on the frontline."This is because these people know China's needs and have the ability to extract the scientific research topics from certain advanced technologies that China urgently need to develop," he said. "The committees also need enough experts to ensure the screening process is fair." About Yicai GlobalLaunched in August 2016, Yicai Global is the English-language news service of Yicai Media Group, the financial news arm of Shanghai Media Group, which is one of China's largest state-owned media conglomerates. Focused primarily on China's business world, Yicai Global is dedicated to provide reliable and insightful information and analysis of the economy, finance, tech, startups, and entrepreneurs. Yicai Global expects to capitalize on its great chance to become a big player in the global financial media scene and become a cornerstone of the Chinese dream of this generation.Media Contact:Contact person: Zhu LimingEmail: zhuliming@ yicai.com SOURCE: Yicai Media Group
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / The capacity of China's renewable energy sector surpassed that of coal power in the first half due to policy support and a rising demand for increasingly affordable solar panels but more innovation is needed for a green win in output, according to experts.From January to June, China's installed capacity of renewables jumped by 18 percent to 1.32 billion kilowatts from a year ago, making up almost 49 percent of the country's total, the National Energy Administration announced recently.However, coal is not phased out yet. The amount of electricity generated via renewables has not yet surpassed that produced by burning coal, Hu Qimu, deputy secretary-general of the digital real economies integration Forum 50, said to Yicai. The stability and safety that coal provides cannot be replaced for now, he added.However, in the future, coal will no longer be a major player in generating electricity but more like an assistant, according to Zhuang Yinghong, global marketing director of solar panel maker Risen Energy.By 2050 or 2060, renewable energy will probably become the foundation for China's energy safety, Lv Jinbiao, a member of an expert committee of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, said to Yicai on August 2.The main driver for transformation in the first half was photovoltaics as prices of solar panel materials declined. Prices at all points of the PV industry chain are stable and low, Lv said. In six months, almost the same amount of capacity was added as through the entire year of 2022, Lv added.Constant technological innovation, increasingly lower costs, and optimized efficiency have made the capacity achievement possible, Zhuang said. The country is supporting renewables via subsidies and tax breaks to encourage companies to invest in new projects.Moreover, demand is up as an increasing number of consumers and firms are paying attention to environmental protection and they are willing to invest in renewables, per Zhuang.Various countries have gradually established carbon tax systems, Hu said. China must change the structure of energy consumption and raise the proportion of new energy to maintain the competitiveness of its manufacturing sector, he added.Still, expanding capacity is not enough as continuous efforts are needed in terms of research and development to build new energy storage systems and smart power transmission and distribution systems to help green energy play a more significant role, Hu added.About Yicai GlobalLaunched in August 2016, Yicai Global is the English-language news service of Yicai Media Group, the financial news arm of Shanghai Media Group, which is one of China's largest state-owned media conglomerates. Focused primarily on China's business world, Yicai Global is dedicated to provide reliable and insightful information and analysis of the economy, finance, tech, startups, and entrepreneurs. Yicai Global expects to capitalize on its great chance to become a big player in the global financial media scene and become a cornerstone of the Chinese dream of this generation.Media Contact:Contact person: Zhu LimingEmail: zhuliming@ yicai.com SOURCE: Yicai Media Group
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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / In a highly anticipated annual release, the 2023 Global Management School Rankings have been unveiled, presenting a comprehensive evaluation of the world's leading institutions in management education. The rankings, compiled by the esteemed higher education validation organisation, verifications.org , serve as a reliable benchmark for prospective students and professionals seeking the best management schools across the globe.A Global Management University Summit in Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Massimiliano Bracale and Serena Magnanti.In this year's rankings, Yale School of Management has clinched the prestigious first position in the 2023 rankings, solidifying its reputation as a top-notch educational institution. The school's unwavering commitment to academic excellence and cutting-edge research has contributed to its continued reign as a global leader in management education. Following closely behind in the second place is the renowned Sloan School of Management, also hailing from the United States, maintaining its strong presence in the upper echelons of the rankings.The meticulous assessment of over 2,000 postgraduate institutions worldwide is the cornerstone of the 2023 rankings, ensuring a comprehensive and thorough evaluation of each institution's standing in the realm of management education. No stone was left unturned.To ensure a holistic view of each institution's performance, a wide array of vital parameters was carefully scrutinized, leaving no aspect of management education unaddressed. Faculty diversity played a pivotal role in the assessment, with the organisation carefully examining the representation of diverse talents and perspectives within the faculty ranks. Recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives in fostering creativity and innovation, institutions with a strong commitment to faculty diversity were favourably acknowledged.The success of management graduates in the international job market also weighed heavily in the evaluation process. International executive placement, a critical metric, assessed the proportion of graduates securing prestigious executive positions in global companies and organisations. Institutions that demonstrated a track record of equipping their graduates for success on the international stage garnered higher rankings, showcasing their ability to nurture global business leaders.Career advancement opportunities offered by the institutions were another crucial factor in determining their rankings. This parameter assessed the availability of internships, experiential learning opportunities, and career development services. Institutions that demonstrated a robust infrastructure to support students in honing their skills and accessing rewarding career paths received commendations for their commitment to student success.Furthermore, the annual income of alumni provided valuable insights into the tangible impact of the management education received at each institution. The organisation carefully analysed the percentage increase in alumni income, reflecting the career growth and opportunities that the graduates experienced as a result of their education. This metric served as an indicator of how effectively each institution's programs translated into real-world success for its alumni.In the pursuit of transparency and accuracy, the ranking employed a precise methodology, ensuring the credibility. The organisation took into account the relative weight of each parameter to avoid any bias and utilized sophisticated algorithms to generate the final rankings. This data-driven approach, combined with an extensive review of each institution's performance, resulted in a ranking system that accurately reflects the strengths and contributions of management schools worldwide.While the top three positions in the global ranking remained consistent, significant shifts occurred further down the list. Notably, the Irish Management Institute soared two positions to claim the fourth spot in the 2023 rankings, showcasing remarkable progress in the global arena. Moreover, the Swiss School of Management and the Rotterdam School of Management maintained their strong standing, securing the fifth and sixth ranks, respectively.A notable change in the rankings is the rise of Eller College of Management. The esteemed institution has made remarkable progress, ascending the ranks to secure the seventh spot in the 2023 rankings. Renowned for its focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, Eller College's ascent highlights its unwavering commitment to delivering quality management education.On the other hand, Cranfield School of Management experienced a slight setback, moving down the rankings to the tenth position. Despite this change, Cranfield remains a recognized institution for its practical approach to learning and strong industry connections, continuing to equip students for success in the ever-evolving global business landscape.As the demand for skilled management professionals continues to rise, the 2023 rankings serve as an indispensable resource for prospective students seeking to embark on transformative educational journeys. These top-ranked institutions, including Yale School of Management, Sloan School of Management, and others, continue to set the standards for excellence in management education, reaffirming their significance as trailblazers in shaping the leaders of tomorrow.The schools ranking looks at management schools worldwide, but this can be a challenging task in light of the vast differences from market to market. As such, we like to break out the regions to look at each one individually. For example, in the European market, the Ranking of Management Schools for 2023 has also been revealed, spotlighting the continent's leading institutions in management education. In the European rankings, the Irish Management Institute emerged as the leading institution, surpassing the Rotterdam School of Management, which held the top position in the previous year's rankings.In conclusion, the 2023 Global Management School Rankings not only celebrate the continued excellence of institutions like Yale School of Management and Sloan School of Management but also acknowledge the remarkable progress of rising stars like Eller College of Management. These rankings underscore the critical role of quality management education in shaping the leaders who will drive innovation, spearhead change, and lead businesses and organisations to greater heights on the global stage. As management education continues to evolve, these institutions stand at the forefront, embodying the spirit of transformative learning and preparing the next generation of business leaders to tackle
Press Release

August 22, 2023 STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON THE PASSING OF DMW SECRETARY SUSAN "TOOTS" OPLE The untimely passing of Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople, a true public servant and ally, deeply saddened us. She dedicated herself wholeheartedly to the welfare and well-being of Overseas Filipino Workers. Her work extended far beyond the call of duty, as she tirelessly advocated for fair labor practices, better working conditions, and the protection of the rights of OFWs. She has always welcomed our office's efforts in rescuing our kababayans who were victims of human trafficking. She bravely stepped up to help OFWs in need. She was a refuge for women workers who were experiencing abuse in foreign countries. She was at the forefront of the war against modern slavery. She was loving and full of faith. Sec. Toots was a beacon of compassion and a true champion of OFWs. As we bid farewell to a remarkable individual, a steadfast advocate, and a dear ally, may her legacy continue to guide us in our efforts to ensure that the rights and dignity of overseas Filipinos are respected.
Kenyan Government Forms Committee to Investigate Worldcoin Crypto Project

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The Kenyan government has formed a 15-member parliamentary committee to investigate the contentious Worldcoin project.

The committee, led by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, has been allocated a 42-day timeframe to investigate the operations of Worldcoin comprehensively. According to local news sources, the objective is to meticulously analyze Worldcoins activities and deliver its conclusions to the House.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, a pivotal figure in suspending Worldcoins operations, addressed the House committee, expressing the governments apprehensions regarding Worldcoins activities involving registering citizens and collecting iris data. Kindiki emphasized that these actions pose significant security threats.

This parliamentary assessment follows approximately three weeks after the Kenyan authorities declared a suspension of Worldcoins operations. This suspension remains in effect until pertinent public agencies can confirm the complete absence of any potential risks to the general public.

Three weeks ago, Worldcoins operations in Kenya stopped as the project failed to adhere to government directives to cease its practice of scanning users irises and taking personal information. In addition to the order from the government, the police conducted a raid on a Worldcoin facility located in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, where they reportedly confiscated both documents and equipment.

In addition to facing scrutiny from the parliamentary committee, the Worldcoin initiative encountered outright resistance from various regulatory bodies within Kenya.

The judiciary also intervened, suspending Worldcoins activities after a legal case initiated by the data commissioners office.

As a result of the courts ruling, all data collected by Worldcoin between April of the previous year and August 2023 must be preserved until the lawsuit reaches its conclusion.

Investigations into Worldcoin initiated by Kenya and France, Germany, and the UK.

The introduction of Worldcoin, presented by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in July, requires users to confirm their human identity through a hardware device called the Orb. This device facilitates iris scanning, forming the foundation of the digital ID-centered cryptocurrency project.

Amid both controversy and anticipation, Worldcoin unveiled its unique concept. It offers its native cryptocurrency, WLD coin, to incentivize users to undergo iris scanning.

Impressively, the trial phase alone attracted nearly 2 million participants. The distribution of Orbs, available at almost 400 locations globally, has drawn the engagement of over 2,200,000 individuals, as per the information available on Worldcoins official website.

The rationale behind Worldcoins World IDs stems from their anticipated significance in an age dominated by artificial intelligence.

These IDs are envisaged to provide individuals with a means to establish their authenticity and humanity, thereby reducing the risk of being misidentified as automated entities or robots.

For completing the verification process, participants are rewarded with 25 WLD tokens, the projects native cryptocurrency built on the Ethereum blockchain.

However, as the projects reach expanded to over a dozen countries, concerns arose regarding its tactics, triggering a series of controversial reports.

The legality of Worldcoins approach has given rise to significant skepticism, particularly regarding the protocols and safeguards for the secure storage of highly sensitive biometric data.

As a result, governmental bodies in various nations, including Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Germany, and Kenya, have launched investigations into the projects operations.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 20:30:48

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SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Shareholder rights law firm Johnson Fistel, LLP ( www.JohnsonFistel.com) is investigating potential claims on behalf of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. ("HEI" or the "Company") (NYSE:HE), against certain of its officers and directors.If you are a current, shareholder of HEI stock you may have standing to hold HEI harmless from the alleged harm caused by the Company's officers and directors by making them personally responsible. You may also be able to assist in reforming the Company's corporate governance to prevent future wrongdoing.If you own HEI shares, you can click or copy and paste the link below in a browser to join this action:Or for more information, contact Jim Baker at jimb@ johnsonfistel.com or (619) 814-4471There is no cost or obligation to you.What is Johnson Fistel investigating? Recently, a class-action lawsuit was filed against HEI, alleging that the utility's downed power lines significantly contributed to the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. On August 4, 2023, four days before the devastating fire that swept Maui and leveled the city of Lahaina, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned Hawaii could experience "indirect impacts" from Hurricane Dora, including "strong and gusty trade wins" and "dry weather & high fire danger." The NWS issued a Red Flag Warning for portions of the Hawaiian Islands, including West Maui. The lawsuit alleges, "this destruction could have been avoided if Defendants had heeded the National Weather Service warnings and deenergized their power lines during the predicted high-wind event." If you own HEI shares and are interested in learning more about the investigation, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker (jimb@ johnsonfistel.com) at 619-814-4471. If emailing, please include a phone number.Contact:Johnson Fistel, LLPJim Baker, 619-814-4471Investor Relationsjimb@ johnsonfistel.com Frank Johnson, 619-309-4405fjohnson@ johnsonfistel.com SOURCE: Johnson Fistel, LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 16:00:22

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Boasting a prime location across the street from the esteemed SkySong ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, SpringHill Suites by Marriott Scottsdale is poised to become a preferred destination for business and leisure travelers, alike.SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / PEG Companies ["PEG"], a leading commercial real estate investment and development firm, will begin welcoming guests to its long-awaited SpringHill Suites by Marriott Scottsdale hotel, starting on August 30th, 2023, promising an unparalleled hospitality experience in the thriving ASU SkySong neighborhood.Situated at 1500 N Scottsdale Road, the contemporary hotel is set to become the preferred choice for business and leisure travelers seeking a memorable stay in the area. With 117 well-appointed rooms, the new property features a blend of king and double queen suites with comfortable work areas and trundle beds for added flexibility for families and groups.Devoted to guest relaxation, the hotel provides an extensive range of recreational facilities including a fully-equipped 24-hour fitness center that enables guests to maintain their fitness routines even while traveling. Additionally, the outdoor pool and hot tub welcome visitors to unwind after a busy day of activities. Other perks include speedy WiFi throughout the property, daily complimentary breakfasts, and more.Leading the dedicated team at SpringHill Suites is General Manager Miguel Gaviria, a seasoned hospitality professional with a passion for delivering an unmatched guest experience."On behalf of the entire staff here at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Scottsdale, I am delighted to introduce and welcome guests to the newest desert gem in Arizona," Gaviria said. "We are excited to be part of the Scottsdale business community and look forward to a long-lasting and prosperous partnership." The hotel began construction in March 2022. Now under the management of PEG's hotel management company, PEG Hospitality Group, the team will continue to expand the new hotel's hospitality staff, providing additional employment opportunities to the local community.SpringHill Suites by Marriott Scottsdale plays a vital role in a larger master development project aimed at revitalizing the neighborhood formerly known as 'Papago.' The hotel's strategic location and thoughtful planning are set to contribute significantly to the area's transformation into a bustling business and leisure hub.###About PEG Companies:Founded in 2003, PEG Companies ["PEG"] is a vertically integrated commercial real estate investment firm focused on opportunistic and value-add opportunities in the Mountain West and across the United States. Initially best known for its creative and well-executed real estate developments, PEG today encompasses five synergistic companies that each manage a different phase of the commercial real estate investment process. Currently, PEG's robust $2.4B AUM includes assets in multifamily residential, single-family rental communities, student housing, office, mixed-use, and hospitality throughout 29 states and two Canadian provinces. PEG Companies employs more than 1,100 employees nationwide.About PEG Hospitality Group:PEG Hospitality Group was founded on the belief that enduring success begins with the experience delivered to the guest, fostered by the relationships built with top-quality associates and development partners. In the six-plus decades since the Pearson family founded what would eventually become PEG Hospitality, the group has grown into a leading hospitality group with a portfolio of more than 30 properties in 19 states and over 1,100 associates. As an innovative and efficiency-integrated business, PEG Hospitality counts its expertise in hotel management, investment, and development as the pillars to continued growth and equity holder satisfaction. Based in Provo, Utah, and helmed by cousins Graydon Pearson and Carter Frank, PEG Hospitality manages over 3,500 keys under some of the most recognized hotel brands including those from Hilton Hotels Group, Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels, and IHG.About SpringHill Suites:SpringHill Suites by Marriott is the largest all-suites upscale hotel brand that is refreshingly different. With stylish surroundings that are beyond the ordinary at over 535 properties across the U.S. and Canada, guests are provided thoughtful, focused service in an uplifting atmosphere. Each spacious suite features an open, airy design that puts guests at ease, with separate living and sleeping areas. At SpringHill Suites, travelers can escape their routines and enjoy their time away. SpringHill Suites is proud to participate in Marriott Bonvoy, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments and unparalleled benefits including free nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit marriottbonvoy.com . For more information or reservations, visit www.springhillsuites.com Contact InformationAli MonsenVice President, Branding & Communicationsamonsen@ pegcompanies.com 801.783.7334SOURCE: PEG Companies
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-23 00:00:16

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BOISE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Bank of Idaho announced today the appointment of Kevin Ahern, Managing Partner at Brush Creek Parkers, to its Board of Directors. Ahern's extensive leadership and experience in the financial sector will be a significant asset as the bank continues its impressive growth trajectory."Kevin's deep understanding of the financial industry and his track record of making informed decisions align perfectly with our bank's vision. His perspective will undoubtedly enhance our strategic planning efforts and enable us to better serve our customers," said Bank of Idaho Chairman, President, and CEO Jeff Newgard. "As we navigate a rapidly changing financial landscape, Kevin's insights will be invaluable in driving our bank's growth, innovation, and commitment to delivering superior financial solutions." With a remarkable career spanning over three decades, Ahern has established himself as a respected figure in the financial world. He is currently co-founder and managing partner at Brush Creek Partners, an investment firm focused on operating companies in the specialty finance, banking and financial services, manufacturing, distribution, media, and business and consumer services sectors."I am honored to be joining the Board of Directors at Bank of Idaho. This bank has a tremendous reputation for its commitment to its customers and the community," Ahern said. "I am excited to contribute and to help guide the bank's future endeavors and continue its legacy of excellence." Ahern currently serves on the board of directors of InBank Corp (InBank), a New Mexico and Colorado-based bank holding company, Bancorp 34 (Bank 34), an Arizona-based bank holding company, Horizon Bank, an Indiana-based bank, ERI Group, Inc., a Colorado-based medical device contract design and manufacturing firm, and GXIII, a New York-based digital audio company. He is also Chairman of the Board of Investment Trust Company, a Colorado-based independent trust company.Ahern is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Connecticut and a B.S. in Finance and Insurance from the University of Northern Colorado. Ahern is a Colorado native, has been married to his wife, Annie, for 37 years and has two married adult children and two grandchildren.About Bank of IdahoBank of Idaho is a regional community bank providing a range of business, personal, commercial, mortgage, and wealth management products and services to customers and communities across Idaho and Eastern Washington. The bank's common stock is traded on the OTCQX exchange under the symbol " BOID." For more information, please visit www.bankofidaho.com ###Contact: Matt Borud, Bank of IdahoPhone: 208.412.2322Email: mattborud@ bankofidaho.net SOURCE: Bank Of Idaho Holding Co
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 15:15:50

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / KeyBankOn Friday August 18, 2023, KeyBank held a grand opening and ribbon cutting for its new, full-service, state-of-the-art branch in Downtown Ithaca. The new branch is located at 604 South Meadow Street and several leaders from KeyBank and the Ithaca community attended the celebration.As part of the grand opening, the KeyBank Foundation donated $10,000 to Family and Children's Service of Ithaca. This grant will help the organization provide a wide range of services that include mental health care to children, adults, families, and seniors, EAP services to more than 50 local businesses, targeted outreach to vulnerable youth and other community members in need of support, and community education to professionals and the general public."We are excited about the opportunity this new branch provides for us to deepen the strong relationships we have in the Ithaca community," said Steve Fournier, KeyBank Central New York Market President. "This new branch is yet another way KeyBank is investing in Central New York. We look forward to meeting and working more closely with our new neighbors, clients and community partners." In addition to high-touch banking services, this new state-of-the-art branch offers full-service banking capabilities, features digital video screens and a client hospitality area that can double as an area for financial seminars and group presentations with clients and the public, as well as a drive-up teller line, ATM and free parking. Longtime banker Spencer Nicoson is serving as branch manager at the new location."KeyBank's new branch in Ithaca is uniquely designed to give our clients a more personal banking experience, with even better access to a full suite of products and services," said Nicoson. "We are excited to bring this more consultative approach to Ithaca and demonstrate our commitment to helping our clients move forward on their financial journey." In addition to helping individuals and families achieve their financial goals, the new Ithaca branch is also serving clients seeking to develop and grow businesses in the area.As part of the opening of this new branch, KeyBank consolidated its branches located at 300 North Tioga Street and 2315 North Triphammer Road into the new location on South Meadow Street. The facility on North Tioga Street was sold to Tompkins County in 2022 and temporarily leased back by KeyBank. The North Tioga Street property is currently being considered for a Tompkins County Center of Government facility.Since 2017, KeyBank has made more than $599 million in investments in Central New York, supporting affordable housing and community development projects; small business and home lending to low-to-moderate income individuals and communities, and transformative philanthropy.Learn more about KeyBank's commitment to helping clients and communities thriveABOUT KEYBANKKeyBank's roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $195 billion at June 30, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/ . KeyBank is Member FDIC.CFMA #230710-2158288View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from KeyBank on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: KeyBankWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/keybank Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: KeyBank
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 22:30:20

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CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Wild Republic, a leader in nature-inspired toys and education for over 40 years, celebrates an esteemed occasion today: the nomination of its co-founder, G.B. Pillai, for the esteemed TOTY Sustainability Award. This accolade spotlights Mr. Pillai's visionary leadership and the unwavering commitment of a company that has honored its "Promise to the Planet" for decades. Moreover, it highlights how the zoo and aquarium industry's sustainability innovations inspire the broader $104.7 billion toy industry to adopt greener practices.Wild Republic Founder G.B. PillaiWild Republic Founder G.B. Pillai reading to his Great-Grandchildren. From Aug. 21 to Sept. 8, voting will be exclusively open to Toy Association Members. Wild Republic warmly encourages members to cast their votes in honor of Mr. Pillai's decades-long commitment to sustainability and nature. This special nomination, coinciding with his 90th birthday week, highlights not only his undying passion but the influential role the zoo and aquarium industry plays in captivating young minds and immersing them in the beauty of the natural world.Central to Wild Republic's ethos is an indomitable commitment to conservation, fostering the bond between humans and animals, and upholding ethical responsibilities. Stemming from Mr. Pillai's personal experience over 40 years ago-when he sought a keepsake for his child to remember a memorable day at the Cleveland, Ohio, aquarium-this belief has propelled the company's transition to using 80% recycled cardboard, decisively eliminating single-use plastics, and including recycled plastic beans in their cherished plush toys. Today, after more than 40 years of persistent growth and innovation, Wild Republic sets the gold standard in the industry by curbing deforestation, diminishing waste, and adopting sustainable sourcing. According to G.B. Pillai, "The animals and their connection to humanity shape our vision, mission, and every creation. It's through fostering an understanding of these animals that we ignite the spark of curiosity, a flame powerful enough to change the world." Reflecting on the company's origins, Mr. Pillai acknowledges Kamala, his wife, and co-founder, for her pivotal role as COO and CFO. Kamala mentions their broader initiatives, "Opening an orphanage over 20 years ago for girls with mentally ill parents and establishing sanctuaries for animals have only strengthened our belief in human sustainability. It's essential to care for not only our natural world but also the communities we live in." Wild Republic believes that in the hands of a child, a stuffed animal is more than just a toy. It becomes a confidant, a gateway to a world of imagination, and often an introduction to the awe of nature. For parents, these plush companions offer a triad gift: the joy of watching their child form a bond with their "wild" friend, the memory of their own childhood connections and experiences with their toys, and the peace of knowing they are instilling a respect for the environment. These toys weave stories, nurture dreams, and silently teach the next generation about the importance of coexisting harmoniously with nature. In every fiber of Wild Republic's creations, there's a thread of love-for the child who cuddles it and the planet that shelters us all.Vishnu Chandran, Mr. Pillai's grandson, shares, "While this nomination is an individual accolade, it represents so much more. It underscores our resolute dedication to sustainability, the environment, and inspiring generations to come. The global journeys of my grandparents, G.B. and Kamala, who jointly expanded this brand's reach while reinvesting all profits into safeguarding animal habitats and supporting communities, inspire me every day. When I learned of this nomination, my immediate thought was, 'This isn't just about me or my grandparents, but rather my incredible team.' Working alongside industry pioneers like my grandfather, the original category disruptor of the zoo industry, instills a commitment in me to protect and further his legacy." Founded in 1979 by G.B. and Kamala Pillai, who journeyed to the U.S. in the mid-60s, Wild Republic is deeply rooted in sustainability and Indian heritage. In 1999, they built a factory in India, situating it within communities for economic upliftment rather than near ports. This ethos, soon expanding to Africa, exemplifies Wild Republic's blend of innovation and corporate philanthropy, generously donating plush toys to various charitable entities and ensuring its offerings continue to inspire and educate.From its inception to its current global stature, Wild Republic's journey is a testament to its unwavering commitment. As Vishnu Chandran further elucidates, "Our promise to protect our planet is embodied in every product we create, from utilizing soy ink and recycled cardboard to spearheading initiatives that minimize non-biodegradable materials." As the TOTY awards evening nears, Wild Republic is set to unveil even more first-to-market sustainable innovation, underscoring their appreciation for zoos and aquariums globally. G.B. Pillai concludes, "These institutions amplify our mission. Our upcoming collection this fall is a testament to our unwavering commitment to a sustainable future." For further insights into Wild Republic's endeavors, commitments, and products, visit www.WildRepublic.com or engage with them on social media:Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest: @WildRepublicAbout Wild Republic:For over 44 years, Wild Republic has been crafting nature-related toys that foster curiosity and educate children about the wonders of nature. With headquarters in Independence, Ohio, and a global presence, Wild Republic's mission remains unchanged: To inspire young minds and ensure a world where nature is cherished and sustained.Contact InformationNeil FootePublic Relationsneilfoote@ ascendantgroupbranding.com 214.448.3765SOURCE: Wild Republic
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 18:29:55

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / When asked to respond to the meeting materials posted by Northwest Copper's management in preparation for the September 19 Annual Meeting Mr. Sawiak said:"Shareholders have a simple choice to determine how they should vote. They can either spend an hour reading approximately 100 pages of materials that contain incomplete facts presented in an out of context manner concerning the dissident slate of directors or they can compare the share price under what was essentially the same board 2 years ago ($0.75) compared to today ($0.17) and calculate how much of their personal worth the current board has made disappear." Mr. Sawiak also confirmed that his slate of directors will remain the same as was originally announced on May 23 of this year including David Moore. Mr. Sawiak then stated:"I have been asked repeatedly why I propose to keep David Moore as a director despite his highly emotional and unprofessional attacks on people he doesn't know and who comprise my slate of directors. The answer is that in my view Mr. Moore is the only senior person left at NWST who hasn't left or been fired by the current board and who can be said to have any shred of a corporate memory, in geological terms. Notwithstanding that, if he chooses to leave when we win, we have people ready to replace him and our nominees have the experience and expertise to use existing data to recreate that " memory." Mr. Sawiak, who only started soliciting proxies last week, also said that he was encouraged by the tens of millions of shares that people from all across Canada have indicated they wish to vote in his favour to remove the current board.IF YOU WISH TO VOTE WITH MR. SAWIAK TO CHANGE THE BOARD OF NWST YOU MUST CONTACT HIM BY:1. CALLING HIM AT 1.416.917.2816; OR2. EMAILING HIM AT gvsawiak@ hotmail.com ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, 2023.Information in Support of Public Broadcast SolicitationThe Concerned Shareholder is relying on the exemptions contained in Section 9.2(2) and Section 9.2(4) of National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations to solicit proxies from no more than 15 securityholders and by soliciting proxies by broadcast, speech or publication. The Concerned Shareholder may also choose to file a dissident information circular in due course in compliance with applicable securities laws. A copy of the press release and the Nominating Shareholder Notice which collectively contains all information on the Concerned Shareholder's Nominees as required by National Instrument 51-102 and Form 51-102F5 were filed on SEDAR+ on August 4, 2023 and are available for viewing there.The information contained herein, and any solicitation made by the Concerned Shareholder in advance of the Meeting, is or will be, as applicable, made by the Concerned Shareholder and not by or on behalf of the management of NWST. All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by the Concerned Shareholder and by Mr. John Kimmel (the "Solicitors"), provided that, subject to applicable law, the Solicitors may seek reimbursement from NWST of the Concerned Shareholder's out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees, incurred in connection with a successful reconstitution of the Company's board of directors. Other than in respect of their beneficial ownership, control or direction of securities of the Corporation described above, none of the Solicitors or any of their associates or affiliates has any material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership of securities or otherwise, in any matter to be acted upon at the Meeting other than the election of directors.A Registered Shareholder who has given a Proxy may revoke the Proxy by: (a) completing and signing a Proxy bearing a later date and depositing it at the offices of Odyssey, 350- 409 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 1T2 or and following the online voting instructions given to you no later than 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on the second Business Day preceding the date of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof; (b) depositing an instrument in writing executed by the Registered Shareholder or by the Registered Shareholder's attorney duly authorized in writing or, if the Registered Shareholder is a body corporate, by a duly authorized officer or attorney either with Odyssey, 350-409 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 1T2 at any time up to and including the last Business Day preceding the day of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof or with the Chair of the Meeting prior to the commencement of the Meeting on the day of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof; or (c) in any other manner permitted by Law. Such instrument will not be effective with respect to any matter on which a vote has already been cast pursuant to such Proxy. If a Registered Shareholder who has submitted a Proxy attends the Meeting, any votes cast by such Registered Shareholder on a ballot at the Meeting will be counted and the submitted Proxy will be disregarded.Only Registered Shareholders have the right to revoke a Proxy. Non-Registered Shareholders that wish to change their voting instructions must, in sufficient time in advance of the Meeting, contact their Intermediary to arrange to change their voting instructions.The Concerned Shareholder has engaged Shorecrest Group Ltd. to act as proxy solicitor in respect of this matter and will incur expenses of up to $120K plus out of pocket expenses. The Concerned Shareholder may engage the services of one or more other agents and authorize other persons to assist in soliciting proxies on behalf of the Concerned Shareholder. Any proxies solicited by or on behalf of the Concerned Shareholder, including by any other agent retained by the Concerned Shareholder, may be solicited in any other manner permitted under Canadian corporate and securities laws. Any such proxies may be revoked by instrument in writing executed by a shareholder or by his or her attorney authorized in writing or, if the shareholder is a body corporate, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized or by any other manner permitted by law.The head office of NWST is located at Suite 1900, 1055 West Hastings Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 2E9. A copy of this press release may be obtained on NWST's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.com For more information contact:Grant Sawiak416.917.2816SOURCE: Grant Sawiak
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 15:01:29

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A New Name, New Logo and New Brand - With the Same Values-Driven Approach - Reflects a Renewed Commitment to the Firm's Clients and Continued GrowthAVENTURA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / ONE12th Consulting, an expanding force in business & technology consulting since 2012, is thrilled to announce its transformation into Ampersand Consulting. This rebranding signifies a pivotal moment for the company as it evolves to meet the dynamic needs of its clients in an ever-changing technology landscape.The ampersand (&) symbolizes unity, collaboration, and the power of connection - a perfect reflection of the firm's core values and unique approach to consulting.Headquartered in Aventura, Florida, Ampersand Consulting has been instrumental in pushing digital boundaries, enabling technology, and delivering advanced analytics solutions to enterprise organizations. Recognized as both a Great Place to Work as well as one of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in South Florida by the South Florida Business Journal, Ampersand Consulting is doubling down on its commitment to bring empathy, expertise, and resilience to the forefront of solutioning and to turn ambitious goals into reality."This is an incredibly exciting day for our rapidly growing firm," said Alejandro Jaegerman, CEO. "Evolution is about embracing the 'ands' of our journey, connecting past brilliance with future promise. This moment further underscores our promise to help our client partners actualize their ambitions. To push the frontiers of technology and elevate the human experience. We are striving to build a consulting firm that does great work for great clients, that always acts with the utmost integrity, and that creates a space for intelligent, empathetic, and entrepreneurial professionals to come together, solve complex challenges, and create something amazing. And we will build with our core values of courage, integrity, quality, win-win, and optimism firmly intact." Through a blend of technology and empathy, Ampersand aspires to lead the way in redefining the possibilities of innovation. By providing strategic guidance and cutting-edge solutions, Ampersand Consulting equips partners with the tools they need to navigate the digital landscape and ensure sustainable growth."We may have a new name," said Jaegerman, "but our relentless pursuit of innovation and progress for our clients is more committed than ever. As Ampersand Consulting, I'm looking forward to pursuing our mission of empowering organizations for a data-driven, automated, and sustainable future." For more information, please visit www.thinkampersand.com About Ampersand ConsultingAmpersand Consulting is a boutique business & technology consulting firm that focuses on digital innovation, technology enablement, and data & analytics services. We work with forward-thinking teams and individuals who have the courage and enthusiasm to face complex challenges and push the boundaries of what is possible. Leveraging technology and a collaborative, empathy-first focus, we empower enterprise organizations to shatter limitations, reimagine what is possible, and actualize their ambition.Contact Information:Alejandro JaegermanCEOajaegerman@ thinkampersand.com Jeffrey LipsonDirector of Operationsjlipson@ thinkampersand.com Related ImagesAmpersand Consulting Leadership TeamAlejandro Jaegerman, CEO (right); Jeffrey Lipson, Director of Operations (left)Related VideoSOURCE: Ampersand Consulting
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 13:10:18

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OSLO, NORWAY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Pixotope, the leading software platform for end-to-end realtime virtual production solutions, is proud to announce that Husson University has joined the Pixotope Education Program, the company's educational and community-building initiative designed to help enable the next generation of virtual production talent. As the first U.S.-based education program partner, the addition of Husson marks the program's expansion across the Atlantic, further enhancing its ability to tackle the growing need for virtual production expertise by providing access to the necessary technology and industry experts. Other Pixotope Education Program partners include England's University of Gloucestershire, the Netherlands' Hanzehogeschool Groningen, Italy's Apulia Digital Maker, Singapore's Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Taiwan's Hsing Wu University.Pixotope and Husson University are collaborating to educate students in Extended Reality (XR) through Husson's School of Technology and Innovation.Based in Bangor, Maine, Husson is unique in that it is the only university in the state to offer a four year Bachelor of Science degree in extended reality (XR) in their School of Technology and Innovation. The XR degree prepares students for various careers in extended reality with a focus on XR software development, 3-D drafting and modeling, XR systems, XR research and development, and more. Because of the diverse nature of XR, students are also introduced to areas like user experience, interactive design, video and audio production. This program is an option in addition to degrees in software development and computer information systems."XR is one of the most exciting new technologies. It all comes down to empowering students, from many different fields, and helping them understand the power of XR and how it can be applied to their area of study," says Brave Williams, iEX Center director and associate professor at Husson University. "All students, regardless of their field of study, need to have access to these tools. This new technology is going to impact all facets of business, research, arts, sciences, and entrepreneurial activities in the near future." Husson University's iEX Provides a Space for Students to Experience First-Hand XR Related Technology and Educational Platforms Like PixotopeHusson's testing and evaluation process is made possible by the iEX Center, an innovation hub that develops solutions using extended reality experiences like virtual and augmented reality. Dedicated to the full expression of XR technology, the iEX Center is a critical pillar of Husson University's curriculum. The Center plays a central role in enhancing students' understanding of educational software platforms, like Pixotope, can be applied to many different disciplines. The wealth of information and industry resources provided by the Pixotope Education Program, combined with the capabilities of iEX Center, ensures that both students and faculty understand the benefits and limitations, of XR and related technology."One of the things that's really exciting about Pixotope is its powerful yet simple integrations and interface," adds Williams. "Pixotope has created a simple tool that channels powerful and complex capabilities into a user-friendly package. It's so easy to use, that I feel comfortable utilizing it in my introductory classes." As the University researched virtual production technologies, Husson looked for a software platform that would offer their students the very best tools and experiences. Specifically, they were looking for tools that offered an easy entry point for beginners and fostered incrementally advanced experiences with professional results."There's an urgent need across industries for professionals who are trained in virtual production. Unfortunately, accessibility and skillsets continue to be barriers," says Pixotope Education Program Manager Carina Schoo. "Husson's XR program, paired with their approach to evaluating the latest technologies, makes them a perfect partner for this educational program. Together, we will work to ensure that students gain a robust and grounded understanding of virtual production that they can leverage across different industries, utilizing skillsets that can be applied to marketing, communications, computer science, filmmaking and beyond." For more information about the Pixotope Education Program, please visit https://www.pixotope.com/pixotope-education-program To learn more about Husson University's XR degree program, visit https://www.husson.edu/college-of-business/school-of-technology-and-innovation/extended-reality/ About PixotopeDedication, Determination, Trust. Pixotope is at the forefront of democratizing virtual production and empowering content creators with accessible solutions for boundary-pushing immersive storytelling.Having been proven on the most demanding live productions in the world, Pixotope offers media content owners and producers a reliable and sustainable Virtual Production Platform on which to build their media business.Pixotope uniquely allows media creators to tell stories with the visual impact of high-end featured films in combination with the connected and scalable nature of online content and the immersive and social experience of video games.With global 24/7 operations and a direct presence on four continents, Pixotope Technologies is on a mission to promote accessibility, ease of use, and customer success in Virtual Production for all media creators.About Husson UniversityFor nearly 125 years, Husson University has shown its adaptability and strength in delivering educational programs that prepare future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent a superior value in higher education. The hallmarks of a Husson education include advanced knowledge delivered through quality educational programs in business; health and education; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; as well as communication. According to an analysis of tuition and fees by U.S. News & World Report, Husson University is one of the most affordable private colleges in New England. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu Press ContactsChloe LarbyGrithaus Agency(m) +44 7454 012045(e) chloe@ grithaus.agency Jill FioreHusson UniversityExecu
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 13:00:38

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High priority target areas totalling 125 km2 identified with pegmatite rocks on all projects;Follow-up field program in September to sample pegmatitesIncreased exposure to lithium through existing ownership of 12 million shares of Champion Electric Metals Inc.MONTREAL , QC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Quebec Precious Metals Corporation ( TSX.V:QPM)(FSE:YXEP)(OTCQB:CJCFF) ("QPM" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that high priority lithium targets have been identified following a detailed lithium targeting study (the "Study") on all of its exploration projects (1,298 claims covering 676 km2, 100% owned) performed by ALS GoldSpot Discoveries Ltd. ("ALS GoldSpot"), located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Quebec. Figure 1 illustrates QPM's land position and the location of high priority targets for the three projects based on the findings of the Study."We are very excited to sample the target areas to further demonstrate the lithium potential of our projects in a district that has some of the largest spodumene pegmatite resources in the world.All our projects are highly prospective for lithium and are located near advanced projects and recent significant lithium discoveries" commented Normand Champigny, CEO.The Study began in the spring (see press release of March 27, 2023). Target generation was undertaken by an exhaustive compilation, extraction and integration of geochemical, geophysical and geological data using geoscience expertise coupled with ALS GoldSpot's proprietary data analytics workflows. The high priority targets were generated using a total of 52,289 rock samples and 8,278 sediment (soil and till) samples. The data compilation stems from over 150 technical reports using artificial intelligence to query relevant geochemical and geological signatures of lithium bearing formations. The analysis resulted in the generation of detailed maps showing targets, zones and areas of focus for further exploration. The Study is being supplemented by the acquisition and analysis of high resolution imagery and topography.Sakami project (281 claims, 143 km2, 16 km2 high priority) and Elmer East project (889 claims, 467 km2, 45 km2 high priority) - The Sakami project is hosted within a volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Yasinski Group, which is metamorphosed to amphibolite facies and is strongly deformed by a regional west-southwest to east-northeast event in contact with sedimentary rocks of the Laguiche Group (Opinaca geological Subprovince) to the east (Figure 3). The Elmer East project consists of different parts of the Eastmain volcano-sedimentary belt. Two of the Elmer East claim blocks are located on the eastern edge of the Duxbury batholith and are composed of the Bernou and Pilipas formations (Figure 2).For both projects, key mineral indicators and rock geochemistry highlight Li-Cs-Ta pegmatite anomalies and a favorable distinct felsic intrusion trend. Major ductile structures bordering volcanosedimentary domains control the distribution of Li-Cs-Ta mineralization. Li-Cs-Ta indicators are associated with known lithium deposits in the region. Small felsic intrusions proximal to the structures are also of interest. It is to be noted that for the Sakami project the lithium targets identified have sometimes overlapping potential for the discovery of both lithium-bearing pegmatites and gold mineralization. Approximately 10 km southwest of the Elmer East project, Brunswick Exploration Inc. recently disclosed lithium discovered through inaugural drilling at their Anatacau West project.Cheechoo-Eleonore Trend project (128 claims, 66 km2, 64 km2 high priority) - Two main lithologic assemblages, are present: metasediments of the Laguiche complex and intrusive rocks associated with the granitic suite of the Vieux Comptoir. The latter is essentially formed of a series of granitic intrusions more or less rich in alkaline feldspar and generally poor in mafic minerals. Spodumene and K-feldspar granites have been observed. The abundance of pegmatites and geochemical anomalies suggest a strong lithium potential (Figure 4).Follow-up field programThe access and travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Quebec in response to the unprecedented forest fire situation persisting since early June remain in place across a significant part of the region. The Company will be mobilizing in September field personnel to visit the high priority target areas and conduct surface sampling. Results are expected in the fall. All pegmatite samples will be assayed with the analytical method ME-MS89L (+ME-MS81D for Al, Zr and Sc).Increased exposure to lithiumIn addition to the lithium targets identified on its own projects, QPM owns 12 million shares of Champion Electric Metals Inc. ("Champion Electric"). These shares are currently valued at approximately $1.4 M and were received following the acquisition by Champion Electric in 2022 of the Blanche and Charles project located near Patriot Battery Metals' lithium discovery on its Corvette project. Champion Electric controls 1,036 claims covering 529 km2 in the lithium-rich James Bay region and is currently carrying out an extensive surface exploration program.Qualified PersonNormand Champigny, Eng., Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Qualified Person under NI 43-101 on standards of disclosure for mineral projects, has prepared and reviewed the content of this press release.About ALS GoldSpotALS GoldSpot is a Canada-based group of expert geoscientists and data scientists who utilize computational methods (such as Data Analytics, Machine Learning, and numerical modelling) to assist mining and exploration clients. ALS GoldSpot offers unique processes to focus exploration efforts, minimize client risk related to exploration targeting, and optimize aspects of conventional resource exploration workflows. Its diverse geoscience and data science technical teams combine proprietary technology with in-depth expertise in mineral exploration, mineral resources, and mining to offer robust and actionable solutions to its clients and partners. While mineral exploration and mining have become data-rich environments, the value of data is lost when datasets become so large that they cannot effectively be integrated into decision making. Its expertise and solutions target such big data problems, processing or integrating underutilized data to better comprehend resource property potential.About Quebec Precious Metals CorporationQPM is primarily focused on advancing its Sakami gold project, located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Quebec, near Newmont Corporation's Eleonore gold mine. In addition the Company holds a 68% interest in the Kipawa/Zeus rare earths project located near Temisca
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 05:01:35

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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / August 21, 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
Oman Flags Off New Crypto Mining Facility With Expansion Plans As The Country Bets On Blockchain

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Oman has launched a new digital asset mining facility, the second flagged off within months as it seeks to diversify the economy away from oil exports.

The Middle Eastern country has flagged off the faculty which cost about 135 million Omani rials approximately $150 million and would be operated by Exahertz, a local firm in collaboration with Woonwalk Systems, a Dubai headquartered entity.

The facility was built in the Salalah Free Zone, an economic zone that offers lower tax benefits to several corporate institutions to boost investment in the country.

The mining center will run top hardware from Bitmain Technologies and will host 2000 machines operating on 11 megawatts of power. Sam Ferdows, the CEO of Moonwalk Systems hailed the project and stressed the companys commitment to improve the capacity of the center.

According to him, the capacity of the mine would be increased to 15,000 equipment by October with expansion plans to more cities. For sustainability, in addition to the added investments, the company will train citizens through programs.

The Minister of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT) Engineer Said Hamoud who lead the inauguration of the project explained the significance of the project highlighting that its a major milestone in the countrys digital transformation.

a leading player in the data hosting and processing sector, and we are confident that they will be a valuable asset to Omans digital economy.

Oman takes a major leap

Oman is now seeking to become an infrastructure hub for blockchain-related companies as the country diversifies its oil-based economy.

The latest mining facility is the countrys second in the space of nine months. In November 2022, Oman launched the first mining facility costing 150 million rials, approximately $389 million.

The countrys total investment in the sector now stands at $740 million which is expected to add to the regional efforts around web3.

In recent months, Middle Eastern governments have begun deploying huge infrastructure around blockchain-related firms.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Securities and Exchange Commission alongside the UAE Central Bank rolled out new directives to accept applications from web3-related firms.

The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) opens up the framework of the governments licensing requirements, Full Market Products (FMP) regulations, company regulations, and other regulatory compliance directives.

The country continues to attract investors by offering registration incentives to companies in various sectors in web3 including exchanges, mining infrastructure, and metaverse firms.

Oman also rolled out its consultation paper for digital assets and the blockchain ecosystem requiring registered firms to set up offices in the country in addition to other regulatory measures.
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LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 21, 2023 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. ("Hawaiian Electric" or "the Company") (NYSE:HE) for violations of the securities laws.The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Hawaiian Electric is the subject of a Washington Post article published on August 13, 2023. The article, titled, "Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks," states that, "Four days before fast-moving brush fires engulfed parts of Maui, weather forecasters warned authorities that powerful wind gusts would trigger dangerous fire conditions across much of the island and Hawaii. The state's electric utility responded with some preemptive steps but did not use what is widely regarded as the most aggressive but effective safety measure: shutting down the power." The article continues, Hawaiian Electric was aware that a power shut-off was an effective strategy, documents show, but had not adopted it as part of its fire mitigation plans, according to the company and two former power and energy officials interviewed by The Washington Post. Nor, in the face of predicted dangerous winds, did it act on its own, utility officials said, fearing uncertain consequences." Based on this news, shares of Hawaiian Electric fell by 33.77% on August 14, 2023.If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com , or by email at bschall@ schallfirm.com The class in this case has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.CONTACT:The Schall Law FirmBrian Schall, Esq.310-301-3335info@ schallfirm.com SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm
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Do you, or did you, own shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR)?Did you purchase your shares between November 10, 2021 and April 18, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Shift4 Payments, Inc.?Do you want to discuss your rights?NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Shift4 Payments, Inc. ("Shift4" or the "Company") (NYSE:FOUR) between November 10, 2021 and April 18, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the "Complaint").If you purchased or acquired Shift4 securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Shift4 Payments, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 17, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.The Complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Among other things, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) Shift4 had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (ii) as a result, Shift4 failed to properly account for customer acquisition costs, thereby artificially inflating its net cash provided by operating activities; (iii) accordingly, Shift4 would likely be forced to restate one or more of its previously issued financial statements; (iv) Shift4 employed accounting maneuvers in connection with, among other things, its mass strategic buyout program and sponsor bank merchant settlement account, that were designed to present an inaccurate picture of, inter alia, the Company's performance, its underlying business quality, and its earnings power; and (v) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to negatively impact Shift4's reputation and business.On April 19, 2023, Blue Orca Capital published a report alleging, among other things, that "Shift4 [is], in reality, a roll-up of low-tech POS systems and payment processors which is substantially less profitable, generates far less cash, and is materially more levered than investors are led to believe." The Blue Orca Report further alleged that in 2022, "Shift4 engaged in a string of highly questionable and hyper-aggressive accounting maneuvers seemingly designed to keep the stock afloat, from cash flow manipulation to inexplicable distributor acquisitions that enabled it to capitalize a major component of COGS [cost of goods sold]." For example, the Blue Orca Report alleged, inter alia, that Shift4's "buyout of 50% of its independent distributors" - i.e., in connection with its mass strategic buyout program - "and Q4 2022 cash account withdrawal" from its sponsor bank merchant settlement account "together inflated operating cash flow by 61%."On this news, Shift4's stock price fell $5.95 per share, or 8.68%, to close at $62.59 per share on April 19, 2023.If you purchased or acquired Shift4 securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Shift4 Payments, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for sixteen consecutive years.ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2023 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.Contact Information:Peter AlloccoBernstein Liebhard LLP(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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Funded by Installed Building Products and Edwards Companies, GimmeFive will contribute up to $500 to each enrolled child's CollegeAdvantage Ohio 529 College Savings accountCOLUMBUS, OH / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / SproutFive, an innovative early education and child care provider, announced today its groundbreaking GimmeFive 529 program. In partnership with Installed Building Products (IBP) and Edwards Companies, GimmeFive encourages and empowers families to invest in their children's future while breaking down barriers to economic and higher education opportunities.The GimmeFive program is available to all children enrolled at SproutFive and includes an annual contribution of up to $500 from IBP and Edwards Companies into their Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings account for each year they are enrolled at SproutFive. A $500 annual donation for five years into the account would net individuals, assuming a 6% return, $6,157.23 tax-free dollars for educational costs when they turn 18. IBP and Edwards Companies are initially donating $160,000 in 2023 and will increase donations as enrollment expands, plus an additional $100,000 a year for the next three years (2024-2026)."SproutFive is committed to driving educational equity while unlocking each child's potential, and we've been honored to offer early childhood education services since 1922 and witnessed its benefits for our community and our youth," said Colin Page McGinnis, CEO of SproutFive. "With the new GimmeFive program and funding from IBP and Edwards Companies, we'll further our mission to improve learning opportunities for our littles and set them up for further success in higher education well after leaving our schools." While the program aims to help as many individuals as possible, specific guidelines are in place to ensure the donation and program create a significant impact with maximum efficiency."GimmeFive is poised to revolutionize the way we empower our future generations and IBP is honored to align with SproutFive and its visionary mission," said Kelly Clifford Riehl, Vice President of Communications & Community Relations at IBP and President of the IBP Foundation. "With SproutFive's expertise and on-the-ground insights, we trust the parameters set by the organization to maximize the impact of quality education and lifelong learning." All children enrolled either part- or full-time with an attendance record of 85% or higher each quarter are eligible for contributions. Full-time students will receive $125 per quarter up to $500 annually, and part-time students will receive $37.50 per quarter up to $150 a year. Disbursements will be made each June via Ugift for eligible children and those who enroll outside of the Fall enrollment window will receive credit for funds for their next full quarter."We are honored to partner with SproutFive for this innovative program, GimmeFive, that will reduce barriers to education and economic prosperity for everyone affected, and we're excited to see the future impact they'll have with these new opportunities," said Jeff Edwards, president of the Edwards Companies.To learn more about the GimmeFive program or to make a donation, go to sproutfive.org/gimmefivefund ###About SproutFiveSince 1922, SproutFive has been working to ensure every child benefits from a holistic, high-quality early education. The Columbus-based nonprofit's model is to co-locate early education and child care programs within nonprofit hubs, education institutions, affordable housing complexes and workplaces to reduce barriers for families. Coupled with SproutFive's network of schools, the organization leverages its NUDL Institute for Professional Learning and Center for Early Childhood Innovation to position itself as a leader in the sector and works to reimagine the field of early learning.About Installed Building ProductsInstalled Building Products, Inc. is one of the nation's largest new residential insulation installers and is a diversified installer of complementary building products, including waterproofing, fire-stopping, fireproofing, garage doors, rain gutters, window blinds, shower doors, closet shelving and mirrors and other products for residential and commercial builders located in the continental United States. The Company manages all aspects of the installation process for its customers, from direct purchase and receipt of materials from national manufacturers to its timely supply of materials to job sites and quality installation. The Company offers its portfolio of services for new and existing single-family and multi-family residential and commercial building projects in all 48 continental states and the District of Columbia from its national network of over 240 branch locations.About The Edwards CompaniesEdwards Companies is a privately held family-owned corporation that acts as a holding company for numerous operating companies engaged in residential and commercial real estate development and construction. Based in Columbus, Ohio, its various operating companies have led significant developments in communities countrywide.Contact InformationEthan WagnerAccount Executiveethan@ gebencommunication.com (614) 300-5017SOURCE: Installed Building Products
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 15:01:25

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TRUE BLUE, GRENADA and AUBURN, WA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / St. George's University has launched a new partnership with Green River College that will give qualified Green River College students fast-track status for admission to the four- and five-year medical degree programs at the St. George's University School of Medicine."This partnership between St. George's and Green River College offers two strong paths to a career in medicine," said Dr. Marios Loukas, Dean of St. George's University School of Medicine. "We're thrilled to help make medical education accessible to Green River's best and brightest students." The partnership establishes a "2+5" program through which qualified Green River College international students who complete two years of undergraduate coursework and earn an Associate in Science for Transfer, or AS-T, degree in biology can secure priority entry into St. George's five-year M.D. program.This program begins with one year of preclinical coursework in Grenada, followed by a year of Basic Sciences in either Grenada or at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. Grenada is the site for a second year of Basic Sciences study. The final two years consist of clinical rotations at hospitals affiliated with St. George's in the United States and the United Kingdom.The partnership also creates a "2+2+4" program, in which students who earn an AS-T in Biology at Green River and earn a bachelor's degree in a premedical program at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States, can qualify for priority admission into St. George's four-year M.D. program.Students on the four-year M.D. track may complete their first two years of study in Grenada or spend their first year at Northumbria and their second in Grenada. Students spend the last two years of the program in clinical rotations at hospitals affiliated with St. George's in the United States and the United Kingdom.Students who wish to pursue either of the combined degree programs must express interest upon applying to Green River College. Admission to St. George's School of Medicine requires candidates to maintain a strong GPA and score competitively on the MCAT. Those who enroll in the M.D. program receive a $10,000 scholarship distributed over the length of their studies upon matriculating and are eligible for additional scholarships and grants from St. George's."Our partnership with St. George's will give Green River students a tremendous opportunity to make their dreams of a career in medicine a reality," said Dr. Wendy Lee Stewart, Vice President of International Programs and Extended Learning. "We are proud to team up with St. George's to make medical school more accessible." ###About St. George UniversitySt. George's University is a center of international education, drawing students and faculty from 140 countries to the island of Grenada, in the West Indies, to its programs in medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, science, and business. SGU is affiliated with educational institutions worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom,Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The University's over 20,000graduates include physicians, veterinarians, scientists, and public health and business professionals across the world. St. George's University School of Medicine is accredited by the Grenada Medical and Dental Council, and its programs across all schools are accredited and approved by many governing authorities. For more information, visit www.sgu.edu About Green River CollegeWhether you are looking to build a solid foundation to transfer to a four-year college or university, develop skills you can take with you to the workplace or learn new perspectives about the world, you can find your place at Green River College. Our outstanding faculty and staff work together to help you learn and grow so you can achieve your goals. You'll find small class sizes, comprehensive student support services, state-of-the-art buildings and equipment, and day, evening and online classes all at an affordable price. At Green River, you'll get the quality education you deserve. Our students travel and live around the world. They become executives, professors and commanders. They are thinkers, creators and doers. It all starts here. Come join us, and see for yourself. For more information visit www.greenriver.edu MEDIA CONTACT:Alden Iaconisalden@ keybridge.biz (202) 516-6593SOURCE: St. George's University
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 19:31:28

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VENLO, NETHERLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / With the launch of its new distribution center in Venlo on October 1, 2023, Eric Javits LLC is ready to bring casual elegance to fashion lovers across Europe. The company, which has cultivated a worldwide reputation for its luxury hats, shoes, and bags, will use its location to accelerate the fulfillment and shipment of online orders to customers in the region.Eric Javits, headquartered in New York CityFor nearly 40 years, Eric Javits LLC has been making hat-wearing viable for more women and men in the 21st century. Its luxury accessories, which embody elegance with gentility married to function, include the Squishee hat, introduced in 1995. Its creator, Eric Javits, changed the course of the luxury retail industry by showing that hats did not have to be fragile and could, in fact, be cohesive with a modern lifestyle. In the years since the debut of the Squishee hat, the company has grown an enthusiastic customer base, who are drawn to the down-to-earth glamor of its designs.The launch of the Netherlands distribution center is the latest step in the global expansion of Eric Javits LLC. In June 2023, the company debuted its first brick-and-mortar stores in Seoul, South Korea, and is developing operational plans for the Busan and Daegu markets. With its Asia footprint firmly established, Eric Javits LLC is focusing on deepening its reach in Europe.A new Eric Javits storefront in Seoul, Korea"After extensive market research, we learned that a significant number of our loyal online customers come from France, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy," says Dario Markovic, the CEO of Eric Javits LLC. "With the help of our hard-working staff, we are launching our state-of-the-art fulfillment center so that we can serve them faster and bring Eric Javits to a new generation." The company invites everyone to visit its AI-powered website so that they can explore its cutting-edge digital storefront and enjoy the latest in online shopping.About Eric Javits LLCEric Javits LLC, a global brand, was created by artist Eric Javits to enrich the fashion accessories industry with accessories that are both glamorous and durable. The company's trademark, the Squishee hat, is known across the world for its advanced fibers and elegant style. To learn more about Eric Javits LLC, please visit its website or contact:Dario Markovic+1.929.392.3250dario@ ericjavits.com SOURCE: Eric Javits LLC
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-22 17:30:26

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Chinese scientist Jia Jinfeng and his team were the first to detect "Majorana fermion," a mysterious particle that the world's physics community had been searching for 80 years. The discovery, made in 2016, has huge ramifications for the development of quantum computers and information technology and will shed more light on the mystery of dark matter."Our work is to understand the nature of the Majorana fermion, so as to be able to manipulate it and make it appear wherever we want," Jia, who is a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Yicai in a recent exclusive interview.Majorana fermions was hypothesised by Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937. He said that this strange particle would be a special being, and the particle itself would be exactly the same as its antiparticle."If we succeed, we can use it for topological quantum computing," said Jia, who is also deputy dean of the School of Physics and Astronomy of Shanghai Jiaotong University and acting vice president of Southern University of Science and Technology.So far, there is no true quantum computer in the world. One of the reasons is that the quantum state of the particles used for quantum computing is not stable. However, the special existence of Majorana fermions makes the state very stable. The property may become the key to the manufacture of quantum computers, helping humans open up the era of topological quantum computing, which has far superior computing power to supercomputers.However, as finding Majorana fermions is already so difficult, will it be more difficult to control?Jia said that to control the movement of Majorana fermions, more physics and engineering experts are needed. "The manipulation of movement should be achieved within a few years, but what is more difficult is to measure the results after implementation to see if it is consistent with the theory. This has not been done before. However, if we achieve these goals, we can use them in topological quantum computing." Jia has been engaged in physics research for 40 years, and in his opinion, basic research is a crucial part of the innovation chain, especially in physics, because every small win changes society."Many years ago, studying physics was very hard. However, conditions are much better now in many aspects from research funding to research instruments," Jia said. "Also, in recent years, more attention is being paid to the development of scientific and technological talent, and our income is no worse than in other industries." He believes that what is more important than funding and advanced instruments at the moment is the overall attitude to basic research in society. "When the whole of society becomes aware of the importance of basic research without us having to publicize it, this will spontaneously strengthen basic research, enable cooperation with people who do basic research and promote the development of all walks of life. This will create a very productive environment." About Yicai GlobalLaunched in August 2016, Yicai Global is the English-language news service of Yicai Media Group, the financial news arm of Shanghai Media Group, which is one of China's largest state-owned media conglomerates. Focused primarily on China's business world, Yicai Global is dedicated to provide reliable and insightful information and analysis of the economy, finance, tech, startups, and entrepreneurs. Yicai Global expects to capitalize on its great chance to become a big player in the global financial media scene and become a cornerstone of the Chinese dream of this generation.Media Contact:Contact person: Zhu LimingEmail: zhuliming@ yicai.com SOURCE: Yicai Media Group
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WEST HAVEN, CT / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science, a primer center for advanced forensic research and continuing education, globally, is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Symposium on eCrime on Oct. 31, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT. The annual event, which is co-sponsored by world-renowned forensic scientist Dr. Henry C. Lee, and digital forensics expert, Robert B. Fried, Senior Vice President & Global Head of Forensics and Investigation at Sandline Global, brings together top experts in the fields of digital forensics and investigations. This year's symposium is comprised of three keynote presentations: Mobile Device Investigations, Cryptocurrency Investigations, and Forensic Fundamentals in Innovation. Each topic will be covered in depth and include case studies for the attendees, who are law enforcement personnel, researchers, educational leaders, professional investigators, forensic practitioners, and students.Panel of SpeakersInformation about the 2nd Annual Symposium on eCrime "It is an honor and a privilege to collaborate again with the highly accomplished and dedicated team at the Institute," says Robert B. Fried, an alumnus of the Forensic Science program at the University of New Haven. "This is our second year co-sponsoring the Symposium, and we have a panel of exceptionally talented experts presenting on important topics, as electronic evidence plays a key role in modern investigations." "This symposium is not only critical for today's e-world, but it is also very timely. I am looking forward to learning more from the best speakers in the topic areas," says Dr. Lee, who is the founder of the Institute and the Forensic Science program at the University of New Haven.For information about the 2nd Annual Symposium on eCrime and to register, visit 2023 E-Crime Symposium. Registration is $125 and $25 for University of New Haven students.About The Henry C. Lee InstituteThe Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science links scholars, researchers, students, forensic scientists, law enforcement, the legal community, and professional practitioners in many fields to address the scientific and social issues confronting forensic science and the criminal justice system throughout the world. Through training, consultation, interdisciplinary research and a unique public learning center, the Institute's goal is to make the criminal justice system more effective. http://www.henryleeinstitute.com About Sandline GlobalSandline Global is a premier litigation support and eDiscovery service provider, assisting legal teams in the United States and globally. Sandline specializes in delivering innovative digital evidence solutions with exceptional, high-touch service. With Sandline's global network of offices and data centers in Washington, D.C.; New York City; Frankfurt; Taipei; Dubai; and Karachi, the firm utilizes leading technology, custom workflows, and deep industry experience to support complex investigations and litigation matters. In addition to providing forensics, e-discovery, and document review services, Sandline designs and supports iManage deployments for law firms and legal departments. https://www.sandlineglobal.com/ Contact InformationRobert FriedSenior Vice President, Forensics & Investigation - Sandline Globalrfried@ sandlineglobal.com 347-306-8618Kenneth ZercieDirector of Training - The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Sciencekzercie@ newhaven.edu 203-932-7460SOURCE: The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science
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Inne ogoszenia, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan:
Nigerias Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, has promised to revive the Ajaokuta steel company.

The minister, who gave the assurance when he assumed office on Monday in Abuja, said there is a need to revive the facility in order to enable the country to produce steel.

He added that he would set a roadmap for the development of the steel sector, aggressively pursue the completion of Ajaokuta Steel, and enact the required bills to regulate the sector.

The steel company, located in Kogi State, was built between 1979 and the mid-1990s, but it has become moribund.

Last September, the Nigerian government agreed to pay $496 million to settle an Indian firms claim over the facility. The dispute followed the federal governments revocation in 2008 of an agreement that handed control of the steelworks and the National Iron Ore Mining Company to the Indian firm. In cancelling the deal, the Umar Yaradua administration said the terms of the concession at the time were not favourable to the country.

In December last year, the government said 11 companies had indicated interest in taking over the steel company on a concession basis. Three of the 11 bidders are Russian companies, the then Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said while listing his ministrys achievements.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Audu said the past leaders recognized the importance of steel development but lacked the political will to achieve its objectives.

Our past leaders recognized the importance of steel development but lacked the political will to achieve its objectives. The steel development is synonymous with the Ajaokuta Steel plant, whose commencement was over 40 years ago, the minister said.

We aim to start the engine and ensure that we produce at least a small sheet of steel within this administration. It is a known fact that steel is the bedrock of any nations development; if gotten right, it may be the beginning of our industrial revolution.

He explained that the creation of the new Ministry of Steel underscored President Bola Tinubus mandate in pursuing the nations overall development.

In his remarks, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said the oil-producing industry, Nigerias source of foreign exchange, has recorded poor growth.

Given the sectors importance to the President, he sent me here as someone he knows very well to drive his agenda in this ministry.

We will not allow civil service restrictions to stop us from being innovative; we want results as long as we use legitimate means to get them, Mr Alake said.

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The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has urged all international shipping companies operating in the Nigerian territorial waters to regularise their tax positions immediately.

A public notice signed by the Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, and published on the agency verified X platform page on Monday said the agency observed that many international shipping lines have not complied with the tax obligations imposed by extant tax laws.

The agency said all affected international shipping lines must conclude the regularisation of their outstanding tax returns no later than 31 December.

The agency noted that the notice continues the two previous circulars published in 2021 on taxation of international shipping airlines and tax compliance.

This notice is published further to the FIRS Circular No.2021/14 dated 3rd June 2021 on the taxation of international shipping and airlines and public notice of 17th December 2021 on the tax compliance of international shipping lines, FIRS said.

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It explained that the circular provides the basis of taxation for all international shipping lines in Nigeria, and the public notice requested all international shipping lines to regularise their tax affairs with the FIRS within three months of that publication date.

Consequently, the Service hereby requests all international shipping companies operating in Nigerian territorial waters in whatever capacity (containerised, bulk cargo, fishing trawlers, crude oil and natural gas lifting vessels, dredging, survey, floating, production, storage, and offloading, etc) to regularise their tax positions immediately.

All affected international shipping lines must conclude the regularisation of their outstanding tax returns at the Non-Resident Persons Tax Office (17B Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos) not later than 31st December 2023, it said.

The agency added that it is collaborating with relevant security agencies to commence enforcement action on all defaulting shipping companies after the expiration of the grace period.

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Russian Central Bank: Digital Rubles Will Be Classified as Highly Valuable Liquid Assets

Source: Oleg/Adobe

The Russian Central Bank says it plans to begin classifying the digital ruble, the nations CBDC, as a high-quality liquid asset (HQLA), and will likely eventually oblige banks in the country to follow suit.

Central banks typically classify assets such as fiat cash, central bank reserves, and government bonds issued by nations with high credit ratings as high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs).

What are HQLAs (6/n) pic.twitter.com/XUktGe0XnH  INFixed Income (@FixedIncomeIN) June 7, 2018

But thus far, central banks and regulators have only classified conventional fiats, not CBDCs, as HQLAs.

Per Tass and an official Central Bank release, the bank said that it had developed draft revised liquidity calculation methodologies that include the inclusion of digital rubles in HQLA [calculations].

The bank has given financial players until September 23 to submit comments on its revised guidelines.

But if they are accepted as-is, commercial banks will be obliged to abide by these methodologies beginning October 1, 2024.

Going forward, this will likely mean banks will eventually be obliged to classify CBDC holdings in their accounting processes.

The digital RUB pilot began earlier this month, with 600 citizens in 11 cities making real-world transactions with the coin, and over a dozen domestic banks taking part.

But commercial banks appear to have conflicting feelings about the digital ruble.

And this latest move may give them yet more reason for skepticism.

In a 2022 article for the central banking think tank the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, the economist Ruth Wandhofer wrote:

CBDC transformations create chances for [a] cross-border payments overhaul.

She explained:

There is a strong case for moving cross-border flows away from correspondent banks using costly commercial credit to payments using high-quality liquid assets secured by central bank reserve funds.

Wandhofer added that such as system would enable banks to exchange central bank reserves-backed liquidity between themselves in different currencies, without that liquidity needing to move over local real-time gross settlement rails.

This, she remarked, would help avoid the need for banks to extend commercial credit to one another, and would mean that transactions could be considered HQLAs.

Whether or not the Russian Central Bank agrees with such sentiments is not clear.

But what is almost certain is the fact that the bank wants to use its token in cross-border scenarios as soon as possible.

Traditional Moscow allies such as Belarus and Kazakhstan have begun work on their own digital fiats.

Minsk explicitly stated that its own coin will also be used in cross-border deals.

Russias Central Bank has claimed that its digital fiat will roll out nationwide between 2025 and 2027.

Russian Digital Ruble Progress: BRICS Nations Target CBDC Launches?

Fellow BRICS nations such as China and Brazil are also moving to advanced stages of their own digital currency projects.

The Russian rouble tumbled last week, before Russia's central bank stepped in and hiked interest rates to 12%. It's the bank's first increase since the early days of the invasion.https://t.co/L3cHkih15m  ABC News (@abcnews) August 20, 2023

Beijing has cautiously begun making statements about the cross-border potential of its own coin, as BRICS countries and their allies seek to de-dollarize their trading networks.

The BRICS summit is being held on August 22-24.

Brazilian experts have claimed they expect the nations to agree on the formation of common digital currency working groups this week.
The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) has complained of exclusion from the operation of the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth despite owning 17.8 per cent of the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

The association, while appearing before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the NSIA on Tuesday, said local governments have not been carried along in its operation.

The President of ALGON, Alabi Kolade, said the management of the NSIA had refused to consult the association on the operation of the funds.

He stated that most of the investments of the funds in healthcare and education are at the tertiary level.

Your activities are done in secrecy to the exclusion of the local governments. And I have facts before me. They should let us have insight and speak more into what they have submitted, he said.

NSIA ownership

The NSIA was created by an Act of the National Assembly signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. The federal government has 45.8 per cent of the share of NSIA while states own 38.2 per cent, local governments own 17.8% and FCT has 0.16 per cent.

In the last 10 years, the federation has invested over $1.75 billion for the NSIA to manage as an investment manager.

The NSIA has the following core funds: Stabilisation fund, future generations fund and Nigeria Infrastructure Fund.

The NSIA also has the mandate of managing third-party funds such as Presidential Infrastructure Development Funds, the FGN Stabilisation fund, the presidential fertiliser initiative and others.

Your projects are benefiting states

Mr Kolade said most of the projects by the NSIA are benefiting states and the federal government while local governments are left out.

None of this projects, to the best of our knowledge, can be seen or felt at the local government. You have spoken well about partnership with the communities but my question is how can you partner with the communities without local governments?

They have spoken well about health delivery, but the one that is within the remit of the local government is primary healthcare. Your investment is to state government hospitals and not local government hospitals.

You have spoken well about schools but our own jurisdiction is primary schools, but we have not seen a single school. You have talked about 13500 affordable houses but to who? Who would be the beneficiary, he said.

He pleaded that the local government should be involved since they are a major part of the ownership of the NSIA.

Local governments are appendages of states  NGF

However, the position of the President of ALGON was challenged by a representative of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Shittu Lateef, who stated that NSIA had already briefed the governors and they have no problem with the association.

Mr Lateef, who represented the Director General of the NGF, Asishana Okauru, added that the local governments remain an appendage of the states, hence, the state governments were briefed on behalf of the local governments.

Speaking on the location of the projects, Mr Lateef said the projects are located in local governments, therefore, ALGON cannot make the argument of beneficiaries.

Nigeria runs a federal system and we have two federating units in this country, the federal and the states which the constitution has made very clear. The local government is not a federating unit as of today, it could be tomorrow if the constitution is amended. But as of today, the local government is an appendage of the states, he stated.

He added that As far as the NGF is concernedlet me start with ownership and I think he alluded to that earlier. The states and the local governments own 54 per cent. If you look at the structure, you will see that the states and the local governments are the real owners of the NSIA because we are the majority shareholders.

Sometimes last year, we requested the NSIA to make a presentation to the states and the minister of finance at that time led the delegation and they made a presentation. I can tell you that we are satisfied with the presentation and we have no problem whatsoever with the NSIA, he said.

We have increased our assets by $600 millionNSIA CEO

In his presentation, the Managing Director/CEO of NSIA, Aminu Sodiq-Umar, informed the committee that the organisation has increased its assets by over $600 million in the past 10 years of operation.

He noted that the aassets ncreased from $1.760 billion to over $2.27 billion.

The Chairman of the Committee, Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos), raised questions on the number of investments that the NSIA made but returned losses.

Mr Umar-Sodiq said the authority has been able to manage the margin by ensuring that it makes more profits than losses.

If you are managing a portfolio of growth investment, of course, you will have those you will lose and those you will gain. I think the point is for you to manage your volatility, and your correlation and you are substantially managing your gain to your loss. That is the nature of the investment business.

He added that NSIA law mandates that the fund cannot afford to be short-term but to think long-term when making investments.

In the course of the session, Mr Kuye moved a motion that the committee should go into an executive session with the NSIA to discuss the authoritys strategies.

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The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Best International Feature Film (IFF) category of the Oscars has announced the decision of its Founder and Chairperson, Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi, to pass the baton of leadership, as she moves on to other opportunities in life.

Her decision comes days after she secured the Oscars re-approval of the NOSC, just as Nigeria and the rest of the world prepare for the 96th edition of the Academy Awards held next year.

The new leadership of the NOSC, they said, will be announced in due course.

The NOSC in a statement on Tuesday said that under Mrs Anyaene-Abonyis two-term steadfast leadership, the committee has transformed into a beacon of hope and standard befitting of Nigerian filmmakers aspiring to compete in the IFF category of the Oscars.

Nostalgia, Gratitude

The outgoing chairperson recalls the pivotal moment when, as a young filmmaker, she attempted to submit her film for Oscars consideration in 2012, only to discover that Nigeria had no constituted committee for film submissions.

She said: This discovery fueled my determination to create and personally finance a committee for Nigerian films to compete at this prestigious level of international cinema.

As Anyaene-Abonyi hands over to a new team, the NOSC considers the transition the end of an era characterised by an unwavering dedication to standards, professionalism and remarkable legacies.

In recent years, NOSCs mission evolved from merely submitting films to promoting and fostering the creation of high-quality Nigerian film entries. The focus shifted towards encouraging a collaborative effort within the industry, where personal interests were set aside for the greater good of the Nigerian Film Industry, she stated.

As she takes this bold exit step, the filmmaker-cum-entrepreneur expressed her confidence in the next teams ability to carry on the legacy and ensure that the quality and excellence of Nigerian films are prioritised.

She said: The Nigerian film industry possesses immense potential and talents, and I believe that with continued dedication and cooperation, it will undoubtedly reach new heights.

Feats

Recall that in 2012, Anyaene-Abonyi constituted the NOSC and received approval from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as the organisation to collect, screen and vote entries that would represent Nigeria in the IFF category.

The committee for which she was Chairperson was re-approved in 2019. That year, the NOSC submitted Genevieve Nnajis Lionheart, which was eventually disqualified for not meeting the non-English dialogue criteria.

The Academy would later succumb to Anyaene-Abonyis persistent demand for recognising Pidgin as a local language. Hence, on 16, October 2020, it acknowledged Pidgin English as a non-English language fit for the IFF category.

In 2021, Desmond Ovbiageles The Milkmaid made history as the first Nigerian film to be approved by the Academy to compete in the IFF category of the 93rd Academy Awards but did not make the final shortlist.

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Nigerias new Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, must already know his most important tasks and how they will test his political leadership skill.

Mr Mamman, a professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was among the 45 ministers that President Bola Tinubu swore in on Monday.

Mr Mamman will be assisted in the ministry by the Minister of State, Yusuf Sununu.

As both men resume work, events of the past few years have laid down some of their most pressing responsibilities.

From deteriorating facilities in schools, the wave of brain drain in tertiary institutions, poor welfare conditions of teachers and students, as well as formulating and overseeing the implementation of important education policies, the ministers will have a little time before the existing calm turns into a storm should they not hit the ground running.

Industrial action

Perhaps the most asked question among observers of Nigerias tertiary institutions is when would the workers embark on the next industrial action. This is because industrial actions in Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education appear to have become a ritual. The workers always bicker with the government on issues regarding the funding of their institutions and welfare.

The situation is worse in the universities where the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) constantly always finds itself left only with the strike option in disputes with successive government administrations over issues of poor welfare conditions of its members, poor funding of public universities, and the autonomy of the institutions.

During ASUUs last industrial action, which spanned eight months in 2022, the government invoked and stuck to its No work, No pay policy, meaning that lecturers were not paid for the period that they were on strike.

Despite the interventions of prominent Nigerians and institutions, former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to pay the lecturers for the eight-month and there is yet to be any indication that his successor, Mr Tinubu is willing to bend the rule.

Meanwhile, the unions demands have not been met to the satisfaction of its members, its president, Emmanuel Osodeke, said when it suspended the strike in October last year.

Other workers unions in the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education also have unaddressed demands before the government. They include the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), and the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA).

Others include the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Colleges Of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU).

With the rising cost of living hastened by the removal of subsidy on petrol and the high cost of commodity goods, it is only a matter of time before these unions join their counterparts in the health sector to table their matters before the government. When they do, Mr Mammans handling of their demands could determine how the sector would fare under his watch.

Funding, infrastructure

Another challenge facing Nigerias education sector is the decrepit facilities in schools.

Despite an increase in year-on-year allocations to the education sector since 2016, stakeholders have continued to lament that the sector is underfunded and the facilities remain dilapidated.

The Secretary-General to COEASU, Lawan Bazza, insists that the facilities needed for Nigerian schools, from basic to tertiary level, are nonexistent.

The facilities are not there, he told PREMIUM TIMES. From Creche to Junior secondary schools, facilities are not there. Very few of them may have something. We dont even have modern teaching facilitiesFor example, we have a whiteboard marker. I bought a marker because its not available (not provided by school authorities).

In 2013, a Need Assessment of Nigerian public universities carried out by the federal government and representatives of ASUU, among others, revealed that an estimated N1.3 trillion was required to revitalise and make Nigerian public universities globally competitive. But as of December 2021, despite continuous agitations and strikes by ASUU, the government only provided 19 per cent of the sum.

ASUU said the 19 per cent paid was at 2013 valuation, and that the current exchange rate in the country has raised the stake.

These issues of revitalisation funding will therefore be very significant to the attainment of sustainable development on the campuses.

Brain drain versus embargo on recruitment

Like the nations health sector, the education sector has also been hard-hit by the brain drain phenomenon. This is particularly worsened by an embargo on recruitment in academic institutions placed by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The embargo remains in force.

In its attempt to keep and attract teachers to the basic education level, the administration approved a new salary structure and increased the retirement age of teachers by five years.

Brain drain in the academic sector is more than that of the health sector, Mr Bazza said. Maybe that of the academic sector is not well pronounced, but it is more (in the education sector).

Out-of-school children

There are currently no universally acceptable data on out-of-school children in Nigeria. The previous administration disagreed with the figures presented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) which put the figure at 20 million and 18 million respectively. The Nigerian government put the figure at 6.95 million.

ASUP National President Anderson Ezeibe said the minister has enormous work to do in reducing the number of out-of-school children in the country.

He said: The current issues at the basic education level border on the issue of out-of-school children in the country. The numbers are not going to get better with the worsening economic situation in the country. Indeed, he has a lot of work to do there.

Corruption

Nigerian tertiary institutions have continued to be rocked by financial, moral, and academic corruption scandals, including sex-for-grade, contract scams, plagiarism, and job and admission racketeering, among others.

Last week, the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Calabar, Cyril Ndifon, was suspended after a protest by Law students who accused him of sexually preying on female students.

Mr Ndifon had previously been suspended by the university management over the same allegation but was reinstated under circumstances described as shady.

At least 18 university teachers were dismissed in 2021 for sexual harassment of female students.

The ministers need to take strong actions to check the malaise that has become endemic in tertiary institutions across the country.

Safe School Initiative

Nine years after the first mass abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014, a Safe School Initiative introduced by the Nigerian government is yet to fully take off. Following the 2014 incident in which 276 school girls were abducted in Chibok, Borno State, the federal government announced the initiative to protect students and teachers nationwide.

Since then, about 1,680 other students have been abducted from schools across Nigeria, according to Save the Children, a charity organisation.

Some stakeholders have blamed the failure of the initiative on its organisation and operational system. For instance, many question the rationale behind the decision to domicile the initiatives secretariat and its technical working committee at the Federal Ministry of Finance instead of the Ministry of Education.

For effective operation, Mr Mamman may have to ensure the movement of the Safe School Secretariat and Technical Working Committee to his ministry.

Transparency

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which publishes its weekly income, has been commended by many Nigerians for being perhaps the most transparent of agencies under the education ministry.

The minister of education may have to mandate all agencies under his watch, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, to publish their incomes and expenditure at regular intervals to encourage transparency in the sector.

Experts optimistic

In separate interviews with our reporter, ASUP National President Anderson Ezeibe and COEASU General Secretary Lawan Bazza expressed optimism that Mr Mamman, being an educationist, will do a good job in handling the sector.

The new minister is eminently qualified to head the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Ezeibe said. We see from his profile that he has significant experience at the highest level of tertiary education management.

Speaking on the tasks before the minister, Mr Ezeibe said it is important that the minister take verifiable steps to address the discrimination against the holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) and its possible replacement with a Bachelor of Technology certificate.

This will put the HND/BSc dichotomy issue to restwhile retaining the OND certification for skills and artisanal certification in the sector, he said.

Mr Ezeibe added that solutions to the challenges in the education sector require the different layers of stakeholders to commit to the restoration of proper values to the sector.

He said: At the tertiary level, issues bordering on sustainable funding, acceptable wage structure for staff, infrastructure deficit, violations of laws and extant regulations are all issues of urgent concern.

Prudent management of scarce resources, appropriate and deserving wage structures, and improvement in funding, respect for laws, statutes and regulations are the path to restoration of the education sector to its lost glory.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.

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The Executive Director of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Hansatu Adegbite, at the weekend, was inaugurated as the first female president of the Alumni Association of Business School Netherlands Nigeria.

Ms Adegbite and five others will steer the affairs of the association as leaders of its executive committee.

The Country Director of BSN Nigeria, Lere Baale, in his welcome address, noted that the institution has produced 968 graduates of Masters of Business Administration since its inception in 2004.

He said the institution, which was founded in 1988 in the Netherlands, has international centres in nine locations and a network of alumni members in 74 countries

Inauguration

Mrs Adegbite is a graduate of Business Administration from the University of Abuja with an Action Learning MBA from BSN. She is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School in Boston, USA, in Strategic Perspectives in Non-profit Management.

In her remarks, Ms Adegbite said BSN Nigeria has been of great impact on her personal and professional life.

What we were taught was beyond academics, it was more about using knowledge to solve existing problems in organisations. One of the things they have taught me to do early is to use my knowledge to solve problems through teamwork, she said.

On the plans of the executive committee, she said: We are a network of alumni members in about 74 countries and one of the things we are going to do from the Nigerian angle is to bridge the gap through cross-border networking and business opportunity.

We are going to have an African congress focus on alumni members in Africa, unite ourselves and give people the opportunity to engage and we are going to invest in technological advancement.

The immediate past President, Yomi Martin, in his address, congratulated Ms Adegbite, noting that available data shows that companies that boast higher representation of women on their boards outperformed organisations that dont by a notable degree.

Please get ready for a season of exponential growth in our alumni, he said.

The other executive committee members are Nelson Ayodele (Vice President 1); Akinkunmi John (VP 2); Chukwunonso Inoma (Secretary General); Temitope Ayokunle (Treasurer), and Adekumbi Thomas as Public Relations Officer.

BSN is about action

Juanita Bouwer, the Director of BSN International, said the institution is different due to its action learning programme and its problem-solving technique through research, implementation, taking action and reflecting results.

On affordability, she said some people have access to scholarships and that the fee is affordable. Our programme helps students to solve problems in their organisations as they contribute positively to the community.

In his presentation, the country director reiterated that BSN is more practical in its approach.

READ ALSO: Meet the BSN Nigeria Alumni Association President

BSN recognises that actions are a powerful reflection of an individuals values, character, and commitment, and by embracing this principle, it cul4vates a culture of integrity, accountability, and professionalism.

Acton is not just a buzzword; it is ingrained in everything we do, enabling our students to thrive and make a meaningful impact in their chosen fields.

BSN operations different from traditional models

Mr Baale further noted that BSN operates on the premise that learning is most effective when individuals actively engage in problem-solving, decision-making, and implementation strategies.

He said: Traditional educational models heavily emphasise lectures and theoretical knowledge but BSN believes authentic learning requires individuals to grapple with real-world challenges.

By immersing students in practical scenarios, BSN provides an environment that fosters critical thinking, adaptability, and the development of practical skills.

In an era where the business landscape constantly evolves, BSN recognises that professionals must possess more than just academic knowledge.

By integrating action learning principles into its curriculum, BSN ensures its students gain valuable experience beyond the traditional classroom setting.

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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on the federal government to take advantage of indigenous technology in addressing Nigerias petroleum refining challenges.

Chinedu Anyaso, the chairperson of IPMAN, Enugu Depot Community in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, said this in an interview in Awka on Tuesday while congratulating the newly sworn-in ministers.

Mr Anyaso commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for successfully constituting his cabinet and expressed optimism that the ministers would bring greater value and direction to his administration.

He specially congratulated Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum, on his appointment, urging him to bring his experience in the petroleum industry and knowledge of the Niger Delta environment to bear in the downstream sector.

The IPMAN official said only local production of petroleum products would bring lasting solutions to the countrys energy challenges.

He said the federal government should profile operators of illegal refineries and open conversations with them to tap into their mainstream technology and operations.

According to him, the current state of affairs in the downstream sector is unsustainable and the lack of refining capacity is making it worse.

I expect that part of the federal governments immediate plan is to get our local refineries working through the fixing of the four existing refineries and encouraging establishment of modular refineries.

READ ALSO: IPMAN raises alarm over incessant vandalism on NNPCL pipeline

The new minister of state for petroleum who is from the Niger Delta should encourage the government to bring operators of the illegal refineries in the creeks to the national grid.

Instead of chasing them and destroying their infrastructure, the government should call them to be part of the solution, at least in the short term while we wait for the main refineries to resume operations. This will reduce the pressure on foreign exchange, he said.

Mr Anyaso said the federal government should consider the call of IPMAN to use their network for compressed natural gas for quicker implementation of the energy switch.

He said there should be immediate and massive conversion plants across the 36 states of the country to enable users of automobiles and generators to convert them to gas-powered engines.

(NAN)

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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has accused the Nigerian government of planning to illegally detain him indefinitely at the facility of the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja.

His lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor in a statement, said Mr Kanu disclosed this on Monday when the IPOB leaders legal team visited him at the SSS facility.

Background

Mr Kanu was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of former Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The IPOB leader was later granted bail in April 2017. He fled the country after an invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State, by the Nigerian military in September of that year.

He was re-arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria in June 2021, about four years after he fled the country.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October 2022, held that the IPOB leader was extra-ordinarily renditioned to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the countrys extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.

The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the SSS facility.

But the government refused to release the IPOB leader insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.

The government, through the attorney-general of the federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying its execution at the Supreme Court.

Mr Kanu, on 3 November 2022, through one of his lawyers, Mike Ozekhome, filed an appeal against the stay of execution order at the Supreme Court.

But the court is yet to resume hearing on the appeal following repeated adjournments.

Mr Ejiofor in the statement on Monday said the legal team informed Mr Kanu that the hearing on his appeal against the stay of execution order earlier billed to hold on 14 September had again been cancelled.

Nnamdi Kanu speaks

Mr Kanu, according to the statement, wondered why the Nigerian government would be afraid of the court hearing which it initiated.

The lawyer quoted Mr Kanu as saying that he strongly believes that the Federal governments appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal which discharged him and prohibited his further trial and detention, will not be heard, because the Federal government intends to illegally detain him indefinitely.

The IPOB leader noted that he was being detained without any pending charges against him, arguing that the stay of execution order was in total disregard to his constitutionally guaranteed right to personal liberty.

He said he was only exercising his right to self-determination, which he said, is a globally recognised right also provided for in the Nigerian Constitution, international charters and treaties.

Whether the appeal is heard today, or not, the truth remains unchanging  Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has not committed any offence known to law, if he had, the Federal Government would not be afraid of prosecuting their own case, the statement said.

The intention of the Federal government is for our people to revolt, so that their lawless and untrained security agents will invade Biafra land and massacre and abduct innocent people. Hence, Onyendu urged Ezigbo Umu Chineke not to take the bait and fall prey to this sinister agenda.

It is now clear that it is the same people who are responsible for the insecurity in our land, that are doing everything within their powers to ensure that the Appeal is not heard expeditiously, it added.

Hidden gadgets in air conditioner behind Kanus ear problem

Mr Kanu has been battling an ear problem lately which prompted his legal team to secure a team of doctors to treat him outside the SSS facility.

Mr Ejiofor said in the statement that the IPOB leader directed them to announce that the air conditioner in his cell is fitted with hidden espionage gadgets which are largely responsible for the ear problem he is presently battling.

Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu consequently directed that we should request for the inspection of his cell by a magistrate in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, the lawyer said.

Mr Kanu reminded the Supreme Court that the provisions of Supreme Court Practice Directions 2013 (Criminal Appeals) intend to eliminate unnecessary delay in the hearing of criminal appeals, urging the court to ensure expeditious hearing of the appeal.

It is indeed unfortunate that because of one man, Nigeria is destroying all the safeguards contained in her laws, because of the selfish desire to detain Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, illegally, the statement said.

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The Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, and his state counterpart, Bello Matawalle, on Tuesday, assumed office at the ministrys headquarters in Abuja.

Mr Badaru, in his remarks shortly after officially taking over from Ibrahim Kana, permanent secretary in the ministry, pledged to review past reports on insecurity in the country.

He said this was with a view to tackling the hydra-headed challenge and making Nigeria safe for all.

The minister said they would not betray the trust of President Bola Tinubu and therefore charged the service chiefs to give him a timeline and requirements to solve the issue of insecurity in the country.

This timeline and target will be passed on to the president, and trust he will be monitoring us.

The president is ready to give us all the needed support to achieve success because he is an achiever and doesnt have the patience for failure.

For the sake of our country, we know that without security, there will be no investment, and without investment, there will be no economic growth, Mr Badaru said.

The minister assured that his tenure would bring about a remarkable change in the countrys security situation and pledged not to joke with the appointment.

Similarly, Mr Matawalle, in his remarks, said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria have demonstrated exceptional commitment over time in spite of the constantly evolving security landscape.

New threats emerge while existing ones continue to persist.

Terrorism, banditry, insurgency, cyber warfare, transnational organised crime, and communal conflicts pose significant challenges to our national security.

The task ahead is not an easy one. However, I am confident that with the support of my colleagues, the dedication of our armed forces, and the unwavering commitment of every Nigerian citizen, we will overcome any challenge that comes our way, he said.

Mr Matawalle noted that Nigeria was blessed with abundant resources, diverse cultures, and a resilient population.

However, it is a nation that faces numerous challenges in maintaining peace and stability within its borders.

Our geographical location, coupled with internal and external threats, demands a robust defence strategy that can effectively protect our sovereignty and preserve our national interest, he said.

He said that the ministry would spare no effort in ensuring the security and well-being of every Nigerian.

We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to build a strong defence apparatus that can effectively counter emerging threats.

He, however, said that defending the nation rests on the shoulders of all, not just the defence forces or government.

It is a collective responsibility that requires the active participation of every citizen, Mr Matawalle said.

The minister of state further said that he and his senior colleague had resolved to adopt a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to tackle the prevailing security issues in the country effectively.

According to him, the armed forces would be modernised and strengthened through investment in advanced weaponry, intelligence gathering capabilities, surveillance system and cyber defence infrastructure.

We will work with international partners to acquire cutting-edge technology and expertise that will enhance our defence capabilities.

At the same time, we recognise that military might alone cannot guarantee lasting security and stability.

We must address the root causes of conflicts, promote social cohesion and foster economic development.

He further said that while the government takes the lead in addressing security challenges, the importance of engaging with all stakeholders could not be over-emphasised.

He also said that regional cooperation was essential in combating transnational threats.

Nigeria will continue to strengthen its partnership with neighbouring countries and regional organisations like ECOWAS and the AU by sharing intelligence, coordinating operations and conducting joint exercises, he said.

Mr Matawalle added that the ministry would prioritise the welfare and training of security personnel and ensure that they were well equipped with the necessary tools and resources to carry out their responsibilities effectively.

(NAN)

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Prominent Nigerian academics have advocated the adoption of four pillars of peace and security, human rights, development, and humanitarianism, to address what they termed as the complexities of Nigeria and other African nations.

This was part of the recommendations at the first dialogue series organised by the office of the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka.

The dialogue, titled; Understanding Nigeria, aimed at appraising the political and socio-cultural structure of Nigeria as an African country, and the development of the people.

The conversation, which featured the renowned historian and professor of African studies, Toyin Falola, and a political science professor, Babafemi Badejo, was moderated by another scholar and former Director-General of Nigerias Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), Tunde Babawale, a professor.

Deans remark

In his opening remarks, the dean of the faculty, Adelaja Odukoya, a professor, noted that the complexities of Nigeria have had scholars admitting that understanding the country is near impossible.

The complexities of the country include the multiple ethnicities, religious, cultural, linguistic, educational, and other divergent orientations, he said.

The often echoed slogan unity in diversity comes with its own problems for governance and human relations within and between Nigerians. Different opinions stand for different claims or demands as well as support or opposition for the Nigeria state system, he said.

Mr Odukoya, however, noted that although these paradoxes have made the task of understanding Nigeria complex, it is not impossible to understand.

Understanding Nigeria

During the conversation that drew participants from the university community, the public, and the media, the panellists observed that the Tripple Nexus of peace and security, development, and humanitarianism as developed by the United Nations (UN) under its former Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is capable of addressing the development deficit in Africa.

The four pillars of peace and security, human rights, development, and humanitarianism, when linked properly, could be extremely useful in triggering our development, they said in a communique issued after the discourse.

But for those to be effective, the discourse noted that some other factors needed to be addressed.

The professors listed these other factors to include the leadership deficit and corruption, functional institutions, resource control, and external dynamics, which they said are very crucial in understanding everyday life in Africa.

If you look at what is happening in Niger today and when you look at the actions of Nigeria to Niger, you cannot but appreciate external dynamics, Mr Badejo said during the conversation.

63 years, they say to the Nigeriens, you have not done anything. But you are having uranium and you are not able to develop that uranium. Why? Because of the leadership deficit but also because theres somebody behind you that made you sign that your central bank would be in France. The money that you make would be stored in France and if you need money to borrow, you borrow your own money at a higher rate and all these were signed at the end before independence could be given.

They also noted that a breakdown of elite consensus resulting from the privilege of ethnic identity over other crucial identities in the country has led to a breakdown in trust and the requisite reciprocity that helps a society to run effectively.

The elite consensus reflects the failure of political parties in maintaining and building elite consensus. The nature of the breakdown has meant the criminalization of politics in the country, and it explains the impunity we experience everywhere today. There are no national parties. This is why there is a character deficit among political leaders in the country today, they said.

Solutions?

The scholars, however, made some recommendations that they claim could aid Nigerias and Africas development in the long run.

They said the democratic institutions must be strengthened to ensure transparency, promote good governance and bolster accountability and public trust.

The scholars also said professionals in the country need to confront and hold politicians accountable for the positions they occupy.

They added that Nigerias young population, which is expected to be the highest concentration of young people in the world by 2035, should be taken seriously.

The issue of demographics must be taken seriously. We need to engage the capacity of our people to arrest the Japa Syndrome. The possibility of youth empowerment  the liberation of youth energy and creativity by taking advantage of the latest innovations such as coding, etc, the communique noted.

Socio-economic disparities must be addressed. Addressing such requires inclusive economic policy, educational investment, resuscitating vocational and technical training, creating incubators for the enhancement of young people in order to create opportunity and reduce poverty.

They also called on Nigerians in diaspora not to lose sight of the power of the nations culture and community, noting that the power of the collective is so important.

The discourse also charged the government to pay attention to education and security of lives and properties.

For the enhancement of security, there must be intelligent gathering, regional cooperation amongst othersThere must be Conflict resolution through dialogue. The root causes of conflicts must be addressed, the scholars said.

There is a need for addressing the issue of pollution and climate change, investment in renewable energy, and ensuring sustainable farming practices.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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Doctors in state-owned health facilities across Ogun State will commence an indefinite strike from 1st September over an alleged refusal of the government to pay their hazard allowance.

The Chairperson of the states chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kunle Ashimi, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview.

But the government has, however, pledged to pay the hazard allowance, even as it urged the healthcare providers to be humane in their dealings with the government and the people as savers of lives.

The affected hospitals, he noted, will include Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), all general hospitals, primary health centres, as well as members working with the states health ministry and the Health Management Board.

The doctors association had, on 10 August, during its annual general meeting, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the state government to pay the hazard allowance with arrears dating back to January 2023.

Various associations of medical doctors, including the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, and the Association of Residents Doctors, were said to have written a series of letters to the state government, issuing various deadlines but got no response.

The NMA, in a letter dated 11 August, a copy of which was obtained by this newspaper, said the AGM, as its highest decision-making body, has agreed to embark on industrial action if the governor failed to address its concerns at the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum.

The ultimate is expected to elapse on 31 August.

NMA said if the government fails to pay the hazard allowance with the arrears in full from January, the strike would be inevitable.

NMA chair speaks

The NMA chairperson said the association has consistently engaged the government, but nothing has been done to address the concerns.

He said: It was because of the pressure mounted on the government that informed the promise to extend palliatives to doctors. They now listed hazard allowance under it, but the doctor disagreed that there is a difference between hazard allowance and palliative.

We had to write the governor a strong-worded letter that he should retract what he had done. Individual associations of doctors working for the state government have written letters too.

ALSO READ: Doctors strike paralyses public hospitals in Ogun

In June, all these associations sent a 21-day ultimatum to the government to fulfil this promise, but all the ultimatums by the associations ended on 28 June.

He said the fresh 21-day ultimatum was reissued after the government failed to honour the one earlier declared.

Govt reacts

Though efforts to get the reaction of the states Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, were unsuccessful as she neither picked up calls to her mobile phone nor responded to a message sent by our reporter, a media consultant to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Mr Kayode Akinmade, confirmed that the government is committed to paying the allowance.

Mr Akinmade, in a telephone conversation with our reporter, said the administration of Mr Abiodun does not joke with the welfare of the workers and that the planned payment of the hazard allowance is part of the palliative already rolled out.

He said, Let me use this opportunity to assure the doctors on behalf of Governor Dapo Abiodun that this allowance will be paid in a matter of days. The governor already promised, and he was not coerced into making the pledge.

However, I dont think it is right to sensationalise the situation. We cannot afford to throw the same people we claim to be caring for in panic mode. How would the patients in various hospitals react when they hear of a strike notice? Doctors also need to be humane in their dealings with the government.

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The African Union (AU) through its Peace and Security Council has announced the suspension of Niger over the current political situation in the West African country.

The AU resolved to immediately suspend the participation of the Republic of Niger from all activities of the AU and its Organs and institutions until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country, according to its communique.

This is not the first time the AU will suspend a member state due to unconstitutional change of power. It had suspended Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso when soldiers took over in those countries. The move apparently did not deter other coup plotters on the continent.

The continental bloc had given putschists in Niger 15 days ultimatum to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

It also sought a meeting, alongside the UN and ECOWAS, with the junta leaders but was denied.

The AU highly commends and supports the relentless efforts being deployed by ECOWAS towards peaceful restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger; and requests the AU Commission to appoint and deploy High Representatives to foster the mediation efforts by the ECOWAS.

However, the bloc requested the AU Commission to undertake an assessment of the economic, social and security implications of deploying a Standby Force in Niger and report back to Council.

ECOWAS at the last heads of state meeting ordered the activation and deployment of a standby force in Niger to restore constitutional rule if dialogue fails.

Defence chiefs of the subregional bloc met last week to finalise on a d-day to militarily intervene in Niger.

On Tuesday, the AU called on its Member States and the international community including bilateral and multilateral partners, to reject the Niger junta and refrain from any action likely to grant legitimacy to the regime.

It condemned the coup, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Bazoum and all other detainees, and respect of their human rights, including protection of their physical health and moral integrity.

Requests the AU Commission in close cooperation with the ECOWAS Commission to urgently compile and submit the list of members of the military junta and their military and civilian supporters of the coup detat in Niger, including those involved in the violation of fundamental human rights of President Bazoum and other detainees for targeted sanctions, and the application of individual punitive measures, the communique recommended.

Commending the leadership of ECOWAS, it called on AU Member States to fully implement the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS and endorsed by the PSC.

The AU encouraged the junta in Niger to cooperate with the efforts being deployed by ECOWAS and the AU towards a peaceful and speedy restoration of constitutional order while appealing to Nigeriens to remain calm, refrain from any action that may inflame the situation, and to fully embrace a peaceful approach towards the restoration of constitutional order in the country.

The AU said it strongly rejects any external interference by any actor or any country outside the Continent in the peace and security affairs in Africa including engagements by private military companies in the continent.

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Thailand Seeks Court Order to Shutdown Facebook For Failing to Screen Fake Crypto Ads

Source: MDES

Thailand authorities have issued a warning to the social media giant Facebook, threatening to seek a criminal court order to sever its operations in the nation, over the rampant investment and cryptocurrency scam ads.

The Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) wrote on Aug. 21, that it has sent a letter requesting Metas social media platform, to take action to resolve the issue and block more than 5301 fraudulent ads/fake pages.

The ministry will refer to Thailands computer crime laws in lodging the charges against Facebook and scammers, a Bangkok Post report said. The ministry has blamed the social media giant for failing to screen fake crypto adverts via the scammers sponsored pages. MDES and related agencies in Thailand have reportedly asked Facebook for cooperation for years.

MDES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn along with the Deputy Commissioner of Police and other government representatives held a meeting to discuss ways to solve the problem of Facebook ads deceiving people to invest.

Chaiwut noted that the ministry is in the process of compiling evidence from offenders on the Facebook platform to send the court to close Facebook by the end of this month.

In the past, there were more than 200,000 victims, or about 95 percent of 300,000 cases, with damages worth more than 10,000 million baht. If Facebook wants to do business in Thailand, it must show responsibility to Thai society.

The ministry also warned citizens about the types of scams that typically operate on the social media platform. This includes ads that promise high returns in a short period of time, ads that claim investments from famous personalities and celebrities in order to increase credibility and hurrying up users to make quick investment decisions by offering short-timed special privileges.

Facebook Used AI to Screen Ads

Furthermore, minister Chaiwut said that the ministry invited a representative from Facebook to attend the meeting on Monday, but the firm did not assign a spokesperson to join.

Interestingly, Facebook has about 65 million users in Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post report. Prae Dumrongmongcolgul, country director for Meta in Thailand, said earlier that Meta acknowledged the rise in ad scams and that the company has used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and delete them immediately once discovered.

Despite these developments, the scammers have continued to grow, the director added.

A report from the Federal Trade Commission specifically said that Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and Instagram have become a hotbed for malicious actors to defraud their victims. Per the report, investors lost over $700 million to such crypto scams in 2021.

Countries such as Australia sued Meta for publishing crypto scams on Facebook involving public figures.
That serial killers are also among medical doctors and nurses  who are usually some the most respected members of the society in virtually every clime  brings to mind the words of Johanna (Hanna) Arendt, the German-American political theorist. In her classic work, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963) Arendt tells us that the great evils in history were not executed by fanatics or sociopaths but rather by ordinary, even decent people

One of the chilling stories from the United Kingdom last week was about the conviction, by a jury, of a 33-year old nurse, Lucy Letby, of wilfully murdering seven babies entrusted to her care and attempting to kill seven others, while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. Two of Lucy Letbys victims were twin brothers, who were born prematurely. They were just days old when Letby tried to kill them in April 2016.

It was said that Letby tried to pass off the harm she wilfully did to babies under her care as no more than the worsening of each babys existing vulnerability. The truth, however, was that in her hands innocuous substances like air, milk, fluids and medications like insulin were weaponised. She was arrested twice by the police in connection with their investigation in 2018 and 2019  before being finally arrested in November 2020. She was in her mid-20s when she committed those heinous crimes. One of the hand-written notes authorities found during searches of her home read: I dont deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because Im not good enough to care for them. In another memo she also reportedly wrote, I am a horrible evil person and in capital letters: I AM EVIL I DID THIS.

But Lucy Letby is not an isolated case of those entrusted to help preserve life turning into life takers. Before her were other cases  both in the UK and elsewhere. One of the most celebrated, in recent times, in the United Kingdom was that of Harold (aka Fred) Shipman. It was said that as a teenager, Harold saw the agony her mother went through while suffering from lung cancer and was quite impressed by the relief offered by morphine. He reportedly became obsessed with opiates from that time, such that by 1974  just one year into his medical practice  he was caught forging prescriptions of Demerol for himself. He paid a small fine for that and served a short period in rehab for drug addiction. He returned to medical practice afterwards as a respected member of his community. But in 1998, the coroner was alerted to the high death rate among Shipmans patients but there was insufficient evidence to charge him with anything. One Kathleen Grundy however turned out to be his waterloo. Suspicions were aroused when it was found out that Grundys will excluded her family members but left a whopping 386,000 to Dr Shipman. An investigation was launched, which led to Grundys body being exhumed and autopsied. Not only was heroin found in her, it was also discovered that her medical records had been faked and that her supposed will was written on Dr Shipmans typewriter. There were more exhumations of people who had died under Dr Shipmans care and further investigations revealed a pattern: he would administer lethal doses of heroin on them, sign death certificates and falsify medical records to show alternative causes of death.

In 2000, Shipman was given 15 life sentences for the murder of 15 women by lethal heroin injections between 1995 and 1998. It was estimated that over the course of his practice, Shipman killed more than 218 patients in this manner, making him Britains most prolific serial killer till date. In 2004, he hung himself in his prison cell, aged 57. Even after his conviction, Dr Shipman and his wife, Primrose, continued to maintain his innocence and dispute the scientific evidence against him.

But medical personnel turning into undertakers is not only a British phenomenon. In Italy, there was also the celebrated case of the emergency room doctor, Leonardo Cazzaniga, 65, and his nurse-lover, Laura Taroni. Prosecutors accused the doctor of killing in a delirium of omnipotence by administering overdoses of anaesthetic and sedative drugs to his patients. Police investigated 40 deaths between 2011 and 2014 that aligned with Cazzanigas work shift. Remarkably, one of the patients was Dr Cazzanigas own father. While Dr Cazzanigas defence lawyers argued during his trial that his practices were consistent with standard palliative care, the prosecution noted that one of the victims had died after being admitted with nothing more than a dislocated shoulder.

Taroni was said to have convinced her husband that he had diabetes and deliberately administered lethal doses of insulin to him. In a police wiretap, Taroni was quoted as saying: From time to time, I want to kill someone. I need it. While Dr Cazzaniga was convicted of killing ten people and sentenced to life imprisonment, Taroni was sentenced to 30 years in jail for murdering two members of her family.

Dr Cazzaniga was convicted of killing his nurse-lovers father-in-law and acting in conjunction with her to kill her husband. Taroni was said to have convinced her husband that he had diabetes and deliberately administered lethal doses of insulin to him. In a police wiretap, Taroni was quoted as saying: From time to time, I want to kill someone. I need it. While Dr Cazzaniga was convicted of killing ten people and sentenced to life imprisonment, Taroni was sentenced to 30 years in jail for murdering two members of her family.

One of the famous cases of medical personnel turning into life takers in the USA was that of the neurosurgeon, Christopher Duntsch. Born on 3 April 1971, Duntsch completed his undergraduate medical degree in 1995 and also successfully completed an MD-PhD programme in 2010. He did his neurosurgery residency programme at the University of Tennessee Health Science Centre, where he was said to have completed his residency with fewer than 100 surgeries (a tenth of whats typical) and also reportedly spent a portion of his training in a programme for impaired physicians, largely due to his fondness for cocaine.

Shortly after being hired by Baylor Regional Medical Centre at Plano in Texas, his very first surgery patient was left partially paralysed, and subsequent patients were equally disabled or maimed by his incompetence and carelessness. In all, Duntsch, who was nicknamed Dr Death or Dr D, was accused of injuring 33 of 38 surgery patients over two years. Dr Duntsch left a trail of injured patients still at more hospitals. He was arrested in 2015 on criminal charges and was in 2017 found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

If we have not heard of medical personnel who are serial killers in Nigeria, it is not because they do not exist. Most likely they do but the system that should sniff them out seems rather weak. This is especially so in the rural areas where pharmacies (or chemists) and community health practitioners do not feel accountable to anyone, even in faces of obvious neglect. This should be a challenge to the new minister of Health.

In systems where the institutions are strong and investigative authorities are methodical without fear of being accused of ethnic or religious witch-hunts, if they raised red flags against anyone, many of the bad eggs in the medical and other professions eventually get caught and weeded out. If we have not heard of medical personnel who are serial killers in Nigeria, it is not because they do not exist. Most likely they do but the system that should sniff them out seems rather weak. This is especially so in the rural areas where pharmacies (or chemists) and community health practitioners do not feel accountable to anyone, even in faces of obvious neglect. This should be a challenge to the new minister of Health and the various commissioners of health at the state levels.

That serial killers are also among medical doctors and nurses  who are usually some the most respected members of the society in virtually every clime  brings to mind the words of Johanna (Hanna) Arendt, the German-American political theorist. In her classic work, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963) Arendt tells us that the great evils in history were not executed by fanatics or sociopaths but rather by ordinary, even decent people, who accepted the premises of their ignoble actions and therefore participated in them on the grounds that those heinous actions were normal. This is the so-called doctrine of normalising the unthinkable or the routinisation of evil. It explains why in tragedies like the Jewish holocaust or the Rwandan genocide, we had respectable people  medical doctors, academics and even the clergy  who were implicated as participants or connivers in the gory acts. While the betrayal of trusts happens all the time  body guards sometimes kill people they are paid to protect, as it happened with the killing of Indira Ghandi on 31 October 1984, and leaders of presidential guards also sometimes conspire to topple the leaders they are paid to protect (as it happened recently in Niger Republic and in the coup that toppled Gowon in 1975), and African politicians often turn against the people that elected them  there is something especially heart-wrenching when doctors and nurses turn against their patients.

Jideofor Adibe is a professor of Political Science and International Relations at Nasarawa State University, Keffi and Extraordinary Professor of Government Studies at North Western University, Mafikeng South Africa. He is also the founder of Adonis & Abbey Publishers and can be reached at 0705 807 8841 (Text or WhatsApp only).

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Sadly, such inspiring leadership remains scarce across the country. Disturbingly, the governor of Kwara state has shown very little interest in safeguarding the rights of the religious minorities in his state. If he continues to play the ostrich on this, what began as a verbal dispute along the Yemoja river could end up snowballing into a full-blown religious crisis. Uncomfortable as it may be, the governor must find the courage to lead, protect religious minorities and avert any impending crisis.

Reporting on an unusual confrontation between Islamic clerics and traditional worshippers in Yemoja, Ilorin, Kunle Akinriade, the head of The Nation newspapers investigation desk noted that, a group of clerics led by one Imam Baba Olokuta Agidi threatened to deal with the traditionalists if they did not desist from carrying out the rites at the river.

Displeased by the brazen threats, a group of traditional worshipers responded thus: do the Muslims intend to kill other people that drink from this Yemoja River? And what do Muslims want to do with this river by asking us not to come here and threatening to poison it. They call us Idol worshippers, but we want to let them know that we are genuine indigenes of Ilorin. We are traditionalists and we can never be ashamed of our religion.

The recent events in Ilorin, Kwara State, although not unprecedented, raises serious concerns for adherents of liberal democracy and all well-intentioned Nigerians alike. At the heart of this religious tension is the lingering question of how various group identities within Nigeria intersect with nationhood and if those contradictions can find meaningful convergence. If liberal democracy can maintain order and, more importantly, as we have come to see with sectarian violence, how do we ensure that what began as a public spat in Yemoja does not metamorphous into a full-blown religious conflict.

First, it is crucial to emphasise that Nigeria remains a secular democratic society, where citizens have the freedom to practice any religion in any state of the federation. Such rights, enshrined in the constitution, must always be protected by the state. In clear terms, the constitution grants every Nigerian the autonomy to make religious choices and the liberty to practice their religions freely. Hence, tolerance and respect for the rule of law should play the role of chief arbiter in a pluralistic society, instead of coercion and imposition.

what worries me is not so much the imposition of a groups way of life on others but the tendency of this behavioural pattern to lead to extremism and violence. Once a group abandons liberal principles and persists in its mission to restrict the fundamental rights of other groups, resorting to violence almost becomes inevitable.

Consequently, the idea, as advanced by Justice Salihu Mohammed, the secretary of the Council of Ulama in Kwara, that Ilorin is no longer that of Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani or Nupe, but purely of Islamic culture, is at complete variance with Nigerias constitution and blatantly ignores the citys rich diversity.

Granted, Ilorin is predominantly Muslim and their rights to identify with or embrace the Islamic culture is equally protected by the constitution. However, what the framers of the constitution sought to avert is a situation wherein a majority (ethnic or religious) would seek to impose its ways on a minority that exercises its rights to choose differently. Evidently, the only group seeking to threaten the peace and stability in Ilorin are not the ones who seek to exercise their rights to religious freedom, but those who have chosen to impose their ways and religious beliefs on others.

Secondly, what worries me is not so much the imposition of a groups way of life on others but the tendency of this behavioural pattern to lead to extremism and violence. Once a group abandons liberal principles and persists in its mission to restrict the fundamental rights of other groups, resorting to violence almost becomes inevitable. The cycle typically begins with undermining the Nigerian state and the constitution, demanding for a state founded purely on religious principles, curtailing the rights and dignity of other religious groups, enforcing these views, and ultimately resorting to violence when met with resistance. The gradual emergence of these patterns in Ilorin is discernible, even to the untrained eye.

Regrettably, many residents in Ilorin (as in most of Nigeria) perceive their faith as the sole determinant of their future, not a democratically elected government. Hence, they are far more inclined to defend their religious beliefs in ways they wouldnt for a constitution that holds little significance to them

This brings me to the issue of leadership, or the lack thereof. Religious fundamentalism and extremism often thrive in the void left by corrupt and autocratic politicians, who fail to address the needs of their constituents. When democracy falls short of delivering improved living standards, the allure of liberal democratic ideals diminishes, making religious fundamentalism an appealing alternative.

Regrettably, many residents in Ilorin (as in most of Nigeria) perceive their faith as the sole determinant of their future, not a democratically elected government. Hence, they are far more inclined to defend their religious beliefs in ways they wouldnt for a constitution that holds little significance to them. For mutual respect in pluralistic societies like ours, the democratically elected leadership must respond to the needs of the people, cultivate trust in the system and reinstate confidence in the rule of law.

Sadly, such inspiring leadership remains scarce across the country. Disturbingly, the governor of Kwara State has shown very little interest in safeguarding the rights of the religious minorities in his state. If he continues to play the ostrich on this, what began as a verbal dispute along the Yemoja river could end up snowballing into a full-blown religious crisis. Uncomfortable as it may be, the governor must find the courage to lead, protect religious minorities and avert any impending crisis.

Ayodele Adio, a political and communications strategist, is national publicity secretary of Youth Party.

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Rukaya Abubakar claims it was a horrible day for her on a cool morning in January 2023. A pregnant Mrs Abubakar just woke up from labour.

She had told her husband that she wanted eight children. Here was the fifth knocking, and that brought joy to the 25-year-old.

With the help of neighbours, she was taken to the community Public Health Centre (PHC) in Daddere, just a kilometre away from her house.

At the PHC, Mrs Abubakar said she was given several injections and then referred to another hospital after some hours. These interventions she said, changed her life forever.

She (the nurse) began to inject me immediately without wasting time. The instant injections caused me serious pain, I was just roaring on the floor of the clinic, and I couldnt get up for some moments.

The nurse asked me if I felt strong enough to push the baby after the injections, to which I answered yes, but they kept injecting me. I shouted at the hospital that I would die, I told my husband to take me out of the hospital, she narrated.

Her plea was granted. Soon, she was on her way to Dalhatu Specialist Hospital.

Before they could touch me, they called the attention of my husband and my brothers who went with me; they told them that I wouldnt be able to give birth again.

The nurse at the Specialist (hospital), Lafia, told me that I have sustained damage in the womb and my baby is no longer alive, that I will be operated on.

The nurse told me I will be operated on because I had some damage in my womb that I will not be able to give birth again. I asked the reasons behind it, and I was told if I were not operated on, I would lose my life as well, she said, recalling the incident.

Mrs Abubakar said her dream of bearing eight children has come to a close. She is no medical expert, but she strongly believes the lackadaisical attitude and wrong prescription at the Daddere PHC caused her predicament.

Reaching the Dalhatu Specialist Lafia, my husband and I were excited and nervous, waiting to hear good results. I couldnt believe what I later heard from the doctor. My dream of having eight children just came to an end.

That was the hardest week of our lives. I stayed at the hospital for a week after the operation was successful, getting my womb removed. Carrying a baby inside the womb for nine months, feeling all the kicks and touching at the end when you lose her is a lifetime experience, Mrs Abubakar said.

Some community members who spoke on the state of the PHC also expressed their dissatisfaction.

Zainab Bashir, a resident of Daddere and a mother of four children, says she prefers to give birth at home.

I gave birth to my four children at home because our health facility lacks personnel.

Nasarawa, a North-central state, is reported to have the highest rate of maternal and infant mortality within the region.

With a population of over two million people, the state is reported to have lost about 700 women per 10,000 live births and 103 children per 1,000 live births annually, according to a World Bank report in 2017.

Daddere PHC reacts

Meanwhile, the head of Daddere Primary Health Centre, Hassana Osabo, has denied the allegation of Mrs Abubakar.

She says the facility didnt inject or place Rukaya on medication which later led to her loss of baby and womb.

She said, Mrs Abubakars loss of her baby and womb can be traced to complications she sustained during her last delivery.

Rukaya Abubakar had some complications during her last pregnancy, and when she was rushed into our facility in January, we discovered we cannot attend to her, our midwife was the one attending to her before I came in. She didnt administer any injections or drugs to Mrs Rukaya.

However, during her antenatal, the scan results only saw her baby was too big, which could be a major setback for her during delivery because of the last complication she sustained.

When we noticed the problem and our facilitys inability to deliver her, we quickly referred her to Dalhatu Specialist, Lafia, where the proper operations were carried out, Mrs Osabo said.

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The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, on Sunday, killed two suspected kidnappers in a forest around Centenary City along the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway in Enugu South Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement on Monday night, said police operatives also rescued a kidnapped male victim at about 8 p.m. when they raided the suspects hideout in the forest

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the operation was in response to a distress call that the victim had been kidnapped along Agbani Road in the council area.

The police spokesperson said the operatives were drawn from the Special Forces Unit of the Awkunanaw Police Division and Tactical Teams of the State Police Command.

He said the combined team was led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police In-charge of Operations, Olasoji Akinbayo.

How they were killed

Mr Ndukwe said on arrival at the criminal hideout; the suspects opened fire on the operatives, who equally responded, resulting in a heavy shoot-out.

One of the miscreants, simply identified as Baron, was neutralised on the spot in the ensuing shootout, while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds, he said.

The police spokesperson added that a subsequent manhunt for the fleeing suspects on Monday morning led to the discovery of the body of one of the hoodlums killed by the operatives during the shoot-out.

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The body of the hoodlum, identified as Chukwunonso, otherwise known as Nolly, was discovered in the forest where the shootout took place, the police said.

The two neutralised members of the criminal gang have been on the criminals watch list of the Command, he said.

One locally-made revolver gun loaded with four cartridges, a locally fabricated pistol and a black Lexus 350 SUV belonging to the rescued victim were recovered from the suspects, according to the police.

The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Kanayo Uzuegbu, has commended the operatives for quickly adapting to his newly introduced crime-fighting strategies, Mr Ndukwe said.

Mr Uzuegbu charged the operatives and other personnel of the police in the state to sustain the tempo against criminals.

The police commissioner vowed that under his administration, criminals would not be given breathing space in the state.

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Police on Wednesday said Troop H in Harrisburg has seen an increase in the number of seizures in "candy" with THC or psilocybin.
TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Meeranda, a privately held Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions provider, serving both Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and Global Multinational Corporations (MNCs), announced today that Ms. Caroline Codsi, ICD.D., Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Women in Governance (WiG), has joined Meeranda as the inaugural member of its Advisory Board.

In 2010 Ms. Codsi created WiG, Canada's prominent organization with a mission to help women thrive in the corporate world and access decision-making bodies and male dominated fields.

In 2017 WiG developed the first North American Parity Certification to close the gender gap in the workplace distributed in Canada and the U.S. Close to a million employees work for a Parity Certified organization including many pinnacles of the Canadian economy as well as some of the world's largest multinationals.

In 2020, WiG signed a historic partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA to power their Fair Play, Equal Pay initiative aimed to encourage American organizations on the path to parity.

In 2021, Ms. Codsi co-founded Synclusiv, a DEI consulting firm transforming organizations committed to providing a more equitable workplace for all underrepresented groups.

Ms. Codsi has decades of extensive experience serving on the boards of over 20 organizations across the non-profit and private sectors. Apart from the boards of her own companies, she currently sits on the boards of the Quebec Labour Council, Alexa Translations, and Arecor Renewable Energy.

"I am thrilled and honored that Ms. Codsi has accepted to join Meeranda's mission to disrupt the worldwide customer experience, through our cutting-edge AI technology and research advancements," said Mr. Raji Wahidy, Co-Founder and CEO of Meeranda. "As a pioneer in her field, Ms. Codsi has played pivotal roles in driving transformational initiatives across various organizations. Her entrepreneurial spirit, diverse background, and extensive network, coupled with her forward-thinking approach, make her an invaluable addition to Meeranda's Advisory Board."

A highly sought-after double TEDx speaker and LinkedIn Learning author, Ms. Codsi has addressed prestigious audiences around the globe and conducted hundreds of fireside chats with some of the world's Top CEOs and public figures, such as Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, Lord Mayor of the City of London, Tarana Burke, Randy Zuckerberg, Uzo Aduba, and many more.

Widely quoted in national and international media, she was nominated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Canada's National Gender Equality Committee in 2019 and by Mayor Valerie Plante on the City of Montreal's Business Committee. She is the recipient of numerous awards from prestigious organizations including the United Nations' Women's Committee, and was recognized as a Top 20 Diversity Leading Figures in Quebec, Top 75 Canadian Immigrants, Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and Top 100 Entrepreneurs Changing the World.

"I am very excited about joining Meeranda's Advisory Board," said Ms. Caroline Codsi, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Women in Governance. "Meeranda is addressing a huge problem that has long frustrated many organizations along with their clients. I strongly believe that Meeranda is poised to disrupt the market with its innovative approach complemented with its strong leadership team. I am looking forward to lending my support and my expertise to further assist in steering Meeranda towards its imminent success."

Meeranda will commence its Seed Funding round by the end of August 2023.

About Meeranda

Meeranda is a privately held Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions provider, serving Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and Global Multinational Corporations (MNCs). Meeranda is best known for its Real-Time Human-Like AI that intends to offer the new personalized customer experience to combat the ongoing frustration of dealing with chatbots and half-baked AI solutions. Although in its early stages, Meeranda already has agreements across six countries and seven industries, thus far.

Follow Meeranda

Website: https://meeranda.com

Media Kit: https://meeranda.com/media-kit/

X: https://x.com/HelloMeeranda

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloMeeranda/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/HelloMeeranda

Instagram: https://instagram.com/HelloMeeranda

Threads: https://instagram.com/HelloMeeranda

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@meeranda

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meeranda_ai

Meeranda Inc., Media Relations, media@meeranda.com

SOURCE Meeranda Inc.
BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After a seven-year hiatus, the Illinois Renewable Energy Conference is returning to bring together professionals, educators, students and residents to learn and discuss all aspects of renewable energy in the state. Renewable energy developers, county officials, subject-matter experts, policy-makers, state agencies (IDNR, IL EPA, ICC, IPA), solar installers, labor unions, educators, students, and other interested parties are invited to attend.

The conference will be held September 20 and 21, 2023 at the Blooomington-Normal Marriott and Conference Center.

The conference offers attendees the opportunity to hear speakers from across the nation discuss programs, projects and policies that effectively advance renewable energy in Illinois. Attendees can expect to gain insights into industry trends, find solutions for integrating renewable energy sources and explore pathways to Illinois' clean energy transition.

"It is vitally important that various stakeholders have a forum to discuss industry issues together," said Illinois State University professor emeritus and Strategic Economic Research President, Dr. David Loomis. "Illinois has been missing this forum for the past 7 years and I'm happy it is coming back." Dr. Loomis previously hosted the Illinois Renewable Energy conference under ISU's Center for Renewable Energy for a number of years.

The two-day conference will begin with a pre-session on "Wind and Solar 101" for those new to the industry, followed by a welcome reception on September 20 where attendees can network with other renewable energy professionals to expand their networks and meet the conference speakers. September 21 will begin with a keynote address by the newly appointed Illinois Commerce Commissioner, Doug Scott, followed by a panel discussion on Energy Policy with Commissioner Scott, Brian Granahan (Illinois Power Agency) and Hilary Scott-Ogunride (Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity).

Next there will be three separate "tracks" of break-out sessions on a variety of renewable topics. The first track will cover topics in the "Utility Wind and Solar" area, including discussions around interconnection issues, permitting and construction, and technical issues. The second track, "Community, Rooftop, and Ground-Mounted Solar" will address grid modernization and transitioning Illinois communities to renewable energy, followed by various case studies including renewable energy in schools and residential communities. The final track, "Renewable Energy Education" will cover the new workforce programs outlined by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, opportunities for creating equitable workforces, and renewable energy education in K-12 and higher education.

The event will end with a presentation by Anthony Star, senior advisor to the Illinois Power Agency. Mr. Star will discuss "Where Can We Go From Here" and how Illinois can move forward in leading the way to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

A full list of speakers and topics can be found at bit.ly/ILREC23 .

Registration for the conference is $200 through August 31 and $250 beginning September. Dinner on the 20th and breakfast and lunch on the 21st are included with registration. Students, government officials, nonprofits and groups are eligible for discounts.

ILREC23 is hosted by Strategic Economic Research and presented by Recall Strategies. Event sponsors include Great Plains LECET, Apex, Cordelio Power, EDF Renewables, Invenergy, Enel, Christopher B Burke Engineering, Doral, EDP Renewables, Leeward Energy, Polsinelli Law, Savion Energy, Ameren, Forsite Inc, Samsung C&T, and Schain Banks.

Location: 201 Broadway, Normal, IL, 61761

CONTACT: Hannah Loomis

Director of Education and Outreach

Strategic Economic Research

[email protected]



SOURCE Strategic Economic Research
TULSA, Okla., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AAON announces a milestone achievement in its sustainability journey by activating 432 solar panels on the roof of its Exploration Center and adjacent NAIC lab (Norman Asbjornson Innovation Center). Public Service Company of Oklahoma gave the green light to activate the solar panels that generate about 240kW of solar energy. The Exploration Center, the newest building at its corporate headquarters, is on track to be a net-zero facility using advanced building systems, including photovoltaic (solar) electricity generation, geothermal fields, and AAON high-efficiency heat pumps, while providing a world-class experience for customers. It is one of the most sustainable, energy-efficient buildings in Tulsa. As part of its design, the infrastructure can support up to 800+ kW of solar generation, one of the largest in Oklahoma.

Aerial view of solar panels on top of the NAIC and Exploration Center at AAON's Headquarters.

"We are incredibly proud of what we have created in our new Exploration Center. AAON continues its long history as a leading innovator in the HVAC industry and now has a building that matches the standards we have established with our products," said Austin Embry, Facilities Project Manager of AAON.

The Company opened the Exploration Center in April of this year. It provides interactive customer engagement, showcasing AAON's innovative products alongside alternative products offered in the market.

AAON is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by improving operational efficiencies and investing in projects that reduce carbon emissions while developing products that help customers achieve sustainability.

Sustainable highlights of the Exploration Center include:

Geothermal wells with over nine miles of geothermal piping.

High-efficiency 100% LED building lighting.

AAON high-efficiency heat pumps for heating and cooling with zero carbon emissions.

Shares "waste" heat energy with the adjacent NAIC Research & Development lab via water loops and excess solar electricity generation  no batteries are required.

The roof has a highly reflective coating allowing for lower temperatures and an extended life span.

About AAON

Founded in 1988, AAON is a world leader in HVAC solutions for commercial and industrial indoor environments. The Company's industry-leading approach to designing and manufacturing highly configurable equipment to meet exact needs creates a premier ownership experience with greater efficiency, performance, and long-term value. AAON is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where its world-class innovation center and testing lab allow AAON engineers to continuously push boundaries and advance the industry. For more information, please visit www.AAON.com.

Contact Information

Robyn Aydelott

AAON Corporate Communications Administrator

(817) 714-1377

Email: [email protected]

Alyssa Rodriguez

Digital Marketing Lead

(918) 583-6543

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE AAON
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

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)

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 " Early Participation Press Release "), extending the Early Participation Date, the supplement to the Exchange Offer Memorandum (the " Supplement ") dated August 8, 2023, and the press releases issued by the Company on August 10, 2023 and August 17, 2023 (the " Extension Press Releases "), extending the expiration date of the Exchange Offer, and the related eligibility letter (the " Eligibility Letter " and, together with the Exchange Offer Memorandum, the Early Participation Press Release, the Supplement and the Extension Press Releases, 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 21, 2023 (the " Expiration Date "), to 5:00 p.m. New York City time on August 24, 2023 (such time and date, the " Extended 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 Expiration Date (i) U.S.$42,229,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, representing approximately 15.38% 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.$99,125,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, representing approximately 36.11% 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.$141,354,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, representing approximately 51.50% 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 Expiration Date, Eligible Holders that tendered their Old Notes under Option A at or prior to the Expiration Date would receive (assuming no additional participation) an Early A Consideration of approximately U.S.$669.4641 in cash and U.S.$337 in New Notes per U.S.$1,000 of principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange. 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 Extended Expiration Date. 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 Extended Expiration Date may not be withdrawn. Eligible Holders who validly tender their Old Notes on or before the Extended 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 30, 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 Early Participation Press Release, the Supplement and the Extension Press Releases, 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 Early Participation Press Release, the Supplement and the Extension Press Releases, 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 Extended 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 Extended 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: [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.

SOURCE AES Argentina Generacion S.A.
Technology Showcasing Medical Equipment Virtually Anywhere, Anytime

MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Immertia, a trailblazer in innovative sales solutions, announces the launch of EnhanceAI, a ground-breaking platform that revolutionizes the way medical equipment is presented, experienced, and sold.

What is EnhanceAI?

EnhanceAI - AI & AR enhances medical equipment sales Representation of EnhanceAI for visualizing medical equipment

At its core, EnhanceAI is the fusion of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) tailored for the medical equipment sector.

With a focus on enhancing user engagement, it turns any space into an interactive showroom, enabling medical professionals to project virtual 3D models of medical equipment into their environment, through a smartphone.

The visualization technology is paired with an Intelligent AI Concierge, that answers queries in real-time, mimicking a knowledgeable sales representative.

For manufacturers and distributors, the technology presents a revolutionary approach to product demonstration and customer engagement.

A video demonstration can be viewed on the Immertia website.

Addressing the Industry's Pain Points

Traditional brochures are often static and may not convey the full potential of medical equipment. With EnhanceAI, these materials become dynamic, engaging, and informative, bridging the gap between manufacturer and medical professional.

By leveraging augmented reality and AI, EnhanceAI offers a fully immersive experience.

"With just a QR code scan, medical professionals can instantly visualize and explore medical devices in their actual environment, taking a deep dive to gain unparalleled context and clarity," states Dave Chaffey, Founding Partner of Immertia

For Manufacturers: A New Age of Engagement

EnhanceAI offers manufacturers the ability to infuse life into their marketing materials. With the power of AR and AI, every brochure, every piece of collateral becomes a gateway to immersive experiences. Immediate feedback, real-time query resolution, and updates are now the new normal, ushering in an age of enhanced connectivity and engagement.

This new paradigm offers unparalleled advantages in terms of reach, immediacy, and adaptability.

"Our mission with EnhanceAI is not just to inform but to inspire, educate, and ultimately present qualified prospects to sales teams for that essential human touch," Dave Chaffey added.

For Medical Professionals: A Dynamic Discovery Tool

The ease of visualizing equipment in their own environment empowers medical professionals to make more informed decisions. No longer do they need to rely solely on product brochures or limited video demonstrations.

"At Immertia, we recognize the paramount importance of delivering a seamless, intuitive user experience. And we also recognize the nuances of the industry, where providing accurate information, data security and privacy are critical outcomes.

Pilot Program

With EnhanceAI, Immertia is poised to reshape the future of medical equipment sales and demonstrations. The Company is currently seeking expressions of interest from equipment manufacturers to join the pilot launch.

Manufacturers, distributors, and medical professionals keen on experiencing the future of product demonstration are urged to connect via the Immertia website.

Media Enquiries Media enquiries are welcome. Please visit our media center where a priority response service is maintained. Media Liaison: Dave Chaffey, Founding Partner Media Center: immertia.io/media/ Demonstration: https://immertia.io/demonstration-ai-medical/ Phone: +61 1300 633 390 Web: immertia.io

SOURCE Immertia
NOVI, Mich., Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- All American Pet Resorts, the premier pet care provider, is proud to announce the newest franchise location is celebrating its Grand Opening in New Bern, North Carolina. The new Resort offers a variety of services including overnight dog boarding, daycare, and grooming services. The New Bern Resort also offers luxury cat boarding and daycare services.

Resort owners Jennifer and Paul Bassler along with their son Christian and daughter Katie, who is studying to be a veterinarian, moved to New Bern from Waxhaw, North Carolina because of their love of North Carolina's east coast. Jennifer says, "For more than ten years our home away from home was nearby Oriental and we've spent a lot of time in New Bern. We're just in love with this whole area and its' people. We knew that New Bern would be an ideal location to open our resort."

Avid pet lovers, Jennifer and Christian will both be actively involved in managing their Resort. Christian, who left a career at Google, says "We're changing the way people think about kenneling their dogs. Our luxurious suites and individualized attention are designed to give your pet a mini-vacation of their own." Christian goes on to say, " Our Resort will provide a valuable service to the community by providing pet owners a safe and comfortable place to board their furry family members while they are away or, just want to schedule a play date."

The New Bern All American Pet Resorts located at 4146 Martin Luther King Blvd. features a spacious indoor play area, outdoor play yards, private suites for overnight stays and webcams so owners can check in on and see their pets any time, 24/7.

Stephan Dimitroff, Executive Vice President of All American Pet Resorts says "All American Pet Resorts continues to expand with new franchise locations in key markets across the United States, targeting areas like New Bern, with high demand for exceptional pet care services.

Dimitroff continues "We are thrilled to bring our brand of exceptional pet care to New Bern, we have built our reputation on providing unsurpassed care for every pet that comes through our doors. I know Jenny and Christian are looking forward to building trusted relationships with the thriving pet-loving New Bern community."

Pet owners who are interested in learning more about All American Pet Resorts can visit allamericanpetresorts .com

About All American Pet Resorts

All American Pet Resorts is a successful and growing pet care franchise. With a focus on providing premiere pet care services to dogs and cats, All American Pet Resorts has built a loyal customer base and a reputation for quality care. All American Pet Resorts offers its franchisees comprehensive training, ongoing support, and access to its proprietary systems and processes. Franchisees can also benefit from the company's established brand recognition, marketing expertise, and economies of scale.

SOURCE All American Pet Resorts
ABTA Commemorates 50th Anniversary at 2023 National Conference, September 8-9

CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A champion of the brain tumor community for 50 years running, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) has launched its most ambitious undertaking yet  a five-year, $50-million fundraising campaign called Meet Hope Head On.

The Meet Hope Head On campaign will focus on three pillars: tripling the ABTA's research investment, doubling the number of patients served, and doubling federal funding for brain tumor research. Throughout its 50-year history, the ABTA has provided vital seed money to fund high-risk, high-reward research grants which have contributed to significant breakthroughs in treating brain tumors by many of the country's leading researchers.

"From our humble beginnings 50 years ago, the ABTA has accomplished more than our founders could have ever envisioned when they saw firsthand the tremendous void in finding the resources and experts to guide them through a brain tumor diagnosis," said Ralph DeVitto, President & CEO of ABTA. "Despite the progress that has been made, brain tumors remain incredibly difficult to treat. The Meet Hope Head On campaign accelerates our vision of a future where not one life  not one loved one  is lost to a brain tumor."

One such patient who is defying the odds and symbolizes hope for the more than 1 million children and adults living with a primary or metastatic brain tumor is Katie Groetsema, a 20-year brain cancer survivor. As her mom, Karen Merckle, explains, "Katie is one of the outliers, so sharing her story gives others hope. Every year she lives longer, there's new research and a chance for new treatment  giving us more hope."

Katie and her family will be among the more than 1,000 brain tumor patients and families who will gather in-person and online at the ABTA's National Conference, September 8-9, 2023, at the Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel, to network with one another and hear from some of the country's most renowned researchers and medical professionals committed to finding a cure for brain tumors.

The first national organization dedicated to brain tumor research and education, the ABTA was founded in 1973 by two mothers, Susan Netchin Kramer and Linda Gene Goldstein, who both had young daughters battling brain tumors and were disheartened by the lack of brain tumor resources available to families. At the time of ABTA's founding, brain tumor resources were limited and neuro-oncology as a medical specialty did not exist. Since then, ABTA has changed the landscape of a brain tumor diagnosis by:

Serving more than 100,000 patients and caregivers annually

Investing more than $34 million in vital research

in vital research Helping establish the field of neuro-oncology, which ABTA is recognized as the pioneer in this effort

Co-founding the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS)  the first and only national registry to collect data on the incidence, prevalence, and survival rates of brain tumors.

For more information on the ABTA National Conference, visit www.abta.org/national-conference. To learn more about Meet Hope Head On or to donate, visit www.meethopeheadon.org.

About the American Brain Tumor Association

Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association provides comprehensive resources to support the complex needs of brain tumor patients and caregivers, across all ages and tumor types, as well as the critical funding of research in the pursuit of breakthroughs in brain tumor diagnoses, treatments, and care. To learn more, visit, abta.org or call 800-886-ABTA (2282).

SOURCE American Brain Tumor Association
LYSAKER, Norway and NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AMSC ASA ("AMSC") and Maritime Partners, LLC today announced that AMSC and Project Merchant Acquisition LLC (the "PM Acquisition"), a newly-formed company owned and controlled by a fund managed by Maritime Partners, LLC, have signed a share purchase agreement (the "SPA") for PM Acquisition's purchase of American Tanker Holding Company, Inc. (the "ATHC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMSC, (the "Transaction"). ATHC, through its subsidiaries, owns nine handysize products tankers and one handysize shuttle tanker, all of which are on long-term bareboat charter to Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE:OSG) or Keystone Shipping Co. and operated in the U.S. Jones Act market.

AMSC will receive gross cash proceeds from the Transaction, subject to certain adjustments, of in an aggregate amount of US$ 249.3 million, divided between consideration for the shares in ATHC and repayment of a shareholder loan, reflecting an enterprise value of ATHC of US$ 746.7 million based on the balance sheet of ATHC as at March 31, 2023. The parties expect the Transaction to close on or before October 31, 2023.

AMSC's Board of Directors unanimously approved AMSC's entry into the SPA. The closing of the Transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions, as well as the approval of the Transaction by the affirmative vote of 2/3 of AMSC's shareholders present and voting at an extraordinary general meeting of AMSC expected to be held during the second half of September 2023. Each of Aker Capital AS and DNB Bank ASA, the two largest AMSC shareholders (representing in aggregate approximately 34.61% of the issued and outstanding shares of AMSC), has irrevocably and unconditionally agreed to vote all of its respective shares in favor of the Transaction.

"We are thrilled to acquire AMSC's Jones Act business which is a natural fit for our platform and consistent with our investment strategy," said Bick Brooks, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Maritime Partners, LLC. "The acquired vessels are critical long-lived assets engaged in the transportation of non-discretionary cargo throughout the United States. The vessels are employed on long-term bareboat charters with two strong counterparties. This acquisition will nicely complement our existing lease portfolio by diversifying lessee exposure, asset exposure and end market exposure within the protected Jones Act markets. As we look to the future, we are excited about cultivating a lasting and growing partnership with our two new lessees, Overseas Shipholding Group and Keystone."

Pal Lothe Magnussen, CEO of AMSC commented that "the management team at AMSC is pleased that a Maritime Partners managed fund, a leading Jones Act leasing company, is acquiring our Jones Act business. We believe this is the ideal new owner of this business for the next phase in the lifecycle of these assets. AMSC's ownership tenure has surpassed 18 years since the ships were ordered, during which significant financial profits have been created and provided to AMSC and its shareholders. We believe that the long remaining commercial life of the fleet in combination with strong bareboat charter contract cover in a strong market represents a good opportunity and point in time for us to reconsider capital allocation for AMSC and strategy going forward, and this transaction is a natural step in this process."

Pareto Securities AS has rendered a fairness opinion to the Board of AMSC concluding that the Transaction, from a financial point of view, is fair to AMSC. Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS and Blank Rome, LLP are acting as legal advisors to AMSC.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to the Buyer. Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS and Reed Smith LLP are acting as legal advisors to the Buyer. Ernst & Young LLP is acting as tax advisor to the Buyer.

Contacts

AMSC: Pal Lothe Magnussen, +47 90 54 59 59, [email protected]

Maritime Partners: James Canafax, +1 504 264 5118, [email protected]

About AMSC

Established in 2005 and listed on the Euronext Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: AMSC), AMSC is a ship owning company with nine modern handy size product tankers, one modern handy size shuttle tanker and one subsea construction vessel on bareboat charters with various counterparties. AMSC has a significant contract backlog, as well as profit sharing agreements, which offers visibility with respect to future earnings and potential dividend capacity. Following completion of the Transaction, the only remaining vessel of the group will be the subsea construction vessel Normand Maximus, which is chartered to a single purpose subsidiary of Solstad Offshore ASA.

AMSC's ambition to pay attractive dividends to its shareholders remains after completion of the Transaction. Further information is available at www.amscasa.com.

About Maritime Partners

Maritime Partners, LLC is a leading provider of maritime financing solutions, specializing in vessels that are used in the Jones Act trade. With a managed fleet of approximately 1,800 vessels in service, the company offers tailored leasing services to operators across the full spectrum of credit quality. A privately held company founded in 2015, Maritime Partners, LLC provides the assets that transport the commodities which represent the primary building blocks of the US domestic economy, including agricultural products, chemicals, aggregates, and refined petroleum products. The management team leverages more than 50 years of operational experience in chartering, asset management, shipbuilding, and financing across all marine asset classes. Further information is available at www.maritimepartnersllc.com.

This information is considered to include inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation article 7 and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This stock exchange announcement was published by Morten Bakke, CFO, AMSC ASA, on August 22, 2023 at 08:30 CET.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This communication is not an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, any securities, or the solicitation of a proxy, in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offer, sale or solicitation is not authorized or would be unlawful.

This communication contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and other statements, which are not statements of historical facts. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "will be" and similar expressions. You are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of AMSC and Maritime Partners, and that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements contained herein. The forward-looking statements in this communication speak only as of the date hereof and, other than as may be required by applicable law, neither AMSC nor Maritime Partners undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.

SOURCE AMSC ASA
DUBLIN, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Viral Oncogene Homolog (KRAS)-inhibitors - Market Insights, Epidemiology and Market Forecast - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the KRAS inhibitors market, epidemiology, and market trends in the United States, EU4 (Germany, Spain, Italy, and France), the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Key Highlights:

KRAS mutations contribute less to cancer in Japan compared to Western countries like the United States and Europe . In the United States , KRASG12C is present in approximately 37% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases, while KRASG12D is prevalent in about 42% of pancreatic cancer cases and 30% of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. Among the approved therapies, LUMAKRAS (sotorasib) is expected to generate more revenue than KRAZATI (adagrasib) in the United States during the study period (2019-2032). The United States is expected to hold the highest market share for KRAS inhibitors in 2022, followed by the EU4 countries, with Germany having the highest share and Spain the lowest. KRAZATI has been added as a therapeutic option after first-line treatment for NSCLC in the latest NCCN guidelines published in December 2022 . There is an opportunity for emerging KRAS key players focusing on safer combinations with less toxicity. LUMAKRAS witnessed a decrease in sales after the launch of KRAZATI, primarily due to a price adjustment implemented as part of a reimbursement agreement in Germany . Several companies are developing candidates for pan-KRAS inhibition, which has the potential to create a positive shift in the KRAS-inhibitors market.

The report covers the epidemiology of KRAS inhibitors in NSCLC, CRC, and pancreatic cancer, as well as the total KRAS-mutated cases in the 7MM (United States, EU4, UK, and Japan). The total KRAS-mutated cases in the 7MM were over 450,000 in 2022 and are projected to increase during the forecast period.

LUMAKRAS (sotorasib) by Amgen and KRAZATI (adagrasib) by Mirati Therapeutics are the approved drugs targeting KRAS G12C mutations. LUMAKRAS received accelerated approval in May 2021 and is marketed as LUMYKRAS in the European Union, UK, and Switzerland. KRAZATI received approval from the FDA in December 2022 and has a Marketing Authorization Application submitted to the EMA.

Emerging drugs include JDQ443 by Novartis and divarasib by Roche/Genentech, among others. JDQ443 is in a Phase III trial for NSCLC, while divarasib is being investigated in solid tumors, including NSCLC, CRC, and other cancer types.

The United States is expected to have the highest market share among the 7MM in 2022 for KRAS inhibitors. LUMAKRAS is anticipated to capture more market share compared to KRAZATI throughout the study period.

The report also includes insights from key opinion leaders (KOLs) and industry experts working in the domain to understand current treatment patterns and market trends.

Overall, the KRAS inhibitors market is evolving rapidly with recent approvals and ongoing research for new therapies targeting different KRAS mutations and multiple cancer types. The market holds significant potential for growth as more effective and safer treatments are developed to address various KRAS variants.

Key Topics Covered



1. Key Insights

2. Report Introduction

3. Executive Summary of KRAS Inhibitors

4. Key Events

5. Epidemiology and Market Forecast Methodology

6. Disease Background and Overview

7. Treatment

8. Guidelines

9. Epidemiology and Patient Population

10. Marketed Drugs

11. Emerging Drugs

12. Unmet Needs

13. SWOT Analysis

14. KOL Views

15. Market Access and Reimbursement

16. KRAS-inhibitors Market Access and Reimbursement

17. Appendix



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes:

Novartis

Roche

Genentech

Verastem Oncology

Revolution Medicines

Cardiff Oncology

Immuneering Corporation

Jacobio Pharmaceuticals

BridgeBio Pharma (Navire Pharma)

Mirati Therapeutics

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals

Elicio Therapeutics

InventisBio

Gritstone Bio

D3 Bio

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7yd9kv

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PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Angeion Group, the premier provider of settlement administration and legal notice services, is thrilled to announce a significant addition to its leadership team. Derek Burrows has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer, taking charge of directing Angeion's operations to continue to modernize and deliver best-in-class notice and claims administration services that Angeion has become known for.

With an unwavering dedication to achieving operational excellence through data-driven insights and technological innovation, Derek is poised to contribute significantly to Angeion's continued rapid growth. His extensive experience in strategic planning and execution will enhance the quality of Angeion's offerings, augmenting the company's reputation as an industry leader in the United States and Europe.

Prior to joining Angeion, Derek served as the head of operations and legal functions at GrammaTech and also held the position of lead counsel at MarkLogic, both high-end software and professional services companies with a global clientele. Derek's background in corporate law and litigation, honed during his practice in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, brings valuable perspectives to his role at Angeion.

Derek holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and a bachelor's degree from Cornell University. He is a distinguished member of the New York and Virginia Bar associations. Beyond his professional pursuits, Derek is deeply engaged with his community, serving on the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation board and the Cinemapolis finance committee.

Steven Weisbrot, Angeion's President and Chief Executive Officer, expressed his enthusiasm for the new addition to the leadership team, stating, "Derek's impressive track record and commitment to operational excellence make him an invaluable asset to our company. His leadership will undoubtedly drive Angeion's growth and enhance our service capabilities."

Derek is equally excited about his new role, sharing, "Angeion is in a period of accelerating growth and the company is eager to scale and continue to build on that success. I am excited to join a great team that has the focus and energy to transform how business is done in the notice and claims administration space."

As the newest member of Angeion Group's leadership team, Derek Burrows will report directly to Steven Weisbrot.

About Angeion Group

Angeion Group stands at the forefront of settlement administration and legal noticing services. Leveraging advanced technology, proven best practices, and expert consulting, Angeion specializes in managing class actions, mass torts, and collective redress administration. Angeion's dedication to efficiency, accountability, and excellence instills confidence in counsel and the court alike.

Media Contact:

Angeion Group

Shiri Lasman

Marketing Manager

(215) 563-4116

SOURCE Angeion Group
For the second time in a matter of weeks, a trailer has been stolen in Charlottesville, leaving another small business owner searching for answers.

This time the victim was Sabrina Feggans, owner of Beyond Fitness with Sabrina, a mobile gym that hosted events and workouts at outdoors spaces.

The trailer, which Feggans bought in 2018, as well as the thousands of dollars of equipment within it were essential to her business, she told The Daily Progress.

These are things we worked very, very hard for, and the community has seen us work very, very hard to be able to obtain over all these years, Feggans said. My husband and I worked to get all this stuff literally on our own.

In addition to speakers, tables and other items used for hosting events, inside the trailer were dumbbells, slam balls, sleds, hex bars and other gym equipment Feggans and her husband had accumulated over the past seven years.

Workout equipment is not cheap, said Feggans.

She reported her trailer stolen the night of Aug. 14.

When the couple went to sleep that evening, the trailer was settled in the same spot theyd parked it for the past four years. But when Feggans husband woke up at 2:30 a.m. for work, he walked outside to find the trailer had disappeared. All that remained was its tire stocks.

It was literally a trailer that the community was used to seeing every day parked on street, and now its not there, Feggans said. People are like, How in the world did this get stolen?

She estimates that her insurance will only cover half the cost of the thousands of dollars in stolen property.

I feel really bad for Sabrina, because I know she worked hard to get her equipment and to get where shes at now, Angelic Jenkins told The Daily Progress. For somebody to take that is very disturbing.

Jenkins called Feggans after hearing the news to express her condolences and also get tips. As the owner of the mobile Angelics Kitchen, she said she worries her food truck could be next.

Im afraid, because I have my food truck parked in Charlottesville and Im paying rent to park in a parking lot. How are people taking away these trucks? she asked.

Feggans is not the only person whose had a trailer  and their livelihood  vanish overnight.

Khadija Hemmatis food truck was stolen in late July. Authorities still have not been able to locate it.

To be honest, I pray every night for it, Hemmati told The Daily Progress.

The 14-foot black trailer contained a stove, an oven, a fridge, a freezer, tables, a custom-made sink, a water heater, a generator and two propane tanks.

Everything that we needed to operate the business was inside, and it was all brand new, she said.

Feggans heard about Hemmatis stolen food truck on social media. It really upset her, she said, but she didnt consider at the time that her trailer could also be a target. Hemmatis food truck was stolen in Seminole Square and Feggans was stolen in Hollymead.

Its starting to be a trend, Feggans said. Its putting other businesses on alert.

Albemarle County police detective Nick Richardson has been assigned to Feggans case. While he said he cant rule out the possibility, for now he does not see a connection between the two incidents.

Ive spoken with city detectives as well and we dont have anything to say this is a large-scale conspiracy of stealing trailers, Richardson told The Daily Progress.

No arrests have been made and the investigations remain active.

Richardson said he is canvassing the area and interviewing people in search of leads. He said the public can be a big help to finding a missing vehicle, and he encourages anyone who sees something suspicious to report it to police. He said he is also keeping an eye on pawn shops in case the thieves choose to sell the stolen equipment and trailer parts.

I cant guarantee Im going to find it but going to do all in my power to get it back to the victim, he said.

Richardson named a number of precautions other trailer owners can take to prevent falling into a similar situation as Feggans and Hemmati.

Owners should park their vehicle in well-lit areas, preferably somewhere with cameras. Video evidence can give police information that might help them locate the vehicle. Putting a hitch lock can also deter criminals, because the lock takes time to cut and makes it more difficult for someone to drive off with the trailer. Finally, Richardson said people should consider installing a GPS tracker on their vehicles so that police can track down the suspect immediately.

Feggans and Hemmati are both holding out hope that police have a breakthrough. In the meantime, Hemmati is doing catering jobs and selling her Afghan food at farmers markets.

I couldnt give up. Im not that type of person, Hemmati said.

Both business owners mentioned receiving an outpouring of support from the community, which has been helpful in a painful time.

Feggans has some remaining equipment in a studio shes leasing at the Fashion Square shopping mall. That will allow her to keep teaching some classes, but the lease ends in November. And shes already committed to a number of other events later in the year.

We need to get supplies, and we definitely need a trailer and the equipment, she said. Ive looked around for a trailer, and they are extremely expensive now compared to 2018. Theyve almost tripled in cost.

Anyone with information on the trailers should contact Charlottesville or Albemarle County police.

Were entrepreneurs. We get out there and work really hard to grow our business, and for somebody to steal from us after we work so hard, its so easy for them to take it away, Jenkins said. It blows my mind how cruel some people are.
SHANGHAI, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asieris Pharmaceuticals (Stock Code: 688176.SH)  a global innovative pharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative drugs that treat genitourinary (GU) tumors and other related diseases  today released its 2023 Semi-Annual Report that highlights the accelerated progress in clinical trials, aiming to address the field's highly unmet diagnostic and therapeutic needs. Meanwhile, Asieris is establishing a specialized commercial team to enhance in-house capabilities to help achieve successful commercialization. The team is implementing a multi-product synergistic strategy to provide patient-centric solutions, bolster customer engagement and brand impact, and reduce the operational costs. Furthermore, the company continues to increase its investments in research and development to expand and strengthen its R&D capabilities and quickly advance its R&D pipeline. With an ambition to become a global leader in GU cancer patient care, Asieris will continue to drive forward science in this field, strategically differentiate its product pipeline, and accelerate the time to market for its products to generate revenue.

Phase III Clinical Trial Achieved Positive Results  a Key Milestone for Advancing Our Specialty Pharma Strategy

In August 2023, Asieris achieved positive results from the Phase III clinical trial in China for one of its core products within the field of urological diseases: APL-1706 (Hexvix). APL-1706 is the only imaging agent approved in the United States and the European Union for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of bladder cancer. The company is on track for the submission of its market authorization applications. When used in conjunction with blue-light cystoscopy, APL-1706 has demonstrated robust effectiveness in enhancing the detection rate of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC), particularly in cases involving carcinoma in situ. It leads to more comprehensive resections during surgery, thereby contributing to a reduction in the rate of tumor recurrence.

Also in August, the Department of Health under the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region granted its approval for the registration applications of the Uro-G and Uro-V disposable cystoscopic systems. Notably, the registration application of the Uro-G had been previously accepted by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China in February 2023. Furthermore, the registration application of the Uro-3500, an electronic endoscope image processor used in tandem with the Uro-G, was accepted in July 2022.

APL-1202 (Vesique), another core in-house product for urological diseases, is undergoing a registrational clinical trial in China for the treatment of recurrent intermediate- and high-risk NMIBC, in combination with intravesically-instilled chemotherapy. Patients have been closely followed up in the trial. Upon reaching the predefined target number of events, subsequent phases, including database lock, unblinding, and statistical analysis, will be promptly initiated. Concurrently, Asieris is recruiting patients in China for the Phase III clinical trial of APL-1202, which is designed to assess its efficacy as the first-line monotherapy for previously untreated patients with intermediate-risk NMIBC.

The international multi-center Phase II clinical trial, which evaluates the combination of oral APL-1202 with tislelizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, as a neoadjuvant therapy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer (MIBC), is currently underway in both the United States and China. This trial completed its first-patient enrollment in December 2022. The safety and efficacy data from the Phase I clinical trial were presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in May 2023. In this trial, a total of 9 patients were enrolled, the clinical data showed oral APL-1202 in combination with tislelizumab was well tolerated, and preliminary efficacy signals were observed in 8 evaluable patients.

APL-1202, a first-in-class orally available and reversible MetAP2 inhibitor for anti-tumor treatment, is now in the pivotal Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of NMIBC. It exhibits immense potential to bridge the existing gap for bladder cancer treatment.

Asieris has built a robust portfolio, including oral therapeutic drug APL-1202 (Vesique), imaging agent APL-1706 (Hexvix), and disposable bladder endoscope APLD-2101, to address the unmet needs in bladder cancer diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment monitoring. These products offer integrated solutions to doctors and patients worldwide. With consistent progress in portfolio development, Asieris is steadily delivering on its specialty pharma strategy.

In the realm of women's health, Asieris has strategically positioned its core product, APL-1702 (Cevira), as an innovative combination of drug and medical device designed for photodynamic therapy to address cervical precancerous lesions. In July 2023, Asieris concluded the patient follow-up phase for this trial. The company is dedicated to advancing pathological slice reading, database lock, and data analysis, in a bid to promptly disclose the trial results. APL-1702 serves as a primary non-surgical treatment option for High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (HSIL) caused by all HPV subtypes. This combination holds the potential to offer a novel approach, especially to reproductive-age women, enabling them to circumvent the discomfort and side effects associated with surgical treatments.

The company's products currently in preclinical development include ASN-1733(Acinetobacter baumannii infection), ASN-1764 (triple negative breast cancer, etc.), AT-012 (Ovarian cancer, breast cancer, etc.), and AT-014 (urogenital system tumors). Among them, ASN-1733 is in the IND application preparation stage. The company is quickly advancing the R&D process for these novel drugs.

Focused on Specialty Pharma Strategy and Multi-Product Synergistic Commercialization Within Our Therapeutical Areas of Interest

In mainland China, Asieris has obtained licenses for two medications in the field of genitourinary oncology, namely Pazopanib tablets (Dipeptid) and Neratinib tablets (Ouyoubi). The company will hold both the manufacture and commercialization rights for the two drugs within the territory. These oral tablets offer convenient administration, complemented by medical insurance coverage, which significantly alleviates the financial burden on patients.

Pazopanib (Dipeptid) is a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, as well as those who have previously received cytokine therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma. The Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) has recommended Pazopanib monotherapy as the standard first-line treatment for advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma (aRCC) in its Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Neratinib (Ouyoubi) is an irreversible human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of adult patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. This medication provides enhanced adjuvant treatment following trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy. Both the most recent updates to the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer by CSCO and the Guidelines and Standards for Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer by the China Anti-Cancer Association recommend Neratinib as an enhanced postoperative adjuvant treatment option for lymph node-positive patients.

Asieris has established an efficient system for commercial activities, while stepping up efforts to bolster its commercial team and support teams to expedite the entire commercialization process. Through the successful commercialization of Dipeptid and Ouyoubi, the company aims to cultivate a highly competent commercial team while enhancing synergy across pipelines, thereby enhancing customer engagement and brand impact, and driving down overall commercialization-related costs. By gaining more on-the-ground experience, the company is forging a dynamic, results-driven team, fully equipped to bring core in-house products to market and ultimately provide greater benefits to patients battling these cancers.

The company has also upgraded and launched the Hongyihui platform for online management. This strategic move is geared towards deepening the integration of diagnostic and treatment strategies in genitourinary oncology, while providing an array of superior, integrated solutions for medical professionals. The Hongyihui platform offers precise resource allocation, custom-tailored to individual products, effectively minimizing resource wastage, reducing costs, and enhancing overall efficiency. This platform is pivotal in achieving the company's marketing objectives, as it bridges the gap between online and offline activities, thereby empowering commercial team to engage in precise interactions with doctors. This engagement occurs through a judicious blend of virtual and in-person interactions, all underpinned by evidence-based medicine principles.

Furthermore, the company will harness the full potential of the digital marketing platform to foster synergistic promotion across pipelines. Additionally, it is committed to validating and reinforcing its market positioning strategy within the field of GU oncology. The company will continue to enrich its marketing expertise to enhance commercialization capabilities.

Continued Increase in R&D Investment to Solidify Our Core Competitiveness

Asieris has been increasing its commitment to research and development, bolstering its core capacity for innovation and competitiveness. In the first half of 2023, investment in R&D amounted to RMB 177 million, representing growth of 90.12% compared with the same period last year. Moreover, the roster of R&D personnel has grown to 183, marking an increase of 45.24% year on year. As of the end of this reporting period, the company had approximately RMB 2.373 billion in cash and cash equivalents, ensuring ample financial resources to sustain its consistent growth and development.

"I am delighted to witness the initial triumph of our steadfast specialty pharma strategy," said Dr. Kevin Pan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Asieris Pharmaceuticals. "Our Phase III clinical trials have delivered inaugural positive results, and we are advancing commercialization through synergistic portfolio. This underscores our unwavering commitment to expediting commercialization. Looking ahead, we will continue to concentrate on clinical development and commercialization of our specialized pipelines. By doing so, we will not only fortify our innovation prowess but also forge ahead towards an expanded global presence, furthering our mission to alleviate the suffering of patients both in China and worldwide."

SOURCE Asieris
"Building a Clear Future" Signals Company's Commitment

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bendheim announces the public launch of "Building a Clear Future," a comprehensive initiative to advance sustainability in every aspect of its operations.

"Sustainability is a 360-degree, 365-day-a-year mindset, and this program is designed accordingly," noted Bendheim President Donald Jayson. "We are going far beyond a product-by-product approach to build a long-term culture of sustainability at Bendheim. Now is the time to redouble our efforts towards securing a better future for our children and grandchildren."

The Building a Clear Future program is the guiding organizational structure for Bendheim's sustainability initiatives across all areas of operations and will measure their resulting environmental impacts. The program addresses manufacturing processes, product development, supplier outreach, and employee engagement and well-being. Bendheim will also explore avenues for strategic collaborations, advancing transparency across the industry.

As a first step forward, Bendheim has formally committed to reducing its corporate Scope 1 and 2 emissions 30% by 2030.

In support of this goal, the company recently installed solar panels at its fabrication facility, reducing operational carbon emissions. Next steps will include further evaluation of the facility's energy usage and the establishment of energy reduction targets.

"We're spearheading a new era in our business by embedding sustainability in everything we do--from the selection of materials to the creation of new products to our manufacturing processes," said Rodrigo Menino, Vice President of Corporate Development and Group CFO. "This complete transformation aligns us with a future that prioritizes responsibility."

For more information about Building a Clear Future, contact Rodrigo Menino at [email protected]; Uarda Hoti, Sustainability Program Coordinator, at [email protected]; or visit https://bendheim.com/sustainability/.

About Bendheim:

Bendheim is one of the world's foremost resources for specialty architectural glass. Founded in New York City in 1927, the family-owned company offers a virtually unlimited range of customizable glass solutions for interior and exterior building applications. Through its commitment to Building a Clear Future, Bendheim is actively engaged in promoting sustainable practices in architecture and design.

Bendheim develops, fabricates, and distributes its products worldwide. The company maintains production facilities in New Jersey and a design lab in New York City. For additional information, please visit Bendheim.com.

SOURCE Bendheim
BERGEN, Norway, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for severe unmet medical needs, announced today that additional clinical data of bemcentinib in combination with chemotherapy and with immunotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) have been recently published and accepted for presentation at two upcoming international oncology conferences:

Comprehensive results from the investigator led trial of bemcentininb + docetaxel in previously treated NSCLC patients (Study BGBIL005) were published in the August 2023 issue of Lung Cancer. "Phase 1 trial of bemcentinib (BGB324), a first-in-class, selective AXL inhibitor, with docetaxel in patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer." Lung Cancer 182 (2023) The trial was led by David Gerber , MD., Professor at the UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"Phase 1 trial of bemcentinib (BGB324), a first-in-class, selective AXL inhibitor, with docetaxel in patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer." Lung Cancer 182 (2023) The trial was led by , MD., Professor at the UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. The abstract "Bemcentinib + Pembrolizumab show promising efficacy in metastatic NSCLC harbouring mutations associated with poor prognosis: Exploratory sub-analysis from the BGBC008 trial (NCT03184571)" has been accepted for poster presentation at the SITC 38th Annual Meeting, to be held November 3-5, 2023 , in San Diego, CA (Abstract #598).

, in (Abstract #598). The abstract "Final top-line results of the BGBC008 phase 2, multicenter study of bemcentinib and pembrolizumab (bem+pembro) in 2nd line (2L) advanced non-squamous (NS) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (NCT03184571)" has been accepted for poster presentation at the ESMO Congress 2023, to be held October 20-24, 2023 , in Madrid, Spain (Abstract #5343)

"The accumulating evidence supporting the potential role of bemcentinib in NSCLC aligns with our strategic focus on this disease where a large portion of patients still have very poor clinical outcome from existing therapies" said Martin Olin, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio. "The publication of data in a prestigious peer reviewed publication and at ESMO and SITC provides us with the opportunity to share our data with a broad audience of oncologists and key opinion leaders in the field of NSCLC and the pharmaceutical industry."

Contacts

Martin Olin CEO, BerGenBio ASA

[email protected]

Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA

[email protected]

Media Relations

Jan Lilleby

[email protected]

+47 90 55 16 98

About BerGenBio ASA

BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including cancer and severe respiratory infections. The Company is focused on its proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, a potentially first-in-class selective AXL inhibitor in development for STK11 mutated NSCLC and severe respiratory infections.

BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information, visit www.bergenbio.com

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to MAR article 17 and section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

SOURCE BerGenBio ASA
ZUG, Switzerland, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berlin Heals Holding AG (Berlin Heals), a Swiss medical technology company, is delighted to announce the appointments of Dr. Felix Baader and Roland Diggelmann as new members of the Board of Directors. Since 2014, the company has developed a completely new and groundbreaking method for the treatment of heart failure and, following a successful first-in-human study, is currently pushing forward with a CE study for the approval of its patented technology.

"We are very excited to welcome Dr. Baader and Mr. Diggelmann, two medtech experts with a wealth of experience and strategic vision, to the Board of Directors of Berlin Heals," says Dr. Ulf Berg, Chairman of the Board. "The timing could not be better. Our goal is to obtain CE certification soon. We expect the ongoing CE certification study to confirm the excellent results of the pilot study; corresponding study results should be available approximately by the end of 2024. Being able to bring two new, high-profile board members into the company now is a significant step for us."

Dr. Felix Baader commented: "I am honoured to be part of Berlin Heals' Board of Directors at this important stage. The company has a revolutionary product that will massively and sustainably improve the quality of life of many heart patients." Dr. Baader held various key positions in the healthcare and technology sectors over the last 30 years, including at Roche Diagnostics, Biotronik and Philips and today holds board mandates at Congenius, Valtronic Holding and Bibus Group AG, among other ventures.

"Berlin Heals' C-MIC device is a game-changer for dilated cardiomyopathy therapy and has significant market potential; it not only reduces hospital stay duration, but also relieves the burden on health insurers and hospitals," says Roland Diggelmann. As former CEO of Roche Diagnostics and British medtech company, Smith & Nephew, Mr. Diggelmann brings valuable know-how to Berlin Heals. He has also successfully applied his experience in strategic development and M&A as a highly respected medtech investor and Non-Executive Director at Sonova, Mettler Toledo and several start-ups.

Berlin Heals Holding AG is a joint stock company founded in 2014 by well-known heart specialist, Dr. Johannes Muller, and entrepreneur Marko Bagaric. The company has developed a novel therapy - "C-MIC" (Cardiac Microcurrent) - which uses a constant microcurrent to rapidly and sustainably improve inflammatory parameters within the heart of cardiac insufficiency patients. Recruitment of patients into the ongoing CE trial is currently approximately 60%. To date, over 35 C-MIC devices have been successfully implanted and continue to show promising results.

Media Contact:

Marko Bagaric

info@berlinheals.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1843666/Berlin_Heals_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Berlin Heals Holding AG
Bosch Volunteers and Donates Cordless Power Tools and Accessories to Support Habitat for Humanity's Affordable Housing Mission

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the Bosch Power Tools team from across the country came together at a Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County home site in Curiosity Creek in the Tampa, Florida area to install new windows and doors, supporting the project's next wave of building. This volunteer event kicked off the brand's partnership with the Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County team, reinforcing Bosch's commitment to invest in the Tampa community. Using a selection of donated 18V cordless power tools and accessories, Bosch helped move the needle towards reaching Habitat for Humanity's goal of building 25 new homes in the Tampa area by 2024.

Bosch Power Tools joined the Hillsborough Habitat team to volunteer time and donate a selection of 18V tools + accessories, to help the organization reach its goal of building 25 new homes in Curiosity Creek by 2024.

"The Bosch team was pleased to provide Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County with Bosch 18V cordless tools to not only help with this home build project, but also to help continue to build more affordable housing in the area," said Teresa Sabatino, Director of Brand Marketing Power Tools North America.

In April, Bosch Power Tools began its community engagement efforts in the Tampa area, announcing partnerships with the local Tampa Bay Rays and Rowdies teams. Now, with the brand's latest Hillsborough Habitat alliance, Bosch is continuing to build relationships with local trades workers, by making impactful investments to further development in the Tampa community.

"Our team at Hillsborough Habitat is pleased to welcome Bosch Power Tools into our family of partners, as we work together to extend homeownership opportunities for those who are underserved in our Tampa community," said Tina Forcier, CEO at Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County. "From the generous cordless tool donation to the volunteer hours that the Bosch team provided, every bit helps to advance our mission of improving the housing conditions within our area. We look forward to using the new Bosch 18V tools to build 25 new strong, sturdy homes in the Curiosity Creek neighborhood in the months to come."

To learn more about Hillsborough Habitat's community impact, visit their website at habitathillsborough.org or connect with their organization on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter.

For more information on Bosch Power Tools' latest innovations, visit our Press Room at pressroom.boschtools.com or connect with Bosch Power Tools on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

About Bosch

Having established a presence in North America in 1906, today the Bosch Group employs nearly 37,000 associates in more than 100 locations in the region (as of Dec. 31, 2022). According to preliminary 2022 figures, Bosch generated consolidated sales of $15 billion in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. For more information visit www.bosch.us, www.bosch.ca and www.bosch.mx.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 420,000 associates worldwide (as of Dec. 31, 2022). The company generated sales of $93.1 billion in 2022. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group's strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is "Invented for life." The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch's global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company's future growth is its innovative strength. At 128 locations across the globe, Bosch employs roughly 84,800 associates in research and development, of which more than 44,000 are software engineers. In North America, Bosch employs approximately 3,500 associates in research and development.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com, www.twitter.com/BoschPresse .

About Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County

Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County became an affiliate in 1987 and is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization founded and operated on Christian principles. Habitat Hillsborough is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally through constructing and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their housing conditions. In addition, they serve homeowners through their home preservation program.

SOURCE Bosch Power Tools
DALLAS, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With upwards of 10,000 undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border each day, illegal immigration remains a hot topic. Many argue it is a humanitarian issue, yet others worry it poses threats to Americans. In either case, there is no refuting that entering the country without proper documentation is against the law and creates utter chaos. While the struggles illegal immigrants face in pursuit of the American dream are shared often, the hardships faced by law-abiding immigrants who migrate are frequently overlooked. Entrepreneur and CEO of ASTA-USA Translation Services, Mr. Alain J. Roy, experienced these complexities firsthand in the '80s; prompting him to form USAIA.

U.S.A. Immigration Assistance (USAIA) is a nonpartisan, low-profit limited liability company (L3C) providing financial aid for indigent immigrants to help cover a portion of the costs associated with their U.S. immigration process. Undertaking the USCIS process is wrought with emotional turmoil, uncertainties, and lengthy waitlists. Beyond application fees, immigrants often require legal counsel and language support. Facing these costs automatically disqualifies a huge portion of immigrants with limited financial resources. USAIA's mission is to aid qualifying, hard-working individuals who want to enter the U.S. legally, but simply do not have access to the tools or finances required to do so.

"The costs add up quickly, which makes legal U.S. citizenship tough to attain. In turn, many take the illegal route, which presents a host of problems, as there are no records of who these individuals are. Offering support to the upstanding migrants who wish to enter the country legally, and those who are committed to join our depleted workforce is key to avoiding these pitfalls," Mr. Alain J. Roy explains.

While USAIA alone cannot remedy the chaos at the border, Mr. Roy encourages interested parties to support the mission of the organization, while continuing to explore solutions to alleviate chaos at the borders.

About USAIA

U.S.A. Immigration Assistance (USAIA) is a nonpartisan, low-profit limited liability company (L3C) providing financial aid for indigent immigrants to help cover a portion of the costs associated with their U.S. immigration process. USAIA was formed by Mr. Alain J. Roy, entrepreneur and CEO of ASTA-USA Translation Services, Inc.

To learn more about USAIA, apply to become a corporate sponsor or a legal network partner, visit: https://usaimmigrationassistance.org

Press Contact

[email protected]

Source : USAIA

SOURCE USAIA
Corsano Health is launching the company's CardioWatch EU-MDR certified patient monitoring bracelet with Cuffless Non-Invasive Blood Pressure at ESC in Amsterdam.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Corsano Health, a leading MedTech company developing, producing, and marketing medical grade continuous health monitoring announces the addition of Cuffless Blood Pressure measurements to its advanced smart bracelet.

Corsano CardioWatch 287-2 advanced smart bracelet

The CardioWatch 287-2 is a EU-MDR certified wireless remote monitoring intended for continuous collection of physiological data in home and healthcare settings. This includes heart rate, heart rate variability (R-R interval), respiration rate, activity, sleep, ECG, SpO2, Body Temperature and Blood Pressure. Data is transmitted wirelessly from the device via the application or gateway to a server or health cloud where it is stored and made available for further analysis.

The Corsano Cuffless Non-Invasive Blood Pressure algorithm has been in development since 2019 based on arterial line and ABPM data recorded from over 500 patients. The Corsano Blood Pressure algorithm was validated according to ISO 81060-2:2019 and the AAMI/ESH/ISO collaboration statement "A Universal Standard for the Validation of Blood Pressure Measuring Devices" 2018. Additional validations LONG-TERM, DEVICE POSITION, RE-CALIBRATION, EXERCISE and TREATMENT are ongoing to meet all ESH recommendations.

The research team of the Reinier de Graaf Hospital will present their validation of the Corsano Cuffless Non-Invasive Blood Pressure algorithm at the European Cardiology Congress August 28, 2023.

"Corsano Health's CardioWatch 287-2 enables continuous monitoring of vital signs over extended periods, with un-restricted access to raw data for AI and ML development. This approach allows for early detection of any abnormalities, as it captures fluctuations that may go unnoticed with spot measurements. Continuous monitoring proves especially beneficial for managing chronic conditions like heart disease, where automatic continuous monitoring can significantly improve patient outcomes," says Drs. Peter Stas, CEO of Corsano Health.

About Corsano Health

Corsano Health, based in The Netherlands with offices in Switzerland, is a leading wearable MedTech company developing, producing and marketing medical smart monitoring devices designed to measure vital parameters 24/7 using wireless, non-invasive, and medical-grade technology. The Corsano brand name is derived from in corpore sano (in a healthy body). Corsano's CardioWatch 287 is an EU-MDR certified patient monitoring system that provides a simple and effective method for continuous monitoring of vital parameter measurements (i.e., HR, RR Intervals, ECG, SpO2, Blood Pressure, Respiration, Core Body Temperature, Activity and Sleep).

More information at http://www.corsano.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2189077/Corsano_CardioWatch.jpg

SOURCE Corsano Health BV
Revolutionary hemostatic gel for veterinarians now available through Penn Vet

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cresilon Inc. ("Cresilon"), a Brooklyn-based biotechnology company focused on hemostatic medical device technologies, today announced it has entered into a distribution agreement for its revolutionary hemostatic gel, VETIGEL, to be sold directly to veterinarians through Penn Veterinary Supply, an independent U.S. regional distributor of veterinary products and services.

Cresilon's VETIGEL  a plant-based hemostatic gel that instantly stops and controls bleeding without the need to apply manual pressure  is now available for veterinarians through Penn Veterinary Supply. Since the product's debut in 2021, licensed veterinarians across the U.S. and U.K. have increasingly used VETIGEL as the fastest and most effective hemostatic agent when treating animals for traumatic wounds and routine and complex surgical procedures, including dental extractions, liver biopsies, tumor and mass removals, cleft palate repairs, and amputations.

VETIGEL is now available for veterinarians through Penn Veterinary Supply. Post this

"Our partnership with Penn Vet will help us provide more veterinarians with a revolutionary hemostatic gel that significantly improves the standard of care for pets and animals," said Matt Lewis, Director of Veterinary Development and Sales at Cresilon. "VETIGEL has been used by thousands of veterinarians thus far and is proven to help patients heal and recover faster while helping veterinary clinics and animal hospitals save time, reduce operating costs, and improve patient outcomes."

Laura Williams, Penn Veterinary Supply, Director of Sales and Marketing commented; "Penn Veterinary Supply is excited to add VETIGEL to our portfolio of hemostatic technologies. We are always eager to partner with a company like Cresilon that is bringing new and innovative products to the veterinary industry. VETIGEL offers an opportunity to substantially improve patient outcomes and that is a win for veterinarians and the animals they serve. We look forward to working together."

VETIGEL offers veterinarians a safe and effective way to control bleeding across multiple types of bleeds and a wide range of surgical procedures in Animal Health. The veterinary hemostatic agent is a hydrogel made of two plant-based polysaccharides that stop bleeding immediately at the wound site, the non-porous gel adheres and does not integrate with the robust fibrin patch forming an instant mechanical barrier to stop bleeding on contact without manual pressure, preparation, or special storage conditions.

The plant-based hemostatic gel is supplied in a pre-filled syringe, is easy-to-use, and requires no preparation or special storage conditions. For more information about VETIGEL, visit www.vetigel.com.

About Cresilon

Cresilon is a Brooklyn-based biotechnology company that develops, manufactures, and markets hemostatic medical devices utilizing the company's proprietary hydrogel technology. The company's plant-based technology has revolutionized the current standard by stopping traumatic and surgical bleeds in seconds without the need for manual pressure. The company's current and future product lines target veterinary, human trauma, and human surgical applications. Cresilon's mission is to save lives. Learn more about Cresilon at www.cresilon.com.

About Penn Vet

Penn Veterinary Supply has been serving the veterinary profession for 40 years and continues to be owned by the family of the original founder, Richard Sexton. Penn Vet provides pharmaceuticals, supplies, and equipment to veterinarians and also focuses on services and solutions that empower independent, privately held veterinary hospitals. Learn more about Penn Veterinary Supply by visiting www.pennvet.com.

SOURCE Cresilon
THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiKey, a leading global commerce distributor offering the largest selection of technical components and automation products in stock for immediate shipment, was named to the fifth-annual prestigious list of America's Best-in-State Employers 2023 by Forbes.

DigiKey and a select few other Minnesota-based companies with more than 500 employees were recognized, with DigiKey ranking 15 on the list of 60 companies. The full list of best employers in Minnesota can be viewed on the Forbes site.

DigiKey was named to Forbes Americas Best-in-State Employers List 2023, ranking 15 out of 60 Minnesota companies.

The list is based on an independent survey of 70,000 U.S. employees across 25 industry sectors and considered every aspect of an employee's experience such as working conditions, salary, potential for growth and diversity. Of the thousands of companies eligible for this recognition, only a select few were awarded in each state.

"Being recognized as a best employer by Forbes is a true testament to our unwavering commitment to fostering a workplace where every individual's potential is not just acknowledged, but celebrated," said Shane Zutz, vice president, human resources for DigiKey. "At DigiKey we truly believe that people make the difference, which means our success is built upon the collective strengths, diverse perspectives and endless dedication of our incredible team."

DigiKey employees enjoy one of the leading benefits packages in the state, an abundance of on-site amenities, and robust educational and professional development opportunities. For more information about careers at DigiKey, please visit their careers page.

About DigiKey

DigiKey, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minn., USA, is recognized as the global leader and continuous innovator in the cutting-edge commerce distribution of electronic components and automation products worldwide. We get technical by providing more than 14.9 million components from over 2,400 quality name-brand manufacturers with an industry-leading breadth and depth of product in stock and available for immediate shipment. DigiKey also supports engineers, designers, builders and procurement professionals with a wealth of digital solutions, frictionless interactions and tools to make their jobs more efficient. Additional information can be found at digikey.com and on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Editorial Contact

Megan Derkey

Bellmont Partners

+1 612-255-1115

[email protected]

SOURCE DigiKey
LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DMALINK, the EM-focused institutional FX ECN bolsters its Scandinavian currency presence.

The firm revealed that Danske Bank A/S, has added DMALINK as a platform to provide custom Scandinavian eFX pricing to its buy-side clients.

The inclusion of Danske Bank in the DMALINK ecosystem creates an opportunity for its buy-side clients to access top-tier specialized liquidity across Scandinavian currencies.

Michael Siwek, Founding Partner and Global Head of Sales at DMALINK, said, "Scandinavian currencies such as DKK, NOK, and SEK are important to our clients' portfolio. Users can access Danske Bank's tailored pricing across pre-set liquidity pools, underpinned by advanced analytics."

Thomas Djernis, Director eFX, Danske Bank, commented, "Danske Bank is looking forward to pricing select clients on the DMALINK platform. Our dominant presence in Denmark and Scandinavia positions us well to DMALINK, which is primarily focused within the regional markets."

Manu Choudhary, CEO at DMALINK, adds, "We are thrilled to welcome Danske Bank to the platform. The move is motivated by buy-side demand, meeting our goal of streaming regional eFX prices to existing and future partners."

"The expansion of Scandi liquidity access for the benefit of our clients is on target with our 2022 growth map to offer AI-based liquidity management tools and risk management algos," concluded Ashwind Soonarane, CTO at the data-centric ECN.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Media Room, DMALINK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7117 2517

Email: [email protected]

ABOUT DMALINK

DMALINK is a data-centric ECN for professional Foreign Exchange traders streaming anonymous and bilateral, proactively tailored, and sustainable pricing with a particular focus on emerging markets, Scandie crosses, and CE3. We serve industry leaders, including banks, funds, corporates, and proprietary trading firms, with a specific demand for sustainable liquidity access across non-G-7 pairs.

For further information, please visit dmalink.com

ABOUT DANSKE BANK

Danske Bank is the largest financial services provider in Denmark, and one of the largest financial institutions in the Nordic countries, with more than 21,000 employees across Europe and the US. For more than 150 years, it has helped enable growth and development in society. Danske Bank Large Corporates & Institutions (LC&I) has a strong position and long history in the financial industry, serving the most complex needs of large corporate and institutional customers. It consistently ranks amongst the preferred financial service providers for Nordic institutional and large corporate clients. Thomas Djernis adds that Danske Bank has invested heavily in their FX Infrastructure during the last three years, which enables to continue serving our clients' ever evolving needs in the eFX space.

For further information on Danske LC&I, please visit www.danskeci.com

SOURCE DMALINK
BOSTON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aerogels have experienced steady market growth historically, reaching a market of just under US$450 million in 2022. Progress has been somewhat slower than some would expect; this has largely been due to competition with lower-cost incumbent insulation materials. However, the emergence of aerogels as a fire protection material for electric vehicle (EV) batteries provides a new and rapidly growing opportunity for the aerogel market. IDTechEx's latest market report, "Aerogels 2024-2034: Technologies, Markets and Players", predicts that EV batteries will account for over half of the aerogel market by 2025.

IDTechEx predicts that EV batteries will be the dominant application for aerogels by 2025. Source: IDTechEx (PRNewsfoto/IDTechEx)

Benefits to EVs

Aerogels are well known to exhibit excellent thermal insulation (15-20mW/m.K). These are excellent features for an EV battery. Typically, battery cells are cooled via a thermal management strategy like water cold plates and coolant channels. However, around these it can be beneficial to thermally insulate the cells from each other. This aids in keeping cells warm in cold conditions and prevents heat transfer between cells in the event of an overheating cell. Aerogels also have a very low density (<0.2g/cm3), which aids in the energy density of the pack.

Addressing Historic Concerns

One of the limitations to aerogel adoption in EVs has been the lower maximum burning temperature. With OEMs looking to provide safety in a thermal runaway event, aerogel manufacturers now largely suggest their materials will provide protection well above 1000C.

Another concern has been the handling of these materials and their 'dusty' nature. In order to combat this, several aerogel manufacturers provide their EV products in the form of an encapsulated pouch, allowing for direct integration into the battery.

As with everything automotive, cost has been a barrier. This can be somewhat mitigated by the fact that aerogels can provide multiple properties. As EV battery packs tend towards higher energy density through greater integration, multifunctional materials take focus. Aerogels can provide thermal insulation, electrical isolation, fire protection, and some compression performance. Additionally, as manufacturing scales up and orders reach higher volumes, there is potential to bring the cost down to further compete with alternatives.

The Competition

Commonly used fire protection materials include ceramic blankets, mica sheets, and foam encapsulation. There are a host of other materials that aim to compete in this space, too, including intumescent materials and phase change materials. Each has its own trade-offs in terms of core properties like thermal conductivity, density, compression performance, maximum protection temperature, sustainability, and more. The specific battery design will also impact choice, for example, the cell format (pouch, prismatic, cylindrical) and pack structure (cell-to-pack, thermal management strategy, etc.). IDTechEx has benchmarked these factors in its "Fire Protection Materials for Electric Vehicle Batteries 2023-2033" report and finds that several options will continue to present opportunities, with no single solution predicted to completely dominate the market within the next 10 years.

Aerogel EV Market Progress

Most of the early aerogel progress in the EV market was within China for electric buses. Now the market leader, Aspen Aerogels, based in the US, has made significant progress. Its revenue generated from its PyroThin EV material rose to US$55.6 million in 2022, 9 times its 2021 value. Aspen has been awarded orders from GM for its Ultium platform and for Toyota, as well as several others quoting.

China has the majority of the overall aerogel manufacturing capacity. A key player for EVs is IBIH, with its first production in 2017; it doubled capacity by 2023, with further expansions underway. IBIH sells the majority of its products to top EV battery makers and informed IDTechEx that it has doubled revenue each year since 2020. The Chinese market also has many other aerogel players, most of which are fairly young companies and at varying stages of production and EV involvement.

Outlook for Aerogels in EVs

The aerogel market has grown at a steady rate, but EVs will cause the market to grow rapidly, with IDTechEx predicting the total aerogel market will exceed US$2.6 billion by 2034, with the vast majority taken by EV batteries. Several other materials will compete in this field, but aerogels are set to become a standard option.

IDTechEx has been studying the aerogel industry for many years, with technical experts conducting an extensive number of primary interviews and detailed assessments of this industry. IDTechEx's latest report, "Aerogels 2024-2034: Technologies, Markets and Players", benchmarks aerogels against other fire protection materials for EV battery packs, along with the players, their revenue, capacity, and market progress. The report also considers other applications such as oil & gas, LNG pipelines, electronics, and more.

To find out more about this new IDTechEx report, including downloadable sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Aerogels.

About IDTechEx

IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.IDTechEx.com.

Images download:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/0zjto9x128111sr6041ka/h?rlkey=9rmybjjq30aywvtyyvetxu6pf&dl=0

Media Contact:

Lucy Rogers

Sales and Marketing Administrator

[email protected]

+44(0)1223 812300

Social Media Links:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/IDTechEx

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/IDTechEx

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2190065/IDTechEx.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg

SOURCE IDTechEx
OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Formulated Materials, a leading innovator in construction materials, is proud to announce the issuance of a US patent for its revolutionary product, Treadstone Elite. This patent recognizes the unique design and exceptional performance of Elite, a sound reducing mat that offers unparalleled benefits in the construction industry.

"Receiving recognition from the USPTO for the innovation embedded in Treadstone Elite is a testament to our team's relentless commitment.  Michael Martin Post this Formulated Materials FR25 application over Treadstone Elite in a Multi-Family housing structure near Dallas, Tx.

Treadstone Elite distinguishes itself from conventional sound-reducing mats by incorporating revolutionary features that amplify both its functionality and longevity. Instead of relying on staples that could degrade acoustic advantages over time, like many mats, Elite naturally lies flatensuring consistent performance and undiminished sound-reducing benefits.

Moreover, Elite is characterized by its near-incompressibility. Such a standout attribute significantly reduces potential cracking in cement-based substances layered atop the mat. With Treadstone Elite, contractors and builders can ensure prime sound insulation without jeopardizing the structure's stability. Michael Martin, Business Unit Manager of Formulated Materials, remarked, "Receiving recognition from the USPTO for the innovation embedded in Treadstone Elite is a testament to our team's relentless commitment to pioneering a sound-reducing underlayment that elevates industry benchmarks."

The patented technology underpinning Treadstone Elite has undergone stringent testing, consistently demonstrating stellar outcomes. It excels in minimizing sound transmission and negating the attrition of its acoustic properties over time, making it an ideal choice for diverse settings like commercial properties, residential developments, educational facilities, and healthcare centers.

Beyond its exceptional acoustic attributes, Treadstone Elite ensures straightforward installation and enduring dependability. Its groundbreaking design paired with its steadfast quality makes Elite the preferred option for architects, contractors, and builders in search of paramount soundproofing solutions. Formulated Materials remains at the vanguard of pioneering innovation, consistently offering products that resonate with the dynamic demands of the construction industry. The US patent grant for Treadstone Elite further cements the firm's stature as a pioneer in crafting superior construction materials that consistently surpass anticipations.

About Formulated Materials

Formulated Materials is widely recognized as a leading manufacturer of gypsum cements, sound attenuating mats and innovative waterproofing solutions for the North American market. The company's product brands, including Treadstone, Elevation and Smart Batch are considered by many to be the most popular and most trusted by industry professionals. Formulated Materials continually raises the standards for the multi-family construction industry through its commitment to innovation, performance, and exceptional customer service.

Formulated Material's Web site offers comprehensive resources including product and warranty information, installation specifications and technical support. For more information on the company's broad family of systems that make buildings safe from fire, quieter, more waterproof, and free from failures and litigation that plagues the multifamily construction industry, please call (844) 405-3676 or visit www.formulatedmaterials.com.

For more information contact:

Ryan Brausa

(844) 405-3676

[email protected]

SOURCE Formulated Materials
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental and land use law firm The Sohagi Law Group announced today that Best Lawyers has recognized Managing Partner Margaret Sohagi in the 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America, and Associates Mark Desrosiers, Matthew Wang and Milja Miric in the fourth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Best Lawyer awards are compiled "by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers" and honor "only the top 5.3% of elite lawyers in the nation across 150 practice areas."

"Ranking the most exceptional legal minds requires sustained commitment and considerable intricacy. We leave no stone unturned, ensuring that that each stage of the Best Lawyers awards cycle is thorough," states the periodical. "Our dedication to accuracy is backed by a Purely Peer Review process that we developed for the first edition and have maintained across decades of research."

Ms. Sohagi's practice for the last 30 years has focused on assisting cities, counties, and other public agencies navigate the legal complexities of land use, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)and Climate Change. Ms. Sohagi provides constructive, practical legal advice, working directly with lead agency counsel, staff, appointed elected officials. When necessary, she zealously defends lead agencies' land use approvals and environmental determinations in judicial proceedings, and frequently heads mediation teams in settlement discussions.

Mr. Desrosiers advises public agencies on environmental and land use matters at the administrative, trial, and appellate level. He focuses his practice on complex issues and projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Planning and Zoning Laws. Representative projects include General Plan updates, affordable housing projects, mixed-use developments, and public works projects.

Mr. Wang represents public agencies throughout the state in land use issues. In addition to reviewing EIRs for development projects, he has directly assisted with cannabis regulation, drafted development agreements for retail and residential projects, and assisted staff with vital surface/groundwater issues. Matt has served as the primary advisor to a county planning commission.

Ms. Miric advises public agencies on environmental and land use matters, focusing on issues arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Planning and Zoning Law. Ms. Miric's background working with public agencies gives her valuable understanding into how to prepare complex administrative records and advise public sector clients in CEQA litigation.

The Sohagi Law Group handles complex transactional and litigation matters for public agencies, including cities, counties, townships, state agencies, special districts, commissions and authorities. Its attorneys draw upon their extensive expertise in all areas of environmental and land use law to advise clients navigate existing laws and regulations and keep them up to date on emerging environmental issues such as climate change and greenhouse gas regulation.

SOURCE The Sohagi Law Group
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The gas chromatography market size is to grow by USD 1042.59 million from 2022 to 2027 and register a CAGR of 7.14%, according to Technavio's latest market research report estimates. With a focus on identifying dominant industry influencers, Technavio's reports present a detailed study by way of synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. This report offers an up-to-date analysis of the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The report is segmented by Product, End-user, and Geography. North America is estimated to contribute 45% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The US is the most important market in the region due to the presence of several food and beverage companies from the food, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries that supply products containing chemical contaminants. Furthermore, In Canada, the second largest regional market, government agencies such as Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC) are exploring column heating methods for other gas chromatographic applications. Hence, such factors are expected to drive market growth in the region during the forecast period. - Read our Sample Report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Gas Chromatography Market

The report also covers the following areas:

Gas Chromatography Market 2023-2027: Segmentation

Product

Consumables And Accessories



Instruments

End-user

Pharmaceuticals And Biotechnology



Food And Beverages



Academic And Research Institutes



Others

Geography

North America



Europe



Asia



Rest Of World (ROW)

The market share growth in the consumables and accessories segment will be significant during the forecast period. This segment focuses on isolating volatile mixtures to test the purity, contamination, component validity, and composition of crude oils in various industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and environmental testing. Gas chromatographic techniques, such as flame ionization detection (FID) and electron capture detection (ECD), are gaining popularity due to their high sensitivity and they can track most of the solvents left in the API. Hence, the above-mentioned factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period.

Gas Chromatography Market 2023-2027: Company Analysis and Scope

To help businesses improve their market position, the gas chromatography market provides a detailed analysis of around 15+ companies operating in the market. Some of these companies include Agilent Technologies Inc., Avantor Inc., Bruker Corp., Chromatec SDO JSC, Chromtech GmbH, DataApex Ltd., Ellutia Ltd., GERSTEL GmbH Co.KG, GL Sciences Inc., LECO Corp., Merck KGaA, Perkin Elmer Inc., Restek Corp., Rigaku Corp., SCION Instruments NL BV, Shimadzu Corp., Scientific Repair Inc., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Waters Corp.

Company Offering

Agilent Technologies Inc - The company offers gas chromatography products such as Intuvo 9000 Gc system, 8890 Gc system, and 990 Micro Gc system.

The company offers gas chromatography products such as Intuvo 9000 Gc system, 8890 Gc system, and 990 Micro Gc system. Avantor Inc - The company offers gas chromatography products such as Hichrom HI 1301 Gc column and Hichrom Linear 2 ways glass press fit connectors.

The company offers gas chromatography products such as Hichrom HI 1301 Gc column and Hichrom Linear 2 ways glass press fit connectors. Bruker Corp. - The company offers gas chromatography products such as E2M systems and M2M systems. For more insights Buy Report!

Gas Chromatography Market 2023-2027: Market Dynamics

Key Drivers

The growing applications of gas chromatography is a key factor driving market growth. Gas chromatography is used in industries such as food, chemical, and environmental testing. It proved valuable in fires for the rapid detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In food production, substances such as pesticides, disinfectants, and additives are used. In addition, these systems are preferred because they analyze contaminants on-site, reducing the need to transport samples to the laboratory. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

Major Trends

Technological advances in chromatography are a major trend in the market.

Significant Challenges

The lack of skilled technicians is a significant challenge restricting market growth.

Drivers, Trends & Challenges have an impact on market dynamics and can impact businesses. Find some insights from a sample report!

Gas Chromatography Market 2023-2027: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2023-2027

Detailed information on factors that will assist gas chromatography market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the gas chromatography market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the gas chromatography market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on companies

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of gas chromatography market companies

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Gas Chromatography Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.14% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 1,042.59 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 6.44 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 45% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading Companies, Market Positioning of Companies, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Agilent Technologies Inc., Avantor Inc., Bruker Corp., Chromatec SDO JSC, Chromtech GmbH, DataApex Ltd., Ellutia Ltd., GERSTEL GmbH Co.KG, GL Sciences Inc., LECO Corp., Merck KGaA, Perkin Elmer Inc., Restek Corp., Rigaku Corp., SCION Instruments NL BV, Shimadzu Corp., Scientific Repair Inc., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Waters Corp. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and Market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Size

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Product

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

About US

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Technavio Research

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SOURCE Technavio
GigaStar's model, which lowers the barriers of entry for individuals to invest in the Creator Economy, draws attention from institutional investors seeking alpha uncorrelated to the S&P

CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GigaStar, a startup bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners through its next-generation marketplace, has received interest from Ananke Capital as an investor looking to gain institutional exposure to the Creator Economy.

Through GigaStar Market , an SEC registered funding portal, which operates a crowdfunding platform under Reg CF, YouTube Creators can transform Fans into strategic investors by offering them a percentage of their YouTube channel's potential future revenue. Investors should familiarize themselves with the risks of loss, including liquidity risks, and the potential loss of their investment.

GigaStar Market has launched five YouTube Creator offerings to date, raising $1.1M+ on the platform with 10,000+ investors, and a sixth offering in the pipeline. Ananke Capital's Singularity Fund I has decided to allocate $100K to invest in YouTube Creators on the GigaStar Market platform, with interest in trading in GigaStar's secondary market. The secondary market is currently expected to launch in June of 2024.

"GigaStar is creating a new investment category by securitizing future revenue within the Creator Economy", said GigaStar CEO, Hazem Dawani. "Looking forward, we anticipate that more institutions like Ananke Capital will recognize the portfolio potential of YouTube channels as investable assets. GigaStar Market is the only regulated platform that can offer these assets today."

"Ananke was searching for a modern, highly scalable, and accessible way to invest in the Creator Economy. GigaStar is currently the only institutional-grade technology that achieves this goal.", said Tim Gorham, Principal of Ananke Capital. "GigaStar Market offers income-generating investment assets with low correlation to traditional equity markets, adding diversification to our strategy. This technology is exactly what our fund was looking for."

About GigaStar

GigaStar fuels human creativity by bringing YouTube Creators and Fans together as partners in revenue-sharing securities. Fans can invest in YouTube Creators to support their channel's future, unlock special perks, and share in the Creator's journey. GigaStar leverages blockchain technology to give Creators streamlined access to funding, a new way to innovate Fan engagement, and the potential to bolster channel growth by transforming thousands of their fans into an army of promoters. Learn more at https://gigastar.io and join the GigaStar Discord at https://discord.gg/gigastar . Explore GigaStar Market at https://gigastarmarket.io/ .

About Ananke

Ananke Capital was founded on July 4th, 2021 by Principal Tim Gorham, an executive with fifteen years of professional experience focusing on volatility trading and market making. With the investment objective of achieving meaningful returns with the lowest volatility possible, Ananke Capital primarily focuses on Digital Assets and utilizes an Edge Based, 3rd Generation, Volatility Trading System with exceptionally low internal costs. For more information about Ananke Capital email [email protected] .

Creator Networks, Inc.(dba GigaStar). GigaStar is the Parent Company of GigaStar Portal, LLC (dba GigaStar Market), an SEC registered funding portal member of FINRA, and GigaStar Technologies LLC, offering blockchain and smart contract solutions via GigaStar Portfolio. Investment offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Media Contact:

Sarah McNabb

[email protected]

SOURCE GigaStar
DUBLIN, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Citrus Oil Market 2023-2028 by Type, Application, and Geography report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global citrus oil market is poised for substantial growth, projected to increase from USD 4.07 billion in 2023 to USD 5.3 billion by 2028, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.41%.

Driving Factors

Food and Beverage Industry Demand: Growing interest from the food and beverage industry, particularly in enhancing flavors and aromas of products like bakery items, beverages, and salads, is expected to drive market growth. Increased demand for carbonated beverages, bakery products, and non-carbonated beverages further fuels the market's expansion. Organic and Natural Formulations: Consumers' preference for organic and natural formulations, which offer health benefits without side effects, is boosting the demand for citrus oil. These formulations, albeit more expensive than conventional counterparts, yield higher profit margins and contribute to market growth. Alternative to Antibiotics in Animal Feed: The use of citrus oils as antibiotic alternatives in animal feed presents a growth opportunity. Citrus peel-extracted oils have antibacterial properties that aid in animal growth and disease prevention, making them a potential alternative to antibiotics. Ethnic Food Preparations: Citrus oils are gaining traction in ethnic foods due to their health benefits and natural origin. The oils are rich in vitamins, making them appealing for use in ethnic food preparations, thus driving market growth.

Market Segmentation

By Type: The market is categorized into Orange Oil, Lemon Oil, Lime Oil, Grapefruit Oil, and Others. Orange oil holds the largest market share, driven by its benefits for skincare and cosmetics, including anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

The market is categorized into Orange Oil, Lemon Oil, Lime Oil, Grapefruit Oil, and Others. Orange oil holds the largest market share, driven by its benefits for skincare and cosmetics, including anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. By Applications: Categories include Food & Beverages, Personal Care & Cosmetics, Aromatherapy, Pharmaceuticals, and Others. Citrus oil's use in natural cosmetics, owing to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, is expected to lead growth in the personal care segment.

Categories include Food & Beverages, Personal Care & Cosmetics, Aromatherapy, Pharmaceuticals, and Others. Citrus oil's use in natural cosmetics, owing to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, is expected to lead growth in the personal care segment. By Geography: Europe currently dominates the market due to its inclination toward natural ingredients and clean-label products, with Germany , the U.K., France , and Spain being key players. The region's affinity for ethnic foods further boosts citrus oil demand.

Company Profiles

The report provides comprehensive company profiles, including financial performance analysis for publicly listed firms in the market. Notable players include Bontoux, Citromax Flavors, Inc., Citrus & Allied Essences Ltd., Moksha Lifestyle Products, and Mountain Rose, Inc.

Competitive Quadrant and Ansoff Analysis

The report employs a Competitive Quadrant tool to evaluate companies based on Industry Position and Market Performance scores. Ansoff Matrix analysis is also utilized, providing insights into strategies for market growth. Additionally, strategies for growth based on SWOT analysis are devised for industry players.

In conclusion, the global citrus oil market is set for significant expansion, driven by diverse applications, consumer preferences, and industry dynamics. As demand for natural and health-oriented products continues to rise, citrus oil's prominence is expected to grow across multiple sectors.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Growing consumer preference for natural and organic products



Increasing demand for citrus flavors and aromas in the food and beverage industry



Rising awareness about the health benefits associated with citrus oil consumption

Restraints

Fluctuating prices of citrus fruits due to seasonal variations



Stringent regulations and quality standards governing the production

Opportunities

Increasing adoption of citrus oil in the nutraceutical industry



Rising demand for natural and eco-friendly cleaning and household products

Challenges

Environmental concerns related to citrus cultivation and oil extraction

Key Topics Covered



1 Report Description

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Market Dynamics

5 Market Analysis

6 Global Citrus Oil Market, By Type

7 Global Citrus Oil Market, By Applications

8 Americas' Citrus Oil Market

9 Europe's Citrus Oil Market

10 Middle East and Africa's Citrus Oil Market

11 APAC's Citrus Oil Market

12 Competitive Landscape

13 Company Profiles

14 Appendix



Companies Mentioned

Bmv Fragrances Pvt. Ltd.

Bontoux

Citromax Flavors, Inc.

Citrus & Allied Essences Ltd.

doTerra

Falcon

FAROTTI S.r.l.

Firmenich SA

Flavex Naturextrakte GmbH

Givaudan

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.

Lebermuth, Inc.

LIONEL HITCHEN

Mane

Moksha Lifestyle Products

Mountain Rose, Inc.

Norex Flavours Pvt. Ltd.

Robertet Group

Symrise AG

Synthite Industries Ltd.

Takasago International Corp.

Ultra International

Vedaoils

Vidyaherbs

Young Living Essential Oils

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ln712q

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:



Research and Markets

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[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
BEIJING, Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid high global attention and expectations, Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing for Johannesburg on Monday for a state visit to South Africa and to attend the BRICS Summit to be held from Tuesday to Thursday.

The visit is being widely welcomed by local scholars, who see it as a strong boost to deep-rooted China-South Africa relations as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations in 1998.

Observers also believe that Xi's visit to the continent, coming against the backdrop of aggravating geopolitics, can inject momentum into China-Africa cooperation, and help developing countries and emerging economies jointly seek an approach to address current global challenges.

The ambiance of the BRICS Summit became palpable upon Global Times reporter's arrival at Johannesburg airport. Posters and billboards publicizing the event can be seen everywhere.

National flags of South Africa and China are fluttering atop roadside poles en route to Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the official residence for the President of the Republic of South Africa in Pretoria.

Local residents, when seeing visitors from China, extended warm greetings and expressed their affection for the remote country. Many asked for a selfie with the reporter and told the Global Times they wanted to visit China one day, underscoring the positive rapport between the two countries and peoples.

China is an important investor in South Africa and provides support to the infrastructure development projects including the Small Harbour Development Project, the TVET Refurbishment Project and the Mzimvubu Water Project, all of which are instrumental in job creation, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by Government Communication and Information System on behalf of the Presidency of South Africa.

The welcome ceremony for Xi will take place on Tuesday morning, and discussions during Xi's state visit will explore further collaboration and partnerships the two nations can leverage to solidify existing diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations, according to the statement.

'Brotherly sentiments'

President Xi on Monday published a signed article in English entitled "Sailing the giant ship of China-South Africa friendship and cooperation toward greater success" on major media outlets in South Africa.

The ongoing visit is Xi's sixth to the "promising land of the 'rainbow nation,'" and Xi wrote that "Each of my visits to South Africa gave me new impressions. But the deepest is invariably the brotherly sentiments we have toward each other."

Paul Tembe, author of the book Xi Jinping and Thriving China-South Africa Relations in the New Era, was impressed by the warmth and close bond carried in Xi's article.

"Whenever President Xi visits South Africa, he always brings gifts. I am not referring to physical gifts, but intangible, symbolic gifts that expand our relationship," Tembe told the Global Times on Monday in Pretoria.

Xi wrote in the article that "Our friendship has traversed a long span of time," citing examples of China's support in South Africa's fight against apartheid in the mid-20th century. China was among the first to provide anti-COVID pandemic supplies to South Africa and recent aid of emergency power equipment amid the latter's energy crisis.

"Our relationship has entered a 'golden era,' enjoying broad prospects and a promising future South Africa was the first African country to sign the Belt and Road cooperation document with China. It has been China's biggest trading partner in Africa for 13 years in a row, as well as one of the African countries with the largest stock of Chinese investment," Xi wrote.

Bilateral trade in the first seven months of 2023 reached 226.15 billion yuan ($31.06 billion) with a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent, data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

China imports raw materials and resources from South Africa and helps in infrastructure and telecommunication, while analysts pointed out that potential for cooperation also lies in areas of South Africa's upgrading of its industrial pattern, digital economy and technological transfer and ocean economy.

Song Wei, a professor with the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday the two countries can also enhance cooperation and exchanges in the fields of culture, tourism and education and training.

In his signed article, Xi specified four objectives for bilateral relations - China and South Africa should be fellow companions sharing the same ideals, pacesetters for solidarity and cooperation, inheritors of China-Africa friendship, and champions of common interests.

Beyond bilateral

China-South Africa relationship has gone beyond the bilateral scope and carries increasingly important global influence, Xi wrote.

While in South Africa, Xi will co-chair with President Cyril Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Analysts believe that South Africa, as a major country in a promising land full of opportunities, can play a key role in driving the continent's cooperation with China and facilitate Africa's economic integration, industrialization and modernization.

David Monyae, director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, told the Global Times that China has made great contributions to Africa's development. Programs under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have benefited local people and China has done this out of true care for Africa's development, Monyae said.

Tembe also hailed the advantages of BRI, which is not abstract but practical and substantial.

In the first half of 2023, China added $1.82 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa, up by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Chinese companies have become increasingly confident in the African market. More than 3,000 Chinese enterprises have invested deeply in Africa, of which over 70 percent are private companies, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at the routine press briefing on August 18.

In many Chinese companies operating in Africa, over 80 percent of the staff are local employees. Chinese companies have given back to local communities by building bridges and roads, drilling wells and installing street lights. At the same time, they have increased technology transfer, local procurement and personnel training in Africa, and helped modernize the continent's agricultural, manufacturing and services sectors, Wang said.

Analysts said that China's cooperation with Africa has not only brought about opportunities for Africa to share in the fruits of development, but also provide inspiration for how developing countries should seek a path of modernization that suits their own national conditions.

Xi highlighted the completion and handover of a host of projects including the Africa CDC Headquarters, the Foundiougne Bridge in Senegal, the Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in the past decade of joint pursuit of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

In face of the profound changes unseen in a century, a strong China-Africa relationship and productive China-Africa cooperation will provide more fresh impetus to global development and ensure greater stability in the world, Xi wrote in his signed article.

This is all the more reason why China and South Africa, as natural members of the Global South, should work together to appeal for a greater voice and influence from developing countries in international affairs, and Xi called for joint opposition to unilateral sanctions and the "small yard, high fence" mentality to jointly safeguard the common interests.

Sanusha Naidu, senior research fellow at Institute for Global Dialogue, told the Global Times in Johannesburg that BRICS exists simply because there was a need for the BRICS format. "BRICS in itself is an iteration and an expression of the Global South."

BRICS is of extraordinary importance when the world faces joint challenges of a post-pandemic recovery and rising geopolitical tensions, as developing countries prioritize growth over differences in ideologies and systems, analysts said.

The theme of the upcoming BRICS Summit, its focus on Africa and agenda of closer financial cooperation and expansion of membership, prove that the mechanism continues to serve the immediate needs of developing countries, Lan Qingxin, director of the Center for BRICS Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday.

BRICS is a platform for developing countries to make their voice heard and work together for their benefits. It has never sought and will never seek to confront the Group of Seven (G7) or any other mechanisms, Lan said. He added that the unprecedented attention to a BRICS event and continuous attacks out of a confrontational mentality just demonstrated the necessity and urgency for fairer and more inclusive global governance.

SOURCE Global Times
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hauser Private Equity, a co-investor and fund manager based in Cincinnati, is pleased to welcome Hayley Long to its team as Investor Development Director. Long is responsible for managing relationships with existing investors and partners, and raising future capital with a focus on private wealth and intermediary relationships.

"I am delighted to announce that I have joined Hauser Private Equity as their Investor Development Director. Their impressive portfolio, track record, and an esteemed Board of Directors have generated tremendous appetite for the funds. I am honored to work with an industry leading group of high-net-worth investors and build upon the success of HPE's distinctive co-investment fund model," said Long.

Long brings eight years of financial services and trading experience, including four years in funds management at leading global asset managers Nuveen and PGIM. She graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a second Bachelor of Commerce in finance from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Mark Hauser, founder and co-managing partner of Hauser Private Equity , said of the team's growth: "We added over 50 new investors in Core Fund IV, which closed earlier this year. Hayley has joined our team to contribute to and develop growth plans for future core funds as well as provide additional resources for our existing high-net-worth investors."

About Hauser Private Equity

Hauser Private Equity is a Cincinnati-based co-investor and fund manager with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. It invests on behalf of high-net-worth individuals and families in the lower-middle and middle markets via partnerships with control buyout funds. Founded in 2008 by Mark Hauser, the firm's managers target funds and companies in healthcare, industrials, and tech-enabled financial services, business services and consumer goods.

Hauser Private Equity's five funds are investing over $650 million in capital. The firm seeks co-investments alongside funds with strategic investment models that add operating leadership to their portfolio companies. Co-investment partners generally include funds ranging from $250 million to $2 billion. Ideal partners are North American-based buyout funds with investment models that provide operational leadership to similarly domiciled portfolio companies.

About Mark Hauser

Mark Hauser is managing partner at Hauser Private Equity, where he oversees investment selection and capital formation for the firm. He founded the firm in 2008 as a continuation of the successful strategies he had previously developed for Hauser Capital Partners. He also built, and remains a shareholder together with his family, HAUSER Inc., a national full-service risk advisory and insurance brokerage firm tailored to private equity managers and portfolio companies.

Contact

Phil Riola

Chief Compliance Officer

Hauser Private Equity

[email protected]

233 Wilshire Blvd.

Suite 900

Santa Monica, CA 90401

SOURCE Hauser Private Equity
OREM, Utah, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Havenpark Communities, an owner and operator of manufactured home communities in Iowa and across the country, has awarded academic scholarships to five of its Iowa residents. The scholarships, worth up to $10,000 annually, are part of Havenpark's Annual Scholarship Fund for residents. In 2023, 38 residents from across the country were awarded scholarships to cover expenses for college, universities, trade, and vocational schools.

2023 Havenpark Iowa Scholarship Winners Joel Castillo, Minh Giang, Isabel Jimenez, Karashauna Jones, and Sarai Trigueros

Students Joel Castillo, Minh Giang, Isabel Jimenez, Karashauna Jones, and Sarai Trigueros will benefit from Havenpark's Education Success Program, an initiative committed to increasing access to education for those living in Havenpark communities.

"Our mission is to create thriving, healthy communities," said J. Anthony Antonelli, chairman and co-founder of Havenpark Communities. "The Education Success Program is one of the most direct ways that we get to deliver on that promise."

The Education Success Program, first piloted in 2021, expanded its nationwide scholarship fund to $500,000 this year. Thirty-eight students from Havenpark communities across the country were selected to receive a scholarship in 2023, a testament to the rapid growth of the program, which began with only three students.

Joel Castillo is the first in his family to attend college. In his junior year at the University of Iowa, Castillo's $10,000 scholarship will be essential to finishing out his degree as a first-generation student. "It truly means so much to me that I was gifted such an amazing boost opportunity to continue my education and pursue many of the dreams and goals I desire to accomplish," said Castillo. "Being a first-generation student motivated me to do my best and make my family and those around me proud. This scholarship will not only help with academic expenses but will also help me in achieving my ultimate goal to be the first to graduate."

Other scholarship winners, Karashauna Jones and Sarai Trigueros, currently attend Kirkwood Community College and expect to graduate in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Minh Giang will be graduating from Mercy College of Health and Sciences in 2025, and Isabel Jimenez will receive her degree from Iowa State University the same year.

"Being able to not only provide monetary relief but guidance and mentorship through the program has been a pleasure," said Dr. Jason Hale, Havenpark's director of education success. "We have so many driven, ambitious students who have been flourishing year by year."

Havenpark is committed to enriching the lives of its residents  to learn more about the scholarship program or eligibility, visit the education page of Havenpark's website: https://havenparkcommunities.com/education/

Havenpark Communities is an operator and developer of manufactured home communities and makes caring communities attainable for responsible residents in Iowa and across America. Since 2017, Havenpark has sourced and installed over 4,000 new factory-built homes, providing quality, affordable living to over 10,000 Americans across the country. Last year, Havenpark Communities added 870 new affordable homes across the country and has committed to adding another 800 in 2023. Havenpark believes in respectful and professional management, well-maintained communities, and attainable homeownership. Havenpark makes long-term investments in its communities, providing enduring value for current and future residents.

Contact

Jenny Werwa

werwa@invariantgr.com

SOURCE Havenpark Communities
The 'Arctic Circle Crossing' inspired by 10th Century explorers includes four maiden calls in Greenland, a trip to the North Cape and extensive scenic cruising

SEATTLE, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From trending travel destinations to seldom-visited locales, Holland America Line's new 28-day "Arctic Circle Crossing: Greenland & Iceland" is a Legendary Voyage to Greenland, Iceland and Norway. Departing June 29, 2025, aboard Nieuw Statendam, the journey is inspired by the routes of Norse explorer Erik the Red who founded the first European settlement in Greenland.

Nieuw Statendam will sail roundtrip from Rotterdam on this new voyage Alesund will be the first port of call on Holland America Lines New 28-Day Legendary Voyage

Sailing roundtrip from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the cruise features 15 ports across five countries, passage through the Arctic Circle, an overnight in Reykjavik, Iceland, scenic cruising through Iceland and Greenland's spellbinding fjords and four maiden calls in Greenland. Cruisers on the "Arctic Circle Crossing" will set sail on one of Holland America Line's most intensive explorations of this region ever offered.

"Legendary Voyages give us the opportunity to create longer cruises that delve deeper into a region and include ports we don't normally visit, like the four maiden calls in Greenland on the new Arctic Circle Crossing," said Beth Bodensteiner, chief commercial officer of Holland America Line. "We're taking this itinerary up to Norway's North Cape, then heading farther north in Greenland on both coasts and adding amazing opportunities in Iceland. At 28 days, it's the perfect length to showcase this area and give our guests an experience that goes beyond a brief introduction to the countries."

Highlights of the 'Arctic Circle Crossing' Legendary Voyage

28 days, departing June 29, 2025 , roundtrip from Rotterdam .

, roundtrip from . 15 calls in five countries (listed in order of visit): Alesund, Trondheim, Honningsvag (North Cape) and Troms, Norway ; Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), Greenland ; Akureyri and Isafjordur Iceland ; Nuuk (Godthab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) and Nanortalik, Greenland ; Reykjavik, Iceland (overnight); Stornoway (Isle of Lewis) and Invergordon ( Inverness ), Scotland ; and Dover ( London ), England .

; Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), ; Akureyri and Isafjordur ; Nuuk (Godthab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) and Nanortalik, ; (overnight); Stornoway (Isle of Lewis) and ( ), ; and ( ), . Maiden Calls, all in Greenland : Nuuk, Ittoqqortoormiit, Sisimiut, Ilulissat.

: Nuuk, Ittoqqortoormiit, Sisimiut, Ilulissat. Crossing the Arctic Circle at several points throughout the voyage.

Overnight call July 20 and 21 in Reykjavik .

and 21 in . Scenic cruising opportunities: North Cape ( Norway ); Jan Mayen Island , a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean; Scoresbysund ( Greenland ); and Eyjafjordur and Isafjardardjur ( Iceland ).

What is a 'Legendary Voyage'?

These lengthier cruises, which range from 25 to 59 days, combine the ceremony of Holland America Line's Grand Voyages while focusing on a singular region. They visit some of the most unique ports while offering guests an in-depth exploration. Shipboard programming is specially curated to share insights into the history and culture of the destinations visited.

Legendary Voyages are offered on a variety of the line's perfectly sized ships where guests enjoy the "best of" Grand Voyages on-board programming such as iconic theme parties, memorable sailaways and classic cruise activities to further enhance the experience.

Who is Erik the Red?

Norse explorer Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, was exiled from Iceland and set out to explore the land to the west, which he named Greenland. After establishing the first European settlement on an island near Qaqortoq, he returned to Iceland to bring more settlers back to Greenland. He is the father of Leif Erikson, one of the first Europeans to reach North America.

'Have it All' Early Booking Bonus

The "Arctic Circle Crossing" opens for booking Aug. 24, 2023. For a limited time, when guests book this cruise with the Have It All Early Booking Bonus, the standard package amenities of shore excursions, specialty dining, a Signature Beverage Package and Surf Wi-Fi are included  plus the added perk of free prepaid Crew Appreciation, along with free upgrades to the Elite Beverage Package and Premium Wi-Fi.

Have it All Early Booking Bonus fares for the Arctic Circle Crossing begin at $6,399, double occupancy. Taxes, fees and port expenses are additional.

For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the Holland America Blog. You can also access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com.

About Holland America Line

Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL andNYSE:CUK), has been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience, its fleet visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years  longer than any other cruise line. Holland America Line's 11 vessels feature a diverse range of enriching activities and amenities focused on destination immersion and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from a Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

CONTACT: Bill Zucker, Erik Elvejord PHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890 EMAIL: [email protected]

SOURCE Holland America Line
TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Humble & Fume Inc. (CSE: HMBL) (OTCQX: HUMBF) ("Humble" or the "Company"), a leading North American distributor of cannabis and cannabis accessories, today bolstered its expansion plans as it announced an additional $4 million USD investment by Green Acre Capital Distribution Corp. ("Green Acre") into HC Solutions Holdings Inc. ("HCI"), a joint venture company established by Humble and Green Acre. The focus of this venture continues to be the strategic distribution of cannabis products across the United States, with a primary focus on California.

Green Acre has financed its investment through an option agreement with Johnson Brothers, a leading wine, spirits, and beer distributor in the United States. Further information on the JV, Green Acre and Johnson Brothers is set out in the company's Nov. 15, 2021, and April 25, 2022, press releases. This innovative financing approach aligns with Humble's ethos of seeking strategic partnerships that leverage industry expertise and resources to fuel expansion.

Green Acre and Johnson's commitment, in the form of this substantial financial infusion, underscores their steadfast support for Humble's growth trajectory within the cannabis distribution landscape. This augmented partnership capitalizes on the synergies between the parties, amplifying their combined influence in the rapidly evolving cannabis market.

"Securing this additional $4 million USD investment represents another significant step forward in our strategic plan for growth and market presence," commented Jakob Ripshtein, CEO of Humble. "We are proud to deepen our relationship with our partners and appreciate their unwavering confidence in our ability to drive forward within the competitive landscape of cannabis distribution."

By leveraging the financial backing and strategic acumen of its partners, Humble is poised to seize new opportunities, broaden its product offerings, and enhance its operational capabilities. The investment increases Green Acre's ownership stake in HCI from 50.2% to 75%, while Humble retains the remaining 25%.

Green Acre has also granted to Humble an option for a period of six months to acquire 50% of the common shares of HCI acquired by Green Acre pursuant to the subscription described above for an aggregate purchase price of $2 million USD.

For more information about the joint venture, Green Acre Capital, and Johnson Brothers, please refer to the Company's previous press releases dated November 15, 2021, April 25, 2022, and September 13, 2022.

About Humble & Fume Inc.

Humble & Fume Inc. (CSE: HMBL; OTCQX: HUMBF) is a premier distributor of cannabis products and accessories across North America. With a commitment to excellence, innovation, and market leadership, Humble & Fume is dedicated to shaping the future of cannabis distribution and enhancing consumer experiences.

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to, the Company's assessment of the cannabis market in the United States generally and specifically, the state of California, and the expected results for brand partners of the Company. Any such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "contemplates", "believes", "projects", "plans" and similar expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements about, among other things, the potential for Johnson Brothers, through Green Acre, to increase its ownership percentage in the joint venture, the potential impact on brands that engage Humble for their distribution and/or sales agency and the future of the cannabis industry in California and across the United States, including the anticipated ongoing consumer demand, are all forward-looking information. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will occur as described herein. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances or actual results unless required by applicable law. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's disclosure available on its SEDAR profile (at www.sedar.com) for information as to the risks and other factors which may effect the Company's business objectives and strategic plans.

SOURCE Humble & Fume Inc.
IBM is designing this product to refactor, transform, and validate COBOL code to help speed time-to-value and augment skills for critical application modernization on IBM Z

The product will be enabled by a 20 billion parameter large language model (LLM) for code

ARMONK, N.Y., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced watsonx Code Assistant for Z, a new generative AI-assisted product that will help enable faster translation of COBOL to Java on IBM Z and enhances developer productivity on the platform. This product will be generally available in Q4 2023, and is being designed to help accelerate COBOL application modernization. Watsonx Code Assistant for Z will preview during TechXchange, IBM's premier technical learning event in Las Vegas, Sept 11-13.

IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z Product Demonstration. IBM Plans to Make Llama 2 Available within its watsonx AI and Data Platform

Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is a new addition to the watsonx Code Assistant product family, along with IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed, scheduled for release later this year. These solutions will be powered by IBM's watsonx.ai code model, which will have knowledge of 115 coding languages1 having learned from 1.5 trillion tokens.2 At 20 billion parameters, it is on target to become one of the largest generative AI foundation models for code automation.3 The watsonx Code Assistant product portfolio will extend over time to address other programming languages, to improve time to value for modernization and address growing skills challenges for developers.

Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is being designed to assist businesses in leveraging generative AI and automated tooling to accelerate their mainframe application modernization  all with the goal of preserving the performance, security and resiliency capabilities of IBM Z.

The COBOL data processing language supports many vital business and operational processes at organizations globally. At scale, using watsonx Code Assistant for Z in comparison to other approaches could make it easier for developers to selectively and incrementally transform COBOL business services into well architected high-quality Java code  with estimated billions of lines of COBOL code as potential candidates for targeted modernization over time. Generative AI can help developers to more quickly assess, update, validate and test the right code, allowing them to more efficiently modernize large applications and focus on higher impact tasks.

IBM is designing these capabilities to provide tooling for each step of the modernization journey. The solution is expected to include IBM's Application Discovery and Delivery Intelligence (ADDI) inventory and analysis tool. Following ADDI, key steps on the journey include refactoring business services in COBOL, transforming COBOL code to Java code with an optimized design, and validating the resulting outcome, including using automated testing capabilities. Potential benefits for clients include:

Accelerating code development and increasing developer productivity throughout the application modernization lifecycle

Managing total cost, complexity, and risk of application modernization initiatives, including translation and optimization of code in-place on IBM Z

Expanding access to a broader pool of IT skills and accelerating developer onboarding

Achieving high quality, easy to maintain code through model customization and the application of best practices

"Our collaboration with IBM is an important element in our drive to leverage generative AI interfaces to challenge legacy approaches with material productivity gains, and reinvent our Capital Markets solutions," said Roger Burkhardt, CTO, Capital Markets and AI, Broadridge Financial. "We have had excellent client response to our generative AI investments and we are intrigued by the opportunity to further our efforts by leveraging IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z to address a broader range of platforms."

AI-assisted mainframe application modernization is an imperative

According to new research from the IBM Institute for Business Value, organizations are 12x more likely to leverage existing mainframe assets rather than rebuild their application estates from scratch in the next two years. At the same time, however, the study shows that the number one challenge for those same organizations is a lack of resources and skills.

"By bringing generative AI capabilities through watsonx to new use cases, we plan to drive real progress for our clients," said Kareem Yusuf, PhD, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Growth, IBM Software. "IBM is engineering watsonx Code Assistant for Z to take a targeted and optimized approach. It's built to rapidly and accurately convert code optimized for IBM Z, accelerate time to market and broaden the skills pool. This can help enhance applications and add new capabilities while preserving the performance, resiliency, and security inherent in IBM Z."

There are many application modernization approaches available today. Some options include rewriting all application code in Java, or migrating everything to public cloud, which may sacrifice capabilities that are core to the IBM Z value proposition while failing to deliver on expected cost reduction. Tools that convert COBOL applications to Java syntax can produce code that is hard to maintain and can be unrecognizable to a Java developer. Generative AI is promising, but current AI-assisted partial re-write technology lacks COBOL support and doesn't optimize the resulting Java code for the given task.

The resulting Java code from watsonx Code Assistant for Z will be object-oriented. IBM is designing this solution to be optimized to interoperate with the rest of the COBOL application, with CICS, IMS, DB2, and other z/OS runtimes. Java on Z is designed to be performance-optimized versus a compared x86 platform.4

Building on a foundation of governance and innovation

According to a 2023 Gartner report (For Gartner Subscribers only), "by 2028, the combination of humans and AI assistants working in tandem could reduce the time to complete coding tasks by 30%." The report further states that "the use of AI code generation tools is not replacing the quality assurance (QA) processes and security controls that are needed by developers for robust and secure product development, as well as for mitigation of inherited risks from using generative methods for code."5

Protecting sensitive data and customer intellectual property are critical when it comes to implementing generative AI. IBM for decades has followed core principles, grounded in commitments to Trust and Transparency. With this principle-based approach, the watsonx platform aims to enable enterprises to leverage their own trusted data and IP to build tailored AI solutions that are scalable across operations.

Additionally, IBM Consulting brings deep domain expertise in IBM Z application modernization with a focus on guiding clients that leverage the platform across key industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare and government. These dedicated consultants can help clients identify the right application areas to modernize in order to optimize the potential benefits of watsonx Code Assistant for Z.

For more information about AI-assisted mainframe application modernization, and to get started with IBM's optimized, targeted approach, please visit our website here and join us at TechXchange. Register today for our watsonx Code Assistant for Z webinar on Sept. 21 at 11 am ET here and learn how IBM is bringing Gen AI to mainframe application modernization. You can also schedule a live demo with our team here.

IBM's plans, directions, and intentions may change or be withdrawn at any time at IBM's discretion without notice. Information about potential future products and improvements is provided to give a general idea of IBM's goals and objectives and should not be used in making a purchase decision. IBM is not obligated to provide any material, code, or functionality based on this information.

5 Gartner, Emerging Tech: Generative AI Code Assistants Are Becoming Essential to Developer Experience, By Radu Miclaus, Arun Chandrasekaran, Ray Valdes, Mark Driver, Eric Goodness, Published 11 May 2023

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Media Contact:

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1 List of coding languages used in the model can be found here: https://github.ibm.com/ai-models-architectures/Granite-Megatron-LM/blob/starcoder-experiments/sampling_proportions/starcoderdata-90/proportions.txt

2 Number based on proprietary internal data.

3 Previous largest was community model StarCoder at 15B https://www.marktechpost.com/2023/05/07/meet-starcoder-the-biggest-open-source-large-language-models-for-code/

4 For example, as noted during the announcement of IBM z16, using IBM Semeru Runtime Certified Edition 11, run Business Rules Processing with IBM Operational Decision Manager 8.11.00 on Linux on IBM z16 for up to 70% higher throughput per core versus running the same application on a compared x86 server. DISCLAIMER: Performance results are based on the average of measurements done using IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) 8.11.0 with IBM Java 8.0.7.10 and IBM Semeru Runtime Certified Edition 11.0.15.0 on IBM z16 and on a compared x86 server. Two different configurations were tested: executing 2005 rules (from a ruleset containing 14560 rules), and executing 80 rules (from a ruleset containing 300 rules). IBM z16 configuration: Linux on IBM Z LPAR with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5 (Ootpa) and 4 IFLs (SMT). x86 server configuration: Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 8.6 (Ootpa) and 4 SMT-2 cores (Cascade Lake Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6226R CPU @ 2.90GHz). Results may vary.

SOURCE IBM
DUBLIN, Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Indian Aviation MRO Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report analyzes the Indian commercial aviation MRO market, highlighting critical industry trends, competitor landscape, market drivers, and restraints. Based on these findings, the study identifies vital short-term and long-term growth opportunities in the relevant MRO segments.

India's aviation sector is among the fastest growing in the world and set to become the third largest globally. The current commercial aircraft fleet size is estimated to grow from about 714 aircraft to 2,000 aircraft within the next decade.

This aligns with the government's plans to build 220 new airports and add 1,000 new routes by 2026. The rising middle class will fuel the growth in air passenger traffic at an expected CAGR of 8.5%. India outsources nearly 90% of its MRO services to Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka, indicating a sizeable supply-and-demand gap, negatively impacting the trade deficit.

Therefore, the Government of India aims to promote India as a global MRO hub and provides a host of initiatives supporting this goal. The revenue opportunity in the country's aviation MRO industry is immense.

Key Topics Covered:

Strategic Imperatives

Why is it Increasingly Difficult to Grow?

The Strategic Imperative

The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Indian Aviation Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Industry

Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

Growth Opportunity Universe

Growth Opportunity 1: Engine MRO Services

Growth Opportunity 2: Component MRO Services

Growth Opportunity 3: Use of Advanced Technology

Growth Opportunity Analysis

Context

Research Scope and Overview

Segmentation

MRO Trends

Market Trends In India

Growth Drivers

Growth Restraints

Barriers to Entry

MRO Policy 2021

GoI Initiatives

Other MRO Initiatives

Vision 2040

MRO Services - Scheduled and Unscheduled Checks

Market Overview

Major MRO Providers - India

Commercial Aircraft in India

Commercial Aircraft Engines in India

MRO Market

Growth Opportunities in the Indian Commercial Aviation MRO Market

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f0g0zw

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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The global insulation products market is driven by factors, including the increasing construction industry, and high demand for insulation products from various end-use industries

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Insulation Products Market By Type (Thermal and Acoustic & Others), By Material (Mineral Wool, Fiberglass, Stone Wool, Polyurethane Foam, Phenolic Foam, and Others Insulation), By End-Use Industry (Building and Construction, Industrial, Transportation, Consumer Goods, and Others), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA): Global Opportunity Analysis And Industry Forecast, 2023-2032." According to the report, the insulation products industry was valued at $62.1 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $102.6 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.2% from 2023 to 2032.

Insulation products refer to materials or products specifically designed and used to reduce heat transfer and improve energy efficiency in buildings and other structures. These products are used to create a barrier between the interior and exterior environments, preventing the transfer of heat, cold, sound, or moisture.

Download Sample Pages of Research Overview: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/123413

Prime Determinants of Growth:

The global insulation products market is driven by factors, including the increasing construction industry, and high demand for insulation products from various end-use industries. However, the changing price of raw materials for insulation materials is restricting the market growth. Moreover, the increased demand for insulation products for energy conservation offers remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the insulation products market.

Report Coverage & Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $62.1 Billion Market Size in 2032 $102.6 Billion CAGR 5.2 % No. of Pages in Report 305 Segments Covered Type, Material, End-use Industry, and Region Drivers High demand for insulation products from various end-use industries Increasing construction industry Opportunities Increased demand for insulation products for energy conservation Restraints The fluctuating cost of raw material of insulation material

The thermal segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period-

Based on type, the thermal segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing to more than three-fifths of the global insulation products market revenue, and is expected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. This is due to governments and international organizations increasingly focusing on energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. As a result, there were stricter building codes and regulations that mandated the use of thermal insulation in construction to improve energy efficiency. However, the acoustic and others segment would showcase the fastest CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period.

Procure Complete Report (305 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3stIBGI

The others insulation segment to maintain its leadership position during the forecast period-

Based on material, the others insulation segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, holding more than one-third of the global insulation products market revenue and it is expected to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. The same segment would cite the fastest CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period. This is due to the growth of the construction industry in various regions also positively impacting the cellulose insulation market, as construction companies sought energy-efficient solutions for their projects.

The building and construction segment to rule the roost by 2032-

Based on end use industry, the building and construction segment held the largest market share in 2022, accounting for more than one-third of the global insulation products market revenue and is projected to rule the roost by 2032. Owing to a growing awareness of environmental issues, there is a shift towards sustainable construction practices. Insulation materials play a crucial role in improving energy efficiency and overall sustainability of buildings. Eco-friendly and recyclable insulation materials, such as cellulose, fiberglass, and mineral wool, are gaining popularity as they align with green building initiatives. However, the transportation segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2032-

Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global insulation products market and it is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. The same region would also display the fastest CAGR of 5.5% throughout the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the fact that the region has been attracting significant foreign investments, leading to extensive infrastructure development. As new infrastructure projects are initiated, insulation materials are used to ensure that these structures meet modern energy efficiency standards and adhere to environmental regulations.

Leading Market Players: -

Huntsman Corporation

Kingspan Group

BASF SE

Owens Corning

Saint-Gobain

Armacell

Wincell Insulation Co., LTD.

LX Hausys

ROCKWOOL A/S

Asahi Kasei Corporation

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global insulation products market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain 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.

Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players' Strategies:

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/insulation-products-market/purchase-options

Similar Reports:

Active Insulation Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031

Tank Insulation Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031

Phenolic Insulation Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031

Pipe Insulation Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032

Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Insulation Material Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

Insulation Materials Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030

About Us

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. 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. 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
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eyeing both a hole in the market for influencer valuation as well as a demand for an easy to understand score that explains the social media power of an individual, Intellifluence is announcing the launch of its new measurement known as Herd Worth.

Intellifluence Herd Worth Herd Worth example

"Brands want to have accurate information on how much an influencer's full attention is really worth, while influencers often want to know how they compare to their peers," said Joe Sinkwitz, CEO and Co-Founder of Intellifluence. "Figuring out influencer worth is getting too complicated. We've been conducting influencer compensation studies for a couple years now, and the data derived from them is not getting any simpler  each social network has its own supply and demand curve for what the market will bear, each has its own per follower baseline calculation, each has its own variance when accounting for true engagement. Our goal here, for brands, is to try and simplify. Brands are still almost always going to hire influencers on a social network per post basis, but this provides a much better gut check to allow an apples-to-apples comparison when the decision is not simple. Say for instance you are comparing two influencers, one more popular on Instagram and one more popular on TikTok, but both are reaching their audiences via multiple channels. From an investment perspective, Herd Worth will help a brand to place a bet easier by quickly estimating what the overall worth is for a single post across all those networks. This should hopefully make it easier for those brands new to influencer marketing to make their first couple of pitching decisions."

Intellifluence as a large warm contact network provides match-making technology that makes it easy for brands to connect with and run marketing fulfillment campaigns with influencers over all facets of social media who have opted-in to work with brands.

"The other side of the development of Herd Worth was the influencer's focus and desire to be the best," Sinkwitz continued. "In the past there have been good attempts to provide a singular score which social media users could use as rough guidance when it came to expanding their overall presence. Sadly, many of those attempts have gone by the wayside because they were not tied to a score that was more concrete and marketable. With Herd Worth, influencers won't just have a number they can brag about, they'll have a dollar figure associated with it. I cannot think of a simpler ranking method by which one can compare to one's peers. Without getting too much into the proprietary calculations, we designed HW in such a way that the better the influencer goes about their business, such as improving post quality, community relations, or community outreach, the better their HW score will get. We wanted to create something that was aligned with the influencer  the better they are as an influencer, the higher their Herd Worth will ultimately get. There's still a lot of work to be done integrating the use of Herd Worth throughout Intellifluence and teaching our users how best to interact with it, but we're very excited for the challenge."

Moving forward Intellifluence intends to incorporate Herd Worth into its existing compensation guidance system and provide tools surrounding the use of it in the broader influencer community.

About Intellifluence

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona and established in 2016, Intellifluence is an influencer marketing platform that helps brands and influencers collaborate with ease. Intellifluence is also the home of the largest warm influencer network in the world, meaning each one of its over 200,000 opt-in influencers has joined the platform on their own and is ready to partner with brands. For more information on Intellifluence, please visit Intellifluence.com.

Media Contact:

Andrew Evans

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364141@email4pr.com

SOURCE Intellifluence
In addition, portfolio analytics solution named finalist in ThinkAdvisor Luminaries and Wealth Management Industry Awards

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kwanti, a portfolio analytics solution aiding financial advisors and investment managers with prospect conversion, client retention, model management, and more, recently announced two new enhancements to their platform, including Tax Drag Analysis, which allows advisors to identify hidden portfolio expenses and tax liability.

"Investing involves many hidden costs that reduce returns," said Christophe Gauthron, CFA, Founder and CEO of Kwanti. "It's important for financial advisors to not only identify these costs in portfolios but also demonstrate and explain them in an understandable fashion to clients."

"It's important for advisors to not only identify hidden costs but to also explain them in an understandable fashion." Post this

Tax drag can have a significant effect on overall performance, and tax-efficient investing techniques are important for recognizing capital gains, transferring wealth, and estate planning. Advisors that have the ability to show clients the impact of taxes between different investments can help them understand the importance of tax planning when investing. By reducing tax liability, the money saved stays invested and then compounds over time.

Kwanti's Tax Drag Analysis is designed to shed light on the 'hidden' expenses of portfolios and models in a clear and demonstrable manner. For Kwanti users, the existing portfolio expenses analysis has been invaluable in understanding how high expense ratios can affect and drag down portfolio returns. Now, with the new Tax Drag Analysis, advisors can efficiently showcase the significant impact of inefficient tax management on portfolio returns. 'Fund Expenses' and 'Tax Drag' now make up the improved 'Expenses' tab in Kwanti's intuitive, user-friendly interface.

Kwanti's Tax Drag Analysis is now available to both new and current users at no additional cost. To learn more about Tax Drag Analysis, please click here to visit the Kwanti blog.

Kwanti offers a free 30-day trial, with no software to install and all features available during the trial. Financial advisors and other interested parties can click here to sign up for the free trial or click here to watch a demo.

ADVANCED MODEL PORTFOLIO TRACKING

Kwanti also recently introduced advanced Model Portfolio Tracking. Model Tracking is the ability to add a model portfolio's history of changes to achieve a more realistic illustration and performance calculation. For example, an advisor applied tactical changes to the model, and they want Kwanti's simulation to follow these changes. Previously, the only way to edit model history in Kwanti was through an import of CSV files. With this enhancement, users can edit the model history within the application, without the need for CSV imports.

Seeing a model portfolio's history of changes is very important when making proposals to prospects and clients. If tactical changes were applied to a model portfolio, or if the portfolio was rebalanced multiple times, the performance shown should reflect these changes. This ensures that the performance calculation aligns with the specific changes made, giving a more accurate representation of how the portfolio has performed over time.

Furthermore, having a comprehensive view of the portfolio's history and how it has navigated market fluctuations can help alleviate investor concerns. It provides a broader perspective on the portfolio's performance by going beyond what can be shown without the historical changes made to a model. This, in turn, can reassure investors to stay invested for the long run and help them avoid making impulsive decisions based on short-term market movements.

Kwanti's Model Tracking feature is now available to both new and current users at no additional cost. To learn more about Model Tracking, please click here to visit the Kwanti blog. To see full documentation and a "how-to" video for using Model Tracking, please click here for a full tutorial.

KWANTI NAMED FINALIST IN INDUSTRY LEADING AWARD PROGRAMS

In addition, Kwanti was named a finalist in the financial services industry's two leading awards programs: the 2023 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards, an annual competition often referred to as the Wealthies, and the 2023 ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Awards.

In the 2023 Wealthies, Kwanti was named a finalist in the 'Model Marketplaces' category thanks to their robust model marketplace that offers model portfolios from some of the industry's top investment managers, including Fidelity, WisdomTree, BlackRock, State Street, and more. Kwanti's model marketplace gives advisors the ability to leverage the money management skills of some of the world's largest companies and take advantage of the robust institutional resources that go into developing third-party portfolios. Kwanti makes it easy to create custom models and implement blended strategies, which provide the ability to, for example, manage a fixed income and emerging markets focus within one portfolio. Advisors can design and manage as many model portfolios as they have clients, and updates can be as simple as dragging a slider to readjust weightings. Sharing models across team members is also easy: one member of an advisory team can create, edit, and manage all models while everyone else can be given access to each or just a few.

For the ninth year this September, WealthManagement.com will honor the best companies, individuals, and organizations that support financial advisor success at its annual Industry Awards. This year's winners across 92 categories, chosen by an independent panel of judges from more than 400 finalists, will be announced on September 7th at a black tie gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. The finalists were culled down from more than 1,000 entries from 413 companies.

To see the full list of finalists and to learn more about the 2023 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards, please click here. To learn more about the 2023 Industry Awards gala and activities, please click here.

In the 2023 ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Awards, Kwanti was named a finalist in the Financial & Investment Innovation category among Fintech/TAMP Platforms thanks to the consistent enhancements they make to their industry-leading portfolio analytics solution. The Luminaries shine a spotlight on individuals and firms that are taking the most creative and boldest steps to push the investment advisory industry forward, while having the biggest impact. The 2023 Luminaries program will culminate at the 3rd Annual ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Awards Dinner held in New York City on November 28th.

"We're so excited to be named a finalist in both of these industry-leading awards programs," said Gauthron. "This recognition reinforces all our hard work, as well as the enhancements we continually make to our platform in order to best serve advisors and their clients."

To see the full list of finalists and to learn more about the 2023 ThinkAdvisor Luminaries, as well as the Awards Dinner, please click here.

ABOUT KWANTI

Founded by Christophe Gauthron, CFA and based in San Francisco, California, Kwanti is a portfolio analytics solution aiding financial advisors and investment managers with prospect conversion, client acquisition and retention, model management, and much more by delivering portfolio analytics, investment performance data, stress testing, and proposals. The intuitive, web-based interface allows investment advisors to balance serving clients well and managing portfolios with data-driven expertise by combining powerful analytics and proposal generation designed to optimize time and resources. To learn more about Kwanti, visit www.Kwanti.com.

Media Contact:

Jonny Swift

Impact Communications, Inc.

913-649-5009

[email protected]

SOURCE Kwanti
LatticeFlow unveils a new approach for building and deploying resilient AI systems for mission-critical applications

ZURICH, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LatticeFlow , the leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform for improving model performance and safety, developed a novel paradigm in collaboration with the U.S. Army to build and deploy the next generation of highly resilient AI systems. Stemming from a three-year long strategic engagement between the two organizations, this initiative aims to elevate security measures and curtail safety risks to prevent unintended consequences.

" LatticeFlow's approach is instrumental in enabling military commanders and decision-makers to confidently deploy mission-critical AI systems."  said Dr. Igor Linkov, Senior Technical Manager at the US Army Corps of Engineers. He added: "A distinctive feature of their technology is the ability to create resilient AI models, which ensure that mission objectives are met despite potential disruptions and mis-predictions during deployment."

LatticeFlow's result stems from a three-year long strategic engagement with the US Army to unlock mission-critical AI Post this

Dr. Linkov unveiled this novel approach at the prestigious event on the Role of AI in Cyber Conflict, hosted by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence. With a formidable assembly of over 600 attendees, including government officials, elite military personnel, and leading tech luminaries from powerhouses such as the US Army, NATO, and armasuisse, the event emphasized the pivotal role of AI in shaping the future of modern military warfare.

The cornerstone of this approach resides in the integration of LatticeFlow's robust framework and toolset, designed to systematically diagnose AI models and reveal hidden blind spots to ensure utmost accuracy, reliability, and safety. Beyond enhancing the performance and safety of individual AI models in isolation, this approach enables decision-makers to assess the resilience of the entire AI system as a whole. Achieving this milestone involves modeling the interaction among multiple AI models within the AI system, as well as specifying mission-critical objectives.

Dr. Petar Tsankov, CEO & Co-founder of LatticeFlow, commented on the result: "Our approach to introducing a systematic methodology and toolset for improving performance and safety of AI systems lays the foundation for building next generation AI systems we can all trust. The importance of this is truly pivotal, especially in the manufacturing, medical, and insurance sectors, where AI-driven predictions affect critical business operations and human lives, and any disruptions can lead to profound consequences."

Learn more from our blog post .

About LatticeFlow

LatticeFlow is an award-winning company founded with the mission is to help companies deliver robust and performant AI models. To achieve this goal, the company has built the first scalable AI platform that guides AI teams through the AI lifecycle by automatically finding and fixing data and model issues. LatticeFlow was featured on the prestigious CB Insights "AI100 List of Most Innovative AI Companies" in 2022 and 2023, and won first place in the worldwide AI Privacy Challenge in April 2023, the Swiss AI Award in 2022 and the US Army Global AI Award in 2021. For more information about LatticeFlow, visit https://latticeflow.ai .

Press contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Latticeflow
BEIJING, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily: The 15th BRICS Summit is scheduled to run from August 22 to 24 in South Africa.

During the summit, BRICS leaders will conduct discussions on such topics as strengthening BRICS cooperation and expanding the BRICS mechanism.

South Africa has invited tens of leaders from Africa and emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) to attend relevant dialogues.

According to South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal, over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS mechanism, and 20 more of them have submitted official applications.

This fully demonstrates that the BRICS mechanism, with growing influence and attractiveness, has gained widespread recognition and support.

Over the past 17 years, by upholding the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, the BRICS countries have strengthened solidarity and collaboration, advocated fairness and justice, and pursued common development, continuously expanding their global influence.

The BRICS cooperation has always been oriented towards openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and opened its door to all EMDCs aspiring to seek development while maintaining independence.

The 2013 Summit in Durban of South Africa invited African leaders to participate in the dialogue.

The 2014 Summit in Fortaleza of Brazil invited leaders of South American countries to join the dialogue.

During the 2015 Summit in Russia's Ufa, a meeting was held between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members and observers, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) leaders, leaders of invited countries and the BRICS countries.

A dialogue between BRICS leaders and the leaders of the member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was held during the 2016 Summit in Goa of India.

And during the Xiamen Summit in 2017, China put forward the innovative "BRICS Plus" cooperation model, building a new platform for solidarity, cooperation and common development of the vast developing countries.

The BRICS cooperation does not engage in exclusive "small circles." Last year, the group started a new round of expansion.

The BRICS mechanism has formed a multi-level, wide-ranging and all-round cooperation framework, becoming a major platform for exchanges, dialogues and cooperation among developing countries in politics, economy, finance, development, culture and other areas.

The steady augmentation of the BRICS countries' economic strength provides the foundation for the rapid advancement of BRICS cooperation.

According to data provided by Acorn Macro Consulting, a UK-based macroeconomic research firm, in 2022, the BRICS countries accounted for 31.5 percent of the global economy, surpassing the G7 share of 30.7 percent. This gap is expected to be widened by 2025, the data showed.

The macroeconomic stability of the BRICS countries has laid an important foundation for the enduring attractiveness of the BRICS mechanism.

The BRICS countries are committed to promoting economic recovery.

The intertwined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis has led to disruptions in the global industrial and supply chains, a continuous rise in commodity prices, and increased fragility of the international monetary and financial system.

The BRICS countries have made vital contributions to global economic growth by steadily advancing cooperation in the areas including currency and finance, trade and investment, as well as energy and resources. They have also continuously expanded cooperation in supply chains, logistics, agriculture, food security, local currency settlement, cross-border payments and other domains.

The BRICS countries focus on common development.

Currently, global development is suffering from severe disruption. The momentum of international development and cooperation is losing strength, the North-South gap is further widening, and the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been impeded.

The BRICS countries have made global development a key focus of their cooperation. They have firmly defended developing countries' interests under such multilateral frameworks as the Group of 20 (G20) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), making unremitting efforts to advance the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The BRICS countries insist on exploring new ground.

The world is becoming increasingly information-oriented, while the new round of sci-tech revolution represented by AI is in full swing.

The BRICS countries have advocated a partnership on the new industrial revolution, strengthening cooperation in future networks, industrial internet and digital manufacturing, digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, standardization and other areas.

Keeping pace with the prevailing trends of the digital economy, the BRICS countries have formulated and updated the strategy for BRICS economic partnership, continuously promoting cooperation in education, science, technology and other domains. Such efforts have built a talent pool for sustainable development and innovation cooperation.

The BRICS countries champion true multilateralism, making decisions founded on the principles of equality and consensus.

As a representative outcome of BRICS cooperation, the New Development Bank adopts a unique governance structure, in which the five founding members have equal shareholding power and voting rights. This provides a new option for the governance of multilateral development financial institutions.

The BRICS countries have made important contributions to advancing a more just and rational international order by considering the creation of a new reserve currency based on a basket of currencies of member countries, launching a new round of expansion, and inviting non-BRICS countries to discuss digital economy issues.

The BRICS countries actively promote reform of the global governance system, striving to increase the representation and voice of EMDCs.

To handle incessant traditional and non-traditional security threats, the BRICS countries support each other on issues involving their core interests, preferring dialogue instead of confrontation.

In various global multilateral mechanisms, including the UN, the G20, the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the BRICS countries have actively strengthened policy dialogues and position coordination. They ensure that their voice is heard and solutions are provided, thereby promoting constructive reform of the international system.

Under the new circumstances, the BRICS countries can make new contributions to driving world multipolarity, economic globalization, and democratization of international relations, so that the world can hear more BRICS voices and witness greater BRICS contributions.

SOURCE People's Daily
DALLAS, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLC (LGT) is excited to welcome new leadership to the firm with the promotion of Jillian Hawkins, PHR to Director of Human Resources and Ryan Meineke, CPA to principal of the assurance services department.

Ryan Meineke, CPA, Assurance Services Principal Jillian Hawkins, PHR, Director of Human Resources

"I am tremendously proud to announce the well-deserved promotion of our newest Director of Human Resources," says Lance Trammell, CPA, partner over human resources. "Her exceptional dedication to fostering a thriving workplace has played a pivotal role in our company's growth. As she ascends to this role, we look forward to her continued contributions in shaping our organization's success."

Jillian started with LGT more than 10 years ago focusing on continuing education and training. She has experience in benefits and compensation, recruiting and retention, talent management, compliance, policy writing, program management, and events. She earned her Professional in Human Resources certification from HRCI in 2022.

Managing Partner Lee Ann Collins, CPA says, "It's with great pride I congratulate Ryan on this promotion. This milestone is a direct result of his dedication, exceptional skills, and remarkable ability to exceed expectations. His commitment to both personal growth and LGT's success has been evident in every project he undertakes."

Within the assurance services department, Ryan has brought a wealth of experience working with a diverse portfolio of clients, particularly in the auto dealership, manufacturing, and construction sectors, as well as knowledge in employee benefit plans. Ryan serves as the direct liaison between the partners, the professional staff, and the client. He is also responsible for overseeing all phases of the engagement, including planning, supervising staff, and financial statement preparation.

LGT is looking forward to fostering both Jillian and Ryan's growth within the firm as they embrace their new responsibilities.

About Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLC

Founded in 1950, Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLC (LGT) proudly serves primarily Texas clients from offices in Dallas and Houston. Dedicated to serving the middle market, the firm represents a broad range of clients, from individuals to public companies, in a variety of industries. LGT offers traditional accounting, audit, and tax services, as well as various other specialized services. In an effort to expand the services provided to valued clients, LGT has launched two affiliated companies, LGT Financial Advisors, LLC and LGT Insurance Services Inc.

To learn more, visit www.lgt-cpa.com .

For more information, press only:

Darla Shaler, Marketing Coordinator, LGT

(214) 871-7500 or 364183@email4pr.com

SOURCE Lane Gorman Trubitt LLC
SoCalGas' $100,000 Donation to Help Address Food Insecurity is Part of a $4 Million Initiative Fueling Our Communities

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of SoCalGas' 2023 Fueling Our Communities initiative, the company announced a $100,000 donation to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank that will provide approximately 400,000 meals to people throughout Los Angeles County.

The grant to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is one of several donations to local charities, funding programs to provide meals and groceries this year. SoCalGas is expanding the impact of the Fueling Our Communities initiative by allocating $4 million in 2023, the largest commitment to date, to new and existing partnerships with food banks and nonprofits throughout SoCalGas' 12-county service area in Central and Southern California.

"Food insecurity affects far too many Angelenos," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. "Community partners like the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank play a vital role in helping individuals and families in need access nutritious food. This generous donation will allow the LA Regional Food Bank to serve nourishing meals to thousands living in Los Angeles County."

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is pivotal in addressing food insecurity. Hunger continues to be a pressing and widespread issue, with approximately 1 in 4 residents facing food insecurity, according to a USC report. To date, the LA Regional Food Bank food has distributed 1.6 billion meals to children, seniors, individuals and families in our community.

"This significant contribution will enable us to substantially impact the lives of those facing food insecurity in our community," said Michael Flood, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. " We are immensely grateful to SoCalGas for their generous support. Together, we can provide much-needed nourishment to families, alleviate hunger, and foster hope for a brighter future."

"The Fueling Our Communities initiative demonstrates SoCalGas' deep commitment to the well-being of the communities we serve," said Andy Carrasco, SoCalGas Vice President of Communications, Local Government and Community Affairs. "Our continued work with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is an extension of an incredible partnership to provide nutritious food to families in need."

The Fueling Our Communities initiative began in 2020 as a collaborative effort between SoCalGas and five regional nonprofits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During its first summer, the program successfully provided more than 140,000 meals to 40,000 individuals from underserved communities across Southern California.

SoCalGas remains committed to supporting local communities and driving positive change. Through the 'Fueling Our Communities' initiative and partnerships with organizations like the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, SoCalGas continues to make a tangible difference in the lives of those affected by food insecurity.

Media assets

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 (NYSE: SRE), 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.

About the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank:

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has been mobilizing resources to fight hunger in Los Angeles County for 50 years. To support the Food Bank's vision that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County, food and grocery products are distributed through a network of partner agencies and other Food Bank programs. The Food Bank also energizes the community to get involved and support hunger relief, especially through volunteerism, and conducts nutrition education campaigns and advocates for public policies that benefit people served and improve nutrition security. The Food Bank is rated at the highest level by Candid and Charity Navigator, and 97% of all revenue goes to programs. For more information, visit LAFoodBank.org.

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The managed MPLS market size is estimated to increase by USD 7,239.8 million from 2022 to 2027, with a CAGR of 6.41%, according to a recent market study by Technavio. This report also offers a 5-year historical (2017-2021) data projection of market size, segmentation, and region. Discover some insights on market size before buying the full report -Request a sample report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Managed MPLS Market 2023-2027

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of vendors has been conducted to help clients understand the wider business environment as well as the strengths and weaknesses of key market players. Data is qualitatively analyzed to categorize vendors as pure play, category-focused, industry-focused, and diversified; it is quantitatively analyzed to categorize vendors as dominant, leading, strong, tentative, and weak. The Bargaining Power of Buyers & Suppliers and the Threat of New Entrants, Rivalry, and Substitutes have also been analyzed and rated between LOW-HIGH to provide a holistic view of market favorability.



Find Technavio's Exclusive Analysis of Price Sensitivity, Adoption Lifecycle, Customer Purchase Basket, Adoption Rates, and Purchase Criteria

One of the core components of the customer landscape is price sensitivity , an analysis of which will help companies refine marketing strategies to gain a competitive advantage .

, an analysis of which will help companies refine . Another key aspect is price sensitivity drivers (purchases are undifferentiated, the purchase is a key cost to buyers, and quality is not important) , which range between LOW and HIGH.

, which range between Furthermore, market adoption rates for all regions have been covered.

The Managed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Market report also offers information on the criticality of inputs, R&D, CAPEX, technology, and products of 15 vendors listed Below -

AT and T Inc., Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., BT Group Plc, Cisco Systems Inc., ERNET India, Forcepoint LLC, International Business Machines Corp., Juniper Networks Inc., Lumen Technologies Inc., NTT Communications Corp., Orange SA, Palo Alto Networks Inc., Reliance Industries Ltd., Syringa Networks LLC, T Mobile US Inc., Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Verizon Communications Inc., Versa Networks Inc., and Vodafone Group Plc. Download Sample

Chart & Data Table on 5-Year Historic (2017-2021) Market Size, Comparative Analysis of Segments, and Y-O-Y Growth of Managed MPLSmarket

The market is segmented by end-user (IT and telecommunication, Healthcare, BFSI, Retail, and Others), service (Level 2 VPN and Level 3 VPN), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America)

The market share growth by the IT and Telecommunication segment will be significant during the forecast period. The IT and telecommunications industry holds a substantial market share as an end-user within the managed MPLS market. This sector heavily relies on managed MPLS networks to ensure the secure, reliable, and efficient transmission of data. Managed MPLS systems offer numerous advantages, including enhanced network performance, improved scalability, and effective traffic prioritization. Given these advantages, the adoption of managed MPLS in the IT and telecommunications sector is projected to witness growth over the forecast period, consequently propelling the expansion of the market.

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Key Driver

The increasing demand for secure and reliable connectivity is driving the market growth. The significant growth of companies relying on managed MPLS services stands as a key driver in the global managed MPLS market. These services offer dependable connectivity solutions that interconnect various organizational locations, facilitating seamless data transfer and communication. In order to expand globally and effectively utilize essential business applications, robust network infrastructure is imperative to meet the demands of interconnected systems. For enterprises seeking efficient and secure connectivity solutions, managed MPLS services are the preferred option due to their ability to meet bandwidth requirements, assure Quality of Service (QoS), and provide prioritization capabilities essential to support critical business applications. As the demand for secure and reliable connectivity continues to rise, this imperative driver is anticipated to steer the growth of the targeted market during the forecast period.

Major Trends

The expansion of managed SD-WAN services is an emerging market trend.

Significant Challenge

Complex network management is a major challenge hindering market growth.

Chart & Data Table on Historical Market Size (2017-2021, Historic Industry Size & Analysis of 15 Vendors and 7 Countries

The market is segmented by region North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America. An analysis of key leading countries has been included.

North America is estimated to contribute 33% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Technavio's analysts have elaborately explained the regional trends and drivers that shape the market during the forecast period. In North America , the demand for secure and dependable network connectivity, efficient data transmission, and the rising usage of cloud services are contributing to the continuous growth of the regional managed MPLS market in North America . They also make a positive shift towards the market focus in 2021 to deal with ever-changing business needs. As businesses increasingly transition to on-the-spot operation, their need for managed MPLS services has increased.

For Insights on the market dynamics & segmentations VIEW PDF SAMPLE!

What are the key data covered in this Managed MPLSMarket report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the managed MPLS market between 2023 and 2027

Precise estimation of the managed MPLS market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behaviour

Growth of the managed MPLS market across North America , Europe , APAC, Middle East and Africa , and South America

, , APAC, and , and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of managed MPLS market vendors

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The cloud-managed services market share is expected to increase to USD 52.62 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 10.37%. This report extensively covers cloud-managed services market segmentation by end-user (large enterprise and small and medium enterprise) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa). One of the key factors driving growth in the cloud-managed services market is the rising adoption of cloud computing services.

The IoT managed services market share should rise by USD 179.29 billion from 2022 to 2026 at a CAGR of 26.41%. This report extensively covers market segmentation by type (network management services, security management services, infrastructure management services, data management services, and device management services) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America). The increased adoption of IoT solutions is notably driving the IoT managed services market growth.

Managed MPLS Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.41% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 7,239.8 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 6.01 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 33% Key countries US, China, Japan, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled AT and T Inc., Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., BT Group Plc, Cisco Systems Inc., ERNET India, Forcepoint LLC, International Business Machines Corp., Juniper Networks Inc., Lumen Technologies Inc., NTT Communications Corp., Orange SA, Palo Alto Networks Inc., Reliance Industries Ltd., Syringa Networks LLC, T Mobile US Inc., Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Verizon Communications Inc., Versa Networks Inc., and Vodafone Group Plc 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

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Size

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market Segmentation by Service

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

About US

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

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UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
The collaboration will empower medical device makers to proactively address potential security risks and ensure the safety and integrity of their medical devices

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Medcrypt, Inc., the proactive cybersecurity solution provider for medical device manufacturers (MDMs), today announced its partnership with NetRise, the company providing granular visibility into the world's XIoT security problem, to address critical cybersecurity challenges in the healthcare industry. This partnership will provide MDMs with a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) lifecycle management solution that will empower device makers to proactively identify and address potential security risks and ensure the safety and integrity of their medical devices.

In 2021, the White House released an executive order on the growing need for improved cybersecurity, which included the use of (SBOMs "as a formal record containing the details and supply chain relationships of various components used in building software" for each product. The two primary use cases of SBOMs are to identify vulnerabilities from component information within the SBOM and to monitor license usage, especially of open-source software. The value SBOMs provide is two-fold: Supporting R&D teams in the premarket phase as well as supporting postmarket management and vigilance, thus informing cybersecurity activities across teams, including research and development, product quality, and legal teams. For medical device manufacturers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mandating that all software-based medical devices must create and maintain an SBOM, and will start refusing submissions that fail to include this information on October 1, 2023.

The collaboration between Medcrypt and NetRise aims to revolutionize medical device security by combining Medcrypt's expertise in vulnerability identification and management with NetRise's unparalleled capabilities in generating SBOMs for embedded devices and firmware. This partnership provides medical device manufacturers with a comprehensive solution to safeguard their devices against potential cyber risks throughout their entire lifecycle.

"As with everything in tech, the vulnerability management space is constantly evolving. We chose to partner with NetRise because our technologies have a clear synergy. This partnership allows us to build a medical device-specific workflow that aligns seamlessly with the requirements of key stakeholders in the healthcare industry," said Mike Kijewski, CEO of Medcrypt. "With NetRise's offerings integrated into our vulnerability management solution, Helm, we can support a broader range of use cases, ensuring our customers have the most robust and compliant cybersecurity measures in place."

Medcrypt will integrate NetRise's SBOM generation capabilities into Helm, extending the support for SBOMs throughout the entire lifecycle of medical devices. NetRise will offer medical device manufacturers the ability to generate, ingest, enrich, manage, and monitor SBOMs, providing critical visibility into the underlying vulnerabilities of their embedded devices and firmware.

"This collaboration brings together NetRise's industry-leading SBOM generation capabilities with Medcrypt's extensive experience in the medical device manufacturing space," said Thomas Pace, CEO of NetRise. "This combination offers the best SBOM lifecycle management solution in the industry, empowering manufacturers to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities effectively."

Learn more about the partnership and how to create and monitor an FDA-approved SBOM through a joint webinar with Medcrypt and NetRise on September 19, 2023. Sign up here.

About NetRise

Based in Austin, Texas, NetRise was built by defensive cyber experts bred across the private sector, intelligence community, and U.S. federal government to solve the firmware security problem. The company is currently partnering with companies across manufacturing, automotive, medical devices, industrial control systems, satellites, and many more. https://www.netrise.io/

About MedCrypt

Medcrypt is helping healthcare technology companies ensure medical devices are secure by design. We provide cybersecurity products and strategic management consulting to expedite the go-to-market process of medical device manufacturers' new life-saving connected technologies.

Founded in 2016 by a team of healthcare cybersecurity experts, Medcrypt is uniquely positioned to be the security catalyst for medical device manufacturers to design secure, FDA-approved technologies. We continue to work with those paving the way toward safe and reliable medtech. To date, Medcrypt has raised more than $36 million in funding with participation from Johnson & Johnson Innovations, Intuitive Ventures, and Dexcom Ventures. For more information, please visit www.Medcrypt.com.

Press Contact:

Jenny Bourne

2087618447

https://www.medcrypt.co/

SOURCE MedCrypt
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Community Foundation (CCF) Board of Directors announced that Miguel A. Santana will be CCF's next president and CEO. Santana currently serves as the president and CEO of the Weingart Foundation; he will assume his new role on October 16, 2023. Antonia Hernandez will continue as president and CEO through October 13.

CEO Headshot

Santana was unanimously appointed by the Board after a rigorous interviewing and vetting process conducted by the Board's Executive Search Committee, with the assistance of search firm Spencer Stuart. The search committee was impressed by the wealth of experience and diversity in the candidate pool. They selected Santana because of his deep commitment to addressing the challenges facing Los Angeles County; his demonstrated success in prioritizing the values of equity and inclusion; his passion for CCF's areas of expertise, including advocacy, housing, immigration, charitable giving, and civic engagement among other areas; as well as his extensive leadership experience in philanthropy and the public sector.

"Antonia Hernandez has built CCF to a position of great strength and incomparable reputation; Miguel Santana is the right leader to build from that extraordinary foundation to greater heights for the Foundation and for the Los Angeles region," said Thomas A. Saenz, chair of the CCF board of directors. "His unmatched and lengthy leadership track record of successfully confronting myriad challenges in our dynamic region demonstrate that he will increase the positive impact of CCF on the Los Angeles that he has loved and served throughout his life."

Santana began his career as a community liaison at MALDEF, before serving as former L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina's chief of staff. He eventually became the city administrative officer for the City of Los Angeles, where he oversaw the City's $9 billion budget and designed the City's first comprehensive homeless strategy, resulting in a $1.2 billion voter-approved housing bond and a doubling of the City's general fund investment on programs to end homelessness.

Santana was appointed president and CEO of the Weingart Foundation in 2021. Prior to joining the Weingart Foundation, he served as president and CEO of the Fairplex, a nonprofit community benefit organization based in Pomona.

"The California Community Foundation's mission of fulfilling the promise of Los Angeles County aligns deeply with my core values of unapologetically fighting for equity, justice, and for a Los Angeles region where everyone thrives," said Miguel A. Santana, CCF's incoming president and CEO. "As a native Angeleno and the son of immigrants, it will be a privilege to work with the CCF team and the community on the tremendous legacy that my predecessor, colleague, and friend, Antonia Hernandez has built. I know that together, we can deliver on the promise of Los Angeles."

His commitment to creating a more equitable Southern California region is reflected in his leadership at the Weingart Foundation. The Foundation partners with communities across Southern California to advance racial, social, and economic justice. With $850 million in assets, the Foundation supports organizations focused on human services, housing, health, education, and community power building. Santana has been able to further the Foundation's mission while centering community voices.

The Weingart Foundation has been one of CCF's strongest philanthropic partners and allies. With Santana assuming his new role we expect our partnership to only strengthen.

"On behalf of the Weingart Board, we want to congratulate Miguel A. Santana on his appointment as president and CEO of CCF," said Monica Lozano, chair, Weingart Foundation board of directors. "From immigrant inclusion to strengthening the capacity of LA's nonprofits, we are proud to stand side by side with CCF in advancing our shared vision for a just and equitable Southern California. With Miguel's appointment, we will continue our long-lasting partnership, working together for a better Los Angeles."

"We at CCF are grateful to our colleagues at the Weingart Foundation for the ongoing working collaborations between our two powerful philanthropic organizations and view our choice of Miguel Santana as a mark of our shared commitment to grow that critical relationship," said CCF board chair Saenz.

Santana's numerous civic efforts include serving on the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) board. He has also served on numerous nonprofit boards, including the Whittier College Board of Trustees. Santana holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Whittier College and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Santana succeeds President and CEO Antonia Hernandez, who announced that she was stepping down in March of 2023, after nearly two decades of leading and transforming CCF into a strong, vibrant advocate for Los Angeles County.

About the California Community Foundation

The California Community Foundation (CCF) has served as a public, charitable organization for Los Angeles County since 1915. Its mission is to lead positive systemic change that strengthens Los Angeles communities. CCF stewards $2.3 billion in assets and manages more than 1,900 charitable foundations, funds and legacies. For more information, please visit calfund.org.

CONTACT:

Paula Valle, [email protected], (323) 253-6431

SOURCE California Community Foundation
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The transition to college is a significant milestone for adolescents. It is estimated that 18.66 million students were enrolled in a college or university in the United States in 2021, which will likely remain constant for the next few years. As these students embark on new, exciting experiences, they rely heavily on their parents to help them adjust to a new life.

The college environment encourages many growth opportunities. Parents and caregivers can aid through encouragement, promoting well-being, and academic advocacy. Limor Watson, PsyD, is a psychologist with Mindpath College Health in Davis, California.

Parents and caregivers play a vital role in college students' transition to a new school due to the multifaceted support they provide. Parents offer comfort and stability during the often-overwhelming process of adjusting to a new environment, mitigating feelings of anxiety, depression, and homesickness. Their guidance and advice, drawn from their own life experiences, is instrumental in helping students navigate challenges, including time management, study habits, and resource utilization.

The college environment encourages many opportunities for growth, including academic, interpersonal, and individual needs. Parents and caregivers assist with these transitions and can aid through encouragement, promoting well-being, and academic advocacy.

Here are 12 tips on how parents and caregivers can facilitate their students with a smooth transition into college:

Have open communication. Talk with your student about their feelings and concerns about returning to school. Address any anxieties they may have and reassure them that it is natural to feel excitement and nervousness. Set a routine. Encourage your child to gradually shift their sleep schedule to align with class timings and campus routines a week or two before classes start. A healthy routine includes a balance of study hours, extracurricular activities, meals, exercise, and relaxation. A structured routine and a regular sleep schedule contribute to time management, focus, and increased productivity. Seek campus resources. Familiarize your student with campus resources, such as academic advising, career development offices, cultural diversity and tutoring centers, and counseling services. If they are further along in their college journey, suggest exploring potential career paths and seeking guidance for internships, part-time jobs, or informal interviews through their campus resources. Respect boundaries. Respecting your child's boundaries is crucial for maintaining a healthy and positive relationship, promoting independence, and fostering a sense of trust and mutual understanding. This demonstrates that you trust your child's judgment and capabilities, forming the foundation of a strong parent-child relationship. Encourage individuality and self-expression. College is when young adults explore their identities and gain independence. When children can express themselves freely, they learn to articulate their feelings, opinions, and ideas, fostering emotional intelligence and a sense of identity. Embracing your child's unique perspectives bolsters self-esteem and a positive self-image, enabling them to navigate social interactions and relationships with authenticity. Embrace flexibility. Remind your child that college life can be unpredictable, with unexpected challenges and changes. Encourage them to embrace flexibility and adaptability in their approach to various situations. Sometimes, saying "yes" to an activity or gathering can create the best memories. Teach financial responsibility. Many parents are heavily involved in their student's finances throughout college. Creating a budget can prevent financial stress and ensure your student makes informed spending decisions. Financial responsibility teaches essential life skills, such as setting priorities, making thoughtful spending choices, and planning for emergencies. Share your network. Parents can share their professional and personal networks and connections that might be helpful to college-bound children. These connections can range from professional contacts to potential mentors who can guide students' academic and career pursuits. If you know other parents with children attending the same college or university, share their contact details and encourage your child to connect. Prioritize self-care. College life often brings about heightened stress due to academic demands, social pressures, and the transition to a more independent lifestyle. Discuss self-care practices that can help your student manage stress and maintain emotional well-being. This could include setting aside time for hobbies, journaling, or taking breaks. By nurturing their mental health, students are better equipped to focus on their studies, maintain relationships, and handle setbacks. Talk about the dangers of alcohol. Some students may use alcohol to cope with college pressures. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 25% of students report academic consequences of drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. Discuss the many severe and potentially life-changing consequences of underage drinking. If your child asks about your past drinking behavior, be honest. Continue to keep the lines of communication open throughout all college years. Regular communication also makes it easier to check for any potential alcohol use or early signs of a problem. Stay engaged after drop-off. Your student has been looking forward to this new feeling of freedom. While communication may differ now, stay interested and involved in their college experience. Ask about classes, activities, and social interaction to show your support and encouragement. Remind them that you are there if they encounter challenges with professors, scheduling, or school administrators. Know when to seek help. As parents, we want to do everything to help our children succeed. If your child is consistently struggling with anxiety or depression symptoms, a therapist or psychiatrist may help. Promptly seeking help can increase the likelihood of successful treatment and your child feeling and performing better academically.

These tips can help you find the right balance between offering support and guidance while allowing your college student the freedom to make their own choices and establish their personal space.

Parents' and caregivers' assistance with their child's transition to college and becoming a young adult is transformative. By offering motivation and encouragement, you can help your student persevere through challenging times and maintain their focus on their academic and personal goals.

Visit college.mindpath.com to learn more about outpatient mental health care for college and university students and staff.

This article was written by Limor Watson, PsyD, a psychologist with Mindpath College Health in Davis, California.

Mindpath College Health provides outpatient mental health care for college and university students, staff, and the surrounding community in California and Minnesota. We are part of Mindpath Health, which offers transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), gender-affirming mental health care, and more. You can transition with ease of care through referrals. Visit mindpath.com/collegehealth to partner with us.

Mindpath Health is a leading provider of high-quality outpatient behavioral health services, offering in-person and telehealth visits. We coordinate care with primary care physicians and referring providers to ensure a focus on total health. Visit mindpath.com to partner with us.

We have locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Minnestoa, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. We offer TMS in California, North Carolina, and Florida. Learn how TMS can help here. We offer Mindpath On Demand in North Carolina, providing urgent therapy and psychiatry. Schedule an appointment at mindpath.com.

SOURCE Mindpath Health
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Minesto, leading ocean energy developer, has completed build and functional testing of sea-bed connection system for the 1.2-Megawatt power plant Dragon 12. The unique connection system, enabling one of the fastest launch and recovery operation in marine energy by 'one-stab' operation, is now ready for installation.

The Dragon 12 connection system is a scale-up and further enhancement of Minesto's unique and verified LARS (Launch & Recovery System) technology, a principle applied and proven by Minesto since 2020.

The system is remotely operated and controlled from the surface vessel by lowering the LARS frame attached to the male connector into the female connector in the foundation. In the bottom joint, the power, data and strength connections are all combined. The process is cost-effective and safe: solely monitored by cameras on the frame, no diver, or Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) support is required.

The Dragon 12 kite installation will utilise the system to enable a fast launch by towing with a small work boat and 'one-stab' connection.

"Our unique connection system shows the core of our innovative technology  fast, efficient, and easy to handle," says Dr Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto.

VIDEO: Minesto today releases a video where Engineer James Jones showcases the operation of the system in Minesto's Assembly Hall in Holyhead, Wales.

https://youtu.be/H350YCVeY-I

For additional information, please contact:

Cecilia Sernhage, Chief Communications Officer

+46 735 23 71 58

[email protected]

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/14621/3821217/2240137.pdf Press release

SOURCE Minesto AB
Experts Ask Government for Racial Impact Study Before a Federal Menthol Ban

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Coalition of Justice Practitioners (NCJP) , a group of Black and Hispanic law enforcement executives and experts, hosted the "When Good People Write Bad Policy" National Press Club panel event to educate people about the racial and criminal implications of a menthol ban. The panel met before the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announcement anticipated to come this month.

NCJP Members and panel moderator Dr. Benjamin Chavis asked FDA for a Racial Impact Study before a federal menthol ban is considered.

"There are many groups who still do not understand the unintended consequences of this proposed ban," said Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and panel moderator. "For leaders in Washington to consider this ban without consulting Black and Brown officers is disastrous. Let's sit down with the proponents and first conduct a Racial Impact Study. Targeting in the past doesn't justify targeting now. We are against racial targeting and profiling. All of it."

Panelists Commissioner Jiles Ship, Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), NYS Trooper Director Elliot Boyce (Ret.), Deputy Inspector Corey Pegues (Ret.), Captain Sonia Pruitt (Ret.), Lt. David Daniels III (Ret.), Chief John I. Dixon (Ret.) and Ron Hampton, DC Metro Police (Ret.) asked that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pull back on this menthol ban until further studies, like a Racial Impact Study, be done and more experts are heard.

The August 10 " When Good People Write Bad Policy " panel event urged lawmakers to study the effects of a menthol ban by launching a Racial Impact Study that gathers input from law enforcement, health experts, and Black and Latino communities.

The law enforcement experts listed these unintended consequences:

Anything you ban becomes illegal, and it is a policing issue.

Enforcement of the menthol ban will be in more urban and Latino communities and used as a tool in racial profiling, stop-and-frisk, and arrests.

The police do not need another reason for a stop-and-frisk that leads to life-threatening casualties in the Black community.

Former Law Enforcement Action Partnership executive director, Retired Major Neill Franklin, stated, "Illicit markets breed violence. This menthol ban will flood the streets, especially Black & Latino communities, with unregulated products, and if you think the products are unhealthy now, wait until the unregulated products are pushed into our communities. You don't want to see substances like fentanyl added to a street cigarette."

Overall, adult and youth smoking rates in the U.S. are the lowest they have ever been in public health history. Since over 80% of African Americans and 48% of Latinos who choose to smoke prefer menthol cigarettes, a proposed FDA ban is racially discriminatory since cigarettes preferred by White smokers will not be banned. There is no scientific basis to regulate menthol and non-menthol cigarettes differently. Health concerns are more effectively managed through education, treatment, and counseling, not by police.

The proposed U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) ban on menthol cigarettes could be announced this month.

Learn more about the implications of a menthol ban and ask leaders in Washington for a Racial Impact Study http://ncjp.info/menthol_ban_detail.cfm?banID=21 .

Watch the panel event here . See photos from the event here .

ABOUT THE NATIONAL COALITION OF JUSTICE PRACTITIONERS (NCJP)

The NCJP is a national coalition of diverse law enforcement and justice practitioners dedicated to respect for the rule of law and order in the fair administration of justice. The NCJP is comprised of independent justice practitioners who are also members of the New York State Grand Council of Guardians (GCGNY), NYPD Guardians, National Latino Officers Association (NLOA), Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ), National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NABLEO), Newark Bronze Shields, NYS Coalition of Black State Troopers, and National Organization of Retired State Troopers (NORST).

For More Information, visit www.ncjp.info

Contact:

Ayona Anderson

Mobile: 469-834-9500

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE National Coalition of Justice Practitioners (NCJP)
Limited visibility and control of cloud and SaaS applications and challenges in data protection slow IT modernization

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Netskope , a leader in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), today unveiled research findings showing that despite continued investment in cloud technologies, State and Local Government Information Technology (IT) leaders face challenges in keeping up with modern data protection needs.

The findings are highlighted in a new Netskope survey assessing the most critical challenges facing business influencers and decision makers in State and Local Government Information Technology. Top priorities for these IT decision makers are vulnerability management (61%), along with data protection (50%), and security event and incident management (44%). To address these issues, the majority of state and local agency officials (58%) say they intend to move away from legacy applications within the next three years, replacing on-premises data centers and hybrid environments with the latest innovative cloud services and solutions.

A linking factor in modernization challenges, however, remains the ability to adequately protect data across cloud environments. Specifically:

79% of respondents face challenges in tracking their data locations across their agency

Over half (52%) can't see traffic across all applications being used in their system and nor do they have a complete view of all data across silos

45% of respondents say lack of visibility across their hybrid environments is challenging

40% say disparate data sources across servers and siloes also pose challenges

78% cite difficulty tracking data spread over multiple siloes

76% cite difficulty tracking who has accessed that data

"Part of agency modernization means having the tools at the ready for better understanding, analysis, and protection of the data your agency owns," said Tom Gosse, senior sales director of U.S. SLED at Netskope. "Without being able to fully understand where the data is being gathered, where it resides, and when it's being accessed or transferred, state and local agency decision makers will find it increasingly difficult to identify and implement a solution that can effectively and efficiently address any gaps or vulnerabilities. They should prioritize investment in modern, cloud-centric data protection that can adequately protect data across cloud environments."

The Other Big Challenge: Complexity

State and local agencies have been challenged over the last several years to keep up with public expectations while balancing security needs and budget restrictions. The majority (65%) are actively investing in technology solutions that support their organization's needs; however, even with standardized tools, the IT landscape is growing increasingly complicated. Over half (51%) of respondents say that IT systems are becoming very complex to manage, and 41% say it is difficult for their agencies to process and analyze data that is accumulating more rapidly than ever. The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT), cloud-based computing, and machine learning have all opened the door for a deluge of new ways to collect more data. Amplifying these priorities are the internal personnel challenges agencies are facing, including a lack of internal staff expertise (44%).

What IT Decision Makers Can Do

While hybrid and remote work is here to stay, the sheer complexity and scale of legacy systems that have been in place for years can make it difficult to integrate new technologies smoothly. Netskope partners with state and local government agencies to provide comprehensive security and compliance capabilities in support of their IT modernization goals, enhance productivity, and engage citizens effectively. To make the transition to cloud easier and more secure, Netskope recommends three areas of focus:

Discern: Agencies have to be more judicious than ever in their spending, balancing budget needs with security priorities. Adopt a modern data loss prevention (DLP) approach that leverages a dynamic and adaptive zero trust model. Invest: Modern security problems require modern security solutions. Invest in a cloud DLP solution that leverages security context and automatically enables proper protection to secure sensitive data consistently everywhere across the entire enterprise. Support: Train staff appropriately and put data protection at the heart of the overall IT modernization strategy.

"In today's fast-paced digital landscape, data has emerged as a driving force behind informed decision-making and effective governance," said Elizabeth Lowery, Director of Research Services, Market Connections. "State and local organizations across the nation are recognizing the paramount importance of robust data management systems to optimize their operations and better serve their communities. However, the data shows that there are still significant challenges facing IT leaders as they work to empower their employees and make sense of their data. As these organizations move forward with modernization efforts, addressing the challenges around system complexity, data integrity, and security will continue to be pivotal to transformation.

Survey Methodology

Netskope partnered with Market Connections , a custom market research firm, to field The State of Data Protection survey.

The State of Data Protection survey provides key trends on how state and local officials are working to:

Assess current concerns and considerations facing data protection

Determine the status and obstacles facing modernization strategies, particularly in remote and hybrid work settings

Understand how external tools and internal policies can work together to find the right balance of access and security

The online survey was conducted among 200 state and local IT and business influencers and decision-makers regarding data protection through IT modernization, fielded from March 2023 to April 2023.

To download the complete Netskope State of Data Protection Survey, visit here .

To learn more about Netskope solutions for State and Local government, visit here .

To meet with Netskope at the NASTD 2023 Annual Conference in Boston, register here .

About Netskope

Netskope, a global SASE leader, helps organizations apply zero trust principles and AI/ML innovations to protect data and defend against cyber threats. Fast and easy to use, the Netskope platform provides optimized access and real-time security for people, devices, and data anywhere they go. Netskope helps customers reduce risk, accelerate performance, and get unrivaled visibility into any cloud, web, and private application activity. Thousands of customers trust Netskope and its powerful NewEdge network to address evolving threats, new risks, technology shifts, organizational and network changes, and new regulatory requirements. Learn how Netskope helps customers be ready for anything on their SASE journey, visit netskope.com .

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Netskope
Company continues to lead industry in delivering innovative productivity-boosting solutions that address the needs of today's mobile workforce

ANAHEIM, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Targus, a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, today announced that it remains the number-one selling laptop case brand in US and Canada Retail and US B2B Reseller Channels1, according to a new retail report from Circana. Circana is the world's leading advisor on the complexities of consumer behavior which measures point-of-sale (POS) data across 2,000 categories and more than 500,000 stores.

Targus continues to lead the laptop cases category since creating the original laptop bag in 1983

"We are proud of our company's continued legacy and successful track record of bringing innovative, purposeful solutions that enable today's mobile workers to perform at their best," says David Dorantes, Director of Product Marketing for Targus. "Our leadership position in the market validates Targus as a trusted brand that today's businesses and consumers rely on to carry, protect, and connect their tech, wherever they go."

Targus continues to lead the laptop cases category since pioneering the first laptop case 40 years ago. Its innovative solutions include its patented Dome Protection System, DefenseGuard Antimicrobial Collection of laptop and tablet cases, EcoSmart laptop bags made out of recycled PET polyester derived from plastic water bottles, and patented checkpoint-friendly bags.

The data also find that despite the decline in the tech sector this year, the demand for retail laptop backpacks is up by 9 percent, based on total number of units year-over-year (YOY) as well as 13 percent in market value from the previous year2. In addition, Targus maintains the number one spot in US B2B Universal Docks (3rd party only) and has increased its market share to 22 percent.3

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/Canada Retail and US B2B Reseller in Unit Sales for 12ME June 2023 (Laptop Bag case type = Briefcase, Sleeve, Attache, Slipcase, Messenger Bag)

2Source: Circana, Retail Tracking Service, US Accessories Sales, 12ME June 2023 (backpack category including laptop sleeve)

3Source: Circana, US B2B Reseller, Docking Stations Unit Sales, 12ME June 2023

*Targus, Dome Protection System, DefenseGuard, and EcoSmart are trademarks or registered trademarks of Targus International LLC in the U.S. and in certain other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE Targus
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Balaji Padmanabhan is among the earliest professors to bring machine learning into an MBA program. Sining Song's research explores environmental-to-fintech-related factors in supply chain sustainability. And Agustin Hurtado recently analyzed 87 million minority-borrower accounts in a study showing minority bank ownership reduces information frictions and improves credit allocations.

These professors are among nine tenure-track faculty members and three full-time professional track faculty joining the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business this fall.

"Our arriving faculty, collectively, reinforce the Smith School's strategic plan on addressing grand challenges  and its guiding principles that start with 'business is everybody's business.'" says Dean Prabhudev Konana. "Business problem-solving is critical in the face of increasingly disruptive forces across industries and career fields that have economic and social implications. We're tapping expertise on key issues such as 'equitable growth and lending,' 'AI bias and reducing misinformation,' 'influence of political polarization on businesses,' 'environmental and governance disclosure,' 'sustainable supply chains," and 'embracing demographic diversity within organizations.'"

Smith's newest faculty are:

Reuben Hurst, soon to be a tenure-track assistant professor, is completing a joint PhD in Strategy and Political Science at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on how employers adjust recruiting strategies in response to growing demographic diversity and political polarization and how these strategies contribute to labor market segregation by gender, race, and political partisanship. His work is forthcoming in Administrative Science Quarterly and the Journal of Politics and has received best paper awards from the Academy of Management, Strategic Management Society and Strategy Science conferences. He also is a Strategic Research Foundation Dissertation Scholar and a recipient of a Knowledge Grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Agustin Hurtado, assistant professor of finance, focuses his research on financial and labor markets for immigrant, low-income, and minority households and entrepreneurs. With a PhD from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, his most recent work studies the effect of racial minority bank ownership on minority credit in the United States. His other current work involves policy-relevant research in banking, corporate/household/entrepreneurial finance and real estate.

Eaman Jahani, arriving in January 2024 as an assistant professor for the DOIT from the UC Berkeley Department of Statistics, describes his research interest as "understanding how social networks and online platforms affect a wide range of outcomes and how they can lead to unequal distribution of resources, using tools from network science and causal inference." He holds a PhD in Social and Engineering Systems with a secondary degree in Statistics from MIT.

Balaji Padmanabhan, professor of information systems, designed one of the first technology-focused electives ("Enabling Technologies") for an MBA program while at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. With a PhD from New York University's Stern School of Business, he brings expertise in AI, machine learning and business analytics from 25 years of research, teaching and working extensively with businesses. Konana recently described Padmanabhan as poised to "strengthen our research and focus on developing future leaders in a changing world driven by artificial intelligence and grand challenges like AI bias and 'dis/misinformation.'" Padmanabhan, he added, "not only bolsters our information systems faculty with a highly accomplished scholar and industry consultant, but also positions Smith's MBA and MS curricula to be transformational by contextualizing AI for the future."

Jingyi Qian, assistant professor of accounting and information assurance, arrives with a PhD from Emory University's Goizueta Business School. Her research focuses on financial reporting, big data and the cryptocurrency market. Her current work includes a working paper, "The Value of Auditor Assurance in Cryptocurrency Trading," and she recently published "The Benefits of Transaction-Level Data: The Case of Nielsen IQ Scanner Data" in The Journal of Accounting and Economics.

Aneesh Rai, assistant professor of management and organization, received his PhD in Operations, Information and Decisions from the Wharton School. His research examines how perceptions of group diversity affect personnel selection decisions and influence how diverse organizations become. He also uses large-scale field experiments to test interventions to promote positive behavior change in organizations. He recently published "A Field Experiment on Subgoal Framing to Boost Volunteering" in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Joseph Reiff, assistant professor of marketing, researches decision-making, social cognition, and policy design  with an "overarching goal to help organizations identify and implement policies that improve individuals' well-being at scale." He holds a PhD in behavioral decision-making from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and has worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Sining Song, assistant professor of supply chain management, returns to Smith where she completed her master's in supply chain management, followed by a PhD from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Her research has drawn best paper awards from the Decision Sciences Institute, as she focuses on sustainable supply chain and operations management, mobile network and FinTech and innovation and technology management. In 2023 she published research in Production and Operations Management proposing a novel perspective on understanding carbon leakage in supply chains through supply chain optimization and innovation.

Mark Zakota, assistant professor of accounting and information assurance, holds a PhD from the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. His dissertation, titled "EPA Scrutiny and Voluntary Environmental Disclosures," reflects his focus on corporate disclosures and regulatory issues. Prior to his PhD, Zakota studied international business and politics at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. His research explores disclosures, standard setting, and ESG through the use of natural language processing, machine learning, and XBRL.

In addition, Michael Cichello, joins Smith as a clinical professor of finance and Academic Director of the Master of Finance and Master of Quantitative Finance programs. His research explores managerial incentives, the relationship between executive pay and performance, and financial contracting. As a valuation expert, he has worked with thousands of executives to examine avenues for value creation at their firms.

Arriving from the Indian School of Business as a visiting assistant professor of finance, Apoorva Javadekar has served as Research Director at Reserve Bank of India's "Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning," and presently serves on the Security and Exchange Board of India's Research Advisory Committee. His research focuses on the mutual fund industry, banking and international economics.

Margaret Malewski becomes a Department of Management and Organization lecturer with a focus on the Smith Business Leadership Fellows program. Working in 11 countries, she was co-founder and CEO of a tech startup, brand manager for a multinational and executive director of a nonprofit. She also published "GenXpat: The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad" and has taught university-level intercultural studies, designed interiors and buildings as an architect, and developed commercial real estate for preschools.

And Assistant Clinical Professor of Finance Terrence O'Brien arrives from Penn State's Smeal College of Business where he recently earned his PhD in Finance. He studies empirical asset pricing specializing in fintech, cryptocurrency and machine learning. His current work examines cryptocurrency exchanges manipulating trade volume and how it works to create false signals and risk to investors, as well as a negative impact on the overall market quality and investor confidence. He has taught an options and derivatives course for many years and was an executive for a private American company specializing in buying and selling Chinese government data.

Read more about faculty and research at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master's, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

Media Contact:

Greg Muraski

gmuraski@umd.edu

SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
Family Foundation Furthers Mission with Addition of VP of Programs and Sr. Director of Communications

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Oberkotter Foundation , a philanthropic leader advancing opportunities for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to learn to listen and talk, welcomes Andrea Hillock Dunn, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A as Vice President, Programs and Amy Schamp, M.A., as Senior Director, Communications.

Andrea Hillock Dunn, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A, brings expertise as an audiologist to lead in developing significant partnerships that advance pediatric hearing health and make access to listening and spoken language a universal reality for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She will work with Dr. Teresa Caraway, Incoming CEO, and Dr. Jace Wolfe, Senior Vice President, Innovation, to further the initiatives of the Foundation. Dr. Dunn brings a wealth of experience in pediatric clinical services, pediatric audiology research and teaching in university setting and the hearing technology industry. She comes to the foundation from Phonak, Sonova Group as the former Global Director of Pediatric Research.

"Dr. Dunn and Ms. Schamp are highly regarded experts in their fields and are excellent additions." - Dr. Teresa Caraway Post this

Amy Schamp, M.A., will lead communications for the Foundation. Ms. Schamp comes to the role with expertise from many years with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where she led the digital strategy for both brand and marketing. She brings creative and collaborative leadership to help guide the strategy for internal and external communications, branding, and messaging that will advance the Foundation's mission and goals.

"Dr. Dunn and Ms. Schamp are highly regarded experts in their fields and are excellent additions to our team to further new strategic initiatives of the Oberkotter Foundation in the coming years," states Dr. Teresa Caraway, Incoming Chief Executive Officer of Oberkotter Foundation.

About the Oberkotter Foundation

Since 1985, the Oberkotter Foundation has awarded over $540 million to organizations and providers to support families who have chosen listening and spoken language for their child.

www.oberkotterfoundation.org

SOURCE Oberkotter Foundation
Colorado-based Ball Corp. announced it has agreed to sell its aerospace business to BAE Systems in a $5.6 billion deal.

The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

Ball, a leading producer of aluminum packaging, launched Ball Aerospace near Boulder in the 1950s with a $35,000 cash investment from the son of a company co-founder and the help of former CU scientists.

Today, Ball Aerospace, which employs more than 5,250 people, is a significant provider of spacecraft, optical systems, and antenna systems, among other technologies, working with both military and civilian agencies.

In a call with investors on Aug. 17, CEO Daniel Fisher said the corporation began weighing options for the aerospace business earlier this year, ultimately resulting in the planned sale to BAE Systems.

The sale will help Ball reduce its debt and repay shareholders, while BAE will be able to leverage the business for national defense, intelligence and science hardware, software and space-based assets, according to a statement from Fisher.

BAE is in a position to invest in the aerospace business beyond Balls existing plans, Fisher said during the investor call. He added that the transaction strengthens Balls balance sheet and enables the corporation to fast-track work on its other initiatives.

Our acceleration of low-carbon, best-value aluminum packaging initiatives in the years to come will stimulate organic growth across our global packaging operations and improve the world for future generations," Fisher said in a news release. "Our innovative portfolio of aluminum cans, bottles and cups for single-serve, refill, reuse and recloseable applications has untapped potential, and we look forward to unlocking that value and delivering sustainable compounding shareholder growth now and beyond."

Ball plans to focus on its aluminum packaging initiatives in beverage, personal care and household product industries following a successful sale, Fisher said.

Last year, net sales reached $13.4 billion, excluding aerospace, he said, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization sitting at $1.7 billion.

BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn said in a news release that the company is focused on high-priority areas of defense and intelligence spending.

The proposed acquisition of Ball Aerospace is a unique opportunity to add a high-quality, fast-growing technology focused business with significant capabilities to our core business that is performing strongly and well positioned for sustained growth. Its rare that a business of this quality, scale and complementary capabilities, with strong growth prospects and a close fit to our strategy, becomes available, Woodburn said.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In partnership with NASA and their SCIFLI (Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery) team, OKSI will once again participate in a high-profile space mission, the atmospheric re-entry of the sample return capsule, OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security  Regolith Explorer). NASA's OSIRIS-REx is the first U.S. space mission to collect a sample from an asteroid, having touched down on the asteroid Bennu in October 2020.

OKSI is advancing the frontiers of space exploration, embarking on yet another collaboration with NASA & the SCIFLI team. Post this OKSI's SAMI Mounted to NASA's WB-57 Aircraft Ahead of the Artemis I Moon Mission

The OSIRIS-REx mission advances understanding of the early solar system and provides a rare opportunity to study atmospheric entry at inter-planetary speeds. During the capsule's atmospheric re-entry and landing, OKSI's SAMI (SCIFLI Airborne Multispectral Imager) will observe the sample return capsule and its wake from a NASA Gulfstream aircraft outfitted with optical windows and a stabilized tracking system. SAMI will collect hyperspectral and multi-spectral data from the Ultraviolet (UV) through Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR). This data will enable NASA to validate and improve modeling tools to support future missions, including landing spacecraft on Mars.

Upon return to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will release the capsule containing the asteroid sample for hypersonic atmospheric entry followed by descent under parachute, landing within DoD's Utah Test and Training Range southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, near the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Ground.

Previously, SAMI operated from a nose-mounted spherical gimbal on NASA's WB-57 aircraft to observe the Artemis I Moon Mission launch and SpaceX's Starship's first launch attempt. For the Artemis I mission, OKSI used SAMI imagery looking through the plume to measure temperatures on the Space Launch System (SLS) base heat shield, which is the bottom surface area of the main rocket body where the nozzles are attached. SAMI imagery of the SLS plume provided direct evidence of plume-induced flow separation.

"I am immensely proud of OKSI's integral role in advancing the frontiers of space exploration, as we embark on yet another collaboration with NASA and their esteemed SCIFLI team," says Chris HolmesParker, CEO, OKSI. "From the success of the Artemis mission, where SAMI captured vital data through plume-induced flow separation, to this forthcoming mission's study of atmospheric entry at inter-planetary speeds, SAMI continues to be an indispensable asset to the NASA team."

OKSI is deploying to NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Virginia in preparation for the OSIRIS-Rex mission. There, SAMI and a gimbaled steering mirror will be integrated onto their Gulfstream aircraft. Since the Artemis I and Starship missions, SAMI gained a UV-Visible imaging spectrometer to enhance its capabilities. This improvement allows SAMI to observe hundreds of wavelengths simultaneously to acquire spectrally, spatially, and temporally resolved data. Following integration at NASA LaRC, the jet and OKSI's operational team will forward deploy to Salt Lake City for the re-entry observation.

Interesting Facts

The asteroid sample collect will provide scientists a window into the time when the Sun and planets were forming over 4.5 billion years ago.

NASA's WB-57 aircraft has a massive worldwide following and was the most tracked aircraft in the world during both the Artemis I Moon Mission launch and SpaceX's Starship launch attempt.

NASA has few WB-57 aircrafts but owns numerous Gulfstream jets. The integration of SAMI onto their Gulfstreams, along with tracking systems and optical-quality windows has opened doors to more flexible and responsive SAMI support for future NASA missions.

SAMI includes a high-speed MWIR filter wheel enabling acquisition of time-resolved imagery acquired in multiple narrow wavebands.

About OKSI

OKSI has been driving innovation and disrupting industry for over 30 years as a leader in customizing sensors, AI/ML, and EO/IR technologies for ground, air, and space applications within the defense, aerospace, and environmental industries. OKSI is committed to solving the world's most challenging engineering problems by using AI to extract data from across the entire EO/IR spectrum. Their autonomous and intelligent solutions rapidly analyze, identify, and communicate actionable insights, enabling critical decision making, action prioritization, and outcome optimization. OKSI is a privately held small business headquartered in Torrance, California. Learn more at www.oksi.ai

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/oksi-ai

SOURCE OKSI
Partnership will enable customers to unify, optimize, and synchronize material flow across the entire supply chain especially in today's volatile and constrained conditions

DALLAS and HOLMDEL, N.J., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One Network Enterprises (ONE), the leading global provider of intelligent control towers and the Digital Supply Chain Network, and Optessa Inc. (Optessa), a leader in the manufacturing planning and scheduling space, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership. This partnership will allow both ONE and Optessa to provide their customers with next generation, end-to-end supply chain management capabilities.

The integration of Optessa and ONE's Control Tower permits the creation and syndication of optimized material plans to support optimized production plans and sequences in both the OEM and the suppliers' plants. Manufacturers benefit from optimal schedules and sequences, lower inventory, improved customer service, and reduced expediting costs. Similarly, suppliers experience improved forecast accuracy yielding improved efficiency due to fewer plan changes. Additionally, both benefit from standard services like structured and unstructured collaborations, AI-based prescriptive resolutions, and fully integrated logistics.

Optessa's manufacturing planning and scheduling optimization technology is used by manufacturers, including the world's largest automotive OEMs like Honda, Ford, and Nissan, as it consistently delivers significant and measurable value (often quantified in tens of percentage points of improvements) in throughput, reduction in lead-time, reduction in changeovers, and annual savings in the millions of dollars. Further, Optessa's rich constraint and resource model library allows the solution of any complex manufacturing planning and scheduling problem without the need for custom coding.

One Network is the leading global provider of intelligent control towers, orchestrating inbound supply including material allocation and logistics for multi-tier supply chains. The control tower optimizes material and logistics flows at each tier. Adding Optessa's manufacturing scheduling and sequencing optimization will allow One Network's Intelligent Control Tower to provide organizations additional benefits of a complete end-to-end solution including optimized manufacturing.

"The lack of visibility and the inability to quickly re-optimize in the face of changing supply chain realities impacts all manufacturers. Optessa looks forward to working with One Network to address these issues and unlock significant value for our customer bases," says Ashok Erramilli, co-founder and CEO of Optessa.

"This strategic partnership will allow One Network and Optessa to bring significant advantage to high-mix, high-volume supply chains like Automotive," says Greg Brady, Founder and Chairman of One Network. "We are excited to partner with Optessa and bring next-generational supply chain solutions to the market."

Both One Network and Optessa are looking forward to taking this joint solution to market which is available immediately.

About One Network Enterprises

One Network is the leader in supply chain control towers and provider of the Digital Supply Chain Network. It is the only solution that gives supply chain managers and executives end-to-end visibility and control with one data model and one truth, from raw material to last mile delivery. Powered by NEO, One Network's machine learning and intelligent agent technology, it enables seamless planning and execution, across inbound supply, outbound order fulfillment, and logistics, matching demand with available supply in real-time. Lead your industry by providing the highest service levels and product quality at the lowest possible cost. Visit: www.onenetwork.com .

About Optessa

Optessa is a leader in planning and scheduling optimization software with many successful implementations among top-tier global manufacturers. Optessa products have wide applicability in diverse manufacturing industries including discrete manufacturing industries like automotive OEMs, suppliers, power equipment, electronics, semiconductor, and mills and process manufacturing industries such as food and beverage and paints as well as shipping and logistics. The Optessa team combines deep expertise in software, mathematics, manufacturing, and optimization technologies with unmatched customer commitment. To learn more about Optessa please visit www.optessa.com.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

Michelle Gaubert

Global AR & PR Director

[email protected]

+1 (510) 316-0590

John Buglino

Director, Marketing

[email protected]

+1 (732) 933-1800 ext 354

SOURCE One Network Enterprises
DUBLIN, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pharmacogenomics Industry Landscape 2023-2027 report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global pharmacogenomics market is poised for robust growth during the forecast period, driven by the increasing adoption of personalized medicine in healthcare.

The rising prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular ailments, respiratory disorders, and renal conditions, has escalated the demand for personalized treatments tailored to these diseases, contributing to the expansion of the pharmacogenomics market. Additionally, the influx of research and development activities and the entry of companies into the personalized medicine arena are set to create promising opportunities for market growth. A notable example is Infosys Limited's launch of personalized medicine solutions for the pharmaceutical industry in 2020, aiming to transform processes and drive better business outcomes.

Addressing Adverse Drug Reactions

The escalating rate of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) has sparked interest in precision medicine and pharmacogenomics. ADRs encompass medication-related side effects that persist during clinical use, affecting patients' quality of life and even leading to morbidity and mortality.

The proliferation of medications and polypharmacy to treat various disorders, particularly among the elderly, has contributed to global ADR occurrences. Precision medicine and pharmacogenomics offer a viable solution by identifying patients who require specific therapeutic modules to optimize treatment while minimizing the risk of ADRs. With significant efforts to tackle this pressing issue, the global pharmacogenomics market is poised for substantial growth.

Increasing Research & Development Activities

Growing research and development initiatives aimed at developing treatments and drugs tailored to an individual's genetic makeup and environmental factors are creating promising growth opportunities for the market. The foundation of pharmacogenomics lies in precision medicine, and the rising adoption of personalized medicine further bolsters the market's growth prospects. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, as well as academic and research institutions worldwide, are increasing their investments in research and development funds, conducting clinical trials, and directing their efforts towards pharmacogenomics-related activities.

For example, the National Institute of Health reported that research and development spending on cancer genomics increased from USD 861 million in 2016 to USD 1,220 million in 2022. Similar trends in research and development are observed globally. The Israel Precision Medicine Partnership (IPMP) awarded USD 9.9 million in funding for 11 projects focused on personalized medicine research in 2021, covering areas such as cancers, Crohn's disease, and rare disorders.

Market Segmentation

The global pharmacogenomics market is segmented based on technology, service, application, end-user, and region. Technology categories include PCR, sequencing, microarray, gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and others. Services encompass genotyping, SNP identification, pharmacogenetic testing, and more. Applications span drug discovery, oncology, neurology and psychiatry, pain management, cardiovascular diseases, and others. End-users are divided into hospitals & clinics, biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies, and others. Geographically, North America, particularly the United States, dominates the market due to increased research and development activities.

Key Players

Leading players in the global pharmacogenomics market include:

Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Illumina, Inc.

Thermo Fischer Scientific, Inc.

AstraZeneca PLC

F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Eurofins Scientific SE

Pacific Biosciences of California Inc.

Qiagen N.V.

PerkinElmer, Inc.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Myriad Genetics, Inc.

Admera Health, LLC

Report Scope

The report provides comprehensive insights into the global pharmacogenomics market, its segments, and industry trends. It categorizes the market based on technology, service, application, end-user, and region. Geographical regions covered include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. The report also highlights the dominance of the United States in the North American market due to its research and development initiatives.

Conclusion

The global pharmacogenomics market is set to experience robust growth, driven by the increasing adoption of personalized medicine and the demand for tailored treatments for chronic diseases. The market's segmentation and the influence of research and development activities provide valuable insights into its expansion trajectory. As companies and institutions invest in pharmacogenomics-related research, clinical trials, and initiatives, the market is poised to play a pivotal role in transforming healthcare by offering personalized solutions that leverage an individual's genetic makeup and environment.

Key Topics Covered

1. Product Overview

2. Research Methodology

3. Executive Summary

4. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Pharmacogenomics Market

5. Voice of Customer

6. Global Pharmacogenomics Market Outlook

7. North America Pharmacogenomics Market Outlook

8. Europe Pharmacogenomics Market Outlook

9. Asia Pacific Pharmacogenomics Market Outlook

10. South America Pharmacogenomics Market Outlook

11. Middle East and Africa Pharmacogenomics Market Outlook

12. Market Dynamics

13. Market Trends & Developments

14. Competitive Landscape

15. Strategic Recommendations



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sb6c0b

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
WAYNE, Pa., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Balanced Bridge Funding CEO Joseph Genovesi was named to the 2023 Philadelphia Titan 100 list. Titan 100 is a national program to recognize a premier group of 100 CEOs and C-level executives in a region. The list is compiled of both private and public sector leaders who demonstrate exceptional leadership, vision, passion, and influence in their field.

"It is a tremendous honor being recognized by The Titan 100," says Genovesi. "As Balanced Bridge continues to make an impact in our industry, I'm very proud to be part of this group of C-level executives representing Philadelphia and the Mainline area."

The nominees named to the Philadelphia Titan 100 list will be honored at a ceremony taking place in September. Earlier this year, Balanced Bridge was named to the 2023 Best Places to Work list by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

"At Balanced Bridge, we strive to create and maintain a company culture of success, inclusiveness, and flexibility," says Genovesi. "These awards show we are on the right path."

Balanced Bridge Funding is a specialty finance company that provides funding to different kinds of sectors; contract advances to professional athletes, legal funding to plaintiffs and plaintiffs' attorneys, advances to first year big law attorneys, account receivable funding to Big Law firms, factoring to truck drivers and trucking companies, fee advances to class action recovery companies, contract advances to local, state, and federal government contractors, loans to real estate investors, loans on luxury assets, account receivable funding to small businesses, and commission advances to insurance brokers and insurance agents on their expected fees.

Accel Real Estate Commission Advance is a subsidiary of Balanced Bridge Funding. It is a finance company specifically designed to provide financing to real estate professionals on their expected commissions. Sometimes, realtors can face delayed commissions due to several factors. Accel was created to provide funding on those commissions so brokers and agents can access a portion of their fee and avoid the waiting period for their money.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Balanced Bridge Funding
DUBLIN, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Post-Bariatric Hypoglycemia Market Insights, Epidemiology and Forecast to 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The postbariatric hypoglycemia landscape is marked by both challenges and opportunities. While the US dominates the market, gaps in diagnostic criteria and standardized treatments persist. Emerging therapies like mizagliflozin and AVEXITIDE hold promise in reshaping the treatment paradigm. Future efforts should focus on developing effective treatments tailored to individual needs, considering the variability in patients' responses to current therapies. As the field evolves, innovative solutions are expected to drive significant transformations in the postbariatric hypoglycemia market.

Epidemiology and Market Trends

In 2022, the United States contributed to about 79% of postbariatric hypoglycemia cases across the 7MM (United States, EU4 countries, and Japan). The US also dominated the market, constituting approximately 89% of the total 7MM market share. Nevertheless, due to the lack of standardized diagnostic criteria, research findings comparison, prevalence rate determination, and uniform treatment approaches remain challenging. The present management landscape involves off-label therapies, which show varying effectiveness. Hence, there's a need for targeted and efficient treatments.

Market Dynamics and Players

The report delves into the market's future growth potential, encompassing diagnosis rates, disease progression, and treatment guidelines. Furthermore, it comprehensively covers management techniques and emerging therapies, including profiles of late-stage and significant therapies that could reshape the market. Notable players in the postbariatric hypoglycemia treatment arena include Vogenx and Eiger Biopharmaceuticals. The market shares among countries indicate that the US, EU4, the UK, and Japan hold varying sizes, with the US leading significantly.

Emerging Therapies

The report spotlights two emerging therapies:

Mizagliflozin (Vogenx): An orally administered SGLT1 inhibitor, mizagliflozin, targets elevated SGLT1 levels in the gut of postbariatric hypoglycemia patients. This inhibits excessive insulin secretion triggered by elevated blood glucose levels. The drug is in Phase II clinical development.

An orally administered SGLT1 inhibitor, mizagliflozin, targets elevated SGLT1 levels in the gut of postbariatric hypoglycemia patients. This inhibits excessive insulin secretion triggered by elevated blood glucose levels. The drug is in Phase II clinical development. AVEXITIDE (Eiger BioPharmaceuticals): AVEXITIDE is a peptide blocking GLP-1 receptors, curbing dysregulated insulin secretion and reducing fasting and postprandial hypoglycemia. It has earned breakthrough designation for postbariatric hypoglycemia treatment and is progressing towards Phase III trials.

Epidemiology and Expert Insights

The report offers a comprehensive epidemiological outlook, segregating data by specific bariatric surgery cases, severity-specific PBH cases, and total treated PBH cases. The forecast shows rising cases in the US, EU4, the UK, and Japan. Insights from Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) across prestigious institutions worldwide contribute to a robust understanding of the current and emerging treatment patterns.

Qualitative Analysis and Market Access

Through techniques like SWOT analysis and Conjoint Analysis, the report assesses various facets, such as disease diagnosis, patient awareness, cost-effectiveness, and therapy accessibility. It also addresses market access and reimbursement issues, exploring factors influencing the entry of innovative treatments into the market. Reimbursement plays a pivotal role in determining the adoption of expensive new drugs.

Key Topics Covered



1. Key Insights

2. Report Introduction

3. Postbariatric Hypoglycemia (PBH) Market Overview at a Glance

4. Executive Summary of Postbariatric Hypoglycemia

5. Disease Background and Overview

6. Methodology

7. Epidemiology and Patient Population

8. Patient Journey

9. Emerging Therapies

10. Postbariatric Hypoglycemia (PBH): Seven Major Market Analysis

11. KOL Views

12. SWOT Analysis

13. Unmet Needs

14. Market Access and Reimbursement

15. Appendix



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes:

Vogenx

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ggc4mz

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

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RAIsonance today announced the release of its Fall 2023 Workforce Wellness Risk Forecast Report. This specialized forecast delivers comprehensive insights into rising health risks likely to affect workforce health and productivity this fall, across industries and sectors. The first in a series, these reports provide employers with a science-based risk forecast to help them better prepare for and mitigate potential productivity disruptions resulting from the forecasted incidence of contagious illnesses in the US, Canada, and UK.

"Working in conjunction with one of the most talented biorisk experts in the world, we've devised a critical tool to help employers get a glimpse into the multi-faceted illness environment we may be facing this fall and winter. We believe employers of all sizes need an evidence-based way to anticipate biorisks that can threaten their employees' health, and their companies' productivity and profitability," said Kitty Kolding, CEO and Founder of RAIsonance, Inc.

The Fall 2023 report cites several specific trends that could create a very challenging environment for employers through the remainder of 2023. These insights are especially critical to employers in categories whose workforce must be on-site, such as construction, healthcare, first responders, manufacturing, mining, warehousing, and the like.

"To support our enterprise clients, we watch these increasing workforce wellness threat indicators very closely," said Kris Hopkins, Chief Product Officer at RAIsonance. "Our enterprise wellness tracking solution, FCV Sentinel, is expressly designed to mitigate these kinds of threats to productivity, to help employers work through these fluid and challenging conditions."

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about "7.8 million workers missed work in January 2022 because they had an illness, injury, or medical problem or appointment, up from 3.7 million in January 2021. About 4.2 million who usually work full-time worked part-time because of an illness, injury, or medical problem or appointment, up from 1.8 million in January 2021."

Absenteeism alone costs U.S. companies an estimated $225.8 billion annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Harvard Business Review study suggests that presenteeism can cost U.S. companies up to $150 billion per year. Presenteeism costs include decreased productivity, low morale among other employees, and the potential health risk of communicable disease spread. The relentless toll of these costs can substantially erode a company's profit margin, emphasizing the necessity for effective health and risk management strategies in the workforce.

Key Insights from the Fall 2023 Workforce Wellness Risk Forecast Report

The report notes the emergence of a new sub-lineage of Omicron, EG.5.1, which will drive a new wave of Covid-19 infections. This wave began at the start of August and will likely peak in early to mid-September in both the US, Canada , and the UK, with different spikes in different markets. The wave will be similar in magnitude to the 2022  2023 winter waves experienced in North America and the UK.

, and the UK, with different spikes in different markets. The wave will be similar in magnitude to the 2022  2023 winter waves experienced in and the UK. In addition, a 2 nd generation sub-lineage of BA.2 known as BA.2.86 has been detected in Denmark , London , USA , and Israel . While case numbers are currently very small, the large number of mutations present in this sub-lineage and the fact it has been detected in four distinct geographic locations raise the possibility that this sub-lineage may cause a new global wave of infections.

generation sub-lineage of BA.2 known as BA.2.86 has been detected in , , , and . While case numbers are currently very small, the large number of mutations present in this sub-lineage and the fact it has been detected in four distinct geographic locations raise the possibility that this sub-lineage may cause a new global wave of infections. Increased levels of ill-health from a combination of Influenza, RSV, COVID-19, Group A Strep, Adenovirus and a handful of other infectious diseases will increase levels of staff absences.

Severe cases of Long Covid (LC) will continue to accumulate, creating a new group of individuals who are physically unable to work.

Neurocognitive dysfunction ("Brain Fog") will adversely affect the job performance of approximately 25% of those individuals who are infected with SARS-CoV-2. Brain fog can last for several weeks after all other symptoms of acute COVID -19 illness resolve, and thus will negatively impact individual productivity long after an individual returns to work after a COVID -19 absence.

These workforce shortages will also cause some supply chain problems, including for some medications, specifically oral formulations of common broad-spectrum antibiotics. Other medications, such as short-acting bronchodilators for asthma and COPD, are also likely to have supply chain interruptions.

The immune dysregulation effect of COVID -19 will lead to significant winter waves of RSV and Strep A in children. This may lead to a small but significant number of temporary school closures, and parents requiring time off work to care for sick children. These diseases are likely to occur at similar rates as 2022.

The full report also details related Societal Risks and Available Mitigations. To obtain the full report without charge, please

About RAIsonance, Inc.

RAIsonance is a family of companies headquartered in the Denver Tech Center, dedicated to Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-based healthcare solutions. RAIsonance companies operate wellness products MyAdvocate and Biometric SoundPass for consumers, the workforce wellness solution FCV Sentinel for the enterprise, and is developing diagnostic solutions for COVID-19, Influenza, Tuberculosis, and RSV. To learn more about RAIsonance Inc., please visit RAIsonance.ai

Media Contact

Nikole Stanton, PR Manager

Email: [email protected]

760-525-4399

SOURCE RAIsonance, Inc.
Investment follows 6x growth in purchase volume since last funding, showing growing demand for Ramp's software that helps companies become more financially efficient.

Series D financing co-led by Thrive Capital and Sands Capital, with participation from General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and other existing investors.

Capital will accelerate product roadmap and hiring as Ramp moves into new categories such as procurement on the back of recent acquisitions and customer wins.

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ramp, the finance automation platform designed to help businesses spend less, today announced a $300 million Series D on the back of strong revenue growth, rapidly increasing market share among small and mid-sized businesses, and successful expansion into the enterprise segment over the past year. The company will use this capital to further fuel its industry-leading pace of product development and accelerate its expansion into adjacent categories.

In an uncertain macroeconomic environment, companies of all sizes and across all industries are more focused than ever on their bottom line. As businesses look for modern finance tools that help them operate more efficiently and profitably, Ramp has seen increasing demand for its spend management platform along with its other products, such as accounts payable automation and procurement. Large multinational and public companies such as Anduril, Poshmark, and Virgin Voyages have recently selected Ramp to modernize their spend management.

"We look to partner with generational companies, and Ramp has proven itself as a challenger that is transforming its industry to the benefit of businesses everywhere," said Ken Chenault, Chairman and Managing Director of General Catalyst, and Former Chairman and CEO of American Express. "We believe Ramp is emerging as an enduring leader in the new category of finance automation. It is setting a new standard for what businesses should expect  transparency, value, efficiency, and tangible time and money savings."

In the past three months, Ramp has:

Entered the procurement software category with Ramp Plus , a new paid edition of its platform.

, a new paid edition of its platform. Launched Ramp Intelligence , which uses natural language to generate insights for finance teams and proactively surface savings opportunities.

, which uses natural language to generate insights for finance teams and proactively surface savings opportunities. Acquired Cohere.io, an AI-powered customer support platform, and announced the involvement of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as an investor and advisor.

"In the last year alone, we've expanded Ramp's offerings to become the only platform in the market that's designed to save businesses time and money," said Eric Glyman, CEO, Ramp. "Our mission is to help our customers build healthier businesses and this funding will help us execute against our goal to continue expanding the Ramp platform to better serve customers. At Ramp, we succeed when our customers can run their business more efficiently."

Thrive Capital, Sands Capital, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and other existing investors all participated in the financing. This is Thrive Capital's fourth, Sands Capital's first, General Catalyst's second, and Founders Fund's eighth investment in Ramp, respectively.

"Ramp has a powerful combination of a tenacious team that is fast-executing, and a massive market with strong structural tailwinds," said Kareem Zaki, Partner at Thrive Capital. "Ramp is giving CFOs and business leaders real-time data at the transaction level that is rapidly changing the way they manage their business. As a result, you're seeing Ramp get pulled up-market by larger companies and expanding the product to address the changing needs of today's CFO."

Ramp has saved customers more than $600 million and over 8.5 million hours of employee time

Bringing together spend management, accounts payable, vendor management and price intelligence, and procurement, Ramp is the most comprehensive finance automation platform. It's also the only company in the category that measures its success by how much time and money its software has helped customers save.

Barron Martin, Managing Partner at Sands Capital, added, "Ramp has been on our radar for a long time because of its high customer affinity and rapidly expanding platform. Customers continue to engage more deeply with the product and many of them are rearchitecting their financial systems around Ramp. We look for world-class teams attacking large markets and we've been impressed by the company's combination of customer centricity, product velocity and exception execution. We believe this is a recipe for long-term success, and are thrilled to partner."

To support its ambitious growth plans and growing customer base, Ramp expects to hire significantly in the coming months across all functions. The company will also remain opportunistic when pursuing growth-driving partnerships or acquisitions to solve more of its customers' needs. Next month, Ramp's paid edition of the platform, Ramp Plus, will be available to all customers.

About Ramp

Ramp is the ultimate platform for modern finance teams. From spend management and expense management software, to bill payments and vendor management , Ramp's all-in-one solution is designed to automate finance operations and build healthier businesses. Over 15,000 businesses have switched to Ramp to cut their expenses by an average of 3.5% and close their books 8x faster. Learn more at ramp.com.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Ramp
The RAWZ Meal-Free Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food Selected from Over 2,000 Nominations

YORK, Maine , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RAWZ Natural Pet Food, a family-owned pet food brand, was honored with a 2023 Pet Independent Innovation Award, which recognizes innovators and leaders of the pet industry. RAWZ Meal-Free Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food received the award for "Dog Food Grain Free Product of the Year."

The 2023 Pet Independent Innovation Awards received more than 2,000 nominations from all over the world. Products were assessed on innovation, performance, ease of use, functionality, impact, value and more.

"Much like humans, we believe pets are better off eating fresh, minimally processed foods." Post this RAWZ Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dog Food wins 2023 Independent Innovation Award for Grain Free Product of the Year.

The winners were chosen by a panel of judges who focused their review on how a product, company or organization innovatively distinguishes itself

"Much like humans, we believe pets are better off eating fresh, minimally processed foods. RAWZ focuses on high quality, high meat recipes that are minimally processed to preserve nutritional content," said Jim Scott, CEO of RAWZ. "As a small company, we're honored to have been recognized for our efforts with an Independent Innovation Award."

RAWZ Meal-Free Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food uses dehydrated chicken as the concentrated protein source, and the first seven ingredients are meat and organ proteins. No rendered meats are used, giving the food healthy levels of highly digestible, quality protein. Each recipe is gently cooked in small batches and to a level to ensure food safety, nothing more, to keep the integrity of the ingredients. RAWZ Meal- Free Dry Dog Food is made in the USA.

RAWZ is committed to promoting the viability and success of independent retailers. RAWZ dog and cat food is exclusive to authorized independent retailers- Find a retailer near you.

About RAWZ

Feed good and feel good. RAWZ donates 100% of our profits (after taxes and reserves) to three main causes: providing service dogs, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. We care about all pets and the meaningful impact they have on our lives. RAWZ is a third-generation family business, headquartered in York, Maine. For more information, visit www.rawznaturalpetfood.com.

SOURCE The RAWZ Natural Pet Food
Medicare and Medicare Advantage reimbursement status was recently obtained for ActiGraft PRO, enabling the wound care industry's most advanced whole-blood wound care solution to be purchased by wound care centers and practitioners nationally

TEL AVIV, Israel and JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RedDress , developers of the ActiGraft PRO system, a personalized and autologous wound care solution created from patients' own whole blood, today announced that its ActiGraft PRO product is now available through Vizient, the nation's largest provider-driven healthcare performance improvement company. RedDress secured an Innovative Technology contract with Vizient in October 2022 and G-Code reimbursement status from Medicare and Medicare Advantage in July 2023.

The agreement with Vizient now provides increased access to ActiGraft PRO to Vizient's customer base, which comprises academic medical centers, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers. Vizient's Innovative Technology contracts are recommended after review and interaction with products submitted through Vizient's Innovative Technology Program. Vizient customer-led councils identify technologies that have the potential to enhance clinical care, patient safety, healthcare worker safety or improve business operations of healthcare organizations.

"We are excited for the momentum we are experiencing since obtaining Medicare reimbursement status and are thrilled to make ActiGraft PRO now available to wound care specialists nationally through Vizient," said Alon Kushnir, CEO and Co-Founder of RedDress. "Autologous, blood-based therapies are the future of wound care, and with ActiGraft PRO as the leading solution in the category, our contract with Vizient will significantly increase access to advanced wound care for patients and healthcare providers."

The ActiGraft PRO system is an autologous, point-of-care wound management solution created from patient's whole blood. Once applied, the blood clot serves as a protective covering and optimizes the body's own healing potential. ActiGraft PRO is designed to jump-start wound healing and to meet the needs of today's high-volume practices and centers, offering practitioners a wound healing solution that delivers a quick, easy, and clean procedure. Applied directly to the wound surface, the ActiGraft PRO blood clot is created at the patient's bedside in under five minutes by mixing fresh whole blood with our proprietary coagulation powder. ActiGraft PRO contains whole blood cells including white cells, red cells, plasma, platelets, and fibrin, in the optimal concentration required in the wound healing process. Once applied, ActiGraft PRO reignites the healing cascade, serving as a protective covering that supports wound healing processes which occur naturally in the body.

While reimbursement for ActiGraft PRO currently applies only to diabetic patients with lower extremity, non-pressure injury chronic wounds, ActiGraft PRO can be used for a wide variety of chronic wounds including but not limited to: Diabetic and Neuropathic Ulcers, Venous Ulcers, Traumatic Wounds, Post-Surgical Wounds, Skin Tears and Surgical Wounds.

Since RedDress received FDA clearance and a CE Mark in 2020, ActiGraft has helped over 6,000 patients across the spectrum of healthcare facilities in the United States and 30 other countries.

Disclaimer: The information provided shall not be constructed as a statement, promise, or guarantee that reimbursement will be received. Reimbursement requirements are subject to change at any time. Check with your local payer regularly.

About RedDress

RedDress is the leading provider of personalized and autologous wound management solutions created from patients own blood. The company's suite of ActiGraft products are transforming wound care, treating a wide variety of chronic wounds including diabetic and neuropathic ulcers, venous ulcers, pressure injuries, traumatic wounds, post-surgical wounds, skin tears, surgical wounds and more. ActiGraft PRO, the company's most advanced wound care product is exclusively available in the US. The ActiGraft wound care system is available internationally only, already commercially available in 30 countries across five continents . RedDress is a privately held, Israel-based company with a U.S. subsidiary, RedDress Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2009 with the goal of developing more effective, natural, and economically viable treatments for chronic wounds, RedDress is dedicated to using its whole-blood technology to find solutions to other human ailments. For more information, please visit www.reddressmedical.com

SOURCE RedDress
Elevating Clinical Trial Quality and Accelerating Approval: Clario's Expertise Enables Breakthrough Alzheimer's Treatment

Complicated clinical trials need to collect data across various "endpoints" to test safety and effectiveness. Without sufficient support and planning, this could span years and pose risks of data corruption and results that can't be reproduced.

Clario ensured quality by overseeing the examination and analysis of more than 35,000 MRI and amyloid PET timepoints in vital Phase IIb and III studies for a new Alzheimer's disease drug. Additionally, Clario managed cardiac safety data collection and analysis across over 250 sites in 14 countries, including expert overread services for >20,000 ECGs.

Through expert scientific assistance, standardization was promoted across multiple study protocols and all phases of development. This support played a crucial role in delivering comprehensive evidence necessary for evaluating safety and effectiveness.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clario, a healthcare research technology company that delivers the leading endpoint technology solutions for clinical trials, has established a groundbreaking benchmark by creating comprehensive, science-driven standardized data collection on a global level. This achievement has expedited both conventional and accelerated approvals for innovative medications like Eisai's Alzheimer's disease treatment, LEQEMBI (lecanemab-irmb).

LEQEMBI (lecanemab-irmb) is only the second FDA-approved therapy in a new generation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatments, providing a lifetime of hope for afflicted patients and their loved ones. Its clinical trial program required long-term technical and scientific support to ensure the most effective collection and analysis of data to demonstrate the drug's safety and efficacy for the FDA's accelerated approval.

Clario provided support for confirming patient eligibility using both MRI and PET scans. Additionally, they monitored on-treatment patient MRI scans, assessed for Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA), and supported the drug's efficacy claim through volumetric MRI and amyloid PET SUVr analyses. Clario centrally received, quality checked, and analyzed over 35,000 MRI and amyloid PET timepoints for the lecanemab program. The amassed data during this period, exceeding 10 terabytes, is equivalent to streaming continuous music playback for 50 years. Clario also supported Eisai in providing cardiac safety devices to more than 250 sites in 14 countries globally, overreading >20,000 ECGs for the pivotal phase III study.

Standardized trial data collection was applied throughout the trial process to ensure the data was read uniformly and consistently within and across sites for accurate primary endpoint efficacy analysis, seamless transition between study phases, and accelerated setup times.

"I am immensely proud of our journey and collaboration with the Eisai team that spans over a decade, culminating in this remarkable achievement," said Joyce Suhy, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Medical Imaging and Specialty Solutions, Clario. "Our dedication to scientific excellence has redefined the landscape of complex clinical trials for novel medicines. We recognized the critical role that precision and reliability play in these trials, especially in difficult-to-treat conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Together, we have not only raised the standards of data collection and analysis but also helped instill hope in countless patients and their families. This milestone further reinforces our determination to continue propelling innovation and making a transformative impact in the field of healthcare research."

"Variability kills clinical trials. This is especially true when it comes to novel medicines in under-treated conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is treated differently across the world, with different standards of care, different access to medicines and different cultural attitudes toward treatment. Unreliable, corrupted or non-standardized data can cause years of setbacks, not to mention pain for patients and their families and careers. Few companies can provide the proper scientific support and global scale for researchers who require this level of certainty in their trials. I'm incredibly proud of the Clario team's ability to deliver this for our customers and ultimately patients," said Ellen Street, Executive Vice President, Cardiac Safety, Respiratory and Precision Motion, Clario.

About Clario

Clario is a leading healthcare research and technology company that generates the richest clinical evidence in the industry for our pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device partners. Across decentralized, hybrid and site-based trials, our deep scientific expertise, global scale and the broadest endpoint technology platform in the industry allows our partners to transform lives. Clario has the only technology platform that combines eCOA, cardiac safety, medical imaging, precision motion, and respiratory endpoints. With 30 facilities in nine countries, Clario's global team of science, technology and operational experts has helped deliver over 24,000 trials and 870 regulatory approvals for over five million patients in 120 countries. Our innovation has been transforming clinical trials for 50 years.

For more information, go to Clario.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Clario Media Contact

Duncan Cantor

Sr. Director, Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677749/Clario_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Clario
Press Release

August 22, 2023 Legarda eyes expanded TESDA mandate in future Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda today shared her vision for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as it nears its third decade of existence. Legarda, a staunch supporter of the state agency, shared her desires for the agency, which has helped countless lives for almost three decades. "I want to envision TESDA expanding even further -- where every Filipino has the opportunity to acquire the skills and tools they need to pursue their dreams and contribute to national progress," said Legarda during her keynote address at TESDA's anniversary celebration at SM Megamall. "Upskilling and reskilling must be an option that is available to all," she added. "We must transform lives beyond the limitations of social and economic boundaries. TESDA has a large role to play in answering the demands of the labor sector and in shaping a labor force that is responsive, fit, and adaptive." For her role in promoting various livelihood programs in her home province of Antique, Legarda was bestowed the National TESDA Kabalikat Award in 2021. Among the programs pushed were the Barangay Kabuhayan Skills Training Program (BKSTP), Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), and Special Training for Employment Program (STEP), which has benefitted over 18,000 Antiqueno trainees since 2016. During the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Legarda ensured that access to tertiary education included those in the technical-vocational sector. As one of her first pieces of legislation to open her fourth term in the Senate, Legarda pushed for the passage of Senate Bill No. 6, a proposed measure that seeks to create the Department of Technical Education, Training and Certification. Once passed, it will strengthen the role of the TESDA to serve as a leading partner in the development of the Filipino workforce. She also praised the agency for being at the forefront of web-based education through the TESDA Online Program, which has produced 3,220,912 course completions in 2022 alone. "The world is changing at a rapid pace -- technology, automation, and digitalization are reshaping industries and demanding new skill sets," remarked Legarda. "TESDA must be at the center of this. Our businesses and industries must connect with our educational institutions to assess, plan, and strategize our approach to providing quality technical-vocational education," she continued.
The Pittsburgh dentist convicted of murdering his wife while on a safari in Zambia was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and 20 years for mail fraud.

Larry Rudolph was also ordered to pay back the nearly $4.9 million he received from Bianca Rudolph's life insurance policies and an extra at least $2 million in fines.

He will also owe millions more in forfeiture fines, but that amount was unclear at his sentencing Monday.

Rudolph, 68, had claimed his wife's death was an accident and even took the stand in his defense last summer to bring home that fact to the jury, but the panel didn't buy his testimony. He was convicted of murder and mail fraud Aug. 1, 2023.

Rudolph was arrested in Mexico by the FBI December 2021, more than five years after Bianca Rudolph's death.

Rudolph, 57, died of a gunshot wound to the heart on Oct. 11, 2016, as she was packing to catch a plane with her husband from a remote area of Zambia back to the United States. At first, Rudolph claimed that her death was suicide and then changed his story, telling investigators that his wife accidentally shot herself as she was loading a four-foot-long rifle into its case.

Looking frail a year after his conviction, Rudolph, unshackled, sans handcuffs and dressed in a brown prison outfit, insisted that his wife's death was a tragic accident.

"This was not a murder but a horrible moment in time," he said, insisting that he and his wife of three years were happy when she died.

Rudolph appeared disoriented during his sentencing and it was relayed to the courtroom that he has been suffering from a heart condition.

His attorney, David Markus, had to direct him to turn around when he was being sworn in and Rudolph then appeared confused, addressing the female court clerk as sir.

Before his trial, Rudolph claimed to be worth $27 million. Prosecutors said it was all about the money.

"Wealth enabled him to commit this crime," said federal prosecutor Bryan Fields.

The prosecution's only witness Monday was Tyson Polski, a financial investigator with the U.S. Attorney's office. For hours, Polski explained spread sheets of evidence he compiled showing Rudolph's five-year shell game as he shuffled Bianca Rudolph's life insurance money payed out by five different companies into multiple Vanguard accounts.

Part of the insurance money fortune went to pay for a $1.4 million Pittsburgh home for Rudolph's mistress, Lori Milliron. Rudolph and his former office manager had a multi-year affair. They moved in together in an upscale Paradise, Arizona home, which Rudolph bought after his wife died, also in part with the life insurance money.

Polski also showed the payout-paper trail which indicated that part of the money went to buy two luxury cars and a condo in Cabo San Luis, Mexico.

Milliron also received jail time for her part in the crime. In June, she was sentenced to 17 years in prison for perjury, of being an accessory to a murder after the fact and obstructing a grand jury.

U.S. District Judge William Martinez seemed confounded by Rudolph's behavior, calling it "bizarre."

"You could have gotten a divorce but you wouldn't have had the insurance proceeds," said Martinez, noting that Rudolph started looking into collecting on his wife's life insurance policies three days after he returned to the United States.

He ordered the nearly $4.9 million in restitution to go to the insurance companies which paid out on Bianca Rudolph's multiple life insurance policies.

The Rudolph children did not attend the sentencing, bowing out at the last minute. Their uncle, and Bianca Rudolph's older brother, Vincent Finizio, was the only family member in the courtroom and the only one who was present for every day of trial.

Overcome with emotion, Finizio directed his court statement to Rudolph, who listened with a grim stare.

"You shot my sister in her heart at point blank range," said Finizio, apologizing at times for having to pause in mid-sentence. "None of us want to see you ever again...or breathe the same air."

Rudolph was tried in Colorado because the insurance companies involved in the case were mostly headquartered in Colorado.
NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) between February 9, 2021 and May 29, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). A class action has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 20, 2023 in the securities class action commenced by the Firm.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Comerica securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Comerica class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=16714 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 20, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose, among other things, that: (1) Comerica failed to provide meaningful oversight over the vendors to whom it contracted out day-to-day operations of the Direct Express program, a system through which it is contracted to provide federal benefits to millions of Americans without bank accounts; (2) as a result of violations in the day-to-day operations of Direct Express, including handling fraud disputes and allowing sensitive data to be handled out of a vendor's office in Pakistan, Comerica was not in compliance with the Federal contract, and knew it was not in compliance; (3) Comerica knew and failed to disclose that it was in potential violation of Regulation E due to inadequate fraud prevention in the Direct Express program and responses to instances of fraud; and (4) as a result, Defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Comerica class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=16714 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm.

Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm's attorneys are ranked and recognized by numerous independent and respected sources. Rosen Law Firm has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for investors.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
WOOD-RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Content quality is key to an SEO campaign's success. For content writing agency SCS Creative and SEO agency Improove, a focus on content quality nabbed secures results for clients  and first-place recognition from the Content Marketing Institute.

The companies won "Best Topic Specific Blog" in the Content Marketing Awards, an annual contest that recognizes leading campaigns across all marketing mediums. The winning project was the blog for California-based accessory dwelling unit (ADU) startup Spacial Homes.

Improove logo

"I take pride in adhering to the highest possible standards for content. It's validating to see those efforts recognized by the Content Marketing Institute," said Stella Morrison, Founder, SCS Creative. "Our writers are honored to see their hard work recognized."

The best topic-specific blog category evaluates nominations based on how content helps focus an audience on a subject of mutual interest to the company and its customers. SCS Creative spearheaded content writing, while Improove Inc. developed and executed SEO strategy.

"We are thrilled to receive this award alongside SCS Creative," said Calleah Johnson, Team Lead at Improove Inc. "Our teams diligently worked to provide exceptional content and SEO services to our clients. At Improove, we take pride in our ability to reverse engineer strategies and focus on ROI, helping businesses grow their traffic and see tangible results in revenue."

The Spacial Homes blog focused on ADU construction in California, a challenging housing market in need of affordable housing solutions. The website received over 400,000 visitors and saw a 1,700% rise in traffic in 2022, particularly with California audiences, which made up around 80% of visitors.

"A campaign is only as successful as how it resonates with their target audience the data shows that our content successfully reached potential customers," Morrison said.

The Content Marketing Awards' 2023 judging panel reviewed nearly 1,000 entries. Winners and finalists were determined across 60 categories that recognize multiple aspects of content marketing.

For more information about the agencies, visit scs-creative.com and improove.net.

ABOUT SCS CREATIVE

Founded and led by an award-winning former journalist, SCS Creative combines a reporter's insight, a marketer's instinct, and an SEO brain trust into one rockstar content writing team. Drawing from these three pillars, they produce engaging content built for search engines and people. For more information, visit scs-creative.com.

ABOUT IMPROOVE

Founded by ex-Googler Michael Schwarz, Improove is a global digital growth firm that manages over 300 clients in 70+ countries and in 20+ languages. Clients include Fortune 50 companies to SMEs to high-growth startups. Driven by passion and a commitment to shared values, Improove makes it possible for people to find useful, relevant information that inspires, broadens their horizons, and adds value to their daily lives. The agency's core competencies include SEO, search engine advertising, conversion optimization, Amazon advertising, and Google Analytics. Improove has offices in New York, Vienna, Madrid, and Munich. For more information, visit improove.net.

Contact: Stella Morrison, (732) 646-8877, [email protected]

SOURCE SCS Creative
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the announcement and several months' search for a new Executive Director, the renown Los Angeles-based Chicano/Latinx visual arts organization, Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG), announces its newest Executive Director, Jennifer M. Cuevas. Cuevas is an LA-based arts leader, entrepreneur and advocate, seasoned cultural producer and communications executive, who will begin her tenure as the organization's Executive Director effective Tuesday, September 5, 2023. "It's with great pride and enthusiasm that we announce the naming of Jennifer M. Cuevas as our newest Executive Director. Jennifer is a visionary leader who brings expertise in business development, strategic communications and community engagement, a "trifecta" effect in the nonprofit sector. She has been an integral part of the SHG team as a consultant since 2017, and has supported our senior leadership and Board widening SHG's visibility locally and nationally," said Board President, Paulina M. Flores. "She's an esteemed cultural executive in Los Angeles with an extensive history in the arts and culture sector and is stepping into her role with a clear sense of purpose and energy, as we prepare for the Capital renovation and honor our 50 year legacy."

"I'm humbled and honored to be named Self Help Graphics & Art's next Executive Director, as we mark its 50th Anniversary. Self Help Graphics has been a home where I see my cultura reflected back at me and a place that makes art accessible to the community through printmaking, exhibitions, cultural events and intergenerational programs," said Jennifer Cuevas. "I am deeply grateful and excited to advance SHG's mission with our incredible staff, to continue to advocate for artists, arts and culture, and for the journey ahead to continue to strengthen and grow our work; which includes stewarding SHG's capitol renovation project in partnership with the Board, to develop a community cultural center and printmaking space that we've dreamed of for decades."

"In this time of growth and transformation for Self Help Graphics, I am thrilled for Jennifer Cuevas to step into the Executive Director role. She has been an integral extension of the team during her tenure as a consultant, and her stepping into the role fulfills the vision for leadership continuity that our succession planning projected, ensuring that the person at the helm has not only the expertise and administrative acumen, but also holds the Chicana/o/x artistic legacy at the core of the future vision of Self Help. SHG's momentum in this critical moment will continue on its upward trajectory, and it will evolve under her leadership. I'm excited to see where she takes this cultural gem," said Betty Avila, former Executive Director, who is serving as a consulting senior advisor to support the transition, through the end of the year.

About Jennifer M. Cuevas

Jennifer M. Cuevas (she/her) is a Los Angeles-based arts executive, entrepreneur, advocate and cultural producer who places social justice at the center of her work. She is the founder of Jenerate Media, a Los Angeles-based communications agency that for two decades has specialized in the visual and performing arts, social impact and amplifying the missions and programmatic work of non-profit institutions. She has a passion for storytelling, connecting people, and a history of advancing the arts in Los Angeles.

Cuevas has worked as a consulting partner with Self Help Graphics & Art since 2017 and has served as a strategic advisor, cultural producer, and communications executive, bolstering the organization's visibility locally and nationally. In 2019, she played in instrumental role in supporting the revival of the organization's Paper Fashion Gala, SHG's iconic fashion show that dates back to its early days. She also played a role in supporting the opening of SHG's PST LA/LA exhibition, Dia de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present and Future. While her professional work with SHG dates back to more recent years, she has been a supporter of the organization since the late 1990's. In her transitional aged youth and as a rising journalism student, she became impassioned with the music, theatre and visual arts infused with social justice that were frequently offered at its original home in East Los Angeles. Those foundational experiences, including her work with the seminal music magazine, La Banda Elastica, and groups such as Mujeres de Maiz, helped to affirm her Chicana identity and a sense of purpose in the arts; which motivated her to help advance the careers of artists and arts institutions through the art of communications and other cultural work.

In addition to her expertise in communications, Jennifer is a multifaceted leader and brings with her diverse experiences in the nonprofit sector. Jennifer has previously worked with the Vincent Price Art Museum, LA Commons in collaboration with the City of LA's Department of Arts and Culture (DCA), Academia Avance Charter School (Avance), California Native Vote Project (CNVP), Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services (WORKS), Metro Arts, Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA), and many others. Jennifer received a B.A. in Communications, with a concentration in Public Affairs/Information, from the University of La Verne. She currently serves on the Board of Arts of LA.

About Self Help Graphics & Art

Since its incorporation in 1973, SHG has produced more than 2,000 art print editions, including 70+ atelier projects and exhibitions all over the world. The organization remains dedicated to the production, interpretation and distribution of prints and other art media by Chicana/o and Latinx/e artists; and its multidisciplinary intergenerational programs promote artistic excellence and empower the community by providing access to working space, tools, training and resources. Now in its 50th year, SHG continues to foster emerging Chicana/o and Latinx artists through its world-class printmaking practice and supports the role of artists as leaders, both within its organization and the community. Learn more at www.selfhelpgraphics.com .

Contact: Self Help Graphics & Art

[email protected]

SOURCE Self Help Graphics & Art
Shows improvement in operational parameters and profitability rates

The group's revenues in the first half increased by approximately 3.1% and totaled approximately NIS 7.4 billion compared to approximately NIS 7.2 billion in the corresponding period last year

The revenues of the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 3.7 billion, similar to the corresponding quarter last year, and this despite the timing of Passover

An increase in the operating profit in the first half which totaled approximately NIS 303 million, which is approximately 4.1% of the revenues compared to approximately NIS 209 million in the corresponding period last year, which was approximately 2.9% of the group's revenues

An increase in the operating profit in the second quarter which totaled approximately NIS 152 million, which is approximately 4.1% of the revenues compared to approximately NIS 107 million in the corresponding quarter last year, which was approximately 2.9% of the group's revenues

The net profit in the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 73 million compared to approximately NIS 68 million in the corresponding quarter last year, which is approximately 2% of the group's revenues

The process of advancing the automatic dispatch center in Modi'in is progressing according to the set goals. As of this date, it provides approximately 3,000 deliveries per day

Shufersal is working to bringing in a partner or investor into the finance activity as part of the group strategy to expand activities in the worlds of finance

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shufersal (TASE: SAE), Israel's leading retailer, announced today financial results for the second quarter and the first half of 2023.

Itzik Abercohen, Chairman of the Shufersal Board of Directors and Uri Waterman, CEO of the Shufersal Group, said today:

"The performance in the second quarter testifies to the strength of the group and its ability to navigate a challenging business environment. We are witnessing stability

and diversification in the core activity in retail, while consistently improving the profit indicators. The focus on profitability has brought us to a position of strength and an improvement in the flexibility of our operating model, following the process of streamlining.

We continue on a clear and consistent path of long-term growth while strengthening trade, improving the structure of expenses, establishing the technological infrastructure, promoting online trade through Shufersal Online and deepening the synergy between the group's various activities.

The group is advancing in food retailing alongside a variety of growth areas, including Shufersal for businesses, the Be chain, the stock network and the real estate activity, which is now a separate company working to initiate and improve its assets.

As the leaders of the retail market in Israel, we will continue to carry out strategic moves that demonstrate the group's strengths and capabilities in a variety of areas of activity. In the meantime, Shufersal is working to bringing in a partner for the finance activity to increase its market share in the group`s activities."

The group's revenues in the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 3.7 billion, similar to the corresponding quarter last year. The retail sector showed a decrease of approximately 0.4% in the second quarter, which was mainly due to the effect of seasonality and the timing of Passover, and on the other hand, there was an increase in revenues as a result of the stock activity that was purchased in August 2022. Sales in same stores of the group decreased by approximately 2% and by approximately 2.2% in the retail sector compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

The group's revenues in the first half increased by approximately 3.1% and totaled approximately NIS 7.4 billion compared to approximately NIS 7.2 billion in the corresponding period last year.

Sales in same stores of the group in the first half of this year increased by approximately 0.8% and at a rate of approximately 1.1% in the retail sector compared to the corresponding half of last year.

The gross profit in the second quarter increased by approximately 1% and totaled approximately NIS 983 million, which is approximately 26.5% of the revenues, compared to approximately NIS 973 million in the corresponding quarter last year, which was approximately 26.3% of the revenues. The increase was due to a change in the company's revenue mix. In the first half, the gross profit increased by approximately 5% and totaled approximately NIS 1,986 million, which made up approximately 26.8% of the revenues compared to approximately NIS 1,898 million in the corresponding period last year, which made up approximately 26.3% of the total revenues. The increase is mainly due to the growth of the group's income.

The operating profit before other revenues (expenses) in the second quarter grew by approximately 42% and totaled approximately NIS 152 million, which is approximately 4.1% of the group's income, compared to approximately NIS 107 million, which was approximately 2.9% of the group's income in the quarter the same as last year. The increase in operating profit is reflected in the retail and real estate sectors, with the Be sector maintaining stability.

The operating profit before other revenues (expenses) in the first half grew by approximately 45% and totaled approximately NIS 303 million, approximately 4.1% of the sales turnover, compared to approximately NIS 209 million in the corresponding period last year, which constituted approximately 2.9% of the sales turnover. The increase in operating profit is reflected in all the group's activity sectors.

In 2022, the company implemented an efficiency plan in order to face future competition and improve the company's financial results.

The operating profit after other revenues (expenses) in the second quarter grew by approximately 23% and totaled approximately NIS 173 million, which is approximately 4.7% of the group's income, compared to approximately NIS 141 million, which was approximately 3.8% of the group's income in the corresponding quarter last year.

The operating profit after other revenues (expenses) in the first half grew by approximately 33% and totaled approximately NIS 324 million, approximately 4.4% of the sales turnover, compared to approximately NIS 243 million in the corresponding period last year, which constituted approximately 3.4% of the sales turnover.

The EBITDA in the quarter increased by approximately 17% and totaled approximately NIS 391 million compared to approximately NIS 334 million in the corresponding quarter last year and constitute approximately 10.6% of the group's total revenues compared to approximately 9% of the revenues in the corresponding quarter last year. The increase was mainly due to an increase in operating profit.

The EBITDA in the first half totaled approximately NIS 764 million, which is approximately 10.3% of the company's total sales, compared to approximately NIS 650 million, which was approximately 9% of the company's total sales in the corresponding period last year. The increase was mainly due to an increase in operating profit.

The net profit in the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 73 million, which is approximately 2% of the revenues, compared to approximately NIS 68 million, which was approximately 1.8% of the revenues in the corresponding quarter last year.

The net profit in the first half grew by approximately 46% and totaled approximately NIS 139 million, which is approximately 1.9% of the revenues compared to approximately NIS 95 million, which was approximately 1.3% of the revenues in the corresponding period last year.

The retail sector revenues in the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 3.42 billion compared to approximately NIS 3.44 billion in the corresponding quarter last year, a decrease of approximately 0.4%, which was mainly due to the effect of seasonality and on the other hand there was an increase in revenues as a result of the stock activity which was purchased in August 2022. The sales at the shipping centers and Shufersal branches in the second quarter of this year decreased by approximately 1.6% compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

The operating profit before other revenues (expenses) in the retail sector in the second quarter of this year totaled approximately NIS 89 million and at a rate of approximately 2.6% of total revenues, compared to approximately NIS 53 million and at a rate of approximately 1.5% of total revenues in the corresponding quarter last year.

The retail sector revenues in the first half totaled approximately NIS 6.87 billion compared to approximately NIS 6.66 billion in the corresponding period, an increase of approximately 3.2% which was mainly due to an increase in retail sales, the expansion of activity in the business market (B2B) and the income from the stock activity that was purchased in August 2022. Sales at shipping centers and Shufersal branches in the first half of this year increased by approximately 2% compared to the corresponding half last year.

The operating profit before other revenues (expenses) in the retail sector in the first half of this year totaled approximately NIS 178 million and at a rate of approximately 2.6% of revenues, compared to approximately NIS 101 million and at a rate of approximately 1.5% of total revenues in the corresponding half of last year.

The revenues of the Be chain in the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 257 million, compared to approximately NIS 255 million in the corresponding quarter last year, an increase of approximately 0.8% which was mainly due to an increase in sales in same stores and the opening of new branches. Sales in same stores increased by approximately 1% compared to the same quarter last year.

The operating profit before other revenues (expenses) of the Be chain in the second quarter of 2023 totaled approximately NIS 2 million, similar to the corresponding quarter last year.

In the first half, the revenues of the Be chain totaled approximately NIS 507 million, compared to approximately NIS 524 million in the corresponding half of last year, a decrease of approximately 3.2%. The decrease is mainly due to activities in the field of corona testing last year. Excluding the effect of sales of corona products, the sector's revenues in the first half of this year increased by approximately 4.7% compared to the corresponding half of last year. Sales in same stores decreased by approximately 3.1% compared to last year.

The operating profit before other income (expenses) of the Be chain in the first half of 2023 totaled approximately NIS 4 million compared to approximately NIS 3 million in the corresponding half last year.

The real estate sector revenues in the second quarter totaled approximately NIS 63 million compared to approximately NIS 49 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The increase is mainly due to the effect of acquisition of control in the Lev HaMifratz company starting in October 2022 and the rise of the index.

The operating profit before other revenues (expenses) in the real estate sector totaled approximately NIS 49 million, compared to NIS 41 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

The real estate sector revenues in the first half of this year totaled approximately NIS 124 million, compared to approximately NIS 96 million in the corresponding half of last year, an increase of approximately 29.2% that was mainly due to the effect of acquisition of control in the Lev HaMifratz company starting in October 2022 and the rise of the index.

Operating profit before other revenues (expenses) in the real estate sector totaled approximately NIS 96 million, compared to approximately NIS 82 million in the corresponding half of last year.

As part of the company's strategy, according to which the real estate sector will serve as a growth engine alongside the retail activity, in the second quarter the group signed an agreement to transfer the logistics centers under the "Shufersal Real Estate" subsidiary. Upon completion of the transaction, Shufersal Real Estate will own a significant amount of yielding real estate of approximately 350 thousand square meters (the company's share is approximately 300 thousand square meters) and at a fair value of approximately NIS 4.7 billion, which is located in key demand areas all over the country.

As of June 30, 2023, the group has approximately NIS 1,459 million real estate for investment compared to approximately NIS 932 million on June 30, 2022. An increase of approximately NIS 392 million results from the purchase of additional shares in Lev HaMifratz and the balance arises from an increase in the fair value as well as from additions and current investments.

The retail sector sales through Shufersal online in the second quarter of this year totaled approximately 17.1% of all sales in the shipping centers and Shufersal branches compared to approximately 18.6% in the corresponding quarter last year. In the first half, the retail sector sales through Shufersal Online totaled approximately 18.2% of the total retail sales, compared to approximately 20.2% in the corresponding half of last year. The decrease is due, among other things, to the weakening of the impact of the corona crisis, mainly in relation to the first quarter in the corresponding period last year, as well as to the reduction of online sales of non-food products as part of a focus on the profitability of the activity.

The automatic delivery center in Modi'in, whose total area is approximately 43 thousand square meters, began initial commercial activity in March 2023 and as of this date provides approximately 3,000 deliveries per day.

The private label sales share associated with the delivery centers and Shufersal branches in the second quarter of this year was approximately 26.6% of the total food retail sales in the delivery centers and Shufersal branches compared to approximately 26.7% in the corresponding quarter last year. In the first half, the private label sales share associated with the retail sector was approximately 27.5% of the total food retail sales in shipping centers and Shufersal branches compared to approximately 27.1% in the corresponding half of last year.

Shufersal announced today that it is working to bringing in a partner / investor for the finance activity to expand the group`s activity share in this field. The field of finance is one of Shufersal's growth engines and includes, among other things, credit card activity and non-bank credit activity, and this, in addition to the joint financial venture with Discount Bank that operates on the PayBox platform and other financial services.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1592092/Shufersal_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Shufersal
Upon completion, the new facility will meet the state's growing demands for mental health services while serving as an integral part of the Tampa Medical and Research District.

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of Tampa General Hospital (TGH), Lifepoint Behavioral Health and USF Health were joined by elected officials, board members and other key stakeholders Monday to break ground on the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, a new four-story hospital in the heart of Tampa's Medical and Research District. The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, which is expected to open in late 2024, will be the first and only freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital in Florida.

Pictured from left to right: Marty Mann, Steve Harris, Drew Graham, Russ Bailey, John Couris, Dr. Charles Lockwood, Dr. Ryan Wagoner, Kelly Cullen, Mark Runyon, Dr. Glenn Currier Leaders of Tampa General Hospital (TGH), Lifepoint Behavioral Health and USF Health were joined by board members and other key stakeholders on Aug. 21, 2023 to break ground on the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, a new four-story hospital in the heart of Tampas Medical and Research District.

"As the community continues its trajectory of unprecedented growth, the demand for mental and behavioral health services is higher than ever before," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. "Today marks the start of construction on the first and only freestanding academic behavioral health hospital in the state, and we are proud to have the support of our state lawmakers, local leaders and community in this endeavor. The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital will significantly expand Floridians' access to mental health services, and our patients can expect the world-class care we consistently deliver at TGH."

The new hospital is the result of a joint venture partnership between Tampa General and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, announced last year. Tampa General Hospital will provide a number of facility and medical support services, while Lifepoint Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations. Physicians with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults and geriatrics. The hospital, which is planned to be approximately 83,000 square feet with 96 to 120 inpatient beds, will feature dedicated units for treating patients with behavioral health issues compounded by other medical conditions.

"This is an exciting day for our team at Lifepoint Behavioral Health as we break ground on Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital," said Russ Bailey, president of Lifepoint Behavioral Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation. "We know that Tampa General Hospital shares our commitment to expanding access to high-quality, evidence-driven specialty care, and we are honored to once again work alongside their team as we bring new and vitally needed services to Tampa and the surrounding region."

The facility was made possible in part by funding from the state of Florida to address the state's growing mental health crisis. This past legislative session, Senator Jay Collins and Representative Lawrence McClure secured $10 million in the state budget to support the construction of the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital.

"The demand for mental health services is greater than ever before," said Senator Collins. "Tampa General Hospital is taking the lead to expand access to high-quality care and fulfill our greatest needs. Right here in the heart of the Tampa Medical and Research District, the patients of the new TGH Behavioral Health Hospital will benefit from the world-class care that TGH provides, the latest innovations and research findings, and the newest technologies."

"This was an important investment for the state to expand access to high-quality care, fulfill the growing demand for behavioral health services, and create jobs and foster growth right here in Tampa Bay," said Representative McClure. "With the construction of the state's only freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital, it's clear Tampa Bay is the leader in accessible, high-quality care."

At the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, psychiatrists on the faculty with USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will also offer learning opportunities for USF medical students and resident physicians. The hospital will be directly linked to Tampa General's nationally recognized Neuroscience Institute, through which best-in-class physicians provide a full spectrum of care to patients of all ages with neurological disorders.

"This facility will be an essential resource for patients with behavioral and mental health conditions, especially those experiencing complex conditions," said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and executive vice president and chief academic officer of Tampa General Hospital. "With the new behavioral health hospital, we are increasing much-needed access to highly specialized and personalized care for many behavioral and mental health conditions, which will make a positive impact on the health and well-being of the communities we serve."

The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital is the newest addition to the Tampa Medical and Research District, a hub of world-class clinical care, academics, research and biotechnology. It will be located in South Tampa within the Medical and Research District, adjacent to the recently opened freestanding emergency department  TGH Kennedy Emergency Center  and the TGH Rehabilitation Hospital.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News and World Report's 2023-24 Best Hospitals, with six specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings  in the top 100 nationally in the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Outpatient Center, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

ABOUT LIFEPOINT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Lifepoint Behavioral Health specializes in providing compassionate care across the behavioral healthcare continuum. Through its 23 behavioral health hospitals and contract management and joint venture partnerships with hospitals and providers across the country, Lifepoint Behavioral Health offers programs designed to address the unique needs of various patient populations, including adolescents, adults and geriatrics. Lifepoint Behavioral Health has diversified programming, allowing specific therapy models of treatment while encompassing the whole person. These treatment models provide evidence-based therapies with distinct short- and long-term goals of improving and sustaining mental health. Lifepoint Behavioral Health is a business unit of Brentwood, Tennessee-based Lifepoint Health.

ABOUT USF HEALTH

USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health's multispecialty physicians' group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News & World Report's national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR

Senior Communications Specialist

(813) 844-7322 (direct)

(813) 510-6363 (cell)

[email protected]

Media Contact: Aileen Bennett

Lifepoint Behavioral Health

(615) 920-7668

[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital
Five-Year National Agreement Passes Overwhelmingly, One Supplement to Be Renegotiated

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Teamsters voted by an overwhelming 86.3 percent to ratify the most historic collective bargaining agreement in the history of UPS. The five-year contract protects and rewards more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide, raising wages for full- and part-time workers, creating more full-time jobs, and securing important workplace protections, including air conditioning.

The agreement passed by the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS.

All supplemental agreements were ratified as well, except for the Local 769 LAI supplement which covers 174 members in Florida. The national master agreement will go into effect as soon as this supplement is renegotiated and ratified. The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee will immediately meet with the company to work to resolve any outstanding issues with the supplement. Upon resolution, the adjusted supplement would be voted on by respective UPS Teamsters in-person in their area.

There are 44 supplements to the national master agreement.

"Our members just ratified the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters have ever negotiated at UPS. This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry. This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention."

"This is the richest national contract I've seen in my more than 40 years of representing Teamsters at UPS," said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. "There are more gains in this contract than in any other UPS agreement and with no givebacks to the company. But the hard work doesn't end here. We will continue to fight like hell to enforce this contract and make sure UPS lives up to every word of it over the next five years."

Highlights of the tentative 2023-2028 UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement include:

Historic wage increases. Existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023. Over the length of the contract, wage increases will total $7.50 per hour.

more per hour in 2023. Over the length of the contract, wage increases will total per hour. Existing part-timers will be raised to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment will still receive all new general wage increases.

per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment will still receive all new general wage increases. General wage increases for part-time workers will be double the amount obtained in the previous UPS Teamsters contract  and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years.

Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour.

per hour. Current UPS Teamsters working part-time will receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings.

per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings. New part-time hires at UPS will start at $21 per hour and advance to $23 per hour.

per hour and advance to per hour. All UPS Teamster drivers classified as 22.4s will be reclassified immediately to Regular Package Car Drivers and placed into seniority, ending the unfair two-tier wage system at UPS.

Safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024 . Two fans, heat exhaust shields, and air induction vents in the cargo compartments will be retrofitted into all cars.

. Two fans, heat exhaust shields, and air induction vents in the cargo compartments will be retrofitted into all cars. All UPS Teamsters will receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time.

as a full holiday for the first time. No more forced overtime on Teamster drivers' days off. Drivers will keep one of two workweek schedules and cannot be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days.

UPS Teamster part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December.

The creation of 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work.

More than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement  more than any other time in Teamsters history  and zero concessions from the rank-and-file.

Last month, the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee, as well as representatives of UPS Teamster locals in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, unanimously endorsed the agreement. UPS Teamsters voted electronically between August 3-22.

The UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement is the single largest private-sector collective bargaining agreement in North America.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more and follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Kara Deniz, (202) 497-6610

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
The new design showcases a signature brand mark, bespoke word mark, and an updated color palette. The brand colors include brown as a nod to the community the company serves, and green to signify the brand's commitment to supporting their members' healing, evolution, and relaxation.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Great Exhale , a private membership community created exclusively for Black women, today reveals their new logo and brand identity. The visual identity system represents the core qualities of the company, and evolves the brand in a way that sets it up for longevity.

The Great Exhale unveils a new logo, brand mark, and visual identity. The team behind the rebrand is Lisa Hurley: Founder, The Great Exhale; Latrice Torres: Executive Director, The Great Exhale; Rose Reynolds: Creative Director, Rose Reynolds & Co.

"The logo that we have used up until this point served us well during our pre-launch phase. Our new logo, brand mark, and brand colors represent the evolution of The Great Exhale," explains Lisa Hurley , Founder of The Great Exhale. "My goal was to create a distinctive brand identity with which our community would strongly connect, and to establish a modern yet classic visual system that would propel the company towards a successful future."

At its core, The Great Exhale is about divesting from hustle culture and embracing the pause. "Our brand mark is an "e" underpinned by an ellipsis. It is a visual depiction of a literal pausea reminder to stop for a moment and take a breath," notes Ms. Hurley. "We encourage our community members to step out of the fast lane and take a break. Our new visual identity communicates that concept in a way that is simultaneously subtle and strong."

To lead the brand refresh, the company tapped designer Rose Reynolds, FIT alum and Creative Director of graphic design firm Rose Reynolds & Co. "When we were searching for a graphic designer to bring our updated brand identity to life, we made the strategic decision to hire someone who not only has the necessary creative chops, but would also instantly understand the 'why' behind the brand based on their lived experience," explains Latrice Torres, Executive Director of People & Culture at The Great Exhale. "Of the candidates under consideration, Ms. Reynolds stood out from the crowdand delivered above and beyond."

"The company's tagline is 'A Soft Space for Black Women,' so my intention for creating the logo was to visually communicate calmness and softness," explains Ms. Reynolds. "I focused on subtle details like the curves of each letter, and made sure that the logo is unique, memorable, and evocative of The Great Exhale brand. As I ideated more around the word 'Exhale,' I decided to implement the ellipsis as a part of the brand mark. The three dots not only make the logo more visually distinctive; they also represent taking three deep breaths to calm down and ground yourself."

The primary brand color is now green, a deliberate choice made by the team based on the positive symbolism of the hue: "The cool shades of green in the logo have an ethereal, meditative quality," continues Reynolds. "I also chose to depict the greens in the logo in a gradient in order to subliminally reinforce the act of exhaling."

The new visual brand language incorporates:

The bespoke Exhale logo font.

A distinctive brand mark: the Exhale "e" and ellipsis.

the Exhale "e" and ellipsis. A modern typeface that easily integrates into a variety of settings, particularly digital touchpoints.

that easily integrates into a variety of settings, particularly digital touchpoints. A soothing, sophisticated color palette, grounded in peaceful shades of green, to inspire meditative calm.

grounded in peaceful shades of green, to inspire meditative calm. A word mark with a dark-to-light gradient to visually represent the act of exhaling.

to visually represent the act of exhaling. Shades of brown to evoke melanin, comfort, and a connection to the earth.

In addition to launching its new logo, the company has also launched its new website, Instagram account, blog, and online store. "As we plan the evolution of The Great Exhale, it is vital that we have a 360 presence," says Lisa Hurley. "Our new website beautifully showcases the modernization of the brand's look and feel, and provides another key touchpoint for us to connect with our customers and partners."

The revitalized logo and visual identity have already been rolled out within the members-only community, which is hosted on Mighty Networks. Over the next few weeks, the brand refresh will be implemented across all touchpoints, including the company's new website.

About The Great Exhale

Founded by Lisa Hurley, The Great Exhale is a private membership community built exclusively to center Black women. It is a soft space designed for Black women around the globe to collectively relax, lay their burdens downand exhale.

The Great Exhale facilitates this by creating a virtual forum for Black women to:

Enjoy community with a supportive sisterhood





Embrace ease and divest from overwork





Liberate themselves from code switching





Be as excellent or as average as they choose





Share their stories with like-experienced people





Be seen and validated by folks who understand





Live a softer, happier, more fulfilling life

Members benefit from community support, empowering content & events, exclusive learning journeys, authentic connections with like-minded women, and more. Membership starts at $40/month.

Find The Great Exhale Online:

Website: www.itsthegreatexhale.com

Community: www.thegreatexhale.com

LinkedIn: The Great Exhale

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheGreatExhale

Instagram: @_thegreatexhale_

Linktree: linktr.ee/thegreatexhale

To learn more, follow Lisa and Latrice on social media.

Contact: Latrice Torres

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE The Great Exhale
International SaaS Awards Program Announces Its Finalists

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 SaaS Awards program reveals finalists across a diverse array of categories.

Now celebrating its 8th year, The SaaS Awards continues to recognize and honor outstanding SaaS innovations from all corners of the world. Entries from hundreds of companies spanning North America, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Australasia were received.

The SaaS Awards The SaaS Awards

The program boasts an array of categories for 2023, including 'Bespoke SaaS Solution,' 'Best SaaS Product for Business Intelligence or Analytics,' 'Most Agile or Responsive SaaS Solution of the Year,' and many others, showcasing SaaS solutions across industry verticals.

James Williams, Head of Operations at The SaaS Awards, said: "Each year, we see an explosion of competition and brilliant ideas in every submission. The finalists this year promise an exciting contest in the last stage of the program. Selecting the ultimate SaaS winner solutions among these exceptional entries will be challenging.

"The organizations announced today as finalists are clear evidence of the exceptional quality and level of innovation achieved this year. Our panel of judges is thrilled to acknowledge these world-class SaaS innovators."

Annabelle Whittall, Head of Technical and Lead Judge, said: "The competitiveness of this year's SaaS Awards is exciting due to the abundance of exceptional solutions. As a Lead Judge myself, I fully appreciate the challenge that the judging panel will face in selecting the top winners."

The winners of The SaaS Awards will be notified on 13 September 2023.

The SaaS Awards 2023 received hundreds of entries from across the globe and will return in 2024, continuing its tradition of recognizing international SaaS excellence across various industries.

To explore the complete list of finalists, please visit: https://www.cloud-awards.com/2023-saas-awards-finalists/.

The Cloud Awards are now accepting nominations for the 2023-2024 program, recognizing excellence in cloud computing. The early entry deadline for The Cloud Awards is 1 September 2023.

The Cloud Security Awards will return in 2024 seeking the latest innovations in cloud security.

Media contact:

James Williams

[email protected]

(212) 574-8117

Contact details

[CONTACT DETAILS]

For the Cloud Awards

James Williams  head of operations

https://www.cloud-awards.com/cloud-computing-awards/

[email protected]

Notes for editors

About the Cloud Awards

The Cloud Awards is an international program which has been recognizing and honoring industry leaders, innovators and organizational transformation in cloud computing since 2011. The awards are open to large, small, established and start-up organizations from across the entire globe, with an aim to find and celebrate the pioneers who will shape the future of the Cloud as we move into 2023 and beyond. Categories include the Software as a Service award, Most Promising Start-Up, and "Best in Mobile" Cloud Solution.

Winners are selected by a judging panel of international industry experts. For more information about the Cloud Awards and SaaS Awards, please visit https://www.cloud-awards.com/ .

About the SaaS Awards

The SaaS Awards is a sister program to the Cloud Awards, which was founded in 2011. The SaaS Awards focuses on recognizing excellence and innovation in software solutions. Categories range from Best Enterprise-Level SaaS to Best UX or UI (User Interface) Design in a SaaS Product.

About the Cloud Security Awards

The Cloud Security Awards is a sister program to the SaaS Awards and the Cloud Awards. The Cloud Security Awards celebrates innovation in the cybersecurity industry. The program includes a wide range of categories, including 'Best Web Security Solution,' 'Cloud Security Innovator of the Year,' and 'Best Security Solution for Finance or Banking.' For more information about the Cloud Security Awards, please visit: https://www.cloud-awards.com/cloud-security-awards/ .

SOURCE The SaaS Awards
This acquisition by UL Solutions broadens its global expertise in testing, simulation and certification in Europe for products supporting renewable energy and electric vehicle adoption.

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science, today announced its acquisition of CERE, a privately-owned, Madrid-based third-party testing, simulation and certification company.

"One of the most pressing global issues is the reduction of carbon emissions to mitigate climate change impacts on people and the planet," said Jennifer Scanlon, president and CEO, UL Solutions Inc. "This acquisition deepens our global capabilities in support of energy transition goals."

UL Solutions has acquired CERE, a privately-owned, Madrid-based third-party testing, simulation and certification company. The acquisition enables UL Solutions to expand its grid code compliance testing, grid simulation and certification services for inverter-based resources supporting renewable energy and electric vehicle adoption in Europe.

The acquisition enables UL Solutions to expand its grid code compliance testing, grid simulation and certification services for inverter-based resources supporting renewable energy and electric vehicle adoption in Europe. In addition, the acquisition also enhances UL Solutions safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) services for renewables and medical devices.

"With the power sector globally accelerating its transition towards sustainable energy, we are pleased that this acquisition allows us to offer expanded grid code compliance and grid simulation testing and certifications capabilities," said Weifang Zhou, executive vice president and president of Testing, Inspection and Certification, UL Solutions. "CERE supports our mission of working for a safer world while allowing us to support our customers' needs for market readiness, global market acceptance, risk mitigation, safety and performance assurance."

Founded in 2015, CERE is a third-party testing, simulation and certification body company focusing on renewable energy, industrial, machinery and electrical and electronic products.

"CERE's expertise in renewable energy, reputation for excellence and dedication to strong customer relationships make the company an ideal fit for UL Solutions," said Miguel Martinez, general manager, CERE. "We are excited to join UL Solutions and apply our expertise to join the organization's more than 15,000 employees working for a safer world."

The transaction closed on August 18, 2023.

About UL Solutions

A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 100 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support our customers' product innovation and business growth. The UL Certification Marks serve as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers' products and reflect an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage.

Press contact:

Steven Brewster

UL Solutions

[email protected]

1+847.664.8425

SOURCE UL Solutions
BEAUFORT, N.C., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beaufort Hotel has landed top honors with USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards as "Best Boutique Hotel" in America. It's the second year in a row the hotel has won the coveted award.

An initial list of 20 nominees was chosen by a combination of editors from USA Today, 10Best.com and other "relevant expert contributors." The top 10 winners were determined by a nationwide vote.

USA Today Names Beaufort Hotel "Best Boutique Hotel" in America for Second Consecutive Year Post this Beaufort Hotel, North Carolina

The Beaufort Hotel has more wins than any other hotel in this category and has been the sole winner since its inaugural release.

This is the only the second time the boutique hotel category has been included on USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards.

"We're thrilled to be recognized in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards for Best Boutique Hotel two years in a row," said Peter Grills, General Manager of the Beaufort Hotel.

"To be recognized twice by USA Today's trusted team of local travel experts and receive validation from its readers is incredibly rewarding, and a testament to our dedicated associates who strive to provide impeccable service to our guests every day," stated Grills.

The Beaufort Hotel is managed by Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company, an award-winning hotel development and management company, based in Raleigh, NC. The hotel is locally owned by Bucky and Wendy Oliver.

The Beaufort Hotel is located at 2440 Lennoxville Road, Beaufort, NC 28516. The phone number is 252-728-3000. You can visit their website at www.BeaufortHotelNC.com.

About Beaufort Hotel

Located on the Southern Banks of North Carolina, the Beaufort Hotel offers luxurious accommodations with a relaxed elegance that includes 133 guest rooms and suites, unmatched guest amenities, and over 10,000 sq. ft. of flexible event space. The hotel has established itself as the premier waterfront destination for weddings.

The hotel's waterfront restaurant is renowned for its cuisine, which is rooted in local farms and pristine waters. 34 North Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a weekend brunch. Guests can dine on the outdoor patio, a covered open-air dining space overlooking Taylor's Creek and Rachel Carson Reserve, home to over 25 amazing wild horses.

The Beaufort Hotel is a unique reflection of its local community, with staff committed to sharing their insider knowledge of the places, moments and experiences that make each destination special. Guests will discover the hidden gems off the beaten path and find the true local flavor they crave by experiencing the Beaufort Hotel. Learn more at www.beauforthotelnc.com.

About Concord Hospitality

As an award-winning hotel development and management company, Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company has spent the last three decades successfully growing the company's portfolio, which includes premium-branded properties across the United States and Canada. Recognized as one of the top 10 management companies in North America, Concord Hospitality creates benefits for its partners and associates by leveraging its operations, development, sales and marketing, technology, accounting and operational management expertise to continue to grow its portfolio of best-in-class hotels. The company believes its people are its greatest strength. With the brightest talent, the most innovative processes and a

commitment to giving back to the communities where associates live and work, Concord Hospitality is committed to being a great place to work for all. Learn more at concordhotels.com.

Contact: David Cartier 252-503-7449 (mobile)

Digital Marketing Manager [email protected]

Beaufort Hotel

2440 Lennoxville Road

Beaufort, North Carolina 28516

SOURCE Beaufort Hotel
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Weidner Apartment Homes, a real estate investment and property management company, partnered with the nonprofit We Fortify by donating to their project, Working Fusion at Mill Street, to house young adults experiencing homelessness in Colorado Springs, CO.

The Working Fusion at Mill Street tiny home community. Photo credit: We Fortify.

Working Fusion at Mill Street is a community of eighteen fully-furnished tiny homes for young adults experiencing economic and housing instability. The community is a dignified, affordable, safe housing option that provides residents with trauma-informed care, life skills, educational opportunities, and training for placement in a living wage position.

"Since Weidner is a market rate housing provider, this investment in an affordable housing project allows us to fund a different need of the area's market. Every sector in the industry needs to be healthy for it to thrive, and our partnership with We Fortify to invest in their Working Fusion at Mill Street project enables us to support the housing market outside of our initial line of work." Said Weidner's VP of Government Affairs, Greg Cerbana.

Construction for the project began in February 2021 by tearing down dilapidated homes along S. Sierra Madre St in downtown Colorado Springs. Sixteen homes are complete and occupied, and the two remaining homes will be finalized in October 2023. Weidner donated the funds to build and furnish four currently inhabited homes. The project received 2600+ volunteer hours and was sponsored by 200 individual impact investors. As of August 2023, the first two residents have graduated from the program, live independently, and are working full-time or pursuing a degree.

"Weidner is delighted to facilitate a safe setting for young adults experiencing homelessness in Colorado Springs. We believe the residents will have access to resources they need to steer their lives in a positive direction so they can pay it forward to their community." Said Cerbana.

About Weidner Apartment Homes

Founded by W. Dean Weidner in 1977, Weidner Apartment Homes is a real estate investment and management company, recognized industry-wide as an efficient provider of quality rental apartment homes and a creative developer of new housing. The company is headquartered in Kirkland, WA, and its portfolio extends to Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Canada.

Contact Information: https://www.weidner.com/

SOURCE Weidner Apartment Homes
DUBLIN, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "World Defense Budget Analysis by Allocation Type and Region - Forecast to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The world defense budget is estimated to be USD 2 trillion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 2.54 trillion by 2028, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.9% from 2023 to 2028. The rise in defense budget allocation is driven by the need to maintain modern and well-equipped military forces, as many countries face challenges related to outdated equipment, aging infrastructure, and the need to replace or upgrade existing assets. To ensure military readiness and effectiveness, defense budgets are directed towards acquiring new platforms, equipment, and technologies, including next-generation fighter jets, naval vessels, intelligence systems, cyber defense capabilities, and personnel training.

Market Insights

The cyber subsegment is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period. With increasing reliance on digital systems and a growing threat landscape in cyberspace, governments worldwide recognize the critical importance of cybersecurity. As a result, significant resources are being allocated to bolster cyber defense capabilities, which includes investments in technologies, infrastructure, and personnel training related to cybersecurity. The goal is to strengthen defense mechanisms, develop advanced cybersecurity tools, and enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks.

The military expense subsegment is projected to dominate the world defense budget allocation market. This subsegment includes personnel salaries, training, operations, equipment procurement, research and development, maintenance, and modernization of military assets. Maintaining a capable and well-equipped military force is a top priority for governments to ensure national security and defense preparedness, leading to substantial investments in personnel, training, and advanced weaponry and technology.

North America is expected to account for the largest market share in 2023. The significant defense budget of the United States, which consistently ranks as the world's highest defense spender, contributes to North America's dominance in the defense budget allocation market. The United States allocates substantial resources to maintain its military readiness, global military presence, and technological advancements. Additionally, North America benefits from a thriving defense industry and serves as a hub for cutting-edge technology development, fostering innovation and driving defense spending. The advanced industry ecosystem enables North America to remain at the forefront of defense technologies, solidifying its market dominance.

Report Scope

The research report covers various aspects of the world defense budget analysis, including allocation types, departmental allocation, platform allocation, system allocation, domain allocation, technology allocation, and regional analysis. The report provides insights into the major factors influencing the growth of the defense budget analysis, such as drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities. It also includes detailed analysis of critical countries, their defense overviews, key strategies, contracts, partnerships, agreements, new mergers and acquisitions, and recent developments associated with the world defense budget analysis.

Premium Insights

World Defense Budget to Triple With USD 6 Billion Allocations by 2030

Allocations by 2030 Over 50% of World Defense Budget to Be Spent on Modernization Programs by 2025

World Defense Budget to Be 4% of Global GDP by 2030

US to Contribute 45% to World Defense Budget by 2030

US, China , Russia , India , and Saudi Arabia to Constitute More Than 70% of Global Military Spending in 2025

, , , and to Constitute More Than 70% of Global Military Spending in 2025 India to Emerge as Leading Defense Exporter by 2030, With Strong Focus on Indigenous Manufacturing

to Emerge as Leading Defense Exporter by 2030, With Strong Focus on Indigenous Manufacturing Europe to Have Military Burden of 3% Till 2025

to Have Military Burden of 3% Till 2025 War in Ukraine Prompted European Countries to Increase Defense Spending from USD 480 Billion in 2022 to USD 650 Billion by 2030

Prompted European Countries to Increase Defense Spending from in 2022 to by 2030 Defense Budget of the Middle East to Grow by 6% YOY from 2025 to 2030

to Grow by 6% YOY from 2025 to 2030 Africa to Hold 5% Share of World Defense Budget in 2030

Key Topics Covered

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 US Defense Budget Analysis

5 Canada Defense Budget Analysis

6 UK Defense Budget Analysis

7 France Defense Budget Analysis

8 Germany Defense Budget Analysis

9 Russia Defense Budget Analysis

10 Italy Defense Budget Analysis

11 China Defense Budget Analysis

12 India Defense Budget Analysis

13 Japan Defense Budget Analysis

14 South Korea Defense Budget Analysis

15 Australia Defense Budget Analysis

16 Saudi Arabia Defense Budget Analysis

17 Israel Defense Budget Analysis

18 Other Countries

19 Appendix

Companies Mentioned

AECC Aviation Power Co. Ltd.

Airbus SE

Avic Shenyang Aircraft Co. Ltd.

Babcock International Group plc

BAE Systems Australia Ltd.

BAE Systems plc

Bharat Dynamics Ltd.

Bharat Electronics Ltd.

CAE Inc.

China Cssc Holdings Ltd.

Elbit Systems

General Dynamics Corporation

General Dynamics Land Systems Inc.

Hanwha Corporation

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

Hyundai Rotem Co.

Israel Aerospace Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI)

Leonardo Spa

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

NEC Corporation

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.

Rheinmetall AG

Safran SA

Thales SA

The Boeing Company

United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)

United Shipbuilding Corporation ( USC )

) Uralvagonzavod (UVZ)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/s3nuwx

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:



Research and Markets

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SOURCE Research and Markets
As a culinary visionary and humanitarian, Andres to inspire with insights into the power of food to foster innovation, nourish communities and strengthen economies

CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, the premier event for the foodservice industry, is excited to announce that acclaimed chef, restaurateur and humanitarian Jose Andres will join in a keynote discussion at the 2024 Show, taking place from May 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Here, Andres will participate in a captivating discussion on the transformative impact of his culinary innovation and philanthropic endeavors, inspiring positive change within communities. Named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People" in both 2012 and 2018 and recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, Andres is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, author, educator, humanitarian, and chef/owner of Jose Andres Group.

Jose Andres, World-Renowned Chef, Restaurateur & Humanitarian

A pioneer of Spanish tapas in the United States, Andres is also known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine and his award-winning group of nearly three dozen restaurants located throughout the country and beyond. Jose Andres Group's concepts include the two Michelin-starred minibar by Jose Andres in Washington, DC, the acclaimed NYC food hall Mercado Little Spain, and multiple locations of the Bazaar by Jose Andres. He has received the James Beard Foundation's "Outstanding Chef" and "Humanitarian of the Year" awards.

Andres is a committed advocate of food and hunger issues and is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. In 2010, he formed World Central Kitchen, a non-profit specializing in delivering food relief in the wake of natural and humanitarian disasters. Since serving nearly 4 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, World Central Kitchen has responded to dozens of disasters worldwide and distributed tens of millions of meals in the process. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has partnered with restaurants, small farms, and community leaders around the country to combat food insecurity. A naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Spain, Andres has been a tireless advocate for immigration reform and on July 4, 2014, was named by President Barack Obama as that year's "Outstanding American by Choice."

Tom Cindric, President of Winsight Exhibitions, expressed enthusiasm about Andres' participation, stating, "We are honored to have Jose Andres, a true visionary in both the culinary and humanitarian realms, as our keynote headliner. His journey and achievements serve as an inspiration to us all, reminding us of the power of having a vision and the profound impact that the foodservice industry can have on communities in need. Jose's dedication to giving back resonates deeply with our own commitment to uplifting the local Chicago community through the Show's annual food donations. We look forward to learning from his experiences and insights at the National Restaurant Association Show 2024."

The keynote session featuring Andres is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 2 p.m. The session will begin with an introduction and presentation by Michelle Korsmo, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Following the introduction, Andres will engage in an interview-style Q&A session with Korsmo, providing attendees with a firsthand account of his inspiring journey as a Spanish immigrant in the United States. During this interactive session, Andres will delve into his transformative experiences in the restaurant industry, emphasizing the importance of vision, culinary innovation, and the impact of giving back to communities. His insights will challenge attendees to think beyond the day-to-day operations of their businesses and consider how food can be a force for positive change.

As part of the session, Andres will further explore the profound influence food can have on communities and how his own culinary journey has intertwined with his philanthropic efforts. Drawing on his extensive experience as a world-renowned chef and the founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that has provided millions of meals to those in need, Andres will share valuable insights on building sustainable food systems, empowering communities, and the crucial importance of giving back. His passion for using food as a tool for social impact will aim to inspire attendees to make a difference in their own communities and embrace the transformative power of food.

Korsmo expressed her excitement for Andres' message being a center-point of the Show stating, "Jose Andres' work illustrates the heart of the restaurant industryoffering hospitality and serving others. He is a culinary and humanitarian visionary, and everyone attending the National Restaurant Association Show has something to gain by hearing insights from his work and experiences. Jose Andres' commitment to giving back to communities across the globe and his remarkable achievements make him an inspiration. We are so glad to have him as the keynote headliner for the National Restaurant Association Show."

The National Restaurant Association Show, known as the ultimate gathering for restaurant operators and foodservice professionals, has been driving the evolution of the industry since 1919. From celebrity-led demos to exhibits showcasing cutting-edge technology and trends, the Show offers an unparalleled platform for networking, education, and exploration of all things related to food, beverage, hospitality, and operations.

Registration for the 2024 Show will open in September. For more information, visit nationalrestaurantshow.com. Connect with the Show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for event updates.

The National Restaurant Association Show, Hotel-Motel Show is owned and operated by Winsight LLC in partnership with the National Restaurant Association.

About Winsight LLC

Winsight LLC is a business-to-business information, event and market intelligence company serving the restaurant and noncommercial foodservice, convenience and petroleum retailing and grocery industries. Winsight provides research and analytics, branding solutions, face-to-face opportunities, lead generation initiatives, and content marketing services through products including subscription data products, reports, research tools, research programs, fully custom studies, conferences, custom marketing services, meetings, print, digital trade media and tradeshows, including the National Restaurant Association Show.

CONTACT:

Julie Franks

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Winsight LLC
CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yeeld, a Chicago-based Fintech startup founded last year by two former Stripe employees Emily Tsitrian and Mira Boora, today announced a partnership with Airwallex, a leading global payments and financial platform for modern businesses. Yeeld's mission is to help businesses of all sizes integrate or retrofit their payments acceptance technology, leveraging the team's deep knowledge of financial infrastructure to modernize and optimize systems that improve profitability. Yeeld has worked with dozens of customers since launching, and the company's executives are looking to expand further into the FinTech and payments space with this Airwallex partnership.

Yeeld's co-founders started the company based on their collective, direct experience delivering digital payments integrations themselves, and together, have a vision to develop world-class integration and advisory services as well as products for the world's most innovative companies.

According to Tsitrian, co-founder and CEO of Yeeld: "As the world becomes more interconnected, leading global companies continue to innovate and expand, and international payments have become critical for this evolution. We believe that Airwallex's approach to international payments and global financial infrastructure greatly facilitates the type of growth our clients expect from their payments provider. Yeeld looks forward to delivering even more innovation in this space through this partnership."

Jessica Chiu, VP, Strategic Partnerships, NA at Airwallex said, "To thrive in today's environment, businesses need the right mix of global payments and financial technology to simplify their financial operations. Airwallex enables businesses of all sizes to scale across borders. Together with Yeeld, we're excited to help businesses grow."

To learn more about Yeeld and its payment consulting services, visit their website at www.theyeeld.com or contact them at [email protected] or 708-480-2289.

To learn more about Airwallex, visit www.airwallex.com or contact them at [email protected] .

About Airwallex

Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. With our proprietary infrastructure, Airwallex takes the friction out of global payments and financial operations, empowering businesses of all sizes to unlock new opportunities and grow beyond borders. Proudly founded in Melbourne, Airwallex supports over 100,000 businesses globally and is trusted by brands such as Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more. For more information, visit http://www.airwallex.com .

Contact:

Emily Tsitrian

708-480-2289

363327@email4pr.com

SOURCE Yeeld
Telenor reshuffled its executive suite, appointing Petter-Borre Furberg (pictured, left) as the new head of Telenor Asia, replacing Jorgen Rostrup (pictured, right) who will head up Telenor Nordics.

Rostrup began as head of Telenors Asian unit in 2020 and oversaw two mega-mergers on the continent. Axiata and Telenor agreed to merge their units Celcom and Digi forming CelcomDigi in November last year. The merger dragged since its announcement in 2021 due to regulatory concerns.

Telenor also merged its Thai unit Dtac with rival True in March, which was heavily opposed by the market leader at the time AIS citing competition concerns.

Rostrup was group CFO between 2016 and 2020 and was credited for simplifying portfolios and ensuring modernisation across the group.

Jorgen was sent to Asia three years ago with a mandate to deliver growth and modernisation and capturing opportunities in the region. After completing the two biggest telco mergers in Southeast Asia and setting up and implementing a strong and future-proof organisation in the region, he will now return to the Nordics, said Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke.

Telenors new head of Asia Furberg has a wealth of experience on the continent having held multiple leadership roles. He held the role of head of emerging Asia between 2017 to 2019, and interim CEO of Bangladeshi unit Grameenphone between 2016 to 2017.

Prior to these roles, he was also CEO of Telenor Myanmar, CMO and then CFO at Dtac.

When Petter-Brre is returning to Asia, we can utilise the competence of one of our most experienced leaders with 15 years in previous and different roles in the region. He will play an instrumental role in ensuring the implementation and success of the two mergers as well as continue to develop Telenors business in the region, added Brekke.
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Two Vodafone Idea (Vi) partnerships have made very different headlines in the past week: one because it has just been signed. The other, however, is not to continue beyond its initial two-year term.

Route Mobile, a cloud communications platform service provider has signed an exclusive partnership with leading Indian operator Vi to provide A2P (application-to-person) SMS monetisation solutions.

The solutions will be provided through an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML)-driven analytical firewall solution, an SMS hub on the Vi network, and aggregating international A2P SMS traffic on the Vi network.

A2P SMS monetisation is about generating revenue from sending automated text messages from applications or software to individuals.

Route Mobile says the Idea Cellular network  Vis predecessor  was using its firewall solutions till April 2022. The solutions will be now deployed across the entire Vodafone Idea network on an exclusive basis.

Route Mobiles A2P SMS firewall enables MNOs to safeguard their customers from unwanted and malicious messages, with innovative, real-time traffic analysis and detection solutions.

The solution leverages proprietary message simulators, traffic analysis and forecasting tools, business intelligence, data analysis and intelligence databases to offer effective blocking of illegitimate grey route traffic and monetization of A2P SMS traffic on the network.

Meanwhile, enterprise messaging firm Tanla has indicated plans to end a partnership with Vodafone Idea later this year. This isnt a premature spilt: the two companies agreed in November 2021 on a term of two years for a deal to provide secure and encrypted international messaging traffic. However, this partnership will not continue beyond the initial term. Precise reasons for the decision do not seem to have been given.
Moscow, Aug 22 : For the first time since the Wagner mercenaries' failed rebellion against the Russian military in June, the group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared in a video address, suggesting that he was currently in Africa, the media reported on Tuesday.

Although the video posted on Telegram channels linked to the mercenary group is yet to be officially verified, it shows Prigozhin in combat gear, saying the group is making Africa "more free", reports the BBC.

In the video, he says Wagner is exploring for minerals as well as fighting Islamist militants and other criminals.

"We are working. The temperature is +50, everything as we like. Wagner PMC conducts reconnaissance and search actions, makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free," tPrigozhin can be heard saying.

"Justice and happiness -- for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and Al Qaeda and other bandits."

He further says that Wagner is recruiting and the group will "continue fulfilling the tasks that were set -- we made promises we would succeed", the BBC reported.

In July, the Wagner chief was photographed in St. Petersburg, meeting an African dignitary on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit.

The picture, according to Russian media, was taken at Trezzini Palace Hotel in St. Petersburg, where he has kept an office in the premises.

The hotel was one of the locations searched by Russian authorities on July 6, after the June 24 rebellion.

Since then, Prigozhin had only been seen in public on July 19, when he seemingly appeared in a video inside Belarus, apparently greeting Wagner fighters at a base in Asipovichy.

During the rebellion, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had claimed that he convinced his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin not to "destroy" Wagner and Prigozhin, which led to a halt in the mutiny.

Prigozhin founded Wagner as a shadowy mercenary outfit that fought both in Ukraine and, increasingly, for Russian-backed causes around the world.

Prigozhin's mercenaries are embedded in several countries including Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan, Libya, Mozambique, Ukraine and Syria.

Over the years they have developed a gruesome reputation and were been linked to multiple human rights abuses.

After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Wagner forces were heavily involved in taking the Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut.
Honolulu, Aug 22 : Thirteen days after the eruption of the deadliest US wildfire in over a century, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden inspected the widespread destruction in Hawaii's Maui Island, telling survivors of the state's worst ever natural disaster that the nation "grieves with you".

On Monday, the Bidens toured the charred ruins of the historic town of Lahaina, which has completely been destroyed in the fires, and also met first responders, the BBC reported.

Since the fires first broke out on August 8, at least 114 people have died and 850 people are still missing.

"For as long as it takes, we're going to be with you. The whole country will be with you. The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover," the President was quoted as saying.

President Biden, who also took an aerial tour, described the wildfire devastation as "overwhelming".

The visit comes amid intense scrutiny against the Biden administration over its response to the disaster, the BBC.

When asked about the rising death toll while he was at a Delaware beach on August 13, President Biden led to more criticism when he said: "No comment".

The White House has said that he delayed his trip to the disaster zone so he wouldn't distract from recovery operations.

On August 10, the President had issued a major disaster declaration to expedite federal funding and assistance to the area.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 1,000 federal responders are currently on the ground in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, local officials have also faced criticism.

Maui's emergency management chief resigned last week after the agency faced backlash for failing to activate its alarm system in the wake of the fire.
Guwahati, August 22 : Following an expert committee's report on banning polygamy in Assam, the state government has sought suggestions from the general public on the issue before it heads to enact a law during the Assembly session in September.

In its report, the committee said that the Indian Constitution gives the Union and states the power to create legislation on specific issues.

Marriage is on the Concurrent list, therefore both the Central government and the states can establish laws governing it.

The Doctrine of Repugnancy (Article 254) says that if a state law conflicts with central law, the central law will take precedence unless the state law has the prior approval of the President of India, according to the committee's findings.

Additionally, it was said in the report that Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution guarantee religious freedom and freedom of conscience. These rights are not unalienable; rather, they are constrained by laws governing social welfare and reform as well as public morality, health, and order.

"With respect to Islam, the courts have held that having more than one wife is not an essential part of the religion. Legislation limiting the number of wives does not interfere with the right to practice religion and is within the scope of social welfare and reform. Hence, laws favouring monogamy do not violate Article 25," the committee said in the report.

In light of these values, the committee recommended that the Assam government be given the legal authority to pass a state legislature that outlaws polygamy.

The committee further requested input from the general public on the draft bill to outlaw polygamy in Assam.

As per a government notification, the general public can put forward their suggestions upto August 30.

--IANS

tdr/ksk
Kiev, Aug 22 : Ukrainian authorities have confirmed of carrying out a drone attack on a Russian military air base located near Moscow, media reports said.

The drone attack on Shaykovka air base in Russia's Kaluga region left "at least one aircraft damaged", CNN quoted Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, as saying to local media on Monday.

"At least one plane is damaged. As in most cases, the Russian regime is trying to hide the true extent of losses and damage," Yusov said.

The Shaykovka military air base operates Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bombers that have been used by Russia to strike targets in Ukraine since the start of the invasion in February 2022.

The Ukrainian air force reported on August 15 that aircraft operating from the Shaykovka air base had launched four Kh-22 air cruise missiles toward Ukraine.

According to Yusov, Monday's attack was carried out "in clear coordination with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukraine's Defense Ministry" .

"There are people who, in coordination with the Main Directorate of Intelligence, completed the assigned tasks," Yusov said, adding that this specific task was carried out from within the Russian territory.

"In many other cases" Ukraine's Intelligence performs various tasks from within the Russian territory, he said.

Russian social media blog Baza, which has close contacts with the Russian security services, said a Ukrainian drone had crashed on the territory of the Shaykovka air base on Monday, reports CNN.

Baza reported that "an unused aircraft at the airfield was damaged".

"However, this information has not been officially confirmed," it added.

Another Russian Telegram channel, Mash, said: "the Ukrainian armed forces attempted to attack the Shaykovka military airfield in the Kaluga region."

Later in the day, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that Russian air defence downed two attack drones over the capital region, the BBC reported.

Flights were suspended at Moscow's three biggest airports, according to state media, but the two main international airports at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo later reopened.
Noida, Aug 22 : Even before the controversy surrounding Pakistan national Seema Haider could settle, another woman from Bangladesh has arrived in India with her infant son in search of her Indian husband, who she claims has deserted her, police said.

Sonia Akhtar, who is living in Noida for the last eight days, claims that a man from Noida married her and after living with her for three years, and returned to India.

She claims that Saurav Kant Tiwari, a resident of Noida, married her in Bangladesh and together they have a son.

Tiwari, the woman claimed, used to work in Bangladesh when the two fell in love and got married as per Muslim rituals.

After she conceived, the man who had converted to Islam, left for India promising to return after completing some important work.

When he failed to return, Sonia tried to establish contact with him through his mobile phones but surprisingly found that all the numbers were unreachable.

Taking a leaf from the Seema Haider incident, she decided to come to India with the help of a visa. When she reached Noida, the police detained her and kept her in a detention centre in Sector-62.

Later, the women cell of Noida Police Commissionerate tried to mediate between Tiwari and Sonia but to no avail.

A determined Sonia says that either her husband should return to Bangladesh with her or she will stay with him in India sending the Noida police in a tizzy.
Chennai, Aug 22 : Indian fishermen from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, who were fishing in the deep sea, were attacked by sea pirates allegedly from Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Coastal police sources in Tamil Nadu told IANS that they have received information that the sea pirates reached mid sea in three boats and assaulted the fishermen with bricks and rods.

Notably, on several occasions, the Tamil Nadu government has taken up with the Union External Affairs ministry, the issue of regular arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.

Fishermen from Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi had raised complaints with the state and central governments that they were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and their costly mechanised boats confiscated.

Highly placed sources in the Tamil Nadu Chief Ministeras office told IANS that the state government would take up the matter with the central government to communicate the matter to the Sri Lankan government.

Antony Fernandez, a fisherman at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu told IANS that they were fishing in mid-sea braving the arrest of Sri Lankan navy and occasionally by sea pirates.
Rome, Aug 22 : AC Milan's fresh new signings, Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic, made an immediate impact, contributing to Milan's 2-0 victory over Bologna in their 2023/24 Serie A season opener.

The Rossoneri parted ways with cornerstone player Sandro Tonali, who transitioned to Newcastle United this summer. However, Milan didn't shy away from investing significantly, ushering in several new talents. Reijnders, Pulisic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were all in the starting lineup for the inaugural match on Monday.

The visitors didn't take long to assert their dominance. Just 11 minutes in, a well-placed cross from Pulisic found Reijnders, who set it up perfectly from the by-line for Olivier Giroud to finish with precision, Xinhua reports.

The lead was doubled shortly after, a mere 10 minutes later. Pulisic and Giroud exhibited excellent synergy, with the latter's astute pass setting up the American for a powerful finish, cementing the win.

In other matches, the recently-promoted Cagliari played to a goalless draw with Torino.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Tuesday claimed that she was stopped from meeting the minor victim who was sexually assaulted by a now suspended city government official, and said that she spent the night outside the hospital where the girl has been admitted.

In a tweet in Hindi, Maliwal said: "Since 12 noon yesterday (Monday), I am sitting outside the hospital to meet the victim girl or her family. Slept outside the hospital at night. NCPCR can be introduced to the girl's mother, so why have I been asked to stop? What are you trying to hide?"

Earlier on Monday, the Delhi Police had arrested the accused and his wife after questioning them for several hours at their residence in the national capital.

The accused was identified as Premoday Khakha, a 51-year-old deputy director in the Woman and Child Development Department of the Delhi government.

Khakha has been accused of repeatedly raping the class 12 girlbetween 2020 and 2021.

She had met the accused at a church. In 2020, the victim's father had died, after which she got into depression.

The accused, who had already befriended her, took her to his house on the pretext of helping her.

The girl told the police that between October 2020 and February 2021, when she was with her "guardian" who lived in Burari, she was raped several times.

An FIR of rape read with sections of the POCSO Act was lodged against the accused and his wife.
Mumbai, Aug 22 : Actor Ravi Dubey, who is coming up with a new series titled 'Lakhan Leela Bhargava', feels that his character in the show will make the audience feel as if he is someone from their own family.

The actor in the series titled 'Lakhan Leela Bhargava' will be seen playing the role of a lawyer.

The actor shared about the role, his character, Sargun's feedback and much more.

Talking about the show and his character, Ravi said: "The show has a 90's vibe to it like how Govinda and Anil Kapoor sir used to do films then. My character is a lot like what they used to play, a small town boy, vibrant, full of life, witty and intelligent. Lakhan will connect with the audience. My character will make you feel as if he belongs to your own family. Every character does not give you that opportunity, some characters are aspirational."

Talking about Sargun's feedback for the series, he said: "For me Sargun's feedback matters the most, rest everyone is secondary and she has loved it. She is waiting for it to stream."

'Lakhan Leela Bhargava' is heartwarming legal drama that follows the life of Lakhan, a young lawyer defying the odds to succeed in his city.

The series will start streaming from August 21 on Jio Cinema.
'KBC 15': Big B says he is 'too afraid' of police. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 22 : Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is currently hosting the 15th season of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', has shared that he is 'too afraid' of the police.

In the episode six of the quiz based reality show, Big B was seen wearing a purple coloured three-piece suit set, paired it with a white shirt.

He began the episode by speaking on a deep connection between this game show and our lives.

"Between the question and answers, there is a hope of someone attached close to us. The correct option between the four options, awaits the dreams of someone. The levels here become support for the ups and downs of our lives. Maybe, this game is ordinary for someone, but also it creates somebody else's life. Isilie is khel ka zindagi se itna gehra naata hai," said the 'Shahenshah' of Bollywood.

The episode then shows Kunal Sinh Dodia winning the chance to sit on the hot seat. Hailing from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Kunal is a young Police Sub Inspector in the Ahmedabad police force, and is currently associated with the Human Rights department in the DG office.

Big B said to Kunal: "Sir I am afraid after seeing you. Because you are from Police. Bahut darr darr ke aapke saamne ham prashn rakhenge. Lekin aap ekdum jor se uska uttar dijiega."

Kunal said to the actor: "Why are you afraid of the Police. We are also human beings", to which senior Bachchan replies, "sir wo ek baar danda ghuma dete hain, to bahut darr lagta hai. They stop the car wherever they want and say 'come out, what is your name. Open your mouth, blow into this. You are drunk.' So, whenever this happens I am very afraid."

Amitabh then laughs and leaves everyone on the set in splits.

Big B also then praised the smile of Kunal.

'Kaun Banega Crorepati 15' airs on Sony.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Petronas Digital, the digital arm of Petronas, a Malaysian global energy group with a presence in over 100 countries, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Microsoft and Cegal, a global tech company specializing in energy and security, to accelerate digital innovation for the upstream value chain.

Upstream, broadly, refers to searching for and recovering oil and gas. Downstream usually refers to refining and processing of oil and gas.

The collaboration will see the construction of a Microsoft Azure High-Performance Computing (HPC) AI infrastructure platform to support and scale a wide array of applications to optimise Petronas Upstreams operational efficiency, including advanced artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, energy transition and decarbonisation use cases.

The agreement was formalised in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Petronas Digital Chief Executive Officer Phuah Aik Chong, Microsoft Malaysia Managing Director K Raman, and Cegal Chief Executive Officer Dagfinn Ringas.

The effort is built upon Petronas existing collaboration with Microsoft and Cegal, which the partners say, advances exploration activities with better cloud agility, automation, and data lifecycle management.

The proposed construction of this Azure HPC platform is also poised to support other partners in Malaysias energy sector, including production agreement contractors (PACs), to achieve their business objectives.

K Raman explains, Building upon our existing HPC engagement, this new collaboration will enable key technological advancements  delivering potential for growth and efficiency  both within the Petronas Upstream business unit and for the overall energy sector.

This announcement, say the partners, underscores the support of Petronas for Microsoft's cloud services from their upcoming data centre region, to be established in Malaysia to enable greater innovation, enhanced agility, and cost optimisation.
Chennai, Aug 22 : Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi has entered into a fresh dispute with the state government after he returned the file on appointment of Chairman and members of Tamil Nadu Public service commission.

The Governor questioned how the candidates recommended for appointment ofthese postings were finalised. He also asked a few questions on whether theguidelines laid down by the Supreme Court were fulfilled.

Notably, the state government had sent a file proposing the name of former Director General of Police, C. Sylendra Babu and eight other members as Chairman and members respectively.

Sylendra Babu retired from service on June 30, 2023 at the age of 61 as he got a two-year tenure as DGP which is irrespective of the date of superannuation in accordance with the Supreme Court guidelines.

Even as the upper age limit of the TNPSC chairman is for a period of six years, the upper age limit is 62.

The Rajbhavan has returned the file seeking details of the advertisement published in the public domain calling for applications for the post of chairman/ members. It has also sought on the number of applications received, the process of scrutiny, and the elimination criteria to ensure transparency in the whole process.
Hyderabad, Aug 22 : A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by three men at her house here, sources said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Monday in Nandanavanam Colony under the limits of

Meerpet Police Station of Rachakonda Police Commissionerate.

The accused, who barged into the victimas house, sexually assaulted her at knife-point after threatening her brother and three other children.

According to the police complaint lodged by the victim, a group of eight youth barged into the house.

Four of the accused took the victim to the third floor of the building, while the remaining threatened her brother and three other children present in the house.

Three of the four accused who had taken the victim upstairs took turns to rape her. They fled after the girl cried for help.

The police registered a case and sent the victim to Sakhi centre for medical examination.

Police have constituted seven teams to apprehend the accused. They were scanning the CCTV footage as part of their efforts to track down the culprits.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner D. S. Chauhan visited the crime scene and

also the Meerpet Police Station.

Meerpet police were questioning four suspects in the case.

The accused were said to be under the influence of ganja. They included a couple of rowdy-sheeters.

The victim, a Dalit, is employed at a garment shop in Dilsukhnagar, while her

younger brother works as a helper in installing flexi.

After losing their parents a few months ago, they had shifted to the colony and were residing witha relative.
New York, Aug 22 : An Indian national was shot dead and another injured after being ambushed and robbed by a group of bikers in Mexico City.

Confirming the incident, which took place on August 19 in the capital city's Algarin neighbourhood, the Indian Embassy in Mexico asked authorities to apprehend the culprits at the earliest.

"In an extremely regrettable & heart-wrenching incident,an Indian national living in Mexico has been tragically shot dead," the Embassy posted on X on Sunday.

"Embassy & @IndianAssoMex are in touch with his family & extending all support. We're demanding Mexican authorities to apprehend the culprits at the soonest."

The unknown assailants robbed $10,000 from the Indian nationals, who had exchanged the money at a place near Mexico City International Airport, the El Universal newspaper reported.

Police said there were four bikers on two motocycles, who attacked the Indians and fled the scene.

One of them lost his life due to the shots he received, and another was treated at the scene, without injuries, the report said.

According to the police, the foreigners did not speak Spanish, but they found identification among their belongings.

Posting again on X on Monday, the Indian embassy said it is working with the law enforcement in Mexico to nab the culprits.

"In the extremely regrettable & tragic death of an Indian national shot by unknown assailants in Mexico City, the Embassy is in constant touch with the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits at the soonest & give justice to family of the victim," it added.

The Indian community in Mexico is small, numbering about 8,000 with about one fifth of them in Mexico City, and the rest spread in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Cuernavaca, Queretaro, Cancun.

The bulk is formed by IT professionals working for IT companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro.

Others comprise executives of Indian and international companies, academicians, and some businesspersons mostly in pharmaceuticals, textile and garment business.

--IANS

mi/ksk
Washington, Aug 22 : The US has fined top drug-making companies Teva Pharmaceuticals and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals a total of $255 million for price-fixing fixing medications, including a generic cholesterol drug that they will now divest.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that Teva will also make a $50 million drug donation to humanitarian organisations, along with a $225 million criminal penalty -- the largest to date for a domestic antitrust cartel.

Glenmark will pay $30 million to resolve charges alleging that it conspired with Teva to fix prices for that cholesterol drug, called pravastatin.

Both companies will face prosecution if they violate the terms of the agreements, and if convicted, would likely face mandatory debarment from federal health care programmes, the DoJ said in a statement late on Monday.

The agreements each require the companies to undertake remedial measures, including the "timely divestiture of their respective drug lines for pravastatin, a widely used cholesterol medicine that was a core part of the companies' price-fixing conspiracy".

This extraordinary remedy forces the companies to divest a business line that was central to the misconduct.

Teva must also donate $50 million worth of clotrimazole and tobramycin, two additional drugs with prices affected by Teva's criminal schemes, to humanitarian organisations that provide medication to Americans in need.

"Companies in heavily regulated industries are on notice that the division will not hesitate to hold them accountable and will not tolerate recidivism," said Assistant Attorney General, Jonathan Kanter.

Pravastatin is a commonly prescribed cholesterol medication that lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke; clotrimazole is commonly prescribed to treat skin infections; and tobramycin is commonly prescribed to treat eye infections and cystic fibrosis.

During the multi-year investigation, the Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners uncovered price-fixing, bid-rigging and market-allocation schemes affecting many generic medicines and charged seven generic pharmaceutical companies for their participation in the schemes.

With the latest agreements, all seven companies have resolved their criminal charges and collectively agreed to pay more than $681 million in criminal penalties.

--IANS

na/ksk
Ahmedabad, August 22 : Kush Patel from Ahmedabad who had been pursuing his studies in the UK on a student visa since the last nine months, was found dead near the London Bridge area, with authorities suspecting suicide as circumstances surrounding his death remain suspicious.

According to law enforcement sources, Patel's disappearance had set off alarms when his friends in London reported him missing to the Wembley Police.

Based on available CCTV footage and the last traced location of his phone, authorities discovered that his phone had been located in the vicinity of London Bridge.

After a 10-day search, Patel's body was located near the London Bridge area.

Positive identification was achieved through DNA testing.

Patel had ventured to London approximately nine months ago in 2022 to pursue a Business Management course at a university.

Along the way, he encountered a series of difficulties, which seemingly culminated in the tragic end of his life.

Among these issues was a financial struggle, as he faced obstacles in paying his college fees.

Although his family back in India intervened to rectify the situation through an education loan, this episode underscored the complexities he was grappling with.

Furthermore, his educational journey was hampered by a lack of a work permit, a critical component for his future prospects.

Despite his family's concerted efforts, including hiring a consultant and making payments, the issue of securing a work permit remained unresolved.

Compounded by the impending expiration of his visa, Patel found himself burdened by the weight of financial and career-related stress, which police believe may have contributed to his unfortunate decision.

He had remained in consistent contact with his friends and family through regular phone calls.

However, the alarming turn of events began on August 10 when he suddenly ceased communication after his last conversation with a friend.

In that final call, he had revealed that he had booked a return ticket to India, scheduled for August 20.

Concerns escalated when his friends in London, unable to locate Patel at his residence, took the initiative to report his absence to the police.

The subsequent investigation led to a phone call with his family, deepening the sense of worry.

The family's efforts to find him yielded no results, prompting them to engage with law enforcement.
Kolkata, Aug 22 : The body of a male rhino was recovered in the Gorumara National Park in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district and preliminary probe has revealed that it was a result of a fight with a rival rhino over a female companion.

State Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick told reporters on Tuesday that the carcass was found on Monday at a water-body in the southern range of the Gorumara National Park.

"After thorough examination of the body, several injuries were detected . From the nature of the injuries, our experts concluded that they were caused as aresult of his fight with a rival male rhino. Generally, such fights between two male rhinos happen over authority of any female companion," the Minister said.

He also said that a post-mortem the body has been conducted and the report has also confirmed that the fatal injuries on his body were a result of the fight.

"There is no involvement of poachers behind the incident since the horn of the rhino was intact. Had it been the handiwork of the poachers, the horn would have disappeared," he said.

There was also no bullet mark on the body of the dead rhino.

Last month a rhino calf died at the Gorumara National Park due to ailments.
Washington, Aug 22 : The US Department of State has approved the potential sale of Apache attack helicopters and related equipment to Poland for an estimated value of $12 billion, the Department of Defense said The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), an arm of the Pentagon responsible for providing military assistance to US allies, said in a statement that it "delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale" in light of the State Department's determination, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the DSCA, Poland has requested 96 Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including 1,844 Hellfire missiles and 508 Stinger missiles, from the US.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been named the principal contractors for the weapons.

Despite the approval by the State Department, the DSCA's notification to Congress does not guarantee the sale, nor does it indicate that a contract with the manufacturers has been signed, according to media reports.

Bordering Ukraine to the east, Poland has made boosting its national defense a priority since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022.
Hyderabad, Aug 22 : Telangana's director of public health and family welfare Dr G Srinivasa Rao's hopes of contesting polls were dashed as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao ignored him in allotment of tickets for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Srinivasa Rao was keen to contest the Assembly election from Kothagudem constituency in Bhadradri Kothagudem district and had even started interacting with people.

KCR, however, decided to give ticket to sitting MLA Vanama Venkateswara Rao from the constituency.

Venkateswara Raoas name figured in the list of 115 candidates announced by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Monday.

Venkateswara Rao was elected from Kothagudem in 2018 on Congress party ticket. Later, he switched loyalties to the BRS.

KCR, who has dropped only a few sitting MLAs, picked Venkateswara Rao as the BRS candidate for the elections, slated to be held towards the end of this year.

Interestingly, a few hours before KCR announced the list of candidates, Srinivasa Rao had denied reports that health minister Harish Rao took him to task for making political comments in Kothagudem.

The official clarified that he was in Kothagudem on Sunday to participate in a programme organised by GSR Trust. As part this programme, he went door to door to interact with people.

Srinivasa Rao had landed in a controversy by publicly speaking about his political ambitions. Congress party leaders had urged Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to remove him from the position.

The director of public health had stated in June that he was trying his best to serve the people of Kothagudem. He said that if Chief Minister KCR asks him to contest for MLA from Kothagudem constituency, he would follow his direction.

In November last year, Srinivasa Rao triggered a row by touching the feet of KCR. He later defended his action, saying he will do this 100 times.

The official stated that KCR is like his father who is leading Telangana on the path of progress and that it is his good fortune that he got an opportunity to touch his feet.

On November 15, the topmost official of the health department was seen touching the chief minister's feet not once but twice during an event at the latter's official residence.

The official's action drew flak from various quarters. Opposition parties called it an act of sycophancy.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted permission to Raghav Bahl, founder of The Quint news platform, and his spouse and co-founder Ritu Kapur, to travel to London and New York for business meetings between September 2 to 9.

The court, presided over by Justice Amit Bansal, has also suspended the Look Out Circular (LOC) that was issued against the couple by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an ongoing money laundering case.

Justice Bansal directed Bahl and Kapur to provide an undertaking stating their commitment to return to India on or before September 17, while also requiring them to submit their travel itinerary.

The court's order was based on their prior record of complying with similar travel permissions granted in the past.

Representing the couple, Advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari said that the applicants had previously adhered to the travel regulations and had returned to India as stipulated.

The ED, however, opposed the applications, citing serious allegations against the founders and expressing concerns that they might not return, given their overseas assets.

Considering the applicants' past history of compliance with travel regulations, Justice Bansal stated: "Accordingly, I deem it appropriate to allow the applications. The LOC is suspended on the said dates."

In January this year, Justice Jasmeet Singh had rejected Bahl's petition seeking quashing ED proceedings in the money laundering case against him and observed that the investigation is not over yet and the petition is premature.

"The allegations are yet to reach the stage of trial. Whether there is generation of proceeds of crime or not is being investigated and for the said reason, the petition as of today is premature and is rejected," he had said.

The court had also refused to quash the LOC issued against Bahl.

Pertaining to opening of LOC against Bahl, Justice Singh had said that quashing the same will be "premature", granting him liberty to file application with supporting documents on when he wants to travel abroad, which shall be considered in accordance with law.

"The quashing of LOC at this stage will be premature, however, the petitioner has travelled in the past and needs to travel for work. Liberty of the petitioner to travel abroad in genuine case and for business cannot be curtailed," the court had noted.

The ED had inititated an inquiry based on a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department for alleged non-disclosure of funds of around Rs 2.45 crore used for buying a property in London by Bahl.

The case was filed in 2019 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

--IANS

spr/ksk
Islamabad, Aug 22 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been spending his prison term in the Attock jail, where he is being subjected to serious challenges, details of which were shared after a sessions judge's routine inspection of the premises on August 15.

According to the findings based on a conversations between the judge and Khan, it was revealed that the former premier was seriously and gravely concerned about a CCTV camera, which was installed right in front of his prison cell, leaving no room for privacy.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief expressed his reservations over the placement of the CCTV placed in front of his cell in a position that even covered the open bathroom.

"Imran Khan expressed grave concern over the CCTV camera, installed in front of prison bars just at a distance of five to six feet covering the open bathroom-cum-latrine, having small L-shape walls about two-and-a-half to three-feet high, leaving no privacy while defecating and bathing," the report by Attock's Additional District and Sessions Judge Shafqatullah Khan stated.

Judge Shafqatullah stated that the concerns expressed by Khan weregenuine as they were in violation of Rules 257 and 771 of Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978.

The PTI chief also complained about the difficulties his wife and lawyers have to face in order to meet him, stating that they have no easy access to him.

As per the judge's report, Khan's concerns were noted and the superintendent present there was called in, who assured to redress the grievances.

"The superintendent present there has been given assurance to redress the grievance of the prisoner. The superintendent had also assured that the prisoner shall be given access to his wife and lawyers as per prevailing rules," stated the judge's report.

After reports surfaced of ill-treatment being meted to Khan, PTI supporters and rights activists have expressed their anger on social media platforms, saying it was deliberate.

"Imran Khan has been put in Attock jail in a concocted case and a hasty decision. Why would one have a cctv camera filming the open bathroom in the prison cell? It only exposes the agenda behind Khan's imprisonment. Imran Khan's privacy and his life is in danger and he needs to be released immediately. This has to stop," said a PTI supporter Verda Memon.

Rights activists have also expressed serious concerns over the breach of privacy in prison, stating that such actions seem to be aimed at degrading Khan and trying to violate his rightful privacy.

"It is a basic right of any prisoner to have his/her privacy in jail as per the Prison rules. And Imran Khan deserves those rights to be provided by the authorities. Such actions only raises questions over the intent of prison authorities to films prisoners and probably later use them to blackmail them. It is unacceptable," said rights activist Tahira Abdullah.
New Delhi: A view of the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Photo: Wasim Sarvar/IANS). Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, August 21 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file its reply on the bail plea submitted by activist Jyoti Jagtap, who is currently jailed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) levelled against her in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case.

A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar granted leave in the matter and directed the NIA to file before September 14 its affidavit along with the entire pleadings filed in the Bombay High Court.

During the hearing, the probe agency sought a period of two weeks to file its additional reply.

The bench ordered that Jagtapas plea will be listed on September 21, after advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for the activist, sought a fixed date for hearing.

In May, the Supreme Court had issued notice on the special leave petition filed by Jagtap against the order of the Bombay High Court denying her bail.

The NIA had already filed a charge sheet against Jagtap and others at a special court in Mumbai.

In July, the top court had granted bail to two other accused -- Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, who were in jail since August 2018.

The case pertains to inciting people and giving provocative speeches during the Elgar Parishad organised by the activists of Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Maharashtra's Pune on December 31, 2017, which promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence resulting in loss of life and property and state-wide agitation in Maharashtra.
Chennai, Aug 22 : Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder leader and Member of Parliament Thol Thirumavalavan on Tuesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to declare Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the state as caste atrocity-prone districts.

The Dalit leader was responding to the recent attack on two school-going Dalit siblings by intermediate caste members at their residence in Vannarpettai, Tirunelveli district.

He said that the two children were grievously injured in the attack and were admitted to the hospital and the perpetrators of the crime had walked scot-free.

Stating that several attacks were taking place against Dalits in Southern Tamil Nadu, especially in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts, VCK called upon the state police to constitute a special intelligence cell to prevent such attacks.

Thol Thirumavalan said that only a few directors like Pa Ranjith and Mari Selvaraj had given voice to Dalit politics in their movies but added that they were pinpointed by people as the cause of such atrocities.

It may be noted that there have been several attacks and counterattacks between Thevar community members and the Dalits in which many people were killed from both sides.
Dubai, Aug 22 : The UAE fast bowler Junaid Siddique has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee along with two demerit points, which have been added to his disciplinary record, for two Level 1 breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third T20I against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.

Siddique was handed an official reprimand and one demerit point was added to his disciplinary record for breaching article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match, the ICC statement read.

This incident occurred in the fifth over of the New Zealand innings when Siddique moved close to the dismissed batter, Tim Seifert, and shouted aggressively at him.

He was also fined 25 per cent of his match fee and one more demerit point was added to his disciplinary record for another offence later in the match, when he breached article 2.8, which relates to "showing dissent at an umpireas decision."

This happened in the 17th over, Siddique showed dissent by using inappropriate language towards the umpire when an appeal for a dismissal was turned down.

Siddique admitted the offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Akbar Ali and Shiju Sam, and third umpire Aasif Iqbal levelled the charges.
Panaji, Aug 22 : The Congress wrote to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, requesting him to ban visit of Maharashtra's Hindutva activist, Sambhaji Bhide, who is known for his controversial and provoking speeches, in the coastal state on August 24.

Vijay Bhike, General Secretary of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, in a letter to the CM, has said that presently religious tensions are witnessed in the state and hence Sambhaji Bhide should be restrained from entering the state.

As per sources, Bhide will deliver a talk on the topic "Contribution of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in the protection of Hindu religion, its mutts and temples, and restoration of temples destroyed during the Portuguese regime."

"It is learnt that Sambhaji Bhide, who is known for his controversial and provoking speeches, is invited to Goa on August 24 to address a gathering at Davorlim-Margao in South Goa. Presently communal situations are taking place due to various religious issues, be it desecration of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or placing of goddess idol in Church premises. In this backdrop, it would be wise to make an attempt to restore the peace and harmony in the state," the letter read.

"Allowing a person like Sambhaji Bhide to address a gathering would only lead to more communal tension and disturb the communal peace and tranquility in the state. There is also a very high possibility of eruption of communal riots which may lead to aggravating the prevailing communal tension and will result in irreparable and irreversible loss, as Sambhaji Bhide is known for his provoking speeches and in the present background it appears to be that he is coming here with intentions to create disharmony," it further said.

The letter also states that "There are a number of cases filed against him in different parts of Maharashtra for making provocative statements against national leaders which you can verify."

"We hereby bring to your notice about the consequence of Sambhaji Bhide's visit to Goa and the coincidence is that the President of India is also visiting the state at the same time."

"It is in the interest of the state to ban him from visiting Goa and maintain peace and harmony which is in your good hands. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Mr. Pramod Muthalik is banned from entering Goa for similar behaviour which was also endorsed by the Hon'ble High Court directive in this regard," Vijay Bhike further said in the letter.

"If you permit him to visit Goa and if communal violence erupts, then only you will be held responsible for the same," Congress leader said.
Islamabad, Aug 22 : A Pakistan Army helicopter on Tuesday Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to rescue schoolchildren and a teacher who were left stranded midair after the cable of a chairlift snapped.

According to a statement from the government, the rescue operation will be carried out in a "very careful and deliberate manner" after making an aerial reconnaissance, Ary News reported.

Eight schoolchildren and their teacher have been stranded since 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

Earlier, Commissioner Hazara Sultan Aamir said he has contacted the provincial govt and Pakistan Army for helicopter support.

In a previous incident, four people were killed as a cable plunged into the Indus River near Sammar Nallah area in district Upper Kohistan.

The deceased were crossing the river from Shitial to Tangir area of Gilgit-Baltistan, when the string holding the chairlift broke into two pieces, plunging them into the fast-flowing river.
Bangkok, Aug 22 : Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday was transported to prison soon after his return to the country after more than 15 years of self-exile as the Supreme Court issued an 8-year detention order for him.

The court's criminal division for holders of political positions announced that Thaksin has been convicted of an eight-year imprisonment related to his three convictions passed on the 74-year-old in absentia, reports Xinhua news agency.

The convictions include a two-year sentence for corruption in a lottery project, a three-year sentence for his involvement in an Export-Import Bank loan for Myanmar case, and a five-year sentence for his role in a mobile phone concession amendment case, according to reports.

The former telecom tycoon boarded a private plane in Singapore and landed at Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport shortly after 9 a.m..

He paid respect to the portrait of the king and queen and then was escorted in a police convoy to the court and taken to the prison.

Thaksin was Thailand's premier from 2001 to 2006 but had been in self-exile abroad since 2008.

Thaksin's long-awaited arrival comes on the same day as a vote in Parliament to choose a new Prime Minister, which will finally break a political deadlock more than three months after the popular Move Forward Party won the general elections, CNN reported.

The Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party, which came second in the May election, will on Tuesday nominate real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin as the next Prime Minister.

On Monday, Pheu Thai struck a deal with its former military rivals in a bid to secure enough parliamentary votes to form a government.

In 2014, former army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power from the Pheu Thai government, and Yingluck followed Thaksin into self-imposed exile.

Prayut has ruled Thailand since, announcing in July that he would not seek re-election and will retire from politics.

Thailand's parliament is due to vote later on Tuesday for a new prime minister as the Pheu Thai Party, which links to Thaksin, leads an effort to form the new government with former property businessman Srettha Thavisin as the prime minister candidate.
Chennai, Aug 22 : Tamil Nadu forest department on Tuesday said that the rogue elephant, 'Arikomban', that was captured from Cumbum town and relocated to Tirunelveli forest, is healthy.

The forest department in a statement said that the animal had acclimatised with the new conditions and was taking enough food and water.

When 'Arikomban' was in Chinnakanal forest in Idukki district of Kerala, the pachyderm used to raid several homes and ration shops in the area for rice. The wild elephant used to destroy shops and homes and is alleged to have killed a few people.

After several complaints were raised against the wild elephant, the Kerala forest department decided to capture the elephant and convert it into a 'Kumki' elephant. However, the Kerala High Court ordered to capture the elephant and to release in deep forest so that it don't create a menace.

The elephant was captured after firing several tranquilisers on it by the elite team of Kerala forest officials led by Dr Arun Zakariah, the veterinarian who is credited with capturing several wild elephants. The elephant was captured from Chinnakanal on April 29, and later released to the Periyar National Park.

The elephant reached human habitation in Cumbum town and the Tamil Nadu forest department captured it again on June 5. Later, 'Arikomban' was relocated to deep forest in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The southwest monsoon season in India so far has been marred by extreme weather events, from humid heat waves to cyclones to torrential rains.

Scientists blame climate change. They say it has been altering the monsoon patterns along with weakening its circulations. As a result, the country has witnessed record-breaking extreme weather events in June and July.

With monsoon recently concluded its halfway journey, the quantum of torrential rains multiplied across the country in July with 1,113 stations reporting very heavy rainfall events, while 205 stations witnessed extremely heavy rainfall.

With this, July saw the highest heavy and extreme rain events in the last five years, says a data compiled by Climate Trends.

In June, 377 stations reported very heavy rain events, the highest in the last five years. Sixty-two stations recorded extremely heavy rains, which was the second highest since 2019.

However, the impact of climate change was more visible, higher than ever before, say climate experts. They say it would not be wrong to say that extreme weather conditions have governed the southwest monsoon season so far.

Record breaking extreme weather events ranged from humid heat waves to torrential rainy spells to cyclogenesis.

At the end of July, the cumulative countrywide rainfall was surplus by five per cent, with 467 mm of rain against the normal of 445.8 mm between June 1 and July 31.

Heatwaves during the monsoon season are quite rare in India. With delayed monsoon arrival in eastern parts of the country, an unusual spell of heatwave wreaked havoc across the region.

According to Climate Central, an independent group of scientists, a three-day extreme heat event over Uttar Pradesh from June 14-16 was made at least two times more likely by human-caused climate change.

In Ballia in Uttar Pradesh temperatures reached 42.2 degrees Celsius on June 16 and at least 34 fatalities occurred over the three-day event.

A similar situation was witnessed in the neighbouring state of Bihar, where school and colleges were closed to minimise the impact of the heatwave.

India has been witnessing normal to surplus monsoon rains for the last five years. This year too, the country is likely to record normal rains but with El Nino building in the Pacific Ocean chances of below normal monsoon cannot be ignored.

However irrespective of monsoon performance, experts are expecting extreme weather events to increase in the coming years.

"Characteristics of the monsoon have undergone some major changes, which have altered rainfall patterns, intensity, and frequency. These changes are constantly evolving with the increasing global temperatures," remarked Mahesh Palawat, Vice President, Meteorology and Climate Change, Skymet Weather.

"As a result, extreme weather events have also increased exponentially. What happened in Himachal Pradesh and other parts of northwest India is evidence of how climate change is impacting and altering the monsoon season in India.

"In fact, these impacts would continue to multiply if temperatures continue to rise."

Sounding the alarm that India is on track to breach a critical warming threshold, Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar says climate change will increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves in the future.

The total population and urban area exposed to sequential extremes will increase rapidly if the global mean temperature rises above 1.5 degrees from the pre-industrial level.

A considerable improvement in socioeconomic livelihood and infrastructure will be needed to reduce vulnerability and maintain the same level of risk at 1.5 degrees at higher global warming levels. The risks and drivers of the sequential extremes in India remain unrecognised.

Scientists say climate change has made monsoons more erratic and volatile, leading to frequent landslides and flash floods in India's Himalayan north.

"The Himalayas have emerged as the hotspot for climate change. While last year it was Uttarakhand, this year it was Himachal Pradesh which is bearing the brunt of global warming," says Prof. Y.P. Sundriyal, Head, Department of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand.

"The Himalayas act as a barrier, which confronts the moist winds coming from the Arabian Sea as well as the Bay of Bengal. With increasing temperatures, both at the surface and at the sea level, there has been a considerable increase in moisture content, which makes it a prone zone for torrential rains."

"We must remember, the Himalayan mountains have a fragile ecology, which has limited capacity to bear such incessant rains. This has put the hilly states, especially Himachal and Uttarakhand in a danger zone," Sundriyal adds.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)
Kolkata, Aug 22 : The opening day of the extended monsoon session of the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday witnessed a chaos with the Opposition BJP MLAs staging a massive protest over the recent ragging-related death of a fresher in the city's iconic Jadavpur University (JU) on August 10.

As the session started with a discussion on the matter, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari launched a scathing attack on the state government and the education department on the ragging-death issue.

The BJP legislators entered the House sporting black cloaks round their shoulders and participated in the discussion after mobbing an adjournment motion in the matter.

"The matter is really serious. In JU there is a section of extremist left activists who often raised anti-national slogans. It has become a den of a section of anti-national activists. No rules and regulations are applicable for them. Had the rules been followed, the fresher coming from a remote area in rural Bengal would not have died" Adhikari said.

He also questioned why the CCTVs were not installed within the JU campus as per the order of the Supreme Court. He also reminded that erstwhile JU vice-chancellor Abhijit Chakraborty, who tried to bring some discipline within the JU campus, was forced to resign by former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, who is currently behind bars for his alleged involvement in the cash for school job case.

Replying to the LoP, state education minister Bratya Basu said that the matter of ragging is nothing typical in West Bengal. "There was a proposal to implement the anti-ragging measures as suggested by the R.K. Raghavan Committee. But still ragging is rampant in several universities and educational institutions throughout the country.

Recently, a similar incident has been reported from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, which is a central institution," Basu said.

The ruckus started thereafter as the LoP accused the state education minister of indirectly supporting the menace of ragging.

In reply Basu said that the Governor C.V. Ananda Bose was responsible for all this. "The Governor removed the earlier vice- chancellor of JU. Now he has appointed a new vice-chancellor, whose report on the unfortunate incident has not satisfied the University Grants Commission. I am in favour of free thinking. But there is a difference between free

thinking and arbitrariness," the education minister said.

Thereafter, the BJP legislators started protesting, raising slogans after coming down to the Well of the Assembly.

Finally, they staged a walkout.
Washington, Aug 22 : The US Coast Guard said that it rescued a man who was stranded for three days on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas after his sailboat broke down.

In a statement, the Coast Guard said the man was rescued on August 18 and "transferred to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in good health".

"Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders received notification from a Coast Guard Air Station Miami Auxiliary aircrew of a disabled sailboat firing flares near Cay Sal," it said.

A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew located a man stranded on the island and dropped supplies including food, water and a radio to establish communication.

The man notified the crew that he had been stranded for three days after his vessel became disabled during his voyage.

"We're proud to have saved this man's life. This case serves as a perfect example of why you must have the proper safety equipment on your vessel," Petty Officer 3rd Class Dev Craig, a Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstander, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"Without seeing the flare, the case may not have had a successful outcome."
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside Kerala High Court's order staying the conviction of Lakshadweep MP and NCP leader P.P. Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case.

A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan remitted the matter back to the High Court for a fresh consideration, while clarifying that Faizal will continue as the people's representative in the meantime.

The bench said that the High Court did not consider the true position of law with respect to stay on conviction. In its impugned order, the Kerala HC suspended the conviction saying that if fresh elections would be conducted, enormous expenses would ensue.

Against this, the Union Territory (UT) of Lakshadweep had moved the Supreme Court challenging the HC order which had suspended Faizalas conviction and sentence till disposal of his appeal.

In January this year, the Kavaratti Sessions Court convicted four people, including Faizal, in an attempt to murder case of a Congress party leader during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and sentenced them to imprisonment for various terms for the different offences, including 10 years imprisonment for the offence under section 307 IPC (attempt to murder).
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Referring to a scene in Sushmita Sen starrer web series 'Taali', actress Raveena Tandon on Tuesday heaped praises saying 'baat mein dum hai boss'.

The show brings to screen the inspiring journey of transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant, portrayed by Sushmita. Born as Ganesh and raised in Pune. Shreegauri revolutionised the transgender movement in the country, and the series shows her iconic fight for the recognition of the third gender in the country.

Raveena took to Instagram Stories, and shared a snapshot of a scene, wherein we can see Sushmita on the screen, and her dialogue is flashed: "This country needs more foster mother".

The aMohraa fame actress congratulated the producer of the show Afeefa Nadiadwala Sayed, and said: "CONGRATULATIONS Afeefa Suleman Nadiadwala! Baat mein Dum hai Boss!"

Afeefa shared Raveenaas post and wrote,"love u so much".

For the unversed, Raveena had adopted two girls, Pooja (11 years old), and Chaya (8 years old), as a single mother in 1995.

Raveena married film distributor Anil Thadani on February 22, 2004. She gave birth to her daughter Rasha, in March 2005, and in July 2008, she gave birth to her son Ranbirvardhan.

On the other hand, Sushmita is also a mother of two adopted daughter - Renee and Alisah.

aTaali' throws light on the trials and tribulations of Shreegauri Sawantas life -- her daring transformation from Ganesh to Gauri, and the discrimination she was subjected to because of that, her fearless journey towards motherhood, and the audacious battle that led to the inclusion and identification of the third gender on every official document in the country.

Created by Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar, and directed by Ravi Jadhav, 'Taali' is a story of courage and change.

It is streaming on JioCinema.

On the work front, Raveena was last seen in aOne Friday Nighta. She next has aGhudchadia in the pipeline.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced a former Executive Secretary, JPC (Joint Plant Committee), Ministry of Steel, to three-year jail term in a coal scam case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh.

In the 14th sentence in the coal scam, Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj said Gautam Kumar Basak is found guilty of corruption in the allocation of Vijay Central Coal Block, and also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on him.

According to the prosecution, an allegation was made against Prakash Industries Ltd., which had applied for the coal block in January 2007, that it had furnished false information about its capacity.

The Ministry had directed Basak to ascertain the truth of the allegation. The Steel Ministry official, according to the prosecution, submitted a false report in 2008 supporting the claims made by the company.

The company and its director were earlier discharged by Delhi High Court in the case. The CBI's appeal against the High Court order is currently pending before the Supreme Court. The CBI was represented by its Deputy Legal Advisor Sanjay Kumar in the trial court.

Former coal secretary H.C. Gupta and former IAS officer K S Kropha have challenged the appeal in the high court against their conviction and jail terms.

A bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice and said that both the appellants will remain out on bail till the matter stands disposed of.

The judge said that the appeals will be listed in due course along with the appeals moved by the other convicts - former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda and JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd's Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal.

On July 28, the high court granted interim bail to the Dardas and Jayaswal, who were handed four-year jail terms.

The Delhi court had awarded four-year jail terms to them while Gupta, Kropha and K.C. Samaria were handed a three-year imprisonment.

On November 20, 2014, the court had rejected the closure report submitted by the CBI in this case. The court had directed the probe agency to initiate a fresh investigation, citing that the former MP Darda had "misrepresented" facts in letters addressed to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also held the Coal portfolio.

According to the court, Vijay Darda, who is the Chairperson of the Lokmat Group, resorted to such misrepresentations in order to obtain the Fatehpur (East) coal block in Chhattisgarh for JLD Yavatmal Energy.

The court had ruled that the act of cheating was carried out by private entities as part of a conspiracy involving both private parties and public servants.

JLD Yavatmal Energy was granted the Fatehpur (East) coal block by the 35th Screening Committee. Initially, the CBI alleged in its FIR that JLD Yavatmal had unlawfully concealed the previous allocation of four coal blocks to its group companies between 1999 and 2005. However, the agency later filed a closure report, stating that no undue benefit had been granted to JLD Yavatmal by the Coal Ministry during the coal block allocation.
Washington, Aug 22 : A Pennsylvania-based dentist has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife while they were on an African safari in 2016, the media reported.

Larry Rudolph was sentenced on Monday by a Denver federal courthouse after he was convicted last year of fatally shooting his wife of 34 years, Bianca Rudolph, in Zambia, reports The New York Post.

According to prosecutors, Larry Rudolph "killed his wife in cold blood as part of a plan to receive life insurance payments and begin a new life with longtime mistress Lori Milliron".

"Even Judas would be afraid to be in your company," the victim's brother Vincent Finizio told Larry Rudolph before the judge sentenced him.

Prosecutors said the accused took the shotgun used in the heartless crime and placed it back in its soft case to make it appear that his wife shot herself by accident while packing on October 11, 2016.

"This result shows that no matter how much money, prestige, or power you have, you will be held accountable for your crimes," US Attorney for the District of Colorado Cole Finegan said in a statement.

Larry Rudolph was also found guilty of mail fraud, which is tied to the massive insurance payouts he received following his wife's death, reports The New York Post.

He received a 20-year sentence to run along the life sentence for that conviction.

He is required to pay nearly $5 million in restitution and another $2 million in fines, the court ruled.

He was also ordered to forfeit two homes, his cars, an Aston Martin DB-11 and Bentley Bentayga, and other assets bought with the insurance money.

The defence said all the assets totaled nearly $9 million.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Delhi Commission for Women has issued notice to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sarai Rohilla police station after it had received a complaint regarding the alleged murder of a 42-year-old woman by her live-in partner.

A senior DCW official said that the complainant has informed that her family lived in Paharganj, Delhi and her father had died in 2011.

"In February 2023, the complainant got married and after that her mother sold off her house and started living in a rented flat in Shastri Nagar. She has stated that one person named Deepak was known to her mother and he

used to come to her mother's home for the past 3-4 years," said the official.

She further told the DCW official that Deepak used to torture her mother.

"She has alleged that on August 7 when she went to her mother's house, the accused quarrelled with her mother and beat her. She has also alleged that the accused had beaten her mother with a belt a few days ago," said the

official.

The complainant alleged that the accused had taken Rs 10 lakh from her mother which she had received after selling her house, as well as her gold and silver jewellery.

"On August 21, Deepak called and informed that her mother was admitted to a hospital. When she reached there, her mother had died. The complainant has accused Deepak of murdering her mother," said the official.

The DCW, through the notice to SHO, has sought a copy of FIR registered in the matter, details of the accused arrested in the matter and a copy of the post-mortem report of the deceased.

"We have also asked for a detailed action taken report in the matter. Considering the gravity of the matter, we have asked SHO to provide the sought information to the Commission latest by Friday," the official added.

Despite repeated calls and messages there was no response from police in the matter.
WhatsApp for iOS gets message editing support for media with captions. Image Source: IANS News

San Francisco, Aug 22 : Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is widely rolling out a video message feature on iOS.

"You can now instantly record and send video messages in chats," the company mentioned in the official changelog on Monday.

This feature can be accessed by tapping on the microphone icon in chats to switch to video.

The platform is also rolling out support for screen sharing in video calls.

Users will see a new "screen share" button when they start a video call.

These features will roll out over the coming weeks, the company said.

Last month, the messaging platform had widely rolled out landscape mode support for video calls and silence unknown callers option on iOS.

Users can silence unknown callers by going to Settings > Privacy > Calls.

The platform had also released the ability to natively transfer full account history when switching to a new device.

This functionality can be accessed by navigating to Settings > Chats > Transfer Chats to iPhone.

Redesigned sticker tray with improved navigation and a larger set of stickers including more Avatars were also rolled out.

Also, the Meta-owned platform had widely released a tweaked interface that features translucent bars -- tab bar and navigation bar -- on iOS

Last week, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had announced that WhatsApp users can now send photos in HD quality.

HD Photos feature is rolling out globally over the next few weeks, with HD Videos also coming soon, the company had said.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Homegrown crypto exchange CoinDCX on Tuesday said it is laying off about 12 per cent of its workforce, as the crypto market continues to navigate the tough macro conditions and impact of TDS on domestic exchanges.

CoinDCX Founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal said in a blog post that to help the impacted employees, "we have put together a support package consisting of severance pay equivalent to the full notice period, additional one month of salary, variable pay and incentives dues, encashment of unutilised leaves, extension of health insurance & wellness benefits and access to counseling support".

"We had to make a tough choice that involved bidding farewell to some of our brilliant and dedicated team members at CoinDCX. We are deeply sorry for this, and we bear its weight, both in responsibility and in emotion," they added.

The company said that prolonged bear market and impact of TDS on domestic exchanges had a significant impact on its volumes and, thus, revenues.

"To adapt, we undertook several proactive measures, including direct cost optimisation and investment in automation to drive efficiency and productivity. We also reprioritised certain initiatives/products in line with our long-term business strategy," said the founders.

"To further ensure we run as a healthier business way forward, the current situation demands that we work with a more efficient team structure. To this end, we have made the difficult decision to resize certain teams and to steer the business towards a profitable and sustainable growth," they added.

Last year, CoinDCX and other major crypto exchanges were asked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit documents in connection with a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case.

CoinDCX had said in a statement they received queries from various government agencies and our "approach has always been one of transparency".

The founders also said that no further team reduction is planned as of now.

"To ensure that, we have had multiple thorough and deliberate discussions and worked closely with the senior leaders in the company," the founders wrote.

They also appealed to the crypto and web3 domain startups to reach out to the impacted employees.

"If you're building a startup in the crypto and web3 space, you won't find a more dedicated, skilled, and exceptional group of individuals than the ones parting ways with us today. These professionals are some of the very best in the industry," they wrote.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : A 35-year-old truck driver, who was changing the punctured tyre, died after a cab hit his truck from the rear in South Delhi on Tuesday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Ram Prakash, a resident of district Rai Barielly in Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, on Tuesday around 5 a.m, a police control room call regarding a taxi cab accident was received at Fatehpur Beri police station.

Upon reaching the scene, it was determined that a taxi cab had collided with a stationary truck from behind while the truck driver was changing a punctured tire.

"The injured individual was promptly taken to the hospital for medical treatment but was pronounced dead upon arrival. The deceased was identified as Ram Prakash," said a senior police official.

In connection with this incident, a case under sections 279/304-A of the Indian Penal Code has been filed at Fatehpur Beri police station.

"The accused cab driver, Gopal Narayan Mishra, a resident of Palam Colony, Delhi, has been apprehended. The cab driver revealed that he had dozed off, leading to the collision with the stationary truck," said the official.
Kolkata, Aug 22 : The West Bengal government on Tuesday faced the ire of the Calcutta High Court over alleged negligence in addressing a PIL filed by the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, alleging desecration of the Tricolour in front of school in Hooghly district on Independence Day.

Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam even went to the extent of observing that whether the alleged negligence in addressing the issue was because of the person who has filed the PIL in the matter.

Justice Sivagnanam questioned the state government counsel that "don't you think the perpetrators should be punished?"

When the counsel informed the court that there had not been any desecration of the national flag, the Chief Justice questioned about the arrest of 17 persons on the day.

He further observed that giving a political colour to anything was not the right approach.

"The state has no reason to take a stand that no desecration of the national flag has happened since the complaint in the case was made by a political person," Justice Sivagnanam observed.

He also observed that mere arrest of the accused persons is not enough.

"They will be fed behind the bars for some day and after that they will roam about freely being released on bail," the Chief Justice observed while stressing on proper follow-up of the investigation.

--IANS

src/ksk
Bagalkot, : Aug 22 (IANS) Hindu organisations have filed a police complaint against actor and activist Prakash Raj in Bagalkot district of Karnataka for his objectionable tweet on Chandrayaan-3.

The actor had shared a cartoon post of a man serving tea in his vest and lungi and stated "Breaking news: first picture coming from the Moon by Vikram Lander. Wow, just asking" he mentioned.

The complaint has been filed with Banahatti police station in Bagalkot district.

The Hindu organisations have charged that the post by Prakash Raj was mocking Chandrayaan-3 mission and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The complainants have demanded immediate action on the actor.

Following the post going viral, Prakash was slammed by Hindu organisations and supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people questioned him for mocking the most ambitious space mission of the country and also opined that without reason Prakash is ridiculing PM Modi.

Following the developments, Prakash on Tuesday maintained that, "Attention: dear unacademy trolls and godi media who only know one chaiwala.. proudly presenting.. ever inspiring our own malayali chaiwala since 1960s if you want to be educated please read." He had also given a link to an article titled, "Neil Armstrong And the Malayali on the moon".

Prakash had also stated, "Hate sees only hate.. I was referring to a joke from Armstrong times..celebrating our Kerala chaiwala.. which chaiwala did the trolls see?? ..if you don't get a joke then the joke is on you. Grow Up."

Prakash is always known for his anti-BJP and anti-Hindutva stands and his fearless expressions against Hindutva groups and prominent Hindu and BJP leaders.
Bhopal, Aug 22 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying at one side his government promised to build a temple of Sant Ravidas, on the other side his government demolished a temple of 14th century social reformer in New Delhi. He claimed that Sant Ravidas's temple was demolished in Delhi in 2019.

Kharge made these remarks while referring to PM Modi's visit to Sagar district of poll-bound Madhya Pradesh where he laid the foundation stone of Sant Ravidas on August 12. The Congress leader said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been ruling the state for the last 18 years, but he never ever thought of building Sant Raviadas's temple.

Kharge announced that once the Congress government back into power in Madhya Pradesh, a university in the name of Sant Ravidas would be built in Sagar. "I am making this announcement that a university would be established in the name of Sant Ravidas. Providing school and university is our prime goal, which is why the Congress has made several colleges and universities across the country," he said.

Veteran Congress leader accused the CM Chouhan of ruining the future of youths in Madhya Pradesh. "Wherever you see, you will find ghotala. In Karnataka, the BJP government had established a system of 40 per cent commission, which now has been removed. Now, it is the responsibility of people of Madhya Pradesh to say the BJP's 50 per cent commission - good bye," Kharge added.

He also lashed out at the PM for maintaining silence over the Manipur issue. "There has been more than three months, women are being raped and paraded nude and our Prime Minister has maintained complete silence. And one day when he spoke one day, instead of taking responsibility, he accused the Congress. This is what the Prime Minister of India is doing," Kharge said.
Gandhinagar, Aug 22 : In a proactive move to address constituency concerns and strategise ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in March 2024, the Gujarat BJP held a comprehensive meeting on Tuesday with the Lok Sabha members from the State.

The conclave, convened at the State capital Gandhinagar, aimed to deliberate on an array of issues pertinent to each representative's constituency.

The meeting garnered notable attention as it brought together Lok Sabha members to assess their achievements, challenges, and ongoing initiatives within their constituencies.

With the notable exception of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other union ministers engaged in their ministerial commitments, the meeting was attended by the majority of the Lok Sabha members.

The rendezvous was framed as an opportune moment for the MPs to present their "report cards" highlighting their achievements and ongoing endeavors to bolster their respective regions.

The review session unfolded at the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's bungalow, providing a conducive setting for the candid exchange of ideas.

Led by the Chief Minister, the discussion was facilitated by C. R. Paatil, the state BJP chief, and Ratnakar, the organisational general secretary of Gujarat BJP. The focal point of the discourse encompassed diverse dimensions, ranging from the commemoration of nine years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in July, 'Meri Mitti Mera Desh' campaign, to the grassroots organising efforts of the local BJP units.

Furthermore, they were urged to compile an exhaustive roster of beneficiaries for these schemes before the imminent announcement of the March 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Bhopal, Aug 22 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday castigated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying they could reach this height only because of the Congress.

It was Congress that fought for the country's independence and protected the Constitution of India, he added.

Addressing a poll rally in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar, the veteran Congress leader said the BJP often asks what has the Congress done in the past 70 years.

He further said in 1956, the literacy rate of the country was at 18.3 per cent, which the Congress took up to 74 per cent in 2014. Women literacy was at seven per cent at the time, which reached 65 per cent by 2014, Kharge said.

"Today, I will tell you what the Congress has done in 70 years. Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, today if you are Prime Minister and Chief Minister, it is because of the Congress. The Congress made the constitution considering people of every section," Kharge said.

He was reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that the Congress should respond to what they have done in Madhya Pradesh for the last 53 years. Notably, Shah has asked the Congress to present its report of 53 years of rule in Madhya Pradesh (from 1956 to 2003).

Responding to that, Kharge on Tuesday counted several developments done during the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. "Who brought AIIMS to Bhopal? Who established IIT and IIM in Indore? Who established Rani Laxmi

Bai college in Gwalior? And who established BHEL in Bhopal? I can count the number of establishments during the Congress rule in Madhya Pradesh, but I do not believe in such things," he added.

He further said despite ruling in Madhya Pradesh for more than 18 years, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was asking for the report card of the Congress. "Narendra Modi was CM of Gujarat and for the last nine years he

has been the Prime Minister. Almost half of 53 years, but still Gujarat is lacking in development. Here in Madhya Pradesh Chouhan has been CM for 18 years , but the condition of people remains the same where Congress

government has left."
Srinagar, Aug 22 : A court here on Tuesday sentenced the convicts of 2014 acid attack on a law student to life imprisonment.

The Principal District and Sessions judge Srinagar, Jawad Ahmed, had reserved the verdict on weekend after hearing arguments of Special Public Prosecutor A.A. Teeli who demanded maximum punishment of life imprisonment for the convicts while counsel representing the duo sought lesser punishment of ten years, considering mitigating circumstances.

On August 10, the court held the accused duo, Irshad Ahmad Wani alias Sunny of Wazirbagh Srinagar and Muhammad Umar Noor of Bemina Srinagar guilty of the offence under RPC's Sections of 326-A (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid), 201 (destroying evidence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

"I find that the prosecution has been able to establish the charges against the accused persons beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt. As such, this charge-sheet is accepted and the accused persons namely Irshad Amin Wani and Mohammed Umer Noor (Accused No.2), are held guilty for the offences punishable under Sections 326-A, 201 &120- B RPC.

"Absolutely no material from the defence side suggests any probable reason for falsely implicating the accused persons in this case.

"The established facts, circumstances and the chain of evidence taken cumulatively are so complete and consistent that in all human probabilities the only hypothesis is that the horrendous act of throwing acid on the victim has been committed by the accused No.2 in furtherance of the conspiracy hatched by accused No.1 with accused No.2.

"The established facts and circumstances do not leave any reasonable ground for the conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused persons".

On December 11, 2014, a young law student was grievously injured in the acid attack near Nowshera on the city outskirts while she was on way to her college.

Given the gravity of the offence which sent shock waves across the Valley, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted and the two accused were promptly arrested.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : A massive fire broke out in a chemical factory located in the industrial area of Haryana's Sonipat district on Tuesday.

Many fire engines from different fire stations in Sonipat rushed to the spot and are trying to douse the flames.

Fire officials said that the workers had to run out of the factory to save their lives.

"We are trying to know the reason behind the fire incident and more than 15 fire vehicles were pressed into duty to douse the flames. Fire vehicles from Sonipat, Ganaur, Rai, and Kundali were sent to the spot."

--IANS

bkm/ksk
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Three active members of Ashok Pradhan and Rajesh Bawana gang were arrested after an exchange of fire near Delhi's Harewali village, police said on Tuesday.

The gangsters were identified as Vinesh Khatri alias Chini, Manish alias Gullu and Sanju alias Baba.

Delhi Police Special Cell official said that they have also recovered one semi-automatic pistol of .30 bore, one semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore, and one single-shot pistol of .315 bore with seven live cartridges from the possession of the accused.

Sharing the details, the Special Commissioner of Police (special cell) HGS Dhaliwal said that on August 18, specific inputs were received and a trap was laid at Bawana Road, near village Harewali.

"At about 7.40 p.m, the accused were spotted coming from the Auchandi Border side on a motorcycle. They were asked to stop and surrender by the police team, but Vinesh Khatri whipped out his pistol and fired a shot towards the police party," said Dhaliwal.

"The police team also fired one round in self-defence to nab them, but luckily no one got injured. Members of the police team did not lose patience and finally overpowered and disarmed the trio," said the Special CP.

The Special CP said that Vinesh Khatri is presently wanted in four criminal cases in Delhi.

"He has been involved in a total of six cases, including robbery, the Arms Act, criminal intimidation, trespass, etc., in Delhi. Non- Bailable Warrants (NBWs) have been issued against him in four cases, and proceedings to declare him proclaimed offender in these cases are going on," said the Special CP.

"Manish is the cousin of gangster Rajesh Bawana. He has been previously involved in four criminal cases, including murder, dacoity/robbery, carjacking, the Arms Act, etc., in Delhi and Haryana," said the official.

Sanju has recently joined the gang of Rajesh Bawana through his childhood friend Manish.
Imphal, Aug 22 : Manipur cabinet on Tuesday again recommended the Governor Anusuiya Uikey to summon the monsoon session of the state assembly on August 29.

The state cabinet earlier on August 4 had made a similar recommendation to Governor to convene the 4th session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 21 but the Governor did not summon the session.

Chief Minister's Office on Tuesday tweeted: "The State Cabinet chaired by Hon'ble CM N Biren Singh on Monday, August 21, 2023, took a decision to convene the 4the Session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly (Monsoon Session) on August 29, 2023."

It is most likely that the ongoing ethnic violence and related issues would be discussed in the vital session.

Political controversy sparked off after the Governor did not formally summon the session despite cabinet recommendations.

The previous assembly session was held in March.

As per the norms, at least one assembly session must be held every six months.

The Congress legislature party led by former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh on July 26 met the Governor and demanded to convene a special session of the Assembly under Article 174 (1) of the Constitution.

The Congress leaders, who are demanding imposition of President's rule in Manipur, have been saying that the state Assembly is the most appropriate forum to discuss and debate the ongoing turmoil for which suggestions of measures to restore normalcy can be moved and discussed.

Okram Ibobi Singh, a three-term former Chief Minister (2001-2017), said that there would be a constitutional crisis in Manipur if the assembly session would not be held in six months.

"It is unprecedented that despite Cabinet requests, the Governor did not convene the assembly session," Singh, Congress legislature party leader, said while addressing a party function.

Ten tribal MLAs, including seven ruling BJP MLAs, along with many other tribal organisations, since May 12 have been demanding a separate administration for the tribals.

The tribal legislators also said that they would not be able to attend the assembly session in Imphal due to "security reasons".

Over 160 people have been killed and more than 600 injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

In view of the ethnic strife in Manipur, approximately 70,000 men, women and children belonging to different communities have been displaced and are now sheltered in 350 camps set up in schools, government buildings and auditoriums in Manipur and several thousand sought refuge in the neighbouring states including Mizoram.
Los Angeles, Aug 22 : Hollywood star Sandra Bullock reportedly wants to scatter her late partner Bryan Randall's ashes at a luxury sea resort where they secretly exchanged "vows".

The actress was heartbroken at the start of August when her long-term photographer boyfriend Bryan Randall died aged 57 after a three-year battle with fatal motor neuron disease ALS.

She is considering saying her final goodbye to him at the Three Bees in the Bahamas, where she apparently wants to scatter his ashes in the sea, sources have now told DailyMail.com.

The outlet said the pair had an unofficial wedding ceremony at the resort in 2017, three years before his devastating diagnosis with ALS - though they never formally married.

An insider said, "The place was just so special to them both."

aThey would take over the entire island so they could just be themselves. It was a place where they shared some of their happiest times together and with the kids and friends. They would go there for weeks at a time. It holds a lot of meaning and it just makes sense for that to be where she says goodbye to him."

Bryan's daughter Skylar Staten Randall, 29, took receipt of her father's ashes last week after a representative from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery made the delivery to her Los Angeles apartment three days after he passed away.

DailyMail.com reports Sandra and Bryan exchanged vows on the beach in the Bahamas in an intimate ceremony witnessed by friends and family on December 31, 2017.

DailyMail.com has obtained photos of the pair kissing on the beach at the resort. Video also obtained by the outlet shows the couple dancing after the ceremony.

Sandra first met Bryan after hiring him to take photographs at a birthday party for her son Louis, now 13, in 2015. They went public as a couple in October of that year, at the premiere of her movie "Our Brand Is Crisis".
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Bengaluru Customs officials on Tuesday said that they have arrested two persons for allegedly smuggling 48,000 cigarette sticks worth Rs 8.16 lakh.

A senior Customs official said that both the accused were held based on basic profiling. The official said that both the passengers arrived at Bengaluru airport from Bangkok at 10:15 p.m. on August 21.

"They were intercepted when they were attempting to cross Green Channel. Examination of checked-in baggage led to recovery and seizure of 48,000 cigarette sticks worth Rs 8.16 lakh," said the official.

"Both the individuals have been arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act," the official said.

Further investigations into the matter is ongoing.
San Francisco, Aug 22 : The notorious ransomware gang BlackCat also known as ALPHV, has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack disclosed by the Japanese watchmaker Seiko firm earlier this month.

The company on August 10, issued a data breach notification, stating that an unauthorised third party gained access to at least a portion of its IT infrastructure and accessed or exfiltrated data, reports Bleeping Computer.

Seiko is one of the world's largest and most historic watchmakers, with over 12,000 employees and a $1.6 billion annual revenue.

"Seiko Group Corporation has confirmed that on July 28 of this year, the Company suffered a possible data breach. It appears that some as-yet-unidentified party or parties gained unauthorized access to at least one of our servers. Subsequently, on August 2, we commissioned a team of external cybersecurity experts to investigate and assess the situation," Seiko said in a notice.

"As a result, we are now reasonably certain that there was a breach and that some information stored by our Company and/or our Group companies may have been compromised," it added.

The company also apologised to potentially impacted customers and business partners and urged them to be wary of email or other communication attempts potentially impersonating Seiko.

Moreover, the report mentioned that the BlackCat ransomware group on Monday claimed to be behind the attack on the watchmaker, posting samples of data that they claim to have stolen during the attack.

The hackers in the list mock Seiko's IT security by leaking what appear to be production plans, employee passport scans, new model release plans, and specialised lab test results.

They also allegedly leaked samples of confidential technical schematics and Seiko watch designs.

Last month, UK's largest National Health Service (NHS) trust again suffered a ransomware attack on its systems, compromising the data of about 2.5 million patients.

Calling it to be "the biggest breach of healthcare data in the United Kingdom", BlackCat claimed to have stolen 70 terabytes of sensitive data from Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs five London-based hospitals, TechCrunch reported.
Bhopal, Aug 22 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that caste based census will be conducted in Madhya Pradesh if Congress is able to win the upcoming state election.

Congress President while addressing a poll-rally in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh said that the caste census will help to identify the people living under below poverty, literacy and more.

"Once the Congress forms the government in Madhya Pradesh, caste census will be conducted. I am making this announcement with responsibility. It will help to identify the people of particular caste and community remained below poverty line," Kharge said.

He attacked the ruling BJP saying that the Congress had won the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, but PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah hatched a conspiracy to topple Kamal Nath's government.

"At one side they (BJP) say that they believe in Constitution and public mandate and on the other side, they conspire to topple non-BJP government. Like in MP, BJP had done same in Karnataka also. But the people of Karnataka have given a befitting reply to them, and now it's time for people of Madhya Pradesh to remove the BJP," the Congress President said.

He said that Congress has always worked to empower the people of the country and their growth.

"Be it first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi, they all have worked for growth of the country and the BJP keeps asking what has Congress done in last 70 years," Kharge added.

--IANS

pd/dan
Chennai, Aug 22 : The first bench of the Madras High Court comprising of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and P.D Adikesavalu dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against concreting of the road through which the Arunachaleswar Temple car procession takes place.

The petitioner T.S Shanker in PIL said that if concrete road is laid instead of tar it would be difficult for devotes during procession.

However, the government counsel appearing for the state said that 70 per cent of the concrete work has been done. He also said that concrete roads were laid around Parthasarathy Temple. The government counsel also said that the temple car was fixed with hydraulic brakes and hence there wonat be any difficulties for moving the car around.

The government counsel also asked the court to check the bonafide of the litigant. Madras High Court dismissed the petition stating that there were no scientific proofs in the prayer.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Nifty swung between gains and losses on Tuesday and closed almost flat despite supportive global markets, says Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

At close, Nifty was up 0.01 per cent or 2.9 points at 19396.5. Volumes on the NSE continued to be on the lower side. Broad market indices gained 0.9-0.95 per cent outperforming the Nifty even as the advance decline ratio remained firm at 1.79:1.

Global stocks extended their comeback rally on Tuesday. Asian stock markets snapped an eight-day losing streak on Tuesday, helped by a rebound in beaten-down Chinese shares. European stocks rose driven by a 1.8 per cent jump in the tech sector on optimism surrounding the world's most valuable chipmaker Nvidia ahead of its quarterly results on Wednesday.

Meanwhile in the US, benchmark 10-year yields climbed to 4.366 per cent - their highest level since 2007 and up almost 40 bps month-to-date, Deepak Jasani said.

BHEL announced an order win worth Rs 4,000 crore from Adani-group subsidiary Mahan Energen in which BHEL is expected to supply power generating equipment to Mahan Energen for an upcoming 2x800 power project at Bandhaura, Madhya Pradesh. BHEL will supply heavy equipment like boilers, turbines, says Omkar Kamtekar, Research Analyst, Bonanza portfolio.

Patel Engineering rallied to 52-week high after its JV bagged a project worth Rs 1,275 crore. Around 2150 shares advanced, 1390 shares declined and 124 shares unchanged. Among the top gainers were Adani Enterprises, HDFC Life, ITC, NTPC and Hero MotoCorp, while BPCL, Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors and TCS were among the top losers, he said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said despite the support of positive international markets, Indian equities struggled to maintain their upward momentum due to lingering apprehensions over ongoing global uncertainties.

Sectors closely tied to the Western economy, such as IT and pharma, faced challenges, while domestic-oriented sectors, alongside mid-and small-caps, exhibited resilience and gained traction. The influence of higher bond yields and concerns about potential rate hikes in the US is prompting FIIs to withdraw funds from the domestic market, contributing to the market's volatility, he added.
Kanpur, Aug 22 : In a shocking incident, a clerk in POCSO court in Kanpur issued a fake bail order to release of a man accused of rape, who was arrested two months ago.

After getting released from the jail, the accused went to the victim's house and threatened her family to withdraw the case failing which he will kill them.

The incident came to light after the victim's family members complained to the police about the accused threatening them.

During probe, it was revealed that the POCSO court clerk in connivance with a lawyer converted the rejected bail order to acceptance of bail.

On June 6, the 13-year-old girl was raped by her neighbour Narendra Sachan at her home when her parents were out of the house for work in Pipauri of Gujaini area in the district. The accused gained entry into the victim's house enquiring about her father and then committed the crime.

Acting on the complaint of victim's father, a case was lodged against Sachan under various sections and he was arrested on June 8. Later, he was sent to jail.

Sachan had filed a bail plea in the POCSO court which was dismissed. The court's order was also uploaded online on e-court portal.

However, within one week of the dismissal of his bail plea, Sachan was out of jail.

When the victim's counsel enquired about the accused getting free despite dismissal of bail plea, it came to the fore that the clerk of the court in connivance with the accused's lawyer issued a fake bail order.

Joint Police Commissioner Anand Prakash Tiwari said that the accused, his advocate and clerk will be arrested soon.
Mumbai, Aug 22 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has made a surprise visit to the civic-run KEM hospital in Mumbai to assess the availability of facilities and the overall operational status.

Shinde's surprise visit took place as he was in central Mumbai to participate in a public function.

During his visit to the hospital on late Monday evening in Parel, the Chief Minister also interacted with the hospital staff and sought information regarding the existing facilities and machinery within the ICU ward.

An official who accompanied the Chief Minister during his visit to the hospital, said: "Shinde inquired about the facilities and machinery available at KEM hospital's ICU ward. He also interacted with doctors and other hospital staff."

The visit comes as a response to the recent unfortunate incidents, with 18 individuals losing their lives within a 24-hour period at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at Kalwa in Thane district.

After his visit, CM Shinde instructed officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to initiate necessary repairs to six previously closed wards of the KEM Hospital.

The Chief Minister highlighted that these refurbished wards could potentially accommodate around 400 to 450 patients.

Addressing concerns about access to treatment, Shinde reassured both patients and their families, stating: "I spoke to patients and their kin and assured them no one would miss out on treatment due to lack of money."

Expressing his observations, Shinde noted: "I found some facilities and services in the hospital in good condition. Work on the shut wards will begin in two days. I have asked the authorities to conceal open wires, etc."

His proactive approach towards assessing and addressing the situation showcases the government's commitment to ensuring the well-being of the citizens.

As part of his unexpected hospital visit, Chief Minister Shinde actively engaged with hospital staff, patients, and the overall infrastructure.

This move aims to not only gather firsthand information but also to signal the government's responsiveness in the face of challenges.

The Chief Minister's visit comes ahead of the anticipated report by a panel established to investigate the recent spate of deaths at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital.

The panel's report is likely to be presented by August 26, contributing to the broader effort to enhance healthcare services and facilities within the state.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to clearly specify the role attributed to cleric Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui who was arrested by the state anti-terrorist squad (ATS) over charges of running a mass religious conversion racket.

A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar was hearing the plea filed by the state police challenging the order of the Allahabad High Court which had granted bail to Siddiqui on the grounds of parity as one of the co-accused was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

The bench asked Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad to file a tabular statement by September 5, the next date of listing.

On April 5, a division bench of Justices Attaur Rahman Masoodi and Saroj Yadav of the High Court directed Siddiquias release on bail, who was arrested from Meerut on charges of converting over 100 people.

The state ATS had claimed that he ran the biggest conversion syndicate across the country and donations through 'hawala' in a trust operated by him, were also stated to have been recovered.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : A seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by her 50-year-old neighbour in South Delhi, the police said on Tuesday.

Sharing the details, a senior police officer said that at 2:20 p.m. on Monday, a PCR call was received at the Lodhi Colony police station reporting sexual assault of a girl, following which a police team was sent to the spot.

"The call was made by the mother of the victim. The accused person, a 50-year-old man, was the neighbour of the caller," the officer said.

"A counsellor from Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) was called who interacted with the child and her mother, and both alleged that their neighbour sexually assaulted the child on August 20," the officer said.

"Based on the complaint, a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and POCSO Act has registered against the accused person who has been apprehended," the officer added.
Jaipur, Aug 22 : National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given approval to declare Kumbhalgarh as a tiger reserve.

NTCA gave the approval on August 4 which was cleared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Tuesday.

Minister Bhupender Yadav wrote on X: "This significant step towards wildlife conservation promises a brighter future for tigers and biodiversity in Rajasthan. The move will boost employment opportunities for the people of the region through ecotourism."

"Today is a historic day for Mewar and I express my immense gratitude to the hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and the Union Minister Bhupender Yadav ji for giving a green signal to this project," said Rajsamand MP and member of NTCA, Diya Kumari.

She said that she has dedicated all her efforts to bring it on ground despite many impediments.

"I am happy that the Union Government today gave in-principle approval and now we can hope that Kumbhalgarh will soon become a tiger reserve," she said.

The proposed Kumbhalgarh reserve will be spread over around 2800 sq kms. The technical committee has said that the state government has to submit the updated proposal indicating the core buffer and eco-sensitive zone, along with the land use.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that he was proud of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who wanted to do developmental work in his constituency despite being in jail.

Sisodia had moved a plea before a court seeking permission to use his MLA fund for the development, which has been accepted.

"We are all proud of Manish Sisodia. Despite being in jail, he cares about the people of Delhi and his constituency. Today, he sought permission from the court to use his MLA fund for the development of his constituency. The court granted him permission," Kejriwal posted on X, formerly Twitter.

A Delhi court has granted permission to Sisodia to make expenditure from his MLA fund.

Sisodia can now carry out development work in the Patparganj constituency.

"Sisodia who is in jail was continuously receiving letters from the people of his constituency regarding development projects. These letters included requests for various works such as internal roads, society gate barriers, water cooler installations, and cleanliness of community centers.

"In response, Sisodia has filed an application in the Rouse Avenue Court. He filed an application to seek permission to withdraw funds from his MLA fund for the development of the area," the AAP said.

Sisodia is in jail in connection with the corruption and money laundering cases related to the now-scrapped excise policy.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed as withdrawn a plea challenging the decision of Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) to publish the answer key of the Prelims of Civil Services Examination 2023 only after declaration of the final result.

A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol permitted taking back of the plea and dismissed it as withdrawn in view of the pendency of a similar plea before the Delhi High Court.

On August 2, the High Court had reserved its judgement on the maintainability of a similar plea filed by 17 civil service aspirants.

The plea, which sought direction for the UPSC to publish the answer key with immediate effect, said that the decision not to make the answer key available to the candidates is "arbitrary".

The High Court had called UPSC to file its preliminary objections on the plea.

It recorded the statement that the other two prayers in the petition -- challenging the preliminary examination and to re-conduct the exam -- are not being pressed in the matter by the petitioners.

A press note issued by the UPSC on June 12 said that "candidates are also informed that marks, cut off marks and answer keys of CS (P) Examination, 2023 will be uploadeda only after the entire process of the Civil Services Examination 2023 is over, that is, after the declaration of final result".
ENTERPRISE-A Geneva man was pronounced dead at the scene of a single-vehicle accident Tuesday morning in Enterprise.

Paul Gregory Creech, 56, of Geneva, was killed in the single-vehicle accident that occurred just after 7 a.m. in the 2500 block of Shellfield Road, Coffee County Coroner Arnold Woodham said Tuesday evening.

Enterprise Police Department Public Information Officer Capt. Billy Haglund said earlier Tuesday that a loaded cement truck, traveling on Shellfield Road, ran off the roadway and rolled over into a culvert.

This traffic accident is under investigation.
New York, Aug 22 : An Indian-American curator, who worked with the Worcester Art Museum, is suing the establishment for "mocking" her brown skin tone and subjecting her to "hostile" work environment.

Rachel Parikh filed a 64-page lawsuit in Worcester County Superior Court last month, alleging that she was "mocked and ridiculed because she is a brown-skinned South Asian" Indian woman and "subjected to a hostile and offensive work environment".

Parikh resigned from her job as associate curator of the arts of Asia and the Islamic world with the museum last fall, radio service WBUR reported.

In the civil lawsuit, Parikh detailed a slew of allegations against Director Matthias Waschek, as well as Parikh's supervisor, Claire Whitner.

The complaint said Parikh endured "racism and unwelcome and offensive behaviour" on multiple occasions, including while she worked inside the museum and attended social gatherings at Waschek's invitation, and as she sought to report the alleged incidents.

The complaint further said that Whitner, at Waschek's request, allegedly also told Parikh about a year after she was hired to "look the part" of a curator, suggesting she "zhush up" her look and "wear makeup, perhaps little earrings, a necklace, a ruffled blouse" to work.

"WAM's (Worcester Art Museum) employee handbook does not require curators to do any of the things that Ms Whitner stated she and Mr Waschek felt Dr Parikh must do," the complaint read.

Parikh said comments were also made over brunch with Waschek and his husband in November 2021 and at a dinner at the pair's home in March of 2022.

She said both men asked intrusive questions about her cultural heritage, referencing a '90s British television show that featured an Indian family.

More than once, Parikh alleges, the two white men imitated an Indian accent while discussing the show, WBUR reported.

A public relations firm shared a statement from Waschek in which he called the accounts of his and his husband's actions in the complaint "patently false" and "staggering".

An outside consultancy firm hired to probe Parikh's claims of harassment and retaliation said in its final report in July 2022 that it could not substantiate Parikh's claims with other colleagues, but found her statements "credible".

"I believe the museum did its due diligence in investigating Dr Parikh's claims. She did not bring any of these allegations to me until the day she resigned," WBUR quoted Whitner as saying.

She called her work experiences mentally exhausting and said the stress took a physical toll.

"I buried myself in my work, because I really enjoy being a curator... But the day-to-day was incredibly difficult, because I was constantly on edge. I was just waiting for a comment to be made or something to happen," Parikh said.

Parikh quit shortly after the investigation, saying in her notice that the museum failed to uphold its own policies, according to the complaint.

"It took me back to a place where I was, you know, a kid and being bullied for being brown, basically," she told WBUR.

The complaint describes Parikh as "an expert in South Asian and Islamic art with a focus on works on paper as well as arms and armor". Her parents emigrated to the US from India in 1979, and she was born and raised in Chicago.
Bhopal, August 22 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday launched scathing on Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan calling him 'Chela' (disciple) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing his first public rally in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, the Congress President criticised the BJP led MP government saying it is 'Andher Nagari, Chaupat Raja' (a confused ruler, a chaotic state).

He said that the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government is 'illegal' and said the existing government has been formed by stealing Congress MLAs.

"There are some good people and some chor (thieves) also. It is because of such people the word 'chor' exists," he said.

"BJP says they have built a government on principles. But by they have built their government due to fear of ED. Similar things happened in Karnataka and Manipur. They (BJP) have done this everywhere, they aren't elected," he said.

He said that the Chief Minister Chouhan has established a system of '50 per cent commission' in the state.

"A similar situation was in Karnataka where BJP has established a system of 40 per cent commission. But, the people of Karnataka have removed them and now it's the turn of the people of Madhya Pradesh to expel the government of 50 per cent commission," he said.

Addressing the poll rally in Sagar district in Bundelkhand region, Kharge pointed to a special package of Rs. 7,266 crore for Bundelkhand region. He reminded people that the Bundelkhand package, sanctioned on the recommendation of Rahul Gandhi, has still not been implemented.

Rahul had visited the region in 2008 and had announced a package for three years for optimisation of water resources through rainwater harvesting and through proper utilisation of river systems in seven districts of Uttar Pradesh and six districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Kharge also counted the five poll promises made by Kamal Nath including LPG prices at Rs 500, 100 units of free electricity, old pension for state government employees and Rs 1500 per month for women under Nari Samman Yojana.

Notably, Bundelkhand is located in the north east part of the state. It has six assembly seats, which are reserved for SCs. In the 2018 elections, the BJP had won five of them, namely Bina, Naryoli, Jatara, Chandala and Hatta, while the Congress managed to win in Gunnor.

The region has a total of 26 Assembly seats, 15 were won by the BJP in the last elections whereas Congress was able to secure nine seats. Remaining two was won by Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.
Chandigarh, Aug 22 : Farmer unions under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha that comprises outfits from Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday announced to stage a sit-in protest till September 2 in the home district of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over their demands.

Elsewhere, farmers staged sit-in protests on toll plazas on national highways in Punjab to press the state government to accept their demands, including compensation from the government for the damage to the crop caused due to floods, farm debt waiver, remunerative prices for their crops.

They are demanding a special package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for flood-affected farmers.

They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods.

During their protest, the farmers did not allow the fee to be deducted for vehicles passing through the toll plazas.

Meanwhile, justifying the government's sensitivity to farmer issues, Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa said the government has released more than Rs 186 crore to compensate for the crop loss due to floods.

As preventive measures, Punjab Police have taken over hundreds of farmer leaders from Punjab and Haryana into preventive custody.

A 70-year-old farmer was killed during a protest at Longowal town in Sangrur on Monday.

Five policemen were also injured during the clash with the farmers.

The Shiromani Akali Dal has demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann be booked on murder charges.

The police were blamed for the killing the farmer in a clash with the police.

The protesting farmers have been demanding compensation and a government job for the next kin of the dead farmer.

They announced to continue their protest in Longowal till September 2, the day the next course of action would be announced.

In Haryana, over 100 farmers from different farm unions were detained in Ambala district.

Farmers blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh national highway near Ambala city when they were not allowed to march towards Chandigarh.

Heavy police force was deployed on the periphery of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, to prevent the entry of crowds of protesting farmers to reach the city to seek compensation for losses caused by the floods.

Jimpa said Chief Minister Singh Mann has released more than Rs 186 crore to compensate the crop loss due to floods.

He said advance funds have been released to the Deputy Commissioners of 16 districts from the Natural Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief for the crop damage.

Jimpa said in July and August the crops of farmers were damaged due to floods in many areas and a special 'girdwari' has been conducted in all flood affected areas of the state.

He said the Chief Minister fulfilled his promise to the flood victims on August 15 and initiated the process to handover cheques of compensation.

He said the government is committed to provide compensation to the flood victims and has no dearth of funds for this purpose.
Kolkata, Aug 22 : A lower court in Kolkata on Tuesday extended the police custody of the three accused in connection with the death of a fresher in the Jadavpur University (JU) on August 10.

The first year student of Bengali honours died under mysterious circumstances after falling from the balcony of a students' hostel on August 10. It is suspected that he became a victim of ragging.

On Tuesday, the court extended the police custody of Saurav Chowdhury, a former student of M.Sc. mathematics in JU, and Deepsekhar Dutta, a second year student of economics in JU, till August 26, while the the same for Manotosh Ghosh, a second year student of international relations in JU, has been extended till August 25.

Saurav, despite being a former student, was reportedly the final word in finalising accommodation arrangements at the student's hostel, thus raising questions over the authorities' role in managing the administrative affairs at the hostel.

The public prosecutor even described Saurav as the "kingpin" of the ragging racket in JU.

On the other hand, the counsels for the accused described their clients as victims of circumstances while opposing the demand for extension of police custody by the public prosecutor.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, the judge of the lower court extended the trio's police custody.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday inaugurated a 24-hour helpline number on behalf of the state government where victims of ragging can call up and register their complaints.

According to Banerjee, immediate action will be taken by the authorities concerned once any complaint is registered on the helpline number.

The district-level anti-ragging committees will also be updated in this matter. The identity of the caller will not be disclosed.
Bhopal, Aug 22 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday attacked the BJP for stealing the popular mandates by bribing and intimidating MLAs after losing the elections.

He termed the existing Madhya Pradesh BJP government as 'illegal'.

Addressing a mammoth public rally in Sagar district of Bundelkhand region of poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Kharge questioned the claims of "clean image and clean politics" made by the BJP leaders while referring to Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh where the party (BJP) stole the popular mandate by either bribing or intimidating the MLAs to switch sides.

He accused the BJP of using Central agencies to harass and intimidate its opponents. "So many Congress leaders are being harassed and jailed. After November these people (while referring to BJP leaders), will run away to Mumbai and Delhi for cover as they will be held accountable for their misdeeds," he said.

Kharge said the Congress does not believe in vindictiveness, vendetta or intimidation. "We neither intimidate people, nor get intimidated," he said.

Referring to the corruption charges, he said, in Karnataka it was 40 percent corruption and asked the gathering how much it is in Madhya Pradesh. To this there was a unanimous shout from the crowd, "50 per cent".

He told the gathering that the time has come to remove the "50 per cent corrupt" government in MP.

He also reiterated party's five commitments including the waiving off of the farmers' debt, 100 units of free power, Rs 1,500 monthly stipend for women, gas cylinder for Rs 500 and old pension scheme for the government employees.

He also said that if Congress forms the government in MP, it will hold the caste based census which will help in better planning of resource allocation for backward classes and downtrodden people.

He underlined that the Congress had given representation to six backward class people in its recently announced apex decision making body, the Congress Working Committee.

Kharge also referred to the unfortunate incident where a BJP leader had urinated on the face of an Adivasis. "This is how they treat the tribal people," he said. While questioning the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's act of washing the victim's feet, Kharge asked will the Chief Minister be able to wash urine from the victim's mouth and humiliation from his life.

Responding to Home Minister Amit Shah allegations, Kharge said that the Bhilai Steel Plant which is now in Chhattisgarh, was set up by the Congress. Similarly Indira Sagar Dam, IIM Indore, AIIMS Bhopal, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Chambal Ghati Project, just to name a few were all set up by the Congress. "Did you set these up or did Modi?" he said.

He also warned the BJP against toying with the idea of changing the Constitution. He said: "There are some people who have started talking about changing the constitution that was given by Baba Saheb Ambedkar, but 140 crore people who are standing guard against it will not let them do that."

Kharge also cautioned people against getting misled by Modi's fake promises. Referring to the plans of the construction of Guru Ravi Das temple, he asked, why the BJP and Modi got the idea to build a temple after 18 years of ruling MP. He said, "It is just their (BJP) election gimmick."
Chandigarh, Aug 22 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday urged farmers and farm labourers not to let Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries in Punjab enter their villages till they do not get full and final compensation for the losses sustained during the devastating floods in the state.

The SAD chief, who was addressing a 'dharna' organised by former legislator Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra at Devigarh in Patiala district, said, "We all need to unite to force this callous government to do justice to our peasantry. Instead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann releasing compensation by August 15, the AAP government is yet to complete the process of 'girdwari' to assess the damage to crops."

"The process has been delayed purposely to deny full compensation to the farmers who have re-transplanted paddy," he said.

Stating that the Chief Minister is not sincere towards the farmers and is deceiving them with photo ops, Badal alleged that a "few farmers were handed over cheques in envelopes with amounts ranging to up to Rs 40,000 written on them, but the cheques were for Rs 4,000 only".

Similarly, a person was given a compensation of Rs 6,800 for damage to his house, whereas he must have incurred a loss amounting to a few lakh rupees, Badal said.

Badal, while paying tribute to farmer Pritam Singh, who was killed during a protest at Longowal in Sangrur district, said, "We support the farmers' organisations which are seeking a fair compensation for the farmers."

He also demanded that a murder case be registered against the Chief Minister as well as all police officers who are responsible for inflicting atrocities on the farmers in Sangrur.

The SAD chief also came down heavily on self-styled organisations that are spewing hatred among the 'panth' on a daily basis but do not utter a single word to highlight the atrocity inflicted on the farmers and the subsequent murder of a Sikh farmer.

"Where are Baljit Singh Daduwal and Dhian Singh Mand," he asked.

Badal also talked about the "manifold increase" in drugs trafficking in the AAP regime, saying that synthetic drugs are resulting in widespread cases of overdose and deaths among the youth in the state.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Mumbai-based GTL Infrastructure Ltd and others in connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 4,063 crore involving a consortium of 19 banks and financial institutions.

The CBI registered the case on August 16 against GTL Infrastructure and unknown public servants and unknown others on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.

The officials of 13 banks are under the agency's scanner for allegedly assigning Rs 3,224 crore dues of the company to an asset reconstruction company (ARC) for Rs 1,867 crore without attempting to secure their loans from collateral securities, the FIR alleged.

The FIR against the GTIL and others were registered after the agency carried out a preliminary inquiry on the basis of an information regarding financial impropriety and irregularity in the matter of credit facilities being availed by GTL Infrastructure from a consortium of 19 banks and financial institutions (FIs).

The CBI said its inquiry revealed that GTL was incorporated on February 4, 2004 under the name of GTL Engineering and Managed Network Services Ltd and the name was changed to GTL Infrastructure Ltd in February 2009.

It said the company belongs to Global Group Enterprise promoted by Manoj Tirodkar and is engaged in the business of building, operation and maintenance of passive telecom infrastructure sites capable of hosting multiple service providers

"The inquiry revealed that GTL in 2011 had expressed its inability to service interest installments on the credit facilities being availed by it from various banks and financial institutions. It also informed its inability to raise the equity and shortfall in revenues," the inquiry report said.

It also said that accordingly, the company was referred for corporate debt restructuring (CDR).

"The CDR empowered group approved the package for restructuring on December 23, 2011. However, the CDR failed and thereafter the lenders decided to invoke strategic debt restructuring (SDR) in 2016.

"During CDR and SDR, out of total outstanding loan of Rs 11,263 crore, debt of Rs 7,200 crore was converted into equity shares, thereby leaving the outstanding amount at Rs 4,063 crore which was payable by GTL to the lenders (consortium of 19 banks/Fls)," it said.

"The inquiry revealed that GTL had diverted a substantial amount of the loan funds through different vendors, which were in fact related parties having common directors and addresses with GTL.

"The forensic audit report of Nikesh Shah has revealed that substantial amount of funds being given by GTL to the vendors (which were not returned, neither goods supplied and later written off) had been invested in European Projects and Aviation Ltd (EPAL) or GTL or Chennai Network Infrastructure Ltd (CNIL- sister concen of GTL) during the same period of giving of the advance from 2011-12 to 2013-14," it alleged.

The inquiry further revealed that during the year 2018, GTL was having outstanding credit facilities from various banks and financial institutions.

The FIR also alleged that during inquiry, it was revealed that a proposal for sale of aforesaid debts of Rs 4,063.31 crore to Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company (EARC) was discussed by the consortium of 19 banks and Fls.

"However, the said proposal of assignment of debt to EARC was dissented to by Canara Bank on the grounds that no fresh valuation of hypothecated or mortgaged assets was done to justify the offer of Rs 2,354 crore by EARC when the total depreciated value of the plant and equipment of GTL as on March 31, 2018 was Rs 7,944.50 crore," it said.

The FIR also stated that as per the audited balance sheet of the company, GTL was having 27,729 telecom towers with useful life of 35 years and the value of same was Rs 10,330 crore approx, as per a similar deal between ATC Telecom Infrastructure and Vodafone India Ltd.

It said that it was also revealed that despite the dissent of Canara Bank and some other members of the consortium, 79.3 per cent of the outstanding dues amounting to Rs 3,224 crore was assigned to EARC by 13 banks, including Union Bank of India, Central bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Andhra Bank Bank of India, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, United Bank of India and Dena Bank for a consideration of approx Rs 1,867 crore, causing huge wrongful loss to the banks.

The CBI also alleged that at the time of assignment of debt to EARC, as on March 31, 2018, the banks were holding 64.97 per cent equity of GTL comprising 1,212.17 crore shares.

"The promoters were holding 19.52 per cent of equity. Despite that the banks did not choose to sell their equity in block deal or to adopt the procedure under the SARFAESI Act to secure their loan from the collateral securities, i.e., plant and machinery having depreciated value of about Rs 7,944.50 crore and instead, with malafide intention, adopted the ARC route, thereby causing huge wrongful loss to themselves," it alleged
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted one more week's time to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file written submissions in response to bail plea of Sukanya Mondal, who was arrested in a money laundering case related to the multi-crore cattle smuggling case.

On July 5, a bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, had issued notice on bail plea of Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal's daughter and asked it to file a status report in the case.

Sukanyaas counsel sought bail on grounds that she is a woman and is in custody for more than 110 days.

Justice Sharma has now listed the matter for hearing next on September 11.

Sukanya has challenged a trial court's order dated June 1 dismissing her bail plea.

The accused has also sought quashing of the petition seeking dismissal of the ED's complaint and all subsequent proceedings related to the case.

During the hearing on July 5, Advocate Amit Kumar appearing for the accused, had submitted that she is a "young woman" of 31 years of age and that the trial court denied her bail without acknowledging facts and relevant law in true and correct perspective.

Sukanya's plea claims that she is innocent and falsely implicated in the case and that her custody is no more required as the probe agency is over with its investigation and has already filed the supplementary complaint qua her.

The lawyer had also sought equality for his client in comparison to the co-accused, Tania Sanyal, who had been granted bail by the trial court.

He had argued that the petitioner's case was stronger in terms of evidence. According to the submitted petition, Sanyal, who is the wife of BSF commandant Satish Kumar and one of the accused, is alleged to have received a bribe from Enamul Haque, another accused in the case, for engaging in cattle smuggling and subsequently engaging in money laundering activities.

On April 26, the ED had arrested Sukanya, a primary school teacher in West Bengal's Birbhum district, after quizzing her for her alleged involvement in the case.

--IANS

spr/dan
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suspended the three-year jail term of former public servant K C Samria, who challenged his conviction and sentence by trial court for his involvement in a case related to irregularities in coal block allocation in Chhattisgarh.

Issuing notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also sought its response on Samria's appeal.

The judge admitted the appeal and listed it for hearing next along with similar appeals of other convicts in the case.

"Keeping in view that the appellant was never arrested during the trial and keeping in mind that the co-accused public servants have already been granted bail by a co-ordinate bench of this court, I am of the opinion that the sentencing order of the trial court qua the appellant shall remain suspended till the pendency of the appeal," the court said.

On August 16, the high court had sought the response of the probe agency on the appeals by former coal secretary H.C. Gupta and former IAS officer K S Kropha, who have also challenged their conviction and jail terms in the case.

Admitting their appeals, a bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma had issued notice and had said that both the appellants will remain out on bail till the matter stands disposed of.

The judge had said that the appeals will be listed in due course along with the appeals moved by the other convicts  former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda and JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd's Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal.

"Issue notice. The counsel for CBI accepts notice. The appeals are admitted and will come for hearing in due course," the court had said.

When Gupta and Kropha were granted bail by the special judge, they were allowed to challenge their conviction before the high court.

On July 28, the high court granted interim bail to the Dardas and Jayaswal, who were handed four-year jail terms. The court enabled them to challenge their conviction before the high court.

Judge Sharma had issued notice on the pleas moved by the Dardas and Jayaswal against the trial court order convicting and sentencing them in the case.

The court had sought the CBI's response and had directed to file it within eight weeks.

The Delhi court had awarded four-year jail terms to them while Gupta, Kropha and K.C. Samaria were handed a three-year jail sentence. The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on M/s JLD Yavatmal.

A fine of Rs 15 lakhs each was also imposed by the special judge on the Dardas and Jayaswal. The other three convicts were directed to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 each.

On July 13, Special Judge Sanjay Bansal delivered the verdict convicting them.

The accused have been held guilty under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court had earlier acknowledged the arguments presented by senior public prosecutor A.P. Singh, stating that the CBI has successfully proven its case beyond any reasonable doubt.

During the hearing on the quantum of punishment, the probe agency had sought the maximum punishment, claiming that Darda and his son had met then CBI Director Ranjit Sinha at his residence to scuttle the investigation. It was further claimed that a witness in the case stated that he was threatened by Jayaswal, who tried to influence him not to depose against him.

On November 20, 2014, the court had rejected the closure report submitted by the CBI in this case. The court had directed the probe agency to initiate a fresh investigation, citing that the former MP Darda had "misrepresented" facts in letters addressed to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also held the Coal portfolio.

According to the court, Vijay Darda, who is the Chairperson of the Lokmat Group, resorted to such misrepresentations in order to obtain the Fatehpur (East) coal block in Chhattisgarh for JLD Yavatmal Energy.

The court had ruled that the act of cheating was carried out by private entities as part of a conspiracy involving both private parties and public servants.

JLD Yavatmal Energy was granted the Fatehpur (East) coal block by the 35th Screening Committee. Initially, the CBI alleged in its FIR that JLD Yavatmal had unlawfully concealed the previous allocation of four coal blocks to its group companies between 1999 and 2005. However, the agency later filed a closure report, stating that no undue benefit had been granted to JLD Yavatmal by the Coal Ministry during the coal block allocation.

--IANS

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San Francisco, Aug 22 : Meta-owned Instagram on Tuesday started to roll out the web version of its Threads platform, which is struggling to stay afloat amid decreasing usage day by day.

Threads users will be able to post, view their feed, and interact with posts from the desktop, according to the social media platform.

"The Threads team is working to add more features to bring the web app on par with mobile over the weeks ahead," reports TechCrunch.

Thread users on the desktop will not be able to edit their profile or send a thread over to Instagram DMs (direct messages).

Last week, Instagram head Adam Mosseri teased "We're close on web".

Responding to a user's post, Mosseri had said: "Desktop web will happen long before foldable support. We're close on web and not working on foldables."

Mosseri said that the company had been testing an early web version "internally for a week or two", but it still "needs some work" before wide release.

Earlier this month, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said the company would bring the web version in "the next few weeks."

Since Threads was launched, a web version has frustratingly been missing.

Meta's Twitter (now X) rival Threads has been in steady decline after peaking at around 50,000 daily active users globally on Android devices in early July and now stands at around 10 million.

Over 10 million people joined the social media app within seven hours of its July 5 launch, according to Zuckerberg.

Threads became the most downloaded non-game app on its first day in a decade, as per the market intelligence data provider Sensor Tower, and surpassed 100 million users, before its downfall began.

Meanwhile, Meta has announced new features to Threads, including the ability to directly share posts in Instagram direct messages (DMs), a mention button and more.

--IANS

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Press Release

August 22, 2023 KEYNOTE SPEECH SEN. LOREN LEGARDA

TESDA 29th Founding Anniversary

22 August 2023 | SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City Isang mapagpalang araw sa ating lahat! It is with great honor and pride that I join you today to celebrate a remarkable milestone - the 29th Founding Anniversary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, better known as TESDA. I would like to greet our new Director General, DG Suharto T. Mangudadatu, the local government of Mandaluyong City led by Hon. Benjamin Abalos, Sr. represented by Chief of Staff and former councilor Charisse Marie Abalos, Mr. Steven Tan, President of SM Supermalls, our Deputy Director Generals: DDG Rosanna Urdaneta, DDG Aniceto John Bertiz; and DDG Vidal Villanueva, executive directors, regional directors, and the TESDA family. For nearly three decades, TESDA has been at the forefront of empowering citizens, developing communities, and pushing economic progress through quality technical education and skills training. This has been the product of partnerships and collaboration between the government and the private sector. We are allies in our pursuit of changing the culture around tech-voc. It must not be seen just as mere alternatives to the general forms of education, nor as occasional necessities to earn more. Rather, we must look at it as a legitimate and empowering track in pursuit of success and lifetime dreams. In 2021, when I was bestowed the National TESDA Kabalikat Award, it acknowledged our hard work in the various programs we pushed for in our home province of Antique: Barangay Kabuhayan Skills Training Program (BKSTP), Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), and Special Training for Employment Program (STEP), all under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) benefitting over 18,000 Antiqueno trainees since 2016. Nationwide, our efforts to support TESDA have benefited over 110,794 grantees since 2016. When we passed the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, we made sure that access to tertiary education included those in the technical-vocational sector. During my terms as Senator and Representative of the Lone District of Antique, we always made sure that there is sufficient funding for this effort. Last year, we produced 1,231,284 graduates in TVET. Hopefully, we produce more. When we sponsor once again the budget of TESDA in the Senate, we will make sure that there is appropriate allocation to address key challenges in the employment sector. One of the first bills I filed in my fourth term is Senate Bill No. 6, the bill which seeks to create the Department of Technical Education, Training and Certification. We filed this measure to strengthen the role of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as the leading partner in the development of the Filipino workforce. I have always believed that skills development is a crucial part of citizen empowerment which is why we passed the law establishing livelihood and skills training centers in the fourth, fifth, and sixth-class municipalities to open employment opportunities, combat poverty and improve the quality of life of the Filipinos through Republic Act No. 9509, also known as the Barangay Livelihood and Skills Training Act of 2008. Ultimately, I want to thank the educators, trainers, teachers, staff, and all those who have devoted their time and expertise to nurturing talents. You are the building blocks of our nation's success in TVET. Maraming salamat po sa inyong sakripisyo! I also congratulate you for keeping up with the call of the times. I am glad that the TESDA Online Program (TOP) has been revolutionizing e-learning for technical vocational education and training (TVET). In 2022, the TOP achieved remarkable milestones with a total of 4,409,598 registered users, 5,097,785 enrollments, and 3,220,912 course completions. The world is changing at a rapid pace - technology, automation, and digitalization are reshaping industries and demanding new skill sets. TESDA must be at the center of this. Our businesses and industries must connect with our educational institutions to assess, plan, and strategize our approach to providing quality technical-vocational education. Finally, I want to envision TESDA expanding even further - where every Filipino has the opportunity to acquire the skills and tools, they need to pursue their dreams and contribute to national progress. Upskilling and reskilling must be an option that is available to all. We must transform lives beyond the limitations of social and economic boundaries. TESDA has a large role to play in answering the demands of the labor sector and in shaping a labor force that is responsive, fit, and adaptive. As you launch your new slogan, "Sa TESDA, Lingap ay Maaasahan," may you always remember that public service is at the heart of TESDA. May you remember the faces of those who graduated and were able to put food on the table because we extended our reach and areas of training. May this be your guiding principle when you implement the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan (NTESDP) 2023-2028 - TESDA is more than just a government agency; it is a reliable partner in nation-building, serving the needs of our people. Happy 29th Founding Anniversary TESDA! Salamat sa halos tatlong dekada ng serbisyo at kalinga sa manggagawang Pilipino! Cheers to a future with endless possibilities and to a TESDA that is for the people! Maraming salamat po!
ALDI is opening in Enterprise Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. and the public is invited to the newest retail store in the Enterprise Shopping Center.
New Delhi: Congress Party leader Jairam Ramesh addresses during a press conference at Aicc Headquarter in New Delhi on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS). Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Congress on Tuesday slammed the BJP-led Central government, accusing it of sending an Intelligence Bureau (IB) team to Haryana-based Ashoka University amid the controversy surrounding professor Sabayasachi Das' research paper. The party said "the government is only proving the point of murder of democracy".

In a tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "By sending the Intelligence Bureau after an academic in a premier private university -- for analysing with evidence democratic backsliding in India -- the Narendra Modi-led Central government is only proving the point about the murder of democracy in India. Truly unprecedented."

He also attached a news report with his tweets.

His remarks came after a team of Intelligence Bureau knocked on the doors of the Ashoka University, just two days ahead of the deadline by the faculty members to accept their demands to not interfere in their work and to address the issue concerning Professor Das by August 23.

Sources at the university campus told IANS that a team of IB sleuths had arrived at the varsity campus to look for Das. The source said that they wanted to meet Das, whose research paper suggesting voter manipulation in 2019 elections sparked a controversy.

However, the IB sleuths were informed by the varsity officials that Das is on leave.

Following the conversation, the IB officials wished to meet other faculty members at the Economics Department.

Das had resigned from the university earlier this month, after which professor Pulapre Balakrishnan too resigned in protest over acceptance of his resignation.

Several departments of the varsity including Economics, Sociology and Anthropology and Political Science have extended their solidarity to Das, demanding his reinstation immediately.

As many as 320 economists from 91 universities across the country have extended their support to Das, urging the varsity to immediately reinstate him.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : In a significant development in connection with the DRDO espionage case involving a former Navy commander and a freelance journalist, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Canadian citizen, a source said on Tuesday.

A well-placed source told IANS that the accused has been identified as Rahul Gangal.

"Freelance journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi was previously arrested on May 17 for possessing sensitive documents related to DRDO. Later, former Navy commander Ashish Pathak was also apprehended for assisting Raghuvanshi. During the investigation, it was discovered that Gangal was supplying sensitive documents to Raghuvanshi," the CBI source said.

The source further revealed that Gangal had acquired Canadian citizenship and had been residing there.

Subsequently, the CBI learned that Gangal had returned to India on August 19.

After verifying his address, the CBI arrested him during a raid.The CBI team also conducted a search operation at his residence, leading to the recovery of classified documents.

The CBI filed a charge sheet in this case on July 12. The probe agency registered the case on December 9, 2022, under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), after receiving a complaint from the DRDO.Raghuvanshi allegedly shared classified DRDO information with foreign intelligence agencies, including Pakistan.

"Raghuvanshi was involved in the illegal collection of sensitive information. He gathered minute details about DRDO defense projects and their progress, as well as sensitive information regarding future procurement by the Indian armed forces, which revealed the strategic preparedness of the country.

"He also shared classified communications and information related to national security, as well as details of India's strategic and diplomatic discussions with friendly nations, with foreign intelligence agencies," stated the CBI.
Jaipur, Aug 22 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday visited the Sainik School in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh where he had studied.

The Vice President was invited by the Sainik School to visit there.

School Principal Col. Soumyabrat Dhar and Vice Principal Lt. Col. Parul Srivastava welcomed the Vice President.

He was given a Guard of Honour.

He also went to the house of 86-year-old HS Rathi, who was his school teacher and housemaster, living in Shastri Nagar, one and a half km from the school. The Vice President touched his feet.

Rathi blessed and hugged him. Rathi's wife also blessed Dhankhar.

The Vice President returned to Sainik School after meeting his teacher. He also visited the hostel and the room where he had stayed.

Later, while interacting with the students, he told them after after joining the school, he told the teachers that he was a smart boy but did not know English.

"This is where the change in my life started. I came to know about EncyclopAdia Britannica in just 2 years. I already knew who Picasso was. Here, everyone gave me good education," he added.

The Vice President said that "my real birth or rebirth took place in Sainik School, Chittorgarh".

"Whatever I am today, the credit goes to Sainik School and my teachers. I salute this soil. I am proud that I have been a student of Sainik School, Chittorgarh. This school is one of the best educational institutions in India," he added.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Education Minister Atishi and Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday visited IIM Kozhikode to interact with the principals undergoing training.

Delhi government has sent a group of MCD school principals to IIM Kozhikode.

Atishi said, "Just like Delhi government schools, MCD schools too will witness an education revolution soon. All these MCD school principals will become torchbearers of this revolution. They are the hope for a brighter future for lakhs of children studying in MCD schools."

Atishi said that a principal is a vital part of any school. "By observing a principal's behavior and approach to work, one can gauge the quality of the school."

Mayor Shelly Oberoi said that quality education is the highest priority for the Kejriwal government in the MCD as well.

"As part of initiative, we are providing training to our principals from renowned institutions both nationally and internationally. This will enable them to apply the knowledge gained from the training to improve their schools. The training from IIM in this regard will prove to be highly effective, and we will make MCD schools world-class through this effort," Atishi said.

Prior to this, the first group was sent to IIM Ahmedabad for school leadership and management training.
Ahmedabad, Aug 22 : Gujarat Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani on Tuesday said that the BJP government has failed to such an extent that their own voters are cutting fingers.

"The BJP government has failed to such an extent that today one of their voters cut his own finger in Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra to focus the attention of the administration and the government," Mevani wrote on X.

In a startling act of self-mutilation, Dhananjay Nanavare (43), of Maharashtra's Satara district chopped off his own finger on camera, aiming to draw attention to the alleged negligence concerning the tragic suicide of his brother and sister-in-law.

Mevani said that Nanavare has said that till justice is not done, he will continue to cut each part of his body and send it to the government.

In the viral video, Nanavare accused a minister of involvement in the case and announced his intention to progressively self-mutilate until his demands are met.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday lashed out at the Karnataka government and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for announcing the scrapping of the National Education Policy (NEP) in the state from the next academic year, underlining that the government should not play with future of the younger generation.

Speaking to reporters here, Pradhan said, "What kind of politics do you (Congress government in Karnataka) want to play? I would like to appeal to him (Shivakumar) to let politics take its own course, but one should not play with the future of the younger generation. Now India is in a position for bigger scientific achievements like the Chandrayaan mission. I am again appealing to my friends that there should not be politics (over NEP)."

"Yesterday, Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar made an announcement to scrap the National Education Policy. I want to tell my friend Shivakumar ji that the facts are wrong, and your statement is mischievous, regressive. The National Education Policy was not implemented from 2021, it was implemented from 2020," he said.

He also termed the NEP as a visionary philosophical document prepared by the educationists of this country.

"It is not a political document. It is a philosophical document for 21st century. What kind of message do you want to give to the youngsters of the country, especially in your own state Karnataka," Pradhan questioned.

He added: "What kind of politics are they doing? Do they not want early childhood education and care system to be implemented in Karnataka from the age of three? Do they not they want localised play-based learning for our children?"

"Do they not want our children to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by the time they complete grade three? Do they oppose education in Kannada language? My dear friend Shivakumar is opposing Kannada language, which is accommodated in NEP," Pradhan said.

He also asked if the Karnataka government is opposed to children learning about new and emerging technologies of the 21st century as recommended by the NEP?

"Do they not want relevant textbooks for 21st century education? Do they not want education which is multi-disciplinary, giving equal emphasis to science, language, social science, arts and sports," the minister asked.

"Do they want exams like NEET, CET and JE to be conducted in Indian languages, in Kannada? Is Shivakumar opposing Kannada language entrance examination," he said.
Kochi, Aug 22 : The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Kerala on Tuesday suffered a jolt after the High Court directed the construction of the party offices in Idukki be immediately stopped if found to be in violation of the Revenue Department's orders.

The court said this while considering a petition pertaining to Munnar, a popular hill station in the state's Idukki district.

The order was passed on being informed of the construction of party offices at Bison Valley and Shantanpara, in alleged violation of the Revenue Department's orders.

There was also a complaint against the CPI-M, claiming the party was constructing its local committee office at Santhanpara in violation of the Land Assignment Rules, and despite the issuance of two 'stop memos' by the Village Officer, the construction activities continued.

The Kerala High Court now directed the Idukki District Collector to ensure that the construction is stopped forthwith, if the same is found to be in violation of the orders.

The Court also directed the district police chief to provide necessary assistance to the District Collector to stop the construction.
Kolkata, Aug 22 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced enhancement in funds for Durga Puja committees by Rs 10,000 for each community puja committee.

Each committee this year will receive Rs 70,000 as compared to Rs 60,000 in the previous year. Last year too, the Chief Minister enhanced the amount to Rs 60,000 from the previous figure of Rs 50,000.

The additional bonus announced by the Chief Minister this year for these community puja committees will be government advertisements at attractive rates from the state industries and commerce and state tourism departments for each of these community puja organisers. This will be in addition to the electricity bill relief which they enjoy every year.

Meanwhile, state finance department sources said that currently there are around 40,000 community Puja committees in the state out of which 3,000 are within the periphery of Kolkata and the remaining are in the districts.

"So paying Rs 70,000 to each of these committees will mean a straight-away drain-out of Rs 280 crore from the state exchequer. Now if expenditure of accounts of government advertisements and electricity bill relief are added, the actual drain-out from the state exchequer will be easily Rs 350 crore or even more," a state finance department official said.

However, the Chief Minister has her own justifications on this count. "Durga Puja is not just a festival. It is also a huge business opportunity providing income to lakhs of people directly or indirectly associated with the festival. A huge market of around Rs 60,000 crore is being created over this festival every year," the Chief Minister said justifying the decision to enhancement of the funds.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Customs officials at the Bengaluru airport on Tuesday rescued 234 wild animals, including pythons, chameleons, iguanas, turtles, alligators, and a baby kangaroo, and arrested a man in this connection.

According to a senior Customs official, the accused, who arrived from Bangkok on Monday,was detained based on profiling.

The official said that unfortunately, they couldn't save the baby kangaroo.

"The baby kangaroo recovered from the accused died. We couldn't save him," an official said.

The accused was held when he was crossing the green channel and heading towards the exit gate of the international arrival area. Upon inspection, the passenger was found to be carrying wild animals concealed in a trolley bag.

Subsequently, an unclaimed bag from the same flight was discovered which also contained wild animals.

In total, 234 wild animals, including pythons, chameleons, iguanas, turtles, alligators and a baby kangaroo, were found concealed in the two trolley bags. Some of these animals are listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The accused has been placed under arrest in accordance with Section 104 of the Customs Act, and the rescued wild animals have been seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act.
Sonepat : , Aug 22 (IANS) A team from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) knocked on the doors of Ashoka University, ahead of the August 23 deadline set by the faculty members for the varsity authorities demanding non-interference in their work and to address the issue concerning assistant professor Sabyasachi Das.

The development came days after Das resigned from the university following the latter's attempt to investigate his research paper titled 'Democratic Backsliding in the World's Largest Democracy'.

IANS spoke to sources inside the university campus on the day's development. A student responded in affirmation about the IB team's visit, but the university officials remained tight-lipped on this. The university is yet to issue an official statement.

Das had resigned from the university earlier this month, after which professor Pulapre Balakrishnan too had stepped down in protest over the acceptance of Das' resignation.

Several departments of the university, including economics, sociology, anthropology and political science, have extended their support to Das, demanding to reinstate him immediately.

Noted astrophysicist and Ashoka University VC Somak Raychaudhury is in constant conversation with the faculty members who have come out in protest. While these internal discussions are ongoing, the IB's involvement adds a new twist to this row and is likely to cause further resentment from the academia.

As many as 320 economists from 91 universities across country too have extend their support to Das, demanding the varsity to immediately reinstate him.

The Department of Economics had expressed its disappointment over the acceptance of Das' resignation, and had written an open letter to the governing body of the varsity saying the aahastyaa acceptance has ruptured their faith.

The faculty members had also demanded that the university must ensure that its governing body does not interfere in their work and urged it to address the issue concerning Das by August 23.

Even Balakrsihana in his resignation letter wrote, "I have resigned from my position based on my belief that there was a grave error of judgment in the response to the attention received by Dasa paper on social media. Academic freedom was violated in the response, and it would be unconscionable for me to remain (in the post)."

He also said that he has news that the governing body has decided to invite Das to return to the post from which he had resigned, and If this is correct, "I appreciate the gesture, if not, I would request you as leaders of this community to consider doing just that".

In his letter to Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor and professor of history at Ashoka University, and Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder and Trustee of the university, Balakrishnan said, "I write to you as the dust settles at least a bit on the recent turmoil at our university. News is that the governing body has decided to invite young Sabyasachi Das to return to the post from which he had resigned. If this is correct, I appreciate the gesture. If not, I would request you as leaders of this community to consider doing just that."

Faculty members in the university had earlier written a letter to the varsity administration flagging concerns over academic freedom in the institution.

On August 15, in the wake of the resignation of Das and members of faculty writing to him for the formation of a committee for academic freedom, Vice Chancellor Raychaudhary had assured all the members that measures are now being taken to form the committee and they have his full support to create it.
Sustainability, price and the role of the wine retailer - analysis

This summer, Prof Dr Simone Loose joined Richard Bampfield, MW and three other panellists at the 10th International Master of Wine Symposium in Wiesbaden, Germany to discuss the conflict between consumer demand for sustainability and for affordable wines. Here, Loose reports on the key findings from the discussion

It is well documented that wine producers are paying increasing attention to the sustainability of their business and that consumers are ever more demanding of the sustainable credentials of products they are buying. But what about the link between the two, the retailer and the consumer? How are retailers balancing the potential conflict between conscience and price? And how are they working with the supply chain to ensure that their own sustainability goals can be met?

The Wine Retailer session featured panellists who discussed the future role of the wine retailer as an intermediary between the wine producer and the wine consumer. The session highlighted several examples of how wine retailers are already taking responsibility for communicating environmental attributes to consumers and successfully engaging with sustainable producers.

Green choice

Marcus Ihre, sustainability manager at Systembolaget in Sweden, presented the data-driven approach taken by the Swedish monopoly to define the level of demand for sustainably certified produce over consumers in the region, and assess the sustainability credentials of individual producers. Based on objective evidence from Systembolaget's own research and third-party certifiers, qualifying wines are highlighted on the shelf as a 'green choice'. These wines consistently sell more volume per listing, proving the success of the initiative, and an incentive for producers to meet the criteria to be listed as a green choice. According to Ihre, this data-driven approach has also encouraged sustainability certifiers to improve their audit criteria. The retailer's commitment has therefore had a positive ripple effect throughout the industry.

As a critical part of their sustainability strategy, the Nordic wine monopolies have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Ihre said: "We are well on our way and will carefully measure and evaluate our progress."

To achieve this goal, wine suppliers are encouraged to offer their products in packaging with a low carbon footprint. For example, glass bottles will only be allowed if they fall into the lightweight category and weigh no more than 420 grams per 75cl bottle.

Ingredient labelling

Doug Bell, senior principal of adult beverage innovation and product development for Whole Foods Market in the US highlighted how the pandemic had changed the mindset of his consumers. They started to ask more about what it meant for 'us' (society) as well as 'me' (the consumer).

According to Bell, ingredients have recently been a major concern for many products at Whole Foods, and their focus is now on monitoring and labelling ingredients in wine. He made it clear that the wine industry needs to change and respond with transparent ingredient labelling because consumers want to know what they are consuming. Whole Foods is also trialling alternative packaging and is confident that its more innovative consumers will embrace paper bottles, even at higher price points.

This contradicts the findings of the ProWein Business Report, that I presented at the symposium. My findings indicate most retailers are still reluctant to offer consumers the choice of alternative wine packaging, even though they are convinced that consumers would accept it. The research indicates strong country differences, with Nordic European countries leading the way and Central European German-speaking countries lagging behind.

Judy Chan, president of Grace Vineyards in China, confirmed the challenge of convincing Chinese consumers new to wine to accept alternative packaging. The perception of quality conveyed by heavy bottles is still very important in China, she said. One reason for this is that wine in China is mainly consumed in social settings and as a gift.

Chinese wine producers are currently focusing on alternative energy production through solar and wind power, as well as water conservation, opposed to potentially devaluing their product in the eyes of the consumer, by reducing bottle weight.

In the closing discussion, the panel made it clear that it is a joint effort by wine producers and retailers to make it easy for consumers to buy sustainable wine. Only through close collaboration and communication along the entire supply chain, from wine producer to retailer to consumer, will the industry be able to achieve sustainability.

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New Delhi, August 22 : The Lakshadweep administration on Tuesday pressed for vacation of an interim order passed by the Supreme Court staying its decision to omit meat and chicken from the menu of mid-day meals.

A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar was told by Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj that exclusion and inclusion of items from the menu of the mid-day meal scheme should be best left to the government, being a policy matter.

The UT administration had told the Supreme Court that omitting meat and chicken from the menu of mid-day meals, and inclusion of fruits and dry fruits is perfectly in tune with the objectives of the mid-day meal scheme.

aIn Lakshadweep, meat and chicken are normally part of the regular menu in almost all families. On the other hand, consumption of fruits and dry fruits is very less among the islanders. Therefore, omitting meat and chicken from the menu of mid-day meals, and inclusion of fruits and dry fruits, is perfectly in tune with the objectives of the mid-day meal scheme," it had told the top court through its written submissions.

It added that the nutritional requirements of children will be met by such modification, which is in keeping with the objectives of the mid-day meal guidelines.

A special leave petition was filed in the Supreme Court by a resident of Lakshadweep against a Kerala High Court judgment passed in September 2021, dismissing a plea challenging the decision of the Lakshadweep administration.

The PIL challenged the administration's decision to shut down dairy farms along with the omission of meat from the menu of mid-day meals in schools on the Lakshadweep islands.

In an interim direction passed in May last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Lakshadweep administration to continue including non-vegetarian food items in the mid-day meals for school children.

The top court posted the plea for further consideration, including the hearing on the question of vacation of interim relief, for September 13.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The interrogation of the suspended Delhi officer Pramoday Khakha (51), who had held the position of deputy director in the WCD department, has revealed that he drugged the minor victim before reportedly subjecting her to sexual assault, sources said on Tuesday.

The accused, Khakha, stands accused of repeatedly raping the girl between November 2020 and January 2021.

The victim, who was just 14 years old at the time, is said to have suffered the initial assault on October 31, 2020, after being drugged, as disclosed by sources familiar with the matter.

The victim, who is currently a student in Class 12, recently shared her ordeal with a counselor at St. Stephen's Hospital where she had been admitted due to an anxiety attack.

Subsequent to her disclosure, law enforcement acted on her complaint and initiated legal proceedings under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on August 13.

After a nine-day investigation, the alleged government officer was apprehended. The victim remains hospitalised and her condition is reported to be unstable due to the trauma she endured.

In a recent development, the suspended Delhi government official was remanded to one-day judicial custody by a local court. Additionally, his wife, Seema Rani, who has also been implicated in the case, was placed in judicial custody for a day on the preceding Monday.

Sources said that there is evidence to suggest the victim may have been subjected to further assaults by the accused individual. "We are currently in possession of his custody, and through interrogation, we hope to unearth additional details," a source said.

The victim was an adopted child who grappled with depression following the passing of her father on October 1, 2020. In an attempt to provide her with a change of scenery, she spent several days at Premodya's residence, as per sources.

During the initial phase of questioning, the accused maintained vehemently that the accusations were entirely unfounded. He asserted that the victim's family had made multiple visits to his home, a claim that is currently under verification. The girl eventually returned to her own home alongside her mother in 2021, during a visit, as reported by sources.

Source said that when the victim disclosed about the incident with accused wife Seema, she faced blame-shifting, with Seema insinuating that the victim might have played a role in the situation. The victim also alleged that Seema had a strict demeanor and resorted to physical discipline when the girl's exam scores were less than satisfactory.

Subsequently, instances were noted where the alleged perpetrator encountered the victim at a church, leading to inappropriate physical contact. These encounters led the victim to withdraw from attending church services after July. The victim refrained from disclosing any of these occurrences to her mother, under the assumption that her mother would not believe her, as stated by the police

Earlier in the day, a CCTV footage obtained by Delhi Police has revealed that the accused tried to flee from his house along with his wife just hours before he was arrested.

The footage with a time stamp of 9.35 a.m. on Monday morning showed the accused and leaving their house in Shakti Enclave, Burari.

A police official said the couple were in touch with their lawyer and were on their way to seek anticipatory bail from a court.

But before they could do so, Khakha and his wife were arrested.

The girl told the police that between October 2020 and February 2021, when she was with her "guardian" who lived in Burari, she was raped several times.

An FIR of rape read with sections of the POCSO Act was lodged against the accused and his wife.

Also on Monday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had passed the order to suspend Khakha.

According to the police, when the victim got pregnant, she was threatened with dire consequences by the accused.

When she narrated the ordeal to Khakha's wife, she sent her son to buy abortion pills, which were given to the victim.
Ambulance stopped in Patna to make way for Nitish's convoy. Image Source: IANS News

Patna, Aug 22 : A video of Patna Police stopping an ambulance to make way for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's convoy which was passing through the Gaighat circle of the city even as the patient's kin kept pleading with the police personnel to let their vehicle pass has gone viral on social media on Tuesday.

The incident is said to have happened on Sunday.

The police personnel did not allow that ambulance to go towards PMCH until the convoy passed.

Nitish Kumar on Sunday went to Patna's 'Marine Drive' for the inspection of work that is underway for the third phase of the project.

He inaugurated the second phase of marine drive from PMCH to Gaighat on August 14.

The construction of the third phase from Gaighat to Didarganj having a distance of 8 km is currently underway and it is expected to be completed till December this year.

Meanwhile, Patna Police have been criticised, with some calling the incident "an inhuman act".

As per the law in many countries, ambulances having patients need to be first provided a passage, and then let other vehicles pass.
Imphal, Aug 22 : Manipur government will start handing over prefabricated temporary houses to violence affected displaced people from Wednesday onwards, officials said on Tuesday.

Khumanthem Diana Devi, Deputy Commissioner of Imphal East District in an order said that the temporary shelter homes for the displaced families constructed at Sajiwa Jail Complex by Manipur Police Housing Corporation Ltd. would be handed over to the displaced families of Imphal East district on Wednesday by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.

The Manipur Chief Minister earlier announced that around 4,000 prefabricated temporary homes would be constructed in different districts for the people displaced in the ethnic violence, which broke out on May 3.

The prefabricated temporary homes are now being constructed in a war footing manner in different districts and within next month work of construction of all temporary homes would be completed.

Around 50,650 men, women and children of different communities were displaced in the violence and are now sheltered in 350 camps, set up in schools, government buildings and auditoriums.

Over 12000 people belonging to the Kuki-Zo-Zomi-Chin community have taken shelter in neighbouring Mizoram.

At least 160 people have been killed and over 6000 injured since ethnic violence between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Koki-Zo community broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2019 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is pictured at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 26, 2019. Trump announced on Friday that the United States is withdrawing from an international arms tra. Image Source: IANS News

Washington, Aug 22 : Former US President Donald Trump was granted a consent bond bail of $200,000 after his lawyers successfully negotiated the bond with conditions in the Georgia election meddling case, as Trump announced he would surrender before the court Thursday latest.

Media reports in the US, however, saw the bond secured by Trump as a great transformation from the "world's most powerful man to criminal defendant, four times indicted, as he steals for another indignity unthinkable in White House years".

What does the consent bond mean for Trump?

Trump under the consent bond has to show up as a defendant and pay the amount ordered by the judge as a collateral to ensure he shows up for the required court appearance as sought by Fulton County District Attorney Fan Willis, who had set a deadline of Friday for the ex-President and his 18 co-defendants to turn themselves in to be booked.

The bond stipulates that none of the defendants led by Trump plan to flee the country, or orchestrate another series of misdemeanours or conspiracy to stop the court proceedings or intimidate the witnesses appearing before the court, reports said.

While Trump might think that the spectacle of his surrendering to be booked at the Atlanta Jail as moved by the DA Fan Willis on 41 counts of felony and charged under Georgia's unique RICO ACT (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act) will play out well for public sympathy before his Republican supporters, a section of the US media thinks otherwise.

The spectacle of Trump being paraded and booked at an Atlanta jail, to take place Thursday, only "underscores the outlandish circumstances of a former and possibly future president facing multiple criminal trials", CNN and other media outlets said.

Trump's arrival at Atlanta, which is sure to generate a huge media circus, will, however, trample any breakout moments by his adversaries in the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.

Trump is virtually snubbing the event as he works double time to overshadow, playing on his renowned theatrics of his own processing as a criminal defendant in a case that alleges he and 18 others tried to steal the 2020 election, reports said.

Following Trump's announcement, both John Eastman, counsel, and Georgia bail bondsman, Scott Hall, surrendered before the Fulton County jail in Atlanta and were booked under the charges laid out in the 4th indictment of election interference. Scott's bail was set at $10,000.

Trump has successfully overturned his humiliation from his previous three indictments into real meat for his 2024 presidential campaign, the 3rd time he is seeking to sit in the White House, that he's a victim of political persecution.

But his treatment in Georgia, including mugshots and fingerprints like any ordinary man accused of a serious crime, will show how the fourth case is different that could eventually imperil him and dent his larger than life image. The cash bond is certainly not anything to leverage on, reports said.

"Despite the fact that we have seen this before, there is no denying the historic nature of it," Norm Eisen, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama on ethics and government reform, told CNN.

The Georgia indictment is troublesome as any powers to freeze proceedings or even pardon himself, if he were to be elected President in 2024, can operate only if he is convicted in federal cases. The sweeping indictment brought by Fani Willis, a Democrat, would be beyond his reach, legal pundits said.

Trump's bond agreements are considerably tougher than the minimal conditions imposed by a federal court in Washington, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, and under a federal judge in Florida  in three separate cases to which Trump has pleaded not guilty, reports said .

Under the bond negotiated by his counsels, Trump has had to agree to make no threats on social media against co-defendants, witnesses and the 30 unindicted co-conspirators, CNN said in a report.

Trump worsened his own cause when he warned on his Truth Social network that Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia, "shouldn't" testify to the grand jury that eventually indicted him. Duncan is a Republican.

Employees in the sheriff's office at Fulton County that will process Trump on Thursday have faced threats to themselves and their homes from his supporters, CNN said.

Conditions laid out in Trump's bond indicate that Willis and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who oversaw his bond agreement, have watched Trump's behaviour in this and other cases. The former president has excoriated special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted him twice, on social media and in speeches. He has also criticised others who charged him on Truth Social. A Texan woman sent a voicemail to Judge Tanya Chutkan that she would kill her if she jailed trump.
Washington, Aug 22 : US President Joe Biden will visit India from September 7-10 for the annual meeting of the G-20, which India is hosting as the chair, and he will use the opportunity to put forward a "value proposition" on the modernisation of the multilateral development banks such as the World Bank in a bid to reassure the global south.

"We have heard loud and clear that countries want us to step up our support in the face of the overlapping challenges they face," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on a news conference call, announcing President Biden's visit.

He added: "So as we continue to extend critical support to Ukraine, we're going to be delivering for the rest of the world as well."

Biden's upcoming visit will be his first to India as US President; he was there last a decade ago in 2013 as the Vice President, when he had met then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

This time, he will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Washington in July as the state guest of the American President; a White House state dinner was the highlight of the visit.

Sullivan said Biden will also engage in bilateral meetings while in India, which would be announced closer to the visit. The big question is if he will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman? Will he have so-called chance encounters with other world leaders that have not been on really good terms with the American President, such as Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, if the two leaders attend the summit in person.

"Along with our G-20 partners, he'll discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues from the clean energy transition and combating climate change to mitigating the economic and social impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine to increasing the capacity of the multilateral development banks including the World Bank to better fight poverty and take on the significant transnational challenges that are afflicting countries across the world," Sullivan said of Biden's upcoming visit.

The National Security Advisor said that President Biden "really wants" to use the G-20 visit "as an opportunity for the United States and like-minded partners to bring forward a value proposition, particularly countries of the global south. And really focus a lot of his energy while he is there on the modernisation of the multilateral development banks including the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund)".

He went on to say, "We have heard loud and clear that countries want us to step up our support in the face of the overlapping challenges they face. So as we continue to extend critical support to Ukraine, we're going to be delivering for the rest of the world as well."

The United States views these multilateral banks as a way to offer an alternative to China's "coercive and unsustainable lending through the Belt and Road Initiative".

"We need to ensure that there are high standard, high leverage solutions to the challenges countries are facing and a way to get the most bang for our buck is through the World Bank and the IMF, which are highly effective and transparent international financial institutions that were founded on and continue to embody US leadership," Sullivan said.

"So President Biden has been committed to fundamentally reshaping and scaling up the World Bank to more effectively deliver both poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth, while also addressing global challenges, from climate to migration. And to the recovery from Covid-19," he added.

The appointment of Ajay Banga as the President of World Bank was intended "precisely to make this vision a reality", he added.
Mumbai, Aug 22 : The trailer of the second season of the hit streaming show 'Scam' -- titled 'Scam 2003: The Telgi Story' -- was unveiled on Tuesday. It starts off with establishing the lead character of Abdul Karim Telgi through the curiosity and the dialogues of people.

The second season of the show tells the story of India's biggest stamp paper scam plotted by Abdul Karim Telgi, which shocked the nation with its unimaginable scale.

It then goes on to reveal the actor playing Abdul Karim Telgi -- Gagan Dev Riar -- as a dialogue exchange reminiscent of 'Guru' takes place - "Kya naam tha?", to which Riar replies, "Tha nahi madam Hai, Abdul Karim Telgi".

Telgi then explains what exactly is a stamp paper and it's importance in the Indian economy as he says, "Agar desh ki arthvyavashta kuber khazana hai toh stamp paper uski chabi hai", as a Garba tune plays in the background.

There are some compelling dialogues in the trailer, and the one that stands out is, "Saving saccount mein confidence jama kiya hai maine, cash bhi aa jaayega."

Telgi was a convicted counterfeiter, who started his counterfeiting career by making fake passports. He then started a business to export manpower to Saudi Arabia and opened a company.

For the same, he used to create several fake documents that would facilitate labourers' smooth passage at the airport even if their passport had an emigration check required stamp or other issues that could raise red flags for immigration officials.

Telgi moved to more complex counterfeiting when he began to counterfeit stamp paper. He appointed 300 people as agents who sold the fakes to bulk purchasers, including banks, insurance companies, and stock brokerage firms.

The show, which was earlier scheduled to release on September 2, is now arriving a day early on September 1 on Sony LIV.
Patna, Aug 22 : A man in Bihar's Saharsa district was shot at on Tuesday following a dispute during a dinner party.

The incident occurred at Korlaha village under the Shalakhua police station area in the district. The victim has been identified as Sunil Kumar, who sustained a gunshot injury on his stomach and has been admitted to a private nursing home where his condition is said to be critical.

The accused has been identified as Dharmendra Ram, who is a neighbour of the victim.

The police said that Sunil and Dharmendra had cooked mutton. While eating, they got involved in a verbal spat over some issue. The matter soon turned ugly and a large number of people from both sides assembled at the place.

During the chaos, Dharmendra shot Sunil on the stomach and fled from the spot.

The police are waiting for Sunil to recover to find out the exact reason behind the fight. A hunt is on to nab the accused.
Bengaluru: Sachin Pilot, Former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan along with KPCC President DK Shivakumar and other hold press conference at KPCC office in Bengaluru on Wednesday, September 01, 2021. . Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur, Aug 22 : Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Tonk MLA Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said the Congress is a party of workers rather than leaders, adding the party would win from Tonk in the upcoming Assembly elections by bagging more votes.

"The party workers helped in the formation of the Congress government in the state five years ago with their hard work... and we will again form the Congress government in the upcoming elections," Pilot said while addressing the Congress workers' conference organised in Tonk on Tuesday.

Pilot was given a warm welcome by the workers at many places on his way to Tonk.

Addressing the workers, Pilot said: "With your strength, the party won from Tonk with record votes in the last elections. We have tried to do more work than was possible in the last five years. During this time, many challenges like Covid-19 came to the fore.

Pilot further said that as elections are approaching, "many parties will come to you and will try to mislead you in the name of temple, mosque, caste, religion".

"We do not have to get involved in their words and maintain our brotherhood. That there are many people who spread hatred, but we have to work to open a shop of love and affection," he said.

Pilot also dedicated development work worth Rs 22.25 crore in the district.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Central government has moved an application in the Supreme Court seeking to alter the status quo undertaking given in relation to the release of genetically modified (GM) mustard for seed production and testing.

A bench comprising of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan was apprised on Tuesday that the oral undertaking was made in November 2022 in the specific context of the matter being listed for final hearing in the following week.

Earlier, the Centre had submitted an oral undertaking before the apex court, though not formally recorded in court's order, saying that it would not take any precipitative steps on the decision made by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) allowing the environmental release of the GM mustard.

Activist Aruna Rodrigues has opposed the environmental release of genetically modified mustard saying that that no one knows about the effect of GM mustard environmental release, which has the potential of contaminating all mustard seeds in the country.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan had stressed that the apex court's technical expert committee had recommended a moratorium of 10 years on field trials of BT transgenics, and in the final report, recommended an indefinite and complete ban on herbicide-tolerant crops.

On October 25, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee allowed the environmental release of GM mustard for seed production and testing.
Is boosting your product and customer experience high on the agenda this financial year? For thousands of Australian enterprises of all stripes and sizes, the answer is a resounding yes.

And rightly so. In 2023, customers are a discerning lot whose expectations of the suppliers with which they deal continue to rise. Businesses and consumers alike want responsive, seamless service, at every stage of the customer journey, and theyre all too quick to punish organisations which fail to deliver.

More than 50 per cent of consumers will reduce or cease their spending with a brand after a poor interaction, according to 2022 Qualtrics research. Organisations put 6.7 per cent of their revenue at risk, on average, when they lose customers due to poor experiences, the companys Global Consumer Study found.

In todays straitened times, thats a blow to the bottom line few businesses can afford to sustain.

CX comes to the B2B sector

Business buyers, too, expect to be attended to quickly and well. For many B2B suppliers, the Covid pandemic put paid to their traditional in-person sales models, forcing them to pivot to digital. While buyers havent been unhappy with the switch, with a surprising 43 per cent stating theyd prefer not to interact with a sales rep at all, according to Gartner, theyre not prepared to endure clunky, impersonal virtual service.

B2B selling in todays world must be digital and human. A carefully designed, richly immersive digital experience where youre accompanied by a seller rather than funnelled to one, should be the aim, according to Gartner Distinguished Vice President, Advisory, Brent Adamson.

Against that backdrop, its little surprise businesses are willing to spend big bucks to ensure theyre surprising and delighting consumers and business customers alike, every step of the way.

Billing experience is customer experience too

Well, almost every step of the way. While were seeing plenty of spending on digital projects elsewhere across the enterprise, too many businesses forget that revenue management contributes to, or detracts from, a positive customer experience  every bit as much as marketing, and customer and after sales service.

Its a critical touchpoint which can make or break the way customers think about an organisation.

Inaccurate, irregular or difficult to understand billing can lower their confidence and trust in your systems and processes  and in the standard of goods and services you sell. Conversely, issuing detailed accurate, on-time invoices sends a strong message that your business is professional and well managed. Customers perception of your offering is likely to be elevated as a result.

Tools to make the task easy

Thats why it pays to ensure your revenue management solution isnt an Achilles heel: a weakness that drags your otherwise strong, customer-centric operation down.

Implement a cloud solution that offers full quote to cash lifecycle support for whatever monetisation model, or models, your organisation has in place and this is unlikely to be an issue.

Instead, youll have a platform that enables you to generate accurate, up-to the-minute bills and implement new monetisation models with ease. If, for example, youre looking to switch from unit to usage-based pricing, or you want to allow customers to choose between the two, youll find doing so a straightforward matter.

Choose a revenue management platform which connects seamlessly with your CRM system and incorporates a sophisticated data analytics function and youll be able to monitor and manage your customer base and extract actionable insights that allow you to improve your offering too.

Amping up every aspect of your customer experience

In todays times, customer experience may well be the only thing that differentiates your organisation from competitors with similar product offerings and pricing structures. If youre looking to inspire confidence and trust in your enterprise, by elevating the quality of your interactions at every stage of the customer journey, investing in a robust, flexible revenue management platform is likely to prove a very good move.

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Chennai, Aug 22 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written a letter to the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister on Tuesday expressing solidarity with the people of that state who are suffering from natural calamities.

The state of Tamil Nadu also contributed an amount of Rs 10 crore to the relief work in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Stalin in his letter said, "I am deeply saddened by the loss and devastation caused by heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh. My thoughts are with all those who have been affected by the natural calamity. I extend the support of the people of Tamil Nadu to state of Himachal Pradesh and its people in these difficult times."

He said, "I am confident that under your leadership the state will recover and rebuild soon."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said that as a token gesture the Tamil Nadu government was contributing a sum of Rs 10 crore towards the relief works in the state.

"Please know that you have my full support of the state of Tamil Nadu and its people during this difficult time. If there is anything that we could assist in the recovery efforts, please do not hesitate to let me know," reads the letter.

He also commended the efforts of the Himachal Pradesh Government in reaching out to the affected people and extending emergency services in this hour of crisis.
New Delhi/Guwahati, Aug 22 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the state government's 1 crore 'Amrit Brikshya Andolan' (tree plantation movement) has received good response from the people and it has decided to involve more and more people so that it can exceed the set target on a single day.

In this regard, the Chief Minister while holding a meeting with Deputy Commissioners through video conferencing from the Assam House here, directed them to ensure that more and more people get involve in the massive plantation drive.

The Chief Minister also instructed the DCs to hold programmes in schools and institutions on Wednesday, the moment Chandrayaan 3 lands on the moon, a government official said.

Sarma asked them to make arrangements through installation of giant screens and TV sets for displaying the historic moment. He also directed to conduct essay competition following the successful moon mission, the official added.

The Chief Minister also directed the DCs to create sub districts following the delimitation by the Election Commission of India (ECI), he said.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Sarma said that the 100th Cabinet meeting will be held in Guwahati and after that the government will come up with a report card about all the decisions taken and the actions taken by it so far as their implementation are concerned.

He also exuded the optimism that the ongoing talks with the pro talks faction of the ULFA is going on in the right direction and said one of the demands of the outfit for protection of identity of indigenous people has been fulfilled following the demarcation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the wake of the delimitation exercise.

The Chief Minister did not specify any date for finalisation of the peace agreement with the pro talks faction of the ULFA.

On the possibility of bringing the ULFA (I) led by Paresh Baruah to the negotiation table, Sarma hoped that a day will dawn sooner or later when they would pick up the olive branch extended by the government.
Patna, Aug 22 : The Education Department in Bihar has refused to roll back the decision to hold the salary of the in-charge Vice-Chancellor and pro-VC of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University (BRABU) in Muzaffarpur and freeze its bank accounts despite objection from Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.

The Education Department has claimed that the state government supports all the universities with funds amounting to Rs 4,000 crore, and therefore the department has the right to seek accountability from the universities to know how and where the money of the taxpayers are spent.

A letter in this regard was issued from the office of Education Department Secretary Baidnath Prasad, dated August 21 (Letter No. 1785).

Governor Arlekar had turned down the Memo No. 1741 of the Education Department pertaining to Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University (BBABU) on August 18, a day after the department had issued the stop payment notice.

The Education Department issued a Memo (No. 1741) with the signature of Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Pathak on August 17, freezing the bank accounts of the university.

Following the move of Pathak, the Principal Secretary to Governor, Robert L. Chonthu, cancelled the notification of the Education Department within 24 hours. The Bihar Governor, who happens to be the Chancellor of all state universities by virtue of his chair, felt that the move of the Education Department is in violation of the Governor's rights.

The university has three accounts in SBI, PNB and Central Bank of India in Muzaffarpur. A separate letter in this regard has been sent from the Raj Bhavan to the managers of the respective banks to allow transactions to take place.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday accused the central government for depreciating the value of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar.

AAP Chief Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that it was a matter of great concern for the citizens that the value of the Indian currency falls yet again.

"Today, one dollar has reached 83.13 rupees. When PM Narendra Modi used to be chief minister of Gujarat and a dollar was evaluated to Rs 59, Modi vehemently criticised the then-ruling central government. Late Sushma Swaraj also said that when the value of the rupee drops, the country's prestige also diminishes. However, today, the BJP is acting as if it has nothing to do with it," she said.

She said that the demand for the Indian currency is continuously decreasing, as we are purchasing goods in large quantities from abroad. The value of the Indian rupee will only rise when India becomes a manufacturing hub, businesses are freed from the license raj, and the slogan of 'ease of doing business' proves to be true.

"People shouldn't seek pleasure in the rhetoric of 'we are doing better than Pakistan'. AAP firmly believes that we should compete with developed nations," she said.

She said that 1 USD is equal to 7.02 Chinese Yuan, while the value of 1 USD has reachedRs 83.13.

"This is the worst figure as far as the valuation of rupees against a dollar is concerned. This is alarming data which not only affects those who want to send their children abroad for higher studies but the daily lives of common Indians will also be impacted. Such deteriorating values have negative connotations towards the prestige of a nation," she said.
Jaipur, Aug 23 : Rajasthan Congress will soon get its new headquarters with facilities like cafeteria, gym, library etc., a party leader said on Tuesday.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state unit Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara, and Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal have been monitoring the project.

"In the new headquarters of the Congress, separate chambers will be made for the office bearers from the state president. Along with Congress, the headquarters of Youth Congress, NSUI, Mahila Congress, Seva Dal will also be in this new building.

"The offices of all the cells and departments of the Congress will be at one place in this headquarter. A mini museum related to the history of Congress will also be set up in the new headquarters," a Congress leader said on Tuesday.

The PCC building will be constructed in front of the new city park near Dravyavati river front in Mansarovar.

The foundation stone will be laid by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former President Rahul Gandhi.

The party has been planning to organise a rally of Rahul Gandhi and Kharge in Jaipur so that the foundation stone of the new party headquarters can be laid along with the start of the election campaign.

The new Congress office would be constructed at a cost of about Rs 80 crore.
New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi, V.K. Saxena, has referred to Assembly Speaker the Vigilance Department's request for granting prosecution sanction against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Model Town, Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, who is accused of allegedly demanding Rs 90 lakh bribe in lieu of securing AAP ticket to a woman aspirant from Ward No. 69, Kamla Nagar, during last year's MCD elections.

A complaint in this regard was lodged by the womanas husband, following which a case was registered.

"The Department of Vigilance has found that facts, both human as well as technical, which strongly indicated serious complicity of the MLA and other persons in this bribery case," said the L-G office.

The Vigilance Department has made a strong case against Tripathi in which there is mention of red-handed seizure of money and confirmatory statements by the other accused persons.

The CCTV footage at the house of Wazirpur AAP MLA Rajesh Gupta at about 1.30 a.m. on November 12, 2022 was noticed from where the complainant was seen leaving.

"The CCTV footage also indicates the arrival of Akhilesh Pati Tripathi at the residence of the Wazirpur MLA and staying there for a while. Three persons, including Tripathias brother-in-law Om Singh, Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey (PA of Tripathi), and Prince Raghuvanshi were arrested on November 16, 2022," the L-G office said.

Pandey was arrested from the residence of the complainant where he had gone to return the bribe money after the party ticket was denied to the complainantas wife.

Pandey was also found in the possession of an ID card issued by the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. Tripathias brother-in-law had his Aadahaar card which was bearing the address of the MLAas office.

All the arrested accused persons confessed during the investigation that Rs 33 lakh cash was given by Tripathi to return to the husband of the ticket aspirant.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered an FIR against Tripathi and three of his acquaintances on the complaint lodged by the husband of the woman aspirant under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act and the Indian Penal Code on November 15, 2022.

The ACB claimed that Tripathi was not cooperating with the investigation and did not answer properly the questions asked to him.

The name of Wazirpur AAP MLA Rajesh Gupta also cropped up during the investigation. It was alleged that Rs 20 lakh was paid to Gupta at the behest of Tripathi.

Ward No. 69, Kamla Nagar, for which the alleged bribe money was paid is located in the Assembly constituency of MLA Tripathi and his recommendation for candidature of the councillor's ticket was crucial.

The L-G, while referring the matter to the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly, noted that the Speaker is the competent authority to grant prosecution sanction in the present case, as the accused is a sitting MLA.

"The Supreme Court judgment in P.V. Narasimha Rao versus CBI (1998) case also held that the Speakeras sanction is needed for the prosecution of MPs and MLAs for offences committed under the POC Act as they are the public servants," the L-G office added.
Mumbai, Aug 22 : Mumbai police have apprehended a 47-year-old man, identified as Suresh Bhai Rathod, who was employed at a watch showroom, for his alleged involvement in a theft case involving luxury watches worth Rs 26 lakh.

The arrest was made on Monday from the suburban area in Gorai, according to an official statement.

The incident unfolded when Rathod was entrusted by his employer to deliver luxury watches valued at Rs 26 lakh to a customer on August 18. But instead of completing the delivery as assigned, the accused vanished along with the expensive timepieces, leaving behind a trail of missing valuables.

Upon receiving a formal complaint from the affected party, the Mumbai Police promptly launched an investigation and registered an FIR against Rathod. The police were able to trace Rathod to a hotel in Gorai, leading to his arrest.

The accused now faces charges under Section 408 of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to criminal breach of trust, along with other relevant provisions of the law.

The stolen watches, valued at Rs 26 lakh, have been successfully recovered by the police.
New Delhi, Aug 23 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged an FIR against a Mumbai-based firm and its directors for allegedly committing a bank loan fraud of Rs 269.29 crore in the name of Wind Mill Power Project at Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, an official said.

A senior CBI official said that they received a complaint in this connection from the Central Bank of India in 2021 against Varun Industries Ltd (VIL) and its directors Kiran Mehta, Kailash Agarwal and others for defrauding the bank to the tune of Rs 269.29 crore.

The firm approached the bank with a loan request in 2006 and it was declared an non-performing asset in 2012.

According to official information, the company executed loan and security documents for securing the credit facilities availed by it from a consortium of banks through its directors, including creation of charge on its current assets through hypothecation agreement of stock and its book debts and also created registered mortgage over the collateral securities offered by the company against the bank facilities.

"The company had availed various credit facilities from the Central Bank of India in a consortium led by the Indian Bank for a Wind Mill Power project at Jaisalmer. The company did not remit export payment received from sale of goods received under LC to meet the import leg of merchant transaction. The Merchant Trade LC was issued by the bank on the request of the company. The transactions under this head was dishonestly intended to siphon out the funds from the banking channel," said the FIR.

The bank has alleged in the FIR that during this it learned that the accused company borrowed an amount of nearly Rs 30 crore from SE Investment Ltd against pledge of shares and Rs 15 crore from IFCI Venture Capital Fund without taking NOC from a consortium of banks.

Forensic audit was conducted by the bank in 2012 and it was revealed that most of the sales turnover of the company was with Al Rad International Trading and White Impex General Trading LLC. AI Rad International Trading and White Impex General Trading LLC were having a distributor agreement with Varun Industries.

"Outstanding amount from AI Rad International Trading and White Impex General Trading LLC significantly increased year-on-year between 2009 and 2012 from Rs 165.69 crore (33.17crore +132.52 crore) to Rs 2233.37 crore and payments received from these buyers were Rs 78.61 crore (32.41crore + 46.20 crore) only during the same period i.e. during 2009-2012. These facts clearly show that these entities have been used as a conduit to siphon the funds out of banking channel with dishonest intention of not repaying the funds," said the forensic audit report.

The report also added that though Varun Industries Ltd raised bills for supplies made to UAE-based companies mentioned above but actually the consignment were sent to Hong Kong and 17 UAE-based companies.

The CBI said that as per the bank's complaint the accused company had discounted export bills, (obtained advance) against export bills sent for collection to its associate companies, namely Al Rad International Trading Est, UAE, and White Impex General Trading LLC, UAE, and did not honour the bills and later on wrote-off the same in its books.

It was also revealed that Varun Industries Ltd and its group companies were only supplying to these two UAE-based companies. The outstanding amount from these two companies significantly increased between 2009 and 2012.

"It is suspected that these entities have been used as a conduit to siphon the funds out of banking channel with dishonest intention of not repaying the funds. In domestic trade transactions, there were accommodative transactions and actual movements of goods had not happened between VIL and its local traders, as proof of supply of goods by way of lorry receipts were not submitted. That the inland LC opened by VIL were discounted at SICOM through a financial intermediary and credited to various small companies whose capability of meeting such large transaction is doubtful," the FIR said.
Patna, Aug 23 : Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Tuesday appealed to people to vote only for those who will lift the liquor ban in the state.

Addressing people at Mangrawa Mahadalit Tola village in Gaya district, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief said that liquor has been banned in the state since the last seven years, and only the poor people are getting penalised due to this law.

"Everyone knows that most IAS, IPS officers, doctors, builders, contractors, ministers, and political leaders consume liquor after 10 p.m., but they do not get penalszed. On the other hand, poor labourers who drink at the end of a hard day's work become criminals as they become easy targets for the police and the excise department," Manjhi said.

"The police and the excise officials chase the poor people and beat them up at Mangrawa Mahadalit Tola. I want to appeal to the people to vote for only those who will lift the ban on 'tari' (palm juice) and liquor," Manjhi said.

"Since the imposition of the liquor ban, over 5 lakh people have been arrested, of which 3.5 lakh are labourers or poor people. Liquor is also banned in Gujarat and Jharkhand, but such a situation never arises there," the HAM chief said.
Shoppers in US spend record $12.7 bn on Amazon Prime Day sales. Image Source: IANS News

Nagpur, Aug 23 : A group of people created ruckus at an office of Amazon India in Nagpur district of Maharashtra, police said.

In a viral video, a group of people seen shouting the slogan 'Vande Matram' ransacked an e-commerce office. The incident was reported at the Ganeshpeth area on Tuesday afternoon.

They were protesting against the sale of Pakistani flags and a book which allegedly hurts religious sentiments of Hindus on the e-commerce platform.

The protesters are said to be associated with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Later, a Nagpur-based MNS leader Chandu Lade reportedly wrote to Amazon India Limited, claiming that Pakistani flags were available for sale on its website.

He also claimed that the Amazon website sells a book titled 'Deadly Bhagavat Geeta' which 'denigrates' the Bhagavad Gita and sought its removal from the e-commerce platform.
As the August 28, 2023 deadline approaches, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is strongly emphasizing the vital role of businesses and government entities in fulfilling their reporting obligations through the Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) system.

This imperative call underscores the ATOs commitment to maintaining a level playing field across industries and ensuring equitable taxation practices.

The reporting requirement applies not only to businesses but also to government entities that engage in payments to contractors. The TPAR serves as a comprehensive tool to shed light on financial transactions and guarantee that all contributors fulfill their fiscal responsibilities. Assistant Commissioner Tony Goding from the ATO reiterates that while most businesses operate in good faith, failing to disclose payments to contractors or intentionally underreporting income can disrupt fair competition, placing honorable enterprises at a disadvantage. Goding further warns that such actions can attract heightened scrutiny from the ATO, leading to potentially adverse consequences.

Recent data unveiled by the Taxable Payment Reporting System revealed that nearly 1.1 million contractors received a collective sum of approximately $400 billion during the previous fiscal year. Goding underscores the pivotal role of the TPAR as a singular component within the ATOs multifaceted strategy to unearth concealed income and ensure ethical conduct across compliant businesses. He elucidates that the ATO utilizes various aspects of the TPAR to identify indicators of noncompliance, such as omitted income, lack of tax returns or activity statements, exaggerated GST credits, and misuse of Australian business numbers.

The reporting requirement extends to businesses encompassing the building and construction sector, as well as those offering cleaning, courier, road freight, information technology, security, investigation, or surveillance services. If these businesses have made payments to contractors associated with these services, they are legally obligated to submit a TPAR.

The ATO has recently issued over 16,000 penalties to businesses that neglected their TPAR obligations for preceding years, despite repeated reminders. The average penalty, standing at approximately $1,110, underscores the growing challenge for businesses to evade tax responsibilities, particularly through cash transactions. The TPAR furnishes the ATO with essential pieces of data, allowing the agency to assemble a comprehensive picture of suspicious activities.

Godings message is unequivocal: businesses that engage in noncompliance or partake in cash-in-hand transactions face heightened scrutiny as the ATO intensifies efforts to combat shadow economy practices. The persistent drain of the shadow economy, responsible for an estimated $12.4 billion annual loss in tax revenue, remains a substantial concern.

Goding emphasizes that accountability is inescapable, cautioning that businesses involved in undisclosed cash transactions will inevitably face inquiries from the ATO, accompanied by penalties. He underscores that the question is not whether, but when.

A recent case further underscores the efficacy of the TPAR. A cleaning company deliberately omitted information from their tax return, with a sole trader reporting only $6,892 in income from government allowances and excluding any business-related earnings or expenses. However, TPAR data unveiled substantial payments exceeding $80,000 from three distinct companies. A subsequent audit verified the absence of activity statements and the concealment of payments. Consequent actions included adjustments to the tax return and imposition of penalties.

In closing, Goding reiterates the significance of each tax dollar, highlighting that evaded funds, secured through unscrupulous practices, directly impact essential services such as healthcare and aged care. The TPAR program stands as a formidable defense against the shadow economy, salvaging billions of dollars from potential losses.

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Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong (R) enjoys egg coffee at a cafe in Hanoi, Aug. 22, 2023. Photo by VNA

Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong took a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi on Tuesday and enjoyed a cup of egg coffee at one of the capital's oldest cafes.

Wong, who is in Vietnam for a four-day trip, walked with Chef Sam Tran who introduced the history of the lake, a tourism symbol of the capital.

They then visited Dinh Coffee on the second floor of a small building at 13 Dinh Tien Hoang Street in Hoan Kiem District, one of the oldest cafes in Hanoi.

Wong tried a cup of egg coffee, a specialty that has gained international attention in recent years.

A cup of egg coffee starts with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom, and then topped with strong black coffee. A scrambled egg yolk is then poured over the top.

Wong shook hands with the cafe owner and learned about the coffee culture in the capital.

Wong was Australia's first Minister for Climate Change in 2007-10 and Minister for Finance in 2010-13.

She then became foreign minister in May 2022. Just a month afterwards, Wong visited Vietnam and tried pho ga (chicken noodle soup) at a restaurant in Hanoi.

Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relations in 1973 and became strategic partners in 2018.
Mong Sen viaduct in Lao Cai Province in September, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

All vehicles, except those with capacities of over 20 tons, are allowed to pass Mong Sen viaduct on an expressway between Hanoi and Sa Pa from Tuesday.

The viaduct in Lao Cai Province is opened to traffic on a trial basis after more than two years of construction.

It stretches 612 m long with five continuous spans, and 14 m wide with four lanes.

Work started on the project in January 2021 at a cost of VND450 billion (US$19.8 million).

According to the provincial Department of Transport, the investor will make assessments with the hope of officially putting the bridge into use by the end of the month.

The viaduct will reduce the 30-km trip from Lao Cai Town, the capital of the namesake province, to the tourist town Sa Pa by 2.5 km.

Drivers could avoid a section of National Highway 4D which has slopes that frequently suffer from landslides.
The Suhail star is the second brightest star in the sky after Sirius. It is located in the constellation Carina, and it is visible in the night sky in the Arabian Peninsula during the summer months. The appearance of the Suhail star is traditionally seen as a sign of the end of the summer heat and the beginning of a more moderate climate.

Qatar's hot weather is expected to cool down after the star "Najm Suhail" reappears on Thursday, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The report, citing the Qatar Calendar House (QCH), predicted favorable weather conditions for Qatar and the rest of the Gulf region.

Dr. Bashir Marzouq, an astronomer at QCH, explained to the news agency that residents in Qatar can spot the star towards the southern horizon during the first week of next September.

The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, can guide skywatchers toward Suhail.

According to QNA, The Suhail star is a sign of the end of the hot season and the beginning of a more moderate climate in the Arabian Peninsula. It is also seen as the beginning of the gradual seasonal change, and the end of the "poisonous winds". The intensity of the night heat is expected to drop as the days get shorter.

The appearance of the star is also commonly accompanied by more chances of rain.
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong committed to upgrading the two countries' relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in Hanoi Tuesday.

The two ministers were co-chairing the fifth Vietnam-Australia Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of Wong's second official visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi on Aug. 22, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

They agreed to focus on implementing high-level agreements, including raising the relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership, which was proposed during Vietnam National Assembly chairman Vuong Dinh Hue's official visit to Australia in December 2022. The two countries' leaders at the time decided to consider the idea of raising their relationship once related procedures were completed.

The two ministers agreed that cooperation between Vietnam and Australia in the fields of security and national defense have been developing, especially in sphere of United Nations peacekeeping.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached almost US$16 billion in 2022, with Vietnam becoming Australias 10th biggest trade partner, and Australia Vietnams seventh biggest trade partner.

New areas of cooperation between Vietnam and Australia have also begun to grow in the form of Australias AUD105 million (US$67.4 million) support package for Vietnam, aimed at building infrastructure systems in response to climate change and facilitating clean energy.

Exchanging views on East Sea matters, the two ministers affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, freedom of navigation and aviation. They emphasized the role of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Vietnam's Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, and officials at the fifth Vietnam-Australia Foreign Ministers Meeting in Hanoi on Aug. 22, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

An annual event, the Vietnam-Australia Foreign Ministers Meeting, also continued in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic ties, which came earlier this year.

Prior to Wongs arrival, Australian Governor-General David Hurley visited Vietnam in April and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Vietnam in June.
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August 21, 2023 | 04:50 pm PT

I was raised in a small village in the Mekong Delta, where, before 1975, getting admission to a university was a rare academic achievement.

Only 30% of students could pass the high school graduation exams, and of them only a handful would reach university.

My village, though situated only 20 km from the provincial capital Rach Gia, had just a few people who had graduated university.

They were the pride of the village.

Only in the late 1990s did universities really open their doors to the masses. When I visited home a few years ago, I heard many stories about young people in the neighborhood graduating from universities, some even serving as doctors in Rach Gia.

Many of them are from ethnic backgrounds and financially disadvantaged. Deep inside, I felt glad that Vietnam's education system had seen some progress, and the gap in university education between rural and urban areas and poor and rich people had narrowed.

This year things went too far in the other direction. Several students from my village, after getting admission, decided not to go to university. The main reason was the high tuition amid a tanking economy.

The tuition typically costs VND30-50 million (US$1,260-2,100) a year, and there are other expenses on top.

It is just too high an amount considering that a family farming 10,000 sq.m only manages to save around VND70 million a year on average.

How can a child dream about university with that income?

A Government decree increases the tuition at public universities by 10-15% from the previous year.

In my own stream, medicine, it rose by VND15-20 million in 2020, and is expected to rise by another VND55-60 million this year.

Understandably, universities have to hike their fees for their own survival.

According to the World Bank, the government provided 24% of Vietnamese public universities' expenditures in 2017, but the figure reduced to only 9% in 2021. Tuition accounted for 57% of schools' total income in 2017, and 77% in 2021, showing their increasing dependence on it.

This should be a growing concern for Vietnamese policymakers.

The over-reliance on tuition fees tends to cause a decrease in education quality, which happened in Australia. Universities would attempt to lower admission requirements to increase the number of students' admitted, sacrificing education quality in the process.

Increasing the fees also causes a larger education gap between the rich and the poor, which happened in Canada.

Ontario Province in that country allowed universities to raise tuition and saw a decrease in students from poorer backgrounds, while in other provinces where the fees remained steady, like Quebec and British Columbia, there was no change in the student demographics.

The Vietnamese government seems to be seized of this concern and is taking precautions. It has instructed universities not to raise their tuition. But this is a zero-sum game, in which either students or universities will suffer.

How will universities manage to survive?

The sources of income are usually diverse for many foreign universities.

Apart from education programs and partnerships, they get money from government agencies and corporations to do scientific research, donations from individuals and organizations, renting out facilities, and providing consultancy.

Theoretically, Vietnamese universities could do the same. But why did the implementation face so many hurdles?

Vietnamese universities mostly focus on education and training, with scientific research playing only a minor, complementary role.

Most lecturers and professors are too busy teaching, with only a few doing research and in not very conducive conditions.

It is no surprise that their research hardly results in practical products and actual incomes for them.

Most research work at universities fails to prove its applicability or market value or convince investors to join in.

Many of the research seems to be more motivated by promotions within the university system rather than a scientific inquiry to resolve a social or professional issue.

Western universities receive a lot of donations, but in Vietnam the practice is still in a fledgling state. There are efforts here and there to contribute to public universities, but the practice remains scant, especially when not motivated by policies.

One of the main reasons why western universities get lots of donations is that they are tax deductible.

Thus, with tuition remaining fixed and little other income, public universities find it difficult to improve education quality.

The 9% contribution by the government to universities' incomes is rather low compared to developed countries. In China, around 50% comes from the government funds, and in Australia, it was around 35% in 2020. Some 26% came from international students and 17% from local students.

To put things in context, in Australia, when I went to university 40 years ago, universities did not charge fees to enable students from lower-income families to pursue higher education.

Only in the 1990s did Australian universities start charging tuition, and the fees remained very low for years.

In Vietnam, getting student loans is an option nowadays, though the loans provided by the state-owned Vietnam Bank for Social Policies are hardly appealing in terms of either amount or quality.

The World Bank reported that the number of students who took loans decreased from 2.4 million in 2011 to 725,000 in 2017 and just 37,000 in 2021.

One straightforward way to reduce the current education gap between rural and urban areas is to provide larger loans to students and prolong the interest waiver period after graduation.

The government should allocate more funding for education. A developing country should consider education, especially higher education, as important as infrastructure.

The highly educated human resources from universities provide strong support to the country's future prosperity.

The most profitable investment a country can make is in humans.

*Nguyen Van Tuan is a professor of medicine in Australia.
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Former President Donald Trump was booked into the Fulton County Jail Thursday night in a historic move by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. How did Georgia become involved in such a highly publicized criminal case? The answer lies in a slate of fake electors, an ill-fated phone call and Georgias RICO statute.
As a PNM in the midst of recruitment herself, Gruszynski and The Red & Black Opinion Desk have compiled a list of their top five favorite Bid Day themes from 2023 Panhellenic Recruitment. The choices were based on decorations and banners, outfits, as well as the overall creativity of the theme itself.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India will soon become a $5 trillion economy and is poised to become the growth engine of the world in the coming years.

Photograph: ANI/Twitter

Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue, Modi highlighted that "mission-mode" reforms has improved the ease of doing business in India and invited businesses to be part of the country's development journey.

While mentioning about the strides made by India on the digital payments front, Modi said there are many possibilities for using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for BRICS.

He also said that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) together can contribute significantly to global welfare, particularly of the Global South.

The prime minister, who is in South Africa to participate in the first in-person summit of BRICS nations since 2019, told the gathering that despite the turmoil in the global economy, India today is the fastest growing major economy in the world.

"Soon, India will become a $5 trillion economy.

There is no doubt that India will be the growth engine of the world in the years to come," Modi said and added that the country converted disasters and hardships into opportunities for economic recovery.

"The reforms that we have done in the mission mode in the last few years have resulted in continuous improvement in the ease of doing business in India," he said.

Highlighting the reforms undertaken, including technology-based solutions to address the social and economic challenges, as well as the efforts to reduce the compliance burden, Modi said India is now rolling out the red carpet by removing the red tape.

Investor confidence has increased due to the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the prime minister said and asserted that the people of India have taken a pledge to become a developed nation by 2047.

Inviting businesses to join India's development journey, Modi said New Delhi has opened up sectors like defence and space for private investments, and that manufacturing sector is becoming competitive due to reduction in logistics cost.

Further, the prime minister said his government is taking steps to make India a global manufacturing hub in areas like solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, green ammonia.

"It is natural that this will create a big market for renewable technology in India," he said.

With the use of technology, Modi said India has taken a giant leap towards financial inclusion, and rural women have benefited the most.

Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) worth more than $360 billion have been done, resulting in increased transparency in service delivery, and reducing corruption and middlemen, he said.

Referring to the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) platform, Modi said it is used in India from street vendors to big shopping malls.

Countries like UAE, Singapore and France are joining the UPI platform and there are many possibilities of working on this with BRICS countries as well, Modi said.

Large scale investments are being made in infrastructure that will lay a strong foundation for a new India of the future.
'Whichever company offers better incentives, the chemist would prefer it.'

IMAGE: Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Karolina Grabowska/Pexels.com

With the National Medical Commission (NMC) making it mandatory for doctors to prescribe generic names for drugs, pharma-industry groups are in a huddle over questions of quality and safety.

A senior executive of a prominent lobby group said the fresh regulations were being examined.

"If doctors prescribe only generic molecule names, then there may be an issue with quality. With a branded generic there comes a quality assurance and thus this is critical for patient safety," the person says.

"There are over 10,000 manufacturers of medicines in the country, and not all of them follow the same quality guidelines. Therefore, with such a move, who takes responsibility for quality and patient safety -- will the doctor be accountable?" he added.

Further, once the doctor prescribes the molecule name, the chemist will choose which brand to give the patient, said pharma industry insiders.

"Power thus shifts to chemists instead of doctors. Whichever company offers better incentives, the chemist would prefer it," the industry feared.

"We find some challenges and concerns with this government's decision for generics, " says Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), an umbrella organisation of chemists in the country.

"There's concern about potential monopolies by big companies in the future," Singhal says.

"Substandard stuff has been found even among branded drugs sometimes."

Singhal says making generics optional could help prevent monopolies and protect patient rights.

However, this approach might also impact the pharmaceutical industry and the availability of branded drugs.

The revenue of the pharma industry may decrease and this could affect research and development. And some patients might worry about the effectiveness of generic drugs, he added.

Trade margins for drugs are fixed -- 10 per cent for wholesalers and 20 per cent for retailers (chemists).

However, smaller companies are known to offer better margins for their medicines, which they don't push through doctor prescriptions but through trade. These are known as trade generics.

Now big pharma companies are also stepping up their game in this segment.

The NMC in its regulations said all doctors "must" prescribe generic drugs, or else they would be penalised. Even their licence to practise may be suspended for a period.

The NMC issued the 'Regulations relating to Professional Conduct of Registered Medical Practitioners' on August 2.

It says: 'Every RMP (registered medical practitioner) should prescribe drugs using generic names written legibly and prescribe drugs rationally, avoiding unnecessary medications and irrational fixed-dose combination tablets.'

India is a branded generics market where companies make generic or copy-cat versions of a drug that has lost its patent, and sell them under several brand names.

For example, paracetamol can have hundreds of brand names. The NMC has asked doctors not to prescribe branded generic drugs.

Industry insiders say this is a step towards implementing and codifying the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP).

"At the moment the UCPMP is a voluntary set of guidelines preventing pharma companies from giving freebies to doctors, but it falls upon pharma associations to enforce the code," says a senior executive of a pharma firm.

Another person, who is also a member of a pharma lobby group, says firms regulated themselves.

"We want unethical practices to stop. But since the code is not legally implemented, we don't have any powers to take action against any firm who violates the UCPMP," says the person.

"The NMC regulations had to be in tandem with the UCPMP, and this a step in the right direction," the person adds.

Doctors said the guidelines were a welcome step.

"The new NMC guidelines on generic drugs are a welcome step in the direction of bringing down health care costs and improving access to quality care in the country," says Dr Shuchin Bajaj, founder and director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals in Delhi.

"The regulations have asked doctors to avoid prescribing branded generic drugs, which may be less costly than the branded patent version but costlier than the generic version of the drug that is manufactured in bulk," explains Dr Bajaj.

"Doctors should take it as an ethical responsibility to prescribe only those generic medicines available in the market and accessible to patients," Dr Bajaj adds.

Apart from asking doctors to prescribe generic medicines, the NMC has cracked down on RMPs receiving freebies from health care establishments or pharma companies.

Moreover, for the first time NMC guidelines restricted doctors from speaking on subjects beyond their area of expertise on any public platform, including social media.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
'Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand.'

January 22, 2022 is a historic day for the Internet economy. That day Amazon declared its first ever quarterly profit. It had been around since 1995 and lost $2.8 billion till then.

The profit showed Amazon, one of the best-known Internet brands, had come back from the brink, that its model could work, and that the troubles caused by the bursting of the technology bubble in the early 2000s were behind it.

Cut to July 7. Meesho, the Bengaluru-based e-commerce unicorn (a startup valued at more than $1 billion), said it had turned profitable in July.

Vidit Aatrey, who co-founded Meesho in 2015, said it was India's first horizontal e-commerce platform -- one that brings online a large number of sellers from diverse segments -- to become profitable.

The profit after tax Meesho is talking about is in single digits, meaning less than Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million), much smaller than the $5 million that Amazon declared on January 22, 2002.

Besides, Meesho's scale and place in history are no match to Amazon's. However, there is no denying the significance of its first profit.

It shows Meesho's model of focusing on small businesses can work.

More importantly, Indian unicorns may have found a way to deal with the so-called funding winter, marked by investors tightening their purse strings.

Meesho laid off 250 employees in May and cut spending on customer acquisition, marketing, and technology.

Its Chief Financial Officer Dhiresh Bansal earlier told Business Standard that Meesho saw a "43 per cent increase in order volume, culminating in over a billion orders" during the past 12 months.

There are other Indian unicorns carving profits out of the ice of the funding winter.

A day after Meesho, fintech unicorn MobiKwik said it had posted a consolidated profit for the first time, at Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million), in the first quarter.

"Our vision for 2023-2024 is to achieve profitability in all quarters," said Bipin Preet Singh, MobiKwik's co-founder and CEO.

Food delivery giant Zomato reported its first profit in the first quarter of the current financial year, at Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million), compared to a loss of Rs 186 crore in the same period last year.

'We expect our business to remain profitable, Zomato's CFO Akshant Goyal said in a regulatory filing.

Zomato's rival Swiggy said its food delivery business turned profitable in the last quarter of 2022-2023 after considering corporate costs and excluding employee stock options.

At least 21 of India's 92 unicorns have become profitable. Others such as Paytm and Delhivery have presented a clear path to profitability.

"The heightened investor scrutiny, especially during the recent funding slowdown, has finally pushed companies to prioritise their margins," says Anirudh A Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Fund, an early-stage micro-venture-capital fund.

"Ensuring a business model that offers genuine value while maintaining profitability isn't just ideal; it is imperative."

This should be music to investors' ears.

Japanese investment giant SoftBank said its investments in Zomato, Paytm, Delhivery, and PB Fintech contributed gains of more than $400 million to the SoftBank Vision Fund during the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

"Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand," says Pranav Pai, founding partner at 3one4 Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm.

Sectors of high cash burn, such as quick commerce, are not untouched by this profit drive.

Mumbai-based Zepto, which first came into the limelight with its promise of 10 minute deliveries, says it is on track to turn profitable in the next year or so.

In a recent interview with Business Standard, Zepto's Co-Founder and CEO Aadit Palicha said he expected the company to become cash flow-positive in the next 12 to 15 months.

The company has seen a 300 per cent growth in sales this year. Its dark stores, contributing to over half of its business, are now profitable.

As startup valuations become more realistic, and nascent businesses inch closer to the profitability threshold, they will be able to generate investor interest and raise capital "on their own terms", says Pai of 3one4.

And then, who knows, the funding winter might thaw under the fire of profits.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Krithi Krithivasan is the kind of person one might look to when the need is to calm things down and put things back on track.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Krithi Krithivasan, MD and CEO, TCS.

An apocryphal story -- it could be true -- says that during the leadership transition at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) this year, someone who truly matters said the company had more than half a dozen people who could take charge as its chief executive officer (CEO).

This revealed three things -- a strong top team, a succession plan, and the significance of K Krithivasan's appointment to he top job.

Krithi, as the new CEO and managing director, is universally known (even his profile on the TCS Web site refers to him this way), had been heading the BFSI vertical -- short for banking, financial services, and insurance -- which brings in more than a third of TCS's revenues.

That would have counted. What must have also counted is that Krithi, who joined TCS in 1989, is the kind of person one might look to when the need is to calm things down and put things back on track.

He is known to be measured, down to earth, and someone who stands by his team. Above all, he is seen to have strong people skills.

Not surprisingly, his first e-mail to employees after assuming charge as the CEO on June 1 said: 'I have had the opportunity to work with many of you and built long-lasting friendships which I cherish the most.'

The surprise came in an internal e-mail on July 29 after he completed nearly two months as the CEO.

The e-mail said the company would have a new operating structure based on verticals (see: Verticals Strike Back).

This meant reorganising the structure Krithi's predecessor, Rajesh Gopinathan, had announced in April 2022.

Gopinathan tried to move away from the vertical focus. He announced a new structure with three groups -- a relationship incubation group that looked at small deals, an enterprise growth group looking at mid-size deals, and a business transformation group that looked at large deals.

Curiously, Krithi, when asked if he was going to make structural changes, had earlier told journalists: 'It is a continuum. It's not that as every CEO changes, we come up with a new strategy or new set of priorities.'

Photograph: PTI Photo from the Rediff Archives.

So, what really happened?'

It seems the latest reorganisation had been in the works for some time.

"The discussions were going on for more than a year, as the macro-environment had changed drastically. Besides, a lot depended on customer feedback, to whom the industry focus matters," says a senior TCS executive who does not want to be named.

Other insiders say the target of being a $50 billion company is something that is very much a focus and a target for TCS.

In 2022-2023, TCS generated $27.9 billion in revenues with more than 600,000 associates across 50 countries.

"Looking at the current macro, there is no room to look at a strategy that will disrupt the growth opportunity. Getting back to the industry focus is just the best thing now," says an insider.

The structure Gopinathan created last year had raised eyebrows. This was perhaps the first instance of a well-entrenched information technology services company moving away from verticals to a client-focused model.

Globally, IT services players work on a vertical-focused model, which allows them to pursue large deals and be close to the client.

"Vertical focus is the way to go as there is no pure-tech sales anymore. Sales is consultative and consulting-led. So, one needs domain knowledge," says Abhisek Mukherjee, partner, YCP Auctus, a management consulting firm.

"The latest structural change at TCS is a step in this direction aimed at adding the highest value to the customers with vertical domain knowledge," adds Mukherjee.

"I believe that TCS's scale and culture make a focus on small clients impractical," says Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of Everest Group, a research firm. "There is plenty of time and material available in large clients and TCS is well positioned to go after these."

"The smaller client market presents significant obstacles for TCS and they should focus where their strengths align," Bendor-Samuel adds,=.

Still, not everyone thinks Gopinathan's strategy was off. It is just that his timing may have been off.

"Had the global environment been stable, the earlier rejig of TCS would have worked as well. But, with the current macros, the vertical-focused structure works well," says Pareekh Jain, an IT outsourcing advisor.

However, Jain believes TCS might need to move to a new structure sooner or later. In a rising trend, multinational corporations are moving to the geography focus.

"You go deeper into a geography irrespective of verticals and get more deals from a geography," Jain adds.

An industry veteran explains that IT players have focused on creating domain specialists. However, he says: "The downside of the vertical system is that there is no cross-pollination or cross-selling."

Accenture, the world's largest IT services company, has reorganised itself according to three geographic markets -- North America, Europe, and Growth Markets -- instead of operating groups.

TCS's smaller rival, Wipro, has an operating model anchored in both sectors and markets. Its four strategic market units are: Americas 1, Americas 2, Europe, and APMEA (Asia Pacific and Middle East).

Americas 1 and Americas 2, the largest markets for the company, are still structured by sectors.

Europe and APMEA are structured by countries, with focus on identified sectors.

At TCS, though, Gopinathan's structure -- though people had begun to get used to it after working with it for more than a year -- reportedly made senior executives feel that they were losing control. Interestingly, Krithi's BFSI vertical was kept out of it.

Krithi, 58, is older than his three predecessors were when they got the top job: Gopinathan was 46 (he is now 52), N Chandrasekaran was 45, and S Ramadorai was 51. But, at a time of change, one won't mind looking towards a few grey hairs to calm things down.

Besides, when the time comes to change, TCS will not have to "come up with a new strategy or new set of priorities".

It can just go back to the Gopinathan model, which the company insists has not been undone.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
Tamil Nadu is the celebrated home of the 'social justice' movement in the country, yet caste differences and violence has only been increasing in numbers and becoming more brutal in recent years, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.

Kindly note the image has only been published for representational purposes. Photograph: PTI Photo from the Rediff Archives

The recent brutal attack on a 17-year-old school student and his 14-year-old sister in their home at Nanguneri in southern Tamil Nadu is a demonstration of what has gone inherently wrong with the state's much-acclaimed Dravidian polity, politics and philosophy, centred on 'social justice' for over a hundred years.

The shocking part of it all was that the attackers were all fellow school students, as young or old as the victim.

They had seemingly taken exception to the targeted victim, a Dalit, complaining to the school authorities about continual harassment at the hands of his schoolmates who were from the intermediary Thevar/Mukkulathore community.

The police have arrested six students, all minors under the law, and Chief Minister M K Stalin's administration has announced medical care for the victims and government jobs when they both cross 18.

Politically, state BJP chief K Annamalai and some pro-DMK social media activists have branded respective party affiliation to family members of one or other of the attackers -- going to show how cheap politics for and against the Dravidian milieu can denigrate to.

Stalin has since announced the constitution of the Justice K Chandru committee to suggest ways to end caste differences in schools.

The actionable part of the committee's recommendations would be worth following.

Tamil Nadu is the celebrated home of the 'social justice' movement in the country, yet caste differences and violence has only been increasing in numbers and becoming more brutal in recent years.

While claiming massive successes in the field, the Dravidian polity, especially the alternating governments of the DMK and the AIADMK for over 50-plus of the past 56 years since 1967, have not curbed the abhorrent practice.

This owes to the lack of political will, owing mainly to the fact that the 'dominant' non-Dalit castes in individual communities and villages across the state are the mainstay of all non-Dalit political parties, colour and hue notwithstanding.

Among them, the Congress alone had the historic commitment that pervaded down the line over the early decades, to 'protect and promote' the Dalits -- and relatively better acceptance for the community, all across.

The departure of the Congress from the seat of power meant that the community migrated to the AIADMK founded by actor-politician MGR.

From then on, the Dalits co-existed as party voters, but that did not extend to co-existence at the community-level.

It remains so thus far in every political party barring the PMK, the backward Vanniyar-dominated outfit in the north and parts of the west, with the community's continuing antagonism towards the Dalits.

IMAGE: A glimpse from the Dalit colonies of Nathamkottai, Kondampatti and Anna Nagar in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district where almost every single home was burnt and looted on November 7, 2012 by a thousand member-strong mob of Vanniyars. Photograph: Meena Kandasamy

The advent of free school education under the Kamaraj-led Congress government in the mid-1950s and the state's largesse extending to cover under-graduate college courses, followed by the relatively free availability of professional college seats meant that all communities (at times barring the forward castes) stood to benefit.

This has only led to caste divisions entering the campuses, though not always understood or acknowledged by the authorities.

In between, the emergence of Dalit political outfits was marked only by intra-divisions within what Gandhiji unified as 'Harijans', weakened their collective political voice, but after giving an illusion of political self-assertion at local levels.

This meant that a non-Dalit/anti-Dalit communal collective began dominating the caste discourse, and took it back to the regional level first and later to the village-level, from where it had all germinated in the first place.

Thus, the Adi Dravidar Dalits in the north have their Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), while their Devendra Kula Vellalar (DKV) brethren in the south have their Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT).

The third group, the Arunthathiyars in the west and south-central neither politically consolidated, nor did the existing Dalit parties tried -- for reasons, best known to them.

What does it all mean in the contemporary context?

First and foremost, Gandhiji's call for the uplift of the under-privileged sections, including women and Dalits under the Indian National Congress, whose leadership at local levels was dominated by the upper castes, starting with Brahmins of various hues, created a new social consolidation that left the 'intermediary castes' out of the equation.

This was true of other states and regions too, as became evident with the social support-base of the Socialist Party in the post-Independence scenario.

The difference in what constitutes present-day Tamil Nadu was the presence and dominance of the anti-Brahmin, anti-Congress Justice Party in the early years of Gandhiji's arrival on the national political scene.

The Justice Party was led by non-Brahmin upper caste elite in the then Madras Presidency.

The equally fast-tracked exit of the Justice Party after the Congress contested and won the 1937 election ended the upper caste dominance of the non-Brahmin socio-political discourse.

The Justice Party then passed on to the ICU care of Periyar E V Ramaswamy Naicker, who was both a believer and a Congressman before beginning to oppose both in the mid-twenties.

The caste dynamics of the Dravidar Kazhagam that he founded in 1942 and into which he merged the Justice Party, had expanded to cover the intermediary castes -- almost for the simple reason that they could not accept the emergence of the Dalits, especially after the advent of universal adult franchise and 'reserved seats' under the new Republic.

Owing to this unacknowledged social reality, too, Periyar had to focus his social ire only on the Brahmins, who anyway dominated the societal discourse of the time at all levels.

After Periyar's DK came the breakaway DMK (1949), out of which MGR founded the AIADMK in 1972.

Other than symbolisms like 'abolishing the two-tumbler' system in village tea-stalls (where Dalits were served in separate containers, often coconut shells), and non-serious enforcement at the grassroots-level, nothing has changed. Thankfully, the advent of 'paper cups' has put an end to the Dalit ignominy in this instance.

Post-Independence, post-Congress history in the state witnessed the Keezhvenmani incident in which a 'caste Hindu' landlord burnt alive 44 Dalit farm labour, including children, in a hut, for demanding higher wages, egged on as they were by the emerging Left movement at the grassroots level. That was in 1969 in the Cauvery delta.

Then there was the Dalit-to-Muslim Meenakshipuram conversions (1981), in the unified Tirunelveli district, now in the trifurcated Tenkasi district, disowning casteist slur at the hands of the intermediary Thevar community.

IMAGE: In 2016, Shankar was hacked to death before his wife Kausalya, allegedly by her father's henchmen, as he was a Dalit, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu.

It is another matter that most converts in the village continued to practise their old religious rituals even a decade later and more.

Incidentally, free school education from before Independence, which the Congress rule under Kamaraj consolidated as a government-aided programme in the mid-fifties, followed by free noon-meal by then chief minister MGR in the seventies, which in turn was consolidating the Kamaraj scheme for the purpose as a 'budgetary scheme', meant that the Dalits were there at the take-off stage when successive governments under Karunanidhi and MGR since introduced free collegiate education and the like.

The intermediary castes, who were overshadowed by the non-Brahmin elite in the Justice Party era were slow in catching up, with the result the Dalits with no property to call their own in Meenakshipuram, for instance, took up unskilled and semi-skilled jobs when the Gulf region opened up in the seventies.

The financial security that the community began enjoying in doses, coupled with the Constitutionally-mandated reservations scheme, led to self-awareness first and self-assertion later on.

It was/is this that was/is at the centre of caste clashes in rural Tamil Nadu, as the 'intermediary' backward and most backward (BC/MBC) communities did not make full use of the 'new reservations' that the First Amendment to the Constitution had promised as early as 1951.

The First Amendment became possible following competitive DK-DMK protests in these parts, after the Supreme Court abolished the non-Dalit reservations initiated by the Justice Party government in the mid-twenties.

Incidentally, the verdict in the Champakam Dorairajan case (1951) also abolished the 16-per cent quota that the Justice Party scheme had given to Brahmins -- for which the community, till today, continues to blame the Dravidian polity.

From nascent politics with domineering elitist community leaders dominating centuries-old caste equations in the past, today castes dictate politics across rural Tamil Nadu.

If Gandhiji and the Congress took the party and the ideology to the Dalits, among others, it was the other way round in the case of the post-Justice Party Dravidian polity.

Those communities, almost always intermediary castes, gravitated towards the DK and the DMK in their formative years for the simple and straight reason that both opposed the Congress, which in turn had become the protector and propagator for the nation's Harijan/Dalit community.

Anti-Brahminism was not core to the social existence of the intermediary castes, they were anyway god-fearing and all, hence Periyar's anti-Brahminism did not sell itself in electoral terms as is often misunderstood, especially outside Tamil Nadu.

If they were in the Congress party in those early days, intermediary caste leaders too whole-heartedly supported the freedom movement -- and by extension Dalit ascendancy in the social structure.

Where they began differing with the Congress after the targeted freedom goal had been achieved, they either went back into a shell or joined such other forces that were emerging as an anti-thesis to the Congress.

IMAGE: The Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman temple is sealed following Viluppuram District Revenue Commissioner Ravichandran's orders, after a dispute between dominant caste members and Dalits regarding the latter's entry into the temple at Melpathi village in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu, June 7, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

This meant that social movements like Periyar's DK, out of which was born the politico-electoral entity called the DMK, had to cater/pamper to the social equations that their emerging support-base expected out of them.

This is so despite Periyar's 'social justice' agenda, which is celebrated more than what it had achieved in real terms.

It owed to the fact that barring Periyar's anti-Hindi cause, his anti-Brahmin, anti-god agenda did not have too many takers as is being misunderstood.

What mattered in the end was that 'Periyarites' skipped caste differences within the larger Hindu community, especially Dalit uplift.

True, they did not oppose 'Dalit uplift', the community having constituted a quarter of the state's population -- and hence electorate -- but did not do so openly and whole-heartedly like the Gandhian era Congress leaders.

The reason was obvious. In its formative years, 'Gandhiji's Congress' (as different from that before his time) went to the Dalits to propagate their uplift, maybe as an unacknowledged anti-thesis to the existing social structure across the country.

Instead, the intermediary castes gravitated towards the Dravidian polity, once it was off the clutches of the non-Brahmin upper caste elite.

Both needed each other, but in the case of the Dravidian polity, supporting communities dictated the polity and directed the socio-electoral discourse from then on.

It was unlike in the case of the Congress experience, where the party guided the community, Dalit and non-Dalit alike, but with an 'inclusive socio-political agenda' of its own.

In the course of the post-Independence transition and transformation, Congress leaders like Kamaraj had personal socio-political agendas that could today be dubbed 'Mandalisation'.

Across the state, intermediary castes, without the outside world knowing it, had reasons to gravitate towards the DK/DMK, in the years before and immediately after Independence.

The case of the Mukkulathore community in Kamaraj's southern region is a case in point, after the post-imprisonment death of the community's all-time tall leader Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, which was attributed near-exclusively to caste equations between two backward communities -- Kamaraj being a Nadar from the southern-most districts.

When DMK Chief Minister M Karunanidhi too sought to consolidate his personal hold over the party and government in the early to mid-seventies (like Kamaraj before him), he began sidelining established intermediary caste leaders in the party, who had their own caste/region-based hold and support-base.

This had nothing to do with 'caste politics', as understood but owed only to the leader's sense of insecurity -- as became visible in his later-day feud with MGR.

This was among the reasons why the Mukkulathore in the south and Gounders in the west gravitated towards the AIADMK, when MGR founded it -- just as they had backed the DMK after the Kamaraj-Muthuramalinga Thevar political tiff, which had a caste element hiding somewhere.

Again, self-proclaimed social identity, and not political ideology, alone was involved.

Where the intermediary Vanniyar community alone remained with the DMK for long, at the first available opportunity, a medical doctor with grassroots-level contacts founded the PMK in the early nineties, which has a crucial five per cent committed vote-bank, whether or not the party is able to decide the fate of election results in the state.

Today, there aren't any tall leaders with a larger reach, like Kamaraj and Karunanidhi, MGR and his political successor Jayalalithaa, however caste-conscious they otherwise maybe.

It is another matter that none of these leaders tried to address caste differences as a major structural fault in the state's social milieu -- and sought to rectify the same.

The present-day leadership of various political parties are all a shade of their predecessors.

There is greater decentralisation of leadership back to the grassroots level, as in the early days of the Congress and the DMK -- still with no leader in commanding heights to set the house(s) in order even if they so desired. That they did not desire it in the past, nor do they intend doing it today, is the crux of the problem.

This is what the larger socio-political message is, as witnessed in Naguneri now, and the series of 'honour killings' in different parts of the state, where it was not known until recent years.

If until recently, some non-Dalit communities killed their new-born female for inherited reasons that do not make sense, today, they let that girl live and grow, educate and employ, only to kill her, him or both -- just out of 'caste pride' if she falls in love with a 'Dalit' boy.

Thereby hangs a long tale!

N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and author, is a Chennai-based policy analyst & political commentator.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The Opposition parties need to spell out how exactly they will protect the citizen from government excess, asserts T N Ninan.

IMAGE: Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and other INDIA MPs protest the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, from the House, August 11, 2023. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

Here's a test for the Opposition: How many of the Bills passed by Parliament, despite opposition from the parties that have joined hands in a new alliance, would these parties undo if they were elected to office, say, in the 2024 general elections.

Would they, for instance, reinstate the Chief Justice in the panel for selecting election commissioners.

Or modify any of the four labour codes that have led to outcomes like the sharp increase in the employment of contract labour by large employers.

And would they amend or repeal the Citizenship (Amendment) Act?

If the Opposition wants to offer a different approach to political and economic issues, it would need to spell out how and what.

For instance, Opposition parties criticise the use or misuse of the government's investigative agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.

But when the CBI was called a 'caged parrot' it was the Congress that was in power.

So has the party seen the light, so to speak?

More broadly, what would be the Opposition's agenda for action to ensure the autonomy of Constitutional bodies, or to prevent the misuse of provisions for Money Bills?

Or take the laws on national security. The Maintenance of Internal Security Act was abolished by the Janata Party government because of its rampant misuse by the Congress during the Emergency in the mid-1970s.

Its successors, the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), were also repealed, this time by Congress-led coalitions, again because of widespread misuse.

Given this history and experience, would the Opposition do something about the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to prevent its misuse (against political critics, say) without sacrificing national security?

On Constitutional matters, the Opposition needs to be put to the test on the sincerity of its protestations -- say, on Jammu and Kashmir.

The fact is that the abolition of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution has broad acceptance outside J&K, and may even have been accepted in a spirit of resignation as fait accompli in that Union Territory.

Would the Opposition really want to turn the clock back, other than to restore J&K's statehood?

Especially on social issues, frequently one cannot turn back the clock -- reservations. Would the Opposition change the cow protection laws?

And are they really against a Uniform Civil Code, appropriately framed?

Or is the voicing of opposition merely for the record, because Muslims fear that such a code might target them.

Do note that the Opposition is already tip-toeing around the issue, careful not to commit itself.

It is pertinent to recall that the conservative elements who in the 1950s opposed Nehru's changes to Hindu personal law (on the grounds, among other things, that the government should not touch laws and practices handed down from Vedic times) would not dream of undoing those changes today because it would quite simply be retrograde.

Substitute Vedic times with the Shariat and listen to the conservative echo.

On the misuse of power by governments at the Centre and in the states, the difference between parties is often one of degree, although the Bharatiya Janata Party has been unique in the single-mindedness with which it has muted critical voices.

It is ironic that it was the Janata Party (into which the Jan Sangh, the BJP's previous incarnation, had merged itself) which in the 1970s set up a Prasar Bharati, which was to be autonomous of the government.

Today the Opposition parties need to spell out how exactly they will protect the citizen from government excess.

Would it, for instance, review two recent bits of legislation, one on the press and media and another on data protection and privacy?

Both give the government powers that it could easily misuse, and experience shows that if such powers have been given they are misused.

What one can be more confident of, now that Rahul Gandhi has been convicted of criminal defamation, is that the Opposition parties may be more willing than before to remove defamation as a criminal offence, as many democracies have done.

The question is, can the Opposition credibly promise action on issues where there is no such personal history?

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
I started learning English merely out of pride, as I did not want to seem less intelligent than my friends, and the decision has changed my life in a wonderful way.

I was a fresh graduate entering the job market 35 years ago. I married and became a father early, so I did not have a chance to continue my English studies after university like many of my friends did.

As my friends kept showing off their English skills, which I knew nothing about, I decided to make time for the language.

I spent three nights going to an English center studying a Streamline course. I earned a certificate after a year.

Then my company announced that it would be sending people overseas for a training program in English. Candidates needed to pass an English test, and I was the only one with an English certificate in the company, so I was able to take the test.

I passed the test and abroad I went.

The three-month training program basically changed my life. It improved both my English and professional skills, and more it boosted my confidence significantly.

I received a big promotion at work. And I realized, good chances only come to those who make early investments, especially in knowledge.

Many countries have made English lessons compulsory in public schools, as they consider it a second language. That means mastering English is very important these days.

Countries in the region have progressed far ahead of Vietnam in popularizing English.

I experienced this firsthand during a business trip to Malaysia 20 years ago. I got separated from my group in a large building. I met a janitor, and seeing how confused I was, she stopped and gave me detailed instructions to help me find my group, in English.

I hope my story serves as a good answer to the question that many people have been asking: "What do we learn English for?" It can bring immense value, like a job promotion, or it can bring very simple but necessary value, like directions when you're lost.

There are many ways to learn a foreign language. You can register for an official years-long course at a school, you can attend night classes at a center, or you can self-study at home. Anyone who refuses to learn English is blocking themselves from many opportunities.
'The Emergency was a temporary affair. It was withdrawn after 20 months.'

'But we are in this situation for the last 10 years.'

'If the Emergency was jhatka, this is halal, slow killing.'

Last month, the Narendra D Modi government decided to amend the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, giving it more power to withhold or withdraw the pension of retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers.

After the amendment, the central government can take action against an officer without a reference from the state government.

In no time, 94 former bureaucrats from the Constitutional Conduct Group who have been questioning the government's policies through open letters, once again signed a public statement urging the government to scrap the amendment.

M G Devasahayam, a retired IAS officer from the 1968 batch and one of the senior-most retired civil servants in the country, is one of the signatories of the public statement.

Before joining the IAS, Mr Devasahayam was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1964 and had participated in the 1965 War and counter-insurgency operations in Nagaland in 1967-1968.

"Even during the Emergency, these kind of threats were not there. Now, the only instrument they have is to put fear in the minds of everybody's mind; that of the media, academia, bureaucrats," Mr Devasahayam tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

You have been a signatory of the letters drafted by retired civil servants questioning the current government's actions and policies.

With the government's decision to amend service rules, will they be able to silence retired officers too?

Look at what is happening in the media. Look at how independent media is being treated.

Look at what is happening in the academic field, for example in Ashoka University. I am also aware of what is happening in other universities.

Freedom of expression is completely at risk now. It is much worse than what was during the Emergency.

Worse than the Emergency?

Yes. There was only censorship during the Emergency. But ownership is taking place now. They totally own the media, and the other voices are completely silenced.

And the Emergency was only a temporary affair. It was withdrawn after 20 months.

But we are in this situation for the last 10 years.

If the Emergency was jhatka, this is halal, slow killing.

This amendment is also a part of suppressing freedom of expression.

This particular clause has been there from the very beginning. But earlier, any action against pension has to come through the state government.

IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service are All India Services recruited, trained and appointed by the central government but they function as state cadre.

So, most of the officers work for 25-30 years in the state.

So, any action to be taken against the pension of the All India Services officers has to be routed through the state government.

What the central government wants to do is, do away with that and centralise their authority so that they can take decisions on pension arbitrarily.

They are converting the All India Service into a central service, which is illegal.

If a retired IAS or IPS officer is convicted in a criminal case and if there are serious irregularities, action can be taken.

But the initiative must come from the state. For example, if they want to take any action against me, it has to come from Haryana as I was in the Haryana cadre.

Now with this amendment, they are doing away with that so that they can control everything centrally.

Is this not infringing upon the rights of the state?

Yes. Totally. You are attacking federalism. You are also attacking individual officers. This is the most serious objection we have against the amendment.

Second is, they have brought in a special law for officers who have worked in security- related agencies.

They are not supposed to publish anything related to their work even after retirement...

Yes, they cannot write without prior permission from the current head of the department.

If an officer had worked in IB, and if he wanted to write, he has to get permission from the present director.

The Officials Secrets Act, 1923 is already there concerning security and confidentiality, and you can't write everything and divulge everything.

Though there are certain restrictions, there is an expiry date to it. Beyond 20-25 years, there are no restrictions. It will be declassified.

So, bringing in the security of the country is not the correct argument.

Does that not mean, you can't talk while working and even after retirement also, you can't air your opinion?

Yes, that is the problem. There is already a ban on talking on issues related to national security and sensitive information.

But you can, once the documents are declassified.

Now, even after 20 years, even after the documents are declassified, you cannot write about it.

An important question is, what they are trying to do on pension is against the Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Court has already ruled that pension is not a favour done by the government.

Pension is the right of the civil servant who has put in service.

They cannot touch the pension. So, this is un-implementable. No court will allow it.

This amounts to threat. They are putting fear into everybody's mind. This is governance by fear.

Because of this fear, people who would like to speak out, would go into a shell. Only incorrigible characters like me speak up.

Vast majority of the people will go into a shell. You put fear in the minds of them and suppress their voice.

You mean that's the intention behind these actions?

Yes. The same thing is happening with the media also.

I see that a lot of fiery media people have completely calm down.

You try talking to any civil servant on a sensitive issue, nobody will open his mouth.

Will it have any impact on the open letters retired officers have been writing?

No. We, at the Constitution Conduct Group will continue to write open letters on issues, and we will do so more strongly.

You can't put fear in the minds of people. Indira Gandhi tried to do it through the Emergency. Could she succeed? No. She had to surrender.

You cannot suppress the spirit of independence.

We have discussed it, considered it and we are going ahead.

You joined the civil service in 1968. Have you seen or experienced a situation like this before?

Not at all. Let me tell you my own experience.

During the Emergency, which is supposed to be the darkest period, I was the District Magistrate of Chandigarh.

Jayaprakash Narayan, who was the enemy number one of the State, was my prisoner.

Because of that, my position was very sensitive and I had to be very careful.

In spite of that, I protected JP from some executive action. I also spoke against the Emergency.

Nobody -- not Indira Gandhi or anyone from the Congress party -- took any action against me.

Even during the Emergency, these kind of threats were not there; that your pension will be cancelled, etc.

Now, the only instrument they have is to put fear in the minds of everybody's mind; that of the media, academia, bureaucrats...

Why do they want to silence people? What are they afraid of?

That's a very important question. Ever since they came to power, what has happened to India's political and economic landscape?

Almost the entire resources of the country is being given to a band of corporate oligarchs.

An oligarchy is created and in the process, the nation's wealth is being looted.

They don't want anyone to talk about this. So, they put fear in the minds of everyone. So, the overall strategy is, governance by fear.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
'He told senior journalists a few days after the Babri Masjid demolition, 'Jo hua theek hua. Maine isliye hone diya ki BJP ki rajniti hamesha ke liye khatam ho jaye.'

IMAGE: Then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, left, and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee at an event in New Delhi in the early 1990s where an anthology of Vajpayee's poems was released. Photograph: From the Rediff Archives

The fallout from decisions lives on long after the person.

And in the case of prime ministers, the fallout also leaves a mark on history.

Veteran journalist Neerja Chowdhury, who has tracked the ebbs and flows of political tides in the country, has just published a likely best-seller How Prime Ministers Decide.

In the concluding segment of an engaging two-part interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, Chowdhury weighs the good, bad and ugly of the P V Narasimha Rao, Atali Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh regimes.

Part 1 of the Interview: ''Mera baap sant tha, main nahin hoon'

P V Narasimha Rao: The good decisions

Rao came to power at the head of a minority government. When he took over, India was facing an economic crisis. Faced with a balance of payments crisis, he took the decision to open up the economy, and go for structural reforms.

IMAGE: Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao with his Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.



Major economic decisions were taken by Rao and it was only later that Dr Manmohan Singh, his finance minister, came into his own.

Rao also calmed down the inflamed passions in the country because of the Mandal-Mandir politics. Punjab was also burning, and there was turbulence in Jammu and Kashmir.

He had to deal with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of a unipolar world. He reached out to Central Asian Republics and initiated a Look East policy for greater cooperation with South East Asian countries.

He also recognised Israel, and that too when Palestine leader Yasser Arafat was in India, having informed him about his decision.

Sharad Pawar was asked at my book launch who he felt was India's best prime minister. He replied, 'P V Narasimha Rao.'

Rao was erudite, understood India, and was an experienced administrator.

P V Narasimha Rao: The bad decisions

He allowed the Babri Masjid to be demolished -- a decision that shaped the politics of the three decades that followed.

He told a group of senior journalists who saw him a few days after the demolition, 'You think I don't know politics. I was born in rajniti and I have only been doing politics till today. Jo hua theek hua. Maine isliye hone diya ki Bharatiya Janata Party ki rajniti hamesha ke liye khatam ho jaye.'

He himself hoped to build a temple in Ayodhya. A trust was also registered, but in 1995 he decided he would do it when he came to power again (in 1996).

After the Babri Masjid was demolished, the temple issue went on the backburner during Rao's term.

But Rao did not take into account how much the Muslim psyche was hurt by the demolition.

Muslims felt that the Constitution and the Indian State had not been able to protect them and their rights.

The minorities in India feel very insecure today -- a process that began after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

His failure to protect the Babri Masjid was Narasimha Rao's biggest failure.

He could have imposed President's rule, which he ruled out, not just for legal reasons but also because he would have calculated that it would give the BJP a chance to step up its Mandir movement.

He could have called in the Indian Army to save the Babri Masjid, and this was what V P Singh had suggested to him.

The Congress lost Muslim support, though they came back to the party fold later.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid troubled Narasimha Rao till the end. And it troubled his party.

When he died, the gates of the Akbar Road Congress headquarters in New Delhi were shut when his body arrived there.

Congress leaders were not allowed to pay their homage to a leader who had served the party for half a century and more.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: The good decisions

His major decision was to go in for the nuclear test in 1998.

P V Narasimha Rao almost went in for the test, but got cold feet when information about it leaked to the Americans.

Indira Gandhi tested in 1974 and again she wanted to test in 1982, but she too got cold feet.

She told the scientists, 'We do not want our skulls to be broken,' indicating that India would face heavy sanctions once again, as it had done in 1974.

Though Vajpayee is credited with nuclear tests in 1998, he never thought it was his major contribution. He wanted to bring about a breakthrough on the Kashmir issue -- and forge a new relationship with Pakistan.

He tried his best with Nawaz Sharif and General Pervez Musharraf (who were ruling Pakistan at the time), but success eluded him.

He accelerated the information technology and communication revolution that was started by Rajiv Gandhi.

He managed to be a moderate in a right wing party -- and believed India could be run only by consensus.

What he 'was' rather than what he 'did' -- remains his enduring legacy.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: The bad decisions

Vajpayee was known for his flip-flops on issues and some saw him as a 'clever careerist'.

On Ayodhya he changed his stand repeatedly.

He also changed his view that Narendra Modi should step down as Gujarat CM after the 2002 violence.

And earlier he flip-flopped on India going nuclear -- he was a peacenik in the fifties, a nuclear hawk in the sixties, and he voted against India going nuclear in 1979 as external affairs minister under Morarji Desai, and then opted to test in 1998.

If there was pressure on him, he took one step backward and then two steps forward.

People tended to forgive him for they saw his flip-flops as an attempt to deflect pressure from the hawks in the party and the RSS, reinforcing his image as a moderate in a hardline party. His skill lay in being able to do the contradictions.

Vajpayee was not a hands-on prime minister. He did not go into the nitty-gritty of decisions and left it to his principal secretary Brajesh Mishra -- the most powerful bureaucrat India has had -- who was called the 'de facto PM' during Vajpayee's rule.

Dr Manmohan Singh; The good decisions

Dr Singh carried forward economic liberalisation and he forged a strategic relationship with the US.

He got the nuclear deal done which ended India's nuclear untouchability, and enabled it to go for nuclear commerce.

For 39 months, Dr Singh did not give up and he used every trick in the book to ensure the deal went through.

The Left parties withdrew their support to his government. But showing political savvy, he mustered an alternative support in the Samajwadi Party -- initially, it was opposing the deal -- and he brought them around.

The SP voted with him and ensured that his government survived in Parliament -- and the nuclear deal went through.

This technocrat prime minister showed a political acumen few thought he possessed.

Apart from national compulsions on both sides, which guided the moves of both India and the US, somewhere Dr Manmohan Singh also wanted to demonstrate through the nuclear deal that he was his own man -- as I have written in the book.

Dr Manmohan Singh: The bad decisions

The savvy or resolve he displayed on the nuclear deal, he did not display in any other decision he made.

IMAGE: Dr Manmohan Singh at the Tirumala temple in Tirupati. Photograph: From the Rediff Archives

He shared power with Sonia Gandhi, who had transferred the mandate to him, when her son Rahul Gandhi told her that he would do something drastic if she went ahead and became PM.

For he had seen his grandmother Indira Gandhi and his father Rajiv being assassinated, and felt his mother too would be killed.

The Right to Food, Right to Work, Right to Information by the UPA government were important decisions made by the National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi. And Dr Singh went along with them.

Sonia Gandhi was half prime minister and took all the political decisions, though he was the prime minister ruling the country.

It was a difficult coalitional model, but Dr Singh could have pushed the envelope more. For Sonia Gandhi needed him as much as he needed her.

In the second term of UPA rule there were many corruption charges against his government.

Every Cabinet minister was running his department like a personal fiefdom -- with ministers gunning for each other. Like, Pranab Mukherjee's office was found to be bugged.

In September 2013, Rahul Gandhi at an impromptu press conference tore up the Cabinet ordinance on convicted politicians.

Rahul vetoed the ordinance and Dr Singh had to bow in to his demands.

Many felt that Dr Singh should have resigned at that time -- that was arguably the weakest moment of his premiership.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Canada-based businessman in connection with a defence espionage case in which a journalist and a former Navy commander were held in May, officials said on Tuesday.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: PTI Photo

Rahul Gangal, the businessman who took Permanent Residency in Canada in 2019 and also worked in a multi-national corporation, arrived in India last week, they said.

The probe agency received information about Gangal's arrival and located his place of stay in Delhi. He was arrested from there on Monday evening, the CBI spokesperson said.

'Investigation conducted earlier had revealed that the accused had allegedly transmitted sensitive defence document to other accused (a journalist who was arrested in this case on May 17, 2023),' the spokesperson said in a statement.

According to officials, a special court on Monday sent Gangal to CBI custody for four days.

'Searches were conducted at the premises of the accused which led to recovery of incriminating documents and digital devices. Scrutiny of these documents and devices revealed the possession and sharing of incriminating secret documents by him with the other accused (a journalist),' the spokesperson said.

The probe agency had earlier arrested freelance journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi and former Navy commander Ashish Pathak, who was working for a private company, for allegedly collecting sensitive information on defence matters and passing them on to foreign intelligence agencies.

The CBI was on the trail of suspects based in India and abroad since the arrest of Pathak and Raghuvanshi, officials said.

During the probe, several incriminating documents relating to Indian defence establishments, have also been seized, the spokesperson said.

"The data stored in cloud-based accounts/emails/social media accounts belonging to the accused/others have also been recovered by digital forensic experts of CBI," he said.

In its charge sheet filed before a special court here last month, the CBI accused Raghuvanshi and Pathak of violating the Official Secrets Act and related offences, the officials said.

Raghuvanshi and Pathak were arrested on May 17 and are in judicial custody.

Following the registration of the case, a CBI spokesperson had said, "It was alleged that the accused (Raghuvanshi) and his associate (Pathak) who is presently working with a (private) firm, were in possession of classified secret document related to Indian defence establishments."

The CBI took over the probe from the Delhi Police's Special Cell, which was tracking Raghuvanshi since September last year when it registered an FIR against him.

The CBI registered the case on December 9, 2022.

Raghuvanshi was allegedly collecting sensitive information and minute details about the progress of various DRDO projects, the CBI said.

He was also collecting details of future procurement plans of Indian armed forces which could have adversely affected the country's strategic preparedness, the agency claimed.

The CBI alleged that Raghuvanshi had collected information about classified communication information related to national security, besides details of strategic and diplomatic talks of India with friendly nations.

This information, if brought out, could have spoilt India's bilateral relations with these countries, they said.
A court in New Delhi on Tuesday sent to one-day judicial custody suspended Delhi government officer Premoday Khakha who allegedly raped a minor several times and impregnated her.

Image used only for representation.

His wife Seema Rani, who is accused of giving the girl medicine to terminate her pregnancy, was also sent to judicial custody for a day.

Both were produced separately before the duty metropolitan magistrate, Katyayini Sharma Kandwal.

After Khakha's medical examination, including a potency test, the duo was taken to jail, officials said.

A potency test is used to prove if an individual is physically capable of committing sexual assault.

The accused, an ex-cadre officer, had allegedly raped the girl several times between November 2020 and January 2021.

His wife allegedly gave the girl medicine to terminate her pregnancy. The couple has two kids.

She was staying at the residence of the accused, a family friend, after her father passed away on October 1, 2020, police had said.

The couple was arrested on Monday after the victim recorded her statement before a magistrate at a hospital.

According to sources, the investigation so far has revealed that the first incident of rape took place on October 31, 2020.

The accused gave her water, following which she fell unconscious and was allegedly sexually assaulted by him.

During the initial round of questioning, he claimed that the allegations are totally false.

He said the victim's family visited his house multiple times, which is being verified, sources said, adding that the girl returned home with her mother in 2021 when she came to meet her.

According to police, when the victim informed Rani about the incident, she put the blame on her.

The victim also alleged that Rani was strict with her and would beat her if she scored low marks in school exams.

The girl never told her mother about her ordeal thinking that she too would not believe her, police said.

A team of police officers will visit the church, where the victim met the accused, as part of the probe, if required, they said.

The couple was caught on CCTV cameras trying to flee, moments before being arrested from near their house. Sources said they were going to meet a lawyer to seek anticipatory bail from a court.

A case has been registered under provisions of the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code sections 376(2)(f) (being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman), police said.

Indian Penal Code sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman's consent) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) have also been invoked in the case, police said.

Meanwhile, DCW chief Swati Maliwal on Tuesday ended her dharna at St Stephen's Hospital in New Delhi where she had gone to meet the minor girl.

Maliwal had sat on the dharna Monday morning, claiming that she was prevented from meeting the girl.

She left the hospital Tuesday afternoon and could not meet the victim.

The DCW chief has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to direct the Delhi Police to allow her meeting with the minor girl.

She also urged the home minister to order an inquiry into the delay in arresting the accused and to shift the girl to AIIMS for better treatment.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday ordered the chief secretary to suspend the accused officer.

According to the order, during the suspension period, the officer is not permitted to leave the department headquarters without obtaining prior permission.

Meanwhile, a police official said the mother of the girl did not want to meet anyone since the victim is still under observation at the hospital.
United States President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7 to 10 to attend the G-20 Leaders' Summit during which he will discuss with other leaders a range of global issues, including the Ukraine conflict, the White House announced on Tuesday.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President Joe Biden during his visit to the United States in June 2023. Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership of the G20, the White House said in a statement.

The G20 world leaders' summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.

The summit is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in India.

India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2022, from Indonesia.

'President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putin's war in Ukraine,' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

'Increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges,' she said in a statement.

While in New Delhi, President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Modi's leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026, Jean-Pierre added.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Biden's talks with leaders on the sidelines of the summit will focus on climate change, Russia's war in Ukraine and other global challenges.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

The members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.

From September 4-7, Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia to attend the US-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit and engage with leaders from the Indo-Pacific, Jean-Pierre said.

Harris and ASEAN leaders will review the unprecedented expansion in US-ASEAN relations under the Biden-Harris Administration and the vice president will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to Southeast Asia and ASEAN centrality, the press secretary said.

This visit builds on President Biden's participation in the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2022, his virtual participation in the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in November 2021, and the President's and Vice President's engagements with ASEAN leaders at the historic May 2022 U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, D.C.

"This is the Vice President's third trip to Southeast Asia in the past two years, and builds on her August 2021 visit to Singapore and Vietnam and her November 2022 visit to Thailand and the Philippines," Jean-Pierre said.
A Kudumbashree worker, who had gone missing last week, was found allegedly murdered and buried in a ditch in the compound of a former colleague's house in Tuvvur in this district, police said on Tuesday.

IMAGE: Kerala Police, image used only for representation. Photograph: ANI Photo

Kudumbashree is a 46 lakh-strong all-woman network under the state government.

Vishnu, 26, a former temporary staff of the local panchayat in Malappuram, and four others, including his father and two younger brothers, were arrested in connection with the incident, they said.

He was also the local mandalam secretary of the Youth Congress in Tuvvur.

The prime accused knew the victim for some time as she was working in the panchayat's Krishi Bhavan.

As per the statement of the accused, the decomposed body, found buried in the compound of his house, was that of Sujitha, 35, who had gone missing since August 11.

A police officer said her mobile got switched off near the panchayat office, located adjacent to Vishnu's house, and the subsequent probe led to his arrest.

The body was found in the waste dumping pit during a search carried out by the police team last night, he said.

"As per the accused's statement, it was the body of the missing woman. It was in a decomposed state. A scientific examination under the aegis of an expert team comprising a forensic surgeon, dog squad and finger print officials is progressing at the site now," he told PTI.

It was suspected that the woman was killed over some financial dealings between the duo, the officer said.

According to Vishnu, he had allegedly strangled her to death and later hung her from the ceiling before burying her body in the pit with the help of his close relatives and their common friend, he said.

The accused have confessed to the crime, but only a detailed scientific examination can ascertain that the body was that of the missing woman, he further said.

Besides Vishnu, his father, two brothers and his friend were also arrested for supporting him in either carrying out or covering up the gruesome crime, he said.

"Among the accused, the father was suspected to have had clear knowledge about the crime his son had committed," the officer said, adding the police could reach the accused with the help of scientific evidence including mobile call details.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist came down heavily on the Youth Congress and the Congress party over the gruesome murder.

Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim, the all-India president of the DYFI, termed the murder of the woman as shocking.

He said the accused Youth Congress leader and his accomplice were arrested amidst the party's plan to carry out a police station march alleging investigators' failure in tracing the missing woman.

He urged the Youth Congress leadership and Puthuppally bypoll candidate Chandy Oommen to react on the matter.

Rahim said the Left outfit would make the gruesome murder a campaign topic during the upcoming bypoll.

"We consider the incident as an opportunity to expose the Youth Congress," he said.

He also wanted the police to carry out a comprehensive probe into the murder and bring all the conspirators involved in it before law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was looking forward to the deliberations and meetings with world leaders during the 15th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit as he was accorded a warm welcome upon his arrival in South Africa.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed on his arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday, on a three-day visit to attend the 15th BRICS summit. Photograph: ANI Photo

Modi, who arrived in Johannesburg on a three-day official visit, was received by South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base, where he given a ceremonial guard of honour.

'Landed in Johannesburg a short while ago. Looking forward to the various deliberations and meetings with world leaders during the BRICS Summit over the next few days,' Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

'PM @narendramodi touches down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa. Warmly received by Deputy President @PMashatile of South Africa. Accorded a ceremonial welcome upon arrival,' Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X.

Prime Minister Modi's visit to South Africa entails participation in the 15th BRICS Summit and engagements with leaders of BRICS and invited countries in plurilateral and bilateral settings, he added.

A large number of Indian community members, including activists of the Pretoria Hindu Seva Samaj and the local chapter of the BAPS Swaminarayan organisation, greeted the prime minister.

Modi then left for Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, the venue of the BRICS Summit. At the hotel, he met with local and expatriate Indian community members before attending the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue. The Indian community members carrying national flags and musical instruments welcomed Modi upon his arrival at the hotel with chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.

"Gratitude to South Africa's Indian community for the special welcome in Johannesburg," Modi posted on platform X where he shared some pictures of his interaction with the diaspora.

Two women diaspora members tied rakhi around the wrist of Modi ahead of Raksha Bandhan, falling on August 30.

Modi also viewed a model of the huge Swaminarayan Mandir which has been under construction since 2017 and is expected to be completed next year. The new temple at North Riding, north of Johannesburg, will be similar to one in Nairobi in Kenya, which is built entirely of stone. It will also include classrooms and a clinic.

"I am very glad to have met him (Modi)... He has an amazing aura around him... I hope that his influence passes on to other leaders around the world," said Lucy Sigaban, founder, SA Hindus.

"He (PM Modi) is a very lovable person, he is very humble. I think he is doing a good job in India," said Mohan Hira, who received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award recently.

Earlier in his departure statement in New Delhi, Modi said BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.

"We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.

This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.

Modi posted on X that he will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development.

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.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.

Modi said in the statement that he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

"I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.

From South Africa, the prime minister will travel to Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It will be his first visit to this ancient land. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there.
Actor Prakash Raj has been booked in a police station of Karnataka's Bagalkot district over a social media post, in which he allegedly mocked India's ambitious third lunar mission-- Chandrayaan-3, police said on Tuesday.

Photograph: ANI Photo

"A complaint has been filed against actor Prakash Raj for his post on the Chandrayaan-3 mission," police said.

"Hindu organisations leaders filed a complaint against the actor in Banahatti police station of Bagalkote district and have demanded action," they added.

On Sunday, Raj shared a cartoon showing a man in a shirt and sarong pouring tea. He captioned the cartoon in Kannada, writing, "Latest news: First view just arrived from the Chandrayaan #VikramLander #justasking".

While the actor did not specify the man in the cartoon, many social media users slammed the actor for making fun of former Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Sivan.

Among them was Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

"I condemn Prakash Raj for this shameful tweet. Success of ISRO is success of India," he wrote.

Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14, is ready to touch down on the Moon's south pole on August 23.

It will be the first to land on the lunar south pole.

On Sunday, India's space agency specified it would do so at 6.04 pm.

In a tweet on Monday, the actor said his earlier tweet was referring to an old joke from the era of Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969.

"Hate sees only Hate... i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times.. celebrating our Kerala Chaiwala.. which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see?? .. if you don't get a joke then the joke is on you.. Grow up #justasking(sic)," Raj tweeted.

The actor's tweet left many users angry on social media, with one of the users even asking Raj, known to be vocal against the government, to keep political hate away from ISRO's achievements.

Raj, who has made his mark in films such as Kanchivaram, Singham and Wanted, contested as an independent candidate for Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency during the 2019 general elections and lost.

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed as "unacceptable" the submission that Article 370 of the Constitution ceased to operate once the term of the constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir ended in 1957 after drafting the state's constitution.

Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com IMAGE: A Tiranga Yatra on shikharas on Dal Lake, August 1, 2023.

The remark by a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud came when senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, appearing for intervenor Prem Shankar Jha, argued that nothing of Article 370, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state, survived once the constitution of J-K was enacted on January 26, 1957, and the term of the state's constituent assembly ended.

Jha, who has challenged the August 5, 2019, decision of the Centre to abrogate Article 370, raised the legal question about whether Article 370 ceased to operate or exist after the enactment of the constitution of J&K and the dissolution of the constituent assembly.

This led the bench to raise queries on the legality of the submissions.

The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, told Dwivedi that the court has to look at the Indian constituent assembly debates and the intent of the makers of the Indian Constitution in a manner in which the Article 370 was framed.

"I am arguing somewhat differently from what my friends have argued. They want some part of Article 370 to survive. My argument is that nothing survives. All the powers conferred under Article 370, I would show, cease to operate once the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was enacted," Dwivedi said.

The CJI said the consequence of the argument will be that the Constitution of India and its application to Jammu and Kashmir would "stand frozen as of January 26, 1957".

"Therefore, no further development in Indian constitutional law can at all apply, according to you, to the state of Jammu and Kashmir after 1957. How can that be acceptable?" he said.

The bench told Dwivedi, "You are asking us to read what is not there in Article 370. Your submission is that it will be frozen after the constituent assembly of J-K frames the constitution but that does not appear to be following. We have to look at the constituent assembly debates in a manner in which Article 370 was framed."

Dwivedi said when the Article was framed, Jammu and Kashmir was in turmoil and the only legal entity was the state government and, therefore, the provision said there should be "consultation and concurrence" on the matters related to Union and concurrent list and those which do not fall under the Instrument of Accession.

"The constituent assembly was about to be set up. Hence, all the decisions which were taken in consultation and concurrence with the state government were to be placed before the constituent assembly of J-K. Therefore, Article 370 was a temporary provision," he contended.

The senior lawyer said looking at the provision and the constituent assembly debates, it can be clearly inferred that Article 370 was temporary and ceased to exist after January, 1957.

vThe bench said what was being submitted was contrary to arguments advanced by others opposed to the abrogation as they said that the provision had acquired permanent status after the term of the state's constituent assembly ended.

"This is what is creating a problem. Perhaps our thinking in the manner which we have been tuned to think for the past 70 years is that there should be One Nation-One Constitution. But where is that prescribed? It should be prescribed in the Constitution, which does not say so," the senior lawyer said.

CJI Chandrachud then asked can the court say that a speech made by a member of the constituent assembly, however weighty, represented the commitment of India to Jammu and Kashmir.

"This will have a bearing on the interpretation of the Constitution," the CJI said.

Justice Kaul also questioned Dwivedi on his line of argument and said according to him, Article 370 was a defunct provision and no purpose was served having it.

"Yet the provision continued to be there in the Indian Constitution. Constitution Orders (orders applying provisions of Indian Constitution to J-K) have been issued pre-1957 and post-1957. Yet nobody thought about removing it. The association of people with Article 370 was negatory and hence nothing survives. This is your argument?" Justice Kaul summed up Dwivedi's contentions.

Dwivedi told the bench that past practices would not justify the invalidity of a provision and this is a settled law.

"The law, as I understand, is that however long a past practice is, if it is constitutionally illegal, it cannot be justified. What I am trying to show is the intent of our Constitution framers. We cannot read Article 370 dehors (other than) the intent is my question, he said.

Justice Kaul said it is difficult to accept that the constituent assembly debates amount to an assurance that Article 370 would dissolve itself after the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir has been enacted and the term of the state's constituent assembly comes to an end.

Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami and others, challenged the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 and said the erstwhile state could not be divided into two Union territories.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on Wednesday.

Several petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, which split the erstwhile state into two Union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh -- were referred to a Constitution bench in 2019.
The Uttar Pradesh government has challenged the order of a court in Meerut that acquitted all 40 people accused in a case related to the 1987 Maliana massacre, in which 63 people died.

Photograph: PTI Photo, from Rediff.com archives IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only.

According to additional district government counsel Sachin Mohan, the government moved the Allahabad high court against the order of the court of additional district judge Lakhwinder Singh Sood. The next hearing of the case will be in October, he told PTI on Tuesday.

"The government and we were not satisfied with the decision of the additional district judge," Mohan said, adding this is a statutory process of the government.

"Every judgment is reviewed and it is seen whether there is a ground to appeal in it or not. The grounds for appeal in this case were found to be sufficient," he said.

Earlier this year, the court of the additional district judge acquitted all the 40 people accused in the Maliana massacre case due to lack of evidence.

In 1987, 63 members of the Muslim community were killed and their houses burnt down in Maliana village of Meerut. The court's order acquitting the accused came after nearly 900 hearings over a span of 36 years.

The case was lodged based on a complaint filed by one Mohammad Yakub in connection with the massacre who named 94 people. Of the 94, many have either died or are untraceable. The trial was held against 40 accused.

Meanwhile, a criminal appeal under section 372 of the CrPC against the March 31 trial court verdict was also filed by three victims of the massacre, Mohammed Yakub, Wakil Ahmed and Ismail Khan, in the high court on June 27. It was heard on July 11.

The bench of Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Nand Prabha Shukla of the high court passed an order, issuing a notice to the respondents, including the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Tourists from visa-exempt countries not yet recover to pre-pandemic levels

The number of tourists from 13 countries that are unilaterally exempt from visas by Vietnam have not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, data showed.

Starting from August 15, citizens from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus are allowed to stay for 45 days from the time of entry, triple the period given earlier.

In the first seven months of this year, the number of South Korean visitors to Vietnam reached 1.88 million, recovering only around 79% of pre-pandemic levels, according to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Japanese tourist arrivals only recovered over 50% while Western European visitors were around 80% of pre-pandemic levels.

Before the pandemic, Russia used to be Vietnam tourisms sixth largest source of tourists.

However, Vietnam has so far received 69,800 Russian tourists, around 20% of pre-pandemic levels, due to the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war that resulted in flight suspension.

The U.K., France and Germany were Vietnams biggest sources of European tourists so far this year.

The EU market has a population of over 500 million and European travelers tend to stay much longer, often for two weeks or more.

Since 2005, Vietnam started offering visa exemption for visitors from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

10 years later, the Vietnamese government continued waiving visas for citizens of five Western European countries including the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy with a maximum stay of 15 days and has since then extended the policy.

However, many European tourists previously complained they always have a long vacation in Vietnam, especially during winter escape holiday but a 15-day stay was too short for them to explore the country.

Tourism insiders said the new visa extension policy would give a boost to the tourism industry and helps Vietnam to attract a large number of European tourists with high spending.

However, they said visa extension was not "a magic wand" to lure international tourists immediately and the tourism industry should improve tourism products and marketing policies
Falling in seismic zone IV and highly vulnerable to landslides, Shimla saw over 100 buildings suffering damage or collapsing during recent incessant rains, with experts attributing it to water saturation in soil, construction on drains, seepage and overburdening of hills.

IMAGE: A view of the houses damaged by the landslides triggered by heavy rains at Krishna Nagar area, in Shimla on August 20, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Himachal Pradesh received 752.1 mm of rainfall since the onset of Monsoon on June 24 till date against average rainfall of 730 mm during the whole Monsoon season from June to September, according to the Met department.

About 46 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Shimla district in the ongoing Monsoon season and the losses in the district have touched Rs 1,286 crore, Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi said.

Over 115 houses and buildings have been damaged.

Keeping the safety of people in mind, over 100 endangered buildings including about 50 in Shimla have been vacated, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI on Tuesday.

Overburdening of hills with construction coupled with saturation of soil and seepage seem to be responsible for landslides in Shimla city, said Principal Scientific Officer, Himachal Pradesh Council for Science Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) S S Randhawa.

Randhawa, who has been appointed as coordinator of the committee constituted to study the causes behind the landslides, visited the sites of Krishna Nagar, Fagli and some other landslip sites in Shimla.

Talking to the PTI, he said that after the winter snow season, there was virtually no summer season and the rainy season immediately followed which aggravated the situation as there was no break for moisture in the soil to dry.

Landslides had claimed five lives in Fagli and two in Krishna Nagar in Shimla recently while the total death toll in Shimla town alone was 24 as 17 bodies were recovered from the rubble of Shiv temple in Summerhill.

"We have disturbed the natural balance of nature. The present situation is the result of our collective failure and we need to own it," said former state chief architect Nand Kishore Negi.

The population of Shimla city has increased more than the carrying capacity (natural resources, water and air quality and carriage capacity). The old natural drainage system has become defunct and buildings have come up on drains, he told PTI.

Earlier 30 per cent area had constructions and 70 per cent was vacant but now the scenario is reversed and the volume of water in drains has surpassed the carrying capacity, he said.

"Several reasons have contributed to slides but one thing is clear that we can't go vertical in the construction on hills and it is time that we follow the norms of one kilometre of green cover after two kilometres of construction as is prevalent abroad," he added.

The Britons had developed Shimla for a population of about 15,000but the population had surpassed three lakh in 2021.

According to the police data, several areas in the Shimla district, as well as the town, are sinking and the situation is grave in Labrot, Khauni, Chanderpur and Ghunsa villages of Jubbal; Thaitwari, Janglikh and Dhamwari villages in Rohru; Khaltu Nala and some areas of Kotkhai and Kumarsein and Chini Bangla in Kufri.

In Shimla city, the sinking zones included areas of Comley Bank, Krishna Nagar, Police Line area in Kaithu, Jutog Cantt, Dhingu Dhar near Dhalli, Fruit Apple Mandi in Bhattakuffer and areas near ISBT.

Shimla is going through tough times but this phase would also pass and the situation would get better, the SP said.

Soil strata were ignored as people were inclined to buy cheap land in the state capital and the majority of the buildings/houses that collapsed were either constructed alongside nallahs or at an elevation of above 45 degrees, opine experts.

According to the seismic zoning map of the country, the total area is classified into four seismic zones. Zone V is seismically the most active region, while zone II is the least. Shimla falls under Zone IV.

Successive governments ignored the concern expressed by environmentalists and ecologists and huge concrete buildings continued to obscure the landscape and recent heavy rains pressed the destruction button, they claimed.

"Vote bank politics of successive governments allowing unregularised construction is to be blamed for the present day. It is a known fact that Krishna Nagar is a dumping site and the successive governments should answer why people are not displaced from here," said another former state government architect seeking anonymity.

Lack of proper foundation, flouting of bylaws resulting in the construction of multistory buildings and leakage of water transmission lines are also responsible for the destruction, the former architect added.

Meanwhile, in a video, Himachal Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh acknowledged that shortcomings of successive state governments were responsible for the present situation.

"We owe an apology to people for colossal devastation due to rains, floods and landslides and are determined to take bitter and strong steps for the safety and security of the state and future generations.

"I am tendering an apology to the people not because we have done something wrong but feel that there must have been some shortcomings on the part of precious governments which led to the loss of human lives and property during the ongoing monsoons," he said in a message.
It was only a matter of hours before I would be declared persona non grata; all my work would turn to ashes, and I would be revealed as a typical untrustworthy Indian.

I steeled myself for the axe to fall.

A must-read excerpt from Mani Shankar Aiyar's Memoirs of A Maverick: The First Fifty Years (1941-1991).

Through the year 1980, I had off and on received calls from someone calling himself 'Shaheed', asking to meet me.

I had replied 'Shaheed' (meaning 'martyr') is not a name and I would not give him an appointment until he told me his real name and gave me an indication of what he wanted to talk about. He had declined.

On 25 December, the birthday shared by Jesus Christ, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, I was at home. My doorbell rang.

I opened the door, and there stood a young man who beamed and said he was 'Shaheed'.

I was left with no alternative but to let him in. Having seated ourselves, I asked him what he wanted to talk to me about.

He began by explaining that he was an avid follower of 'Shaheed' Bhutto and after his martyrdom had abandoned his own given name to call himself 'Martyr'.

He said he had heard a great deal about me from his fellow PPP workers and of my personal friendship with several PPP leaders, including Benazir and Begum Nusrat.

His colleagues were planning a celebration on 4 January, Bhutto's birthday, and had asked him to invite me to be the chief guest.

I thanked him, but said he and his friends needed to understand that I was accredited to the hangman.

He said he understood perfectly, then settling himself more comfortably on the sofa, Shaheed said he had one more question to ask: did I think the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) that Benazir had just launched would be successful? I replied I did not think so for two reasons.

One, Benazir was trying to foist on MRD a multi-point agenda instead of fixing attention on a single point: the restoration of democracy.

She did not seem to realize that she was joining hands with precisely those political parties that had banded together to oust her father; any diffusion of the agenda would tend to divide her from her partners, whereas focusing on a single point was more likely to keep them united.

Second, I said, she must include all political parties in her movement, because if she left anyone out, Zia (-ul Haq, Pakistan's then military dictator) was likely to snap up that party or parties to give a civilian facade to his dictatorship.

I pointed to her exclusion of the Jama'at-e-Islami as a specific mistake. (Eventually, Zia did co-opt the Jama'at-e-Islami.)

Very politely and graciously, 'Shaheed' thanked me and took his leave, and I thought no more about this conversation than the dozens I had had on the same subject with others.

Three months after 'Shaheed' visited me, in March 1981 a PIA aircraft was hijacked on its way from Karachi to Peshawar and one of Bhutto's aides was shot on board.

The hijackers took the plane on a circuitous route to various places, including Kabul, for several days while negotiating with Zia's government their demand that several named PPP activists be released from jail.

Eventually, the plane was landed in Damascus and a large number of PPP political detenus were released from jail and flown out of the country in exchange for the release of the passengers on the flight.

Of course, immediately after the drama ended, Benazir was once again put under house arrest.

Whenever my wife shook me awake in the middle of the night, it was to enable us to observe the goings-on in our neighbour's house from our bedroom balcony.

The neighbour was the Bhutto household! Arresting, releasing and re-arresting the Bhutto ladies was par for the course, so I went back to bed and thought no more of it.

A month later -- on 23 April, Shakespeare's birthday -- I was in the shower when Suneet (Vir Singh, Mani Shankar Aiyar's wife) walked in and read out a news item in the Karachi Morning News which said the police, searching Benazir's house after her arrest, had found a letter which implicated a 'foreign diplomat' in encouraging the movement against the Zia government.

The news item went on that the letter to Benazir was dated 25 December 1980 and had been sent from Karachi Central Jail to Benazir by a dedicated PPP activist, Sami Muneer.

The letter informed Benazir that Shaheed had come straight to Karachi Central Jail from the diplomat's home and asked Sami to urgently convey to Benazir some very important advice that he, Shaheed, had secured from the diplomat.

While the letter named the diplomat, the news report blacked it out. The letter went on to say that the diplomat concerned knew Pakistan well and his advice must be taken seriously as he understood Pakistani politics as no Pakistani did.

The advice, in sum, was that the MRD should have a one-point/all-party programme if it were to succeed!

I froze in the shower. This undoubtedly spelt my end. A Bhutto admirer called Shaheed had indeed visited me to invite me to be chief guest at a function and we had spent some time talking frankly about Pakistani politics and Bhutto.

The specifics of my advice on the MRD had been accurately conveyed by Samir to Benazir.

It was thus only a matter of hours before I would be declared persona non grata; all my work would turn to ashes, and I would be revealed as a typical untrustworthy Indian. I steeled myself for the axe to fall.

It never did. Instead, poor Santosh Kumar at our embassy in Islamabad was declared persona non grata for allegedly making an un-notified and unapproved halt in Multan on his way back from Karachi to clandestinely meet a Communist politician. This was about a year earlier.

The Pakistan foreign ministry had kept the matter on the back burner for use when required. I, the palpably guilty one, was spared. I never ceased wondering why.

About a decade later, I learnt from a fairly reliable source (that I cannot disclose) that initially the authorities were extremely suspicious of me and followed me everywhere.

They were impressed that I never turned my head to see if I was being followed. They were also impressed that I never hid from them.

I travelled everywhere in my official car with the Indian flag flying.

And dissecting my conversation with various interlocuters, the intelligence agents came to the conclusion that apart from a deep curiosity and interest in everything that pertained to Pakistan, I harboured no ill will.

It was, therefore, decided that no action would be taken against me, but they had to show their disapproval. So Santosh was made the scapegoat.

This is what I was told. I cannot certify the veracity of the explanation.

I also think they did not want to have a high-level diplomatic incident on their hands that might adversely affect the planned visit of the Indian external affairs minister to Islamabad and Karachi. He arrived in mid-May.

I was part of the Indian delegation, and remarked that in travelling from Karachi to Islamabad I had covered a greater distance than those who had flown in from New Delhi.

This was an illustration of how closely the two countries were geographically interconnected.

Mani Shankar Aiyar, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1963, served as India's first consul general in Karachi from 1979 to 1982.

Excerpted from Memoirs of A Maverick: The First Fifty Years (1941-1991) by Mani Shankar Aiyar, with the permission of the publishers, Juggernaut Books. Available on Amazon and in bookstores.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Periods of rain. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Statement on the passing of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople

I and my wife Kat Pimentel extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople, who served as the Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers. Secretary Toots' untimely passing is a great loss to our nation.

During her tenure as Secretary, Toots demonstrated unwavering commitment. She did not waste a day to organize and establish the newly created Department of Migrant Workers. Under her tenure, DMW is truly the home of overseas Filipinos.

Her compassion and advocacy for the rights of overseas Filipino workers were truly commendable. The Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, an organization she founded, is a testament to her dedication and love for our countrymen. Her legacy will live on through the continued efforts of this institution and the legacy she left behind in the Department of Migrant Workers.

I had the privilege of not only working alongside Secretary Toots in a professional capacity but also sharing the airwaves with her as co-anchors on a radio program. She was not just a colleague, but also a friend who I will truly miss.

In this time of mourning, let us remember Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople for her unwavering commitment to service and for being the guiding light during the darkest hours of countless overseas Filipinos.
Highlights

Vermont Public Utility Commission lifts cap on customer enrollments Customers in GMP's home battery programs stay powered up during severe weather Expanded enrollment is an urgent need as Vermont experiences increasing extreme storms due to climate change Neighbors helping neighbors: Programs' unique energy sharing cuts costs for all GMP customers Decision addresses growing waitlist to enroll that currently extends to 2026

Green Mountain Power (GMP) customers will have greater access to seamless, cost-effective home battery backup power following an order by the Vermont Public Utility Commission late Thursday. In April, after the third devastating storm in less than twelve months, GMP filed a request to lift the enrollment caps on its popular Powerwall and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) home battery programs. Removing the cap allows more customers access to the program as Vermont sees increasingly severe weather due to climate change. The Commission agreed, citing growing customer demand for home batteries, the likelihood of more extreme weather in the future, and that the home battery programs benefit all GMP customers.

"Accelerating storm resiliency is our path forward, especially after what Vermonters have gone through this year. We're pleased we can expand access allowing more customers to enroll in these programs which have a proven track record of keeping customers powered up through extremely tough conditions," said Mari McClure, GMP president and CEO. "This is just one aspect of the multi-layered resiliency work we have been doing across our system since launching our Climate Plan three years ago building out initiatives to help Vermont communities stay connected."

Since 2020, both the Powerwall and BYOD programs had been capped at 500 customers, or 5MW of energy storage, per program, per year. The waitlist for the Powerwall program is now 1,200 customers long, and the program is full into 2026. About 300 customers joined the waitlist this summer, following historic flooding in the state.

Candace Nattie, a GMP customer from Norwich, cheered the regulators' decision. She joined the waitlist for the Powerwall program after heavy, wet snow tore down trees and poles across Vermont in December 2022. She had a few days without power while her neighbors, already in the Powerwall program, stayed powered up.

"This is a relief, to have the ability to have power and stay at home safely in severe weather, and the severe storms keep happening here and around the world. It is a real sense of security and comfort to have power, water, and heat," Nattie said.

In the Powerwall program, customers lease two Tesla Powerwall batteries from GMP for $55 per month. Customers choose the certified installer they prefer. The lease is a significant savings over purchasing the batteries on your own because customers in the program also agree to share stored energy with GMP during peak energy use times, like heatwaves. During times of peak demand, energy can be expensive and carbon intensive. By sharing energy during these peak times and putting it back on the grid, it reduces costs and carbon emissions for all GMP customers.

In the BYOD program, customers buy a battery of their choosing from a local installer, and they can receive an incentive up to $10,500 from GMP depending on how much stored energy they agree to share during peaks.

To date, about 2,900 GMP customers have more than 4,800 batteries in their homes. During energy peaks, GMP networks that stored energy together, along with utility scale batteries and devices like car chargers, into a virtual power plant of about 50MW of stored energy. Combined, this growing stored energy network has saved GMP customers up to $3 million a year for the last few years.

With the cap lifted, customers can now continue to sign up for GMP's home energy storage programs online, and the timing for installations will depend on scheduling with the installer a customer selects.

Expanding access to home batteries is just one part of the resiliency work GMP has been doing, and continues to accelerate, across Vermont. The company is undergrounding lines and using storm-hardening line construction techniques to keep communities powered up by preventing outages before they happen. GMP is also using CDC vulnerability and other data to partner with communities on Resiliency Zones to keep them connected with distribution circuit microgrids and renewable power generation.

GMP first offered home batteries for backup power through pilot programs in 2015, becoming the first utility in the U.S. to partner with Tesla. GMP was the first utility in the country to earn regulatory approval to offer fully tariffed home energy programs in 2020, after regulators decided the Powerwall and BYOD pilot programs provided reliable, seamless backup power for participating customers while also reducing costs for all GMP customers through energy sharing.

Customers who are interested in signing up for the program can visit the GMP website.

About Green Mountain Power

Green Mountain Power serves more than 270,000 residential and business customers in Vermont with electricity that's 100% carbon free and 78% renewable on an annual basis, and GMP is partnering with customers to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is providing solutions to cut carbon and is delivering electricity that is clean, affordable, and always on. GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. In 2022, GMP was named to TIME's list of the 100 Most Influential Companies. Fast Company named GMP one of the top five Most Innovative Companies in North America in 2022. GMP also earned a spot on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in the World list in the energy sector four years in a row, and in 2023 and 2021 the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) honored GMP as a nationwide leader in energy transformation.

Media Contact:

GMP: Kristin Carlson, (802) 229-8200
By Sam Taylor

Jose Rodriguez is a recent Lanier High School graduate and the first in his family to attend college. Jose's mother, Rebeca, worked two jobs to support him and his two older brothers. Like many families, she couldn't afford back-to-school expenses like new school supplies.

To lend a helping hand, Communities in Schools - San Antonio (CIS-SA) partners with many companies, including CPS Energy, to donate school supplies to families. Jose says the generosity of CPS Energy's team members, and others in the community, helps students like him focus on learning and achieving.

"I knew I could rely on Communities in Schools for those supplies," said Jose. "Whenever I needed something for projects, they really helped me get those A's."

Jose Rodriguez

CIS-SA recently wrapped up its annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive. This year, our company supported the effort with a campaign called Stuff the Bucket. The inspiration comes from our linemen who use bucket trucks to keep safe, reliable power flowing through our community. We serve our community's energy needs and our partnership with CIS is a powerful way to make a difference for students.

As One Team, CPS Energy employees collected more than $5,100 through a virtual donation drive and thousands of dollars' worth of school supplies. CIS-SA will be sharing a total market value later this month.

For more than 15 years, our utility has been a proud partner of CIS-SA. Our partnership also includes support for the InspireU program, where our team members mentor high school students.

That's how Jose met his mentor Trey Barlow, a Generation Research & Planning Manager. Trey previously volunteered with Boy Scouts of America before signing up for InspireU. He shared a good lesson for any mentor.

"I think it's important to listen more than talk," said Trey. "I enjoyed listening to his experiences about the disadvantages in his neighborhood, what life was like outside school and the pressures he was facing."

Trey has offered lots of advice to Jose and helped him prepare for college. He was proud to see Jose graduate in the top 10 percent of his class.

"I was very excited about him becoming a first-generation graduate," said Trey. "He is an amazing young man and represents everything good about this country."

Jose is grateful for the mentoring Trey provided through the InspireU program. Now the teenager feels confident and ready to pursue a new goal of earning a degree in business administration at Texas A&M - San Antonio.

"They've all motivated me to go to college," said Jose. "They know my story. I feel proud of myself to be the first in my family to go to college. Thank you to CPS Energy and Communities in Schools for their support. I feel very motivated to succeed!"
A claim that Indias ban on Chinese kite string is a Sinophobic policy has been widely circulated in Chinese-language social media.

But the claim is false. India refers to nylon kite string as Chinese kite string since their key materials are mostly imported from China. The string is produced in India and was banned due to concerns over safety and its negative impact on the environment.

Multiple official Chinese news outlets, including Huanqiu Wang and Kankan Xinwe, claimed that India's ban on "Chinese-made kite string was proof India wanted to stir up conflict with China.

Chinese official media outlets claimed that India is blaming China for producing harmful nylon kite strings. (Screenshots from Huanqiu Wang and Weibo.)

The claim began to circulate online after Indias domestic media outlets reported here and here that nylon and other synthetic kite string  often coated with glass powder, making it abrasive and able to cut other kite strings  will likely increase bird deaths during this years annual celebration of Indian Independence Day on Aug. 15.

Both articles noted that the kite-flying string  also called Chinese manjha  is still widely used despite an ongoing government ban enacted in 2017. Manjha refers to kite-flying string.

Kite-flying is a popular pastime in India and a traditional way to commemorate the countys emergence as a sovereign state from British rule in 1947.

Responding to the news, some Chinese netizens taunted that the Indian government is adopting Sinophobic policies similar to the United States by illogically banning such everyday items as kite string.

Verified and widely followed Weibo users deride the Indian governments decision to ban the kite strings. (Screenshots taken from Weibo.)





But the claim is false. Below is what AFCL discovered.

Did Indias ban against Chinese manjha have anything to do with China?

No. The string was banned due to safety and environmental concerns.

Besides being more affordable than conventional cotton string, synthetic kite string has a heightened tension that renders them extremely sharp.

This added sharpness, while favored by kite-fighting enthusiasts, has also harmed numerous birds and individuals.

In response to these concerns, India's National Green Tribunal, or NGT  a body responsible for addressing environmental matters  prohibited the sale and usage of these strings in 2017.

Is Chinese manjha actually made in China?

No. The kite string is locally manufactured in India.

The NGT notes that Chinese manjha is a term used to distinguish generic nylon, synthetic and metal kite string from traditional cotton kite strings.

Separately, it states that such string is neither manufactured, imported, supplied or distributed from China and have nothing to do with the country.

The NGT says Chinese Manjha is a commonly used term for all nylon and synthetic kite strings. (Screenshot from the NGT Judgement.)





Indias local media outlets also explained here and here the synthetic string is commonly referred to as Chinese manjha because polypropylene  a key ingredient in making them  is mostly imported from Taiwan and China.

Mohit Kartikeyan, a Bangalore manufacturer of kite strings, told Scroll.in that calling the string Chinese is a type of marketing gimmick meant to draw in customers looking for imported products.

The Indian kite string manufacturer Manjha Kite Wale told AFCL that in addition to their raw materials, some nylon kite strings are also indeed imported from China.

The term is widely used by domestic media outlets, as seen in reports by The Times of India, The Economic Times of India, Business Today and The Indian Express.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster.

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.
Hun Manet gestures as he registers at the National Assembly before parliaments vote to confirm him as Cambodias next prime minister, in Phnom Penh, on Aug. 22, 2023.

Cambodias newly sworn-in National Assembly voted to make Hun Manet the countrys prime minister on Tuesday, ending his fathers long reign at the top of the government and ushering in a new generation of leaders from the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party.

Hun Manet, 45, spoke to lawmakers after the vote. He thanked his father Hun Sen for clearing the way for him and also attacked opposition parties and other dissidents.

The election results reflect a strong denial from the voters against those unethical groups that are convincing Cambodians to walk away from democracy and the rule of law, and to incite people to fall into their ambitions that are vicious and dangerous to the country, he said.

Hun Sen was seen wiping away tears after the vote. After ruling the country since 1985, the 71-year-old announced just three days after the July 23 election that he would resign as prime minister and would hand over the prime minister role to his eldest son.

On Tuesday, Hun Sen was officially appointed to his new roles as president of the Senate and the Supreme Privy Council to King Norodom Sihamoni.

He will also retain power behind the scenes as president of the CPP, which overwhelmingly won last months elections  in no small part because authorities kept the main opposition Candlelight Party from participating on a technicality.

Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Manet [center] and newly elected members of parliament raise their hands to vote during a parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly building, Aug. 22, 2023. Credit: AFP/Cambodia National Assembly





Still the decision-maker

Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy told Radio Free Asia that Hun Manets ascension represented only symbolic change.

Hun Sen is still the decision-maker, he said. He will continue to protect the system. His son takes the position to make his government look good.

The new Assembly also voted on Monday for a new cabinet, which includes 10 deputy prime ministers, 21 senior ministers and 30 ministers.

Many of the new ministers are the adult children and relatives of the outgoing generation of government officials who established the corrupt system, Sam Rainsy said.

Hun Sen is buying people to allow their children to take their fathers positions to secure his impunity, he said.

Hun Sen reacts while speaking at a news conference at the National Assembly after a vote to confirm his son, Hun Manet, as Cambodias prime minister in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug. 22, 2023. Credit: Cindy Liu/Reuters





They send people to attack me

Last months election was condemned by the United States, France, Australia and others as neither free nor fair because of the exclusion of the Candlelight Party, as well as for efforts to neutralize the political opposition through threats, arrests and other means.

In the run-up to the election, dozens of opposition activists were persuaded to publicly switch their allegiance to the CPP.

But one activist who refused, and is now seeking asylum in Thailand, said that three men struck him in the face and tried to drag him into a car this week. Phorn Channa told RFA that he escaped with help from a bystander.

I got off my motorbike and was attacked, he said. I fled to a house for help but people shouted so the suspect fled.

He said that Heng Suor  now the newly appointed minister of Labor  had previously tried to convince him to join the CPP. He said he declined because he believed that only an opposition party could bring democracy to Cambodia and respect for human rights.

I thought when I arrived in Thailand I would be safe, but it is not safe, he said. They send people to attack me. I am very concerned. This shows that the Cambodian government is brutal. They are trying to harm democrats wherever we go.

RFA couldnt reach Heng Suor for comment on Tuesday.

Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Overseas analysts fret about anti-espionage hyper-vigilance and the emergence of a culture of fear.

The lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building in Langley, Virginia, U.S. on August 14, 2008.

Less than a month after the new National Security Law came into effect, Chinas security ministry has announced another espionage case allegedly involving the American spy agency.

The Ministry of State Security, or MSS, on Monday accused a government worker of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the second such case this month, as Beijing ramps up an anti-espionage campaign that it says every Chinese citizen should participate in.

On Aug. 1 Chinas national spy agency opened an official WeChat account with the announcement, Counter-espionage requires the mobilization of [the] entire society.

WeChat has more than 1.3 billion active monthly users  think of it as Twitter (now known as X), Facebook and daily banking all rolled into one.

The latest arrest by the MSS is a 39-year-old Chinese national, identified only by his surname Hao, whom the ministry claims was recruited by the CIA while he was studying in Japan.

Some China watchers called the latest developments disturbing.

Associate Professor Chongyi Feng of the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia said that since the new National Security Law was implemented, Chinas anti-espionage efforts have gone into a state of hyper-vigilance.

This newly implemented law empowers security personnel to commit injustice. They have a strong motive to fabricate false accusations to gain merit. They can easily concoct a story and then release it to the world. Its a mechanism of persecution thats extremely terrifying, Feng said.

Chinas state spy agency said the latest arrest, Hao, was groomed by a U.S. embassy official in Japan while applying for a U.S. visa before introducing him to a colleague name Li Jun, who later revealed himself to be a CIA officer and asked Hao to return to China to work for a core and critical department.

Hao allegedly agreed, signed an espionage agreement with the U.S. and received training, the statement said.

Upon returning to China, Hao landed a job at a government ministry, and allegedly met with CIA agents multiple times to provide intelligence and collect espionage funds, the Chinese spy agency claimed, adding that the case is under further investigation.

Spies in the woodwork

The MSS statement comes just 10 days after the same ministry claimed it uncovered another Chinese national of spying for the CIA  a worker at an unidentified Chinese military industrial group who was allegedly recruited while studying in Italy.

Ten days ago, the MSS announced that the suspect  identified only by the surname Zeng  had secretly met with CIA personnel multiple times and provided a substantial amount of core Chinese intelligence, and received espionage funds.

The time and location of the cases occurrence were not disclosed, leaving some to question the veracity of the case.

Paramilitary guards stand outside the Xinhua Gate of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, located in the center of Beijing on June 18, 2012. Credit: Reuters/File photo

Professor Yang Haiying of Shizuoka University in Japan claimed that the latest espionage case involving Hao in Japan seemed somewhat sensational, as it involved the CIA and occurred in Japan, where relations with China are tense.

Firstly, I think this might be fake news, the professor said. There might not be any real individuals involved, but they can create such a narrative and tell the citizens that imperialists have undying intentions against us. It involves Americans, and the stage is set in Japan, which is very targeted.

A Japan-based student who chose to be only identified by the surname Ma, told RFA Mandarin that given frequent announcements on how to guard against espionage and report suspicious persons, many students in Japan are now hesitant about returning to China.

While the national security agencies are making a show of mobilizing the entire populace to catch spies and agents, their true intention isn't on the actual act of catching spies, but to stir up nationalist sentiments of xenophobia.

Broader dragnet

While there are apparently no obvious reasons to connect what are multiple cases of China clamping down on perceived security risks, since the National Security Law came into effect clampdowns have become more frequent.

Last week, Chinas spy agency accused a former Yunnan province party-school lecturer named Zi Su of attempting to overthrow the state power.

Zi was accused of planning to purchase weapons from abroad and recruit a suicide squad online for violent actions and his arrest was related to his public support for democratic constitutionalism and his publication of political commentaries, not for spying.

Shanghai police have detained He Mei, the founder and CEO, of the Wailian Chuguo consultancy firm, which helps people emigrate overseas. Credit: Wailian Chuguo website

Earlier this month, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau confirmed the arrest of the head of Wailian Chuguo, one of Shanghais largest China-U.S. immigration agencies, on charges of illegal business operations.

Reports have circulated suggesting that the authorities demanded decades of immigration data from the company, raising concerns that Chinese citizens who have emigrated overseas or have overseas connections could become targets.

Meanwhile, just a month ago, CIA director William Burns told the Aspen Security Forum that the agency had made progress in rebuilding its spy networks in China after being badly compromised a decade ago.

In response, Beijing said it would take all necessary countermeasures to safeguard national security.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
The transmission line connecting Kaheawa Wind Power I to Lahaina has been restored in Hawaiian Electric's continuing efforts to safely rebuild sections of the grid on Maui.

More than 80% of the customers who lost electricity have their power back on. More than 90% of all customers on Maui have electricity. Approximately 1,800 customers in Olowalu, Lahaina and some surrounding areas remain without power.

Hawaiian Electric has reached out to industry partners nationwide for essential materials needed for restoration work on Maui. Aid received from Mutual Assistance will help replenish critical supplies. Additionally, the company has requested expedited delivery of materials from vendors and expects more supply shipments in the coming week.

More than 400 Hawaiian Electric employees and contractors from Hawaii Island, Lanai, Molokai and Oahu are on Maui to help restore remaining outages and rebuild infrastructure.

Updates are also available at hawaiianelectric.com/windstormresponse
The trip comes as the Biden administration rolls out a framework to ban certain US investments in China.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondos visit to Beijing next week has been complicated by developments in the United States and China, including the hacking of Microsoft-run U.S. government email servers in June, including Raimondos account.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit Beijing early next week, becoming the fourth Biden administration official to make the trip since a thaw in relations began two months ago.

Raimondo will leave Washington on Sunday and return on Wednesday, according to a Commerce Department statement issued Tuesday.

Secretary Raimondos travel follows President Bidens meeting with President Xi last November, the statement said. While in [China], Secretary Raimondo looks forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation.

Raimondos trip follows trips to Beijing in June and July by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, and comes amid an open invitation for Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to make a return trip to Washington.

But it has been complicated by a number of developments in both the United States and China, including the hacking of Microsoft-run U.S. government email servers in June, including Raimondos account, which led some American lawmakers to call on her to cancel the trip.

Earlier this month, Biden announced a new framework to ban certain U.S. investments in China over national-security concerns, which angered Beijing, which slammed it as protectionist. China has also hit back at U.S. bans on sales of high-end microchips there.

National security

Raimondo, though, says that her mission to promote American business interests in China can be separated from national security issues.

She told a forum at the Wilson Center last month there is no risk to national security in U.S. businesses selling coffee and beauty aids to China, and that she could promote such interests without ceding any space on demands from China to loosen security measures.

At a high level, we need to do business with China, wherever we can, Raimondo said on July 25. We need to promote [U.S. businesses] wherever we can, but we need to protect wherever we can.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that Raimondos trip was part of an ongoing U.S. effort to reopen lines of communication after almost a year of bad blood between the worlds two powers, and that he didnt expect any major announcements.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondos Beijing trip is part of a U.S. effort to reopen lines of communication after almost a year of bad blood between the two countries, says National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images file photo)

We do not view these trips as about deliverables, or particular policy outcomes. We view them as a method of managing a complex relationship, a competitive relationship so that that competition doesn't tip over into conflict, Sullivan said on a call with reporters.

He said Raimondo would, for example, be able to walk through with Chinese officials the new outbound investment ban that has angered them, and then ask them about their lack of transparency on economic data, so that we can understand where they are coming from.

Such diplomacy was not to change China, Sullivan added, but to ensure each side understands what the other is doing, and what they are not doing. That's really what these visits have all been about.

Edited by Malcolm Foster
But Chris Tang declines to confirm whether a warrant is out for Jens Galschit under a draconian security law

Danish sculptor Jens Galschit, whose Pillar of Shame was seized by Hong Kong police, speaks to a reporter in front of his sculpture entitled "Mad Cow Disease" at the Victoria Park in Hong Kong in 2005.

Hong Kong's security chief has warned Danish sculptor Jens Galschit that artistic creations like his seized "Pillar of Shame, which commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, can sometimes be a "pretext" for those seeking to "endanger national security."

The sculpture, which depicts a tower of human bodies, was seized in May as part of a national security investigation.

"It is a common modus operandi of those seeking to endanger national security to engage in such acts and activities under the pretexts of peaceful advocacy, artistic creations and so forth," Chris Tang wrote in a letter to Galschit dated Aug. 21, a copy of which was posted to the artist's website.

"Law enforcement authorities will conduct diligent investigations to ascertain if the true nature and substance of such acts and activities is to endanger national security, and the mere use of labels is of no avail," Tang warned.

The case is yet another example of Chinas clampdown on Hong Kong, where authorities have employed a highly elastic definition of what constitutes a threat to national security.

Dozens of former opposition politicians and activists are standing trial for subversion for organizing a democratic primary election.

Arrest warrant?

However, Tang declined to answer Galschit's original enquiry, sent in a letter dated Aug. 11, in response to reports that police had issued a warrant for his arrest.

"Are there charges filed against me, and if so, what are they?" Galschit asked in that letter. "Has an arrest warrant been issued or is there a plan to issue one against me?"

University students gather to clean the Pillar of Shame sculpture at the University of Hong Kong on June 4, 2021 in Hong Kong. Credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images





To this, Tang replied only: "The Police will not respond to any enquiry in relation to individual cases. Rest assured that when the police arrest a person, he will be informed upon arrest [of] the offense for which he is arrested."

But he mentioned recent arrest warrants and bounties issued for eight prominent Hong Kong rights activists now living overseas, warning that the draconian security law applies to everyone in Hong Kong and abroad, whether they are a permanent resident of the city or not.

"The Police will not hesitate to take enforcement actions with a view to bringing any person who has violated the National Security Law to justice," Tang warned. "The recent actions taken by the Police against eight wanted persons who have fled overseas ... demonstrate the HKSAR Government's determination to discharge its constitutional duty."

Galschit had also asked to be updated about when the authorities would return the "Pillar of Shame" sculpture to him, but didnt receive a clear answer.

"Seizure of any property or exhibit for criminal investigation or criminal proceedings in connection with offenses endangering national security is conducted by the law enforcement authorities in accordance with legal or judicial authorization, Tang replied. Any such property or exhibit seized will be handled and disposed of (if appropriate) in accordance with the law.

He said freedom of expression was "not absolute," and could be subject to "necessary" restrictions in the pursuit of national security or public order.

Treated like criminals

Galschit expressed disappointment with Tangs reply and said in a statement on his website that the Hong Kong government's move treats anyone engaged in artistic creation and peaceful advocacy in Hong Kong like criminals.

The response clearly showed that Hong Kong is moving away from democracy and towards a lawless dictatorship, he said, adding that he had to "read between the lines" for answers to his questions.

Rest assured that when the police arrest a person, he will be informed upon arrest [of] the offense for which he is arrested," says Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang, seen in this May 2023 file photo. Credit: Peter Parks/AFP





A report in the pro-China Sing Tao Daily newspaper had said Hong Kong police want to arrest Galschit, and that if he did come to Hong Kong to retrieve his artwork, he could be sent to face trial in mainland China under Article 55 of the law.

"They have decided to activate Article 55 of the Hong Kong National Security Law, meaning that the case will be handed over to [Beijing's] National Security Office in Hong Kong, which can exercise jurisdiction to transfer it to the mainland for trial," the paper said.

Article 55 of the law, which was imposed on Hong Kong from July 1, 2020, in a bid to crack down on the 2019 pro-democracy movement, allows for national security cases deemed to be of a "serious" nature to be transferred to mainland China for trial.

Tang claimed in a recent Facebook video that several waves of mass protests calling for democracy and the preservation of Hong Kong's promised freedoms were the work of "foreign forces" trying to foment a "color revolution" in Hong Kong.

"The intention of foreign forces to make use of Hong Kong to endanger our national security didn't happen overnight," Tang said in the video. "National security incidents have occurred repeatedly in Hong Kong over the past two decades."

Tang went on to blame the mass protest campaign in 2012 by students -- some of them still in secondary school -- against patriotic education in Hong Kong's schools, the 2014 Occupy Central movement for fully democratic elections, the 2016 "fishball revolution" in Mong Kok and the 2019 movement against extradition to mainland China on the actions of "foreign forces."

"Many young people had been radicalized," said Tang, who was chief of police during the 2019 protests. "External forces were up to the same old tricks again."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
A former "white paper" movement protester describes being locked in a psychiatric hospital for holding up a sign.

Zhang Junjie, a former university student in China who is now living in New Zealand, was forced by police into a mental hospital for participating in the white paper protests.

A 19-year-old former student who took part in the "white paper" movement that swept China in late 2022 has described being sent to a psychiatric institution for his role in the protests.

Zhang Junjie, who hails from the eastern province of Jiangsu, recently arrived in New Zealand after fleeing China.

He told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview that he was subjected to medical abuse at the hands of the authorities, who forced him into a psychiatric hospital claiming he had schizophrenia, a fate that is often meted out to those who publicly criticize the Chinese government or its leaders.

"On Nov. 27, some friends from Tsinghua University and Peking University sent me video clips of protests happening on their campuses," Zhang said. "I felt that I should contribute to the cause of freedom and democracy in China, that I should do something."

"I went out and held up a sign twice, the first time outside of the main classroom building on the evening of Nov. 27, but nobody paid me any attention because it was in the night. I held it up for about half an hour, then went back to the dorm," he said.

Photos of the printed A4 sheets shared with Radio Free Asia read: "End single-party dictatorship  constitutional government now!" and a group of slogans echoing the "Bridge Man" protest by Peng Lifa in October.

"I went back to the same place to hold up the sign at 8.00 a.m. on Nov. 28, and some teachers saw me after about five minutes," Zhang said.

The teachers dragged Zhang into a nearby administrative building, where he was held while school leaders contacted his family to come and get him.

Zhang Junjie posted photos of sheets of paper reading, "End single-party dictatorship  constitutional government now!" and a group of slogans echoing the "Bridge Man" protest by Peng Lifa. Credit: Zhang Junjie Twitter

Locked up

Zhang's father arrived the following day and took him back to the family home in Jiangsu's Nantong city, confiscating his computer and mobile phone.

On Dec. 1, his family cooperated with police to take him unawares to the Nantong No. 4 Hospital, a psychiatric facility, where he was locked up for six days, and forcibly injected with medication, including sedatives.

"Two more plainclothes [state security police officers] came on Dec. 1 and drove me to the No. 4 People's Hospital in Nantong city," Zhang said. "They must have said something to the doctor, because he suddenly restrained me and said I was mentally ill."

"I told him I wasn't, but the plainclothes officer said 'If you don't support the Chinese Communist Party, you're sick.'"

Zhang's father and grandfather beat him several times because he tried to resist being given the medication, he said.

"Three nurses tied me to the bed, and they told me 'This is what happens when you don't love your country and the party'," he said.

"Whether you have a disease or not is not for you to decide, but for the government and the party," the state security police told him.

'You just need to cooperate'

Zhang was also subjected to further abuse from his family members after his brief bout of activism got his father fired.

"You just need to cooperate with treatment, support the party and general secretary [Xi Jinping] and we'll let you go immediately," the police told him.

"Then they dragged me through the admissions procedures and took me to the seventh floor, which was hell on earth," he said. "The doctor, whose name was Zhang Peiyun, told me that I would be released if I changed my attitude."

Zhang, who also took part in the "Fireworks Revolution," a brief flurry of nationwide protests defying a ban on fireworks at the beginning of this year, said he had been inspired to protest by "Bridge Man" protester Peng Lifa, who hung a banner calling for Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's resignation from Beijing's Sitong Bridge traffic flyover on the eve of the 20th party congress.

A #Chinese police car was overturned by a crowd protesting the New Year's Eve fireworks ban in China. pic.twitter.com/jdXltJqsOV  Daily Turkic (@DailyTurkic) January 3, 2023

At the time, Zhang had added his name to a global open letter calling for the "removal and trial" of Xi Jinping at the 20th party congress in October 2022.

Zhang was eventually released from the hospital, whereupon he made immediate plans to leave China, applying to study at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

He eventually managed to get a New Zealand visa in Hong Kong, and tweeted that he had "escaped to freedom."

Not long afterwards, the police appeared at his family home in Nantong and threatened his family, in a bid to get him to delete the tweet, according to an audio clip of the raid shared with Radio Free Asia by Zhang.

Zhang said he had been at loggerheads with his family since he started finding out about the 1989 student-led democracy movement, and the bloody crackdown that left hundreds, possibly thousands, dead when the People's Liberation Army cleared Beijing of protesters with machine guns and tanks.

'I had to do something'

Zhang also followed the fate of late jailed 2010 Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo and news about the crackdown on human rights lawyers that launched in July 2015.

"I lived in that ugly place for 18 years," Zhang said. "I had to do something, even if it didn't change anything."

"I was persecuted for taking part in those activities, and I felt unhappy because most people didn't understand me," he said. "[But] I don't have any regrets or complaints."

France-based current affairs commentator and former 1989 student protester Wang Longmeng said other "white paper" movement protesters had also been labeled "mentally ill" by the authorities for "reviving the spirit of the June 4 protest movement."

"In China, you can be labeled mentally ill if you dare to resist the government's power," Wang said. "The whole of China seems to have turned into a psychiatric institution with no humanity."

"I'm very glad Zhang Junjie was able to flee the psychiatric hospital and escape to the free world," he said. "The Chinese Communist Party doesn't deserve such amazing young people."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Stolen gold and other metals are sold to donju, entrepreneurs engaged in smuggling.

North Koreans wanting to land plum jobs as assayers at a well-known gold refinery  and to make extra money from illegally siphoning off some of the precious metal  must pay big bribes to supervisors, sources inside the country said.

Assayers, who test metals for purity, are the most in-demand jobs at the Jongju refinery in North Pyongan province, which is connected to gold mines in the region, they said.

The Jongju refinery smelts lead and zinc in addition to gold, making it the most valuable refinery in North Korea, said a source from North Pyongan province, who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

So, it is not easy to get a job as an assayer at the Jongju refinery, he said.

Those who work as assayers at the Jongju refinery for a year can earn several times more money compared to North Korean workers dispatched to Russia for three years to earn foreign currency for the Pyongyang regime, a second source from North Pyongan province said.

Such activity shows how workers must engage in bribery and stealing on the job in order to survive as North Koreans cash-strapped economy continues to flag under international sanctions imposed for the regimes nuclear program and missile tests.

North Korean workers dispatched to Russia are known to earn more than US$2,000 for three years of work  an amount that includes an official salary of about US$1,000 plus additional income from other jobs in private construction and moonshine production, said the source, who declined to be identified for the same reason.

How its done

Assayers at state-owned mines determine the weight of gold ore in extracted and mostly purified metals and record the figures before sending the gold to the Jongju refinery for processing, the source said.

For example, when ore from a mine in North Pyongan province is transported by truck to the Jongju refinery, the vehicle is first weighed with its load, the first source said. The ore concentrate  ore from which most impurities have been removed  is then poured out, and the empty vehicle is weighed again to determine the actual tonnage of the concentrate on a slip. This is recorded by the assayer.

The Jonju refinery smelts lead, zinc, gold and silver from the concentrates and holds them for the state, he said. The amount to be collected by the state is based on the figures recorded by the assayers and calculated during the first warehousing stage.

If a mine supervisor who hands over the concentrates and gold ore to the refinery has an informal arrangement with the assayers, then the refinery will receive figures that are lower than the actual weight of what has been transported, the first source said, implying that some of the metals are siphoned off for illegal sale.

The lead and gold not officially accounted for are divided between the refinery manager in charge of the smelting process and the mine material supervisor who brought the material, the first source said.

But such arrangements take time to establish, said another source from North Pyongan province, who requested anonymity for the same reason.

Dollar bribes

And the bribes must be paid in U.S dollars  which are hard to come by in North Korea, but not impossible to obtain.

Dollar bribes are a must to get a job as a measuring worker at the Jongju refinery, he told Radio Free Asia. You need to bribe the officials of the leadership department at the refinery on holidays and become close friends [with them] for at least a year.

A typical bribe would be clothing worth US$100, appliances worth a few hundred dollars, or more than US$1,000 in cash, the source said.

The candidate with the largest bribe can get the measuring job, he added.

Mine material supervisors bribe assayers and adjust the tonnage of the concentrate to be entered on the slip, said the second source.

Afterwards, he does business again with the refinery manager and steals lead, zinc, and in rare cases, gold  as much as the amount of concentrate that is not entered on the slip, he said.

The stolen lead, zinc, and gold are sold to donju  entrepreneurs involved in a wide range of businesses, including retail and smuggling  and converted into cash.

If you buy lead, zinc and gold and smuggle them to the Chinese market, you can make a profit several times higher than the North Korean market price, so demand is high, the second source said.

Demand by the donju for the metals is growing now that land-border trade between north Korea's Sinuiju and Chinas Dandong soon will resume after being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee for RFA Korean. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
About 300 are sheltering in tents along the border and need food and supplies.

India has pushed back at least 300 hundred Burmese refugees who spilled across the border while fleeing fighting between Myanmars military and rebel forces, forcing them to shelter in makeshift tents near the border, refugees and aid workers said.

More than 1,000 residents of Tamu township, in northern Myanmars Sagaing region, fled to Indias Manipur state in July and August to escape the hostilities, only to have Indian soldiers turn them back, the sources said.

The hundreds of refugees living in tents in Indian villages near the border are facing food and supply shortages, a refugee from Tamu who was among them told Radio Free Asia.

Indian troops drove the Burmese refugees out of the villages after two or three days, forcing them to seek shelter near the Myanmar side of the border, he said.

We are currently in need of rainfly sheets to build tents and many other supplies, he said.

Burmese and Indian authorities. meanwhile, have shut a key border crossing in the area.

Altogether, about 5,000 Burmese refugees from Tamu township have sought shelter in Manipur state due to the fighting, said Salai Dokhar, founder of India For Myanmar, a group that helps Burmese refugees in India.

They are among about 50,000 Myanmar citizens who have fled to India since the military ousted Myanmars democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup.

Bombings force villagers to flee

Junta troops conducted nighttime aerial bombings of Boke Kan village in Tamu township on Aug. 18, prompting more than 500 residents and others from nearby communities to flee to adjacent Manipur.

Similarly, on July 22, over 700 residents from Khampat, a 2,000-home township located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of the border with Manipur, fled across the border and into India because of a battle between junta forces and the resistance fighters.

Manipur authorities have been collecting biometric data from Burmese refugees, raising fears that the data could be shared with the junta, RFA reported earlier this month.

Thang Sei, an official from the Burma Refugee Committee Kabaw Valley, which is helping the Burmese refugees, told RFA that more than half of the refugees returned to Myanmar after a few days when fighting in Tamu stopped.

They went to the town of Kalay and other villages in Sagaing, but since junta troops continue to clear the Tamu area, it is still impossible for refugees to return to their homes there, said the refugee who is sheltering on the border.

Neither the Indian Embassy in Yangon nor the Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi, India, responded to RFAs requests for comment on the refugees.

The Indian government should reconsider its decision to expel Burmese refugees, said Salai Dokhar.

When Burmese people want good relations between Myanmar and India, this kind of action by India directly destroys our hopes for the future, he said. That is why Indian officials need to review the way they handle Burmese issues.

Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
The remains of houses in Htan Bone Taw village, Myaing township, Magway region that were burned down by junta troops on Aug. 21, 2023.

Junta troops arrested around 100 villagers in Myanmars Magway region, killing one man, locals told RFA Tuesday.

Around 100 soldiers raided Shwe Lin Swea in Myaing township on Sunday after bombarding the village with heavy artillery.

They arrested 40 men and around 60 women, setting most free the following day.

Locals said they held onto four men and tortured them, killing one 50-year-old man.

There were four arrested including Htay Win but he was killed, said a local who didnt want to be named for fear of reprisals.

One man escaped  When he was asked to drive a bullock cart by the soldiers he released the bullocks, pretended to chase them and ran away.

The local said two men were still being held by the troops but he didnt know their names.

The troops took rice, oil, beans and cooking utensils from the villagers before heading to another village, according to another local who also requested anonymity for safety reasons.

The troops moved on to Let Htoke Taw village in the afternoon and grabbed things from the village and even from the monastery [and put them in] three trucks, the local said.

There is no one left in the village. The village was set on fire without anyone to defend [the houses].

Around 40 homes were burned in villages in Myaing township, Magway region on Aug. 21, 2023. Credit: Myaing Villages Revolutionary Front





Another local said troops burned around 40 houses in Myaing township. He said nearly 1,700 residents of Shwe Lin Swea and Let Htoke villages fled ahead of the junta raids.

Aung Zeya, leader of the Myaing Villages Revolutionary Front, told RFA local defense forces clashed with the troops on Sunday as they moved the stolen food to another village in the township but he didnt say how many casualties there were on either side.

The junta spokesperson for Magway region, Than Swe Win, said that he was not aware of the incident because he was on medical leave.

More than 10,000 homes in Magway region have been burned down by the junta and affiliated militias since the Feb. 2021 coup, according to the independent research group Data for Myanmar.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
Chinas navy hospital ship Peace Ark is docked for a week in the Solomon Islands, a hotspot in the U.S.-China rivalry in the Pacific, underlining the soft power battle to shape regional opinion.

The floating hospital, which arrived at the capital Honiaras port on Saturday, has also visited Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu as part of its current mission to provide free medical treatment in Pacific island nations, many of which struggle to provide sufficient basic healthcare.

The U.S. Navy hospital ship, Mercy, visited the Solomon Islands in August last year and will again be docked in Honiara in November to provide medical care when the city hosts the 24-nation Pacific Games.

A substantial crowd greeted the Peace Arks arrival in Honiara and people have queued near the port since Sunday, when the doctors and nurses aboard began providing treatment.

Honiara resident Hugo Make, who has been experiencing stomach pain, said the Peace Arks time in the city was an opportunity for more efficient and accessible healthcare.

It was frustrating, he said, to have to queue for long periods at clinics in Honiara, especially when they often lacked the necessary medical supplies.

The Solomon Islands has been Chinas highest profile success in building influence among Pacific island countries in recent years.

The island nations government 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.

The Chinese navys hospital ship Peace Ark is pictured docked at Honiara International Port in the Solomon Islands on Aug. 19, 2023. Credit: Gina Makaa/BenarNews





Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga and Chinas ambassador to Honiara Li Ming attended a welcoming ceremony for the Peace Ark on the weekend. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare visited the ship on Sunday.

Today, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army navy for their dedication in promoting friendship and cooperation between our nations, Maelanga said.

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 for the nations that operate 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.

A Solomon Islands doctor, who did not want to be named, told RFA-affiliated news service BenarNews the government needed to provide answers about the countrys shortages of medicines and medical supplies.

He said he was thankful for the hospital ship visits.

Its a relief for our people that both the USA and China have sent their floating hospitals to assist us, he said.

The United States Agency for International Development is also trying to show a greater commitment to the Pacific in response to Chinas inroads.

Samantha Power, the USAID administrator, visited Papua New Guinea and Fiji earlier this month for the official opening of an enlarged mission in the region.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
China Coast Guard again attempted to block and harass Filipino boats, officials said.

Philippine Marines aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and has became a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, March 29, 2014.

The Philippines successfully delivered supplies to its troops at a military outpost in the South China Sea despite attempts by Chinese vessels to block its ships from the disputed waters, officials said Tuesday.

Manila carried out the mission two weeks after the China Coast Guard fired water cannons at a Philippine coast guard ship that was escorting a convoy of boats bringing supplies to marines stationed aboard a rusty old navy ship in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).

The mission on Tuesday was able to deliver fresh provisions to our military personnel stationed on board BRP Sierra Madre, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

Manila calls waters of the South China Sea that lie within its exclusive economic zone the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines deliberately ran the World War II era Sierra Madre aground to serve as its outpost there.

The mission was completed notwithstanding attempts by China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels to block, harass, and interfere with the supply mission, the task force said, adding that Philippine Navy vessels were on standby during the mission.

Ahead of the Philippine mission, China deployed at least 11 militia ships to Ayungin Shoal starting Monday, according to Ray Powell, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who is now a private security analyst focusing on the South China Sea.

[The] extent of dangerous [Peoples Republic of China] maneuvers is hard to assess due to China Coast Guard ships running AIS-dark, he said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. He was referring to the ships turning off their Automatic Identification System that displays their position.

Code of conduct

As of Tuesday evening, the Chinese Embassy in Manila had not issued a statement.

But Chinese Communist Party newspaper China Daily quoted a China Coast Guard spokesman as saying that the agency had made temporary special arrangements allowing the Philippines to carry out the supply mission because its ships were not carrying building materials.

Earlier this month, Chinese media reports quoted the coast guard as confirming it had fired water cannons and alleging that the Philippine supply boats were transporting illegal building materials.

Back then Manila strongly condemned what it called China Coast Guard illegal actions, saying they disregarded the safety of Filipino sailors and violated international law.

The Philippines in 2016 won a landmark ruling in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which threw out Chinas expansive claims in the South China Sea.

Beijing, however, has ignored the ruling and carried on with its military expansionism in the strategic waterway, including building artificial islands.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo has been trying to engage with China diplomatically to calm tensions.

On Tuesday, the Philippines hosted diplomats from China and other South China Sea claimant nations for another round of negotiations for a code of conduct that seeks to prevent conflict in the disputed maritime region.

It was the third meeting on the code this year, with the first two having been held in Indonesia in March and Vietnam in May.

We are negotiating a Code of Conduct precisely because we would like to prevent incidents such as the last one at the Ayungin Shoal from happening, foreign affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said.

The Philippines, she said, remains committed to an early conclusion of an effective and substantive code of conduct.

Soldiers participate in a combat exercise as a part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavor 2023 between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Australian Defense Force in Tarampitao Airfield in Rizal, Palawan, Philippines, Aug. 21, 2023. Credit: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP

Separately, U.S., Australian and Filipino troops held an air assault drill on Monday in Rizal town, in the western island province of Palawan, about 108 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal.

The exercise, held at Punta Baja Airfield, involved Australias helicopter landing dock the HMAS Canberra; frigate HMAS Anzac and multi-role F-35A Lightning II aircraft; U.S. MV-22B Osprey aircraft; and hundreds of troops from the three armed forces.

Exercise Alon 2023 is the first amphibious exercise between Filipino and Australian troops, officials said. It opened in Darwin, Australia on Aug. 14 and will run until Aug. 31.

The exercise involved 700 Filipino and 1,200 Australian troops. About 150 troops from the United Marines Corps are participating but are playing a support role only, officials said.

The drills were part of Australias Indo-Pacific Endeavor (IPE) for this year. The IPE seeks to strengthen Canberras engagement and partnerships in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

An amphibious landing and live-fire exercises are scheduled to be held in the northern Philippine provinces of Zambales and Tarlac, respectively, in the next few days.

The scenario is assault from a ship, from sea towards land, said Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.

Its not directed at China, said Brawner, adding that the three armed forces are honing their skills in Rizal.

He added, though, that Manila had a right and obligation to bring supplies to our soldiers anywhere in Philippine territories.

Still, Filipino troops had been directed to strictly observe rules of engagement, Brawner said on Monday.

We are going to avoid them to prevent an escalation of the situation, he said.

We are not going to engage them in a water cannon battle.

Gerard Carreon and Noel Celis in Manila contributed to this report by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
Tibetan children aged as young as 4 are forced to live in boarding schools and only allowed to speak Mandarin.

Students attend a Chinese language class at Nagqu No. 2 Senior High School, a public boarding school for students from northern Tibet, in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region, June 1, 2021.

UPDATED at 8:03 p.m. EST on 08-22-2023

The United States will impose visa sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for the forced assimilation of more than a million young Tibetan children into state-run boarding schools, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday.

The State Department is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on Chinese government officials for their involvement in the forcible assimilation of more than 1 million Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools, according to the statement.

These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibets distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans, the statement said, urging officials to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies in Tibet and elsewhere in China.

It did not provide details about which officials would be impacted by the sanctions, or when. An official at the State Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Radio Free Asia that visa records were confidential under U.S. law so those impacted would not be identified.

But they said those impacted were current or former Chinese officials believed to be responsible for, or complicit in repressing Tibetans.

Forced schooling

A 2021 report by the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Tibet Action Institute found that hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children between the ages of 4 and 18 years old were being taken from their families and forced to live in state-run boarding schools, often losing the ability to speak Tibetan.

The report said that the teachers only speak in Mandarin and conduct all school curriculum in Mandarin, including nursery rhymes and bedtime stories and that the implications for whole generations of Tibetans and the long-term survival of Tibetan identity are grave.

Authorities, it said, justified the forced schooling as a way of providing education to Tibetans spread out across a large geographical area.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday that China firmly opposes the smears against boarding schools in Tibet and called the use of such schools a common international practice.

Boarding schools have gradually developed into one of the important modes of running schools in China's ethnic minority areas, and the centralized way of running schools effectively solves the problem of ethnic minority students' difficulty in attending school at a distance where the local people live scattered, Liu said.

The relevant U.S. restrictive measure seriously interferes in China's internal affairs and seriously undermines China-U.S. relations.

U.N. experts in February said they had determined at least a million Tibetan children were being held in the schools, where the educational content and environment is built around majority Han culture.

We are very disturbed that in recent years the residential school system for Tibetan children appears to act as a mandatory large-scale programme intended to assimilate Tibetans into majority Han culture, contrary to international human rights standards, the experts said.

As a result, the experts added, Tibetan children are losing their facility with their native language and the ability to communicate easily with their parents and grandparents in the Tibetan language, which contributes to their assimilation and erosion of their identity.

Sanctions welcomed

Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, told Radio Free Asia she welcomed the news of the planned sanctions.

Chinas unconscionable separation of Tibetan children from their families cannot be left unchecked. It shows the depths of Beijings plan to eliminate the Tibetan way of life and turn Tibetans into loyal followers of the CCP, Tencho said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

This boarding school program targets the most vulnerable and impressionable minds and is aimed at converting Tibetans into Chinese, cementing the Chinese government's control over Tibet and annihilating the Tibetan culture and way of life, she said.

Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Updated to include comments from the Chinese Embassy.
A mob of hundreds of people shouting anti-Jewish epithets stormed and shut down the airport in the Russian city of Makhachkala in the predominantly Muslim region of Daghestan after a flight arrived from Israel on October 29.

Riot police arrived at the airport after the disturbances, while the Interior Ministry office in Makhachkala said reinforcements, including National Guard units, were being sent to ensure the safety of arriving passengers, according to the Baza Telegram channel.

Without being specific, Daghestani officials later said that "several people" had been injured in the incident and were being treated.

Russia's aviation authority later said the airport would remain closed until November 6.

Anti-Jewish protests have broken out in several cities in the region in the face of Israels war with Hamas, rulers of the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry on October 29 demanded that Russia protect Israelis and Jews and that anyone threatening them be apprehended.

"Israel expects the Russian authorities to protect all Israeli citizens and all Jews, and to act decisively against the rioters and against incitement to violence against Jews and Israelis," a statement said.

Late on October 29, videos and photos from the scene published by RFE/RL's Caucaus.Realities indicated that protesters had stormed onto the Makhachkala runway and attempted to gain entry to the incoming plane.

Authorities said the airport was immediately closed for incoming and outgoing flights, while police reportedly began jamming communications in the airport area to prevent the crowd from coordinating further actions.

A local news Telegram channel reported that protesters were trying to check the identities of arriving passengers, attempting to prevent Jews from leaving the airport, including searching police vehicles.

A protester was seen in one unconfirmed video carrying a sign saying, "Child killers have no place in Daghestan."

Daghestani officials accused "enemies of Russia" of instigating the anti-Semitic sentiments after the Coordination Center of Muslims of the North Caucasus called on authorities to prevent refugees from Israel from entering the republic, according to the Caucasian Knot publication.

The Internal Affairs Ministry said that "against the background of the situation in Makhachkala, the identities of all those who take part in the riots will be established, since video surveillance works at the airport."

"We recommend that all persons who have violated the operating procedures of the [airport] to cease the illegal actions and to not interfere with the work of airport employees," a Telegram statement said.



"It is not easy for each of us to stand and watch the inhumane massacre of a civilian population -- the Palestinian people, the government statement said. "Still, we urge residents of the republic not to succumb to provocations of destructive groups and not to create panic in society."

Anti-Semitic rallies took place over the weekend in other cities of the North Caucasus protesting against Israels military campaign.

The Middle East conflict broke out after Hamas militants stormed Israel on October 7, killing hundreds of people and taking more than 200 hostage. Israel retaliated with a military campaign against Gaza that is believed to have killed some 8,000 people and destroyed much of Gaza City.

On October 28, a rally was held in Cherkessk, the capital of the Karachayevo-Cherkessia Republic, demanding that residents of Israel not be allowed into the republic.

On the night of October 29, residents of Derbent in Daghestan protested after false reports of the settling of refugees from Israel in local hotels.

With reporting by AFP
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released the following statement today (Aug 16) from Josh Kaplowitz, Vice President of Offshore Wind, on the release of two draft Wind Energy Areas (WEA) off Oregon's South Coast by the Bureau of Oceanic Energy Management (BOEM):

"This is a monumental step for the state of Oregon in charting its clean energy future. The release of these draft WEAs for Oregon's South Coast is a step closer to establishing a sustainable offshore wind sector in Oregon and on the West Coast and is important in meeting Oregon's goal of developing 3 GW of offshore wind by 2030. We applaud BOEM for its continued dedication to studying these areas and working closely with stakeholders, Tribes, and the state of Oregon to find the best locations to lease for floating offshore wind development," Kaplowitz said.

"With these ambitious goals and the urgent need to cut our carbon emissions, it is critical that BOEM optimize the amount of these areas available for lease. This will help our industry develop a West Coast supply chain to revitalize the maritime sector and create good-paying clean energy jobs while delivering significant economic, environmental, and health benefits to millions of Americans."

"ACP looks forward to working with BOEM to ensure the final WEAs for Oregon's South Coast allow Oregonians to fully benefit from offshore wind development."

About American Clean Power
Armita Garavand, the 17-year-old girl fatally injured in an alleged confrontation with Iran's morality police over a head-scarf violation, was buried amid tight security in Tehran on October 29.

Unconfirmed reports say several people, including two of Garavands relatives, were arrested during the ceremony at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran.

Civil rights activist Reza Khandan told RFE/RLs Radio Farda that his wife, prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, was beaten and detained at the funeral.

"A number of participants were arrested and beaten up. Nasrin was among them," Khandan said by phone from Tehran.

WATCH: Scores of mourners attended the burial of Iranian teenager Armita Garavand on October 29 in Tehran. Amateur video obtained by RFE/RL shows raw emotions on display at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery and at a separate funeral ceremony in the Jaberi mosque. A heavy police presence was observed at both places.

He added that a number of those detained had been released, although others, including Sotoudeh, remained in detention. He said he hasn't been able to contact her.

Irans semiofficial Fars news agency later confirmed that Sotoudeh had been detained, charged with violating the conservative Islamic nation's head-scarf law.

Sotoudeh has previously been arrested and jailed after representing opposition activists, including women prosecuted for removing their mandatory headscarves.

Video clips published on social media showed a large crowds of people -- both men and women -- attending the burial ceremony.



Irans state media had reported Garavands death on October 28, nearly a month after she fell and went into a coma in the Tehran subway.

Garavand was reportedly confronted by the morality police in the subway at the start of October for failing to wear a hijab.



The news of Garavand's death came just over a year after the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by Irans morality police for an alleged head-scarf violation sparked nationwide protests and international condemnation.



A relative told Radio Farda that security agents had told the family they would be given Garavand's body under the condition that the burial be held in Tehran and not in their native village in the western province of Kermanshah.



"We live in Tehran, but we don't bury our dead [here]. We hope to receive Armita's body, the family member had said.



Shortly after the subway incident, authorities isolated Garavand family members and attempted to prevent journalists from reaching them. Security measures were still being enforced as of October 28, fueling speculation that authorities were worried about renewed protests in the country.



Rights groups and journalists say Garavand and two of her friends were confronted on October 1 by police officers for not wearing the mandatory hijab as they tried to enter a Tehran subway station.



One of the friends has said the officers physically assaulted Garavand, who later fell unconscious after entering a subway carriage. Officials have said Garavand suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure, fainted, and fell to the floor, hitting her head.



A source at Fajr Hospital, who spoke to Radio Farda on condition of anonymity due to security reasons, said shortly after the incident that Garavand suffered internal bleeding in the brain.



"Unfortunately, she went into a coma for some time after suffering from brain damage. She died a few minutes ago," the official government news agency IRNA said on October 28.

Garavand's condition triggered concerns in the West and among international rights groups after a purported video of the incident circulated on social media. The video shows Garavand entering the subway car, but it does not show what exactly transpired in the seconds before her body is shown being carried back out of it.



Amnesty International has issued a statement saying authorities should allow an independent international delegation, including UN experts, to investigate the circumstances leading up to Garavand's hospitalization. Tehran has left the request unanswered.

The United States on October 29 said it was deeply saddened by the death of Garavand after she was beaten by Iran's morality police for not wearing a hijab in public."

Iran's state-sponsored violence against its own people is appalling and underscores the fragility of the regime, White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan wrote on social media.

Garavands case, and suggestions of a cover-up by the authorities, has drawn parallels with the events leading up to the death of 22-year-old Amini last year.

Aminis death soon after she was arrested for allegedly violating Irans hijab law triggered the greatest threat to the Islamic republic's leadership since the 1979 revolution.



State media has shown Garavand's parents speaking of various potential causes for their daughter's fall and injury.



It is not clear if the statements were made under duress, but the Hengaw human rights group, which first reported the incident, said on October 5 that Garavand's mother, Shahin Ahmadi, had been detained temporarily by Iranian government security forces.



Earlier this month, Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran that was triggered by her death were awarded this year's Sakharov Prize, the European Parliaments top rights award, the second honor bestowed upon Iranian women this month for their sometimes deadly struggle for human rights after activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize.

With reporting by dpa
Ukrainian engineers are using 3D printing technology to speed up the building of new homes to replace those destroyed by war. Natalya Beryozova lost her house near the city of Irpin when it burned down after Russian shelling in 2022. Now, 3D construction is creating concrete walls for her new home. Engineers hope to rebuild vast areas of Ukraine quickly using the same method.
Three people were killed on August 22 by Russian shelling of several villages in Ukraine's Donetsk region, and dozens of buildings, including private houses, were damaged in Kryviy Rih by an Iskander missile attack, Ukrainian military officials said.

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 reports of deaths and destruction came as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy returned home from visits to four European countries, saying Ukraine became stronger," and as a White House official said the United States does not think the conflict has become a stalemate.



The Donetsk regional military administration said the three people who died were killed by artillery shelling of the village of Torske. Two people were wounded.



The Iskander missile struck Kryviy Rih around 5:30 a.m. local time on August 22, said Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryviy Rih Defense Council. One injury was reported in the southeastern city.



"According to the detailed information, as a result of the rocket attack, 15 commercial buildings were damaged [and] windows in 24 multistory buildings were partially broken, Vilkul said, adding that schools, businesses, and transport infrastructure were also damaged.

The strike cut electricity to more than 45,000 subscribers, and several hospitals and the water system had to immediately switch to generators. Electricity was restored before noon, he said.



Zelenskiy issued a video message summarizing his visits to Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Greece over the last several days, saying he returned to Ukraine with "new political support, new agreements."

His meetings in Athens with leaders of the western Balkans produced a declaration signed by 11 countries in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders. On our nations shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest," Zelenskiy said in a post on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.

He also had "an open, honest, and fruitful meeting" with Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the summit. Serbia, a traditional ally of Russia, has bucked EU pressure to join Western sanctions to punish Moscow for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president noted the pledges made during his visits advanced Ukraine's wish for F-16 fighter jets and pilot training on the warplanes, and said there will be additional armored vehicles and air defense equipment. Zelenskiy said on August 21 that Ukraine would receive 42 F-16s after Denmark and the Netherlands said they would provide them. The jets from Denmark could be delivered around the end of the year.



Zelenskiy said at almost all his meetings he and fellow European leaders discussed Black Sea export routes and "corridors of solidarity" on land being used to ship Ukrainian grain. He and his European counterparts also discussed the Ukrainian economy and European and Euro-Atlantic integration, he said.



The Ukrainian military said earlier on August 22 its forces had liberated the strategic village of Robotyne in the south after two months of fierce fighting.

"Soldiers of the 47th brigade battled their way into Robotyne," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said.

The 47th Brigade posted a video online showing tearful women greeting its soldiers and said it was organizing the evacuation of civilians from the village.

Robotyne is an important road leading to Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhya region. Melitopol, known as the "gateway to Crimea," was captured by Russian troops in March last year after several days of heavy fighting.

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed that Ukrainian troops had achieved "significant tactical successes" in Robotyne on August 20-21.

If Ukrainian forces advance and retake Melitopol, located at the intersection of two important highways and a major railway hub, they could use the city as a springboard to liberate the whole Zaporizhzhya region.

The Ukrainian military and regional officials on August 22 also reported Russian drone and missile strikes on Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, and Kupyansk as Russia's Defense Ministry said it had repelled drone attacks on the Moscow and Bryansk regions while temporarily closing three airports in the capital.

In the northern city of Chernihiv, one man was killed by Russian shelling, regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said. On August 19, at least seven people, including a child, were killed and 129 were wounded in a Russian missile strike on the city.

WATCH: Residents of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv gathered at makeshift memorials on August 20 to honor those killed a day earlier in a Russian missile strike. At least seven people died, including 22-year-old Nazar Yushchenko and a 6-year-old girl named Sofia. Her mother, Olha Holynska, explained how she comforted her wounded daughter until the end.

Russia also struck the southern city of Zaporizhzhya overnight, causing damage but no casualties, the secretary of the Zaporizhzhya City Council, Anatoliy Kurtev, reported early on August 22.

"Overnight, the enemy attacked Zaporizhzhya again. As a consequence of the blast wave, four high-rise buildings sustained damage," Kurtev wrote on Telegram. Russian forces have repeatedly launched attacks on Zaporizhzya.

Russian troops shelled Kupyansk and Vovchansk in the eastern Kharkiv region overnight, Oleh Synyehubov, the region's governor, said on August 22.

"Four residential buildings were damaged and destroyed," Synyehubov said on Telegram, adding that a woman was slightly wounded.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said early on August 22 that four drones were shot down overnight -- two over the Moscow region and two over the Bryansk region, some 400 kilometers southwest of Moscow.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that three Moscow airports -- Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo -- briefly suspended flights, without giving a reason for the suspension.

Moscow airports have suspended flights several times recently due to what authorities said were Ukrainian drone attacks.

The ministry also early on August 22 said that a Russian warplane destroyed what it said was a "Ukrainian reconnaissance boat" that was sailing in the vicinity of Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea. The claim could not be independently verified.

On the battlefield, heavy fighting has been continuing in the east and south of Ukraine, with the General Staff of the Ukrainian military reporting that a Russian counterattack had been repelled in Bakhmut, the city in the eastern region of Donetsk that was battered by months of heavy fighting before it fell to Russian forces in May.

U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan on August 22 described the battlefield as "very dynamic" in a briefing with reporters.



"There is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line," he said. "We are seeing [Ukraine] continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis."

Sullivan added that the United States does not think the conflict is a stalemate.

The Russian Air Force late on August 22 scrambled two jets to force two drones to stop their aerial reconnaissance near the Crimean Peninsula.



"On August 22, the flight of two unmanned aerial vehicles MQ-9 Reaper and TB2 Bayraktar carrying out aerial reconnaissance in the area of the Crimean Peninsula was recorded over the Black Sea by means of the airspace control of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the Russian Defense Ministry said.



Russia also said it destroyed two Ukrainian military boats in the Black Sea.

It was not possible for RFE/RL to verify either side's claims from the battlefield.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
As Russia masses troops near Kupyansk and shells it almost daily, Kateryna, 35, a survivor of Russia's six-month occupation of the strategic railway town in Ukraine's Kharkiv region last year, has imposed a stringent set of rules on her three children: Don't touch anything, don't step off the pavement, always ask soldiers about suspicious objects, and don't accept candy, toys, or packages from anyone -- even a neighbor.

Mines are the reason why.



The Ukrainian government estimates that mines cover roughly 30 percent -- some 174,000 square kilometers -- of Ukraine, a figure that makes it one of the most mined countries in the world. The Kharkiv region, which borders Russia and the war-ravaged Donetsk and Luhansk provinces of Ukraine, ranks among the region's worst-affected, according to the Interior Ministry's State Service for Emergency Situations (DSNS).



Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, mines in the Kharkiv region have killed 27 people and wounded 195, regional government data shows. The total of 222 casualties includes 45 children.



That compares with 220 deaths and more than 450 injuries from mines nationwide, according to the DSNS.

Russia's bombardment of Kupyansk, which led to the August 10 evacuation of 12,000 area residents, means the chances of encountering land mines have now increased.



In July alone, six residents of the Kharkiv region were wounded in mine blasts. Sappers are struggling to keep pace.



As of mid-August, sappers had not managed to clear even 1 percent of the estimated 12,400 square kilometers of territory -- a third of the entire Kharkiv region -- that the government believes has been mined, according to DSNS regional spokesman Yevhen Vasylenko. Farmland, to date, has not been touched.



The DSNS and the Kharkiv military administration acknowledge that the pace of work is slow. Official blame falls on the proliferation of Russian mines as well as shortages of sappers and demining vehicles.

What sappers have cleared is primarily land around so-called critical infrastructure sites such as power lines, roads, railroad tracks, gas pipelines, and water conduits, Ivan Sokol, head of the regional department for civil defense, which coordinates all of the Kharkiv region's sappers, told RFE/RL in an interview.



Ihor Ovcharuk, head of the DSNS's Interregional Humanitarian Demining Center, which focuses on clearing civilian-inhabited territory more than 20 kilometers from the front, estimates more than 8,000 kilometers of power lines still need to be cleared.

READ: The original story in Russian by Current Time.



Ovcharuk blames traps set by the Russian armed forces for the slow cleanup of these sites.



"There's a hunt for sappers going on. The Russians are deliberately placing mines so that the sapper is blown up," he commented.



For demining vehicles to reach the affected power lines, sappers must first clear a section of road about 8 to 10 meters wide -- "the most difficult thing" in the whole operation, according to Sokol.

WATCH: A farmer whose land was on the front lines last year has taken on the risky job of mine-clearing. His former pig and cattle farm now features piles of unearthed shells and exploded mines. Bohdan, a major grower in Mykolayiv, says he couldn't wait for military sappers to clear the land -- the community urgently needs its crops and also jobs.

"The area has got extra mines," said Ovarchuk. "You start to demine one thing and another one next to it blows up."



Ovarchuk survived a mine explosion himself in May 2022. Overall, eight DSNS sappers have been killed and 33 wounded in the Kharkiv region since the start of the full-scale invasion, he told RFE/RL.



One military sapper, Major Pavlo Herman, said Russia is using its "entire arsenal" of mines, mine traps, and explosive devices against Ukraine's current counteroffensive, which began in early June and has made slow progress. Those supplies include "very developed" mines with seismic sensors that respond to movement and antipersonnel mines without a timed self-destruct device -- mines banned by the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, of which Russia is not a signatory.



In the Zaporizhzhya region, where Herman usually works along the front line, both antipersonnel and antitank mines "totally" cover some grasslands, rather than the customary three or four rows of mines across the width of a field, he added.



"They set up mine traps that look like explosives. Or they leave a grenade under an antitank mine," Herman said. "And if an inexperienced deminer starts to remove it, then it explodes."

Summer grass as tall as two meters, which grows over dried older grass that conceals mines, further complicates matters, said Sokol.



With farmland not deemed critical infrastructure and sappers strapped for time, farmers cannot always clear out these mines without government or international funding.



In Kharkiv, Kherson, and parts of the Mykolayiv region, farmers -- many of whose operations were shut down by the war -- do not have the money to pay for demining, commented Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, an advocacy group. The cost for a group of professional sappers clearing an "intensively mined" field can run "from between $1,000 to $1,300 per hectare," not including surveying fees, he said.



Marchuk estimated that over 7 percent of Ukraine's farmland, roughly 28 million hectares, remains mined. So far, he said, sappers have cleared only 160,000 hectares of the 470,000 requested by the government.



In Kharkiv, to demine all of the region's mined territory within a year would require 125,000 sappers, Ovcharuk estimates. The DSNS currently only has 183.



Aside from scheduled demining, the sappers also respond to inquiries from civilians, for whom, like Kateryna's children, unusual objects can appear "interesting."



"The sappers, like the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] as well, are now worth their weight in gold," Ovcharuk told Current Time in December 2022.

Aside from the DSNS, the Special State Transportation Service, National Police, and certain armed forces units also have deployed sappers in the region. Out of 14 anti-mine groups certified to demine in Ukraine, three work in Kharkiv.



Overall, 300 people handle humanitarian demining and "operative" or urgent demining, such as when a shell is found during construction.



Vehicles are in even shorter supply. The entire region has only seven remote-controlled vehicles for mechanical demining, Sokol told RFE/RL. He believes at least 500 vehicles are needed.



He hopes a vehicle invented by Kharkiv farmer Oleksandr Krivtsov, the head of an agricultural company, can help meet that demand.



With sappers overburdened, Krivtsov, eager to sow seeds, combined a tractor with tank parts to produce his own remote-controlled demining vehicle, Reuters reported in May. In a test run, the contraption cleared 33 antipersonnel mines in a village within a few days, according to the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

The Kharkiv region now plans to start producing the vehicle itself. Its cost is 10 times less than that of a Western model, which can cost around $1.3 million, Sokol emphasized to Suspilne.



Work on an excavator-based demining vehicle and testing of mine-detecting drones is under way elsewhere in Ukraine.



These efforts target Russian mines, but, despite being a signatory of the Mine Ban Treaty, Ukraine faces accusations from Human Rights Watch that it, too, has used antipersonnel mines that have killed and maimed Ukrainian civilians. The government has stated it will review the report.



Still, such allegations have not dented Kyiv's requests for international assistance to tackle its demining needs -- an amount that could reach $37.4 billion, according to the World Bank.



On August 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukraine's partners to help the country respond to bolster Ukrainian security "more actively" and support local production of demining vehicles.



At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London in June, the Croatian company DOK-ING and the Danish firm Hydrema, both manufacturers of demining vehicles, signed memoranda of understanding about collaborating with local partners to do just that.

Written by Elizabeth Owen based on reporting by Hrihoriy Pyrlik
Many of them reside in the political middle, uninterested in the extremes of partisan politics. Some are ticket splitters. Theyve helped maintain Nevadas status as a purple state and a national bellwether.

And now, nonpartisan voters are officially the largest group of registered voters in the state, according to July voter registration data released earlier this month. They make up nearly one-third of the electorate and outnumber registered Democrats and Republicans.

The trend has been driven by several factors: young voters who have increasingly registered as independents, dissatisfaction with the major parties and an automatic voter registration system that defaults new voters to nonpartisan.

Eddy Torres, a 26-year-old nonpartisan voter from Mesquite, said that even though he leans left politically, he believes its healthier for democracy when more people are independent and the parties have to appeal to a broader coalition of voters.

Neither party is entitled to my vote, Torres said in an interview with The Nevada Independent.

Though nonpartisan voters are less likely to vote than engaged partisans on either side of the aisle, theyve played a key role in recent Nevada elections. Across a pair of high-profile 2022 races, independents broke in favor of the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate (Catherine Cortez Masto) and the Republican candidate for governor (Joe Lombardo), according to exit poll data from CNN.

Their support helped lead to a split at the top of the ticket, with Cortez Masto winning re-election and Lombardo becoming the only Republican to unseat a Democratic governor in 2022.

Outside of general elections, the rising number of nonpartisan voters are typically locked out of the process. Only registered Democrats and Republicans can participate in the states closed primary elections for president and partisan offices, though nonpartisan voters can and do use same-day voter registration to participate in a partys primary before switching their registration back afterward.

David Damore, a political science professor at UNLV, highlighted in an interview four types of independent voters:

 strong Democratic leaners and strong Republican leaners, who are likely to vote for one partys candidates;

 apoliticals, who are unlikely to engage in the political process;

 and apartisans, a small group of voters who are more likely to vote candidate over party.

He pointed to exit polling showing that independent voters in Nevada supported Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election  though Clinton won the state on account of high turnout among Democratic voters. In 2020, Nevadas independent voters broke in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over Trump.

That shift was powered by voters such as David Farley, a landscape architect who lives in Henderson. After nearly two decades of not voting in the wake of the hanging chad incident during the 2000 presidential election  which made the then-Florida voter feel like his vote doesnt count  Farley, 57, said he voted again for the first time in the 2020 election, motivated by his distaste for Trump.

Farley said he was a staunch conservative when he served in the Marines, including supporting former President Ronald Reagan, and that he later swung the other way to Democrats prior to the 2000 election. But when he registered again in 2020, he did so as a nonpartisan.

I dont want to swear loyalty or fealty to any political party, he said.

Automatic registrations drive growth

As of July 2023, there are more than 605,000 active registered nonpartisans in Nevada, representing 31.9 percent of the states 1.9 million active registered voters, according to data from the secretary of states office.

Thats more than the states nearly 602,000 Democratic Party voters (31.7 percent) and 551,000 Republican Party voters (29 percent).

July marked the first month that nonpartisans outnumbered Democratic voters  a major shift from just a year ago when registered Democrats outnumbered nonpartisans by nearly 68,000 people.

The most significant driver behind the change has been automatic voter registration (AVR), a system implemented in January 2020 required after the passage of a 2018 ballot initiative that automatically registers eligible voters during DMV transactions, such as getting a drivers license, and defaults new voters to nonpartisan unless they select a specific party affiliation.

Though nonpartisan registrations have been on the rise for years, climbing from about 15 percent of registered voters in the mid-2000s to more than 20 percent by the late 2010s, their gains have soared under AVR.

From January 2020 through June 2023, the AVR system has registered nearly 569,000 new voters, of which more than 64 percent (365,000 voters) were registered as nonpartisans, according to data from the secretary of states office. That boosted the share of nonpartisan voters in the electorate from 22 percent (346,000 voters) in July 2019 to nearly 32 percent (605,000) by July 2023.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar highlighted the trend in a statement earlier this month, saying this growth of our electorate is due in large part to the implementation of AVR.

Prior to the implementation of AVR, roughly two-thirds of the states voting age population was registered to vote in July 2019, compared with about three-fourths of those 18 and older in July 2023, based on data estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and state voter registration data.

But even putting aside AVR, national trends indicate that more voters have shed party labels over the past decade. Monthly survey data from Gallup shows that upward of 40 percent of Americans consider themselves non-major party voters, up several points from the late 2000s and early 2010s, though many of those voters still lean toward one major party.

However, non-major party voters (a group that includes nonpartisans and those registered with minor parties) are less likely to be politically active than those registered as a Democrat or Republican. In the 2020 general election  the most recent with comprehensive turnout data available from the secretary of states office  78 percent of registered Democrats and 83 percent of registered Republicans turned out to vote, compared with about 68 percent non-major party voters. The data does not break out nonpartisans from those registered with a minor party.

National data backs up that trend. Independent voters tend to be less politically engaged and less likely to vote than those registered as Democrats or Republicans, data from Pew Research Center shows.

Whos registering as nonpartisan?

Damore highlighted a range of other factors boosting the rise of nonpartisans beyond AVR, including generational changes, negative partisanship by both parties and increased political polarization.

Its kind of a reinforcing cycle. The parties become more polarized. This turns off less ideological voters; they dont associate with the parties, so all you have left are these sort of ideologues, he said.

That cycle pushes more voters away from political parties, particularly younger voters. Among nearly 201,000 registered voters in Nevada aged 18-24, more than 102,000 (51 percent) are registered as nonpartisan. Younger voters in Nevada also generally tend to skew Democrat over Republican in terms of voter registration, but nonpartisans still make up the largest group of voters among those aged 44 and under.

Sondra Cosgrove, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada and executive director of civic engagement nonprofit Vote Nevada, said shes seen that trend among her students.

Over the last couple of years, what students say to me has shifted. They talk about the negative campaigning a lot more now. And theyre like, I cant take it. Its hurting my mental health. All they do is scream at each other. I want to hear about issues, she said. And so they desperately want people to know theyre not apathetic. They want to be engaged.

Torres, the 26-year-old nonpartisan, said hes felt uncomfortable with the acrimony in partisan politics. As a voter, hes motivated by climate change and clean energy, as well as protecting democracy. He believes that with more independent voters, both parties feel the need to make their platforms appealing to as many people as possible, and that would just be healthier for [the] political discourse.

Even outside the youngest age groups, nonpartisan voters are poised to play a key role through future elections. In the 45-54 age group, registrations are near even across the board as of July  31 percent are registered as Democrats, 30.8 percent as Republicans and 30.2 percent as nonpartisans.

Rob Cohen, a 45-year-old nonpartisan voter from Henderson who works in live event production and is a member of a local union, described being a nonpartisan as calming, saying it helps separate him from a partys wins and losses.

I dont like saying that Im a Democrat or a Republican because Im not running for office, he said. I think its good in Nevada that theres so many nonpartisans because I think it makes the parties a little less willing to pander to their extreme partisan voter base.

John Opdycke, president of Open Primaries and a board member with the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers, said hes heard similar sentiments from talking with independent voters, noting how many are fed up with the culture of toxicity and attack and nothing gets done between the two major parties.

Theyre not saying Im no longer going to vote for a Democrat or Republican. Theyre more just saying, you know, Im removing myself from the room where all the insanity is happening. And then I will figure out what to do on Election Day. And people feel frustrated about that because theres no viable third party, Opdycke said.

Several nonpartisan voters who spoke with The Nevada Independent said they valued authenticity and professionalism when evaluating candidates, aligning with a sentiment of voting candidate over party.

After growing up as a Reagan Republican and switching to independent status when George W. Bush became the Republican nominee for president, Cohen said he supported some independent candidates, including Ralph Nader, before later registering as a Democrat because of his support for President Barack Obama. He has since switched back to nonpartisan.

Despite now tending to vote for Democratic candidates, he highlighted Republican politicians he respected, including former Gov. Brian Sandoval and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). But he said he felt Republicans have moved away from me too far.

I believe that America is working best when compromise is being made between the two parties, Cohen said.

Who is winning over these voters?

As the number of nonpartisans continues to grow, the major parties continue their efforts to appeal to these voters, while new parties and other political efforts  including the movement to enact ranked-choice voting and open primaries in Nevada  are also aiming to attract support from nonpartisans.

Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas), who became chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party in March, said the trend of nonpartisans growing is nothing that we as a party did not expect, and argued it doesnt change the work that weve done in the past. She placed an emphasis on recruiting quality candidates and reaching out to voters statewide, particularly through actually being there and talking to the voters in local communities.

Monroe-Moreno also dismissed the notion that nonpartisan voters are harder to engage, saying politics touches every aspect of our lives.

Though the Nevada Republican Party did not respond to multiple requests for comment, state party chair Michael McDonald touted the Republican Partys policies as stronger for the working middle class in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal published in early August, saying that kind of messaging appeals to nonpartisan voters.

Cosgrove highlighted the large number of new voters who are nonpartisans, noting that political organizations dont have voting records for those first-time voters.

I think youre gonna see candidates who feel like theyre the underdog, who feel like theyre not the chosen one, theyre gonna look at that number of nonpartisan voters and say, The math tells me if I can get those voters to vote me, I can win, Cosgrove said.

That approach could come from certain individual candidates and not necessarily from a minor party candidate, she added.

But in the vacuum between the major parties, some third parties are looking to capitalize. Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang founded the Forward Party, which has targeted voters dissatisfied with the major parties and bills itself as a party that actually works for the people, not the extremists.

The Forward Party was recognized as a minor party in the Silver State earlier this year.

Meanwhile, a new centrist group, No Labels, has pitched itself to anti-Trump Republicans and has gained ballot access in several states, though it is not yet fielding a presidential candidate for 2024. In Nevada, No Labels has qualified as a political party, and last week qualified for ballot access as a minor party in 2024, the Nevada Current reported.

But No Labels unity message isnt landing with all independents. Farley said he believes the movement is meant to siphon votes from Biden in 2024 and ensure the Republican presidential candidate wins.

But he said hed be interested if there was a viable third party that aligned with his political values, such as having a strong foreign policy.

Question 3 seeking nonpartisan support

Outside of partisan politics, Cosgrove is helping lead an effort to engage more nonpartisan voters through the Ballot Question 3 campaign  which proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to enact open primaries and ranked-choice voting in general elections. During the 2022 election, the question passed with 53 percent of voters in support, but will need to be approved by voters again in 2024 before it can take effect.

Cosgrove takes issue with nonpartisan voters being locked out of primary election races.

It is not right that the largest group of voters, who are taxpayers, paying for elections, and then being told, Yeah, well tell you when youre allowed to vote. Thats not right, she said.

Opdycke, whose organization backs open and nonpartisan primary systems, said he believes open primaries ensure candidates appeal to more voters than just the base.

Cosgrove also sees ranked-choice voting  a system that under the Question 3 proposal would see the top five vote-getters in the primary advance to the general election and allow voters to rank those picks from one through five  as essential to expanding choices for voters.

Without ranked-choice voting, youre not going to get a viable third party ever, she said.

Now as Question 3 is set to appear on the ballot again, the two major parties remain firmly opposed to the change. Monroe-Moreno said she doesnt see a need for open primaries, noting that voters can use the same-day registration process to change their party and participate in a partisan primary if they wish.

Damore said the fight over Question 3 reminds him of another Ballot Question 3, which, after passing in 2016, saw opposition efforts significantly increase before failing to pass in 2018.

But as nonpartisans continue to grow their ranks in Nevada, some independent voters are still looking for more options.

When you go nonpartisan  you can separate yourself from that [party] aspect of it and just vote for the candidate that you think is best, Cohen said.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D'Hose (Photo: VNA)

D'Hose is on an official visit to Vietnam from August 21-25 at the invitation of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

PM Pham Minh Chinh hailed her visit on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of strategic partnership in agriculture.

According to him, Belgium is always among Vietnam's top trade partners within the EU while Vietnam is the biggest ASEAN trade partner of Belgium. Last year, two-way trade reached 4.73 billion USD.

D'Hose wished that via the visit, Belgian Federal Parliament and the Vietnamese NA would set up a higher level of cooperation in order to reinforce friendship and links between the two countries, including the consideration of measures to remove trade barriers and foster collaboration in technology and innovation.

She also hoped that Vietnam would issue favourable visa policies to make it easier for Belgian citizens and businesses to enter the country.

In reply, PM Pham Minh Chinh said since August 15, Vietnam has officially granted a 45-day visa exemption to citizens of certain countries entering the country, adding that he takes note of Belgium's proposal and will continue hastening this work.

To improve political trust and deepen bilateral coordination, he suggested both sides increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially those at high level. He called for close liaison at multilateral and international forums, particularly on issues of mutual concern such as conflict prevention, peacekeeping and climate change response.

In his view, both sides should maximise the advantages of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and strive to achieve a trade turnover of 7 billion USD in the next 2-3 years. He asked Belgium to continue facilitating the entry of Vietnamese traditional aquatic and agricultural products such as rice, coffee, and seasonal produce into the Belgian and EU markets.

The host also proposed the Belgian Senate accelerate the early approval of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by the Belgian Federal Parliament, as well as the European Commissions early removal of the yellow card warning against Vietnamese aquatic products.

Expressing appreciation for Belgium's supply of ODA to Vietnam, the PM proposed further joint work in key areas such as clean agriculture, renewable energy, digital economy, green economy, and circular economy.

He also asked Belgium to assist Vietnam in developing circular agriculture and smart agriculture, and implementing the National Strategy for Green Growth for 2021-2030, focusing on sustainable, eco-friendly and climate-adaptive development. Additionally, he suggested studying the establishment of a trilateral cooperation mechanism involving Vietnam, Belgium, and an African partner to address food security concerns.

As one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, Vietnam proposes that Belgium increase its support in terms of resources, finance, institutional building, and human resources training to fulfill commitments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), as well as outline specific projects to help the country cope with climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta, with a focus on green development and saltwater intrusion combat, he said.

On the occasion, he suggested Belgium consider increasing the number of postgraduate scholarships for Vietnam, especially in areas where Belgium has strength, such as transportation infrastructure, environment and tourism.

Agreeing with the PMs proposals, the Belgian guest said both sides need to continue expanding exchanges and dialogues at all levels across various fields, with a particular focus on intensifying high-level exchanges to further broaden bilateral relationship.

She said the Belgian Federal Parliament is actively taking steps for the EVIPA ratification before June 9, 2024 when Belgium concludes its presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Belgium is also ready to assist Vietnam in energy transition, agriculture, and addressing the consequences of chemical/dioxin contamination, he said.

On global and regional issues of shared concern, the PM proposed the European country back ASEAN's and Vietnams stance on the East Sea issue, including ensuring safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, settling disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), toward formulating an efficient and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./.
Indian shares are turning in a mixed performance in lackluster trade Tuesday morning with investors making cautious moves amid a lack of triggers.

The BSE benchmark Sensex is up 62.45 points or 0.1% at 65,278.54. The index, which climbed to 65,362.91 after a slightly volatile start, dropped to a low of 65,165.45 before edging higher again.

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty50, which dropped to 19,381.45 after rising to 19,443.50, is up 23.80 points or 0.12% at 19,417.40.

JIO Financial Services, which made a weak debut on Monday, has hit the 5% lower circuit again.

Titan Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Nestle are down 0.4 to 0.8%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Asian Paints and Wipro are down marginally.

Cipla, Eicher Motors, MindTree, Grasim Industries, Divi's Laboratories and BPCL are also weak.

HDFC Life is climbing 4.5%. SBI Life is up by about 2.6%. Adani Enterprises is up 1.5%.

Bajaj Finance is gaining about 1.2%. ITC is up nearly 1%, while Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid Corporation, UltraTech Cement and Tata Motors are up 0.3 to 0.6%.

BHEL is up nearly 2% after the company announced that it has received an order worth Rs 4,000 crore from Mahan Energen, a unit of Adani Power.

Tata Power shares are up 0.6%. The company announced that Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited has signed a PPA for 9 MWp on campus solar plant with Tata Motors Limited for Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand.

The market breadth is quite strong with gainers far outnumbering losers. On BSE, as many as 2,223 stocks are up in positive territory, while 1,176 stocks are down, and 140 stocks are hovering around their previous closing levels.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Out of the three motorcycle the Austrian brand is launching today, 2024 KTM 390 Duke debuted first on the international website

The all new 2024 KTM Duke 390 is here. For MY2024, there are a tonne of updates that unlock new possibilities for the bike. Were talking about new design, new chassis, new engine, new instrument cluster, new electronics and a lot more. Lets take a look.

2024 KTM 390 Duke Unveiled

The new 390 Duke is an epitome of single-cylinder engine motorcycles in India. That said, there are new entrants in this segment with legacy badging to back them up. Were talking about Harley-Davidson X440 and Triumph Speed 400. Both of them operate in similar attributes and Speed 400 has more vigour to rival 2024 KTM 390 Duke.

KTM has taken the performance game a notch up. The new 399cc engine has more performance to offer, as opposed to the old 373cc unit. This new engine makes 44 bhp of power and 39 Nm of torque as opposed to 42.9 bhp and 37 Nm of the old engine. Addition in displacement should enable better in-gear performance too.

KTM is offering a slipper clutch, a bi-directional quick shifter and a 6-speed gearbox. These are nothing new as they were part of current 390 Duke as well. But the new and improved 2024 390 Duke packs a host of new electronics too. Were talking about launch control and three ride modes (Rain, Street and Track).

Along with these additions, there is a new and improved 5 fully digital instrument cluster. Riders can control ride modes and other paraphernalia from this display. Additionally, it gets smartphone connectivity as well, enabling turn-by-turn navigation, notification alert, music control and more.

More handsome than the current model?

In terms of design, 2024 KTM 390 Duke looks better too. Sure, LED headlight design can split opinions. But fuel tank and tank shrouds along with seats and rear subframe look much better than before and lend a larger size appeal. There is a banana-shaped rear swingarm along with a sleek and small exhaust can.

The seating posture should be neutral with a decent compromise between everyday usability and sporty stance. Componentry includes a brand new trellis frame, fully adjustable front USD telescopic forks from WP and disc brakes at either end. Dual-channel ABS, cornering ABS, Supermoto ABS are present too.

Kerb weight is an impressive 165 kg (without fuel). KTM is offering a slew of Powerparts accessories too. There could be a few changes with the Indian model, but most of these attributes will be present. Pricing could be increased as compared to the current model. India launch is expected in a few weeks.
Bharat NCAP aims to raise the level of awareness of vehicle safety by allowing buyers to assess crash safety standards of cars on sale in India

Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat NCAP) has been launched by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways. To come into effect from October 1, 2023, this program marks a significant development being taken by the Government of India in improving road safety in the country. This makes India the 5th country in the world to adopt a car crash safety program after the ASEAN NCAP, Latin NCAP, Euro NCAP and ANCAP. US, China, Japan and South Korea have their individual crash test programs.

Primary Objectives of Bharat NCAP

Given the fact that India is among some of the leading countries in terms of road accidents, the new

Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat NCAP) will not only help buyers make the right choice but will also urge automakers to produce safer cars. All motor vehicles, currently being manufactured and sold in the country as well as imported into India upto a gross vehicle weight of 3.5 tonnes will have to comply with these new Bharat NCAP norms. BNCAP will also test and rate CNG and electric vehicles based on crash performance.

Gadkari said, Over 30 car models have already been offered by carmakers in India for the assessment under the Bharat NCAP safety ratings. The automotive market in India has been evolving with consumers focus shifting from being cost-centric to quality-centric

Bharat NCAP will allow buyers to make an assessment of crash safety standards of these vehicles while automakers can voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standards 197. These cars will be awarded star ratings as per crash test. These star ratings allow buyers to compare the safety features of each vehicle thus allowing them to make erudite decisions on their final purchase.

Compliance with Bharat NCAP norms will also encourage automakers to pay more attention to safety standards of their vehicles. It will also create a sense of competition among manufacturers to enhance vehicle safety while at the same time buyers are given a choice to compare safety levels of various vehicles before deciding on the right one. Bharat NCAP will be a game changer for on road safety in India, which has one of the highest road traffic accident rates in the world, reducing road fatalities and injuries thereby creating a safer driving environment.

Bharat NCAP for better competition in Global Markets

Bharat NCAP will help to create a more competitive environment. The crash tests will include frontal offset crash tests, side impact crash tests while at the same time assessing the structure of the vehicle and its capacity to safely guard its occupants. The tests will also cover all areas of safety such as seat belts, child safety norms, airbags and pedestrian protection.

With each automaker now striving to enhance safety of their vehicles, the Indian automotive sector is poised to compete on an international level. Competition in the global market will go a long way to increase export potential for Indian automakers.

Mr. Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO & Managing Director, Renault India Operations said, I applaud the Government of India for this visionary and historic initiative; Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is a truly landmark event in the automotive industry. This significant stride aligns seamlessly with our core mission of the Human First Program initiative, propelling us further on our journey to prioritize the safety and well-being of drivers, passengers and pedestrians.



This initiative arrives at a crucial juncture for India, as the need to curtail fatalities on our roads has never been more pressing. With road safety taking precedence, the Bharat NCAP is a pivotal tool to assess and enhance the safety standards of vehicles on our roads.



The Government of Indias timely and historical introduction of the Bharat NCAP showcases its dedication to safeguarding its citizens and advancing road safety. Renault India wholeheartedly supports this initiative and looks forward to contributing our expertise towards reducing accidents and ensuring safer journeys for all.
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (R) and visiting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at their meeting in Hanoi on August 21. (Photo: VNA)

Lauding the outcomes of the guests talks with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and his meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue expressed his confidence that the signed documents between the two sides will create a favorable legal framework to promote the traditional friendship and collaboration between the two countries in the upcoming time in a more comprehensive and effective manner.

The top legislator stressed that the Vietnamese NA and himself always support the two nations comprehensive cooperation in various fields, including economy, trade, investment, transport, tourism, education, training, culture, and defence-security.

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue announced with delight that the bilateral parliamentary ties have so far yielded significant results. He expressed his hope that Tokayev, who previously served as the Chairman of the Kazakh Senate, would support the Vietnamese NA and the Kazakh Parliament in inheriting and elevating their existing good cooperative relations, towards the signing of a bilateral cooperation agreement.

On the occasion, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue invited the chairpersons of the Senate and of the Majilis (lower house) of Kazakhstan to officially visit Vietnam and send a delegation to attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians scheduled to take place in Hanoi in September. In response, Tokayev said that the Kazakh Parliament will send a delegation to the conference.

The NA Chairman said he hoped that the President himself, the Parliament and the Government of Kazakhstan will continue to pay attention and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese expatriate community to live, study, work, and integrate in Kazakhstan.

Agreeing with his host, Tokayev expressed his wish that both sides would work together to promote the achieved cooperation outcomes and further enhance partnerships in the fields of economy, trade, and investment.

The Kazakh President noted Vietnam is a key partner of Kazakhstan in Southeast Asia and that amid numerous international changes, their enduring solidarity and traditional friendship have become increasingly important. He also thanked Vietnam for its participation in the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) hosted by Kazakhstan.

The President hoped that the two parliaments will fortify their collaboration and exchange experiences, bringing about mutual benefits. He took this occasion to invite Hue to soon pay an official visit to Kazakhstan./.
Salt and Lime Photo Credit: Jake Theoldore

The Mains

Mexican Food Truck Lands in a Brick-and-Mortar Space in Del Mar

After more than six years of drawing customers to his Mexican food truck, Alan Efter recently opened Salt + Lime in downtown Del Mar, serving bites inspired by the flavors of his childhood in Mexico. His menus stars include a quesabirria taco with slow-cooked beef birria, cheese, onion, cilantro, and consome, all wrapped in a homemade tortilla. Their traditional white moletopped with a mushroom medleyis another standout.

Kanpai BBQ Convoy Courtesy of Kanpai BBQ

All-You-Can-Eat, Japanese-Style BBQ and Shabu Shabu Restaurant Opens in Convoy

On one side of Kanpai BBQ, Japanese-style barbeque sizzles on tableside grills. Meander to the other end of the space to experience all-you-can-eat shabu shabu with plenty of soup base choices (including sukiyaki, tom yum, and tomato broths) and meat options (like prime angus chuck eye, pork belly, and wagyu brisket). Theres also a bar to grab seafood (such as shrimp and scallops), veggies, and dipping sauces to dunk in your boiling broth. The BBQ area is still in the works and should launch in the next few months, but the shabu shabu experience is officially open at the Convoy space.

Malibu Farm Photo Credit: Erin Kunkel

Farm-to-Table Eatery Malibu Farm Joins Seaport Village This Month

After nearly two years and a multi-million dollar renovation of a 14,000-square-foot waterfront space, Malibu Farm is about unveil its new location in Seaport Village. 3,500 of those square feet are dedicated to outdoor dining areas, giving customers the chance to catch sea breezes while munching on veggie-focused cuisine with ingredients sourced from local farms. The indoor space leans farmhouse-meets-Scandinavia. Stay tuned for menu announcements as the grand opening gets closer.

Quick Bites

Chef Eric Bost of Jeune et Jolie is collaborating with Salty magazine to host a guest chef dinner on Wednesday, August 30, with chefs Marcus Jernmark of Habitue in Los Angeles and James Beard Awardwinning chef Dave Beran of Santa Monicas Pasjoli. The $275-per-person, multi-course dinner explores French and Californian influences.The San Diego Distillers Guild holds its fifth annual festival on Saturday, September 23, celebrating nearly twenty craft distilleries and local spirits brands at Liberty Station.The 19th annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is a binational wine and food extravaganza taking place November 812. The event features curated dining experiences, educational talks, and hands-on experiences, including more than 800 different wines and spirits on tap from around the world.Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about San Diegos food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
At the talks (Photo: VNA)

At the talks, which took place following a welcome ceremony for the Kazakh leader the same day, President Vo Van Thuong spoke highly of achievements Kazakhstan has recorded in politics and socio-economic development.

Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with Kazakhstan, regarding the country as a leading important partner in Central Asia, the host leader affirmed.

Tokayev lauded Vietnams reform policy as well as its socio-economic performance and its improving prestige in the international arena, saying the Kazakh State always treasures the long-standing friendship with Vietnam and considers the country one of the most important partners in Asia-Pacific.

The two leaders agreed on many specific measures to deepen the bilateral ties, and shared their views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

Both affirmed the importance of all-level delegation exchanges, saying the two sides have effectively put in place existing cooperation mechanisms as well as those between ministries, agencies and localities to enhance mutual understanding and trust, and create momentum for multifaceted collaboration.

Host and guest consented to maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

Vietnam stands ready to serve as a bridge for Kazakhstan to foster cooperation with other Southeast Asian countries, while Kazakhstan will help Vietnam step up collaboration with other countries in Central Asia.

The leaders rejoiced at the positive developments in economic, trade and investment cooperation, including the effective implementation of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of which Kazakhstan is a member.

However, they noted ample room and potential remain for Vietnam and Kazakhstan to boost their cooperation.

President Vo Van Thuong proposed that Kazakhstan support the launch of negotiations for the upgrade of the free trade agreement to meet the requirements of the reality and create more new opportunities for bilateral trade.

The Kazakh President said he hopes the two sides will work closely together to reach the target of 1.5 billion USD in two-way trade. He affirmed the strong support of bilateral cooperation in logistics connections, transportation and agriculture. He suggested the establishment of a Vietnam-Kazakhstan Business Council to promote collaboration among businesses of both sides.

The two sides shared a hope to bolster investment cooperation by strengthening the exchange of information on the investment environment and providing favourable conditions for businesses of the two sides to access each others market. The two sides should consider the possibility of establishing joint ventures in the fields of strength and demand such as garment-textiles, Halal food processing, seafood and canned food to supply the Central Asia market, they agreed.

They concurred to expand partnership to other potential areas such as transportation, education-training, culture, sports, tourism, finance, banking, and high technology. The two leaders welcomed the opening of a direct air route between Vietnam and Kazakhstan in October 2022. They expressed belief that the signing of a bilateral visa exemption agreement for passport holders and a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of tourism on this occasion will contribute to enhancing tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

At the talks, the two Presidents discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern, and shared the viewpoints on the settlement of disputes in the region and the world through peaceful measures on the basis of international law.

President Vo Van Thuong thanked the Kazakh President and State for giving favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study and work stably in Kazakhstan.

President Tokayev took the occasion to invite President Vo Van Thuong to visit his country at a future time that works for both sides. President Thuong accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements, including the agreement on the transfer of persons sentenced to imprisonment, and the agreement on visa exemption for popular passport holders. They also discussed a joint action plan to promote economic-trade cooperation in the 2023-2025 period, an MOU on cooperation in the field of tourism, and one between Vietnam Television (VTV) and Agency Khabar, a major media outlet in Kazakhstan./.
Splash Rosarito Baja California Restaurant Mexico Courtesy of Splash Baja Restaurant

We all have that friend who was there first, who knows the spots before the influencers, before the Michelin Guide furtively dines, who lives like locals do, and seem to make friends at each coveted location.You annoyingly see a gorgeously arranged plate sans filter on Instagram at a restaurant that doesnt even have a geotag. Then, a story from a hotel with views that arent out-of-this-world in another countrylike say, Mexico.With so many exciting new things coming out of Baja these days, we looked to those peoplethe regions tastemakers, local experts, and even a few of our San Diego friendsto give us the inside scoop on new, noteworthy, trendy, or hidden gems across the border.Here are 12 places to go in Baja right now as recommended by Monica Arreola, co-owner of Arte Contemporaneo in TJ; Dang Nguyen, consultant for Coyote Projects hospitality group in Baja; Hank Morton (founder and president) and Geoff Hill (director of brand & marketing) of Baja Bound; and our friends at the tourism authority on the latest developments.

Where to Go in Tijuana

Nook Hotel Tijuana Baja California Mexico Courtesy of Nook Hotel

Nook Hotel

A block away from the much-more famousthough slightly dustierCaesars Hotel, is this boutique gem. With pastel, Mondrian-like paintings hung over their gallery walls and chic, nouveau furnishings throughout, it gives more Downtown L.A. than Zona Central. Its also open 24 hours for your carousing convenience.

Midnight Cowboy

Less Jon Voight, more Juan Voight. This caballero-inspired border saloon is so new, you wont even be able to find the address without a DM. Reach out for a reservation, snag the code, and find yourself in a glow-up version of every ranch hands dream home (on the range), with marble countertops, ornamental horseshoes, and leather coasters. Try tipples like the Desperado, a concoction of agave spirits, Benedictine, and Fernet Branca.

Casa Tijuana Restaurant Baja California Mexico Courtesy of Casa Tijuana

Casa Tijuana

Dont have friends in Tijuana who can invite you over for a home-cooked meal? Think again. Chef Juan Cabrera Barron would like to welcome you into his. Enter Casa Tijuana, a restaurant in an actual house, in a thriving neighborhood on the outskirts of town, where the dining room is every room. Bedecked with personal effects from Barrons own life, the cozy, abuelita decor style belies the foods modern edge. Labeling itself as Mexican comfort food, this local eatery has a bite to satisfy every palette. Pro Tip: Work up an appetite perusing local, modern artists work at 206 Arte Contemporaneo then take a five-minute drive here to dish on all your favorite piecesand dishes.

Where to Go in Rosarito

Splash Baja California Rosarito Restaurant Mexico Courtesy of Splash Baja Restaurant

Splash

Seemingly carved out of the cliffs, this old casita-turned-restaurant is a classic spot to post up on your way to Valle, or before hitting traffic on the way back home. Though erring a little toward the Americanized palate, El Cielito Lindo is on heavy mariachi rotation for some traditional fun and their margaritas dont disappoint.

Marea Alta

Winner of 2023s Best Seafood Restaurant from Galardon Gastronomica, this unassuming Puerto Nuevo eatery highlights the regions freshest seafood with modern techniques, plus all the al fresco, the-UV-index-is-peaking-but-thats-what-sunscreen-is-for, summer vibes.

Colectivo Surf Tasting Room

K41 (also known as the Mexican mile marker, Kilometer 41) is the X marking the spot for finding some of the regions best sushi alongside a much-need, post-surf sesh brew in Playas de Rosarito. A restaurant focusing on fresh catches from its shores and four in-house brands under the collective: Cerveza Surf, Colectivo Sagrado Mezcal, Amor del Mar Vino, and Kaffiso 100 percent Cafe Organico.

Where to Go in Valle de Guadalupe

Bloodlust Restaurant Valle de Guadalupe Baja California Mexico Courtesy of Bloodlust

Bloodlust

Mimetic architecture never tasted so good. Shaped like an entire bulb of ajo (garlic), this wine and vermouth bar specializes in natural wine and sophisticated plates without the pretense of some other Valle notables. Be sure to check their gram so you can coordinate your visit with a live band playing in their amphitheater or a vinyl selector manning the decks indoors for a meal fit for an audiophile.

Decantos Vinicola

Villa vibes with Mexican cultura and terroir. Celebrating eight years this summer, winemaker Alonso Granados has kept his vision alive with constant innovation. Geoff explains some of the ingenuity behind Granados winemaking, Everything is gravity fed. Theres no pumps because they dont want it to disturb the molecular structure. As the son of the artist Gina Romo, creativity is in his blood. After learning winemaking in Spain, he took his vision to the sprawling landscape of Valle de Guadalupe and prepared to conquer Mexicos wine market. With 20,000 cases sold per yearrunning the gamut from refreshing joven wines and dessert options like a tokajihes on track to keeping his top spot.

Where to Go in Ensenada

Cerveceria Transpeninsular Ensenada Baja California Mexico Courtesy of Cerveceria Transpeninsular

Cerveceria Transpeninsular

Though Valle can lean adult with its 21+ restrictions, there are many places that are kid friendly, where you can still partake in local microbrews. Since 2016, Cerveceria Transpenisular has been that spot. Each beer is named for a local point of interest alongside the winding roadways of this Baja region, like the Km 5.5 milk stout and the La Curva double IPA. So, grab a pint while the pint-sized ones run amok.

La Morocha

Ensenadas favorite culinary son and Fauna chef, David Castro Hussong, is back with another concept. This time hes settled in the winery of Santo Tomas in Ensenada with his bar and restaurant thats named after slang for a pretty Latina, La Morocha. Their Instagram and website are taunting us with lack of details but they say theyre warming the pans as we salivate and expect an August open. We do know this, on July 29, they had a pop-up for the anniversary at Decantos Vinicola, which featured a dish of Wagyu rib flautas with truffle potato. So, dont mind us, well just sit here hitting refresh on our browser until we finally can make a reservation

Muelle Tres

Pierside dining? Yes, please. This excellent seafood outpost was featured in last years Valle Food & Wine Festival for good reason. Try the featured dish, Marisquite, a mashup of elote, octopus, and shrimp. Street corn never had it so good.

La Bete Noir

This self-proclaimed hi fi-gastro in Zona Centro wants you to be aware that it is not a club. There are no memberships and no reservations, which keeps space for all to hear the sounds and take in the culinary morsels this Ensenada pseudo-speakeasy provides. Repping McIntosh speaker gear, the sounds will be as smooth as cocktail creator Alexandra Purcarus cardamom-infused gin and tonic, known as La Bete Gin.
The Desert View Tower near Jacumba will once again be the backdrop for the rock festival and overnight slumber party known as In-Ko-Pah  A Unique Desert High Jinks.

The fourth installment of the no-sponsor concert is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 3, and end Sunday morning.

Fourteen local bands are set to play at the event, which is on the grounds of the remote Desert View Tower, on In-Ko-Pah Road, off Interstate 8 about 70 miles east of San Diego.

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Tickets are $47 for a day pass and $57 to stay overnight. Costs include entry to the event, parking and tent camping for overnighters It is open to adults 21-and-over, and kids under 12, with parent or guardian.

Promoters Jim La Clair and John Eisenhart say the shows are a way to bring attention to the San Diego music scene and the underappreciated Desert View Tower.

The tower is a 70-foot-high state historical monument built in the 1920s. It sits 3,000 feet above sea level, offering sweeping, majestic views of the Anza-Borrego Desert below and beyond.

Last years attendance was held to 300, and this year a maximum of 500 will be the limit. Eisenhart said the attendance is limited so that people can enjoy the music while still keeping an intimate feel.

We like to be a counterpoint to established music festivals, Eisenhart said. (In-Ko-Pah) is about letting the musicians and nature take over.

They say that for this years event, more than 160 bands requested a slot in the lineup.

Two 2015 In-Ko-Pah concert bands return: Playboy Manbaby and The Mission Creeps. The Widows, a band from the first event in 2014 is also back.

Last years festival was held in May but the promoters moved it to June this year, as it had been in previous years.

Eisenhart said having it later meant a better chance to lessen the chance of unpredictable high winds with nighttime cold temperatures that forced some people to leave early.

Some people referred to it as Wind Ko Pah last year, he said. But even in worst conditions, it carried on at the Tower. Thats what makes it unusual and unique. Youre going to experience nature.

This is an opportunity for people to band together and support musicians. If we get that message across, were successful.

Eisenhart said what he and La Clair are doing is nothing new.

Since the 60s and 70s people have been doing desert stuff, he said. We look at is a filling a niche of what people did before us and what they will do after us.

Eisenhart said they plan on keeping the festival going, but hope that in time, others will follow their lead and start similar music fests that go against conventional shows.

Both Jim and I we love music and we think local musicians are important, he said. Were trying to give people ideas.

Maybe we can show that you dont have to do music in a nightclub all the time.

The first In-Ko-Pah event drew more than 100 people listening to six up-and-coming local bands. It gave concertgoers the opportunity to camp and stay overnight.

The rocky hillside at the Imperial County line also include quartzite granite boulders shaped like animals, unique sculptures and a maze of caves.

There is a museum and gift shop built in the 1950s that offers a nostalgic vibe, a view from the very top of the actual tower and artifacts.

For more information on the music festival, visit inkopah.org
Representatives of responsAbility (Switzerland) and CME Solar at the virtual signing ceremony.

On 15 Aug, 2023, in a virtual signing ceremony between responsAbility and CME Solar signed a long-term senior secured debt financing contract up to 20 million USD  this was second facility of ResponsAbility invested into CME Solar, positioning it as the largest investment into non-financial institutions in Vietnam up until 2023. With fresh  funding the cumulative investment by responsAbility in CME Solar reaches 32 million USD. After the successful initial funding phase provided by responsAbility in 2021, CME Solar has achieved a remarkable triumph in upholding its commitments to investors. The pinnacle accomplishment of this solar power system is epitomized by a notable Foxconn Solar Project (31.5 MWp) in Bac Giang - Bac Ninh, Vietnam, which received full funding from responsAbility. This project stands as a flagship endeavor, characterized by the implementation of top-tier technical practices, including the utilization of N-type PV technology across the entire project. With robust financing and procurement strategies, as well as a steadfast focus on Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), the project was executed flawlessly in a mere three months and achieved - No Environmental Incidents. Such accomplishment of the Foxconn project, along with numerous other projects throughout Vietnam, serves as a testament to the trust and contentment that responsAbility holds for CME Solar.

This funding injection empowers CME Solar to embark on a diverse array of projects, with a focal purpose of enhancing commercial and industrial (C&I) solar initiatives across a wide spectrum of sectors in Vietnam. These sectors include manufacturing, electronics, food, beverages, and textiles. Speaking of expansion, CME Solar does not set limitations on geographical borders, hence eyeing to bolster its coverage across Southeast Asia. This expansion is guided by a well-defined roadmap and robustly strategic plans that consistently exceed investors expectations.

Mr. Chung Dieu Tuan, CEO of CME Solar Investments, is entirely confident about the market outlook, emphasizing a rising need for rooftop solar installations in Vietnam's FDI manufacturing domains, especially in electronics/semiconductors, garment, and textile, and global MNC consumer sectors. With government support, Mr. Tuan firmly believes in the significant growth potential of rooftop solar-energy development in Vietnam in the upcoming decade. He also acknowledges the dedication of in-house teams in meeting all standards requested by responsAbility, and positively foresees CME Solar to deliver beyond planned targets for this year.

The second facility allow CME Solar to launch into markets with an impressive capacity of 50 MWp. The sizable capacity not only contributes a reduction of 51,200 tons of CO2 annually, but also allows end-users to claim around 70,000 Renewable Energy Certificates (REC).[1] This alignment with the UN's Net Zero targets underscores the commitment to a more sustainable and eco-friendly future./.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland (on the screen) briefs a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Aug. 21, 2023. Concerning trends seen in recent months continue throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said on Monday, underscoring the need to restore a political horizon and achieve a two-state solution. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Concerning trends seen in recent months continue throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said on Monday, underscoring the need to restore a political horizon and achieve a two-state solution.

Palestinians and Israelis are killed and injured in near daily violence that is fueled and exacerbated by a growing sense of despair about the future, Wennesland said in a briefing to the Security Council.

Violence continues on the upswing, with more than 200 Palestinian and nearly 30 Israeli fatalities in the West Bank and Israel so far this year, already surpassing 2022's annual figures, and the highest since 2005, he said.

Settlement expansion continues unabated, Wennesland said, adding that the fragility of the Palestinian Authority fiscal situation, compounded by funding shortages facing key UN agencies, threatens to worsen the plight of the most vulnerable Palestinians.

"While we must urgently focus on addressing the most critical issues and on de-escalating the situation on the ground, we cannot ignore the need to restore a political horizon," he stressed.

The United Nations remains firmly committed to supporting the parties to achieve an end to the occupation and the establishment of a two-state solution, in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements, said Wennesland.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland (on screens) briefs a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Aug. 21, 2023. Concerning trends seen in recent months continue throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said on Monday, underscoring the need to restore a political horizon and achieve a two-state solution. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Editor: WXL
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved Japan's proposal to release over a million tons of treated nuclear water from the ruined Fukushima power plant into the ocean last month. Japan plans to start the release of the treated water this week.

Japan To Release Treated Radioactive Wastewater Into Ocean

Japan plans to start the discharge of cleaned radioactive wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility into the ocean this week, its government announced on Tuesday; despite the opposition from the locals Prime Minister Fumio Kishi stated the release will start on Thursday if weather and ocean circumstances permit. Kishida ensured fishermen could continue to make a living after the release during a visit to the destroyed nuclear facility on Sunday and a meeting with leaders of the Japanese fishing industry in Tokyo Monday.

The head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, Masanobu Sakamoto, stated that even though many of his organization's members had come to trust the government's guarantees of the safety of the discharge, it remained opposed due to the potential effects on fishermen's livelihoods.

Over 1,000 sky-blue tanks are arranged straight on the plant's property to store the water. To cool melted fuel that is still too hot and hazardous to remove, Tokyo Electric (Tepco) pumps water through the devastated reactors.

Radioactive nuclides are accumulated in the water as it flows through the reactors. Tepco runs the water through a robust filtration system intended to remove all radioactive material aside from specific contaminants like tritium and hydrogen isotope, sometimes repeatedly.

In modest doses, tritium is not harmful to human health, according to experts, and removing it would be prohibitively expensive.

Similar techniques are used by other nuclear power stations worldwide, including those in China, South Korea, and the United States, to purify cooling water. After such filtration, the tritium-containing water is then released into the oceans.

ALSO READ: New Atomic Clock Is As Small as Postage Stamp but Not As Accurate as Its Predecessors

Various Reactions to Japan's Plan About the Treated Nuclear Water

Some scientists are still uncertain about Japan's plan. Only 30% of the roughly 473,000 tons of water in the tanks have undergone complete treatment, leaving only tritium behind, according to Tepco's website.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's marine radiochemist Ken Buesseler said, "The idea is, 'just trust us,'" adding that he wanted to see more thorough assessments of what was still in the tanks, especially those that had previously had some treatment.

While tritium is one of the least deadly radioactive compounds, Dr. Buesseler claimed that other radioactive substances, such as cesium or cobalt, would be more destructive if discharged into the ocean.

He said the administration had not considered alternative solutions, such as adding more tanks or producing cement with treated water.

Dr. Buesseler speculated that the government wanted the "cheapest, fastest solution, which is a pipe in the ocean."

Professor of nuclear engineering at Tohoku University Kazuya Idemitsu expressed his confidence in the international agency's ability to monitor the water discharge and ensure that only tritium-containing water-and nothing else-will be piped into the ocean.

Water treated through Japan's filtration system is referred to as "purified" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and it has been said that any water released into the ocean will be "treated until it satisfies safety standards for all radioactive materials other than tritium."

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Check out more news and information on Biology in Science Times.
President Xi to attend group's summit and make state visit to South Africa

With a host of multilateral and bilateral agendas in the pipeline, President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to South Africa has given rise to expectations that Beijing will continue to lead the way in improving global governance, and that it will uphold true multilateralism and bolster solidarity with African nations.

The expansion of BRICS, the strengthening of coordination between major emerging economies and the developing world, and a bolstering of Beijing's cooperation with Africa will top Xi's agenda as he travels to South Africa for the 15th BRICS Summit and makes a state visit to the African nation from Monday to Thursday.

BRICS is the grouping of the major emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Johannesburg summit is set to bring together the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa, with Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to participate via video link, according to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.

Xu Xiujun, a senior research fellow of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' National Institute for Global Strategy, said he expects the Johannesburg summit to be an occasion during which Beijing continues to champion better global governance and uphold true multilateralism.

Expansion expected

"BRICS has now emerged as a key force in the reform of global governance, and Beijing will continue to play an important role in enabling the grouping to lead the way in safeguarding the interests of developing nations and promoting South-South cooperation," Xu said.

Expansion of the group is among the key topics to be discussed. "The current geopolitical context has driven renewed interest in BRICS membership, as countries of the Global South look for alternatives in a multipolar world," Pandor said.

As of Aug 7, a total of 23 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia, had formally applied to become BRICS members.

"We see this interest as recognition of the voice of BRICS as a champion of the interests of the Global South, particularly our agenda of reform and inclusion of the Global South  true to our founding values," Pandor added.

Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese vice-minister of foreign affairs, told a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in June that China welcomes and expects new members to join the BRICS family at an early date.

Wang Lei, director of the Center for BRICS Cooperation Studies at Beijing Normal University, said the cooperation among BRICS countries has become a multilateral cooperation mechanism with major influence in the global political and economic systems.

BRICS countries account for around 42 percent of the world's population, almost 30 percent of the world's territory, around 27 percent of global GDP and around 20 percent of global trade.

Through mechanisms such as BRICS Plus, the grouping has maintained close cooperation with emerging markets and developing nations.

"This has expanded the influence of BRICS cooperation far beyond the five nations and their regions and to a global scale," Wang said.

The fact that more emerging economies are applying for BRICS membership demonstrates the openness, inclusiveness and huge attractiveness of BRICS cooperation, he said.

Furthermore, the inclusion of more developing nations in the group could, to a certain degree, serve as a hedge against external pressure and build up unity among the nations of the Global South, Wang added.

The upcoming trip, Xi's second to South Africa in five years, comes a decade after his first overseas visit as China's head of state in March 2013, when he visited South Africa and put forward the guiding principles of China's Africa policy.

During the four-day stay, Xi, together with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.

The dialogue will also be a key opportunity to enhance cooperation between China and Africa. A number of leaders of African countries, the African co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the rotating chairperson of the African Union and representatives of African sub-regional organizations are expected to participate in the event.

"Solidarity and cooperation with African countries are the cornerstones of China's foreign policy and our long-standing, rock-firm strategic choice," Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a news conference on Friday.

Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Kenya-based Africa Policy Institute, said he expects Beijing to continue to advance the concept of China-Africa community with a shared future to boost economic growth, reduce poverty and inequality, and promote stability on a fragile continent that is facing traditional and nontraditional threats.

Xi's state visit to South Africa comes as the two sides mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Discussions during the visit will "explore further collaboration and partnerships the two nations can leverage on to solidify existing diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations", according to a news release from The Presidency of South Africa.

China has been South Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, while South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years.


The energy infrastructure of Ukraine is being prepared for efficient operation in winter, they are working out a quick response to possible emergency situations, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said during a working trip to Lviv region, the press service of the Energy Ministry reports.

"The energy system will be ready for winter, there are all the necessary resources to pass the heating winter season without power outages. However, the consequences of enemy terrorist attacks, which we cannot predict, are not ruled out. The goal of the enemy is to achieve a blackout in Ukraine. Last winter, we learned a lot in terms of holding the power system, but enemy strikes can be modified," Haluschenko said.

He stressed that in the absence of new serious damage due to shelling, it is not planned to impose restrictions on the supply of electricity to consumers.

"If there are blackouts, they will be the result of attacks on our energy system and will be temporary," the minister added.
Agroholding Kernel, which currently has a market capitalization of about $282 million, has announced a decision to start a share placement among qualified investors who are shareholders of the company in order to raise up to $60 million to meet the requirements of ongoing negotiations with a pool of creditors and the needs of the company in the capital, taking into account the termination of the grain deal on July 18, 2023 and the losses caused by Russian missile strikes.

"The number of shares and the issue price will be determined during the formation of the order book, organized according to the rules of the Dutch auction, taking into account the restrictions arising from the company's charter capital," Kernel said on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

It is specified that the company intends to use the proceeds from the placement mainly to reduce debt, as required by its creditors.

Currently, there are 84,032,230 shares in circulation, their closing rate on August 21 was PLN13.74 ($3.36). There are currently 84.031 million shares outstanding.

According to the prospectus, applications are accepted until the evening of August 28, while until August 31 its participants must make a deposit necessary for the purchase of shares, and the placement closes on September 4. In this case, if the submitted amount is less than $50 million, the board of directors may cancel the placement.

As reported, Kernel recently estimated the losses from Russian shelling in July-August at least $32 million, noting that it would take at least 12 months to restore the destroyed and damaged infrastructure.

The company also said that, taking into account the continuation of Russias war against Ukraine, in the spring of 2023 it initiated an extension of the deferral period for repayment of the principal amount of the debt for another year, until June 30, 2024, before creditors, but continues to pay interest.
Shmyhal: Ukraine receives another tranche of EUR 1.5 bln in macro-financial assistance from EU

On Tuesday, Ukraine received another tranche of macro-financial assistance from the EU worth EUR 1.5 billion, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said.

"Ukraine today received another tranche of EUR 1.5 bln in macro-financial assistance from the EU. In total, EU budget support to Ukraine in 2023 already amounts to EUR 12 billion," Shmyhal said on Twitter.

The head of the Ukrainian government thanked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis for "this decision, which shows Europe's solidarity with Ukraine."
If insurance covers inpatient treatment for a medical issue, parity means inpatient care for a mental health issue is covered, as well.

Parity makes behavioral health care more accessible.

Dave Freedman

If passed, Michigan HB-4707 will help enforce health parity.

The MI Mental Health series highlights the opportunities that Michigan's children, teens, and adults of all ages have to find the mental health help they need, when and where they need it. It is made possible with funding from the

Community Mental Health Association of Michigan

,

Center for Health and Research Transformation

,

Genesee Health System

,

Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan

,

North Country CMH

,

Northern Lakes CMH Authority

,

OnPoint

,

Sanilac County CMH

,

St. Clair County CMH

,

Summit Pointe

, and

Washtenaw County CMH

.
Oil and gas engineering services company Plexus Holdings announced a significant rise in the value of a major contract on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the contract, initially announced on 6 March, had been adjusted from 5m to around 8m.

As part of the newly-valued contract, Plexus said it had been tasked with providing its POS-GRIP HG wellhead equipment.

It said that equipment is integrated with a sealing technology that ensures a leak-proof metal-to-metal seal, specifically tailored for operations in subsea environments.

Additionally, it said it expected the entirety of sales revenue from the contract to be recognised within the financial year ending 30 June 2024.

I am pleased to be able to announce the additional revenue attributable to this important bespoke solution contract, said chief executive officer Ben van Bilderbeek.

Using innovative technologies, like ours, oil and gas companies and operators can transform the industry for the better, particularly in relation to reducing methane emissions and meeting net zero goals as part of the global energy transition cycle.

This is pivotal as governments across the world strive for energy independence, and more recently in the UK, with the news that hundreds of new oil and gas licences will be granted in the North Sea.

Van Bilderbeek quipped that common sense seems to have finally arrived with the realisation that it was far more damaging to the environment to ship oil, and in particular liquefied natural gas, across the world by tankers than it is to produce local pipeline gas and oil.

Indeed, it is reported that LNG sourced from afar is up to 20 times more carbon dioxide intensive than local North Sea gas.

We are encouraged by the increased interest in our POS-GRIP technology and look forward to updating shareholders on our continued progress.

At 1242 BST, shares in Plexus Holdings were up 43.31% at 5.37p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says the authorities will expand grant support for veteran businesses.

"The government will stimulate the creation and development of veteran businesses. We will expand grant support. We already have a program of non-refundable eWork grants. This program has a veteran component, due to which you can get up to UAH 1 million to develop your own business. There were thousands of veteran businesses in Ukraine, and veterans were at the center of the economic revival of our country," Shmyhal said at the International Veterans Forum on Tuesday.

In turn, Minister for Veterans Affairs Yulia Laputina said today 400 veterans and public associations of veterans have received grant support from UAH 500,000 to UAH 1 million for business development during the war.
An IIM Bangalore Alumnus, Sriram has had an illustrious 25-year career during which he has successfully handled key responsibilities with companies such as Kaashyap Radiant Systems, Polaris Software Lab, Oracle Corporation and Syniverse, and Sabre which he joined in 2018. In a recent conversation with Siliconindia, Sriram Gopalswamy, VP - Site Reliability Engineering & MD, Sabre India shared his insights on various aspects pertaining to data privacy in the travel industry and the role technology will play in this regard. Below are the excerpts from the exclusive interview

How do you see the travel industry shaping-up today in India post covid?

Despite the massive scale at which the covid pandemic adversely impacted the travel & tourism industry and uncertainties that it brought along, the industry is showing tremendous improvement in recent times. Be it any airport, railway station or bus terminal, each of them are bustling all day long with passengers, as people have now started travelling extensively for both business and pleasure. In 2022 alone, there were over seven million travel visas availed by Indians for various countries. The revenge travel trend that took birth post the pandemic has been a key driving force behind the industrys astounding improvement across both domestic and international travel segments post covid.

Give us a brief comparison between the advantages and disadvantages of technology for travellers while on vacation?

I feel technology to be more advantageous to travellers although there may be a few drawbacks as well. Today, be it selecting a destination, planning the vacation, making travel & hotel arrangements of our choice and even making payments online for those bookings, the entire process has been made hassle-free due the implementation of cutting-edge technologies. For instance, social media has created a massive impact on the travel industry for both customers and travel companies alike by acting as both a source of information, as well as an effective advertising medium. Also, increased smartphone penetration and easy access to high speed internet has enabled customers to take informed decisions to check for reviews and compare various available options prior to booking anything.

Additionally, digital payments have now eased the entire financial transactions process by sparing tourists the hassle of carrying cash and being constantly conscious about the money they are carrying. Furthermore, customers are now able to use their GPS-equipped smartphones to easily commute across the city without the fear of getting lost and being well-informed about the various available routes and travel options. For a country as diverse & large as India, technology has no doubt been a true enabler for tourists in every aspect possible.

As for the disadvantages are concerned, most people go on vacation to get relieved of their stress and detox themselves from the constant tech & digital exposure they go through in their daily lives. Thus, it is very much important for travelers to ensure that they do not spend much time with technology by limiting the usage of smartphones or even keeping mobile internet data off during their vacation times. This way, you can also get to know the local culture better by indulging in a conversation with localites instead of relying on technology for information.

What are some of the measures travellers must take to ensure data privacy while traveling abroad?

The biggest potential risk that any person can expose himself/herself to while traveling in terms of data security is connecting their devices to public Wi-Fi networks. Secondly, even if you do connect to such networks, make sure you do not make any financial transactions or access sensitive data online such as your bank login details. Another very useful measure to ensure data privacy while on vacation is to have a VPN installed on your device since it is very effective in keeping cybercriminals at bay even when you are connected to the public Wi-Fi networks. Also, always use the incognito mode while browsing for anything and avoid using your regular browser where many of your personal login credentials would be stored. Furthermore, enabling two-factor authentication for all your online accounts that you have login credentials for is one of the most efficient way to ensure data security even during your regular days as well. Lastly, encrypting your device always keeping your device OS updated will go a long way in staying clear any kind of cyber threats.

How can travel companies integrate technology into their existing practices to ensure data security of tourists?

Since travel companies collect a sensitive customer data such as their passport details, credit card info and many others, it is paramount that they have all the necessary measures in place to keep customers data secure to the fullest extent possible. Additionally, they must also conduct necessary training programs for their employees to create awareness among them about the importance of data security and ways in which they can safely handle data or report any suspicious activity that they come across. This way, travel companies must bring-in a culture of security and sensitivity among all their employees towards handling customer data. Also, travel businesses must be fully compliant with GDPR and CCPA guidelines, and make sure that every software & applications they use are designed keeping in mind these regulations.

Throw some light on the impact cybersecurity will have on the travel industry in the near future?

Currently, there are a considerable number of cybersecurity related incidents that are occurring on a regular basis across all industries worldwide. As an industry that collects sensitive customer data, cybersecurity has a massive role to play in the travel industrys growth going forward. Every traveler leaves a digital footprint behind, through digital accounts. As a consumer, one should be careful and pass only the required information, especially because there are several third-party agencies involved in the travel ecosystem. Every travel company must therefore ensure they utilize software or applications where only the necessary data is collected from the customers and stored in the safest way possible. As we embark on a significant digital transformation journey within the travel industry, cybersecurity will play a vital role in not only safeguarding our ecosystem, but also in minimizing data sharing to ensure its safety.
Poland, if necessary, will impose a unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain after September 15, while the transit of goods will be preserved, Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said at a press conference at Polsat News on Tuesday.

He denied media reports about a split in the coalition of countries banning the import of Ukrainian grain, and that the number of European Union member states opposing Poland's position on extending restrictive measures after September 15 increased from 13 to 20.

"For the first time I hear that more countries are against it. I talked about this with many ministers from the European Union. I see an understanding that a coalition needs to be built. We must build a mechanism. I am convinced that Romania is part of the coalition," Telus was quoted as saying by the Polish edition of farmer.pl.

He also said that next week he would hold talks with representatives of Slovakia to determine together "in which direction we will move."

"At the moment, I have no doubt that there is a coalition," Telus assured.

The Polish minister stressed that maintaining the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain only until September 15 was "a political argument for further destabilizing the situation in Poland."

"We will not allow this," he assured.

The Polish government wants this issue to be settled "amicably in the European Union, so that there is no need to break down the door."

"If it is necessary... to introduce unilateral bans, we will introduce them, because we are concerned about the interests of farmers..., and there is no discussion on this topic," Telus stated.

Answering a question about the possible risks of imposing penalties on Poland if it violates the rules of the single market, the minister said that "I don't want to listen to how we Poles are frightened with fines" and added that Poland will "pursue a tough policy in the interests of Poles."

Telus said that Poland was in dialogue with Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia for the transit of grain through Poland.

"We are in dialogue with Ukraine, as well as with Lithuania and Latvia, in order to use their ports," he said and assured that the grain leaving Poland is not returned.

"If we are talking about the food security of Poland, the food security of Europe, then the grain must flow to Europe and must flow outside of Europe. We will help on the way," the Polish Minister of Agriculture said.
Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management, the World Bank's investment arm International Finance Corp (IFC), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are in a race to invest up to $250 million (?2,080 crores) in Mahindra Susten's renewable infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), stated two people aware of the development.first that several global investors, including APG, had evinced preliminary interest in investing in the Mahindra InvIT.

Mahindra Susten's businesses include the Mahindra Group's renewable-focussed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) unit (with more than 4 GW of capacity constructed) as well as an independent power production (IPP) unit with around 1.54 GW of operational solar plants. The entire 1.54 GW will be transferred to the InvIT. The portfolio has an enterprise value of about $1 billion, the sources said.

"APG, IFC, and AIIB are currently conducting due diligence on the assets that are part of the InvIT," said one of the persons. "The deal is likely to close in the next two to three months."It will include a mix of primary and secondary share sales for a minority stake of around 35% in the InvIT," the person said. Bringing a new investor on board will also help the InvIT move toward meeting norms that require an InvIT to have a minimum of five shareholders, said one of the persons."Susten will later on bring in a few domestic investors, such as mutual funds or family offices with small cheques to meet

The minimum shareholder requirements," the person said. Currently, the Canadian fund Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPP) owns about a 30% stake in Mahindra Susten, acquired in September 2022 for 2,371 crore ($300 million). OTPP will end up holding a stake in the InvIT too, along with the holding in Mahindra Susten. The Mahindra Group and AIIB didn't respond to queries. APG and IFC declined to comment. Axis Capital, Kotak Investment Bank, and Avendus Capital are advising Mahindra Susten on the transaction.
The 2nd edition of our flagship event calls upon 500+ of Indias brightest financial industry experts, fintech innovators and financial services stakeholders to explore the role of fintech and emerging opportunities in shaping the future of the Indian economy. With a renewed focus on fintech innovations, and emerging financial technology disruptions, 2nd Fintech India Summit & Awards will bring a expert speaker lineup and an interactive event experience to all the attendees.

This years celebration of the fintech industry will be hosted as a two-day event on 9 and 10 of November in Mumbai, with a Co-located FinTech Awards track on day one.

While, the financial technology industry is rapidly changing, the event promises an incredibly relevant conference agenda which will exemplify value and unmatchable solutions and learning experience. At the heart of the 2nd FinTech Summit & Awards, is the line-up of diverse industry thought leaders  from across Banking, Insurance, Fintech, VCs and allied industries. Some of the 50+ speakers announced so far are:

SAIREE CHAHAL, Founder & CEO, SHEROES and Mahila Money

RAJ KAPOOR, Founder & CEO, India Blockchain Alliance

VINEET SUKUMAR, Founder & MD, Vivriti Capital

RUPESSH GOEL, Managing Director Head of Credit Administration, SVB India.

CYRIL MOHAPATRA, Senior Vice President & Head - Digital Banking  SDG, IndusInd Bank

HITESH SACHDEV, Head  Startup Engagement & Investments, ICICI Bank Limited

KV DIPU, Senior President, Bajaj Allianz GIC

RAJA DEBNATH, Managing Director, Veefin Solutions Ltd

ROOPESH CHANDRAN, Chief Operating Officer, BOB Financial Solutions Ltd

SANJAY JAISWAL, AVP - Head of Application & IT security, Nuvama Wealth Management

SONAM SRIVASTAVA, Founder, Wright Research

AMEY SUBHASH LAKESHRI, Director, Cyber Forensics, Privacy and IR, Ernst and Young LLP

VIKRAM PANDYA, Director - Fintech S P Jain School of Global Management

ANUJ SHARMA, Chief Operations Officer -India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation

DR. JASMIN B GUPTA, Global Specialist - Fintech Frontiers

And our Jury Members evaluating the 2nd Fintech India Awards nominations are:

ABHISHANT PANT, FOUNDER, THE FINTECH MEETUP

SUGANDH SAXENA, CEO OF FINTECH ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT (FACE)

PRASANNA LOHAR, CEO, BLOCK STACK

K SRINIVASA RAO, SENIOR ADVISOR (PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND BANKING TECHNOLOGY), INDIAN BANKS ASSOCIATION

SUNIL KULKARNI, CEO / BCFI

ABHISHEK KOTHARI, CEO PEPPER MONEY INDIA

VAIBHAV JOSHI, CO-FOUNDER, CBO & GLOBAL HEAD BFSI, AYEKART FINTECH

VIKRAM PANDYA, DIRECTOR - FINTECH S P JAIN SCHOOL OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

AMIT JAIN, PARTNER & CO-HEAD, IBS INTELLIGENCE

2nd Fintech India Summit & Awards content will be spread across five sessions: from FinTech in India, Enabling FinTech Innovation, FinTech India Awards, Impact of FinTech on SME Growth, FinTech Start Up Showcase; covering key topics like Digitization of the Indian Economy & Financial Inclusion Outlook; The Future of FinTech & the Emerging Trends; Digital Finance & The Change; FinTech & ESG; Women in FinTech; Web 3.0 & the Future of Money; Technology & Innovation Round up Enabling FinTech, there is sure to be a track for everyone. The amazing line up of speakers and top-quality content will be combined with interactive sessions, networking, exhibiting, start up showcases, gala invite only dinner throughout both days.

A range of 2nd Fintech India Summit & Awards participating opportunities are now available to suit your preferences, from showcasing your solutions, or if you are a start up who wants to connect with VCs, or you want to exhibit your product or services, book business meetings or just attend to hear from the speakers. Early bird registration ensures best customized partnership packages. To register just go to https://fintechindiasummit.com/register/
Amazon India launched the third edition of Machine Learning (ML) Summer School, an immersive program that aims to provide students the opportunity to learn key ML technologies from Scientists at Amazon, making them industry-ready for a career in machine learning. The free educational course will be conducted over four weekends in September covering eight modules that will provide students an opportunity to gain skills on key ML topics. These include Supervised Learning, Deep Neural Networks, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Dimensionality Reduction, and Unsupervised Learning, with a focus on fostering a strong foundation in both theoretical concepts and practical applications.

Rajeev Rastogi, Vice President, International Machine Learning, Amazon, says, "Amazon ML Summer School is designed to build a strong foundation in key ML technologies over and above academics and is a step towards assisting students to chart out careers in ML. Our aim is to provide participating students with best-in-class training on a broad range of topics that are at the core of modern Machine Learning, from fundamentals to state-of-the-art. The tutorial sessions, which cover the right mix of theoretical and practical knowledge, will be delivered by Amazon ML scientists, who are experts in their field. For the past few years, weve received a great response from students which has encouraged us to make this program more robust and relevant for students. This program will be a platform to help foster ML excellence and strive towards developing applied science skills in young talent."

Diverging from conventional approaches that emphasize theory, Amazon's ML Summer School offers a unique application-focused learning method. Participants not only grasp theoretical concepts but also gain hands-on experience, preparing them for real-world challenges. The program's distinctive curriculum integrates practical applications, equipping learners with both knowledge and practical skills. Moreover, Amazon's ML Summer School stands out as it assimilates existing science curricula in universities with industry trends, and prioritizes practical learning, catering to students with varying ML backgrounds.

Since its pilot in 2021, the Amazon ML Summer School has rapidly evolved, demonstrating exceptional growth. The inaugural program saw participation from over 3500 students, with the top 300+ students earning the opportunity to partake. Building on this success, the program expanded in 2022, attracting over 17,500 registrations from engineering students across India. Out of these, a select group of 2880 students were invited to join the program. This year it is being expanded to include engineering students enrolled in any recognized institute in India and will see a bigger class size.

ML Summer School is open to all engineering students enrolled in Bachelors/Masters/ PhD degree from any recognized institute of India and are expected to graduate in 2024 or 2025. Eligible students will be required to take an online assessment focused on basic ML concepts and math fundamentals on topics such as probability, statistics, and linear algebra. The top 3000 students are then enrolled to ML Summer School, where they cover eight modules in classroom sessions over four weekends, each session followed by live Q&A sessions with scientists at Amazon.
Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams has expressed her enthusiasm and anticipation for the highly anticipated landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, which is set to take place on Wednesday. The Pragyaan rover's exploration of the lunar south pole holds great promise for scientific findings, and Williams, known for her exceptional contributions to space projects, is eagerly anticipating it. The distinguished NASA astronaut who has a long history in space exploration praised India's important contribution to the development of space exploration. In a statement shared by National Geographic India, she emphasized the importance of lunar exploration, not only for the knowledge it promises to unveil but also for the potential it holds for sustainable living beyond our planet.

"Landing on the Moon will provide us with invaluable insights. I am truly thrilled that India is at the forefront of space exploration and the pursuit of sustainable living on the Moon. These are truly exciting times," Williams said. Speaking of her anticipation for the mission's outcomes, Williams expressed her enthusiasm for the scientific research that will stem from Chandrayaan-3's landing and the rover's activities. She considers this endeavor a significant step forward in our understanding of the Moon's composition and history.

"Filled with enthusiasm for lunar exploration, I'm looking forward to seeing the scientific research that should come out of this landing and the rover taking samples, it is just going to be a great step," she added. Explaining India's preparedness to delve into the lunar south pole region, Williams highlighted Chandrayaan-3's potential to conduct scientific investigations that will aid in pinpointing suitable locations for establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon's south pole.

In conjunction with the impending lunar landing, National Geographic India is set to feature special live coverage of the event. The show not only promises to offer viewers a front-row seat to the nail-biting moments of the landing but will also include insights from notable astronauts such as Sunita Williams and Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to travel to space, and many others. This unique broadcast will shed light on the mission's profound significance for the nation and the broader scope of space exploration.
Since the beginning of the spring of 2020, the world has been faced with unpredictable events caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. It has forced millions of people around the world to abandon their usual way and rhythm of life and feel to the full what it is like to be a hostage of their own home. Working & studying processes, rest & sport and even events began to be implemented in a new way, because people's lives did not pause, everyone was looking for a way out of the situation, to ease amortization and adapt to the new requirements of the reality of pandemic.

We had to put up with new conditions, we couldn't let people down who believe in our business and look forward to participate in the InvestPro or the WealthPro conferences, continuing to develop together with Bosco Conference  Bosco Conference CEO. During the global pandemic, we organized various workshops and online conferences, but comparing this experience with pre-quarantine times and with the conditions that exist now, after the cancellation of the corona virus, we can clearly state that online cannot completely replace offline, no matter how much effort people make to this.

There are undisputed advantages of online events - this includes saving the budget for their conducting, greater opportunities to invite foreign speakers who will not have problems with logistics, because they can join the conversation while sitting at home, as well as wider coverage among the audience. After a year and a half of practice in organizing online occasions we definitely realize that, unfortunately, to keep the "dynamics" of the event in the right rhythm is almost impossible, the audience will always turn off and, at best, return to the speaker they are interested in. And this is understandable - it is difficult to force a person to sit at the monitor for several hours in a row.

Therefore, online clearly loses to physical contact. Since we organize conferences in order to create an amazing atmosphere of pleasant networking between all participants, speakers and partners who joined the event for the purpose of finding new contacts and expanding their professional horizons basing on new acquaintances, we, like no one else, see that networking, everyone expects for is suffering a lot.

Besides, it is impossible not to mention one of the most important reasons why people register for various conferences or events  the willing to listen skillful and interesting speakers who share their cases and may even influence the fate of audience in the future, because for someone a speaker can become a mentor, for someone to open the secret truth, and for others to give key advice that will lead to one hundred percent success. There is an art to making a speech, just as there is an art to painting a picture or composing music. It is called the art of oratory.

Bosco Conference has announced the annual international event InvestPro UAE Dubai 2023 conference, which is going to reset the business world of CIS, European, Middle East and Asian countries. This year participants of the occasion will meet in the working space of luxurious Indian themed Taj Dubai hotel, featuring panoramic views of Burj Khalifa on the 25th of September, 2023.

InvestPro UAE Dubai 2023 is a modern platform aimed to provide business professionals with unique latest information and to diversify their communication with colleagues and partners. Specialists from all over the world have a chance to share their experience-based business tips and knowledge, as well as to expand the client and partner network  Bosco Conference CEO.

12th annual InvestPro UAE Dubai 2023 conference is dedicated to the practical solutions for professionals in the field of finance, corporate business, wealth management, citizenship and immigration, international tax structuring, and for the companies oriented to international trade and investment. Each year it is visited by at least 200+ participants who are highly motivated to join this event, because of a strong desire to evaluate the high-quality organization, listen to up-to-date and useful speakers reports, to expand their contacts and present themselves in particular, establishing profound network of partnership relations, as well as to feel the atmosphere where the focus on development in world ruling fields of activities prevails.

InvestPro UAE Dubai 2023 conference is a unique in its kind as it is to be held in the most pro-business and well-developed infrastructural Dubai city, in one of the most comfortable and splendid hotels, Taj Dubai, with engaging the highly professional and experienced speakers, who will present the most necessary and sensible topics for nowadays. All these points will enhance your new community connections as well as expand your professional relationships. You may discover opportunities to collaborate or partner up with other participants of the conference, which could lead to new projects, partnerships, or even joint ventures.

Take advantage of the chance  register with additional -10% discount using the promocode CIOTO via the link!
ISRO and its Japanese counterpart are working together on a project that will likely be its next Moon trip. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation, which has its headquarters in Bengaluru, have joined forces to create the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX). The lander is being created by ISRO, while the rover is being developed by JAXA. In addition to the instruments of ISRO and JAXA, the rover will also include those of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Saku Tsuneta, vice-chair of the Cabinet Committee on National Space Policy in Japan and director general of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, paid a visit to ISRO's headquarters here earlier this month and met with the organization's chief, Somanath S. The LUPEX mission's development was considered. "Development of a smaller lander for the LUPEX mission was discussed, among other things," an ISRO official said.

According to JAXA, the LUPEX mission is aimed at exploring the lunar polar region's suitability for establishing a base on the Moon for sustainable activities, obtaining knowledge regarding the availability of lunar water-ice resources, and demonstrating lunar and planetary surface exploration technologies such as vehicular transport and overnight survival. Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), an autonomous unit of the Department of Space, has proposed multiple instruments in the LUPEX mission mainly to carry out measurements on the surface and subsurface near the permanently shadowed polar region of the Moon.

The objective of one of the proposed instruments Permittivity and Thermo-physical investigation for Moon's Aquatic Scout (PRATHIMA) -- is in-situ detection and quantification of water-ice mixed with lunar surface and sub-surface soil using a rover/lander platform. The aim of another proposed instrument Lunar Electrostatic Dust EXperiment (LEDEX) is to detect the presence of charged dust particles and to confirm the dust levitation process in the volatile-rich polar region, and to estimate the approximate dust size and flux of charged levitated dust particles. According to an ISRO official, the LUPEX mission is slated to be launched in the year 2025.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A Dongan Hills man who police said forced an NYPD helicopter to change course with a laser pointer will spend the next year on Rikers Island.

Michael Bacchio, 51, of the 500 block of Naughton Avenue, was sentenced Aug. 16 in state Supreme Court, St. George by Justice Lisa Grey in connection with the May 4 incident. He pleaded guilty in July to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon to resolve the case.

On the night in question, the helicopter pilot was able to track a green light that illuminated the cockpit to the defendant below, according to a criminal complaint filed at the time of the incident. The next day, a judge issued a search warrant of Bacchios property.

Under the drivers seat of his 2017 Dodge Ram was a loaded 9mm caliber Sig Sauer firearm with one round in the chamber and a 15-round magazine. Inside his apartment officers recovered two 9 mm magazines, five 12-gauge cartridges, one .44 cartridge on the kitchen table, brass knuckles and a dagger.

Also seized was a scale with cocaine residue, according to the complaint.

An attorney for Bacchio declined to comment on the case.

The defendants Facebook page is lined with posts opposing gun control laws in the U.S.

Said Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon in regard to the sentence: This defendants dangerous acts and possession of deadly weapons put the safety of others at serious risk, and thanks to the efficient, professional work of the NYPD and my office, specifically ADA Amir Fadl, he is now a convicted felon headed to prison as a result of his lawless conduct.

I remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute those who possess and use illegal weapons on Staten Island, the boroughs top prosecutor continued.

The Staten Island man is not the first person to be arrested for the alleged misuse of a laser pointer.

Last summer, a 32-year-old man was accused of endangering a helicopter pilot flying over Long Island, 4 NewYork reported.

In April, three men were arrested in Elyria, Ohio, for allegedly shining lasers and a flashlight at a state highway patrol helicopter.



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UPDATE: The victims sister vows to keep her memory alive for young daughter.



STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A fiery crash in Brooklyn led to the death of a young Staten Island woman and manslaughter charges against the driver of one of the cars involved in the collision, police said.

Shanti Joyner of Port Richmond died after the 2019 Honda Accord she was a passenger in was struck by a Mercedes-Benz, then careened into a tree in the early hours of Friday morning at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The NYPD released Joyners age as 18, but a relative who answered the door at her home said she was 21.

The driver of the Honda was Joyners 32-year-old sister, Iesha, who lives at the same address as the victim; a 29-year-old man was riding in the back seat, according to multiple sources.

Kashawn Croswell, 25, of Vandalia Avenue in Brooklyn, allegedly was behind the wheel of the 2014 Mercedes Benz S550 that struck the Honda. Croswell has been charged by police with manslaughter for recklessly causing death, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Iesha remained in the hospital after initially being taken into custody. A source with the district attorneys office in Brooklyn was unable to immediately provide any information about whether she would be prosecuted in connection with the crash.

Officers responded around 3:25 a.m. to the scene where they found Shanti Joyner unconscious and unresponsive in the front-passenger seat of the Honda. She suffered from body trauma and was taken by EMS to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where she died, according to the police statement.

Iesha Joyner, the 29-year-old man who was riding in a rear-passenger seat of the Honda and a 24-year-old woman who was a front-seat passenger in the Mercedes-Benz all were transported in stable condition to the same hospital, police said.

The NYPD Highway Districts Collision Investigation Squad determined the Mercedes-Benz driven by Croswell was traveling southbound on Court Street when it entered the intersection at Atlantic Avenue, according to the police statement.

The Mercedes then struck the Honda in the intersection, causing the car the Joyers and the 29-year-old man were traveling in to spin and strike a tree, police said.

The Mercedes-Benz caught fire, and Croswell initially fled the location before being apprehended a short distance from the crash, police said.

The police investigation continues.

Croswell has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held at Rikers Island in lieu of bail set at $750,000/$250,000 cash. He is due back in Criminal Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, according to public records.

An attorney for Croswell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A LOVING PERSON

Neighbors, friends and family members are mourning and expressing an outpouring of love in memory of Shanti Joyner.

Akeelah Hall remembered her older sister as a loving person, who embraced motherhood with grace.

She had a 1-year-old daughter, Hall said. She was trying to make as much money as she could for her birthday party, because shes turning 2 soon.

Joyner was fun, and living her best life, Hall told the Advance/SILive.com.

Always liked to sing, reflected Hall. She also wanted to be a nurse, she was getting ready for nursing school.



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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A former Arrochar Catholic school will be open in the coming days as the Islands latest migrant housing center, a City Hall spokesperson said Monday.

The spokesperson said they expect the former St. John Villa Academy, which has not been in operation in five years, to begin housing up to 300 adult migrants by the end of the week, but couldnt offer an exact timeline.

They also couldnt say exactly where on the sprawling campus the migrants would be housed, but said the emergency shelter wouldnt impact the ongoing work of the School Construction Authority, which has controlled the site since the city purchased it in 2018 for $20 million from the Sisters of St. John the Baptist.

City Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island) said the latest city shelter on Staten Island, which officials expect to only be a short-term site for a few months, calls for more drastic action.

This latest bad decision to open up yet another migrant shelter only serves to show how you can never have enough beds or places for the flood of folks coming, he said. It will never stop, and the only rational decision is simply to say no more. Until the city finally does that, we will only end up spending more money and losing more public spaces to this crisis. The city should stop waiting for court approval and unilaterally refuse more new arrivals.

On Saturday, a local resident, Jasmine Cira, posted a Change.org petition critical of the plan. It had garnered 766 online signatures by late Monday afternoon. Most of those signatures, 641, came Monday.

Rumors had long been circulating about the sites possible use as a shelter for migrants, but City Hall didnt officially confirm plans for the location at 57 Cleveland Pl. until Monday evening.

By signing this petition, we stand together as a community to protect the educational environment of our children and ensure that St. John Villa Academy High School remains dedicated to its intended purpose, Cira, who did not list contact information on the website, wrote in the petitions description. Together, lets find alternative solutions that prioritize the well-being of both our students and those in need.

The influx of more than 100,000 migrants since spring 2022, nearly 60,000 of whom remain in the citys care, has prompted officials to set up emergency shelters around the five boroughs, including 13 massive humanitarian emergency relief and response centers.

On Staten Island, emergency shelters have been set up at several hotels and inside the Stapleton site of the former Richard H. Hungerford School on Tompkins Avenue. The City Hall spokesperson said Monday night that the Villa location would be similar to the Hungerford site.

Other sites around the Island have been rumored, including Villa, a Midland Beach assisted living facility, and Fort Wadsworth. All have been met with outcry and protests from locals and elected officials.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the federal government had arranged for migrants to be housed at Brooklyns Floyd Bennett Field. She said the city would set up another humanitarian emergency relief and response center with housing available for 2,000 migrants.

After months of negotiations, the Biden Administration has provided us with a tentative contract that would allow New York to utilize Floyd Bennett Field as a shelter for asylum seekers, she said. Ultimately the path out of this crisis is granting work authorization immediately, so these individuals can move out of the shelter and into independent living arrangements. This site will be critical in the interim for the City of New York to provide humanitarian aid, as we work collectively to get people on the path to asylum-seeker status and legal work.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  It was a robbery to dye for.

Two gunmen wearing ski masks robbed the old Westerleigh Savings and Loan Association Bank in Grasmere on Feb. 15, 1983.

But the bandits, dubbed the gang that couldnt shoot straight by cops, left a trail a mile wide that led to their capture just an hour after the heist.

ILL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF

The two robbers entered the bank at 1100 Hylan Blvd. at around 12:15 p.m., one toting a 12-gague sawed-off shotgun, the other a .22-caliber revolver.

The man with the revolver vaulted over the bank counter and told the tellers to keep quiet or else.

If you press the buttons, Ill blow your head off, he reportedly said.

As the second robber stood by the door and covered bank employees with his shotgun, the first crook rifled through the banks cash drawers and took bundles of money, totaling about $7,000. He leapt back across the counter and both bandits fled the bank.

Thats where their troubles started, cops said.

Within seconds, as the pair fled toward a getaway car that was parked around the block on Kensington Avenue, a dye-filled decoy money packet exploded.

The thieves and their ill-gotten loot were instantly covered by powered red dye and thousands of dollars in loose $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills blew into the air.

There were witnesses all over the place, Sgt. Richard Bracken of the Crimes Against Persons Squad told the Advance.

The comedy of errors didnt end there.

THEY WERE HAVING A BAD DAY

The crooks meant to flee to a brown Oldsmobile, but cops said that the getaway car failed to start.

With the two dropping bills as they fled on foot, police said they had little trouble following the trail of stained money to an apartment building at 121 Norway Ave., South Beach.

Before cops arrived, one of the crooks had stumbled while entering the building, spilling the money he was carrying, the Advance reported. As he stooped to pick up the errant cash, he accidentally discharged the shotgun he was carrying. Witnesses reported the incident to police.

Police converged on the building but didnt know which apartment the men had entered. But during a search, an officer noticed a red-stained bill protruding from underneath the door of apartment 3-C.

This was the gang that couldnt shoot straight, Bracken told the Advance at the time. They were having a bad day.

Police found the two suspects counting money on a bed inside the apartment. Both the would-be robbers and the cash were covered with red dye. A small amount of red-stained money had also been found in the failed getaway car.

Police recovered about $2,600 of stolen loot in the apartment. Another $4,000 was recovered by passers-by on Kensington Avenue.

MONEY HITTING THE WINDSHIELD

Brian Conroy, 4, and his mom, Kathleen, of Rosebank, were among the first to spot the free-floating cash. They were driving home after shed picked the youngster up at the Marshall School in South Beach.

Kathleen Conroy had just made a right turn onto Kensington, about a block from the bank, when my son and I began to see all this money hitting the windshield, she said. It was unreal.

They got out of the car and saw money littering the roadway. Young Brian grabbed his empty lunchbox and we began to stuff as many bills as we could into it, his mom said.

Cops in the neighborhood told them that the bank had been robbed.

We only wanted to return the money to the proper owners, said Conroy, a 31-year old secretary and mother of two. Im so glad that it was so close by.

The youngster smilingly handed his cash-stuffed lunchbox to a bank official, who praised the child for his good work. The bank was then closed to the public for several hours as police investigated the robbery.

People mill about outside closed Westerleigh Savings and Loan Association Bank on Hylan Boulevard in Grasmere after it was robbed on Feb. 15, 1983. (Tony Dugal/Staten Island Advance)

Queens resident Edward S. Ruiz, 25, was the only customer inside the bank at the time of the heist.

Those guys looked like they were dressed to go to a funeral, he said of the robbers, and the masks concealed their faces so you couldnt really tell what they looked like.

He said that he and the bank workers were in a state of shock as the robbery rapidly unfolded.

It happened so fast, Ruiz said, and no shots were fired. Once they got what they were after, they fled the building.

Another witness, Edward Smith, said he spotted a bundle of stained money in the road and returned it to the police.

Most of the money was flying around loose, but I was able to retrieve one pile intact, he said.

Authorities at the time said they did not know how much money might have been picked up by passers-by and not returned.

That money is worthless as far as spending any of it goes, said one officer at the scene.

PLEADING GUILTY

Arrested were Thomas Gallagher, 35, and Craig Whiteley, 28, both residents of St. Marys Avenue in Rosebank. Gallagher was identified as the robber who took the money from the cash drawers, the Advance reported, while Whiteley wielded the shotgun.

The two men pleaded guilty to the robbery on May 9, 1983. Gallagher, as a second-felony offender, was sentenced to a term of 7-and-a-half to 15 years in prison, while Whiteley received a sentence of four to 12 years.

MORE STATEN ISLAND CRIME STORIES FROM TOM WROBLESKI

Crooks take hostages at deli, rob Wells Fargo armored truck of $2.25M in biggest heist in Staten Island history in 1978

Broad daylight heist at Macys at Staten Island Mall nets robbers $815Gs in 1985

Mobster Fat Pete Chiodo is shot 12 times but lives as Mafia assassination goes awry on Staten Island in 1991
The Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy at its meeting on August 22 will hear the National Securities and Stock Market Commission in connection with the ten-month lack of access for clients of Freedom Finance Ukraine LLC, which fell under sanctions, to their assets  about UAH 250 million invested in government securities.

If we talk about Freedom Finance, then there is not a single objective reason why the securities commission is delaying resolving this issue. I published the figure: approximately 2,500 Ukrainians who invested in war bonds have had them blocked for ten months. The commission is not taking any measures to unblock them, said Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the committee, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He recalled that the committee had sent a detailed inquiry about the activities of the commission on this issue, but received "a short story in the spirit of Ostap Vyshnia, where brilliant folk humor is combined with unsurpassed verbal tightrope walking in order to avoid direct answers to fairly simple questions."

According to Hetmantsev, the securities commission did not provide most of the requested documents, as well as clear and understandable explanations regarding its inability or unwillingness to protect the rights of investors within ten months.

Now we see from the available materials that the regulator is more concerned with the issue of how to save a sanctioned entity rather than with the interests of those people whose money this company operates with. This is absolutely unacceptable. I think that based on the results of consideration by the committee, we will come to certain conclusions, we will move this issue exactly from the place where it has been for ten months," the head of the committee said.

He specified that the committee meeting would be broadcast. Affected contributors can join by first sending specific questions.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The U.S. Postal Service is actively looking to fill roles across New York City for City Carrier Assistant (CCA) position.

The postal service is hosting a hiring fair on Staten Island to fill immediate openings.

The event is scheduled for this Wednesday, Aug. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the GPO Main Post Office located in Manor Heights, situated at 550 Manor Rd..

There will be an H.R team on hand to assist with the online hiring process. Applicants for the CCA position are required to have a valid state drivers license, a safe driving record, and a minimum of two years of driving experience.

The starting pay for the role is $19.33/hour -- this may include certain benefits, such as paid leave and health insurance, as part of the compensation package.

CCAs are responsible for delivering and collecting mail within a city area, by foot or vehicle.

Job duties include:
It could soon get much easier to charge your iPhone.

The newest models, expected in September, could feature a generic USB Type-C charging port, according to reports on CNBC.com, Bloomberg and 9to5Mac.

A Type-C is the same charging port used on most newer laptops, some iPads, Android phones, Kindles and a host of other gadgets, so there would be fewer cords to drag around for users who also have those devices.

The new connector would replace Apples Lightening Connector, featured on every iPhone since 2012.

The change would be one of the biggest changes to the iPhone in years, making things much easier for consumers, who would no longer need to bring two different cables for their phone and laptop or other devices with them when traveling.

Businesses may be able to purchase just one type of charger for fleets of devices and anyone with an iPhone could borrow chargers from anyone with a newer-model laptop.

The new USB-C might even provide iPhones users with faster charging speeds, CNBC reported.

Forbes, reporting on a series of leaks related to iPhone 15, estimates the launch of the new model in late September.

NEW REGULATIONS AND THE IPHONE 15

While Apple hasnt confirmed that its new iPhones will feature a USB-C charging port, and didnt respond to a CNBC request for comment, tech watchers say its only a matter of time.

The European Union last year passed a law requiring USB-C ports on new smartphones by 2024.

Apple opposed the European law in 2021, saying the new law would hamper future charging development and could possibly confuse consumers.

We are concerned that regulation mandating just one type of connector for all devices on the market will harm European consumers by slowing down the introduction of beneficial innovations in charging standards, including those related to safety and energy efficiency, Apple said in a 2021 letter, according to CNBC.

Still, with Apple unlikely to make a European-only phone, the new rule pushes the company toward the generic charger. Obviously, well have to comply, Greg Joswiak, Apples chief marketer, said last year on Twitter.

Since consumers can use one charger for several products, the EU estimates the rule could save Europeans 250 million euros per year on chargers. Its also good for the environment, the EU also said, as old chargers account for about 11,000 tons of e-waste per year in the region, CNBC reported.

The cost of a current Apple USB-C cable is $39.
UPDATE: Former Staten Island Catholic school to house up to 300 adult migrants in coming days

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A petition against a possible migrant shelter at the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar is circulating online, but city officials have yet to make any information publicly available.

The Change.org petition had garnered 766 online signatures by late Monday afternoon after the person who started the petition, Jasmine Cira, posted it on the website Saturday. Most of those signatures, 641, came Monday.

By signing this petition, we stand together as a community to protect the educational environment of our children and ensure that St. John Villa Academy High School remains dedicated to its intended purpose, Cira, who did not list contact information on the website, wrote in the petitions description. Together, lets find alternative solutions that prioritize the well-being of both our students and those in need.

Rumors have long circulated about the sites possible use as a shelter for migrants, and a source told the Advance/SILive.com that preparations are planned to quickly make the site suitable for a shelter.

But city officials have yet to make an official announcement about the location controlled by the School Construction Authority (SCA), which referenced an inquiry to City Hall.

Regarding the Villa site at 57 Cleveland Pl., a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams repeated his administrations oft-used line that all options are on the table as the city works to deal with an influx of more than 100,000 migrant to the five boroughs since April of last year.

City Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island), who first brought news of a possible shelter at a former assisted living facility in Midland Beach to the publics attention, said hed yet to hear anything from officials about plans at the Villa site.

The Sisters of St. John the Baptist sold the former Villa campus to the city in 2018 for $20 million with plans to eventually turn it into a public school campus. Carr raised concerns about the timeline for that idea with the possibility of migrant housing.

The Administration has consistently told me over the last several months that Villa has not been selected as a shelter site, and the idea that it could be up for consideration is absurd and unacceptable. Villa was purchased by the City to remain an education campus, potentially the boroughs first dedicated Gifted and Talented school, and thats what it should be, Carr said. The School Construction Authority has been doing environmental assessment work in advance of any future capital improvements to make it ready for students down the road, and any changes to its usage would impede their progress and could set these plans back dramatically.

The influx of migrants, nearly 60,000 of whom remain in the citys care, has prompted officials to set up emergency shelters around the five boroughs, including 13 massive humanitarian emergency relief and response centers.

On Staten Island, emergency shelters have been set up at several hotels and inside the Stapleton site of the former Richard H. Hungerford School on Tompkins Avenue.

Other sites around the Island have been rumored, including Villa, the Midland Beach assisted living facility, and at Fort Wadsworth. All have been met with outcry and protests from locals and elected officials.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the federal government had arranged for migrants to be housed at Brooklyns Floyd Bennett Field. She said the city would set up another humanitarian emergency relief and response center with housing available for 2,000 migrants.

After months of negotiations, the Biden Administration has provided us with a tentative contract that would allow New York to utilize Floyd Bennett Field as a shelter for asylum seekers, she said. Ultimately the path out of this crisis is granting work authorization immediately, so these individuals can move out of shelter and into independent living arrangements. This site will be critical in the interim for the City of New York to provide humanitarian aid, as we work collectively to get people on the path to asylum seeker status and legal work.

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Recalled baby products linked to more than 100 baby deaths are still available for purchase on Facebook Marketplace, four congressmembers say in a letter sent Friday to its parent company, Meta.

Despite multiple requests by federal regulators to take the items down, Facebook Marketplace still has the items for sale on its platform, the lawmakers recently wrote in a letter to Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other services.

In the letter, sent Friday to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the lawmakers singled out the Fisher Price Rock n Play, an inclined infant sleeper associated with approximately 100 infant deaths and recalled in 2019, and the Boppy Newborn Lounger, a prominent infant newborn lounger associated with infant deaths and recalled in 2021.

The loungers were sold for between $30 and $44 from 2004 to September 2021 at various retailers, including Target, Pottery Barn, Walmart and Amazon.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has formally requested  about 1,000 times a month  that the platform take these products down, but they are still available on the platform, the letter said.

It is unlawful to offer for sale a CPSC-recalled product on an online marketplace or to sell or donate a recalled product in any other manner, the CPSC says on its website.

A series of newborn loungers from The Boppy Company were recalled in September 2021 after eight deaths were linked to the product. Soon after the recall, two more infants died while sleeping on the pillows, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a news release in June.

The most recent letter, signed by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, (R-Wash.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., (D-N.J.); Gus Bilirakis, (R-Fla.); and Jan Schakowsky, (D-Ill.), questions whether any proactive measures were taken by Meta to prevent these types of postings in the future.

Metas failure to prevent recalled products from being posted for sale on its platform has resulted in your users and their children being placed at risk of purchasing and using a product that CPSC has found to pose a serious risk of injury and potential death, the lawmakers wrote, asking the company to respond by Aug. 31.

In June, the CPSCs commissioners sent a letter to Zuckerberg calling on him to do more to prevent the sale of the recalled products. But new postings continue, according the lawmakers.

In the lawmakers letter, the members of Congress asked for more information about Metas product safety policies, how it monitors recalls and questions and how many full- and part-time staff members are on its consumer product safety team.
This Is Us star, Ron Cephas Jones, who won two Emmy Awards for his role as William Hill -- the biological father of the character Randall Pearson -- on the popular television drama, has died at 66.

A representative for the actor confirmed Jones death on Aug. 19, due to a long-standing pulmonary issue, according to PEOPLE, saying, Im so saddened. What a gift he was to my life. What an honor to have known and worked with him.

Within the first 24 hours of his death being confirmed, his This Is Us co-stars and the shows crew paid tribute to the award-winning patriarch of the show.

Sterling K. Brown, who played Randall Pearson said on Instagram Aug. 19: Life imitated art today, and one of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us. @cephasjaz has passed away, and the world is a little less bright, he wrote.

Mandy Moore, who portrayed Randalls mom, Rebecca Pearson, also paid loving tribute to the fallen actor, sharing a picture of the pair, with the caption: Getting to know and work with Ron on the wild ride of This Is Us was the greatest gift- he was pure magic as a human and an artistI will treasure all of the moments forever, she captioned the picture.

Ill never forget how special it was to film this particular episode and welcome him back to say a proper goodbye to our TIU family and the whole experience. I am just so sad. My thoughts and love are with Jasmine and his family and friends. Love you, @cephasjaz.

Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him, read the statement of his death, according to PEOPLE.

He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony nominated and Drama Desk Award winning performance for his role in Clydes on Broadway, the statement said.

The cast of "This is Us" poses in the press room at the 24th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Actress Susan Kelechi Watson, who played Beth Pearson (Randalls wife) on the show, paid tribute to Jones with a myriad of photos on Instagram. Her photo slideshow includes a shot of Jones holding his two Emmy Awards, selfies of the two of them, among solo photos of her This Is Us father-in-law.
IN CLASS: This feature is part of an ongoing education column highlighting the various activities that engage school communities.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A group of recently graduated fifth-grade students at one Staten Island elementary school can say there are officially published authors.

During the 2022-2023 school year, fifth-grade English language arts teacher Angela OToole, of PS 30 in Westerleigh, was scrolling through social media when she stumbled upon another educator who published a book with their class. She quickly did her research about the company, Student Treasures, which made it possible, and knew it would be a great experience for her students.

Books were published by Student Treasures. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

According to Student Treasures, the class book inspires young writers, promotes student collaboration, builds self-esteem, and is an easy way to incorporate educational standards.

OTooles classes got to work brainstorming book ideas and once each fifth-grade class decided on a vision for their book, they began the writing process. Except this one would be on a much larger scale.

Students worked to create their book over the course of a month. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

For a month, students diligently wrote create pourquoi tales and letters to their future selves  old legends told to explain why certain events happened.

The joy the children had in achieving each step of the process was evident as they worked, said OToole.

Once the text was completed, each child illustrated their work. After some revision and editing, the finished product was sent to the publishing company.

Just a few weeks later, the published books arrived and students were able to see all of their hard work come to life. At the end of June, children celebrated their accomplishment with an Italian ice publishing party at PS 30 where parents and other guests watched them walk the red carpet as published authors.

Students took part in a celebration at the end of the year. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

Students eat Italian ices in the school. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

Students celebrated their achievement. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

At the end of June, a special red carpet event and Italian ice party was held to celebrate students. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

Students were joined by family and other guests. (Courtesy/Angela O'Toole)

STOLE CEREMONY

A student from Staten Island was among nearly 70 members of The University of Scrantons class of 2023 who participated in the Jesuit schools Donning of the Stole Ceremony.

Marilena Kumbios, who is from the borough, took part in the annual ceremony that celebrates and honors the accomplishments of members of its class of 2023 from underrepresented identities who received their undergraduate and graduate degrees. The purpose of the ceremony, which was a student-led initiative, was to highlight the students success in overcoming the particular barriers and obstacles faced by students from these groups, particularly students of color, in attaining higher education.

The students honored include outstanding academic and leadership achievement award recipients, future physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, counselors, accountants, business analysts, forensic chemists, nurses, and many other highly-successful members of the universitys graduating class.

The ceremony took place on campus as part of Scrantons commencement activities and events earlier this year.

Kumbios earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting and was on the deans list. On campus, she was president of Urban Beats Crew and a member of the business club, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Society of Accounting Students and the University Student Programming Senior Programming Board.

She participated in numerous service programs including Street Sweep, Safe Trick-or-Treat, Relay for Life, and annual giving tree and Easter basket drives as well community service opportunities for Kania School of Management student clubs. She also participated in Midnight Madness, Family Weekend and volunteered at Commencement. She was a tutor at the Language Learning Center and interned at Carey & Co.

The University of Scranton is a Jesuit university located in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

SEND US YOUR STORIES

Do you have a story idea for the In Class education column? Email education reporter Annalise Knudson at aknudson@siadvance.com.

ADDITIONAL IN CLASS COLUMNS

Staten Island youth dance team performs in citywide competition focused on social action | In Class column

2 Staten Island students recognized for their work in multimedia journalism | In Class column

From new leadership to new initiatives, heres whats on tap at Staten Island Academy | In Class column

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Local Democratic Party drama came to an end recently as leadership reached an agreement on a city Board of Elections nominee.

Staten Island attorney Michele Sileo, who starred in the Oprah Winfrey Network reality show Staten Island Law, will likely become a BOE commissioner thanks to an agreement reached between City Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (D-North Shore) and Democratic Party leadership.

Im thrilled to be given the opportunity to contribute to the political process in this extremely important role that facilitates free and fair elections, Sileo said. I am humbled that the Staten Island Democratic Party Executive committee voted unanimously to support the Council Members recommendation.

A lawyer for over 20 years as a public defender and part-time professor at the online SUNY Empire State University, Sileo met Hanks desire for the BOE appointment to have experience as a litigator.

The local Democratic Party previously tried to push former Councilwoman Debi Rose, Hanks predecessor, into the position, but the sitting councilwoman blocked that move.

The need for a new Democratic BOE commissioner came after former Commissioner Patricia Anne Taylors January resignation. Rose appointed Taylor in 2019, which at the time was seen as a rebuke of then-Democratic Party Chair John Gulino.

Hanks said she was following her predecessors lead by rejecting the partys recommendation, and that she hoped to fill the position with another attorney, a desire she said she told Sword about.

The New York Post first reported on Sileos nomination Sunday. On Monday, Hanks said she selected Sileo because of her experience as an attorney, which would aid her as a BOE commissioner.

I selected Michele Sileo because she is a dynamic, smart and accomplished attorney. After initial interviews with the party leadership and the full executive board, I was pleased that the Staten Island Democratic party accepted my nomination, she said. Ms. Sileo is a quick learner and a bridge-builder. More significantly, she has the ability to work well with everyone across the board - and thats very important in this role. Michele will be an excellent commissioner for the Board of Elections and I look forward to shepherding her application through the City Council process.

The nomination will be confirmed in an upcoming City Council vote.

Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (left) and Michele Sileo are shown in a 2019 file photo. (Staten Island Advance/Carol Ann Benanti)

PARTY DRAMA, LAWSUIT

Local Democrats previous nomination of Rose became so controversial that it led the party, led by Chair Laura LoBianco Sword, to sue the City Council to try to force a vote. Sword did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

The party filed the lawsuit July 18 in Manhattan Supreme Court hoping to force a vote on Roses nomination, but the judge sided with the Council pointing to state Election Law, which gives the legislative body the authority to appoint election commissioners partially based on recommendations from local political parties.

Supreme Court Judge Erika Edwards ruled in her July 27 decision that she did not have the authority to force the Council to hold a vote on Roses nomination, but said the law encourages compromise between local political parties and elected officials.

Unfortunately, the court shares Petitioners [Staten Island Democratic Party] frustration and concern that the process could continue indefinitely while citizens of Richmond County and the City of New York are deprived of their Democratic representative on the Board of Elections, however Petitioners failed to demonstrate that the court has the authority to compel Respondent [the Council] to appoint Petitioners second nominee, to vote on Petitioners recommendation, nor to act in any other manner with respect to this nomination, she wrote.

The partys nomination of Rose followed an earlier nomination of local attorney Priscilla Marco, who formerly served as the chair of Community Board 1 but withdrew her nomination.

Hanks previously shared an e-mail from Marco to the councilwoman, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/Southern Brooklyn), and Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore/Brooklyn/lower Manhattan) in which she said her nomination withdrawal came as a personal decision.

In the email, Marco, wrote that she officially withdrew her nomination on May 4, but that a week before that, Sword told her she was willing to file a lawsuit on her behalf to force a Council vote.

I have not spoken to her [Sword] about this matter in over two months, yet I am told that rumors continue to swirl that I was pressured in some way to withdraw my nomination. Nothing is further from the truth, Marco wrote. I have not been contacted by anyone connected to the party to ask about my position, so I naturally assumed that everyone involved understood my reasons for withdrawing. I hope that this statement answers any remaining questions concerning my nomination.

While the previous nominations marked the latest kerfuffle in local Democratic Party politics, there is history between Hanks and Rose.

The sitting Councilwoman mounted a contentious primary challenge against her predecessor in 2017, but lost with Rose winning about 70% of the vote. Rose took Hanks concession call on speaker phone during her victory party, and it made its way onto Spectrum News.

In addition to her time as a litigator and a reality television fixture, Sileo found herself thrust back into the public spotlight in the late 2010s when her husband, Deputy Inspector James Grant, was implicated in a bribery scandal but ultimately exonerated.

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NYC legislation will regulate outdoor dining set ups

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Atahualpa Santana-Martinez, a 28-year-old male from Providence, Rhode Island, found himself in the custody of law enforcement after a series of thefts involving valuable electronics. The suspect was caught attempting to flee with stolen merchandise from multiple Walmart locations, prompting an investigation that led to his arrest.



The incident began at the Walmart Supercenter situated on 35 Plaza Drive in Rush Township, near Tamaqua. On August 11th, 2023, the Pennsylvania State Police at Frackville received reports of a retail theft from the store. Santana-Martinez was observed loading two LG UHD Al Thin Q 43" televisions, each valued at $258.00, into his shopping cart.



After making his selections, the suspect bypassed the store's cash registers, opting to leave the premises without making any attempt to pay for the stolen items. The value of the stolen merchandise totaled $516.00. Surveillance footage captured the suspect's actions, aiding law enforcement in their investigation.



Santana-Martinez's brazen theft did not go unnoticed, as the PSP Hazelton received information regarding his attempt to steal yet more televisions.





This time, the incident unfolded at the Walmart located on 761 Airport Road in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. The suspect's actions mirrored his previous attempt: he was spotted attempting to take two LG UHD Al Thin Q 43" TVs, without proper payment.



Quick police action led to the suspect's apprehension, culminating in his identification by PSP Hazelton officers. Following his arrest, Santana-Martinez was charged with a single count of retail theft (M1), with his case set to be heard at Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer's office in Tamaqua.
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The Hellenic Republic supports the acquisition of NATO membership by Ukraine, when the members of the Alliance come to an agreement and the conditions are met, as indicated in the declaration of the NATO Vilnius summit, according to the Joint Declaration of Ukraine and Greece on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Ukraine and the Hellenic Republic welcome the significant achievements of Ukraine in advancing on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration, in particular, with regard to achieving interoperability with NATO as demonstrated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield; and also confirm their commitment to strengthen joint efforts in supporting the integration of Ukraine with the Alliance and implementation of NATO standards.

It is noted that Greece will continue to support the Alliances strong and effective political and material support for Ukraine aimed at ensuring the ability of Ukraine to effectively defend its territory on land, at sea and in the air.

The Hellenic Republic will continue to provide military, technical, defence, and humanitarian support to Ukraine; and also is committed to participate together with international organizations, allies and partners in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine after the war.

Greece supports the acquisition of NATO membership by Ukraine, when the members of the Alliance come to an agreement and the conditions are met, as indicated in the declaration of the NATO Vilnius Summit.

In addition, the parties declare that security of Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area and fully support the NATO-Ukraine Council as a venue to further increase and expand ongoing cooperation to help fulfil Ukraine's path towards the Euro-Atlantic family.

In turn, it is noted that Ukraine highly appreciates all the important practical assistance provided by the Hellenic Republic and the people of the Hellenic Republic in order to strengthen the defense capability of Ukraine.
The NSW Liberals continue to behave like an outfit with their fingers squarely on the pulse.

Next week, the partys Willoughby state electorate conference will hatch a bold new plan to win back teal voters by holding a movie night at the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne.

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Forget Barbie, Oppenheimer or any such woke nonsense. The branch members will be watching Sound of Freedom, a brawny Christian action thriller about child sex trafficking, which nudges and winks at unhinged QAnon conspiracy theories just enough to become a sleeper box office hit among the American right.

Former president Donald Trump even hosted a screening at his private club in New Jersey.
BETTY HOUNSLOW: 19512023

Betty Hounslow was a lifelong social and political activist with a deep commitment to social justice and humanity. During her long and active life, she assisted women, including women in prison, the LGBTQ community, immigrants and asylum seekers, and many marginalised groups at odds with society. She worked for foundations, sat on and chaired boards, lobbied governments and campaigned ceaselessly for justice.

Elizabeth Ann Hounslow was born in Brisbane on August 1, 1951, one of four children of night watchman Leslie Hounslow and teacher Elizabeth Josephine (nee Ward). She went to All Hallows School in Brisbane. She was briefly a postulant with the Sisters of Mercy, until realising, after watching a Springboks protest on TV, that she belonged outside with the demonstrators.

Original 1978 marcher Betty Hounslow with NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell, at a press conference for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in 2018. Credit: Janie Barrett

Hounslow left the confines of the convent and returned to complete an arts degree and a diploma of education at Queensland University. At university, she became involved in the Young Christians Movement in their campaigns over the Vietnam War. In 1974, Hounslow took up a position as co-ordinator of the Queensland Anti-Freeway Movement, becoming a fiery advocate for residents rights. She later recalled attracting the Brisbane Truth headline From convent to street brawl.
Almost one-third of the states students are failing to meet new proficiency standards in reading, writing and maths, according to the first data released after a radical overhaul of NAPLAN reporting.

About 30 per cent of students in NSW scored in the bottom two bands in this years literacy and numeracy test results, which includes 8.2 per cent of children who are unable to read and write at the basic level expected for their age.

The figures, released on Wednesday, expose a stark achievement gap between students in cities and regions, and underscore the scale of the challenge in turning around results for thousands of children struggling with reading and maths.

This year, students needed to achieve higher marks to meet tougher NAPLAN proficiency levels after education ministers agreed to abolish the previous 10-band system in favour of four new levels: exceeding, strong, developing, and needs additional support.
The Minns government faces a test of its economic and environmental credentials as the states clean energy transition hits a major stumbling block.

As reported by the Heralds Michael McGowan, a review of the NSW electricity network has recommended the Labor administration make a deal with Origin Energy to extend the life of Eraring, Australias largest coal-fired power station.

The sprawling plant at Lake Macquarie in the Hunter region is due to close in 2025 but fears are growing that its withdrawal may leave a gaping supply hole which will threaten the reliability of the grid and push up electricity bills for households already struggling to make ends meet.

Any deal between the NSW government and Origin will likely involve hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding being used to prop up the ageing 2880-megawatt facility, which was privatised in 2013 by the then Coalition government.

While Premier Chris Minns, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Environment and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe are yet to make a final call on what to do, a lifeline for Origin has been in the works for months. The government has always said all options are on the table when it comes to Eraring, Sharpe pointed out on Tuesday. Mookhey also held talks with Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management, which has launched a multi-billion dollar takeover of Origin.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said the soldiers of the 47th brigade entered the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhia region.

"Warriors of the 47th brigade, which entered the village of Robotyne with a fight, organized the evacuation of civilians on the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. Our soldiers are doing planned combat work and destroying the enemy," Maliar said on the Telegram channel on Tuesday.

The Deputy Minister of Defense also said the occupiers were shelling Robotyne using artillery in response.

"Fighting continues," she said.
London: Ted Hui is one of South Australias newest lawyers. He may also be one of Australias most-convicted legal practitioners.

The Hongkonger fled to Australia via London in 2021, on the run from Beijings oppressive crackdown on dissent in the former British territory.

China imposed a draconian national security law on the city in June 2020 amid widespread anti-government protests. Among its targets were journalists, lawyers, democracy activists and members of Hong Kongs Legislative Council.

Former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui was admitted as a barrister and solicitor at South Australias Supreme Court. Credit: Ted Hui Chi Fung/Facebook

Sentenced in exile for contempt of court and misconduct, Hui, a former legislator, would be thrown in jail should he return home while Beijing rules. Hong Kong police have set bounties for information leading to his arrest, as well for the arrest of his fellow democracy campaigners  including Nathan Law, who sought political asylum in the UK.
A group of specialised teachers who support students with disabilities at state schools will get to keep their jobs, Education Minister Natalie Hutchins told parents on Tuesday, after news of the job cuts sparked public backlash.

The Education Department announced last month that it would cut 325 full-time equivalent jobs, including 85 from its decades-old visiting teacher service, which provides disabled students with one-on-one support in state schools.

Deborah Clarke and her son Chris, who benefits directly from the visiting teacher program. Credit: Wayne Taylor

A new tax on the tiny Andale School, which has just 22 special needs students, was also reversed on Tuesday after The Age revealed it would be targeted alongside high-fee independent schools such as Geelong Grammar, Xavier, Haileybury and Scotch College.

The specialised teacher cuts were going to reduce the programs 117 teachers by 85. The remaining 32 teachers all worked with vision-impaired and deaf students, leaving students with other disabilities without assistance.
A friend of deceased Melbourne woman Elly Warren said police in the small Mozambique town investigating her suspicious death took inaccurate statements after her body was discovered and didnt appear interested in correcting records of their murder probe.

The three-day inquest for Warren began on Tuesday, three months short of the seventh anniversary of her suspicious death in Tofo, a coastal town in south-eastern Mozambique, in November 2016. Last week, local police ruled it a homicide.

The court heard the 20-year-old had travelled to Tofo to volunteer with Underwater Africa on a marine conservation project to gain experience before starting a course in marine biology in Australia.

On November 8, 2016, Warren checked into the Pariango Beach Motel, dropping her belongings on a bed in a womens dorm around 6.30pm before heading out to a local bar and then to a friends house in town. She left the house and returned to the bar, where she was last seen by friends around 11pm.
The Federal Court has ordered embattled builder Modco Residential be handed over to liquidators, just days before the companys growing list of fed-up creditors had been due to consider a proposal by administrators.

Federal Court Registrar Phillip Allaway ordered the company founded by Perth glamour couple Yusuf Khan and his wife Cynthia Lu be wound up on Tuesday, opposing an eleventh-hour bid by Modcos lawyers to halt the move.

Modco Residential construction owners Yusuf Khan and Cynthia Lu.

The wind-up push was instigated by Kewdale-based recruitment agency Torquejobs, which took the matter to court in June claiming it was owed $28,000, but backed out after its debts were settled.

Law firm Rostron Carlyle Rojas Lawyers, represented by Jos Basson, was standing ready to pick up where this action left off, with fellow creditors Flexicommercial and Drywall Australia declaring their intention to follow suit.
This was because the new standards, set for the first time by expert panels of teachers, are at a higher level of expected achievement than the national minimum standard. Authority chief executive David de Carvalho said one of the issues with the previous standard was that parents and carers could believe that if their child was at the minimum standard they were doing fine. But this was not the case. Students ranked: Exceeding: The students result exceeds expectations.

Strong: The students result meets challenging but reasonable expectations.

Developing: The students result indicates that they are working towards expectations.

Needs Additional Support: The students result indicates that they are not achieving learning outcomes. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily. With expectations set at a higher level than in previous years, the new reporting is showing those areas where we need to focus our efforts on supporting more students to meet expectations and succeed, he said. The results also continue to highlight the educational disparities of students from non-urban areas, Indigenous Australian heritage and those with low socio-educational backgrounds.

This is powerful information in the hands of parents or carers and teachers, and will enable much more meaningful conversations between them about how our children and young people are developing the foundational skills they need. The scores were broken down by subgroup, and showed gender played a role with 69 per cent of girls proficient compared to 62 per cent of boys. Girls performed better overall than boys in four out of the five subjects, with the exception being numeracy. Indigenous students are far behind their peers in WA  just 32.1 per cent achieved proficiency.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said there was a massive over representation of Indigenous, regional students and students from poor families not meeting standards. It tells us that our education system needs some serious reform to identify those children and then do something about it, he said. WA Education Minister Tony Buti said with around 10 per cent of the states students across all year groups and tests sitting in the needs additional support proficiency level, a focus on literacy and numeracy was important. While its pleasing to see strong participation and a majority of students meeting the higher literacy and numeracy expectations, the national results also indicate that we still have work to do in meeting the needs of all of our students, he said.

But he also highlighted the percentage of WA students meeting the higher expectations was above the Australian percentages for all Year 9 tests and Year 7 spelling. When changes to the system were first announced, Centre for Independent Studies Director of Education Glenn Fahey said adopting a proficiency benchmark had the potential to better identify students needs, provide clearer signals to parents, and raise standards. But for this to work, transitioning from numbered bands to proficiency levels must include language that clearly describes each benchmark, he said. Ministers should have taken the opportunity to opt for an unambiguous scale: highly proficient, proficient, below proficient, and well below proficient. He said it had long been clear that the previously defined national minimum standards were exceptionally low.

Australian Education Union president Correna Haythorpe said NAPLAN was just one measure of student achievement and its importance should not be overrated. But the overall pattern of these results add to the evidence about the unacceptable achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds and locations and the need for full funding of public schools, she said. A record 4.4 million online tests were submitted by more than 1.3 million students at 9390 campuses and schools across Australia. Credit: iStock; ACARA. We cant close the achievement gaps without closing the resources gaps. Public schools educate most of the students with higher needs and yet only 1.3 per cent of our schools are funded to the Schooling Resource Standard, which is the minimum level governments agree they need.

WA Primary Principals Association president Niel Smith said moving tests from the usual May to March would have an impact, particularly for primary school students who would only just be settling in to new classrooms. Loading Assessments were changed from term two last year, to the third week of the school year in 2023, he said. This is bound to have an impact on student performance and also makes it difficult to compare student and school performance to previous years. We will only start to see a clearer picture once a number of years assessments have been completed at the same time of the year and using the new reporting standards across multiple cohorts.
Perths District Court has heard how a mother of three suffering from bipolar disorder thought her youngest son was the devil, causing her to instruct her older child to attempt to drown him in a bathtub and then do the same herself.

Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth, 41, was sentenced on Tuesday for the 2021 offence at her Kambalda West home. The court heard the single mother woke her 14-year-old son to ask him to clean his three-year-old brother in the bath, telling him to cleanse him of the devil.

Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth tried to drown her son in a bathtub.

She said, he is not my child, he is the devils child, state prosecutor Laura Hamilton told the court.

Hamilton said Ainsworth then turned off the light and left her youngest child in the bathroom alone, saying he could not come out until he was clean and reborn.
Anthony Albanese has emphatically predicted Australia will vote Yes in the Voice referendum as Penny Wong revealed her distress at witnessing racism in what she called the worst public discourse since the Mabo debate.

The pairs comments, made at a dinner last week, have been revealed in a secret recording.

Addressing Labors Socialist Left leadership in Brisbane, Albanese declared his loyalty to the faction, promising he would return to it once his prime ministership ended.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed a Left faction meeting last week. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen and Rhett Wyman

In declarative comments that indicate confidence about the referendum, the prime minister predicted the Yes case for constitutional change would succeed, telling his audience at Brisbanes Howard Smith Wharves last Thursday night: I firmly believe that not only can we, we will seize the opportunity and vote Yes.
First home buyers struggling to afford a property could soon take advantage of two types of federal government help, but one will offer lower mortgage repayments and the other promises better capital growth over time.

The new Help to Buy scheme will start next year and allow a home purchase with a low 2 per cent deposit. Under a shared equity model, the government co-purchases a 30 per cent to 40 per cent stake in the home, and the buyer takes out a loan for the rest.

The new scheme could make it harder for first home buyers to trade up later. Credit: Simon Schluter

Its different to the existing First Home Guarantee program, which allows a purchase with a 5 per cent deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, and a loan for the balance.

Buyers who co-purchase with the government and get a smaller loan would save as much as $1829 on their monthly repayments, Canstar modelling shows.
While we waited in the long queue at the car hire desk at Florence airport, my wife begged me to swap to a normal vehicle. But this only made me more determined. You cant start a running joke on a group holiday and then back out. I was intent on being the man in the Bateman cartoon who rented an electric vehicle in Italy. I would relish their faces when I pulled up at the villa in my torque-y, rangy beauty and  my final flourish  plugged it in to the villas own power supply to charge for free. But to be clear, my wife was saying to the Hertz lady, we can charge this car from a domestic socket at home. If there were no charging stations, somehow? Certainly. Certainly? Certo. The sleek and sexy Polestar 2. Credit: Alamy Sadly the full triumph of my arrival at the house in a car with 330 km still on the clock, which had glided up the mountainous drive, and conveyed us in swift, silent, air-conditioned bliss was totally eclipsed by the news that the Browns Jeep  of which the wife, a car reviewer, had been quite proud  was currently stuck up another stone track 110 km away with two punctures. They had followed Google Maps up, as it turned out, a footpath. In the kerfuffle about finding a cab to drive them on to our villa (180, $A305), they had brought the Jeeps key with them, instead of leaving it for the rescue man. Someone would have to drive it back the next day. Obviously, having the superior car, I volunteered. That trip ate up 235 km of my range. It involved diversions, including down a footpath. All right, the footpath, although I wasnt dumb enough to get two punctures. On my return at dusk, I was anxious enough about my range to scout the charging station in the village, but couldnt pinpoint it in the dark. In the light of day, this turned out to be because the car park in which it would be situated hadnt yet been built.

My car then announced that the other local station, a Tesla Supercharger, was unsuitable for my car, knocking out another 40 per cent of all Italian EV stations. Back at the villa, my idea of a running joke had become 12 people on their phones, all shouting out EV locations and advice, right down to 11-year-olds. I decided it was time the domestic charger came out, but I couldnt find it in the car. Because it wasnt in the car. Loading The whole party of 14 in four cars then decided to come and watch my progress at a charging station in Radda, 20 km away. Tourists: gormless idiots. But this car park had been built, the charging station stood there and plugging-in was childs play, literally, followed by applause, pictures and lunch. When we returned, the car wasnt charged. Insufficient power in the charging station. Some local farmer air-conditioning his chickens, I imagine. Eighty-ish km left. Not even enough to drive the car back to Florence airport and apologise for accidentally filling it with petrol. (Oh, the back seat mainly. ) Until now I really hadnt understood range-anxiety, which is the tension built up about spending the night in your car in a local dogging spot. I had one shot left: home (20 km), then in the morning drive to Siena (60 km), where it was alleged the car hire company had a charging station and office. Siena, home of the Palio, the violent urban horse race where jockeys whip and punch each other for supremacy, just like London rush-hour.

Palio in Siena: As bad as rush hour in London. Credit: iStock Three cars set out this time and I calculated that, just to fill up my car with juice, we would have driven 60 km (120 km round trip), plus Radda, and all my back-up cars, possibly to fail. When I would walk the rest of the way to the Hertz office and go full gammon, demanding a new car. With 2 km to go, I had 2 km range left, but luckily the Hertz office was in a suburban wasteland, not the city centre. I finally plugged the Polestar into a working charging station and felt ecstatic release. Only an hour to wait in 40 degree sunshine and Id be good to go. So I popped into the office to ask the whereabouts of my domestic charger. It was under the bonnet, they pointed out. Ah! I said. You see, the main charger was in the boot, and I thought the bonnet contained not the engine, obviously EVs dont have engines. That would be dumb, obviously, not checking the bonnet, because you thought it housed the engine. The domestic charger was under the bonnet. But it didnt work at our villa anyway because it required an adapter. When I finally dropped the car off at Florence airport, I complimented the Hertz man on the car (let nobody say gammons never say nice things), and he responded: Yes, a beautiful car. But no charging stations. Only one in Florence, one in Siena. Next year, I may rely on horsepower and perhaps enter the Palio.
Atlanta: The first of Donald Trumps co-defendants in Georgias criminal case accusing the former US president and his associates of subverting his 2020 election loss surrendered at an Atlanta jail on Tuesday, according to county records and a statement.

Trumps former lawyer John Eastman and Republican poll watcher Scott Hall both surrendered to the county sheriffs office, two days before Trump himself was set to turn himself in to face his fourth criminal indictment this year.

John Eastman, left, an attorney indicted with former President Donald Trump, leaves after speaking to media outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Credit: AP

Trump, the front-runner for the Republican 2024 White House nomination, has lambasted all the prosecutions as politically motivated and continues to claim falsely that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of fraud.

Eastman said in a statement he would surrender, the day after agreeing to a $US100,000 ($155,000) bond agreement.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the Ukraine-Balkans summit held in Athens (Greece).

According to the press service of the President's Office, "the parties noted that mutual support for territorial integrity and sovereignty is an important part of the partnership between Ukraine and Serbia."

"The leaders discussed the most important issues of regional security, bilateral relations and prospects for their development. Separately, the presidents paid attention to the common challenges on the path of Ukraine and Serbia to membership in the European Union," the office said.

Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Vucic for the humanitarian assistance that Serbia provides to the Ukrainian people, as well as for the support of Ukrainians who have found refuge in this country from the war unleashed by Russia.

"The President of Ukraine invited the Serbian side to support the Ukrainian Peace Formula and take part in the third summit of the international Crimea platform on August 23 this year," according to the press service.

"An open, honest and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia. Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders. On our nations' shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest," Zelenskyy said on Twitter.
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad:--- Caribbean Airlines applied for and was granted an injunction by the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago on August 21, 2023 which restricts the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) and its membership from taking industrial action within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act of Trinidad and Tobago Chapter 88:01 including calling in sick en masse.

The injunction further restricts those pilots who engaged in industrial action by calling in sick en masse, from further doing so. Finally, the injunction further ordered TTALPA to instruct its membership to immediately report for duty as rostered and required in the normal course of their employment with Caribbean Airlines.

The full order is attached for your information.

Caribbean Airlines sought the support of the Industrial Court after receiving calls from 75 pilots between August 19 and 20, 2023, each indicating they were unwell and unable to report for duty. The airline received each of these calls around 3 hours before the scheduled departure times of the respective flights.

The actions by these pilots to call in sick directly caused the airline to cancel over 60 international and domestic flights.

In light of the impact on our customers, Caribbean Airlines moved quickly to recover by pursuing alternatives and leased charters to transport the displaced passengers on international and regional routes. The Port of Port of Spain assisted the airlines domestic operations, by adding a special ferry sailing that took passengers to and from Tobago.

Due to the high volume of calls being received by our Call Center, customers are asked to kindly update their contact information via https://www.caribbean-airlines.com/#/caribbean-flight- notifications to receive automatic notifications about their flights.

The airline is currently working assiduously to restore flights to their regular schedules.

Caribbean Airlines wholeheartedly apologizes to its customers and stakeholders and thanks the public for their support and understanding as the company works through these challenges.

Please check www.caribbean-airlines.com and the social media channels for information.

PUBLIC STATEMENT

From Caribbean Airlines Limited

DEAR VALUED CUSTOMERS,

We extend our very sincere apologies for the recent disruptions to our flight operations.

We fully understand the frustration and extreme disappointment that such unexpected cancellations can bring, especially when many of you were eagerly anticipating long-awaited vacations and crucial academic journeys. As you may know by now, the disruptions were caused by a high volume of sick calls (93) from pilots scheduled to operate flights over the period August 18 through August 20, 2023. The calls were received just prior to the pilots having to report for duty for their respective flights. This resulted in approximately 60 flights having to be canceled between August 19 and 20. The unavailability of these pilots, combined with the short notice, made it impossible to recover.

In response to this critical situation, Caribbean Airlines, at significant cost  immediately wet-leased two aircraft, obtained accommodation for stranded passengers and took legal advice. Thereafter, the company obtained an injunction from the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago against the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) to bring a stop to the disruption. We took these measures to safeguard the interests of our valued customers, our amazing staff and our beloved airline. Our aim was to do our best to return stability to our operations, and we are now actively working towards restoring our flights to their regular schedules.

Like you, we are very saddened by these developments. Over the years, we have been witnessing with great pride the significant strides the airline has made, thanks in no small part to the unwavering support of the taxpayers of Trinidad and Tobago. This support has enabled us to enhance our services, expand our route network, and continually improve the travel experience for our valued customers. The events over the past few days have put a significant damper on what have been very positive developments for Caribbean Airlines, and that is a shame.

We cannot conclude this message without pointing out that operationally, our entire team  from our dedicated ground staff, front-end personnel, cabin crew, reservations call centres, maintenance, and management  were as per usual fully prepared to ensure the smooth functioning of our flights. Despite our meticulous planning and state of readiness, we could not have anticipated or adequately prepared for these unfortunate events. We thank the entire team for their continued commitment during what was a very difficult period.

Once again, on behalf of all of us at Caribbean Airlines, we apologize to all our affected passengers. We deeply regret the distress caused by these disruptions, which were beyond our control, and the subsequent impact on your very important travel plans.

We accept that this is a significant setback in our relationship with you. However, we are resolute in our commitment to restoring the trust and affection upon which this most valuable relationship is based, and in so doing, ensure that your future travel experiences are as smooth and pleasant as you rightfully expect.

Sincerely,

The Caribbean Airlines Team
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Fire Department, Ambulance personnel the police are busy assisting the driver and passenger of a vehicle that was driving on link two (Old Cake House Road) when the driver lost control of the vehicle and ended up over the embankment.

Police Spokesman said the two persons are being assisted by the fire department so that they can be transferred to the St. Maarten Medical Center for treatment.

Due to the accident, the road is currently closed.

Police Force of Sint Maarten Responds to Serious Traffic Incident on Old Cake House Road

On Tuesday morning August 23rd, 2023 approximately 07:40 am, the police central Dispatch received several calls of an accident on Link-2, commonly referred to as Old Cake House Road, leading towards Col-bay. The incident necessitated immediate action from the Police Central Dispatch and Ambulance Dispatch.,

Preliminary findings indicate that a gray car traveling down Link-2 lost control under circumstances that are currently under investigation. The vehicle failed to negotiate a series of challenging left-turn corners along the route, leading to a loss of control and subsequent departure from the roadway. The vehicle then went airborne over the embankment, ultimately coming to rest in the dense bushes several meters below.

Responding swiftly to this situation fire department personnel successfully extricated a male and a female victim from the embankment. Both victims sustained injuries to their faces and legs as a result of the incident.

Ambulance personnel administered immediate first aid to the injured victims at the scene, stabilizing them for safe transportation. The victims were promptly transported to the Sint Maarten Medical Center for comprehensive medical assessment and treatment.

The Traffic Department of the Police Force of Sint Maarten has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident.

KPSM Press Release.
Victoria Gold: Operational Update

Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX-VGCX) (aVictoriaa or the aCompanya  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/victoria-gold-corp/ ) is pleased to provide an update on the status of operations at the Eagle Gold mine (aEaglea) in Yukon, Canada.

Following the second evacuation of Eagle on August 4, 2023, due to the proximity of the East McQuesten wildfire, favourable conditions allowed for the return of employees to site on August 10th (see release dated August 9, 2023). Full production rates at the operation were resumed on August 11th. Yukon Wildland Fire Management demobilized from Eagle on August 13th.

Separately, the evacuation order for the village of Mayo was lifted on August 13th and the Company has re-established its normal supply chain and crew change logistics.

Mr. John McConnell, President and CEO commented, aWe are pleased that operations have returned to normal. Rainy conditions over the past week have significantly reduced the wildfire risk near Eagle. We would like to thank our employees and contractors for their excellent response to this situation, which allowed a smooth restart of production. The Yukon Wildland Fire Management team provided a comprehensive, professional response to the East McQuesten wildfire for which we are grateful. We are also pleased to see the evacuation order lifted for the residents of Mayo. Our thoughts are with the residents of Yellowknife, Kelowna and the many other communities across Canada and internationally who continue to be affected by wildfires.a

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul D. Gray, P.Geo., as the aQualified Persona as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About the Dublin Gulch Property

Victoria Gold\-s 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold property (the aPropertya) is situated in central Yukon Territory, Canada, approximately 375 kilometers north of the capital city of Whitehorse, and approximately 85 kilometers from the town of Mayo. The Property is accessible by road year round, and is located within Yukon Energy\-s electrical grid.

The Property covers an area of approximately 555 square kilometers, and is the site of the Company\-s Eagle and Olive Gold Deposits. The Eagle Gold Mine is Yukon\-s newest operating gold mine. The Eagle and Olive deposits include Proven and Probable Reserves of 3.3 million ounces of gold from 155 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, as outlined in a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine dated December 3, 2019. The Mineral Resource under National Instrument 43-101 a Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (aNI 43-101a) for the Eagle and Olive deposits has been estimated to host 227 million tonnes averaging 0.67 grams of gold per tonne, containing 4.7 million ounces of gold in the \Measured and Indicated\ category, inclusive of Proven and Probable Reserves, and a further 28 million tonnes averaging 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, containing 0.6 million ounces of gold in the \Inferred\ category.

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed \forward-looking statements\. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Victoria, information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information, including any information related to Victoria\-s strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as aplana, aexpecta, abudgeta, atargeta, aprojecta, aintenda, abelievea, aanticipatea, aestimatea and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions amaya, awilla, acoulda or ashoulda occur, and includes any guidance and forecasts set out herein (including, but not limited to, production and operational guidance of the Corporation). In order to give such forward-looking information, the Corporation has made certain assumptions about the its business, operations, the economy and the mineral exploration industry in general, in particular in light of the impact of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease (aCOVID-19a) on each of the foregoing. In this respect, the Corporation has assumed that production levels will remain consistent with managementa?s expectations, contracted parties provide goods and services on agreed timeframes, equipment works as anticipated, required regulatory approvals are received, no unusual geological or technical problems occur, no material adverse change in the price of gold occurs and no significant events occur outside of the Corporation\-s normal course of business. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information. These factors include the impact of general business and economic conditions, risks related to COVID-19 on the Company, global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions, anticipated metal production, fluctuating metal prices, currency exchange rates, estimated ore grades, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in Victoria\-s corporate resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, changes in development and production time frames, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainty of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, final pricing for metal sales, unanticipated results of future studies, seasonality and unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, requirements for additional capital, permitting time lines, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage and timing and possible outcomes of pending litigation and labour disputes, risks related to remote operations and the availability of adequate infrastructure, fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for mining operations. Although Victoria has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding Victoria\-s expected financial and operational performance and Victoria\-s plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. All forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof, as the case may be, and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management of the Corporation as at the date hereof. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information contained herein and the documents incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

For Further Information Contact:

John McConnell

President & CEO

Victoria Gold Corp

Tel: 604-696-6605

ceo@vgcx.com
Gold companies, financing companies and royalty companies

On the one hand, there are the gold companies and on the other hand, there are the companies that provide the necessary money.

Every gold project starts small. Development, exploration, mine construction, everything takes time and costs large sums of money. Even the heavyweights of the industry did not become the largest gold producers overnight. The top five gold producers include Newmont Mining, Barrick Gold, Agnico Eagle Mines, Newcrest and AngloGold Ashanti. Normally, when gold prices rise, the stock prices of gold companies rise disproportionately. Recently, however, some have fallen short of expectations. This is because financing and energy costs have risen sharply. This has hurt the streaming and royalty companies less, more the big players in the industry. Royalty companies help mine operators with financing in exchange for a share of production or revenue.

Osisko Gold Royalties  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/osisko-gold-royalties-ltd/ -, for example, is one of the well-positioned royalty companies. Focused on North America, the company owns more than 180 streams and royalties. Among them is the five percent net smelter return royalty with respect to the largest gold mine (Malartic mine) in Canada, which consistently provides important revenue.

Financing companies such as Queen\-s Road Capital Investment  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/queens-road-capital-investment-ltd/  have a somewhat different business model. Mine operators enjoy financing with attractive terms. And Queen\-s Road Capital Investment earns with securities in financing the companies, focusing on gold, base metals and uranium. Ultimately, Queen\-s Road Capital Investment shareholders benefit with convertible bonds. So in addition to investing directly in gold companies, royalty companies and financing companies are a nice way to participate in the gold market.

Current corporate information and press releases from) and Queen\-s Road Capital Investment (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/en/companies/queens-road-capital-investment-ltd/ -) and Osisko Gold Royalties (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/en/companies/osisko-gold-royalties-ltd/ -).

In accordance with A34 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), I would like to point out that partners, authors and employees may hold shares in the respective companies addressed and that there is therefore a possible conflict of interest. No guarantee for the translation into German. Only the English version of this news is valid.

Disclaimer: The information provided does not constitute any form of recommendation or advice. Express reference is made to the risks involved in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for any damages arising from the use of this blog. I would like to point out that shares and especially warrant investments are fundamentally associated with risk. The total loss of the invested capital cannot be excluded. All information and sources are carefully researched. However, no guarantee is given for the correctness of all contents. Despite the greatest care, I expressly reserve the right to make a mistake, especially with regard to figures and prices. The information contained is taken from sources that are considered reliable, but in no way claim to be correct or complete. Due to judicial decisions the contents of linked external pages are to be answered for (so among other things regional court Hamburg, in the judgement of 12.05.1998  312 O 85/98), as long as no explicit dissociation from these takes place. Despite careful control of the contents, I do not assume any liability for the contents of linked external pages. The respective operators are exclusively responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG applies additionally: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/disclaimer-agb/.
The recent attack on the Soltsky-2 airbase in Novgorod region of Russia confirms that some UAV strikes on Russian military targets are carried out from the territory of Russia, British intelligence says.

"On 19 August 2023, a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia's Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsky-2 Airbase in Novgorod Oblast, 650 km away from Ukraines border. The Russian Defence Ministry said that a copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible for the attack," the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said on Twitter on Tuesday.

British intelligence said "if true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia."

Russia has frequently used BACKFIRE bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate AS-4 KITCHEN heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out the intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs.

"This is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russia's ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country," the intelligence agency said.
CCTV: The plenary meeting of the Central American Parliament on August 21 local time adopted the resolution of revoking the permanent observer status of the so-called Legislative Yuan of the Taiwan region and accepting the National Peoples Congress of China as a permanent observer. Whats Chinas comment? Will China consider becoming a permanent observer of the Central American Parliament?

Wang Wenbin: China welcomes and commends the resolution of the Central American Parliament to revoke the permanent observer status of the so-called Legislative Yuan of the Taiwan region and accept the National Peoples Congress of China as a permanent observer. This again shows that the one-China principle represents the unstoppable trend of the times and has the overwhelming support of the people. China stands ready to develop friendly cooperation with the Central American Parliament on the basis of the one-China principle.



Bloomberg: Japan announced today that it would begin releasing Fukushima waste water from as early as August 24. What is Chinas response and will it take any further action on Japan or Japanese goods in the aftermath of the decision?



Wang Wenbin: In disregard of the strong concerns and firm opposition from the international community, the Japanese government announced the decision to start releasing the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean from August 24. This is extremely selfish and irresponsible, as the discharge will spread the risks of nuclear contamination to the rest of the world, and by doing so, Japan is putting its selfish interests above the long-term wellbeing of the entire humanity. China is gravely concerned and strongly opposed to this. We have made serious demarches to Japan.



For the past two years and more, the legitimacy, legality and safety of Japans ocean discharge plan has been questioned over and over again by the international community. Japan has yet to address major international concerns such as the long-term reliability of the purification facility, the authenticity and accuracy of the nuclear-contaminated water data, and the effectiveness of the monitoring arrangement. China and other stakeholders have pointed out on multiple occasions that if the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water is truly safe, Japan wouldnt have to dump it into the seaand certainly shouldnt if its not. It is unjustified, unreasonable and unnecessary for Japan to push through the ocean discharge plan.



Regrettably, Japan has given scarce response to international concerns. It has been trying to create an impression that the ocean discharge is safe and harmless. It has even made unfounded accusations against neighboring countries who have expressed legitimate concerns. All of this has caused outrage among people in neighboring countries and in Japan.



The ocean sustains humanity. It is not a sewer for Japans nuclear-contaminated water. China strongly urges Japan to stop its wrongdoing, cancel the ocean discharge plan, communicate with neighboring countries with sincerity and good will, dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible manner and accept rigorous international oversight. China will take all steps necessary to protect the marine environment, ensure food safety and safeguard peoples life and health.



China News Service: On August 21 local time, giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji turned three in the US. The National Zoo at Washington DC organized a birthday party for him. Many visitors came to celebrate his birthday. Do you have any comment on this?



Wang Wenbin: We are glad that Xiao Qi Ji had a happy third birthday. Based on what we have learned from relevant authorities, the three giant pandas at the National Zoo in WashingtonMei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Jiwill return to China at the end of this year as previously scheduled.



Since China and the United States began cooperation on giant panda conservation and research in 2000, we have achieved good results in conservation and breeding, disease prevention and control, technical exchanges and public awareness. This has played a positive role in protecting endangered species and enhancing the friendship between the Chinese and American people. Since the cooperation began, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have given birth to four cubs, creating joy for the American people and bringing hearts closer between our two peoples. In particular, the birth of Xiao Qi Ji, whose name means little miracle, during the pandemic, brought encouraging news to panda lovers all over the world.



The family of three is overall in good health. The zoo provides professional treatment and care for the ones with common diseases of elderly pandas. China and the US are going through the relevant procedures and preparing for the transportation to ensure that the panda family will have a safe journey home.



Giant pandas are Chinas national treasures and messengers of friendship in Chinas cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. China is engaged in collaborative research on the conservation of giant pandas with 22 organizations in 19 countries, including the US. Such cooperation plays an important role in the conservation of pandas. There are currently 65 giant pandas outside China. Those exchanges and cooperation not only help overcome the technical difficulties in the protection and breeding of giant pandas, but also provide people in other countries knowledge about what has been achieved in giant panda protection and expand people-to-people exchanges. Available data shows that around the world, more than 1 billion tourists have viewed giant pandas, and hundreds of events for people-to-people exchanges on giant pandas have been organized. While bringing joy to people all over the world, giant pandas have also played a unique role in raising public awareness of wildlife conservation and promoting friendly people-to-people exchanges between China and the world.



Reuters: Its been reported that UK Foreign Minister James Cleverly will visit China at the end of this month. Can the foreign ministry confirm the schedule for this visit and let us know Chinas hopes and expectations for this visit?



Wang Wenbin: China values growing stable and mutually beneficial relations with the UK and we are open to strengthening bilateral exchanges with the UK. For information about the visit, you may follow our ministrys website.



The Paper: On August 22, Cambodias National Assembly elected Khuon Sudary as its new President and approved members of the new cabinet headed by Hun Manet as the Prime Minister, marking the official formation of the countrys new government. Whats Chinas comment? Whats your expectation for the future growth of China-Cambodia ties?



Wang Wenbin: We extend warm congratulations to Cambodias newly-elected National Assembly and newly-formed government. We believe that under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Manet, the new government will achieve greater success in national development.



China and Cambodia are ironclad friends. Our friendship has withstood the test of the changing international landscape and remained rock-solid. Going forward, we will continue to support Cambodia in its national development, and work with the new government to build a high-quality, high-level and high-standard China-Cambodia community with a shared future for the new era, deepen our comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and add new vitality and dynamism to our ironclad friendship to deliver more benefits to both peoples.



NHK: China tightened import controls on food from Japan before the release of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima. Today, the Japanese government officially decided to start the ocean discharge plan. Will China consider introducing new control measures? If the Japanese government provides China with relevant experts advice on the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, will China accept that?



Wang Wenbin: The Chinese government puts the people first, and relevant departments will take measures necessary to safeguard food safety and the health of our people. We strongly urge Japan to reverse its wrong decision, cancel the ocean discharge plan, communicate with neighboring countries with sincerity and good will, dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible manner and accept rigorous international oversight.



Bloomberg: This morning, the US announced that it was removing 33 entities, including 27 Chinese companies, from its unverified list. What is the foreign ministrys reaction to this? And will China be making a reciprocal gesture?



Wang Wenbin: China welcomes the US decision to remove Chinese entities from the unverified list. It shows that the two sides can address specific concerns through communication based on mutual respect. China will continue to firmly defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and institutions.



Beijing Youth Daily: Recently, a delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) visited Chinas Xinjiang. Could you share some details?



Wang Wenbin: From August 16 to 21, a delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) visited China and made a trip to Xinjiang at the invitation of the Chinese side. The delegation comprised representatives from 23 countries and two OIC Assistant Secretaries-General.



During its stay in Beijing, the delegation held meetings with officials from departments including the Foreign Ministry and the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and held exchanges with the China Islamic Association. During its trip to Xinjiang, the delegation met with member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Ma Xingrui and Deputy Party Secretary and Chairman of the government of the XUAR Erkin Tuniyaz. The delegation traveled to Urumqi, Kashgar, the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture and Changji, where they saw an exhibition on counter-terrorism and de-radicalization and visited the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, the ancient city of Kashgar and projects of green development and rural revitalization. They also visited Uyghur families and religious figures and prayed together with local Muslims at a mosque.



Members of the delegation spoke highly of Chinas economic and social progress and commended the Chinese government for its strong commitment to protecting the multi-ethnic culture in Xinjiang. They noted the success of Chinas people-centered governance in Xinjiang, including the effective counter-terrorism and de-radicalization policy, which has brought peace and happiness to people of all ethnic backgrounds in Xinjiang. They also pointed out the huge gap between what they saw on this trip and how certain countries depicted the region and that the narratives and accusations attacking Xinjiangs human rights conditions couldnt be further from the truth.



The OIC delegations objective and just observations prove once again that people can tell right from wrong. A handful of countries scheme to manipulate Xinjiang-related issues and smear China will not succeed. We welcome more friends from around the world to visit Xinjiang and see for themselves the peace, dynamism, harmony and freedom in Xinjiang.



Reuters: Earlier this year, five members of staff at Mintz were detained. Does the Chinese foreign ministry have any information about their current whereabouts? Are they still in detention? If so, for breach of which law and do they have access to lawyers, etc?



Wang Wenbin: Id like to refer you to the competent authorities on this question.

Let me stress that China is a country under the rule of law. Businesses operating in China need to abide by Chinese laws. Judicial authorities investigate suspected offenses in accordance with the law. China remains firmly committed to advancing high-level opening up and fostering a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment for companies from other countries, including from the US.



Reuters: A flight of Air Koryo, the North Korean state-owned airline, has arrived in China from North Korea. Does China have a plan along with North Korea to open the borders between the two countries? And also does the Chinese government have a comment on the near future for this air route between China and North Korea?



Wang Wenbin: You may refer to my response to a related question yesterday.



CCTV: In an interview with Yonhap News TV on August 21, ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin said Seoul explained in detail to China the results of the Camp David meeting through diplomatic channels. He stressed the trilateral gathering was not conducted to target any particular country. On bilateral ties with Beijing, Park said Seoul wants to foster a mature and healthy relationship with China on a foundation of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Whats Chinas response?



Wang Wenbin: We have noted the remarks by Foreign Minister Park Jin. Following the US-Japan-ROK summit at Camp David, the ROK briefed China on the meeting and explained it through diplomatic channels.



In response to the trilateral meeting and the joint statement, especially the negative developments concerning China, China has immediately stated our serious position and concerns and made serious demarches to relevant parties. We urge relevant countries to be prudent with words and actions, stop smearing Chinas image and harming Chinas interests, stop stoking division and confrontation and harming regional peace and stability, and stop pursuing selfish gains at the expense of other countries strategic and security interests and the wellbeing of people in Asia-Pacific.



We attach importance to the desire expressed by the ROK to grow relations with China. We hope that the ROK will join China and other countries in the region in rejecting the outdated pattern of division, confrontation and bloc confrontation and opening up new prospects for solidarity, cooperation, development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
On Monday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting in Athens with Prime Minister of Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov, during which the parties discussed the situation in the Black Sea region.

"The interlocutors paid special attention to the situation in the Black Sea region. They discussed cooperation between the Black Sea states to ensure sustainable security in the Black Sea and the functioning of the grain corridor in alternative ways," the press service of the Ukrainian head of state said on Tuesday morning.

The President of Ukraine thanked Bulgaria for condemning Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"Ukraine is ready to use alternative ways for the grain corridor. We count on Bulgaria's support in this regard," Zelenskyy said.

In addition, the parties discussed further cooperation to protect Ukraine.

In turn, the head of the Ukrainian state expressed gratitude to Denkov for the comprehensive support of Ukraine in the fight against Russia, in particular, for the decision of the Bulgarian government to provide defense support, as well as for supporting the Ukrainian Peace Formula and Bulgaria's readiness to take part in the implementation of its specific points.

"The head of state noted Bulgaria's accession to the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, adopted by the G7 countries at the NATO Summit in Vilnius," the press service said.

During the meeting, the head of the Bulgarian government "reaffirmed his principled support for the Crimea Platform, the third summit of which will be held in Kyiv on August 23, 2023."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers it important that veterans should be adequately integrated into social life upon their return from the war.

"We have created a new Ukrainian policy, a policy of heroes, a policy of respect and opportunity for all our soldiers, for all our veterans, thanks to whom Ukraine is alive," he said, speaking via video link at the Veterans Forum, which takes place in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"Today, at the forum, officials will present packages of decisions that are top-priority. So that our veterans can adequately integrate into social life upon their return from the war," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, "they always return from the war differently than they went to it. And that's why it's especially difficult, after everything that I went through, after everything I had to go through, after all the losses that I saw, it's especially difficult to build a life. But you are heroes, Ukraine needs you. Each and every one who fights for Ukraine, who brought closer and closer the victories of Ukraine."

"No lost generations, no missed opportunities. And, of course, not to lose time, the time of life. These are the basic principles in the politics of heroes," he said.

Zelenskyy said "everything in the politics of heroes should be such as to help people live. Any official who does not understand this will be replaced. Any time-consuming regulation should be simplified."

"Everyone in our state, one way or another, should become an assistant to a veteran, as today it is an assistant to soldiers," he also said.
Years ago, the jeweller Gerald Ratner came unstuck when he addressed the Institute of Directors at the Royal Albert Hall. We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for 4.95. People say, How can you sell this for such a low price? I say, because its total crap. He went on to declare that one of the sets of earrings was cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks and Spencer, but I have to say the sandwich will probably last longer than the earrings.
This decision, I have to say, is probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain, Microsoft president Brad Smith said in an interview with the BBC. It does more than shake our confidence in the future of the opportunity to grow a technology business in Britain than weve ever confronted before.
Information is power. For us to tackle injustice, we need to know that injustice is taking place  we need to understand who is responsible and who is affected. For us to effect change, we need to know the change that is needed  and to be able to articulate the need for such change. That is why freedom of speech is  in my view  an absolutely fundamental right. Without the right to speak and publish freely, not only are we deprived of the right to know  the right to know how our waterways are being polluted and by whom so we know whether water is safe to drink or to swim in; the right to know whether a drug is safe for use; the right to know how our elected leaders and public officials are spending our money  but we are also deprived the right to demand better.
You could argue, of course, that all this doesnt really matter that much. Its a series of small storms in ungenerous teacups. And sometimes in the past few years Ive thought that too. I spent five years as chair of the freedom of expression advocacy group, Index on Censorship, and in that time its dedicated staff highlighted the cases of artists and writers and journalists in many different countries, who face imprisonment and sometimes death for telling the truth or expressing themselves artistically. The courage of some of these people would often make me weep. The exiled Belarusian journalists who went back into the country to support the democratic candidate in the stolen election of 2020 and are now in prison in terrible conditions. The Mexican journalists who try to expose the criminal cartels that run their towns and cities and regularly end up dead. Last week for my BBC radio programme The Briefing Room I spoke to a journalist in Niger who is in fear of his life. After those kinds of conversations its easy to become dismissive of our culture wars-based arguments. They seem so petty.
Some of them were famous, or became so. Some, like the Islington Twins, were known enough to make it into the style pages of the subculture mags. Still others were not making any kind of name for themselves. Fame certainly wasnt the end goal of any of these art-directed lives as Peter York put it in his 1976 Harpers and Queen article, Them. The house painter on the street I grew up on who would get an old van every summer and paint it in meticulous tartan fits the bill just as well as the jewellery designer Andrew Logan, who hosted the legendary Alternative Miss World parties in the Seventies and Eighties. No doubt you knew plenty in your neighbourhood too.
The new research shows Mr Khan is preferred by inner London voters (47 per cent favourable to 42 per cent unfavourable, net +5) but viewed unfavourably in the outer boroughs (58 per cent unfavourable to 34 per cent favourable, net -24). He is far more likely to be seen as favourable by younger voters than older ones, being most liked by 25 to 49-year-olds. But among lower-income social groups, he is viewed far more unfavourably than favourably (59 per cent to 30 per cent, net -29).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as part of his participation in the Ukraine-Balkans summit in Athens, met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, the presidential press service said.

The president spoke about the situation on the battlefield, the offensive steps of the Ukrainian army and the problems it faces. He also briefed the interlocutor about the preparation of the Ukrainian energy system and air defense for the autumn-winter period. In addition, Zelenskyy reported on Russia's illegal blocking of shipping in the Black Sea and massive Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's port infrastructure, which threaten world food security.

"Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to continue to be a guarantor of global food security and is interested in finding new ways of supplying food to world markets, one of which could be Croatia. The Croatian side confirmed its readiness to provide ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for transporting Ukrainian grain.," the office said.

The parties also discussed geopolitical and other challenges caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and coordinated steps for further cooperation in the international arena.

Zelenskyy separately noted the importance of the Croatian experience in humanitarian demining and thanked for the practical assistance and leadership of Croatia in demining Ukrainian territories. The importance of holding the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining to be held in October in Zagreb was noted.

The president also thanked Croatia and the Croatian people for their special care for IDPs from Ukraine.
Such a split between the core and the outer doughnut is nothing new. Boris Johnson, the only Conservative to have won in London, based his strategy on piling up the votes in leafy boroughs. But the extension to the Ultra low emission zone, set to come into force a week today, appears to have turbocharged the phenomenon.
Prosecutors said previously that charges against the actor could still be refiled, but are yet to indicate whether they will do so.
Ahead of grime, though, came the more polished, garage-influenced sound of groups like So Solid Crew. We took a lot of melody from [US] rap, which was really important in making us who we are, says the groups Lisa Maffia, who pinpoints the US rapper Eve as a crucial influence. Coming in as the only female in So Solid alone was tough, and it was what I needed, as an artist, she says. It was what created me as Lisa Maffia; it was really important for me, because it was a male dominated industry, so I had to fight for my way to be recognised.
Then, suddenly, the PA crackles into life and the cast are dancing and singing. But these pumping rock numbers appear in such odd places in the narrative, and none is given room to take root. Just when a song sounds like it might be getting catchy, it stops abruptly and the narrative continues.
More than a decade later, in 2020, Miller shared how hard this period of her life had been, especially because she was appearing in a play at the time. That was one of the most challenging moments I hope I'll ever have to experience. Because with that level of public heartbreak, to have to get out of a bed let alone stand in front of 800 people every night, its just the last thing you want to do.
These pieces of work are now highly in-demand, and SOLDIER is discerning about who can own them. People buy it just by reaching out to me. If I do want to sell it, I tell them to email my team. I pick my collectors - it cant just be anyone because its a piece of me, and I dont want to just give anyone a piece of me. The latest people allowed into his exclusive collectors circle are designer Heron Preston and UFC fighter Marlon Vera.
The stabbing came hours after man was killed when he was hit by a Tube train following a police chase in nearby East Acton.
The court heard that Provan had many womens names on his phone - detectives are working through this list to understand how they may be linked to Provan and whether there are more offences we are unaware of. We are keen to hear from anyone who can help with any information, no matter how small. Provan is a dangerous offender and we are pursuing all lines of enquiry.
Prosecuting, Sophie Pennifold told magistrates that Loughlin had been disqualified from driving for 12 months from July 2022 but was seen getting in and out of the Tiguan at Castleton Esso at about 10.40pm on March 3.
She is alleged to have bought gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods after benefitting from at least 100,000 in cash, chauffeur driven cars, and the use of multiple London properties.
As part of a working visit to Greece and participation in the Ukraine-Balkans summit, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, the press service of the Ukrainian president reports.

"The heads of state touched upon the pressing issues of bilateral cooperation, regional security, joint opposition to the Kremlin's aggressive policy and Russian hybrid influence. The parties discussed cooperation between the two countries in creating alternative routes for exporting Ukrainian grain after Russia blocked the Black Sea Grain Initiative," the report notes.

The presidents also focused on the important issue of the integration of Ukraine and Moldova into the European Union and common challenges along the path.

Zelenskyy and Sandu noted the active development of the political dialogue between the countries and discussed further contacts, in particular Moldova's participation in the third international Crimea Platform summit in Kyiv on August 23.
Mike Hill, 54, a tradesman whose flat backs onto the tracks said: I heard a commotion and looked out and there was a police helicopter with a spotlight lighting up the tracks. I cant tell you how many police there were, there were loads of them.
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If any meaningful change about how the NHS reacts and reponds to serious and even relatively minor patient concerns changes as a consequence of all this, then I might possibly consider that Ive done something heroic. Right now, I just think that Ive done what I should have done.
How to celebrate your new rap album? With a pyjama party, of course. Thats what Giggs did at the weekend for his new record Zero Tolerance, throwing a big party at the Georgian Mansion in Essex last Friday night. Celebrating with him in their PJs were actors Daniel Kaluuya and Micheal Ward and fellow musician Popcaan, while pro skater Rianna Linton and MC Paigey Cakey went along, too. Its not clear if they later watched a movie and had a pillow fight as with other pyjama sleepovers.
The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We are focused on the outcomes. The most important thing is to make sure families get the answers they need and that its possible to learn the lessons, that its done transparently and that it happens as quickly as possible.
We are also on track to clear the legacy backlog of asylum cases. It has been reduced by a nearly a third since the start of December and we have doubled the number of asylum decision-makers in post over the past two years.
Pressed about whether it should be a statutory inquiry overseen by a judge, Ms Keegan said: That is something that is on the table But there are pros and cons to the two types of inquiry, so when the chair works with them on the terms of reference that will be something that they can input to them.
But 57 per cent in the YouGov poll also said they dont know about the Tory candidate, against only nine per cent for Mr Khan, suggesting he has a much stronger name recognition. Susan Hall remains an unknown figure to most Londoners, with 57 per cent not having an opinion of her, YouGov senior political researcher Lukas Paleckis told the Evening Standard. It goes without saying that the Conservatives will have to pull something big out of the bag to overturn this sentiment in the capital, but with Ulez expansion causing a stir this may leave room for public opinion to change in their favour, he said.
A spokesperson for Norfolk Police said on Monday that Sarah Foy, 23, from Alfreton, Derbyshire, Rose Patterson, 34, from London, and Rosa Sharkey, 23, also from London, have been charged with theft, three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and three of failing to record the movement of an animal.
This is no more and no less than political policing and political justice - anything to do with Northern Ireland and the politics seems to be off-limits to ever be investigated, especially anything to do with Republican violence

Julie Hambleton
During a working visit to Athens, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski.

"I am grateful to North Macedonia for political and military support, preparation of a new defense package. We discussed the development of defense cooperation during a meeting with Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski," Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel.

In addition, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Macedonia agreed to coordinate steps towards a common goal - joining the EU.

According to Zelenskyy's press service, the leaders also discussed the situation on the battlefield. The President of Ukraine drew attention to the increase in production of missiles by Russia using Western components.

The head of the Ukrainian state thanked the head of the government of North Macedonia for the unwavering and principled support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
If you need to collect your luggage when it has been returned, you may also be able to claim back your travel costs, if youve kept the receipts. If the luggage is delayed on a return flight, airlines often consider this less of a loss  and some carriers have a daily expense rate for lost luggage.
This work is ongoing but we can already see there were key moments where we let women down and did not do all we could to support them. We have told the Independent Office for Police Conduct we are carrying out a review and advised them that we will make appropriate referrals.
Our road was essentially a river because we live in the hills so the water can only travel in one direction  down. There was just water everywhere, especially through the night when it really, really picked up.
The agreement prohibits the former president from making any "direct or indirect threat of any nature" against witnesses or co-defendants, and from communicating in any way about the facts of the case with them, except through attorneys.
In response to a public backlash in October to claims that SpaceX had decided it would no longer donate Starlink devices to Ukraine over cost, Musk tweeted: Even though Starlink is still losing money and other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, well just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.
Japan says the water will be filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium - an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. The treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium before being released into the Pacific.
But the White House said he approved a Hawaii disaster declaration within about an hour of receiving it and he had not wanted to travel to Maui until he was assured he would not interfere with emergency response efforts.
The birth comes after the loss of two rare all-white giraffes in 2020, at the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy in Ijara, Garissa County, Kenya. The giraffes had leucism, which is a genetic condition that causes the partial loss of pigmentation. While travelling in a family as a group of three, two were killed by poachers (a calf and a female), leaving her son behind. He is now thought to be the only all-white giraffe in the world, and has been fitted with a GPS tracker, to deter poachers.
His convoy first went to the Supreme Court, where a news release from the body said he would formally inform him of earlier convictions issued in absentia for which he was sentenced to a total of 10 years imprisonment. The convoy left the court an hour later and went to Bangkok's main prison. Thaksin was convicted in absentia for several criminal cases after he fled that he claimed were politically motivated.
In 2013, he achieved his degree in law from Yale Law School. In the past, he has shared that, by the time he completed this degree, he was already a multimillionaire thanks to his thriving career.
The liberation of Crimea is likely to take place by military means and by the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov.

"For us, Crimea is part of our territory  We must release it. Moreover, we will release it. Most likely, this will happen by military means  if the aggressor country does not understand by this time that it needs to leave our territory. We have no other option," Danilov said, speaking at an event dubbed "On the eve of the Third Summit of the Crimea Platform."

He stressed that "any other case regarding Crimea will mean the preservation of the situation, the transfer of the war to our descendants, our children and grandchildren. Since the Russian Federation, having Crimea under its control, will never accept that it will have to calm down and live in peace."

"Only by expelling Russia from Crimea, moving it into the Sea of Azov, we will understand that our state will have certain guarantees of our security for a certain period of time. There simply cannot be any other option," he said.

He also believes that such a position of Ukraine does not need to be brought to someone and hold any consultations [with Western partners].

"We need to do our job  which is what our military, our Armed Forces are doing. It's only a matter of time. Will it be hard? Yes, it will be hard. Will they underhand persuade us? Most likely, messages will be voiced, but in this case I always say: Gulchatai, open your face. A lot of anonymous messages are received that allegedly someone is asking or offering us [to liberate Crimea]. But no one revealed their face. And as soon as the clerk from NATO opened his face, he immediately received a worthy response from the public," Danilov summed up.

As reported, in midAugust, director of the NATO Secretary General's Office, Stian Jenssen, said that the solution for Ukraine may be to give up the territory [in favor of the Russian Federation] and receive NATO membership in return. He later stated that he was mistaken.
At Mangal 2, we pushed boundaries while catering to regulars and locals, we had to keep its history in mind and we had to be quite strict with ourselves. In the end I didnt want to destroy the beauty of it and when you want to push further, it all becomes too much.
As such, writing paraphernalia over history has often reflected the power and position of the person putting said tool to use. Indeed, Charles Dickens mammoth 19th-century mahogany writing desk was sold to an anonymous buyer for $850,000 at Christies London in June 2008. Arthur Conan Doyle was known to have used a Parker Duofold Classic to write his iconic detective novels, a fountain pen that retails today for 389.95, and you only have to catch a glimpse at the Roentgen writing desk to know they were crafted with royalty in mind.
If youre bleeding heavily and dont want to ruin existing underwear, you might choose to buy some disposable underwear. Obviously, this has a greater environmental impact than cotton pants that can be reused, and many may not choose this option.

However, the FridaMom pants are perfectly designed for the postpartum period. They are stretchy and high-waisted, but wont roll down over a c-section wound. They are roomy enough to accommodate a maternity pad and are mesh-free and latex-free. Another big plus? They can be ripped off at the sides, useful if youre struggling with pain in the first day or two after giving birth.

These are a great alternative to the ugly, see-through underwear hospitals often provide so you may want to include these in your hospital bag, if only for a few wears.
We should be focusing on the evidence, we should be focusing on the truth and we should have a sense of as much closure as one can have when the murderer hasnt actually admitted to everything that happened, she added.
Kendall has been riding since she was a kid, just like me, and has her own ranch; you can see how at ease she is around these sensitive creatures, and them with her.
Part One of American Horror Story: Delicate will premiere on September 20 on FX and will be available to be streamed on Hulu the next day.
Footage has emerged of a chairlift dangling 900ft above a ravine in northern Pakistan - with six children and two teachers trapped inside after a cable snapped as they travelled to school.
By backing UK innovators to make the most of modern technology including satellite data, AI, and Earth observation, we are also supporting businesses up and down our country to grow our economy while driving forward our ambition to make the UK a major player in space

George Freeman MP
The social platforms owner Elon Musk confirmed on Tuesday that X will remove the headline and additional text that appear within news links. As a result, users will only be able to see the lead image from articles when browsing their feeds. Musk said the update will greatly improve the sites aesthetic.
After the liberation of Crimea by Ukraine, the reintegration processes will take place with strict observance of human rights, an individual approach will already be applied in bringing to criminal responsibility, with priority on top officials and voluntarily cooperating with the enemy, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said.

"The reintegration of Crimea in the legal dimension will be difficult. In fact, we will have to rebuild the entire criminal justice system from scratch," Kostin said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday on the eve of the Third Summit of the Crimea Platform.

According to him, currently there are small units of the Prosecutor's Office, the SBU and the National Police, which work by virtue of their capabilities in Crimea.

"It will be necessary to form these units so that they can solve the issues that arise," the Prosecutor General explained.

Another key area of reintegration in the legal context, Kostin called the verification of court decisions that have been taken during all this time in the occupied Crimea.

"Although we understand that the lion's share were cases of legal registration of political persecution, but we must understand that ordinary crimes were committed all this time," Kostin said.

He clarified that despite the fact that the decisions were made by an illegitimate court, these decisions were made, for example, in relation to a murderer or rapist. "We cannot simply release such people, so there is a process of verification of court decisions," the Prosecutor General added.

Kostin stressed that all elements of the so-called transitional justice have been formed, including taking into account the consequences of wars and conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

"For effective reintegration, it will certainly be necessary immediately after de-occupation to resume in full or necessary at the initial stage all elements of the law enforcement and judicial system - to prepare for the work of investigators, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, experts and judges," Kostin said.

Therefore, as the Prosecutor General stressed, the formation of such a reserve is already happening now, before the immediate de-occupation.

In addition, the Prosecutor General pointed to a problematic issue in the form of Russian propaganda. "It convinces Crimean residents that they will all be imprisoned in Ukraine, because they are traitors to Ukraine. With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, this intimidation has only intensified. But in fact, this in no way correspond to reality," the Prosecutor General assured.

"Unlike Russia, Ukraine is a democratic European state that respects the law and the rule of law. Therefore, among the suspects and accused in our criminal proceedings are the occupying Crimean top officials and officials of various levels, law enforcement officers, judges, as well as entrepreneurs who voluntarily, proactively went to cooperate with the enemy and provide their services within the framework of the defense order of the Russian Federation," he said.

"It is very important that a signal is given to our Ukrainian Crimean residents that the reintegration processes will take place with strict observance of human rights, because for us the rule of law is not an empty phrase," the Prosecutor General concluded.
As of today, the Russian Federation has already handed over to Ukraine 12 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers who were considered prisoners of war (POWs), there were no reports of deterioration in their health from the Russian side, said Yuriy Taraniuk, head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

As of today, the Russian side has already handed over to us twelve bodies of our prisoners, who had previously been confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross as being in captivity in Russia. At the same time, there were no reports from Russia about the deterioration of their health or their serious condition which again casts doubt on the quality of work or the presence of a medical commission on that side, he said at a briefing at the Military Media Center on Tuesday.
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114,778 people were employed in the first seven months of 2023 by the county and Bucharest employment agencies, the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) informed on Tuesday.

From the total number of employed persons until July 31, 2023, 53,456 are over 45 years old, 19,824 are between 35 and 45 years old, 19,260 are between 25 and 35 years old, and 22,238 are young people under 25 years old. Of the total number of employed people, 24,096 are NEET youth, agerpres reports.

The number of employed women is 52,561, and of men 62,217, their share in the total employed persons being 45.79% and 54.21%, respectively.

Depending on residence, 58,609 people employed in the reference period come from the urban environment, and 56,169 people are from the rural environment.The level of education of the people for whom a job was identified shows that most of them have high school (38,027), gymnasium (28,153), vocational (26,259), 11,277 with university education.Of the total number of people employed through ANOFM in the first seven months of 2023, 44,488 are part of the category of those who are difficult and very difficult to employ.In the ranking of the counties with the most employed persons, Bucharest occupies the first place (12,201), followed by Timis (6,742) and Neamt (4,690).During the reference period, the number of people who benefited from assistance for registration as jobseekers, in order to ensure social protection regarding the granting of unemployment benefits or inclusion in active measures, was 297,360 people.
Foreign orchestras performing at George Enescu International Festival to use double basses made in Reghin

The double basses built by the luthiers of the Romanian town of Reghin, members of the Association of Romanian Luthiers (AALR), will be used in the concerts of the 2023 edition of the George Enescu International Music Festival that will take place on August 27 - September 24 in Bucharest, told Agerpres.

"We are happy that we somehow manage to secure continuity for the idea we had in 2019. Since then, we have participated in every edition of the George Enescu International Festival. Our contribution is a major one. We are mounting an exhibition this year at Sala Palatului - last year we even had an exhibition at the Romanian Athenaeum for the entire duration of the festival - which will last 30 days. And another important aspect is some of the instruments built in Reghin - double basses in particular because they are instruments that are more difficult to move around, and some orchestras coming from abroad ask for double basses to be made available to them to perform in the events in Bucharest - will be played in the event. We are happy that in the past years they were satisfied with our instruments and continue to ask us for them," Deputy Chairman of the Association of Romanian Luthiers Claudiu Mare said on Tuesday.

The number of instruments from Reghin for the George Enescu International Festival varies with concerts.

"There are orchestras that need three, five double basses; in the smaller events at the Athenaeum, smaller orchestras will often play the baroque double bass, which we also provide - a rarer, more atypical instrument - and we are glad that the instruments made in Romania are somehow recognised. In the exhibition we will have almost the entire range of bowed string instruments, starting with the violin, viola, cello and double bass. This annual participation is designed for us to try to somehow create a habit for the people in the capital city and also all areas of the country, to know that every September, the Association of the Reghin Luthiers will go there, will mount an exhibition for the 30-day duration of the entire festival," said Mare, adding that the instruments on display are for sale.

He believes that the exhibition is a good way for young students to try instruments and accessories made in Reghin.

"We also have bows for each instrument category. So it's a wide offer and a very good quality-price ratio, I'd say. (...). We are lucky to participate in this great festival, which is one of the most prestigious classical music festivals in the world. It is a royal event that takes place over 30 days, there will be three - four concerts every day, for all tastes and preferences," said Mare. AGERPRES (RO - author: Dorina Matis, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)
ForMin Odobescu welcomes Dutch ambassador van Ees, emphasises consistency of Dutch investment in Romania

Romania's Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu on Tuesday welcomed Dutch ambassador in Bucharest Roelof S. van Ees, on a good-bye visit, emphasising the consistency of Dutch investment in Romania, told Agerpres.

According to a press statement released by the Foreign Ministry (MAE), current bilateral, regional and European affairs and security issues were discussed at the meeting.

Odobescu thanked van Ees for his mission in Romania, voicing her appreciation for his contribution to strengthening ties between the two countries.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy welcomed the solid agenda of political contacts, the solid component of commercial exchanges, the consistency of Dutch investment in Romania, as well as the contribution of the Netherlands to ensuring Romania's security, including by deploying troops for the local NATO Battle Group.

Odobescu also welcomed the Dutch support for Romania's accession to the Schengen area and presented the efforts of Romanian diplomacy related to the achievement of this essential foreign policy objective.

According to MAE, the determination of Romania and the Netherlands to continue providing support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression emerged.

Odobescu also highlighted the added value of the European Union enlargement process and emphasised the importance of supporting Ukraine and Moldova on their European journeys.

Van Ees voiced his appreciation for his collaboration with MAE and Romanian state officials during his mission in Bucharest.
Gov't: First consultative meeting with NGOs on women's rights in Romania

A first consultative meeting took place at the Victoria Governmental Palace on Tuesday with representative non-governmental organisations in the area of women's rights and gender equality, coordinated by State Advisor with the Prime Minister's Chancellery Victoria Stoiciu, told Agerpres.

According to a Government press release, the main themes of the dialogue were the challenges currently faced by women in Romania in terms of rights and opportunities for equal treatment, as well as ways of collaboration between the government and the civil society to solve the problems identified.

"During the meeting, the state advisor proposed to the guests the draw up of a common agenda for medium-term discussions, so that during the next consultative meetings there will be applied debates on specific issues regarding the protection and promotion of women's rights in our country. The topics of dialogue of the future meetings will follow three areas of major interest: combating gender-based violence and violence against women, reproductive health and rights and gender equality in all spheres of Romanian society," the press release reads.

At the end of the round table at the Victoria Palace, it was agreed to continue the consultations initiated on Tuesday, and State Advisor Victoria Stoiciu stressed the government's interest in being a determined partner of the civil society in improving the situation of women's rights, the release informs.

On behalf of civil society, the dialogue was attended by member organisations of the Coalition for Gender Equality and the Network for Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women, and also attended by the initiator of the law criminalising sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 years, MP Diana Tusa.
Health Minister signs contract on building Big Burns Centre at "Grigore Alexandrescu" Children's Emergency Hospital

Health Minister Alexandru Rafila signed the contract for the construction of the Big Burns Centre within the "Grigore Alexandrescu" Children's Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, and the works will start in the first week of September, told Agerpres.

According to a press release, the new building will include two operating theatres for patients with severe burns, 10 beds for critical patients, 16 post-critical ICU beds and 10 beds for microsurgery and reconstructive surgery.

A new specialist outpatient clinic will also be opened in the centre.

The value of the investment is 56 million euro and is part of the project carried out by the Ministry of Health with the World Bank, and the execution period of the investment objective is 26 months.

"The construction and completion of the centres for big burns is an important component of the investment and development projects for the health system in Romania, which the Ministry of Health is carrying out in partnership with local authorities throughout the country. Responsibility, professionalism and good faith are the principles on which the current team of the Ministry of Health operates," Minister of Health, Prof. Alexandru Rafila is quoted in the press release as saying.

The construction works of the Big Burns Centre in Timisoara started in June. The contract for the construction of the Centre for Big Burns in Targu-Mures will be signed by the end of the year.
Justice Minister: Ilie Serbuc, suspected of killing a 12-year-old girl, brought to Romania

Ilie Marcel Serbuc, suspected of killing a 12-year-old girl and hiding her body in a sofa's trunk, arrived in Romania on Tuesday, Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu announced.

"The plane bringing back to Romania defendant Ilie Marcel Serbuc, accused of murdering a 12-year-old girl, has landed. The defendant had been remanded in custody. According to the procedure, he will be presented to the court for confirmation of this measure. It remains to be seen what the court will decide and, further on, continue with the criminal proceedings, which are not public. No person is above the law. No one can escape accountability to the national justice system. This is normality in a democratic state," Alina Gorghiu wrote on her Facebook page.

She assured that the Ministry of Justice will continue to make every legal effort to bring fugitives back to Romania.

"International judicial cooperation in criminal matters is essential to fight crime. I thank all Romanian and Dutch authorities for their good cooperation," said Gorghiu.

On August 16, the Ministry of Justice announced that the Amsterdam Court had definitively ordered the transfer of Ilie Marcel Serbuc.

On June 3, Police Station No 16 was notified by the owner of an apartment in the capital that he had found a plastic bag in the sofa's trunk having a rotten smell.

Initially, it was thought that the deceased was a woman, but an expertise carried out at forensic institute established that the deceased was a minor aged 12, the identification having taken place by comparing the genetic profile of the corpse with the genetic profile of the girl's father.

The girl's biological father is the one who reported the girl missing in early May.

The girl was living with her mother and her boyfriend, Ilie Marcel Serbuc, in an apartment in Berceni, District 4 of the capital.

A recording between the mother and her boyfriend appeared in the public space, in which Marcel Serbuc told her that he did not want to hurt the girl, but had a spontaneous conflict with her, pushed her and the girl hit her head against the bathtub.

After the murder, the mother and her boyfriend allegedly left the country, the woman being traced in Catalonia - Spain, after being confronted by her co-workers at a farm. The woman later came alone to Romania to be questioned by investigators.

Instead, her boyfriend was issued an European arrest warrant and detained in the Netherlands, but he denied being sent to Romania.
Denmark has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots in flying F-16 fighter jets as part of its commitment to donate aircraft to Ukraine, Reuters reported with reference to the Danish armed forces on Tuesday.

The eight pilots have arrived at the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup along with 65 personnel who will be trained in maintaining and servicing the jets, the message reads.

Denmark will supply Ukraine with 19 F-16 jets and will deliver the first six jets around New Year. According to the Defense Ministry, Denmark currently has 43 F-16 jets and will for safety reasons not disclose how many of them are active.

The Netherlands, which has 42 F-16s, has yet to decide how many jets it will supply to Ukraine.
Northern Bucharest wildfire localised

A wildfire that broke out on Tuesday in the northern part of Bucharest City has been localised by firefighters, and four special vehicles were stationed in the area, according to the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Management Inspectorate (ISUBIF).

Firefighters on Tuesday acted to extinguish a wildfire that had engulfed about 30 hecateres of land in the northern part of Bucharest City, near Drumul Argatului street.

The rescuers acted to extinguish several outbreaks and contain the spread of the fire. The facade and terrace of a house were damaged.

No victims were reported.
Over RON 1.13bl for 100 infrastructure projects under Anghel Saligny Programme

Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration Adrian Vestea on Tuesday signed 100 new funding agreements under the Anghel Saligny National Investment Programme totalling RON 1,135,215,117.18 , told Agerpres.

The agreement, signed with some of the project beneficiaries, provide for the modernisation of road infrastructure, the establishment or modernisation of drinking water supply systems, domestic sewage networks, wastewater treatment plants and intelligent systems of natural gas distribution, the construction of bridges, as well as the rehabilitation and modernisation of bicycle paths, bridges, sidewalks and rainwater drainage.

"The projects signed today have concrete long-term results and support the needs of citizens in 38 counties, helping increase their standards of living. Thus, we contribute to narrowing the development gaps between regions, with the ultimate goal of having a more prosperous Romania," Vestea is quoted as saying in a press statement.
Mountain hikers have a new refuge to seek shelter in - the Scara lodge, located at 2,146 meters above sea level, on the Fagaras Mountains ridge route, and which was opened by the Carpathian Mountain Association (AMC).

"The Scara refuge is ready to take in tired hikers or who encounter bad weather on the Fagaras ridge - a difficult route to cover, almost 100 km long, with many peaks over 2,000 meters above sea level and an elevation difference of 5,500 meters. Whether you endeavor to hike the entire ridge or just a segment, the refuge huts in this massif (and not only) are essential for your safety,'' reads an AMC release issued on Tuesday, agerpres reports.

The refuge is located in the Saua Scarii mountain saddle, 2,146 meters high, in the vicinity of Negoiu Peak (2,535 m) and of the rugged Custura Saratii, one of the most exposed and difficult segments in the Fagaras Mountains.

The project is the result of over two years of efforts by a team of mountain-loving professional volunteers (architects, engineers, coordinators) who joined forces in the Carpathian Mountain Association: they designed the concept of the refuge, assessed the location, planned and coordinated the transport of the materials to the ridge, as well as the actual construction, the cited source said."The approximately 150 refuge huts in the country, according to data provided by the Romanian Mountain Rescue Service, are smaller or larger wooden, stone or tin buildings open to travelers in the mountains, close to forests or on ridges. They can be an intermediate point for mountain rescue interventions and have the role of providing free shelter to mountaineers who encounter difficulties en route - either due to fatigue, the changing weather or an injury. However, over the years, many refuges have become unusable - some were blown away by wind, dragged away by avalanches or vandalized for materials. Hence the need for more durable materials and concepts tailored to the specifics of the terrain, as we did at the Scara facility," the release states.The Scara mountain shelter has a 36 sqm layout divided into two functional areas - a vestibule and a common space for eating and sleeping. The refuge can comfortably accommodate 15-18 people, but can go beyond this number if needed.The only window is high above the ground; the finish of the floor is of metal grating, to prevent its degradation from climbing boot spikes, and the interior cladding is of high-pressure moisture-resistant laminate boards.The refuge is equipped with USB sockets for charging electronic devices, cameras, as well as various sensors that will transmit helpful data for future projects."Through its quality, the Scara refuge sets a new standard for critical mountain infrastructure; in addition, it encourages people to discover the Fagaras Mountains safely," said Corneliu Chiriliuc, a technical coordinator within the project team.
Senate's Ciuca: Trade between Romania and Italy is at record level

Senate President Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday that trade between Romania and Italy is at a record level, but there is room for growth created by Romania's economic development, which has an increased regional relevance in the energy and food sectors, told Agerpres.

"Today I had a working meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Bucharest, His Excellency Alfredo Maria Durante Mangoni. The topics discussed were the strengthening of economic relations between our countries, cooperation in the diplomatic and European affairs areas, as well as the strengthening of judicial cooperation between the two countries. Trade between Romania and Italy is at a record level, but there is room for growth created by the economic development of our country, which has an increased regional relevance in the energy and food sectors, as a result of the measures I have taken as Prime Minister," Ciuca wrote on Facebook.

He added that Romania needs both to increase exports to Italy and to attract new Italian investment in these areas.

"I thanked His Excellency for the unconditional support that Italy gives to Romania in the process of admission to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but especially in the integration into the Schengen Area. The presence of more than one million Romanians in Italy is a strong cultural link between the two countries, so the freedom of movement that our admission to the Schengen Area would benefit those who travel between Italy and Romania. We have also reconfirmed the support that our states give to Ukraine in the face of the unjustified and unprovoked Russian aggression. His Excellency told me that Italy appreciates Romania for the fact that it manages to contribute substantially to supporting Ukrainian exports," Nicolae Ciuca mentioned.

The President of the Senate also said that he appreciated Italy's support for the European perspective of the countries in the Eastern Neighbourhood, which is why he supported the Republic of Moldova being granted the status of candidate for accession to the European Union.

"At the same time, we reaffirmed our unconditional support for the Republic of Moldova in its European path, but also for the economic development and welfare of all its citizens," Ciuca said.
TransMin Grindeanu: I fully support turnover taxation on multinationals

Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said on Tuesday in Timisoara that he cannot afford living through a time when European funds are suspended, as all major transport projects in Romania are supported by them, and that he support taxing multinationals according to turnovers and even the imposition of a tax on banks' profits, told Agerpres.

"At this moment, you have to make certain decisions, because if we continue the same way, we overshoot the deficit target, which would mean that we have European funds suspended and we pay a fine of 0.5% of GDP. I, as transport minister, cannot afford to live through a time when our European funds would be suspended. There is no major transport project in Romania, at the moment, that is not financed by European funds. It would mean that all things have to stop. I can't support something like that and then certain decisions must be made," said Grindeanu.

He added that he fully supports multinationals being taxed according to their business turnovers.

"We cannot continue this way, because we will not meet that deficit target. I fully support the taxation of multinationals on turnover, but that is my opinion. I support the taxation and an increase in the tax on the transfer of profits outside the country. I do not know if it would not be good for us to apply what the Italians did about two weeks ago, namely, a tax on bank profits. Of course, Mr Isarescu[the governor of the National Bank of Romania] will come out and tell us that it is not good, but I say we need to look more carefully. It's a kind of luxury tax. I, as a left-wing person, certainly agree with such a thing. Don't let someone who has a house worth more than 500,000 euros say that if you levy a tax of 0.5% on him he is poor, because he is not poor. And if he has a car worth 75,000 euros, he is not poor either," said Grindeanu.

Grindeanu on Tuesday toured construction sites in the western part of the country.
American society continues to struggle with the question of how to fairly and compassionately deal with people addicted to drugs

Even though this is a complicated area of public policy, it's reassuring to see Republicans and Democrats in Congress looking for spots of consensus that can improve outcomes for low-level, nonviolent offenders who enter the federal criminal justice system.

Under current law, a person found guilty of a federal charge of simple drug possession  meaning a small quantity for personal use, and not for dealing  can request probation if this is the person's first and only drug offense.

After the person successfully completes probation, a federal judge can dismiss the case. The arrest and disposition would still show up in a public records search. However, the law does allow people younger than 21 to get the criminal record expunged.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler, and a group of Democrats and Republicans from across the country want to get rid of the age cap. They're co-sponsoring legislation named after a former New York district attorney, the Kenneth P. Thompson Begin Again Act, to narrowly amend federal law to remove the age limit for first-time drug offenders to expunge records.

That's appropriate.

A criminal record, even a low-level drug possession charge, can hamper people's ability to land a job, secure an apartment or obtain public aid. It's important for offenders to accept responsibility for their actions, but having doors shut in their faces because of a single, relatively small mistake can destabilize lives and drive people away from recovery and back toward crime.

First-time drug possession offenders deserve a second chance even if they aren't minors or young adults.

The offense wouldn't show up in public background checks anymore. The U.S. Department of Justice retains a confidential record of the case, only for the purpose of determining whether a person would qualify for an expungement in a future proceeding.

Getting rid of the age cap for this second chance is so popular that organizations all over the ideological spectrum support it, from the NAACP to the Conservative Political Action Coalition.

So do the National District Attorneys Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Americans should tread carefully when it comes to proposals to decriminalize drug use.

A seemingly well-intentioned effort in Oregon to only fine people caught with small amounts of illegal drugs has backfired in Portland, where drug use has burst into the open, according to recent reporting by The New York Times.

Overdose numbers are climbing while businesses and residents worry about disorder and aggression from chronic drug users.

The Kenneth P. Thompson Begin Again Act doesn't overstep. Beneficiaries would still face consequences, in the form of probation, while having barriers to their rehabilitation removed.

It's a small policy change that can transform lives. We hope Congress will recognize this and act.
Here is a look at key dates since the Taliban came back to power two years ago, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country:

Aug. 15, 2021: The Taliban march into Kabul as internationally backed President Ashraf Ghani flees the country.

Aug. 26, 2021: Islamic State group suicide bombers and gunmen kill over 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops in an attack on the crowds trying to be evacuated at Kabul's airport.

March 23, 2022: On the day high schools are opening, the Taliban suddenly reverse a promise to allow girls above the sixth grade to attend schools. Girls who showed up for the first day of classes are told to go home.

May 7, 2022: The Taliban Virtue and Vice Ministry issues orders that women in public must wear all-encompassing robes and cover their faces except for their eyes. It advises them to stay home unless they have important work outside the house.

June 22, 2022: A powerful earthquake hits a remote region of eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,100 people. The Taliban struggle with rescue efforts, underscoring a lack of resources and a reliance on aid groups.

July 31, 2022: The U.S. kills al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri in a drone strike on a safehouse in Kabul, where he was staying for months. U.S. officials accuse the Taliban of sheltering him in violation of the Doha Agreement.

Sept. 5, 2022: An IS suicide bombing kills two diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Kabul, a rare assault on a foreign diplomatic mission. Russia is among the handful of countries with a working embassy in Afghanistan, and the only European one.

Sept. 30, 2022: A suicide bomber strikes an education center in a Shiite area of the capital, killing dozens of people, including teenagers taking university entrance exams.

Nov. 10, 2022: A nationwide ban on women using gyms and parks comes into force. The Taliban imposed the ban because women allegedly disobeyed gender segregation rules or didn't wear hijabs, or Islamic headscarves, properly.

Nov. 20, 2022: The Taliban lash 19 people, including alleged adulterers, in the first public flogging since the return to Taliban rule.

Dec. 8, 2022: The Taliban execute a convicted killer before hundreds of spectators in the first public execution since the takeover.

Dec. 21, 2022: The Taliban bar female students from attending university, having already banned girls from middle and high schools.

Dec. 24, 2022: The Taliban bar Afghan women from working with national and international nongovernmental groups, after already excluding them from most jobs.

March 9, 2023: The U.N. says Afghanistan has become the most repressive country in the world for women and girls, depriving them of virtually all their basic rights.

April 6, 2023: The Taliban's chief spokesman relocates his office from Kabul to Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the movement and the base of the supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. It's the clearest sign yet of a power shift to the south.

April 10, 2023: The U.N. warns that its Afghan operations remain severely underfunded. It previously said that Afghanistan is its lowest-funded operation globally, despite being the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.

July 4, 2023: The Taliban order beauty salons to shut down for offering un-Islamic services like eyebrow shaping. The decision affects as many as 60,000 female entrepreneurs and further restricts meeting places for women outside the home.

July 19, 2023: The Taliban use stun guns on women protesting the ban on beauty salons, spraying the demonstrators with water and firing into the air to break up the crowd.
Rockwell Knuckles found inspiration in a truly unusual place for his new album, Raytown  at least, unusual to anyone but himself.

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The St. Louis hip-hop artist cribs inspiration from the 1980s sitcom Mamas Family, which starred Vicki Lawrence. The show reportedly was set in Raytown, Missouri, near Kansas City.

Rockwell Knuckles can recite details about every episode, and the album is full of references and nods that fans will recognize. He says he watched a ton of Mamas Family during the pandemic.

Mamas Family is like The Simpsons or Malcolm in the Middle  theyre just people, he says. It doesnt matter what race you are. (The characters) dont have a lot of money, they work hard, they have big dreams, and they aspire to be something.

The shows makes Rockwell Knuckles (aka Corey Barnett) feel like home. And something clicked for him.

I thought about it, and it reminds me of the hip-hop scene of St. Louis, he says. Its a bunch of amazing people who are incredible and powerful. I love my town. All the people are brave enough to get onstage and express themselves. Everybody is trying to support everybody around them but cant do as much as they like because theyre building their own thing.

Its like a (friggin) sitcom. Thats what my album is about  how much I love the community.

He and Aloha Mischeaux make up hip-hop duo the Knuckles, which performs this weekend at Evolution Festival.

Raytown features Grannys Couch with Indiana Rome; Call My Number featuring T-Dubb-O (his cousin) and Skam2; Steady (Are You Ready) featuring Tef Poe, Nick Menn and T-Dubb O; and his younger brother Vxnce is on the title track.

I dont come out of the house and bother my boys for much, he says.

Like a Try features Mischeaux and MAXA. He says Mischeauxs imprint is all over the project, and you hear her throughout on backing vocals and hooks.

Production is by Trifeckta and Jackpot Hitz with engineering by Cory Rose and Ben Arnold. Most of the album was recorded at Doorway Studios in St. Louis.

Raytown brings Rockwell Knuckles back to the scene as a solo artist after albums including The David Ruffin Theory with Tef Poe (2013), With All Due Respect (2012), Youre (expletive) Out, Im (expletive) (2011), Choose Your Own Adventure (2010) and Northside Phenomenon (2007).

He had taken time away from his solo work to focus on the Knuckles. And he had a son in 2014, which has been a life-changing experience.

I didnt know what my true love was until my son was born, he says. When he was born, everything I built my life around to achieve meant nothing.

In March 2020, the Knuckles landed a song, So Much to Say, on the Freeform series Good Trouble.

We were super excited, he says. We were going to do these spot dates all over the country, and COVID happened. It screwed up everything happening at the moment.

Rockwell Knuckles initially spent time putting his older albums, such as With All Due Respect, on streaming platforms. I just put it out there  my gift to everybody, he says.

At the same time, Mischeaux opened a coffee shop on Cherokee Street called Black Coffee; Rockwell Knuckles is a silent partner.

The Knuckles released an EP, Good Timing, in 2022, a collection of any kind of weather songs. After Good Timing, Mischeaux told him it was time to get back out there and play with the boys, and he started work on Raytown.

He will perform selections from Raytown at Evolution Festival. The Knuckles will perform a strong half-hour, giving [fans] the raw, broken-down Knuckles  not the show with the cotton candy guy, the dancers and people acting in the background. Were going to go up there, harmonize, wear jumpsuits and boots, and give one hell of a raw Knuckles performance.

Nabbing one of the few spots for St. Louis acts at the debut festival is significant for the duo.

It means a lot, he says. Were grateful they chose us to represent this town on a big show like this. We dont want to disappoint. Were going to give them what we truly are.

What The Knuckles at Evolution Festival  When 4:10 p.m. Aug. 26  Where Lindenwood University Stage, Langenberg Field, 5595 Grand Drive, Forest Park  How much Single-day tickets start at $89.50, two-day tickets start at $169.50; VIP and four-packs available  More info evolutionfestival.com

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In late March, when U.S. Rep. Mike Bost pitched legislation to get federal money for commercial-truck parking spaces, it seemed like one of those bills designed to court Bosts core voters.

Bost, a conservative Republican from Murphysboro, represents far Southern Illinois, including parts of Monroe and St. Clair counties. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014.

A bill for over-the-road truckers seemed like a good fit for a seasoned lawmaker who knows how to bring money home to his district, which also happens to be home to a large number of rural, agricultural and blue-collar folks. To boot, Bost once was involved in his familys trucking business.

But then came July 12, when a deadly wreck near Highland revealed the practical, not to mention public safety, side of Bosts efforts.

Early on that Wednesday, a crash at the Silver Lake rest area outside of Highland killed three of 22 bus passengers and injured 14 others.

The bus was traveling west on Interstate 70 about 1:55 a.m. when it crashed into three tractor-trailers parked on an exit ramp, Illinois State Police said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating to see if the trucks being parked on the exit ramp contributed to the crash.

Trooper Josh Korando of the Illinois State Police told the Post-Dispatch that the truckers had pulled off the highway to sleep, and the tractor-trailers were lined along the right shoulder of a long ramp that heads to the rest area.

The rest areas parking lot for trucks was full at the time, Korando said.

A follow-up story by The Associated Press noted that about 13 million trucks operate on U.S. roadways, and there arent enough overnight parking places to handle that load.

Its absolutely an issue, NTSB board member Tom Chapman told the news service.

That is why Bost is one of the main sponsors of the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Action, which would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the building of new parking spaces dedicated to large trucks.

The bill calls for spending $755 million in the next three years for the improvements.

I understand how difficult it can be when Americas truckers are forced to push that extra mile in search of a safe place to park, Bost said at a press event Monday at the TA Travel Center truck stop in Mt. Vernon.

The new bill, should it pass, would free up funds to create thousands of new spaces and improve existing ones, he said.

Contributing to the truck-parking problem are federal regulations which require the electronic monitoring of the hours truckers spend behind the wheel; and violating those limits can result in hefty fines.

Bost said truckers have been complaining to transportation officials about the large amounts of time they have to spend to find safe parking.

The practice of large rigs parking on ramps is illegal in Illinois and most other states. But according to the AP, police often look the other way, aware of the plight truckers face.

If we expand access to parking options for truckers, we are making our roads safer for all commuters, he said.
France is considered as one of the venues of the global summit of the Peace Formula, said Ambassador of Ukraine to France Vadym Omelchenko.

"France is currently being considered among a small number of countries where a global peace summit can be held. By the way, Emmanuel Macron also said that he is ready to work on attracting the leaders of China, India and Brazil to the forum," Omelchenko said in an interview with LB.ua.

The Ambassador noted that France is ready to work seriously on the implementation of the first point of the Peace Formula  restoration and compliance with radiation and nuclear safety.

"The French leadership informed the Ukrainian authorities about this as soon as President Zelenskyy presented the formula. For France, nuclear energy is a strategic branch. Paris believes that the precedents in Ukraine (Russia's seizure of nuclear power plants and nuclear blackmail by the Kremlin) pose a danger to the whole world, because they can lead to unpredictable consequences," he said.

According to the Ambassador, France is now Ukraine's most important partner in communicating with the leadership of the IAEA.

At the same time, Omelchenko stressed, Macron fully supports the Ukrainian for Peace Formula, which is why the French are talking about the desire to help with the implementation of all its points.

"By the way, French high-level representatives actively participated in the Jeddah forum and held talks with the Ukrainian delegation headed by head of the Presidents Office Andriy Yermak. French diplomats and officials are also actively participating in a new format: discussions with the head of the President's Office and his team on specific points of the Peace Formula  work is underway to develop implementation mechanisms. Since last week, the ambassadors of Ukraine have been involved in this process, who should start the same discussions in the host countries," he said.
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Editors note: This is the second column in a series about the criminal justice system in Warren County. Read the previous column on stltoday.com.

WARRENTON  For nearly five years, Pearl Goldizen has walked under a cloud.

In October 2018, she was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for expired tags. There was marijuana in the trunk.

Goldizen, a single mom of five children, was living in St. Joseph at the time. In March 2019, she was charged with the Class C felony of delivery of a controlled substance. It was the first time she had been arrested, the first time she was charged with a crime.

It came at a precarious time for Missouri courts. About a year after Goldizen was charged, as the case was still making its way through the Warren County system, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most Missouri courthouses and significantly slowed the progress of cases.

Most jurisdictions have since found ways to get caught up, or at least to reduce the number of backed-up cases.

But not Warren County. There, cases that are five years old or longer are still lingering, with people like Goldizen struggling to get their days in court. According to Missouri court records, there were more than 2,800 pending cases in Warren County as of April, a per-capita rate three times higher than neighboring St. Charles County.

For a person with an unresolved felony charge on their record, the delays have serious consequences.

For the last four and a half years now, Ive been just sitting on my hands. I cant get a job because of the criminal charge on my background check, Goldizen says.

She lives in the Kansas City area now, and every few months, she has to drive nearly three hours to Warren County for a court date.

I cant support my family, she says. I thought this was going to be done and over with by now.

Her attorney, Chris Lozano of Chesterfield, says while all courts deal with COVID delays, this is the only county that has this kind of backlog.

The public defenders office hires private attorneys like Lozano to take cases when there is a conflict of interest  such as multiple defendants in a case  or when the office has its own backup.

She cant get a job, Lozano says of Goldizen. She cant get a house. She has found herself completely marginalized because this charge hangs over her head.

The delays have put the constitutional right to a speedy trial in question for many Warren County defendants, while simultaneously creating a public safety problem when people facing violent charges arent held accountable for years.

Everybody in the Warren County court system, from Circuit Court Judge Jason Lamb to Prosecuting Attorney Kelly King to defense attorneys, acknowledges the serious delays in this rural county northwest of St. Louis that is becoming more exurban. According to the most recent U.S. Census numbers, Warren County is the second-fastest growing county in the St. Louis metropolitan statistical area, going from about 35,000 people in 2020 to more than 37,000 last year.

Lamb says the problems in Warren County  including a glut of criminal cases that involve drug addiction or mental health problems  are similar to challenges faced in courts across the country. Lambs courtroom is often packed with cases like this  possession of meth or opioids, or driving while intoxicated, for instance. Defendants come up one by one and often have their cases delayed for weeks, for one reason or another.

I dont think this is unique to us, Lamb says.

He sits on a statewide criminal justice panel that is examining strategies to unclog court dockets. A major part of the discussion, he says, is focusing on people in jail who might better be served with treatment.

Studies have absolutely shown the success of treatment courts and the promise of programs that identify substance abuse and co-occurring mental health issues at an early stage, Lamb says.

His committee is investigating the intercept model, in which police, social workers, attorneys and judges intervene in drug and mental health cases earlier to divert people to treatment before their cases linger. He hopes some of the strategies can be applied in Warren County to reduce the clogged court docket.

But in the meantime, there are dozens of folks awaiting a trial with no clear dates for their days in court.

There may be a system problem

Motions for a speedy trial are an important protection for defendants. They are often filed by defense lawyers when charges linger, and prosecutors have a difficult time proving a case and are unwilling to reduce or drop charges. A failure to meet the speedy trial request can lead a judge or appeals court to dismiss a case because the defendants constitutional rights have been denied.

Since 2020, there have been more than 170 motions for speedy trial filed in Warren County. As of April, nearly 30% of those cases were still pending. Thats three times the percentage of outstanding speedy trial cases than the other two counties in the 12th Judicial Circuit, Montgomery and Audrain. Its also twice as high as other county courts in the region, including Franklin, St. Charles, Lincoln, Pike and Gasconade.

If there are a large number of cases that are not being tried after speedy trial requests, there may be a system problem, says former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff, the dean emeritus at St. Louis University Law School. These congestion delays could be the result of an excess of crimes in the county, or the result of the prosecutor bringing an excessive number of cases of dubious merits.

Defense lawyers argue that the prosecutor, King, is indeed part of the problem.

Lozano believes that Kings unwillingness to offer reasonable plea bargains is one key issue. Its not the first time hes criticized the Warren County prosecutor. Lozano is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marines who spent time as a prosecutor in the militarys Judge Advocate Generals office. I first met him in 2019, when he told me about a Warren County client who spent nearly a year in prison on a probation violation because King charged him with a drug crime on bad evidence.

King dropped the charges on the eve of trial  video evidence cleared the defendant. But by then, he was already back in prison on a probation violation, simply for being charged with a crime. Lozano believes many clients need help for their addictions and criminalizing that addiction doesnt help the person or the justice system.

In that case, Lozano accused King of prosecutorial misconduct for delaying discovery, something the Missouri Supreme Court had chided her for previously. She defended her actions. She does, now, also, as the court system struggles with a glut of cases.

While I do agree that the court is backed up, I have no control over the trial dockets, King emailed in a response to written questions.

The person who does control that docket is Lamb, the judge. He says he takes the request for a speedy trial seriously.

If any defendant asks for a speedy trial, the court will do everything in its power to honor that, Lamb says.

But the judges definition of speedy trial, and that of defense attorneys, is increasingly in conflict.

Over the past few months, Lozano and another contracted public defender  Matthew Mueller  have raised the issue of delays in court documents. In a couple of his cases, Mueller has asked the Missouri Court of Appeals to force Lamb to set a trial date. In one, after the Missouri Supreme Court asked Lamb to respond, he indeed set a court date. That trial took place last week. The jury found Muellers client, Joseph Cisneros, not guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Lozano has taken a different tact. In the cases where Lozano has filed for a speedy trial  but no trial date has been set  hes filed a separate motion asking for a new judge.

There are presently hundreds of cases that have been announced ready for trial but have no assigned trial dates in the Circuit Court of Warren County, Lozano wrote in a court document in April. The failure of the presiding judge to properly administer the trial calendar has created an unsolvable problem for which a change of judge and change of venue for cause is required.

In June, Lamb granted Lozanos requests for a new judge in 17 different cases. A retired judge from St. Charles County, Richard Zerr, has been appointed to handle the cases. Many of those cases are now moving through the system.

Zerr has pressured Kings office to improve its plea bargain offers in some cases. In others, Lozano has entered an open plea on behalf of his clients, leaving their punishment up to Zerr. Some are headed to trial.

But not Goldizen. In mid-July, her legal nightmare finally ended.

Not long after the case was switched from Lamb to Zerr, King dropped the charges entirely. The switch in judges made a difference, Lozano believes. Like most prosecutors in Missouri, King is dropping some old marijuana cases after voters legalized purchase of the substance in November. It makes little sense to keep prosecuting cases involving pot and no other crimes. So why did it take so long?

In Warren County, the wheels of justice turn slowly.
Inmates at the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis took a guard hostage for several hours Tuesday morning.

Detectives said the 70-year-old male corrections officer had no weapon when he was taken hostage at the jail. It wasn't immediately clear if he was injured, police said.

Medics were seen bringing a man out of a stretcher about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, more than two hours into the ordeal. The man, who was wearing a guard's uniform, was conscious and looked haggard as they carted him away.

An hour later, the city's Department of Public Safety confirmed to reporters that the jail officer had been "freed and secured." The city released no other information and scheduled a media briefing for 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Inmates have complained about lack of hot meals, but authorities haven't disclosed what demands, if any, the inmates made as they held the guard hostage or how many inmates were involved.

On Tuesday morning, the jail held 676 inmates, according to the city's website.

Police reported the incident shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday. Police said there was no riot and the hostage ordeal was confined to the fourth floor.

The City Justice Center is at 200 South Tucker Boulevard. The jail has seen several disturbances in recent years, and prison advocates said they were due to poor living conditions at the jail.

In February 2021, for example, about 115 inmates commandeered the fourth floor, set fires, broke windows and hurled furniture and flaming debris onto the street below. They also beat up a guard.

Unlike some of those previous disturbances, there were no exterior signs Tuesday of the ordeal inside the jail. A few officers and workers milled about on the sidewalk in front.

Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, the commissioner of corrections for St. Louis, did not respond to a request for comment.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Police on Tuesday identified the man who died Friday after the car he was driving struck a pole and then a tree in north St. Louis County near Florissant.

Officers were called just after 3 a.m. to the intersection of Shackelford and Wiethaupt roads, police said. There, they found a car engulfed in flames.

Investigators believe Dorian Noble, 30, was driving east on Shackelford Road when he drove into the pole and tree.

Noble was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Noble lived in the 2300 block of Farflung Drive just outside of Florissant, about a mile from the crash site.
ST. LOUIS  Inmates at the downtown jail held a 70-year-old guard hostage for more than two hours early Tuesday.

The guard was taken out on a stretcher about 2  hours later and was treated for minor injuries.

City officials refused to release basic details about the incident, including how the inmates overpowered the guard and how many guards and detainees were involved.

Due to security issues, we would not like to address staffing at this time, Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, the citys corrections commissioner, said during a Zoom news conference Tuesday afternoon. Clemons-Abdullah wore a bulletproof vest inside an office during the Zoom, but she would not say why and only noted that she sometimes wears it.

Clemons-Abdullah said she was not aware of any weapons used during the incident.

Two detainees took the guard hostage during breakfast around 6 a.m., said Charles Coyle, interim director of public safety for the city. Around 8:20 a.m., the police departments SWAT team removed the guard from the jail using less-than-lethal force.

The guard has worked at the jail for five years.

Clemons-Abdullah has come under fire in recent months from the citys civilian jail oversight board in the aftermath of several inmate uprisings at the jail. Board members have complained shes kept them from accessing records and other information to which theyre entitled, and they say she has kept them from touring the facility to investigate complaints.

The Rev. Darryl Gray, a prominent activist and a member of the oversight board, spoke outside the jail after Tuesdays news conference. Accompanied by three of the other eight members of the board, Gray urged more transparency from the jail.

That whole press conference, with all due respect,  was comical, to say the least  and tragic, to say the worst, he said. There were no answers.

Gray argued that basic information like how many guards and detainees were involved should be released right away.

The oversight board said they requested a meeting with Clemons-Abdullah and asked to see surveillance video of the incident. Clemons-Abdullah confirmed in the briefing that officers were not wearing body-worn cameras, but that the department has bought them and will be deploying them soon.

Clemons-Abdullah said during the city briefing that the incident was merely an operational issue, and has nothing to do with oversight.

Gray pushed back on that notion and said operational issues and oversight are not mutually exclusive.

Operations come under oversight, Gray said. And so, unfortunately, the commissioner wants to continue to dismiss oversight.

Clemons-Abdullah noted two inmates who overpowered the guard have a long history of disciplinary issues and said she heard on the police radio that they were making demands for pizza.

Coyle and Clemons-Abdullah said investigators intend to apply for criminal charges against the inmates.

Kim Bell of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  A teen was charged as an adult Monday in a 2022 Spanish Lake drug deal shooting that left a 24-year-old man dead, according to court documents.

Amanuel Taylor-Hutt, now 18, is charged with second-degree murder, delivery of a controlled substance and armed criminal action in the June 29, 2022 killing of Rahmello Stewart.

Taylor-Hutt was 17 at the time of the shooting, but was certified as an adult in the case.

Stewart was shot in the 11900 block of Iguana Terrace, the block where he lived east of Highway 367 in an unincorporated area of North County.

St. Louis County police wrote in court documents that a witness saw Taylor-Hutt fleeing the shooting at about 1:30 a.m.

Taylor-Hutt told police in an interview that he was there to meet Stewart to exchange ecstasy pills for Xanax when he heard a gunshot and saw another person standing over Stewart with a gun, an officer wrote in charging documents.

Cellphone records show Taylor-Hutt was in the vicinity of the crime during the shooting, the officer wrote.

Charges allege that Stewart died as a result of the drug deal. Second-degree murder in Missouri can apply when the commission of a felony leads to a death, even if the defendant didn't directly cause the death.

Taylor-Hutt's cash bail was set Monday at $250,000, no 10% allowed.
ST. LOUIS  A woman was stabbed to death Monday afternoon at a gas station on Delmar Boulevard.

Officers were called to the intersection of Delmar and Goodfellow boulevards just before 3 p.m. for a stabbing.

A woman had been stabbed to death, and a man was taken into custody near the scene.

The intersection is on the border of two neighborhoods  the West End and Skinker-DeBaliviere.

David Carson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
MACON, Mo.  An out-of-state company should be denied a permit to operate a storage lagoon for animal waste collected at meatpacking plants around the Midwest, residents of a central Missouri county told state regulators Monday.

At a packed and sometimes raucous meeting, an estimated 200 farmers, longtime residents and local lawmakers told the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to reject a permit sought by Denali Waste Solutions to use the newly built lagoon in Randolph County to store the sludge.

No way in hell are they ever going to dump this crap on me, said John Luecke, a farmer who owns land adjacent to the proposed facility near Jacksonville.

Denali, which collects waste for companies like Tyson Foods, Conagra Brands and Perdue Farms, wants to use a storage site that will hold up to 15 million gallons of dead animal material and similar waste associated with the meatpacking industry.

The Arkansas-based company typically gives the material away to farmers for free, pumping it into the topsoil and calling it fertilizer. But, they have faced fines and complaints in Missouri and other states for overflowing lagoons, leakage into creeks and strong odors.

DNR Director Dru Buntin, whose agency regulates water and air pollution, signaled the state is limited in its ability to stop the facility based on concerns about odor, traffic or a decrease in land values surrounding the pit.

And, DNR officials told the audience that the plans conform to the states design standards.

It is not expected to leak, said Cindy LePage, an environmental program manager.

Denali also is prohibited from spreading the slurry during rain events or when the ground is frozen to limit its spread into nearby waterways or other farmland.

Local residents werent buying it.

Residents said the company is masquerading as an agribusiness company when they are, instead, a wastewater treatment company, allowing it to take advantage of environmental regulations designed to encourage farming and meatpacking.

Denali is trying to work the system, said Karen McAllister, who lives on a farm less than a mile away from the lagoon.

The project has led to the creation of a group called Citizens of Randolph County Against Pollution, or C.R.A.P. Money has been raised and an environmental attorney, Stephen Jeffery, has been hired.

Randolph County Presiding Commissioner Sidney Conklin also vowed to oppose the permit.

We dont want it in Randolph County, Conklin said.

Lawmakers suggested that the issue needs to be addressed in the coming legislative session.

At the same time Republican leaders in the state are encouraging the meatpacking industry to bring jobs to Missouri, there are gaps in environmental laws that need to be closed.

This is an issue weve got to take seriously, said Rep. Sarah Unsicker, a Democrat from Shrewsbury who is running for attorney general.

Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, said hes received 150 letters and emails with all but one opposing the lagoon.

I hope that it never does get filled, Lewis said to cheers from the audience.

Farmer Greg Jaecques apologized to his neighbors for allowing Denali to spread the waste on his row crop fields in 2020, saying the process was not helpful.

I saw no benefit. It was just a way to get rid of their sludge, Jaecques said.

The company, which did not respond to a request for comment, says it will transport sludge to the lagoon via sealed tanker trucks, with some possibly coming from out of state. The trucks will pull along the side of the lagoon and the truck driver will attach a flexible hose to the truck valve and to an unloading pipe that discharges into the lagoon, the application notes.

The companys application says that the material is expected to form a grease cap that minimizes the exchange of odorous gases.

Public comments on the project close Tuesday and DNR will make a decision on the permit in the coming weeks.
ST. LOUIS  Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on Tuesday announced plans to ban military-grade weapons on city streets, including the prominent AR-15 and AK-47 model rifles.

And before the day was over, the states top law enforcement officer was threatening to stop her.

Jones said a bill will be introduced at the Board of Aldermen in the coming days. The legislation will also aim to stop minors from getting guns, crack down on the proliferation of gun-making kits used to skirt federal possession bans, and rein in random gunfire on New Years Day and the Fourth of July, she said.

Jones acknowledged the bill could prompt blowback from Republicans in state government, who she criticized for dismantling gun regulations and blocking the city from enacting its own. She said she expected the same treatment with the new legislation. But she said people wanted something done.

Were ready to fight like hell at the local level to prevent gun violence, protect our babies, and to keep our communities safe, Jones told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

The announcement marked the citys latest attempt to chip away at a problem that costs it north of 100 lives per year and handicaps efforts to bring new companies and jobs here. It could also address rising concerns about juveniles with guns punctuated earlier this summer when 11 teenagers were shot in a downtown office building.

And it appeared to have support at the board: Five aldermen  Pam Boyd, of Walnut Park East, Shameem Clark Hubbard, of the West End, Tom Oldenburg, of St. Louis Hills, Alisha Sonnier, of Tower Grove East, and Daniela Velazquez, of Shaw  stood alongside Jones as she made her announcement. Aldermen just last month unanimously passed a bill from Alderwoman Cara Spencer, of Marine Villa, to crack down on open-carry in the city.

But on Tuesday, area Republican legislators were unconvinced.

Im going to be skeptical of anything the mayor wants to do on gun control, said State Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester. I believe in our Second Amendment.

State Rep. Jim Murphy, of south St. Louis County, said the mayors plan is illegal under his reading of state law.

She can talk all she wants, he said. She has no right to do it.

He said the city should enforce the laws it has, like curfews for juveniles, instead.

Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the same thing in an email to Jones posted to social media. He vowed to resist any effort to infringe on the right of the people of Missouri to keep and bear arms.

I encourage you to go after criminals, not guns, he wrote.

Even if the proposed regulations are enacted and survive a challenge from the legislature and the courts, their effect could be limited. Despite their prominence in Americas mass shootings, including the incident at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School last year, AR-15s are not commonly used in street shootings. In fact, 90% of the guns seized by St. Louis police last year were pistols, according to department data.

And cities like Chicago have struggled to enforce bans on firearms sales when neighboring jurisdictions have looser laws, which the outlying counties in the St. Louis region are likely to have.

Still, Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, of Tower Grove East, said the city had to try all available options to rein in gun violence. She recalled how the mother of the Central Visual shooter asked police to take away her sons AR-15 before he got into trouble, but police said state law tied their hands.

To live through that situation and not want to do everything you can to change it would be ridiculous, she said.

Rick Rosenfeld, a longtime criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, liked what he saw. It would be good to have fewer AR-15s and AK-47s on the streets, he said. It could also cut into the amount of television footage featuring teens carrying them down city streets, fostering a sense for lawlessness. And anything making it harder for kids to get guns would be a positive step, he said.

No one of them is an immediate solution, he said, but they move us in the right direction.

Rosenfeld is also working on a state ballot initiative that would give St. Louis and other cities far more discretion with their gun laws.

The bill from Spencer, which Jones signed last month, had similar aims to Jones' proposed legislation. Spencer's bill banned the open carry of firearms without a government-issued concealed carry permit, which is not available to minors. But it did not address concealed weapons, which enjoy broad protections under state law.

The new legislation would, Rosenfeld said.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story misstated the number of aldermen at Tuesday's press conference.
ST. LOUIS  The next big thing in the marijuana industry could be coming here soon.

Top city officials are working on a plan to open the doors to cannabis cafes, pot smoking lounges and other establishments where people can consume the plant in public.

If it bears fruit, St. Louis would join a small but growing number of cities taking part in the latest trend in one of the countrys hottest new industries. The move would offer a boost for local entrepreneurs riding the wave of legalization here. It would add tax dollars to city coffers. And, advocates say, it would mark another big milestone in their long push to put weed on the same level as alcohol and tobacco in the eyes of the law.

This is the next frontier, said John Payne, who led the efforts to legalize marijuana in the state.

Aldermanic President Megan Green said discussions at City Hall are in early stages. Officials need to weigh concerns about secondhand smoke, make sure new establishments dont upset their neighbors and, perhaps most importantly, consider the states rules.

Currently, the state restricts marijuana sales to licensed dispensaries  and people are not allowed to consume marijuana on-site there.

But weed entrepreneurs are already dreaming about the possibilities: They could re-create the famed Amsterdam coffee shops, where people smoke joints as casually as they sip their Joe. There could be tie-ins with restaurants, where the entrees come with a dose of THC. Chris Chesley, a co-owner of Star Buds dispensaries in Jefferson and St. Louis counties, mused about a special, temporary permit for a Willie Nelson concert at, say, the Enterprise Center.

I think that would draw a bunch of people, he said.

The push from City Hall is, in some ways, a natural next step for marijuana here.

After 40 years of Just Say No and the war on drugs, St. Louis aldermen started decriminalizing possession in 2013. Five years later, advocates got 66% of voters across the state to legalize the growing and selling of cannabis for medical use. Then last year, those same advocates and a burgeoning industry passed another constitutional amendment and nabbed their Holy Grail: full legalization for people 21 or older.

Now, advocates say, its time to build out a full array of public accommodations. There are already some private dinner clubs in the region, and at least one private lounge. But leaders want marijuana to have public bars and cafes just like the other vices.

Weve always said this should be like beer, said Payne, the legalization leader. And were moving in that direction.

A handful of cities have already taken that step: The first public cannabis cafe in the country opened in Los Angeles four years ago. New York City got its first lounge in 2020. Offerings in Chicago and Colorado just celebrated their first birthdays.

Green, the aldermanic president, would like St. Louis to be next. Legalization has already brought an influx of new retailers, industrial facilities and jobs to the city. Permitting cafes and lounges could boost the industry and the tax base further.

Payne said he could see the new establishments becoming a tourism draw. Missouri dispensaries have already seen people coming from out-of-state to avoid restrictions in Kansas and Arkansas or the higher taxes in Illinois.

Why not stay the night and enjoy the cannabis youre buying here? Payne said.

Green said she hopes to make the new regulations as permissive as possible to take advantage of any reticence in the rest of the region. In St. Louis County, the states most populous, the County Council has yet to take up the issue.

Green and a spokesman for Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said they are working through clean air health concerns and distance requirements from places such as schools, child care centers and places of worship.

But Green said she sees new establishments popping up mostly on existing commercial strips, like Cherokee Street, South Grand Boulevard, the Grove and Washington Avenue downtown.

We already have bars there, she said. And we have clientele there looking for those kinds of options.

Its unclear what exactly those options will look like. But the industry is already figuring out ways to work around state rules barring use at dispensaries:

For instance, an owner could set up a coffee shop, bar or restaurant in another building next door, said Chesley, the dispensary owner. Customers could sit down at their table and order delivery on an iPad. Then the product could be brought out to be smoked, vaporized or infused into the food on order in the kitchen.

Youd probably have to jump through hoops to get it done, Chesley said. But there are a lot of ideas out there.

Green said shes hoping to have a draft of the proposal to the citys planning commission this fall. If approved, it would then go to the Board of Aldermen.
ST. CHARLES COUNTY  The teen charged in the shooting death earlier this year of his 15-year-old girlfriend in St. Charles will serve time in the juvenile corrections system.

The 17-year-old boy is accused of arranging to sell marijuana to two other teens, both of whom have been charged as adults, before the two other teens tried to rob him and opened fire, killing Lydia Elking, of Lake Saint Louis. The Post-Dispatch is not naming the 17-year-old boy because his case stayed in juvenile court, and he was sentenced to serve time with the Missouri Division of Youth Services.

Division of Youth Services is not a punishment. This system is about rehabilitating young people so that they can become productive members of society, and I think that given all of the factors, this is most effective outcome in this case, St. Charles County Circuit Court Judge Rebeca Navarro-McKelvey said at the teens sentencing Monday.

The teen, also from Lake Saint Louis, pleaded guilty in July to second-degree involuntary manslaughter and distribution of a controlled substance in Lydias Feb. 18 death. His sentence does not include a specific amount of time hell be in the facility; rather, he will serve until the juvenile program deems he is rehabilitated, Navarro-McKelvey said.

In testimony ahead of Mondays sentencing, Lydias mother, Kerry Keeven, described her daughters boyfriend as a good person.

Im here doing what I believe Lydia would want me to do, Keeven said. I cant even imagine that he needs to be sent away.

Keeven, the teens father, a former juvenile court official, and an employee from a third-party company that had provided mental health and drug treatment programs to the teen all testified Monday on his behalf.

As he previously testified in court, the boyfriend drove Lydia to Oak Avenue in St. Charles for a drug deal with Alex Mason, of St. Charles. The boyfriend was told to drive to a second location. There, authorities say, the intended buyer and another teen, later identified as Trevon Gully, attempted to rob the boyfriend. The teens are accused of opening fire as the boyfriend drove away, killing Lydia.

Both Mason and Gully are charged with murder in Lydias death. Their cases are ongoing.

Court officials said Monday the boyfriend had an amount of marijuana worth about $300 at the time of the shooting, and he was later found to have $500 in cash on him despite being unemployed at the time.

When one engages in this kind of action, they do so knowing that it becomes completely unpredictable about what might happen. I have no doubt that this was not his intent, but unfortunately, because of his decision, someone paid for it with their lives, Navarro-McKelvey said.

The judge also said the teen had violated the terms of his pre-sentencing release by drinking alcohol around the Fourth of July.

After Navarro-McKelveys ruling, family members of the teen shouted at court officials about 20 St. Charles County police officers in the court room, accusing the officers of being corrupt and saying they used to support police but not anymore.
Over 30 Outreach Partners Have Joined Gloo to Connect More People to Local Ministries

NEWS PROVIDED BY Gloo

Aug. 22, 2023BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 / Standard Newswire / -- Gloo, the leading technology platform dedicated to connecting the faith ecosystem and releasing its collective might, announced that it just surpassed its 30th outreach partner, intersecting hundreds of thousands of people looking for ways to get connected to community, prayer, and help.Outreach partners are individuals or organizations that focus on creating transformational experiences for people and helping them grow. Partners span a spectrum of approaches, from worship concert experiences and radio ministries to digital and print advertising and online ministry outreach. "Partners are incredible at meeting and serving people right where they are," said Devon Kline, director of the Gloo Explorer Connection Platform. "But after people experience that spark, they are often ready to go deeper. It's not always sustainable for outreach partners to keep the relationship going. But for local ministries  that's exactly what they were made to do."The Gloo platform enables these connections between "explorers," outreach partner experiences, and local ministries. Its match technology pairs explorers with local ministries so they can get connected and ultimately get the help they are looking for. So far, Gloo has connected over 250,000 explorers with local ministries."Every ministry has its own unique calling, mission, talents, and strengths. When it comes to co-serving one person along a growth journey, we're seeing outreach partners and local ministries coming together to do that holistically. It's incredible to see the 'Big C' Church working together in this way," said Kline.She added: "But at the heart of this story is the person stepping forward asking to get connected. They're the unsung heroes here. It takes a lot of courage to step forward and ask for help. With over 250,000 explorers connected to local ministries, we start to see collective might at work."Outreach partners using Gloo connect across a diverse group of explorers and include the He Gets Us movement, Churches Care , and K-Love radio, to name a few.Lucas Tuttle, a director with Life Promotions, which produces the well-known Lifest Christian music festival, tested Gloo for himself to see if the platform could serve concertgoers looking for connection. "I scanned the test QR code and texted, 'Hey, I just accepted Christ,'" he said. "Within an hour, a church reached out to me with a beautiful message, saying, 'Hey, I'm so happy for you. Really, really excited. Can't wait to hear more about what God's doing in your life, and I just want to celebrate with you.' I knew a solution this simple could really help with our ministry."Gloo continues to expand its ability to match more explorers with local ministries. As part of its expansion, Gloo is signing new outreach partners to its platform every month.To learn more about the Gloo outreach initiative, please visit https://www.gloo.us/reach is the trusted platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. As the leading technology innovator, Gloo connects people, partners, world-class content, funding opportunities, and more to help ministries achieve their goals and change more lives. Gloo is based in Boulder, Colorado, employing a team of more than 150 people.SOURCE GlooCONTACT: Jennie Bryant, jennie.bryant@pinkston.co
Ukraine has returned five seriously wounded defenders from Russian captivity, head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) Yuriy Taraniuk said.

"Ukraine has repatriated five seriously wounded defenders from captivity of the Russian Federation," the Military Media Center Telegram channel reported with reference to Taraniuk on Tuesday.

According to him, before the creation of the mixed medical commissions, the responsibility for determining the diagnoses of prisoners of war, for their repatriation, if necessary, lies with the national medical commissions.

"Ukraine has fully fulfilled and is fulfilling its obligations. For example, on March 24, 2023, we unilaterally repatriated five seriously wounded prisoners who fell under the diagnoses of the Geneva Conventions. I would like to note that in response, Russia also handed over five prisoners to our side ... But I note that they were completely healthy, which casts doubt on the work of the Russian medical commissions," Taraniuk said at a briefing at the Military Media Center.
ALBANY, N.Y.  Gannett Co. Inc., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, is facing a lawsuit claiming its efforts to diversify newsrooms led to discrimination against white workers.

The proposed class action was filed in Virginia federal court on Friday by five current and former Gannett employees who say they were fired or passed over for promotions to make room for less-qualified women and minorities.

The plaintiffs say those decisions were driven by a policy announced in 2020 under which Gannett aims to have its newsrooms reflect the demographics of the communities they cover by 2025.

Gannett has also tied executive bonuses and promotions to success meeting the goals outlined in the policy, according to the lawsuit.

Gannett executed their reverse race discrimination policy with a callous indifference towards civil rights laws or the welfare of the workers, and prospective workers, whose lives would be upended by it, the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.

Polly Grunfeld Sack, Virginia-based Gannetts chief legal counsel, said the company always seeks to recruit and retain the most qualified workers.

We will vigorously defend our practice of ensuring equal opportunities for all our valued employees against this meritless lawsuit, Sack said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes amid growing backlash to increasingly prevalent corporate diversity policies. Unlike other pending cases brought by conservative groups, the claims against Gannett were filed directly by the companys employees.

Starbucks Corp., Target Corp., and Progressive Insurance are among the companies that have faced shareholder lawsuits challenging diversity programs. A group founded by former Trump administration officials has filed more than a dozen complaints with a federal anti-bias agency accusing large companies of discriminating against white and male workers.

Many experts expect an uptick in such challenges following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down race-conscious college admissions policies. On Tuesday, a group formed by conservative activist Edward Blum, who spearheaded the Supreme Court case, sued two major U.S. law firms over fellowships they offer to racial minorities and LGBT people.

The lawsuit against Gannett notes that the Supreme Court said in the decision that eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.

In the lawsuit, plaintiff Steven Bradley says he was fired from a management job at the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper in Rochester, New York, and then passed over for a different position with Gannett because he is white.

Bradley in April filed a similar lawsuit against Gannett in New York state court. The status of that case was unclear.

Another plaintiff, Logan Barry, says he was in line for promotion to a leadership position at the Progress-Index in Petersburg, Virginia. After Gannett acquired the newspaper in 2019, the job went to a Black woman with fewer qualifications, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs accused Gannett of violating a federal law prohibiting race discrimination in contracts. They are seeking to require Gannett to eliminate the 2020 policy, along with lost pay and benefits and other money damages.

Gannett owns two papers in Missouri: the Columbia Daily Tribune and the Springfield News-Leader.
NEW YORK  FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with directing $40 million in bribes to one or more Chinese officials to unfreeze assets relating to his cryptocurrency business in a newly rewritten indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The charge of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act raises to 13 the number of charges Bankman-Fried faces after he was arrested in the Bahamas in December and brought to the United States soon afterward. The indictment was returned on Monday.

The charge also contains language revealing that a fifth arrest was imminent in what U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has repeatedly described as a continuing investigation. That unidentified individual, according to the indictment, participated in the bribery conspiracy with Bankman-Fried and will be arrested in the Southern District of New York."

FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run on the global cryptocurrency exchange. He has remained free on a $250 million personal recognizance bond that lets him stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors out of billions of dollars before his business collapsed.

An arraignment on the rewritten indictment was set for Thursday by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. He also on Tuesday banned Bankman-Fried from communicating with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research, its affiliated cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm. The order also limits Bankman-Fried to one laptop and phone and bans him from encrypted communications or other cellphones, computers or smart devices with internet access.

The alleged bribes stemmed from the operation of Alameda Research. The indictment said Chinese law enforcement authorities in early 2021 froze certain Alameda cryptocurrency trading accounts containing about $1 billion in cryptocurrency on two of China's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bankman-Fried, 31, understood that the accounts had been frozen by Chinese authorities as part of an ongoing probe of a particular Alameda trading counterparty, the indictment said.

After Bankman-Fried failed multiple attempts over several months to unfreeze the accounts through methods including using lawyers to lobby, Bankman-Fried ultimately agreed to direct a multimillion dollar bribe to try to unfreeze the accounts, the indictment said.

Among failed attempts, the indictment said Bankman-Fried and others he directed opened new fraudulent accounts on the Chinese exchanges using personal identifying information of several individuals unaffiliated with FTX or Alameda to try to evade freeze orders and move cryptocurrency from frozen accounts to the fraudulent accounts.

A portion of the bribe payment of cryptocurrency, then worth about $40 million, was moved from Alameda's main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet in November 2021 and the frozen accounts were unfrozen at about the same time, the indictment said.

After Bankman-Fried received confirmation that the accounts were unfrozen, he authorized the transfer of additional tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to complete the bribe, according to the indictment.

Among those already charged in the case is Carolyn Ellison, Alameda's former chief executive. She has agreed to testify against Bankman-Fried, as have two former FTX executives who have pleaded guilty in cooperation deals with the government.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Messages for comment were also sent to the Chinese consulate in New York and the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C.

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LAHAINA, Hawaii  Authorities in Hawaii on Tuesday pleaded with relatives of those missing after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century to give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the rubble.

Some 1,000 to 1,100 names remain on a tentative, unconfirmed list of people unaccounted for after wildfires destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina on Maui. The family assistance center so far has collected DNA samples from just 104 families, said Julie French, who is helping lead efforts to identify remains by DNA analysis.

Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin, who is running the center, said the number of family members coming in to provide DNA samples is "a lot lower than they've seen in other disasters," though it wasn't immediately clear why.

"That's our concern, that's why I'm here today, that's why I'm asking for this help," he said.

Martin sought to reassure people that any samples would be used only to help identify victims of the fires and would not be entered into any law enforcement databases or used for any other purpose. People also would not be asked about their immigration status or U.S. citizenship, he said.

"What we want to do  all we want to do  is help people locate and identify their unaccounted-for loved ones," he said.

Two weeks after the flames tore through Lahaina, officials are facing huge challenges to determine how many of those perished and how many may have made it to safety but haven't checked in.

Something similar happened after a wildfire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, California. Authorities in Butte County, home to Paradise, ultimately published a list of the missing in the local newspaper, a decision that helped identify scores of people who had made it out alive but were listed as missing. Within a month, the list dropped from 1,300 names to only a dozen.

"I probably had, at any given time, 10 to 15 detectives who were assigned to nothing but trying to account for people who were unaccounted for," Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. "At one point the local editor of our newspaper  said, 'Hey, if you give me the names, I will print them.' And at that point it was like, 'Absolutely. Anything that we can do to help out.'"

Hawaii officials expressed concern that by releasing a list of the missing, they would also identify some people who died. In an email Tuesday, the State Joint Information Center called it "a standard held by all law enforcement and first responders here in Hawaii, out of compassion and courtesy for the families, to withhold the names until the families can be contacted."

As of Monday, there were 115 people confirmed dead, according to Maui police. All single-story, residential properties in the disaster area were searched, and teams transitioned to searching multistory residential and commercial properties, Maui County officials said in an update late Monday.

There are widely varying accounts of the tally of the missing. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Sunday that more than 1,000 remained unaccounted for. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a prerecorded video on Instagram that the number was 850. During President Joe Biden's tour of the devastation on Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall put it between 500 and 800.

An unofficial, crowd-sourced spreadsheet of missing people posted online listed nearly 700 names as of Tuesday.

Roseanna Samartano of Lahaina said she didn't know anyone was looking for her until an FBI agent phoned her a few days ago to say she was on a missing persons list.

"I was shocked. Why is the FBI calling me?" the 77-year-old retiree said. "But then he came out with it right away, and then I kind of calmed down."

A friend reported her missing because he'd been unable to get in touch despite calling, texting and emailing. Her neighborhood of Kahana  which didn't burn  had no power, cellphone service or internet in the days after the fires.

Questions are also emerging about how quickly the names of the dead are being publicly released, even after family members have been notified. Maui residents are growing increasingly frustrated as the search for their loved ones drags on.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday that the Maui Police Department instructed the medical examiner in Honolulu  where some burn patients were taken for treatment  not to release the names of anyone who dies from injuries sustained in Lahaina fire. The request came after one severely burned patient died and the man's name appeared in media reports after notification of his next of kin.

"I don't know why they aren't releasing the names," Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner Supervising Investigator Theresa Reynolds told the newspaper.

Clifford Abihai said he feels like he's getting the run-around from authorities. He came to Maui from California to find answers about his grandmother, Louise Abihai, 98. As of Tuesday, he said, he still had learned nothing further.

His grandmother lived at Hale Mahaolu Eono, a senior living facility where another member of his extended family, Virginia Dofa, lived. Authorities identified Dofa as one who perished. Abihai described Dofa and Louise Abihai as best friends.

He said his grandmother could walk a mile a day but it was often hard to reach her because she'd often turn off her cellphone to save battery power.

Confirming whether those who are unaccounted for are deceased can be difficult. Fire experts say it's possible some bodies were cremated in the Lahaina fire, potentially leaving no bones left to identify through DNA tests.

Photos show Lahaina before and after wildfire devastation
Both of Missouris Republican U.S. senators last week endorsed the premise that the states voters should be able to weigh in on the strict abortion ban put in place last year. They also expressed support for exceptions for rape and incest victims, which the new law doesnt allow.

Have Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt suddenly gone all wobbly on the GOPs relentless campaign to stamp out every last vestige of biological self-determination for Americas women?

Not necessarily. But they both can follow referendum results and read polls  and those indicators overwhelmingly signal that Republicans in the post-Roe v. Wade world have vastly overreached in their anti-choice policies, to the point that even red-state voters are starting to rebel.

Thus the efforts in Missouri and other Republican-held states to make it more difficult for voters to protect abortion rights by referendum. Its a cynical strategy that the voters of Ohio saw right through earlier this month, when they soundly defeated a measure that would have raised new barriers against a pending effort to pass such a referendum there.

Republicans in the Missouri Legislature this year similarly tried to move the goalposts to hamper a pending abortion-rights referendum effort here, and they are expected to try again.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have filed suit over the Missouri referendum effort, making a ludicrous legal argument designed to stall the process long enough to keep it off the ballot next year. And Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft continues his own cynical stalling tactics with deliberately biased ballot language (in blatant disregard of his statutory duty), which has spawned still more litigation.

The motive for all this anti-democracy mischief is obvious: Polls indicate that in Missouri, as in most of America, voters would endorse reasonable abortion rights if given the chance at an up-or-down vote  as voters in a half-dozen states, including deep-red Kansas and Kentucky, have demonstrated since Roe was overturned last year.

So anti-choice forces are pulling out all the stops to make sure the voters dont get to be heard. Of course, that sounds bad even to most of those who oppose abortion rights. Which explains why Hawley and Schmitt last week both appeared to distance themselves from the most extreme efforts of their party on this issue.

I think voters ought to be able to weigh in and in every state and jurisdiction they want to, Hawley said at the state fair in Sedalia, as reported by the Post-Dispatchs Jack Suntrup. Schmitt said it is inevitable that the question will be presented to Missouri voters at some point. Both specified that they favor exceptions to the state abortion ban for the victims of rape and incest.

Missouris law, as strict as any in the nation, bans the procedure from the moment of conception, with no exceptions but for vaguely defined medical emergencies. Doctors who violate the ban can face 15 years in prison.

Neither of the senators is known for moderation on culture-war issues, but both have practical reasons for backing away from the extremists on this one.

Hawley is up for reelection next year and could well find himself on a ballot that also asks Missourians to weigh in on abortion rights.

And Schmitt is as closely associated with Missouris extreme ban as anyone  a fact that seems to suddenly have him nervous.

After Roes reversal last year, Schmitt, in his official capacity then as the states attorney general, made a point of formally launching Missouris previously passed ban immediately and then crowing about it.

With the Dobbs decision just handed down and a stroke of my pen  Missouri became the first state to effectively end abortion and has become the most Pro Life state in America, he tweeted then.

Schmitts take on the issue last week was notably less enthusiastic: As attorney general, my job was, by statute, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, to issue the legal opinion setting the abortion ban in motion.

Picture that on a fundraising letter.

If Hawley and Schmitt truly believe voters should have their say on this crucial issue, they should call out their fellow Missouri Republicans to stop sabotaging the referendum effort. If they dont, theyre complicit in that sabotage.
The United States recently revealed that two American sailors were arrested and charged with spying for China. Both men were ethnic Chinese who were born in China but grew up in the United States, and one had applied to become a naturalized citizen. Both men provided confidential, not highly classified information, including technical manuals used by sailors to do their jobs on various warships. The two sailors also provided details on planned deployments of some ships. The mother of one of the sailors encouraged her son to cooperate with Chinese intelligence because that might enable him to move back to China and get a better civilian job. That will have to wait until they are out of custody. Both men were jailed pending trial because both were considered a flight (to China) risk.

Despite years of growing numbers of arrests and prosecutions of Americans accused of spying for China, the Chinese persist. While ethnic Chinese Americans are prime targets for Chinese recruiters of pies or informants, any foreigners with pro-Chinese attitudes are potential candidates for Chinese intelligence officers looking for potential recruits.

A favorite tactic of Chinese intel officers is to arrange for a financial arrangement between Chinese organizations and people China considers potential candidates for Chinese intelligence sources. Much of this effort is concentrated in large English speaking nations like the United States and Britain that have many trading relationships with Chinese firms and institutions. Western universities and faculty were always a prime target because these institutions and their key staff are not seen as a major target for Chinese influence operations. China understands that the staff of universities in the West are recognized by locals as a source of expert opinion on many matters. These faculty members can also be influenced by gifts of cash. These are not called gifts or, more accurately, bribes. Rather the money is considered a grant to support further academic studies on one subject or another. China arranges large grants. Government and popular opposition to these programs has not eliminated them, just forced China to change how it implements the program. While Western intelligence agencies remain alert and aware of this program, few others in government or academia seem to be concerned. After several years of indifference by university administrators towards requests to monitor and block Chinese influence efforts, governments are becoming more energetic and aggressive about this.

This was a return to methods last employed three years ago. For example, in 2020 an American and two Chinese were indicted for secretly providing China with U.S. technology. The American was Charles Lieber, head of the Harvard Chemistry and Chemical Biology department. He was accused of secretly establishing a working relationship with a Chinese university at Wuhan. Lieber established research efforts at Harvard, recruiting top scientists to work on projects of interest to China and secretly passing research results to China. He also received millions of dollars from China to further this research. During the FBI investigation Lieber repeatedly lied about these activities, which did not prevent the FBI from eventually gathering all they needed to arrest Lieber and indict him. It is rare for China to convince a senior American academic, like Harvard department head Charles Lieber, to get involved in illegal research projects. Why Lieber got involved in such blatantly illegal activities was not disclosed and details probably wont emerge until his trial.

Also indicted for Harvard related espionage was a Chinese citizen, Zheng Zaosong, who was studying at Harvard on a student visa and was accused of trying to smuggle 21 vials of biological material and research data back to China. The third defendant was Yanqing Yeh, a Chinese student at nearby Boston University. She was also an active duty lieutenant in the Chinese Army who was supervised by a colonel at a Chinese military academy that was working on new technology for the Chinese military. This school was on an American list of Chinese educational institutions that were banned from working with anyone in the United States. Yeh was also caught trying to smuggle research data back to China. Yeh had lied about her military status when she applied for a student visa, asserting that she had been discharged from the army and left out her connections with the banned (in the U.S.) Chinese military academy she was working for as an army officer. She was also accused of being an unregistered foreign agent. Among the items uncovered by the FBI was that Yeh had been assigned to investigate one American academic at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School who was researching computer security. Given how active China has been using hackers to steal valuable data from the United States, that particular assignment was ominous. Yeah had presented herself as a student but further investigation showed she was a very active Chinese spy.

It is illegal for American academics and researchers to secretly work for Chinese government or commercial firms. These restrictions wont trigger similar measures for Americans in China because China has long assigned police and intel specialists to closely observe who visiting Americans visit. This surveillance often involves MSS (secret police) agents advising Chinese to refuse such meetings or only do it with an MSS agent present, usually pretending to be an employee of the firm.

Meanwhile, China has been making the most of their access. One recent FBI investigation documented the use of the Chinese Confucius Institute's cultural centers at American universities and how these programs were actually part of a widespread intelligence operation that employed visa fraud for Chinese visiting scholars who were actually MSS operatives. This program recruited Chinese-born businessmen, academics and others, often naturalized American citizens, to participate in IP (Intellectual property) theft. Further encouragement was that some of these operatives could sometimes profit from it personally. Not all these recruits knew they were participating in espionage but the Chinese could effectively pressure their citizens to cooperate. Worse, the FBI discovered that many of the Chinese in the U.S. on J-1 visas (for visiting scholars) spent most of their time on espionage and a bare minimum on actual research.

As successful as this espionage effort was, most of the Chinese-Americans approached by recruiters were not interested and politely declined. More importantly, many of them quietly reported their encounters to the FBI or to friends they knew could do it for them. The Chinese knew these alerts to the FBI posed a risk but considered it an acceptable risk given the amount of intellectual property that was being stolen and put to work back in China. The same thing happens when China seeks to recruit informants or spies in the American armed forces.

The United States has been prosecuting and convicting a growing number of Chinese-born men (and a few women) conspiring to commit or actually carrying out economic espionage in the United States. Some of these suspects are naturalized American citizens but a growing number are Chinese citizens here on legitimate visas. As more suspects were identified patterns began to appear which revealed the inner workings of known Chinese intellectual property espionage efforts.

It was known that China had a state-sponsored program to make it easy for foreign-educated Chinese to return home and apply what they had learned in the West to start their own companies. China offered billions of dollars in venture capital for this program. This made it easier for Chinese moving back to China from the West to establish their own companies using what they learned in the West. This program helped create thousands of new firms. Many of these firms were using stolen trade secrets and patents that were being laundered. That is, changed sufficiently to make it difficult for the owners of the stolen intellectual property to easily prove theft.

The FBI and CIA again noted several interesting patterns. While many of the returning Chinese students were operating legally, a large number of those new Chinese firms were operating illegally by depending on stolen intellectual property. There were other patterns as well. A lot of the stolen tech seemed to involve Chinese and Americans associated with various Chinese efforts that helped returning Chinese to profit from what they had learned in the West. These programs involved establishing hundreds of Confucius Institutes associated with Western universities, including a hundred in the United States. That, plus the aggressive recruiting of Chinese and non-Chinese academics willing to help China mobilize the largest IP theft in history.

Participating in this program has become riskier. The growing number of convictions are for conspiring to steal or actually stealing trade secrets. Many of the technologies involved are dual-use; for commercial and military applications. Many of these investigations begin when American companies provided the FBI with documentation showing how the Chinese obtained and applied the trade secrets. What the American firms usually lack is information about who was getting the information, often including detailed manufacturing techniques, to the Chinese. The U.S. is not the only victim here. Many other Western nations are experiencing the same losses. Even Chinese neighbor and ally Russia has suffered heavy losses due to this Chinese economic espionage.

There have been a lot more court cases about this because Chinese firms have become bolder in how they exploit stolen software, trade secrets and other technology. In the past, the Chinese were careful in the use of stolen tech when exporting their own military equipment copied from Russian designs. The Chinese had started doing this during the Cold War, which sometimes got fairly hot (there were some deadly border skirmishes in the 1970s) because China and Russia developed some territorial and ideological disputes that did not settle down until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

The Russians are still angry about the continued Chinese theft of their tech, and growing Russian threats over this caused the Chinese to sign agreements in the last decade that declared Chinese firms would stop stealing and reselling Russian tech. In practice, this only slowed the Chinese down, but it placated the Russians for a while. Currently, the Americans are starting to sound like the Russians in the 1990s, but the Americans have more legal and economic clout to deploy and this situation is liable to get ugly before (if ever) it gets better.

By 2012 most American officials had come to openly admit that a whole lot of American military and commercial technical data has been stolen via Chinese Internet (and more conventional) espionage efforts. Details of exactly all the evidence of this is unclear, but apparently, it was pretty convincing for many American politicians and senior officials who had previously been skeptical. The Chinese efforts have resulted in most major American weapons systems having tech details obtained by the Chinese, in addition to a lot of non-defense or dual-use technology. Its not just the United States that is being hit but most nations with anything worth stealing. Many of these nations are noticing that China is the source of most of this espionage and few are content to remain silent any longer.

Its no secret that Chinese intelligence collecting efforts since the late 1990s have been spectacularly successful. As the rest of the world comes to realize the extent of this success, there is a growing desire for retaliation. What form that payback takes remains to be seen. Collecting information, both military and commercial, often means breaking laws and striking (or hacking) back at the suspected attackers will involve even more felonies. China has broken a lot of laws. Technically, China has committed acts of war because of the degree to which it penetrated military networks and carried away copies of highly secret material. The U.S. and many other victims have been warning China there will be consequences. As the extent of Chinese espionage becomes known and understood, the call for consequences becomes louder.

China tries hard to conceal its espionage efforts. Not just denying anything and everything connected to its hacking and conventional spying but also taking precautions. But as their success continued year after year, some of the Chinese hackers became cocky and sloppy. At the same time, the victims became more adept at detecting Chinese efforts and tracing them back to specific Chinese government organizations or non-government hackers inside China.

Undeterred, China has sought to keep its espionage effort going and has even expanded operations. For example, starting in 2008 China opened National Intelligence Colleges in many major universities. In effect, each of these is an "Espionage Department" where, each year, several hundred carefully selected applicants are accepted in each school, to be trained as spies and intelligence operatives. China has found that espionage is an enormously profitable way to obtain military and commercial secrets and now China trains and rewards those who have a talent for such things and make a career of it. The Internet-based operations, however, are only one part of Chinas espionage efforts.

While Chinese Cyber War operations in this area get a lot of publicity, the more conventional spying brings in a lot of stuff that is not reachable on the Internet. One indicator of this effort is the fact that American counter-intelligence efforts are snagging more Chinese spies. This is partly due to increased spying efforts by China, which puts more of their people out there to get caught, as well as more success by the FBI and CIA. All this espionage, in all its forms, has played a large part in turning China into one of the mightiest industrial and military powers on the planet. China is having a hard time hiding the source of the new technologies they are incorporating into their weapons and commercial products. Many of the victims initially had a hard time accepting the fact that the oh-so-eager (to export) Chinese were robbing their best customers of intellectual property on a grand scale. Now Western firms are a lot more wary about dealing with the Chinese.

China has been getting away with something the Soviet Union never accomplished, stealing Western technology and then using it to move ahead of the West. The Soviets lacked the many essential supporting industries found in the West. These firms were largely founded and run by entrepreneurs, which was illegal in the Soviet Union.) Because of that, the Russians were never able to acquire all the many pieces needed to match Western technical accomplishments. Soviet copies of American computers, for example, were crude, less reliable, and less powerful. It was the same situation with their jet fighters, tanks, and warships.

China got around this by making it seemingly profitable for Western firms to set up factories in China, where Chinese managers and workers were taught how to make things right. At the same time, China allows thousands of their best students to go to the United States to study. While many of these students will stay in America, where there are better jobs and more opportunities, a growing number are coming back to China and bringing American business and technical skills with them. Finally, China energetically uses the "thousand grains of sand" approach to espionage. This involves China trying to get all Chinese going overseas, and those of Chinese ancestry living outside the motherland, to spy for China, if only a tiny bit.

This approach to espionage is nothing new. Other nations have used similar systems for centuries. What is unusual is the scale of the Chinese effort, and that makes a difference. Supporting it all is a Chinese intelligence bureaucracy back home that is huge, with nearly 100,000 people working just to keep track of the many Chinese overseas and what they could, or should, be trying to grab for the motherland. This is where many of the graduates of the National Intelligence College program will work.

It begins when Chinese intelligence officials examine who is going overseas and for what purpose. Chinese citizens cannot leave the country legally without state security organizations being notified. The intel people are not being asked to give permission. They are being alerted in case they want to have a talk with students, tourists, or business people before leaving the country. Interviews are often held when these people come back as well.

Those who might be coming in contact with useful information are asked to remember what they saw or bring back souvenirs (legal or otherwise). There are over 700,000 Chinese students attending foreign universities. Even more Chinese go abroad as tourists or on business. Most of these people were not asked to actually act as spies but simply to share, with Chinese government officials, who are not always identified as intelligence personnel, whatever information they obtained. The more ambitious of these people are getting caught and prosecuted. But the majority are quite casual and individually bring back relatively little and are almost impossible to catch, much less prosecute.

Like the Russians, the Chinese are also employing the traditional methods, using people with diplomatic immunity to recruit spies and offering cash, or whatever, to get people to sell them information. This is still effective and when combined with the "thousand grains of sand" method brings in a lot of secrets.

Not getting caught is becoming more important because that can lead to increasingly dangerous diplomatic and legal problems. When the Chinese steal some technology and produce something that the Western victims can prove was stolen via patents and prior use of the technology, legal action can make it impossible, or very difficult, to sell anything using the stolen tech outside of China. For that reason, the Chinese long preferred stealing military technology and tried to avoid using stolen commercial tech in a way that made it easy to determine the source of stolen data. This meant keeping stolen commercial tech inside China. And in some cases, like manufacturing technology, there's an advantage to not selling it outside of China. Because China is still a communist dictatorship, the courts do as they are told, and they are rarely told to honor foreign patent claims when stolen tech is discovered in China by its foreign owners.

Increasingly, Chinese firms are boldly using their stolen technology, daring foreign firms to try and use Chinese courts to get justice. Instead, the foreign firms are trying to muster support from their governments for lawsuits outside China. Naturally, the Chinese government will howl and insist that its all a plot to oppress China. This has worked for a long time, but many of the victims are now telling China that this conflict is being taken to a new, and more dangerous, level.
Teradek Launches New Prism Mobile Backpack for IBC: The 5G Mobile Broadcasting Solution

Teradek just announced their newest launch for IBC 2023: the Prism Mobile Backpack. This backpack is the next-generation Bond backpack and is the 5G mobile broadcasting solution for 4K HDR video contribution from the field. The Backpack features Teradeks

Irvine, California( )

Teradek launches the Prism Mobile Backpack, a 5G mobile broadcasting solution for 4K HDR video contribution from the field.

The Prism Mobile Backpack makes streaming on location easier and more reliable than ever with up to 6 simultaneous cellular connections over 5G and LTE networks. The Backpack features Teradeks award-winning Prism Mobile 4K bonded cellular encoder, as well as up to 4x Node 5G modems, which provide global, high-speed connectivity.

The Backpack is perfect for global news gathering and live event coverage on location, especially when traditional network connectivity like WiFi isnt available. Teradek designed Prism Mobile Backpack to provide maximum flexibility for customers, allowing them to swap modems, encoders, and power at will. That means smaller organizations can start with a more affordable build, while larger organizations can scale it to their needs.

With the Prism Mobile Backpack, broadcasters can:

Feed live video back to headquarters or directly to a designated destination over 6x 5G / LTE modems

Swap modems, encoders, and batteries on demand to meet the demands of any event

Upload recordings from the field directly to camera-to-cloud platforms such as Frame.io, Sony C3P, and Sony Ci

Monitor and distribute live feeds from Teradeks Core Cloud platform

Prism Mobile has seen great adoption within the industry, but we often receive requests for more connectivity options, said Tyler Riddle, Product Manager at Teradek. Our new Backpacks triple the cellular connectivity of a standard Prism Mobile and with 5G support, speeds are substantially faster. We think this is a solution that will help customers take their productions to the next level.

The Prism Mobile Backpack is available for purchase today. Visit http://tdek.co/pm-backpack-pr to connect with the Teradek team.

About Teradek

Teradek designs and manufactures high-performance, award-winning video solutions for live production, broadcast, and general imaging applications. From wireless monitoring and live streaming, to SaaS solutions and IP video distribution, Teradek technology is used around the world by professionals and enterprises to capture and share compelling content. www.teradek.com
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / CNH Industrial

CNH Industrial has long been a pioneer in innovation for agribusiness, construction and financial services through its brands Case IH, New Holland Agriculture, New Holland Construction, CASE Construction Equipment, Raven and CNH Industrial Capital. On August 1st, the company was elected the most innovative in the Automotive and Large Vehicle Sector and the tenth most innovative in Brazil for the Valor Inovaao 2023 Award. The award ceremony took place in Sao Paulo and brought together companies from the 25 categories evaluated.

The achievement exhibits the maturation of the company's culture of innovation. "This award is the result of day-to-day work, of small and large innovations made by our entire team. We are committed to exceeding market expectations with differentiated solutions for our customers, to develop and make the agricultural and construction sectors increasingly productive and sustainable," said Rafael Miotto, president of CNH Industrial for Latin America.

CNH Industrial has participated in the ranking since 2015, always being among the most innovative in the country and among the leaders of its sector. This year is the fourth time that the company has been in the leadership position, two of them consecutive (2022 and 2023).

In its 9th edition, the Valor Inovacao Award evaluates the innovation practices of companies operating in Brazil in different economic activities. The award is promoted by Strategy& - PwC's strategic consultancy - and the newspaper Valor Economico. According to the organization, CNH Industrial stood out for its patents - it was the private company that filed the most in 2022.

In recent years, CNH Industrial has made important acquisitions valuing the evolution of products and solutions in the sectors in which it operates. In 2021, it acquired Raven Industries, a North American leader in precision agriculture technology. This year, they acquired Hemisphere, one of the global leaders in satellite geolocation systems; took majority control of Bennamann, a British company specializing in disruptive solutions for the circular economy in agriculture; and acquired Augmenta, which operates innovative spraying technology. "It gives you an idea of what we're envisioning for the future and where we want to go. They bring competitive advantage to act in a complete way in precision technology. We want to be leaders in new agriculture and new construction, bringing intelligence to the field and to the construction site," added Miotto.

From left to right: Gregory Riordan, Director of Digital Technologies for Latin America; Darilene Raftopulos, Head of Human Resources for Latin America; Rafael Miotto, President for Latin America; Laura Overall, Vice President of Worldwide Corporate Communications; Carlos Visconti, Open Innovation Manager for Latin America; and Gabriela Lobo, Head of Corporate Communications for Latin America.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH Industrial on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: CNH Industrial

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cnh-industrial

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: CNH Industrial

View source version on accesswire.com:
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSXV:HAN)(OTC PINK:HANNF) announces the granting of stock options to directors, officers and investor relations consultants of the Company to acquire an aggregate of 3,485,000 common shares of the Company, exercisable at C$0.25 per common share, for a period of 5 years.

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV:HAN) (OTCPK: HANNF)

Hannan Metals Limited is a natural resources and exploration company developing sustainable resources of metal needed to meet the transition to a low carbon economy. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Europe and Peru. Hannan is a top ten in-country explorer by area in Peru.



On behalf of the Board,

"Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO Further Information

www.hannanmetals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

Mariana Bermudez, Corporate Secretary,

+1 (604) 685 9316, [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news.

SOURCE: Hannan Metals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:
Acquisition Expands Reach of Momentum's Managed Network Offering

ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Momentum, a leading global provider of managed cloud services and next-gen managed network solutions, today announced that it has completed its transaction to acquire Asset Black, a Savannah, Ga.-based managed network provider.

"Today, Momentum and Asset Black unite, merging our strengths and teams into a powerful force for innovation and success," said Todd Zittrouer, CEO at Momentum. "This strategic acquisition opens the combined companies to remarkable opportunities and reinforces our commitment to growth."

"We're thrilled to be joining a leading global managed cloud services provider that closely aligns with our core mission and values," said Asset Black CEO, Mark Weeks, "and we are looking forward to continuing our legacy of excellence and celebrating the future successes of the combined company." Mark joins the Momentum executive leadership team to continue to drive sales and service in the financial services vertical.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Advisors to Momentum on the transaction included: G2 Capital Advisors, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, and Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP.

About Momentum:

Momentum is a leading global managed cloud services provider, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions including cloud voice, global connectivity, and managed network solutions including SD-WAN. With a customer-centric approach and history of delivering exceptional results, Momentum empowers businesses to thrive in today's digital landscape.

Contact Information

Elizabeth Hildreth

VP, Marketing

[email protected]

SOURCE: Momentum Telecom

View source version on accesswire.com:
Ukraine announces the creation of mixed medical commissions for the exchange of prisoners, said representative of the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Yusov.

"This will help free Ukrainian prisoners and help the enemy return their prisoners. This is the third time in world history when such an initiative will be implemented," he said at a briefing at the Military Media Center on Tuesday.

According to the Geneva Conventions, three doctors are involved in the commission: one doctor from the country that holds prisoners of war, and two doctors from neutral countries.

The representative of the Coordination Headquarters emphasized that Ukraine had previously quickly returned seriously wounded Russians.

"Ukraine is a democratic country that respects international law. We are obliged to ensure proper treatment of all prisoners of war, regardless of their nationality," Yusov said.

He stressed the importance of this step for the release of prisoners and expressed gratitude to everyone who participated in the implementation of this initiative.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / NOA Lithium Brines Inc. (TSXV:NOAL)(FSE:N7N) ("NOA" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of founders and existing Board members Hernan Zaballa as Executive Chairman and Gabriel Rubacha as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company. Current President and CEO Taj Singh will move to the role of Strategic Advisor and will also continue on as the Company's Qualified Person (QP). These changes will take effect on September 1, 2023. This planned transition is aligned with the Company's increasing levels of activities in Argentina and the technical advancement of its projects. The Company plans to accelerate its drill program on the Rio Grande project in order to deliver a maiden resource estimate in the first half of 2024 as well as kick-off an initial drill program at the Company's Arizaro project over the next few months. Mr. Zaballa and Mr. Rubacha are both residents of Argentina with significant in-country experience and have been directing operations in Argentina for the Company to date (see biographies below).

Taj Singh commented: "NOA has advanced dramatically over the past year, with opportunistic asset acquisitions as a private company, completion of its reverse-takeover and going-public transaction, successful funding rounds, and most recently the release of its first drilling results from the Rio Grande project. This move strengthens our management and operational presence in Argentina and as a team member and shareholder I am delighted to have someone with Gabriel's experience to lead the Company. He is highly networked throughout South America and has significant previous experience at key lithium operations in Argentina. I am eager to continue collaborating with him and the team to enhance the Company's value."

Mr. Gabriel Rubacha (Biography)

Mr. Rubacha has over 30 years of engineering and construction experience, with over two decades at Techint Group, a multibillion-dollar Argentinian conglomerate. Most recently, for 5 years, Mr. Rubacha was CEO at Minera Exar SA (joint venture between Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd and Lithium Americas Corp.) and President of South American Operations at Lithium Americas Corp. Mr. Rubacha holds an International MBA, a Master's degree in Strategic Management, and an Engineering degree. Mr. Rubacha also completed executive programs at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Hernan Zaballa (Biography)

Mr. Zaballa is a senior partner at Zaballa Carchio Abogados in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with over 30 years of legal experience focused primarily on the mining industry. Mr. Zaballa has served on the local Board of Directors for companies such as Barrick Gold Corporation, Pan American Silver Corporation, Northern Orion Resources Inc., and Penoles. Over the past 7 years, he successfully co-founded Huayra Minerals Corp. and Abrasilver Resource Corp. Mr. Zaballa is the former Executive Chairman and current Board member at AbraSilver Resource Corp. and is currently a Vice-President and Board member at Minera Exar SA.

About NOA Lithium Brines Inc.

NOA is a lithium exploration and development company formed to acquire assets with significant resource potential. All NOA's projects are in the heart of the prolific Lithium Triangle, in the mining-friendly province of Salta, Argentina, near a multitude of projects and operations owned by industry leaders. NOA has rapidly consolidated one of the largest lithium brine claim portfolios in this region that is not owned by a producing company, with key positions on three prospective salars (Rio Grande, Arizaro, Salinas Grandes) and a total portfolio of approximately 100,000 hectares.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Hernan Zaballa

Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

For Further Information on the Company

Website: www.noalithium.com

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 416-568-1027

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. All statements within this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements including, but not limited to NOA's future plans and objectives regarding its projects, which constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although NOA believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in market prices, including lithium prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. NOA does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable laws.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE: NOA Lithium Brines Inc.

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / When asked to respond to the meeting materials posted by Northwest Copper's management in preparation for the September 19 Annual Meeting Mr. Sawiak said:

"Shareholders have a simple choice to determine how they should vote. They can either spend an hour reading approximately 100 pages of materials that contain incomplete facts presented in an out of context manner concerning the dissident slate of directors or they can compare the share price under what was essentially the same board 2 years ago ($0.75) compared to today ($0.17) and calculate how much of their personal worth the current board has made disappear."

Mr. Sawiak also confirmed that his slate of directors will remain the same as was originally announced on May 23 of this year including David Moore. Mr. Sawiak then stated:

"I have been asked repeatedly why I propose to keep David Moore as a director despite his highly emotional and unprofessional attacks on people he doesn't know and who comprise my slate of directors. The answer is that in my view Mr. Moore is the only senior person left at NWST who hasn't left or been fired by the current board and who can be said to have any shred of a corporate memory, in geological terms. Notwithstanding that, if he chooses to leave when we win, we have people ready to replace him and our nominees have the experience and expertise to use existing data to recreate that "memory."

Mr. Sawiak, who only started soliciting proxies last week, also said that he was encouraged by the tens of millions of shares that people from all across Canada have indicated they wish to vote in his favour to remove the current board.

IF YOU WISH TO VOTE WITH MR. SAWIAK TO CHANGE THE BOARD OF NWST YOU MUST CONTACT HIM BY:

1. CALLING HIM AT 1.416.917.2816; OR

2. EMAILING HIM AT [email protected]

ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, 2023.

Information in Support of Public Broadcast Solicitation

The Concerned Shareholder is relying on the exemptions contained in Section 9.2(2) and Section 9.2(4) of National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations to solicit proxies from no more than 15 securityholders and by soliciting proxies by broadcast, speech or publication. The Concerned Shareholder may also choose to file a dissident information circular in due course in compliance with applicable securities laws. A copy of the press release and the Nominating Shareholder Notice which collectively contains all information on the Concerned Shareholder's Nominees as required by National Instrument 51-102 and Form 51-102F5 were filed on SEDAR+ on August 4, 2023 and are available for viewing there.

The information contained herein, and any solicitation made by the Concerned Shareholder in advance of the Meeting, is or will be, as applicable, made by the Concerned Shareholder and not by or on behalf of the management of NWST. All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by the Concerned Shareholder and by Mr. John Kimmel (the "Solicitors"), provided that, subject to applicable law, the Solicitors may seek reimbursement from NWST of the Concerned Shareholder's out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees, incurred in connection with a successful reconstitution of the Company's board of directors. Other than in respect of their beneficial ownership, control or direction of securities of the Corporation described above, none of the Solicitors or any of their associates or affiliates has any material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership of securities or otherwise, in any matter to be acted upon at the Meeting other than the election of directors.

A Registered Shareholder who has given a Proxy may revoke the Proxy by: (a) completing and signing a Proxy bearing a later date and depositing it at the offices of Odyssey, 350- 409 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 1T2 or and following the online voting instructions given to you no later than 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on the second Business Day preceding the date of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof; (b) depositing an instrument in writing executed by the Registered Shareholder or by the Registered Shareholder's attorney duly authorized in writing or, if the Registered Shareholder is a body corporate, by a duly authorized officer or attorney either with Odyssey, 350-409 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 1T2 at any time up to and including the last Business Day preceding the day of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof or with the Chair of the Meeting prior to the commencement of the Meeting on the day of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof; or (c) in any other manner permitted by Law. Such instrument will not be effective with respect to any matter on which a vote has already been cast pursuant to such Proxy. If a Registered Shareholder who has submitted a Proxy attends the Meeting, any votes cast by such Registered Shareholder on a ballot at the Meeting will be counted and the submitted Proxy will be disregarded.

Only Registered Shareholders have the right to revoke a Proxy. Non-Registered Shareholders that wish to change their voting instructions must, in sufficient time in advance of the Meeting, contact their Intermediary to arrange to change their voting instructions.

The Concerned Shareholder has engaged Shorecrest Group Ltd. to act as proxy solicitor in respect of this matter and will incur expenses of up to $120K plus out of pocket expenses. The Concerned Shareholder may engage the services of one or more other agents and authorize other persons to assist in soliciting proxies on behalf of the Concerned Shareholder. Any proxies solicited by or on behalf of the Concerned Shareholder, including by any other agent retained by the Concerned Shareholder, may be solicited in any other manner permitted under Canadian corporate and securities laws. Any such proxies may be revoked by instrument in writing executed by a shareholder or by his or her attorney authorized in writing or, if the shareholder is a body corporate, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized or by any other manner permitted by law.

The head office of NWST is located at Suite 1900, 1055 West Hastings Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 2E9. A copy of this press release may be obtained on NWST's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.com.

For more information contact:

Grant Sawiak

416.917.2816

SOURCE: Grant Sawiak

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Grande River Vineyards celebrates increased Colorado distribution in Front Range grocery stores with experienced sommelier and Sales Manager, Victoria P. Roberts.

PALISADE, CO / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / Victoria P. Roberts will lead the wholesale sales effort for the Grande River Vineyards brand on Colorado's Front Range, owner Richard Tally has announced.

Grande River Vineyards

Tally, who owns parent company Ten Acre Winery LLC along with his wife Jean and daughter Anne, emphasizes the necessity of a concerted effort to get Grande River wines before consumers. The Tallys bought the historic GRV winery, which was the fifth winery to be licensed by the state, from founder Stephen Smith in June 2021.The family also owns the adjacent Victorian-style boutique hotel Colorado Wine Country Inn, creating a Wine Estate destination for guests. "Although we retained the Grande River name, we are a brand-new, from-scratch, start-up company," Tally explains. "Consumers need more accessibility to our wines, and Victoria is the right person to get the job done." Tally cites Roberts' prior experience as owner of a successful luxury real estate brokerage firm as well as her knowledge of wine and food as key advantages to growing sales on the front range.

"Since we hired Victoria as Sales Manager, we've seen dramatic improvements in our wine sales on the front range," Tally explains. "And she's just getting started." Besides serving prior accounts, Roberts has worked closely with Republic National Distributing Co., which represents TAW/GRV, in getting Grande River's labels on the shelves of such big-box stores as Applejacks, Total Wine and others. Additionally, she has sold five GRV varietals to be included in a major Colorado wines promotion by the largest grocery store chain in the state.

Roberts passionately believes that GRV wines reflect the subtlety of Old World wines because winemaker Rainer Thoma is European trained and certified and has plied his trade for over 30 years both in Europe and the U.S. Roberts knows her wines. She earned a WSET-London Level 3 Wine Expert rating as well as an International Wine & Spirits Guild Executive Wine Sommelier. She holds a BA degree from Yale and an MBA in Business Administration. Recently retired from her former company, Roberts says she was intrigued to explore a new path in an area she loves: wine and food. As Front Range Sales Manager, she hit the ground running and hasn't slowed down. "There is so much potential for growth and building our brand," Roberts emphasizes. "I see good things on the horizon for Grande River Vineyards. The sky's the limit."

Contact Information

Daniel Vice

Manager

[email protected]

970-464-5868

Victoria Roberts

Front Range Sales Manager

[email protected]

303-916-7957

SOURCE: Grande River Vineyards

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / FedEx Corporation

As we celebrate World Water Week August 20-24, we are proud to come alongside nonprofit organizations like Water Mission who work to bring safe water solutions to those in need around the world.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2 billion people around the world lack access to safe water. This global water crisis significantly affects those in remote areas of developing countries, like 12-year-old Mussa who lives in Igamba, Tanzania (pictured above).

Mussa is very familiar with the water challenges his community faces. Like most children, he spent his childhood days walking to the lake and waiting in long lines to gather water. This contaminated water made many in the community, including Mussa, sick from water-related illnesses.

With support from FedEx, Water Mission (a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions) completed a safe water project in Igamba serving nearly 4,000 people.

When Mussa learned Water Mission was starting a safe water project in Igamba, he got excited and hopeful for the future. "I will be happy and the whole community will be happy because Igamba's major problem will be solved," Mussa shared.

With the project's completion, water from a drilled well is treated, pumped to a storage tank using solar power, and made available at tap stands throughout the community. Safe water is now easily accessible, improving people's health and giving the community hope for the future.

"With the aid of FedEx's shipping solutions, we can get supplies like solar panels and water treatment systems to some of the neediest areas of the world," said Water Mission President and CEO George C. Greene IV, PE. "We are grateful for our long-standing relationship and the commitment of FedEx to help us fight the global water crisis."

To learn more about how Water Mission is serving men, women, and children around the world, you may visit watermission.org.

Photo credit: Water Mission

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: FedEx Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex-corporation

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: FedEx Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Banner Health and nference, a science-first software company transforming healthcare by making biomedical data computable, today announced a partnership to accelerate scientific discovery to improve treatment, diagnosis, and care.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822542860/en/

By incorporating nferences state-of-the-art analytics capabilities, Banner Health and its researchers can gain valuable insight into diseases and treatments, adapting the practice of medicine to meet the needs of its communities.

Were excited to embark on this innovative partnership that will unlock the insights from our data to further personalize the ways we deliver care to our patients, said Scott Nordlund, Executive Vice President Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Banner Health. This partnership will support our own efforts to improve the care patients receive in our diverse clinical settings and benefit other researchers with global impact on diagnosis and treatment.

nferences Federated Analytics Platform enables researchers and clinicians to derive meaningful insights from proprietary longitudinal clinical datasets, transforming discovery and accelerating development while preserving patient privacy. The platform provides insights from the deepest, de-identified, multimodal (electronic health record, imaging, electrocardiogram) dataset available across therapeutic areas. These include cardiology, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, metabolic diseases, and infectious diseases by leveraging the companys Federated AI network.

Our collaboration with Banner Health is an exciting addition to our unique federated network, said Murali Aravamudan, co-founder and CEO of nference. Banner Health brings comprehensive, multimodal data from a geographically and ethnically diverse patient population to our network that will provide more potent insight generation, offering researchers the option to examine more inclusive data.

nferences agreement with Banner Health builds on recent collaborations with other leading academic medical centers, accelerating nferences mission to expand its federated network, which is scalable and structured to encourage and facilitate collaboration among healthcare systems and biopharmaceutical researchers.

About nference

Through its powerful technology platform and software, nference is transforming healthcare by making biomedical knowledge computable. Its partnerships with major academic medical centers empower nference to synthesize decades of institutional knowledge, producing real-world evidence (RWE) in real time by converting large amounts of de-identified data into deep insights to advance discovery and development of diagnostics and therapeutics. Its proprietary AI-enabled software platform, nSights, harnesses the power of federated learning to accelerate life sciences research, development, and clinical care in significant ways, including biomarker discovery and validation, RWE generation leveraging real-world data, early disease detection, public health policy generation and validation, and more. nference is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. Follow nference on LinkedIn and Twitter. Visit us at www.nference.com.

About Banner Health

Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 30 acute-care hospitals, Banner also operates an academic medicine division, Banner  University Medicine, and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a partnership with one of the worlds leading cancer programs, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banners array of services includes a health insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits and patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822542860/en/

nference:

Andrea Sampson, Sampson Public Relations Group

[email protected]

562.304.0301

Banner Health:

Media Relations

[email protected]

Source: nference
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Black Hat, the producer of the cybersecurity industrys most established and in-depth security events, today announced the successful completion of the in-person component of Black Hat USA 2023. The event welcomed more than 22,750 unique attendees, with 19,750 joining in-person at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, while more than 3,000 registered for On-Demand Access to the event.

Security professionals from 127 countries registered to attend the event and experience firsthand the latest in research, development, and trends in Information Security (InfoSec), through 92 deeply technical hands-on Trainings and 98 Briefings presenting the latest research and vulnerability disclosures.

We look forward to Black Hat USA every year and the opportunity to connect in person with our community, Partners, and Sponsors, said Steve Wylie, Vice President, Cybersecurity Market Group at Informa Tech. We appreciate everyone who makes the journey to Las Vegas each August to attend Black Hat USA, and it is our hope that all attendees leave the event feeling energized from making new connections and from learning actionable information and best practices from the greatest minds in the security industry.

Show highlights for 2023 included:

 Keynotes: The three Keynotes this year included Maria Markstedter, Founder of Azeria Labs; Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Victor Zhora, Deputy Chairman of Ukraine's State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection; and Kemba Walden, Acting National Cyber Director in the Office of the National Cyber Director, and Jason Healey, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University's School for International and Public Affairs. All Keynotes featured in-depth discussions into the current state of the cybersecurity landscape.

 Omdia Analyst Summit: The third annual Omdia Analyst Summit featured the industrys leading cybersecurity analysts, focused on the theme, "Maximum Attention, Minimum Budget." The Omdia team surfaced valuable insights from its latest Cybersecurity Decision Maker survey, alongside the latest cybersecurity trends, market updates, observations, projections, and insights through a series of presentations, panels, and fireside chats.

 Business Hall: This years Business Hall welcomed more than 440 of the industrys leading information security solution providers, showcasing their latest products and technologies to attendees on-site, both on and off the Business Hall floor. The Business Hall also featured focused areas for attendee, vendor, and community engagement through Arsenal, Sponsored Sessions, the Community Lounge, Community Program, Meet & Greet sessions, and the Meetup Lounge.

 Startup Spotlight Competition: The Black Hat Startup Spotlight Competition is a video pitch contest for cybersecurity startup companies interested in presenting their products and solutions in front of a live audience at Black Hat USA. During Black Hat USA 2023, the top four finalists each had the opportunity to pitch the benefits of their respective products and/or solutions to the panel of judges, and then answer follow-up questions from the judges in real time. Additionally, all finalists were invited to exhibit at Black Hat USA 2023 and received a 10-minute scheduled speaking slot and 30-minute call with an Omdia Cybersecurity Analyst. Once all finalists presented and the judges deliberated, the 2022 winner, Phylum, officially announced Mobb as the winner for 2023.

 Scholarships: As a way to introduce the next generation of security professionals to the Black Hat community, Black Hat awarded a total of 306 complimentary Black Hat USA 2023 Briefings passes. Black Hat holds its own annual Student and Veteran Scholarship programs, partnering with a variety of associations on additional scholarship opportunities.

 Network Operations Center (NOC): As a key component of Black Hat USA, the Black Hat Network Operations Center (NOC) provided a high security, high availability network in an intensely demanding environment. Each year, the hand-selected NOC team meets before Black Hat USA to incorporate the latest infrastructure and security solutions into a workable network design. Black Hat attendees may then visit the NOC for a glimpse into this state-of-the-art network.

Top Partners and Sponsors of Black Hat USA 2023 include:

Titanium Sponsors: CrowdStrike, Darktrace, KnowBe4, Qualys, and SentinelOne; Diamond Sponsors: Armis, BlackBerry, Cisco, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, Sophos, Tenable, Trellix, Trend Micro, and VMware Carbon Black; Global Partners: Adaptive Shield, Akamai, Appdome, ARCON, Armis, Binalyze, Bugcrowd, Contrast Security, Corellium, CYBER RANGES, DataDome, INE, KnowBe4, Kondukto, ManageEngine, Snyk, Sonar, Swimlane, Synopsys, Veracode, and wolfSSL; Sustaining Partners: Akamai, Armis, Axonius, Cisco, Claroty, CrowdStrike, IBM, Kandji, KnowBe4, Lacework, ManageEngine, Microsoft, Mimecast, Pentera, ServiceNow, Snyk, Sysdig, VMware Carbon Black, Wiz, and XM Cyber.

For more information on Black Hat events, please visit https://www.blackhat.com.

About Black Hat

For over 25 years, Black Hat has provided attendees with the very latest in information security research, development, and trends. These high-profile global events and trainings are driven by the needs of the security community, striving to bring together the best minds in the industry. Black Hat inspires professionals at all career levels, encouraging growth and collaboration among academia, world-class researchers, and leaders in the public and private sectors. Black Hat Briefings and Trainings are held annually in the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia. More information is available at: blackhat.com. Black Hat is brought to you by Informa Tech.

About Informa Tech

Informa Tech is a market leading provider of integrated research, media, training, and events to the global Technology community. We're an international business of more than 600 colleagues, operating in more than 20 markets. Our aim is to inspire the Technology community to design, build, and run a better digital world through research, media, training, and event brands that inform, educate, and connect. Over 7,000 professionals subscribe to our research, with 225,000 delegates attending our events and over 18,000 students participating in our training programmes each year, and nearly 4 million people visiting our digital communities each month. For more information, please visit www.informatech.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822890048/en/

PRESS

Stephanie DeAngelo, Informa Tech

619.510.1564

[email protected]

Source: Black Hat
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Braverman Greenspun P.C., the premier legal advisor to condominium and cooperative boards in New York, has added two attorneys who each bring nearly two decades of experience and extend the firms capabilities in significant ways. Jillian Menna, a veteran insurance attorney, will assist clients with complex claims and other insurance issues. Daniella Zelefsky, a seasoned advisor on condo and co-op developments, will work with developer and condo board clients. Both join Braverman Greenspun as of counsel in New York.

The additions that we have made to the firm today make an ideal enhancement to our existing practice, broadening both our client base and the services we provide them. Jillian and Daniella are widely admired, absolute professionals, who are both wonderful people, said Braverman Greenspun managing partner Robert Braverman. Braverman Greenspun and our clients are lucky to have them.

Menna also serves as the general counsel at Genatt V Insurance Solutions, an insurance brokerage, where she has concentrated on assisting condos and co-ops with complex claims, underwriting matters, and other insurance-related issues. Her experience includes representation of insurance carriers, policyholders, and brokerages, giving her a comprehensive perspective on the insurance negotiations and disputes that condos and co-ops inevitably face. She is also an experienced mediator who serves as a panel neutral for the Eastern District of New York, the Suffolk County Commercial Division, and the Nassau County State Supreme Court.

Zelefsky has spent almost 20 years specializing in condo and co-op law. Beyond traditional advising, Zelefsky takes a uniquely hands-on approach, guiding developers in the creation of intricate mixed-use projects often incorporating retail, office, parking, and community facility units. She assists clients throughout every step of the development process, including testing the market, drafting offering plans, preparing no-action applications, and handling sponsor closings. She also advises condo and co-op boards on all aspects of their operation, including refinancing mortgages, navigating intricate leasing matters, and negotiating access agreements.

The arrival of Menna and Zelefsky marks the firms second significant expansion this year. In February, Braverman Greenspun combined with Finder Novick Kerrigan LLP, a highly regarded boutique with a history of influential work in co-op and condo law. The combination cemented the status of Braverman Greenspun, which represents more than 300 buildings in the tri-state area, including a number of New York Citys most exclusive residential properties, as the premier legal adviser to condominiums and cooperatives in New York.

About Braverman Greenspun P.C.

Braverman Greenspun P.C. was founded in 1968 as one of the first law firms in New York dedicated to providing legal services to cooperatives, condominiums, shareholders, and unit owners. Five decades later, the firms commitment to its core practice remains unchanged, and Braverman Greenspun is regarded as an industry leader in the field of condominium and cooperative law. The firm is counsel to more than 300 cooperatives and condominiums in the New York metropolitan area and also represents the interests of individual shareholders and unit owners on a wide range of matters, including corporate governance, litigation, contracts, and real estate transactions. For more information, please visit www.braverlaw.net.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822163479/en/

Samantha Paradise

[email protected]

917.232.1253

Source: Braverman Greenspun P.C.
U.S. Department of Energy funding to be used to scale engineered atmospheric carbon removal

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CarbonCapture Inc. (CarbonCapture) and a team of strategic partners today announced that they have been selected to receive $12.5 million in funding by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate the development of a megaton-scale direct air capture (DAC) hub in Southwest Wyoming. The first phase of the project includes a FEED study for a DAC facility that captures 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, which will be permanently sequestered in geologic formations by anchor partner Frontier Carbon Solutions, or used as a feedstock in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by anchor partner Twelve. Additional partners include the University of Wyoming, Fluor, Carbon Direct, INTERA, EPRI, Carbon-Based Consulting, Icarus, and Novus Energy Advisors.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822840089/en/

The Wyoming Regional Direct Air Capture Hub, led by CarbonCapture Inc., has been selected to receive $12.5 million in funding by the DOE. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Were extremely grateful for the DOEs support of our efforts to establish Wyoming as a global center of excellence for direct air capture, said Adrian Corless, CEO and CTO of CarbonCapture Inc. This funding will accelerate both the deployment of megaton-scale DAC capacity in Wyoming and the emergence of a new carbon management industry in the region.

In May 2022, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $3.5 billion to a DOE program aimed at establishing multiple megaton-level regional DAC hubs. The Wyoming hub, spearheaded by CarbonCapture, stands as one of five projects selected to receive DOE support under Topic Area 2.

In the initial phase of the Wyoming DAC hub project, the team will conduct preliminary engineering studies for a DAC carbon removal facility and SAF production plant, as well as develop an infrastructure plan for transporting captured CO2 to sequestration and utilization sites.

"Collaboration is essential for creating a just, regenerative, and climate-positive future. We look forward to working together in Wyoming to revolutionize the transformation of captured CO2 into valuable products through the integration of DAC technology," Nicholas Flanders, CEO & Co-Founder of Twelve.

In addition, the Wyoming DAC hub team will develop a comprehensive community benefits plan that encompasses investments in workforce development, support for Wyoming Tribes, conservation efforts, and community-backed infrastructure initiatives. A key objective of the project is to ensure that the emerging DAC industry aligns with the culture and values of Wyomings local communities.

The community benefits plan for the DAC hub is an important opportunity for us to partner with the communities of Southwest Wyoming while building out the DAC industry, says School of Energy Resources (SER) Research Scientist and UW lead Selena Gerace. SER has long engaged with Wyomings energy communities on novel technologies and will continue to do so alongside CarbonCapture. DAC can be an important part of economic diversification for the state. Ensuring strong community engagement and partnerships at early stages is vital for this industry to be successful.

The DOE also selected three additional projects in which CarbonCapture will be an anchor or co-anchor DAC technology provider: the Southwest Regional Direct Air Capture Hub (AZ), the Aera Direct Air Capture Hub (CA), and the Illinois Basin Regional DAC Hub (IL).

About CarbonCapture Inc.

CarbonCapture develops and deploys direct air capture (DAC) machines that can be connected in large arrays to remove massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With a groundbreaking modular open systems architecture (MOSA), the companys technology platform allows for plug-and-play upgrades, mass production, unlimited scalability, and rapid technology iterations. CarbonCaptures systems capture atmospheric carbon dioxide for either permanent removal or for utilization in low-carbon synthetic fuels, concrete, and other industrial products.

For more information, please visit carboncapture.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822840089/en/

[email protected]

Source: CarbonCapture Inc.
DOVER, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As part of a strategic land management modernization effort, the City of Covina, California, has selected Claritis Community Development Software to improve the end-to-end experience for customers and staff. Implementation of the platform is underway, led by trusted Clariti partner Speridian Technologies.

Located in Los Angeles County, Covina is home to approximately 50,000 residents and is one of the oldest cities in the county.

In 2022, the city brought in $1.3 million in building permitting revenue, and on average, issues 1,000 building permits and conducts 8,000 inspections each year.

Currently, most of the citys approval and review processes are manual, which was the primary driver in their search for new permit software.

Customers cant access information or services online, staff have to print out hard copy paper sets to complete reviews, and both customers and staff are spending a lot of time communicating back and forth by phone or email.

Katrina Caro from the citys Building and Safety Department says she sends anywhere from 30 to 40 emails to applicants each day, and receives just as many from customers looking for general information or project updates - all of which will decrease significantly once their new system is live.

With the permitting software modernization project, the city will completely transform their permitting, planning, inspections, and code enforcement processes, enabling staff to complete concurrent reviews and approvals digitally via one back-office platform, and customers to access services and information online via an intuitive online citizen portal.

Were thrilled to provide a fully-equipped community development platform to support the citys goal of automating its manual processes and improving the customer and staff experience, says Clariti Co-CEO, Cyrus Symoom.

About Clariti

Claritis government software helps North Americas largest and fastest growing communities deliver exceptional community development, permitting, and licensing experiences online.

Founded in 2008, Clariti is built as an alternative to code-heavy, non-configurable systems that create technology barriers for governments to meet their communitys evolving needs. Our software is trusted by government agencies that serve over 150 million people across North America.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822616477/en/

Jeremy Bosch

VP, Marketing

Clariti

[email protected]

Source: Clariti
EVERETT, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Compass Health recently welcomed Dr. Kathryn Gilligan, who joins the community behavioral health organization as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). In her role as CMO, Gilligan works with clients, staff and community partners to support equitable access to care, integrate services and expand robust programs for people experiencing mental health and substance abuse needs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822420860/en/

Headshot of Dr. Kathryn Gilligan. (Photo: Business Wire)

We couldnt be more excited to welcome Dr. Gilligan to our team, said Tom Sebastian, president and CEO of Compass Health. With a passion for and commitment to behavioral health, as well as an extensive background teaching the next generation of healthcare professionals, Dr. Gilligans impressive combination of skills and experience makes her an ideal fit for this role.

With the hiring of Gilligan, Compass Health continues to focus on ways it can break down barriers to care for the community members it serves: low-income adults and youth. Additionally, Gilligan aims to expand upon the organizations work in creating a more integrated model of care to better support whole-person health  a model that strengthens collaboration across behavioral health and medical providers at Compass Health, allowing them to meet the mental and physical needs of its clients.

As the largest community behavioral health provider in Northwest Washington, Compass Health operates at a size and scale that enables our team to really make a regionwide impact, Gilligan said. I feel compelled to dedicate my time, experience and effort to helping the organization grow and expand in areas it hasnt before, and to make sure were leveraging every avenue to expand access to our services.

Gilligan joins Compass Health after serving as the medical director of behavioral health at Providence Medical Group in Everett and has over ten years of experience as an inpatient and outpatient psychiatrist. For five years, she taught at the Washington State University College of Medicine, where she was the direct supervisor of 3rd and 4th year medical students. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Ohio State University and received her bachelors degree in fine arts from the University of Cincinnati.

Gilligan brings strong connections with local, regional and state leaders and stakeholders in healthcare. In her most recent role, she helped lead a committee  co-chaired by Compass Health and Providence  that met monthly to bring together area hospitals, first responders and school representatives. They focus on promoting the well-being of medical staff providers by helping to ensure their long-term success within the healthcare community. Now, she will continue to lead the committee in her role as Compass Healths CMO.

Delivering whole-person care is a collective effort, and Dr. Gilligan brings a new and exciting dynamic to our team, said Stacey Alles, chief operating officer at Compass Health. Im excited to work alongside Dr. Gilligan and the rest of our clinical team to continue to integrate care within our organization  and to foster connections with our partners across the region.

Building on relationships developed by its leadership team, including Gilligan, Compass Health remains focused on recruiting healthcare professionals and strengthening relationships with community service members, including therapists and counselors, school organizations, EMT providers and other local healthcare providers.

Behavioral health is such an exciting and rewarding field to be a part of, Gilligan said. Im really looking forward to helping make a positive and lasting impact across the Northwest Washington region and beyond.

To learn more about Gilligan and Compass Health, visit: https://www.compasshealth.org/

About Compass Health

Compass Health is Northwest Washingtons behavioral healthcare leader. A community-based healthcare agency, Compass Health integrates behavioral health and medical care services to form a key section of the community safety net and serve clients and others in need of care and support. From comprehensive mental health treatment to crisis prevention and intervention, supportive housing, childrens services, community education and much more, the non-profit organization serves people of all ages throughout Snohomish, Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Whatcom counties.

Learn more: www.compasshealth.org

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822420860/en/

Jaki Brophy (425) 209-6920

Compass Health

[email protected]

Annie Alley (206) 466-2713

Firmani + Associates Inc.

[email protected]

Source: Compass Health
AzerTelecom and Kazakhtelecom leading telecommunication operators of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan continue joint efforts in implementing the Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic cable line, which is one of the major components of mega Digital Silk Way project.

Within the cooperative framework, AzerTelecom from the Azerbaijan side and Kazakhtelecom from the Kazakhstan side have established joint venture responsible for the construction and operation of the Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic cable line along the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan route on the seabed of the Caspian Sea.

On the basis of an earlier signed Shareholders Agreement, Sergey Nazarenko, Chief Operating Officer of AzerTelecom and Akimzhan Akhylbekov, Managing Director of Business Development with Government Entities of Kazakhtelecom signed the document on registration of the company. Involved parties expressed their support to the newly formed joint venture in execution of the Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic cable line construction.

The joint venture creation is another important step parties have completed on the way to build the Trans-Caspian Cable system. This step confirms both parties adherence to the project of global importance. The joint venture will be investing into creation of most important element of Digital Silk Way project the Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic cable line that will ensure the transfer of multi-terabit data volume between Asia and Europe. The Digital Silk Way route will play a significant role in enhancing the business environment, economic development and elevating countries positions on global arena. It will open up new opportunities for regional cooperation, said Sergey Nazarenko, Chief Operating Officer at AzerTelecom.

The cable line along the seabed will measure 380 km, while the data transmission capacity will be up to 400 terabit/s.

We are dedicated to collaboration to ensure our project becomes the most prominent in the region. Our goals also include establishment of new partnerships that will aid us in fostering the growth of digital services and products, spanning from Asia to Europe, said Akimzhan Akhylbekov, Managing Director of Business Development with Government Entities of Kazakhtelecom.

Digital Silk Way project was recognized as one of the top five strategic infrastructure projects in Asia during the Global Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum hosted in the United States.

AzerTelecom is a leading wholesale telecommunications operator in Azerbaijan and is part of NEQSOL Holding, an international group of companies operating in nine countries across the energy, telecommunications, hi-tech, and construction industries.

Kazakhtelecom is the largest telecommunications company in Kazakhstan and holds the status of a national telecommunications operator.
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Critical Insight, the Cybersecurity-as-a-Service provider specializing in helping critical organizations Prepare, Detect, and Respond in todays threat environment, today announced the launch of its H1 2023 Healthcare Data Cyber Breach Report. In this report, Critical Insight builds on its biannual analysis of data breaches reported by healthcare organizations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Critical Insight unveils the state of cybersecurity in the healthcare industry and its complex dynamics through a comprehensive analysis of current cyber threats. Notably, the report revealed a decrease in total breaches but an increase in the number of individuals affected; the focus of attacks on the supply chain and third-party associates; and, particularly noteworthy, the shift in some attackers' strategies from encryption to extortion.

The results of this analysis support the hypothesis that cybercriminals are continually evolving their tactics to minimize risk and maximize the return on effort, said Mike Hamilton, Founder and CISO at Critical Insight. Focusing on business associates that perform a service for covered entities should give all these providers pause. Fines, additional regulatory scrutiny, class actions, and enforcement of the false claims act will affect these organizations for years.

While the first six months of the year saw an encouraging decrease in the overall number of data breaches impacting healthcare organizations, it was overshadowed by large-scale breaches resulting in a significant increase in the number of individuals affected, which reached record levels. The report found that 2023 is on pace to break the record for individuals affected by breaches.

Critical Insight's analysis of breach data supplied to HHS reveals the following key findings.

Breach Numbers Decrease: Total breaches dropped 15% in the first six months of 2023 compared to the second half of 2022, which is a positive trend considering the steady increase in attacks over the past few years. The reduced number of breaches in the first half of this year suggests that the overall number may be lower for the entire year. This year is on track to record the fewest breaches since 2019 and experience fewer provider breaches compared to the previous three years.

Total breaches dropped 15% in the first six months of 2023 compared to the second half of 2022, which is a positive trend considering the steady increase in attacks over the past few years. The reduced number of breaches in the first half of this year suggests that the overall number may be lower for the entire year. This year is on track to record the fewest breaches since 2019 and experience fewer provider breaches compared to the previous three years. Exposed Records Increase: Individual records compromised in data breaches surged by 31% in 1H 2023 compared to 2H 2022. Despite declining over the latest reporting period, the number of individuals affected increased from 31M in 2H 2022 to 40M in 1H 2023. With the first half of this year at 40 million, the number in just a six-month reporting period is already 74% of the total number of individuals affected in 2022, representing the highest number on record for six months.

Individual records compromised in data breaches surged by 31% in 1H 2023 compared to 2H 2022. Despite declining over the latest reporting period, the number of individuals affected increased from 31M in 2H 2022 to 40M in 1H 2023. With the first half of this year at 40 million, the number in just a six-month reporting period is already 74% of the total number of individuals affected in 2022, representing the highest number on record for six months. Data Breach Causes: Hacking/IT incidents were the primary cause, accounting for 73% of breaches in 1H 2023. Compared to the first-most affected breach type in the previous reporting period, unauthorized access/disclosure was the second-most prevalent type in 1H 2023. Theft, losing records, and improper disposal were relatively insignificant contributors to data breaches.

Hacking/IT incidents were the primary cause, accounting for 73% of breaches in 1H 2023. Compared to the first-most affected breach type in the previous reporting period, unauthorized access/disclosure was the second-most prevalent type in 1H 2023. Theft, losing records, and improper disposal were relatively insignificant contributors to data breaches. Hacker Entry Points: The focus on network server vulnerabilities and the adaptation of defense against email-related hacks point to a continual evolution in the cyber landscape. Hackers have shifted their tactics towards targeting network vulnerabilities. Network server breaches are responsible for a staggering 97% of individual records affected, while only 2% can be attributed to email breaches.

The focus on network server vulnerabilities and the adaptation of defense against email-related hacks point to a continual evolution in the cyber landscape. Hackers have shifted their tactics towards targeting network vulnerabilities. Network server breaches are responsible for a staggering 97% of individual records affected, while only 2% can be attributed to email breaches. Evolved Attacker Tactics: Hackers have intensified their attacks on third-party business associates as breaches associated with business associates have steadily risen and were significantly higher than individuals affected in healthcare provider and health plan-related breaches. Of the 40 million exposed records, 48% were linked to business associates, while 43% were associated with healthcare providers. In the first half of 2023, 50% of individuals impacted by a breach had a business associate present.

Our report found that hackers are increasingly targeting the weakest links and vulnerable points in the supply chain, specifically business associates or third-party companies, that offer services to healthcare organizations emphasizing the importance of effective incident response planning and proactive defense strategies, said John Delano, Healthcare Cybersecurity Strategist at Critical Insight and Vice President at CHRISTUS Health. Now more than ever, healthcare organizations must remain vigilant of their security and exposures within their supply chain as attackers constantly adapt new strategies.

To adequately prepare, organizations should: start with an incident response plan and a NIST-CSF-based risk assessment to build a multi-year strategy; track the cyber hygiene of its critical partners essential to maintaining a more secure environment; place robust focus on safeguarding third-party vendors, business associates, and suppliers from vulnerabilities; ensure support from the board, emphasizing the most critical impact for the investment.

To download the report, please visit https://cybersecurity.criticalinsight.com/healthcare-breach-report-h1-2023.

About Critical Insight

Critical Insight is the only cybersecurity-as-a-service provider that prepares, monitors and responds to cyber threats, going beyond SOC-as-a-service offerings typical of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) offerings. With a focus on organizations that deliver critical services  hospitals, local governments, utilities, school systems, and more  we provide end-to-end support to those with limited security teams or budgets to handle threats proactively and as they occur. Based in Bremerton and Seattle, Washington, Critical Insight is a venture-backed company founded by former CISOs in the public sector. We are committed to training new analysts and providing the most up-to-date cybersecurity protection. Find out more at https://criticalinsight.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822661722/en/

Jake Milstein

Critical Insight

206-347-0588

[email protected]

Source: Critical Insight
The Series A funding will increase EV drivers access to reliable, premium high-speed charging at quick service retail locations leveraging patented technology developed by former SpaceX engineers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electric Era, a leader in revolutionizing the worlds EV fast-charging infrastructure with its proprietary PowerNode EV high-speed charging stations, today announced the close of its Series A financing. HSBC Asset Management led the Series A financing with participation from SQM Lithium Ventures, Blackhorn Ventures and Proeza Ventures.

The $11.5 million in new funding will accelerate PowerNode charging station production and deployments to meet growing demand for reliable, fast and affordable EV charging stations at convenience stores and quick service retailers (QSRs). The PowerNode charging stations are powered by Electric Eras real-time and autonomous software platform that brings optimized performance and industry-leading 99.5% reliability to EV drivers and convenience store partners. A PowerNode charging station delivers a 100-mile charge for a typical EV in less than 10 minutes for more than 100 vehicles per day per charging station.

Were building the future of car refill by tackling the key challenges of adoption, including lack of easy access to reliable charging stations and too much dependence on our nations overburdened electrical grids, said Quincy Lee, CEO and Founder of Electric Era and a former Manager of Engineering at SpaceX. PowerNode-OS leverages Silicon Valley software principles used to safely launch NASA astronauts in order to bring fast, reliable and affordable charging stations to retail locations where drivers are already used to stopping. We uniquely deliver a premium charging experience that works well for EV drivers and delivers exceptional value for our convenience store customers, like Plaid Pantry.

Electric Eras PowerNode charging system leverages patented charging station technology and an AI-driven software platform to enable autonomous and real-time control of electrical grid power consumption, hardware reliability and a battery buffer.

PowerNodes built-in battery automatically discharges to support increased charging on-demand, lowering the draw on the grid and enabling more charging sessions per day for a lower cost. Installation of a PowerNode charging system can be completed in as little as 16 weeks by avoiding local grid infrastructure upgrades, versus several months or longer with existing solutions.

Decarbonizing US transportation rests on getting more Americans into EVs. Electric Era has cutting-edge technology that solves the core reliability and grid challenges of EV fast charging needed to transform the car refill experience. We are excited to support the company in its next phase of growth, said Michael DAurizio, climate VC investor at HSBC Asset Management.

Electric Era is expanding to convenience stores across the US, where 160 million Americans visit each day according to NACS, to provide safe, well lit, affordable charging stations that do not require an app and function like traditional fueling sites, with the swipe of a credit card.

A Portland, Oregon Plaid Pantry convenience store will be the first commercial installation site to go live for the PowerNode, launching in early September, with convenience stores in nine states expected to be online before the end of the year. Electric Era aims to have more than 10,000 PowerNode charging stations installed at convenience stores across the US by the end of the decade.

The new funding brings the total Electric Era Technologies funding to $19M.

Follow Electric Era Technologies on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) for the latest news and updates.

About Electric Era Technologies: Launched by former SpaceX engineers in 2019, Electric Era Technologies mission is to enable the electrification and decarbonization of the transportation industry by making EV fast charging ubiquitous, reliable and affordable. Its proprietary PowerNode EV charging stations and AI-driven software platform deliver convenient, high-speed, electrical grid-friendly charging at gas stations, convenience stores and quick service retailers across the United States.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822581920/en/

Eric Schudiske [email protected]

Source: Electric Era Technologies
Your cooperation on our crowdfunding project will be much appreciated.

Crowdfunding Campaign Period: August 18th, 2023, 10:00 AM - September 30th, 2023

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Eye Net Eye Co., Ltd., marriage counseling agency in Japan, issued the following statement today.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230818357680/en/

Please donate to LGBTQ and people around LGBTQ. (Graphic: Business Wire)

***

Greetings,

My name is Takeda, CEO of Eye Net Eye Co., Ltd., and we are currently based in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo expanding our business in the marriage counseling field.

In order to advance our business innovation plan, we kindly request your warm support and cooperation.

We sincerely appreciate your warm support! Our "Business Innovation Plan" *1 has been approved. (Theme: Marriage consultation business including diverse values of the LGBT community. Plan period: From November, 2022 to October, 2027) Your donation will be the driving force behind fulfilling the dreams of many people. Even a small contribution is greatly appreciated. We kindly ask for your warm support.

*1 The "Business Innovation Plan" is a plan for small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance management through new business activities. It is approved by the national and prefectural governors based on the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Small Business Strengthening Act. (Please note that it does not certify the products, services, or businesses specified in the plan document.)

Overview:

"CAMPFIRE" Crowdfunding Website:

Project Name: "Bringing Boundless Love to Life  Understand and Support Inclusive Matching for LGBT Community"

Duration: August 18th, 2023 (Friday), 10:00 AM - September 30th, 2023 (Saturday)

URL: https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/673620?utm_campaign=cp_po_share_c_msg_mypage_projects_show

Given the limited opportunities for LGBTQ individuals to meet their ideal partners with the same values and their ideal sexual orientations, we aim to contribute to creating an environment where LGBT individuals can pursue relationships in their true selves, providing secure space.

Company Overview:

Company Name: Eye Net Eye Co., Ltd.

CEO: Kazutoshi Takeda

Address: Marunouchi Trust Tower Main Building 20F, 1-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005

Established: November 2019

Business Activities: Eye Net Eye Marriage Counseling and others

Marriage Counseling Website: https://www.ineti.jp/

Corporate Website: https://www.ineti.co.jp/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230818357680/en/

Inquiries Regarding This Matter:

Eye Net Eye Co., Ltd. Marriage Counseling Customer Support

Kazutoshi Takeda

TEL: +81-3-5288-5166

Email: [email protected]

Source: Eye Net Eye Co., Ltd.
WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Granite (NYSE: GVA) has been awarded an approximately $72 million contract by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to build auxiliary lanes and bus-on-shoulder facilities on Highway 1 between Bay/Porter and State Park Drive in Capitola, California. Funded by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC), with Local Measure D-Highway Corridor funds, Senate Bill 1 grants, and other SCCRTC discretionary funds, the project was included in Granite's second quarter CAP.

The upcoming project will construct various critical components, including concrete retaining walls, noise reduction measures, storm drains, a bicycle and pedestrian bridge, and reconstruct a 165 ft long vehicle bridge adding bicycle and pedestrian features. The project is adjacent to Granite's previously awarded Highway 1 auxiliary lane and bus-on-shoulder project between 41st Avenue and Soquel, and centrally located between two of Granites materials facilities supporting our home market strategy and commitment to improving local transportation and accessibility.

Granite will recycle approximately 12,000 tons of existing asphalt and concrete into recycled aggregates and utilize approximately 88,000 tons of subbase & base from its local aggregate and recycled aggregate plants. 24,000 tons of hot mix asphalt (HMA) and 13,000 tons of rubberized HMA (a product that incorporates and recycles old tires) will be used from its Salinas Hot Plant, a certified Green Business, ensuring readily available high-quality materials and highlighting Granite's commitment to environmentally conscious practices and sustainability.

Our team is thrilled to embark on these transformative projects to enhance the vital infrastructure along the Hwy 1 Corridor in Santa Cruz County, improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists alike, said Vice President of Regional Operations, Brent Fogg. Our core values of excellence and safety will guide us to ensure minimal disruption to local traffic during construction. We eagerly anticipate the completion of these projects and the enhanced mobility they will provide our local community."

The project is planned to begin in September 2023 and is expected to be completed in Q3 2025.

About Granite

Granite is Americas Infrastructure Company. Incorporated since 1922, Granite (NYSE: GVA) is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States as well as a full-suite civil construction provider. Granites Code of Conduct and strong Core Values guide the Company and its employees to uphold the highest ethical standards. Granite is an industry leader in safety and an award-winning firm in quality and sustainability. For more information, visit the Granite website, graniteconstruction.com, and connect with Granite on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Media

Erin Kuhlman 831-768-4111

Investors

Wenjun Xu - 831-761-7861

Source: Granite
The premier event in the field of Divorce Financial Planning, the IDFA National Conference will be held in Dallas, Texas, September 18-20.

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA), the leading learning platform for Certified Divorce Financial Analysts (CDFA), is recognizing 25 years of the CDFA designation as part of its much-anticipated National Conference, being held this September 18-20 in Dallas, Texas.

With a legacy dating back to 2000, the IDFA National Conference consistently provides invaluable insights, guidance, and networking opportunities for CDFA and other financial advisors nationwide. As part of this years event, the IDFA will present two inaugural Lifetime Achievement Awards to distinguished CDFA professionals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and made significant contributions to the industry.

The conference itself brings together the brightest minds and most impactful speakers in the field of divorce financial planning to deliver inspiring keynotes, skill-building workshops and thought-provoking panels. Conference attendees are eligible to receive 12 CDFA and 11 CFP continuing education credits for participation in the event.

Our Board of Advisors has worked hard to make sure our programming will have something to offer everyone, whether this is your first or tenth year as a CDFA, explained IDFA President Carol Lee Roberts. I think our lineup of speakers and topics is exceptional."

Some of this years notable presenters are Nancy Hetrick, a nationally recognized CDFA professional; Timothy Voit, Founder of the American Association of Certified QDRO Professionals (AACQP); and Susan Bradley, acclaimed for her work with the Financial Transitionist Institute and Sudden Money Institute.

Conference alum Sarah Wodarksi of Venture Visionary Partners echoed Roberts sentiments about the quality of content and speakers the event offers: Im so thankful that the IDFA community is growing and the presenters can share their experiences for others to learn. All around great content.

The conference has also received an outpouring of support from a prominent group of sponsors, including:

Platinum sponsors AACQP and Divorce Financial Planner Training Center

AACQP and Divorce Financial Planner Training Center Silver sponsor Movement Mortgage

Bronze sponsors Split FYI, Second Saturday, Family Law Software, CLTC, Divorce Lending Association, Janney, Beacon Hill, ISBA, and Purse Strings

Roberts added, "Our sponsors make it possible for us to offer a content-filled event at such reasonable prices. Im looking forward to seeing our members and our sponsors back in person this year!"

There are still spots available for this years event, which is open to any CDFA or financial professional interested in learning more about helping clients navigate the divorce experience. To view the full agenda and register, click here.

The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts  (IDFA) is the professional body for divorce financial planners in the U.S. IDFA sets and upholds standards for divorce financial planning and administers the prestigious Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) certification  widely recognized by the public, advisors, and firms. CDFA certification is held by more than 5,000 people in the U.S and Canada.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822642256/en/

[email protected]

Source: Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- David Hesse, an energy disputes attorney whose practice focuses on oil and gas litigation and arbitration matters with a strong emphasis on Africa has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as a partner in London.

Hesse advises states and national oil and gas companies on disputes, settlements, and upstream activities, as well as international tenders, refinery projects, farm-out agreements, and other contracts in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. His practice includes international commercial arbitration matters involving Anglophone and Francophone states and state entities in North, East, Central and West Africa.

Previously a partner with Clyde & Co., Hesse joins longtime colleague and collaborator Philip Mace as the newest additions to Hunton Andrews Kurths London-based energy team. Mace, who also recently joined the firm as a partner from Clyde & Co., is an experienced corporate lawyer whose practice is focused on energy and upstream oil and gas transactions.

Robust global demand for large scale energy and infrastructure projects and the natural proliferation of disputes associated with those ventures continue to drive the need for a strong international arbitration and litigation practice, said Tom Taylor, co-head of Hunton Andrews Kurths litigation team. David is an outstanding lawyer whose experience and ability to navigate complex international disputes make him an ideal complement to the team.

Hesse has extensive experience before international institutions including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). A selection of his notable representations prior to joining the firm include:

Advised the Government of Tanzania and the Tanzanian Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) as co-lead international counsel with a local firm, in connection with related contract and treaty claims (ICSID) by Standard Chartered Bank.

Advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and supporting Nigerian counsel in connection with over $1 billion in claims by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) under a production sharing contract.

Advised the Government of Algeria and Sonatrach in connection with parallel proceedings (ICSID and UNCITRAL) by an oil and gas exploration company and an international shipping and logistics company for claims in excess of $8 billion relating to Algerias Windfall Profit Tax.

Advised the Government of Uganda and the Uganda Revenue Authority in connection with a $405 million claim by Heritage Oil (UNCITRAL) and a $473 million claim by Tullow Oil plc (ICSID) for recovery of capital gains tax under a production sharing agreement.

Advised ZCCM Investment Holdings PLC in connection with $2 billion in claims by Vedanta Resources Holdings Limited (UNCITRAL) relating to Konkola Copper Mines plc in Zambia.

Davids practice complements our London-based projects and corporate offerings and reinforces our internationally recognized strength in the energy sector, said Ferdinand Calice, managing partner of Hunton Andrews Kurths London office. We are excited to welcome David to the firm.

A recognized lawyer in Chambers Global and Legal 500, Hesse is also an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee and a lecturer at the CWC School for Energy. He is a regular speaker at international arbitration and energy conferences, including Juris Conference, GAR Energy Disputes, and GAR Live.

Hesse received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati, his LLB (Maitres) from the Universitie de Paris  La Sorbonne, and his LLM from Columbia Law School.

Hunton Andrews Kurths international arbitration and transnational litigation practice represents clients around the globe. We regularly handle investor-state arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and commercial arbitrations before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC); the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague; and the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and its international division, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). We also work with clients in multi-jurisdictional matters, working closely with counsel in local forums.

About Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

With over 900 lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is a global firm that serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. The firm is known for its strength in the energy, financial services, real estate, and retail and consumer products industries, as well as its considerable experience in more than 100 distinct areas of practice, including privacy and cybersecurity, intellectual property, environmental, and mergers and acquisitions.

###

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822206903/en/

The PR Office

[email protected]

Source: Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- KBRA assigns ratings to four classes of notes (five tranches) issued by OneMain Financial Issuance Trust 2023-2 (OMFIT 2023-2), a consumer loan asset-backed securities transaction.

OMFIT 2023-2 issued four classes of notes (five tranches) totaling $1.4 billion. The ratings reflect initial credit enhancement levels ranging from 36.45% for the Class A notes to 11.05% for the Class D notes. This transaction represents the second consumer loan, term ABS securitization issued by OneMain Finance Corporation (OneMain or OMFC, or the Company) in 2023. OneMain has also issued 28 consumer loan and eight auto loan term securitizations through its subsidiaries since 2013.

OneMain Holdings, Inc. (OMH) is a consumer finance company which offers loan products through a nationwide network of branches and through its online platform. OMH completed its acquisition of OneMain Financial Holdings, LLC on November 15, 2015 from CitiFinancial Credit Company for $4.49 billion in cash. OMH is now listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol OMF.

KBRA applied its Consumer Loan ABS Global Rating Methodology, Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology and ESG Global Rating Methodology as part of its analysis of the transactions underlying collateral pool and the proposed capital structure. KBRA considered its operational review of OneMain, as well as periodic update calls with the Company. Operative agreements and legal opinions were reviewed prior to closing.

To access ratings and relevant documents, click here.

Click here to view the report.

Related Publications

Disclosures

Further information on key credit considerations, sensitivity analyses that consider what factors can affect these credit ratings and how they could lead to an upgrade or a downgrade, and ESG factors (where they are a key driver behind the change to the credit rating or rating outlook) can be found in the full rating report referenced above.

A description of all substantially material sources that were used to prepare the credit rating and information on the methodology(ies) (inclusive of any material models and sensitivity analyses of the relevant key rating assumptions, as applicable) used in determining the credit rating is available in the Information Disclosure Form(s) located here.

Information on the meaning of each rating category can be located here.

Further disclosures relating to this rating action are available in the Information Disclosure Form(s) referenced above. Additional information regarding KBRA policies, methodologies, rating scales and disclosures are available at www.kbra.com.

About KBRA

Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC (KBRA) is a full-service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered as a CRA with the European Securities and Markets Authority. Kroll Bond Rating Agency UK Limited is registered as a CRA with the UK Financial Conduct Authority. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus. KBRA is also recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822915895/en/

Analytical Contacts

Michael Espino, Associate Director (Lead Analyst)

+1 646-731-1282

[email protected]

Jacob Paulose, Associate Director

+1 646-731-1279

[email protected]

Eric Neglia, Senior Managing Director (Rating Committee Chair)

+1 646-731-2456

[email protected]

Business Development Contact

Arielle Smelkinson, Senior Director

+1 646-731-2369

[email protected]

Source: Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC
New Lenovo ThinkSystem generative AI solution with VMware Cloud features NVIDIA-accelerated computing and software to deliver GPU-dense platform purpose-built for enabling next-generation AI workloads

Joint innovation labs deliver ready-to-go, hybrid multi-cloud solutions to commercial mid-market and enterprise

New Lenovo TruScale Hybrid Cloud with VMware will enable intelligent cloud transformation on demand

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today at VMware Explore 2023, Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) and VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) announced the first turnkey solutions from their joint Edge and Cloud Innovation Labs, delivering modern hybrid multi-cloud capabilities to mid-size companies and helping customers more easily harness data to empower their intelligent transformation. Lenovo also unveiled its newest Reference Design for Generative AI in partnership with VMware, a fully integrated Lenovo ThinkSystem solution featuring NVIDIA-accelerated computing and software that is purpose-built to help businesses implement AI and delivers one of the most versatile, accelerated computing platform on the market. The solutions are part of a newly expanded partnership with VMware that is focused on providing businesses of all sizes with an accelerated path to digital transformation through new, integrated edge-to-cloud solutions that simplify the deployment of next-generation AI and data intelligence. Lenovo is also working with VMware and NVIDIA in support of the new VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA generative AI solution announced today at VMware Explore.

Lenovo is committed to being the most trusted partner and empowering our customers intelligent transformation by enabling IT modernization, said Kirk Skaugen, President of Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group. This expanded collaboration with VMware is a pivotal next step in enabling more businesses to seamlessly leverage modern edge, AI, and hybrid cloud capabilities powered by NVIDIA in order to harness data for accelerated business outcomes.

VMware and Lenovo are partnering to help clients of all sizes become digital companies by investing in the infrastructure required to power a new generation of modern applications, such as Generative AI, said Krish Prasad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Infrastructure Business Group, VMware. The results from our joint Edge and Cloud Labs and the new fully integrated Lenovo systems are important milestones. Together were helping mid-market and enterprise customers manage their changing IT landscape, deliver faster innovation, and improve business outcomes.

Lenovo, NVIDIA and VMware are helping customers harness the potential of generative AI with full-stack computing, integrated systems and advanced AI software, said Manuvir Das, Vice President of Enterprise Computing at NVIDIA. Together, were helping enterprises create custom models using their valuable business data that will enable them to run intelligent generative AI applications, including intelligent chatbots, assistants, search and summarization.

The proliferation of data is fueling the demand for computing everywhere. Businesses across all industries, including manufacturing and retail, need IT solutions that help deliver AI and real-time insights from any location, from the data center to the edge and cloud.

Lenovo is extending its partnership with VMware to help customers harness the value of their data, deploying purpose-built NVIDIA AI solutions to transform their business with more predictable outcomes by leveraging NVIDIA AI Enterprise, the enterprise-grade software that powers the NVIDIA AI platform. NVIDIA AI Enterprise includes NVIDIA NeMo software to accelerate the development and deployment of production-ready large language models (LLMs). Lenovos newest Reference Design for Generative AI based on LLMs shows businesses how to deploy and commercialize powerful generative AI tools and foundation models, using a pre-validated, fully integrated, and performance optimized solution for data centers running on VMware vSphere.

The solution features NVIDIA GPU-dense platforms that are purpose built for AI workloads, including the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR675 V3 and ThinkSystem SR670 V2, offering up to eight-GPUs in a compact 3U or smaller footprint for the highest performing accelerated workloads. The Lenovo computing platforms serve as the most versatile, accelerated computing platforms on the market with three server configurations in one, including support for NVIDIA HGX A100 4-GPU systems with NVIDIA NVLink technology and Lenovo Neptune hybrid liquid cooling, as well as four or eight GPU configurations featuring NVIDIA L40S and 80GB NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, or NVIDIA H100 NVL servers. Combining the power of Lenovo and NVIDIA technologies with VMware, these servers will help professionals worldwide advance AI and bring generative AI applications like intelligent chatbots, search, and summarization tools to users across industries.

To further support critical network integration, Lenovo is adding the latest NVIDIA Spectrum-X networking technology from NVIDIA to its AI portfolio, using NVIDIA BlueField-3 data processing units (DPUs) and NVIDIA Spectrum-4 switches in its generative AI reference design for more advanced AI workload integration. These add to existing options for accelerated networking with NVIDIA ConnectX-7 Ethernet NICs.

Additionally, new ThinkAgile VX Integrated Systems with VMware are designed to help mid-market customers enter the next wave of AI and machine learning with more efficient IT that is easier to deploy across hybrid multi-cloud and edge environments. The new, jointly developed hyperconverged infrastructure solutions are factory-integrated, pre-configured, and ready-to-go, simplifying the path to hybrid multi-cloud for midsize customers. Offering advanced scalability, high performance, and reliability, Lenovo ThinkAgile VX with VMware Cloud Foundation delivers a complete and integrated multi-cloud infrastructure solution for building and managing private and hybrid clouds, leveraging VMwares tools for automating the deployment and management of infrastructure and applications.

Lenovo is also delivering a future-ready, on-demand model with Lenovo TruScale Hybrid Cloud for VMware. This new private cloud infrastructure as a service offering will enable IT admins and developers to more easily build, run, manage, and secure traditional and next-gen applications across multiple private data centers and cloud providers. Lenovo TruScale Hybrid Cloud for VMware combines the extensibility and enhanced security of VMware Cloud infrastructure with the simplicity of cloud operations, enabling customers to easily scale hybrid cloud workloads on demand. With the Lenovo TruScale for VMware, customers are supported by a single, integrated billing, pay-as-you-grow model to achieve total cost of ownership savings.

Together, the extended collaboration between Lenovo and VMware will expand joint, go-to-market strategies and deliver new on-demand services, making modern IT infrastructure solutions more easily accessible to a broader range of customers.

Visit https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/servers-storage/alliance/vmware/ to learn more.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$62 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #217 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 77,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, Lenovo has built on its success as the worlds largest PC company by further expanding into growth areas that fuel the advancement of New IT technologies (client, edge, cloud, network, and intelligence) including server, storage, mobile, software, solutions, and services. This transformation together with Lenovos world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.

About VMware

VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control. As a trusted foundation to accelerate innovation, VMware software gives businesses the flexibility and choice they need to build the future. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to building a better future through the companys 2030 Agenda. For more information, please visit www.vmware.com/company.

LENOVO, THINKSYSTEM, THINKAGILE and TRUSCALE are trademarks of Lenovo. VMware, Explore, and vSphere are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The information in this press release is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract. This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites. 2022, Lenovo Group Limited.

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Lenovo Media Contacts

Worldwide

Zeno Group, [email protected]

Claire Simmons, [email protected]

EMEA

Ella Hulbert, [email protected]

APAC

Shonali Chakravarty, [email protected], +91 9833059832

LATAM

Valkiria Suzuki, [email protected], +5511996563108

VMware Media Contact

Roger Fortier

VMware Global Communications

Phone: +1.408.348.1569

[email protected]

Source: Lenovo and VMware, Inc.
Maine middle school hosts an interactive take on a traditional career fair that featured interactive activities at each station.

WALDOBORO, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medomak Middle School recently hosted a career fair for middle and high school students across 14 school districts, providing them with a unique opportunity to explore different career pathways. The fair was organized by Education Associates, a leading provider of career exploration and job readiness resources for students.

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Student practicing hands-on job skills with the Project Discovery Electricity Kit at the Waldoboro Middle School career fair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Students were able to explore various careers, including medical, childcare, food services, and carpentry. Staff introduced hands-on job tasks to students, modelled the task, then allowed students to independently walk through the activities from each career cluster using visual schedules. Each activity was taken from the Project Discovery curriculum that Education Associates provided for the fair.

The students were excited and engaged throughout the day, with many expressing enthusiasm for their favorite stations. When asked about how they rated the food service activity, one student said, "I loved it, it was very fun!"

Students also filled out passports where they ranked how much they liked different stations at the career fair. This served as a great first step in identifying careers they may be interested in.

The fair was made possible thanks to Education Associates, a company that provides hands-on, evidence-based career exploration & life skills curriculum for educators and students across the country. They provided all the materials for each station from their Project Discovery curriculum. Their mission is to help students of all functional levels be ready for work & ready for life.

"We were truly honored to be a part of the Maine career fair," said Danielle Shinaberry, a spokesperson for Education Associates. "It was great to see the students' excitement about all of the hand-on activities. They were able to touch, feel and do! They learned about possible job opportunities and were able to perform actual job tasks. Project Discovery allows students to discover their strengths and interests. It was a great event!"

Overall, the Medomak Middle School career fair was a huge success, and a great example of the power of career exploration and hands-on learning. The students who participated gained valuable insights into different career paths and left feeling inspired.

To learn more about Education Associates, click here: www.educationassociates.com.

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Sam Ragsdale

[email protected]

502-244-6944

Source: Education Associates
GAINESVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Judges for 2023s National Cade Prize for Innovation named this years 21 Fibonacci Finalists. Finalists will compete to win $10,000 in their respective category groupAgriculture and Environmental, Healthcare/Biomedical, IT/Tech, Energy, and Wildcard. One of the five category winners will be selected as the Inventivity Grand Prize winner and take home an additional $50,000 prize.

For the first time, this years 14th Annual Cade Prize for Innovation accepted applications from inventors and entrepreneurs based anywhere in the United States. Almost half of this years 21 Finalists are from outside of Florida. Prize applicants from 15 states, affiliated with research universities, the private sector, and technology transfer organizations submitted early-stage inventions.

We were very pleased to see strong interest in the Cade Prize from leading research institutions across the country, said Cade co-founder Richard Miles.

The finalist teams not only have an innovative idea, but one that also has significant market promise and the potential to make a big impact in its field.

The Cade Prize, a capstone initiative of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention, is named after Dr. James Robert Cade, Gatorades lead inventor. This years 21 Fibonacci Finalists are:

Inventor Innovation/Invention State John Wilcox, Founder SMARTFUSION  A software system for insulin pumps that monitors insulin delivery for accuracy, infusion set failure, and provides data for improving infusion habits. TN Ryan Myers, Founder CranioSense  The intracranial pressure assessment and screening system (IPASS) under development at CranioSense, is noninvasive, easy to apply and interpret, and capable of providing screening and continuous monitoring in hospital and nonhospital settings. MA Sarah Ostadabbas, Founder AiWover  Artificial intelligence (AI)-guided cloud-based baby monitoring system MA Warren Marcus, Founder Curative Therapeutics for Type 1 Diabetes  Allows Type 1 Diabetics to regain a normal life by restoring their own glucose control system. FL David Ostrov, Inventor Lactovid  Provides relief for acute and long-term COVID patients. FL Jordan Sand, Inventor Happy Scratch  Treats an underlying immune system deficiency to solve dermatitis in pets. WI Charles Magee, Inventor Magnetic and Osmotic Inner Tube (MOIT)  Converts any air inflatable tire into a never flat tire (NFT). FL Lina Gonzalez, Founder High-Performance Materials Based on Engineered Cellulose-Producing Bacteria  A leather alternative material that does not require plastics to bring forward the performance. MA Chuck Phillips, Executive Officer Nanoparticle Scintillators  A way to measure biological activity at the molecular level. AZ John Gradek, Founder Phosflow Pellets  Pellets that absorb phosphorus and ammonia and reused as fertilizer. KY Quantum Wei, Founder Harmony Desalting  Desalination processes that offers improved energy efficiency, waste reduction, scalability, flexibility, enhanced hardware design, and resource recovery capabilities. MA Forrest Gauthier, Inventor Blue71  A system that encourages individuals to adopt a conservation mindset while empowering them to perform personal conservation activities. FL David Pham, Founder Terra Pave  Solves the environmental, health, and efficiency problems associated with traditional paving materials by offering 100% eco-friendly, cost-effective, and superior alternatives. TX Tolga Ercan, Founder Smart Traffic Sign  Vision-based communication for vehicles through QR codes. FL Raj Gautam, Founder Analyz  Analytics and security for computer chips. FL Dylan Davis, Founder Locus Vision  Digital spatial navigation device for the visually impaired. FL Alexandre Titov, Executive Officer ERAS (Extended Reality Art Studio)  Democratize art by providing an innovative solution that removes barriers based on age, location, physical space, wealth, time, and talent. FL Paulo Cezar Lopez, Team Lead 2000W Rapid Wireless power transmission system for electronic devices  Enables electronic devices to be compatible to receive wireless energy. FL Scott Jewett, Founder Dual Axis Wind Turbine  Delivers a new type of distributed energy wind turbine that addresses the limitations of traditional wind turbines. FL Siddharth Pannir, Founder Adaptive Hydro  A way to electrify non-powered dams (existing dams that do not generate any power) across the US. MA Mia Anderton, Inventor Glowby Lightbulbs  Energy efficient, very long-lasting rechargeable lightbulbs. FL

Final judging will take place at the Cade Prize Awards Ceremony at the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida on September 28. $100,000 in cash prizes will be awarded: $10,000 to the winner of each category and an additional $50,000 for the Inventivity Grand Prize Winner selected from the five category winners. Each award recipient also receives $2,000 of in-kind legal services.

This years Cade Prize is sponsored by Scott R. MacKenzie, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), Exactech Inc., Infotech, Florida Farm Bureau, OneSixOne Ventures, Saliwanchik, Lloyd & Eisenschenk law firm, Florida Trend, James Moore Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, and Aloft Gainesville University Area Hotel. Learn more at https://cademuseum.org/inventivity/cade-prize/.

About the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention

The mission of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida, is to transform communities by inspiring and equipping future inventors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. Named after Mary Cade and her husband, Dr. James Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade, the project since 2006 has been spearheaded by their daughter, Phoebe Cade Miles, and her husband, Richard Miles. The Cade encourages the development of innovation ecosystems through the Cade Prize for Innovation, the Cade's proprietary Innovation Education learning framework, and the 21,000-square-foot hands-on learning museum that promotes the development of an inventive mindset which the Cade calls Inventivity. The Cade believes every person should have access to the right to invent and innovate and works to bring this understanding to all, with an emphasis on the underserved. To learn more, visit cademuseum.org.

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Jody Farmer, [email protected]

Source: Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have discussed cooperation in the oil and gas sector, the implementation of joint projects, including the development of hydrocarbon resources, digitalization, and the organization of a mutual exchange of experience, Trend reports.

According to SOCAR, the discussions took place during the meeting of the President of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Rovshan Najaf, with the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan, Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov.

During the meeting, it was noted that cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, based on friendly relations, is successfully developing in all directions.

The high-level mutual visits play a special role in expanding ties between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Earlier, within the framework of the Azerbaijani-Uzbek business forum, the parties signed an agreement on the participation of Uzbekneftegaz in oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan, as well as a cooperation agreement between SOCAR, the Ministry of Mining and Geology of Uzbekistan, and Uzbekneftegaz on SOCAR's participation in oil and gas projects in Uzbekistan.
Results represent the first clinical demonstration of the efficacy of gene therapy in a metabolic disease of the liver

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Genethon, a pioneer and leader in gene therapy research and development for rare genetic diseases, announced today positive Phase 1/2 clinical trial results of its gene therapy, GNT-0003, for Crigler-Najjar syndrome were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The data demonstrate the possibility of restoring expression of liver enzyme UGT1A1 by using gene therapy in cases of Crigler-Najjar syndrome.

Crigler-Najjar is characterized by hyperbilirubinemia and caused by a deficiency in the enzyme UGT1A1. If not treated quickly, the build-up of bilirubin can cause significant neurological damage and become fatal. The only current treatments are phototherapy of up to 12 hours per day or a liver transplant. GNT-0003 combines an AAV8 vector with a normal copy of gene UGT1A1 coding for the bilirubin metabolizing enzyme.

The Phase 1/2 trial results published in an article titled, Gene Therapy in Patients with the Crigler-Najjar Syndrome, showed GNT-0003 lowered bilirubin levels below the toxic threshold with a single intravenous injection. The data also confirmed the safety and tolerance of the treatment for all patients in the study. Three patients, treated with the highest dose, have been able to stop using phototherapy for the last 18 months or more. This is the first proof of the efficacy of a gene therapy in a metabolic disease of the liver.

A pivotal study of GNT-0003 is underway to confirm the Phase 1/2 results in a larger number of patients including children aged 10 years and older.

If the results of the pivotal part confirm the efficacy of our gene therapy for Crigler-Najjar syndrome, we will be able to move on to a product license application, making the treatment available to patients and providing them with significantly improved quality of life, said Genethon CEO Frederic Revah.

The Crigler-Najjar clinical trial is being conducted with the European consortium CureCN. It started in 2017 in four centers in Europe: France (Prof. Phillipe Labrune - Hopital Beclere in Clamart); Italy (Prof. Lorenzo dAntiga - Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII in Bergamo along with Prof. Brunetti-Pierri  Hopital Federico II); and Netherlands (Prof. Ulrich Beuers - Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam).

Professor Labrune said, As the PI of this trial, I consider these first results to be exciting, encouraging, and even moving. We are confident the results of the pivotal part will confirm the efficacy of this gene therapy. Providing a treatment for Crigler-Najjar disease could be the beginning of new adventures for other hepatic metabolic diseases.

Professor D'Antiga added, "After haemophilia, Crigler-Najjar syndrome is the next liver disease treated by gene therapy. In this trial we managed to restore the synthesis of a non-secreted protein whose deficiency causes severe jaundice in affected patients.

Professor Beuers observed, We are most grateful to our participating patients and the whole group of contributors who made these first promising clinical results possible. Piter Bosma in our group started experimental work on this topic 20 years ago. This proves that creativity, dedication and persistence of the whole team may pay off for our patients well-being.

About Genethon

As a pioneer in the discovery and development of gene therapies for rare diseases, Genethon is a non-profit laboratory that was established by AFM-Telethon. A first gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy to which Genethon contributed has obtained a product license. With more than 200 scientists and professional staff, Genethon is pursuing its aim to develop therapies which change the lives of patients suffering from rare genetic diseases. Thirteen products developed by Genethon are in clinical trial for diseases of the liver, blood, immune system, muscles and eyes. Seven other products could enter clinical trials over the next five years. More information at www.genethon.fr.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822525314/en/

US Contact:

Charles Craig

Opus Biotech Communications

[email protected]

404-245-0591

EU Contacts:

Stephanie Bardon, Marion Delbouis

[email protected]

06.45.15.95.87

Source: Genethon
Current CFO Sam Shaw to succeed Julie Howard as Riveron CEO, bringing a long track record of professional services leadership expertise.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Riveron, a national business advisory firm focused on serving the office of the CFO, private equity, and other capital providers, announced today that Sam Shaw will succeed Julie Howard as chief executive officer, effective October 1, 2023.

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Sam Shaw, executive at Riveron (Photo: Business Wire)

Shaw has served as Riverons CFO since October 2021, playing an integral role in numerous strategic initiatives during a period of dynamic growth and change. He matured the firm's financial foundation by professionalizing its accounting, finance, and technology operations; served as interim leader of Riveron's Transaction Services business; and helped lead Riveron through its recent sales process, which culminated in the firm's acquisition earlier this summer by its new growth partner Kohlberg & Company. Prior to joining Riveron, Shaw capped 15 years of diverse experience at Grant Thornton by serving as its CFO.

"Sam is a highly accomplished leader in the professional services industry and has been an invaluable strategic thought partner to me during his time at Riveron," said current CEO Julie Howard. "His breadth of experience, industry knowledge, and proven track record in leading transformational change with skill and creativity has been a powerful accelerator to the strategic evolution and success of our business. I look forward to seeing all that Riveron will achieve with Sam at the helm."

"We thank Julie for her distinguished leadership at Riveron, during which time she helped set a strong foundation for growth, and we look forward to her ongoing involvement with the Company as a member of its board of directors," added Kohlberg Partner and Head of Business Services Ahmed Wahla. We are also thrilled to continue our partnership with Sam in his new role as CEO and are excited to support him and the Riveron team as they firmly establish the company as the leading platform in the business advisory space.

Riveron is a dynamic business on an exciting growth journey, and it has been an immense honor to have been a part of it over the last two years, said incoming CEO Sam Shaw. I am excited about the enormous potential I see ahead of us to continue the great work undertaken by Julie  and all our incredibly talented professionals  to provide world-class service to our clients and further establish Riveron as the destination for top talent within the professional services industry."

About Riveron

Riveron is a national business advisory firm that partners with our clients to elevate performance and expand possibilities across the transaction and business lifecycle. Our thoughtfully integrated teams bring industry perspective and deep functional expertise  across accounting, ESG, finance, M&A, operations, restructuring & turnaround, strategic communications, tax, and technology  to generate tailored solutions that address any challenge. Founded in 2006, Riveron has 12 offices across the country and serves a diverse set of clients around the world, including the office of the CFO, private equity, lenders, and other key stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.riveron.com.

About Kohlberg & Company

Kohlberg is a leading US middle market private equity firm based in Mount Kisco, New York. Over the firms 36-year history, the firm has organized 11 private equity vehicles totaling in aggregate over $14 billion. Since inception, the firms private equity investments have generated over $10 billion in realized returns with no realized losses since 2007. The firm invests in leading middle market businesses that are identified through its rigorous thematic research and the firms White Paper Program in its six core practice areas. For more information, please visit https://www.kohlberg.com/

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Alex Benanti

[email protected]

Source: Riveron
LANGHORNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Techdow USA Inc. (Techdow USA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hepalink USA Inc., and Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (CTTQ), an integrated company engaged in the Development, Manufacturing and Licensing of pharmaceuticals, are pleased to announce the signing of a Licensing, Supply and Distribution agreement regarding the launch of Fosaprepitant for Injection, the therapeutic generic equivalent of EMEND (fosaprepitant) for injection in the US market.

Fosaprepitant for Injection had US brand and generic sales of approximately $35 million, according to IQVIA Health for the 12 months ending June, 2023. Both the API and drug product will be manufactured by CTTQ and the ANDA product will be sold under the Techdow USA Label.

This transaction reinforces a key element of Techdow USAs growth plan and complements our best-in-class institutional distribution capabilities with a ready-now product, said Darren Alkins, Chief Executive Officer of Techdow USA. We are elated to be working with CTTQ and impressed with their quality and product development capabilities. Our agreement with CTTQ initially includes Fosaprepitant and will look to expand the relationship over time. We also continue to evaluate other collaborative opportunities, all of which are intended to further expand our product offerings.

CTTQ is happy to partner with Techdow USA and we will extend our complete support to Techdow USA for gaining market share for this product, said Jessica Yan, Head of International Business  CTTQ Pharma.

Techdow USA is among the fastest growing companies in the US generic pharmaceutical industry and specializes in the sale of generic injectable pharmaceuticals. Techdow USA continuously explores opportunities to expand their product portfolio and pipeline to better serve patients and customer needs.

As the most important subsidiary of Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited, the listed company on the Stock Exchange in Hong Kong under the code 1177, Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (CTTQ) is a top 30 pharmaceutical company in China. After posting revenues north of $3.1 bn in 2021, the group expects to be more active in international business with GMP basis approval by EU Health Authority and US FDA, as well as specialized and diversified products in pipelines.

For more information, please visit www.techdowusa.com.

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Jonathan Mordh

(608) 807-8905

[email protected]

Source: Techdow USA Inc.
COLUMBIA, S.C. & MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- VC3, a market-leading managed service provider serving municipalities, financial services organizations, and commercial businesses across the country, announced today the acquisition of Wellteck IT, a leading provider of enterprise-quality managed IT services, cybersecurity, and IT consulting in Texas. The addition of this established firm further expands the VC3 solution portfolio to more commercial clients in the Southwestern United States and adds a greater local presence in Texas.

Ryan Vestby, VC3s Chief Executive Officer, said, Wellteck and VC3 share many similar core values, strong synergies between our teams, and an untiring commitment to serving our clients. Better together, our teams collectively offer a great depth and breadth of knowledge in managed services, cybersecurity, cloud, compliance, data backup, disaster recovery, and strategic IT planning. Welltecks strong local presence in Texas strengthens VC3s North American presence across 34 states and 8 Canadian provinces. This partnership, coupled with our decades of experience, allows us to continue serving clients of all sizes and industries in Texas and throughout North America.

Dylan Todd, Chief Executive Officer of Wellteck, said, Im very blessed and honored to have been given the opportunity to start, run, and build Wellteck since January 2014. With VC3s partnership, Welltecks dedicated team members now have more room and a higher ceiling under which to grow. And, with a bigger team and more competencies, we can deliver a better and more refined experience for our clients. Im excited about the continuing evolution of Welltecks team and clients under VC3.

Vestby added, I look forward to working with Welltecks team to further our missions of providing the best service possible for our clients. The future holds only excitement and opportunity for our two teams.

About Wellteck IT

Wellteck IT helps businesses achieve their goals by keeping their technology infrastructure running smoothly and securely. They support nearly 100 small and medium sized businesses with more than 1,600 managed devices. Based in Midland, Texas, Wellteck IT provides IT support for businesses throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

About VC3

VC3 is a managed IT and cybersecurity services provider serving municipalities, financial services organizations, and businesses throughout North America. Organizations come to us for help navigating the technology journey, and to get the expertise they need to manage cyber risks and IT infrastructure. Over 1,100 municipalities and 700 businesses rely on VC3's cybersecurity expertise, sector-specific focus, ability to grow with our clients, and relentless automation to manage, protect, and accelerate their organization's technology. We can become your IT department, work alongside your internal IT team to make them more successful, or help you with specialized needs such as cloud hosting, data backup, or application development. Visit www.vc3.com to learn more.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822444358/en/

For more information or to schedule an interview:

Efrem Berman, SVP Marketing

(800) 787-1160

[email protected]

Source: VC3
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) Carolinas and the North Carolina Public Staff have reached partial settlements on various items associated with investments included in the utility's request, along with implementation of new regulatory mechanisms.

The partial settlements include agreement on many aspects of the company's proposed revenue requirement in the case, such as capital projects, grid enhancements and related costs to be included in the three-year rate plan; cost recovery of plant-related investments to improve reliability; coal plant retirement dates to be used for depreciation rates; and Performance Incentive Mechanisms that hold Duke Energy accountable for outcomes that help customers and achieve state policy goals.

Grid investments benefiting customers include pole and line upgrades, targeted undergrounding of outage-prone lines, and the installation of smart, self-healing technology that enables faster power restoration.

"Similar to our case at Duke Energy Progress, we are pleased to achieve common ground with the Public Staff on a number of key issues and reach an agreement that prioritizes the needs of our customers, advances grid reliability and resiliency across the state, and maintains the financial health of the company," said Kendal Bowman , Duke Energy's North Carolina president.

The agreement would also reduce retail customer costs associated with the Duke Energy Plaza . The company's new headquarters are facilitating a major real estate consolidation in uptown Charlotte , reducing the company's footprint by more than 50% to save customers about $5 million annually, which is on top of the proposed savings in this settlement.

The partial settlements were filed Tuesday with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) and can be found here and here. If approved by the NCUC, the agreements would reduce the requested customer rate increase across the three-year rate period by approximately $158 million .

Matters not resolved by the partial settlements include return on equity, capital structure and recovery of costs associated with serving the company's customers during the COVID pandemic. Those items will be considered along with testimony submitted by the company, other participating parties and the public during an evidentiary hearing in Raleigh beginning on Aug. 28 . The NCUC will make its final decision on the company's rate request and proposed partial settlement later this year.

Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2 million households and businesses in central and western North Carolina , including Charlotte , Durham and the Triad.

Aug. 18 NCUC order concludes Duke Energy Progress rate review

After a similar evidentiary hearing for the parallel Duke Energy Progress rate review, the NCUC issued its order on Friday afternoon to conclude that case. A full analysis of customer bill impacts will be filed with the NCUC in the coming weeks, and the company's statement on Friday's order can be found here.
Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), announced today it has completed the acquisition of the Village of Broadlands water system for $425,000. Illinois American Waters petition to acquire the system was approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission on June 1, 2023.

The newly acquired system adds approximately 155 water customers to the Companys eastern Illinois service area. Illinois American Water plans to invest in the first year on critical infrastructure including improvements to treatment processes, installation of water meters and other projects to enhance water quality and system reliability.

Our team is excited to welcome and serve our new customers in Broadlands, said Rebecca Losli, president of Illinois American Water. Since 2020, we have had the privilege of partnering with 13 communities across Illinois through acquisitions, sharing our expertise and making critical investments to aging water and wastewater systems.

According to Village of Broadlands Mayor Bruce Block, the sale of the water system to Illinois American Water, will give the Village major improvements to our water system that the Village alone could not provide. He continued, The Village will benefit from the group of experts and eliminate operational responsibilities for the Village.

Brian Wiemers, senior manager of operations for Illinois American Waters Eastern Division said, We are happy to serve the Village of Broadlands. We appreciate the Villages trust and confidence in our experienced team.

New customers will receive an Illinois American Water welcome packet in the mail. This packet includes information about online account management, billing as well as other customer service programs and benefits. The company also provides bill paying assistance programs, conservation tips and more.. To learn more about Illinois American Water and hear from communities the company has partnered with, visit Partnering with Us under About Us at www.illinoisamwater.com.
Texas electric vehicle owners are preparing for a rule change after state lawmakers approved a $200 annual fee added to their EVs registration charges.

Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers gave the green light to a fee that applies to all electric cars and trucks in the state. This fee, including a $400 charge for first-time registration, aims to fix what legislators pointed out as an unfair difference in taxes paid by drivers at gas stations, as there was no way to tax the power used by vehicles like a Tesla or a Ford Lightning electric truck.

Over 30 states currently enforce an extra fee, typically linked to registration, for electric cars and trucks. North Carolina levies a yearly fee of $130, while California, which boasts the highest number of electric vehicles, imposes an annual charge of $100.

As of August, there were 211,000 registered electric vehicles in the Lone Star state, according to the Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coalition, with close to 30,000 in Harris County alone.

For existing electric vehicle owners, the yearly fee upon registration renewal will amount to $200 if the renewal takes place on or after September 1, 2023. If you happen to buy a new electric vehicle on or after September 1, you will receive a two-year registration and face an initial electric vehicle fee of $400.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles will oversee the fee, though it is collected though county tax assessor-collectors. Revenue collected from the fee will be deposited into the state highway fund to help pay for roadway construction and maintenance projects.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]
ELK GROVE, Calif., Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Accellera Systems Initiative (Accellera), the electronics industry organization focused on the creation and adoption of electronic design automation (EDA) and intellectual property (IP) standards, announced today the formation of a Federated Simulation Standard Proposed Working Group (PWG) to focus on the creation of a distributed and orchestrated multi-domain simulation framework.

A group of Accellera members have been part of a larger exploratory team looking at cross-industry collaboration to exchange knowledge and best practices, stated Lu Dai, Chair of Accellera. The team has been investigating the coordination of efforts in standards development and the integration of simulation technologies. The objective of the PWG is to identify industry interest and consolidate the requirements to drive standardization and development of an open API and federated simulation ecosystem. We encourage all interested companies to join the PWG and provide input on the need for a standard in this area.

The intent of the proposed Federated Simulation Standard (FSS) is to facilitate the creation of a distributed and orchestrated multi-domain simulation framework, compatible with and complementary to existing approaches used in different industries and sectors, stated Martin Barnasconi, Accellera Technical Committee Chair and Chair of the PWG. A standardized communication interface will enable interoperability of virtual modeling, simulation, and integration throughout the product lifecycle. In parallel to the efforts of the PWG, we target establishing an industry-funded project under definition by the Institute for Research and Technology (IRT) Saint Exupery in Toulouse, France. We look forward to the input from the industry during this initial standardization phase.

The first Proposed Working Group meeting will be held over two days in Toulouse, France. On Monday, September 25 attendees are invited to present use cases, requirements, and expectations of the standard. Tuesday, September 26 will focus on the organizational aspects and intended alignment with other project initiatives or organizations, such as IRT Saint-Exupery, Eclipse Foundation, Linaro, etc. The meeting location and time is communicated when registering to attend this event.

Participants in the FSS PWG do not need to be from Accellera member companies. If you are an Accellera member, you can join the PWG here (login required). If you are not an Accellera member and would like to participate in the PWG, submit your information here.

To attend for the first PWG meeting in Toulouse, participants are invited to register here. If you are unable to attend the meeting in-person, teleconferencing facilities will be offered for some parts of the meeting. More information on this will be communicated to the registered PWG members in early September.

Companies that have shown initial interest include Airbus, AMD, Aptiv, AVL, Bosch, Cadence Collins Aerospace, IRT Saint-Exupery, NXP, Qualcomm, Shokubai, and Spacebel.

For more information about the PWG and first meeting, visit here.

Background on Federated Simulation Standard Proposed Working GroupThe PWG will collect requirements, identify technical feasibility and industry interest and acceptance, and provide a recommendation to the Accellera Board of Directors whether to start or not start a working group.

There are many different simulation approaches and standards from multiple industries such as avionics, space, semiconductor, automotive, and mechatronics. The goal is to leverage and connect existing industry standards and formats to facilitate modeling, integration, and simulation of complex systems to enable simulation of systems-of-systems. The PWG will study the relevant and applied standards in each industry segment and will explore potential cross-connections, alignments, and technologies to best use these standards in conjunction. Furthermore, the PWG will explore collaboration and partnerships with other organizations and communities to implement and prototype the standard API as part of the development of the federated simulation ecosystem.

About Accellera Systems InitiativeAccellera Systems Initiative is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to create, support, promote, and advance system-level design, modeling, and verification standards for use by the worldwide electronics industry. The organization accelerates standards development and, as part of its ongoing partnership with the IEEE, its standards are contributed to the IEEE Standards Association for formal standardization and ongoing change control. For more information, please visit www.accellera.org. Find out more about membership. Follow @accellera on Twitter and LinkedIn or to comment, please use #accellera. Accellera Global Sponsors are Cadence, Siemens EDA, and Synopsys.

Accellera and Accellera Systems Initiative are trademarks of Accellera Systems Initiative Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

For more information, contact:

Barbara BenjaminPublic Relations for Accellera Systems InitiativePhone: +1 503 209 2323Email: [email protected]

Source: Accellera Systems Initiative
Belleville, Illinois, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allsup Employment Services (AES), a nationwide leading provider of return-to-work services, is collaborating with the Arthritis Foundation to host a presentation to its African-American Connect Group on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time. This free online event will focus on the Social Security Administrations (SSA) Ticket to Work (TTW) Program, emphasizing its significance for arthritis patients who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. More than 159 million U.S. workers are insured for the SSDI program in the event of a severe disability.

Kirsten Gladen, an expert vocational case manager with AES, is presenting the program, Social Security Disability and Ticket to Work for Arthritis Patients, and will incorporate her experience assisting numerous people with disabilities to rejoin the workforce. Gladen will demystify the Ticket to Work Program, highlight the crucial role of Employment Networks, and detail the comprehensive services provided by AES.

A common misconception about the Ticket To Work Program is that enrollees will instantly forfeit their disability benefits if they attempt to return to work, Gladen said. In reality, the program offers a secure transition phase for those contemplating a return to work, allowing them to assess their readiness to earn additional income. This includes several years of protections and the ability to restart Social Security disability benefits if medical issues interfere with working again.

AES, which is an SSA-certified Employment Network, specializes in providing free assistance to Social Security disability beneficiaries who return to work through the SSAs Ticket to Work Program.

Key topics of the presentation include:

Overview of the SSAs Ticket to Work Program.

The pivotal role of Employment Networks.

Comprehensive services offered by Employment Networks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 60 million U.S. adults have been diagnosed with arthritis. The debilitating nature of this condition often hinders consistent employment. The SSAs Ticket to Work Program aims to equip these individuals with the resources and support they need to re-enter the workforce when they feel prepared  fostering independence, financial stability and enhancing their quality of life.

The free presentation will be hosted on Zoom, enabling participants from diverse locations to attend. A Q&A session with Gladen will follow the presentation.

To register, please visit: AES and Arthritis Foundation Event. Registrants will receive the Zoom link 24 hours in advance of the event.

ABOUT THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATIONThe Arthritis Foundation is fighting for all people who live with arthritis. As a Champion of Yes, it's the Arthritis Foundation's mission to turn the obstacles arthritis causes into opportunities. The Arthritis Foundation champions life-changing solutions and medical advancements, and it also provides ways for people to connect, break down barriers in health care and join the fight for a cure  uniting hearts, minds and resources to change the future of arthritis. To join the fight to cure arthritis, visit arthritis.org.

ABOUT ALLSUP EMPLOYMENT SERVICESAllsup Employment Services (AES), a subsidiary of Allsup, provides free nationwide assistance to Social Security disability beneficiaries returning to work through Social Securitys Ticket to Work Program. AES is a Social Security-authorized Employment Network (EN) whose professionals help beneficiaries protect their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits while they attempt a return to work. Learn more at AllsupEmploymentServices.com and @AllsupESWork.

Attachment

Source: Allsup
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR HONG KONG, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR WOULD REQUIRE REGISTRATION OR OTHER MEASURES. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.



Aberdeen, 22 August 2023

Reference is made to the stock exchange notice from Awilco Drilling Plc ("Awilco Drilling" or the "Company") (Euronext Growth Oslo: AWDR) on 30 June 2023 with key information in relation to a subsequent offering (the "Subsequent Offering") of new sponsored Norwegian depository receipts (the "Offer Shares") at a subscription price of NOK 9 per Offer Share (the "Offer Price"). The Offer Price is equal to the offer price in the private placement of new sponsored Norwegian depository receipts that was successfully placed on 30 June 2023 (the "Private Placement").

The Company has resolved to proceed with the Subsequent Offering. The Subsequent Offering will comprise an offer of up to 469,400 Offer Shares, which may raise total gross proceeds of the NOK equivalent of up to USD 0.4 million. The net proceeds from the Subsequent Offering will be used to finance Awilco Drillings' remaining arbitration case concerning Rig 2 against Keppel FELS Limited which is expected to be concluded no earlier than 4Q 2023 or 1Q 2024.

The Subsequent Offering will be directed towards existing shareholders in the Company as of 29 June 2023, as registered in the Euronext Securities Oslo ("VPS") register of Awilco Drilling on 3 July 2023, who were (i) not wall-crossed in connection with the Private Placement carried out on 29 June 2023, (ii) not allocated depositary receipts in the Private Placement and (iii) are not resident in a jurisdiction where such offering would be unlawful or would (in jurisdictions other than Norway) require any prospectus, filing, registration or similar action, have been granted subscription rights to subscribe for Offer Shares (the "Eligible Shareholders").

Subscription rights that are not used to subscribe for Offer Shares before the expiry of the Subscription Period will have no value and will lapse without compensation to the holder.

Eligible Shareholders will receive non-transferrable subscription rights. Each subscription right will give the right to subscribe for, and be allocated, one (1) share in the Subsequent Offering. Over-subscription is permitted. Subscription without subscription rights is not permitted. If you subscribe for Offer Shares in the Subsequent Offering, you will also receive one non-transferable warrant for each Offer Share you are allocated. Each warrant carries the right to subscribe for one additional sponsored Norwegian depository receipt at a price of NOK 1, subject to certain conditions and restrictions described in the investor material. The warrants are governed by a warrant deed.

The subscription period for the Subsequent Offering commences on 22 August 2023 and ends on 5 September 2023 at 16:30 CEST (the "Subscription Period").

The Subsequent Offering is fully guaranteed by Awilhelmsen Offshore AS and QVT Family Office Fund LP.

The terms and conditions for the Subsequent Offering are set out in a shareholder letter which will be sent to all shareholders and which will also be available on https://awilcodrilling.com/shareholders/.

Following the end of the Subscription Period, the board of directors of the Company will resolve the allocation of the Offer Shares. Allocation is expected to be completed on or about 7 September 2023. Payment for the Offer Shares allocated in the Subsequent Offering will be done through debit of the subscribers' bank account. Such debit is expected to be completed on or about 11 September 2023. Subject to full payment having been received from all subscribers, the Offer Shares are expected to be delivered to the VPS accounts of the subscribers on or about 14 September 2023.

Clarksons Securites AS is acting as sole manager of the Subsequent Offering and Nordic Issuer Services AS is acting as settlement agent for the Subsequent Offering. Advokatfirmaet Wiersholm AS is acting as Norwegian legal counsel to Awilco Drilling.

For further information about the Subsequent Offering please contact:

Truls Chr. Tran, Head of Investment Banking, Clarksons Securities AS: +47 41 40 19 37

Erik Jacobs, CEO of Awilco Drilling; Tel: +47 95 29 22 71

Cathrine Haavind, Investor Relations of Awilco Drilling; Email: [email protected], Tel: +47 93 42 84 64

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

Important information

The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan Hong Kong or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia). It is issued for information purposes only and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. Awilco Drilling does not intend to register any portion of any offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong or the United States.

In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The expression "Prospectus Regulation" means (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 14 June 2017, as amended Regulation, on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public (together with any applicable implementing measures in any EEA Member State).

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only for relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.

The issue, subscription or purchase of securities in Awilco Drilling is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither Awilco Drilling nor the Manager assumes any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

The Manager is acting for Awilco Drilling and no one else in connection with the potential Subsequent Offering in the Company and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Subsequent Offering and/or any other matter referred to in this release.

Forward-looking statements: This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect Awilco Drilling's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. An Azerbaijani serviceman, Ramiz Nazarov, was wounded as a result of the attack of Armenian armed forces, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said, Trend reports.

"The wounded serviceman was immediately given first aid, and he was taken to a military medical facility. There is no danger to his life. The units of the Azerbaijani army are prepared to respond robustly. We declare that the entire responsibility for the consequences of these provocations lies with the military-political leadership of Armenia," said the ministry.
CRANBURY, N.J., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Science Conference (CSC), the premier cannabis science conference focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and psychedelics, announced today that Mother Earth Wellness will be hosting the 2023 fall Canna Boot Camp. This exciting educational event will take place on Sept. 20, 2023, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Mother Earth Wellness prides itself on being a leader in the cannabis community, consistently promoting the quality, innovation and ongoing validation of cannabis in our culture, said Joe Pakuris, owner of Mother Earth Wellness. While it has come a long way, there is still a great deal to be done. We are truly honored to partner with the Cannabis Science Conference and their esteemed members to further the progress in the industry. We look forward to sharing our experience with the science community and sharing our vision of the future.

The Fall Canna Boot Camp is CSCs full-day offsite workshop that covers a wide range of cannabis science topics, including cultivation, preprocessing, sample prep, analytical testing, extraction and edibles manufacturing. This is a unique opportunity for attendees to immerse themselves in a comprehensive learning experience about the science, technology and innovation shaping the cannabis industry. With a focus on fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge and promoting advancements, this boot camp promises to be an exceptional event that bridges the gap between theory and practice.

Attendees can expect a series of interactive workshops, hands-on demonstrations, expert-led sessions and the opportunity to engage with industry experts, thought leaders and fellow participants in an intimate and collaborative setting that will empower them with the latest insights and trends in the cannabis field.

Join CSC for expert-led cannabis science education, networking opportunities and the chance to connect with thought leaders, leading scientists, pioneers in cutting-edge medical applications and industry suppliers.

To register and learn more, please visit the registration page.

About Cannabis Science Conference:

Cannabis Science Conference is the industrys premier science event, focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and psychedelics. CSC brings together cannabis and psychedelic industry experts, including instrument manufacturers, testing labs, research scientists, cultivators, medical practitioners, policymakers, patients and interested novices to network and share ideas. CSC runs semiannual events nationwide in emerging markets, aimed at improving cannabis and psychedelic science. Join us for world-class education, stellar networking and the opportunity to connect with thought leaders, leading scientists, pioneers in cutting-edge medical applications and industry suppliers. CSC 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.

About Mother Earth Wellness:

Mother Earth Wellness serves the community of Pawtucket and the greater Providence area, offering Rhode Islands finest medicine for both medical marijuana patients and recreational customers alike. As a vertically integrated cannabis company, we pride ourselves on unique formulations and products. From delicious flower strains, crave-worthy edibles and relieving topicals, we create a diverse selection of products formulated to fulfill your unique expectations while elevating standards of the consumer experience. For more information, visit motherearthri.com/

Media Contact: Carl BausMJH Life Sciences[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b5bacb7f-2ff0-49f1-9946-87fc456b0830

Cannabis Science Conference announces Mother Earth Wellness as host of the fall 2023 Canna Boot Camp This exciting educational workshop will take place on Sept. 20, 2023, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Source: Cannabis Science Conference
DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consumer Convenience Technologies (CCT), makers of the EEASY Lid, the first jar lid innovation in over 75 years, today announces that the EEASY Lid has earned honorable mention in Fast Companys 2023 Innovation by Design Awards.

The patented EEASY Lid allows consumers to break the vacuum seal on a jar by simply pressing a button on the lid. Research shows the EEASY Lid makes opening a jar up to 50% easier. The EEASY Lid was designed with people of all ages and abilities in mind, is easy to use and eliminates the hazards of sometimes dangerous jar lid opening hacks.

Fast Companys Innovation by Design Awards honor the designers and businesses solving the most crucial problems of today and anticipating the pressing issues of tomorrow. The competition, now in its 12th year, features a range of blue-chip companies, emerging startups and hungry young talents. It is one of the most sought-after design awards in the industry.

Honorees for the 2023 awards were selected in categories including accessible design, health, hospitality, packaging, retail, sustainability, transportation and more. The EEASY Lid is an honoree in the packaging category.

Beyond the average struggles of opening jars, there is a massive inclusivity and accessibility problem within packaging design. Most product packaging is designed under the assumption that consumers are able-bodied, not accounting for disabilities, injuries and illnesses.

CCT recognized the need for more accessible packaging when a friend of the companys co-founder couldnt open a jar after undergoing surgery for breast cancer. She asked why jars werent easier to open. From there, CCT spent eight years developing the EEASY Lid.

The EEASY Lid is currently available on Guglielmos Sauce in over 250 grocers across the northeast United States and in EDEKA Kempken stores in Krefeld, Germany. CCT is currently in talks with major grocers, brands and manufacturers across the globe, looking to expand EEASY Lid availability.

At CCT, we believe that accessible packaging should be the norm, not the exception. We spent over eight years creating the EEASY Lid, and we now work day in and day out to increase its availability to consumers, said Brandon Bach, president of CCT. Being honored in Fast Companys Innovation by Design Awards validates our mission and proves what weve always known  that the EEASY Lid is an innovative packaging product that can improve the lives of consumers everywhere. Additionally, by adapting packaging to meet accessibility needs, brands can also open themselves up to a much bigger portion of the consumer market.

The judges for Fast Companys Innovation by Design Awards include renowned designers from a variety of disciplines, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Companys own writers and editors. Entries were judged on the key ingredients of innovation: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact and business impact.

So much innovation news these days is focused on AI, said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. This years Innovation by Design honorees are a reminder that its human ingenuity that drives invention.

To see the complete list of honorees, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/innovation-by-design/list.

For more information on the EEASY Lid, please visit eeasylid.com.

Click here to download photos of the EEASY Lid.

EEASY Lids and demo products are available by request.

About Consumer Convenience TechnologiesConsumer Convenience Technologies (CCT) is the maker of the EEASYTM Lid, the first major jar lid innovation in over 75 years. The companys software designed patented technology makes opening a vacuum-sealed jar much easier, with just the push of a button. The EEASY Lid opens up the market to 49% of people who do not have the physical ability or who struggle to open a vacuum-sealed jar. The EEASY Lid is the worlds first aluminum lug jar lid  more sustainable and durable than traditional steel lids. CCT is partnered with Germany-based Trade Consult  a sales and marketing firm focusing on the grocery industry and food manufacturers  to coordinate overall execution of the EEASY Lid into the European marketplace. The EEASY Lid is manufactured at the company's 16,000 square foot, state-of-the-art technology center at the companys headquarters in Dayton, Ohio.

About Fast CompanyFast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.

Media ContactHannah ConleyUproar PR for CCT[email protected]321-236-0102

Source: CCT
TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Copper Lake Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: CPL, Frankfurt: WOI, OTC: WTCZF) (Copper Lake or the Company) is pleased to announce the appointment of Douglas Cater to the Board of Directors.

Mr. Cater is an Ontario-based professional geologist who has worked extensively across Canada and internationally for more than 35 years, with a particular focus on gold exploration in the Kirkland Lake and Timmins areas. He has held positions with both senior and intermediate gold producers, including Barrick, Placer Dome and Kinross. His most recent executive position was Vice President, Exploration (Canada) with Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. Mr. Cater is also a director of Sierra Metals Inc., Mayfair Gold Corp. and Exploits Discovery Corp. He is a graduate of the ICD - Rotman Directors Education Program.

In welcoming Mr. Cater, Copper Lake CEO Terry MacDonald noted: Dougs exceptional experience as a geologist and his strong governance experience add to the strength of Copper Lakes diverse Board. His guidance and support will be extremely valuable as we continue to build on our exploration of the Marshall Lake project, as well as future plans for the Norton Lake project.

Mr. Cater commented: I am pleased to be appointed to the Board of Directors of Copper Lake Resources Ltd, and I am looking forward to contributing to the success of both the Marshall Lake and Norton Lake projects.

Copper Lake also announce the granting of 500,000 incentive stock options under the Companys stock option plan. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.05 per share up to August 21, 2028.

ABOUT COPPER LAKE RESOURCES

Copper Lake Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded Canadian mineral exploration and development company with interests in two projects both located in Ontario. www.copperlakeresources.com

The Marshall Lake high-grade VMS copper, zinc, silver and gold project, comprises an area of approximately 220 square km located 120 km north of Geraldton, Ontario and is accessible by all-season road from the Trans-Canada Highway and just 22 km north of the main CNR rail line. Copper Lake has a 79.45% interest in the joint ventured property, which consists of 233 claims and 52 mining leases. The project also includes 148 claim cells staked in 2018 and 2020 that are 100% owned and not subject to any royalties, which add approximately 30 square km to the original property.

In addition to the original Marshall Lake property above, Marshall Lake also includes the Sollas Lake and Summit Lake properties, which are 100% owned by the Company and are not subject to any royalties. The Sollas Lake property consists of 20 claim cells comprising an area of 4 square km on the east side of the Marshall Lake property where historical EM airborne geophysical surveys have outlined strong conductors on the property hosted within the same favorable felsic volcanic units. The Summit Lake property currently consists of 100 claim cells comprising an area of 20.5 square km, is accessible year-round, and is located immediately west of the original Marshall Lake property. The Marshall Lake project is located in the traditional territories of the Aroland and Animbiigoo Zaagi igan Anishinaabek (AZA) First Nations.

Copper Lake also has a 69.79% joint venture interest in the Norton Lake nickel, copper, cobalt, and palladium PGM property, located in the southern Ring of Fire area, is approximately 100 km north of the Marshall Lake Property. The Norton Lake property has a NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated resource of 2.26 million tonnes @ 0.67% Ni, 0.61% Cu, 0.03% Co and 0.46 g/t Pd. The Norton Lake property is located in the traditional territories of the Eabametoong (Fort Hope) and Neskantaga First Nations.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Copper Lake Resources Ltd. Terry MacDonald, CEO (416) 561-3626

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 and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the Private Placement and proposed uses of the proceeds of the Private Placement, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. This forward-looking information reflects the Companys current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include but are not limited to: TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the Private Placement; Market acceptance and approvals; and the anticipated closing date for the Private Placement. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital Market conditions and Market prices for securities; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; the actual results of future operations; competition; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting the Company; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. A description of additional assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward- looking information can be found in the Companys disclosure documents on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) website at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. 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. However, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.

Source: Copper Lake Resources Ltd.
INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBank Indianapolis or Bank) announced today that it will repurchase, on a voluntary basis and for a limited time, up to $200 million in par value of excess stock from members by Sept. 27, 2023.

Interested members must make repurchase requests in writing during a 14-day period beginning Sept. 6, 2023. Members can identify the specific shares to be repurchased; otherwise, the Bank will repurchase the most recently acquired shares of excess stock not already subject to a redemption request. Should total requests exceed $200 million, excess stock repurchases will be made on a pro-rata basis. Members first received notice of the repurchase opportunity on Aug. 22, 2023.

Safe Harbor StatementThis news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements about and including the plan to repurchase excess stock are forward-looking statements. The Bank undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, except as may be required by applicable law. These statements speak only as of the date of the news release; are based on managements current beliefs and expectations; and are subject to factors beyond managements control. Notably, the repurchase of excess stock is subject to the Banks Capital Plan, the Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932 (12 U.S.C. 1421 et seq) and regulations issued thereunder, and any other applicable law. Accordingly, the Bank will postpone or cancel the repurchase of excess stock if it cannot be completed in conformance with the requirements of its Capital Plan or applicable law. Further, management may determine to postpone or cancel the excess stock repurchase for any reason including if management determines the excess stock is needed to support member activity. Accordingly, no member has a right to require the Bank to complete the repurchase of excess stock.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis: Building Partnerships. Serving Communities FHLBank Indianapolis is a regional bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress to ensure access to low-cost funding for their member financial institutions, with particular attention paid to providing solutions that support the housing and small business needs of members' customers. FHLBanks are privately capitalized and funded, and they receive no Congressional appropriations. One of 11 independent regional cooperative banks across the U.S., the FHLBank Indianapolis is owned by its Indiana and Michigan financial institution members, including commercial banks, credit unions, insurance companies, savings institutions and community development financial institutions. For more information about FHLBank Indianapolis, visit www.fhlbi.com and follow the Bank on LinkedIn and Twitter (@FHLBankIndy).

Contact: Scott ThienCorporate Communications 317-902-3103 [email protected]

Source: Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis
BRISBANE, Australia, Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE, Allkem or the Company) provides financial results for the Allkem Group (the Group) for the year ended 30 June 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS

Record annual group revenue of US$1,207.8 million achieved, a ~1.6x increase year on year ( YoY )

) Excellent operating performance and highly supportive market conditions generated group gross profit of US$1,065.8 million with group EBITDAIX of US$909.8 million and consolidated net profit after tax from continuing operations of US$524.6 million

The Olaroz Lithium Facility2 achieved record annual production of 16,703 tonnes, ~30% higher YoY and from the prior record in FY22

Record revenue at Olaroz increased 102% to total US$592.2 million on sales of 13,186 tonnes of lithium carbonate including US$12.3 million of revenue generated from by-product sales

Average realised pricing for lithium carbonate almost doubled YoY to US$43,981/t FOB3. The gross cash margin of 89% remains robust

Mt Cattlin produced 130,984 dry metric tonnes ( dmt ) of spodumene concentrate with significant operational improvements made by year end

) of spodumene concentrate with significant operational improvements made by year end Record revenue at Mt Cattlin of US$615.6 million, a 36% YoY increase which includes US$513.7 million generated from spodumene sales of 105,291 dmt and US$99.7 million revenue generated from low-grade sales

Average price for spodumene increased by ~2.2x YoY to US$4,879/ tonne CIF. Gross cash margin of 78% was similar to FY22

Strong cash generation and existing net cash balance4 of US$648.4m is expected to fully fund committed projects

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Olaroz Stage 2 achieved first wet production in mid-July with commissioning to continue and ramp up over the next 12-18 months

Naraha successfully achieved first production of lithium hydroxide in late 2022 and battery grade qualification commenced with customers in July

The Olaroz Resource increased 27% to 20.7Mt LCE providing excellent expansion potential

Mt Cattlins Ore Reserve Update confirmed an additional 4-5 year mine life to 2027-2028

Sal de Vida was issued EIA approval from the Catamarca government enabling the planned 15ktpa production capacity. A resolution was issued permitting the construction of the solar farm and water easements were issued

The liner installation has been completed on the first two strings of ponds at Sal de Vida Stage 1, earthworks for string 3 are underway, and construction of the carbonation plant has commenced

Federal approval for the James Bay ESIA was obtained in January 2023 and a new high-grade zone of mineralisation was identified

Post reporting period the total resource at James Bay increased 173% to 110.2 Mt @ 1.30% Li2O

Allkem Managing Director and CEO, Martin Perez de Solay says:

We have achieved outstanding full year results and demonstrated the quality and profitability of our operations. FY23 Revenue and EBITDAIX hit new records and were underpinned by record production at Olaroz and strong performance at Mt Cattlin, which achieved record run rates towards the end of the year.

Our team has reached significant milestones to capture global growth by increasing our production capacity and product offering. Amidst strong demand for lithium we delivered first production at the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant and achieved first production at Olaroz Stage 2. Sal de Vida construction is well underway, and James Bay is advancing with approvals received by the Federal government for the ESIA.

With two revenue generating operations being supplemented in the near future by Olaroz Stage 2 and a strong balance sheet, we are fully funded to complete construction at Sal de Vida and the development of James Bay.

Our strategy to create a leading global integrated lithium chemicals producer will be accelerated by the proposed merger with Livent.

GROUP PROFIT OVERVIEW

The Allkem Group (the Group) produced a Group EBITDAIX of US$909.8 million (2022: US$512.0 million) and total profit for the year from continuing operations of US$524.6 million (2022: US$334.7 million). The total profit for the year from continuing operations includes one off charges of US$9.9 million related to merger with Livent, gains of US$66.0 million from financial instruments, and foreign exchange losses of US$83.3 million. Net finance income was US$48.2 million.

Net assets of the Group increased to US$3,573.8 million as at 30 June 2023 (30 June 2022: US$3,081.4 million) including total cash balances of US$821.4 million (30 June 2022: US$663.5 million).

Group capital expenditure for the year totalled US$502.9 million (30 June 2022: US$238.7 million) and the Mizuho loans were reduced by US$37.6m.

Group Olaroz Mt Cattlin 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 5 US $'000 US $'000 US $'000 US $'000 US $'000 US $'000 Revenue 1,207,801 744,683 592,211 292,758 615,590 451,925 EBITDAIX 1 909,769 511,996 475,181 220,431 515,881 336,178 Less depreciation & amortisation (98,786 ) (49,910 ) (16,320 ) (17,717 ) (80,259 ) (30,309 ) EBITIX 2 810,983 462,086 458,861 202,714 435,622 305,869 Less interest income/(costs) 48,240 (14,200 ) 13,830 (24,153 ) 18,119 1,177 EBTIX 3 859,223 447,886 472,691 178,561 453,741 307,046 Less merger costs (9,945 ) - - - - - Less acquisition costs - (12,760 ) - - - - Less amortisation of customer contracts due to purchase price allocation - (13,400 ) - - - (13,400 ) Less inventory adjustment due to purchase price allocation - (12,367 ) - - - (12,367 ) Add other income  gains from financial instruments 66,023 31,666 - - - - Add foreign currency gains/(losses) (83,280 ) (10,260 ) (79,143 ) (7,481 ) 908 1,099 Less share of loss of associates, net of tax (2,114 ) (2,951 ) - - - - Less (impairment/write-downs)/ add realisation of inventory write-downs - (244 ) - - - - Segment profit/(loss) for the period before tax 829,907 427,570 393,548 171,080 454,649 282,378 Income tax expense (305,332 ) (92,884 ) (158,810 ) (74,935 ) (130,879 ) (84,713 ) Total profit for the year  continuing operations 524,575 334,686 234,738 96,145 323,770 197,665 Discontinued operations 4 (3,278 ) 2,537 Total profit for the year 521,297 337,223

EBITDAIX - Segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation, impairment, merger costs, gains from financial instruments, foreign currency gain/(losses), share of associate losses, business combination acquisition costs and non-cash business combination adjustments. EBITIX - Segment earnings before interest, taxes, impairment, merger costs, gains from financial instruments, foreign currency gains/(losses), share of associate losses, business combination acquisition costs and non-cash business combination adjustments. EBTIX - Segment earnings before taxes, impairment, merger costs, gains from financial instruments, foreign currency gains/(losses), share of associate losses, business combination acquisition costs and non-cash business combination adjustments. The discontinued operations represent the results of Borax. Includes the results from 25 August 2021 to 30 June 2022.

This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.

Allkem LimitedABN 31 112 589 910 Level 35, 71 Eagle StBrisbane, QLD 4000 Investor Relations & Media EnquiriesAndrew Barber M: +61 418 783 701 E: [email protected] Phoebe LeeP: +61 7 3064 3600 E: [email protected] Connect [email protected] +61 7 3064 3600www.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 StatementsForward-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 StatementsAny information in this announcement that relates to Mt Cattlins Mineral Resources and Reserves is extracted from the report entitled Mt Cattlin Annual Ore Resource and Reserve update at 30 June, 2023 released on 1 August 2023 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resources estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.

Technical information relating to the Companys Mt Cattlin project contained in this release is derived from, and in some instances is an extract from, the technical report entitled Mt Cattlin Stage 4 Expansion Project (Technical Report) which has been reviewed and approved by Albert Thamm, F.Aus.IMM (who is an employee of Galaxy Resources Pty. Ltd) as it relates to geology, drilling, sampling, exploration, QA/QC and mineral resources and Daniel Donald F.Aus.IMM (an employee of Entech Pty Ltd) as it relates to mining methods, Ore Reserves, site infrastructure, capital cost, operating cost estimates, mining cost, financial modelling and economic analysis 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.

Any information in this announcement that relates to Olaroz Project Mineral Resources is extracted from the report entitled Olaroz Resource increase 27% to 20.7Mt released on 27 March 2023 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resources estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.

Technical information relating to the Companys Olaroz project contained in this release is derived from, and in some instances is an extract from, the report entitled Olaroz Resource increase 27% to 20.7Mt released on 27 March 2023 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au and the technical report entitled Olaroz Resource Update March 2023 (Technical Report) which has been reviewed and approved by Murray Brooker (Hydrominex Geoscience Pty Ltd) as it relates to geology, drilling, sampling, exploration, QA/QC, mining methods and mineral resources and Mr Mike Gunn (Gunn Metals) as it relates to site infrastructure, capital cost, operating cost estimates, mining cost, financial modelling and economic analysis in accordance with National Instrument 43-101  Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Technical Report is available for review under the Companys profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Any information in this announcement that relates to James Bay Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves is extracted from the report entitled James Bay resource increased by 173% to 110Mt released on 11 August 2023 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.

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 report entitled James Bay resource increased by 173% to 110Mt released on 11 August 2023 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au and 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.

1. From continuing operations2. All figures 100% Olaroz Project Basis. 3. FOB (Free On Board) excludes insurance and freight charges included in CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) pricing. Therefore, the Companys FOB reported prices are net of freight (shipping), insurance and sales commission. 4. Net cash includes Naraha cash balances and project loans at 75% interest, and Olaroz cash deposits to secure project borrowing and deposits that are held as guarantees. Related party loans are excluded.

Source: Allkem Limited
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Helium Evolution Incorporated (TSXV: HEVI) ("HEVI" or the "Company"), a Canadian-based helium exploration company focused on developing assets in southern Saskatchewan, today announced the filing of the Companys interim condensed financial statements and associated managements discussion and analysis for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2023 (the Quarterly Report).

Complete details of the Quarterly Report are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on HEVIs website.

Three and Six Month Periods Ended June 30, 2023 Highlights:

Three months ended Six months ended Tabular amounts in thousands ofCanadian Dollars, except share and per share amounts June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 Financial Net loss 331 1,342 642 2,996 Net loss per share, basic and diluted 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.05 Cash 7,728 14,216 7,728 14,216 Working capital 8,781 14,803 8,781 14,803 Total assets 13,027 17,674 13,027 17,674 Total liabilities 375 976 375 976 Weighted average shares outstanding Basic and diluted1 96,033,974 79,118,595 96,033,974 60,467,902

1The weighted average number of common shares outstanding is not increased for outstanding stock options and warrants when the effect is anti-dilutive.

During the first half of 2023, HEVI continued to execute on its focused strategy of developing the Companys 5.6 million acres of helium rights in southern Saskatchewan and advancing its ultimate goal of producing and selling helium, generating cash flow and driving positive returns for shareholders. HEVI has remained committed to maintaining ongoing financial flexibility, demonstrated by a positive working capital position of $8.8 million at June 30, 2023. In the first half of 2023, the Company added significantly to its seismic database, which now totals approximately 2,000 kilometers. Using the seismic data HEVI has accumulated to date, the Companys team is actively working on developing prospective helium targets and internally generated drilling opportunities that can be pursued through Q4/23 and Q1/24. As plans are solidified later in 2023, the Company looks forward to providing stakeholders with further updates.

Operations Update

The Company is also pleased to announce that its farm-in partner, North American Helium Inc. (NAH), has confirmed the spudding of the farmout well at 6-13-5-7W3 (Test Well Area #2), pursuant to a previously announced seismic agreement (the Seismic Agreement or SA) (see news releases dated October 21, 2022, and June 28, 2022). Test Well Area #2 is situated approximately 20 kilometers northeast of the NAH helium discovery at Mankota. NAH is responsible for 100% of the drilling costs for Test Well Area #2, while HEVI retains a 20% working interest in that well, supporting the Companys continued financial flexibility and capital conservation.

NAH has also informed HEVI of its intention to amend one of its previously selected locations from 5-36-3-9W3 to 12-36-3-9W3 (Test Well Area #1), due to surface issues at the originally selected location. As Test Well Area #1 is now relocated on native prairie with regulatory requirements only allowing drilling access on frozen ground conditions, HEVI has granted NAH an extension of the spud date from the original August 31, 2023 to a date that is on or before November 1, 2023.

Stay Connected to Helium Evolution

Shareholders and other parties interested in learning more about the Helium Evolution opportunity are encouraged to visit the Companys website, which includes the Companys current corporate presentation, and are invited to follow the Company on LinkedIn and Twitter for ongoing corporate updates and helium industry information. Helium Evolution also provides an extensive, commissioned deep-dive research report prepared by a third party whose background includes serving as a research analyst for several bank-owned and independent investment dealers. In addition to recent media articles, HEVI maintains a profile on the Investing News Network platform, where further information, editorial pieces and industry reviews are available.

About Helium Evolution Incorporated

Helium Evolution is a Canadian-based helium exploration company holding the largest helium land rights position in North America among publicly traded companies, focused on developing assets in southern Saskatchewan. The Company has 5.6 million acres of land under permit near proven discoveries of economic helium concentrations which will support scaling the exploration and development efforts across its land base. HEVIs management and board are executing a differentiated strategy to become a leading supplier of sustainably-produced helium for the growing global helium market.

For further information, please contact:

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur.

Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding the Company's expectations regarding the Company and/or NAHs exploration and drilling plans, the Companys ability to identify future exploration and drilling targets, increasing shareholder value, the Companys ability to preserve capital, the drilling timeline for and success of any future Company and/or NAH drills, timing of ongoing updates to stakeholders 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 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: the Company may be unsuccessful in drilling commercially productive wells; the Company and/or NAH may choose to defer, accelerate or abandon its drilling plans; new laws or regulations and/or unforeseen events could adversely affect the Companys business and results of operations; stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and such volatility may adversely affect the price of the Company's securities regardless of its operating performance; risks generally associated with the exploration for and production of resources; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to expenses; constraint in the availability of services; commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations; adverse weather or break-up conditions; and uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures.

When relying on forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and risks, other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraphs will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: Helium Evolution Incorporated
ROUYN-NORANDA, Quebec, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GLOBEX MINING ENTERPRISES INC. (GMX  Toronto Stock Exchange, G1MN  Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Munich, Tradegate, Lang & Schwarz, LS Exchange, TTMzero, Dusseldorf and Quotrix Dusseldorf Stock Exchanges and GLBXF  OTCQX International in the US) is pleased to update shareholders on work undertaken by Brunswick Exploration Inc. (BRW-TSXV) on Globexs Lac Escale Lithium property in the James Bay area of northern Quebec (NTS 33H09).

On August 21, 2023, Brunswick announced the discovery of multiple outcrops containing spodumene (lithium mineral) (see photos attached to Brunswicks press release here). All the newly discovered lithium bearing outcrops occur on Globex claims or within a 1-kilometer Globex royalty perimeter. The spodumene bearing outcrop discoveries are the result of Brunswick tracing a series of large Spodumene boulders back to the source area. To date, five significant spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes have been identified with apparent widths of 25 to 80 metres. Lithium bearing units this wide may potentially be a significant find.

On January 24, 2023, Globex announced an option wherein Brunswick may earn 100% interest in the Globex claims subject to cash payments totaling $500,000 (half cash and half shares) and $1,000,000 in exploration expenditures over 3 years. Globex will retain a 3% Gross Metal Royalty (GMR), 1% of which may be purchased for $1,000,000. The GMR royalty will also apply to an area of 1 km from the exterior claim boundaries of Globexs claims. Should Brunswick earn 100% interest in the claims, at year 5 or upon reaching an expenditure of $4,000,000, Brunswick will commence to pay Globex a $100,000 per year advance royalty.

LAC ESCALE GEOLOGY MAP

Globex is pleased with Brunswicks progress to date and looks forward to Brunswicks continuing exploration efforts as only a small portion of the property has been prospected.

This press release was written by Jack Stoch, Geo., President and CEO of Globex in his capacity as a Qualified Person (Q.P.) under NI 43-101.

We Seek Safe Harbour. Foreign Private Issuer 12g3  2(b) CUSIP Number 379900 50 9LEI 529900XYUKGG3LF9PY95 For further information, contact: Jack Stoch, P.Geo., Acc.Dir.President & CEOGlobex Mining Enterprises Inc.86, 14th StreetRouyn-Noranda, Quebec Canada J9X 2J1 Tel.: 819.797.5242Fax: 819.797.1470 [email protected] www.globexmining.com

Forward Looking Statements: Except for historical information, this news release may contain certain forward looking statements. These statements may involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity and performance to be materially different from the expectations and projections of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (Globex). No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Globex will derive therefrom. A more detailed discussion of the risks is available in the Annual Information Form filed by Globex on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

LAC ESCALE GEOLOGY MAP LAC ESCALE GEOLOGY MAP

Source: Globex Mining Enterprises Inc.
Cincinnati, OH, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osborne Coinage, a distinguished leader in crafting custom commemorative coins, proudly announces its collaboration with the Kenton County Sheriff's Office for the creation of a third exclusive coin. These meticulously designed coins pay tribute to the dedication, service, and unwavering commitment of the men and women of the Kenton County Sheriff's Office. This partnership seamlessly combines artistry with a profound appreciation for law enforcement, spotlighting the rich heritage and vital role of the Kenton County Sheriff's Office within the community.

The trio of coins, each a masterpiece, encapsulates the core values and responsibilities of the Kentucky Sheriff's Office:

1. Challenge Coin: This coin features a striking combination of a Spartan helmet, an eagle, and an American flag, symbolizing the strength, courage, loyalty, and authority exemplified by law enforcement personnel. Challenge coins, deeply rooted in military and law enforcement traditions, are bestowed upon individuals as tokens of gratitude for their service, accomplishments, or as symbols of affiliation with specific units or organizations.

2. Deputys Coin: An intricate tribute to the courageous deputies who selflessly put their lives on the line daily to safeguard and serve. The elaborate design highlights the diverse roles they fulfill, from patrolling neighborhoods to upholding public safety. These coins serve as positive tokens for teenagers and youth, fostering constructive relationships with law enforcement within the community.

3. Administration and Finance Coin: The latest addition to the collection embodies the dedication of the administration and finance offices in supporting both the Sheriff's office and the broader community. This office plays a pivotal role in ensuring efficient and effective operations, managing a range of responsibilities, including budgeting, financial reporting, records management, and property tax collection.

"Collaborating with the Kenton County Sheriff's Office on this remarkable endeavor is a true honor," remarked Gibson Olpp, Marketing Manager for Osborne Coinage. "Through our precision craftsmanship and meaningful coin designs, we aim to encapsulate the unwavering dedication and commitment exemplified by the Kenton County Sheriff's Office."

Jerry Knochelmann, representing the Kenton County Sheriff's Office, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "These commemorative coins stand as a testament to the resolute dedication of all those comprising the Kentucky Sheriff's Office. They symbolize the profound connection we share with our community and serve as a source of pride, eternally reminding us of our collective commitment to safety and security."

The Kentucky Sheriffs Office commemorative coins are available in limited quantities for purchase. A portion of the proceeds from sales will be reinvested into community programs and initiatives that strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the citizens they serve. Among these initiatives is The Boys & Girls Ranch of Gilbertsville, KY, an organization committed to positively impacting the lives of Kentucky's children by fostering self-esteem, moral character, and respect for both themselves and law enforcement professionals.

For more information about these commemorative coins, please visit the Osborne Coinage website at https://osbornecoin.com.

About Osborne Coinage:

Osborne Coinage is America's oldest private mint, founded in 1835. The company has been producing custom-made coins for over 180 years and has earned a reputation for excellence in design, quality, and customer service.

Media Contact:

Gibson Olpp

Osborne Coinage

[email protected]

513.681.5424

About Kenton County Sheriff's Office:

As the chief law enforcement agency of Kenton County, the mission of the Kenton County Kentucky Sheriffs Office (KCKSO) is to hold integrity as a standard. Sheriff Korzenborn and the staff of the KCKSO provide leadership in the community, recognize and respect the diversity of citizens, and assist other law enforcement agencies in professionally protecting and serving the public. These values are reflected each day as our staff executes their constitutional duties as public servants.

https://www.kentoncountysheriff.org/

About The Boys and Girls Ranch:

The Boys and Girls Ranch is dedicated to redirecting the lives of children in Kentucky, to build their self-esteem, moral character, and teach them to have respect for themselves as well as others and law enforcement.https://kentuckysheriffs.org/boys-and-girls-ranch/

Attachments

Gibson Olpp Osborne Coinage 5136815424 [email protected]

Source: Osborne Coinage
Perth, Aug. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PERSEUS MINING ANNOUNCES OPEN PIT AND UNDERGROUND ORE RESERVE GROWTH AT YAOURE

Perth, Western Australia/August 23, 2023/Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) is pleased to announce an increase to CMA underground Ore Reserves beneath the existing CMA open pit, at its Yaoure Gold Mine in Cote dIvoire of 2.7 Mt at 3.46 g/t for 300 koz. The total CMA underground Ore Reserve is now estimated by Perseus to be 4.9 Mt at 3.51 g/t for 559 koz. The CMA orebody remains open down plunge and down dip below the current Indicated Mineral Resource, and further extensions to the CMA underground Ore Reserves are expected with future drilling during FY24.

Feasibility-level studies on the CMA deposit at Yaoure (approximately four hundred metres down dip from the base of the open pit) have confirmed the economic and technical viability of underground mining. Resource definition drilling during FY23 has added Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves down-dip of the CMA underground Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) Ore Reserves and readers are referred to ASX release Perseus Updates Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimates dated 28 August 2022 for additional details on the CMA underground PFS.

More widely spaced drilling below the CMA underground Ore Reserve has shown that mineralisation extends deeper allowing an extension to Inferred Mineral Resources at depth. Extension of Inferred Mineral Resources and continued drilling success down-dip, provides strong encouragement for further expansion of the CMA underground.

As well as growth to Ore Reserves for the CMA underground, a drill campaign of 22,084 metres during FY23 at the adjacent Yaoure open pit has resulted in 6.9 Mt at 1.82 g/t for 403 koz of additional Yaoure open pit Ore Reserves (separate to the CMA open pit). Yaoure open pit Ore Reserves now total 11.8 Mt at 1.49 g/t for 565 koz. The increase to Yaoure Open pit Ore Reserves is based upon conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources immediately beneath the existing Yaoure open pit to Indicated Mineral Resources.

CMA underground and Yaoure open pit Ore Reserve increases are in addition to the existing Ore Reserves, adding additional value and mine life to the Yaoure Gold Mine. The CMA underground Feasibility Study (FS) and the Yaoure open pit expansion will be released in Perseus upcoming Yaoure Gold Mine Life of Mine (LOM) plan.

HIGHLIGHTS

Indicated Mineral Resources at CMA underground have increased by 439 koz to 7.3 Mt at 4.17 g/t for 976 koz of contained gold, and Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated at 4.4 Mt at 3.4 g/t gold containing 485 koz of gold.

Underground Probable Ore Reserves estimated to date total 4.9 Mt of ore grading 3.51 g/t gold and containing 559 koz of gold, which is an increase for FY23 of 2.7 Mt at 3.46 g/t gold containing 300 koz of gold.

Yaoure open pit Indicated Mineral Resources have increased by 300 koz to 19.2 Mt at 1.27 g/t for 784 koz of contained gold, and Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated at 3.0 Mt at 1.3 g/t gold containing 124 koz of gold.

Yaoure open pit Probable Ore Reserves have increased in FY23 by 6.9 Mt at 1.82 g/t for 403 koz of gold, for a total of 11.8 Mt at 1.49 g/t gold containing 565 koz of gold.

Yaoure Gold Mine Ore Reserve increases at the CMA underground and the Yaoure open pit will extend the Yaoure Life of Mine (LOM) and all Ore Reserve additions are inside the mine fence and adjacent to the Yaoure processing facility. Perseus will prepare an updated LOM Plan for the Yaoure Gold Mine during the September 2023 Quarter.

Perseuss Managing Director and CEO Jeff Quartermaine said:

Since pouring first gold at Yaoure, this mine has repeatedly exceeded our expectations on almost every measure and made a very significant contribution to the success of our company. The discovery of extensions to the CMA orebody at depth and confirmation that these Mineral Resources can be economically developed is further evidence that not only is the Yaoure Gold Mine an outstandingly good operation, but that it will also continue to contribute benefits to all of our stakeholders, well beyond our initial estimates.

The results that have been announced today are associated with the first 400 metres down dip from the base of the CMA open pit. Three dimensional seismic surveys have confirmed that the CMA and associated structures continue at depth for a much greater distance underground and it will require further drilling to confirm that these structures are mineralised with economically mineable grades at depth. However, based on what we have seen to date, we are optimistic that once established, the underground operation at Yaoure will continue for many years into the future.

The Yaoure underground mine is Perseuss first foray into underground mining, with all previous operations having been open cut operations. While this represents a new style of mining and a new challenge for us as a company, it is certainly not new to many of the technical staff that are currently employed by Perseus who are very keen to demonstrate their skills in an underground mining setting. This depth of talent within our existing ranks gives us every confidence that the Yaoure Underground operation, when it commences, will be every bit as successful as the open pit operation that has preceded it.

ASX/TSX CODE: PRUREGISTERED OFFICE:Level 2437 Roberts RoadSubiaco WA 6008Telephone: +61 8 6144 1700Email: [email protected] ABN: 27 106 808 986www.perseusmining.com CONTACTS:Nathan RyanMedia Relations+61 4 20 582 887 [email protected] Jeff QuartermaineManaging Director & CEO [email protected]

Attachment

Source: Perseus Mining Limited
SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ResGreen Group International, Inc. (OTC PINK: RGGI) (RGGI), a leader in mobile robot and software solutions, has introduced an AI-driven chatbot to streamline communication with its investors. Developed in-house, this chatbot aims to provide swift, self-help answers to the company's growing number of investors.

"We're leveraging modern technology not only in our products but also in the way we communicate with our investors," remarked Parsh Patel, ResGreen CEO. "Our chatbot is there to provide answers around the clock and even offers support in multiple languages to cater to our diverse user base."

Utilizing natural language processing, the chatbot improves with each interaction, ensuring accurate and timely answers for website visitors. ResGreen, currently trading on the OTC PINK market as RGGI, is also considering a move to a larger stock exchange in the future.

In the pipeline, the company plans to launch sales and customer service chatbots to further enhance the user experience on its website.

About ResGreen Group International, Inc. (RGGI)ResGreen pioneers the convergence of Industry 4.0 and the human-centric principles of Industry 5.0, revolutionizing manufacturing with cutting-edge mobile robots and AI. Our mission is to bring these technologies to small and medium companies, bridging the gap with industry giants. Our holistic approach seamlessly integrates multi-platform communication, optimizing workplaces with AI, Unreal Engine simulations, and collaborative human-robot interfaces. We simplify robotics integration, offering comprehensive support and training. Backed by a seasoned team, we align with IoT, cloud computing, and analytics standards. ResGreen empowers companies to compete, boosting productivity, reducing costs, and enabling data-driven decisions in both Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 realms. For more information, visit resgreengroup.com.

Forward Looking StatementThis news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general business, economic, competitive, regulatory, markets and other conditions, political and social uncertainties. 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. No information in this news release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Companys future stock price, revenues, or results of operations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact: Sarah Carlson[email protected]

Source: ResGreen Group International Inc
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. In attempts to mislead the global community, Armenia continues to face failures. However, the country persists in bending its narrative while grossly violating international law norms and principles. It disregards UN Security Council resolutions, engaging in unwarranted manipulative actions. To date, this policy has yielded no favorable results, only further revealing the true nature of Armenian politics marked by disruptive activities and an absolute unwillingness to establish peace in the region.

Among the primary arguments Armenia attempts to counter with are statements about so-called "blockade", "famine", and a "humanitarian catastrophe", affecting residents of Armenian origin of Azerbaijan's Karabakh.

However, even in this context, the international community remains unconvinced. Several influential European publications have conducted their own investigations that undoubtedly expose the baseless claims made by the Armenian side.

For instance, an article published by Bulgaria's Fakti news portal, one of the country's top five publications, features a political commentator noting that a "tangible demonstration of the absence of any famine [in Karabakh] was the experiment conducted by Ukrainian Deputy Vladimir Kreydenko. He organized orders for meat, fish dishes, cheese, and pastries for several corporate parties in Khankendi, without receiving a single refusal". This incident was also reported by one of Ukraine's leading periodicals, Apostrophe, with a monthly readership of 13.6 million.

Another European outlet, Croatia's Direktno news portal, with a monthly readership of about 3 million, highlights that the situation in Khankendi has remained far from critical. It cites a representative of Armenia's ruling party, Shirak Torosyan, who admitted that there is "no famine in Karabakh; there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill".

One of Greece's most prominent newspapers, Proto Thema, with a readership of 43 million, emphasizes that Armenian claims of a purported "humanitarian catastrophe" are debunked by verified facts, such as unhindered humanitarian cargo movement along the Lachin-Khankendi road.

Philenews, Cyprus's largest newspaper, also agrees that there is no "humanitarian catastrophe" being created in Karabakh. "There is neither a blockade nor a famine in the region, regardless of how strongly the pro-Russian regime's propaganda asserts otherwise," the publication states.

Hence, numerous examples demonstrate that Armenian propaganda is losing its effectiveness, and it's not so easy to deceive the global community. In contrast, Azerbaijan, despite Armenian falsehoods, provides irrefutable evidence of the absence of any humanitarian issues in the Karabakh region. Azerbaijan continues to assert that residents of Armenian origin in the region should reconsider their stance and initiate relations with Baku.
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SECU Foundation has marked a significant milestone, surpassing a quarter of a billion dollars in cumulative funding since its establishment in 2004. At the close of its fiscal year in June, SECU Foundations commitment to North Carolina non-profits tallied more than $258 million for grants and financing in support of education, housing, healthcare, and human services initiatives to benefit the people and communities all across the state.

From the very beginning, SECU Foundations success has been achieved with the full support of State Employees Credit Union (SECU) and its member-owners who fund the Foundation through the reallocation of their $1 monthly checking account maintenance fee. Its a unique strategy known as the Power of a Dollar, and one that has enabled the Foundation to help address issues and improve the quality of life in each of North Carolinas 100 counties.

Today, SECU Foundation has grown to become the largest foundation in the credit union industry. It receives approximately 150 letters of interest each year from non-profit and community organizations statewide requesting aid. The Foundations largest giving year to-date was fiscal year 2022-2023 with SECU Foundation Board-approved grants awarded to 56 non-profits totaling over $23 million. Some of the many projects included scholarship programs, affordable housing initiatives, homeless shelters, health and wellness programs, and advocacy and supportive services for children and adults.All of us at SECU Foundation are honored and privileged to carry out this work, and we are afforded this opportunity through the generosity of SECU members and our Foundation Board, said SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell. North Carolina has so many wonderful non-profits across the state with amazing people who take on a myriad of challenges for the betterment of their communities. We share their concerns and understand the importance of their work. The projects supported through SECU Foundation are producing tremendous benefits for all North Carolinians, and for that, we are so incredibly grateful.

About SECU and SECU Foundation

A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 86 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $50 billion in assets. It serves over 2.7 million members through 275 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, Member Services Support via phone, www.ncsecu.org, and a Mobile App. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high-impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and human services. Since 2004, SECU Foundation has made a collective financial commitment of over $258 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.

Contact: Jama Campbell, Executive DirectorOffice: 919-839-5562 | [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c584ae0e-c111-4e7f-a153-d4d3ed5c10f7

SECU Foundation Funding Map Funding by 8 economic regions

Source: State Employees' Credit Union (SECU)
Vancouver, BC, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: SYH) (OTCQX: SYHBF) (Frankfurt: SC1P) (the Company or Skyharbour) announces that, pursuant to the joint venture agreement (the Agreement) made between the Company and Azincourt Energy Corp. (Azincourt) with relation to the East Preston Project (the Property), the parties have agreed that, in lieu of approximately CAD $543,000 exploration expenditures required to be made by the Company that were incurred in the 2022 exploration program, the Company shall pay $150,000 and issue 1,000,000 common shares (the Shares) to Azincourt (see news release dated February 17th, 2021, for more information on the terms of the joint venture). Further, the Company elected not to participate in the 2023 exploration program with flow through funds being allocated primarily to its co-flagship Russell Lake Project, and thus the Companys interest in the Property is reduced from fifteen percent (15%) to nine and half percent (9.5%) pursuant to the Agreement.

The Shares shall be subject to a statutory hold period, as required under applicable securities laws, and, in addition, 500,000 Shares shall be subject to voluntary hold period of eight (8) months from issuance and shall bear a restricted legend with these restrictions.

About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.:

Skyharbour holds an extensive portfolio of uranium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market fundamentals with twenty-four projects, ten of which are drill-ready, covering over 518,000 hectares (over 1.2 million acres) of land. Skyharbour has acquired from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the Company, a 100% interest in the Moore Uranium Project which is located 15 kilometres east of Denison's Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced-stage uranium exploration property with high-grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone that returned drill results of up to 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9 metres including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 metres at a vertical depth of 265 metres. Adjacent to the Moore Uranium Project is Skyharbours recently optioned Russell Lake Uranium Project from Rio Tinto, which hosts historical high-grade uranium drill intercepts over a large property area with robust exploration upside potential. The Company is actively advancing these projects through exploration and drill programs.

Skyharbour has joint-ventures with industry-leader Orano Canada Inc. and Azincourt Energy at the Preston and East Preston Projects, respectively, whereby Orano and Azincourt earned majority interests in the projects through exploration expenditures, cash payments and share issuances. Skyharbour also has several active earn-in option partners including: ASX-listed Valor Resources at the Hook Lake Uranium Project; CSE-listed Basin Uranium Corp. at the Mann Lake Uranium Project; CSE-listed Medaro Mining Corp. at the Yurchison Project; Yellow Rocks Energy, a private Australian entity, at the Wallee and Usam Island projects; North Shore Energy Metals at the South Falcon Project; and TSX-V listed Tisdale Clean Energy at the South Falcon East Project which is host to the Fraser Lakes Zone B Uranium and Thorium Deposit.

Collectively, Skyharbour has now signed earn-in option agreements with partners that total to over $37 million in partner-funded exploration expenditures, over $28 million worth of shares being issued and over $19 million in cash payments coming into Skyharbour, assuming that these partner companies complete their entire earn-ins at the respective projects.

Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.

Skyharbours Uranium Project Map in the Athabasca Basin:https://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/SKY_SaskProject_Locator_V2A_20230727.jpg

To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: SYH) visit the Companys website at www.skyharbourltd.com.

SKYHARBOUR RESOURCES LTD.

Jordan Trimble Jordan TrimblePresident and CEO

For further information contact myself or:Nicholas ColturaCorporate Development and CommunicationsSkyharbour Resources Ltd. Telephone: 604-558-5847Toll Free: 800-567-8181Facsimile: 604-687-3119Email: [email protected]

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

The securities offered 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 U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements, including the Private Placement. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, regulatory approvals, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.

Source: Skyharbour Resources Ltd
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a heartwarming display of solidarity and civic-mindedness, Peace by Chocolate, a steadfast ally of Trans Canada Trail, is once again leading by example. Following the devastating floods in Nova Scotia, Peace by Chocolate will direct proceeds from their One Trail, One Love chocolate bars to Trans Canada Trails Climate Emergency Support Fund.

The One Trail, One Love campaign originally launched last spring, and invited Canadians to support the Trans Canada Trail. Today, in light of recent climate events that severely damaged trails, Trans Canada Trail and Peace by Chocolate are reinvigorating that campaign by inviting people from Nova Scotia and beyond to contribute to trail clean-up efforts.

For every bar sold, a portion of proceeds will be designated to trail groups in Nova Scotia working to rebuild or repair sections of the Trail that were impacted by climate events.

The impacts of the changing climate  including flooding and forest fires  are devastating trails across the country and limiting opportunities for active transportation, community connection, tourism and connections to nature, says Eleanor McMahon, President & CEO of Trans Canada Trail. The compassionate team at Peace by Chocolate has stepped forward with unwavering support for the Trail, embodying the true spirit of community.

This partnership, and Peace by Chocolates goodwill, speaks volumes about the impact that a single gesture of kindness can have on a community  and a nationwide trail network.

Our brand has always been about uniting people and supporting the causes that matter most to our community, says Tareq Hadhad, Founder of Peace by Chocolate. The trails we cherish  and the people who use them  have suffered from recent flooding. We understand how important trails are to people who cherish a connection to nature, and who understand the contribution they make to tourism and local economic development. We see this as an opportunity to contribute to trail restoration, and to ensure trails remain the spaces for connection that we all need.

Trail groups can apply for funding through Trans Canada Trails Climate Emergency Support Fund, which was recently launched to help trail groups that are facing unprecedented damage to the Trail from flooding, fire or other climate events. The Fund is available for Trans Canada Trail groups across the country that need financial support to reopen their section of the Trail.

Were working closely with trail groups to identify and support needs for trail restoration along our 1,200 km network of trails in Nova Scotia  some of which are currently closed, says McMahon. Based on the damage weve seen in Nova Scotia and across Canada, we know that Peace by Chocolates generosity will make a difference to the Trans Canada Trail, and to local trail groups, volunteers and trail users. We thank them sincerely for their support.

Together, Trans Canada Trail and Peace by Chocolate invite Nova Scotians and trail enthusiasts from across the country to support trails in their community by purchasing one of four trail-themed bars, available in store or online.

Resources

Media contactAllison Leonard, Director of Communications, Trans Canada Trail [email protected]519-722-6537

About Trans Canada TrailThe Trans Canada Trail (the Trail) is the longest recreational trail in the world, spanning over 28,000 kilometres on land and water. Linking three oceans  the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic  the Trail connects 15,000 rural, urban and Indigenous communities across every province and territory. It is a ribbon that connects Canadas diverse landscapes, seasons, people and experiences, and fosters unity, collaboration and connectedness. Trans Canada Trail is a registered charity and stewards this national trail in collaboration with local Trail partners. With funding from the Government of Canada through Parks Canada, and investments from all levels of government and generous donors, Trans Canada Trail is the largest investor in trail infrastructure projects in Canada, supporting improvements, growth and enhancements for generations to come. tctrail.ca

About Peace by ChocolatePeace by Chocolate was founded by the Hadhad family, whose original chocolate factory was destroyed in a 2012 bombing in Damascus, Syria. Fast-forward three years, and the family came to Canada as refugees, putting down new roots in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Peace by Chocolate was founded in 2016 and has been sharing its passion for chocolate  and offering up deliciousness  since that time.

Where to find us:https://tctrail.ca/https://www.facebook.com/TCTrailSentierTChttps://twitter.com/TCTrailhttps://ca.linkedin.com/company/trans-canada-trailhttps://www.youtube.com/thetranscanadatrailhttps://www.instagram.com/transcanadatrail/

Source: Trans Canada Trail
QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UgoWork, a Canadian energy solutions provider specialized in the material handling industry, today announced that it has signed a pan-Canadian distribution agreement with Liftow Limited, Canada's leading partner for end-to-end Toyota forklift and material handling solutions since 1960. In an effort to quickly expand Liftows offering, its sales and technical teams in Ontario and Quebec have already been trained on UgoWork products.

Under the official agreement, Liftow will offer UgoWorks complete line of lithium-ion batteries for electric forklifts. In addition, Liftow customers will be able to take advantage of UgoWorks flexible pay-for-performance consumption model.

Also known as Energy as a Service, this industry-first consumption model offers an array of benefits, including minimized upfront costs and capital expenditures. Companies only pay for what they use, which contributes to healthier bottom lines. Furthermore, UgoWorks team of battery experts works alongside customers to proactively monitor their lithium-ion batteries state of health to optimize fleet uptimes as well as drastically reduce unplanned maintenance and replacement costs.

We are thrilled that Liftow, as a reputable Canadian leader, recognizes the tremendous value UgoWork can bring to material handling teamsin terms of productivity, capacity and cost-savings, said Philippe Beauchamp, President and CEO at UgoWork. Thanks to this agreement, companies throughout Canada can speed up their material handling throughput without breaking the bank. We look forward to working alongside the Liftow teams as they continue to expand their service offering with innovative new technologies and operational approaches that are adapted to todays customer challenges.

UgoWork convened in late 2022 in Toronto, where key representatives from Liftow Limited including Amanda Coulson, General Sales Manager  Central Division; Sean McBurney, Equipment Sales Manager  Central Division; and Red Andal, Marketing and Customer Experience Manager; to formalize the important distribution agreement.

Interested in learning more about UgoWorks lithium-ion batteries, why they are light years away from legacy solutions, and its EaaS? Contact Liftow today or reach out to a UgoWork Energy Expert.

About UgoWork

UgoWork develops, manufactures, and offers energy expertise and innovative lithium-ion power solutions that unlock the possibilities of Energy as a Service for the material handling industry. The company provides a flexible and cost-efficient consumption model that guarantees uptime and peace of mind. Its cloud-based approach to fleet optimization, pay-per-use program, energy insight, continuous field service, uptime guarantee, and end-of-life management enable fleet managers to execute their energy transition seamlessly. UgoWorks products and energy solutions cater to industrial trucks operating in the food and beverage, manufacturing, transportation, and distribution sectors.

Based in Quebec, Canada, the company offers its advanced, cost-efficient, and proven energy management programs across North America to many fortune 500 companies. Visit ugowork.com.

ugowork.com

About Liftow

Liftow Limited is the largest Toyota forklift dealer group in North America.

Their mission is to provide their clients with the most exceptional material handling equipment, products, training, and customer service in the industry. They are dedicated to establishing a true partnership with their clients while offering exemplary services and quality products at a truly competitive price. Liftow is committed to assisting their customers in finding the safest, most productive, and cost-efficient solution for their material handling needs. Their specialties range from forklift rentals, parts and service, corporate training to the sale of new or used material handling equipment. They are an authorized Toyota forklift dealer and have a knowledgeable team that services Ontario, Quebec and The Maritimes for Liftow as well as British Columbia under the MasonLift name. Liftows U.S. divisions Badger ToyotaLift and Northern ToyotaLift serves Southern Wisconsin and Vermont respectively.

https://liftow.com/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/812d9e13-1038-4991-9e1e-26c16e4e59cc

MEDIA INQUIRIES Jean-Francois Marchand Director of Marketing and Communications [email protected]

UgoWork signs distribution agreement with Liftow From left to right: Chris McQueen, Account Manager (UgoWork), Amanda Coulson, General Sales Manager  Central Division (Liftow), Jean-Yves Beauchamp, Senior Sales Executive (UgoWork), Jean-Francois Marchand, Director of Marketing and Communications (UgoWork), Sean McBurney, Equipement Sales Manager  Central Division (Liftow), Red Andal, Director of Marketing and Customer Experience (Liftow).

Source: UgoWork
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Uproar PR, a forward-thinking, award-winning public relations agency that offers media relations, thought leadership, digital and influencer services to clients globally, today announces its partnership with Swipesum, a consultancy that combines decades of payments expertise with AI to help merchants reduce payment processing fees and streamline operations.

Uproar PRs extensive work with business technology and payments companies perfectly positions the team to support Swipesums goal of increasing awareness nationwide.

The payments industry is complex, and it requires relationships and industry expertise to secure impactful coverage. At Uproar PR, our teams have developed relationships with national, business, payments and industry-specific reporters that will drive coverage for Swipesum, ultimately boosting their brand awareness and company growth, said Catriona Harris, CEO of Uproar PR. A common goal among our clients is securing media coverage that generates leads and gets more people into the sales funnel. Repeatedly, we have proven that our coverage reaches the right audiences to do just that.

Uproar specializes in showcasing the impact B2B technology companies have, routinely earning media coverage in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Inc., TechCrunch, Axios, VentureBeat and more. In addition, its clients have seen website traffic spike after securing coverage in industry-specific verticals, such as PYMNTS, American Banker, Retail Dive and QSR Magazine.

Swipesum truly puts merchants first. Coming from payment companies, our team knows how to minimize payment processing fees, reduce fraud, and streamline operations across the board for merchants nationwide, said Michael Seaman, CEO of Swipesum. Large franchisors and merchants trust us to serve as their Chief Payments Officer. Since our founding in 2016, we have successfully served as chief payments officer to large franchisors and merchants, and we are ready to bring those partnerships wider.

A key component to Swipesums consulting services is its AI platform, Staitment. Reviewing merchant statements for companies making millions in sales monthly can take three to four months, whereas Staitment can analyze them in seconds, noting which fees are non-negotiable and which are inflated. From there, Swipesum will work with merchants on a plan, and proceed to negotiate with ISOs to obtain the best possible rate.

In addition to B2B technology and payments, Uproar consistently generates media coverage for healthcare, consumer technology, real estate, logistics, lifestyle, automotive and more. Many of Uproars clients have grown into globally recognized brands or have been successfully acquired by Fortune 500 companies.

To learn more about Uproar PR and its experience with technology companies, visit uproarpr.com.

About Uproar PR Uproar PR is an award-winning, full-service agency that delivers top-tier results to drive sales and raise awareness for its clients. With service offerings in media relations, social media, thought leadership and influencer marketing, Uproar PR continually places its clients at the forefront of national and industry trends. Prior to COVID-19, Uproar had a team of 50 across three offices in Orlando, Chicago and Annapolis. Adjusting to the needs and demands of its team and the new environment, it now has a team of over 60 full-time employees across 14 states. The PR agency works with a broad spectrum of technology, lifestyle, consumer and professional services clients. Devoted to quality results and a top-notch corporate culture, Uproar PR has been recognized on Entrepreneurs list of Top Company Cultures, as a Gold Stevie Award Winner, one of Florida Trends Best Companies to Work For, ChicagoInnos Top 100 Coolest Companies to Work for in Chicago, and a Platinum Hermes Creative Awards winner. For more information, visit www.uproarpr.com.

About SwipesumSwipesum is a comprehensive payment processing and merchant services consultancy delivering innovative auditing solutions to businesses nationwide. Swipesum acts as a companys Chief Payments Officer, combining industry knowledge, AI and proprietary software to create a transparent payments strategy that optimizes payment processing fees. The team of expert consultants provides 24/7 assistance and continued monitoring to return the budgetary power back to the business owner. Visit swipesum.com for more information.

Media ContactElsa AnschuetzUproar PR[email protected]

Source: Uproar PR
HERNDON, Va., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valiant announced today that it has been awarded a $50.8M contract by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to provide chemical management services (CMS) for DLA Distribution Corpus Christi, Texas, located on Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NASCC), Texas, and the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) industrial maintenance complex. The scope of this contract is to provide CMS support that includes third-party logistics (3PL), end-to-end supply chain functions and processes, and effective inventory management in support of DLA and CCAD's industrial maintenance mission.



DLA Distribution Corpus Christi, Texas, is the primary wholesale distribution point for major components to support helicopter repair missions for the Department of Defense and Foreign Military Sales customers worldwide. Its mission is to receive, store, pack, preserve, issue, and arrange transportation for assigned supplies and equipment as directed by DLA and Service Inventory Control Point Item managers.

We are proud to continue our support of the DLA Distribution Corpus Christi and CCAD's industrial maintenance complex. Peter Capwell, General Manager and SVP of Valiants Mission Support business unit, said, Our experience in providing effective hazardous material management and CMS support services has enabled us to offer the proven performance, flexibility, and low-risk solutions required to effectively manage and execute this critical mission.

About Valiant

Valiant empowers our customers most critical missions by training, equipping, protecting, sustaining, and supporting those who serve. Valiants 5,000 employees enable government departments and agencies, global peacekeepers, relief workers, and disaster response teams to complete their missions efficiently and effectively in some of the most complex environments worldwide. Valiant deploys expertise for customers in the areas of Training, Simulation, and Readiness; Critical Mission and

Language Support; Advanced Logistics & Sustainment; Intelligence & Analysis Solutions; Global Contingency & Stability Operations; and Facility Modernization, Operations, and Maintenance. Valiant is based in Herndon, Va., and is a closely held corporation of GC Valiant LP, along with other shareholders. For more information, visit www.onevaliant.com , and follow Valiant on LinkedIn or Facebook.

For media inquiries:

Justin Garrison

Sr. Director of Communications, Marketing & Strategy

M: +1 864 607 5943

E: [email protected]




Acquisition accelerates Xalients global growth ambitions

LONDON, UK, 22nd August 2023  Secure digital identity and network transformation specialist, Xalient is pleased to announce the acquisition of Integral Partners LLC, a US-based digital identity consulting and advisory firm with over a decade of experience focussed exclusively on IAM. The combination of these two dynamic organisations will accelerate future growth for Xalient, in response to the growing demand for specialist providers who can deliver rapid, customer-centric solutions across the security landscape.

Founded in 2015 with the ambition to challenge the status quo and disrupt the secure networking arena, Xalient has demonstrated its commitment to innovation, delivering a robust portfolio of zero-trust solutions and AI-powered managed services that span cybersecurity, software-defined networking, and communications. The addition of Integral Partners to Xalient's portfolio delivers an infusion of deep identity security capabilities, which are the central pillar of zero-trust frameworks embraced by modern enterprises today.

This acquisition adds the expert consulting and advisory competencies around digital identity that Integral Partners is renowned for and complements Xalients existing capabilities in managed services. This will enable customers of both companies to benefit from a holistic and integrated suite of services, accelerating their zero-trust journeys to the cloud.

Additionally, this strategic acquisition further bolsters Xalients existing presence in North America and underscores its commitment to global growth.

"This acquisition marks a significant milestone in Xalients journey," says Sherry Vaswani, Founder and CEO at Xalient. "We are joining forces to create a unique blend of identity, security, and networking expertise in a specialist services company. We see great synergies, in terms of strengthening our position in the digital identity segment while enriching our existing offer to customers. There is a strong cultural fit between both companies that will help drive value for our customers and employees in both the short and the long term.

Scott Silver, CEO, and president of Integral Partners adds: Customer demand for identity solutions driven by zero-trust strategies has skyrocketed. Joining the Xalient team allows us to provide far greater value to customers through a unique combination of identity and secure networking expertise. Our shared values and ambition, combined with the complementary nature of our services, convinced us that Xalient is the perfect choice to propel Integrals business forward.

Mark Cooke, COO, Xalient adds: Were seeing growing global demand for IAM strategies and solutions, driven in part by the increased protection needed around digital transformation initiatives. Organisations must improve governance and strengthen privileged access management practices to prevent breaches and establish more robust and agile authentication and authorisation. With Integral on board, we look forward to helping our customers meet these needs.

As specialists in their respective fields, both Xalient and Integral Partners have demonstrated a shared commitment to agility, customer-centricity, and a relentless pursuit of results. Combined, these two entities will continue to uphold their core values, carving a path for sustained growth in a market increasingly seeking specialist providers that are nimble, customer-focussed and results-driven.





About Xalient

To learn more about Xalient and its services, visit www.xalient.com

Xalient addresses the challenges large global enterprises face around networking and security. Headquartered in the UK and with offices in the USA, Xalient counts Kelloggs, Avis Budget Group, WPP and Keurig Dr Pepper among its clients. It was established eight years ago to disrupt the traditional markets for secure networking, taking advantage of the huge shift to cloud technology that has created high demand for flexible, cost-effective global connectivity and protection against increasingly complex cyber threats. Combining transformative, software-defined network, security, and communication technologies with intelligent managed services with its AIOps Platform- Martina and driving Zero Trust initiatives that keep the worlds largest brands more resilient, adaptable and responsive to change.

*Xalient was named among Europes Fastest Growing Companies in 2023 by Financial Times and Statista for the second year running.

About Integral Partners LLC

To learn more about Integral Partners and its services, visit www.integralpartnersllc.com

Integral Partners is a leading identity cybersecurity consulting firm dedicated exclusively to helping customers define, implement, and support the right Identity and Access Management programs. Our solutions include world-class Advisory, IGA, PAM, Customer Identity, Access Enforcement, and Managed Services. Integral has deep knowledge and experience with all the top IAM platforms, including SailPoint, Saviynt, CyberArk, BeyondTrust, and Okta, but we are fiercely vendor agnostic. Whether youre looking to reduce your business risk, create an IAM roadmap, choose the right tools, tackle governance, implement Zero Trust, manage SOX, HIPAA, PCI, and NERC CIP compliance, or securely move to the cloud, we have the expertise and experience to help. IAM is what we do. It is all we do.

Integral Partners LLC is headquartered in Boulder, serving clients in various industries across North America.

For more information please contact:

Paula Elliott

Managing Director

C8 Consulting Ltd

[email protected]

07894 339645
A recently released analysis has found a link between a history of cannabis usage and a decreased incidence of type 2 diabetes in adulthood. The analysis was done on seven studies, which include four cohorts and 11 surveys, by researchers at Irans Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Compiling the findings, NORML stated that the four cohorts combined totaled more than 478,000 participants.

The comprehensive analysis revealed that the chances of developing type 2 diabetes in those who had been exposed to

Read More>>

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the companys newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC

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By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) -Gannett Co Inc, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, is facing a lawsuit claiming its efforts to diversify newsrooms led to discrimination against white workers.

The proposed class action was filed in Virginia federal court on Friday by five current and former Gannett employees who say they were fired or passed over for promotions to make room for less-qualified women and minorities.

The plaintiffs say those decisions were driven by a policy announced in 2020 under which Gannett aims to have its newsrooms reflect the demographics of the communities they cover by 2025.

Gannett has also tied executive bonuses and promotions to success meeting the goals outlined in the policy, according to the lawsuit.

"Gannett executed their reverse race discrimination policy with a callous indifference towards civil rights laws or the welfare of the workers, and prospective workers, whose lives would be upended by it," the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.

Polly Grunfeld Sack, Virginia-based Gannett's chief legal counsel, said the company always seeks to recruit and retain the most qualified workers.

"We will vigorously defend our practice of ensuring equal opportunities for all our valued employees against this meritless lawsuit," Sack said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes amid growing backlash to increasingly prevalent corporate diversity policies. Unlike other pending cases brought by conservative groups, the claims against Gannett were filed directly by the company's employees.

Starbucks Corp, Target Corp, and Progressive Insurance are among the companies that have faced shareholder lawsuits challenging diversity programs. A group founded by former Trump administration officials has filed more than a dozen complaints with a federal anti-bias agency accusing large companies of discriminating against white and male workers.

Many experts expect an uptick in such challenges following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down race-conscious college admissions policies. On Tuesday, a group formed by conservative activist Edward Blum, who spearheaded the Supreme Court case, sued two major U.S. law firms over fellowships they offer to racial minorities and LGBT people.

The lawsuit against Gannett notes that the Supreme Court said in the decision that "eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it."

In the lawsuit, plaintiff Steven Bradley says he was fired from a management job at the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper in Rochester, New York, and then passed over for a different position with Gannett because he is white.

Bradley in April filed a similar lawsuit against Gannett in New York state court. The status of that case was unclear.

Another plaintiff, Logan Barry, says he was in line for promotion to a leadership position at the Progress-Index in Petersburg, Virginia. After Gannett acquired the newspaper in 2019, the job went to a Black woman with fewer qualifications, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs accused Gannett of violating a federal law prohibiting race discrimination in contracts. They are seeking to require Gannett to eliminate the 2020 policy, along with lost pay and benefits and other money damages.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Daniel Wallis)
(Reuters) - Private equity firm Thoma Bravo will complete its $2.3 billion acquisition of software firm ForgeRock after the U.S. Department of Justice declined to challenge the deal, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the decision.

The transaction could close as early as this week, the report added.

Anti-trust lawyers from the Justice Department had launched a probe over concerns the acquisition would hurt competition in identity management and related software space.

The companies approached top officials from the department last month and also moved its antitrust review deadline to Aug. 22, giving the agency more time to consider additional information for its decision, the Bloomberg report said.

Thoma Bravo agreed to buy ForgeRock at $23.25 per share in October and had said at the time it expected the deal to close in the first half of 2023.

The Justice Department declined to comment. ForgeRock and Thoma Bravo did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The Biden Administration has taken a strong position against mergers and acquisitions which it thinks hurts competition in the market. Thoma Bravo also owns one of ForgeRock's main competitors, Ping Identity.

San Francisco-based ForgeRock provides identity and access management solutions to enterprises.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is on a state visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan, and his wife Ziroatkhon Mirziyoyeva have today visited the Alley of Martyrs, Trend reports.

A guard of honor was lined up for the Uzbekistani President here.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.

The President of Uzbekistan enjoyed a panoramic view of Baku as he was informed of the history of the Alley of Martyrs and redevelopment works in the capital of Azerbaijan.
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - All Star Shades has launched a new website intended for individuals who are looking for specifications on luxury eyewear. The new website contains comprehensive buyer guides on boutique brands and includes information, such as specific SKU numbers, optical features, and more. All Star Shades' latest entries focus on DITA eyewear, and information on other luxury lines will be added in the near future.

For more information, please visit https://allstarshades.com/.

All Star Shades Launches New Website With Buyer Guides On Luxury DITA Eyewear

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All Star Shades has launched its website to aid readers in making informed decisions about their purchases. Instructions on ensuring the authenticity of the products and warning signs for imitations are included in each guide. For certain models of DITA eyewear, genuine articles are characterized by a titanium front frame, titanium nose pads, and a detailed acetate lens rim; if any of these parts are missing or appear to be poorly made, the glasses are likely fake, says All Star Shades.

Each entry on the new website contains information specific to the model of the eyewear that is being covered, such as the SKU number, which will allow readers to trace the product. Feature tables are included with every guide that list available colors, frame specs, lens specs, country of manufacture, and price. Additionally, All Star Shades describes each model and its complimentary accessories in detail, so readers know what to expect when they make their purchase.

All Star Shades updates its website frequently, and readers who would like to receive timely notifications about when new eyewear guides are posted can visit https://www.facebook.com/people/All-Star-Shades/100095116016917/.

About All Star Shades

All Star Shades was founded by Thula Chelvan, a content expert with experience in multiple industries. Her recent venture into the world of luxury eyewear reflects her mission to help others navigate the complexities of modern fashion and e-commerce.

"Our mission is more than just being a guide to the latest trends; it's a commitment to ensuring that you find the perfect pair of sunglasses," says Chelvan. "At All Star Shades, we believe in the power of individuality and the importance of authenticity. We're not just another online guide; we're your companions in the journey towards finding the eyewear that's uniquely you."

Interested parties can learn more by visiting the links above or https://www.instagram.com/all.star.shades/.

Contact Info:

Name: Thula Chelvan

Email: [email protected]

Organization: All Star Shades

Address: 15 Harwood Road Fulham, London, England SW6 4QP, United Kingdom

Website: https://allstarshades.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178037
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Beauce Gold Fields(TSXV: BGF)(Champs D'Or en Beauce), referred to as "BGF" or the "Company," is pleased to announce the successful completion of a diamond drilling campaign consisting of 9 drill holes, totaling 500 meters, along the axis of an antiform outcrop at the Grondin showing on the Beauce Gold property. This property is situated in St-Simon les Mine and Beauceville, Quebec.

Patrick Levasseur, President and CEO of Beauce Gold Fields, stated, "The drilling campaign along the Axis of an Antiform outcrop at the Grondin showing is designed to test for the presence of a Saddle Reef Formation, which is a leading geological model for potential lode gold discoveries and could potentially be the source of the historical placer gold deposit."





Image 1: Diamond drill rig on the Beauce Gold property

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The drilling effort was carried out at two locations, spaced 300 meters apart, along exposed sections of the Grondin outcrop. Each location involved the drilling of a series of HQ diameter holes at increasing intervals into the northeast-dipping flank of the mineralized structure. Two holes were drilled in the same section with an additional hole in the opposite direction to verify the real thickness of the mineralization zones and to confirm the dipping of the host rock. Splitting and logging of diamond drill hole cores will be completed at the Company's Saint-Simon-les-Mines core shack. Selected core samples will be sent to be analyzed for gold content at MSA Lab in Val D'Or, Quebec.

About the Grondin outcrop

The Grondin outcrop reveals a substantial mineralized quartz vein stockwork of the Crack and Seal type, visible along the Axis of the Antiform. This axis outcrop extends 500 meters northeast along strike on the northwest portion of the Beauce Gold property. Notably, it lies approximately 3 kilometers upstream from the 19th-century placer gold mines at Giroux Creek and Gilbert River confluence, paralleling the historical placer gold deposit of St-Simon-les-Mine. Among the samples collected, two showed particularly high gold grades: sample 81755 at 2.11 grams/ton and sample 81763 at 10.9 grams/ton (GM 70761 Rjean Hebert, geologist, June 2018). The Company also conducted grab samples, with results ranging from 200 ppb Au to 1,400 ppb Au.

Axis of Antiforms and a Saddle Reef formation

A primary objective of the recent drilling campaign was to verify the hypothesis of a Saddle Reef Formation as the predominant geological model for potential lode gold discoveries and a possible source of the historical paleoplacer gold deposit.





Image 2: Conceptual Model of a Saddle Reef Formation

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This conceptual geological model finds support in IP surveys, observations of eroded anticline vertical limbs in layered sedimentary and volcanic bedrock from 2019-2020 trenches, and the discovery of exposed domed Axis of Antiform ridges along Giroux Creek. This axis trends northeast to southwest for 4 kilometers north of the Gilbert River, aligning with the historical placer gold channel (BGF press releases 2021-12-21, 2021-03-19). Eroded sections of the Saddle Reef formation are considered a leading hypothesis for the source of the historical placer gold deposit.

The hypothesis suggests that the placer gold within the Beauce Gold paleochannel, including the renowned large nuggets from the 19th century, were formed in stressed quartz pockets within layered domed Axis of Antiforms, as demonstrated by Saddle Reef formations. Notable global examples of Saddle Reef formations include the Bendigo and Ballarat gold fields in Australia (over 60 million ounces) and the high-grade Dufferin deposit in Nova Scotia.

The weathering of sulphides and substantial erosion of quartz veins and antiform folds in the conceptual bedrock Saddle Reef formation northeast of the paleoplacer channel may have released gold and material that contributed to the formation of a thick colluvial mantle over the sides and bottom of the Gilbert River valley. Coarse gold grains and nuggets are believed to be both detrital and chemically derived. The former results from weathered rock, while the latter necessitates the gold first going into solution before precipitating as growing nuggets in fractured saprolite and oxidized shale layers.

Furthermore, the Company executed a 30-ton bulk sample extraction from the Grondin outcrop. A mobile placer plant equipped with a trommel and sluice will be deployed on-site to process the heavily fractured quartz stockwork. Larger fragments will be crushed separately. This process enables the concentration of heavy minerals, including gold, from the collected materials. The concentrates resulting from the bulk sampling will be analyzed for gold content at MSA Lab in Val D'Or, Quebec.

Jean Bernard, B.Sc. Geo., a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information presented in this release.

About Beauce Gold Fields

Beauce Gold Fields is focused on exploring and developing the largest placer gold district in eastern North America. The Company's objective is the trace old placer gold workings back to a bedrock source to uncover economic lode gold deposits. The Company's flagship property is the St-Simon-les-Mines Gold project site of Canada's first gold rush that pre-dates the Yukon Klondike. The Beauce region hosted some of the largest historical placer gold mines in Eastern North America that were active from 1860s to the 1960s It produced some of the largest gold nuggets in Canadian mining history (50oz to 71oz). (Source Sedar: 43-101 Report - Beauce July 4th 2018, Author B. Violette).

Beauce Gold Fields website www.beaucegold.com

Disclaimers:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding mineral exploration. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact

Patrick Levasseur, President and CEO Tel: (514) 262-9239

www.beaucegold.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178051
Pioneering Unique Value-Added Services to Enhance the Success of Small Businesses Through Truly Free Website Development.

Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Recognizing the digital challenges faced by millions of small business entrepreneurs worldwide, Daystar Payments announces the launch of its groundbreaking service designed to revolutionize online business presence. Countless Beauty Salons, Barber Shops, Professional Services, and other local businesses frequently struggle to establish a professional online presence. Daystar Payments steps in to ensure they stand out and stay ahead.





Daystar Payments

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A significant number of entrepreneurs lack the technical prowess and time to create and manage their websites. While many free website building tools exist, numerous business owners find developing content, establishing a checkout process, or incorporating features such as appointment scheduling daunting. The result is often a less-than-ideal website that fails to instill confidence in potential clients.

Lukas Swid, CEO of Daystar Payments, empathizes with this struggle. "When you're invested in refining your products, enhancing customer value, and differentiating from competitors, the challenge of developing your own website can feel overwhelmingly frustrating. We're immensely proud to alleviate this burden for business owners."

What sets Daystar Payments apart is its unprecedented offering: a dedicated department filled with seasoned front and back-end web developers ready to handcraft websites for their merchants, entirely free of charge.

Small business owners can now entrust their vision to the experts at Daystar Payments. The company promises to translate that vision into a tailor-made website that mirrors the entrepreneur's unique identity and powerfully conveys their intended market message.

By breaking down the digital barriers small businesses face, Daystar Payments reaffirms its commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and ensuring their ventures not only survive but thrive in the competitive digital landscape.

For more information or to jumpstart your journey to a professional website with Daystar Payments, visit https://www.daystarpayments.com/ or reach out at +1-844-282- 222.

About Daystar Payments:

Founded with a vision to revolutionize the financial experience and payment accessibility for legal businesses across all risk spectrums, Daystar Payments has consistently stood at the forefront of innovation. As a dedicated payment solutions provider, we've made it our mission to simplify transaction processes, amplify security, and empower entrepreneurs with tools that propel their businesses forward.





Making payment processing simple, cost effective, and secure

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Our commitment goes beyond mere transactions, highlighted by our recent initiative to offer comprehensive website development for our merchants. At Daystar Payments, we champion holistic business solutions that not only process payments but also pave the way for growth, visibility, and success.

Media Contact:

Renan Rangel

Executive Director

[email protected]

+1-844-282-222

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177953
Cranbrook, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - DLP Resources Inc.(TSXV: DLP) (OTCQB: DLPRF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 6,000,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.50 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000.

Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.80 per Warrant Share, subject to an acceleration clause in the event the trading price of the Shares equals or exceeds $1.10 for a period of 20 consecutive days.

The Private Placement will be made available to subscribers pursuant to the accredited investor and friends, family and business associate exemptions provided under sections 2.3(1) and 2.5 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions.

The Private Placement will also be made available to existing shareholders of the Company who, as of the close of business on August 21, 2023, held Shares (and who continue to hold such Shares as of the closing date), pursuant to the existing shareholder exemption set out in BC Instrument 45-534 Exemption From Prospectus Requirement for Certain Trades to Existing Security Holders (the "Existing Securityholder Exemption"). The Existing Securityholder Exemption limits a shareholder to a maximum investment of CAD$15,000 in a 12-month period unless the shareholder has obtained advice regarding the suitability of the investment and, if the shareholder is resident in a jurisdiction of Canada, that advice has been obtained from a person that is registered as an investment dealer in the jurisdiction. If the Company receives subscriptions from investors relying on the Existing Shareholder Exemption exceeding the maximum amount of the Private Placement, the Company intends to adjust the subscriptions received on a pro-rata basis.

The Company expects to pay finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement to certain eligible finders in the form of: (i) a cash commission of 7.0% of the gross proceeds raised under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder; and (ii) the issuance of such number of non-transferable common share purchase warrants of the Company (the "Finder's Warrants") equal to 7.0% of the Units issued under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement for funding the Peru projects and general office and administration requirements. There may be circumstances, however, where, for sound business reasons, a reallocation of funds may be necessary.

Drilling at the Aurora copper-molybdenum project is ongoing and drillhole eleven (A23-011) located 275m SW of A23-010 is currently in progress to a planned depth of 1000m. Assay results for A23-010 which was completed on August 12 are expected to be released in mid-late September.

The Private Placement is subject to all necessary regulatory approvals including acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

About DLP Resources Inc.

DLP Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration company operating in Peru and Southeastern British Columbia, exploring for copper, zinc and cobalt. DLP is listed on the TSX-V, trading symbol DLP and on the OTCQB, trading symbol DLPRF. Please refer to our web site www.dlpresourcesinc.com for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: DLP Resources Inc.

Ian Gendall, CEO and President

Jim Stypula, Executive Chairman

Robin Sudo, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary

Maxwell Reinhart, Investor Relations

Telephone: 250-426-7808

Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things: the anticipated proceeds to be raised under the Private Placement; the use of any proceeds raised under the Private Placement; the finder's fees to be paid in connection with the Private Placement; and the expected timing for the release of the A23-010 Assay results.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required regulatory approvals for the Private Placement; market uncertainty; the inability of the Company to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement; and delays in the Company releasing the A23-010 Assay results.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that: the Company will obtain the required regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approvals for the Private Placement; the Company will be able to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement; the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated; and the Company will release the A23-010 Assay results 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/178001
Dripping Springs, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Dorothy Butler Law Firm is thrilled to announce that its founder, Dorothy Lawrence, has been chosen to serve as the Treasurer for the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC). This prestigious appointment recognizes Dorothy's outstanding contributions to the legal field and her commitment to empowering women in the legal profession.





Attorney Dorothy Butler

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As a highly accomplished financial attorney with over 13 years of experience, Dorothy specializes in tax, bankruptcy, and debtor defense. A Louisiana State University Law School graduate, Dorothy further honed her expertise at the University of Denver, earning an LLM in taxation. Settling in Dripping Springs, Texas, to raise her family, Dorothy journeyed from a kitchen-table law firm to the renowned Dorothy Butler Law Firm.

She has consistently been named a Rising Star in Consumer Bankruptcy by Super Lawyers for seven consecutive years and recognized as a Top Attorney in Bankruptcy by Austin Monthly for three years. Beyond her legal prowess, Dorothy's talents extend to the realm of music.





Attorney Dorothy Butler

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Dorothy's selection as Treasurer for IWIRC showcases her unwavering commitment to women's empowerment in the legal sector.

For more information about Dorothy Butler Law Firm and Dorothy Lawrence, please visit www.dorothybutlerlawfirm.com.

Media Contact:

About Dorothy Butler Law Firm:

Dorothy Butler Law Firm, founded by Dorothy Lawrence, is a distinguished legal practice specializing in tax, bankruptcy, and debtor defense. With over 13 years of experience, Dorothy's commitment to excellence and empowerment shines through in her legal accomplishments and musical endeavors.

About IWIRC:

The International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) is a global network of women in the insolvency and restructuring profession, dedicated to advancing the professional status of women in these fields through networking and professional development.

CEO: Dorothy K. Lawrence

Law Firm: https://dorothybutlerlawfirm.com/

Location: 151 E. Mercer Street, Suite E, Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @yourtrendylawyer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorothy-lawrence-57a72539

PR Agency: Ausonia Partners LLC

CEO: Simonetta Lein

Location: 3925 Henry Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19129, United States

Website: https://ausoniapartners.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ausoniapartners

Email: [email protected]

Contact: +1 (215) 992-4435

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178006
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV: LPS) (OTCQB: LPSIF) ("Legend Power" or the "Company"), a global leader in commercial electrical system solutions, announces it has closed a second and final tranche of a non-brokered private placement (see press release dated August 8, 2023), pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions (the "LIFE Exemption"), by issuing 1,432,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for gross proceeds of $257,760. Under both tranches, the Company issued a total of 14,117,113 Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,541,080 (the "Offering") (see first tranche closing press release dated August 1, 2023). The Company filed a Form 45-106F19 offering document (the "Offering Document") on July 18, 2023 related to the Offering, which may be accessed under Legend Power's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at https://legendpower.com/investors/.

Pursuant to the Offering, each Unit consisted of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at $0.25 for a period of two years from the date of issuance, subject to an accelerated expiry provision, whereby in the event the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Company's Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange, or such other stock exchange where the majority of the trading volume occurs (the "Exchange"), exceeds $0.40 for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, at the Company's election, the period within which the Warrants are exercisable, will be reduced and the holders of the Warrants will be entitled to exercise their Warrants for a period of 30 days commencing on the day the Company provides notice, any outstanding Warrants not exercised during the 30 day period will expire.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general working capital purposes, fixed operating expenses, purchase order deposits, development expense and other related expenses, as more specifically detailed in the Offering Document. The Units issued in the Offering are not subject to a hold period, subject to limitations prescribed by the LIFE exemption. Securities issued to insiders and consultants of the Company in connection with the first tranche, are subject to a hold period expiring December 1, 2023, in accordance with the rules and policies of the Exchange and applicable Canadian securities laws.

The securities issued pursuant to the Offering have not, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons in the absence of U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Legend Power Systems Inc.

Legend Power Systems Inc. (https://legendpower.com) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend Power's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legend Power's unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets.

For further information, please contact:

Jonathan Lansky, Director

+1 416 417 7664

[email protected]

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

+ 1 647 503 1054

[email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the closing of the Offering, the use of proceeds from the Offering, the ability of the Company to obtain regulatory approval for the Offering, the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR+ 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 may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law.

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO US NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178188
McKinney, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - NeuLine Health announces its mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) testing program, offering in-home care and quick results for patients with neurological-related concerns in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The recent move comes as part of NeuLine Health's concerted move to revolutionize neurodiagnostic care beyond its McKinney headquarters. Now bringing its EEG testing capabilities to the DFW area, NeuLine Health aims to help a larger number of Texas patients have their neurological wellbeing accurately assessed.

More information is available at https://neulinehealth.com/.

NeuLine Health Announces DFW In-Home Neurodiagnostic Care & EEG Testing Services

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With the announcement, NeuLine Health significantly improves access to neurodiagnostic testing while shedding prior requirements for patients to undergo lengthy hospital stays. Instead, NeuLine Health introduces a combination of home and medical office-based testing procedures, carrying out EEG clinical care on a mobile basis.

The perceived advantages of in-home testing are threefold, says NeuLine Health. When done in the comfort of one's private property, a relaxed sense of ease follows - contributing to more accurate readings of neurological activity. By expanding to Dallas, NeuLine Health allows more patients to opt for a more convenient alternative to inpatient care.

Home-based testing also brings favorable financial outcomes, with NeuLine Health pointing to standard inpatient procedures as up to three times more costly. With its latest expansion, the McKinney neurodiagnostic services provider offers new routes to substantially more affordable testing, helping to remove barriers that might prevent patients from seeking care.

Its services also rapidly accelerate both scheduling and results, essentially streamlining the testing process for patients and caregivers. With the advantage of prompt diagnostic test outcomes, Dallas patients and their families can now be afforded quicker answers regarding recommended next steps in treatment plans.

NeuLine Health announces its expanded EEG testing program as part of its continued efforts to boost the level of patient care in Texas. By bringing the testing process directly to patients at their homes, the company aims to transform common perceptions about the accessibility and efficiency of neurodiagnostic care.

To that end, NeuLine Health's recent expansion furthers the services of qualified healthcare providers while advancing the standard of neurodiagnostic testing both in the state and throughout the nation.

Interested parties in Dallas-Fort Worth can find further details about NeuLine Health and its expanded testing services at https://neulinehealth.com/.

Contact Info:

Name: Frank Gray III

Email: [email protected]

Phone:+1-214-603-3432

Organization: NeuLine Health

Address: 1402 S Custer Rd Ste 302, McKinney, TX 75072, United States

Website: https://neulinehealth.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178041
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee and three-row Grand Cherokee L recorded highest possible ratings in all IIHS crashworthiness tests required for TOP SAFETY PICK+

Standard-equipment Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) technology earned an "advanced" rating in daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations and was graded "superior"  the highest possible IIHS rating  in nighttime conditions

2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee equipped with high-beam assist achieved highest possible headlight rating of "good"

Lineup of Grand Cherokees, the industry's most awarded SUV, benefits from more than available 110 safety and security features

The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee L have earned TOP SAFETY PICK+ ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

It is the highest possible rating awarded by the IIHS and applies to 2023 Grand Cherokee SUVs built after March of this year, and 2023 Grand Cherokee L SUVs built after May.

"Achieving the highest possible safety rating from the IIHS is consistent with the Jeep Grand Cherokee's place as the most awarded SUV in history," says Jim Morrison , senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America . "The Jeep Grand Cherokee's singular blend of safety technology and extreme-condition 4x4 capability affords our customers the level of driving confidence they deserve. And with the appeal of two- and three-row versions, that driving confidence is available to a wider customer demographic."

The 2023 Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L are graded "good"  the highest possible rating  in the four crashworthiness tests required to achieve TOP SAFETY PICK+:

Small overlap front  driver-side

Small overlap front  passenger-side

Moderate overlap front  original test

Side impact  updated test

The 2023 Grand Cherokee lineup features standard-equipment Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) technology the Jeep brand calls, Full-Speed Collision Warning with Active Braking and Pedestrian/Cyclist Detection. The system's unique array of cameras and sensors satisfied the daylight and nighttime function required by the IIHS for a TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation.

If the feature detects a pedestrian or cyclist and determines a frontal collision appears imminent, it will  if the driver does respond accordingly  activate the vehicle's brakes. In certain conditions, the system is capable of bringing the vehicle to a stop.

The Grand Cherokee's system earned an "advanced" rating in daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations and was graded "superior"  the highest possible IIHS rating  in nighttime conditions.

A TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating also requires an "acceptable" or "good" grade in IIHS lighting evaluations, across all trims. The 2023 Grand Cherokee lineup's Premium LED reflective headlamp configurations achieve an "acceptable" rating and improves to "good" when equipped with high-beam assist.

The Grand Cherokee lineup benefits customers further from more than 110 available safety and security features that include Intersection Collision Assist and Drowsy Driver Detection.

The former helps detect vehicles approaching from driver's left and right when nearing a crossroad. If collision appears imminent, the system delivers audible and visual alerts.

If driver does not respond, system automatically activates vehicle's brakes.

Drowsy Driver Detection tracks behavior consistent with that of a drowsy driver, such as lane deviation. When certain thresholds are reached, the system responds with audio and/or visual cautions for driver to pull over.

"At Jeep, we are not content to rest on our laurels as the pre-eminent SUV brand," Morrison says. "Whenever possible, we seek to leverage advanced technology to enhance the ownership experience of our customers."

Jeep Brand

Built on more than 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV brand that delivers legendary off-road capability, interior refinement, high-tech features and versatility to people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a broad portfolio of vehicles that continues to provide owners with a sense of safety and security to handle any journey with confidence. Jeep Wave, a premium owner loyalty and customer care program that is available to the entire Jeep 4x4 lineup, is filled with benefits and exclusive perks to deliver Jeep brand owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support. The legendary Jeep brand's off-road capability is enhanced by a global electrification initiative that is transforming 4xe into the new 4x4 in pursuit of the brand's vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom and added 4x4 capability. All Jeep brand vehicles will offer an electrified variant by 2025.

Follow Jeep and company news and video on:

Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Jeep brand: www.jeep.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeep

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeep

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jeep

YouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

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SOURCE Stellantis
TULSA, Okla. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AAON announces a milestone achievement in its sustainability journey by activating 432 solar panels on the roof of its Exploration Center and adjacent NAIC lab (Norman Asbjornson Innovation Center). Public Service Company of Oklahoma gave the green light to activate the solar panels that generate about 240kW of solar energy. The Exploration Center, the newest building at its corporate headquarters, is on track to be a net-zero facility using advanced building systems, including photovoltaic (solar) electricity generation, geothermal fields, and AAON high-efficiency heat pumps, while providing a world-class experience for customers. It is one of the most sustainable, energy-efficient buildings in Tulsa . As part of its design, the infrastructure can support up to 800+ kW of solar generation, one of the largest in Oklahoma .

"We are incredibly proud of what we have created in our new Exploration Center. AAON continues its long history as a leading innovator in the HVAC industry and now has a building that matches the standards we have established with our products," said Austin Embry , Facilities Project Manager of AAON.

The Company opened the Exploration Center in April of this year. It provides interactive customer engagement, showcasing AAON's innovative products alongside alternative products offered in the market.

AAON is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by improving operational efficiencies and investing in projects that reduce carbon emissions while developing products that help customers achieve sustainability.

Sustainable highlights of the Exploration Center include:

Geothermal wells with over nine miles of geothermal piping.

High-efficiency 100% LED building lighting.

AAON high-efficiency heat pumps for heating and cooling with zero carbon emissions.

Shares "waste" heat energy with the adjacent NAIC Research & Development lab via water loops and excess solar electricity generation  no batteries are required.

lab via water loops and excess solar electricity generation  no batteries are required. The roof has a highly reflective coating allowing for lower temperatures and an extended life span.

About AAON

Founded in 1988, AAON is a world leader in HVAC solutions for commercial and industrial indoor environments. The Company's industry-leading approach to designing and manufacturing highly configurable equipment to meet exact needs creates a premier ownership experience with greater efficiency, performance, and long-term value. AAON is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma , where its world-class innovation center and testing lab allow AAON engineers to continuously push boundaries and advance the industry. For more information, please visit www.AAON.com.

Contact Information

Robyn Aydelott

AAON Corporate Communications Administrator

(817) 714-1377

Email: [email protected]

Alyssa Rodriguez

Digital Marketing Lead

(918) 583-6543

Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE AAON
NEW YORK , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ADCOLOR, the premier organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting diversity in the creative industries, today announced its 2023 class of ADCOLOR FUTURES and ADCOLOR LEADERS. The two talent programs build upon ADCOLOR's "Rise Up, Reach Back" motto, encompassing those just beginning in their career and those well-established in their respective industry.

The 2023 class of ADCOLOR FUTURES and ADCOLOR LEADERS can be found below.

Launched in 2012, the ADCOLOR FUTURES program identifies and nurtures the next generation of leaders who have one to three years of experience in their industry. Now in its 12th year, the program provides training, mentorship and empowerment to selected young professionals with the goal of supporting the talent of tomorrow, today.

After an extensive application and interview process, 30 young professionals were chosen as the 2023 class of ADCOLOR FUTURES. These individuals showcase strong leadership potential, sustained involvement in reaching back, interest in partnering with leadership to drive change through DEI initiatives, and innovative thinking to solve today's problems.

As part of the program, the FUTURES will be immersed in an orientation day hosted by Spotify and a full day of programming hosted by Deutsch LA. This programming includes ADCOLOR University, an intensive training facilitated by top-ranked leadership and talent consulting firms. It also includes the annual FUTURES Hackathon, presented by Apple, taking place at ADCOLOR 2023.

"If you need a dose of inspiration, take a look at this year's class of FUTURES," said Criseli Roddy, Director of Programs at ADCOLOR. "Though early in their careers, these promising young professionals already have made remarkable achievements and are on their path to becoming influential voices in their industries. We are honored to be part of their journeys and to provide these rising stars a place to learn and create invaluable connections as they continue to advance in their careers."

ADCOLOR, together with Amazon, is also hosting its second annual ADCOLOR LEADERS program. Launched in 2022, this program aims to support historically excluded professionals with 15+ years of experience in creative industries as they rise to executive roles. It features cutting-edge workshops, discussions with thought leaders, and curated exercises encouraging self-exploration.

From the many applications received, 30 changemakers were selected for the 2023 class of LEADERS. Those chosen are in a position to institute change in their field, believe in the power of diversity, and display a passion to champion DE&I for the long term. The aim is for participants to walk away from the program with a renewed sense of purpose, a reinvigorated approach to their work, and meaningful relationships to propel them to the next level.

"Through years of dedicated efforts, this year's ADCOLOR LEADERS have already proven their ability to make a positive impact on their respective industries," said Dipal Shah , Head of Brand Strategy, Amazon Ads. "The goal of the program is to equip these LEADERS with the connections and knowledge that will both encourage and energize them to continue their inspiring work. We are thrilled to partner with ADCOLOR on this year's program and to see the new levels these visionaries will reach."

Both programs offer sponsorship to attend ADCOLOR 2023, which encompasses both programs as well as the 17th Annual ADCOLOR Awards and the ADCOLOR Conference. Taking place November 9-11 at the JW Marriott LA Live in Los Angeles, CA , the 2023 event will center on its "Double Down & Double Up" theme, which serves as a reminder that diversity, equity and inclusion must remain a priority and urges companies to uphold their social justice and CSR commitments.

To learn more about the FUTURES and LEADERS programs, please visit https://adcolor.org/futures and https://adcolor.org/leaders . For additional updates and information on ADCOLOR 2023, please follow ADCOLOR on Instagram , Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

ABOUT ADCOLOR

ADCOLOR is a not-for-profit 501(c) (6) organization whose mission is to celebrate and champion diversity in the creative industries. Our process is twofold. First, we help individuals and organizations RISE UP, letting their accomplishments and ideas shine. Then we teach these new leaders and would-be-mentors how to REACH BACK and find others who deserve to be noticed and promoted. Our goal is to create a community of diverse professionals who are here to support and uplift one another. Learn more by visiting www.adcolor.org .

ADCOLOR 2023 Partners

Disney, Google | YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, LinkedIn, Droga5, Activision, Sony Music Group, Mondelez International, MSL, Nextdoor, Omnicom, TikTok, Walmart Connect, American Express, Basis Technologies, Endeavor, Expedia Group, FCB, Havas, McCann Worldgroup, Yahoo, Apple

ADCOLOR Corporate Members

The Brandtech Group, Cardinal Change Consulting, Deutsch LA, Droga5, Energy BBDO, JKR, McCann Worldgroup, Meta, Microsoft, MSL, Sony Music Group, The Advertising Club of NY

ADCOLOR Vendor Partners

5WPR, Adewole Photography, Adrianne Lipscomb Graphic Design, Akande Music , Bravely, Debut Capital, dirty sugar, EGM Security Management, Isa Beltre-Plush Merchandising Consultants, Squeaky.com, STAMP Event Co., Studio Mark Clennon , Tabernacle, the STUDIO NYC, Virtual Event Site, Wendy Shanker

2023 ADCOLOR FUTURES

Aaron Marshall : Copywriter, BBDO NY

: Copywriter, BBDO NY Alexander Thompson : Copywriter, The Martin Agency

: Copywriter, Allison Holmes : CEO Research, Insights, and Communities Manager, Microsoft

: CEO Research, Insights, and Communities Manager, Microsoft Ana Rubin : Account Executive, Amazon Advertising

: Account Executive, Anita Ngo : 2023 MAIP Creative Intern of the Year

: 2023 MAIP Creative Intern of the Year Ashleigh Smith : Strategic Planner, FCB Chicago

: Strategic Planner, FCB Chicago Brianna Lowder : Worldwide Xbox Accessories Category Marketing Lead, Microsoft

: Worldwide Xbox Accessories Category Marketing Lead, Microsoft Christopher Morales : Project Manager, Deutsch LA

: Project Manager, Deutsch LA Coral Li : Brand Strategist & 2023 MAIP Fellow of the Year

: Brand Strategist & 2023 MAIP Fellow of the Year Davawnna Clark: Account Executive, Amazon Advertising

Dyneisha Gross : Designer, Ogilvy North America

: Designer, Elsa Ramesh : Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft

: Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft Grant Bennett : Diversity Strategist, Google

: Diversity Strategist, Google Hamy Huynh : Talent Acquisition & DEI Manager, Colle McVoy

: Talent Acquisition & DEI Manager, Jalen Coleman : Social Strategist, Merkley and Partners

: Social Strategist, Jasmine Baker : Consumer Insights Associate, Spanx

: Consumer Insights Associate, Spanx Jayda Hill : Creative Coordinator, Droga5

: Creative Coordinator, Kariesha Martinez: Paid Media Specialist, MongoDB

Kim An Ta: Client Solutions Manager, TikTok

Madilyne Nguyen-Acosta: Senior Specialist, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Sony Music Group

Maya Iwata : Senior Art Director, BBDO New York

: Senior Art Director, BBDO New York Maya Siegel : Social Editor, Feminist

: Social Editor, Feminist Merc Heredia-Ferran : Adjunct Professor, University of Illinois & Indiana University

: Adjunct Professor, Nafisa Hassan : Account Coordinator, R/GA

: Account Coordinator, R/GA Roberto Del Real Jr .: Junior Art Director, Leo Burnett Detroit

.: Director, Stephanie Ologan: Global Editorial Coordinator, Spotify

Toni Walker : Integrated Marketing Coordinator, Paramount Global

: Integrated Marketing Coordinator, Paramount Global Yaritza Vallejo : Brand Marketing Specialist, McDonald's

: Brand Marketing Specialist, McDonald's Zachery Burton : Associate Manager, Product Marketing, Spotify

: Associate Manager, Product Marketing, Spotify Zuri Godfrey : Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google

2023 ADCOLOR LEADERS

Alicia Nassardeen : Head of Business Affairs, Mother

: Head of Business Affairs, Mother Andriena Coleman : Director, DE&I, Hearts & Science

: Director, DE&I, Hearts & Science Bernice Chao : Co-Founder, Asians in Advertising

: Co-Founder, Asians in Advertising Deanna Barnes : Sr. Client Partner, Doubleverify

: Sr. Client Partner, Doubleverify Dimas Adiwiyoto: SVP, Group Account Director, FCB New York

Eniola Tay-Agbozo : Head, Analytics & Insights US CPG & Grocery, Amazon

: Head, Analytics & Insights US CPG & Grocery, Amazon Eric Payne : Senior Content Manager, theCut

: Senior Content Manager, theCut Gilbertson Cuffy : VP Marketing Partnerships and Promotions, Illumination

: VP Marketing Partnerships and Promotions, Illumination Jennifer Lin : Senior Manager, Philanthropy Communications , Salesforce

: Senior Manager, , Salesforce Jonathan Daly : Head of Communications Strategy, Johannes Leonardo

: Head of Communications Strategy, Jonelle Brown : Director, Global Franchise Planning and Studio Marketing, Paramount

: Director, Global Franchise Planning and Studio Marketing, Kai Weidie : SVP, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, dentsu Media

: SVP, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, dentsu Media Kali Williams : Owner, More Than Three Fifth

: Owner, More Than Three Fifth Kristin Jarrett : Lead, Equity & Impact, Spotify

: Lead, Equity & Impact, Spotify Laurel Stark : Creative Director, The Sims , EA (Electronic Arts)

: Creative Director, The , EA (Electronic Arts) Lopaka Purdy : President/Owner, Waldinger Creative

: President/Owner, Waldinger Creative Nicky Lorenzo : SVP, Executive Creative Director, 305Worldwide

: SVP, Executive Creative Director, 305Worldwide Nina Bell : Senior Director of Experiential Marketing, Essence Communications

: Senior Director of Experiential Marketing, Patrick Bennett : Executive Creative Director, Momentum Worldwide

: Executive Creative Director, Momentum Worldwide Phillip Collins : Founder, Good Black Art

: Founder, Good Black Art Priscilla Lau : Creator Partnerships, Representation Matters, LLC

: Creator Partnerships, Quency L. Phillips : Founder / Executive Director, Lighthouse Silicon Valley

: Founder / Executive Director, Rebecca Chin : Internal Communications for Diversity & Belonging , Airbnb

: , Airbnb Roo Yeshpaul Johnson: Senior Manager, Social, Adobe

Sakinah Charbeneau : Director, DEI, Omnicom Media Group

: Director, DEI, Solange Sheridan : Experiential Marketing Leader

: Experiential Marketing Leader Suzie Bao : Group Account Director, Quigley Simpson

: Group Account Director, Tia Nicole Newton : Creative Director

: Creative Director Venkata Bhonagiri : Sr Partner, Group Director, Data Strategy & Analytics, Mindshare

: Sr Partner, Group Director, Data Strategy & Analytics, Mindshare Veronica Warman : SVP, Group Creative Director, Entree Health

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SOURCE ADCOLOR
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. The Western Azerbaijani community has sent a letter to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with an appeal to start a dialog on the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, Trend reports.

Instead of properly assessing the community's call for dialog, the Armenian side, including Prime Minister Pashinyan, has made statements denying the right of Azerbaijanis to return and distorting the issue of Western Azerbaijan.

"In this regard, the Western Azerbaijan Community sent an appeal to the UN General Secretary to stop the destructive steps of the Armenian side and encourage the community's participation in the dialog on the issue of return. The UN Secretariat sent the community's letters to the UN General Secretary and the Armenian Prime Minister as official documents of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council," the statement reads.

The concept of return, which forms the basic principles of the community's activity, was also disseminated as an official UN document.

"With the official dissemination of these documents to the UN, the world was most reliably informed about the goals and principles of the activities of the Western Azerbaijan Community, as well as the fact that it is the initiator of the dialog. All this leaves no room for denying the right of Azerbaijanis to return based on international law.

The Western Azerbaijan Community calls on the Government of Armenia to respect international law and human rights, to follow the example of Azerbaijan, which created conditions for the return of Armenians to Azerbaijan's Karabakh region immediately after the 2020 war and is currently making efforts for their reintegration, and to ensure the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes," the statement reads.
NOVI, Mich. , Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- All American Pet Resorts, the premier pet care provider, is proud to announce the newest franchise location is celebrating its Grand Opening in New Bern, North Carolina . The new Resort offers a variety of services including overnight dog boarding, daycare, and grooming services. The New Bern Resort also offers luxury cat boarding and daycare services.

Resort owners Jennifer and Paul Bassler along with their son Christian and daughter Katie, who is studying to be a veterinarian, moved to New Bern from Waxhaw, North Carolina because of their love of North Carolina's east coast. Jennifer says, "For more than ten years our home away from home was nearby Oriental and we've spent a lot of time in New Bern . We're just in love with this whole area and its' people. We knew that New Bern would be an ideal location to open our resort."

Avid pet lovers, Jennifer and Christian will both be actively involved in managing their Resort. Christian, who left a career at Google, says "We're changing the way people think about kenneling their dogs. Our luxurious suites and individualized attention are designed to give your pet a mini-vacation of their own." Christian goes on to say, " Our Resort will provide a valuable service to the community by providing pet owners a safe and comfortable place to board their furry family members while they are away or, just want to schedule a play date."

The New Bern All American Pet Resorts located at 4146 Martin Luther King Blvd. features a spacious indoor play area, outdoor play yards, private suites for overnight stays and webcams so owners can check in on and see their pets any time, 24/7.

Stephan Dimitroff , Executive Vice President of All American Pet Resorts says "All American Pet Resorts continues to expand with new franchise locations in key markets across the United States , targeting areas like New Bern , with high demand for exceptional pet care services.

Dimitroff continues "We are thrilled to bring our brand of exceptional pet care to New Bern , we have built our reputation on providing unsurpassed care for every pet that comes through our doors. I know Jenny and Christian are looking forward to building trusted relationships with the thriving pet-loving New Bern community."

Pet owners who are interested in learning more about All American Pet Resorts can visit allamericanpetresorts .com

About All American Pet Resorts

All American Pet Resorts is a successful and growing pet care franchise. With a focus on providing premiere pet care services to dogs and cats, All American Pet Resorts has built a loyal customer base and a reputation for quality care. All American Pet Resorts offers its franchisees comprehensive training, ongoing support, and access to its proprietary systems and processes. Franchisees can also benefit from the company's established brand recognition, marketing expertise, and economies of scale.

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SOURCE All American Pet Resorts
Net profit jumped by 121% period-over-period and net profit margin expanded to 17%

Revenue delivered by generative AI achieved 55% growth

BEIJING , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bairong Inc. ("Bairong" or the "Company"; HKEX: 6608), a leading cloud-based AI turnkey service provider, today announced its unaudited consolidated results for the six months ended June 30, 2023 .

Highlights

Financial Summary

Six months ended June 30 ,

2023 2022 Change

(unaudited) (unaudited) ( %)

(RMB in thousands, except percentages) Revenue 1,243,032 945,181 32 Model as a service ("MaaS") 431,134 346,991 24 Business as a service ("BaaS") 811,898 598,190 36 BaaS  Financial Scenario 492,095 316,862 55 BaaS  Insurance Scenario 319,803 281,328 14 Gross profit 896,034 677,581 32 Operating profit 211,730 92,013 130 Profit for the period 206,808 93,370 121







Non-IFRS measures





Non-IFRS profit for the period 226,847 125,912 80 Non-IFRS EBITDA 267,644 168,417 59

For the six months ended June 30, 2023 , our revenue reached RMB1,243.03 million , representing an increase of 32% from RMB945.18 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 . The growth sped up compared to the previous year, mainly driven by our BaaS business, the revenue of which rose by 36% period-over-period to RMB811.90 million , empowered mainly by our Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology. Within the BaaS business, our Financial Scenario  contributed a revenue of RMB492.10 million , representing an increase of 55% period-overperiod, while our Insurance Scenario () contributed a revenue of RMB319.80 million , representing an increase of 14% period-over-period. Our MaaS business, our cornerstone business, grew by 24% period-over-period to RMB431.13 million . Our gross profit reached RMB896.03 million with our gross profit margin remaining at a higher profitability level of 72%, as our business model continued to prove its scalability. Our operating profit surged by 130% periodover-period to RMB211.73 million and our operating profit margin further expanded to 17%. Our profit for the period jumped by 121% period-over-period to RMB206.81 million and our net profit margin further expanded to 17%, mainly as we maximized the synergies brought by our industryleading position amid a high threshold regulatory environment. Our non-IFRS profit reached RMB226.85 million and our non-IFRS net profit margin was as high as 18%.

Financial Results Review

Revenue

Our total revenue increased by 32% from RMB945.18 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB1,243.03 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to industry growth and our enhanced capabilities of providing products and services.

Our MaaS business reported revenue growth of 24% period-over-period to approximately RMB431.13 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 . During the Reporting Period, the number of Key Clients reached 146, representing an increase of 14 from 132 period-over-period, while average revenue per Key Client grew by 11% period-over-period to RMB2.43 million from RMB2.19 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. The Key Client retention rate of our MaaS business has further increased to 98%.

Six months ended June 30 , Change

2023 2022 ( %) (RMB in thousands, except percentages) Revenue from MaaS 431,134 346,991 24 Revenue from Key clients 355,246 288,389 23 Number of Key clients 146 132 11 Average revenue per Key client 2,433 2,185 11 Retention rate of Key FSP clients 98 % 96 % +2 pct

Note: "Key Clients" are defined as paying clients that each contribute more than RMB300,000 total revenue to the Company year-to-date.

Our BaaS Financial Scenario business reported revenue growth of 55% period-over-period to RMB492.10 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 . As a result of a rapid growing gross transaction values, which grew by 72% period-over-period to RMB21.26 billion for the first half year. During the Reporting Period, we deepened our cooperation with clients by jointly developing various marketing activities to contribute to the rapid expansion of gross transaction values. In addition, the operational efficiency continued to improve due to the effective role of our accumulated self-owned users in combination with our technical advantages powered by Generative AI, thereby generating a higher level of ROI.

Six months ended June 30 , Change

2023 2022 ( %) (RMB in thousands, except percentages) Revenue from BaaS  Financial Scenario 492,095 316,862 55 Gross transaction value 21,262,052 12,367,135 72 Technical service fee rate 2.31 % 2.56 % -0.25 pct

Our revenue from insurance scenario increased by 14% to RMB319.80 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 . Total premiums increased by 59% period-over-period to RMB1,597.40 million . In the first half of 2023, first year premiums increased by 76% periodover-period to RMB939.75 million . Renewal premiums increased by 40% period-over-period to RMB657.65 million . The persistency rate of life insurance premiums continued to exceed 90%, ranking among the top in the industry.

Six months ended June 30 , Change

2023 2022 ( %) (RMB in thousands, except percentages) Revenue from BaaS  Insurance Scenario 319,803 281,328 14 Revenue from the first year premiums 270,236 230,583 17 First year premiums 939,753 534,499 76 Revenue from the renewal premiums 49,567 50,745 -2 Renewal premiums 657,650 470,936 40

Cost of sales

The cost of sales increased by 30% from RMB267.60 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB347.00 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to an increase of RMB11.11 million in analytics service costs, and an increase of RMB49.13 million in insurance brokerage commission costs, in line with the growth of our business scale.

Gross profit and gross margin

As a result of the foregoing, the Group's gross profit increased by 32% from RMB677.58 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB896.03 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 . The Group's gross margin was 72% for both the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

Research and development expenses

The Group's research and development expenses increased by 26% from RMB159.95 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB202.07 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to the increase in the staff costs of our research and development personnel to support product offerings and technology development about various AI application technology, algorithm-driven machine learning platform and underlying database performance.

General and administrative expenses

The Group's general and administrative expenses decreased by 6% from RMB132.53 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB123.98 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to the effective management and control of the general and administrative expenses.

Sales and marketing expenses

Our sales and marketing expenses increased by 19% from RMB388.44 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB460.68 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily due to an increase of RMB82.57 million of promotion, advertising, information technology services and other related expenses, which was mainly due to the increased branding and business promotion to enhance our brand recognition and our continuous promotional efforts to obtain high-quality traffic to improve conversion efficiency.

Other income

Our net other income increased by 10% from RMB95.36 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB105.01 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 . This is primarily due to (1) an increase of RMB30.71 million of government grants; (2) an increase of RMB14.18 million in the interest income from time deposits and fair value change and gains from our other investments which were mainly include certain low-risk wealth management products; (3) the foreign exchange loss of RMB1.65 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared with the foreign exchange gains of RMB30.60 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 , which was due to the variance from the appreciation of USD against RMB affected by macro environment.

Profit for the period

As a result of the foregoing, the Group's profit for the period increased from RMB93.37 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to RMB206.81 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 .

Cash, cash equivalents and time deposits

The Group had cash and cash equivalents and time deposits of RMB2,756.67 million and RMB3,010.86 million as at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 , respectively. To manage the liquidity risk, we monitor and maintain a level of cash and cash equivalents as deemed adequate by our senior management to finance our operations.

Conference Call

Our management will hold a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Beijing /Hong Kong Time on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 ( 10:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on August 24, 2023 ) to discuss the financial results and answer questions from investors and analysts.

For participants who wish to join the call, please complete online registration using the link provided below prior to the scheduled call start time.

Participant Online Registration:

https://webcast.roadshowchina.cn/meet/sign/MlRDMjk1VTl1ejZZaUMrNWViRlpGSzJsRFdqbGlpNDg4bjZYWjk4Tk1Edz0=

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follow:

International: +86-23-62737100

Mainland China : 023-63623333/4008-063-263

HK China: +852-30183602/+852-30186949

English Dial-in Password: 926830039

Chinese Dial-in Password: 833103943

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.brgroup.com/earnings .

About Bairong Inc.

Bairong Inc (Stock Code: 6608.HK) is a leading cloud-based AI turnkey service provider. The company is dedicated to frontier technologies such as NLP, privacy computing, machine learning and cloud computing, built complementary AI technology solutions combining discriminant AI and generative AI, and proposed MaaS (Model as a service) + BaaS (Business as a service), to promote the inclusive development of AI in vertical industry. Bairong is committed to deeply embedding discriminant AI and generative AI into the whole process of vertical industry, connecting different scenarios and customers, with cloud deployment, it helps clients to improve the decision-making capability and provides turnkey service at business level for customer interactions, extending AI capability from the intermediate operation to the final result delivery, making AI applicable, visible, and perceptible in vertical industries, and facilitating the digital intelligence development. Bairong offers professional services for more than 7,000 institutions including 6 state-owned banks, 12 national joint-stock banks, more than a thousand regional banks, as well as major consumer finance companies, insurance companies, wealth management companies, and numerous internet technology companies.

For more information, please visit: http://ir.brgroup.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminologies such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "likely to," and the negative of these words and other similar expressions or statements. Bairong may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the HKEx, in its annual and interim reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by its officers, directors, or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Bairong's beliefs, plans, and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the following: Bairong's strategies, future business development, and financial condition and results of operations; Bairong's limited operating history; risks associated with the financial service industry, Bairong's ability to develop and deliver services of high quality and appeal to clients; Bairong's ability to generate positive cash flow and profits; Bairong's ability to compete successfully; Bairong's ability to build its brand and withstand negative publicity; and changes in client demand and government incentives, subsidies, or other favorable government policies. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Bairong's filings with the HKEX. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Bairong does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable laws.

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SOURCE Bairong Inc.
New Capability Allows Businesses to Insert Proprietary Documents for More Personalized and Complete Presentations With One Prompt

SAN FRANCISCO , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Beautiful.ai, the presentation platform that enables anyone to build beautiful presentations, announced today the launch of contextual AI capabilities on its next-generation DesignerBot, a generative AI tool that enables Beautiful.ai users to incorporate their own business documents, data and information into AI generated presentations and slides. By integrating a user's own context into its AI algorithm, Beautiful.ai is now able to generate up-to-date content that is more relevant and accurate to a company, rather than relying solely on what the AI model has already been trained on.

Context is everything when generating useful and accurate content with Generative AI.

As AI continues to evolve, it's becoming increasingly apparent that business users require AI that can generate relevant content based on their own information and data - not just the publicly available information that today's AI models generate. With the latest enhancement of DesignerBot, Beautiful.ai users can enrich the standard generative AI by uploading their own documents - including PDF, text, Word and even webpages - to provide additional context for AI to reference when generating a presentation or slide. Context is everything when generating useful and accurate content.

"At Beautiful.ai, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our AI features, making them more useful and compelling," said Mitch Grasso , founder and chief technology officer at Beautiful.ai. "Adding additional context to our generative AI features effectively teaches the AI about you and your business in a secure and protected manner, and gives our business users the ability to more accurately guide generated presentations into a closer to finished product immediately."

Beautiful.ai is built upon a SOC2-compliant enterprise-ready infrastructure to ensure secure and reliable access to a business' content. Contextual AI takes full advantage of those systems to ensure that a user's context documents remain secure and limited to that user's generated content.

Beautiful.ai believes presentations today should be memorable and the storytelling in them should be painless and empowering. Through automated smart content, the Beautiful.ai platform gives everyone  including non-designers  a tool with a built-in designer. Utilizing Beautiful.ai's DesignerBot, users can generate fully realized presentations, including appropriate text, layouts, photos, icons and design, based on one simple text prompt - and then quickly edit slides by adding or removing content and automatically adapting, resizing and laying out the slides via the SmartSlides technology. As a collaborative solution, Beautiful.ai helps organizations control the entire lifecycle of how presentations are built, shared and reused across teams  and presentations can be easily imported or exported to different presentation formats, including PowerPoint, Google Slides and PDF.

Beautiful.ai currently has more than 2.5 million users across 228 countries and 50,000 companies, including trusted brands such as ESPN, Rakuten and the Phoenix Suns.

To learn more about DesignerBot's contextual AI updates and try it out for free, visit https://www.beautiful.ai/blog/new-designerbot-context-ai .

About Beautiful.ai

Beautiful.ai is a San Francisco -based presentation platform that uses design automation and artificial intelligence to enable teams to work faster and produce better results. The company's products are built on its SmartSlide technology, which applies the rules and best practices of good design, in real-time, so teams can work smart, work fast, and work beautiful.

Media Contact: Tassi Keith , 1-308-539-1883, [email protected]

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SOURCE Beautiful.ai
NEWARK, Del. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BESS Power Corporation ("BESS Power"), a leading utility-scale energy storage developer, announces the establishment of a project debt financing facility of up to $15 Million with Leyline Renewable Capital ("Leyline"). Regarded as a key investor of flexible capital solutions for renewable energy developers, Leyline will provide this growth capital to accelerate the development of BESS Power's energy storage pipeline. With Leyline's support, BESS Power will fund the planned development of target 2.4 GWs of utility-scale stand-alone energy storage projects, over the next four years.

To commemorate this long-term partnership, Leyline's non-dilutive loan will enable the progression of BESS Power's flagship project, Lund Storage Center., in addition to expediting the development process for projects in the states of Texas , Arizona , Tennessee , New Mexico amongst others. Located in Travis County, Texas , Lund Storage project has recently confirmed power capacity of 407.55 MW, establishing it as one of the largest utility-scale stand-alone energy storage projects in the state of Texas and offering significant value to Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT), as it works towards increasing reliability and deployment of renewable energy in the region.

BESS Power is manufacturer independent developer, established through a joint venture between Euronext Growth Milan listed companies, Redelfi and Altea Green Power , and U.S. -based Elio Energy Group LLC; key entities with combined 15+ years of industry expertise. The portfolio will include utility-scale standalone energy storage centers within key growth US territories that would be operational by 2026. Focusing on traditional greenfield development to de-risk projects, BESS Power plans to use this funding for project-related capital costs to accelerate the development process.

"Having the Leyline team share our vision of highly optimized energy storage solutions for a resilient grid is an exciting step in our journey. With BESS Power's requisite technical expertise and experience in greenfield development, supplemented by Leyline's longstanding financial capabilities and market knowledge, I am confident we will achieve our target goal and beyond. This transaction further strengthens our mission to drive growth in the sustainability sector and gives confidence to the company stakeholders with regards to our financial position in the market." said Pandelis Vassilakakis, CEO of BESS Power.

"We are honored to support BESS Power's growth. The team brings a sophisticated understanding of the greenfield development process, knowledge of nascent standalone storage markets, and a mission to provide renewable energy assets that aligns with Leyline's mission," said Joshua Schaff , Senior Managing Director at Leyline.

For more information, please visit www.besspowercorp.com.

For media and corporate inquiries, please contact Radhika Mehta at [email protected].

About BESS Power Corporation

BESS Power Corporation is a leading greenfield utility-scale energy storage center developer with a primary focus on BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) projects across the United States . Established with Redelfi Group, Altea Green Power and Elio Energy Group LLC, BESS Power Corporation is manufacturer independent, providing best-in-class energy storage solutions that are catered to achieve project-specific objectives. The combination of these key market players brings a wealth of financial capabilities and technical expertise in the bourgeoning energy market.

About Leyline Renewable Capital

Leyline Renewable Capital invests in the development of utility scale renewable energy projects. Backed by a team of seasoned investors with deep experience in the renewable industry, Leyline provides financing that supports early-stage development through construction. By investing in the early stages of renewable energy projects, Leyline accelerates the development process and helps developers scale quickly without taking dilution. Leyline leverages a broad base of experience in greenfield project development, design, construction, and finance with an extensive network of relationships with industry leaders to provide support and capital for projects from concept to commercial operation.

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SOURCE BESS Power Corporation
FRISCO, Texas , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Careington Benefit Solutions, affiliate of Careington International Corporation, announces the expansion of its service offerings to now include customizable commercial lines for property and casualty insurance. Backed by more than 40 years of industry experience, Careington Benefit Solutions is a single-source solution for insurance, administrative and marketing solutions.

As a nationally licensed insurance agency and Third Party Administrator, Careington Benefit Solutions wanted to broaden its existing suite of insurance products to include business and commercial coverages including liability, business property, workers compensation, commercial automobile, cyber security and more. This new program is designed to provide businesses with a custom, industry-specific risk management solution. With a wide variety of carriers and products to choose from, Careington Benefit Solutions' High Performance Sales Unit consists of nationally licensed Life & Health and Property & Casualty agents that can help clients shop coverage options, get cost-free quotes and enroll in a commercial line insurance policy that is tailored to the specific needs of small employers.

"We are proud to expand our property and casualty coverage options to include commercial lines," said Chuck Misasi , Executive Vice President of Direct Marketing and Customer Engagement at Careington Benefit Solutions. "After successfully providing protection to individuals and their families with our personal lines coverage options, we recognized that we could bring the same white-glove approach to businesses to address their unique financial risks. With this new program, we're offering customized risk management solutions to businesses across a wide variety of industries."

Beyond commercial lines insurance, Careington Benefit Solutions offers a robust suite of insurance products, as well as 150+ money-saving health, wellness, lifestyle and virtual health products. Careington Benefit Solutions partners with industry-leading carriers nationwide to offer a range of innovative, competitive solutions. As a TPA, Careington Benefit Solutions is a single-source solution that expertly manages licensed enrollment, billing, claims processing, customer service, policy fulfillment, custom product development and more. Careington Benefit Solutions serves employers of any size or industry, carriers, Medicare Advantage companies, TPAs, associations, unions, affinity groups, municipalities, school districts, colleges and universities, dental support organizations and brokers and benefits consultants.

"Careington Benefit Solutions is dedicated to delivering competitive insurance product options and full-scale administrative services to our diverse clients nationally," said Careington Benefit Solutions Chief Executive Officer Stewart Sweda . "We are always looking to enhance our product and service offerings, and we are pleased to now be able to connect small employers with the coverage they need to protect their businesses against potential financial damages."

About Careington Benefit Solutions

Careington Benefit Solutions, an affiliate of Careington International Corporation, is a nationally licensed insurance agency and Third Party Administrator that provides a range of competitive insurance product options and comprehensive suite of administration services, including claims administration, individual and group billing, premium collection, enrollment, policy fulfillment, custom product manufacturing and more to support our many diverse clients, including large insurance companies. Our flexibility in the level of administrative support we provide allows us to customize any client solution as an a-la-carte scenario or a complete turnkey option as a single-source product, service and administrative solution. Careington Benefit Solutions includes a direct-to-consumer brand, QuoteSavant, created to help consumers navigate the complex process of buying insurance. Our licensed agents shop top plans and provide quotes to help individuals find coverage to fit their budgets. To learn more about QuoteSavant's personalized policy shopping process, visit www.quotesavant.com. For more information on Careington Benefit Solutions' insurance product options and customized insurance administration services, please visit www.careingtonbenefitsolutions.com.

Contact:

Jamie Saunders

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Careington Benefit Solutions

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (800) 441-0380 ext. 2902

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SOURCE Careington Benefit Solutions
JOHANNESBURG , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from Xinhuanet North America:

The Sixth BRICS Media Forum opened in Johannesburg, South Africa , on August, 19. Wang Min , director of CHN Energy Investment Group, shared stories on China - Africa cooperation in the energy sector in his keynote speech. De Aar Wind Power Project effectively mitigates the power shortage in South Africa , promotes the local economic development, and plays an important role in the protection of local environment.

About 200 deputies from around 100 media outlets, think tanks and international organizations from 30 countries held discussions under the theme of "BRICS and Africa : Strengthening Media Dialogue for a Shared and Unbiased Future", to build a high-quality BRICS friendship and develop the BRICS mechanism.

CHN Energy, one of the world's largest power suppliers, built and runs the largest wind power project in South Africa "De Aar Wind Power Project", which provides clean wind power for 300,000 households annually, and creatively builds an inclusive Eco-growth Model which integrates project, enterprise, society and environment. It is lauded as a model of energy sector cooperation among BRICS countries.

Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, South African Ambassador to China , expressed that BRICS countries are actively exploring ways to transform from the traditional production methods to high-tech production and digitalization. During this process, Chinese enterprises has played an important role.

Meilleur Murindabigwi, CEO of IGIHE Ltd., a mainstream media in Rwanda , emphasized that Africa is now in great need of this kind of cooperation when commenting on the wind power project cooperated by CHN Energy and South Africa . " China - Africa energy cooperation not only fills the local energy gap, but also brings technology transfer, and helps the host countries train professionals. I hope there will be more related energy cooperation in more African countries," he said.

Christopher Mutsvangwa, Member of Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF), Secretary for Information and Publicity for the ZANU PF, and Former Ambassador to China , said that Zimbabwe looks to CHN Energy to come to Zimbabwe to carry out clean energy projects, and work together to expand cooperation in the energy sector, including helping develop the clean energy to achieve mutual benefits and win-win achievements, and common development for all.

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SOURCE Xinhuanet North America
Partial settlement will help improve grid resiliency and advance the clean energy transition

Settlement and testimony will be reviewed by regulators in a hearing that begins Aug. 28

Agreement follows Friday's order by North Carolina Utilities Commission that concluded the parallel Duke Energy Progress rate review

CHARLOTTE, N.C. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Carolinas and the North Carolina Public Staff have reached partial settlements on various items associated with investments included in the utility's request, along with implementation of new regulatory mechanisms.

The partial settlements include agreement on many aspects of the company's proposed revenue requirement in the case, such as capital projects, grid enhancements and related costs to be included in the three-year rate plan; cost recovery of plant-related investments to improve reliability; coal plant retirement dates to be used for depreciation rates; and Performance Incentive Mechanisms that hold Duke Energy accountable for outcomes that help customers and achieve state policy goals.

Grid investments benefiting customers include pole and line upgrades, targeted undergrounding of outage-prone lines, and the installation of smart, self-healing technology that enables faster power restoration.

"Similar to our case at Duke Energy Progress, we are pleased to achieve common ground with the Public Staff on a number of key issues and reach an agreement that prioritizes the needs of our customers, advances grid reliability and resiliency across the state, and maintains the financial health of the company," said Kendal Bowman , Duke Energy's North Carolina president.

The agreement would also reduce retail customer costs associated with the Duke Energy Plaza . The company's new headquarters are facilitating a major real estate consolidation in uptown Charlotte , reducing the company's footprint by more than 50% to save customers about $5 million annually, which is on top of the proposed savings in this settlement.

The partial settlements were filed Tuesday with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) and can be found here and here. If approved by the NCUC, the agreements would reduce the requested customer rate increase across the three-year rate period by approximately $158 million .

Matters not resolved by the partial settlements include return on equity, capital structure and recovery of costs associated with serving the company's customers during the COVID pandemic. Those items will be considered along with testimony submitted by the company, other participating parties and the public during an evidentiary hearing in Raleigh beginning on Aug. 28 . The NCUC will make its final decision on the company's rate request and proposed partial settlement later this year.

Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2 million households and businesses in central and western North Carolina , including Charlotte , Durham and the Triad.

Aug. 18 NCUC order concludes Duke Energy Progress rate review

After a similar evidentiary hearing for the parallel Duke Energy Progress rate review, the NCUC issued its order on Friday afternoon to conclude that case. A full analysis of customer bill impacts will be filed with the NCUC in the coming weeks, and the company's statement on Friday's order can be found here.

Duke Energy Progress serves about 1.7 million customers in central and eastern North Carolina and in the Asheville region.

Duke Energy Carolinas

Duke Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 19,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2.8 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 24,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina .

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. , is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina , South Carolina , Florida , Indiana , Ohio and Kentucky , and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , Ohio and Kentucky . The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Contact: Bill Norton

24-hour media line: 800.559.3853

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SOURCE Duke Energy
LAKELAND, Fla. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Polytechnic University welcomed students back to campus on Tuesday, Aug. 22 , launching the 10th academic year in the all-STEM institution's history.

University officials said they anticipate the 2023-2024 academic year will be as successful as the previous nine years, which have included important accreditations, national recognitions, impressive grants, and growing support.

"Watching the achievements of our campus community and its unbridled growth has been nothing short of remarkable," said Dr. Randy K. Avent , Florida Poly's president. "We are excited to welcome another impressive incoming class that will undoubtedly contribute to our University's continued success."

With an enrollment of more than 1,600 students, the student population includes some of the brightest young minds in Florida . The average GPA of the freshman class was 4.5, and its average SAT and ACT scores were 1323 and 30 respectively. About 61% of the class of 2027 has completed calculus or a higher-level math.

The new class of freshmen includes about 300 students with about 245 being from Florida , according to the most recent data. The University also saw a 28% increase in new transfer students over 2022, and a 17% spike in new graduate students.

"I've been working in higher education for 30-plus years, and I've never seen a young university achieve such high levels of academic success and distinction as quickly as has been done at Florida Polytechnic University," said Dee Voss , interim vice provost for enrollment management.

This year is expected to include the opening or significant progress on several new campus buildings, the addition of new student teams and organizations, and increasing industry partnerships and faculty research.

For freshman Alex Washington , from Temple Terrace, Florida , the combination of 100% STEM focus, low tuition, and centralized location made Florida Poly an easy choice.

"I worked with the Purple Fire Robotics team when they came to the Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Center (AMRoC) in Tampa ," said Washington, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science. "It was a good experience and now that I'm here I want to keep coding and programming and keep getting better."

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SOURCE Florida Poly
Legal Claim by Evaate LLC States that Portfolio BI, a Portfolio Company of Credit Suisse Next Investors,

Unlawfully Withheld in Excess of $1 Million from Hentsu Founders

NEW YORK , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Marko Djukic , founder and former CEO of fast-growing fintech startup Hentsu, Ltd., has filed claims in New York and Delaware against Portfolio BI (PBI), a portfolio company of Credit Suisse NEXT Investors for breach of contract and failure to pay compensation owed to Djukic and other Hentsu founding shareholders related to the acquisition of Hentsu in 2021. UBS Group AG announced that it acquired Credit Suisse in June 2023 .

The claims, which exceed $1 million , seek to recover success fees unlawfully withheld and the release of escrow funds due to Hentsu's earliest investors and employees.

Djukic said, "Even vigilant founders are at risk from unethical investors who violate the principles that should guide relationships between shareholders and builders of high growth startups. Early stakeholders may become targets for powerful corporations to exploit their influence and dictate outcomes that only serve their own interests. This practice is not only an infringement of their fiduciary duties but also builds mistrust, poisons the marketplace and ultimately thwarts innovation."

Documents filed in the case support Djukic's position that PBI and Credit Suisse violated their fiduciary duties to Hentsu and its investors and wrongfully withheld compensation due under the negotiated Stock Purchase Agreement.

According to the claim:

"NEXT acquired a 30% financial interest in Hentsu and insisted that it have the right [to] block potential change in control transactions. Hentsu granted these rights with the expectation that NEXT's interests were aligned with Hentsu to maximize the value of the company."

"As Hentsu's business matured, it received and entertained take-over offers. During 2020, two separate offers were made to acquire Hentsu for $25-30 million . Taking advantage of the size and terms of its investment in Hentsu, NEXT forced the rejection of both offers. Later during 2020, NEXT, in order to hide its failings, engineered the acquisition of Hentsu by [PBI for a lower price,] forcing Djukic and Hentsu's other investors to sell Hentsu for less than its fair value."

Filings additionally state:

"On information and belief, Credit Suisse invested multiple rounds to keep PBI afloat . . . however, by the end of 2019, Credit Suisse had nothing to show for its investment. Indeed, despite Credit Suisse's ongoing support, [PBI] had no meaningful product in the market, and its CEO had developed a toxic reputation in the marketplace. Credit Suisse, seeking something to show for its investment in PBI, pushed to have PBI merge with Hentsu through its affiliate NEXT. Hentsu's founders and other investors objected to having Hentsu merge with PBI. In larger part, because of PBI's dire business performance and toxic reputation, Hentsu investors wanted a merger with a third party."

"PBI's toxic reputation had been developed through derogatory treatment of women, including some of Hentsu's personnel."

The filings explain that after the acquisition and integration, NEXT and PBI deliberately breached their agreement:

"After the merger closed, PBI delayed paying various amounts due under the Consulting Agreement, ignored communications from Djukic requesting confirmation that PBI would timely pay the $675,000 consulting fee when that fee became due, and ultimately refused to pay that consulting fee by belatedly asserting that it had not been told the truth about Hentsu. Based on that same belated assertion, PBI also attempted to seize amounts that had been escrowed under the SPA that are due to be paid to Djukic and the sellers of Hentsu."

". . . PBI's senior executives sought to have [a major client's] personnel create documents that mischaracterized and misrepresented events in 2020 to support PBI's . . . claims in this matter. In at least one instance, PBI provided the text of document that [the major client] was to send. This was part of PBI's effort to create a false documentary record to support its baseless refusal to pay Djukic and Sanghrajka what they are owed and refuse to release the funds held in escrow that are due to Djukic and Sanghrajka. Djukic has audio recordings of witnesses explaining this process."

"Notably, the requests to [the major client] originated from Jeremy Siegel , PBI's Chief Executive Officer, and Alan Freudenstein , NEXT's lead partner, including a personal attempt by both to persuade [the major client's] ex-COO to support the PBI false narrative, which was rebuffed by the [major client's] ex-COO as lacking any factual basis."

Djukic founded Hentsu in 2015 to provide technology and related services to the FinTech, alternative investments and investment banking industries. Hentsu provided fully managed AWS, Azure, and Google cloud platform solutions for fund managers. Its service enables trade connectivity, software interface, and support services, including security and compliance. It also offers on-demand applications, computing clusters, and connectivity to market data providers, brokers, and exchanges.

Evaate, LLC, founded by Marko Djukic , is a privately-held company and the plaintiff in the New York litigation, focused on upholding the principles of contract law and the rights of founders in the broader business community.

More information about the litigation can be found at: https://www.portfoliobi-litigation.com/

Evaate LLC vs Portfolio BI, Inc. is filed in New York County Supreme Court and has been assigned Index Number 650125/2022. The Delaware Chancery Court litigation has been assigned case number 2023-2341 with cross complaints between Marko Djukic and Portfolio BI, Inc. Halloran Farkas + Kittila LLP represents Evaate and Djukic in both venues.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/founders-and-investors-of-fintech-startup-hentsu-file-litigation-against-portfolio-bi-for-breach-of-acquisition-agreement-301907001.html

SOURCE Evaate, LLC
BEIJING , Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid high global attention and expectations, Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing for Johannesburg on Monday for a state visit to South Africa and to attend the BRICS Summit to be held from Tuesday to Thursday.

The visit is being widely welcomed by local scholars, who see it as a strong boost to deep-rooted China - South Africa relations as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations in 1998.

Observers also believe that Xi's visit to the continent, coming against the backdrop of aggravating geopolitics, can inject momentum into China -Africa cooperation, and help developing countries and emerging economies jointly seek an approach to address current global challenges.

The ambiance of the BRICS Summit became palpable upon Global Times reporter's arrival at Johannesburg airport . Posters and billboards publicizing the event can be seen everywhere.

National flags of South Africa and China are fluttering atop roadside poles en route to Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the official residence for the President of the Republic of South Africa in Pretoria .

Local residents, when seeing visitors from China , extended warm greetings and expressed their affection for the remote country. Many asked for a selfie with the reporter and told the Global Times they wanted to visit China one day, underscoring the positive rapport between the two countries and peoples.

China is an important investor in South Africa and provides support to the infrastructure development projects including the Small Harbour Development Project, the TVET Refurbishment Project and the Mzimvubu Water Project, all of which are instrumental in job creation, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by Government Communication and Information System on behalf of the Presidency of South Africa .

The welcome ceremony for Xi will take place on Tuesday morning, and discussions during Xi's state visit will explore further collaboration and partnerships the two nations can leverage to solidify existing diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations, according to the statement.

'Brotherly sentiments'

President Xi on Monday published a signed article in English entitled "Sailing the giant ship of China - South Africa friendship and cooperation toward greater success" on major media outlets in South Africa .

The ongoing visit is Xi's sixth to the "promising land of the 'rainbow nation,'" and Xi wrote that "Each of my visits to South Africa gave me new impressions. But the deepest is invariably the brotherly sentiments we have toward each other."

Paul Tembe , author of the book Xi Jinping and Thriving China-South Africa Relations in the New Era, was impressed by the warmth and close bond carried in Xi's article.

"Whenever President Xi visits South Africa , he always brings gifts. I am not referring to physical gifts, but intangible, symbolic gifts that expand our relationship," Tembe told the Global Times on Monday in Pretoria .

Xi wrote in the article that "Our friendship has traversed a long span of time," citing examples of China's support in South Africa's fight against apartheid in the mid-20th century. China was among the first to provide anti-COVID pandemic supplies to South Africa and recent aid of emergency power equipment amid the latter's energy crisis.

"Our relationship has entered a 'golden era,' enjoying broad prospects and a promising future South Africa was the first African country to sign the Belt and Road cooperation document with China . It has been China's biggest trading partner in Africa for 13 years in a row, as well as one of the African countries with the largest stock of Chinese investment," Xi wrote.

Bilateral trade in the first seven months of 2023 reached 226.15 billion yuan ( $31.06 billion ) with a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent, data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

China imports raw materials and resources from South Africa and helps in infrastructure and telecommunication, while analysts pointed out that potential for cooperation also lies in areas of South Africa's upgrading of its industrial pattern, digital economy and technological transfer and ocean economy.

Song Wei , a professor with the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday the two countries can also enhance cooperation and exchanges in the fields of culture, tourism and education and training.

In his signed article, Xi specified four objectives for bilateral relations - China and South Africa should be fellow companions sharing the same ideals, pacesetters for solidarity and cooperation, inheritors of China -Africa friendship, and champions of common interests.

Beyond bilateral

China - South Africa relationship has gone beyond the bilateral scope and carries increasingly important global influence, Xi wrote.

While in South Africa , Xi will co-chair with President Cyril Ramaphosa the China- Africa Leaders' Dialogue, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Analysts believe that South Africa , as a major country in a promising land full of opportunities, can play a key role in driving the continent's cooperation with China and facilitate Africa's economic integration, industrialization and modernization.

David Monyae, director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, told the Global Times that China has made great contributions to Africa's development. Programs under the China -proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have benefited local people and China has done this out of true care for Africa's development, Monyae said.

Tembe also hailed the advantages of BRI, which is not abstract but practical and substantial.

In the first half of 2023, China added $1.82 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa, up by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Chinese companies have become increasingly confident in the African market. More than 3,000 Chinese enterprises have invested deeply in Africa , of which over 70 percent are private companies, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at the routine press briefing on August 18 .

In many Chinese companies operating in Africa , over 80 percent of the staff are local employees. Chinese companies have given back to local communities by building bridges and roads, drilling wells and installing street lights. At the same time, they have increased technology transfer, local procurement and personnel training in Africa , and helped modernize the continent's agricultural, manufacturing and services sectors, Wang said.

Analysts said that China's cooperation with Africa has not only brought about opportunities for Africa to share in the fruits of development, but also provide inspiration for how developing countries should seek a path of modernization that suits their own national conditions.

Xi highlighted the completion and handover of a host of projects including the Africa CDC Headquarters, the Foundiougne Bridge in Senegal , the Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in the past decade of joint pursuit of a China -Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

In face of the profound changes unseen in a century, a strong China -Africa relationship and productive China -Africa cooperation will provide more fresh impetus to global development and ensure greater stability in the world, Xi wrote in his signed article.

This is all the more reason why China and South Africa , as natural members of the Global South, should work together to appeal for a greater voice and influence from developing countries in international affairs, and Xi called for joint opposition to unilateral sanctions and the "small yard, high fence" mentality to jointly safeguard the common interests.

Sanusha Naidu, senior research fellow at Institute for Global Dialogue, told the Global Times in Johannesburg that BRICS exists simply because there was a need for the BRICS format. "BRICS in itself is an iteration and an expression of the Global South."

BRICS is of extraordinary importance when the world faces joint challenges of a post-pandemic recovery and rising geopolitical tensions, as developing countries prioritize growth over differences in ideologies and systems, analysts said.

The theme of the upcoming BRICS Summit, its focus on Africa and agenda of closer financial cooperation and expansion of membership, prove that the mechanism continues to serve the immediate needs of developing countries, Lan Qingxin, director of the Center for BRICS Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing , told the Global Times on Monday.

BRICS is a platform for developing countries to make their voice heard and work together for their benefits. It has never sought and will never seek to confront the Group of Seven (G7) or any other mechanisms, Lan said. He added that the unprecedented attention to a BRICS event and continuous attacks out of a confrontational mentality just demonstrated the necessity and urgency for fairer and more inclusive global governance.

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SOURCE Global Times
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on amending "Regulations on the State Customs Committee", Trend reports.

According to the updated decree, Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee, along with information on customs offences, will submit relevant documents to the financial monitoring body.
New First-of-a-kind offering bundles powerful cloud-based SIEM with managed services and strategic guidance from security experts to simplify the path to PCI compliance

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico and MIAMI , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GM Sectec, a global leader in payment security, and Sumo Logic, a SaaS analytics platform to enable reliable and secure cloud-native applications, announced a partnership to develop Security Analytics. This proprietary PCI 4.0- Ready SIEM is available now and enables service providers and merchants to be ready for PCI DSS 4.0 compliance, the global standard that will replace 3.2.1 for all entities that store, process, or transmit credit card data.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is governed by the major card brands (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discovery and JCB), and brings added value to the protection of cardholder data with a defense in-depth model. With Requirement 10 of the updated PCI DSS 4.0 standard set to go into effect between March 2024 and March 2025 , organizations will be required to have an automated 24x7 SIEM solution for centralizing the storage and interpretation of safety-relevant data. Powered by Sumo Logic's Cloud SIEM solution, the Security Analytics offering enables enterprises to see through data noise easily, respond to emerging threats quickly, and cost-effectively maximize protection while proving compliance.

"Our clients look to us to simplify the PCI compliance and renewal process, and PCI 4.0 is one of the biggest and most challenging changes in cybersecurity in recent years. We are excited to work with Sumo Logic and believe that this "Better Together" partnership provides a unique SIEMaaS solution, to complement the PCI expertise of the GM Sectec QSA team," said Hector Guillermo Martinez , President of GM Sectec.

Together, GM Sectec and Sumo Logic are delivering a scalable, reliable, and high-performance SIEMaaS (SIEM as a Service) solution to help clients meet the new PCI DSS 4.0 standards and reduce cost for compliance through easier management and accelerated workflows, including data retention, security, and access control. Through GM Sectec's award-winning managed services and Sumo Logic's Cloud SIEM which empowers SOC teams to modernize security operations by automatically surfacing actionable insights using a single, intuitive, and collaborative cloud-native platform,

"Sumo Logic and GM Sectec are building on their success in delivering value to enterprise customers and combining their strengths to create compelling security offerings that will enable customers to run their businesses more securely and enable a strong compliance posture," said Timm Hoyt , SVP of Global Channels and Alliances, Sumo Logic. "We are excited to deepen this partnership by combining our Cloud SIEM technology with world-class managed services to offer customers unparalleled cloud-scale solutions built for reliability, security and performance."

GM Sectec has more than 50,000 customers and end users across 50+ countries worldwide and has been recognized for its high standards of Security, Availability and Confidentiality. The company has passed the most stringent world-class certifications, such as: SOC 2 Type 2 Service Organization, CSAA Certified, PCI Qualified Security Assessor, PCI Approved Scanning Vendor, PCI Point-to-Point-Encryption (P2PE), PCI VISA PIN, PCI 3DS, UL Listed, and FIRST members.

About GM Sectec

GM Sectec is a leading cyber defense and managed security services provider with operations in 50 countries worldwide and over 50 years of continuous service. GM Sectec solutions and services cover three core areas: Risk, Governance, and Compliance, Managed Security Services, and Fraud Prevention and Consulting, which in combination are to protect and detect advanced attacks and respond to them effectively, reducing business risk, fraud, and cybercrime. Founded in 1970 as General Computer Corporation and later as GM Group in the 1990s, GM Sectec has an extensive track record and experience in the management of policies and integrated processes of technologies and standards for data protection in payment system risk. GM Sectec is a listed Top 150 Cybersecurity company in 2022 by Cybercrime Magazine, and was named winner of two global InfoSec Awards in 2023: Hot Company MDR Service Provider and Hot Company MSSP. To learn more about GM Sectec, visit our website: www.gmsectec.com

Any information regarding offerings, updates, functionality, or other modifications, including release dates, is subject to change without notice. The development, release, and timing of any offering, update, functionality, or modification described herein remains at the sole discretion of Sumo Logic, and should not be relied upon in making a purchase decision, nor as a representation, warranty, or commitment to deliver specific offerings, updates, functionalities, or modifications in the future.

CONTACT:

US: +1-866-735-3369

PR: +1 787 620-5260

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gm-sectec-and-sumo-logic-partner-to-simplify-pci-compliance-301907201.html

SOURCE GM Security Technologies
The 'Arctic Circle Crossing' inspired by 10th Century explorers includes four maiden calls in Greenland , a trip to the North Cape and extensive scenic cruising

SEATTLE , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From trending travel destinations to seldom-visited locales, Holland America Line's new 28-day " Arctic Circle Crossing : Greenland & Iceland " is a Legendary Voyage to Greenland , Iceland and Norway . Departing June 29, 2025 , aboard Nieuw Statendam, the journey is inspired by the routes of Norse explorer Erik the Red who founded the first European settlement in Greenland.

Sailing roundtrip from Rotterdam, the Netherlands , the cruise features 15 ports across five countries, passage through the Arctic Circle , an overnight in Reykjavik, Iceland , scenic cruising through Iceland and Greenland's spellbinding fjords and four maiden calls in Greenland . Cruisers on the " Arctic Circle Crossing " will set sail on one of Holland America Line's most intensive explorations of this region ever offered.

"Legendary Voyages give us the opportunity to create longer cruises that delve deeper into a region and include ports we don't normally visit, like the four maiden calls in Greenland on the new Arctic Circle Crossing ," said Beth Bodensteiner , chief commercial officer of Holland America Line. "We're taking this itinerary up to Norway's North Cape, then heading farther north in Greenland on both coasts and adding amazing opportunities in Iceland . At 28 days, it's the perfect length to showcase this area and give our guests an experience that goes beyond a brief introduction to the countries."

Highlights of the 'Arctic Circle Crossing' Legendary Voyage

28 days, departing June 29, 2025 , roundtrip from Rotterdam .

, roundtrip from . 15 calls in five countries (listed in order of visit): Alesund, Trondheim, Honningsvag (North Cape) and Troms, Norway ; Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), Greenland ; Akureyri and Isafjordur Iceland ; Nuuk (Godthab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) and Nanortalik, Greenland ; Reykjavik, Iceland (overnight); Stornoway (Isle of Lewis) and Invergordon ( Inverness ), Scotland ; and Dover ( London ), England .

; Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), ; Akureyri and Isafjordur ; Nuuk (Godthab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) and Nanortalik, ; (overnight); Stornoway (Isle of Lewis) and ( ), ; and ( ), . Maiden Calls, all in Greenland : Nuuk, Ittoqqortoormiit, Sisimiut, Ilulissat.

: Nuuk, Ittoqqortoormiit, Sisimiut, Ilulissat. Crossing the Arctic Circle at several points throughout the voyage.

at several points throughout the voyage. Overnight call July 20 and 21 in Reykjavik .

and 21 in . Scenic cruising opportunities: North Cape ( Norway ); Jan Mayen Island , a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean ; Scoresbysund ( Greenland ); and Eyjafjordur and Isafjardardjur ( Iceland ).

What is a 'Legendary Voyage'?

These lengthier cruises, which range from 25 to 59 days, combine the ceremony of Holland America Line's Grand Voyages while focusing on a singular region. They visit some of the most unique ports while offering guests an in-depth exploration. Shipboard programming is specially curated to share insights into the history and culture of the destinations visited.

Legendary Voyages are offered on a variety of the line's perfectly sized ships where guests enjoy the "best of" Grand Voyages on-board programming such as iconic theme parties, memorable sailaways and classic cruise activities to further enhance the experience.

Who is Erik the Red?

Norse explorer Erik Thorvaldsson , known as Erik the Red, was exiled from Iceland and set out to explore the land to the west, which he named Greenland . After establishing the first European settlement on an island near Qaqortoq, he returned to Iceland to bring more settlers back to Greenland . He is the father of Leif Erikson , one of the first Europeans to reach North America .

'Have it All' Early Booking Bonus

The " Arctic Circle Crossing " opens for booking Aug. 24, 2023 . For a limited time, when guests book this cruise with the Have It All Early Booking Bonus, the standard package amenities of shore excursions, specialty dining, a Signature Beverage Package and Surf Wi-Fi are included  plus the added perk of free prepaid Crew Appreciation, along with free upgrades to the Elite Beverage Package and Premium Wi-Fi.

Have it All Early Booking Bonus fares for the Arctic Circle Crossing begin at $6,399 , double occupancy. Taxes, fees and port expenses are additional.

For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the Holland America Blog. You can also access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com.

About Holland America Line

Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL and NYSE: CUK), has been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience, its fleet visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years  longer than any other cruise line. Holland America Line's 11 vessels feature a diverse range of enriching activities and amenities focused on destination immersion and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from a Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

CONTACT: Bill Zucker , Erik Elvejord PHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890 EMAIL: [email protected]

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SOURCE Holland America Line
KANAZAWA, Japan , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Analytical Chemistry how to produce nanopipettes that reliably provide nanoscale resolution scanning ion conductance microscopy images of living cells.

A nanoscale view of living cells can provide valuable insights into cell structure and function. Over the years, various microscopy techniques have been enrolled to obtain a window into biological specimens at the nanoscale but all with their limitations and challenges. Although scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) has demonstrated the capability to image living biological samples in solution with nanoscale resolution, it has been hampered by challenges in reliably producing nanopipettes with the optimum geometry for the job. Now researchers led by Yasufumi Takahashi at Kanazawa University's Nano LSI and Nagoya University have devised a protocol for reproducibly fabricating nanopipettes with the preferred geometry for high quality imaging. Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) uses a nanopipette to control the nanopipette-samples distance using an ion current as feedback signal. The shape of the nanopipette significantly influences the performance of the device. For instance, a wide aperture limits the possible resolution, a long shunt can lead to rectification effects that warp the ion current measurements, and if the glass of the nanopipette is too thick it can deform the sample before the proximity of the aperture has reached the point needed for constant ion current topographical mapping. As a result, the ideal nanopipette has a short shunt, small aperture and thin glass walls.

The standard procedure for fabricating the nanopipette is to pull a capillary tube with a laser puller that heats the capillary tube it is manipulating. The capillary then narrows where it lengthens until it is finally drawn into two separate pieces. Although quartz can allow a little more control in the process of drawing the capillary tube into shape it is hydrophobic, which raises complications in actually filling the nanopipette with the aqueous solution needed for the ion current. In this reason, the researchers developed a protocol by which they could draw nanopipettes from borosilicate glass capillaries with the required control and reproducibility.

Takahashi and his collaborators noted that ideally the starting capillary should have thick walls and a narrow inner diameter, however it is not easy to obtain capillary tubes to these requirements from commercial suppliers. Instead, they preheat the capillary for 5 s without pulling it, which causes the glass walls to the thicken and reduces the inner diameter. They also optimized the parameters for pulling the tube, such as the velocity.

The researchers demonstrated the performance of the nanopipettes they produced by imaging a cell undergoing a type of endocytosis, where it engulfs and absorbs some external material. They were able to image the microvilli  cellular membrane protrusion - on the cell surface, the endocytic pits that form and the formation of a cap closing up the pit. Previously attempts to image the cap formation have been inhibited by limitations in the spatial resolution.

The researchers were even able to resolve extracellular vesicles as small as 189 nm released in the process. As they point out in their report there is increasing evidence that these extracellular vesicles play an important role in communication between cells and homeostasis, with diagnostic and therapeutic applications focused on the smaller extracellular vesicles between 40 nm and 150 nm in particular. The researchers conclude in their report, "We envision this protocol will help to reproducibly fabricate borosilicate nanopipettes for high-resolution topographical mapping using SICM."

Image link

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/fig1-6.jpg



 2023 American Chemical Society

Caption: Fig 1. New method for fabricating nanopipette and ultra-high-resolution imaging of its shape. Upper left: Glass capillary after preheating to deform glass. Lower left: Electron micrograph of a nanopipette tip; Right: SICM image of the surface of a fixed HeLa cell.

Glossary

Scanning ion conductance microscopy

The basic principle behind scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) relies on monitoring the ion current that flows through a nanopipette containing some kind of electrolyte. It can map the topography of a sample by adjusting the nanopipette height to maintain a constant ion current as it is scanned over the sample surface. The proximity to the sample surface has a measurable effect on the ion flow and hence current before the tip makes contact with the sample, making it useful for biological specimens that might be easily damaged. It also works well in solution whereas techniques such as electron microscopy require the sample to be fixed.

SICM has been used in hopping mode  where the pipette approaches and retracts from the sample, further lowering the potential for sample damage, particularly where the sample surface is not flat. However, it takes longer due to the vertical distances travelled by the nanopipette and can suffer from more noise. In this report the authors showed that their high performance nanopipettes eliminated the need for hopping mode measurements for their samples.

Extracellular vesicle

These are particles bound by a lipid bilayer that all cells produce, although unlike a cell they do not themselves reproduce. There has been a recent surge of interest in them as studies reveal their likely role in transferring signals, which has led to them being described as a "novel -crine system" in analogy to the endocrine system that secretes hormones to send signals around the body.

Reference



Yasufumi Takahashi , Yuya Sasaki , Takeshi Yoshida , Honda Kota, Yuanshu Zhou, Takafumi Miyamoto , Tomoko Motoo, Hiroki Higashi , Andrew Shevchuk , Yuri Korchev , Hiroki Ida , Rikinari Hanayama, Takeshi Fukuma . Nanopipette Fabrication Guidelines for SICM Nanoscale Imaging, Analytical Chemistry August 20, 2023 .



DOI10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01010

URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01010

Contact

Hiroe Yoneda

Senior Specialist in Project Planning and Outreach

NanoLSI Administrative Office

WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

Kanazawa University

Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +81 (76) 234-4550

About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University is a research center established in 2017 as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The objective of this initiative is to form world-tier research centers. NanoLSI combines the foremost knowledge of bio-scanning probe microscopy to establish 'nano-endoscopic techniques' to directly image, analyze, and manipulate biomolecules for insights into mechanisms governing life phenomena such as diseases.

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/

About Kanazawa University

As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.

The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa  a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.

http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/

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SOURCE Kanazawa University
Biker events, scenic rides, racing, industry's top vendors and concerts

DAYTONA BEACH , Fla. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In less than 60 days, the Daytona Beach area will welcome motorcycle enthusiasts for the 31st annual Biketoberfest rally on October 19-22 , Southeast's best motorcycle rally.

The four-day motorcycle rally attracts motorcycle enthusiasts to Volusia County with beautiful Florida weather, live music, industry's top vendors, bike shows, motorcycle racing at Daytona International Speedway, and miles of scenic rides along famous A1A, historic Main Street or the scenic loop.

For the 11th straight year, GEICO will serve as the official sponsor of Biketoberfest.

"Biketoberfest attracts motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world to the Daytona Beach area," said Lori Campbell Baker , Executive Director for the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "From Main Street and Daytona International Speedway to Destination Daytona, Midtown and the Ormond Beach scenic loop, the list of activities and scenic rides to enjoy are endless. We hope that all riders have a safe and enjoyable experience in the destination."

The Official Biketoberfest Welcome Center presented by GEICO will be located trackside this year, in Daytona International Speedway's thriving display area ( 1801 West International Speedway Blvd. , Daytona Beach, FL 32114). Along with information about the area, the Welcome Center will be handing out free posters, pins, poker chips and helmet stickers for visitors.

As motorcycle enthusiasts of all ages and riding all types of bikes explore the area, they will discover plenty of new additions. New restaurants include Stroud's BBQ located in Daytona Lagoon , Harry's Famous Pizza at the Ocean Walk Shoppes, Millie's second seafood restaurant location in Ormond Beach named Millie's North and Cafe Con Leche Granada , an Ormond Beach establishment that serves authentic Cuban, Mexican and Puerto Rican food. For those posting their journeys on social, the Daytona Beach Mural Trail offers visitors some colorful and creative new photo ops as well as the Riverfront Esplanade located in Downtown Daytona Beach . In addition, the recently renovated Daytona Beach Pier and Racing's North Turn Beach Bar and Grille in Ponce Inlet have reopened to guests.

More information is available on the official event website, Biketoberfest.org, including a list of area events, concerts, demo rides, places to stay, top scenic rides, and more.

About the Daytona Beach Area | #LoveDaytonaBeach

Experience endless adventures in this eclectic destination that offers the perfect, beach base camp from which to explore the greater Daytona Beach area and all Central Florida . Choose thrilling activities or embrace the tranquility of days spent on 23 miles of world-famous white-sand beaches. With more than 12,000 rooms, and a variety of meeting hotels and unique spaces, the destination has accommodations for meetings and groups of all sizes and budgets. Learn more at DaytonaBeach.com. #LoveDaytonaBeach

Media Contact: Andrew Booth , Director of Communications

Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau

| [email protected] | 386.255. 0415, ext. 125

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SOURCE Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
BEIJING , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily: The 15th BRICS Summit is scheduled to run from August 22 to 24 in South Africa .

During the summit, BRICS leaders will conduct discussions on such topics as strengthening BRICS cooperation and expanding the BRICS mechanism.

South Africa has invited tens of leaders from Africa and emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) to attend relevant dialogues.

According to South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal , over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS mechanism, and 20 more of them have submitted official applications.

This fully demonstrates that the BRICS mechanism, with growing influence and attractiveness, has gained widespread recognition and support.

Over the past 17 years, by upholding the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, the BRICS countries have strengthened solidarity and collaboration, advocated fairness and justice, and pursued common development, continuously expanding their global influence.

The BRICS cooperation has always been oriented towards openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and opened its door to all EMDCs aspiring to seek development while maintaining independence.

The 2013 Summit in Durban of South Africa invited African leaders to participate in the dialogue.

The 2014 Summit in Fortaleza of Brazil invited leaders of South American countries to join the dialogue.

During the 2015 Summit in Russia's Ufa , a meeting was held between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members and observers, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) leaders, leaders of invited countries and the BRICS countries.

A dialogue between BRICS leaders and the leaders of the member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was held during the 2016 Summit in Goa of India .

And during the Xiamen Summit in 2017, China put forward the innovative "BRICS Plus" cooperation model, building a new platform for solidarity, cooperation and common development of the vast developing countries.

The BRICS cooperation does not engage in exclusive "small circles." Last year, the group started a new round of expansion.

The BRICS mechanism has formed a multi-level, wide-ranging and all-round cooperation framework, becoming a major platform for exchanges, dialogues and cooperation among developing countries in politics, economy, finance, development, culture and other areas.

The steady augmentation of the BRICS countries' economic strength provides the foundation for the rapid advancement of BRICS cooperation.

According to data provided by Acorn Macro Consulting, a UK -based macroeconomic research firm, in 2022, the BRICS countries accounted for 31.5 percent of the global economy, surpassing the G7 share of 30.7 percent. This gap is expected to be widened by 2025, the data showed.

The macroeconomic stability of the BRICS countries has laid an important foundation for the enduring attractiveness of the BRICS mechanism.

The BRICS countries are committed to promoting economic recovery.

The intertwined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis has led to disruptions in the global industrial and supply chains, a continuous rise in commodity prices, and increased fragility of the international monetary and financial system.

The BRICS countries have made vital contributions to global economic growth by steadily advancing cooperation in the areas including currency and finance, trade and investment, as well as energy and resources. They have also continuously expanded cooperation in supply chains, logistics, agriculture, food security, local currency settlement, cross-border payments and other domains.

The BRICS countries focus on common development.

Currently, global development is suffering from severe disruption. The momentum of international development and cooperation is losing strength, the North-South gap is further widening, and the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been impeded.

The BRICS countries have made global development a key focus of their cooperation. They have firmly defended developing countries' interests under such multilateral frameworks as the Group of 20 (G20) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), making unremitting efforts to advance the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The BRICS countries insist on exploring new ground.

The world is becoming increasingly information-oriented, while the new round of sci-tech revolution represented by AI is in full swing.

The BRICS countries have advocated a partnership on the new industrial revolution, strengthening cooperation in future networks, industrial internet and digital manufacturing, digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, standardization and other areas.

Keeping pace with the prevailing trends of the digital economy, the BRICS countries have formulated and updated the strategy for BRICS economic partnership, continuously promoting cooperation in education, science, technology and other domains. Such efforts have built a talent pool for sustainable development and innovation cooperation.

The BRICS countries champion true multilateralism, making decisions founded on the principles of equality and consensus.

As a representative outcome of BRICS cooperation, the New Development Bank adopts a unique governance structure, in which the five founding members have equal shareholding power and voting rights. This provides a new option for the governance of multilateral development financial institutions.

The BRICS countries have made important contributions to advancing a more just and rational international order by considering the creation of a new reserve currency based on a basket of currencies of member countries, launching a new round of expansion, and inviting non-BRICS countries to discuss digital economy issues.

The BRICS countries actively promote reform of the global governance system, striving to increase the representation and voice of EMDCs.

To handle incessant traditional and non-traditional security threats, the BRICS countries support each other on issues involving their core interests, preferring dialogue instead of confrontation.

In various global multilateral mechanisms, including the UN, the G20, the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the BRICS countries have actively strengthened policy dialogues and position coordination. They ensure that their voice is heard and solutions are provided, thereby promoting constructive reform of the international system.

Under the new circumstances, the BRICS countries can make new contributions to driving world multipolarity, economic globalization, and democratization of international relations, so that the world can hear more BRICS voices and witness greater BRICS contributions.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/let-world-hear-more-brics-voices-witness-greater-brics-contributions-301906481.html

SOURCE People's Daily
Bay state budget includes a stroke system of care directive that will help patients survive and thrive

FAIRFAX, Va., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts patients experiencing stroke could soon have access to refined treatment, triage and transport protocols based on a provision in the state's new budget that directs the Department of Public Health to develop a tiered system for transporting patients to hospitals that have various designations for providing stroke care.

This lifesaving change in policy, signed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey earlier this month, reflects an amendment proposed by State Senator Mark Montigny . This amendment updates the previous system, which allowed emergency medical personnel to take stroke patients to the nearest hospital, no matter their stroke severity or the ability of that hospital to treat these patients and their conditions. The Department of Health has 180 days to enact this new requirement.

Nearly two million brain cells die every minute a stroke goes untreated. It is, therefore, essential that stroke patients are taken directly to a hospital where they can receive the proper care based on the type of stroke they are experiencing. By assessing stroke severity and taking patients to facilities best equipped to treat their specific types of strokes, emergency medical systems have the potential to reduce disability and death, as well as lower the immense costs associated with long-term health care.

"This is a gamechanger for our region and a big win for stroke patients in Massachusetts , who just improved their odds significantly of surviving a severe stroke," said Dr. Mahesh Jayaraman , an interventional neuroradiologist at Rhode Island Hospital and president of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS). " Senator Montigny has long been beating this drum, realizing the potential of science to save lives when it comes to stroke. Not all strokes are the same, and his persistence will help ensure that those with severe strokes are taken to facilities that can treat them right away."

Stroke is the sixth leading cause of death in Massachusetts and a leading cause of lifelong disability in the U.S. Research shows, however, that severe stroke patients' outcomes can be significantly improved when they receive thrombectomy  a procedure that removes clots in the brain and restores blood flow.

The SNIS Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign has coordinated efforts nationwide to improve stroke care through policy changes like those reflected in the Massachusetts budget. To date, approximately 40 states have updated regional or state-wide stroke protocols to help ensure patients have access to lifesaving care.

To speak with Dr. Jayaraman , please contact Camille Jewell at [email protected] or 202-248-5460.

Get Ahead of Stroke is a national public education and advocacy campaign designed to improve systems of care for stroke patients. Founded in 2016 by SNIS, today the campaign is supported by a coalition of organizations with the goal of securing the best possible outcomes for stroke patients by driving policy change and public awareness nationwide.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/massachusetts-recent-stroke-triage-protocol-updates-will-save-lives-reduce-disability-says-snis-301907073.html

SOURCE Get Ahead of Stroke
According to the leading IT research and advisory firm's latest research, unified communication as a service (UCaaS) is the solution to the challenges of hybrid and remote work, integrating several tools into one platform to provide seamless voice, video, chat, collaboration, sharing, and much more.

TORONTO , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Hybrid and remote work models are a reality in the present and future of work, despite efforts to return employees to the office. With 74% of US companies planning to or having already implemented hybrid work policies, identifying and implementing a unified communication as a service (UCaaS) solution that will address both employee and organizational needs is non-negotiable in the future of work, according to Info-Tech Research Group's latest research. To support IT leaders in preparing for UCaaS implementation, the firm has released its new industry blueprint, Assess Your Readiness to Implement UCaaS.

"Given the reality of the new ways people work, there's a genuine need for a UCaaS solution," says John Donovan , principal research director in the I&O practice at Info-Tech Research Group. "Aside from remaining agile when accommodating different work locations, it's advantageous to be able to quickly scale. New technology is moving at such a rapid pace that using a UCaaS tool is truly beneficial, especially given its AI, analytics, and mobile capabilities. Being held back by an on-premises solution is no longer a wise option."

Performing due diligence and building out requirements when deciding what UCaaS solution best suits an organization is critically important, the firm cautions in the blueprint. By using Info-Tech's approach, IT leaders will be able to determine their business case, evaluate their roadmap for unified communication, and ask the right questions to determine suitability.

Based on the research, Info-Tech further identifies five key reasons IT leaders should migrate their organizations to UCaaS in the new resource, as outlined below:

Advanced technology: Cloud hosting and advanced technology provides the ability to deploy advanced communications technology quickly and offers a faster, easier communication flow across teams and with customers with phone, messaging, audio, and video conferencing available in one place.



Scalability: Since UCaaS is an on-demand service, companies can scale their communication needs to what is immediately required at an affordable price.



Cost efficient: With the implementation of UCaaS, the need for multiple platforms and devices is eliminated, allowing companies to purchase a single communication management tool in place of several.



Highly available: As the need for a robust UCaaS tool grows, an increasing number of reputable vendors are offering customizable solutions to meet both organizational and employee needs.



Security: UCaaS offers robust security, with a single point of contact for troubleshooting, built-in redundancy for improved reliability, enhanced data security, and reduced risk of fraud .

The resource explains that as remote and hybrid work present additional challenges for IT management, UCaaS offers a host of benefits that make the IT function run more efficiently overall. Some of these benefits include eliminating ongoing maintenance as well as a decreased need for upgrades and patching and managing servers or private branch exchanges (PBXs). UCaaS is easy to deploy, and due to its scalability and flexibility, users can easily be added or removed as required.

"The days of on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) and legacy voice over internet protocol (VoIP) solutions are numbered, and organizations are examining alternative solutions to redundant desk phones. The new norm must be a cloud-based solution that integrates via application programming interface (API) with content resource management (CRM), email, chat, and collaboration tools," explains Donovan.

To access the full research, including a breakdown of the differences between UCaaS and CPaaS (communication platform as a service) and a convenient evaluation of seven leading vendors competing with Microsoft's integrated suite of collaboration tools, download Assess Your Readiness to Implement UCaaS.

To connect with an Info-Tech Research Group analyst for expert insights on UCaaS and how to assess organizational readiness for its implementation, contact Sufyan Al-Hassan , public relations manager at Info-Tech Research Group, at [email protected].

Additional related research can be found here:

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For more than 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and over 200 IT and industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected].

For more information about Info-Tech Research Group or to view the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

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SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group
KHON KAEN, Thailand , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ratchaphruek Hospital in Khon Kaen province, Thailand , has achieved a significant milestone by being awarded Accreditation with Excellence for Medical Travel Services by Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA). This accolade underscores Ratchaphruek Hospital's unwavering commitment to providing world-class medical services and positions it as a trusted destination for medical travelers seeking exceptional care. Ratchaphruek is the first hospital in northeast Thailand to earn this distinguished honor from GHA, the leader in medical travel accreditation.

GHA Accreditation affirms our position as a leading medical institution and commitment to offering world-class care.

Ratchaphruek Hospital, under the leadership of its esteemed Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Teerawat Srinakarin, has earned a stellar reputation for its outstanding healthcare services and patient-centered approach. The hospital's pursuit of excellence has led to its recognition as a leader in the healthcare industry in the region. According to Dr. Teerawat, "Human caring lies at the heart of everything we do at Ratchaphruek Hospital. Our medical delivery systems are thoughtfully designed, managed and executed with a loving, purposeful attitude that respects each patient's beliefs, values, emotions, cultural background and individual needs. This unwavering person-centric approach serves as the cornerstone of our healthcare philosophy and practice."

GHA's prestigious accreditation marks a significant milestone in Ratchaphruek Hospital's pursuit of excellence in medical travel services. The hospital's commitment to delivering exceptional patient experiences, combined with its focus on clinical outcomes and safety, sets it apart as a leading institution in the region.

Dr. Teerawat went on to say, "Ratchaphruek Hospital had an outstanding experience with GHA. We are delighted to highlight that GHA's surveyor team conducted meticulous assessment according to all GHA's standards, while also maintaining a warm and friendly demeanor throughout. As a result, we felt not only thoroughly evaluated but also genuinely supported and confident about the GHA accreditation process. The GHA Accreditation with Excellence affirms our position as a leading medical institution and reinforces our commitment to delivering world-class care."

Global Healthcare Accreditation is a renowned organization in the medical tourism and health tourism industry. Their international standards, accredited by ISQua/IEEA, and professional norms for medical travel are developed in collaboration with leading global experts, including health providers, insurers, and employers. The GHA accreditation seal serves as a symbol of trust, assuring patients and international payers that Ratchaphruek Hospital has implemented comprehensive procedures and policies to enhance patient safety and the overall patient experience.

The accreditation process positions healthcare providers to attract and cater to medical travel patients, not only elevating clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction but also positively impacting the organization's overall performance.

"We are thrilled to award Ratchaphruek Hospital with Accreditation with Excellence, GHA's highest distinction, which affirms they have met stringent international benchmarks across the entire medical travel patient journey," said Ms. Renee-Marie Stephano , Chief Executive Officer of Global Healthcare Accreditation. "From first inquiries to post-discharge support, Ratchaphruek delivers exceptionally personalized care and service to each patient. Their commitment to the wellbeing and satisfaction of traveling patients, and focus on continuous improvement, is truly admirable. I congratulate Dr. Teerawat and the entire Ratchaphruek Hospital team on attaining this well-deserved recognition of their dedication to excellence."

With Ratchaphruek Hospital's attainment of GHA Accreditation with Excellence, the hospital joins an esteemed network of internationally recognized providers. This recognition also leads to increased visibility through GHA's consumer awareness initiatives, reaching a global audience and further establishing Ratchaphruek Hospital as a trusted and preferred healthcare destination worldwide.

About Ratchaphruek Hospital

Ratchaphruek Hospital is located at Khon Kean in the Northeast part of Thailand . The hospital was established in 1994 as a 50-bed private general hospital with a projection of a 200 bed "Healing Environment Hospital" in 2018. Our vision is to provide international standards and humanized health care. In this way, we visualize the patient as a patient, not as a customer and the doctor as a doctor, not just as a medical serviceman. All of the staff are 'Care Givers' who have the same purpose and alignment with the organization's core value, "Happiness by Giving".

About Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA):

Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) is the recognized global authority in accreditation and certification focused on medical and wellness travel, health tourism, safety, and well-being. Founded in 2016, GHA's initial business purpose centered on improving the patient experience for medical travelers and supporting healthcare providers in validating quality, increasing visibility, and implementing a sustainable business model for medical travel. Since then, GHA pioneers a variety of programs for organizations and individuals including accreditation , certification , training , development and optimization and advisory services , in all aspects of health and wellbeing.

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SOURCE Global Healthcare Accreditation
The RAWZ Meal-Free Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food Selected from Over 2,000 Nominations

YORK, Maine , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RAWZ Natural Pet Food, a family-owned pet food brand, was honored with a 2023 Pet Independent Innovation Award, which recognizes innovators and leaders of the pet industry. RAWZ Meal-Free Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food received the award for "Dog Food Grain Free Product of the Year."

"Much like humans, we believe pets are better off eating fresh, minimally processed foods."

The 2023 Pet Independent Innovation Awards received more than 2,000 nominations from all over the world. Products were assessed on innovation, performance, ease of use, functionality, impact, value and more.

The winners were chosen by a panel of judges who focused their review on how a product, company or organization innovatively distinguishes itself

"Much like humans, we believe pets are better off eating fresh, minimally processed foods. RAWZ focuses on high quality, high meat recipes that are minimally processed to preserve nutritional content," said Jim Scott , CEO of RAWZ. "As a small company, we're honored to have been recognized for our efforts with an Independent Innovation Award."

RAWZ Meal-Free Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food uses dehydrated chicken as the concentrated protein source, and the first seven ingredients are meat and organ proteins. No rendered meats are used, giving the food healthy levels of highly digestible, quality protein. Each recipe is gently cooked in small batches and to a level to ensure food safety, nothing more, to keep the integrity of the ingredients. RAWZ Meal- Free Dry Dog Food is made in the USA .

RAWZ is committed to promoting the viability and success of independent retailers. RAWZ dog and cat food is exclusive to authorized independent retailers- Find a retailer near you.

About RAWZ

Feed good and feel good. RAWZ donates 100% of our profits (after taxes and reserves) to three main causes: providing service dogs, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. We care about all pets and the meaningful impact they have on our lives. RAWZ is a third-generation family business, headquartered in York, Maine . For more information, visit www.rawznaturalpetfood.com.

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SOURCE The RAWZ Natural Pet Food
TOKYO , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Group Corporation ("Sony") offers its deepest sympathies to the populations affected by the wildfires that occurred in Maui, Hawaii , U.S. on August 8, 2023 .

Sony will donate a total of 200,000 U.S. dollars to the Hawaii Community Foundation's Maui Strong Fund and the American Red Cross in emergency aid to support relief efforts for communities affected by the wildfires. In addition, Sony's U.S. operating companies are taking individual action to support relief efforts in Maui .

Sony has a long, rich history with Hawaii including opening a sale office there in 1968, and since 1999, it has worked with Friends of Hawaii Charities to support local communities in Hawaii .

Sony sends its sincerest condolences to all those affected and wishes for a full and swift recovery.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sony-to-provide-support-for-wildfires-in-maui-hawaii-us-relief-efforts-301907020.html

SOURCE Sony Group Corporation
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan published a post on X (Twitter) about the state visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Baku on a state visit. High-level meetings are planned for today, during which the leaders of our two nations will discuss the issues of further deepening ties between the countries, said the ministry.
DENVER , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Materials, Inc. (NYSE: SUM, the "Company"), a leading vertically integrated construction materials company, announces that it reached an agreement with certain affiliates of Blackstone Inc. (the "Blackstone TRA Parties") that resulted in its indirect subsidiary, Summit Materials, LLC (together with the Company, "Summit") acquiring all of the rights and interest of each of the Blackstone TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of March 11, 2015 (as amended, the "TRA"), by and among the Company, the Blackstone TRA Parties and certain other parties. In exchange for cash consideration of $115 million in the aggregate, Summit has eliminated an estimated $256 million in TRA payments payable to Blackstone between 2024 and 2039. Under the TRA, the Company is obligated to pay pre-IPO owners 85% of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax that we actually realize, as a result of our tax attributes. After this agreement, Summit will realize 100% of any cash savings realized as a result of our tax attributes related to the interests acquired from the Blackstone TRA Parties. Summit funded the agreement with cash on hand believing this is an efficient use of cash and does not inhibit Summit's ability to fund organic or inorganic growth opportunities.

"This agreement represents a major milestone for Summit Materials, highlighting not only our commitment to strengthen our financial position, but also sets us on course to significantly reduce complexity and eliminate future obligations at a favorable price to our Company," commented Anne Noonan , Summit Materials President and CEO.

"The Tax Receivable Agreement has served as a valuable tool, enabling our Company to monetize tax benefits effectively. But by executing this agreement, we take an important step towards streamlining our corporate structure, proactively mitigate future obligations at an advantageous cost, and now get to fully realize all the tax benefits moving forward," added Scott Anderson, Executive Vice President and CFO of Summit Materials.

There remains a gross obligation of approximately $72 million under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Summit intends to explore possible transactions for paying out the other parties to the TRA on substantially similar terms.

About Summit Materials, Inc.

Summit Materials is a leading vertically integrated materials-based company that supplies aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete and asphalt in the United States and British Columbia, Canada . Summit is a geographically diverse, materials-based business of scale that offers customers a single-source provider of construction materials and related downstream products in the public infrastructure, residential and non-residential end markets. Summit has a strong track record of successful acquisitions since its founding and continues to pursue growth opportunities in new and existing markets. For more information about Summit Materials, please visit www.summit-materials.com .

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "trends," "plans," "estimates," "projects" or "anticipates" or similar expressions that concern our strategy, plans, expectations or intentions. All statements made relating to the expectations for our anticipated benefits from recent acquisitions, the macroeconomic outlook for our markets, potential acquisition activity, our estimated and projected earnings, margins, costs, expenditures, cash flows, sales volumes and financial results are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, it is very difficult to predict the effect of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results.

In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the results or conditions described in such statements or our objectives and plans will be realized. Important factors could affect our results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Summit's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 . Such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact Information

Andy Larkin

VP, Investor Relations

Summit Materials, Inc.

[email protected]

720-618-6013

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SOURCE Summit Materials, Inc.
Upon completion, the new facility will meet the state's growing demands for mental health services while serving as an integral part of the Tampa Medical and Research District .

TAMPA, Fla. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of Tampa General Hospital (TGH), Lifepoint Behavioral Health and USF Health were joined by elected officials, board members and other key stakeholders Monday to break ground on the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, a new four-story hospital in the heart of Tampa's Medical and Research District . The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, which is expected to open in late 2024, will be the first and only freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital in Florida .

"As the community continues its trajectory of unprecedented growth, the demand for mental and behavioral health services is higher than ever before," said John Couris , president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. "Today marks the start of construction on the first and only freestanding academic behavioral health hospital in the state, and we are proud to have the support of our state lawmakers, local leaders and community in this endeavor. The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital will significantly expand Floridians' access to mental health services, and our patients can expect the world-class care we consistently deliver at TGH."

The new hospital is the result of a joint venture partnership between Tampa General and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, announced last year. Tampa General Hospital will provide a number of facility and medical support services, while Lifepoint Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations. Physicians with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults and geriatrics. The hospital, which is planned to be approximately 83,000 square feet with 96 to 120 inpatient beds, will feature dedicated units for treating patients with behavioral health issues compounded by other medical conditions.

"This is an exciting day for our team at Lifepoint Behavioral Health as we break ground on Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital," said Russ Bailey , president of Lifepoint Behavioral Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation. "We know that Tampa General Hospital shares our commitment to expanding access to high-quality, evidence-driven specialty care, and we are honored to once again work alongside their team as we bring new and vitally needed services to Tampa and the surrounding region."

The facility was made possible in part by funding from the state of Florida to address the state's growing mental health crisis. This past legislative session, Senator Jay Collins and Representative Lawrence McClure secured $10 million in the state budget to support the construction of the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital.

"The demand for mental health services is greater than ever before," said Senator Collins . "Tampa General Hospital is taking the lead to expand access to high-quality care and fulfill our greatest needs. Right here in the heart of the Tampa Medical and Research District , the patients of the new TGH Behavioral Health Hospital will benefit from the world-class care that TGH provides, the latest innovations and research findings, and the newest technologies."

"This was an important investment for the state to expand access to high-quality care, fulfill the growing demand for behavioral health services, and create jobs and foster growth right here in Tampa Bay ," said Representative McClure . "With the construction of the state's only freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital, it's clear Tampa Bay is the leader in accessible, high-quality care."

At the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, psychiatrists on the faculty with USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will also offer learning opportunities for USF medical students and resident physicians. The hospital will be directly linked to Tampa General's nationally recognized Neuroscience Institute, through which best-in-class physicians provide a full spectrum of care to patients of all ages with neurological disorders.

"This facility will be an essential resource for patients with behavioral and mental health conditions, especially those experiencing complex conditions," said Charles J. Lockwood , MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and executive vice president and chief academic officer of Tampa General Hospital. "With the new behavioral health hospital, we are increasing much-needed access to highly specialized and personalized care for many behavioral and mental health conditions, which will make a positive impact on the health and well-being of the communities we serve."

The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital is the newest addition to the Tampa Medical and Research District , a hub of world-class clinical care, academics, research and biotechnology. It will be located in South Tampa within the Medical and Research District , adjacent to the recently opened freestanding emergency department  TGH Kennedy Emergency Center  and the TGH Rehabilitation Hospital.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News and World Report's 2023-24 Best Hospitals, with six specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States . Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings  in the top 100 nationally in the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay . It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida . It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Outpatient Center, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough , Pasco , Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

ABOUT LIFEPOINT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Lifepoint Behavioral Health specializes in providing compassionate care across the behavioral healthcare continuum. Through its 23 behavioral health hospitals and contract management and joint venture partnerships with hospitals and providers across the country, Lifepoint Behavioral Health offers programs designed to address the unique needs of various patient populations, including adolescents, adults and geriatrics. Lifepoint Behavioral Health has diversified programming, allowing specific therapy models of treatment while encompassing the whole person. These treatment models provide evidence-based therapies with distinct short- and long-term goals of improving and sustaining mental health. Lifepoint Behavioral Health is a business unit of Brentwood, Tennessee -based Lifepoint Health.

ABOUT USF HEALTH

USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health's multispecialty physicians' group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News & World Report's national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy , APR

Senior Communications Specialist

(813) 844-7322 (direct)

(813) 510-6363 (cell)

[email protected]

Media Contact: Aileen Bennett

Lifepoint Behavioral Health

(615) 920-7668

[email protected]

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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital
GREENSBORO, N.C. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tanger Outlets (NYSE: SKT), a leading operator of upscale open-air outlet centers, announced today that its financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2023 will be released on Monday, November 6, 2023 after the market close. The Company will host its conference call for analysts, investors and other interested parties on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time .

To access the conference call, listeners should dial 1-877-605-1702. A live audio webcast of this call will be available to the public on Tanger's Investor Relations website, investors.tanger.com.

A telephone replay of the call will be available from November 7, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time through 11:59 p.m. on November 21, 2023 by dialing 1-877-660-6853, replay access code #13740617. An online archive of the webcast will also be available through November 21, 2023 .

About Tanger Outlets

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (NYSE: SKT), a leading operator of upscale open-air outlet centers, fully or partially owns and/or manages a portfolio of 37 centers, including one center under development. Tanger's operating centers, which comprise approximately 14 million square feet, are located in 20 states and in Canada and are leased to over 2,700 stores operated by more than 600 different brand name companies. Tanger has more than 42 years of experience in the outlet industry and has been a publicly traded REIT since 1993. For more information on Tanger, call 1-800-4TANGER or visit the Company's website at www.tanger.com.

Investor Contact Information

Doug McDonald

SVP, Finance and Capital Markets

T: (336) 856-6066

[email protected]

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SOURCE Tanger Outlets
Five-Year National Agreement Passes Overwhelmingly, One Supplement to Be Renegotiated

WASHINGTON , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Teamsters voted by an overwhelming 86.3 percent to ratify the most historic collective bargaining agreement in the history of UPS. The five-year contract protects and rewards more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide, raising wages for full- and part-time workers, creating more full-time jobs, and securing important workplace protections, including air conditioning.

The agreement passed by the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS.

All supplemental agreements were ratified as well, except for the Local 769 LAI supplement which covers 174 members in Florida . The national master agreement will go into effect as soon as this supplement is renegotiated and ratified. The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee will immediately meet with the company to work to resolve any outstanding issues with the supplement. Upon resolution, the adjusted supplement would be voted on by respective UPS Teamsters in-person in their area.

There are 44 supplements to the national master agreement.

"Our members just ratified the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters have ever negotiated at UPS. This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien . "Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry. This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention."

"This is the richest national contract I've seen in my more than 40 years of representing Teamsters at UPS," said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman . "There are more gains in this contract than in any other UPS agreement and with no givebacks to the company. But the hard work doesn't end here. We will continue to fight like hell to enforce this contract and make sure UPS lives up to every word of it over the next five years."

Highlights of the tentative 2023-2028 UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement include:

Historic wage increases. Existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023. Over the length of the contract, wage increases will total $7.50 per hour.

will get more per hour in 2023. Over the length of the contract, wage increases will total per hour. Existing part-timers will be raised to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment will still receive all new general wage increases.

per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment will still receive all new general wage increases. General wage increases for part-time workers will be double the amount obtained in the previous UPS Teamsters contract  and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years.

contract  and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years. Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour.

the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to per hour. Current UPS Teamsters working part-time will receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings.

working part-time will receive longevity wage increases of up to per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings. New part-time hires at UPS will start at $21 per hour and advance to $23 per hour.

will start at per hour and advance to per hour. All UPS Teamster drivers classified as 22.4s will be reclassified immediately to Regular Package Car Drivers and placed into seniority, ending the unfair two-tier wage system at UPS .

. Safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024 . Two fans, heat exhaust shields, and air induction vents in the cargo compartments will be retrofitted into all cars.

will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after . Two fans, heat exhaust shields, and air induction vents in the cargo compartments will be retrofitted into all cars. All UPS Teamsters will receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time.

will receive as a full holiday for the first time. No more forced overtime on Teamster drivers' days off. Drivers will keep one of two workweek schedules and cannot be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days.

drivers' days off. Drivers will keep one of two workweek schedules and cannot be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days. UPS Teamster part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December.

part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December. The creation of 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work.

jobs at and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work. More than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement  more than any other time in Teamsters history  and zero concessions from the rank-and-file.

Last month, the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee, as well as representatives of UPS Teamster locals in the U.S. and Puerto Rico , unanimously endorsed the agreement. UPS Teamsters voted electronically between August 3-22 .

The UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement is the single largest private-sector collective bargaining agreement in North America .

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S. , Canada , and Puerto Rico . Visit Teamster.org to learn more and follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Kara Deniz, (202) 497-6610

[email protected]

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Planned Expansion Will Accelerate Growth and Create an Anticipated 200+ New Jobs

DUNKIRK, N.Y. , Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wells Enterprises today announced plans for the expansion of its Dunkirk, New York manufacturing facility, which would bring more than 200 new jobs to the Dunkirk community. The expansion underscores the company's commitment to long-term growth and leadership in the ice cream category.

Wells Enterprises Announces Expansion Plans of Dunkirk, New York Manufacturing Plant

"We are extremely excited to build on the strength of our team in Dunkirk and continue to work with the community to grow and expand our operations here. The investment in Dunkirk illustrates our passion to provide high-quality premium ice cream products that bring joy to consumers around the world. The planned expansion also reinforces our dedication to our team, consumers, and the community as a critical part of the long-term future of our company," said Liam Killeen , CEO of Wells Enterprises.

The Dunkirk manufacturing facility plays an important role in the company's expansion plans for its national manufacturing network of its Blue Bunny, Halo Top, Bomb Pop and Blue Ribbon Classics brands. The expansion is anticipated to more than double the facility's current production output and help support the company's continued plans for growth in novelty and packaged ice cream, while enabling future innovation.

"The planned expansion of the Dunkirk facility follows our team's continued strong performance over the last several months. That, coupled with the continued growth plan for our brands and the category overall makes expanding our Dunkirk facility the right choice for Wells," added Mark Meyer , COO of Wells Enterprises. "We are extremely grateful for the partnerships with Empire State Development, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, and the City of Dunkirk as their support remains critical to take us over the finish line on this incredibly exciting project."

Construction is planned to begin in the fall of 2023, with official groundbreaking in early 2024. This follows the growth vision highlighted during the December acquisition by the Ferrero Group. Wells Enterprises expects the project, with the necessary approvals and in collaboration with local and state officials, to be operational by late 2025.

See here to download media assets including the rendering: https://bit.ly/wells-dunkirk-media-assets

About Wells Enterprises

Wells Enterprises, Inc. is the largest privately held ice cream manufacturer in the United States. Founded in 1913 by Fred H. Wells and run by the Wells family for generations, the company is an independent operating company of the Ferrero Group, one of the global leaders in sweet, packaged foods.

Wells produces more than 200 million gallons of ice cream per year and distributes products in all 50 states. Wells manufactures its signature brand Blue Bunny, lower-calorie Halo Top, the iconic Bomb Pop, and Blue Ribbon Classics.

Wells employs nearly 4,000 ice cream aficionados across the country. The company is headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa , where Wells has made Le Mars the "Ice Cream Capital of the World" as the largest manufacturer of ice cream in one location. Wells operates two manufacturing plants in Le Mars, Iowa, a manufacturing plant in Dunkirk, New York, and a manufacturing facility in Henderson, Nevada. Learn more at www.wellsenterprisesinc.com.

About Ferrero Group

Ferrero began its journey in the small town of Alba in Piedmont, Italy , in 1946. Today, it is one of the world's largest sweet-packaged food companies, with over 35 iconic brands sold in more than 170 countries. The Ferrero Group brings joy to people around the world with much-loved treats and snacks including Nutella, Kinder, Tic Tac, and Ferrero Rocher .

More than 38,000 employees are passionate about helping people celebrate life's special moments. The Ferrero Group's family culture, now in its third generation, is based on dedication to quality and excellence, heritage and a commitment to the planet and communities in which we operate.

For more information visit www.Ferrero.com

Media Contact:

Lesley Bartholomew

Director, External Relations

Wells Enterprises, Inc.

[email protected]

800-942-3800 ext. 2038

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SOURCE Wells Enterprises
By Sophie Yu and Josh Smith

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) -An Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing early on Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020, as North Korea cracks open its border to some passenger travel.

The flight, JS151, arrived at 9:17 a.m. (0117 GMT), shortly ahead of its scheduled time. It wasn't immediately clear who was aboard, but Western tour companies that operated in North Korea said it appeared to be a special flight that would on the return carry back North Koreans who had been trapped in China by the years of border closures.

The flight comes amid a slow reopening for one of the world's most politically and economically isolated countries.

Cargo train and ship traffic has slowly increased over the past year, but North Korea has only just begun to allow some international passenger travel.

In a first since before the pandemic, Chinese and Russian government delegations flew to Pyongyang last month and last week buses carrying North Korean athletes to a taekwondo tournament in Kazakhstan crossed the border into China.

Photos by South Korea's Yonhap news agency showed lines of people checking in for the return flight to Pyongyang from Beijing with large piles of wrapped boxes and luggage.

Air Koryo has also scheduled flights to Vladivostok on Friday, a diplomat told Reuters, in what would be its first flights to Russia since the pandemic.

"This flight isnt a full resumption of the route yet, it is a special flight for Koreans only to take people home again after years being stuck overseas," said Simon Cockerell, general manager at Beijing-based Koryo Tours. "The same as the flights that seem likely to happen soon from Vladivostok."

"Its all happening, but for Koreans first, the rest of uslater," he said.

'GRADUAL OPENING'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has built hundreds of kilometres (miles) of new or upgraded border fences, walls and guard posts since the pandemic began, enabling his government to tighten the flow of information and goods into the country, keep foreign elements out and its people in.

Before the pandemic, Russia and China were estimated to host nearly 20,000 North Koreans each, according to a report by the Association of Asian Studies. Since the end of 2019, U.N. Security Council resolutions have required that all countries deport North Korean workers.

It is unclear how many from the North Korean community - mostly students and people who work in restaurants and government-related jobs in areas such as tourism and cultural promotion - still remain in China.

The travel curb hurt not just ordinary people but diplomats as well. The current Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, had to wait 15 months after being named for the job before he could enter the country this March to take up his role.

Many foreign delegations closed their embassies in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship in supplies for much of the pandemic.

One diplomat for a Western country that pulled its staff from its embassy in Pyongyang said there was no official word from North Korean officials on when they could return.

"We expect a gradual opening with 'friendly' countries first, so we may be a bit down the list," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that Beijing had approved North Korea's state carrier Air Koryo resuming flights to China.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the future frequency of Air Koryo flights to China and when Chinese state carrier Air China may resume flying its North Korea-China routes.

(Reporting by Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Laurie Chen, and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, and Josh Smith in Seoul; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
A man looks on during a wildfire near Qeparo, Albania, August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Florion Goga

KURBIN, Albania (Reuters) - Albania is fighting a large wildfire near the western town of Lac, the army and firefighters trying to keep away the flames threatening houses, the interior minister said on Tuesday.

Police showed video of a man being arrested and Interior Minister Taulant Balla said he was suspected of arson.

"The fire has reached a massive area of pine trees near the town of Lac and this is one of the worst wildfires this year," Balla said in a post on his Facebook page.

Local media showed video of an army helicopter pouring water in the area as a flames could be seen close to houses.

Defence Minister Niko Peleshi said 50 soldiers were deployed but stopping the fire remains a challenge because of the difficult terrain.

In another video from the southern town of Berat, police showed security camera footage of two men starting a fire. They were identified and arrested.

Just in July Albania has identified and charged 14 people with starting wildfires which is punishable with up to 15 years jail time.

Wildfires are also raging in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, as the region suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.

(Reporting by Florion Goga, writing by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Grant McCool)
Service members with the Ukrainian Army's 10th Mountain Assault Brigade unit prepare a BM-21 Grad self-propelled multiple rocket launcher, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, for launching near the frontlines in the Bakhmut region of Ukraine, Decembe

By Vladyslav Smilianets

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine has an arsenal of high-tech Western arms to fight Russian forces, but is also deploying custom-built mini-rocket launchers that use parts taken from a Soviet-era system.

The "mini-Grad" uses pipes from Soviet-designed BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers developed in the 1960s, and can be mounted on pickup trucks, providing additional mobility for the counteroffensive Kyiv began in early June.

"We have equipment that we call the mini-Grad. It is made of BM-21 Grad pipes placed on top of a pickup truck, which makes it easily transportable," a Ukrainian serviceman with the call-sign "Gall" told Reuters in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.

"We try to make them more precise compared to Grads. They have the same firing pattern but, thanks to extra mechanisms to take aim and the shorter distance (they are fired at), we try to make the mini-Grad more precise."

Gall, a member of Ukraine's 108th Separate Territorial Defence Brigade, said the mini-Grads were not as accurate as the advanced HIMARS rocket systems Kyiv has received from the United States but made it possible to get closer to enemy lines.

"I cannot say that we hit targets with higher precision compared to the BM-21, but we can drive closer (to the target)." he said.

A colleague with the call sign "Luka" said the mini-Grad has a timer, helping protect those operating it, and volunteer launch station constructor Yurii Osokolanskyi said there was room for three rockets - fewer than the BM-21 Grad.

"Why? Because we are sure that three rockets will land where we need them to. It is rather ineffective to fire 10, eight or two rockets at one target," he said. "We fire three rockets precisely. The soldiers then can change their position, recharge, and continue to fire at different targets."

Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Musiyenko said there were three advantages in using mini-Grads -- their mobility enables them to move fast, units that have them can fire on a target without waiting to summon artillery from elsewhere, and they offer extra firepower for lightly armed infantry units.

He said the development of such weaponry was designed to "give an advantage to units which typically do not have this type of weapon."

(Reporting by Vladyslav Smilianets, Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with a displayed Arm Ltd logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Yelin Mo, Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) -The upcoming listing of semiconductor technology firm Arm Holdings Ltd is supposed to be strong medicine for what has been ailing the U.S. IPO market, as well as provide a shot in the arm for Arm owner Softbank Group Corp.

There is one complication, however. Almost a quarter of Arm's revenue comes from an entity it does not control but nonetheless relies on to access China's massive smartphone market.

Scattered throughout the hundreds of pages of Arm's prospectus are details of the company's labyrinthine relationship with China, its second-largest market. Sales in China contributed 24.5% of its $2.68 billion revenue in fiscal 2023, according to filings published on Monday ahead of its initial public offering.

Virtually all of that revenue comes from Arm China, an independent entity that has the exclusive rights to distribute Arm's technology in the country. That makes Arm China, not better-known names like Apple or Qualcomm, Arm's largest customer. And this customer has a history of late payments and presents "significant risks" to Arm's business, according to its filing.

Arm's public offering, which could happen as soon as next month, would help revive a U.S. IPO market that so far this year has raised only about one-tenth the amount of capital it did in 2021. Arm was earlier planning to raise between $8 billion and $10 billion from the IPO, but is now expected to raise less capital.

Arm China, in which Arm itself is in effect only a minority shareholder, underwent a nearly two-year boardroom battle between its local chief and shareholders that ended last year. A group of Chinese investors and a private equity firm control a majority stake.

Beyond these internal issues, U.S. sanctions limiting sales to China along with rising competition in the Chinese market cast doubt on Arm China's long-term trajectory.

An Arm spokesperson declined to comment.

WHO'S IN CONTROL?

Arm China has posed ongoing challenges for SoftBank despite its strong early growth. The entity was established in 2018 when SoftBank sold a 51% stake in Arm Ltds Chinese subsidiary, Arm Technology (China) Co Ltd, to a group of Chinese investors led by private equity firm Hopu Investments.

Arm China was first overseen by Chief Executive Allen Wu, a longtime Arm executive, but SoftBank ousted him last year after alleging conflicts of interest. Wu denied the allegations and filed several lawsuits against Arm, some of which were resolved in Arm's favor while others are ongoing.

Which shareholders control Arm China remains unclear.

Arm itself holds an effective interest of only 4.8% in Arm China, obtained through a 10% stake in an intermediate entity called Acetone, which owns 48% of the Chinese subsidiary. Hopu Investment indirectly owns 35% of Arm China, and various other Chinese parties control the remaining 17% directly or indirectly, according to the IPO filing.

WHAT ARE ARM CHINA'S MAJOR BUSINESSES?

Arm China was formed by SoftBank and Arm to drive growth in China's massive smartphone market. Originally, it had the right to sell technology from Arm headquarters to customers in China. Under Wu, Arm China also developed its own intellectual property.

This led to two business segments: a distribution business licensing Arm's IP, and a design business selling Arm China's own lower-end IP. Arm's filings did not disclose details on Arm China's business breakdown.

However, analysts believe distribution of Arm's IP generates the majority of revenue. That business faces challenges from U.S. sanctions restricting sales of advanced technology to China, which Arm said had cost it at least $63 million in royalty revenue in its most recent fiscal year.

Stewart Randall, a Shanghai-based chip analyst, said Arm is still the leader in supplying technology to Chinese firms developing processor chips.

"But sanctions have meant it can't be used everywhere (in China). I'm unsure Arm can substantially grow revenue here," he added.

HISTORY OF LATE PAYMENTS

Arm said in its filings that "in the past, we have received late payments from Arm China and have had to expend company resources to obtain payments from Arm China."

Those delays still show up in Arm's finances as a discrepancy between China revenue and accounts receivable - 24% of revenue came from Arm China in the fiscal year ended March 31, but 40% of accounts receivable were attributed to China, meaning Arm has still not been paid for all products sold in China.

Arm appears to be closing some of that gap. In its filing, it said cash from operating activities increased by $281 million in its most recent fiscal year, driven mostly by $713 million in collections from Arm China, though that was partly offset by cash owed to Arm China.

(Reporting by Yelin Mo in Beijing and Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis in San FranciscoEditing by Matthew Lewis)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the brine pools of Albemarle Chile lithium plant placed on the Atacama salt flat, Chile, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo

By Melanie Burton and Scott Murdoch

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Emerging Australian lithium companies are witnessing a surge in buyouts as their lower valuations and cash needs attract some of the world's top producers of the battery material and other suitors who are racing to secure supplies.

Driven by receding prices of lithium and by major producer Chile nationalising the industry earlier this year, companies such as Albemarle Corp, the world's biggest lithium producer, have been sniffing around for buys in Australia, which makes the most lithium in the world and has more than 80 lithium-related companies listed on its main stock exchange.

However, they are reluctant to pay up for listed producers whose market valuations have sky-rocketed on the back of booming prices, while offers have been rebuffed on the promise of soaring demand to come from sales of electric vehicles and the lithium-loaded batteries that power them.

That is forcing acquirers to shift their hunt to earlier stage lithium developers, including some who are drilling to quantify reserves, according to bankers, lawyers and mining analysts. Many of these firms are less pricey and are hungry for funds as they ramp up their activities.

"It seems like the cheapest way to get lithium units is via the drill bit," said analyst Kaan Peker of RBC in Sydney. "We'll see a lot of the exploration companies looking to increase their resources and reserves, so that usually puts them front of mind with the producers which are cashed up. So I think there's going to be some opportunistic acquisitions."

There is already evidence of frenzied deal activity involving pre-producing companies. Develop Global, a base metals explorer backed by diversified miner Mineral Resources, last month proposed to acquire lithium developer Essential Metals for A$152.6 million ($97.98 million). Essential Metals aims to ship ore by 2025.

And Chile's SQM, the world's second-biggest lithium producer, made an offer last month for Azure Minerals after buying a 19.95% stake in it for A$20 million in March.

Azure, which is developing the Andover lithium project and has ambitions to be in production by 2030, said last week it had rebuffed the offer.

Albemarle's $3.7 billion bid earlier in 2023 for Liontown Resources before it starts producing the material next year was also rejected.

The deals mania comes as Australia is implementing a critical minerals strategy that envisages significant collaborations with investors and international partners in order to become a renewables superpower.

The country, which supplies around half of the world's lithium, needs A$100 billion of strategic national interest capital to attract A$200 billion-A$300 billion of private investment to turn the country into a clean energy powerhouse, according to Australian think-tank Climate Capital Forum.

Consultancy WoodMackenzie expects global demand for EV battery materials to grow five-fold by 2030.

"Even though battery chemistry is evolving and impacting certain metals, lithium is a mainstay and the demand story remains robust. The battery metals landscape, and lithium in particular, looks poised for further M&A activity, said Gavi Friedland, head of metals and mining at Goldman Sachs in Australia & New Zealand.

TACTICAL BUYERS

Consolidation of the industry is also being driven by companies expanding activities across the value chain.

Mineral Resources is deciding whether to build an Australian lithium battery chemical plant, while Albemarle is expanding production at its Kemerton hydroxide plant and SQM is also building a lithium hydroxide plant.

"Downstream facilities need product, so that continues to drive M&A," said Guy Alexander, head of M&A at law firm Allens.

Buyers want to put their foot on supply early ahead of a supply gap that will widen from around 2030, he said.

"I think there's still going to be more in this for the next couple of years."

Tactical buyers from major automobile producing nations could also step up their M&A deals.

Japan's Idemitsu raised its stake in developer Delta Lithium to 15% in June. Delta plans to start mining at its Mt Ida lithium project later this year.

The inbound investment trend will continue, said Tony Chong, a partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs in Perth, adding that he expected to see more Japanese interest in Australian projects.

China's critical minerals interest, however, could be limited by national security concerns as Australia has been vocal in prioritising investment from its allies and blocked the acquisition of the Bald Hill lithium mine last month by a China-linked firm.

Australian projects also face increasing competition for suitors from Canadian ones, partly because of Canada's proximity to the U.S., the world's second-largest auto market.

Rio Tinto is looking at "a number of possible lithium opportunities" in a "pretty hot market" but any purchases require discipline, CEO Jakob Stausholm said earlier this month.

The world's second-biggest miner would not mind a lithium asset in Canada, Stausholm said.

And, Albemarle this month took a 5% stake in Patriot Metals, whose Corvette project in Quebec is not expected to be in production until the end of the decade.

But the Australians are not too worried.

"I guess Canada as a region,...is probably not as quick as Australia in terms of approvals and development timelines," Dale Henderson, CEO of independent lithium miner Pilbara Minerals whose market capitalisation has zoomed to A$14.5 billion now from around A$40 million in early 2020, told Reuters last month.

"I also see moves afoot to try to accelerate that. It will be interesting to see how that (industry) develops."

($1 = 1.5574 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Veronica Brown and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Qabil Ashirov

Despite the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan being established in 1995, the history of cultural relations between Uzbeks and Azerbaijanis goes back to hundreds of years ago. Based on this, the Azerbaijani and Uzbek governments are determined to further deepen the economic relations. The reciprocal visit of the heads of state, and the officials of the two countries are the foretoken of this policy. Thus, last week, the representatives of dozens of pharmaceutical copies in Uzbekistan visited Azerbaijan for probing the investment opportunity, and on August 21, 2023, SOCAR signed an agreement with Uzbekneftegaz. On 22, 2023 the President of Uzbekistan paid a visit to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have great potential in terms of economic relations and trade relations, told the economist Natig Jafarly in a comment for Azernews. However, he noted with regret that the two countries cannot fully benefit from this potential.

"Economic relations and trade relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have a great perspective, but unfortunately, these relations are still not at the desired level. Take the latest figures for example: in the first 7 months of this year, products worth $26.6m were exported from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan, and imports from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan amounted to $65m. In other words, we bought goods worth $65m and sold goods worth $25m. This makes a trade turnover of about $90m. Keeping the economic prospects between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in mind, this is a very small indicator. We should note that Uzbekistan is the largest country in Central Asia in terms of population. Therefore, there are opportunities for large-scale trade between the two countries, he said.

Natig Jafarly is very optimistic about the visit of the Uzbek President to Azerbaijan. He said that some documents could be signed for expanding the relationship.

Probably, after the visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan, some works will be done on the expansion of relations and some preliminary documents will be signed. As a result, conditions for increasing mutual trade turnover and investments will be improved.

Obviously, about 200 Azerbaijani companies operate in Uzbekistan. However, Uzbek companies are very little represented in Azerbaijan. Increasing mutual representation, and strengthening economic relations is possible and, as I said earlier, its potential is extremely large, Natig Jafarly said.

The economist also touched on the logistic as well. He noted that this could serve as a profitable logistic route between Europe and Uzbekistan. He added that the economic relationship between the two countries should not be limited to the energy sector. Natig Jafarly emphasized that the diapason of economic cooperation is very big and it expands from tourism to Agriculture.

"When talking about economic relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, we should not forget logistics. Given that Azerbaijan will become the logistics center of the region in the future, Uzbekistan's access to Europe can be via Azerbaijan. There are prospects for expanding relations such as the export of Uzbek products to Europe, delivery of European products to Uzbekistan, and transit cargo transportation. Therefore, this visit is very important. I think Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have great potential not only in the energy sector but also in agriculture, tourism, logistics, and in many other business spheres. It is possible to use these prospects with sufficient quality," Jafarly added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations in the sphere of culture reach a qualitatively new level, Uzbekistan's Minister of Culture Ozodbek Nazarbekov told journalists, Trend reports.

"Relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have deep historical roots. Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi was treated with special respect by Uzbek poet Alisher Navai. Over time these friendly relations between the two countries strengthened during the presidency of Heydar Aliyev. Relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan developed quite well during this period. Today these relations have reached a new level due to the political will of the presidents of the two countries," he said.

Nazarbekov pointed out that Days of Culture of Uzbekistan in Azerbaijan were organized on August 1-4.

"Concerts were held over three days, films, plays were shown, and the works of Uzbek craftsmen were shown. The people of Azerbaijan showed great interest in this. Azerbaijani culture, music and songs are very much loved in Uzbekistan. Our celebrations do not take place without Azerbaijani music. At the same time, Uzbek songs are very much loved here in Azerbaijan. Today, a solid package of documents for expanding cooperation between the two countries' Ministries of Culture was signed," the minister added.

According to him, this document covers such areas as cinema, theater, museums, literature.

"It is in these areas that cooperation will expand. We hope that all this will bring our relations to a qualitatively new level," he said.
FILE PHOTO: Baidu sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

By Akash Sriram and Brenda Goh

(Reuters) -China's Baidu Inc beat second-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday, helped by a post-pandemic recovery in advertising spending, and said it would further intensify its efforts on generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Businesses have revived spending on digital advertising after easing of COVID-19 restrictions spurred an economic recovery, benefiting the tech giant which runs China's largest search engine and relies on online ads for most of its revenue.

Baidu's co-founder and CEO Robin Li told analysts that areas including advertising, healthcare, financial services, local services and travel were outperforming and that they expected the momentum to continue.

The company's U.S.-listed shares rose 1.2%.

Baidu was going through a "paradigm shift", he added, describing its move towards towards AI in recent years with investments in autonomous driving and in large language models (LLM). Global interest in the latter has especially surged in recent months thanks to the success of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot.

Baidu has been embedding its Ernie AI model into its products including its search engine and the company said it believed the improvements would help many of its products gain market share.

"The hard work we've poured into generative AI is beginning to bear fruit," Li said during the post-earnings call.

The company, however, is still waiting for Chinese regulators' approval for a large-scale roll out of its ChatGPT-like Ernie bot to the public, with the chatbot now still limited to invite-only tests since it was unveiled in March.

Li said, however, that he saw authorities as being increasingly supportive of generative AI. China last month published measures to manage its generative artificial intelligence industry in a long awaited move analysts said would bring regulatory clarity.

The rules were also less onerous than a previous draft published in April. "This version, you can probably tell, is more pro-innovation, rather than pro-regulation," Li said.

Baidu's revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was 34.06 billion yuan ($4.67 billion), compared with analysts' average estimate of 33.28 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data.

Its online marketing revenue rose 15% in the second quarter.

The company reported adjusted profit of 22.55 yuan per American Depositary Share (ADS), compared with profit of 15.79 yuan per share a year earlier. This also exceeded analysts' average estimate of 16.86 yuan per ADS, according to Refinitiv.

($1 = 7.2928 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Kirsten Donovan and Tomasz Janowski)
By Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Federal Police will investigate a suspected plan by defense ministry officials to draw up a report during the 2022 election campaign to support then President Jair Bolsonaro's baseless allegations that electronic voting machines were vulnerable to fraud, a police source said on Tuesday.

The source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that investigators expect to call on retired General Paulo Sergio Nogueira, who was Bolsonaro's defense minister at the time, to testify.

Computer programmer Walter Delgatti told lawmakers last week that he was asked by Bolsonaro to tamper with a voting machine to show Brazil's electoral system was open to fraud.

Delgatti said he was paid to hack a voting machine but did not succeed in doing so. However, Bolsonaro asked him to discuss with defense ministry experts the preparation of a report that would endorse his attacks on the fairness of the voting system.

Bolsonaro's lawyers have denied he did anything wrong by meeting with the hacker.

It was not immediately possible to locate Nogueira or his representatives. The Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Supreme Court and a congressional committee are looking into the storming of government buildings by Bolsonaro supporters on Jan. 8 and into the involvement of the military in actions to undermine the legitimacy of last October's elections, which were won by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro narrowly lost to Lula and has never admitted his defeat, maintaining his baseless accusations about the voting system.

The embattled far-right leader is facing several investigations into his attacks on the electoral system and his suspected role in encouraging his supporters to storm government buildings a week after leftist Lula took office.

The Federal Police will call on Bolsonaro to testify on Aug. 31 for a fifth time since he left office, another police source with direct knowledge of the case told Reuters.

This time Bolsonaro will be called in about a message police turned up in which he purportedly asked businessmen to generate fake news messages on social media attacking the Supreme Court and the electoral system, the source said.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Anthony Boadle; editing by Grant McCool)
FILE PHOTO: Finished lumber is seen at West Fraser Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers, British Columbia, Canada February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Jesse Winter/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada will challenge what Ottawa described as an "unfair, unjust and illegal" extension of U.S. import duties on Canadian softwood lumber products, the trade ministry said on Tuesday.

The softwood lumber tariffs are the legacy of a decades-long trade dispute over the structure of Canada's timber sector that could not be resolved when a quota agreement expired in 2015. U.S. producers say Canada unfairly subsidizes its lumber sector.

The U.S. Commerce Department in July set a duty rate of 7.99% on the product.

Canada on Monday filed notices of intent to commence judicial review of those duties, the trade ministry said in a statement, adding that Ottawa remained willing to discuss a negotiated outcome with Washington. The ministry has routinely filed challenges under the rules of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

"For years, the United States has imposed unfair, unjust and illegal duties on Canadian softwood lumber, hurting Canadian industry and increasing housing costs in both countries," Trade Minister Mary Ng said in the statement.

The United States has based its tariffs on a finding that Canadian timber harvested from federal and provincial lands with low government-set stumpage fees constitutes an unfair subsidy, while most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market rates.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office said it was trying to ensure a level playing field.

"We are prepared to discuss another softwood lumber agreement when Canada is ready to address the underlying issues related to subsidization and fair competition so that Canadian lumber imports do not injure the U.S. industry," a USTR spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; editing by Susan Heavey, Devika Syamnath and Andy Sullivan)
FILE PHOTO: Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland attends a news conference before delivering the federal budget in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, an avid cyclist who says she does not own a car, was fined C$273 ($200) for speeding in her home province of Alberta, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Freeland was caught driving 132 km/hr (82 mph) between the towns of Grande Prairie and Peace River and has paid the ticket in full, her spokesperson Katherine Cuplinskas said.

The news was first broken by the Counter Signal website.

Cuplinskas did not say when the incident occurred and what the speed limit had been on that stretch of road. The maximum speed limit on Alberta highways is 110 km/hr.

Freeland is a legislator who represents a parliamentary constituency in central Toronto, Canada's largest city, and is often photographed on her bike.

"A fact that still shocks my dad is that I don't actually own a car," she told reporters last month.

"I walk, I take the subway. My kids walk and ride their bikes and take the subway  it's actually healthier for our family," she said.

($1=$1.36 Canadian)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sonali Paul)
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - A Chadian rebel group on Tuesday threatened to stand up to the country's military-led government, days after another rebel group announced an end to a 2021 ceasefire that prompted the interim president to move to the frontline.

Tensions have flared again on Chad's northern border with Libya, where fighting between rebels and the army subsided after president Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield in 2021.

His son Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power after his father's death and sought to restore peace, pardoning hundreds of imprisoned rebels and encouraging groups to take part in peace talks.

More than 30 rebel and opposition factions signed a peace pact with Chad's transitional authorities in Doha last year, although the most powerful insurgent group, the Libya-based Front for Change and Concord (FACT), refused to take part.

Deby suffered another setback on Saturday when FACT accused authorities of bombing one of its bases earlier that week and ended a ceasefire it declared in 2021.

Deby responded on Sunday saying the army attacked after FACT rebels crossed into Chadian territory.

Deby said in a televised address from the frontline that he would be there for a week to oversee operations and warned FACT he would personally lead a battle against them if they did not put down arms.

Another rebel group followed suit on Tuesday, vowing to use "all necessary means" to restore democracy in Chad.

"Our country has been taken hostage by a hoard of irresponsible (people)," the Popular Front for Recovery said in a statement calling on all "patriotic forces" to unite for a "national uprising".

A flare-up of fighting in Chad could destabilise a longtime Western ally against Islamist militants waging an insurgency across the Sahel region.

Attempts to curb the jihadists have been derailed by a string of coups in West and Central Africa, including a military takeover in Niger last month.

(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Sofia Christensen; editing by Grant McCool)
China's President Xi Jinping speaks, as South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa listens, at the Union Buildings ahead of the opening remarks of the BRICS emerging economies meeting, in Pretoria, South Africa August 22, 2023. REUTERS/Alet Pretorius

(Reuters) - China's leader Xi Jinping told the BRICS group on Tuesday that China's economy was resilient and that the fundamentals for its long-term growth remained unchanged.

Xi, who is in South Africa for a summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), made the remarks in a prepared statement read by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao at a business forum.

"The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality," Xi said through Wang.

The recovery in the world's second-largest economy has lost steam due to a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth, adding to the case for authorities to release more policy stimulus.

But Xi said his country enjoyed economic advantages, including a "super-sized market," a full-fledged industrial system, and an abundant high-caliber labor force.

"The giant ship of the Chinese economy will continue to ride the wind, cleave waves, and forge ahead," Xi said.

The U.S. on Tuesday criticized China for reducing the transparency of its reporting on basic economic data in recent months, and for cracking down on firms in China that had been providing such data, calling its behavior irresponsible.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; editing by Grant McCool)
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The death of former U.S. President Barack Obama's personal chef Tafari Campbell while paddleboarding in the Massachusetts resort community of Martha's Vineyard was an accident, a state official said on Tuesday.

Timothy McGuirk, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, told the media that the cause of death was ruled as drowning and the manner of death was determined to be an accident.

Campbell's body was recovered from a lake on the island in late July. Campbell, 45, was the subject of a two-day search after a paddleboarder was seen to struggle and go under the water in Edgartown Great Pond near a home owned by Obama last month.

The Obamas were not present at the time of his death, state police said.

Campbell had been a sous chef at the White House and came to work for the family after Obama completed his second term in 2017, the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, said last month.

The chef, who lived in Dumfries, Virginia, leaves behind his wife, Sherise, and twin sons.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Andy Sullivan)
FILE PHOTO: Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo of the Semilla party addresses supporters during his closing campaign rally, ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off, at the Plaza Central in Guatemala City, Guatemala August 16, 2023. REUTERS/

By Cassandra Garrison and Sofia Menchu

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -Bernardo Arevalo, who won Sunday's Guatemalan presidential runoff by a landslide, said he wants to work with the U.S. to expand temporary work programs for migrants there, while also increasing investment in his country's poorest areas to reduce departures.

In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, the 64-year-old center-left anti-corruption crusader said the U.S. and Guatemala must sit down to "find ways to influence a phenomenon that we share."

"We want to have a very serious discussion around a very significant expansion of the temporary work programs," Arevalo said at his home in Guatemala City.

"Managed in a way where access is expanded to (poverty-stricken) places, they can become an additional measure to mitigate the pressure on people to leave."

More migrants have left from Guatemala for the U.S. border than from any other "Northern Triangle" country in recent years. Over 233,000 Guatemalans arrived at U.S. borders in 2022, about 8.4% of all arrivals.

Arevalo, an ex-diplomat and son of a former president, rose speedily from relative obscurity to win the presidency as support surged for his anti-establishment, reformist message.

Arevalo said he sees his mandate as having three pillars: addressing a culture of mistrust; creating more economic opportunities; and expanding access to healthcare and education.

He said his government will focus on expanding development to combat malnutrition and unemployment in Guatemala's Dry Corridor, an area that stretches across Central America and is particularly vulnerable to climate change and drought.

Many analysts regard Arevalo's victory as a potentially definitive moment for Guatemala, with voters rejecting a powerful status quo dogged by allegations of widespread corruption.

Arevalo said fighting graft and restoring confidence in democracy will be at the forefront of his administration and that he will seek a foreign agenda that supports these goals.

CHINA AND TAIWAN

Guatemala, Central America's most populous country, has for decades maintained formal ties with Taiwan. Arevalo wants to maintain those ties - but he also wants to improve relations with China.

It would be an act of foreign policy gymnastics, given China's position that countries it has relations with cut off ties with Taipei.

"We believe it is perfectly feasible to have good relations with both the (People's) Republic of China and Taiwan," said Arevalo.

Guatemala's private sector was interested in expanding relations with China, which counts the Central American country as its main trade partner in the region, Arevalo added.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said it was confident of continued cooperation with Guatemala's new government on the basis of existing good foundations, noting relations were broadly supported in the Central American country.

A day after the Guatemalan presidential runoff, the six-nation Central American Parliament known as the Parlacen voted to expel Taiwan after more than two decades as a permanent observer and replace it with China, whose growing economic influence in Latin America has increasingly marginalized Taipei.

Guatemala is the only Parlacen member that still recognizes Taiwan.

In the run-up to Sunday's election, Arevalo and his Semilla party had faced legal challenges over alleged registration irregularities and the party was briefly suspended at the request of a prominent prosecutor before Guatemala's top court reversed the ban.

International experts have speculated the attorney general could continue to launch legal challenges that threaten the transition of power.

But after securing more than 58% of the vote in the runoff, Arevalo said he was confident he will assume office as planned on Jan. 14.

"The people of Guatemala spoke, and spoke very clearly and forcefully, and that is a fact that is going to weigh heavily on those who are still trying to derail this election," he said.

He said he was realistic about what can be achieved in four years, however.

"We do not believe that the people of Guatemala at this moment are waiting (for us) to arrive with a magic wand," he said.

"What they want to see ... is authorities that finally assume the commitment to work for development and to work for the people, and that is what we are going to do."

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Rosalba O'Brien and Cynthia Osterman)
(Corrects time of purchase from "this year" to "last year" in paragraph 8)

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia's defence ministry and U.S. planemaker Boeing have signed an agreement on the sale of 24 F-15EX fighter jets to help modernise the Southeast Asian country's ageing fleet, the ministry and the company said.

Officials from the ministry and a Boeing executive signed the memorandum of understanding at Boeing's St. Louis, Missouri, facility on Monday, Boeing said, though it underscored that the transaction was subject to U.S. government approval.

"This state-of-the-art fighter will protect and secure our nation with its advanced capabilities," Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said, according to Boeing's statement.

Boeing and the defence ministry did not provide details on the deal's value.

The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15, with digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, a digital cockpit, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities, Boeing said.

Prabowo and his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, discussed the planned procurement during Austin's visit to Jakarta last year.

Indonesia has increased its defence spending in recent years to overhaul its fleet, which includes U.S-made F-16 and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 jets.

Last year, Jakarta bought 42 Dassault Rafale fighter jets for $8.1 billion.

It has also purchased 12 used Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets in an $800 million deal that drew criticism as the aircraft were considered too old.

Last year, the U.S. has also approved the potential sale of F-15ID aircraft and related equipment to Indonesia in a deal valued at up to $13.9 billion.

"After Rafale, the F-15 will make Indonesia a strong nation as we keeps building a mature defence diplomacy," the defence ministry spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Gerry Doyle)
FILE PHOTO: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra looks on as he speaks to Reuters during an interview in Singapore February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A jet reported by Thai media to be carrying the fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra touched down at an airport in Bangkok on Tuesday, according to live television footage.

Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup and jailed in absentia in 2008 for abuse of power, has been in self-exile for 17 years and was due to be detained on arrival, according to police.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Panu Wongcha-um, and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. The opening of a school in Fuzuli is a demonstration of Uzbekistan's support for fraternal Azerbaijan, the Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov said, Trend reports.

"We will put this school into operation for students so that they receive knowledge. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have educated great, outstanding people of their time, such as Nizami Ganjavi, Fuzuli, Alisher Navoi, and we hope that this school will also educate such outstanding people," he said.

The minister stressed that a solid package of documents was signed today to expand cooperation between the ministries of culture of the two countries.

According to him, this document covers such areas as cinema, theater, museums, literature.

"It is in these areas that Azerbaijani-Uzbek cooperation will expand. We hope that all this will bring the relations of our countries to a qualitatively new level," Nazarbekov said.
FILE PHOTO: Russia's Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev inspects arms production as he visits the Aleksinsky Experimental Mechanical Plant in the town of Aleksin in the Tula region, Russia, June 15, 2023. Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool

(Reuters) -The deputy chair of the Russian security council Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow may annex Georgia's breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Medvedev, a former Russian president, wrote in an article published early on Wednesday by Argumenty I Fakty newspaper.

"It could quite possibly be implemented if there are good reasons for that," said Medvedev, who has cast himself as one of Russia's most hawkish political voices since its forces invaded Ukraine starting in February 2022.

Georgia lost control over the regions after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow recognised their independence in 2008, following Georgias attempt to regain control of South Ossetia by force that led to a Russian counter-attack.

Although Russian relations with Georgia have improved since then, Medvedev accused the West of creating tensions around the country by discussing its possible admission by NATO.

"We will not wait if our concerns become closer to reality," Medvedev said in the article that marked the 15th anniversary of the independence recognition, referring to a possible annexation.

Georgian officials have repeatedly said they are committed to joining the U.S.-led military alliance that would preserve the territorial integrity of the country.

Russia declared the annexations four provinces of Ukraine in September last year, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but none of the annexations are recognised internationally.

(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova in New York; editing by Grant McCool)
FILE PHOTO: Ana Cabral-Gardner, CEO of Sigma Lithium Corp SGML.V, speaks during an event in Aracuai, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Washington Alves/File Photo

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sigma Lithium, which produces metal used in electric vehicle batteries, has sued a former co-chief executive officer, accusing him of stealing trade secrets to undermine the company's effort to sell itself.

The complaint was filed on Monday in federal court in Manhattan against Calvyn Gardner, who until January was Sigma's co-CEO with Ana Cabral-Gardner, who he is divorcing and who remains CEO. Luisa Valim, Gardner's daughter-in-law, is also a defendant.

Gardner's law firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. It is unclear whether Valim has a lawyer, and she could not immediately be reached.

Sigma is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, but operates mainly in Brazil, and had a market value of about C$5.07 billion (US$3.74 billion) on Monday.

The lawsuit said Cabral-Gardner and Gardner lead a fund, A10 Investimentos, with a 44% stake in the company, with Cabral-Gardner owning 76% of the fund and Gardner owning 24%.

According to Sigma, Valim hatched a scheme to steal proprietary information "for leverage and revenge" and to gain more favor with her father-in-law, after learning he might not be legally entitled to half the marital assets in the divorce.

Sigma said that soon after leaving the company in May, Valim downloaded and shared with Gardner about 80,000 confidential documents from a data room to which Bank of America, which has been working on talks with potential buyers of Sigma, coordinated access.

According to Sigma, these documents included industrial and mining documents that were the "secret sauce" of its business, and which if misappropriated would take away its key competitive advantage against lithium mining and processing rivals.

Sigma said Valim and Gardner's actions were "designed to interfere" with a possible buyout, and Valim boasted to an A10 partner on a July 1 airplane flight that because of the scheme "the M&A process was 'over.'"

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and the return of misappropriated property.

In a July 28 interview, Cabral-Gardner said Sigma has been looking to strengthen its "unique environmentally competitive position" in the global supply chain.

"The company is the asset," she said.

Bank of America declined to comment.

The case is Sigma Lithium Corp v Gardner et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-07403.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen prior to the start of the court's 2022-2023 term in Washington, U.S. September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) - A parents group backed by a conservative legal organization asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to consider whether an admissions policy aimed at diversifying an elite Virginia high school is racially discriminatory.

The case over how students are selected to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology came to the court two months after its conservative majority barred colleges and universities from considering race as a factor in admissions.

But unlike the higher education cases, the admissions policy adopted in 2020 by Virginia's Fairfax County School Board for the state-chartered magnet high school was on its face race neutral.

The Alexandria-based school, known as TJ, often ranks among the best U.S. public high schools.

The board eliminated a standardized test from its admissions process, capped the number of students from each of the district's middle schools and guaranteed seats for the top students from each.

After the overhaul, the share of Black and Hispanic students increased, but the percentage of Asian-American students fell to 54% from 73% in the first year.

A parents group called Coalition for TJ, whose members include Asian-Americans, sued, saying the policy was adopted with a racially discriminatory purpose in violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.

In February 2022, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton sided with the parents' group lawyers at the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation.

In May, however, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed him, saying the board did not intend to discriminate against Asian-Americans and had a legitimate interest in "expanding the array of student backgrounds."

In Monday's petition asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, the coalition's lawyers said the court's June decision ending affirmative action in college admissions "might mean little if schools could accomplish the same discriminatory result through race-neutral proxies."

The school board's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year the Supreme Court declined an emergency request to block its policy, though three conservative justices dissented.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Tuesday its troops had entered the strategic southeastern village of Robotyne, a potentially significant advance in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers were organising the evacuation of civilians after entering Robotyne but were still coming under fire from Russian forces.

"Our soldiers in the village of Robotyne," General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, wrote on Telegram under a picture of a soldier in a tank.

Robotyne is 10 km (six miles) south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub.

Tokmak's capture would be a milestone as Ukrainian troops press southwards towards the Sea of Azov, a military push intended to split Russian occupying forces.

The Institute for the Study of War, an American research group and think tank, has described the Ukrainian attacks on Robotyne as "tactically significant". Advancing in the area could enable Ukrainian forces to begin operating beyond the densest of the Russian minefields that have held up the counteroffensive launched in early June, it said.

In a video published by the Ukrainian military, a woman is seen kissing a Ukrainian soldier and several evacuated residents talking on the phone with loved ones.

"Psychologically it was very hard (...). We were waiting for so long that today they came unexpectedly. We could not even believe it was ours (..) We are very grateful to the boys (troops)," a 52-year-old woman was saying in the video.

Reuters was able to verify the location of the aerial footage from the road layout and positions of buildings seen in the video, which matched satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to independently verify the date it was filmed.

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on the reports from Robotyne.

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Kyiv newsroom, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
A view of broken windows of a multi-storey apartment building, following a reported drone attack in Krasnogorsk, Russia, August 22, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region with no casualties and brought down a further two drones over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

A Reuters reporter in the town of Krasnogorsk in the Moscow region, seat of the Moscow regional government, saw minor damage to tiling on a high-rise residential building and shattered glass exterior window panes in a few of its apartments.

Falling debris had also caused minor damage such as smashed windscreens to cars parked below. Police had sealed off the scene and investigators from Russia's FSB security service collected what looked like drone fragments.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which rarely takes direct responsibility for drone strikes on Russian territory or on areas controlled by Russia, but which appears to have stepped up such attacks since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.

Such attacks have sometimes briefly disrupted flights across Russia and caused mostly minor damage to buildings. At least two people were injured a day earlier when parts of a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defences fell on a house in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.

A Reuters reporter in the Odintsovo district near the settlement of Chastsy to the west of Moscow, where one of the two drones was shot down in the early hours of Tuesday morning, heard four blasts shortly after 0300 local time (0000 GMT).

"Windows were shaking," she said.

The Russian defence ministry said that nobody had been hurt in the latest attack.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles was foiled tonight," it said in a statement.

"Two drones were detected and destroyed by air defence systems over the territory of the Moscow region."

A further two Ukrainian drones were detected by air defence systems over the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, and crashed without hurting anyone after being brought down by jamming systems, it said in the same statement.

Air space over the Russian capital was briefly closed and three Moscow airports suspended flights, the TASS news agency reported.

Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation authority, said nine flights had been diverted at Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, but that all of the capital's airports were now working normally.

Russian officials have repeatedly cautioned that military drones could cause a major disaster while flying over Moscow, which along with the surrounding region has a population of nearly 22 million people.

Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) said on Monday it had overseen an attack on the Russian Shaykovka military airfield in the Kaluga region in which it said several aircraft had been damaged.

Asked about Monday's attack on Moscow, Andriy Yusov, a GUR spokesperson, said that "the GUR is working" but declined to give details.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn in Moscow and by Maria Tsvetkova in New York; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Michael Perry and Angus MacSwan)
(Reuters) - United Nations Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said on Tuesday that "a unified government, agreed upon by the major players, is an imperative for leading the country to elections", an apparent shift from an earlier position that elections should come first.

Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli has not been accepted by the eastern-based parliament since early 2021 after a failed attempt to have national elections.

The dangers of Libya's unresolved conflict were apparent last week when armed factions battled in Tripoli, killing 55 people in the worst fighting there in years.

U.N. diplomacy in recent years had focused on the urgency of holding national elections despite differences, rather than replacing GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and forming another interim government to oversee the vote.

"It's a bad day for Dbeibah. The earth is shaking beneath his feet," said Libya specialist Jalel Harchaoui of the Royal United Services Institution in London.

Bathily has been pushing the parliament, known as the House of Representatives, as well as a second consultative body with a say over major political issues called the High State Council, to finalise electoral laws.

In his comments to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday Bathily said he was exploring the possibility of convening a meeting "of the main stakeholders or their representatives" to resolve major issues.

Libya has had little peace or security since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising and it split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions. Though major warfare paused after a 2020 ceasefire, there is little trust between the main factional leaders.

Many Libyans suspect their political leaders have little interest in a lasting settlement or elections that could oust them from positions of authority that they have held for years.

"A negotiation over a new interim government has a chance because there is a carrot for rivals to participate. But once it is created all incentives for elections disappear. And Bathily has no stick," said Tim Eaton, Libya researcher at Chatham House.

Bathily said he was working with the Tripoli-based Presidential Council head, Mohammed al-Menfi, to look at bringing the main players to a meeting.

Besides Menfi, he named House of Representatives speaker Aguila Saleh, GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.

(Reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Grant McCool)
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefs the press ahead of the trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes an understanding on Iran eventually releasing five U.S. citizens remains on track, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday but declined to offer any timeline.

Iran on Aug. 10 released four imprisoned U.S. citizens into house arrest, where they joined a fifth already under home confinement, in the first step of a deal under which $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen and the five would eventually be allowed to leave the Islamic Republic.

"We believe that things are proceeding according to the understanding that we've reached with Iran. I don't have an exact timetable for you because there's steps that need to yet unfold. But we believe that that remains on track," Sullivan told reporters in a conference call.

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 Tehran's support for regional Shi'ite militias.

The Iranian Americans who were allowed to leave Iran's Evin prison on Aug. 10 included businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality. The identity of the fourth U.S. citizen who left the prison has not been made public, nor has that of the fifth who was already under house arrest.

(Reporting By Susan Heavey in Washington and Arshad Mohammed in Saint Paul, Minnesota; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
without cause, he would be entitled to severance benefits of two times the sum of his base salary and target annual bonus, as well as a cash payment equal to 24 months of COBRA premiums (medical and dental) based on his coverage in effect immediately prior to his separation. The foregoing severance benefits would be subject to his execution of a general release of claims in favor of the Company and applicable terms and conditions set forth in the Severance Plan. The Severance Plan was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 6, 2018, and is incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit 10.4; a summary of the Severance Plan is included in the Companys definitive proxy statement filed on March 30, 2023 under Executive Compensation  Potential Payments upon Termination of Employment  Executive Severance Plan.

Change in Control Severance Agreement

The Change in Control Severance Agreement with Mr. Tornos has a term ending December 31, 2023, with one-year extensions thereafter unless either party gives written notice not to extend the agreement at least 30 days prior to the end of the then-current term or unless a change in control occurs (as such term is defined in the agreement). If a change in control occurs during the term of the Change in Control Severance Agreement, the agreement will continue in effect for a period of 24 months from the end of the month in which the change in control occurs.

Under the Change in Control Severance Agreement, if Mr. Tornoss employment is terminated during the term of the agreement following a change in control of the Company other than (i) by the Company for cause, (ii) by reason of Mr. Tornoss death, or (iii) by Mr. Tornos without good reason (as such terms are defined in the agreement), Mr. Tornos would be entitled to receive: (a) a lump sum payment equal to three times the sum of his base salary and target annual bonus opportunity; and (b) a lump sum amount equal to any unpaid incentive compensation allocated or awarded to him for the completed calendar year preceding the date of termination and a pro rata portion to the date of termination of the aggregate value of all contingent incentive compensation awards to him for the current calendar year at the target level. If, prior to a change in control, Mr. Tornoss employment is terminated without cause at the direction of a person who has entered into an agreement with the Company, the consummation of which would constitute a change in control, or by Mr. Tornos for good reason if the circumstance or event that constitutes good reason occurs at the direction of such person, Mr. Tornos would be entitled to receive: (a) a lump sum payment equal to three times the sum of his base salary and the amount of the largest aggregate annual bonus paid to him with respect to the three years immediately prior to the year in which the notice of termination was given; and (b) a lump sum amount equal to any unpaid incentive compensation allocated or awarded to him for the completed calendar year preceding the date of termination, provided that the performance conditions applicable to such incentive compensation are met, and an amount equal to a pro rata portion to the date of termination of the average annual award paid to him under the Companys incentive compensation plans during the three years immediately prior to the year in which the notice of termination was given.

The Change in Control Severance Agreement also provides that, under the employment termination circumstances described in the preceding paragraph, (i) all outstanding stock options granted to Mr. Tornos would become immediately vested and exercisable, and (ii) to the extent not otherwise provided under the applicable award agreement, any restrictions on outstanding shares of common stock would immediately lapse. In addition, Mr. Tornos would be entitled to receive a lump sum cash amount equal to the unvested portion, if any, of the Companys matching contributions (and attributable earnings) credited to him under the Companys 401(k) plan and the Amended and Restated Zimmer Biomet Deferred Compensation Plan. He would also receive a lump-sum payment equal to 24 times the monthly COBRA premium then charged for the same level of medical and dental coverage he had in effect immediately prior to his termination, and the Company would arrange to provide life insurance coverage for a 24-month period substantially similar to the coverage in effect immediately prior to his termination. In addition, the Company would provide Mr. Tornos with outplacement services for up to six months following his termination.

4
Department of Defense Education Activity Europe representatives walk into Hodja Middle School at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey on July 18, 2023. The purpose of their visit was to assess the base's ability to reopen to military families and check the condition of the school buildings. (David D. McLoney/U.S. Air Force)

Air Force officials are pushing to end a nearly seven-year ban at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey that has kept military families away, a move that could ease the strain of yearlong tours that have been unaccompanied because of security concerns.

Getting rid of that policy would let local Air Force leaders regain the ability to designate some positions as accompanied tours, Col. Kevin Lord, commander of the 39th Air Base Wing, said in a statement Monday.

Because accompanied tours can be longer, personnel in positions deemed sufficiently important based on job skills and experience could stay in country beyond the current 12 months.

That would keep service members in key positions longer and reduce the amount of time spent getting them up to speed resulting from frequent turnover.

Allowing dependents to accompany service members to Incirlik also would improve overall well-being and readiness, a factor underscored by experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials have said.

Last week, a U.S. Air Forces Europe-Africa task force that included housing, security and education representatives visited Incirlik to gather information and data. The task force will make a feasibility assessment of the plan in the fall, according to the statement.

In July, officials from Department of Defense Education Activity Europe visited the base to tour schools and assess needs.

Airmen and their children gather for the first day of school at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, in 2011. The Air Force is looking into ending a 2016 policy that shifted the base to unaccompanied tours lasting one year. (Anthony Sanchelli/U.S. Air Force)

But the change to allow dependents to accompany service members would be gradual, base officials emphasized.

Many details, such as what positions would be prioritized for standard two-year assignments and how to meet families needs, must be determined beforehand, Lt. Col. Charles Setzer, deputy commander of the 39th Mission Support Group, said in the statement.

We are not considering a full-scale, unconditional return of dependents immediately, Setzer said. It will take a phased approach based on the (courses of action) we are presented.

Unaccompanied tours generally occur outside the continental U.S. and range from one to two years, according to the Defense Department. Prior to September 2016, assignments to Incirlik, in southern Turkey near the city of Adana, were standard two-year tours.

But security threats that prompted the Pentagon to order more than 600 military and civilian dependents to leave Incirlik in March 2016 no longer exist, officials say.

That improved environment is the result of years of work with regional police and Turkish military officials, according to Mondays statement.

As a result, the base and other areas of Turkey where service members, DOD civilian workers and their families may work and live, such as Izmir and Ankara, are safer, the statement said.

Political tensions between the U.S. and fellow NATO member Turkey ran high for several years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vented frustrations after a failed coup attempt in the summer of 2016, with his government at one point even questioning whether to let U.S. and NATO aircraft operate from Incirlik.

And after Erdogan approved the purchase of a Russian air defense system over American objections, Turkey was booted from the F-35 program.

But in the wake of devastating earthquakes in February this year, the base became a critical hub for U.S. delivery of relief aid to the surrounding areas.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. At the initiative of the Iranian side, a telephone conversation took place between the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, on August 22, Trend reports.

The sides held a detailed exchange of views on the situation in the region and security issues, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry noted.

During the telephone conversation, the prospects for the development of military cooperation between the two countries were also discussed.

Earlier on August 17, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation.

During the telephone conversation, the parties reviewed the implementation of economic agreements between Tehran and Moscow. Jamshid said that the heads of state also discussed the latest developments in the Caucasus region. He noted that the implementation of various economic agreements, including the North-South International Transit Corridor and energy agreements, was also among the main topics of discussion.
An Iraqi woman shuffles fish from a basin for passersby to purchase in Oubaidys market. (Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes)

This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, March 13, 2009. It is republished unedited in its original form.

OUBAIDY, Iraq  Approaching the market in this area of eastern Baghdad, one is nearly overwhelmed by its sights, smells and sounds.

Covered by flies and unrefrigerated, fish for sale lie in the sun.

Residents snake through the crowded narrows between vegetable stands.

Children pester soldiers for watches, pens, chocolate, money or anything else.

Once past the squatters stands, the market improves drastically. Things are calmer, cleaner and shaded inside. Merchants in hard-stand storefronts sell spices, scarves, shoes and other sundries. For a moment, its not unlike flea markets in some European cities.

The 82nd Airborne Divisions 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment is undertaking an effort to improve the Oubaidy market, which it sees as a vehicle to better overall conditions in the area.

Spc. Frederick Lynds, a soldier from 82nd Airborne Divisions 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, jokes around with his Iraqi National Police counterpart after patrolling a nearby market in Oubaidy, Iraq. (Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes)

"Oubaidy is really the fringe," said Maj. Jeff Bramlett, the executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "Its right on the edge of some really bad areas. Its gotten bad in the past. Its sort of on the tipping point. What were trying to do is come in, get the Neighborhood Action Councils involved, get their input, try to get them on board and then we come in with the projects."

The goal of the projects is to establish a safe, secure market that would be an economic engine in the area, providing jobs and injecting money into the local economy.

A throng of illegal squatters stands impedes entry into the formal market.

"It doesnt facilitate a lot of business at times," said Capt. Adisa King, commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "People just kind of gather there. What we want to do is show them that, economically, you can get yourself sustained and this is how we can help you."

Residents seem unfazed by the surrounding filth just outside the market in Oubaidy, a suburb of Baghdad. (Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes) An Iraqi woman snakes through the heart of Oubaidys market with a large load in this eastern Baghdad town. (Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes)

A better market would also serve as a viable alternative for those tempted to engage in violent activity  a point Bramlett summed up in a conversation with the owner of a fruit stand.

"Who wants to blow something up when they can make money?" Bramlett asked.

Nine different projects are slated for the Oubaidy market. Specifically, the battalion wants to increase accessibility to the market by improving the surrounding roads. Some roads in the area are flooded with 10 to 14 inches of sewage. Work should begin on the projects later this month. Additionally, microgrants of a few thousand dollars each will also be offered to help business owners in the market. During a visit to the market Wednesday, Bramlett told merchants to talk to their Neighborhood Action Council about how they want the market improved.

The market-improvement plan in Oubaidy is something the battalion is working on to replicate in the other areas where it operates.

"Right now, it varies from area to area," Bramlett said. "Markets are a good focus for us. Its something that people are behind. It brings in a lot of other things. Micro-power generation is another one to address a lot of the energy concerns. It varies a little bit, depending on what the needs of the people are in that area."
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Friday that it was prepared for military action and that it had decided on a D-Day for intervention in Niger, where a junta led by Nigers presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. (Wikimedia Commons)

The latest in a series of military coups in West Africa has led to fears of broader regional conflict, with a major political bloc in the region threatening military intervention in Niger unless the elected government is restored.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Friday that it was prepared for military action and that it had decided on a "D-Day" for intervention in Niger, where a junta led by Niger's presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

Efforts at mediation have so far failed, with Niger missing an ECOWAS-installed deadline of restoring Bazoum to office within a week and the bloc rejecting a junta proposal to return to democracy in three years.

"All we are saying is that we are not going to engage in endless dialogue," said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS's commissioner for political affairs, peace and security. "It must be fruitful, and its objective must be the restoration of constitutional order" as quickly as possible.

The situation is complicated by the fact that three other members of the 15-member ECOWAS are suspended as they have had their own military coups in recent years. These countries  Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, all former French colonies in the Sahel  have indicated they may side with Niger's military government in the case of a war.

The situation is a major test of the political will and organizational capability of ECOWAS, one of the most important organizations in Africa. It comes as major Western powers like France and the United States have stepped back from the region, while the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has allied with some military governments.

What is ECOWAS?

ECOWAS was founded with the Treaty of Lagos in 1975. Initially designed as a way to grow economic and monetary ties, it has expanded its scope significantly to include security work and military coordination.

In 1990, it formed a peacekeeping alliance, the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), beginning a tradition of armed involvement in member states' problems.

Overall, ECOWAS membership has remained relatively static over the years. Of its 15 current members, all but one were part of the founding group of nations (the small island nation of Cape Verde joined in 1977). Only one country, Mauritania, has left the organization.

However, a spate of coups over recent years has led to deep divisions in the bloc. Mali and Guinea both saw coups in 2021, as did neighboring Chad and Sudan, both non-ECOWAS members. Burkina Faso's military took over that country in 2022.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seemed to acknowledge the problem in July, before the Niger coup, when he said he was drawing a line in the sand on military takeovers. "We will not allow coup after coup," Tinubu said as he assumed the position of ECOWAS chair.

Has ECOWAS intervened before?

The last time ECOWAS intervened militarily in a member state was in 2017, when it sent forces to Gambia.

There, 7,000 soldiers were sent from Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal to force the transfer of power from longtime president Yahya Jammeh, who contested the results, to Adama Barrow, the democratically elected leader. Jammeh eventually conceded without the need for violence.

Before that, troops linked to the West African bloc had served as a peacekeeping force in Liberia and Sierra Leone during the 1990s.

But ECOWAS has been criticized for inconsistency in interventions. Though it stepped in in Gambia in 2017, it did not militarily intervene later when Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso saw coups. Instead, it responded by suspending memberships and placing sanctions on the military governments.

"These inconsistencies have damaged ECOWAS's legitimacy, giving the military juntas less reason to take the organization seriously," Kamissa Camara, a former Malian foreign minister, said in a recent interview with the Danish Institute for International Studies.

How militarily strong would an ECOWAS force be?

Musah, the commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said Friday that all non-suspended members of ECOWAS had said they would contribute to the military intervention in Niger, with the exception of Cape Verde, which does not have a formal military.

In sheer numbers, it could be a powerful force. Nigeria, the most populous country in the bloc, is also the most militarily capable with an estimated 223,000 soldiers and a military budget of over $3 billion in 2022, the third-highest in all of Africa, after Algeria and Egypt.

In terms of personnel and budget alone, the ECOWAS bloc would dominate the far smaller Niger military  even if the military governments of Mali and Burkina Faso were to support Niger's military, as they have indicated they might. The landlocked Niger also has significant logistical weaknesses: Its electricity is supplied by Nigeria, for one.

But weaker forces have routed stronger forces throughout history. An intervention in Niger would likely require a far more substantial force than the 5,000 ECOWAS soldiers seen six years ago in Gambia, a far smaller country in both physical size and population.

Many ECOWAS countries, including Nigeria, are struggling under their own security problems that may make it hard to send soldiers and equipment to Niger.

Reuters in the capital city of Niamey reported last weekend that Niger's junta has seen a rush of volunteers seeking to defend the country against any invading force. Niger's junta has also threatened to kill the detained President Bazoum if there is a military intervention, according to the Associated Press.

Is military action by ECOWAS widely supported?

In its statements, the African Union has avoided discussion of military intervention. The 55-nation bloc appears to be divided on the issue, raising questions about the legality of an ECOWAS intervention without African Union approval.

Some countries, like Niger's neighbor Algeria, have expressed concern about whether the conflict could have unintended consequences. "You can start a military intervention, but you never know how it will end," Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said during a recent visit to Washington.

The U.S. government has said it supports ECOWAS, but emphasized it favors diplomacy over military intervention. There are roughly 1,000 U.S. troops in Niger, where they had been working on an anti-terrorism mission, and a conflict in the country could place those servicemembers at risk of conflict.

U.S. officials have continued to visit Niger, although incoming Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon did not formally present her credentials when she visited Niamey this past weekend.

France, which still has about 1,500 of its own troops in Niger, was asked to intervene by the ousted government but declined, according to accounts from former officials. The French government has lent its support to an ECOWAS action, but it faces a wave of anti-French sentiment across the Sahel.

Russia, meanwhile, has warned against military action, suggesting it would lead to "sharp destabilization" in the wider Sahel region. Some accounts suggest Niger's junta has sought aid from Wagner, the Kremlin-linked Russian mercenary group which operated in Mali.
This screenshot from the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page shows an F-16 Fighting Falcon after a mishap at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Aug. 17, 2023. (Facebook)

TOKYO  An F-16 Fighting Falcon that apparently collapsed on a runway in northeast Japan last week never left the ground, a Misawa Air Base spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Photographs posted Monday by the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook group appear to show the damaged fighter accompanied by emergency vehicles Thursday on Misawas runway. The plane was tilted to its left, its wing almost touching the ground.

The jet was taxiing when the incident occurred, 35th Fighter Wing spokeswoman Capt. Josephine Rios told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

The wing had provided incorrect information Monday, she said.

It was not a hard landing, she said. The jet didnt take off.

The aircraft was moved off the runway after the incident, Sgt. Chris Jacobs, another wing spokesman, said by phone Monday morning.

Commercial flights at Misawa Airport, which shares the runway with the air base, were unaffected, Jacobs said.

There were no delays or cancellations to commercial flights or operations and no injuries were sustained, he said in an email Monday afternoon. An investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the ground emergency.

The Air Force cant release details about damage to the aircraft during an ongoing investigation of the incident, Jacobs said.

Additionally, due to the nature of the investigation, we do not anticipate that the findings will be releasable to the public, he said.
President Joe Biden speaks at the civic center in Maui after the Hawaii wildfires, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. (Dominick Del Vecchio/FEMA)

President Joe Biden's security pledges with once-feuding neighbors Japan and South Korea at historic talks bolstered U.S. military power in Asia. That's made China look increasingly isolated in its own backyard.

The landmark summit at the Camp David presidential retreat last week saw Japan's Fumio Kishida and South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol pledge to hold annual hold meetings with the United States, establish a shared military hotline and strengthen ballistic missile defense cooperation.

Those military agreements came as the White House pressures both Asian nations to support its tech curbs on China, amid a U.S. push to clip President Xi Jinping's efforts to increase the nation's military and economic might. China's Foreign Ministry on Monday criticized the summit, saying it would only "start division and confrontation."

Biden's deepening diplomacy in Asia shows how the United States is committed to strengthening relationships with long-standing allies to entrench its global influence. Beijing's own regional diplomatic outreach has had limited success, particularly as military tensions increase with Taiwan: When China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, hosted a trilateral forum last month, Japan and South Korea's foreign ministers just sent video messages.

As Beijing's had diplomatic spats with both nations this year and conducted military exercises near their territories, there's been little sign their own once-annual leaders' conference will take place for the first time since the pandemic. An official at South Korea's Foreign Ministry said this week they were still working to organize the trilateral meeting.

"China is the true father of this deal," Richard McGregor, at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, said of Biden's landmark summit this month, adding that concerns over North Korea and Russia also played a role in motivating South Korea and Japan to join the agreement.

On the prospect of Beijing holding its own three-way talks, he added, "China seems unable to reassure their neighbors in any real way, let alone seduce them."

Last week's summit was the second trip for both Kishida and Yoon to the United States this year and came just months after Biden traveled to Japan for the Group of Seven summit. By contrast, Xi hasn't met his Japanese or South Korean counterparts this year, or sat down with Biden, instead watching from the sidelines as the three nations form stronger ties.

In that absence of dialogue, China's relationship with South Korea has deteriorated, with tensions spilling over this year when the Chinese ambassador in Seoul criticized South Korea for embracing pro-U.S. policies, sparking a tit-for-tat exchange.

China summoned Japan's ambassador in Beijing to lodge a "solemn" protest after the G-7 communique made reference to China's "militarization activities" and intentions toward Taiwan  the self-ruled democracy Beijing claims as its own territory and that Biden has said he would defend if it was invaded. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday called Japan's plan to discharge nuclear wastewater "selfish and irresponsible.'

The statement from Camp David echoed some of those concerns, criticizing Chinese actions in the South China Sea and calling for a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue. The three leaders also pledged to fight "economic coercion" and supply chain disruptions, in veiled swipes at China.

The agreement to cooperate on missile defense was the latest sign Seoul is changing its diplomatic approach to Beijing. In 2016, China punished South Korea economically to try to stop it from deploying a U.S. missile defense system known as THAAD to defend against North Korea's arsenal. China objects to the shield over concerns its powerful radar would allow spying on its own missile systems.

Beijing's subsequent three conditions for mending ties were that Seoul would not join any U.S.-led regional missile defense system, not form a trilateral alliance with the United States and Japan, and not commit to any additional THAAD deployments.

Yoon's conservative government has since said it's not bound by those pledges made by its progressive predecessor, improved ties with Japan including by hosting Kishida in Seoul in May, and now looks to be moving toward closer defense ties with both Tokyo and Washington.

The high-profile statement from the presidential retreat pledging to cooperate on a "striking array of issue areas" was intended as a signal to Beijing and Pyongyang, said Adam Liff, visiting chair of Japanese politics and foreign policy at Georgetown University. The commitment to consult also reflected an "unprecedented degree of shared concerns about regional and global challenges," he added.

If Japan and South Korea are still wedded to their trilateral with China this year, Beijing will now probably "go through an agonizing time before it reaches a decision," as attending could legitimize their agreement with the United States, said Moon Chung-in, a former South Korean national security adviser.

"The folks in Beijing will be very much suspicious," said Moon, who has served in administrations seeking rapprochement with Pyongyang. "China is not likely to take a permissive or tolerant posture on South Korea  a tough time awaits."

Bloomberg's Sangmi Cha, Sam Kim and Dan Murtaugh contributed to this report.
A South Korean marine takes aim with his rifle during training with U.S. Marines in Pohang, South Korea, March 29, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  North Korea on Tuesday condemned an ongoing, large-scale military exercise between the United States and South Korea and warned it could prompt thermonuclear war on the peninsula.

The two allies on Monday kicked off Ulchi Freedom Shield, 11 days of training designed to test their combined capabilities against North Koreas military with more than 30 separate drills. The exercise includes seven other U.N. Command nations: Australia, Canada, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand.

Pyongyang refused to accept the training as defensive in nature and characterized it as exercises for an actual war to invade the North, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday.

The drills aggressive nature could prompt an unprecedented large-scale thermonuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, KCNA reported.

The prevailing situation requires the Korean People's Army to take the initiative , the report said.

North Korea frequently describes U.S.-South Korean military exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and vows to respond with war. It made a similar threat about nuclear war in July.

According to KCNA on July 20, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam said a port call by the USS Kentucky at Busan, South Korea, two days earlier could be grounds for a preemptive nuclear strike. The Kentucky was the first U.S. submarine capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles to stop at Busan in 42 years.

North Koreas report Tuesday also took aim at a trilateral summit between President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday at Camp David, Md. The meeting ushered in a new era of trilateral partnership over security and economic matters in the region, the leaders said in a joint statement.

The three agreed their countries would hold annual, senior-level meetings and reiterated they are still open to negotiations with the North without preconditions, according to the statement.

It is the product of a determination, fiercely held by each of us, that if we are to deliver a peaceful and prosperous future for our people, and the people of the Indo-Pacific, we must more often stand together, the joint statement said. Today, we declare that a new chapter in our trilateral relationship has begun.

KCNA described the leaders as a puppet group and accused them of instigating a nuclear war. If the Camp David agreements are put into practice, the outbreak of a thermonuclear war on the Korean Peninsula will become more realistic, Tuesdays report said.

North Koreas threats come amid news reports that the communist regime may launch a military reconnaissance satellite Aug. 24-31. Kyodo News reported Tuesday that Japans government believed Pyongyang intends to launch a satellite after it failed to put one in orbit during a test on May 30.
Members of Taiwans 564th Armored Brigade hold their flag after demonstrating their ability to repel an airborne attack near Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Jan. 11, 2023. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

China downsized its military exercises in the Taiwan Strait this week after its Foreign Ministry warned that Taiwan risked military conflict and disaster by courting U.S. support.

Taiwan Vice President William Lai stopped in New York on Aug. 12 en route to Paraguay, the only South American country with diplomatic ties to the island, and in Los Angeles on his way home four days later.

China, in response to Lais trip, launched military exercises Saturday around the island with dozens of aircraft and warships practicing anti-submarine warfare, ship-aircraft coordination and control of the air and seas around Taiwan.

The drills were meant as a serious warning against those seeking Taiwans independence from China, said Chinese Eastern Theater Command spokesman Senior Col. Shi Yi, according to a Saturday news release from Chinas defense ministry.

Chinas response was not as strong as we anticipated, said I-Chung Lai, a former Taiwanese artilleryman and president of the Taipei-based think tank The Prospect Foundation.

Taiwanese people's daily life was not severely affected [by the recent exercises], and people generally don't talk about it, he told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday. The daily conversation is about election. Even politicians in campaign did not talk about military drills in the past several days.

On Saturday, 42 Chinese aircraft and eight warships were operating around Taiwan, according to Taiwans Ministry of National Defense; Sunday, it reported another 45 aircraft and nine warships in the area.

By Monday, just two aircraft and six ships were sighted and 15 aircraft and 10 ships on Tuesday, according to the ministry.

China considers Taiwan, a functional democracy, to be a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland. Beijing on a near-daily basis sends aircraft and ships toward the island, regardless of announced military exercises.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday resumed criticism of William Lai, a front-runner in Taiwans presidential election in January.

What he does will only bring grave harm to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It will only push Taiwan toward the danger of military conflict and lead our Taiwan compatriots to disaster, Wang said, according to a ministry readout of the news conference.

Taiwan independence is a dead end, Wang said. Soliciting US support for Taiwan independence will lead nowhere for Taiwan independence separatists.

Wang said Taiwan has never been a country and will never be a country and that no one should underestimate Chinas resolve to safeguard its sovereignty.

Taipei on Monday did not appear to be concerned with Beijings warning, and its defense ministry said Taiwans military would stand firm to hold our sovereignty against communist incursions according to a Monday post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Peace is the universal value that all pursue, and [Chinas] aggressive actions stand against it, the ministry said in the post. Righteousness, freedom, and democracy are what we treasure here in Taiwan.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev described the fact that Shavkat Mirziyoyev was paying his first state visit to Azerbaijan after being elected President of Uzbekistan as a sign of brotherhood and friendship, the head of state said in a press statement following talks with his Uzbek counterpart, Trend reports.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Shavkat Miromonovich, dear guests, dear friends!

Once again, Shavkat Miromonovich, I sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan. You are welcome! We highly appreciate the fact that you are paying your first state visit to Azerbaijan after being elected President of Uzbekistan. We do appreciate that. This is a sign of our brotherhood, our friendship, and your attitude towards our country and our people. The fraternal people of Uzbekistan have again placed great confidence in you, have once again recognized your efforts for the development of Uzbekistan. Under your leadership, the fraternal country is successfully moving along the path of creation. I have had the opportunity to repeatedly see for myself the great transformations that are under way in Uzbekistan under your leadership, and they serve the development of your country, the strengthening of its potential and defense capability, as well as the enhancement of its authority in international affairs.

Last year, I visited Uzbekistan three times on a state visit and as part of international events. I visited Tashkent, Samarkand and Khiva, and saw again with my own eyes the transformations and results of the reforms you are implementing. Therefore, your victory in the elections was completely natural, and the fraternal people of Uzbekistan have made the only right choice.

The fact that you are paying your first state visit to Azerbaijan after the election is also a great honor for us. You are showing us great respect.

We have discussed a wide range of issues during our negotiations today. I can say one thing: our communication today took more than three hours. Both in our one-on-one meeting and during the meeting with the participation of members of delegations, all these successes in strengthening our interaction were analyzed in detail and ways of developing the future of our relations in all areas were discussed and determined  from joint activities on international platforms, our interaction within the framework of international organizations up until issues of energy, transport, economic interaction, the humanitarian sphere. In other words, within the framework of our meetings and negotiations, we have essentially determined the future development of our relations. The results that have already been achieved show that we are on the right track.

What was reported to us by members of the delegations as part of what we expect in the next two or three years I think indicates that we have raised the relations between our countries to the highest level. And it is no coincidence that one of the documents signed today is a document on the establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council. This is a high level of relations and an indicator of both fraternal relations between our countries and of the fact that the agenda is quite extensive.

Issues related to industrial cooperation have also been analyzed in great detail. Last month, a regular meeting of the intergovernmental commission was held in Shusha, which analyzed in detail the entire range of our interaction. Three are good prospects in the energy sector. Our energy companies closely cooperate with each other. In the transport and logistical sector, we are observing an increase in cargo traffic, and most importantly, an increase in the potential for cooperation in this direction. Today we discussed issues that will predetermine our successful cooperation in all areas for many years to come.

This month, the Days of Culture of Uzbekistan were held in Azerbaijan with great success, and once again, Azerbaijani viewers were further convinced of the high skill and talent of representatives of your fraternal people. We agreed that such events should be held regularly, because the basis of our interaction is precisely the huge cultural layer.

The fraternal relations between our peoples have a centuries-old history, and throughout the entire period of friendship and brotherhood, we have always been close to each other and supported each other.

Tomorrow we will participate in the opening of a school Shavkat Miromonovich has donated to Azerbaijan on his personal initiative. This is the first gift of a foreign state in the restoration of Karabakh, and we highly appreciate this gesture of brotherhood, solidarity and support  not to mention the fact that this school is actually a palace of education. In May, while visiting Fuzuli, I got acquainted with the construction and saw with my own eyes the scale of the fraternal gift from Uzbekistan. The school bears the name of the great son of the Uzbek people, Mirzo Ulugbek, and I am sure that it will not only be a center of education, but also a center of our friendship and brotherhood.

A few days ago, or to be exact, four days ago, first residents of the city of Fuzuli, former refugees, returned to their native lands, and in the near future, less than a month later, children will start going to the school which was donated by our brothers from Uzbekistan.

In other words, even what I am talking about now speaks volumes of the nature of our relations. To talk about all the areas of cooperation we discussed today, it will probably take at least three more hours. Therefore, I think that already in the process of communication, including the communication with the media, representatives of our countries will share their impressions both today and in the future. And also the general public of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan will see the results of today's negotiations in the practical implementation of projects both in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. And I am sure that the joint investment fund, which we created some time ago with an authorized capital of $500 million, will very quickly master this amount and we will even need to increase the capital. All this indicates again that we are on the right track, that everything the presidents have outlined is being carried out, and, as we agreed with Shavkat Miromonovich several years ago, we regularly monitor the implementation of all these instructions. This is one of the keys to success.

Once again, dear Shavkat Miromonovich, I would like to welcome you, thank you once again for accepting my invitation and visiting Azerbaijan. We met in Baku in March, at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, and I am planning on visiting Uzbekistan before the end of the year. So, we will meet regularly and inform the public of our countries about new successes. Thank you.
High-rise buildings surrounding beaches in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. Israel and Saudi Arabia will deepen economic and business ties even if they dont formally recognize each other, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Corinna Kern/Bloomberg)

A deal is being negotiated that, if completed, would result in Saudi Arabia, for the first time, establishing warm relations with Israel.

The main thing the Saudis would get in exchange  security guarantees  wouldn't come from Israel but from its closest ally  the U.S. Israel, a high-tech power, would play a major role in ambitious Saudi plans to move its economy beyond oil. It would also be expected to make concessions to the Palestinian self-ruling authority in the West Bank. The U.S. would regain some of its influence over Saudi Arabia, stemming efforts by China to expand its sway in the Middle East.

The deal offers significant rewards to all four governments, not least of them additional ways of dealing with Iranian military activity in the region. But the prospect of the pact stirs populist forces among all of their constituencies, posing risks to those in power.

1. Who's talking?

Although they have had secret contacts in the past, the Israelis and Saudis aren't speaking to one another directly but rather through the Americans. According to sources familiar with the talks, they involve, on the U.S. side, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his deputies Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein. For the Saudis, it's Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, who is the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as national security adviser Musaed Al-Aiban. For the Israelis, it's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a former ambassador to the U.S. and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's most trusted aide. The Palestinians haven't been invited in so far but have been in touch with the Saudis. Officials of the three negotiating governments say that the complexities are such that a deal will be very difficult to pull off - yet very much worth trying.

2. What does Saudi Arabia want from the deal?

First and foremost, the Saudis want protection from Iran. Crown Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto leader, is said to have been traumatized by devastating attacks on Saudi oil production facilities in 2019 that his government says Iran was behind. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been at odds for decades.

Though China in early 2023 helped broker a restoration of diplomatic relations between the two after a seven-year break, they remain rivals for power in the Mideast. Saudi authorities worry about Iran's large missile arsenal; its proxy militias in nearby Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon; and its nuclear program, which outsiders have long suspected Iran is using to develop nuclear weapons.

Saudi Arabia wants an agreement with the U.S. that would be as close as possible to a mutual defense pact  in which any attack on the kingdom would be seen by Washington as an attack on the U.S. One possible model is the U.S.-Japan treaty in which Japan grants the U.S. the right to base military forces in the country in exchange for the promise that America will defend it if it's ever attacked.

Israel also has defense capabilities that could prove useful for defending Saudi oil fields.

As spelled out in his Vision 2030 plan for the kingdom, MBS, as the crown prince is known, has made economic and social advancement his goal. To move the economy of the country past its dependence on crude oil, of which it is the world's largest exporter, he wants to focus on innovation. For this, U.S. officials say, he believes it's vital to integrate economically with Israel, which has become a powerhouse in the technology industry.

Anticipating the day its oil runs out, Saudi Arabia is making plans to rely more on nuclear energy to power its own economy and is seeking U.S. help with that.

Publicly, Saudi Arabia has said that a precondition to recognizing Israel as an ally is an independent Palestinian state. The deal being discussed would not come close to achieving that. But it would need to contain sweeteners of some kind for the Palestinians so that Saudi authorities could say to their own people  and the entire Muslim world  that they are still fighting for the Palestinian cause.

3. What does Israel want from the deal?

Netanyahu has repeatedly said that after gaining ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020 in the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, the big prize for Israel is a deep relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is the richest and most powerful Arab state. Equally important is the kingdom's status as the birthplace of Islam and the site of the religion's holiest places. For Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel would counter the view among many Middle Easterners that the presence of a Jewish state in the mostly Muslim region is illegitimate. It would also likely open doors in other large Muslim nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Netanyahu has his own reasons for making at least some concessions to the Palestinian Authority, the body charged with limited self-rule under early peace agreements with Israel. It governs in the West Bank, having lost power in the Gaza Strip to the militant Islamist group Hamas. (Israel forces and settlers left Gaza in 2005, though Israel maintains control of Gaza's airspace and maritime territory.) Netanyahu announced in July that his government will do more to support the Palestinian Authority out of concern that Hamas, which is backed by Iran, is meddling in the West Bank. For now, that mostly means helping with industrial development and allowing more of the tax revenue Israel collects on behalf of the authority to flow into its coffers.

Netanyahu is also facing deep internal divisions over his far-right governing coalition's policies and indictments against him for fraud and bribery. A deal with Saudi Arabia would shift the focus to a source of national pride and unity.

4. What's in it for the U.S.?

For the U.S., the deal represents an opportunity to push back against China's rising profile in the Mideast. It would help Israel, a key ally, integrate with its neighbors and strengthen an anti-Iran alliance, with the U.S. in a central role. If the Saudis get the kind of security guarantees they want from the U.S., relations between the two countries, which have been strained, would vastly improve. That could give the U.S. more influence over the level of Saudi oil production, which largely determines the price of oil and thus gasoline. For U.S. President Joe Biden, a completed deal would be a major foreign policy accomplishment for his 2024 reelection campaign. Officials involved in the talks say that an agreement would have to come together by next spring. After that, the November election will dominate the attention of both Biden and Congress, whose Republican members will be reluctant to support any deal brokered by the president, out of concern it would benefit him politically.

5. What's in it for the Palestinian Authority?

For Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the deal would fall well short of advancing the dream of an independent Palestinian state. But it would offer a chance to slow or stall Israeli measures that make that dream improbable. Specifically, Palestinian negotiators will want Netanyahu's government to limit building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and to put off plans to annex the existing settlements to Israel. A deal could also weaken Iran's creeping influence in the West Bank, and, most likely, would result in substantial financial assistance from Saudi Arabia.

6. What are the populist forces against the deal?

All four governments face the potential for backlash domestically.

Although a poll earlier this year found that 40% of Saudis were unopposed to economic ties with Israel, the Saudi public has little appetite for fully embracing the Jewish state, especially one led by a far-right government that opposes Palestinian statehood.

In the U.S., the left wing of Biden's Democratic Party is critical of Israel because of its continued occupation of the West Bank and the policies of the government Netanyahu now leads. It's more reproachful of Saudi Arabia for its violations of human rights, including the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. The Saudi requests from the U.S. are substantial  for advance fighter jets and air defense systems on top of the defense pact, and for help with a civilian nuclear program that could one day be used to create nuclear weapons. Liberal Democrats will be wary of handing such tools to MBS, a leader with absolute power who U.S. intelligence concluded likely approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. MBS has denied any involvement while accepting symbolic responsibility as the kingdom's de facto ruler.

Among Palestinians, Abbas  who was elected president in 2005 and has held onto the post though his term expired in 2009  is already unpopular. In a poll conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June, 80% of respondents said he should resign. A majority  52%  favored "armed action" as the best way to end the occupation, suggesting that many Palestinians would consider future diplomatic agreements with Israel a betrayal of their national cause.

In Israel, religious rightists who are part of Netanyahu's government consider annexing the West Bank a more important mission than gaining acceptance by Saudi Arabia. Their opposition, however, could prove a blessing to the parties negotiating it.

7. How could opposition to the deal prove a blessing to the negotiating parties?

If talks advance and Netanyahu appears willing to make concessions to the Palestinians that are unacceptable to the far-right partners in his ruling coalition, they may threaten to quit. That would give him another shot at forming a more centrist government with more moderate parties. That was his preference when he was invited to form a government after November elections. Those parties refused to sit with him then, because he's on trial and viewed by many as untrustworthy. The parties would have to reevaluate their position if presented with the historic opportunity of a Saudi peace deal. A more moderate ruling coalition would likely pursue policies in the West Bank more agreeable to the Palestinian Authority, as well as to the Saudis and the Americans. Such a coalition would also likely drop the current government's initiative to curb the powers of Israel's judiciary, which has provoked fears in Israel and in the U.S. that the country's democracy is threatened.

Bloomberg's Sam Dagher contributed to this report.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall at a Turning Point USA event on Monday, April 10, 2023, at the Marx Library on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala. (John Sharp, al.com/TNS)

(Tribune News Service)  Alabama Attorney Gen. Steve Marshall is demanding a federal investigation into the Defense Departments decision to put U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado.

Marshall called that a sudden reversal of an earlier decision to locate the headquarters on Huntsvilles Redstone Arsenal, the top competing military location for it.

Marshall cited an Al.com report that Space Command Gen. James Dickinson, a previous advocate for the Redstone Arsenal site in Huntsville, changed his recommendation to President Joe Biden for headquarters to be located to Colorado.

The change of preference occurred just as General Dickinson in April 2023 purchased a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado location, Marshall said, which was never disclosed to stakeholders in the process.

Since taking office, this president has targeted red states for daring to resist his radical progressive agenda. But when it comes to national security, politics must take a backseat, Marshall said in a news release. I implore the Inspector General to investigate the oddly timed investment by General Dickinson which coincided with his recommendation against the Air Forces preferred site in Huntsville.

Marshall further vowed to continue to use the unique power of my office to hold President Biden accountable and demand transparency into this politically motivated charade.

Marshall said the Air Force identified the Redstone Arsenal as the best site for the headquarters in 2021 and that decision was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Defenses Inspector Generals Office and the Government Accountability Office.

Dickinson told Alabama officials in a closed June meeting that Redstone would be the headquarters location, Marshall said, but registered a deed in April for the ranch near the Colorado location. Dickinson did not disclose that personal interest to Alabama officials and it is unknown whether he disclosed his personal interest in Colorado to President Biden or other superiors.

Dickinson is a native of Estes Park, Colo., and graduate of Colorado State University. He also holds a degree from the Colorado School of mines. He is retiring after a military career that included deployment in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Dickinson was given his fourth star in August 2020.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Our energy companies closely cooperate with each other, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in a press statement following talks with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Trend reports.

The head of state noted: In the transport and logistical sector, we are observing an increase in cargo traffic, and most importantly, an increase in the potential for cooperation in this direction. Today we discussed issues that will predetermine our successful cooperation in all areas for many years to come.
President Barack Obama congratulates Charles Geschke, left, and John Warnock, center, of Adobe Systems after presenting them with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation during an awards ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Oct. 7, 2009. (Lawrence Jackson/White House)

John Warnock, who played a seminal role in the history of computing as co-founder and chief executive of Adobe Inc., helping create the Portable Document Format (PDF) and software that turned computers into digital printing presses, radically reshaping office life and publishing, died Aug. 19 at 82.

Adobe announced his death but did not give further details. The company provided his biography in a PDF.

Mr. Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe in 1982, naming it after a creek near their homes in Los Altos, Calif. PostScript, the company's first piece of software, let computer users print documents just as they appeared on-screen, with graphics and multiple fonts  a task that previously required a trip to a local printing press.

Apple was the first company to adopt the software, integrating it into its new LaserWriter printer. Other printer manufacturers soon followed.

"When that first page came out of the LaserWriter, I was blown away," Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told the tech journalist Pamela Pfiffner for her 2003 book "Inside the Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story." "No one had seen anything like this before. I held this page up in my hand and said, 'Who will not want that?' I knew then, as did John, that this was going to have a profound impact."

PostScript meant anyone essentially could run their own printing press, democratizing publishing and making Mr. Warnock and Geschke technological descendants of Johannes Gutenberg, the German inventor of the printing press. Adobe received letters and notes of thanks not long after the LaserWriter launched in 1985.

"The first note we got was from these ladies who told us how excited they were to be able to publish their magazine," Dan Putnam, one of Adobe's first employees, said in Pfiffner's book. "It was a lesbian newsletter, kind of pornographic in nature. The second newsletter that arrived was from a fundamentalist Christian sect. It wasn't exactly what we had in mind, but we gave them the voice to present their point of view."

Jobs wanted to buy Adobe outright, but "we weren't quite ready to be subservient to Steve," Mr. Warnock told The Washington Post in 2021 after Geschke's death.

Other dynamic duos in Silicon Valley were better known  Jobs and Steve Wozniak at Apple, William Hewlett and David Packard at Hewlett-Packard  but Mr. Warnock and his co-founder led Adobe through a remarkable period of growth that made it one of the world's largest software producers.

Most of the company's initial growth derived from Acrobat, introduced in 1993. The software ushered in the paperless office by letting computer users share documents as PDFs, preserving fonts and graphics regardless of the underlying software that created them.

Acrobat did not catch on as quickly as PostScript.

In a meeting with IBM executives, "I explained how it worked, what its advantages were and how, from any application, you could send a completely portable document across platforms," Mr. Warnock said in an interview with a business journal published by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "They just sat there in the meeting with blank stares. They had no idea what I was talking about."

He recalled thinking, "How stupid can the world be?"

Eventually, Acrobat's merits became apparent.

"The Centers for Disease Control was one of our earliest and most fanatical adopters," Mr. Warnock told the Wharton journal. "They said, 'Do you know how many people's lives we can save by sending these documents out to all of the field offices?'  The IRS loved it."

Adobe's other notable publishing products include Photoshop, PageMaker and Illustrator.

Mr. Warnock, like Jobs, believed technology could serve a higher purpose.

"We always felt that Apple should stand at the intersection of art and technology, and John felt the same way about Adobe," Jobs said. "John had a developed aesthetic sense, too. We meshed together well."

Jobs and Adobe eventually would clash over Flash, Adobe's streaming audio and video software, but the Apple co-founder maintained warm feelings toward Mr. Warnock. "John and I liked each other and trusted each other. I would have trusted him with my life, and I think he trusted me," Jobs said.

John Edward Warnock was born in Salt Lake City on Oct. 6, 1940. His father was a prominent lawyer.

He struggled academically, failing ninth-grade algebra. After telling a high school guidance counselor he wanted become an engineer, she told him to consider another career. But by the time he graduated, John was acing every math problem he encountered.

"I had an amazing teacher," Mr. Warnock recalled, " who, essentially, completely turned me around. He was really good at getting you to love mathematics, and that's when I got into it."

Mr. Warnock studied math and philosophy at the University of Utah, graduating in 1961. He stayed at the university, receiving a master's degree in math in 1964 and a doctorate in electrical engineering in 1969.

He met Geschke while both worked as computer scientists at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). They developed a printing protocol for computers and printers to communicate, but Xerox decided not to release it, so Mr. Warnock and Geschke left to start Adobe. They based PostScript on lessons they learned at PARC.

Mr. Warnock served as chief executive for 16 years, retiring in 2001. President Barack Obama awarded Mr. Warnock and Geschke the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009.

In 1965, he married Marva Mullins. In addition to his wife, survivors include three children.

Mr. Warnock keenly understood the disruptive power of his software, especially in combination with the internet. In a 2001 interview with the Associated Press, he was asked whether paper would one day lose its importance.

"It will as a transportation media," he said. "If you think of paper as something you hold and read, I don't think it'll lose its importance for that, but in getting that information from me to you, I think it will."

Knight-Ridder, the once-powerful and now defunct newspaper chain, was one of several companies that appointed Mr. Warnock to their boards.

"At the first board meeting," Mr. Warnock recalled in a separate Wharton business journal interview, "I said, 'You guys need to decide whether you are in the communication business or in the newspaper business.' And I said, 'If you decide that you are in the newspaper business, you're toast.'"
Spc. Ronson Pua of the Hawaii Army National Guard searches July 29, 2023, for tree branches for concealment at Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, La. (Sean Walker/U.S. Army)

A group of soldiers was injured recently when they were attacked by several coyotes as they trained outdoors at Fort Johnson in western Louisiana, officials said Tuesday.

The soldiers were training near the Joint Readiness Training Center at the Army base last month when they encountered as many as four coyotes, base officials said. The Army did not say how many soldiers were attacked.

Game [officials] assessed two to four coyotes were involved, and likely interacted with the soldiers due to the coyotes' territorial nature and potential den in the area, according to a statement from Fort Johnson, formerly Fort Polk. [Enforcement officers] neutralized one coyote, which was sent for rabies testing.

The results of the rabies testing werent immediately available Tuesday.

The soldiers who encountered the animals were from the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, an Army National Guard unit stationed in Hawaii, officials at Fort Johnson said. The attack by the coyotes occurred July 21 and none of the soldiers were seriously hurt.

A coyote in a densely vegetated area. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

The soldiers received a medical evaluation and treatment for their injuries, base officials said without specifying the wounds that the soldiers suffered.

Since the soldiers were attacked, the base has been monitoring wildlife in the area to guard against any future encounters, according to a Fort Johnson spokesperson. The base is near the Kisatchie National Forest.

No further coyote interaction has occurred, indicating this was an isolated event, the spokesperson said.

A video posted to social media two days after the encounter claims 14 soldiers were attacked by the coyotes, and includes several photographs of what appear to be wounds to some of the soldiers. The video, however, has not been authenticated by the Army.

Fort Johnson occupies about 100,000 acres in west-central Louisiana. Tens of thousands of soldiers train at the Joint Readiness Training Center each year, according to the Army.

Coyotes are common across the United States and rarely attack humans. When coyotes do attack people, they almost never inflict serious injuries and there are very few known fatal coyote attacks on record, according to wildlife experts. Fort Johnson did not say whether the animals attacked without provocation.
Umrah visa for Pakistani pilgrims has been extended up to 90 days and more sites in Makkah and Madinah will be opened for pilgrims to promote religious tourism in Saudi Arabia, Dr Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, the Saudi minister for Hajj and Umrah said.

Dr Tawfiq announced the Saudi government's decision during a joint press conference with caretaker Minister for Religious Affairs Aneeq Ahmed.

The pilgrims coming to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan will be facilitated during their religious pilgrimage, the minister said, while assuring a close working relationship between the Pakistani and Saudi authorities in this regard.

He added that another 100 historical and religious places are being opened in the two holy cities to promote religious tourism. Dr Tawfiq also spoke about Riyadh's efforts to reduce Hajj expenses for pilgrims, as both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy brotherly relations.

During his stay in Pakistan, the minister said he held discussions on many important issues, while civil aviation authorities of the two countries signed an agreement according to which the number of flights between the two countries would be increased.

His Pakistan counterpart demanded that Pakistanis above 65 years of age desiring to perform Hajj and Umrah be exempted from the biometric condition. He said he requested the provision of alternative sites for Pakistan Houses in Makkah and Madinah due to an extension in the premises of the two holy mosques.

Meanwhile, Dr Tawfiq also called on President Arif Alvi and caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar separately. Dr Alvi called for further strengthening bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia, especially in the realm of economy.

Later, the Saudi minister called on the caretaker prime minister who welcomed the delegation and expressed satisfaction on the positive trajectory of bilateral relations with the kingdom. He lauded the vision of Mohammed Bin Salman and said Pakistan would always remain a trusted partner of Saudi Arabia.

He thanked the Saudi leadership for making excellent arrangements for Hujjaj (pilgrims) from all over the world during this years Hajj season, particularly Pakistanis.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday disposed of NABs appeal against PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandial heard the case today.

During the hearing, NAB submitted its written statement, asserting that due to the NAB amendment, jurisdiction over this case no longer exists.

In response, the CJP remarked that the application was dismissed based on the withdrawal of the appeal.

The NAB prosecutor suggested that instead of using dismissal, the order sheet should state disposed of.

Subsequently, the court resolved the matter by acknowledging the appeal withdrawal.

The Sharif family had been accused of using Chaudhry Sugar Mills for money laundering and illegal transfer of its shares.

According to National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the family took a $15 million loan on the pretext to set up the mill despite the fact that it had already been established before the loan was acquired.

The NAB maintains that more than Rs7 million worth of shares were transferred to PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif in 2008 through mills shares, which were later transferred to her cousin Yousaf Abbas Sharif in 2010.

A three-member Supreme Court bench disposed of a national-graft busters petition against the bail of PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday.
The much-anticipated meeting between former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and party supremo Nawaz Sharif took place in London's Avenfield House and lasted for two and a half hours.

During the tete-a-tete, the PML-N bigwigs  accompanied by their sons Salman Shehbaz and Hassan Nawaz  had detailed discussions on the country's prevailing political situation and the upcoming general elections.

Another pressing topic discussed in the meeting was Nawaz's return to the country. The older Sharif brother has been in self-imposed exile in London since 2019.

The former PM reached London on Sunday on his first visit to the UK after his 16-month-long tenure as prime minister ended this month.

Party sources had earlier shared that Shehbaz along with other important leaders of the party  many of whom are already present in the UK capital  and its legal team would join the Sharif brothers for the meetings.

On August 9, Shehbaz said that his brother will return to Pakistan in September.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 20. The fraternal relations between our peoples have a centuries-old history, and throughout the entire period of friendship and brotherhood, we have always been close to each other and supported each other, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in a press statement following talks with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Trend reports.

Tomorrow we will participate in the opening of a school Shavkat Miromonovich has donated to Azerbaijan on his personal initiative. This is the first gift of a foreign state in the restoration of Karabakh, and we highly appreciate this gesture of brotherhood, solidarity and support  not to mention the fact that this school is actually a palace of education. In May, while visiting Fuzuli, I got acquainted with the construction and saw with my own eyes the scale of the fraternal gift from Uzbekistan, the head of state underlined.

The school bears the name of the great son of the Uzbek people, Mirzo Ulugbek, and I am sure that it will not only be a center of education, but also a center of our friendship and brotherhood. Four days ago, first residents of the city of Fuzuli, former refugees, returned to their native lands, and in the near future, less than a month later, children will start going to the school which was donated by our brothers from Uzbekistan, the Azerbaijani leader added.
Sex predator Long is suspected of a string of violent attacks

Long was a person of interest in the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier

Cold case killer Noel Long has been linked to a string of attacks on sex workers after he murdered innocent mum-of-three Nora Sheehan.

Sources have told the Sunday World the now 75-year-old rained terror on a number of women working in the sex industry around the Cork area in the early 1990s.

The biker from Maulbaun, Passage West, Co Cork, is said to have beaten his victims so badly that they were left in hospital with severe injuries.

However, the women did not make statements against the predator out of fear.

Theres myriad reasons why sex workers wont come forward, Linda Kavanagh from Sex Workers Alliance of Ireland told the Sunday World.

 Some are migrants or drug takers, most want to stay under the radar, and they fear they wont be taken seriously.

Kavanagh says that while there was a lot of stigma around working in the sex industry in the 90s, much hasnt changed.

A lot of language still used is rather dehumanising, she says.

Long has a long string of convictions for assault, public disorder, burglary and attempted rape.

The killer was under investigation for the attempted rape of a teenager in 1980.

In 1982, he raped another young woman who was too afraid to testify against him despite a visit from Cold Case detectives before his recent murder trial.

He was a person of interest in the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier (pictured below) at her home in West Cork.

Long was a person of interest in the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier

However, as the French woman was not sexually assaulted, he did not become a suspect.

During a separate attack, the brute forced his way into a womans home and attempted to assault her before stealing her mothers pension and fleeing.

Just a few years later he drove a 22-year-old woman to the woods and attempted to assault her.

While fear was a significant factor in the women attacked not coming forward, a culture of victim blaming can prevent injured parties from pressing charges.

Earlier this month Noel Long was convicted of murdering tragic mother Nora Sheehan in 1981.

Following a three-week trial, a jury of seven men and four women considered their verdict for just over five hours.

Long was 32 when Nora Sheehan vanished on June 6, 1981, after attending the emergency department in South Infirmary Hospital in Cork.

The 54-year-old had been bitten after she tried to separate two dogs fighting outside her home.

Sheehan, who had been described as vulnerable and eccentric often waved down cars in the streets, talking to anyone she could about suspicions she had about bodies being kept in car boots, and conspiracies about the local psychiatric hospital where she used to work.

The trial at the Central Criminal Court heard how the mother of three sons was last seen just after 4am on the morning of her murder.

Her body was then discovered days later on June 12 at Shippool Woods in Innishannon, Co Cork.

Her body was disposed in the most undignified manner  she was dumped in undergrowth, naked, except a blue floral dress pulled up over her face, and her tights which were hanging off.

Local brute Long was hauled in days later by gardai investigating a post-office robbery.

Known for his reputation as a sex offender, gardai suspected his involvement in Noras tragic murder.

A forensic analysis eventually matched debris from Noels blue Opel Kadett with fibres and paint on Noras clothing and under her fingernails.

It wasnt until years later  thanks to a DNA breakthrough in 2022  that semen swabbed from Noras body during her post-mortem was matched with Noel Long, leading to his re-arrest and ultimate conviction.
A passenger who was being escorted off a Luas tram for having an invalidated Leap card became aggressive and threw a fast gas canister at the tram window, breaking it.

Keith Curley (41) caused more than 1,000 worth of damage in the incident that happened during a petty crime spree in Dublin city centre.

Judge Bryan Smyth jailed him for eight months.

Curley, with an address at Fr Peter McVerrys Trust, St Stephens Green, pleaded guilty to charges including criminal damage and possession of stolen property.

Dublin District Court heard that gardai were called to the Dawson Street Luas stop on October 8 last year when Curley had been detained by security.

When inspecting his Leap card on the tram, staff discovered it was invalidated, the court heard.

When security tried to take him off the tram, Curley threw a fast gas canister at the window, causing damage valued at 1,173.

Curley also admitted charges following other incidents in the city centre.

He was intoxicated and aggressive at Gardiner Street on March 14, 2020, where gardai found him sweating profusely with dilated pupils and stumbling out onto the road. He did not seem to know where he was going and tried to resist arrest, throwing his hands up.

Gardai stopped and searched him at Liffey Street Lower on October 15 last year.

Curley had two phones and when given opportunities to enter a PIN on one, he failed to open it.

It had a screensaver with young children who were not Curleys.

He appeared to discard items as he ran from gardai in the north city centre last October 14 and when stopped and searched, he had a stolen Revolut card.

Curley had 12 previous convictions.

He claimed he had been pulled off the tram, ended up in an ambulance and with 12 staples to his head. That incident wasnt entirely as portrayed in the summary of evidence, his solicitor Tracy Horan said.

Judge Smyth said he did not know the other side of the story, but the accused had caused damage.

Curley had come late to getting himself into this kind of bother, Ms Horan said.

After his marriage broke down, he ended up in hostels and living on the streets in the city centre, using alcohol and drugs.

He was now out the other side of it and living a more stable life.
Craig O'Brien, 27, with an address at Thomond Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, is charged with assault causing harm to Ms Murphy at the Grafton Capital Hotel

A man accused of attacking social media influencer and podcaster Charleen Murphy in a Dublin lounge has been sent forward for trial.

Craig O'Brien, 27, with an address at Thomond Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, is charged with assault causing harm to Ms Murphy at the Grafton Capital Hotel, on Stephen Street Lower, on the night of February 10 after she allegedly posted about her night out.

Ms Murphy has 214,000 followers on Instagram and 163,500 on TikTok, co-hosts a popular podcast, and regularly creates content on beauty and fashion.

Mr O'Brien was remanded in custody the following day after bail objections by Garda Stephen McDonnell.

Craig O'Brien

Mr O'Brien faced his latest hearing today at Cloverhill District Court before Judge Alan Mitchell.

The Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment which on conviction can result in harsher penalties.

Garda McDonnell served him with a book of evidence.

Judge Mitchell granted a trial order sending Mr O'Brien forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the case will be listed for mention on October 13.

Mr O'Brien, yet to enter a plea, spoke only to confirm he understood a warning that he must notify the prosecution if he intended to use an alibi.

His solicitor Damien Coffey pleaded for bail today, saying his client was attempting to address mental health issues and, at the time, he had a "skewed" understanding of reality.

The solicitor said his client would undertake not to contact Ms Murphy, who was in court; however, the bail application was denied.

The judge granted legal aid to the accused and ordered gardai to provide the defence with copies of interview videos.

An earlier hearing was told Ms Murphy, who was having dinner with her friend from behind, was "punched her full force to the back of the head".

The court heard her head rebounded off the glass she was drinking, resulting in a two-inch laceration on her face.

The defence had said Mr O'Brien had presented himself at a garda station, which did not indicate someone who would evade justice. The court heard he had strong ties to the jurisdiction; he was looking after his mother and was receiving a 200 a week carer's allowance.
Judge Patricia Cronin remanded the accused on bail, subject to stringent conditions, to appear before the Children's Court on Monday.

A teenager was part of a gang of up to eight youths who attacked and robbed a group of English tourists on a night out in Dublin's Temple Bar, it has been alleged.

The 16-year-old is accused of punching one of the tourists in the face while he was on the ground and stamping on another Englishman while he appeared to be lying unconscious.

Business owners in Temple Bar have expressed concern about gangs of youths outside their premises, a garda witness said, adding that they were worried they would be threatened for providing CCTV to gardai.

Judge Patricia Cronin remanded the accused on bail, subject to stringent conditions, to appear before the Children's Court on Monday.

Judge Cronin ordered that the youth stay out of Temple Bar and the Dublin 2 area, saying this should alleviate the concerns raised.

The 16-year-old boy, from north Dublin, is charged with robbery and two counts of assault causing harm at Fownes Street Upper Dublin 2 on Friday, August 11.

Garda Ruth Finnegan objected to bail, citing the seriousness of the charge.

Gda Finnegan told Dublin District Court that four English tourists were on a night out in Temple Bar when they were assaulted and robbed in an incident which took place within two minutes.

She said up to eight youths were involved in the incident. Three had been charged, and gardai were working on identifying the other five teens.

Gda Finnegan alleged the first victim was pulled and dragged to the ground by the accused, and a silver chain and a black wallet containing 30 was taken from him by another youth.

He suffered a broken nose and was taken to St James Hospital by ambulance, the garda said.

A second man was punched in the face, knocked to the ground and kicked to the head when on the ground, and he suffered swelling to the eye and bruising to the face, Gda Finnegan alleged.

A third man was punched twice in the face, and the accused "stamped on him while he appeared unconscious on the ground", the garda said. This alleged victim received treatment for a large gash to the back of his head.

A fourth man was punched and kicked to the face, though Gda Finnegan said the accused was not involved in this assault.

Sergeant Tom Murphy gave evidence that he identified the teenager from "excellent quality" CCTV footage, and said he knew him and his family from his work as a community garda.

Defence solicitor Luke Staines said his client was 16 years old and custody must always be a last resort for juveniles.

Judge Cronin said these were serious matters and she would grant bail, subject to stringent bail conditions.

Judge Cronin remanded the boy on bail in his own bond of 50. As part of bail conditions, the accused must reside at a given address and sign on daily at a garda station.

The youth has been ordered to stay out of the Temple Bar and Dublin 2 areas and not associate with his co-accused.

He must provide a mobile phone to gardai, obey a curfew and have no contact with the alleged victims or business owners or staff in Temple Bar.

Judge Cronin adjourned the case to the Children's Court next Monday for DPP's directions on the charges.
The aim is for increased visibility of gardai and community engagement.

Gardai are set to begin pop-up clinics and daily checkpoints on Talbot Street and Dominick Street in the capital, according to Senator Mary Fitzpatrick.

The Fianna Fail spokesperson on Housing, Local Government and Heritage posted an image on social media on Monday when she made the announcement.

The move comes following a break-down of street safety in Dublin, with gangs of feral youths attacking tourists amongst constant violent incidents and muggings around the city centre.

Following my meeting with Gardai, they have introduced policing plans for Dominick Street and Talbot Street, Ms Fitzpatrick said.

The Senator mentioned some brief details regarding the aims of the operation.

Proactive patrols and checkpoints daily - Pop up clinics for the public to speak in private, report crimes or receive advice.

Increased visibility and community engagement, Mary wrote.

On Wednesday, business owners from around the city are set to meet with senior gardai in the Gaiety Theatre to discuss the ongoing rise of violence and petty crime.

Along with a rise in the number of people sleeping rough in the capital, Dublin is gaining a bad reputation, both at home and abroad.

Embassies have started warning their nationals regarding personal safety before travelling here and locals have begun avoiding the city in droves.

The worsening situation in Dublin was exacerbated during the covid pandemic and there is a distinct difference between the two time frames, before and after the health emergency.

Talbot Street in Dublin

Over the week-end, Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly condemned the latest attack on Grafton Street, saying that there are serious issues with crime in the city that the Government must tackle.

During their time in office, Fine Gael have failed to invest in, adequately fund and show leadership for the gardai. As a result, there arent enough guards on our streets, they dont have the resources they need and they feel overstretched and under-supported. It isnt good enough, Ms OReilly said.

Sinn Fein have outlined our proposals to keep communities safe by putting guards back on our streets with the resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

Minister McEntee must act and implement our proposals urgently, to finally get to grips with the issue of crime in Dublin, Ms OReilly said.

The statement follows Justice Minister Helen McEntees condemnation of the incident, where a man was stabbed on the busy street.

A spokesperson for Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she strongly condemns this assault, adding that such violence has no place in society.

The minister is committed to ensuring Dubliners working and living in our capital, and those who visit the city, are safe and feel safe, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that Ms McEntee was in regular contact with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on policing in Dublin and cited the additional 10m in overtime recently allocated to gardai in the capital.

This overtime will provide for 240,000 extra garda hours, or 20,000 extra garda shifts, in the city by year end, according to the Department of Justice.
Mark Cronin (44) had offered his new friend a bed for the night and he was collecting him when he was stopped by gardai

Mark Cronin said he borrowed his uncles car to help a man out

A banned driver caught behind the wheel had borrowed his uncles car to give a lift to a homeless man he had befriended, a court heard.

Mark Cronin (44) had offered his new friend a bed for the night and he was collecting him when he was stopped by gardai.

Judge Gerard Jones imposed a three-month sentence, suspended for two years, and disqualified Cronin from driving for 10 years.

The defendant, of Delhurst Park in Ongar, admitted uninsured and unlicensed driving on February 21, 2023.

Garda Noel Flaherty told Blanchardstown District Court that gardai were on mobile patrol when they saw a Renault Clio which was missing a right tail light and a front light.

Gda Flaherty said the vehicle drove through Ongar Village, before turning onto Hayworth Terrace and continued onto Delhurst Park.

Gda Flaherty said Cronin stopped the car and gardai demanded his driving licence.

The defendant told gardai he was a disqualified driver.

The court heard Cronin had received a 10-year driving ban in 2016.

His defence said Cronin had met a man, who was homeless, and he had offered him a place for the night.

Cronin borrowed his uncles car to give the homeless man a lift to his accommodation.

The defendant was trying to do a friend a favour, and he foolishly got behind the wheel, he said.

Cronin had a number of health problems, including cirrhosis of the liver.

Cronin had co-operated fully with gardai.
The gigantic haul of coke was seized en route to the Canaries, after the crew carried out fake trips to sea.

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation  Europol  has caught an international drugs cartel trying to smuggle 700kg of cocaine into the Canary Islands on board a Polish-flagged vessel this month.

The Spanish Civil Guard were involved in the dramatic and secret operation on August 5 alongside Italian, Croatian and Serbian authorities as members of the crew hailed from various European countries.

One of the individuals, an Italian national, was linked to the Italian Ndrangheta and the other, a Croatian national, was linked to the so-called Balkan Cartel.

Tenerife beach

Although they had no professional activity, both were enjoying high living standards while maintaining the drugs running vessel in excellent condition.

A statement put out from Europol this week said:

The investigation identified a significant threat; criminal organisations increasing ability to collaborate closely and deploy members to different locations for longer periods to enable large-scale drug trafficking.

The international cooperation of law enforcement authorities across the EU was therefore crucial for intercepting the suspects and halting their criminal activities.

The investigation, initiated in March 2022, focused on a Polish-flagged vessel with an established temporary base in the Canary Islands, and which was suspected of being used for the transportation of cocaine. Since then, law enforcement authorities monitored their activities.

The statements goes on to explain how the gang carried out fake trips out to sea to appear like a regular bunch of sea-lovers.

The suspicious vessel was making irregular trips to demonstrate normality up until 27 July 2023, when the Spanish authorities detected an unusual trip to an isolated point deeper in the Atlantic Ocean.

The vessel departed from there on 2 August and three days later Spanish authorities raided the ship and uncovered 700 kilograms of cocaine on it.

The authorities managed to uncover further intelligence regarding the cartels operations and ringleaders.

Meanwhile, officers on the ground in Spain arrested the Croatian suspect and another person, a Serbian national, both suspected of coordinating the drug smuggling operation from the land. During the arrests, the suspects were found in possession of the phones from which they coordinated the criminal activity.

Europol facilitated the exchange of information and provided continuous analytical support to the investigation. Europol also contributed to the overall case coordination among various agencies and supported the action day remotely, the statement concludes.
Agony, torment and grief of families revealed in victim impact statements

A mother of a child murdered by Lucy Letby has revealed the serial killer nurse chose the gown that her child was buried in.

The families of Letbys many victims were in court as part of her sentencing hearing yesterday, to explain the devastating impact the nurses crimes have had on their lives.

Letby was given a whole life order after being convicted on Friday of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six more.

The 33-year-old refused to turn up in the dock at Manchester Crown Court, leading to families and prime minister Rishi Sunak branding her a coward. All of the families involved in the case have been granted anonymity, with the babies only identified by a letter.

With a shaking voice, the mother of murdered Child E said she had to grieve her childs death in front of Letby and other members of the neonatal unit and was not given privacy.

She added that her child was buried in a gown that was given as a gift from the unit, and it was chosen by Letby.

We were robbed of precious time with our baby after they died, the mother said. We were denied the opportunity to spend private moments with [the child], having to grieve openly in the presence of Lucy and the neo-natal unit staff.

Lucy bathed [the child], an action I deeply regret, and dressed [the child] in a woollen gown. [The child] was buried in that gown, a gift from the unit chosen by Lucy. I feel sickened by the choice we made. Not a single day passes without distress over this decision. She said Letby presented herself as kind and softly spoken but now I know it is an act. The lies that she has told fill me with anger, the mother added. The trial felt like a platform for Lucy to relive her crimes. She has repeatedly disrespected my childs memory.

The mother hit out at Letbys refusal to come to court for her sentencing, saying: She has decided she has had enough and stays in her cell. The mother of murdered Child C told the court that the shock and pain of the night her baby died would stay with her forever.

It was so sudden, she said. It was a pain for us all that was just too hard to bear. The trauma of that night will live with us all till the day we die.

The realisation that the kind nurse who had watched over the family was actually their childs killer was like something out of a horror story, she said.

Judge sentences Lucy Letby to spend rest of her life in jail for evil crimes

Her voice cracking, she continued: Lucy Letby, to think that you could get any kind of gratification of inflicting pain on my child and from watching our suffering in the aftermath goes against everything that I believe is to be human.

I am horrified that someone so evil exists. To you, our childs life was just collateral damage.

At least now there is no debate that  in your own words, you killed them on purpose, you are evil, you did this.

The mother of Child A, who was murdered by Letby, and Child B, who she attempted to kill, said: 2015 was going to be the best year of our lives. We were going to become parentsNever could we have imagined that the most precious things in our lives would have been placed in harms way.

Our minds are so traumatised that it wont let us remember most of the night when you killed our child.

You have been successful in your quest to cause maximum pain. You thought it was your right to play God with our childrens lives.

You thought you could enter our lives and turn it upside down, but you will never win. My family will never think of you again from this day. You are nothing.

The mother and father of Child O and P, who were also murdered by Letby, spoke to the court via a prerecorded video statement.

The mother said the killer had been the last person to hold Child P and dressed him after he died. She described being in shock and being haunted by vivid images from the time, living in constant fear of anything happening to her children. With his head bowed and struggling through the statement, the father told the court that he turned to alcohol after the deaths of his children.

As time went on, around a year after [the childrens] first anniversary, I was still struggling to come to terms with their deaths and so I turned to alcohol, I had not really drunk excessively before. I could see how much this was all hurting [my wife]. I hid how much alcohol I was consuming; I was low and disgusted with myself.

Wiping tears away, he continued: One day I took the car keys and had thoughts of ending my life. Letby was sentenced to life in prison without parole for her crimes. Judge Mr Justice Goss said that the nurse had no remorse and showed a malevolence bordering on sadism.
A woman in her 70s, and a man, aged in his 60s, were rushed to Connolly Hospital for treatment

Two people have been injured in a shocking incident caught on camera that shows a car smashing into two stationary vehicles at a petrol station in Dublin.

A woman in her 70s, and a man, aged in his 60s, were rushed to Connolly Hospital for treatment following the crash in Coolquay, Co Dublin last Thursday, August 17.

However, their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

In footage of the incident, a car is seen ploughing into two stationary vehicles at the petrol station.

One man in a blue shirt is almost crushed behind one of the parked vehicles after the high-speed smash.

The woman (left) gets out of her car after the crash

He is thrown to the ground by the impact as a man in a taxi that has also been hit gets out and approaches the car responsible for the crash.

He opens the drivers door before a woman exits the vehicle.

A dog then jumps out of the crashed car as the man from the taxi goes to the aid of the man who was knocked down.

The man in the blue shirt is seen sitting on the ground as the woman retrieves her dog. He then manages to stand up before others rush to his assistance and he slumps to the ground again.

Gardai confirmed that they and emergency services attended the scene on August 17.

A vehicle collided with two stationary vehicles at approximately 3.25pm, a Garda spokesperson said.

A female in her 70s and a male in his 60s were conveyed to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigations are ongoing.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Azerbaijan is one of the closest countries to us, and our relations have reached a completely new level, said President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in a press statement following talks with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

I am paying my first official visit here because we are actually two close nations, two close countries, and our personal relations have raised our relations to a completely new level. Today the people of both Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are proud of these relations and see the results of our ties, the results of our visits, the Uzbek leader said.
"It has two beds, I sleep in one with my five year old daughter and my teenage son is in the other

Valerie Fahy is a single mother of two children and the family is now living in emergency accommodation in Cork City.

A single mother living in Ballyhea in north Cork who was made homeless on Thursday is now living in emergency homeless accommodation in Cork City with her two children.

Valerie Fahy together with her 15 year old son and five year old daughter presented as homeless at the authoritys base in Mallow when she became homeless on Thursday.

She had been living in a rented house in Ballyhea but her landlord had given her notice to quit six months previously as the house was required for a family member.

Ms. Fahy, who hails from Galway originally, told The Corkman, on Monday that she was now living in bedsit-type accommodation in Cork City.

"It has two beds, I sleep in one with my five year old daughter and my teenage son is in the other.

She said she was concerned as her children were returning to school next week.

She told The Corkman she had no family in the north Cork area and was desperate to find a home in or around Charleville as her children had all their friends there and were attending school in the town.

Councillor John Paul OShea reached out to Ms Fahy at the weekend. He said that he was making every effort to make sure that all the options were available to her.

"Its a complex housing situation, he said.

Ms. Fahy had been living in a rented house for the past three years. She had previously lived in a Cork County Council house in Charleville but had left it.

Since her notice to quit was given earlier this year, she said she had made efforts to secure alternative accommodation.

Ive tried in vain over the past few months to find another house.

Its now almost the 11th hour and still nothing, she said before last Thursday.

We sent a query to Cork County Council seeking responses to query what a person in the position of Ms Fahy should do on being made homeless in north Cork last week. We still await a response.

In the meantime, a visit to Air BnB and a search for properties in the Charleville area yielded more than 120 properties which were available in the region which stretches from Adare to Doneraile.

The Corkman understands that there are a number of council properties in the Charleville area that are vacant at present but that the process of allocating these properties to people on the housing list is ongoing.

While builders, working for the Office of Public Works, recently moved on to a site to the rear of the Charleville Park Hotel on the outskirts of the town to start work on building 68 modular housing units, these are intended for Ukrainian refugees and while the land belongs to Cork County Council, the authority will not be involved in the allocation of the housing.

Planning permission is not required for modular housing as it is viewed as temporary accommodation for the specific purpose of accommodating refugees.
The Greene Fields of France!

Galway hurling star Joe Canning shared photos from his close pal John Greenes wedding in France over the weekend as he wed long-term girlfriend - beauty boss Aimee Connolly.

John acted as Joes best man for his own wedding as he married Megan Hoare in a beautiful winter wedding in Co Limerick last November.

So the hurling legend and his other-half were only to happy to join John and Aimee for their lavish nuptials in a French chateau last weekend.

Happy couple

Joe shared a cheeky snap of himself with his head out the sunroof of a car in a French village as he enjoyed the sun-soaked trip.

Influencer James Patrice was another well-known guest at the wedding as he is good pals with Dubliner Aimee, the owner of make-up brand Sculpted by Aimee.

In some of the snaps shared on Cannings Instagram page, guests are seen enjoying the champers on the grounds of the epic venue, known as Chateau de Varennes, where the nuptials took place last Friday.

Cann-roof

Joe and Meg are pictured looking cool in shades and relaxing by the pool with their pals as they enjoyed the aftermath of the big day.

The happy couple said their I dos in front of friends and family at the enchanting chateau, where the festivities continued over the week-end.

A clearly delighted Aimee (30) shared first photos from the celebration showing her in an off-white gown while dapper John poses in a black tuxedo.

Aimee captioned the pic Best day ever, prompting numerous congratulations.

Joe, Megan and friends enjoy the wedding day

Oh my God! Absolutely incredible. You look absolutely phenomenal! I hope you both had the most magical day ever, one pal declared.

Another added: Aww, congratulations Aimee... your dress is beautiful like you and the location looks amazing too.

The couple got married following their engagement last year on a trip to Mexico.

Chateau pool

Aimee had got her big day off to a fragrant start by lighting a luxurious Jo Malone candle, which she shared on Instagram with the caption Wedding Morning to set the tone for the day.

Then she added a snapshot alongside her mother and the caption: Just a few hours before she accompanies me down the aisle.

Joe and Megan

Aimee was surrounded by her nearest and dearest, including her best friend, comedian and presenter James Patrice, who shared a smiling snap ahead of the ceremony captioned: Having the BEST time with my people.

The couple have since been enjoying themselves in Cannes with friends
New Zealands largest generator of energy from waste last year produced enough electricity to power 25,000 households plus a fleet of electric rubbish collection trucks  all from everyday garbage thrown out by Kiwis.

Now, using technology from Kiwi smart-charging leader Evnex, they can balance the load it takes to charge their fleet and also see in real-time exactly how much its costing.

Waste Management has built world-leading landfill and energy parks - feats of modern engineering - to contain waste while capturing greenhouse gas safely.

The facilities destroy the gases or convert them into electricity, which is fed into the national grid.

The companys electric trucks are being charged using smart-charging technology from Christchurch-based Evnex, meaning they can also see a breakdown of the carbon emissions produced to create the electricity used in each charging session as well as how much it is costing.

Currently, Waste Management takes more than a third of the waste New Zealanders create; part of their goal to power a circular economy and contribute towards Aotearoas carbon-neutral future, says Sam Donaldson, the companys Senior Project Engineer  Electric Vehicle.

A typical side-load truck that empties residential wheelie bins collects approximately 16,000kg of general waste from around 1200 to 1500 homes a day.

That waste produces around 6000 kilowatts of electricity, enough to run an electric waste collection truck for a day and power around 275 homes. It could also run a typical electric car for 30,000 kilometres."

With 32 trucks already electrified, another 20 to be converted by the end of the year, Waste Management has partnered with Evnex, NZs leading EV smart charger manufacturer, to charge its fleet safely and efficiently. 49 Evnex chargers are operating, and another 26 will be installed soon; their online dashboard - CP Link - allows Waste Management to actively manage and track their fleets charging costs.

These trucks are critical to our business, so having live access to the charge stations is very important to us, says Sam.

We also utilise Evnexs load balancing functions to remain below the maximum current draw available at the distribution board, which allows us to ensure the reliability of the charging network at sites with limited current available.

"With a total fleet of over 800 trucks, we expect to significantly reduce emissions with our electric conversion programme in the coming years.

Evnex founder and CEO Ed Harvey says partnering with Waste Management aligns with their own values.

Their comprehensive approach to reducing carbon and waste while creating a circular economy matches our philosophy - an EV isnt a zero-emission vehicle if fossil fuels are burnt to power it, says Ed.

Clean charging - using electricity generated from renewable sources - helps drivers reduce their footprint and take better care of the environment. Waste Managements innovation means energy generated from landfill waste goes back into the grid.

Not only does this reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, but it also reduces greenhouse gases emitted from landfill waste. We feel privileged to support the charging needs of such a progressive company.

You can find out more about Waste Managements sustainability innovations here. To find out about Evnexs initiatives and the impact of smart charging click here.
The education sector says the country's recovery from the Covid-19 slump in international students is well under way.

Education New Zealand - the government agency which promotes Aotearoa to foreign students - says international student numbers are sitting at about two-thirds of the number here before the Covid-19 border closures.

Marketing and communications general manager Geoff Bilbrough says while numbers were not at pre-Covid levels, progress had been positive.

"We're really optimistic about how far we have been able to come in a relatively short space of time. August 1 last year the borders opened, so from a standing start we've got to the position now where we have got students across the country.

"We have at any one time at the moment between 30,000 and 35,000 international students in the country. Before the pandemic and the lockdown we were more in that 45,000 to 50,000 students at any one time, so that's the gap that we're slowly starting to close, and come back to where we were."

Geoff says students are coming from a range of countries around the globe, largely from China and India.

The annual New Zealand International Education Conference was held in Christchurch this week, and in a significant first, China's Education Minister Huai Jinpeng attended it.

Minister Jinpeng addressed the conference, saying that New Zealand was China's good friend and good partner.

"It's my first time to come to your honoured country. It's my great honour and privilege to be in invited by Minister [Jan] Tinetti to attend."

"In June, Prime Minister Hipkins paid a successful visit to China and had a very fruitful meeting with President Xi Jinping. They reached important consensus in many areas, including education co-operation."

He says he is looking forward to promoting international co-operation in education with New Zealand.

Geoff says it was extremely significant for Minister Jinpeng to be at the conference.

"China is our largest partner market, we get a large number students from them and they're an important part of it.

"This sort of bilateral, mutual relationship between the two countries is really an essential part of the international education sector and the growth of it here in New Zealand."
The Cancer Society of New Zealand is in full swing gearing up for its Daffodil Day street appeal this Friday, August 25, with 8000 yellow hi-vis-clad volunteers set to hit the streets for collection.

Now into its 33rd year, every August the community rallies together to raise funds for people with cancer across the region. Daffodil Day  on next Friday, August 25, is the Cancer Societys largest fundraising event.

This year the organisation is calling on the public to: Give today so no one faces cancer alone.

Cancer Society Waikato/Bay of Plenty chief executive Helen Carter says every donation helps the societys Waikato/BOP experienced nurses support people affected by cancer in our community.

Whether its advice, information, advocacy or just a listening ear, our Cancer Society nurses were there 9442 times for people with cancer and their families around the region last year.

And our Cancer Society volunteers drove 79,732km to ensure cancer patients were taken safely to treatment.

Helen says donations from Daffodil Day also fund ground-breaking cancer research and help deliver health promotion programmes in schools and the community to reduce the impact of cancer for future generations.

The Cancer Society is not directly government-funded and relies on support from the community to ensure no one faces cancer alone.

Please give generously when you see a street collector this Daffodil Day. Or donate online by visiting daffodilday.org.nz. Remember, every donation counts.

Make a difference today

Your generous donation will help make a difference for people with cancer.

$45 helps fund specialist counselling for patients and their families.

$72 helps make sure Cancer Society nurses can provide ongoing care and advice.

$140 provides vital accommodation at the Cancer Societys Lions Lodge for cancer patients.

A year of impact in the Waikato/BOP

Here are some of the ways Cancer Society Waikato/BOP has supported people with cancer in our region during the last financial year, thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the community.
There have been 3953 new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand and a further 12 deaths attributed to the virus over the past week.

Of the new cases, 1816 were reinfections.

The total number of deaths attributed to the virus in New Zealand is now 3261.

As of midnight on Sunday, there were 158 cases in hospital, with five people in intensive care.

Canterbury has the highest number of reported cases with 580, followed by Waitemata with 471, then Capital and Coast with 360.

The national seven day rolling average is 562.

Last week, the Ministry of Health reported 5372 new cases over the previous week and 20 further deaths.

On August 15, the last remaining Covid-19 mandates were dropped.

It is no longer a legal requirement to self-isolate for seven days if you test positive for Covid-19 and masks do not need to be worn in healthcare facilities.

A GPs advocacy group, General Practice New Zealand, says practices learned from the pandemic, like staying home when sick or wearing masks in health facilities, should remain in place to halt the spread of infectious diseases.

University of Otago epidemiologist Michael Baker also urges people to stay home when they are sick with Covid-19, even though all of the health restrictions had been lifted.

University of Auckland mathematics professor and Covid-19 modeller Michael Plank had said he expected the lack of mask and isolation requirements to have a minimal impact on case numbers, adding that the main drivers of infection were people who were asymptomatic cases or had not tested yet.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said it was tracking a new, highly mutated lineage of the virus that causes Covid-19, named BA.2.86, which had so far been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel.
Support for Labour has crashed into the twenties, with National and ACT on course to win the election, according to the 1News-Verian poll.

It shows the Labour party has dropped four points to 29 per cent.

National is up two points to 37 per cent, while ACT is up one on 13 per cent.

Those numbers would give the right bloc 65 seats in Parliament - enough to comfortably form a government.

Support for the Green Party has increased two points to 12 per cent and Te Pati Maori remains steady on three.

New Zealand First is up one point to 4 per cent - just shy of the threshold to enter Parliament.

It's also Chris Hipkins' worst result in the preferred prime minister stakes since he took on the top job.

The Labour leader is down three points to 21 per cent.

Support for National's Christopher Luxon remains steady on 20 per cent, the same result as the July poll.

ACT leader David Seymour is once again third in preferred prime minister ratings, with 6 per cent, down 1 percent on the last poll.

NZ First leader Winston Peter is on 3 per cent.

Translated to seats in Parliament, Monday's poll means National could comfortably form a government with ACT - National's 48 seats and ACT's 17 seats total 65 seats.

Labour, on the other hand, would have 37 seats. Combined with the Greens' 15 seats and Te Pati Maori's three seats - provided Rawiri Waititi retains Waiariki - the total for the left bloc was just 55.

Each bloc must aim for a majority of 61 seats.

ACT's 17 seats would be the best result the party has ever had in an election.

The Greens' 15 seats would also surpass its best result of 14 MPs, which it achieved in the 2011 and 2014 elections.

The new 1News Verian poll was conducted between 12-16 August.

In the lead-up, Labour announced its GST-free fruit and vegetables plans; National said it would ban cellphones in schools, both major parties announced their transport plans, ACT promised big cuts to MBIE staffing and projects and the Greens outlined their climate-focused clean power policy.

The last 1News-Verian poll on July 17 showed National and ACT could form a government, with National on 35 per cent and ACT on 12 per cent, giving them a combined 61 seats in Parliament.

That poll also showed Labour (33 percent), the Greens (10 percent) and Te Pati Maori - assuming they won an electorate - would have picked up 59 seats, falling short of the necessary majority.

The latest poll surveyed 1002 eligible voters by mobile phone and online.

The maximum sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 per cent confidence level.

Undecided voters, non-voters and those who refused to answer were excluded from the data on party support.

-RNZ.
Connecting through culture is the theme of this years New Zealand Chinese Language Week Sunday September 17 to Saturday September 23, 2023.

Established to encourage New Zealanders to learn more about Chinese language and culture, New Zealand Chinese Language Week is in its 9th year and Chairperson Jo Coughlan is encouraging anyone with an interest in China and Chinese languages to get involved.

Schools, businesses and community groups have events underway to celebrate NZCLW (New Zealand Chinese Language Week) around the country.

Teaching assistants from China have arrived back in New Zealand and are working with schools through the Confucius Institutes, providing a welcome boost to schools language learning efforts.

Its been hugely rewarding to see participation in NZCLW grow over the past nine years, says Jo.

We think this reflects the diverse nature of our society and the willingness of Kiwis to embrace and learn more about different cultures.

Language is a window to another culture. Whether in Cantonese, Mandarin or other dialects, MPs, local government councillors, business leaders, schools and organisations continue to show their support for NZ Chinese Language Week.

Initiatives include Chinese Language Superstars sharing their language learning journeys; community leaders providing videos of support in Mandarin and Cantonese; MPs reading the parliamentary prayer in Chinese Languages; Readings of our Tri-lingual childrens book in libraries and schools around NZ; business leaders challenging their teams to do the 5 Days 5 Phrases Challenge and a nationwide celebration of Dumpling Day.

This year the NZCLW Trust will distribute more than 3500 copies of a tri-lingual childrens book  Wekas Waiata  free of charge to schools and public libraries around New Zealand.

Wekas Waiata is produced in Mandarin Chinese, Te Reo Maori, and English, and will be available online and as an audio book.

We have published seven tri-lingual childrens books and are proud to have donated around 20,000 books to schools and libraries nationwide. These books have been very well-received and welcomed as a valuable resource by parents, teachers, and librarians, Jo says.

Posters, useful phrases guides, and other Chinese language leaning resources on the website can be downloaded. The hashtags for the week are #nzclw and #nzclw2023 for people to share their posts on social media.

Its exciting to see how many events and activities are being planned for the week and its great to have such vibrancy and enthusiasm for learning more about Chinese language and culture.

Events and activities around the country are being shared on the website www.nzclw.com and on social media @__nzclw #nzclw; #nzclw2023; #NZDumplingDay; #5days5phrases; #5days5phraseschallenge.

Chinese Language Superstars are being announced in the weeks leading up to NZCLW.

NZCLW National Dumpling Day will be held on Tuesday, September 26  to coincide with International Dumpling Day.
Fans are swooping to secure their free tickets to the Hawke's Bay Magpies and Bay of Plenty Steamers match following their release at 9am on Monday.

Over 8000 tickets are already allocated for the match at 4.35pm on Saturday September 9 with a capacity crowd expected to turn out for the charity event.

Hawke's Bay Rugby with support from match sponsor One NZ will allow free entry to the public which will see the biggest rugby crowd in recent history converge on McLean Park.

The event is designed to support Hawke's Bay, particularly residents who have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and organisations who have been key in response and recovery.

Fans can secure their tickets by visiting the www.hbmagpies.co.nz website and with lots of competitions and giveaways it will be an event not to be missed.

HBRU Commercial Manager Dan Somerville is thrilled to see a massive up take of tickets.

Its awesome that we have been able to open the gates for free as a small way to support our community and thank all those who have gone above and beyond during and since Cyclone Gabrielle.

We encourage everyone to secure their tickets asap to avoid missing out and to be there to cheer the boys on."

The Magpies have won their first three home games and will be keen to put in a strong performance in front of their home fans against their rivals for the right to call themselves The Bay for 2023.

This game also sees both teams contest the MacRae-Shelford Bay Cup which is currently held by the Steamers, and will see the Magpies eager to help return this to what they says is its rightful home in Napier.

In 2022, the Bay of Plenty Steamers beat the Hawkes Bay Magpies 20-14 in their clash at Tauranga Domain.
Eight Bay of Plenty homes are being recognised as the best in the country, as part of the top 100 Registered Master Builders House of the Year Competition.

The competition celebrates the very best in residential buildings, and according to event organisers, had almost 300 entries across nine regions.

Each home was viewed by a panel of experienced judges who assess the builds workmanship, design, style and functionality, says an event spokesperson.

Registered Master Builders Chief Executive, David Kelly, says the awards have been recognising the very best houses, quality builders and craftspeople across New Zealand since 1991.

Every year we find ourselves more and more impressed by the remarkable builds, level of expertise, and craftsmanship showcased by Master Builders in Aotearoa. These awards serve as an occasion to celebrate and acknowledge our builders ability to build exceptional homes for Kiwis.

In Tauranga, six homes made the top 100 list.

Belco Homes made the list in Tauranga under the Resene New Home $2 million - $4 million category. Photo: Supplied.

Gudsell Designer Homes made the list in Tauranga under the New Home $1.5 million - $2 million category. Photo: Supplied.

Belco Homes made the list again in Tauranga under the Altus Window Systems New Home $750,000 - $1 million category. Photo: Supplied.

Vaughan Wilson Builders made the list in Tauranga under the Altus Window Systems New Home $750,000 - $1 million category. Photo: Supplied.

Gudsell Designer Homes made the list in Tauranga under the GIB Show Home category. Photo: Supplied.

The Thorne Group B.O.P. made the list in Tauranga under the GIB Show Home category. Photo: Supplied.

Throughout the rest of the Bay of Plenty, one home in Rotorua and one hoe in Waihi Beach made the list.

In Rotorua, Urbo Homes made the list under the New Home $1.5 million - $2 million category. Photo: Supplied.

In Waihi Beach, Belco Homes made the list under the Renovation Over $1.5 million category. Photo: Supplied.

Representing the top entrants in this years regional competitions held throughout July and August, the Top 100 homes will now be re-judged by the national judging panel to find out who will take out the top spots at the 2023 National Awards Gala in November.

The National Awards Gala will recognise the Supreme House of the Year Over $1 million, Supreme Renovation of the year and Supreme House of the Year Under $1 million, which was a new award introduced in 2022 to recognise the outstanding builds within a lower price bracket.

Along with the three Supreme Awards and 15 other award categories, there is also the Pink Batts Craftsmanship

Award, two Feature Home Awards, and four Lifestyle Awards. These include the APL Environmental and Sustainable Excellence Award, Plumbing World Bathroom Excellence Award, Kitchen Excellence Award and Outdoor Living Excellence Award.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. We, as close neighbors and close countries, are proud and rejoice in the successes of Azerbaijan, said President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in a press statement following talks with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

We in Uzbekistan are proud of the authority of Azerbaijan in the international arena, the achievements of Azerbaijan in all directions in general in recent years. So, we, as close neighbors, are very happy and wish you success, Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.
When it comes to a negative health diagnosis, most people will know where to turn to for additional assistance and support if theyre one of the unlucky people to suffer from a stroke, heart attack, or breast or prostate cancer.

Thats because these conditions are widely spoken about. What still isnt widely spoken about are brain tumours.

When Mandy Bathan was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019, she looked for additional support and information and realised there was nothing outside of the hospital and neurological specialists to support people like her once at home.

The need for support for newly diagnosed patients and those further down the pathway living with this degenerative disease wasnt met locally.

With the assistance of some friends, they created Brain Tumour Support NZ in 2019 and have since been raising awareness around brain tumours, aiming to make the difficult journey that little bit easier on patients, caregivers and whanau.

Brain Tumour Support NZ provides information, support, and guidance to patients, their whanau, and friends. They advocate for the best treatments, care, and support to achieve the best outcomes and quality of life for patients.

Prior to the organisations establishment, New Zealanders affected by brain tumours were getting much of their information from Google and overseas websites.

The problem with that was that the information didnt fit Kiwis, as we arent a large country with the population sizes of the United States or the United Kingdom, and our health systems are very different.

Brain Tumour Support NZ volunteer and trustee, Sarah Gibb, shares that one of the organisations goals is to raise awareness around brain tumours.

However, its a predicament. If were reaching more people, it means more people are getting tumours, and we dont want that. Instead, we want people to hear about us early before they need us, so they know we are here if something does happen to one of their whanau or friends.

We are building a community to ensure people feel connected to others during a scary journey. We aim to help people overcome their fear of the unknown, eliminate the isolation brain tumours often bring, and improve peoples knowledge and understanding of this disease.

Because brain tumours dont discriminate when it comes to age, race, gender or lifestyle, a diagnosis often comes as a complete shock.

The challenge is that brain tumours are often terminal, and the societal understanding is poor as you cant stick a Band-Aid on to show others youre unwell. Living with a brain tumour is like having three diseases rolled into one.

First, it could be cancer or a tumour that requires aggressive treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

Secondly, it is a degenerative neurological condition affecting cognitive function, behaviour, and personality.

Third, it causes physical deficits such as balance, mobility, vision, and hearing issues.

With around 350 New Zealanders diagnosed with brain cancer each year, a similar number will pass away that year also.

Adding the number of people impacted by non-cancerous brain tumours and the total surpasses 1200 annually.

Regular comments are that the impact is enormous because the journey is so sudden and life-changing. No two cases are the same; each person's tumour can cause varying symptoms and complications which affects them and their whanau differently. This is where Brain Tumour Support NZ comes in.

They provide simplified practical support to better understand what can happen throughout the journey.

Brain Tumour Support NZ supports patients and families in four ways: Brain Boxes, Support Friends, Online Support Groups and Facebook Support Groups.

Brain Boxes are boxes anyone can order for patients and their families, delivered completely free of charge within New Zealand.

These contain several essential items for newly diagnosed patients and their caregivers, along with patient guides to help navigate the journey. Feedback from those who have received a Brain Box shows their impact.

A lovely support package full of information and useful gifts. This box is a ray of sunshine while dealing with this health condition. Thank you so much. It made us feel we werent alone on this journey.

Support Friends offers patients a buddy who has been through something similar, providing one-on-one support to simply talk and ask questions.

Whilst the five monthly online support groups are run via Zoom, allowing people to join in for large discussions and share stories.

The Facebook support groups, however, offer a group for patients, one for caregivers and one for parents of children with brain tumours. These groups are led by volunteers with lived experience and help reduce isolation through the journey.

I am completely overwhelmed by the service you offer. Thank your whole team from the bottom of my heart. I never knew you existed until we went through this hell with my Dad. It happened so suddenly. Having support from others that understand what we are experiencing was invaluable.

Brain Tumour Support NZ recently received a $5000 grant from TECT towards their operations and part-time support staff. With the Bay of Plenty being in the top five regions with the most requests for support, this funding will be beneficial to ensuring locals get the support they need during their journey.

TECT Trustee Peter Farmer says, Whether it is parents of a 2-year-old child or someones 80-year-old Dad, brain tumours can appear in peoples lives with often no warning and turn their world upside down.

Brain Tumour Support NZ has already grown the brain tumour community and strengthened its impact around the country compared to only a few years ago, says Peter, TECT wants to support their work and assist them to continue building awareness and making things that little bit easier for patients and their families.

As a small health-based community organisation, Brain Tumour Support NZ relies on the support of the wider community, whether it is volunteers or one-off supporters donating money or buying Brainy Beanies.

To learn more about Brain Tumour Support NZ and how you can support the work they do, check out https://www.braintumoursupport.org.nz/
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Jeremy Garelicks first job in Hollywood was at a talent agency, answering phones and getting coffee. As an assistant to director Joel Schumacher, his duties included holding the directors snacks and accompanying him on antiquing expeditions.

Whatever it takes. I loved it, says Garelick, now 47. I learned a lot about antiquing. I learned a lot about life. I learned a lot about directing and a lot about the movie business.
Cicero, N.Y.  Thieves broke into Drivers Village in Cicero early Tuesday and stole a luxury car by driving it through a huge glass window, police said.

At 3:30 a.m., the thieves smashed a window at Burdick Lexus and Burdick Dodge automobile dealerships at 5885 E. Circle Dr in Cicero, Cicero Police said.

They got inside a 2023 Lexus RC350 and crashed it through the windows of the dealership to make a getaway, police said. The car typically starts at $46,000.

Thieves stole a 2023 Lexus and drove it through the window of a dealership at Driver's Village on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (Courtesy Cicero Police)

At the Burdick Dodge dealership, a Dodge Challenger and Jeep Grand Wagoner were stolen in a similar way, police said.

The Lexus and Dodge were found in Syracuse Tuesday morning, police said. Police did not say if any arrests were made.

Thieves stole a 2023 Lexus from a dealership at Driver's Village and drove it through a window on Tuesday, Aug 22, 2023. (Courtesy Cicero Police.)

Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
CNY Arts announced a new, year-long partnership with Chashama, an art organization committed to transforming unused real estate into work and presentation space for artists. In collaboration with the City of Syracuse, and additional support from the Central New York Community Foundation, CNY Arts and Chashama will repurpose City Hall Commons Atrium, located across from Hanover Square, to provide a multidisciplinary gallery and programming space for Central New York artists.

The inaugural exhibit will feature a multidisciplinary selection of local artists, each of whom received an award from the Arts and Culture Recovery Fund, a grant program administered by CNY Arts. Resources for the fund were provided by the City of Syracuse through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The fund offered relief to Syracuse artists and art organizations who experienced pandemic-related hardship. Projects supported by the fund helped stimulate economic activity, generate tax revenue, and created meaningful employment for industry professionals.

Beginning Friday, Aug. 25, Recovery Fund grant recipients will share their work with the public at the atrium. Titled Syracuse Strong, this exhibit includes paintings by Richell Castellon, mixed-media visual art by Michael Schwarzer, and photography by Ellen Blalock and Tony Washington, among others. Washington also helped fabricate display walls for Atrium artists to display their work.

CNY Arts also plans to display work to celebrate the 50th anniversary of On My Own Time, a program dedicated to encouraging the creativity and passion of avocational artists who practice their craft as a hobby. Additional programming will include several special events.

In early August, CNY Arts hosted a one-day festival for Pakistan Independence Day. At the steps of City Hall, Mayor Walsh and members of the Central New York Pakistani community presented remarks, followed by an honorary flag raising ceremony and reception at the Atrium. Art in the Atrium will also host a four-day festival celebrating Italian culture in September.

We were thrilled when Chashama first reached out to us, said Stephen Butler, executive director of CNY Arts. Our mission and values are so closely aligned. With Chashamas resources and expertise, we have an incredible opportunity to increase community engagement with the arts in the heart of downtown. Were deeply grateful to the City of Syracuse for providing such a unique venue for this exciting initiative, and to the CNY Community Foundation for providing such robust support.

In Farsi, Chashama means spring outlet, or to have a vision. Founded in 1995 by performing artist Anita Durst, Chashama partners with property owners to convert unused real estate for a variety of creative applications, including exhibits, classes, and studios, specifically emphasizing access and equity for artists who may not otherwise have an opportunity to share their work with the public or develop their craft in a functional workspace. The partnership with Chashama will enable CNY Arts to implement a diverse program schedule and broaden visibility for artists in the region by providing new opportunities for access and exhibition.

To date, Chashama has awarded millions of dollars in real estate value, underwritten hundreds of workspaces for participating artists, and hosted numerous workshops to support and encourage under-served creative communities. With important grant assistance from the New York State Council on the Arts, Chashama has expanded operations to several Upstate regions.

Chashama, CNY Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts are making magic happen at the City Hall Commons Atrium, said Anita Durst, founder and current artistic director of Chashama. This collaboration of three incredible organizations will bring art to the people of Syracuse in such a public-facing venue that it will be hard to miss.

In addition to providing subsidies, Chashama is also actively involved in the transformation and the management of each space. Support provided by Chashama covers administrative fees, costs associated with buildouts and accessibility improvements, and artist honorariums.

The Arts and Culture Recovery Fund was designed to offer pandemic-relief dollars to local Syracuse artists, preserving an industry that brings us together and shapes our city and its heritage, said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. The City Hall Commons space has been brought to new life with Chashama, and Im pleased to see the Fund continue through our local artists in this new exhibit.

If you are an artist or organization interested in exhibiting at Art in the Atrium, please contact CNY Arts at 315-435-2638, or info@cnyarts.org.

For Art in the Atrium hours, please visit https://cnyarts.org/programs/chashama/

CNY Arts is the regional arts council, promoting, supporting, and celebrating arts and culture in Central New York. CNY Arts provides support and assistance to artists and arts organizations in a six-county Central New York and the Mohawk Valley region through access to grants, capacity-building assistance, education and training, and promotional services.
The search for a missing person in Oneida Lake ended Monday night after a Madison County man was found dead in the water, deputies said.

David H. Brown, 62, of Oneida, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to an Oneida County Sheriffs Office news release.

Deputies with the marine patrol unit and road patrol officers arrived at Oneida Lake where they found a small aluminum boat floating near the shoreline at about 12:35 p.m. Monday, according to the release.

The boat, which had a trolling motor attached to it, was found empty near buoy 109 on the eastern end of the lake, off of Verona Beach and Sylvan Beach, according to 911 Center dispatches.

Initially, police were unaware if the boat ever had an occupant, but deputies, along with the Sylvan Beach Fire Department and the Cleveland Fire Department, began a search of the water.

Brown was located and his body was taken to the medical examiners office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, deputies said.

Brown was not wearing a life vest when he was found, but a life jacket was found in the water when police arrived, according to initial 911 dispatches.

The sheriffs office criminal investigation unit, the unmanned aircraft unit and the forensic identification unit are investigating the death.

James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him on Twitter or by email at jmcclendon@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Eight days after Syracuse lawmakers called on the state to give the city surplus land from the Interstate 81 viaduct removal, community activists stood in front of city hall to oppose that request.

About 60 people attended a rally Tuesday organized by the New York Civil Liberties Union, asking the state to put some of the property into the hands of a community land trust. That would ensure residents arent displaced, much like they were when I-81 was built through the citys South Side neighborhood in the 1960s, they said.

Syracuse has not shown that they are going to distribute the land in a way thats equitable and fair, said Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, director of the NYCLUs Racial Justice Center.

Other groups represented at the rally included Families for Lead Freedom Now, Urban Jobs Task Force, Southside Organizing Urban Lives, CNY Solidarity Coalition, Syracuse Tenants Union, Jubilee Homes of Syracuse Inc. and 1199SEIU. Hand-made posters were distributed to attendees with messages such as Land Trust for Justice and Repair 60 years of harm.

We do not want another downtown on the South Side, said Deka Dancil, president of the Urban Jobs Task Force and an assistant director at NYCLU. We want to see people who live there now thriving.

NYCLU has been a vocal critic of the citys recently adopted zoning plan, called ReZone, saying it fails to protect residents in the I-81 project area from being displaced by commercial and high-priced residential development.

Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, director of the Racial Justice Center at the NYCLU, speaks at a rally Tuesday at Syracuse City Hall. Denis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Weve been ringing the alarm about the land-use dangers for six years, Owens-Chaplin said. However, those cries have gone ignored. Theyve been pushed to the sideline.

The concerns about ReZone, along with the citys efforts to gain control of at least some of the land, have convinced NYCLU and other advocacy groups at Tuesdays rally that they need the state to protect against displacement. Owens-Chaplin referenced a news conference held Aug. 14 in which Syracuse Common Councilors urged the state to turn surplus land over to the city. Councilors argued thats the best path to ensure local decision-making that protects residents in the area.

The city recently  had a press conference that said Give us that land back and well promise that well do the right thing,  Owens-Chaplin said. But Im sorry, promises are not enough. We need something in writing. We need something that can demonstrate they will actually get what they said they will do done. And the reason why we dont have trust that this will happen is because for six years weve been asking them to do that, and it has yet to come to bear.

In an interview with Syracuse.com, Mayor Ben Walsh said the city shares the goals expressed by the NYCLU and others at the rally. He also said that while the city is exploring development models that could include parcels being controlled by the city, a community land trust could coincide with that approach.

We are largely aligned in our desire to see affordable housing be a component of any new development on those lands, he said. Most importantly, and the thing that I have begun almost every statement that I have made about the 81 project from the beginning, is we need to center our efforts around those who live in the shadow of the viaduct, and communities, particularly Black and Brown communities, that were historically marginalized and negatively impacted by this project.

Walsh disputed NYCLUs characterization of the ReZone process and the claim that it fails to adequately address the need for affordable housing in the viaduct. Among the provisions in the plan is a requirement that new apartment buildings with at least 20 units make a minimum of 10% affordable for residents with below-median incomes.

We engaged regularly throughout the process with NYCLU. We discussed their specific concerns, and we feel we effectively addressed their concerns. And when you look at the outcome of ReZone, it is among the most progressive comprehensive zoning overhauls certainly anywhere in New York state, but I believe beyond.

Walsh also emphasized that ReZone, the citys first comprehensive rewriting of zoning in six decades, can be adjusted to address concerns that emerge after the viaduct is removed.

I understand if we didnt go as far as they wanted us to go, I think that the administration and the council have consistently stated that we dont intend to wait another 50 or 60 years before making additional changes to the zoning code, he said. We want it to be a fluid, dynamic document, and so we are certainly willing to continue to revisit all aspects of the zoning code.

State Department of Transportation spokesperson Joseph Morrissey did not comment on the NYCLUs specific concerns. He referred to the departments official record of decision on the I-81 project, which said the state will work with all community stakeholders to establish a possible framework for the non-transportation use of each potential surplus parcel.

NYCLU wants the state to craft a request for proposals to guide the development of state land that will be freed up when the 81 viaduct is removed, Owens-Chaplin said. The RFP should include, among other things, a requirement that at least 30% of new housing will be affordable to low-income residents.

NYCLU is also asking that the state set aside 4.5 acres near Dr. King Elementary School to be controlled by a land trust run by local residents. The land trust would lease parcels for development but would retain control over the land.

The organization sent a public comment to the DOT on Tuesday outlining its concerns and recommendations.

Critics of ReZone, including Walt Dixie of Jubilee Homes, said the city should have required a minimum of 30% affordable units in buildings with 20 or more units.

But the citys housing consultants, czb LLC, said even the 10% target was a stretch for the Syracuse market, said Joe Driscoll, Walshs community liaison working on the 81 project. Setting a minimum of 30% would be unrealistic, he said.

Owens-Chaplin said the South Side area impacted by the 81 project is highly desirable land that developers would bend over backwards to acquire. She said she is confident that higher affordable housing targets are achievable.

Developers will make a way when they have to, she said.

Driscoll said that city officials share the aims of community activists and are in a better position than the state transportation department to oversee the RFP process. He expressed frustration that NYCLU and other groups seem unwilling to work with the city.

I keep sending emails,' he said. They dont respond.

6 1 / 6 Community partners join the New York Civil Liberties Union for a rally in front of the Syracuses City Hall

City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook. Contact reporter Tim Knauss: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. On August 22, at about 19:20, illegal Armenian armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, tried to establish long-term fortifications in front of the positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the Khojaly direction, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend.

As a result of the measures taken by the units of the Azerbaijani army, these works were immediately stopped.
New York Attorney General Letitia James office is investigating a for-profit healthcare company over its treatment of migrants, according to The New York Times.

Correspondence obtained by the newspaper shows DocGo, which entered into a $432 million no-bid contract with New York City to help thousands of immigrants, is facing allegations it deceived those migrants about employment opportunities or even threatened them, violating state and federal law. DocGo also allegedly enrolled migrants in a healthcare plan for which they are not eligible, and may have jeopardized their ability to obtain asylum, the report says.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state lawmakers have criticized New York City and DocGo in recent weeks over the migrant crisis, which has seen thousands of newcomers arrive in NYC over the last year. In some cases, migrants have been bused to other parts of the state and complained about a lack of basic services, including sufficient health care.

Hochuls office sent a letter to NYC Mayor Eric Adams last week after he asked state taxpayers cover the estimated $7 billion the crisis will cost over the next two years. Hochuls office said the city has fallen short in its treatment of migrants, neglecting to use millions of dollars in already available funding.

In a statement, DocGo said it would comply with the AGs request for basic information to understand the scope of our services and how we ensure compliance with applicable law. The company added that it has worked with government partners to ensure we are delivering excellent, compassionate care to asylum seekers.

DocGo, a publicly traded medical services company, said it has provided medical care and other services to more than 19,000 migrants since beginning its work in September. The company reported its most successful financial quarter earlier this month, projecting its contract with New York City will lead to about $300 million in revenue.
WARREN, Pa. (AP)  A man who was the subject of a manhunt in two states last month after his escape from a northern Pennsylvania jail is facing more charges in both the escape and in the original case alleging he kidnapped a couple and forced them to accompany him on his cross-country flight to avoid authorities.

District Judge Raymond Zydonik ruled during Mondays preliminary hearings there was enough evidence to forward both cases against Michael Burham to the Court of Common Pleas.

Burham, 34, is accused of having abducted the couple in Pennsylvania while trying to evade capture in New York, where he was wanted in a rape case and a suspect sought for questioning in a murder case. A 68-year-old Mead Township woman testified that she and her 89-year-old husband were driven 18 hours to South Carolina before they were dropped off in a cemetery.

She said she was accosted in her garage May 20 by an armed man she recognized as someone wanted, and he insisted on taking her and her husband although she begged him to just take their car. The woman said Burham showed her an aerial photograph of her home and said he had stashed supplies near the house, the Erie Times-News reported. He said he targeted the couple because they lived in an isolated area, were elderly and did not have a large dog, she said.

The woman said she asked Burham at one point if he was going to kill them and was told not if you cooperate. Asked the same question later, he again replied in the negative, saying he had too many charges against him already, she said.

Burham, arrested May 24 in South Carolina, was initially charged with kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, assault, terroristic threats, theft, burglary, and many other counts. District Attorney Rob Greene brought additional charges Monday in that case including four more kidnapping counts, The (Warren) Times Observer reported.

Burham also faces more charges stemming from the July 6 escape from the Warren County jail, which officials said Burham fled by climbing on exercise equipment, going through a window and scaling down a rope fashioned from jail bedding. He was recaptured July 15 after a barking dog alerted a couple to his presence on their property.

Deputy Attorney General Heather Serrano alleged in bringing another criminal conspiracy count that Burham conspired with another inmate or other inmates to escape from the county jail. Public Defender Kord Kinney unsuccessfully argued there was no evidence of a conspiracy beyond Burhams possession of more bedsheets than he was assigned.

During the manhunt, more than 200 state, federal and local officers took part in the search and up to $22,000 in reward money was posted. People in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York were asked to regularly review doorbell and surveillance camera footage and to make sure vehicles, structures and anything else useful to a fugitive was secured.

Greene said he has asked the state attorney generals office to handle the escape case, citing reports from the Warren city police investigation he said included information that could possibly implicate county jail inmates and staff as well as others. Burham is now being held at Erie County Prison.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt, of Chautauqua County, New York, said in June that Burham was the prime suspect in the May 11 killing of Kala Hodgkin, 34, and a related arson in Jamestown, New York, where authorities said they opted to let Pennsylvania handle the initial prosecution as they probe the killing and arson.
It is that time of year again. the New York State Fair is fast approaching and Central New York is preparing for annual the influx of travelers and the ceaseless menagerie of creative deep-fried concoctions.

A far cry from the humble beginnings when it was first held at Syracuse in 1841 in and around the old courthouse bounded by North Salina, Division, Townsend, and Ash Streets.

The animals and other exhibitions at that inaugural fair, the nations first, were displayed in the groves near Townsend Street. An estimated crowd of 10,000 people attended.

Over the ensuing decades, the New York State fair grew in scope and in popularity. According to published attendance, nearly 900,000 people walked through the gates last year.

However, by the fall of 1903 it seemed that the Central Citys grip on the State Fair was slipping. The previous decade saw an annual decline in attendance.

Syracuse had hosted the first fair, but after that, it moved all over the state, including stops in Auburn, Elmira, Rochester, Utica, Watertown, Buffalo, Saratoga, and Albany.

In 1887, a group of concerned and influential Syracusans pushed the city to offer 100 acres of land on the shores of Onondaga Lake to the New York State Agricultural Society to make the fair a permanent resident, which it did in 1889.

Yet, the march of industrialization and the pull of modernity seemed to be drawing the public in another direction, away from the Fair, a vestige of an increasingly distant agricultural past.

Whispers began circulating that the State Fair Commission believed that the real problem was not content of the fair, but the Fairs location.

Much like they had done in 1887, Syracuses most prominent citizens sprung into action.

The Chamber of Commerce took the reigns to determine a series of improvements and additions to the festivities that could revive public interest and boost attendance.

In those days, the Fair was a daytime only event and it seemed increasingly clear that something new, modern, and different was needed.

The Krewe in Archbold Stadium, 1909.

In 1904, the Chamber put on a three-night extravaganza to test the theory that folks would travel to see something novel and spectacular. They planned a military parade, an automobile show, and the ever-popular fireworks display, in Clinton Square.

The results were incontrovertible. For the first time since coming to Syracuse permanently, the Fair turned a profit.

Buoyed by their success, Chamber of Commerce members, Walter Stone (a future mayor), and John William Smith, traveled to a few larger cities to search for inspiration. Ultimately, they settled on the costumed reverie of New Orleans famous Mardi Gras Carnival.

They decided that Syracuse needed its own carnival. Thus, the Mystique Krewe was born with its headquarters, the Krewe Kavern, located at 115 South Salina Street.

Drawing inspiration from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Krewe consisted of five groups named after the Five Nations (the Sixth Nation, the Tuscarora, were not included in the Krewe), with each group competing for new members.

At the initiation, which featured participants with painted faces, dressed Native costumes (these costumes bore no resemblance to traditional Haudenosaunee dress, but became a mainstay of the Krewe), candidates were considered palefaces wanting adoption into the Five Nations.

The Mystique Krewe operated like a secret society and was composed of the citys, and as the years progressed, state luminaires. Industrialists like Crouse, Smith and Franklin, Syracuse Universitys Chancellor James Roscoe Day, and merchant tycoons like Dennis McCarthy, were all members. The popularity of the Krewe grew to such an extent that in 1909, New Yorks Governor Charles Hughes was initiated.

For the inaugural Karnival in 1905, they planned to throw a week-long party, at night, all over Syracuse and at the Fairgrounds.

Dr. William Beauchamp, president of the Onondaga Historical Association and a White authority at the time on Native American history, was on the committee and he suggested the name Ka-Noo-No, said to refer to the territory known as New York State.

Thus, the Ka-Noo-No Karnival was born.

Members of the Mystique Krewe circa 1906.

The Krewe decided that the theme for the first Karnival would be the well-known story of Hiawatha and his work with the Peacemaker to bring the Great Law of Peace to the Five Nations gathered on the shores of Onondaga Lake.

In May 1905, the Mystique Krewe had their first initiation at the Yates Hotel and hammered out the details for Karnival.

On September 11, 1905 the Ka-Noo-No Karnival kicked off with a flotilla down the Erie Canal through Clinton Square, where Hiawatha returned, surrounded by men dressed in those ahistorical Native American costumes and an armada of canoes.

Clinton Square was festooned with the finest electrical illuminations ever attempted between New York and Buffalo. Over the next five days and nights, visitors to the Central City were enchanted by the scale of the spectacle, which included extravagant floats, parades, and automobile races.

Over the next decade, the Karnival became wildly popular.

The Karnivals themselves were grandiose themed spectacles consisting of nightly water pageants, 600-member song and dance shows, concerts, and huge parades (the most popular of which was the 5,000-member strong Childrens Floral Parade) with some 40 bands and 80 floats drawn by horses.

There was a King and Queen, and their court, a 100-member Ka-Noo-No band, balls, dinners, fireworks, and a huge flotilla of Natives in their canoes. Each year, the Mystique Krewe picked a new theme for the splendid Karnival, with each bringing in an increasing number of visitors from all over New York State and beyond.

The program from the 1911 Ka-Noo-No Karnival. The use of the hooded yellow domino costume seen here was common during the period. The resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s led to the costumes declension in popularity.

Ultimately, the Karnival became a must-see event for the hundreds of thousands of visitors that came to the Central City annually.

There was no Karnival in 1913 or 1914. It was revived from 1915 to 1917, but that was the Karnivals final year.

The United States entry into World War I and the financial stability of the Fair, due in large part to the enormous success of the Karnival, rendered the Ko-Noo-No Karnival obsolete.

Yet, the Mystique Krewe and the Ko-Noo-No Karnival had accomplished its mission; it kept the Fair in Syracuse, where it remains nearly two centuries since the inaugural event in the citys First Ward.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. If we do everything we agreed on today, they will be implemented, there will be success both for the economy of Uzbekistan and for the economy of Azerbaijan, said President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in a press statement following talks with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

We dont create interstate councils Ilham Heydarovich has mentioned with many countries. This is the highest level of trust and the highest level of continuation of those strategic directions we have agreed on. So I think I am very satisfied with my first visit after being elected President of Uzbekistan, added the Uzbek leader.
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Gadkari to launch Bharat NCAP on 22.08.2023



We are just talking about it since a decade and spreading awareness, but still making it voluntary and sitting and watching (many are still rushing to buy) cars being sold in the millions with zero and one star NCAP safety ratings.



Quote from the Press Information Bureau



Quote: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued G.S.R. 472(E) dated 24th June 2022, whereby it has been proposed to insert a new rule 126E in CMVR (Central Motor Vehicles Rules), 1989 regarding the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP). The following has been proposed:-



It is applicable on Type Approved motor vehicles of category M1 [motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats, in addition to drivers seat] with gross vehicle weight less than 3.5 Tonnes, manufactured or imported in the country, in accordance with the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-197. The standard is aligned with global benchmarks: it is beyond minimum regulatory requirements.



More details on the PIB link below





Quote:

Indias road safety landscape is set for a significant transformation with the official launch of the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. This pioneering initiative, aimed at enhancing the safety of motor vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes, is poised to make Indian roads safer for all.



Under the Bharat NCAP, consumers will have access to vital information regarding the crash safety of vehicles available in the market. This initiative equips car buyers with a powerful tool to make informed decisions when choosing a vehicle, with a strong emphasis on safety.



Car manufacturers now have the option to voluntarily submit their vehicles for comprehensive crash testing, conducted in accordance with the rigorous Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. Following these exhaustive tests, cars will be assigned star ratings for both Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP). These star ratings will serve as an invaluable reference point for potential car buyers, enabling easy comparisons among different vehicles.



The official statement released today underscores the increasing demand for safer cars among Indian consumers. The Bharat NCAP is expected to incentivize car manufacturers to align their designs with evolving customer needs, thereby contributing to safer vehicles on Indian roads. Until now, Indian car buyers had to rely on the test rating provided by Global NCAP. Below are the latest safety ratings of Indian cars by Global NCAP.



Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, highlighted the broader implications of the Bharat NCAP. This program aligns Indian cars with global safety standards, potentially positioning them as more competitive players in international markets. This development has the potential to open up new opportunities for Indian car manufacturers in the global automotive arena.



Overall it is clear that till a mandatory four or five star NCAP safety ratings are notified by Mr Gadkari's Ministry, we will continue to be on the SLEEP MODE with the desired safety ratings MUTED by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.



The links:-



https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseP...x?PRID=1843354



https://www.rushlane.com/bharat-ncap...-12476966.html The much talked about and awaited Bharat NCAP (earlier named like BVSAP) is being launched by Mr Nitin Gadkari on 22/08/23 according to this link below. It is surprisingly still voluntary for car makers submit their car models for such testing to NCAP. We have been already delayed by almost three decades in this arena eversince the developed countries had started implementing NCAP requiring the cars sold to meet the mandatory safety norms.We are just talking about it since a decade and spreading awareness, but still making it voluntary and sitting and watching (many are still rushing to buy) cars being sold in the millions with zero and one star NCAP safety ratings.Quote from the Press Information BureauQuote from Rushlane linkThe rosy text above in the Rushlane forum courtesy Press Information Bureau (PIB) talks big about "global presence and export capabilities" with due ignorance of facts wherein Indian manufacturers are exporting four star or higher safety rated cars, but selling ZERO and ONE star rated cars here. It talks about "vital information regarding the crash safety of vehicles available in the market" which was already available. What's so "vital" about it being revealed to buyers wef 22/08/23?Overall it is clear that till a mandatory four or five star NCAP safety ratings are notified by Mr Gadkari's Ministry, we will continue to be on thewith the desired safety ratingsby the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.The links:- Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 21st August 2023 at 08:32 .
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Mahindra Global Pik Up: A Close Look



The showstopper unveiled is the new Global Pik Up that shoulders the responsibility of expanding Mahindra's international exposure! Targeting new potential markets in ASEAN, Australia, South Africa, South & Central America and India, the concept will spawn a production version (Codename Z121) in 2025.



Mahindra believes they have the right fundamentals in place now for global expansion with presence across 25 countries, 4 overseas ventures in Europe, South Africa, Australia & Sri Lanka, presence across LHD and RHD markets and manufacturing / assembling capabilities across countries like the USA, Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa and Sri Lanka in addition to the mother plants in India. The company also believes that its current SUV portfolio has set the right fundamentals for a global audience with powertrain options, safety, design and technology. New products like the Global Pik Up will be tasked to take it forward:





Designed by the Mahindra India Design Studio (MIDS) - Mahindra claims the new Global Pik Up is designed based on 5 principles - Tough, Versatile, Capable, Techy and Safe:





Dubbed 'Heartcare Design', Mahindra claims it to be "Modern, Functional Detail, Robust and Bold":





One may not too be too far-fetched in calling this the ScorpioN Pik Up. It shares the same platform and the front end is similar too, which may not be a bad thing in this case!





A closer look at the headlamp which has an identical shape, but different internal elements in this concept form:





The large grille is very unique and quite unlike Mahindra designs so far! This also lends it a very butch stance. Mahindra has also stayed clear of the usual "Jeep" inspiration as the product is targeting the United States as a prime region. No comments on the material used and finish of the grille since this is only a concept, but there is definite scope for improvement here. Mahindra also showcased a functional winch with the load capacity mentioned:





Muscular bonnet gets rugged design elements maybe as a differentiator from the SUV. Under the bonnet, the concept packs the familiar Gen-II mHawk all-aluminum diesel engine, which will be made available with two transmission options - a 6-speed manual or an AISIN sourced 6-speed automatic. There was no mention of a petrol engine option during this unveil:





Side profile is where Mahindra design has really pulled an ace out of its sleeve. The car looks proportionately designed and not like an add-on to the ScorpioN. It's not very edgy in design like earlier pickups from Mahindra, but the design should be well received by the customer base. No specific mention was made about the wheelbase, but it looks significantly stretched in comparison to the SUV:





Proportionate is the first word that came to mind when the Pik Up rolled onto the stage. With its double cab styling - the large load area looks well-designed with spot-on proportions. Mahindra claims the Pik Up has been designed to meet the needs of off-road enthusiasts and commuters as well as those looking at such vehicles for adventure camping:





Little to fault with the design when viewed from the side. Mahindra claims that the designing has been done with structural safety being given maximum importance and that the Pik Up will get 5-star rating in Latin NCAP and ANCAP along with Global NCAP when launched:





The concept was equipped with a snorkel which was neatly integrated into the design. Off-roading features include a 4WD system with shift-on-the fly, 4L, 4H and terrain (grass, gravel, mud, snow, rut, sand) based mode selection:





Mirrors could be shared with the ScorpioN:





Conventional pull-type door handles and no retractable wizardry as with the XUV700:





The glass area. Mahindra design stickers at multiple places on the concept - this one near the A-pillar says "Global Pik Up. Designed in India. For the World":





Ground clearance looks very good and the concept looked raised in comparison to the ScorpioN. Much needed side steps to climb into the car:





MIDS (Mahindra India Design Studio) stickering on the LHS rear fender:





Nice looking 5-spoke alloys fitted with beefy 285/65 R18 tyres. No comments on drum or disc brakes, as the concept was not fitted with any!





Tail-gate is clean except for the large embossed "Mahindra" lettering. Functional tow hooks are provided on either side. 4XPLOR badge hints at off-roading capabilities. 4WD that is claimed to be standard on the Pik Up:





Tail-lamps use the same design theme as the headlamps, with the vertical LEDs extending into the fog lamps which are placed on the bumper:





Wraparound tail-lamps are very nearly executed:





Mahindra claims the design elements are just as functional as they are aesthetic - the fog lamp recess also doubles up as steps to climb in to the loading bay:





The loading bay:





Loading capacity was not mentioned. area was not revealed through the use of this fake cover. Sharing for size perspective:





Vertical rear windshield, as is the case with most pickups:





Although the mechanicals underneath were not sorted, the concept suggested that the spare wheel will be mounted underneath the car:





With such a brightly coloured stage and lot of lights all around, capturing the interior was impossible and not very relevant as the same was covered with a board. Judging from the proportions (and at the risk of jumping to conclusions too early) legroom at the rear could be just adequate:





Similar story at the front with respect to capturing the image, but the top of the dashboard hints at the interior being shared with the ScorpioN:





Some of the technical features of the Pik UP were also revealed, although the details could change closer to the launch. The car will feature drive modes (Zip, Zap, Zoom and Custom), an immersive audio experience (no mention of the brand involved here) and a sunroof. New features will include 5G connectivity and semi-automatic parking along with Level-2 ADAS features. Safety features will include "all-around airbags", drowsy driver detection, trailer-sway mitigation, etc.



Further details are expected closer to the launch in 2025.



Disclaimer: Mahindra invited Team-BHP for the unveil of the Global Pik Up in Cape Town, South Africa. They covered all the travel expenses for this driving event. I was born in India but was made in South Africa - Mahatma Gandhi. Starting with the Thar in 2020, followed up with the XUV700 in 2021 and finally the ScorpioN in 2022 - Mahindra has consistently unveiled new products on every Independence Day, over the past few years. This year, however, there are no imminent launches. Instead, the event previewed a "Go Global" theme for Mahindra - showcasing future products and global vision for their farm and auto divisions! With Gandhiji's abovementioned phrase in mind, a global venue of Cape Town, South Africa was selected for this "Mahindra Futurescape".The showstopper unveiled is the new Global Pik Up that shoulders the responsibility of expanding Mahindra's international exposure! Targeting new potential markets in ASEAN, Australia, South Africa, South & Central America and India, the concept will spawn a production version (Codename Z121) in 2025.Mahindra believes they have the right fundamentals in place now for global expansion with presence across 25 countries, 4 overseas ventures in Europe, South Africa, Australia & Sri Lanka, presence across LHD and RHD markets and manufacturing / assembling capabilities across countries like the USA, Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa and Sri Lanka in addition to the mother plants in India. The company also believes that its current SUV portfolio has set the right fundamentals for a global audience with powertrain options, safety, design and technology. New products like the Global Pik Up will be tasked to take it forward:Designed by the Mahindra India Design Studio (MIDS) - Mahindra claims the new Global Pik Up is designed based on 5 principles - Tough, Versatile, Capable, Techy and Safe:Dubbed 'Heartcare Design', Mahindra claims it to be "Modern, Functional Detail, Robust and Bold":One may not too be too far-fetched in calling this the ScorpioN Pik Up. It shares the same platform and the front end is similar too, which may not be a bad thing in this case!A closer look at the headlamp which has an identical shape, but different internal elements in this concept form:The large grille is very unique and quite unlike Mahindra designs so far! This also lends it a very butch stance. Mahindra has also stayed clear of the usual "Jeep" inspiration as the product is targeting the United States as a prime region. No comments on the material used and finish of the grille since this is only a concept, but there is definite scope for improvement here. Mahindra also showcased a functional winch with the load capacity mentioned:Muscular bonnet gets rugged design elements maybe as a differentiator from the SUV. Under the bonnet, the concept packs the familiar Gen-II mHawk all-aluminum diesel engine, which will be made available with two transmission options - a 6-speed manual or an AISIN sourced 6-speed automatic. There was no mention of a petrol engine option during this unveil:Side profile is where Mahindra design has really pulled an ace out of its sleeve. The car looks proportionately designed and not like an add-on to the ScorpioN. It's not very edgy in design like earlier pickups from Mahindra, but the design should be well received by the customer base. No specific mention was made about the wheelbase, but it looks significantly stretched in comparison to the SUV:Proportionate is the first word that came to mind when the Pik Up rolled onto the stage. With its double cab styling - the large load area looks well-designed with spot-on proportions. Mahindra claims the Pik Up has been designed to meet the needs of off-road enthusiasts and commuters as well as those looking at such vehicles for adventure camping:Little to fault with the design when viewed from the side. Mahindra claims that the designing has been done with structural safety being given maximum importance and that the Pik Up will get 5-star rating in Latin NCAP and ANCAP along with Global NCAP when launched:The concept was equipped with a snorkel which was neatly integrated into the design. Off-roading features include a 4WD system with shift-on-the fly, 4L, 4H and terrain (grass, gravel, mud, snow, rut, sand) based mode selection:Mirrors could be shared with the ScorpioN:Conventional pull-type door handles and no retractable wizardry as with the XUV700:The glass area. Mahindra design stickers at multiple places on the concept - this one near the A-pillar says "Global Pik Up. Designed in India. For the World":Ground clearance looks very good and the concept looked raised in comparison to the ScorpioN. Much needed side steps to climb into the car:MIDS (Mahindra India Design Studio) stickering on the LHS rear fender:Nice looking 5-spoke alloys fitted with beefy 285/65 R18 tyres. No comments on drum or disc brakes, as the concept was not fitted with any!Tail-gate is clean except for the large embossed "Mahindra" lettering. Functional tow hooks are provided on either side. 4XPLOR badge hints at off-roading capabilities. 4WD that is claimed to be standard on the Pik Up:Tail-lamps use the same design theme as the headlamps, with the vertical LEDs extending into the fog lamps which are placed on the bumper:Wraparound tail-lamps are very nearly executed:Mahindra claims the design elements are just as functional as they are aesthetic - the fog lamp recess also doubles up as steps to climb in to the loading bay:The loading bay:Loading capacity was not mentioned. area was not revealed through the use of this fake cover. Sharing for size perspective:Vertical rear windshield, as is the case with most pickups:Although the mechanicals underneath were not sorted, the concept suggested that the spare wheel will be mounted underneath the car:With such a brightly coloured stage and lot of lights all around, capturing the interior was impossible and not very relevant as the same was covered with a board. Judging from the proportions (and at the risk of jumping to conclusions too early) legroom at the rear could be just adequate:Similar story at the front with respect to capturing the image, but the top of the dashboard hints at the interior being shared with the ScorpioN:Some of the technical features of the Pik UP were also revealed, although the details could change closer to the launch. The car will feature drive modes (Zip, Zap, Zoom and Custom), an immersive audio experience (no mention of the brand involved here) and a sunroof. New features will include 5G connectivity and semi-automatic parking along with Level-2 ADAS features. Safety features will include "all-around airbags", drowsy driver detection, trailer-sway mitigation, etc.Further details are expected closer to the launch in 2025. Last edited by Omkar : 23rd August 2023 at 08:56 .
Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" will be staged at Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.

The theater's director, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Yusif Eyvazov met with Argentine opera director Hugo de Ana in Buenos Aires to discuss the opera's production in Baku, Azernews reports.

Hugo de Ana stands behind opera productions staged at the La Scala, Arena di Verona, Sydney Opera House, the Royal Theater and other world-famous opera stages.

Within the framework of the meeting, a discussion was held on the production of the opera "Aida" in a new format after the theater's reconstruction.

Aida is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni.

The opera had its premiere there in 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini.

The opera tells about Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt.

A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaohs daughter Amneris, although he does not return the feeling.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. We condemn the far from reality and preconceived statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky, voiced on August 22 about the alleged existence of a "blockade" of the Lachin road, the statement of the Community of Western Azerbaijan says, Trend reports.

"We call on the Czech Republic not to be deceived by the false policy of Armenia, to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and not to interfere in its internal affairs. We also call on the Czech Republic to put pressure on Armenia so that the Azerbaijanis expelled from this country can return to their homes," the Community noted.
Why it matters: You're probably familiar with TP-Link's Tapo smart bulbs. They're incredibly popular, especially on Amazon, and the companion app has over 10 million downloads on Google Play. But researchers have discovered four vulnerabilities in a specific model of bulb and the Tapo app that could allow attackers to steal Wi-Fi passwords, among other things.

As reported by Bleeping Computer, researchers from Universita di Catania and the University of London wrote in a paper that IoT products are becoming increasingly pervasive. As such, they wanted to conduct a vulnerability assessment and penetration testing session on the Tapo L530E, currently the best-selling smart bulb on Amazon Italy.

The results were not good for TP-Link. Researchers found four vulnerabilities, the first of which was calculated as having the highest CVSS v3.1 vulnerability score: 8.8, making it high severity. It's due to a lack of smart bulb authentication with the Tapo app, allowing attackers to impersonate the bulb during the session key exchange step.

The vulnerability, present in all Tapo smart devices that use the TSKEP protocol, allows hackers to retrieve Tapo user passwords and manipulate Tapo devices.

The second flaw is also classed as high severity (7.6 score) and stems from a hard-coded short checksum shared secret. This lets an adjacent attacker obtain the secret used for authentication during the Bulb Discovery phase via a brute-force attack or by decompiling the Tapo app.

The third security issue (4.6 score) is a lack of randomness during symmetric encryption that enables an attacker to make the cryptographic scheme predictable.

The final vulnerability (5.7 score) relates to insufficient message freshness, which keeps session keys valid for 24 hours and allows attackers to replay messages during that period.

There are several scenarios in which someone could exploit the vulnerabilities, the most serious being bulb impersonation and retrieval of Tapo user account details. This could allow an attacker access to the Tapo app and, among other things, steal a user's Wi-Fi password. While the device needs to be in setup mode for the attack to work, the attacker can repeatedly deauthenticate a bulb, forcing a user to run the setup again.

The researchers also warned of Man-In-The-Middle attacks with a configured and unconfigured Tapo L530E device, letting attackers intercept communications and retrieve Tapo passwords, SSIDs, and Wi-Fi passwords.

The good news is that the vulnerabilities have been reported to TP-Link via its Vulnerability Research Program (VRP). The company acknowledged all of them and said it has started working on fixes both at the app and at the bulb firmware levels. No word on when they will get here beyond their release "in due course."
A hot potato: 5G was initially hailed as an unparalleled technological revolution in broadband cellular communications. However, the actual products related to 5G have fallen short of being revolutionary. SK Telecom now believes that the industry needs to progress by creating a more distinct and captivating vision for the upcoming generation of mobile networks.

SK Telecom, the largest wireless carrier in South Korea with over 30 million subscribers, is part of the prominent industry conglomerate SK Group. The company has recently released a white paper addressing 6G networks. In the realm of the next generation of mobile broadband, there are valuable lessons to be gleaned from the deployment of 5G, which, according to the SK Group, fell considerably short of the industry's initial expectations.

The second chapter of the white paper, aptly titled "5G Lessons Learned," asserts that current 5G services have not achieved the ambitious promises made back in 2019. Despite having been in commercial use for four years, the white paper notes, the technology behind 5G alone has not truly been transformative.

The fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks was solidified through the ITU-R's 5G Vision Recommendation and published by the UN agency in September 2015. As the industry geared up for 5G, innovative and groundbreaking services like fully autonomous driving, UAM, holograms, and "digital twins" were the talk of the town. However, when these services eventually entered the market, many of them fell short of meeting the anticipated expectations.

SK Telecom's white paper contends that the telecom industry should have adopted a "more objective perspective" regarding 5G. The paper suggests that the issue wasn't with the performance of 5G networks, but rather with the "excessive expectations" set for technological innovation that these networks were assumed to bring.

According to SK Telecom, these services represented what 5G could theoretically achieve, yet they have not become a part of customers' everyday experiences. A combination of factors, such as device form factor limitations, immature devices and service technology, lack of market demand, and regulatory challenges, hindered the full realization of the 5G future that the industry envisioned years ago.

SK Telecom suggests that unlike the significant technological leap experienced during the transition from 3G to LTE speeds for internet cellular broadband connections, 5G did not introduce a major technology advancement. Nevertheless, 5G successfully delivered faster connections to a broader global audience, achieving an estimated 70 percent reduction in cost per gigabyte compared to LTE. Customers using 5G can now consume 50 percent more data than those on 4G or previous mobile standards.

The mobile industry should take lessons from the mistakes and shortcomings encountered during the deployment of 5G as it looks toward the next generation of cellular data networks. SK Telecom emphasizes the need for collaboration among the entire ecosystem of companies and carriers to pave the way for 6G. This involves establishing clearer expectations for 6G products and services and avoiding a fragmented architecture. The aim is to provide customers with a higher level of service quality than what has been achieved with existing 5G services.
Bottom line: Using microchips to track everything from inventory to pets has become pretty commonplace. Italian Big Cheese producers want to use them to throw a wrench in the multibillion-dollar counterfeit parmesan business. They intend to use the technology to ensure buyers that the parm they are getting is the real wheel.

Cheesemakers in Italy have begun inserting microchips into their cheese to thwart counterfeiting. The tiny identifiers, no bigger than a grain of salt, are inserted into the rind of the cheese  primarily Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese). They give off a signal with a unique serial number that verifies it as authentic. The tag also includes maturation date and origin.

As weird as it sounds, counterfeiting cheese is big business. According to Italy's agricultural association Coldiretti, cheese counterfeiters profit about $2 billion annually. That figure is only half a billion dollars shy of Italy's legit parmesan business ($2.5 billion/year). CBS News notes that the country's Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, which oversees cheese production, started a trial program to track 120,000 40-kilo (88-pound) wheels back to their producer.

Of course, it's worth noting that Italy is very proud of its parmesan and considers any knockoff made outside of the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantua to be counterfeit. In fact, EU regulations forbid cheesemakers outside those regions from labeling their cheese as "parmesan."

Unfortunately, those rules do not apply outside of Europe. Many so-called counterfeits are produced in the US, primarily in Wisconsin, California, and New York. Stateside producers also make other copycat Italian cheeses, including Grana Padano, mozzarella, and Gorgonzola.

Brazil is also a significant producer of counterfeit parmesan packaged under the name "Parmesao." Adjacent Argentina makes one called "Regianito." Even though they have a different name, Italy still considers them counterfeit because the makers give them Italian-sounding brand names and try to pass them off as authentic parmesan cheese.

It's not just cheese, either. Coldiretti told The Telegraph that food products claiming to be "made in Italy" pull in roughly $130 billion annually. The US consumes about $40 billion in fake Italian wines, cheeses, and meats, like prosciutto. Coldiretti estimates that over two-thirds of the world's "Italian" food products are counterfeit.

In 2020, Police busted a counterfeit wine syndicate buying cheap wine from Sicily and rebottling it under the high-end Bolgheri Sassicaia label. Wine Spectator reported the father and son team's setup could produce 4,200 bottles of fake wine per month, worth about $434,000. Their operation was even sophisticated enough to duplicate the vineyard's anti-counterfeiting hologram.

With a counterfeiting industry rivaling parmesan's own, it's hard to tell how successful chipping cheese can be in curbing the problem. If counterfeiters can cheat official holograms, they would likely have the resources to figure out how to do the same with microchips.
In brief: Charles Martinet, who has voiced several iconic video game characters for Nintendo over the years including Mario himself, will no longer record character voices for the company. In a message shared on Twitter, Nintendo said Martinet will transition to a new role as "Mario Ambassador" in which he will continue to travel and share the joy of Mario with fans worldwide.

Martinet is a lifelong actor that had appeared in a handful of films and television shows before finding employment with Nintendo. As outlined in an interview with Great Big Story, his audition for Mario almost did not happen. Martinet walked into the gig at the last minute, just as the casting directors were packing up to leave. He asked to try out and they said what the heck, have at it.

The directors told him to voice an Italian plumber from Brooklyn named Mario, a character in a video game from Nintendo. As Martinet was trying to come up with a voice in his head, he heard "action" and out came the iconic Mario voice we all know today.

We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO  Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023

Martinet's first appearance as Mario in a video game came in 1994 for a typing game, but he started working with the company years earlier doing digital puppetry at trade shows. Most were no doubt introduced to Martinet as the voice of Mario in the 1996 smash hit Super Mario 64, a launch title for the Nintendo 64.

He later went on to voice other characters in the Mario universe including Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, among others. He also had a few surprise cameos in The Super Mario Bros. Movie earlier this year.

According to Game Rant, Martinet will not be featured as the voice of Mario in the upcoming game Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Nintendo has not yet confirmed who will be taking over as the new voice of Mario moving forward.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available to pre-order now and hits the Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023.
The world is significantly seeing a massive collection of AI technologies, but this new camera, called "DreamGenerator," is taking photography to the next level.

That is because it employs artificial intelligence (AI) to generate a new photo that bases its creation on the image taken by a user. The camera is now under development by its creator.

AI technology has undoubtedly given us a lot, especially in creating something out of nothing. It can also create enhanced images from already available media from one's collection.

DreamGenerator Camera: Powered by AI

CreativeBloq reported that there is a new technology that is under development, and this is the DreamGenerator, a camera powered by AI.

According to the camera's creator Kyle Goodrich, a 3D artist and product designer at Snapchat, this camera can transform any photo from a device into AI-generated content or AI-enhanced image and simplify AI art. Goodrich noted that a lot of AI image generators offer complicated user experiences.

According to Goodrich, the camera is still a prototype that brings in Stable Diffusion and ControlNet to help transform the images, and with only a click of a button, this would significantly change it to whatever the user deems it to be.

Read Also: Google Senior Search Analyst John Mueller Says AI Content is Rehashed from Other Sites: Terrible Content to Rank Much Harder

Why Is This Camera Turning Photos Into AI-Generated?

Goodrich said this device is a game changer for the already industry-transforming capabilities of an AI image generator, as users no longer need to upload it to online services for the change.

With the DreamGenerator, users no longer have to come up with the perfect prompt to capture what they have in mind and instantly have it instead of navigating an AI-generative platform.

DreamGenerator runs Stable Diffusion to transform photos as soon as they are taken. Its current themes include "fairytale," "retro," "sci-fi," and "pirate," which reportedly look like an extension of smartphone filters.

AI-Generated Content Online

It may be hard to accept, but artificial intelligence is creative and intuitive when creating content for users, which has proven to be the case. Although, AI technologies are most likely to bring users fake news or misinformation for users.

However, there are actions towards using AI legally, with Google in talks with record labels, including the Universal Media Group and Warner Music, looking to license its content to the Mountain View giant's AI developments.

Still, its massive presence is enough to create a buzz online, especially in creating situations that did not happen in real life but are legitimate events with AI content generation.

The massive power of AI now centers on its capabilities to create something out of nothing, but it also promises to enhance content that could expand more of a finished product.

DreamGenerator is an AI-powered camera, and this concept can turn one's photo into AI-generated content while still capturing specific elements or placements.

Related Article: OpenAI's ChatGPT Joins the Ranks in Top 1% for Original Creative Thinking

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tesla is now gunning for the responsible people from the company which leaked confidential information about its employees who had access to its database. In a recent report, it was revealed that the data breach last May was done by none other than its previous employees who have been then fired for doing so.

It comes alongside the previous revelation that Tesla EVs were facing significant controversy from the previous data access that got ahold of confidential and sensitive clips from the in-car cameras of various car owners.

Tesla Ex-Employees Responsible for Data Breach Last May

(Photo : Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Tesla filed a data breach notice with Maine's attorney general which points fingers to two former employees that were responsible for the said leak, sharing these details to a German media outlet. However, the said German outlet has alerted Tesla regarding what the previous employees did, getting a clear view of who was involved in the data breach.

The good thing is that the German media outlet assured Tesla that it would not publish the data it got ahold of.

"The investigation revealed that two former Tesla employees misappropriated the information in violation of Tesla's IT security and data protection policies and shared it with the media outlet," Steven Elentukh, Tesla's data privacy officer.

As many as 75,735 current employees are affected by this data leak should it have been published, with sensitive information including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and employment records relayed to the outlet.

Read Also: Tesla Engineers Admit to No Autopilot Fix After 2016 Fatal Crash

Tesla Files Suit Against Ex-Employees Data Breach

According to TechCrunch, Tesla is not letting this die down easily, as the company is looking to litigate those responsible behind this breach last May, apart from removing them from their posts previously.

The insider leak was initially regarded as the "Tesla Files" which contains more than 100 GB of employee data, as well as customer bank information and complaints against the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature.

Controversial Tesla Data Access on Customers

Earlier this year, a significant issue on Tesla was revealed by the company, and it was because of how it can access video recordings from its Sentry cameras placed all over its body. However, it was not only from outside the cabin but also from the in-car cameras that record video and audio, with ex-employees leaking these details to the world.

It has been a significant concern against Tesla and many have raised it against the company, with the Senate also rounding up Elon Musk for questioning regarding this significant sensitive data access. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward J. Markey have both penned a letter to the Tesla CEO regarding this problem, asking for concrete answers from its owner.

Previously hearing this through the news may be one of the EV owners' tech horrors as their sensitive data were accessed by employees and the company, without their consent and awareness. Now, Tesla is also pushing to litigate those that were involved in accessing its database, compromising the company, its employees, and customers.

Related Article: Tesla Under Legal Scrutiny: Lawsuit Arises Following Tragic Model 3 Crash

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Artificial Intelligence has been the massive center of attention regarding patenting their works, but a US judge has deemed that AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted. This centers on the massive case presented by artists or content creators regarding AI-generated works which they push for copyrighting, with one particular case from Stephen Thaler taking this case to the courts.

Despite the case between Thaler and the US Copyright Office, the judge sided with the patenting authorities against AI copyrights, saying that without human works, it cannot be copyrighted.

AI-Generated Work Cannot be Copyrighted says US Judge

(Photo : JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

The case between plaintiff Stephen Taller and the US Copyright Office was brought to the courts, especially after the office denied the owner's request to copyright his work that was made by AI. In a memorandum opinion issued by District Court of Colombia Judge Beryl Howell, his work was not permitted to be copyrighted despite his move for a motion to summary judgment.

Judge Howell deemed that his work lacked human authorship and content, pointing out to the majority of his work centered on the AI generator tool doing it for him.

Thaler used a computer that he calls the "Creativity Machine" whose product was "autonomously created by a computer algorithm running on a machine," but wants to seek ownership of this content.

With his work primarily done by the AI, it was rejected by both the US Copyright Office and the district court for intellectual property that would be given to him.

Read Also: ChatGPT Shows Systematic Bias in Political Responses, New Study Reveals

AI Copyright Would be Based on How Much AI Content?

The laws on AI copyrights are under review and are given much attention as to how much AI has done for the work, but are not entirely rejected by the US Copyright Office. Despite the massive restrictions and review, it is still open to copyrighting AI-generated content, provided that it was not made entirely by the AI for a person to call it their own.

AI Copyright and the Massive Case in the Patents

The prevalence of the many AI art generators from different companies like OpenAI's DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and more have been the center of various cases in applying for copyrights. One particular case was Kris Kashnatova's "Zarya of the Dawn" which mainly relied on Midjourney to create the art for its graphic novels.

It was initially given a copyright but upon revealing that it was made by AI, the office revoked their decision due to lack of disclosure from the artist.

Apart from AI-generated artwork, there are also alarming cases found online, particularly via e-commerce platforms like Amazon which has AI-generated books that were published and attributed to Jane Friedman, despite her not having anything to do with the literature.

AI is still on a shaky footing regarding regulators and copyright offices in the country, and this recent court order is only proof that artists that use this machine-generated content yet has a lot to go through for the copyrighting of their works.

For now, Judge Howell and the copyright office are closing the case on Thaler's appeal, but it does not exactly close the doors for these works to see intellectual property provisions but would be based on how much was used and declared.

Related Article: Copyright Issues Are Prevalent in AI Models Like ChatGPT, New Study Claims

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new way to experience Android is here, and this is with Samsung's "Try Galaxy" which would allow users to experience the Android operating system right on their iPhones. This experience would be done via the website leading to an app, where Samsung has created a virtual port that would bring the Galaxy foldable Android experience right on one's iOS device.

The Android vs. iOS debate is still not over, and a previous study has thrown massive shade against the Google-made open-source operating system, calling it one for the oldies.

Android on iPhone? Samsung's 'Try Galaxy' Brings it to iOS

(Photo : Samsung)

Samsung announced that there is a new product available for all to experience, and this comes free for the public with "Try Galaxy" leveraging Android to iPhone users.

The South Korean tech company recommends launching this experience on "non-Android" phones, with it leading users to a website where they can try the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 user interface for their usage.

(Photo : Try Galaxy via TechTimes Screenshot)

It will prompt users to download the app and install it to their home screens so users can try out this Android ecosystem, as well as Samsung's renowned Galaxy foldable. The release claims that the Try Galaxy app has been downloaded over seven million times since 2022, with the present experience updating it to the foldable UI.

Read Also: Android Kitkat Smartphones at Risk of Being Hacked: List of Affected Devices, How to Check Your Current Version

Experience the Samsung Galaxy Foldable on the iPhone

Users may venture to this website to arrive at a landing page with a QR code that they can scan, and with this, they will be redirected to a website that gives them the steps to add it to their home screen.

(Photo : Try Galaxy via TechTimes Screenshot)

This is another of Samsung's brilliant marketing in getting people to experience Android and its foldable, one that would hopefully lead them to make the switch to a Galaxy smartphone.

(Photo : Try Galaxy via TechTimes Screenshot)

Moreover, this "Try Galaxy" experience is one way to try out the user interface for users to experience what Samsung has to offer, without having to order it from the company and returning it if it does not fit their standards or meet their expectations.

Android vs. iOS: Which is the Superior One?

The massive discussion about the superior operating system in the world for smartphones is not yet over, and many are fighting against each other regarding which of Android or iOS is actually better. In a recent study, it was revealed that most teens think that Android smartphones are only for the older generation because of their outdated technology compared to Apple's iOS.

However, it was argued by Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri that Android is "now better" than iOS, after a recent poll on Threads which had famed tech analyst, MBKHD, asking for a "hot take" on tech.

A previous survey, on the other hand, has most people switching from Android to iOS claiming that Apple's tech is more secure compared to that of Google's open-source OS.

Many users are arguing that Android is more innovative compared to iOS, but some claim that Apple brings the latest tech and everything that a user needs with its iPhone's operating system. That being said, there is no harm in trying Samsung's "Try Galaxy" experience that leverages its foldable smartphone OS, so users can say for themselves which is better.

Related Article: Will Non-Ultra Samsung Galaxy S24 Models Get Revamped? Here's What Leakers Say

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. 2023 has been a remarkable year. Because the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, the Great Leader, the leader of Azerbaijan, the great son of the Azerbaijani people, was held in Uzbekistan at a very high level, said President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev as he held an expanded meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

The memory of Heydar Alirza oglu is revered with utmost respect in Uzbekistan. I think that the people of Uzbekistan value all the work done in a completely different way. The older generation, the people who saw him, met him and worked with him, have also conveyed to the young people of Uzbekistan that Heydar Alirza oglu worked for a long time in order for Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to reach the goals set in those difficult moments of life, for the leadership of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to understand each other and to achieve a lot, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev underlined.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. In accordance with the instruction of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the return of former internally displaced persons to the restored city of Fuzuli continue, Trend reports.

Another group of citizens was sent from the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku on August 22. At this stage, another 23 families (89 people) moved to the city of Fuzuli.

The resettled families will settle in the houses where they once lived in Fuzuli, which were restored or rebuilt on the basis of instructions from the head of state after the end of the Armenian occupation. Fuzuli residents thanked President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care, expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani army, which liberated the lands from occupation.

Thus, until today, a permanent settlement in the city of Fuzuli has been provided for 70 families - 247 people.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. A participant of the Second Karabakh War Parvin Rahimov was appointed to the post of the Head of the production association of housing and communal services of Azerbaijan's Goygol district, Trend reports.

In this regard, the head of the Executive Power of the Goygol district, Elvin Pashayev, signed a corresponding document.

Rahimov has held the position of head of the subscriber department in this institution since July.

Rahimov was born in 1992 in Azerbaijans Goygol district. He studied at the Faculty of History of Baku State University with a degree in Regional Studies of the Caucasus (Caucasian Studies) from 2010 through 2014.

In addition, he completed active military service from 2014 through 2015.

Moreover, as part of the special forces, he took part in the Second Karabakh War (2020).

He was awarded by President Ilham Aliyev the medals "Brave Warrior", "For the Liberation of Shusha", "For the Liberation of Kalbajar", "For the Liberation of Fuzuli", "For the Liberation of Jabrayil" and "Participant of the Patriotic War".
Rio de Janeiro Court maintains criminal complaint against Aos Fatos, and organizations denounce intimidation of journalism

The judge of the 6th Criminal Chamber of the TJ-RJ (State Court of Rio de Janeiro), Marcelo Castro Anatocles da Silva Ferreira, denied on Tuesday (August 22nd) a request to dismiss a criminal complaint filed by Jornal da Cidade Online against the executive director of Aos Fatos, Tai Nalon. Accused of defamation and unfair competition for investigating the dissemination and monetization of fake news by the website, Nalon requested the cancellation of the action and the instruction hearing.

The criminal complaint is another episode of judicial harassment perpetrated by Jornal da Cidade Online, under investigation by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) and the STF (Supreme Federal Court) for participating in and financially benefiting from disinformation campaigns.

The instruction and trial hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday (August 23rd) at the headquarters of the TJ-RJ. Journalism defense organizations, in a statement, condemned the decision to continue the process, criticized the criminalization of the press, and labeled the hearing as a "blatant attack on the right to access information and the right to inform."

"Within their duty and right to inform, Aos Fatos and Tai Nalon only reported on the systematic activities of the company, constantly denounced for producing and disseminating disinformation," said Abraji, Ajor, Fenaj, Instituto Vladimir Herzog, Intervozes, Reporters Without Borders, and Tornavoz. "We hope that the Rio de Janeiro justice system puts an end to this attempt at intimidation and to the chilling effect that this strategy of judicial persecution causes to victims and journalists collectively."

UNDERSTANDING THE CASE

Published by Aos Fatos in April 2020, the article that triggered the action has been under censorship since June following a decision by the TJ-RS (Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul). The investigation revealed that Jornal da Cidade Online shared monetization tools and strategies via Google AdSense with a series of portals, including Verdade Sufocada, maintained by the widow of Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra (1932-2015), the first military officer convicted for kidnapping and torture during the military dictatorship (1964-1985). The investigation was based on codes shared by a network of sites, as later detailed by Jornal da Cidade Online itself.

According to the defense lawyers of the executive director of Aos Fatos in the habeas corpus request, Jornal da Cidade Online "tries to coerce a journalist into silence due to dissatisfaction with a report that followed all investigation protocols, including contacting the other party to hear their version of the facts."

The defense also argues that "the animus of merely reporting a fact eliminates the intent to offend, under penalty of objective criminal liability and criminalization of the very activity of journalism.

INVESTIGATED FOR FAKE NEWS

STF is investigating Jornal da Cidade Online in Inquiry 4,828, which examines anti-democratic acts. In a report on the case, Minister Alexandre de Moraes stated that evidence and proof pointed to the existence of a "true criminal organization, with strong digital activity and nuclei of production, publication, financing, and politics." As part of this network, the publication had a "significant increase" in revenue from advertising through Google AdSense shortly after the 2018 elections, according to the investigation.

According to the final report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry about Covid-19, conducted in the Senate in 2021, Jornal da Cidade Online is part of a "group formed by organizations that appear to function as journalistic companies" but without "the necessary commitment to the ethical principles of the profession, such as the dissemination of accurate and correct information."

The final report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry about Fake News mentions Jornal da Cidade Online as part of a disinformation network. The site's owner is also mentioned in a TSE investigation as part of a group engaged in "deliberate production and exponential dissemination of news known to be false" during the 2022 presidential elections. The court also ordered the demonetization of the Jornal da Cidade Online's YouTube channel for sharing misinformation about electronic voting machines.

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Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger said that former president Donald Trump is scared to death of his former confidant Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey.

Mr Kinzinger exited Congress at the beginning of this year after he voted to impeach Mr Trump for his role in the January 6 riot and worked on the House select committee investigating the attack. Mr Kinzinger was one of only two Republicans who worked on the committee along with former congresswoman Liz Cheney, who also voted to impeach Mr Trump.

Since then, hes joined CNN as a contributor. Mr Kinzinger spoke on Wolf Blitzers show about Mr Trumps decision not to participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.

If he was the incumbent running for re-election, you know, if this was 2020, like, I get that, but he lost, he lost for the Republicans the presidency, he said. The Republicans have done nothing but lose since Donald Trump.

Mr Kinzinger said that Mr Trump is a coward.

Hes scared to death of Chris Christie, he said. Because I think Chris Christie is going to wipe the floor with him.

Mr Christie, who served two terms as governor of New Jersey, previously endorsed Mr Trump in 2016 and was one of his biggest defenders. Since then, hes emerged as a major critic of the former president, largely running for the White House to weaken the twice-impeached and four-times-indicted Mr Trump.

In addition to boosting Mr Christie on CNN, Mr Kinzinger hosted Mr Christie on a livestream on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday evening.

Former representative Joe Walsh, a former fan of Mr Trump who became a critic, differed slightly from Mr Kinzinger. Both men represented Illinois.

I agree with my friend Adam Kinzinger that Donald Trump is a coward, he posted on X. Completely. But Trump isnt afraid of Chris Christie. Not at all. Christie is no threat to Trump, and Trump knows it. Trump isnt skipping the debate bcuz hes afraid. Hes skipping the debate bcuz he has to be THE story. And he thinks hell be a much bigger story if hes not there.

Fox News will host the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday evening. But Mr Trump has indicated he will not participate in the debate.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Armenian residents of Azerbaijans Karabakh freely cross the Lachin border checkpoint, Trend reports.

In total, about 30 people have crossed the Lachin border checkpoint from Khankendi in the direction of the Gorus district of Armenia in nine vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today.

In addition, it is expected that today more than 60 people of Armenian origin will leave Karabakh and go to Armenia.

Therefore, a total of up to 100 people of Armenian origin will pass through the Lachin border checkpoint during the day.

This once again testifies to the absence of any obstacles or difficulties in the passage of Karabakh civilians of Armenian origin through the Lachin border checkpoint and serves as another proof that Armenia's claims about the "blockade" of the Lachin road by Azerbaijan are lies and slander.

In order to prevent the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia for illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan (which weren't withdrawn contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war), and as an adequate response to the unilateral establishment of a border checkpoint by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan on April 22 at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, on April 23 at 12:00 (GMT+4), the units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint in its sovereign territories, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road.
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Joe Biden told Hawaii that the rest of the United States grieves with you as he and the first lady surveyed the devastation of the Maui wildfires.

Mr Biden, who has been criticised for his administrations response to the historic blaze, met with first responders in Lahaina before making remarks next to the famed and still-standing banyan tree.

The country grieves with you, stands with you and will help do everything to help you rebuild, the president said.

Mr Biden praised the people of Hawaii for showing Absolute incredible courage in the face of the states worst-ever natural disaster and pointed out the banyan tree.

Today it is burned but it is still standing. The tree survived for a reason and I believe it is a powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis. The whole country is with you we will rebuild it the way the people of Maui want it built not other people want it built.

And he added: Fire cannot reach its rootsThats Maui, thats America, and to the people of Hawaii we are with you for as long as it takes, I promise you.

Mr Biden seemingly addressed reports that real estate developers have been calling survivors to try and buy their destroyed properties.

We are focused on whats next, rebuilding for the long term and doing it together, to rebuild the way we want to rebuild by making sure your voices are heard and respecting your traditions.

Joe Biden visits an area devastated by wildfires in Lahaina (AFP via Getty Images)

The death toll from the wildfires has now reached 114 as first responders continue to search for 1,000 missing in the fire-ravaged landscape.

An early estimate suggests that nearly 3,000 homes and buildings burned to the ground or were damaged, and losses are around $6bn.

Mr Biden also said that he was no stranger to grief, and recalled the phone call he received after his first wife and young daughter were killed in a car crash.

The president said that it was not until he reached the hospital that he found out that his two sons had survived the fatal accident.

Biden recalled his own family tragedies as he empathised with grieving families in Hawaii (AFP via Getty Images)

The difference between knowing if someone is gone or if they are available to come back are two different things, he said.

I know the feeling that many of the people in this town and community have, this hollow feeling you have in your chest as if you have been sucked into a black hole, will I survive this? I remember.
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Watch a view outside Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday (22 August) where Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in later this week in connection with his indictment on charges he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, the former president said he would be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be arrested by a radical left district attorney.

Mr Trump has described the indictment as a politically motivated effort to derail his reelection campaign for 2024.

In Georgia, Mr Trump and 18 other defendants have been charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat in the state.

Mr Trumps former personal lawyer, John Eastman, has also been indicted in Georgia and plans to surrender at Fulton County Jail on Wednesday, according to a court filing from Monday.
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Scott Hall has become the first co-defendant of Donald Trump to surrender to authorities on Georgia to face charges over their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.

Fulton County Jail records reveal that Mr Hall was arrested on Tuesday 22 August by Fulton County Sheriffs Office on seven charges.

Under his inmate booking number 2313655, there is no release date  indicating that he continues to be held at the jail.

Mr Hall is charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to defraud the state or political subdivision and violation of the Georgia RICO statute.

His bond  which was pre-agreed on Monday  has been set at $10,000. This covers $4,000 bond for the RICO count and $1,000 bond for each of the other three charges.

He is believed to be the first of the 19 defendants, charged last week with running a criminal enterprise to keep Mr Trump in power at all costs, to turn himself in.

Mr Hall worked as a bail bondsman in Atlanta at the time of the alleged criminal conspiracy in late 2020 and early 2021  after Mr Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.

He is accused of illegally trying to access voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia.

Scott Hall (Georgia Senate)

His alleged actions formed part of a wider  but little-known  plot to breach the voting systems in Coffee County, unlawfully accessing private voter data as part of an attempt to try that the systems were rigged in Mr Bidens favour.

Mr Trump and his 18 co-defendants have each been given a deadline of midday on Friday 25 August to surrender to authorities in Fulton County and be arrested on the charges.

On Monday, the former president claimed in a post on his Truth Social platform that he will turn himself in on Thursday.

Donald Trump heading to court to face charges in his first criminal case in New York in April (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History, he fumed.

In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for Murder, but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL! She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT.

This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Bidens DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Mr Trumps bond has been set at $200,000  an amount agreed upon by his attorneys but which he also railed against on Monday night.

In another Truth Social post, he claimed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis insisted on the $200,000 bond to because she fears he will fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again.

Mr Trumps arrest in his fourth criminal case will come just hours after the first Republican presidential debate gets under way in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday evening.

Eight candidates  all hoping to beat the former president to secure the GOP nomination  have passed the threshold to take part.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announces the indictment (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Mr Trump, meanwhile, has refused to take part in the event hosted by Fox News.

He is instead believed to be taking part in a rival, but pre-recorded, interview with ousted Fox News personality Tucker Carlson.

Both events are likely to be overshadowed by Mr Trumps looming arrest.

On 14 August, a grand jury in Fulton County returned an indictment charging the former president and 18 of his staunchest allies over their efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Defendant Donald John Trump lost the United States presidential election held on November 3, 2020, the indictment reads.

One of the states he lost was Georgia. Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.

That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.

Charged under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, the 19 defendants are accused of running a criminal enterprise with the goal of ensuring that Mr Trump remained in power at all costs.

The RICO statute is a Richard Nixon-era racketeering law originally passed to prosecute organised crime groups and mafia crime syndicates.

The indictment accuses Mr Trump and his allies of orchestrating and running a criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Georgia, and elsewhere, to accomplish the illegal goal of allowing Donald J. Trump to seize the presidential term of office, beginning on January 20, 2021.

The criminal organisations members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities including, but not limited to, false statements and writings, impersonating a public ofcer, forgery, ling false documents, inuencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.

In the sweeping indictment, Mr Trump was charged with 13 criminal counts: violating RICOs statute, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of conspiracy to make false statements under oath, two counts of conspiracy to file false documents, two counts of solicitation of a public officer, filing false documents, conspiracy to solicit false statements, and making false statements.

The other co-defendants include former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani  who was also hit with 13 charges  former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell and Kanye Wests former publicist Trevian Kutti  face fewer charges.

In total, Mr Trump is facing a combined 91 charges across two state and two federal cases and the prospect of the remainder of his life behind bars.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Footage of the Azerbaijani Army disabling technical means of surveillance of Armenian illegal armed formations in the territory of the temporary deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been circulated, Trend reports.

The footage shows that the technical means of surveillance and listening in the areas close to the combat positions of the Azerbaijani Army and on the supply routes in the Karabakh economic region, placed for the purpose of carrying out terrorist and provocative activities against the units of the Azerbaijani Army, were put out of operation.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense disseminated information that on August 21, in order to ensure the security of the Azerbaijani Army servicemen, up to 30 technical means of surveillance and listening belonging to Armenian illegal armed formations were put out of operation.

Azerbaijani Army units continue their activities in this direction.
Buttrose said in a statement that she has enjoyed her role. Loading I have enjoyed my time at the ABC immensely and am honoured to have chaired such a great Australian institution for five years, she said. There have been many memories, some challenges, and I have relished the opportunity to play a role in the ABCs history. There is still work to be done between now and March next year. Until then, it is business as usual.

Appointed as a captains pick in 2019 by then-prime minister Scott Morrison, Buttrose was not one of the names included in a shortlist compiled by an independent selection panel at the time, following a search by global recruitment firm Korn Ferry. She is the second woman to hold the position, after Dame Leonie Kramer in the 1980s. Her appointment followed a tumultuous period at the ABC, with the departure of both former chair Justin Milne and managing director Michelle Guthrie six months prior. The government is likely to appoint a successor to Buttrose, 81, ahead of her term ending on March 6, 2024. It is a marked difference to the ongoing selection process to appoint two new directors to the ABCs board after Joseph Gersh was not reappointed earlier this year, and following the departure of Fiona Balfour in February, less than two years into her term. The new chair is likely to have a major decision on their hands in the first weeks after their arrival at the ABC, with managing director David Andersons five-year tenure up in May. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Jonathan Holmes, chair of ABC Alumni, said on behalf of the group: Despite being Scott Morrisons captains pick, Ita Buttrose has been a stalwart defender of the ABCs independence. However, ABC Alumni hope Anthony Albanese will choose her successor from candidates selected on merit by the nomination panel, as the ABC Act expects.

As recently as Friday, Buttrose said she was undecided about her future. Im mulling it over, Buttrose told ABC Melbournes Virginia Trioli, when asked about staying on for another term as chair. Loading The five years have gone by really quickly, but its a big decision to decide whether or not Ill do another five years, because Ive got to be practical. Im a woman of a certain age, and while everything seems fine at the moment, life is full of unexpected detours, and you never know how its going to turn out. A government spokesperson said there was no set time frame for the selection process to begin, which would include the role being advertised publicly. The independent panel includes Daryl Karp, appointed in June, with the panels chair, Helen Williams, also reappointed. Other members of the panel are Catherine Liddle and Derek Wilding.

The new chair is likely to have a major decision on their hands in the first weeks of their arrival at the ABC, with managing director David Andersons five-year tenure up in May, and Anderson yet to indicate whether he will seek another term. Loading She [Buttrose] has much to do in the remainder of her term and will leave the ABC stronger than when she was entrusted with the role in 2019, Rowland said. She navigated the public broadcaster through a challenging period that included strident political criticism, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing transformation of the ABC, so it can remain an essential part of Australian life in the digital age. It has been a volatile year for the ABC, which started with the broadcaster apologising for a one-sided radio report about an Alice Springs forum held to address alcohol-fuelled violence in the community in February. In June, a proposal to make up to 120 staff redundant  including political editor Andrew Probyn  was revealed, while high-profile journalist Stan Grant quit Q+A over excessive online abuse.

Following the selection process, Rowland and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be expected to recommend a candidate from a shortlist, with the governor-general ultimately appointing the chair. Since its election in 2022, Labor has sought to adopt stricter hurdles around government-appointed directors to limit perceived political stacking. This year it ordered former Australian Public Service commissioner Lynelle Briggs to review appointment standards and processes, including the advertising of roles, professional selection procedures and performance tracking of board members, not strictly limited to the ABC. However, two separate well-placed sources have suggested to this masthead the government will look to have a say on the next chair, with Albanese having grown frustrated by recent decision-making by the broadcaster.
Well-known Melbourne pub the Prince of Wales Hotel is up for sale, with the landmark property boasting a price tag of more than $50 million.

The popular bayside venue has been put on the market by its owner, Melbourne luxury hotel developer Jackalope Group, which purchased the property from private investor John Van Haandel and his business partners in 2015 for $45 million.

The Prince of Wales, on the corner of Acland and Fitzroy streets in St Kilda, was designed by renowned hotel architect Robert H. McIntyre. Credit: The Prince of Wales

The freehold investment on the corner of Acland and Fitzroy streets in St Kilda is being sold with a long lease attached to Melbourne Pub Group, owned by the Ryan family, which also owns Mitchelton Estate and Hubert Estate in the Yarra Valley.

The original Prince of Wales Hotel was built in the 19th century before it was demolished in 1936. Its current incarnation was designed by renowned hotel architect Robert H. McIntyre and completed in 1937. It was used as a headquarters for the US military during World War II, when troops camped at the top of Fitzroy Street.
Earlier this year, the Michael Cassel group announced that after a successful run in Melbourne, the hit Broadway show & Juliet would skip Sydney and instead move to the Sands Theatre in Singapore.

Almost immediately, the question on everyones lips in the Harbour City was: Wherefore art thou, & Juliet?

Rob Mills and the cast of & Juliet at Melbournes Regent Theatre. Credit: Eddie Jim

In welcome news for the citys art scene, the Michael Cassel group has confirmed & Juliet will move to Sydneys Lyric Theatre in February 2024, after a spectacular sold-out season in Melbourne.

Written by David West Read, an Emmy award-winning writer and producer of Schitts Creek, the musical imagines a world in which Juliet doesnt die at the end of the original play but instead goes on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, liberated from the conservative norms of its time.
Carrie Bradshaw is far from flawless. The central character of the TV adaptation of Candace Bushnells books and columns, Sex and the City, the two subsequent films, the prequel series The Carrie Diaries, and now the TV reboot And Just Like That is a shoe-obsessed, falsely modest, self-pitying sex writer, podcaster and vehicle for seemingly infinite corporate agendas, who refuses to say the word vagina.

And just like that ... Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) realises that former fiance Aiden (John Corbett) was a better fit. Credit: HBO/Binge

And across every iteration of Carries unfolding story, her most magical moments have been when shes running around New Yorks Upper East Side in Manolo Blahniks and metallic bum bags. However, these epochal scenes are slowly being eclipsed by the power of Carries getting older and taking responsibility for her mistakes and changing, which is where the second season of AJLTs true value lies.

Carries recognition that former fiance Aiden (John Corbett) may well have been the better fit for her all along, and her efforts to realign with him, makes for some very relieving and heartfelt storytelling. Mr Big (Chris Noth) was seminal, and RIP, but Aiden was always Carries equal. And the capacity to weave such an integral thread from the original SATC into this reboot comes with high expectations, ones that the shows creators have rarely met. Aiden appeared briefly, and completely unmemorably, in the franchises second film, Sex and the City 2, which was so overdone, and so viciously disappointing, I almost didnt watch any of AJLT because of it.

Imagine.
Police have charged a 48-year-old man with murder over the death of a man found in a decomposed state in his Gold Coast home.

Police found Tomislav Nemes remains in his home at Benowa, on Edinburgh Street, during a welfare check on April 17.

A crime scene was declared, and Operation Victor Countryside was established to investigate the circumstances of his death.

Police believe his wife, 70, and son, 48, lived alongside his remains for more than a year, failing to disclose Nemes death to family or the authorities.
A bereaved father has made an impassioned courtroom plea to stop knife violence after his 16-year-old son was fatally attacked by eight strangers while walking home from a house party.

Bryan Beattie shook as he called out the young cowards who jumped from a car and attacked his unarmed son Declan Cutler in Reservoir on March 13, 2022.

Declan Cutlers dad Bryan Beattie (centre) with family and friends outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Credit: Justin McManus

Beattie said the community and courts must put an end to teen knife crime before more young people are killed.

My son deserves justice; he deserves to have his dad fight for his name. There is burning anger I cannot put out, he said.
The Victorian government is defending its plan to ban gas connections in new homes as the gas industry says the state is squandering an opportunity to boost the use of renewable forms of the power source, including a hydrogen blend, through its upgraded network.

The Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), which owns and operates the infrastructure used to deliver gas to more than 1.4 million Victorian homes and businesses, says Melbourne is one of the few big cities in the world with an upgraded domestic gas network capable of handling green hydrogen, produced using water and electricity from wind or solar.

The Victorian government wants to reduce the states reliance on gas, but the industry says it should be boosting the use of renewable gas. Credit: James Davies

It says the industry has already spent about $1.5 billion over the past decade replacing Melbournes old cast iron pipes  which are typically seen to be too leaky and unreliable to carry smaller hydrogen molecules  with plastic polyurethane pipes.

Group chief executive Craig de Laine said it did not make sense to ban new gas connections to homes when zero-emissions hydrogen generated using renewable energy could be introduced at little extra cost to taxpayers.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. The Red Crescent Society, through its employees and volunteers, is ready to support the delivery of any humanitarian goods with food, medicines, medical supplies, clothing to the Armenian residents of Karabakh along the Aghdam-Khankendi road, the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society stated, Trend reports.

"The Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society for more than 100 years, since 1920, being an integral part of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement, guided by the fundamental principles of the international movement, in particular the principles of neutrality, impartiality, uniformity, carries out its activities both in peacetime and in conditions of military conflicts, during emergency situations, providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to war victims, internally displaced persons and refugees, victims of mines, etc., regardless of their religion, nationality, race, political views," the message reads.

The association, in close cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided appropriate humanitarian assistance to the victims during the First Karabakh War, the 44-day war and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Over the 30 years of their activity, both international structures have implemented quite diverse projects in the humanitarian sphere in the republic. Unfortunately, recently we have been witnessing a biased campaign around the topic of the humanitarian needs of the Armenian residents living in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region. Taking this into account, the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society declares that with the help of its employees and volunteers it is ready to support the delivery of any humanitarian cargo with the necessary food, medicines, medical supplies, clothing, etc. to Armenian residents on the Aghdam-Khankendi road. The implementation of this humanitarian mission fully complies with the requirements of both national legislation and the Geneva Conventions and Amendments thereto, as well as the corresponding amendment of 2022 to the Seville Agreement adopted in 1997. According to this change, the leading role in the implementation of humanitarian assistance is assigned to national societies. The entire potential of the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society as a national society has been mobilized to carry out this humanitarian mission. This statement was adopted at an expanded meeting of the Governing Council of the Red Crescent Society of Azerbaijan on August 21, 2023," the statement reads.
The sharing of a nude photo of a student from a Catholic secondary boys school in Melbournes north-west has been reported to police, with the principal telling parents there had already been repercussions for those involved.

A St Bernards College student is alleged to have photographed another student in a change room without the victims consent in 2022.

An investigation is underway into the possible sharing of a nude photo. Credit: iStock

The Essendon school said it had recently been made aware of the incident and the subsequent sharing of the photo with other teenagers, as well as its possible circulation among students at a nearby girls school.

St Bernards principal Michael Davies said school administrators had immediately reported the incident to police and investigations were continuing.
Six people have been arrested over their alleged involvement in kidnapping a Chinese teenager and a subsequent attempt to extort money from him.

Police arrested the six men, who are all from China, after the 19-year-old victim reached out to a friend via Chinese messaging app WeChat.

Detectives have arrested six people as part of their investigation into an incident in which a Chinese national was kidnapped and attempts were made to extort money from him. Credit: Paul Rovere

The man used WeChat to tell the friend that a number of armed men were holding him hostage in a Melbourne apartment. Police say the men demanded $200,000 from the teenager.

Police swooped on the CBD apartment in the early hours of August 17 and located the man without incident, they said.
Germanys foreign minister has praised Australia for serving as a role model for resisting Chinese economic coercion, labelling the rising superpower a systemic rival too unpredictable and secretive for other nations to rely on.

In a forceful speech in which she repeatedly name-checked China and warned Chinese President Xi Jinping against invading Taiwan, Annalena Baerbock said Beijings rise was challenging the very fundamentals of how we live together in this world.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbocks scheduled trip was cancelled after her government jet suffered mechanical problems. Credit: AP

Democratic nations such as Australia and Germany need to de-risk their economies by seeking alternative export markets and to work together to prevent developing countries from pivoting towards China, Baerbock said.

Here in Australia, you experienced painfully how China is willing to use economic coercion when it imposed restrictions on key exports like wine, meat and coal to exert political pressure, she said in a virtual event held by the Lowy Institute think tank on Tuesday night.
Victoria has rejected a revamped plan to recover water for Australias largest river system, shunning federal Water Minister Tanya Pliberseks calls to sign up to a new deal alongside NSW and other states in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Plibersek declared on Tuesday she would give the states an extra three years, to 2027, to meet water recovery targets under the $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin plan. But in return, she has opened the door to more controversial voluntary buybacks from farmers.

Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said states would financially and environmentally benefit from re-committing to the plan. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Victorias Andrews government has for years championed farmers opposition to the plan and blocked voluntary buybacks, arguing that the loss of irrigation water entitlements harms regional economies.

The basin plan was agreed between the federal, NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and ACT governments in 2012 to restore river health by recovering roughly six Sydney Harbours worth of water  or 3200 gigalitres  principally from farmers, who had been allocated unsustainable volumes of water for irrigation.
The Minns governments electricity network review has raised concerns about whether the agency tasked with delivering NSWs multibillion-dollar renewable energy zones is up to the job, finding there is significant risk with the program in its current form.

The Herald revealed on Tuesday the so-called check-up of the states energy supply has recommended Labor begin negotiations with Origin to extend the life of Australias largest coal-fired power station, Eraring, beyond its expected closure date of August 2025.

The Minns governments review has raised doubts about EnergyCos ability to deliver on the Renewable Energy Zones. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The recommendations obtained by the Herald also raise concern about Energy Co, the agency responsible for the delivery of the renewable energy zones (REZ) drawn up by the previous Coalition government in a bid to drive the states transition away from fossil fuels.

Draft findings from the report state it is doubtful Energy Co can deliver the transmission infrastructure  the poles and wires  needed to deliver on the multibillion-dollar plan.
Greg Mirabella will stand down as president of the Victorian Liberal Party in a bid to reboot his political career, with a former Victorian MP confirming he will enter the race to take the reins of the Victorian division.

Mirabella's departure, which comes days before the Warrandyte byelection, was revealed to Liberal members on Tuesday ahead of the partys annual general meeting next month, where he was expected to face a challenge.

Victorian Liberal Party president Greg Mirabella (left) and state leader John Pesutto in June. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Former upper house Liberal MP Philip Davis, who quit the state parliament in 2013 after more than two decades in state politics, has emerged as an early contender to replace Mirabella.

Davis, who was leader of the Liberal Party in the upper house, confirmed his candidacy when contacted by The Age on Tuesday. He was first elected in 1992 and served as the member for Gippsland Province and later Eastern Victoria until his resignation.
You can get a bowl of udon noodles just about anywhere in Japan but this bowl of noodles here in front of me, this bowl can only be enjoyed right here in the Goto Islands. To my inexpert eye these fresh Goto udon noodles, sitting in a bowl ready to be cooked, dont look all that different to other udon noodles  but I know that they are.

Fragrant jigoku-daki noodles: the islands are the only place you can enjoy fresh Goto udon noodles.

That is because I have just toured the Nakamoto Seimen factory and Ive watched the master noodle makers at work, twisting the ever-lengthening ropes of noodle to break down the gluten. Ive seen these noodles hanging off their drying racks, stretched to an incredible 1.75 metres. So I know  this bowl of noodles is something special. And its not the only thing on Fukue Island that is.

Fukue Island is the largest of the Goto Islands, an archipelago sitting around 100 kilometres off the coast of Kyushu near Nagasaki. The islands are home to one of Japans UNESCO World Heritage sites, a collection of churches erected by the kakure kirishitan, the secret Christians who fled here after the shogun outlawed Christianity in 1614. Spend a couple of days on Fukue, however, and you soon discover there is much more to discover.
Ottawa: Under pressure over the rising cost of housing, the Canadian government has said it will consider capping the number of foreign student visas, which have risen sharply recent years.

Official data show there were more than 800,000 foreign students with active visas in 2022, up from 275,000 in 2012. Canada is a popular destination for international students since it is relatively easy to obtain a work permit.

Vancouver has seen record demand for its real estate.

The countrys new Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who was immigration minister before taking up his job last month, said the sharp rise in the number of students was putting pronounced pressure on some housing markets.

Asked whether a cap could be imposed on the number of foreign students, he said: I think that is one of the options that we ought to consider.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. A criminal case has been initiated based on the fact that an Azerbaijani serviceman was wounded as a result of an Armenian provocation, the Military Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan told Trend.

The Kalbajar Military Prosecutor's Office received information about the injury of Ramiz Nazarov, a serviceman of the military unit No. "N" of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, as a result of an attack using firearms from the Armenian side.

According to the Kalbajar Military Prosecutor's Office, together with the staff of the Department of Criminalistics and Information Technology, the Kalbajar Military Prosecutor's Office carried out appropriate work and took necessary actions.

In addition, a criminal investigation under Article 29.120.2.12 (attempted murder motivated by national, racial, or religious hatred or enmity) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan was initiated in the Kalbajar Military Prosecutor's Office, witnesses were interviewed, appropriate examinations were appointed, and the necessary investigative actions were immediately carried out.

"The investigation is going on, and all measures will be taken in accordance with the requirements of the legislation," said the ministry.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Another 23 families of former internally displaced persons have returned to Azerbaijans Fuzuli today, Trend reports.

They were given the keys to the newly rebuilt houses in the city of Fuzuli.

The permanent residence of 70 families (247 people) is provided in the city of Fuzuli.

At the first stage, it is planned to relocate a total of 144 families (509 people) to the city of Fuzuli.

Another group of former internally displaced persons, consisting of 89 people, went to the city of Fuzuli on the morning of August 22. These families lived in the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku.

The resettled families will settle in the houses where they once lived in Fuzuli, which were restored or rebuilt on the basis of instructions from the head of state after the end of the Armenian occupation. Fuzuli residents thanked President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani army, which liberated the lands from occupation.
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As anticipation grows for the third phase of runway construction to conclude and the relaunch of flights next month, the Cheyenne Regional Airport team has been busy working to offer more than flights to the community.

CRA has teamed up with local organizations to create a family friendly 5K event for the public to enjoy.

The race will be held on August 26 at 4020 Airport Parkway West in Cheyenne, Wyoming, starting at 1 p.m. with activities to follow until 4 p.m.

Presented by the RISE Foundation of Wyoming and the Cheyenne Regional Airport, the first annual 5K on the Runway will be a fun-filled, rain-or-shine event featuring one simple routed 5K race for all ages.

The race will honor our military service members' sacrifices, uplift morale and support those who have served our country.

But the excitement doesnt stop after the heart-pumping race; there will be a plethora of post-race party activities to keep everyone busy, including:

A cornhole tournament for participants and race viewers

Cockpit viewing of airplanes

Blackhawk and C-130 aircrafts for observation

Wellness resources and providers from the community

Music by DJ Sound FX

Food and drinks will be provided (hamburgers, chips and beverages for all participants)

Food trucks will be on-site for drinks and snow cones (cost not included)

The Cheyenne Regional Airport is proud to be partnering with the RISE foundation for our first annual 5K walk/run on the runway, said Tim Bradshaw A.A.E, director of aviation at Cheyenne Regional Airport. The RISE Foundation was created to provide well-being programs to support our active-duty personnel and veterans who served and continue to serve our great country. There will also be other fun activities that day so please come out and run or walk on our new runway and support the RISE Foundation!"

This event is free to the public, and runners of all ages and experience levels are welcome. Signup is not required.
The Egypt-Azerbaijan Friendship Society continues a series of events on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the national leader Heydar Aliyev. The results of the competition of articles "Azerbaijan and its outstanding personalities", announced in July this year, were announced in the building of the society, Azernews reports.

The event was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Egypt Elkhan Polukhov, head of the working group on Azerbaijani-Egyptian inter-parliamentary relations Jeyhun Mammadov, and representatives of the local community.

Chairman of the Society, scientist-researcher Seymur Nasirov, speaking at the awarding ceremony for the participants of the competition, said that this year our society held a number of events on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the National Leader. Heydar Aliyev and "The Year of Heydar Aliyev". Speaking about the life of the Great Leader, Seymur Nasirov stressed that he was a living witness to the events that took place in our country 30 years ago. He said that, despite the great risk, Heydar Aliyev, who courageously assumed the mission of saving the people, preserved the independence of our state and did not allow Azerbaijan to fall into civil strife and split.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Egypt, Elkhan Polukhov, in his speech recalled that the National Leader Heydar Aliyev was the man who laid the foundations of modern Azerbaijan's relations with Egypt and the Arab world, and it is very significant that his 100th anniversary is being celebrated these days. celebrated in Egypt. This proves that a man of genius saw his future when he pursued a policy with the Muslim and Arab world, and today's rapidly developing relations are a vivid confirmation of this. His successor, President Ilham Aliyev, with his consistent steps, managed to raise our relations to a new, higher level.

The head of the Azerbaijani-Egyptian working group for inter-parliamentary relations Jeyhun Mammadov, great leader Heydar Aliyev has always shown particular sensitivity to the development of relations with Muslim countries. He constantly visited different Muslim countries and tried to develop relations between Azerbaijan and other Muslim countries. The visit of the National Leader to Egypt in the early 1990s made an important contribution to the development of relations between the two countries. The two states signed new documents in many areas. In subsequent years, President Ilham Aliyev visited Egypt and continued to develop these relations. As is known, Egyptian President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi visited Azerbaijan at the beginning of this year. I think that this trip will contribute to the development of our relations.

Today, relations between the parliaments of the two countries are developing rapidly. The visit of the Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova to Egypt, as well as the visit of the heads of the Senate and the House of Representatives of Egypt to Azerbaijan, made an important contribution to the development of relations between the parliaments of the two countries.

At the end of my speech, I congratulate each participant in the competition, as well as the winners. I believe that such events are especially important in terms of promoting the legacy of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, passing it on to future generations, and developing relations between the two friendly countries.

Note that the participants of the competition were awarded diplomas, and 6 winners were awarded cash prizes. The State Committee for Work with the Diaspora is planning to visit Azerbaijan's five winners of the contests organized by the Egypt-Azerbaijan Friendship Society on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of National Leader Heydar Aliyev.
40 students of Eklavya Adarsh School to meet President, Union Ministers





Students of Eklavya School along with Deputy Commissioner of Tribal Department Pragyan Seth at Swami Vivekananda Airport Raipur.

Staff Reporter

RAIPUR,

As many as 40 students of Eklavya Adarsh Residential School Chhattisgarh will call on President of India Droupadi Murmu, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda and Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday. The students of Eklavya School led by Deputy Commissioner of Tribal Department Pragyan Seth left Raipur by an aeroplane on Monday. They reached New Delhi.

The students of Eklavya Vidyalaya are very excited to travel by airplane for the first time and they consider themselves very fortunate that they are getting the opportunity to meet the President of India along with the air travel. The children said that it would be an unforgettable day of their lives. All the students of Eklavya Adarsh Residential School have expressed gratitude towards Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Minister for Tribal and Scheduled Castes Mohan Markam, Secretary of the Department D Singh and Commissioner Shammi Abidi for arranging this trip.
Army foils infiltration bid in Poonch, 2 terrorists killed





JAMMU :

ALERT troops on Monday foiled an infiltration bid by killing two Pakistani terrorists along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district, the Army said. The bodies of the slain terrorists could not be retrieved as they managed to flee across the LoC before succumbing to their injuries, suffered during a gunfight with the Army, according to an Army spokesperson. One AK-47 rifle, two magazines, 30 rounds, two hand grenades and some medicines of Pakistani origin were recovered from the scene of the gunfight in the Balakote sector, he said. Lt Col Suneel Bartwal, a Jammu-based defence PRO, said, Intelligence inputs received from multiple agencies and police revealed the presence of terrorists waiting to cross the LoC from opposite own Balakote sector.

Based on these inputs, own surveillance grid was placed on heightened alert and multiple ambushes were sited at suitable location. He said the alert troops detected the two Pakistani terrorists attempting to cross the LoC into the Indian side, taking advantage of the inclement weather, dense fog, thick foliage and undulating grounds in the Hamirpur area of Balakote early on Monday. As the terrorists approached own ambush sites, they were challenged and then engaged with effective fire. This forced the terrorists to flee from the ambush site by making use of the weather and ground conditions, Lt Col Bartwal said. He further said, However, effective fire resulted in one terrorist falling down on the ground near the LoC. Additional troops were then moved into the area and search operations commenced in the afternoon after improvement of weather conditions and visibility.

A search of the area led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle with two magazines, 30 rounds, two grenades and medicines of Pakistani origin. During the search, blood trails leading towards the LoC were also detected, he said and added, As per intelligence inputs, the two terrorists who attempted to infiltrate were injured but still managed to return across the LoC and later succumbed. Lt Col Bartwal said the Indian troops continue to remain on alert and maintain vigil to foil any infiltration attempts from across the border. This was the second infiltration bid that the Army has scuttled along the LoC in Poonch this month. On August 7, a self-styled divisional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen and his bodyguard were killed when they attempted to infiltrate into the Indian side to revive the activities of the proscribed outfit in the district. While the body of Muneser Hussain, the Hizbul commander, was retrieved along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition, that of his bodyguard could not be recovered as he managed to return to the other side of the LoC in the Degwar sector.
BJP directs members to travel to every constituency for ensuing Assembly elections





BJP MLAs from Maharashtra addressing the party workers during a meeting in West Assembly.

Staff Reporter :

In preparation for the ensuring Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has directed its members to travel to each constituency and conduct an evaluation of organisational expansion and activities. Following the directive, BJP MLAs from various States have arrived in three Assembly constituencies of the city, on Monday. Among the visiting MLA were Madhuri Satish Misal from Pune, Maharashtra, visited Jabalpur North Assembly, Shweta Mahale Patil from Chikhli, Maharashtra visited Jabalpur West and Mahesh Dada Lagde from Pune, Maharashtra visited Jabalpur East Assembly. City President Prabhat Sahu informed that the MLAs from different States are embarking on journeys to Assembly constituencies.

As part of the initiative, three constituencies of the city have on Monday witnessed their presence and on Tuesday they will be arriving in Cantt Assembly constituency. Sahu said all MLAs will spend seven days in each Legislative Assembly, engaging with local party leaders and workers. On Monday, the visiting MLAs held discussions with senior citizens in the North, West and East Assembly constituency. Likewise, they also took a meeting of the core team of each Assembly. Sahu said from Tuesday the MLAs will tour all Mandal and meet workers ward and booth-level workers. Those participated in the meeting were Prabhat Sahu, Akhilesh Jain, Anchal Sonakar, Sharad Jain, Sadaanand Godbole, Swati Godbole, Ved Prakash Sharma, Rajkumar Mehta, Mandal President and others.
Lets reclaim our heroes





 By Ashwin Joshi :

INVOKING national heroes within shallow political discourses is a well-established practice among politicians. Political parties have skillfully aligned themselves with the national heroes fitting them into their own ideological lines. They have employed these figures both to glorify their virtues and to discard those with differing viewpoints. The efficacy of this strategy over the years cannot be overlooked.While some may question the purpose of this practice beyond diverting from discussions about tangible on-ground efforts, one cannot dismiss the fact that it has prompted the public to delve into history textbooks to acquaint themselves with the countrys illustrious past. However, the narrow understanding held by our elected representatives, or what they choose to disseminate, imposes limitations on these great figures. These great social reformers have been categorised along the lines of caste, community and religion. By confining these figures to communities and ideologies, the politicians have deprived citizens of the opportunity to fully comprehend and appreciate great mens contributions. Politicians often invoke Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra, pairing the great kings name to Marathi pride.

However, the fact is, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj championed the rights of all those who were marginalised by the ruling powers of the Deccan and Delhi. Hindavi Swarajya was established for everyone, and not just Marathi population. Similarly, leaders have attached Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar solely with the Dalit movement.What the leaders never mention is that Dr Ambedkar's endeavours sought a broader societal transformation, one imperative for the country's progress as a whole. Why can't a young nonDalit boy, grappling with the challenges of life, find inspiration in Dr Ambedkar as a beacon of hope? This possibility materialises only when Dr Ambedkar is presented in a universal context, detached from exclusive associations with just one community. When todays political leaders restrict these icons to ideologies or communities for the purpose of appeasement, they inadvertently undermine these legends contributions. The society is compelled to view these heroes in stark binaries - either as virtuous or as flawed. This approach fails to acknowledge the multifaceted contributions each figure has made.

Why should one not be able to extract the positive aspects from all of them? All these heroes have left their distinct marks.The confinement of these icons leads to the emergence ofselectivism. Our leaders deliberately pick icons that resonate with their ideology and magnify only a limited set of their attributes. They disregard other facets of these same personalities that do not correspond to their political stance.

The Congress party criticises Swatantryaveer Savarkar for political expediency. Not a single Congressman acknowledges the admiration expressed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for the esteemed leader. After Veer Savarkar's demise in 1966, Indira Gandhi released a commemorative postage stamp in his honour. She also commissioned a documentary film about Savarkar under the auspices of the Central Governments Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Similarly, the Bharatiya Janata Party, known for venerating Veer Savarkar, becomes visibly uneasy when the topic of Veer Savarkar's perspective on cow arises. Despite being an ardent opponent of cow slaughter, Veer Savarkar believed that cow could be regarded as a mother, but not as a deity. The act of cow worship, he argued, might lead to passivity among people, as Gods attributes are absorbed by the worshippers. According to him, Hindus should revere a deity as formidable as Lord Narsimha. As Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav concludes, its time we reclaimed our heroes and set them free from shackles of narrow confinements. Let us strive to build a society where no one would be judged or labelled as an opportunist for honouring both Veer Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi at a time, or two leaders with completely different viewpoints and methods.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have signed a roadmap for the development of energy cooperation, the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov said, Trend reports.

"We signed a new roadmap for the development of our energy cooperation in 2023-2025 with the Energy Minister of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov. We have many future energy projects, and our energy partnership will further strengthen our relations," said the minister on his page on X (Twitter).

The roadmap, covering 14 directions, envisages cooperation in geological exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources, as well as the establishment of joint ventures in both countries.

According to the document, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan will also cooperate in renewable energy sources, energy sector reform, efficient use of energy resources, energy transition, decarbonization, exchange of information and experience related to hydrogen manufacturing.

During the meeting, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said that there are ample opportunities for multidirectional energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

In turn, Uzbek Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov also emphasized that energy cooperation between the two countries has entered a new stage. In this regard, joint activities of SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz, as well as promising cooperation related to the electric power industry, especially "green energy", will contribute to strengthening the energy partnership.

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan signed a roadmap on 'green' energy last year.

"The liberated territories and green energy are the priority areas of our multifaceted cooperation," said Shahbazov.
RK Education & Career Guidancelaunches special campaign





 Business Bureau :

THERE is good news for candidate preparing for various entrance examinations for MBBS, MD, BDS, BAMS and others as RK Education & Career Guidance has launched a new campaign for them. RK Education & Career Guidance is assisting the candidates in getting admissions in various medical colleges without taking registration charges, donation or other hidden charges. It has a rich experience of about 19 years in medical and paramedical admissions and has successfully done more than 1158 admissions so far. RK Education & Career Guidance is running special campaign for those candidates who could not get admission in deemed universities event in the second round.

Many students and their parents do not have enough knowledge of medical colleges and thus they fail to get admissions. The candidates are being provided with details about selection of college, assistance from the experts, how to fill forms and submit it in the colleges, information about cancellation of seats, monitoring of all rounds of admissions, etc. RK Education & Career Guidance is operating from cities like Nagpur, Nanded and Delhi. For further details, students and their parents may visit the office of RK Education & Career Guidance located at Block No. 4/32, Ground Floor, Gandhi Grain Market, adjacent to Jaimal Suzuki showroom, Telephone Exchange Chowk, Central Avenue Road, Nagpur. (Mob. 9011664887, 8830960793).
Two men from Haryana arrested for cheating in ISROs recruitment test





THIRUVANANTHAPURAM :

TWO men from Haryana have been arrested from here for allegedly cheating in a test conducted by the ISRO for recruiting technical staff for the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). They were caught from two different examination centres here while using unfair means to answer the test questions, a senior police officer said. The two were also impersonating the actual candidates, the officer said.

The arrest was formally recorded late Sunday night, he said. Besides them, four other persons from the northern state were also in custody in connection with the incident, the officer said and added that whether they took the test or not was being investigated. They are being questioned presently, he said. A case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and various other provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act has been lodged against them, police said. The VSSC on Monday cancelled the test. The revised schedule for the test will be informed to all the candidates concerned, through the VSSC website in due course. Inconvenience caused is regretted, it said.
Premier Oil plc (OTCMKTS:PMOIY  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $3.20 and last traded at $3.20, with a volume of 25 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.20.

Premier Oil Price Performance

The firms 50 day simple moving average is $3.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 2.77.

About Premier Oil

(Get Free Report)

Premier Oil plc, an oil and gas company, engages in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties in the Falkland Islands, Indonesia, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and internationally. As of December 31, 2019, its proved and probable reserves (2P) were 175 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe); and 2P and estimated contingent resources were 847 mmboe.

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Contrarius Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. (NYSE:AMR  Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,381 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 5,157 shares during the period. Alpha Metallurgical Resources makes up 0.6% of Contrarius Investment Management Ltds investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Contrarius Investment Management Ltd owned 0.46% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources worth $10,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 16,462.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,325 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 111.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 87,196 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $11,506,000 after purchasing an additional 45,975 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Alpha Metallurgical Resources during the first quarter worth $200,000. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Alpha Metallurgical Resources during the first quarter worth $3,044,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Alpha Metallurgical Resources during the first quarter worth $255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the companys stock.

Get Alpha Metallurgical Resources alerts:

Alpha Metallurgical Resources Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of AMR stock traded up $5.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $196.05. 96,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,805. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.86 and a 1 year high of $202.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.47 and a 200 day moving average of $159.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.30.

Alpha Metallurgical Resources Dividend Announcement

Alpha Metallurgical Resources ( NYSE:AMR Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The energy company reported $12.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $9.32 by $2.84. Alpha Metallurgical Resources had a net margin of 26.73% and a return on equity of 62.51%. The company had revenue of $858.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $30.03 earnings per share. Alpha Metallurgical Resourcess revenue was down 35.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. will post 46.91 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Alpha Metallurgical Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMR has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen downgraded Alpha Metallurgical Resources from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Monday. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Alpha Metallurgical Resources from $197.00 to $199.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 8th.

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Alpha Metallurgical Resources Profile

(Free Report)

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc, a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. As of December 31, 2022, it operated twenty four active mines and eight coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc in February 2021.

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Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO  Get Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as C$111.81 and last traded at C$111.91, with a volume of 498512 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$113.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$145.00 to C$139.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$123.00 to C$131.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$134.00 to C$125.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. CSFB cut their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$147.00 to C$139.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$129.00 to C$122.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$135.73.

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Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.4 %

The stocks fifty day moving average is C$119.27 and its 200-day moving average is C$121.32. The stock has a market cap of C$79.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO  Get Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 24th. The bank reported C$2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$3.15 by C($0.22). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of C$8.44 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 13.2158693 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreals previous quarterly dividend of $1.43. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Bank of Montreals dividend payout ratio is presently 58.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of Montreal news, Director Linda Susan Huber sold 500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$87.56, for a total transaction of C$43,780.00. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock.

About Bank of Montreal

(Get 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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Shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (LON:VOD  Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of Hold from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 108.80 ($1.39).

A number of analysts recently commented on VOD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Vodafone Group Public from GBX 185 ($2.36) to GBX 155 ($1.98) in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Berenberg Bank lowered their target price on Vodafone Group Public from GBX 95 ($1.21) to GBX 85 ($1.08) in a research report on Friday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vodafone Group Public from GBX 95 ($1.21) to GBX 93 ($1.19) in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Citigroup restated a neutral rating on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Vodafone Group Public from GBX 115 ($1.47) to GBX 100 ($1.28) in a report on Monday, August 7th.

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Insider Transactions at Vodafone Group Public

Vodafone Group Public Price Performance

In related news, insider Margherita D. Valle sold 631,829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 73 ($0.93), for a total transaction of 461,235.17 ($588,460.28). Company insiders own 5.05% of the companys stock.

Shares of LON VOD opened at GBX 70.87 ($0.90) on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of 19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.58. The firms 50-day moving average price is GBX 72.96 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 84.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 105.91. Vodafone Group Public has a 1-year low of GBX 69.73 ($0.89) and a 1-year high of GBX 119.36 ($1.52).

Vodafone Group Public Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.

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Contrarius Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR  Free Report) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 57,536 shares of the oil and gas companys stock, valued at approximately $7,014,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Nabors Industries by 9.7% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,224 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Nabors Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $366,000. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Nabors Industries during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $803,000. Credit Suisse AG increased its stake in Nabors Industries by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 20,490 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Nabors Industries in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NBR. StockNews.com began coverage on Nabors Industries in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Nabors Industries from $124.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nabors Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, 888 reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Nabors Industries in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $145.00.

Nabors Industries Stock Performance

NBR stock traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.25. 53,464 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,298. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23. Nabors Industries Ltd. has a 1-year low of $83.05 and a 1-year high of $190.90.

Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported ($2.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($3.76). Nabors Industries had a negative net margin of 0.96% and a negative return on equity of 17.98%. The company had revenue of $778.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.59 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Nabors Industries Ltd. will post -3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nabors Industries Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.51, for a total transaction of $327,906.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,378 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,939,130.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY traded up $3.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $553.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,935,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,061,068. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $525.59 billion, a PE ratio of 76.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $296.32 and a 12-month high of $556.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $470.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.85.

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Companys payout ratio is 62.87%.

LLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $500.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. SVB Securities lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $410.00 to $458.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $385.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $490.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $517.00.

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Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,878,417 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,888,300,000 after purchasing an additional 642,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,324,267 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,979,760,000 after purchasing an additional 314,349 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 533,336.4% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 19,059,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,938,609,000 after purchasing an additional 19,056,108 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,205,501 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,111,568,000 after purchasing an additional 338,077 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,059,204 shares of the companys stock worth $4,411,740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW  Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,640 shares of the medical research companys stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Incs holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EW. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 11.4% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,181 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 34.7% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,738 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 18.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,223 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 53.5% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,182 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 655,567 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $77,173,000 after buying an additional 19,798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.78% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 6,421 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.30, for a total value of $509,185.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 213,794 shares in the company, valued at $16,953,864.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Catherine M. Szyman sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $429,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,056 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,155.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 6,421 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.30, for a total value of $509,185.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 213,794 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,953,864.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,025 shares of company stock worth $13,629,195 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on EW shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $87.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $92.68.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW stock traded down $0.52 on Tuesday, reaching $75.81. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,392,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,157,038. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $67.13 and a 52 week high of $98.35. The company has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 2.30.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 24.56%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edwards Lifesciences Profile

(Free Report)

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease, and critical care and surgical monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of heart valves; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases.

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Etn. Fr. Colruyt NV (OTCMKTS:CUYTY  Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.09 and last traded at $9.09, with a volume of 0 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays raised Etn. Fr. Colruyt from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.90.

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Etn. Fr. Colruyt Stock Performance

About Etn. Fr. Colruyt

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.60.

(Get Free Report)

Etn. Fr. Colruyt NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retail, wholesale, food service, and other activities in Belgium, France, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale and Foodservice, and Other Activities. The company provides groceries, fresh products, dry products, and frozen and non-food products; and operates CNG, hydrogen filling, and charging stations.

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Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Envista Holdings Co. (NYSE:NVST  Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,674 shares of the companys stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Envista worth $3,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Envista by 705.4% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Envista by 225.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 834 shares of the companys stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Envista in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Envista by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,273 shares of the companys stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in Envista by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,205 shares of the companys stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NVST shares. TheStreet downgraded Envista from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Envista from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Envista Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NVST stock traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $33.06. 82,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,073,040. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.41. Envista Holdings Co. has a one year low of $31.20 and a one year high of $43.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.05.

Envista (NYSE:NVST  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $662.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.81 million. Envista had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firms revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Envista Holdings Co. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Envista

(Free Report)

Envista Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells dental products in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Products & Technologies, and Equipment & Consumables. The Specialty Products & Technologies segment offers dental implant systems, guided surgery systems, biomaterials, and prefabricated and custom-built prosthetics to oral surgeons, prosthodontists, and periodontists; and brackets and wires, tubes and bands, archwires, clear aligners, digital orthodontic treatments, retainers, and other orthodontic laboratory products.

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StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP  Free Report) in a research note published on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials companys stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America cut International Paper from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on International Paper from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. 58.com restated a maintains rating on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded International Paper from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on International Paper from $38.00 to $29.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $35.82.

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Read Our Latest Report on IP

International Paper Stock Down 1.3 %

IP opened at $34.06 on Friday. International Paper has a one year low of $29.00 and a one year high of $44.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stocks fifty day moving average is $33.04 and its 200-day moving average is $34.13. The company has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.06.

International Paper (NYSE:IP  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.17. International Paper had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 5.14%. The company had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. International Papers dividend payout ratio is currently 63.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 2,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $89,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,219 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $293,418.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Allison B. Magness sold 3,300 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $104,775.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,055 shares in the company, valued at $668,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 2,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $89,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,219 shares in the company, valued at $293,418.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 975.2% in the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 5,333 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 299.0% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 104.9% in the 1st quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 201,269 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $7,258,000 after purchasing an additional 103,040 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $198,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in International Paper by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,060 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 23,580 shares during the last quarter. 85.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About International Paper

(Get Free Report)

International Paper Company produces renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers segment. The company's Industrial Packaging segment manufactures containerboards, including linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.

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Ithaca Energy Inc (OTCMKTS:IACAF  Get Free Report) was up 1.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1.45 and last traded at $1.45. Approximately 4,100 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 51,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.43.

Ithaca Energy Stock Performance

The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $1.45.

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Macquarie Group Limited (ASX:MQGPF  Get Free Report) declared a interim dividend on Wednesday, July 5th, MarketIndexAU reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of 1.685 per share on Monday, September 11th. This represents a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 24th. This is an increase from Macquarie Groups previous interim dividend of $1.58.

Macquarie Group Price Performance

Macquarie Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Macquarie Group Limited provides diversified financial services in Australia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), Banking and Financial Services (BFS), Commodities and Global Markets (CGM), and Macquarie Capital.

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Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM  Free Report) (TSE:BAM.A) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,827 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Brookfield Asset Management were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 38,228 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,451 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,404,000 after buying an additional 20,309 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management during the first quarter worth $22,369,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management in the first quarter valued at $340,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,050,716 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,491,950,000 after buying an additional 1,220,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.29% of the companys stock.

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Brookfield Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of Brookfield Asset Management stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.54. 466,361 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,455,398. The firms 50-day moving average price is $33.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.71. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has a 12-month low of $26.76 and a 12-month high of $36.50.

Brookfield Asset Management Announces Dividend

Brookfield Asset Management ( NYSE:BAM Get Free Report ) (TSE:BAM.A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $985.00 million for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $34.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating for the company. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an action list buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $39.00.

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Brookfield Asset Management Company Profile

(Free Report)

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. provides alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the ownership, operation, and development of hydroelectric, wind, solar, and energy transition power generating assets. The company's infrastructure business engages in the ownership, operation, and development of utilities, transport, midstream, data and sustainable resource assets.

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Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,643 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 3,704 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 20,822 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 4.3% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,263 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 25.4% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,064 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 16.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,239 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.77% of the companys stock.

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Charles Schwab Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of SCHW stock traded down $2.69 on Tuesday, hitting $56.71. The stock had a trading volume of 5,000,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,541,697. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $45.00 and a twelve month high of $86.63. The firm has a market cap of $100.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.89.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.15% and a return on equity of 27.54%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firms revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. Charles Schwabs payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Ruffel bought 833 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.55 per share, with a total value of $50,438.15. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,386 shares in the company, valued at $205,022.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles A. Ruffel bought 833 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.55 per share, with a total value of $50,438.15. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,386 shares in the company, valued at $205,022.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $5,045,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,672,778 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,974,207,014.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on SCHW shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Charles Schwab in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given 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 price target of $72.09.

Check Out Our Latest Report on SCHW

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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ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 22. IndiGo, a major Indian airline, is launching a direct flight between Delhi and Kazakhstans Almaty, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Kazakhstan, these flights were initiated with the support of the ministry and the Kazakh Tourism National Company.

The flights for this route will commence at the end of September 2023 and will operate three times a week.

According to the ministry, this flight will mark the airline's 32nd international direct route.

The Official Representative of the Kazakh Ministry, Moldir Abdualieva, said that negotiations for launching new direct flights are regularly conducted with foreign airlines. Recently, flight frequency to Qatar, Egypt, and China has increased.

She emphasized that foreign companies are showing significant interest in Kazakhstan. For instance, this summer, Oman's airline, SalamAir, began operating flights twice a week on the Almaty-Muscat route.

IndiGo Airlines operates flights to over 75 destinations in India as well as major Asian cities. The airline has an extensive network in Europe and North America through code-sharing partnerships.
Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Free Report) by 144.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,090 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 42,024 shares during the period. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF makes up about 0.7% of Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF worth $6,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 48.0% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 740,609 shares of the companys stock worth $69,380,000 after acquiring an additional 240,264 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 85,567 shares of the companys stock worth $8,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,485,000. Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 71.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 117,638 shares of the companys stock worth $11,020,000 after acquiring an additional 49,124 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 19,654 shares of the companys stock worth $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Trading Up 0.5 %

BATS:EFG traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $90.42. The company had a trading volume of 871,536 shares. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.45. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 52 week low of $67.58 and a 52 week high of $85.81.

About iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

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National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at CIBC from C$108.00 to C$106.00 in a report released on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services providers stock. CIBCs target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.42% from the stocks previous close.

NA has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays upped their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$93.00 to C$96.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$102.00 to C$105.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. CSFB lowered their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$116.00 to C$111.00 in a report on Thursday, June 1st. Cormark decreased their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$113.00 to C$109.00 in a report on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$100.00 to C$105.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$105.71.

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National Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.8 %

National Bank of Canada stock traded down C$0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting C$98.68. The stock had a trading volume of 247,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,953. The stock has a market cap of C$33.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$100.03 and a 200 day moving average price of C$99.42. National Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of C$82.16 and a 12 month high of C$104.83.

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 31st. The financial services provider reported C$2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$2.40 by C($0.02). The company had revenue of C$2.48 billion for the quarter. National Bank of Canada had a net margin of 34.69% and a return on equity of 15.30%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that National Bank of Canada will post 10.0129741 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Company Profile

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National Bank of Canada provides various financial products and services to retail, commercial, corporate, and institutional clients in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International.

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Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lowered its stake in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN  Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,730 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLCs holdings in Devon Energy were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DVN. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the first quarter worth about $364,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the first quarter worth about $188,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 52.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 99,120 shares of the energy companys stock worth $5,861,000 after purchasing an additional 33,936 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 9.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 414,354 shares of the energy companys stock worth $24,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Devon Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.00% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Devon Energy from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Devon Energy from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $65.05.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of DVN stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,926,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,977,095. Devon Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $44.03 and a 52-week high of $78.82. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $50.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 2.32.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The energy company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.18. Devon Energy had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 37.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Devon Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.94%.

Insider Activity at Devon Energy

In related news, EVP Dennis C. Cameron sold 7,870 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $402,393.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,548 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,765,319.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Devon Energy

(Free Report)

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Anadarko, Williston, Eagle Ford, and Powder River Basin. The company was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC trimmed its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:SMFG  Free Report) by 85.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,300 shares of the banks stock after selling 36,456 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLCs holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 335.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,205 shares of the banks stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Glassman Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 5,036 shares of the banks stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 127.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,081 shares of the banks stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 5,090 shares in the last quarter. 1.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Trading Up 1.7 %

SMFG stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.77. 699,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,768,117. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.69. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.39 and a 1 year high of $9.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.77 and a 200-day moving average of $8.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( NYSE:SMFG Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.19%. The company had revenue of $16.56 billion during the quarter. Analysts predict that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SMFG. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

(Free Report)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking, leasing, securities, credit card, and consumer finance services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. It operates through Wholesale Business Unit, Retail Business Unit, Global Business Unit, and Global Markets Business Unit segments.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:SMFG  Free Report).

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Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC trimmed its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM  Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,702 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil makes up 0.9% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLCs holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLCs holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $3,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 47,703 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $5,231,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 93,000 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $10,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 58,261 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $9,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,128 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 75,867 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $8,324,000 after acquiring an additional 4,158 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $703,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Exxon Mobil from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Friday, July 7th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $148.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $124.27.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of XOM stock traded up $0.45 on Tuesday, hitting $109.16. 4,083,726 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,102,085. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.48. Exxon Mobil Co. has a one year low of $83.89 and a one year high of $119.92. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $105.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.06). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 13.72% and a return on equity of 25.82%. The business had revenue of $82.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.14 EPS. Exxon Mobils revenue for the quarter was down 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Exxon Mobils payout ratio is currently 29.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other news, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben purchased 458,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $106.93 per share, with a total value of $48,973,940.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,635,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $174,830,550. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exxon Mobil Profile

(Free Report)

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.

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Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE  Get Free Report) major shareholder Thomas A. Satterfield, Jr. acquired 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.17 per share, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 525,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $614,250. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a companys stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Safeguard Scientifics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of SFE traded down $0.02 on Monday, hitting $1.15. 31,311 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,422. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.00 million, a P/E ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 0.88. The stocks 50 day moving average is $1.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.92. Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.09 and a 1 year high of $4.54.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safeguard Scientifics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Safeguard Scientifics by 17.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,165 shares of the asset managers stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Safeguard Scientifics by 5.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 95,711 shares of the asset managers stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815 shares during the period. EJF Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 172,955 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,151 shares during the period. Yakira Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Yakira Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,164,945 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan Co. raised its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 992,316 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 14,260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.06% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Safeguard Scientifics in a report on Sunday. They set a hold rating on the stock.

Check Out Our Latest Report on SFE

Safeguard Scientifics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc no longer investing. It is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in expansion financings, growth capital, management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations, corporate spinouts, growth stage, and early stage financings. It initially invests in a Series A-C round and opportunistically in a seed round.

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StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Seabridge Gold (NYSE:SA  Free Report) (TSE:SEA) in a research report sent to investors on Friday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock.

Seabridge Gold Stock Performance

Seabridge Gold stock opened at $11.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 3.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.70. Seabridge Gold has a 52-week low of $10.03 and a 52-week high of $16.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $936.51 million, a P/E ratio of -56.45 and a beta of 0.86.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seabridge Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new position in shares of Seabridge Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at about $299,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Seabridge Gold by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,100 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Seabridge Gold by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 56,325 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 6,712 shares in the last quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Seabridge Gold by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 2,728,409 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $32,877,000 after purchasing an additional 14,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Seabridge Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at about $283,000. Institutional investors own 34.25% of the companys stock.

Seabridge Gold Company Profile

Seabridge Gold Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition and exploration of gold properties in North America. The company also explores for gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum deposits. Its principal projects are the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell property and Iskut project located in British Columbia, Canada; Courageous Lake property situated in Northwest Territories, Canada; Snowstorm project situated in the Nevada; and 3 Aces project located in the Yukon Territory.

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Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Free Report) by 69.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 958 shares of the information technology services providers stock after buying an additional 394 shares during the quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLCs holdings in ServiceNow were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. New Hampshire Trust raised its holdings in ServiceNow by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 599 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 1.4% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in ServiceNow by 0.9% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,454 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Alera Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 2.7% during the first quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 928 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirova grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirova now owns 2,525 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 86.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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ServiceNow Price Performance

NOW stock traded up $5.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $559.97. The stock had a trading volume of 378,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,782. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $500.66. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52 week low of $337.00 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $114.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ServiceNow ( NYSE:NOW Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The information technology services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.34. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.13 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

NOW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. VNET Group restated a maintains rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $500.00 to $640.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $420.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. BNP Paribas raised ServiceNow from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $410.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on ServiceNow from $646.00 to $644.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $591.38.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ServiceNow

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.99, for a total value of $668,968.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 4,136 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,262,350.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Chirantan Jitendra Desai sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $538.15, for a total value of $6,995,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 40,558 shares in the company, valued at $21,826,287.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 1,223 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.99, for a total value of $668,968.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 4,136 shares in the company, valued at $2,262,350.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,249 shares of company stock worth $15,944,419. Corporate 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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Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO  Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of Reduce from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.94.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCCO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Southern Copper from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $66.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a buy rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $55.00 to $56.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $67.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $52.50 to $55.50 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th.

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View Our Latest Report on Southern Copper

Southern Copper Stock Up 1.7 %

SCCO stock opened at $78.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.34 and a 200 day moving average of $74.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.57, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $42.42 and a 52 week high of $87.59.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 34.86% and a net margin of 27.62%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.37 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 8th. This is a boost from Southern Coppers previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Southern Coppers payout ratio is 111.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 500 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $35,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,514 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $387,137.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $35,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,514 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $387,137.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanchez Mejorada Enri Castillo sold 2,400 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $195,744.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,992. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,400 shares of company stock valued at $274,404 in the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,091 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,761,000 after buying an additional 5,639 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $122,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $25,672,000. 7.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern Copper

(Get Free Report

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.

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StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO  Free Report) in a research report report published on Saturday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Compass Point decreased their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.50 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $10.25.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on SHO

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

Sunstone Hotel Investors Increases Dividend

SHO stock opened at $8.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.27. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 52-week low of $8.60 and a 52-week high of $11.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.96.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is a positive change from Sunstone Hotel Investorss previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Sunstone Hotel Investorss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHO. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,499 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 515.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 10,387 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 15.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 376,700 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 49,400 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 112,095 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 43,806 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 190,263 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that as of the date of this release owns 15 hotels comprised of 7,735 rooms, the majority of which are operated under nationally recognized brands. Sunstone's strategy is to create long-term stakeholder value through the acquisition, active ownership and disposition of hotels considered to be Long-Term Relevant Real Estate.

Further Reading

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 22. Kazakhstan and Vietnam aim to expand the flight routes between the countries, Trend reports.

This initiative is part of a memorandum of understanding signed by the Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan, Marat Karabayev, and the co-founder and CEO of SOVICO Group, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of VietJet Air, Nguyen Thanh Hung, during the official visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Vietnam.

According to the pact, the parties would also work to boost flights between Kazakhstan and Vietnam under the "open skies" policy and improve their respective air freight transportation.

It was stressed during the signing that VietJet Air is interested in working with Kazakh airlines, including the signing of interline and codeshare agreements, in order to give VietJet Air passengers more opportunities.

The agreements signed under the framework of the memorandum, according to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, would support the growth of economic, investment, and tourism cooperation between the two nations.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of iShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:FXI  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,002 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FXI. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of iShares China Large-Cap ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of iShares China Large-Cap ETF by 332.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,431 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in iShares China Large-Cap ETF by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,799 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in iShares China Large-Cap ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in iShares China Large-Cap ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000.

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iShares China Large-Cap ETF Trading Down 0.2 %

FXI opened at $26.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.99 and a 200 day moving average of $28.35. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.44. iShares China Large-Cap ETF has a 12 month low of $20.87 and a 12 month high of $33.38.

iShares China Large-Cap ETF Profile

iShares China Large-Cap ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the FTSE China 25 Index (the Underlying Index). The Funds portfolio of sectors include Financials, Telecommunication, Oil & gas, Technology and Consumer goods.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FXI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:FXI  Free Report).

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Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Get Free Report) and Suncorp Group (OTCMKTS:SNMCY  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Argo Group International and Suncorp Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Argo Group International -11.90% -7.65% -0.94% Suncorp Group N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Argo Group International and Suncorp Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Argo Group International 1 1 0 0 1.50 Suncorp Group 0 1 2 0 2.67

Institutional & Insider Ownership

Argo Group International presently has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.94%. Given Argo Group Internationals higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Argo Group International is more favorable than Suncorp Group.

0.1% of Suncorp Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Argo Group International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Argo Group International and Suncorp Groups gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Argo Group International $1.75 billion 0.60 -$175.20 million ($5.71) -5.20 Suncorp Group N/A N/A N/A $0.38 21.08

Suncorp Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Argo Group International. Argo Group International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Suncorp Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Suncorp Group beats Argo Group International on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also provides directors and officers liability, errors and omissions liability, and employment practices liability insurance; international casualty and motor treaties insurance; professional indemnity and medical malpractice insurance; direct and facultative excess insurance, North American and international binders, and residential collateral protection for lending institutions; and personal accident, aviation, cargo, yachts, and onshore and offshore marine insurance products. It markets its products through wholesale and retail agents, managing general agents, brokers, and third-party intermediaries. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

About Suncorp Group

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Suncorp Group Limited provides insurance and banking products and services to retail, corporate, and commercial customers in Australia and New Zealand. The company operates through Insurance (Australia), Suncorp Bank, and Suncorp New Zealand segments. The Insurance (Australia) segment provides general insurance products and services, including home and contents, motor, marine, travel, commercial property, industrial special risk, public liability and professional indemnity, workers' compensation, and compulsory third-party products, as well as distributes life insurance products. The Suncorp Bank segment offers banking services, such as commercial, agribusiness, small business, and home loans; savings and transaction accounts; foreign exchange services; and treasury products and services. The Suncorp New Zealand segment provides general and life insurance products comprising home and contents, motor, commercial property, public liability and professional indemnity, life, trauma, total and permanent disablement, and income protection. The company was formerly known as Suncorp-Metway Limited and changed its name to Suncorp Group Limited in December 2010. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.

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StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB  Free Report) in a research note released on Saturday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Taseko Mines from C$3.80 to C$3.60 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Taseko Mines from C$2.25 to C$2.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th.

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Taseko Mines Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE TGB opened at $1.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Taseko Mines has a 12-month low of $0.91 and a 12-month high of $1.90. The firm has a market cap of $392.55 million, a P/E ratio of -34.00 and a beta of 2.01. The stocks 50-day moving average is $1.57.

Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $83.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.25 million. Taseko Mines had a negative net margin of 2.88% and a positive return on equity of 3.40%. On average, equities analysts expect that Taseko Mines will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Taseko Mines by 10.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 376,136 shares of the companys stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 34,100 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Taseko Mines by 305.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 309,635 shares of the companys stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 233,235 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Taseko Mines by 148.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,450 shares of the companys stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 21,790 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Taseko Mines by 14.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 77,196 shares of the companys stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Taseko Mines by 663.0% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 819,644 shares of the companys stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 712,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.55% of the companys stock.

About Taseko Mines

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Taseko Mines Limited, a mining company, acquires, develops, and operates mineral properties. It explores for copper, molybdenum, gold, niobium, and silver deposits. The company holds 75% interest in the Gibraltar mine located in British Columbia. It also holds 100% interest in Yellowhead copper project, the Aley niobium project, and the New Prosperity gold and copper project located in British Columbia; and the Florence copper project located in Arizona.

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Tellurian Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:TELL  Get Free Report) was down 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $1.26 and last traded at $1.26. Approximately 2,497,456 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 10,127,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Tellurian from $1.30 to $1.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th.

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View Our Latest Report on TELL

Tellurian Price Performance

Insider Activity

The stock has a market capitalization of $715.64 million, a P/E ratio of -10.08 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The companys 50-day moving average is $1.68.

In related news, Director Jonathan S. Gross bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.38 per share, for a total transaction of $138,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 240,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $331,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tellurian

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TELL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tellurian by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,741,118 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $92,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,723 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Tellurian by 9.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 37,877,094 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $53,407,000 after buying an additional 3,254,263 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Tellurian by 27.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,631,488 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $109,162,000 after buying an additional 7,856,617 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tellurian by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,241,142 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $14,440,000 after buying an additional 544,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Tellurian by 240.0% during the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,422,537 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $14,150,000 after buying an additional 5,945,549 shares in the last quarter. 37.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Tellurian

(Get Free Report)

Tellurian Inc engages in the natural gas business worldwide. The company is developing a portfolio of natural gas production, liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketing, and infrastructure assets that includes an approximately 27.6 million tons per annum LNG export facility and an associated pipeline. It owns interests in 27,689 net acres of natural gas assets and 143 producing wells located in the Haynesville Shale trend of northern Louisiana.

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Azul (NYSE:AZUL  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $14.10 to $14.90 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a neutral rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Groups target price points to a potential upside of 54.89% from the stocks current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Azul from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Azul from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their target price for the company from $8.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Azul from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the company from $6.90 to $11.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.70.

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Azul Stock Performance

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Shares of NYSE AZUL traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.62. 259,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,784,000. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $11.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.67. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -5.77 and a beta of 1.42. Azul has a 1-year low of $3.82 and a 1-year high of $13.86.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZUL. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azul by 83.9% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,630 shares of the companys stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Azul in the first quarter valued at about $3,449,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azul by 10.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 58,836 shares of the companys stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 5,761 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Azul by 74.0% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 8,827 shares of the companys stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Azul by 52.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 52,989 shares of the companys stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 18,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.30% of the companys stock.

About Azul

(Get Free Report)

Azul SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled air transportation services in Brazil. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated approximately 1,000 daily departures to 158 destinations through a network of 300 non-stop routes with an operating fleet of 177 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 194 aircraft.

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Walker River Resources Corp. (CVE:WRR  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as C$0.12 and last traded at C$0.12, with a volume of 24000 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.15.

Walker River Resources Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$4.83 million, a PE ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$0.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$0.18.

Walker River Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Walker River Resources Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the identification, exploration, acquisition, and evaluation of mineral properties in Canada. It holds 100% interests in the Lapon Canyon gold project with 147 claims, which covers an area of approximately 2940 acres located in Nevada.

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Plancorp LLC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,065 shares of the retailers stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $837,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 915,083 shares of the retailers stock valued at $134,929,000 after buying an additional 18,194 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 6,205 shares of the retailers stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $906,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.95% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total value of $1,505,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,490,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,105,879.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total transaction of $1,505,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,490,621 shares in the company, valued at $231,105,879.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,369,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $213,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 242,553,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,838,348,496. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,757,113 shares of company stock worth $1,353,607,317. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $176.35.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WMT traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $156.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,029,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,985,792. The company has a market capitalization of $422.32 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $157.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.27. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.07 and a twelve month high of $162.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $160.22 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.47% and a net margin of 2.23%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. lessened its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK  Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,149,682 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 19,533 shares during the quarter. Graphic Packaging accounts for about 2.3% of Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. owned approximately 1.35% of Graphic Packaging worth $105,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 177.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,109 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.86% of the companys stock.

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Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.58. 1,310,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,689,750. Graphic Packaging Holding has a one year low of $19.46 and a one year high of $27.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

Graphic Packaging ( NYSE:GPK Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.07). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 37.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Graphic Packagings payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $35.00 to $29.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $29.44.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Profile

(Free Report)

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based packaging solutions to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. The company offers coated unbleached kraft (CUK), coated recycled paperboard (CRB), and solid bleached sulfate paperboard (SBS) to various paperboard packaging converters and brokers; and paperboard packaging products, such as folding cartons, cups, lids, and food containers primarily to consumer packaged goods, quick-service restaurants, and foodservice companies; and barrier packaging products that protect against moisture, hot and cold temperature, grease, oil, oxygen, sunlight, insects, and other potential product-damaging factors.

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It is no longer news that the management of the University of Calabar has suspended the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof Cyril Ndifon, over allegations of sexual harassment of female students.

Ndifons suspension which took immediate effect followed a probe into the allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by some female students of the faculty who were recently seen in a viral video storming the office of the schools Vice-Chancellor, Prof Florence Obi, wielding placards with inscriptions such as, Ndifon must go for our sanity, We are tired of buying law journals, We are tired of lecturers not attending classes, and Law girls are not your bonanza'.

The suspension was reportedly conveyed via a letter by the schools Registrar, Gabriel Egbe, and partly read, Please refer to our letter Ref UC/REG/DISC.45A dated August 14, 2023, on your alleged violation of the provisions of the extant laws and policies of the university and your response to the said letter which was dated August 16, 2023. The vice-chancellor has gone through your written representations and is not satisfied with your explanations.

Essentially, while the suspension is appreciated, this piece on the other hand believes that Unical is not alien to scandals. Profession Ndifon's latest sex scandal is just an addition to the institution's gale of bad press.

Recall that the erudite Professor of Law was in 2015 suspended over the same sexual harassment allegation. Commentators are never tired of harping on the university's lurid downside which has seemingly defied successive leaderships.

For example, reports have shown that Unical is not only reputed for poor relationships with students but equally allergic to good image when it comes to dealings with its publics, including suppliers.

Notedly, while the dust raised by the Ndifongate (part two) appears to be settling, another tar on Unicals linen has just reared its ugly head, prompting analysts to suggest that there is something deeply troubling with the school, albeit hidden.

In this light, the reported ordeal suffered in the hands of the successive University of Calabar leadership, from 2014 till date, (9 years), by Isioma Aninyem, a Nigerian, trading under the name Michael Hull Services, an educational services company that is primarily involved in sourcing and supplying of educational materials, particularly journals, to educational institutions, readily comes to mind.

Giving details of what he termed using trickery and deception to obtain sets of academic/research journals to the tune of N1, 034,700 (One Million and Thirty-four Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira Only) from the organization in 2014', the management of MICHAEL HULL SERVICES in the referenced report explained that the then university librarian, Dr. (Mrs.) Ruth Simon Bassey contacted Michael Hull Services, in the aforementioned year  to provide academic/professional journals to the university library in preparation for the accreditation of the academic programs of the university by the National University Commission.

Dr. (Mrs) Bassey, according to the firm, had assured that immediate payment would be made after the delivery of the journals to the university.

She thus pleaded with him (Isioma Anyinyem) to grant the credit to the university even though this was against the practice in the firm. The organization agreed and supplied the journals to the university library.

Unfortunately however, to this day, the organization has written and appealed to the bursar, vice-chancellor, accountant and the university librarian to pay the money as promised, but the appeals never yielded any result.

In 2015, I demanded payment. She informed me that the invoice was being processed. In 2016, I called again that I had not been paid; she stated that the university and the former university bursar were having legal issues in court and that I would be paid after the case. She later called me to say that a new university bursar had been appointed and that I would be paid.

"But contrary to that promise, when I called the new university bursar, she stated that she was unaware of the non-settlement of that invoice. I sent the details to her but nothing was done.

"As if that was not enough woes, in 2018, the university bursar sent a message to my telephone stating that the contract was awarded by the former university vice-chancellor and funded or paid for. I quickly informed Dr. (Mrs.) Simon Bassey of the new development but she immediately denied the bursars claim and told me she had met her on several occasions to advance my case.

"She went further to inform me that it would be false, and sent this Payment Voucher Number: Michael Hull, PV, 158 of 14th Jan, 016 # 906,865.50. This was likely to reassure me that there was no payment made to anybody. I forwarded the message to the bursar, but she refused to state who the payment was made to. I wrote to the vice-chancellor of the university, demanding and appealing to him to pay me. There was no response from him.

Continuing, Mr Isioma said "In 2019, the university librarian, Mrs. Nkoyo Edem called me to apologize on behalf of the university and appealed to me not to take legal action against the university, and that I should forward a copy of the original invoice of the supplied journals to her for onward processing. This I did, but unfortunately, the university has refused to pay me or even reach out to me till today.

"Not even my petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offices Commission (ICPC) and The Public Complaint Commission, have been able to compel UNICAL management to positively respond to my demand. Isioma concluded"

This is the reality confronting Isioma Aninyem and his firm, Michael Hull services!

Going by the above account, it will elicit the question as to; who knows how many Nigerians have suffered similar fates in the past or still going through such plight in the hands of the University of Calabar management. How many Nigerian businessmen/women would stand the test? Who will stop the university authority from such inhuman treatment of their fellow Nigerians? What is the offense committed by Michael Hull? Who should be the judge? Must we as a nation allow UNICAL to go on with such practice to the detriment of businesses in Nigeria?

Undoubtedly, it will be convenient for some commentators to argue that this is a commercial dispute and therefore, should be settled privately without coming to the public domain. But in the opinion of this piece, there are glaring reasons why this particular issue must be investigated.

Very fundamental, the university in question is a public institution of higher learning conducted with the approval, and from the funds of the public. Therefore, when such a public institution ceases to have public support or is involved in any form of infraction that has to do with a lack of transparency or accountability, or a combination of both, it forfeits its right to exist. In the present circumstance, a university maintained on permanent public funds has been accused of being serially reputed for undermining public trust and therefore, this piece sees no reason why it should not be placed under scrutiny.

Regardless of what others may say about the amount of money in question, by all standards, N1N1,034,700One Million and Thirty-four Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira Only), is a huge amount that must not be allowed go to unaccounted for. Similarly, assuming without conceding that the money used for the supply of the journal was a loan sourced om a financial institution, the weight of accumulated interest in the past 9years would have been crushing by now.

Like an unchained torrent of water submerging the whole countryside and devastating crops, even so, will the authorities of the university continue to treat their suppliers and other stakeholders if this particular infraction and others are not investigated and those involved bare ought to book?

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the Federal Government and other relevant stakeholders must, therefore, look into this present issue as there exists the possibility of such ill-treatment escalating in other universities in Nigeria if the present is handled with levity.

Jerome-Mario Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), at Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via [email protected]/08032725374 .
Coordinating minister of health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, has vowed to work assiduously towards ending menace of medical tourism out of Nigeria.

He said this on Monday at his maiden meeting with the permanent secretary in the ministry of health and its directors upon assumption of office.

The Minister noted that there was a gap in health outcomes that needed to be improved upon.

When you fly from Addis Ababa to New Delhi you see a lot of people going for medical tourism and it is not a thing we in the health sector should rest on our oars and regard as normal.

We should do something about it and improve our health outcomes.

It is important that we deal with the issues of governance to improve the governance of health.

The Federal Government, states and local governments and other stakeholders will work together, including those who may be differently abled in the construct of health policy and implementation, he said.

Mr Pate said also that the economic value chain existing in the health sector should be harnessed.

He noted that the role was for the private sector, though the mission was a core public one.

The minister also said that the agenda to harness the economic value chain in the health sector has to be carefully crafted with every stakeholder being a part of the conversation.

There is an important signal in the choice of those assigned the health portfolio, and we are very excited about that.

I think the fact that the president also included Social Welfare in the health portfolio indicates he also considers the people as the basis; the foundational element for what his administration tries to do.

This is because the welfare of the people is linked to their health; their health and well-being are interconnected right from gestation to childhood, to adulthood to elderly, and all across life cycle.

We need to grow our economy, but we also need to attend to the people and health is an important component of that and I think that is one signal that is important.

The president is the driver and we will follow and we will work hard to ensure that our driver takes us to the desired destination; the vision that he has of transforming this country, the minister said.

Mr Pate stressed that the main responsibility of the ministry of health was to save lives and to reduce pain.

The president realises that Nigerians are eager to feel the impact of government so that people feel the difference that his `Renewed Hope agenda actually begins to touch the lives of people and we are right where it can be done, he said.

In his remarks, the minister of state for health, Tunji Alausa, said he would work with Mr Pate to ensure that Nigerians appreciated the impact of healthcare delivery.

Our people deserve basic, comprehensive, internationally- acceptable level of healthcare and we will start thinking of healthcare as a human right issue.

Lack of basic healthcare to any Nigerian from now on will be considered as a violation of the human right of that Nigerian.

We are going to latch onto the staff of the ministry to ensure that we deliver, Alausa said.
The African Union has suspended Niger until civilian rule in the country is restored.

This is even as the AU said it would assess the implications of any armed intervention in the troubled Sahel nation.

The Peace and Security Council requests the AU Commission to undertake an assessment of the economic, social and security implications of deploying a standby force in Niger and report back to Council, the bloc said, following strong differences on the matter.

Military junta had toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, prompting the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to threaten to use force to reinstate him.

It could be recalled that the ECOWAS chaired by President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria had placed economic sanctions on Niger following the military takeover.

The ECOWAS imposed suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Niger, freeze all service transactions including energy transactions.

Freeze assets of the Republic of Niger in Aqua Central Bank. Freeze of assets of the Niger State and the state enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks.

Suspension of measure from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID, ECOWAS directed.
The Managing Director & Chief Executive Office, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq, has disclosed that the Authority has committed $500 million to domestic infrastructure, whilst also enabling third party investments of over $1 billion.

He said this at an investigative hearing held on Tuesday, 22nd of August 2023, at the Ad hoc committee constituted by the House of Representatives to investigate the activities of the NSIA since inception.

He explained that the NSIA belongs to the three tiers of government consisting the federal government, state government, local government, including the FCT and its Area Councils.

He further reiterated that the NSIA has a robust infrastructure investment portfolio covering several critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, financial infrastructure, technology, innovation, and power.

Additionally, he disclosed that the Authority has also developed institutions and platforms to improve the financial market ecosystem within the country.

He said the Authority developed a 10 MW solar power project which was expected to facilitate the creation of over 500 direct and indirect jobs.

Furthermore, through its participation within the housing sector, over 13,000 affordable housing units were under construction in different states of the Federation.

Within the agricultural sector, the NSIA has supported over 236,000 farmers in different Agric projects. Under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) the Authority has facilitated the production of 3.8 million Metric Tons of fertiliser to farmers nationwide, with 72 blending plants currently in operation across Nigeria, he added.

Umar- Sadiq also stated that the net assets of the Authority grew from N156 billion in 2013, to N1. 017 trillion at the end of 2022, and has remained profitable over the last 10 years of operation, with yearly audits performed by Independent Auditors.

He also mentioned that the net contribution has grown from the initial $1 billion to the current Net asset value of $2.27 billion as at December 2022.

Also speaking, Lateef Shittu, the representative of the Director General, of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), said that local governments were notable stakeholders who were accounted for together with the State Government and represented a significant holding of the fund.

Shittu affirmed the collaboration of the Governors Forum with the NSIA, saying they were satisfied with the level of interactions and were clear about the objectives of the Authority in relation to its projects and impact on the nation.

He disclosed that in 2022, the governors requested a presentation on the operations of the NSIA from the management, adding that "we are satisfied with the presentation and what was being done.

He reiterated that, "every single project executed by the NSIA is located within a local government, so they are beneficiaries of the NSIA projects."

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ademorin Kuye, said the objective of the investigation was to ensure that the statutory provisions of the law establishing the Authority was adhered to.

He stated that the House wants to be able to have answers to questions from Nigerians on how the funds of the agency were being managed, adding that if the need arises, the committee would visit sites of projects being handled by the Authority to ensure value for money.

The Committee commended management and staff for the detailed responses that were provided which alludes to its high level of governance and transparency.
Bypass reopens after gas-cylinder truck overturns at underpass

PHUKET: An alarming incident occurred as a truck carrying cooking gas cylinders overturned on the southbound lanes leading into the Samkong Underpass on the bypass road at around 10:20am today (Aug 22).

transportaccidentsSafety

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 22 August 2023 02:52 PM

The gas cylinders spilled across the road, but none of the metal canisters exploded or caught fire.

Both lanes into the tunnel were closed for more than two hours, leading to long tailbacks of vehicles heading both directions, northbound and southbound.

Officers from Phuket City Police and rescue workers swiftly arrived at the scene.

A passenger in the truck cab sustained minor injuries and was promptly taken to Mission Phuket Hospital.

The driver of the truck, Dawit Kongsumboon, 28, uninjured, told officers that he was driving from Mai Khao in Thalang to deliver gas to Ao Makham.

While driving into the tunnel the truck began to increase speed, and he struck the guardrail, causing the truck to overturn, he said.

Of the 30 gas cylinders that spilled from the back of the truck, seven were found to be leaking. The rescue workers doused the truck and had the gas cylinder safely removed before reopening the road for normal traffic flow.

Phuket Provincial Police are still investigating the incident, awaiting footage from surveillance cameras within the underpass and assessing the extent of the damage caused by the accident. Further legal action will be taken based on the investigations findings, police said.
Cambodian lawmakers elect Hun Sens son as next leader

PHNOM PENH: Cambodias parliament elected long-time ruler Hun Sens eldest son as the new prime minister today (Aug 22), sealing a dynastic handover of power after last months one-sided polls.

politics

By AFP

Tuesday 22 August 2023 11:54 AM

Hun Manet arrives to attend a parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly building in Phnom Penh today (Aug 22). Photo: AFP

Hun Sens Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) won all but five seats in the lower house in the July election, which was widely decried as a sham after the main opposition party was barred from running.

Hun Manet, 45, was elected unanimously at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh today, Heng Samrin, the lawmaker who chaired the meeting announced.

After the vote, Hun Manet told lawmakers: Today is a historic day for Cambodia.

Days after the July election, Hun Sen - one of the worlds longest-serving leaders - announced he was stepping down and handing power to Hun Manet after nearly four decades of iron-fisted rule.

The largely ceremonial Cambodian king convened parliament yesterday, paving the way for lawmakers to elect four-star general Hun Manet, as the countrys new leader today.

Hun Manet said his government would prioritise boosting the economy, creating a prosperous nation, increasing livelihoods and climate change adaptation.

Hun Manets new government includes a number of his relatives and several children of Hun Sens allies in top jobs.

Hun Sens youngest son Hun Many will become the civil service minister and his nephew Neth Savoeun, currently the powerful national police chief, will be a deputy prime minister.

The sons of the current interior and defence ministers will take over their fathers posts, according to a draft list of the new cabinet members seen by AFP.

Having come to power in 1985, Hun Sen helped modernise a country devastated by civil war and genocide, although critics say his rule has also been marked by environmental destruction, entrenched graft and the elimination of nearly all political rivals.

The United States, United Nations and European Union have condemned last months polls as neither free nor fair.

Hun Manet rejected those allegations hailing the vote as a transparent election.

Despite being educated in Britain and the United States, Hun Manet has shown few signs he will follow a more liberal path than his father.

A member of the ruling partys powerful permanent committee, he has been the Royal Cambodian Armys commander since 2018.

Hun Manet has also met some world leaders, including President Xi Jinping of China, Cambodias main ally and a significant benefactor.

Fathers legacy

Sebastian Strangio, author of Hun Sens Cambodia, said little was known about how Hun Manet will rule.

His public comments have offered a vague melange of management speak and promises to uphold his fathers legacy, in which it is very hard to determine any distinctive national vision, Strangio told AFP.

Hun Manets decisions will be dictated by the political system, not the other way around, Strangio said.

Hun Sen is expected to become president of the Senate early next year and acting head of state when the king is overseas.

I am not retiring from politics yet, he said, urging the incoming government to maintain peace and security.

He has publicly announced that he would still dominate the countrys politics and serve in other positions until at least 2033.
Pheu Thai announces 11-party coalition

BANGKOK: Pheu Thai and 10 other parties, two linked to the military, announced a coalition with 314 votes in the House and Pheu Thais Srettha Thavisin as their candidate for prime minister yesterday (Aug 21).

politics

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:02 AM

Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew (third right) reads out the joint statement issued by his 11-party coalition, at the parliament yesterday (Aug 22). Photo: Chanant Katanyu

Pheu Thai, which came second in the May 14 general election with 141 elected MPs, is the biggest component of the 11-party alliance, reports the Bangkok Post.

Three other allies are Bhumjaithai with 71 seats, Palang Pracharath (PPRP) with 40 seats and United Thai Nation (UTN) with 36 seats. They came third, fourth and fifth in the election.

The seven other partners are Chartthaipattana (10 MPs), Prachachat (9), Pue Thai Rumphlang (2) Chartpattanakla (2), Seri Ruam Thai (1), Plung Sungkom Mai (1) and Thai Counties (1).

Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew told a press conference at the parliament about 1:30pm that Pheu Thai would have eight ministers and nine deputy ministers, including the PMs Office ministry.

Bhumjaithai will have four ministers and four deputy ministers; PPRP two ministers and two deputies; UTN two ministers and two deputies; Chartthaipattana one minister and Prachachat one minister.

PPRP has caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon as its leader, while UTN earlier had caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as its prime ministerial candidate.

The coalition parties agreed to treat Pheu Thais policies as important polices for the new government. They include the digital wallet policy, B600 minimum daily wage and higher farm prices, the Pheu Thai leader said.

They would have a constitution-drafting assembly set up to amend the constitution to make it more democratic, he said.

Section 112 of the Criminal Code (the lese majeste law) and other chapters concerning the royal institution would remain intact, Dr Cholnan said.

The Pheu Thai leader said he acknowledged the heavy criticism of Pheu Thai for teaming up with parties in the caretaker government. But we will join forces to work efficiently, he said, in apparent reference to PPRP and UTN.

At the beginning of the press conference, Dr Cholnan stated clearly that the coalition would not include the Move Forward Party.

MFP won the general election with 151 House seats. Pheu Thai withdrew from the MFP-led coalition alliance early this month.
Thaksin returns to face arrest

BANGKOK: Thailands divisive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the kingdom today (Aug 22), after 15 years in exile and hours before parliament votes for a new prime minister.

politicspolice

By AFP

Tuesday 22 August 2023 09:44 AM

Red-clad supporters wait for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra near the private jet terminal at Don Mueang airport this morning (Aug 22). Photo: Poramet Tangsathaporn / Bangkok Post

The billionaire landed in a private jet at Bangkoks Don Mueang airport at 9am according to multiple local media outlets, to be greeted by hundreds of noisy Red Shirt supporters waving banners and singing songs.

Public broadcaster Thai PBS said he had landed, airing footage of a private jet on the tarmac and a convoy of blacked-out vehicles driving to the terminal building.

The former Manchester City owner faces immediate arrest on old criminal cases, in the latest act in the kingdoms rolling political drama.

Lawmakers will vote in the afternoon to install business tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister at the head of a coalition led by the Pheu Thai party - the latest incarnation of Thaksins political movement.

Earlier, a Facebook video posted by his sister Yingluck - like Thaksin, ousted from power by Thailands generals - showed the 74-year-old shaking hands with the crew as he boarded his jet in Singapore.

The day you are waiting for is finally come, Yingluck wrote.

Crimson supporters

A day that began with a private jet for Thaksin will likely end in a prison cell - yet another dramatic shift in a switchback career that has included two election victories, defeat in a coup, criminal charges and long years of self-imposed exile.

Thaksin has said he is prepared to face justice in order to return to his homeland and see his grandchildren - though he has long maintained the criminal charges against him are politically motivated.

I would like to request permission to return to live on Thai soil and share the air with my fellow Thai brothers and sisters, he posted on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X, yesterday.

At the airport, hundreds of supporters from the Red Shirt movement loyal to Thaksin gathered singing songs and waving banners - most decked out in their usual crimson colours.

I am a real Red Shirt - whenever they want our support, I will always be there for them, Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nongkai, in the countrys northeast, told AFP.

I dont only like him but I love him.

Thaksin has been convicted in four criminal cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one. The jail sentences against him total 10 years.

He will be met by police and taken to the Supreme Court, issued with a jail warrant and put in detention.

We are ready whenever his return is, said national police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas.

It is unclear how long Thaksin might serve in jail. His associates hope he may be moved to house arrest after a brief incarceration, although there are no guarantees.

For all his long absence from the country, Thaksin remains Thailands most influential - and controversial - politician of modern times.

Loved by the rural poor for policies including cheap healthcare and the minimum wage, he is reviled by the pro-military and royalist elite who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to Thai social order.

Parties linked to Thaksin have dominated elections since 2001 - until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

But MFPs leader Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become PM dashed on the rocks of bitter opposition from conservative junta-appointed senators spooked by his determination to reform royal insult laws and tackle business monopolies.

PM vote

While party patriarch Thaksin is being processed by the courts, Pheu Thai MPs will be preparing for the vote for a prime minister, expected around 3 pm.

The party is confident of getting Srettha approved in a joint vote by both houses, after gaining another 40 seats for its coalition yesterday with the addition of the army-linked Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

It takes their controversial grouping - including military-backed United Thai Nation, the former party of 2014 coup-maker Prayut Chan-o-cha - to 314 lower house seats.

The bloc still needs around 60 out of 250 military-appointed senators to vote for Srettha, putting them well over the 374 threshold.

Following MFPs exclusion from the first coalition, Pheu Thais deals with army-linked parties have enraged supporters who voted overwhelmingly against military-backed rule in May.
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DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, August 22. Tajikistan will allocate 2.5 billion somoni ($227 million) for the construction and reconstruction of a road in the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region in the eastern part of the country, the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, said during a meeting with residents of Gorno-Badakhshan, Trend reports.

According to him, the current length of the road is 109 km, and it will be shortened by 17 km after complete reconstruction. Ultimately, there will be a 92-kilometer modern road that complies with all international standards.

"The construction of this road holds significant economic and social importance not only for the region's population, but in the near future, it will also serve as a transit-economic corridor between China-Tajikistan-Northern Afghanistan and China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkiye-Europe".

As part of the development of this economic corridor, the country's government has decided to implement road construction projects from Rushan village to the village of Varshez in the Shughnon district, covering a distance of 235 km, and from Varshez to the Kulma-Karasu border crossing, covering almost 300 km. Additionally, the Kulma-Karasu border crossing will undergo reconstruction.

"The creation of such corridors will lead to an increase in international freight and passenger transportation, as well as strengthen transit and tourism opportunities for the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region," Rahmon said.

It was noted that the construction of this highway from Darvaz to Rushan district is already underway.

During the period of the country's independence (in 1991), 12 state investment projects have been implemented for the residents of Gorno-Badakhshan, involving the construction of internationally significant highways with a total value of 2.3 billion somoni ($209 million). Moreover, over 200 kilometers of roads, 1 tunnel, and 25 bridges have been put into operation.
Exclusive domains out of pluralistic Manipur!

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Will it turn out to be an anticlimax or something else? The United Naga Council or UNC in short has unambiguously and openly stated that the Nagas do not support the Kukis demand for separate administration. It is indeed a serious setback for the proponents of separate administration or separate Kuki State or separate Kuki Union Territory. ...Hence the demand of separate administration which incorporates the so-called new districts is necessarily opposed. These are the exact words of the UNC. It is quite evident from these words that the Nagas open opposition stems from contested territories or overlapping imagined homelands. In addition to the Meiteis vehement and steadfast opposition to any challenge to the integrity of Manipur, the proponents of separate Kuki state or administration must now overcome another formidable obstacle. Following a meticulous plan which was executed quite efficiently and swiftly, Meiteis settled in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh were driven out and all their homes razed to ground. Even the grounds where Meitei houses stood once were levelled using bulldozers so as to erase all signs of Meitei settlements. The banner of separate administration or separate State was raised just a few days after launching the pre-meditated offensive. If one connects the dots of the whole sequence of the violent crisis, it reveals that the offensive was aimed at driving out Meiteis from these Kuki dominated areas and transforming them into Kuki exclusive domains. Are Churachandpur, Chandel, Tengnoupal, Pherzawl and Kangpokpi now Kuki-Zo exclusive? Perhaps, Churachandpur is. As for the other districts, there are still many other communities and not all of them subscribe to the idea of separation from the state of Manipur. The UNC also made it clear that the creation of new districts in 2016 remains alive and is still an unfinished issue. Remember, Kangpokpi was carved out of Senapati while Chandel was bifurcated to give birth to Tengnoupal. If the creation of new districts is still an unfinished issue, demanding a separate state or administration encompassing these contested areas will only complicate the issue.

If the UNCs opposition is any indication, driving out Meiteis from Kuki dominated areas is not enough for pursuing a separate State or an imagined homeland of Kuki-Zo peoples. It has been quite some time since the demand for a separate autonomous territorial council for the Kuki and Zo communities of Manipur is articulated through different platforms and media. In 2020, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), one of the two conglomerates of Kuki militant groups under Suspension of Operation or SoO pact with the Government of India and Government of Manipur, was demanding a Kukiland Territorial Council to be modelled after the Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam. Contextualizing on the violent crisis which erupted on May 3 which has all the elements of being pre-meditated and pre-planned, the Kuki-Zo legislators went a step ahead by demanding a separate state. The new districts were created only in 2016. Now they are demanding a separate state, encompassing many of the new districts. What they will demand next is anybodys guess. There was a strong objection when the new districts were created, and the opposition would be much fiercer if any separate state or administration must be created encompassing these new districts. Moreover, there is another force which opposes tooth and nail all such politics of exclusivity. At the same time, the protagonists of pluralistic and united Manipur must study how these sub-nationalist discourses took birth and was given relevancy. Polarised politics and fragmented homeland imagination based on ethnicity can turn out to be suicidal for all communities. Ethno-centric politics, as we have seen today, can only breed violence and hatred. Sacrificing a pluralistic Manipur to serve any ethno-centric politics is simply unimaginable.
In accordance with the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the return of former internally displaced persons to the restored city of Fuzuli continues.

On 22 August, another group of IDPs left Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku for Fuzuli. At this stage, 23 more families, or 89 people, were relocated to Fuzuli town, Azernews reports.

The resettled families will settle in the houses where they once lived in Fuzuli, which were restored or rebuilt on the basis of instructions from the Azerbaijani President after the end of the Armenian occupation. Fuzuli residents thanked President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani army, which liberated the lands from invasion.

The distribution of houses was carried out by drawing lots on the basis of the principles of transparency and fairness and in accordance with the current procedure for providing new living space to former internally displaced persons. The drawing of lots took place on August 5 at the Department of Repatriation of the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, 144 families (509 people) took part in it. In accordance with the composition of families, 51 of them were provided with two-room, 76 - three-room, and 17 - four-room apartments. The resettled families will settle in new buildings in Fuzuli.

At the same time, permanent settlement of 70 families, i.e. 247 people, has been ensured in Fuzuli town.

To recall, the Fuzuli district was invaded in 1993 by Armenians. During the 1994 Horadiz operation, a part of the region was liberated from occupation. On October 17, 2020, Fuzuli region was completely liberated from occupation.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. The most significant projects in Tajikistan's current Asian Development Bank (ADB) portfolio are found in the country's transportation and energy sectors as of June 30th, as measured by the amount of investments made in each, a source at the ADB told Trend.

It was specified that the transportation sector has three projects worth a total of $312.7 million. These projects focus on the reconstruction of roads in the southern Khatlon region as well as the construction of the regional Obigarm-Nurobod road.

There are four projects in the energy industry totaling $310 million in funding. These initiatives are meant to strengthen the energy sector's ability to maintain itself financially.

In addition, there are two projects for water and other urban infrastructure and services worth $89.2 million and three projects for agricultural and natural resources for $124.5 million.

In addition, two programs totaling $57 million each focus on healthcare, one on education ($31.5 million), and a program in finance ($50 million).

These initiatives help achieve a number of objectives, such as lessening the effects of climate change and natural disasters on the populace and improving the labor skills of young people, women, and labor migrants in Tajikistan.

Additionally, they contribute to the growth of Dushanbe's tourism industry, hospital system, Yovon irrigation and drainage system, and water supply and sanitation.

The 68 member nations of the Asian Development Bank jointly own it. It was established in 1966. Tajikistan has counted on ADB as its main development partner ever since it joined the organization in 1998.
For the first time since the I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) alliance was formed over two meetings of Opposition leaders in June and July this year, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has criticized the Communist Party of India, Marxists (CPIM), once its chief political rival but now an alliance partner.

During a public meeting in Kolkata on August 21, Banerjee openly blamed the CPIM-backed student union of Jadavpur University for the unnatural death of a minor student in the boys hostel of the institute on the night of August 10. Apparently a victim of ragging, the first year student of Bengali was reportedly tortured before being thrown off the fourth four balcony of the boys hostel in which he was staying. She said, What a situation prevails there. We used to be proud of Jadavpur University and still are. But the CPIM union killed a student there. They wont change even after killing so many people and playing with blood for years

Didis scathing remarks were reminiscent of her tirades against the then government run by the CPIM-led Left Front government. Before she came to power in 2011, in an Assembly election which she swept, Banerjees only political goal was to dethrone the CPIM from power. However, in the past decade, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been on a mission, since it came to power at the center in 2014, to expand and capture power in as many states as it can, has gradually left the CPIM behind to become chief rival.

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The BJPs huge gains in West Bengal  it went from only one seat in 2009 to eighteen in the Parliamentary polls of 2020 and from zero in 2011 to seventy-seven in the Assembly elections of 2021  saw Mamata turn her full attention on the new political rival breathing down her neck. In fact, though initially Didi did not refrain from making the CPIM culpable for all the ills she inherited, including a less than vibrant economy, since BJP started to advance, she has even considered the possibility that working together with the Left parties cannot be ruled out. When the I.N.D.I.A alliance was formed, Didi wanted to make sure that among those she mentioned in her speech at the end of the meeting was that of Sitaram Yechuri, CPIM general secretary.

In the state, however, CPIM leaders categorically stated that the formation of the alliance at the center to try to dethrone the BJP government in the Parliamentary elections next year does not have any impact on the CPIMs traditional rivalry with Trinamool in West Bengal. It is not that CPIM has entered into an alliance with the Trinamool, clarified CPIM leader Sujan Chakraborty in an interview with The Statesman. The CPIM has joined an alliance which shares the goal of dethroning the BJP government and the Trinamool too happens to be a part of that alliance. That is all.

Though the Trinamool has thus far largely steered clear of highlighting its rivalry with CPIM at the state level, Mamatas comments yesterday corroborates the Bengal CPIMs stance that status quo remains as far as the relationship between the two political parties in the state is concerned. The CPIM too has shot back claiming that not the Left parties but student unions backed by Trinamool is behind the incident which took place concerning the death of the student.

In the war of words between the political parties, the point to note is not so much the issue at hand but the fact of the rival.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a meeting will Puja organisers at Netaji Indoor stadium tomorrow.

Chief secretary HK Dwivedi, home secretary BP Gopalika, director general of police, commissioner of Kolkata Police will be present at the meeting along with the representatives of different clubs.

Firhad Hakim, mayor, ministers Aroop Biswas and Indranil Sen and Debashis Kumar, member, mayor-incouncil parks and squares will be present at the meeting.

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Around 40,000 community Durga Pujas are held across the state. Durga Puja has received an intangible heritage tag from UNESCO.

A grand carnival is organized on Red Road where the best puja organisers showcase their image along with pandals and organize cultural presentations on Red Road.

All the district magistrates and superintendents of police, SDOs and BDOs will join the meeting virtually.

The question that is hovering around is whether the chief minister will enhance the financial assistance to the clubs.

The clubs get Rs 60,000 as financial assistance.

Meanwhile, in a bid to assist pandal hoppers during the time, a special app, Digital Canvas will start from 1 October.

This will give them live navigation to 60 community Durga Pujas. They will get information about the pujas, parking area, history of the Puja and timings of anjali, sandhya aarti and allied information.

Users can vote for five best pujas from the app and these pujas will be awarded later at a function at Uttam Mancha on 26 November.
The traffic police started the trial of the traffic diversion at Metropolitan Crossing near the proposed Beleghata station of New Garia- Bimanbandar via Rajarhat Metro Project on Saturday.

The trial comes after a meeting was held between the commissioner of Kolkata Police, principal chief engineer, Metro Railway and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, (RVNL) officials on 10 August.

The authorities are expecting a nod from the traffic department for traffic diversion within this week to enable the construction of Pier No P-286 and CP-287.

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However, to allow the construction, a shift of around 250 metre with traffic diversion from Metropolitan Crossing to near Pier No 296, has been taken.

The authorities are expecting the work at this point to be completed within two months.

After the construction of pier number P-286 and CP287, the RVNL is to start casting work of the portal beam on Pier No PP-288 and PP-289.

The RVNL is also to construct another iron bridge at the southern side of the present Metropolitan Bridge on the request of the traffic police.

According to the city metro, the work of Iron Bridge has been started by RVNL which will ease the movement of two wheelers and pedestrians on EM Bypass in future
Actor Prakash Raj has been booked in a police station of Karnatakas Bagalkot district over a social media post, in which he allegedly mocked Indias ambitious third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, police said on Tuesday.

A complaint has been filed against actor Prakash Raj for his post on the Chandrayaan-3 mission, police said.

Hindu organisations leaders filed a complaint against the actor in Banahatti police station of Bagalkote district and have demanded action, they added.

The veteran actor on Sunday took to microblogging site X, sharing a caricature of a man in a shirt and lungi pouring tea.

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Sharing the picture, he wrote, First view just arrived from Chandrayaan .. #VikramLander #justasking.

Prakash Raj has been facing heavy backlash since then with people saying that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is linked to the countrys pride.

Faced with social media outrage Prakash Raj clarified on X that his comments were only intended as a joke. Hate sees only HateI was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times celebrating our kerala Chaiwala-which Chaiwala did the Trolls see? if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you..GROW UP #justasking he posted.

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, around 18:04 hours IST.

Live action will be available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 17:27 IST on Aug 23, 2023.

India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole.

The primary objectives of Chandrayaan-3 mission are threefold  to demonstrate safe and soft landing on lunar surface; to demonstrate rover roving on the moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the missions progress.

Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14, 2023 via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradeshs Sriharikota at 2:35 PM.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday launched the ambitious Rajasthan Mission-2030 in the direction of making the state leader of India in every field by the year 2030.

Addressing young entreprenuers and public representatives after the launch of the mission at a packed Birla Auditiorium here, Gehlot said participation of every person would be ensured in the progress of the state by 10 times.

He said the state government would take suggestions from the one crore people for the Rajasthan of their dream and on this basis a Vision-2030 document will be prepared and released.

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The Vision-2030 document will be bring about a resolution in the progress of the people of the state, it will speed up the progress of Rajasthan, and would be the biggest responsibility on the youth, he said.

Gehlot claimed that Rajasthan has become a model state of the country in every field including social security, education, medicine, health, information technology, women empowerment, employment, economic development, infrastructure development, solar energy, food grain production.

Now, we have to make the dream of Rajasthan of the year 2030 come true through Vision-2030 document, he asserted.

The CM claimed that the state has already recorded a progress by four times in the last five years, and now has to be taken it up to 10 times by the year 2030. For this, the general public is called upon to share valuable suggestions and ideas for preparing the vision document.

The chief minister interacted with experts, officials, NGOs, youth, women, students and general public during the programme. Everyone shared his/her expectations, ideas and suggestions for the progress of the state.

In the journey of the vision document, suggestions and ideas will be taken through the website mission2030.rajasthan.gov.in, toll free number, video messages, contests, essay competitions. Vision-2030 document will be presented under the leadership of Chief Minister Rajasthan Economic Reform Advisory Council.

Public representatives, officers and common people from all 50 districts joined the Virtual Conference.
Ladakhi supporters accompanied Rahul Gandhi in large numbers as he walked into the main market of Leh after meeting Army veterans in the town.

People swarmed around the Congress leader as he went around the main bazaar where he purchased some local fruits and also met the women vegetable sellers.

He was cheered as he waved the National Flag from the balcony of a restaurant where he met Army veterans and discussed various issues with them. Hundreds of supporters gathered on the street cheering and raising slogans to get a glimpse of the Congress leader.

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Rahul wrote on his social media account: Bharat Jodo is deeply rooted in every Indians heart and mind. The resonating chant of Bharat Mata Ki Jai echoing through the streets of Leh serves as a strong example of this unity. No power can suppress this voice, brimming with affection and camaraderie.

Rahul came out in Lehs main market on Monday evening when the crowd received him with warmth. He interacted with people in the market and also tried to strike a chord with local youth by letting them take selfies with him.

Rahuls interaction with the Army veterans came days after he hit out at the Modi Government saying its claim that not an inch of Indian land in Ladakh had been usurped by Chinas People Liberation Army (PLA) troops is not true.

Sunday morning, after performing prayers at the Pangong Lake to mark his father Rajiv Gandhis birth anniversary, Rahul said, The locals here are concerned about China taking their land. They have said that the Chinese troops took away their grazing land. However, the PM says not an inch of land was taken away. This is not true, you can ask anyone here, Rahul said.

He is on the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ladakh as he was unable to cover Ladakh during his earlier leg of the yatra of due to logistics issues. He reached Leh on Thursday on a two-day visit but extended the stay till 25 August to visit Kargil. Moreover, this is Rahuls first visit to Ladakh after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two union territories J&K and Ladakh.

Rahul is visiting places riding on a KTM 390 Adventure motorbike. On Monday, he visited the 17,982 ft high Kahrdung-La (Pass) which is about 40 km from Leh. He mingled with locals and tourists at one of the worlds highest passes. The Pass is the gateway to the Nubra Valley beyond which lies the Siachen Glacier which is the worlds highest battlefield.

He also visited the recently-opened worlds highest-altitude retail outlet of Indian oil at a height of 12, 933 ft. where he had a group photo with locals and tourists.
The Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Ms. Swati Maliwal has written a letter to the Union Minister Amit Shah in the matter of rape of a 16 year old girl by a WCD officer of Delhi Government.

In her letter to Union Home Minister, DCW Chief has requested him to intervene in the matter and direct authorities to allow her to meet the survivor or her mother. She has also asked the Union Home Minister to shift the survivor urgently to AIIMS for her better treatment and care and if the survivor and her family do not want to be shifted to AIIMS, a team of doctors from AIIMS should be sent to examine the survivor and oversee her treatment. She has also requested to set-up an enquiry into delay by Delhi Police in ensuring arrests in the matter. She has also asked to fix accountability of concerned authorities.

Further, DCW chief has sought an appointment with Amit Shah for an urgent meeting to discuss the matter.

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DCW Chairperson Ms. Swati Maliwal stated, This is a very serious case as the accused man was a government official entrusted with the task of securing the rights of women and children in the Capital. The fact that Delhi Police failed to arrest him for over eight days and disallowed my meeting with the survivor or her family raises serious concerns regarding the conduct of the Police. I have written a letter to Honble Home Minister and I hope that he will take a strong action in this matter.

The Commission has set up an enquiry in the matter and issued a notice to both the Delhi Police and Delhi Government. Earlier on Monday , Swati Malwial had visited the private hospital at which the girl is presently being treated. She wanted to meet the survivor and/or her family members to ensure proper assistance, medical treatment, compensation, and legal aid. However, she was stopped by the Delhi Police and hospital authorities from entering the premises. The Director as well as the guards of the hospital informed that DCP and ACP of the Delhi Police were present inside the hospital and had directed the authorities to disallow the Delhi Commission for Women from meeting the survivor or her family.

The chief of Delhi Commission of Women informed After several hours of waiting, the hospital authorities brought out a paper which they claimed was written by the mother of the survivor. The said letter was not addressed to anyone and had two lines written which stated that the mother does not wish to interact with anyone.
A teenage girl in Delhi was repeatedly sexually abused by a senior government official. The girl was given drugs before each assault and woke up with injuries once. She was also depressed after her fathers non-Covid death in 2020. The first rape happened shortly after her fathers death when she was sent to the officials home by her mother who believed shed be safe there.

The girl disclosed that she was molested by the official in a church and at his home. She suffered panic attacks due to her fathers death and the abuse, which prevented her from seeking help. The abuse came to light when she talked to a counsellor during treatment for panic attacks. She continues to receive therapy to recover from the assaults.

The accused official, Khakha, has been suspended and arrested, but he denies the allegations. His wife was also arrested for providing abortion pills to the victim. Khakhas suspension and arrest followed criticism from Delhis Chief Minister and a womens commission leader.

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According to information from the police, the teenager was sexually assaulted again while staying in Burari for five months, this time in February 2021. After that, a month later, she travelled to Jharkhand for a family event and did not go back to Khakhas house.

In her statement given to the police, the girl mentioned that Khakha used to sexually harass her both at the church and at his residence.

The police report that the teenage girl, now in Class XII, experienced frequent panic attacks following her fathers passing. These attacks led her to leave school after Class IX and join an open learning program. Police sources suggest that the combined trauma of her fathers death and the assaults prevented her from seeking help regarding the sexual abuse by Premoday Khakha.

The incidents involving the girl came to light recently when she talked to a counsellor at a Delhi hospital where she was undergoing treatment for another bout of panic attacks. Her mother had rushed her to the hospital.

The girl has been receiving ongoing therapy to aid her recovery from the repeated sexual assaults she endured from her fathers friendsomeone she referred to as mama (uncle).

Khakha, who was suspended from his role in the Delhi governments Women and Child Development Department and subsequently arrested, is not cooperating with the authorities, according to police sources. He strongly denies the allegations, asserting they are entirely untrue.

Apart from Khakha, the Delhi Police also apprehended Seema Khakha, his wife. She allegedly had their 21-year-old son obtain abortion pills for the teen after she became pregnant. The young girl had sought help from Khakhas wife.

Khakhas suspension and arrest were made public after criticism from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. They criticized the Delhi Police, which falls under the control of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government, for the delay in taking action against him.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday expressed concern over the current trend of disturbance and disruption in Parliament when the countrys Constituent Assembly, dealing with much more contentious issues, resolved them through dialogue and discussion.

He was addressing a gathering of students and teachers of his alma mater, Sainik School, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.

The Vice-President said the Constituent Assembly met for three years and compared with todays problems, faced issues which were far more divisive and contentious. It found solutions through talks only.

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In a democratic set-up, Parliament and legislature are meant for dialogue, debate, deliberation, and discussions. There was no disturbance even for a moment in the Constituent Assembly, he said.

The Vice President said todays scenario is a matter of concern, and needs consideration. He told the students that if they did not show compatibility and observe discipline in school, everything would crumble.

Dhankhar told the students to keep national interest above everything else. This is not optional but this is the only way, he said.

We cannot compromise our national interest. We must always be proud Indians and must take pride in our historic phenomenal achievements, he said.

Times have changed, he said. It was considered one should have rich background to be a businessman. Today, young boys and girls are launching their own start-ups and turning billionaires. The maximum unicorns have come out of them, he said.

He said Indians are good in picking up skills and technology. Otherwise, 220 crore Covid vaccination certificates would not have been issued in the country, he said. If villagers in India did not understand technology, how would they have received economic assistance thrice in a year directly, he said.

There was a time power brokers controlled the power corridors, he said. A big change has come in the country. There is zero accommodation for corruption. Power corridors have been sanitized of those who extra legally leveraged governmental decisions. This is a big change, he said.

This is not an achievement of the Government or the system alone; every Indian has contributed to this.

I appeal to the youth to be very discerning and judgmental, consider everything and take a stance, he said. Mr Dhankhar said he would share his thought with his alma mater that today, everyone has to follow law, be within the laws ambit; howsoever high a persons background might be, he has to work within the limits of law.

The tendency to take to streets to secure justice without availing justice as prescribed by law will lead to anarchy; our judicial system is very robust, he said. There was no reason to lose faith in the countrys institutions. None can be given the right to assault the institutions like a loose cannon, and try to taint and run down their credibility.

I dont say everything is right, certainly there are things which require change. But there is a platform available to take up such issues, the Vice President said.

Mr Dhankhar told the students that he was honoured to have two of his distinguished teachers, Mr Rathee and Mr Dwivedi, present in the school gathering.

He recalled trust me, they were very tough. When Mr Dwivedi used to walk in the corridors, discipline was magnetic and contagious. Mr Rathee has not compromised over decades, he has a great sense of dress at this age also. He could be a role model for any young boy these days.

He told the students not to fear failure. Dont fear failure. Fear of failure is the greatest disease that can destroy humanity, he said. Nobody succeeds in the first attempt. When Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, there had been many attempts earlier.

Now Chandrayaan-3 is moving towards the Moon. When Chandrayaan-2 could not soft-land on the Moon, there were 500 boys and girls with him, and there was total silence. I told them cheer up! Ninety-five per cent success has been achieved; just five per cent remains, he recalled.
Odisha Government on Tuesday transferred the North Central Range Deputy Inspector General of Police after a lady Home Guard, who is currently crippled after losing both limbs in an attempted suicide, leveled allegations of mental torture against the senior cops spouse.

While the victim Sairindri Sahu is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack, the State government issued a statement and said that Brijes Ray,, DIG, Angul, is transferred to the State police headquarters in Cuttack.

Sahu had earlier accused Rays spouse of subjecting her to unbearable mental harassment. Unable to bear with the mental torture, she attempted to commit suicide by jumping before a moving train. In a tragic consequence of the sordid episode, she had lost both her legs.

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The victim had reportedly apprised the Home Guard Director General of the mental harassment issue in a written complaint.

Meanwhile, a rights activist has moved the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking penal action against the North Central Range Deputy Inspector General of Police

The petition moved by Jayanata Das sought for an award of Rs 30 lakh compensation to the victim Home Guard. It also prayed the apex rights panel that compensation amount should be sourced from the salary of the police officer.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi left here on Tuesday for South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit that will bring him face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping though a bilateral meeting between the two leaders is still not confirmed.

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, he said in a departure statement.

This will be the first in-person BRICS summit after 2019. Over the last three years, meetings were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The PM said the summit would provide a useful opportunity for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

He said that during his stay in Johannesburg, he would also participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS + Dialogue events to be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. He said he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

Modi confirmed that he would hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg. But there is no confirmation so far on whether Modi will hold bilateral talks with President Xi on the margins of the summit though the two leaders will share the stage at regular intervals during the summit. Officials were tightlipped on the possibility of a meeting between them, saying the PMs schedule in terms of bilateral meetings was still being developed.

Both India and China have, however, held at least two senior military-level meetings to resolve the border stand-off in eastern Ladakh, thus creating an environment for a meeting between the two leaders. If the two leaders do hold bilateral talks in Johannesburg, it will be their first bilateral meeting since the military stand-off began in April-May 2021.

From South Africa, the PM will travel to Greece on 25 August at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, Modi said.

He said contacts between the two civilisations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law, and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

Modi said he looked forward to his visit to Greece opening a new chapter in the multifaceted relationship.
The Punjab government has released over Rs 186 crore to compensate for the crop loss of the farmers of the affected districts due to floods.

Revenue, rehabilitation and disaster management minister Bram Shanker Jimpa said the advance funds have been released to the deputy commissioners of 16 districts of the state from the Natural Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief for crop damage.

Jimpa said in July and August, the crops of farmers were damaged due to floods in many areas, and a special Girdawari was conducted in all the flood-affected areas of the state. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann fulfilled his promise to the flood victims on August 15 and initiated the process to hand over cheques of compensation.

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The minister reiterated Punjab governments commitment to providing compensation to the flood victims and assured that there was no dearth of funds for this purpose.

Jimpa said Rs 26.8 lakh has been given to the Sangrur district, Rs 22.44 crore to Ferozepur, Rs 26.52 crore to Taran Taran, Rs 59 .50 crore to Patiala and Rs 12.92 crore has been released to Mansa district as a relief for crop loss due to floods.

He said Rs 3.73 crore to Amritsar district, Rs 8.77 crore to Fazilka, Rs 5.84 crore to Gurdaspur, Rs 2.31 crore to Jalandhar, Rs 2.31 crore to Ludhiana, Rs 3.99 crore to Moga, Rs 18.45 lakh to Rupnagar, Rs 64.60 lakh to Pathankot, Rs 1.25 crore to SBS Nagar, Rs 1.59 crore to Fatehgarh Sahib and Rs 1.73 crore has been given to SAS Nagar district.

Jimpa said the CM himself has been visiting the flood-affected areas to assess the ground situation and now all efforts are being made to help the people of the affected districts.

The CM has already announced that every loss of crop, cattle, house, or anything has been covered in the special girdawari to fully compensate the people for this loss.
Tamil Nadu forest department on Tuesday said that the rogue elephant, Arikomban, that was captured from Cumbum town and relocated to Tirunelveli forest, is healthy.

The forest department in a statement said that the animal had acclimatised with the new conditions and was taking enough food and water.

When Arikomban was in Chinnakanal forest in Idukki district of Kerala, the pachyderm used to raid several homes and ration shops in the area for rice. The wild elephant used to destroy shops and homes and is alleged to have killed a few people.

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After several complaints were raised against the wild elephant, the Kerala forest department decided to capture the elephant and convert it into a Kumki elephant. However, the Kerala High Court ordered to capture the elephant and to release in deep forest so that it dont create a menace.

The elephant was captured after firing several tranquilisers on it by the elite team of Kerala forest officials led by Dr Arun Zakariah, the veterinarian who is credited with capturing several wild elephants. The elephant was captured from Chinnakanal on April 29, and later released to the Periyar National Park.

The elephant reached human habitation in Cumbum town and the Tamil Nadu forest department captured it again on June 5. Later, Arikomban was relocated to deep forest in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to state the specific role attributed to Islamic scholar Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, who was arrested in September 2021 for allegedly running a religious conversion syndicate and was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on April 5, 2023.

A bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sanjay Kumar asked the Uttar Pradesh government to give a statement in a tabular form on the specific role attributed to Siddiqui.

What is the specific role attributed to this person (Siddiqui) and what was placed before the High Court, asked the bench while posting the matter for hearing on September 5.

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The State government has challenged the April 5, 2023, Allahabad High Court order granting bail to Siddiqui.

The High Court granted bail to Siddiqui in a case, in which he has been accused of offences under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

Granting bail to Siddiqui, the High Court had noted that one of the co-accused in the case was granted bail by the Supreme court, while the other was given relief by a coordinate bench of the Allahabad High Court.

Challenging the grant of bail to Siddiqui, the Uttar Pradesh government today told the bench that he (Siddiqui) was the main conspirator. It said that the further probe in the matter has revealed how the national level network was working towards the objective of waging war against the constitution of India and how it seeks to replace the constitution with Sharia law.

Conversion per se is permissible. There is no issue on that Conversion while following the means that were being followed here  means of allurement, threat, torture, money, everything is coming, is not permissible, lawyer appearing for the State government told the bench.

Siddiqui has also been accused of promoting enmity between different religious groups and disturbing Indias sovereignty and integrity.

Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar and president of the Jamia Imam Waliullah Trust, has been accused of running a mass religious conversion racket through several organisations and schools, funded by him. It has also alleged that he is receiving funding from international organisations.
Six passengers were killed and 12 others injured as a jeep in which they were traveling overturned and hit by a truck approaching from the opposite side at Ukrand village in the Dausa district on Tuesday.

The deceased are identified as Ram Khilari, 60, Mukesh, 33, Ramesh, 45, Sabudeen, 28, Rohit 30, and Shivlal, 40, the Dausa Police control said when contacted.

The injured were rushed to Dausa district hospital and seven of them found to be in critical condition were referred to Jaipurs SMS Hospital.

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The jeep was on its way to Mandawar from Mahua while the truck carrying cold storage goods was coming from the opposite direction when the mishap occurred at 13:10 hours.

The bodies of the victims were recovered from the wreckage by a crane.

Senior district police and civil officials rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operation.
The third Moon mission of India, Chandryaan-3 was launched on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDCC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The project is expected to make a soft landing on the moon on August 23. Should all proceed as planned, the mission will represent a huge achievement for Indias space programme.

The Vikram lander is scheduled to make a lunar landing attempt on August 23 shortly after 6 pm according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

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If India is successful, it would join the United States, Russia, and China as the only four nations to accomplish a soft landing on the moon, and it will become a space power.

India now has the chance to become the first nation to accomplish a soft landing on the Moons south pole, which is the proposed landing site for Chandrayaan-3, following the recent failure of Russias Luna-25 mission.

Along with encouraging investment in private space launches and associated satellite-based enterprises, the mission would also support the Centers agenda.

It would support Indias goal of having its commercial space enterprises capture a fivefold larger portion of the global launch industry in the next ten years.

Prior to the moon missions launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that ISRO was advancing the dreams and ambitions of every Indian and creating a new chapter in Indias space odyssey.

Two days before the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface, a senior ISRO official stated that the space agency would only proceed with the landing if the weather on that day is favourable. Otherwise, on August 27, a fresh attempt will be made.

Attempts will be made to determine whether or not it will be appropriate to land Chandrayaan-3 at that time, two hours prior to its scheduled landing, based on the lander modules condition and the lunar environment. We will land the module on the moon on August 27 if any circumstances dont seem favourable, according to ISROs space applications centre director Nilesh M. Desai.
Indias Chandrayaan 3 is all set to attempt a soft landing on the little-explored south pole region of the Moon on August 23. Chandrayaan 3s Lander Vikram, which also carries a rover, is circling the Moon in an orbit of 25KMx134KM. This means Vikram Landers closest point above the Moons surface is 25 km while the farthest is above 134 km.

The 20-minute power descent procedure of Vikram will commence around 5:45 pm (IST), according to the Indian Space Research Organisation. If successful, India will be only the fourth country after Russia, the USA, and China to land a probe on the lunar surface and the first to make a soft landing near the Moons south pole region.

India is not the only country rushing to the Moon. Russias Luna 25 was also expected to attempt a soft landing on Moons south pole region but crashed while performing a lower orbit maneuver on Sunday. They have another plan to send a Luna26 mission in the next couple of years. The USA, China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union space agency, and the United Arab Emirates are also planning to send their individual missions to the Moon.

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Russia, then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was the first country to land a probe on the Moon in 1959. Ten years later in 1969, America went a step ahead of Russia and landed humans aboard its Apollo 11 spacecraft on the Moon. In 2019 and 2020, China also made two back-to-back successful soft landings on the Moons surface, becoming only the third country to achieve the feat. After Apollo 11, America sent six more manned missions to the Moon, followed by a joint mission with Russia in 1975.

Indias first Moon mission in 2008 Chandrayaan-1 detected the presence of water in the form of hydroxyl (OH) and water (H2O) on the lunar surface, bringing the Moon back to the focus of a global space race. The presence of water, essential for life, renewed the Moon rush and several countries started planning Moon missions in a bid to explore the possibility of life beyond Earth.

So, what is the ultimate goal of this renewed Moon rush?

Developing a soft-landing mechanism is not the only thing these countries want. Demonstrating technological prowess is just a small piece of a bigger plan. This is the first requirement to reach the Moon  to be able to land in a harsh environment.

The US space agency NASA is working on its Artemis program to return to the Moon after nearly five decades. The Chinese are also planning to land a human on the lunar surface by 2030. They are also vying to be the first to build a permanent base on the Moon.

While there may be water on the Moon, it would be almost impossible for humans to settle there in the absence of an atmosphere. And even if they do settle there, they will have to literally live in the caves. However, another planet Mars looks more habitable for humans and probably that is the ultimate goal of this renewed Moon rush.

While the Moon may not provide ideal conditions to live, the water present on its surface can be used to fuel rockets to reach Mars. Moon is the closest celestial neighbour to Earth with a distance of 384,400 kilometers. Mars, on the other hand, is 225,600,000 kilometers away from the Earth, thus, making it hard to reach. So, it will be easy to access Mars from the Moon.

The red planet has a thicker atmosphere than the moon, which could help protect humans from the harsh radiation environment of space. Also, Mars has a day-night cycle similar to Earth, unlike the Moon where a lunar day roughly lasts around 29 days of the blue planet. The magnetic field of Mars would also help protect humans from solar radiation. And there is scientific evidence that Mars has the presence of water and it once had an ocean too.

So, the Moon may not allow humans to settle on its surface but it could work as a depot where rockets can be refuelled and launched to Mars, making it a valuable resource for future space exploration missions.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 22. The Uzbek airline Centrum Air launched direct flights between Tashkent and Doha (Qatar) on August 21, Trend reports.

The first passengers who departed from Tashkent International Airport were solemnly accompanied to the flight.

According to the information, regular passenger flights on the Tashkent-Doha route will be carried out weekly on Airbus A320 liners.

Centrum Air is an Uzbek low-cost airline with its head office in Tashkent, received permission to operate passenger flights in early 2023. Currently, the company's fleet consists of three Airbus A320 aircraft and one Boeing-747 model.
The Ipsos trustworthiness index of global armed forces of July last year places India at the top with a score of 64 per cent. As per the Ipsos website this reflects the confidence that people have in the integrity, bravery, and commitment to duty exhibited by armed forces members in India. Every internal assessment displays the Indian armed forces as being the most respected government organization within the country.

Apart from being deployed along troubled borders and containing insurgencies in the North and East, the armed forces have remained a beacon of hope for those residing in remote locations. Their contribution to nation-building is well established. They have been the force that has rescued Indians trapped in global trouble spots.

The armed forces are always at the forefront in battling any disaster the nation faces, apart from keeping its enemies at bay. In brief, the armed forces have never let the nation down and fulfilled every task to perfection.

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Being apolitical, they have been an asset to democracy rather than a threat. In Pakistan, the caretaker government is the choice of the army, while in Bangladesh, the army would play a major role in determining the outcome of elections. In contrast, in India, political parties would attempt to cash in on successes of the armed forces in every sphere, while the forces themselves would remain in the background, invisible and quiet, rarely commenting.

Emerging from the masses, the Indian soldier, once he dons the uniform, considers the nation first, respecting all communities and religions. He has no favourites.

They are also the force whose very presence infuses confidence and restores calm after a period of violence. It has been rare that the armed forces are compelled to open fire on violent mobs, since they are trusted and respected by all communities for their neutrality and fairness. Their presence itself is enough to cool tempers and restore order.

Therefore, it came as a surprise, when in Manipur demands were raised from sections of society, including MLAs from a specific community, for removal of Assam Rifles from the state. The request included replacing the force with any other Central Armed Police Organization as they considered the Assam Rifles biased.

Assam Rifles, an all-India force under the Home Ministry, is officered by the Indian army, and has thereby imbibed its ethos and functioning, including neutrality and respect for all communities. It is omnipresent in the North East and is rightly described as friends of the North East, sentinels of the North East.

Assam Rifles have always been in Manipur and despite a few setbacks have performed creditably. While some sections of society insisted on their removal, there were others who thought otherwise. A video doing the rounds showed Kuki-Zo women pleading with Assam Rifles not to leave, singing, Assam Rifles, please do not leave us.

This incident emerged after the government issued orders for a battalion to withdraw from a village located close to the Meitei majority Imphal West. The incident also highlighted differing perceptions between communities. There was also an FIR filed by the Manipur police against an Assam Rifles unit for blocking their way with armoured vehicles, enabling militants belonging to a rival community to escape. While the FIR has little value, it brings to fore differences in perception in restoring the situation between state and central security forces.

In most trouble spots there is support provided by state police forces including intelligence, enabling better coordination. In the case of Manipur, the state police had itself lost credibility when it permitted its armouries to be looted without firing a single shot. It has been accused of supporting specific communities in specific regions and is thus targeted when it enters rival dominated localities. This has compounded problems for security forces. Most of the looted weapons have yet to be recovered.

As the Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan stated, The situation in Manipur is primarily a clash between two ethnicities. Its a law-and-order kind of situation and we are helping the state govt. Based on this assessment, the strategy of the armed forces, from the commencement of the crisis, was to act as a buffer and separate the two warring communities, while providing succour to all those affected. It refused to be drawn into the conflict.

It will take time for state police forces to regain credibility and trust. In fact, the government may even have to consider revamping them. Till then their responsibility may have to be undertaken by central police forces as also the Assam Rifles. While central police forces may be at a disadvantage, being new to the region, Assam Rifles are well aware of the internal dynamics and have their own intelligence networks.

Peace would ultimately flow through political dialogue which would include healing wounds and reducing differences between communities. In this, the role of the uniformed services is limited. Even among politicians there is a misbelief that the armed forces can restore peace. The armed forces can only enable; the solution would have to be political. Further, without AFSPA, the armys hands are tied restricting their ability to operate freely.

In J and K, the army changed the scenario allowing the government to push through political amendments which resulted in an improved environment, which was very visible in the run up to this years Independence Day. As a democracy, the army has little role in governance, though for years during terrorism in Kashmir, they were the voice for local communities. Despite its involvement in antiterrorist operations for a prolonged duration, the army remains respected in Kashmir.

The force has always worked for nation building and national unity. It has attempted to provide succour in most difficult scenarios, ignoring its own losses and discomfort. Respect for it has flowed because of its neutrality, belief in Indias populace and considering safety and security of Indians foremost. The army, has, as always maintained silence and let its deeds do the talking.

To drag it into an ethnic conflict on illogical grounds of partiality is damaging. Rightfully, the government has ignored the irrational demands for removal of the Assam Rifles, aware of its true role.

(The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.)
Incidents of anti-minority mob violence under the pretext of blasphemy allegations have risen steadily since the mid-2000s. As per the usual, formulaic response, last weeks incident in Jaranwala (where churches were vandalised) was followed by a range of condemnations from the civil and military leadership and from the mainstream, high-profile clerics of all denominations.

The specificity with which places of worship were targeted by a large crowd is evidence of both the scale of the rot within society and the high level of local organisation required to make it possible. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, other Barelvi extremists, and their backers have much to answer for.

A preliminary analysis of the Jaranwala tragedy shows that antiminority mob violence has two aspects. The first of these is the lawand-order aspect, which is what state officials tend to focus on. The assumption is that in any society there will be instances where violence can become likely.

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However, local authorities should be able to take administrative steps required to defuse any potential situation, such as a blasphemy allegation, that may result in violence. If lawand-order administration is effective and far-sighted enough, such an intervention would help mitigate the risk of a full-blown riot. In the Jaranwala case, it was not.

Failing to resolve a situation prior to its escalation, the law-and-order aspect of the response would then involve managing a mob to limit its ability to carry out violence. Whether this is through riot control, detention, or other use of force, is immaterial. The aim should be to prevent any loss of life and property of a community at risk.

In the Jaranwala case, this too did not happen. In fact, if video evidence is anything to go by, local law enforcement remained passive, while administrators attempted to negotiate with the extremists from a position of weakness.

The third stage, having failed at the first two, involves punitive consequences for those involved in the violence. This would mean strong punishments that are sufficient to act as a deterrent. The idea being that while one unfortunate incident has happened, the consequences would be enough to prevent another one from taking place.

Worth pointing out that there were zero convictions from the 2013 Joseph Colony incident so there is no deterrence to speak of. A hundred houses were burnt and 115 accused persons were acquitted. It seems the houses set themselves on fire.

Beyond the law-and-order aspect, the second aspect of mob violence is social and political. Mobs are not instant creations. The ideas that rile them up do not appear out of nowhere. The methods they use for violence are not spontaneously learned. The resources they draw on do not magically descend from heaven (or, as would be more appropriate, ascend from hell). All of these things have definitive roots in society.

The sociopolitical aspect of violent incidents such as the one in Jaranwala is far harder to tackle because it is so wide-ranging. A toxic mix of extremist clerics, pandering politicians, conniving generals, status-seeking businessmen, and honour-seeking young men all feeds into it.

Over the past decade and a half, Pakistani society has witnessed the Barelvi far-right gain recognition, prestige, and massive followership by weaponising the issue of blasphemy and respect for the Prophet.

Drawing on global incidents, they have domesticated the idea of a threat to Islam in a country that is 95 per cent Muslim. Incidents like Jaranwala happen because of the takeover of mosques, the discrediting of mainstream clerics, and the use of grassroots organising and digital outreach.

But they also happen because generals are happy to co-opt these movements for political ends. They happen, in part, because a braying mob paid a few thousand rupees each is useful to cut down a political government to size. And because a few thousand votes are useful to achieve the desired election result.

They happen because a politician who gets up and says he would cut off the head of an alleged blasphemer ends up validating vigilante violence as a source of prestige.

A politician who says he will not forgive others for endangering respect for the Prophet by attempting to make a procedural change in some legal document is also part of the problem.

A politician who makes unfathomable changes to marriage documents in a bid to publicise his pious credentials has also contributed to the issue. And an assembly that attempts to pass legislation widening the ambit of blasphemy and endangering an entire sect is adding explosive fuel to an already burning fire.

There are other contributions at play here as well. There is the local bureaucrat who doesnt want to ruffle any feathers. Theres a businessman who wants to earn a bit of recognition in the community, so ends up sponsoring a few religious gatherings and donates to a local TLP chapter.

Maybe he does it under pressure, maybe he believes in whats being preached, or maybe hes just in it for the name on the banner or the plaque outside the mosque. The intentions are immaterial because the outcome is the same.

And then there is the actual mob itself. Young men, with little prospects of upward social and material mobility. Religious rhetoric provides them with a sense of community and of being a part of something bigger. Indoctrinated with notions of honour and masculinity that can only be validated by taking revenge from some vulnerable minority over an imagined crime they probably didnt even commit.

Even in a state of heightened pessimism, one could see the possibility of a low-capacity state like Pakistan fixing the law and order aspect of mob violence to some degree. Addressing the toxic social and political aspect, however, seems far more difficult.
The Canadian government is considering a cap on the number of international students to address the growing housing crisis, one of the main goals of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus new cabinet.

The country hosted more than 8,00,000 international students last year, with 2,26,000 of the 5,49,570 study permits going to Indians in 2022, according to the government data.

On being asked whether a cap could be imposed on international students, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser told reporters: I think thats one of the options that we ought to consider.

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The government has not yet made a decision I think we need to do some serious thinking here, Fraser told reporters on Monday.

Canada hosted more than 800,000 international students last year, with 226,000 of the 549,570 study permits going to Indians in 2022, according to the government data.

Fraser, who was previously the countrys immigration minister, also took aim at institutions, which were allegedly exploiting students and thus, worsening the housing crisis, the CBC News reported.

When you see some of these institutions that have five, six times as many students enrolled as they have spaces for them in the building, youve got to start to ask yourself some pretty tough questions, the minister said.

There are good private institutions out there and separating the wheat from the chaff is going to be a big focus of the work that I tried to do with Miller (Immigration Minister Marc Miller). Fraser said he plans to sit down with some of these institutions to find out ways to make it easier to find living space for those students in a tight rental market, CBC News reported.

If theyre going to continue to bring in record numbers of students, that they are being part of the solution as well by making sure that they have a place to live, he said.

He also took aim at institutions he accused of exploiting students and exacerbating the housing crisis.

When you see some of these institutions that have five, six times as many students enrolled as they have spaces for them in the building youve got to start to ask yourself some pretty tough questions, he said.

There are good private institutions out there and separating the wheat from the chaff is going to be a big focus of the work that I tried to do with (Immigration Minister Marc) Miller.

The opposition Conservative Party says the ruling Liberals has not done enough to tackle the housing crisis.

As it plans to take in a record 5,00,000 new permanent residents in 2025, Canada needs to build 5.8 million new homes, which includes two million rental units, by 2030 to address housing affordability, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Fraser cautioned against blaming the lack of affordable housing on new immigrants.

We have to be really, really careful that we dont have a conversation that somehow blames newcomers for the housing challenges that have been several decades in the works in Canada, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Johannesburg this evening to attend the 15th BRICS Summit that will bring him face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping though a bilateral meeting between the two leaders is still not confirmed.

He was received at the airport by senior South African officials and given a guard of honour.

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement before his departure from New Delhi.

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This will be the first in-person BRICS summit after 2019. Over the last three years, meetings were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PM said the summit would provide a useful opportunity to BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

He said that during his stay in Johannesburg, he would also participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS + Dialogue events to be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. He said he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries which have been invited to participate in this event.

Modi confirmed that he would hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg. But there is no confirmation so far on whether Modi will hold bilateral talks with President Xi on the margins of the summit though the two leaders will share the stage at regular intervals during the summit.

Officials were tightlipped on the possibility of a meeting between them, saying the PMs schedule in terms of bilateral meetings was still being developed.

Both India and China have, however, held at least two senior military-level meetings this month to resolve the border stand-off in eastern Ladakh, thus creating a congenial environment for a meeting between the two leaders. If the two leaders do hold bilateral talks in Johannesburg, it will be their first meeting since the military stand-off began in April-May 2021.

From South Africa, the PM will travel to Greece on 25 August at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, Modi said.

He said contacts between the two civilisations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

Modi said he looked forward to his visit to Greece opening a new chapter in the multifaceted relationship.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy skies early followed by a mixture of light rain and snow overnight. Low 34F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 100%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early followed by a mixture of light rain and snow overnight. Low 34F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 100%.
Have an interesting bit of news youd like to see mentioned in the Along the Way column? Email it to Natasha Connolly at news@thesunchronicle.com.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 22. Turkiye wants Iraq to officially designate the PKK as a terrorist organization, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, Trend reports.

"Protecting the territorial integrity and political unity of Iraq is one of our priorities. From now on, we will carefully adhere to this approach. We see Iraq as a partner with whom we can realize our strategic goals together," the minister said.

He noted that the PKK terrorist organization should not be allowed to harm Turkish-Iraqi relations.
International organisations help the world by contributing to economic growth and promoting international cooperation through various forums. They also boost technological development, facilitate the exchange of information and support sustainable development initiatives worldwide. Many forums in the world contribute to the progress of the world in various ways. One such forum is the BRICS Business Forum, which represents about 31 per cent of global GDP, recently surpassing the G7 countries. The BRICS countries are expected to generate more than 50 per cent of GDP by 2030. BRICS is a group of economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS countries have a total area of 39,746,220 km2 (15,346,100 sq mi) and about 3.21 billion people, or about 26.7% of the world's land area and 41.5% of the world's population.

BRICS entered its second decade in 2017 and has emerged as an influential global multilateral platform since its inception. The International Business Forum of BRICS offers their organisers, guests and participants the opportunity to find new cooperation partners and discuss the current principles of business management. More than a thousand entrepreneurs from five countries participate in the event every year. One such entrepreneur and philanthropist from India Dr Anil Kumar is also going to attend the official meeting of the BRICS business forum. Which is going to be held on Tuesday, 22 August 2023 at the Sandton International Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The invitation from the BRICS business forum will add another feather to Dr Anil Kumars cap. On the Invitation Dr Anil Kumar said This invitation filled me with gratitude and I am thankful to the organisers for inviting me to this grand event. He further added, This is going to be a great opportunity for me to learn from the best in the world. I am very excited to meet the global leaders and investors to discuss valuable ideas and innovation.

He will also participate in other corporate networking events on August 21 and 23, 2023, which will be developed and shared in due course. These business networking activities include industry visits and meetings with key industry and business stakeholders.

The forum provides an excellent opportunity to interact with various stakeholders including government, industry and leading industry associations from all BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). All five heads of state including Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi are invited to attend and address the BRICS Business Forum on 22 August 2023 from 1440 hrs to 1540 hrs in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Dr Anil Kumar is the founder of Ankita Overseas, which emerges as the powerhouse in the agro-industry. The firm is spreading its wings by expanding operations in the agricultural market. The company is an exporter, importer and supplier of a wide range of agricultural products, Ankita Overseas has emerged as a leading company in the field of agribusiness. The company has expanded its horizons by supplying high-quality agri-food products around the world. With the company's continuous business expansion, its agricultural food products reach people in different countries and continents, including Africa, the United States, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Russia and other countries. As the owner of Ankita Overseas, I want to be the largest exporter of organic products in the international market. I'm sure that day will come soon. Dr Anil Kumar, Founder and CEO, Ankita Overseas.

Apart from being a businessman, Dr Anil Kumar is also a philanthropist, who is helping the deprived sections of society by uplifting them with financial assistance through his Non Governmental organisation, Laxmi Maheshwar Memorial Foundation. The foundation is working on the development of specially-abled children, providing basic education for marginalised students, organising samuhik vivah to support the families who cannot afford the expenses of marriage, conducting health camps in the slum areas, and many more social activities which help the underprivileged section of the society.
India joins a select group of five nations in the world to have its own automobile safety testing system, with the launch of the Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi on Tuesday.

The new rating system will come into effect from October 1.

"This is a landmark step towards empowering our consumers for being able to make a better choice for buying safer cars, Gadkari said about the new testing mechanism which is applicable for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. It is being implemented in India by the ministry along with Global NCAP, though on a voluntary basis.

Calling it historic, Vinnie Mehta, director general of the Automobile Components Association commented, BNCAP protocol will lead to the integration of advanced safety features in vehicles, thus minimising the risk of road accidents and fatalities.

This would mean new models of cars launched in India now do not have to go abroad to get their safety parameters certified, but can get them done locally. Vehicles going for NCAP will be awarded a star rating from 1 to 5 covering three areas  adult occupant protection, child occupant protection as well as fitment of safety assist technologies. Once vehicles pass these criteria with a minimum of 3 stars, they then have to go for three tests  frontal impact test, side impact test and side pole impact test. There are also additional mandatory requirements like pedestrian protection norms, electronic stability control and front seat belt reminders.

The testing is open to petrol, diesel, CNG as well as electric vehicles. According to industry estimates, one of the big benefits of testing a car within India will be the costwhile it could cost only Rs 60 lakh in India, the charges can be anywhere about Rs 2.5 crore if done abroad.

The automobile industry and the government has not always seen eye to eye when it came to standards ranging from emission to safety. The voluntary aspect of Bharat NCAP would help many automakers not feel too hot under their collar, though Maruti Suzuki has set the cat among the pigeons by declaring that it will offer at least 3 models for Bharat NCAP testing right away.

(Maruti) will offer at least three models for BNCAP testing in the first lot itself, said Rahul Bharti, executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki, adding, For consumers seeking extra safety information the Bharat NCAP system is an authentic and objective rating system to empower the customer to make an informed choice.

Hyundai Motor India did not offer any such commitments, though MD & CEO Unsoo Kim said they welcome the safety initiative as it will raise safety standards, empower consumers with vital information and make Indian roads safer for all.

The biggies seem to have latched on to the voluntary aspect of the new mechanism by billing it an informational one, while the government believes it can add further boost similar to what the star rating system did for home appliances like geysers and washing machines.

Startups like Optimized Electrotech, which works on surveillance solutions in road safety believe it is a positive first step as the government has taken cognisance of the need for technology-driven safety measures in vehicles. The implementation shall not only enhance safety on roads, but will also promote the development of new safety tech, said co-founder & MD Sandeep Shah.

And it must be the voluntary aspect that must have weighed in the mind of Vinod Aggarwal, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers when he said, This programme will eventually help market forces push vehicle manufacturers to offer safer vehicles, with potential of bringing everlasting change in the attitude of customers during the purchase.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) today in New Delhi, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards enhancing road safety in India. Scheduled to be implemented from October 1, 2023, this program is poised to make substantial contributions to the improvement of safety standards for motor vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.

The urgency for such an initiative is underscored by the grim reality of road accidents. In 2021 alone, a staggering 1.54 lakh lives were lost, and 3.84 lakh individuals suffered injuries in road mishaps. These alarming statistics emphasise the pressing need for bolstering vehicle safety and implementing measures to reduce accidents.

Here are the salient features of the Bharat NCAP:

Voluntary testing: Car manufacturers are granted the option to voluntarily submit their vehicles for testing according to the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.

Informed decision-making: Following these rigorous evaluations, vehicles will be assigned star ratings for Adult Occupants (AOP) and Child Occupants (COP). These star ratings will serve as a comprehensive tool for potential buyers, empowering them to make informed decisions about the safety of vehicles available in the market.

Governmental rollout: The Bharat NCAP is slated for official implementation on October 1, 2023, underlining the government's commitment to enhancing road safety standards.

Elevating safety standards: One of the program's key goals is to drive demand for safer cars, thereby motivating car manufacturers to align their offerings with consumer safety expectations.

Global competitiveness: By raising safety standards, the program is poised to enhance the competitiveness of Indian-made cars on the global stage, thus augmenting the export potential of the Indian automotive industry.

Support from auto industry: Noteworthy industry players like Toyota, Maruti Suzuki, and Mahindra & Mahindra have expressed their unequivocal support for the program. They view it as a pivotal step in the right direction for the domestic industry. This initiative is anticipated to create an environment of healthy competition among Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), encouraging them to develop safer vehicle models for Indian consumers.

The Bharat NCAP represents a proactive effort to advance road safety by refining vehicle safety standards and equipping consumers with transparent information to guide their vehicle purchasing choices. It is anticipated that this program will not only mitigate road accidents and fatalities but also fortify India's position within the global automotive landscape. Ultimately, the program's success hinges on collaborative efforts between policymakers, manufacturers, and consumers, all united by a shared commitment to safer roads.

Additionally, the government's commitment to spending approximately 40,000 crore for addressing "black spots" on roads and the positive ripple effect of infrastructure investments in job creation were highlighted by Minister Gadkari during the launch event, underscoring the holistic approach to road safety and develop
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship. The Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian Prime Minister left Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, at around 7 am on Tuesday and is likely to land at Johannesburg around 5.15 pm IST.

It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.



In a statement before his departure, Modi said the BRICS summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development. "We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.



"This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development," he said.



Modi will also participate in the 'BRICS Africa Outreach' and 'BRICS Plus Dialogue' events that will be held as part of the summit activities.



The Prime Minister will also have bilateral meetings with leaders of other guest countries. However, it is yet unclear whether Modi will hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping who is also attending the summit in South Africa. News reports quoting the Chinese ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, suggested that a meeting was on the cards. The Ministry of External Affairs, however, did not confirm the meeting. At a special briefing, the foreign secretary said that the bilateral meetings for Modi were still being finalised.



Modi will leave South Africa on Thursday and arrive in Athens, Greece, on Friday at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, his first visit to the country. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.



"Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism," Modi said on his Greece visit.



"Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer," he added.


With the imposition of 40 per cent onion export duty creating a rift within the BJP and upsetting farmers across the state, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, currently in Japan on an official trip, has swiftly moved into action. He dialed Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, following which the Centre agreed to purchase two lakh metric tonnes onions from farmers.

Farmers in Maharashtra had forced closure of onion auctions in Nashik, Ahmednagar and Pune districts following the export duty announcement. They wanted the duty to be removed so they could benefit from higher export prices of onions.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena had also expressed its displeasure at imposition of the duty. Dada Bhuse, a senior Shiv Sena minister and close aide of Shinde, firmly opposed the decision and said there was no need to impose the duty to control onion prices. Those who can't afford to eat onions, shouldn't eat them for a few days. But let farmers get good prices and benefit from exports, said Bhuse.

State Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, a close aide of Ajit Pawar and recent entrant to the Maharashtra cabinet, also visited Delhi to meet Goyal to take up demands of the farmers.

The imposition of duty created rift in the BJP too. Union Minister Bharati Pawar who is an MP from onion-growing Nashik supported the export duty imposition while Subhash Bhamre, former Union Minister and a BJP MP from the neighbouring Dhule, firmly expressed his opposition. A few onion-growing talukas are part of Dhule Lok Sabha constituency.

Bhamre felt that the decision by the Centre was unjust and would adversely affect farmers. Farmers had started getting adequate price just now after suffer unseasonal rains and other vagaries of nature. The government should immediately roll back its decision. I will meet Union Minster Goyal and explain the situation of farmers to him, Bhamre reportedly said in an audio clip.

Last week, onion was being sold at over Rs 1,800-2,000 per quintal at Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale market for onions in India. Farmers were looking forward to export the bulb before the duties were imposed. Thus, angry farmers forced closure of Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon Baswant markets on Monday. Rabi onion farmers had already suffered losses due to unseasonal rains in March and April.

As the Centre announced it decision to impose increased export duty, close to 4,000 tonnes of onions in 200 containers ready to be shipped has got stranded at JNPT port in Navi Mumbai as the customs and central excise department intervened. Onion being a highly perishable crop could soon start rotting in the containers, say onion exporters.

Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar address media during a press conference | Amey Mansabdar

Following this, Fadnavis dialed the Union ministers for help. He explained the situation in Maharashtra to both Shah and Goyal and obtained a promise from them that the Centre will purchase two lakh metric tonnes of onion at a rate of Rs 2,410 per quintal. Special onion purchase centres will be set up in Nashik, Ahmednagar and Pune districts for this purpose.

Addressing a hurriedly called media briefing on the issue, CM Shinde and Deputy CM Pawar hailed the Centre's decision to purchase onions as a historic decision. We (Shinde, Pawar and Fadnavis) spoke to Prime Minister Modi ji, Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah ji and Piyush Goyal ji on the onion (export duty) issue. The PM assured us of all help before leaving for his South Africa tour. Accordingly, Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal told us that the Centre will procure onions through NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India). The home minister also said that they will procure more if the need arises and said that onions in the containers that were scheduled to be exported will also be purchased. This is a historic step to help farmers and we thank the central government, said Shinde at the briefing.
The senior government official accused of raping a 16-year-old minor girl will be produced before court on Tuesday. Premoday Khaka, along with his wife Seema Rani was arrested by Delhi police on Monday.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal has launched a dharna outside the hospital in North Delhi, where the victim is admitted. Maliwal alleged that she was not allowed to meet the victim or her mother at the hospital.

She lashed out at the police for indulging in hooliganism.

Delhi Police is indulging in hooliganism. They are neither allowing me to meet the girl nor her mother. I can't understand what do the Delhi Police want to hide from me. I am being told that the NCPCR chairperson was allowed to meet the girl's mother. When the NCPCR chairperson can meet the mother, why is the DCW chief not being allowed for the same?" Maliwal told ANI.

Taking it to X, Maliwal said that she has been sitting outside the hospital from Monday noon.

However, Maliwal had to end her sit-in protest outside the hospital as she said that two major crimes happened in the city and victims are waiting to see her

  12                         NCPCR                  ?      ? pic.twitter.com/9IC5LqCDCa  Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) August 22, 2023

"Since 12 noon yesterday, I am sitting outside the hospital to meet the victim girl or her family. Slept outside the hospital at night. The NCPCR can be introduced to the girl's mother, so why have I been asked to stop? What are you trying to hide?" she said.

Its been more than 24 hours and they havent let me meet the victim or her mother. Delhi police are the police of goons. They are not able to arrest the rapists. I wanted to meet the girl to understand that she is not going through any pressure. I wanted to make out compensation and legal aid. But Delhi police aren't allowing it. It's shameful for Delhi Police who have the work to give security to women doing hooliganism, Maliwal told ANI.

She also said that notice has been issued to the Police.

I have got two important phone calls right now. In two different localities of Delhi, two major crimes have happened, and victims are waiting for me. But I'll come back and meet the victim and her mother, she added.

The arrest was made after an FIR was registered against the accused. His wife was sent to judicial custody. After CM Arvind Kejriwal's intervention, the Delhi government has suspended the official.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, Premoday Khakha, Assistant Director is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect," an official order issued by Delhi government read.

The girls parents were Delhi government employees and was friends with the suspect and his family. Her father passed away in 2020 following which the accused had extended support to the family by offering to take her to his home inorder to recover from the trauma.

DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that the girl stayed with the accused for the nearly five months.

Officials said that the girl was allegedly raped several times at his residence between October 2020 and February 2021.

In between, the girl found out that she was pregnant and told his wife. Reportedly, she was asked not to reveal the incident and was later given abortion pills to terminate the pregnancy.

The incident was brought to light when the girl opened up to the counseller at a hospital, where she was admitted, after suffering from anxiety attack. She was admitted to a hospital in North Delhi.
Heavy security has been deployed at inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh as 16 farmers bodies call for protest seeking compensation for huge losses incurred due to floods.

The farmers are demanding Rs 50,000 crore compensation package from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab. They are also demanding a package of Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in floods.

Taking it to streets, protesting farmers clashed with the police on Monday at Punjabs Sangrur. Pritam Singh (70) was killed in the clash when a tractor-trolley ran over him. Several police personnel were also injured in the incident as well.

According to police, some farmer leaders provoked violence by breaking the barricades during the protest leading to clashes. Farmers tried to block the highway and toll plaza in Chandigarh following the detention of some leaders ahead of demonstration.

FIR was lodged against 53 farmers in connection with the violence and on charges of attempt to murder. Ahead of the protest demonstration in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana, several farmers were detained by the police.

Later, farmer bodies called for a massive protest at Longowal. Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation.

Sangrur's senior police superintendent Surendra Lamba said that members of a faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) sought to block the Sangrur-Barnala national highway and Badbar toll plaza.

(With PTI inputs)
The Delhi government on Tuesday approved a proposal to declare holiday in the national capital on September 8-10 in view of the G-20 summit. All schools, government and private offices and commercial establishments will remain closed for three days.

Delhi Police Special Commissioner Madhup Tiwari had earlier wrote a letter to the chief secretary, recommending the declaration of holiday in the state during the high-profile summit which will be held at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam convention centre in Pragati Maidan.

"Since, most of the arrivals will take place September 8 and delegates will depart to their respective countries on September 10-11, there will be a massive movement of traffic which needs to be curtailed to ensure safe passage for the delegates from airport to jotels and to the other venues during the summit," the letter read.

Several heads of states and diplomats including US President Joe Biden, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend the event.

On Monday, Delhi Police conducted a mock drill on major roads connecting Pragati Maidan to review the special arrangements made for the summit.

Sixty-one important roads and 23 hotels associated with the G20 Summit are being monitored. More than a dozen newly-inducted civil servants have been deployed in Delhi for round-the-clock patrol to point out gaps in preparations for the G20 Summit.
A water-deficient Cauvery basin is once again witness to soaring tempers on either side of the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border as the farmers in the neighbouring states are demanding water for their standing crops.

The decades-old dispute over the river water sharing between the riparian states has once again surfaced with the Cauvery river catchment area receiving less rains this year. The poor inflow to the four reservoirsKRS, Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathysaw the storage reach 69.8 tmc on August 21 this year against last years 284.8 TMC. The percentage of deficit in inflows during the current water year is 46.72%, while the inflow was in surplus the previous year.

This time again, the neighbouring states are bracing for a legal battle. On August 11, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) ordered the Karnataka government to release 10,000 cusec (0.864 tmcft per day) of water to Tamil Nadu after the Stalin government sought release of 24,000 cusec of water to sustain the standing crop. On August 14, the TN government petitioned the apex court seeking directions to Karnataka to release 24,000 cusec of water daily for its standing crops from August 14 to 31, and also ensure 36.76 tmc of water in August and September, the stipulated quota of water.

On August 21, the Supreme Court assured Tamil Nadu that it would constitute a bench to hear the dispute. The Karnataka government which has been expressing its inability to release the stipulated quota of water in a distress year (rain deficit year) has sought permission to build two balancing reservoirs at Mekedatu.

Both the pleas will be heard by the new bench.

It may be recalled that the apex court on February 16, 2018 had modified the allotment of water made by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunals in its final order (2007). As per the modified award, 419 TMC (of the total 740 TMC) was allocated to Karnataka, 270 TMC to Tamil Nadu, 30 TMC to Kerala, 7 for Puducherry and 10 TMC for environmental protection. The order mandated the release of a stipulated monthly quota of water from Karnatakas dams to Tamil Nadu at the Biligundlu measuring station each water year (June to May). However, the water dispute surfaces during every distress year as Karnataka fails to ensure the release of monthly quota of water to Tamil Nadu owing to water shortage in its dams.

Even as the state is locked in a legal battle, opposition partiesthe BJP and the JDShave slammed the Congress government for yielding to Tamil Nadus demand for excess water during a distress year.

Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, stated that Tamil Nadu had utilised 60 TMC against the stipulated 32 TMC of water for the Kuruvai crops by August 7. Bommai also criticised the government for releasing water to Tamil Nadu, claiming it was at the cost of Karnataka farmers.

The Congress government has released water to appease Stalin, who is part of the united opposition. The government has overlooked the drinking water needs of Bengaluru and released water to TN at the expense of our farmers in Mysuru and Mandya, said former minister R. Ashok.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the water resources minister, defended the government decision stating that it was only complying with the CWMA order.

The CWMA ordered Karnataka to ensure release of 10,000 cusec of water at Bilugundlu point for 15 days starting from August 12, which makes it a total of 13 TMC. We have called an all-party meeting on August 23, to discuss the future course of action, said Shivakumar, adding that a balancing reservoir at Mekadatu in Ramanagara district could resolve the water dispute as it helps store excess water during a surplus year.

The deputy chief minister also noted that there was only 55 TMC of water in the state reservoirs while there was a requirement of 124 TMC to meet the drinking water needs of Bengaluru and irrigation.

Said former chief minister and JDS leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, The Cauvery Tribunal had directed the states to follow a distress sharing formula. But the Congress government has unilaterally decided to release water to Tamil Nadu without any resistance. It has not taken the opposition parties into confidence before taking such a crucial decision. What is use of convening an all-party meeting after petitioning the Supreme Court? The Karnataka government is aware that Tamil Nadu has expanded its land under (Kuruvai crop) cultivation by four times. But it has not complained to the CWMA. The Congresss Mekadatu rally before elections to assert rights over Cauvery water was a sham.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed upon his arrival in South Africa on Tuesday on a three-day official visit during which he will attend the 15th BRICS summit and hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders.

Modi was welcomed by South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base where he received a ceremonial guard of honour.

"PM @narendramodi touches down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, South Africa. Warmly received by Deputy President @PMashatile of South Africa. Accorded a ceremonial welcome upon arrival," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Prime Minister Modi's three-day visit to South Africa entails participation in the 15th BRICS Summit and engagements with leaders of BRICS and invited countries in plurilateral and bilateral settings, he added.

A large number of Indian community members, including activists of the Pretoria Hindu Seva Samaj and the local chapter of the BAPS Swaminarayan organisation, greeted him.

Modi then left for Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg, the venue of the BRICS Summit. At the hotel, he met with local and expatriate Indian community members ahead of the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue. The Indian community members carrying musical instruments welcomed prime minister upon his arrival at the hotel.

At the community meeting, Modi is expected to view a model of the huge Swaminarayan Mandir which has been under construction since 2017 and is expected to be completed next year. The new temple at North Riding, north of Johannesburg, will be similar to one in Nairobi in Kenya, which is built entirely of stone. It will also include classrooms and a clinic.

Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

Earlier in his departure statement in New Delhi, Modi said BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.

"We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.

This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.

Modi posted on X that he will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development.

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.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.

Modi said in the statement that he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

"I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.

From South Africa, the prime minister will travel to Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It will be his first visit to this ancient land. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there.
Materials are a means of enhancing a watchs functions and performance. At Only Watch, they can also be the star of the show!

1. Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon

We know the watch, we know the material, but the combination of the two now thats unheard of! For the first time in its history, Bulgari is offering its Octo Finissimo Tourbillon made entirely  case, dial and bracelet  from marble. Hands, indices and crown are in gold. This isnt solid marble. The 110 facets of the case are covered with a thin (0.4 to 0.5mm) layer of green Verde di Alpi marble. The dial is also clad with a 0.6mm thin wafer. The most challenging aspect, however, was the bracelet. Numerous hours were spent setting the front and side of each link with a sliver of marble, leaving only the interior in black DLC titanium. A mineral exploit that sets Bulgaris expertise in stone.

Octo Finissimo Tourbillon  Bulgari

2. De Bethune Dream Watch 5

Its full name is the Dream Watch but to collectors its simply DW. There arent many DW in the wild, each being the only one of its kind. This fifth iteration is no exception. Denis Flageollet, watchmaker and co-founder of De Bethune, spent many months researching ancestral metalworking techniques. He forged the case himself from iron and steel, made from iron ore that was harvested in L'Auberson, near the De Bethune manufacture, which he smelted in his own furnace. Flageollet crushed the ore into powder, reduced it through the glowing charcoal of the furnace to obtain a mass of metal known as a bloom. He then forged this into a compact shape, ready for final machining. The operation took several weeks to complete. De Bethune has equipped this handwrought Dream Watch with a tourbillon movement that can be admired through the caseback.

Dream Watch 5  De Bethune

3. ArtyA Purity Moissanite

Unless you are a meteorite hunter, chances are you will never have heard of moissanite, a rare mineral that is sometimes found in meteorites. Registering 9.25 on Mohs scale of hardness, it ranks just below diamond and above sapphire, ruby and emerald. Moissanite was first observed in 1893 by the French chemist Henri Moissan, who gave it its name. ArtyA has sculpted its watchs case with 600 facets: thats ten times more than the 58 facets of a traditionally cut diamond. Its extraordinary brilliance surrounds a skeletonised movement, developed by Telos Watch, that is a succession of circles and curves, and which provides three days of power reserve.

Purity Moissanite  ArtyA

4. Richard Mille RMS14

Anyone who is familiar with Richard Mille will instinctively think of Carbon TPT, Quartz TPT, ultra-complex movements and watches that weigh less than a feather but are tougher than nails. This RMS14 pendant watch revisits a talisman that was discovered in the Swiss mountains. This unique contemporary version incorporates rhodonite and wood, and is inscribed with mysterious symbols. This unique piece is fitted with Calibre CRMT5, an in-house automatic skeletonised tourbillon movement showing hours and minutes.

RMS14  Richard Mille

5. Louis Moinet Art-Tech

Last and not least, the Art-Tech by Louis Moinet. Its dial is a laser-engraved silicon wafer: the same substrate used for the microchips that equip all our electronic devices. As CEO and founder Jean-Marie Schaller explains, Microelectronics enables fundamental advancements in medical research, which is the ultimate goal of Only Watch. I felt it was relevant to establish a connection between innovative technology and high watchmaking in order to fully embrace Only Watch's mission. We couldnt have put it better ourselves. Kudos to the brand for such a brilliant and apposite concept.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday targeted the BJP-ruled Centre and said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks of taking along everybody, he "attacks" opposition-ruled states, and added that for good measure, her party members are being targeted by central agencies "without reason".

She said the Jadavpur University student's death after ragging and sexual harassment has opened "our eyes" and the state government had launched an anti-ragging helpline to counter the menace.

Banerjee, who was speaking during a meeting with Durga Puja organisers, also announced an increase in grant-in-aid that the state government gives to Puja committees to Rs 70,000.

"Our people are being targeted by central agencies without reason. (Raids) continued throughout Monday night. They did not inform anyone. The boy (TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee) returned only a day before yesterday from abroad and suddenly they (ED) started the raids at four to five places," she said.

"I feel bad that they (central agencies) are raiding without informing people. But the rule is that you need a warrant or the residents of a house have to be told why they (probe agency officers) were there. There are people who do not understand English.

"You are entering houses by breaking the locks. You are also not keeping any witnesses. Hypothetically speaking, tomorrow they can come to my place. There is political vendetta going on in Bengal," she said.

The Bengal CM went on to rubbish media reports that central probe agencies conducted a raid at her residence on Harish Chatterjee Street here.

"They (ED) did not go to Harish Chatterjee Street. Some media wrote it just to flare up the issue. They (central agencies) can go anywhere they feel like. To Kalighat (mandir), Dakshineshwar (Mandir) or Nakhoda Masjid. That's their matter," Banerjee said.

She went on to allege that the central agencies, in the name of conducting an investigation, were interfering in people's personal lives.

"We are citizens of an independent country. The PM speaks of taking along everybody, but targets opposition-ruled states. Even the smallest of incidents like an ant bite is being probed by the ED and CBI," Banerjee said.

The ED on Monday had raided a number of locations in and around Kolkata in connection with the school jobs scam. Several of Banerjee's party members are already in ED or CBI custody in various cases of alleged corruption.

"The Jadavpur incident has opened our eyes. We are starting a toll-free anti-ragging helpline number at Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar to counter ragging, Banerjee said at the programme.

The toll-free number 1800-345-5678 was made active on Tuesday and would address ragging complaints in all educational institutions across the state, she said.

"Do not be scared, your identity and phone number will not be disclosed," Banerjee added.

A first-year undergraduate student of Jadavpur University died after falling from a second-floor balcony of a hostel earlier this month. Altogether 13 current and former students of the varsity have been arrested in this connection.

On grants to Durga Puja committees and clubs, Banerjee said it is given because they promote the state's development schemes.

"Why the clubs get the money? They get it because they promote the state's development schemes. Our intention is not to buy them," she said.

"I had started with a grant of Rs 25,000. Then during the Covid pandemic that lasted for two years, we increased it to Rs 50,000 and then to Rs 60,000. This year we are increasing it to Rs 70,000. But remember that our government has no money," she said.

Banerjee announced that puja committees would have to pay only one-fourth of the power bills and no other taxes for hosting the Pujas.

"I have spoken to the CESC and the West Bengal State Electricity Board. You do not have to pay 2/3rd of the electricity bills. And there is no tax on anything else. You do not have to pay taxes on advertisements," she said.

"This year, we will hold the Durga Puja carnival on October 27. We will host it in a big way," she said.
In a recent setback for Russia's ambitious lunar exploration program, the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the lunar surface during its preparations for a soft landing at the Moon's south pole. This mission, which aimed to mark Russia's return to lunar exploration after a nearly 50-year hiatus, encountered difficulties shortly after liftoff from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on August 11, 2023. The Russian space agency Roscosmos announced that communication with Luna-25 was interrupted when an impulse command was sent to lower its lunar orbit, leading to the unfortunate conclusion that the spacecraft had "ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface." This failure is a significant blow to Russia's space ambitions and underscores the challenges of lunar exploration.

Yuri Borisov, the Head of Roscosmos, expressed determination to continue their lunar program despite this setback. He highlighted the importance of not interrupting the lunar program, citing the decades-long pause in lunar exploration as a contributing factor to Luna-25's failure. Borisov emphasised the need to learn from past experiences and improve their efforts. A special commission has been established to investigate the precise causes of the incident.

In the face of the Luna-25 setback, Roscosmos remains resolute in its commitment to lunar exploration, with Luna-26, Luna-27, and Luna-28 missions serving as the next steps in their ambitious lunar program. These missions aim to not only build upon the scientific knowledge gained from past lunar endeavors but also demonstrate Russia's dedication to advancing space exploration on our celestial neighbor.

Luna-26 mission

Following the Luna-25 failure, Roscosmos remains committed to lunar exploration and has outlined plans for future missions. The Luna-26 mission, also known as Luna-Resurs-Orbiter, is scheduled for a 2027 launch. This lunar polar orbiter will play a crucial role in locating and quantifying natural lunar resources, with a focus on studying the lunar surface and its environment, including cosmic rays and solar wind. Luna-26 is expected to carry a suite of scientific instruments, some of which may be contributed by NASA or private US companies. Furthermore, it will serve as a telecommunication relay between Earth and Russian landed assets.

Luna-25 lander | Shutterstock

Luna-27 mission

Luna 27, following Luna-26 by approximately one year, is an ambitious lunar lander mission set to launch in 2028. This mission is a collaboration between Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA). Luna-27 aims to study the composition of the lunar soil near the south pole and detect lunar polar volatiles, with a special focus on water. It will employ a European navigation system called "Pilot" for precise landing at a challenging lunar south pole site. Luna-27's findings could provide valuable insights into the Moon's resources and potential for future missions.

Luna-28 mission

Luna-28, part of Roscosmos's lunar exploration plan, consists of a stationary lunar lander and a lunar rover. This mission is designed to collect soil samples from the Moon's surface and return them to Earth. After successfully acquiring these samples, the return vehicle will separate from the orbiter and begin its journey back to Earth. While the lunar orbiter continues its mission in lunar orbit, the samples will be analyzed on Earth, potentially revealing critical information about the Moon's composition and resources. While initially scheduled for 2027, delays in the Luna-Glob program have pushed the expected launch date to no earlier than 2030 as of August 2023.
Former United States President Donald Trump is gearing to surrender to Georgia authorities in connection with the alleged overturning 2020 election case on Thursday. Trump has announced his plans of surrendering, at Fulton County sheriffs office, through his social media platform.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis," Trump wrote on his social media network on Monday night.

Trump was accused of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

The decision to surrender was made after his lawyers met with the Fulton County district attorney's office and agreed to a bond of $2,00,000.

Trump is the first former US president to face indictment and this will be his fourth arrest since April.

However, Trump who is the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has been making appearances in New York, Florida and Washington D.C.

The bond agreement signed by Trumps defense attorney, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and others barred Trump from intimidating 18 co-defendants in the case, witnesses or victims.

The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice, states the order signed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media, read the order.

Reportedly, Trump had used social media platforms to attack people involved in the criminal cases against him as he campaigns to reclaim the White House in 2024.

Trump now faces 91 charges across four separate criminal cases at a time when is running for president in 2024.

Ahead of Trump's surrender, Fulton County sheriff's staff is facing threats as well. Threats have been made against Fulton County Sheriff's office employees and their homes for the role they will play in the former president's surrender, reported CNN.

Meanwhile, in connection with the election overturning case, Ray Smith, former lawyer for Donald Trump reached a bond agreement of $50,000. Smith faces 12 state crimes including soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, and conspiring to commit forgery.
On Thursday, brushing aside opposition from its neighbours, Japan will release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean if weather and marine conditions are fit.

According to Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings (TEPCO), the water used to cool radioactive debris trapped inside the facility is being stored at the site in over 1,000 tanks that are now almost full. The water was used to cool down the reactors after the earthquake triggered meltdown and is enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.



The water will be released over 30 years after being filtered and diluted. As for the filering process, Tepco will remove all the radioactive elements from the water usings advanced liquid processing system (Alps), except tritium, an isotope of hydrogen.



The tritium levels will be brought down to the below regulatory limits by diluting it with water before pumping it into the ocean. It will take about two days from Tuesday for the operator to dilute the water to bring down tritium to below government-mandated standards.



Tritium is considered to be harmless and is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world. Its radiation is not energetic enough to penetrate human skin but when ingested can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article said in 2014.



The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations body, said the water release plan would have "negligible" radiation effects on humans and the environment. IAEA staff are reportedly working with Japanese authorities to "ensure that they [the discharge] continue to be consistent with the safety standards."



However, organisations like Greenpeace believe the radiological risks have not been fully assessed and that the biological impacts of tritium, carbon-14, strontium-90 and iodine-129 have been ignored.



Protests are brewing inside the country and among the neighbours with China accusing Japan of treating the ocean like its "private sewer."



In response to Tuesday's announcement, Hong Kong said it would "immediately activate" import curbs on some Japanese food products. Both South Korea and China have already banned fish imports from around Fukushima.
In an aerial operation, the Pakistan Army rescued two of the eight persons who got trapped in a cable car after its wires snapped in Allai tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwas Battagram region on Tuesday. Aerial operations have been suspended for the night and rescue efforts through other means are continuing, reports said.



According to reports, the army rescued two children from the cable car in an operation involving four helicopters. Six people still remain inside the cable car dangling thousands of feet in the air above a ravine, Dawn reported.

According to Rescue 1122, the rescue operation by the special forces of the Pakistan Army is underway to save the rest of the people trapped in the dangling chairlift, Geo News reported.

The children were headed to school when the incident occurred at around 8am in Battagram.

According to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah, the chairlift was privately run by locals for transportation across the river as there were no roads or bridges in the area, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Dawn reported food is being delivered to the trapped persons using a small chairlift dolly.

According to reports, helicopters of Pakistan Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force are participating in the rescue operation along with the Special Services Group (SSG) troops. Authorities have decided to continue the rescue operation from the ground with the help of the Pakistan Army so that the operation may be continued even in the dark of night.

Rescue workers on the ground began the process of laying down nets to prepare for any mishaps, the report said.

The rescue mission is complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopter's rotor blades risk further destabilising the lift, Dawn reported.

The chairlift is dangling in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by towering mountains and a rocky surface, along with the Jhangri river beneath it.

The local administration along with Rescue 1122 teams were present at the spot, but due to the height and the hilly terrain, it was not possible for rescue officials to carry out a relief operation, the report quoted Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain as saying.

Gulfaraz, one of the trapped persons told Geo News said the first wire broke at 7am while another cable broke down soon after. The passengers have been waiting for help since early morning, he said.

Meanwhile, directing authorities to rescue all the people stuck in the chairlift, Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar asked the national and provincial disaster management authorities to utilise all the available resources and issued directives to ensure safety measures for cable cars in the hilly areas.

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming," he tweeted. According to a local school teacher, Zafar Iqbal, at least 150 students take the hazardous journey to school by cable car every day due to the lack of road facilities in the area, the Dawn newspaper reported.

(With PTI inputs.)
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in his first video appearance since the failed mutiny in Russia, said the group is making Africa 'more free'. In the video, Prigozhin can be seen wearing combat gear. It is not yet clear, where the video was filmed.



The Wagner group is said to have thousands of fighters on the continent, where it has lucrative business interests, according to a BBC report. The group's soldiers are present in countries including Mali and Central African Republic (CAR). Human Rights Watch and the UN recently accused the Wagner group of committing human rights violations in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR).

A pickup truck with more armed men could be seen behind Prigozhin in the video. Prigozhin, post an unsuccessful coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, went into exile to Belarus. The group's chief, however, is said to have returned to Russia in a few days. Putin initially branded Prigozhin a traitor, but the criminal case against the mercenary chief was later dropped.

Prigozhin, in the video, says that Wagner is recruiting people and the group will fulfil the tasks that were set. He also said that is working towards making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free. "Justice and happiness - for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and Al-Qaeda and other bandits," Prigozhin says in the video, Euronews reported.

Reportedly, the group is urging investors from Russia to put money into the Central African Republic (CAR). The Wagner group has been used as a tool by Kremlin to expand Russias presence in the Middle East and Africa.
Johannesburg, Aug 21 (PTI) BRICS is the driving force of global growth and the economies in the five-member bloc are catching up with the combined GDP of G7 countries, with significant shifts in the manufacturing process, Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal said here on Monday.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Manufacturing Business Summit.

The 21st century has witnessed significant shifts in what we manufacture, how we manufacture and for whom we manufacture, Goyal told delegates from more than 30 countries at the event.

Manufacturing is a significant part of trade and industry and plays a pivotal role in the growth of a nation. While its dominance in the economy continues, the 21st century has witnessed a significant shift in what we manufacture, how we manufacture and what we manufacture, he said at the summit.

The summit was one of the peripheral events ahead of the 15th BRICS Summit at which the leaders of the member countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will gather on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues.

While the other BRICS leaders will meet in person for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic, Russian President Vladimir Putin will join virtually because of an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Goyal said technology has led to not only changes in the process but also in the products of manufacturing.

There are newer products catering to evolving consumer wants, more than the need. Environmental challenges and sustainability concerns have also forced us to diversify products and processes in manufacturing in this century.

"Global value chains and supply chains, together with an unprecedented global market shaped by technological feats, has indeed forced us to re-imagine and re-design manufacturing of the future, he said.

Goyal said an important factor to keep in mind was the shift towards the global south.

Today, BRICS is the driving force of global growth. BRICS economies are catching up with the combined GDP of G7 countries and will continue to increasingly contribute to the global GDP," he said.

Goyal said there is a huge potential for increasing mutual trade and investments within the BRICS grouping by leveraging the complementarities in our economies. "It is all the more important for BRICS economies to pursue sustainable development agenda since we are home to more than 40 per cent of the global population," he said.

It is important for countries to enhance their participation in Global Value Chains for higher economic growth and prosperity of their citizens.

"Studies have shown that if a country increases its participation in global value chains by 10 per cent, its per capita income increases by up to 14 per cent, Goyal said.

He highlighted how India had achieved this.

India's recognition of the importance of enhancing participation in Global Value Chains is rooted in our commitment to fostering higher economic growth and securing the prosperity of our citizens.

"By effectively integrating ourselves into these chains, we can tap into global opportunities, accelerate our economic progress, create better livelihoods for our people, and position the country into its rightful place on the global stage, he said.

Goyal said India aims to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the GDP, from the current 15 per cent to 25 per cent by 2030.

He gave details of several projects designed to realise this objective.

Today, India stands as the largest digitally interconnected democracy globally, boasting in excess of 800 million internet users and a notable upsurge in online services. This era, characterised by the sequence of 'reform, perform, transform' is actively moulding India's future growth trajectory, the minister said.

Addressing the theme of supporting growth on the African continent, Goyal said African countries have been the provider of natural resources for industrial development across the world.

It is time that this advantage is leveraged for their own industrial development. What is needed is the policy push, the right technology and expertise and financial resources," he said.

Goyal said India can be a valuable investment and technology partner in Africas industrial development.

"I am confident that greater business-to-business engagements between India and Africa will bring in more investments from Indian companies across various sectors, he said.

The minister suggested that the successful Make in India programme could be adapted to a Make in Africa programme.

Part of the Make in Africa effort must be to promote domestic value addition instead of just exporting raw materials and getting back finished products, Goyal said.
Kolkata, Aug 22 (PTI) Environmental, social and governance (ESG) will help companies create a sustainable business culture which goes beyond wealth creation, leading executives of companies said on Tuesday.

ESG reporting landscape is rapidly changing at the global level owing to ever increasing challenges and re-orientation of the corporations, they said.

Speaking at a CII event here, managing director of Linde India Abhijit Banerjee said with increasing challenges arising out of ESG dimensions, business leaders in India see a merit to reorient their corporate purpose and extend beyond wealth creation into broader themes that its key stakeholders are concerned with.

Banerjee said in the present world, sustainability is something that investors are demanding, customers are expecting and employees are valuing.

"Leadership has to play a key role in implementing sustainable business culture in an organisation. The leadership indicators focus on providing a broader picture of the company's operations in terms of sustainability," he said.

Managing director of Jamshedpur Continuous Annealing & Processing Company Ujjal Chakraborti said ESG factors have gained significant attention from investors, businesses and society.

"While ESG has traditionally focused on environment and governance issues, the social component has recently garnered recognition. Inclusion of occupational health and safety (OHS) considerations into the ESG framework has been a crucial step for the companies to create sustainable, responsible and resilient operations that prioritise both the people and the planet," he said.

Rajiv Mangal, VP (safety, health and sustainability) of Tata Steel said the OHS and ESG goals are closely related and integrating them can help companies to create a responsible and sustainable business.
Srinagar, Aug 22 (PTI) The horticulture department expects a bumper apple crop of 21-22 lakh tonnes in the Kashmir valley this year on the back of introduction of new varieties and higher acreage. However, apple dealers and growers are not on the same page with the department as they expect the production to be less the last year due to damage to the crops because of adverse weather conditions and diseases.

They have also called for the setting up of controlled atmosphere (CA) stores in the valley so that growers can earn better prices, especially during the off-season.

According to the horticulture department, apple production was 20 lakh tonnes in the last year. "This year's apple production will be around 21-22 lakh tonnes compared to 20 lakh tonnes last year. This is because orchardists are going for high-density plantations. Of this, 90 per cent of the crop falls under A grade," Shafiqa Khalid, Deputy Director of the Department of Horticulture, said.

She said there were plans afoot to bring 5,500 hectares of land under 12 crops in the next five years. "Most of it will have apple plantations," she said.

However, an organisation of fruit growers and dealers feel that the yield might not be that high.

"Due to adverse weather conditions, production is less than the previous year. Around 40 per cent of the crop is damaged due to hailstorms and diseases. It is obvious if the production will be low the size of the fruit will be better but the results are mixed in many areas of Kashmir. There is a dearth of rain currently which is needed to help in gaining colour on the fruit," Bashir Ahmad Basheer, President Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, said.

Basheer said there was a deficiency of CA stores in the valley, especially in north Kashmir. "North and central Kashmir areas are facing a shortage of CA stores. Most of the CA stores are in South Kashmir," he added.

The demand for CA stores is getting louder as a substantial part of last year's apple production was wasted due to the frequent closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

Shafiqa Khalid said the transportation issue has been taken care of.

"Previous year's highway blockade issue has been taken care of as we have created groups which consist of teams from the Department of Traffic Police, Horticulture Planning and Marketing and Administrative Department of Horticulture. Everyone is working in coordination to keep close vigilance on the highway and other routes," she added.

She said there was a scheme under Mission for Integrated Development for Horticulture for setting up CA stores which will benefit the farmers by fetching them better returns during the off-season.

Basheer said there have been no problems so far this year.

While Kashmir valley contributes around 80 per cent of the apple production of the country, the erratic weather in Himachal and Uttarakhand has destroyed the crops in these two hill states, which is expected to translate into better prices for apples from the union territory.

"The market of Kashmiri apple is a bit better than that of Himachal Pradesh. The production is low in both Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. In some areas, around 70 per cent of fruit has been damaged and in some only 10 per cent so in totality we can say around 30 per cent of fruit is damaged," he added.

Officials said 70 per cent of Kashmir's population is directly or indirectly dependent on horticulture, mainly apple cultivation. Although scab disease has hit high-density varieties of apple too, it has yielded satisfactory crops.

The government officials and industry might not be on the same page on the expected yield this year but the technical staff at one of the nurseries here say that the introduction of new varieties has ensured higher yield compared to indigenous varieties.

"Recently we have introduced a number of new varieties that are market competitive. Various varieties of apples are grown in sample fields, like Jeromine, Gala, Mima Gala, Gala Redlum, these are market competitive. If farmers grow these varieties, they will get remunerative prices in the market," Mohammad Amin Bhat, Technical officer at the Directorate of Horticulture, said.

He said there was a proposal of adopting these varieties in the orchards of Kashmir alongside the traditional varieties.

"Till now through the government and some private orchardists have planted these new varieties of apple in private capacity but through the department, more than 6 hectares of land have been covered under this scheme.

Through holistic development plan, we are now proposing the rejuvenation of the orchards in which traditional trees will be top-worked. We are also replanting new varieties in those orchards. Government is working on both fronts - qualitatively as well as quantitatively," he added.

Bhat said the traditional apple cultivation fetches 12 metric tonnes per hectare but through high-density plantation the yield can go up to 16 metric tonnes per hectare.

Nearly 1.60 lakh hectares of land is under apple cultivation in Kashmir and the government is helping the farmers through various schemes by providing machinery at subsidized rates for maintaining apple orchards.
Mumbai, Aug 22 (PTI) The bulky projectors have given way to computers, the heavy metal reels replaced by a tiny hard drive. Life through their perch in darkened rooms looking into halls cavernous and intimate has evolved but the romance of the movies is intact for projectionists -- who were and still are the backbone of the cinema-in-theatre experience.

Mohammed Aslam Fakih and PA Salam, for instance, have been tracking time from the grainy black and white era of films such as Satyajit Ray's 1955 classic "Pather Panchali" right to the glossy colour era, travelling from the analogue to the digital age while adapting quickly to changing times and technology.

As cinema halls adapted to newer technology in the early 2000s, things changed. A lot of physical labour could be done with the push of a button, said Fakih. The 75-year-old has been working as a projectionist at South Mumbai's Regal Cinema for 53 years.

Salam, a projectionist at Pune's National Film Archive of India (NFAI), is 67 and has also been doing the job for at least four decades  and counting.

Representing the many thousands of people who work unseen behind the scenes of the showbiz industry, Fakih and Salam recall vividly days when 35mm or 70mm reels of film, roughly weighing 1.5 kg to 20 kg, respectively, were brought to cinema halls by helpers in the pre-digital era. While Hindi movies consisted of 15-22 reels, English films had about 10-12 reels.

Today, an entire film can be stored in a hard drive to be projected on screen. Their job as film projectionists was to load a physical film reel onto a projector, paying attention to the film's progress and changing reels as needed.

"I never thought I would operate a computer, but I did and I am still learning. Now, all we have to do is, Click a button, start, click a button, stop. Earlier we had to load the film, there was a lot of physical work that went behind it," Fakih told PTI in an interview here.

Following the transition to digital film projection, movies are now shown in cinema halls via a server or a DVD. Regal Cinema is among the many theatres that have installed a digital system alongside the old analogue equipment.

"However, things have not changed much, the duties are the same. But there is less work, there is not much exercise happening, like I don't have to push something. I am a laidback person now," he added.

Salam agreed, testifying to the need to adapt to new technology.

"Earlier, most of our time would go in putting and arranging the reel together. We couldn't even sneeze. Now we can go on a break and come back as we screen films. We have to change and adapt to time. We can't use the same old technique to watch a film," Salam added.

Fakih and Salam were two of the three veteran projectionists who received the lifetime achievement award by Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) last month. The third person to be felicitated was Lakhan Lal Yadav of Amardeep Cinema and Raj Talkies, Raipur.

Fakih was a busy man that evening -- Kamal Amrohis 1949 classic Mahal was screened by FHF on 35 mm vintage print to celebrate the analogue-era legacy of cinema at Regal Cinema.

He played the Ashok Kumar and Madhubala-starrer to a packed audience, both old and young. As the screening began, Fakih, sitting in the approximately 300 sq ft projection room with about half-a-dozen people inside, seemed nervous.

He heaved a sigh of relief after an assistant came and assured him that the sound and quality of the film was great.

"Nobody recognises projectionists. I dont think we get much respect as well. If the film (reel) breaks down or stops in between, people use swear words. Despite this, I wouldnt like to do anything else other than being a projectionist. That (projection room) is my life. I don't know any other work. I try to do the best I can," Fakih added.

Salam added that he had never thought about getting recognised in the field of projection.

Both were driven to the projection room by their passion for the movies, sometimes even watching films before or after work hours.

"I come from an orthodox Muslim family where listening to radio was also not allowed, forget about watching movies. I would often bunk school and watch movies in the theatre. As a projectionist, to see the audience coming in large numbers and enjoying the movie gives me a high," Salam said.

Back in the day, Salam, who started as a projectionist at the age of 21, worked relentlessly for about 10 hours or more. He earned Rs 300 a month and remembers screening classics, including Rays Charulata, Ritwik Ghataks Meghe Dhaka Tara, Subarnarekha, and Shyam Benegals Ankur.

"It would take about one hour or one-and-half hour to screen a film, depending on the condition of the reel. If the reel is all ok, it would take less time. Our focus was to make sure everything goes smoothly in the projection room," said Salam, who still gets a jittery feeling before every show.

There were times the film would stop or break in between, as it happened during the show of 1974's "Chor Machaye Shor", starring Shashi Kapoor and Mumtaz.

"People started yelling. We had to fix things quickly," he recalled.

Fakih, who has screened English-language films such as Alfred Hitchcocks Topaz, Italian movie star Gina Lollobrigidas Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, Bruce Lees Enter the Dragon, James Camerons Titanic, as well as Hindi titles such as Ramanand Sagars Geet and BR Chopras Insaf Ka Tarazu, said it was quite "hectic" in the late 1960-70s.

"Before the digital era, one print was being run from one theatre to another. There was real hard work, and we had to rewind that print quickly, load it. That was all quite hectic then.

"In those days, we had to assemble prints, first, second parts, etc. There were two projectors. Each projector is operated by one operator, besides there would be a third person, who would rewind the reels. This was an everyday process, Fakih, a self-proclaimed Hitchcock fan, said.
Ukraine expects that the European Commission will allow the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to the entire territory of the EU as early as September 15. That is, that the restrictions that prohibit such exports to Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary will be lifted.

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This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting took place within the framework of the Ukraine-Balkans summit.

"It is important to restore full-fledged duty-free trade between Ukraine and the EU and ensure free access of Ukrainian agro-exports to the entire territory of the EU single market. I expect that on September 15 any restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products in the EU will be lifted," Zelenskyy stressed.

He also thanked the head of the European Commission for the efforts aimed at normalizing the export and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products. Another topic of the talks was alternative routes for the "grain corridor" after Russia blocked ports in the Black Sea.

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Ukraine's neighboring countries are not going to lift the embargo

In general, a centralized ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to EU countries has been in effect since 2 May 2023. It replaced unilateral bans that were imposed separately by Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary and were to remain in force until the beginning of June 2023.

The reason was the protests of local farmers. They claimed that due to the influx of large quantities of cheap Ukrainian agricultural products they were forced to work without making a profit. The European Commission also allocated funds to support farmers in these countries.

The European Commission's ban was scheduled to be lifted on September 15. But all five countries demanded that the temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian grain be extended. In response, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said that it would be necessary to take into account "new circumstances" when considering the extension of the embargo, taking into account Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal.

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As reported by OBOZREVATEL, earlier Poland has already said that it will return to unilaterally blocking imports from Ukraine if the European Commission does not extend the centralized ban. "Our most important duty is to stand up for the interests of the Republic of Poland. Consequently, to protect the domestic market and the market of the European Union, which starts with us," the country's President Andrzej Duda said.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
London, Aug 22 (PTI) Bollywood star and BJP MP Sunny Deol spoke of his joy over the successful box-office run of his latest release, "Gadar 2", as he introduced a special screening of the film in London.

Organised by the Indian High Commission in London and its cultural wing, the Nehru Centre, the packed screening at Vue cinema Leicester Square on Monday night brought together diplomats, community leaders as well as artists such as filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor. The event opened with the beats of the dhol as Deol made a grand entrance before addressing the gathering.

"Indians all over the world are celebrating this film, I can't tell you how beautiful it is. I never expected it to be what it was, what it is right now," said Deol, who reprised his role of Tara Singh from the 2001 box-office hit "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha" alongside Ameesha Patel as Sakeena.

"I believe that every man wants his wife to be like Sakeena and every woman wants her husband to be like Tara Singh. And, the family, the way they hold on together and fight off everything, that's the basic USP (unique selling point) of the story," he said.

Deol revealed he was "scared" of taking on a sequel to an iconic film from 22 years ago, but it was during the COVID pandemic lockdown that the idea was crystalised and it "clicked straight away".

"It should remind us again of what our previous generations went through in the struggle for independence and most importantly what cost all communities paid in Partition," said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

"The story of the original 'Gadar' is based on a true story, which Sunny Sahib made a giant hit of its times. This is an opportunity to see the next edition of it, he said.

The High Commissioner also shared how the special screening was organised at short notice at the request of the lead actor, who proved to be a "draw card" to pack out one of the large screens at Leicester Square.
Mumbai, Aug 22 (PTI) There is a "check and balance" happening but creative people aren't afraid of telling the stories they want to, filmmaker Karan Johar said while commenting on navigating the constraints in place in a "changed country".

Johar on Monday was in conversation with Anant Goenka, executive director, The Indian Express, and Shubhra Gupta, film critic, The Indian Express at the Express Adda here.

When asked by Gupta whether he factors in the constraints while making films, Johar said: "At the end of the day, you've got to make a film that you want to make and you believe in. What you are talking about... Constraints have existed, always."

"You wanted to make films subjects that were sensitive to issues that perhaps your country is sensitive to. As filmmakers, who now have a legal department in every office, will tell you that 'don't go down this path'. There is that check and balance happening," the 51-year-old filmmaker said at the Express Adda.

Is there fear, Gupta asked Johar, who is basking in the success of his latest release "Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani".

In his response, the director said "creative people aren't afraid".

"I don't think there is any fear... They are not afraid to tell the stories that they want to. They will choose the story they want to keep the environment around it, the release of the film, not something that you sensationalise for no reason. We are sensitive, we aren't afraid," he added.

Johar, who deleted his Twitter account to make way for "positive energies only" in 2022, also touched upon the social media backlash that is often directed at the Hindi film industry.

"The environment in our industry has been turbulent. For the last three (years), there has been a lot of negativity. It has not been easy on me or the industry. So much of this negativity was unjustified. People say things loosely and on social media. They don't realise the impact it can have on the mental health of those at the receiving end," he said.

"If this film ('Rocky Aur Rani...') had failed, there would have been a million fingers pointing out at you saying, see there is an impact'. Now you realise, it is all virtual and it means nothing. But you have to be strong enough to not get affected by it," the director said.
Karachi, Aug 22 (PTI) At least eight people, including six schoolchildren, were trapped 900 ft mid-air after the wires of their chairlift snapped in a mountainous area in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, according to media reports.

The children were headed to school when the incident occurred at around 8 am in Battagram's Allai tehsil, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

According to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah, the chairlift was privately run by locals for transportation across the river as there were no roads or bridges in the area, it said.

"A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cables in Battagram. Eight persons, including 6 children, (are) stranded," the Geo News reported citing a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Pakistan Armys quick response force has been called for the rescue operation.

According to Allai Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain, the local administration along with Rescue 1122 teams were present at the spot, but due to the height and the hilly area, it was not possible for rescue officials to carry out a relief operation.

Meanwhile, directing authorities to rescue all the people stuck in the chairlift, Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar asked the national and provincial disaster management authorities to utilise all the available resources and issued directives to ensure safety measures for cable cars in the hilly areas.

"The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming," he tweeted.

According to a local school teacher, Zafar Iqbal, at least 150 students take the hazardous journey to school by cable car every day due to the lack of road facilities in the area, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Islamabad, Aug 22 (PTI) Pakistan on Tuesday summoned the Indian Charge dAffaires to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to register a strong protest over the killing of a 60-year-old civilian.

Pakistan on Monday claimed that Ghias, a resident of Oli village of Kotli district, was killed in "unprovoked firing" at the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nikial sector.

Emphasizing the need for maintaining peace and tranquillity at the LoC, it was underscored that such acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, reaffirmed in February 2021, the Pakistan Foreign Office said.

The Indian side was urged to investigate the incident, it said.
Washington, Aug 22 (AP) Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, Trump wrote on his social media network Monday night, hours after his bond was set at $200,000.

It will be Trump's fourth arrest since April, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to face indictment. Since then, Trump, who remains the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has had what has seemed like an endless procession of bookings and arraignments in jurisdictions across the country. His appearances in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C., have drawn enormous media attention, with news helicopters tracking his every move.

Trump's announcement came hours after his attorneys met with prosecutors in Atlanta to discuss the details of his release on bond. The former president is barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case  including on social media  according to the bond agreement signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Trump's defense attorneys and the judge. It explicitly includes posts on social media or reposts of posts made by others.

Trump has repeatedly used social media to attack people involved in the criminal cases against him as he campaigns to reclaim the White House in 2024. He has been railing against Willis since before he was indicted, and singled out Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp  a Republican who rebuffed his efforts to overturn the election  by name in a social media post Monday morning.

The agreement also prohibits the former president from making any direct or indirect threat of any nature against witnesses or co-defendants, and from communicating in any way about the facts of the case with them, except through attorneys.

The order sets Trump's bond for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations  or RICO  charge at $80,000, and adds $10,000 for each of the 12 other counts he is facing. Bond is the amount defendants must pay as a form of collateral to ensure they show up for required court appearances.

Willis set a deadline of noon Friday for Trump and his 18 co-defendants to turn themselves in to be booked. The prosecutor has proposed that arraignments for the defendants follow during the week of Sept. 5. She has said she wants to try the defendants collectively and bring the case to trial in March of next year, which would put it in the heat of the presidential nominating season.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing. A phone message seeking comment was also left for an attorney for the former president.

Trump's appearance in Georgia will come a day after the first Republican primary debate, which he has decided to skip.

He is expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail, which has long been plagued with problems. The Department of Justice last month opened a civil rights investigation into conditions, citing filthy cells, violence and the death last year of a man whose body was found covered in insects in the main jail's psychiatric wing. Three people have died in Fulton County custody in the past month.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Monday afternoon that when Trump surrenders there will be a hard lockdown of the area surrounding the jail.

But Trump is not expected to spend much time there.

When defendants arrive at the building, they typically pass through a security checkpoint before checking in for formal booking in the lobby. During the booking process, defendants are typically photographed and fingerprinted and asked to provide certain personal information. Since Trump's bond has already been set, he will be released from custody once the booking process is complete.

Unlike in other jurisdictions, in Fulton County, arraignments  where a defendant first appears in court  are generally set after a defendant completes the booking process and do not happen on the same day.

Booking a former president, who still has 24-hour Secret Service protection, has created myriad security and logistical issues in other jurisdictions.

In his past appearances in a New York state court and federal courts in Miami and Washington, Trump was not handcuffed while in custody. He was also not required to pose for a mugshot, with officials instead using existing photographs of the former president.

Georgia officials have said Trump will be treated like others charged with crimes in their state.

Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn't matter your status, we'll have a mugshot ready for you, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said at a news conference earlier this month.

Trump was charged last week in the case alongside a slew of allies, who prosecutors say conspired to subvert the will of voters in a desperate bid to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and he characterizes the case  and the three others he is facing  as efforts to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. He has regularly used his Truth Social platform to single out prosecutors and others involved in his cases, and to continue to spread falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In a post on Monday, Trump called the Fulton County district attorney crooked, incompetent, & highly partisan. He also attacked Kemp, whom he has long targeted for the governor's refusal to intervene after the 2020 election. Kemp has been outspoken in pushing back against Trump, writing in social media last week: The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen."

Bond was also set Monday for three lawyers who were indicted along with Trump. For each of them, the bond for the RICO charge was set at $20,000, with varying amounts for the other charges they face. John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro each had a bond set at $100,000, while Ray Smith's bond is $50,000.

Bail bondsman Scott Hall, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, had his bond set at $10,000.

Other defendants include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, who aided the then-president's efforts to undo his election loss in Georgia.

The Georgia indictment came just two weeks after the Justice Department special counsel charged Trump in a separate case in a vast conspiracy to overturn the election. Besides the two election-related cases, Trump faces a federal indictment accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents as well as a New York state case charging him with falsifying business records. (AP) AMS
London, Aug 22 (AP) Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online.

The first phase of the European Union's groundbreaking new digital rules will take effect this week. The Digital Services Act is part of a suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc  long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants.

The DSA, which the biggest platforms must start following Friday, is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that's either illegal or violates a platform's terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans' fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.

Some online platforms, which could face billions in fines if they don't comply, have already started making changes.

Here's a look at what's happening this week:

WHICH PLATFORMS ARE AFFECTED?

So far, 19. They include eight social media platforms: Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snapchat.

There are five online marketplaces: Amazon, Booking.com, China's Alibaba AliExpress and Germany's Zalando.

Mobile app stores Google Play and Apple's App Store are subject, as are Google's Search and Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Google Maps and Wikipedia round out the list.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER ONLINE COMPANIES?

The EU's list is based on numbers submitted by the platforms. Those with 45 million or more users  or 10 per cent of the EU's population  will face the DSA's highest level of regulation.

Brussels insiders, however, have pointed to some notable omissions from the EU's list, like eBay, Airbnb, Netflix and even PornHub. The list isn't definitive, and it's possible other platforms may be added later on.

Any business providing digital services to Europeans will eventually have to comply with the DSA. They will face fewer obligations than the biggest platforms, however, and have another six months before they must fall in line.

Citing uncertainty over the new rules, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has held off launching its Twitter rival, Threads, in the EU.

WHAT'S CHANGING?

Platforms have started rolling out new ways for European users to flag illegal online content and dodgy products, which companies will be obligated to take down quickly and objectively.

The DSA will have a significant impact on the experiences Europeans have when they open their phones or fire up their laptops, Nick Clegg, Meta's president for global affairs, said in a blog post.

Meta's existing tools to report illegal or rule-breaking content will be easier to access, Clegg said.

Amazon opened a new channel for reporting suspected illegal products and is providing more information about third-party merchants.

TikTok gave users an additional reporting option for content, including advertising, that they believe is illegal. Categories such as hate speech and harassment, suicide and self-harm, misinformation or frauds and scams, will help them pinpoint the problem.

Then, a new dedicated team of moderators and legal specialists will determine whether flagged content either violates its policies or is unlawful and should be taken down, according to the app from Chinese parent company ByteDance.

TikTok says the reason for a takedown will explained to the person who posted the material and the one who flagged it, and decisions can be appealed.

TikTok users can turn off systems that recommend videos and posts based on what a user has previously viewed. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat users will have similar options. Such systems have been blamed for leading social media users to increasingly extreme posts.

The DSA prohibits targeting vulnerable categories of people, including children, with ads.

Snapchat said advertisers won't be able to use personalisation and optimisation tools for teens in the EU and U.K. Snapchat users who are 18 and older also would get more transparency and control over ads they see, including "details and insight" on why they're shown specific ads.

TikTok made similar changes, stopping users 13 to 17 from getting personalised ads based on their activities on or off TikTok.

IS THERE PUSHBACK?

Zalando, a German online fashion retailer, has filed a legal challenge over its inclusion on the DSA's list of the largest online platforms, arguing that it's being treated unfairly.

Nevertheless, Zalando is launching content flagging systems for its website even though there's little risk of illegal material showing up among its highly curated collection of clothes, bags and shoes.

The company has supported the DSA, said Aurelie Caulier, Zalando's head of public affairs for the EU.

It will bring loads of positive changes for consumers, she said. But generally, Zalando doesn't have systemic risk (that other platforms pose). So that's why we don't think we fit in that category."

Amazon has filed a similar case with a top EU court.

WHAT HAPPENS IF COMPANIES DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES?

Officials have warned tech companies that violations could bring fines worth up to 6 per cent of their global revenue  which could amount to billions  or even a ban from the EU. But don't expect penalties to come right away for individual breaches, such as failing to take down a specific video promoting hate speech.

Instead, the DSA is more about whether tech companies have the right processes in place to reduce the harm that their algorithm-based recommendation systems can inflict on users. Essentially, they'll have to let the European Commission, the EU's executive arm and top digital enforcer, look under the hood to see how their algorithms work.

EU officials are concerned with user behavior on the one hand, like bullying and spreading illegal content, but they're also concerned about the way that platforms work and how they contribute to the negative effects, said Sally Broughton Micova, an associate professor at the University of East Anglia.

That includes looking at how the platforms work with digital advertising systems, which could be used to profile users for harmful material like disinformation, or how their livestreaming systems function, which could be used to instantly spread terrorist content, said Broughton Micova, who's also academic co-director at the Centre on Regulation in Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.

Big platforms have to identify and assess potential systemic risks and whether they're doing enough to reduce them. These risk assessments are due by the end of August and then they will be independently audited.

The audits are expected to be the main tool to verify compliance  though the EU's plan has faced criticism for lacking details that leave it unclear how the process will work.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD?

Europe's changes could have global impact. Wikipedia is tweaking some policies and modifying its terms of use to provide more information on problematic users and content. Those alterations won't be limited to Europe and "will be implemented globally," said the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the community-powered encyclopedia.

The rules and processes that govern Wikimedia projects worldwide, including any changes in response to the DSA, are as universal as possible," it said in a statement.

Snapchat said its new reporting and appeal process for flagging illegal content or accounts that break its rules will be rolled out first in the EU and then globally in the coming months.

It's going to be hard for tech companies to limit DSA-related changes, said Broughton Micova, adding that digital ad networks aren't isolated to Europe and that social media influencers can have global reach.

The regulations are dealing with multichannel networks that operate globally. So there is going to be a ripple effect once you have kind of mitigations that get taken into place," she said. (AP) MRJ

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Alexandroupolis (Greece), Aug 22 (AP) Firefighters found the bodies of 18 people while scouring the area of a major wildfire in northeastern Greece burning out of control for a fourth day Tuesday. Authorities were examining whether the group might have been migrants who entered the country through the nearby border with Turkey.

The discovery in the Avanta area of the city of Alexandroupolis came as hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires breaking out across the country, fanned by gale-force winds. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece.

With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires. Another major blaze was burning across Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands for a week, although no injuries or damage to homes was reported.

European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.

In Greece, police activated the country's Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the 18 bodies, which were found near a shack in the Avanta area, Ioannis Artopios, a spokesman for the fire department, said in a televised statement.

Given that there have been no reports of a missing person or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility is being investigated that these are people who had entered the country illegally, Artopios said.

Alexandroupolis lies near the country's border with Turkey, along a route often taken by people fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and seeking to enter the European Union.

Avanta, like many nearby villages and settlements, had been under evacuation orders, with push alerts sent to mobile phones.

Overnight, a massive wall of flames raced through forests toward Alexandroupolis, prompting authorities to evacuate another eight villages and the city's hospital. Flames turned the sky over the city red as choking smoke and swirling flecks of ash filled the air.

About 65 of the more than 100 patients in the hospital were transported to a ferry boat docked in the city's port, while others were taken to other hospitals in northern Greece. The ferry later set sail with more than 20 of the patients for the port town of Kavala, where they were to be transferred to another hospital.

Deputy Health Minister Dimitris Vartzopoulos, speaking on Greece's Skai television, said smoke and ash in the air around the Alexandrouplolis hospital were the main reasons behind the decision to evacuate the facility.

We evacuated within four hours, he said.

The coast guard said patrol boats and private vessels evacuated another 40 people by sea from beach areas west of Alexandroupolis and were ferrying them to the city's port.

In the northeastern Evros border region, a fire was burning through forest in a protected national park, with satellite imagery showing smoke from the blaze blanketing much of northern and western Greece.

New fires broke out in several parts of the country Tuesday, including in woodland northwest of Athens and an industrial area on the capital's western fringes.

Small explosions resounded from the industrial area of Aspropyrgos as the flames reached warehouses and factories, while authorities shut down a highway and ordered the evacuation of nearby villages.

With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece appealed for help from the European Union's civil protection mechanism.

Five firefighting planes from Croatia, Germany and Sweden, and a helicopter, 58 firefighters and nine water tanks from the Czech Republic were heading to Greece Tuesday, while 56 Romanian firefighters and two aircraft from Cyprus arrived Monday. French firefighters were also in Greece, helping tackle a blaze on the island of Evia Monday.

We are mobilising actually almost one third of the aircraft we have in the rescEU fleet, said EU spokesman Balazs Ujvari.

The fire risk level for several regions, including the wider Athens area, was listed as extreme for a second day Tuesday. Authorities have banned public access to mountains and forests in those regions until at least Wednesday morning and ordered military patrols.

In Spain, firefighters battled to control a wildfire burning for a week on the popular Canary Islands tourist destination of Tenerife. It is estimated that the blaze, which has scorched 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres), has already burnt a third of Tenerife's woodlands.

The wildfire may be stabilised by tonight, said Tenerife Gov Rosa Davila, who nonetheless added that the blaze is still active.

More than 12,000 people were evacuated during the past week. Authorities said Tuesday that 1,500 have been able to return to their homes. Authorities have described the fire as the worst in decades on the Atlantic archipelago.

Large parts of Spain were under alert for wildfires due to a heatwave that sent temperatures spiking over 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). While Spain's south often has extremely high temperatures, the country's weather agency issued an alert for the northern Basque Country, where temperatures were forecast to reach 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday.

Greece's deadliest wildfire killed 104 people in 2018, at a seaside resort near Athens that residents had not been warned to evacuate. Authorities have since erred on the side of caution, issuing swift mass evacuation orders whenever inhabited areas are under threat.

Last month, a wildfire on the island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of some 20,000 tourists. Days later, two air force pilots were killed when their water-dropping plane crashed while diving low to tackle a blaze on Evia.

In Italy, authorities evacuated 700 people from homes and a campsite on the Tuscan island of Elba after a fire broke out late Monday, while in Turkey, authorities evacuated a small village in northwestern Canakkale province after a wildfire fanned by strong winds threatened homes. At least six helicopters and five water-dropping planes were deployed.

According to the Italian Society of Environmental Geology, more than 1,100 fires in Europe this summer have consumed 2,842 square kilometres (about 1,100 square miles), well above an average of 724 fires a year recorded from 2006-2022. The fires have removed wooded areas capable of absorbing 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

When we add the fires in Canada, the United States, Africa, Asia and Australia to those in Europe, it seems that the situation is getting worse every year," said SIGEA president Antonello Fiore. (AP) SCY

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London, Aug 22 (PTI) A new display at the National Army Museum in London tells the story of the essential contributions of the Indian Army during the First World War, illustrated by photographs, illustrations of artwork, documents and medals from the museums collections.

British Indian Army: Soldiers of the First World War, which opened earlier this month and runs until November 5, is created in partnership with the United Service Institution of India in New Delhi.

It commemorates the important role played by troops from the Indian subcontinent during the war as part of the British Indian armed forces during the colonial era in the 20th century.

The Indian Army was essential during the war as the imperial reserve both on the Western Front at the beginning of the war and during the Palestine campaign in 1918, notes the museum display.

Nearly 1.4 million men from India served in various theatres, making it the largest all-volunteer force the world had seen at the time, it said.

The Indian Corps went on to fight in the battles of Neuve Chapelle, Second Ypres and Loos in 1915.

The infantry was withdrawn from the Western Front in December 1915 to reinforce the troops in Mesopotamia, with the two cavalry divisions remaining until 1918.

The display, which is free of charge, highlights how Mesopotamia was the main theatre for the British Indian Army.

India provided over three-quarters of the force employed, three-quarters of the river craft and the entire railway material and personnel.

The initial objective was to secure the oil supplies around Basra which was achieved at relatively little cost by April 1915.

In Palestine, a process of Indianisation from late 1917 onwards meant that British Army units were sent back to the Western Front and replaced by Indian Army units.
Washington, Aug 22 (PTI) US President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7 to 10 to attend the G-20 Leaders' Summit, the White House said on Tuesday.

President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of the Ukraine conflict, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges will also be discussed, the official added.

While in New Delhi, President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026, Jean-Pierre added.
Washington, Aug 22 (PTI) US President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7 to 10 to attend the G-20 Leaders' Summit during which he will discuss with other leaders a range of global issues, including the Ukraine conflict, the White House announced on Tuesday.

President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership of the G20, the White House said in a statement.

The G20 world leaders' summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. The summit is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in India. India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2022, from Indonesia.

President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putins war in Ukraine," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

"Increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges, she said in a statement.

While in New Delhi, President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Modis leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026, Jean-Pierre added.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Biden's talks with leaders on the sidelines of the summit will focus on climate change, Russia's war in Ukraine and other global challenges.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

The members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.

From September 4-7, Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia to attend the US-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit and engage with leaders from the Indo-Pacific, Jean-Pierre said.

Harris and ASEAN leaders will review the unprecedented expansion in US-ASEAN relations under the Biden-Harris Administration and the vice president will reaffirm the United States enduring commitment to Southeast Asia and ASEAN centrality, the press secretary said.

This visit builds on President Bidens participation in the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2022, his virtual participation in the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in November 2021, and the Presidents and Vice Presidents engagements with ASEAN leaders at the historic May 2022 U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, D.C.

"This is the Vice Presidents third trip to Southeast Asia in the past two years, and builds on her August 2021 visit to Singapore and Vietnam and her November 2022 visit to Thailand and the Philippines, Jean-Pierre said.
Ukrainian hackers from the Cyber Resistance team hacked into the mail of the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Alexander Babakov. As a result, it became known about the Russian's personal corruption schemes worth billions of rubles and the formation of the so-called fifth column.

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The correspondence published by the international intelligence community InformNapalm shows that Babakov was involved in the implementation of active measures and hybrid influence of the Russian Federation abroad at the parliamentary level (to see the photo, scroll to the bottom of the page).

In Babakov's mail, documents were found with statements on the movement of funds. In particular, on the account of CentroCredit for hundreds of millions of dollars.

"There are several typical schemes he uses. The first scheme is quite simple: lending money to assistants. For example, let's take the most recent one. In February 2023, Yevgeny Zobnin, Babakov's assistant, 'asks for a loan' of 100 million rubles. The term of the agreement is 3 years. Now, during this period, Alexander Babakov will be able to launder corrupt proceeds, bribes and gifts, making them "clean". He will even be able to indicate this in his declaration. As for the "repayment" of such "loans", a very interesting document was found in Babakov's mail - "recommendations for filling accounts based on the calculated balances", the investigation says.

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The second money laundering scheme involved real estate. Babakov contributed 770 million rubles as a co-investor in the construction of real estate at Centre Stroy LLC. And according to the MP's declaration for 2022, he earns "only" 8 million a year.

"But it's not about investments. The documents found in the mail show that there will be no construction. Babakov has formally cancelled the contract with the developer, and the latter is obliged to return 770 million. A great money laundering scheme for hundreds of millions of rubles," the journalists added.

They described Babakov's third scheme of illicit enrichment as "helping a friend".

"Just as Babakov uses his assistants and other people as padding, he is used by another person - entrepreneur Alexei Kakhidze. The register of contracts shows loans to Babakov for almost half a billion rubles. But who is Kakhidze? He is another assistant to Babakov, and at the same time the chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom LNG Technologies. The market for LNG technologies is growing rapidly, and Kakhidze is using Babakov to expand the market. Russia is trying to create a new liquefied natural gas infrastructure, investing in the development of gas-powered transport, and offering its LNG infrastructure development projects to Iran and African countries. And Kakhidze and Babakov, in particular, are making money on this," the article says.

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In addition, Babakov is the curator of the foreign direction for the spread of Russian World propaganda.

"Since Russia's full-scale invasion, Babakov's main focus has been on expanding cooperation with African and Eastern countries in order to minimise Western sanctions. He was responsible for holding a large-scale Russia-Africa inter-parliamentary conference in March 2023 and worked on the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July this year. As a member of the 2023 parliamentary delegation, Babakov travelled to India and Iran to negotiate economic cooperation and sanctions circumvention. Babakov has an excellent personal relationship with Serbian President Vucic. And, of course, it is not without the formation of a pool of pro-Russian Serbian parliamentarians and political parties who are not ashamed to go to meetings with Russians after the full-scale aggression," the investigators note.

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In addition, Babakov actively cooperates with the right-wing radical pro-Russian Georgian party Conservative Movement, which promotes pro-Russian and anti-American/anti-European narratives.

Babakov's emails also contain many other interesting documents on the promotion of Russian interests in Bulgaria, Greece, Mexico, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Croatia.

"Traditional Russian influence is everywhere - getting people hooked on the energy needle or working with local pro-Russian agents and Russian ethnic enclaves. And here, once again, we understand that Babakov, like the entire Russian political elite, is an enemy of Ukraine. Babakov's close cooperation with the International Russian Compatriot (IRC) is the most notable. This is an organisation specially created for hybrid influence and destabilisation. It is an ethnic Russian-dimensional Comintern," the article says.

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And the most interesting thing: Babakov is responsible for spreading disinformation among foreign parliaments about "biolabs in Ukraine".

It also became known that Babakov has heart problems and has had a serious coronavirus infection, so he went to Western Switzerland, which is hated by Russia, for treatment. This was after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014, and despite the fact that he was already under sanctions. Somehow, he was granted permission to travel for treatment on an individual basis.

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As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Babakov recently threw a tantrum on Russian TV over the fall of the Russian ruble. He called the situation a "nightmare".

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Thane, Aug 22 (PTI) The police in Maharashtra's Thane city have arrested three Nepalese men in connection with a theft at jewellery shop during which gold worth Rs 3.2 crore was stolen, police said on Tuesday.

The crime branch officials arrested Madhav Giri, Dinesh alias Sagar Rawal, and Deepak Bhandari, all hailing from Nepal, on August 20, an official said.

The police managed to recover 550 gm of the stolen gold, valued at Rs 33 lakh from the trio, he said.

A gang of miscreants allegedly broke into a jewellery shop in the main market area of Ulhasnagar town on June 27 and decamped with 6 kg of gold jewellery worth Rs 3.2 crore, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shivraj Patil said.

During the probe, the police relied on the CCTV footage from the area and technical analysis, which revealed that the accused were from Nepal, he said.

Police teams launched a manhunt in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, Varanasi and also searched in the districts bordering Nepal and finally apprehended the trio in one of the border areas, the official said.

While three members of the gang have been arrested, seven more are suspected to be involved in the crime, he said.

The accused are history-sheeters and were involved in a similar robbery at a jewellery store in Kamote area of Navi Mumbai in October 2022, the official said.

The gang, which included the security guard of the shop, first surveyed the location and struck when the establishment was closed, he said.

The accused were also wanted for robberies in neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, senior inspector Anand Raorane said, adding that the local property cell officials are carrying out further probe.
Pune, Aug 22 (PTI) The Pune police control room received a phone call, originating from the US, in the wee hours of Tuesday in which the person on the other side informed about presence of a "suspected terrorist" in Mumbai, said an official.

The call was received at around 1 am and the Pune police immediately contacted their counterparts in Mumbai and informed about it.

"The police control room received a call in which the caller informed us about a particular person in Mumbai, asked us to check on him, and claimed that person is a suspected terrorist. We immediately informed the Mumbai police about the call and they are looking into it," said the official.

He said the call originated from the US.

It appears the call was fishy as locations of both the caller and the person about whom he gave information were later traced to America, said another police officer.
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) As anticipation grows for India's planned Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing on Wednesday, an expert delves into the fascinating world of Moon exploration.

The Moon has captivated human curiosity for centuries, and with each new mission, we uncover more about its geological history, composition and potential for scientific discovery.

Dr. TV Venkateswaran, a scientist at Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and member of the public outreach committee of the Astronomical Society of India, answers key questions about the Moon's geological evolution, the significance of its south pole, the presence of water and ice, and India's ambitious plans for lunar exploration.

1. What is Moon's geological history and evolution? In other words, how old it is, and when/how did it form?

The Moon is estimated to be about 4.5 billion years old, roughly the same age as the Earth. The leading theory about the Moon's formation suggests that a Mars-sized celestial body collided with the young Earth, and the debris from this collision eventually coalesced to form the lunar body. However, current geological evidence from Moon suggests that it may be younger by just 60 million years compared to Earth.

2. How much do things weigh on the Moon, relative to Earth, and why?

The Moon's gravitational pull is much weaker than Earth's, approximately one-sixth of Earth's gravity. As a result, objects on the Moon weigh significantly less than they do on Earth. This is due to the Moon's smaller size and mass. For example, a person weighing 68 kilograms on the Earth would weigh only over 11 kg on the Moon.

3. Why do Indian scientists want to land on Moon's south pole?

The lunar south pole has become a focal point for exploration due to its unique features and potential scientific value. It is believed to host a vast reservoir of water ice in permanently shadowed regions. The presence of water is of immense significance for future space exploration, as it can be converted into resources such as drinking water, oxygen and and hydrogen for rocket fuel. Also, the permanently sunlit area in the region has a temperature of around minus 50 to 10 degrees Celsius, which provide better chemical condition for the electronics onboard the rover and lander to work properly.

4. What is in the lunar south pole? Is the terrain and geology there the same as elsewhere on the Moon or do we have no idea?

The terrain and geology at the Moon's south pole are distinct from other regions. Permanently shadowed craters provide extremely cold conditions that allow water ice to accumulate and persist. The unique geography of the south pole also creates regions of perpetual sunlight, which can be harnessed for solar power. The terrain varies from rugged landscapes to relatively flat plains, offering a diverse range of scientific opportunities.

5. Why is a region of the lunar south pole permanently shadowed?

This depends on the Moon's geology. The Moon's axis is only slightly tilted relative to its orbit around the Earth. This results in certain areas near the poles being in permanent shadow. These shadows create extremely cold environments where temperatures can plummet to very low levels. These frigid conditions are conducive to preserving water ice for billions of years.

6. Does water/ice exist on the lunar south pole? Chandrayaan-1 seemed to have suggested it.

Yes, water ice has been confirmed to exist in the Moon's south pole region. Data from various lunar missions, including India's Chandrayaan 1, launched in 2008, have indicated the presence of water molecules in these permanently shadowed regions. This discovery has opened up exciting possibilities for sustained lunar exploration.

7. Is water/ice critical for future lunar exploration?

Water ice is a critical resource for future lunar exploration and even beyond. It can be converted into breathable air, drinking water, and most importantly, hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel. This could revolutionise space travel by reducing the need to transport these resources from Earth, making long-duration missions more feasible.

8. Does India plan to send a manned mission to the Moon in the future?

While ISRO has expressed its intention to send astronauts to space as part of its Gaganyaan mission, there are no plans yet to send human missions to the Moon in the near future.
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the ongoing dialogue with the pro-talks faction of the ULFA was progressing in the right direction.

He also said one of the demands of the group for protection of the identity of the indigenous people has been fulfilled following the delimitation of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state.

Sarma exuded optimism that the ongoing talks with the pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are going on in the right direction, according to an Assam government statement.

He did not specify any date for finalisation of the peace agreement with the pro- talks faction.

On the possibility of bringing the hardline faction of the ULFA, led by Paresh Baruah, to the negotiation table, Sarma hoped that a day will come sooner or later when that faction would also accept the olive branch extended by the government.

A delegation of the ULFA, comprising its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, leaders Raju Baruah and Sasha Choudhury, held talks with senior officers of the Union home ministry and the Intelligence Bureau last week.

The Rajkhowa-led faction had begun unconditional talks with the central government in 2011, despite strong opposition from hardline wing led by Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be along the China-Myanmar border.

The ULFA was formed in 1979 with the demand for a 'sovereign Assam'.

Since then, the group has been involved in subversive activities that led to the central government banning it in 1990.

The Rajkhowa faction joined peace talks with the government on September 3, 2011 after an agreement for Suspension of Operations was signed among the ULFA, central and state governments.
Jaipur, Aug 22 (PTI) Six people were killed and 11 others injured after a truck rammed into a jeep in a road accident in Rajasthan's Dausa district on Tuesday, police said.

The accident occurred on Mahwa-Alwar state highway near Ukrund village falling under Mandawar police station area today when the truck carrying cold drinks rammed into the passenger jeep carrying 17 people, police said.

Local people informed the police after which the injured were rushed to hospital in Mahwa and Mandawar, police said.

Police said four injured have been referred to Jaipur owing to their condition while the bodies of six people have been kept at a hospital in Mahwa.

Jaipur rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has expressed grief over the incident.

Very sad information was received about the untimely death of people in a road accident in Mandawar of Dausa district. May God give peace to the departed souls. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of immense pain. I wish speedy recovery of those injured in the accident," Rathore shared on 'X', formerly Twitter.
Jaipur, Aug 22 (PTI) Facing flak from opposition parties over crimes against women, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said men arrested for harassing women on the streets will be barred from government jobs. Their pictures will also be displayed at police stations, he said.

Addressing youngsters at an event here, Gehlot said, "Hamein manchale logon ka ilaaj karna chahiye (we should do something about the 'romeos')."

In the last 15 days, the Rajasthan Police has arrested 300 people, he said while referring to those harassing women and girls on streets, and outside schools and colleges.

"We have started a campaign against such people and their pictures will be displayed in police stations. They will also be debarred from government jobs," the chief minister said and added that the campaign is underway to free the state of the crime.

Gehlot also spoke to children through video-conferencing at the event to launch 'Rajasthan-Mission 2030' which aims to make Rajasthan a leading state of the country.

Opposition parties in Rajasthan, including the BJP, have been alleging that crime against women is on the rise in the state. Their attack got sharper following the alleged gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district on August 2.

Amid an outcry over the rape and murder case, Gehlot had on August 8 announced that his government has decided to "ban" people accused of rape and other sex crimes from government jobs. In post on X, formerly Twitter, he had said a record of such people will be maintained at police stations and it will also be mentioned on character certificates needed for government jobs.

The state government has decided that raped accused and those who molest girls and women will be "banned from government jobs", Gehlot had said.

Like history sheeters, the chief minister had said, a record of people accused of sex crimes will also be maintained at police stations and this will be mentioned on their character certificate issued by the state government or police. "Social boycott of such anti-social elements is necessary," Gehlot had tweeted earlier
Lucknow, Aug 22 (PTI) Beneficiaries of the Uttar Pradesh government's initiative to provide nutritious food to pregnant women will be verified through a biometric system to ensure transparency in the scheme.

The state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has approved this proposal, said an official statement issued here on Tuesday.

This will bring transparency in the distribution of nutrition and it will be ensured that the beneficiaries get nutritious food in required quantity, it said.

The system of providing nutritious food to pregnant women is operated by the Department of Child Development and Nutrition. Along the lines of the ration distribution system, the government will now verify beneficiaries through a biometric system and provide nutritious food kits to them.

The state government will bear 100 per cent of the expenditure to be incurred under the scheme, the statement added.
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A 46-year-old woman was found dead in her rented home in north Delhi's Sarai Rohilla area, police said on Tuesday.

Officers at Sarai Rohilla police station received a PCR call regarding one Rachna being brought dead to NKS Hospital on Monday, they said.

Investigations revealed that Rachna had been living on rent at the house for the past five months. Her husband died in 2011. She is survived by a married daughter, Manisha, a senior police officer said.

According to the police, the colony sweeper knocked on the woman's door on Monday but received no response. He called her neighbour Rajni and informed her that the woman had not been disposing of her garbage for the previous two days.

Getting no response after knocking on the woman's door, Rajni gathered neighbours and they broke open the door, they said.

Deepak, the area's property dealer, arrived at the spot and took Rachna to NKS Hospital where she was declared dead. Her body was shifted to the Subzi Mandi mortuary, the officer said.

The post-mortem was conducted on Tuesday and the body handed over to the woman's daughter. Appropriate legal action will be taken on the basis of the detailed report provided by the autopsy surgeons, the police added.
Lucknow, Aug 22 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the BJP of attacking the country's composite culture and dividing the society.

Addressing the SP minority wing executive meeting at the party headquarters here, Yadav said the BJP will face a rout in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"In the 2022 state elections, the BJP conspired and prevented the SP from coming to power. But this time (2024 general elections), the SP will ensure that the BJP faces a rout. The BJP government at the Centre will be ousted from power," Yadav said.

"Apart from attacking the composite culture of the country, it (BJP) has worked to divide the society," he added.

Yadav also accused the BJP of defaming the Samajwadi Party and its leadership and alleged that the ruling party was "full of loot and corruption".

"The pride of the BJP will be shattered by the might of the Samajwadi Party. The SP, INDIA alliance and the PDA (pichhde, Dalits and alpsankhyak) together will be successful in removing the BJP from power at the Centre," he said.
Kochi, Aug 22 (PTI) A body of priests in the crisis-hit Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church informed the Vatican on Tuesday that they vouch for the Holy Mass facing the people since it is borne out of their personal conviction.

The Presbyteral Council of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese shot off a letter to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, making its stand clear on the matter.

This comes two days after the priests and the laity of the archdiocese strongly resisted the Vatican's order to celebrate Holy Mass in a uniform manner, as prescribed by the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church.

The priests also stepped up their attack on Pontifical Delegate Archbishop Cyril Vasil, appointed to resolve the crisis in the archdiocese, accusing him of acting like an "erstwhile inquisitor of the Middle Ages".

Coming down heavily on Archbishop Vasil, the council alleged that the papal delegate is trying to present the protesting priests as "schismatic" before the public.

The presbyteral council -- a group of priests chosen to aid the bishop in the governance of the diocese -- also complained to the Vatican about the style of Archbishop Vasil's functioning.

In its letter, Presbyteral Council of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese Secretary Fr Kuriakose Mundadan alleged that the reason for the escalation of the crisis is due to rigidity in the execution of the mandate of the pontifical delegate.

Last week, Archbishop Vasil warned of canonical punishment for priests who do not follow the uniform Holy Mass, as per the Syro-Malabar Church synod's direction.

In its letter, the presbyteral council made it clear that the priests of the archdiocese vouch for the Holy Mass facing the people since it is borne out of their personal conviction.

The council referred to incidents that occurred in the majority of parishes under the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese on August 20 when priests refused to celebrate the uniform Holy Mass, as prescribed by the synod.

Archbishop Vasil had ordered the implementation of the synodal decision on August 20 in all parishes under the archdiocese.

"Notwithstanding the severe warning of canonical measures in the letter of Archbishop Vasil dated August 17, 2023, and the threats he issued through the media, should the priests celebrate Mass facing the people on August 20, 2023, 99 per cent of priests opted to celebrate facing the people without any law and order issues in the parishes," the letter stated.

The synod of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church introduced the uniform way of celebrating Holy Mass in August 2021.

According to it, priests celebrating Holy Mass must face the faithful only in the first and last parts of the liturgical service and turn towards the altar for the rest of the Mass.

While all other dioceses under the Syro-Malabar Church have adopted the instruction approved by the synod, the majority of priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, supported by their laity, opposed it. They said they cannot not depart from the tradition by which the priest faces the faithful throughout the Mass.

Referring to the incidents that occurred in parishes under the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese on Sunday, the council said this also proves that the parishioners of the majority of the parishes have rallied together for the Mass facing the people.

"Unfortunately, two parishes were closed as the parishioners denied consent to the priests of these parishes to celebrate synodal Mass. Against the background of the issue, one can only view this development as a deep personal conviction of (the) priests and faithful rather than disobedience. This also demonstrates the fact that even if (the) priests decide to celebrate 50:50 Mass, the faithful will resist it in their parishes," the letter stated.

In a strongly-worded attack against Archbishop Vasil, the council said, "In fact, we are infinitely confused regarding the nature of his mandate."

"Regardless of his mandate, the general feeling in the society is that he has assumed the role of an erstwhile inquisitor of the Middle Ages when he resorts to certain actions to execute his mandate," it alleged in the letter.

The council accused Archbishop Vasil of unilaterally sending letters to priests, ordering them to sign those in the shortest amount of time possible.

Referring to Archbishop Vasil's August 17 letter to the priests of the archdiocese, the council alleged that "it goes without saying that he has weaponised the Holy Mass to execute his mandate".

"Rather than assuming an impartial approach in studying and evaluating the issue at hand and examining the reasons for the failure of implementation of 50:50 Mass in the archdiocese, Archbishop Vasil started to implement this synod formula Mass forcefully using means that have gone a great distance that damages the reputation of the Catholic Church," the council alleged.

It further said that as long as Archbishop Vasil and his delegation continue to operate in any form in Kerala, "the Holy Father's (the Pope) reputation is at risk because of the un-Catholic modus operandi of Archbishop Vasil while carrying out his mandate".

"Posters have already surfaced on social media depicting Papal Delegate Archbishop Vasil as an inquisitor. Such a sequence of events is contributing to an irreparable damage to the Holy Father's image", the council said and sought the Vatican's urgent intervention to correct the mandate and means employed by the pontifical delegate.

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is one of the 22 Eastern Oriental Churches in full communion with the Pope, and the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese is a key archeparchy under it.

Archbishop Vasil was appointed by the Vatican to address and resolve the ongoing conflict over the unified Mass in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, where discontent has been brewing for some time among a significant section of priests, nuns and laity over the synodal decision to "impose" uniformity in celebrating Holy Mass in churches under its control.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has photographed one of the most famous planetary nebulae, the Ring Nebula, which demonstrates the complex structures of the last stages of a dying star.

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This is stated on the website of the space agency, where photos of the nebula were also published.

According to Roger Wesson of the University of Cardiff, planetary nebulae were previously thought to be simple round objects with a single dying star in the centre. They got their name because when observing them with small telescopes, astronomers had the impression that they were seeing a planet.

However, new research conducted thanks to JWST has provided scientists with new data on the formation and evolution of these objects, hinting at the key role of binary companions.

Wesson claims that for only a few thousand years, the star at the centre of the Ring Nebula "was a red giant that was losing most of its mass".

Now, in the last moments of its life, the core is heating the gas emitted by the star, to which it reacts with colourful light emission.

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The scientist also said that modern observations show that most planetary nebulae are extremely complex, so it is likely that such complex and non-spherical structures were created not only by one spherical star.

"The Ring Nebula is an ideal target for unravelling some of the mysteries of planetary nebulae," said Wesson.

This nebula is located about 2200 light-years from Earth, and it is bright enough to be observed even with binoculars on a clear summer evening from the northern hemisphere and most of the southern hemisphere.

To better study this nebula, scientists used JWST instruments such as the NIRCam, a near-infrared camera, and the MIRI, a mid-infrared instrument. The Webb Telescope took the necessary photos, and the scientists were stunned by the amount of detail in them.

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"The bright ring that gives the nebula its name is made up of about 20,000 individual clumps of dense molecular hydrogen gas, each about as massive as the Earth," NASA's website says.

Inside the ring there is a narrow band of emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are complex carbon-containing molecules. Scientists admit that they did not expect to see them there.

"Outside the bright ring, we see interesting 'spikes' pointing directly from the central star, which are visible in the infrared, but were very faintly visible in the Hubble Space Telescope images. We believe that these may be molecules that can form in the shadow of the densest parts of the ring, protected from the direct, intense radiation of the hot central star," the report says.

The MIRI image also gave scientists a better look at the molecular halo outside the bright ring.

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"An unexpected discovery was the presence of up to ten evenly spaced concentric objects in this faint halo. These arcs must have formed approximately every 280 years when the central star shed its outer layers," the scientists note.

At the same time, they explain that scientists do not know the process of evolution of a star into a planetary nebula, which would have such a time period.

"These rings indicate that there must be a companion star in the system that orbits at the same distance from the central star as Pluto does from our Sun. As the dying star ejected its atmosphere, the companion star formed an outflow and moulded it. No previous telescope had sufficient sensitivity and spatial resolution to detect this subtle effect," the scientists point out.

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They are convinced that it is thanks to the companion star that such a complex nebula was formed.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL also reported that a NASA telescope had discovered an intriguing detail about the most distant star in the Universe.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL's Telegram, Viber and Threads channels to keep up with the latest developments.
Samba/Jammu, Aug 22 (PTI) The district administration of Samba has imposed restriction under section 144 CrPc near Sarore toll plaza in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district following massive protests by Yuva Rajput sabha to close it down.

The section 144 was imposed by District Magistrate Samba Abhishek Sharma in around toll plaza late in the night, the officials said.

The announcements of restriction near toll plaza was made by the police through speaker fitted vehicle.

They also made an appeal to the protesting YRS activists to vacate the toll plaza, where they had been holding protests amid sit-in since afternoon.

Several activists were also detained by the police.

Hundreds of activists held protests over removal of toll plaza at Sarore.
Chennai, Aug 22 (PTI) Nine people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the firecracker blast on their college premises that caused panic among fellow students, police said. In a swift action, the college management dismissed about 18 students for allegedly indulging in a clash on August 21 and bringing disrepute to the institution.

Nine students from the third year and an equal number from the second year have been dismissed, according to an official communication from the college.

Following a previous discord between two groups of students in the college, both groups gathered on campus on Monday resulting in an argument between them. All of a sudden a student flung the "firecracker and fled," a senior police official said.

Denying that the student had flung a country bomb, as speculated in a section of media, the official said the miscreant used a "country firecracker used in temple festivals in the state to frighten the opposing group of students.

The alert security personnel at the college caught hold of him when he attempted to flee and handed him over to the authorities, he said.

"No weapons were used by the students. A section of media falsely reported that a country bomb was hurled, but it was not true," Additional Commissioner of Police Prem Anand Sinha said.

The police registered a case under section 285 IPC (dealing with fire or any combustible matter so as to endanger human life) and arrested two students on Monday. Seven others were arrested today.
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 48F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 48F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.




Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers Monday for helping his country resist Russias invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with F-16 warplanes that could be delivered around the end of the year.

Zelenskyy told the lawmakers during a visit to Copenhagen that if Russias invasion is successful, other parts of Europe would be at risk from the Kremlins military aggression.

All of Russias neighbors are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail, he said in a speech before heading to Greece, the fourth European country he is visiting in three days, for talks with the government.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine is defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny. He has argued that Ukraine needs to be properly provisioned to fend off Russias much bigger force.

Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies for months to give it American-made F-16s. Its armed forces are still using aging Soviet-era combat planes from the 1970s and 80s, and its counteroffensive against Russian positions is advancing without air support, which analysts say is a major handicap.

In downtown Kyiv on Monday, people welcomed the news about F-16s though they also expressed frustration that the decision hadnt been taken sooner.

Finally, said 33-year-old Larysa Shymko, who is from a Russia-occupied rea of the southern Kherson region. I think every Ukrainian has been waiting for this for a long time.

Yurii Lymar, a 38-year-old lawyer, said Ukraines Western allies could approve such decisions a little faster, because every day in this  war means lots of Ukrainian people dying.

Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine would get 42 jets. Denmark pledged 19 F-16s, which could be delivered around the end of the year when pilot training lasting four to six months is completed.

However, getting Ukrainian squadrons battle-ready could take much longer.

U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. air forces in Europe and Africa, said last week that he did not expect the F-16s to be a game-changer for Ukraine. Getting F-16 squadrons ready for battle could take four or five years, he said.

While some training has already begun for Ukrainian pilots, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Sunday its just language lessons so far.

Training Ukrainian pilots is just one of the challenges in the anticipated deployment of F-16s. Questions also remain over who will carry out crucial aircraft maintenance, the supply of spare parts, runway maintenance and protective shelters for the planes on the ground, and what weapons the West will supply to arm the fighter jets.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the F-16s will help Ukraine change the course of events in the war.

Air superiority is the key to success on the ground, he said in televised remarks.

Denmark rolled out the red carpet for Zelenskyys trip to Copenhagen. The Ukrainian leader also met at the Christiansborg Palace, the building housing the Danish parliament, with Denmarks 83-year-old figurehead monarch, Queen Margrethe, who returned from vacation for the occasion.

Afterward, he spoke from the parliament steps to thousands of cheering people who waved Danish and Ukrainian flags in the palaces courtyard.

The United States last week announced its approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver the F-16s. That is needed because the aircraft are made in the United States.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy visited the Netherlands and inspected two gray F-16s parked in a hangar at a Dutch base in the southern city of Eindhoven together with Rutte.

He also visited an air base in southern Denmark where Ukrainian pilots will receive training on F-16s.

Rutte didnt provide a number or timeframe for deliveries, saying it depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready.

Zelenskyy started his trip Saturday in Sweden, where he asked Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for Swedish Gripen fighter jets. Sweden has said it will allow Ukrainian pilots to test the planes but has not made any commitments to hand them over.

On Monday, Russian air defenses jammed a Ukrainian drone west of Moscow and shot down another one on the outskirts of the city, Russias Defense Ministry said.

Two people were injured and one of them was hospitalized when drone fragments fell on a private house, Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said.

Such drone attacks have become an almost daily occurrence in Russia in recent weeks.

Also, Russian rail officials said that a relay cabinet used to run train traffic was set ablaze on the outskirts of Moscow, causing delays, according to the state RIA Novosti news agency.

Russian authorities have reported multiple similar incidents across the country, some of which have been blamed on acts of sabotage encouraged by Ukrainian security agencies.

In Ukraine, at least four civilians were killed and 25 others wounded by the latest Russian attacks, according to the Ukrainian presidential office.

(AP)




When Republican candidates for president gather for their first debate Wednesday in Milwaukee, the spotlight will not only be on them but also on Wisconsins role as one of a shrinking handful of genuine battleground states.

Republicans chose Milwaukee for the first debate and for the national convention in just 11 months largely because of Wisconsins well-earned status as a swing state. Four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point here, with Donald Trump winning narrowly in 2016 before losing by a similar margin in 2020.

Everybody needs to be prepared for all-out war as usual, said longtime Republican strategist Stephan Thompson.

To participate in Wednesdays debate, the Republican National Committee required candidates to meet donor and polling thresholds and sign a pledge to support the GOP candidate in the general election. Trump, the frontrunner who faces criminal charges in four separate cases, says he will not attend.

Those expected to be on the stage include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson also say they have met the requirements to make the stage. The official lineup is still coming together because candidates have until Monday evening to provide evidence to the RNC that they have qualified.

The first GOP primary voters will weigh in on the nomination in less than five months, when Iowa holds its Jan. 15 caucus, followed by other early states in February. The eventual nominee is expected to face President Joe Biden in November.

Wisconsin will be one of the biggest toss-ups in the general election. Its a distinction held by a shrinking but often-shifting number of places, as former swing states like Ohio and Florida become more reliably Republican and Virginia and Colorado more Democratic. That leaves Wisconsin along with Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada as among the most competitive states that could decide the presidency.

In a sign of Wisconsins importance, Biden traveled to Milwaukee last week to talk up his work to create manufacturing jobs. On Sunday, his campaign announced it is spending $25 million to run ads in seven states, including Wisconsin, to counter Republicans as they debate. The ad buy includes the campaigns first investments in Hispanic and Black media, the campaign said.

Wisconsins status as a top electoral target dates back more than 20 years.

In 2000, Democrat Al Gore carried Wisconsin by a scant 5,700 votes, or just .22% of the total votes cast. That makes Bidens win in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes, or a .56% margin, look like a blow out. Two other races  John Kerrys .38% margin of victory in 2004 and Trumps .77% win in 2016  were also razor close.

And theres no sign of Wisconsin becoming any less evenly divided.

Democrats have been able to chip into the once-reliably conservative Milwaukee suburbs that saw GOP support drop in the Trump era. Democrats also capitalized on population gains in Dane County, home to the liberal capital city of Madison and the University of Wisconsin.

The Democratic moves have been able to help offset Republican gains made in rural areas during the Trump era.

Wisconsin has almost the exact mix of urban, suburban and rural populations that are needed to maintain a competitive status, said Anthony Chergosky, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor. It all adds up to a state that is highly contested politically but a state that does not look like it did 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, whose district includes Madison, noted Republicans chose Wisconsin to be the first state to launch its early voting effort, embracing a tactic long used by Democrats but that Trump and others in the GOP shunned and falsely asserted was rife with fraud. Trump also now is encouraging early voting.

Democrats in Wisconsin are headed into the 2024 presidential season feeling emboldened.

They have won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections, including Biden in 2020, Gov. Tony Evers in 2022 and Janet Protasiewicz in April. Her victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race took majority control of the court away from conservatives for the first time in 15 years, with major decisions looming on abortion access, redistricting and voting rules.

Republicans have had wins, including reelecting U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson last year, picking up a congressional seat and increasing majorities in the state Senate and Assembly. But those gains were overshadowed by the losses in the presidential, governor and Supreme Court races, Thompson said.

In addition to the presidential race, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is up for reelection to a third term next year. And both sides are preparing for the possibility that the new liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps and forces every current lawmaker to stand for election.

On the presidential race, DeSantis was showing strength this summer while he struggled nationally.

Trump was favored by 31% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents surveyed, while DeSantis was at 30% in a Marquette University Law School poll released June 29. But in a head-to-head matchup, DeSantis was favored by 57% and Trump by 41%.

Since that poll was done, Trump was indicted for a third and fourth time and DeSantis shook up his campaign as he struggles to chip into Trumps support nationally.

Wisconsin Republicans are more divided on Trump than the past two times he ran. Trumps refusal to accept defeat in 2020, and his repeated lies about the outcome in Wisconsin and calls to decertify the results, alienated him from many top Republicans.

Hes kind of like a warm beer, the Democrat Pocan said of Trump. Hes not exactly what we strive for here in the state. I just dont think theres a lot of growth potential for him should he be the Republican nominee.

DeSantis, during a July fundraising swing to Wisconsin, attracted more than a dozen Republican state lawmakers to an event, including former Gov. Tommy Thompson, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Tim Michels, the 2022 Republican candidate for governor. The hosts included Republican mega-donors Dick and Liz Uihlein, who donated to efforts to get Trump elected in 2016 and 2020.

Wisconsin Republicans are going to think about one, is this somebody who can beat Trump in a primary and two, can they beat Biden? Thompson said. At the end of the day, people here just want to win. Plain and simple.

(AP)




Federal prosecutors objected Monday to the April 2026 trial date proposed by lawyers for Donald Trump in the case accusing the former president of scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Members of special counsel Jack Smiths team said in a court filing that Trumps lawyers last week had exaggerated the amount of material that they would need to sift through in order to be ready for trial.

In suggesting an April 2026 trial date, defense lawyers said they had been provided by prosecutors with 11.5 million pages of potential evidence to review. But prosecutors said much of that includes duplicate pages or information that is already public, such as documents from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as well as copies of Trumps social media posts.

In cases such as this one, the burden of reviewing discovery cannot be measured by page count alone, and comparisons to the height of the Washington Monument and the length of a Tolstoy novel are neither helpful nor insightful; in fact, comparisons such as those are a distraction from the issue at hand  which is determining what is required to prepare for trial, prosecutors wrote.

Smiths team has proposed a Jan. 2, 2024 trial date.

(AP)




Donald Trumps bond has been set at $200,000 in the Georgia case accusing the former president of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss, according to court papers filed Monday.

The bond agreement, outlined in a court filing signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Trumps defense attorneys, also bars Trump from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case  including on social media.

He is also prohibited from communicating in any way, directly or indirectly about the facts of the case with any co-defendant or witness, except through attorneys.

Trump was charged last week in the case alongside 18 allies who prosecutors say conspired to subvert the will of voters in a desperate bid to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. He has been railing against the case since before he was indicted and singled out Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who rebuffed his efforts to overturn the election, by name in a social media post as recently as Monday morning.

Willis has already set a deadline of noon Friday for all the defendants to turn themselves in at the Fulton County Jail to be booked. She has proposed that arraignments for the defendants happen the week of Sept. 5 and that the case go to trial in March.

Its the fourth criminal case against the former president who is campaigning to reclaim the White House in 2024.

(AP)




If 2023 has taught anything to the people running Fox News Channel, its the importance of being able to pivot.

The decision by former President Donald Trump to skip Wednesdays first debate of the 2024 presidential primary season likely deprives Fox of a huge late-summer audience. Even worse for the network, Trump has talked of appearing in an online interview with former Fox star Tucker Carlson at the same time.

Trumps announcement on Sunday wasnt necessarily a surprise. Fox debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had been preparing for two events  one if he were there and one if he wasnt.

Several Fox personalities this summer publicly urged Trump to attend the event, and Fox executives privately made the same argument to the former president. Trumps former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called his decision a huge political miscalculation on Monday on Fox.

Eight candidates will be on the debate stage on Wednesday, the Republican National Committee confirmed late Monday: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Despite Trumps lead over other Republicans in polls, MacCallum cautioned potential viewers against dismissing a debate without him as a junior varsity event. She cited a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, taken July 23-27, that showed nearly half of Trump backers in Iowa said they were open to other candidates.

I dont think as members of the media or people who watch politics its our place to say, Oh, this is over, these people arent going to be the nominee, she said. Its way too soon to say that.

Trumps first appearance in a GOP primary debate brought 24 million viewers to Fox in 2015. It would be next to impossible to reach those numbers again, given his novelty has worn off and cord-cutting has diminished cable news audiences. Yet when only 12.5 million watched a January 2016 Fox debate that Trump skipped, that gave an indication of his drawing power.

This summers debate has been anticipated as a beacon for Fox News, which endured months of embarrassing headlines earlier this year related to Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit for the networks coverage of bogus claims by Trump after the 2020 election.

As the trial was about to start, Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion in a settlement.

The lawsuit had little discernible impact on Foxs viewers, but when Fox fired Carlson with no explanation a week later, those fans hit back hard. The network never publicly explained why Carlson was fired, although his appearance in court papers released with the Dominion case led to several public theories being advanced.

As it has in the past, Fox relied on its bench in establishing a new lineup that debuted in July, giving prime time shows to Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, popular panelists on The Five. Their shows sandwich Sean Hannity on the schedule, offering a continuation of biting conservative commentary.

Foxs prime-time audience averaged 2.5 million this year through Carlsons firing, and 1.6 million for the nearly two months before the new lineup premiered. Its prime-time audience has since rebounded to 2.2 million, according to the Nielsen company.

There has been a sense of stabilization with the new lineup, said Steve Krakauer, publisher of the Fourth Watch newsletter and author of Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy with Power, Abandoned its Principles and Lost the People.

How much Trumps four criminal indictments will be discussed onstage in Milwaukee is an open question, in part dependent upon what his opponents want to talk about.

Even without Trumps participation on Wednesday, he will be on the stage even if hes not on the stage, Baier said in an interview.

The Siena College-Times survey suggests that it wouldnt be a popular topic among regular Fox viewers. The poll found 78% of people who regularly get news from Fox said Trump has not committed any serious federal crimes, and that 80% said that the GOP should stand behind Trump in the cases.

Krakauer said Fox would hardly be unique among the media in wanting to give its audience what it wants, and suggested there may be some indictment fatigue among the audience.

Even a debate that avoids the indictments as a major topic would still likely wind up being a lot about Trump, with discussions about whether or not he was successful in tackling issues like immigration or the economy, he said.

Baier said such poll findings wont be a factor in how he and MacCallum structure the debate.

Of course well bring it up, MacCallum said. I expect that the candidates will bring it up in part as well. And to the extent that theres indictment fatigue, there are so many other issues were going to be talking about on the stage, its certainly not going to be the lions share of the night.

The event features a live audience, which isnt unusual. But the crowd at CNNs Trump town hall in New Hampshire this spring proved distracting and wasnt a high point.

If we have to quiet them down at points, well, thats part of what the moderators job is, MacCallum said. But I think its actually going to be additive to the night.

Both Baier and MacCallum have done these debates before. Baier even had the identical experience in January 2016 of preparing for Trump to possibly be there before he backed out.

Both have similar goals, familiar to moderators but often unspoken.

If I can get out of the end of the debate and somebody says, You know what, that was tough but fair, Id be really happy, Baier said. And if its a story thats not about the moderators, Im even more happy.

(AP)
Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been dismissed from his post as commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The disgraced general, who fell out of favour with the Kremlin after a failed mutiny by mercenaries of the private military company Wagner, was placed at the disposal of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

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This was reported by the former editor-in-chief of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, Alexei Venediktov. He referred to a decree of the Russian Defence Ministry.

"Surovikin is to be dismissed from the post of VKS commander and left at the disposal of the Ministry of Defence (decree)," Venediktov wrote.

The Russian media claim that there was no official confirmation of this statement: they were unable to find the decree to which Venediktov refers in the public domain.

In addition, Venediktov hinted that the information that "General Armageddon", who became "famous" for striking the Ukrainian energy system, is under close surveillance, if not in custody, is true.

"Tomorrow is Surovikin's mother's birthday - will they at least let me make a call?" - wrote the former editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy.

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Surovikin disappeared after the leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, attempted to commit an armed rebellion in Russia and reach Moscow. After Putin's "cook" changed his mind about taking over the Russian capital, Surovikin's fate remains unknown. Immediately after Prigozhin's rebellion, Russian media reported that the missing Russian general could have been held in one of Moscow's detention centres on suspicion that he knew about and assisted in the uprising.

Officially, the Russian Federation stated that Surovikin was on leave.

As reported by Politico a few days ago, Surovikin is under house arrest and has been removed from the military leadership.

Meanwhile, the Russian Telegram channel reported that Surovikin is currently "under a kind of house arrest" - he cannot leave the apartment where he is staying, but he is allowed to visit.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!




John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former presidents 2020 election loss.

Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail and is expected to have an arraignment in the coming weeks in the sprawling racketeering case.

He was indicted last week alongside Trump and 17 others, who are accused by District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. It was the fourth criminal case brought against the Republican former president.

Trump, whose bond was set Monday at $200,000, has said he will surrender to authorities in Fulton County on Thursday. His bond conditions prohibit him from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case, including on social media. He has a history of assailing the prosecutors leading the cases against him, including Willis.

Eastman said in a statement provided by his lawyers that he was surrendering Tuesday to an indictment that should never have been brought. He criticized the indictment for targeting attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients and said each of the 19 defendants was entitled to rely on the advice of lawyers and past legal precedent to challenge the results of the election.

A former dean of Chapman University Law School in Southern California, Eastman was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by the presidents supporters intent on halting the certification of Bidens electoral victory. He wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to stop the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress joint session on Jan. 6 in order to keep Trump in office.

After the 2020 election, Eastman and others pushed to put in place a slate of alternate electors falsely certifying that Trump won and tried to pressure Pence to reject or delay the counting of legitimate electoral votes for Biden, a Democrat.

Bail bondsman Scott Hall, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, Georgia, also turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday.

Two other defendants, former Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark and former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer, have filed paperwork aiming to transfer the case to federal court. Willis has filed paperwork in Fulton County Superior Court, where the indictment was filed, seeking a March 4 trial date. Legal maneuvering, such as the attempts to move the case to federal court, could make it difficult to start a trial that soon.

Lawyers for Clark argued in their court filing Monday that he was a high-ranking Justice Department official and the actions described in the indictment relate directly to his work at the Justice Department as well as with the former President of the United States. Shafers attorneys argued that his conduct stems directly from his service as a Presidential Elector nominee, actions they say were at the direction of the President and other federal officers.

Clarks attorneys also asked the federal court to stay any proceedings in Fulton County Superior Court  including the execution of any arrest warrant  until a determination has been made whether the case should be moved to federal court. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones gave Willis office until 3 p.m. Wednesday to respond.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week made similar arguments in a federal court filing, saying his actions were taken in service to his White House role. A judge has scheduled a hearing for Monday in that case.

Clark was a staunch supporter of Trumps false claims of election fraud and in December 2020 presented colleagues with a draft letter pushing Georgia officials to convene a special legislative session on the election results, according to testimony before the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Clark wanted the letter sent, but Justice Department superiors refused.

Shafer was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the 2020 presidential election in the state and declaring themselves the duly elected and qualified electors even though Biden had won the state and a slate of Democratic electors was certified.

Lawyers for Shafer and the district attorneys office on Tuesday agreed to a bond of $75,000. Also Tuesday, a court filing showed that bond has been set at $10,000 for Shawn Still, another of the fake electors who was elected to the Georgia state Senate in November 2022 and represents a district in Atlantas suburbs.

(AP)




The U.S. Department of State recommends that U.S. citizens do not travel to Ukraine. This recommendation applies to U.S. citizens considering travel to Uman during Rosh Hoshanah for the pilgrimage to the grave of Rebbe Nachman.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, all parts of the country have experienced Russian airstrikes hitting civilian buildings and critical infrastructure, including houses of worship, often with little or no warning. Uman has been the site of multiple Russian missile attacks as recent as June. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv continues to operate with reduced staffing and has limited capacity to assist U.S. citizens in Ukraine.

The State Departments Current Travel Advisory for Ukraine Is Level 4: Do Not Travel

The Department of State continues to advise that U.S. citizens not to travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict. Those U.S citizens in Ukraine should depart if it is safe to do so using commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.

All U.S. citizens should carefully monitor U.S. government notices and local and international media outlets for information about changing security conditions and alerts to shelter in place. Those remaining in Ukraine should exercise caution due to the potential for military attacks, crime, and civil unrest.

The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. Know the location of your closest shelter or protected space. In the event of mortar or rocket fire, follow the instructions from local authorities and seek shelter immediately. If you feel your current location is no longer safe, you should carefully assess the potential risks involved in moving to a different location.

There are continued reports of Russian forces and their proxies singling out U.S. citizens in Ukraine for detention, interrogation, or harassment because of their nationality. U.S. citizens have also been singled out when evacuating by land through Russia-occupied territory or to Russia or Belarus.

On February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian government declared a state of emergency. Each province (oblast) will decide on the measures to be implemented according to local conditions. Measures could include curfews, restrictions on the freedom of movement, ID verification, and increased security inspections, among other measures. Follow any state of emergency measures imposed in your oblast.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits U.S. civil aviation from flying in Ukrainian airspace. For more information, U.S. citizens should consult the Federal Aviation Administrations Prohibitions, Restrictions and Notices. Additionally, since February 24, when Russias forces began attacking major Ukrainian cities, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and the Federal Aviation Administration have prohibited flights into, out of, and over Ukraine due to ongoing military actions.

Travel to High-Risk Areas

If you choose to disregard the travel advisory not to enter Ukraine, you should consider taking the following steps prior to travel:




The leftist protest groups submitted a request last week to hold a womens march in the heart of Bnei Brak this Thursday evening in protest of the ostensible discrimination of women in Israel.

Unlike the previous leftist protests in Bnei Brak that took place on the outskirts of the city, the protest leaders are now demanding to hold the protest in central Bnei Brak. Their application to the police outlined a route for a march that would pass through main streets, including Rechov Rabbi Akiva.

Bnei Brak municipality officials and the police believe that the march could cause significant tension between the protesters and the city residents and are not inclined to approve the plan. Instead, they are offering the protest groups various alternative routes. At the same, time, the police and municipality officials are preparing for the possibility that the organizers will appeal to the courts to override the police decision.

We do not intend to paralyze the city on the busiest day of the week, which could increase friction and lead to casualties, police officials said. We are concerned about the safety of the protestors and the residents. We will allow freedom of protest, as always, but not at the cost of public peace  and there is a real concern for its welfare.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Chareidi journalist Sivan Rahav-Meir wrote a moving tribute to Batsheva Nigri, Hyd, who was murdered in the Chevron terror attack on Monday.

The gannenet, Batsheva Nigri, from the yishuv of Beis Chagai, was murdered yesterday in a terror attack in front of her daughter, Rahav-Meir wrote. And just as there are bereaved parents or bereaved siblings, there are lhavdil, bereaved gan children who wont start the school year with their gannenet.

And indeed she fell on her shift. As is known, gannenot dont have much time off these days. Batsheva was on the way to prepare her gan for the first day.

And again we received a reminder of how many hidden wonderful figures live among us. In the hespdeim yesterday evening, a picture emerged of someone who had her share of sorrows in life but was full of simcha. They called her Batsheva because her parents waited seven years until she was born. She herself also waited years for her own children and then she and her husband took in two foster children.

She was a warm and lively gannenet like you can see in the picture. Parents wanted their children enrolled in her gan. The children would maintain a connection with her for years afterward.

      they quoted about her the passuk that we read this Shabbos in the Parsha. Temimus is sheleimus.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Thirty-five people have been murdered in Israel in terror attacks since the beginning of 2023, a year with the most terror attacks since the Second Intifada, according to Ynet military reporter Yossi Yehoshua.

Yehoshua added that the number of people killed since the beginning of the year already surpassed the number of terror victims in all of 2022, when 33 people were murdered.

The number of terror alerts is at a peak  at about 200 a day, he wrote. And this is after the IDF committed the largest number of forces in Yehudah and Shomron since 2005 for Operation Bayit Vgan.

According to another Ynet report, 2023 is already the deadliest year since the Second Intifada apart from 2006 (165 casualties in the Second Lebanon War) and 2014 (75 casualties in Operation Protective Edge)

Most recently, three Israelis were murdered in the last three days in terror attacks in Huwara and Chevron.

Hashem Yikom Damam.

To quote Golda Meir: There will be peace in the Middle East only when the Palestinians love their children more than they hate Israel. https://t.co/zGjfahE7Pi  Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) August 22, 2023

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Israeli security forces overnight Monday arrested the terrorists who carried out the murderous terror attack on Monday morning in which Batsheva Nigri, Hyd, was killed and Aryeh Gottleib was seriously injured.

In a joint operation of the IDF, Border Police and the Shin Bet, two Palestinian relatives, residents of Chevron were arrested. Israeli security forces surrounded the house in Chevron they were hiding in and ordered them to exit the house. The terrorists obeyed the orders and surrendered themselves without firing at the troops. Shin Bet operatives carried out a brief interrogation at the scene, after which they were arrested.

According to the Shin Bet, the terrorists linked themselves to the attack in the initial investigation and handed over the weapon that was allegedly used to carry out the attack.

The suspects were then transferred to the Shin Bet for further investigation.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




As part of his official visit to Israel, New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited the Kosel on Tuesday. He was welcomed by the rabbi of the Kosel, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and the director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, who explained to him the significance of the site for the Jewish people and the nations yearnings for it throughout the generations.

During the visit, Mayor Adams stated, We will continue to fight against anti-Semitism worldwide. New York City has one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Israel. As the mayor of New York City, I want to send a clear message from here, the home of the Jewish people, and to strengthen our resolve to combat anti-Semitism. After touring the Old City among the different religions, the understanding is reinforced that we must find a way to live together side by side.

Following this, Mayor Adams signed the Kosels guestbook: This wall of prayer is a symbol of hope. As we gather for our wishes, let us have a universal understanding , we can not reach our goals unless we reach them together.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Business at Asian food chain Itsu remains below pre-pandemic levels despite a strong recovery last year as workers returned to the office.

The group's restaurant division saw sales hit 101million in 2022  below the 114.7million it took in 2019 but up 73 per cent on 2021. Profits reached 6.5million, up 42 per cent on 2021, as commuters flocked back to towns and cities.

Itsu, set up by Pret A Manger founder Julian Metcalfe in 1997, opened a record number of restaurants in 2022, including the first Itsu in France.

Determined: Itsu was set up by Pret A Manger founder Julian Metcalfe in 1997

Around 20 'mega' restaurants will open by 2024, the chain said.

Itsu also plans to expand its range of food available in supermarkets, including chilled noodle soups, after bao and broth products helped lift grocery sales by 37 per cent in 2022. Chief executive Metcalfe said: 'It's time for change.

'Healthier food should be a right for the many, not a privilege for the few  it's what people want and need and Itsu is determined to provide.'

The 63-year-old restaurateur previously vowed to take on the 'US giants of horrible fast food' by using steamers at his restaurants to cook bao buns and dumplings healthily.

Metcalfe told The Mail earlier this year: 'When you walk in, you are not bombarded by vast buckets of French fries and huge processed meat.'
S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization New CBOE special perk helps traders target income every weekend (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
Pfizer Inc. is a US-based multinational biotech company. The company operates as a research-based pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, production and marketing of medicines and vaccines. It is the 2nd largest drugmaker globally by revenue and is ranked 64th on the Fortune 500 list. The companys avenues of research include Immunology, Oncology, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Neurology.

Regarding its product line, the company has at least ten blockbuster drugs producing more than $1 billion in avenue revenue each. The company brought in over $81 billion in total revenue in 2021. The US is its main market and represents roughly 50% of all revenue. China and Japan make up roughly 12% of the business, while the rest come from the rest of the world. It employs roughly 79,000 people and is headquartered in New York state.

Pfizer Inc. was founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer Sr. and his cousin Charles Earhart. The two were German immigrants and chemists that set up shops outside New York City to make medicinal compounds. The first major success was an antiparasitic called santonin, and the commercialization of citric acid-making technologies quickly followed that up. Their success with citric acid led to the companys expansion and other major discoveries.

World War I caused a shortage of materials for making citric acid and forced the company to seek alternatives. The one they latched on to was the fermentation of certain fungi known to produce citric acid naturally. This led to the advancement of fermentation technology that was later used in the commercial production of penicillin and then the advancement of antibiotics in general.

Pfizer Inc was incorporated on June 2nd, 1942 in Delaware, and another period of expansion began. The postwar drop in demand for penicillin led to the discovery of newer, more marketable antibiotics and cemented the companys role in modern medicine. By the time he 80s rolled around, the company was trading on the New York Stock Exchange and on the path to developing todays blockbuster lineup.

The companys top seller in 2021 was Comirnaty, a COVID-19 vaccine. It generated nearly $37 billion in 2021 and was followed by Prevnar, Ibrance and Eliquis with just over $5 billion in sales each. Other blockbuster names on Pfizers list include Xeljanz and Enbrel, each bringing in $3.5 billion. Pfizer operates 39 research and production facilities worldwide and sells its products in 125 countries.

As of 2022, the company had a robust pipeline of potential treatments, with more than 220 in some stage of clinical trials. Among its leading candidates is a vaccine for RSV, a life-threatening respiratory disease affecting children. 2021 highlights include 8 FDA approvals, four new regulatory submissions and 13 new trial startups. Pfizer is also a well-known dividend payer and has returned more than $8.7 billion to shareholders since going public.
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is on a state visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan, and his wife Ziroatkhon Mirziyoyeva have today visited the Alley of Martyrs, Azernews reports.

A guard of honor was lined up for the Uzbekistani President here.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.

The President of Uzbekistan enjoyed a panoramic view of Baku as he was informed of the history of the Alley of Martyrs and redevelopment works in the capital of Azerbaijan.




A Russian MiG-35 fighter jet, which has forced Ukraine to regularly declare air alert, takes off from an airbase in the Nizhny Novgorod region. This is the location of the village of Savasleyka, whose residents apparently view every launch of a warplane as the only worthwhile spectacle in their lives.

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The narrow-mindedness of the local Russians can be seen in the footage of the streets of Savasleyka itself. They were published by the authors of opposition Telegram channels.

These people live in miserable huts with patched walls and tilted fences. It is doubtful that the Kremlin is concerned about the comfort of these homes, as the first priority is to destroy the homes of Ukrainians with bombers.

Some of the huts a kilometre away from the fully rebuilt airfield for the needs of military aviation look so terrible that it is unlikely that anyone could live there. Poverty forces entire families in Savasleyka to huddle in one part of the house, which has a roof repaired, because poverty does not allow for the repair of the entire roof.

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There are no roads here, as is typical for the Russian outback. They probably don't need them, because Savasleyka just happened to be next to an airbase, from which it is customary to fly in the sky, not walk on the ground.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the latest investigation by the team of Russian political prisoner Alexei Navalny revealed a yacht on which dictator Putin spends his rare days out of the bunker. The Kremlin fuhrer spent up to 3 billion rubles on its repair, while his army continues to die and get maimed in Ukraine for the sake of salaries and bonuses.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
The Ukrainian Defense Forces made tactically important advances near the village of Robotino and eastward in the west of Zaporizhzhya on August 20-21. They are continuing counter-offensive operations on the administrative border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya regions and in eastern Ukraine.

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Against this background, Russian bloggers do not cease to complain that their occupation troops lack equipment and suffer from low morale along the entire front line. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) presented an analysis of the fighting.

The WSU's successes

"Geolocation footage published on August 20 and 21 shows that Ukrainian forces have reached the central part of the n. Robotino settlement and have broken through part of the Russian defenses south of Malaya Tokmachka," the summary said.

The day before, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said that the defenders had succeeded in the direction southeast of Robotine and south of Mala Tokmachka, while Russian forces unsuccessfully counterattacked east of the first settlement. Both it and Russian sources said fighting continued in Robotine.

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A Kremlin-affiliated pro-war blogger claimed that Ukrainian forces had captured some Russian positions in part of the forward defense lines after intensive attacks at the Robotine-Verbove line. And some propagandists reported that Russian forces had retreated from some positions near Verbove as part of a flexible defense, probably in response to an AFU offensive south of Mala Tokmachka.

"We have previously assessed that the Ukrainian attacks on Robotine are of tactical importance, as an offensive in this area could allow the Defense Forces to begin operating past the densest Russian minefields. Ukraine's successes in this area likely support this assessment. A persistent advance in this area is also likely aimed at weakening Russian forces, which have invested significant effort, resources, and personnel to hold positions around the village," ISW noted.

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It emphasized that the AFU has also advanced in the Bakhmut and Kremenka directions over the past week and continues counter-offensive operations south and southeast of Velyka Novosilka in western Donetsk and eastern Zaporizhzhya regions.

According to Malyar, Ukrainian forces have recaptured three square kilometers of territory around Bakhmut over the past week and 43 square kilometers in total from the beginning of operations.

The head of the Ukrainian city administration of Severodonetsk, Andriy Vlasenko, added that Ukrainian forces have made some sort of gains south of Kreminna, conducting an active mobile defense in the area.

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Occupiers' complaints

A Russian blogger stated that Russian troops, especially the 20th Combined Arms Army (Western Military District) and the 2nd Combined Arms Army (Central Military District) operating in eastern Ukraine, lack light vehicles, which prevents them from using equipment and operating effectively and lowers their morale.

He claimed that Russian soldiers have to register their personal vehicles with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), after which the vehicles disappear or are transferred to another location.

He also continued that Russian commanders regularly punish soldiers who use their own cars for minor administrative offenses, so those soldiers feel as if they are "at war with their commanders."

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On August 21, the Russian propagandist complained that the authorities did not provide the military from the Kherson direction with boats and had been ignoring the incessant appeals of bloggers on this issue since July 2.

Terrorist Aleksandr Khodakovsky said that Russian troops continue to face problems in counter-battery operations after they began to experience a shortage of artillery systems, and claimed that the occupiers began receiving "outdated" D-20 towed howitzers that are "not suitable for counter-battery combat."

Many supporters of the Russian war claim that their army lacks adequate counter-battery capabilities, especially after the dismissal in early July of Major General Ivan Popov, commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army.

However, one Russian blogger said that troops are improving their artillery tactics, so Russian artillery "has become much more accurate than a year ago." According to analysts, he was referring to the fact that Russian "mobilizeds," who had no military experience, "have learned how to hit targets accurately."

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"The constant complaints from the Russian military indicate that the Russian Defense Ministry is unwilling or unable to address the constant shortage of equipment and those related to low morale. However, Russian forces may be improving tactics and learning from previous mistakes as the war continues. The protracted conflict, caused in part by delays in Western aid to Ukraine, gives Russian forces time to correct themselves and learn from their mistakes," ISW stated.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the Deputy head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar told how the leak of data on the movement of the brigade of the AFU turned out. She warned of responsibility

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
A collaborator who agreed to work for the occupiers who destroyed his house will be tried in Ukraine. The master gas worker in Lyman headed the Donbasgaz DNR branch created by the occupiers.

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He took up his "position" in June 2022, during his time working for the occupiers, the traitor earned 36 thousand Russian rubles, and now he will be brought to justice. This was reported by the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.

They said that an indictment against a Ukrainian citizen on the fact of collaboration was sent to the Industrial District Court of Dnipro. He is charged with crimes under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

"The pre-trial investigation established that in June 2022, the master gas worker agreed to cooperate with the occupiers in the Yenakiyevo Gas Supply and Gasification Department of the state concern Donbasgaz in Krasny Liman, Donetsk People's Republic. Krasny Liman of the DPR". After the previous "head" fled to the now-occupied Yenakiyevo, the man was promoted to "acting head of the section". For all the time he worked for the Russians, who destroyed his home during the attack, the foreman managed to earn 36 thousand rubles," the statement said.

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In his "position", the traitor supervised the restoration of gas pipeline networks damaged during the fighting in order to further collect gas payments from local residents in favour of the occupiers. The collaborator reported on every step he took to the Kremlin-appointed representatives of the occupation "authorities".

"After his "appointment", he immediately began organising heating of the seized buildings where the Russian occupation groups were "quartered". At the same time, he completely left the homes of local residents without heating," the SBU added.

Subsequently, Lyman was released by the Ukrainian military. The traitor stayed in his parents' house, deciding that he would not face responsibility for collaborating with the occupiers. Interestingly, the traitor's wife and children fled to occupied Yenakiyevo.

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"The man faces a maximum of 5 years in prison with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for 15 years and confiscation of property," the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office outlined the prospects for the traitor.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the SBU Main Directorates in Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Earlier it became known that the SBU detained an informant in Sumy region who was "leaking" information to the occupiers about the deployment of the Ukrainian Defence Forces in the region. The invaders needed the data for air strikes on the positions of Ukrainian soldiers, as well as for preparing a breakthrough of the state border in Sumy region by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups.

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For her work for the Russian special services, the occupiers promised the traitor a Russian passport and the opportunity to travel to the territory of the Russian Federation. Now she is awaiting trial.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
The occupation forces of the aggressor country Russia have brought a unit from the Republic of Buryatia to the temporarily occupied city of Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia region. Their main "task" in the Ukrainian city is to terrorise local residents and loot.

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This was reported in a summary on the official Facebook page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday, 21 August. According to the Ukrainian military, the Buryats in Tokmak are checking local residents for documents for the right to live in their own homes.

If the documents are missing, Russian criminals take away all property and housing from Ukrainians under the guise of "confiscation".

Moreover, they physically abuse people who are dissatisfied with this behaviour of the occupiers.

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Earlier, a Russian serviceman who was captured by the Ukrainian Defence Forces admitted that representatives of the Russian army violated the law in the Ukrainian city of Kherson when the city was occupied. The invaders committed war crimes, raped women, and looted.

This was told by an occupier who was born in Ukraine and went to fight against his own country. Oleksandr Subbotin is a native of Chystyakove (Torez), Donetsk Oblast, occupied since 2014.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, another captured occupier told how Akhmat militants (the army of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov) raped Ukrainian girls. They committed these atrocious crimes in Tokmak and Molochansk, Zaporizhzhia region.

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A Ukrainian couple living in a remote Irish village are seeking help to find their lost turtle.

According to a post shared to the Bonmahon Tidy Towns Facebook page, the family recently moved to Bonmahon, Co Waterford after fleeing the war in Ukraine and lost their pet almost a week ago on August 16.

The turtle, which is believed to have escaped through a window, has reportedly lived with the couple for 30 years.

They are reportedly "desperate" to get him back.

The post stated, "My parents moved recently to Bonmahon and yesterday they lost their turtle. Actually he just run away through the window.

"Its [a] family pet, lived with us for 30 years, parents took all their animals with them fleeing the war from Ukraine. Maybe someone around will see [a] lonely turtle walking around, please bring it back to them. Thank you so much."

Anyone with information can contact the Bonmahon Tidy Towns Facebook page (here) to get in touch with the family.
Housing Minister Darragh OBrien has said he wants the rent tax credit to be increased and expanded in the upcoming budget.

The current maximum value of the credit is 1,000 euro per year for jointly-assessed married couples or civil partners and 500 euro in all other cases, including single people.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr OBrien said he there was still significant work to be done for renters.

I am acutely aware, particularly for those who are renting  people paying rents way above the odds  and you know, thats why we brought in the renters tax credit, for arguments sake, in the budget last year.

I want to see that increased and expanded in this years budget. Thats a real measure to help with with a reduction in rental costs.

However, the minister would not put a figure on how much of an increase he would like to see on the tax credit which has been claimed by approximately 230,000 renters.

He continued: But fundamentally, theres been a continued problem in the private rental sector, and we need to get more supply there. We need more social homes.

Mr OBrien, who set out an ambition to redouble efforts, said that change is happening for young people who want to buy a home.

It comes after figures released by Eurostat, the EUs statistics body, indicated that around two thirds of adults aged 25-29 are living with their parents, which compares with the European average of 42%.

Things are far from perfect, Im not disputing that for a moment.

Young people whove gone to college who are out there working now and aspire to be able to own their own home, we want to continue to support them  so people can see those changes happening.

Speaking to reporters at the launch of approved housing body Responds annual report, he said Government had turned a corner after 12 years of under-supply of homes.

He said the Government is projecting that more than 30,000 new homes will be built this year.

Mr OBrien also said there will be efficient and effective measures for individual good landlords in the Budget.

What I want to ensure is that we have a stable and secure private rental market and there will be measures in this process for individual landlords.
August 21, 2023





Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence. When we talk about artificial intelligence in the context of data security, we mean using advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyse, interpret and respond to challenges related to data security. Artificial intelligence can learn from previous patterns to ensure data security securely. Is AI the answer to evolving data threats? Let's find out.







Rapidly Evolving Cyber Threats

The scenario of theft has also changed with the changing time, and now malicious actors or hackers are finding new ways to exploit or detect vulnerabilities in systems, to use sensitive data. Let's delve deeper into the evolving cyber threats that are gaining in numbers.

Increasing complexity of attacks and proliferation of data

Cyberattacks have become more sophisticated because hackers use advanced techniques such as social engineering, ransomware, and zero-day exploits. More than human intelligence is needed these days to understand the complexity of these attacks, and the involvement of machine learning is a definite must.

Also, now a massive amount of data is being generated and stored. This has increased the potential attack surface. At the same time, this proliferation makes it challenging to manage and secure all data effectively. Along with the IP hiding techniques, we need the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence to curb cyber attacks.

Insider Threats

An organisation is always on the brink of a data compromise if the employees are not loyal. Employees, contractors, and business partners who access an organisation's systems and data can inadvertently or maliciously compromise security.

It's evident that insider threats in 2023 are real, and they can range from accidental data leaks to intentional theft or sabotage. Human beings are emotional fellows, and at times we do not understand the severity of insider threats just on an intelligent level.

Regulatory Compliance

Back then, things were simple because we were more offline and less online. With the advancement in technology, regulatory compliances also came into being. Now organisations need to fulfil specific privacy regulations.

In this regard, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and the well Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in the U.S. Complying with these regulations is challenging. Still, with the incorporation of AI, compliance can be much simpler and more automated.

Human Errors and Outdated Systems

As discussed earlier, we are Human, and we can err. Human error to this day remains a significant factor in data breaches.

There is indeed a possibility that employees unknowingly fall victim to phishing attacks or mishandling sensitive information.

At the same time, many organisations still rely on outdated systems and software. The reason can be compatibility concerns and budget constraints. But obsolete systems may indeed have vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit, emphasising the need for AI.

Advanced Persistent Threats are gaining popularity

Remember that advanced persistent threats are highly sophisticated attacks that bow to no human intelligence. These attacks involve constant, long-term intrusion into networks. In the case of these attacks, hackers maintain a low profile to gather sensitive information over time.

However, detecting and mitigating APTs require advanced threat detection capabilities; sadly, human intelligence cannot provide that.

How can the involvement of AI mitigate Data Security challenges?





Cyber attacks are getting intelligence, and to tackle them, we need a combination of technology, policy, education, and vigilant monitoring. This is where AI and machine learning come into play.

Artificial intelligence assists and helps organisations in identifying common threats by analysing the patterns and then responding immediately. Let's learn more about how AI works in the context of data security.

Pattern recognition technique

AI can study or monitor a large quantity of information within seconds. That's why it can easily recognise various patterns and spot malicious threats. Once you incorporate artificial intelligence into your system, it keeps recognising the shady patrons to protect you from data breaches.

Use of Neural Networks and Automated Backup

Neural networks are a wonderful technique used by AI. These networks keep on changing the encryption system so the attackers cannot take control. For instance, if a hacker tries to attack your system, they will have to constantly change their method of attack because the encryption will keep changing.

Because encryption keeps changing, it will be tricky for hackers to steal information by cracking codes. Neural networks use neural encryption keys that allow them to encrypt data adaptively.

At the same time, automated backup with generative AI is the best solution for ransomware. If you have the automatic backup with generative AI, you can get back to your system to block ransomware threats.

AI is automated

Cyber security and data dignity is getting compromised every other day because data security is a never-ending task.

You must constantly monitor and analyse your data to stay safe and protect it. However, manually it can be highly time-consuming. With the help of AI, you can automate repetitive tasks related to data security.

Password management

Weak passwords are significant causes of accounts being hacked and data being lost. Setting up a strong password is something that only some can do, especially if you've to deal with a lot of accounts. Nowadays, AI can help you set up robust passwords that can act as a shield between your system and potential attackers.

Brilliance of Security Orchestration Automation, and Response (SOAR)

When we talk about security solutions, we must recognise the importance of SOAR. It's a cybersecurity solution backed by AI for organisations in use for threat alerts. The good news about this artificial intelligence tool is its ability to detect the Malware causing the data breach and then deal with it immediately and effectively.

Adaptive Authentication

AI enables the implementation of adaptive authentication methods. These methods assess user behaviour and risk factors to determine the appropriate level of access.

First, there is Biometric authentication. This involves facial recognition or fingerprint scanning to enhance security and avoid data stealing. Also, AI-driven multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection against unauthorised access.

Likewise, artificial intelligence can also help with threat detection and prevention.

Is artificial intelligence enough?

Artificial intelligence is robotic and the intelligent duplication of human thinking. However, when it comes to the context of data security, artificial intelligence can significantly help because of the advanced techniques of machine learning and algorithms.

Another good news is that artificial intelligence does not tire and provides constant monitoring. However, to employ AI tools, human intelligence comes into play.

Remember - AI alone does not suffice, but with human intelligence, it can significantly resolve data security issues.
[August 22, 2023] Meeranda, the Human-Like AI, Welcomes Ms. Caroline Codsi, ICD.D. to its Advisory Board Tweet

TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Meeranda, a privately held Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions provider, serving both Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and Global Multinational Corporations (MNCs), announced today that Ms. Caroline Codsi, ICD.D., Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Women in Governance (WiG), has joined Meeranda as the inaugural member of its Advisory Board. In 2010 Ms. Codsi created WiG, Canada's prominent organization with a mission to help women thrive in the corporate world and access decision-making bodies and male dominated fields. In 2017 WiG developed the first North American Parity Certification to close the gender gap in the workplace distributed in Canada and the U.S. Close to a million employees work for a Parity Certified organization including many pinnacles of the Canadian economy as well as some of the world's largest multinationals. In 2020, WiG signed a historic partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA to power their Fair Play, Equal Pay initiative aimed to encourage American organizations on the path to parity. In 2021, Ms. Codsi co-founded Synclusiv, a DEI consulting firm transforming organizations committed to providing a more equitable workplace for all underrepresented groups. Ms. Codsi has decades of extensive experience serving on the boards of over 20 organizations across the non-profit and private sectors. Apart from the boards of her own companies, she currently sits on the boards of the Quebec Labour Council, Alexa Translations, and Arecor Renewable Energy. "I am thrilled and honored that Ms. Codsi has accepted to join Meeranda's mission to disrupt the worldwide customer experience, through our cutting-edge AI technology and research advancements," said Mr. Raji Wahidy, Co-Founder and CEO of Meeranda. "As a pioneer in her field, Ms. Codsi has played pivotal roles in driving transformational initiatives across various organizations. Her entrepreneurial spirit, diverse background, and extensive network, coupled with her forward-thinking approach, make her an invaluable addition to Meeranda's Advisory Board."



A highly sought-after double TEDx speaker and LinkedIn Learning author, Ms. Codsi has addressed prestigious audiences around the globe and conducted hundreds of fireside chats with some of the world's Top CEOs and public figures, such as Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, Lord Mayor of the City of London, Tarana Burke, Randy Zuckerberg, Uzo Aduba, and many more. Widely quoted in national and international media, she was nominated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Canada's National Gender Equality Committee in 2019 and by Mayor Valerie Plante on the City of Montreal's Business Committee. She is the recipient of numerous awards from prestigious organizations including the United Nations' Women's Committee, and was recognized as a Top 20 Diversity Leading Figures in Quebec, Top 75 Canadian Immigrants, Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and Top 100 Entrepreneurs Changing the World.

"I am very excited about joining Meeranda's Advisory Board," said Ms. Caroline Codsi, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Women in Governance. "Meeranda is addressing a huge problem that has long frustrated many organizations along with their clients. I strongly believe that Meeranda is poised to disrupt the market with its innovative approach complemented with its strong leadership team. I am looking forward to lending my support and my expertise to further assist in steering Meeranda towards its imminent success." Meeranda will commence its Seed Funding round by the end of August 2023. About Meeranda Meeranda is a privately held Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions provider, serving Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and Global Multinational Corporations (MNCs). Meeranda is best known for its Real-Time Human-Like AI that intends to offer the new personalized customer experience to combat the ongoing frustration of dealing with chatbots and half-baked AI solutions. Although in its early stages, Meeranda already has agreements across six countries and seven industries, thus far. Follow Meeranda Website: https://meeranda.com

Media Kit: https://meeranda.com/media-kit/

X: https://x.com/HelloMeeranda

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloMeeranda/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/HelloMeeranda

Instagram: https://instagram.com/HelloMeeranda

Threads: https://instagram.com/HelloMeeranda

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@meeranda

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meeranda_ai View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meeranda-the-human-like-ai-welcomes-ms-caroline-codsi-icdd-to-its-advisory-board-301905730.html SOURCE Meeranda

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[August 21, 2023] General Patrick Huston appointed to QuantumShield Board of Directors Tweet

QuantumShield, a pioneering cryptography and cybersecurity company, announced today that Brigadier General Patrick Huston, U.S. Army (retired) was elected to the Company's Board of Directors. General Huston is a technology lawyer focused on artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and privacy. He is a member of the FBI's Scientific Working Group on AI, the American Bar Association's AI Task Force, and the Association of Corporate Counsel's Cybersecurity Board. He is also a certified director in the National Association of Corporate Directors, and co-chairs the NACD's AI Cohort. "We're thrilled to welcome General Huston on our board," said Sam Lavery, Chairman and CEO of QuantumShield, "He brings decades of experience at the highest levels of government, combined with unmatched expertise in cutting-edge technologies. He's exactly who we need to help guide QuantumShield as we expand our services across the national security and commercial sectors. We are already benefitting from his strategic insights and contributions." General Huston recognized QuantumShield's deep commitment to protecting security and privacy against the loomng threat of quantum computing: "This is an exciting time to join the team. While many great companies are developing quantum-resilient technology, QuantumShield is the only one with a true drop-in replacement for RSA digital signatures, allowing customers to secure data against the quantum threat using existing hardware. This is vital for the defense and intelligence communities, and will also provide tremendous advantages across the commercial sector."



General Huston retired from the Pentagon after a 35-year career in uniform. His service includes: Army Ranger; helicopter pilot; prosecutor; five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan; General Counsel of the 101st Airborne Division, the Joint Special Operations Command, and the U.S. Central Command; and Commanding General. About QuantumShield

QuantumShield is headquartered in San Francisco and focused on cryptography, cybersecurity and privacy solutions for the post-quantum world. QuantumShield brings game-changing technology to warfighters and commercial industry to ensure U.S. dominance across the quantum domain. It has created the only quantum-resilient solution that is a drop-in replacement for RSA using existing hardware across a variety of use cases. This security technology will benefit everyone who depends on encryption and privacy. QuantumShield's products can secure financial transactions, health data, and other private information and communications to protect personal privacy, state secrets and intellectual property. www.QuantumShield.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821557496/en/

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[August 21, 2023] Ten Years After Launch, True Link Has Helped 250,000 Families Through Financial Challenges of Aging, Disability, Mental Health and Addiction Tweet

Ten years after launch, True Link - the financial solution for people with complex needs and the people who care for them - has served 250,000 families, manages over $1.1B in assets*, and supports individuals safely making $600 million of purchases every year. 97% of customers would recommend True Link to a friend. Founded in 2013, True Link's mission is to increase the independence and well-being of the vulnerable aging, people with disabilities, those recovering from addiction, and the people who care for them. The service allows a family member, professional, or other trusted party to set up a safe way for an individual to make day to day purchases. Leslie, the daughter of an aging parent with memory loss, tells us that because of True Link, her mother has retained her financial independence and is "living her best life." Leslie says she and her brother "can rest assured from California and Florida that [mom] is safe, at least inancially."



David, who helps manage money for his older sister with disabilities, relates that she says her life is "more calm" because of the reliability and support from True Link. "Luckily we had this lawyer whosuggested True Link. And really, I couldn't believe that it was true." Every year, True Link helps prevent approximately $175M in fraud and unwanted purchases for our customers aged 60+. Over the decade since we launched, we have saved our customers an estimated $7.4 million in check cashing fees. And True Link's customer support receives 99% "great" ratings.

"We are so grateful to everyone - customers, professionals, team, and investors - who bet on us along the way and enabled us to get where we are," said CEO Kai Stinchcombe. "And the best is yet to come." True Link is backed by Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, QED Investors, Initialized Capital, Centana, Deciens, and Transpose, as well as Fifth Third Bancorp, Allianz Life Ventures, and Nippon Life, and works with more than 300 nonprofit organizations, 75 government organizations including half of state ABLE Act programs, 150 recovery centers, 250 banks and trust companies, and over 3,000 other professionals who support these populations. About True Link True Link Financial, Inc. is dedicated to increasing the independence and financial well-being of vulnerable individuals, including individuals with disabilities, elders, and adults with mental health conditions. Learn more at www.truelinkfinancial.com. * Investment Management Services are provided through True Link Financial Advisors, LLC, registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training nor does it constitute an endorsement by the SEC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821700522/en/

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Denmark has started training the first eight Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. The training was launched as part of the country's commitment to provide Ukraine with these military aircraft.

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This was reported by Reuters, citing a statement from the Danish Armed Forces.

Eight pilots have arrived at the Danish military airbase in Skridstrup, along with 65 military personnel who will be trained in fighter jet maintenance.

On Sunday, 20 August, Denmark and the Netherlands pledged to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets, fulfilling Kyiv's repeated request. These fighters will help strengthen Ukraine's air defence and assist in the Ukrainian army's counter-offensive.

Denmark will supply 19 F-16s to Ukraine, with the first six aircraft expected to arrive before the New Year. The country currently has 43 F-16s, and for security reasons, Copenhagen does not disclose how many of them are active, according to a Danish statement.

The Netherlands, which has 42 F-16s, has not yet decided how many aircraft it will supply to Ukraine.

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As a reminder, the US has officially confirmed the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands. This delivery will be made after the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Greece will also take part in the training of Ukrainian pilots for F-16 aircraft. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
[August 21, 2023] The "Digital Wallet Race" Intensifies as Banks and Fintechs in Asia and Around the World Invest in Insurance: Chubb Survey Tweet

Strong consumer demand accelerating adoption of digital insurance offerings globally, with Asia and Latin America leading the pack

Banks and fintechs are bullish on embedded insurance: majority expect offerings to comprise 10% or more of revenue in just three years BANGKOK, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from Chubb, the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company, reveals that a majority (56%) of financial executives involved in insurance decision-making globally expect to generate more than 10% of their revenue from embedded insurance within three years. In Asia, the majority is even greater: 62%. Further, an overwhelming 81% say digital insurance embedded in websites and apps is becoming a must-have rather than a nice-to-have offering. This sets the stage for accelerating adoption of insurance products in financial services platforms. The trend is most pronounced in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. "Banks and the Digital Wallet War - The Embedded Insurance Strategy," a global survey of 2,000 consumers and 200 finance leaders conducted during the second quarter 2023, reveals the rapid adoption and investment by banks and fintechs in embedded insurance to meet blossoming consumer demand. Over half of consumers globally, and even more in Asia (60%), are interested in purchasing more insurance and 43% of consumers in Asia believe that digital is the obvious way to buy it. "The race to win a greater share of consumer digital wallets is intensifying  and banks and fintechs are taking the lead with expanded offerings of insurance products to deepen customer relationships, drive growth and narrow the protection gaps of their customers," said Sean Ringsted, Chubb's Chief Digital Business Officer. "Digitized insurance is already widely popular with global consumers, and financial service providers are building trust and loyalty while unlocking new avenues for growth by offering customers simple, relevant and affordable insurance protection options embedded in their digital customer journey. As highlighted in the report, this is a global phenomenon, with companies in Asia and Latin America investing heavily in these digital insurance capabilities. Banks and fintechs in North America are in the race too, but not yet at the pace of their counterparts in other regions." Booming Consumer Demand, Led by Emerging Markets According to Chubb's survey, consumers are responding to a growng landscape of risk exposure with booming demand for insurance. Overall, 56% of consumers globally believe they are underinsured. These figures are more pronounced in certain markets: Sixty-two percent of consumers in Latin American and 60% in Asia expressed interest in purchasing more insurance that not only protects their "stuff," but also their lifestyle.



Opportunity for Established Firms Established banks and insurers have a unique opportunity to leverage these trends, especially in developed markets, all while structuring the insurance offers in compliance with applicable insurance laws and regulations. In Asia, 64% of consumers expressed high levels of trust purchasing insurance from established banks, and 57% indicated the same for established insurers. This compares with over 40% expressing high levels of trust in insurance purchases with digital-only insurers and 31% with digital-only banks. Globally, 55% of financial executives agree that established insurers have an edge over digitally native insurtechs because they have consumers' trust.

"Markets in Asia and Latin America already demonstrate the massive growth opportunity for banks and fintechs with embedded insurance," said Gabriel Lazaro, Head of Digital, Chubb Overseas General Insurance. "Consumers view legacy banks and insurers as the benchmark in this space, and as a result, we have seen our network of digital distribution partners around the world continue to scale. Global consumer demand is massive for embedded insurance, and we believe the next stage of expansion will come in developed regions and from established financial institutions." "Consumers' growing digital-first expectations and partners' focus on building new, sustainable revenue streams are fueling the adoption of embedded insurance by fintechs and banks in Asia," said Isabella Carvalho, Head of Digital at Asia Pacific. "This is likely to continue: the strong interest in added insurance protections revealed in the survey will further propel growth in Asian markets and help to narrow protection gaps in the region." Survey Methodology The results presented are based on a survey conducted by iResearch Services, a leading global provider of first-party consumer and professional data. The online survey was fielded during the second quarter of 2023 and results are based on completed surveys by 2,000 consumers and 200 financial executives. Respondents represented all age groups, levels of education, and professional status. Consumers were evenly split among four regions: North America (500), Latin America (500), Asia Pacific (500) and Europe (500). Financial executives represented established banking organizations (52%) and fintechs (48%). They were also evenly split among four regions: North America (50), Latin America (50), Asia Pacific (50), and Europe (50). The majority of fintechs (84%) had revenues of $10 million to $500 million; the majority of established banking organizations (89%) had AUM (Assets Under Management) of at least $1 billion. All executives are engaged in decision-making about insurance products, such as embedded insurance. For both consumers and financial executives, the regions included the following countries: North America: U.S. and Canada; Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, and Chile; Asia Pacific: South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, and Vietnam; Europe: United Kingdom, France, and Spain. About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 40,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/the-digital-wallet-race-intensifies-as-banks-and-fintechs-in-asia-and-around-the-world-invest-in-insurance-chubb-survey-301905919.html SOURCE Chubb

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[August 21, 2023] SHIFT4 PAYMENTS SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors With Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Shift4 Payments, Inc. - FOUR Tweet

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until October 19, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE: FOUR), if they purchased the Company's securities between November 10, 2021 and April 18, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. What You May Do If you purchased securities of Shift4 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 ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-four/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by October 19, 2023.



About the Lawsuit Shift4 and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On April 19, 2023, Blue Orca Capital reported that "Shift4 [is], in reality, a roll-up of low-tech POS systems and payment processors which is substantially less profitable, generates far less cash, and is materially more levered than investors are led to believe," and that in 2022, the Company "engaged in a string of highly questionable and hyper-aggressive accounting maneuvers seemingly designed to keep the stock afloat, from cash flow manipulation to inexplicable distributor acquisitions that enabled it to capitalize a major component of COGS [cost of goods sold]." On this news, shares of Shift4 fell $5.95 per share, or 8.68%, to close at $62.59 per share on April 19, 2023. The case is O'Meara v. Shift4 Payments, Inc., et al., No. 23-cv-03206. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821879837/en/

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[August 21, 2023] Sgcarmart Launches New 'e-Shop' for Car Tyres Tweet

Over 80 tyre models now available online. SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sgcarmart, Singapore's #1 car platform for buying & selling cars, has just launched its new online marketplace, Sgcarmart e-Shop. Available as a new feature on the platform today, automotive suppliers and distributors can now list, price and sell their inventory of car tyres to consumers online. It offers a convenient way for car owners to purchase car tyres while providing suppliers with an easy way to reach them online. Through this new online marketplace, Sgcarmart users can browse & compare prices between a wide range of car tyres before making a purchase from suppliers directly online. Upon checking out, customers can arrange an installation appointment with a workshop of their choice. During the appointment, they will simply need to present their prepaid digital invoice. This fuss-free experience provides added convenience and price transparency for users with the ability to compare prices anddeals on a single platform. Suppliers and workshops will work with Sgcarmart to maintain accurate prices, stock-keeping, and professional installation services, providing further assurance to customers.



"We are very excited to launch Sgcarmart e-Shop and to enter the e-commerce space. As the #1 car platform in Singapore and in collaboration with our automotive partners, we will be able to bring a wide range of products and services to our large user community", said Mr Vinod Cherumadathil  MD & CEO of Sgcarmart. "As a first step, with an extensive network of installation workshops, it is our commitment to provide customers a state of the art online-to-offline experience when it comes to selecting the best tyre for their car. We believe that e-Shop is predestined to become the go-to destination for car owners looking for quality tyres and soon for a wider range of automotive products and services." e-Shop is now available on Sgcarmart with over 80 tyre models on sale, from major brands such as Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli and Yokohama. The product offering is set to grow with more tyres and accessories in the pipeline, and serves as a new opportunity for suppliers, workshops, and installers to connect with car owners online.

For more information about Sgcarmart e-Shop, visit https://sgcarmart.com/shop About Sgcarmart Sgcarmart is Singapore's #1 car platform. With over 30,000 listings, it offers the largest database of new and used cars, with an average of 10 cars sold every hour, helping to drive approximately 70% of all second-hand car transactions in Singapore. The platform receives more than 1.6 million users every month, offering the highest level of support for drivers with its suite of value-added car ownership & transactional services. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/sgcarmart-launches-new-e-shop-for-car-tyres-301905567.html SOURCE Sgcarmart

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[August 22, 2023] Kanazawa University research: Brain cancer linked to nuclear pore alterations Tweet

KANAZAWA, Japan, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Cell Reports how alterations in the nuclear pores lead to the degradation of anti-tumor proteins. Several types of cancer are believed to be linked to alterations of macromolecular structures known as nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). These structures are embedded in the nuclear envelope, a membrane barrier that separates the nucleus of a cell from the cytoplasm (the liquid filling the rest of the cell). They consist of proteins called nucleoporins, which regulate the transport of molecules across the nuclear envelope, including enzymes that enable the synthesis of DNA. Whether NPC alterations play a role in glioblastoma, the most common type of cancer originating in the brain, is unclear at the moment. Now, Masaharu Hazawa, Mitsutoshi Nakada and Richard Wong and from Kanazawa University and colleagues have found a link between the functioning of NPCs and glioblastoma  specifically, they demonstrated the inactivation of a tumor-suppressing protein called p53. The protein p53 is crucial in cancer prevention. The corresponding gene TP53 encodes proteins that prevent mutations of the genome and is the most frequently mutated gene in human cancers. Gaining insights into how p53 inactivation happens is crucial for understanding tumorigenesis in general and glioblastoma in particular. Mitsutoshi Nakada and Richard Wong and colleagues first checked whether any nuclear pore complex proteins were amplified ('overexpressed') in glioblastoma. They found that one such protein, called NUP107, showed overexpression. Further investigations revealed that NUP107 is a potential oncoprotein in glioblastoma; its overexpression degrades the function of the cancer-suppressing p53 protein They also found that MDM2, another protein, is overexpressed simultaneously with NUP107 MDM2 is also known to mediate p53 protein degradation. Further studies will be necessary to uncover the full molecular pathways at play, but the scientists speculate that the increased amount of NUP107 proteins in the NPCs of glioblastoma cells results in NPC structures that regulate the transport of molecules from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in a way that promotes p53 degradation. This scenario is referred to as nuclear transport surveillance. Experiments in which NUP107 proteins were depleted re-activated p53, consistent with NUP107 providing structural stability of glioblastoma NPCs. The findings of Mitsutoshi Nakada and Richard Wong and colleagues confirm that alterations of NPCs contribute to the pathogenesis o glioblastoma. Mitsutoshi Nakada and Richard Wong: "Together, our findings establish roles of NPCs in transport surveillance and provide insights into p53 inactivation in glioblastoma."



Background Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor. It is the most common type of cancer originating within the brain and has poor prognosis for survival. Symptoms include persistent headaches, personality changes, nausea, double or blurred vision and loss of appetite; symptoms often worsen rapidly. The cause of glioblastoma is usually not known; the diagnosis is commonly obtained from the combination of a computer tomography scan, a magnetic resonance imaging scan, and tissue biopsy. Treatment typically involves surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but the cancer almost invariable recurs. Mitsutoshi Nakada and Richard Wong from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now found that there is a link between glioblastoma and alterations in the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), the central apparatuses for transport of molecules to and from the cell nucleus. They found an overexpression of so-called NUP107 proteins, which are part of the NPCs, in combination with the degradation of p53 proteins, which have a tumor-suppressing function. Figure link https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Figure1_en.png  2023 Ikliptikawati, et al. Figure 1. We identify nuclear pore protein NUP107 as a significantly amplified and overexpressed gene with MDM2 which mediating p53 protein degradation in Glioblastoma. Loss of NUP107 causes reactivation of the p53 pathway by stabilizing protein amounts of p53. These findings provide a new noncanonical regulation of p53 at spatial levels in Glioblastoma. Reference Dini Kurnia Ikliptikawati, Nozomi Hirai, Kei Makiyama, Hemragul Sabit, Masashi Kinoshita, Koki Matsumoto, Keesiang Lim, Makiko Meguro-Horike, Shin-ichi Horike, Masaharu Hazawa, Mitsutoshi Nakada, and Richard W. Wong. Nuclear transport surveillance of p53 by nuclear pores in glioblastoma, Cell Reports, 7 August (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112882 URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112882 Contact Hiroe Yoneda

Senior Specialist in Project Planning and Outreach

NanoLSI Administrative Office

WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

Kanazawa University

Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +81 (76) 234-4550 About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/ Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University is a research center established in 2017 as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The objective of this initiative is to form world-tier research centers. NanoLSI combines the foremost knowledge of bio-scanning probe microscopy to establish 'nano-endoscopic techniques' to directly image, analyze, and manipulate biomolecules for insights into mechanisms governing life phenomena such as diseases. About Kanazawa University http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/ As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities. The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa  a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-brain-cancer-linked-to-nuclear-pore-alterations-301906354.html SOURCE Kanazawa University

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[August 22, 2023] Nate Burke, Founding Member of the Ecommerce and Online Industries, is Awarded the Scale-Up Entrepreneur Award at the Enterprise Awards 2023 Tweet

LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nate Burke, an early founder within the e-commerce and Digital Marketing industry, is awarded the Scale Up Entrepreneur award at the Enterprise Awards 2023, hosted by ScaleUp Group. Nate studied for an MBA in Global Business Management at the University of Alabama before founding his first company in 1997. Now with over two decades of experience in the Ecommerce and online industries, Nates expertise span digital marketing, business development, entrepreneurship and global business management. In more recent years, as CEO, Nate focuses on the development and growth of Diginius, a London-based SaaS technology company specialising in digital marketing and e-commerce solutions. Providing campaign optimisation technologies and an automatedbidding platform to support on advertising management that monitors, measures and reports results across digital performance, delivering visibility and transparency for all. Diginius was recently awarded Microsoft Advertising Global Channel Partner of the Year 2022.



"The award of the Scale-up Entrepreneur at the Enterprise Awards is particularly prominent as we have experienced exponential growth in recent years at Diginius. The recognition for the hard work and dedication over the last 12 years building the business is very much appreciated!" Nate Burke, CEO of Diginius Known as the "Oscars of the Technology Industry", those of influence within the technology industry are recognised and awarded with a unique focus on the founder rather than the business from innovators, investors and advisors. The judging panel emphasises merit for nominees who have showcased growth, innovation, strategy, execution and overall ambition and determination to succeed. Boasting previous winners that have achieved prominence in both the public and private sectors, alumni include successful tech businesses in the UK, such as the leaders of Wise, Quantexa, Darktrace, and TPXimpact.

Media Contact

Olivia Poppy O'Neill

Diginius

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[August 22, 2023] Chenbro's Chiayi Factory Recognized at MUSE Design Awards for Commitment to Sustainability Tweet

TAIPEI, June 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chenbro Micom Co., Ltd., a pioneer in designing and manufacturing own-brand rackmount systems and professional server chassis, won three awards in the Architectural Design category at 2023 MUSE Design Awardsthe Platinum Award for Sustainable Living/Green, the Gold Award for Office Building, and the Gold Award for Factories & Warehouse. In 2022, it also won the Official Selection Award at the London International Creative Competition (LICC). The design of its factory, which contributes to carbon reduction and energy conservation, underscores Chenbro's commitment to sustainable development, building connections with local communities, and fostering a corporate culture centered on well-being and happiness. "The awards bestowed on the Chiayi factory are inspiring and an honor for our team," said Maggi Chen, Chairperson and Chief Strategy Officer of Chenbro. "Our goal is to create a building with a style that is different from traditional factories. By giving the factory a mission and vision that goes beyond manufacturing, we integrate elements of technology, environmental protection, ecology, humanism, art, and innovation, symbolizing the common good. In short, we aim to construct a building with the essence of ESG, which connects Chiayi's local culture. We seek to stimulate dialoguewith employees, global customers, supply partners, and even the general public, conveying the corporate philosophy of diligence and sincerity and a sustainable vision of connecting for the greater good."



Realizing Chenbro's ESG philosophy with green building standards

Traditionally factories were expected to focus solely on manufacturing and production, resulting in boxy and unoriginal architectural designs that lacked aesthetic appeal. The Chiayi factory's design concept was inspired by Chenbro's server chassis. The building resembles stacked servers and incorporates architectural techniques such as light and shadow, layering, and spatial displacement to create a unique sense of space that links technology, culture, and nature. Indeed, the aesthetics and innovative technology of Chenbro's Chiayi factory have successfully upended traditional conceptions and accentuated the company's forward-looking mindset. In line with Chenbro's ESG philosophy, the Chiayi factory was designed to reduce its environmental impact by adhering closely to the EEWH green building standards of ecology, energy saving, waste reduction, and health. The factory incorporated various sustainable development features such as a rainwater harvesting, vertical greening, solar power generation, airflow, and chimney effect to improve the microclimate of the factory and respond to local climate conditions.

In terms of energy saving, the factory adopted a steel structure and incorporated a nine-meter-high ceiling and low-emissivity glass to reduce reliance on air conditioning. A solar energy system with an annual power generation capacity of 1.54 GW was installed on the roof to achieve energy conservation, effectively reducing carbon emissions. "The factory obtained its ISO 14064-1 certification this year. Chenbro is actively working on a carbon reduction plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050," said Corona Chen, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of Chenbro. For waste reduction, the industrial park was extensively greened. Over 1,300 trees and lawns were planted, reducing the use of hard pavement. A 1,060-ton water storage tank was built for rainwater collection, which can be used for watering plants. Through an eco-pond, the factory aims to support biodiversity. Additionally, the Chiayi plant is a humane space that promotes employee well-being and happiness. It aims to foster openness and vitality and, complemented by local culture, create art and leisure spaces. Indeed, it serves as a platform that can be shared and used to inspire even more connections. Maggi Chen further said that Chenbro leverages the Chiayi factory to link corporate operations and environmental sustainability initiatives, as well as to share its energy-saving and carbon-reducing philosophy with its employees and customers. Looking ahead, Chenbro aspires to establish more partnerships in order to continue advancing toward a more sustainable future. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/chenbros-chiayi-factory-recognized-at-muse-design-awards-for-commitment-to-sustainability-301906537.html SOURCE Chenbro Micom Co., Ltd.

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[August 22, 2023] Germany, Singapore, and the UK Head Kaleido's Mobile Regulatory & Policy Matrix Tweet

LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New research from Kaleido Intelligence, a leading telecom market intelligence and consulting firm, has found that Germany, Singapore and the UK have the most supportive regulatory regimes for future mobile services.

The new research, Mobile Regulatory & Policy Readiness 2023, assessed the readiness and effectiveness of 22 national regimes across nine regulatory pillars, including national spectrum strategy, private network provisions, quality of service (QoS) parameters, smart city frameworks and support for cross border data flows. For each pillar, Kaleido assigned each country a rating based on the extent to which the regime actively supports the development of its bailiwick, with the weighted index scores combining to determine a countrys position in Kaleidos Mobile Regulatory & Policy Matrix. Access the report Germany Achieves Highest Overall anking



According to the report, Germany achieved the highest overall ranking due in part to its 5G strategy, which saw the country provide specific spectrum allocations for new entrants and enterprises, and mandate coverage obligations for licensees; it was also a frontrunner in 5G local private network licensing. These policies underpinned Germanys overarching Industry 4.0 strategy, and their implementation has been key in enabling the country to achieve its objectives. Germany also achieves the highest possible rating for both the Cyber Security and Connected Vehicles pillars. Singapore & UK Leads Digital & QoS Readiness

Meanwhile, the report argued that Singapore was perhaps the best example of a nation which first articulated a digital agenda and then proceeded to develop and implement sets of related policies to deliver the goals of that agenda. It also praised the UKs work in defining and publicising detailed, transparent QoS obligations, while providing detailed guidance on security requirements. Smart Cities Regulatory Initiatives Need Greater Local & Regional Integration Kaleidos research also emphasised that for countries to achieve smart city objectives, it was essential to create greater synergy between pertinent national legislation and local implementation, while at the same time ensuring that research projects for smart cities are supported at the national level. It highlighted the smart city strategies developed by both the UAEs Dubai government and Saudi Arabia in this space, with the latters strategy identifying six goals that consider the priorities and challenges of each region. However, none of these three countries has yet delineated a comprehensive strategy for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Dr Windsor Holden, Principal Consultant at Kaleido, commented: In an increasingly data hungry world, NTNs in low earth orbit can provide vital backhaul capacity for 5G networks, and hence putting the regulatory framework in place to facilitate this can greatly benefit mobile network operators. About Kaleido Intelligence Kaleido Intelligence is a specialist consulting and market research firm with a proven track record of delivering telecom research at the highest level. Kaleido Intelligence is the only research company addressing mobile roaming in its entirety, covering: Data Forecasts by Market

Historical & Forecast Viewpoints

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Strategic Insight

Trend Analysis

Research is led by expert analysts, each with significant experience delivering telco research and insights that matter. Contact Details:

Phone: +44 20 3983 9843

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[August 22, 2023] Transurban and Plus Collaborate to Advance Level 4 Autonomous Trucks in Australia Tweet

World-leading toll-road operator, Transurban, today announced a partnership with Plus, a global Silicon Valley-based autonomous driving software company, to advance Transurban's automated freight program and take advantage of the resources and talent in Victoria, the home of Australian innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822359257/en/ Transurban and Plus Collaborate to Advance Level 4 Autonomous Trucks in Australia (Graphic: Business Wire) The partnership will build on the success of Transurban's first self-driving truck trial on CityLink and the Monash Freeway last year to explore how Plus's Level 4 autonomous driving technology, combined with smart road infrastructure, could help make trucking safer, more efficient, and more sustainable in Australia. Countries around the world are starting to explore the benefits of self-driving trucks on public motorways. The combination of global and local expertise that enables smart roads to communicate with self-driving trucks through this partnership sets Victoria up to be an international leader in this space. With road freight projected to grow steadily in the coming decades, self-driving trucks have the potential to transform the freight industry by moving more goods, more quickly, and more sustainably. This will also deliver positive economic and social outcomes for consumers, motorists and Governments by reducing congestion and improving road safety, while helping to address the shortage of truck drivers. Starting in 2017, Transurban's comprehensive CAV testing program has worked with governments and industry to roll out 11 successful trials of fully and partially automated vehicles on motorways across Australia and North America to test how they respond to road infrastructure. Transurban's successful 2022 trial was the first time in Australia that a highly automated self-driving truck was tested in live traffic conditions on public motorways. The partnership between Transurban and Plus will leverage Plus's state-of-the-art autonomous driving software and global commercial deployment experience, which includes the cooperation with IVECO, the global commercial vehicle brand of Iveco Group, to co-develop self-driving trucks for Europe. Highly automated trucks enabled by Plus's technology are already delivering freight in the U.S. for world-class fleets and being tested on public roads in Germany with IVECO. Plus's autonomous driving software uses the latest advances in generative AI, machine learning, computer vision, and other state-of-the-art algorithms to empower vehicles with superhuman awareness and control. Integrated with advanced lidar, radar, and camera sensors, Plus's software can detect and precisely track objects, predict their movement, and then safely maneuver the vehice.



Scott Charlton, CEO of Transurban, said: "This partnership will support long-term opportunities for automated freight, including potential benefits to reduce congestion and improve road safety and traffic flow, and is a continuation of Transurban's work in this area. Automated transport technologies are going to transform the way we move goods around cities, and with vital connections between ports and other freight hubs, our roads offer ideal conditions to facilitate this new technology." Tien-Ti Mak, General Manager for Strategic Innovation at Transurban, said: "Transurban roads are some of the most technologically sophisticated in the world, and we're excited to combine our infrastructure and operational expertise with Plus's innovative technology to bring the benefits of automated freight one step closer. The adoption of self-driving trucks in specific environments can have positive outcomes for Victoria by improving road safety, increasing productivity, reducing congestion and importantly, creating jobs for the future."

"At Plus, we have seen first-hand through our global deployments the transformational impact that our autonomous driving solutions can have on transportation to improve safety, efficiency and sustainability," said Shawn Kerrigan, Co-Founder and COO at Plus. "We are delighted to partner with Transurban to drive autonomous trucking development in Australia to the next level, and show the unparalleled benefits in road safety and operational efficiency delivered by a collaboration between the world's most advanced autonomous driving software and smart infrastructure provider." Paul Guerra, CEO for Victorian Chamber of Commerce, said: "We congratulate Transurban on this wonderful initiative. Through driving a culture of innovation, Victoria attracts talent, investment, and businesses. Not to mention tens of billions of dollars in local industry revenue. Fostering an innovation ecosystem and supporting startups is a strategic pillar for meaningful employment and economic prosperity, as we look to 'future-proof' the workforce of Victoria. We recognize that this support is vital for economic growth, job creation and the productivity of the State." About Transurban Transurban is an Australian-owned company that builds and operates toll roads in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as in Greater Washington, DC, United States and Montreal, Canada. As one of the world's leading toll-road operators, Transurban's focus is getting people where they want to go, as quickly and safely as possible - from designing and building new roads to researching new vehicle and road safety technology. Transurban is also a technology company, researching and developing innovative tolling and transport technology that makes travel easier for everyone. Transurban designs roads for the long term, ensuring they'll deliver real and lasting benefits to cities and their communities. More information at Transurban.com. About Plus Plus is a global provider of highly automated driving and fully autonomous driving solutions with headquarters in Silicon Valley, California, and operations in the U.S. and Germany. Named by Forbes as one of America's Best Startup Employers and by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies, Plus's open autonomy technology platform is already powering vehicles in commercial use today. Working with leading vehicle manufacturers, fleets, and other technology companies globally, Plus is helping to make driving safer, more comfortable, and more sustainable. Plus has received a number of industry awards and distinctions for its transformative technology and business momentum from Fast Company, Forbes, Insider, Consumer Electronics Show, AUVSI, and others. For more information, please visit www.plus.ai or follow us on LinkedIn or YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822359257/en/

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[August 22, 2023] StenTech Acquires Stencil Manufacturer Photo Etch Technology Tweet

Align Capital Partners ("ACP") is pleased to announce its portfolio company StenTech (the "Company"), a leading provider of surface mount technology ("SMT") stencils, pallets, tooling and related components, has acquired Photo Etch Technology ("Photo Etch"). Photo Etch (together with its affiliate Utz Technologies) manufactures SMT stencils, mesh screens and parts for OEM and contract manufacturing customers across its current facilities in four U.S. markets. In terms of strategic fit, Photo Etch deepens StenTech's existing presence in Silicon Valley and New England, while adding new geographic reach into Florida via its Clearwater operation. "We were looking for a partner who could continue providing our customers with the quality of service they deserve," said Lisa Guidi, Owner and Chief Fnancial Officer of Photo Etch. "Having worked closely with StenTech's leadership over the past several months, I am confident they will honor our company's important legacy while providing our customers with access to additional resources through the StenTech platform."



"I am thrilled to be joining forces with the team at Photo Etch," said Brent Nolan, President & CEO of StenTech. "This acquisition represents StenTech's continued growth and innovation, and we are excited by the opportunity to serve Photo Etch's customers." "The Photo Etch transaction represents further validation of our growth thesis for StenTech," commented ACP Managing Partner Chris Jones. "In addition to future M&A, we look forward to continuing to support the Company through on-going investments in people, processes and technology."

ACP acquired StenTech in May of 2022 and this transaction marks the second add-on for the Company. Vice President James Moss and Associate Ben Bryles worked alongside Mr. Jones on the transaction. About StenTech StenTech is a leading manufacturer of stencils and related custom products for applications in electronics and SMT manufacturing across North America. The Company is a critical supply chain partner serving more than 2,000 customers, including leading OEMs and Tier 1 contract manufacturers. With 19 locations across the US, Canada and Mexico, StenTech has the geographic reach and technical expertise to be a thought partner to customers, delivering high quality components with minimal lead times required. For more information, visit stentech.com. About Align Capital Partners Align Capital Partners is a growth-oriented private equity firm that partners with business owners and management teams to create shared success. ACP manages $1.5 billion in committed capital with investment teams in Cleveland and Dallas. ACP brings experience and resources to help lower-middle market companies accelerate their growth, to the benefit of management, employees and the firm's investors. ACP makes control investments in differentiated companies within the business services, technology, specialty manufacturing and distribution sectors. For more information, visit aligncp.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822699593/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Excellence Opto., Inc. Drives Automotive Innovation and Sustainability for a Brighter Future Tweet

Innovating the Road Ahead: Excellence Opto., Inc. Recognized with the Enterprise Asia Linchpin of Asia Award 2023 for Advancing Automotive Excellence and Sustainability SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Excellence Opto., Inc. (EOI) is a high technology-oriented company, established in the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan in 1995. As an IATF-16949 certified enterprise, EOI guarantees that its products are of high quality, high reliability, and high performance. With strong capabilities in optical, mechanical, electronics, thermal, software, and firmware designs with high precision design standards, EOI supplies high-efficiency LED components and modules, serving customers with advanced complete technical solutions. Throughout our history, EOI has cooperated with more than 45 world-renowned automobile manufacturers. Between the years 2019 to 2023, one out of every 6.2 to 9.6 cars produced in the United States utilized EOI's products. The company's strategic customers are leading companies in the global automotive industry, such as Magna, Flex-N-Gate, Hella, SanLi, Tayi and so on, supporting EOI in its pursuit of sustainable growth. This drives one of the company's major goals, which is to increase its clients' competitive abilities as the market increasingly favors sustainable companies. In 2022, the company received numerous affirmations, being honored with awards and titles. This resulted from EOI to pursuing excellence in corporate governance, and from official evaluations across Taiwan. Additionally, the company ranks among the top 20% of best-performing listed companies. Amidst the global ESG trend, it is also committed to obtaining TCFD, ISO 14064-1, and 14067 certifications, promoting joint carbon reduction within its supply chain, satisfying its customers globally, and establishing a sustainably managed enterprise. EOI's vision is to become the pioneer of innovative automotive lighting sources in the global marketplace and a sustainable happy company. The company's mission is to continue to develop innovative technologies and products to upgrade the green energy environment and better all humans' lives. EOI's operations are guided by its corporate values, which are to make a better world with innovation in automotive lighting and displays while providing continuously improving social welfare to the disadvantaged and minorities, pursuing a zero-carbon environment, creating excellent products, pursuing perfect quality, and exceeding customers' expectations. The President, Ms. Fanny Huang, does her best to encourage the employees to embrace continuous learning and innovation as well as tran their agility to exceed customers, and all stakeholders' expectations. EOI's policy also promotes corporate social responsibility and employee benefits. EOI has built an organizational culture based on the values of honesty, trust, accountability, appreciation, respect, encouragement, intentional social welfare, customer-first attitude, target-oriented drive, and teamwork.



Various corporate activities also contribute to building a cohesive staff with these values. EOI integrates various initiatives like a unique KPI mechanisms, Pre-Expert Program (Talent Development Program), supervisor-led book clubs, team-building activities, and CSR projects. The global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a shortage of automotive chips, and limited transportation, thus, EOI's performance was affected. As the global economy eased from the pandemic's effects, EOI acquired more future orders than in the past, thanks to the trust of its long-term customers, such as Magna, Flex-N-Gate, and Hella.

The company has also made an impact both locally and regionally. EOI's LED and products have reduced energy use and carbon-waste production in Taiwan. The company's social welfare projects have also assisted thousands of disadvantaged people in Taiwan by the provision of job opportunities in Taiwan and its subsidiaries globally. These subsidiaries were set up in California and Michigan in the United States, Stuttgart in Germany, Madrid in Spain, and Shenzhen and Dongguan in mainland China. EOI will continue expansion worldwide and shorten its supply chain in the next couple of years in order to enhance cooperation with its customers and realize its ESG and carbon reduction goals. The company's strategy to achieve sustainable growth includes continuously advanced innovation, forward-looking technologies, and ensuring customer-oriented services in order to be considered the best and most valuable supplier to the key accounts. EOI is also looking into the efficient use of automation and AI technology to achieve robust and lean manufacturing. The company has eyes on talent development for highly professional experts with a passion for innovation. Besides that, the company will continue investing in innovative green technology to achieve zero carbon emissions and realize its ESG goals. EOI's exceptional performance, growth, and agility have recently earned the company the esteemed title of Linchpin of Asia at the Enterprise Asia Linchpin of Asia Awards 2023. The Award is a premier recognition program, honoring the best of the best industry leaders and enterprises across Asia. The prestigious accolade serves as a testament to EOI's remarkable journey to achieving success in the region. Moving forward, EOI intends to continue developing innovative automotive LED light sources, increase its market share, and become among the world's top five automotive LED suppliers. The company is working to develop a light source module with its unique patented technology for automotive signal lighting to expand the application to various automotive lights such as taillights, brake lights, direction lights, and daytime running lights. Module shipments are expected to exceed 20% in the United States. EOI intends to create more cost-effective LED outdoor lighting, signal lights, and other green energy products. Thus, the company will be able to participate in smart city services and it is expected to be one of the most important suppliers in North America. Based on the current assumptions about EOI's operating outlook, the short-term goal in the future would be annual performance growth of 20-30%. About Enterprise Asia Linchpin of Asia Awards 2023 The inaugural and prestigious Enterprise Asia Linchpin of Asia Awards is a premier recognition program dedicated to honoring only the excellent, the most elite and best of the best industry leaders and enterprises exclusively selected across Asia. The award honors the best business leaders and enterprises in Asia who have triumphed in the ever-changing waters of business, forging success at the peak of their respective industries, and provides them with the ideal platform for regional collaborations in 16 countries and across 24 industries. For more information, visit https://apea.asia/linchpinofasiaawards/ . View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/excellence-opto-inc-drives-automotive-innovation-and-sustainability-for-a-brighter-future-301906661.html SOURCE Enterprise Asia

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A Russian occupier has complained about the "Baba Yaga" with the help of which the Ukrainian military allegedly "steal" wounded invaders. The Kadyrovite said that this nickname was given to the drone, which is allegedly capable of carrying away a person.

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At the same time, the war criminal said that the Russians can not shoot down "Baba Yaga", because Russian electronic warfare systems do not act on the drone. This is written by Russian propaganda media.

The Kadyrovite told the Kremlin media that the occupiers themselves gave the drone the nickname "Baba Yaga". The occupier gave out that the UAV, the size of a man, is capable of carrying up to four 82-mm and up to two 120-mm mines. At the same time, the invader complains that the drone operates exclusively at night, as it is easy to detect and shoot down during the day due to its noisy gasoline engine.

The apogee of the propaganda legend about Ukrainian drones was the "scaremongering" of the Kadyrovite about the "abduction" of wounded occupants by "Baba Yaga". The captor said that the UAV was equipped with special claws that could grab a person.

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"The same large drones, only slightly modernized, were previously used by the enemy in the Zaporizhzhya direction to steal our wounded. The drone has special devices on it, visually resembling claws, with which it grabs a person who is unable to run away, hide or fight it off," the Kadyrovite gave out.

The occupier also complained that Russian electronic warfare systems do not work on Baba Yaga, so it is possible to destroy the drone only with small arms or grenade launchers. However, even in this case the occupants are powerless. Kadyrovets added that the Ukrainian military allegedly attached plates from their body armor to the Baba Yaga, making it harder to shoot down the drone.

We will remind, the captured Russian occupants told what the Kadyrovites from the detachment "Akhmat" actually do in the war against Ukraine. These fighters, who earned the fame of "TikTok-troops", are used as barrier units.

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Earlier it was reported that the Defense Forces of Ukraine defeated in the area of Bakhmut in Donetschina militants of the unit "Akhmat" of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. The Kadyrovites are fleeing from their positions and suffering heavy losses.
[August 22, 2023] DSFederal and Taipei Medical University Forge Partnership to Promote Innovation in Data Science Technologies Tweet

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DSFederal, Inc., a government-focused leader in data science and digital solutions, and Taipei Medical University (TMU), a top-ranked biomedical higher education institution, announced the establishment of a Biomedical Informatics Partnership Program (BIPP) to promote innovation, global relationships, and international collaboration. The partnership provides a sustained opportunity for doctoral candidates at TMU's Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics (GIBI) to collaborate with their DSFederal counterparts in experimenting with new data science technologies and platforms and conducting innovative data-driven services pilots focused on the healthcare research and life sciences markets. TMU is home to eleven medical colleges that span from medicine and public health to medical science and technology and biomedical engineering. It is also affiliated with six hospitals in Taiwan including the Taipei Cancer Center and the Taipei Neuroscience Institute. "We are very excited to partner with DSFederal in fostering this unique student-industry interchange and cooperation," said Dr. er-Ming Liou, Professor and Director, TMU Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics. "This partnership provides opportunities for our Ph.D. candidates to apply their informatics and technology expertise to real challenges experienced throughout the world especially in the health sciences and research field."



"DSFederal is proud to join in this rare opportunity to collaborate with the prestigious TMU and has been hosting the first cohort over the summer through our BIPP," said Sophia Parker, Owner and Chairwoman of DSFederal. "The program has allowed TMU-GIBI students to gain hands-on practical biomedical informatics experience while working alongside American industries. By partnering with the top medical institutions in a country that is a leader in healthcare like Taiwan, we can promote collaborative learning to make the world a healthier and safer place." "Leveraging the thinking and insights of the brightest minds, wherever they may happen to reside, is key in driving the practical value of data science and services," said Clement Chen, CEO of DSFederal. "Our partnership with TMU is an example of how DSFederal is broadening the aperture through which it will seek to lay hold of innovative advances in tech enabling mission accomplishment for the customers that we serve."

For more information about DSFederal, please visit: https://www.dsfederal.com/ About DSFederal DSFederal provides transformative technical solutions and strategic support for the Federal Government and for HHS. Our highly specialized data science team, deep public health expertise combined with a broad technology skillset and partnerships with innovative organizations in the private sector help us to connect the dots between data and people, delivering impactful insights with real-life applications. Our firm is ISO 9001, 20001, 27001 certified and CMMI Level 3 for service and development, proving our commitment to consistently high-quality standards and ensuring customer satisfaction. Our highly experienced professionals partner with 50+ federal clients across more than 80 projects. Our people are united by one mission  to improve human life through transformative solutions. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dsfederal-and-taipei-medical-university-forge-partnership-to-promote-innovation-in-data-science-technologies-301906004.html SOURCE DSFederal

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[August 22, 2023] Memecoin Inspired by Ugandan Knuckles Enters the World of Crypto Tweet

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ugandan Knuckles Coin pays homage to one of the most iconic and beloved memes ever. The project aspires to reclaim purpose in the meme community and expand its presence in the world of digital finance. With its clear roadmap, $KNUCKS seeks to preserve the unifying and fun-loving spirit of the Ugandan Knuckles meme. The Rise of $KNUCKS: A New Memecoin on the Block As the sphere of cryptocurrency evolves, $KNUCKS bursts onto the scene, inspired by the iconic Ugandan Knuckles meme. This digital coin aims to unite, much like the meme itself. It offers a beacon to those lost in the meme world, providing a sense of direction  a new 'wae'. As the founders put it, the meme community felt a void after losing "Da Kween." $KNUCKS steps up, ready to fill this space with its ambition to dominate the crypto world. The spirit of the Ugandan Knuckles meme is set for a comeback, carried on the rising tide of $KNUCKS. $KNUCKS is boldly leading the charge in the memecoin revolution. Like other meme coins such as $PEPE and $SNEK, it can be traded on exchanges like Uniswap. This strategy makes it a viable investment for every meme lord worldwide. Although it has just begun its journey, it has already gained notable attention and recognition on Twitter. The team's assertion that $KNUCKS is the "Greatest Memecoin of All Time (#GMOAT)" is also helping to spread engagement. Navigating the Meme-Oriented Journey - The Roadmap of $KNUCKS Another essential aspect of $KNUCKS isthe project's roadmap. This outlines the timeline of key milestones, allowing investors to accurately track the teams progress. The roadmap follows the three phases of meme evolution.



The first phase focuses on introducing the coin to its community and solidifying its presence on various exchange platforms. This includes the launch of $KNUCKS and listings on several mid-cap exchanges. Additionally, this phase will focus on building high engagement within the community. Through memes and lighthearted discussions, investors can get a full feel of what $KNUCKS is about.

The second phase is all about scaling up and reaching a wider audience. This involves surpassing the milestone of 1,000 holders and listing $KNUCKS on CoinMarketCap (CMC) and CoinGecko (CG). Additionally, the coin will integrate with mid-cap exchanges for added liquidity. The final phase is when $KNUCKS will reach its full potential. This phase involves achieving listings on top-tier exchanges and introducing the Ugandan Knuckles Storybook and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). With these tools, investors can deepen their experience with the coin and engage in meme-oriented activities. It's essential to note that $KNUCKS has no affiliation with Gregzilla or his creation of the Knuckles parody cartoon. This token is a tribute to the well-known meme, designed for amusement and camaraderie. In this context, $KNUCKS serves as a testament to the enduring spirit of internet culture. About Ugandan Knuckles Ugandan Knuckles is more than just a meme, it's an opportunity for savvy investors to join a new crypto community. It's a chance to be part of a movement, a digital growth fueled by humor in the ever-evolving world of blockchain. Ugandan Knuckles is ready to roll with a total token supply of 420,694,206,942,069 coins. With no taxes on transactions, users can focus on waiting for the perfect time to swap ETH for $KNUCKS. Most tokens (88.9%) will go to liquidity, and 6.9% will be reserved for centralized exchange listings in a publicly visible wallet with an ENS address. The project will burn the remaining 4.2% to increase the token's scarcity. The fact that the token's launch is approaching is yet another reason for investors to get on board. The project's team summarized the process of buying the token in four easy steps: Creating a wallet Getting ETH Connecting a wallet to Uniswap Switching the ETH for $KNUCKS Anyone interested can visit the project's website and read about its tokenomics. The social media pages below will also regularly share updates on the latest news about Ugandan Knuckles. Twitter | Instagram





Jay H. contact at ugandanknuckles.vip

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[August 22, 2023] TeraSky Launches Innovative Cloud FinOps as a Service, Conquering Cloud Cost Complexity with VMware Aria Cost Tweet

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TeraSky, a global solution integrator, today announced the official launch of its groundbreaking Cloud FinOps as a Service offering based on VMware Aria Cost. The service revolutionizes cloud cost management  including across multiple cloud providers  for businesses of all types and levels of cloud maturity, leveraging TeraSky's FinOps specialists and cutting-edge cloud cost management tools for unprecedented control over cloud expenditures. As a VMware Cross-Cloud Managed Services Provider, TeraSky is exceptionally qualified to help customers maximize the value of their IT budget while investing in growth. With their cloud FinOps as a service offering, they introduce a comprehensive approach to addressing the increasingly complex challenges related to managing cloud expenses, while better harnessing the full potential of multi-cloud environments. Customers benefit from detailed and intuitive dashboards that provide real-time visibility into cloud expenses, allowing for better decision-making and cost control. At the same time, they gain access to TeraSky's experts, who analyze and optimize cloud usage to ensure maximum cost efficiency across platforms and at scale. The service empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, enhance efficiency, and maximize cloud investment returns, freeing up more resources for innovation and growth. To meet the needs of businesses of all sizes and types, TeraSky has designed several Multi-Cloud FinOps as a Service packages levels. For example, the Basic Tier is ideal for startups and small businesses looking to gain insights into their cloud spending and identify areas of potential cost savings, while the Advanced Tier offers growing businesses with more complex cloud environments access to in-depth cost analysis, optimization recommendations, and proactive monitoring. The Enterprise Tier, aimed at large enterprises managing extnsive multi-cloud deployments, provides personalized FinOps strategies, budget forecasting, and ongoing cost governance.



Ofir Abekasis, CEO of TeraSky, expressed his excitement about the new service: "As cloud adoption continues to surge, organizations need expert guidance to navigate the complexities of cloud financial management. TeraSky has always been committed to delivering innovative solutions that empower businesses to embrace the full potential of cloud technology. With our FinOps service, clients can easily optimize their cloud costs, focus on strategic initiatives, and achieve competitive advantage in their industries. We are delighted to bring this innovative offering to the market." "Businesses today face an acute need to optimize spending, reduce costs, and increase overall visibility into the cloud environments on which their businesses depend. Research shows that 76% of multi-cloud organizations report needing to improve control over their cloud costs1," said Abhay Kumar, VP for Hyperscalers and Technology Partners, VMware. "With their innovative multi-cloud FinOps services, TeraSky is delivering on the promise of VMware Cross-Cloud managed services to help customers maximize the value from their multi-cloud environments and implement a cloud smart approach that helps them invest in digital transformation and growth while safeguarding against rampant cloud spend and inefficient operations."

For more information about TeraSky's Multi-Cloud FinOps as a Service offering and its customizable package tiers, please visit www.terasky.com. 1- "Multi-Cloud Maturity Research Report," Vanson Bourne, October 2022, N=6000 About TeraSky TeraSky is a global Solution Integrator, helping companies overcome infrastructure, platform engineering, and DevOps challenges thanks to domain expertise, value-driven planning, and successful execution. Our team of experts combines the best of both worlds: enterprise-grade infrastructure with cloud-native agility and velocity, generating the optimal developer experience and Time-to-Market at any scale. We create robust infrastructures using multi-clouds and next-gen data centers, Application Infrastructures for complex foundations, productive Platform Engineering tools without compromising security, and reliable digital workspaces. TeraSky has a proven track record of solving business and technological challenges, becoming a trusted advisor for enterprises and SMBs of all industries. VMware and Aria are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. Media Contacts Orly Garini-Dil

VP of Marketing

[email protected]

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[August 22, 2023] TreviPay Expands Payments Technology with Cross-Currency Capabilities for Business Buyers Tweet

TreviPay, the global B2B payments and invoicing network, today released a new capability to support cross-currency sales between businesses, showcasing its commitment in orchestrating choice, convenience and efficiency in B2B payments to merchants around the world. TreviPay, which operates in 32 countries and in 20 currencies, can now facilitate transactions when the buyer seeks to be invoiced and pay in a currency different than the currency disbursed to the merchant. This enhanced trade credit capability will bolster buyer loyalty, which begins at the payment. "While global commerce capabilities are increasingly important, not all merchants are able to establish a bank account in every preferred currency of their customers," said Brandon Spear, CEO of TreviPay. "TreviPay's enhanced technology and cross-currency solution empowers geographical expansion and makes global trade more accessible to merchants across all sales channels." Conducting business i today's expanding global markets can be difficult when dealing with multiple currencies. Recent research1 by TreviPay revealed that having an easy first payment and a consistent purchasing experience were within the top 3 important factors for business buyers. As part of its strategic focus in offering loyalty-building payments experiences, TreviPay's cross-currency transactions update will enable more buyers to select their preferred payment method and currency at checkout. The same research highlighted that 72% of global business buyers are more loyal to a company that offers their preferred payment method.



While cross-currency capabilities are becoming essential in industries such as manufacturing and online retail, a notable use case is found in the travel sector, for merchants such as a large-scale hotel chain with many US-based hotel franchisees. In this instance, most corporate travelers would likely be US-based buyers, however others might be looking to book from outside of the United States and pay their invoice with a different currency. For example, some Canadian-based travelers prefer to pay their invoices in Canadian Dollars (CAD). TreviPay's solution allows American franchisees to enable foreign exchange so that all Canadian travelers can purchase from them in CAD, instead of setting up a separate business account in CAD for payout. In addition to TreviPay's cross-currency updates, the company has also rolled out numerous portal improvements to improve ease and efficiency for customers, including being able to change primary customer contacts quickly and easily, update trusted device sign-ins and expanded options for company buyer hierarchy capabilities.

To learn more about TreviPay's solutions for facilitating global business growth with cross-currency transactions, visit www.trevipay.com. 1 The study was conducted by Murphy Research on behalf of TreviPay from May 17th to June 2nd, 2023. The results are based on a comprehensive review of 300 global B2B buyers. About TreviPay At TreviPay, we believe loyalty begins at the payment. By understanding the diverse and unique requirements of B2B sellers, TreviPay's global B2B payments and invoicing network enables enterprises to provide payments choice and convenience, open new markets and automate accounts receivables. With more than four decades of experience, TreviPay serves leaders looking to build loyalty while driving efficiency and embracing new digital channels, especially in industries with large distribution networks such as manufacturing, retail, and transportation. For more information, visit trevipay.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822429319/en/

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[August 22, 2023] High-Throughput Computing on Rescale Enables Innovation at Scale with Multi-Cloud Accelerated Computing Tweet

Leading semiconductor technology provider Arm adopts Rescale's High-Throughput Computing (HTC) to accelerate R&D, gain multi-cloud automation, unified data management, and full-stack security to accelerate large-scale digital design and engineering projects SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rescale, the leader in high-performance computing built for the cloud, announces High-Throughput Computing (HTC), a new capability on Rescale's platform for running massively parallel computational jobs such as those used in semiconductor verification analysis, bioinformatics pipelines, and design space exploration. "Rescale is helping Arm usher in a new era for chip design," says Mark Galbraith , Arm's VP of Productivity Engineering. High-throughput computing (HTC) can process millions of modeling, simulation, or data analysis tasks at the same time, helping analysts, engineers, and scientists accelerate research and product development. Cloud computing creates new possibilities for R&D organizations to use HTC at unprecedented scale. To fully capture these benefits, organizations need sophisticated and robust management capabilities to securely manage HTC tasks across multiple cloud services and computing architectures. The Rescale HTC platform makes this possible. Rescale's HTC solution enables organizations to get optimized full-stack workload performance, with improved throughput, cost efficiency, and reliability beyond what's possible from a single cloud provider. Rescale's global multi-cloud coverage, combined with its performance intelligence, delivers best-in-class performance for any workload, anywhere, while offering visibility and control to help ensure HTC operations are efficient and secure. To address the complexities of running HTC acrossa mix of cloud infrastructures, processor types and hardware architectures, Rescale's HTC capability offers multi-cloud automation, unified data management, and full-stack security to help organizations more efficiently execute their HTC projects. Organizations can use Rescale HTC's cloud-native container-based architecture to get the best hardware architectures for their compute jobs across any of the leading cloud computing service providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and NVIDIA DGX Cloud.



"Rescale is helping Arm usher in a new era for chip design," says Mark Galbraith, Arm's vice president of Productivity Engineering. "Arm-powered cloud computing combined with the intelligent automation of the Rescale platform brings many benefits to our design and verification processes by not only helping Arm engineers create the world's most advanced IP, but also enabling our ecosystem to take full advantage of multi-cloud resources for accelerating R&D. With Rescale, our engineering teams can access the best computing resources they need  including the price/performance and sustainability benefits of running on Arm architecture  whenever they need them." Rescale is demonstrating industry-defining scale and reliability for multi-cloud HTC operations. For example, Rescale HTC has demonstrated the ability to successfully run workloads with nearly half a million instantaneous vCPUs across two cloud providers and 12 regions, in just a few minutes. Over an eight week period Rescale HTC demonstrated successful runs of over 50 million core hours on Arm Architecture instances demonstrating 99.99 percent job reliability.

Rescale's platform also enables the seamless adoption of the latest computing architectures, such as new Arm-based processors, from the most innovative and fast-moving cloud providers including AWS Graviton3, Google Cloud Tau T2A, Microsoft Azure Dpsv5, and NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper. Through Rescale's AI-based Compute Recommendation Engine, workloads can automatically and seamlessly adopt the best hardware architectures commercially available individually tuned to the specific workload. "Across industries we are seeing rapid adoption of high-performance computing and high-throughput computing, upon which customers are running simulation, applied AI, and machine learning for engineering and scientific workloads." says Joris Poort, CEO of Rescale, "Arm is a great example of how Rescale is working with leading companies to accelerate innovation with the power of intelligent computing across clouds. Beyond semiconductor verification and testing, Rescale's HTC solution is ideal for a wide-range of use cases including drug discovery, computer-aided engineering, deep learning networks, image processing, molecular dynamics, computational chemistry, computer vision applications, synthetic data generation, AI data processing, and signal processing systems. About Rescale Rescale provides high-performance computing built for the cloud to empower engineers while giving IT security and control. The Rescale platform makes it simple for engineers and scientists to harness the most advanced software and computing architectures for cutting-edge, simulation and AI-driven innovation. For IT, the Rescale platform provides full stack security and support, and delivers policy-based financial and architectural controls to maximize performance and efficiency. Rescale powers the world's leading companies to accelerate innovation across industries including life sciences, automotive, energy, semiconductor, aerospace, and manufacturing. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/high-throughput-computing-on-rescale-enables-innovation-at-scale-with-multi-cloud-accelerated-computing-301906516.html SOURCE Rescale Inc

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[August 22, 2023] Nokia unveils comprehensive 25G PON starter kit solution to help operators capture new 10Gbs+ service opportunities Tweet

Press Release Nokia unveils comprehensive 25G PON starter kit solution to help operators capture new 10Gbs+ service opportunities Nokias 25G PON starter kit solution helps operators maximize and monetize 10Gbs+ opportunities today.

Nokia has shipped more than one million 25G PON ready ports to date.

25G PON is ready to be activated in more than 150 networks worldwide. 22, August 2023 Orlando, Florida  Nokia today announced the launch of a comprehensive 25G PON starter kit solution that can help operators harness new revenue generating 10Gbs+ opportunities. The 25G PON kit is designed to provide operators with everything they need to accelerate the deployment of high-speed connectivity to businesses. Each kit has the capability to connect up to 10 businesses and is available for immediate shipment. In today's landscape, 10Gbs business connectivity has emerged as the golden standard in markets worldwide. With 25G PON, operators can leverage their existing fiber assets to deliver true 10Gbs speeds and beyond to businesses, farms, schools, and other enterprises. Accelerating productivity and collaboration, a true 10Gbs service can help organizations to be more competitive and embrace resource-intensive cloud-based applications, virtual reality and AI with unprecedented ease. The comprehensive 25G PON kit solution paves the way for operators to efficiently capitalize on 10G+ opportunities, today. The 25G PON starter kit bundles in one solution all of the fiber broadband technology needed to deliver 1, 10 and 25G PON services to end-users including line cards, optics and Optical Network Terminals (ONTs). Geert Heyninck, General Manager Broadband Networks at Nokia, said: With the 25G PON starter program, we help operators seize the lucrativeopportunities presented by 10G+ connectivity. The 25G PON kits are available immediately and provide operators with the tools needed to quickly deploy and capitalize on the growing number of multi-gig broadband services consumers and enterprises seek  all on their existing fiber network.



Rupert Wood, Research Director at Analysys Mason, said: Depending on the SLAs, practically all of that dedicated connectivity market is addressable for an operator with 25GS-PON capability. The addition of 25GS-PON to XGS-PON makes the fastest-growing portion in revenue terms, true10Gbit/s (and even above) symmetrical connectivity, addressable right now. Resources and additional information

Website: Nokia 25G PON

Blog: DellOro Group Growing Interest in 25G-PON Drives Forecast Increases

Blog: Analysys Mason Why and where 25G PON Makes Sense

Video: Explaining the limitless speeds for fiber broadband

Nokia 25G PON is readily available to be activated in more than 150 networks and more than 1M PON lines worldwide.

According to DellOro, Nokia was the 2022 global market share leader for XGS-PON equipment. About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today  and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. Media inquiries

Nokia Communications, Corporate

Email: [email protected] Follow us on social media

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[August 22, 2023] PrivacyHawk releases 2023 personal data, privacy and AI report highlighting consumer alarm and sentiment about privacy and AI Tweet

PrivacyHawk, a pioneer in personal data protection, today released the results of a survey outlining American consumer sentiment about privacy, personal data and AI. The survey, conducted by Propeller Research, was of a representative sample of over 1,000 Americans. The questions covered a wide variety of topics regarding how consumers feel about their personal data, privacy, financial institutions, fraud, scams, China, Russia, TikTok, the future of humanity and its inevitable collision with artificial intelligence. The survey report, "Consumer Privacy, Personal Data, & AI Sentiment 2023," can be downloaded for free at privacyhawk.com/personal-data-report-2023. "The people have spoken: They want privacy; they demand trusted institutions like banks protect their data; they universally want Congress to pass a national privacy law; and they are concerned about how their personal data could be misused by artificial intelligence," said Aaron Mendes, CEO and co-founder of PrivacyHawk. "Our personal data is core to who we are, and it needs to be protected through a combination of taking personal action such as using tools like PrivacyHawk, federal regulations, and responsible business practices by trusted institutions and tech companies." The key insights of the survey include: Americans are deeply concerned about their personal data, believe their data is priceless, want a national privacy law, and are pessimistic about the rise of AI and personal data.



Americans expect their banks and financial institutions to provide security products to protect their personal data. This highlights the trust consumers have in financial institutions and their desire for them to help keep them safe beyond just managing their money.



Fraud, identity theft, and scams are rampant, personal data exposure is a key cause, and these concerns are shared by all demographics: age, gender, and political affiliation. The concern about personal data and privacy is universal, not just amongst a small niche population. Insightful data points Whle the full report contains over 30 data points and insights, some of the most poignant are below.



Americans have broad concerns about personal data risks.



Nearly half of the U.S. population (45%) are very or extremely concerned about their personal data being exploited, breached, or exposed. Over 94% are generally concerned. Only 5.7% of the population is not concerned at all about their personal data risk.





There is overwhelming bipartisan desire for a national privacy law.



Over 92% of Americans want Congress to enable a national privacy law that gives them the right to know, delete, not be sold and stop data brokers. This is also consistent across gender and age. This is the first time in modern times we've ever seen over 90% of Americans agree on anything. Even more, over 93% of people want the privacy regulation to stop companies from selling their personal data.



A privacy score is overwhelmingly desired by consumers.



Nearly 90% of Americans would like to have a privacy score - like a credit score - that gives them insights into how many personal data exposures they have. (PrivacyHawk has a patent pending free Privacy Score offered through its mobile application.)



Consumers place enormous value on their personal data.



More than half of Americans, 54%, would NEVER sell their personal data for any price. Of those willing to sell their data, 62% value it at over $1,000, with 17.5% valuing their personal data at over $10,000! That means of the 44% that were willing to sell their personal data, they value it in aggregate at $630 billion! Americans REALLY value their personal data. Democrats were 50% more likely to sell their personal data than Republicans and independents. This was the only significant difference by political party in the entire survey. However, the average person's data can be purchased for under a dollar. So, there is a several order of magnitude difference between what consumers think their data is worth and what it is actually worth on the open market. People under the age of 55 were 70% more likely to be willing to sell their personal data than the older demographic.



Americans are deeply concerned about an AI dystopia.



Approximately 72% of Americans are very concerned about the potential misuse of their personal data by AI systems in a dystopian future. Over 80% of people are unsure or not confident they'll have control over use of their personal data by dystopian AI technologies. Over 77% of Americans are concerned that AI could be used to deep fake their voice or face to commit fraud if it had access to their personal data. Over 80% of the population believe the growth of AI technologies has increased the likelihood that their personal data will be used by malicious actors, such as criminals or hacking groups. Nearly 70% are concerned about adversarial nations gaining access to their data for use in disinformation or other geopolitical efforts. The full survey results are available to the media upon request. Methodology and data This survey was conducted in August 2023 by Propeller Insights, an independent market research firm; commissioned and designed by PrivacyHawk. The survey consisted of 1,002 residents in the United States and weighted for demographic representativeness. The margin of error is +-4% with 95% confidence. About PrivacyHawk PrivacyHawk, a Los Angeles based technology company, is pioneering the personal data category. Their flagship product is a mobile and web application that gives consumers the ability to identify and reduce their digital footprint, thereby protecting their personal data from fraud, scams, and hacks. Users can easily get themselves deleted from thousands of corporate and data broker databases with the touch of a button. PrivacyHawk also innovated with the first-of-its-kind, patent pending Privacy Score, which is like a credit score, but for your personal data. The app is available to download in Google Play and Apple App Store. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822244117/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Betacom Selected as One of the First Wireless Service Providers for VMware Private Mobile Network Tweet

Private wireless pioneer Betacom today announced it has been selected by VMware as one of three inaugural wireless service provider partners to deploy and manage VMware Private Mobile Networks. Aimed at accelerating digital transformation at the edge, VMware, which today announced its latest edge initiatives at VMware Explore 2023 Las Vegas, tapped Betacom to help enterprises reduce the complexity associated with private mobile networks. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822851784/en/ Betacom today announced it has been selected by VMware as one of three inaugural wireless service provider partners to deploy and manage VMware Private Mobile Networks. (Graphic: Business Wire) "Betacom is an ideal provider partner for VMware's edge focused innovations and initiatives," said Saadat Malik, Vice President, VMware Edge Computing. "With their dedication to security, performance, and simplicity, together we can help our customers advance their business and operational goals to not only embrace the Industrial Internet of Things but to do it efficiently and effectively and without additional resources." Betacom will seamlessly integrate VMware's Private Mobile Network offering built on Edge Compute Stack int its existing private network managed service offering 5G as a Service (5GaaS), enabling rapid deployment and effortless management and orchestration of private wireless networks for enterprise clients. Betacom 5GaaS, the industry's first fully-managed, end-to-end private wireless service, safeguards data by isolating traffic and keeping company data behind the enterprise firewall, by implementing Zero Trust design principles and Betacom AirGap Protection that features a combination of traffic segregation, 3GPP tunneling, encryption and granular access controls. Betacom delivers 24x7, 365 days a year network management from its cloud-based Security and Service Operations Center (SSOC).



The new VMware Edge Compute Stack can support multiple use cases at the edge including deployments in the manufacturing, retail, campus and healthcare sectors for a wide variety of applications. For manufacturing customers, the solution supports software-defined manufacturing, predictive maintenance, inventory management, safety and security. For healthcare customers, it provides support for IoT wearables, smart utilities and surgical robotics. "We are excited to partner with VMware in support of its latest technology offering, which enables all the edge functions necessary to facilitate Industry 4.0," said Johan Bjorklund, CEO of Betacom. "Clients are looking for high-performance, low-latency solutions that are ideal for optimizing automation, data collection and the Internet of Things, and that is exactly what VMware Private Mobile Networks is designed to deliver through our partnership."

About Betacom Betacom offers the first fully-managed private 5G network service, building on its long history as a wireless infrastructure provider to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, the company has regional offices throughout the country. Having completed more than 800 large-scale design and deployment projects, Betacom inspires confidence among their customers who have worked closely with them to meet their pressing high-performance connectivity needs. Its secure private 5G wireless service is the first managed service of its kind in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.betacom.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. VMware and Explore are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822851784/en/

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[August 22, 2023] ROC.ai Expands R&D Expertise with New Hire Dr. Garrick Brazil Tweet

DENVER, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ROC.ai, the world leader in biometrics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence technologies, is thrilled to announce the addition of Dr. Garrick Brazil to its R&D team. With offices in Denver, Colorado, and Morgantown, West Virginia, ROC.ai is experiencing explosive growth and demand for its products and services. To meet this global demand for emerging A.I. technology, ROC.ai is retaining more top shelf talent. Dr. Brazil joins ROC.ai after having served in numerous prestigious positions at well-respected organizations, including Meta (Facebook), Michigan State University, Bosch, and the Max Planck Institute (MPI). "There were so many positive things that attracted me to join ROC.ai," said Dr. Brazil recently regarding his new position. "I have always been aware of the intellectual curiosity, and high caliber of talent and research at ROC.ai. The culture and trajectory of the company was really enticing. That powerful combination is hard to find these days." Dr. Brazil completed a PhD from Michigan State University as part of the Computer Vision Lab, with a focus on vision for self-driving cars. While completing his PhD, he was advised by Xiaoming Liu, the Anil K. and Nandita Jain Endowed Professor of Engineering and MSU Foundation Professor. Professor Liu is an internationally renowned CV/ML scientist and researcher. Dr. Brazil earned his bachelor's degree in computer science at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Brendan Klare, ROC's co-founder and Chief Scientist, warmly welcomed Dr. Brazil by stating, "We were extremely pleased when Dr. Brazil joined the team. His research interests, stellar pedigree, and excitement for the field of computer vision bring a high level of enthusiasm to our R&D tea. We're lucky to have him."



Dr. Brazil's research interests are in computer vision and machine learning, especially in scene understanding, in 2D or 3D, and self-supervised learning. He has collaborated and open sourced nearly a dozen research projects in the space of 2D-3D scene understanding. He most recently worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab at Meta (Facebook). FAIR's computer vision research term has arguably been the most impactful CV/ML research group over the last five to ten years. He recently released a general 3D object detection framework called Omni3D (https://github.com/facebookresearch/omni3d) which includes a 3D object detection dataset (Omni3D) and baseline algorithm (Cube R-CNN). This past year at ROC.ai has been a strong one for hiring and retaining top talent. Earlier this year in February, Tony Brown joined the team as Chief Operating Officer and just last month in July, Benji Hutchinson joined as Chief Revenue Officer.

"Having only been with ROC.ai for about one month, I'm overjoyed that our company can attract such top talent," said Mr. Hutchinson. "The excitement is infectious. It's great to see Brendan's leadership with the research. He's already built an amazingly talented team, and Scott Swann, our CEO, is adding rocket fuel to grow around our steady foundation." About ROC AI  Rank One Computing is a world leader in accurate and efficient face recognition (FR), fingerprint, and object recognition built on AI/ML computer vision. We are the most trusted provider of AI/ML biometric matchers to the U.S. Military, Law Enforcement, Fintech, and Commercial organizations. We are employee-owned, ethics driven, and 100% Made in America. Our AI/ML computer vision algorithms lead the industry in security, accuracy, and speed as proven in NIST government testing, tactical military applications, and hundreds of millions of identity proofing transactions. Our company has offices in Denver, Colorado and Morgantown, West Virginia. Media contact:

Jessica Sell, Vice President of Congressional Affairs & Community Outreach

[email protected]

949-874-2347 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rocai-expands-rd-expertise-with-new-hire-dr-garrick-brazil-301906768.html SOURCE Rank One Computing

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[August 22, 2023] BurstIQ and EY Team Up to Support Colorado's Medicaid Enterprise Solutions (CMES) Modernization Tweet

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BurstIQ and its system integrator partner Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) have been selected by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) to support Colorado's Medicaid Enterprise Solutions (CMES) modernization. Under the multi-year contract, BurstIQ and EY will implement an Enterprise Solutions Integration (ESI) platform that increases security, flexibility, and intelligence while simplifying data exchange across the enterprise. EY's cloud-based ESI platform incorporates BurstIQ's LifeGraph data management platform to provide a graph-structured Operational Data Store (ODS), Master Data Management (MDM), data integrity, blockchain security, consent management, and more. "BurstIQ and EY's next-gen approach to CMES modernization will provide Colorado with a flexible platform that solves HCPF's complex data exchange and quality needs," said Frank Ricotta, CEO of BurstIQ. "LifeGraph positions the agency to strengthen data security and privacy, manage large-scale data sharing and interoperability, create a unified source of truth, and build next-generation data and integration solutions that will improve the quality and cost of care for Colorado's most vulnerable populations." The ESI platform offered by EY and BurstIQ reduces the complexity of modularity for Colorado's Medicaid Enterprise Solutions, replacing "spaghetti networks" with a simple API interface that coordinates and orchestrates all aspects of the CMES, including granular data access, auditing & reporting, data governance, and data integrity. It builds greater trust with Medicaid members and enables a depth of operational intelligence that is unmatched by other data management systems. It is the most advanced enterprise solution integration patform on the market today.



"A successful Medicaid modularity program doesn't just meet Federal standards set by CMS, it also facilitates secure data exchange to meet the ever-evolving needs of state Medicaid agencies," says Suzanne Vitale, Principal, US State, Local & Education Markets, EY. "The Colorado HCPF has a history of Medicaid module innovation, and they have made Enterprise Solutions Integration central to their modernization strategy. EY is proud to bring leading-edge technology, deep Medicaid experience, and transformation expertise to this important project." To learn more about the ESI solution offered by EY and BurstIQ, please contact Henk Keukenkamp at [email protected].

About BurstIQ

BurstIQ's LifeGraph platform empowers organizations to connect and derive meaningful insights from any data source, enabling powerful business intelligence, hyper-personalized experiences, and accelerated innovation. With the most private, secure, and trustworthy data management platform available, you can build a connected, continuously learning data ecosystem that helps you reduce costs, save time, improve outcomes  and build your future enterprise today. About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets. Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform, and operate. Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited operating in the US. Media contact:

Leanne Johnson

[email protected]

3035880517 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/burstiq-and-ey-team-up-to-support-colorados-medicaid-enterprise-solutions-cmes-modernization-301906769.html SOURCE BurstIQ

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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock indirectly expressed support for the transfer of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. She said that Berlin "considers all the wishes" of Kyiv, and that Russia's full-scale invasion shows that "every day counts".

ADVERTISIMENT

The German foreign minister said this at a joint press conference with Senegalese Foreign Minister Aissata Tal Sal in the German capital, answering a journalist's question about Taurus. Deutsche Welle quoted Baerbock as saying.

"Over the past year and a half, we have seen not just clearly, but in the most ruthless way that every day counts," the minister said.

She noted that every day the cruelty of Russia's war against Ukraine becomes apparent again. "And over the past year and a half, we have seen how important our military support is to Ukraine's defence," Baerbock said.

She welcomed the decision of Denmark and the Netherlands to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with F-16 fighter jets. According to the German foreign minister, this is "a good day for Ukraine" and therefore "a good day for Europe".

ADVERTISIMENT

"From this point of view, we consider all the wishes of Ukraine to continue to protect people. Every day counts," the minister said.

The journalists added that the provision of Taurus for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Berlin remains an open question.

On 21 August, German cabinet spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that there had been no changes in Germany's position on the Taurus.

He added that Germany is the second largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.

Taurus subsonic air-to-ground cruise missiles can hit targets at a distance of up to 500 km. They are designed for high-precision strikes and destruction of highly defended enemy air defence targets.

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As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, on 14 August, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner supported the provision of Taurus missiles to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv. He expressed hope that our army would soon receive these weapons.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
[August 22, 2023] "From Break-Ins to Breakthroughs" Case Study Published by AITX's Subsidiary Robotic Assistance Devices Tweet

How a Multiple RAD ROSA System Reshaped an HOA Communitys Security

Detroit, Michigan, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc., (the Company) ( OTCPK:AITX ), a global leader in AI-driven security and productivity solutions along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), today published a case study reviewing the overwhelmingly positive results from the successful deployment of multiple ROSA security robots at a multi-family community in San Jose, California. The case study titled "From Break-Ins to Breakthroughs: How a Multiple RAD ROSA System Reshaped an HOA Communitys Security" highlights the transformation of Westside Manor Homeowners Association from a vulnerable community plagued by often dangerous break-ins to a secure environment through the adoption of RADs innovative security technology. Struggling with limited funds and frustrated with previously ineffective measures, the HOA partnered with EPIC Security Works, a RAD authorized dealer, to deploy multiple ROSA devices equipped with AI analytics, lights, audio, and visual messaging. This innovative approach led to a significant reduction in break-ins, effectively transforming the community's security landscape. This case study summarizes the detailed and coordinated efforts that RAD, its dealers, remote monitoring partners, property managers and end users perform as we successfully disrupt the security and #proptech marketplaces, said Steve Reinharz, CEO of AITX and RAD. I am so proud of this winning combination where everything and everybody worked together enabling a safe and more secure environment for the communitys residents. The case study can be viewed online at www.radsecurity.com/case-study-westside-manor-hoa/ ROSA is a multiple award-winning, compact, self-contained, portable, security and communication solution that can be deployed in about 15 minutes. Like other RAD solutions, it only requires power as it includes all necessary communications hardware. ROSAs AI-driven security analytics include human, firearm, vehicle detectin, license plate recognition, responsive digital signage and audio messaging, and complete integration with RADs software suite notification and autonomous response library. Two-way communication is optimized for cellular, including live video from ROSAs dual high-resolution, full-color, always-on cameras. RAD has published four Case Studies detailing how ROSA has helped eliminate instances of theft, trespassing and loitering at multi-family communities, car rental locations and construction sites across the country.



AITX, through its subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), is redefining the $25 billion (US) security and guarding services industry through its broad lineup of innovative, AI-driven Solutions-as-a-Service business model. RAD solutions are specifically designed to provide cost savings to businesses of between 35%-80% when compared to the industrys existing and costly manned security guarding and monitoring model. RAD delivers these tremendous cost savings via a suite of stationary and mobile robotic solutions that complement, and at times, directly replace the need for human personnel in environments better suited for machines. All RAD technologies, AI-based analytics and software platforms are developed in-house. RAD has a prospective sales pipeline of over 35 Fortune 500 companies and numerous other client opportunities. RAD expects to continue to attract new business as it converts its existing sales opportunities into deployed clients generating a recurring revenue stream. Each Fortune 500 client has the potential of making numerous reorders over time.

About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (AITX)

AITX is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, AITXs RAD, RAD-M and RAD-G companies help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI, and strengthen business. AITX technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staff and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. AITX solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.aitx.ai, www.radsecurity.com , www.stevereinharz.com, www.radgroup.ai, www.raddog.ai, and www.radlightmyway.com, or follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter @SteveReinharz . CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained in this publication does not constitute an offer to sell or solicit an offer to buy securities of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (the Company). This publication contains forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance and may involve subjective judgment and analysis. As such, there are no assurances that the Company will meet its expectations with respect to its future sales volume or becoming cash flow positive. The information provided herein is believed to be accurate and reliable, however the Company makes no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. The Company has no obligation to provide the recipient with additional updated information. No information in this publication should be interpreted as any indication whatsoever of the Companys future revenues, results of operations, or stock price. ### Steve Reinharz

949-636-7060

@SteveReinharz





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[August 22, 2023] Crunchtime's Ops Summit Set to Be Biggest Customer Event in its History Tweet

BOSTON, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crunchtimes annual customer conference, Ops Summit , is on pace to be the largest customer event in the companys history. The two-day event is scheduled for October 4-5, 2023 at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, and is expected to attract almost 50% more restaurant and foodservice industry professionals than past Crunchtime conferences.

The global conference will focus on helping Crunchtime customers achieve operational excellence with eight general sessions featuring Crunchtime leadership, customers, product strategy leads, and industry experts. In addition, five breakout tracks will provide a deep dive on topics of interest to specific attendees including inventory management, labor and scheduling, operations execution, and learning and development. Understanding that the best learning opportunities for customers come from their peers, Ops Summit organizers prioritized customer speakers on its agenda. Confirmed customer presenters and panelists so far include: George Anthony, System Administrator, Five Guys

Colby Baird, Director of Ops Excellence, Cotton Patch Cafe

Roger Casias, Operations Services Manager, Whataburger

Brian Deeth, Area Director of NewEngland, Jersey Mikes

Mary Margaret Dent, eLearning Manager, Pappas Restaurants

Art Kilmer, Chief Operating Officer, P.F. Changs

Jason Lechner, Director of Training and Development, Pizza Ranch

Kevin Loughran, Field Training and Development Specialist, Jersey Mikes

Mary Lowe, Senior Director of Training, Millers Ale House

Michele Marchlewski, Senior Manager of Restaurant Operations, Whataburger

Michael Matos, Senior Director of Ops Services, SPB Hospitality

Peter McDonough, Senior Product ManagerBack Office, Dunkin

Dennis ONeil, Senior Training Systems Specialist/Instructional Writer, Texas Roadhouse

Kendra Power, Vice President of Training & Development, Bottleneck Management

Jared Schenkel, Director of Ops Systems & Financials, Shake Shack

Bill Story, Vice President of Training, Landrys

Kim Tijerina, Food Systems Business Analyst, Cracker Barrel

Amanda Vrabel, Manager of Business Management System, Jersey Mikes



https://opssummit.crunchtime.com/ . About Crunchtime:

Crunchtime is how the worlds top restaurant brands achieve ops excellence in every location. Our software is used in over 125,000 locations in 100+ countries to manage inventory, staff scheduling, learning and development, food safety, operational tasks, and audits. Crunchtime enables customers including Chipotle, Dominos, Dunkin, Five Guys, Jersey Mike's, and P.F. Chang's to control food and labor costs, and deliver great experiences. For more information, visit crunchtime.com .

Media Contact:

Cindy Poulos

Vice President of Marketing Communications

[email protected]



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[August 22, 2023] Genetec opens new office and state of the art Experience Center in Washington, D.C. Tweet

MONTREAL, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genetec Inc. (Genetec), a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions today announced the opening of a new office and state-of-the-art experience center in Washington, D.C. Named DCXC, the experience center showcases innovative solutions from Genetec and its large ecosystem of industry-leading technology partners. The on-site Technology Center operates as a fully functioning Security Operation Center (SOC), providing an immersive experience for customers in any industry to see how Genetec solutions can directly enhance their security and operations. Other features include a Learning Center for training, partner meeting spaces, and office space for the fast-growing Genetec US-based team. We look forward to welcoming channel partners, technology partners, and end users to our flagship Experience Center in the US. From the meticulous attention to detail to the full ecosystem of advanced technology, DCXC encompasses our renowned reputation for excellence and innovation, said Kyle Hurt, Area Vice President for US and Canada. Visitors can explore our solutions and collaborate with our on-site team to discover how Genetec best meets their security and operational goals. DCXC is the latest addition to the companys existing venues in Montreal, Paris, London, Mexico City, and Singapore. Each Experience Center is custom designed by award-winning architects from for. design planning. The beautifu design of the twenty-fifth floor DCXC is accentuated by a 180-degree view of the D.C. skyline overlooking the Potomac River.



With the opening of our experience center in this strategic location, were continuing to expand our global footprint to give our channel partners, technology partners, and end users an opportunity to experience first-hand the innovative technology and solutions that Genetec has to offer, said Michel Chalouhi, VP of Global Sales, Genetec Inc. Our global experience centers are designed to give visitors a glimpse of the unique innovation that has set Genetec apart for more than a quarter of a century. With over 2,000 employees located in 18 offices across 4 continents, Genetec is continually expanding to accommodate dynamic annual growth. In 2022, the company grew its headcount by 17% with additional new positions now available in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

For more information on DCXC, visit http://www.genetec.com/a/dcxc. About Genetec

Genetec Inc. is a global technology company that has been transforming the physical security industry for over 25 years. Today, the company develops solutions designed to improve security, intelligence, and operations for enterprises, governments, and the communities in which we live. Its flagship product, Security Center, is an open-architecture platform that unifies IP-based video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), communications, and analytics. Founded in 1997, and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Genetec serves its customers via an extensive network of certified channel partners and consultants in over 159 countries. For more information about Genetec, visit: https://www.genetec.com  Genetec Inc., 2023. Genetec, and the Genetec logo are trademarks of Genetec Inc. and may be registered or pending registration in several jurisdictions. Other trademarks used in this document may be trademarks of the manufacturers or vendors of the respective product. Press Contacts: North America

Veronique Froment

HighRez

Tel: +1 603.537.9248 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/388bda9a-3522-4afc-8cd9-791957b9ad5c

[email protected]

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[August 22, 2023] Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone Partners with Zulily to Take Stress Off Mom's Plate Tweet

Online retailer helps moms reduce the pressure of back-to-school meal planning with quick, healthy, budget-friendly recipes and meal prep tips SEATTLE, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- While the new school year is exciting for kids, it's a stressful time for moms, who grapple with never-ending to-do lists and tightened household budgets as grocery prices reach the steepest rates in decades. As many moms rush to wrap up their back-to-school shopping, online retailer Zulily has partnered with Curtis Stone, a Michelin-starred restauranteur, television personality and dad of two, to create easy, affordable and nutritious recipes for kids of all ages designed to help moms reduce pressure and back-to-school to-do lists. Moms' to-do lists aren't complete when the bell rings on the first day of school. With the new school year comes a jam-packed schedule of parent-teacher conferences, after-school activities, and more. To top it off, grocery prices have risen 6.7% from May 2022 to May 2023, according to the consumer price index (CPI) report1  and they're projected to keep rising. Couple these rising food prices with kids' rapid growth spurts, and the pressure is on for moms to keep up with their kids' healthy appetites while maximizing time and savings. "The back-to-school season puts a lot of pressure on moms' wallets, especially at the grocery store, where food prices are increasing," said Denise Jaeschke, Chief Marketing Officer at Zulily. "Both Zulily and Curtis understand the need for easy, budget-minded recipes that take the stress out of cooking and provide kids with the nutrients needed to grow, whether they're off to school or cooking from their dorm rooms." To help moms win throughout the back-to-school season, Stone has curated nine recipes for kids of all ages, spanning nutritious meals for grade schoolers and teenagers, to dorm room-friendly dishes for college freshmen. Each recipe costs less than $30 for all ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes or less. Stone's recipes include $25 Pizza with Tomato Sunset for picky grade schoolers, $15 5-Veggie 3-Bean Chili for teenagers with endless appetites, and $30 Dorm-Made Mushroom Ramen for college-bound first-time cooks. Stone has also curated his must-have kitchen tools and accessories to make back-to-school and college meal prep faster and easier, from multi-functional food storage containers to space saving dorm essentials like a mini rice cooker.



"As a father and professional chef, coming up with easy, inexpensive and delicious recipes that help fuel kids' growth and development is very important to me," said Stone. "I know first-hand how quickly kids grow and the stress that comes with planning meals for bigger appetites, so I was excited to team up with Zulily to come up with stress-free recipes and tips for saving time and effort in the kitchen  so parents can have fun meal planning without sacrificing nutritional value and flavor." Moms can shop Stone's cooking essentials and more at www.zulily.com  or check out Zulily's annual Back-to-School Shop, which offers up to 65% off beloved top brands. For more information about Stone's recipes, meal prep tips, and back-to-school kitchen essentials, visit Zulily's The Find.

1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index Summary, (2023) About Zulily

Zulily is an online retailer on a mission to revolutionize discount shopping. Zulily's unique no-frills business model allows it to pass incredible savings directly to customers. With limited-time daily deals on name brands and emerging labels, year-round budget-friendly finds, and amazing markdowns on shoes, toys, home goods and clothing for the whole family, Zulily helps shoppers find affordable items they love without the hassle of sifting through countless racks. Zulily is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with locations in Nevada, Ohio, and China. For more information visit, www.zulily.com or follow @Zulily on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest or Twitter. For vendors interested in selling on Zulily, visit www.sell.zulily.com. Zulily, LLC is owned by Regent, L.P., a global investment firm focused on acquiring businesses and deploying its strategic and operational expertise to fuel growth and innovation. Regent's portfolio includes companies in the industrial, retail, media and technology sectors across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Since its inception, Regent has acquired businesses from leading Fortune 500 and large-cap companies including Caterpillar, Arcelor Mittal, eBay, Ralph Lauren, Hanes Brands, Tegna, L Brands and Hain Celestial among others. More information is available at www.regentlp.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrity-chef-curtis-stone-partners-with-zulily-to-take-stress-off-moms-plate-301906302.html SOURCE Zulily

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[August 22, 2023] Ovation Healthcare Expands Technology Services with 3D Technology Merger Tweet

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ovation Healthcare, a premier provider of shared services to independent hospitals and health systems nationwide, today announced a merger with 3D Technology, a national, healthcare-focused technology provider of professional and managed services. 3D Technology's deep understanding of healthcare operations and expertise in technology solutions has led to an improved patient care experience and provider-patient relationships, healthier community populations, and drastically reduced cost of care. 3D's proprietary technology identifies and resolves workflow and user experience issues before they occur, proactively eliminating disruptions for providers. "The addition of 3D Technology's expansive solutions will be transformational for independent hospitals and health systems," said Ovation Healthcare CEO Dr. Dwayne Gunter. "Given the increased need for efficiency in the clinical environment, 3D's expertise, proactive rounding, and predictive solutions are particularly valuable." Ovation Healthcare is focused on strengthening independent community healthcare by improving organizational performance. Through a portfolio of tech-enabled shared services, Ovation Healthcare helps independent hospitals outperform their peers in financial, operational, and quality metrics through leverage and economies of scale. 3D Technology's robust combination of customer service and technology solutions are a critical additio and will help hospitals better utilize resources, improve clinical efficiencies, reduce operating costs and risk, expand access to care, and enhance the patient experience.



"We've created a technology organization with resources and a broad range of capabilities to provide innovative solutions and eliminate barriers," said 3D Technology CEO Chris Martinez. "We look forward to working with the Ovation Healthcare team to seamlessly bring our companies together and to create meaningful value for our collective clients." The merge adds technology consulting, analytics, network and infrastructure engineering, new construction, hardware installation, application aliasing, and technology refresh and relocation services to the Ovation Healthcare portfolio.

For more information about Ovation Healthcare's suite of tech-enabled shared services, visit OvationHC.com. About Ovation Healthcare Headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., Ovation Healthcare is partnered with 375+ clients in 47 states from critical access hospitals to large health systems. For 45 years, Ovation Healthcare has supported nonprofit, independent healthcare through a portfolio of shared services  Octave Leadership Advisory Services, Elevate Supply and Expense Management Solutions, Amplify Revenue Cycle Management, and Cadence Clinical Services  designed to provide scale and efficiency to hospital business operations. To learn how, visit OvationHC.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. About 3D Technology Offering a portfolio of comprehensive and unique IT services and tools, 3D Technology seeks to deliver creative solutions by leveraging the talents of our greatest asset  our employees. With a spirit of collaborative thinking, flexibility, and agile decision making, we create value for clients by delivering efficiencies that make technology work better. Our commitment to excellence runs parallel with our performance-driven culture that promotes honesty and integrity as guiding principles in developing long-term strategic partnerships. To learn more about 3D Technology's offerings, visit 3-DTechnology.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ovation-healthcare-expands-technology-services-with-3d-technology-merger-301906034.html SOURCE Ovation Healthcare

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[August 22, 2023] Kestra Private Wealth Services Expands California Presence by Onboarding $124 Million Thriving Asset Management Tweet

Kestra Private Wealth Services (Kestra PWS), a registered investment adviser subsidiary of Kestra Financial, Inc., today announced the addition of Thriving Asset Management to its platform. Based in Palo Alto, California, Thriving Asset Management is founded and led by CEO and Senior Portfolio Manager David Maigret, who oversees $124 million in client assets. The firm specializes in managing clients' investable assets, as well as helping them plan for life milestones such as liquidity events, retirement, and estate planning. Maigret is joined by Senior Sales Associate, Robert Solis, and his wife, Senior Operations Manager, Erika Maigret. After spending 21 years building his book of business out of Half Moon Bay, California, within a larger financial services company, Maigret decided to launch his own practice with Kestra PWS because of the platform's national presence and flexible model. By going independent through Kestra PWS, Thriving Asset Management now has access to a full-service support model that also includes technology solutions offered via Kestra's ecosystem of firms, enabling Maigret to set up a new office location in Palo Alto to better serve existing and prospective clients. "We are now a local company with a coast-to-coast rech, thanks to our partnership with Kestra PWS," said Maigret. "In my previous role, I was unable to benefit from the latest wealth management technologies. Now, as an independent investment advisor, I can leverage cutting-edge tech from nearby Silicon Valley as well as Kestra PWS to give my clients a sense of assurance, calmness, and stability about their portfolios."



Maigret credits his decision to join Kestra PWS to meeting with Senior Managing Director and CEO Rob Bartenstein, Senior Managing Director and COO Scott Wilson, and the rest of the Kestra team, noting their helpfulness, enthusiasm, direct communication style, and openness to feedback attracted him to the firm. "Our ongoing mission is to empower skilled financial professionals with the resources they need to excel as independent entrepreneurs," stated Bartenstein. "David and I realized the commonality of our shared backgrounds, both coming from military families and having served myself, I knew our values overlap. Those shared values paired with our collaborative culture and comprehensive support leave us confident that David and his team will grow their client base and become a financial cornerstone of the Silicon Valley community."

About Kestra Private Wealth Services Kestra Private Wealth Services, LLC (Kestra PWS) is a hybrid registered investment adviser (RIA) supporting fee- and transaction-based independent financial professional teams across the nation. Kestra PWS was established by wirehouse veterans with the express purpose of enabling former wirehouse financial professionals to achieve independence and growth. The firm's platform is composed of its independent RIA in association with Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS) as broker-dealer in order to provide its financial professionals with an open-architecture platform and independence across both fee- and transaction-based business models. Kestra PWS has helped more than 125 financial professionals and more than 50 single- and multi-team offices across the country find independence with their full-service support model. For more information, visit www.kestrafinancial.com/private-wealth-services. Kestra Financial, Inc. (Kestra Financial) provides a leading independent advisor platform that empowers sophisticated, independent financial professionals, including traditional and hybrid RIAs, to prosper, grow, and provide superior client service. With a culture rich in reinvention and advisor advocacy, Kestra Financial has developed integrated business management technology that, combined with its personalized consulting services, offers exceptional scale and efficiency. Kestra Financial is the parent company of Kestra IS, member FINRA/SIPC, and also of Kestra Advisory Services, LLC; Kestra PWS; and Kestra Institutional Services, LLC, all federally registered investment advisers. The professionals at Thriving Asset Management offer securities through Kestra IS, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra PWS. Thriving Asset Management is a member firm of Kestra PWS, an affiliate of Kestra IS. Thriving Asset Management is not legally affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra PWS. For more information, visit www.kestrafinancial.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822698449/en/

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[August 22, 2023] VC3 Completes Acquisition of Wellteck IT, Texas-based Information Technology Services Provider Tweet

VC3, a market-leading managed service provider serving municipalities, financial services organizations, and commercial businesses across the country, announced today the acquisition of Wellteck IT, a leading provider of enterprise-quality managed IT services, cybersecurity, and IT consulting in Texas. The addition of this established firm further expands the VC3 solution portfolio to more commercial clients in the Southwestern United States and adds a greater local presence in Texas. Ryan Vestby, VC3's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Wellteck and VC3 share many similar core values, strong synergies between our teams, and an untiring commitment to serving our clients. Better together, our teams collectively offer a great depth and breadth of knowledge in managed services, cybersecurity, cloud, compliance, data backup, disaster recovery, and strategic IT planning. Wellteck's strong local presence in Texas strengthens VC3's North American presence across 34 states and 8 Canadian provinces. This partnership, coupled with our decades of experience, allows us to continue serving clients of all sizes and industries in Texas and throughout North America." Dylan Todd, Chief Executive Officer of Wellteck, said, "I'm very blessed and honored to have been givn the opportunity to start, run, and build Wellteck since January 2014. With VC3's partnership, Wellteck's dedicated team members now have more room and a higher ceiling under which to grow. And, with a bigger team and more competencies, we can deliver a better and more refined experience for our clients. I'm excited about the continuing evolution of Wellteck's team and clients under VC3."



Vestby added, "I look forward to working with Wellteck's team to further our missions of providing the best service possible for our clients. The future holds only excitement and opportunity for our two teams." About Wellteck IT

Wellteck IT helps businesses achieve their goals by keeping their technology infrastructure running smoothly and securely. They support nearly 100 small and medium sized businesses with more than 1,600 managed devices. Based in Midland, Texas, Wellteck IT provides IT support for businesses throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. About VC3 VC3 is a managed IT and cybersecurity services provider serving municipalities, financial services organizations, and businesses throughout North America. Organizations come to us for help navigating the technology journey, and to get the expertise they need to manage cyber risks and IT infrastructure. Over 1,100 municipalities and 700 businesses rely on VC3's cybersecurity expertise, sector-specific focus, ability to grow with our clients, and relentless automation to manage, protect, and accelerate their organization's technology. We can become your IT department, work alongside your internal IT team to make them more successful, or help you with specialized needs such as cloud hosting, data backup, or application development. Visit www.vc3.com to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822444358/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Sonny Patel Joins Socotra as Chief Product and Technology Officer, Bringing Decades of Fortune 500 Experience Tweet

Socotra, the leading provider of modern, cloud-based technology for insurers worldwide, announced today that Sonny Patel has joined the company in the role of Chief Product and Technology Officer. She will be responsible for leading the company's Product and Engineering teams alongside Product Architect Matt Hamilton, who leads Socotra's platform strategy and product design. "The insurance industry is changing rapidly in response to consumer expectations, and meeting those needs means having the technological tools to respond quickly - or to anticipate coming trends and prepare for them before your competitors do," said Patel. "To move forward, insurers need a technology partner that can give them the tools they need - in the cloud - and access to the growing ecosystem of specialized insurtechs, via open APIs, that will let them continue to add value over time," she continued. "I'm confident that Socotra is the best choice for any insurer looking to stay relevant and competitive in today's marketplace and beyond, and I'm proud to be a part of this amazing team." "Socotra's technlogy empowers insurers to meet the evolving needs of customers whose expectations have been set in the information age. Sonny Patel is an outstanding and proven leader; she brings business intuition, product vision, and technology depth," said Dan Woods, CEO of Socotra. "Our bold mission deserves a great leadership team, and we're excited to welcome her as its newest addition."



Patel is a recognized thought leader in AI, with over 20 years of experience building and launching products at Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Microsoft, and Amazon. She holds an MBA in Strategy & Entrepreneurship from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and a Master's degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University. About Socotra

Uniquely agile and scalable, Socotra empowers insurers of all sizes to think, act, and grow more effectively and efficiently with the industry's only proven, modern enterprise platform. Businesses running Socotra experience fast and easy implementations, effortless upgrades, and lower TCO. The Socotra App MarketPlace unlocks access to the full power of the insurtech ecosystem, and Socotra CorePlus provides ready-to-use, complete solutions for personal auto and homeowners. With a relentless focus on tomorrow, Socotra offers the ability to put insurance and innovation hand in hand. Socotra serves P&C and life insurers worldwide. Learn more at socotra.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822112505/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Virtual Interactive Technologies Corp. is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Creamer to its Board of Directors. Tweet

Mr. Creamer, the Companys Chief Financial Officer, brings additional public company experience to the companys Board of Directors.

Denver, Colorado, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virtual Interactive Technologies Corp., (OTC: VRVR) ("VRVR" or the "Company"), an American multi-platform video gaming developer and publisher, is pleased to announce the addition of Mr. Jim Creamer to its newly expanded Board of Directors. Mr. Creamer currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Virtual Interactive Technologies. Mr. Creamer also served as Chief Financial Officer and Director of WestMountain Gold, Inc., a publicly traded gold mining company in Alaska. Mr. Creamer was the Chief Financial Officer for CapTerra Financial Group, Inc. and served in that capacity for approximately five years before he was named CapTerras President and Chief Executive Officer and served in that position until CapTerras acquisition by NexCore Healthcare Capital Corp. Mr. Creamer received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Arizona State University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. The Company is pleased to add someone with Mr. Creamers experience in the public markets to its Board of Directors. This helps strengthen the Companys commitment in regard to transparency and corporate governance for our shareholders and th public markets in general.



About Virtual Interactive Technologies Corp. Virtual Interactives Technologies Corp. (www.vrvrcorp.com) is a Denver, Colorado based video game production, publishing, and technology company. The company currently has a portfolio of five video game titles which include: Carmageddon MaxDamage, Carmageddon Crashers, Interplanetary Enhanced Edition, Worbital, and Catch & Release VR. The Company finances the development of video game projects to be release on various popular gaming platforms which include mobile gaming, virtual reality, PC, console and other new and emerging gaming technologies. We look to team with existing game developers as well as offering our own expertise in development solutions, publishing, and marketing video game products. We are constantly engaged in finding ways to reinvest our royalty income streams into further growing our royalty contracts and intellectual property in the video gaming industry.

For Additional Information:

Investor Relations [email protected] Safe Harbor Statement / Forward-Looking Statements Statements included in this press release, which are not historical in nature, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements relating to the future performance of the Company are subject to many factors including, but not limited to, the customer acceptance of the products in the market, the introduction of competitive products and product development, the impact of any product liability or other adverse litigation, working capital and availability of capital, commercialization and technological difficulties, the impact of actions and events involving key customers, vendors, lenders, competitors, and other risks. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the terms "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "may", "objective", "plan", "possible", "potential", "project", "will", and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information, or otherwise. Source: Virtual Interactive Technologies Corp.



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[August 22, 2023] Howdy.com Acquires Brazilian Talent Marketplace, GeekHunter, As Demand for AI Engineers Increases Tweet

Company anticipates combined revenue of $35 million in 2024 AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Howdy.com, a talent sourcing and management provider that connects U.S. companies with Latin American (LATAM) tech workers, today announced the acquisition of GeekHunter , one of the largest and most reputable talent marketplaces for companies to hire developers from Brazil. As a result of the acquisition, GeekHunter will operate as a subsidiary of Howdy.com, increasing the number and quality of talented software developers U.S. companies can remotely hire from LATAM to build scalable engineering teams. The acquisition comes at a time when both companies have experienced an increased demand for AI and machine learning skills and it marks Howdy.com as one of the largest tech-hiring service providers for companies in North and South America. GeekHunter, which finds, hires, and pays Brazilian tech talent, adds nearly 400,000 registered candidates to Howdy.com's services. Team members from both companies cover more than 100 engineering skills, including AI development, Android, Angular, Data Engineering, DevOps, GoLang, Java, Kotlin, Node.js, Python, Ruby on Rails, and much more. The influx of talent allows both companies to provide customers with more hiring choices in egards to skills, costs, location, and culture-fit.



"Companies looking to hire qualified, exceptional engineers for their teams now have one of the largest collections of talent to choose from," said Jacqueline Samira, CEO and founder of Howdy.com. "LATAM has proven to have some of the most reliable and technically-sound software engineers in the world because of the quality of education, proficiency in English, and alignment with U.S. time zones. The acquisition of GeekHunter is a pivotal step in powering business growth and creating more opportunity for our businesses and customers." GeekHunter is one of the leaders in recruiting and hiring top technology talent within Brazil and has more than 13,000 companies registered on its platform. The company performed exceptionally well during the pandemic and recent economic downturn, displaying the resilience of its business model and leadership. Brazilian tech talent is among the top in the world , with its data science and technology sectors ranking in the 99th and 87th percentiles, respectively. Acquiring GeekHunter means Howdy.com will be able to continue to provide U.S. companies with team members that meet both technical and professional requirements.

"The combination of our two companies creates a product that benefits not only customers, but also its team by handling all of the behind-the-scenes activities needed to hire the right person for the right job and support their long-term growth," said Tomas Ferrari, CEO and co-founder of GeekHunter. "Howdy.com's global reach and human-focused business model will provide customers with more hiring options to fit their business needs and give our team more opportunities to work on great projects." Unlike traditional freelancer platforms, Howdy.com takes a human-centric approach when helping companies access superb talent in LATAM. Howdy.com's team members, located in LATAM, are able to work closely with companies in the U.S. because the time zones are closely aligned. The company handles every detail, including sourcing, vetting, payroll, benefits, and logistics, allowing any company to start building a team right away, reducing both the time and risk associated with international hiring. As part of the deal, both brands and executive teams will remain separate and resources will be shared between them to help meet each of their customers' unique needs. Customers include notable names, such as Accenture, Amazon, DISCO, IBM, Truepill, Workrise, and Vanta. The companies anticipate to reach $35 million in revenue by 2024. To learn more about Howdy.com and GeekHunter services, please visit www.howdy.com and www.geekhunter.com . About Howdy.com Howdy.com takes a human-centered approach to find top software engineering talent in Latin America and pairing them with innovative U.S. tech employers. Howdy.com takes care of talent sourcing, payroll, local HR benefits, equipment, and ongoing mentorship to help tech companies build strong long-term engineering teams and foster the engineering community in LATAM. Howdy.com is headquartered in Austin, TX, and has six local offices across Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Medellin, Cordoba, and Santiago. The company has raised $21 million through its Series A funding round led by Obvious Ventures and Greycroft. For more information, visit https://www.howdy.com/for-companies/ . Media Contact:

BAM for Howdy.com

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/howdycom-acquires-brazilian-talent-marketplace-geekhunter-as-demand-for-ai-engineers-increases-301906503.html SOURCE Howdy

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Despite the agreement of some partner countries to transfer Western F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, they will appear in Ukrainian skies no sooner than in six months. Before the Ukrainian military will be able to use these planes, both pilots, technicians and engineers must be trained.

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And how much time it may take, it is difficult to say now, because the systems that hundreds of Ukrainian specialists need to master are quite complex, preliminary training of specialists will take 6-7 months. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov.

The Minister recalled that the "aircraft coalition" was created during the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12. Then 11 partner countries signed an open memorandum. The coalition can be joined by other countries, which can transfer their F-16s to Ukraine after receiving US authorization.

However, the partners' desire to strengthen Ukraine in the skies alone is not enough.

"The key fact is that the airplane itself is just a platform. We have to talk about the weapons, the missiles, the missiles, the shells, the bombs that the F-16s will use. We have to talk about preparing the infrastructure so that we can maintain them and they can perform combat missions. And that means training not only pilots, but engineers, technicians, people who plan operations. "This is a serious set of tasks and it is several hundred people we have to train for the first 'birds' in the Ukrainian sky," Reznikov said.

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How long such training may take is not yet known exactly. Reznikov suggests that the first fighter jets may appear in Ukraine in six months at the earliest.

"So objectively, without inflated expectations, I think that 6-7 months is the minimum term that should be consciously estimated. But if it will be a little bit longer - not to be disappointed, because our pilots have demonstrated their ability to be ready in 6 months. But the technicians and engineers - we don't know yet. Very complex systems of maintenance, repair, so - we will see", - emphasized the Minister.

At the same time, he rather highly estimates the Ukrainians' ability to master even complex Western systems, so he believes that Ukraine will receive the airplanes in the shortest possible time.

"I believe in one thing: our people are so talented that they "overcame" Patriots in 10 weeks instead of 10 months, 155-mm artillery in three weeks instead of three months, so I am convinced that Ukrainian F-16s will be in the Ukrainian skies to liberate the temporarily occupied territories," the defense minister stressed.

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We will remind, on August 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that Ukraine will receive 42 F-16s from this country.

On the same day, during Zelensky's visit to Denmark, it became known that this country volunteered to transfer 19 more such fighters. According to the head of the Danish government, the first airplanes will arrive in Ukraine by the New Year.

The AFU Air Force called the Western fighter jets "the key to success" and emphasized that they could change the course of the war.

Meanwhile, Russia threw a tantrum over the decision to provide Ukraine with dozens of F-16s and started talking about the escalation of the war again.
[August 22, 2023] Goddard Systems Presents 15th Annual Anthony A. Martino Memorial Scholarship to Katie Engels from Piscataway, NJ Tweet

Goddard Systems, LLC, manager of The Goddard School franchise system, the nation's leading premium early childhood education provider, congratulates Katie Engels as the 2023 Anthony A. Martino Memorial Scholarship winner. Now in its 15th year, this $10,000 scholarship is granted annually to a graduating high school senior who successfully completed a Goddard School pre-k or kindergarten program. The recipient must demonstrate the work ethic, perseverance and commitment to the community that exemplifies Anthony A. Martino, the founder of The Goddard School franchise system. Engels is a 2011 kindergarten graduate from The Goddard School of Piscataway. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822243057/en/ Katie Engels from Piscataway, NJ receives the 15th Annual 2023 Anthony A. Martino Memorial Scholarship from Goddard Systems, LLC. (Photo: Business Wire) "Katie's steadfast dedication to helping others truly stood out among all of the superb applications we received and we are thrilled to name her the 2023 Anthony A. Martino Memoral Scholarship recipient," said Dennis R. Maple, Chairman and CEO of Goddard Systems. "Katie is committed to making the world a better place, and on behalf of the entire Goddard community, we are honored to be a part of her educational journey."



Engels, an incoming freshman at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, is focused on helping her community thrive. She works as a lifeguard and swim instructor for children with special needs and volunteers with numerous local organizations. At West Chester, she plans to major in nursing and looks forward to a fulfilling career that will enable her to continue assisting those in need. "At The Goddard School, I learned how to be creative, how to learn and, most importantly, how to be kind to others," said Engels. "I will always cherish the solid foundation of loving support that I received and will use the lessons I learned to care for others in the future. I'm forever grateful that I experienced what Goddard has to offer."

Engels is a 2023 graduate of Piscataway High School. In addition to the work in her community, she is a member of the National Honors Society, World Language National Honors Society and Science National Honors Society. She was also the captain of her school's varsity swimming and gymnastics teams. "When she was here, Katie was a very determined and self-motivated student who knew what she wanted to accomplish," said Laura O'Donnell, owner of The Goddard School of Piscataway. "I remember her kindergarten teacher saying how sweet, caring and determined she is, and I can't wait to see the good she continues to do in this world." For more information about the Goddard School and the Anthony A. Martino Memorial Scholarship, please visit GoddardSchool.com. ABOUT GODDARD SYSTEMS, LLC Established in 1988, Goddard Systems, LLC, is the manager of The Goddard School franchise system. The Goddard School is the acknowledged leader in the premium early childcare and education market segment. Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Goddard Systems has been consistently named one of the top childcare franchises in the United States by Entrepreneur magazine and one of the Top 200 Franchise Systems (in worldwide sales) by Franchise Times. Goddard Systems currently licenses more than 600 Goddard School franchises that serve more than 90,000 students in 37 states and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit goddardschoolfranchise.com. ABOUT THE GODDARD SCHOOL Learning for fun. Learning for life. Children learn best through experience. For 35 years, The Goddard School has employed academically endorsed methods to ensure that children have fun while learning the skills they need for long-term success in school and in life. The distinctive structure positions schools to support the needs of families and helps ensure that children are known and appreciated for their individual talents and personalities. The Goddard School's F.L.EX. Learning Program (Fun Learning Experience) helps children explore and discover their interests in a safe, nurturing environment. And a team of acknowledged experts in various fields of early childhood education guides the course of study. Additionally, this program has earned Cognia Accreditation and Middle States Corporate Accreditation for creating policies, programs and standards that help franchised locations meet high standards in early learning, child development and childcare. The Goddard School serves more than 90,000 students from six weeks to six years old in more than 600 Goddard Schools in 37 states and Washington, D.C. To learn more about The Goddard School, please visit GoddardSchool.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822243057/en/

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Applied Intelligence Live! 2023 Gathers Industry Titans for Crossover Event Featuring AI, Quantum Computing and IoT

Applied Intelligence Live! is the convergence of three conferences - The AI Summit + Quantum Computing Summit + IoT World - into one experience in Austin, Texas September 20 - 21. With a combined 15-year history, this newly unified event puts a spotlight on how emerging technologies impact business, individuals and everyday life by engaging attendees in discussions, demos and real-world connections.

The 'applied intelligence' concept brings together four key disciplines and technologies: data science, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), quantum computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Attendees will get a hands-on take of these technologies, with live demonstrations from cross-industry leaders, showcasing how businesses can improve efficiencies, drive innovations, and ultimately generate ROI through AI, IoT and quantum computing applications.

Currently announced to take the stage are Ahmed El Adl Ph.D, technology thought leader, Dr. Seth Dobrin, distinguished leader in AI and founder and CEO of Qantm AI, Neil Sahota, AI advisor to the United Nations, Ilkin Javadov, ethical hacker, Hugh Forrest, co-president and chief programming officer of SXSW, and Dr. Christine Galib, Accelerator Hub judge and director at Houston's ION. The event will feature many additional leading speakers and demos from Netflix Games Studio, Lenovo, Tesla, Target, Uber, Disney, Apple, Fedex, Fujitsu North America, Inc, Shell and US Department of Defense across a two-day program of trending content that will cover end-to-end intelligence applications, while an extensive expo will showcase the best of emerging technology from both global brands and start-ups.

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Get More From the Conference

The AI Live! Expo Floor is free to visit with your conference pass and will feature Digital Twin Consortium Demos, Fringe Forums, Accelerator Hub Startup Pitch Competition, and a live hacking demonstration. Following each day of programming, attendees will be invited to participate in Austin After Hours to mingle one-on-one with leaders at the heart of transformational tech.

A full schedule of talks, events, exhibitors and ticket information can be found at austin.appliedintelligence.live. Interested in attending? Delegate, VIP and Expo passes are available for purchase at austin.appliedintelligence.live/passes-pricing.

About Applied Intelligence Live!

Applied Intelligence Live! is a conference hosted at the Palmer Events Center on September 20 - 21, 2023 that merges three Austin-based conferences - IoT World Conference & Expo, The AI Summit and Quantum Computing Summit - to create a show that unites transformative technologies from across the digital landscape. The event brings together these tech communities to create meaningful connections, benchmark company activity, and learn how these technologies are reshaping businesses. The 'applied intelligence' concept brings together four key disciplines and technologies: data science, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), quantum computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Providing accurate, unbiased information that supports the development of corporate strategy, AI Live! supports the business objectives of CEOs, CTOs, AI experts, data scientists, technologists, engineers, and policymakers.

About Informa Tech

Informa Tech is a leading provider of market insight and market access to the global business technology community. Through in-depth expertise and an engaged audience community, Informa Tech helps business professionals make better technology decisions, and marketers reach the world's most influential tech buyers and influencers. Across its portfolio of over 100+ trusted brands, Informa Tech has over 1000 industry experts, including over 400 research analysts and consultants in the global research group Omdia, and a monthly audience reach of over 125 million. Informa Tech is a division of FTSE 100 company Informa plc. For more information, please visit www.informatech.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822883874/en/
[August 22, 2023] FoxHire Launches API to Unify Timesheet and Invoice Processes for Staffing Firms Tweet

CANTON, Ohio, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FoxHire today announced the launch of their open API documentation, which will enable staffing firms, gig platforms, and other organizations to unify their timesheet and invoicing processes. This new functionality comes after years of developing a world class Employer of Record (EOR) platform, which can now be accessed by developers and the contingent workforce ecosystem. For many years staffing firms, their clients, and vendor management systems have struggled to unify timesheet and invoicing data. Historically, there has never been a single source of truth for that data. This has caused many organizations to solve that problem by requiring staff to enter timesheet data in multiple systems, or to manually transcribe data from one system to another. These processes cause confusion, and waste thousands of work hours every year for the staffing and contingent workforce industry. To solve that problem FoxHire's API allows their EOR platform users to pull data directly from their timesheet system in order to populate any other system they might be using. This API will enable smooth and accurate timesheet data transfer, ensuring there are no discrepancies between systems, and avoiding human error. This will also prevent contractors and consultants from haing to "double punch" their time into multiple systems when using the API, improving the candidate experience.



"We've heard our customers and candidates struggle with the ever increasing complexity of more systems being introduced into the staffing world for years. VMS, ATS, T&E, and other systems complicate the staffing process. The goal of automation is noble, but the challenges created by competing systems of record have forced contingent workforce participants like us to adapt. We are happy to say that we will no longer contribute to this problem, but rather we offer a solution to unify disparate systems with clean and accurate data.", said Colin LaBeau, President of FoxHire. FoxHire's API allows the below information to be taken from their proprietary time and expense system, along with other reports, and information listed below.

Data available via API: Total Daily Contractor hours

Total Weekly Contractor Hours

Overtime Hours

Double Time Hours

Paid Leave Hours

Bill Rate Data

Pay Rate Data About FoxHire: FoxHire is a global Employer of Record (EOR) platform that offers back office capabilities to staffing firms, recruiting firms, and corporate HR departments. FoxHire's technology enables their customers to place and hire contingent and remote workers all over the world. FoxHire has been in business since 1992 and has successfully supported thousands of businesses in their contract and remote hiring needs. FoxHire has customers globally and in every industry, but has specific expertise in healthcare, education, and technology industries. Colin LaBeau

FoxHire

(888) 534-9417

marketing@foxhire.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/foxhire-launches-api-to-unify-timesheet-and-invoice-processes-for-staffing-firms-301906787.html SOURCE FoxHire, LLC

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[August 22, 2023] Seoul to hold global startup festival Try Everything 2023 in September, aims to attract 70 billion won investment Tweet

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From September 13 to 15, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will host Try Everything 2023, a grand festival for global startups, where members of the startup ecosystem, including promising startups, large and medium-sized companies, and investors and accelerators from all over the world come together. It will be held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) for three days. This year, the focus is on strengthening overseas networks to support Seoul startups in gaining momentum for their global expansion. In particular, considering the concern over the global economic slowdown, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is focusing more on attracting investment at Try Everything than in previous years, with a goal of 70 billion won in investment. To this end, it wll expand the number of exhibition booths to 100, two times more than last year's 50, and implement various investment attraction programs, such as meetups, a meeting between startups and investors to attract investment.



Considering this is the first Try Everything event to be held after COVID-19 was declared endemic, the opportunity to experience the technology of Seoul startups through experiential exhibition booths will be provided, and participatory programs for university students and prospective entrepreneurs will be expanded so that the general public can enjoy participating as well. Applications will be accepted on the official Try Everything website until August 8 for the offline exhibition and September 11 for the online exhibition.

For a regular meetup, you can apply on the Try Everything website ( https://tryeverything.or.kr/eng/ ) or through Startup Plus, the city's integrated platform for entrepreneurship. Companies that want to hold a 1:1 meetup with domestic and foreign investors can apply on the Try Everything website from August 1 to 25. Kim Tae-kyun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Economic Policy Office, said, "Try Everything, which marks its 5th anniversary this year, focuses on investment attraction as startups are having difficulties due to the global economic slowdown. Furthermore, the culture of entrepreneurship will be widely shared through experiential programs in which the general public, such as prospective entrepreneurs and university students, can participate." TRY EVERYTHING OPERATIONS BRANCH, [email protected], 82-70-8796-9607 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/seoul-to-hold-global-startup-festival-try-everything-2023-in-september-aims-to-attract-70-billion-won-investment-301906936.html SOURCE Seoul Metropolitan Government

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[August 22, 2023] Leap Partners Expands in Kentucky Tweet

Leap Partners Acquires Semones Heating & Air in Versailles, KY NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leap Partners, a fast-growing home services company with HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses across the Southeast continues to expand in Kentucky through its recent acquisition of Semones Heating & Air in Versailles, KY. Semones Heating and Air is an air conditioning and heating service company that serves Versailles, KY and other surrounding communities. The former owner, Phillip Semones, and his team will now work with the existing Leap Partners branch, Engineered Heating & Air, in Lexington, KY. "We are extremely fortunate to have Semones join our family," said John Cerasuolo, Leap Partners CEO. "Phillip and his team hve built an amazing company that does a great job serving their community, and we can't wait to help and learn from them."



"I am proud of my team and what we have built," said Phillip Semones, former owner of Semones Heating & Air. "My team and I are excited to take our company to the next level with the help of Engineered Heating & Air. Together we will be able to better serve our community." Semones will transition to operating under the Engineered Heating and Air name over the coming months. Engineered Heating and Air is a leading, full-service heating and air conditioning company that has served the Lexington, KY area for over 27 years.

Over the last year, Leap Partners' portfolio has grown to include 11 HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies across Alabama, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The portfolio includes companies of all sizes, and Leap Partners provides support and investment for these businesses to grow and expand while empowering the local leaders to manage with autonomy. Owners of HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies interested in selling and either staying with the company or planning their exit strategy can learn more about solutions Leap Partners can provide by visiting theleappartners.com . About Leap Partners Headquartered in Nashville, TN, Leap Partners is working to connect the best HVAC, plumbing and electrical service businesses in the Southeast to build a world-class service provider. Under Leap Partners' ownership, these businesses are committed to providing industry-leading customer satisfaction and employee engagement. For more information and to read partner testimonials, visit theleappartners.com and theleappartners.com/testimonials. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leap-partners-expands-in-kentucky-301905903.html SOURCE Leap Partners

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[August 22, 2023] School Implements "Game-Changing" Solution for Device Downtime Tweet

MADISON, Wis., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The School District of Mondovi in Northern Wisconsin has successfully implemented a forward-thinking solution to address its evolving technology needs. In response to the challenges posed by its 1:1 device program, the district has introduced Smart Charging Locker Systems, revolutionizing the way they manage devices for their students. Mondovi's 1:1 device program, which provides Chromebooks to all grade levels, faced significant hurdles during the pandemic-induced shift to remote learning. The lack of a streamlined communication strategy resulted in misplaced devices and hours of valuable learning time lost. IT Director Brad Elkins, keen on improving device management, came across FUYL Tower Smart Locker Systems by LocknCharge through a peer in another schol district and recognized its potential for Mondovi.



The implementation of Smart Charging Locker Systems has yielded remarkable results. The automated device exchange system allowed the district to eliminate learning loss caused by broken or forgotten devices. Students now receive fully charged and ready-to-use loaner devices instantly. Additionally, the cloud platform's advanced features empowered Elkins to customize their workflow, receiving real-time notifications and detailed logs of device loans and returns. "The FUYL Tower has been a game-changer for our district. It has not only improved device uptime for students but also made our IT department more efficient," said Brad Elkins, IT Director of the School District of Mondovi.

The seamless integration of the Smart Charging Locker System has been embraced by the entire school community. The technology's success has prompted plans for further expansion of the self-serve locker capacity. The district envisions reserving some bays for other functionalities, such as checkouts for parents and paraprofessionals, offering secure and convenient hand-offs without the need for face-to-face scheduling. Looking ahead, as the School District of Mondovi develops its strategic plan for the next five years, technology will undoubtedly play a crucial role. IT Director Brad Elkins envisions more ways to leverage innovative solutions to further improve and refresh technology within the district. About LocknCharge

LocknCharge is a software and hardware company that is revolutionizing the way organizations manage mobile devices and other physical assets. LocknCharge exists to help schools and businesses uncover a better way to manage devices with less oversight, secure devices from theft, and minimize device downtime. For media inquiries, please contact:

Jen Lichtie

jen.l@lockncharge.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/school-implements-game-changing-solution-for-device-downtime-301905929.html SOURCE LocknCharge

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[August 22, 2023] Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide To Host Global Virtual Conference September 14th Tweet

Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide, a nonprofit dedicated to elevating and empowering women in the field of data science, today announced the full lineup for its Global Virtual Conference, taking place on September 14, 2023. The conference, which is free to attend, will unite the data science community from across the globe, and showcase the impact that data science is making on economic justice, sustainability, health, safety, and leadership, as well as advances in technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs). "Data science is critically reshaping our world and at an ever-increasing rate, yet women are significantly underrepresented. Women in Data Science is committed to elevating and empowering women in the field by providing inspiration, education, community, and support," said Margot Gerritsen, WiDS Cofounder and Executive Director and Professor Emerita, Stanford University. "This year's Global Virtual Conference will highlight 19 outstanding women leading the field and celebrate the impact of women in data science. We look forward to connecting with the community, and collectively moving one step closer to achieving our immediate mission: to increase the representation of women in data science to 30% by 2030." Haishan Fu, Chief Statistician of the World Bank and Director of the Development Data Group, Development Economics will kick off the conference with an opening address on using data to end poverty and promote shared prosperity, followed by a keynote on the impact of data to power today, predict tomorrow and innovate for the future from Susan Doniz, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Data Analytics, The Boeing Company. The conference will also feature a keynote on the power of art and how our brains and bodies are transformed through the arts from Ivy Ross, Vice President of Hardware Design at Google, and Susan Magsamen, Founder and Executive Director of the International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics. Rounding out the conference will be technical vision talks and panel discussions with some top minds from across data science. Topics and speakers include: Natural Language Processing

Chelsea Finn, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Electrical Engieering, Stanford University: Language Models Make Stuff Up. What Should We Do About It?





Kathleen Siminyu, Kiswahili Machine Learning Fellow, Mozilla: Community Building Activities for Kiswahili Automatic Speech Recognition

Karen Hao, China Tech Reporter at The Wall Street Journal: How the Other Half Lives: The Hidden Labor Behind ChatGPT Sustainability

Gopika Suresh, Senior Remote Sensing Expert, UNIQUE forestry and land use GmbH: Global Solutions for a Global World: Latest Trends and Gaps in the Field of Earth Observation and Remote Sensing

Fiorenza Micheli Professor, Stanford University: Harnessing Data and Tech for Ocean Health

Marilia Gaiarsa, Assistant Professor at the Life and Environmental Sciences Department at UC Merced: Untangling Nature's Web: Pollination and the Path to a Sustainable Future

Health and Safety

Sparkle Russell Puleri, Director, CDS Advanced Analytics, Oncology, Gilead Sciences, Inc: Data Science in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Industry

Rhema Vaithanathan, Professor of Economics, AUT Center for Social Data Analytics: Can Algorithms Reduce Bias? Evidence from Child Welfare and Homelessness Systems

Paula Petrone, Biomedical Data Scientist, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal): Can Artificial Intelligence "See" Beyond the Expert Clinical Eye? Leadership

Lama Moussawi, Professor, Management Science, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, American University of Beirut: Bursting Pipelines and Glass Cliffs: Women and Leadership in the MENA Region

Milinda Lakkam, Engineering Manager - Machine Learning, LinkedIn: Navigating the Trenches: Managerial Challenges in Machine Learning for Anti-Abuse

Ruth Schaber, President and Founder of Tara Health Foundation and ?Patience Marime-Ball, CEO of Women of the World Endowment: Women as Financial Decision-Makers: Unlocking higher Returns and Lower Risk

Brenda Darden Wilkerson, President and CEO, AnitaB.org: Recognizing Our Collective Power for Change "We envision a future in which women are fully integrated in all areas of data science and share in decision making, wealth creation and opportunities," said Esteban Arcaute, Senior Director of Responsible AI at Meta and WiDS Board Member. "That's what we want to achieve in the long term." Full event information is available at https://www.widsconference.org. About Women in Data Science Worldwide Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide is a nonprofit dedicated to changing the field of data science across the globe by elevating and empowering women to achieve 30% representation in education, innovation and leadership by 2030. Since its beginnings as a Stanford conference in 2015, the organization has steadily built a community of women in data science, at every level of involvement, around the globe. To advance its mission, the organization runs programs in education, innovation and leadership, including: conferences, datathon competitions, an ambassador network, podcasts, NextGen outreach and education for secondary schools, upskill workshops, and recruiting events. WiDS has more than 500 Ambassadors, and each year hosts more than 200 events around the globe, reaching more than 100,000 participants in more than 163 countries. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822441694/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Outer Reach Broadband Launches High-Speed Internet Service in Skowhegan, Maine Tweet

Maine-based internet service provider utilizes Tarana Wireless's next-generation fixed wireless technology to bring fast, affordable monthly packages to Skowhegan HALLOWELL, Maine, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Outer Reach Broadband, a Maine-based internet service provider, announced today the launch of its service in the town of Skowhegan, providing a local and far less expensive alternative to the incumbent cable and telephone companies. Utilizing Tarana Wireless's next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) technology, the Gigabit 1 (G1) wireless broadband solution, Outer Reach is now able to provide over 3,000 Skowhegan homes with reliable, high-speed internet service. Monthly internet packages start at just $44.99. "Providing an affordable, high-speed internet alternative to Skowhegan is a thrill," said Tom Kirby, President of Outer Reach Broadband. "We're excited to bring a more reliable service and experience to a region that has been overlooked by the big guys for generations. Our home-grown approach to connecting communities was made for rural Maine, so we're really looking forward to these new opportunities." To add to the excitement and celebrate the network's launch, Outer Reach is hosting a free weekend double feature of Jaws and Back to the Future at the Skowhegan Drive-In span >August 25-27. "It is a thrill that we get to celebrate the launch of this network by sharing a double feature of classic summer films with the community", added Kirby. Tickets are free and anyone interested should reserve a spot on the following site - https://www.simpletix.com/e/outer-reach-broadband-presents-jaws-back-t-tickets-140744



For the project, Outer Reach implemented Tarana's Gigabit 1 (G1) wireless broadband solution to cover six square miles with high-speed service. With a growing Tarana network already operating in Millinocket, Skowhegan is the latest step in Outer Reach's development with network launches utilizing Tarana's game-changing technology coming in Lee, Lakeville, Lincoln, Madison and Anson later this Fall. About Outer Reach Broadband

Outer Reach Broadband is a Maine broadband company founded in 2020, on a mission to close Maine's digital divide by providing fast, reliable and affordable internet access. Outer Reach is committed to delivering dependable customer service and cutting edge fixed wireless technology. For more information, visit https://outerreachbroadband.com .

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/outer-reach-broadband-launches-high-speed-internet-service-in-skowhegan-maine-301906738.html SOURCE Outer Reach Broadband, LLC

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[August 22, 2023] IP Pathways Acquires Netsolus to Expand Presence in Kansas City Region Tweet

IP Pathways, a leading technology solutions provider in the Midwest, announced it has partnered with Netsolus, a premier data center and managed service provider, out of Kansas City, MO. The merger of their people assets and data center will enhance the value of their business proposition, further expanding the presence and offerings in the Kansas City Region. "We are excited to announce the acquisition of Netsolus, a leading data center in Kansas City. This strategic move aligns perfectly with our vision to expand capabilities and provide enhanced services to clients. By combining expertise and resources, we can deliver unparalleled solutions in the evolving world of technology," said Joe Shields, CEO and President of IP Pathways. "Partnering with them solidifies our commitment to reliable and secure infrastructure, empowering businesses to thrive in the digital age. We are excited about the possibilities this partnership brings and look forward to tremendous growth and success ahead." Netsolus has been a prominent data center and managed services provider in the Kansas City Region for over 23 years. Netsolus was founded by Bryan Ballard, CEO, with a vision to partner with companies to maintain their IT so that ther customers can focus on driving initiatives specific to their business. With customers throughout the Midwest, they have successfully helped them migrate to the cloud, secure their networks, deploy and manage hardware and software.



"We are thrilled to be joining forces with IP Pathways. This acquisition represents a tremendous opportunity for both companies to enhance our service offerings and provide even greater value to our clients. Together, we can deliver a comprehensive suite of IT solutions and support while leveraging our combined expertise and resources. We look forward to seamless integration and continued growth as we work towards our shared goal of delivering exceptional technology solutions to businesses across the Midwest," said Bryan Ballard, CEO of Netsolus. Bryan will continue to be an integral part of IP Pathways and will be staying on to help with integration and continued strategic growth in the Kansas City area. IP Pathways will continue to offer state-of-the-art cloud and managed services to companies throughout the United States. This partnership will continue to allow Kansas and Missouri businesses to strengthen their competitive edge in an increasingly competitive market.

Social Share: IP Pathways Acquires Netsolus to expand presence in Kansas City Region. #Datacenter #kanascityIT #kansascitydata #midwestIT #midwestdatacenter About IP Pathways Since 2007, IP Pathways has connected businesses with the right technology tools and strategies to solve complex business problems. Our team of experts understands the challenges of today's IT landscape and specializes in providing tailored technology solutions that enable business speed and agility while helping our customers identify growth opportunities and drive digital transformation. IP Pathways is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, where their first data center originated. Additional locations in the Midwest are Omaha, Nebraska and Columbus, Ohio. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822518591/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Joins VMware Cloud Universal Program Tweet

VMware Explore 2023 - VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) has expanded its ongoing partnership with Oracle to help customers modernize their VMware workloads on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Under the expanded partnership, customers will be able to subscribe to Oracle Cloud VMware Solution as part of VMware Cloud Universal, a flexible purchasing and consumption program that helps businesses simplify procurement and accelerate adoption of eligible VMware Cloud services. The VMware Cloud Universal program is well-suited for customers with a hybrid cloud architecture, customers that have extended or variable cloud migration timelines, or cloud bursting requirements. With VMware Cloud Universal, customers purchase credits which they will be able to use to deploy workloads on Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. By applying their credits to Oracle Cloud VMware Solution subscriptions, customers will be able to take advantage of a simplified mechanism for managing their cloud-related expenses. Additionally, the VMware Cloud Acceleration Benefit gives VMware Cloud Universal customers a flexible way to leverage the value of their VMware Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) perpetual licenses as they migrate on-premises workloads to Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. Oracle CloudVMware Solution is designed for enterprises requiring the highest levels of scalability, performance, security, and administrative control. Customers can directly manage cloud infrastructure and VMware consoles for complete administrative control of their entire VMware stack. This enables enterprises to rapidly migrate on-premises VMware estates to the cloud with existing skills, best practices, and tools. VMware environments operate in more securely isolated customer tenancies at the highest levels of security, including FedRAMP High, to meet compliance requirements. In addition, Oracle Cloud VMware Solution delivers enterprise-level performance along with predictable costs, including the industry's lowest data egress prices, and consistent low pricing across 45 global Oracle Cloud regions. With Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, customers gain OCI's flexible cloud infrastructure and zero-trust security, while retaining the full VMware administrator experience and control.



"Enabling a cloud-smart approach is about accelerating innovation by providing customers access to the best cloud environments for any app," said Zia Yusuf, senior vice president, strategic ecosystem and industry solutions, VMware. "VMware and Oracle are helping our customers become cloud smart by giving them faster and easier ways to purchase and deploy Oracle Cloud VMware Solution and our cross-cloud services. The combination of VMware and Oracle drives greater business agility, improves resiliency, and enables customers to benefit from cloud economics and scale." Oracle and VMware share a commitment to make it easier for customers to run VMware enterprise workloads in OCI. Since the launch of Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, customers such as Cybereason, Atos, Telefonica, TIM Brasil, Aya Bank, San Jose Water, Maxim's, Prophecy International and many other enterprises in finance, telecommunications, retail, manufacturing, and government agencies have adopted Oracle Cloud VMware Solution to accelerate their cloud journey and simplify application modernization and multi-cloud operations.

"Oracle continues to evolve its partnership with VMware and with this new integration into the VMware Cloud Universal program customers can get a more seamless way to procure subscriptions for Oracle Cloud VMware Solution," said Doug Smith, senior vice president, global strategic partnerships, Oracle. "Enterprise customers need to have choices for how they procure their infrastructure and applications. With VMware Cloud Universal, VMware and Oracle customers have additional flexibility to build and operate their applications, databases, and workloads in OCI." About Oracle Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com. About VMware VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control. As a trusted foundation to accelerate innovation, VMware software gives businesses the flexibility and choice they need to build the future. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to building a better future through the company's 2030 Agenda. For more information, please visit www.vmware.com/company. VMware and VMware Cloud are registered trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States, and other jurisdictions. This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822394533/en/

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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock believes that the drone strikes on Moscow, which Russia accuses Ukraine of, do not violate international law. After all, it was Russia that attacked Ukraine, and it has a legitimate right to defend itself.

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Baerbock said this at a joint press conference with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna. Her words were quoted by the German national news service Tagesschau.

"Russia attacked Ukraine in violation of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force, so Ukraine has a legitimate right to defend its country and its people," the German Foreign Minister said, answering journalists' questions about the attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian territory.

Baerbock stressed that Russia launches missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and civilians every day. She stressed that Russia is responsible for what is happening in Ukraine.

"Russia is continuously bombing civilian targets in Ukraine: granaries, hospitals, churches. And Ukraine is defending itself within the framework of international law," she said.

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The German foreign minister added that Russian troops have mined a huge area in Ukraine "roughly the size of western Germany". According to Annalena Baerbock, the Armed Forces of Ukraine primarily need material and equipment as part of a counter-offensive to overcome Russian minefields, and Berlin is currently discussing assistance to Kyiv in demining with its allies.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

On the night of 22 August, Moscow was again attacked by unknown UAVs. All airports in the Russian capital closed departures and landings.

On 11 August, the skies over Vnukovo Airport were closed, and the "Carpet" regime was in effect. The airspace over Kaluga Airport was also closed. Later, explosions were reported in the Russian capital and in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region.

British intelligence has stated that drone attacks, which have recently become more frequent throughout Russia, including in its capital Moscow, are of strategic importance. After all, Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin must have been convinced that his bloody war in Ukraine would not affect Russians.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
[August 22, 2023] Merit Financial Upgrades Client Experience with the Nitrogen Growth Platform Tweet

Nitrogen, the company that is revolutionizing how financial advisors and wealth management firms grow, today announced the deployment of its growth platform to Merit Financial Advisors ("Merit"). Merit is a national registered investment advisor (RIA) firm that specializes in financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth (HNW) individuals and families. Effective immediately, Merit's advisors will gain access to Nitrogen's suite of solutions, which includes powerful client engagement and analytics tools. Recognized in 2022 as one of America's Top RIA Firms by Forbes and a 2023 Top Private Wealth Management Team by Barron's, Merit Financial is growing rapidly. As the firm has scaled, leadership identified a need to standardize its client engagement process and integrate it with the firm's data warehouse. Nitrogen will now serve as a firm-wide platform to drive a consistent client experience across each Merit advisor's book of business, assisting in both attracting and retaining clients. "Merit is a firm that shares our commitment to exceeding client expectations and offering a best-in-class solution for sustained growth," said Aaron Klein, chief executive officer at Nitrogen. "As such, they represent an ideal partner for Nitrogen. We look forward to providing Merit advisors with intuitive tools that help them achieve growth while delighting clients and prospects alike."



Established in 1998, Merit comprises a team of dedicated individuals committed to educating their clients on how to be financially wise, protect and invest money, help build a legacy for their clients, and encourage the next generation to reach their financial potential. The firm, which has nearly $9 billion in assets under management (AUM) and serves more than 16,000 clients nationwide, has made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for the past four years, showing their dedication to those they serve. "It's our company's deep expectation that our advisors are able to thrive due to their ability to understand their clients, and to deliver a high-level, differentiated customer experience," said Rick Kent, chief executive officer and founder at Merit. "We are confident that Nitrogen will take these efforts to new heights and help propel our growth."

For more information about Nitrogen's growth platform, go to NitrogenWealth.com/growth-platform. About Nitrogen Nitrogen has been revolutionizing how financial advisors and wealth management firms grow since the launch of Riskalyze in 2011. Today, Nitrogen is the growth platform for wealth management firms, helping advisors turn leads into meetings, meetings into valued clients, and clients into referral champions. The company invented the Risk Number, built on top of a Nobel Prize-winning academic framework, and is the champion of the Fearless Investing Movement - tens of thousands of financial advisors committed to our mission of empowering the world to invest fearlessly. To learn more, visit NitrogenWealth.com. About Merit Financial Advisors Merit Financial Group, LLC, doing business as Merit Financial Advisors ("Merit"), is a national wealth management firm that supports both the independent broker-dealer and RIA models. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Merit has 40 offices throughout the U.S. and managed $8.86 billion in assets as of June 30, 2023 ( $6.4 billion in advisory, $ 2.4 billion in brokerage assets and with $56 million in assets under advisement). For more information, please visit meritfinancialadvisors.com. Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Merit Financial Group, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Merit Financial Group, LLC, Merit, Merit Financial Advisors are separate entities from LPL Financial. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821607018/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Rarimo Partners With Unstoppable Domains, Gitcoin Passport, and Civic to Launch Web3's First Proof of Humanity Verification Aggregator Tweet

LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rarimo , the interoperability protocol for digital identities, has partnered with Unstoppable Domains , Gitcoin Passport , and Civic to launch a Proof of Humanity plug-in for Web3 dApps. Through the use of Zero-Knowledge proofs, this solution enables platforms to verify that users are humans instead of bots. As a result of the partnerships, Rarimo has become the world's first verification aggregator for Web3 identities, providing a tangible use-case for blockchain technology in combating digital identity-related issues caused by bots, AI, and AI-generated agents. The plug-in also launched in parallel with an integration with community-building platform Galxe , and Decentraland via DCL Curations , a virtual library that rewards users for completing educational exercises. These integrations enable the platforms to filter out bots and ensure that verified humans are using their services. In celebration of the partnership, Unstoppable has also created a Galxe quest to reward all successful endeavors with a 30% discount on any Unstoppable Domain up to $1000. Importance of Proof of Humanity to Trust-Building in Web3 With the proliferation of AI exacerbating abuse from spam and bots across Web3 dApps and services, Proof of Humanity solutions are vital in building the trust necessary for digital spaces and communities to succeed. Lasha Antadze, Co-Founder of Rarify Labs, the service provider and community member dedicated to advancing Rarimo commented: "Rarify Labs is particularly excited about the Proof of Humanity solution because it provides an early glimpse into the future of Web3. Not only is AI making the need for robust online credentials urgent, but many of the space's most exciting emerging innovations such as on-chain games and decentralized social media require some form of portable identity. Solutions like Rarimo's Proof of Humanity aggregator that maintain privacy, and decentralization, and allow for a seamless user experience are early blueprints of what's to come." Sandy Carter, COO, Unstoppable Domains added: "We could not be more excited to expand the utility of Unstoppable Domains and allow our community to use their domains as Proofs of Humanity. Identity and trust are at the center of what we do at Unstoppable, and we're proud to help make Web3 safer by keeping bots at bay. We are also delighted to be furthering our commitment to contributing to a truly multi-chain Web3 by integrating with Rarimo." Mechanics of Rarimo's Proof of Humanity Verification Rarimo has aggregated identity providers  Unstoppable Domains, Gitcoin Passport and Civic  in a plug-in that allows users to generate on-chain proofs which verify that they have met requirements only a real person could. Additional identity providers may be added in the future./p>



Users can then submit these proofs to platforms that have integrated the plug-in in order to gain access to gated activities and rewards.

Other notable features of Rarimo's Proof of Humanity plug-in include: Upholds privacy : The proofs themselves are zero-knowledge. This protects user privacy and ensures that no additional information about the user, other than the fact that they are human, is revealed.

: The proofs themselves are zero-knowledge. This protects user privacy and ensures that no additional information about the user, other than the fact that they are human, is revealed. Optionality: By aggregating identity providers, Rarimo allows both users and platforms to choose which method of verification they trust most.

By aggregating identity providers, Rarimo allows both users and platforms to choose which method of verification they trust most. Interoperable: As an interoperability protocol, Rarimo makes all Proof-of-Humanities instantly multi-chain and available across all networks. This enables dApps and smart contracts on any chain to verify users, ensuring that users are not restricted to a single ecosystem.

As an interoperability protocol, Rarimo makes all Proof-of-Humanities instantly multi-chain and available across all networks. This enables and smart contracts on any chain to verify users, ensuring that users are not restricted to a single ecosystem. Seamless user experience: With only a few additional clicks, users may select the identity provider they wish to use, generate a proof and submit it to the platform they are on. A demo of Rarimo's Proof of Humanity plug-in may be viewed here . The plug-in is now live on Galxe and Decentraland . Please see below for additional quotes from partners: Jeremy Dillingham, Product Lead of Gitcoin Passport: "Gitcoin Passport is excited to be expanding its utility, and allow our Unique Humanity Score to act as a Proof-of-Humanity credential in every app powered by Rarimo. We are proud to contribute to keeping web3 safe from bots and Sybils, and empowering users to easily conduct trusted interactions and build meaningful communities." Chris Hart, CEO of Civic says: "We believe that a collaborative approach to Proof of Personhood will best serve the ecosystem, offering privacy, accessibility and strong decentralization to everyone. We're proud to join other identity partners on Rarimo's platform to help build stronger communities of humans." Ian O'Neil, President and Founder of DCL Curations: "We are extremely excited to work with Rarimo on integrating the first Proof of Humanity protocol into Decentraland. This integration will be a game changer, making it easier for brands to launch and manage their experiences in Decentraland, while still protecting the privacy of Web3 users through the use of zk-proofs. We look forward to seeing how POH protocols will change the landscape of Decentraland and Web3." About Rarimo Rarimo is the decentralized interoperability protocol making digital identities and the Web3 social layer multi-chain. They are developing ground-breaking standards and infrastructure that make it possible to carry certificates, reputation, and identity state across chains, enabling identity-focused use cases that were previously difficult, expensive, or not possible at all. About Unstoppable Domains Founded in 2018, Unstoppable Domains is building a platform for user-owned digital identity. Unstoppable Domains offers Web3 domains minted on the blockchain that give people full ownership and control of their digital identity, with no renewal fees. With Unstoppable Domains, people can replace lengthy alphanumeric crypto wallet addresses with a human-readable name and log into and transact with hundreds of apps, wallets, exchanges and marketplaces. The company was named by Forbes as one of America's Best Startup Employers in 2022. About Gitcoin Passport Gitcoin Passport is the premier solution for identity management tools that protect communities from Sybils and bots.** Our easy-to-use app makes it possible for web3 citizens to establish credibility and build online reputation while preserving privacy and user control. Our API lets web3 communities access a powerful layer of security with just a few lines of code. About Civic Civic is a leading provider of identity and access management solutions, empowering people to easily and privately manage their identities across chains with an on-chain representation of their reusable identity. The company's flagship product, Civic Pass, allows smart contracts, dApps, and Web2 companies entering blockchain to manage access to protocols and services based on verifications they perform or with inputs from Civic's Identity Verification (IDV) Services. Users may also manage their on-chain identity, presence and reputation with a dashboard. Civic aims to be the most trusted on-chain identity tool in the world, used by billions every day. About Galxe Galxe is the leading platform for building web3 community. With over 11 million active users to date, Galxe has propelled the growth of Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, and more than 2900 partners with reward-based loyalty programs. Start your campaign today at galxe.com About DCL Curations, Decentraland DCL Curations operates the Curation Station Virtual Library within the Decentraland Cyber City. The Virtual Library is a gamified educational experience that allows users to quest, complete courses and quizzes, and earn NFT wearables that provide in-game benefits. The library currently offers over 60 courses which cover topics such as 3D modeling in Blender, coding a Decentraland game from scratch, and web3 security. They are excited to offer companies like Rarimo the opportunity to host courses and integrations within the experience and are looking forward to expanding the library with more partnerships. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rarimo-partners-with-unstoppable-domains-gitcoin-passport-and-civic-to-launch-web3s-first-proof-of-humanity-verification-aggregator-301907032.html SOURCE Rarimo

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[August 22, 2023] Carahsoft and Solution Partners Exhibiting at Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas, September 5-7, 2023 Tweet

RESTON, Va., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHAT:

Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, will be joined by several of its technology partners at the Commercial UAV Expo at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 5-7 in booth #1009. The Commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Expo is the leading international tradeshow and conference with a dedicated focus on the integration and operation of commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The event presents keynote and panel sessions from Government and industry thought leaders, live outdoor demos and numerous networking opportunities. Topics encompass the practical, exponential benefits of drones, how organizations can scale UAS operations, the critical human-technology connection and how the advancements of AI will impact the future of UAS. With more than 200 exhibitors from 75 countries and an estimated 4,000 professionals in attendance, the Commercial UAV Expo provides participants with actionable insight and access to best-in-class solutions to meet their mission needs. Drone innovators, regulators, service providers and end-users will address various themes including: Latest pressing cross-market updates

Ways UAVs measurably improve work in each sector

Methods end-users can use to create a scalable framework

Strategies for strengthening public awareness and trust

Recent technology developments impact on organizations

And more WHEN:

Tuesday-Thursday, September 5-7, 2023 WHERE:

Caesars Forum

3911 S Koval Ln

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Directions WHO:

Carahsoft and its partners will showcase a variety of Autonomy and Robotics Technology solutions. Visit the Carahsoft team at booth #1009 and the vendor partners highlighted below. Attendees can learn more about each of these solution providers, access relevant resources, chat with company representatives and learn about procurement of solutions through Carahsofts vendors and reseller network. Partners Demoing in Carahsoft Booth #1009: Wednesday, Sept. 6

10 a.m.  5:30 p.m.



Thursday, Sept. 7

10 a.m.  3 p.m.



 Airgility  Auterion  Auterion  Xeo Air  Elsight





Partner Spotlight:

Airgility: Intelligent & Autonomous Aerial Robots Airgility encompasses various drone and robotic autonomous solutions to meet the diverse needs of Government agencies including aerial surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering for enhanced situational awareness. With robust data analytics and AI capabilities, Airgility enables Government entities to make data-driven decisions, respond swiftly to emergencies and efficiently execute critical missions.

Auterion: Unifying a Workforce of Autonomous Robots Auterion offers a comprehensive suite of technologies and services with advanced unmanned aerial systems (UAS) capabilities for surveillance, disaster response, infrastructure inspection and environmental monitoring. These solutions integrate Auterion's drone operating system, mission planning software and data analytics tools, delivering tools for Government entities to enhance situational awareness, optimize resource allocation and streamline critical operations. Elsight: BVLOS Connectivity for Unmanned Systems on Air and Land Elsight provides Government-tailored communication and data connectivity solutions for defense, law enforcement and emergency response. With a strong focus on security, reliability and real-time performance, Elsight's solutions enable seamless and encrypted communication between field personnel, command centers and remote locations ensuring uninterrupted data transmission and situational awareness even in challenging environments. Xeo Air: Drone Services & Data Analytics for Infrastructure & Environmental Observation Xeo Air delivers end-to-end drone services with FAA certified drone pilots, deep data analytics via object recognition/computer vision and autonomous drone equipment to meet customers' needs in inspection and mapping of critical infrastructure, catastrophe, climate and more. Additional Carahsoft Vendor Partners at the Expo:  DraganFly (#1122)  Inspired Flight (#709)

Partner Spotlight:

DraganFly: UAV & Drone Hardware, Software, Sensors & Services Draganfly solutions for aerial intelligence, public safety and data analytics, empower Government agencies to enhance their capabilities in various critical areas. Its advanced drone and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology enables real-time surveillance, data gathering and situational awareness, ensuring more effective responses to emergencies, security challenges and disaster management. Inspired Flight: A Blue UAS Approved Manufacturer Inspired Flight Solutions specializes in advanced drone solutions with enhanced aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. Powered by the latest AI and remote sensing technologies, Inspired Flight Solutions empowers Government entities to efficiently and securely monitor critical infrastructure, execute search and rescue missions and undertake environmental monitoring, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency and public safety. CARAHSOFT HOSTED EVENT: Attendees are invited to join Carahsoft and P3 Tech Consultings after-hours networking reception from 7  9 p.m. on Monday, September 4, 2023, at Carnaval Court at Harrahs. Register here. Carnaval Court at Harrahs

3475 Las Vegas Blvd S

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Directions FOR MORE INFORMATION: Additional conference details and registration can be found on the Commercial UAV Expo website. For more information regarding Carahsofts presence at the event, visit Carahsofts Commercial UAV Expo event page or contact Samantha Hermes at (703) 230-7416 or [email protected]. About Carahsoft

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Geospatial, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Customer Experience & Engagement and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Visit us at www.carahsoft.com. Contact

Mary Lange

(703) 230-7434

[email protected]



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[August 22, 2023] Flexible Transport Networks are Vital for 5G Innovation and Performance Tweet

Along with core and radio access networks (RAN), xHaul (fronthaul, midhaul, backhaul) transport networks are a key component of a cellular wireless network. Today, 5G Americas, the voice of 5G and beyond for the Americas, announced a new white paper titled, "Transport Networks for 5G" which delves into the present transport network landscape, explores ongoing work, and envisions the future of 5G transport networks. Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said, "5G network operators are continually improving 5G transport networks making them more adaptable, secure, and flexible to meet increasing demands. Future-proofing the 5G transport network is paramount to advancing 5G and beyond." "Transport Networks for 5G" examines characteristics shaping 5G transport networks that have been increasing with bandwidth demands, driving the need for continuous backhaul capacity and the necessity for flexible, scalable solutions. Current efforts focus on cloud-based RAN connectivity, network-based timing and synchronization, and end-to-end network slics. Future work will center on enhancing transport network security and addressing the influence of the metaverse and immersive applications.



Key topics surrounding 5G transport networks in this 5G Americas white paper include: 5G deployment and the xHaul transport network

Advancements in 5G RAN technologies

Continued usage of microwave spectrum

Ethernet-based fronthaul interfaces

Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) in 5G

5G standalone split CU/DU architectures

Increased deployment of virtualized RAN

Network timing, frequency, and phase synchronization challenges for vRAN

Evolution of cell sites

5G deployment, and wireline and wireless convergence

5G deployment and sustainability According to David Krauss, Principal Network Architect at Ciena, "5G's evolution toward open architectures, diverse network slicing, and precise timing and synchronization demands robust transport networks as the bedrock of innovation and performance. New transport technology capabilities help pave the path to a connected future, where seamless connectivity and intelligent distribution unlock the true potential of 5G."

About 5G Americas: The Voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas 5G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to facilitate and advocate for the advancement of 5G and beyond throughout the Americas. 5G Americas is invested in developing a connected wireless community while leading 5G development for all the Americas. 5G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. More information is available at 5G Americas' website, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 5G Americas' Board of Governors Members include Airspan Networks Inc., Antel, AT&T, Ciena, Cisco, Crown Castle, Ericsson, Liberty Latin America, Mavenir, Nokia, Qualcomm Incorporated, Rogers Communications, Samsung, T-Mobile US, Inc., Telefonica, VMware, and WOM. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822838160/en/

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Generational Equity Advises Mr. Fire Protection in its Merger with SuperHero Fire Protection

Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce that its client Mr. Fire Protection, LLC has merged with SuperHero Fire Protection (a portfolio company of Hidden Harbor Capital Partners). The acquisition closed on August 7, 2023.

Mr. Fire Protection (MFP), located in Houston, Texas, is a fire protection services company providing professional consultation, estimation, design, installation, purchasing, project management, repair and maintenance of fire sprinkler systems. The Company services both commercial and residential real estate clients and provides clients with any fire protection service they might need.

The company prides itself on providing quality services that meet the needs of its clients. The technicians at MFP are trained and certified to perform all types of fire protection services. The Company also offers 24-hour emergency services, ensuring that clients can get the help they need whenever they need it. Its commitment to quality and safety makes MFP an ideal choice for businesses and homeowners who need reliable fire protection services.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (with multiple locations throughout the Southeastern and MidAtlantic regions), SuperHero Fire Protection (SuperHero) was founded in 2012 by a group of industry veterans who shared a vision for building a full-service customer and employee oriented fire protection business. The Company's focus began in the design and installation of fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems, primarily for large multifamily apartment developers and managers throughout Georgia. SuperHero rapidly expanded over the following years, particularly through an extension of offerings into the inspection, service, and monitoring space.

Today, SuperHero is one of the largest fire sprinkler and fire alarm installation providers in Georgia, with additional operations across the Southeast and MidAtlantic, and an offering portfolio which spans design, installation, inspection, service, and repair across fire sprinklers, alarms, low voltage systems, extinguishers, hydrants, and backflow preventers. True to its founding objectives, SuperHero remains an employer of choice across its multiple office locations, and prides itself in the strength of customer relationships.

Hidden Harbor Capital Partners (HHCP), located in Boca Raton, Florida, is a private equity firm which helps create business success stories by building teams focused on execution. HHCP believes that great companies are built on a strong group of people as their foundation, and that businesses succeed when they are intensely focused on executing a small set of well-defined objectives. HHCP currently manages over $800 million of equity capital and is investing out of its second fund, a $450 million vehicle. To learn more, visit www.hh-cp.com and their age on LinkedIn.







"Mr. Fire Protection has found the perfect match in our merger with SuperHero Fire Protection. This has been a long but rewarding journey, where our hard work and sacrifices have turned into blessings, and we are honored to work with a business that holds our same ambition for growth while maintaining a personal approach. A huge thank you to SuperHero for this opportunity to work together and to Generational Equity for making it happen," said Rafael Plata, President of Mr. Fire Protection.

"We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Fire Protection into the SuperHero family of fire protection services companies and look forward to a great partnership and supporting their growth in Texas," said Josh Stephens, CEO of SuperHero Fire Protection.

Generational Equity Executive Managing Director of M&A - Central Region, Michael Goss, and his team, led by Vice President, M&A, Jacob Mangalath successfully worked on the merger. Executive Managing Director, Bill Kushnir established the original relationship with MFP.

"Mr. Fire Protection is a perfect fit for the SuperHero platform (and not just because of its name). From the beginning, we saw a great cultural fit and an incredible opportunity for collaboration and growth. I'm very excited to see what the future holds for them," said Mangalath.

About Generational Equity

Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, Generational Consulting Group, and DealForce are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America.

With more than 350 professionals located throughout 16 offices in North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing growth consulting, merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. The Generational suite of advisory services includes strategic and tactical growth consulting, exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A services, wealth management and digital services.

The M&A Advisor named Generational Equity Investment Banking Firm of the Year three years in a row, Valuation Firm of the Year in 2020, and North American Investment Bank of the Year in 2022 as well as Consulting Firm of the Year. The Global M&A Network named Generational USA Investment Bank of the Year in 2023. For more information visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822915226/en/
[August 22, 2023] Florida Poly kicks off 10th academic year with exceptional freshmen, exciting growth Tweet

LAKELAND, Fla., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Polytechnic University welcomed students back to campus on Tuesday, Aug. 22, launching the 10th academic year in the all-STEM institution's history. University officials said they anticipate the 2023-2024 academic year will be as successful as the previous nine years, which have included important accreditations, national recognitions, impressive grants, and growing support. "Watching the achievements of our campus community and its unbridled growth has been nothing short of remarkable," said Dr. Randy K. Avent, Florida Poly's president. We are excited to welcome another impressive incoming class that will undoubtedly contribute to our University's continued success."



With an enrollment of more than 1,600 students, the student population includes some of the brightest young minds in Florida. The average GPA of the freshman class was 4.5, and its average SAT and ACT scores were 1323 and 30 respectively. About 61% of the class of 2027 has completed calculus or a higher-level math. The new class of freshmen includes about 300 students with about 245 being from Florida, according to the most recent data. The University also saw a 28% increase in new transfer students over 2022, and a 17% spike in new graduate students.

"I've been working in higher education for 30-plus years, and I've never seen a young university achieve such high levels of academic success and distinction as quickly as has been done at Florida Polytechnic University," said Dee Voss, interim vice provost for enrollment management. This year is expected to include the opening or significant progress on several new campus buildings, the addition of new student teams and organizations, and increasing industry partnerships and faculty research. For freshman Alex Washington, from Temple Terrace, Florida, the combination of 100% STEM focus, low tuition, and centralized location made Florida Poly an easy choice. "I worked with the Purple Fire Robotics team when they came to the Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Center (AMRoC) in Tampa," said Washington, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science. "It was a good experience and now that I'm here I want to keep coding and programming and keep getting better." View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/florida-poly-kicks-off-10th-academic-year-with-exceptional-freshmen-exciting-growth-301907191.html SOURCE Florida Poly

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[August 22, 2023] Expansion Capital Group Featured on the 2023 Inc. 5000 as one of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies Tweet

Expansion Capital Group (ECG) - www.ecg.com - a leader in small-business lending, has proudly secured its place on the prestigious 2023 Inc. 5000 roster, an annual compilation of the most rapidly advancing private companies in the United States. This accolade signifies ECG's exceptional growth trajectory and underscores its pivotal role in supporting independent, entrepreneurial ventures across the nation. Distinguished for its unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence, ECG has achieved remarkable expansion over recent years, underpinned by strategic investments in its personnel, cutting-edge technology, and data-driven strategies. Vincent Ney, the CEO of ECG, remarked, "Our resounding success is a testament to our dedication to empower small business owners, who are the driving force behind America's economic vitality. By delivering swift, straightforward, and service-oriented financing solutions, we are honored to be recognized on the Inc. 5000 list for the third time, underscoring our team's steadfast dedication to our mission." Beyond its remarkable revenue growth, Expansion Capital Group's triumph can be attributed to its transparent solutions and streamlined processes, designed to benefit its referral partners and small business clientele. The capital provided by ECG to America's small business owners has catalyzed customer expansion, facilitated employee additions, expanded marketing initiatives, and enabled the purchase of fixed assets. In August 2023, ECG celebrated a significant milestone, having surpassed one million applications processed since its inception. This achievement underscores the tangible value that ECG delivers to aspiring small business owners seeking access to growth capital, underscoring the company's commitment to speed and transparency. Methodology The selection of companies for the 2023 Inc. 5000 ranking was predicated on the percentage increase in revenue from 2019 to 2022. Toqualify, companies had to be founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. Eligible firms were required to be privately held, for-profit entities headquartered in the United States, independent from other corporate divisions or subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2022. While some entities on the list may have since gone public or been acquired, the rigorous selection process ensured the inclusion of robust, thriving businesses. A minimum revenue threshold of $100,000 for 2019 and $2 million for 2022 was established. Inc. reserves the prerogative to decline applicants for subjective reasons, and growth rates used to determine rankings were calculated to four decimal places.



About Expansion Capital Group, headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, is a technology-driven specialty lender harnessing data and analytics to offer tailor-made solutions for small enterprises. The company primarily serves small businesses across the United States with annual revenues of under $10 million. Leveraging its technology and analytics platform, ECG has consistently expanded its outreach, extending over $900 million in working capital to more than 20,000 small businesses. For more information, please visit www.ecg.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Inc. Inc. Business Media stands as the premier multimedia brand dedicated to entrepreneurs. Through its journalistic endeavors, Inc. seeks to enlighten, educate, and elevate the visibility of our community's intrepid risk-takers, innovators, and high-achieving go-getters who are shaping our future. With a reach extending to over 50 million individuals through diverse channels, including events, print, digital, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media, Inc. is renowned for its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, which has been compiled annually since 1982. This comprehensive analysis of corporate data ranks the swiftest-growing privately held companies in the United States. Inclusion in this distinguished list, alongside other coveted Inc. rankings such as Female Founders and Power Partners, furnishes business leaders with unparalleled opportunities to engage with peers, bolster credibility, and drive sales and recruitment endeavors. For more details, visit www.inc.com. For a comprehensive breakdown of Inc. 5000 results, encompassing company profiles and an interactive database sortable by industry, location, and other parameters, please visit www.inc.com/inc5000. The September edition of Inc. magazine, available starting Tuesday, August 23, showcases the top 500 enterprises featured in the list. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822684721/en/

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[August 22, 2023] Georgia Administrative Services, Inc. Selects Klear.ai's Platform to Enhance Claims Management and Data Analysis Tweet

CYPRESS, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Klear.ai, a leading innovator in AI insurance software solutions, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Georgia Administrative Services, Inc. (G.A.S.), a leader in third-party administration services for Georgia Workers' Compensation Insurance Programs. This collaboration involves the implementation of Klear.ai's Advanced Analytics platform and other supporting software enhancing G.A.S.'s highly regarded, personalized customer service and claims management, as well as other areas of service. Together, Klear.ai and Georgia Administrative Services aim to streamline processes, improve outcomes, and secure data analytics through intelligent, collaborative capabilities and automation. This partnership aligns perfectly with Klear.ai's commitment to efficiency and innovation, and G.A.S.'s focus on exceptional customer service and proactive cost control. Amy Salmon, COO of Georgia Administrative Services Inc., shared her excitement about the collaboration, saying, "We are excited to partner with Klear.ai to enhance our claims management and data analysis capabilities. Their AI insurance software solutions far exceeded other analytic tools we reviewed in the marketplace and will enable us to provide deeper analytics to facilitate more efficient service, reduce the impact of injuries, and create cost-saving solutions for our clients." Brijesh Kumar, CEO of Klear.ai, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership: "We are thrilled to work with G.A.S. and provide our secure, mdern SaaS platform with native AI insurance software solutions. Our platform further enables G.A.S. to expand delivery of exceptional third-party administration services and innovative insurance management solutions."



The Klear.ai collaboration represents a key milestone in G.A.S.'s strong commitment to innovative, client-centric solutions. The implementation of Klear.ai's platform and supporting software will ensure G.A.S. continues to deliver exceptional service and customized claims and risk management solutions. About Klear.ai:

Klear.ai offers a secure, modern SaaS platform with native AI insurance software solutions for Property & Casualty, Workers' Compensation Claims Administration, Risk Management, Policy Management, Analytics, and Auditing. The platform leverages extensive industry and technological expertise to provide efficient, deployable solutions. About Georgia Administrative Services, Inc.: Georgia Administrative Services, Inc. (G.A.S.) leads in offering third-party administration services to Georgia Workers' Compensation Insurance Programs. Renowned as a trusted name since 1995, G.A.S. specializes in innovative program development, claims management, underwriting, and in-house medical support. Their dedicated team ensures outstanding service, reflecting a commitment to client goals and one of the highest client retention records in the industry. Press & Media Contact [Klear.ai] Shivanshu Bansal Phone: +1 (925)-640-7156

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.klearai.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/klearai

Youtube: https://youtu.be/vSCsvokQmg0 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/georgia-administrative-services-inc-selects-klearais-platform-to-enhance-claims-management-and-data-analysis-301907252.html SOURCE Klear.ai

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[August 22, 2023] Maine Students Discover Exciting Career Possibilities at Unique Hands-On Career Fair Tweet

Medomak Middle School recently hosted a career fair for middle and high school students across 14 school districts, providing them with a unique opportunity to explore different career pathways. The fair was organized by Education Associates, a leading provider of career exploration and job readiness resources for students. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230818583096/en/ Student practicing hands-on job skills with the Project Discovery Electricity Kit at the Waldoboro Middle School career fair. (Photo: Business Wire) Students were able to explore various careers, including medical, childcare, food services, and carpentry. Staff introduced hands-on job tasks to students, modelld the task, then allowed students to independently walk through the activities from each career cluster using visual schedules. Each activity was taken from the Project Discovery curriculum that Education Associates provided for the fair.



The students were excited and engaged throughout the day, with many expressing enthusiasm for their favorite stations. When asked about how they rated the food service activity, one student said, "I loved it, it was very fun!" Students also filled out "passports" where they ranked how much they liked different stations at the career fair. This served as a great first step in identifying careers they may be interested in.

The fair was made possible thanks to Education Associates, a company that provides hands-on, evidence-based career exploration & life skills curriculum for educators and students across the country. They provided all the materials for each station from their Project Discovery curriculum. Their mission is to help students of all functional levels be ready for work & ready for life. "We were truly honored to be a part of the Maine career fair," said Danielle Shinaberry, a spokesperson for Education Associates. "It was great to see the students' excitement about all of the hand-on activities. They were able to touch, feel and do! They learned about possible job opportunities and were able to perform actual job tasks. Project Discovery allows students to discover their strengths and interests. It was a great event!" Overall, the Medomak Middle School career fair was a huge success, and a great example of the power of career exploration and hands-on learning. The students who participated gained valuable insights into different career paths and left feeling inspired. To learn more about Education Associates, click here: www.educationassociates.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230818583096/en/

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Right now hottie Lindsey and her legacy of fashionista winning inspires our latest look at pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Reporting For Broke-Ass Homebodies

Northeast News Travel Guide: Stay-trip in Kansas City Michael BushnellPublisher Join our Northeast News staff this summer as we hit the road and share with our readers a [...]

NKC Sneak Peek . . .

Cordish Dipping Its Development Toe in Riverfront By Kevin Collison Cordish, a major player in the heart of downtown for 20 years, is dipping its toe in the riverfront, responding to a Port KC development solicitation that calls for a 1,000-space garage and combination of residential, retail and/or office space. The Baltimore-based developer, who's portfolio includes the Power & Light District, and...

Meet New Lady Boss

City of Shawnee announces Chelsee Chism to step in as new assistant city manager The city of Shawnee and City Manager Doug Gerber announced Tuesday that Chelsee Chism will step into the role of Shawnee assistant city manager on Sept. 11.

Latest Long Shot Debut . . .

Kansas City's Eric Morrison announces 2024 gubernatorial candidacy Courtesy campaign Eric D. Morrison, a Kansas City native and pastor of Kingdom Word Ministries, launched his campaign for the 2024 Democratic gubernatorial nomination from the State Capital building on Thursday, August 17. Morrison, 60, is the second Democrat to declare, following Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade's July 9 announcement.

Grid Endures EPIC Strain

LIVE BLOG: Midwest sets all time electricity use record Monday Tuesday is another scorcher in the Kansas City area, with the excessive heat warning remaining in place until 10 p.m. Thursday.

Fashion Diva Debuts New Look

Sprayground Launches FW16 Collection With Video Starring Lindsey Pelas Sprayground has launched its Fall/Winter 2016 collection "FUTURE WINTER" with an exclusive video starring Lindsey Pelas. See it here.

White House Promises Payback

Biden admin launches new income-driven student loan repayment program The Biden administration officially launched the new income-driven student loan repayment plan for borrowers on Tuesday, ahead of repayments restarting this fall. The official launch of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan comes just weeks before interest will begin to accrue on student loans for the first time in more than three years...

MAGA Name Game Winning?!?

Why Trump and His Supporters Keep Calling Democrats 'Fascists' Republican audiences have come to associate fascists and Nazis with ideological leftism. How did that happen?

View From 2nd Place Isn't Pretty

DeSantis defends 'listless vessels' remark about Trump supporters after backlash Trump's campaign and allies slammed DeSantis after he urged Republicans against becoming "listless vessels" who support the former president. The Florida governor later said he was referring to Republican critics in Congress.

Deadly Hater Rampage Documented

Man who fatally shot California store owner tore down her Pride flag and shouted slurs Shooter had history of posting hateful content online, sheriff says, and shot Laura Ann Carleton with gun not registered to him

Crypto King Serving Hard Time

Sam-Bankman Fried whines he isn't getting his ADHD meds, vegan meals in jail: 'Subsisting on bread and water' Sam Bankman-Fried can't prepare for his trial because he's not getting his ADHD medication in a jail that is refusing to serve him vegan meals, his lawyer said.

Drone War In Europe Worsens

Ukrainian drone destroys Russian supersonic bomber Images posted on social media show a Russian supersonic bomber engulfed in flames following a drone strike.

Far East Comeback Struggles

Post-Covid Chinese economy is going slower than "everybody had hoped for" Economic woes including a troubled real estate market are weighing down consumer sentiment.

Double Divas Split Difference

Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato latest to split from manager Scooter Braun The pop stars follow Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin's departure in May, while representatives for Justin Bieber have denied rumours that he is also parting ways with SB Projects

SAVE DREW!!!

Drew And Renee Rapp Are Being Praised For Their Reactions After Being Interrupted By An Alleged "Stalker" The incident took place on Monday when a member of the audience at an 92NY event rushed the stage and told Drew they needed to see her.

Mum Unburdened

I struggled with my 34H boobs - I sold my house to afford surgery A UK mom was forced to take some drastic measures after her 34H-sized chest left her in so much agony that she couldn't even pick up her own children.

Kansas City Coffee Hipsters Undertake EPIC Mission

From Roasting To Retail: Local Coffee Roasters Open Their First Shop This Fall Marcell Coffee owners are taking their farm-to-coffee mission to their first retail store and coffeeshop, Take Care, located in the Crossroads.

Show-Me Power Companies Putting Locals On The Clock

New 'time-based' Evergy rates could hurt Missouri wallets. And it's just getting hotter | Opinion It would be more than four times more expensive to run the AC during peak hours on hot summer evenings. | Opinion

Another Grid Double Take

This week might be the hottest ever in Kansas. Can the power grid and Evergy cope? With much of Kansas under an excessive heat warning this week, the state's largest utility is saying it can cope with a record demand for power.

Time To Kick Him To Curb?!?

Should the KC Chiefs consider an extension for Harrison Butker? The longtime place kicker has two years left on his contract. Should the Kansas City Chiefs think about giving Butker another extension?

Sweating It Out Today . . .

FORECAST: Weather Alert Tuesday as we remain under life-threatening heat with poorer air quality Another day of heat ranges between 110 to 115 and due to the heat and more sun, we will create more ground ozone dropping our air quality down to unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Wilco - Evicted is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces have succeeded in the area of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhya region. Our defenders continue the offensive on the Melitopol direction of the front.

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This was reported by the representative of the General Staff of the AFU Andriy Kovalev, noted in the Military Media Center. According to him, the Ukrainian troops are consolidating on the achieved borders.

In addition, the fighters are hitting enemy targets with artillery and implementing counter-battery countermeasures.

As a reminder, the ISW also confirmed that on August 20-21, the Defense Forces achieved tactically important successes near the village of Robotine and eastward in the west of Zaporizhzhya region. They continue counter-offensive operations on the administrative border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya regions, as well as in eastern Ukraine.

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The day before, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said that the defenders had succeeded in the direction southeast of Robotyne and south of Mala Tokmachka, while Russian troops unsuccessfully counterattacked east of the first settlement. Both it and Russian sources said the fighting in Robotyne was continuing.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- Malyar reported that the Defense Forces for the past week cleared from the occupants 3 square kilometers of territory near Bakhmut. Our military are advancing on the southern flank of the city;

- The Ukrainian military showed what the Russian occupants have turned the village of Urozhayne in Donetsk region into. Before the war there were about 1,000 people living in the settlement, but now there is not a single person left. Also the war criminals destroyed all the houses.

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Actually, for those of us who can read polling and don't let our emotions get the better of us . . . This is a smart move in theory even if it won't likely help him with GOP hardliners one bit.

Here's the word that's worth considering because it's good info that presents data that will challenge your deeply-held beliefs . . . And provide more evidence that youngsters are increasingly on their own.

Check-it . . .



"The motive for all this anti-democracy mischief is obvious: Polls indicate that in Missouri, as in most of America, voters would endorse reasonable abortion rights if given the chance at an up-or-down vote  as voters in a half-dozen states, including deep-red Kansas and Kentucky, have demonstrated since Roe was overturned last year.



"So anti-choice forces are pulling out all the stops to make sure the voters dont get to be heard. Of course, that sounds bad even to most of those who oppose abortion rights. Which explains why Hawley and Schmitt last week both appeared to distance themselves from the most extreme efforts of their party on this issue.



I think voters ought to be able to weigh in and in every state and jurisdiction they want to, Hawley said at the state fair in Sedalia, as reported by the Post-Dispatchs Jack Suntrup. Schmitt said it is inevitable that the question will be presented to Missouri voters at some point. Both specified that they favor exceptions to the state abortion ban for the victims of rape and incest."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
The 1st prize of the International Documentary Film Festival that was held recently in Ierapetra, Crete, the award for feature-length documentaries as well as the Special Jury Prize for International Films were awarded at the 19th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra to the film The New Greek Americans 1960  2018 by director Anna Giannioti. The late Oscar-winning and beloved actress Olympia Dukakis is the narrator of the documentary that captures in the best way what its like to grow up as a Greek on the other side of the Atlantic.

The New Greek Americans 1960  2018 is the third and final documentary of the trilogy funded by the Greek Heritage Society based in California and pays tribute to the Greek-Americans of second or third generation through stories and moments that perfectly convey the feeling of growing up feeling Greek.

The story begins in the 1960s as young Greek Americans embrace changing times despite their conservative upbringing. Each decade influences the Greek community with events such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Cyprus Invasion, and Michael S. Dukakis candidacy for President of the United States. The participants share heartfelt and humorous stories that reflect growing up Greek. The film provides food for thought in response to the question: Will the second and third generations actively engage with their cherished ancestral heritage enough to keep the Greek culture alive in America? Olympia Dukakis is the hostess and narrator of the film.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: pixabay.com
There were no reports of serious injuries to firefighters or residents from the forest blaze near the town of Alexandroupolis, that forced the evacuation of another eight villages Saturday

Associated Press reports from Alexandroupolis that Greek authorities evacuated another four villages near the northeastern border with Turkey Sunday where a large summer wildfire that has already destroyed several homes over the weekend drew dangerously close.

There were no reports of serious injuries to firefighters or residents from the forest blaze near the town of Alexandroupolis, that forced the evacuation of another eight villages Saturday.

Strong winds whipped on the flames, and civil protection authorities warned of an extreme fire risk Monday in the region around the capital, Athens, and other parts of southern Greece.

Some 200 firefighters, assisted by 16 water-dropping aircraft, volunteers, and police, were battling the blaze near Alexandroupolis.

Local authorities said about half a dozen outlying houses and outbuildings were badly damaged in two of the evacuated villages, as well as a church. Sections of a major highway were closed for a second day as smoke reduced visibility, while Alexandroupolis residents were advised to keep their windows shut.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Mpb eu
When Toronto dates for Taylor Swifts Eras tour were announced, Sarah Pauls niece texted her in excitement, hoping Paul would get her tickets for one of the concerts. Paul was happy to consider the ask and try as the costs werent going to break the bank for her.

Paul, who is vice-president, human resources and corporate social responsibility at Govan Brown & Associates, says being the rich auntie is afforded to her by having disposable income, no children, a good job and being financially smart.

All those things create an environment where Ive got a lot of freedom.

The term rich auntie has been attributed to Rachel Cargle, who, in 2020, created Rich Auntie Supreme, a website and social media platform that bills itself as a space to celebrate and be in community with those women who choose a journey of being child-free and indulgence in the villages around them.

Scroll through the #richauntie tag on social media and youll see women living their best lives, rich in time, rich in rest, rich in travel, rich in space, rich in spontaneity.

According to the Rich Auntie website, rich aunties recognize that not being a mother doesnt mean that we cant relish in being a nurturing part of the villages among us.

There are certain features that make someone a rich auntie, says Jackie Porter, a certified financial planner and adviser with Carte Wealth Management and owner of Team Jackie Porter. Porter has clients and friends who would be considered rich aunties. She says most of the women are single, dont have children and are financially savvy.

Studies have shown that women on their own have higher net worth than their married counterparts and are doing better financially, she says. They tend to have a higher net worth, more home ownership and investments.

Not having children and being financially driven affords rich aunties the time and the funds to invest in themselves and their communities. Heres what they do  and how they do it.

Prioritize finances

Elke Rubach, president of Rubach Wealth, agrees with Porter. You have to look after yourself financially first, she says. Understand whats important to you and plan and spend accordingly.

Porter says her clients are confident in their financial knowledge, expectations and goals. They meet with her to execute those goals and validate their decisions.

Know your numbers, she says. I know a lot of wealthy women who are afraid of not having money as they get older. You can be confident about your future if you know your numbers and plan accordingly.

Thats what Paul does. Her father was a bank branch manager. He had a solid work ethic and a lot of financial smarts, and those two traits were instilled in me at a young age, which is why Ive been able to have some success.

She has her investment and savings portfolios and meets with her financial adviser once a year. I manage my expenses so Ive got liquid income to have fun, but Ive also set myself up to be financially secure and independent.

Bring the future into now

Paul was on vacation when interviewed for this article. She says having money can help create an opportunity for work-life balance whether its used for a vacation, travel, volunteering or philanthropic activities. Porter agrees, saying its something she hears from her rich auntie friends all the time. They say, I dont want to wait. I dont have a family. I dont have kids, so here are my priorities: I want to travel, I want to invest in my hobbies or charitable giving. I want to give back, I want to spoil my nieces and nephews.

While Paul buys her niece and nephew Christmas and birthday presents  and tries for the occasional concert ticket  she prefers to focus on experiences that build memories.

Know what every dollar is doing

Every dollar should have a role, says Porter. Thats where having a budget is important, because it puts the money to work toward an emergency fund, short- and long-term savings like retirement, and even vacation savings.

She says if you have lazy money  money that isnt assigned to something  youre more inclined to give it up when someone asks to borrow it.

Financial boundaries

Both Porter and Rubach say rich aunties should have firm financial boundaries when it comes to lending money. Rubach says if you do lend money, be comfortable with the amount you lend and be prepared to never see it again.

I do it with no strings attached, says Rubach. If it comes back, great. If it doesnt, I knew it, because otherwise, if you have those expectations, youre just setting yourself up for failure.

Porter says if every dollar has a job, its harder for a rich auntie to lend large sums of money. You can say, I dont have (the money) because you dont have it sitting around. She, like Rubach, says if you do lend, to lend what youre comfortable not getting back  its easier to keep money from complicating relationships that way.

Paul doesnt mind being known as the rich auntie. She gets to use her hard-earned success to enrich her family while imparting financial knowledge to her niece and nephew. They talk about saving and how they spend money.

I wouldnt go and call myself that, she says. Still, the life choices that brought her here makes me feel like Ive been successful. And its afforded me opportunities to buy things, go places and treat my family.
Explore Bangalore to Tirupati: a 4-5 hr scenic drive. Spirituality at Venkateswara Temple, nature's beauty at waterfalls, and cultural richness await.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - August 22nd, 2023 -

Introduction:

Embarking on a journey with Nuego from the bustling city of Bangalore to the spiritual haven of Tirupati offers an enchanting escape from the ordinary. As you traverse the scenic landscapes and immerse yourself in the rich cultural tapestry of Tirupati, you'll discover a treasure trove of experiences waiting to unfold. In this blog, we'll guide you through the must-visit attractions and activities that will make your trip from Bangalore to Tirupati truly memorable.

Part 1: Bangalore to Tirupati - The Journey Begins

The road trip from Bangalore to Tirupati is a picturesque adventure in itself. As you leave the city's urban chaos behind, the scenery evolves into rolling hills, verdant fields, and charming villages. The journey takes approximately 4 to 5 hours, offering ample opportunities for pit stops and capturing breathtaking views along the way.

Part 2: Spiritual Sojourn in Tirupati

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple: The heart of Tirupati's spirituality, this ancient temple dedicated to Lord Venkateswara is a pilgrimage site of immense significance. The towering gopurams, intricate carvings, and serene atmosphere draw devotees from all over the world. Witnessing the deity's darshan and participating in rituals create a profound spiritual experience.

Kapila Theertham: Nestled amidst a serene forest, this waterfall holds both natural beauty and spiritual importance. Legend has it that Lord Shiva himself blessed the waters. The experience of standing before the cascading falls and embracing their divinity is truly surreal.

Part 3: Cultural Odyssey in Tirupati

Sri Venkateswara Dhyana Vignan Mandiram: Immerse yourself in the rich cultural heritage of Tirupati by visiting this unique museum. It showcases artifacts, paintings, and sculptures that narrate the epic stories of Indian mythology, allowing you to delve into the tales behind the temple.

Tirupati Balaji Museum: Get a closer look at the history and legacy of the temple through an array of exhibits and displays. From intricate jewelry worn by deities to historical documents, the museum offers insights into the temple's evolution over the years.

Part 4: Natural Treasures and Tranquil Escapes

Talakona Waterfalls: Venture into the lush forests surrounding Tirupati to discover the awe-inspiring Talakona Waterfalls. Trekking through the verdant trails to reach the falls is an adventure in itself. The rejuvenating mist and the sight of water cascading from great heights create a surreal experience.

Sri Vari Museum: Located on the temple premises, this museum is a testament to the devotion and offerings of millions of pilgrims. The museum displays items ranging from gold and silver ornaments to artistic renditions of Lord Venkateswara.

Conclusion:

As your journey from Bangalore to Tirupati unfolds, you'll be captivated by the seamless blend of spirituality, culture, and natural beauty. The divine aura of the temples, the serenity of waterfalls, and the cultural riches that Tirupati offers make it a destination that leaves an indelible mark on your soul. So, whether you seek spiritual solace, cultural enrichment, or a rendezvous with nature, Tirupati welcomes you with open arms, ready to bestow upon you an experience unlike any other.

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The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, and the Federal Cultural Institutions, Hadja Lahbib, has expressed hope that new consultations in Baku and Yerevan will lead to a historic turn, Azernews reports.

"The latest talks have shown that the signing of a peace agreement is close. Consultations are to take place first in Brussels and then in Yerevan and Baku. We hope that they will lead to a historic turn," the minister said, assuring that the parties can count on the EU assistance.

The Belgian Foreign Minister considers negotiations and reaching a compromise the only way out of the situation.

Lahbib, who was appointed to the role in July 2022, is the first female foreign minister in Belgium's history. She has been leading the government's efforts to resolve the long-standing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has been ongoing since the early 1990s.

In a statement released in April 2023, Lahbib expressed her hope that the new round of consultations between the two countries will lead to a historic turn in the conflict. She also called on both sides to show flexibility and to take into account the interests of all parties involved.

The Minister's efforts have been welcomed by the international community, and it is hoped that her work will eventually lead to lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

It should be noted that Hajja Labib will visit Azerbaijan on 24-25 August.
Bulgaria has officially stated that it supports Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance under an accelerated procedure. This decision was made in preparation for the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

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Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said during a briefing in Odesa on Monday, 21 August, that at that time Sofia supported Ukraine's position on joining the bloc "as far as circumstances allowed," Ukrinform reports.

He explained that in order to join NATO, the hostilities in Ukraine, started by the aggressor country Russia, must be completed.

Tagarev added that as soon as the war is over, Ukraine should have a very clear and quick alliance with NATO.

"We support the final text of the Vilnius Summit on Ukraine. And according to the action plan, we can say that we have moved from several steps to one step for Ukraine to join NATO," the Bulgarian defence minister said.

Earlier it was reported that Bulgaria had announced its accession to the G7 declaration of support for Ukraine. The G7 declaration was also supported by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

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Thus, 18 countries have already joined the security guarantees for Ukraine.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Greece has officially supported Ukraine's membership in NATO. It has become the 24th member state of the Alliance with which Kyiv has formalised this support.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
American billionaire Elon Musk spoke with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin before presenting his "peace plan" that plays along with Russia. The conversation took place in autumn 2022.

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The New Yorker made the statement, citing sources. According to media reports, the SpaceX founder admitted to this in a conversation with the now former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Pentagon, Colin Kahl, and several other people.

It is noteworthy that Musk himself has publicly denied that he had "negotiations" with Putin. He claimed that he had spoken to the Russian president before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. If the reports are true, then it appears that the inventor simply lied.

In September last year, at a conference in Aspen attended by business and political representatives, Musk spoke on stage and said: "We have to negotiate. Putin wants peace - we must negotiate peace with Putin". American entrepreneur Reid Hoffman said that it was clear then that the billionaire "bought into what Putin was selling - hook, line and sinker".

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A week later, Musk posted a proposal for his own "peace plan" on Twitter. This caused a major scandal, as Musk suggested that Kyiv agree to some of Moscow's conditions. In particular, his "formula" included holding so-called referendums to change Ukraine's borders, granting Russia control over the temporarily occupied Crimea, and so on.

Kahl assures us that the billionaire himself said that he had held a "consultation" with the Kremlin beforehand.

"He said: 'Well, I had a great conversation with Putin'. And we thought: 'Oh, dear, this is not good,'" the former Pentagon official recalls. The information that Musk spoke with the Russian dictator was confirmed to journalists by several other sources.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, in June, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin approved a deal to buy 400 to 500 new Starlink satellite terminals and services. This will give the Pentagon control over the terminals in Ukraine so that the SpaceX founder cannot shut them down.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
For the first time since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, a Russian warship has entered and docked at the seaport of the temporarily occupied Mariupol.

Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"Mariupol port has become a military base. Yesterday, for the first time since the occupation, a Russian warship entered the waters of the Mariupol seaport and docked. An hour before its mooring, four combat helicopters of different classes landed on the port territory and stayed there until the evening," Andriushchenko wrote.

He noted that it is not yet possible to say whether this is a systematic or a one-time mooring, we need to observe. "However, the ship is definitely moored in a completely different place from the one announced by the 'top scum'. If it is a permanent base, then a lot of questions arise. Starting from what threat the ship poses to the assessment of the threat in the near future regarding a new battle for Mariupol," added the mayor's advisor.

As reported, the Russian invaders are turning Mariupol and the surrounding villages into a military and logistics hub.
Ukraine needs 128 fighters to replace the old aircraft fleet.

"Ukraine needs 128 fighters to replace the old aircraft fleet  this number is prescribed in the vision of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman for the Air Force Command of Ukraine, told Radio Liberty.

According to Ihnat, if 42 fighter jets are handed over to Ukraine, this is approximately four aviation brigades. "It is clear that war can make adjustments, but more than 100 aircraft are really needed to disperse them to different airfields so that they respond to different challenges and strike different targets: aircraft, land, enemy's rear, in particular," Ihnat explained.

As reported, on August 20, the Netherlands and Denmark announced the decision to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots and engineers have already started learning how to use these planes. Denmark expects to deliver the first F-16s to Ukraine around New Year. Ukrainian soldiers will receive 42 aircraft.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of Denmark
Bulgaria will begin transferring to Ukraine its armored vehicles made in the Soviet period in late September or early October.

Thats according to the Minister of Defense of Bulgaria, Teodor Tagarev, who made the statement at a briefing in Odesa, Ukrinform reports.

Tagarev reported that Bulgaria offered to hand over to Ukraine about 100 units of Soviet-era armored vehicles.

He noted that the agreement on the transfer of equipment was yet to be ratified by the Bulgarian parliament.

Read also: Bulgaria trying to minimize influence of Russian propaganda

"As soon as the parliament returns to its sessions in September, I believe this will be one of the priority tasks. And by the end of September or beginning of October, we will already have the agreement ratified. And I think that the transmission will be able to start after that," said Tagarev.

He added that at the level of bilateral initiatives, Bulgaria continues to provide comprehensive political, military, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

It covers increasing the capabilities of Ukraines Defense Forces and personnel training.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Bulgarian government approved the draft agreement between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on the free provision of armored transport vehicles.
On the night of August 22, there was another drone attack on Moscow.

Houses and cars were damaged in the attack, Ukrinform reports, referring to Russian media.

Local Telegram channels report an attack on Krasnogorsk and Strogino.

According to Astra, after the explosion, windows were blown out of houses and cars were damaged in Krasnogorsk. The remains of a likely UAV can be seen on the asphalt.

According to Astra, after the explosion, windows were blown out of houses and cars were damaged in Krasnogorsk. The remains of a likely UAV can be seen on the asphalt.

According to Shot, a drone was shot down over Krasnogorsk in the vicinity of the government building of Moscow region.

A blast was also heard by residents of Moscow's Strogino district, according to Astra. Smoke was seen in the sky following the explosion.

The mayor of Moscow said that Moscow was allegedly attacked by combat drones. It is reported that drones were shot down in the areas of Krasnogorsk and Chastsy. Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports temporarily suspended operations.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 258,340 Russian invaders in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to August 22, 2023, including 410 invaders in the past day alone.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in a post on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

The Ukrainian defenders have also destroyed 4,362enemy tanks (+4 in the past day), 8,476 armored combat vehicles (+27), 5,295 artillery systems (+31), 721 multiple launch rocket systems (+2), 491 air defense systems (+2), 315 aircraft, 316 helicopters, 4,312 unmanned aerial vehicles (+3), 1,406 cruise missiles, 18 warships/cutters, 7,722 motor vehicles (+30), and 797 special equipment units (+3).

The data are being updated.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck four Russian command posts, one manpower, weapons, equipment cluster, and three artillery units in firing positions in the past day.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces pursue their offensive operation in the Bakhmut and Melitopol directions.

This was announced by the spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andriy Kovalev, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, reports Ukrinform.

"Ukraines Defense Forces are running an offensive operation in the Bakhmut and Melitopol directions," he said.

According to the spokesman, the Ukrainian troops saw success in the direction of Robotyne, entrenching themselves on the gained positions, inflicting artillery fire on the designated enemy targets and engaging in counter-battery combat.

At the same time, Kovalev reported that in the direction of Bakhmut, the Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations south of the town.

"The enemy undertook unsuccessful offensive efforts in the districts of Avdiivka, Marinka, and Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region. The enemy is suffering significant losses in manpower, weapons, and equipment, maneuvering units and troops, and actively employing reserves," he emphasized.

The spokesman for the General Staff says the Defense Forces continue to restrain the advance of Russian troops in the Kupiansk, Lyman, and Bakhmut areas.

"The enemy carried out unsuccessful offensive actions in the district of Klishchiivka, Donetsk region. Heavy fighting is ongoing here," Kovalev informed.

In addition, he noted that 30 combat clashes have taken place throughout the day. The enemy launched two missile and 43 air strikes, as well as 45 attacks involving MLR systems, on the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas.

"Unfortunately, as a result of Russian terrorist attacks, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure sustained destruction," concluded the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russian military death toll in Ukraine had reached 258,340.
British intelligence analysts presume that the latest UAV attack on the Soltsy airfield in Russia, where at least one Tu-22M3 strategic bomber was destroyed as a result, could have been carried out from the territory of the Russian Federation.

The British Ministry of Defense reported the update on X (formerly known as Twitter) with reference to intelligence data, reports Ukrinform.

As noted, on August 19, a long-range Russian Tu-22M3 bomber was most likely destroyed at the Soltsy military airfield in Novgorod region, 650 km from the border with Ukraine.

Russias Ministry of Defense claims that the airfield was attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle of the quadcopter type.

"If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsy-2 from outside Russia," British intelligence believes.

It is emphasized that Russia has frequently used Tu-22M3 (Backfire) bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen) heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs.

"This is at least the third successful attack on long-range airfields, again raising questions about Russias ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country," British intelligence concluded in its summary.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, British intelligence in their previous update stated that Russia was expanding its military organization in view of wartime realities. A new formation, the 18th Combined Arms Army, is very likely being created.
Ukraine is currently negotiating with France regarding the supply of long-range missiles and air defense capabilities, as well as spare parts for the already provided military equipment.

This was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to France, Vadym Omelchenko, who spoke in an interview with Lb.ua, Ukrinform reports.

"If we talk about the strategic issues that we are currently negotiating with the French, these are long-range missiles and air defense equipment. And another urgent need is spare parts, because everything that sbeen delivered to us is being heavily exploited and worn out. France and I are already working on solving this problem," the diplomat said.

Omelchenko also noted that there is a "permanent pressing issue" of the supply of 155mm artillery rounds. According to him, France undertook to deliver these munitions at a certain pace.

"Those who produce them are now working 24/7, specialized enterprises in France have gone into emergency mode. And here is good news: the French have decided to triple production and delivery pace. This is very important," the ambassador of Ukraine noted.

Commenting on the possibility of France supplying new SAMP/T batteries, Omelchenko noted that the issue is under the constant control of the leadership of both countries, the ministers of defense, and the chiefs of the General Staff.

"I think were seeing good prospects. All parties understand that these systems should be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible," he said.

The diplomat added that all SCALP missiles, which France pledged to provide as part of the first batch, are already in Ukraine. According to him, the munitions from the first batch proved themselves well.

"There will be more SCALPs, their supply will continue. The main issue with these deliveries is their rhythm, and the French are doing very well here. In general, if you hear a statement from President Zelensky or President Macron that France has made a decision at the request of the Ukrainian side to provide us with some weapons, be aware that it is already in Ukraine and already in action at the front," the ambassador concluded.

As reported, France will allocate an additional EUR 40 million in financial aid to Ukraine within 2023.

Photo: press service of the Embassy of Ukraine in France
Russia transferred the bodies of 12 fallen Ukrainian defenders, who had been considered prisoners of war. Thus, questions arise about the work of medical commissions in the Russian Federation.

Yuriy Taraniuk, the head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, stated this at a briefing at the Military Media Center, Ukrinform reports.

"As of today, the Russian side has already transferred to us twelve bodies of our POWs, who had been confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross as those who were being held captive in Russia. At the same time, there were no reports from Russia either about the deterioration of their health or about their serious condition," Taraniuk said.

According to him, such cases call into question the quality of work or the presence of appropriate medical commissions in Russia.

Read also: Another 22 Ukrainian POWs released from Russian captivity

As reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine is initiating the creation of mixed medical commissions for the exchange of prisoners.

Over the past several weeks, the exchange fund has increased by more than 200 Russian invaders, every fifth of them surrendered voluntarily.

According to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, 2,598 Ukrainians have already been returned home.

Photo: Military Media Center
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has rejected the possibility of signing a peace agreement with Moscow in exchange for giving up part of Ukrainian territory.

This was reported by El Diario, according to Ukrinform.

Kuleba praised the support Ukraine has received in the fight against Russian aggression. Therefore, he said, the terms of peace for Ukraine cannot resemble the Moscow Peace Treaty signed in 1940 with Finland.

"We are not going to sign an agreement similar to the one signed by Finland," Kuleba said.

Kuleba added that having survived a full-scale invasion, won various battles and gained support, Ukraine "has every chance to get different peace conditions" than it did during the Soviet-'Finland war, the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 or Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Read also: Russia plans to bring in thousands of Russians to hold sham elections in occupied territories

"Ukraine's victory and EU membership will lead us to success," he said.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that he knew nothing about any agreements that would force Ukraine to 'exchange' its territories and insisted that the Russians must be punished.
Denmark has launched a training course on F-16 fighter jets for eight Ukrainian pilots as part of its commitment to provide these aircraft to Ukraine.

This was reported by Reuters with reference to the Armed Forces of Denmark, Ukrinform saw.

Eight pilots have arrived at the Danish military air base in Skridstrup together with 65 maintenance personnel who will be trained in servicing the aircraft, the Danish Armed Forces said in a statement.

On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Greece would also take part in the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s fighter jets.

As reported, Zelensky made a blitz tour to Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark this weekend.

On August 20, the Netherlands and Denmark announced their decision to hand over to Ukraine a batch of F-16 fighter jets. Ukrainian pilots and maintenance specialists have already started mastering these aircraft. Denmark, which currently has 43 F-16 warplanes in service, expects to deliver the first fighter jets to Ukraine before year-end.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday that Russia is already moving a part of its short-range nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus.

Thats according to the Associated Press referring to Dudas statement voiced at a joint press conference with Portugals President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Ukrinform reports.

I was telling President (Sousa) about the implementation of the declarations by Vladimir Putin that Russias tactical nuclear weapons will be moved to the territory of Belarus. Indeed, this process is taking place, we are seeing that, Duda said.

He stopped short of providing any details, only noting that "in an obvious way it is changing the architecture of security" in Eastern Europe.

"This changes the security architecture in our immediate neighboring countries, but at the same time on NATO's eastern flank. So, in fact, it changes the situation for the entire alliance," the Polish leader concluded.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield use and have a shorter range and lower yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads mounted on long-range missiles.

As reported, on May 25, Russian and Belarusian defense chiefs signed agreements on the deployment of Russias tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil. On the same day, Belarus leader Aleksander Lukashenko announced that the nuclear weapons were already being transferred from Russia. At a meeting with Lukashenko in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed tactical nukes would be delivered to the Republic of Belarus after July 7-8.

On June 16, the Russian president said the first batch of nuclear warheads, intended to be deployed on Belarusian soil, had been delivered.

In late July, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officials told journalists they have no reason to doubt Russian President Vladimir Putins claim that Russia has moved a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.

The officials would not disclose why they believe that, only acknowledging that the weapons are difficult for the U.S. intelligence community to track, even through satellite imagery.

Putin said Russia has about 4,477 deployed and reserved nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons. It is not clear how much of that arsenal Putin intends to move, and U.S. and Western officials have not publicly confirmed that any weapons have been transferred to Belarus.
Ukraines Defense Forces on Tuesday successfully repelled Russias assault efforts in the Avdiivka direction, while pursuing an offensive toward Melitopol in the countrys south.

Thats according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Ukrinform reports.

An evening update posted on Facebook says Ukraines troops operating in the Melitopol direction hold their lines in the gained positions and engage in counter-battery fire.

According to the General Staff, a total of 26 combat clashes took place along the front lines during the day.

Ukrainian Air Force conducted 11 sorties hitting nine enemy clusters and two anti-aircraft missile systems.

Missile and artillery units hit two Russian manpower and weapons clusters, two ammunition depots, and a TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system.

Russian invaders carried out a total of two missile attacks and 38 air strikes, as well as 26 attacks involving MLR systems, on the positions of Ukraines Defense Forces and populated areas.

As a result of enemy attacks, a number of civilians have been killed and wounded, residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure objects have been destroyed.

Russia is likely to continue its missile attacks and air strikes throughout the territory of Ukraine, the General Staff warns.

On the Volyn and Polissia axes, the operational situation has undergone no significant changes.

On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes, Russian artillery and mortars attacked more than 15 settlements, including Rozhkovychi, Seredyna-Buda, Myropilske, and Riasne, Sumy Region, and Pletenivka, Vovchansk, and Chuhunivka, Kharkiv region.

In the Kupiansk direction, Berestove, Tverdokhlibove, and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, Kharkiv region, were hit by artillery and mortars.

On the Lyman axis, Russian aviation hit the areas of Tverdokhlibove and Serebrianske forestry, Luhansk region, while artillery shelled nearly 10 settlements, including Bilohorivka, Luhansk region, as well as Zvanivka, Vesele, Spirne, and Fedorivka, Donetsk region.

In the direction of Bakhmut, the Russians launched an air strike in the Ivanivske district, Donetsk region. More than 15 settlements, including Minkivka, Bohdanivka, Ivanivsk, and Diliivka, Donetsk region, were subjected to Russian artillery shelling.

In the Avdiivka direction, Ukraines Defense Forces successfully repelled a number of Russian assaults. Novokalynove, Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonenke, and Umanske, Donetsk region, came under Russian artillery fire.

In the Marinka direction, Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the advance of Russian invaders in the Marinka area, Donetsk region. Marinka, Pobieda, Yelizavetivka, Novomykhailivka, Katerynivka, and Antonivka, Donetsk region, were hit by enemy artillery.

On the Shakhtarske axis, Russian aviation hit the Vodianne and Urozhaine areas in Donetsk region. More than 10 settlements, including Vodiane, Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, and Urozhaine, Donetsk region, were affected by enemy artillery shelling.

In the direction of Zaporizhzhia, the Russians conducted air strikes in the areas of Mala Tokmachka, Yehorivka, and Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region. More than 15 settlements suffered from enemy artillery fire, including Poltavka, Huliaipole, Huliaipilske, Chervone, and Zatyshshia, Zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson direction, Russian air strikes targeted the area near Romashkove, Kherson region. The city of Kherson, Novovorontsovka, and Komyshany, Kherson region, suffered from enemy artillery strikes.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in the Kupiansk direction, amid active pressure from Russian invasion troops, the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not retreat from a single populace across Kharkiv region.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, fighters from the 47th Brigade of Ukraines Armed Forces forced their way into the village of Robotyne where they set up an evacuation of local residents in Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
The Russian military launched an Iskander ballistic missile over Kryvyi Rih. Fifty-five homes were damaged.

Thats according to Oleksandr Vilkul, Chairman of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, who broke the news on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Today at around 05:30, the terrorist state attacked our city with an Iskander ballistic missile. According to updated reports, 55 private homes and 15 farm buildings were damaged as a result of the missile strike, windows were partially shattered in 24 apartment blocks. A local school and a higher educational facility also sustained damage, as did several objects operated by utility companies and transport infrastructure objects," he wrote.

As a result of the strike, electricity supplies were severed to over 45,000 residents. Several hospitals immediately switched to power generators. The water supply system also switched to reserve power mode. Thanks to the prompt response by all emergency services, the power supply was restored in the shortest possible time, early this morning. Work on liquidation of the consequences is still underway.

Immediately after the missile attack, two field headquarters were deployed to issue construction materials and receive from affected residents applications for financial aid.

Earlier it was reported that a local man, 70, sustained minor injuries. Psychologists provided assistance to eight persons at the scene.

Throughout the day, in the Nikopol district, the invaders shelled Nikopol and the Marhanets community, employing heavy artillery. A private enterprise and a residential building were damaged.
A decision was made to provide Ukraine with about 1,000 portable mine clearing charges which can make passages in engineering barriers.

"A decision was made to provide Ukraine with about 1,000 portable mine clearing charges which can make passages in engineering barriers," Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said during a meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Ministry of Defense.

She also emphasized that the Netherlands would continue to work to meet all Ukraine's needs, in particular for air defense systems which are a critical component for preserving the lives of Ukrainians and the state's infrastructure.

"We were very happy to announce the next step in strengthening air defense, namely the transfer of F-16 fighters. We have already agreed on training programs for Ukrainian pilots. We plan to start training at a center in Romania, we have F-16s available for training. Of course, we understand that preparation involves a further transfer, and as soon as there is an opportunity, everything will be done. We all already know very well how quickly the Ukrainian military learns, there is no doubt that the training will be completed, but it will also be necessary to integrate all this into the logistics system and into the system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular the Air Force. This is not only a question of training, but also a question of capabilities and technical support. But we are already working on it. We have made a commitment. Everything will be done as quickly as possible," Ollongren emphasized.

The Minister of Defense of the Netherlands thanked Reznikov for his tireless efforts in encouraging foreign partners to do more than they are doing now. In particular, she expressed her gratitude for transparency and clarity in the formation of Ukraine's needs and creative approaches to the process of finding solutions.

In turn, Reznikov emphasized that "F-16s is a powerful step. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this decision made by the Government of the Netherlands."

Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Kajsa Ollongren arrived in Kyiv today. She spoke at the VI International Veterans Forum "Ukraine. Defenders. The Future", organized by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.

Photo: www.mil.gov.ua
Ukraine has created an alternative corridor for grain transportation through the Black Sea but the nation needs to further strengthen its air defense capabilities.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, Ukrinform reports.

"Ukraine has created an alternative grain corridor in the Black Sea. It can work," the head of state said.

At the same time, he emphasized that in order for the operation to be stable, Ukraine needs to strengthen its "air shield".

"This is important for the Black Sea region, in particular for our city of Odesa. And this can be a historic contribution on the part of Greece to the overall European security, if you help us with protecting the Black Sea water area and with regard to air defense capabilities," the president stressed.

He added that he offered his counterpart several options on how this could be done.

Zelensky also reported that Greek companies are ready to participate in the transportation of Ukrainian grain, noting that Ukraine is counting on it.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Greece on Monday. Prior to that, he visited Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Photo: Presidents Office
Kyiv is interested in developing cooperation with Bucharest, in particular, in the field of natural gas transportation through the Trans-Balkan gas corridor.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine following an online meeting between Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko and Minister of Energy of Romania Sebastian Burduja.

It is noted that the Ukrainian minister congratulated the colleague on his appointment and expressed confidence in continuing productive cooperation between the energy ministries of the two countries and strengthening the energy security of the entire region.

In particular, he pointed out the interest of the Ukrainian side in the implementation of joint projects in the gas industry and electricity.

"Ukraine has the largest gas storage facilities in Europe and offers international partners to use the natural gas storage facilities on mutually beneficial terms. We state that European traders have already started pumping their gas into our facilities, the volumes already amount to about 600 million cubic meters," Galushchenko said.

He also emphasized Ukraine's interest in developing cooperation in the field of natural gas transportation through the Trans-Balkan gas corridor.

In addition, the parties discussed the implementation of agreements on the restoration of the interstate overhead line between the 750 kV substation "South Ukraine NPP" and the 400 kV substation "Isaccea".

This project, the Ministry emphasized, is of great importance for expanding the capacity of cross-border networks; it will increase the reliability of electricity supply to consumers in the southern regions of Ukraine and remove restrictions on the generation capacity from renewable energy sources in these territories.

Galushchenko thanked Romania for supporting the energy sector of Ukraine and spoke about the needs of the energy sector, the necessary materials and equipment, the reserve of which will help Ukraine get through the next heating season.

Photo: Ministry of Energy
Director of the National Anti-Corruption Center of Moldova (NACC) Iulian Rusu and Director of the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine Oleksiy Sukhachov signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of preventing and combating corruption.

As Moldpres reports, the NACC of Moldova stated that the document aimed to ensure close cooperation between the two institutions, including through the exchange of information and best practices in the field of preventing and combating corruption, investigating and exposing acts related to corruption.

By signing the agreement, the parties expressed their interest in cooperation in the following priority areas: exchange of information on legislation, research and other materials on the prevention, detection, exposure and investigation into crimes, as well as official investigations; exchange of best practices in the field of criminal investigation and internal investigations; exchange of knowledge about advanced technological solutions, innovations, IT applications and other tools used by each participant in the fight against criminal activity.

In order to ensure the effective prevention and detection of criminal acts, the parties intend to encourage and support direct cooperation through the implementation of joint projects and activities in accordance with the conditions to be jointly agreed.

Also, according to the provisions of the document, the participants guarantee the protection of the received secret information, and when transferring and using restricted access information, appropriate organizational and technical measures will be implemented to protect it from destruction, modification, accidental or illegal disclosure, as well as from any other illegal processing.

The signing ceremony took place in Chernivtsi. The agreement is concluded for an indefinite period.

Photo: NACC
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that he would hold a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Athens, Greece, on Tuesday.

That's according to N1, Ukrinform reports.

Vucic is in Athens at the invitation of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to an informal dinner along with other Western Balkans leaders, including Kosovo, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraines Zelensky. The Serbian president said no details of the meeting in Athens were disclosed due to security concerns over Zelenskys attendance.

Read also: Kosovo joins G7 Declaration of Support for Ukraine

I want to inform the public that I will have a bilateral meeting with him at the request of the Ukrainian President. I will talk to Zelensky about everything that has happened recently in Kosovo. I believe we will have an open and good conversation, he said.

Vucic said that he had a good meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Layen. The negotiations were good and not always easy but that is logical We discussed the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and I expect (EU envoy) Miroslav Lajcak to come to Belgrade soon, he said, adding that the parties also discussed Russia.

The Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognized state that Serbia considers its territory. The Parliament of Kosovo declared independence of the region in 2008.

The EU has been mediating negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo since 2011. Inter-ethnic tension periodically flares up between the two parties, in particular, over the status of enclaves home to a predominantly Serbian population in the north of Kosovo.
At a summit organized by Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, eleven leaders of Balkan countries, including Greece, signed the Athens Declaration on support for Ukraine.

This is reported by The Greek Herald, according to Ukrinform.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a pivotal moment for Europe, creating a new level of awareness of shared principles, unity and common future within the EU. This is a critical time for the security, peace and stability of our European continent, the declaration says.

The statement says that the Western Balkans, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova as geographically adjacent to EU Member States with a common European heritage, history and a future defined by shared opportunities and challenges.

The leaders stressed the importance of these regions to be embraced as full-fledged members of

It is stressed that the Athens Declaration statement is a new manifestation witnessed by the Balkan leaders, including Greece, in the face of Russian aggression to express support for Ukraines independence.

The leaders expressed support and appreciation to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who also attended the informal meeting on Monday in Athens.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Greece on a visit on Monday. Prior to that, he visited Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

In Greece, the head of the Ukrainian state and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed a joint declaration of support for Ukraines Euro-Atlantic integration.

Photo: Profimedia Images
President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Nikolai Denkov the situation in the Black Sea region, including the functioning of the "grain corridor".

The meeting was held within the framework of the Ukraine-Balkans summit, which took place in Athens, the press service of the Ukrainian head of state reports.

Zelensky thanked Denkov for comprehensive support to Ukraine in the fight against the Russian aggressor, including for the recent decisions of the Bulgarian government to provide defense assistance.

The Ukrainian president and the prime Minister of Bulgaria discussed further cooperation for the protection of the war-torn nation.

According to Presidents Office, the interlocutors paid special attention to the situation in the Black Sea region. The cooperation of countries in the Black Sea region was discussed in order to guarantee stable security in the Black Sea and the functioning of the alternative paths for grain exports.

"I am grateful to Bulgaria for condemning Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Ukraine is ready to use alternative ways for the grain corridor. We count on Bulgaria's support in this regard," said Zelensky.

He also thanked Denkov for supporting the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the readiness of the Bulgarian side to participate in the implementation of its specific clauses.

The head of state also noted Bulgaria's accession to the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine adopted by the G7 countries at the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister, for his part, reaffirmed his principled support for the Crimea Platform, the third summit of which will be held in Kyiv on August 23, 2023.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived on a visit to Greece the night before.
The Netherlands is one of the most active countries helping Ukraine financially and militarily - the first to provide F16 fighter jets. In addition, the Netherlands plays a crucial role in establishing justice - it is the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Netherlands, that issued the arrest warrant for Russian President Putin. The 1st Honorary Consul of Ukraine to the Netherlands, EBRD advisor Karel Burger Dirven, explained the reasons and focus of this assistance.

THE FIRST DELIVERY OF F-16 FIGHTER JETS

- President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the delivery of F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands. How can you comment?

Ukraine needs to get control of its airspace, and I am glad that the Netherlands is taking concrete steps to deliver F-16 jets. A few years ago, the Netherlands decided to modernize its jet fighters with F-35, and F-16 fighters became available. So, why not donate them to Ukraine?

Of course, it's not only the plains; the maintenance and ability to fly are needed. The Netherlands is going to provide F-16 to Ukraine as soon as possible. If Ukraine would have received these planes in the first three-four month of the full-scale war, the war would already have been over.

Why is the Netherlands helping Ukraine so much?

The other European countries are helping Ukraine as well. The reason the Netherlands is taking a role in this is because it's a war not only against Ukraine but also against Europe. Ukraine should defend itself properly and kick the aggressor out of its territory.

The war became very tangible for the Netherlands after the downing of MH 17, where 196 Dutch people died. There is a mental connection between the Netherlands and the war against Ukraine. That's resulted in strong support, and the leadership of the Netherlands is taking in providing F-16 airplanes.

-What is the latest development on the MH17 tribunal? What do you think of Igor Girkin's conviction in Russia?

It is clear that a Russian missile operated by the Russian military or by a Russian military-controlled command unit shot down MH17. The Russian military and Russian leadership are responsible for this.

In fact, Russian terrorist Girkin is in a Russian jail for something completely different. I guess it tells us much about Russian leadership  they do what they want. I would like to have him in jail for the things he did regarding MH17.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

-Can you explain about the Netherlands' help to Ukraine during the full-scale war? What projects have already been implemented?

From the beginning of Russia's full-scale war, the Netherlands provided substantial financial help to Ukraine. In particular, for this year, the Netherlands appointed 2,5 billion euro for Ukraine: 83 million reserved for repair and healthcare, 58 million for repairing the infrastructure, housing, and drinking water facilities, 25 million for mobile medical clinics, and 10 million to recovery from the destruction of Kakhovka dam, and many other purposes.

-You are also working as an EBRD advisor. What are EBRD's recent activities in Ukraine?

EBRD is normally very active in financing investments in Ukraine. Now during wartime, its activities are more focused on supporting Ukraine. I am working very close with EBRD leadership, and we are thinking about how to help Ukraine economically to be stable. The Ukrainian economy must keep operational.

Of course, there will be an after-war period in which it is important to ensure and support new investments in Ukraine. For 2022-23 EBRD reserved 3 billion euro for Ukraine to keep the economy of Ukraine running. In 2022 EBRD deployed 1,7 billion euro.

The main focus is the repair of infrastructure, energy security  financial support for the Naftogaz and Ukrenergo. Also, agriculture and food security  EBRD provide short-term liquidity support for agribusiness clients and supports trade financing instruments for essential goods and strategic exports.

Regarding the vital infrastructure, EBRD is supporting national Ukrainian railways. Ukraine has a pharmaceutical industry, and it's essential to maintain it operational so that Ukrainian hospitals can access medicines and equipment.

EBRD supports small and medium-sized enterprises and would do more in this regard. Because in every economy, small and medium enterprises are the largest employers in the country. EBRD is helping relocate businesses, for instance, from the east of Ukraine to the western regions.

The bank supports the national government and industries by providing financial aid to state companies important to Ukraine. Also, it provides consulting services and technical governance assistance on reforming these companies to fulfill EU requirements of good governance.

On the local scale, EBRD finances municipal infrastructure. The bank provides emergency liquidity financing for municipalities short on budget to repair damaged infrastructure: water, sewage, and electricity.

-I've seen you visited Ukraine recently. What is your impression?

Yes, I visited Ukraine a month ago, and I met people and businesses that want to survive and believe in the future of their business. They believe in victory for Ukraine. That is why coming back for the military support of F-16, for instance  is critical to show that Ukraine will get the victory.

Ukraine will be stronger after the war than it was at the begging of this war. It is the chance to prove that Ukraine is an innovative and modern nation and embraces European values. Financial institutions like EBRD will play a role in that. It is a stimulating value, not pure economics.

-The Netherlands is a huge grain importer. What do you think about the latest Polish- Ukraine disputes on this issue of import restrictions?

It is the political situation regarding grain trading. In one way, I can understand Poland's willingness to protect its farmers, but the world has to be fed - there is a dilemma. The Netherlands is with other EU countries participating in the discussion. A solution will be found. My guess is that Ukraine will get more financial support, or Polish farmers will get compensation.

JUSTICE AND THE ROLE IN RECOVERY

-What is the Netherlands' role in Ukraine's future recovery?

The Netherlands chose the Kherson region to help with recovery, but now heavy hostilities are happening there. The main Dutch focus is primary infrastructure, health care, agriculture/food security, and water management: drinking water and sewage. For this, the Dutch government has appointed a special envoy who is also in close contact with the Ukrainian embassy in The Hague. The relations between the Dutch government and the Ukrainian embassy are excellent.

The destruction register was set up in the Netherlands in May this year. The register keeps track of all Russian-caused destruction. In that respect, the Netherlands is seen as a country of justice. I think bringing back belief in justice and that justice should be served is also part of the reconstruction and healing of Ukraine after the damage and devastation caused by Russia.

-Will we see Putin on the bench in this trial?

When the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was set up in the Netherlands, many people thought Ratko Mladic would never be brought to The Hague. It took sixteen years from his indictment in 1995 until his arrest in 2011, which brought him to The Hague. (Ratko Mladic has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of genocide by a UN tribunal at The Hague.) If Putin lives long enough, we will see him in The Hague.

He wasn't traveling to South Africa because of the warrant. And this arrest warrant will never go away because the crime has been done. It can only be taken away if he appears in the court that justice will be served. As said, in that respect, the Netherlands contributed to Ukraine's recovery through its role in international justice.

Aleksandra Klitina, Kyiv
President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, the issue of the development of relations between the two countries and respect for the UN Charter.

The head of state announced this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia. Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders. On our nations shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest," Zelensky said.

At the same time, the Presidential Office reported that the parties noted mutual support of territorial integrity and sovereignty being an important part of the partnership between Ukraine and Serbia.

Zelensky briefed his counterpart on battlefield developments and the actions of the Ukrainian Army.

The leaders discussed the most important issues of regional security, bilateral relations, and prospects for their development.

Separately, the two presidents paid attention to common challenges on the path of Ukraine and Serbia to membership in the European Union.

Zelensky thanked his Serbian counterpart for the humanitarian aid that Serbia provides to the Ukrainian people, as well as for the support to Ukrainians who found refuge in this country from the war unleashed by the Russian Federation.

The president of Ukraine offered the Serbian side to support the Ukrainian Peace Formula and to participate in the third summit of the international Crimea Platform on August 23.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Greece on a visit the night before. The city is hosting a summit of Balkan leaders.
President Volodymyr Zelensky expects a decision of the EU member states on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership to be made in 2023.

As the press service of the Head of State informs, Zelensky said this during a meeting with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen within the framework of the Ukraine-Balkans Summit in Athens.

The parties assessed Ukraine's progress in implementing the seven recommendations of the European Commission and further steps in this direction.

"We aim to achieve maximum results in the implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission. We expect a positive assessment in the report within the enlargement package in October and a decision of the EU member states to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union in 2023," the President of Ukraine said.

The Head of State expressed gratitude to von der Leyen for the efforts aimed at normalizing the export and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products.

"It is important to restore full-fledged duty-free trade between Ukraine and the EU and ensure free access of Ukrainian agricultural exports to the entire territory of the EU single market. I expect that on September 15, any restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products in the EU will be lifted," he emphasized.

The parties also discussed in detail alternative routes for the "grain corridor" after Russia's blocking of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Particular attention was paid to security and financial aspects, as well as ship insurance.

Zelensky thanked von der Leyen for the next tranche of assistance worth EUR 1.5 billion. The parties discussed the revision of the IMF program for Ukraine.

In addition, the parties coordinated positions on the Peace Formula and the preparation of the Global Peace Summit.

As reported, on June 23, 2022, Ukraine received EU candidate status. Ukraine must fulfill the seven requirements of the European Commission necessary to maintain candidate status. In the autumn of 2023, the European Commission should provide a report assessing Ukraine's fulfillment of seven requirements on the path to joining the EU.

Photo: OP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, although earlier it was reported that the Russian leader could visit Turkiye.

Thats according to Yeni Safak, citing sources in the Turkish presidents administration, Ukrinform reports.

"According to information received from sources in the presidential administration, the upcoming visit of President Erdogan to Russia is of critical importance for reaching an agreement (on the BSGI - ed.)," the report says.

The publication notes that while the Turkish president is planning a visit to Russia, the chief adviser to Erdogan, Akif Kylic, will visit Ukraine, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan will travel to both Ukraine and Russia.

According to reports from sources close to the Turkish president, Erdogans visit will be the most important step toward the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as Turkiye sees reason to believe that "somehow a point of accord can be found."

It is noted that Turkiye does not consider acceptable the new route of the "grain corridor" which does not involve Russias participation.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had set up an alternative "grain corridor" in the Black Sea, but it requires further strengthening of air defenses along the route.

Photo: AA
President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed countering Russian aggression, export of Ukrainian grain, and European integration with President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu at the Ukraine-Balkans summit in Athens.

The heads of state touched upon the pressing issues of bilateral cooperation, regional security, joint opposition to the Kremlin's aggressive policy and Russian hybrid influence, the Presidents Office informs.

The parties also discussed bilateral cooperation in creating alternative routes for Ukrainian grain exports after Russia blocked the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

In addition, the presidents also focused on the important issue of the integration of Ukraine and Moldova into the European Union and common challenges along the path.

Zelensky and Sandu praised the active development of the political dialogue between the countries and discussed further contacts, in particular Moldova's participation in the third international Crimea Platform Summit in Kyiv on August 23.

Photo: Presidents Office
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the situation on the battlefield and the Ukrainian offensive, the preparation of the energy system and air defense for the heating season, and the transportation of Ukrainian grain with Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic.

The meeting was held at the Ukraine-Balkans summit in Athens, the Presidents Office informs.

In particular, Zelensky talked about the situation on the battlefield, the offensive of the Ukrainian army and the problems it faces. He also briefed Plenkovic on preparation of the Ukrainian energy system and air defense for the autumn-winter period.

The President thanked Croatia for preparing a new defense package for Ukraine, which will contain important components. The parties discussed the further development of bilateral defense cooperation.

The Head of State informed the Prime Minister of Croatia in detail about Russia's illegal blockade of navigation in the Black Sea and heavy Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's port infrastructure which endanger global food security.

Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready to continue to be a guarantor of global food security and is interested in finding new ways of supplying food to world markets, one of which could be Croatia. The Croatian side confirmed its readiness to provide ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for transporting Ukrainian grain, the statement reads.

The parties discussed geopolitical and other challenges caused by Russian aggression against our country. They coordinated steps for further cooperation in the international arena.

The Head of State pointed to the importance of Croatian experience in the field of humanitarian demining and thanked Croatia for its practical assistance and leadership in demining Ukrainian territories. The importance of holding the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining, which will be held in Zagreb in October, was noted.

Zelensky also thanked Croatia and the Croatian people for their special concern for forced migrants from Ukraine.

Photo: Presidents Office
The Royal Philips company announced its support for the projects of the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

"For more than a year and a half of the full-scale war, Russia has destroyed more than 1,500 Ukrainian hospitals. Not only the premises were damaged, but also the most valuable: precious equipment, without which full-fledged medical care is impossible," Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska posted on Telegram.

According to her, one of the examples of such Russian crimes is a hospital in the liberated Izium. Four operating theaters, an intensive care unit, a tomograph, and much more were destroyed there.

"Therefore, when I created the Olena Zelenska Foundation, one of the first projects was the restoration of the hospital, among the ruins of which doctors literally lived all months of the occupation, compensating for the lack of equipment with self-sacrifice. The Foundation has already allocated $600,000 to repair and equip four operating rooms. For this, we raised funds from HhHolding company from Denmark," the First Lady noted.

During a visit to the Netherlands on August 20, Zelenska met with the management of the Royal Philips company  one of the leading medical equipment manufacturers based in Amsterdam. The company pledged its support for the Foundation's projects.

"For the Izium hospital, this will mean the restoration of full-time work, and for 150,000 local residents  decent health support," the First Lady said.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky and the First Lady visited the Netherlands on Sunday.
In Bulgarias media space, measures are taken to reduce the influence of Russian propaganda.

This was announced by Bulgarian Defense Minister Todor Tagarev, who spoke at a briefing in Odesa on Monday, Ukrinform reports.

The minister noted that Bulgaria currently has no elaborate concept of combating Russian propaganda, which is seen as a problem.

"We are building our strategic communication capabilities and working with our allies to mitigate the impact of Russian propaganda, which, unfortunately, operates quite massively in our country," Tagarev said.

The Minister of Defense of Bulgaria added that the country is working against disinformation, but it should be a government-wide and society-wide approach.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Finnish security police, Supo, decried the reports in Russias media pf the alleged "persecution and recruitment" of Russian citizens in the country by foreign agents as an attempt at a malign psyop.
Some 72% of military personnel have concerns about their life in the post-war country, and 75% have faced problems with passing physicals.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs, Yulia Laputina, spoke of this at the VI International Veterans Forum Ukraine. Defenders. Future," an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We have 72% with anxiety about post-war life, while 75% have faced problems with military physical examinations. People experience anxiety about who will be meeting them in their community and back home. After all, there may be situations where someone returns to their community, and their family remains abroad due to military aggression. Their business has been destroyed, they have no job and they dont know where to go," said Laputina.

The minister noted that in 2022, a total of 64,469 social and psychological assistance services were rendered to war veterans. In addition, over 15,000 appeals were received and over 700 legal consultation sessions were conducted since the hotline was launched by the Ukrainian Veterans' Fund.

According to Laputina, six Veteran Development Centers have already been deployed across Ukraine, and six more are set to be launched by the end of the year.

She added that after Ukraine achieves victory in the war with Russia, more than four million people will be involved in veteran-related policies.

As Ukrinform reported, from July 1, applications can be filed for the competitive selection for the positions of veterans' assistants in Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, and Mykolaiv regions.
The First Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in Moscow rejected the appeal against the sentence of 13 years in a penal colony passed in the case of Ukrainian human rights defender, captured serviceman Maksym Butkevych by a "court" in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region.

As Mediazona reports, judges Melekhov, Izotieva, and Troyan upheld a 13-year prison sentence but ruled to count the actual time spent in custody from August 19, 2022  that is, from the moment when the Ministry of Defense of Russia recognized the fact of Butkevych's imprisonment.

Butkevych's lawyer Leonid Solovyov told his client after the judgment was delivered: "We are waiting for exchange. If there is no exchange  we will file a cassation appeal."

As reported, on March 10, a "court" of the Russian occupation administration in the temporarily occupied territory in Luhansk region "sentenced" Ukrainian human rights defender, now a prisoner of war, Maksym Butkevych to 13 years in a strict regime penal colony.

Human rights defender, journalist, and co-founder and member of NGO "Hromadske Radio" Maksym Butkevych was captured in the summer of 2022.

When the full-scale war began, Butkevich put his work on helping refugees, journalistic, humanitarian, educational and human rights protection activities on hold and went to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on the international community to condemn the trial of the captured Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevych and the other two Ukrainians and to demand the Russian Federation release them.

Photo: Hromadske Radio
08/22/2023

By Edwin L. Aguirre

UMass Lowell is leading a project to establish a first-of-its-kind advanced manufacturing technologist training program to support the workforce needs of the aerospace and defense industries in Massachusetts.

The initiative, which is funded by a two-year award totaling $4.3 million from the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), will address the shortage of skilled technicians by training students and workers on advanced manufacturing technologies and creating career pathways to help develop a stronger and more resilient aerospace and defense ecosystem.

Graduates with technology skills are in demand right now, and this demand will continue to grow, says Mingels.

Highly skilled technologists are a vital resource that is declining as senior-level talent is retiring out of the industry faster than it is being replenished. Our training program will provide in-demand skills for trainees and job placement opportunities upon completion through our industry partners, he says.

According to Boston-based business management consultancy Deloitte, manufacturers may face a shortage of 2.4 million skilled technicians nationwide by 2028.

This deficit in talent will impact not only the companies competitiveness, but also the U.S. militarys strategic advantage and its ability to respond to national emergencies, especially with China already surpassing the United States in manufacturing output.

Although Massachusetts has a robust network of defense contractors, they still require a skilled workforce to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and use them effectively, says Mingels.

A Manufacturing Technologist Certificate Program

UMass Lowell, in collaboration with MIT, regional defense manufacturers, community colleges and vocational high schools, is developing a curriculum for a one-year advanced manufacturing technologist certificate program that targets students and workers with an associate degree or its equivalent.

According to Mingels, once completed, the online education content will be made free and available through the DoDs new edX learning platform to any school, company or government agency.

Our certificate program will help develop critical thinking and practical skills, Mingels says.

He says the program will train next gen workers to be nimble, innovative and empowered to make decisions in the areas of manufacturing systems, processes, supply chains and management, as well as to be competent in cutting-edge manufacturing technologies such as robotics, 3D printing, flexible electronics and advanced machining.

It could also help raise their wages significantly and open doors to further educational and career gains, Mingels says.

The programs pilot phase at UML will consist of nine months of coursework and a capstone project, followed by a 10-week paid internship at a regional advanced manufacturing company that is part of the DoDs supply chain.

Cape Cod Community College will eventually offer the program as a way to expand our reach and diversity of students, he says.

Mingels says the program will initially train at least 60 technologists in the region, and the online content offered through the DoDs edX platform will give tens of thousands of workers nationwide the opportunity to move into highly paid jobs that are difficult to fill but are important to the manufacturers success.

He adds that the DoD-funded project will complement and work in tandem with MassBridge, a new statewide planning program aimed at filling gaps in workforce education by creating and implementing advanced manufacturing curricula in high schools and community colleges, with participation from employers.

After students complete a two-year degree, the program creates an extra year of technologist training, which will include paid internships at defense companies, Mingels says. This will qualify them for jobs that traditionally only go to candidates with four-year degrees, often earned over a period of five or six years.
Brasilia, 15 August 2023  On 24 August, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Brazil holds an event to commemorate the launch of the Report on Integrity and Compliance in the New Law on Procurement and Administrative Contracts. The event will take place on 24 August at the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) in Brasilia and was streamed online on the UNODC and TCU YouTube channels.

The initiative takes place in the scope of the UNODC project "Global Action for Business Integrity" and aims to present the main findings of the UNODC Report on Integrity and Compliance in the New Law on Procurement and Administrative Contracts as well as the Integrity Risk Matrix, developed by UNODC, which can serve as a useful tool for different government bodies at national, state, and municipal levels.

In Brazil, the project aims to encourage interinstitutional cooperation to stimulate risk assessment, including an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective, as well as the development of compliance programmes aligned with the various risks present in public procurement and contracts.

The event is supported by the Federal Court of Auditors, the Office of the Controller General of the Union (CGU), the National Council for Internal Control (CONACI), and the Association of Members of the Brazilian Courts of Auditors (ATRICON).

Learn more: http://www.agenda2030.com.br/
Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :With a historic three-way summit with Japan and South Korea, President Joe Biden has further deepened the web of US partnerships in a determined signal to adversaries despite question marks on the political climate at home.

Since Biden took office in 2021, NATO has expanded and mostly closed ranks over Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- and, in clear if unstated responses to an assertive China, the United States forged a new three-way defense pact with Australia and Britain and ramped up work through the four-way Quad involving Australia, India and Japan.

The United States already has security alliances with Japan and South Korea, together the bases for some 84,500 troops, but will now also plan three-way, multi-year military exercises across all domains along with real-time information-sharing and a crisis hotline.

Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that alliances were "baked" into the mindset of Biden, who was a senator at the end of the Cold War.

Partnerships can increase other countries' faith in the direction of the United States, Alterman added.

"This administration believes deeply in the centrality -- not the importance, the centrality -- of partnerships," he said.

"The challenge is, all of our partners remember the previous administration, they look at the polling numbers, and they have absolutely no confidence in where the US is going to be in two years' time, five years' time or 10 years' time," he said.

Previous president Donald Trump loudly questioned the value of alliances, insisting that countries such as Germany and South Korea were not paying enough for the US troop presence and scoffing at NATO's commitments of mutual defense to all allies.

Trump is again seeking the White House and recent opinion polls have also shown softening support for US military assistance to Ukraine, which has totaled $43 billion since Russia's attack.

Asked about Trump at a news conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat, Biden said that his predecessor's "America First policy, walking away from the rest of the world, has made us weaker, not stronger.""America is strong with our allies and our alliances, and that's why we will endure," Biden said.
Moscow, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :Moscow said Tuesday it destroyed a Ukrainian military reconnaissance vessel near Russian gas infrastructure in the Black Sea, in the latest clash in the waterway since Moscow's withdrawal from a major grain export deal.

Attacks by both sides have escalated in the Black Sea since Russia in July pulled out of the United Nations-brokered deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the shipping hub.

Russia has bombed Ukrainian port infrastructure in the sea and on the Danube, while Ukraine has attacked Russian ships in its waters and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Russia's defence ministry said one of its Sukhoi Su-30sm jets had destroyed the Ukrainian "reconnaissance boat" near Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea.

It did not give details on what kind of boat had been destroyed, or where exactly the incident took place.

The incident came after the first civilian cargo ship sailing through the Black Sea from Ukraine recently arrived in Istanbul in defiance of the Russian blockade.

Moscow said last month that it would consider any ships nearing Ukraine in the Black Sea as potential military cargo carriers, following the grain deal collapse.

The defense ministry also said its forces had downed two Ukrainian drones, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea.

- Moscow targeted - The Moscow region was also targeted by Ukrainian drones for a fifth consecutive night, Russian authorities said early Tuesday.

Aerial defense systems downed one attack drone each in the Krasnogorsk and Chastsy areas of the region, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on social media.

AFP journalists on the scene in Krasnogorsk saw a high-rise residential building with several windows blown out, debris, and a damaged car.

Russia's defense ministry said there had been no casualties in the attack but Moscow's Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Domodedovo airports briefly halted flights, Russian news agencies reported.

Two other Ukrainian drones were downed over the Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border early Tuesday, Moscow's defense ministry said, adding there were no casualties.

The strikes are the latest in a recent wave of air attacks deep inside Russian territory, including two drones that were shot down near the Kremlin in May.

The aerial threat is also being addressed in the classroom.

Russian teenagers will learn how to operate and counter military drones in the upcoming school year, according to a curriculum published Monday by the education ministry.

Moscow announced last November it was re-introducing Soviet-style military training for children from 2023, as it presses ahead with its nearly 18-month offensive in Ukraine.

- F-16s - The wave of drone attacks in Russia came as Ukrainian forces said they have pushed into the village of Robotyne on the southern front and evacuated civilians in armored vehicles.

"The Russians are continuously shelling Robotyne with artillery," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said on social media.

Ukraine has posted limited gains in its push to dislodge Russian forces from the territory and appealed to Western allies for greater military support.

President Volodymyr Zelensky this week secured the delivery of more than 40 F-16 fighter jets during a trip to the Netherlands and Denmark, while Greece said it would help train Ukrainian pilots.

Zelensky had sought the advanced jets for months to strengthen Ukraine's Soviet-era air force as it pursues the grinding counteroffensive against Russian forces in the east and south.

But training by an 11-nation coalition is to begin this month, and officials hope pilots will be ready by early 2024.

The long-sought F-16 deal drew a warning from Russia, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warning Moscow would consider the jets a "nuclear" threat because of their capacity to carry atomic weapons.
BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Tuesday that he is willing to work with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, to push China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

At a new historical starting point, Xi said, carrying forward friendship, deepening cooperation and strengthening coordination are the common aspiration of the two countries and the task entrusted by the times.

Xi made the remarks in a meeting here with Ramaphosa after arriving on Monday for a state visit to South Africa, where he will also attend the 15th BRICS Summit and co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.
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One of the chairlift passengers, Gulfaraz, recounted that the initial cable broke at 7 am, followed by another cable breakage.

PESHAWAR: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-August 22nd, 2023) An army helicopter was dispatched to rescue eight individuals, which included six school children, after a chairlift's cable malfunctioned in Allai Tehsil, Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday.

According to a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a chairlift became stuck at a height of approximately 900 feet due to a cable breakage in Battagram. The NDMA offered coordination support to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and subsequently, a Pakistan Army helicopter was sent for a rescue operation.

Mansehra Deputy Inspector General of Police Tahir Ayub confirmed the incident, noting that the only viable option was to rescue the stranded passengers using a helicopter.

One of the chairlift passengers, Gulfaraz, recounted that the initial cable broke at 7 am, followed by another cable breakage.

Sonia Shamrose, the district police officer, stated that concerted efforts were underway to safely extricate the trapped individuals from the chairlift.

Zafar Iqbal, a school teacher, revealed that the chairlift was a means of transportation for students commuting to school. He mentioned that in the region, around 150 children used the chairlift for their school journeys. Confirming the incident, he added that two of the cable car's wires snapped while in mid-air.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has directed the NDMA, PDMA and other authorities to take immediate action to rescue the stranded passengers.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday adjourned an appeal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman till August 24, against his conviction in the Toshakhana case while granting time to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for production of case record

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday adjourned an appeal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman till August 24, against his conviction in the Toshakhana case while granting time to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for production of case record.

The IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, which heard the appeal of PTI chairman against the verdict of trial court, also served notices to the respondents.

During the course of proceedings, the petitioner's lawyer Latif Khosa Advocate said that as per the inspection report of District and Sessions Judge Attock, a camera had been fixed in front of the cell of PTI chairman in jail.

Sher Afzal Murawat Advocate said that the lawyers were not being allowed to meet the former prime minister.

The chief justice remarked that he did not know why the jail administration was not permitting the lawyers to meet the PTI chief despite his order. He said that he had instructed that two or three lawyers could visit the prisoner in jail.

The court said that it was serving notices to the respondents to the plea seeking provision of facilities to the PTI chairman in jail.

To a court's query regarding the case record, ECP's counsel Amjad Pervaiz prayed the court to grant two weeks time in that regard. The petitioner had also prayed the court to suspend his sentence in his plea and he also needed some time for preparation, he added.

Latif Khosa Advocate opposed the request of ECP's lawyer and said that the trial court had announced verdict in the absence of his client, and his basic rights were being violated in jail. The PTI chief wanted only his right and not of any concession, he added, praying the court to decide the matter pertaining to the suspension of imprisonment sentence same day.

The PTI chief's lawyer argued that the sessions court had announced the sentence against the law as it was even not authorized to hear the case. The ECP Secretary was not authorized to file such complaint, he said, adding the trial court had abolished the right of defence of his client and announced the verdict in one day.

The lawyer said that delaying tactics were being used in the case.

The court, however, adjourned hearing of the case till August 24.
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Pakistan Navy War College (PNWC) Lahore organised an event titled "A day with Pakistan Navy" for the students of various colleges of Lahore to enlighten them on functioning of Pakistan Navy, its organisation and defence capabilities

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :Pakistan Navy War College (PNWC) Lahore organised an event titled "A day with Pakistan Navy" for the students of various colleges of Lahore to enlighten them on functioning of Pakistan Navy, its organisation and defence capabilities.

A total of 200 students from Government College University, Fazaia Degree College, Garrison College for Boys and Bahria College Lahore along with faculty members attended the event, said a Pakistan Navy media release on Tuesday.

Commander Central Punjab Rear Admiral Javaid Iqbal interacted with students and faculty members and apprised them that Pakistan Navy has all the capabilities to protect maritime frontiers of the country. He also highlighted the importance of maritime sector for developing countries and how stronger Naval Forces could facilitate economic development of their nation.

Program was followed by a demonstration of combat readiness of troops, arms and equipment display and an anti-terrorist demo by Pakistan Marines and Special Service Group of Pakistan Navy.

The students displayed keen interest while attending a briefing about Pakistan Navy roles and responsibilities, latest platforms available in Pakistan Navy Fleet and four dimensions of Pakistan Navy. They also witnessed an exhibition about various arms of Pakistan Navy. The visiting students and faculty members praised the state of morale, commitment and professional competence of the Maritime Defenders of the country.
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The African Union (AU) on Tuesday said it was suspending coup-hit Niger but called for a report into the implications of a threatened military operation to restore its ousted president, as Nigerien TV said 12 troops died in a new attack by suspected militant

Addis Ababa, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :The African Union (AU) on Tuesday said it was suspending coup-hit Niger but called for a report into the implications of a threatened military operation to restore its ousted president, as Nigerien tv said 12 troops died in a new attack by suspected militants.

National guards carrying out an anti-militant operation in the southwestern region of Tillaberi were ambushed on Sunday night, Tele Sahel said, adding that the troops inflicted "heavy losses" on the enemy.

Niger's armed forces, struggling with an eight-year militant campaign, have lost at least 29 men since officers toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

The coup -- justified by its leaders because of Bazoum's perceived failure to stem the insurgents -- triggered a bust-up with France, Niger's staunchest ally, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

ECOWAS has slapped trade sanctions on Niger and approved the deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niamey.

The bloc is hazy about the plan but insists it would intervene if attempts at a diplomatic solution ultimately fail.

As the crisis neared the end of its fourth week, the AU on Tuesday said it was suspending Niger from its ranks but indicated caution on the ECOWAS threat following strong differences among its members.

The AU said its Peace and Security Council had asked the body's Commission to carry out "an assessment of the economic, social and security implications" of deploying the force, and report back.

- Troubled Sahel - The coup has heightened international worries over the Sahel, which faces growing militant insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Niger is the fourth ECOWAS nation since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.

The new military ruler General Abdourahamane Tiani has proposed a three-year transition back to democracy, a call rejected by ECOWAS, which sent a delegation to visit Niger on the weekend in a final diplomatic push.

Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for politics and security, described the proposal as "a joke" and said the bloc would "never accept it".

"We want constitutional order to be restored as soon as possible," he told Al Jazeera in an interview broadcast Monday.

"Military action is not off the table," he warned.

Unlike a previous ECOWAS mission in early August, this time the delegation held talks with Tiani and also met Bazoum, who is being held with his family at the presidential palace and could be facing treason charges.

Images on Niger television showed Bazoum smiling and shaking hands with members of the delegation, as international concern grows over his conditions in detention.

- Supplies concern - The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned last week that sanctions and border closures were crimping vital food and medical supplies into Niger.

ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Niger while Benin and Nigeria have closed their borders.

However, the juntas in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have said that any military intervention in Niger would be considered a "declaration of war" against their countries.

Around 300 trucks arrived in Niger's capital of Niamey on Monday from Burkina Faso, most of them carrying food, the Nigerien authorities said.

The Sahel state ranks among the most turbulent and poorest countries in the world, often lying at the bottom of the UN's Human Development Index, a benchmark of prosperity.

Bazoum's election in 2021 was a landmark, opening the way to the country's first peaceful transition of power.

He survived two attempted coups before finally being toppled. His ouster marks the fifth putsch since Niger gained independence from France in 1960.
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European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans announced his resignation Tuesday to stand in the Dutch general elections with ambitions of becoming the next prime minister

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ):European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans announced his resignation Tuesday to stand in the Dutch general elections with ambitions of becoming the next prime minister.

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen responded to his notification by thanking Timmermans, 62, for his work leading the bloc's ambitious Green Deal pact towards a carbon-neutral future.

That portfolio will now pass to another of her vice presidents, Maros Sefcovic, a commission statement said.

Sefcovic will also "temporarily" handle associated duties on climate and environmental policies until another Dutch commissioner is appointed, it said.

Von der Leyen hailed Timmermans as a "key member" of her commission whose work had allowed the European Union to make "great strides" towards its climate goals, and who influenced many other policy decisions.

The Dutch elections will take place on November 22. Timmermans, a centre-left politician, will head a joint green and social democrat list at the polls.

His departure follows that of Mariya Gabriel, another commissioner on von der Leyen's team who left in May to become Bulgaria's deputy prime minister.

The European Commission -- the EU's powerful executive that sets trade policy and acts as market regulator for the entire bloc, often influencing global standards -- is meant to be made up of 27 commissioners, one from each of the EU's member countries.

Von der Leyen, a German, formed her team in 2019 at the start of its five-year mandate with eight vice presidents -- three of which, including Timmermans, were executive vice presidents, senior over the others.

Another of the executive vice presidents, Margrethe Vestager, a Dane in charge of competition and antitrust issues, is angling to become the next head of the European Investment Bank, the EU's lending institution.

Von der Leyen is viewed as having a strong chance of winning a second mandate as European Commission chief after EU elections next year but has not as yet declared whether she wishes to do so.
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Turkey on Tuesday suspended northbound shipping traffic along the Dardanelle Strait as a precaution because of a rapidly spreading forest fire near the tourist town of Canakkale

Istanbul, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :Turkey on Tuesday suspended northbound shipping traffic along the Dardanelle Strait as a precaution because of a rapidly spreading forest fire near the tourist town of Canakkale.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said the blaze prompted the evacuation of six villages on Turkey's northwestern coast.

"We have concentrated all our forces on protecting the (Canakkale) city centre," Yumakli said in televised comments.

"The good news is that the winds seem to blowing away from the city centre of Canakkale." Televised images showed clouds of thick smoke rolling over the edge of Canakkale. NTV television said the fire was approaching a local hospital and university campus.

The emergency response service closed a local highway as a precaution and dispatched 10 planes and 26 helicopters to help douse the flames.

The Dardanelle Strait links the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and is a popular tourist destination because it is also the site of the ancient ruins of Troy.

Turkey's transport ministry did not explain its decision to keep southbound traffic along the strait open.

"Tugboats have been alerted in case a possible response is needed should the fire reach the seaside," the ministry said in a statement reported by the Anadolu state news agency.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says it has recorded "credible" reports of serious human rights violations by the de facto Taliban authorities against hundreds of former government officials and former armed forces members, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Aug, 2023 ) :The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says it has recorded "credible" reports of serious human rights violations by the de facto Taliban authorities against hundreds of former government officials and former armed forces members, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies.

The mission said in a report it had recorded at least 218 extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan and hundreds of other "serious" human rights abuses since the Taliban seized power two years ago.

"In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," UNAMA said.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said that the targeting of former government officials and security personnel despite the announcement by the Taliban when it returned to power of a "general amnesty" was a "betrayal of the people's trust".

He urged the de facto authorities to prevent further abuses and hold perpetrators to account.

The report points out that officials from the previous democratically elected administration are entitled to the same human rights protections as all Afghans and that Afghanistan remains a party to international human rights treaties banning the violations described.

In interviews, it said individuals recounted beatings with pipes, cables, verbal threats and abuse at the hands of de facto security force members.

UNAMA also heard from family members whose relatives had been arrested or gone missing, their bodies found days or even months later.

In some instances, missing individuals have never been found. This was the case of the former Head of the Herat Women's Prison, Alia Azizi, who never returned home from work on October 2, 2021.

As of August 22, 2023, her whereabouts remain unknown, UNAMA said, even though Taliban authorities reportedly "initiated an investigation" into her disappearance.

According to UNAMA, efforts by the de facto authorities to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable for the incidents described in the report have been "extremely limited".

Investigations were announced in a handful of cases, but even then, UNAMA says, "progress lacks transparency and accountability; impunity prevails".

The report calls on the Taliban to clarify the terms of the general amnesty and ensure that it is upheld.

UNAMA noted that to date, the de facto authorities have not publicly released any written text or guidance setting out the scope of the amnesty, which was only announced in public comments made by their leadership.

UNAMA Head Roza Otunbayeva said that the de facto authorities must demonstrate a "genuine commitment" to the general amnesty, which is a crucial step in ensuring "real prospects" for justice, reconciliation and peace in the country.
Philosophy and Religion Online Forum Schedule set for Fall 2023

Tue, 08/22/2023 - 10:41am | By: David Tisdale

A lecture on the controversial subject of AI (artificial intelligence) kicks off The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Humanities fall 2023 Philosophy and Religion Forum series, which will be offered online.

Keith Abney, senior lecturer in philosophy at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Tech), will present AI/Robots and Ethics: Surveying the Risk Environment Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Abneys areas of expertise include philosophy of science and religions, applied ethics, and axiology. He teaches courses in critical thinking, philosophy of science, philosophical classics, and ethics.

The remainder of the forum schedule follows:

*Friday, Oct. 6, noon: Dr. Teresa Baron, research fellow at the University of Nottingham, presenting Genes, Ectogenesis, and the Acquisition of Parental Rights.

*Friday, Nov. 3, noon: Dr. Jason Ananda Josephson Storm, professor of religion at Williams College, presenting Revolutionary Happiness: Redefining Progress in the Human Sciences (please note that advance registration is required for Dr. Storms talk).

All forum presentation times are CST (Central Standard Time) and hosted on Zoom. Access information for forum programming is as follows:

*Topic: Philosophy & Religion Forum

*Click here to join Zoom Meeting

*Meeting ID: 847 3764 0491

*Passcode: 982360

Dr. Amy Slagle, associate professor of philosophy and religion, is coordinator for the USM Philosophy and Religion Forum series. For more information, email Dr. Slagle.
AUGUST 22, 2023  Rebecca Schroeder, interim associate dean of University College and professor of instruction for the college, and Wenbo Wu, the Graham Weston Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Management Science and Statistics, have been accepted into the Texas Academic Leadership Academy (TALA) for the 2023-2024 academic year. Both are also core faculty members in the UTSA School of Data Science.

TALA is a year-long experience that develops leadership skills in aspiring academic leaders. TALA Fellows are guided by senior academic leaders and mentors from institutions across the state on topics such as finance in higher education, diversity, conflict management, free speech, faculty concerns, research, assessment, accreditation and strategic planning. Participating in the academy will help Schroeder and Wu advance in their current and future roles as academic leaders and help UTSA advance as a model for student success and academic excellence.

Schroeder and Wu are part of the sixth TALA cohort. They were nominated by their colleges to UTSA Academic Affairs, which is sponsoring their participation in the academy. Other UTSA faculty who have been TALA Fellows include Alberto Cordova, Mark Leung, Terri Matiella, Arturo Montoya, and Erica Sosa.

UTSA is committed to seeking out and offering unique faculty development opportunities that help our faculty grow professionally and expand their leadership capacity, said Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley. Investing in faculty excellence allows UTSA to more effectively serve our diverse student population and provide innovative, outstanding educational and research opportunities that give students an advantage in their future careers.
AUGUST 22, 2023  Editors note: The following message was sent today via email from UTSA Peter T. Flawn Chair and Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley to all faculty and staff:

As we start a new academic year, I want to extend a warm welcome and hope that you got a well-deserved break this summer. The fall semester brings with it excitement as we welcome new and returning students, faculty and staff. It's a time to come together as a community of dedicated faculty and staff, ready to inspire and empower our students to reach new heights of knowledge and personal growth.

Academic Affairs Leadership Changes

This summer brought changes to our Academic Affairs leadership. While it was bittersweet to bid farewell to Provost Kimberly Espy after five successful years, we were excited to celebrate her appointment as president at Wayne State University. We are thankful for her leadership in getting us to this place. I am excited to build upon the great work we have achieved and to continue the momentum to our future goals.

Outstanding New Faculty

I would also like to extend an enthusiastic welcome to the nearly 100 new full-time faculty members who have joined our professional community. This group of tenured, tenure-track and full-time fixed-term-track faculty bring their talents to UTSA from prestigious institutions across the globe. Of this falls 46 incoming tenured and tenure-track faculty, an impressive 87% received their terminal degrees from Carnegie R1 research institutions, which is the highest percent of all recent cohorts. The expertise of new faculty members such as Erika Tatiana Camacho, the inaugural holder of the Manuel P. Berriozabal, Ph.D. and Maria Antonietta Berriozabal Endowed Chair and professor in the UTSA College of Sciences mathematics and neuroscience, developmental and regenerative biology departments, will help us reach new levels of academic excellence and enrich our academic landscape.

The first in her family to graduate from high school and a first-generation college student, Dr. Camacho graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College. She earned her masters and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University. Most recently she served three years as a program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she supported several of its programs that advance racial and gender equity in STEM disciplines, including the ADVANCE program, the Racial Equity in STEM Education program, and the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program. Prior to her work with NSF, Dr. Camacho spent 16 years at Arizona State University, most recently as a professor in the School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences.

I am excited to get to know the stories of each of our outstanding new faculty members and work to support them and all our faculty throughout their UTSA careers.

New Academic Affairs Leadership

At UTSA, weve always touted that our faculty and staff are exceptional, and we are even more proud when the most talented candidates for open leadership positions come from within our ranks. This fall, were excited to start the year with several new home-grown leaders in place and congratulate them on their new roles:

Exciting New Programs

In addition to new faces, we also start the fall with several new degree programs:

By growing our academic offerings, we can provide opportunities for UTSA students to gain the valuable knowledge and skills necessary to meet the growing needs of our community.

Continuing our Charge

As we begin the fall, we continue to make strides in our Classroom to Career initiative. By aligning our strategies with the workforce needs, bringing experiential learning into the academic experience, expanding college going to adult learners and improving readiness by linking workforce credentials to learning experiences, UTSA students gain an advantage to their bold futures. We have introduced experiential learning maps this fall to guide our students in planning experiential learning experiences to explore disciplines, reflect on the career-relevant skills, get hands-on experience in preparation for jobs and graduate programs and to see career paths available in their area of study.

We also continue the work of President Taylor Eighmys charge to Advance a Culture of Respect and Accountability by becoming a premier university where graduate and postdoctoral students can thrive academically and emotionally and reach their potential as fellows and researchers. This summer UTSA Academic Affairs released a report and action plan for implementing best practices for faculty mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral researchers that is commensurate with the universitys classification as a Carnegie R1 university. We remain committed to growing a culture of continuous improvement so that UTSA can continue to recruit and support the best graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and prepare them to be leaders in their fields.

Looking Ahead

With a new academic year comes new possibilities. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the resources, tools and training that the university offers. For faculty, Faculty Success, Academic Innovation, and Research, Economic Development and Knowledge Enterprise offer resources that aim to enhance your teaching methodologies, promote interdisciplinary collaboration and provide you with the necessary tools to excel in your respective fields. For all employees, People Excellence offers opportunities for training and webinars in class and online through MyTraining. All UTSA faculty and staff have access to training in a wide variety of subjects through LinkedIn Learning at no cost. Benefits-eligible employees and their dependents can find services through the Employee Assistance Program and UTSA employees have access to wellness resources that empower and encourage choices and changes that lead to a balanced, healthy lifestyle. I encourage you to actively participate and take advantage of these resources to further enrich your professional and personal journey.

Wishing you a successful and fulfilling fall semester!
During a recent visit to Idaho National Laboratory, UW students learned how integration of virtual reality tools such as the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment, better known as MOOSE, makes modeling and simulation more accessible to a broad array of researchers. Here, Iresha Sooriyaarachchi, a UW Ph.D. student in chemistry, uses the MOOSE headset while Thi Thu Trang Nguyen, a UW masters student in petroleum engineering, looks on. (Idaho National Laboratory Photo)

A cohort of University of Wyoming faculty, staff and students visited Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho, last week as part of a collaborative effort to strengthen connections and facilitate research opportunities between the two entities.

Hosted by INL and coordinated with the UW School of Energy Resources (SER) and the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the multidisciplinary group represented 10 different departments, including the departments of Geology and Geophysics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics and Astronomy, and multiple engineering disciplines.

Though we are diverse in our research, all of our missions call for us to advance human knowledge to make a safer, cleaner world with a higher standard of living for everyone, says SER Academic Director Kami Danaei. This was an exceptional opportunity to experience the world-class facilities INL houses, learn about their operations and build valuable contacts for both our students and our researchers.

The visit began with a welcome networking reception with INL representatives before a full-day tour of the lab facilities, including the Energy Systems Lab, Collaborative Computing Center and Energy Systems Lab, where the UW team learned about the initiatives led by INL in areas of nuclear engineering, cybersecurity and workforce development.

We were proud to host faculty and students from the University of Wyoming at Idaho National Laboratory, says Marianne Walck, INLs deputy laboratory director for science and technology and chief research officer. Our partnerships throughout the region help prepare students for emerging career opportunities in the energy and security sectors. Innovation in science and technology is vital as Wyoming and other states diversify their energy economies.

One of the U.S. Department of Energys 17 national laboratories, INL operations focus on driving nuclear energy research, clean technologies and renewable energy systems, with additional support directed to the critical infrastructure needed to deploy, monitor and train a workforce for advanced technologies. INL houses an exceptional array of scientific expertise, equipment and instruments to help shape extraordinary new innovations into practical, everyday uses.

We are so incredibly grateful to INL for inviting us to their facilities, says Tyler Grabner, director of career services for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. SER and the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences have a long history of collaboration with the national labs to advance novel research, but INL has been particularly engaged with UW in the last couple of years.

Nuclear is an emerging topic of interest in Wyoming and a real area of growth that will play an even larger role into the future, Grabner continues. We want to make sure that our students are set up for success to support that industry and be competitive in employment opportunities. We are so thankful to INL for showcasing the variety of careers and research opportunities available to UW.
Vietnams MedTech Industry: Building a Solid Business Foundation to Ride the Next Wave of Growth

Vietnams digital transformation goals, along with two years of COVID-19 outbreaks, have accelerated digital disruption in the healthcare industry. This has boosted efforts to digitize the healthcare sector, including incorporating Big Data and Artificial Intelligence into digital health applications. Heres what that might mean for foreign firms in the medtech space.

Vietnams digital-savvy population, as well as high internet penetration and smartphone usage, have served as effective facilitators for MedTech innovations, according to research conducted by Nourhan Shaaban for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

However, there are still challenges that firms should be aware of. Deficient regulatory frameworks and strictly governed policies can pose difficulties when starting a MedTech business in Vietnam. Understanding these critical challenges, however, can give firms a competitive edge in making the most out of the significant potential in Vietnams MedTech industry.

Vietnams MedTech industry in numbers

Healthcare spending in Vietnam is predicted to increase at an annual rate of 9.2 percent from 2009 to 2025, reaching US$262 per capita, according to AmCham Vietnam. VIRAC research also shows that Vietnams healthcare market has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with expenditure on healthcare products and services increasing by 11 percent over the last decade. According to Statista, digital health revenue reached US$968.2 million in 2023 and is expected to increase by 1.5 times that number by 2027.

This growth is mainly attributable to shifting demographic headwinds, increasing wealth, rising healthcare demand, and government healthcare policies in Vietnam. Over 31.6 percent of the Vietnamese population is aged 45 or older. Furthermore, its estimated that the fast-growing middle class will represent roughly 20 percent of the population by 2024.

With the increasing demand for higher standards of healthcare services, Vietnamese consumers are seeking increased transparency, convenience, and personalization from their healthcare providers. To address these emerging needs, healthcare technology companies are accelerating their digital transformations as they work to provide uninterrupted care for patients. To do this, they are collaborating with hospitals, pharmaceutical businesses, and the Vietnamese Government.

Leading MedTech startups operating in Vietnam

Despite being at the early stage of development, many MedTech startups are working to transform the future of healthcare delivery in Vietnam.

Korean-based venture capital firm Nextrans points out several key areas that are currently popular among MedTech companies, including health information technology, telemedicine, consumer medical devices, and AI-based healthcare services.

In particular, MedTech companies that have put customers at the center of their development have had the most success.

This is in line with findings from McKinsey & Company, that adopting a customer-centric approach helps MedTech companies to generate more significant revenue and much higher total shareholder returns (TSR) than their peers in todays medical world.

By focusing on customer-centric innovation, Vietnams MedTech startups are also receiving sizable investments from foreign investors. Take Vietnam-based BuyMed as an example. The company received $51.5m in Series B funding earlier this year.

BuyMed is a pharmaceutical distribution platform supplying medical products for thousands of pharmacies and clinics across Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. In May 2023, UOB Venture Management invested US$51.5 million to upgrade BuyMeds infrastructure and provide cost-effective distribution methods for medicine, according to Tech in Asia. Currently, the firm is the biggest player in the MedTech sector in Vietnam, with over 20,000 monthly active clients, and serves over 63 provinces in Vietnam.

Another standout performer has been Jio Heath.

Jio Health is a technology-driven healthcare provider in Vietnam. The startup received fundraising of over US$20 million in March led by Singapore-based investor Heritas Capital, paving the way for the expansion of Smart Clinics and the development of its omni-channel ecosystem in Vietnam.

Notable MedTech deals in Vietnam

Name Category Funding Stage Amount (US$m) Valuation (US$m) BuyMed Consumer Marketplace Series B 51.5 247.2 Jio Health Teleconsultation Series B 20.5 98.4 Med247 Medical Concierge Series A 4.7 21.15 Medigo Teleconsultation Series A 2 9.00 Genetica Omics Related Applications Pre-A 2.7 12.86 Drcom Healthcare Marketing Pre-A 2.1 10.00

Source: Healthtech Alpha

Emerging trends and growth opportunities in the MedTech industry

Armed with robust technological innovation, along with increasing demand in the healthcare sector, Vietnams MedTech industry is poised to rapidly expand.

Shifting demographic headwinds and rising demand for healthcare services

According to research conducted by the World Bank, Vietnam has one of the fastest-aging populations in the world. The number of people aged 65 and older is projected to increase significantly to 19.6 million by 2049 and will make up nearly 18.1 percent of the population. This will significantly increase the demand for healthcare services in the future.

Furthermore, Vietnams growing middle and upper class has also surged in recent years and is anticipated to account for more than 20 percent of Vietnams population by 2024. These affluent groups are demanding high-quality services from their healthcare providers, including care delivery, outpatient treatment, and wellness services.

Acknowledging this trend, more and more hospitals in Vietnam are forming strategic partnerships with companies providing teleconsultation, telemedicine, or virtual surgery to add value to their healthcare offerings.

Accelerating pace of digital adoption, transformation, and delivery

At the start of 2022, there were 72.1 million internet users in Vietnam, accounting for over 73.2 percent of the population. The country also has relatively high internet penetration compared to other Southeast Asian nations, which adds to its potential for technology-driven companies in Vietnam.

Although Vietnams adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies is still in the early stages, the country is making progress in technological innovation and trying to accelerate its digital transformation agenda. Vietnam ranked 42nd out of 131 countries in the Global Innovation Index, this indicates that efforts to build digital readiness among tech companies are working. MedTech companies are also employing cutting-edge technology in their services, like Big Data and AI, which is paving the way for more affordable healthcare services.

Supporting government policies

The Vietnamese government has several policies that focus on promoting investment in the healthcare sector and the digital transformation of Vietnam.

Decision No. 749/QD-TTg, for example, states that the healthcare sector in Vietnam is among one of the top priorities for digital transformation. Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW also proposes initiatives and provides guidelines for Vietnams participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Decision No. 127/QD-TTg sets out a national strategy for the research and development of AI in Vietnam. These policies play a vital role in encouraging MedTech companies and investors to digitize Vietnams healthcare sector.

Vietnam MedTech regulations

Vietnams increasing demand for digitally integrated healthcare services has been relatively steady, but the countrys telemedicine and teleconsultation sectors still lack solid regulatory frameworks.

The law is not very clear yet. Ministries keep changing the regulations, especially in the medical equipment area. Things keep changing all the time, according to Huynh Phuong Tho, co-founder of eDoctor.

However, there are a number of regulations in other sectors that might be relevant to MedTech companies.

For example, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment requires any institutional healthcare provider to obtain an operating license that is appropriate for their operation level and their range of services.

Furthermore, in the field of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, Vietnamese authorities have also established strict regulations.

Pharmaceuticals

The Law on Pharmacy declares the regulatory framework for the process of registering, selling, and distributing pharmaceutical products. Circular No. 32/2018/TT-BYT sets out the registration process for pharmaceutical items and the marketing authorization of medicinal ingredients in Vietnam.

Medical devices

The Vietnamese government has issued Decree No. 36/2016/NP-CP, which unifies control of both domestically produced and imported medical equipment. This decree declares that all medical devices must be registered and issued a permit by the Ministry of Health. In addition, all medical devices should be categorized into specific classifications depending on the degree of risk they pose. The requirements become stricter as the classification level increases. This is outlined in the table from Decree 98/2021/N-CP below.

Levels of Risk Classification Examples Low Class A Thermometer, Wheelchair Low to Moderate Class B Blood Pressure Monitor Moderate to High Class C Ventilator, Hemodialysis Device High Class D Infant Incubators, MRI

Depending on the classification of a medical device, firms may be required to complete additional compliance procedures.

These strict regulations and cumbersome administrative procedures pose many challenges for MedTech companies operating in this field as they can delay access to the Vietnamese market and the provision of healthcare services.

The future of Vietnams MedTech sector

Vietnams MedTech industry is still very much in its infancy, but many Vietnam-based MedTech companies have already found their growth drivers and received significant investments. The industry has strong growth opportunities as consumers demand more digitally integrated healthcare services and the Vietnamese government strives to accelerate Vietnams digital transformation.

However, firms should be aware of the regulatory frameworks and legal aspects of the healthcare system in Vietnam. These can be complicated and firms looking to enter Vietnams MedTech market or to invest in MedTech companies should consult a knowledgeable local professional.

For support with legal and regulatory requirements in Vietnam, contact the legal experts at Dezan Shira and Associates.
Following the expanded meeting of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a ceremony of signing Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan documents has been held.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a Contract on establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov and Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov signed a Protocol on cooperation between the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Committee for Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rahman Hummatov and Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ilhom Makhkamov signed a Protocol on cooperation in the field of application of the information system for electronic exchange of permit approval documents.

Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Adil Karimli and Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov signed a Protocol on cooperation in the field of culture.

Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov and Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov signed an Agreement on deepening cooperation in the field of energy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Memorandum on cooperation between the Service of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Security Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Protocol on additions and amendments to the Agreement on visa-free travel for the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed an "Agreement on cooperation in the fields of youth policy and sports".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Road Map on the development of cooperation in the field of media between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan".

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov signed a "Road Map on deepening comprehensive strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2023-2024".

A total of 20 documents were signed as part of the visit.


















U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday promised survivors of Hawaii's wildfires to help rebuild, nearly two weeks after the fires killed at least 114 people and destroyed thousands of homes and wiped out much of the historic town of Lahaina.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Hawaiian island Maui where they met with officials, including Gov. Josh Green, and thanked first responders for their work following the deadly fires.

"From stories of grief, we've seen so many stories of hope and heroism, of the aloha spirit. Every emergency responder put their lives on the line to save others," Biden said. "Everyday heroes, neighbors helping neighbors, Native Hawaiian leaders offering solace and strength."

Biden said the country grieves with the victims, and that his administration will do everything possible to help recovery efforts and to respect local cultural traditions as rebuilding takes place.

"For as long as it takes, we're going to be with you," Biden said, standing near a 150-year-old banyan tree in Lahaina that was burned, but was still standing. He said the "tree survived for a reason."

"I believe it's a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis," he said.

Biden was accused by some Republicans of not doing enough in the immediate aftermath of the fires.

Former President Donald Trump said it was "disgraceful" Biden did not respond more quickly. White House officials said the visit was delayed to avoid interfering with emergency response efforts, and that the president was in touch with Hawaii officials as the crisis unfolded.

There were signs some Hawaii residents are also unhappy with the president's response. As Biden's motorcade drove through an area scorched by the fires, most onlookers cheered, waved, and made a hand gesture for "aloha"  a Hawaii greeting. But news reports also said a few bystanders showed their displeasure with less friendly hand signals.

Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was named Monday as the lead coordinator for the federal response to the Maui wildfires, the White House announced.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Aviation experts are meeting in Kenya this week to examine methods to improve security and safety for Africa's airlines and airports.

Beyond those topics, the eighth meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will also involve discussions on air transport facilitation and sustainability in Africa.

The principal secretary for Kenyas department of transport, Mohamed Daghar, told the conference that Kenyan airports now have technology for security measures that make travel for passengers both safe and smooth.

We now have in place the prerequisite infrastructure and capabilities to fully participate in ICAO's public key directory, the advanced passenger information and the passenger name record, Daghar said. This will see Kenya join the global community in making the passenger journey seamless.

ICAO President Salvatore Sciacchitano said Africa must prepare for increased air traffic in the coming months, hence the need to improve the safety of airports and passengers.

"Its important to acknowledge that states are more prosperous when they are better connected and that nothing can connect Africa as efficiently and as reliably as air transport, Sciacchitano said.

He added that the industry is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic but that global traffic is expected to reach 2019 levels by the end of the year.

The prospect for Africa in this respect is remarkable, Sciacchitano said.

Africa's air transport sector was hit hard by the global pandemic, which led to lockdowns and countries issuing strict health measures to combat the infection. Aviation experts say the measures taken to subdue COVID-19 have made it difficult for the airlines and people to move freely, leading to a loss of income.

Even as air traffic picks up, experts say security risks have evolved, and now airlines face threats from insiders, terrorism, human trafficking, inadequately documented passengers and contraband smuggling.

The Transportation Security Administration, a U.S. government agency, invested in Kenya's international airport to improve security and train staff, increasing the effectiveness of passenger screenings.

The agency's administrator, David Pekoske, told the aviation conference to work together to deal with security threats.

"Over the next few days, I encourage all of us to not only listen to the best practices and effectiveness that can be sustained but ultimately to collaborate on enhancing the effectiveness of the global civil aviation system, Pekoske said. Success's mission is directly dependent on the cooperation between a myriad of partners. I believe it's people, partnership and technology that make a difference."

More than 300 delegates from international and African civil aviation agencies are attending the conference in Nairobi, which ends Friday.
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President Biden and the first lady are in Hawaii, where they'll meet with wildfire survivors and emergency workers. Forecasters are watching newly formed Tropical Storm Franklin across the Atlantic. West African leaders reject a plan by Nigers coup leaders to relinquish power within three years.
China's medical and pharmaceutical sectors are the latest focus of President Xi Jinpings anti-corruption campaign, his hallmark effort since becoming general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in late 2012.

Chinas National Health Commission (NHC) said the campaign would focus on people who had used their position to procure kickbacks and other corruption in the pharmaceutical sector, according to the government-affiliated Global Times.

At least 176 hospital presidents and party secretaries have been targeted in 2023, more than twice the number than in 2022, according to the Global Times report. Prestigious specialists, professors and department heads of provincial and municipal hospitals are among those suspected.

"The one-year campaign covers the entire chain of production, circulation, sales, use and reimbursement in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as pharmaceutical administrative departments, industry associations, medical and health institutions, pharmaceutical production and operation enterprises, and medical insurance funds," the Global Times reported, citing the NHC.

Xu Yucai, a senior expert on health care reform, said in an interview with Global Times that compared with previous efforts, the current anti-corruption drive in medicine involves the participation of more governmental agencies. The result has been arrests of high-powered individuals in the medical sector and pharmaceutical firms, according to the article.

He Anquan, a former surgeon who now lives in the United States, said when he worked at the Department of Surgery at the Yangpu District Central Hospital in Shanghai, he had witnessed corruption.

In a phone interview with VOA Mandarin, he outlined corrupt practices he witnessed, such as a hospital president embezzling funds earmarked for infrastructure construction, or staff embezzling money budgeted for the purchase of equipment from overseas suppliers.

"From the director to the attending doctors to the residents, they take kickbacks," he said. Kickbacks are part of doctors' decisions on which stents to use or which drugs to prescribe, he said.

Wu Zuolai, a political commentator and independent scholar living in California, said that Chinese Communist Party authorities are responding to public opinion by targeting corruption in the health care system. Prior to leaving China, he was a magazine editor who worked at China Art Research Institute. He was fired for signing Charter 08, a pro-democracy appeal initiated by Liu Xiaobo, the human rights campaigner and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who died in prison in 2017.

Wu told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview, The crackdown on corruption seems to be in line with public opinion, and to a certain extent, it does slow down corruption. But it also hides the biggest corruptions, which is the dualistic, or even pluralistic system of the health care system  different groups of people enjoy different health care treatment, bringing difficulties in health care for the whole population.

Hu Jia, a political dissident and analyst in Beijing, agrees with Wu Zuolai that the root cause of corruption is the very different medical treatment received by Communist Party cadres and ordinary citizens.

"There are probably close to 10 million party and government officials who enjoy privileged medical treatment, including totally free medical care, high-class wards, and guaranteed access to imported medicines," he told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview. "They take up about 80% of the nation's medical resources, and that number is far greater than the corruption volume of doctors and hospital staff."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for an official state visit, full of pomp and ceremony, on the side of the BRICS summit on Tuesday. Xi was greeted in Pretoria with a 21-gun salute as the two countries marked 25 years of diplomatic relations.

Ramaphosa welcomed Xi warmly, recalling how Beijing supported South Africas struggle against apartheid and calling the relationship between the two a very special one.

He noted that China is South Africas biggest global trade partner, with some $32 billion in bilateral trade last year, but stressed a trade imbalance in Chinas favor needs addressing.

As South Africa, we would like to see the significant trade deficit narrowed and this visit is an opportunity for us to look at ways to do so, Ramaphosa said.

South Africa is currently in the throes of a major energy crisis, with its economy being hit hard by almost-daily blackouts. Ramaphosa thanked China for donating emergency power equipment and for a grant of approximately $26 million as development assistance.

Energy cooperation with China is a recent development that we look to deepen, particularly in line with our respective commitments to low-carbon, climate resilient development, he said.

Ramaphosa confirmed South Africas commitment to the One-China policy, and noted that Pretoria and Beijing shared a similar position in supporting the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.

For his part, Xi noted the two nations share a strong bond, as comrades and brothers.

Paul Nantulya, a China expert at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said while China is the worlds second largest economy, it has always projected itself as a fellow developing country.

It would like Global South countries to see it as a developing country and that becomes particularly important in terms of providing a counter-weight to what it sees as a western and a U.S. dominated international order and international system, Nantulya said.

Several memorandums of understanding were signed during the state visit, including agreements on direct investment, the digital economy, the export of avocados, and the development of industrial parks and special economic zones.

The two nations also agreed to step up cooperation on tourism and education.

Later Tuesday, the BRICS Summit of emerging economies  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  gets into full swing. All the BRICS country leaders are in attendance save for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will be taking part remotely.

Expansion of the bloc is expected to dominate the agenda of the summit, which ends on Thursday.
Pakistan said Tuesday that a counterterrorism raid in a volatile district on the border with Afghanistan had killed at least six soldiers and four terrorists in the ensuing clashes.

The troops effectively engaged the terrorists location in South Waziristan and injured two other insurgents, according to the Pakistani militarys media wing.

However, during an intense exchange of fire, six brave soldiers, having fought gallantly, embraced shahadat [martyrdom], Inter-Services Public Relations said.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for inflicting the casualties, saying the shootout erupted after its fighters ambushed a military convoy in the remote district. The insurgent group claimed a significantly higher number of Pakistani troop casualties, but it often releases exaggerated claims.

Pakistani officials maintain that fugitive TTP commanders have moved their bases to Afghanistan and intensified cross-border terrorism since the Taliban retook control of the neighboring country two years ago.

On Sunday, a bomb explosion hit a vehicle transporting laborers to a police post in the turbulent North Waziristan district adjacent to South Waziristan. Officials confirmed the killing of 11 laborers.

Afghan Taliban authorities reject the allegations, saying they are not allowing any group to use their soil against other countries, including Pakistan.

This year alone, TTP-led insurgent violence has killed nearly 500 people in Pakistan, including civilians and security forces. Army officials have confirmed the death of around 130 officers and soldiers.

The TTP, an offshoot and close ally of the Afghan Taliban, claims its insurgent campaign aims to bring an Islamic system to Pakistan. The United States and the United Nations have listed the TTP as a global terrorist organization.

A U.N. report last month said that up to 6,000 TTP fighters are operating out of Afghanistan.

Last month, a suicide bomb explosion ripped through a political rally in Bajaur, another volatile district bordering Afghanistan. The blast killed over 60 people, including children, and wounded many more. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed that attack.
U.S. News & World Report takes a look at EducationUSA, a network of advising centers supported to the U.S. State Department. Its mission is to help students who want to study in the U.S.

According to the story, EducationUSA has some 430 advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories. The centers can help students find the best school for them and help with the admission process. Read the full story here. (October 2023)
One summer night a decade ago, the al-Shami family was woken up by a roaring sound or rockets, but it wasn't followed by the usual explosions. Instead, the family members started having difficulty breathing.

Ghiad al-Shami, 26, remembers how everyone tried to run to the rooftop of their apartment building in eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb that at the time was held by opposition fighters trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Al-Shami's mother, three sisters and two brothers died that night  victims of the Aug. 21, 2013, sarin gas attack that killed hundreds and left thousands of others hurt.

Ten years on, al-Shami and other survivors say there has been no accountability for the attack and for the other atrocities committed in Syria during the country's brutal civil war, now in its 13th year.

Over the past year, Assad's government  accused by the United Nations of repeated chemical weapons attacks on Syrian civilians  has been able to break out of its political isolation.

Assad was welcomed back to the Arab League, which had suspended Syria's membership in 2011 following a crackdown on anti-government protests. With the help of top allies Russia and Iran, Assad also recaptured large swaths of territory he initially lost to opposition groups.

"Today, instead of holding perpetrators accountable, Assad is being welcomed back into the Arab League and invited to international conferences, cementing impunity for the most heinous of crimes," said Laila Kiki, executive director of The Syria Campaign advocacy group.

"To all those who seek to shake hands with Assad, this anniversary should serve as a clear reminder of the atrocities his regime has committed," she said in a statement.

In 2013, Assad was widely held responsible for the eastern Ghouta attack  weapons specialists said the rocket systems involved were in the Syrian army's arsenal.

The Syrian government has denied ever using chemical weapons. Russia, Syria's prime ally, claims the Ghouta attack was carried out by opposition forces trying to push for foreign military intervention.

The United States threatened military retaliation in the aftermath of the attack, with then-President Barack Obama saying Assad's use of chemical weapons would be Washington's "red line." However, the U.S. public and Congress were wary of a new war, as invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq had turned into quagmires.

In the end, Washington settled for a deal with Moscow for Assad to give up his chemical weapons' stockpile.

Syria says it eliminated its chemical arsenal under the 2013 agreement. It also joined a global chemical weapons watchdog based in The Hague, Netherlands, as global pressure mounted on Damascus.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has blamed the Syrian government for several deadly chemical attacks, most recently for a 2018 chlorine gas attack over Douma, another Damascus suburb, that killed 43 people.

Syrian authorities refused to allow investigation teams access to the site of the attack and had their voting rights within the OPCW suspended in 2021 as punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas.

Damascus has accused the watchdog of bias in favor of the West and has not recognized its authority. Western countries say that Syria has not fully declared its chemical weapons stockpile to the OPCW to be destroyed.

The Syrian government and its allies reclaimed eastern Ghouta in 2018, with most of its residents fleeing to the last rebel-held enclave in Syria's northwest.

Abdel Rahman Sabhia, a nurse and former resident of the suburb, has since moved to the town of Afrin in the northern Aleppo province, now under Turkish-backed groups.

"We lost hope in the international community," said Sabhia, who worked at a voluntary field hospital in Ghouta at the time of the gas attack. "Why should we trust in them if we still haven't seen any accountability for all the children who lost their families?"

Sabhia says he had gotten used to airstrikes and shelling, but the aftermath of the 2013 attack was different. The streets were eerily quiet, "like a ghost town," he recalled. "We broke into a house and saw a baby, just months old, lying dead in bed with his parents."

At the time, dozens of bodies were laid out in hospitals with families looking to identify their loved ones. Some families were buried together in large graves.

Al-Shami, who now lives in Istanbul recalls regaining consciousness a day after the attack.

"I felt helpless," he said.
Divisive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand on Tuesday after years of self-imposed exile to face criminal charges on the same day that a party affiliated with him plans to start forming a new government.

Thaksin has said his decision to return has nothing to do with an expected vote in Parliament later in the day on a candidate from the Pheu Thai party for prime minister. But many believe his arrival is connected to the party's pursuit of power.

Thaksin flew from Singapore in his private jet and landed at Don Mueang International Airport around 9 a.m. local time. Thai broadcasters aired live footage of him walking out of the airport's private jet terminal with his daughter, key Pheu Thai member Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and greeting his supporters.

After walking out, Thaksin placed a flower wreath and prostrated before a portrait of Thailand's king and queen at the gate of the terminal.

The 74-year-old billionaire promoted populist policies and used his telecommunications fortune to build his own Thai Rak Thai party and be elected prime minister in 2001 and easily reelected in 2005, before being ousted in a military coup in 2006 and fleeing into exile.

Thaksin was convicted in absentia in several criminal cases that he said were politically motivated, and he could face prison time unless he receives a royal pardon.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Thaksin. The military coup that ousted him triggered years of upheaval and division that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supports Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Thaksin flew in his private jet from Singapore and landed at Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport around 9 a.m. local time.

In an interview with BBC Thai on Saturday, Thaksin said his return was planned before the date of the parliamentary vote was set, and that he was prepared to follow the Thai legal process.

Less than a week before May elections, Thaksin announced he would like to return before his birthday in July, but the plan was repeatedly delayed, with he and Paetongtarn citing both post-election uncertainties and his health.

Pheu Thai came in second in the elections but took over leadership in forming a new government after the surprise winner, the progressive Move Forward Party, was repeatedly rejected by conservative senators appointed by a previous military government.

Move Forward's reform agenda appealed deeply to many Thais, particularly younger voters who were disenchanted by 17 years of military-backed rule but was seen as a threat by the country's conservative elites.

After more than three months without a new government, Parliament plans to vote Tuesday afternoon on Pheu Thai's candidate for prime minister, former property developer Srettha Thavisin, after it formed an 11-party coalition including two parties allied with its former military adversaries. Pheu Thai has been heavily criticized by some of its supporters for backtracking on a pre-election pledge not to join hands with pro-military parties.

Pheu Thai officials have defended the decision by saying it was necessary to break the political deadlock and seek reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.

"Although there are parties from the outgoing government in the coalition, all parties will work with Pheu Thai with efficiency and serve the best interests of the public," Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew said Monday. "The coalition parties will use this chance as a beginning to build love, harmony and reconciliation of the people in the country, and will work together to create prosperity for the country and the people into the future."

The Pheu Thai-led coalition holds 314 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives and needs some support from the non-elected Senate, appointed by a previous military government, to achieve a majority in the combined parliamentary vote.

Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule. Senators, like the army, see themselves as guardians of traditional conservative royalist values.

Thaksin came back briefly to Thailand in 2008 to face a court trial before fleeing the country. He has avoided returning over concerns he would not be treated fairly by the military-backed government and establishment that has long held a sharp animosity toward him.

He has remained active in Thai politics, however, often making video calls to political rallies of parties backed by him.

"Thaksin's plans to return to Thailand were postponed after the election results were announced  this implies a strong connection between the election, formation of coalitions, and selection of the prime minister on one hand, and Thaksin's personal agenda on the other," said Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher and visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

"Thaksin has managed to make this election about himself personally, and the direction of a Pheu Thai-led coalition heavily depends on his personal whims."

With the convictions against him, Thaksin could face more than a decade in prison, though Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam of the outgoing military-linked government said earlier that Thaksin is eligible to request a pardon and could receive special treatment because of his age.
When the Taliban entered Kabul in August 2021, nearly the entire leadership of the Afghan government fled the country fearing for their lives.

President Ashraf Ghani, accompanied by his wife and closest aides, sought asylum in the United Arab Emirates, while the rest of his Cabinet, including his two vice presidents, scattered to different parts of the world.

In a video statement three days later, Ghani said his departure might have been the only way to escape the fate of his predecessor, former President Mohammad Najibullah, who was tortured and killed by the Taliban in 1996.

"If I had stayed, the president of Afghanistan would have been executed in front of the eyes of Afghans once again," Ghani said.

What the Taliban would have done to Ghani is open to speculation, but Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's chief spokesman, told VOA that the group had no intention of harming anyone, including Ghani.

That is not entirely true. The United Nations reported Tuesday that since seizing power, the Taliban have killed, tortured, jailed and mistreated hundreds of former Afghan military personnel  a charge the Taliban deny. SEE ALSO: UN Accuses Taliban of Killing 200 Ex-Afghan Officials, Security Personnel

But some former leaders did choose to stay in Afghanistan and have been able to remain politically active, if only in a restrained way, thanks to a surprising amnesty announced by the Taliban for its former enemies.

Hamid Karzai, the nation's first democratically elected president who signed the U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2012, declared his commitment to the country in a video posted on Facebook within days of the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

"To the esteemed residents of Kabul, I say that my family, my daughters and I are here with you," Karzai said in the Dari language as his three small daughters huddled with him.

Similarly, Abdullah Abdullah, a former chief executive and foreign minister of Afghanistan, chose to remain in Kabul despite his history of opposition to the Taliban.

"I personally had a conversation with former President Karzai 10 days prior to the collapse of the government and asked him specifically what his plans were if some morning he woke up to the scenario of Kabul overrun by the Taliban," Omar Zakhilwal, a former Afghan minister, told VOA.

"He responded that he'd thought about it, realized the possibilities of very high risks to him and his family, particularly in the initial moments of the overrun, but under no circumstances would either he or his family leave Kabul."

'No influence or freedom'

Inside Afghanistan, former leaders like Karzai and Abdullah appear active, meeting with locals, diplomats and aid workers. On their verified social media accounts, they issue carefully crafted statements calling on de facto authorities to reopen secondary schools for girls and allow women to work, while avoiding direct criticism of the Taliban's globally condemned misogynistic policies.

What has become evident in the two years since the fall of Kabul, however, is that regardless of whether they chose to flee or remain, none of the former leaders has had any significant influence over Taliban policies.

"Those who stayed in Afghanistan under the Taliban have no influence or freedom to stand against the Taliban," Sediq Seddiqi, a former spokesperson to Ghani, told VOA.

Outside of Afghanistan, Ghani and other former Afghan officials are more critical of the Taliban on social media platforms.

"If the Afghan politicians in exile can bring about an enduring political settlement and work together for a better Afghanistan, it is justified," Seddiqi said.

It remains uncertain what kind of a political settlement the exiled Afghan leaders could reach with the Taliban, particularly now that they have little, if any, leverage.

"History will judge harshly of those who left," Nader Nadery, a former Afghan official and a member of the former government's negotiating team with the Taliban, told VOA.

Now a research fellow at the Wilson Center in the United States, Nadery said many Afghans appreciate Karzai, Abdullah and those former leaders who have remained in Afghanistan.

"When the time is hard, leaders stay with their people," he said.

Exodus of skilled Afghans hurts country Concerned that the Taliban would target Afghans who worked for the U.S. and the Afghan governments, the United States airlifted more than 120,000 individuals from Kabul in August 2021. Among them were Afghan lawmakers, ministers, journalists and human rights activists.

Over the past two years, the United States, Canada and some European countries have continued evacuating tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans.

Prevalent poverty and Taliban repressions have also forced many Afghans to migrate to Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and elsewhere.

The exodus of mostly educated and skilled Afghans continues to hurt Afghanistan, Zakhilwal said.

"Afghanistan would have been better off if not only the political leaders but also the tens of thousands of other [mostly educated] Afghans who were evacuated by the West had remained in Afghanistan," the former official said.

For others, however, life under the Taliban is unbearable.

"Afghanistan now has become the most oppressive country for women," Pashtana Dorani, an Afghan women's rights activist, wrote last week on X, formerly known as Twitter.

As the Taliban consolidate their grip on power, rejecting domestic and international calls to respect women's rights and forming an inclusive government, former leaders  inside the country and in exile  appear to have little sway on how the Taliban govern Afghanistan.
Located on the 10th floor of an office and commercial building and in a space of just 47 square meters, Boundary Bookstore can be described as low-key. But its one of about a dozen independent book shops in Hong Kong that are testing the governments limits on what can and cannot be read, in a city that is facing increasing political pressure and some would say an erosion of liberties.

Like similar bookshops that have opened in the past five years, it sells books that are becoming hard to find in Hong Kong, especially after the government began ridding public libraries of titles it deems as violating the national security law (NSL).

Customers come here because they know what no longer exists in the libraries, said Leanne Liu, a store manager.

Enacted by Beijing in 2020, the law penalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with sentences as severe as life imprisonment.

The government credits the NSL with restoring order in the city, which saw months of large scale and sometimes violent protests in 2019 to stop a proposed bill that wouldve extradited suspects to mainland China for trial.

Critics say the law grants the government too much power. Since 2020, it has been removing books considered in violation of the law from libraries. According to local media, hundreds of titles have been taken off library shelves, including books about the anti-extradition protests, the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing and even nonpolitical books written by Hong Kongs democracy advocates or government critics.

Bookstores such as Boundary are stepping in to offer books that one wouldnt find in libraries or even big chain bookstores, including one titled Animal Farm Hong Kong.

I worry its more difficult for young people to know the truth, said Liu, lamenting that some school libraries have already removed sensitive books. Its very obvious there are fewer sensitive books being sold at major bookstores as well.

Equally committed to protecting Hong Kong residents freedom to read and write what they wish  are the citys dozen or so independent publishers  which continue to publish works that may be considered sensitive by the government.

Daniel Wong, whose publishing companys name translates to A Kind of Culture, publishes books about the 2019 protests. He was disqualified from exhibiting at the annual Hong Kong Book Fair last year, but that hasnt stopped him from continuing to publish. The company will soon release a book whose Chinese name means HongKongers - The Story of Our Exodus, based on interviews of more than 100 Hong Kong people who have emigrated abroad.

Theres no need to worry. I see different books coming out; different books can still be sold, Wong said.

Hong Kongs chief executive, John Lee, has assured the public that it can still buy books the government doesnt see fit to be stocked in public libraries.

That has led Wong and others to assert that just because a book is pulled from the libraries doesnt mean its been banned.

Were trying to not step on the (red) line. Its a matter of trial and error because we dont know where the line is, he said.

Leslie Ng, chief editor of another publishing house, Bbluesky, said many of the independent publishing houses were opened by young people in the past two years partly because of a desire to maintain Hong Kongs character after the 2019 anti-extradition protests and passage of the new law.

He agrees that theres no need to self-censor.

If Hong Kongs government wants to take down books from library shelves, we have no say over this, but we are disappointed because Hong Kong has all along been a free place in Chinese society, Ng said. Whether we like it or not, we all know this is the reality. What we can do is sell books that are off library shelves.

Book publishers and sellers have offered a sort of sanctuary for Hong Kong people yearning to read different perspectives at a time when some feel self-censorship has grown more prevalent in mainstream media.

Since 2019, Ive been buying more books, said Faye, an office worker picking up an order from Boundary. As long as I can buy these books, I will buy them. Im afraid I wont be able to buy them one day.

She declined to reveal her full name, to avoid problems.

Some bookstores have also become popular community gathering places for those who want to connect with others trying to cope with the changes in Hong Kong, according to local media.

Bookshops and publishers are walking a tightrope. They say they dont know where the red line is because the government doesnt clearly define what type of content violates the security law.

Some bookstores are afraid to buy sensitive books. For instance, there was a book by an independent journalist reflecting on her experience covering the anti-extradition bill protests, but no one bought it. It contained the eight-word protest slogan that the government finds objectionable, Wong said.

He noted that theres always a risk that after a book is published, the government will find it unacceptable.

As for Boundary and other bookstores like it, they are shying away from selling books written by former newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai and activist Joshua Wong, both of whom are in jail on NSL-related charges. Their books have also been banned from libraries.

So far, Boundary hasnt been inspected by authorities because of NSL, but another bookstore is paid frequent visits by the fire department and police for supposed possible building code violations, Liu said.

I dont know how long we can exist. We will continue to sell books as long as possible, Liu said.
When it comes to violations against female journalists globally, analysts show one country accounts for around one-fifth of all cases: Turkey.

The country ranks number one worldwide for violence against women and nonbinary journalists, said Kiran Nazish, founding director of the nonprofit organization Coalition For Women In Journalism, or CFWIJ.

Her organization found that cases documented in Turkey made up more than 20% of the 277 global violations from Jan. 1 to July 31, 2023.

The whole ecosystem in Turkey under Erdogan has been very, very hard on anyone who asks questions or has a voice, said Nazish, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In May, Erdogan was re-elected for a third term. Media watchdogs have documented a steady decline in press freedoms under his leadership so far.

The World Press Freedom Index ranks Turkey 165 out of 180 countries, with 1 being the best media environment.

In a country where the government controls more than 90% of the media, independent news organizations are heavily monitored and often face censorship and legal harassment, according to the CFWIJ.

But outlets that cover Kurdish and womens issues are especially under threat, said Nazish.

We have data over the last four years in Turkey, and at any given time, you would always see, and we've always observed, that from 60 to 80% of women journalists who get targeted are Kurdish. They're always in the majority, Nazish told VOA.

Most are accused of being members of a terrorist organization, a reference to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Turkish forces for years have been engaged in a deadly conflict with the PKK, which wants control of predominantly Kurdish areas in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Gurkan Ozturan, who coordinates the Media Freedom Rapid Response at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, or ECPMF, said he also has seen Kurdish journalists disproportionately targeted.

Even though they represent a much smaller portion of the overall media landscape, Ozturan said, they make up the majority of journalists imprisoned.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not return VOAs emailed request for comment.

When asked previously about jailed journalists, the justice ministry said via email that the courts' independence is guaranteed under Turkey's constitution and that it works within its scope and jurisdiction.

Of the 40 journalists in custody for their work in late 2022, 25 were Kurdish or worked for Kurdish media, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Many of those were detained in June 2022 during a police raid on the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.

Among them: Safiye Alagas, managing editor of JIN News, an all-women news agency located in the southeast, predominantly Kurdish region of Turkey.

In written responses provided to VOA by CFWIJ, Alagas said she has been regularly harassed while on assignment.

Police prevented her from filming mothers on a hunger strike. Alagas said that she and her team were subjected to numerous judicial and police harassments as well as harassment on social media for covering stories about women who were raped by police officers, guards and a soldier.

Alagas said that reporting on injustices by the Turkish government against Kurds can be very risky. But she feels an obligation to continue.

As a female journalist, I feel it is necessary to speak up for women and issues they face.  If those in power and authorities feel uncomfortable with me in a certain place, then I must be on the right path, said Alagas. I did not become a journalist to serve them. I chose this profession to give a voice to those who experience injustice, particularly women.

Alagas, 33, began working as a journalist when she was 18. From a young age, she felt drawn toward the profession.

When she was 3 years old, the village where she lived was bombed and residents were forcibly evacuated and relocated to big cities where, she said, they were excluded and lived in poverty.

The early experiences were formative. I felt like I had a responsibility to use my voice to make a difference, she said.

After her arrest in June, Alagas was charged with being a member of a terrorist organization. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison. Her next hearing is scheduled for November.

Ozturan of the ECPMF said charges of terrorist affiliation are common for Kurdish journalists. [Terrorism] is one of the most liberally used terms when it comes to suppressing the opposition and independent voices, Ozturan told VOA.

More recently other groups, including anyone who identify as LGBTQ, have been called terrorists by government-run media organizations, said Ozturan, who calls the claims baseless.

The targeting of Kurdish journalists is part of a more widespread campaign of censorship in the country, Ozturan said. Starting from the beginning of the year, we have seen an upsurge in the number of access-blocking orders issued, targeting the news agencies.

In the first week of June alone, 307 articles were blocked, a marked increase over the 67 recorded during the same period last year, according to the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.

Ozturan said news agencies are often threatened with court cases and heavy fines if they dont remove articles. Small news organizations that cant afford costly legal battles have no choice but to comply.

Factors he believes are connected to the censorship include an earthquake in February, the presidential election in May and the passing of the Disinformation Law last October. It calls for prison terms of up to three years for the spread of what authorities determine to be disinformation online.

The legal harassment takes a toll. Individual journalists sometimes self-censor or avoid topics they know could lead to police targeting, said Nazish at CFWIJ.

We are seeing consistent arrests of journalists and targeting [of] journalists, but there's also a consistent decline of journalists who are willing to report on things. Because, at the end of the day, journalists are human beings and they have to go back to their lives and their families and not a lot of journalists can make that choice anymore to be there and risk their life and their ability to live freely, Nazish told VOA.

But not every journalist will be deterred. Alagas said every story she reports on is for the benefit of society.

Of course, there are risks involved in this line of work, she said. Being arrested is a scary and challenging process. But what I fear most is giving up the fight.
Indian scientists are aiming to put a lander on the moon Wednesday, hoping that the country will become the first to touch down on the lunar surfaces south pole.

Indias attempt will be made days after Russias Luna-25 lander, also headed for the unexplored south pole, crashed into the moon.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) expressed optimism about its moon mission on Tuesday. The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing. The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!, it said on X.

It is Indias second attempt to reach the south pole -- four years ago, Indias lander crashed during its final approach.

If the mission is successful, India would become the fourth country to achieve what is called a soft-landing on the moon  a feat accomplished by the United States, China and the former Soviet Union.

However, none of those lunar missions landed at the south pole. If you look at the spacecrafts that went to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, they all landed in latitudes somewhere around the equator or the center of the moon as we view it from the earth, because those are relatively easy to access, explained Chaitanya Giri, Associate Professor, Environmental Sciences at Flame University, Pune.

The south side, where the terrain is rough and rugged, has never been explored.

The current mission, called Chandrayaan-3, that blasted into space on July 14 follows the earlier one that could not put a lander on the moon. Chandrayaan means moon vehicle in Sanskrit and Hindi.

Space experts say scientists have taken into account the factors that led to the failed landing in 2019.

Its a complex maneuver. As far as possible ISRO has made changes and taken care to ensure that the descent to the moons surface happens safely and in an expected manner, said Giri. The rest, of course, depends on any technical glitch that may arise.

The space agency has released Images of the far side of the moon -- it said it has been mapping the area to locate what it called a safe landing area -- without boulders or deep trenches."

All systems are working perfectly and no contingencies are anticipated, ISRO Chairman S. Somnath said on Monday, according to a government statement.

If the mission goes according to plan, a rover being carried by the lander will stay on the moon for two weeks examining the lunar surface for the presence of water, minerals and studying its topography. Scientists believe the polar craters may contain water which would be critical to support human settlements on the moon that may be planned in the future.

This is Indias third mission to the moon and is part of its ambitions to be counted among a major space faring nation. The first one in 2008 that involved orbiting the moon helped confirm evidence of water on the lunar body.

Anticipation is growing about the mission in the country, especially after Russias mission failed after encountering problems as it moved into its pre-landing orbit.

Jitendra Singh, science and technology minister, expressed hope that it will script a new history of planetary exploration.

The landing is scheduled for 6:04 pm Indian time on Wednesday and will be livestreamed on ISROs website, its YouTube channel and by Indias public broadcaster.
Iran's Defense Ministry unveiled a drone on Tuesday resembling America's armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country's archenemy Israel.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency published a photograph of the drone, called the Mohajer-10, on display at a conference marking Defense Industry Day with what appeared to be smoke-machine fog underneath it.

"Mohajer" means "immigrant" in Farsi and has been a drone line manufactured by the Islamic Republic since 1985.

IRNA said the drone is able to fly up to 24,000 feet with a speed of 210 kph (130 mph), carrying a bomb payload of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It also said the drone could carry electronic surveillance equipment and a camera. Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also viewed the drone on Tuesday.

"Today, we can firmly introduce Iran as an advanced and technologic nation to the world," Raisi said in comments aired on state television.

He reiterated Iran's stance about friendly relations with "all countries in the world," adding that Iran's armed forces will cut off any hand that will reaches out in an attempt to invade Iran, state TV reported.

The Associated Press could not immediately verify the claims about the drone's capabilities, though an arm of state television shared a video of it taking off from a runway. Long-range drones like the Reaper also require ground stations and satellite communications.

Officials in Israel, which flies its own long-range, high endurance drones, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Iran has in the past captured U.S. drones or pieces of them, but there's no evidence that it has taken a General Atomics' Reaper, which is flown by the U.S. Air Force and allied American nations as a "hunter-killer" drone that can operate at high altitudes for long hours and follow a target before attacking. North Korea in July showed off drones mirroring the Reaper, possibly designed from publicly available information about the aircraft.

In December 2011, Iran seized an RQ-170 Sentinel flown by the CIA to monitor Iranian nuclear sites after it entered Iranian airspace from neighboring Afghanistan. Iran later reverse-engineered the drone to create their own variants.

In 2019, Iran shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk in the Strait of Hormuz amid high tensions over its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers.

The Reaper also carries special significance for Iran, as one reportedly carried out the 2020 strike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Iran separately said it had provided two types of ballistic missiles to its army and the Guard on Tuesday, including one named for Soleimani.

Iran has unveiled a series of drones it describes as capable of long-endurance flights over the last several years. It remains unclear how they've been used in combat.

But other Iranian drones have been a key element of Russia's continued war on Ukraine. Tehran has offered a series of contradictory explanations about the drones, first denying they supplied them to Moscow and then claiming they sold drones only before the war began. However, the volume of drones used in the conflict show a steady supply by Iran of the bomb-carrying weapons in the war.

In June, the White House said Iran is providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow as the Kremlin looks to lock in a steady supply of weaponry.
As former President Donald Trump braces for two separate trials over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, his lawyers are scrambling to come up with legal defenses that could test the limits of the law and the Constitution.

They've signaled that they will argue that Trump was merely exercising his First Amendment rights when he spread baseless claims that the election had been stolen and then pressed state officials to change the results in his favor.

They will contend that the former president was simply following the counsel of his lawyers who advised him he had the right to "petition" the officials to investigate fraud.

And they may even invoke the idea that as president he should be immune from prosecution, arguing that the actions he took after the election were related to his presidential duties.

But legal experts say when the case goes to trial the key question the jury will have to answer is: Did Trump know he had lost the election?

"A jury is not going to focus on whether he had a First Amendment right to petition for redress of grievances and [is] not going to focus on whether he had any executive privilege to meet with his vice president and urge him to not count the votes from the swing states that were contested," said John Malcolm, a former federal prosecutor who is a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation. "They're going to focus on the president and his belief."

Election indictments

Trump faces two separate indictments in connection with the 2020 election scheme that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

On Aug. 1, a federal grand jury in Washington issued a four-count indictment, accusing Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding.

Then last week, a grand jury in Georgia indicted Trump and 18 others for racketeering and a raft of other crimes in connection with efforts to overturn the election outcome in that state.

While the state and federal cases are different in scope, they both alleged election fraud and require that prosecutors prove "mens rea" or criminal intent on the part of Trump, according to legal experts.

"In both jurisdictions, general principles of criminal law in the U.S. probably are quite relevant," said Morgan Cloud, a professor of law at Emory University in Atlanta. "Not all, but most crimes, including felonies like the ones charged in these current federal and state indictments require proof of mens rea."

Trump has long claimed that he lost the 2020 election fraudulently, despite no evidence of that assertion, and his lawyers are now challenging prosecutors to disprove his sincerity.

"I would like them to try to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump believed that these allegations were false," John Lauro, who represents Trump in the special counsel case, told Fox News after special counsel Jack Smith announced the federal charges against Trump.

Circumstantial evidence

Proving criminal intent can be challenging but it's not impossible, according to legal experts.

To prove criminal intent, prosecutors can use two types of evidence: direct and circumstantial.

Direct evidence shows a defendant's state of mind or actions, while circumstantial evidence can imply a guilty mind.

In Trump's case, direct evidence could include testimony about his private admission that he had lost the election. At least two former White House aides have come forward with claims to that effect. One of them, Cassidy Hutchinson, testified before Congress last year that she was told by her boss, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, that "a lot of times (Trump will) tell me that he lost, but he wants to keep fighting it."

Prosecutors can also marshal circumstantial evidence to prove Trump knew he had lost. Among other things, they can cite testimony by senior Justice Department officials, White House aides, and Trump's own campaign staff who told Trump that they had found no evidence of widespread fraud.

Though circumstantial, this kind of testimony can persuade a jury that Trump knew he had lost the election.

A "myth I think people have is that you have to have the smoking gun, the guy on the audiotape saying, 'I did it," but you don't," said Kimberly Wehle, a former federal prosecutor now a professor of law at the University of Baltimore. "You can prove crimes beyond a reasonable doubt with circumstantial evidence."

Yet Trump, notorious for rejecting expert advice, could claim he was swayed by other advisers who insisted the election was stolen.

"I don't think there's any question that there were people around former President Trump at the time who were telling him that he was not wrong, and that the election really had been stolen," Malcolm said.

Without proving Trump's criminal intent, Malcolm said, "the case collapses."
Two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through the Maui community of Lahaina, authorities say anywhere between 500 and 1,000 people remain unaccounted for  a staggering number for officials facing huge challenges to determine how many of those perished and how many may have made it to safety but haven't checked in.

Something similar happened after a wildfire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, California. Authorities in Butte County, home to Paradise, ultimately published a list of the missing in the local newspaper, a decision that helped identify scores of people who had made it out alive but were listed as missing. Within a month, the list dropped from 1,300 names to only a dozen.

Hawaii officials have expressed concern that by releasing a list of the missing, they would also be identifying some people who have died. In an email Tuesday, the State Joint Information Center called it "a standard held by all law enforcement and first responders here in Hawaii, out of compassion and courtesy for the families, to withhold the names until the families can be contacted."

As of Monday, there were 115 people confirmed dead, according to Maui police. All single-story, residential properties in the disaster area had been searched, and teams were beginning to search multistory residential and commercial properties, Maui County officials said in an update late Monday.

There are widely varying accounts of the tally of the missing. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Sunday that more than 1,000 remained unaccounted for. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a recorded video on Instagram that the number was 850. And during President Joe Biden's tour of the devastation on Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall put it between 500 and 800.

An unofficial, crowd-sourced spreadsheet of missing people posted online listed nearly 700 names as of Tuesday.

State Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran, representing central Maui, said he's not aware of any rules that prevent officials from making the list public. But as someone with several members of his extended family still unaccounted for, he understands why some may not want the list released.

"I'm not going to second-guess the approach by the mayor and his people right now," he said.

Questions are also emerging about how quickly the names of the dead are being publicly released, even after family members have been notified. Maui residents are growing increasingly frustrated as the search for their loved ones drags on.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday that the Maui Police Department has instructed the medical examiner in Honolulu  where some burn patients were taken for treatment  not to release the names of anyone who dies from injuries sustained in Lahaina fire. The request came after one severely burned patient died and the man's name appeared in media reports after notification of his next of kin.

"I don't know why they aren't releasing the names," Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner Supervising Investigator Theresa Reynolds told the newspaper.

Clifford Abihai said he feels like he's getting the run-around from authorities. He came to Maui from California to try to find answers about his grandmother, Louise Abihai, 98. He has been just as frustrated on the ground in Maui.

"I just want confirmation," he said last week. "Not knowing what happened, not knowing if she escaped, not knowing if she's not there. That's the hard thing."

As of Tuesday, he said he had learned nothing further.

His grandmother lived at Hale Mahaolu Eono, a senior living facility where another member of his extended family, Virginia Dofa, lived. Authorities have identified Dofa as among the dead. Abihai described Dofa and Louise Abihai as best friends.

He said his grandmother was mobile and could walk a mile a day, but it was often hard to reach her because she'd frequently turn off her cellphone to save battery power.

Confirming whether those who are unaccounted for are deceased can be difficult. Fire experts say it's possible some bodies were cremated in the Lahaina fire, potentially leaving no bones to identify through DNA tests.

The situation on Maui is evolving, but those who lived through similar tragedies and never learned of their loved ones' fate are also following the news and hurt for the victims and their families.

Nearly 22 years later, almost 1,100 victims of the 9/11 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000, have no identified remains.

Joseph Giaccone's family initially was desperate for any physical trace of the 43-year-old finance executive, who worked in the World Trade Center's North Tower, brother James Giaccone recalled. But over time, he started focusing instead on memories of the flourishing man his brother was.

"So I am OK with the way it is right now," he said.
An Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing early on Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020, as North Korea cracks open its border to some passenger travel.

The flight, JS151, arrived at 9:17 a.m. local time, shortly ahead of its scheduled time. It wasn't immediately clear who was aboard, but Western tour companies that operated in North Korea said it appeared to be a special flight that would on the return carry back North Koreans who had been trapped in China by the years of border closures.

The flight comes amid a slow reopening for one of the world's most politically and economically isolated countries.

Cargo train and ship traffic has slowly increased over the past year, but North Korea has only just begun to allow some international passenger travel.

In a first since before the pandemic, Chinese and Russian government delegations flew to Pyongyang last month and last week buses carrying North Korean athletes to a taekwondo tournament in Kazakhstan crossed the border into China.

Air Koryo has also scheduled flights to Vladivostok on Friday, a diplomat told Reuters, in what would be its first flights to Russia since the pandemic.

"This flight isnt a full resumption of the route yet, it is a special flight for Koreans only to take people home again after years being stuck overseas," said Simon Cockerell, general manager at Beijing-based Koryo Tours. "The same as the flights that seem likely to happen soon from Vladivostok."

"Its all happening, but for Koreans first, the rest of uslater," he said.

'Gradual opening'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has built hundreds of kilometers (miles) of new or upgraded border fences, walls and guard posts since the pandemic began, enabling his government to tighten the flow of information and goods into the country, keep foreign elements out and its people in.

Many foreign delegations closed their embassies in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship in supplies for much of the pandemic.

One diplomat for a Western country that pulled its staff from its embassy in Pyongyang said there was no official word from North Korean officials on when they could return.

"We expect a gradual opening with 'friendly' countries first, so we may be a bit down the list," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
North Korea is poised to take another attempt at placing a claimed spy satellite into orbit as soon as Thursday, a second try this year that comes some three months after its acknowledged "gravest failure."

Pyongyang notified Japan its launch window for a satellite launch is Aug. 24 to 31, Tokyo said Tuesday, without specifying the satellite's type.

In reaction, the Japan Coast Guard posted coordinates that include waters west of the Korean peninsula, the East China Sea and waters east of the Philippines' Luzon island as potential danger zones and called on vessels traveling through them to exercise caution.

The prime minister's office in Japan said it strongly urged North Korea to refrain from firing what it refers to as a "satellite," adding it was collecting information and working with the U.S., South Korea and other concerned parties.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters it would be "extremely regrettable" if North Korea went ahead with its launch.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, in charge of inter-Korean affairs, echoed the view and called on Pyongyang to immediately halt its plan. North Korea's claimed satellite test utilizes ballistic missile technology that is banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions, which cannot be justified under any circumstance, it said.

Many observers view North Korea's claimed rocket launches as a way to forward its ballistic weapons program under the guise of a civilian program.

North Korea was widely expected to return to the launch pad after its May 31 attempt to place a reconnaissance satellite into orbit prematurely failed when the rocket lost its thrust soon after taking off.

Pyongyang in June publicly attributed this to "the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine" and pledged to try again after making needed fixes.

After weeks of underwater salvage efforts, South Korea's military retrieved parts of the North Korean rocket, reportedly including its payload, earning a rare first-hand look inside. It concluded that the claimed reconnaissance satellite had no such utility, without providing details of what was recovered or analyzed.

North Korea's rocket launch notification comes as South Korea is engaged in a massive series of exercises at the government and U.S.-South Korea military levels to boost readiness for a potential incursion by North Korea.

Pyongyang issued a scathing commentary on Tuesday of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, saying that it  together with agreements inked at last week's trilateral summit among leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan in Camp David  was pushing the region into "an unprecedented large-scale thermonuclear war."

North Korea views the annual summertime war games between the allies, currently known as the Ulchi Freedom Shield, as a practice for invasion.

The drills were revived to full scale under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration after they were unilaterally canceled in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in a surprise concession to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their Singapore Summit.

This year's Ulchi Freedom Shield will feature some 30 field exercises to complement command post exercises, the most in recent years.

A nationwide emergency drill on Wednesday will also require vehicle traffic to stop and people to take shelter for a 20-minute civilian drill.
Pakistan's military has rescued two children out of eight people trapped in a cable car dangling over a high ravine, after a line snapped early Tuesday morning, in a high-risk operation complicated by gusty winds.

Seven students and one teacher have been stuck in the cable car since 7 a.m. (0200 GMT) when they were traveling to school in a remote mountainous area in Battagram, about 200 km north of Islamabad, officials said.

Two children have now been rescued, a rescue agency spokesperson and a district official said. No further details were immediately available.

The cable car became stranded halfway across a ravine, about 274 meters above ground, and was dangling by a single cable after the other snapped, Shariq Riaz Khattak a rescue official at the site told Reuters.

The rescue mission has been complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopters' rotor blades risk further destabilizing the lift, he said.

"Our situation is precarious, for god's sake do something," Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old who is on the cable car, told local television channel Geo News over the phone, appealing to authorities to rescue them as soon as possible. He said the other students are aged between 10 and 15 and one had fainted due to heat and fear.

The rescue efforts have transfixed the country, with Pakistanis crowded around television sets, as local media showed footage of an emergency worker dangling from a helicopter cable close to the small cabin, with those onboard seen cramped together.

At the scene, crowds of villagers gathered on the vertiginous hillside anxiously watching the operation.

Muzaffar Khan, a district administration official in Battagram, said there were seven students and one teacher aboard, updating from the earlier reported six students and two teachers.
The Economic Community of West African States has rejected a plan by Nigers coup leaders to relinquish power within three years.

The three-year transition plan proposed by Niger's military junta was unacceptable, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, told a Nigerian television channel Monday.

He said the regional bloc ECOWAS insists on the return of constitutional order as quickly as possible, and that the junta proposed the transition plan as a distraction to remain in power for longer.

"In some other countries under military regime in West Africa, they had about three years and already they're negotiating with their population to have another 18 months," Musah said. "What legitimacy do they have to already begin with three years? And we know it is not going to end there."

In a televised address Saturday, Niger's junta leader Abdourahamane Tchiani said the country would return to civilian rule within three years. He spoke soon after meeting with an ECOWAS delegation led by Nigeria's former head of state, Abdulsalam Abubakar.

Tchiani urged political parties to submit their vision for the transition within 30 days.

"Our ambition is not to confiscate power," he said. "Transition period will not exceed three years."

It was the first time the junta had met with ECOWAS representatives since the July 26 coup, raising hopes of continued dialogue.

But Musah said it is the pressure from ECOWAS sanctions and threat of military intervention that is making the junta more compliant.

"We're no longer going to get into drawn out haggling with people who have used their power against their own constitution."

Idayat Hassan, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an Abuja-based pro-democracy think tank, said ECOWAS must not give in to the transition plan by Niger's coup leaders.

"If ECOWAS allows for this three-year transition, it is going to be following in the footsteps of Mali, and in Burkina Faso and in Guinea," she said.

Soldiers of the presidential guard who deposed President Mohammed Bazoum last month continue to hold him and his family hostage.

ECOWAS recently activated a standby force to intervene in Niger if negotiations fail. Defense chiefs who met in Accra last week said they are ready to take action as soon as an order is given.
Two Ukrainian news outlets reported Tuesday that Ukrainian saboteurs were responsible for attacks on Saturday and Monday that destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft at two airbases deep inside Russia.

The attacks took place on Saturday at the Soltsy air base in northwestern Russia, 700 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border, and on Monday at the Shaikovka air base about 300 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims on the ground.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that the attack on Soltsy damaged one aircraft, the AP reported. It didn't comment on the reported attack on Shaikovka, but Russian media did.

Satellite images from Planet Labs analyzed by the AP showed what appeared to be 10 Tupolev Tu-22M long-range bombers parked at the Soltsy air base on August 16. By Monday, two days after the attack, all of the bombers had left the air base. A large black spot was visible where one of the Tupolevs had been parked.

Photos purporting to be from the Soltsy air base and published by Russian and Ukrainian media showed a Russian Tu-22M bomber ablaze there after the attack. Russian artillery kills three

Elsewhere, Russian artillery killed three people in eastern Ukraine Tuesday, local authorities said late Tuesday.

Two villages near the city of Lyman were hit, killing two women and a man, ages 63 to 88. The three were sitting together on a bench when the shelling hit.

Separately, four people were injured in an attack using two explosive drones in a village in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border, military officials said.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia said its air defenses shot down Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region and the Bryansk area along the border between the two countries.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack in the Moscow area involved two drones and that there was no reported damage.

Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Telegram that one drone was downed in the Krasnogorsk area on the northwestern side of Moscow and the other in the Chastsy area west of the city.

Reuters said there was some minor damage to a high-rise residential building in Krasnogorsk and that falling debris had damaged some cars on the ground.

The Russian Defense Ministry said two Ukrainian drones brought down by jamming systems over Bryansk crashed without causing any casualties. Moscow airports suspend flights

The Ukrainian aerial attacks prompted Moscow airports to suspend flights, a step that has been taken in response to drone attacks in the Russian capital region in previous days.

Russia also said Sukhoi jets destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat operating in the area of Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea. A Defense Ministry statement did not give further details on the incident, including exactly where it took place.
The Somali government has offered amnesty to al-Shabab militants amid an ongoing military offensive in central parts of the country. The move is seen by some analysts as a way to remove al-Shabab fighters from the battlefield, thereby weakening the insurgent group.

The amnesty offer is part of a widening approach by the Somali government in its fight against the al-Shabab militant group. The government has deployed the military, targeted financial networks and waged an ideological battle against the group.

The announcement by the National Counter Terrorism Center to open doors for defections follows President Hassan Sheikh Mohamuds remarks that al-Shabab leadership was not willing to negotiate with the government.

Abdiaziz Hussein Issack, a security analyst with Hamad Bin Khalifa Civilization Center, said the amnesty offer to al-Shabab is a strategic tactic by the Somali government to further weaken the group.

Already, he said, there have been reports of discontent among the foot soldiers that they are not getting support from the top leadership as the government forces pile pressure on them.

The federal government launched a large-scale offensive against al-Shabab in the Mudug and Galgaduud regions in central parts of the country.

Clan militias also provided support to the forces, which, the government said are on course to finish the first phase of the operation. Issack says amnesty might also provide government forces with intelligence about the group.

If well-coordinated, the amnesty could be a plus for the government, he said. If the fighters desert their positions, the government forces will not only face little resistance but will also benefit from intelligence from the defectors.

Despite the expected positive outcomes, some analysts think an amnesty offer may not tilt the scales of the war. Abdirashid Farah Ali, a security and political analyst at Linking Governance, a policy and strategy consultancy in Mogadishu, warned not to expect too much from the amnesty offer.

He said there is no guarantee the amnesty will net a major gain for the government. There might be just a few defectors out of the thousands of soldiers, and while it has a psychological effect on the war against al-Shabab, it may not change the course of the war.

Several senior figureheads in al-Shabab have defected in the past. The current minister for religious affairs was the founder and the second most senior leader before he defected to the government in 2017 and hes currently leading the ideological warfare against the group.

Ali says if the amnesty does work and several militants defect, it might force al-Shabab to the negotiating table.

He says major defections are unlikely. But if there are some defections, al-Shabab might be forced to consider negotiation rather than face humiliation. So, there might be a good opportunity for the government to pursue amnesty.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been leading the war campaign in Galmudug state in central Somalia for the last two weeks. The two-time leader has staked his presidency on the annihilation of al-Shabab.

As he prepares to launch the second phase of operations in the south, he faces two tasks: an ongoing al-Shabab build-up and tough terrain. But should he succeed in getting defectors, the war might work in his favor.
Cambodias parliament has overwhelmingly elected Hun Manet to succeed his father, longtime autocratic ruler Hun Sen, as the countrys prime minister.

The selection of the 45-year-old Hun Manet as Cambodias new leader comes just weeks after his father announced he would be stepping aside after nearly four decades in power, prompted by the landslide victory of his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party in parliamentary elections.

The election was denounced by Western governments and human rights groups as a sham because the main opposition party was banned from taking part. Hun Manet won a parliamentary seat as a member of the CPP.

A graduate of the U.S.-based West Point Military Academy, Hun Manet has served for years in Cambodias military, holding various posts, such as head of counterterrorism, deputy military commander and army chief. He also holds a masters degree from New York University and a doctorate from Bristol University in Britain, all in economics.
U.S. Republican presidential candidates started debating Wednesday night in the first big event leading up to next year's national election. But former President Donald Trump skipped the confrontation in a calculation that he is so far ahead of his challengers that he did not need to debate them.

Nine contenders qualified for the debate being held at the Fiserv Forum in the midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But Trump, with a commanding lead among Republican voters across the country for the party's 2024 presidential nomination, decided he had nothing to gain in a two-hour face-off with the other Republicans.

Trump has been indicted in four criminal cases encompassing 91 charges for actions before, during and after his presidency, which ended in early 2021. He is surrendering for arrest and booking in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday in connection with the fourth indictment, which accuses him of racketeering and interference in trying to upend his 2020 reelection loss in the southern state.

But he leads by about 40 percentage points over his closest Republican presidential challenger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with all the other Republican opponents getting less than 10% apiece in national polls.

In lieu of debating them, Trump released a pre-taped interview with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson at the same time his Republican challengers were attempting to show party voters why they should be his main competitor.

With Trumps absence, the television audience for the debate on Fox News channels could be down by millions of voters. But Democratic President Joe Biden, who is running for reelection and likely will face Trump or one of the other Republicans in the November 2024 election, told reporters, Im going to try to see  get as much as I can, yes.

Asked what his expectations were, Biden smiled broadly and laughed.

I have none, he said.

Few of the Republican candidates have been outspoken in criticizing Trump. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a marked exception, and to a lesser degree, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Others, such as DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, have taken a more measured approach, hoping to convince a party base that remains loyal to Trump that they can implement the former president's right-wing "Make America Great Again" agenda without his legal encumbrances and other controversies.

Then there is Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, who defends his ceremonial certification of the 2020 election results against Trump's wishes. He is still in the low single digits in most polls of potential Republican voters.

In addition to Pence, Christie, DeSantis, Haley and Hutchinson, others who have qualified for the debate are Ohio technology businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday that with his large polling lead and his known accomplishments during his one term as president, "I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES."

Trump was reportedly referring to the first two debates of the primary election schedule, including next month's face-off in California, leaving open the possibility he is willing to face Republican rivals on stage later in the campaign season.

Trump has also stated he will not sign the Republican National Committees "loyalty pledge," which asks all the primary losers to eventually support the nominee, one of the requirements for participating in the Milwaukee debate.

"Surprise, surprise  the guy who is out on bail from four jurisdictions and can't defend his reprehensible conduct, is running scared and hiding from the debate stage," Christie posted Friday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, foreshadowing the rhetoric he is expected to unleash against the absent front-runner on Wednesday. Christie added that Trump is a "certified loser, verified coward."

Even without Trump exchanging insults with Christie and others, the conversation at the event is anticipated to be largely about him, including the criminal charges he is facing.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, said the debate creates a very, very difficult environment for the other Republicans, because they have their own ideas for what they want to do with respect to key issues like the economy or Ukraine or immigration. But that doesn't mean they'll have much of a chance to talk about it. They'll be asked about Donald Trump."

The debate will not be very consequential for Trump  he will still be the front-runner regardless of what happens. But for the others, there could be a viral moment, good or bad, that significantly changes their polling numbers.

Provost associate professor Jordan Tama of American University's School of International Service, said, "We've seen from debates in past election seasons that candidates sometimes have a moment in a debate that ends up disqualifying them because they look bad. We've also seen moments in past debates where candidates have said something that got a lot of attention for them in a positive way and gave them a huge boost."

DeSantis is the candidate who perhaps has the most at stake. Once touted as the party's Trump slayer, the second-term governor has dropped in the polls. In a few surveys, the relatively unknown Ramaswamy has pulled even with or surpassed DeSantis for distant second place.

I think DeSantis has the most to lose. Vivek Ramaswamy probably has the most to gain. Theres a lot of people coming over to him, Sean Spicer, Trumps first White House press secretary, told VOA outside the debate venue on Tuesday.

"This is his moment," Farnsworth said of DeSantis. "Remember, in 49 other states, these people do not know the governor of Florida. They maybe have seen a little bit on the news here and there. But most of the coverage is focused on the former president. As a result, Ron DeSantis will be introducing himself to the country. And one of the things he needs to do is make a good first impression. If he doesn't, he won't be able to really change the dynamics of the race in a significant way."

The Fox News moderators are also certain to attempt to draw the candidates out on why they would be a better leader than Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, who will be 82 if he is inaugurated for a second term in January 2025.

The first Republican Party debate also puts the spotlight on Wisconsin, one of the few states expected to provide a true contest between the two major parties in next year's presidential election. Milwaukee will host the Republican Party's nominating convention next July.

Four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point in Wisconsin. Trump won narrowly in the state in 2016 before losing by a similar margin to Biden in 2020.
Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED," Trump wrote on his social media network Monday night, hours after court papers said his bond was set at $200,000.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Monday afternoon that when Trump surrenders there will be a "hard lockdown" of the area surrounding the main county jail.

Trump, according to the papers, is also barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case  including on social media  according to the bond agreement signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Trump's defense attorneys and the judge. It explicitly includes "posts on social media or reposts of posts" made by others.

Trump has repeatedly used social media to attack people involved in the criminal cases against him as he campaigns to reclaim the White House in 2024. He has been railing against Willis since before he was indicted, and singled out Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp  a Republican who rebuffed his efforts to overturn the election  by name in a social media post Monday morning.

The agreement prohibits the former president from making any "direct or indirect threat of any nature" against witnesses or co-defendants, and from communicating in any way about the facts of the case with them, except through attorneys.

The order sets Trump's bond for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations  or RICO  charge at $80,000, and adds $10,000 for each of the 12 other counts he is facing. Bond is the amount defendants must pay as a form of collateral to ensure they show up in court ahead of trial.

Willis has set a deadline of noon Friday for Trump and his 18 co-defendants to turn themselves in to be booked. The prosecutor has proposed that arraignments for the defendants follow during the week of Sept. 5. She has said she wants to try the defendants collectively, and bring the case to trial in March of next year, which would put it in the heat of the presidential nominating season.

In Fulton County, when defendants are not in custody, their lawyers and the district attorney's office will often work out a bond amount before arraignment and the judge will sign off on it. The defendants will generally be booked at the Fulton County jail. During the booking process, they are typically photographed and fingerprinted and then they provide certain personal information. Since Trump's bond has already been set, he will be released from custody once the booking process is complete.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A phone message seeking comment was also left for an attorney for the former president.

Trump was charged last week in the case alongside a slew of allies, who prosecutors say conspired to subvert the will of voters in a desperate bid to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and he characterizes the case  and three others he is facing  as efforts to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. He has regularly used his Truth Social platform to single out prosecutors and others involved in his cases, and to continue to spread falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In a post on Monday, Trump called the Fulton County district attorney "crooked, incompetent, & highly partisan." He also attacked Kemp, whom he has long targeted for the governor's refusal to intervene after the 2020 election. Kemp has been outspoken in pushing back against Trump, writing in social media last week: "The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen."

Bond was also set Monday for three lawyers who were indicted along with Trump. For each of them, the bond for the RICO charge was set at $20,000, with varying amounts for the other charges they face. John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro each had a bond set at $100,000.

Bail bondsman Scott Hall, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, had his bond set at $10,000. Another defendant, Georgia-based attorney Ray Smith, has been assessed a $50,000 bond. Smith is charged with helping organize fake electors for Trump and trying to sway Georgia lawmakers with false statements alleging election fraud.

Other defendants include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, who aided the then-president's efforts to undo his election loss in Georgia.

The Georgia indictment comes just two weeks after the Justice Department special counsel charged Trump in a separate case in a vast conspiracy to overturn the election. Besides the two election-related cases, Trump faces a federal indictment accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents as well as a New York state case charging him with falsifying business records.
The run-up to Zimbabwes election Wednesday has seen political campaigns use music concerts, celebrities and sporting heroes to attract and energize young voters. But some analysts say Zimbabwes rural-urban divide could be the deciding factor in the election.

Eleven candidates are vying for the presidency, but the main contest will be between the incumbent president, 80-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Nelson Chamisa, 45, leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change, or CCC.

The election marks Chamisas second bid to unseat Mnangagwa and break the ruling ZANU-PFs 43-year grip on power.

Chamisa, a lawyer and former preacher, is largely popular among Zimbabwes urban and youth voters, as some have only known a nation mired in economic challenges, troubled by chronic high unemployment and rising prices.

Young voters tend to show greater support for the CCC  and one-sixth of Zimbabwe's 6.6 million registered voters are casting ballots for the first time this year.

Professor Ricky Mukonza from Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa says the elections are not just about the voters' ages, but where they live.

According to the World Bank, 67.4% of Zimbabweans were living in rural areas in 2022. ZANU-PF has long enjoyed strong support in these areas, where state funds and powerful patronage networks have helped the ruling party secure support.

The main opposition has traditionally had its support concentrated in the southern African nation's urban centers.

Mukonza says urban youth voters tend to be "noisier" on social media and at opposition rallies, "giving the impression there are more of them than there really are."

"That pre-election energy rarely translates to high youth turnout at the ballot box," he told VOA.

In the 2018 election, which saw Mnangagwa win 50.8% of the vote, turnout was at 75%, according to Zimbabwean election officials. It is not clear how many voters turned out in rural areas versus urban.

Mukonza predicts a strong showing in Wednesday's poll among the rural electorate, whom he refers to as "Zimbabwes silent majority."

"If we go by past voting patterns, ZANU-PF will win with high margins in the rural areas and will lose with high margins in the urban areas," Mukonza said.

Chamisa seeks rural support

The CCC seems to recognize the power of the rural vote. The party promised to prioritize voters living outside the cities but told supporters to brace for a "rough election campaign."

"We've seen Chamisa campaigning very strongly in rural areas, said Chipo Dendere, an assistant professor of Africana Studies at U.S.-based Wellesley College.

The question isn't whether the message is right to rural voters. It's whether or not rural voters will feel comfortable on election day to put their 'X' on Nelson Chamisa," Dendere told VOAs Straight Talk Africa.

Drumming up opposition support in ZANU-PF territory has proven to be a mammoth task for Chamisa. Police have blocked several CCC rallies across the country in the run-up to the elections.

Alleged attacks on CCC supporters have stoked fears Zimbabwes violent election history is already repeating itself.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Chamisa alleged that people in rural areas, far from the international spotlight, are making their political choices under the threat of violence. Chamisa said, for some, it was a choice of "death or ZANU-PF."

Voter intimidation, unfair electoral processes

A report released by Human Rights Watch documented first-hand accounts of abductions, arbitrary arrests of political opposition figures and government critics, and other human rights abuses ahead of Wednesdays election.

Zimbabwe-based voter watchdog Electoral Resource Center says there have been reports of voter intimidation, especially in rural areas of the country.

"General public sentiment, as noted in several surveys, reveals that people have very little confidence in the electoral process as well as the election management body in the country," the ERC said in a statement released this week.

The president, ZANU-PF officials and its supporters have denied any foul play.

At a news conference on Thursday, ZANU-PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa denied allegations of voter intimidation and unfair electoral processes.

He accused the opposition of being "obsessed with criticizing the electoral process so that they have something to say after losing."

For Mukonza, this kind of violent backdrop makes it hard to distinguish whether some people vote out of loyalty or fear. "Even if those in the rural areas have a change of heart or start to warm up to the main opposition party," he said, "ultimately they will still vote for the ruling party."

Dendere said rural voters "understand political violence in a way that urban voters might not." Because of that, she said, some may vote for the ruling party as a form of self-protection.

"And thats the biggest challenge for the opposition. Can they convince rural voters that their vote will be protected, and that they, too, will be protected if they vote their choice?" Dendere said.

Zimbabwes foreign affairs ministry says it has invited 46 countries and 17 international organizations, including the African Union and the European Union, to observe the elections.

Addressing a 150,000-strong crowd at a ZANU-PF rally in Harare earlier this month, Mnangagwa told supporters they would be "lost" if they did not vote for ZANU-PF and re-elect him, adding, "No one will stop us from ruling this country."

This story originated in VOAs English to Africa service. Some information in this report came from Reuters.
The United States is announcing new visa restrictions on current and former Chinese officials for their involvement in what U.S. and U.N. officials say is the forcible assimilation of more than one million Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools.

In a statement on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said these coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibets distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans.

We urge PRC (Peoples Republic of China) authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and throughout other parts of the PRC, said Blinken.

Visa restrictions under the authority of Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act means foreign nationals may not be granted a visa to enter the U.S. due to potentially significant adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.

A State Department spokesperson declined to provide names of officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who are subject to the visa ban, citing individual visa records are confidential.

The spokesperson told VOA todays announcement on visa restrictions covers current or former PRC and CCP officials believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors in the PRC.

China has maintained control over Tibet since 1951, following the takeover through troop deployment in what it said a peaceful liberation.

Chinese officials have said their policies in Tibet reflect their desire to create religious harmony, social harmony, and ethnic harmony.

Tibetans who live outside of China say the government has been systematically persecuting, imprisoning and killing Tibetans for decades.

Chinas unconscionable separation of Tibetan children from their families cannot be left unchecked. It shows the depths of Beijings plan to eliminate the Tibetan way of life and turn Tibetans into loyal followers of the CCP, said Tencho Gyatso who is President of International Campaign for Tibet.

A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Washington said China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the U.S. measures on visa restrictions against Chinese officials.

Boarding schools have gradually developed into one of the important modes of running schools in China's ethnic minority areas, and the centralized way of running schools effectively solves the problem of ethnic minority students' difficulty in attending school at a distance, said Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Liu Pengyu.

In February, United Nations human rights experts said they were very disturbed that in recent years the residential school system for Tibetan children appears to act as a mandatory large-scale program intended to assimilate Tibetans into majority Han culture, contrary to international human rights standards.
Ukraine's president has described the decision by the Netherlands and Denmark to supply his country with F-16 fighter jets as "historic and inspiring." The Western allies will supply dozens of the technically advanced jets after Washington's approval. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
Helmut Newton: Legacy at Ara Pacis Museum.

Rome's Ara Pacis Museum presents Helmut Newton: Legacy, an exhibition featuring around 250 photographs by the famed photographer, from 18 October until 10 March 2024.

Newton (1920-2004) was one of the most influential and controversial photographers of the 20th century, achieving global fame in the 1970s as a celebrity photographer while working for Vogue magazine.

His images were often of a seductive, even gritty nature, and he favoured working in the street over the studio.

The exhibition in Rome will feature a selection of Newton's most iconic images alongside previously unpublished works, providing insights into this work and creative process.

The exhibition spans Newton's entire six-decade career, from fashion magazine covers to his celebrated Big Nudes series.

For exhibition details see Ara Pacis website.

Cover image: Helmut Newton. Amica. Milano, 1982.  Helmut Newton Foundation.
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A deal is being negotiated that, if completed, would result in Saudi Arabia, for the first time, establishing warm relations with Israel. The main thing the Saudis would get in exchange  security guarantees  wouldnt come from Israel but from its closest ally  the US. Israel, a high-tech power, would play a major role in ambitious Saudi plans to move its economy beyond oil. It would also be expected to make concessions to the Palestinian self-ruling authority in the West Bank. The US would regain some of its influence over Saudi Arabia, stemming efforts by China to expand its sway in the Middle East. The deal offers significant rewards to all four governments, not least of them additional ways of dealing with Iranian military activity in the region. But the prospect of the pact stirs populist forces among all of their constituencies, posing risks to those in power.

1. Whos talking?

Although they have had secret contacts in the past, the Israelis and Saudis arent speaking to one another directly but rather through the Americans. According to sources familiar with the talks, they involve, on the US side, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his deputies Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein. For the Saudis, its Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, who is the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as National Security Adviser Musaed Al-Aiban. For the Israelis, its Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a former ambassador to the US and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus most trusted aide. The Palestinians havent been invited in so far but have been in touch with the Saudis. Officials of the three negotiating governments say that the complexities are such that a deal will be very difficult to pull off  yet very much worth trying.

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2. What does Saudi Arabia want from the deal?

 First and foremost, the Saudis want protection from Iran. Crown Prince Mohammed, the kingdoms de facto leader, is said to have been traumatized by devastating attacks on Saudi oil production facilities in 2019 that his government says Iran was behind. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been at odds for decades. Though China in early 2023 helped broker a restoration of diplomatic relations between the two after a seven-year break, they remain rivals for power in the Mideast. Saudi authorities worry about Irans large missile arsenal; its proxy militias in nearby Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon; and its nuclear program, which outsiders have long suspected Iran is using to develop nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia wants an agreement with the US that would be as close as possible to a mutual defense pact  in which any attack on the kingdom would be seen by Washington as an attack on the US. One possible model is the US-Japan treaty in which Japan grants the US the right to base military forces in the country in exchange for the promise that America will defend it if its ever attacked.

 Israel also has defense capabilities that could prove useful for defending Saudi oil fields.

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 As spelled out in his Vision 2030 plan for the kingdom, MBS, as the crown prince is known, has made economic and social advancement his goal. To move the economy of the country past its dependence on crude oil, of which it is the worlds largest exporter, he wants to focus on innovation. For this, US officials say, he believes its vital to integrate economically with Israel, which has become a powerhouse in the technology industry.

 Anticipating the day its oil runs out, Saudi Arabia is making plans to rely more on nuclear energy to power its own economy and is seeking US help with that.

 Publicly, Saudi Arabia has said that a precondition to recognizing Israel as an ally is an independent Palestinian state. The deal being discussed would not come close to achieving that. But it would need to contain sweeteners of some kind for the Palestinians so that Saudi authorities could say to their own people  and the entire Muslim world  that they are still fighting for the Palestinian cause.

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3. What does Israel want from the deal?

 Netanyahu has repeatedly said that after gaining ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020 in the US-brokered Abraham Accords, the big prize for Israel is a deep relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is the richest and most powerful Arab state. Equally important is the kingdoms status as the birthplace of Islam and the site of the religions holiest places. For Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel would counter the view among many Middle Easterners that the presence of a Jewish state in the mostly-Muslim region is illegitimate. It would also likely open doors in other large Muslim nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

 Netanyahu has his own reasons for making at least some concessions to the Palestinian Authority, the body charged with limited self-rule under early peace agreements with Israel. It governs in the West Bank, having lost power in the Gaza Strip to the militant Islamist group Hamas. (Israel forces and settlers left Gaza in 2005, though Israel maintains control of Gazas airspace and maritime territory.) Netanyahu announced in July that his government will do more to support the Palestinian Authority out of concern that Hamas, which is backed by Iran, is meddling in the West Bank. For now, that mostly means helping with industrial development and allowing more of the tax revenue Israel collects on behalf of the authority to flow into its coffers.

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 Netanyahu is also facing deep internal divisions over his far-right governing coalitions policies and indictments against him for fraud and bribery. A deal with Saudi Arabia would shift the focus to a source of national pride and unity.

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4. Whats in it for the US?

For the US, the deal represents an opportunity to push back against Chinas rising profile in the Mideast. It would help Israel, a key ally, integrate with its neighbors and strengthen an anti-Iran alliance, with the US in a central role. If the Saudis get the kind of security guarantees they want from the US, relations between the two countries, which have been strained, would vastly improve. That could give the US more influence over the level of Saudi oil production, which largely determines the price of oil and thus gasoline. For US President Joe Biden, a completed deal would be a major foreign policy accomplishment for his 2024 reelection campaign. Officials involved in the talks say that an agreement would have to come together by next spring. After that, the November election will dominate the attention of both Biden and Congress, whose Republican members will be reluctant to support any deal brokered by the president, out of concern it would benefit him politically.

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5. Whats in it for the Palestinian Authority?

For Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the deal would fall well short of advancing the dream of an independent Palestinian state. But it would offer a chance to slow or stall Israeli measures that make that dream improbable. Specifically, Palestinian negotiators will want Netanyahus government to limit building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and to put off plans to annex the existing settlements to Israel. A deal could also weaken Irans creeping influence in the West Bank, and, most likely, would result in substantial financial assistance from Saudi Arabia.

6. What are the populist forces against the deal?

All four governments face the potential for backlash domestically.

 Although a poll earlier this year found that 40% of Saudis were unopposed to economic ties with Israel, the Saudi public has little appetite for fully embracing the Jewish state, especially one led by a far-right government that opposes Palestinian statehood.

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 In the US, the left wing of Bidens Democratic Party is critical of Israel because of its continued occupation of the West Bank and the policies of the government Netanyahu now leads. Its more reproachful of Saudi Arabia for its violations of human rights, including the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. The Saudi requests from the US are substantial  for advance fighter jets and air defense systems on top of the defense pact, and for help with a civilian nuclear program that could one day be used to create nuclear weapons. Liberal Democrats will be wary of handing such tools to MBS, a leader with absolute power who US intelligence concluded likely approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. MBS has denied any involvement while accepting symbolic responsibility as the kingdoms de facto ruler.

 Among Palestinians, Abbas  who was elected president in 2005 and has held onto the post though his term expired in 2009  is already unpopular. In a poll conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June, 80% of respondents said he should resign. A majority  52%  favored armed action as the best way to end the occupation, suggesting that many Palestinians would consider future diplomatic agreements with Israel a betrayal of their national cause.

 In Israel, religious rightists who are part of Netanyahus government consider annexing the West Bank a more important mission than gaining acceptance by Saudi Arabia. Their opposition, however, could prove a blessing to the parties negotiating it.

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7. How could opposition to the deal prove a blessing to the negotiating parties?

If talks advance and Netanyahu appears willing to make concessions to the Palestinians that are unacceptable to the far-right partners in his ruling coalition, they may threaten to quit. That would give him another shot at forming a more centrist government with more moderate parties. That was his preference when he was invited to form a government after November elections. Those parties refused to sit with him then, because hes on trial and viewed by many as untrustworthy. The parties would have to reevaluate their position if presented with the historic opportunity of a Saudi peace deal. A more moderate ruling coalition would likely pursue policies in the West Bank more agreeable to the Palestinian Authority, as well as to the Saudis and the Americans. Such a coalition would also likely drop the current governments initiative to curb the powers of Israels judiciary, which has provoked fears in Israel and in the US that the countrys democracy is threatened.

--With assistance from Sam Dagher.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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Dubious about a colossal oil producer spearheading the next United Nations climate summit? Enter the United Arab Emirates, one of the worlds biggest oil producers, which now holds the reins of the upcoming COP28 conference to be held this December in Dubai. But while the UAEs leadership at COP28 is rightfully controversial, its also a milestone.

Dismissing it outright could cripple pivotal global negotiations  especially those regarding the welfare of Global South nations on the frontlines of climate change, many in my home continent of Africa.

Calls to boycott COP28 are reaching a crescendo. More than 130 members of US Congress and the European Parliament have demanded the removal of Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE oil executive leading the upcoming talks. Although no government is yet formally boycotting the summit, leading climate campaigners and environmental groups are urging more action. Belgiums environment minister, Zuhal Demir, has declared she will skip the summit  others may well follow. (She also skipped COP27.)

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While skepticism of the UAEs role as COP president is understandable, many of my fellow environmental activists fail to recognize that if we make perfect the enemy of good, well have neither.

For the first time, a major national oil producer has publicly demanded that the world agree to a phase down of fossil fuels by 2050. And that call to reduce oil, gas and coal production is on the agenda even before COP begins. Also important is the UAEs appeal to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, and then double it again by 2040. Is this fast or big enough to avoid climate change? No. But its more ambitious than the European Unions renewable energy plans, and no previous UN climate summit has come near to endorsing such a goal.

Of course, we must scrutinize the details. Many argue for the complete phase out of fossil fuels. I agree. Even the UAEs environment minister, Mariam Almheiri, earlier this year acknowledged the need to phase out oil and gas in a just way.

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But rightly demanding more doesnt mean we should lose sight of the stunning implications of what the UAEs COP presidency calls for. If COP28 yields an accord to eliminate all unabated fossil fuels by 2050, it will put Big Oil on notice. That makes the upcoming meeting a historic opportunity to push closer to completely phasing out oil and gas.

This is also the first time a COP presidency is putting its money where its mouth is on climate financing for developing nations. Last year, the UAE launched the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy with the US, catalyzing $100 billion for 100 new gigawatts of clean energy in the US, UAE and the developing world by 2035. Masdar, the UAEs state-owned renewable energy company, which COP28 president Al Jaber founded in 2006, is rapidly becoming one of the biggest investors in renewable energy across Africa. During the UAEs COP presidency, Masdar has signed deals in Angola, Uganda and Zambia to build 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy, in Tanzania to build 2GW, and in Egypt to build 10GW.

Which COP presidency has ever done anything like this? Yes, Western politicians are right to ask hard questions of an oil producer in charge of a climate change summit. But my question to them is this: What have you done to help Africans fight climate change?

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The lack of financial support from richer countries  despite bearing primary responsibility for carbon pollution  to developing nations that are the most vulnerable to climate impacts is a grim legacy of the racist inequalities of the colonial order.

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Previous COPs have struggled to even get climate-financing pledges on the table. Its widely known that the $100 billion pledged at the last COP (which remains undelivered) is grossly insufficient. COP28 is the first where structural bureaucracies preventing progress on climate finance are being tackled. Previous summits failed to deal with major structural and systemic barriers to climate financing, which is something African leaders and campaigners have been voicing for years without being heard. The COP28 presidencys announcement of a high-level group of economists and other experts, chaired by world-renowned British climate economist Nicholas Stern, to create a roadmap for reform of international finance at the summit, is a crucial step forward.

Al Jaber has also endorsed the radical Bridgetown Initiative, created by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley to free up as much as $1 trillion in climate financing, 10 times more than whats been pledged. If ratified at COP28, the plan would make it easier for developing nations to fight global warming while postponing debt repayments during climate disasters.

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So green campaigners calling to boycott COP28 could harm developing countries that need climate financing. If governments heed such calls and refuse to participate in key negotiations, we will not be able to get the global deals we need to push these initiatives through.

With parts of Africa suffering horrendously from climate change  as illustrated by five years of consecutive drought in the Horn of Africa  we cannot afford to let the opportunity for a climate-financing breakthrough at COP28 go to waste. The UAE is the first COP presidency prioritizing a deal to actually deliver money to developing nations. Jeopardizing this will throw us to the flames.

My firm belief in the need for global solidarity around COP has a personal resonance. My grandfather, Nelson Mandela, sought unity for a shared purpose amid challenging adversities. And theres perhaps no bigger test of global cooperation than the upcoming COP28 summit. Of course, his legacy wasnt just unity  it was discernment too. We should not shy away from critically assessing and challenging. Campaigners and politicians are right to call out and question but not at the expense of progress, and not at the expense of the worlds poorest nations.

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More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 An Oil Exec Running COP? This Isnt a Joke: Lara Williams

 The BRICS Are Neither the Anti-West Nor a Bloc: Andreas Kluth

 2024 Wont Be the End of South Africas ANC Party: Melanie Verwoerd

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Ndileka Mandela is a writer, social activist, and the head of one of South Africas most prominent rural upliftment organizations, the Thembekile Mandela Foundation, which focuses on education, health, youth, and womens development in rural villages. She is one of South Africas best-known feminists and the eldest grandchild of Nelson Mandela. She is on the board of several NGOs and philanthropic organizations and is an outspoken supporter of the #MeToo movement, using her platform to combat stigma surrounding sexual violence.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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I wish for his sake that he could have been, for just a little while, unfamous  a random face in the crowd again.
The tension between NSW police and rappers largely based in western Sydney has been reignited following the cancellation of two upcoming shows by The 046, a group of four rappers from the citys southwest.

The 046 was set to perform at Wollongongs UniBar on August 19, and Sydneys Oxford Art Factory on August 25, as part of their national Rhythm & Gutta Tour.

Members of Western Sydney hip hop group, 046. The group has cancelled shows in Sydney and Wollongong following police advice to venues.

Both shows have since been cancelled after venues received advice from NSW police regarding the need for additional security and an increased police presence.

Due to reasons beyond our control, our upcoming Sydney and Wollongong shows have been cancelled due to NSW police putting additional security costs to the point where we would be losing significant money by going ahead with the show, the band said in a statement.
Former Liberal premier Nick Greiner has urged federal leaders to end the limbo for refugees who have arrived in Australia by boat, saying the nation could afford to fix the lasting problem without weakening tough border controls.

Greiner also called on the Liberals to back the case for a bigger humanitarian intake for new migrants and shift its tone in the asylum seeker debate, pointing to the way Liberal governments had welcomed Vietnamese and Syrian refugees in the past.

Liberal heavyweight Nick Greiner says the limbo must end for refugees on Nauru and Manus Island. Credit: Wolter Peeters

The comments highlight the plight of more than 1000 refugees and asylum seekers who are being refused settlement in Australia because they arrived by boat and were processed on Nauru and Manus Island, a key policy under Labor and Liberal leaders over the past decade.

Greiner, who joined the board of the Refugee Council of Australia 10 days ago, was premier of NSW for four years to 1992, and federal president of the Liberal Party for three years until 2020, later serving as Australias consul-general in New York.
London: Nurse Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of release.

The UK government is under mounting pressure to beef up the independent inquiry into how Letby, 33, went undetected for so long. She was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to kill six others while a neonatal unit nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

Serial child killer Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life in prison. Credit: Reuters

Following a 10-month trial, Letby was found to have deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.

Justice James Goss on Monday (Tuesday AEST) imposed a whole-life order for each offence, the most severe punishment available in the UK criminal justice system for those who commit the most serious crimes. Its a case that has horrified Britain.
Third-generation Weber State grad receives same degree as mom, grandma

August 22, 2023

OGDEN, Utah  Teaching runs in the family of Jericho Robbins, who graduated this spring with a bachelors degree in elementary education from the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education at Weber State University.

Its the school where his mother and grandmother also studied  and earned the exact same degree.

I grew up around teaching, Jericho said. Both my mom and grandma got me started on that path.

In 2000, when Jericho was four months old, his mother, Camellia Robbins, graduated with her bachelors degree from WSU. Today, she teaches kindergarten at North Summit Elementary School in Coalville, Utah, where Jericho went to school.

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher because of my mom, Camellia said. She brought me along to Weber sometimes and Id sit in on her night classes. It was always fascinating.

Louise Willoughby, Camellias mother and Jerichos grandmother, earned her bachelors from WSU in 1990. She spent 34 years as an educator before retiring earlier this year.

I was overcome by emotions when I saw Jericho graduate, Willoughby said. Ive seen how he interacts with students and hes going to do such a great job shaping the next generation of learners.

Jericho originally set out to study business, but a break between semesters provided an opportunity for him to help at Silver Summit Elementary in Park City, Utah, where his grandmother served as principal.

They needed more teaching aids, so I got involved and became even more immersed in the world of education, he said. I loved being part of students progress, and it felt better to me than business and finances.

He continued to help at Willoughbys school for another four years, which he said complemented his studies at Weber State.

All our assignments are relevant to our careers, things were actually going to apply to our classrooms, he said. Most of my professors also have experience teaching in elementary or middle schools, so they brought their real-world experience to us.

Jericho said professors were accessible, with several offering their cell phone numbers so that he could call or text if he needed guidance.

Throughout his studies, he drew inspiration from his mother and grandmother, along with his aunt, Micaela Richins  yet another family member who earned a degree in elementary education from WSU.

My family was always encouraging me on the path to teaching, he said. Theres a high demand for teachers and my family is definitely helping with that.

Jericho has since secured a job teaching sixth grade at Mountain Green Middle School. He said he looks forward to helping students learn and grow.
READING, Pa.  During an informal discussion Monday night, members of Reading City Council raised quality-of-life issues in the aftermath of two deaths that occurred over the weekend: one on the river and the other during the annual Duryea Hillclimb race on Skyline Drive.

Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz started off the conversation saying she was aware of a "lot of intense activity going on at Pagoda."

"Last week, we had a very intense discussion about the situation on the riverfront and the situation and action plan along Skyline Drive," Goodman-Hinnershitz said. "Unfortunately, we saw a tragedy down on the river and unfortunately at the race."

On Saturday night, a man was found dead in the water near the Schuylkill River's Bertolet Fishing Dock.

On Saturday afternoon, a driver was killed when he lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree during the race's time trials on Skyline Drive.

Goodman-Hinnershitz said the outcome of the accident resulted in intense activity at the overlook near List Road.

"There needed to be arrests being made," she said. "I had information from people that were still lawfully camping at the tower at the end of the racing event that let me know what was going on."

"But what happened with all those, probably hundreds, of people that were gathering on List Road?" Goodman-Hinnershitz asked. "What is our solution? Oh, we're going to clean up their mess after they leave, using city resources to do that. They didn't clean up. It was horrible."

Managing Director William Heim said this issue is complex and will require a private discussion.

"The discussion that needs to be had must be done offline (in a closed-door executive session) because there's a lot of complexities associated with this, especially in the enforcement realm," Heim said.

However, council President Donna Reed pressed on and said she just finds the problems in the city hard to understand.

"The quality of life is absolutely being impacted  the ecological quality of life, the environmental quality of life and the folks that have to hear ridiculous music at ridiculous times," Reed said.

Reed said the noise throughout the city is absurd.

"I understand our police are doing a great job, and they're really taxed for the times that they can be on site, but it just seems that there's just such a terrible lack of civility and kindness towards each other, and that this is considered OK," Reed said.

Reed cited incidents of loud music throughout the city and dirt bikes running through red lights.

"And it's not because I'm a certain age and culture," Reed added. "It's because it's wrong, and there's really no reason people can't live in peace with each other."

Councilwoman Melissa Ventura added that she agreed with what the other councilwomen had said and added the problem of speeding on city streets.

"I'm on my porch (on 13th Street) most of the time, and it's insane," Ventura said. "We have no way of enforcing speeding in the city. We're not enforcing it, and it's out of control."

Heim confirmed that the city police do not have a means to enforce the speeding.

"State legislators have promised for years to allow our local police to use radar," Heim said. "We're the only state in the entire United States where local police cannot use radar. They keep promising us. They keep saying we're getting close, but we still don't have the legal use of radar."

Reed said that council needs to take a public stand without making it anti-administration or anti-police.

"People can stand on the steps of Reading High for a variety of issues, which have all been admirable," Reed said. "There should be a way we can all stand together for something like this. We can do that. And I just believe as well that we need to take action on actually being able to enforce (laws)."

Reed said council needs to make the state legislators in Berks County aware of the issue.

"Let's try and keep this conversation going, and figure out a way we can make this work," Reed concluded.
READING, Pa.- Police have made an arrest in a deadly shooting from 1998, capturing the suspect in Mexico.

Israel Mendoza was taken into custody more than two decades after Michele Lutz was killed in a drive-by shooting at Front and Elm Streets in Reading.

Police say she was not the intended target. Lutz died at the scene.

"Before the shooting, there was a drive-by incident where the suspects were in the vehicle and pointed a hand out the window in the shape of a gun and just said 'pow, pow, pow' at two teenage boys who were sitting on the corner," said Reading Police Capt. Christian Rothermel.

Police say the suspects came back later and started shooting.

Two suspects, Placido Rodriguez and Joshua Ramirez, were arrested and sentenced to prison. Two others, Robert Radhames-Herrara and Israel Mendoza, fled. Mendoza has been on most wanted lists since that time.

"They discovered information that this guy was alive and in Jalisco, Mexico and they worked with local law enforcement to track him down and watch his movements for a little bit and then they arrested him," explained Rothermel.

He adds, it's very rare to get someone like Mendoza into custody after all this time.

"If you're adopting that lifestyle, that 'I'm just going to live off the books and get a part time job over here at this grocery store' or something like that. If you're willing to live like that, it can be a long time until we track you down, and this is evidence of that," explained Rothermel.

Radhames-Herrara is still on the run.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact The Reading Police Department at (610)-655-6116 or anonymously to Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Allentown's human resources director may have stepped down, but he's not staying quiet.

Nadeem Shahzad spoke with 69 News on Monday, claiming he was forced out.

He said in an email to 69 News that he is planning to file a class action lawsuit for wrongful termination, and that eight other former city employees are interested in joining the lawsuit.

He says all of them have filed complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including himself. Shahzad says they're going to demand the city settle with them, or this will end up in court.

Shahzad worked for the city for a total of less than two months.

He said he was forced to resign because he stood up to Mayor Matt Tuerk.

"He (Tuerk) just wanted everything done his way, and was very upset that the council was getting too much information," said Shahzad.

He said that information had to do with payouts to employees who were let go and asked to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA).

"I said by law we have to give them because you agreed to a financial dealing without the council's approval, and if you don't give it to them they'll just subpoena it," said Shahzad.

Shahzad said city council has requested information on how many former employees have received payments without their approval and signed NDAs.

In response, Mayor Matt Tuerk said "Our administration is preparing a response to City Council's request. Mr. Shahzad and I did not have a conversation about this matter."

Shahzad said recently he and Mayor Tuerk also disagreed on how to handle a letter, sent on NAACP letterhead, alleging discrimination in city government.

"I said Mayor, I would not fight it. I would humbly request that you bring in an outside law firm or a professor to do an investigation, and whatever that finding is, then you respond to them," said Shahzad.

Shahzad said Mayor Tuerk did not follow his advice.

Tuerk said he would not comment on how they're handling the letter, because it's an ongoing investigation.

Shahzad also brought up a disagreement he had with Mayor Tuerk about a specific employee who was fired in the HR Department that he didn't think should have been.

In response, Mayor Tuerk told 69 News, "It's unfortunate that a 'human resources professional' would discuss such matters with a journalist."

Shahzad said that last Friday, Tuerk called him into a meeting where he told him he could resign or be fired.

"He said your choice. I said well I know if you fire me I'll be escorted out, so in that case I'd rather resign and leave myself, and that's what I chose to do," said Shahzad.

Shahzad said he has already filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and he plans to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

Shahzad said any money he wins in a settlement he plans to donate to charity.
DeSales University's plan for a 7,760-square-foot "welcome center" will be reviewed Tuesday by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.



The university in Upper Saucon Township proposes the new center off Station Ave. The LVPC's Comprehensive Planning Committee will discuss the proposal Tuesday at a virtual meeting and again Thursday when the full commission meets.



The LVPC's draft review of the DeSales plan favors the sidewalk connections for pedestrians and accessibility that suits the Americans with Disabilities Act.



"This design allows anyone using a mobility device to quickly access the walkway safely after parking," according to the report. The staff review advises DeSales to carry out testing at the site "to minimize environmental impacts of development." The location is in the Saucon Creek watershed.



DeSales is a Catholic university on a 550-acre campus in Center Valley. According to its website, it has 3,016 students.



This week's LVPC agenda is lengthy, with a potential 332,240-square-foot expansion of the Americold warehouse at 7150 Ambassador Drive in Upper Macungie Township on the agenda. That warehouse is near Tilghman Street and close to the intersection of Route 22 and Route 100.



Atlanta-based Americold Realty Trust is the largest Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that focuses on cold storage of food. It operates more than 1.5 billion cubic feet of refrigerated storage space.



The commission will also discuss the potential rezoning of four parcels of land, total about 8.8 acres, in Lower Saucon Township. The land is east of Route 378 and north of Colesville Road. The proposal is to change the zoning from Rural Suburban to General Business.



The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is an advisory body with a professional staff that reviews big projects proposed in Lehigh and Northampton counties. After the staff goes over a plan, the LVPC's 37 appointed commissioners discuss their recommendations, sometimes alter them, and then vote on the reviews.



The LVPC does not vote on whether projects should proceed. Its reviews are sent to developers and local municipalities for consideration. Final land-use decisions are up to local governments.



The Comprehensive Planning Committee will meet at noon on Tuesday, and the full commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday. Both meetings are virtual and open to the public.



Agendas and links to the webcasts are available on the LVPC website. Agendas are subject to change.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyevs one-on-one meeting with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has kicked off.




The sudden outbreak of clashes in the Libyan capital Tripoli this week has reignited fears for the fragile calm and political process in the country, writes Khaled Okasha

Clashes erupted on the evening of 14 August in a residential quarter of south-eastern Tripoli between two Libyan militia forces, the Rada/Special Deterrence Force (SDF) and the 444th Brigade, after the SDF had arrested Brigade commander Mahmoud Hamza at the Mitiga Airport earlier that day.

The forces traded barrages using medium and heavy weapons, and within hours the casualty count had reached 27 dead and 110 wounded. As the SDF fired at checkpoints and other positions manned by the 444th Brigade, the latter amassed its forces in the area, leading to further escalation. Before long, tanks and other armoured vehicles had descended onto the streets of the Libyan capital.

The fact that the SDF is affiliated with the Libyan Presidential Council while the powerful 444th Brigade is the main military/security arm of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) has sparked conjectures over the causes of the sudden facedown between the two militias which presumably belong to the same political camp.

Given how quickly they resorted to force, the cause or causes probably go beyond the arrest of Colonel Mahmoud Hamza which was most likely itself a symptom of underlying tensions that had yet to surface. On Tuesday evening this week, the Council of Notables of the Souk Al-Jumaa area mediated a deal in accordance with which Hamza would be released to a neutral party the following day under the councils supervision.

The GNU agreed to the arrangement, and it also pledged to cease all military operations, return forces to their barracks, and to assess the damage to public and private property and compensate the owners.

The Emergency Medical Support Centre that released the only documented casualty count of 27 dead and 110 wounded also reported that 234 families had to be evacuated from the vicinity due to the medium and heavy weapons used and that it had to set up three field hospitals to treat the wounded.

As the fighting escalated in south-eastern Tripoli, Libyan Minister of Interior Emad Al-Trabelsi created a Security Room charged with ending the clashes, restoring security as quickly as possible, and protecting and reassuring civilians in Tripoli and its environs in coordination with the Emergency Medical Support Centre and the other concerned authorities.

In an urgent measure to contain the crisis, the Interior Ministry deployed 420 security patrols from eight entities: the Stabilisation Support Service, the GNU Chiefs of Staff Forces, the Tripoli Security Directorate, the General Directorate of Security Operations, the General Directorate of Central Support, the Police, the Security Stations Service, and the Internal Security Service.

The sudden outbreak of clashes in the Libyan capital has reignited fears for the fragile calm that has lasted for many months and that all the stakeholders hope to use in order to press forward with the political process in the country. The situation in the capital is now fraught with dangers, not the least of which is the existence of multiple military/security entities of various affiliations, all of which could mobilise at any moment on the weakest pretexts in order to terrorise the inhabitants.

US Special Envoy for Libya Richard Norland is concerned that the armed violence of the sort that erupted in Tripoli this week could hamper the progress Libya has made in recent months. Similarly worrisome incidents occurred a month before in mid-July when tribes in Libyas central petroleum area declared a blockade of the oil fields in southeastern Libya as well as of the artificial river that flows northward to Tripoli.

These actions were intended to pressure the authorities in Tripoli into releasing Faraj Bou Matari, the finance minister of the previous government who had been kidnapped upon his arrival at Mitiga Airport by one of the governments military/security components.

The threat to cut off water to the capital and the blockade of a major oil field after armed protestors stormed it and forced the oil workers to halt their work rocked the Libyan oil market and sowed widespread doubts about the ability of the Libyan authorities to maintain security and stability, all of which deepens the uncertainty surrounding plans to hold elections in the country before the end of the year.

The latest flare-up of violence in the Libyan capital, only contained after claiming numerous casualties, came closer than ever to threatening the countrys central authorities, revealing the depth of the crisis in western Libya and the nature of the problems in the capital. The many armed militias there that are at the beck and call of their bosses and paymasters are functioning very much like a deep state whose force exceeds the sum of their individual parts.

This deep state appears to be ready to implode and to take everything else down with it should anything come into conflict with the interests of its constituent rival forces. The question arises of whether there is any other force or individual that can stand up to this problem at the heart of a very precarious situation that forebodes a more volatile future for Libya.

The writer is the general director of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSS).

* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 August, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Majestic Realty Co.'s planned 300-acre development on Lehigh Valley International Airport land faces scrutiny from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday.



The developer of the "Majestic Planned Flex Center" seeks a zoning change by Hanover Township (Northampton County) to help clear the way for 10 buildings along Airport Road.



That change provides flexibility to the developer, according to the LVPC draft review of the project. Most potential uses - light industrial, manufacturing, research and offices - are already permitted on the land, the LVPC report says.



"The stated purpose of a `Master Planned Flex Center' is to allow for greater flexibility of employment uses over a large area while reducing impacts to neighboring properties through site design, buffering and plantings," according to the LVPC review. The LVPC's Comprehensive Planning Committee discussed the plan Tuesday and moved it forward to the full commission meeting Thursday.



Some neighbors are not satisfied by the buffers and a "Hanover Township Residents Against Warehouse Development" Facebook page is trying to organize opposition. The township's Planning Commission has recommended the zoning change. The final decision is up to the Board of Supervisors.



Los Angeles-based Majestic's projects include the Bethlehem Majestic Center. That 441-acre development is at the intersection of Route 412 and Route 78 on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land and is the site of multiple huge warehouses.



Joe Uliana of J.M. Uliana & Associates, spoke at a Hanover Township meeting earlier this month on behalf of Majestic. Uliana said that being close to the airport makes the site useful for manufacturing, storage, and other uses.



He added that the proposal was changed to reduce its impact on people living nearby. Property lines will be set back 300 feet from residential areas and loading-dock doors will be 500 feet away.

Truck traffic will be directed to Airport Road.



Uses that generate a lot of tractor-trailer traffic, such as cold storage, will be prohibited, Uliana said.



"Our vision is of a Class A master-planned development with an attractive, unified site plan," Uliana said at the Aug. 8 Hanover Township Planning Commission meeting.



The LVPC draft review notes the 300-foot setback between the development and homes and adds a suggestion to contain noise: "To further minimize impacts of development proximity to adjancent uses, any on-site public address system should be limited so that is not audible outside of the site."



Majestic has an agreement to lease the land from the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which operates LVIA. The lease is part of the authority's plan to diversity its revenue sources beyond aviation.



The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has a professional staff that reviews big projects proposed for Lehigh and Northampton counties. It makes recommendations, which are then considered by a board of appointed commissioners.



The commissioners vote on, and sometimes alter, the recommendations, which are then sent to developers and towns. The LVPC does not vote on whether a project can proceed, it votes only on approving the recommendations.



Final land-use decisions are up to municipalities.



The LVPC will meet virtually at 7 p.m. Thursday. The meeting agenda and a link to the webcast are available on the commission's website.
U. MOUNT BETHEL TWP., Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police are renewing calls for tips in a decades-old homicide.

David Allen Gross, 21, was found dead within the hatchback trunk of his own vehicle at the Arrow Island Lookout located in the Delaware Water Gap Recreational Area along Route 611 in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, on August 10, 1977, according to a news release from Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers.

Police say he had been beaten and strangled to death.

Gross was a resident of Mount Pocono, Monroe County.

The victim may have been murdered at another location and transported to the location where his body was recovered, state police said.

Gross was a 1974 graduate of Pocono Mountain High School and was employed at his fathers carpentry business and had just recently begun working for a local art gallery. The victim hosted his own 21st birthday party in nearby Cresco, several days before his death, police said. The party was heavily attended by people from the Pocono Mountain and Lehigh Valley areas and several bands had been hired to play at the event.

Any persons with information regarding the incident are asked to anonymously contact the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers Toll Free at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477) or online.

All callers to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest, the solving of a crime/cold case or the location of a wanted person/fugitive or missing persons.
NESQUEHONING, Pa. - A onetime Carbon County coal plant has a new digital gig, mining for crypto currency.

The owners of Panther Creek Power Plant now want recycled rubber as fuel for its operation. They say it's better for the environment.

Used rubber tires are what the company wants to burn to fuel its operation. However, some local groups say that many who live near the Nesquehoning plant will suffer the real-world health effects of bitcoin mining.

"Unlike typical crypto miners who seek out cheap power, we are an environmental power company, that utilizes bitcoin for the wellbeing of our community," Stronghold Digital Mining Co-founder Willliam Spence said in a company promotional video.

Stronghold Digital Media, which touts its land reclamation record on former coal mining sites, uses coal waste to fuel its new business.

Bitcoin mining is the search for digital currency. At its Carbon County plant machines do the digital dig and need a massive amount of energy to do it.

In June the company, which bought the Panther Creek Power Plant in 2021, filed an application with the Pennsylvania DEP, to also burn shredded tires at the Nesquehoning location, as added power to its digital operation.

"At its most simple, burning tires is not good for human health," said Emma Bast of PennFuture.

PennFuture is one of several environmental groups that point to the increased risk for cancer, asthma, and other health issues for area residents from the toxins that burning tires would release into the air.

Linda Christman, who runs Save Carbon County, wants the permit denied.

"Carbon County is a poor county, one of the poorest in the state. That may lead companies like Panther Creek to think they can get away with anything," she said.

In its application filing, the company points to a favorable 1991 EPA report on the issue, as well as the DEP allowing tire-derived fuel at other Pennsylvania locations, and said it would adhere to air quality standards.

However, those like Russell Zerbo, with the Clean Air Council, remain dubious. He points to the company's seven DEP air quality violations since taking over in 2021.

"Crypto currency is a completely useless private product that provides absolutely no benefit to residents impacted by the Panther Creek incineration of waste coal," Zerbo said.

We did reach out to Stronghold Digital Mining for comment. A liaison public relations person did get in touch, saying they would get back with a comment.

The DEP would not comment on the status of the application but did say the company's past violations will play a factor in its decision.
BANGKOK (AP)  Srettha Thavisin from the populist Pheu Thai party secured enough votes in parliament to become the countrys 30th prime minister Tuesday, hours after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned from years of self-imposed exile and began an eight-year prison sentence.

While the vote was still ongoing, Srettha's supporters celebrated a victory that appeared to end months of post-election uncertainty in which the winning progressive Move Forward Party was blocked from taking power by conservative senators.

Srettha, a real estate tycoon, will lead a coalition of 11 parties assembled by Pheu Thai that includes two pro-military parties affiliated with outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Move Forward was excluded from the coalition. Critics called the new government a betrayal of the election results, but Pheu Thai leaders defended it as a necessity for ending the political deadlock and creating reconciliation.

As the election runner-up, Pheu Thai received the chance to form a government after Move Forwards candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, repeatedly failed to get enough votes from conservative lawmakers because of his partys proposed reform of a law that forbids defamation of the royal family. Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, has been widely abused as a political weapon.

Pheu Thai then excluded Move Forward, saying its stance on changing the royal defamation law had made it impossible to rally enough support from other parties and the Senate. Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule.

Pheu Thai said it would control eight Cabinet posts and nine deputy Cabinet posts. The military-backed parties  Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation  are to receive two Cabinet posts and two deputy posts each. Pheu Thai has not identified the ministries that each party will control.

It said the coalition agreed to support Pheu Thais platform of boosting the economy, increasing the minimum wage and ending mandatory conscription. They will also support the continued legalization of medical marijuana and work to amend the constitution to make the country become more democratic, while not touching the royal defamation law, Pheu Thai said.

The parliamentary vote came hours after divisive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after years of self-imposed exile to face criminal charges after being ousted in a 2006 military coup.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Thaksin. The military coup that ousted him triggered years of upheaval and division that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supports Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Thaksin was convicted in absentia in several criminal cases that he said were politically motivated, and he could face prison time unless he receives a royal pardon. Many have speculated that the party embraced its former enemies in an effort to reduce or cancel Thaksins prison sentence, something the party denies.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

BANGKOK (AP)  Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began an eight-year prison sentence Tuesday after returning from years of self-imposed exile, while his allies in parliament faced a vote on their bid to form a government together with military parties that have been their rivals for decades.

It was an emotional day for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the country's largely rural, often impoverished, north.

Hundreds of people gathered outside of the airport hours ahead of Thaksin's 9 a.m. arrival, donning red clothes and holding sign with welcoming messages. They sang and chanted in anticipation, then raised a raucous cheer when he appeared at the terminal door.

I feel fulfilled that I traveled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes, said Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from Maha Sarakham province, in Thailand's northeast.

Meanwhile, voting began in Parliament on the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai Party's bid to form an 11-party government that would include two parties allied with its former military adversaries, following a stalemate that has lasted more than three months.

Pheu Thai has been heavily criticized by some supporters for backtracking on a pre-election pledge not to work with pro-military parties, and many have speculated that the party embraced its former enemies in an effort to reduce or cancel Thaksin's prison sentence, something the party denies.

Thaksin and parties backed by him struggled with the military for years. Thaksin left Thailand 15 years ago, following a 2006 coup that cut short his second term as prime minister and sparked years of upheaval. A Pheu Thai government led by Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra was ousted in 2014 by then-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is now the outgoing prime minister after voters largely rejected military-linked parties in May.

Pheu Thai came in second in the elections, but got a chance to form a government after the surprise winner Move Forward Party was repeatedly rejected by conservative senators appointed by a previous military government.

Move Forwards reform agenda appealed deeply to many Thais, particularly younger voters who were disenchanted by nearly a decade of military-backed rule, but was seen as a threat by the countrys conservative elites.

Pheu Thai officials have said that working with pro-military parties is necessary to break the political deadlock and seek reconciliation after decades of deep political division.

The Pheu Thai's coalition holds 314 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, and would be led by former property developer Srettha Thavisin as prime minister. Srettha is not a member of parliament and does not appear to be in the chamber for the vote.

Srettha will also need support from the non-elected Senate to win the combined parliamentary vote. Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule.

Before his return earlier Tuesday, Thaksin has said his decision to return has nothing to do with the Pheu Thai partys bid for power, but many observers suspect that the divisive former leader is betting that a friendly government will be able to cut his sentence short.

Thaksins plans to return to Thailand were postponed after the election results were announced  this implies a strong connection between the election, formation of coalitions, and selection of the prime minister on one hand, and Thaksins personal agenda on the other, said Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher and visiting fellow at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Less than a week before the May elections, Thaksin announced plans to return before his birthday in July, but they were repeatedly delayed.

Napon said Thaksins decision to return now suggests that he has received assurances that he will not have to serve a prison sentence in full.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam of the outgoing military-linked government has said that Thaksin can request a royal pardon like any other inmate, and could receive special consideration because of his age.

After walking out of the airport, Thaksin prostrated himself before a portrait of Thailands king and queen and left a flower wreath. He spent a moment greeting supporters and the media waiting in front of the terminal, but did not speak.

Thaksins convoy went from the airport to the Supreme Court, where a special body that handles criminal cases against former officeholders confirmed an eight-year sentence given to him in absentia for corruption, which he has he dismissed as politically motivated. He then went directly to Bangkoks main prison.

Correctional officers at Bangkok Remand Prison said in a news conference that following a medical check, Thaksin had been categorized as vulnerable due to his age and chronic conditions affecting his heart and lungs, including high blood pressure, and he will be held in isolation and monitored at all hours due to safety and health concerns.

Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a key figure in Pheu Thai, posted family photos with Thaksin in the middle on Facebook with a message thanking people who went to the airport to welcome her father, saying me and my family are very grateful.

Find more of AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
FILE - Volunteers load supplies onto a boat for West Maui at the Kihei boat landing, after a wildfire destroyed much of the historical town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 13, 2023. When the most deadly U.S. fire in a century ripped across the Hawaiian island, it damaged hundreds of drinking water pipes, resulting in a loss of pressure that likely allowed toxic chemicals along with metals and bacteria into water lines. Experts are using strong language to warn Maui residents in Lahaina and Upper Kula not to filter their own tap water.
S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

S&P 500 4,117.37 DOW 32,417.59 QQQ 345.31 Trade tops the agenda as Germany's Scholz meets Nigerian leader on West Africa trip All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions King Charles III seeks to look ahead in a visit to Kenya. But he'll have history to contend with All the trading advice youve ever received boils down to this (Ad) Hurricane Otis death toll rises to 48, missing now number 36 as search and recovery work continues Off-duty deputy shoots man in Omaha, Nebraska, leading to hospitalization Trading Experts Call It The Perfect Tesla Trade (Ad) UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford
Wells Fargo & Company is a multinational financial services company that has established itself as a prominent player in the global financial industry. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Wells Fargo operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. Its rich history and successful mergers and acquisitions have contributed to its significant global presence.

As a comprehensive financial services provider, Wells Fargo offers a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer financial services. The company's mission is to satisfy its customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo aims to achieve this by providing exceptional service, acting with integrity, fostering diversity and inclusion, and contributing positively to the communities it serves.

Wells Fargo's extensive product and service portfolio caters to various market segments. The company serves individual consumers, small businesses, corporations, and institutional investors. Its key customers encompass a broad spectrum, ranging from everyday banking customers to high-net-worth individuals and large corporations. Wells Fargo aims to meet the diverse financial needs of its customers through personalized solutions and innovative offerings.

The company has achieved several notable milestones and received recognition for its contributions to the financial industry. Wells Fargo has been ranked as one of the "Big Four Banks" in the United States, alongside JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup. It is also recognized as one of the largest banks in the country by total assets, deposits, and market capitalization. Wells Fargo's commitment to delivering quality financial services has earned it a position among the most valuable bank brands.

Wells Fargo is led by an experienced and capable management team that guides the company's operations and strategic direction. The leadership team consists of individuals with diverse backgrounds and extensive finance, banking, technology, risk management, and customer service expertise. The Chief Executive Officer and President of Wells Fargo is Charles W. Scharf, who brings a wealth of experience in the financial industry. The management team also includes key executives such as Michael J. Santomassimo as the Chief Financial Officer and Scott Powell as the Chief Operating Officer. Each management team member contributes their professional background, accomplishments, and expertise to ensure the company's success.

Wells Fargo has demonstrated consistent financial performance over the years, driven by its diverse business segments and strategic initiatives. The company has reported steady revenue growth, reflecting its ability to attract and retain a large customer base. Wells Fargo's revenue metrics indicate its success in generating income through its various financial services and product offerings.

Earnings metrics illustrate the company's profitability and stability. Wells Fargo's focus on prudent risk management practices and diversified revenue streams contributes to its ability to generate sustainable earnings. Profit margin metrics showcase the efficiency of Wells Fargo's operations. The company's ability to manage costs effectively while generating revenue is key to maintaining healthy profit margins. Debt levels play a significant role in evaluating the company's financial position. Wells Fargo's management strives to maintain a conservative approach to managing debt, ensuring a strong balance sheet and financial stability.

Wells Fargo's valuation metrics are influenced by a range of factors, including its market position, financial performance, growth prospects, risk profile, and investor sentiment. Factors driving Wells Fargo's valuation include its brand recognition, customer base, diversified business segments, and ability to generate consistent earnings. Changes in investor sentiment, market conditions, and regulatory developments can also impact the company's valuation over time.

Investors closely monitor Wells Fargo's stock performance, assessing its ability to deliver value over the long term. The stock has had issues in the past due to news or events that have affected the company's share price, such as regulatory actions, the global pandemic, and strategic initiatives. These factors should be considered in analyzing its market performance.

Wells Fargo operates in the highly competitive financial services industry, which is subject to evolving regulatory frameworks and technological advancements. Understanding the broader industry in which the company operates is crucial to assessing its competitive positioning.

Wells Fargo competes with other major banks and financial institutions domestically and internationally. The company leverages its brand recognition, extensive product and service offerings, customer relationships, and technological capabilities to gain a competitive advantage. However, it also faces challenges such as regulatory compliance, changing customer preferences, and disruptive market forces.

Wells Fargo has identified several growth opportunities within its diverse business segments. The company aims to deepen relationships with existing customers, attract new customers and expand its presence in key markets. In consumer banking, Wells Fargo focuses on enhancing digital capabilities, improving customer experience, and providing innovative solutions to meet evolving customer needs. The company seeks to leverage its strong brand and customer base to drive growth and increase customer loyalty. In wealth and investment management, Wells Fargo aims to capitalize on the growing demand for comprehensive financial planning and advisory services. The company's expertise in wealth management positions it well to capture opportunities in an increasingly complex investment landscape.

As with any financial institution, Wells Fargo faces various risks and challenges. It is important to comprehensively analyze potential risks and challenges to understand their potential impact on the company's performance. Factors such as regulatory changes, cybersecurity threats, economic downturns, and reputational risks pose challenges to Wells Fargo's operations. The company has implemented robust risk management strategies, invested in technology and security measures, and enhanced compliance frameworks to mitigate these risks. Ongoing efforts to prioritize ethical conduct, transparency, and stakeholder trust are integral to managing risks effectively.
Signboards of the 15th BRICS Summit are seen in a street of Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 17, 2023. [Xinhua/Chen Cheng]

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, and pay a state visit to South Africa from Aug. 21 to 24.

Ahead of his trip, Xi replied to a letter from the faculty and students of the Confucius Institute at Durban University of Technology in South Africa, encouraging them to learn the Chinese language well and contribute to carrying forward the China-South Africa friendship and promoting friendly cooperation between the two countries.

In his letter, Xi said that he witnessed the establishment of the Confucius Institute 10 years ago and was pleased to see that, through the joint efforts of both sides, the educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries have yielded fruitful results.

The interaction shows the great importance that Xi attaches to promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges among BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In his speech at the plenary session of the BRICS Xiamen Summit in 2017, Xi devoted one section to expounding on how he views the cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Citing an ancient Chinese saying, "amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations," Xi said enhancing the exchanges among peoples of BRICS countries and seeing the spirit of partnership embraced by all the people in these countries is a worthy cause that deserves enduring commitment.

"A job well done in this regard will keep BRICS cooperation vibrant," he stressed.

Over the years, Xi has personally supported the efforts to boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges among BRICS countries.

Xi has shared stories in this regard in speeches delivered during trips to the other four BRICS countries. He lauded Carlos Tavares, a Brazilian expert on China, for enabling more people to understand China through his books, articles and speeches. In a speech delivered during a trip to India, Xi also cited verses by Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore that had inspired him.

Among Xi's numerous interactions with people from these countries was a congratulatory message he sent in 2017 to celebrate the inaugural semester of Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, the first joint Sino-Russian university. He encouraged education officials and teachers from both countries to contribute to Sino-Russian educational cooperation and bilateral friendship.

Thanks to China's active participation and vigorous promotion, BRICS cooperation has transitioned from a framework driven by the "two wheels" of politics and economy to the "triple pillars" of political and security cooperation, economic and financial cooperation, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

In recent years, cultural and people-to-people exchanges have notably gained momentum, and the activities of such exchanges are taking place regularly and have been institutionalized.

There has been a wide range of activities, from the BRICS media forums, film festivals, and cultural festivals, to women's innovation contests, and technical and vocational education programs. This rich variety demonstrates that BRICS countries are committed to creating a broad landscape for cross-regional and cross-cultural exchanges.

They have not only accelerated the advancement of the BRICS cooperation mechanism but also presented a "BRICS model" for fostering inclusiveness and mutual learning among different civilizations.

(Source: Xinhua)
Weather Alert

...FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Temperatures dropping into the mid to upper 20s. * WHERE...All of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From Monday evening through Tuesday morning. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above- ground pipes to protect them from freezing. &&
The following is the speech by Eric London to An Island at the Center of World History: Trotsky on Prinkipo on Sunday, August 20. The event was held on Prinkipo, an island in the Sea of Marmara off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey. It honored Trotskys four-year exile on the island, from 1929 to 1933.

London is an editorial board member of the World Socialist Web Site who has written extensively on the assassination of Leon Trotsky, including the book Agents: The FBI and GPU Infiltration of the Trotskyist Movement.

WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David Norths remarks to the commemoration are published here. The full recording can be accessed at Trotsky.com.

Eric London's remarks to "An Island at the Center of World History: Leon Trotsky on Prinkipo"

Eighty-three years ago today, Leon Trotsky, co-leader of the Russian Revolution, was attacked by an agent of Stalins secret police who had been allowed to enter his home-in-exile in Coyoacan, a suburb of Mexico City. The assassin, whose real name, Ramon Mercader, would not be known for another decade, was apprehended by guards and arrested. An American named Sylvia Ageloff, who had introduced the assassin into the Trotsky household by falsely claiming he was her husband and who had lured one of Trotskys guards out of the house that night, was also arrested. Trotsky was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 7:30 in the evening of August 21, 1940.

Trotskys assassination was the most consequential political assassination of the 20th century. It was the culmination of the Stalinist Great Terror and the product of one of world historys bleakest and bloodiest conspiracies. Though Trotsky commanded no army, occupied no official position of state and had been stripped of his citizenship, the Stalinist bureaucracy harnessed the full power of the Soviet state and brought it down on Trotsky in a ruthless and desperate attempt to silence him forever.

The political ground for the assassination plot was prepared by an international campaign of lies and falsifications concocted by the Stalinist bureaucracy. Through the monstrous Moscow Trials of 1936, 1937 and 1938, Stalin eliminated the leadership of the party during the October Revolution, and Trotsky was sentenced to death in absentia. The show trials were used to justify and perpetrate the Great Terror of 1936-39, in which Stalin and the GPU murdered hundreds of thousands of Old Bolsheviks, Trotskyists, scientists, artists, writers and military leaders.

From the executive offices in Moscows Lubyanka, high-ranking GPU officials working on Stalins orders under Pavel Sudoplatov directed the operation to kill Trotsky. The tentacles of the Great Terror reached far beyond the borders of the Soviet Union. In July 1937, the GPU kidnapped and murdered Erwin Wolf, an important political secretary to Trotsky. In September 1937, the GPU assassinated Ignatz Reiss, who had defected from the GPU and declared his support for the Fourth International. In February 1938, the GPU killed Trotskys son, Leon Sedov, in Paris. Later that year, in July 1938, Stalins agents kidnapped Rudolf Klement, the secretary of the Fourth International, whose headless and limbless torso was discovered in the Seine.

Trotsky was well aware that he lived on this earth not in accordance with the rule but as an exception to the rule, as he wrote. No matter the pressure on him, his family and closest supporters, he analyzed the plot against him from the standpoint of uncovering and exposing the true role of the Stalinist bureaucracy. In an article completed days before his death, he clearly explained that the source of the Stalinist conspiracy against him lay in the counterrevolutionary character of the bureaucracy, which had usurped power in Russia. He wrote:

The Moscow oligarchys hatred of me is engendered by its deep-rooted conviction that I betrayed it. This accusation has a historical meaning of its own.  Only after the bureaucracy became convinced that I did not intend to defend its interests against the toilers but on the contrary the interests of the toilers against the new aristocracy was the complete turn toward Stalin made, and I was proclaimed traitor. This epithet on the lips of the privileged caste constitutes evidence of my loyalty to the cause of the working class.

Stalin was ultimately able to assassinate Trotsky with the assistance of the worlds most powerful imperialist governments, who shut their doors to Trotsky the moment he was deported from the Soviet Union to Turkey in January 1929. One by one, the governments of democratic Europe slammed their doors in Trotskys face, even as protests grew demanding he be granted the democratic right to asylum. One such protest was authored by Albert Einstein, who wrote to German Social Democratic Finance Minister Rudolph Hilferding on March 14, 1929, If  the Herr Minister will not allow the wounded lion Trotzki to enter, and give him asylum, then ... if he werent a Minister I would grab him by his ear...

Ulas Atesci, David North, Dr. Mehmet Alkan and Eric London

The great democratic governments of Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, France, Norway and Belgium denied Trotsky the democratic right to enter. He did not even bother applying for asylum in the United States, knowing the reactionary government would deny him. The Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung opposed granting asylum because doing so would make a highly unfavorable impression in some quarters abroad which are concerned in the stability of Germanys financial credit.

The imperialist governments feared the power of the revolutionary ideas imbued in Trotskys lifelong struggle for socialism. British Labour MP George Lansbury would recall that when the question of Trotskys asylum was debated at a cabinet meeting of Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary [J.R. Clynes] and the Home Secretary [Arthur Henderson] replied: there he is in Constantinople, out of the wayit is to nobodys interest that he should be anywhere else. We are all afraid of him.

A June 24, 1929 document uncovered in 2000 by The Guardian revealed that Home Secretary Clynes opposed granting entry to Trotsky because Trotskys supporters in other countries, France and Germany, would be encouraged and it would have its effect on their communist parties. In other words, Trotskys very existence threatened capitalism.

The period of Trotskys Turkish exile marked an intense escalation of the GPU operation against Trotsky and the Left Opposition. GPU agents worked themselves into prominent positions in the Trotskyist movement, including the Soblevicius brothers, known by their party names Senin and Well, who played leading roles in the German Left Opposition. Abraham Soblevicius, later known as Jack Soble, visited Trotsky in Prinkipo and would later admit in US federal court to being a longtime GPU agent.

One critical event from Trotskys time in Prinkipo bears mentioning as a milestone in the GPU conspiracy against Trotsky. In the summer of 1929, a former secretary to Trotsky named Jacob Blumkin came to Prinkipo and met with Trotsky, agreeing to carry a message of political support to the Russian Opposition back with him to the Soviet Union. Blumkin was discovered and turned over to the GPU, who shot him on November 3, 1929. The historian Vadim Rogovin wrote that the assassination of Blumkin was the first bloody reprisal against an oppositionist. The precedent was set.

The GPU encirclement of Trotsky is, of course, only one side of the story of his time in Turkey. As David North has explained, Trotsky produced perhaps his most extraordinary political work while on this island. It was here that he wrote My Life and the History of the Russian Revolution and fought systematically to mobilize the German and international working class against the disastrous rise to power of Hitler. In 1933 he was allowed to enter France, then in 1935 he was granted entry to Norway, which deported him to Mexico in December 1936. Mexico and Turkey were the only two countries who welcomed Trotsky and never succumbed to pressure to deport him.

For decades following Trotskys assassination, almost nothing was known about how the GPU carried out his murder. It was not until the International Committee launched an investigation into the assassination 35 years later, in May 1975, that the true details of the assassination became publicly known.

In that 35-year period, from 1940 to 1975, none of those responsible for the assassination of Trotsky, his family or the leaders and members of the Fourth International had been brought to account for their crimes. Ramon Mercader, the assassin, had been released from prison and was welcomed by Che Guevara into Cuba before traveling to the Soviet Union, where the killer was celebrated by the bureaucracy.

But Security and the Fourth International began to reveal the truth.

This investigation entailed an immense amount of work, spanning multiple continents, involving hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of historical documentation. For the first time, a systematic investigation was conducted into the penetration of the Trotskyist movement by agents of both the GPU and the government of US imperialism. Questions were posed which, had they been asked and investigated decades prior, could have prevented significant damage to the movement and its members and saved or prolonged the lives of the leadership, including Trotskys. David North played the central role in this investigation from its initiation.

Security and the Fourth Internationals work has now spanned a half century. And as a result of this investigation, we now know far more about the depth of the GPU network within the Trotskyist movement. We know that Sylvia Callen, the personal secretary of James P. Cannon, leader of the American section of the Trotskyist movement, the party that was responsible for Trotskys security in Mexico, had been an agent. Security and the Fourth International revealed that Callen had admitted to being a GPU agent in US federal court, and that from 1939 to 1947, critical years, she had passed all critical documents relating to the membership of the Fourth International from James Cannons desk to her GPU handlers a few blocks away in downtown New York City.

We also now know that Trotskys secretary in Mexico City, Joseph Hansen, had been an agent of the GPU. Documents released from the US National Archives showed that immediately after Trotskys assassination, Hansen held meetings with the US Embassy in which he informed them that in 1938, just two years earlier, he had been meeting with the leader of the GPU spy ring in the United States, Dr. Gregory Rabinowitz. Hansen then became an agent of the US government, while rising to the leadership of the American section until his death in 1979. Documents uncovered by Security and the Fourth International would show that he agreed to provide the FBI with information in exchange for impunity. He held these meetings behind the back of the leadership of the American Trotskyist movement.

Sylvia Ageloff is another GPU agent uncovered through Security and the Fourth International. Shortly after the assassination, the GPU, Ramon Mercader and Joseph Hansen worked to present her as the innocent dupe of Mercader, a naive young woman who was supposedly wooed and used to enter Trotskys compound in Coyoacan. Unfortunately, this false myth has been uncritically adopted in films and documentaries about the assassination. But we now know that the entire edifice upon which this myth was built is false. Ageloffs sisters had visited the Soviet Union in 1931 and met with Lenins wife, Krupskaya, at a time when such a meeting would have required high-level connections to the Stalinist bureaucracy. Ageloff was not a naive girl who was easily tricked. She had received an advanced degree in psychology from Columbia University and wrote her thesis on the subject of the susceptibility of people to be deceived by those they trust.

Based on the evidence now available, it is clear that Ageloff was not only a GPU agent, but that she was sent by the GPU to Mexico City in the summer of 1940 when Mercader hesitated to deliver the final blow and carry out the assassination himself. After the assassination, she was arrested by Mexican police, who prosecuted her for murder and refused to believe that she could have failed to recognize who Mercader really was after the more than two years they allegedly spent in a relationship together.

The conclusion of the Mexican police was shared by the FBI, which referred to her, in reports uncovered through the Security and the Fourth International investigation, as a tough customer who may never tell all she knows that might be useful in determining just what was behind the killing of Trotsky. Francisco Cabeza de Vaca, the Mexican prosecutor who argued she was guilty, received death threats from the GPU, specifically mentioning her role, and he was subsequently murdered by the GPU on the street after the sentencing of Mercader. Critical historical work was recently carried out in this regard by the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Penales, and by the work of the late criminologist Martin Gabriel Barron Cruz.

It is not possible to restate here all the facts showing Ageloffs guilt here, but in the past two-and-a-half years since the World Socialist Web Site published a four-part article detailing those facts, nobody has stepped forward with any evidence to the contrary.

Trotsky was anything but fatalistic about his physical security. The powers of the Stalinists were immense, but there was nothing inevitable about the assassination that took place 83 years ago. Under conditions of extraordinary isolation, when the GPU had murdered or driven almost his entire family to death, Trotsky maintained an absolutely objective and revolutionary attitude towards his own life and role in history. He wrote in the final paragraphs of My Life:

Since my exile, I have more than once read musings in the newspapers on the subject of the tragedy that has befallen me. I know no personal tragedy. I know the change of two chapters of the revolution. One American paper which published an article of mine accompanied it with a profound note to the effect that in spite of the blows the author had suffered, he had, as evidenced by his article, preserved his clarity of reason. I can only express my astonishment at the philistine attempt to establish a connection between the power of reasoning and a government post, between mental balance and the present situation. I do not know, and I never have, of any such connection. In prison, with a book or a pen in my hand, I experienced the same sense of deep satisfaction that I did at the mass meetings of the revolution.

These moving words, written on this island, personify a life dedicated to revolutionary struggle and the liberation of mankind from capitalism. Trotskys beliefs, our beliefs, remain not only immensely relevant today, but necessary to understand and respond to the present crisis in a world confronting imperialist war, climate catastrophe, a raging pandemic and record levels of social inequality. Trotsky remains, as David wrote in the introduction to In Defense of Leon Trotsky, an individual whose historic role was absolutely unique. David wrote:

Trotsky was both the leader of the first socialist revolution and also the implacable opponent of the Stalinist regime that subsequently betrayed that revolution. The Soviet Union no longer exists and the Stalinist regime has disappeared into the dustbin of history. But Trotsky remains a relentlessly contemporary political figure. The significance of his life in world history transcends his role in the Russian Revolution. Leon Trotsky was, above all else, the great tribune and theoretician of world socialist revolution. The passions evoked by his name testify to the enduring significance of Trotskys ideas. Arguments about Trotsky are never simply about what happened in the past. They are just as much about what is happening in the world today, and what is likely to happen in the future.

The Trotskyist movement todaythe International Committee of the Fourth Internationalis honored to be here in Prinkipo, not only to remember the life of Leon Trotsky but to take forward the cause to which he gave the last full measure of his devotion. And we are gratified that interest in Trotskys life and his politics is winning a broader audience among workers and young people in struggle all over the world today, as evidenced by todays historic event.
A new wave of COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across Spain, fueled by the Eris variant (scientifically known as EG.5), which now accounts for over 30 percent of sequenced cases globally. It takes place just as the acting Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government has declared the end of the health crisis, and removed the last mitigation and monitoring measures.

Scientists throughout the world have also sounded the alarm over the emergence of a new COVID-19 named Pirola. After first being detected in Israel last week, Pirola was sequenced in another three countries, indicating that it has likely begun spreading globally undetected for some time.

Medical staff members attend to a COVID-19 patient in the ICU department of the Hospital Universitario, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) [AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos]

In Spain, Pirola has yet to be detected. But it is hard to understand the true spread of the virus, given that the government, like others across the world, has dismantled basic monitoring measures.

The government stopped issuing the report with the indicators of the evolution of the pandemic and monitoring its incidence on July 4, two months after the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Biden administration in the US ended their COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declarations. This signaled the total collapse of the pandemic surveillance systems globally.

The only way to monitor the evolution of the virus in Spain is now the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA) led by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) that records the number of affected people who are treated in primary and hospital care along with other diseases such as influenza.

The latest report from SiVIRA shows that the rate of COVID-19 identified in primary care has increased significantly from 29.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on July 2 to 88 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in August 6.

In the same period, the rate of hospitalizations has gone from 0.6 to 2.04 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although it has fluctuated. The percentage of positivity to SARS-CoV-2 stands at 32 percent in the last week, when a month ago it was at 24 percent.

Another clear proof of how COVID infections is rapidly increasing across Spain is the sale of antigen tests to detect the virus. The consultancy firm Iqvia, which has been carrying out a study on the sale of tests in 6,500 chemists across the country, points out that with the data for the week of July 31 to August 6, the increase in tests sold reached 174 percent compared to the end of June.

Joan Cayla, a member of the Spanish Epidemiology Society (SEE) explained to El Periodico de Espana that the increase in infections is multicausal: it has to do with the new variant -not yet sequenced in Spain, but in other European countries, but also with the withdrawal of the [healthcare] alarm, masks, the unconcerned attitude of the population and the summer gatherings.' Cayla warned that infections are increasing in the middle of summer instead of going down.'

The numbers hospitalized is beginning to be significant and could soon create problems. In Catalonia, there were 453 hospitalized as of last week. In the Basque country it has quadrupled to 124, from 30 the month before. In Galicia, the main hospitals have over 70 patients admitted.

The new spread of the virus will mean more Long Covid cases and its debilitating impact. Almost two million suffer from Long COVID in Spain and, of them, 600,000 have suffered from it for more than three years.

According to a follow-up survey carried out by the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG), only 15.6 percent of those affected by Long COVID work under normal conditions, compared to 46 percent who are on sick leave or work with great difficulty. 9.5 percent of those surveyed lost their job and only 2.9 percent have achieved permanent disability status. Workers who suffer from this dangerous ailment are either left out of the labor market due to their inability to work or are forced to work with pain or severe suffering, making it very difficult for their situation to be recognised and for them to be granted disability status.

The researcher at the AIDS Research Institute (IrsiCaixa), Roger Paredes told El Periodico de Espana, The fact that you have not had persistent COVID in the first or second infection does not mean that you cannot contract it in the third.

This is a serious problem that will continue to spread as infections grow.

Countries like the United States, Italy, South Korea, Japan and many others are suffering an increase in COVID cases similar to Spain due to the absolute passivity of capitalist governments and the complicit silence of the media.

The acting PSOE-Podemos government has refused to make any public statement even as cases rise since it announced the end of the health emergency on July 4 and was lifting obligatory masking in health centres. The Ministry of Health has also stopped publishing its weekly reports of infections, hospitalisations and deaths, even those over the age of 65, who were the only category monitored since the government announced the end of the surveillance for the general population in March 2022.

For those infected due to their work activity, particularly health workers who are in the frontline, PSOE-Podemosin collaboration with the trade union bureaucracyis making sure they receive as little compensation as possible to prioritise profits and cut costs.

As of July 26, COVID-19 infections in the workplace will not be considered occupational diseases, which means that these workers will receive less money for sick leave, money that will be saved by both public social security system and private companies in the health sector.

The reaction of the acting PSOE-Podemos government is a warning of any new government that will be formed in the wake of Spains contested July 23 general election. Whatever government is eventually formed amid ongoing negotiationswhether led by the right-wing Peoples Party (PP) with the neo-Francoist Vox or the PSOE with the pseudo-left electoral platform Sumar (which incorporates the PSOEs former coalition partner Podemos)homicidal indifference to stopping the pandemic will remain. The incoming government will be pledged to maximise profits and subject the population to perpetual waves of infection, death and debilitation with Long COVID.

The PSOE-Podemos policies on the pandemic have already led to mass deaths. According to The Lancet calculations, these policies have already cost the lives of 162,000 lives as per excess deaths, even though official data remains at over 120,000.

Meanwhile, the government continues to spend billions of euros on the Spanish military and NATO's war against Russia in Ukraine, while showering large banks and corporations with billions of euros from European funds. That's where money that could be used to fund next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and the renovation of infrastructure to prevent airborne transmission is going.

As the WSWS warned in its recent perspective, the pandemic is a social and political crisis which can only be resolved through the mass, unified struggle of the international working class, in coordination with principled scientists in every country. From the beginning, the World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) have clearly explained this imperative and provided leadership in this struggle. Now, as new and potentially more dangerous variants sweep the globe, it is ever more necessary to deepen this fight on a world scale.
Wildfires are tearing through wide swathes of the western Canadian province of British Columbia as the country confronts the most devastating wildfire season in its history.

Flames from the Donnie Creek wildfire burn along a ridge top north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 2, 2023. [AP Photo/Noah Berger]

According to the BC Wildfire Service, there are 382 active wildfires burning across the province. This includes 157 deemed out of control, and 14 of note, meaning they are highly visible or threatening public safety. Over the past couple of days, the number of people under evacuation orders has soared to more than 15,000. An additional 35,000 more are on evacuation alert.

Distressing scenes of chaos, confusion, and catastrophic damage are being shared on social media by affected residents. In some instances, footage was captured as they fled for their lives. Numerous homes and other properties have been destroyed by the flames, with the precise number unknown. Despite the scope of the fires, there have been no reported civilian deaths reported so far.

Eleven of the wildfires of note are burning in the Kamloops and Southeast regions. These are some of the hottest places in western Canada, where record-breaking temperatures were registered this summer.

In the Central Okanagan, the McDougall Creek wildfire, first identified last Tuesday northwest of the city of Kelowna, has exploded in size to 110 square kilometres. Parts of the area surrounding Kelowna, a region with a population of 235,000, have been badly devastated. Ten thousand residents have been forced to evacuate, including students at the local university and residents of seven care homes.

Footage of escaping locals jumping into Okanagan Lake as the flames travelled down the ridge from West Kelowna has been shared widely on social media. Flights have been cancelled and the airspace closed at Kelowna International Airport to prioritize aerial firefighting.

Ten kilometres south of Kamloops, the massive Adams Complex wildfires continue to rage out of control. The largest of the fires, the Bush Creek East fire, which has been burning since mid-July, has exploded to 300 square kilometres in size. Friday was declared by the regional district as the most devastating wildfire day in its history. Some 3,500 residents in several communities around the Shuswap Lake were evacuated amid conditions described by one local as a scene of Armageddon.

In Cathedral Grove National Park, southwest of the town of Keremeos, the out-of-control Crater Creek fire has ballooned to 410 square kilometres. Evacuation alerts and orders have been issued for nearby First Nations communities. On Wednesday, 70 people under evacuation order were rescued from a remote guest home when the only road access for escape was cut off by the raging fire.

In the Fraser Canyon, wildfires are again ablaze near Lytton, the village destroyed by wildfire in 2021, when two people were killed and several injured. Two years later, many of the towns 200 residents are still displaced.

On Friday, premier David Eby (NDP) declared a province-wide state of emergency in response to what he called an unprecedented fire threat. The announcement came after forced evacuation orders for over 10,000 more people were made in the space of one hour. An order to restrict non-essential travel to fire-affected areas has been issued to ensure accommodation is available for evacuees and emergency personnel.

Air quality in the areas near the fires is extremely dangerous, rated at the maximum 10+ on the Air Quality Health Indexmeaning very high risk. In mid-July, a nine-year-old boy in the town of Hundred Mile House tragically suffered a fatal asthma attack that his parents suspect was exacerbated by wildfire smoke.

Emergency accommodation is becoming scarce. Sympathetic residents are generously offering their homes to victims of the wildfires. Out of those who have lost their homes, many are renters who will have no other choice but to move to larger urban centres, which have a near zero percent rental vacancy rate and little affordable housing. Many uninsurable properties have been lost and those homeowners left without the means to replace their house.

On Sunday, a brief reprieve for firefighters came in southern British Columbia as the weather brought cooler temperatures and calmer winds into the area. However, the Northern Forestry Centre at the Canadian Forest Centre warns that there continues to be an extreme risk for more fires in British Columbia, the Prairies, the Northwest Territories and northern Ontario for weeks to come.

Over 1,800 wildfires have burned about 1.61 million hectares of land throughout BC since April 1almost four times the 10-year average and a catastrophic new record. The immediate general causes are forests made tinder-dry by extreme and extended heat waves. According to the BC Wildfire Service, around 80 percent of the current wildfires in the province have been sparked by dry lightning in a tree or other fuels.

In March, scientists warned that Canada was experiencing record-breaking heat two months earlier than usualbrought on by the effects of capitalist-induced climate changeplacing it on track for the worst wildfire season on record. By June, a quarter of Canadians reported being impacted by the record-breaking wildfire season. At the time, more than 5,500 fires had broken out, affecting every province and territory, burning approximately 13.4 million hectaresa shocking ten times more than the 10-year average, and surpassing the record set by the 2020 California wildfires. On June 25, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre declared the 2023 wildfire season was the worst in Canadas recorded history.

Last Wednesday, close to 22,000 residents fled the town of Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories. The mandatory evacuation order came as wildfires burned out of control and encroached on the northern hub city from three sides. Fires remain about 15 kilometres from the deserted, smoky city with firefighters working day and night to beat back the flames and fortify firebreaks. Currently, another 236 fires are burning across the territory.

The climate change disaster continuing to unfold in British Columbia and across the country was both foreseen and preventable. It is the devastating consequence of capitalist governments throughout Canada and internationally doing nothing to effectively fight climate change while ramping up decades-long austerity policies to pay for imperialist war abroad and the enrichment of the ultra-wealthy.

Governments of all political stripes in Canada have razed fire prevention, firefighting and other emergency relief budgets to the bone to pay for imperialist wars against Russia and China and feed the corporate profit-gouging at the expense of the well-being and safety of working people.

For decades, scientists have been warning authorities about forests littered with millions of hectares of dead or dying trees that turn into highly combustible fuel in drought conditions. Recommendations to governments to clear the forests of debris stretch back decades, yet only a small fraction of forests have been treated for fuel suppression.

The pro-business BC NDP government has shown time and time again its callous indifference to public safety. It slashed its summer wildfire emergency budget from $801 million in 2021 to a meagre $204 million in 2023. The budget was already depleted by June, less than a month into summer. Over the past two years, with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning that rising greenhouse gas emissions are pushing the world to the brink of disaster, the provincial government handed out $1.3 billion in fossil fuel subsidies.

In 2021, then-premier John Horgan, adopting the homicidal let-it-rip strategy of the ruling class, denied that COVID-19 was airborne and forced kids into infected schools, then covered up the outbreaks. His government then scrapped all pandemic restrictions and protections including vaccine and mask mandates and regular reporting. When a record-breaking deadly heat dome settled over British Columbia in late June 2021, resulting in 619 heat-related deaths mainly of vulnerable seniors, Horgan made the callous remark that fatalities are a part of life.

The Trudeau Liberal government, backed by its trade union and New Democratic Party allies, offers no way out of the devastating consequences of the capitalist systems destruction of the environment. On the contrary, its ruthless pursuit of the interests of big business, including through corporate deregulation and tax exemptions for Canadas oil firms, has fuelled climate change.

In British Columbia, four firefighters have died needlessly this summer as many resource-strapped volunteer and composite crews risk their lives battling fires of monstrous scale. Many volunteers lack adequate training and experience. In a belated tweet Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the military would be deployed to British Columbia to help with evacuations, staging.

Trudeaus indifference is of a piece with US President Joe Biden, who responded with no comment when asked about the hundreds of deaths produced by the devastating fire that ripped through Maui. He then boasted of pathetic one-time payment of $700 per household for those who have lost everything in the disaster.

Action to end the climate crisis in all its manifestations, including the climate-change-induced wildfires raging across Canada, the US, and parts of Europe, will not come from an appeal to capitalist governments which have shown time and time again their disdain and indifference to public health and safety. What is necessary is a rational, scientifically guided program for the reorganization of societys vast resources on a global scale on the basis of social need and not private profit. This requires a political fight led by the working class against the capitalist profit system and for socialism.
Macquarie University student supporting campaign to demand university management affiliates the IYSSE club at the campus.

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at Sydneys Macquarie University continues to receive statements of protest against the political censorship of its club on campus by the university management. Nearly 600 have signed an online petition demanding the immediate reaffiliation of the IYSSE club.

Macquarie University is continuing to block the affiliation of the IYSSE, despite its having met all stipulated requirements.

This anti-democratic decision was based on the fraudulent claim that the IYSSE shares the same aims and purpose as another club on campus, the Macquarie Socialists linked with the pseudo-left, pro-war Socialist Alternative.

Despite the complete exposure of this false assertion by the IYSSE, the university is continuing its refusal to affiliate the IYSSE, demonstrating that the decision is of a political nature. The IYSSE is the only genuine anti-war, socialist club on campus and held a critical meeting, less than two months before its affiliation was denied, advancing a revolutionary internationalist perspective against the US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.

Macquarie University management is acting on behalf of the pro-war interests of the Australian ruling elite in attempting to block the IYSSEs perspective from reaching students and youth. The IYSSE internationally has been subject to anti-democratic attacks from right-wing, state-aligned forces including university managements and student unions precisely because it represents the alternative to capitalist militarism, which threatens a nuclear catastrophe.

IYSSE campaigners have spoken to students at Macquarie University about the attacks on the club and the attempt by the university to silence anti-war opposition.

One international student from Hong Kong said that the discussions with the IYSSE on the threat of war were eye opening.

This conversation has been a wakeup call for me, she said. I could have begun my studies in another country. Not many Hong Kong people chose Australia, but I chose here because I thought this is a relatively peaceful country. The First and Second World Wars didnt happen on Australian soil. But then I find out there are hidden agendas here. I may not fully understand the gravity of this issue but this is an education for me.

The student continued: If you guys are being censored purely on your views then I dont think this is acceptable. Growing up, we are taught western society is good, its democratic. But obviously there can be an ugly reality to that. We have to be aware of the hidden agendas behind government policy, or media propaganda and think on our own feet.

Agreeing with the IYSSEs fight to build an international anti-war movement, the international student said she was wary of the various justifications used by capitalist governments to launch wars.

I dont think war is good. In this day and age, it is really archaic. It is a waste of manpower, of potential strong young lives who die or get injured on the battlefield. As humans we all have a desire to live in a safe and harmonious environment but sometimes you see your ruling class go overboard and say we have to invade this country and youre like no, why do we need that? Just provide us with food, housing, education first, then settle the other things.

Another international student emphasised the importance of the IYSSEs fight to raise the political consciousness of students on campus.

The club is a good thing. The university should help the club to educate people, because this club tells people about things that are happening internationally, and I think a lot of people dont know about that If they are educated by this club, it would be beneficial to them.

A second-year ancient history student told the IYSSE: I am not a fan of political censorship in any way, no matter whether I agree with you or not. I agree with anti-war sentiment, there is no reason to censor anti-war views, if anything that makes you pro-war! I hate the war in Ukraine, I hate war in general. I dont see any point to it.

IYSSE members explained to the student that the US-led war against Russia is one prong in Washingtons broader geostrategy targeting China, the student agreed.

When asked about the danger of nuclear war waged by the US and its allies against Russia and China, he said, Thats the elephant in the room. Well have to just wait and see and hopefully people will come to their senses.

An IYSSE member warned that the threat of war comes not from the intentions of individual leaders, but the objective economic conditions under capitalism. The IYSSE campaigner explained that the ruling elite wont come to their senses and that war can only be ended by the world working class and youth intervening to end capitalismthe system which leads to war. The student said, I think some intervention is required, and what better place to start than universities?

Another international student protested the universitys decision to refuse the clubs affiliation on the fraudulent claim that the IYSSE shares the same aims as Macquarie Socialists.

This is far from the truth as currently we see in the crisis in Ukraine. The IYSSE have been holding anti-war campaigns whereas Macquarie Socialists support the US-led proxy war. This makes the IYSSE distinct in their beliefs from other clubs and if anything, such endeavours should be praised and supported, the student said. Now more than ever, we need efforts from all sides to stop conflicts around the world and voice such opinions which the IYSSE strongly stand for.

The student noted the fact that Macquarie Socialists released a politically hostile statement rejecting the assertion that the two clubs share the same aims and purpose.

The Macquarie Socialists have already provided their statements of the differences. Needless to say, it is a shallow judgement on part of the management to put a halt on the activities of the IYSSE. We urge the university management to revoke their claims and allow the IYSSE affiliation.

The IYSSE is holding a meeting to protest the ongoing political censorship of its club and demand the immediate affiliation of the IYSSE. Students, youth, academics and workers should join this event to fight against the attacks on opponents of war and to defend democratic rights on campus. Details are:

End political censorship at Macquarie University! Affiliate the IYSSE!

Time: 5 p.m. Thursday, 7 September

Location: 14SCO T5 Theatre, 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave, Macquarie University

Or join the online livestream via Zoom. Register at this link.

Get in touch with the IYSSE to find out how you can be involved:

Email: iysseaus@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/IYSSEaustralia

Twitter: @IysseA

Instagram: @iysse.aus
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) in Sri Lanka will hold a meeting in Jaffna to commemorate Wije Dias, the former general secretary of the SEP. The event will be at 3.30 p.m. on Thursday August 31, at Weerasingham Hall in Jaffna city.

Comrade Wije died last year, aged 80, from sudden heart failure on the morning of July 28.

An International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) statement explained last year: Wije was an implacable protagonist of the socialist internationalist program of Permanent Revolution and fighter for the political independence of the working class. He was unyielding in his defense of Marxist and Trotskyist principles because he had witnessed the catastrophic consequencesin the form of political disorientation, reaction and tragic loss of lifethat result from their abandonment and betrayal.

Commemorating Comrade Wije in Jaffna, the main city in Sri Lankas Northern Province that was torn by three decades of communal war, is significant. The SEP has a proud history of waging an intransigent political fight for the unity of the working class on the basis of socialist internationalism against both the Sinhala chauvinism of successive Colombo governments and the Tamil separatism of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Wije was elected general secretary of the Revolutionary Communist League (RCL), the predecessor of the SEP, following the untimely death of RCL General Secretary Comrade Keerthi Balasuriya on December 18, 1987. He was general secretary for over 35 years, leading the party during Colombos civil war, and its bloody suppression of radicalised Sinhala youth in the south of the island.

Wije is popular and widely known among workers and youth in the North, having addressed public meetings and lectures in Jaffna and the nearby islets of Kyats and Karainagar.

We urge workers, youth, students, WSWS readers and all those seeking an alternative to Tamil nationalism and the Colombo governments oppressive rule to attend the meeting that will discuss the essential political lessons of Wije Dias life.

Date and time: Thursday, August 31, at 3.30 p.m.

Venue: Weerasingham Hall, Jaffna
As the school year resumes, educators face huge challenges from learning loss among students arising from the ongoing trauma of the pandemic and years of chronic underfunding of public education. With the ending of federal COVID-19 relief funding, many of the already limited tutoring programs and supplemental resources have now evaporated, compounding the problem.

Three boys reading in a classroom, August, 2013 [Photo: US Department of Edication]

Earlier this summer, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released the results from its two national standardized tests, the Long-Term Trend (LTT) in reading and mathematics conducted among 13-year-old children and the National Assessment of Education Progress Report Card tests for history and civics among eighth grade students. Both tests showed a decline in all four subjects over the last decade.

The 2022-2023 LTT assessment of 13-year-old students showed average test scores dropped 4 points in reading and 9 points in mathematics, compared to the last assessment in 2019-2020. Scores dropped significantly during the pandemic, which both political parties blamed on the shift to remote learning. The report showed, however, that the decline began before the pandemic in 2012. That year witnessed an acceleration of the Obama administrations Race to the Top campaign promoting charter schools and a deepening attack on educators, as exhibited in the school closures and mass layoffs that occurred after the Chicago Teachers Unions betrayal of the 2012 strike.

While standardized test results are inherently problematic and have been used as a political weapon to attack public education, there is little doubt that American education is being increasingly bifurcated along class lines. Children of the working class are increasingly subjected to oversized classrooms, the lack of up-to-date facilities or even books and few cultural enrichments. Increasingly, they are slotted into for-profit charter schools or under-resourced public ones.

Moreover, studies have long shown that educational achievement is highly correlated with a familys socio-economic status. A few statistics on the escalating growth of social inequality can provide a small indication of the social catastrophe occurring in the population, a disaster exponentially compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the bipartisan prioritization of the stock market and predatory wars over public health and the needs of society. Children face enormous obstacles in their educational attainment.

In 2023, among the 74 million children living in the United States, 11 million live in official poverty. This includes one in six children under five (3 million children), the highest rate of any age group. Almost half (47 percent) of all children in poverty live in severe or extreme poverty, a number which rose from 4.5 million before the pandemic to 5.5 million in 2021.

poverty, a number which rose from 4.5 million before the pandemic to 5.5 million in 2021. The current unwinding of Medicaid is expected to cut some 22 million people from healthcare, including up to 7.3 million children, thousands of which have already lost coverage.

In February 2022, Democratic President Joe Biden reduced food stamps across the board affecting 42 million Americans, all of them poor and many of them children. The average per capita payment fell to $6.10 a day, or about $2 a meal.

In 2021, Democratic President Joe Biden ended the expanded Child Tax Credits, measures throwing some 30 million families into poverty.

The governments criminal disregard for the health and safety of the population during the pandemic has resulted in some 359,486 children losing a parent or primary caregiver; hundreds of thousands more suffer from the loss of other relatives and friends.

With over 96.3 percent of US children having had COVID-19 at least once, the far-ranging issues associated with Long COVID, including the alarming dangers of COVID-19 brain damage are unknown.

The combined effect of poverty, illness and death upon children is literally incalculable. The continued fall in education levels across the board is the inevitable outcome of such socially regressive measures.

The LTT scores in reading and math declined across all performance percentiles, though the largest declines were among the lowest performing students. Scores among students in the bottom 25th and 10th percentiles declined 5 and 7 points, respectively, while they declined by 3 and 4 points for students in the 90th and 75th percentiles, respectively. Math scores declined even more sharply.

NCES commissioner Peggy Carr emphasized that the lack of basic skills is troubling. Compared to the first LTT assessment in 1971, reading scores for the lowest 10th percentile have decreased by 6 points and by 1 point for the 25th percentile, while scores for the 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles have eked up by only 1, 3 and 5 points, respectively.

In May, the NCES also released results of its 2022 NAEP Report Card tests in history and civics among eighth grade students. Those results showed that average scores in history decreased by 5 points compared to 2018 and 9 points compared to 2014, bringing the average score back to the 1994 level when the test was first introduced. By the NCES standards, only 13 percent of eighth grade students are proficient in history, while 40 percent are below basic level.

In addition to the scores themselves, student surveys conducted alongside the tests show that fewer eighth grade students reported taking a class devoted to US history than in 2018. The percentage of 13-year-olds reporting that they read every day for fun has declined precipitously, a fall of 13 percentage points compared to 2012.

While the two tests administered by the NCES, the LTT and the Report Cards, are methodologically different and not directly comparable, the common backward trend highlights the serious consequences of decades of bipartisan attacks against public education. The scores indicate that in more than 50 yearstwo generationsthe literacy of 13-year-old children has not significantly improved.

In addition to the worrying trends in basic literacy and numeracy skills, the declines in civics and history are particularly significant. Carr stated that too many of our students are struggling to understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government works and the historical significance of events. As one example, 55 percent of students incorrectly answered a question which tested understanding of the electoral college in a presidential election.

In another example, only 6 percent of students completed a two-part question on the following portion of Martin Luther King, Jr.s I Have a Dream speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963: In a sense weve come to our nations capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a [promise] to which every American was to fall heir.

The students were asked to first: Identify two ideas from the Constitution and/or the Declaration of Independence that King might have been referring to in his speech. Next the students were asked to Explain why King might have referred to ideas from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in his speech.

The failure to identify Kings references to the egalitarian concepts in the founding documents of the US, including all men are created equal, is highly significant. Every major American city has a street and school named after King yet his signature speech is not known or understood enough to garner a response from 94 percent of those who took the national test.

The inability of students to respond to such questions also reflects the damaging impact of the distortions of American history and attacks on historical truth coming from all sides of the political establishment.

This includes the 1619 Project, launched in 2019 by the New York Times in line with the Democratic Party, which sought to re-write American history through the prism of a supposed unending racial struggle. Tellingly, the 1619 Project did not even refer to Martin Luther King Jr. Seeking to capitalize on the flagrant lies, distortions and omissions of The 1619 Project, the far right, centered around the former Trump administration, put forward its fascistic 1776 Report. Both documents in their own ways sought to excise the democratic and revolutionary content from the American Revolution and the Civil War and in doing so disorient and disarm the present struggles of the working class for social equality.

Just as occurred last year when the LTT assessments among 9-year-olds showed a decline in reading and math, the political establishment and corporate media have used the results to insist there will be no more school closures despite the continuing spread of COVID-19. However, commenting on reports published last year, Carr noted, Theres nothing in this data that tells us that there is a measurable difference in the performance between states and districts based solely on how long schools were closed.

The attacks against public education, public health and historical truth are all indications of the massive social and cultural retrogression at the hands of world capitalism, centered in the United States.

The fight to abolish illiteracy, eradicate disease and defend democratic rights requires a fight for socialism led by the working class.
Ex-president Donald Trump agreed Monday to post a $200,000 bond and observe restrictive conditions on his public statements and communications about the criminal case stemming from his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

Trump faces 13 felony counts, including racketeering, criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation, filing false documents and making false statements.

Three Trump lawyers met with officials of the Fulton County district attorneys office later Monday, to discuss the circumstances of his booking on the charges, which is now expected to take place on Thursday. District Attorney Fani Willis has set a Friday noon deadline for each of the 19 people indicted in the case to post bond and turn themselves in.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a visit to the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 12, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. [AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall]

Trump himself announced the Thursday booking, in a posting Monday night on his social media platform, Truth Social. Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, he wrote.

The booking will take place at the county jail. The Fulton County sheriffs office issued a news release saying that when Trump turns himself in, there will be a hard lockdown of the area surrounding the Rice Street Jail.

So far, in addition to Trump, four other co-defendants have reached bond agreements. Two lawyers for the Trump 2020 campaign, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, must post a $100,000 bond, a third lawyer, Ray Smith, faces a bond of $50,000 and Scott Hall, himself a bail bondsman, must post $10,000.

The consent bond order for Trump was signed off on by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee and co-signed by Willis and Trumps attorneys. It declares, The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.

The order goes on to say: Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community; The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.

Trump is explicitly forbidden to use social media to target any of his 18 co-defendants, the 30 unindicted co-conspirators, or any witnesses in the upcoming trial. None of the other four with bond orders issued Monday is barred from statements on social media.

This order is far more restrictive than that sought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith in the federal case against Trump on charges related to illegal efforts to overturn the election. Trump has made repeated posts on social media vilifying Smith and Judge Tanya Chutkan, the judge who will hear the case, and threatening those involved in the case against him.

His most notorious post included the threat, in all caps, IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU!

The order for attorney John Eastman, author of the bogus legal opinion that Vice President Mike Pence had the right to block certification of Democrat Joe Biden, the winner of the 2020 election, requires him to report to pre-trial supervision every 30 days. It says that Eastman shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice and shall not communicate in any way, directly or indirectly, about the facts of this case with any person known to him to be a codefendant or a witness in the case except through his or her counsel.

It is not clear what the consequences for Trump would be if the court finds that he has violated the terms of his bondas he is very likely to do within days, if not hours, of his attorneys signing off on his conduct. Legally, his bond could be forfeited, his bail revoked, and he could be taken to the Fulton County jail. Politically, that is highly unlikely.

The bond agreement came on the same day that Trump had pledged to hold a press conference in Atlanta where he would supposedly set out the evidence that the 2020 election in that state was rigged and stolen. No such evidence exists and Trump quietly canceled the press conference Friday, without making any explanation.

In addition to ducking the press conferencewhere he would have faced questions from the media about his claims about the 2020 electionTrump announced over the weekend that he would not participate in Wednesdays first debate among Republican presidential candidates, or in any future debate.

The two decisions suggest the combination of authoritarian bullying and political cowardice that define the ex-presidents character. He is effectively demanding that the Republican presidential nomination be awarded to him by right, while at the same time refusing to participate in any event where his lies about the stolen electionand myriad other political topicsmight come under fire.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the office of the special counsel filed papers Monday with the federal court opposing the motion brought by Trumps lawyers seeking an April 2026 trial date for the federal charges related to the 2020 election, including some linked indirectly to the January 6, 2021 mob assault on Capitol Hill.

Smiths office argued that such a long delay would deny the public its right to a speedy trial. They argued for their proposed January 2, 2024 trial date. Judge Tanya Chutkan has set a hearing for August 28 to schedule the trial date.
The courageous strike of 1,700 nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is in imminent danger of being betrayed. The constant parade of Democratic politicians and officials from various trade unions on the picket lines indicates that the ruling class seeks to end the strike as quickly as possible by imposing concessions on the workforce. To prevent such a defeat and to strengthen their fight, the nurses must take the leadership of the strike into their own hands and turn to the working class for support.

The main demands of the nurses at RWJUH are increased staffing and better nurse-to-patient ratios. Their other crucial demands include higher wages, a cap on health insurance costs and health benefits in retirement. These entirely legitimate demands are based on the nurses objective needs, as well as on the needs of patient safety.

These demands are universal among healthcare workers. Understaffing and inadequate wages and benefits are worldwide problems that have contributed to high levels of burnout and to a mass exodus of nurses from their profession. The root cause of this crisis is the for-profit healthcare system, which regards nurses as expenses that must be minimized, and patients as sources of revenue. The pandemic has graphically demonstrated that this arrangement is inimical to public health. Any workplace struggle on the part of nurses is inseparable from a struggle against the system of for-profit medicine.

RWJUH is the main hospital of Rutgers Universitys Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The strike is occurring at the hospitals campus in New Brunswick, but the hospital also has campuses in Somerset and Rahway that remain unaffected.

Nurses picketing in New Jersey, August 2023. [Photo: USW4-200 Local]

These hospitals are part of RWJBarnabas Health, which is the largest health care provider in New Jersey. This ostensibly not-for-profit charitable organization (a designation chiefly used as a tax write-off) has $6.6 billion in annual revenue. Barry Ostrowsky, its former CEO, was paid more than $16 million in 2022. He and his peers inhabit an entirely different social layer than the workers that they employ.

The RWJUH nurses are members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4-200. The unions policy for the strike can lead only to defeat. The USW has accepted the intervention of a federal mediator in the negotiations. Such officials are not neutral parties. As agents of the state, which represents the interests of Wall Street, federal mediators broker compromises that protect the holdings of the corporations and banks. Last year, President Joe Biden convened a board of mediators to develop a pro-company contract that Congress ultimately imposed on railroad workers.

Furthermore, the USW has not called for the strike to be expanded or appealed to other workers for support. The USW has kept nurses at the Somerset and Rahway hospitals on the job. This tactic only isolates the New Brunswick nurses and strengthens RWJUH.

The USW is encouraging the nurses to appeal to the Democrats for help. But Biden and the Democrats in Congress have repeatedly bailed out the banks and last year banned a railroad workers strike. For more than a year, the Biden administration has kept West Coast dockworkers on the job without a contract, to protect big business. In addition, the Democrats are waging a proxy war in Ukraine that threatens to become a nuclear catastrophe. At the same time, they are preparing for an even bigger war against China.

Senator Bernie Sanders has tweeted his support for the RWJUH nurses. Though nominally an independent, Sanders has systematically sought to cultivate illusions that the Democrats can be turned into a progressive party that responds to workers needs. Representative Frank Pallone also has visited the picket line and has been acting as another mediator in the dispute. In Congress, Pallone has advocated the suppression of left-wing politics on the internet and promoted anti-Chinese sentiment to buttress Washingtons war plans.

The USW also has welcomed officials from various trade unions to the picket lines. These officials maintain their lucrative positions by collaborating with the companies with which they allegedly negotiate. Representatives of the SEIU, which has just imposed an inadequate contract on 200 healthcare workers at Loretto Hospital in Chicago, came to the picket lines to support the USW.

Even more significant was the visit to New Brunswick by Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey AFLCIO. Wowkanech is a career bureaucrat who personifies the interconnection of the trade unions and the Democratic Party. He recruits workers to run for political office and serves on a labor task force assembled by Governor Phil Murphy, a multimillionaire and former financier. Ignoring the mounting evidence of a summer surge of COVID-19, Wowkanech has publicly stated that the pandemic is behind us. He fully supports the ruling-class agenda of ignoring the pandemic and exposing workers to the risks of infection and reinfection.

The RWJUH nurses cannot win their demands, which reflect their most basic needs, by appealing to the pro-corporate Democrats or to the treacherous trade union bureaucrats. These forces are actively working to defeat the strike as soon as possible. The nurses real allies are other workers, in healthcare and in every other industry. The rising cost of living and the corporations attacks on jobs are increasingly forcing these workers to fight back. It is to them that the nurses must turn for support.

The first step for the RWJUH nurses will be to wrest control of their strike from the USW leadership. The nurses must form a rank-and-file committee that is independent of the trade unions and of both capitalist parties. To break out of the isolation that the USW has imposed on them, the nurses must broaden the strike to the Somerset and Rahway campuses of RWJUH. To wage a still more powerful fight, the nurses should appeal to other healthcare workers, teachers, New Jersey Transit workers, UPS workers and all other sections of the working class who are being driven into struggle. The fight for safe staffing and better wages cannot be won without waging a battle to replace the for-profit health system with a socialist system that delivers the best medical care to all as a human right.
Turkey on Tuesday angrily denounced a United Nations Security Council statement blaming the latest unrest on the divided island of Cyprus on the breakaway government backed by Ankara.

The 15-member council's statement "is completely divorced from the realities on the ground. Rather than making any positive contribution to the issue, the statement makes the process more difficult," the Turkish foreign ministry said.

The United Nations accuses Turkish Cypriot forces of attacking peacekeepers who were attempting to block the construction of a road in the buffer zone separating the divided east Mediterranean island.

The confrontation occurred in an ethnically mixed village in the UN-patrolled area between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus in the south and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north.

The breakaway government is recognised internationally only by Turkey.

Both sides agree that four members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) were injured in the incident.

The UN statement warned that "attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law".

But Ankara accused the peacekeepers of provoking the Turkish Cypriot security personnel.

"The notification regarding the road work was made well in advance. This being the case, the physical intervention by soldiers of the UNFICYP in the road construction work was the cause of the tension," the Turkish statement said.

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President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has held an expanded meeting with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Addressing the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Shavkat Miromonovich, distinguished guests, dear friends, I am glad to welcome you to Azerbaijan.

We have already had detailed discussions on the important issues of our mutual activity. Today we will continue our meetings in an expanded format.

First of all, I would like to thank Shavkat Miromonovich for accepting my invitation and coming to Azerbaijan for a state visit. It is particularly gratifying for us that this is the first state visit after your victory in the presidential election in Uzbekistan. First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you once again on your landslide victory and thank you for paying your first visit to our country. We consider this as a sign of brotherhood and friendship, as well as your respect for Azerbaijan.

Our countries share ancient history, and this foundation serves as the basis for the development of mutual activities. It is gratifying that our cooperation in all directions is very effective and productive. I think that the interstate relations between our countries have recently reached the highest level. I remember with great pleasure my state visit to Uzbekistan and the hospitality extended to me. I also want to say that the rapid development, transformation and reforms, the transformation of your country into a strong industrial state of the Central Asian region, which I witnessed in Uzbekistan, has made a deep impression on me.

Of course, serious groundwork has already been created for bilateral cooperation in many areas. This includes our individual contacts, regular meetings in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and other places, as well as close interaction between representatives of state bodies. They are also working hard, and I think they take a good example from the presidents. They also know that, as we discussed, we will monitor progress of the implementation of all decisions, and we are doing it successfully. In our expanded meeting, we will give the floor to members of our delegations who will report to us on the work done in the fields of energy, transport and economic interaction as a whole following the meeting of the intergovernmental commission last month.

So, dear Shavkat Miromonovich, welcome again!

x x x

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at the meeting:

- Thank you, dear Ilham Heydar oglu. I sincerely thank you again for the invitation, for such kind, friendly and fraternal welcome all members of our delegation have enjoyed from the moment we set foot on Azerbaijani soil.

Of course, you rightly noted that my visit to Azerbaijan after being re-elected as President of Uzbekistan is not accidental. Because during the last three to four years, we have together raised our relations to a completely different level, and this also applied to the international plane. This is universally accepted everywhere. In my opinion, this vector of deep strategic partnership with Azerbaijan is bearing real fruit. Both the people of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are seeing this.

As I already said, 2023 has been a remarkable year. Because the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, the Great Leader, the leader of Azerbaijan, the great son of the Azerbaijani people, was held in Uzbekistan at a very high level. Of course, the memory of Heydar Alirza oglu is revered with utmost respect in Uzbekistan. In fact, I think that the people of Uzbekistan value all the work done in a completely different way. The older generation, the people who saw him, met him and worked with him, have also conveyed to the young people of Uzbekistan that Heydar Alirza oglu worked for a long time in order for Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to reach the goals set in those difficult moments of life, for the leadership of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to understand each other and to achieve a lot.

x x x

During the meeting, the ministers of foreign affairs, the chairman of the joint intergovernmental commission on cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, ministers of energy, transport and agriculture presented reports on the progress made in their respective fields.

The heads of state gave additional tasks.

Issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in political, economic, trade, industry, automobile production, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, transportation and other fields were also discussed during the meeting. In particular, the sides expressed their satisfaction with the increase of direct flights between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. It was noted that 15 flights were carried out every week.

Issues of successful cooperation within international organizations were also discussed. The sides emphasized that the decision to pass chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement on to Uzbekistan was made in Baku.




Houston may be known as a bustling metropolis, but it is also an excellent starting point for an epic road trip with your family. From charming coastal towns to picturesque countryside, there are many scenic wonders surrounding it. You can indulge in local flavors and marvel at the breathtaking landscapes. So buckle up as we bring to you the 7 best road trips from Houston. A road trip with family from this place will leave you with lasting memories.

Gulf Coast

A Sunrise over the Bay in Rockport Texas via Getty Images

Take a refreshing road trip along the Gulf of Mexico from Houston to escape city life. Start your journey in Galveston and experience the breathtaking historic architecture and the laid-back beach vibe. Seafood enthusiasts will also find this place to be a haven. As you continue to drive along the Gulf Coast, you can revel in the tranquility of quaint coastal towns like Rockport. You can soak up the sun on pristine beaches, go fishing, or even glimpse playful dolphins.

New Orleans

road trip from Houston

For a taste of Southern charm and vibrant nightlife, your next road- trip will take you on a five-hour drive east to the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana. You can sample delicious Creole cuisine and groove to the soulful jazz melodies in the French Quarter. Dont forget to immerse yourself in the world-renowned Mardi Gras festivities. New Orleans offers a unique blend of history, music, and culinary delights that will leave you spellbound. Perfect, isnt it?

San Antonio

San Antonio Riverwalk at Night via Getty Images

Are you searching for a mix of historical, cultural, and adventurous experiences? Look no further than the road trip to San Antonio. Just a few hours drive from Houston, youll arrive at the bustling city steeped in Texan charm. Visit the iconic Alamo, stroll along the famous River Walk, and savor mouthwatering Tex-Mex cuisine. For the thrill-seekers, a visit to Six Flags Fiesta Texas or a relaxing boat ride at the Natural Bridge Caverns will surely get your adrenaline pumping.

Big Bend National Park

If you crave vast wilderness and stunning landscapes, a road trip to Big Bend National Park is necessary. As you journey west from Houston, the flat plains gradually transform into rugged mountains and deep canyons. Marvel at the majestic Rio Grande, hike through stunning desert trails and soak in the beauty of the bright starry skies. Dont forget to visit the historic Terlingua Ghost Town and treat yourself to some mouthwatering Texas barbecue along the way! This is one road trip from Houston that you wont regret.

Austin

Road trip from Houston

Heading north for our second road trip, we find ourselves in Austin, the state capital and live music epicenter. Just a three-hour drive from Houston, Austin is a vibrant city known for its thriving music scene, cultural diversity, and mouthwatering culinary experiences. Enjoy the music in the streets, try the tasty food from trucks, and swim in the cool Barton Springs Pool. Get ready to witness the undeniable charm of the Live Music Capital of the World!

Galveston Island

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier is a Pleasure pier in Galveston via Getty Images

Just an hour away lies the beautiful Galveston Island, where sun, sand, and sea await your family. As you drive across the gorgeous causeway, you will be welcomed by pristine beaches, historic charm, and a vibrant, full-of-life coastal community. Explore the iconic Pleasure Pier and delve into the islands rich history at the Moody Mansion. For food enthusiasts in the family, there is a variety of fresh seafood available at local eateries. With so many attractions and activities, Galveston Island is a must-visit destination for a road trip from Houston.

Texas Hill Country

Immerse yourself in the splendor of Texas Hill Country on a breathtaking road trip that showcases rolling hills and quaint small towns. Take a dip in the refreshing waters of the stunning Hamilton Pool Preserve or sample award-winning wines in the vineyards of the Fredericksburg Wine Road 290. You can also indulge in mouthwatering barbecue at the legendary Salt Lick BBQ. As you drive through scenic routes, youll definitely fall in love with the rolling hills and incredible vistas of Texas Hill Country.

Houston, Texas, proves to be an excellent starting point for exploring the wonders that surround it. Whether youre seeking coastal beauty, charming small towns, or untamed wilderness, the top 7 road trips from Houston will undoubtedly satisfy your wanderlust. So, fuel up your car, hit the road to create unforgettable memories, and embark on an epic adventure youll treasure forever. Happy road-tripping!

Read to know The 10 Best Family-Friendly Activities in Houston.

The post 7 Must-Experience Road Trips from Houston, Texas appeared first on Momtastic.
Bethenny Frankel is back on the mic after sparking controversy with her three-part conversation with Raquel Leviss.

What a whirlwind. Interviewing Rachel, going viral, breaking the internet. So many rumors, so many press articles, and it's unsettling, to be honest, the 52-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alum began on her Just B podcast on Tuesday, August 22. She's gotten a lot of hate in the world and I'm taking on a lot of that hate now. And it's been really interesting because I'm proud of myself for not caring really that much.

Frankels interview with Leviss, 28, marked the first time the Vanderpump Rules star has spoken out since she completed 90 days of mental health treatment following the backlash of her affair with Tom Sandoval. Frankel  who has been vocal in recent weeks about reality stars not receiving residuals amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes  faced criticism from fans for not completely understanding Scandoval after she confessed that she didnt watch complete episodes of Vanderpump Rules before her interview with Leviss. Other listeners accused her of capitalizing on Leviss trauma despite alleging the producers and networks are doing the same.

Some people say to me, Oh, wow, is Andy [Cohen] mad you're doing this? Have you spoken to him? And I say, I have not, but I'm sure he is. And this is not a target on Andy. This is not a target on Bravo. This is about a systemic issue in the entertainment industry, Frankel said.

Leviss, who confirmed during the interview that she wouldnt be back for season 11, told Frankel last week that she opted to talk to her because shes using her case as an example of exploitation on reality TV.

John Nacion/Getty Images; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

People have come and said, Oh, aren't you a hypocrite? Frankel continued before referencing reports that she pitched a series about Connecticut moms to Bravo six months ago. Im a hypocrite because there was a show that I was talking [about]  I was never talking to Bravo, by the way. I was talking to a production company. I spoke to Andy one time, but he wasn't even working on this project. And I spoke to a production company and Bravo was the most logical place that this project would live about Connecticut. And a couple of months ago, I decided I didn't wanna do it anymore.

Frankel claimed she opted against the project because it wasnt really that well thought out.

And I didn't know that I would even talk about this reality reckoning or have a problem with exploitation, she continued. I didn't really think about it.

Frankel first appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005 before joining RHONY in 2008.

I didn't allow myself to be exploited because I also was in a power position, she said of her own reality TV experience. When you are a rainmaker, you make money, you make ratings, you're not as exploited as other people who don't really have a vote and a voice.

Frankel went on to address speculation that she didnt pay Leviss for the podcast.

People are saying, Oh, I should be paying her. They're trying to say that I'm exploiting her for ratings to live on the rest of her life.  Whether I paid her or not, how do you know what I did? How do you know what I'm doing with her? Frankel said. Nobody knows what I'm really doing. But I love the speculation and the thing that people don't realize, particularly on TikTok, but definitely social media in general, bring it on. I love it. We're No. 1 worldwide. We're having a conversation with a woman who hasn't been able to get a conversation out unedited and everyone thinks that they saw everything on this television show.
Billy McFarland  the founder of the fraudulent Fyre Festival  has followed through on his promise to announce a follow-up to the 2017 festival.

"Fyre Festival II tickets are officially on sale," McFarland announced in a video Monday. "It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during a seventh-month stint in solitary confinement. I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre and how it would take my ability bring people from around the world together to make the impossible happen."

The business entrepreneur added that the Fyre Festival II will be returning to the Caribbean. "In the meantime, we'll be doing pop-ups and events across the world. Guys, this is your chance to get in. This is everything I've been working towards."

McFarland's ambitious plan comes a year after he was released early from prison to a halfway house in New York City after he was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2018 for defrauding Fyre Festival investors.

Fyre Festival II is selling tickets without a venue or date

McFarland may be taking a page from his past with the announcement of Fyre Festival II. Like his first attempt, this announcement does not provide details on an exact Caribbean country for the festival, a confirmed venue, a date or a musical lineup.

"FF II is targeted for the end of 2024 in the Caribbean.* The FYRE Festival Pre-Sale FYRE Pass gets you 1 ticket to FYRE Festival II, as well as immediate VIP access to FYRE Events, Experiences, and Community," the website states.

In a disclaimer, the website adds: "FFII date subject to change. Pre-events and pop-ups to be announced, but FYRE will host a minimum of 4 events prior to FFII."

Tickets for the presale range from $499 for the first 100 tickets sold to $7,999 for the final presale.

FILE - In this March 6, 2018 file photo, Billy McFarland, the promoter of the failed Fyre Festival in the Bahamas, leaves federal court after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges in New York. A federal judge has given McFarland a six-year prison term. McFarland was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 11 in Manhattan federal court. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald called him a serial fraudster. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) ORG XMIT: NYCD402

Billy McFarland sells out first batch of Fyre Festival II tickets

Shortly following McFarland's announcement, Fyre Festival II has already sold out its first 100 tickets, according to the festival's official website. The remaining tickets will be sold across several upcoming presales.

Despite the festival's strong start, many social media users have brought up its predecessor's failure as a deterrent from purchasing.

"How can you have a part 2 if the first one never went down?" one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

On Instagram, a social media user commented, "Third time scamming is crazy. Your hustle inspires me though."

"500 bucks careful billy the feds are watching," another added.

Who is Billy McFarland? He was found guilty of fraud for 2017 Fyre Festival

During McFarland's case, the entrepreneur acknowledged he defrauded investors of $26 million in the 2017 Fyre Festival and over $100,000 in a fraudulent ticket-selling scheme after his arrest in the scam.

The festival, billed as an ultra-luxurious event and the cultural experience of the decade, was supposed to take place over two spring 2017 weekends on the Bahamian island of Exuma. Models and celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski had promoted it on social media.

Customers, who paid $1,200 to over $100,000 hoping to see Blink-182 and the hip-hop act Migos, arrived to learn musical acts were canceled. Their luxury accommodations and gourmet food consisted of leaky white tents and packaged food, prompting attendees to lash out on social media with the hashtag #fyrefraud.

In August 2020, the U.S. Marshals announced that 126 items from the festival would be auctioned off, with proceeds going toward the victims of McFarland.

Fyre Festival documentaries on Netflix and Hulu brought attention to Billy McFarland's fraud case

The scandal was amplified after Netflix documentary "Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened" and Hulu's "Fyre Fraud" aired in 2019.

It advertised the festival would be on Normans Cay, a Bahaman island it touted as once owned by Pablo Escobar.

However, as "Fyre" laid out, promoting that the island was once owned by the Colombian drug lord violated McFarland's land agreement. So McFarland had to find a new location for his festival after the video was released.

Both documentaries agree that the twenty-something promoter landed on the nearby Bahamian island Great Exuma only a few weeks before the festival, failing to factor in that it didn't have the necessary infrastructure for several hundred people, namely enough plumbing for everyone.

Billy McFarland says he's planning another Fyre Festival. Why some can't wait.

Billy McFarland was involved in another scam shortly after Fyre Festival

After Fyre Fest failed and McFarland was charged with wire fraud (later he was also charged with bank fraud and giving false statements to a law enforcement officer), he started a new scam: NYC VIP.

This time, as both documentaries tell it, McFarland used the email list of people who had purchased Fyre Fest passes to offer them tickets to the Met Gala and Victorias Secret Fashion Show.

He did not have access to those tickets. No one has access to those tickets.

No matter: As "Fyre" discloses, a few email recipients sent him over $100,000 for tickets, apparently duped again. He eventually pleaded guilty to both the Fyre Fest-related charges and those brought against him for NYC VIP.

Contributing: Carly Mallenbaum and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY

Fyre Festival fraudster Billy McFarland released from federal prison early

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fyre Festival 2: Early tickets for Billy McFarland's event sell out
The ongoing renaissance in the Indonesian film industry will be celebrated at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival.

Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world, is rapidly expanding with a boom in screen count and with homegrown productions capturing the majority of the market share. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies to nurture the film industrys growth and foster emerging Indonesian filmmakers.

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Featured at Busan will be six features, five shorts and a series. The first two episodes of Netflixs Cigarette Girl by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, which delves into the life of a female protagonist entwined with the 1960s Indonesian cigarette industry, will world premiere at the festival.

Another world premiere, 24 Hours with Gaspar by Yosep Anggi Noen (2020 Locarno winner The Science of Fictions), follows Gaspar, a dilettante detective working on a mass slaughter case involving the government, in which he encounters an informant who gives him a hint towards the mysterious disappearance of his childhood friend, Kirana, which points him towards Wan Ali, a human-trafficking crook. The film participated in the 2022 Asian Project Market at Busan.

Sara by Ismail Basbeth, which navigates the conflicts faced by a transgender woman within her family and community, will also have its world premiere at Busan as will Nirartha Bas Diwangkaras short Where the Wild Frangipanis Grow.

The work of Indonesian horror maestro Joko Anwar will be celebrated with Bucheon winner Impetigore (2019). Other films featured include Mouly Suryas 2013 Rotterdam winner What They Dont Talk About When They Talk About Love, Edwins 2017 Citra Awards winner Posesif and B.W. Purba Negaras 2017 Asean International Film Festival winner Tales of the Otherwords.

Featured shorts include Khozy Rizals 2023 Cannes selection Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy, M. Reza Fahriyansas 2022 Locarno selection Dancing Colors, Tumpal Tampubolons 2021 Busan winner The Sea Calls For Me and Bayu Prihantoro Filemons Vania on Lima Street (2022).

The Renaissance of Indonesian Cinema program is backed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of Indonesia. Directors and actors from each featured film are scheduled to visit Busan and participate in several events.

The 28th Busan International Film Festival takes place Oct. 4-13. The 18th Asian Contents & Film Market runs Oct. 7-10.

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Carol Vorderman has called for a discussion about making euthanasia legal in the UK.

Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering of those who are typically terminally ill or in an irrversible coma.

It is currently illegal in the UK, but different countries have different laws around it.

As of 2023, euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal (awaiting regulation), Spain and Australia.

The former Countdown star, 62, shared her own thoughts on it while a guest on the latest episode of Kathy Burkes Where Theres A Will, Theres A Wake podcast.

Carol Vorderman opened up on the controversial subject while a guest on Kathy Burkes Where Theres A Will, Theres A Wake podcast (Sony Music)

The controversial subject came up because Vodermans brother lives in Holland where euthanasia is legal and he had told her about a terminally ill friend who had decided to go down that route.

My brothers lived in Holland for a long time, and he said to me last year, oh, Im over in Amsterdam on Tuesday [] because were going to Daves funeral. Now, Dave was his friend whod worked at Shell all around the world. [Dave] was an engineer and [my brother] said were having a party, she explained to Burke.

[I said,] What? He said, So were all gathering, all these people were going to have a party with Dave. I said, what do you mean? [And] Euthanasia is allowed [in Holland], right? And [Dave] had terminal cancer and had decided that [he wanted Euthanasia]. So, they had the party [and] the next day, Dave died.

The same people then went [to the funeral]. I thought, how dignified and wonderful that was.

Burke agreed that it sounded a more dignified way to go, with Vorderman then admitting that she would consider it herself if in a silmilar position, especially having withnessed the death of her beloved mum Jean in 2017 after her fourth battle with cancer.

Carol Vorderman spoke about the impact of watching her beloved mum Jean (pictured to her left) die from cancer had on her (Twitter @carolvorders)

It really made me think a lot about [how] I would want similar, to be perfectly honest, she said. You know, not joking about it, having seen my mums last breath... I just thought that was very dignified.

Burke suggested I think its something we need to look into more and more, in this country.

Its not allowed here, confirmed Voderman.

Its not allowed, echoed Burke, And I sort of understand the reasons as well, why people are so nervous of it. You know, but it should be brought up again and again.

I do. I think it is something that should be discussed, concluded Vorderman.

Where Theres A Will Theres A Wake is available to listen to on all podcast platforms.
Richard Hunts studio is a repository of creativity that can give one whiplash. Upon entering the Lill Avenue cavernous structure, one sees light, shadows, books, cardboard and metal ready to be metamorphosed into something transcendental. Artistic works are in progress, and an artist like Hunt is always in process amid pictures and maquettes of his earlier works with metal.

Visitors cant help but notice the books that sit on Hunts shelves in the office (ones that focus on art history, African American art) and his 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (the Oscars of sculpture). At the rear of the work floor is an enclosed loft space that Hunt used as his living area until a couple of years ago. In the front of the workspace rests a proclamation from the Commissioners Court of Bexar County, Texas, citing Hunts participation in integrating the San Antonio Woolworths lunch counter in 1960 (reportedly one of seven to do so peacefully and voluntarily).

Hunt, an Englewood native, has made a mark on the world, as shown in the 2022 book, Richard Hunt by LeRonn Brooks, Jordan Carter, Adrienne Childs, Jon Ott and John Yau. The almost 400-page tome charts Hunts trajectory as an artistic force. He began taking formal art classes at the Junior School of the Art Institute and eventually became one of our greatest living artists, producing commissions for the Obama Presidential Center (Book Bird), creating The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument in Bronzeville and now a 15-foot stainless steel piece that will sit adjacent to the Emmett Till/Mamie Till-Mobley historic home.

Hunt has 16 honorary degrees, nine of which are from Illinois institutions, and now, he can add one more award to his 70-year career: the Chicago Public Library Foundation Arts Award, an honor that celebrates the power and impact of Chicagos artistic community.

Richard Hunt has this amazing sculpture at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library called Jacobs Ladder, said Rica Estrada-Bouso, Chicago Public Library Foundations marketing director. Its an amazing focal point of the library. We recently had an arts award added to our lineup of honorees, expanding from literature, doing civic awards and arts awards. Obviously one of the foremost people we have is Richard Hunt, who has had sculptures all over the world and singularly made the most number of contributions in public art across America.

Hunts contribution to public art in the United States consists of over 150 public sculpture commissions. With names like Chi-Town Totem, Sculptural Enlightenment, We Will, and Uplifted, a tourist can get an education about Hunt just by traveling through Chicagoland. His Swing Low greets you when entering the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a gift to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Per Ott, Hunt has done works throughout his lifetime about freedom, emancipation, flight and ascension. Ott says Hunt is a bibliophile who collects and reads books voraciously. He also reads about five or six newspapers every day.

And his inspiration is music, which is primarily classical. Hes been a big fan of Baroque music his whole life, also jazz and has some pieces named after jazz movements, Ott said. Richard is the most academic, modern artist of his time. Theres nobody more academic than Richard Hunt. The guy is a lot more than just a sculptor. As a self-taught artist, he has one foot in the history of Western art and one foot in African art.

Richard did a piece on the Underground Railroad called Pass Thru at the University of Kentucky Art Museum in 1992. And its just a few blocks away from the underground railroad stop in Lexington, Kentucky, Ott said. If you look at Richards monuments, theyve been done all throughout his life, but you can trace the whole history of the African diaspora from pieces that he did ... Name an aspect of African American history, and hes done a monument on it in his life.

Hunts prowess with bronze, brass, stainless steel, scrap metal and corten steel is so monumental, a book of the same name, Richard Hunt: Monumental was published this year. The hardback features the intense expression of Hunts face.

When asked about the visage, Hunt says: Well, it just happened to be one of those days.

87 years young, Hunts hands are a work of art. While the world is all about branding, Hunt is humble.

As Hunt states in his monograph, Artists have a unique opportunity to make a difference ... to look and work toward the future. We have the job of creating new ideas and visions for the future and Im pleased to be a part of that.

This is an attempt to capture lightning in a bottle with an icon. He said in his artists statement: It is one thing to make art that is a portrait, but for something like the Middle Passage or Emmett Till , you want to develop art that is not a portrait of Emmett Till but something that projects his life, ideas and ideals beyond his lifetime. The following conversation with Hunt and Ott has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How are we just now getting a book about your life?

Hunt: Well, you have to live it first. Those things take time.

Q: Thoughts on your award from the Chicago Public Library?

Hunt: Its interesting because my mother was a librarian. A big, big thing for us was going to the library and getting books.

Q: Youve done so many works. Do you have a favorite?

Hunt: When youve done a lot of things, its hard to say well, this is it. Im very interested to be doing the Emmett Till piece. The idea of  doing a piece to draw attention to him is important because it goes back to an earlier generation that we both came out of.

Q: How do you encapsulate monumental people like Ida B. Wells and Emmett Till in one piece?

Hunt: I would say it comes forward to me as Im working on it.

Ott: Richard does deep, deep readings. When he was doing The Ida B. Wells, Id come visit Richard and hed have a stack of seven different books on Ida B. Wells  lynching, photographs and history. Its the same thing with Emmett Till. If you were at his apartment, hes got a stack of books on Emmett Till and things because hes working on that piece. Hes in the moment but he has all that history in his head while his hands are touching the metal.

And during the pandemic, a book came out about Richard. It was the first time Richard talked about the fact that he was at the open-casket funeral. It also was the same summer that Richard learned how to weld. So Richards career started at the same time that he saw Emmett Till, who lived four blocks away from the house that Richard was born in in Woodlawn. Heroes Head, (welded steel) is the head of Emmett Till  he lost an eyeball, the skull is cracked, the face is smashed in on one side, he did this in 1956 a few months after he saw the open casket funeral of Emmett Till.

One of the things that Richard said before is, that could have been Richard because Richard, just like Emmett, went back to Georgia, to see his fathers side of the family, who was raised up a sharecropper. Richard said that could have been me because Emmett was just going to a corner store like Richard did so many times. Richard was a young man trying to figure out what to do, he was 19 and saw this person mutilated, lynched, tortured and killed sitting in front of him. Wouldnt that change you if you were 19 and saw that face to face? It changed the world.

Some of his pieces are studied. For much of his career, he did many, many sketches. Hes also a draftsman and wonderful in two dimensions, which a lot of sculptors cannot say. He would plan his pieces that way, but sometimes he does pieces which he would call more improvisational, like jazz, where hes just picking up material. Hes inspired by the sculptural shapes and hes adding to them, putting them together, and thats why he uses this term hybrid throughout a lot of his work because hes hybridizing things, taking multiple different influences, putting them all together in the same piece. But even with all those influences, you look over the history, its about freedom, a lot of times its about flight which is freedom from gravity, which is freedom in the biblical sense, freedom, ascension. That all changed when he saw Emmett Tills funeral.

Q: Do you ever say Im retiring?

Hunt: No. I like coming here every day.

Q: Do you ever take a day off?

Hunt: Not if I dont have to.

Q: Is there anything left on your to do list?

Hunt: Im just moving along, working on this one day and another piece another day 

Q: Any advice for the next round of artists?

Hunt: One of the things about being an artist is you can go your own way. Some people have a different approach to what they want to produce. They dont have the relationship to a plan where the sculpture relates to some environment. Me doing something for Emmett Till, thats one thing of putting something together and having a relationship with the environment. Its not just making a nice sculpture.

The Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards will be hosted by Bill Kurtis on Oct. 24, more information at cplfoundation.org. Highlights from the awards ceremony will be released on YouTube Nov. 1.

drockett@chicagotribune.com
A cockroach is going viral in China after it was filmed crawling inside a plane window.

The passenger who took the video said it remained at her window for her entire flight.

A staff member said it's likely that the cockroach crawled up from the aircraft's cargo hold.

A cockroach stowing away on a plane has gone viral after a passenger filmed it crawling inside a window.

The passenger, identified only by her last name as Guo, was flying in China from Ningbo, Zhejiang to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan on Wednesday when she said she saw a large cockroach in the window next to her, per local outlet Jimu News.

Guo thought the roach would only stick around for about "two minutes," and said she didn't tell any flight attendants about it, Jimu News reported.

"I didn't expect it to still be there after flying 3,000 kilometers. But I couldn't tell if it's outside the window or in the window's inner layer," Guo said.

In a video shot by Guo, the roach can be seen wiggling up and down while the plane cruises above the clouds.

The airline Guo was flying with was not named, but Jimu News wrote that a representative of the carrier confirmed the cockroach in the video was crawling between the window's layers of glass.

The staff said it was likely the roach was in the aircraft's cargo or luggage hold, and then climbed up to the window.

In an interview published by Boiling Point Videos, Guo said she found the cockroach "very entertaining" and spent the flight observing the unlikely passenger.

Guo's video went viral on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, and posts on the topic were viewed over 120 million times, per data seen by Insider.

"They can even survive above 10,000 meters?" one person commented with a crying emoji.

"As expected of the strong roach," another person wrote.

Read the original article on Insider
Critics have accused the British state of double standards and corruption after the police dropped a corruption investigation into King Charles former valet, who allegedly offered a wealthy Saudi donor an honor and help with obtaining a British passport in return for donations to the then Prince of Wales pet causes.

Despite the existence of a letter purportedly from Michael Fawcett (who was then chief executive of the Princes Foundation) to an aide of a wealthy Saudi businessman, police said Monday that no further action was going to be taken.

The news has been greeted with outrage by critics and relief by Charles circle, who have always said Charles would have known nothing about the offer made to Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz by Fawcett. Fawcett started his career as Charles valet and became the object of ridicule after it was reported he had squeezed toothpaste onto the young princes toothbrush after he broke his arm in a polo game.

On Aug. 18, 2017, Fawcett allegedly wrote to Busief Lamlum, an aide to Bin Mahfouz, who had donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to charities operating under Charles aegis, saying: In light of the ongoing and most recent generosity of His Excellency I am happy to confirm to you, in confidence, that we are willing and happy to support and contribute to the application for Citizenship.

I can further confirm that we are willing to make [an] application to increase His Excellencys honour from Honorary CBE to that of KBE in accordance with Her Majestys Honours Committee.

Both of these applications will be made in response to the most recent and anticipated support [of] The Trust, and in connection with his ongoing commitment generally within the United Kingdom. I hope that this confirmation is sufficient in allowing us to go forward.

The letters existence was reported by the Mail on Sunday in November 2021 and within hours of its publication Fawcett had resigned from his role at the Princes Trust.

After the letter was published, a complaint was made to the police by former MP and cabinet minister Norman Baker. Investigations proceeded slowly and the king was never interviewed despite saying he was willing to co-operate.

On Monday, the police quietly announced that they would not be proceeding with the investigation. They did not say why.

Baker condemned the decision not to proceed as evidence of corruption and double standards.

He told The Daily Beast: Its an open and shut case. People were condemned out of their own mouths. The letter said, give us some money, and well help you with your application for citizenship and a further honor. I mean, that that was there in black and white.

I think the U.K., sadly, is more corrupt than it used to be. And I think its also a place where vested interests are not challenged as much as they should be. The fact that people get away with it has probably encouraged others. There is a message here; that if youre an important person, and you have got friends in the right places, then you can get away with things.

He said a normal person would have gotten a very different result.

Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, an organization that campaigns for the abolition of the monarchy, told The Daily Beast: If you look at the letter from Michael Fawcett, the evidence couldnt be clearer. He was very clearly and explicitly saying, We will help you get an honour in response to the donation. And that donation was made to a charity that helps to maintain Dumfries House.

Fawcett couldnt possibly promise an honour without the knowledge and support of Charles. So the notion that the police would drop the investigation without having even spoken to Charles is absurd, Smith said.

I think Charles will have learned a helpful lesson from this, which is that he can do what he likes without any fear of consequences.

This is not the first time the Met have ignored accusations against the royals. When Charles was accused of having received 3 million in cash from a Qatari politician, for example, the police should have investigated that, because there are laws about bringing money into the country, and there are laws around money laundering. But they just ignored it.

And, of course, Virginia Roberts reported Andrew to the Met many years ago, and they ignored that as well, he said. I think it reflects very badly on the royals. Charles is someone who clearly has no concerns about living by the standards that the rest of us have to live by.

The police inquiry was launched after media published a series of letters between Fawcett and fixers and representatives for Mahfouzs.

Mahfouz has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He has been a major donor to Charles charities and has a forest named for him him, the Mahfouz Wood, at the Castle of Mey in Scotland. He is believed to have donated close to $2 million to Charles-related charities.

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On their shared birthday of 18 August, Ohio couple Jose Ervin Jr and his fiancee Scierra Blair welcomed fraternal twins, A-ria and Jose Ervin III.

The Cleveland Clinic posted a sweet tribute to the couple on Instagram, expressing their well wishes in a caption: Congratulations to Scierra and Jose on their sweet, healthy babies!

When Blair reportedly went into labour on Thursday, a day before her and Ervin Jrs birthday, the couple decided to wait until midnight so that their children could share the special day with them each year. The 31-year-old father explained to WABI News: They were going to bring them in on 17 August, so we said, Lets just wait until midnight.

The young mother was originally due at the end of the month, but they arrived much earlier, without being induced. The twins unique due date, however, wasnt the only unexpected curveball thrown at the couple. According to FOX TV, when Blair began to go into labour, doctors discovered that the babies were breached and advised the couple that they should go with a C-section.

Initially, Ervin Jr begged Blair to hold off on the C-section until 18 August, so that their children could be born on the same day as them. He explained to FOX TV, Blair was unsure and didnt "really didnt want it [at first].

The doctors ultimately performed the procedure after midnight. At Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Cleveland, the young mother first gave birth to Jose Ervin III at 12.35am and little A-ria arrived a minute later.

A-ria was five pounds and I believe two ounces, he was I believe five pounds and five ounces, Erwin Jr revealed to ABC News Cleveland. Ervin Jr never considered the possibility of their children being born on the same day as them when he first learned of the pregnancy. All the same, the young father marveled at his unique new family: I never met a family with kids that all have the same birthday.

"Its a dream come true, honestly," he gushed to FOX TV. The father explained that he felt like it was fated, "It was very unique, and its a blessing honestly. I didnt know what I was going to be doing for my birthday. I just said I wanted a good gift, and God sent me my kids on my birthday."

When the couple first met, they were both shocked that they shared the same birthday.

She showed me her ID and I was like, what, thats crazy! Ervin Jr told ABC News Cleveland. And I never met somebody with the same birthday as me.

Now that the whole family shares a birthday, the father excitedly told FOX TV that birthdays are going to be a banger from here on out." He added: "Its going to be nothing but love and fun from here on out."
Donald Trump said that he would head to Atlanta on Thursday to turn himself in to face charges in his most recent indictment in Georgia.

Trump and 18 others were indicted on racketeering and other charges related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

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He wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History. In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for Murder, but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL! She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Bidens DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Willis, the district attorney who brought the charges, set a deadline of noon on Friday for the defendants in the case to voluntarily surrender. Others facing charges include Trumps attorney, Rudy Giuliani , and his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

Trumps bond is being set at $200,000. The bond order places a number of restrictions on Trump, including that he shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community. The condition includes posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.

Trump will be turning himself in to face criminal charges for the fourth time since last spring. He also is charged in New York on state charges related to payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels, in federal court in Florida on charges related to his refusal to turn over classified government documents, and in federal court in Washington, D.C. on charges related to his effort to remain in power after the 2020 election.

His arrest on Thursday will come one day after the first Republican presidential debate. Trump said that he will not attend the event, and there are reports that he will instead sit for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

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Sisters Alisa Lawrence and Nilaja Young are celebrating Black women with their New England Sweetwater Farm and Distillery. Formerly working in the music and medical industries, the ladies embarked on a divine journey which found them acquiring Streetwater in 2020 from their cousin Robert Patton-Spruill.

Patton-Spruill founded the New England Sweetwater Farm and Distillery in 2015, using his grandfathers teachings and wisdom to jumpstart and preserve a family legacy. The Brooklynites commitment to the distillery found them leaving their previous careers behind to help build a family legacy for the next generation. Speaking to VIBE, the sisters revealed why it was time to make a move to Winchester, New Hampshire, for their family legacy.

What motivated Alisa and I, along with our spouses, to dedicate ourselves to this company was to continue the legacy that our cousin Rob started as well as to start a new chapter of our lives post-pandemic, Young said. The pandemic most certainly played a part in our decision, as we were all unemployed and in limbo, but we were already working towards creating our own family legacy by educating ourselves on how to purchase real estate for investment purposes. When the opportunity to take over the distillery was presented to us, it was a no-brainer for us to do just that, especially when we quickly realized that we had something extra special that people loved, which were premium, quality spirits.

Without them, we are nothing, We honor our familial roots daily, making the spirits using recipes handed down from our ancestors and by curating and nurturing their beliefs in quality over quantity, Lawrence added.

New England Sweetwater Farm and Distillerys products are all crafted using local ingredients. Based on the product, These components are fermented for four to 20 days and then distilled on the grain. At Sweetwater Farm, their company grows an array of fruits, including blueberries, heirloom cider apples, and juniper berries.

As for their current selection of spirits, their lineup will get customers in the summer mood. Such offerings include the Libation Pineapple Mint Mojito, Lemon Drop, Bloody Mary, and the Kingfish Rum Punch, a favorite among the sisters. Additionally, the company offers Clark & Chesterfield BBQ sauce crafted with their Maple Whiskey.

But, much as the brand is about continuing its family legacy with tasty spirits, its also set on celebrating and advocating for Black women in the industry. The sisters hope to inspire other Black people to go out and follow their dreamsno matter what the field is.

Our brand celebrates Black womens excellence by highlighting and supporting our fellow Black Women Entrepreneurs of all kinds, Young explains. We hope our brand inspires and encourages diversity in the spirits field and beyond by continuing community engagement, such as sponsoring events, supporting educational programs, and participating in mentorship opportunities, as well as offering scholarships and/or internships specifically targeted at underrepresented groups in the spirits industry, providing opportunities for growth and development.

One thing we hope to change in the spirits business is that just by making everyone aware of our existence and story, it inspires people to take a leap out on faith and follow their dreams, or even take a risk or two, Lawrence said. There are very few black-owned spirits, but there are even fewer distillers  and even fewer women and women of color for that matter. So, its special for us to tell this story because it shows anything is possible.

And they have continued to make the impossible possible. In 2022, Alisa Lawrence and Nilaja Youngs Clark & Chesterfield American Single Malt Whiskey was awarded a Silver Medal Award in San Franciscos World Spirits Competition. Previously their Ashuelot Gin snagged a Silver Medal in 2016s American Craft Spirits Awards.

As for their future, theyre looking to expand their brand globally. The sisters have plans to keep the positive vibes (and alcohol) flowing as they evolve as a company and, hopefully, become a market mainstay. 10 years from now, we hope to see our brand go from regional to national and internationally known and sold. We would like to know that we have built a brand that has a loyal and respectable customer base and is recognized as one of the best Whiskey brands in the market, Young said.

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New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Monday advised candidates in the first GOP debate on how to attack front-runner Donald Trump, who wont even be there.

In a New York Times opinion piece, Sununu touted his status as the governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state and said he wanted to narrow the field to unite voters away from the former president and endorse the best alternative to Trump.

Sununu wrote that a debate victory for the participants on Wednesday in Milwaukee hinges on going after the former president, who is shackled by four indictments.

To win, they must break free of Mr. Trumps drama, step out of his shadow, go on offense, attack, and present their case. Then they need to see if they can catch fire this fall  and if they cant, they need to step aside, because winnowing down the field of candidates is the single best chance to stop Mr. Trump, said Sununu, a frequent critic of Trump.

Too much is at stake for us to have wishful candidacies, he added. While the other Republican candidates are running to save America, Mr. Trump is running to save himself.

Sununu complimented the compelling stories of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina but said they have to be willing to confront Trump. He praised Chris Christies boldness in criticizing Trump but recommended that the former New Jersey governor widen his message.

He pointed out New Hampshires role as a harbinger for securing the nomination  the victor in the GOP primary there has won the nomination in each contest over the past 20 years.

Once the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire are presented a clear alternative to Mr. Trump, his path forward darkens, and the Republican Partys future begins to take shape, he wrote. The rest of the country needs to see not just that the emperor has no clothes, but that the Republican Party is able to refocus the conversation where it needs to be, on a nominee dedicated to saving America.

Sununu has been a frequent critic of Trump. He recently said Trump drones on about his legal grievances in public instead of telling supporters how hell solve the countrys problems, which is what all the other candidates are doing.

Sununu also went after some Trump disciples who heckled former Vice President Mike Pence recently in New Hampshire. Angry, unhinged Trump supporters? I dont think anyones surprised to see it, Sununu told CNN in an interview.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, pictured at an NRA event in April 2023, wants to narrow the GOP field to defeat front-runner Donald Trump.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, pictured at an NRA event in April 2023, wants to narrow the GOP field to defeat front-runner Donald Trump.

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Flash flood warnings cover tens of millions of people in the southwestern United Statesincluding Los Angelesas Hilary leaves a historic mark on the region. Now post-tropical, Hilary will still bring life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding through the day on Monday.

The storms prolific moisture will flow north into Canada through the week, fuelling rain chances from British Columbia right through to Quebec.

Unfortunately, the rain wont be enough to fully stifle the fires raging throughout B.C., which have forced thousands to flee their homes and sent air quality plummeting to dangerous levels.

BC air quality Aug 21 2023

RELATED: Canada next in line for Hilarys rains after historic U.S. impacts

Significant fires burning near Kelowna and Kamloops have contributed to atrocious air quality readings throughout the region, forcing residents to stay inside or wear quality masks to avoid harm from the air pollution.

Air quality is beginning to show some subtle signs of improvement with the approach of a trough from the south. The increasing cloud cover will make for less aggressive wildfire activity over the next couple of days, limiting the amount of smoke and fine-particulate produced.

BC low level smoke Aug 21 2023 PM update

The smoke limited daytime highs on Monday, with the hot spot being Pemberton at 26.4C. Temperatures will continue to dip below seasonal by Tuesday before another warm-up lurks on the horizon to finish off August.

Looking ahead at Hilarys remnants

We saw some clouds and rain push into Western Canada during the day Sunday as the far-reaching outflow from Hilary vents over the region.

A strong jet stream swooping over the western half of North America is giving the storm a boost, helping extend its reach from Mexico to Alberta and beyond.

Heat Dome Hilary

The storms tropical moisture will continue flowing north long after the system itself falls apart over California on Monday. This plume of moisture aloft will meet with a disturbance over Western Canada by the middle of the week, bringing a chance for scattered thunderstorms and rainfall to portions of central B.C. and Alberta.

Baron - BC rain - Aug21

While some areas will see 20-40 mm of rain by mid-week, the bulk of the rain will miss communities where crews are struggling to get a leg up on out-of-control fires burning through B.C.s Interior.

Stay tuned for the latest forecast update for Western Canada.

WATCH: The best time to prepare for a hurricane is well before one forms

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Rose Delaney (played by Kirsty Marillier) and her boyfriend, Mali Hudson (Kyle Shilling), are back on track after THAT disastrous exchange of "I love you" on Home and Away! (1:45pm - see our TV Guide for listings).



Rose decides to set the scene for a romantic candlelit dinner at the farmhouse.

She hopes that this time the mood will be right, and they can both tell each other how they feel.



Rose gets glammed-up for the occasion and then prepares to spring her surprise on Mali.



However, the couple are in for SHOCK when they enter the kitchen at the farmhouse and discover the room has been TRASHED!



A threatening message has been scrawled on the kitchen table!



But WHO wrote it?



And WHY?

Home and Away spoilers, Rose Delaney, Mali Hudson

Bree Cameron (Juliet Godwin) is frosty with her boyfriend, Remi Carter (Adam Rowland), after overhearing his conversation with Mercedes Da Silva (Amali Golden) at the recording studio.



Remi has no idea about the reason why Bree is giving him the cold shoulder.



However, the rocker is put on the spot when Bree demands to know what happened after Mercedes kissed him after their late-night recording session!



Remi tries to reason with Bree that nothing more happened between him and Mercedes.

He rejected her advances straight away.



Well, if he's so innocent then WHY didn't he come clean about the kiss sooner?



What a mess!



Remi promises he won't lie to Bree again.



But after her previous bad experience with abusive husband, Jacob, can Bree bring herself to trust her boyfriend again?

Home and Away spoilers, Bree Cameron, Remi Carter

As a disappointed Tegan Osbourne (Sophia Forrest) prepares to return home to the city alone, Andrew Lawrence (Joshua Hewson) feels guilty about his lie.



Andrew admits to Theo Poulos (Matt Evans) that he does really want to go and live with his sister Tegan.

But he doesn't want to hurt Justin Morgan (James Stewart) or his girlfriend, Leah Patterson (Ada Nicodemou), who were kind enough to let Andrew live with them after he was found in a bad way.



Theo encourages Andrew to be honest about his feelings with Justin and Leah.



Will the teenager admit that it's time for him to pack his bags and leave Summer Bay?

Home and Away spoilers, Andrew Lawrence

Home and Away spoilers, Tegan Osbourne, Justin Morgan, Leah Patterson

Home and Away continues weekdays at 1:45pm on Channel 5

Switch over for FIRST LOOK episodes at 6:30pm on 5STAR

The series is also available to stream on My5
Divisive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand on Tuesday after years of self-imposed exile to face possible criminal penalties on the same day that a party affiliated with him plans to start forming a new government.

Thaksin has said his decision to return has nothing to do with an expected vote in Parliament later in the day on a candidate from the Pheu Thai party for prime minister. But many believe his arrival is connected to the partys pursuit of power.

Thaksin flew from Singapore in his private jet and landed at Don Mueang International Airport around 9 a.m. local time. Thai broadcasters aired live footage of him walking out of the airports private jet terminal with his three children including his youngest daughter, key Pheu Thai member Paetongtarn Shinawatra. His grandchildren were also seen.

After walking out, Thaksin placed a flower wreath and prostrated before a portrait of Thailands king and queen at the gate of the terminal. He spent a moment greeting supporters and the media waiting in front of the terminal but did not speak.

Hundreds of his supporters gathered outside of the airport hours ahead of his arrival, donning red, a color long associated with Thaksin, and holding sign with welcoming messages. They showed their devotion to him with songs and chants, then raised raucous cheers when he appeared at the entrance.

I feel fulfilled that I traveled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes, said Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from Maha Sarakham province.

The 74-year-old billionaire promoted populist policies and used his telecommunications fortune to build his own Thai Rak Thai party and be elected prime minister in 2001 and easily reelected in 2005, before being ousted in a military coup in 2006 and fleeing into exile a few years later.

Paetongtarn posted family photos with Thaksin in the middle on Facebook with a message thanking people who went to the airport to welcome her father, saying me and my family are very grateful.

His convoy first went to the Supreme Court, where a news release from the body said he would formally inform him of earlier convictions issued in absentia for which he was sentenced to a total of 10 years imprisonment. The convoy left the court an hour later and went to Bangkok's main prison. Thaksin was convicted in absentia for several criminal cases after he fled that he claimed were politically motivated.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Thaksin. The military coup that ousted him triggered years of upheaval and division that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supports Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Less than a week before May elections, Thaksin announced he would like to return before his birthday in July, but the plan was repeatedly delayed, with he and Paetongtarn citing both post-election uncertainties and his health.

Pheu Thai came in second in the elections but took over leadership in forming a new government after the surprise winner, the progressive Move Forward Party, was repeatedly rejected by conservative senators appointed by a previous military government.

Move Forwards reform agenda appealed deeply to many Thais, particularly younger voters who were disenchanted by nearly a decade of military-backed rule, but was seen as a threat by the countrys conservative elites.

After more than three months without a new government for Thailand, Parliament convened on Tuesday to attempt to choose a prime minister again. Pheu Thais candidate, former property developer Srettha Thavisin, was the only name nominated by his party leader Chonlanan Srikaew. Pheu Thai launched the bid to form the government after it assembled an 11-party coalition including two parties allied with its former military adversaries, holding 314 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.

Srettha needs some support from the non-elected Senate, appointed by a previous military government, to achieve a majority in the combined parliamentary vote. Both houses of Parliament vote together for the prime minister under the military-implemented constitution, in an arrangement designed to protect conservative military-backed rule. Senators, like the army, see themselves as guardians of traditional conservative royalist values.

House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha has allocated time for lawmakers to debate on the nomination before the vote takes place in the afternoon. Srettha did not run for office and the law does not require a prime ministerial candidate to be an elected lawmaker. Parliament also does not require hi m to be present at the vote.

Pheu Thai has been heavily criticized by some of its supporters for backtracking on a pre-election pledge not to join hands with pro-military parties. Party officials have defended the decision by saying it was necessary to break the political deadlock and seek reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.

Thaksin was ousted while he was abroad in 2006. He came back briefly to Thailand in 2008 to face a court trial before fleeing the country. He has avoided returning over concerns he would not be treated fairly by the military-backed government and establishment that has long held a sharp animosity toward him.

He has remained active in Thai politics, however, often making video calls to rallies of his supporters and parties backed by him.

Thaksins plans to return to Thailand were postponed after the election results were announced  this implies a strong connection between the election, formation of coalitions, and selection of the prime minister on one hand, and Thaksins personal agenda on the other, said Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher and visiting fellow at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Thaksin has managed to make this election about himself personally, and the direction of a Pheu Thai-led coalition heavily depends on his personal whims.

Thaksin could wind up serving prison time unless he receives a royal pardon. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam of the outgoing military-linked government has said that Thaksin is eligible to request a pardon and could receive special treatment because of his age.

Napon said Thaksins decision to return now suggests that he has received assurances that he will not have to serve a prison sentence in full.

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British professional boxer Tyson Fury and his family are the subject of a new Netflix reality TV show, titled At Home with the Furys.

The show follows Fury as he navigates his retirement from boxing, his own mental health issues and becomes more involved in the day-to-day activities of his family life, alongside his wife Paris Fury.

His six children  with a seventh baby due in September 2023  also star in the show. And while there are many surprise moments in the series, its the childrens names that have left viewers stunned.

What are Tyson Furys children called?

Paris and Tysons eldest daughter is named Venezuela, 13, who was born on September 27, 2009.

Venezuela told the cameras in At Home with the Furys that she gets along with her father "quite well" even though she thinks he is "very strict.

He just doesnt like me wearing makeup and looking nice, she explained, before revealing that Fury was recently angry with her when she wore a mini dress. Strict parents raise sneaky kids, she added.

Speaking about the decision behind his childrens names, Fury told The Guardian in 2011: "One night, while I was sleeping, I thought of Venezuela. My wife is called Paris. Im Tyson and [gesturing to his son] hes called Prince John James. If the girl had a normal name it wouldnt fit in, would it? I wanted to call the boy Patrick but the wife didnt want it.

Paris and Tommy Fury with their children Prince John James, Athena, Prince Tyson Fury II, Valencia Amber, Prince Adonis Amaziah and Venezuela (Netflix)

Fury and his wife Paris welcomed their second child and first son, Prince John James, in 2011. While Prince is the eldest of Tysons three sons, he shares the same first name as his two younger brothers: Prince Tyson II, seven and Prince Adonis Amaziah, four.

Fury explained in his 2020 documentary: "Im a king and theyre princes until they earn their rightful name."

Tyson Fury and son Prince Adonis on At Home with the Furys (Netflix)

Paris and Tyson also share daughters Valencia Amber, five, and their youngest daughter Athena is two years old.

Back in March 2023, Tyson and Paris announced they were expecting their seventh child together, with Tyson writing on his Instagram Story:

Sharing a picture of the pair to his Instagram Story, he captioned the post: I get to date night with my beautiful pregnant wife @ParisFury1. God is great!

What a woman. 7th [baby] incoming. Fantastic news to cheer me up!
Kansas police have come under fire after a controversial raid Aug. 11 of the home of the Marion County Record newspapers co-owners, Eric Meyer and his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, as well as the papers offices. Security video released by the paper shows an agitated Joan Meyer interacting with law enforcement during the search of her home.

She died the next day, following stress over the search contributing to her death, according to Eric Meyer. The search was over an investigation into an alleged identity theft by Marion County Record reporter Phyllis Zorn, which involved her confirming via a state website that local businessperson Kari Newells license was suspended for drunk driving.

In the video, which you can watch above, Joan yells at police, Dont you touch any of that stuff!

As officers rifle through files and seize computer equipment, Joan approaches one of the officers who has been overseeing the search, using her walker.

She questions him, Did your mother love you? Did you love your mother? Youre an ahole!

Joan addresses the police chief, Police chief? Youre the chief? Oh, god. Get out of my house.

She also tries to get them to stop going through her son Erics papers and declines to tell them if there are other computers in the house.

The raid by the Marion Police Department of the Marion County Record has been condemned by dozens of news organizations, including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

This shouldnt happen in America, the Kansas Press Associations executive director Emily Bradbury told The Washington Post. No matter what side of the aisle youre on, everyone should be concerned [about] government overreach and trying to silence investigative work.

Many believe that at least parts of this raid were illegal and may have been motivated by reasons other than the alleged identity theft by one of the nespapers reporters. The Record had also been investigating allegations against Police Chief Gideon Cody by both current and former law enforcement, according to the paper. Cody was being investigated in his previous position at the Kansas City Police Department for making insulting and sexist comments to a female officer, the Kansas City Star reported, citing police sources. Cody was appointed to the Marion position in April.

The post Kansas Newspaper Raid Footage Shows 98-Year-Old Marion County Record Owner Confronting Police: Youre an Ahole! (Video) appeared first on TheWrap.
The lifelong equestrian poses among  and on top of  French ponies for the luxury brand's Winter 2023 campaign

Kendall Jenner is in horse girl heaven.

The 27-year-old model and lifelong equestrian merged her career and love of horses for Stella McCartney s Winter 2023 campaign  her first-ever collaboration with the brand.

The stunning campaign was lensed by London-born photographer Harley Weir in Camargue Salt Flats, a region in Southern France known for its white horses.

Jenner channeled her inner horse girl for the shoot, posing among  and on top of  the famed Camargue ponies.

Related: Kendall Jenner Nearly Bares It All in Stylish Sheer Dress at 818 Tequila Event  See the Look!

Harley Weir

A horse rears beside the model in one photo as she does an elegant backbend wearing two pieces from the campaign  the Braided Rope Cut-Out V-Neck Bodysuit and Pleated Wide Leg Trousers, both in black.

In another, the 818 Tequila founder stands out in an entirely red ensemble, wearing the brands Moulded Waist Double-Breasted Blazer and Split Front A-Line Skirt as several of the stark-white steeds gallop in circles around her.

In a PEOPLE-exclusive campaign image, Jenner smiles in an all-denim look  the Twill Panelled Denim Jacket and Denim Maxi Skirt  as one of the Camargue ponies attempts to lick her black purse.

Related: Kendall Jenner Models the Sequin Miu Miu Underwear That Emma Corrin First Wore on the Runway

Harley Weir

First presented during Paris Fashion Week at historic riding school Manege de lEcole Militaire, the Horse Power-themed collection tells a story of the transformational connections between humans and horses, per a release from the luxury brand.

Founder and designer Stella McCartney said that she selected Jenner for the campaign because she knew this seasons Stella girl had to love horses as much as I do, per the release.

Kendall has been riding since she was a kid, just like me, and has her own ranch, she continued. You can see how at ease she is around these sensitive creatures, and them with her.

Related: Kendall Jenner Says Her No Shirt Look in Calvin Kleins New Ad Embodies Her Own Style (Exclusive)

McCartney added that this connection between Jenner and the four-legged stars of the campaign are what brings it to life, both through the fashion and the vision.

The French steeds were provided by Jean-Francois Pignon, who not only rescued but also raised and trained them to follow directions without any physical contact.

Harley Weir

From rein-esque rope details to horse-blanket-inspired quilting, the ready-to-wear collection incorporated several elements that act as a subtle nod to the collections equestrian essence.

Related: Kendall Jenner, BTS' Jungkook and More of Hollywood's Hottest Stars Front Calvin Klein's New Campaign

Horse Power is also the luxury brands most environmentally conscious winter collection to date.

It is crafted from 92% conscious materials and while it boasts lots of animal-print pieces, it does not feature any animal leather, feathers or fur  like every collection from the brand since its 2001 launch.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Fans of horse-girl fashion, rejoice! Ready-to-wear pieces from the Winter 2023 collection are available to purchase in stores and online now.

And, according to the brand, it will continue to explore healing bonds between humans and horses in the second phase of the collection this fall.



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Donald Trump hasnt made any decisions about who he would like to see as his possible running mate in the 2024 presidential election, but Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is not shy about her intentions. The very loyal MAGA Republican pretended to sidestep the question in a recent appearance on American Sunrise, but its pretty easy to read between the lines.

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First of all, thats up to President Trump. Thats a decision he needs to make with his team, she spun her answer in the interview, via OK! magazine. More importantly, right now, I serve Georgias 14th district. Thats the district Im focused on. Its my hometown. Its all the people I know and love. Theyre the ones that sent me to Congress to work for them. The hosts werent going to let her go with that response, so they pressed her further for a more direct answer.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks during his remarks at the Georgia state GOP convention at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center on June 10, 2023 in Columbus, Georgia.



Thats something I would think about very seriously, she finally opened up. And I would be honored if he asked. Greenes ambitions were noted by former Donald Trump aide, Steve Bannon , said in January to NBC News that he believed she was working behind the scenes to make it happen. This is no shrinking violet, shes ambitious  shes not shy about that, nor should she be, Bannon revealed. She sees herself on the short list for Trumps VP. Paraphrasing [the late journalist] Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back.

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump

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Both Donald Trump and Greene have strong personalities, so its possible that their brash sense of leadership could be a bad mix. But Bannon doesnt seem to think so after watching her play a masterful game of chess to get Rep. Kevin McCarthy elected to the speaker of the House. Shes both strategic and disciplined  she made a power move, knowing it would run up hard against her most ardent crew, he said. She was prepared to take the intense heat/hatred short-term for the long-term goal of being a player. That may be exactly the type of running mate Donald Trump is looking for in a very intense battle for the White House.

Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.

Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton

Launch Gallery: 29 Books Written by Candidates Running for President In 2024

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This is Day 113 of the WGA strike and Day 40 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Martin Sheen led a reunion of the cast and crew of The West Wing and embodied his character President Bartlet at a major rally in LA.

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Sheen was joined by stars such as Kerry Washington and Ron Perlman at the National Day of Solidarity Rally, organized by SAG-AFTRA, the WGA and the AFL-CIO outside of Disney in Burbank.

Sheen told the large crowd that he has been a member of the actors union since 1961, the same year that he got married, so hes pretty fond of unions.

I was affectionately known in some quarters as the acting president of the United States. When the show ended its run in 2006, I became known in some quarters as the former acting president of the United States and Im proud to have been part of that extraordinary company, he opened.

RELATED: National Union Solidarity Day In NYC Draws Big Names Amid Big Crowd: Jesse Eisenberg, Carla Gugino & More

Sheen was joined by The West Wing stars including Allison Janney, Dule Hill, Bradley Whitford, Josh Malina, Richard Schiff , Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack as well as creator Aaron Sorkin.

His character on that NBC show, Jed Barlet was known for his rousing oratory skills, and fond of a religious story or two.

The Irish tell a story of a man who arrives at the gates of heaven and asks to be let in and St Peter says Of course, just show us your scars. The man says I have no scars. St Peter says What a pity, was there nothing worth fighting for. Clearly this union has found something worth fighting for and it is very costly. If this were not so, we would be left to question its value. Now we are called to support the union and stand together for the long haul and stick to it like a stamp, he said.

Let us continue to dream things that never were and say Why not?. Theres so much going on in our country, it is so dangerously divided and quite often we come to gatherings like these and were inspired because we see the effect of unionism and unity, he added.

Sheen closed on a prayer by the Indian poet laurate Tagore (see video below).

(WATCH) Martin Sheen, joined by a few of his The West Wing cast members, speaks to supporters at the National Day of Solidarity rally in Burbank today. (Sheen reads a wonderful poem at the end) #SagAftraStrong pic.twitter.com/K7PUm5EGEg  Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 22, 2023

Ron Perlman, star of FXs Sons of Anarchy, took a page out of his biker boss character Clay Morrow in a slightly more expletive-laden speech.

I was born in 1950 and I have been a union man my entire motherfucking woke life, he said. My parents were union people, lower middle class, New York city, didnt have a summer home or a yacht, didnt have anything but love and humor, thats what got me here today.

Perlman said that theres always been tension between management and labor, particularly right now, adding that the studios somehow feel that they deserve all the toys.

The fucked up thing is however much they take, will never be enough, so what they need to do is make us feel small, devalue us, gaslight us with the thought that if we dont walk in line lockstep, we can be replaced, because any motherfucker can do what we do. I dont think theres anybody here that wants a golden parachute or even knows what the fuck that is, or wants stock options or wants to buy one company and then fire 15,000 people so two companies with less workers looks better. What we want to do is tell stories about human beings. How the fuck can we tell stories about humanity, which is what we all do, which is what many of us do for free if they want to dehumanize us. It doesnt make any sense. All that money thats engendered every year by the work that you all do, theres plenty of that to go around. If theyre claiming that theyre losing money, its just a fucked up model, dont blame me for that, he added.

(WATCH) Ron Perlman doesnt hold back anything when delivering his remarks to supporters at the National Day of Solidarity rally in Burbank today #SagAftraStrong pic.twitter.com/wNTGMy29qw  Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 22, 2023

Kerry Washington, best known for playing Olivia Pope in ABCs Scandal, said that she never thought she could become an actor because that meant wanting to be famous.

I wasnt going to pursue my dream because I thought pursuing my dream meant reaching for the impossible and then I learned about unions. I learned that there are communities of people that were making a living being working actors, I learned I didnt have to want to be famous, I could just pursue a career doing what I loved to do and I could raise a family and live a life doing that, being paid a fair wage, she said.

We have come to a point in our history where that is no longer possible, where just being a working actor means I cant make a fair living. Its not ok. Its not ok for other people to benefit for our hard work and sweat, when we work 16-hour days, when we put our vulnerabilities and hearts on the line, while we do the hard work, thats no ok. We deserve to be paid a fair wage, we deserve to be able to have access to healthcare, we deserve to be protected from machines pretending to be us, we deserve to be working artists and to be paid fairly. The dream of being a working artist should not be impossible.

She alluded to her fixer character, not naming her or the show, as its from a struck company.

There is this tradition of storytelling that says there is one hero, who comes in and saves the day, that one person conquers the impossible. But when you stand here today and look around, know that the real way that we create change is standing together. It is about one for all, we are here for each other and we know that unions matter. Not only do we have solidarity within our unions, we have solidarity between our unions, she added.

(WATCH) Kerry Washington gives an impassioned speech at the National Day of Solidarity rally outside of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank today #SagAftraStrong pic.twitter.com/yT74UTG7OT  Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 22, 2023

DGA Secretary-Treasurer Paris Barclay, who directed episodes of The West Wing, said his union was also standing with the writers and actors, despite having already agreed to their deal.

Its not enough that one of us has a meal on the table, until everybody has a meal on the table, nobody eats. [The studios] cannot take an AI generated script, put it in front of a camera and have an algorithm direct it, and have some weirdly shaped people acting it out, thats not going to work. We need to look at the future and the future is ours, he said.

The world is not doing great on its own, it needs us to tell the stories about how we can find love, how transgender youth can be appreciated and respected, how families can raise their kids, those are the stories that we need to be acting out right now and the longer the AMPTP takes to bring us all back, the longer it will be before we can start telling the world what we imagine the future will be. Lets join together, lets not stop, lets continue until this is over, we want to get back to work, he added.

(WATCH) Paris Barclay reminds the studios that everyone is ready to get back to work during a speech at the National Day of Solidarity rally in Burbank today #SagAftraStrong pic.twitter.com/VEyoZJvUoG  Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 22, 2023

Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA Secretary Treasurer Joely Fisher joked that actors and writers in LA had survived a once in a generation hurriquake

We are here, we are showing up and standing up to the second largest media company in the world. Hurricanes and earthquakes are nothing compared to the force of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA striking at the same time. Disney, the world of princesses and mice and heroes and villains of fairytales and fantasy, the world of Hulu, Pixar, Marvel, ABC, ESPN, 21st Century Fox, Lucasfilm, Touchstone and Searchlight, is saying none of those companies are making a profit, she added.

(WATCH) SAG-AFTRA Secretary Treasurer Joely Fisher kicks off the National Day of Solidarity rally outside of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank now pic.twitter.com/NEO0mwAVrI  Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 22, 2023

Fisher was joined by SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA EVP Ben Whitehair, WGAW Board Member Liz Alper, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler, Teamsters Local 399 Secretary-Treasurer, IBT Western Region V.P. and Motion Picture Division Director Lindsay Dougherty, LiUNA Local 724 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Alex Aguilar, Jr., AFM Local 47 President Stephanie OKeefe and Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony.

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The dinner-theater chain Medieval Times broke the law repeatedly as it tried to stop a union organizing campaign at its New Jersey castle last year, according to a complaint issued Monday by the National Labor Relations Board.

The agencys general counsel alleges that the company illegally fired a union supporter, withheld raises from workers who had unionized, and sought to have the unions TikTok account banned by the social media platform in an apparent effort to muzzle employees.

The charges directly implicate Medieval Times chief executive, Perico Montaner, who has fought the organizing campaign from the start.

The complaint alleges Montaner threatened that non-union workers at Medieval Times other castles would not receive raises because the New Jersey workers had petitioned for a union. According to the complaint, Montaner issued this threat while addressing workers inside the castles Hall of Aragon around May 2022.

The general counsel also says Montaner reached out to TikTok to have the unions account shut down for allegedly infringing on Medieval Times trademarks, as HuffPost first reported. Workers had adopted the moniker Medieval Times Performers United  a name the company claimed created brand confusion in a lawsuit it later filed against the union, the American Guild of Variety Artists.

The union maintains that seeking the ban was retaliation for speaking out and embarrassing the company on social media as workers tried to improve working conditions. The complaint shows that the labor boards general counsel agrees with the union that having the account shut down violated employees rights.

Medieval Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges Tuesday.

Workers strike at Medieval Times' castle in Buena Park, California. The labor board's general counsel has accused the company of violating the law in both California and New Jersey.

Workers strike at Medieval Times' castle in Buena Park, California. The labor board's general counsel has accused the company of violating the law in both California and New Jersey.

The labor board has scheduled a hearing on the charges for Nov. 7, when both sides would present witnesses for testimony.

In the complaint, the general counsel says that Medieval Times should have to offer reinstatement and backpay to the fired worker  Chris Lucas, an actor who played Lord Cedric in Medieval Times shows  and that Montaner should have to write Lucas a letter of apology. The general counsel is also seeking an order requiring the company to cease and desist from alleged unfair labor practices detailed in the document.

Workers at the castle in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, were Medieval Times first to unionize last year, when the knights, squires, stablehands and show cast voted to join the American Guild of Variety Artists. They were soon followed by their counterparts at the companys Southern California castle. Medieval Times has nine castles in the U.S. and one in Canada.

Workers in New Jersey and California previously told HuffPost that they hoped a union could raise wages and improve safety at a surprisingly dangerous job. The castles in those states are now trying to bargain first contracts with the company. Workers at the California castle, in Buena Park, have been on strike since February, accusing the company of illegal retaliation.

Mondays complaint is not the first time that labor board prosecutors have accused Medieval Times of illegal union-busting. In May, the general counsel filed a complaint against the company in California saying management there tried to get workers to withdraw their support for the union, which would be illegal.


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While Melania Trump may be former US President Donald Trumps secret weapon for battling stress, it seems that dynamic may not apply to this act that has reportedly left Melania seething with fury.

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In a screenshot obtained by Showbiz411, it shows Donald posted a photoshopped pic of his youngest child Barron Trump, whom he shared with Melania. In the social media post, we see Barron photoshopped as a president, saying: In an effort to level the playing field, Barron Trump will debate Joe Biden!



Not only did this shock a lot of his followers, but insiders say Melania is beyond angry for breaking a major promise about keeping Barron out of the public eye as much as possible.

Click here to read the full article.



Melania has been incredibly protective of Barron and has told Donald she would not stand for him to be exploited by anyone, even his father! an insider said to RadarOnline. He made a promise to protect their son  and he broke it. Theres a good chance she wont forgive him, and the next time we see them together may be in divorce court.

WASHINGTON, DC  NOVEMBER 26: U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump walk across the South Lawn before leaving the White House on board Marine One November 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Florida for a campaign rally and is scheduled to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at his private Mar-a-Lago Club. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)



Its no secret that Melania has kept herself and Barron out of the public eye as much as possible, especially after Donalds four indictments have been the center of attention. Its no wonder Melania has kept Barron out of the public eye, especially since hes only 17.



And recently, a Chicago woman was recently arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot Donald and Barron in an email from May 2023, per RadarOnline. So the timing of the social media post also has allegedly made Melania furious.



Despite Donalds denials, Melania has already had to endure an indictment in New York that suggests he had an affair with a porn star while she was pregnant with Barron, a source added to the same outlet. Now, shes livid after hes broken his promise of keeping their son out of the spotlight.



For those that dont know, the Home Alone 2 star has five children in total. He and his first wife, the late Ivana Trump, welcomed three children named Donald Jr, 45, Ivanka, 41, and Eric, 39. Donald and his second wife Marla Maples welcomed a daughter named Tiffany, 29, and then he welcomed his fifth child named Barron, 17, with his current wife Melania Trump.

Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.



Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton

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President Joe Biden has sparked outrage by comparing the Maui wildfires, that killed at least 114 people, to a small kitchen fire in 2004 at his Wilmington, Delaware home.

After being criticized for failing to give the wildfires enough attention, Biden was seen in Hawaii with his wife, Jill Biden , on Monday (Aug. 21). He spoke to Lahaina residents, whose historic town in Maui County was destroyed in the blaze on Tuesday, Aug. 8. I dont want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, [of] what it was like to lose a home, the president said. Years ago, now, 15 years, I was in Washington doing Meet the Press. It was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake outside the home, not a lake, a big pond. And it hit the wire and came up underneath our home into the heating ducts, air conditioning ducts.

He added, And to make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my 67 Corvette and my cat, before noting that the firefighters who responded ran into flames to save my wife and save my family. Not a joke. This is not the first time the 80-year-old has told this story. In November of 2021, he spoke in New Hampshire about the bipartisan infrastructure plan. Without this bridge, as I said earlier, its a 10-mile detour just to get to the other side. And I know, having had a house burn down with my wife in it - she got out safely, God willing  that having a significant portion of it burn, I can tell, 10 minutes make a hell of a difference, Biden said.

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Dont you hate it when a song gets stuck in your head? And dont you hate it even more when its a song thats been adopted by tragic reactionaries as a call-to-action protest anthem? Unfortunately thats what happened last week with the viral country song Rich Men North of Richmond. Recorded by complete unknown Oliver Anthony, it rails against taxes, welfare cheats, the obese. Endorsements duly rolled in from the right-wing media sphere: podcaster Joe Rogan said he loved it, while commentator Matt Walsh branded it raw and authentic. Since its release, its clocked over 30 million views on YouTube and has zipped to the top of the charts  first the iTunes country chart, then, in an unprecedented record for a previously uncharted artist, the very top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Fans of the song have hailed it as giving a voice to the disaffected working class; detractors have criticised it for dog whistle messaging. Leaving aside the politics, though, the song is just not great. Musically, its fine. Anthony, a former factory worker and farmer who apparently lives off the grid in Virginia, has an unvarnished voice, and his guitar playing is competent. The tune is simple and melodic, if rather repetitive. But the words are where it comes unstuck. Lyrically, Rich Men North of Richmond is doggerel  an artless, blunt-force hissy fit.

Lets break down the lyrics a bit, lest you think Im being harsh. Anthony begins the song with a working mans lament: Ive been sellin my soul, workin all day / Overtime hours for bulls*** pay / So I can sit out here and waste my life away / Drag back home and drown my troubles away. So far, so fine. A lot of monosyllables, and the slightly dubious decision to rhyme away with away, but nothing ruinous.

Then we have the chorus. Livin in the new world / With an old soul / These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just wanna have total control, he sings. The use of a geological dividing line perhaps evokes the American Civil War, and the USs intractable North-South political schism. Its not clear exactly what he means by old soul (didnt he sell his soul at the start of the song?), a phrase most often applied to a person wise beyond their years. Does he mean this? You suspect it may be old in a more atavistic sense  the suggestion that he must belong to that sweet, forgotten Southern past, before political correctness and big government came trampling through the wheatfields.

The rich men north of Richmond (this last word pronounced Richmen to concoct a sweaty homonym) is another phrase thats insidious in its vaguery. Who exactly does he mean? Politicians? Perhaps. By leaving the lyric open to interpretation, Anthony allows listeners to align their own personal betes noires within the songs crosshairs, whether thats senators, coastal elites, or, as online antisemites are predictably claiming, the Jews. The chorus charges ahead, complaining that these wealthy north-situated men wanna know what you think / wanna know what you do / and they dont think you know / but I know that you do. By this point, its clear the song is uninterested in any discernible rhyme scheme (you do is paired with you do), and has the ring of conspiracy about it. At least the songwriting is consistent: woolly and loaded us against them rhetoric, expressed with a vocabulary that a six-year-old could understand.

Anthony finishes the chorus with a jab at tax rates  a theme which he then expands upon in verse two. I wish politicians would look out for miners / And not just minors on an island somewhere, he continues. A clunky piece of wordplay, maybe, one which can be read as an allusion to Jeffrey Epstein and his network of child predation. The link between politicians and child sex trafficking is frequent fodder for American conspiracy theorists, and this line only heightens the sense of dog whistle paranoia that pervades Anthonys lyrics. Something perhaps relevant: the musicians official YouTube page features a curated playlist that includes two 9/11 truther conspiracy theory videos. The playlist is called Videos that make your noggin get bigger. It worked for me, though that might just be swelling from hammering my face into the wall after watching.

Much of the criticism of the song has focused on the next few lines. Lord, we got folks in the street, aint got nothin to eat, Anthony sings, And the obese milkin welfare / Well, God, if youre 5-foot-3 and youre 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds. This segment represents the nadir of his rhetoric  an ungenerous, fatphobic tangent which places the blame for societys ills on the unhealthy poor, not, as his thesis originally proposed, the unspecified rich northerly men  but also the low point of his songwriting craft. Obese is stressed with a jarring first-syllable emphasis. Everything from taxes through to fudge rounds is almost laughably inelegant, a witless mans clumsy stab at bon mot.

Rich Men North of Richmond saw Anthony launched to fame overnight (radioWV via YouTube)

All of which is to say: Rich Men North of Richmond is not a good song. But its success points to a dispiriting trend in country music. The song it displaced at the top of the iTunes chart, Jason Aldeans Try That in a Small Town, is an even more controversial composition, a pro-gun anthem that has been branded a modern lynching song (Aldean has called this reading meritless). Stomp on the flag and light it up Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road, he sings. This song, too, is not just objectionable  its crap. Overproduced, naff, and linguistically insipid. There are plenty of country artists out there making accomplished, politically charged music  Jason Isbell, Margo Price, the Chicks  but almost always from the opposing aisle.

There is an irony too in the fact that the new world Anthony bemoans in the chorus of Rich Men North of Richmond is entirely responsible for his overnight success: where else could he have surged to such swift popularity, but along the internets algorithmic rapids? Conservatives have celebrated his song as a call for unity, a work of blue-collar solidarity  but its sudden popularity is still rooted in the bitter factionalism that continues to rot American politics. It has become a hit not because of its lyrical grace or musical exceptionalism, but because of what it represents. Underneath it all, Anthonys song is a work of banal and unyielding affirmation. Youre good. Theyre bad. Dont change. Wheres the protest in that?
Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros.Discovery Access announced the finalists for their Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program, now in its second year. Out of more than 400 applicants, eight aspiring and emerging digital talent content creators were selected to widen diverse, equitable, and inclusive representation.



The Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program was established to provide underrepresented digital talent a platform to break through to new audiences, while also providing them with the tools and opportunities to succeed as content creators. The paid mentorship and training from Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros. Discovery will occur over three months, including a one-month residency in Austin. Chosen creators may also be eligible for a 1-year Rooster Teeth talent contract.



Were immensely proud to introduce the standout creators selected for year two of the Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program, said Jejuan Guillory, Rooster Teeths Head of Programming & Development. This remarkable cohort epitomizes our commitment to fostering diverse voices. Were excited to support their growth as content creators and to provide new opportunities for experience through partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Access.

The 2023 finalists for the Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program are:

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Josh Aries (josharies): Vancouver-based filmmaker that makes action-packed, fan-favorite films, striving to tell stories that exemplify perseverance, hope, and absurdity.

Goofywise (goofywise): Sacramento-based variety creator spreading laughter and inspiration online through TikTok and Twitch. Charismatic, hilarious, and uplifting.

Madi DuVernay (madiduvernay): Austin-based, queer, disabled Twitch streamer and TikToker who puts their focus on breaking the boundaries for creators like her.

Adrianah Lee (adrianahlee): Austin-based queer model, creator, and gamer who loves producing satirical skit comedy, embodying various characters in interviews and in Omegle.

Alluux (alluux): San Diego-based passionate streamer and content creator, bringing variety to the online world. Engaging, energetic, and community-driven.

KrystalShanelle (krystalshanelle): Los Angeles-based versatile content creator, influencer and entrepreneur who empowers others to embrace uniqueness and spread joy in the digital realm.

Alejandro (alejmrod): Florida-based content creator and actor who incorporates his love for gaming and geek culture into each of his YouTube videos.

Frankey Smith (fantasticfrankey): NYC-based creator, analyzing and critiquing fandom content. Challenging peers, she champions normalizing the Black Female voice in the Nerd Space.

The selected finalists have a passion for pop culture, comedy, gaming, and animation across the US and Canada. They will gain hands-on experience on professional sets, sponsored productions, and exposure to Warner Bros. Discovery executives. Finalists will also receive education and training encompassing production, marketing, business growth, technical skills, content development, partnerships, writing, improv, media training, and more.

For the 2023 program, over 400 submissions were received and vetted. To qualify for the program, applicants must have a minimum aggregate of 1,000 followers across relevant content platforms (YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, Snap, and/or Facebook), but not to exceed 300,000 followers. For podcasters, applicants podcasts must average a minimum of 1,000 downloads per episode. Participants were chosen by a distinguished panel of Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros. Discovery executives.



The 2023 Advisory Council is made up of executives across Warner Bros. Discoverys many brands and businesses. Council members and other prominent guests will deliver Masterclasses and workshops throughout the program and work with the cohort on branded content activations, giving them invaluable hands-on experience.

Rooster Teeth is celebrating its 20th year as a leading digital content platform with roots among the first-ever viral video creators online with Red vs. Blue in 2003. Participants will shadow Rooster Teeth producers on-set and appear as guests on-camera across Rooster Teeths portfolio of channel brands, including Achievement Hunter, Funhaus, All Good No Worries, and Inside Gaming. Creators will also gain experience across some of their most popular podcasts, including 30 Morbid Minutes, Red Web, Face Jam, and the Rooster Teeth Podcast.



The program will culminate with a Talent Showcase event, where industry execs will view participants work. At the end of the three-month program, some participants may be eligible to receive an offer for a 1-year Rooster Teeth talent contract.

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Rust-Armorer-Trial-Pushed-back - Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the Rust armorer and the last defendant in New Mexicos criminal case over the accidental 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has been pushed from December 2023 to February 21, 2024.

The trial was moved by State district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Monday and set to run Feb. 21 through March 6 in Santa Fe, according to the Associated Press.

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Gutierrez-Reeds attorneys told the Wrap that the date change was due to scheduling issues with the amount of witnesses that need to be interviewed.

The cinematographer was killed in Oct. 2021 when Alec Baldwin inadvertently discharged a prop gun that had been loaded with a live round, believing the prop gun had been cold.

Charges were brought against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed in January, but lawyers for the pair successfully got the original charges downgraded because they were filed under a new firearm law that was passed months after the shooting took place. When both a special prosecutor and the Santa Fe County district attorney had to step down from the case, two new special prosecutors were appointed in March. In April, prosecutors decided to drop manslaughter charges against Baldwin.

Gutierrez-Reed has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering and has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison.

In June, prosecutors alleged that Gutierrez-Reed heavily drank alcohol and smoked marijuana the night before a prop gun on the film set was discharged and resulted in the death of Hutchins.

At the time, Gutierrez-Reeds attorney responded, The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah. The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.

Last week, a new forensics report suggested that Baldwin would have had to pull the trigger for the gun to fire, contrary to what the actor has claimed.

Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver, the report stated. If the hammer had not been fully retracted to the rear, and were to slip from the handlers thumb without the trigger depressed, the half cock or quarter cock notches in the hammer should have prevented the firing pin from reaching any cartridge in the firing chamber.

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Over six seasons, CBS S.W.A.T. has served up the kind of dynamic character-based action that used to be the bread-and-butter of theatrically released cop movies, eschewing the trend toward CGI and superheroes in favor of a more grounded approach that looks back to the urban action classics of Walter Hill and Richard Donner. We really strive to do everything as real as possible, stunt coordinator Austen Brewer told IndieWire. There are cases where we have to lean on our VFX guys because a location wont allow it, but if we can stage an explosion and not use CGI and it can be safely done, we will do that.

That philosophy has served Brewer and his co-stunt coordinator Lance Gilbert well, as both of them are Emmy nominated for their work on S.W.A.T. For Gilbert, the striving for authenticity helps make the series not only visually dynamic but emotionally involving. Were not doing action just for actions sake, Gilbert told IndieWire. Were trying to keep the audience from pretending like theyre watching a video game by keeping it authentic and not over the top. These characters have skill sets, but theyre within the realm of what human beings can actually do.

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Season 6 began with two episodes filmed on location in Thailand that brought a fresh perspective to the show  and new challenges for the stunt department. The [local S.W.A.T.] team we worked with was amazing, but there was a little bit of a transition getting to know them and their gear, Brewer said. Some of the Thailand crews gear was particularly surprising  like a 40-foot bamboo pole used for one stunt. One guy on the front end will hold the end of the pole, and you have three or four guys on the backside. The guy on the front will actually walk up the side of a building with the support of the guys [on the ground], which is something we had never done. To do it in a safe way we built a rig that cantilevered off the top of the building so we could drop a safety line to our guy who was going up the side.

As is usually the case on S.W.A.T., the schedule for conceiving and executing was tight. In Thailand, we shot three full fights in one day. I think we had the location for seven hours, which is not much time at all. According to Gilbert, the time constraints of network television are what make the job consistently fun but consistently challenging. Whether its car work or fights, youre always given a certain window of time, he said. On any particular day, youre given 11 hours to shoot the call sheet  but you really only have an hour and a half to shoot the action.

Thats where Brewer and Gilberts partnership comes into play, as the two coordinators have developed a system that not only yields great action but does so with efficiency. Whats nice about working as a team is that we can break off and tackle a lot more than if there was just one of us, Brewer said. While one of us is rehearsing, the other one can prep for stunts coming up the following day. According to Gilbert, the key to the partnership is that the best idea always wins. Were constantly bouncing ideas off of each other, and neither of us has an ego about whos right or wrong, he said. Both of our ideas can be right, but one might be better on the day to create a better environment for the crew and a safer environment for the performers.

S.W.A.T. Jack Taylor/CBS/Sony Pictures Television

One key to Brewer and Gilberts efficiency is the reference videos they shoot of rehearsals so that they can collaborate closely with the camera department. Obviously there are limitations to that because were sometimes holding an iPhone and its easier for us to move around, Brewer said, but from there we work together to make it a little more exciting or decide to use a longer lens because we dont want to put anybody that close to whats going on. The trust between the stunt and camera departments also allows the operators to get as close to the action as possible without getting into any real danger. Sometimes theyll want to sneak in a little bit closer handheld, and they know theyre pushing the boundaries of getting into a yellow zone or a red zone as far as safety is concerned, Gilbert said. They ask us, and then we allow them or suggest a lens change to give them a similar look while keeping them safe. We definitely work together super closely.

At the end of the day, Brewer and Gilbert credit the other departments as well as their own stunt team with making S.W.A.T. not just successful but a pleasurable work environment. We all work great together, and we all bounce ideas off one another, Brewer said. And Lance and I probably have the most fun on set of anyone. We really love what we do.

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By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week for meetings with senior Chinese government officials and U.S. business leaders, the department said on Tuesday, marking the latest in a recent series of high-level visits.

Last month, Raimondo vowed to go forward with the visit despite the reported Chinese hacking of her department's emails.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Raimondo will carry a message that the U.S. is not seeking to decouple from China, but will protect its national security. She will reinforce that the U.S. is focused on sustaining an economic relationship with China, he added.

Raimondo met with Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the United States, on Tuesday ahead of the trip.

Raimondo "raised issues of importance to the United States and American businesses and workers and discussed issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation," the Commerce Department said.

On Tuesday, China welcomed the department's decision to lift export control restrictions on 27 Chinese entities, saying it is conducive to normal trade between Chinese and U.S. firms. The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday removed the 27 Chinese companies from its "Unverified List."

Companies are given that designation if the U.S. cannot complete on-site visits to determine if they can be trusted to receive sensitive U.S. technology exports. Companies on the list cannot use license exceptions for exports.

Commerce said the removal "demonstrates the concrete benefit companies receive when they or a host government cooperates" to complete checks.

Raimondo "looks forward to constructive discussions," during the visit to Beijing and Shanghai from Aug. 27-30, the department said in a statement.

Last week, China said it welcomed Raimondo's expected visit.

Raimondo said recently that she wanted to raise "really serious concerns about the way they are targeting U.S. tech companies, about the way they don't respect intellectual property but also try to find lanes of commerce."

Her trip follows a four-day visit last month by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who held more than 10 hours of meetings with senior officials in Beijing.

The U.S. and China agreed this month to approve twice the number of passenger flights now permitted by air carriers between the two countries, in a rare sign of cooperation between the world's largest two economies.

Raimondo was among a group of senior U.S. officials whose emails were hacked this year by a group Microsoft said was based in China, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Earlier, China's embassy in Washington said that identifying the source of cyber attacks was complex and warned against groundless speculations and accusations.

In July, Raimondo said the Biden administration was seeking to carefully target U.S. controls on exports to China.

Raimondo met Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in May, discussing trade, investment and export policies in what was until then the first U.S.-China cabinet-level exchange in months, after a string of trade and national security disagreements derailed plans for re-engagement.

In April, Raimondo warned Chinese cloud companies could pose threats. Some Republican senators want her to add such companies to the entity list that imposes U.S. export controls on foreign companies.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Marguerita Choy and Bill Berkrot)
Maggie Grinestaff has taken over as news director at WCIA Champaign, Illinois, the first time a woman has held that post in the history of the central Illinois station. Previously the assistant news director, she succeeds Andy Miller in running the WCIA newsroom.

Grinestaff got a journalism degree at Eastern Illinois University and worked at the universitys WEIU as a reporter and anchor.

She joined WCIA, owned by Nexstar Media Group, as a reporter in 2014, when she was Maggie Hockenberry. She said of her reporting days on WCIA.com: I talked to people on some of the toughest days of their lives. I always wanted to make sure I told the story with integrity, but that I was also human to those people. I didnt want to be someone stumbling in with a microphone. If it was a time of healing, I wanted to provide hope. If it was a time of uncertainty, I wanted to provide comfort.

Grinestaff moved up to assignment editor and media manager before she became assistant news director. She began as news director at the CBS affiliate on August 7.

I take Your Local News Leader to heart, she said on WCIA.com. When anything happens in this community, theyre turning to us. I want us to remember why we do what we do and that we need to be on our top game every chance we get.

Champaign-Springfield-Decatur is Nielsen's No. 90 DMA.
The Writers Guild of America, East and the NewsGuild-CWA on Tuesday called for the police who raided a Kansas newspaper over a public-records search to be held accountable, calling their actions an affront to the constitutionally protected rights of journalists.

In a statement, the striking unions issued a demand that the Marion County Police Department be held accountable for its raid of the Marion County Record newspaper in Marion, Kansas.

The statement follows the Aug. 11 incursion into the weekly newspapers offices and the homes of staffers, where cops seized computers, cell phones and other journalistic materials. The lengthy search of co-owner Joan Meyers home is believed to have contributed to the 98-year-olds death the following day.

The reason for the raid appears to be a reporters use of a public database where she accessed the driving records of a restaurant owner in the town following a tip that she was driving without a license after she lost it to a DWI. The investigation purportedly involved an alleged identity theft.

While police claimed that the reporter, Phyllis Zorn, impersonated the woman by entering her name and drivers license number into the database, the editor and publisher of the Record Eric Meyer; and the newspapers lawyer, Bernie Rhodes, have backed her efforts, stating that no laws were broken.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case from local law enforcement, the Marion County Record reported last week.

The officers and officials who seized computers, phones and other data from reporters and the newspapers offices engaged in activities that are an affront to the constitutionally protected rights of journalists and news media workers, the joint statement from the WGA units said. Press freedom is a cornerstone of our democracy that is enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution and our unions will do everything to protect and preserve a free and independent press.

The union support for the tiny publication, which has gained thousands of subscriptions as news of the raid spread, follows condemnation of the raid from The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press and more than 30 other news organizations led by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

This shouldnt happen in America. Freedom of the press is fundamental to our democracy, Emily Bradbury, the executive director of the Kansas Press Association, said to the Washington Post in pledging to support the news outlet. Were not going to let this stand on our watch.

The post WGA East: Cops Who Raided Kansas Newspaper Must be Held Accountable appeared first on TheWrap.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates called out a Republican National Committee Twitter account for criticizing President Joe Biden s innocuous interaction with a dog Monday in Hawaii. Biden, who had arrived in Maui earlier in the day in response to the disastrous wildfires on the island, was shaking hands with first responders in the coastal town of Lahaina when he came upon a cadaver dog. Whats the bosss name? asked Biden, who has two German Shepherds, one of whom lives at the White House. He then bent down to pat the dog on the head, and later commented on the temperature of the asphalt. Yet this brief moment somehow became fodder for RNC Research, which posted the 23-second clip along with the deprecating caption, Biden gets distracted by a dog: Thats some hot ground, man! Bates was quick to respond. Hes petting one of the dogs thats working hard searching for remains so survivors whove lost loved ones can have closure, he wrote on Twitter less than an hour later. This criticism is classless and stupid. Alongside the first lady, Biden also met with state and local officials, as well as survivors. The fires have killed more than 100 people, with about 1,000 being unaccounted for.

He's petting one of the dogs that's working hard searching for remains so survivors who've lost loved ones can have closure.



This criticism is classless and stupid. https://t.co/uJf99LxT1U  Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) August 21, 2023

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A man in Atlanta was apprehended after reckless driving that nearly ended in tragedy on Sunday night.

Footage of the Aug. 20 incident circulating online shows a black Ford F150 doing donuts in a busy intersection during a street takeover on 17th Street and Northside Drive.

The driver reportedly tried to flee the scene and drove into a crowd as soon as he saw nearby police activate emergency equipment, according to reporting by Fox 5 Atlanta. In the clip, you can hear pedestrians screaming as they run to safety.

GSP stops street takeover in Midtown  pic.twitter.com/0hnDvvObRT  ATL Uncensored (@ATLUncensored) August 21, 2023

Twitter: @ATLUncensored

A number of people are seen being struck by the truck in its attempt to speed off; one person was injured, according to WSB-TV. The trooper quickly follows after the truck, pulls a pit maneuver, and stops it completely before the truck can go further down the intersection. The trooper apprehends the driver at gunpoint and pulls him out through the driver's side window before placing him in handcuffs on the hood of the cop car.

Georgia State Patrol says the driver was taken into custody but did not reveal his identity.

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1st Republican presidential primary debate: Who's in, who's out

Eight out of the more than a dozen 2024 GOP presidential candidates are confirmed by the Republican National Committee to be on the first primary debate stage on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The four candidates who didn't make the debate stage are attacking the RNC's requirements and making plans for the next steps in their campaign.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are confirmed by the party to have cleared the polling, donor and pledging requirements.

Former President Donald Trump was not among the listed participants and confirmed on Sunday that he would skip the debate.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel on Tuesday told ABC News' Rachel Scott that while "it's too late" for Trump to take part in Wednesday's debate, she "absolutely" hopes he participates in subsequent debates.

"I've made no secret of the fact that I want him on that debate stage, but I'm thrilled that we've got a great candidates that are going to be on that that stage. But I hope he'll be on future ones," she said.

The final count released by the RNC late Monday disqualifies at least four Republicans who claimed they had made the stage. Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, conservative talk radio host and a former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd all came short of the debate-stage qualifications: get at least 1% in three national polls or in a mix of national and early-state polls recognized by the committee and accrue 40,000 individual donors to their campaigns from at least 200 unique donors per state in 20 or more states.

PHOTO: A Republican Debate sign is up outside Fiserv Forum in preparation of the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, Aug. 21, 2023. (Mike De Sisti /The Milwaukee Journal/USA Today)

MORE: What to know about the 1st Republican presidential primary debate

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Johnson criticized the process the RNC used to finalize the candidates. The RNC approved candidates in a case-by-case review of each candidates' donor and polling numbers to make sure they met the qualifications.

"The debate process has been corrupted, plain and simple. Our campaign hit every metric put forward by the RNC and we have qualified for the debate. We'll be in Milwaukee Wednesday and will have more to say tomorrow," he wrote.

Suarez previously claimed to have met the polling benchmarks, which the RNC refuted. The mayor told ABC News' Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott last week that he would reconsider his campaign if he failed to qualify for the debate.

"Being honest, I think, remember, it only gets harder from here. Right? So, if you don't make the debate stage in the first debate, the thresholds go up. So, it's harder to make higher thresholds when you're not making lower thresholds," Suarez said earlier this month.

Will Hurd decried the RNC's polling requirements as "arbitrary, unclear, and lack consistency" in a statement Tuesday morning about his absence on the Milwaukee debate stage. Hurd had taken particular issue with one of the party's benchmarks for polls to qualify -- that each survey had to include 800 registered likely Republican voters.

One of the polls that would have put Hurd on stage did not ask a "screening question" that would have verified that requirement.

"The lack of transparency and confusion around the RNC's debate requirements is antithetical to the democratic process. The polling standards are arbitrary, unclear, and lack consistency. This is an unacceptable process for a presidential election. The American people deserve better," he wrote in a post on X. "The RNC discounted polls that included independents and Democrats willing to vote for a Republican. If the GOP is looking to grow our electorate and beat Joe Biden, then we better have a clear understanding of what qualifies as a likely Republican voter. Anyone, regardless of party, who is willing to check the box for a Republican should be considered a 'likely Republican voter.' Expanding our party should be applauded, not penalized."

Elder called the RNC's debate qualification process "rigged," and said he plans to sue the party for the "polling criteria set by the anti-conservative, anti-Trump RNC establishment." Elder said he plans to still be in Milwaukee on Wednesday, though he will not be on stage.

PHOTO: A Republican National Committee (RNC) sign stands in the media filing center ahead of the Republican presidential candidate debate in North Charleston, South Carolina, Jan. 14, 2016. (Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE)

MORE: Trump plans to skip GOP debate, considers interview with Tucker Carlson instead: Sources

All candidates had up until 48 hours prior to the Aug. 23 debate to prove to the RNC that they met the qualifications. Upon verification of the polling and donor thresholds, the candidates were presented with the GOP loyalty pledge, which meant they must agree to support the eventual party nominee. Each hopeful had to sign the pledge to get on the stage for the first debate.

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson waves to the audience during an event on Aug. 6, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

MORE: RNC won't present loyalty pledge to candidates until after they qualify for debate: Sources

The front-runner, Trump, said he wouldn't attend the debate. He pre-recorded a sit-down interview with Tucker Carlson last week, which will be aired as counterprogramming to the GOP debate on Fox Wednesday.

Trump, in addition to forgoing the stage, has said he would not sign the loyalty pledge. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said last week that she has a "feeling" former President Trump will sign the party's loyalty pledge if he decided to participate in the debate, however.

"He's signed the pledge before. He signed it to get on the South Carolina ballot," McDaniel said on NewsNation. "I have a feeling if he wants to be on the debate stage, he's going to sign that pledge."

ABC News' Libby Cathey and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.

1st Republican presidential primary debate: Who's in, who's out originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Outside a courthouse last month in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, supporters swarmed around Karen Read, a woman charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John OKeefe, in January 2022.

Prosecutors allege Read hit OKeefe with her car and left him to die in the middle of a snowstorm after the two got into an argument earlier in the day.

Read has strenuously denied the allegations, saying in an interview with ABC News Matt Gutman, I did not kill John OKeefe. I have never harmed a hair on John OKeefes head."

Now, Reads defense is making national headlines after her lawyers alleged in court documents that a fellow police officer was involved in OKeefes death and colluded with others in a coverup. After posting bail, Read has spent much of the past 18 months in and out of court.

In a statement to ABC News, the prosecution says, There was no conspiracy or coverup. Such claims have been systematically refuted by evidence submitted to Norfolk Superior Court."

PHOTO: Karen Read appears in Norfolk County Superior Court for a pre-trial hearing. She is charged with the murder of her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, May 3, 2023. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The couple first dated in their 20s and reconnected on Facebook more than a decade later. Read says she admired that OKeefe was taking care of his sister and brother-in-laws children after their parents passed away seven years prior.

Read says she soon became part of the O'Keefe family, but their relationship also had its struggles. Read says OKeefe was relying more on her to take care of the kids, and that he criticized some of the decisions she made with them.

Read claims the couple had an argument on New Year's Eve when they were away on vacation. OKeefe became incoherently drunk and didnt come back to their room until after 3 a.m., according to Read, leaving her to ring in the new year with OKeefes niece and nephew.

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I felt very much taken advantage of. He apologized profusely for what happened on New Year's Eve. And he said, If you can't get over it, then you need to spend some time at your house. I can't keep apologizing. I don't wanna keep rehashing this, Read said.

A few weeks later, the couple was invited to meet up with some friends at the Waterfall Bar in Canton, where they ran into Brian Albert, a fellow Boston police officer who Read says OKeefe looked up to.

PHOTO: Karen Read and John O'Keefe are shown in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Karen Read)

At the bar, according to Read, OKeefe told her they were invited to continue hanging out at Alberts home.

I said, Can we make sure we're welcome here? Nobody extended the invite to me. I didn't hear the invite extended to you, Read said.

The couple then drove to Alberts home. What happened next is disputed.

So I pull at the foot of the driveway. It's snowing. John has no coat on. It's windy. So I drop him off. He goes up the driveway and approaches the side door. And as I see him approach the door, I look down at my phone, Read said.

Read says after about 10 minutes of waiting in her car, she became irritated that OKeefe still hadnt gotten in touch with her. She says she then drove back to OKeefes home, where she continued calling him before falling asleep at around 1:30 a.m.

Read says that when she woke up before 5 a.m., OKeefe still wasnt home, so she started canvassing the neighborhood. She enlisted help from OKeefes friend Kerry Roberts and Jennifer McCabe, the sister-in-law of Brian Albert, who was also at Alberts house the night before.

The three women headed to Alberts home. After pulling in, Read says she saw OKeefes body immediately. OKeefe was pronounced dead at the hospital. He died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia, according to the chief medical examiner.

It wasnt long before Read became the prime suspect in OKeefes death. Authorities say they noticed a cracked taillight after seizing Reads SUV.

I had told both Jen and Kerry that I cracked my taillight. And I said, I just hit my car on top of everything, but I didn't look at the damage. And both women said, It's cracked. It's cracked. Calm down, you cracked your taillight. You're OK, let's go look for John, Read said.

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But according to police statements, McCabe told authorities that as they searched for OKeefe, Read stated, Could I have hit himDid I hit him?

When OKeefes body was discovered, first responders who arrived on scene claim to have overheard Read saying I hit him. I hit him.

Read disputes that, telling ABC News, I said, I hit him? It was preceded by a, Did, and proceeded by a question mark. What I thought could have happened was that, did I incapacitate him unwittingly, somehow, and then in his drunkenness [he] passed out? Read said.

Asked how many drinks she had at the bar that night, Read told ABC News, probably about four. But prosecutors allege Read was intoxicated after having nine drinks that night.

Still, Read claims to ABC News its not possible that she may have hit OKeefe unwittingly with her SUV.

Read has been indicted on second-degree murder charges.

Investigators reported finding fragments of broken glass on the rear bumper on Reads vehicle and that a broken cocktail glass was found by what appeared to be patches of blood near OKeefes body.

The victim Mr. O'Keefe is last observed on surveillance video with a cocktail glass in his right hand. Same arm that is injured, the same type of glass that is recovered from the defendant's car, prosecutors said.

In court documents, the prosecution claims that Reads blood alcohol level could have been between .13% and .29%, which is above the legal limit of .08.

Prosecutors say that pieces of Reads broken taillight were found on the scene the day OKeefes body was found. More fragments of the taillight were found the following week, according to Canton police reports, after the snow melted to reveal more at the scene.

But Reads attorney Alan Jackson does not believe that claim, telling ABC News the taillight pieces, were planted after the fact.

Asked what Reads defense believes actually happened to OKeefe after Read dropped him off, Jackson said, I think he walked into the house. I think he was confronted, was likely brought down to the basement. I think that confrontation got physical, and he was beaten. He was beaten to a point of unconsciousness, Jackson said.

Jackson argues that the autopsy photos of OKeefe support his own theory, and not the prosecutions claim.

It looks like he's been in a fistfight and he's been beaten...He's got some defensive wound bruises on the backs of his hand...He's got this massive laceration on the back of his head, a big, giant gash about two and a half inches exactly lateral -- going from left to right, two black eyes, a cut over his right eye, a cut over his nose, Jackson said.

Jackson told ABC News, This was a cover up...John was murdered inside that house. His body was placed outside."

MORE: Supporters urge officials to exonerate Christina Boyer, 'poltergeist girl' convicted of killing 3-year-old daughter

The prosecution said in its statement to ABC News that, according to OKeefes cellphone GPS records and 11 witness statements, OKeefe never entered Alberts home. The medical examiner found no signs of Mr. OKeefe being involved in any type of physical altercation or fight.

Attorneys for Brian Albert and Jennifer McCabe did not respond to requests for comment. In a previous statement to the Boston Herald, McCabes attorney said, The whole scenario is baseless.

Reads next court appearance is set for September.

Karen Read denies killing Boston police officer as prosecution refutes cover-up allegations originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
SOS signal seen from Miami U.S. Coast Guard aircrew on Cay Sal, where a man had been stranded for three days.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man Friday after he had been stranded for three days on an uninhabited island south of Florida.

An auxiliarist aircrew out of the Miami Coast Guard station was patrolling the Florida straits when the crew spotted a boat firing flares near Cay Sal, an island that is part of the Bahamas but located between the Florida Keys and Cuba. They notified the USCG Key West Sector, according to the USCG news release.

After locating the man who was sending the flares, another USCG Miami aircrew dropped supplies including food, water and a radio. With the radio, the man told the crew he had been stranded on the island for three days after his sailboat was became inoperable.

'Craziest experience of my life': Pilot survives crash in waters off Florida Keys

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The USCG Cutter Paul Clark crew rescued the man from the island and transported him to Royal Bahamas Defence Force in good health.

The identity of the man has not been released. A spokesperson for the USCG Seventh District originally said he is a 64-year-old Bahamian man, but later confirmed that he is of German nationality.

Were proud to have saved this mans life. This case serves as a perfect example of why you must have the proper safety equipment on your vessel, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Dev Craig, a Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstander. Without seeing the flare, the case may not have had a successful outcome.

A Miami U.S. Coast Guard auxiliarist aircrew captured this photo from Cay Sal, where a man was stranded for three days.

Scene where German man had been stranded for three days before the U.S. Coast Guard rescued him.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man stranded on Cay Sal island near Bahamas rescued after 3 days
Study indicates blue light filtering glasses have little benefit for most: 3 eye-healthy habits to adapt instead

While many people have noticed excessive screen time can result in tired feeling eyes and may affect sleep, a new study questions the role of blue light in this phenomenon.

Blue light is part of the visible spectrum of light and is emitted from the sun, and to a lesser extent, from our screens.

Despite experts warning that there is a lack of evidence to support the benefits claimed by their use, blue-light-filtering lenses have remained popular for eye health, with an increase in demand during the pandemic when most shifted their lives onto screens.

"Blue light filtration typically refers to a coating, which can be applied to corrective prescription lenses or plain lenses," Dr. Jen Tsai, an optometrist in New York City and founder of Line of Sight, told ABC News.

A large review of existing clinical trials published this week found that blue-light-filtering glasses did not show any reproducible short-term benefit in terms of eye strain or eye health, and had mixed or inconclusive results regarding sleep quality.

The review looked at 17 studies comparing use of blue-light-filtering lenses with non-blue-light-filtering lenses in adult patients over the course of days to weeks, with the longest study looking at five weeks of daily use.

The review's authors found that, based on the current data, blue-light-filtering lenses have "probably little or no effect" in reducing eye strain.

Meanwhile, some studies included in the review show minor, reversible side effects from blue light glasses and blue light-filtering lenses such as headaches, low mood and discomfort.

"This systematic review found that blue-light-filtering spectacle lenses may not attenuate symptoms of eye strain with computer use over a short-term follow-up period, compared to non-blue-light-filtering lenses," the authors wrote. "Further, this review found no clinically meaningful difference in changes to CFF [critical flicker-fusion frequency] with blue-light-filtering lenses compared to non-blue-light-filtering lenses."

While there is data to suggest blue light may have an effect on circadian rhythm and possibly sleep quality, this large review also found blue-light-filtering glasses had an inconclusive effect on sleep scores, with a few individual studies reporting benefits and others not.

PHOTO: A woman is seen using computer with blue glasses in this stock image. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)

The experts ABC News spoke with recommended avoiding screens before bed and if that isn't possible, using the night mode on your laptop or phone instead.

Previous studies have also found that blue-light-blocking lenses placed within the eye itself do not decrease risk of developing or progression of age-related macular degeneration, the most common form of retinal disease in the United States.

"Our retinas have a specific area, called the macula lutea, that is responsible for a large part of our vision and accumulates yellow pigment," Dr. Jose Pulido, a retina specialist and director of translational research at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the newly-presented research, told ABC News. "This pigment specifically absorbs blue-light and some studies have suggested excess blue light exposure can place stress on your retina, however, this connection is likely only relevant to those with pre-existing retinal disease and still requires further study."

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Dr. Rahul Khurana, a California-based retina specialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, told ABC News that the discomfort people experience from prolonged screen time is due more to muscle fatigue and a lower blink rate.

"When you blink, it lubricates the eye and makes it feel comfortable," Khurana said. "When you stare at a screen, your blink rate goes from 15 times a minute to 7 times a minute, so your eyes dry out and they get heavy and feel terrible."

Khurana said he has "no reason" to believe there will be different results if blue-light-filtering products are studied for longer periods of time, saying, "We have no current evidence blue light from screens is harmful to your eyes."

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The experts ABC News spoke with instead offered these recommendations to help protect the eyes:

1. Wear sunglasses with broad spectrum protection when outside. The sun emits not only blue light but UV light as well, which increases your risk of developing cataracts.

2. Avoid prolonged staring at screens. The 20-20-20 rule can help: For every 20 minutes a person looks at a screen, they should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

3. Use artificial tears with extended screen time if your eyes are prone to drying out. Additionally, if you have contact lenses, try alternating prescription eyeglasses.

If you continue to suffer from eye discomfort, see your local optometrist or ophthalmologist for further evaluation.

Dr. Devina Mehta, licensed dermatologist, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

Study indicates blue light filtering glasses have little benefit for most: 3 eye-healthy habits to adapt instead originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
A giraffe calf who was born without any spots officially has a name!

David Bright, the zoo director at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, confirmed to "Good Morning America" the reticulated giraffe has been named Kipekee, which in Swahili means "unique."

Brights Zoo held a naming contest for the rare calf on its Facebook page from Aug. 22 to Sept. 4, asking the public to choose from four Swahili name options:

PHOTO: A reticulated giraffe was born without spots at the end of July at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tenn. (Courtesy of Brights Zoo)

Kipekee (means "unique")

Firali (means "unusual" or "extraordinary")

Shakiri (means "She is most beautiful")

Jamella (means "one of great beauty")

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The spotless calf was born July 31 and its appearance after its birth, according to Bright, was "definitely a shock." Today, Bright said Kipekee is "doing well and growing."

"This is our first one without a pattern," said Bright, who has been the zoo director at the private, family-run zoo for the last two decades.

PHOTO: The giraffe is already six feet tall, according to Brights Zoo. (Courtesy of Brights Zoo)

According to Bright, a reticulated giraffe's spotted pattern typically develops in the womb, so giraffes are usually born with their spots clearly visible.

"There's been three others born that look just like her. The last one was Tokyo, Japan [in] 1972," Bright said. "The one before that was four years prior, again in Tokyo, to the same mom, and before that there was one in Uganda."

The zoo's press release said giraffe experts think the solid brown giraffe is "the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet."

PHOTO: Brights Zoo is running a naming contest for the young giraffe until Labor Day. (Courtesy of Brights Zoo)

Bright said Kipekee's unusual appearance doesn't impact her health and the young calf has otherwise been developing as expected.

"[As] we do for all of our giraffe calves when they're first born, we have vets come in at 24 hours and draw blood again at 48 hours, and that allows us to see where they stand on the chart. And all of her blood work came back great. So that means that we know that she's healthy," Bright said.

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Kipekee has been doted on alongside the zoo's other calf, a male who was born two weeks before her.

Bright said they hope the zoo's newest arrivals will inspire conservation efforts to protect the endangered animals, who are native to Africa.

"Our first thought was this will be great for conservation. This will draw enough attention to the giraffe species that hopefully we can get more people involved in supporting some of the great giraffe conservation networks that are out there that are doing work in the wild to protect this species," Bright said.

Rare giraffe born without spots gets 'unique' name originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
This article originally appeared on Outside

There are 193 million acres of national-forest land in this country, with at least one national forest or national grassland unit in all but eight states. And yet the vast majority of us tend to overlook our national forests, focusing on national parks instead.

"Our national forests are definitely less well-known," says Mary Mitsos, president of the National Forest Foundation, a non-profit that helps lead restoration efforts and responsible recreation. "When we started national parks, we started marketing those parks. We built railroads and highways to them. We talked about their beauty. National forests have never been marketed. They're the unknown lands."

Hidden gems: Dixie National Forest in Utah (Photo: Stephanie Pearson)

The national-forest system was originally established in 1891 to supply timber and drinking water for the country, and now includes preserving fish and wildlife and providing sustainable recreation. "Land of many uses" is not the most inspiring slogan, but our national forests hold some of the most beautiful landscapes in the U.S.

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I do most of my camping, hiking and fishing on national forest land in Asheville, North Carolina, where I live. I'm surrounded by Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, both protected landscapes that are just as stunning as what I can find inside the closest national park, and often less crowded.

Here I've compiled a list of the greatest hikes I have found in national forests across the country.

Fifth Water Hot Springs

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah

The Forest: The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache covers 2.2 million acres in Northern Utah and the southwestern corner of Wyoming, bordering some of the fastest-growing cities in the West (we're looking at you, Park City and Salt Lake City). It's a mix of pristine backcountry, including seven different federally designated Wilderness areas, and frontcountry, with ski resorts that operate on forest land and mountain-bike trails that drop right into Park City.

The wonders of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah (Photo: Courtesy USFS)

The Hike: Fifth Water Creek is a tributary to the larger Diamond Fork River, about an hour outside of Salt Lake City, which has a trio of waterfalls that alone would make this five-mile out and back a worthy adventure. But the real draw is the series of thermal hot springs, separated into distinct soaking pools, along this creek.

The largest pool sits at the base of the lower waterfall, attracting the majority of visitors because it's so damn picture perfect, but you can head upstream to the top waterfall and find more and quieter pools. Each typically measures at a different temperature (111 is the hottest), with the pools getting cooler as you move downstream. You can even sit under a piping-hot waterfall. Start the hike at the Three Forks Trailhead in Diamond Fork Canyon, and follow Fifth Water Creek Trail, gaining 700 feet in 2.5 miles while following Sixth Water Creek and then Fifth Water Creek. You'll smell the sulfur as you approach the pools.

Where to Stay: There are dispersed backpacking sites (no reservation needed) on Fifth Water Creek Trail that you can reach by continuing past the waterfalls. You can also grab a site at Diamond Campground, off Diamond Fork Road near the Fifth Water Creek trailhead, which has 60 tent-only sites, half of which are first-come, first-served (from $24).

Franconia Ridge Loop

White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire

The Forest: New England has few national parks, so White Mountain National Forest gets its share of attention, seeing nearly 6 million visitors every year. The 800,000 acres, which span sections of New Hampshire and Maine, protect the tallest peaks in the Northeast, amid a network of backcountry lakes and streams.

The Hike: If you're only going to do one hike in all of New England, consider the 8.3-mile Franconia Ridge Loop, which traverses three looming peaks (Mount Lafayette, Mount Lincoln, and Little Haystack), with more than a mile of exposed ridgeline trail offering breathtaking views. You can do the loop in either direction, but most people hike counterclockwise, taking the Old Bridle Path to the Greenleaf Trail and summiting Mount Lafayette. This way is hard, gaining 3,566 feet, most of which comes at you in the final two miles of the ascent, but you can get snacks and fresh water at the Greenleaf Hut, maintained and staffed by the Appalachian Mountain Club, when nearing the top.

Rebecca Upham of Sandwich, New Hampshire, heads north up Mount Lincoln on the Franconia Ridge Loop. (Photo: Will Viner)

The summit of Mount Lafayette offers a 360-degree view of the White Mountains, all the way to Mount Washington on a clear day. From Lafayette, 1.7 miles of knife-edge ridgeline connects to Mount Lincoln and Little Haystack. The fun isn't over, even after you've reached the final summit, as the tail end of the loop takes you past several waterfalls, including the 80-foot Cloudland Falls.

Where to Stay: Lafayette Place Campground, with 97 tent sites in Franconia Ridge State Park, is located across the street from the Old Bridle Path Trailhead. Make reservations up to 11 months in advance,or try to snag one of the seven first-come, first-served sites before your hike.

Double Arch Loop

Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky

A visitor hikes among the arches within Daniel Boone National Forest. (Photo: Michael Benge Collection)

The Forest: The Daniel Boone is rugged country, encompassing 708,000 acres of gorges and steep slopes in mountainous eastern Kentucky. The Red River Gorge Geological Area within it is a National Natural Landmark known for its spectacular sandstone rock features and natural arches.

Courthouse Rock in the Red River Gorge, Daniel Boone National Forest, in autumn colors (Photo: volgariver/Getty)

The Hike: The six-mile Double Arch Loop takes in the best of the Red River Gorge Geological Area, tracing the bottom of a tall sandstone cliff through a lush forest and passing three of the area's most prominent rock features. The hiking is a mix of easy gravel-road walking and steep, singletrack climbs. Start at Auxier Ridge Trailhead and hike counter-clockwise, combining Auxier Ridge Trail with Courthouse Rock Trail, passing the eponymous outcropping that looks like a courthouse, and Haystack Rock, a freestanding pinnacle popular with rock climbers. After Haystack Rock, take Auxier Branch Trail to Double Arch Trail to the arch it is named for, which is actually two stone expanses stacked on top of each other. Steps lead to the edge of Double Arch, and it's wide enough for you to climb if you promise to be careful.

Maiza Lima and Merley the dog go for a romp in Daniel Boone National Forest. (Photo: Irene Yee)

The view looking through to the other side takes in a wide expanse of Daniel Boone Forest, including Courthouse and Haystack rocks. This loop is really just the beginning, though. A number of interesting outcroppings aren't on marked trails--like smaller arches and even a steep rock face where Native Americans carved foot and hand holds into the stone for climbing. Its super cool and pretty steep: I got spooked and turned around halfway up.

Where to Stay: There are plenty of primitive backpacking sites along this loop (no fee or reservation required), or you can pitch a tent at Koomer Ridge Campground, which has 54 first- come, first-served tent sites.

Gray's Peak Loop

Arapaho National Forest, Colorado

The Forest: Tucked into the Rocky Mountains, west of Denver, the Arapaho National Forest straddles the Continental Divide with just over 700,000 acres of peaks and valleys adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. It's managed in conjunction with Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland for a combined 1.7 million acres of protected land. The Arapaho is home to some of the state's tallest mountains, as well as pristine stretches of the Colorado and South Platte Rivers.

The Hike: Colorado is known for its collection of 14,000-foot peaks, affectionately dubbed 14ers, and this hike takes you up two of them, both with grand views, in just over eight miles. Start at the Grays Peak Trailhead, which will give you a jump on the elevation you have to tackle, as it begins at 11,280 feet, and venture onto Grays Peak across Stevens Gulch for a view of the towering, completely tree-less mountains ahead. Grays is on the left and Torreys is to the right. The route is tough, climbing 3,000 feet in just 3.5 miles to the summit of the 14,278-foot Grays Peak, where a path traces a line across the ridgeline between Yeti-cooler-sized rocks.

The views from the top stretch way into Rocky Mountain National Park. But you're not done; head north along the ridge to the saddle between Grays and Torreys and start climbing the southeast flank to the summit of the latter, at 14,267 feet. To descend, head back to the saddle and take the trail that drops down the flank to the east, creating a small loop to rejoin Grays Trail back to Stevens Gulch.

Where to Stay: You'll find dispersed camping throughout the hike. There are even several sites near the trailhead for a primitive car-camping experience. No fee or reservation required.

Little Green Mountain Loop

Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina

Liz Averill at Schoolhouse Falls on Little Green Mountain Loop, Nantahala National Forest (Photo: Graham Averill)

The Forest: The 531,000-acre Nantahala National Forest protects some of the most remote terrain of mountainous Western North Carolina. The forest has outstanding features and recreation areas, from the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi (Whitewater Falls) to the largest old-growth forest (Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest).

Little ones on top of Little Green Knob, Nantala National Forest (Photo: Graham Averill)

The Hike: Panthertown Valley, an isolated region within Nantahala National Forest, has been dubbed the Yosemite of the South for its prevalence of granite domes and waterfalls. The six-mile Little Green Mountain Loop takes in the best view of the valley, hitting tall waterfalls, sandy riverside beaches, and dramatic mountaintop overlooks. From the Salt Rock Trailhead, hike clockwise, combining Mac's Gap Trail with Little Green Trail through a pine forest to steep steps up Little Green Mountain, a 4,040-foot peak with an exposed granite slope overlooking the lush valley below.

Drop down the other side of Little Green to find Schoolhouse Falls, a 20-foot waterfall that drops into a crystal-clear swimming hole, before connecting with Panthertown Valley Trail back to Salt Rock Trailhead. Stop at Sand Beach along Panthertown Creek.

Where to Stay: You'll have your choice of primo backcountry sites once you're inside Panthertown Valley. There are spots on top of Little Green Mountain as well as options near Panthertown Creek. No fees or reservations required.

Upper Lewis Lake and Granite Dome

Stanislaus National Forest, California

The Forest: Stanislaus National Forest offers nearly 1 million acres (898,000 to be exact) of rivers, mountains, and backcountry lakes, encompassing similar topography as its super-famous neighbor, Yosemite National Park. The forest occupies the choice space between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, protecting quintessential alpine terrain in the Sierra Nevada.

The Emigrant Wilderness, Stanislaus National Forest (Photo: Courtesy USFS)

The Hike: the 113,000-acre Emigrant Wilderness butts right up against Yosemite National Park, and 10,322-foot Granite Dome sits squarely in its heart. There's no official trail up the monolith, but on all sides are easy scrambles that require no technical climbing. From the Kennedy Meadows Trailhead, take the Huckleberry Trail, which follows Summit Creek before climbing steeply past a series of backcountry lakes and high alpine meadows, full of wildflowers in the summer.

Then ditch the established Huckleberry Trail for a non-marked side trail between Summit Creek and Lewis Lakes Creek, roughly seven miles from the Kennedy Meadows Trailhead. Follow cairns to Sardella Lake and then Upper Lewis Lake, at the base of Granite Dome, a nine-mile hike from Kennedy Meadows. From here take an easy class II scramble up the north side of Granite Dome. From the top, you can see several backcountry lakes, as well as the volcanic ridges of Leavitt and Grizzly Peak, and as far as the northern peaks of Yosemite National Park.

Where to Stay: Kennedy Meadows Resort operates a set of cabins and campsites (starting at $25 for campsites) at the Kennedy Meadow trailhead. There are beautiful backcountry sites at both Lewis Lakes, but you'll need to get a (free) wilderness permit in person from the Summit Ranger Station.

Iron Creek to Sawtooth Lake

Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho

Sawtooth Lake in Sawtooth National Forest, which protects 10 mountain ranges and 1,000 lakes (Photo: Courtesy USFS)

The Forest: Sawtooth National Forest is a large reason why the state of Idaho is so awesome. The 2-million-acre forest protects 10 different mountain ranges, more than 1,000 lakes, and over 1,000 miles of trails. The 43-mile long Sawtooth Range, with its imposing, jagged peaks towering above the expansive Sawtooth Valley, is the forest's trademark.

The Hike: A 10-mile out and back from the Iron Creek Trailhead to the edge of the serene Sawtooth Lake will take you into the heart of the Sawtooth Range. From the trailhead, the Iron Creek Trail crosses the river of the same name and delivers you quickly into Sawtooth Wilderness as you skip through meadows with big views of the cliffs of the range ahead.

It's an easy-going route, gaining just 1,700 feet in five miles before reaching Sawtooth Lake, the largest backcountry lake in the forest, nestled at the bottom of 10,190-foot Mount Regan. On the way back to the trailhead, take a quick side trip to the much smaller Alpine Lake, which sits at 8,337 feet in elevation and sometimes stays frozen well into summer.

Where to Stay: There are great campsites near Sawtooth Lake, and Alpine Lake for that matter (no reservations or fees, but you do need a permit). The Iron Creek Campground has nine first-come, first-served sites (no fees) along Iron Creek near the trailhead.

Yant Flat to Candy Cliffs

Dixie National Forest, Utah

Candy Cliffs, on the trail known as Yant Flat to Candy Cliffs, Dixie National Forest (Photo: Courtesy USFS)

The Forest: Dixie National Forest has diversity in spades, protecting everything from high alpine lakes and mountain forests to red rock canyons on the desert floor. It's the largest national forest in Utah, protecting almost 2 million acres between the Great Basin and the Colorado River in the southern portion of the state. Zion National Park is close, acting like a magnet to the majority of travelers, so you'll likely have Dixie to yourself.

The Hike: Utah is known for its arid desert landscape (hello Arches and Zion), and this hike delivers you to Yant Flat, where dirt gives way to an expansive plateau of rolling sandstone hills that look as if they have been painted with stripes and patches of pink, red, and white. The hike is easy; from the Yant Flat Trailhead, follow Anna's View Point Trail for 1.3 miles through a scrubby forest at the base of Pine Valley Mountain before hitting the edge of the Flat. Now choose your own adventure as you explore the mounds of sandstone off trail.

Where to Stay: The access road, FR-032, has a variety of established campsites as you approach the trailhead. No reservations needed.

Bear Creek Trail

Bitterroot National Forest, Montana

A hiker explores Bitterroot National Forest. This image shows Bear Creek Overlook, a 4.5-mile trail. Below is described a popular shorter one on a riverbank. (Photo: Hannah Featherman/USFS)

The Forest: Protecting 1.6 million acres of Montana and Idaho's most dramatic mountains and rivers, the Bitterroot has recreation to spare. The Bitterroot Valley is one of the most cherished fly-fishing destinations in the world, while the heavily glaciated peaks of the Bitterroot Range serve as a beacon for climbers, hikers, and skiers.

The Trail: Bear Creek Trail is an easy three-mile out and back, climbing gently along the side of Bear Creek to Bear Creek Falls, which tumble through a granite gorge in two different channels of whitewater, creating an island of rock and trees in the middle. You'll have plenty of pools to swim in as you hike, and the large granite boulders in and around the creek make for good scrambling and sunning spots. You're hiking inside a narrow, forested canyon, with rocky peaks rising in the distance on either side.

It's a family-friendly trek to the falls, but you have options from there to extend the mileage. Keep hiking past the falls and you'll enter the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, one of the largest federally designated wilderness areas in the country. Continue deeper into the wilderness on the North Fork Trail and you'll hit Bear Lake, and eventually, Bear Creek Pass on the Idaho/Montana border.

Where to Stay: There are several small campgrounds along Highway 93, which provides access to Bitterroot National Forest and the Bear Creek Trailhead. Check out the quiet Indian Trees Campground, which has 15 sites tucked into the ponderosa pines. Get reservations up to six months in advance ($15 a night).

North Country National Scenic Trail

Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota

The endless golds of the North Country National Scenic Trail, Sheyenne National Grassland (Photo: USFS/Dakota Prairie Grasslands)

The Forest: OK, Sheyenne National Grassland isn't a "forest" per say, but our collection of national grasslands are managed by the National Forest Service, and the Sheyenne is a standout by any standard. The 135,000-acre parcel in southeastern North Dakota is a mix of public and private land comprised of sand dunes and tallgrass prairie. This is quintessential Wild West: plains and vast open space as far as the eye can see.

The Hike: The North Country National Scenic Trail runs from New York to North Dakota, but a 30-mile section crosses the Sheyenne National Grassland. It's an easy gravel path with minimal elevation gain, and a broad expanse of tall grass and wildflowers surrounding you. Pick your distance, but we like a 10-mile out and back that uses an unnamed side trail to access Mirror Pool, a swimming hole near the Sheyenne River.

Where to Stay: The Sheyenne National Grassland has two established campgrounds. Jorgen's Hollow has 14 tent sites inside an oak-savanna forest, providing shade and putting you within quick striking distance of the North Country National Scenic Trail. All sites are first come, first-served, $10 per night.

Graham Averill is Outside magazine's national parks columnist, but he spends the majority of his outdoor time in Pisgah National Forest, which is close to his home in Asheville, North Carolina. All of Graham's outdoor firsts have happened in national forests; first camping trip (Chattahoochee National Forest), first rock-climbing trip (Pisgah National Forest), first mountain-bike accident (Arapaho National Forest)all ending in smiles and with no emergency-room visits.

The author on Mount Pisgah, overlooking Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. (Photo: Liz Averill)

If you liked this story by Graham Averill, check out these others from him on hiking and camping:

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Rhode Island is known for its lighthouses, the oldest being the Sandy Point Light House. Originally built in 1823 on Goat Island, a slender spit of land in Narragansett Bay, just off the shore of downtown Newport, the lighthouse was moved to nearby Prudence Island in 1851.

Today, the Newport Harbor Light, also known as the Green Light, sits at the northernmost point of Goat Island and, to the south of the islands southernmost tip, tucked away in a quaint private enclave with only a few charming homes, is a playful residential homage to the Ocean States maritime past and historical lighthouses.

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The $10.9 million lighthouse-inspired residence is situated on 1.1 grassy acres with views of Newport Harbor. The meandering, three-story layout offers four ensuite bedrooms, plus a couple of powder rooms, across its 6,000 square feet of living space.

The wood-paneled fireside lounge at the top of the homes lighthouse wing.

Not only does the home have a lighthouse-like wing that houses a guest suite, an aubergine dining room, and, at the top, a wood-paneled fireside lounge with wrap-around views, the entire house was built in the style and with the precise craftsmanship of a vintage yacht. Just inside the front door, theres built-in bench seating, porthole windows, gleaming brass and wood railings, and, at the base of the stairway that curls up the second floor, a ship speed indicator. Throughout the home are several fireplaces, custom millwork, and wood accents with glossy marine-grade varnish.

The layout of the home is as unconventional as its exterior and includes a living room with a deep cushioned window seat for reading, movies, and naps; a gourmet bay-view kitchen; and a separate, ground-floor entertaining space with a step-down lounge and professional bar.

The three en-suite guest bedrooms are clustered on the ground floor, while the second-floor primary suite, accessed down a long window-lined corridor with a built-in office area, includes two walk-in closets, a second laundry room, a luxury bath, and a harbor-view deck.

The roof terrace is reminiscent of the deck of a vintage yacht.

A courtyard patio has a wall-mounted outdoor TV for alfresco movie nights and a rock-lined spa for nippy coastal evenings. There are additionally five harbor-view decks, including a spacious, sun-drenched roof terrace redolent of the deck of a vintage boat.

Other notable features include a new cedar roof, commercial-size laundry machines, state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems, whole-house security, and a generator capable of powering the entire home.

The one-of-a-kind property is listed with Michelle Kirby and Kate Kirby Greenman of Gustave White Sothebys International Realty.

Click here for all the photos of 2 Harbor View Drive.

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Seven suspects aged 21 and under were arraigned in Metro Detroit on August 16 in connection to a wave of Ford Bronco Raptor thefts in the area.

According to a report from CBS Detroit, the investigation related to this case was actually opened by the Canton Police Department back in October 2022. At the time, seven 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor SUVs were stolen out of a Ford-owned lot in Canton Township. Several more Bronco Raptors were also stolen from lots in Dearborn and Woodhaven that same fall, with investigators believing the thefts were all connected in some form. The Special Operations Group within the Canton Police Department initiated a large investigation into the missing trucks, ultimately locating 15 stolen vehicles. Ten of the recovered vehicles were missing Bronco Raptors, while five additional vehicles were also located during the search. The recoveries took place across Michigan, as well as out of state in Texas, Arizona, and Alaska. Investigators also recovered an AR-style pistol, as well as $28,426 in cash. Police officials believe the large sum of money was acquired by way of the sale of stolen vehicles.

Ford

The case reached a new point on August 15, when officers from several Michigan police departments arrested seven suspects in connection to 16 Bronco Raptor thefts. The resale value of those vehicles exceeds $1,760,000.

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"We applaud the outstanding efforts of our police officers and partners in ensuring community safety, said Canton Police Chief Chad Baugh in a statement. Their dedication and collaborative investigations underscore our commitment to our citizens. Our sincere appreciation goes to the Wayne County Prosecutor's office and our policing partners for their unwavering commitment to service."

Ford

All seven suspects were charged in the 35th District Court, with their next court appearance set for August 25.

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Mass school shootings in the U.S. are an ongoing tragedy. This year has already seen several, and included the deaths of three children and three staffers at the Covenant School in Nashville. Last year saw the deaths of 19 children and two adults at a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

While mass shootings at schools are largely unpredictable, new research is attempting to give people insight into how likely their state is to experience one of these devastating incidents.

We all read and watch the news and see more examples of horrific mass shootings, study co-author Cameron MacKenzie, associate professor of industrial engineering at Iowa State University, tells Yahoo Life.Knowing the national risk of a mass shooting and the local risk of a mass shooting at a specific location can help inform policymakers and decision makers about the real threat of a mass shooting and to what extent we should allocate resources and take measures to mitigate the risk of mass shootings.

How likely are you to have a mass shooting in your state? Heres what the research found, as well as what it means for you.

What the study says

The study suggests that states with the greatest risk of mass shootings  defined as an incident where four or more victims are killed by a gun in a public place  are the ones with the largest populations.

What are the key findings?

For the study, researchers from Iowa State University used statistical methods and computer simulations on a database of mass shootings that have been recorded from 1966 to 2020 by the Violence Project. The nonprofit found that the U.S. has experienced 173 mass shootings during that time period, with at least one a year since 1966.

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With that data, the researchers used different models to try to predict and calculate the expected number of mass shootings in each state, the probability that at least one would happen in each state in a year and potential locations for those shootings.

The researchers found that the states with the largest risk of a mass shooting were the ones with the largest populations  California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. Those five states made up almost 50% of the predicted mass shootings. The researchers also noted that certain states, including Iowa and Delaware, have never had a mass shooting.

Based on calculations, the risk of a mass shooting at the largest California high school is about 10 times higher than the risk at the largest Iowa high school. Also worth noting: The number of mass shootings in the U.S. has increased by about one shooting every 10 years since the 1970s.

What experts think

MacKenzie says the findings reveal there are an average of six mass shootings in the U.S. each year. "This translates to a very, very small chance that a specific school will experience a mass shooting  an annual chance between one in 100,000 and one in 10 million," he says. "This does not mean there is no risk, but it is very small."

But MacKenzie acknowledges that the definition of mass shooting can vary. When most media outlets report numbers on mass shootings, they seem to frequently rely on a definition used by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). GVA defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot  injured or killed  not including the shooter, at any location, he says. According to this broader definition, there are more than 600 mass shootings in the United States in a year.

These shootings typically involve the targeting of specific people (such as after an argument), he says. "The lives lost from these types of shootings are tragic, and we should work to prevent these types of shootings, but shootings that target specific individuals are qualitatively different than the stricter definition of mass shootings used in our study," MacKenzie explains.

Mass shootings in any location are exceedingly rare, Jaclyn Schildkraut, executive director of Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, tells Yahoo Life. When considering all offenses known to law enforcement, homicides in general make up less than 1% of these crimes," she says. "Mass shootings make up less than 1% of this 1%.

Schildkraut says that mass shootings in schools are even rarer, adding, They typically account, on average, for about 25% of all mass shootings occurring between 1966 and 2022.

Why it matters

MacKenzie says the study findings should help make parents a little less worried about their child being a victim of a school mass shooting, but also acknowledges that it isnt necessarily that simple. Our results show that it is very, very unlikely that a K-12 student will attend a school during a mass shooting, he says. If you are a parent of a child at a school that experiences a mass shooting, explaining that the school was extremely unlucky provides no comfort.

Schildkraut agrees. It is incredibly important for parents to understand that school shootings are incredibly and statistically rare, she says. We do know from all of the school shootings that have happened, particularly when highlighted in the news  Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde  that these incidents are possible, however rare they may be, which is why it is important for schools to have comprehensive emergency response plans that include practices for lockdowns but are not solely focused on active shooter events. Schools should plan and prepare for every bad day they may have, not only the worst day.

MacKenzie says that parents should understand that mass shootings are very low probability but high consequence events. He adds, Taking precautions is reasonable, but we should not over-exaggerate the threat or live in fear that our children will experience such a horrific event.
Alabama Barker has revealed she struggles with an autoimmune and thyroid disease while addressing body-shaming comments about her weight.

The youngest daughter of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker hit out at body-shamers on TikTok after viral paparazzi photos led critics to refer to her as a catfish. The 17-year-old began her video by scowling at the camera, before she told her followers: Thats my face when I see all the fake pages commenting about my weight in paparazzi pictures and saying Im a catfish or saying Im fat.

Barker went on to explain how paparazzi will purposely take pictures with your mouth open, middle of sentence and any ugly picture they can get of you just for views.

I would love to see you guys getting random pictures of you taken of you when youre leaving the grocery store, in the middle of a sentence, with your mouth wide open - and lets see how beautiful you look, she said in the 20 August TikTok.

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She then revealed that fluctuations in her weight have been a result of her autoimmune and thyroid disease. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, problems with the thyroid include a variety of disorders that can result in the gland producing too little thyroid hormone, called hypothyroidism, or too much thyroid hormone, called hyperthyroidism. Thyroid disorders can affect heart rate, mood, energy level, metabolism, bone health, and the bodys reaction to other hormones.

I also have a thyroid problem and an autoimmune disease, so thats one of the main reasons why I have weight gain, Barker said. So, it would be very appreciated if you guys just keep your opinions to yourself. It will get you further in life.

The teen added that once her thyroid and autoimmune disease are balanced, she will go back to her normal weight. However, Barker emphasised that shes only gained five, 10 pounds amid her health struggles, which she said is so normal for women.

I dont want any girls that are young, watching this that are gaining weight to ever think theres something wrong with it, she continued. There is a certain point when your health is getting affected by it that you need to change it, but, no. Its not the case for me, and I would appreciate if you guys put yourself in my shoes.

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Since it was posted, Barkers video has received more than 12m views and nearly two million likes. Many fans applauded Barker in the comments for opening up about her health struggles and shutting down body-shamers.

Shes so real with the thyroid comment because same, one TikToker commented.

I have thyroid problems and an autoimmune disease too so I understand, another fan wrote. Weight really does fluctuate.

A third person said: You are beautiful!! Stay strong!

Barkers video comes after paparazzi snapped photos of the 17-year-old with her father, Travis Barker, and her pregnant step-mother, Kourtney Kardashian Barker. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum was seen sporting her growing baby bump, while Alabama was dressed in a graphic black T-shirt, black sweatpants, and an oversized hoodie.

This is not the first time Barker has addressed negative social media comments. In April, she called out internet users who shamed her for wearing makeup, claiming that she was too young to wear a full glam. When Kathryn with three kids only waterline liner, four different coloured blonde, and Tom shoes, talk about my makeup or age, she captioned her TikTok video, which included the background audio: Ill tell you what you look like, but you wont like it.

Alabama Barker is the youngest daughter of Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler. The former couple - who were married from 2004 to 2008 - share 19-year-old son Landon Barker as well. The drummer is also the adoptive father of Moaklers oldest daughter, Atiana De La Hoya.

Meanwhile, Travis and Kourtney revealed they were expecting their first child together last June. The reality star shares three children - Mason, 13, Penelope, 11, and Reign, eight - with ex Scott Disick. Barker and Kardashian tied the knot in May 2022.
Amazon could be in hot water after a federal labor agency accused the e-tail behemoth of union-busting tactics that may have interfered with last years failed unionization vote at a warehouse near Albany, N.Y.

The National Labor Relations Boards (NLRB) complaint claims the e-commerce giant violated federal law by calling the police on off-duty employees and non-employee union organizers, restricting discussions about organizing during work and holding captive audience meetings at the ALB1 facility located in Castleton-on-Hudson, N.Y. These kinds of gatherings aim to discourage union activity, according to the agency.

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The complaint, filed by the agencys regional director in Buffalo, N.Y., also alleges that Amazon restricted worker access to non-work areas, stopped people from displaying pro-union signage and terminated activist employee Andre Beaupre in the lead-up to the vote.

An Amazon rep dismissed the claims, saying they lack merit.

These allegations are completely without merit and we look forward to showing that through the legal process, said Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis. Dozens of charges filed at ALB1 have already been dismissed by the NLRB, and we look forward to having these allegations dismissed as well.

The Amazon Labor Union (ALU), the grassroots organization representing the workers and its affiliates filed 38 unfair labor practice charges during its campaign at ALB1. The NLRB regional office dismissed, or withdraw part or all of 31 of the charges.

Region 3s sweeping complaint against Amazon sends a strong message that their labor violations at ALB1 are unacceptable and that the National Labor Relations Board will take strong action against these unlawful practices, said Seth Goldstein, an attorney for the Amazon Labor Union (ALU).

A hearing with an NLRB administrative law judge hasnt been scheduled yet.

Employees at the warehouse voted 406-206 against forming a union last October, months after workers at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y. voted to organize into the companys first U.S. union. The Staten Island employees are still without a contract after Amazon challenged the results (the NLRB upheld the vote) and has since refused to negotiate with the ALU.

Just last month, the NLRB said it found merit to the charges that Amazon violated labor laws by refusing to bargain with the ALU.

Sourcing Journal reached out to the ALU for comment.

Goldstein welcomed the agencys suggestions that the warehouse general manager be required to read a notice about the workers rights out loud. Other recommended remedies include giving the union access the company bulletin board and equal time to talk to employees during work by holding more captive audience meetings.

This step is important in order to protect the rights of the warehouse workers and to ensure that they are being treated fairly, Goldstein told Sourcing Journal.

The NLRB also asked Amazon to reinstate Beaupre with an apology letter and give him backpay for money owed since he was let go in August last year.

The filing did not reveal specifics about Beaupres discharge beyond stating that he assisted the union and engaged in concerted activities.

Amazon has previously re-hired terminated workers involved in employee organization efforts. In June, Amazon dismissed Jennifer Bates, who spearheaded a failed unionization campaign at a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., before reinstating her two weeks later after a successful appeal.

That firing occurred after Bates suffered injuries at work and took workers compensation leave, though Amazon claimed she did not respond or provide documentation to excuse several of her absences. Amazon acknowledged that it could have been clearer on the necessary steps Bates had to take, which was the basis for why she is being reinstated.

Two other Amazon facilities, a second Staten Island warehouse and the Bessemer location, both have voted against unionizing.

Across the board, this years #hotunionsummer came after the labor board stepped up complaints and union petitions soared. From Oct. 1-March 31, unfair labor practice charges and union representation petitions filed at the NLRBs 48 field offices increased 14 percent year over year to 10,792 cases. For the full fiscal year prior, total cases increased 23 percent to 20,498.

The NLRBs complaint against Amazon is not a ruling. It means that the regional office investigated the charge, found sufficient evidence supporting the charge, gave the parties the opportunity to settle and they didnt, and will now litigate the case with an NLRB administrative law judge.

Complaints issued by NLRB regional directors are considered by agency judges, whose rulings can be appealed to labor board members in Washington, D.C., and from there into federal appeals court. The agency lacks authority to make companies pay punitive damages for violations or hold executives personally liable for wrongdoing.

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Dahlonega is an unexpected epicurean dream in Georgia's Blue Ridge mountains.

Tucked away in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, a small Georgia town hides an alluring secret: award-winning wineries and tasting rooms that offer local, regional, and international wines and spirits. With a thriving wine culture and a picturesque backdrop of mountains and foothills, Dahlonega, Georgia, is a pleasant escape to somewhere surprisingly unexpected.

Home to eight wineries, a dozen wine-tasting rooms, and a new surge of craft breweries and distilleries, Dahlonega is a thriving destination for in-the-know wine and spirits enthusiasts, without any of the pomp or circumstance. And while Dahlonegas wineries are what draw many, recent hotel renovations and updates from local businesses  combined with unparalleled views of the North Georgia mountains  are showing visitors that this humble town packs quite a punch with some big-city amenities.

Monica Farber/Travel + Leisure

Home to many notable cities like Atlanta, Savannah, and Augusta, Georgia is no stranger to towering buildings and busy streets brimming with life. However, theres something about the states smaller, lesser-known towns that elicit nostalgia in a way that bigger metropolises simply cant. With just 7,000 residents, the city of Dahlonega is rather small in population, but larger-than-life with history, culture, and good old Southern hospitality.

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A significant player in the Georgia Gold Rush of the 1800s, Dahlonega played a pivotal role in shaping both the regions history and future. Today, visitors can explore this quaint mountain town and its preserved architecture, now layered with new traditions and updated attractions that add even more appeal for an enticing long weekend getaway.

One particular business in Dahlonegas historic district thats making notable changes is 27 on Park, a luxury boutique bed and breakfast that focuses on minimalist design and cozy amenities. Its updates go beyond delivering just the ultimate guest experience: its team is expanding into corporate retreats, wedding receptions, and has plans for a restaurant on property.

The outside of the property presents really well  very modern mountain minimalistic  but the rooms dont quite match," said the bed and breakfasts new owner, Michelle Kennedy, who came on board in July of 2023. We saw an opportunity to really bring it to life, to have a vision of what the property was meant to look like all along: organic, modern luxury.

27 on Parks renovations are set to take place in early 2024, and, once complete, will offer visitors an indulgent, bespoke experience. Major renovations  like installing new wide-plank oak floors, crown molding, and high-end furniture  and smaller-scale upgrades like luxury bedding and high-end toiletries are all thoughtfully planned to bring quality amenities to guests.

Above all, the one thing that remains steadfast is the humble, small-town kindness that is woven into the fabric of this tiny city. As a business owner, we have felt extremely welcome to the area, Kennedy says. The Southern hospitality that they talk about is really 100% true  its refreshing to feel like were always being supported.







"The Southern hospitality that they talk about is really 100% true."

Michelle Kennedy, 27 on Park







And while hospitality is key, award-winning wines don't hurt either. Dahlonegas vibrant wine culture feels like the meeting of two distinct worlds: one steeped in history and nostalgia, the other, a modern-day vacation destination.

Monica Farber/Travel + Leisure

People from all walks of life come here and enjoy the fabulous views that we have, says Chaddwick McKeen, front of house manager at Montaluce Winery and Restaurant. Its an amazing place to work  the views and the venue itself are just so spectacular.

McKeen is not exaggerating: Montaluces impressive Tuscan-style vineyard sits on 400 stunning acres of land. While its not Italy, there are clear parallels in the architecture, landscape, and wine  without the price tag of a flight to Europe.

Youll find that Montaluces wine pairs nicely, too, with the cuisine offered at its newest sibling restaurant, Trattoria di Montaluce. Located next to the vineyard, Trattoria di Montaluce serves up authentic Italian cuisine, featuring housemade pastas, cheeses, and pizzas in an open-concept dining room designed around the kitchens brick ovens. Our chef is absolutely phenomenal, McKeen says of Clint Johnston, chef de cuisine. We have an open kitchen, and its just top-notch. When you mix amazing wine, an amazing venue, with amazing staff and culinary selections  its very magical.

Montaluce is just one of eight wineries located in Dahlonegas hidden wine country where visitors can toast with a view. Newly opened distilleries, breweries, and even a meadery are proof that Dahlonega, once rich in gold, is now rich in innovation and spirit.

McKeen says it's the north Georgia mountains, above all, that draw visitors in: "Its the scenery and the people that make it something very special.

Here's everything you need to know before taking a trip to Dahlonega, Georgia  America's Best Small Wine, Beer, and Spirits town of 2023  including what to drink, where to stay, what to do, and how to get there.

Monica Farber/Travel + Leisure

Wine, Beer, and Spirits

Montaluce Vineyards

Montaluce Vineyards is where farm meets wine, offering its visitors wine tastings with beautiful vineyard views in a Tuscan-inspired atmosphere. Using sustainable winemaking practices, this winery is committed to preserving the land while crafting award-winning wines. Its sibling restaurant, Trattoria di Montaluce, is farm-to-table and conveniently located next to their vineyard.

Wolf Mountain Vineyards and Winery

Wolf Mountain Vineyards and Winery is a 30-acre estate with award-winning wines and stunning vineyard views. Guests can savor meticulously crafted vintages, Napa-style wine tastings, and enjoy Sunday brunch at the Vineyard Cafe.

Kaya Vineyard and Winery

Kaya Vineyard and Winery was one of the first  and largest  vineyards to operate in the Dahlonega area and, because the vineyard sits atop a 1,600-foot elevation ridge, it boasts incredible panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With its commitment to sustainable practices and world-class wine offerings of classic European, Italian, and American varietals, Kaya Vineyard is proud to be known as the largest independent supplier of grapes in the Southeast, receiving over 50 awards for its craft.

Etowah Meadery

Etowah Meadery crafts exquisite meads in a warm, inviting atmosphere. Veteran-owned and operated, this meadery offers both traditional meads and creative blends, made only with the finest honeys, fruits, and spices. With 24 taps and a large tasting room, its a charming destination and allows its visitors a unique, educational experience.

Courtesy of 52 West Brewing

52 West Brewing

Opened in December 2022, 52 West Brewing is an independent regional craft brewery and prides itself on the concept of farm to pint, where every ingredient is right on property. Here, they raise cattle and grow hops and fruit for their unique, flavorful brews.

Big Creek Distilling Co.

Big Creek Distilling Co. offers tours of its distillery, where a range of spirits including bourbon, whiskey, gin, and moonshine are produced. The distillery is family-owned and operated and prides itself on small-batch, handcrafted spirits.



The Best Times to Visit

Dahlonega is a year-round destination with activities to enjoy in every season. Summers are hot and humid, but perfect for outdoor activities like kayaking or tubing down the Chestatee River. Hikers will enjoy more than a half-dozen waterfalls, all accessible by trails that require varying skill levels.

Fall is especially beautiful, with 360-degree views of dramatic, vivid colors of autumn. Leafers, or leaf peepers, travel from all over to see the fiery display of fall in the Blue Ridge mountains, but Dahlonega doesnt just stop at breathtaking autumnal landscapes. Festivals are abundant: Gold Rush Days are held every October to celebrate Dahlonegas discovery of gold and raise money to support the needs of Lumpkin County residents with art and craft exhibitions, food vendors, and a parade; Dahlonega Trail Fest is celebrated every September with outdoor events including hiking, canoeing, and backpacking around the Appalachian Trail.

Winter in Dahlonega is cold, but not freezing. The chance of snow is relatively rare, with an average of about three inches of snowfall per year. While many outdoor activities like kayaking and tubing are closed for the winter, cozying up by the fire and sipping hot chocolate  or a nice glass of red from a nearby winery  can be just as lovely a way to spend a trip.

Springtime in Dahlonega announces itself in the form of bright-yellow daffodil fields and mild temperatures. In addition to picturesque landscapes, spring brings open-air concerts and festivals, such as the The Dahlonega Arts & Wine Festival that occurs every May.

Things to Do

Red Oak Lavender Farm

Red Oak Lavender Farm is one of the largest Lavender Fields in Georgia and grows over 4,000 lavender plants. This five-acre farm also grows dahlias, zinnias, and tulips and offers a variety of lavender products.



Dahlonega Butterfly Farm

Dahlonega Butterfly Farm sits on over five acres of rolling hills, with an array of native plants and wildlife thats just minutes away from downtown Dahlonega. The farm features a 760-square-foot butterfly conservatory, as well as an outdoor caterpillar habitat.



Consolidated Gold Mine

Consolidated Gold Mining Company offers an underground gold mine tour that takes guests 200 feet underground to learn more about the discovery of gold in Dahlonega in the 1800s, and the opportunity to pan for gold yourself  if youre feeling lucky.



Where to Stay

27 on Park

27 on Park is an upscale luxury bed and breakfast located in the Historic Square of downtown Dahlonega. Everything, from light fixtures to the sheet threadcount, is designed to feel indulgent yet welcoming. New ownership has brought many new projects to the property, and renovations will be complete for guests by spring of 2024.

The Limelight Inn

The Limelight Inn is minutes from downtown Dahlonega and operates similarly to an Airbnb, meaning there is no check-in desk or on-site staff. However, each room has its own private desk overlooking the scenic forest landscape, and home-cooked breakfast is available Friday through Sunday mornings in the main hospitality buildings.

Dahlonega Resort and Vineyard

Dahlonega Resort and Vineyard offers a tranquil place to retreat and rejuvenate, with 72 acres of property to explore, relax, and unwind. With amenities like yoga classes, a spa, and fine dining, theres no shortage of ways to enjoy your mountain getaway.

Monica Farber/Travel + Leisure

Where to Eat

Spirits Tavern

Spirits Tavern is a farm-to-table restaurant with many locally sourced ingredients and humanely raised, hormone-free meats. All dressings, sauces, breading, and drink syrups are made in-house, and burger alternatives are offered for those looking to forego meat.



Reens Bratzeit & Biergarten

Reens Bratzeit & Biergarten is a family-owned and operated restaurant serving authentic German and Swiss Specialties, as well as German beer and wine.



Picnic Cafe and Dessertery

Picnic Cafe and Dessertery is a quaint cafe that specializes in homemade desserts, using family recipes passed down from the owners.

Where to Shop

No. 3 Vintage

No. 3 Vintage is located in the heart of the Historic District of Downtown Dahlonega and focuses on vintage antiques and furniture, with over 3,000 square feet of eclectic items that change every week.

The Humble Candle

The Humble Candle is a mom-and-pop shop specializing in all-things fragrances: candles, luxury bath and body products, and soaps, all hand-poured in their little corner shop.

Crown and Bear

Crown and Bear is a British-inspired gift shop featuring stationery, kitchenware, and linens by designers from all over the U.K.



How to Get There

Driving to Dahlonega is the most convenient and flexible option, especially if you are coming from nearby cities or states. The town is accessible via several major highways: from Atlanta, GA: Take GA-400 North until its end, and then follow signs to Dahlonega. From Chattanooga, TN: Take I-75 South to I-575 North, which becomes GA-5 North, and then follow signs to Dahlonega.

If youre looking to fly in, the closest airport to Dahlonega is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), which is approximately 90 miles south of Dahlonega. From the airport, you can rent a car and drive to Dahlonega using the directions mentioned above. Other nearby airports include Chattanooga (CHA) (77.6 miles), Knoxville (TYS) (88.5 miles), and Asheville (AVL) (103.5 miles).



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An unexpected arts enclave, tiny Grand Marais, Minnesota, bursts with galleries, local shops and restaurants, and lake-filled getaways galore.

Two hours north of Duluth seems like an unlikely spot for most things, much less Americas best small lake town. But should you venture to Grand Marais, thats exactly what youll find. In-the-know travelers flock here looking for an increasingly rare vintage seaside vibe, adventures into the states famed Boundary Waters, and local-yet-world-class art. Set along the forested edges of Lake Superior, up the states North Shore, this is also Minnesotas artsiest town.

With that rare Goldilocks touch  think far more food trucks and art galleries than stoplights (in fact, theres just one in the whole county)  were happily calling Grand Marais the nations best small lake town. With new openings, eclectic redesigns, and an accidentally hip devotion to all things local, Grand Marais is a grand foray on Americas Fresh Coast.

Courtesy of Sawtooth Aviation

The Best Times to Visit

Grand Marais high season is distinctly summer. Travelers converge on the town as their basecamp for adventures into the Boundary Waters, one of the countrys last great wildernesses, or onto Lake Superior. Others come to get away from it all  while staying steps from 16 art galleries and countless local restaurants, with not a chain in sight.

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But locals like Katie Mumm, owner of Fishermans Daughter, the towns iconic dockside restaurant, will tell you Grand Marais shines brightest beyond summer. Those who want the area to themselves know that the best time to come is in late fall, winter, and spring.

A lack of crowds isnt the towns only off-season appeal. Autumn means blazing fall foliage in the surrounding maple and birch forests; winter means snow adventures, Milky Way-gazing, and chasing the Northern Lights. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, of which Grand Marais is the eastern entry point, is the largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world.







"Those who want the area to themselves know that the best time to come is in late fall, winter, and spring."

Katie Mumm, Fisherman's Daughter







Susan Rydberg/Getty Images

Things to Do

The iconic Grand Marais experience starts on Wisconsin Street. For summer visitors, the standard introduction starts with a donut  a ring of local tradition since 1969  from Worlds Best Donuts. From there, wander toward the water, heading for the Grand Marais Lighthouse and Artists Point, named for the creatives whove long used the view for inspiration. Its an easy one-mile jaunt, usually broken up by the town sport: skipping rocks into the harbor.

Courtesy of World's Best Donuts

If looking at the nations largest lake doesnt cut it, get on the water via kayak tour with Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply. You could also nab a spot on North House Folk Schools Hjordis, a traditionally rigged schooner named after the Norse goddess of war. North House is a great spot for local events and classes, as is the Grand Marais Art Colony  two spots that cemented this towns artsy reputation.

When youre ready to venture further afield, explore the Gunflint Trail, a 57-mile National Scenic Byway that starts in town and leads to the Boundary Waters Saganaga Lake. Along the forested way are nature-filled lodges and restaurants, shops and outfitters, plus hundreds of miles of hiking trails, paddling opportunities, and scenic outdoor spots.

In autumn, the Gunflint Trail also offers incredible fall-foliage chasing  consider booking a ride with Sawtooth Aviation, taking in that glorious color from a four-seat Cessna. In winter, don your cross-country ski gear on the Pincushion Mountain Trail System, off the Gunflint Trail, later joining the locals circling the firepit at Fishermans Daughter.

Courtesy of North House Folk School

Where to Stay

Grand Marais got its first boutique-hotel touch in 2020: the Mayhew Inn. Between the backyard courtyards, rooftop deck with water views, and the fireplace-filled lounge, its as good for happy hour as it is to hang your head  and its right in downtowns artsy mix.

The local institution, though, is the Best Western Plus Superior Inn & Suites  but that name is deceptive. The family-run property knows its all about that sense of place. Local artists are featured in every room, notes owner Katriana Mehlhaff, from lamps made from the rocks off Grand Marais shores to one-of-a-kind artwork by local legend Howard Sivertson. With a private cobblestone beach, most rooms have a lakefront balcony, and the bistro lobby bar offers local dishes and North Shore beverages.

For those looking for true Up North vibes (or simply space for a group), theres Cascade Vacation Rentals. Choose from cabins, yurts, cottages, beach access, forest hideaways ... the list goes on.

Two more new options are Cook County Teardrop  you reserve your campsite, and theyll deliver a fully equipped teardrop trailer, from queen-sized mattress to French press coffee  and Tofte Trails, five luxury cabins set in the verdant Superior wilds.

Courtesy of East Bay Suites

Where to Eat and Drink

For breakfast, beeline for Blue Water Cafe and their locally harvested wild rice omelets, homemade pies, and beloved cranberry wild rice bread. The towns meeting place, locals have been dining and delighting here since the 1970s.

Lunch means one of the towns food trucks (like the brand-new Taste of India Spice & Curry or Shook! Smoothies), or back to Fishermans Daughter  which is a Grand Marais must. A team of local fishermen base out of the restaurants lower level, returning every morning with herring, whitefish, and lake trout by 9 a.m. They clean the fish and bring it up to us so we can prepare and serve it just hours later, says Mumm. For the true experience, she recommends walking up to the counter and ordering the fish and chips  its 90% of sales. (You can also help make the fishermens day: Buy them a beer for $2.)

Courtesy of Fisherman's Daughter

If youre not opting to head into the wilderness or onto the water, break for ice cream at Sydneys Frozen Custard, where you can nosh on the rooftop. The newly renovated sweet spot is built out of shipping containers.

For dinner, Birch Terrace Supper Club climbs to the top of the list  set in a log mansion on the water, its the kind of old-school joint that neither needs nor has a website (order the walleye). The Gunflint Tavern also rarely disappoints, what with its timber-framed, pirate-themed bar and rooftop, AKA the Ravens Nest. Poplar Haus, out on the Gunflint Trail, mixes up fantastic cocktails, like the Northwoods Mule and the Gunflint Sazerac.

Bonus tip: Head up the Gunflint Trail earlier in the morning for cardamom rolls at the new Loons Nest Coffee. Theyre already a sell-out hit.

Where to Shop

Start your Grand Marais shopping at Sivertson Gallery, the one that started it all. Jan Sivertson originally wanted to showcase the work of her father, Howard; 40 years later, the artsy spot has grown into a destination, where local, regional, and even far-north, Inuit artists can display and sell their creations.

From there, Joy & Co is another local hotspot  it showcases more than 130 local artists and entrepreneurs across all types of mediums, from ceramics and jewelry to wood and metalworking. Gunflint Mercantile offers homemade fudge and truffles, rice blends, and a local pantry to stock up on cabin goodies. Upstate MN is all artist-made goods, from clothing and homewares to wall art and handcrafted games.

Lastly, Joynes Ben Franklin is the staple of Cook County. One of the rare remaining Ben Franklin five and dimes, this one  locally owned, naturally  has also upgraded, offering Pendleton goods, a vast selection of local coffees, and more. We love that our community is entirely made up of small, family-owned businesses, say owners Tyler and Jessica Dean. Go anywhere, and youre directly supporting your friends and neighbors.

Courtesy of Sivertson Gallery

How to Get There

Most visitors to Grand Marais will drive from Minneapolis (four hours away) or Duluth (two hours away)  both cities are served by international airports.



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Egyptian and Arab diplomatic efforts are in full swing to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Less than a week after the five-member Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on Syria convened in Cairo, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri discussed the outcomes of the meeting in a phone call with Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria. Shoukri stressed to Pedersen the committees commitment to reaching a settlement to the Syrian crisis that preserves the unity and stability of the Syrian state.

Following the meeting the Liaison Committee, which was attended by Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Shoukri and the Saudi, Jordanian, Iraqi, and Lebanese foreign ministers, expressed its hope that a constitutional path towards a political solution would soon be resumed, with members agreeing that the Syrian Constitutional Committee should meet in Oman before the end of this year.

Abul-Gheit described the meeting as serious and constructive.

That the meeting convened in Cairo crowns Egypts efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis, said a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Liaison Committee meeting reflects the seriousness of Arab countries in tackling the dangerous repercussions of the Syrian crisis, including drug smuggling and humanitarian issues, he added.

Regular contacts between Shoukri and Pedersen, who will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting next month, reflect the importance Cairo and Washington attach to continuous consultation and coordination in resolving the Syrian crisis. Their last meeting was in May in Geneva, during which they underlined their commitment to consolidating efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.

The Arab League Summit in Amman in May mandated the Liaison Committee to pursue Arab efforts to draw a roadmap to end the Syrian crisis. The committee was formed following Syrias reinstatement to the Arab League, ending a 12-year suspension. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad then attended the Arab League Summit in Jeddah.

The liaison meeting, said the diplomat, highlighted the importance of creating a platform to register the names of refugees seeking to return to Syria in coordination with host countries and relevant United Nations bodies. Questions addressed included whether refugees are willing to return now or when the crisis is finally settled, and whether Syria, after more than a decade of civil war, is capable of receiving them, he said.

In Cairo, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Mekdad held one-to-one talks with Shoukri and his Jordanian and Saudi counterparts on the sidelines of the Liaison Committee meeting, and a meeting with all five member states of the committee and Abul-Gheit. A final statement issued after the meeting said Al-Mekdad had briefed ministers on the Syrian governments efforts to encourage refugees to return home, determine the fate of missing citizens and revive the economy.

Earlier this month, Al-Assad received an Arab National Congress delegation headed by Egyptian opposition politician Hamdeen Sabahi. The delegation discussed ways to support Syria in the face of sanctions and the unjust siege according to a statement issued after the meeting.

Syrias relations with Egypt, strained for a decade, began to ease when Shoukri paid an official visit to Damascus in the wake of last years devastating earthquake.

In April, Al-Mekdad arrived in Cairo for the first official visit by a Syrian foreign minister in more than 10 years.



* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 August, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Angelina Jolie and daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt had a mother-daughter date in New York City on August 19. The duo was photographed at the Walter Kerr Theatre for the Broadway show 'Hadestown' in Times Square.

The actress, who has been hanging out with her kids in NYC recently, wore a light brown suit, a beige top, and neutral pumps. Vivienne also stuck to neutral bottoms but paired hers with a purple T-shirt and a pair of comfy-looking sneakers.

Angelina Jolie Vivienne

Jolie shares Vivienne with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt. The exes also have six children: Maddox, 22, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15. Maddox, Zahara, and Pax were adopted from orphanages in Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Vietnam, respectively, while the remaining three are their biological kids.

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"They're pretty great people and because there's so many of them, I think they've had a very significant effect on each other. It's not like I'm the head of anything. I'm very honest with my kids. And I'm very human with my kids," Jolie previously told People.

She continued, "I have six very individual human beings in my home. I am so excited about all the different stages and feelings and curiosities that they go through. Why wouldn't you be? We're supposed to help them figure out who they are. And you can't figure out who they are if you don't enthusiastically develop with them."
This historic town in Virginias Shenandoah Valley boasts world-class arts and culture, historic museums, and easy access to natural beauty.

Staunton (pronounced Stan-ten) is a vibrant small town with a well-preserved historic districtactually, six historic districtsthat features beautifully restored buildings and an abundance of Victorian-style architecture. While Staunton is not typically known as a college town, it is home to Mary Baldwin University, which has more than 2,100 students.

The walkable historic downtown area boasts plenty of curious and eclectic boutiques and cafes. However, theres so much more, including a quirky camera museum and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, which is one of 14 presidential libraries across the country. Heres what to do when youre ready to explore Staunton.

What to Do

Nestled in Virginias Shenandoah Valley, Staunton is immersed in natural beauty, which can be fully appreciated from within a 1940s era rail car on the Virginia Scenic Railway. Four days a week, three-hour sightseeing train rides chug east and west from the historic train depot in Staunton, affording short-line passengers breathtaking views across farmland and verdant forests.

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From the train depot, its a short walk to mainstay attractions, like the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum. On display are historic photographs and artifacts, even the Pierce-Arrow limousine that awaited Wilson on his arrival in New York after negotiating the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Visitors can also explore the home where our 28th president was born.

At the Camera Heritage Museum, the largest camera museum open to the public, visitors can ogle more than 7,000 cameras, which showcase photography technologies that span more than 150 years. Also on display are more than 2,000 vintage photographs of Staunton and Augusta County.

Arts and culture thrives at the American Shakespeare Center and the Blackfriars Playhouse, a re-creation of Shakespeares indoor theatre, and one thats widely considered one of the worlds most historically significant theatres. Throughout the year, Shakespeares most famous works are performed on stage, from Hamlet to Much Ado About Nothing. The playhouse also stages seasonal works, like A Christmas Carol.

On the edge of Staunton, the Frontier Culture Museum is billed as the largest open-air living history museum in the Shenandoah Valley. Roaming costumed interpreters educate visitors on the evolution and journeys of those who came to settle and live in Virginia, including Native American tribes, European immigrants, and enslaved Africans.

In late-summer, Staunton is alive with the sounds of classical music thanks to the annual Staunton Music Festival, which showcases more than 80 renowned and emerging musical artists across over 20 events. As a bonus, most performances are free to the public. Several live music venues, including Gypsy Hill Park and Tempest Bar & Lounge, also regularly feature bands and musicians.

For shops and boutiques, youll find plenty of options, particularly on Beverley Street, the main street in Staunton. Vintage shops thrive, including Billy Opal, Juniper Lane, and Eclectic Retro. Stop in Burrow & Vine for live plants and home decor, as well as Pufferbellies for a thoughtfully-curated selection of childrens toys, games, and puzzles.

Where to Eat

Staunton offers an exciting diversity of wine bars, coffee shops, taco shacks, elevated burger joints, and tasting rooms. Cider from Mars, a hip award-winning cidery, wins rave reviews for its cider flights and hand-crafted cider cocktails. Another in-town favorite is Yelping Dog Wine, a wine bar and bottle shop with craveable eats, like grilled cheese sandwiches and all kinds of cheese plates. Cheese lovers can also fill up at Ballerino Creamery, a noted artisan cheese shop.

At Remedy Burger, deliciously cheeky burgers satisfy anyone and everyone in your crew, like the signature Remedy Burger, with double smashed patties, and the Broccoli Burger, a uniquely veggie twist on typical burger fare. Meantime, Glorias Pupuseria serves up mouth-watering Salvadoran style food, including pupusas, pasteles, and tamales.

For classic, old-school fare, Wrights Dairy-Rite is a win. Theyve been slinging burgers and fries since 1952. Theyve got curb service, too. Just pull up, order at the vintage metal box, and wait for your food to come to you. Save room for Wrights Wheelie, a hot glazed donut topped with a jumbo scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For more sweetness, head to Sweet Addies Waffle Shop for dessert style liege waffles that can be adorned with such toppings as crushed Oreos, mini marshmallows, cannoli cream, and chocolate chips. Theyve got a savory menu too, ingeniously pairing fluffy waffles with fried chicken, gravy, and country ham, even white cheddar mac & cheese. Delicious.

Where to Stay

When you want to stay the night or the weekend in Staunton, youve got choices. Berkeley Place, which dates to 1896, is an elegant boutique inn thats steeped in history. This one-time mansion has changed hands over the years, and most recently was sold and renovated in July 2022 into the boutique inn that enchants guests today.

Meantime, Gibsons Warehouse is a boutique property with a history of its own, and one that dates to the early 1900s when this inn got its start as a warehouse with a brick facade. Industrial-chic guest rooms feature exposed brick walls, pendant light fixtures, and sliding barn doors. Hotel 24 South is another stay to love with character and historic charm, but also luxe pillow top mattresses, an indoor pool, and a casual dining area called the 1924 Lounge.

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Beximco wants to bring Bangladesh to the world. But its currently bringing the world to Bangladesh.

The largest private-sector group in Bangladesh constructed the countrys largest solar power plant at 200 megawatts (MW) at Sundarganj in the Gaibandha district on a 650-acre plot of infertile land through its Teesta Solar Limited subsidiary.

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Aerial view of the Teesta Solar Limited project.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the opening during a gathering at the Rangpur Zila School ground earlier this month. Energy security is a priority for the country, which is experiencing the worst energy crisis in a decade.

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We think the renewable energy sector will be very important for future energy, so we have taken decision to invest here, Shayan F. Rahman, chairman of Beximco Power Limited, told Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news. We launched the first green Sukok bond, sharia-compliant bonds, in the country to finance this project. We have spent about $300 million in this project. In the future, we are thinking of setting up more solar power plants as per government plans.

The plant comprises 550,000 panels sourced from Shanghai. It is 65.7 MWs larger than Energon Renewables solar plant. The Teesta project, which has been in the works since 2017 and began operating on a trial basis last December, comes at a critical time for the countrys northern region, considering its reliance on imported fuels and fast-declining foreign exchange reserves amid the energy crisis.

The cost of electricity at the plantwhich is $0.15 per kilowatt hour, according to the Business Standardis a matter of concern as its expected to increase the revenue deficit of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Last year, the BPDB made the highest net loss at 18.9 billion taka (roughly $173.5 million), according to The World Bank.

Thus, theres concern due to that cost being approximately 27 percent higher than the countrys most recent electricity rates for large-scale corporations, according to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC). Regardless, the BPDB agreed to a 20-year power purchase agreement with Teesta Solar to buy its electricity.

That [decision] means its probably a good deal, a good value, and that theyll recoup the investment, said Stephen Budd, chief commercial officer of Beximco North America. Solar panels cost more upfront, [but] you get the money back down the road.

Overall, the Teesta Solar project is in line with Beximcos ethos. The vertically integrated manufacturer, which supplies 17 million garments a month to the likes of Zara owner Inditex, is set to be carbon neutral by next year, Budd said. The Beximco Industrial Park, 350 acres dubbed Lungs of Gazipur, is powered by 25 MW of solar panels on its rooftop, according to the company. For scale reference, if 25 MWs can power 350 acres, then the Teesta Solar plant should be able to power 2,800 acres, less than 3 percent of the Sundarganj upazila.

Sealand, a Maersk company, reported that Beximco worked with the intra-Americas regional ocean carrier to transport 728 FFEs of solar panels and 343 metric tons of power transformers and accessories from China to Bangladesh.

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There is no such thing as a nonpolitical bookstore, Josh Cook writes in The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-First Century. In the age of book banning , publishing industry consolidation , and the pandemics lingering aftershocks , Cooks words ring with frightening truth.

The Art of Libromancy, new on shelves today, taxonomizes the joys, challenges, and disruptions of independent bookselling in 2023. Cook, a veteran bookseller and co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, writes from the front lines of the sales floor and the stockroom, dissecting how booksellers evaluate what to sell and how to sell it. From making recommendations to organizing display tables to stocking books by politicians, these seemingly granular decisions are matters of moral urgency; as Cook reminds us, People use books to develop their morals, support and test their belief structures, come to conclusions about the state of the world, and make voting decisions.

The massive systemic pressures facing bookstores are enough to make anyone feel powerless, but Cook insists that booksellers have a powerful role to play in advancing social justice and shoring up community bonds. Person to person, display to display, reader to reader, event to event, he tells Esquire, book sales have a real opportunity to shape publishing and the world of books in a way that creates a more sustainable books ecosystem and also a more sustainable world.

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Cook Zoomed with Esquire to discuss the view from ground zero of bookselling, from reasons for alarm to reasons to be hopeful. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

ESQUIRE: What are the biggest challenges facing bookstores and booksellers nowadays?

JOSH COOK: The challenges facing society are the same challenges bookstores face: climate change, the threat of fascism in America, the problems that capitalism creates in communities. All of that makes it more difficult to sell books because people are strugglingthey don't have the money they should have for the amount of work that they do, and they dont have the leisure to enjoy books and connect with the bookish community. We need to have booksellers and readers to sell books, but some parts of our society make that very difficult.

Looking closer at bookstores themselves, one of the biggest challenges is, of course, Amazon. From its inception, Amazons goal has seemingly been to put every other retailer out of business, and they got their start going for bookstores. Independent bookstores have made a compelling argument for their readers as to why its important and in their best interests to pay 40% to 60% more for a title with them than they would pay at Amazon. Thats hearteningand there have been hopeful shifts in how monopoly and antitrust legislation are enforced in the United States. The next thing is consolidation in the publishing industry. There are five publishers that publish the vast majority of books in English, but that consolidation also applies to printers and wholesalers. If one of these giant companies makes a decision, it has an immediate impact on bookstores.

These systemic problems are enough to make anyone feel powerless, but you argue that booksellers can create change. What can booksellers do to advance social justice in their stores?

The most important thing booksellers can do is always ask themselves, Can I do more with this recommendation? Can I do more with this display? Can I do more with this event? You want to bring great reads to your community, and you want to recommend a book that someone is actually going to buy. But I think there's space in those conversations, in those displays, in those events, to say, Is this book a book that makes the world a better place? Is this book a book that also supports my values? Is this a book thats going to add more to the community? Its about understanding that youre always an advocate as well as a bookseller. For whatever reason you decide to put a book in someone's hand or place it on display, youre an advocate for that book. Thats a responsibility, but also a power. Person to person, display to display, reader to reader, event to event, book sales have a real opportunity to shape publishing and the world of books in a way that creates a more sustainable books ecosystem and also a more sustainable world.

In the book, you write, There's no such thing as a non-political bookstore. The choice of if and how to sell books by right-wing writers is one of the most obvious political decisions facing bookstores. You argue that genre can be a helpful tool to solve this challenge. How can genre usefully help us engage with the problem of right-wing books?

Genre is a way of providing context and framing for the books that you sell. Sometimes thats just letting someone know that one book is more likely to have robots and lasers in it than another book. Alex Shepherd wrote in The New Republic that if fact checking was required in nonfiction books, that would pose an existential crisis for conservative publishing. So if a bookstore wants to represent a broad spectrum of contemporary American political thought, but also wants to say that these books are nonfiction, thats a challenge. One way you could solve that problem is to add context through genre. Politicians and pundits was my idea for our store. I thought we should separate political talk show hosts and politicians from political science. Thats not to say that politicians and pundits can't write truthful books, but that when you present it in that context, your customers recognize it as something different. Its hard to know what kind of impact this would have, but it has the potential to produce a really interesting conversation. Genre is just an agreement, and agreements can change.

Daniel Boczarski - Getty Images

As book bans surge in libraries and schools, I've been troubled to see it expanding into bookstores. What are you seeing and hearing on the front lines?

The biggest threat right now is in Texas, which has basically made it impossible to sell books to schools. This is really important to know in terms of national context. It's easy to think, Its just happening in the red states, but because Texas is such a huge market, their educational decisions have an impact on educational publishing. I saw recently that Follett was asking its publishers to start pre-screening their books for continued sale in Texas. The impact of that is much broader than Texas.

The most important thing to know about book bans is that people who believe in them will go as far as they can. If they can only get to school libraries and public libraries before pressure or legal systems stop them, that's as far as they'll get. If they can get to bookstores, they will; if they can get to publishers, they will. If they can get to writers, they will; if they can get to readers, they will. In the bookstore world, theres an appropriate level of alarm. I cant speak directly to the organizing efforts of the American Booksellers Association or PenAmerica, but I know theyre working on it. There are reasons to be really scared, but there are also reasons to be hopeful.

What are those reasons to be hopeful?

No one is treating this as an isolated thing. I also think its clear that the vast majority of people don't support book bans. Its clear from reporting on the groups leading these challenges that theyre a fringe minorityits just that theyre well-funded, well-organized, and committed to imposing their views on other people. Every time they fight and lose, thats a reason to be hopeful. The question is: how do we get the majority into avenues of power where they can fight back and create the community that we actually want?

UCG - Getty Images

Another sea change were seeing in bookselling is a rise in unionization efforts. Do you feel that there's a groundswell among booksellers to join the labor movement?

I do. One of the challenges that bookselling has always faced is the idea of vocational awethe sense that because youre working with books, doing community work in the arts, that everything inherent about you and what you do will be positive. Thats just not true and its never been true, though its been a useful tool for books and other creative industries to convince people to work for far less than theyre worth. During the pandemic, this illusion was punctured. Bookstore owners and corporate America in general said, I know you're dying, but go to work anyway. A lot of questions arose from thatand once you start asking those questions, it's not hard to ask about wages, working conditions, unpaid overtime, and everything that vocational awe.

One of the great solutions to these questions is, of course, unionizing. As a manager and owner, unionizing is also good for managers and owners, because it creates an empowered workforceand in a community-heavy industry like bookstores, you want people to feel good about being there. Unionizing also means you've got a contract, so there's no more doubt anymore. There's no more judgment; there's no more having to figure things out. Small businesses often have to figure things out on the fly, but for stores that unionize, thats all hammered out in negotiations, which provides some real pathways better communication, better production, and ultimately better sales.

Speaking of the pandemicyou write about what it was like to be a bookseller during that time. In that chapter, you mention missed opportunities to use the crisis as a creative force to make significant changes in how we live, work, and sell books. What were those missed opportunities?

One thing I really wish wed figured out was a way to break the idea of convenient versus fast delivery. One of the biggest challenges we face in competition with Amazon is delivery time. If you order from Amazon Prime, it'll come in the next day. If you order from us, itll get to you in five to seven daysmaybe more. But it's the same book, whether it arrives in two days or seven days, and its not an avocadoits not going to spoil in transit. I wish wed found a way to really work at changing that perception. We couldve said, Because we now understand how this pandemic has stressed our supply chain, let's think about a new way to do things. Once change your perspective from as fast as humanly possible to reasonably fast, a lot of things become easier. You don't need to have warehouse workers putting in 12-hour days. You don't need to have delivery drivers burning themselves out with heat exhaustion. You don't need to have booksellers staying late during the holidays to make sure orders get fulfilled. Theres an ecological impact to all this, too.

One thing we did learn from the pandemic is that community is an inherent value, and when we sell it, we do well. That clicked for lots of stores, but I'd love to see it click even more, because being a place where people can connect and feel safe is vital. There are ways we can increase our sales and pay our booksellers more by leveraging this community value without exploiting it.

Tom Williams - Getty Images

What advice do you have about how best to patronize our local bookstores?

If you ever get a great recommendation from someone, go back and tell them or send an email to the store. It's really validating and energizing when we find out that you loved our recommendation. A few other things that dont cost money: if you talk about books on social media, include a link to your favorite bookstore. Direct links sell more and dont cost you anything, so its a great way to support bookstores without having to buy anything more. Also: if youre someone who plans well, do your holiday shopping in October. If you know youre going to spend $100 on books this holiday season, that $100 is great in October for a few reasons. At this point in the year, bookstores might be short on cash ahead of the huge holiday season. Spreading out shopping makes it easier to raise wages, because there isn't that cash crunch. Something else to consider: there will be people in our stores in December who if we do not help them, theyll buy a Visa gift card for the reader in their life, so for those of you who are savvy bookstore shoppers, if we're not helping you in that on December 22nd at 7:45 PM, well have more time and more energy to help those who otherwise would not be shopping with us.

The last thing I would say as a way to use bookstores well is this: take some risks. Walk up to a bookseller and say, Give me your favorite book, or, Give me what I should read now. Try it, read it. You'll maybe discover a genre you've never heard of before. Youll discover authors you've never heard of before. Youll get something really exciting, and if you don't like it, thats okay. Its all about being willing to be connected to the community, and willing to support your bookstores and booksellers.

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Taco Bell is bringing chicken strips to select menus for a very limited time.

In a statement, the company said it's testing the potential new itemChile Crisp Chicken Chilein select markets by adding two chicken options to the menu of one of its restaurants in Newport Beach, California.

The new chicken strips are found in Taco Bell's Crisp Chicken Tacos and the Chile Crisp Chicken Strips, both of which are dressed up in the brand's Chile Crips Sauce, which a rep described as "a sweet, spicy, and citrusy sauce packed with flavorful bits of guajillo, ancho and anaheim peppers, garlic, lime and other hints of aromatics."

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Related: Taco Bell Adds Limited Menu Item With a Cheesy Twist

Each of the Crisp Chicken Tacos features a crispy chicken strip smothered in the all-new Chile Crisp Sauce, topped with spicy ranch, fresh lettuce and real shredded cheddar cheese layered on top of a warm flour tortilla. There are two tacos per order, and you can enjoy them both for just $4.99.

The Chile Crisp Chicken Strips seem more like the beloved chain's version of a chicken tender entree. It includes three pieces of chicken layered with the signature Chile Crisp Sauce plus a side of spicy ranch for dipping for $4.99.

>>> 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 <<<

According to the release, the chicken strip meals will only be available at the Taco Bell located at 4101 Jamboree Rd, Newport Beach, CA 92660, while supplies last.

Don't live in the area? Don't let it ruffle your feathers. Should the test be a success, it's likely the company will bring chicken strips to restaurants all over the country.

In the meantime, Taco Bell is rolling out plenty of positive menu changes at all its locations within the next few weekslike bringing back fan-favorite Rolled Chicken Tacos and offering free tacos on Tuesdays.

Next: Wendy's Debuts New 'Loaded' Menu Items That Are Game-Changers
The trip will cross the Arctic Circle several times and stop in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Scotland, and England.

Holland America Line is gearing up to cross the Arctic Circle on a new 28-day voyage inspired by a legendary Norse explorer.

The new voyage, which will depart on June 29, 2025, will sail roundtrip from Rotterdam in the Netherlands and pass through five different countries, including spending extensive time in Iceland and Greenland, Holland America shared with Travel + Leisure. The trip, which will sail aboard the companys Nieuw Statendam ship, was inspired by Norse explorer Erik Thorvaldsson (known as Erik the Red), who founded the first European settlement in Greenland.

Courtesy of Holland America Line

Legendary Voyages give us the opportunity to create longer cruises that delve deeper into a region and include ports we dont normally visit, like the four maiden calls in Greenland on the new Arctic Circle Crossing, Beth Bodensteiner, the chief commercial officer of Holland America Line, said in a statement provided to T+L. Were taking this itinerary up to Norways North Cape, then heading farther north in Greenland on both coasts and adding amazing opportunities in Iceland. At 28 days, its the perfect length to showcase this area and give our guests an experience that goes beyond a brief introduction to the countries.

Courtesy of Holland America Line

The trip will cross the Arctic Circle several times and stop in a total of 15 ports in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Scotland, and England. The trip includes several maiden calls for Holland America in Greenland (at Nuuk, Ittoqqortoormiit, Sisimiut, and Ilulissat) as well as an overnight stop in Reykjavik.

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Bookings for the trip open on Aug. 24 and start at $4,717 per person. Travelers can also book the companys Have it All fares starting at $6,399, which includes perks like shore excursions, specialty dining, a beverage package, and Wi-Fi as well as the extra bonus of included prepaid gratuities.

Courtesy of Holland America Line

Beyond the new Arctic voyage, Holland America is also planning on sailing an epic 133-day pole-to-pole Grand Voyage in 2025, which will sail as far south as Antarctica and as far north as the Arctic Circle off the coast of Norway. The company celebrated its 150th anniversary last year with a series of heritage cruises, including a special transatlantic cruise that recreated the companys first sailing by crossing the Atlantic Ocean before the cruise line was even incorporated.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
A family-owned burger restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, has found itself at the center of tragedy following a deadly listeria outbreak. Listeria was linked to the milkshakes at Frugals due to the ice cream machine being improperly cleaned. Three people have died and several others have been hospitalized.

Details surrounding the outbreak were made public last week following the release of a report from the Washington State Department of Health. According to the department's findings, listeria bacteria was shockingly discovered in all of the milkshake flavors at the Tacoma restaurant.

"Investigators found Listeria in the ice cream machines, which were not cleaned correctly. No other Frugals restaurants are believed to be affected. The restaurant stopped using its ice cream machines Aug. 8, but Listeria can sicken people up to 70 days later," read the report.

The department is asking that those who are pregnant, 65 or older, or have weakened immune systems call their health care provider if they drank a Frugals milkshake between May 29 and August 7, 2023, and have Listeria symptoms. Among the most common Listeria symptoms are fever, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures.

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Frugals has since issued a statement on social media expressing their regret and also letting it be known that they have been cooperative in the ongoing investigation.

"Today, we were deeply saddened to learn the Washington State Department of Health is reporting six people were hospitalized with foodborne listeriosis and three people later died. We are heartbroken and deeply regret any harm our actions could have caused," read a portion of the statement.

Despite the Pierce County Health Department informing Frugals that the outbreak was isolated to the Tacoma location, the restaurant did share that milkshake machines in all of their other locations have been shut down to be sampled.

Earlier this year, Delish published a story detailing how dangerous soft serve machines can be if they're not properly cleaned. In 2005, over 120 people in Ohio got sick when a soft serve ice cream machine became contaminated with staphylococcus. And in 2016, two hospital patients in Seattle became ill after drinking milkshakes contaminated with listeria.



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If the at-home sugar pregnancy test trend has caught your eye, you might be wondering about its success rate. We asked the experts for more.

Medically reviewed by Rachel Gurevich, RN

You may have heard buzz about DIY sugar pregnancy tests on the internet or on social media sites like TikTok. Essentially, a sugar pregnancy test requires you to mix your pee with sugar, and if the mixture clumps together, you are pregnant. Well, according to the interwebs, that is.

The problem is that there is no scientific data to back up these claims. We connected with three OB-GYNs to get the scoop on these tests, including if theres any way these strategies could ever be accurate, what parents should know in general about DIY pregnancy tests, and the fastest, most accurate ways to confirm a pregnancy.

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Related: 8 Best Pregnancy Tests and How to Use Them

What Exactly Is the Sugar Pregnancy Test?

The sugar pregnancy test is an at-home strategy that is said to "predict" pregnancy by mixing your urine with sugar. According to Adi Davidov, MD, associate chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, the DIY sugar pregnancy test is not so much a test as it is a tall tale.

The DIY pregnancy test is a myth that is being promulgated on the internet, Dr. Davidov says. Although popular on the web, Dr. Davidov says that none of his patients have asked him about this test yet. Sarah Jordan, MD, OB-GYN and medical director at Pediatrix Medical Group in Fort Worth, Texas, also says that DIY sugar pregnancy tests are not something she recommends.

The Science (or Theory) Behind the Sugar Pregnancy Tests

To be clear, there is no scientific evidence that supports these tests, not even a little bit. There is nothing about mixing sugar with urine that could medically indicate a pregnancy.

The theory behind the test is that the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) somehow makes it more difficult for sugar to dissolve, says Heather Levin, MD, OB-GYN and co-director of the Northwell Center for Diabetes in Pregnancy. But, as Dr. Levin points out, There is no science to support this test.

Dr. Jordan agrees. This is not rooted in science and sugar actually does not pick up the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone, she explains. HCG is the pregnancy hormone and what triggers a positive test using traditional home and office pregnancy tests.

Related: HGC Levels Chart: Are They Necessary While Pregnant?

How to Perform a Sugar Pregnancy Test at Home

Again, theres no research to back up the claims that these tests are useful or accurate. So while you can try this at home for fun, you should not use it to verify a pregnancy.

While various methods may vary in the TikTok videos that pop up on your FYP, the general way you perform a sugar pregnancy test at home is as follows:

Use your first morning urine

Then, using a cup, a bowl, or other receptacle, mix equal parts urine and sugar together

Let the mixture sit for a few minutes

Next, note what you see. If the sugar has dissolved into the urine, the test is negative and no pregnancy was "detected." But if the sugar has started to clump together, the test is positive and a pregnancy was "detected" (theoretically of course!)

Are Sugar Pregnancy Tests Accurate?

If you are wondering if sugar pregnancy tests could be accurate, Dr. Davidov has a clear message on the subject. "The simple answer is no!" he says. Dr. Levin shares a similar sentiment, saying, This may be a fun fad to try, but results are not reliable and should be confirmed with a traditional pregnancy test.

These tests are not accurate because a sugar cannot pick up hCG, Dr. Jordan emphasizes. It can't be used with any sort of accuracy, she says. If the test is correct, it is likely just luck and not based on any accurate science. People who advocate for this kind of test say that hCG makes it more difficult for sugar to dissolve, but thats not a scientifically accurate claim, Dr. Jordan explains.

Related: Should You Get a Pregnancy Blood Test?

Sugar Pregnancy Tests vs. Traditional Pregnancy Tests

These days, at-home pregnancy testseven the cheap dollar store onesare considered incredibly accurate when it comes to detecting pregnancy. At-home pregnancy tests measure the level of hCG present in your pee. Its usually advised that you use the first pee of the morning when using these tests.

HCG is released beginning around six days after your egg has been fertilized, says Dr. Jordan. Most over-the-counter pregnancy tests can pick up hCG in your urine about 10 days after conception, she explains. Most people miss their menstrual cycle 14 days after conception.

The only other at home method that may indicate that you are pregnant is the basal body temperature method. This is where you take your temperature with a special thermometer called a basal body thermometer. Temperature is taken first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed, and you measure your temperature every day of your menstrual cycle.

Basal body temperature rises after ovulation and then drops a few days before your period. If your temperature continues to be elevated a few days after your expected period, it may indicate that you are pregnant. However, medical professionals dont use this as a way to test for pregnancy, just as a possible sign or symptom. You could still need to take a pregnancy test to confirm your pregnancy.

The bottom line is that if you believe you may be pregnant, you should purchase an at-home pregnancy test and not rely on DIY methods. If you arent sure that you are getting an accurate result or arent sure how to use a traditional at-home pregnancy test, you should reach out to a health care professional.

A physician can administer a urine test for you, or they may perform a blood test to measure the amount of hCG in your blood. Typically, blood tests are performed if your pregnancy hormones need to be followed because of a medical condition, says Dr. Jordan.

Either way, she recommends you steer clear of sugar pregnancy tests or other similar tests. Currently DIY pregnancy tests are not recommended as they do not yield accurate results, Dr. Jordan describes. If you have any question that you are pregnant, the best option is to see an OB-GYN.



Related: Basal Body Temperature and Ovulation: How to Chart Your BBT

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Read the original article on Parents.
We see a diver at the lake floor, where there are lots of wooden sticks in the ground.

Archaeologists in the Balkans have discovered the likely remains of an 8,000-year-old village built out over an ancient lake  the earliest-known village of any kind in Europe.

The lake, located on the border between Albania and North Macedonia, holds hundreds of tree-trunk stilts that the archaeologists believe formed the foundations of the prehistoric village. The researchers can't yet estimate the settlement's original size  but their discovery of a defensive palisade of tens of thousands of wooden spikes, now underwater, indicates the village was relatively large.

Albert Hafner , an archaeologist at the University of Bern in Switzerland who led the excavations, told Live Science that divers sampled wood from the submerged tree trunks and wooden spikes near the Albanian village of Lin on the western shore of Lake Ohrid a few weeks ago.

We see the green coast of a vast lake.

The results of dating tests won't be available for months. But Hafner said the submerged wood is probably the same age as wooden foundations unearthed on the shore, which his team determined date from between 5800 B.C. and 5900 B.C.

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This would mean it's the oldest settlement archaeologists have found anywhere in Europe, he said.

Related: Back to the Stone Age: 17 key milestones in Paleolithic life

Hafner's team also found evidence of similar "pile dwellings" built over the water at the underwater prehistoric site of Ploca Micov Grad on the eastern shore of the lake  part of North Macedonia  but those remains date to a few hundred years later.

We see an inflatable black boat with researchers in it near the coast of a lake.

It now seems both villages were built on opposite sides of the lake in phases over hundreds of years, and that the later building phases had obscured the earliest, he said.

"It seems to be quite typical that we have multiple phases of settlements, with sometimes long gaps in between," he said. "It now looks like Lin dates mostly from the sixth millennium [B.C.] in several phases, starting in about 5900 and ending in 5000."

First farmers

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Divers excavate underwater site at possible oldest village in the world.

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Divers excavate underwater site at possible oldest village in the world.

Hafner has led the EXPLO project for several years, examining lakes in the Balkans for traces of settlers from Anatolia  now Turkey  to Europe about 8,000 years ago. They are thought to be the first people to bring farming to Europe from around Mesopotamia .

The early farmers interbred with hunter-gatherers who had already occupied Europe since about 45,000 years ago during the Upper Palaeolithic period, and who probably arrived from Africa via the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

And both ancestries interbred with nomadic proto-Indo-European peoples like the Yamnaya , who arrived in Europe from the Eurasian Steppe about 5,000 years ago. Most modern Europeans show a genetic mix of all three ancestries.

Hafner explained that the many large lakes in the Balkans region held clear traces of the early migration from Anatolia.

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Divers excavate underwater site at possible oldest village in the world.

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Divers excavate underwater site at possible oldest village in the world.

Lake dwellers

Hafner's team has so far investigated more than half a dozen sites across the Balkans.

Research into some of the lake settlements was conducted in the 1960s. But the latest excavations use refined techniques like very accurate radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which can determine when logs of wood were felled by looking at tree growth rings, Hafner said.

A diver carries an excavation tool near the bottom of the lake.

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Most of the former piles and stilts underwater near Lin are now covered by silt, but a few protrude from the lake floor. And archaeologists are unsure if the settlement was built in deep water or above mostly marshy ground.

Ancient people were likely drawn to the lakes because of water and plants there. But exactly why prehistoric people chose to build their houses on piles or stilts above a lake or wetland isn't clear  though the practice is seen throughout Europe, from the Balkans to the Baltic .

Hafner thinks that under normal conditions it would have been easy to get between houses with dugout canoes. But the large palisade of wooden spikes indicates the village was sometimes attacked, he said; and houses on the water were more easily defended (although perhaps not always successfully .)
The US government has awarded more than $1.4 billion to kick-start the development of new vaccines and therapies to fight Covid-19, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

The funding is part of Project NextGen, a $5 billion government initiative to develop new and more durable vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus, which continues to infect, hospitalize and kill Americans more than three years after its emergence.

This is an investment in expanding our countrys ability to respond to the future variants that we might see coming out of Covid, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Tuesday.

The funding includes $300 million to the drug manufacturer Regeneron for the development and testing of a new preventive monoclonal antibody, similar to the now-defunct Evusheld, which will help protect people who dont respond well to vaccines. Clinical trials of the new antibody therapy will begin in the fall.

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As the virus has continued to evolve, antibodies like Evusheld have lost their potency against it. There hasnt been an effective monoclonal antibody to help people with reduced immune function since late January.

Another $1 billion in funding will go to four companies that will lead clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines. HHS says the funding will support phase 2b clinical trials of new types of vaccines. HHS will select the vaccines that will be tested this fall, and the studies will begin over the winter.

Over time, the protection of the Covid-19 vaccines has diminished as new variants have evolved. This has created the need to regularly update the vaccines to keep pace with the virus. Scientists hope they can develop new types of immunizations, including oral and nasal formulations, that may help stop transmission of the virus and perhaps help curb its rapid evolution. Scientists are also testing pan-coronavirus vaccines that are designed to generate antibodies against many different parts of the virus and may offer more complete protection against new variants.

HHS Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response Dawn OConnell said the funding of clinical trials now will help speed the development of new vaccines, since they should be up and running by the time candidate products are ready to be tested.

The four clinical research organizations that will receive awards to run clinical trials are ICON Government and Public Health Solutions of Hinckley, Ohio; Pharm-Olam of Houston; Technical Resources Intl of Bethesda, Maryland; and Rho Federal Systems of Durham, North Carolina.

Another $10 million was awarded to Johnson & Johnson Innovation for a competition to develop new Covid-19 therapies.

An additional $100 million will go to Global Health Investment Corp., the nonprofit organization managing the BARDA Ventures investment portfolio, to expand investments in new technologies that will accelerate future responses, according to HHS.

Correction: A previous version of this story gave an incorrect title for Dawn OConnell.

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Stella McCartney and Kendall Jenner are uniting through their love of horses, as the model stars in Stella's Winter 2023 campaign.

Shot by renowned photographer Harley Weir, Jenner is captured amidst the famed white ponies of France's Camargue Salt Flats. An extension of the brand's FW23 showcase in Paris, horse whisperer and rescuer Jean-Francois Pignon returns to ensure the safety and wellbeing of McCartney's favorite animal.

"I knew this season's Stella girl had to love horses as much as I do. Kendall has been riding since she was a kid, just like me, and has her own ranch; you can see how at ease she is around these sensitive creatures, and them with her. Capturing this connection brings Horse Power to life, both through the fashion and the vision," explains McCartney in a press release.

Tapping into the duo's shared, lifelong love of horses, the campaign aims to once again celebrate the equestrian essence of the Winter 2023 collection, showcased through Appaloosa jacquard prints, bridle-inspired rope details and quilting reminiscent of classic horse blankets.

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The Winter 2023 collection continues the brand's longstanding ethos of responsible design, crafted from 92% conscious materials and debuting vegan crocodile-effect bags crafted from apple waste, alongside riding boots made using grape waste. Accessories feature fungi mycelium and MIRIUM -- cruelty-free alternatives to animal leather which are made using plants as opposed to plastic.

Take a look at the campaign starring Jenner above, and head to Stella McCartney's website to shop the brand's most responsible collection yet.

In other news, Cindy Crawford and MCM unite.
RSV is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the US, reports the CDC, but we may soon have another tool to prevent severe illness in babies. The FDA recently approved Abrysvo, the first vaccine approved for pregnancy to prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in babies from birth through 6 months.

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common virus that nearly every child will have contracted by age 2, but it can be especially severe for infants under 12 months, especially those with pre-existing conditions, as well as older adults. The virus is the most common cause of the lung infection bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under 1 in the US. More than 58,000 to 80,000 children under 5 are hospitalized due to RSV each year, according to the CDC.

Approved for use at 32 weeks through 36 weeks of pregnancy, Pfizers Abrysvo has already been authorized for adults over age 60 and is given as a single injection into the muscle. The vaccine works by passing antibodies to developing infants from maternal circulation across the placenta during pregnancy, acting as a protective shield against the virus once theyre born. Maternal immunization has been used for decades to help prevent infectious disease in infants such as influenza, tetanus, pertussis, and more recently COVID-19, and can be especially beneficial for diseases that are most severe in very early life, a Pfizer spokesperson tells Motherly.

RSV is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those at highest risk for severe disease, which can lead to hospitalization, said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. This approval provides an option for healthcare providers and pregnant individuals to protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease.

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An antibody-like therapy, Beyfortus, was also recently approved by the FDA and CDC for use in babies born during or entering their first RSV season, and in children up to 24 months who remain vulnerable to severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.

Safety and efficacy of the maternal RSV vaccine

In a study of approximately 7,400 pregnant women, who were randomized to receive either a 1-shot dose of the Pfizer RSV vaccine or a placebo during the late second or early third trimester, researchers saw a vaccine efficacy rate of 81.8% against severe disease from RSV in infants from birth through the first 90 days of life. Results also showed 69.4% efficacy against severe disease through the infants first six months of life.

The August 21 approval comes after an FDA advisory committee voted to support the approval of the maternal RSV vaccine in May, attesting that the available data supported the efficacy and safety of its use. The Committee voted 14 to 0 on effectiveness and 10 to 4 on safety, as some experts were concerned about the adequacy of data to support the vaccines safety profile.

The vaccine was well-tolerated, but there was some evidence that study participants who were vaccinated may have been more likely to have a preterm birth. In the study, Abrysvo recipients experienced preterm births at a slightly higher percentage (5.7%) compared with placebo recipients (4.7%), though its unclear whether the vaccine itself caused the difference. FDA officials noted that the difference was not considered statistically significant. To avoid potential risk of preterm birth, its recommended to get the vaccine later in pregnancy, between weeks 32 and 36 of gestation.

The most commonly reported side effects by pregnant individuals who received Abrysvo were pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain and nausea. In clinical trials where Abrysvo was compared to placebo, infants born to pregnant individuals experienced low birth weight (5.1% Abrysvo versus 4.4% placebo) and jaundice (7.2% Abrysvo versus 6.7% placebo).

Even more rare, preeclampsia was reported in 1.8% of pregnant people who received Abrysvo compared to 1.4% of pregnant people who received placebo. Its worth noting that the FDAs final approval of Abrysvo shows that the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh any potential risks.

Newborns and young infantswhose immune systems are still developing and are not yet strong enough to defend against infectionsmay now be protected from RSV from the moment of birth through maternal immunization, said Eric A.F. Simoes, M.D., Clinical Professor, Pediatrics-Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Childrens Hospital Colorado, Aurora, in a press release. The approval of Pfizers ABRYSVO is a major triumph as it helps ensure no delay in potential RSV protection during an infants most vulnerable first six months of life and offers healthcare providers a new opportunity to help prevent severe RSV.

We dont yet know when the RSV vaccine in pregnancy will be available, though Pfizer has been manufacturing the vaccine ahead of the 2023/2024 RSV season, the Pfizer spokesperson tells Motherly, which usually starts in September. The CDC still has to review and sign off on the vaccine, though the committee that advises the agency on vaccine recommendations is expected to meet soon to determine recommended use.
Las Vegas, Nevada was slammed by heavy rains from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hilary.

Lee Canyon is a popular ski resort that sits just 45 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. It took a direct impact from Hilary, racking up nearly 10 inches of rain.

The resort announced on August 21st, 2023 that it will remain closed through "at least August 25th" following the US Forest Service's closure of Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. More below.

Lee Canyon: "Update on our operations for this week  Due to Tropical Storm Hilary's heavy rains (nearly 10 inches), we will remain closed through at least August 25, following the SMNRA closure.



Safety is our priority for you and the Spring Mountains. Once SMNRA reopens, we'll assess and update. Thanks for your patience and support!"

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Lee Canyon's summer operations, including its new bike park, will remain closed until the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area opens.

LiftBlog, a popular website that covers ski resort chairlifts across the globe, took a screenshot of Lee Canyon's webcams on August 21st, 2023.

The images show large piles of debris under chairlifts and throughout the base area. The webcam feeds were inactive at the time this article was published. See the screenshots in the Tweet below:

More than 8 inches of rain has filled lift loading areas with debris at @LeeCanyonLV. https://t.co/EE7FXUAR35 pic.twitter.com/pcVEQdnHDL  Lift Blog (@liftblog) August 21, 2023

We're hoping for the best for everybody up at Lee Canyon and the surrounding area. Stay safe out there, friends!

Click below for our recent coverage of Lee Canyon's plan to invest $7 million in the coming years.

Related: Las Vegas Ski Resort Announces $7 Million Investment In Resort Upgrades

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We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional skier or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.
Teton Gravity Research, of ski movie production fame, is dipping its toes into something a little different this fall: a snowboard film.

The film in question is titled Flying High Again and will feature a stacked roster of talented professional snowboarders.

Scope the trailer below, which was released today, August 22nd.

I, for one, am excited to check out TGR's take on the snowboarding scene. They've churned out solid ski movies for decades now, so why not give single-planking a try?

The decision to pursue another snowboarding film -- TGR, while commonly thought of as a skiing-focused brand, has already created several snowboard movies -- reflects the company's continued expansion across disciplines in the actions sports space. For instance, TGR recently released Esperanto, a mountain bike film.

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Thus, this isn't just a crew of ski-focused filmmakers dropping into snowboarding and pretending they know what's up. To produce Flying High Again, TGR teamed up with Mike Hatchett, legendary snowboard film director and founder of Standard Films.

Teton Gravity Research/Tucker Adams

"The original goal was to make the best snowboard film we could and really focus on the athletes being the stars," Hatchett wrote in a TGR press release shared with Powder this morning. "We wanted to make a rider-based movie and let the athletes do the talking. It is a mix of freestyle and big-mountain riding."

The film will feature a greatest-hits tour of North American locales, including Idaho, California, Wyoming, and Utah.

Teton Gravity Research/Tucker Adams

The cast is similarly rockin', featuring Bode Merrill, John Jackson, Danny Davis, Elena Hight, Jason Robinson, Dusty Hendrickson, Antti Autii, Brandon Davis, Sean Fitzsimons, and Jeremy Jones, among several others.

The film is hitting the road this fall. To find a Flying High Again tour date near you, click here.

Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.

We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional skier or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.
Maison Soksi once again defies hosiery conventions with its Season 5 collection, titled "PLANETA." Designed in Milan and produced in Mantova and Venice, Italy, the brand's upward trajectory continues, thanks to its dynamic styles and distinctive underground designs.

Since its inception in February 2019, Maison Soksi's journey across its initial four seasons has been characterized by innovative tights and socks with magnetic color choices that empower wearers to express themselves. Guided by Founder and Creative Director Andrea Giorgini, the label stands out for edgy pieces that are easy to wear.

Giorgini explains, "Season 5 is by far our most easily styled collection. The colors are subtle as if we want our clients to genuinely focus on the actual patterns and details. The aesthetic of Breakfast at Tiffany's perfectly captures our new orientation." Maison Soksi's core idea can be described as "looking towards the future."

Through the lens of photographer Theo Liu, who captured the brand's Paris campaign in May, the legacy and effortless coolness of Maison Soksi vividly come to life. Explore the collection in the gallery above and visit Maison Soksi's website to discover the "PLANETA" range.

In other news, Paco Rabanne quietly launches Rabanne Beauty.
The holiday falls on a different date each year.

The South unequivocally owns Mardi Gras. Between our over-the-top festivities in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, everyone knows that if you want to properly celebrate Fat Tuesday, its got to be in the South. From cinnamon-swirled king cakes to lavish balls and float processions that rival the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, theres so much to love about Mardi Gras. Unlike most holidays, which fall on the same day each year, Mardi Grass date changes each year. Keep reading for all the details on when to celebrate Mardi Gras 2024.

When Is Mardi Gras 2024?

This year, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, February 13. Also called, Carnival, Mardi Gras is celebrated on Fat Tuesday each year, which always lands precisely 47 days before Easter and one day before Ash Wednesday. Because Easter changes each year (its always the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox), so does Mardi Gras. Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 23 and April 25, so Mardi Gras can be any day from February 3 to March 9.



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While Mardi Grass biggest and final celebration arrives on Fat Tuesday (February 13 this year), the Carnival season always begins on Epiphany, which is always on January 6. So this year, the Mardi Gras season runs from January 6 through February 13.



What Is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras is a day of feasting and celebration that comes just before the sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season in the Christian faith. The holiday is celebrated around the world, but in the U.S. its most extravagantly done in Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Popular festivities and traditions include attending parades and masked balls, eating king cake, and general feasting and drinking.



When Is Mardi Gras Next Year?

The dates for Mardi Gras change quite a bit over the next few years. In 2025, it falls on March 4. In 2026, it will arrive on February 17. And in 2027, Mardi Gras will be on February 9.

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Richard Byrne is hoping to dial up a fairly lucrative real estate deal on the North Carolina coast. Thats where the veteran telecommunications and wireless executivebest known for cofounding the Raleigh cellphone tower company TowerCo in 2004is asking $11.4 million for his oceanfront Wrightsville Beach retreat; and should the place go for anywhere near the list price, it would set a record for the area.

Per the Charlotte Business Journal, which first reported the listing, Byrne paid $2.6 million for an oceanfront lot on South Lumina Drive back in 2017, and subsequently enlisted architect Cothran Harris and Jim Murray of Murray Construction to custom-build a Hamptons-inspired residence.

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Completed in 2020, the cedar-shingled structure features eight bedrooms and 10 baths in almost 7,000 square feet of refined yet casual living space boasting reclaimed wood floors, luxe designer lighting and walls of glass offering sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean.

The upper-level living room has a cozy fireplace and walls of glass overlooking the ocean.

Notable amenities include an elevator to all three levels, four HVAC systems with seven zones, a generator and an automated irrigation system, plus a two-car garage that can accommodate up to four vehicles. An additional garage used for storing beach necessities is topped by a guest suite with its own bedroom, bath and living area.

Resting on a parcel spanning a third of an acre, amid a secluded one-way street on the southern end of the coastal community, the inverted floor plan is highlighted by a top-floor great room holding a fireside living room that connects to a dining area. An adjacent kitchen is outfitted with custom cabinetry, concrete and marble countertops, an eat-in island, a Thermador appliance package and full scullery.

Elsewhere on this level is a laundry room, secret reading nook for kids, study with a Murphy bed and guest bedroom, as well as a spacious master retreat sporting a sitting area, an ocean-view balcony, a walk-in closet and spa-like bath.

The lower-level game room opens to an al fresco lounging and entertaining patio.

The rest of the bedrooms and an additional living room can be found on the middle floor, while the lower level is spotlighted by a game room that spills out to a covered patio ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining; and out back, a sprawling grassy lawn hosts a gas fire-pit and private access to 80 feet of beach frontage.

Byrne, who retired in 2018, developed a business model that enabled TowerCo to structure four different holding companies during his 14-year tenure that all sold at different prices. The first two LLCs traded for about $1.7 billion and the next two for around $550 million. Tailwind and Soros Capital owned some 80 percent of the company, with the rest owned by Byrne, his partners and TowerCo employees.

Per CBJ, Byrne is moving because the Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach housing market is registering sale numbers never seen before. It is a phenomenal time to sell, he said. Not to mention we are embarking on some lifestyle changes that are making us put the house up for sale.

The listing is held by Jessica Pirone and Rebecca Dawson of the Full Circle Group at Nest Realty.

Click here for more photos of 423 South Lumina Avenue.

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Crispin Dye was killed in 1993

Forensic tests have identified a person of interest in the hunt for the killer of Crispin Dye, the former manager of the rock band AC/DC in 1993.

Mr Dye, 41, was battered to death in a Sydney suburb on Christmas Day, where he had been celebrating the successful release of a debut solo album.

Details of the breakthrough in the 30-year-old cold case emerged during a public inquiry into gay hate crimes in New South Wales.

The inquiry was told that investigators had failed to send Mr Dyes clothing for forensic testing at the time.

Belatedly testing was carried out this year as part of the hate crimes inquiry.

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DNA found on the clothing matched that found at a crime scene. Investigators also found a bloodstained piece of paper with a name written on it.

Crispin Dye's shirt on the night he was attacked

The person of interest  named as NP252  had a substantial criminal record, including convictions for assault. He died in 2002. Just two weeks after Mr Dyes death he was accused of assaulting a German tourist in Sydney.

Police in New South Wales were criticised for failing to carry out DNA testing at the time.

Meg OBrien, assisting counsel at the inquiry, said the failure to do so was extraordinary.

It is plainly unsatisfactory that this evidence has lain untouched for nearly 30 years without being found or subjected to testing, she said.

Richard Cobden, a close friend of Mr Dye, said the brutal murder was homophobic.

I think theres no doubt in my mind that it was, in fact, a hate crime. He was in a gay precinct at the height of when it was a gay precinct, were talking back in 1993.

And theres no question that the gangs that are roaming the back streets of those hours were looking for gay people to bash. He was beaten because he was a gay man out late at night.

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.
COVID cases are once again on the rise. Are schools doing anything about it? (Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)

After a relatively quiet spring and summer, the U.S. is seeing a surge in hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19. The increase in serious complications of the virus seems to coincide with the rise of the EG.5 variant (aka Eris), which now makes up more than 20% of new COVID cases in the U.S.

Unfortunately, this increase in cases is happening at the same time as schools reopen their doors across the country. What does this mean for students and staff, and what can parents do to keep their kids safe? Here's what you need to know.

How schools are responding

Many schools across the country aren't yet back in session, but some are. Here's what a few have planned for COVID-19 protocols.

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Southern California's Chula Vista Elementary School District is offering free weekly COVID-19 and flu testing as part of a partnership with Campus Clinic. (The district is also offering two free counseling sessions to staff to support mental health.)

Chicago Public Schools is reportedly considering a plan to spend up to $5 million on COVID-19 rapid tests for students and staff. The district is also offering a slew of vaccinations at health clinics.

The Charleston County School District in South Carolina is reportedly offering in-school vaccinations to children with parental consent. A van will travel from school to school to give vaccinations to those who want them.

Mississippi's Monroe County schools plan to fog classrooms and buses on a weekly basis to tackle pathogens. The district has also added family nurse practitioners at schools for COVID-19 testing and wellness checks.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, which has historically been very conservative with COVID-19 precautions, is encouraging parents to send their kids to school when they have a mild cold or cough in an effort to boost attendance.

What teachers are saying

Teachers across the country have their own thoughts about COVID precautions heading into the 2023-24 school year. To protect their privacy, the teachers who spoke to Yahoo Life asked to not disclose their last names.

Sam, a college professor in Florida, plans to keep his distance from students and will have a policy to excuse students from attending class when they're sick. He doesn't plan to wear a mask. "Masks are hard to wear in classrooms that are too warm," he says. "It's hard to project your voice while wearing a mask. And masks are uncomfortable."

Molly, a high school teacher in New York City, tells Yahoo Life that she felt like she was "the only teacher left at the end of the school year last year wearing my mask." She originally planned not to wear a mask to school this coming year, but with the recent surge, she's not sure. "I definitely plan to take the new booster when it comes out, but I still may wear my mask in the school building," she says. "I may be the only one doing it, but that doesnt matter to me because my safety and the safety of my loved ones is paramount. I have two elderly parents and visit them every Sunday to do family dinner, so I have to always think about them first."

Aaron, an English teacher in Orange County, Calif., says he plans to wear an N95 or similar mask in class. "I choose to wear a mask, because scientific, peer-reviewed research has shown that, coupled with social distancing, frequent handwashing and hand sanitization, masks are proven to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 particles," he says. Aaron notes that his school district has also provided over-the-counter home COVID-19 rapid tests to staff.

What experts say

Doctors say the increase in COVID-19 cases at the start of the school year isn't ideal, but it shouldn't cause parents to panic. "It doesn't raise an increased level of concern compared to other variants, and it doesn't seem to be causing more severe disease," Dr. Thomas Russo, a professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life. "Eris may be a whiff better at evading immunity, though."

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, agrees. "Eris is a subvariant of Omicron, and it has the characteristics of Omicron," he tells Yahoo Life. "It's highly transmissible but not apt to produce more serious disease."

Dr. Danelle Fisher, a pediatrician and chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., cautions that Eris has caused a range of illnesses in patients. "Some kids have had pretty significant illness with this," she says. "On the other hand, some kids have mild cold-like symptoms. Parents just need to be aware that COVID-19 is still out there."

How parents can protect their kids

Fisher recommends going over COVID-19 safety protocols again with your children, since it's likely been a while. That includes talking to them about hand hygiene, encouraging them to steer clear of people who are sick and refraining from picking their nose, which research has shown can raise the risk of getting sick.

"If you know there are high transmission rates and your kid always brings everything home, don't be afraid of masks," Fisher says. "They're a wonderful and fabulous way to prevent the spread of illness." Given that many children won't wear a mask, Fisher suggests making sure your children understand why a mask will help protect them so they can feel better equipped to advocate for themselves and actually keep the mask on.

She also recommends encouraging kids to get enough sleep at night, eat healthy meals and exercise regularly  "the simple things to help the body have its natural defenses."

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, Russo says it's important to test them, both to know if you should contact your doctor about getting your child on an antiviral medication and to help protect others.

There will be a new COVID-19 booster available this fall that's better targeted toward the Eris strain, Russo says. "But those boosters are still probably several weeks away," he says. "Many schools will start before they're available."

More COVID-19 coverage:
The Shreveport Farmers' Market is encouraging supporters to cast their votes in the 15th annual America's Farmers Market Celebration presented by American Farmland Trust and Farmers Market Coalition.

Between June 19 and September 18, you can visit the markets.farmland.org website to vote for your favorite farmers market to put it in the running for national recognition and cash prizes.

The Shreveport Farmers Market strives to be bigger and better every year. It serves as a great community resource that has a tremendous economic impact on our region. From farmers to food vendors, we bring the best to the market every year and work hard to serve all members of the community. By voting for the Shreveport Farmers Market, you help us continue to grow our operations and encourage our vendors to come back every year to serve this great community, said Emerie Eck Holtzclaw, Market Manager.

Mahaffey Farms at the Shreveport Farmers' Market Saturday morning, June 24, 2023, in downtown Shreveport.

In 2023, the Celebration will award a record $15,000 in total cash award to the top five markets.

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1st Place - $5,000

2nd Place - $2,500

3rd Place - $1,500

4th Place - $750

5th Place - $250

The top farmers market in each state will also receive $100.

The American Farmland Trust is a national nonprofit dedicated to saving farmland, promoting sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land. It has run the Celebration for 14 consecutive years, elevating the increasingly essential role farmers markets play in providing communities with access to fresh, locally grown food and connecting farmers directly with their customers.

Brandon Manning at the Shreveport Farmers' Market Saturday morning, June 24, 2023, in downtown Shreveport.

"In many regions, farmers markets have been vital to keeping existing farms in business, enabling new farms to get started, and creating jobs and opportunity in these communities, said John Piotti, American Farmland Trust president and CEO. At AFT, we believe that every farmers market in America is special in its own way, helping to connect farmers to customers, customers to healthy food, and the community to the local food system.

Visit markets.farmland.org to vote for the Shreveport Farmers' Market in the 15th annual America's Farmers Market Celebration.

More Local News: Country music star Wynonna Judd is bringing her tour to Margaritaville in Bossier City

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveport Farmers' Market in America's Farmers Market Celebration
Snipes is going back to school this season with an empowering new initiative.

In a move to encourage students educational journeys and feelings of community, the streetwear retailer will be donating over 10,000 back-to-school kits for students to reduce financial limitations faced by many families when buying school supplies. The kits, packed with supplies like pencils, pens and notebooks, will be available at Snipes retail locations in Louisiana, Virginia, Massachusetts, Illinois, South Carolina and North Carolina.

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Guests at the Nike x Snipes Maxxed Out event. David Pham/Snipes

Empowering students through education is at the heart of our mission at SNIPES, said Paula Barbosa, Snipes vice president of marketing, in a statement. With our Back to School initiative, were not just providing supplies; were fueling dreams, breaking barriers, and giving students the tools to create their own paths to success. The communities we serve are our inspiration, and together, were shaping a future filled with boundless possibilities.

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However, this isnt Snipes only part of its back-to-school initiative. The brand will also donate over 1,000 back-to-school kits, as well as backpacks, at events thrown by its six community partners  including Empower 22 Youth Center (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Greater Fellowship Services (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Corazon Community Youth Center (Cicero, Illinois)  to encourage a sense of community for youth in need.

The brand will also host back-to-school events in the aforementioned cities, as well as Hamden, Miami and Philadelphia, which will include various activities, food trucks, music and gift card prizes to spread positivity towards the students it works with.

Throughout the school year, Snipes will also work with a range of community organizations to support students education. In Philadelphia, the brand will provide reading support to Joyful Readers in Philadelphia for tutoring 125 children in grades K-3. Snipes is also expanding its efforts to Atlanta, where its worked with STE(A)M Truck to bring two schools the Young Genius Innovation Lab  a program where middle and high school students can epicycle streetwear into sustainable clothing designs, as well as marketing, video design and networking with individuals at Clark Atlanta University and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

About the Author:

Aaron Royce is the Digital Editor for Footwear News, where he writes stories on celebrity style, brand collaborations and in-depth profile interviews. Prior to joining Footwear News, Aaron wrote and interned for publications including PAPER, Grazia and the Daily Front Row. He currently holds a B.S. in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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This is by no means a complete listing of all murals in Burlington. And because public art is essentially a living, breathing entity, murals will come and go over the next weeks, months and years. But this list (and the accompanying map and photo gallery) should give you a pretty good start for taking your own walking and/or biking tours of all the murals Burlington has to offer.

Spaceman on Pine Street

A mural conveys an outer-space vibe outside The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery on Pine Street in Burlington on Aug. 3, 2023.

Walking south on Pine Street from the intersection with Maple Street, one of the first striking murals along the route calls attention to The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery. Fittingly, a helmet-clad, mostly-black-and-white astronaut created in 2010 by artist Adam DeVarney practically jumps out from the brightly-painted red cinder block of the art space. Make sure to step inside the gallery when the South End Art Hop takes place Sept. 8-10, a weekend that provides a perfect opportunity to stroll along the Pine Street corridor admiring the multiple murals decorating the formerly-industrial, now art-heavy strip.

Those colorful silos

The 2015 mural "Inside Out" by Mary Lacy is shown Aug. 3, 2023 outside Dealer.com on Pine Street in Burlington.

One of the most-prominent businesses along Pine Street, Dealer.com, in 2015 commissioned Vermont artist Mary Lacy to paint a pair of 32-foot-high silos positioned in front of the building. The resulting work, titled Inside Out, is a colorful patchwork of geometric shapes conveying a sense of energy that unfolds within an office space as well as outside on the increasingly busy stretch of Pine Street. According to a sign near the artwork, Inside Out is the largest public-art canvas in Vermont, totaling 3,200 square feet of painted surface area.

That building next to the farmers market

The mural "Liberation Through Imagination" by Juniper Creative livens up Pine Street in Burlington on Aug. 3, 2023.

One of a couple of Pine Street murals painted by Juniper Creative Arts, Liberation Through Imagination, spruces up a former Burlington Street Department building. The 2021 mural that wraps around the east- and south-facing corners of the building features images of winged Black men and women as well as women and children holding out their hands as butterflies take off after theyre set free. The scenes are surrounded by bright flowers, giving Liberation Through Imagination a sense of serene beauty as the backdrop to images of subtle power.

AT Champlain Elementary School

A mural known as "Kelis the Afronaut," painted by Juniper Creative, is shown Aug 3, 2023 at Champlain Elementary School in Burlington.

The otherwise-ordinary brick exterior of Champlain Elementary School bursts into vibrant life with another of the murals on Pine Street designed by Juniper Creative Arts. Kelis the Afronaut, painted on the north wall of Champlain Elementary in 2020, depicts a Black warrior who, according to Burlington City Arts, represents a symbol of joy, love, resilience, and a revolutionary spirit. A quote on the mural attributed to Albert Camus reads, The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

South End city Market

A mural by the Poppyclock Collective, shown Aug. 3, 2023, adorns the entrance to City Market on Flynn Avenue in Burlington.

A few murals stand out along Flynn Avenue, just to the west of Pine Street. One at the front entrance to City Market, created in 2017 by the South Burlington-based Poppyclock Collective, shows classically Vermonty scenes with the coloring just slightly askew, such as a purple moose with greenish antlers. Simple, homey farmhouses surrounded by blooming flowers set within an orange background tip off the fresh produce found inside the South End grocery store that opened the same year the mural was painted.

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: The South End: Touring Burlington's murals
Fresh off a $154 million funding round in March 2023, South Korean digital lender and neobank Toss Bank is close to raising another $154 million (200 billion won) in equity at a valuation of $2.1 billion (2.7 trillion won), and it is already planning a further $150 million round for the end of the year, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

The Seoul-based challenger bank is in advanced discussions for both funding injections with existing and new investors, including global private equity firms and corporations, the sources said without providing further details.

In March of this year, Toss Bank raised $154 million at a valuation of $1.6 billion, a figure we have confirmed with the company directly (PitchBook notes a higher valuation, which the company told TechCrunch was incorrect). At the time of its last raise, Toss Bank had raised a total of over $1.2 billion since its inception in 2021.

That round came from online retail platform Home & Shopping, Premier Partners, Korea Investment Capital and other unnamed investors. Altos Ventures, Standard Chartered Korea, Hana Bank, Goodwater Capital, Ribbit Capital and Hanwha Investment & Securities Company are among Toss Bank's other investors, alongside Viva Republica, which operates the financial super app Toss and remains the largest shareholder, owning a 32.1%, in Toss Bank.

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The massive capital injections are notable for coming at a time when funding remains largely constrained globally; and also to underscore the competitive stance that Toss Bank is taking in Korea, which has a number of other challenger banks vying to compete against incumbents to lend money and help consumers with their financial affairs.

The new $154 million in funding is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year -- that is, around September -- according to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous since the deal is not yet public.

The two-year-old digital lender is likely to make another raise swiftly after that, of at least $150 million, aiming to be completed as early as the end of 2023, the sources said. Toss Bank is raising capital to offer loans to its customers, hire more staff and expand its services, like the wealth management business, they added.

A spokesperson at Toss Bank confirmed to TechCrunch that it is in the process of raising capital, but he declined to comment on its deal size and the company's valuation. Bloomberg reported about Toss Bank's early-stage funding talks in April.

The Korean digital lender aims to turn profitable between year-end and early next year. The company posted a net loss of $203.1 million (264.4 billion won) in 2022. Its net loss each quarter in 2022 was around $46 million (60 billion won), but a net loss in the first quarter of 2023 dropped to $21.5 million (28 billion won), according to the sources. The quarterly net loss is expected to decline gradually this year, they noted.

Since being launched in October 2021 by Viva Republica, Toss Bank said it has picked up 7 million customers as of July and now has 464 employees on its team.

The internet-only bank benefits from its association with Viva Republica, which has about 26 million users and 15 million monthly active users overall. Viva Republica provides an array of financial services such as banking, money transfer, mobile-based stock trading, credit scoring, P2P lending and more in an all-in-one app, Toss.

Toss Bank is one of the three Korean online banking service providers that has received licenses from the South Korean government, along with Kakao Bank and Bain Capital-backed K Bank.
And she needs a name!

A Tennessee zoo is celebrating the birth of a female giraffe that doesnt have any spots.

The exceedingly rare spotless giraffe was born at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, on July 31. According to the zoo, she is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe on the planet. The last recorded spotless giraffe was born in 1972 in Tokyo, CBS News reports.

Brights Zoo

Stephanie Fennessy, executive director of Giraffe Conservation Foundation, told The Washington Post that the group had never seen a similar giraffe in the wild in Africa.

She already stands six-feet-tall and is thriving under the care of her attentive mother and the zoos expert staff, Brights Zoo said in a news release.

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A naming contest for the special giraffe was announced on Sunday. Brights Zoo has narrowed the field down to four meaningful options: Kipekee, which means unique; Firyali, which means unusual or extraordinary; Shakiri, which means "she is most beautiful"; and Jamella, which means "one of great beauty."

Fans can cast their votes on Facebook.

The zoo is hoping that the media coverage surrounding the birth will help bring attention to the serious challenges the rest of her species face in the wild.

The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation. Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last three decades, Tony Bright, founder of Brights Zoo, said in a statement.

The unnamed baby giraffe and her mama are currently on display at the family-owned zoo located about 30 minutes east of Johnson City.



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Unless you've been living under a rock, you already know Skeleton Bay was all-time last week, and that 100s of surfers from all around the world dropped everything to fly in, hoping to score the barrel of their lives somewhere along Namibia's miles-long sandspit.

And many of them did. Including Koa Smith, which is saying a lot considering how barreled he's already been.

"Sitting out there today, I realized this is as good as surfing gets," says Smith, "I got two crazy waves in a row, and I kick out to see Benji [Brand] getting a barrel all the way from the top to the bottom."

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This isn't the first edit we've seen from the recent swell at Skelton, nor will it be the last. But, it's the first one to come out without a single GoPro POV clip. Not that the POV perspective isn't rad, it's just so much more entertaining watching Smith, Brand, Brett Barley, Nate Florence, and more streak through miles long tubes at 20+ mph from the land angle.

For that reason alone, this is the best edit we've seen from the swell. It really does the wave justice.

Click play above. Once you're in, it's impossible to look away.

***

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Oh, to be young and traveling the world. It's nice to be a fly on the wall as the talented Hardies squad jaunts around Europe's nicer locales skating, horsing around, and beating the crap out of each other.

Love to see the classic double bar spot that Carroll did kickflip then frontside flip over. When Zach was napping you just knew he was about to get violated.

Hopping those Paris metro booths is sketchy, we've been ticketed there a couple times. Speaking of sketchy, flipping into a nosestall right next to the tracks is too!

After an instore with a bevy of new King decks on the wall it's time for a session at the famous Palais de Tokyo aka Le Dome. Spot's definitely a bucket list if you've never been and Zach Saraceno blesses it with a beaut of a nollie varial flip.

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Then it's a short flight to Greece, where the squad gets mobbed in the streets of Athens. Finally the crew gets the R&R they deserve after handling business and clipping up. Chilling on the Greek isles, perfect way to end a trip. We'll be waiting for the clips in whatever upcoming project this crew is filming for.

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Home and Away spoilers follow for UK viewers.

Coming up on Home and Away, Felicity becomes the victim of a vicious blackmail campaign.

Elsewhere, Andrew bids an emotional farewell to Summer Bay, and Mali receives a chilling threat from a mystery person.

Here's a full collection of 11 big moments.

1. Mali hurts Rose's feelings

Channel 5

Mali has said 'I love you' to Rose for the first time, but it wasn't the romantic declaration she was hoping for. Feeling awkward around her boyfriend, Rose laments to Xander and Irene over her disappointment.

Later, confused Mali quizzes Xander about Rose's frostiness. He talks him through it and the penny finally drops as Mali admits he hadn't even realised he'd confessed his love for Rose.

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When Mali catches up with Rose, he explains everything and they reach an agreement  Mali will take it back and they'll pretend like it never happened.

2. Marilyn gets jealous

Channel 5

Cheeky Irene wants to teach the local gossips a lesson for speculating about her and John. She makes a big show of putting a love heart on John's coffee, then informs Marilyn she's his plus one for Jett's wedding.

Irene is having fun keeping up the pretence, but Marilyn is clearly uneasy at seeing her best friend and ex-husband looking so cosy. So much so that she invents her own date for the wedding.

Later, Marilyn confides in Alf, who dismisses her idea of John and Irene being a couple. But after speaking to Irene, Alf apologises to Maz and agrees maybe something is going on between them.

3. John comes clean

Channel 5

As Irene and John continue with the PDAs, Marilyn grows infuriated by their refusal to just admit they're an item.

Alf urges her to tell the pair how she feels, but Marilyn is more concerned how she's going to explain her imaginary man's no-show at Jett's big day.

Later, Marilyn declares if her friends are happy together then she's happy for them, but Alf knows it's just a front and confronts John, accusing him of being careless with Marilyn's feelings.

Consumed with guilt, John admits the whole thing with Irene was just a ruse and asks Marilyn to accompany him to Jett's wedding instead.

4. Felicity is blackmailed

Channel 5

Tane is playing the devoted husband by cancelling his bootcamp to accompany Felicity to work.

It's all too much for Felicity, who calls him out for being clingy, but Tane admits he's nervous about leaving her alone after the attack.

Felicity insists they need to move on from the past, but it comes back to haunt her when she receives a text threatening to post a video of her sexual assault unless she hands over $1,000.

5. Felicity fights back

Channel 5

Reeling from Felicity's blackmail message, Tane wants to contact Cash. Felicity refuses to involve her brother and points out it could just be a scam, but Tane isn't convinced.

Tane manages to evade Cash's questions, but Xander lets the cat out of the bag when he reveals Felicity fled Salt after receiving a disturbing message. Cash immediately contacts Felicity, who brushes him off and throws herself back into work. But then another message arrives  Pay up or everyone sees the rest.'

Wanting to put an end to the ordeal, Felicity decides to give her blackmailer what they want.

6. Lyrik are in crisis

Channel 5

Eden isn't happy with Remi after finding out about his kiss drama with Mercedes and wants to know what impact this will have on Lyrik.

Later, Mercedes fails to turn up for rehearsal, which forces Remi to tell the band she might never be coming back. As Kirby starts to panic, Eden tells Remi they're going to miss out on their biggest opportunity because he hasn't got the guts to be honest.

Realising she's right, Remi arrives at Mercedes' motel room, insisting they need to talk.

7. Bree rumbles Remi's secret

Channel 5

Coming face-to-face with Mercedes, Remi makes his feelings clear  Bree is the only woman he's in love with.

Although hurt by his rejection, Mercedes later surprises Remi by turning up at the studio ready to play.

Bree decides to pop in to watch the band record and is horrified to overhear Mercedes admitting she kissed her man.

8. Bree keeps an eye on Mercedes

Channel 5

After giving Remi the chance to own up, Bree corners him and reveals she knows about his kiss with Mercedes.

Remi insists it was a one-way thing, but Bree is livid and insists she won't be treated with such disrespect, particularly after everything she went through with Jacob. Remi reiterates that nothing happened and promises never to lie to Bree again.

She accepts his apology and the couple make up, but when Bree is left alone with Remi's phone, she takes a sneaky snap of Mercedes' number. What's she up to?

9. Justin and Tegan clash

Channel 5

Andrew and Tegan are excitedly planning their future together, but Justin remains concerned Tegan won't be able to cope with her brother's needs.

After meeting with the social worker, Tegan has a private chat with Justin and Leah, again expressing her desire for Andrew to move in with her.

Justin thinks it's a crazy idea, particularly given how young Tegan is. But there is one thing both parties agree on  Andrew should have a say in his future.

10. Andrew leaves Summer Bay

Channel 5

Andrew is clearly torn over whether to stay with Justin and Leah or start afresh with Tegan.

In a moment of panic, he tells Tegan his home is in Summer Bay, but later confesses to Theo it's a lie and he'd love to live with his sister. Taking matters into his own hands, Theo then breaks the news to Justin and Leah.

At first Justin refuses to accept it, but after seeing the bond between Andrew and Tegan, he gives them his blessing and bids a heartfelt goodbye to his foster son.

11. Mali's got an enemy

Channel 5

Mali and Rose are in a great place after agreeing to pretend the whole 'I love you' thing didn't happen. However, Rose is unable to deny her feelings and privately tells Mac she was ready to say those three little words.

Mac urges her friend to go for it, admitting she regrets not telling Gabe how she felt before it was too late.

Spurred on by Mac, Rose plans a romantic candlelit dinner for Mali at the farmhouse. Dressed up to the nines, she leads Mali into the house, the couple are stunned to discover the place has been trashed and there's a threatening message written in graffiti  'Stay away from my wife'.

Check out more of our Home and Away coverage:

- Home and Away's Rose Delaney and Mali Hudson get sinister shock in 16 spoiler pictures

- Home and Away star Ray Meagher shares alternate career before soap fame

- Home and Away's John Palmer and Irene Roberts spark romance rumours

- Home and Away's Tane Parata faces sad struggle in Felicity Newman storyline

- Home and Away's Marilyn Chambers is offered a bribe in explosion aftermath

- Home and Away cult concerns as Andrew Lawrence's sister Tegan arrives

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First-look screenings air at 6.30pm on 5STAR and the show also streams on My5.

Read more Home and Away spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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A soldier monitors the runway as a Tu-95 bomber aircraft takes off for a night patrol out of Engels-2 airbase in August 2008 in Engels, Russia Wojtek Laski/Getty Images

All four Russian airports halted operations Monday after Ukrainian drones were shot down overhead.

Ukrainian drones have been causing disruption in the airport district in recent weeks.

On Friday, airports in the region were also closed due to another drone found in Russian airspace.

Ukrainian drones on Monday caused havoc at Moscow airports for the second time in a week, grounding flights and delaying operations for hours while Russia's missile-defense system took effect.

On Monday, the Russian state media agency Tass reported midmorning flights were delayed at the Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky airports in addition to more than 50 flights that had been diverted earlier in the day.

The Russian Defense Ministry said two drone attacks were repelled in the region, Tass reported  one fell in the Ruza District after being suppressed by electronic warfare equipment; the other was shot down over the Istra District.

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The Monday strike was shot down near the home of one of Russia's most prolific propagandists  Margarita Simonyan , the head of Russian state television network RT, The Telegraph reported. Simonyan said debris landed a few hundred meters from her home, the outlet reported.

A similar incident occurred Friday when one Ukrainian drone was intercepted in the region, causing a shutdown of the four major domestic and international airports.

The Friday incident was the third time a drone strike or debris had targeted the Moscow district, where the civilian airports are based, CNN reported.

As part of its summer counteroffensive primarily supported by Western allies, including the US, the Ukrainian military has been turning more and more to drone strikes within Russia's borders, including critical Russian targets around the Black Sea.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian drone boats badly damaged the Russian warship Olenegorsky Gornyak. A day later, sea drones hit a critical link in the supply chain used to transport fuel and military equipment between Russia and Syria.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A California woman who was shot and abducted from her boyfriends car in a park near Los Angeles has been found dead, police have confirmed.

The body of 19-year-old Andrea Vasquez, 19, was discovered in an open field in Moreno Valley, not far from where her family say her phone last pinged.

Whitter Police Department say that they have arrested 20-year-old Gabriel Esparza as the main suspect in the case and charged him with murder and kidnapping.

Police said Mr Esparza, a Whittier resident, was arrested at his job Monday in the city of Lakewood. He has since been booked into the Whittier Police Department and is being held without bail.

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Police have called this a random killing.

At this time, it appears that Andrea Vazquez and her male companion were randomly targeted by the suspect at Penn Park, police said in a statement.

And they added that investigators had recovered the weapon believed to have been used in the slaying, as well as the suspects vehicle, a 2013 White Toyota Tacoma truck, was also recovered.

The victim was shot and kidnapped from Penn Park in Whittier after she had been sat in a parked car with her boyfriend.

Investigators say that the boyfriend fled the gunfire and when he returned to the vehicle he discovered blood near it and Ms Vasquez had gone.

Police say that the case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office on Wednesday.

Vasquez was a fashion design student at Fullerton College and also orked at a mall in Cerritos.
Nearly every corner of the U.S. is experiencing extreme weather. Find out who qualified to participate in tomorrows Republican presidential debate. And police give more details in the killing of a Southern California store owner.

Heres what to know today.

TOPSHOT - A worker from the Coachella Valley Water Department surveys the debris flow following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary, at Thurderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning. (David Swanson / AFP - Getty Images)

A wild summer of weather extremes shows no signs of slowing

Not much of the U.S. has been spared from this summers deluge of storms, wildfires and heat. This week is no exception.

After Tropical Storm Hilary passed through Southern California, cities began surveying the damage left in its wake. The storm is currently still moving inland. But todays predicted rainfall in Oregon will not be enough to cause major flooding, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

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It seems hurricane season is ramping up. Meteorologists are keeping an eye on three named storms in the Atlantic Ocean. And in South Texas, Tropical Storm Harold in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to hammer the region in the next two days.

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In Washington, smoke from Canadas wildfires resulted in deteriorating air quality. Seattle had the worst of any major city in the world on Sunday, but conditions improved yesterday. Multiple wildfires in the state are ongoing.

But wait, theres more. Nearly 90 million people were under heat alerts yesterday, from the Midwest to the Southeast, with a heat dome baking the middle part of the country. In Texas and Louisiana, the heat, combined with windy conditions, escalated wildfire threats in some areas.

Does that sound like a lot? It is, said Golzalo Pita, an associate scientist and expert in disaster risk modeling at Johns Hopkins University. Were looking at a multi-hazard situation, where were being hit by a string of different events over a short period of time, he said.

As reporters Denise Chow and Evan Bush explain, its an all-too-real look at the increasing risks and consequences of deadly weather events.

8 candidates (not Trump) to participate in GOP debate

The Republican National Committee confirmed the eight candidates who will participate in tomorrow nights debate, with candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley soaring past the threshold to qualify. Heres who else made the cut  and who didnt.

Donald Trumps absence will loom over the event in Milwaukee. While he appears to have met qualifications, the former president and leading Republican candidate has said he wont participate in the debate. Instead, hell appear in an interview with Tucker Carlson while debate host Fox News plans to limit the Trump campaigns access at the RNC debate.

Last night, Trump announced he will turn himself in on Thursday in Fulton County, Georgia, where he faces charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Killing over Pride flag investigated as possible hate crime

The death of Laura Ann Carleton  a business owner in Lake Arrowhead, California, who was fatally shot over a Pride flag displayed at her store  is being investigated as a hate crime, a San Bernardino County Sheriffs spokesperson told NBC News. Yesterday, authorities identified the man suspected of killing Carleton as 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi and said he had a history of making social media posts critical of the LGBTQ community and law enforcement. During last Fridays deadly shooting, Ikeguchi yelled many homophobic slurs about the Pride flag at Carletons Mag Pi clothing store before opening fire, authorities said. Ikeguchi was killed later that day in an encounter with deputies.

Carletons death has prompted an outpouring of messages from celebrities and LGBTQ activists, while her daughter encouraged the narrative to stay on her mother. Ikeguchi, she said, is irrelevant.

A community effort to locate Mauis missing

Maui resident Ellie Ericksons search for a 65-year-old friend after wildfires devastated the island two weeks ago was eye opening. She was able to locate her friend, but her experience made her realize the need for a centralized source of information where people could share information about survivors and victims. So Erickson, pictured above, started a Google spreadsheet and invited people to add to it. Now, the list of those missing exceeds 800 people. Maui officials say there are 850 people still accounted for.

Despite Ericksons success, others are clinging to hope until the entire disaster area has been searched. But researchers and forensics experts say it could take months and even years to identify some remains.

Todays Talker: The Ohio teen dubbed hell on wheels was sentenced

 to 15 years to life in prison. Mackenzie Shirilla was convicted last week on 12 counts, including murder, for intentionally crashing her car at 100 mph into a building, killing her 20-year-old boyfriend and his 19-year-old friend last summer. Shirilla cried as she spoke before the court ahead of her sentence. She apologized to the victims family and friends and called her boyfriend her soul mate.

Politics in Brief

Iowa caucus: A new poll shows that more than half of likely Republican caucusgoers say they believe Donald Trumps claims that he won the 2020 presidential election despite no evidence of widespread election fraud.

Trump investigations: Special counsel Jack Smith pushed back against Trumps request to delay his federal election interference trial, saying in a new court filing that a 2026 start date would deny the public a speedy trial.

2024 election: Virginia Democrats are worried the national party isnt doing enough to stop Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who they fear could potentially mount a presidential bid.

Erika Alexander, Kim Coles, John Henton, Arsenio Hall, T.C. Carson, Kim Fields, Kim Coles and Queen Latifah (Warner Bros. courtesy Everett Collection)

Staff Pick: A love letter to Black women

It has officially been 30 years since Living Single premiered. Even after three decades, clips from the show regularly trend on social media, which show creator and writer Yvette Lee Brown calls a testament to its legacy and cultural impact. In this trip down memory lane, Bowser reflects on what it took to get Living Single off the ground and why she thinks audiences still love the show today.  Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor

In Case You Missed It

Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

There is a wide range of gadgets to help make your life easier, improve your health, keep your family entertained and more. Our Select team rounded up 24 top-rated tech gadgets under $50 that you can find on Amazon, from bluetooth speakers to security cameras.

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for exclusive reviews and shopping content from NBC Select.

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GiveSendGo bills itself as the Christian alternative to GoFundMe  a platform committed to sharing the Hope of Jesus through crowdfunding. In addition to typical crowdfunding campaigns for medical bills and memorial funds, the site has a right-wing political edge. GiveSendGo is the preferred platform of alleged co-conspirators in Donald Trumps attempt to subvert the 2020 election: Attorneys Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Ellis, and John Eastman all have legal-defense fundraisers on the site.

But the GiveSendGo platform is also a hit with white-supremacists and neo-Nazis. Rolling Stone has discovered nearly a dozen active, white-supremacist fundraisers on GiveSendGo. Beneficiaries of these campaigns include some of the nations most notorious neo-Nazis, among them leaders of groups like the Goyim Defense League, NSC-131 and Blood Tribe. One campaign seeks to counter the hegemony of those denigrated as a hostile alien people, Jews.

These campaigns are hiding in plain sight. And the crowds they attract are even more brazen in their hate. Donors have adopted usernames that are racial slurs  including the n-word  or that spoof the names of Nazi leaders like Hitler and Himmler. Others leave coded messages of hate like HH (Heil Hitler) and 88 (the 8s correspond to the eighth letter of alphabet  H), or references to the 14 words, a bleak white-supremacist motto about securing a future for white children. Others mash these up with the telegraphic combo, 1488.

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GiveSendGo did not respond to questions from Rolling Stone about these campaigns  which have raised, collectively, tens of thousands of dollars. The platforms terms of service ostensibly prohibit crowdfunding to promote hate, violence, [and] racial intolerance. But in practice GiveSendGo has notoriously hands-off moderation. This has helped it emerge as a singularly important part of the extremist fundraising ecosystem, according to a report published earlier this year by the ADLs Center on Extremism.

Consider the Aryan Archive Fundraising Campaign, which describes itself as a project of the White Rights Movement that is tirelessly dedicated to exposing the three most important facts of our time. These refer to a baseless, antisemitic, and racist conspiracy theory  namely, that White Genocide is happening; Jews are behind it; and we have, not only a right, but an obligation to resist it. The campaign seeks to build a cultural library that will become the central knowledge store of the Aryan people. It has raised more than $7,500.

Another hardcore white supremacist has decorated his GiveSendGo landing page with a giant variant of a Sonnenrad  or Black Sun image used in Hitlers Germany and favored by contemporary fascists  made up of SS lightning bolts. The fundraiser, by Christopher Pohlhaus, supports his Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi separatist movement whose members have confronted LGBTQ events waving Swastika flags. Pohlhaus  who believes that America was on the side of evil during WW2  is now building a compound in Maine. Shoutouts by donors include the Nazi slogan blood and soil as well as comments like: Build the ethnostate! and the Hitler salute  \o in text-emoji form. It has raised $6,000.

GiveSendGo is also hosting fundraisers by prominent members of the Goyim Defense League, infamous for dropping wildly antisemitic hate-fliers in suburban neighborhoods. The groups founder is Jon Minadeo, who has touted himself as AMERICAS #1 ANTI SEMITE! One of his fundraisers leads with white-genocide nonsense  We as Europeans are being replaced in America  and seeks donations for a white-nationalist gathering his home state of Florida. Supporters have left messages like: For our future generations; o/; and Unite the Whites. The campaign has raised $3,500.

In addition, Minadeo has a separate fundraiser to buy a compound for GDL: We want to start building a community of like minded people so that we can grow our own food, teach our own children good common sense values and protect our land from Marxist ideology. (A donor suggests calling it the Caucasian cottage.)

Another GDL member based in Georgia, Philip Jacobs, has a GiveSendGo campaign where the banner image is a 1488 flag, with the full 14 words slogan. It touts the efforts of Pro-White Activists in educating the state of Georgia about the jewish mafia that has high jacked [sic] this country. It asks for support for hate-flyering activities. (A relatively new fund, it has pulled in $700.)

GiveSendGo uses the tagline Shine Brightly. And its Christian philosophy is summarized in its mission statement: Raise money to share hope. Money is temporary. Jesus is eternal. Give both and watch the world be changed. But the dark reality of the site often has little to do with this Jesus-is-Love branding.

Thats in part because GiveSendGo has also positioned itself as a bastion from cancel culture. A statement on the website describes the platform being thrust into the political spotlight in 2020 for allowing a campaign that mainstream media was censoring. (This appears to refer to a legal defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse, the young Kenosha shooter who was later found not-guilty of criminal charges.) After prayerful consideration, the statement describes, the sites leadership concluded that GiveSendGo was created for such a time as this. It says it has chosen not to take one side or another politically but to stand for freedom as well as Jesus.

But is white supremacy just another political side? Do neo-Nazis then have GiveSendGos tacit blessing? It would be hard for the company to feign ignorance of crowdfunding by haters. Co-founder Heather Wilsons testified to the Canadian parliament in March 2022 that GiveSendGo keeps close tabs on who uses the platform. We review every single campaign and recipient who comes on our site, she said.

And an earlier fundraising campaign by Pohlhaus, the Maine-based neo Nazi, caught the attention of an extremism analyst in 2022. The analyst made repeated attempts to alert the platform about the content he believed violated GiveSendGos terms of service. But, as later detailed in an article by Vice, the page remained active. For his part, Pohlhaus responded to the article by linking to his GiveSendGo page from his Telegram account, touting again the fundraiser that lefties and Vice News are so worried about.

The report by ADLs Center on Extremism calls out GiveSendGos tolerance towards violent extremism on their platform  citing crowdfunding on the platform for members of the Proud Boys, among other notorious street brawlers. Co-founder Jacob Wells told the same Canadian parliamentary hearing that GiveSendGo would not ban the KKK from the platform if what the Klan were fundraising for was legal: We believe, completely to the core of our being, he added, that the danger of the suppression of speech is much more dangerous than the speech itself. (Neither Wilson nor Wells responded to interview requests.)

Back on GiveSendGo, a notorious white nationalist named Mike Weaver is raising funds for a legal fight with what he blasts as the JEWdicial system. The campaign has garnered more than $15,000, including from a donor Adolph Hickler. A leader of the Tennessee Active Club, a white nationalist fight club, introduces himself on his legal-defense fundraiser as a pro-White activist. A donor, White Unity, left Nazi lightning bolts  in addition to $10.

And the head of the thuggish New England neo-Nazi group, NSC-131, is holding a pair of fundraisers for a deceased member who went by the handle PurePower88. One donor wrote: I really wish you were here right now and we can all be smashing every Drag Queen Story Hour in New England. The campaigns have raised more than $10,000.

Mathew Gebert is a former State Department official who reportedly got radicalized in to white nationalism and attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. (He was suspended from his government post after being outed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.) Geberts GiveSendGo is raising funds for his family-friendly podcast for our people called Full Haus. The art for the current episode of the podcast features a Sonnenrad, and the podcast website reads: We are unapologetically pro-white and hostile to the forces who push atrocities, including circumcision and trying to make whites a minority in every country on earth. One GiveSendGo donor writes: THIS TIME THE WORLD HH o/ o/ o/. The campaign has raised more than $6,500.

GiveSendGo is international, and has become a favorite of Australian neo Nazis as well. Thomas Sewell, leader of European Australia Movement, has raised about $15,000 for a legal defense fund, including from a donor who calls themselves Heinrich Himmler, and another who wrote Seig Heil!

Another Australian campaign is meant to aid white nationalist Blair Cotrell in recovery from a popped pectoral muscle. Cotrells gym injury was suffered at what the GiveSendGo page describes as a White Power Lifting Event.

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Former state treasurer Sarah Godlewski is introduced during the inauguration for the state's constitutional officers at the Capitol in Madison on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.

MADISON  A conservative law group filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski seeking information about her appointment to the position earlier this year.

The lawsuit, filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of the right-wing nonprofit Institute for Reforming Government, alleges Godlewski's office has illegally delayed a public request for information about her appointment submitted nearly six months ago.

WILL and the IRG asked the Waukesha County Court for an order requiring Godlewski to release the records and pay damages of $100 as well as related attorney's fees.

Transparent and accountable government is not a suggestion, but a vital principle to preserving our democracy," Lucas Vebber, WILL deputy counsel, said in a statement Tuesday. "When state bureaucrats skirt open records requests from the public, WILL is ready to fight back and hold them accountable."

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Anthony LoCoco, IRG chief legal counsel and director of oversight, submitted a public records request in March for a year of communications between Gov. Tony Evers , former Secretary of State Doug La Follette and Godlewski, all of whom are Democrats.

State officials maintained "deafening silence" on LoCoco's inquiry despite numerous requests for updates, according to WILL and the IRG.

"The Secretary of States inability or unwillingness to fulfill a simple open records request despite having five months to do so is emblematic of the Evers administrations shoddy record on transparency," LoCoco said. "This lawsuit will hopefully serve as a reminder to executive branch bureaucrats that compliance with the public records law is not optional.

Godlewski said Tuesday her office does not have any responsive records for LoCoco's request and is seeking state Department of Justice assistance to properly handle the lawsuit.

"We do our best to respond to records requests as soon as practicable," Godlewski said. "Despite this conspiracy fishing expedition from partisan groups, my office will continue to work diligently to modernize and best serve Wisconsinites.

According to the Secretary of State's office, Godlewski is not legally required to answer LoCoco's request because the records he requested did not exist.

Bill Lueders, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council president, agreed the decision not to respond was likely legal.

However, he said ignoring requests when relevant records don't exist is an uncommon and discourteous practice that leaves people seeking public information without answers.

"It's a jerk move," Lueders said.

Request went ignored despite promise to respond 'soon'

LoCoco's initial request on March 17 and a follow-up email on March 23 received no response, according to records provided with the lawsuit. He spoke with a staffer at the end of March to confirm the status of his request before sending two more follow-up emails on April 27 and May 9, which also received no response.

The Secretary of State's office responded by email for the first time on May 25, more than two months after LoCoco's initial request. Godlewski's office promised an answer to his request "soon" but has not responded since then, LoCoco said.

Evers appointed Godlewski as Secretary of State in March following La Follette's decision to resign after nearly 50 years in the office. Godlewski, who served as state Treasurer from 2019 to 2023, at the time told Spectrum News her appointment was a "complete surprise."

Republicans in response said Evers' decision to appoint Godlewski without a special election was undemocratic despite it being within the governor's constitutional authority.

Former state Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, who narrowly lost to La Follette in November, questioned the timing of La Follette's resignation and accused Evers of conspiring with La Follette and Godlewski.

Conservative groups and good government advocates including WILL and the IRG have long criticized the Evers administration on transparency.

Evers sparked uproar from the groups in 2019 when he removed public records response time data from a public-facing website. Evers at the time promised to explore better alternatives but has yet to announce a replacement.

Hannah Menchoff, Godlewski's communications director, told the Journal Sentinel in July their office does not track records response time data.

State agencies under Evers have overall responded to public records requests within a week, according to data obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

However, there are some instances of agencies taking months or over a year to respond to some requests. For example, a 2022 report from the state Department of Justice indicated some requests to the agency went unfulfilled for over a year.

IRG also submitted a request to the Department of Natural Resources regarding gray wolf management that is still pending after nearly six months, according to WILL.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Godlewski sued for records into secretary of state appointment
Thousands of child-welfare cases over the past 2 1/2 years, including 139 finalized adoptions, are under review because of potential missing documentation that may change the outcome of the cases, state officials said.

The discovery prompted the Attorney General's Office on Monday to ask the 15 state juvenile courts to pause any child-welfare trials for two weeks, including those involving potential severance of parental rights, so attorneys and the Department of Child Safety can ensure the case file is complete.

The Attorney General's Office also asked the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court to return any such cases before them to the lower courts.

State officials blamed a DCS computer system called Guardian, saying the way it was designed led to 95,000 documents related to child-welfare cases sitting untouched in a portal. Guardian has been glitchy since its launch in February 2021, bedeviling everyone from foster parents to case managers because of its inability to function properly and driving up its original $86 million cost as fixes are made.

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The discovery has broad implications for children, parents and potential adoptive parents. In the immediate term, 596 ongoing cases will be reviewed over the next two weeks.

Attorneys and DCS staffers also have to review the 139 adoption cases, as well as 515 guardianship cases that have been completed since the system launched, raising the possibility that decisions in those cases might be reversed, or at least revisited.

Attorney General Kris Mayes announces actions Arizona is taking to stop fraud against the Medicaid system and exploitation of AHCCCS members during a news conference at the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix on May 16, 2023.

This situation is yet another troubling failure of the prior administration," Attorney General Kris Mayes said, noting the Guardian system started under former Gov. Doug Ducey's tenure.

Gov. Katie Hobbs joined Mayes in vowing the system would be fixed. "The mistakes made are unacceptable, and I am devastated for any family and child who may have been affected," said Hobbs, a former social worker. "Moving forward, my administration will do everything in its power to fix this egregious error.

In all, at least 3,800 cases since February 2021 could be affected, although the numbers are fluid as DCS coordinates its figures with files at the Attorney General's Office.

What will happen next in the affected cases?

Once cases that lack complete documentation are identified, the Attorney General's Office will file a notice with the juvenile court, which will let attorneys who represent children and parents know which of their cases are being reviewed, said Kirsten Wright, chief counsel for the Child and Family Division.

Parents who live in Maricopa County can access case information through a court system known as JAX, Wright said, while parents outside of Maricopa County should consult with their attorney, Wright said.

We want to make sure parents have all the documents in their case," Wright said in an interview.

How was the backlog of documents discovered?

Department of Child Safety Director David Lujan said deputy director Pauline Machiche found the problem when she queried the Guardian system and found a backlog of documents from providers, such as counselors and case aides. The system requires case managers to review these documents and then approve them by clicking a button that would send the document to the appropriate case file.

But that didn't happen, leaving 95,000 documents still awaiting approval. Human error, whether from rushed work or turnover in the case manager ranks, created the pileup, DCS communications director Cynthia Weiss said.

Although the numbers are staggering, Lujan said the situation might not be as drastic as it sounds. Documents might have found their way to the juvenile court through other means, such as being filed directly with the court, and not through the Guardian system.

The review will determine how many documents each of the 3,800 cases are missing.

Lujan added the problem won't continue. The Guardian system will be reprogrammed in September to automatically load documents into a specific case file, with case manager approval coming after the move, not before.

Maricopa County Juvenile Courts opted to not suspend trials in the coming two weeks. Instead, the courts will operate on a case-by-case basis, recognizing that some likely are not affected by the document glitch, while others are and still others might be. In each instance, the court said in a statement, the judge handling a case will determine how to proceed.

A spokesman for Mayes' office said its attorneys will honor the court's approach.

The state Supreme Court said it is asking for more detail on the situation and then will decide how to handle any pending appeals.

Attorney Ed Johnson, who was in juvenile court Monday, said two cases he heard were rescheduled specifically due to the Guardian issue.

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.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Document glitch puts adoptions, other AZ child-welfare cases on hold
Felines much bigger than your average neighborhood cat were spotted strolling through a California suburb, alarming residents, officials said.

First, a mountain lion showed up in a San Mateo neighborhood about 20 miles southeast of San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 18.





Officers searched the area but didnt find the mountain lion, the police department said on Twitter, rebranded as X.

Mountain lion spotted in San Mateo neighborhood. After an extensive search of the area, the mountain lion was no longer in the area and most likely went back home. pic.twitter.com/Of0UFdfYyH  San Mateo PD (@SanMateoPD) August 18, 2023

Then two days later, another big cat was spotted roaming through a backyard and then a parking lot on Kingridge Drive, officials said.





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Police originally thought it was another mountain lion, but this one turned out to be a bobcat.

Still a very large cat walking the neighborhood, which caused alarm, officials said. Apparently, bobcats arent as aggressive as mountain lions and are smaller with shorter tails, but we still wouldnt want to cross paths with one.

Consensus of the experts on Facebook is it's a bobcat.

Still a very large cat walking the neighborhood, which caused alarm. Apparently, bobcats aren't as aggressive as mountain lions and are smaller with shorter tails, but we still wouldn't want to cross paths with one.  San Mateo PD (@SanMateoPD) August 21, 2023

It isnt the first time big cats have been spotted in the neighborhood. In April 2022, a pair of mountain lions frequented the Kingridge Drive community so often, San Mateo city officials told residents they should expect to see more of them, McClatchy News previously reported.





Watch out for small pets and children, avoid feeding deer, and never approach a mountain lion, San Mateo police said on Twitter at the time.

Its rare for a mountain lion to attack a human.

Statistically speaking a person is 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on its website. Since 1890, there have been less than 50 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California; of that, only six have been fatal.

Most of the time the attack victim is alone, officials said. People shouldnt hike or bike alone when mountain lions are most active at dawn, dusk and at night, McClatchy News reported.

Fish and Wildlife said people can discourage mountain lions from coming around their homes by trimming back brush to reduce hiding places, installing motion-detecting lights, keeping sheep, goats, and other livestock sheltered, and not letting pets outside on their own at dawn, dusk or at night, McClatchy News reported. Residents should also bring pet food inside to avoid attracting the animals mountain lions prey on to their home.

What to do if you see a mountain lion

Mountain lions are typically calm, quiet and elusive, according to the National Park Service. While attacks involving mountain lions are rare, they are possible.

Even so, the potential for being killed or injured by a mountain lion is quite low compared to many other natural hazards, the National Park Service said on its website. There is a far greater risk, for example, of being killed in an automobile accident with a deer than of being attacked by a mountain lion.

Officials said there are some things you do take to prevent a mountain lion encounter from becoming an attack.

Stay calm and back away slowly.

Face the lion and stand up straight.

Dont approach a mountain lion, especially if its with kittens.

Dont run. It could stimulate a mountain lions chase instincts.

Pick up small children so they dont panic or run away.

Dont bend over or crouch down.

Throw things at the mountain lion if it continues to move toward you.

If the mountain lion attacks, fight back using anything around you.

Report all sightings, encounters or attacks to local park rangers or law enforcement.

These two mountain lions keep showing up in a California neighborhood, video shows

Two mountain lions spotted eating deer near home in California suburbs, cops say

Mountain lion seen prowling Nebraska neighborhood sparks citywide hunt, official says
Why is that ring seemingly suspended in air? How did those people get from there to there? To watch Antonio Diaz perform many of his illusions in El Mago Pop on Broadway (Ethel Barrymore Theatre, to Aug. 27) is thrilling in places. His magic has apparently been seen by almost 3 million people. Having already bought one theater in Spain, Diazthe youngest illusionist to step into a Broadway theater, his Playbill sayshas just bought another in Branson, Missouri, which will be his U.S. headquarters.

You may have seen a version of his most famous trick on the Today show recently, whenright in front of viewers eyeshe seemed to transport a group of people through thin air, from one see-through box to another. Dramatically bamboozling, it must have left thousands of spoons clattering into cereal bowls across the country.

Diaz repeats a variation of this on Broadway as a suitably gasp-worthy finale. Unless he has magically frozen time, or somehow there is an invisible screen between the audience and the stage and something fantastical happening with projections, how those people get from box to box is a mystery. He does say to the participants that if they feel something, not to move. And behind a piece of cloth we see some shaking as the supposed teleportation takes place. Whatever, its fabulous.

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At 20, Diaz created his first company, and in 2018 he was ranked as the highest-grossing European illusionist in the world by Forbes. His Netflix show, Magic for Humans by El Majo Pop, was broadcast in 192 countries, consolidating his internationalization the program states.

Review: Back to the Future: The Musical Is Perfect for the Movies Fans

The stage show has thrills individually. But it also, in between these tricks, a rather plodding bio-meets-advertisement for Diaz; what are clever pieces of illusion come to feel a little lost in a stage show with flaccidly interwoven bits of self-empowerment, self-hype, and blunt advertising.

In some ways it is gratifying to see an entertainer be proudly honest about what a show is really about: selling a brand, and selling stuff associated with the brand. The Broadway show is only around 80 minutes, and yet the strain of aspiring to be more than what it isa succession of tricksis obvious. Its pacing, construction, and tone need a lot of work to hide the joins.

The audience, via use of either being picked or the use of a ball flung, are prevailed upon for a watch, and for number choices and other mini-tasks and asks. These are the building blocks for setups of card tricks: one links together a series of answers shouted out from the audience.

Diazs skills as an illusionist are faultless, but the show feels off-kilter as a piece of theater. Diaz feels impressively in charge of his tricks, but not the show as a show. His audience interactions feel stilted and off. One little boy who was shepherded up on stage was lightly (not unpleasantly, but oddly) joshed with. Another amazing illusion required the participation of a female specifically, Diaz said. But, having watched the illusion (which really does have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief), this audience member was left thinking: that could have been a male. Why a female specifically?

Antonio Diaz in El Mago Pop. Emilio Madrid

Near the end of the show, there is a set-up where he flies across the stage and appears to walk on walls, but as we can already imagine fairly ordinary trapeze wiresas in so many stage showsare facilitating the vision in front of us, it feels all too explicable. Segues from some set-ups to yee-gadzooks crescendos can feel uneven and swallowed up too quickly in the strange pacing of the show, rather than letting their wonder hang in the air.

In between the tricks, and to give Diazs team time to set up the next moment of wonder, we are given a potted journey through his life, or at least his inspiration to do what he does. This includes dramatized filmed scenes and comic strip panels of him as a little boy. These feel more like padding than revealing or profound. Around the edges of the stage we see the vibrating red vertical lines of the Netflix logo. At least for the show this critic attended, a camera crew was filming, in service of another, maybe Broadway-focused special.

As gratifyingly baffling and visually stunning as it was in places, El Mago Pop also feels very much in service of Diazs brand-building and product marketing, and he was being very open about that. Perhaps there is nothing wrong in thisDiaz is simply being more upfront about it than others in the fame game. But it is ironic, in a show that depends so much on sleight of hand and things we cannot explain happening right in front of us, that this most visible and obvious desire to shift product thrummed alongside the thrill of the illusions that Diaz delights in performing under the veil of concealment, mystery, and surprise. As with the best of his amazing illusions, a little less show and tell would really work wonders.

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A number of natural disasters have unfortunately befallen parts of the United States as of late. Earlier this month, the state of Hawaii faced a serious tragedy, as the island of Maui was impacted by devastating wildfires. Thousands have since been displaced and hundreds of lives have sadly been lost. In the aftermath, many people are showing love to the community, though, including NCIS: Hawai'i star Vanessa Lachey. The actress and media personality got candid about what the location means to her while also discussing the relief efforts that are underway for her second home.

While the star films the NCIS spinoff on Oahu, she still has so much affection for Maui. She took to Instagram to praise Good Morning America for dedicating a recent broadcast to Maui relief. In a lengthy message, she brought up the Hawaiian term Kokuna, which is a word used to describe the spirit of kindness. She went on to plead with her followers to consider donating towards relief efforts for local families, noting that she will also be highlighting some stories on her page over the next few weeks. In the video, she also discussed how vital it is for the public to know what's going on and how to help:

Its important for us to get word out and educate people on whats happening now and whats needed now, and how everyone can be helpful because I know a lot of people want to do something but dont exactly know how or whats needed. So its really great that you guys are dedicating the time for that.

The Maui fires certainly hit close to home for the Love Is Blind co-host. She moved to Hawaii with husband Nick Lachey and their kids after landing the role as Jane Tennant on CBS latest NCIS iteration, which perfectly pairs with the flagship show. Vanessa Lachey has spent a lot of time in the Aloha State, and she revealed just what she loves about Maui:

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You asked me what does Maui mean to me, and its such a beautiful question because it makes me think about this place and the spirit of Hawaii. So I was fortunate enough to get to move my family here two years ago -- and our dog -- to work for NCIS: Hawaii. And I cant put into words the feeling that overcame me. It is truly a magical, spiritual feeling that I felt for the first time that I was home. And its real, and it touches you, and what Im seeing now is a lot of people having little pieces of that on the mainland and all around the world. And its beautiful to watch humanity at its finest and to see everyone come together for Maui in ways that we never thought possible.

Vanessa Lacheys love and respect for Hawaii has seemingly grown since moving there. It's likely that she's gotten acquainted with Oahu, Maui and more locations while living there. With NCIS: Hawaii (which is streamable with a Paramount+ subscription) on hiatus due to the ongoing WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike, the actress has been spending more time with her family and away from Hawaii, though. Most recently, she was in Los Angeles, where she spent a night at a Taylor Swift concert with her daughter.

However, she did make her way back to her second home. Later in the video, she explained that she and much of the cast and crew from NCIS went through the wardrobe from the series, as well as those of Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I., in order to raise funds for the impacted community. Not only that, but they also brought over some gas and propane and are sending personal boats to help. And she's not the only high-profile celebrity to help out, as Dwayne Johnson, who sent out an emotional message after the fires, has been working with the state as well. The Dads alum shared a list of displaced families that fans can assist. You can see her social media post in her entirety down below as well:

A post shared by Vanessa Lachey (@vanessalachey) A photo posted by on

It would be an understatement to say that what's transpired in Maui is nothing short of discouraging. However, if there's any silver lining, it's that so many people, like Vanessa Lachey and Dwayne Johnson, are doing their part to help the island and spread awareness. The journey forward for the community will be a long one, and we can only hope that its citizens find peace and comfort.
Paul Bronfman is set to step down as senior advisor and co-chairman of Canadian movie rental giant William F. White International after selling the company to the UKs Ashtead Group in 2019, which includes Sunbelt Rentals.

After 34 years of vision, leadership, and engagement with so many of us at William F. White, and indeed in the broader industry, Paul has decided his time has come to fully pass on the torch to the existing leadership team, effective August 31, 2023, Sunbelt Rentals CEO Brendan Horgen said in an internal memo to employees that was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

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Pauls leadership has been an invaluable asset to many of us. Through his wealth of experience and insights, he has played a pivotal role in shaping not only the collective success of WFW, but the industry at large, Garin Josey, executive vp and COO of William F. White, added in a second internal memo obtained by THR.

Whites customers include major Hollywood studios Warner Bros., Walt Disney, Universal Studios, MGM and Lionsgate and Silicon Valley players like Amazon Prime and Apple as they pivot to the TV streaming space and require original content of their own.

Bronfman, who led WFW for 34 years, will become chairman emeritus of the company from the end of August. He also remains chairman and CEO of Comweb Corporation. In a related move, Bronfman is set to join former Bell Media CEO Randy Lennox as senior advisors to Pinewood Toronto Studios.

That follows Pinewood Group, which runs Pinewood Studios in the U.K., recently acquiring full ownership of Pinewood Toronto Studios. Bronfman was a founding shareholder and chairman of Pinewood Toronto Studios since 2009, and sold his minority stake to the Pinewood Group, led by Paul Golding, CEO of Pinewood and Shepperton Studios in the U.K.

And Lennox is a former CEO of Bell Media, the media player that also sold its controlling stake in Pinewood Toronto Studios to the Pinewood Group as part of an overarching acquisition that handed the UK parent 100 percent ownership.

Both Bronfman and Lennox will advise Golding as the the British studio group is looking beyond the current Hollywood actors and writers strike to the major studio and streamers returning to Ontario for currency savings and generous tax incentives and filming on newly-added stages.

The full letter from Sunbelt Rentals CEO Brendan Horgan follows:

Dear all,

It is my great honor to wish our dear friend and colleague, Paul Bronfman, all the best in his future endeavors. After 34 years of vision, leadership, and engagement with so many of us at William F. White, and indeed in the broader industry, Paul has decided his time has come to fully pass on the torch to the existing leadership team, effective August 31, 2023. Although this was a hard decision for Paul to come to, he shared with me that at some point everyone must step aside to give the next generation their turn.

This communication is coming from me as I know Paul would not fully put on paper the recognition and appreciation he so richly deserves. So, please join me in wishing Paul well as he moves on to his next chapter. Paul will always be a friend to William F. White and Sunbelt Rentals as we will proudly refer to him as Chairman Emeritus.

Warm Regards,

Brendan Horgan

Chief Executive Officer

Sunbelt Rentals

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Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender at the Fulton County jail on Thursday in the fourth criminal case against him -- and the second for conspiring with others to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost in Georgia.

Here's what might happen, and when -- including whether he'll get his first mug shot.

What happens when Trump surrenders? Will he be arrested?

Yes, all defendants are technically arrested in such cases, even if they voluntarily surrender, in a process known as booking.

In the current case, Trump and his 18 co-defendants accused of trying to steal the 2020 presidential election in Georgia are expected to be booked at the notorious Fulton County Jail on Rice Street in downtown Atlanta.

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The facility has a history of poor conditions and bad management, and it often takes several hours for defendants to be processed into the system. But the former president likely won't stay there long given his stature and the worldwide attention being paid to the case.

More: Death threats, extremists ... and worry: Why Trump's looming Georgia indictment is different

Typically, defendants who get booked at the county jail are searched, weighed, undergo a brief medical screening, get fingerprinted and have their photo -- or mug shot -- taken. Because it's anything but typical for a former president to be booked, it's not clear what the booking process will be like for Trump and some of his high-profile co-defendants, including his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

Were in uncharted waters at this point, Chris Timmons, a former prosecutor and now a law partner at Knowles Gallant Timmons in Atlanta, told CNN. We havent had a former United States president or anyone with Secret Service protection booked into the Fulton County jail.

Will Trump really have his mug shot taken?

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has indicated publicly that Trump would be treated differently in Atlanta than he has during his past three arraignments  but just the same as any other criminal defendant being processed into the county criminal justice system. It doesnt matter your status, he said at a press briefing. We have a mug shot ready for you.

Unless someone tells me differently, he added, we are following our normal practices.

That could change though, as Trump's lawyers are still negotiating the conditions of his surrender. and processing. It's also not known whether, and when, such a mug shot would be released publicly.

In Trump's previous cases, authorities didn't require mug shots  which are typically taken so authorities have a current photo on hand to post publicly if a suspect becomes a fugitive  because the former president is so widely recognized. Trump was fingerprinted, however.

Even though Trump did not have a mug shot taken during processing in his first three criminal cases, his campaign for the 2024 presidential election created one for fundraising purposes.

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on August 14, 2023 shows Former US President Donald Trump in Orlando, Florida, on February 26, 2022 and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on August 14, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. The Georgia prosecutor who brought sweeping charges against former president Donald Trump and 18 other defendants said Monday, August 14, that she wants to hold their trial "within the next six months."Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said arrest warrants had been issued for Trump and the others charged over their efforts to overturn the 2020 election and they had until August 25 to "voluntarily surrender." (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA and Christian MONTERROSA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA,CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: AFP_33R93PC.jpg

When will Trump surrender?

Trump and the other defendants have until noon Friday to turn themselves in to face justice. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office is leading the case, gave them a nearly two-week window for self-surrender so their lawyers could discuss with authorities how to make sure the process goes smoothly.

More: Trump to turn himself in for arrest at Fulton County jail on Thursday in election fraud case

Technically, the jail is open 24 hours a day and Trump and the others can show up at any time, Labat's office said last week in a statement.

At this point, based on guidance received from the district attorneys office and presiding judge, it is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail, the statement said.

But the sheriff added that arrangements are subject to change. "Due to the unprecedented nature of this case, some circumstances may change with little or no warning," the statement said.

Trump's surrender will be Thursday, he says

Trump confirmed Monday on his Truth Social platform that hes going to Atlanta on Thursday to face law enforcement officials. In the post, he accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Department of Justice officials of seeking to target his 2024 reelection campaign without evidence.

"Can you believe it? Ill be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED, Trump shared.

Also, Trump's lawyers agreed Monday to post $200,000 as a condition of his release, including $80,000 for racketeering and $10,000 for each of his other 12 counts. That means Trump needs to pony up only $20,000 to remain free before his trial on racketeering and other charges. As part of the deal, Trump was ordered to abide by pre-trial conditions that include not breaking any laws, not intimidating witnesses and not communicating with the 18 other co-defendants.

When will Trump have to appear in court?

That's not clear yet, at least publicly.

The initial processing is separate from the arraignment, when defendants enter a formal plea to the charges. Arraignments, in this case are expected the week of Sept. 5.

In the meantime, Trump and his criminal co-defendants may not have to appear in court at all.

Those booked in Fulton County typically are required to appear before a judge within 72 hours. But attorneys for some of the defendants have said publicly that they wont have initial court appearances because theyve already been indicted and will mostly likely have negotiated their bond ahead of time.

It's also possible that arraignments in the case might be handled online, the sheriff's office statement said: In this case, some arraignments/appearances may be virtual as dictated by the presiding judge.

In New York, Florida and Washington, D.C., Trump was required to appear in person to plead not guilty after traveling with his Secret Service motorcade to the courthouses.

Contributing: Bart Jansen and Sudiksha Kochi

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Trump's surrender in fourth criminal case Thursday will look like
Claim:

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said that "we are ready to exchange Belgorod for Ukraine's membership in NATO."

Rating:

Rating: Correct Attribution

Context:

Belgorod is a Russian city.

On Aug. 20, 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked to respond to a suggestion, made by head of the NATO Secretary-General's Office Stian Jenssen, that Ukraine could join NATO in exchange for territories seized by the Russian Federation.

As reported by the Ukrainian news service RBC, "the Ukrainian president did not agree with Jenssen's opinion, he, in turn, proposed another option." A thinly-veiled joke, Zelenskyy's proposed option was exchanging the Russian city of Belgorod for NATO membership. "We are ready to exchange Belgorod for our membership in NATO," the President said during a news conference with Danish Prime Minister Matte Frederiksen.

(Twitter )

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Belgorod has historic political significance in Ukraine. The city served, for a few months in 1919, as the capital of the short lived Ukrainian People's Republic. It has been solidly in Russian and/or Soviet hands since 1922.

The city, since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is also significant from a military and propaganda perspective. As reported in Newsweek:

Pro-Kyiv Russian fighters have launched several cross-border raids, including into Belgorod. Such operations saw Ukraine-aligned units temporarily occupy several settlements and force large-scale evacuations.

Because the statement attributed to Zelenskyy is authentic and documented, the quote is correctly attributed to Volodymr Zelenksyy.

Sources:

Brennan, David. "Zelensky Joke about Giving up Belgorod to Join NATO Viewed 1M Times." Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/zelensky-joke-giving-belgorod-nato-1821195.

History, Ukraine. "'Belgorod Taken': How Kursk and Voronezh Provinces and Belgorod Became Part of Ukraine in 1918." Medium, 27 July 2023, https://medium.com/@ukrainehistory.org/belgorod-taken-how-kursk-and-voronezh-provinces-and-belgorod-became-part-of-ukraine-in-1918-eac7f260b6bb.

"We Are Ready to Exchange Belgorod for NATO Membership  Zelenskyy." Ukrainska Pravda, https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/20/7416355/. Accessed 22 Aug. 2023.

"      :   ." -, https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/zelenskiy-postupki-vstupu-nato-gotovi-obminyati-1692549592.html. Accessed 22 Aug. 2023.
A Georgia pastor and his wife filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the Hancock County Sheriffs Department and the deputy involved in the shooting death of their son in December.

The Rev. Dwight Winkley and his wife, Catherine Winkley, and their daughter are listed as plaintiffs in the suit filed against the Hancock County Sheriffs Department, Sheriff Ricky Adam, former Deputy Michael Chase Blackwell and five other unnamed defendants

We just want justice in whatever form the Constitution allows, the Rev. Winkley said.

The lack of transparency and communication has caused us to constantly relive this nightmare, Catherine Winkley said.

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The family hired attorney Lance Stevens to represent them.

A Hancock deputy shot a 21-year-old 5 times. His devastated family fights for justice.

Family denied look at body cam footage, lawsuit says

The attorney had already informed the defendants of their intent to sue over the Dec. 10, 2022, shooting death of the couples son, Isaiah Winkley.

Blackwell is the deputy believed to have shot and killed 23-year-old Isaiah Winkley, who was a student at Pensacola Christian College.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Gulfport accuses the Sheriffs Department, the sheriff, Blackwell and other unnamed defendants of violating Winkleys constitutional rights and acting with alleged negligence, malfeasance and reckless conduct in causing Winkleys death.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Since the shooting, Stevens said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, which investigates all police shootings in Mississippi, has refused to allow the family to review body camera footage of their sons death.

An autopsy report showed Winkley had been shot five times.

The Sheriffs Department and their attorneys continue to refuse to allow anyone to view the body cam footage depicting the shooting of Isaiah Winkley, Stevens has said in previous interviews. The family has no choice but to seek justice in federal court and hope to gain access to the information which will show why a young, unarmed college student, with no criminal history, was gunned down without provocation.

Losing a son with his entire life in front of him is agonizing to the family. Government operatives withholding all information about that shooting is downright cruel.

Isaiah Winkley

Isaiah Winkley and his girlfriend

Isaiah Winkley shot to death by sheriffs deputy

Around 6:30 p..m on Dec. 10, 2022, Winkley was in his car in Perkinston when his vehicle apparently slightly left St. Matthew Road in front of St. Matthew the Apostle Church near the intersection of Highway 603 and got stuck in some mud.

From there, the suit says, Winkley walked down the road in an attempt to find help when he saw an empty house, where he thought he could find help or some means for a rescue.

A witness saw Winkley on the homes front porch with a hand-operated winch with a ratchet used to pull stuck items, the suit says.

Someone called the Sheriffs Department, and at least three deputies, believed to be Blackwell and deputies Christopher Dunn Sholar and Laura Lynn Yager, went to the home and found Winkley there.

The lawsuit says that the deputies had their  guns drawn when they encountered Winkley but never came within 20 to 25 feet of him prior to his killing.

Winkleys family says he was not armed at the time of his killing.

Isaiah Winkley

Pensacola Christian College remembered Isaiah Winkley by presenting his family with an honorary degree in their son Isaiah Winkleys name during its graduation ceremony in May. Winkley died before he could graduate.

Hancock sheriffs deputy resigns after shooting

Blackwell, the departments then K-9 deputy, was removed from the Hancock County Sheriffs Departments payroll effective May 24, according to the minutes of the June 5 meeting of the board of supervisors.

The sheriff said Blackwell resigned over some personnel issues within the office, but he would not elaborate.

Blackwell, who had also worked as a Gulfport police officer in the past, has declined to comment when reached by the Sun Herald.

Chase Blackwell, a former Gulfport police officer and Hancock County sheriffs deputy, was working for Hancock County when he fatally shot Isaiah Winkley, a 21-year-old college student from Florida, outside of a home in Perkinston, Mississippi.
MILWAUKEE  The lineup is finally set. Now we have to wait and see what the candidates actually say.

The Republican National Committee formally announced that eight GOP candidates will take the debate stage Wednesday, though the list did not include the current GOP frontrunner: Donald Trump.

Trump's refusal to debate leaves the others to argue among themselves: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie.

The debate takes place in Milwaukee at 9 p.m. eastern time Wednesday. The city is the site of the 2024 Republican nominating convention. DeSantis and Ramaswamy are set to be in the center of the stage, while Hutchinson and Burgum will stand on either end.

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Aaron Kall, a debate coach at the University of Michigan who has attended many primary debates, said the first thing he's looking for in Milwaukee is how Trump's absence affects everyone else.

Donald Trump and other candidates

"I refer to it as the elephant-not-in-the-room," he said.

But that's not the only question surrounding the first debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Who gets attacked more: Trump or DeSantis?

Most of the candidates, including DeSantis, Haley and Scott have avoided talking about Trump and his indictments, or argued without evidence that prosecutors are politically motivated.

Some of those same candidates have not hesitated to criticize DeSantis, the candidate closest to Trump in the polls, on issues ranging from his ongoing battle with Disney in Florida to his campaign struggles.

How will DeSantis perform?

The Florida governor, whose previous debate performances as a statewide candidate were criticized as stiff and awkward, apparently plans to play offense as well as defense.

DeSantis, who is in second place in most polls, indicated to Fox News that he will challenge the candidates who are on the stage, as opposed to the absent Trump.

I'm not running to be vice president, DeSantis said. I'm not running to be in the cabinet. And I'm not running to be a contributor on cable news. We're running to win.

Can Christie and Hutchinson make the case against Trump?

Christie and Hutchinson have been the most vocal critics of Trump, saying multiple criminal indictments, false allegations of voter fraud after the 2020 election and other legal issues disqualify him from reclaiming the White House.

It's not clear how much time will they have during the debate to make their cases, with a crowded field of candidates on stage. And with Trump's significant lead in the GOP field, and a number of Republicans sympathetic to the ex-president's plight, a challenge may be getting voters to listen.

How will Ramaswamy deal with criticism?

The businessman and first-time candidate has moved up in several polls, to the point that candidates are preparing to attack him over his lack of experience.

Haley served notice Monday, criticizing Ramaswamy for questioning the U.S. relationship with Israel. "Between abandoning Israel, abolishing the FBI, and giving Taiwan to China, his foreign policy proposals have a common theme," she said. "They make America less safe.

How will Haley and Scott interact?

One of the unique aspects of the 2024 race for the White House is that it features two candidates from South Carolina, a pivotal state that holds an early primary in the nomination process.

On the campaign trail, Haley and Scott have tended to say nice things about each other; will that change on the debate stage as they look to appeal to voters from their home state who have a large say in who their party nominates?

What will Trump say?

The president and aides are talking about counterprogramming the debate with an interview by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

But the conversation is likely to be pre-taped, which would leave Trump free to watch the debate live and use social media to share criticism of his Republican rivals with his supporters.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No Donald Trump, but Republican Party announces debate lineup
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.

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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.

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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.

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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
Another group of 23 families of former internally displaced persons have returned to Azerbaijans Fuzuli today, Azernews reports.

They were given the keys to the newly rebuilt houses in the city of Fuzuli.

The permanent residence of 70 families (247 people) is provided in the city of Fuzuli.

In the first stage, it is planned to relocate a total of 144 families (509 people) to the city of Fuzuli.

Another group of former internally displaced persons, consisting of 89 people, went to the city of Fuzuli on the morning of August 22. These families lived in the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku.

The resettled families will settle in the houses where they once lived in Fuzuli, which were restored or rebuilt on the basis of instructions from the head of state after the end of the Armenian occupation. Fuzuli residents thanked President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani army, which liberated the lands from occupation.
A June decision by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to withdraw federal lands around Chaco Culture National Historic Park from future mining and drilling leases continues to make waves, with a Washington, D.C.-based organization filing an ethics complaint against her last week.

Officials from Protect the Publics Trust, an organization that bills itself as a nonpartisan government watchdog group, have urged the Department of the Interiors inspector general to investigate the former New Mexico congresswoman for her participation in a film opposing oil and gas leasing in the Chaco region and for her public statements. The film, Our Story: The Indigenous Led Fight to Protect Greater Chaco, was narrated by Haalands child, Somah Haaland.

Haalands decision to institute a buffer zone that prohibits new oil and gas leasing, and mining claims within 10 miles of Chaco for 20 years was hailed by many conservationists and Native American group, but a variety of energy-related organizations and other Native American groups voiced their opposition to it. The ethics complaint by Protect the Publics Trust is only the latest chapter in that battle.

The American public serves the assurance that official decision at the Department of the Interior and other agencies are made in an impartial manner, Michael Chamberlain, the director of Protect the Publics Trust, stated in a news release about the filing of the compliant. Despite her unequivocal public statements as a federal official, her childs leadership position at the loudest advocacy group calling for a moratorium, and even her participation in a documentary arguing for such a policy, as Secretary, Deb Haaland pushed forward in the apparent misconception that people would believe she could be impartial in the matter.

A moratorium on oil and gas leasing, and mining activity in a 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historic Park that was issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has led a government watchdog group to file an ethics complaint against her.

Melissa Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, declined to comment directly on the complaint. But in an email to The Daily Times, she referred a reporter to a May 8 Huffington Post article that reports that Sullivan, the Protect the Publics Trust leader, is a former Trump administration official who served in the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos.

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The article also details how Protect the Publics Trust, which was formed in 2021, has gone from describing itself as a nonprofit organization on its Facebook page to a nongovernmental organization, and that it has been less than transparent about its own funding sources and the nonprofit status it has claimed.

The Huffington Post story did note that the organization has been successful in some cases in regard to bringing attention to conflicts of interest by public officials.

Schwartz also referred to a June 2 DOI news release that describes Haalands decision to issue the moratorium as the product of an extensive public engagement process. The news release emphasizes that the moratorium applies only to federal lands and does not apply to minerals owned by private, state or tribal entities.

Rep. Deb Haaland

Nevertheless, the moratorium has been heavily criticized by oil and gas groups, including the Western Energy Alliance, a Denver-based organization that represents the interests of 200 member companies engaged in oil and gas exploration in the West.

The alliance was cited in the Protect the Publics Trust complaint, and the organization has complained about Haalands alleged conflicts of interest for much of the past year.

The alliance issued an Aug. 17 statement by the organizations president, Kathleen Sgamma, that reiterates many of those claims.

Secretary Haaland has a conflict of interest as a member of the Laguna Pueblo that has been pushing for the very outcome on Chaco that she signed off on, Sgamma stated. Plus her own daughter has lobbied her agency and members of Congress for that same outcome. As Secretary of the Interior, she has an obligation to balance the interests of all tribes, and not favor just one side.

Sgamma goes on to argue that Haaland has shown she cannot rise above her two conflicts of interest and manage in a balanced manner. Her failure to act properly and under strict ethics standards means this decision is vulnerable in court.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Deb Haaland faces ethics complaint from Washington-based group
Nearly seven years after Hurricane Matthew tore through Cumberland County, the case of four local homeowners associations that allege the city of Fayetteville was responsible for serious damage to their neighborhood dams during the storm was shut down by a Cumberland County judge.

According to court documents, Cumberland County Superior Court Judge William Pittman dismissed all claims against the city on March 10 after a Feb. 13 hearing. The suit was first filed in federal court in June 2018 and was refiled in Cumberland County in September 2022 after a federal judge dismissed the suit. Raleigh lawyers Matthew Van Horn and William "Woody" Webb Jr. filed a notice of intent to appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals on April 7 on the plaintiffs behalf.

A May 2018 photo shows the damage to the Arran Lake dam after Hurricane Matthew. The dam is one of four at the center of a lawsuit recently dismissed in Cumberland County.

The lawsuit centers around the homeowners associations for the neighborhoods of Strickland Bridge Road, Arran Lake, Devonwood-Loch Lomond Lake and Rayconda, which saw substantial damage to their respective dams and lakes in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. The owners of four properties in those neighborhoods are also a part of the suit.

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The homeowners and their associations allege that the city took advantage of easements granted to it over the past 30 years allowing city access to the dams and lakes, according to the lawsuit. After allegedly failing to maintain or upgrade the dams for years, all four overtopped during Matthew, damaging three of the four dams beyond use and exposing the lakebeds there, the suit states.

Federal beginnings

The lawsuit was filed federally on June 8, 2018, with the HOAs and the individual homeowners suing the city of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, also known as the PWC, according to court documents.

The original complaint shows the federal lawsuit requested the following:

A monetary judgment against the city and PWC for damages equal to the amount of property value lost because of the damage to the dams.

Money for the cost of repairing any properties, dams, lakes and any other areas damaged by the city and PWC.

An order eliminating or modifying easements granted to the city in the affected areas.

Compensation for attorneys fees.

An order instructing the city and PWC to create an oversight plan to manage and maintain the property with respect to the ability to retain stormwater.

The suit alleged that over the past three decades, the city and PWC failed to properly maintain and upgrade the involved dams, leading to damage during Hurricane Matthew. The suit also claimed that the city had failed to properly compensate the plaintiffs for the use of their property to move and store excessive amounts of stormwater, according to the complaint.

The existing City of Fayetteville stormwater drainage system is undersized, antiquated and, in fact, decrepit, the suit states.

The complaint also laid out a timeline of when different easements were granted to the city, with the earliest easement dating back to 1988.

Over the course of 30 years, the Defendants neglected, ignored, and disregarded the condition of the easements, failing to maintain, manage, oversee, or upgrade the easements while the City dumped and stored the Citys stormwater in public use properties, the complaint alleges. Instead, the City utilized the Plaintiffs private property along with the Citys easements to take the Plaintiffs property for a public use.

PWC was dismissed from the lawsuit on Aug. 15, 2019, and on Sept. 15, 2020, the city of Fayetteville motioned for a judgment without a trial  a motion granted by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III, who ruled that no federal claims existed and dismissed the alleged violations of state laws so they could be heard in the county court.

Why the dismissal?

In his Aug. 6, 2021, judgment, Dever ruled that the HOAs and individual homeowners failed to provide any proof that the city was responsible for the damage to the dams, citing a study conducted for the city by Raleigh-based engineering firm Freese and Nichols.

The models showed that all four dams would have overtopped in 1996 or 2005 even if no urbanization had occurred between annexation and 2016, Dever said.

The plaintiffs had argued that Fayettevilles growth led to excessive demands on the stormwater system, which overtaxed the dams.

Dever ruled that the Freese and Nichols models also showed the dams did not meet minimum engineering standards when they were annexed by the city.

The models showed that the increase in stormwater generated in the water basins above the dams between annexation and 2016 was negligible and that the majority of stormwater runoff due to urbanization occurred between when City annexed the four properties, Dever stated.

Dever found that the HOAs associations and homeowners failed to investigate how the dams would have fared during the hurricane if not managed by the city.

Even viewing the record in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, plaintiffs cannot show that these alleged violations proximately caused their property damage, Dever said in his ruling.

Next steps

Pittmans order did not state why he dismissed the plaintiffs claims in Cumberland County Superior Court, but in its motions to dismiss, the city laid out similar reasoning as Devers order, arguing that the homeowners and homeowners associations could not link the citys use of the dams to the damage they sustained during Hurricane Matthew.

Webb Jr. said last month that he and Van Horn are working to file an appeal with the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Government watchdog reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville homeowners' claims against city in dam lawsuit dismissed
This fall, Milwaukee's streetcar, known as The Hop, will be debuting its first new route extension on a limited basis, The Hop announced Tuesday.

The new route, called the L Line, will serve as an "important connection" between the existing M Line and popular lakefront destinations, the news release said. "The highlight" of the new route? The Couture's transit plaza, which remains under construction.

We know the public has been eagerly awaiting the opening of the L Line, and were pleased to be able to offer this opportunity for our city to begin exploring the new L Line even as the Couture construction continues to progress overhead, Milwaukee commissioner of Public Works Jerrel Kruschke said in the release.

While the eventual opening of the Lakefront station itself will be a transformational milestone for The Hop, this opportunity to begin providing preview service will be tremendously valuable both in terms of allowing the city to become acquainted with the new route and how it will interface with the existing M Line, while also allowing our operations to fine-tune this service in advance of a very exciting summer in Milwaukee next year.

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Here's what to know about the new route, including where it's located, when it'll be available for use and more.

Where will The Hop's new L Line be located? And, where will it will travel to?

The L-Line's streetcar will operate in a figure-eight pattern, traveling east on Michigan Street, south through the Couture site, west on Clybourn Street, north on Milwaukee Street to Kilbourn Avenue, and south on Broadway to St. Paul Avenue, the news release said.

The new line, which will be nearly 2 miles long, will incorporate five existing streetcar stations along the Milwaukee/Broadway corridor and three new stops along a new spur connecting to the lakefront.

When will the L Line be available for use?

During its "preview phase," the L Line will run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays, beginning Oct. 29, the news release said. Full service for the new line is expected to begin in Spring 2024.

Once up and running, how often will the L Line car provide service?

The L Line car will provide service every 20 minutes to these existing stations:

Wisconsin Ave NB/SB

City Hall NB/SB

Historic Third Ward EB

Plus, these new stations:

Michigan at Jackson EB

Clybourn at Jefferson WB

And eventually, the Lakefront inside the Couture transit plaza.

Will riders be able to transfer between the existing M Line and the new L Line?

Yes, at five overlapping stations, per the news release.

The L Line will provide an "important connection" between the existing M Line and many of the city's popular destinations, including Henry Maier Festival Park, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World, Veterans Park and the lakefront, the release said.

Will the Lakefront Hop station within the Couture's transit plaza be open during the 'preview phase'?

Not yet. While the Lakefront Hop station within the Coutures transit plaza is "the highlight" of the new route, it will remain closed until construction is complete "out of an abundance of caution," the news release said.

However, the streetcar will still pass through the transit plaza, providing a "unique opportunity" for riders to see inside the Couture construction site, the release said.

Where can I find more information on the new L Line?

For more information and updates on the L Line, visit thehopmke.com.

About The Hop

The Hop launched in 2018 on a 2.1-mile route that runs in a loop through eastern downtown to the edge of the Historic Third Ward. It was one of the signature projects of former Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett, who said on its first day in service that expansion was already being studied.

It is also a project that has long drawn the ire of Republican state legislators, who view it as wasteful and "frivolous," in the words of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

A relatively new law makes expansion of The Hop more difficult

A relatively new sweeping local government funding law passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers makes expansion of The Hop more difficult by significantly narrowing the streetcar's potential funding sources.

There is an exception for costs for the lakefront line tied to the Couture apartment high-rise construction.

Tax incremental financing districts defer adding the value of new developments to the property tax base until project funding is paid. The maximum life of tax incremental financing districts is between 20 and 27 years, according to state law.

However, the L Line extension was funded largely by a Federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant the city was awarded in 2015, the news release said.

The new law also prevents the city from using tax money to develop, operate or maintain the streetcar.

Alison Dirr of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Hop to debut first new route extension on limited basis this fall
Republicans spent their day at the Illinois State Fair on Thursday largely sidestepping the impact a Donald Trump presidential nomination might have on efforts to rejuvenate the moribund political organization in a state controlled by Democrats.

Party leaders also acknowledged that abortion rights, which motivated Democratic voters  particularly women in the once GOP-rich suburbs  and led to election successes last year, will remain a critical 2024 election-year issue that they will have to try to counter.

Why change a winning strategy? Demetra DeMonte, the states Republican national committeewoman, said of Democrats during a breakfast meeting of GOP leaders. We are the ones that must change. We Republicans must put Democrats on the defensive on abortion.

Noting an unending drumbeat of Democratic ads on abortion rights last year, DeMonte and other Republicans said the GOP must work to label Democrats as extreme on the issue.

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Referencing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned Roe v. Wade and turned decisions on legalizing the procedure over to the states, DeMonte contended Democrats were spreading misinformation about Republicans seeking to reverse Illinois law that enshrines a womans right to an abortion.

Abortion is not a federal issue. It is a state issue, she said, ignoring efforts by some Congressional Republicans to push for a federal ban.

Trump, the embrace of far-right candidates amid internal fights between establishment and grassroots conservatives, and opposition to abortion have proved to be the GOPs biggest hurdles in its efforts to stage a revival in a state where Democrats hold all statewide offices and majorities in the General Assembly and state Supreme Court, and have broken the GOPs once vaunted control of the collar counties.

Im always so curious as why is it all about Donald Trump? state Rep. Tony McCombie of Savanna, the leader of the House Republicans 40-member minority in the 118-seat House, asked reporters. Why dont we concentrate about whats going on in Illinois?

Rather than discuss Trumps impact on efforts to erode the Democratic supermajorities, McCombie and state Senate GOP leader John Curran of Downers Grove each indicated they plan to keep the focus on Illinois issues in local contests rather than see them become nationalized, as they have been in recent years.

I have concerns anytime were not talking Illinois issues with those we represent, Curran said. Illinois has been out of balance, and that is really where we want to drive the conversation. So whether its Donald Trump or any other national issue, it is really the state issues that we want to drive the message.

The states Republican chairman, Don Tracy of Springfield, told GOP leaders, If we are to win again in Illinois, we have got to win back the suburbs.

Curran contended that Republicans have not lost the suburbs, but instead that those areas have become much more balanced politically.

But with the fairs festivities at times resembling an open casting call for GOP candidates, Curran said he and McCombie are working very closely together in identifying community leaders to run as Republican candidates, because it is about representing the district you are in and that is what the Republican philosophy of governance allows, and that is ultimately how we are going to grow again in the suburbs.

Still, the state GOPs party platform, contained in the What We Believe section of its website, calls for amending the federal and Illinois constitutions to affirm the right to life of unborn children as well as a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and to celebrate the loving commitment a man and a woman make to each other in marriage.

Infighting within the factionalized GOP remains a major concern, with leaders urging unity and an end to name-calling as the party searches for paths to victory.

I think its extremely important that Republicans dont spend time beating up on other Republicans, McCombie said. And quite honestly, we dont have to because the Democrats give us enough material that we can just take their material and beat up on them just quite enough.

Richard Porter, the states Republican national committeeman, encouraged party members to engage with voters who label them a RINO  short for Republican In Name Only.

Were the party of sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt me, he said. Everybodys got to have thick skin to be in this game. If someone calls you a RINO, call them up. Grab a cup of coffee.

Some people really (are) kind of hateful people. That is what it is, he also said. But most people, they just dont know you.

Another example of party infighting was the appearance of Darren Bailey of Xenia, the unsuccessful GOP challenger to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker last November who is now running against five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro in the massive and ruby-red 12th District downstate.

Bost has received the backing of major Republicans in the district and was hosting a fundraiser featuring U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in downstate OFallon, forcing him to miss the fairs GOP day.

Despite his own background as a state representative and senator, Bailey has sought to paint Bost as part of the GOP establishment that continues to allow incumbents to be elected and make this as a career.

Trump endorsed Bailey for governor and Bost for reelection to the House in the 2022 election, and Bailey has actively courted the former presidents support for 2024.

Id love to have his endorsement, Bailey told reporters at a fairgrounds rally that he said represents the establishment.

Ive had many conversations with President Trump. President Trumps a very smart man. He knows what hes going to do. But I support him 100%, Bailey said.

Bost has also said he supports Trumps presidential bid in 2024.

The Trump factor weighs heavily on the GOP as the former president remains the front-runner among Republicans for the White House nomination while at the same time becoming the first former president to face indictment, with criminal charges filed by both federal and state prosecutors.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria, one of three Republicans in the states 17-member congressional delegation along with Bost and U.S. Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland, told GOP leaders, Politics is about the future, not about the past.

LaHood later made clear he was not referencing Trump, who has continued to make false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

For me, its about winning. We need to win, right? LaHood said. I think we as Republicans need to be optimistic. We need to think about the future. So thats what Ive said as we look at 2024 for all of our candidates, whether its the presidential candidates down to congressional, I think thats the winning message.

LaHood hailed a deep, diverse field of candidates but said he has not yet made a choice for the GOP presidential nomination.

Porter, who is backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the Republican presidential nomination, said it was time to move beyond Trump.

I think that the most ardent Trumpers recognize that they might love him in their heart, but they know in their head he is not going to win the independents in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, Arizona and Nevada. And thats what you need to do in order to become president, Porter said.

And if you dont become president of the United States, he said, Trump goes to jail.

rap30@aol.com

jgorner@chicagotribune.com
Defense lawyers for former Baker Fire Chief Brian Easterling is trying to get his confession to the murder of 63-year-old Michael Evers thrown out, arguing that he took controlled substances prior to his interview with investigators from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

Evers was shot and killed June 2, 2022 inside his business, Maaco Auto Body Shop and Painting, on Creighton Road.

Easterling is scheduled to have a suppression hearing Thursday before Circuit Judge Coleman Robinson where the defendant's attorney will argue his confession to killing Evers on June 2, 2022, is inadmissible in court because Easterling took the medication Clonazepam prior to his interview with investigators from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

"Defendant has long suffered from insomnia due to mental conditions and has been prescribed a controlled substance under Florida law named Clonazepam," court documents say. "The defendant took his medications in the final hours of June 5, 2022, before being awoken by deputies just after midnight.

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"The controlled substance Clonazepam taken by the defendant, along with other sleep aids, caused impairment of defendant's normal faculties and judgment," the records say. "He was incompetent to make a valid assessment of his circumstances due to the medication; thus, the defendant was unable to formulate a valid waiver of Miranda rights."

Easterling Indicted: Grand jury indicts former Baker fire chief in homicide of Pensacola auto shop owner

Easterling confession: Report: Former Baker fire chief confesses, but pleads not guilty in Pensacola man's death

After being advised of his right to remain silent around 1:15 a.m., Easterling reportedly told investigators that "he confessed to killing Evers due to a dispute over money," a search warrant for Easterling's phone noted. "Easterling stated that he and Evers had been friends and business partners for close to 15 years."

Baker Fire Chief Brian Easterling has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the death of a 63-year-old Pensacola shop owner on Sunday, June 5, 2022.

What happened on June 2, 2022?

Easterling allegedly drove to the Maaco Auto Body Shop and Painting, owned by Evers, off Creighton Road and was seen with the shop owner around 5:15 p.m., according to a report. Easterling was identified on surveillance footage by members of Evers' family.

"Easterling is seen standing outside of the door looking around nervously  before entering the building," a report noted, referencing the surveillance video details. "Within minutes of entering the building, Easterling walks up behind Evers, Evers then falls immediately to the ground. Easterling can be seen on video getting a car cover and covering Evers."

Three days later on June 5, Pensacola police officers responded to a welfare check for Evers because his neighbors hadn't seen him in a few days.

Surveillance video: Pensacola shop owner's death caught on camera, police say; arrested Baker fire chief suspended

Evers homicide: Baker fire chief arrested, charged with murder of Pensacola shop owner

The officers entered Evers' residence where they found blood on the floor, but did not find the shop owner.

Family members escorted officers to Evers' shop and let them inside. Once officers entered the shop, the police report notes they found the body lying underneath a car cover.

Easterling was arrested the next day on June 6 and was indicted by a grand jury on July 7 for first-degree premeditated murder.

Then-Baker Fire District Chief Brian Easterling shows off one of the department's fire trucks on March 25, 2022. Less than three months later Easterling was arrested for the murder of his friend and business partner, Michael Evers.

What will happen during Brian Easterling's suppression hearing?

Easterling and his attorney Robert Dees will argue on Thursday that Assistant State Attorney Trey Myers cannot use the former fire chief's statement in court, meaning a jury would never see or hear what Easterling told law enforcement the day of the arrest.

Dees will argue, according to what is written in his motion submitted to court records, that Easterling could be seen and heard slurring and mumbling "yes" when ECSO Investigator Joshua Timo asked if Easterling understood his rights due to the Clonazepam he had taken to sleep.

"Over the next couple minutes of the video, defendant's speech continues to be slurred and unintelligible at times," court records say. "Defendant's movements appear lethargic and his speech sounds slurred and mumbled. This supports a position that the defendant was still under the influence of Clonazepam at the time Investigator Timo read him his Miranda rights."

Myers will argue that Easterling's statement was voluntary since he signed the waiver of rights form.

If Robinson rules in favor of the defense, Myers will not be allowed to show Easterling's statement to a jury. If the judge rules in favor of the state, Myers can show a jury Easterling confessing to the crime.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Brian Easterling says confession of killing Michael Evers not valid
Two top Democratic lawmakers want to change Kansas law in response to a raid by Marion police on a local newspaper that has been heavily criticized by First Amendment advocates.

House Minority Leader Vic Miller , D-Topeka, and Rep. Jason Probst , D-Hutchinson, on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to make it more difficult for law enforcement to get a search warrant.

Instead of needing a magistrate judge's signoff, police and sheriff's deputies would have to get a district judge's approval.

"I'm not here to trash magistrates," said Miller, who previously served as a municipal court judge. "I'm here to call attention to a situation that deserves attention, and this is simply a device to do that."

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The idea, which has not yet been drafted into formal legislation, is the first legislative proposal announced following the Aug. 11 raid of the Marion County Record, the home of its editor and publisher and the home of the town's vice mayor.

Police seized computers, cellphones and other materials as part of an investigation into alleged identity theft, but the Marion County attorney later released the items because police didn't have sufficient evidence of a crime.

Two Kansas House Democrats have an idea for legislation in response to the Marion police raid of the Marion County Record newspaper office.

That warrant was approved by Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, who spent nearly 18 years as a prosecutor before being appointed to the bench in 2022.

A Topeka woman, Keri Strahler, filed a complaint against Viar with the Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct. A panel will meet next month to determine whether the judge violated the code of conduct, according to a letter from the commission Tuesday.

"This is probably not the solution to stopping what we saw in Marion, but it is definitely the start of the conversation," Probst said. "We need to have a conversation about judicial review of search warrants."

Miller said he hasn't discussed the proposal with anyone in law enforcement or the judicial system about how it could affect their operations.

"That's why we have hearings," he said.

Some officials caution a wait-and-see approach on Kansas raid response

Retired Topeka Police Chief Ed Klumpp, who is now a lobbyist for multiple law enforcement organizations, declined to opine on how the proposal could affect law enforcement without seeing bill language. But he did explain more generally the reason magistrate judges are used for search warrants.

"Generally, the reason magistrates are used is because in the rural areas, there is not a ready availability everywhere for a district court judge outside of court hours when there's a need to get a search warrant," Klumpp said.

Some rural areas can lean heavily on magistrate judges. In the 15th Judicial District, which covers seven counties in the far northwest corner of the state, there are only two fully fledged district court judges on the bench. The district has six magistrate judges.

State law does put more limits on a magistrate judge's search warrant authority compared to a district court judge. In addition, magistrate court judges only can preside over trials involving misdemeanor or traffic offenses, but can hold preliminary hearings in felony cases.

"A search warrant signed by a magistrate judge is more restricted in where you can serve it than it is a district court judge," Klumpp said. "A magistrate judge can only sign a warrant to search within that magistrate's court jurisdiction. A district court can be used anywhere in the state."

Currently, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is continuing to investigate the possibility that a Record reporter and a local city council member illegally used an online Kansas Department of Revenue database to look up an individual's driving record.

That person, local bar owner Kari Newell, was seeking to get a liquor license. She was allegedly driving without a driver's license since a DUI conviction.

A KDOR spokesperson told the Associated Press on Monday that it was legal to access the database used by the Record reporter.

KBI investigation into Marion County raid remains ongoing

KBI Director Tony Mattivi said Tuesday the investigation remains ongoing and there is no timetable for its completion. It was not currently probing the raid itself, he said.

Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, who chairs the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, said he would rather wait until the KBI has completed its work before weighing whether a legislative response is needed.

"I'm certainly not to the point that I'm going to say one way or another whether there was or there was not wrongdoing," he said. "It certainly seems that there were quite possibly some missteps and some poor decision making. But even then, I'm just real hesitant to cast any judgment until I have all of the information."

Requiring district court judges to sign off on all warrants, Owens said, would potentially add an "additional level of scrutiny."

"The central idea," Probst said, "is to slow down law enforcement from being able to get a warrant and then move immediately into searching and seizing property without judicial review. The system as it's designed right now, if it works and functions as it should, is designed to slow down that process so that there's time for review and deliberation on whether that's justified or not."

But even if a documented issue emerged with how Viar signed off on the warrant, Owens added that he didn't believe that necessarily meant cracking down on all magistrate court judges was the answer.

"I think that we've got to be careful not to make a complete new policy based on the potential actions of one (person)," Owens said. "If we have decades of proof that has shown that the system works out well."

The Democratic proposal wouldn't change qualification requirements, such as requiring a law degree, or otherwise affect how magistrate judges are selected.

"I don't think that's the problem," Miller said. "No, I'm not going to take one isolated event and say we need to overhaul the process of selecting them."

Miller said he will try to come up with other ideas and is reaching out to other legislators for proposals of how to prevent similar events in the future.

"If nothing can be done when someone ignores the law, what's to keep them from ignoring the law?" Miller said.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Legislature could respond to Marion police raid on newspaper
Mary Bailey, right, is shown with her daughter, Violet. Bailey, a Polk County native, has lived on the Hawaiian island of Maui for 17 years.

Late last month, Mary Bailey offered an aloha as her mother, Dianne Phillips of Auburndale, visited her on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Bailey, a Polk County native who has lived in Hawaii for 18 years, knew just where to go as she planned an excursion for her mother and her 14-year-old daughter, Violet. The trio ventured to Lahaina, a coastal town on the western edge of Maui, about a one-hour drive from Baileys home on the islands North Shore.

We had a really beautiful day in Lahaina, Bailey recalled. We went out to lunch, and we went shopping. It was a really special day. And I'm so glad that we got to spend it all together there because Lahaina will never, ever be the same.

About two weeks after that outing, on Aug. 8, Lahaina was engulfed by a fast-moving wildfire that ravaged the historic area. As of Monday, officials reported that the Maui fires had caused at least 114 deaths, making it the nations deadliest fire in more than a century.

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The conflagration damaged or destroyed an estimated 2,220 structures in Lahaina, according to Pacific Disaster Center. That total includes the restaurant where Bailey had dined with her mother and daughter, Choice Health Bar.

Mary Bailey, a Polk County native, has lived on the Hawaiian island of Maui for 17 years. She has been helping to coordinate relief efforts following the fires on the island.

As Maui continues to grapple with the aftermath of the fires, Bailey is contributing to local efforts to help those displaced by the disaster.

Its really been quite devastating, specifically because, first, we're so remote out here, she said by phone Friday from Maui. Second, because people are not only losing their homes and their cars and all their belongings but they're also losing all their jobs  because the area that burned had hundreds of businesses. And so now all of their staff are out of employment, on top of losing their homes. So it's just been a compound fracture, really.

Release sought for country's longest-serving marijuana convict sentenced in Polk

Bailey, 40, spent her childhood in Winter Haven and graduated from Lake Region High School in 2001. She moved to Hawaii four years later to attend the University of Hawaii and has lived on Maui for 17 years. Bailey resides with her daughter in Haiku, a village on the northern coast of the islands larger section, about 25 miles east of Lahaina.

Though not a native Hawaiian, Bailey has forged many connections on Maui. She now serves as managing director of The Last Prisoner Project, a criminal justice reform nonprofit that she helped found. Before that, she was the CEO of a production company that coordinated and hosted events throughout Maui.

Bailey said at least 20 of her friends lost homes to the fires, and some saw their businesses destroyed. As of Friday, she had not heard of any friends who died in the blazes.

While Lahaina suffered the most destruction, Bailey noted that fires have damaged two other locations on Maui, including Kula, only about 20 minutes away to the south. The first night of the fires, Bailey said, a family of four from Kula took shelter at her home in Haiku.

Burned houses and buildings are seen in Lahaina. Thousands were displaced after a wildfire fueled by winds from Hurricane Dora and dry vegetation destroyed much of the town. The death toll from the fire makes it the deadliest wildfire of the past U.S.

And then two other friends, also from Upcountry, could see the fires from their homes, so they came over, Bailey said. So we had six guests in our house the first night.

Bailey was scheduled to leave on a business trip Monday, and she arranged for a displaced family of three to occupy her home during her absence.

Bailey serves on the board of the Common Ground Collective, a nonprofit that promotes food security and economic and educational opportunities on Maui. She said the group has been working with other organizations to provide food for first-responders and people in shelters. As of Friday, she said the collective had disbursed more than 60,000 meals.

More: Lake Wales History Museum seeks nominees for annual Pioneer of the Year award

Many of the restaurants destroyed on Maui operated farms on the North Shore and are now donating produce for inclusion in the meals, Bailey said.

So I've been helping coordinate with the farmers and have also been helping with fundraising efforts, she said. This is a very expensive project, so it's important that we have the funding so we can procure all the supplies needed.

Bailey is also coordinating with a group called Burners Without Borders, volunteer relief workers affiliated with the annual Burning Man gathering. She said the group will provide builders, engineers, carpenters, contractors, electricians and plumbers to help with rebuilding projects on Maui.

Like many Maui residents, Bailey expressed frustration with the government response to the tragedy and the lack of official information available. She said residents are taking action to fill the gap.

Hawaiians are donating solar generators, coolers, portable stoves and other items for those still left without power, she said.

People are bringing it on boats and then using Jetskis to be able to deliver it to people, Bailey said. Hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of local Maui citizens have come together to really support those in need.

The main section of Lahaina was known as a tourist destination, featuring a bar owned by Mick Fleetwood of the band Fleetwood Mac. But Bailey said Lahaina is also a very sacred place in Hawaiian culture. Her favorite restaurant, Papaaina at the Pioneer Inn, was housed in the oldest hotel still operating in Hawaii, now devoured by the fire.

The peaceful heart of the village is Lahaina Banyan Court Park, home to a sprawling banyan tree planted in 1873. Phillips said she took photos of her daughter standing under the tree when Bailey was pregnant.

The fire charred the banyan tree, though arborists say it might survive the damage.

An iconic 150-year-old Banyan tree in Lahaina, Hawaii was found still standing after the Maui town was devastated by a deadly fire.

This has been heart-wrenching for everybody, Bailey said. It's so sad to see an entire historic town completely demolished. And I feel that a lot of our community members are finding a lot of healing in doing the relief work and helping people when we don't know what else to do with ourselves, with the sadness and the frustration and the overwhelm. I feel like the volunteering is really helping people deal with the trauma.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County native provides help after fires on home island of Maui
This article originally appeared on Outside

It's no secret: Getting consistent, quality sleep is a challenge. But according to a 2022 study published in Healthcare, the key to better rest could be as simple as kicking off your shoes.

In the study, researchers in Taiwan tested the effects of grounding--a practice of having direct contact with the earth by lying on the ground or walking barefoot--on a small group of adults with mild Alzheimers disease. They found that 30 minutes of grounding five times a week significantly improved the sleep quality of participants.

But it goes beyond sleep. Other studies cited grounding as a potential tool to reduce inflammation, improve your mood--and even heal wounds. Why is the simple act of going barefoot outside so powerful?

The Benefits of Grounding

Our planet's electrical charges interact with our own electrical systems when we come in contact with the ground, says Gaetan Chevalier, the director of The Earthing Institute. This exchange of electrons neutralizes the acids in our bodies, which can cause inflammation, osteoporosis, and even mood swings if left unneutralized, he says. Better sleep is just the result of a more efficient system.

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"We're like a rechargeable battery," says Chevalier, who holds a PhD in engineering physics. "When we ground regularly, we build a reserve of electrons that our body can use. When the body lacks electrons, it'll try to get them from another source that'll cause the least amount of damage possible, such as our bones."

A 2004 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine pointed toward reduced cortisol levels as a possible explanation for this unexpected correlation. Cortisol, known as the "stress hormone," can cause insomnia and poor sleep. After sleeping for eight weeks on a grounding mattress pad--a mat made of conductive material that transfers electrons directly from the ground via a wire--the cortisol levels of participants were more in alignment with their circadian rhythm, the bodys natural sleep-wake clock.

However, there are some limitations to this research. Chevalier says that while grounding mats provide similar benefits, it's not the same as making direct contact with the earth. And like the first study, the sample size was small, and the results werent enough to draw any major conclusions.

The Importance of Going Barefoot

Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and the author of the book Whole Body Barefoot, says going barefoot is critical for both our mental and physical health. Our evolution into daily footwear has resulted in sedentary, untrained feet, she says. While we may not think much of this complex network of muscles and tendons, our feet are actually meant to be as dexterous as our hands. Not regularly working this intricate system can lead to foot pain, as well as issues with our ankles, knees, hips, and back, she says.

When we walk sans shoes outside, were exerting more effort--in a good way. Our feet arent used to feeling what she calls "vitamin texture" through sharp rocks, squishy grass, and rugged tree roots.

That doesn't mean doing so is simple. There's often a mental block to barefootedness. Being outside is harder than being inside, Bowman says. We have a natural resistance to take our shoes off. Because when you do, you have to engage with the entire world. Attentional awareness ramps way up when youre barefoot. Its like an instant drop down into mindful behavior.

The Mindful Connection

Just like yoga, meditation, and journaling, grounding is a mindful practice. Ronda Holman, a dental assistant, says she got into grounding as a way to release stress. According to both her Apple Watch (via the Pillow app) and her Oura Ring, there was a significant shift in her resting heart rate on the days she practiced grounding. While she's hesitant to give it the credit for her newfound calm, she believes there's something to it.

It could just be the not doing anything," she says "Taking yourself out of a stressful environment, making you sit on the ground, and distracting you with the sounds of birds and leaves and wind.

How to Practice Grounding for Sleep

The most alluring aspect of this practice is its simplicity. Unlike the usual strict rules for getting quality sleep, grounding requires little more than your bare feet and a willingness to expose them to the elements.

Currently, there isn't any guidance on how long you need to spend touching the earth--or what kind of ground you need to be on. Grass, dirt, sand, and other natural surfaces are all acceptable choices. Clinton Obers Earthing claims that even unpainted concrete is also conductive enough for free electrons to pass through. (However, he says that asphalt, wood, and vinyl are not.)

If you live in a climate that doesnt allow for a lot of shoeless outdoor time, an indoor option may be the next best thing. Grounding socks, mats, and even bedding sets are designed with conductive materials that can give you some similar benefits as walking outside, just for a higher price. While they're a good alternative, always opt for direct earth contact when you can.

We still have a lot to learn about the grounds potential to put us to sleep. But at the very least, grounding is just another reason to get outside.

For exclusive access to all of our fitness, gear, adventure, and travel stories, plus discounts on trips, events, and gear, sign up for Outside+ today.
Australian authorities have announced new developments in the cold case investigation into former AC/DC manager Crispin Dyes 1993 murder.

The developments come as officials assisting the new inquiry by New South Wales Police have admitted that several key pieces of evidence were not analysed for decades, The Guardian reports.

Forty-one-year-old Dye died on Christmas Day 1993 after he was brutally attacked in the city of Darlinghurst.

Despite suspicions that the attack was prompted by anti-gay sentiments, detectives investigated the killing as a robbery at the time due to the area where it unfolded. Authorities reopened the investigation in 1995 and offered a $100,000 reward in 2014 for information that led to an arrest  but the case became cold.

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Meg OBrien, the counsel assisting the inquiry, has since revealed that police missed pieces of paper in Dyes shirt pocket and that his blood-stained clothes were not tested for DNA until the case was reopened earlier this year.

DNA found in Dyes jeans and shirt matched the profile of a male who was linked to the crime scene of a robbery in 2002.

The development then led investigators to identify a person of interest in connection to Dyes death  however, the individual died in late 2002.

The existence of [the males] DNA within a blood stain on Mr Dyes jeans is consistent with his having made physical contact with Mr Dye on the night he was assaulted, Ms OBrien, said. It is regrettable that, in Mr Dyes case, this step was not taken at any time after December 1993 until the inquiry did so in 2023, by which time his death and the loss or destruction of relevant records have made it significantly more difficult to pursue this lead.

The unnamed person of interest had a long criminal history and had previously been convicted of assault, the BBC reports. It is unclear what role he played in Dyes killing, according to the inquiry.

The revamped investigation into Dyes death came to be as part of efforts to reopen potential anti-gay crimes after research by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 80 gay men were killed by gangs between 1976 and 2000.

On the night of his death, Dye had been celebrating the release of his first solo album under the stage name Cris Kemp.

Dye managed AC/DC for seven years before he started his solo career and won a gold record for his role in the production of Fly On The Wall, according to The Daily Telegraph.
A food bank that serves 35 counties in the state has changed its name to the Heart of Alabama Food Bank.

After helping people for 37 years as the Montgomery Area Food Bank, those in charge decided it was time for a change, CEO Michael Coleman said. Leaders hope the name change will garner more support from people outside of Montgomery. The Montgomery name confused people who only associated the food bank with the state's capital, when in reality the food bank serves much of the state.

The only way to eliminate the confusion was to help them understand that we serve a much larger territory, so thats what were here to do today," Coleman said.

In the 35 counties that the food bank serves, there are more than 217,000 who are food insecure. That's where the food bank steps in.

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We see the need in our community, and were going to step up to meet that need," Coleman said.

CEO Michael Coleman gives a tour April 6 of what is now known as the Heart of Alabama Food Bank.

But the organization needs the help of everyday people.

There are seniors who have to choose between eating and paying rent. There are children born into poverty and live hungry day to day.

Coleman asks that people donate monetarily. The food bank can stretch dollars farther than food donations. For every dollar donated, it can get six pounds of food, which equates to five meals.

Feeding America estimates that people buying food in the grocery store spend $3.50 per meal.

It literally is impacting lives," Coleman said.

More: Mayor Proposes New Budget Montgomery mayor proposes bigger city budget, raises for employees

Michael Coleman, the CEO of Heart of Alabama Food Bank, discusses the organization's name change.

Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery Area Food Bank changes name to Heart of Alabama Food Bank
A 9-year-old girl reported missing from Pueblo on Aug. 13 was found safe in Daytona Beach, Florida on Monday.

The Pueblo Police Department announced Monday that the girl, Rachael Bastian, was located with her non-custodial mother, Casandra Bastian, at a Daytona Beach hotel. Cassandra Bastian has been charged by police with second-degree kidnapping.

She is currently being held at the Volusia County Jail in Daytona Beach while she awaits extradition to Pueblo.

Shortly before midnight on Aug. 13, police were called to investigate a report of a missing person after Rachaels custodial guardian reported Casandra Bastian, 39, never returned Rachael to their custody following a permitted visit.

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Casandra Bastian, according to the Pueblo Police Department, was allowed visitation days with her daughter. Casandra was supposed to return Rachael to her custodial guardian on Aug. 13 but failed to do so, according to Pueblo PD.

The guardian then contacted police. Police stated in a social media post Aug. 15 that because there are strict requirements for the Colorado State Amber Alert process, an Amber Alert was not immediately issued for Rachael Bastian as she was not deemed to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.

On Aug. 16, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered/Missing Alert for Rachael Bastian that indicated she was last seen in the 900 bock of U.S. Highway 50 in Pueblo in a 1990 Ford Explorer bearing a Texas license plate that police believed was a fake plate.

Daytona Beach law enforcement officers contacted Casandra Bastian at the Daytona Beach hotel at approximately 6:45 p.m. Monday, according to Pueblo PD. Rachael was found healthy and safe and Casandra was taken into custody on the Pueblo kidnapping warrant.

More public safety news: Semitruck driver killed in wreck south of Pueblo; CSP says driver may have fallen asleep

Chieftain editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com or on Twitter @ZachHillstrom. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Missing Pueblo 9-year-old taken by mother found safe in Florida
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring Tropical Depression Six in the central Atlantic and four other disturbances, including one expected to become a tropical depression Sunday in the Atlantic and another near South Florida headed for the western Gulf of Mexico.

At the 11 a.m. update Sunday, Tropical Depression Six was moving west at 12 mph with sustained winds of up to 35 mph, just 4 mph under the minimum threshold for tropical storm status. Six, however, is encountering storm-shredding wind shear about 1,000 miles east of the Caribbean and it expected to be a remnant low on Monday.

Forecasters were also monitoring with increasing scrutiny a disturbance in the far eastern Caribbean that could develop into a tropical depression in the next couple of days. A NOAA Hurricane Reconnaissance mission is set to investigate it Sunday, and the latest outlook cautioned interests in the central and eastern Caribbean to monitor it. The system is forecast to travel west or west-northwest over the central Caribbean Sea then turn north toward the southwest Atlantic. As of 8 a.m. Sunday, it was given a 70% chance of developing in the next two days and an 80% chance of developing in the next seven days.

South Florida will likely see additional rain Sunday from the disturbance moving past the southernmost tip of the Sunshine State. It is expected to reach the western Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday. It is forecast at a 50% chance at developing over the next seven days, and 30% over the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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The forecast for Sunday in South Florida includes showers and thunderstorms across the region, with potential for some heavy downpours that could lead to localized flooding, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Miami.

A short-lived tropical depression is expected to form Sunday from a system located a few hundred miles west of Africas Cabo Verde Islands. Forecasters expect it to move slowly west-northwest over the central tropical Atlantic, where it is likely to encounter wind shear that will hinder further development. As of 8 a.m. Sunday, it had a 70% chance of developing in the next 48 hours.

Another system close to Africas west coast could become a tropical depression later this week as it moves west-northwest across the eastern tropical Atlantic. As of early Sunday, it was given a 10% chance of developing within 48 hours and 50% within seven days.

The next named storms would be Emily, followed by Franklin and Gert.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting an above-normal 2023 hurricane season, increasing the likelihood from only a 30% chance in its last outlook to a 60% chance going forward.

The update announced last week came as a result of ongoing record-breaking sea surface temperatures that continue to fight off the tempering effects of El Nino.

While sea surface temperatures have remained hot for longer than anticipated, El Ninos effects, which typically reduce hurricane chances, have emerged more slowly.

The NHC, which operates under the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, is now calling for 14-21 named storms, including 6-11 hurricanes, and two to five major hurricanes.
Authorities work on the scene of a bus crash in Lawrenceville, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (Bill Lackey/The Springfield News-Sun via AP)

An elementary school bus crash in Clark County killed at least one student and injured nearly two dozen Tuesday morning.

The crash happened just before 8:15 a.m. on State Route 41 near the German Township fire station, according to reporting from Dayton Daily News and WHIO. The bus was from Northwestern Local Schools, whose classes began Tuesday. Clark County is west of Columbus.

Trooper Tyler Ross of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said there were 52 children and a driver on the bus at the time of the crash shortly.

He said an eastbound minivan went into the lane of the westbound bus, which veered onto the shoulder but was unable to avoid contact with the minivan and overturned. One student ejected from the bus was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

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Thirteen children were taken to hospitals by emergency medical personnel and 10 others were brought to hospitals by family members or other personal means. Of the 23 total injuries among those on the bus, 22 were described as non-life-threatening and one child was seriously injured and was taken to Children's Hospital.

The minivan driver and a passenger were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Several EMS units responded to the scene, and medical helicopters were put on standby to provide assistance. Additional assistance has also been requested from neighboring departments.

Family members are reunited with their children at the German Township Government Center following a Northwestern School District bus crash on State Route 41 in Springfield, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (Bill Lackey/The Springfield News-Sun via AP)

Dayton Children's Hospital officials noted they were treating patients from the crash.

"The Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association has declared a mass casualty incident, per its protocol," according to a statement from the hospital. "Dayton Children's emergency department saw 22 children from this accident. Some came by ambulance, and some were brought by their parents."

Northwestern Local Schools posted on Facebook later in the day "...The bus accident this morning claimed the life of one of our elementary students. We will not have classes tomorrow. We will have grief counselors available for anyone who needs additional support during this tragedy. The Elementary and the Jr/Sr High will open at 8am for students, staff, and community members who need assistance and want to talk to a mental health specialist. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families that have been impacted by this tragedy."

Ohio State Highway Patrol announced it would investigate the crash. The patrol also named the drivers in the crash: school bus driver Alfred Collier, 68, of Springfield, and Hermanio Joseph, 35, of Springfield.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.

tmoorman@dispatch.com

@taijuannichole

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Northwestern elementary school bus crash leaves 1 student dead in Ohio
PANAMA CITY  Crews are about 70% to 80% finished with Phase 1 of the Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project in downtown, according Jonathan Hayes, Panama City's public works director.

The project aims to upgrade portions of the downtown area by adding wider sidewalks, oak trees, improved underground utilities, upgraded stormwater systems and a cobblestone street. The entire project, which boasts two phases, spans Harrison Avenue from Government Street to 6th Street.

Crews now are about 70% to 80% complete with Phase 1 of the Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project, which aims to upgrade portions of the downtown area.

"This is something that started back before (Hurricane Michael in October 2018), and it was just to revitalize and reinvest in Downtown Panama City," Hayes said. "The downtown of a city is very important ... focal point for business, for vibrancy of a community and for the economic strength and stability of the downtown corridor."

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Hayes noted Phase 1 includes work along Harrison Avenue from Government Street to near Accents Home Decor & Gifts. Construction of this phase broke ground in the fall of 2021, and it is expected to be complete sometime in early 2024.

Phase 2 will then pick up where Phase 1 ends and stretch to 6th Street. There was no set construction timeline for Phase 2 as of Monday.

The Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project aims to add wider sidewalks, oak trees, improved underground utilities, upgrades stormwater systems and a cobblestone street to Downtown Panama City.

"Our desire is for there to be very little overlap, if any, construction wise in between Phase 1 and Phase 2," Hayes said. "We're looking at probably 90 to 120 days or so for design of Phase 2. It's not going to be near as complex as Phase 1."

Along with installing a cobblestone street, Phase 1 includes the construction of a roundabout near Harrison Avenue and 4th Street. Officials hope for it to be complete and open later this year.

Upcoming changes: ALDI to take over Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets. Here's what it means for Bay County

According to the city, the Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project stems from dozens of meetings held in 2019 about the strategic vison of Downtown Panama City. These meetings helped identify what residents wanted to see in such a project.

"I think Downtown Panama City is going to continue to be just a real primary focal point for the city," Hayes said. "It's a great investment. ... The way a city's downtown looks says a lot about the city, and we want start here and then branch out citywide."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City's Harrison Ave. Streetscape Project Phase 1 nears the end
Colorado is great and all, but North Carolina gets the win in this mountain tourism category.

Highlands, a popular resort getaway located in the southwestern part of the state, was tabbed as "America's Best Small Mountain Town" in a recent Travel + Leisure article.

"Highlands is a summer retreat for those looking to escape the humidity and a year-round haven for hiking, waterfall spotting, art, music, and top-tier dining and hospitality experiences," the article said.

The town is home to a permanent population of right around 1,000, but is known to host large populations of tourists throughout the year. The Cullasaja River and Dry Falls are popular nature attractions, and Old Edwards Inn draws in guest for its upscale yet cozy amenities.

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Asheville is about a 2-hour drive from Highlands, while Helen, Georgia  a popular mountain getaway just across the state border  is about a 1.5-hour drive.

Cheers! North Georgia gem just named best small "wine, beer and spirits town" in U.S.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Highlands, NC named 'Best Small Mountain Town' by Travel + Leisure
During Tuesdays meeting of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, a community activist group held a silent protest urging the police department to recruit, hire and retain more Black and Brown officers, especially women.

The group, Good Trouble KC, stood on the steps of the Kansas City Police Departments downtown headquarters holding signs that read Who Are You Serving? Who Are You Protecting? and Gun Control Will Protect Police Officers and The Public.

The activists asked the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners to hire an outside firm to study racial inequity and unconscious bias in the police department.

One of the things that an equity assessment would do is identify unconscious bias and identify conscious bias too, said Scott Myers, an organizer with the group. And this would help to begin to work on that and you have to work on it. Its a learning process. Its an understanding process.

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Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman, said top department officials report on hiring each month at the public police board meeting so commissioners and the public can keep track of recruitment efforts.

KCPD is committed to fair hiring practices, and we are always making efforts at recruitment and hiring a diverse and capable work force to serve Kansas City that reflects Kansas City, Becchina said in an email to The Star.

Members of Good Trouble KC held protest signs during the monthly meeting of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, where they requested the police board to hire a firm to study racial bias in the police department.

Initially, Myers said, the group was not allowed to bring their signs inside the police board meeting. But they were permitted to go inside the community room where the meeting was being held. The group sat in the front row. They left after more than an hour.

The group also wants the police department to advocate for gun reform, promote a ban on assault weapons and create an independent, civilian review board that would replace the Office of Community Complaints.

Myers said the complaint office lacks the authority to thoroughly investigate or review complaints from citizens.

The group also wants the police department to create an incentive program for minority and women officers that would provide $15,000 loans childcare or down payments on homes.

The group acknowledged that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an investigation of racism in the police departments hiring and employment practices. That investigation followed a series of stories published by The Star revealing racist treatment of Black officers in the police department.

For decades, the police department has struggled to keep Black officers. Nearly 30% of Kansas City residents are Black, but less than 12% of officers in department are Black, according to recent KCPD statistics.

Good Trouble KCs request seeks to examine how minority officers are treated inside the police department, organizers said Tuesday.

KCPD needs an equity assessment in order to learn the truth about a persistent culture of racial inequity in the department and in its relationship with the community. Stan Morgan, an organizer of the group said in a written statement.

This is for the communitys well being and safety, but it is also for the officers themselves.
Southern Colorado Equality Alliance's annual Pueblo Pride celebration was as big as ever with over 160 vendors setting up shop in Mineral Palace Park on Sunday.

Vendors at the festival included LGBTQ+ support organizations, individuals selling arts and crafts, community resources, home baked goods and plenty of food trucks. SCEA President Tommy Farrell said this year's celebration was the largest Pueblo Pride celebration in terms of vendors. Last year's event had a total of 115 vendors.

The festival also was well attended, with generations of LGBTQ+ Puebloans and supportive allies waving pride flags throughout the park.

"The younger generation is amazing... They have a different level of pride," Farrell said. "I remember when I started with SCEA, that a lot of times we were hesitant to go out and ask for support for pride from sponsors, but the younger generation will go and talk to anyone."

Lola the pocket bully wears butterfly wings and a tutu during Pueblo's Pride Festival at Mineral Palace Park on Sunday, August 20, 2023.

Persephone Larranaga, 19, is part of that younger generation of LGBTQ+ Puebloans. He is a student at Pueblo Community College and secretary of the school's Spectrum support group. Originally from Denver, Larranaga believes it is important for Pueblo's LGBTQ+ youth to seek out support and community with others.

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"There's always a space out there if you look for it," Larranaga said. "It's really hard to find, but you have got to actually have the courage to go get it. It may seem intimidating or kind of stupid, but when you get older you realize, 'I kind of need this... I need other people around me that are similar."

John Mark Hild, an SCEA board member, is among the individuals working to build supportive spaces for LGBTQ+ community members of all ages. He has helped facilitate the OutFront youth group, Transgenerations support group and Pueblo Pride Seniors Support Group.

Vehicles decked out in rainbow flags make their way through Mineral Palace Park during Pueblo's Pride Parade on Sunday, August 20, 2023.

Hild has seen Pueblo and the state of Colorado come a long way in LGBTQ+ acceptance. He remembers being thrown out of a high school bus window after classmates suspected him of being gay in the late 1970s, demonstrations for marriage equality in front of the Pueblo County Courthouse as early as 1985 and fighting against the infamous Colorado Amendment 2 in the early 1990s.

Dennis Lowry, an attendee of Sunday's Pueblo Pride celebration, also has seen Pueblo come a long way. The first time he went to a local gay bar in the late 1980s, everyone was instructed to sit "man, woman, man."

"They were afraid the police might come in and see two guys sitting together and two women sitting together, and they were afraid it could become a problem," he said.

West Eaton keeps cool with a fan during Pueblo's Pride Festival at Mineral Palace Park on Sunday, August 20, 2023.

However, LGBTQ+ allyship has grown over time as more non-LGBTQ Puebloans are willing to attend events like Pueblo Pride to show their support, Lowry said.

Back to School: Pueblo college students start classes soon. Here are key dates to remember

"A lot of times, what's happening is outside agitators coming in trying to stir up the locals. ... We just need to make sure we don't go backwards again."

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo gathers in Mineral Palace for 2023 LGBTQ+ Pride celebration
As the sun beats down, Windell Gabrillo, of Milwaukee, working for a courier service, walks along North Water Street at East Wisconsin Avenue en route to deliver a package in Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. A study released shows 40 percent of Milwaukee is in an urban heat island where it's 8 degrees warmer than the rest of the city.

With this week's heat wave beginning today in some parts of the state, the City of Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management issued a Heat Health Warning for the city Tuesday morning.

The warning was issued in response to the National Weather Service Excessive Heat Health Warning, which is in effect from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23. The NWS forecast currently predicts heat indices of up to 105-110 degrees in the area affected by the warning. An excessive heat watch will be in effect through Thursday.

More: MPS closes schools Wednesday due to heat

According to a news release from the health department, the department will be "enhancing surveillance for heat-related illness in the coming days and working with Milwaukee Metropolitan Extreme Weather Task Force partners to address vulnerable population needs during this period."

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Those in need of emergency services should call Impact 211 for assistance, the release said.

The Milwaukee Health Department (MHD), with the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), has issued a Heat Health Warning in response to the National Weather Service (NWS) Excessive Heat Health Warning in effect 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 23. pic.twitter.com/gg6Ozj20D8  City of Milwaukee Health Department (@MKEhealth) August 22, 2023

Where are Milwaukee's cooling sites?

The health department maintains an updated online map of public, air-conditioned spaces and cooling sites, including splash pads, pools and beaches.

All Milwaukee Public Libraries and Milwaukee County senior centers offer public, air-conditioned spaces during operating hours.

The health department website also includes a list of cooling sites in the Greater Milwaukee Area and suburbs, including malls, churches, community centers and more.

Henry Olivarez, with KEI Landscaping, out of Milwaukee, waters flower beds along East Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. A study released shows 40 percent of Milwaukee is in an urban heat island where it's 8 degrees warmer than the rest of the city.

How do I stay safe in the heat?

To prevent heat-related illness or death, the health department advises citizens to take the following precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Stay cool

Slow down. Limit physical activity and try to spend part of your day in air-conditioned spaces, such as shopping malls, movie theaters or libraries.

Never leave children or pets in a parked car. Temperatures can become life-threatening within minutes.

Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing.

Take cool baths or showers and use wet towels on your skin to help you cool down.

Do not rely on fans as a primary cooling device.

Check in on those most-at-risk twice a day.

Stay hydrated

Drink plenty of water throughout the day, regardless of thirst.

Avoid consuming caffeinated or alcoholic beverages, as these can increase heat effects.

Remind others to drink enough water.

Stay informed

Check local news and weather reports for extreme heat alerts and safety tips.

Be aware of symptoms of heat-related illness. Heat exhaustion symptoms include heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting or fainting. Heat stroke symptoms include extremely high body temperature, hot and dry skin (no sweating), rapid pulse, throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion or unconsciousness.

Check on relatives, friends, or neighbors, especially those most susceptible to heat-related illness, which includes the very young, the elderly, and those on certain medications (especially certain medications related to blood pressure, heart disease and mental health).

More: Wisconsin is in the middle of a heat dome this week. What does that mean?

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Health Department issues Heat Health Warning amid heat wave
PEABODY  Investigators were seen searching a wooded area off Interstate 95 in Peabody on Tuesday. A source told WCVB the search is connected to the death and disappearance of Cohasset mother Ana Walshe.

Walshe, 39, was last seen at her home after midnight Jan. 1. Her husband, Brian Walshe, reported her missing a few days later after he called her employer, international property management company Tishman Spyer, in Washington, D.C., to ask if they had seen her. She spent weekdays working in Washington as a real estate investment manager for the company.

Brian Walshe, 48, is accused of killing and dismembering his wife. Prosecutors said he believed his wife was having an affair, an allegation confirmed during the investigation into her death.

The couple married in 2015 and have three young sons.

Brian Walshe enters the courtroom for his arraignment in Norfolk Superior Court on Thursday, April 27, 2023.

Where the search was conducted in Peabody

The search area was between Interstate 95 and a shopping center on Bourbon Street, less than a mile from the transfer station where several items connected to the case were found in January, including a hacksaw and a rug with blood. Those items have been linked to Ana Walshe by DNA tests. Her body has not been found.

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Brian Walshe was arrested in January and indicted in March by a grand jury, which charged him with murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body.

Ana Walshe was a dual citizen of Serbia, where she has family, and the United States.

Ana Walshe, of Cohasset, was last seen Jan. 1, 2023.

During his arraignment, prosecutors said he dismembered and discarded his wife's body parts at transfer stations across the eastern part of the state.

Authorities say Brian Walshe conducted a series of grisly Google searches on his son's iPad and his own cellphone in the days after Anas disappearance, including queries about disposing of a body, dismembering a body, body decomposition, how to mask the smell of a decomposing body and how to clean up blood.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 2 in Quincy District Court.

Walshes art fraud sentencing on hold

Brian Walshe is awaiting sentencing by a federal judge after pleading guilty to a scheme involving phony art.

He was accused of selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings on eBay to a buyer in Los Angeles for $80,000. In a forfeiture order last summer, Walshe was ordered to turn over those paintings along with $225,000.

The sentencing in that case is on hold pending the outcome of the murder trial.

More: Why lawyers for Cohasset's Brian Walshe were back in court

More: Cheating suspicions, life insurance could have led to Ana Walshe's death, DA says

More: Brian Walshe indicted on charges of murder, transporting body in case of missing wife

More: 'We're not immune': Cohasset police chief on Ana Walshe, media frenzy and small-town policing

More: DNA evidence, search history led to murder charge for husband of missing Cohasset woman

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Peabody search tied to death of Cohasset's Ana Walshe, report says
1106 N. Augusta St. in Staunton, where Ian and Leslie Boden plan to open their next restaurant, along with guest rooms.

A unique and taxing situation

Scheduled for 5:05 p.m. in Staunton City Council's work session is a discussion of a request by Valley Area Community Inc., applying for exemption from property taxes for the properties they have recently purchased to add more local affordable housing to the city. They're also asking for a retroactive exemption from properties that the city has treated as exempt but now does not.

"In 2006 Valley Area Community Support Inc., a federally tax-exempt organization pursuant to section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, was granted real property tax exempt status by the Staunton City Assessors Office without proper authorization from Virginia state code or local ordinance," according to page 6 of the agenda packet.

Valley Supportive Housing, a component of Valley Area Community Support Inc. currently has six properties being treated as exempt for real property taxes.

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The earliest a public hearing could be scheduled to formally consider this request is September 14, 2023, at which time City Council would also consider whether to approve or deny the request.

City manager Leslie Beauregard wrote, "Staff recognizes that this is an unusual and difficult situation in that Valley Supportive Housing has operated under the assumption that their properties are tax exempt since 2006. Unfortunately, though, this was an erroneous decision made by City staff at that time..."

The request is in the work session for discussion, with no decisions being made in the meeting.

In the zone?

Special permit requests, re-zoning requests. We've seen in recent months such requests come up in planning commission meetings, zoning boards of appeal, and yes, in public hearings at city council and the board of supervisors.

This week we'll look at a few such requests that will have public hearings at Staunton City Council.

Next week, as most councils, boards, commissions and other public gatherings of city officers take a week off (except for Monday the 28th, with Staunton School Board and Waynesboro City Council), The Agenda will take a closer look at how all these boards and commissions and councils work when it comes to these requests, which may sound like technicalities but often can be the spark that makes a community better, or that preserves it.

But for this week, let's look at one of the public hearings happening at Thursday's Staunton City Council meeting.

What is 'local business district conditional'?

One public hearing on Thursday Aug. 24 will be in consideration of a request by Ian and Leslie Boden to rezone 1106 North Augusta Street from P-1, Professional District, to B-1, Local Business District Conditional.

"The Bodens have recently purchased the property and they plan to utilize the property as a small fine diningrestaurant with short-term guest rooms," according to page 102 of the agenda packet. They suggest that the building, which was most recently used as a bed and breakfast, will retain 3 rooms for guests upstairs while turning the first floor into fine-dining that will seat no more than 24 guests. A detached cottage on the Overlook Road side of the deep property will house another two guest rooms.

The Bodens have already worked with neighbors to identify parking spots in addition to the spots they can have on the property, so they meet the threshold for parking to conduct their stated business.

The tepid-seeming line, "Staff has considered the request and has identified no issues," found in the staff analysis section, is akin to the Golden Ticket from Willie Wonka. It doesn't guarantee you anything yet, but it's an important statement.

At an earlier planning commission public hearing, a few residents had opposed the request, concerned about traffic and noise. The commission voted 4-1 in favor of recommending the request to be approved by city council.

Between the commission recommendation and the city council meeting, the Bodens revised their initial plan of four guest rooms in the main building down to three.

If the rezoning is approved, a building permit will be required for a change of use under the Building Code. A minor site plan, or a site sketch, will be required and will primarily deal with the parking lot layout and entrance off North Augusta Street.

It's a good example of how these changes don't appear out of nowhere without notification, but have to wend their way through a system of meetings in which the public can have input multiple times. The News Leader hopes to help amplify these meetings so citizens can be part of the decision-making process.

Come for the zoning requests. Stay for the Uniontown presentation.

The Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan will be presented near the end of the City Council meeting. If you haven't read it yet, or missed it at the Planning Commission last week, Thursday's your chance to get some real detail on the past, present and future of a neighborhood that the city appeared to try to neglect and zone to death some sixty years ago.

Tuesday, August 22

Wednesday, August 23

Augusta County Board of Supervisors Meeting, 7 p.m.

Thursday, August 24

Staunton City Council work session, 5:30 p.m. and regular meeting, 7:00 p.m. Full agenda here.

Friday, August 25

Monday, August 28

Staunton School Board work session, 5 p.m.

Waynesboro City Council, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, August 29

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: THE AGENDA: The city discusses its own taxing error over Valley Supportive Housing
There are numerous reasons why airplanes can be diverted from their destination airports to a different airport. An unruly passenger, a medical emergency, an equipment failure, low fuel (rare) and runway availability are a few of the reasons.

But the No. 1 reason for a diversion?

The weather.

And because it's summer and because of the numerous storms swirling in the skies above the Sunshine State, you could say this is "Diversion Season" in Florida. Airplanes flying in Florida airspace are constantly dealing with storms, and the pilots need options if they can't land safely where they were originally scheduled to when they took off.

A Lufthansa airplane coming from Germany is parked at Southwest Florida International Airport on Aug. 17, 2023. The 747 on its way to Miami International Airport had to be diverted to RSW because of weather. It was one of 23 airplanes diverted to the Fort Myers airport that day.

If thunderstorms persist, holding aircraft will divert to alternate airports, wait out the bad weather, refuel, and fly again later to the original destination.

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A perfect example happened here last week in Fort Myers at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW). On Aug. 17 a total of 23 planes (commercial and cargo) were diverted to RSW because of weather-related challenges in Florida, according to Victoria Moreland, chief communications & marketing officer for the Lee County Port Authority.

What about traffic inside the airport?: Airport news: RSW No. 1 for North American airports for not having long lines

The diverted airplanes were recognized on Southwest Florida International Airport's Facebook page with photos and a post that said: "Nothing like a diversion plane party at RSW last night."

"These planes came from Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach," Moreland said. "RSW gets lots of diversions during the summer when the weather is bad. Most diversions land, wait for the weather to get better at the destination airport and leave."

While that seems like a lot of diversions for a single day, it's not, and it is nothing RSW can't handle.

On Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, a total of 23 airplanes were diverted to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers due to weather. The airplanes were heading to Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.

Moreland pointed out that during season (winter) here, the RSW's single-runway airport can see as many as 350 flights a day coming and going.

In general, the percentage of airplanes being diverted every year is small in comparison to delays (late arrivals and departures) and issues with equipment that slow down the process.

For example, a 2017 study by Statista revealed 12,530 flights from major U.S. carriers were diverted. While that seems like a lot, it's a small percentage of the total of more than 5.5 million flights that year.

Diversions are undesirable because of the magnitude of passenger delay and cost to airlines. The airline must get you to the destination airport on your ticket or reservation at no extra cost to you.

The diverted airplane that most likely made some heads turn in the RSW terminal on Aug. 17 was a Lufthansa flight from Germany heading to Miami International Airport. It was a 747. That is unique for RSW.

"We dont have scheduled 747s operate at the airport, but the runway and international gates accommodate them, and they do come in like this occasionally," Moreland said.

As far as having to stay on the plane or getting off a diverted airplane, passengers should check with the airline on policy and procedures, including if the flight ends up being canceled. For domestic flights landing at U.S. airports, airlines are obligated to give passengers an opportunity to deplane before three hours. For international flights it is four hours, but as Moreland pointed out, if that were to happen, those passengers would have to clear customs.

More options for travelers: Breeze Airways increasing Southwest Florida footprint in a big way. See new options coming

What's the difference: diverted flight, late flight, canceled flight?

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics:

DIVERTED: A diverted flight is one that left from the scheduled departure airport but flew to a destination point other than the scheduled destination point.

LATE: Late departures and arrivals are strongly seasonal and are affected by weather and heavy demand in winter and summer months. The term late is defined as 15 minutes after the scheduled departure or arrival time.

CANCELED: A cancelled flight is one that was not operated, but was listed in a carrier's computer reservation system within seven calendar days of the scheduled departure.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Diverted airplanes land at florida airports to avoid bad weather
The 66-year-old California store owner who was shot dead Friday over a dispute about an LGBTQ Pride flag had been worried an altercation would one day take place over the flags she hung outside her store, a friend told CBS News on Monday.

Laura Ann Carleton, who owned the clothing shop Mag.Pi in Cedar Glen, was an unapologetic LGBTQ ally, Melissa Lawton told "CBS Mornings" lead national correspondent David Begnaud.

Carleton, who preferred to be called "Lauri," started putting small gay Pride flags in the flower pots outside her store to show her support for the LGBTQ community, Lawton said, but people kept taking them.

Carleton would replace them, and every time she put in a new one, she'd make sure it was a bigger flag, according to one of her daughters.

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Soon, the Pride flag outside her store was as big as the American flag Carleton also flew outside the store, Lawton said.

About a year before she was killed, Carlteon told Lawton people were still coming to the store and taking down the flag. She continued replacing it every time, but she worried the flag would one day lead to a confrontation, Lawton said.

"She used to say, 'Those motherf*****s tear it down, and I just put a new one back up, and I'm scared that I'm going to get into an altercation some day,'" Lawton told Begnaud.

The message

On Friday, 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi of Cedar Glen tore down the flag, police said. According to Lawton, Carleton went outside and exchanged words with him. He then followed Carleton into the store and shot her dead.

He ran away and was later killed by officers from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department after firing at them and hitting several patrol vehicles, authorities said Monday.

Carleton had nine children. Her husband, a shoe designer, had seven children before marrying Carleton and the couple then adopted twin girls, Lawton said.

According to Lawton, Carlton was a West Coast executive for the fashion brand Kenneth Cole at a time when most in the executive ranks were men. Her passion was rescuing animals, and she was happiest on her boat.

She wasn't just a woman who spoke words, Lawson said, adding that she took action and had no regrets over hanging the Pride flag outside her store.

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News coverage of a Mesa police officer losing consciousness in his patrol car from an overdose certainly highlights, if sensationally, the crisis that is opioids, in particular fentanyl.

But how to best tackle the problem has been elusive.

Remember the special legislative session in early 2018 that tightened opioid prescriptions?

Restrictions that did little to slow deaths from overdoses but created their own set of problems, such as blocking access to relief for chronic pain sufferers.

Last year, a candidate for state attorney general  a former Arizona Supreme Court justice, no less  went as far as to propose the death penalty for fentanyl traffickers.

Michael K. Williams ' overdose is a lesson

Actor Michael K. Williams died in 2021 of an overdose. He was 54.

This session, the state Legislature approved two bills that called for mandatory prison sentences for convictions of possessing, distributing, transferring, selling or manufacturing fentanyl.

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Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed both bills, objecting to sweeping punishment, including of users, instead of narrowly focusing on manufacturers of the drug.

Are we perhaps overthinking it?

Earlier this month, a federal district court judge in New York sentenced a drug dealer to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl-laced heroin to the actor Michael K. Williams, who found fame in the HBO series The Wire and died from an overdose.

The judge said she intended the length of the sentence to send a message to both the defendant  he had dealt drugs for years and continued to do so after Williams death  and to others who sell fentanyl.

Its got to stop, she said.

The judge got that right. But the sentencing was also about punishment.

Mandatory sentencing laws don't work

Just a tiny amount of fentanyl can be lethal.

Arizona has sufficient laws on the books to hold accountable those whose actions harm others.

We cant, and neednt, go after everyone.

Certainly not as a deterrent.

As critics such as the libertarian think tank Cato Institute note, harsh mandatory sentencing laws do nothing to blunt narcotic drugs effects.

The institute pointed to a 1,500% spike in methamphetamine deaths in the United States between 2006 and 2021, following voter-approved Proposition 301 in Arizona that imposed mandatory minimum prison sentences for possessing, transferring, selling, distributing or manufacturing meth.

But we can set a standard: If you sell, distribute or otherwise knowingly give someone fentanyl and that person ingests it and dies, you will be prosecuted.

Hold sellers accountable if someone dies

Most people know, especially those who peddle the drug, that just a tiny amount of fentanyl can be lethal.

The point is, when ones actions result in the loss of life, there needs to be accountability.

It might call for law enforcement agencies to commit to aggressively investigate the direct source of the drug(s) in an overdose fatality and for prosecutors offices to vigorously pursue charges when theres sufficient evidence.

Its an acknowledgment that an accidental death may also involve a crime.

Another view: Will a police officer's overdose shock us awake?

There are statutes for sale, possession, manufacturing and transportation of dangerous drugs.

And for endangerment. And negligent homicide. All are felonies that prosecutors can contemplate to secure a conviction.

And judges can account for aggravating or mitigating circumstances in weighing sentences.

Fentanyl is killing too many in Arizona

Admittedly, not all cases come as tidy for authorities as Michael K. Williams overdose death. Aside from a criminal history, the defendants drug transaction with the actor was captured by surveillance camera, according to court documents.

Confirmed opioid deaths have about doubled since the Legislature passed the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act, numbering about 2,000 a year.

Those trends have tracked similarly in Maricopa County, where 6 in 10 drug-related deaths last year involved fentanyl, oftentimes in tandem with methamphetamine.

Pursuing criminal charges in those roughly 1,300 cases may not make a dent in drug supply or demand. But they would represent a closer step toward justice.

And that cant be a bad thing.

Reach Abe Kwok at akwok@azcentral.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @abekwok.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fentanyl dealers should be prosecuted in overdose deaths
A 36-year-old man will serve a decade in prison after he hit a couple crossing a Pasco street and drove away, leaving the 73-year-old woman to die.

Maria Larios Torres was rushed to a hospital but didnt survive. Her husband, Jesus Vargas-Orozco, 67, was seriously hurt.

A GoFundMe had been organized to help the family of Maria Larios Torres killed while crossing the street.

Julius E. D. Pulliam was sentenced in Franklin County Superior Court after previously pleading guilty Aug. 1 to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, fatal hit-and-run, possession of a stolen vehicle and witness tampering.

Police tracked him down by using security camera footage and data from a GPS ankle monitor he was already wearing because of another crime at time of the crash.

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He previously had been convicted of fleeing the scene of an injury collision in Oklahoma in 2019, according to court records.

Hed only recently moved to Washington state after meeting his future wife online and marrying her in 2022.

While defendants usually face a sentencing range, Pulliam could be sentenced only to 10 years under state law.

At the Aug. 17 sentencing hearing, the victims family and the prosecutors office thanked Pasco police for their investigation that led to capturing Pulliam, Prosecutor Shawn Sant said in a news release.

Pulliam also was sentenced Thursday for trying to elude police and illegally have a gun in connection with a June 2022 incident. That term will be served at the same time and wont change the length of his prison term.

Julius Pulliam made an initial appearance via video link in Franklin County Superior Court after the Nov. 2022 crash.

Deadly Pasco crash

Larios Torres and Vargas-Orozco were hit by a stolen car while crossing 20th Avenue on their way home from buying groceries at the SuperMex El Pueblo Market about 7 p.m. on Nov. 22.

Security video showed the maroon two-door Honda crash into them and speed away.

A 36-year-old man previously pleaded guilty a hit and run that killed a 73-year-old woman and injured her husband in Pasco last fall.

The two had lived in Pasco all their entire lives and were field workers, according to a GoFundMe campaign that was organized to help with funeral expenses.

Police found the empty sedan the next day parked in the backyard of a vacant home on the 400 block of 22nd Avenue. The car had been reported stolen the day before the crash.

A tip identified the driver as Awax, which is Pulliams street name, according to court documents.

The tipster told police that Pulliam admitted to hitting the couple. The witness claimed Pulliam was the only person in the car.

Security camera footage from a grocery store in the hours before the crash showed Pulliam arriving in the Honda.
The son of the late El Paso drug trafficker Jimmy Chagra was arrested for allegedly selling cocaine, fentanyl and LSD, including to Fort Bliss soldiers, Texas Department of Public Safety officials said.

Texas DPS special agents arrested 44-year-old Jamiel Alexander Chagra Nichols on Friday, Aug. 18, after more than 21,900 dosages of LSD were allegedly found at his El Paso home during a multi-agency drug investigation, DPS officials said.

Mexican drug cartels: 'Don Adan,' reputed head of Los Salazar narco-group tied to reporter's murder, extradited to US

A photo released by DPS shows some of the LSD hallucinogen blotter papers, some decorated with images of "The Simpsons" cartoon character Homer Simpson and a Grateful Dead-style logo.

Texas DPS investigators on Friday seized more than 21,900 doses of LSD during a search of the home of Jamiel Alexander Chagra Nichols in El Paso.

The search warrant at the home was carried out by Texas DPS special agents working with the Fentanyl Overdose Response Team of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in El Paso, officials said.

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The arrest was the culmination of a six-month investigation that allegedly found that Nichols was distributing illegal drugs to El Pasoans, including soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss, officials said.

Jamiel Alexander Chagra Nichols

The investigation included help from the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigations Division, the El Paso County Sheriffs Office, the U.S. Border Patrol and the FBI El Paso.

Courts: Former Fort Bliss soldier sentenced in LSD-fueled attack on sons in El Paso home

Nichols faces four state counts of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance with offenses dating back to March and April of this year, according to El Paso County Jail records.

Nichols was released from jail Monday on a total surety bond of $28,000, according to a jail log. There is no lawyer listed for him on court records.

Jimmy Chagra, one of El Paso's most infamous drug traffickers

Nichols is the son of Jamiel Alexander "Jimmy" Chagra, a carpet salesman and high-roller gambler who was also one of El Paso's most infamous drug traffickers of the 1970s.

The elder Chagra was accused of leading the 1979 conspiracy to assassinate U.S. District Judge John H. Wood, a federal judge nicknamed "Maximum John" who was scheduled to preside over Chagra's trial on drug charges.

Wood was fatally shot in the back on May 29, 1979, outside his home in San Antonio sparking one of the largest federal investigations in U.S. history.

Archives: Charles Harrelson who killed judge allegedly for Jimmy Chagra dies

Jimmy Chagra would be acquitted of most charges in Wood's death, but was found guilty of obstructing the investigation. He would later be convicted on various drug and conspiracy charges, including a failed 1978 assassination attempt on a federal prosecutor.

After serving 24 years in prison, Jimmy Chagra was released on parole in 2003. He died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 63 while living in a trailer camp in Mesa, Arizona.

Texas Department of Public Safety.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas DPS arrests son of Jimmy Chagra on LSD, drug charges in El Paso
DENVER (KDVR)  Calling all spider lovers: Its almost time for thousands of male tarantulas to crawl across 433,000 acres in southeast Colorado for their mating season.

If you arent creeped out by that mental image, theres still time to catch the many-legged sighting, which occurs between late August and early September.

Nexstars KDVR spoke with a tarantula expert for the top spots you might catch a glimpse of the mate-gration.

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Sara Stevens, the director of animal collections at the Butterfly Pavilion, named a few places she expects to see the 5-inch spiders:

Comanche National Grassland

Your best bet is to go to the grasslands for tarantula viewing. Stevens said the grasslands are a place where there are usually higher concentrations of tarantulas. Visit La Junta recommends Highway 109 on the Comanche National Grassland.

La Junta

Stevens also recommends La Junta because its most associated with the tarantula trek. It even has a webpage dedicated to tarantulas. It also hosts the La Junta Tarantula Fest in Downtown La Junta, which sets up a parade, vendors, tarantula tours, and more.

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It was a popular national monument, until it was robbed to extinction

The website also names a few specific spots around La Junta where you might have tarantula viewing opportunities.

Sierra Vista

About 20 miles from La Junta is Sierra Vista, which is a popular spot where people travel to check out spiders. Theres a 3.7-mile hiking trail where you can walk through the ruts of the Santa Fe Trail between Sierra Vista Overlook and Timpas Picnic Area. Be on the lookout for spiders, but dont get too close: tarantulas can bite. While not toxic, the bite could still be painful  experts say it would be more like a bee sting.

Timpas

Visit La Junta also recommends Timpas, which is about 15 miles away from La Junta. Its along Highway 350, which is a top driving route to scout out spiders. Tarantulas are sometimes seen crossing the highway. The website recommends going east on County Road N, south on County Road 25, east on Forest Service Road 2200, north on Highway 109, and then back to La Junta.

Vogel Canyon

Many people go to Vogel Canyon not just for the spider spotting, but because its a common place for hikes of all levels. They have a range of difficulty and length, which take you to the mesa top or canyon bottom.

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If you cant make it out to see the migration, there are still places to see them here (dont worry, its not in the wild). The Butterfly Pavillion hosts around 500 tarantulas that youre able to see. If you want to get even closer, they have a tarantula you can hold named Rosie. Stevens expects that over the 28 years, almost 3 million people have held her.

If youre daring enough to seek out the spiders, Visit La Junta suggests looking around an hour before sunset in less populated areas. Youll probably only see a maximum of 10 scurry across the prairie, said Visit La Junta.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Imports of coffee beans hit an all-time high last year, in the latest sign of Koreans' unwavering love for the caffeinated drink.

Korea imported a record US$1.34 billion worth of coffee beans in 2022, up 42.4 percent compared to 2021, the Korea Customs Service said on Tuesday. It is double the amount of coffee imported in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

KCS said, "Not even the pandemic has been able to dampen coffee consumption here. Rather, it appears to have grown greatly after lockdown was lifted in April last year."
Former Petersburg city manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, left, speaks during a public forum Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Ferrell-Benavides, who was Petersburg city manager from 2017-21, was a finalist for the top administrator's position in that eastern Tennessee city. With her at the table is Lane Bailey, senior vice president of GovHR USA, the search firm that vetted the finalists.

Former Petersburg City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides was passed over Friday for the city managers job in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in a vote that at least one City Council member hinted was based on racism.

The job for which Ferrell-Benavides was a finalist went to Randy Hemann, the town manager of Mooresville, North Carolina. He was chosen by a 5-2 vote, with the two votes against him going to Ferrell-Benavides.

One of the votes for Ferrell-Benavides came from Rev. Derrick Hammond, the only Black member of council. Hammond was quoted by The Oak Ridger newspaper there as saying while he would not say for the record that the vote was biased, while some things change, some things dont.

The newspaper also quoted a resident who spoke at a forum before the vote who said she thought Oak Ridge needed a change that only Ferrell-Benavides could provide.

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Im tired of looking at white men leading this city, Teresa Green said, per the newspaper. [Ferrell-Benavides] is absolutely the very best person for the job."

Ferrell-Benavides, who was city manager in Petersburg from 2017-21, left to take a city managers job in Duncanville, Texas, her home state. She was fired in March 2023 after calling attention to issues involving Duncanville bookkeeping.

Her attorney claimed, however, that Ferrell-Benavides had been feeling racial tension ever since the narrow vote by that council to hire her. In a statement read by the attorney at the time she was fired, Ferrell-Benavides said she took the job even thought she had questioned whether the city was ready for an African American city manager.

Oak Ridge, a city roughly the same size as Petersburg with a population of 32,000, is 81% White, according to the 2020 Census Bureau records. Slightly more than 6% of the residents there are Black.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

City Manager Candidate Public Forum from M&M Productions USA on Vimeo.

In remarks at a public forum where she and Hemann had the chance to plead their cases, Ferrell-Benavides mentioned her work at stops in her career, including Petersburg. She said Oak Ridge needed a leader who would deliver results with compassion and professionalism.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee, city councilors Ellen Smith, left, and Derrick Hammond voted for former Petersburg city manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides to be that city's top administrator. Former North Carolina town official Randy Hemenn was eventually chosen over Ferrell-Benavides.

At the council meeting the day after the forum, Ferrell-Benavides also had the support of the only woman on council, Ellen Smith. According to The Oak Ridger, Smith said Ferrell-Benavides had the outward facing leadership we need at this phase of our history, touting her leadership especially in Los Alamos, New Mexico, from 2003-24.

In the report from The Oak Ridger, city Mayor Warren Gooch appeared to dismiss Smiths comments about Ferrell-Benavides, saying that she was only there a year and Los Alamos was 20 years ago. He and the remaining four councilors, all White men, voted for Hemann, who also is White.

Mooresville, a 52,000-resident suburb of Charlotte, is 78% White and 10% Black, according to the 2020 Census data.

Ferrell-Benavides is also one of four finalists for the city manager post in Largo, Florida. Largo, a city of 82,000 in Pinellas County, is 23 miles west of Tampa on Floridas Gulf Coast.

Read the story from The Oak Ridger here.

Donna Smith, news editor of The Oak Ridger, contributed to this article.

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 X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Former Petersburg city manager not chosen for Tennessee job
Article first published: Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, 11 a.m. ET

Article last updated: Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, 5 p.m. ET

On Monday at 5 pm, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Nine has reached new heights of intensity and has upgraded from a potential tropical cyclone into a tropical depression, with winds blowing at 35 miles per hour.

The tropical depression is 375 miles east-southeast of Port Mansfield Texas, with maximum sustained wind of 35 mph. Its moving 18 mph to the west. The tropical depression is forecast to strengthen.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:

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- Mouth of Rio Grande to Port O'Connor, Texas

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:

- Port O'Connor to Sargent, Texas

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within 12 to 24 hours.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case within 12 to 24 hours.

Interests elsewhere in eastern Texas and northern Mexico should monitor the progress of this system.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND:

RAINFALL: The depression is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches, with isolated higher amounts of 7 inches, across South Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday. Areas of flash flooding will be possible.

Across Mexico, rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches, with local amounts of 10 inches, are expected across portions of northern Coahuila and northern Nuevo Leon on Tuesday and Wednesday. Areas of flash flooding are expected.

WIND: Tropical storm conditions are expected in the warning area and are possible in the watch area early Tuesday.

STORM SURGE: The combination of a storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...

Mouth of Rio Grande to Sargent, including Baffin Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and Matagorda Bay...1 to 3 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the north of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.

TORNADOES: A couple of tornadoes are possible across south Texas on Tuesday.

SURF: Large swells generated by the depression will affect portions of southern Texas tonight through Tuesday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Source: National Hurricane Center

This article was generated by the South Carolina Bot, artificial intelligence software that analyzes information from the National Hurricane Center and applies it to templates created by journalists in the newsroom. We are experimenting with this and other new ways of providing more useful content to our readers and subscribers. You can report errors or bugs to mcclatchybot@mcclatchy.com.
Two co-defendants in the Georgia election case have joined Mark Meadows , the former Trump White House chief of staff, in attempting to move their charges to federal court.

Jeffrey Clark , a former Justice Department official, and David Shafer, one of the states fake electors, both filed notices of removal Monday. Clark is also attempting to block Fulton County from arresting him by urging an immediate pause of the state proceedings.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) last week charged former President Trump and 18 others in a sprawling, 41-count indictment stemming from their efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.

Meadows, Clark and Shafer are the first of the co-defendants to attempt the move to federal court, which would come with a federal judge and a potentially more Republican-heavy jury pool compared to the state court. Meadows filed his removal notice last week.

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All three men argue their charges must be moved because they are connected to their roles as federal officers and they will assert federal defenses, including immunity and First Amendment arguments.

He was a high-ranking U.S. Justice Department official at all relevant times applicable to the Fulton County Action and the allegations therein relate directly to his work at the Justice Department as well as with the former President of the United States, wrote Harry MacDougald, Clarks attorney.

Shafers attorneys similarly wrote that his conduct stems directly from his service as a Presidential Elector nominee acting under the authority of the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act.

Clark also went a few steps further, asserting asserted that the entire case  not just his charges  must be moved to federal court based on the relevant precedent.

He also is seeking to move to federal court the special grand jury proceedings, which did not vote on the indictment but previously heard testimony and recommended charges.

Clark suggested that adding the special grand jury to the removal notice requires the state criminal proceedings to be automatically paused.

Clark has asked for an emergency ruling to put on hold his arrest until the removal matter is resolved. A judge ordered Williss office to respond to Clark in writing by Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.

The Fulton County Action took advantage of civil proceedings to augment the powers of an ordinary grand jury in Georgia with the powers of a special purpose grand jury, Clarks attorney wrote. This voluntary choice by the State requires the State to take the bitter with the sweet, for the State cannot work such a fusion of civil and criminal powers and thereafter deny the impact of using those civil powers as a launchpad for this case.

Willis has given the co-defendants a Friday deadline to surrender voluntarily or face an arrest warrant. Bail bondsman Scott Hall turned himself in Tuesday, becoming the first of the defendants to do so; Trump said he plans to surrender himself Thursday.

 Updated 1:29 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Jacksonville Journey invested in the after-school program Team Up, where then-12-year-old Matthew Fluellen (right) helped 10-year-old Aaminah Muhammad in a computeer math class in this May 2009 photo.

Ive watched with interest the recent discussion about bringing back the Jacksonville Journey program. Frankly, its not something that I think should be done. Not that I oppose the broad agenda of the program  to the contrary.

But the serious weaknesses of the Jacksonville Journey model of anti-violence programming have already revealed themselves once again: Abrupt leadership turnover driven by local elections and funding aspirations far too limited to have any lasting impact, as well as behind-the-scenes and non-data-driven posturing for public funding.

The Jacksonville Journey was supposed to be a minimum down payment for a vital piece of civic infrastructure in which Duval County has repeatedly failed to invest  a permanently funded, independent, dedicated source of revenue used to improve the lives of local children and families.

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Consider the Miami-Dade Childrens Trust. This type of independent resource is the only way that Duval will finally develop a long-term strategic plan for reducing violence that is data-driven and separated from political machinations.

The establishment of the Miami-Dade Childrens Trust featured a lot of political back and forth (along with donor-class resistance), but also fierce ground-up community advocacy and coalition building that was ultimately successful. Going back to Mayor Ed Austin, however, Duval has repeatedly tried  and failed  to secure a permanent funding source for this sort of public resource.

Why? The rhetoric of consolidation has, for too long, propped up an economies of scale mythology for local government that benefitted few at the cost of many. Translation? For decades, government on the cheap has generated compounding problems and deferred costs to later generations of taxpayers.

This is precisely where Jacksonville finds itself today, in literally every sphere of local government.

But the needs of both children and this community are also different today than in 2009. For example, social media figures directly into local violence and complicates the lives of young people in ways not operative then. Mayoral administrations of both parties have long responded to our violence problem with messaging strategies built around the chimera of local programs built in their own image.

In this 2010 photo, Travis Higgs carries materials out of a commercial building on Swan Street in the area now known as Jacksonville's Railyard District before commencing the building's demolition for a Jacksonville Journey project.

In 2009 the violence problem was so acute, however, that leadership lost control of the message and the community pushed back. I served on the Jacksonville Journey oversight committee as an appointee of Mayor John Peyton and independently evaluated several Jacksonville Journey projects.

The Journey program had two short-term strengths: First, then-State Attorney Harry Shorstein showed up describing what he called a tale of two cities, documenting how violence was concentrated on Duvals Northside and raising concerns about racial disparities in violence.

The second strength was the insistence of Susie Wiles (Mayor Peytons chief of staff) that were not just going to throw money at this problem. All funding will be performance-based and failing programs will be cut. And it was; a system of quarterly reporting and external oversight assured programs were held to account.

Underperforming programs were cut, and results were genuinely achieved. Then, Mayor Alvin Brown inexplicably eliminated the program.

Today, I want to see something more substantial: a local referendum to permanently fund civic infrastructure for children. A city is not just its downtown. For too long brick-and-mortar have dominated Duvals civic agenda  not human beings. Today is a different moment; if it doesnt happen now, it will never happen.

Michael Hallett, Ph.D., is a professor of criminology at the University of North Florida.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Independent revenue source only way Duval can effectively reduce crime
J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate. He was raised in Middletown and wrote the bestselling book "Hillbilly Elegy."

We all remember the harrowing image of a mushroom cloud over East Palestine.

An explosive train derailment destroyed a small Ohio town and captured the nations attention.

It is difficult to fathom how a singular event could upend the daily lives of thousands of our fellow Americans. Hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals polluted the ground they walked, the water they drank, and the air they breathed. The disaster created new uncertainties for everyone nearby. Do I have to find a new home? Is my small business going to survive? Will I suffer long-term health effects?

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Our View: Still 'very angry' and 'sick.' Norfolk Southern must do right by East Palestine

Residents have asked me: when the cameras and reporters disappear, will the country forget about what happened to our home? Will our political leaders forget about us and our families?

I visited East Palestine again yesterday. Just over six months have now passed since the disaster.

By all accounts, our country and our political class have forgotten.

Pleas of Ohioans ignored

Sometimes leadership is as simple as showing up. When a disaster decimates an American community, the commander-in-chief should be expected to assure the suffering, in person, that the entire nation is behind them.

One hundred and sixty-six days ago, Joe Biden promised he would visit East Palestine. He has failed to keep that promise.

Not only has Joe Biden refused to visit East Palestine, but he has also refused to grant critical assistance to the recovery effort.

Weeks ago, Gov. Mike DeWine requested a Major Disaster Declaration from the president.

The Biden administration has ignored Ohios pleas for help. This is inexcusable: a disaster declaration would guarantee the delivery of resources the community needs to save itself.

Cleanup efforts overseen by Joe Bidens environmental protection officials have also been woefully inadequate.

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Six months after the disaster, the removal of contaminants remains an ongoing project: thousands of tons of chemical soil remain in East Palestine.

I condemned the unacceptable pace of the cleanup months ago, and Im growing angrier by the day as improvements are not made. No one can expect the people of East Palestine to return to normal until the hazardous waste in their backyard is gone for good.

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The public health response has been no better.

Meaningful health monitoring needed

Sen. JD Vance expresses his frustration about the train derailment in February 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio.

Despite the federal governments vast resources, it appears to be woefully incapable of monitoring the long-term health impacts of a chemical spill.

Many residents of East Palestine have told me that the new health clinic in town, stood up to respond to their derailment-related health concerns, has failed to do anything of the sort. What residents want  and deserve  is meaningful health monitoring. If their health is normal, they deserve that peace of mind. If, God forbid, they feel sick, they deserve a diagnosis so they can receive the treatment they need.

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I have submitted detailed requests to Joe Bidens Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health requesting the implementation of health monitoring programs for the residents of East Palestine.

I have been shocked by the federal governments inability to satisfy my requests, and I will continue to demand action.

Toxic chemicals are still just sitting in piles in East Palestine. President Biden: show some leadership and help these Americans clean up their community. pic.twitter.com/5wabioTSLI  J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) March 13, 2023

In Congress, I have spent months working to advance meaningful railway safety legislation to prevent what happened in East Palestine from happening again.

We have made significant progress, and I was glad to hear the Senate majority leader put this bill at the top of the docket for when the Senate returns from August recess.

Railroad companies must be held to higher standards

As cleanup continues on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, a train rolls past the site of the East Palestine, Ohio Norfolk Southern train derailment that released hazardous chemicals into the town's ground and water. Norfolk Southern said that 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water excavated from the derailment site will be transported to landfills and disposal facilities designed "to accept it safely in accordance with state and federal regulations."

However, too many colleagues in my party have continued to defend the railroad industry from reasonable, widely supported safety improvements that would have prevented this disaster in the first place.

I have been a Republican for my entire life, and I am under no delusions about my partys traditional antipathy to regulation. However, we cannot allow railroad companies to continue under the same status quo that led to disaster in my state. We must hold them to higher standards of safety.

The responsibility for preventing the next derailment disaster falls upon me and my colleagues in Congress as well as federal regulators, not to mention the railroad industry itself.

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While railway safety legislation advances in the Capitol, the Biden administration and Norfolk Southern must double their efforts to remediate the impacts of the East Palestine derailment.

President Biden may have forgotten East Palestines tragedy, but its citizens will never forget his administrations failed leadership. Its past time for the president to right his wrongs and deliver the relief East Palestine needs.

Ill never stop fighting for East Palestine. There is much work to be done.

J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate. He was raised in Middletown and wrote the bestselling book "Hillbilly Elegy."

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Biden's lack of response to Ohio train derailment is inexcusable.
The M/V Chelan at the Friday Harbor ferry terminal on San Juan Island on May 2. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)
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Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin posted his first video address since leading a short-lived mutiny in late June, appearing in a clip -- possibly shot in Africa -- on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group on Monday.

Prigozhin is seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands. In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

Reuters was not able to geolocate or verify the date of the video, but Prigozhin's comments and some posts in the pro-Wagner channels suggested it was filmed in Africa.

"The temperature is +50 -- everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa -- more free. Justice and happiness -- for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS and al-Qaida and other bandits," Prigozhin says in a video.
Korea's imports of coffee are expected to decline this year for the first time since 2018 as prices soar.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Monday, the country's coffee imports during the first seven months of this year declined 3.9 percent compared to the same period of 2022 to 108,752 tons. That includes roasted coffee beans, green coffee beans, capsules and instant coffee. In money terms imports fell 9.5 percent to US$646.73 million.
"This is the first fall semester where we have fall weather because of the wonderful storm but that's a little silly," joked Ashley Herrington, Arizona Western College's chief of staff. "But then also, we really love when the fall semester kicks off because that's when our students are not just on campus because they're looking for some help, but they're on campus to start their journey.

"The beginning of the fall semester is really when you feel the most energy, second to commencement, of our students knowing that this is their time. This is when their hard work starts to pay off 'cause they're taking college classes. They are here, they've chosen to prioritize, they've chosen to sometimes sacrifice because they know this is what they need to do for their future."

Aside from the regular demand of meetings and the general duties of Herrington's work, she could easily be found throughout campus offering to help students looking for their classes or needing help with resources.

One such student came in speaking only Spanish, sharing that "this is my first class, this is my first time starting school and I'm nervous."

Herrington was happy to reassure her in Spanish that "you're in the right spot, you belong here. The first day is the start of something brand new."

That kind of personal attention is something Herrington and her peers take pride in offering AWC students, especially now when the college is in "a really unique time of its history."

"We are celebrating our 60th year serving Yuma and La Paz Counties this year," she said. "We are opening three brand new facilities at the Yuma Campus this fall and spring. We are together celebrating with our university partners some of their largest classes between NAU, U of A and ASU."

AWC President Dr. Daniel P. Corr concluded that this year is a magical one.

"There is magic happening at AWC," he said. "Our enrollment is up, and you can feel the excitement for the first day of classes. Our campuses are buzzing and were ready for another great semester!

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(Video) La o cafea cu Politia la Platoul Cornesti

Sambata, la o ceasca de cafea sau ceai, politistii mureseni s-au bucurat de prezenta unui public tanar si numeros, impreuna cu care au fost lamurite toate curiozitatile din jurul subiectului admiterii in scolile de politie, dar si a profesiei de politist. View this post on Instagram A post shared [citeste mai departe]
But Principal Na Young-ho admitted, "We've fallen short of our new student recruitment targets in the North Gyeongsang region recently." The province is one of the regions hit hardest by the population drain.

Administrators at the private high school, which recruits 40 percent of its students from the province and the rest from all over the country, began discussions last year on inviting foreign students. Although the school does not face an immediate shortage of new students, it took action as Korea suffers from a low birthrate.

The high school said Monday that it will select 16 foreign students (eight from China, seven from Vietnam and one from Cambodia) for the new semester starting next March. They will account for around seven percent of the school's total student body of 240.

The school plans to offer scholarships to foreign students and help them gain admission to universities in Korea so they can settle in the country permanently. Students from China, which is more affluent, will pay full tuition, but those from Vietnam and Cambodia will be given full scholarships including dormitory fees.

It costs around W15 million to educate one student for a year, including food and Korean-language lessons, and the school's foundation will foot the bill (US$1=W1,343). The foreign students will attend intensive Korean lessons in their first semester to help them adapt. They will be sent to host families in Korea during vacation where they can learn the language and culture.

Kim Sang-geun of the school foundation said, "Foreign students who come to our country to study in high school will be able to absorb the language and culture quickly, which will facilitate their chances of settling down here."

The regional Office of Education forged ties last month with Thailand's Ministry of Education and Hanoi Department of Education and Training in Vietnam to recruit foreign students to study at vocational high schools in the province. Currently eight vocational high schools in the province are selecting 56 foreign students who will receive full scholarships.

The Busan Office of Education wants to establish a K-pop high school by 2028 and fill some of its student body with foreigners, while South Jeolla Province Office of Education is thinking of opening a vocational high school exclusively for foreigners.
MP Simonis: Local and parliamentary election merger, unconstitutional MP Simonis: Local and parliamentary election merger, unconstitutional The interim Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat MP Alfred Simonis, said Tuesday in Timisoara that a merger of local and parliamentary elections is unconstitutional and can only be applied in a state of emergency, told Agerpres. Simonis stressed that Romania has other priorities at this time. "It is complicated to understand what a simplification of the electoral year means. The most simplified situation would be not to have elections, it would also be more economical, but it is crazy. In a democracy, Citeste articolul mai departe pe stiripesurse.ro

Sursa articol si foto: stiripesurse.ro

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- Presedintele Camerei Deputatilor, Alfred Simonis (PSD), a explicat ca o comasare a alegerilor locale cu cele parlamentare este neconstitutionala, iar cele europarlamentare nu permit comasarea cu niciun alt tip de scrutin. Intrebat, marti, la Timisoara, daca PSD sustine o simplificare a anului electoral,
TransMin Grindeanu: I fully support turnover taxation on multinationals TransMin Grindeanu: I fully support turnover taxation on multinationals Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said on Tuesday in Timisoara that he cannot afford living through a time when European funds are suspended, as all major transport projects in Romania are supported by them, and that he support taxing multinationals according to turnovers and even the imposition of a tax on banks' profits, told Agerpres. "At this moment, you have to make certain decisions, because if we continue the same way, we overshoot the deficit target, which would mean that we have European funds suspended Citeste articolul mai departe pe stiripesurse.ro

Sursa articol si foto: stiripesurse.ro

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- The President of the Senate, Nicolae Ciuca, highlighted, on Tuesday, in Prague, during the second Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea International Platform, that Romania has supported and will continue to support Ukraine, whose peace was violated by Russia."Since the first day of the Russian invasion,

- Border police officers from the Cenad Border Crossing Point detected, on Tuesday, two persons against whom European arrest warrants had been issued by the Romanian and German authorities. At the Cenad Border Crossing Point, a 39-year-old Romanian citizen presented himself at the exit from Romania.

- Dezinformarea (fake-news) este considerata una dintre cele mai mari provocari ale Uniunii Europene la aceasta ora, in contextul razboiului din Ucraina. Aceasta este una dintre concluziile la care au ajuns membrii Comisiei CIVEX a comitetului European al Regiunilor, reuniti la Timisoara.

- Universitatea de Vest din Timisoara se afla in ierarhia universitara QS Europe University Rankings, editia 2024, care este prima ce vizeaza intreg continentul european. Aceasta pozitionare confirma prezenta UVT in randul celor mai prestigioase universitati din Romania si de la nivel european, prin clasificarea

- The absorption of European funds is currently 84 pct and will reach 88 pct at the end of September, minister of Investments and European Projects Adrian Caciu said on Tuesday at hearings in the Committee on European Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies."Once again, the objective that we have set by

- Iohannis: Three Seas Initiatie will enlarge with Greece, Ukraine and MoldovaPresident Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that at the summit of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) scheduled for September 6 in Bucharest, thought will be given to expanding the platform to include Greece as a participating state

- In momentul dezastrului de la Crevedia, in tara noastra, din cele aproximativ 30 de paturi pentru pacientii mari arsi, erau libere doar sase locuri: cinci la Bucuresti si unul la Timisoara, a precizat ministrul Rafila. Potrivit ministrului Sanatatii, suntem in acesta situatie, deoarece proiectele de

- MP Simonis: Local and parliamentary election merger, unconstitutionalThe interim Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat MP Alfred Simonis, said Tuesday in Timisoara that a merger of local and parliamentary elections is unconstitutional and can only be applied in a state of emergency,
A graffiti artist who scrawled Shoot Orban! in protest against the Hungarian PM is currently in hiding after police discovered his handiwork at a prominent spot in downtown Budapest.

Police officers sealed off the site, on the Pest embankment near Vigado ter, a busy hub for the number 2 tram and sightseeing boats up the Danube. A HVG readers shared a photo with the news outlet depicting police officers investigating the crime scene.



Of note, one of the three Hungarian words was grammatically incorrect (the perpetrator should have used only one j instead of two) - so some say maybe it was a foreigner?



The graffiti has been removed by authorities given they are said to act quickly in cases of 'graffiti or inscriptions with extreme political content'.



Original source: hvg.hu/itthon



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
President Katalin Novak met the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in her office.

Novak said on Facebook after the meeting that they had discussed further possibilities of cooperation between Hungary and Qatar.



I thank the Emir for his invitation, we will meet again in Qatar in the near future, she added.



Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Orban accompanied the emir on a visit to Parliament on Monday.







Orban showed the Qatari emir around Kossuth Square and walked with him up the grand staircase of Parliament to the Dome Hall, and they viewed the Holy Crown and coronation insignia.



The prime minister bade farewell to the emir at the end of his official visit to Hungary.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has launched the much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) giving a significant boost to road safety campaign in India. This programme is a significant step forward to improve road safety through raising the safety standards of motor vehicles falling in the M1 category. Based on the performance of the car in the tests, the vehicle will be awarded star ratings on a scale of 0-5, for adult occupants (AOP) and child occupants (COP).

Potential car customers can refer to these star ratings to compare the safety standards of different vehicles and accordingly make their purchase decision. Also, this is for the first time India will get its own independent crash test programme, where the government will test newly launched cars on various parameters to assess their road worthiness. It is expected that the demand for safer cars will increase, and with high safety standards, Indian cars will be able to compete better in the global market, increasing the export potential of the car manufacturers in India.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister, while launching the Bharat NCAP, said "Today is a very important day in the history of Indian automobile industry but even also it is important for the society. I really appreciate the way in which the Indian automobile industry cooperates and because of their cooperation today it is a time for all of us that we are launching the Bharat NCAP programme."

"It was a mission of the government. Cost of testing from abroad is Rs 2.5 crore and in India under the Bharat NCAP it is Rs 60 lakhs. And with global standards your market is going to increase. I am really happy that it is helpful for the consumers. By the star rating people can understand the quality of the product and now we are going to create awareness in the mind of the people."

What is Bharat NCAP?

The Bharat NCAP programme or Bharat New Car Assessment Programme is India's first crash test programme where car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. The programme is expected to develop a safety sensitive car market in India. The Bharat NCAP will join a family of NCAP across the globe to enhance road safety standards in the country.

Currently, Indian cars are tested by Global NCAP and they have tested more than 50 vehicles from carmakers like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Kia among others. The Bharat NCAP joins the programmes like ASEAN NCAP from Asia, Euro NCAP from Europe, Latin NCAP from South America and NHTSA Test in the United States, apart from Global NCAP, that performs test on cars from countries where NCAP is not launched, including India and Africa.

Driving Towards Safety: BHARAT NCAP Revolutionizes Vehicle Standards in India.#BharatNCAP pic.twitter.com/Y2zA9E3Hni  Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) August 22, 2023

Salient Features Of Bharat NCAP

1) The Bharat NCAP will be applicable from October 1, 2023

2) It is a voluntary test and hence not mandatory for any automaker to send their vehicles for testing

3) The cars will be tested as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197

4) The test is limited to M1 class of vehicles, which means only the cars with 8 passengers + 1 driver and under 3.5 tonne weight category

Bharat NCAP: Ratings Explained

Bharat NCAP is a valuntary crash test programme in which cars are rated basis Adult Occupants (AOP), Child Occupant (COP) and Fitment of Safety Assist Technologies. A safety rating in stars is ascertained, and potential car customers can refer to these star ratings to compare the safety standards of different vehicles and accordingly make their purchase-decision. The Bharat NCAP star rating are assigned through an array of rigorous crash tests, including frontal, side, and pole-side impact assessments.

Case in point, in the frontal crash test, the car is crashed at a velocity of 64 kmph, while the side crash is done at 50 kmph and pole-side tests at 29 kmph. The impact of crash is recorded on sensor-based crash test dummies inside the vehicle and ratings are given on adult safety for front passengers and child safety for rear occupants. A point bsed system is determined which translates to star system, with 5-star rating being the highest safety standard.

Importance of Bharat NCAP

India is one of the worst countries when it comes to road fatalities across the globe. More than 1.3 million lives are lost annually as a result of traffic-related accidents in India. Notably, Indias contribution to these road traffic deaths stands at 11 percent. The Bharat NCAP will serve as an example of consumer empowerment, allowing car buyers in India to make informed decisions based on the star ratings assigned to vehicles.

It is expected that the demand for safer cars will increase, encouraging the car manufacturers to comply with customer needs. With high safety standards, not only will India reduce road fatalities, which impacts the GDP, the Indian cars will be able to compete better in the global market, increasing the export potential of the car manufacturers in India.

Global NCAP vs Bharat NCAP

Till date, the cars sold in India were tested by Global NCAP, a South Africa based non profit body under their SaferCarsForIndia campaign. Launched in 2014, the programme tested more than 50 cars and Indian brands like Tata Motors and Mahindra excelled in the crash test ratings, with lots of their cars receiving 4 and 5-star rating, helping in sales. With Bharat NCAP, road safety standards in India are expected to change and Global NCAP has helped Indian authorities formulate the Bharat NCAP based on their decade old experience of testing Indian vehicles.

Auto Industry Reacts

Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO & Managing Director, Renault India Operations says: "I applaud the Government of India for this visionary and historic initiative; Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is a truly landmark event in the automotive industry. This significant stride aligns seamlessly with our core mission of the "Human First Program" initiative, propelling us further on our journey to prioritize the safety and well-being of drivers, passengers and pedestrians."

Unsoo Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Limited said, We welcome the BNCAP safety initiative by Govt. of India and believe this effort will raise safety standards, empower consumers with vital information, and make Indian roads safer for all. At Hyundai Motor India, we remain committed to delivering the highest safety standards across our entire product range.

Myung-Sik Sohn, Chief Sales and Business Officer, Kia India said "BNCAP is an enhanced road safety movement that extends much beyond just safety ratings for cars. We wholeheartedly commend and will comply with the Government of India for its visionary approach to safety, encompassing both active and passive safety components. Aligned with the Atmanirbhar Vision of the Government of India, this move eliminates the need and associated costs of testing vehicles outside. It will also elevate the global reputation of products from India to the world with good ratings in a big way.

Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA, who was part of the BNCAP launch event commented, The launch of BNCAP protocol is indeed historic. It will lead to the integration of advanced safety features in vehicles thus minimising the risk of road accidents and fatalities. This initiative will not only bolster the auto component industrys value chain but will also stimulate the production of cutting-edge components, encourage innovation, and create global excellence."

Rajeev Singh, Partner & Consumer Industry Leader, Deloitte, Asia Pacific, said We welcome the announcement of Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat NCAP) today and believe that this is a big step forward in terms empowering our customers to make conscious decision, make it easier for OEMs to test vehicles faster & at lower cost, help design vehicles which are safer and eventually improve road safety. We are already the third largest PV market going by the trend in first half of this year and hence having our own norms and test facilities for safety of vehicles is very timely and win-win for all.
On May 29, the North also informed only Japan of the plan to launch a satellite and two days later launched a military spy satellite, but the rocket crashed into international waters.

Japan's Coast Guard on Tuesday said North Korea informed it of the plan. Yet if it fails again, the satellite could fall into either the West Sea southwest of North Korea or the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all outside of the Japanese exclusive economic zone.

North Korea has announced it will try to launch a spy satellite again between Aug. 24 and 31 after its earlier failure in May.

Earlier, North Korean state media claimed that leader Kim Jong-un watched the Navy test-fire a "strategic cruise missile," but none showed up on the radar here in recent days.

State media said on Monday Kim inspected a cruise missile test aboard a warship. They did not specify when the launch happened, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff here believe that it must have been between Aug. 14 and 18, when Kim was visiting a flood-heat area in nearby Anbyon, Kangwon Province.

The report came the same day South Korea and the U.S. launched massive Ulchi Freedom Shield military drills.

It claimed that the missile "rapidly hit a target without even an error." The ship's "regular posture for mobilization and offensive ability were verified."

But in a text message to reporters, the JCS dismissed the report, calling it "exaggerated and different from the facts in many aspects."

According to the JCS, the missile was not a strategic cruise missile as the North claims, but merely a ship-to-ship missile which "has a short range and is not a great threat."

It also failed to hit the target, the JCS said. Pictures provided by the state media show only the launch but not the impact, whereas the regime is not normally shy to publicize its successes in some detail.
New Delhi: The space race India aims to win this week by landing first on the moon's south pole is about science, the politics of national prestige and a new frontier: money.

India's Chandrayaan-3 is heading for a landing on the lunar south pole on Wednesday. If it succeeds, analysts and executives expect an immediate boost for the South Asian nation's nascent space industry.

Russia's Luna-25, which launched less than two weeks ago, had been on track to get there first  before the lander crashed from orbit, possibly taking with it the funding for a successor mission, analysts say.

The seemingly sudden competition to get to a previously unexplored region of the moon recalls the space race of the 1960s, when the United States and the Soviet Union competed.

But now space is a business, and the moon's south pole is a prize because of the water ice there that planners expect could support a future lunar colony, mining operations and eventual missions to Mars.

With a push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has privatised space launches and is looking to open the sector to foreign investment as it targets a five-fold increase in its share of the global launch market within the next decade.

If Chandrayaan-3 succeeds, analysts expect India's space sector to capitalise on a reputation for cost-competitive engineering. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had a budget of around just $74 million for the mission.

NASA, by comparison, is on track to spend roughly $93 billion on its Artemis moon programme through 2025, the U.S. space agency's inspector general has estimated.

"The moment this mission is successful, it raises the profile of everyone associated with it," said Ajey Lele, a consultant at New Delhi's Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

"When the world looks at a mission like this, they aren't looking at ISRO in isolation."

RUSSIA'S CRUNCH

Despite Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine and increasing isolation, Russia managed to launch a moonshot. But some experts doubt its ability to fund a successor to Luna-25. Russia has not disclosed what it spent on the mission.

"Expenses for space exploration are systematically reduced from year to year," said Vadim Lukashevich, an independent space expert and author based in Moscow.

Russia's budget prioritisation of the war in Ukraine makes a repeat of Luna-25 "extremely unlikely", he added.

Russia had been considering a role in NASAs Artemis programme until 2021, when it said it would partner instead on China's moon programme. Few details of that effort have been disclosed.

China made the first ever soft landing on the far side of the moon in 2019 and has more missions planned. Space research firm Euroconsult estimates China spent $12 billion on its space programme in 2022.

NASA'S PLAYBOOK

But by opening to private money, NASA has provided the playbook India is following, officials there have said.

Elon Musks SpaceX, for example, is developing the Starship rocket for its satellite launch business as well as to ferry NASA astronauts to the moons surface under a $3-billion contract.

Beyond that contract, SpaceX will spend roughly $2 billion on Starship this year, Musk has said.

U.S. space firms Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines (LUNR.O) are building lunar landers that are expected to launch to the moon's south pole by year's end, or in 2024.

And companies such as Axiom Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are developing privately funded successors to the International Space Station. On Monday, Axiom said it raised $350 million from Saudi and South Korean investors.

Space remains risky. Indias last attempt to land failed in 2019, the same year an Israeli startup failed at what would have been the first privately funded moon landing. Japanese startup ispace (9348.T) had a failed landing attempt this year.

"Landing on the moon is hard, as were seeing, said Bethany Ehlmann, a professor at California Institute of Technology, who is working with NASA on a 2024 mission to map the lunar south pole and its water ice.

"For the past few years, the moon seems to be eating spacecraft."
Meet Sushil Singh, a college dropout from Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh, who is today a millionaire technopreneur behind three successful ventures and a non-profit organisation. Sushil Singh is a living inspiration to anyone who has ever doubted their ability to succeed. He is a college dropout who has built three successful businesses and a non-profit organization. His story is a testament to the power of hard work, determination, and never giving up on your dreams.

Sushil Singh's Inspiring Journey

Sushil Singhs is literally a rags to riches story. Sushil was born in a small village in Uttar Pradesh, India. Sushil's family was poor, but they instilled in him the importance of education. His father was a security guard and mother was a housewife their family used to live in a chawl in Mumbai. After dropping out from college, he got a job to sustain himself. He learnt the basics of business through practical knowledge and used to spend most of his free time studying books on Business Management, psychology, world history, politics and more.Sushil studied hard in school and eventually got a scholarship to attend Allahabad University.

College Dropout To Millionaire CEO

Sushil enjoyed his studies at Allahabad University, but he soon realized that he wanted to start his own business. He dropped out of college in his second year and started working as a telecaller. He quickly learned the ropes of the business world and eventually started his own customer service BPO company, SSR Techvision. SSR Techvision was a success, and Sushil soon expanded his business to include an international B2C fast fashion e-commerce platform, Deebaco, and a global IT consulting firm, Saiva System. Today, Sushil is a millionaire and a successful entrepreneur. He is also a philanthropist who donates money to help underprivileged children get an education. Sushil Singh's story is an inspiration to us all. It shows us that it is possible to achieve our dreams, no matter where we come from. If Sushil Singh can do it, so can we.

Here are some of the key lessons we can learn from Sushil Singh's story:

- Never give up on your dreams. Sushil Singh faced many challenges in his journey to success, but he never gave up on his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

Hard work pays off. Sushil Singh worked hard to build his businesses. He put in long hours and never took shortcuts.

- Be willing to take risks. Sushil Singh was willing to take risks when he started his own businesses. He knew that there was no guarantee of success, but he was willing to bet on himself.

- Be passionate about what you do. Sushil Singh is passionate about business. He loves the challenge of starting and running his own businesses.

- Give back to others. Sushil Singh is a philanthropist who donates money to help underprivileged children get an education. He believes that everyone deserves a chance to succeed.

Sushil Singh is an inspiration to us all. He is a living proof that anything is possible if we set our minds to it. So never give up on your dreams, work hard, be willing to take risks, be passionate about what you do, and give back to others.
NEW DELHI: Anil Manibhai Naik, the esteemed chairman of the renowned construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), stands as a testament to an extraordinary professional life marked by dedication, resilience, and transformation. With a remarkable career spanning six decades within the conglomerate, Naik's success story reveals an unwavering commitment to self-improvement and innovation.

From Humble Beginnings To Corporate Titan

Born on June 9th, 1942, in Gujarat, Naik's roots trace back to his father, Manibhai Nichhabhai Naik, a freedom fighter who relinquished his role as a Mumbai school teacher to uplift rural India. Naik's journey of transformation began at Gujarat's Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya Engineering College, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Leadership In Action: Shaping L&T's Destiny

Naik's foray into L&T started in 1965 when he joined as an assistant engineer, earning a modest salary of Rs 760. His drive and diligence propelled him forward, and within six months, he secured promotion to a supervisory position. Remarkably, within just 18 months of joining the company, Naik found himself overseeing a team of 800 individuals, a feat achieved before his 25th birthday.

However, Naik's entry into L&T wasn't without its challenges. Initially rejected due to the company's preference for hiring IITians, he joined Nester Boilers. Yet, the determination to secure a role at L&T persisted, leading him to eventually succeed and embark on a transformative journey.

Over the years, Naik's leadership abilities shone brightly. In 1999, he ascended to the role of CEO, a position he held until his appointment as group chairman in July 2017. His leadership style was characterized by simplicity and dedication, evident in his modest possessionsmerely two pairs of shoes, six shirts, and two suitsas revealed in an interview.

Philanthropy & Social Responsibility

The financial landscape mirrored Naik's impressive career. In the fiscal year 20172018, he received a staggering Rs 137 crore from the company, with his accumulated leaves amounting to over Rs 19 crore. Even more commendably, in 2016, Naik donated 75% of his total income to charitable causes, highlighting his commitment to giving back.

Naik's philanthropic spirit extended beyond financial contributions. His focus on education and healthcare led him to establish schools and hospitals for underprivileged communities, embodying the principles of compassion and social responsibility.

The pinnacle of Naik's philanthropic endeavours emerged when he emerged as one of India's top 10 donors in 2022, with a generous contribution of Rs 142 crore. Notably, his personal investments included holdings in nine stocks, amassing a net worth exceeding Rs 171.3 crore, according to corporate shareholding filings as of March 31, 2023.

Financial Triumphs And Legacy

Beyond his financial achievements, Naik's legacy lay in his strategic prowess. In the 1980s and early 2000s, his visionary tactics protected L&T from potential takeover bids. Additionally, Naik's profound influence extended beyond the business realm, earning him reverence from both industry peers and political leaders alike.

Gearing Up For The Next Chapter

Today, at 81 years of age, Anil Manibhai Naik is embracing a new chapter as a mentor to the next generation of leaders within L&T. While he steps away from active leadership, his role as an advisor remains pivotal, with a particular focus on nurturing future leaders.

The Power Of Simplicity And Service

Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and dark grey trousers, Naik exemplifies a life defined by simplicity and service. From his village roots to the corporate sphere, his journey is a testament to the power of resilience, self-improvement, and dedication to creating value for employees and stakeholders alike. Anil Manibhai Naik's transformative journey continues to inspire, standing as a beacon of hope for those striving for excellence in both their professional and philanthropic pursuits.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a four-day visit to South Africa and Greece. In South Africa, PM Modi will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modi said that BRICS has been actively engaged in fostering a robust collaboration agenda across diverse sectors, and serves as a platform to deliberate upon issues of significance for the entire Global South.

PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg". "BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement.

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism"

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The PM further said: During my stay in Johannesburg, I will also participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th BRICS Summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme Brics  Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue.

This is being organised after the BRICS Summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa. From South Africa, the PM will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, the PM said, according to the release.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, the PM said on the civilizational ties between India and Greece.

I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, he said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived in South Africa on an official visit and was accorded a 'special welcome'. He was received by South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Johannesburg, where he was also given a ceremonial guard of honour.

A large number of Indian community members, including activists of the Pretoria Hindu Seva Samaj and the local chapter of the BAPS Swaminarayan organisation, greeted the prime minister, following which he left for Sandton Sun Hotel, the venue of the key BRICS Summit. At the hotel, PM Modi met local and expatriate Indian community members, who were carrying national flags and musical instruments, and welcomed him with chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.

Two women diaspora members also tied 'rakhi' around the wrist of the prime minister ahead of Raksha Bandhan, which is falling on August 30.

"Gratitude to South Africas Indian community for the special welcome in Johannesburg," he said in a tweet and posted some pictures.

Gratitude to South Africas Indian community for the special welcome in Johannesburg. pic.twitter.com/zSQmMrubWE  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2023

He also shared a video showing 'special moments' from the welcome at the airport in Johannesburg.

Special moments from the welcome at the airport in Johannesburg. pic.twitter.com/7PNWwbybDX  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2023

PM Modi also viewed a model of the huge Swaminarayan Mandir which is expected to be completed next year.

PM Modi to attend BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Modi is in South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit with other world leaders. He is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.

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.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.
Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing Watch Free Live Telecast On Mobile, Streaming At isro.gov.in- Check Direct Link And Other Important Details Here. Chandrayaan 3 is set to make a landing on the moon today, Wednesday, August 23. Chandrayaan 3 landing is slated to take place at about 6.04 pm IST on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. Chandrayaan-3 landing can be watched live on the official ISRO website, its official YouTube channel, ISROs Facebook page and DD National from 5:27 pm onwards on August 23. You can also tune into Zeenews for the live broadcast. Space enthusiasts can also check out ZeeNewsEnglish live blog for the latest updates.

ISRO Chandrayaan 3 LIVE TELECAST Link: https://www.isro.gov.in/

ISRO Chandrayaan 3 Youtube LIVE TELECAST Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLA_64yz8Ss

Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing: Important Details

- Date: August 23, 2023

- Time: 6:04 PM IST

- Location: Southern polar region of the Moon

- Live stream: ISRO website, YouTube channel, Facebook page

Where To Watch Chandrayaan 3 Landing LIVE Online?

Chandrayaan 3 Moon landing LIVE telecast will also take place on ISRO's official Youtube channel and ZEE News Youtube channel. You can also watch Moon landing of Chandrayaan 3 ISROs Facebook page. How to watch Chandrayaan 3 landing on TV?

How And Where To Watch Chandrayaan 3 Landing On TV?

Chandrayaan 3 Moon landing will be LIVE telecast one various news channels. Chandrayaan 3 landing date and time has been announced by ISRO. According to ISRO, the lander is expected to set its foot near the South Pole of the moon on August 23, 2023 at around 6.04 p.m. The primary communication channel will be the Mission Operations Complex at ISRO Telemetry. Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru to Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module which in turn would talk to the lander and the rover. Chandrayaan 3 landing LIVE telecast will start from official ISRO channel at 5.45 pm.

Chandrayaan 3 Mission Updates

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft consists of a lunar orbiter, a lander, and a rover. The orbiter will remain in orbit around the Moon, while the lander will touch down on the surface and deploy the rover. The rover will then explore the lunar surface for up to 1 lunar day (about 14 Earth days). Chandrayaan-3 mission is a major milestone for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It will be India's first soft landing on the Moon since the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019. Chandrayaan-2 mission was aborted after the lander Vikram lost contact with the ground station during its descent to the Moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is also significant because it will be the first mission to land in the southern polar region of the Moon. This region is thought to be rich in water ice, which could be a valuable resource for future human exploration of the Moon.
Ahmedabad: Qamar Mohsin Sheikh, who is a Pakistan-origin woman and moved to India after her marriage, will visit the national capital to tie a Rakhi to PM Modi. Qamar Mohsin Shaikh, who came to India from Pakistan after her marriage said she has been tying rakhi to PM Modi for over 30 years.

"I wish him a happy Raksha Bandhan. I pray for him every day for his good health and long life. I believe that all my wishes come true. Earlier when I prayed for him to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat and he became. Whenever I tied the Rakhi, I used to express my desire for him to become the Prime Minister. His response was always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. He is doing commendable work for the country," Shaikh said.

Every year Sheikh makes handmade rakhi for PM Modi. Even when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, she used to go and tie rakhi on his wrist. Qamar said she was unable to tie rakhi to PM Modi during the Covid-19 period, however, she had sent it to him by post.

Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana, which typically falls in August. The expression "Raksha Bandhan," Sanskrit, literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care," is now principally applied to this ritual.
New Delhi: Rakhi Sawant's ex-husband Adil Khan Durrani finally broke his silence over the divorce from the actress. Adil organised a press conference and unveiled the hidden truths and controversies of his marriage and divorce with Rakhi Sawant. She had filed an FIR against Adil and accused him of beating her, forcing her to convert to Islam. She even said that he took a lot of money from her and stole jewellery.

Adil mentioned that he had been disowned by his own family and conveyed his intention to unveil the truth about Rakhi Sawant, indicating that there may be untold aspects to their relationship. He said, "Women like Rakhi are dangerous even to talk to. They can do anything. Our Constitution has been protecting women in a way that even if they scream rape, we'd get arrested."

In the press conference, Adil said, "Im a simple businessman from Mysore. After Rakhi returned from London, I found out that she was in contact with Ritesh. I would see him texting and calling her. I overheard Ritesh saying to Rakhi, The 7 days we spent in the UK were wonderful Then Rakhi went to Bigg Boss Marathi."He even claimed that he has much evidence of Rakhi and Ritesh being together after her marriage to Adil. He said that he has videos of the hotel lobby, pictures and many more proofs.

"Her legal documents stated she was single, how could I doubt that? My biggest mistake was trusting Rakhi" he added.

Earlier, Adil was spotted in Mumbai by the paparazzi after long, he said that he will speak out his truth. When they asked him to respond to the allegations by Rakhi, he said, "Mere side ki proper story bolunga. Usne jaise mujhe frame kiya Rakhi ne kiya tha aur uske bohut se kon log the. Bataunga na... aaj kal mein toh conference karunga... crore mujhe dena hei ya mujhe crore aa rahe hein (I will share my proper story. How Rakhi and some of her known people framed me. I will tell everything... I will do a press conference in a few days... how I have to pay the crores or I will be receiving them)."

A few months ago, Rakhi had alleged that Adil has another woman in his life. A part of her statement to the media said, 'Kehte ho na media mein kyun aati ho, baat ghar pe hi rakho. Ghar pe reh ke na mujhe fridge me nahi jana hai.' She later accused him of assault, stealing money and jewelry from her flat without her knowledge, performing unnatural sex and harassment for dowry, among other charges.

Adil was then brought to the Oshiwara police station for questioning and later placed under arrest.

Rakhi Sawant and Adil Khan Durrani got married in July last year.
New Delhi: Hindu organisations have filed a police complaint against actor and activist Prakash Raj in Bagalkot district of Karnataka for his objectionable tweet on Chandrayaan-3. The actor had shared a cartoon post of a man serving tea in his vest and lungi and stated, "Breaking news: first picture coming from the Moon by Vikram Lander. Wow, just asking" he mentioned.

The complaint has been filed with Banahatti police station in Bagalkot district. The Hindu organisations have charged that the post by Prakash Raj was mocking Chandrayaan-3 mission and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The complainants have demanded immediate action on the actor.

Following the post going viral, Prakash was slammed by Hindu organisations and supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people questioned him for mocking the most ambitious space mission of the country and also opined that without reason Prakash is ridiculing PM Modi.

Following the developments, Prakash on Tuesday maintained that, "Attention: dear unacademy trolls and godi media who only know one chaiwala.. proudly presenting.. ever inspiring our own malayali chaiwala since 1960s if you want to be educated please read. He had also given a link to an article titled, Neil Armstrong And the Malayali on the moon".

Prakash had also stated, "Hate sees only hate.. I was referring to a joke from Armstrong times..celebrating our Kerala chaiwala.. which chaiwala did the trolls see?? ..if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you. Grow Up."

Prakash is always known for his anti-BJP and anti-Hindutva stands and his fearless expressions against Hindutva groups and prominent Hindu and BJP leaders.
Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways today launched India's own safety assessment programme called Bharat NCAP. The automobile industry hailed India's first crash testing programme Bharat NCAP, saying it will further elevate vehicle safety standards in the country. The Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) is aimed at improving road safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in M1 category (8+1 occupants). Bharat NCAP will be implemented from October 1, 2023. Under the programme, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their vehicles tested as per the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.

Speaking at the event, David Ward, Executive President, Towards Zero Foundation said In the last decade, the most improved country in vehicle standards in the G20 has, undoubtedly, been India. He mentioned that leaving aside China and Europe, India has showcased a tremendous improvement in terms of vehicle standards, right from improving safety to modernization of vehicles.

Based on the performance of the car in the tests, the vehicle will be awarded star ratings on a scale of 0-5, for adult occupants (AOP) and child occupants (COP). The Bharat NCAP will then give Star Ratings, which can be utilized by the buyers for an informed decision.

Addressing a gathering following the launching of Bharat NCAP, Gadkari said: "Today is a very important day in the history of Indian automobile industry but even also it is important for the society. I really appreciate the way in which the Indian automobile industry cooperates and because of their cooperation today it is a time for all of us that we are launching the Bharat NCAP programme."

He also said that there is a huge demand for higher star rating vehicles. "People are cautious about safety, pollution. People want to use different type of fuel. If anywhere there is a new alternative available then they are ready to use," he said.

"Today we have got a request to test and certify 30 models from several manufacturers. We have received 30 vehicles for the rating under Bharat NCAP and I am happy with the response." Gadkari also highlighted that India is facing two important challenges -- one is road accidents and another is air pollution, and "in some way our Ministry is responsible for that".
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday promised his governments full support for fishing communities during the decades-long process to release treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.

Meeting with fisheries representatives, Kishida promised measures to protect the fishing industrys reputation until the release ends.

Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, reiterated his organizations opposition to the release. He said members of the fishing community have gained some confidence about the safety of the move, but that they still fear damage to their industry, and welcomed the government pledge for support.

Scientific safety and the sense of safety are different, Sakamoto said. Even if its safe, reputational damage occurs.

Kishida later told reporters that Sakamotos response signaled improved understanding and that key Cabinet ministers will meet Tuesday to set a date to start the release. Japans national broadcaster NHK said the government hopes it could begin as early as Thursday.

Sakamoto welcomed the government pledge for its long-term support for the fisheries and sought additional funding as needed. The government has offered funding totaling 80 billion yen ($550 million) for sales promotion and other steps, and for sustainable fishing operations.

The easing of opposition from the fishing industry is key to the release because the government promised in 2015 not to start without understanding from fishing groups, after past accidental and unapproved discharges.

A massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plants cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water. The water is collected, filtered and stored in around 1,000 tanks, which will reach their capacity in early 2024.

Scientists generally agree the environmental impact of treated wastewater would be negligible, but some call for more attention to dozens of low-dose radionuclides that remain in it.

The government announced the release plan in April 2021 and has since faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue.

The government and the plant operator say the water must be removed to make room for the plants decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks. They say all the treated water will be reprocessed until it meets legally releasable levels and then diluted, making it far safer than international standards.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, asked for cooperation from Japan to improve transparency and credibility, and in a final report in July concluded that the plan, if conducted as designed, will cause negligible impact on the environment and human health.

The government has also stepped up outreach efforts to explain the plan to neighboring countries, especially South Korea, to keep the issue from interfering with their relationship.

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As the government of India has launched the Bharat NCAP safety ratings for India, all eyes are now on India's largest automaker Maruti Suzuki. The automaker said it will offer at least three models for testing under the programme in the first lot itself. As per various media reports, the Indo-Japanese automaker will offer Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Maruti Suzuki Brezza and Maruti Suzuzki Grand Vitara for the newly launched Bharat NCAP tests. Maruti Suzuki also hailed India's first crash testing programme Bharat NCAP, saying it will further elevate vehicle safety standards in the country.

"Any car that is launched in India follows the mandatory safety standards set by the government and is therefore safe. For consumers seeking extra safety or manufacturers offering extra safety features the Bharat NCAP (BNCAP) system is an authentic and objective rating system to empower the customer to make an informed choice," Maruti Suzuki India Executive Officer, corporate affairs, Rahul Bharti said in a statement.

As an authentic and objective rating system it will help customers take informed purchase decisions. He further said, "Maruti Suzuki welcomes this initiative of the government and will offer at least three models for BNCAP testing in the first lot itself." Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday launched the Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), which is aimed at improving road safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.

Maruti Suzuki's Questionnable Safety Standards

Maruti Suzuki is the largest carmaker in India with over 40 percent market share. On an average 7 out of top 10 best selling cars on monthly basis belong to Maruti Suzuki, yet safety has never been a trademark of the automaker. Maruti Suzuki is known for making value-for-money and frugal four-wheelers for ages. However, with rising focus on road safety, buyers are swaying away from Maruti Suzuki cars and moving towards cars with better safety features and ratings.

Part reason for this is that Maruti Suzuki doesn't send its cars for testing with Global NCAP, a crash test safety agency testing cars under SaferCarsForIndia campaign. They independently sourced Maruti Suzuki cars like Alto, S-Presso, Swift among others, and all of them, leaving aside the older-gen Vitara Brezza failed to score good stars. A handful of them even scored zero safety stars in the test.

On the other hand, cars from Tata Motors and Mahindra are scoring 4 and 5 stars at the Global NCAP, which has helped them gain a significant market share in India. Maruti Suzuki, on the other hand, has often defended its move of not getting its cars tested by Global NCAP by stating that they adhere all prevelant rules applicable in India.

R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki, previously said that focus should be on reducing the number of accidents rather than the crash safety in itself. Putting NCAP standards into cars in India will have no significant impact on number of accidents at all, he says. Maruti Suzuki draws a lot of flak on social media for its stance on the NCAP safety tests. With Bharat NCAP coming into picture, its likely that Maruti Suzuki will get most of its cars tested and they will do fairly well, as the previous gen Brezza received 4-Star Global NCAP ratings.

About Bharat NCAP

Bharat NCAP will be implemented from October 1, 2023 in India and under the programme, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their vehicles tested as per the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. Based on the performance of the car in the tests, the vehicle will be awarded star ratings on a scale of 0-5, for adult occupants (AOP) and child occupants (COP). At the launch event, Gadkari said the BNCAP mechanism has been prepared in a systematic way keeping all stakeholders' view into account.

Addressing a gathering following the launching of Bharat NCAP, Gadkari said: "Today is a very important day in the history of Indian automobile industry but even also it is important for the society. I really appreciate the way in which the Indian automobile industry cooperates and because of their cooperation today it is a time for all of us that we are launching the Bharat NCAP programme."
There are many underprivileged Persons with Disabilities who want to do big in life but cannot do so due to financial constraints. While there are many government schemes and scholarships available, they now have an added advantage of applying for fully funded scholarships for 200 persons with disabilities (PWD) by edtech company SkillArbitrage. The company has announced the scholarship for its upskilling courses.

These courses will help them find jobs both in the domestic private sector as well as remote freelance opportunities in countries like the US, UK and Canada. Candidates who complete the courses successfully will be co-certified by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Finding a good job has often been a challenge reported by many PWD candidates since many organisations, even today, hesitate to readily hire them based on their talent and skillsets.

"The upskill courses teach the most in-demand skills in the fields of content writing, finance, compliance, startup generalist, strategic HR, artificial intelligence, accounting and bookkeeping, among others. To qualify for the scholarship, candidates must produce a government-issued disability card or certificate of disability. The scholarship will be offered purely on a first-come-first-served basis for 200 learners with disability," said Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, SkillArbitrage.

According to Vibhas Sen, Head of Marketing at SkillArbitrage, who is an IIM Calcutta alum and a paralympian, Many jobseekers with disabilities find remote work more suitable and convenient, but very few programmes exist for them. Even remote learning opportunities are few, that is why we thought of bringing classrooms to the homes of our learners.

Previously, LawSikho, a sister brand of SkillArbitrage, had also rolled out a similar scholarship program for PWD candidates who wanted to build a legal career. SkillArbitrage aims to extend this mission of PWD scholarships in legal courses to encompass a wider array of non-legal courses.
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, the prevalence of Hepatitis A ranged from 2.1 percent to 52.5 percent.

Dr Tejal Ajmera Patel, Head  Medical Services Business and Franchise of Dr. Batra's Healthcare talks to IANS about the prevalence of Hepatitis disease across.

Hepatitis B was discovered in a wide range of people, from 0.87 percent to 21.4 percent of the population. Hepatitis C prevalence ranged from 0.57 percent to 53.7 percent.

Hepatitis A infects the vast majority of children

Hepatitis B virus can be transmitted by blood transfusions or contact with an infected person's blood through cuts, open sores, shared needles and razors, or ear piercing equipment. It can also be passed from parent to child following childbirth.

Over 90 percent of all Hepatitis B cases are classified as acute, whereas 10 percent are classified as chronic. They can progress to cirrhosis [a liver condition caused by chronic cell destruction], liver failure, or liver cancer.

Hepatitis C spreads mainly through direct blood contact, such as blood transfusions and/or contaminated needles. Approximately 25 percent of Hepatitis C cases are classified as acute, while 75 percent are classified as chronic, which can lead to cirrhosis.

According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, most people recover completely from Hepatitis A, E, and non-viral hepatitis, with occasional flare-ups. On the contrary, Hepatitis B, C, and D may persist in the human body and cause chronic, or lifelong, sickness. Even if they appear to be healthy, such people have the potential to infect others.

Recognise Hepatitis

Some of the most common symptoms of hepatitis are mild fever, muscle or joint aches, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, lethargy or fatigue, and jaundice. Itching, rash/hives, enlarged spleen (in alcoholic hepatitis), headache, vertigo [dizziness], and tiredness in toxic hepatitis may also occur. Patients with chronic liver disease may experience vague symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, heaviness, stomach distress, gas, or generalised weakness.

Homeopathy: A safe and effective treatment for Hepatitis

Homoeopathy is effective as both a prophylactic and curative treatment for hepatitis. It has been demonstrated that homoeopathic drugs for hepatitis not only lower the duration of the sickness, but also the possibility of complications. Over 200 years of clinical experience indicate the safe and effective therapeutic effects of homoeopathic treatment for hepatitis.

For a 21-month time frame, two specialised physicians in homoeopathic practise examined hepatitis patients in a clinical study conducted at Hotel-Dieu Hospital, a large French hospital in Lyon, in the treatment of hepatitis. They noticed that 70% of patients benefited and felt better and healthier without any bad side effects.

Chelidonium is one of the most effective liver remedy and can work as liver tonic. Another medicine Lycopodium can be quite beneficial when liver functions are significantly impaired, as well as when emaciation and debility occur.

Adapt healthy lifestyle

Before eating, wash your hands with soap. Consume only freshly prepared foods, preferably a light, bland diet that is low in fat, moderate in protein, and high in fibre and carbs. When the purity of the drinking water is dubious, consume bottled or boiling water. Avoid eating raw fruits and vegetables until they have been fully washed in filtered water. Limit alcohol consumption. Personal items such as shavers, razors, needles, manicure equipment, and so on should not be shared.

Individuals should seek the advice of a healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis, adequate management, and individualised treatment plans.
NOIDA: Even before the controversy surrounding Pakistan national Seema Haider could settle, another woman from Bangladesh has arrived in India with her infant son in search of her Indian husband, who she claims has deserted her, police said. Sonia Akhtar, who is living in Noida for the last eight days, claims that a man from Noida married her and after living with her for three years, and returned to India.

She claims that Saurav Kant Tiwari, a resident of Noida, married her in Bangladesh and together they have a son. Tiwari, the woman claimed, used to work in Bangladesh when the two fell in love and got married as per Muslim rituals. After she conceived, the man who had converted to Islam, left for India promising to return after completing some important work.

When he failed to return, Sonia tried to establish contact with him through his mobile phones but surprisingly found that all the numbers were unreachable. Taking a leaf from the Seema Haider incident, she decided to come to India with the help of a visa. When she reached Noida, the police detained her and kept her in a detention centre in Sector-62.

Later, the women cell of Noida Police Commissionerate tried to mediate between Tiwari and Sonia but to no avail. A determined Sonia says that either her husband should return to Bangladesh with her or she will stay with him in India sending the Noida police in a tizzy.
NEW DELHI: Mutually agreeing that no new posts are constructed in close proximity to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and identifying specific limits of patrolling, were some of the issues discussed in the Major General-level talks held between India and China at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and Chushul, as per media sources. The discussions also included not increasing troops by both countries along the LAC.

Sources said that both the countries have agreed to refrain from violating any airspace by drones, defining 'boundaries' of patrolling, exchanging prior information about each other's patrols, strictly following border protocols and where troops from both sides have been reduced since maintaining the integrity of such buffer zones.

The meeting between India and China took place at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Indian side of the LAC. Since the border standoff started in May 2020, the armies of both countries have disengaged from the northern and southern flanks of the Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hot Springs area, though tensions remain in the Depsang plains and Demchok region.

With respect to Depsang and Demchok, both sides have failed to make any significant progress. The Indian side is looking for a solution to resolve the boundary issues at Depsang Point and CNN Junction. The talks were held to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh, in which India was represented by Major General PK Mishra and Major General Hariharan. The talks were held to resolve the ongoing deadlock in Ladakh's Depsang ground and Demchok area.

Army said that the talks took place in a clear and practical environment.

Both sides held positive, constructive and in-depth discussions on resolution of outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. In line with the guidance provided by the leadership, the Indian and Chinese army exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner. On August 14, 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks were held between the Indian Army and the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). During the talks, the withdrawal of troops in the tense area in eastern Ladakh and reducing the tension were discussed. The Depsang and Demchok areas were discussed by the Indian side.

Significantly, BRICS summit will also take place from Tuesday in South Africa. Defence experts believe that the conversation between the two armies is of special importance in view of the BRICS summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping may meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

There is a standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers at certain places in eastern Ladakh. For the last three years, there is confrontation between the armies of India and China. However, during this time both sides have ensured withdrawal of troops from many areas after extensive diplomatic and military talks. Despite this, tension still persists in Depsang and Demchok.

The Corps Commander-level talks were initiated in 2020 after China's PLA raised tensions in eastern Ladakh after the latter violated agreements at several places and violated the LAC. India has sought de-escalation, which includes withdrawal of all additional troops and equipment in the forward areas of the LAC to its pre-April 2020 position.

However, no inclination has been shown so far from the Chinese side. China wants to consider the current holding position as the new status quo.
New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is attempting to land its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon's south pole, a mission that could advance India's space ambitions and expand knowledge of lunar water ice, potentially one of the moon's most valuable resources.

Here's what's known about the presence of frozen water on the moon - and why space agencies and private companies see it as a key to a moon colony, lunar mining, and potential missions to Mars.

HOW DID SCIENTISTS FIND WATER ON MOON?

As early as the 1960s, before the first Apollo landing, scientists had speculated that water could exist on the moon. Samples the Apollo crews returned for analysis in the late 1960s and early 1970s appeared to be dry.

In 2008, Brown University researchers revisited those lunar samples with new technology and found hydrogen inside tiny beads of volcanic glass. In 2009, a NASA instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-1 probe detected water on the moon's surface.

ALSO READ | Chandrayaan-3: ISRO Announces India's Moon Mission's Landing Date And Time; Check When And Where To Watch Live

In the same year, another NASA probe that hit the south pole found water ice below the moon's surface. An earlier NASA mission, the 1998 Lunar Prospector, had found evidence that the highest concentration of water ice was in the south pole's shadowed craters.

WHY IS WATER ON THE MOON IMPORTANT?

Scientists are interested in pockets of ancient water ice because they could provide a record of lunar volcanoes, material that comets and asteroids delivered to Earth, and the origin of oceans.

If water ice exists in sufficient quantities, it could be a source of drinking water for moon exploration and could help cool equipment.

It could also be broken down to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe, supporting missions to Mars or lunar mining.

.... and

The moon as captured by the

Lander Imager Camera 4

on August 20, 2023.#Chandrayaan_3 #Ch3 pic.twitter.com/yPejjLdOSS  ISRO (@isro) August 22, 2023

The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty prohibits any nation from claiming ownership of the moon. There is no provision that would stop commercial operations.

A U.S.-led effort to establish a set of principles for moon exploration and the use of its resources, the Artemis Accords, has 27 signatories. China and Russia have not signed.

WHAT MAKES MOON'S SOUTH POLE TRICKY?

Attempted landings on the moon have failed before. Russia's Luna-25 craft had been scheduled to land on the south pole this week but spun out of control on approach and crashed on Sunday.

The south pole - far from the equatorial region targeted by previous missions, including the crewed Apollo landings - is full of craters and deep trenches.

ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission is on track for an attempted landing on Wednesday, the space agency has said. A previous Indian mission failed in 2019 to safely land near the area targeted by Chandrayaan-3.

ALSO READ | Chandrayaan-3 Landing To Be Postponed To August 27? ISRO Makes BIG Statement

Both the United States and China have planned missions to the south pole.

INDIA'S CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION

The ISRO has announced that its Chandrayaan-3 mission is poised to achieve a soft landing on the surface of the Moon on August 23.

"This achievement marks a significant step forward for Indian Science, Engineering, Technology, and Industry, symbolising our nation's progress in space exploration," the Indian space agency said in an official statement.

The ISRO said that the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 is a 'monumental moment' that not only fuels curiosity but also sparks a passion for exploration within the minds of our youth.

"It generates a profound sense of pride and unity as we collectively celebrate the prowess of Indian science and technology. It will contribute to fostering an environment of scientific inquiry and innovation," it added.

CHANDRAYAAN-3 LANDING DATE AND TIME

The 'eagerly anticipated' event will be broadcasted live on August 23, 2023, starting from 5:27 PM IST. The live coverage will be available via multiple platforms, including the ISRO's official website, its official YouTube channel, its official Facebook page, and DD National TV channel.

The Indian space agency informed that the Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the Moon on August 23, 2023, around 6:04 PM IST.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:



Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 Hrs. IST.



Thanks for the wishes and positivity!



Lets continue experiencing the journey together

as the action unfolds LIVE at:

ISRO Website https://t.co/osrHMk7MZL

YouTube pic.twitter.com/zyu1sdVpoE  ISRO (@isro) August 20, 2023

The ISRO also invited all schools and educational institutions nationwide to actively publicise this event among their students and faculty and organize the LIVE streaming of the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing within the premises.

Post its launch on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 entered into the lunar orbit on August 5, following which orbit reduction manoeuvres were carried out on the satellite on August 6, 9, 14, and 16, ahead of the separation of both its modules on August 17.

ISRO'S CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION OBJECTIVES

The Chandrayaan-3 mission objectives are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

If everything goes according to the plan, India will become the fourth country in the world after the United States, Russia, and China, to land on the moon, and will be the only nation to touch the lunar south pole.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

viewed by

Lander Imager (LI) Camera

on the day of the launch

&

imaged by

Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC)

a day after the Lunar Orbit Insertion



LI & LHV cameras are developed by SAC & LEOS, respectively https://t.co/tKlKjieQJS pic.twitter.com/6QISmdsdRS  ISRO (@isro) August 10, 2023

It is notable that ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who said that 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.

RUSSIA'S LUNA-25 CRASHED INTO MOON

Earlier on Sunday, Russia's robot lander the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after it had spun into uncontrolled orbit, the country's space agency Roscosmos said.

"The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the moon," the official statement from the agency read.

Roscosmos said it lost contact with the spacecraft on Saturday after it ran into trouble while preparing for its pre-landing orbit after reporting an 'abnormal situation' that its specialists were analysing.

"During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters," Roscosmos said.

The spacecraft was scheduled to land on the south pole of the moon on Monday, racing to land on Earth's satellite ahead of India's Chandrayaan.

Back to the Moon!



Russia launched a historic lunar mission, as its #Luna25 craft blasted off into space from #Vostochny cosmodrome without a hitch.



The probe is to help fine-tune Russian soft-landing technology, and conduct studies in the south pole of Earth's satellite. pic.twitter.com/rVC9YuQixr  Russia (@Russia) August 11, 2023

The launch earlier this month was Russia's first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.
Clearing the UPSC exam is a daunting challenge. Aspirants have to study intensely as the civil services exam requires extensive knowledge and. Lakhs of candidates compete for the high-profile exam, but only a few become IAS, IPS and IFS. One such person who triumphed over the UPSC CSE exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is IAS Alankrita Pandey. She overcame depression, bounced back and cleared the exam. She also fought a long legal battle with the state of West Bengal over her request to get transferred to Bihar, where her husband, IAS Anshul Agarwal, was posted.

Who is IAS Alankrita Pandey?

IAS Alankrita cracked UPSC 2015 exam and secured All India Rank (AIR) 85 in her very first attempt. She is a 2016 batch IAS officer. Initially, she was allotted West Bengal cadre, but after her marriage with IAS Anshul Agarwal, she was given inter cadre transfer to Bihar.

IAS Alankrita belongs to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Her UPSC journey was not easy. She decided to prepare for UPSC in 2014, but in mid of that year, she faced a personal crisis. Alankrita used to take anti-depressants, anger management sessions and counselling from friends and family. She was supposed to appear for prelims in 2014, but could not take it.

However, she bounced back and decided to only focus on her career. She cracked UPSC civil services exam in her first attempt in 2015. She used to study 8 hours per day. Before UPSC, she worked in an IT company in Bengaluru. She completed her graduation in engineering from MNIIT-Allahabad.

Fought A Long Legal Battle For Cadre Change

IAS Alankrita Pandey won a long legal battle with the West Bengal government to get her Bihar cadre. Pandey, who is from Kanpur, had cleared the UPSC exam in 2015 with an AIR of 85 and was allotted West Bengal cadre. However, she wanted to work in Bihar, where her husband, IAS Anshul Agarwal, was posted.

Pandey applied for an inter-cadre transfer to Bihar, but the West Bengal government rejected her request on the grounds of shortage of officers. She then approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which ruled in her favour in 2018.
NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a four-day visit to South Africa and Greece on Tuesday, Dammu Ravi, the Sherpa for the 15th BRICS Summit, said the former's visit was significant as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between India and South Africa. "This is the first time since 2019, post the Covid pandemic, that leaders are meeting in person. So in that sense, this assumes enormous importance and significance as all the leaders are meeting in person," Ravi told ANI.

"From India's point of view, this is the third time that Prime Minister is visiting South Africa and this visit also marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa," he added. "[For] both sides, India and South Africa, [visit] is very important. Now, as far as the BRICS agenda is concerned, there are many issues that are being discussed and most importantly the BRICS expansion item on the agenda and second is the use of national currency for trading and economic activity amongst the BRICS countries," Dammu told ANI.

"From India's point of view, the development dimension is an issue that is so crucial and critical for the global south on which Prime Minister has always been emphasizing the solutions and the challenges for the global south that we all have to collectively work together," the Sherpa stated further.

"There are lots of ideas of Prime Minister Modi's which are being discussed in the BRICS meetings, in the negotiations, at the Sherpa level and this will feed into the leaders' declaration in a couple of days from now," he added. PM Modi will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, which gets underway on Tuesday and will culminate on August 24. He is attending the event at the invitation of the president of the host country, Cyril Ramaphosa.

PM Modi said earlier the BRICS has been actively engaged in fostering a robust collaboration agenda across diverse sectors and serves as a platform to deliberate upon issues of significance for the entire Global South. He added that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg".

"BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, PM Modi said in a statement. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa. This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.

"This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The PM further said, During my stay in Johannesburg, I will also participate in BRICSAfrica Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th BRICS Summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme Brics  Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue.

This is being organised after the BRICS Summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa. From South Africa, the PM will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years, PM Modi was quoted as saying further in the official release.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, the PM said on the civilizational ties between India and Greece. I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, he added.
Cracking the UPSC exam is not everyone's cup of team after all it is one of the toughest competitive exams in the world and needs rigorous preparation and unshakable determination. Some aspirants manage to clear the UPSC exam after three or four tries, but some candidates pass the exam on their first attempt and IAS Ananya Singh is one of them. Ananya Singh, a 22-year-old from Prayagraj, has achieved her dream of becoming an IAS officer. She aced the UPSC civil services exam, one of the toughest tests in the country, with only a year of preparation. She secured the 51st rank in the All India list.

Singh had a clear goal of joining the IAS since she was a kid. She started preparing for the UPSC exam in her final year of college. At first, she studied for 7-8 hours daily. Later, she reduced it to six hours. She also prepared for both the UPSC prelims and mains exams at the same time.

She shared her strategy after clearing the UPSC exam. She collected books according to the syllabus and made notes by hand. The notes had two benefits, she says  one, they were brief and clear, which helped a lot in learning and revising. Also, while writing notes, the answers get imprinted in the mind.

Singh has been an outstanding student throughout her life. She did her schooling from St Marys Convent School, Prayagraj. She scored 96 per cent marks in the 10th board exam and 98.25 per cent in the 12th. She topped her district from the CISCE board in both 10th and 12th. After finishing her school, Singh graduated in economics honors from Shri Ram College of Commerce, affiliated with Delhi University.

She appeared in the UPSC CSE of the year 2019 and got the 51st rank. Singh says that she could not believe her rank when she saw the result of the government exam. She had fulfilled her childhood ambition of becoming an IAS officer at just 22 years of age. IAS Ananya Singh is currently posted in the West Bengal cadre.
Migrants dig a grave near the trail from Al Thabit into Saudi Arabia, on the Yemen side in this screen grab obtained from video released on April 24, 2023.

Border guards in Saudi Arabia have fired machine guns and launched mortars at Ethiopians trying to cross into the kingdom from Yemen, likely killing hundreds of the unarmed migrants in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.

The rights group cited eyewitness reports of attacks by troops and images that showed dead bodies and burial sites on migrant routes, saying the death toll could even be possibly thousands.

The United Nations has already questioned Saudi Arabia about its troops opening fire on the migrants in an escalating pattern of attacks along its southern border with war-torn Yemen.

A Saudi government official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly, called the Human Rights Watch report unfounded and not based on reliable sources, without offering evidence to support the assertion. Yemens Houthi rebels, who allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border, did not respond to requests for comment.

Some 750,000 Ethiopians live in Saudi Arabia, with as many as 450,000 likely having entered the kingdom without authorization, according to 2022 statistics from the International Organization for Migration. The two-year civil war in Ethiopias northern Tigray region displaced tens of thousands of people.

Saudi Arabia, struggling with youth unemployment, has been sending thousands back to Ethiopia in concert with Addis Abba.

Human Rights Watch said it spoke to 38 Ethiopian migrants and four relatives of people who attempted to cross the border between March 2022 and June 2023 who said they saw Saudi guards shoot at migrants or launch explosives at groups.

The report said the group also analyzed over 350 videos and photographs posted to social media or gathered from other sources filmed between May 12, 2021, and July 18, 2023. It also examined several hundred square kilometers (miles) of satellite imagery captured between February 2022 and July 2023.

These show dead and wounded migrants on the trails, in camps and in medical facilities, how burial sites near the migrant camps grew in size, the expanding Saudi Arabian border security infrastructure, and the routes currently used by the migrants to attempt border crossings, the report said.

An April 27 satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the same tent structures identified by the rights group near al-Raqw, Yemen, on the Saudi border. Two sets of fence lines could be seen just across the border into Saudi Arabia.

The site Human Rights Watch identified as the migrant camp at Al-Thabit also could be seen in satellite images, which corresponded to the groups narrative that the camp largely had been dismantled in early April.

Both areas are in northwestern Yemen, the stronghold of the countrys Houthi rebels. The U.N. has said that the Houthi-controlled immigration office collaborates with traffickers to systematically direct migrants to Saudi Arabia, bringing in $50,000 a week.

The Houthis have held Yemens capital, Sanaa, since September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition has battled the Houthis since March 2015, without dislodging them from the capital. Fighting has largely halted between the Saudi-led forces and the Houthis as Riyadh seeks a way to end the war. However, throughout the war years, the Houthis claimed multiple incursions across the Saudi border in this mountainous region.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. But in recent months, there has been growing concern from the U.N. human rights body about Saudi forces attacking migrants coming in from Yemen.

An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants.

If migrants are captured, they are reportedly oftentimes subjected to torture by being lined up and shot through the side of the leg to see how far the bullet will go or asked if they prefer to be shot in the hand or the leg, the letter from the U.N. reads. Survivors of such attacks reported having to play dead for a period of time in order to escape.

A letter sent by Saudi Arabias mission to the U.N. in Geneva in March said that it categorically refutes allegations that the kingdom carries out any systematic killings on the border. However, it also said the U.N. provided limited information so it could not confirm or substantiate the allegations.

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Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India will soon be a 5 trillion dollar economy and in the coming years will be the growth engine of the world, while addressing the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The PM expressed gratitude towards South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for inviting him and organizing the meeting. "My heartiest congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the BRICS business council. In the last 10 years, the BRICS Business Council has played a vital role in enhancing our economic cooperation," PM Modi said.



BRICS came as a ray of hope for the world economy in 2009 when it was first held. "In 2009, when the first BRICS Summit was held, the world was just coming out of a massive financial crisis. At that time, BRICS emerged as a ray of hope for the global economy. In the present times also, amongst the Covid pandemic, tensions and disputes, the world is dealing with economic challenges and in such times, once again the role of BRICS is important," he added.

PM Modi said that India has converted the crisis into an opportunity. "We have enforced reforms in mission mode, removed the red tape and have seen a boost in investor confidence."

Prime Minister Modi attended BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday. Leaders of BRICS Countries Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa were also present at the Business Forum.

PM Modi arrived in South Africa earlier today, where he will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the countrys president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. PM Modi said he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg".

"BRICS has been pursuing a solid cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system, the PM said in a statement.

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS summit is being held from August 22-24. This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism." This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
NEW DELHI: In a shocking turn of events, Premoday Khakha, a Delhi government officer, has been arrested on accusations of raping his friend's teenage daughter. The unsettling case has sent shockwaves through the city, raising questions about the safety and protection of vulnerable individuals.

A Long Career in Welfare Services

Premoday Khakha's journey in the public service sector began in 1998 when he was recruited as a Welfare Officer in the Delhi Government. Over the span of 25 years, he has been a part of various departments, including women and child welfare and social welfare. His responsibilities encompassed advocating for the rights and well-being of marginalized groups, especially children. His official documents and social media profiles highlight his dedication to "building relationships to protect humanity."

Child Protection Officer

Khakha's LinkedIn profile reveals his involvement as a resource trainer, focusing on child protection, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, and the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act. Notably, he even served as the superintendent of a juvenile home, where a minor accused in the infamous Nirbhaya case was held.

'Handpicked' By AAP Minister

According to Delhi BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj, Khakha was ''handpicked' by the then Delhi women and child development minister Kailash Gahlot. In March 2022, upon the request of Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot, Khakha was appointed as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Department of Women and Child Development. However, his role faced changes with the transition in leadership, as Atishi took over the ministry in March 2023. Consequently, Khakha was removed from his post. His career trajectory also saw him move from being an assistant director to a deputy director in the women and child development department, before ultimately facing suspension.

VIDEO | "When FIR was filed on August 13, why so much time was taken to suspend the official, and why minister Atishi is silent on the issue," says Delhi BJP leader @BansuriSwaraj on an alleged rape of a minor by Delhi government official. pic.twitter.com/gN8BygTmU3  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 21, 2023

Allegations

Originally hailing from Jharkhand's Hazirabagh, Khakha was residing in Shakti Enclave in North Delhi's Burari at the time of the alleged crimes. He stands accused of drugging and raping his friend's teenage daughter, a disturbing incident that has sent shockwaves throughout the community.

The Chilling Details Of Crime

The details surrounding the case paint a horrifying picture of repeated abuse and manipulation. The victim, a teenager, was reportedly drugged before each instance of sexual assault. In one disturbing instance, she woke up to discover injuries on her body. Police sources have revealed that the young girl was battling depression following her father's demise in 2020, although not due to Covid-19.

Timeline Of Crime

According to police reports, the first instance of rape occurred on October 31, 2020. This incident coincided with a traumatic period for the victim, who had lost her father. Her mother, influenced by Khakha's assurances of safety, entrusted her daughter to his care in Burari just days after the tragedy. Over her five-month stay, she was subjected to further abuse, with at least one more rape occurring in February 2021. She eventually left Khakha's residence after a month-long visit to Jharkhand for a family function.

Sexual Abuse, Trauma And Depression

The victim's statement to the police revealed a disturbing pattern of molestation, which occurred both in church and Khakha's residence. The trauma of losing her father, coupled with the sexual abuse, led to frequent panic attacks. These psychological struggles forced her to drop out of school after completing Class IX, opting for education through an open learning institution. This dual trauma likely prevented her from alerting authorities about the abuse she was enduring.

How Truth Came To Fore?

The horrific abuse remained hidden until recently when the victim confided in a counsellor at a Delhi hospital. Seeking help for panic attacks, she was taken to the hospital by her mother. It was during these sessions that the truth about the repeated sexual assaults emerged. The victim continues to receive therapy to aid her recovery from the traumatic experiences inflicted upon her.

Arrest And Consequences

Premoday Khakha, once a trusted figure in the Delhi government, has been suspended and arrested following the allegations against him. His arrest came after significant public outrage and criticism of the delay in police action. His wife, Seema Khakha, has also been arrested for allegedly assisting in the crime, including obtaining abortion pills for the victim.

Calls For Swift Action

The Delhi Commission for Women, led by Swati Maliwal, condemned Khakha's actions, labelling him a 'predator.' Maliwal's strong statement emphasizes the disturbing reality that those responsible for safeguarding individuals can sometimes turn into the very predators they are meant to protect against. This tragic case highlights the urgent need for swift action and the safeguarding of vulnerable individuals from potential harm.
NEW DELHI: In a move to ensure the success and smooth conduct of the upcoming G20 Leaders' Summit set to take place in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sanctioned a public holiday from September 8 to 10. While this decision aims to ensure the smooth conduct of the international summit, it also requires the closure of various institutions within the city.

Impact On Schools, Offices & Commercial Establishments

During the specified dates, several institutions will remain closed, including schools, government offices, private offices, and entities under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Furthermore, the operational status of malls, markets, schools, and colleges within the New Delhi area might be affected. Reports suggest that some educational institutions could switch to online learning or even opt for complete closure due to the summit.

Traffic Restrictions And Preparations

To facilitate the smooth conduct of the summit, traffic restrictions and diversions will be implemented starting from September 7 at midnight. The summit is expected to bring about major alterations in traffic patterns and movement across the city. The Delhi Traffic Police will be instrumental in managing these changes, ensuring the safety and efficiency of the event.

Closure Of Business & Commercial Establishments

All commercial and business establishments within the jurisdiction of the New Delhi police district, including banks and financial institutions, will remain closed from September 8 to 10. The proposal for this temporary closure was presented by Special Police Commissioner Madhup Tiwari, with the aim of minimizing crowds and enabling smoother vehicular movement during the G20 Summit.

Enhanced Security Measures

The summit will witness a heightened level of security arrangements. Notable roads, including Satya Marg, Shanti Path, Niti Marg, and others, will face significant traffic restrictions to ensure the dignitaries' safety and seamless movement. High-security zones will also be established in markets such as Dilli Haat, Chandni Chowk, and Khan Market, among others.

Impact On The Hospitality Sector

Several high-end hotels in Delhi have already reported full bookings in anticipation of the summit. Prestigious establishments like Taj Mahal, Taj Palace, ITC Maurya Sheraton, and others have experienced a surge in reservations between September 6 and 11. This influx of guests demonstrates the city's preparation to host international leaders and delegates.

Information And Assistance For Guests

To enhance guest experience and convenience, the Delhi Traffic Police will establish a virtual help desk. This desk will provide information regarding nearby hospitals, tourist attractions, marketplaces, and real-time traffic updates. The assistance will be available in multiple languages to cater to the diverse group of attendees.

G20 Summit Invitees & Theme

The G20 Summit 2023 will witness participation from notable nations such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE. The theme for this year's summit is "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," translating to "One Earth, One Family, One Future."

As Delhi gears up to host the G20 Leaders' Summit, the city's institutions, traffic management, and hospitality sector are all aligning to provide a secure and successful event for the global community.
New Delhi: Bollywood's sensational and controversy queen Rakhi Sawant is back in the news. The actres, dancer and former Bigg Boss contestant has once again levelled some serious allegations against her estranged husband UAE-based businessman Adil Khan Durrani. A day ago, Adil had conducted a press conference and shared his side of story and his relationship with Rakhi. He dismissed the claims of fraud, theft and assault, levelled against him by Rakhi. Instead, he accused the actress of drugging him, assault, and falsely implicating him in a rape case.

Calling her a 'dangerous woman', Adil accused Rakhi of cheating on him and establishing physical relationship with the latter while she was married to him. Adil showed documents of her marriage with Ritesh and alleged that she never got divorced from him when she married him (Adil). He also made another revelation that he was not younger to Rakhi by 7 years as she claims, but by 19 years, as he is just 27-year-old whereas Rakhi is 45-year-old.

On Tuesday, Rakhi held a conference and interacted with media and claimed that Adil made and sold her nude videos for huge amount of money. She also accused him of hiding his sexuality and claimed that he would indulge in sex with other women and men in front of her.

Rakhi further accused Adil of physically assaulting her during their five months of marriage and forcefully converting her to Islam.

The actress also claimed that when she came out of Bigg Boss Marathi show, she learnt about Adil's extra-marital affairs with other women. Rakhi claimed that she was pregnant at that time, and after learning about her husband's infidelity, she had a miscarriage. She claimed that she never had an abortion as it is a sin for her.

According to reports, Adil Khan Durrani was arrested by the Mumbai Police after Rakhi Sawant filed a complaint against him of cheating, fraud and asault. On February 21, 2023, Adil was arrested by Mysuru Police on the basis of a complaint filed by an Iranian woman accusing him of raping her.
New Delhi: Meta-owned Instagram on Tuesday started to roll out the web version of its Threads platform, which is struggling to stay afloat amid decreasing usage day by day. Threads users will be able to post, view their feed, and interact with posts from the desktop, according to the social media platform.

The Threads team is working to add more features to bring the web app on par with mobile over the weeks ahead, reports TechCrunch.

Thread users on the desktop will not be able to edit their profile or send a thread over to Instagram DMs (direct messages). Last week, Instagram head Adam Mosseri teased Were close on web.

Responding to a user's post, Mosseri had said: "Desktop web will happen long before foldable support. We're close on web and not working on foldables."

Mosseri said that the company had been testing an early web version "internally for a week or two", but it still "needs some work" before wide release. Earlier this month, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said the company would bring the web version in the next few weeks.

Since Threads was launched, a web version has frustratingly been missing. Meta's Twitter (now X) rival Threads has been in steady decline after peaking at around 50,000 daily active users globally on Android devices in early July and now stands at around 10 million.

Over 10 million people joined the social media app within seven hours of its July 5 launch, according to Zuckerberg. Threads became the most downloaded non-game app on its first day in a decade, as per the market intelligence data provider Sensor Tower, and surpassed 100 million users, before its downfall began.

Meanwhile, Meta has announced new features to Threads, including the ability to directly share posts in Instagram direct messages (DMs), a mention button and more.
New Delhi: With the highly anticipated landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon scheduled for Wednesday, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams has expressed her excitement and anticipation for the event. Williams, renowned for her remarkable contributions to space expeditions, eagerly looks forward to the Pragyaan rover's exploration of the lunar south pole, which holds great promise for scientific discoveries.

The NASA astronaut with a storied career in space exploration also commended India's substantial role in shaping the field of space exploration.

In a statement shared by National Geographic India, she emphasised the importance of lunar exploration, not only for the knowledge it promises to unveil but also for the potential it holds for sustainable living beyond our planet.

"Landing on the Moon will provide us with invaluable insights. I am truly thrilled that India is at the forefront of space exploration and the pursuit of sustainable living on the Moon. These are truly exciting times," Williams said.

Speaking of her anticipation for the mission's outcomes, Williams expressed her enthusiasm for the scientific research that will stem from Chandrayaan-3's landing and the rover's activities.

She considers this endeavour a significant step forward in our understanding of the Moon's composition and history.

"Filled with enthusiasm for lunar exploration, I'm looking forward to seeing the scientific research that should come out of this landing and the rover taking samples, it is just going to be a great step," she added.

Explaining India's preparedness to delve into the lunar south pole region, Williams highlighted Chandrayaan-3's potential to conduct scientific investigations that will aid in pinpointing suitable locations for establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon's south pole.

In conjunction with the impending lunar landing, National Geographic India is set to feature a special live coverage of the event.

The show not only promises to offer viewers a front-row seat to the nail-biting moments of the landing but will also include insights from notable astronauts such as Sunita Williams and Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to travel to space, and many others.

This unique broadcast will shed light on the mission's profound significance for the nation and the broader scope of space exploration.

CHANDRAYAAN-3 LANDING ON MOON DATE AND TIME

The 'eagerly anticipated' event will be broadcasted live on August 23, 2023, starting from 5:27 PM IST. The live coverage will be available via multiple platforms, including the ISRO's official website, its official YouTube channel, its official Facebook page, and DD National TV channel.

The Indian space agency informed that the Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the Moon on August 23, 2023, around 6:04 PM IST.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:



Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 Hrs. IST.



Thanks for the wishes and positivity!



Lets continue experiencing the journey together

as the action unfolds LIVE at:

ISRO Website https://t.co/osrHMk7MZL

YouTube pic.twitter.com/zyu1sdVpoE  ISRO (@isro) August 20, 2023

The ISRO also invited all schools and educational institutions nationwide to actively publicise this event among their students and faculty and organize the LIVE streaming of the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing within the premises.
ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding firm, and Safe Haven Solutions, a Netherlands-based climate-smart agriculture solution provider, are constructing a high-tech greenhouse at ADQs cutting-edge AgTech Park in Kezad.

The automated 10-hectare facility will leverage advanced agriculture technology to increase sustainable food production in the UAE.

Designed with sustainability considerations, the greenhouse facility will operate with an efficient cooling system that reduces its carbon and water footprint, enabling the year-round cultivation of tomatoes and cucumbers in a carbon-neutral, climate-controlled environment. In phase two, the project will enter the commercial stage and double the growing area of crops to 20 hectares.

Local produce

Consumers will benefit from high-quality local produce that remains fresh for longer due to a shorter supply chain. The project's scalability aims to minimise food waste by aligning production with local market demand. Safe Haven Solutions horticulture experts will collaborate with local researchers and agronomists to encourage the development of technology that is ideally adapted to the local climate and growing conditions, while training facilities will enable knowledge transfer to Emirati talent to nurture the next generation of specialised growers.

Gil Adotevi, Chief Executive Officer, Food & Agriculture at ADQ, said: Our partnership with Safe Haven Solutions expands on our mission to increase Abu Dhabis sustainable agricultural footprint. By driving investments in AgTech solutions, we are strengthening the UAEs ability to grow more produce domestically.

As such, AgTech Park is rapidly emerging as a hub of large-scale, climate-controlled, high-tech farming and R&D projects. We look forward to Safe Haven Solutions bringing their deep expertise in operating high-tech greenhouses to this project to cultivate homegrown fresh vegetables for communities across the nation.

Ideal facilities

Abdullah Al Hameli, CEO Economic Cities & Free Zones, AD Ports Group, commented: We welcome Safe Haven Solutions to Kezad in support of the continued development of the transformative AgTech Park. Our robust infrastructure and flexible spaces provide ideal facilities for our partners to tailor projects and facilitate the production, storage and distribution of food staples for the benefit of the nations expanding agriculture sector.

Dr Nadeem Mohammed Aslam, Co-Founder of Safe Haven Solutions, added: Sustainable agriculture is of paramount importance as we strive to strengthen food security and limit our impact on the environment. We are confident that the AgTech Park, paired with our innovative technologies, will help strengthen the foundation of the UAEs agriculture sector as it accelerates towards securing year-round access to nutritious food that feeds a growing nation.

With the UAEs historical high dependency on imports of produce and the countrys annual consumption of fruits and vegetables projected to increase by 18% between 2019 and 2026, strengthening the agricultural self-sufficiency in this field is high on the public agenda.

ADQs collaboration with Safe Haven Solutions represents another project launched within the AgTech Park in Kezad. Earlier this year, ADQ commenced the operational phase of the Park with the launch of a vertical farming project in partnership with Zero, a high-impact technology company headquartered in Italy.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Venezuelan opposition is preparing to hold primaries to decide who will face off against President Nicolas Maduro at the presidential elections, scheduled for 2024. But with less than two months to go to the October 22 vote, opposition candidates warn there has been a sharp rise in threats and attacks, with more than 20 incidents recorded so far. After the murder of the Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, Venezuelan opposition leaders, such as Delsa Solorzano, say they have received several death threats in direct messages on social media.

Maduro said that he would open an investigation into the alleged threats against Solorzano, and offered her state protection. But he also cast doubt on the politicians allegations. This investigation is going to be carried out, the truth is going to be discovered, the president said Monday night on his program Con Maduro+(or, With Maduro), which is broadcast on state TV. I think it is simply a set-up staged by malicious people because the threat is made in the name of Maduro, Diosdado [Cabello, a member of the National Assembly], the Bolivarian revolution. We have never, ever used terrorism, attacks or violence to resolve our political differences.

In response to Maduros claim, Solorzano said that both she and other opposition leaders are followed by state intelligence officers as they campaign.

Last week, opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski was forced to suspend a campaign event in the city of Apure, when a group of 50 motorists, some hooded, took over the venue for the rally. At least 10 people were injured, according to Capriles, while the sound equipment and chairs that were to be used at the event were destroyed. This is the seventh attack that Capriles or members of his team have experienced during their campaign.

Capriles blamed the attacks on pro-government groups. Today we have seen the violent, fascist face of those who are in power, he said. Without a doubt, the goal of all this is to stop us from touring the country, to slow us down and paralyze us, to put fear into structures, to put fear into the leaders who are working in the communities.

A month earlier, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado  who is leading in the polls and has received the brunt of the attacks  said that her partys headquarters in the border state of Tachira was graffitied with death threats allegedly from Colombias National Liberation Army (ELN) guerilla group.

The attacks on opposition candidates include scuffles and blows at public gatherings; the closure of hotels and convention halls hired for rallies; the shutdown of radio stations that broadcast interviews with them; the arrest of sound engineers hired for events; and roadblocks set up by collectives or armed shock groups. Opposition leader Freddy Superlano was even stripped of his passport when he returned from Colombia a few days ago. This has taken place during the lead-up to the official primary campaign, which begins on August 22.

Opposition political alliance Plataforma Unitaria (Unitary Platform) denounced the threats and attacks against candidates as a policy of terror. The persecution of all the candidates is a state policy that reflects the fear and terror that they have of the primary, declared Simon Calzadilla, the coalitions leader, last Thursday.

In addition to violence, Venezuelas opposition also has to contend with logistical and bureaucratic hurdles. The National Primaries Commission indicated that it will facilitate more than 3,000 voting points, but it has not yet announced where they will be. Whats more, Venezuelas National Electoral Council (CNE) is still in limbo after its members shock resignation in June. The move  considered an effort to hinder the primary race  means that the body will not organize nor fund the opposition primaries. In response, the opposition has been raffling off telephones, televisions and other electronic equipment in a bid to raise money for the vote.

A new CNE should be chosen in the coming days, but negotiations are still ongoing. Elvis Amoroso, the comptroller general of Venezuela, may be one of the officials selected for the CNE. He has recently disqualified several of the opposition candidates in the race, including Machado.

Venezuelas Supreme Court could also invalidate the primaries if it rules in favor of a petition made by Luis Alejandro Ratti, a businessman linked to the so-called scorpions a sector that separated from the opposition and made a pact with Maduro. The other threat is the possibility that Maduro brings forward the election to this year or the beginning of 2024  even though they should take place at the end of next year. Diosdado says that there could be elections this year, said Maduro at a military rally on Wednesday.

The Venezuelan government is no longer speaking of reaching a mutual understanding with the opposition. Negotiations appear to have stalled two years after they started. There has been no further progress on the agreement to create a fund with Venezuelan assets frozen abroad to address the humanitarian emergency in the country  a deal that was signed last November in Mexico. The Maduro government has used this lack of progress as an excuse to refuse any concessions. It says it will not budge unless international sanctions are lifted. But the biggest threat to the fund is the creditors of Venezuelas debt: the country has been in default since 2017.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government has hardened its discourse. The administration said it will not accept election observers from the European Union during the 2024 presidential election, while the Supreme Court has sacked the head of the Venezuelan Red Cross. The opposition and the international community are calling for greater democratic guarantees, including allowing all candidates to compete in the election  a request frequently made by the United States and the EU. But these efforts may be thwarted.

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While listening to 73-year-old Nadia Reznik  a native of the village of Kukhari, located an hour from Chernobyl  explain what happened when the Russian armored vehicles arrived on her land, you feel as if youre listening to the story of the millions of Ukrainians who, one February morning last year, saw their home turned into a trench.

This woman  who has clear eyes and a charming smile  and her husband fled from their beautiful dark wooden house with a gabled roof, as a wave of bombs caused havoc. Her 97-year-old mother, however, didnt want to leave the village. She chose to stay with some neighbors.

Nadias mother has witnessed almost a century of horrors in Ukraine. I suffered the Holodomor [the Soviet-orchestrated famine of the 1930s, which killed more than three million Ukrainians], the Nazis, and now this, she laments, before breaking down, crying inconsolably. When her daughter returned home with her husband, Sasha, last summer, the destruction of the roof and windows was compounded by the theft of belongings. We made basic repairs and we left again  this time with my mother  to avoid the winter, Nadia says.

The figures related to the daily Russian bombardments over large parts of Ukrainian territory are jarring. The latest report from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE)  published in June of this year  notes that there are at least 167,200 damaged properties (houses, apartment buildings, etc.), worth about 51 billion or $56 billion. Another $35 billion worth of airports, train stations and 15,000 miles of road have also been ruined, as have 3,400 schools  damaged or destroyed at a cost of about $10 billion  along with the countrys energy infrastructure, at a cost of over $8 billion. This includes the Nova Kajovka dam, which alone cost about $600 million to rebuild.

Olga, 67, was less fortunate than Nadia Rezniks family. After a projectile hit her house in the town of Kukhari, it was almost completely destroyed. Thankfully, she wasnt inside at the time. [The district] commission came and concluded that my house couldnt be repaired, she sighs. However, thanks to support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)  which also provided assistance to Reznik  Olga found a dignified solution: a modular home, which has a kitchen and bathroom. Its located two steps from what remains of her old home, so she didnt have to move. I should build a new house, but its not possible. Theres no budget. At least, Olga points out, she has space for her daughter and grandchildren. And for Simba, her beloved cat.

Olga, 67, inside of whats left of her house, which was destroyed by a Russian bombardment, in the town of Kukhari, in northern Ukraine. ALINA KOVALENKO (UNHCR)

Volodymyr Zelenskiys administration shared the total monetary amount of damages with the World Bank back in March: it stands at around 383 billion, or $417 billion. Ukrainian companies have also paid the price of the Russian invasion and occupation, having lost about $12 billion in assets, according to the KSE.

Oleksandr Griban, 42, was Ukraines deputy minister of economy until a few weeks ago. He now works at UNIT.City  the first Ukrainian innovation park. He is one of the people who best knows the ins and outs of this huge rebuilding operation. He admits that the estimate provided to the World Bank could have fallen short. [The damage] could have reached $1 trillion, he says. Even if we compare this to the Marshall Plan [the U.S. aid program to Europe post-World War II]  which would have been approximately $300 billion in todays money  we are now at $1 trillion.

Griban acknowledges that Ukraine needs help, but not forever. We cant depend on aid too much. He speaks of a new beginning, where not only is the Ukrainian government able to pay wages to teachers, doctors and soldiers, but is also capable of generating economic activity. This is no easy task after the massive damage to agriculture, energy, hydrocarbons, logistics and transport, the service sector, construction and information technology. But there are still opportunities.

We have a huge territory, a lot of agricultural land, this financial expert emphasizes. And we dont consume more than 30% of what we produce, so we can afford to reallocate a part of this territory to renewable energy. Ukraine can be the power plant of Europe, even the renewable power plant.

Return to normalcy

At first glance, the pace of reconstruction work isnt frantic, but things are chugging along. Just over five miles from Kuhari is the municipality of Olyva. Valentina Ilnitska, 59, and Yulia Ivashko, 56, once worked in the library of the cultural center of this town. And they will continue to do so, after its rebuilt.

They come to check out how the roofers are doing. The new windows have already been installed, but  according to Rokada, a local organization that supports repair work alongside the UNHCR  theres an issue with the electrical installation.

Here, in the town center, every day was a holiday, Ilnitska recalls. We were always commemorating something: the anniversary of Chernobyl, the day of independence. They want to get all of that back.

Repair works being done to the cultural center of the town of Olyva, in northern Ukraine. The building was damaged by missiles and artillery fire. ALINA KOVALENKO (UNHCR)

Two days after the start of the offensive in February 2022, Russian tanks reached Olyva. It became a battlefield where Ukrainian and Russian artillery fire was exchanged. Three missiles fell next to the cultural center and destroyed almost everything. There are a lot of kids from the area who have nothing else to do but come here, Ivashko says. The reconstruction of Ukraine involves restoring the physical space that the war destroyed, but also  as in the case of this social space in Olyva  recovering normality.

When asked if shes pleased with the progress of the rebuilding process, Ilnitska nods. Its normal. First, we remove the rubble. Then, we find the materials. After that, we start to repair.

The reconstruction of the country is complex. The first stage  after the invaders forces fled  was damage assessment. Subsequently, some debris was cleared and the first private repairs were carried out, so that residents could face the winter. After this, the process of wide-scale reconstruction was developed. The change is obvious: when this correspondent visited the periphery of Kyiv a year ago, the image of towns such as Irpin, Bucha or Borodianka was that of a recent crime scene. Victims felt paralyzed and frustrated. Today, however, the remains of the horror have been cleaned up. Scaffolding is everywhere, holes are covered, while whatever could be salvaged is being restored. Of course, theres still much more to be done.

Officials at the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure explain that the countrys administration is heavily decentralized. Hence, a community such Kukhari must decide to rebuild one school and not another; if a town wants to have a large clinic rather than two small ones, or vice versa, these decisions are made independently. If a regional jurisdiction has the money, they can move ahead with a project  if they dont, they can receive support from the federal government. This setup must be taken into consideration by the long-term plan developed by the Ministry of Economy in collaboration with the European Union. Donations will play a big part in the recovery. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference, held this past June in London, more than 60 billion  or $66 billion  were pledged to Ukraine by EU member states and the U.S. government.

Returning to the classroom

Halfway between Borodianka and Bucha is the town of Nemishayevo. As soon as the hostilities began in Hostomel  some eight miles away  several residents of Nemishayevo sheltered in the basement of the main school.

Alina Fedorenko, 49, is the director. She says that they welcomed about 400 people into the school, so that they could have food and warmth. There were older people, but also families of some of the students. On March 3, the Russians bombed the school and blew out the doors and windows, Fedorenko recalls. There were five artillery shells. The invading troops  who had positioned themselves nearby  knew that there were people in the basement. They would pass by on occasion and open fire. They killed a volunteer.

Students from the Nemishayevo school, on the outskirts of Kyiv. The school was bombed by Russian troops at the beginning of the war.

Fedorenko shows EL PAIS photos of how they lived during those weeks. She stops with an energized look when she comes to the snapshot of the Ukrainian soldiers who came to the rescue. From there began a very particular kind of reconstruction. This restoration of the school set a precedent for the reconstruction of institutions across Ukraine. The Ministry of Education changed the windows; Unicef, the U.N. agency for children, transformed the bomb shelter into an underground center, suitable for holding classes in the event of an anti-aircraft alert. And then, the mothers and fathers of the students pitched in with their own money and time. They came up with the idea of covering up the hundreds of bullet holes outside the facility with little stars.

According to data provided by Unicef, 5.3 million Ukrainian children encounter some type of difficulty in accessing education, while 3.6 million have been affected by the closure of schools. As soon as the internet reconnected, Fedorenko explains, we located the children and teachers and started online classes. All that was left was fixing up the building, so that the schools 600 students could return to in-person instruction. However, Kyiv imposed a condition: every school must have a new bomb shelter. Our normality, says Olena Vorovitska, a 45-year-old teacher at the school, is to comply with safety regulations, so that, if theres a siren, we can go down to the shelter.

The kids can make it down there in eight minutes. A few of them  ranging from the age of eight to 12  are named Tamerlan, Czarina, Sasha, Artem and Rima. The imprint of the war that the Russians left on them  either by forcing them to flee or stay hidden in a cellar  has all but disappeared, thanks to the tremendous efforts of many different actors.

Downstairs, the shelter is a colorful, childlike, bright and safe space. Its no longer the dark hole that it was before although that drab place saved so many lives. Even so, despite the renovation, many children dont like having to go down there. They think that the missiles that fly through the air after the sirens sound can reach where people live. Again.

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The residents of the Zavala neighborhood of Quito ventured out several nights in a row with their heads covered and sticks in their hands. On one occasion, they caught a criminal and the younger members of the group beat him up. The following day, the police arrived, asking questions. The officers came looking for us, says Margot Sierra, 54, dumbfounded, outside her clothing store in this poor neighborhood in the north of the Ecuadorian capital. As the night patrols had little effect, the residents also pasted posters on street corners with a very clear message: Organized neighborhood. Thieves caught will be burned. Sierra has lived in Zavala for 30 years and has never seen anything like this. The rampant increase in violence throughout the country is beginning to creep into the homes of ordinary Ecuadorians, who are taking matters into their own hands in the face of growing insecurity.

The first time a vacunador (extortionist) tried to intimidate shopkeepers in Atucucho, a neighborhood in the capital that stands at 3,100 meters above sea level, he was met head-on by Marta Sanchez. She and other shopkeepers in this neighborhood of steep streets  with 30,000 residents and 10 murders registered in July alone, where it is rare to come across a policeman  installed interconnected alarms a few months ago. When a button is pressed, all the alarms in the street start ringing at once. Sanchez, inside a dimly lit cybercafe where the kids spend the afternoons hanging out on the internet, pushed the button two months ago. Within seconds, the owners of the businesses in the street had captured an extortionist trying to charge them a forced monthly fee for security that nobody was going to provide.

He was handed over to the police but, due to a lack of evidence, he was released the same day. The merchants, though, remain euphoric. We want the bad guys to realize that we are not alone; a united people is strength, says Leonardo Vega, owner of a stationery store. Days later, 3,000 residents marched through the unpaved streets, crowned by a tangle of cables, to demand that the government ramp up the police presence in the neighborhood. The extortionists, says local resident Manuel Titani, have not been seen again. But neither have the police, for the time being.

The Zavala neighborhood in the north of Quito has come together to combat crime and is demanding a greater police presence. Ana Maria Buitron

Insecurity is not only an issue in the poorest neighborhoods; community-driven action is increasingly being undertaken throughout the city. Online chat groups between residents have multiplied, in which warnings are circulated, such as this one from the El Belen area: Last week two thugs were caught in the neighborhood. They stole two cars. Today they are in the parking lot with the police cleaning up because they were sleeping there. We need to unite for the safety of ourselves and our families. There has also been a proliferation of police tents that advertise themselves as safe spots to act as a deterrent, although often there are no police officers in them. The warnings to thieves posted in Quitos neighborhoods have several variations. They all begin with thief caught but the consequences range from being burned or lynched to being handed over to the authorities. Citizens have become accustomed to living under a shroud of fear and the citys streets empty when the sun goes down. Restaurants are welcoming fewer customers. Nobody feels safe anymore, especially after the recent presidential election campaign, marked by a surge in violence.

Ecuadorians voted Sunday in the first round of the elections, with the country still shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was shot while leaving a rally in Quito. Luisa Gonzalez, the candidate for former president Rafael Correas Citizen Revolution Movement, and millionaire businessman Daniel Noboa made it to the second round and will face each other in a runoff on October 15 for the presidency of a country that is demanding an end to the violence sweeping what until recently was considered an an oasis of peace in a region marked by insecurity. Both Gonzalez and Noboa talk about tackling violence, but neither has explained in detail how they will go about it. Finding a solution will not be easy, although the source of the problem is a familiar one in Latin America: drug cartels fighting over territory and control of trafficking routes.

A stationery store in the Atucucho neighborhood. Ana Maria Buitron

The situation has become so serious that on Sunday the organizers of the election programs congratulated themselves on the fact there had been no casualties. So far this year there have been 4,574 violent deaths and if the current homicide rate continues, Ecuador will become one of the most violent countries in the world. Minister of the Interior Juan Zapata said that 100,000 police officers were deployed on election day and the country remains under a state of emergency imposed after Villavicencios assassination. When asked if such a security shield could be rolled out on a daily basis, he replied sincerely: There are shifts, we have to give them breaks; it is not possible.

In Zavala, Margot Sierra says that the police have promised 15 motorized vehicles will be deployed in the neighborhood to protect the area and she is counting the hours until their arrival. However, she is not happy today. On Sunday she voted for Jan Topic, who did not receive enough support to progress to the second round. Next to her store, the face of the candidate who promised a tough stance against crime decorates the walls of the street. Around two weeks ago, a group presenting themselves as members of Topics campaign staff visited Sierra and other shopkeepers and installed cameras connected to the internet for free. She points to it proudly; from the store entrance the images go straight to her cellphone. The vote is secret, but Im voting for Topic because they gave us security cameras, she explains.

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One in five people suffers from misophonia, a disorder that causes excruciating discomfort as a result of the noises made by other people. In the United Kingdom it affects 20% of the population, according to a recent study, and likewise in Spain, according to the calculations of researcher Antonia Ferrer Torres, who has completed her doctoral thesis on this condition at the Institute of Neurosciences of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Given the severity of the ordeal faced by a person suffering from this horrible disorder  what researchers call strong emotional reactions to certain sounds  it would be more appropriate to describe ones suffering as torture.

These are individuals who cannot be in the same room as someone eating popcorn. The crunching of their teeth unsettles them, makes them anxious, and they want to smash up everything. Others feel as if their brains would explode if they heard someone repeatedly tapping the lid of the pen, a repetitive action that is relaxing for those who do it. When the upstairs neighbor takes a couple of steps, they feel like they are being dragged along by an iron mass weighing hundreds of kilograms. Some have to switch subway carriages a few times to escape from the noises that drive them crazy. An academic paper on misophonia highlights the story of a boy who, since the age of eight, was systematically punished because he did not want to eat at the family table  the noises of chewing, swallowing and slurping affected him. At 29, when taking part in a clinical trial, he was told that he might be suffering from this hypersensitivity disorder that was virtually unheard of.

In her study, Ferrer defines misophonia as a neuropsychophysiological disorder that causes an abnormal alteration in response to certain gestures and sounds. The researcher lists some of the sounds that usually trigger these exaggerated reactions: the tapping of fingers on a table, the clicking of the tongue, the sound of cutlery scraping against plates and the sound of teeth chewing crunchy food. It does not depend on the volume, that would be hyperacusis. A person suffering from misophonia could be irritated by a noise of 20 decibels, which is barely perceptible, explains the researcher.

The British scientists say that during their research, the general population also displayed irritation with some of these sounds, but individuals suffering from misophonia felt helpless when unable to escape back to silence. As the sound was introduced, tension increased and the back of their necks became stiff, and they even experienced the urge to vomit and developed symptoms of anxiety. They also stress that in their sample group, only a small proportion of those affected were aware that they were suffering from a disorder. This means that most people with misophonia do not really have a name to describe or explain what they are experiencing, concludes Silia Vitoratou, at Kings College in London, one of the authors of the study recently published in the PLoS ONE journal. In the Spanish sample analyzed by Ferrer, only two individuals knew that they suffered from misophonia  one had self-diagnosed on the Internet, and the other had been diagnosed by a physician who was also misophonic.

Until recently, people with this peculiar sensitivity to sounds and movements were not aware that their condition might have a name. The term was first coined in 2001 by the American research couple Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff. Indeed, most endure their unusual ordeal in silence because expressing displeasure at sounds that are tolerable for the rest of humanity will only cause problems. Until recently, being hypersensitive and different was not something to boast about on social media, and most people just wanted to be normal.

A woman eats while talking on the phone in the street this week in central Barcelona. Gianluca Battista

Belen Fernandez acknowledges that this is something that has been happening to both her and her partner for some time. She asked her husband to stop eating sunflower seeds when they watched movies at night. Her partner, in turn, feels uncomfortable when Belen chews almonds in the same scenario. I couldnt stand my father making noise while he was eating, even though I knew it was inevitable because he was an old man. I think that with people who you have an affective or long-lasting bond with, like family, friends or work, it bothers you much more. It starts as an uncomfortable sound and then becomes unbearable, she says. And she recalls the scene from The Penguins of Madagascar in which a spy wolf loses its temper because one of the penguins keeps crunching on little worms with its beak while talking to it.

Researcher Jane Gregory, from Oxford University, stresses the complexity of the condition: Its about much more than being disturbed by a sound, its about feeling that something is wrong inside you because of your disproportionate reaction and inability to do anything about it. Its about feeling trapped and helpless and missing out on things as a result. For many people, it is a relief to know that they are not alone and that there is a word to define what is happening to them.

According to Ferrer, these individuals have been told all their lives that they are weird, fussy, irritable, grumpy or that they have double standards because they are affected by other peoples noises, but not by their own. In general, they end up believing it and tend to avoid social situations, explains the Spanish researcher.

However, it is actually more common than you might think. In Vitoratous study, they found that the trigger sounds that commonly elicited a negative emotional response were chewing, slurping, snoring and loud breathing. In terms of chewing, displeasure was very frequent among the respondents, according to the study: This suggests that many of the sounds that trigger misophonia are also aversive to the general population.

Confinement nightmare

The researcher from the Autonomous University of Barcelona confirms that during the confinement, those with misophonia particularly suffered, perhaps more than the rest of the confined people, because they could not escape from their torture. Part of her doctoral thesis analyzes the disruption in neighborhood communities during the pandemic. In those months, there was a 400% increase in calls for help made to the police from people who could not leave the place where there was a noise they found unbearable. Sometimes the cause of this distress could simply be the neighbor upstairs doing a bit of yoga.

The treatment of misophonia falls within the field of psychology and psychiatry, but there is no therapy for its origin, because it is not well-defined. Only the symptoms of anxiety and other side effects of the syndrome are dealt with.

Some authors  including Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar, senior researcher at the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University (UK)  suggest in their research that misophonia may be deeply connected to traumatic memories from the past. This is because it is often suffered by people who have had unpleasant experiences in childhood. In their studies, the age of the first episode was around 12 years old. When they hear certain sounds, their attention is completely absorbed, and they cannot do anything else, explains Kumar in his scientific paper.

Our team works hard to raise the profile of the condition and supply physicians with the tools they need to fully understand and evaluate misophonia effectively, points out Vitoratou. An important part of Ferrers thesis consists of outlining the social representation of the disorder. To explain that it exists, to describe it, to put it to the public so that those affected can be recognized, so that their environment can understand them better, and they can stop being the freaks or the fussy ones.

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Now that we know how to take care of swimsuits and bikinis so that they dont break down, we may be more interested in investing in a good bathing suit with high-quality fabric and a special design, taking into account that it will last us many summers. That is, at least, the trend since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the data platform Editd, in summer 2021, sales of bathing suits saw exponential growth. The most successful styles are sustainably made solid-colored one-piece suits.

On her last beach vacation, 40-year-old Elenas friends inquired about her bathing suit, a black one-piece with an open back. Where did you buy it? Its 20 years old. My mother bought it for me when I started college. Its by Christian Dior. It cost a lot, but look at it, here it is, just like new. A quick look at the French brands store reveals a similar model in navy blue, made in Italia, without a lining, made out of 74% polyamide and 26% elastane, for 750 (about $817). It is the cheapest of the brands swimsuits, which cost up to 1,800 ($1,961). The prices are far above the average that we tend to spend on swimsuits. So what makes a quality bathing suit? And how can we distinguish a good swimsuit fabric?

Bali Swim is an Indonesian manufacturer of swimsuits that works with hundreds of brands across the world. It has created a complete guide for those looking for a good fabric, from its composition to its weight and characteristics. As the brand explains, there are two main fabric options. Nylon or polyamide blends are the most common in female bathing suits. The fabric is smooth and comfortable. It stretches and molds well to the body. The blend tends to contain 20% elastic, whether lycra, spandex or elastane. The result is very flexible, breathable and durable and dries quickly, but it has little resistance to chlorine. It is recommended to wash the garments by hand, and they can be hung dry, because they do not lose their shape.

Lycra refers to the brand of elastane considered the most elastic and of the highest quality. It allows the swimsuit to glide through the water, hug the body, retain color and shape and make the garment comfortable. The fabric is thin but dense. When you stretch it with your hands, you will notice that it is not transparent. As soon as you let go, it instantly recovers its original shape without leaving marks. If you are going to buy online, you should check that the swimsuit composition label specifies Lycra and not a generic elastic. Another point that usually gives clues that it is Lycra is the price: the swimsuits that use it are usually quite expensive.

Currently, Lycra has developed different variants of its original fiber that allow us to provide our garments with extraordinary qualities. An example of them is Lycra XTRA LIVE, which is more resistant to external agents such as the Sun, sun lotions, chlorine and seawater. That makes our garments better resist the passage of time, maintaining comfort, fit and quality. The durability of a garment made with Lycra XTRA LIFE compared to one made with another elastomer is estimated to be 10 times higher, says the designer Nuria Sarda.

On the other hand, there are polyester blends, widely used in competition swimming suits. The material is stronger, with greater resistance to chlorine, UV rays and shrinkage. It dries even faster and has great breathability. It is also recommended to wash by hand, and it doesnt lose its shape when hung dry. It is considered two to three times more durable than generic spandex or elastane, tends to be more expensive, and isnt as stretchy. While it holds its shape well, its harder to put on at first.

Dior one piece swimsuit.

New trends in swimwear bring waves of new fabrics. Neoprene fabric became fashionable in 2018, while in recent seasons textured fabric is the winner, from ribbed swimsuits to crochet or velvet. This type of fabric is especially found in brands with higher price ranges, since they require special weaves: quick-drying, capable of maintaining their shape, resistant to the sun and chemical damage and, if possible, durable. These types of fabrics require more time and work, especially if they are made by hand.

Traditionally, swimwear has used environmentally harmful fabrics. However, as consumer awareness and demand have evolved, fabric choices have too. One of the best is ECONYL, a nylon regenerated from pre- and post-consumer products like fishing nets, fabric scraps, carpeting and industrial plastic from landfills and oceans around the world. Other recycled swimwear fabrics, like REPREVE, make their own product from recycled plastic bottles.

The test of time

How long can we expect a good swimsuit to last? Not everyone can pay more than $700 for a garment, but taking Elenas swimsuit as an example, it comes out to an investment of $35 a year every year for 20 years. Seen this way, the cost may not be so scandalous. Nuria Sarda considers it a long-term relationship: There is no maximum durability for our garments. With a good treatment, rinsing them after each use and drying them in the shade turned inside out, they last a long time. I can say that I have garments from more than 30 years ago that are still in very good condition and, in our archives, pieces from our initial collections are still impeccable despite the passage of time. Often our clients recognize the durability and total quality of our collections, she assures.

A one-piece swimsuit by Eres.

Another factor that should be taken into account when buying a luxury swimsuit is the design. Can you see yourself with that stunning asymmetrical Mugler in a couple of decades, in your 50s or 60s? Or with one of those multiple straps on the abdomen that are being seen so much this summer, from Zara with its successful orange model to Jennifer to the Dodo Bar Or brand that influencers show off on social media? Or one of those thong-swimsuits with a deep-cut groin? Perhaps it is a safer investment to bet on timeless models. A swimsuit lasts a lifetime, Marie-Paule Minchelli, studio director at Eres, told us.

Studies about the topic tend to agree. The NPD Group, a company that specializes in retail intelligence, conducted a survey on swimwear. One of the conclusions was that a swimsuits fit is much more crucial than any other aspect, even more than its comfort, style, quality and even price. A good fit is the key to a good fabric and a flattering appearance.

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When President Joe Biden has questions about artificial intelligence, one expert he turns to is his science adviser Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Prabhakar is helping to guide the U.S. approach to safeguarding AI technology, relying in part on cooperation from big American tech firms like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta.

The India-born, Texas-raised engineer and applied physicist is coming at the problem from a career bridging work in government  including leading the Defense Departments advanced technology research arm  and the private sector as a former Silicon Valley executive and venture capitalist.

She spoke with The Associated Press earlier this month ahead of a White House-organized test of AI systems at the DefCon hacker convention in Las Vegas. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Does the president come to ask you about AI?

A: Ive had the great privilege of talking with him several times about artificial intelligence. Those are great conversations because hes laser-focused on understanding what it is and how people are using it. Then immediately he just goes to the consequences and deep implications. Those have been some very good conversations. Very exploratory, but also very focused on action.

Q: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (whos pushing for AI regulations) says making AI models explainable is a priority. How realistic is that?

A: Its a technical feature of these deep-learning, machine-learning systems, that they are opaque. They are black box in nature. But most of the risks we deal with as human beings come from things that are not explainable. As an example, I take a medicine every single day. While I cant actually predict exactly how its going to interact with the cells in my body, we have found ways to make pharmaceuticals safe enough. Think about drugs before we had clinical trials. You could hawk some powder or syrup and it might make you better or it might kill you. But when we have clinical trials and a process in place, we started having the technical means to know enough to start harnessing the value of pharmaceuticals. This is the journey we have to be on now for artificial intelligence. Were not going to have perfect measures, but I think we can get to the point where we know enough about the safety and effectiveness of these systems to really use them and to get the value that they can offer.

Q: What are some specific AI applications youre concerned about?

A: Some of the things we see are big and obvious. If you break the guardrails of a chatbot, which people do routinely, and coax it to tell you how to build a weapon, well, clearly thats concerning. Some of the harms are much more subtle. When these systems are trained off human data, they sometimes distill the bias thats in that data. Theres now a fairly substantial, distressing history of facial recognition systems being used inappropriately and leading to wrongful arrests of Black people. And then privacy concerns. All of our data thats out in the world, each individual piece may not reveal much about us, but when you put it all together it tells you rather a lot about each of us.

Q: Seven companies (including Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI) agreed in July to meet voluntary AI safety standards set by the White House. Were any of those commitments harder to get? Wheres the friction?

A: I want to start by just acknowledging how fortunate we are that so many of the companies that are driving AI technology today are American companies. It reflects a long history of valuing innovation in this country. Thats a tremendous advantage. We also just have to be very, very clear that with every good intention in the world, the realities of operating in the market are, by definition, a constraint on how far these individual companies can go. We hope many more will join them and voluntary commitments will grow. We just have to be clear thats only one part of it. Thats companies stepping up to their responsibilities. But we in government need to step up to ours, both in the executive branch and for the legislative branch.

Q: Do you have a timeline for future actions (such as a planned Biden executive order)? Will it include enforceable accountability measures for AI developers?

A: Many measures are under consideration. I dont have a timeline for you. I will just say fast. And that comes directly from the top. The president has been clear that this is an urgent issue.

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People walk past Fox News posters on the exterior of the News Corporation and Fox News headquarters building in Manhattan in New York City, New York, on April 24, 2023.

If 2023 has taught anything to the people running Fox News Channel, its the importance of being able to pivot. The decision by former President Donald Trump to skip Wednesdays first debate of the 2024 presidential primary season likely deprives Fox of a huge late-summer audience. Even worse for the network, Trump has talked of appearing in an online interview with former Fox star Tucker Carlson at the same time.

Trumps announcement on Sunday wasnt necessarily a surprise. Fox debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had been preparing for two events  one if he were there and one if he wasnt.

Several Fox personalities this summer publicly urged Trump to attend the event, and Fox executives privately made the same argument to the former president. Trumps former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called his decision a huge political miscalculation on Monday on Fox.

Eight candidates will be on the debate stage on Wednesday, the Republican National Committee confirmed late Monday: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Despite Trumps lead over other Republicans in polls, MacCallum cautioned potential viewers against dismissing a debate without him as a junior varsity event. She cited a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, taken July 23-27, that showed nearly half of Trump backers in Iowa said they were open to other candidates.

I dont think as members of the media or people who watch politics its our place to say, Oh, this is over, these people arent going to be the nominee, she said. Its way too soon to say that.

Trumps first appearance in a GOP primary debate brought 24 million viewers to Fox in 2015. It would be next to impossible to reach those numbers again, given his novelty has worn off and cord-cutting has diminished cable news audiences. Yet when only 12.5 million watched a January 2016 Fox debate that Trump skipped, that gave an indication of his drawing power.

This summers debate has been anticipated as a beacon for Fox News, which endured months of embarrassing headlines earlier this year related to Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit for the networks coverage of bogus claims by Trump after the 2020 election.

As the trial was about to start, Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion in a settlement.

The lawsuit had little discernible impact on Foxs viewers, but when Fox fired Carlson with no explanation a week later, those fans hit back hard. The network never publicly explained why Carlson was fired, although his appearance in court papers released with the Dominion case led to several public theories being advanced.

As it has in the past, Fox relied on its bench in establishing a new lineup that debuted in July, giving prime-time shows to Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, popular panelists on The Five. Their shows sandwich Sean Hannity on the schedule, offering a continuation of biting conservative commentary.

Foxs prime-time audience averaged 2.5 million this year through Carlsons firing, and 1.6 million for the nearly two months before the new lineup premiered. Its prime-time audience has since rebounded to 2.2 million, according to the Nielsen company.

There has been a sense of stabilization with the new lineup, said Steve Krakauer, publisher of the Fourth Watch newsletter and author of Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy with Power, Abandoned its Principles and Lost the People.

How much Trumps four criminal indictments will be discussed onstage in Milwaukee is an open question, in part dependent upon what his opponents want to talk about.

Even without Trumps participation on Wednesday, he will be on the stage even if hes not on the stage, Baier said in an interview.

The Siena College-Times survey suggests that it wouldnt be a popular topic among regular Fox viewers. The poll found 78% of people who regularly get news from Fox said Trump has not committed any serious federal crimes, and that 80% said that the GOP should stand behind Trump in the cases.

Krakauer said Fox would hardly be unique among the media in wanting to give its audience what it wants, and suggested there may be some indictment fatigue among the audience.

Even a debate that avoids the indictments as a major topic would still likely wind up being a lot about Trump, with discussions about whether or not he was successful in tackling issues like immigration or the economy, he said.

Baier said such poll findings wont be a factor in how he and MacCallum structure the debate.

Of course well bring it up, MacCallum said. I expect that the candidates will bring it up in part as well. And to the extent that theres indictment fatigue, there are so many other issues were going to be talking about on the stage, its certainly not going to be the lions share of the night.

The event features a live audience, which isnt unusual. But the crowd at CNNs Trump town hall in New Hampshire this spring proved distracting and wasnt a high point.

If we have to quiet them down at points, well, thats part of what the moderators job is, MacCallum said. But I think its actually going to be additive to the night.

Both Baier and MacCallum have done these debates before. Baier even had the identical experience in January 2016 of preparing for Trump to possibly be there before he backed out.

Both have similar goals, familiar to moderators but often unspoken.

If I can get out of the end of the debate and somebody says, You know what, that was tough but fair, Id be really happy, Baier said. And if its a story thats not about the moderators, Im even more happy.

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By Satoshi Iizuka, KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 23:37 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima

Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea on Thursday, weather conditions permitting, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, despite concerns among local fishermen and persistent opposition from China.

The controversial decision was made at a ministerial meeting on Tuesday, as a significant amount of the water has accumulated at the site amid ongoing cleanup efforts following the 2011 nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

During the gathering at the prime minister's office, Kishida vowed to make the utmost effort to dispose of the treated water and decommission the wrecked plant in a safe manner, saying, "The government will take full responsibility, even if it takes decades."

Japan's national fisheries federation has maintained its opposition, reflecting concerns among fishermen who feel the plan is going ahead without their consent or sufficient explanation on whether the government can truly safeguard the reputation of their seafood products.

In the wake of Kishida's announcement, Tomoaki Kobayakawa, president of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., told reporters that he has instructed employees to "swiftly" begin preparations for the water discharge.

In what could be a process taking around 30 years, TEPCO plans to start the release "carefully and from a small amount," an official in charge of the processed water said later in the day.

It plans to confirm that the radiation level of the water is below the country's safety standard by taking a sample from the first batch of the liquid -- 7,800 tons -- that will be released into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. The results are expected to be released by Thursday.

In April 2021, Kishida's predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, gave his approval for the water release "in around two years." The current government said in January that it would carry out the plan sometime from "spring to around summer."

The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded in July that Japan's plan aligns with global safety standards and would have a "negligible radiological impact on people and the environment," prompting the government to proceed with the water discharge.

While several European countries have lifted restrictions on Japanese food imports, China has introduced blanket radiation testing on seafood products from its neighbor in an apparent bid to convince Tokyo to halt its plan, a source of diplomatic tension.

Following the announcement of the starting date of the discharge, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing has "made serious demarches" to Tokyo over the issue and suggested it could implement additional measures to restrict Japanese seafood imports.

Hong Kong authorities on the same day announced that they will restrict seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures including Fukushima and Tokyo from Thursday.

For years, Beijing has expressed strong objections to the envisioned water discharge, refusing to use the pseudo-scientific term "treated" to downplay the risks of the "nuclear-contaminated water."

Natsuo Yamaguchi, who heads the junior ruling coalition partner of Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party, voiced willingness to explain the water discharge plan to the Chinese government when he visits the country next week.

In South Korea, the government has said it respects the outcome of the IAEA's review based on its own analysis of Japan's plan, The country's opposition parties, however, remain concerned about the negative effects of the water disposal.

Seoul regards there is no problem in the discharge plan but said Tuesday it will not endorse or support it in consideration of persisting concerns among the public, stressing it will continue to monitor whether the discharge will be carried out in accordance with the plan.

At home, local fishermen have been worried that the reputation of their seafood products could face further harm, arguing they have already endured years of arduous efforts to regain consumer trust after the initial nuclear crisis.

Considering such fears from the fishing community, the government has decided to discharge the treated water before the start of the trawl fishing season off Fukushima in September, sources close to the matter said.

In the last-minute effort to seek consent to the government's plan, Kishida spoke with the head of Japan's national fisheries federation on Monday at the premier's office a day after inspecting the Fukushima plant himself.

But the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, under its head Masanobu Sakamoto, has not budged, saying that scientifically proven safety does not necessarily mean that the public will feel assured of the safety of seafood products.

At Monday's meeting, Kishida said he will keep trying to communicate with local fishermen to win their group's backing for his administration's efforts to ensure the safety of the water and for its measures to respond to potential reputational damage.

The government has set up two separate funds worth 30 billion yen ($206 million) and 50 billion yen, respectively, aimed at responding to any harmful rumors and supporting local fishermen in sustaining their businesses.

Since the nuclear disaster, the water has been kept in more than 1,000 tanks installed at the site after treated by an advanced liquid processing system, which is capable of removing most radionuclides except tritium.

The tanks, now containing about 1.34 million tons, are nearing their capacity and are expected to reach their limit as early as 2024 unless the operator initiates the release of the treated water.

The government and TEPCO have insisted that further increasing the number of tanks is difficult, and that releasing the accumulating water into the ocean is indispensable to carry on with the decommissioning work that requires storage and other facilities to be built on the site.

The treated water will be diluted with seawater to one-40th of the concentration permitted under Japanese safety standards before being discharged via an underwater tunnel 1 kilometer from the plant.

About 17 days will be spent to release the first batch of the wastewater, according to TEPCO.

In the current fiscal year through next March, a total of 31,200 tons are slated for discharge, equivalent to the storage capacity of 30 tanks. It will contain 5 trillion becquerels of tritium, about one-fourth of the annual maximum limit allowed.

Tritium is known to be less harmful to the human body than other radioactive materials, including cesium and strontium, given that it emits very weak levels of radiation and does not accumulate or concentrate inside the human body.

But critics say it remains uncertain whether the radioactive material is definitely safe for humans and the environment, citing a lack of long-term data.

Related coverage:

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 09:50 | All, World

The United States and Japan are working to finalize a formal arrangement sometime next year to develop a new type of missile capable of intercepting hypersonic weapons, a Defense Department official said Monday.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners, however, said specific details, including the funding and timing of the development, have not yet been determined.

His remarks came after the leaders of the two countries agreed on the joint development Friday when they met ahead of a trilateral summit with their South Korean counterpart at Camp David near Washington.

The agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden was reached at a time when China, North Korea and Russia are all aggressively pursuing hypersonic capabilities.

Hypersonic missiles and glide vehicles fly at speeds of over Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. They are also maneuverable and can change course during flight, making them more difficult to shoot down or track by radar.

According to Japan's Defense Ministry, the two countries will aim to complete the missile's development by the 2030s.

On Monday, the U.S. spokesman said the "co-development will build upon long-standing U.S.-Japan missile defense cooperation and strengthen the alliance deterrence posture."

It will be the second time for Japan and the United States to develop an interceptor missile together following the Standard Missile-3 Block 2A.

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 20:42 | World, All

Hong Kong's catering and seafood sector is bracing for a financial hit amid mounting local concerns over food safety sparked by Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea starting Thursday.

The Hong Kong government said Tuesday it will restrict Japanese seafood imports from 10 prefectures -- Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama -- beginning Thursday after the government announced the starting date of the water discharge.

Hong Kong is Japan's second-largest market for fisheries exports, with mainland China being the largest.

In 2022, the semiautonomous region imported Japanese seafood products worth about 75.5 billion yen ($536 million), accounting for some 20 percent of Tokyo's total marine product exports, according to Japanese government statistics.

Even before the start of the Fukushima water discharge, the city tightened controls on Japanese seafood imports in June, significantly delaying customs clearance. The measure has affected an express seafood distribution service known as "Day Zero," which provides fresh fish from Japan to Hong Kong within a day.

The service guarantees that seafood procured from Tokyo's Toyosu fish market in the morning will arrive at Hong Kong restaurants by the evening of the same day to maintain its quality and freshness.

However, Hong Kong customs began conducting blanket radiation testing of seafood imports from Japan at least once a week in mid-July, making it impossible for them to be sent to local restaurants in time for dinner preparations.

"Day Zero operations have continued for nearly 20 years but are no longer able to meet the demands of some customers," said Toshio Himuro, chairman of fresh fish importer and distributor Zen Foods Co. Sales have fallen by about 25 percent due to the tightened import controls, he added.

Hong Kong has already seen a decline in the consumption of Japanese food products amid increased media reports on the planned Fukushima water release.

Ko Chun-kit, chairman of major Japanese seafood importer NS Mall, said orders have already dropped by over 20 percent, and they are expected to fall more than 50 percent after the water release, adding the negative impact on importers and Japanese restaurants will possibly last for over six months.

Meanwhile, a Hong Kong bank executive expressed fears that financial difficulties faced by Japanese restaurants and marine product importers, as well as a drop in local seafood consumption, could be a further drag on Hong Kong's economy, which is still recovering from the severe blow dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chef Satoru Mukogawa of Sushi Kuu, one of Hong Kong's most renowned sushi restaurants, said that releasing the treated water could lead to the closure of many Japanese restaurants in the city.

"Hong Kong people love Japan, but they are also quick to change their minds," Mukogawa said, pointing to the significant decline in restaurant-goers following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

In an effort to navigate challenges brought on by tightened import controls, Zen Foods is aiming to open export bases in Osaka and Fukuoka, which will remain unaffected by Hong Kong's upcoming import restrictions.

The company has also partnered with a trading company in Hokkaido in northern Japan and is considering different avenues of procuring fresh fish from countries outside Japan, such as Russia and South Korea.

"Doing business in Hong Kong requires the tenacity to survive no matter what," Himuro said.

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Leading hospitality group Hilton has signed a partnership agreement with Al Musbah Group and Damman Airports Company (DACO) to develop its first airport hotel in Saudi Arabia at Dammam.

Once completed, the Hilton Dammam Airport will feature 273 guest rooms, junior suites, as well as two-bedroom suites.

Featuring an all-day dining restaurant, complete with an outdoor terrace, a cafe, an outdoor pool with adjacent cafe, and fitness centres, the hotel will have a range of leisure facilities for guests to enjoy. Hilton Dammam Airport will also boast state-of-the-art meeting facilities for business travellers, including several meeting rooms and an executive lounge that caters for up to 90 people.

It will offer guests spacious and contemporary accommodation with direct skywalk access to the terminal building at King Fahd International Airport, one of the busiest airports in Saudi Arabia which welcomes approximately 10 million passengers per year.

Al Musbah Group Director Mohammed Almusbahi said: We are delighted to partner with Hilton to open Hilton Dammam Airport. The modern, upscale property will serve passengers and crew passing through the busy King Fahd International Airport, as well as business and leisure travellers visiting the surrounding areas." "The opening of the hotel also broadens our partnership of over 25 years at King Fahd International Airport, where we have lead concessions for travel retail, parking operations and technology, and food and beverage, he noted. On Hiltons growth in Saudi Arabia, Carlos Khneisser, Vice President, Development, Middle East & Africa, said: Saudi Arabias rapid evolution continues to provide exciting growth opportunities for Hilton, and were working with our owners to introduce more award-winning hospitality brands in locations throughout the country." "This signing is another example of Hiltons commitment to supporting the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia and to enabling growth in key destinations as well as up-and-coming, large-scale developments and secondary cities," he stated. According to him, Hilton currently operates 16 hotels in the kingdom with plans to open over 50 new hotels across 10 of its brands, making Saudi Arabia 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 the Kingdom over the coming years. "Hilton has pioneered the airport hotel concept and we are thrilled to announce that this will be Hiltons first airport hotel in the country, he added.

Daco CEO Mohammed Al Hassani, expressing pride in the Hilton partneship deal, said it will have a positive impact for the future of passenger services at the airport.

"We are delighted to work with our partners Al Musbah Group and Hilton to develop this new hotel at the busy King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. We are confident the Al Musbah Group and Hilton partnership will be a great, long-term success," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 19:11 | All, Japan

Fishermen and other locals in northeastern Japan have expressed opposition to the government's decision Tuesday to begin discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea later this week.

One fishing industry worker in coastal Fukushima Prefecture said the decision to start releasing the water Thursday was a "surprise attack" because it was made without the national fisheries federation first being notified. In the capital, too, activists came out to protest the move.

Takashi Nakajima, who runs a supermarket in Soma in the prefecture that sells local seafood, expressed anger, saying, "It's like a scheme to release the water before public opposition can flare up."

The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with the head of Japan's fishing federation in a bid to gain understanding for the plans, with the decision made despite concerns in northeastern Japan's Tohoku region over reputational damage.

Nakajima said he could never forget the way customers had flatly refused to sample local octopus in 2012, shortly after trial fishing began in nearby waters following the nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami the preceding year.

"Catch from the area won't sell, it will be a repeat of before," the 67-year-old said.

Meanwhile, a worker at a local produce market for tourists in Iwaki, Fukushima, said, "I'm not worried because they're probably releasing the water because it's okay to do so," calling for enhancing the attractiveness of the region.

Makoto Sakamaki, 38, who visited the shop from Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, expressed the view that the lack of explanation by the government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., is causing confusion.

But he added, "I will continue buying tasty Fukushima fish."

Masanobu Sakamoto, the head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations who met Kishida on Monday over the plans, reiterated his organization's objection to the measures following the government decision.

"Our opposition to the ocean release plan, which cannot gain understanding from fishery operators and the people, remains totally unchanged," the statement said.

And while Sakamoto acknowledged that "scientific understanding of safety has deepened" over the issue, he said it "differs from social confidence, and citing scientific safety will not stop reputational damage."

In response to concerns from the fishing community, the government has established two separate funds worth 30 billion yen ($206 million) and 50 billion yen for responding to any harmful rumors and for supporting local fishermen in sustaining their businesses, respectively.

In a meeting with Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori, TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa vowed to "respond with the resolve not to betray the trust of the people of Fukushima Prefecture and the country as a whole."

Hundreds of kilometers from the crippled plant, anti-nuclear activists also gathered outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo to oppose the government decision, with an anti-nuclear campaign group saying some 230 people joined the protest.

Participants urged the government to "listen to the voices of fishermen" and not to discharge "contaminated water into the sea."

"We don't know how long the water release will take and it will leave a debt for future generations," said Masashi Tani, director of the Japan Congress against A- and H-Bombs, speaking in front of the protesters.

"A concrete path toward decommissioning nuclear reactors must come first," Tani said.

Miwako Kitamura, a 55-year-old resident of Chiba Prefecture who attended the rally, said, "It is unacceptable that this decision has been forced through even with opposition from many of the people and from the fishing industry in Tohoku."

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 21:47 | All, World

Thailand's parliament elected Srettha Thavisin, a former property tycoon from the Pheu Thai party, which garnered the second-highest votes in the May 14 general election, as prime minister on Tuesday, ending a prolonged wait for a new government.

The vote took place just a day after Pheu Thai announced its coalition with 10 other parties, including those that supported the pro-military government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who declared his retirement from politics last month.

The coalition spearheaded by Pheu Thai faced criticism from voters who, in the election, rejected Prayut's government and favored the liberal junior opposition, the Move Forward party.

Srettha, who has no experience as a politician, won the vote hours after ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand. Pheu Thai is the political vehicle of Thaksin, who had been in self-imposed exile for around 15 years.

Srettha secured 482 votes in the parliament, which currently comprises 498 members of the House of Representatives and 249 senators appointed by the military, the parliament reported.

After winning the parliamentary vote, Srettha told reporters, "I will do my best to upgrade people's living."

Pheu Thai had initially formed a coalition with Move Forward, which garnered the most votes in the May 14 election, and other parties following the poll.

Pheu Thai dissolved its coalition with Move Forward after the parliament rejected its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, as the new prime minister last month. This decision was largely driven by significant opposition to his efforts to amend the country's stringent laws against insulting the monarchy.

Despite earlier collaborations, the new coalition formed with 10 other parties, including Prayut's United Thai Nation party and Palang Pracharath Party, another pro-military faction, stipulated two conditions -- they would not amend the lese majeste law and Move Forward would be excluded from the government formation, according to Pheu Thai.

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2023 - 00:04 | World, All, Japan

China expressed Tuesday strong opposition to Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea later this week, while South Korea said it has found no scientific or technical issues despite opposition among many locals.

The Hong Kong government said it will restrict Japanese seafood imports from 10 prefectures -- Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama -- beginning Thursday when the water discharge will start.

The government of Macao, another semiautonomous region, said it will ban imports of various food items, including seafood, vegetables, meat and fruit, from the 10 prefectures beginning Thursday.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned Japan's Ambassador to China, Hideo Tarumi, and lodged a formal protest against the planned water release, expressing Beijing's grave concerns and strong opposition, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Sun warned that the country will "take necessary steps to protect the marine environment, food safety and people's health," suggesting it could implement additional measures to restrict Japanese seafood imports.

Beijing strongly urges Tokyo to "stop its wrongdoing" and "cancel the plan," Sun said.

Tarumi told Sun in response that it is "regrettable" that China makes claims that are "not based on science" but expressed Japan's readiness to keep communicating with the neighboring country even after the ocean discharge begins, according to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.

Park Ku Yeon, the first deputy chief of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, said in a briefing that the government will maintain a vigilant watch over the process, stressing that it does not actively support Japan's course of action.

Should implementation of the water release plan deviate from what was conveyed to Seoul by Tokyo, the government will seek an immediate halt to the discharge, Park said, adding that it will do its best to minimize possible damage to the domestic fisheries industry and share monitoring data with the public.

The response comes as South Korea said last month it respected the outcome of the International Atomic Energy Agency's safety review on Japan's plan to release the processed water that has been accumulating at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was hit by an earthquake and ensuing tsunami in 2011.

But South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday held a protest against the decision, criticizing the government's assertion that Japan's water release plan poses no scientific or technical issues.

"Once contaminated water is dumped into the ocean, that can never be undone. The resulting harm to our oceans and future generations will endure permanently. It must be stopped," the party's leader Lee Jae Myung said.

Several civic groups across the country also held protests against the water release, according to local media reports.

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Fishermen, locals decry Japan gov't Fukushima nuclear plant water discharge

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 13:47 | All, Japan

China and Russia, which oppose Japan's planned release from Thursday of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, jointly urged Tokyo last month to consider a vapor release disposal strategy instead, according to diplomatic sources.

Beijing and Moscow claimed in a document submitted to Tokyo in late July that vaporizing the water and releasing it into the atmosphere would have a smaller impact on neighboring countries compared with the ocean discharge plan. Japan has rejected their proposal, saying it is "impossible" to accept it, the sources said.

By Monday, the Japanese government had told China and Russia that it is difficult to conduct radiation monitoring in the atmosphere or predict how the vapor spreads, according to the sources.

The two countries also sent a joint document of similar content to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the sources said. The IAEA concluded last month that the planned water release would be in compliance with global safety standards and will have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."

Japan once examined the feasibility of vaporizing the treated water and releasing it into the atmosphere but found it would be more difficult to monitor compared to releasing it into the sea.

In the document sent to Tokyo, which contained a list of 20 questions, China and Russia contended that the technology for monitoring radiation in the atmosphere has been established. It argued that Japan's decision is based instead on the high costs of the vapor release option.

They cited Tokyo's own estimate that the ocean discharge plan would require 3.4 billion yen ($23.3 million), only one-tenth of the cost of getting rid of the treated water through vapor release.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has questioned the feasibility of other options besides the ocean discharge plan, saying in an interview with CNN that the vapor release method can be more difficult to control due to environmental factors like wind and rain.

Vaporizing massive amounts of contaminated water was carried out following the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the United States.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Monday that the planned ocean discharge is "not the safest or most prudent option" and that Japan "simply chose it to lower economic costs."

"This will pose unnecessary risks to neighboring countries and the rest of the world," Wang said, urging Japan to "take seriously the legitimate concerns of the international community, have full communication with stakeholders, including neighboring countries," and study other disposal options.

Last year, Beijing and Moscow jointly sent questions to Japan on two occasions regarding the treated water release plan. Tokyo claims it responded to them in a "detailed and transparent manner," but that no dialogue has been held on a scientific basis, despite its repeated proposals to do so.

A massive amount of contaminated water has been generated in the process of cooling melted reactor fuel after the Fukushima plant was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The water has been kept in tanks after going through the advanced liquid processing system that removes most radionuclides except tritium, but the storage vessels are nearing capacity. Tritium is known to be less harmful than other radioactive materials, such as cesium and strontium.

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By Rosi Byard-Jones, KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 10:15 | Arts, Feature, All

Since her international breakthrough in shows by major streaming services, American-Danish-Korean actress Sandra Yi Sencindiver has taken her career's "second renaissance" as a call to redress what she says is Denmark's lack of diversity and representation in the arts.

Sencindiver has had a prolific career in Danish theater since being cast at age 20 in a local production of "Miss Saigon," Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil's formerly critically acclaimed stage musical.

She has appeared in the Scandinavian noir dramas "The Bridge" (Season 4) and "Backstrom" and has written and directed her own short film "Watch" (2023), depicting two women sharing a childhood secret.

As artistic director of the theater company "danskdansk" ("Danish Danish"), she has sought to challenge conceptions of what being Danish means and looks like alongside her extensive advocacy work.

Speaking to Kyodo News before the SAG-AFTRA actors strike, Sencindiver said her international success illustrates how structural racism and discrimination -- rather than a lack of talent or opportunity -- are behind the myth of a white, homogenous Denmark shown on screen.

Born in Busan, South Korea, Sencindiver and her twin sister were adopted by an American father and Korean mother before her father remarried a Danish woman when they were 8.

One year after moving to Denmark at age 9, Sencindiver wrote her first play in Danish, which she performed with her entire class.

Despite being encouraged by her family to learn classical piano, sing, dance and act, she never viewed the profession as a future career.

"Nobody in the family I came from has really done the arts. It was like a healthy hobby," Sencindiver said. "It wasn't part of my reality that it was an actual job. I think a lot of working-class families feel that way."

It was not until she was cast by a big Danish regional theater in "Miss Saigon" that pursuing acting professionally even occurred to her, and she credits the guidance of her fellow cast members in encouraging her to attend drama school.

"Sometimes you just need that little push to go for something you didn't know existed for you. Having somebody believe in you makes all the difference," Sencindiver said.

She now takes responsibility in trying to encourage others too, complementing her career-long goal of "fighting the patriarchy and making the arts more inclusive" -- something of great importance to a woman of color, she says.

After "Miss Saigon" -- now widely regarded as problematic, even racist, for its depictions of East and Southeast Asian characters -- the screen work in Denmark offered to Sencindiver primarily involved "flat, two-dimensional" parts as a cleaner or nanny.

The shock of this treatment pushed her increasingly toward the "broader imagination" of theater instead of the screen.

"Actors want to portray people with flesh, blood, motivation, dreams, hopes and nuances...but (the industry) just wanted me to be Asian and speak with an accent," Sencindiver said.

It was not until "Crazy Rich Asians," starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, came out in 2018 that Sencindiver saw a global market for East and Southeast Asian representation opening up.

"Longing" to be a part of this movement, Sencindiver took the leap of finding international representation, landing the role of Lady Amalisa in Amazon Prime's fantasy series "The Wheel of Time."

Sencindiver says she found the arc of Lady Amalisa's character, as a fierce protector of her realm who is also highly flawed "so rich and fun to do" after feeling that such parts would never be available for someone with her "experience, body, identity and gender."

Pointing to how the sci-fi and fantasy genres provide ample opportunity to showcase "different species, colors and cultures," Sencindiver also relished playing the "beautiful and politically savvy" Enjoiner Rue Corintha in the second season of the sci-fi epic "Foundation" (Apple TV+), released on July 14.

Sencindiver will also appear in Netflix's "Geek Girl" about a bullied, neurodivergent teenager who is scouted by a modeling agency.

Sencindiver's "second renaissance," as she terms it, in an international screen career, sends a strong message to the Danish industry as the screening giants hire based on talent and "have an audience wanting plurality and diversity on their screen."

According to Sencindiver, racism is challenging to discuss in Denmark due to the perception of it as an "evil, conscious act," rather than being caused by institutional or unconscious bias.

Addressing this and other forms of prejudice, she and four other actresses of color launched a campaign called "A Bigger Picture" in February, highlighting "the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of diverse bodies" in Denmark's film and TV industry.

Re-imagining the posters of three high-profile Danish TV productions with all-white, able-bodied cast members, they show an alternative of people who better represent age diversity, gender, sexuality, skin color, family, religion, socio-economic backgrounds, body types and people with disabilities.

While these conversations are just beginning, Sencindiver says she and her colleagues have received positive responses from organizations like the Danish Film Institute and are also nominated for a new award from Denmark's Ministry of Culture and Arts celebrating contributions to gender equality and representation.

Going forward, Sencindiver says representing different ethnicities, genders and bodies on screen has the potential to provide great artistic enrichment, which she hopes Denmark will embrace.

"A true artist wants to make something new, and representation is just another tool to do that -- a very hands on tool to make yourself look at things in a new way. I think it's amazing, and we'll only get more amazing art," Sencindiver said.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Muslim children in Japan fast for Ramadan despite challenges

FEATURE: Paris to make history with men's Olympic artistic swim debut

FEATURE: Int'l theater collaboration brings new Japanese plays to London stage
KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 23:30 | All, Japan

A three-year search for the "ninja bear" that attacked dozens of cattle in eastern Hokkaido came to an end after the animal was found to have been shot by a hunter in July, local officials said Tuesday.

The brown bear is believed to have attacked a total of 66 cows since the summer of 2019 and was codenamed "OSO18" after an 18-centimeter paw print was found at the first known attack site in the Shimoosotsubetsu district of Shibecha town.

The Hokkaido prefectural government's regional bureau in Kushiro said Tuesday that DNA from the bear killed by the hunter matched that of samples from OSO18.

According to the bureau, a bear was spotted on farmland in Kushiro on the evening of July 28. It did not run away even at the sight of a human and was killed by a hunter two days later.

"Hopefully, residents will feel relieved," said Seiichi Sugiyama, a senior official of the bureau. The series of cattle attacks are estimated to have caused at least 23 million yen ($158,000) in damage.

The hunter reported to the Kushiro municipal government that OSO18, at 2.1 meters in length, looked "skinny" and was presumed to weigh 330 kilograms. The actual measurement of its front paw was 20 cm.

The hunter disposed of OSO18's body but provided hair samples that were used in the DNA testing.

The bureau said OSO18 was not particularly large for a brown bear.

The search involved local authorities installing traps and cameras. They also set up electric fences and machines emitting light and noise to scare the animal and prevent further attacks.

Local media dubbed OSO18 the "ninja bear" because it avoided falling into any of the traps set for it.

Related coverage:

Bear attack on angler suspected after human head found at Japan lake

FEATURE:Rampant Yezo deer causing farm damage,traffic accidents in Hokkaido

60% of animal cafes in Japan harbor exotic species: study
KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2023 - 00:08 | All, World, Japan

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Japan to begin contentious Fukushima radioactive water release Aug. 24

TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea on Thursday, weather conditions permitting, despite concerns among local fishermen and persistent opposition from China.

The controversial decision was made at a ministerial meeting on Tuesday morning, as a significant amount of the water has accumulated at the site since the 2011 nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

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North Korea intends to launch "satellite" within week from Aug. 24

TOKYO - The Japanese government said Tuesday it has been notified that North Korea intends to launch a "satellite" between Thursday and Aug. 31 in what is believed to be a rerun of a failed attempt a few months ago.

Pyongyang tried to launch what it called a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit on May 31 but was unsuccessful.

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SoftBank-backed chip firm Arm to list on Nasdaq in over $60 bil. IPO

TOKYO - SoftBank Group Corp.-backed British chip designer Arm said Monday it has filed to list its shares on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange, with its market capitalization estimated to exceed $60 billion in what could be the largest initial public offering this year.

The chip giant, whose technology powers most smartphones worldwide, is expected to go public in September, people familiar with the matter said, although it did not specify the timing of the listing or the offer price. SoftBank will continue to hold the majority of its shares.

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China protests Fukushima water release, South Korea sees no problem

SEOUL/BEIJING - China expressed Tuesday strong opposition to Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea later this week, while South Korea said it has found no scientific or technical issues despite opposition among many locals.

The Hong Kong government said it will restrict Japanese seafood imports from 10 prefectures -- Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama -- beginning Thursday when the water discharge will start.

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Fishermen, locals decry Japan gov't Fukushima nuclear plant water discharge

TOKYO - Fishermen and other locals in northeastern Japan have expressed opposition to the government's decision Tuesday to begin discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea later this week.

One fishing industry worker in coastal Fukushima Prefecture said the decision to start releasing the water Thursday was a "surprise attack" because it was made without the national fisheries federation first being notified. In the capital, too, activists came out to protest the move.

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Hokkaido's elusive cattle-attacking "ninja" bear shot by hunter

KUSHIRO, Japan - A three-year search for the "ninja bear" that attacked dozens of cattle in eastern Hokkaido came to an end after the animal was found to have been shot by a hunter in July, local officials said Tuesday.

The brown bear is believed to have attacked a total of 66 cows since the summer of 2019 and was codenamed "OSO18" after an 18-centimeter paw print was found at the first known attack site in the Shimoosotsubetsu district of Shibecha town.

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Thai parliament selects Srettha Thavisin of Pheu Thai party as PM

BANGKOK - Thailand's parliament elected Srettha Thavisin, a former property tycoon from the Pheu Thai party, which garnered the second-highest votes in the May 14 general election, as prime minister on Tuesday, ending a prolonged wait for a new government.

The vote took place just a day after Pheu Thai announced its coalition with 10 other parties, including those that supported the pro-military government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who declared his retirement from politics last month.

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North Korea resumes international passenger flights after COVID hiatus

BEIJING - North Korea resumed international passenger flights on Tuesday, with a morning plane from Pyongyang arriving in Beijing and a return flight later departing for the North Korean capital, marking the end of a suspension since early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 100 people boarded the return flight to the capital operated by North Korea's state-run carrier, Air Koryo. Many North Korean nationals were stranded in China after Pyongyang shut its borders in early 2020 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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Video: Soviet emblem on Kyiv monument replaced
By Satoshi Iizuka, KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2023 - 11:08 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's controversial decision to begin discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea on Thursday may deal another blow to his already unpopular government.

Kishida appears to hope that international events in September, such as a Group of 20 summit and the U.N. General Assembly, will allow him to prevent a further drop in his Cabinet's approval ratings by scoring some diplomatic achievements.

He is also considering reshuffling Cabinet members and executives of his Liberal Democratic Party in September, banking on the move garnering positive public attention and strengthening his influence within the ruling bloc.

In addition, Kishida apparently tried to avoid starting the water release after September in an attempt to mitigate the possible adverse effects on the LDP in local elections in prefectures near the Fukushima plant in the fall, sources close to him said.

Hiroshi Shiratori, a political science professor at Hosei University, said Kishida wanted to resolve one of the most complex issues at an early date with the aim of reversing the declining trend in support rates for his Cabinet.

But Kishida's envisioned scenario is unlikely to succeed, given that the contentious treated water discharge project has yet to be accepted by many voters, particularly local fishermen, due largely to insufficient explanation about the matter, pundits said.

Since the nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the treated water has been kept in more than 1,000 tanks installed at the crippled facility, said the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.

As the tanks are set to reach capacity in the not-so-distant future, Japanese political leaders were under pressure to make a swift judgment about when to release the treated water into the Pacific Ocean despite objections from residents.

In April 2021, Kishida's predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, approved a plan to discharge the water into the sea "in around two years," with the current government deciding in January to carry it out sometime "from spring to around summer" in 2023.

After the International Atomic Energy Agency gave the green light to Japan's project in early July, Kishida was forced to explore the most suitable timing to minimize the negative impact of the planned water release on his Cabinet and party, the pundits said.

Meanwhile, Kishida, who held the position of foreign minister for over four years, saw a resurgence in his popularity due to diplomatic actions. These included hosting a Group of Seven summit in his home constituency of Hiroshima, a city devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb attack in 1945.

In September, observers anticipate Kishida may again capture the spotlight during international conferences, potentially leaving a favorable impression on the public. Additionally, he is expected to undertake a Cabinet reshuffle to rejuvenate the image of his government.

Kishida's decision to begin discharging the treated water within August also came as key local elections will be held in the fall in Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi -- prefectures hit hard by the nuclear crisis in 2011.

In early September, gubernatorial and prefectural assembly elections are slated to take place in Iwate Prefecture. In Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, assembly polls are scheduled in October and November, respectively.

Some ruling lawmakers asked Kishida not to start releasing the treated water before the elections in Miyagi and Fukushima, claiming that the discharge would create headwinds for the LDP-endorsed candidates, the sources said.

Nevertheless, Kishida decided to proceed with the water release plan in August, believing that even if support for the LDP drops initially, he could regain approval ratings for his Cabinet through diplomatic events in September, they added.

However, pundits emphasized that Kishida faces an uphill battle in seeking public consensus on such an emotionally charged issue, noting that even his assurances on the safety of the treated Fukushima water might not allay prevailing concerns.

A Kyodo News survey showed in August that 81.9 percent of respondents said they perceived the explanation provided by the government on the issue as insufficient, while only 15.0 percent considered it adequate.

Hosei University's Shiratori emphasized that it is extremely difficult for Kishida to obtain understanding from those concerned about the water release, saying, "Safety proved by science and peace of mind felt by people are different stories."

A government source said the water discharge cannot be implemented as long as Kishida respects the opinions of all relevant parties, adding, "We have to settle the matter at an appropriate timing with our resolve to take full responsibility."

Even so, the government and TEPCO would be breaking their promise to local fishermen, worried about reputational damage to their seafood products, if they push ahead with the project without gaining consent from such individuals.

If news emerges that the government has proceeded with the water release despite local opposition, Kishida could face a nationwide voter backlash, potentially taking a "fatal toll" on his Cabinet, Shiratori said.

In recent months, approval ratings for Kishida's Cabinet have continued to slip against a backdrop of the Fukushima water discharge plan and a spate of registration errors and other administrative problems over the "My Number" national identification card system.

Related coverage:

Japan PM Kishida's disapproval rate reaches 50%, highest since December

Japan to start releasing Fukushima nuclear plant water Aug. 24: PM Kishida

Kishida vows safety over Fukushima water release during on-site visit
DP World has launched the inaugural phase of its National Talent Development Programme 2023 (20Xel), aimed at training and developing the next generation of Emirati leaders in trade, logistics and supply chain management.

The 20Xel National Talent Development Programme 2023 is the cornerstone of DP Worlds Emiratisation efforts. DP World is committed to attracting and nurturing Emirati talent, and this programme is key to that goal. The programme aims to advance a culture of dedication and team spirit while also encouraging innovation in a key sector.

The programme focuses on key topics, including future skills in trade, logistics and supply chains -- to develop theoretical and practical expertise for successful careers in a technology-based world.

Emirati graduates

The programme is open to Emirati graduates from all disciplines. Participants will receive an international supply chain management diploma from the prestigious Rotterdam School of Management, as well as hands-on training and guidance from experienced DP World mentors.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: "We are delighted to launch registration for Emirati graduates in our 20Xel Programme 2023 to develop their career with us. The principles that govern this exceptional programme stem from the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This comprehensive vision is founded on a steadfast commitment to excellence and creativity, fostering an enlightened model for progress. Our primary objective is to actively contribute to maintaining Dubai's leading position as a global investment destination, transcending its previous role as a regional economic hub."

He added: "Central to this vision is the unwavering focus on nurturing Emiratis and promoting sustainable development. We wholeheartedly invest in the knowledge economy and in the remarkable talents of our Emirati youth. Through 20Xel, we seek to empower and cultivate a pool of exceptional leaders who will play instrumental roles in shaping the future, continuing prosperity, and ushering in a new era of growth."

Four stages

The programme consists of four stages: foundational, operational, developmental, and leadership. Participants can obtain an international supply chain management diploma from the prestigious Rotterdam School of Management. Hands-on training and guidance from experienced colleagues enrich the learning experience. Recently, a batch of 6 female and 11 male graduates, successfully attained their Diplomas in Supply Chain Management. The programme included virtual sessions and real-time visits to ports and logistics centres, providing valuable insights for their future leadership roles.

In addition to the National Talent Development Programme 2023, DP World has several other programmes dedicated to supporting the aspirations of the UAE's youth. These include the "Forsa Vocational Training" programme and the "Ruwad" training programme, are both aimed at nurturing sector leaders across various business units.

The "Ta'heel" programme offers scholarships for Emirati students throughout their academic journey, culminating in employment opportunities within the group upon graduation. Additionally, the "Bidaya" summer programme acquaints secondary and university-level Emirati students with job prospects in Jebel Ali Port and the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).-- TradeArabia News Service
VIENTIANE, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A preparatory meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Environment for the 17th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment was held here on Tuesday to review the implementation of environmental strategic priorities.

Director General of the Department of Planning and Finance under the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Phakkavanh Phissamay presided over the meeting in the Lao capital Vientiane.

Phakkavanh said the meeting's key objectives are to gear up for the 17th Ministerial Meeting on Environment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will take place on Wednesday.

"ASEAN Senior Officials on Environment (ASOEN) is a body that oversees the implementation of ASEAN Cooperation Frameworks on Environment and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint 2025," she said.

ASOEN plays a strategic role in ensuring that this agenda is a success for the advancement of ASEAN regional environmental management and sustainable development, Phissamay added.

The preparatory meeting will make a final review of the ASOEN report on the implementation and accomplishment of seven environmental strategic priorities.

Laos is strongly committed to supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Cooperation Frameworks on Environment and the ASCC Blueprint 2025, Phakkavanh reaffirmed. 
TOKYO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite public concern and raging opposition from both home and abroad, the Japanese government announced Tuesday it has decided to start releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean on Thursday.

Despite pouring rain, hundreds of Japanese gathered on Tuesday morning in front of the Japanese prime minister's official residence to protest the government's irresponsible decision.

The ocean discharge which could last several decades is expected to commence Thursday, weather and sea conditions permitting, according to the controversial decision announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following a ministerial meeting held on Tuesday morning.

Kishida claimed that the government will take full responsibility for the decision.

"No matter how the wastewater is 'treated,' its nuclear-contaminated nature remains unchanged. All the Japanese government wants is to create a fait accompli with the ocean discharge," Hideki Taki, one of the rally's organizers, expressed extreme anger at the government's unilateral move to push forward with the discharge.

He emphasized that those against the discharge are determined to continue voicing their strong opposition and fighting with all their might.

For Yoshiko Furukawa, who used to live near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and had been forced into long-term evacuation due to the nuclear accident, the prime minister's claim to take responsibility rang hollow to her. "He lacks the qualifications, authority, and right to assume such responsibility," she told Xinhua at the gathering.

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, Kishida visited the wastewater treatment facility at the plant on Sunday and met with the head of Japan's national fisheries federation on Monday in hopes of gaining an understanding.

"Our position has not changed, and we continue to be opposed to the ocean discharge," Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations said after the meeting.

Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are now being stored in about 1,000 storage tanks.

The Fukushima plant has stored more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, and the discharge is planned to continue for more than 30 years, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the plant.

In 2015, the Japanese government and TEPCO made an agreement with fisheries cooperative associations of both Fukushima prefecture and the nation that they would not proceed with any wastewater disposal "without the understanding of relevant parties."

"I had a faint hope that they would keep the promise, but eventually that was a lie," a 62-year-old fisherman from Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture was quoted by local media as saying.

Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party, criticized the government for disregarding agreements made with stakeholders, arguing that the decision to proceed with the ocean discharge despite widespread opposition amounted to a "reckless act" by the government, trampling over the concerns of the majority.

A total of 88.1 percent surveyed expressed concerns over the government's plan to discharge treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean, as the disapproval rate of the Kishida-led cabinet rose to an eight-month high, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the national news agency Kyodo. 
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Tuesday evening issued a yellow alert for possible geological disasters triggered by heavy rainfall in parts of northwest and southwest China.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the China Meteorological Administration have warned of risks of rain-induced geological disasters in some areas of the southern part of Gansu, the central part of Sichuan, the western part of Yunnan and the southeastern part of Tibet from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Residents have been advised to take precautions, especially in areas with potential dangers.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system for geological disasters, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. 
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan (L) speaks during a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

"I would like countries to see this cooperation within a holistic strategy. This long-term vision is something that we can learn from the Chinese experience. It has been so important."

by Martina Fuchs

GENEVA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the 15th BRICS Summit scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday in South Africa, Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), called for a more inclusive multilateral system, saying that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an example for cooperation on sustainable development.

"We need the voice of the South in revitalizing the sustainable development goals as the only real commitment for solidarity and collective action at the global level," Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica and the first woman and Central American to serve as UNCTAD's secretary-general, said in an interview via video link with Xinhua.

It's crucial that these important countries with a voice in the Global South come together and send messages that can be galvanizing for so many countries looking to join BRICS, she added.

A growing number of countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Argentina and Indonesia have expressed their interest in joining BRICS.

"All the BRICS countries are also in the G20. We want to make multilateralism more vibrant, more inclusive, and to help build a more multilateral world even in a moment of more multipolarity," Grynspan said.

Signboards of the 15th BRICS summit are seen on a street of Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

"The appeal is to strengthen the voice of the Global South. It's important to have another platform that represents the perspective of the developing world and the need for development and more opportunities," she said.

BRICS groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The five BRICS countries now contribute about a quarter of the global GDP.

Grynspan said the China-proposed BRI has been very impactful, especially in infrastructure.

"I would like countries to see this cooperation within a holistic strategy. This long-term vision is something that we can learn from the Chinese experience. It has been so important," she added.

Headquartered in Geneva, UNCTAD was established in 1964 as an intergovernmental organization to promote the interests of developing states in world trade.
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday expressed high appreciation for the recent move by the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) of revoking the permanent observer status of Taiwan's legislative body and including the NPC as its permanent observer.

Spokesperson Xu Dong said it is a right choice that accords with the trend of history and our times.

Xu said that there is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan has been clearly recognized by the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758.

Taiwan has no other status in international law than being part of China, the spokesperson said, adding that the island is not entitled to join any international organization whose membership is confined to sovereign states.

The just move of the Parlacen on the Taiwan-related issue has amply illustrated that upholding the one-China principle serves the greater good of international relations, and accords with the will of the people and the irresistible trend of the times, Xu said.

It fully demonstrates the international community's universal and firm commitment to the one-China principle, which is unshakable and unassailable, said the spokesperson, adding that it once again proves that any attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" is bound to fail.

Xu expressed a willingness to establish and enhance friendly exchanges and cooperation with the Parlacen on the basis of the one-China principle.

He pledged efforts to further promote exchanges and cooperation with the parliaments of relevant Central American countries, and to make fresh contributions to boosting bilateral relations and better benefitting the people of both sides. 
The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) convenes its third standing committee meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2023. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, presided over the opening meeting.

Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier, attended the meeting and delivered a report. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, convened its third standing committee meeting on Tuesday, with a focus on improving the sci-tech innovation system and accelerating the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy.

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, presided over the opening meeting.

Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier, attended the meeting and delivered a report.

Ding noted that the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core attaches great importance to scientific and technological innovation, and insists on placing innovation in the core position of the overall development of the country. Ding pointed out that China has made historic achievements and undergone historic changes in its scientific and technological endeavors that have propelled it to join the ranks of innovative countries.

He called for strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over scientific and technological work, the organization and coordination of major national sci-tech strategic tasks, and the coordination of sci-tech work management.

Ding emphasized the need for efforts to execute key tasks aimed at realizing the strategic goal of bolstering China's prowess in science and technology.

The political advisors listened to a report on the work of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC since its first session. They were also briefed on the drafting of the implementation of the CPPCC National Committee guidelines for strengthening and improving democratic oversight as well as the trial guidelines for CPPCC members to better engage with people from various sectors. 
HANGZHOU, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Xiao Yi, former vice chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes and abusing his power.

The verdict was issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Between 2008 and 2021, Xiao took advantage of his positions to assist relevant units and individuals on matters related to the contracting of construction projects, the development of business programs and personal promotion, according to the verdict. In return, he accepted illicit funds and valuables worth over 125 million yuan (about 17.36 million U.S. dollars), of which over 57.82 million yuan had not been received by Xiao by the time his crimes were discovered.

He was also found guilty of helping enterprises engaged in virtual currency mining activities to obtain fiscal subsidies, financial support and electricity supply from 2017 to 2021, bringing serious damage to public assets and the interests of the country and the people.

The court granted him a lenient punishment as he produced important information that was verified through the investigation, and as he confessed to his crimes, expressed remorse, and surrendered illicit funds and property bribes, all of which have since been recovered, the verdict said.

The defendant has been deprived of his political rights for life and his personal properties have been confiscated, it said.

The confiscated funds and properties will be turned over to the national treasury, the verdict noted. 
This summer holiday, diverse culture-themed study trips have been all the rage! China's domestic tourists are foregoing a tan in search of a summer experience that can expand their minds. Join Indian student Saahil as he explores the iconic Tengwang Pavilion in Jiangxi Province, east China.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service




HONG KONG, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) held a celebration on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the listing of H-shares, marking the significant contributions made to Hong Kong's position as an international financial center through the development of mutual connectivity between the mainland and Hong Kong capital markets.

In 1993, Tsingtao Brewery became the first state-owned enterprise to list in Hong Kong, and since then Hong Kong has become the preferred international fundraising platform for mainland companies, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said at the event.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems," Hong Kong leverages its advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, having gathered top-notch international financial and professional services to open up broad financing channels for mainland companies, he said.

At a time when the country is making all-out efforts to promote high-level two-way opening up and achieve rapid high-quality development, Hong Kong's securities market needs to continue innovating, expanding and strengthening itself, Chan said, noting Hong Kong should strive to create new prospects and better serve the overall development of the country.

Li Chao, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said the listing of mainland companies in Hong Kong has opened a magnificent chapter of cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong capital markets.

He said the CSRC will continue to promote deeper cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong capital markets.

Currently over 1,430 mainland companies were listed in Hong Kong, accounting for over 55 percent of the total number of listed companies in the financial hub.

When considering the total market capitalization, mainland companies contribute to nearly 80 percent of the total market capitalization of Hong Kong stocks. Furthermore, their trading volume exceeds 80 percent, Li said.

Laura Cha, chairperson of the HKEX, said the first H-share listing was a foundational event in the history of Hong Kong's markets, as it marked the beginning of a journey that has redefined global capital markets and spawned three decades of connect initiatives and market development that have connected China and the world.

HKEX CEO Nicolas Aguzin said that building on 30 years of connectivity that started with the H-share, HKEX continues to be resolute in its commitment to continuously enhance the competitiveness, attractiveness, efficiency and transparency of its markets.

He noted that the recent expansions to the Stock Connect program are examples of this, helping to further cement Hong Kong's role as one of the world's leading international financial centers and bringing issuers and investors around the world together to capture opportunities.

Yin Zonghua, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, and Pan Yundong, acting commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR, attended the event. 
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of criminal cases related to firearms and explosives in China hit a record low in 2022, a ministry official said Tuesday.

"China has become one of the countries with the lowest incidences of gun and explosives violence in the world," said Qi Xiguo, deputy head of the public security management bureau under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), at an MPS press conference.

The official highlighted the success of the ministry's ongoing efforts to combat firearms and explosives crimes in recent years, noting a consecutive decline in the number of cases concerning such crimes.

Nationwide, this year has seen a 16 percent year-on-year reduction in such criminal cases, according to figures from the ministry.

Since the beginning of this year, the authorities have investigated and solved 13,000 cases involving firearms and explosives. 
PRETORIA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and South Africa support dialogue and negotiation in resolving the Ukraine crisis, according to a joint statement released by the two sides here on Tuesday.

"The two sides further agreed that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable option for resolving the Ukraine conflict, and they will continue to promote talks for peace and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the issue," it said.

The statement was released after talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa. Xi arrived on Monday for a state visit to South Africa, where he will also attend the 15th BRICS Summit and co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.

"Furthermore, China welcomed Africa's recent Ukraine-Russia peace mission," the statement noted.

An African peace mission visited Ukraine and Russia in June. The delegation presented a ten-point peace plan that calls for ending the conflict through negotiation and diplomatic means and de-escalating tensions on both sides. 
"The summit is a symbol of how together we are stronger." A South African expat living in China's Xiamen expressed his anticipation for the 15th BRICS Summit, which is held in his home country from Tuesday to Thursday.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service




COPENHAGEN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- In a reshuffling of key cabinet positions in the Danish government, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, deputy prime minister and minister of defence, has been appointed as the minister for economic affairs.

It was announced by the Prime Minister's Office in a statement on Tuesday. Ellemann-Jensen will continue to serve in his role as deputy prime minister.

Meanwhile, Troels Lund Poulsen, minister for economic affairs, has been tapped to take over as the minister of defence.

At a joint press conference at the Ministry of Defense, Ellemann-Jensen said that continuing as minister of defense was incompatible with his role as chairman of Venstre or the Liberal Party.

The change occurred after Ellemann-Jensen returned to work on Aug. 1 after a six-month stress-related absence. While Ellemann-Jensen was on sick leave, Poulsen served as acting minister of defense.

Last week, Ellemann-Jensen placed the department head of the Ministry of Defense on "administrative leave" in relation to an arms purchase case, in which the Danish parliament criticized the Defense Ministry for misleading it. 
NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed in the ongoing flooding in the northern Indian state of Punjab, officials said Tuesday.

The deaths were reported from Kapurthala and Fazilka districts during the past 24 hours.

"Three people were killed in Kapurthala and two in Fazilka districts due to drowning and building-collapse incidents related to floods," an official said.

With no letup in dam discharge, the low-lying areas of several districts are completely inundated.

Reports said thousands of acres of land remained submerged in water spilling over from the overflowing rivers after floodgates of dams were again partially opened for the sixth day on Tuesday.

Officials said though the water in most districts located upstream of the Sutlej and Beas rivers has begun to recede, the downstream areas of Fazilka, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran districts still remained inundated.

Floods in Punjab were triggered due to the release of water from the Bhakra and Pong dams in neighboring Himachal Pradesh.

According to officials, so far over 70,000 people have been affected by the floods in the seven affected districts of Punjab.

Last week landslides, cloudbursts, flash floods and house collapses triggered by heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh killed over 70 people. The incessant rains also pushed the water level up in several dams of the state.

Authorities in these flood-hit districts have deployed teams of the National Disaster Response Force, army and border guards to carry out rescue operations.

India Meteorological Department on Tuesday issued an orange alert for Himachal Pradesh, saying the state is expected to witness isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) until Aug. 24.

Last month floods hit 19 districts of Punjab, claiming 41 lives. 
ANKARA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 20 suspects over their alleged links to a network orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, the Chief Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

The suspects were allegedly linked to the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of infiltrating the state bureaucracy and attempting the coup on July 15, 2016.

Eleven of the suspects were still serving in the public sector, according to the office's statement. The suspects were found in contact with the group's senior members infiltrated into the public sector through public payphones, it said.

The police has launched simultaneous operations in four provinces to seize them.

Ankara accuses U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the attempted coup in 2016 which led to the death of at least 250 people.

Ankara requests the extradition of Gulen, but Washington declined, citing that Ankara has not presented sufficient evidence against the self-exiled Islamic cleric.

The Turkish government has launched a massive crackdown on suspects with links to the network in the aftermath of the coup attempt. 
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday introduced a number of preferential tax and fee policies to support the healthy development of the capital market.

The preferential policies, including individual income tax and value-added tax exemptions or cuts, were jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and related departments.

The policies are aimed at promoting the two-way opening-up and healthy development of the capital markets on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, supporting the opening-up of the goods futures market, ramping up the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy and boosting the development of venture capital enterprises, according to the ministry.

Valid until the end of 2025 or 2027, the policies are conducive to supporting the opening-up of the capital market and promoting its sustained and healthy development.

Working with related departments, the ministry has released 10 preferential tax and fee policies to support smaller and private businesses. 
TOKYO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite public concern and raging opposition from both home and abroad, the Japanese government announced Tuesday it has decided to start releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean on Thursday.

The ocean discharge which could last several decades is expected to commence Thursday, weather and sea conditions permitting, according to the controversial decision announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following a ministerial meeting held on Tuesday morning.

Kishida visited the wastewater treatment facility at the plant on Sunday and met with the head of Japan's national fisheries federation on Monday in hopes of gaining an understanding.

"Our position has not changed, and we continue to be opposed to the ocean discharge," Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations said after the meeting.

Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are now being stored in about 1,000 storage tanks.

The Fukushima plant has stored more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, and the discharge is planned to continue for more than 30 years, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the plant.

In 2015, the Japanese government and TEPCO made an agreement with fisheries cooperative associations of both Fukushima prefecture and the nation that they would not proceed with any wastewater disposal "without the understanding of relevant parties."

"I had a faint hope that they would keep the promise, but eventually that was a lie," a 62-year-old fisherman from Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture was quoted by local media as saying.

A total of 88.1 percent surveyed expressed concerns over the government's plan to discharge treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean, as the disapproval rate of the Kishida-led cabinet rose to an eight-month high, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the national news agency Kyodo. 
Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian (L) waves to his supporters at the nomination centre for the upcoming presidential election in Singapore on Aug. 22, 2023. Singapore will hold polls for the presidential election on Sept. 1, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui announced on Tuesday after three candidates filed nomination documents. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)

SINGAPORE, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Singapore will hold polls for the presidential election on Sept. 1, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui announced on Tuesday after three candidates filed nomination documents.

Senior investor Ng Kok Song, former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Tan Kin Lian, former income chief of the National Trades Union Congress, were nominated for the presidency campaign.

As the head of the city-state, the Singaporean president is empowered to veto government budgets and key public appointments, authorize anti-corruption investigations, and safeguard the country's fiscal reserve. 

Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song waves to his supporters at the nomination centre for the upcoming presidential election in Singapore on Aug. 22, 2023. Singapore will hold polls for the presidential election on Sept. 1, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui announced on Tuesday after three candidates filed nomination documents. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)

Presidential candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam waves to his supporters at the nomination centre for the upcoming presidential election in Singapore on Aug. 22, 2023. Singapore will hold polls for the presidential election on Sept. 1, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui announced on Tuesday after three candidates filed nomination documents. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
KABUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police have arrested 15 people over involvement in drug smuggling and destroyed around five acres of poppy farms in six provinces on Monday, said a statement of the country's Ministry of Interior Affairs on Tuesday.

The alleged smugglers were attempting to sell the contraband to drug addicts in different parts of the country, according to the statement.

The Afghan caretaker government has banned the cultivation of illegal crops including poppy, processing to drug and drug trafficking since April last year. 
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday condemned the assaults against UN peacekeepers and damage to UN vehicles in Cyprus by Turkish Cypriot personnel.

In a press statement, the council members said that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law and reaffirmed their full commitment to the safety and security of all UN personnel.

On Friday, the UN Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) confirmed the attack in the buffer zone dividing the eastern Mediterranean island.

The incident took place inside the buffer zone near Pyla, or Pile in Turkish, a village near the southeastern coast of Cyprus that is inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

The UNFICYP said peacekeepers were on a mission to "block unauthorized construction work in the area" after the Turkish Cypriot administration announced its plan to construct an 11 km long road between Pyla and another village located in the Turkish-controlled Cypriot area.

In the statement, the Security Council members expressed "serious concern" at the launch of unauthorized construction work by the Turkish Cypriot side, stressing that the action runs contrary to Security Council resolutions and constitutes a violation of the status quo in the UN buffer zone.

They welcomed the halt in unauthorized construction by the Turkish Cypriot side and the removal of equipment and personnel, and underscored the need "to avoid any further unilateral or escalatory actions by either party that could raise tensions on the island and harm prospects for a settlement."

The council members reaffirmed their commitment to an enduring, comprehensive and just settlement in accordance with the wishes of the Cypriot people, and based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in relevant Security Council resolutions.

They reaffirmed their full support for UNFICYP and its mandated authority in and delineation of the buffer zone, and called for the removal of all unauthorized constructions and the prevention of unauthorized military or civilian activities within and along the ceasefire lines.

UNFICYP has been in control of the buffer zone since it was demarcated under UN Security Council resolutions after a Turkish military operation against Cyprus in 1974. 
The COP28 UAE Presidency is using the occasion of being 100 days away from COP28, to call on the world to come to the UAE ready to make transformational and practical progress towards addressing the climate crisis.

Marking 100 days to COP28, Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP 28 President-Designate, said: Eight years after the Paris Climate Agreement, it is now time to reignite hope through unity and action. The countdown to COP28 has begun, marking a pivotal moment to shape our shared future.

COP28 embodies collective action, a platform where leaders and citizens from every corner of the world unite to forge a sustainable path forward. The four pillars  fast-tracking the energy transition, fixing climate finance, focusing on people, lives and livelihoods and reinforcing everything with full inclusivity  are our guiding lights, illuminating the way to a greener, healthier, more resilient world. At COP28, the world must unite, act and deliver.

Global Stocktake

COP28, from November 30 to December 12 at Expo City Dubai, will feature the first Global Stocktake to measure progress against the goals and ambitions set out in the Paris Agreement at COP21, a WAM report said.

The COP28 Presidency has set out four key pillars to deliver the necessary course correction. Those include fast-tracking a just, orderly, and equitable energy transition; fixing climate finance; focusing on people, lives, and livelihoods; and underpinning everything with full inclusivity.

COP28 in the UAE will convene global stakeholders to provide practical solutions across these pillars that are intended to unite the world and keep 1.5C within reach.

With an expected gathering of over 70,000 participants, including world leaders, NGOs, private sector representatives, Indigenous Peoples and young people, COP28 is poised to shape the course of international climate action.

Clear roadmap

The UAE will lead a process for all stakeholders to agree upon a clear roadmap to accelerate progress towards a just, orderly and equitable global energy transition and a leave no one behind" approach to inclusive climate action.

At its heart, COP28 aims for more than a dialogue among leaders; its about driving change at every level.

This year, under the banner of the Year of Sustainability UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has rallied the nation to embrace a greener tomorrow. The initiative calls for responsible consumption, conservation, and collective action against climate change. The COP28 Presidency is also using the 100-day milestone ahead of COP28 to remind all UAE residents of the importance of climate action.

The COP28 Presidency is also placing an emphasis on the pivotal role that young people can assume in addressing the climate crisis.

Empowering youth

To empower young people in the UAE, the COP28 Youth Climate Champion, in collaboration with the COP28 Presidency and the Ministry of Culture and Youth, launched the first cohort of the UAE Youth Climate Delegates Programme.

The objective is to bring young people from within the UAE to the forefront of international climate decision-making; develop their skills and capabilities through capacity building and experience; empower them; embed youth leaders within the COP28 negotiations and other key domestic and international climate forums over the year.

Moreover, the Youth Climate Champion team is bridging the gap between Emirati youth and senior citizens through a series of intergenerational dialogues on key climate topics.

Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Development and COP28 Youth Climate Champion, said: "We are committed to empowering UAE's youth by amplifying their voices on climate change and action. Our goal is to not only raise awareness about climate change impacts but also actively involve young peoples perspectives from across the UAE and beyond in the decision-making process at COP28. Youth in the UAE and across the world have the power to positively disrupt the status quo in climate action, accelerating progress and taking us closer towards fulfilling our climate ambitions.

A key moment in this, and for youth globally, will be the 18th edition of the Conference of Youth (COY18), held at Expo in the UAE in November ahead of COP28.

Unified action

Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, emphasised the power of unified action through governments and non-state actors coming together to succeed in this shared endeavour.

A whole of society emergency requires a solution that includes the whole of society. Alongside top-down government action, we need a bottom-up groundswell of action as well by businesses, cities, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples, youth and women to succeed. Climate action must be inclusive of all stakeholders from the global south and global north, and across every sector, she stated.

Al Mubarak said there is no net zero future without restoring nature loss and asked for accelerating ocean climate action, eliminating value chain deforestation, and making nature-based solutions bankable.

Today, the COP28 Presidency is also highlighting that the conference will offer an opportunity to showcase how sustainability is integral to the UAEs history and cultural heritage and educate visitors about the rich diversity of its traditions, the legacy of the nations founder, and the UAEs arts, crafts, customs and food.

Unique time

Dr Al Jaber added: "This is a unique time for Emirati society, in all its rich diversity, to welcome the world to our nation and present our heritage of sustainability. We hope that everyone can unite and enjoy the vibrant exchange of cultures and learning ahead."

An exciting two-week thematic programme for COP28 is in place, which has been designed to give a space for all stakeholders to make positive contributions and underpin the global climate summit with full inclusivity.

The programme has been developed through an open consultation to drive action and implement policy, finance, and technology solutions aligned with the core objectives of the COP28 Presidency.

For the first time at a COP, COP28 will dedicate a day to Health with a high-level climate health ministerial, among other thematic activities. COP28 will also be the first to focus on the role of trade in tandem with finance.

Indigenous Peoples

There will be an Indigenous Peoples Day and a dedicated pavilion throughout the summit for Indigenous Peoples, who make up 5% of the global population yet protect 80% of the biodiversity.

Recognising that solutions need to come from all levels of society, COP28 will also welcome what is expected to be the largest delegation of mayors to ever attend the global climate conference.

Thematic programmes will run in both the Blue and Green Zones. The Blue Zone will be a UNFCCC-managed site, open to accredited party and observer delegates, whereas the Green Zone will welcome delegates and guests of the Blue Zone, the public and private sector, NGOs and the general public.

In the Year of Sustainability, every individual has a role to play. This can range from amplifying awareness to propelling meaningful action and driving change at all levels. Collective action today will be critical to achieving the UAEs net-zero ambitions by 2050 and delivering a greener and more sustainable tomorrow.

The COP28 Presidency is inviting people in the UAE to join the countdown and be catalysts for change.-- TradeArabia News Service
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday evening issued a yellow alert for mountain torrents in parts of the country.

From 8 p.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. Wednesday, mountain torrents are highly likely to occur in northeastern parts of Inner Mongolia, southwestern parts of Shaanxi and southeastern parts of Gansu, according to the alert, which was issued by the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration.

The two departments also issued a blue alert for mountain torrents in certain areas of the provincial-level regions of Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Sichuan, Tibet, Shaanxi and Gansu.

Local authorities are advised to strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warning procedures amid measures to prepare for evacuation.

China has a four-tier weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. 
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Rustam Emomali, chairman of the National Assembly of Tajikistan, in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Rustam Emomali, chairman of the National Assembly of Tajikistan, in Beijing on Tuesday.

Han said the China-Tajikistan relationship has made continuous headway, with fruitful outcomes of cooperation under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders.

He said China is ready to work with Tajikistan to act on the important consensus of the two heads of state, better synergize development strategies, expand pragmatic cooperation, deepen security cooperation, and intensify international coordination to maintain the strategic security and development interests of the two countries, and boost common prosperity.

Explaining the Chinese modernization, Han said China sincerely welcomes Tajikistan to take a ride on the express train of China's economic development and realize its own modernization.

Rustam Emomali said developing ties with China is a diplomatic priority for Tajikistan and the country views China as a reliable partner on the international stage. He expressed his country's willingness to deepen cooperation of various fields to promote further development of the Tajikistan-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also met with Rustam Emomali on Tuesday. 

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Rustam Emomali, chairman of the National Assembly of Tajikistan, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Late August in South Africa is famed for its radiant afternoons when the golden African sun bathes the landscape in its warm embrace.

It serves as a perfect backdrop for the blossoming China-South Africa relationship, which, as noted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, "has entered a 'golden era,' enjoying broad prospects and a promising future."

This year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa, and in a signed article published Monday in South African media as he set off to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg and pay a state visit to South Africa, Xi recalled the "leapfrog development" of bilateral ties from a partnership to a strategic partnership, and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

"It is one of the most vibrant bilateral relations in the developing world," said Xi in the article titled "Sailing the Giant Ship of China-South Africa Friendship and Cooperation Toward Greater Success."

It was not the first time Xi called China-South Africa friendship and cooperation a "giant ship." In 2015, before his state visit to the country, Xi said in a signed article that the bilateral cooperation and friendship "has grown from a small boat to a gigantic vessel."

As the world is facing numerous uncertainties and living through accelerating changes unseen in a century, "that metaphor still holds true," said Sifiso Mahlangu, editor-in-chief of South Africa's leading newspaper, The Star, which published Xi's signed articles this time and in 2015.

"A giant ship is a great metaphor" because it rides the wind and waves and "is against the tide," said Mahlangu. "It is a metaphor that stands and lives up to the pledge of BRICS cooperation."

On Monday, the country was abuzz with anticipation as it prepared to welcome Xi.

"To us South Africans, the visit of President Xi is very important in enhancing and strengthening bilateral relations ... (including) trade relations between the two countries," said African National Congress Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.

Data released by China showed that in the first half of the year, bilateral trade reached 28.25 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.7 percent year-on-year.

China has maintained its position as South Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, while South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years.

Calling the bilateral ties "stronger and stronger," Mbalula told Xinhua that South Africa-China relations are formed by "ties of anti-imperialism, multipolarity that we both believe in and strong ties of economic relationship."

It is also in Johannesburg, a South African city known as the City of Gold, that BRICS leaders will meet from Aug. 22 to 24 to discuss issues including deepening BRICS cooperation, giving more voice to the Global South, and the BRICS group's expansion.

Scholars and observers on BRICS told Xinhua that the group has defended multipolarity and multilateralism since its inception and has become a positive, stable, and constructive force in international affairs, making its golden brand increasingly appealing to the Global South.

"In an increasingly polarised world, BRICS is creating an enabling avenue for countries to fashion a more inclusive political and economic order," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations scholar.

For Anil Sooklal, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa, "BRICS has been a catalyst to bring the Global South together."

"It is for the first time in recent geopolitics that you have such a collective and a powerful body representing the voice of the Global South." 
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Advancing global efforts in desertification prevention and control requires deepening international cooperation, a Chinese official said Monday, during a press conference regarding the upcoming 9th Kubuqi International Desert Forum, scheduled from Aug. 25 to 27.

According to Zhu Xuehua, an official of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China will focus on addressing major sci-tech issues in desertification control, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world, carry out joint research on key technologies, and build demonstrative cooperation projects.

Over the past four decades, China has carried out comprehensive desertification prevention and control through major ecological projects such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei sandstorm source control project and the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, Zhu said.

He added that Chinese sci-tech experts have developed a series of new technologies, methods and models, and made outstanding contributions to desertification prevention and control in China.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the focus of the ministry is on promoting the development of new models for comprehensive desertification control, and developing a batch of new technologies and equipment. For instance, a green sand control technology developed using novel materials can reduce surface wind speed by 40 percent and sediment transport by 50 percent, Zhu noted.

The upcoming forum will focus on promoting exchange and cooperation in sci-tech innovation in desertification control and ecological civilization. 
This aerial photo taken on Aug. 17, 2023 shows wildfires near Kookipi Creek in British Columbia, Canada. (BC Wildfire Service/Handout via Xinhua)

Firefighting in Canada this summer has drained local resources.



OTTAWA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Canada is sending the military to tackle the record-breaking wildfires in its British Columbia (BC) province, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday, as local firefighting personnel and resources drained.

At BC's request, the federal government is deploying Canadian Armed Forces assets and providing resources to help with evacuations, staging and other logistical tasks, Trudeau said on social media.

On Saturday, BC's Premier David Eby declared a provincial state of emergency and banned non-essential travel to areas affected by wildfires to ensure accommodations for evacuations. Restricted communities include Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon.

Eby added that there were some 35,000 people on evacuation orders across the province and another 30,000 on evacuation alert.

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 13, 2023 shows wildfires near Lladnar Creek in British Columbia, Canada. (BC Wildfire Service/Handout via Xinhua)

Government officials have urged residents in evacuation order zones to leave immediately and prevent firefighters from dying while trying to save them.

Fire tourists and drone fliers that may impede firefighting are warned to stay away from the fire-affected zones, BC's Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston said at a press conference on Friday.

Ralston also asked people to stay clear of lakes which water bombers are using to refill water to douse fires.

Some 3,400 workers are involved in firefighting in BC, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Firefighting in Canada this summer has drained local resources. Currently, 680 international firefighters are aiding Canada, said Marieke de Roos, spokesperson for the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), which manages the country's flow of interprovincial and foreign fire personnel.

Amid a provincial state of emergency since Aug. 16, the Northwest Territories government has requested dozens of firefighters to battle some of the 236 active wildfires in the region alongside the 65 South African firefighters and 120 Canadian soldiers deployed there now.

Photo taken on Aug. 14, 2023 shows members of the Canadian Armed Forces arriving to battle wildfires in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (Canadian Armed Forces/Handout via Xinhua)

The BC Wildfire Service said it has been requesting more personnel, partially to replace the nearly 200 American and Australian firefighters who left the province over the past week because of deteriorating wildfires in their own nations, Canadian media reported.

Public debates have emerged around whether Canada needs a national firefighting force.

Mike Flannigan, a wildfire expert at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, was quoted as saying by CBC News that a national firefighting force will allow a more preemptive approach, more sustainable than using the military every year.

CBC News added that federal officials have denied discussion about a dedicated national force, as they reiterated that provinces and territories bear the primary responsibility in case of wildfires.

Latest data from the CIFFC showed about 141,000 square km of land have been scorched nationwide, with smoke shadowing the U.S. East Coast. As of Sunday, there were 1,037 active forest fires around Canada, 379 of which were in BC. 
TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said in a report on Tuesday that the Taliban forces have detained one of its photojournalists in Afghanistan without any clear explanation.

It identified the photojournalist as Mohammad-Hossein Velayati, saying he was arrested at Kabul International Airport on Saturday following his 10-day personal trip in Afghanistan, as he was returning to Iran.

The report said the photojournalist had entered Afghanistan completely legally through the air border, adding despite the follow-ups, the Taliban have not provided any explanation for the detention.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's special representative for Afghanistan, told Tasnim on Tuesday that the issue is being pursued seriously.

He noted that he has already held talks with the Iranian mission in Kabul about the issue and the efforts of the officials there will hopefully produce results soon.

Also on Tuesday, Iranian lawmaker Ali Khezrian said the legislative body will seriously follow up on the Iranian photojournalist's release from the Taliban.

He called on the Iranian Foreign Ministry officials to begin talks with Afghanistan's caretaker Taliban government to resolve the issue.

On Aug. 8, 1998, during the Afghan civil war, an Iranian journalist and eight diplomats from the country were killed in an attack on the Iranian consulate general in Mazar-i-Sharif after the Taliban entered the city.

After the attack, Iran blamed the Taliban for the killing, but the Taliban denied responsibility, saying the Iranians were killed by "renegade forces" who had acted without orders. 
HONG KONG, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said on Tuesday that it would ban certain aquatic products from Japan starting Thursday following Tokyo's announcement of nuclear-contaminated water discharge.

Tse Chin-wan, secretary for environment and ecology of the HKSAR government, said that in the face of major risks posed by the discharge, the HKSAR government must take preventive measures to ensure food safety and public health.

The ban will apply to aquatic imports from 10 Japanese metropolis or prefectures including Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, covering all fresh, frozen, chilled, dried or processed seafood, as well as sea salt and seaweed, Tse said.

Current restrictions on certain food imports from Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki and Gunma will remain in place, he added.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee said in a social media post that the decision by the Japanese government to discharge nuclear-contaminated water in disregard of food safety risks and irreversible pollution and damage to the marine environment is an act of "imposing its problems on others irresponsibly."

"Food safety and public health are the top priorities for the HKSAR government," Lee said.

Despite public concerns and raging opposition from both home and abroad, the Japanese government said on Tuesday that it has decided to start releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. 
People mourn during the funeral of Aatef Abu Kharaj in Al-Zababdeh town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Aug. 22, 2023. A Palestinian teenager was killed early on Tuesday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Al-Zababdeh town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Aatef Abu Kharaj, 17, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during clashes that erupted in the town and died later in a hospital. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)

RAMALLAH, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian teenager was killed early on Tuesday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Al-Zababdeh town south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Aatef Abu Kharaj, 17, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during clashes that erupted in the town and died later in a hospital.

Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers usually break out when Israeli army forces storm towns, villages, and refugee camps in the West Bank to arrest Palestinians wanted by Israeli security forces.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club Association said in a press statement that the Israeli army arrested 35 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight and on Tuesday morning.

An Israeli army spokesman said that the Israeli army, in cooperation with the Israeli interior security and the police, arrested two Palestinians in the southern West Bank city of Hebron following a shooting attack that killed a woman near the city.

The spokesman said in a statement that during the initial investigation, the two Palestinians confessed that they carried out the shooting attack and handed over the weapon they used in the attack.

Since January, 33 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, have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures. 

People mourn during the funeral of Aatef Abu Kharaj in Al-Zababdeh town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Aug. 22, 2023. A Palestinian teenager was killed early on Tuesday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Al-Zababdeh town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Aatef Abu Kharaj, 17, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during clashes that erupted in the town and died later in a hospital. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)
KHARTOUM, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The fierce clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued on Monday around the strategic armored corps camp at Al-Shajara military area, south of the capital Khartoum.

"For the second day, the rebel militia attempted to enter the armored corps camp," Nabil Abdalla, the SAF's spokesman, said in a statement.

"Our forces repulsed the militia and inflicted heavy losses of lives and equipment on them," the statement said.

The RSF, for its part, said in a statement on Monday that its forces "achieved a great victory today in the battle at the armored corps in Khartoum, inflicting heavy losses among Al-Burhan's militia and the remnants of the defunct regime."

The statement noted that the RSF has controlled large parts of the armored corps camp, forcing the enemy forces to flee and take shelter in some buildings near the camp.

The RSF further said it had seized large military equipment, weapons and ammunition stores, 34 armored vehicles and tanks, 12 cannons, 78 vehicles, besides killing 260 and capturing hundreds of soldiers.

An eyewitness from the Al-Shajara area said the clashes continued between the Sudanese army and the RSF around the area.

"On Monday morning, the RSF started attacking the armored corps camp with heavy artillery, while the Sudanese army used warplanes to repulse the attack," the eyewitness told Xinhua on Monday.

The armored corps camp has been a major target for the RSF, where it had made several attempts to control it.

Meanwhile, the clashes between the two sides in Nyala, western Sudan, continued, during which Commander of the 16th Infantry Division in Nyala Yasser Fadlalla Al-Khidr Al-Sayem was killed, said SAF in a statement.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the SAF and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, resulting in at least 3,000 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries, according to figures released by the Sudanese Health Ministry. 
PRETORIA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, agreed on Tuesday to push for greater development of the China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

During their talks, Xi called on both sides to be strategic partners of high-level mutual trust, adding that "camaraderie and brotherhood" are the true quality of bilateral ties.

China and South Africa, said Xi, should also be development partners for common progress, adding that mutual benefits and win-win results are at the roots of the China-South Africa cooperation.

The Chinese leader also urged the two countries to be friendly partners of deep mutual understanding and goodwill, as well as global partners that safeguard justice. 
Global aviation giant Boeing has reached an agreement with Jordan-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services leader Joramco to set up a new Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) line in the capital Amman.

Joramco is a sister company of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, which also has a leasing division with a fleet of around 550 aircraft leased to approximately 120 airlines in more than 60 countries.

Located in Amman, Joramco is geographically situated to support future 737-800BCF customers operating across the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

With ths deal, Joramco has become the first MRO supplier in the Middle East supporting future Boeing freighter conversions of both domestic and foreign aircraft.

"Were very excited to grow our relationship with Boeing. The new 737-800BCF capability were bringing to our MRO is another major milestone for Joramco, and we are delighted Boeing has selected Joramco as a future site for the 737-800BCF," said Fraser Currie, Joramco CEO.

"Our geographic location in Amman, our deep MRO experience, and the opportunity to work together with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise on their customers requirements makes this a very exciting opportunity," he stated.

DAE Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said: "Todays announcement reaffirms our long-term commitment to our DAE Engineering division. Since acquiring Joramco in 2016, revenues have more than doubled, and we continue to expand our presence at our Amman, Jordan based facility, which is expected to reach 22 maintenance lines by the end of 2024."

"This latest agreement underpins our commitment, and we look forward to continuing to deepen our relationship with Boeing as well as developing new product offerings for Joramcos global customer base," stated Tarapore.

Mike Doellefeld, the Boeing Commercial Programs VP for Engineering Services, Converted Freighters and Sub-Components, said: "We continue to look for opportunities to bring freighter conversion capacity closer to our customers."

"Connecting with Joramco reflects the potential of a growing region combined with an MRO capable of producing the BCF with the quality our customers expect," he added.
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen years since its inception, BRICS is convening its annual summit here on an unprecedented scale, prioritizing its partnership with Africa and mulling over its role in bolstering the Global South.

It is significant both as the first in-person BRICS gathering in more than three years and one which pools wisdom from beyond the five major emerging national economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The world has been keeping tabs on this year's summit, which brings African countries together for a bigger pie of the global economy and to fill up the considerable gap in global governance.

Notably, more than 40 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Bangladesh, have signaled their intent for BRICS membership. The growing list of aspirants queuing up to join the grouping, initially composed of the five emerging markets, speaks to its allure and inclusiveness.

This is not tall talk. BRICS countries have a combined population of over 3.2 billion people, accounting for some 40 percent of the world's roughly 8 billion population. Together, they represent a quarter of the global GDP and account for 16 percent of world trade.

By incorporating African countries in this year's talks, BRICS delivers the message that multilateralism and common development must include the Global South. These emerging markets are becoming an essential driving force for global growth and promoting more democratic international relations.

"BRICS has tapped into a demand that wasn't being met elsewhere," said Rebecca Ray, a senior researcher at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. Many are pinning hopes on these "BRICS Plus" hopefuls to bring fresh blood to the grouping as it expands its representation for a large group of developing countries feeling undervalued or left behind by a Western-dominated world.

Such a world is malfunctioning. The pandemic, for instance, has laid bare the ingrained structural inequalities and an incapable and indifferent West. Not to mention a global climate response, among other Sustainable Development Goals. It is under question if wealthy and resourceful developed countries can genuinely deliver on their promises with reliable leadership.

The Global South, reeling from the shocks of the coronavirus, an ongoing Ukraine crisis and the U.S. Fed's aggressive rate hikes, has come to its senses: The only viable way out is self-strengthening and interdependence with like-minded nations aboard the same boat.

The crux of the global woes is "economic concentration that leaves too many nations at the mercy of too few," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, urging the gathering to "send out a strong message that the world is multipolar, that it is rebalancing."

Increasingly, BRICS is seen as a mechanism that can help fix the flawed global system that lacks transparency, justice and fairness.

Many countries in the Global South seek an alternative to the current world order, dominated by a collection of alliances led by the United States and marred by divisive geopolitical issues. They look to the BRICS nations to speak up for their overlooked development rights.

Over the years, cooperation has expanded on multiple fronts, underpinned by the New Development Bank. Established in 2015, the bank is a supporting facility to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects.

Figures released by the bank earlier this year showed that it has approved nearly a hundred projects with a total value of 33.2 billion U.S. dollars, significantly contributing to its member countries' economic and social development and bolstering its own green and sustainable credentials.

Meanwhile, BRICS members have advocated a partnership on the new industrial revolution to deepen cooperation in digitalization, industrialization and innovation. This helps smooth the flow of goods and services and stabilize the industrial and supply chains amid protectionist tech curbs and rising decoupling moves from the West.

Indeed, BRICS countries gather not in a closed club or an exclusive circle but in a big family of mutual support and win-win cooperation. This calling card alone distinguishes itself from many other groupings, which are either self-serving or hijacked by Cold War thinking.

"One key issue for the BRICS to consider is global governance. There is a need to change the current system, which is unfair and asymmetric. In particular, the architecture of the financial system needs a major reform," Carlos Maria Correa, executive director of the South Center, told Xinhua.

Through years of development, BRICS has proven as an inspiring model of harmony in diversity, exemplifying how countries with divergent interests and cultures can form a coherent whole with shared cravings for recovery, resilience and broader representation.

As a key founding member and growth contributor, China has pushed for practical cooperation within the grouping. Official data shows China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, which speaks to its pivotal role at this year's gathering. With its ample development track record and experience in poverty alleviation, China has much to offer the Global South.

The time has come for the world's often-ignored nations to have a say in global affairs. The BRICS summit in Johannesburg is the perfect place to start. 
This aerial photo taken on Aug. 22, 2023 shows the site of an explosion in a coal mine in Yanchuan County of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Eleven people were killed in an explosion in a coal mine in Yanchuan County, on Monday, local authorities said Tuesday.

Shortly after the explosion, local emergency management workers, firefighters, mine rescuers and police officers joined the rescue operations. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

XI'AN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eleven people were killed in an explosion in a coal mine in Yanchuan County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Monday, local authorities said Tuesday.

The explosion ripped through the Xintai coal mine in Hejiaya Village, Yanchuan County in the city of Yan'an at 8:26 p.m. Monday when 90 people were working underground, according to the Yan'an emergency management bureau.

Eighty-one miners managed to return to the surface, but two of them died from severe injuries following emergency treatment. By Tuesday morning, the bodies of the nine remaining trapped workers had been found with no vital signs, said the bureau.

Another 11 sustained slight injuries and are in a stable condition, rescuers said.

Shortly after the explosion, local emergency management workers, firefighters, mine rescuers and police officers joined the rescue operations. 
by Martina Fuchs

GENEVA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the 15th BRICS Summit scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday in South Africa, Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), called for a more inclusive multilateral system, saying that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an example for cooperation on sustainable development.

"We need the voice of the South in revitalizing the sustainable development goals as the only real commitment for solidarity and collective action at the global level," Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica and the first woman and Central American to serve as UNCTAD's secretary-general, said in an interview via video link with Xinhua.

It's crucial that these important countries with a voice in the Global South come together and send messages that can be galvanizing for so many countries looking to join BRICS, she added.

A growing number of countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Argentina and Indonesia have expressed their interest in joining BRICS.

"All the BRICS countries are also in the G20. We want to make multilateralism more vibrant, more inclusive, and to help build a more multilateral world even in a moment of more multipolarity," Grynspan said.

"The appeal is to strengthen the voice of the Global South. It's important to have another platform that represents the perspective of the developing world and the need for development and more opportunities," she said.

BRICS groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The five BRICS countries now contribute about a quarter of the global GDP.

Grynspan said the China-proposed BRI has been very impactful, especially in infrastructure.

"I would like countries to see this cooperation within a holistic strategy. This long-term vision is something that we can learn from the Chinese experience. It has been so important," she added.

Headquartered in Geneva, UNCTAD was established in 1964 as an intergovernmental organization to promote the interests of developing states in world trade. 
CANBERRA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Native grass trees that keep Australia's iconic animals safe from extreme weather events are under threat from land clearing and disease.

In a study published on Tuesday, researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) discovered that the long, thick and dry grass from Australia's 29 species of yaccas - collectively known as grass trees - insulate animals from extreme weather in summer and winter.

In the Mount Lofty Ranges on the outskirts of Adelaide, the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia (SA), temperatures under yacca canopies were found to be 20 degrees Celsius cooler than under the direct sun in summer and warmer at night in winter, offering shelter to wildlife.

One species was found to keep the soil underneath its thick skirt completely dry during weeks of heavy rainfall.

"Several of the 29 species of Australian grass trees are known to host native bush rats, threatened bandicoots, echidnas and pygmy-possums, among other wildlife," Topa Petit, the lead author of the research, said in a media release.

"The remarkable ability of these grass trees to protect wildlife from deadly climatic extremes - as well as providing effective hiding spots from predators - strengthens the mounting evidence that these plants are keystone species."

However, the same research also found that yaccas on the mainland and on Kangaroo Island - an important sanctuary for biodiversity off the SA coast - are under threat from bushfires, land clearing and the soil pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi.

Grass trees are commonly burnt in fuel reduction programs and can take decades to recover, but research has shown doing so increases fuel loads.

"Grass-tree resilience to bushfires appears to be overestimated," Petit said.

"Moreover, even if grass trees are not killed by fires, their very old thick skirts of dead leaves burn, leaving no shelter to animals in post-bushfire environments." 
BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Tuesday expressed appreciation for a decision made by the Central American Parliament to revoke the permanent observer status of Taiwan's legislative body and include the National People's Congress of China as its permanent observer.

It has again proven that the attempts by Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities to solicit external support for "Taiwan independence" are doomed to fail, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

Reiterating that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China, Zhu said that the one-China principle is a consensus in the international community that has the overwhelming support of the people and represents an irresistible trend of the times. 
Albert Byaruhanga, project manager of the plant on behalf of the owner, Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd., speaks during an interview with Xinhua at Karuma Hydropower Plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Aug. 21, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)

KIRYANDONGO, Uganda, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese-built Karuma Hydropower Plant, in north-central Uganda's Kiryandongo District, has successfully launched the fourth of its six turbine sets and synchronized it to the national grid, taking the project one step closer to completion.

Ding Tuqiang, project manager of Sinohydro Corporation Ltd., the construction contractor, told Xinhua that Monday's launch of the fourth turbine was a success, and the remaining two sets will be launched before the end of the year.

He said the power plant, constructed both on the surface and underground, below River Nile, can now generate 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with each turbine generating 100 MW.

"Right now, the four units can generate power anytime," Ding said, noting that production depends on the demand of the national grid, which now takes power from one unit as the country awaits completion of the reinstallation of transmission lines that were vandalized.

Albert Byaruhanga, project manager of the plant on behalf of the owner, Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd., said the power plant is critical in addressing Uganda's inadequate power supply.

"Some years back, we were suffering from persistent power cuts, and that is more or less a thing of the past," he said. "We have more supply than demand at present."

The Karuma Hydropower Plant is one of Uganda's flagship projects financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, which finances 85 percent of the project. The rest is funded by the Ugandan government.

The plant, according to experts, is critical in meeting Uganda's increasing electricity demand in efforts to fast track the industrialization.

Karuma is the second power plant financed by China after the 183-MW Isimba Hydropower Plant. The commissioning of the Isimba plant contributed to raising Uganda's total power generation to 1,176.6 MW, up from 953.8 MW, according to government data. 

Engineers are seen at Karuma Hydropower Plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Aug. 21, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)

Albert Byaruhanga (L), project manager of the plant on behalf of the owner, Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd., talks with his colleagues at Karuma Hydropower Plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Aug. 21, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
PRETORIA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that he looks forward to working with other BRICS leaders to discuss plans for BRICS solidarity and development in the new era, work for a fruitful BRICS summit and strive for more just and equitable global governance.

In recent years, adhering to the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, the BRICS countries have written a wonderful story of the joint development of countries with different systems, cultures and regions, which has become a flagship of South-South cooperation, Xi said.

The Chinese leader also said he highly appreciates South Africa's meticulous preparations for the BRICS Summit.

Xi made the remarks in a meeting here with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, after arriving on Monday for a state visit to South Africa, where he will also attend the 15th BRICS Summit and co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue.

Ramaphosa said that the world today is faced with multiple severe and complex challenges including geopolitical and energy crises.

He said that Global South countries including South Africa hope to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with China to better meet the challenges together and promote the establishment of a more equal, just and rational international order.

He also thanked China for supporting South Africa in hosting a successful BRICS Summit, adding that South Africa is willing to work with BRICS countries to firmly defend multilateralism, promote the reform of the global governance system and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

A joint statement between China and South Africa was released after talks between Xi and Ramaphosa. The statement said: "The two sides agreed that BRICS cooperation is essential in achieving a more representative and equitable global governance order and promoting more inclusive global economic growth."

"The two sides agreed to continue supporting the development of BRICS in all three pillars of cooperation and to collaborate with all BRICS members to deepen practical cooperation in various fields and achieve progress in terms of BRICS membership expansion," it said.

"China supports South Africa as BRICS Chair this year and the outreach to Africa and the Global South and wishes the 15th BRICS Summit success," it added.

The BRICS is an acronym for five emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa assumed the BRICS presidency on Jan. 1, 2023. 
PRETORIA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of a joint statement released by China and South Africa on Tuesday.

Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa

At the invitation of H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, paid a state visit to South Africa on 22 August 2023. The two leaders had an in-depth exchange of views on China-South Africa relations, China-Africa cooperation, and regional and international affairs of mutual interest. They reached consensus on a series of important related issues.

1. The two sides spoke highly of the substantial growth of China-South Africa relations over the past 25 years since establishing diplomatic ties in 1998. They agreed that the bilateral relationship enjoys strong growth momentum, deepening political ties, enhanced economic engagement, flourishing technical cooperation, and fruitful people-to-people exchanges. Furthermore, the two sides maintain regular interaction and collaboration on multilateral occasions, which attests to the solid foundation of the China-South Africa friendship and the resilience of bilateral cooperation and demonstrates the increasingly strategic nature of the partnership. In the face of emerging global challenges, the two sides undertook to strengthen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership henceforth, actively build a quality China-South Africa community, and play a meaningful, joint role in China-Africa relations and South-South cooperation.

2. The two sides reaffirmed their respect and support for each other's sustainable social-economic development paths and just transitions. South Africa commended China's impressive development achievements over the past decade, and believes that the Chinese path to modernization offers many lessons. South Africa expressed confidence that China will realize its second centenary goal of building the country into a great modern socialist state in all respects and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through its path to modernization. China highly commended South Africa's commitment to building a modern state, embracing diversity and inclusion, and expressed confidence that South Africa will continue to make new achievements in terms of its National Development Plan.

3. South Africa pledged continuous support for China on issues concerning its core interests and major concerns. South Africa reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China policy. China reiterates its respect and support for South Africa's efforts to safeguard its national interests and social economic development and to better the livelihoods of its citizens. The two sides further agreed that Head-of-State diplomacy is particularly significant to developing China-South Africa relations. They agreed to maintain regular contact between the two heads of state to increase communication and coordination on major issues of mutual interest and chart the course for bilateral relations. The two sides agreed to leverage the role of structured bilateral mechanisms such as the Bi-National Commission (BNC), Strategic Dialogue (S.D.), the Regular Exchange Mechanism (REM) between the National People's Congress of China and the National Assembly of South Africa, and the High-level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism (PPEM) to deepen exchanges on governance and to promote people-to-people and sub-national interactions at various levels and across different fields to boost bilateral cooperation.

4. The two sides agreed that since its inception ten years ago, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a useful, mutually beneficial platform for international cooperation. The two sides will consider working towards bilateral cooperation and synergy within the BRI and the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) frameworks. Both sides pledged to continue to seek the strengthening of cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure and logistics; trade and investment; manufacturing; agro-processing; energy and resources; the financial sector; the digital economy; science and technology, and green development.

5. The two sides recognized the important overall guiding role of the 10 Years Strategic Programme on Cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa (2020-2029) in bilateral cooperation in various fields. They agreed to continue to strengthen coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Programme through the annual Strategic Dialogue and other mechanisms and to conduct regular reviews and assessments to ensure its timely, complete and effective implementation to promote mutual benefit and shared prosperity.

6.The two sides acknowledged the achievements of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, especially with China being South Africa's largest global trading partner and South Africa being China's largest trading partner in Africa. The two sides stand ready to further identify specific needs in terms of bilateral cooperation within the China-South Africa Joint Working Group (JWG) and the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETC), improve the current trade structure, address market access, enhance two-way investment, and to keep industrial and supply chains stable and secure. The two sides encouraged their respective business communities to explore creative ways further to expand two-way trade, increase their manufacturing bases within proximity of the relevant source of raw materials, improve the export of value-added goods from South Africa to China, increase the volume of export of high-quality South African agricultural exports to China and increase new investments in the manufacturing and assembly sector, the transfer of skills and technology, and to enhance local employment.

7. China undertook to continue to support South Africa in addressing its energy security challenges, both in respect of generation and transmission infrastructure, and to actively participate in the South Africa Investment Conferences and other such activities hosted by South Africa. South Africa will actively participate in the China International Import Expo, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and support trade missions between the two countries. South Africa further welcomed the identification of South Africa amongst the top 20 countries for group tourism promotion by Chinese tourists. In this regard, South Africa supports the increase in the frequency of direct flights between South Africa and China.

8. The two sides highly value people-to-people, cultural exchanges, and mutual learning. They acknowledged the role of the High-level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism and expressed satisfaction with the mechanism's meeting in Cape Town in February this year. The two sides reaffirmed the need to implement and further strengthen social exchanges and cooperation on poverty alleviation strategies; culture; women; youth; education; sport; health; the media; tourism; and other fields at the sub-national level to deepen mutual understanding and friendship, and to consolidate the social foundation of the bilateral relationship.

9. The two sides underscored the need to defend, promote and strengthen the multilateral response to Climate Change and undertake to work together for a successful outcome of the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in the United Arab Emirates in December 2023.

10. The two sides agreed that BRICS cooperation is essential in achieving a more representative and equitable global governance order and promoting more inclusive global economic growth. The two sides agreed to continue supporting the development of BRICS in all three pillars of cooperation and to collaborate with all BRICS members to deepen practical cooperation in various fields and achieve progress in terms of BRICS membership expansion. China supports South Africa as BRICS Chair this year and the outreach to Africa and the Global South and wishes the 15th BRICS Summit success.

11. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in international affairs and multilateral institutions, jointly uphold the UN-centred global system, an equitable international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations, based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including to uphold the rights and interests of developing countries jointly and respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity. South Africa has taken note of the efforts taken by China to promote and foster relations between states predicated on inclusive multilateralism and applauded China for its leadership role in promoting peaceful global cooperation. China expressed its support for a more significant role for South Africa in the United Nations, the G20 and other multilateral mechanisms. China supports South Africa's Presidency of the G20 in 2025. The two sides further agreed that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable option for resolving the Ukraine conflict, and they will continue to promote talks for peace and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the issue. Furthermore, China welcomed Africa's recent Ukraine-Russia peace mission.

12. The two sides welcomed the achievements of China-Africa cooperation and fully recognised the critical role of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in advancing the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Africa. China also appreciates South Africa's contribution to developing FOCAC and China-Africa relations. The two sides agreed to further strengthen consultation and coordination on FOCAC affairs to enhance implementation and practical cooperation in various fields under the Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024).

13. The two sides reiterated their resolve to further strengthen cooperation in terms of African affairs and to support the African Union in resolving African conflicts peacefully. China expressed its support for the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African integration process, as well as the efforts of African countries and regional organisations under the auspices of the African Union (A.U.) to provide African solutions to African problems, including to support the A.U.'s early accession to membership of the G20. China supports the second ten-year implementation plan of AU Agenda 2063.

14. At the conclusion of the State Visit, the two leaders jointly witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation instruments.

15. The Chinese side expressed its appreciation to H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African Government and the people of South Africa for hosting H.E. President Xi Jinping for his 4th State Visit to South Africa. 
JERUSALEM, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Tuesday announced the set-up of an advanced site for generating electricity from household waste and agricultural trimmings.

The site will be built on an area of 40,000 square meters at Eshkol, Israel's largest agricultural regional council in the west of the Negev Desert, close to the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip, according to a joint statement by the country's Ministry of Environmental Protection and the southern Eshkol Regional Council.

As one of Israel's largest environmental projects, the facility is expected to cost about 300 million shekels (79.4 million U.S. dollars) and handle about 200,000 tonnes of waste and trimmings per year.

The indoor facility, free of hazardous odors, will adopt anaerobic digestion: breaking down materials in the absence of oxygen.

Its product, methane gas, will be used to produce electricity for the Israel Electric Corporation with a capacity of 6.3 megawatts, along with an estimated 38,000 tonnes of high-quality compost.

The statement noted that this process will result in a significant reduction in both greenhouse gas emissions and landfill waste.

The project will also provide dozens of jobs for the locals, the statement said. 
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Tuesday that deliberately creating division with the assertion of "democracy versus authoritarianism" and "liberalism versus autocracy" can only split the world and lead to clash of civilizations.

Xi's remarks were made in a speech read out by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao at the BRICS Business Forum 2023.

Noting that one flower alone cannot make a beautiful spring, Xi highlighted exchanges among civilizations and mutual learning. 
The expansion of the nuclear power sector at the speed and scale required to meet net-zero, energy security and sustainable development targets will necessitate coordinated investment in the global nuclear supply chain, according to World Nuclear Association.

The association's World Nuclear Supply Chain 2023 covers the life cycle of nuclear power plants through construction, operation and decommissioning. In addition to the current status of the supply chain, the report looks at its prospects out to 2040 and beyond.

The report notes that, at the end of 2022, there were 437 operable power reactors worldwide with a combined generating capacity of 394 gigawatt electrical (GWe). A further 60 units were under construction, while over 400 more units were at various stages of planning.

Under one scenario in its 2021 Nuclear Fuel Report, World Nuclear Association projects that nuclear generation capacity could reach as much as 839 GWe by 2040.

"The capital expenditure required to build the new reactors to reach this level of nuclear capacity is of the order of $900 billion to $1.8 trillion, depending on whether the series effect and cost optimisation from 'nth-of-a-kind' (NOAK) builds are realised," the report says.

Meanwhile, more than 140 existing reactors could be subject to extended operation in the period to 2040. The total value of this work could exceed $50-100 billion and involve international procurement worth around $3-4 billion per year, the report estimates.

In addition, the decommissioning and waste management market is annually valued at $6-10 billion.

"Consistent policies to incentivise investment are needed to ensure that a fast global nuclear expansion can be supported by the nuclear supply chain, without bottlenecks, and build in resilience against potential supply chain shocks," according to World Nuclear Association.

Unlocking the potential of enabling technologies and industrial innovation within the supply chain will be a factor in the nuclear industry's success over the coming years, he noted.

The report makes a number of recommendations to optimise the supply chain, including: lowering the cost of the procurement process by strengthening the relationship with suppliers, and employing new business and financing models; lowering the cost of components by using strategic procurement methods, optimising the use of commercial off-the-shelf components and commercial grade dedication, and using innovative manufacturing and construction techniques in nuclear plant deployment; and reducing the procurement requirements through long-term operation and optimised management of existing plants, repurposing existing infrastructure for new build (such as using coal-fired plant sites and associated infrastructure), and simplifying plant design and operation.

"Since the publication of the previous edition of the report, the outlook for nuclear power has significantly improved," said World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y Leon.

"An increasing number of governments are recognising that nuclear energy offers a solution to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets, reliably and cost-effectively," he stated.

"Furthermore, concerns about the cost and reliability of gas supplies, exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine, have focused global attention on the importance of energy security and sovereignty, areas where nuclear power also offers advantages," stated Bilbao y Leon.

"The ability of the nuclear industry to seize the opportunities of the current energy challenges will depend on several factors, including the capacity of the industry to build and equip hundreds, and potentially thousands, of nuclear power plants efficiently," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
ISTANBUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish officials on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of villages as firefighters battled a forest fire in northwestern Canakkale province.

The residents of Kayadere village where the fire started were evacuated, and would be settled in a dormitory, said the governor's office in a statement.

Officials also ordered the evacuation of several other villages, warning nearby residents to be vigilant as the flames were spreading with strong winds, the statement added.

A highway was also closed as part of preventive measures, with officials advising citizens to use alternative routes, according to the statement.

There were no casualties resulting from the fire, said Canakkale governor Ilhami Aktas. 
WINDHOEK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Katima Mulilo border between Namibia and Zambia was opened Tuesday for 24-hour operations, ushering in a new era of economic cooperation and growth between the two nations while promoting trade relations.

Speaking at the launch, Namibia's Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security Albert Kawana said this move aims to enhance the movement of goods and people between the two nations, fostering economic growth and cooperation.

"After the economic devastation that was mainly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to adopt various measures aimed at reviving our economy. The 24-hour operation at Katima Mulilo Border Posts is but one such measure which is aimed at reviving our economy," Kawana said.

This move aligns with Namibia's ambition to become a logistical hub in southern Africa, Kawana added.

"I believe that the move will have tremendous economic benefits to both countries. The business community will be able to conduct business between the two countries on a 24-hour basis," he said. 
NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in India's northeastern state of Nagaland have closed schools in the state until Aug. 26 following an increase in the cases of conjunctivitis (eye flu) among school children, officials said Tuesday.

Cases of conjunctivitis have been reported in Dimapur, Chumoukedima, Niuland, and Mon districts, according to the local government.

"The deputy commissioners of these districts have decided to temporarily suspend physical classes in order to break one of the cycles of transmission and to prevent the exponential surge of eye flu cases not only among students but also among teachers and parents," an official said.

The authorities have asked the school administration in these districts to consider implementing online classes to ensure that students can continue their education while maintaining safety.

Since July 1, over 1,000 cases of eye flu have been reported in the state.

Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is an irritation or inflammation of the conjunctiva, which covers the white part of the eyeball. It is caused by allergies or bacterial or viral infections.

It can be extremely contagious and is spread by contact with eye secretions from someone who is infected. Symptoms of the disease include redness, itching and tearing of the eyes. It can also lead to discharge or crusting around the eyes.

The local health department has already issued an advisory asking people to maintain good hygiene, which includes washing hands and avoiding touching eyes with bare or unwashed hands. 
CANBERRA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- International students who want to migrate to Australia may no longer be penalized when applying for visas under government reforms to combat workforce shortages.

Under a new policy platform endorsed by the Labor Party at its national conference, the government has committed to favoring permanent over temporary migration to "create a nation of people with equal rights and a shared interest in our national success," according to The Australian report on Tuesday.

Currently, any international student who expresses a desire to stay in Australia in their application to study in the country is automatically rejected.

A shift from the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement to a Genuine Student Test will stop punishing those applicants who wish to stay and work in Australia.

The change comes after the government's landmark review of the migration system, which handed down its findings in April, found that Australia fails to retain international students, leaving the country at risk of falling behind in the race for highly-skilled migrants. 
NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for South Africa on Tuesday at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to participate in the BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg, announced the Ministry of External Affairs.

During his visit, Modi will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS-Plus Dialogue events.

"We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," said Modi in his departure statement.

From South Africa, the Indian PM will travel to Greece on Aug. 25 at the invitation of his counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 
TOKYO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite public concerns and raging opposition from both home and abroad, the Japanese government said Tuesday it has decided to start releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean on Thursday.

Despite pouring rain, hundreds of Japanese gathered on Tuesday morning in front of the Japanese prime minister's official residence to protest the government's irresponsible decision.

The ocean discharge which could last several decades is expected to commence Thursday, weather and sea conditions permitting, according to the controversial decision announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following a ministerial meeting held on Tuesday morning.

Kishida claimed that the government will take full responsibility for the decision.

Following the announcement, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant's operator, said it began transferring the first batch of treated water from storage tanks into a facility to mix it with seawater to dilute it shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

"No matter how the wastewater is 'treated,' its nuclear-contaminated nature remains unchanged. All the Japanese government wants is to create a fait accompli with the ocean discharge," said Hideki Taki, one of the rally's organizers, who expressed extreme anger at the government's unilateral move to push forward with the discharge.

He emphasized that those against the discharge are determined to continue voicing their strong opposition and fighting with all their might.

For Yoshiko Furukawa, who used to live near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and had been forced into long-term evacuation due to the nuclear accident, the prime minister's claim to take responsibility rang hollow to her. "He lacks the qualifications, authority, and right to assume such responsibility," she told Xinhua at the gathering.

"Nothing will change in our opposition to the release of water into the ocean without the understanding of fishermen and the public," said Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, in a statement on Tuesday.

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, Kishida visited the wastewater treatment facility at the Fukushima plant on Sunday and met with the head of Japan's national fisheries federation on Monday in hopes of gaining an understanding.

"Our position has not changed, and we continue to be opposed to the ocean discharge," Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations said after the meeting.

Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are now being stored in about 1,000 storage tanks.

The Fukushima plant has stored more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, and the discharge is planned to continue for more than 30 years, according to TEPCO.

In 2015, the Japanese government and TEPCO made an agreement with fisheries cooperative associations of both Fukushima prefecture and the nation that they would not proceed with any wastewater disposal "without the understanding of relevant parties."

"I had a faint hope that they would keep the promise, but eventually that was a lie," a 62-year-old fisherman from Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture was quoted by local media as saying.

Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party, criticized the government for disregarding agreements made with stakeholders, arguing that the decision to proceed with the ocean discharge despite widespread opposition amounted to a "reckless act" by the government, trampling over the concerns of the majority.

The legitimacy and safety of Japan's ocean discharge plan have long been questioned by the international community, and residents in Fukushima have pointed out many times that since the nuclear plant accident, TEPCO's handling of the aftermath has been highly problematic.

Earlier this month, leaks were found in a hose used to transfer treated nuclear-contaminated water at the crippled plant after higher-than-usual levels of radioactive material were detected in rainwater in the dike around a storage tank, which has again heightened international concerns over TEPCO's competence.

A total of 88.1 percent surveyed expressed concerns over the government's plan to discharge treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean, as the disapproval rate of the Kishida-led cabinet rose to an eight-month high, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the national news agency Kyodo.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday that China strongly urges Japan to cancel the plan to release nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and dispose of it responsibly.

"This is extremely selfish and irresponsible, as the discharge will spread the risks of nuclear contamination to the rest of the world, and by doing so, Japan is putting its selfish interests above the long-term wellbeing of the entire humanity," spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing in Beijing.

"China is gravely concerned and strongly opposed to this. We have made serious demarches to Japan," he said.

Meanwhile, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region said they would ban certain aquatic products from Japan starting Thursday following Tokyo's announcement of nuclear-contaminated water discharge.

The ban will apply to aquatic imports from 10 Japanese metropolis or prefectures including Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, covering all fresh, frozen, chilled, dried or processed seafood, as well as sea salt and seaweed.

In South Korea, activists and politicians condemned Japan's decision to start the nuclear-contaminated wastewater dumping plan.

A group of green activists gathered on Tuesday near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, shouting slogans of "Dead against Japan's maritime release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater," and "Immediately retract the maritime discharge decision."

The Democratic Party said in a statement that each country sharing the Pacific Ocean will have to bear the brunt of unexpected damages from the discharge, stressing that Japan became a damage-causing country by waging invasion wars in the past and releasing radioactive wastewater now.

The South Korean party said the Japanese government chose the nuclear-contaminated wastewater discharge to "save costs," adding that Japan should take the entire responsibility for all situations coming from the release. 
MOSCOW/KIEV, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments on the Ukraine crisis:

Ukraine has received 12 billion euros (about 13 billion U.S. dollars) in budget support from the European Union since the beginning of the year, the country's Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

Out of the sum, 1.5 billion euros was paid to Ukraine earlier in the day as the seventh tranche of the EU macro-financial assistance package, the ministry said in a statement.

As in previous periods, Ukraine will direct the loan to finance its priority budget expenditures, including social and humanitarian spheres, the statement added.

In December 2022, the EU allocated 18 billion euros in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine in 2023 to help the conflict-affected country cover its immediate funding needs.

The 35-year loan agreement stipulates that EU nations will cover the interest and other debt-related payments instead of Ukraine.

- - - -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov discussed alternative routes for exports of foodstuffs from Ukraine after the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the presidential press service reported Tuesday.

"Ukraine is ready to use alternative ways for the 'grain corridor.' We count on Bulgaria's support in this regard," Zelensky said during the negotiations in the Greek capital of Athens.

Zelensky and Denkov discussed the cooperation between their states to ensure sustainable security in the Black Sea.

Last month, the Black Sea Grain Initiative collapsed after Russia announced its withdrawal from the deal.

- - - -

A Russian aircraft destroyed a second Ukrainian military boat near Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea in one day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"On Aug. 22, at about 11:00 Moscow time (0800GMT), a U.S.-made high-speed military boat from the Willard Sea Force with an amphibious assault group from the Ukrainian military was destroyed by a Russian aerospace forces aircraft east of Zmiinyi Island," the ministry's statement said.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said a Russian SU-30SM fighter destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in the Black Sea. 
ATHENS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen people were found dead on Tuesday in a forest in northern Greece where wildfires had been raging, the Fire Brigade said.

Their bodies were found near the city of Alexandroupolis. Local authorities said they believed the victims may be migrants who had entered the country illegally, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported.

The wildfires near Alexandroupolis were burning out of control for a fourth day, scorching forests and farmland and forcing the evacuation of over a dozen settlements.

On Monday night and early Tuesday, the city's general hospital was also evacuated as the building was enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke. Patients were transferred by ships to other hospitals, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

The Alexandroupolis wildfire is one of the most challenging for Greek firefighters. In the past 24 hours, they were battling 65 wildfires reported across the country.

Two major wildfires, which erupted on Tuesday in the northwestern Attica region near the Greek capital, also forced the evacuation of settlements and the closure of roads as a precautionary measure, as factories were engulfed in flames. Strong winds make efforts to contain the blazes more difficult.

Additional European Union (EU) aid is at the disposal of Greece as it battles the wildfires, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari was quoted by AMNA as saying on Tuesday.

"We are sending seven firefighting aircrafts and one helicopter to Greece, mainly to the northwest of the country," Ujvari said, adding that over 100 firefighters and about 20 vehicles from Romania and the Czech Republic had already been deployed. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses via video link the closing ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)

MOSCOW, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- BRICS countries are continuing to deepen cooperation amid ongoing external economic challenges, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday while addressing the BRICS Business Forum 2023 via video link.

Putin noted that the introduction of illegitimate sanctions and the unlawful freezing of sovereign assets have had an overall negative impact on the global economy. He stressed that such practices have led to resource shortages, increased inequality, unemployment, and rising prices, which have affected the most vulnerable countries.

"It is important that BRICS member states continue to strengthen cooperation under such circumstances, and our joint work, which aims to ensure economic growth and sustainable development, has produced concrete, tangible results," said the president, as cited by the Kremlin in a report.

Cooperation within the BRICS is based on principles of equality and mutual respect, Putin said, adding that this is the "essence" of the group's future strategic course, which meets the interests of the global majority.

According to Putin, mutual investments between BRICS countries have increased sixfold over the past decade, and Russia's trade turnover with its BRICS partners has currently reached a record of over 230 billion U.S. dollars.

The Russian president further pointed out that the irreversible process of de-dollarization has gained momentum, and BRICS countries are actively working to establish effective mechanisms for mutual settlements and monetary and financial control.

Putin also discussed the importance of boosting cooperation in a wide range of fields, including transport and logistics, business and climate change.

"Russia is in favor of establishing closer cooperation within the BRICS framework on the issues of reliable and uninterrupted supply of energy and food resources to world markets," Putin noted.

The multifaceted BRICS partnership has not only ensured the sustainable growth of BRICS member states, but has also contributed to improving the global economic situation, and the successful implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, according to the president.

The 15th BRICS Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Aug. 22-24. The theme of this year's event is "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism." 
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- One student was killed and more than 20 others were injured after their school bus crashed with a passenger car in Clark County of the U.S. state of Ohio on Tuesday, WHIO-TV reported.

A Northwestern Local Schools bus crashed with a Honda car coming from the opposite direction on state route 41 in Springfield, Ohio, and the school bus overturned, WHIO-TV quoted Sgt. Tyler Ross of the Ohio State Highway Patrol as saying.

One student was thrown out of the bus and died at the scene of the crash, according to Ross.

There were 52 children on the school bus along with the driver. Thirteen students were transported by medics to area hospitals for treatment and 10 students were transported by personal means to area hospitals for treatment. Twenty-two of the students appear to have non-life threatening injuries, and one suffered serious injuries, Ross said.

The Honda driver and his passenger were transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The school bus driver suffered minor injuries, said the Dayton, Ohio-based WHIO-TV.

Northwestern Local Schools, a district with one elementary school and one junior/senior high school, confirmed on its website that there has been a bus accident "on one of our elementary routes," without giving details. 
A leading travel company in Saudi Arabia plans to take traveller engagement to new heights through a key partnership.

Almosafer, a part of Seera Group, has partnered with MoEngage, a marketing automation and customer engagement platform, to drive meaningful engagement with its travellers using an insights-led strategy.

Almosafer will also leverage MoEngages capabilities such as advanced segmentation, automation, and personalisation capabilities.

This will enable the brand to craft impactful campaigns while delivering the right messages to the right customers, maximising the effectiveness of engagement efforts.

We understand the importance of trust when it comes to booking travel services. Our customers can rely on us to deliver on our promises, ensuring they receive the services they booked with confidence and peace of mind. Additionally, we also realise the research that goes behind booking a service, and we intend to provide assistance there as well with the help of MoEngage, said Pallav Singhvi, Almosafer Vice President  Consumer Travel.

We are excited to join hands with a leading brand that focuses on engagement across the customer journey lifecycle. Establishing a sound customer engagement strategy can lead to a long-term relationship and MoEngage will be more than happy to assist Almosafer in doing so, said Sweta Duseja, Director of Customer Success, META  MoEngage. - TradeArabia News Service
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. student was awarded the 2023 Stockholm Junior Water Prize on Tuesday for her research on the removal of carbon dioxide and oil products from the ocean.

Naomi Park received the prize at a ceremony during the World Water Week in Stockholm, an annual global gathering focusing on water protection and development.

According to the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the ocean absorbs nearly a third of airborne carbon dioxide emissions, and 1.3 million gallons of crude oil are spilled into oceans every year. The SIWI said Park has developed a method to simultaneously remove these contaminants.

Speaking on winning the prize, Park said: "I did this project in my high school. I never realized that I would get to this point."

"The winner is taking a troublesome waste product and using it to help solve a number of the most pressing issues we face in the modern world. By using Styrofoam and creating a 'sponge' that absorbs both carbon dioxide and oil products from the ocean, this student built a model and tested it -- in multiple conditions, even simulating ocean waves -- with impressive results," the Stockholm Junior Water Prize jury said in a statement.

Stockholm Junior Water Prize is an international competition for students aged 15 to 20 who can present solutions to major water challenges. 
Liverpools Pursuit of Fluminenses Rising Star, Andre Trindade

The New Anfield Target

Liverpools quest to bolster their midfield continues. Recent chatter places 22-year-old Fluminense dynamo, Andre Trindade, in the spotlight as the Reds next potential acquisition. Liverpools midfield has already seen new faces like Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Wataru Endo. But, it seems, Jurgen Klopp and his team are far from done.

Fluminenses Stance: Copa Libertadores First

Fluminense value Andre highly, and their reluctance to part with him before the culmination of their Copa Libertadores journey is understandable. Reports suggest that the Brazilian side may consider a club-record sale of 25m (21.5m) for their prized number seven. However, theyre unwilling to disrupt their campaign, especially when theyre on the cusp of achieving a historical Copa Libertadores victory.

With the quarter-final first leg against Olimpia scheduled for 25 August, followed by a return leg in Paraguay, their focus remains undivided.

"Personal terms already agreed, that's done!" @EmmanuelLuiz12 says #LFC have already sorted part of the process to sign Andre from Fluminense  Liverpool Stepping Up Andre Interest | Transfer Insight w/Emmanuel Luiz Available now on Redmen Plus  pic.twitter.com/hDIBhkQdwb  The Redmen TV (@TheRedmenTV) August 22, 2023

Based on a report from an interview journalist Emmanuel Luiz had with The RedmenTV, theres more to the story than just Liverpools interest.

Manchester United went to Andres camp to talk to them about a possible negotiation. What they said [was] the player has personal terms agreed with Liverpool, personal already agreed. Thats done, revealed Luiz.

He continued: The player said to Fluminense, the situation today  I called some guys close to Andre  and they said to me, Andre said to Fluminense I want to go to Liverpool, I want to go, I have personal terms agreed. Thats fine but what Fluminense said [was] we are not going to say right now because of the Copa Libertadores that we already know. So Andre said Im going to talk to them [Liverpool].'

Andres passion for Anfield is evident. And while Manchester United might have shown interest, his heart is set on Merseyside.

The Financials: Navigating the Transfer

Even if personal terms have been cemented, there remains a formidable challenge: how to convince Fluminense to part ways with Andre sooner rather than later.

Its been reported that Liverpools earlier 30m (25.5m) bid was rebuffed by the Rio-based club. Yet, whispers have it that the Reds might be pondering triggering Andres release clause. There are murmurs that this clause stands at a staggering 40m (34m), but as of now, such figures remain speculative.

Liverpools transfer strategy has often been about a blend of potential and performance. In Andre Trindade, they see a player who embodies both. But will they manage to navigate the complexities of this deal? Only time, and the looming transfer window, will tell.
There have been many wise investors over the years who analysts have attempted to study. One investor who has been providing returns for decades is none other than Warren Buffett. The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway was born in 1930, and his net worth is currently estimated at about $118 billion. This makes him the fifth richest man in the world at 92 years old.

Im a Self-Made Millionaire: Here Are 5 Stocks Im Never Selling

See: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

In order to maybe improve your own investments and bank account, we have gathered 100 things you may not know about Warren Buffetts billion-dollar investing strategy.

What Are 100 Things You Didnt Know About Warren Buffetts Billion-Dollar Investment Strategy?

Here are 100 things you may not know about Warren Buffetts investing strategy:

1. Rule No. 1 is that you shouldnt lose money.

We couldnt write about Buffett without sharing his popular line about not losing money.

2. The second rule is to remember the first rule.

When in doubt, Buffett wants you to remember that the whole point of investing is to make money in the long run and not panic in the short term.

3. Buffett believes in holding stocks for at least 10 years.

Buffett is historically known as an investor who has held on to stocks for decades and doesnt day trade by any means.

4. Buffett commits to the companies that he invests in.

Buffett will study the company before investing to commit to the long haul.

5. You have to do your due diligence.

Buffett has been known for studying companies for a long time before investing a dollar into them.

6. Never rely on one source of income.

Warren Buffett believes in investing to give yourself another stream of money coming in.

Im a Self-Made Millionaire: These Are Investments Everyone Should Avoid During an Economic Downturn

7. Value investing is the way to go.

Instead of investing in already established companies, Buffett looks for undervalued companies with long-term potential.

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8. Buffett avoids fads and trends.

You wont see him discussing the recent trends that take over the market.

9. Buffett only invests in what he understands.

Buffett wants to understand the business before he invests in the company.

10. Frugality is the way to go for Buffett.

Buffett is known for living in the same home he purchased in 1958.

11. The best investment is in yourself.

Buffett has been known to promote the idea of investing in yourself because this cant be taxed.

12. Buffett doesnt invest in stocks.

While many invest in stocks, this isnt how Buffett sees it.

13 Instead, he invests in the business.

Buffett will invest in the business, the management team and the company.

14. Buffett takes pride in his research.

While some investors follow the news and headlines, Buffett does extensive research.

15. Day trading isnt a strategy.

Buffett doesnt believe in trying to time the market.

16. The management team is very important.

Buffett will analyze the management team of the company that he invests in.

17. Apple is Berkshires best business.

Berkshire has invested heavily in Apple and stated that this is the best business it has invested in.

18. Buffett believes that Apple is a consumer products company, not a tech company.

Buffett is a believer in the products that Apple makes.

19. Buffetts bet on Apple has paid off tremendously.

Berkshire Hathaway purchased about 916 million shares of Apple for $31 billion, which skyrocketed to $180 billion this summer.

20. Buffett sees volatility as an opportunity to buy more stocks at a lower price.

Buffett isnt afraid of price fluctuations, as theyre to be expected.

21. Buffett doesnt invest in cryptocurrency.

Buffett is one investor who has never been interested in investing in crypto.

22. Buffett doesnt invest in NFTs.

Buffett has also never invested in NFT projects.

23. Buffett wouldnt spend $25 on all of the Bitcoin in the world.

This is how adamant he is against crypto.

24. Buffett doesnt believe that Bitcoin produces anything.

He doesnt see any value at all in the crypto.

25. Buffett owns 218,237 Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett is heavily invested in his own company.

26. Berkshire Hathaway was started in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1965.

This is how long he has been at it.

27. When the market panics and sells, Buffett looks for opportunities in companies he has been tracking.

Buffett doesnt react like the rest of the market.

28. Buffett has famously said that you should be fearful when others are greedy.

He doesnt get greedy when he sees others doing so.

29. Conversely, Buffett believes you should be greedy when others are fearful.

Its important to be curious when others are worried about investing.

30. Before investing in a company, he will read as many annual reports as possible.

These annual reports will show how the business is performing.

31. Buffett once remarked that you should invest in a business that even a fool can run.

Its important for Buffett for the actual business to make sense.

32. Buffett has stated that 99% of his net worth will be donated to charity.

Hes heavily involved in donating to charities.

33. Buffett recently donated $27 million worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to an undisclosed charity.

This is how dedicated he is to giving away his money.

34. Buffett has donated over $51 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since 2006.

This is how much money he has donated to them and he plans on giving most of his money away.

35. Buffett believes people would relinquish their second car before parting ways with an iPhone.

He feels strongly about the Apple product.

36. Buffett feels he knows where Apple will be in five to 10 years.

Hes so invested in the company because he knows where its going.

37. Buffett isnt certain about what the future of the auto industry is.

Hes not so certain about what will happen with vehicles.

38. Berkshire owns 22 million shares of General Motors stock after cutting its position by 45% in 2023.

Hes moving toward exiting his positions in the auto industry.

39. Buffett believes that diversification is for those who dont know what theyre doing.

While some swear by diversification, Buffett has a few stocks he heavily invests in.

40. Seventy-eight percent of Berkshires portfolio is invested in six popular companies.

Buffett doesnt day trade as he researches the best companies to invest in.

41. The six stocks with the most weight in the investment portfolio are Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

Buffett has invested heavily in these conglomerates.

41. Buffett invests in brand name companies because theyre established in the market.

Buffett will go for the trusted names in the market.

42. Buffett invested in Capital One Financial during the second quarter of 2023 as banks faced multiple issues.

Buffett wasnt afraid of investing in banking.

43. Buffett also recently invested in the housing industry by purchasing shares of homebuilders like NVR and Lennar.

He has given the housing market a vote of confidence.

44. Buffett sold recently sold shares of Activision Blizzard after the deal with the company to be sold to Microsoft was approved.

This was a highly publicized exit of his in recent times.

45. Buffett repurchased around $1.4 billion of Berkshire stock in the second quarter.

He has been a believer in share buybacks.

46. Buffett has been repurchasing shares as a sign that he believes theyre undervalued.

Buffett feels that the shares are undervalued.

47. Buffetts investment moves are closely monitored, so you can read reports online if you wish to mimic his style.

You could also make similar investments.

48. Buffett wants you to pay attention to fees.

Management fees are important to pay attention to.

49. Buffett advises against picking one stock and investing in the best companies with an index fund.

If you dont have time, this is the best way to invest for your retirement.

50. Buffett isnt a fan of high management fees.

He doesnt feel that theyre justified because you can get better results.

51. Buffett doesnt see management fees as being worth it.

He believes that you could invest this money instead of spending it on fees.

52. He wants you to start investing as young as possible.

He has stated that you should start investing as early as possible.

53. Buffett doesnt let others opinions dissuade him.

You have to do your own research and drown out the noise.

54. Buffett wants you to be confident about your investments.

You shouldnt invest if you dont believe in the company.

55. Buffett believes in a long-term view.

When you do invest, its for the long run.

56. Buffett advises against using credit cards.

Buffett once stated that credit cards should be avoided because borrowing money at 20% is an easy way to go broke.

57. He believes in leaving cash on hand.

He wants you to hold on to some cash just in case.

58. He wants you to learn about personal finance and managing money actively.

Buffett is a firm believer in learning the basics of money management.

59. Buffett believes in acting quickly and decisively when you see an opportunity.

When youve done your research, you have to be ready to jump at an opportunity.

60. Buffett doesnt just invest in companies through Berkshire as it also purchases companies fully.

Berkshire owns many companies.

61. Buffett selects CEOs to run the companies that he purchases.

Buffett has a hand in choosing who will run the business.

62. In 1994, Berkshire officially purchased 400 million shares of Coca-Cola with a total cost of $1.3 billion.

This investment has grown tremendously over the years.

63. The cash dividend from Coca-Cola was $75 million back in 1994.

The dividend payments started back in 1994.

64. The cash dividend from Coca-Cola was $704 million by 2022.

While the dividend wasnt that high in 1994, it has grown since.

64. Buffett expects that Cokes quarterly dividend payment will likely continue to grow.

The company will only keep on sending more dividends.

65. Berkshires annual dividend payment from America Express reached $302 million in 2022.

The company collects various dividend payouts.

66. Buffett has stated that it only takes a few winning investments to work wonders to look like an amazing investor.

Buffett isnt always right, but he has big winners.

67. Buffett has promised that Berkshire will hold on to boatloads of cash and Treasury bills.

The company will always keep cash on hand.

68. Buffett believes that the CEO of Berkshire should also be the chief risk officer.

Buffett wants the person running the company to be responsible for the risk levels.

69. Buffett believes that all future CEOs of Berkshire should have a hefty amount of their net worth tied into the company.

Buffett wants to work with people who are accountable for their actions.

70. Buffett isnt against taxes. He has stated that he hopes and expects Berkshire to pay more taxes in the future.

Buffett believes in supporting the economy with taxes.

71. Buffett feels temperament is more important than intellect as an investor.

You dont have to be the smartest person to be a decent investor with substantial returns.

72. Buffett considers stock market investing a no-called-strike game.

You dont have to swing if youre not ready.

73. He considers picking individual stocks as working against the professionals who have more time to devote to this.

Youre better off finding index funds if youre an individual investor.

74. Buffett realizes that you dont get paid for activity.

Just because you actively trade stocks, it doesnt mean youll make money.

75. Buffett believes that your portfolio should be designed to survive a bear market.

Your portfolio shouldnt be filled with speculative assets.

76. Buffett stated that many Berkshire investors donate money through philanthropic ventures.

This is one common trait of those who invest in the company.

77. Buffett has declared that stocks can trade at foolish prices (in both directions).

Stock prices wont always make sense.

78. Buffett believes that efficient markets are only in textbooks.

The stock market wont always make sense as a whole.

79. Buffett understands that you can buy a companys shares on sale but that you have to pay the price actually to buy a decent business.

When he buys an actual business, he doesnt look for discounts because he understands that only a desperate company would do that.

80. Buffett may be one of the richest men in the world, but he has often had a simple Mcdonalds breakfast to start his day.

You dont have to spend a fortune on fueling your body.

81. He has never purchased an expensive vehicle and will keep one until the end.

Hes not known for spending money on luxurious vehicles ever.

82. He enjoys playing bridge and doesnt have any expensive hobbies like other rich people.

Buffett enjoys simple hobbies like playing bridge with his friends.

83. Buffett had a flip phone long after most were using an iPhone.

You dont have to spend your money on the newest technology and gadgets.

84. He doesnt splurge on fancy suits but spends the money on quality fits.

Youll never see Buffett with a brand-name suit.

85. Buffett once used a coupon while eating dinner with Bill Gates.

Even when spending time with other wealthy friends, Buffett will use a coupon.

86. Berkshire has been in the same building since the 1960s.

Even though the company has grown, it has remained in the same building.

87. Buffett believes that once a saver, always a saver.

He doesnt believe that savers end up splurging in their golden years.

88. Buffett doesnt splurge even in his golden years.

Even now that hes pushing 93, Buffett remains frugal with his money.

89. Buffett passed on investing in Tesla back in 2008.

Buffett couldve gotten involved with Tesla at the very bottom.

90. Since Buffett only invests in profitable companies, he doesnt take chances on startups.

You wont see Buffett investing in startups or risky companies.

91. Buffett chose to invest in BYD, the Chinese EV maker, back in 2008.

Buffett did take a chance on the EV market in 2008.

92. Buffett doesnt want to compete with Tesla and has divested from BYD recently.

Buffett isnt looking to compete with Elon Musk or Tesla.

93. Buffett isnt a fan of the auto industry with the recent transition toward electric and greener sources.

Buffett isnt sure what will happen to the auto industry.

94. Buffetts Berkshire is often considered the barometer for the economic health of the nation.

The conglomerate is so powerful that its a barometer for economic health in the country.

95. Buffett has stated that nothing is sure regarding business or economic forecasts.

He doesnt consider anything a guarantee when it comes to the economy.

96. Buffett has been investing his money for over 80 years now.

Part of his success is attributed to his time in the market.

97. When Buffett first started Berkshire, the company only invested in one textile business, which was failing. Berkshire shifted to insurance in 1967.

The investing journey for Buffett had humble beginnings.

98. Buffett has stated that living into your 90s helps with your investment horizon.

Buffett jokingly has brought up how living so long has helped out his investing career.

99. When in doubt, invest in a low-cost index fund.

If you want to save for retirement, allocate your money to index funds.

100. He once referred to Bitcoin as a gambling token.

This last one summarizes the investing philosophy of Warren Buffett, who believes in finding strong companies at a fair price point.

Closing Thoughts

Warren Buffett can be considered one of the greatest stock investors ever. While you likely cant apply all of these rules to your investing style, theres something that you can pick up from him.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 100 Things You Didnt Know About Warren Buffetts Billion-Dollar Investment Strategy
In this article, well discuss the 15 countries that tip the most in 2023. If you want to skip the details about recent tipping behavior and the rise of tipping culture, then head straight to the 5 Countries That Tip the Most in 2023.

Tipping, involving giving extra money to workers, has seen an increasing integration with technology, a combination growing excessively due to economic factors. In fact, inflation is seen as a major challenge by 90% of restaurant operators. This trend has become particularly evident in 2023, where the choice of tipping or not has become a near-universal practice in the food service industry. Even at simple takeout places, customers may find themselves faced with a touch screen offering three distinct gratuity options, all while being observed by the cashier.

Why do Americans tip so much?

Despite common complaints, Americans are actually tipping more now. Square, which provides many of the iPads used for payments, reported a 16.5% rise in total tips at full-service restaurants in the last quarter of the previous year compared to the year before. At quick-service restaurants, the increase was 15.9%. Data from Toast, a restaurant software company, showed that diners were still tipping around 15% to 20%. For full-service eateries, average tips remained constant at 19.6% in the second and third quarters. However, quick-service restaurants experienced a slight drop in the average tip percentage, going from 16.9% to 16.8%, according to Toast.

Requesting tips at self-checkouts

Almost 20% of Americans now give tips for a wider range of services. About half of them admit to tipping when they wouldn't have before, all because an iPad suggested it, according to a PlayUSA survey of over 1,000 people in September. For example, Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) introduced a new tipping approach recently, which got a big reaction from users. This Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) system requires customers to pick from set options for adding extra money, like $1 to $5. Many argue that Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) should focus on increasing employee wages instead of relying on customers for tips.

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Meanwhile, in Chicago, larger restaurants currently compensate their staff with a minimum hourly rate of $9.48. This is in anticipation that tips will bridge the gap between this rate and the non-tipped business minimum wage of $15.80 per hour. In July, the City Council introduced a proposal mandating that all tipped workers receive the $15.80 wage. However, businesses are now grappling with the challenge of balancing higher wages for new hires while avoiding price increases. This dual pressure has prompted them to explore additional revenue sources to sustain their operations.

Is the rising tipping culture hurting sales?

Despite the potential benefit of added charges for employees and employers, there's a risk of straining the relationship between restaurants and customers. Ironically, this tipping dilemma emerges at a time when Americans are more generous than ever in their tipping practices. According to data from tech provider Toast, average tip sizes exceeded 20% during the initial pandemic months, driven by a desire to support essential workers. While the pandemic's impact has eased, the inclination to tip generously persists.

Amidst all this, many Americans are grappling with the overwhelming costs of daily life. Rising prices for essentials like food, rent, and gas due to inflation are taking their toll. With about 58% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, the practice of tipping can further strain their finances. In a time where financial caution is the norm due to limited resources, the pressure of tipping is adding to their financial burdens. Tipping should be left to those who are financially secure.

Now read on to explore questions like what countries tip the most and what percent should you tip in 2023.

15 Countries That Tip the Most in 2023

Our Methodology

To create the list of countries that tip the most in 2023, we conducted a comprehensive search for tipping practices of restaurant staff, hotel staff, and taxi drivers across 30 different countries. We consulted the TripAdvisor tipping guides specific to each country to collect data. Subsequently, we calculated the average percentage of tipping rates for each country based on the gathered data. We then compiled a selection of the top 15 countries that exhibit the most generous tipping behaviors in 2023. These countries have been arranged in ascending order according to their tipping percentages.

If you want to explore the most visited countries then check out World Tourism Rankings by Country: Top 20 Countries.

15 Countries That Tip the Most

Here is the list of countries that tip the most in 2023.

15. United Kingdom

Restaurant tip: 10%

Hotel tip: $2-$5

Driver tip: No tip

Average tip rate: 4.17%

In the United Kingdom, for exceptional service, a tip of approximately 10% added to the bill is suitable. In UK hotels, tipping isn't usually expected. Yet, in more upscale venues with porters or maids, a modest $2-5 tip is adequate. Tipping norms in the UK align more with other European countries, where it's less common.

14. Vietnam

Restaurant tip: 5-10%

Hotel tip: $1-$2

Driver tip: Round up

Average tip rate: 4.50%

Tipping was traditionally absent from Southeast Asian culture, but in Vietnam, it's gained traction due to Western tourists. Vietnamese tourists generally don't tip, as they consider it unnecessary. With a significant part of Vietnam's service sector comprising street food stalls and family-owned ventures, tipping practices aren't firmly established. If tipping at Vietnamese restaurants, around 5-10% is recommended. However, the precise amount varies based on location, occasion, and order size.

13. Greece

Restaurant tip: 10%

Hotel tip: $1

Driver tip: No Tip

Average tip rate: 5.50%

Tipping is prevalent in Greece, particularly within the hospitality sector. A 10% tip added to the bill is seen as fitting in local restaurants. Though customary, tipping isn't obligatory, and not tipping won't be deemed rude or met with negative reactions.

12. Croatia

Restaurant tip: 10%

Hotel tip: $2-$2.5

Driver tip: No tip

Average tip rate: 5.75%

While not obligatory, tipping is ingrained in Croatian culture without being anticipated. Adding around 10% to the bill is suitable for local restaurants. In cafes and bars, rounding up the bill or around 3-5% is customary. Tipping in Croatian hotels isn't necessary. Yet, for porters or maids in upscale establishments, a modest 20 Kuna tip (about 2 or $3) is appropriate.

11. Turkey

Restaurant tip: 10%

Hotel tip: $1-$2

Driver tip: Round up

Average tip rate: 5.75%

Tipping in Turkey is customary and valued across sectors like restaurants, hotels, and taxis. In high-end restaurants, where a service charge might be included, an extra 10% tip for servers is greatly welcomed. While not obligatory, rounding up taxi fares is prevalent. In the hotel context, while not anticipated, tipping hotel staff, especially porters and concierges, for excellent service is a common practice.

10. Italy

Restaurant tip: 10%

Hotel tip: $1-$5

Driver tip: No tip

Average tip rate: 6.50%

Tipping in Italy isn't obligatory, and not every service requires it. Basic instances like coffee, taxis, or pizzeria dinners usually don't warrant tipping. While not expected, most workers won't decline tips. Italian restaurants may include a "coperto," a cover charge for items like bread and oil, separate from tips. For great service or gratitude, a small tip is fitting, often rounding up the bill or leaving a few euros. A ballpark guideline for a standard restaurant is around 10% of the bill. Unlike countries where tips significantly supplement incomes, Italian waiters receive monthly salaries, reducing the reliance on tipping.

9. Qatar

Restaurant tip: 10-15%

Hotel tip: $2-$3

Driver tip: No tip

Average tip rate: 7.00%

In Qatar, tipping garners importance across service industries encompassing restaurants, hotels, and taxis. Tipping norms suggest 10-15% of the bill, serving as an appreciative gesture for commendable service. Tipping is customary for tourists in Qatar at eateries, lodgings, and for drivers. The exact amount hinges on service quality, often settling around 10-15% of the bill. Tipping taxi drivers isn't obligatory but rounding up fares to the nearest whole number is customary.

8. United Arab Emirates

Restaurant tip: 10-15%

Hotel tip: $1-$2

Driver tip: Round up

Average tip rate: 7.00%

Tipping practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) follow distinct norms across service sectors like restaurants, hotels, and taxis. While hotel restaurants might include a 10-15% service charge, tipping other hotel staff is less common. In restaurants, around 10-15% of the bill is customary. UAE's federal law automatically adds a 10% tip to service bills. For taxis, rounding up the fare is the norm. This consistent tipping culture has endured in the UAE over the years.

7. France

Restaurant tip: 10%

Hotel tip: $1-$2

Driver tip: 10%

Average tip rate: 7.17%

Tipping customs in France reflect discretion and appreciation. Though not obligatory, hotel staff like porters and concierges are often tipped for exceptional service, with the amount being discretionary. Similarly, while not compulsory, rounding up the fare is common when tipping taxi drivers. French tipping culture centers on showing gratitude for excellent service through discretionary tips.

6. Poland

Restaurant tip: 10%-15%

Hotel tip: $2

Driver tip: No tip

Average tip rate: 7.25%

Tipping practices in Poland differentiate it from other countries like Germany. Porters and bellboys are not as common in Polish hotels. When present, a tip of 5-10 PLN is deemed appropriate. Dining out in Poland entails expected tipping, particularly in tourist hotspots like Krakow or Warsaw. Generally, around 10% of the bill is customary, escalating to 15% for exceptional service. Tipping isn't obligatory but is a courteous gesture toward the hardworking service industry. Taxi drivers in Poland aren't bound by mandatory tips. Tipping, often given in cash on the table, is voluntary and customary in Poland.

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Disclosure: None. 15 Countries That Tip the Most in 2023 is originally published on Insider Monkey.
In this article, we will look at the 15 highest paying countries for data scientists. We have also covered key trends and companies related to data. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, head straight to the 5 Highest Paying Countries for Data Scientists.

How Important is Data?

They say data is the new oil and rightly so because data has permeated and tweaked every corner of our lives, much like a secret ingredient in a recipe that works wonders. It's the powerhouse behind industries today, enabling tasks after tasks to facilitate and empower humans. Just as oil fueled the past industrial revolutions, data drives today's digital age by bringing innovation, strategic decisions, and operational efficiency.

Similar to oil refining, data undergoes extraction, processing, and application phases. Unlike oil, however, data's potential is boundless, that inspires breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT) and deep learning. To read more about deep learning, do check out our article on deep learning courses for high salary jobs.

Are Data Jobs Still in Demand in 2023?

While data scientist was the sexiest job of 2021, the job of a data scientist is not only one of the most needed jobs in America in 2023, but also one of the most in-demand jobs for the future with a growth rate of 36% between 2021 and 2031. It is also worth noting that technology, finance, and healthcare are the highest paying industries for data scientists.

However, utilization of data is not restricted to data scientists' jobs alone. In the dynamic media landscape today, the importance and subsequent rise of data in journalism has undergone an equally profound transformation, which has shaped the way news is produced and consumed. Just as the Guardian's Datablog heralded a new era of data-driven journalism, we witness today an incredible shift towards data's pivotal role in reinforcing trust and combating misinformation.

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Data journalism has evolved into a formidable weapon against misinformation, rooted in the ethos of credible sources and transparent reporting. This pronounced transformation can be attributed to the pandemic when governments started banning fake news through the proliferation of laws against disinformation and only statistically rooted, direct information was prioritized. The accurate data-driven reporting not only informs the public during crises but also safeguards journalism's integrity in a cacophony of online voices. The metamorphosis of journalism into the 2020s underscores the symbiotic relationship between data and news that enables nuanced insights, fact-checking, and credible reporting that resonate with audiences.

Key Trends and Companies in Data in 2023

Data democratization is a key trend in 2023, which empowers entire workforces to utilize analytics, not just data experts. This shift towards data democratization enables augmented working which further pushes insights to all employees for more effective decision-making,

Here is an example, lets say there is a Company X. For this company, data democratization unfolds through tailored data literacy training for all employees. A centralized data hub grants access to varied data types, which addresses data availability challenges. Specific tools, like data visualization for marketing and collaboration platforms for product and engineering, cater to distinct team needs. The outcome is a more efficient cross-functional collaboration, informed decision-making, and improved customer experiences. For instance, customer support gains real-time insights for personalized assistance, while sales employs predictive analytics to identify promising leads during trials.

Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), one of the biggest internet of things companies in the world, is introducing Einstein Studio as part of its Data Cloud service, which also exemplifies another pertinent trend in 2023 where companies leverage AI and generative AI for tailored model training. Einstein Studio is essentially a user-friendly "bring your own model" solution that empowers businesses to deploy their unique AI models across various Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) applications. It capitalizes on the Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM)s Data Cloud platform utilizing its real-time data capabilities and curated AI model ecosystem, which includes Amazon.com, Inc (NYSE:AMZN)s SageMaker and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)s Vertex AI. This trend is also in line with data democratization that allows data scientists and engineers to efficiently maintain and deploy AI models while offering zero-ETL connections for streamlined data transfer.

On the other hand, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has consistently capitalized on its power to enhance search precision and ad targeting. Through billions of searches, Google Search continually hones its algorithms, while data analytics personalize experiences in Google Maps, amplify ad effectiveness, and incubate innovations like Google Home. By parsing search history, trends, and locations, Alphabet Inc algorithms yield ranked outcomes, which refinesrelevance. Moreover, the Translate service taps into extensive translations for accurate renditions, and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)s ad services benefit from rapid and efficient data processing.

Furthermore, incorporating Stream Analytics, which encompasses Cloud Pub/Sub, Cloud Dataflow, and BigQuery, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) extracts real-time insights from massive datasets. The Google Cloud Platform hosts diverse services like the facilitation of automated ETL tasks by Google Cloud Dataprep. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)s capabilities are also underscored by the utilization of BigQuery and Bigtable which ensure minimal latency and achieving high throughput. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the highest-paying companies for data scientists, with an expected average salary of $236,000 per year.

15 Highest Paying Countries for Data Scientists

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

Our Methodology

To list the highest paying countries for data scientists, we identified the countries with the highest demand for data scientists and then made a list for 23 countries with the average salaries for data scientists. Of those 23, the 15 with the highest average salaries were selected and have been ranked. We acquired the data for average salaries of data scientists for each country from ERI Economic Research Institute. The list is presented in ascending order.

Here is a list of highest-paying countries for data scientists.

15. Norway

Average Salary: $86,253

Norway provides an incredible space for data scientists owing its strong focus on technology, high digital literacy, progressive policies, and investment in research. Moreover, the abundant job opportunities, quality education, work-life balance, and a flourishing tech community make Norway the best country for data science field.

14. New Zealand

Average Salary: $91,201

As one of the countries with the highest standard of living, New Zealand beckons data scientists with its innovation-driven economy and burgeoning tech sector. The country's pristine environment and quality education create an ideal setting for data professionals to succeed in their careers while enjoying a high quality of life.

13. Italy

Average Salary: $93,395

According to StudyPortals, the popularity of data science degree programs has increase to a huge margin, particularly for European universities. In fact, interest in Italy for higher education surged by 20.5%, making it as the second-most viewed European country for education. Moreover, data science programs are gaining traction in Italy, which reflectits growing prominence in the field. Italy's blend of high class universities and cutting-edge research make it one of the best countries for data scientists.

12. United Kingdom

Average Salary: $97,338

In the UK, the demand for data science skills is booming. In fact, it is predicted that by 2030, AI-driven analysis could raise UKs GDP by up to 22%. However, a supply-demand gap persists, with around 178,000 vacant data specialist roles and an annual supply of less than 10,000 data scientists from UK universities. The initiatives to address the issue of data scientists shortage in the UK include upskilling platforms and efforts to attract as many international students as possible. UK is one of the highest paying countries for data scientists.

11. Canada

Average Salary: $101,674

Canada's Express Entry system now allows skilled individuals with STEM expertise, including data scientists. This policy is aimed to meet the countrys demand for talent in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields, driving economic growth and technological advancement. High living standards and lucrative salaries in Canada coupled with a focus on innovation and welcoming communities, makes it one of the best countries for data scientists immigrate to.

10. France

Average Salary: $106,998

In 2022, France and Imperial College London joined forces to pioneer groundbreaking research at the CNRS-Imperial International Research Centre. With a focus on vital areas like artificial intelligence, climate change, and medicine, this partnership harnesses the institutions' world-leading expertise in mathematics and data science. The collaboration not only addresses pressing global challenges but also emphasizes early-career researcher training and global sustainability efforts, making France one of the best countries for data science.

9. Finland

Average Salary: $108,922

Finland nurtures data science excellence as it promotes innovation through its quality education, research, and industry collaboration. Its supportive ecosystem makes it a popular hotspot for skilled data scientists and cutting-edge research.One of the highest paying countries for data scientists.

8. Netherlands

Average Salary: $109,883

The Netherlands is also rapidly becoming a popular hotspot for data center colocation due to its robust digital infrastructure. It houses the renowned Amsterdam Internet Exchange which enables high-speed and secure connectivity crucial for data-intensive operations. Moreover, the Netherlands has a highly skilled workforce, particularly in fields like data science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence that ensures companies can access the expertise needed to manage and optimize data center operations effectively. Netherlands is also one of the highest paying countries for neurosurgeons.

7. Australia

Average Salary: $110,152

Becoming a data scientist in Australia open doors for innovative projects, competitive salaries, and a flourishing tech ecosystem with abundant job opportunities. With this role, one can contribute to impactful solutions and shape the future across industries in Australia. Australia is also one of the highest paying countries for dentists.

6. Germany

Average Salary: $122,418

Data scientists in Germany often leverage AI, supercomputing, and Earth observation data for research. For example, collaborations between institutions like DLR and LRZ drive innovations across geoinformation, environmental analysis, and AI applications. Germany is considered the best country for data science.

Click here to see the 5 Highest Paying Countries for Data Scientists.

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Disclosure: None. 15 Highest Paying Countries for Data Scientists is originally published on Insider Monkey.
In this article, we are going to discuss the 20 countries that drink the most beer per capita. You can skip our detailed analysis of the global beer market, the largest beer producer in the world, and the current state of the American beer market, and go directly to 5 Countries that Drink the Most Beer per Capita.

The first solid proof of brewed beer comes from the age of the Sumerians, around 6,000 years ago. Archaeologists also found an ode to Ninkasi, the Mesopotamian patron goddess of beer. Then the ancient Egyptians perfected the art of brewing and worshiped Tjenenet, the Egyptian goddess of brewing.

Although these ancient goddesses are no longer revered in the modern world, their legacy has withstood the sands of time. Beer is still the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world and the third-most popular drink overall, right after water and tea.

Global Beer Market:

According to the Barth Haas Report, the global brewing industry recovered partially from the devastating effects of the pandemic and reported a global production of 1.86 billion hectolitres in 2021, a 4% increase from the previous year. However, the market is yet to return to its pre-pandemic levels, when production peaked at 1.91 billion hectolitres in 2019.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global beer market was valued at $793.74 billion last year and is projected to grow from $821.39 billion in 2023 to $1.07 trillion by 2030, with a CAGR of 3.88% during the forecast period.

Largest Beer Producer in the World:

The brewing behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) is the largest beer producer in the world, with 518 million hectolitres of volume produced in 2022. Formed by the $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev in 2008, the company boasts over 630 beer brands in 150 countries worldwide. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) had a revenue of $57.7 billion in 2022 and a net income of almost $6 billion. BUD shares haven't gone anywhere in recent years, and it lost around 40% of its value over the last 5 years. It is a highly levered company and the rising interest rates isn't helping the stock either. Nevertheless, billionaire Bill Gates' portfolio managers decided to initiate a $96 million position in Anheuser-Busch InBev during the second quarter.

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Broyhill Asset Management said the following about Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:

The largest detractors to performance over the quarter were First Horizon Corp (FHN), Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD), and Bayer (BAYRY). Problems at Anheuser Busch InBev began on April 1 with Dylan Mulvaneys social media post, which ignited a fiery backlash amongst Bud Light customers across Merica. With volumes down sharply, and competitors gaining share at BUDs expense, operational deleveraging is set to weigh heavily on US margins amid peak demand pressure in the second quarter. Despite severe US headwinds (second-quarter operating profit maybe half of last years levels), we still expect BUD to grow consolidated operating profit at a mid-single-digit rate for the full year. With current issues well understood and investor sentiment in the gutters, we see significant upside in a stock, which is approaching a double-digit FCF yield. With FX headwinds and rising input costs reversing course, increasing margins are likely to drive positive surprises into FY24 as continued deleveraging accrues more value to shareholders.

Current State of the American Beer Market:

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) is now struggling in the United States after a conservative-led boycott of its brand Bud Light, leaving other brands in the companys portfolio to pick up the slack. Earlier this month, the beer giant reported a sharp decline in its U.S. sales and profit primarily due to the volume decline in Bud Light. The company reported that its revenue in the U.S. market during the last quarter fell more than 10% compared to 2022, while operating profit dropped nearly 30%.

Sales of other beer brands of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD), in other countries, helped bolster its results though. The total reported revenue of the company for the last quarter went up by just over 7%, with an increase of 5% in profits, thus beating the expectations of analysts.

The Mexican import beer brand Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as Americas best-selling beer in June. Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)  which owns the Modelo Group in the American market  reported a 7.5% growth in beer volumes in its most recent quarter, compared to a year earlier. Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In the upcoming quarterly report, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $3.34 per share, marking a YoY growth of 5.36%.

Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP), which owns Coors Light and Miller Lite brands, also reported record quarterly sales and a big jump in profits this month. Gavin Hattersley  chief executive of the Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP)  told analysts that in the 2nd quarter last year, Bud Light sold more than Coors Light and Miller Lite combined. While in the same quarter this year, Coors and Miller Lite racked up 50% more in sales than the Bud Light brand.

With that said, here are the Countries with the Highest Beer Consumption per Capita.

25 Most Imported Beer Brands in the World

Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com

Methodology:

To collect data for this article, we have referred to the Global Beer Consumption Report by Kirin Holdings, looking for Countries that Drink the Most Beer per Capita. The report is based on findings obtained from questionnaires sent by Kirin Holdings to various brewers associations around the world, as well as the latest industry statistics available overseas.

If youre a fan of craft brews, here are the Best Craft Beer Brands in Each U.S. State.

20. Slovenia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 69.2L

Despite its small size, Slovenia has a very strong and rich brewing industry, in which small boutique, nomadic, and other breweries dominate. Slovenes love their beer, as the beverage is the most popular alcoholic drink in the country.

The two most popular brands of Slovenian beer, now united under the ownership of Heineken N.V., are Lasko and Union.

19. Australia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 71.6L

Australia has a very large variety of beer styles to choose from. IRI Australia, a market research company, has revealed the biggest selling beers at liquor retailers in 2022, with Great Northern coming first for the second year in a row, ahead of Carlton Dry in second place, and XXXX in third.

18. Croatia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 72.2L

From light lagers to hoppy IPAs and rich stouts, Croatian beers cater to every taste preference. The two most popular Croatian beers are Ozujsko and Karlovacko.

Ozujsko is the flagship brand produced by Zagrebacka pivovara  the biggest brewery in the country  which is a part of the Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP) since 2013.

17. United States of America

Beer Consumption per Capita: 72.8L

Americas beer industry has been flourishing for a few decades now and there were 9,709 breweries operating in the country in 2022  the highest figures ever in history. The U.S. had a total beer consumption of 24.1 million kiloliters in 2020.

Modelo Especial, owned by Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ), is currently the Top-Selling Beer in America.

16. Bulgaria

Beer Consumption per Capita: 76L

Beer was introduced in Bulgaria by foreigners in the 19th century and until then the Balkan nation was mainly a rakia and wine drinking country. Most of the Bulgarian breweries are currently owned by foreign companies, such as Heineken N.V. and Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP).

15. Latvia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 77.4L

Beer is by far the most popular alcoholic beverage in Latvia, and the locals love of the good stuff means they create some exceptional varieties too. Owned by the Carlsberg Group, Aldaris is a popular beer brand in the Baltic country.

Latvia ranks 15th in our List of Countries Drinkinking the Most Beer per Capita.

14. Finland

Beer Consumption per Capita: 77.8L

Over the past few years, beer culture has become increasingly popular in Finland, which has resulted in a booming craft beer industry in the country. Finns consume the highest amount of beer per capita in any of the Nordic countries.

Finland ranks among Countries with Highest Rates of Alcoholism.

13. Congo

Beer Consumption per Capita: 79L

Congolese love their beer and there is no shortage of it anywhere in the country. Primus beer, owned by Heineken N.V., is a national institution and its 750 ml bottles can be bought cheaply at small bars and restaurants across the nation. Heineken N.V. has invested around $560 million in its Bralima breweries in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last decade.

12. Gabon

Beer Consumption per Capita: 80.9L

Drinking is an extremely popular pastime in the Central African country, particularly in rural areas, and its often easier to find a bar than something to eat. Regab is the national beer of Gabon, brewed by the only brewing company of the country since 1966.

11. Spain

Beer Consumption per Capita: 81.5L

Spain ranks second in the European Union in terms of beer production, with 41.1 million hectoliters. There are three main companies that account for most of the brewing in the country  Heineken N.V., Mahou San-Miguel, and Damm. These companies collectively boast a market share of 80% in Spain.

10. Republic of Ireland

Beer Consumption per Capita: 81.6L

When it comes to beer, Ireland has a rich brewing history that can be traced back more than 300 years. The country has also produced Guinness, one of the Most Consumed Beer Brands in the World. The famous Irish black stout accounts for over 25% of the beer sales across the Emerald Isles.

The brewing industry in the Republic of Ireland has witnessed a 22% increase in the number of microbreweries since 2014, and its total output now stands at 8.3 million hectoliters.

9. Slovakia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 81.7L

Beer may not be the national drink of Slovakia  that honor belongs to borovicka, a juniper spirit  but it might as well be. Zlaty Bazant, an old beer brand now owned by Heineken N.V., is a popular name in the country but there is more to Slovakian brews than just the major brands.

Slovakias craft beer industry is burgeoning and today there are nearly 70 microbreweries  or mini-breweries, as Slovakians like to call them  in the country.

Slovakia is among the top 10 countries that drink the most beer per capita.

8. Lithuania

Beer Consumption per Capita: 84.1L

Local beers in Lithuania have started to attract international attention after beer bloggers discovered the country, inspiring a major feature article in Beer Connoisseur magazine, which then prompted the New York Times to list the Baltic nation as one of the 42 top places to visit on the strength of its village beers.

7. Namibia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 84.8L

Namibia is famous for a number of things: its fantastic scenery, incredible wildlife, and its award-winning beer. Heineken N.V. has completed the acquisition of Distill and Namibia Breweries this year, in a deal that combines them to create a new business arm called Heineken Beverages.

6. Estonia

Beer Consumption per Capita: 86.4L

The Estonian beer market is one of the few in Europe to be showing healthy annual growth, and per capita beer consumption in the Baltic country increased by about 7%, as compared to the previous year.

Estonia ranks 6th among countries that drink the most beer per person.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Countries that Drink the Most Beer per Capita.

Suggested Articles:

Disclosure: None. 20 Countries that Drink the Most Beer per Capita is originally published on Insider Monkey.
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / In a highly anticipated annual release, the 2023 Global Management School Rankings have been unveiled, presenting a comprehensive evaluation of the world's leading institutions in management education. The rankings, compiled by the esteemed higher education validation organisation, verifications.org, serve as a reliable benchmark for prospective students and professionals seeking the best management schools across the globe.

Verifications Inc., Tuesday, August 22, 2023, Press release picture

A Global Management University Summit in Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Massimiliano Bracale and Serena Magnanti.

In this year's rankings, Yale School of Management has clinched the prestigious first position in the 2023 rankings, solidifying its reputation as a top-notch educational institution. The school's unwavering commitment to academic excellence and cutting-edge research has contributed to its continued reign as a global leader in management education. Following closely behind in the second place is the renowned Sloan School of Management, also hailing from the United States, maintaining its strong presence in the upper echelons of the rankings.

The meticulous assessment of over 2,000 postgraduate institutions worldwide is the cornerstone of the 2023 rankings, ensuring a comprehensive and thorough evaluation of each institution's standing in the realm of management education. No stone was left unturned.

To ensure a holistic view of each institution's performance, a wide array of vital parameters was carefully scrutinized, leaving no aspect of management education unaddressed. Faculty diversity played a pivotal role in the assessment, with the organisation carefully examining the representation of diverse talents and perspectives within the faculty ranks. Recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives in fostering creativity and innovation, institutions with a strong commitment to faculty diversity were favourably acknowledged.

The success of management graduates in the international job market also weighed heavily in the evaluation process. International executive placement, a critical metric, assessed the proportion of graduates securing prestigious executive positions in global companies and organisations. Institutions that demonstrated a track record of equipping their graduates for success on the international stage garnered higher rankings, showcasing their ability to nurture global business leaders.

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Career advancement opportunities offered by the institutions were another crucial factor in determining their rankings. This parameter assessed the availability of internships, experiential learning opportunities, and career development services. Institutions that demonstrated a robust infrastructure to support students in honing their skills and accessing rewarding career paths received commendations for their commitment to student success.

Furthermore, the annual income of alumni provided valuable insights into the tangible impact of the management education received at each institution. The organisation carefully analysed the percentage increase in alumni income, reflecting the career growth and opportunities that the graduates experienced as a result of their education. This metric served as an indicator of how effectively each institution's programs translated into real-world success for its alumni.

In the pursuit of transparency and accuracy, the ranking employed a precise methodology, ensuring the credibility. The organisation took into account the relative weight of each parameter to avoid any bias and utilized sophisticated algorithms to generate the final rankings. This data-driven approach, combined with an extensive review of each institution's performance, resulted in a ranking system that accurately reflects the strengths and contributions of management schools worldwide.

While the top three positions in the global ranking remained consistent, significant shifts occurred further down the list. Notably, the Irish Management Institute soared two positions to claim the fourth spot in the 2023 rankings, showcasing remarkable progress in the global arena. Moreover, the Swiss School of Management and the Rotterdam School of Management maintained their strong standing, securing the fifth and sixth ranks, respectively.

A notable change in the rankings is the rise of Eller College of Management. The esteemed institution has made remarkable progress, ascending the ranks to secure the seventh spot in the 2023 rankings. Renowned for its focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, Eller College's ascent highlights its unwavering commitment to delivering quality management education.

On the other hand, Cranfield School of Management experienced a slight setback, moving down the rankings to the tenth position. Despite this change, Cranfield remains a recognized institution for its practical approach to learning and strong industry connections, continuing to equip students for success in the ever-evolving global business landscape.

As the demand for skilled management professionals continues to rise, the 2023 rankings serve as an indispensable resource for prospective students seeking to embark on transformative educational journeys. These top-ranked institutions, including Yale School of Management, Sloan School of Management, and others, continue to set the standards for excellence in management education, reaffirming their significance as trailblazers in shaping the leaders of tomorrow.

The schools ranking looks at management schools worldwide, but this can be a challenging task in light of the vast differences from market to market. As such, we like to break out the regions to look at each one individually. For example, in the European market, the Ranking of Management Schools for 2023 has also been revealed, spotlighting the continent's leading institutions in management education. In the European rankings, the Irish Management Institute emerged as the leading institution, surpassing the Rotterdam School of Management, which held the top position in the previous year's rankings.

In conclusion, the 2023 Global Management School Rankings not only celebrate the continued excellence of institutions like Yale School of Management and Sloan School of Management but also acknowledge the remarkable progress of rising stars like Eller College of Management. These rankings underscore the critical role of quality management education in shaping the leaders who will drive innovation, spearhead change, and lead businesses and organisations to greater heights on the global stage. As management education continues to evolve, these institutions stand at the forefront, embodying the spirit of transformative learning and preparing the next generation of business leaders to tackle the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Management School Global Ranking 2023 Yale School of Management (USA)

Sloan School of Management (USA)

Anderson School of Management (USA)

Irish Management Institute (Ireland)

Swiss School of Management (Switzerland)

Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands)

Eller College of Management (USA)

Tum School of Management (Germany)

Carroll School of Management (USA)

Cranfield School of Management (UK) Management School Europe Ranking 2023 Irish Management Institute (Ireland)

Swiss School of Management (Switzerland)

Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands)

Tum School of Management (Germany)

Cranfield School of Management (UK)

St Petersburg University, Graduate School of Management (Russia)

IESEG School of Management (France)

Antwerp Management School (Belgium)

Grenoble Ecole de Management (France)

IAE Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management (France)

About Verifications Inc.

Verifications Inc. is the trusted source of verification and accreditation for higher education and collaboration agreements between two or more higher education institutions.

Verifications Inc. is the de facto standard for higher education institutions that wish to demonstrate their commitment to transparency to education stakeholders.

Contact:

4 Winsley Street London W1W 8HF, United Kingdom

secretariat@verifications.org

https://verifications.org/

SOURCE: Verifications Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/774845/2023-Global-Management-Schools-Ranking--Yale-School-of-Management-Dominates-Global-Management-School-Rankings




2023 Cashmere Collection Lovestruck Illustrations (CNW Group/Kruger Products Inc.)

The 2023 Collection - titled Lovestruck - will feature 10 returning designers and 10 new fashion powerhouses designing original couture with Cashmere Bathroom Tissue

TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - For 20 years, the Cashmere Collection has united Canada's fashion community in support of the breast cancer cause. This year, the theme of the milestone 20th anniversary collection is "Lovestruck", a celebration of love, for our past, and a future without breast cancer. The milestone collection will feature 20 world-class Canadian designers, the largest roster of talented artists to date.

The internationally renowned Cashmere Collection runway show will take place on October 3rd in Toronto, and once again challenge Canadian designers to create couture fashion using luxuriously soft Cashmere Bathroom Tissue. The collection serves as an annual fund-and-awareness raiser in support of breast cancer awareness, prevention, and treatment programs through partnerships with The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation (QBCF). Since 2004, more than 230 top Canadian designers have created breathtaking, original couture for the Cashmere Collection, all entirely crafted in Cashmere Bathroom Tissue, Canada's best-selling brand.*

The 2023 Cashmere Collection will bring back 10 legendary past designers and introduce 10 new and emerging fashion powerhouses, all invited to explore what love means to them and showcase their fashion with compassion utilizing Cashmere Bathroom Tissue.

"After 19 years, we are thrilled to continue the Cashmere Collection, raising much-needed funds for breast cancer and celebrating the immensely talented Canadian fashion community," says Susan Irving, CMO Kruger Products, maker of Cashmere. "This year's Lovestruck collection explores diverse aspects of love, including the deep emotional connection we have for anyone we know who has been impacted by breast cancer  including patients, survivors, healthcare workers, family, friends and even those we've lost."

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New and Returning Fashion Talent

The talented roster of designers represents a diverse range of Canadian-based talent, showcasing inspirational, inclusive, and fashion-forward design aesthetics from across the country. The designers of the 20th Anniversary Cashmere Collection, include:

Returning Designers:

Christopher Paunil, 4 years of participation, Toronto

Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell (Hoax Couture), 4 years of participation, Toronto

Farley Chatto, 4 years of participation, Toronto

David Dixon, 3 years of participation, Toronto

Rodney Philpott (Rodney Philpott Designs), 3 years of participation, St. John's

Lesley Hampton, 2 years of participation, Toronto

Nikki Wirthensohn Yassemi (NARCES), 2 years of participation, Toronto

Steven Lejambe, 1 year of participation, Toronto

Shelli Oh, 1 year of participation, Toronto

Zoba Martin (ZOBA MARTIN), 1 year of participation, Toronto

New Designers:

Aunalee Boyd-Good & Sophia Seward-Good (Ay Lelum), Nanaimo

Caffery Vanhorne (CAFFERY VANHORNE), Toronto

Christopher Bates, Toronto

Evan Ducharme, Winnipeg

Jessie Da Silva, Toronto

Markantoine Lynch-Boisvert (MRKNTN), Montreal

Rhowan James (RHOWAN JAMES), Markham

Ross Mayer (R. MAYER ATELIER), Toronto

Smail Akdim (SMAIL AKDIM), Montreal

Wiwa Blue (WIDI'Z), Ottawa

The 20th Anniversary of the Cashmere Collection production crew includes, Creative Director, Hans Koechling; Stylist, Lisa Williams; Illustrator, Lauren Pearson; and Photographer, Matt Barnes.

About the Cashmere Collection

Founded in 2004, the international award-winning Cashmere Collection is an ardent supporter of Canada's fashion design community and the breast cancer cause. Many of the greatest names in Canadian fashion have contributed to the collection including Marie Saint Pierre, Greta Constantine, Denis Gagnon, David Dixon, Rudsak, NARCES, Stephan Caras, Lucian Matis, Rodney Philpot and many more.

The highly anticipated kick-off to October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Cashmere Collection heralds the annual return of Cashmere's awareness and fundraising activities for the cause. Over the last 20 years, it has raised over $5 million dollars in support of breast cancer awareness, prevention, and treatment programs for its charitable partners, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation (QBCF).

About Cashmere and Kruger Products Inc.

Cashmere Bathroom Tissue, Canada's best-selling brand*, reflects Kruger Products' commitment to providing the finest quality, Canadian-made tissue products to consumers. Kruger Products is one of Canada's leading tissue manufacturers and serves the Canadian consumer market with well-known brands including Cashmere, Purex, SpongeTowels, Scotties and Bonterra; White Cloud in the U.S., as well as away-from-home products for industrial and commercial use across Canada and the U.S.

A longstanding and committed contributor to the breast cancer cause, Kruger Products Inc. has supported the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF), now part of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) since 2005 and is currently one of the top five national partners supporting the breast cancer cause at CCS. Kruger Products Inc. is also among the leading contributors to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.

Kruger Products Inc. with more than 2,800 employees, operates nine FSC COC-certified (FSC C-104904) production facilities in North America with headquarters in Toronto (Mississauga).

About the Canadian Cancer Society

The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is the only national charity that supports Canadians with all cancers in communities across the country. No other organization does what we do; we are the voice for Canadians who care about cancer. We fund ground-breaking research, provide a support system for all those affected by cancer and shape health policies to prevent cancer and support those living with the disease.

CCS is the largest national charitable funder of breast cancer research in Canada. Research investments combined with early detection, and better treatment therapies have resulted in a 44% decrease in the breast cancer death rate since the late 1980s. More work needs to be done as breast cancer is still the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Canada. Funds raised through this partnership will be invested in CCS's leading breast cancer research and support programs.

For more information, please visit here.

About the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation

The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation is the only philanthropic organization to ensure that the benefits of its investments in breast cancer research stay here in Quebec. In over 29 years, it has raised more than $61 million and invested it in cutting-edge research and in breast cancer patients and their loved ones with its free support programs. Through research and innovation, support and education, it ensures that people with the disease and their families remain the real focus of its mission. Families, researchers, volunteers and donors all share the same hope: to increase the survival rate of people affected by breast cancer and improve their quality of life. Follow the QBCF on social media via Facebook, LinkedIn , Twitter and Instagram.

High-res illustrations by Lauren Pearson of the 2023 Cashmere Collection: Lovestruck can be downloaded here.

*Source: Nielsen, MarketTrack | National GDM+GMWC | L52wks Period Ending: June 17, 2023

SOURCE Kruger Products Inc.

Cision

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Reuters

Goldman Sachs sees the S&P 500 finishing the year at 4,700, about 8% higher from current levels.

Stocks have slumped about 5% in August after rallying 21% in the first seven months of the year.

The bank's strategists laid out why the stock market still has room to move higher.

Markets have slumped in August following a 21% surge in the first seven months of the year, but Goldman Sachs still sees reason for bullishness as the odds of recession decline.

The bank forecasts the S&P 500 to finish the year at 4,700, about 8% higher than current levels, and strategists told clients in a Friday note that there's little reason to fret over this month's weak performance.

"We find that US investors have room to further increase their exposure to equities," strategists led by David Kostin wrote. "Should the US economy continue on its path to a soft landing, we believe the recent decrease in equity length will be short-lived."

Buybacks

First, Goldman pointed to the re-opening of the buyback blackout window as something that will boost demand for stocks in the coming weeks. While a flood of expected equity issuance in the fall could offset this, upside remains.

The bank's buybacks desk reported that 95% of S&P 500 companies hae exited their blackout windows, and that buyback executions so far in August have registered about 40% above average 2023 levels.

"Alongside elevated repurchase activity, our Buyback basket (GSTHREPO) has historically performed particularly well following the 2Q earnings season," strategists wrote. "Despite a year-over-year decline in overall buyback executions, the basket has outperformed the equal-weight S&P 500 by 4 pp YTD (+8% vs. +4%)."

Retail activity

Second, the firm still sees potential for retail traders to jump back into the market, despite recent weakness in several popular stocks. With the AAII Bull-Bear spread ticking higher, the strategists said, everyday traders could turn more bullish.

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"Data released from FINRA this week show that margin balances increased in each of the first seven months of the year and are now at the highest level since February 2022, scaled relative to US equity market cap," according to Goldman. In effect, higher levels of margin debt means retail traders have capacity to buy more stock.

Funds pile in

Finally, Goldman pointed out that hedge funds and mutual funds could add to their equity exposure as market conditions improve. The net leverage for hedge funds stands below the five-year average, and should a soft-landing scenario become clearer, that could mean more stock gets added to portfolios.

"Similarly, mutual fund cash allocations remain 50 bp above their all-time low of 1.5% in December 2021," strategists wrote. "If mutual funds cut their cash exposures to the 2021 low, that would represent an additional $49 billion of equity demand."

Read the original article on Business Insider
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Accelecom, a leading next-generation communication solutions provider is honored to announce its support of Finn Fest, a remarkable annual event that embodies resilience, creativity, and community spirit. Finn Fest, scheduled to take place on September 29, 2023, at The Burl in Lexington, Kentucky stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit of Finn Collier, a young champion who inspired countless lives.

The story of Finn Collier is one of extraordinary courage and boundless positivity. Born with several congenital heart defects, Finn faced a challenging journey from the very beginning. At just five days old, he underwent his first open heart surgery, and over the course of seven years and seven months, he displayed remarkable strength, enduring four more surgeries along with numerous complications. Finn's zest for life shone brightly as he danced, sang, embraced his love for horse racing, and reveled in the joy of his boat on the lake. Though he bore a complex heart condition, Finn's spirit remained undaunted, touching everyone he encountered.

"Finn's story is a true testament to the power of the human spirit and the capacity to find joy and inspiration even in the face of adversity," stated Brad Kilbey, CEO of Accelecom. "Accelecom is deeply honored to be part of Finn Fest, a celebration that not only commemorates Finn's remarkable journey but also raises funds for Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) research and awareness. We believe that Finn's legacy will continue to inspire innovation and resilience in all of us."

Finn Fest was founded as a tribute to Finn's enduring love for music and life. Each year, the festival marks his birthday in September, serving as a platform to raise funds for CHD research and awareness. As an ambassador for the Central Kentucky Heart Association and a source of inspiration for Central Kentucky Make-A-Wish, Finn's impact radiated far and wide. His willingness to share his story and proudly display his "zipper" scar from surgeries touched hearts and ignited hope.

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"The Collier Crew, Finn's family, is deeply moved by Accelecom's support for Finn Fest," shared John Collier, Finn's father. "Finn's legacy continues to shine brightly, and with Accelecom's partnership, we are confident that Finn Fest will not only celebrate his life but also drive meaningful change and progress in the realm of CHD research and awareness."

Finn Fest promises to be an uplifting and inspiring event, celebrating Finn's enduring legacy and fostering a sense of unity among participants. It's a testament to the power of community, creativity, and compassion coming together for a shared cause.

For more information about Finn Fest and how you can participate, please visit https://finnfest.live/. Join us in honoring Finn's spirit and contributing to the advancement of CHD research and awareness.

About Accelecom

Accelecom is a fast-growing broadband provider based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company provides fiber-based services over a state-of-the-art optical network to support the ever-growing capacity demands of its customers. The company's solutions meet the modern business requirements of enterprise customers migrating to the cloud and internet service providers (ISP) partners helping rural communities fuel economic development and bridge the digital divide. For more information, visit the Accelecom website and follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter .

MEDIA CONTACT

Jim DeCesare

jim@thedecesaregroup.com

(270) 792-5779

Cision

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SOURCE Accelecom
Viewing insider transactions for Advanced Health Intelligence Ltd.'s (ASX:AHI ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net buyers. This means that a larger number of shares were purchased by insiders in relation to shares sold.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Advanced Health Intelligence

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Advanced Health Intelligence

The Co-Founder & Executive Director Katherine Iscoe made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$1m worth of shares at a price of AU$0.059 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$0.20), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Advanced Health Intelligence 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.

Insider Ownership Of Advanced Health Intelligence

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Advanced Health Intelligence insiders own about AU$18m worth of shares. That equates to 38% of the company. 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 Advanced Health Intelligence Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Advanced Health Intelligence insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Advanced Health Intelligence 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. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with Advanced Health Intelligence (including 4 which are a bit unpleasant).

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
A passenger flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing on Tuesday morning, the first known commercial flight from North Korea since it closed its borders in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Flight JS151, operated by North Korean state carrier Air Koryo, arrived in the Chinese capital at 9.17am, according to flight data on the Beijing Capital International Airport website.

It followed a Chinese foreign ministry announcement on Monday that China had approved scheduled flight plans between the neighbouring countries after Beijing eased its pandemic restrictions earlier this year.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

North Koreans make their way through the Beijing airport's arrivals section after the Air Koryo flight landed. Photo: AFP alt=North Koreans make their way through the Beijing airport's arrivals section after the Air Koryo flight landed. Photo: AFP>

"During the summer-autumn flight season transition in 2023, China approved Air Koryo's scheduled flight plans from Pyongyang to Beijing to Pyongyang and other passenger routes requested by the airline according to procedures," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

It is not known who was aboard the North Korean flight. Flightradar24 data showed that it was a Tu-204 - a Russian-designed passenger aircraft with capacity for 210 passengers.

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the plane was scheduled to leave Beijing again at 1.05pm on Tuesday, prompting speculation that it could be collecting North Korean citizens who were unable to return to the country during the pandemic.

Yonhap said it was possible the morning flight was transporting North Korean officials to Beijing, or that the return flight could take embassy officials in China back to Pyongyang.

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Agence France-Presse reported earlier that the flight had been scheduled for Monday but was cancelled for unspecified reasons.

According to the Beijing Capital International Airport website, there are now three flights from Pyongyang to Beijing scheduled every week - JS151 on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and JS251 on Thursdays, all morning flights.

Passenger trains between Sinuiju and Dandong, border cities in North Korea and China respectively, will also resume this week, Radio Free Asia has reported. About 80,000 North Koreans currently live in Dandong, according to a tally by Seoul-based news site Daily NK at the end of last year. It estimated that more than 100,000 North Koreans live across China.

Travellers wait in line at the Air Koryo check-in counter at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap alt=Travellers wait in line at the Air Koryo check-in counter at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap>

North Korea has relied on long-time ally China for most of its trade, transported on freight trains running between the two countries via Dandong, during the pandemic. Beijing has reportedly also supplied Pyongyang with Covid-19 vaccines and other medical supplies.

Pyongyang confirmed for the first time in May last year that North Korea was grappling with a Covid-19 outbreak, with millions believed to be infected.

According to Air Koryo's website, the carrier will also operate flights to Vladivostok in Russia. Russian media have reported that the first flight from Pyongyang to Vladivostok is expected later this week.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hosted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong during events marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean war armistice in Pyongyang.

Li was the most senior Chinese official to travel to North Korea since the pandemic began. Beijing and Pyongyang are strengthening their ties as the US, South Korea and Japan have agreed to expand their security alliance to counter China and North Korea.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Surging U.S. Treasury yields are sending shudders through riskier areas of the market, leaving investors to wonder how badly it will dent a rally that has lifted everything from stocks to bitcoin this year.

Strong economic growth has spurred expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave rates higher for longer, pushing Treasury yields this month to their highest levels since 2007. That climb has made them harder to ignore for holders of stocks and other speculative assets, which have rallied for most of the year even as yields moved steadily higher.

The S&P 500 has lost 4% this month as the U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to a more than 15-year high of 4.366% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 technology sector has dropped 5.7%, bitcoin has fallen over 10% and the ARK Innovation ETF - a bastion of many high-growth names - has dropped 18.5%. Stocks rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 closing up 0.7% and futures pointed to a further rise on Tuesday.

Higher Treasury yields - which move inversely to bond prices - can take the shine off speculative assets by offering investors attractive payouts on an investment seen as basically risk free because it is backed by the U.S. government. Rising rates also increase the cost of capital throughout the economy, making it more difficult for everyone from individuals to companies to service debt.

"The day of reckoning is here for assets such as cryptocurrencies and smaller cap growth companies that burned through cash, said Sameer Samana, senior global markets strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The biggest, clearest market theme for the next six months at least is to favor the parts of the market that are the least reliant on borrowing and credit, added Samana, who has unfavorable ratings on small caps, emerging markets, REITS, and consumer discretionary stocks.

A crucial test for markets comes later in the week with the annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver a talk on the economic outlook on Friday.

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Investors are realizing that "rates are not going to go back down as quickly as they thought," said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak. "It is causing them to rethink their strategies.

U.S. investors were net sellers of equity funds for a third consecutive week in the seven days to August 16, according to the latest weekly data from Refinitiv Lipper. At the same time, they have been drawn by high yields in money market funds, pouring in some $32.5 billion over the past week, the biggest inflow since July 5.

Investor equity positioning, as measured by Deutsche Bank, dropped for a fourth straight week to a two-month low.

But betting against stocks has been a losing trade this year. Many investors believe equities will hold strong in a year that has seen them rebound from widespread recession fears and a banking sector upheaval. The S&P 500 is up 14.6% year-to-date.

Goldman Sachs strategists on Monday said equity holdings by retail and institutional investors stand below their historic norms, suggesting there may be additional fuel left to power the bull market if the economy stays strong.

Should the U.S. economy continue on its path to a soft landing, we believe the recent decrease in (equity exposure) will be short-lived," the firm's strategists wrote.

Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for the Schwab Center for Financial Research, believes S&P 500 earnings likely hit their trough in the second quarter and will expand in the third quarter, pushing the index to a record high by year end. The S&P 500 is over 8% below its January 2022 closing high.

The era of low rates is gone and new companies that are managing a lot of debt that has to be rolled over at higher rates will struggle," Frederick said. "But we think this is a temporary lull for the market overall.

(Reporting by David Randall and Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Bill Berkrot)
SINGAPORE and KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southeast Asia-based marketing technology company, Antsomi, is pleased to announce that D.A.Consortium Inc. (DAC), a leading digital advertising and marketing company, has made a strategic investment in Antsomi. This investment marks a significant milestone in the partnership between Antsomi and DAC, positioning DAC as a regional reseller of Antsomi's innovative customer data platform, CDP 365, in the Southeast Asian region.

Serm Teck Choon, co-founder & CEO of Antsomi (left), and Michihiko Suganuma, Senior Executive Officer & Head of Global Business Group of DAC, believe that the strategic partnership between Antsomi and DAC is poised to make a significant impact on the marketing landscape in the Southeast Asia market.

Antsomi's collaboration with DAC has yielded remarkable results, with the successful onboarding of prominent clients in the region, including Dunlop Thailand. This achievement highlights the strength and potential of the partnership and showcases Antsomi's and DAC's commitments to providing cutting-edge solutions to their clients.

Antsomi is renowned for developing CDP 365, an artificial intelligence-enabled customer data platform that serves clients across the Southeast Asian region. CDP 365 enables businesses to unify customer data from various sources and deliver personalized activations with marketing automation capability across multiple channels. With its headquarters in Singapore and branch offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Antsomi welcomed DAC as its strategic investor in its pre-series A investment round as DAC has been at the forefront of the digital advertising and marketing industry, driving the market formation and growth through its expertise in digital technology. With an undisclosed amount, the investment will be used for product development and regional expansions, including business development and client success capacities.

Serm Teck Choon, co-founder & CEO of Antsomi, emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating, "Our collaboration with DAC represents a pivotal step forward for Antsomi's regional expansion and sustainable growth. DAC's extensive industry expertise and strong market presence will accelerate our mission of transforming businesses into data-driven companies. We are confident that this strategic partnership will deliver exceptional value to our clients and drive unparalleled success."

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Michihiko Suganuma, Senior Executive Officer & Head of Global Business Group of DAC, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating, "We are thrilled to invest in Antsomi and become their strategic partner. This collaboration is a testament to our dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions to our clients and driving their success in the digital age. With Antsomi's innovative and data-driven technology, we can unlock valuable customer insights and enable our clients to deliver personalized experiences at scale. We believe this partnership will bring immense value to both DAC and our clients."

The strategic partnership between Antsomi and DAC is poised to make a significant impact on the marketing landscape in the Southeast Asia market. By combining Antsomi's advanced AI-driven customer data platform with DAC's established market presence and expertise, both companies aim to revolutionize marketing practices, empowering businesses with data-driven insights and personalized customer experiences, ultimately leading to greater customer loyalty and business success.

About D.A.Consortium Inc. (DAC)

Since its establishment in 1996 during the early days of online advertising, DAC is leading the industry in market formation and growth as it steadily expands its operations with the digital transformation of information and lifestyles. Currently, DAC operates advertising and marketing businesses centered on digital technology both in Japan and overseas. The company provides comprehensive support, from consulting and planning to ad space purchasing, selling, management and results analysis. With a firm understanding of the characteristics of different media, DAC also produces creative, develops and provides solutions that bridge its wealth of data with advanced technologies, and supports global promotional initiatives. With the mission, "Empowering the digital future," DAC will continue to be at the forefront in creating new forms of advertising and marketing and providing new value to society.

About Antsomi:

Antsomi is a regional marketing technology company building the first artificial intelligence-enabled customer data platform, CDP 365, in Southeast Asia, with the mission to transform businesses into data-driven companies. Antsomi CDP 365 helps companies unify their customer data from multiple sources, such as mobile apps, web, social media, digital ads, CRM, POS, offline channels, etc. It then delivers relevant activations with rich personalization across multiple touchpoints via both online and offline. Antsomi CDP 365 empowers companies to understand their customers' behavior and intent across various channels and build a 1-to-1 customer journey at scale. Antsomi is headquartered in Singapore, with branch offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

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SOURCE Antsomi
ReportLinker

Summary. "Asia Pacific (APAC) Renewable Energy Policy Handbook, 2023 Update is among the latest region specific policy reports from the industry analysis specialist. The report covers 15 major countries in the Asia Pacific region - Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

New York, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Asia Pacific (APAC) Renewable Energy Policy Handbook, 2023 Update" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06485692/?utm_source=GNW

The report offers comprehensive information on major policies governing the renewable energy market in these countries. The report discusses renewable energy targets and plans along with the present policy framework, giving a fair idea of overall growth potential of the renewable energy industry. The report also provides major technology specific policies and incentives provided by the countries in the region.

The report is built using data and information sourced from industry associations, government websites, and statutory bodies. The information is also sourced through other secondary research sources such as industry and trade magazines.



Scope

- The report covers policy measures and incentives used by countries in the Asia Pacific region to promote renewable energy.

- The report details promotional measures in the Asia Pacific region both for the overall renewable energy industry and for specific renewable energy technologies that have potential in the region.

- The report covers 15 major countries in the Asia Pacific region - Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.



Reasons to Buy

The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.



It will allow you to -

- Develop business strategies with the help of specific insights about policy decisions being taken for different renewable energy sources.

- Identify opportunities and challenges in exploiting various renewable technologies.

- Compare the level of support provided to different renewable energy technologies in different countries in the region.

- Be ahead of competition by keeping yourself abreast of all the latest policy changes.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06485692/?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




Employees of JOMA Construction in Athens recently became owners of the company.

With more than 1,000 projects completed in the last 18 years, trucks and equipment bearing the JOMA Construction logo are a ubiquitous sight in and around the Athens area.

And now, whenever you see a JOMA employee, youll also see someone who is an owner of the company.

JOMA founder John Newland this month announced that he sold the company to its employees, adding that he will stay on as CEO and as chairman of the newly-established board of directors. Newland and his wife Marielle founded the Athens-based company in 2005 and JOMA currently has 34 employees.

Newland said the sale, which took about eight months to complete, is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and was executed with a third-party trustee.

Were very excited about it and were looking at this as the next step in a long-term progression of our company, he said.

Final moments: When the time comes to say goodbye to the family pet, Athens vet offers in-home euthanasia

More about employee-owned companies

Although employee-owned companies arent widely prevalent, the National Center for Employee Ownership reports that about 6,500 American companies sponsor an ESOP, with some 14 million employees involved. Perhaps the largest and best-known ESOP is Publix Super Markets, with about 230,000 employees.

You dont hear a lot about it, but there are quite a few, including some really large companies, he said. Interestingly, construction companies are the No. 2 segment in the ESOP world.

ESOPs often involve owners that are considering retirement, but that wasnt the case for Newland.

In the ESOP framework, there are different ways you can do it and a lot has to do with where the seller is in their career, he said. Im 46 and have no intention of retiring and my position has not changed. Im still actively working with JOMA, just like I was the day before the closing. In some cases, the owner might be near retirement and look at this as a way of getting out and retiring.

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Since Im continuing to work actively in the business, we did a seller-financing (arrangement) and over a period of years I will be paid proceeds from JOMA.

In addition to continuing as JOMAs CEO, Newland will serve as chairman of the board of directors.

The only difference from a management perspective is we will now have a board of directors that will be made up of two JOMA employees and two external board members, said Newland.

Marine to entrepreneur: Q&A: Meet the Athens entrepreneur who went from the U.S. Marines to owning a business

What you should know about JOMA

The company, which specializes in residential remodeling and generally has between 25 and 30 ongoing projects at a time, has won two Historic Athens Preservation Awards, and numerous Best of the Best awards in the Athens Banner-Herald/Online Athens Readers Choice contest. JOMA was also named the National Association of the Remodeling Industrys Contractor of the Year in 2021 and won first place in the Associated General Contractors of Georgias annual awards competition in 2021.

JOMA serves an area within a 20-mile radius of its Moose Club Drive headquarters with projects in Clarke, Oconee, Madison, Oglethorpe and Barrow counties.

Newland said he had investigated selling the company to a smaller group of employees before the COVID pandemic but eventually opted to go the ESOP route with 100% employee ownership.

We had talked to several people that had gone that process and heard the pros and cons, he said. We decided that (ESOP) would be the best route to take and the most beneficial for all employees.

While the internal changes are many, JOMA clients arent likely to notice any differences.

Nothing really changes, but now all the employees have that ownership mentality, said Newland. That makes a difference, certainly with the hope being that everybody will make that extra effort that it takes to provide the great service we give to our clients. At the end of the day, thats what our goal is: to have happy, satisfied clients that will tell their friends and family about the good work that we do.

For more information about JOMA Construction, visit www.jomaconstruction.com.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: JOMA Construction in Athens, Georgia is now employee owned
Goanna Education has integrated the resources of IT industry giants Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft to launch an innovative ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology. This Diploma of IT program offers students essential IT knowledge, skills, as well as AWS and Microsoft certifications.

Redfern, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2023) - Goanna Education, a renowned name in the field of education, is thrilled to unveil its latest offering: The ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology with industry certifications from AWS and Microsoft. This program marks a significant milestone in the realm of IT education, combining the expertise of Goanna Education with the industry prowess of AWS and Microsoft. For detailed information about the program, visit Goanna Education - ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology webpage at: https://goanna.edu.au/ict50220-diploma-of-information-technology-2/.

AWS and Microsoft Certifications in Diploma of IT by Goanna Education Announced

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/178038_798a4ee29414eb37_001full.jpg

Designed to equip students with essential knowledge and skills in the rapidly evolving landscape of information technology, this diploma program is a testament to Goanna Education's commitment to providing top-tier education. With the integration of AWS and Microsoft resources, students can gain a comprehensive curriculum that covers a wide spectrum of IT domains.

"We are excited to unveil this innovative ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology program that reflects our commitment to providing top-tier education," said Melanie Redding, COO of Goanna Solutions Education Pty Ltd. "The integration of AWS and Microsoft resources into our curriculum allows students to learn from the best and prepares them for rewarding IT careers."

As the digital landscape continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, there is an increasing demand for skilled IT professionals who can navigate complex technological challenges. The integration with AWS and Microsoft resources brings a unique advantage to this diploma program. Students can not only gain insights into innovative technologies, but can also have the opportunity to earn industry-recognised certifications that can significantly enhance their career prospects.

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Through hands-on training, practical projects, and exposure to real-world scenarios, students enrolled in the ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology can develop proficiency in areas such as front end web development, cloud architecture, programming, cyber security, and more. This integrated approach ensures that graduates are well-prepared to tackle the dynamic demands of the IT industry.

"We believe in equipping students with the knowledge and skills that are in high demand in today's tech-driven world," added Melanie Redding. "This integration reinforces our commitment to staying at the forefront of IT education excellence."

Enrolments for the program are now open, and the class is scheduled to commence on September 4th, 2023. To kickstart a journey towards a rewarding IT career, secure a spot today by visiting the above Goanna Education webpage.

For a visual overview of the program and its benefits, watch the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpwNi98hoYs.

Goanna Education is the only Indigenous owned Registered Training Organisation (RTO Code 45707) in Australia. It specialises in accredited courses and qualifications in IT from Certificate III to Diploma level, as well as non-accredited courses and bootcamps from major information technology providers: AWS and Microsoft. Goanna Education's team has a passion for delivering quality education and exceptional student focused education for domestic students, nationally.

Contact Info:

Name: Melanie Redding

Email: education@goanna.edu.au

Organization: Goanna Solutions Education Pty Ltd DBA Goanna Education

Address: Level 2/27 Cope St, Redfern, NSW 2016, Australia

Phone: +61 1300 402 582

Website: https://goanna.edu.au

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/178038
Breakfast Club of Canada is launching its annual fundraising campaign to help children access breakfast each morning, to help them succeed today and tomorrow.

BOUCHERVILLE, QC, Aug. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Breakfast Club of Canada is launching its important Back-to-School fundraising campaign to be able to meet the ever-growing demand for school nutrition programs.

Breakfast Club of Canada Logo (CNW Group/Breakfast Club of Canada)

Once again this year, the Club and its numerous partners will reach hundreds of thousands of children from coast-to-coast-to-coast and help them start their day with a complete and nutritious breakfast. A commitment that is all the more necessary as the current socio-economic situation is increasing the needs in the community as well as the cost of food and transportation that continues to rise. In recent years, the Club has seen a significant increase in schools across Canada requesting support for a complete school nutrition program. The number of requests to implement a breakfast program is constantly growing.

Furthermore, according to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, in 2022, 1.8 million children, compared to 1,4 million children in 2021, live in a food insecure household.

"At Breakfast Club of Canada, we are committed to our role as a national player in the school nutrition ecosystem across Canada, and we approach it each year with renewed ambition," stated Tommy Kulczyk, President and Chief Executive Officer at Breakfast Club of Canada. "Our Back-to-School fundraising initiatives are crucial as we are currently experiencing a perfect storm of obstacles making the number of schools wanting to provide nutritious breakfasts to their students increase each day."

Throughout the upcoming year, the Club's budget will only allow for the maintenance of existing programs with very few new programs in schools that will be put in place. Without the help of generous donors, partners and governments, the number of schools requesting support from the Club continues to grow.

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"Our message is simple: as you prepare for the start of the school year, we ask that you take a minute to think about the children who will go to school hungry. We hope that a donation at the start of the school year becomes the simplest and most natural gesture of the back-to-school ritual. Indeed, providing breakfast at school is the easiest way to help all children reach their full potential," explains Judith Barry, Co-Founder and Director, Government Relations at Breakfast Club of Canada.

Numerous Impacts of a Nutritious Breakfast

School nutrition programs are recognized for their many beneficial impacts on children, school environments and local communities. Members and partners of various initiatives, including the School Meals Coalition and the World Food Program run by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, state that these programs, including breakfast programs, contribute positively to the education, health and well-being of children, as well as to economic development and to community food systems.

In fact, more than 900 schools recently reported to the Club that the most significant impacts they have observed through their programs include improving learning capacities and/or academic achievement (31.4%)*, meeting students' basic need for food and/or reducing hunger (22.8%)*, ensuring students have reliable access to nutritious/varied meals/food (21.8%)*, building a positive school climate, positive relationships/interactions and/or a sense of community and belonging (19.7%)*, improved mental health, well-being, mood and/or behaviour (12.3%)* and providing a safe, inclusive and destigmatized environment (12.1%)*.

"Every day we see the real impact a nutritious breakfast can have on a child's life," says Judith Barry. "Never before has investing in school nutrition programs been so critical. It is for these reasons that we count on the support of individuals, our partners and governments to help children because success tomorrow starts with a breakfast today."

The Back-to-School campaign, Breakfast Club of Canada's largest fundraising campaign, will run until September 30, 2023. To donate online: visit www.breakfastclubcanada.org/bts2023/. To make a donation via text message: text CLUB to 20222.

*Percentage of schools that reported this positive impact as the most significant.

About Breakfast Club of Canada

Since 1994, Breakfast Club of Canada has been working with partners from all sectors to help children access a nutritious breakfast and reach their full potential. Accredited by Imagine Canada for its effective governance and recognized for its promotion of local food products, the Club helps reach children in every province and territory across the country. To learn more, visit breakfastclubcanada.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Breakfast Club of Canada

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Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Bank of Nova Scotia

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bank of Nova Scotia

The President L. Thomson made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$2.0m worth of shares at a price of CA$65.26 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$62.08). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. 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.

Bank of Nova Scotia insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Bank of Nova Scotia is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insiders At Bank of Nova Scotia Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Bank of Nova Scotia insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. We can see that Independent Director Nora Aufreiter paid CA$147k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership Of Bank of Nova Scotia

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.03% of Bank of Nova Scotia shares, worth about CA$26m. 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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So What Do The Bank of Nova Scotia Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Insiders likely see value in Bank of Nova Scotia shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.
The Biden administration on Tuesday officially launched its new income-driven student loan repayment program designed to lower  and in some cases eliminate  monthly payments for more than 20 million borrowers.



Following a beta release three weeks ago, applications are now open for the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, available on the Federal Student Aid website. The plan is a replacement of sorts for a previous attempt by the Biden administration to eliminate as much as $20,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers  an effort that was shot down by the Supreme Court in June.



The launch comes just a few weeks before student loan repayments are set to begin again following a multi-year suspension during the Covid-19 pandemic.



Under the plan, borrowers who earn less than $15 an hour will not have to make any monthly payments, and the Department of Education estimates that 1 million borrowers could see their payments eliminated entirely. Millions of others will see savings of more than $1,000 a year compared to existing income-driven repayment programs.



Monthly payments will be based on income, rather than their total student loan balance. In addition, as long as you make the monthly payments required under your plan, your loan balance will no longer grow because of unpaid interest  making sure that you make progress on paying down your debt, Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement.



Estimates of the cost of the plan vary widely. In March, the Congressional Budget Office said a similar plan would cost an estimated $230 billion over 10 years. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates it will cost $276 billion, while the Penn Wharton Budget Model puts the cost at $475 billion over 10 years, though with room for considerable variation around that estimate.



In her statement, Harris noted that the Biden administration has already enacted more than $116 billion in debt cancellation, affecting 3.4 million Americans.

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Blue Moon Metals Inc

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Moon Metals Inc. (TSXV: MOON; OTCQB: BMOOF) (the Company) announces it has commenced work on an updated mineral resource report for the Blue Moon project and intends to release it in Q4 2023. The updated mineral resource will include drilling results from the last three drill programs.



The Company also wishes to announce the appointment of Enrique Correa to the board of directors, replacing Douglas Urch. Mr. Correa has over 25 years experience in senior leadership roles in the banking and mining sectors. Mr. Correa had senior roles in the banking industry with Banco Falabella and Scotiabank before becoming Managing Director of Key Mining Corp., where he overseas investments in the resource sector including the recently completed Preliminary Economic Assessments of its titanium and copper projects in Chile. The Company wishes to thank Douglas Urch for his contributions as a director of the Company since 2017.

About Blue Moon Metals

Blue Moon Metals (TSX.V: MOON; OTCQB: BMOOF) is currently advancing its Blue Moon polymetallic deposit which contains zinc, gold, silver and copper. The property is well located with existing local infrastructure including paved highways three miles from site; a hydroelectric power generation facility a few miles from the site, a three-hour drive to the Oakland port and a four-hour drive to the service centre of Reno. Zinc is currently on the USGS list of metals critical to the US economy and national security. A 43-101 resource report is available on the Companys website and was filed on www.sedar.com on November 20, 2018. The Company also holds the Yava polymetallic project in Nunavut that is in the same volcanic lithologies and south of Glencores Hackett River deposit. More information is available on the Companys website (www.bluemoonmetals.com).

For more information, please contact:

Patrick McGrath, CEO

1-832-499-6009

pmcgrath@bluemoonmining.com

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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.

Resource estimates included in this news release are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions set forth in the relevant technical report and otherwise, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for commodities, the results of future exploration, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and titles, changes in government policies regarding mining, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. 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. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date it is expressed in this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The securities referenced in this news release have not and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.




VistaJet International Ltd

VistaJet x Milos

Lobster Salad

With Milos signature menu, now, exclusively available onboard VistaJet

New York, August 22, 2023: VistaJet, the first and only global business aviation company, is proud to announce its partnership with one of the finest seafood restaurants in the world, estiatorio Milos. Since its inception in 2004, VistaJet has grown to become a world-leading brand known for its commitment to delivering outstanding service through continual investment and innovation onboard and at destination.

Following the latest iteration of its Private Dining program  unveiling exclusive dishes created by celebrity chefs from all over the world, to be served only on board its iconic silver and red fleet  VistaJet continues to pioneer service excellence, searching the globe to partner with the worlds leading restaurants to offer its Members the best of the best.

Across its growing and global client base, Milos has been one of the most requested restaurants from VistaJet clients. And in true VistaJet fashion, have given clients exactly what they asked for  and more. In addition to the favorites to be enjoyed in restaurants across the globe, the favored Lobster Salad created by Milos Chef and Founder Costas Spiliadis is now exclusively available onboard the Vista Members fleet of over 360 aircraft  from the Gulfstream G450 to the Global 7500, which can fly nonstop from Miami to Greece.

Spiliadis, one of the most influential chefs in Greek cooking, combines the simplest ingredients, sustainably sourced and of the highest quality, to garner that once-in-a-lifetime flavor.

Costas Spiliadis, Chef and Founder of Milos, said: As pioneers in our respective fields, Im excited for this new partnership between VistaJet and estiatorio Milos. It is our pleasure to introduce one of our most regarded dishes, the refreshingly light Milos Lobster Salad, to be exclusively available to VistaJet clients who recognize freshness and quality.

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Early in my career as a chef, I thought of how wonderful it would be to combine springtime on the Greek islands with the amazing taste of the pristine Bay of Fundy's deep-sea lobsters. Fresh dill, spring onions, baby fennel, olive oil, and Kytherean afrala married with tender lobster meat and elevated with a touch of Seven Stars Greek Metaxa. Now, I have the perfect opportunity to present this culinary dream.

VistaJet clients flying from Dubai, Athens, London, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, and Montreal can enjoy a Milos experience at 40,000 feet in the sky. To ensure passengers enjoy unrivaled service as standard, every VistaJet flight has at least one Cabin Host trained by the British Butler Institute, MedAire, Norland College and Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Like private aviation, a good meal can take you anywhere in the world  yet there are always places and plates to savor. Not only has VistaJet brought Milos onboard the aircraft, VistaJet has presented to its Members a rare culinary voyage across the Mediterranean aboard Milos at Sea. VistaJets Private World curated this delight for those with an equal measure of appetite for food and adventure.

Diego Sabino, Vice President Private Dining of VistaJet, said: We are uncompromising when it comes to in-flight dining and believe that food at altitude should taste as good as food at your favorite restaurant. We focus on providing quality ingredients, exceptional service and inspired private dining in the air to our Members, but why stop there? As a brand, we are passionate about creating experiences that our Members will remember  and the unique experiences that we design with our partners are part of the service excellence VistaJet offers.

As part of its onboard library collection, VistaJet published The Little Book of Dining in the Sky, discovering the art and science behind dining at altitude with suggestions and expert advice.

Request an online copy of VistaJets book at vistajet.com/privatedining

Learn more about this announcement by reaching out to press@vistajet.com

ENDS

Information

VistaJet | press@vistajet.com

About VistaJet

VistaJet is the first and only global business aviation company. On its fleet of silver and red business jets, VistaJet has flown corporations, governments and private clients to 187 countries, covering 96% of the world.

Founded in 2004, the company pioneered an innovative business model where customers have access to an entire fleet whilst paying only for the hours they fly, free of the responsibilities and asset risks linked to aircraft ownership. VistaJets signature Program membership offers customers a bespoke subscription of flight hours on its fleet of mid and long-range jets, to fly them anytime, anywhere.

VistaJet is part of Vista  the worlds first private aviation ecosystem, integrating a unique portfolio of companies offering asset free solutions to cover all key aspects of business aviation.

More VistaJet information and news at vistajet.com

VistaJet Limited is a European air carrier that operates 9H registered aircraft under its Maltese Air Operator Certificate No. MT-17 and is incorporated in Malta under Company Number C 55231. VistaJet US Inc. is an Air Charter Broker that does not operate aircraft. VistaJet and its subsidiaries are not U.S. direct carriers. VistaJet-owned and U.S. registered aircraft are operated by properly licensed U.S. air carriers, including XOJET Aviation LLC.

About estiatorio Milos

Famous for its selection of seafood imported fresh daily, estiatorio Milos uses only the finest ingredients to uphold the extraordinary culinary philosophy of Chef and Founder Costas Spiliadis. Spiliadis, one of the most influential chefs in Greek cooking, has risen to prominence thanks to an insistence on purity, quality, and minimalism. Pristine ingredients cooked with precision have made Milos a symbol of clarity and excellence.

Spiliadis original, groundbreaking estiatorio Milos opened in 1979 in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal. Spiliadis spared no effort in sourcing the most delicious products of Greece and other prized locations throughout the world. His preparations, painstakingly uncomplicated, were a revelation. After careful expansion to New York, London, Athens, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Cabos and Dubai, today Milos is seen as one of the finest Mediterranean seafood restaurants in the world.

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Key Insights

Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad's estimated fair value is RM0.32 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad's RM0.31 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

The average premium for Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad's competitorsis currently 76%

How far off is Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad (KLSE:EVERGRN) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

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. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad

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 begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM35.1m RM34.7m RM34.8m RM35.3m RM36.0m RM36.8m RM37.8m RM39.0m RM40.2m RM41.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -3.10% Est @ -1.10% Est @ 0.29% Est @ 1.27% Est @ 1.95% Est @ 2.43% Est @ 2.77% Est @ 3.00% Est @ 3.17% Est @ 3.28% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 15% RM30.5 RM26.2 RM22.8 RM20.0 RM17.7 RM15.8 RM14.1 RM12.6 RM11.3 RM10.1

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM181m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 15%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM42m (1 + 3.6%)  (15% 3.6%) = RM370m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM370m ( 1 + 15%)10= RM90m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is RM271m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM0.3, the company appears about fair value at a 3.4% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Evergreen Fibreboard 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 15%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.705. 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.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad, there are three further elements you should look at:

Risks: Be aware that Evergreen Fibreboard Berhad is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about... Future Earnings: How does EVERGRN'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.
Cannabis Science Conference

Canna Boot Camp to educate attendees on the latest advancements in the cannabis industry in an interactive, workshop setting

Cannabis Science Conference announces Mother Earth Wellness as host of the fall 2023 Canna Boot Camp

This exciting educational workshop will take place on Sept. 20, 2023, in Providence, Rhode Island.

CRANBURY, N.J., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Science Conference (CSC), the premier cannabis science conference focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and psychedelics, announced today that Mother Earth Wellness will be hosting the 2023 fall Canna Boot Camp. This exciting educational event will take place on Sept. 20, 2023, in Providence, Rhode Island.



Mother Earth Wellness prides itself on being a leader in the cannabis community, consistently promoting the quality, innovation and ongoing validation of cannabis in our culture, said Joe Pakuris, owner of Mother Earth Wellness. While it has come a long way, there is still a great deal to be done. We are truly honored to partner with the Cannabis Science Conference and their esteemed members to further the progress in the industry. We look forward to sharing our experience with the science community and sharing our vision of the future.

The Fall Canna Boot Camp is CSCs full-day offsite workshop that covers a wide range of cannabis science topics, including cultivation, preprocessing, sample prep, analytical testing, extraction and edibles manufacturing. This is a unique opportunity for attendees to immerse themselves in a comprehensive learning experience about the science, technology and innovation shaping the cannabis industry. With a focus on fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge and promoting advancements, this boot camp promises to be an exceptional event that bridges the gap between theory and practice.

Attendees can expect a series of interactive workshops, hands-on demonstrations, expert-led sessions and the opportunity to engage with industry experts, thought leaders and fellow participants in an intimate and collaborative setting that will empower them with the latest insights and trends in the cannabis field.

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Join CSC for expert-led cannabis science education, networking opportunities and the chance to connect with thought leaders, leading scientists, pioneers in cutting-edge medical applications and industry suppliers.

To register and learn more, please visit the registration page.

About Cannabis Science Conference:

Cannabis Science Conference is the industrys premier science event, focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and psychedelics. CSC brings together cannabis and psychedelic industry experts, including instrument manufacturers, testing labs, research scientists, cultivators, medical practitioners, policymakers, patients and interested novices to network and share ideas. CSC runs semiannual events nationwide in emerging markets, aimed at improving cannabis and psychedelic science. Join us for world-class education, stellar networking and the opportunity to connect with thought leaders, leading scientists, pioneers in cutting-edge medical applications and industry suppliers. CSC 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.

About Mother Earth Wellness:

Mother Earth Wellness serves the community of Pawtucket and the greater Providence area, offering Rhode Islands finest medicine for both medical marijuana patients and recreational customers alike. As a vertically integrated cannabis company, we pride ourselves on unique formulations and products. From delicious flower strains, crave-worthy edibles and relieving topicals, we create a diverse selection of products formulated to fulfill your unique expectations while elevating standards of the consumer experience. For more information, visit motherearthri.com/

Media Contact:

Carl Baus

MJH Life Sciences

cbaus@mjhassoc.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b5bacb7f-2ff0-49f1-9946-87fc456b0830




CarbonBuilt

Company recognized for novel CO2 utilization and carbon avoidance without higher production costs or new production plants

CarbonBuilt's Ultra-low Carbon Concrete Recognized by Fast Company

CarbonBuilts ultra-low carbon concrete was recognized by the prestigious Fast Company Innovation by Design 2023 awards in three separate categories: Circular Design, Materials and Sustainability.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CarbonBuilts ultra-low carbon concrete was recognized by the prestigious Fast Company Innovation by Design 2023 awards in three separate categories: Circular Design, Materials and Sustainability.



CarbonBuilts core technology enables concrete producers to replace high-cost and high-carbon cement with a lower cost, low-carbon cement alternative, then capture and use CO 2 during the manufacturing process to produce concrete blocks that have 70-100+% less embodied carbon than traditional blocks. Given the lower cost for raw materials, it doesnt cost concrete producers any more to make ultra-low carbon concrete than traditional concrete and the technology can be integrated into existing production plants.

This recognition by Fast Company reflects not just the innovative design of our technology, but also of our business model, said Rahul Shendure, CEO of CarbonBuilt. Weve believed from the outset of our journey that adoption was dependent on economics  and our solution doesnt increase the cost for our customers to produce a truly more sustainable product for which demand is growing.

The Innovation by Design Awards, which can be found in the September 2023 issue of Fast Company, honor the designers and businesses solving the most crucial problems of today and anticipating the pressing issues of tomorrow. The competition, now in its 12th year, features a range of blue-chip companies, emerging startups, and hungry young talents. It is one of the most sought-after design awards in the industry.

So much innovation news these days is focused on AI, said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. This years Innovation by Design honorees are a reminder that its human ingenuity that drives invention.

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CarbonBuilts first customer, Blair Block in Childersburg, Alabama, recently began the production of the worlds first ultra-low carbon concrete. The first line at the plant will avoid at least 2,000 tonnes of CO emissions plus remove more than 500 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 per year. Through process optimization and integration of additional lines, Blair Block and CarbonBuilt expect to increase this impact over time.

The judges include renowned designers from a variety of disciplines, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Companys own writers and editors. Entries are judged on the key ingredients of innovation: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact, and business impact.

ABOUT CARBONBUILT

CarbonBuilt, winner of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, enables concrete manufacturers to produce ultra-low carbon concrete products with 70-100% less embodied carbon. CarbonBuilts technology replaces most of the expensive, high-carbon Portland cement typically used during concrete manufacturing with a proprietary low-cost cement alternative made from widely-available low carbon materials. These materials harden after chemically reacting with CO2, to not only strengthen the blocks, but also permanently store the CO2 in solid form, diverting it from the atmosphere. Because it can be cost-effectively installed at existing concrete manufacturing plants and delivers products that meet ASTM C90 and other applicable industry standards without increasing costs, CarbonBuilts technology can be rapidly adopted by the nearly 800 concrete plants in the U.S. alone.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com .

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b2005c68-05be-45cd-ab52-aab4663f1457

CONTACT: Media Contact John Williams, Scoville PR for CarbonBuilt 206-660-5503, jwilliams@scovillepr.com




On August 11, 2023, Citadel Advisors LLC, a renowned investment firm, made a significant move in the stock market by acquiring a new stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc. This article provides an in-depth analysis of this transaction, the profiles of both Citadel Advisors LLC and Benitec Biopharma Inc, and the potential implications for value investors.

Details of the Transaction

Citadel Advisors LLC purchased 173,880 shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc at a price of $2.81 per share. This transaction marked a new holding for the firm, increasing their total shares in Benitec Biopharma Inc to 173,880. Despite this acquisition, the impact on Citadel Advisors LLC's portfolio remains at 0, indicating that the transaction did not significantly alter the overall composition of their portfolio. The firm now holds a 6.90% stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc.

Profile of Citadel Advisors LLC

Founded in 1990, Citadel Advisors LLC has grown from a startup with $4.6 million in capital to a global investment powerhouse with over $176 billion in total assets. The firm, a subsidiary of Citadel LLC, employs a diverse set of strategies, including event-driven, credit arbitrage, and structured credit approaches, to invest in a variety of public equity, fixed income, and alternative markets worldwide. Citadel Advisors LLC's top holdings include Microsoft Corp(NASDAQ:MSFT), INVESCO QQQ Trust(NASDAQ:QQQ), T-Mobile US Inc(NASDAQ:TMUS), Boston Scientific Corp(NYSE:BSX), and McDonald's Corp(NYSE:MCD). The firm's investments are primarily focused on the technology and healthcare sectors.

Citadel Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc

Profile of Benitec Biopharma Inc

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a biotechnology company based in the USA, has been developing a proprietary therapeutic technology platform since its IPO in 2012. The company's technology combines RNA interference with gene therapy to silence disease-causing genes from a single administration. Benitec Biopharma Inc's current stock price is $2.81, and according to GuruFocus, it is fairly valued with a GF Value of $2.86. The company's GF Score is 53/100, indicating a poor future performance potential.

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Citadel Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc

Analysis of Benitec Biopharma Inc's Financials

Benitec Biopharma Inc's financial performance reveals a Financial Strength Rank of 4/10 and a Profitability Rank of 1/10. The company's Growth Rank is also 1/10, indicating a lack of significant growth in recent years. The company's Altman Z score of -33.95 suggests a high bankruptcy risk. However, the company's cash to debt ratio of 10.52 is relatively healthy, ranking 715 among global companies.

Implications of the Transaction

The acquisition of a new stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc by Citadel Advisors LLC could be seen as a strategic move by the firm to diversify its portfolio. Despite Benitec Biopharma Inc's poor financial performance and growth metrics, the firm's unique therapeutic technology platform may hold potential for future growth. However, the transaction's impact on Citadel Advisors LLC's portfolio remains minimal, and the implications for value investors are yet to be determined.

As of August 22, 2023, all data and rankings are accurate and based on the provided relative data.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


With the U.S. office vacancy rate rising to a record 13.1% at the end of the first quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors, the struggling office space sector isn't being emboldened by the impending crash of former coworking giant WeWork (NYSE:WE).

Once the most prominent commercial tenant in New York and London, the company has spent most of this year trying to shed leases. Despite its efforts, the company still leases 6.4 million square feet in 70 buildings in New York alone, according to Crain's. And watching its stock crash has undoubtedly not helped WeWork in its efforts to regroup.

On Friday, the company announced plans to proceed with a 1-for-40 reverse stock split of its outstanding shares to avoid getting bumped from the New York Stock Exchange. Initially, the move hasn't impressed investors as WeWork shares fell 11% after the announcement, closing the day at 14 cents per share. WeWork has been trading under $1 since the end of the first quarter.

Check out:

Passive income investments are one of the most trusted methods for riding out a recession so it's no surprise that people are turning to high-yield notes that pay a fixed 7.5% to 9%.

Blackstone made a $13 billion bet on the growth in student housing. Here's how you can carve out your own piece of the student housing market with just $500.

The biggest worry for office space investors and owners is that if WeWork takes the Chapter 11 bankruptcy route, it would be able to terminate its thousands of leases, leaving even more vacant office space across the country. And because WeWork has invested in Class B and C, predominantly older business offices, a bankruptcy could continue contributing to declining office building values.

Anthony Sabino, a bankruptcy expert at law firm Sabino & Sabino and a law professor at St. John's University Peter J. Tobin College of Business, said a WeWork bankruptcy could potentially lead to new investor opportunities.

Story continues

"So it would be a troubling and damaging situation if WeWork goes into the tank  that would knock back commercial real estate in New York for a bit, but there will also be opportunities for more adventurous actors in the sector," Sabino said. "There is a move among business leadership to get people back to the office. Someone will be there to pick up the slack."

WeWork claims it has been dealing with elevated costs and expenses as well as a high membership turnover and reported a net loss of $397 million in the second quarter. One company looking to take up the slack by also adding hospitality services is Convene, which says its recent comeback after a rough post-COVID period is related to slowing its growth, which WeWork does not have a reputation for.

"The discipline now is learning to say no," Convene Head of Real Estate Brian Holland told Benzinga. "You just can't enter a new market with one location and one day suddenly decide to have seven locations. We've tried to stay more methodical and disciplined in our approach."

The highs and lows of WeWork have been well documented, including a television mini-series. But the company made it clear the future is grim, saying there is "substantial doubt" it can stay in business, adding to the nation's office space vacancy woes.

Read next:

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 The Collapse Of WeWork Only Heightens Investors' Commercial Office Space Worries originally appeared on Benzinga.com

.

 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
- Market research firm IDC predicts that 56% of IT devices sold in China will be equipped with AI engines by 2026, and DEEPX will launch products in time to meet the mass production schedule of multiple IT devices.

- DEEPX unveils total solutions based on its AI semiconductor source technology and a live demonstration of its M.2 module on the open embedded platform Orange Pi.

- "DEEPX will introduce compact camera and M.2 module products equipped with AI semiconductors to capture the Greater China market with world-class power and price competitiveness."

SHENZHEN, China and SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DEEPX (CEO, Lokwon Kim), a company that develops original technology for artificial intelligence semiconductors, will participate in 'ELEXCON 2023', the largest electronics exhibition in Shenzhen, China, to showcase its technologies and products to the Greater China market and continue its full-scale efforts to enter the East Asian market.

DEEPX Strengthens Commitment to the Greater China Market by Showcasing its AI Chip Solutions at ELEXCON 2023

ELEXCON 2023 is a three-day international electronics exhibition held at the Shenzhen International Convention Center in Shenzhen, China, from August 23 to 25. Leading Chinese will attend exhibition set manufacturers Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu; North American semiconductor design solution partner (DSP) Mouser Electronics; leading Chinese telecommunications company China Mobile, and leading Chinese video equipment company Hikvision, as well as more than 600 global brands in AI and IoT, embedded systems, and autonomous vehicles, and more than 50,000 related technology professionals.

At the exhibition, DEEPX will showcase its four-chip product suite, DX-L1, DX-L2, DX-M1, and DX-H1, which are total solutions that cover a large portion of the Edge AI market. This product suite offers four total chip solutions to a wide range of applications, from small sensors to robots, home appliances, smart mobility, and edge servers. This range of products showcases DEEPX's AI semiconductor technology excellence and creates various business opportunities. The company will also highlight a live demonstration of its M.2 modules running AI algorithms for robots by interfacing them with Orange Pi, an embedded board with a rich ecosystem.

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According to market research firm IDC, half of the IT devices sold in the Chinese market in 2026 will be equipped with AI engines. By targeting this market, DEEPX expects to launch the world's highest-performance AI semiconductors in mass production in 2024, align with the mass production lineups of IT device companies in 2025, and seize the opportunity to capture the huge market for edge AI in 2026.

To enter Greater China in earnest, in April, DEEPX partnered with Samsung Electronics' exclusive distributor, CoAsia Electronics, and began a full-scale collaboration to enter the East Asian market, deploying business personnel in mainland China and Taiwan and promoting cooperation with potential customers. The company has more than 300 global customers with annual sales of approximately KRW 1 trillion. The company's main sources of revenue are memory semiconductors and CMOS image sensors (CIS), which are essential components for machine vision systems and are compatible with the AI semiconductors developed by DEEPX. DEEPX expects many of CoAsia Elec's current customers to require AI semiconductors.

In June, DEEPX participated in Computex Taipei 2023 in Taipei, Taiwan, and was recognized for its innovative source technology and commercial potential to lead the global market. In particular, the company won the Startup Terrace Awards and a USD 20,000 cash prize among 400 global startups at Computex Taipei Innovex 2023, a special pavilion for startups. For the fast-growing Greater China market, DEEPX will continue to meet customers locally by participating in the International AI Expo, the largest AI exhibition in Chongqing, China, in October.

"DEEPX plans to participate in various exhibitions and promotional activities held locally at least three to four times a year to preempt the AI semiconductor market in China and Taiwan, which will be important battlegrounds for AI semiconductor technology," said Lokwon Kim, CEO of DEEPX. And then, "At the '2023 Computex Taipei' exhibition, we received a good response from IT hardware OEMs and Greater China companies in AI application development. These potential customers praised DEEPX's solution strategy consisting of four products as highly responsive to various market needs and highly mass-producible technology that can smoothly implement AI computation even in resource-constrained environments. In addition to mass-producing NPU chips, we will strengthen cooperation with Chinese and Taiwanese companies to proactively target the Greater China market by mass-producing AI applications that can be applied to the smart camera and AI hardware markets," he said.

Elexcon 2023 Shenzhen International Electronics Show

-Date: August 23-25

-Place: Hall 1/9, Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center

-DEEPX Booth: Hall 1, 1H51

About DEEPX

DEEPX is a leading AI semiconductor technology company dedicated to driving innovation in the rapidly evolving edge AI landscape. With their state-of-the-art AI chip product line, DEEPX aims to revolutionize industries such as robotics, smart cities, surveillance, and more. DEEPX is committed to establishing the industry standard for AI semiconductors worldwide through technological excellence, strategic collaborations, and a global outlook.

For media inquiries:

PR@deepx.ai

Homepage: https://deepx.ai/

LinkdIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deepx-corp/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@deepx2692/

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/deepx-strengthens-commitment-to-the-greater-china-market-by-showcasing-its-ai-chip-solutions-at-elexcon-2023-301905311.html

SOURCE DEEPX
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Qube Holdings fair value estimate is AU$2.23

Current share price of AU$2.69 suggests Qube Holdings is potentially 21% overvalued

Our fair value estimate is 35% lower than Qube Holdings' analyst price target of AU$3.44

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Qube Holdings Limited (ASX:QUB) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Qube Holdings

The Method

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (A$, Millions) AU$74.9m AU$179.4m AU$103.9m AU$141.1m AU$240.0m AU$263.6m AU$283.4m AU$299.9m AU$314.0m AU$326.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x5 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ 9.84% Est @ 7.49% Est @ 5.85% Est @ 4.70% Est @ 3.89% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 8.0% AU$69.3 AU$154 AU$82.4 AU$104 AU$163 AU$166 AU$165 AU$162 AU$157 AU$151

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$1.4b

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.0%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$326m (1 + 2.0%)  (8.0% 2.0%) = AU$5.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$5.5b ( 1 + 8.0%)10= AU$2.6b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is AU$3.9b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of AU$2.7, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Qube Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.201. 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 Qube Holdings

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Infrastructure market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Australian market.

Threat

Paying a dividend but company has no free cash flows.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. 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. What is the reason for the share price exceeding the intrinsic value? For Qube Holdings, we've compiled three important factors you should look at:

Financial Health: Does QUB have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does QUB's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Australian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
AstriVax

Christian Brander, Ph.D., is a leading expert on T cell responses to viral infections and brings an important blend of academic and biotech experience.

Mala Maini, MD, Ph.D., is a professor of viral immunology at University College London with key expertise in adaptive immunity to hepatitis B, liver cancer, and SARS-CoV-2.

Together with the other distinguished vaccine development experts on the companys scientific advisory board, they will support AstriVax in advancing its innovative plug-and-play vaccine platform.

Leuven, Belgium, August 21, 2023  AstriVax is pleased to announce that Dr. Christian Brander and Dr. Mala Maini have agreed to join the companys scientific advisory board. Together, the scientific advisors to AstriVax now boast decades of experience in academic research and biotech, combined with invaluable expertise in infectious diseases, vaccines, and global health management.

Hanne Callewaert, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of AstriVax, said: I am grateful that Christian and Mala have agreed to join our scientific advisory board. Christians expertise in immunology and therapeutic vaccines makes him a valuable asset for AstriVax, especially because our technology has great potential in therapeutic vaccines, and we are unlocking the full potential of our platform by expanding our pipeline in that field. Im also thrilled to have award-winning viral immunologist Mala Maini on board, as her work on hepatitis B and her expertise on improving immunotherapeutic outcomes are invaluable to AstriVax. I look forward to working with them and their fellow scientific advisors: chair Emmanuel Hanon and leading vaccine development experts Peter Piot, Patrick Soentjens, Johan Neyts, and Kai Dallmeier. Together, we will continue to advance the vaccine technology of AstriVax to address unmet challenges in global health.

Christian Brander, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Professor at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). He brings ample experience in studying T cell responses to viral infections, including cancer-driving viruses and hepatitis and herpes viruses in the context of HIV co-infection and in transplant recipients. He played a key role in providing some of the largest data sets on T cell activity to HIV and their association with relative HIV control. Dr. Brander has also established several HIV-infected and uninfected cohorts in Peru, the US, and Europe to study potentially protective host immunity. He is a curator of the Los Alamos National Laboratories HIV immunology database and co-founded Aelix Therapeutics, a Barcelona-based biotech company dedicated to developing HIV cure vaccine strategies.

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Mala Maini, MD, Ph.D., is a professor of viral immunology and consultant physician in viral hepatitis, based in the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation at University College London (UCL). Her lab studies adaptive immunity to hepatitis B, liver cancer, and SARS-CoV-2 to inform the development of immunotherapies and vaccines. Through access to well-characterized patient cohorts, human tissue samples, and various models, the studies provide insights into manipulating beneficial and dysfunctional T and B cell responses for improved immunotherapeutic outcomes. The Maini lab has identified novel roles for T cells in aborting viral infection and their regulation in tissues by cross-talk with neighboring NK cells and myeloid cells. Mala Maini was awarded Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Awards in 2013 and 2019 and elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2016.

Media Contact

Hanne Callewaert, Ph.D., CEO of AstriVax, info@astrivax.com .

About AstriVax

Founded in 2022, AstriVax NV aims to address global challenges in vaccinology with its innovative plug-and-play vaccine platform. The company develops novel prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines that are easy to produce, have reduced cold chain requirements, and offer broad and long-lasting protection against various infectious diseases. AstriVax is supported by well-known investors V-Bio Ventures, Fund+, Flanders Future TechFund managed by PMV, Thuja Capital, Ackermans & van Haaren, OMX Europe Venture Fund (Merieux Equity Partners and Korys), BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity, and the KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fund.

AstriVax is located in the BioHub in Leuven. For more information, please visit www.astrivax.com .




TAIPEI, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- E-Formula Technologies, Inc. inked a memorandum of understanding with the Provincial Government of Bohol to collaborate on smart energy system integration in the province on Aug. 22, 2023.

Witnessed by Deputy Director-general Jiunn-Shiow Lin (left) of Administration for Digital Industries,Ministry of Digital Affairs, Chairman Peter Chang(center) of e-Formula Technologies and Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado (right) of Provincial Government of Bohol, Philippines, signed Smart Energy Collaboration Agreement.

This targeted 25-year project of e-Formula with the provincial government aims to provide smart energy solutions to provide continuous energy service operation in Bohol island. It will become a model case for exporting system integration in the Philippines.

The MOU was signed by Bohol Governor Aristotle Aumentado and e-Formula Chairman Peter Chang.

"The Provincial Government of Bohol strongly encourages local and foreign investors to explore a wide range of opportunities in the power sector, particularly in renewable energy", Aumentado said.

He added that expanding the existing capacity and guaranteeing a steady electric supply that will drive to a more promising future is a need to attain Bohol's Strategic Change Agenda of a Smart-Resilient Province.

Administration for Digital Industries Deputy Director General Jiunn-Shiow Lin, who also graced the event, said that promoting international cooperation in digital system integration is one of the main missions of their agency. In recent years, Taiwan has established successful cooperative models with the Philippines through international system integration cooperation, he added.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/e-formula-and-bohol-province-of-the-philippines-sign-smart-energy-collaboration-agreement-301906452.html

SOURCE e-Formula Technologies
Downer Avenue's former Chancery restaurant will be divided into two new storefronts--with a bubble tea house/tavern planned for one of the spaces.

A plan is proceeding to redevelop the former Chancery restaurant on Milwaukee's east side  which has been vacant since 2007.

Building operator Bridge33 Capital LLC's proposal to create two retail storefronts within the former Chancery has been approved by the Plan Commission.

The two spaces, with around 1,700 and 2,100 square feet, will have addresses of 2569 and 2573 N. Downer Ave.

Along with facade changes, Bridge33 Capital plans to renovate the interior spaces to a "white box" status  preparing them for future tenant build-outs, said Steve Esser, the project architect.

Esser, of Patera Architecture and Engineering, didn't discuss a project timeline or name prospective tenants during his Monday presentation to the commission. He referred the Journal Sentinel's questions to a Bridge33 Capital representative who didn't immediately respond.

In March, bubble tea house SereniTea filed for city licenses to operate a cafe/coffee shop and tavern within part of the former Chancery space. SereniTea sells fruit and milk teas and bubble or "boba" teas with tapioca pearls.

In July, SereniTea operator Manpreet Singh applied for an occupancy permit for around 1,700 square feet at that site. Singh didn't respond to requests for more information about his plans.

SereniTea also operates at 1414 W. Wells St., near Marquette University, and at Glendale's Bayshore development.

The former Chancery's redevelopment would be the latest in a series of investments Bridge33 Capital has made in the Downer Avenue business district.

Bridge33 Capital in 2020 bought the building at 2551-2597 N. Downer Ave. and a building at 2608-2650 N. Downer Ave. for $11.25 million.

The buildings total around 61,000 square feet and their tenants include Starbucks, Boswell Book Co., Downer Theatre, Cafe Hollander, Breadsmith and Stone Creek Coffee.

Bridge33 Capital converted second-floor office space above the former Chancery and Optix on Downer into 13 apartments. Those units opened in late 2021.

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The firm also is building four townhome-style condos at 2604-2606 E. Park Place, at the corner of Park Place and Downer Avenue. But construction work appears to have stopped.

Bridge33 Capital's buildings that include the former Chancery were owned for several years by Downer Delaware LLC, a group led by Joel Lee, president of Van Buren Management Inc.

Downer Delaware's plans to redevelop the buildings, including a condo tower, were hurt when the housing bubble burst in 2007, followed by the Great Recession. The properties went into foreclosure.

An investment group with ties to New York-based financing firm C-III Capital Partners LLC took control of the properties in 2015. It made investments and attracted such new tenants as Stone Creek Coffee, Robert Laurence Hair Studio and Salon Nova & Lash Boutique.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Plan proceeding to redevelop Milwaukee's long-vacant former Chancery
By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's government on Tuesday said it will extend its contract with Mexican telecommunications giant America Movil for a mobile phone concession until a new contract is signed.

America Movil's subsidiary Conecel, which was not available for immediate comment, will pay $3.3 million per month during the extension period, Ecuador's government said.

The decision by President Guillermo Lasso came as Ecuadoreans prepare to vote in a runoff election in October for his successor.

Conecel signed a concession with Ecuador in 2008 to operate its mobile telephony market until Aug. 26, 2023 with hundreds of millions of dollars in planned investments. The extension takes effect on Aug. 27.

"The extension will be valid until the newly renegotiated contract is signed, which is estimated to take approximately six months," Minister of Telecommunications Vianna Maino told journalists in Quito.

Conecel, which trades under the brand Claro in Ecuador, has a 52% market share of country's telecommunications sector, with some 9.2 million subscribers.

The new contract will run for 15 years, Maino said, adding the parties are evaluating the final value and new conditions.

Ecuador is also reviewing a possible contract extension with Telefonica, Maino said. That contract is due to expire in November 2023.

America Movil also pledged in August 2019 to invest close to $500 million in Ecuador over three years, to develop its services in the country.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Oliver Griffin and Cynthia Osterman)
A New Orleans federal appeals court has rejected ideologue Texas Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryks ruling against the Food and Drug Administrations 2000 approval of the medication abortion drug mifepristone, the second part of the two-drug regimen that is frequently used instead of surgical abortion. The panel, however, decided to also reject science in siding with Kacsmaryk in overturning the 2016 and 2021 expansions that allowed, among other things, the drug to be mailed.

For now, nothing changes, as the Supreme Court had previously ordered the status quo remain as appeals play out. The high court should have the sense to reverse this ruling and establish definitively that the government has properly approved and regulated the life-saving mifepristone and misoprostol.

Lets be upfront about what this legal wrangling is really about, which is certainly not any legitimate medical questions about the drug itself. Strained arguments about supposed deficiencies in the FDAs approval process and the vanishingly rare medical complications are purely pretextual. Its a legal challenge fundamentally about an ideological position, one that holds that abortion is immoral and it should be up to those who hold that view to impose their religious or ethical opposition onto everyone else, above doctors and patients.

It is obvious to everyone that a similar lawsuit about a drug with the exact same approval timeline, authorizations and risk factors as mifepristone, but which instead was used to treat a heart condition or clear up allergies, would not have been filed, or would have been quickly thrown out if it had. Instead, a three-judge appeals panel is parroting bad-faith concerns over mifepristones safety, despite ample evidence already showing that the drug is not only safe but actually safer than a good deal of other over-the-counter drugs no one bats an eye about. Thats for the simple reason that this is a dogmatic peg being shoved in a medical hole.

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For its part, the Supreme Court finds itself once again having to be the arbiter of access to abortion, after having ended the national right with its overturn of Roe v. Wade and attempted to throw responsibility back to the states. If Justice Sam Alito and his allies really expected to have punted the issue once and for all, they clearly werent paying much attention. The anti-abortion groups whod spent decades carefully organizing attacks on the right to choose were not going to let it go after that victory, which they always saw as simply the first in a series of steps to make abortion not only not a right, but fully inaccessible.

If it were to side with these groups again, the Supreme Court would be going much farther into openly ideological waters. Roe was a longtime precedent, but the original decisions actual legal underpinnings, based as they were in a principle of privacy, were relatively brittle (which is why Congress failure to pass, and Democratic presidents to really push for, a codification of abortion rights looks like a greater failure every day).

This is different. The court would have to take direct aim and the FDAs regulatory authority and essentially endorse fringe and disproven medical theories. Lets hope that the justices retain enough sense of duty to reject this co-opting of the law.

___
By Katherine Masters and Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Macy's is the latest major retail chain to disclose that significantly fewer overseas tourists in the United States are hurting overall sales.

International visitors now account for less than 2% of Macys sales, compared to 3%-4% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CEO Jeff Gennette told investors on Tuesday during a post-earnings conference call. Macy's net sales in the quarter were $5 billion, down 8% compared to the same period last year.

Macys is among the retailers that have spent big on flagship locations in a bid to attract high-spending visitors. The company in 2021 announced that it would invest $235 million in its Herald Square flagship, including improvements to nearby subway station entrances and an expanded pedestrian plaza.

Luxury behemoth LVMH also invested heavily in its recently reopened Tiffany & Co. flagship store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 57th Street, although the company declined to disclose how much it spent on the renovation. The store accounted for 10% of Tiffany's global sales before it closed for construction in 2019.

Tourism in the United States is still lagging pre-pandemic levels.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, overseas visits dropped slightly in June to 2.6 million and remained 27% below 2019 levels. Travel to New York City was also lower in 2022 compared to 2019, although visits are forecast to reach 63.3 million in 2023 and surpass pre-pandemic levels by 2024, according to the New York City Tourism and Conventions bureau.

Tourist visits to New York from Western European countries including France and the United Kingdom have significantly rebounded as of 2022, as have visits from Canada, the organization reported in March. Chinese tourists, key drivers of luxury purchasing, are returning at a slower pace than other visitors.

While overall global travel has rebounded in a big way since the end of COVID-19 restrictions, travelers are not spending as much on goods and instead are splurging on sporting events or concert tickets in new destinations.

Tourist spending on experiences like restaurants, amusement parks and nightclubs globally was up 65% in March 2023, the most recent month for which data is available, from March 2019, before the pandemic, according to Mastercard's Travel Industry Trends 2023 report. But spending by travelers on goods like cosmetics, jewelry and electronics is up just 12%, the report said.

(Reporting by Katherine Masters and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Mark Porter)
(Bloomberg) -- Gen Z is searching for sad music on Spotify Technology SA more than any other generation, leading the streaming platform to dub the past few months a bummer summer for the youth.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Sad is Gen Zs most-searched term on Spotify globally, the audio service said in a blog post Monday. In comparison, its the 13th most-searched term for Millenials. To match the vibe in the US and Canada, Spotify said its added new sad playlists and even installed a fountain of tears shaped like the artist d4vd in Houston, Texas.

The rise in Gen Zs searches for sad music comes as the younger generations mental health is increasingly seen as at crisis levels. Nearly all indicators of poor mental health among high schoolers increased from 2011 to 2021, according to a Center for Disease Control youth risk behavior report, while a McKinsey & Co. Inc. survey found Gen Z had the least positive life outlook.

The desire for sad music also contrasts the upbeat tone of the summers biggest concert tours  Taylor Swift and Beyonce. The pop stars brought millions in tax revenues to cities across North America, and Swifts tour looks set to gross more than $1 billion.

Younger listeners are seeking music that helps normalize their feelings and humanity, Spotify said in its blog post, adding that the new playlists include moody and soul-filling songs, and arent exclusively sad.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in Hollywood Bowl Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price

A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 16% ownership

Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Hollywood Bowl Group plc (LON:BOWL) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 85% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hollywood Bowl Group.

View our latest analysis for Hollywood Bowl Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hollywood Bowl Group?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that Hollywood Bowl Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Hollywood Bowl Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hollywood Bowl Group. Degroof Petercam Asset Management is currently the largest shareholder, with 1.9% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 1.8% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Stephen Burns, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

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Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Hollywood Bowl Group

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Hollywood Bowl Group plc. As individuals, the insiders collectively own UK17m worth of the UK385m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Hollywood Bowl Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Hollywood studios will once again meet with striking writers this week as negotiations drag on, surpassing the 100-day mark. But the economic impact of the "double whammy" work stoppage, experts said, is only just beginning.

"We met this week and continued to exchange proposals," the Writers Guild of America (WGA) wrote to members on Friday, adding, "The Guild will communicate when we think there is something of significance to report."

SAG-AFTRA  the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, and other media professionals around the world  also remains firmly on the picket lines after joining striking writers in mid-July.

The bottom line: "We're inching towards compromise," Scott Purdy, KPMGs US national media leader, told Yahoo Finance.

The WGA is fighting for more protections surrounding the role of artificial intelligence in media and entertainment, in addition to higher streaming residuals as more movies and TV shows go direct to streaming. These demands are similar to those made by the actors' guild.

Purdy predicted the strikes could likely last "two to three times" the prior 2007-2008 strike, which lasted for 100 days. That means a work stoppage that can run well into 2024.

"The negotiating will happen when the pain on both sides gets to be too much," Purdy said. How so? When writers and other content producers can't hold out any longer without a source of income  and the studios run out of new content.

He added: "I really think there's too much pain to miss an entire other season. Right now it's a lose-lose situation."

Hollywood actors Susan Sarandon, Rosie Perez, Ezra Knight, and Julianna Margulies chant slogans as they participate in a picket line outside Warner Bros., Discovery, and Netflix offices in Manhattan, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. (Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

Profitability, of course, remains top of mind for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which bargains on behalf of studios including Warner Bros., Disney (DIS), Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and NBCUniversal (CMCSA)  hence the standstill in negotiations.

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The double strikes, meanwhile, will likely have serious economic implications, as the last writers' strike demonstrated.

According to estimates from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., that work stoppage cost the Los Angeles County economy a whopping $2.5 billion.

Kevin Klowden, chief global strategist at the Milken Institute, estimated the current strikes could cost the national economy $4 billion-plus. He explained that the work stoppage will impact other businesses besides just production  restaurants, catering companies, trucking agencies, dry cleaning businesses, among many others.

"A strike like this, especially as it's expanded to not just the writers but this time with the actors, is a total stoppage to almost everything that's scripted," he told Yahoo Finance Live. "And it's not just impacting these industries in California, but also [New York, Atlanta, Albuquerque, Pittsburgh] and all sorts of places where filming actually takes place."

Klowden shared Purdy's view that both sides will eventually have to cave, "but it doesn't seem like either side is ready to" right now.

The strategist noted churn, or consumers cancelling their streaming plans due to a lack of content, will likely be a critical factor in determining a possible end date. Higher streaming prices have also caused further concerns.

Still, Klowden warned nobody is safe, especially coming out of the pandemic.

"Everybody's in a precarious position," he said. "Nobody really wanted the strike. But at the same time, both sides see the current situation as not viable."

Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

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One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY).

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Bristol-Myers Squibb

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 Bristol-Myers Squibb is:

25% = US$8.0b  US$32b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.25 in profit.

Does Bristol-Myers Squibb Have A Good Return On Equity?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a higher ROE than the average (17%) in the Pharmaceuticals industry.

roe

That is a good sign. However, bear in mind that a high ROE doesnt necessarily indicate efficient profit generation. Aside from changes in net income, a high ROE can also be the outcome of high debt relative to equity, which indicates risk.

Why You Should Consider Debt When Looking At ROE

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb's Debt And Its 25% ROE

Bristol-Myers Squibb clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.18. While no doubt that its ROE is impressive, we would have been even more impressed had the company achieved this with lower debt. Debt does bring extra risk, so it's only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it.

Conclusion

Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.

But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Hours before doors would open, thousands of K-pop fans lined up in downtown Los Angeles, stretching long city blocks in the warm August sun. In pleated skirts and platform shoes, toting the clear bags that have become arena staples, they danced and traded homemade stickers, banners, bracelets and photocards. Inside was their paradise: an IRL space to commune over their URL passions.

If anything, the 2023 LA KCON was a microcosm of K-pops macro influence on the music industry as a whole.

Held from Friday to Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center and adjacent Crypto.com Arena, an estimated 140,000 fans from all over the world celebrated their favorite K-pop idols across three days of panels, premium meet-and-greets, interviews, dance breaks, concerts, and more.

Inside the convention center, fans carried lightsticks of their favorite groups, showed off DIY shirts with simple, direct slogans like I HEART MINGI, collected sticker books and K-beauty products, and lined up for tteokbokki.

KCON started 11 years ago in Irvine, California, drawing 10,000 people to its inaugural celebration of Korean culture, says Steve Chung, chief global officer of organizers CJ ENM. Now it's a global event, taking place in multiple countries: So far in 2023, KCON has hit Thailand, Japan and the U.S.

We've welcomed something like half a million people in those (11) years all throughout the world, he says.

In Los Angeles, panels were held on K-pop songwriting and cup sleeve creations (K-pop fan events are held at cafes on an idol's birthday, anniversary, or some other special date). Up-and-coming groups like NMIXX led dance classes on one stage, while another stage allowed rookie groups to introduce themselves to a wider audience.

Over the course of the weekend, The Associated Press spoke to an incredible diversity of fans who, among them, drove 12 hours straight from Utah, flew in from the U.K. and South America and represented a range of ages, genders, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

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The culture of inclusiveness is huge, said 40-year-old Annya Holston from Florida who got into K-pop through her daughter. Weve made so many friends, being here.

At $500 a day, premium tickets allowed attendees to access a Red Carpet area, where acts posed for portraits and answered two or three questions in a 30-minute window  along with entry to the convention and concert. For an additional $100, fans could pay for Hi-Touch  a quick meet-and-greet where fans and performers high-five  with one group of their choice. With renewed concerns about the spread of COVID-19, Hi-Touch became Hi-Wave (exactly what it sounds like, to the chagrin of a few fans hoping for that physical connection; others were happy with the sheer proximity).

Those experiences served as a welcome reminder of a facet of the music industry that K-pop knows remarkably well, and far better than most: fandom is this business' most lucrative and enduring resource.

As Peyton Tran, a 17-year-old L.A. native and dancer told AP at KCON, It's just cool to see how much people can support these businesses out here.

In 2023, the music industry faces unique challenges, including what Mark Mulligan, a MIDiA Research music industry analyst, has referred to as the fragmentation of fandom. New artists suffer a kind of competition unheard of before the streaming age, a direct effect of algorithmic listening. Think of it this way: It is rare for a new act to reach the level of monolithic pop star  the ranks of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Harry Styles, all who started performing pre-streaming  because listenership is hyper-specific.

In K-pop, where companies are typically fully integrated institutions  a record label and a talent agency all in one  and hyper-consumerism is welcomed, business focuses on building a community of superfans and inspiring those loyal listeners to advocate for their group, fueling a sense of participation beyond their purchasing power. It doesn't hurt that K-pop audiences have a tendency to coordinate global fan actions on their own and create rituals and events, communicating on bespoke fandom platforms like WeVerse and Vlive.

Niche doesn't mean small; it means specialized. KCON is proof.

At the concerts, held all three nights for the first time, fans witnessed K-pop groups and soloists from across generations: Taemin from the second-generation boy band SHINee,Rain  the first K-pop idol to take off internationally, and now a manager himself  fourth-generation boy bands ATEEZ and Stray Kids, and rookie groups like XG and ZEROBASEONE.

XG performed songs like the Kesha -channeling TGIF, with production pulling heavily from the current liquid drum-and-bass/U.K. garage trend in global pop music, a welcomed retro-futuristic sound from a group and convention with eyes set on the future.

Notably, these concerts placed a lot of emphasis on K-pop girl groups, reflecting a recent trend in listenership. Historically, boy bands were thought to be more lucrative  but girl groups like IVE, ITZY, NMIXX, Kep1er, (G)I-DLE, and EVERGLOW proved that's vintage thinking in their explosive KCON sets.

A particularly unique and effective moment during the concert was called the Dream Stage, where a few dozen fans who auditioned to perform a dance with a K-pop group earlier in the day were brought out to do exactly that.

On the second day of the convention, iHeartRadio's KIIS-FM set up a new, open-to-the-public K-pop Village, where the K-pop-curious could experience free performances from newer acts  like LEO, who made his U.S. debut on the outdoor stage.

2023 is like a crossover event. The last 10 years has been about sort of serving the endemic fanbase of people who already know K-pop and who love K-pop," Chung says. As evidenced by the iHeartMedia partnership, its really like a crossover moment where K-pop goes mainstream.

On the last day of the convention, not even Tropical Storm Hilary could stop the most devoted fans from lining up in the rain to see their favorite acts. On the train the night before, the AP asked a K-pop fan from Massachusetts, who publishes fan cam videos on YouTube under the name Toadcola, if he was worried about the weather. Not so much.

But, if the weather canceled his flight home, he thought that wouldn't be so bad: maybe, just maybe, the idols would be stuck at the airport with him.
LONDON, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The acceptance of applications for participation in the International Media Award "Newsky Award" continues. Professional and young journalists, as well as authors of blogs on social networks from all over the world can apply on the official website of newskyaward.org until November 10, 2023 inclusive.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PRIZE - NEWSKY AWARD WILL BE HELD IN KAZAKHSTAN. APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN



Authorial works of journalists published in print media, broadcast on TV and radio, or on the Internet from January 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023 are allowed to participate in the Award. The award is organized by the United Charity Projects Evolution Public Foundation and Kazakhstan Journalism Academy.

The main goal of the Newsky Award is to identify talented journalists and authors of the best materials and encourage their merits in covering foreign policy issues and interregional harmony, cultural and spiritual values, as well as charitable and social activities that contribute to the development of Kazakhstan and the world community.

The award is given in six categories:

"The Best Material on Foreign Policy and Cross-regional Dialogue" "The Best Material on Interfaith Harmony and Multicultural Relations" "The Best Material on Philanthropy, Business Social Responsibility" "The Best Material on Spirituality". Special nomination "The Best Young Journalist". Special nomination 2023 "The Best Blog Author in Social Media". Special nomination 2023

One of the distinguishing features of the "Newsky Award" is that nominees from all over the world can take part in it. The works will be evaluated by an independent jury of the award, which includes honored figures in the industry, reputable journalists and media professionals.

According to the results of the award in each nomination, the winners will be awarded a commemorative statuette in the form of a symbol of the award of a dove with an olive branch and a badge made of precious metals by leading jewelers of Kazakhstan.

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The award ceremony of the winners will be held in Almaty on November 30, 2023. This event will bring together diplomats from different countries, well-known media personalities and the first persons of the clergy of Kazakhstan.

The Organizing Committee of the Award invites journalists from international media, bloggers on social networks and young reporters to participate in the Newsky Award - 2023! Try your hand and be among the nominees!

For more information, please visit www.newskyaward.org.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2191210/Newsky_Award_Prize.jpg

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/international-media-prize---newsky-award-will-be-held-in-kazakhstan-applications-are-open-301906633.html
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) is S$2.15 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) is estimated to be 23% undervalued based on current share price of S$1.66

Analyst price target for BS6 is CN1.87 which is 13% below our fair value estimate

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd. (SGX:BS6) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings)

The Method

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. 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.

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A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (CN, Millions) CN3.30b CN3.24b CN3.22b CN3.23b CN3.25b CN3.29b CN3.33b CN3.38b CN3.44b CN3.50b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x3 Est @ -0.58% Est @ 0.19% Est @ 0.73% Est @ 1.10% Est @ 1.37% Est @ 1.55% Est @ 1.68% Est @ 1.77% Present Value (CN, Millions) Discounted @ 8.5% CN3.0k CN2.7k CN2.5k CN2.3k CN2.2k CN2.0k CN1.9k CN1.8k CN1.6k CN1.5k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN22b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.0%) 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 8.5%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CN3.5b (1 + 2.0%)  (8.5% 2.0%) = CN55b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN55b ( 1 + 8.5%)10= CN24b

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 CN46b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of S$1.7, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 23% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.077. 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 Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings)

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Machinery market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Singaporean market.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings), there are three important factors you should assess:

Risks: For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) that you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does BS6's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the SGX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Jianpu Technology Inc. (NYSE:JT) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript August 21, 2023

Operator: Hello, and welcome to the Jianpu Technology Inc. Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions] After todays presentation, there will be an opportunity to questions. [Operator Instructions] Please note, today's event is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Liting Lu, Investor Relations Director. Please go ahead.

Liting Lu: Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Our second quarter 2023 earnings release were distributed today earlier and is available on our IR website at ir.jianpu.ai as well as on PR Newswire services. On the call today from Jianpu Technology, we have Mr. David Ye, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Oscar Chen, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Ye will talk about the operations and the company highlights followed by Mr. Chen, who will discuss the financials and guidance. They will all be available to answer your questions during the Q&A section that follows. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that this conference call contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Financial Advisor

Pixabay/Public Domain

These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relates to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the company's control. These risks may cause the company's actual results or performance to differ materially. Further information regarding this and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the company's filings with the U.S. SEC. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, expect -- except as required under the applicable law. Finally, please note that unless otherwise stated, all figures mentioned during the conference call are in RMB.

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It is now my pleasure to introduce our Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. David Ye, please go ahead.

David Ye: Thank you, Liting. Hello, everyone. Good morning and good evening. I've been sitting under the weather with sore throat for the past two days, so Oscar Chen will be handling the CEO's group on my behalf. I will try to answer one or two questions during the Q&A session. Oscar, please go ahead.

Oscar Chen: Okay. Thank you, David. Yes, I'm Oscar. Today, due to David's sore throat, I guess everyone on the call can hear that. So I will do David's part on his behalf, followed by my part, the CFO's scripts and I say David's voice for the Q&A part. So let me start with the CEO script first. Thank you, everyone for joining us today. After strong reopening boost earlier this year, the second quarter saw some volatilities and slowdown in terms of economic recovery. Furthermore, the second quarter was a critical quarter for certain regulatory policies implementation and execution, which presented certain challenges to us. Despite these headwinds, we continue to deliver another solid quarter benefited from our capital light platform model and the diversification strategy, with a continuously improving margin profile of approaching breakeven and year-over-year revenue growth of 7.7%.

With our strong commitment to the digital transformation of financial services providers and other ecosystem partners, we continue to enhance our leading market position. Our loan recommendation has witnessed a further year-over-year revenue growth of 26%. Our in-depth cooperation with financial sector partners resulted in a rebound of our data, big data and system-based services revenue, recording a year-over-year growth of 23.2% in the second quarter. Furthermore, we achieved high growth in our new business -- new businesses with an 88.6% surge in revenue. As we continue to improve operational efficiency and optimize cost structure, our ROI increased significantly to 135% with 9 percentage point improvement year-over-year. Our AI initiatives also helped in this regard.

With certain AI technologies integrated into our daily operations, we have seen the benefits of efficiency enhancement. More importantly, we are approaching breakeven with a net loss margin of 0.3% in the second quarter, showcasing our steady trajectory of generating sustainable long-term growth. Now let me go through key performance highlights from the -- of the third (ph) quarter. First, being an independent open platform with diversified business mix, we delivered a solid quarter with a more balanced revenue structure. Our revenues from loan recommendation and big data and system based risk management services continued to grow over 20% year-over-year respectively, benefiting from the digital transformation of the financial sector. In addition, our initiatives of expansion into adjacent categories and the non-financial sectors have yielded preliminary successes.

The revenues in this regard achieved a year-over-year growth of 88.6% in the second quarter with continued efficiency and margin improvements. As such, the revenues from loan recommendation, big data and system based risk management and marketing and other services contributed 29%, 10%, and 25%, respectively of total revenues in the second quarter. The revenue from credit card recommendation services decreased by 25.7% year-over-year due to the lowering market budget of credit card issuers since May. Consequently, its contribution to the total revenue reduced to 36% in the second quarter. The more diversified business mix and the revenue structure demonstrated the network effect of our platform business model. This includes leveraging our cutting-edge technology and extending our existing marketing and acquisition capabilities into adjacent categories and industries including telecommunications, e-commerce and lifestyle products and services to facilitate their digital transformation.

Second, we further enhanced our operational efficiency and optimize our cost structure, leading to a continued margin improvement. In the second quarter, the ongoing optimization of both products and monetization, coupled with new partnerships, resulted in a commendable increase in ROI, which stands at 135%. Additionally, in line with our commitment to innovation, we further integrated AI tools, including various generative AI solutions into our daily operations and saw many improvements in the operational efficiency, particularly for our R&D team, achieving significant cost savings. Such efforts have contributed directly to our margin improvement, and our operating loss margin decreased -- and our operating loss decreased by 75% year-over-year in the second quarter, whilst operating loss margin improved by 10 percentage points, achieving 3.7%.

As a result, our net loss margin reached 0.3%, approaching breakeven. Third, we continue to leverage our industry expertise and market-leading technologies and solutions, enabling our financial partners' digital transformation. Leveraging our reputation and experience accumulated from many years deep cultivation in the financial sector, we continue to explore new acquisition channels to further diversify and enhance our marketing and acquisition capabilities. For example, in the second quarter, we appointed our in-house financial experts to share on live streaming platforms of their valuable industry insights on AI, modeling and other topics. We also established a strategic partnership with a well-known Internet giant, solidifying our position as one of the few recognized platforms for financial product discovery and recommendation in the market.

In addition, we continued to extend the reach of our social media marketing channels, which strengthened our competitive edge in the industry. These efforts have expanded and strengthened our long-term partnership within the financial sector, through which we are ultimately driving the digital transformation of the financial industry. We continue to deliver our cutting-edge algorithm and modeling capabilities to our financial partners under the new regulation, resulting in a 23.2% increase in revenue from big data and system-based services in the second quarter, and paving the way of collaboration with financial service providers with a broad spectrum of products and services. Last but not least, I also want to share with you some new AI initiatives have been instrumental to driving -- in driving innovation.

Aggregating various AI tools into an internal one-stop portal, we have seen that approximately 72% of our employees are utilizing AI tools and technologies in their day-to-day work, enhancing operational efficiency in areas such as R&D, customer service and finance. In addition to such efforts that benefit us internally, we have also been actively exploring new avenues of AI development to empower our ecosystem partners with innovative solutions. During the second quarter, we organized an AI Hackathon event, where are several projects and initiatives demonstrated the potential for further development and commercialization. Going forward, we will continue to allocate resources to drive innovation in the AI space as we strive to develop the next version of a technology-based inclusive finance business model.

Before I turn to the CFO part, allow me to take a moment to discuss the macro environment and our business outlook. Given the recent volatilities, there remains some uncertainties surrounding the development and the recovery of the economy. In response, the Chinese government and the regulators have taken proactive measures to revitalize and expand market demand with a specific focus on stimulating private consumptions. It is expected that the near-term implementation and execution of additional stimulus policies will be critical to the remaining of this year. Financial service providers and other ecosystems are expected to exercise their caution and continue to tighten their spending in the interim as what we observed in the second quarter that certain credit card issuers are lowering their market budget.

As a result of these circumstances, we remain cautious in our outlook for the second half of this year, and we'll continue to focus our efforts on efficiency improvements and cost optimization of our existing businesses. Despite the near-term impact, our dedication to executing our vision of becoming everyone's financial partner for this, and we are committed to driving the digital transformation of the financial industry, which we believe will generate long-term value for our shareholders. Now I finished the CEO part and will turn to the CFO part to discuss financials in detail. As mentioned earlier, we are pleased to announce a solid financial result, with resilient revenue growth and healthy margin improvement in the second quarter of 2023.

Our second quarter results reflect our persistent efforts in diversifying business mix, improving operational efficiency and optimizing cost structure. Our total revenues from the second quarter of 2023 increased by 7.7% to RMB285.5 million. Our market-leading position in recommendation business sustained with total recommendation services stood at RMB186.5 million in the second quarter of 2023. Revenues from credit card recommendation services decreased by 25.7% year-over-year in the second quarter, mainly due to the lowering marketing budget of certain credit card issuers. Credit card volume decreased year-over-year by 25% to approximately 0.9 million and the average fee per credit card adds up to RMB113.5 in the second quarter of 2023. Revenues from loan recommendations increased by 26% year-over-year in the second quarter, mainly driven by the increase in the number of loan applications by 27.9% year-over-year to approximately 5.5 million.

Revenues from big data and system-based risk management services increased by 23.2% to RMB28.1 million in the second quarter of 2023 from RMB22.2 million (ph) million in the same period of 2022. This is mainly due to the increase in average spending per customer. Revenues from marketing and other services increased by 88.6% to RMB70.9 million in the second quarter of 2023 from RMB37.6 million in the same period of 2022, primarily due to the significant growth of our insurance brokerage service and initiatives of other new businesses, further proving our success in applying our strong technological and digital marketing capabilities into adjacent categories. Let me now move on to costs and expenses. Cost of promotion and acquisitions decreased by 0.7% to RMB190.4 million in the second quarter of 2023 from RMB191.8 million in the same period of 2022.

The overall ROI for recommendation services and marketing and other services improved by 8.8 percentage points sequentially to 135.2% in the second quarter, demonstrating our continuous improvement in operational efficiency. We continued executing our cost optimization initiatives. As such, cost of operations decreased by 2% to RMB20 million in the second quarter of 2023 from RMB20.4 million in the same period of 2022. Our sales and marketing expenses and R&D expenses decreased by 0.9% and 16.7%, respectively, while our general and administrative expenses increased by 8% in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the same period of 2022. Measured as the percentage of total revenue, sales and marketing, R&D and G&A expenses in total were 30% in the second quarter of 2023, reflecting a decrease of 3.5 percentage points from the same period of 2022.

With our continued efforts in optimizing our cost structure and improving the productivity of our businesses, loss from operations was RMB10.6 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared with RMB35.9 million in the same period of 2022. Operating loss margin was 3.7% in the second quarter of 2023 compared with 13.5% in the same period of 2022. We are on track of approaching breakeven and recorded net loss and a non-GAAP adjusted net loss of RMB0.9 million and RMB7.3 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared with a loss of RMB35.9 million and RMB32.2 million in the same period of 2022, respectively. Our net loss margin and non-GAAP adjusted net loss margin for the second quarter improved by 13.2 percentage points and 9.5 percentage points to 0.3% and 2.6%, respectively, compared with the same period of 2022.

As of June 30, 2023, we maintained a balance sheet with cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and time deposits of RMB668.5 million. With that, I will conclude our prepared remarks. We will now open the call to questions. Operator, please go ahead.

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Q&A Session

Operator: Yes. Thank you. At this time, we will begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] And the first question comes from Carl Wong with [indiscernible].

Unidentified Participant: Hi, management. Can you hear me?

Oscar Chen: Yes. We can hear you.

Unidentified Participant: Thank you. Thanks for taking my question. I actually have two questions. For the first one, I would like to know more about your new businesses. So can you elaborate on marketing and other services? Can you share with us what are the synergies with our existing business and how do you see the growth potential of our new businesses? Thank you.

Oscar Chen: Okay. Yes. So we take your questions one by one. [Multiple Speakers]

David Ye: Can you repeat your question? We actually can't hear clearly here in Hong Kong. And then we have crowd.

Unidentified Participant: Is it clear now?

David Ye: Yeah. This is better. This is cool. This is good.

Unidentified Participant: So...

David Ye: Yes, we can hear you.

Unidentified Participant: Okay. Sorry, maybe it was disconnected. I would like to know more about our marketing and other services, our new business. So can you elaborate on the new business? And can you share with us what are the synergies with our existing business? How do you see the growth potential of our marketing and other services? Thank you.

David Ye: Okay. Got it. I will try to answer this question. So yes, at Jianpu, our mission and vision is to become everyone's financial partner, right. Our users, our customers are actually, customer focus, actually part of our culture. Number one, actually adding our culture. As we started 12 years ago, we started offering or we started partnering with long financial service partner such as SME consumer loans or banks, companies, credit card issuers, financial growth management information providers as well as other financial products. But in the last 3, 4 years, we have seen more needs from our customers in terms of products -- financial products such as insurance and other non-financial products such as going to have access to a better e-commerce offers as well as other offers for mobile carriers.

So that's why, in the last couple of years, we extended our product offering to our customers for users from mostly, of course, financial products for nonfinancial products. The synergies are so over is all user driven, right? We want to -- we'll actually -- for users, we have multiple products, financial or nonfinancial, and the multiple offers, which can make them faster, easier, more convenient to give the best offer that they've had. In this case, we can help us to build the trust and the brand with our customer better. So that's kind of the key benefits from the user side. From the company side, from Jianpu side, we had -- in the last 12 years, we have built this super search and the recommendation and offering platform with cutting edge technology, with big data and AI.

Of course, we added the insurance brokerage product, the insurance -- we added e-commerce and telecom-related products. And in that case, we'll be able to lower our costs by offering multiple products to our users. The number you have heard from Oscar, we have seen this marketing and new business, we have seen a high growth -- high double-digit growth in the last two quarters and also with improved efficiencies, improved ROI, not only from the new businesses mostly non-financial products, we have seen the increased return on investment in financial products as well. So in this case, we still remain in front of our customers [indiscernible]. So in the future -- this has proven, in the future we need to still focus on the customer-driven or our user-driven mindset.

And we are going to optimize and further develop our business to further transform us from a product-driven company to a more user or customer-driven company. Thank you. Was it clear.

Unidentified Participant: Yes. Thank you for addressing the question. I have another question about our net profit. I see as we continue to see narrowing loss in this quarter, can you highlight what have we done to continue narrowing the losses? And do you expect the business to breakeven by the end of this year? Thank you.

Oscar Chen: David, do you want to answer that question or probably, I can have the first one of the -- to answer?

David Ye: Oscar, go ahead. I can only handle [indiscernible].

Oscar Chen: Okay. Thank you, David.

David Ye: Go ahead.

Oscar Chen: Okay. Thank you for this question. Yeah. I think the -- we are approaching breakeven, but not yet for this quarter. I think your question asked about what we have done in the past several quarters to bring us here. I think that's three part. First is about, of course, is the scale; and the second is the efficiency improvement; and the third is cost optimization so far. So if you look into the revenue scale in the past six quarters, I think we almost have every -- we almost recorded growth in each quarter year-over-year, thanks to our commitment to the digital transformation of the financial services industry. That's what we -- that's part of our mission, as David said, become everyone's financial partner. We have done this kind of business for close to 12 years.

And also, the scale also benefits from our exploration into the new businesses. That's your first question. What's the marketing and other services are? So that's the initiatives we explored in the past three years. And now it seems that we still recorded high growth, proven our capabilities to enter into these areas. And then the second is about the efficiency. You can see a sequential improvement of our ROI. The ROI means how we measure our marketing and the user retention capabilities using revenue divided by our cost of marketing and acquisition. So we are seeing the continuous improvement of efficiency in this regard. And thirdly is the cost optimization. We continued, during the past quarters, of course, including -- that's including some cost-cutting initiatives and also -- it's also an efficiency gain in terms of we deployed certain AI technologies into our -- to improve our cost structure.

I think that's so far the initiatives and the facts we have -- we've done so far to improve our -- to bring us to the approaching breakeven status. But looking to the future, I think your second part of your question is about how we can break even by the end of this year. I think nothing can be guaranteed, particularly in terms of the uncertainties and volatilities of the market environment. So if we can continue to grow the scale, improve the efficiency and saving the cost, definitely, we will -- we can be breakeven in the future, but the volatilities and uncertainties may lead to something we cannot control and not -- we cannot expect for now. So yes, of course, our goal is to build a healthy business to make profit, but the visibility of obtaining breakeven is -- I think it's not very near term.

I hope that answers your question?

David Ye: I have a few words to add, this is important. So we were approaching breakeven in Q2. However, I mean our business is heavily dependent on the macro economy of China, especially the health status of Chinese financial markets. We have seen some recent data last week and those data, in terms of the real estate market, the SME and the consumer loan I mean and also amount and also as the deposits. We definitely have seen a big decline of those numbers. So in the nutshell, Chinese consumers, they are paying or even paying off their debt, businesses are slowing down their borrowing and also their risk -- credit risk or the ability to pay for consumers are actually -- their ability are declining. So as an open platform, we heavily rely on our financial partners, banks, loan bank finance company, credit issuer, data capability to manage credit risk and manage growth and serve their customers.

So we are not giving earnings outlook for Q3 or Q4. It's just hard. It's tough. It's not being in the playbook of [indiscernible] data to do the estimation or the estimation. So that's just my take, my personal take of the sector and economy. However, we as independent of open platform, right? We have seen in the efficiency gain in the last quarter. We have light asset platform. We have been improving over quarter-over-quarter, and we are confident we, the management team and every one at Jianpu, we are able to execute. We are going to outperform our peers and we are going to do better quarter-over-quarter. Thank you.

Unidentified Participant: Got it. Thank you, management.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] And the next question comes from Carl Yang with Junggai (ph) Securities.

Unidentified Participant: Hello, management. Can you hear me?

David Ye: Yes.

Unidentified Participant: Okay. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I would like to know how has generated AI helped your business? And what will be your plan of AI developments in 2023? Thank you.

David Ye: Oscar, please go ahead.

Oscar Chen: Yeah. Okay. Yes, thank you for the questions. Yes, I think, firstly, for the AI, I think it's still in the early stage to -- I think, almost in early stages to everyone. So for now, what we have done is we created an internal one-stop model that's aggregating various AI tools, including large language models and other AI technologies for our internal use. So through that we already shared some in our -- in our prepared scripts that we see significant efficiency gain in terms of using AI tools in our daily work, particularly the R&D, the enhanced efficiency of the -- of our engineer to write code and also in our customer services so on and so forth. So that's the internal part. And also, we have capturing the wave of AI, we will build -- we have AI Hackathon event in the second quarter.

The purpose of this event is to encourage and to find some bottom-up ideas, initiatives that could be further developed or commercialized. In that event, we do find some interesting ideas, but it's still in idea or demo stage. But we see some potential there and we look forward, we can help our team to further build and enhance these initiatives and hope that can be commercialized in the future. And also one thing we want to share is, you may also heard from the expert and media that if to deploy the AI, particularly the large language model into certain scenario or user case, the sector expertise or the domain knowledge will play a more important role in that regards. We also believe in that theory given what we have accumulated in the financial services industry, including the data, the user, the user behavior, all these could be the pretreating materials to feed into the large model and may turn out into something interesting.

Yes, I think David may can add up something. But one thing we are sure is that to embrace the change from the AI technology, we definitely will allocate some resources into the AI space and to do some. And we are targeting to do something interesting, something creative and something that can enable our financial partners to do their business better and serve their users better in the future. [Multiple Speakers]

David Ye: Yeah. Just one or two things to add, like Oscar said, the AI application or AI training big model is still in a very early stage, even [indiscernible] in Silicon Valley and China. I just have two points. Number one, we are not going to spend $5 million, $10 million to buy lots of CPUs or training the large models with a lot of our capability and no -- we don't have that financial expenses. We don't want to join that double mean that's rest assured. That's a clear message to our institutional investors and all other investors, right? However, what's our strength? Our strengths are we have the financial sector data. We have lot of feedback data arise. We are working with close to 1,000 financial institutions. I mean, heavily, we've been working with them for years.

So we have scenarios trying the credit cards [indiscernible] insurance in Chinese [indiscernible], right? That's why we are able to work with a lot of the open-source large models overseas or domestically to train or enhance the tools, models. So that's why we are in a more sales mode, not in the other mode. We want to like develop in the financial services vertical in terms of solving the problem for our financial partners as well as our customers, Chinese consumers. That means we can helping them to leveraging AI and even the traditional models and some of the data to enhance the overall user experience and the overall digital transformation of risk management, digital experience and such. So that's what we positioned we are going to do. So finally, as Oscar said, we want to stress, it's still early use again.

We will not be a clear winner in a quarter, in 2 quarters, or maybe longer, maybe -- so you don't need to be patient. We need to really working with the partners to enhance and improve the application, the tools and the user experience. Just like Jianpu.ai. Jianpu.ai was funded in 2017 -- just right before our IPO and the Jianpu is our friends and our investors understand Jian in Chinese means simple, cool and inclusive. We had a vision in 2017 to use AI to make finance simple and inclusive. We continue our mission and vision to make AI simple and inclusive. So now we all know the problem for AI in other sectors, in financial sector is it's too complicated, it's too difficult for consumers that need for billing to use. If we focus with our mission and vision to make AI simple and inclusive in finance and other sectors, we will be successful in the medium and the long term.

So focus towards -- focus on strength, focus what we can do, focus on our mission and vision. That's the best offer we comprised to our shareholders and that's the solutions we can provide to our customers and partners. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] All right. This does conclude the question-and-answer session. So I would like to turn the call to Liting Lu for any closing comments.

Liting Lu: Thank you once again for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please contact us at ir@rong360.com. Thank you for your attention, and we hope you have a wonderful day. Bye.

Operator: Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.
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Kuwaiti Construction Equipment Market

Kuwaiti Construction Equipment Market

Dublin, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Kuwait Construction Equipment Market - Strategic Assessment & Forecast 2023-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Kuwait construction equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.15% from 2022 to 2029



Earthmoving equipment accounted for the largest Kuwait construction equipment market share in 2022. Excavators in the earthmoving segment accounted for the largest share in 2022. Rising investment in housing, warehouse expansion, and public infrastructure projects is expected to drive the demand for excavators in the market.

In Dec 2022, the Kuwaiti government planned constructing eight bridges on the Al-Nawaseeb Road. In Kuwait, Al-Nawaseeb Road is one of the country's main roads from the Kuwaiti capital to Saudi Arabia. The total length of the bridges will be 1,736 meters. The construction of this superstructure started in 2020.

In 2022, Kuwait's Council of Ministers General Secretariat (CMGS) awarded the license for developing four sites on the 36 km Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway. The commercial aspects of the project will include retail, hospitality, health, wellness, food and beverage, and serviced apartments. The project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2026 and is estimated to contribute to the Kuwait construction equipment market growth.

Caterpillar, Volvo CE, Komatsu, Liebherr, Hitachi Construction Equipment, XCMG, and Zoomlion are leaders in the Kuwait construction equipment market. These companies have a strong market share and offer diverse sets of equipment. In 2020, Kuwait International Airport received eight cranes (T285-120V) from Zoomlion. These cranes marked the highest tonnage tower cranes exported by China.

In February 2023, Kuwait approved nearly USD 2.76 billion for 110 projects planned during fiscal year 2023-2024. The projects mainly include the airport's expansion, the Silk City's development, and the railway network across the country. Construction of the Jaber Al Ahmad New City is in progress, which, once completed, will respond to the needs of Kuwait's rapidly growing population.

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The city is located 25 km west of Kuwait City. It is designed to include a new self-supporting community and accommodate around 80,000 people on a plot of over 12.4 million square meters.

MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Kuwait's National Development Plan and Investments in Public Infrastructure to Propel the Kuwait Construction Equipment Market

The Vision has established high importance to Kuwait's national infrastructure, with investments hitting as high as USD 27 billion in the bidding stage. New Kuwait will build on the recent urban development and housing momentum by introducing new master plan developments and cities.

Plan also aims to develop the country's tourism sector to yield surplus revenue and create a new employment pool and plans to further enhance the country's transportation and power sectors by building on the recent success of the Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

Increased Renewable Energy Projects in the Country Will Propel the Demand for Material Handling Equipment

As of February 2022, a 30 MW solar PV plant was planned in Al Jahra, Kuwait, named Subiya Water Storage Solar PV Plant. The plant is expected to be built in one step. Construction is expected to start in 2023, and the plant should be ready for business in 2025.

The government planned to build a 5GW solar power complex in the country's north. In addition, solar capacity is planned installed capacity at Shagaya by 2030 with an investment of USD 20 million.

Robust Growth in the Development of Ports to Boost the Sales of Overhead Cranes in the Kuwait Construction Equipment Market

Kout Food Group (KGF), in 2021, inaugurated its 16,000-square-metre warehouse for a storage, distribution center, and truck park at the Agility Logistics Park (ALP) in Sulaibiya. Moreover, in March 2023, Ad Ports Group announced the launch of a new shipping service that will improve commercial and logistic connectivity to Qatar and Kuwait.

In addition to it, Kuwait also planned to launch a global auction to develop and operate a brand-new cargo village next to the Kuwait International Airport (KWI). The new cargo village set to be built west of KWI is part of a three-stage long-term master plan stretching to 2050 to expand air traffic and shipping operations in the Gulf state.

MARKET RESTRAINTS

Housing Crises in the Region Hamper the Sales of Construction Equipment in the Region

The lack of available housing has increased housing costs, making privately owned homes less affordable. One of the government's reports also mentioned that the price-to-income ratio of affording a house in Kuwait is the worst among GCC countries. Therefore, the residential price-to-income ratio in Kuwait is higher than that of cities such as London or New York and approximately three times that of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Another reason that can be mapped out that stimulated the crises is that the government owns 90% of the land in Kuwait and regulates residential real estate development through parceling and allocation of land plots.

The Skilled Labour Shortage in the Country Hampers the Pace of Construction Projects

Many Kuwaitis prefer to work in the public sector, leading to a shortage of skilled workers in the construction, healthcare, and IT industries. The lack of government projects also prompted many Kuwaiti companies to flee to more active and lively neighboring markets, which harmed the Kuwait construction equipment market.

Around 205,000 expatriates working in the private sector left Kuwait in 2021, which has also hampered local businesses. One of the government reports pointed out that in 2021, about 41,200 domestic workers left Kuwait permanently. Domestic workers currently constitute around 22.8% of the workforce in Kuwait, of 2.7 million.

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

How big is the Kuwait construction equipment market?

What is the growth rate of the Kuwait construction equipment market?

Who are the key players in the Kuwait construction equipment market?

What are the trends in the Kuwait construction equipment industry?

Which are the major distributor companies in the Kuwait construction equipment market?

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 185 Forecast Period 2022 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (Units) in 2022 Units5465 Billion Forecasted Market Value (Units) by 2029 Units7263 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 4.1% Regions Covered Kuwait

SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS

Earthmoving Equipment

Excavator

Backhoe Loaders

Wheeled Loaders

Other Earthmoving Equipment (Other loaders, Bulldozers, Trenchers)

Road Construction Equipment

Road Rollers

Asphalt Pavers

Material Handling Equipment

Crane

Forklift & Telescopic Handlers

Aerial Platforms (Articulated Boom Lifts, Telescopic Boom lifts, Scissor lifts)

Other Construction Equipment

Dumper

Tipper

Concrete Mixture

Concrete Pump Truck

End Users

Construction

Mining

Manufacturing

Others (Power Generation, Utilities Municipal Corporations, Oil & Gas, Cargo Handling, Power Generation Plants, Waste Management)

VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Prominent Vendors

Caterpillar

Komatsu

Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co. Ltd. (XCMG)

Liebherr

Volvo Construction Equipment

Hitachi Construction Machinery

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co. Ltd

JCB

SANY

Other Prominent Vendors

Hyundai Construction Equipment

Kobelco

Liu Gong

Tadano

CNH Industrial

Terex Corporation

SDLG

MERLO Group

Distributor Profiles

Alghanim Equipment

Emdad Equipment &Oil Field Supplier

Arab Group for Equipment and Construction (AGECO)

Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar

EQUIP

RIHAM

Boodai Trading Company Ltd. W.L.L.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/crqbu0

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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CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Large US employers are split on whether or not to cover weight loss drugs that have surged in popularity over the last year, according to a new survey.

Research from the Business Group on Health (BGH) released Tuesday showed 46% of respondents said they already cover the diabetes and anti-obesity drugs, known as GLP-1s, for weight loss. Some 3% percent said they were adding it for the 2024 plan year and 13% said they were considering it for the following year.

By comparison, 92% said they already cover it for diabetes. Employers were given the option to reply that they were not considering coverage, but BGH did not provide the results.

Diabetes and weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly's (LLY) Mounjaro, are called GLP-1s for the hormone they mimic, which slows digestion.

Only Wegovy is currently approved for weight loss in patients whose body mass index (BMI) is between 27 and 30.

The inclusion of GLP-1 coverage has been a contentious issue for employers this year, with some choosing to drop coverage as a result of the high costs. Some commercial insurers have not yet agreed to cover the drugs for weight loss only, or require stringent pre-approval processes.

Prices for four weekly injections can cost roughly $1,000 per month.

An Ozempic (semaglutide) injection pen. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Washington, D.C.-based BGH conducts an annual survey of its 152 members, which include 19 million covered lives. The companies range in size from less than 10,000 employees to more than 100,000, and span industries.

"The most common criteria for covering GLP-1s for weight loss is that the drug must be indicated/approved for this purpose and paired with a lifestyle modification," the survey said, adding the patient must qualify as obese and have an additional health complication.

A nationwide shortage of Novo Nordisk's injectables, known also by their active ingredient, semaglutide, has spurred off-label access through compounding pharmacies and medical spas.

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The company has tried to stop the sale of unauthorized versions of its drug, through lawsuits, and the FDA has warned about adverse events as a result of their use.

An expensive year ahead

But GLP-1s are just one facet of health care costs that are projected to increase by 6% in 2024, according to the survey.

While that increase is not as high as the 8.2% seen in 2021 as the pandemic continued to weigh on health needs, it is higher than previous years, according to BGH.

About 53% of employers said they are concerned about pharmacy benefits (PBM) costs related to long-term use of GLP-1s and other weight management medications. More than half were also concerned about high cost of new medications in the pipeline, including cell and gene therapies.

To that end, employers have indicated they are looking for alternative PBM options, BGH officials said Tuesday.

The trend can already be seen in California Blue Shield's recent announcement to replace a single large pharmacy benefits manager, (CVS), with a bundled vendor strategy.

Cancer remains the number one cost driver for these employers, and additional costs from mental health challenges are rising.

Some 77% of employers said there will an increased focus on mental health access for the company in 2024. That's down from 80% last year.

Almost all employers, 97%, said they would provide an online resource to address the access concerns last year. This year, more are turning to vendors, their insurers, or mental health navigation programs.

Still, around 70% of employers said they would offer a virtual solution.

"Our survey found that in 2024 and for the near future, employers will be acutely focused on addressing employees mental health needs while ensuring access and lowering cost barriers," said Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of Business Group on Health in a statement.

"Companies will need to creatively and deftly navigate these and other challenges in the coming year, especially as they remain committed to providing high-quality health and well-being offerings while managing overall costs," she added.

Employers are taking on an increased burden of the increase in health costs. The total average health costs employers contributed to premiums this year exceeded $11,700, a jump from $10,300 in 2022.

But how long that can continue remains to be seen, BGH said Tuesday.

Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem.

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
jmsilva / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Success in real estate requires geographical prognostication  finding a city thats not only a good buy now, but one that will grow your investment in the future. Its not an easy skill to hone.

Im a Real Estate Agent: These Will Be the Best States To Buy Property in the Next 5 Years

Learn: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

As I have seen in my years as a real estate agent, many buyers make the mistake of buying in cities that are not likely to bring them wealth, said Zev Freidus, Realtor and founder of ZFC Real Estate. Many factors can make seasoned investors scratch locations off their shortlists.

Small towns with high vacancy rates, stagnant job growth and poor infrastructure make bad investments for potential homeowners looking to build wealth, said Freidus. Cities where housing prices have remained relatively flat over the past few years are not good bets for buyers. These cities often have an abundance of vacant, aging homes and limited job opportunities. Large cities with sky-high home prices and high taxes should also be avoided when looking to build wealth. In these cities, its almost impossible to build significant equity over time without significantly increasing cash flow. Also, highly competitive housing markets can also be bad bets for those looking to build wealth. In these markets, buyers are forced to compete against one another as prices continue to rise, making it increasingly difficult to make a return on their investment.

Every city on this list inhabits one or more of those traits, which should raise red flags for anyone looking to build wealth through real estate.

Hartford, Connecticut

Joel Efosa is the CEO of Fire Cash Buyers, which purchases and revitalizes fire-damaged properties  and he is not looking to put money into Hartford. Despite its rich historical allure, the city has seen a significant increase in property taxes in recent years, which can erode potential profits for investors, he said.

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Its not something to take lightly. According to the Connecticut Mirror, Hartfords property taxes are by far the highest in the state and among the highest in the country. Commercial landlords there pay over 5%  higher than in New York City, Boston and Chicago.

Additionally, its slow economic growth and high unemployment rate make it a risky bet for real estate investors, said Efosa.

Related: 15 Cheapest, Safest Places To Live in the US

Detroit

News has been spreading about Detroits noble efforts to overcome its legacy of depopulation and economic decline. Prices are still among the lowest in America, and if the Motor City is on its way up, that would make now the perfect time to buy, right?

Efosa thinks the jury is still out.

While its true that Detroit has made strides in urban revitalization, the overall economic stability remains uncertain, he said. The city has high crime rates and low school performance, elements that can negatively impact property values and rental demand.

Bakersfield, California

If youre looking to make a move in the Golden State, Efosa advises against Bakersfield because of its lack of economic diversity.

The city is highly dependent on the oil industry, which has seen significant instability in recent years, he said. This economic volatility has led to fluctuating property values, making it difficult for investors to predict returns.

San Francisco

The pandemic-era tech exodus depressed home values in the notoriously pricey San Francisco housing market enough that formerly priced-out investors see a window of opportunity  but it might be an illusion.

San Francisco is a beautiful and vibrant city, but it also has a challenging real estate market, said Alex Locklear, Realtor and founder of NC Cash Home Buyers.

According to a report from RealEstateAgents.com, Bay Area real estate values are falling faster than anywhere in America  and theres no indication that the bottom is anywhere in sight. A report from economic research firm Capital Economics predicts San Francisco property values will decline by 40%-45% between 2023 and 2025, making it the hardest-hit city in the study.

And thats just one challenge.

San Francisco is also a city with high taxes and regulations that affect your profitability and flexibility as a real estate investor, said Locklear. For example, San Francisco has a transfer tax that ranges from 0.5% to 3% of the sale price, depending on the value of the property. San Francisco also has strict rent control and tenant protection laws that limit your ability to raise rents, evict tenants, or convert units.

Miami (and Most of South Florida)

Condo King of Miami Philip J. Spiegelman  who helped pioneer the pre-sale financial model behind the 1990s condo boom that transformed the city into an international real estate investing hotspot  knows Miami as well as anyone. Spiegelman, who deals in high-end properties and founded InterAmerican Global Realty, thinks the city and the region as a whole are mostly spent.

The market here  particularly in the luxury sector  is wildly overheated, he said. And there are some very serious causes for concern  the local economy, infrastructure, and climate. Its no real secret that South Floridas boom of the last 30 years has never been accompanied by, shall we say, thoughtful planning on issues of long-term livability.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Real Estate Agent: Avoid Buying in These 5 Cities If You Want To Build Wealth
ReportLinker

Summary. "Middle East and Africa (MEA) Renewable Energy Policy Handbook, 2023 Update is among the latest region specific policy reports from the industry analysis specialist.

New York, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Middle East and Africa (MEA) Renewable Energy Policy Handbook, 2023 Update" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06485690/?utm_source=GNW

The report covers 8 major countries in the Middle East and Africa region - Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates. The report offers comprehensive information on major policies governing the renewable energy market in these countries. The report discusses renewable energy targets and plans along with the present policy framework, giving a fair idea of overall growth potential of the renewable energy industry. The report also provides major technology specific policies and incentives provided by the countries in the region.

The report is built using data and information sourced from industry associations, government websites, and statutory bodies. The information is also sourced through other secondary research sources such as industry and trade magazines.



Scope

- The report covers policy measures and incentives used by countries in the Middle East and Africa region to promote renewable energy.

- The report details promotional measures in the Middle East and Africa region both for the overall renewable energy industry and for specific renewable energy technologies that have potential in the region.

- The report covers 8 major countries in the Middle East and Africa region - Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates.



Reasons to Buy

The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.



It will allow you to -

- Develop business strategies with the help of specific insights about policy decisions being taken for different renewable energy sources.

- Identify opportunities and challenges in exploiting various renewable technologies.

- Compare the level of support provided to different renewable energy technologies in different countries in the region.

- Be ahead of competition by keeping yourself abreast of all the latest policy changes.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06485690/?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




Tyler Greene Tabbed as Managing Director of Development for New Regional Office

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mill Creek Residential, a leading developer, owner-operator and investment manager specializing in premier rental housing across the U.S., today announced its expansion into Utah and the greater Salt Lake City market.

Mill Creek Logo

Mill Creek's regional office in Salt Lake City will mark the company's 21st in the U.S. Tyler Greene will serve as the managing director of development for the new market, which will encompass the greater Salt Lake area, and will lead the regional office.

"I'm thrilled to oversee Mill Creek's expansion efforts into Salt Lake City, which I believe will prove to be a tremendous location for us," Greene said. "Salt Lake City generally fares well through national real estate challenges, which is part of what makes it an attractive market."

Greene, who previously served as founding partner of multifamily and hospitality developer Surface Development, has extensive experience in the Salt Lake City and greater western-U.S. markets. The University of Utah alumni, who lives in Park City, Utah, began his real estate career in Salt Lake City with Colliers International and consulted for a variety of Fortune 500 companies. He then served as the principal and founder of Las Vegas-based Bridge Properties Group, which serves the Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah markets.

Greene's experience also includes a 12-year stint as cofounder of GreeneWaters, a Hawaii-based firm that transacted and developed more than $400 million in residential, multifamily and hospitality throughout the island-based state.

"Tyler is the quintessential individual to spearhead our efforts in the Utah market, and we're eager to begin expanding our portfolio to Salt Lake City and beyond," said Sean G. Hyatt, executive managing director for Mill Creek. "Rising demand for quality apartment homes has accompanied the area's steady growth, and we look forward to working closely with the jurisdictions we serve and offering a best-in-class product."

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Mill Creek has been active in the western U.S. with a steady pipeline of new development in the Denver, Seattle and Portland areas and throughout California. The company recently entered the Arizona market and is currently developing its first three multifamily communities and one single-family community in the Phoenix area.

Mill Creek is actively pursuing development opportunities within the Salt Lake City area and expects to soon announce plans for its first community in the market.

About Mill Creek Residential

Mill Creek Residential Trust LLC is a national rental housing company focused on the development, acquisition, and operation of rental communities in targeted markets nationwide. The national company, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, proactively develops, acquires, constructs, and operates communities through its seasoned team of real estate professionals in offices across the United States. Mill Creek is building its portfolio in many of the nation's most desirable markets in Seattle, Portland, the San Francisco Bay area, Southern California, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Houston, South Florida, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, New York and Boston. As of March 31, 2023, the company's portfolio is comprised of 125 communities representing over 34,200 rental homes that are operating and/or under construction. For more information, please visit www.MillCreekPlaces.com.

Media Contact

Stephen Ursery

LinnellTaylor Marketing

stephen@linnelltaylor.com

303.682.3945

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mill-creek-announces-expansion-into-utah-market-301906237.html

SOURCE Mill Creek Residential
Monash IVF Group (ASX:MVF) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: AU$213.6m (up 11% from FY 2022).

Net income: AU$21.8m (up 19% from FY 2022).

Profit margin: 10% (in line with FY 2022).

EPS: AU$0.056 (up from AU$0.047 in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Monash IVF Group Revenues Beat Expectations, EPS Falls Short

Revenue exceeded analyst estimates by 1.6%. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 8.4%.

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 8.1% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 5.9% growth forecast for the Healthcare industry in Australia.

Performance of the Australian Healthcare industry.

The company's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Monash IVF Group, and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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.
NEW YORK and BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Noodle, higher education's leading strategy, services and technology partner, has completed the acquisition of Meteor Learning, a Certified B edtech corporation based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Noodle, also a Certified B corporation, welcomes Meteor Learning's higher education and employer partners into its network. This addition strengthens Noodle's ability to help its partners be more resilient, responsive and efficient.

William Rieders and Donna Ritchie, Meteor's founders, will join the Noodle leadership team and will head Noodle's consulting practice, driving strategic insights and operational effectiveness for Noodle partners.

"Meteor extends our capacity and reach, and I am very excited to work with Bill and Donna, who bring tremendous insight and experience to the team," said John Katzman, Noodle's founder and CEO. "This acquisition will expand our consulting practice with leadership and expertise, methodologies and proven results to solve a unique challenge  how does higher ed best leverage technology and data to execute against their strategic goals?"

With this acquisition, Noodle now supports more than 65 top US and UK universities through aligned learning design, marketing, recruiting, support, strategy and technology services. Noodle provides these services, along with internal resources at its partner universities, to address challenges and opportunities that higher ed faces.

"This acquisition will provide Meteor Learning partners with additional scale, expanded services and innovative new models to support greater flexibility, efficiency and internal capacity building," said William Rieders. "Universities are looking for a strategy, services and technology partner to help navigate the rapidly changing post-secondary market. The combination of the two organizations gives us that much more capacity to be their strategic partner."

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Meteor's focus on skills-based programs provides a strong catalyst for Noodle's University-to-Employer service, addressing some of the most significant workforce challenges in such areas as Nursing and Education.

About Noodle

Noodle is higher education's leading strategy, services and technology partner. Founded in 2013, Noodle has developed infrastructure and online enrollment growth for some of the best academic institutions in the world. Our vision is "to empower universities to change the world." We achieve this vision by offering our partners various products and services that help them become more resilient, responsive, efficient and interconnected. Noodle is a Certified B edtech corporation. Follow Noodle on LinkedIn, X and Instagram. 

About Meteor

Meteor Learning is a leader in addressing the vast skills gap. Meteor is uniquely positioned to serve learners with its broad portfolio of skills-based programming developed and validated with higher education and employer partners. Led by seasoned educational technology and service executives, Meteor Learning is a high-growth company with deep expertise in serving the needs of adult learners. Meteor Learning is a Certified B Corporation, Boston Business Journal Fast 50 Company and Inc. 5000 award winner. Learn more about Meteor Learning at meteorlearning.com .

Media Contact

Noodle Partners, Inc.

Allen Shapard

wshapard@noodle.com

216-225-1222

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/noodle-acquires-meteor-learning-strengthening-noodles-consulting-practice-301905976.html

SOURCE Noodle
Last week, Southeastern Grocers announced it was shedding businesses and selling off Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets to Aldi, and Fresco y Mas to an investment company.

But the Jacksonville-based grocery conglomerate didnt name two other major retailers it also made deals with: CVS and Walgreens.

Southeastern Grocers told its pharmacists that it will sell all of its Winn-Dixie and Harveys pharmacy assets to both CVS and Walgreens by the end of the year, according to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

Prior to the closing of the proposed merger agreements recently announced, Southeastern Grocers has entered into agreements to transfer prescription files to certain CVS Pharmacies and Walgreens, confirmed Southeastern Grocers communication director Meredith Hurley in an email.

The pharmacies will confidentially transfer prescriptions and client files by the end of the year and customers will get advance notice, Hurley said.

While we do not have a definitive date at this time, we can assure you that nothing changes today, Hurley said.

Aldi is set to acquire 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores, of which 75% are concentrated in Florida, greatly expanding its presence in the southeast. The Germany-based grocer will evaluate which locations will be converted into Aldi and which will remain under the original name of one of Floridas top grocers, with nearly a century of history. The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

Southeastern Grocers is also selling its Hispanic and Caribbean brand Fresco y Mas, with 28 stores and four pharmacies, to investment firm Fresco Retail Group LLC  which plans to operate them as they are.

But Aldi is not in the pharmacy business.

And with this deal, Winn-Dixie will be rid of its pharmacies before Aldi takes over. Aldi did not immediately respond to comment.

Walgreens is pleased to have reached an agreement with Southeastern Grocers to acquire pharmacy customer prescription files from and related pharmacy inventory for select Winn-Dixie and Harveys pharmacy locations in five states, Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in an email to the Times.

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CVS Health spokesperson Amy Thibault also confirmed the deal in an email statement.

Upon the expected completion of the transactions later this year, the acquired prescription records will be transferred to nearby CVS Pharmacy locations, Thibault said.

The deal could mean that some Winn-Dixie pharmacists may need to find another job with the closure of pharmacies in the next few months.

Walgreens and CVS representatives both said they would interview and offer positions to Winn-Dixie and Harveys pharmacy employees. But they didnt mention how many they would hire.

We believe that there is great opportunity for our associates, Southeastern Grocers told pharmacists in an internal email. But we also understand you may still have questions about next steps for you should you not move forward with CVS.
Rick Wilking/Reuters

Investors are awaiting Nvidia's second-quarter earnings report after the market close on Wednesday.

The AI chip company has set high expectations after its May revenue guidance exceeded Wall Street estimates.

Here's what Wall Street expects from Nvidia's upcoming earnings report.

Nvidia will be closely watched by investors this week as the company gets ready to release its second-quarter earnings report after the market close on Wednesday.

The chipmaker blew away analyst expectations in May when it issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $11 billion, which exceeded Wall Street estimates by a massive $4 billion.

The company, which manufactures and sells GPUs that help power AI chatbots like ChatGPT, has seen soaring demand for its products over the past few months, and it commands a decisive lead in the AI chip market.

"We're using a lot of Nvidia hardware. We'll actually take it as fast as they'll deliver it to us. Frankly, if they could deliver us enough GPUs, we might not need Dojo. But they can't. They've got so many customers," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during Tesla's second-quarter earnings call in July.

The boom in Nvidia's AI-focused business has sent its stock price soaring more than 200% year to date, giving it a $1.1 trillion market valuation.

Most of Wall Street expects Nvidia to continue impressing investors with solid second-quarter results, and even better-than-expected guidance for the second half of the year. The average EPS estimate for the quarter is $2.07, and the average revenue estimate is $11.2 billion, according to data from YahooFinance.

Here's what the Wall Street analysts are saying about Nvidia's upcoming earnings report.

Barclays: 'Nvidia remains our preferred exposure to AI.'

"Our backend Asia checks show Nvidia backend can support up to $15 billion in H100/A100 revenue in Q3 and more in Q4, leaving potential for more substantial beats and raises over the next few quarters," Barclays said in a note late last month, referring to Nvidia's GPUs

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"The consensus total Data Center estimate (including Mellanox) for Q3 is just $8.5 billion... AMD looks positioned within the market as the potential first viable competitor, but we likely won't even see initial signs of success until next year. In the meantime, Nvidia will continue to take the lion's share of the economics from the AI boom."

Barclays rates Nvidia "Overweight" with a $600 price target.

Bank of America: 'From shock-and-awe to consolidate-and-advance.'

Nvidia is a "top sector pick ahead of its F2Q earnings call given its dominant position and multi-year runway in transforming the $1+ trillion in traditional global data centers to AI/accelerated compute. After last quarter's shock-and-awe report, we expect the sentiment to be bit more measured. Demand isn't the issue, its supply (packaging, memory) and importantly the pace with which US cloud service providers are able to set up genAI compute instances," Bank of America said in a note earlier this month.

"Nvidia is unlikely to guide beyond a quarter, but listen for management commentary around continued sales acceleration/early in ramp etc. Post-earnings reaction could see some near-term stock consolidation following the 200%+ move up YTD (vs SOX up 46%)," BofA said.

Bank of America rates Nvidia at "Buy" with a $550 price target.

Goldman Sachs: 'Significant runway ahead.'

"We continue to see significant runway ahead for the company based on its robust competitive position in what is a rapidly growing (yet nascent) AI semiconductor market. With our forward estimates sitting above Street consensus, we envision positive EPS revisions supporting sustained stock price outperformance through the balance of the calendar year," Goldman Sachs said in a note last month.

Goldman Sachs rates Nvidia at "Buy" with a $495 price target.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has suspended trading in WeWork's warrants due to "abnormally low" trading price levels and will initiate proceedings to delist them, the flexible workspace provider said on Tuesday.

WeWork, which earlier this month warned about its ability to stay afloat, added that the company's common shares will continue to trade on the NYSE.

It did not intend to appeal the NYSE's determination on its warrants - which are equity derivative that give the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the shares at a certain price before expiration.WeWork had received a non-compliance notice from the NYSE in April, as its stock closed below $1 on average over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

Shares of the flexible workspace provider were marginally down at around $0.13 after the bell on Tuesday.

In its efforts to regain listing compliance, WeWork last week had said it would proceed with a one-for-forty reverse stock split.WeWork's shares have lost almost all its value since it went public with an equity value just shy of $9 billion in 2021. The company now has a market cap of $276.5 million, according to Refinitiv data.

The company has been in turmoil ever since its plans to go public in 2019 imploded after investors recoiled at its hefty losses, corporate governance lapses and the management style of then founder-CEO Adam Neumann.

The company whose business model involves taking long-term leases and renting out spaces for a short-term could not turn in a profit till now.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
FILE PHOTO: A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield

By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) -Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday as investors remained focused on the likelihood that China's economic malaise will keep hobbling demand from the world's top crude importer.

Brent crude settled down 43 cents, or 0.5% at $84.03 a barrel while the more active U.S. West Texas Intermediate October contract slipped 48 cents to $79.64.

The front-month WTI contract settled down 37 cents at $80.35 a barrel on very limited volume ahead of its imminent expiry.

China, the world's second-largest economy, is considered crucial to shoring up oil demand over the rest of the year. Its sluggish economic activity has frustrated markets as pledged stimulus has fallen short of expectations, including a smaller than expected cut in a key lending benchmark on Monday.

"Saudi and Russian output cuts have been largely negated by weakening crude demand from China that appeared to develop last month and is apt to continue through the rest of the summer," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates LLC in Galena, Illinois.

Amplifying demand concerns, U.S. central bank officials have not ruled out further interest rate hikes to contain inflation.

The U.S. continued to draw crude stocks, which dropped by about 2.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 18, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. [API/S]

The Iraqi and Turkish oil ministers have discussed the importance of resuming oil flows after finalising pipeline maintenance, the Iraqi state news agency reported, a development that could boost global supply.

Turkey had halted Iraq's 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of exports - roughly 0.5% of global supply - through the northern Iraq-Turkey pipeline in March after an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration ruling.

"Such an export resumption could add almost a half a million barrels per day to global oil supply in making a significant dent in Saudi Arabias additional production cut that is expected to extend through next month," said Ritterbusch.

Separately on Monday, Shell said it was investigating a possible leak on the 180,000 bpd Trans Niger oil pipeline, though no force majeure has been declared.

(Additional reporting by Natalie Grover and Paul Carsten in London, Muyu Xu in Singapore and Katya Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, David Evans, David Goodman, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)
Key Insights

ConvaTec Group's estimated fair value is UK3.23 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of UK2.20 suggests ConvaTec Group is potentially 32% undervalued

Analyst price target for CTEC is US$2.66 which is 18% below our fair value estimate

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of ConvaTec Group PLC (LON:CTEC) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for ConvaTec Group

The Model

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. 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, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$288.3m US$330.1m US$375.7m US$440.9m US$486.0m US$522.9m US$552.8m US$577.2m US$597.5m US$614.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x8 Analyst x8 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 10.24% Est @ 7.58% Est @ 5.72% Est @ 4.42% Est @ 3.51% Est @ 2.87% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.3% US$269 US$287 US$304 US$332 US$342 US$342 US$337 US$328 US$317 US$304

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$3.2b

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We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.4%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$615m (1 + 1.4%)  (7.3% 1.4%) = US$11b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$11b ( 1 + 7.3%)10= US$5.2b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$8.4b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK2.2, the company appears quite undervalued at a 32% 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. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at ConvaTec Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.003. 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 ConvaTec Group

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Medical Equipment market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Dividends are not covered by earnings and cashflows.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For ConvaTec Group, there are three relevant aspects you should explore:

Risks: You should be aware of the 2 warning signs for ConvaTec Group (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does CTEC'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 British 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.
The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. Unfortunately the Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust (CVE:NET.UN) share price slid 26% over twelve months. That contrasts poorly with the market decline of 0.6%. At least the damage isn't so bad if you look at the last three years, since the stock is down 9.5% in that time.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

See our latest analysis for Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the last year Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.

The result looks like a strong improvement to us, so we're surprised the market has sold down the shares. If the improved profitability is a sign of things to come, then right now may prove the perfect time to pop this stock on your watchlist.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR 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. We note that for Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust the TSR over the last 1 year was -22%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

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A Different Perspective

Investors in Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust had a tough year, with a total loss of 22% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 0.6%. 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 2%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

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.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Canadian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
papa1266/Getty Images

Russia's flagship crude breached the G7's $60 price cap in mid-July.

But there's been little decline in the amount of Western-backed vessels servicing Russia, Bloomberg reports.

That's as it's difficult for servicing firms to validate the price at which crude is purchased.

Western-backed vessels have largely remained involved in Russia's oil trade, even after the country's flagship crude breached the $60 price cap imposed on it by the G7.

In recent days, the Urals crude oil price has eased from a $73-per-barrel peak, but still remains significantly above the West's threshold. The measure, implemented in December, was meant to limit Moscow's energy revenue, without denting global oil supply.

Under the restriction, the Kremlin should not be able to rely on G7, EU, or US services when the price cap is surpassed. But despite a mid-July price breach, Western-owned and insured vessels continue to service Russia's energy trade, Bloomberg reported.

40% of oil tankers subject to the cap have continued to load Russian crude since the Urals price surpassed $60 on July 12. It's a small decline from 50% of vessels that operated in Russia ahead of the threshold's breach.

Meanwhile, the amount of ships covered by Western insurance dropped from 60% to 45% in the same timeframe. While a large dip, these insurers still account for a significant portion of vessels working in Russia.

Part of the issue stems from how the price cap is designed to work in practice, Bloomberg said. To comply with the G7's regulation, servicing firms involved with Russian cargo must receive an attestation, or a written pledge, which establishes that the commodity was purchased below the cap.

This leaves servicing firms to place full faith in a piece of paper, often with questionable validity. Though the G7 expects companies to also pursue their own due diligence, many don't, given difficulties in comparing long-term deals with immediate market prices.

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Of course, the price cap only applies to firms within the G7, EU, and US coalition, and Russia is free to trade at higher prices with outside partners. And while the country's economy suffers from labor shortages and a crashing ruble, it could gain from the commodity's higher price.

The country may have also profited in other ways through the price cap. According to The Financial Times, that's as Russia could have taken advantage of a loophole that allowed it to inflate its shipping costs, bringing in $1.2 billion.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sergei Karpukh/Reuters

Russia's economic woes are creating opportunities for investors from the UAE to put money to work.

Traders in the Gulf state have ramped up business in Russian oil and gold markets, the WSJ reported.

Conversely, Russians are flocking to the UAE, bringing their wealth to its economy and sparking a real estate boom.

Russia's difficult economic situation has resulted in deepening ties between the nation and the United Arab Emirates, which is seeing a cash from the warring country flood into its markets and economy.

That's as sanctions and trade restrictions have weighed heavily on Russia's economy, cutting it off from billions of its foreign reserves and crimping its energy trade.

But Russia is still selling plenty of oil, offering hefty to discounts to "friendly" nations who are gorging on cheap Russian crude. The markdowns have led UAE traders to snap up more discounted Russian oil and gold than ever before and ushering in a huge amount of wealth to the Middle Eastern nation.

The UAE purchased a record 60 million barrels of Russian oil last year, according to Kpler data cited by the Wall Street Journal on Monday. Meanwhile, its purchases of Russian gold soared to $4 billion from February 2022 to March of this year, up from just $61 million in 2021, ImportGenius data shows.

Meanwhile, Russians fleeing their country amid Putin's war in Ukraine has resulted in the UAE seeing an influx of immigrants, among them wealthy Russian oligarchs, who are flooding the local market with cash and investment capital. Foreign currency flowing into the country has grown about 20% per month since May of last year, Capital Economics data shows.

Wealthy Russian immigrants are also fueling Dubai's hot housing market. Russians were the third-largest group of real estate buyers in Dubai over the last quarter, the real estate firm Betterhomes told the Journal, up from the ninth-largest group in 2021.

Russia's economy meanwhile is in a state of turmoil. The nation's oil and gas revenue has crashed about 50%, Russia's finance ministry said in February. The Kremlin is also grappling with a $42 billion budget deficit as it tries to square the growing costs of its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Experts say the shift in capital from Russia to neighboring countries like Poland and further afield to places like the UAE will continue over the long run as trust in Putin to better the lives of Russian citizens deteriorates. Wealthy oligarchs and everyday Russian workers likely aren't coming back to the nation even after war in Ukraine ends, two Yale researchers told Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Melbourne, Victoria --News Direct-- Sarytogan Graphite Ltd

Sarytogan Graphite Ltd (ASX:SGA) MD Sean Gregory tells Proactive its been a tough 2023 so far for ASX-listed graphite equities, however he explains why SGA is well positioned for when an upswing in the graphite price occurs. The majority of graphite supply currently is synthetic graphite from China which is being used to satisfy short-term demand for EV batteries but he says that type of graphite comes with significant environmental concerns. Sarytogan is developing the far greener natural graphite and is progressing studies and development plans for its flagship Sarytogan Graphite Deposit in central Kazakhstan.

Gregory said, We are pleased to report that the critical step in Sarytogans metallurgical test work program is on track with the bulk flotation test now running in Perth that will continue for the rest of this quarter as planned.

"Lab partners across the globe are ready to receive their allocation of the concentrate for further purification, spheroidization and battery testing.

Contact Details

Proactive Investors

Jonathan Jackson

+61 413 713 744

jonathan@proactiveinvestors.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/sarytogan-well-positioned-for-upswing-in-graphite-price-949834329
SEC Charges Titan Crypto Investment Firm for Misleading 2,700% Annualized Returns Advertising Claims

The SEC Discovered That Titan Crypto Investment Firm Failed To Establish Suitable Employee Trading Practices

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Titan Global Capital Management, a fintech investment manager, in a series of allegations relating to advertising and compliance violations.

The SEC said that the New York-based company's website contained false statements about "hypothetical performance," in violation of the SEC's revised marketing rule, which took effect from December 2020.

Based on three weeks of data since its August 2021 launch, Titan had claimed that its Titan Crypto product would return up to 2,700% annualized. The SEC discovered that the company failed to establish suitable employee trading practices prior to October 2022 and made ambiguous claims concerning the custody of cryptocurrency assets and other policies.

Titan Global Capital Management, a company registered with the SEC and a participant in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has accepted a cease-and-desist order, a censure and fines. Titan has self-reported some of the problems and assisted the inquiry.

Without acknowledging or rejecting the findings, they consented to the SEC order. The SEC's actions included a $850,000 penalty that would be given to the harmed clients and a disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $192,454 with interest.

Senior SEC enforcement officer Osman Nawaz stressed that the action should serve as a reminder to all advisers to ensure compliance.
The stock of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) has recently seen a daily loss of 50.06%, and a 3-month loss of 1.67%. Despite these losses, the company's Earnings Per Share (EPS) stands at 3.95. The question that arises is whether the stock is modestly undervalued. In this analysis, we will delve into the valuation of Sempra Energy to answer this question.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy serves one of the largest utility customer bases in the United States. It distributes natural gas and electricity in Southern California and owns 80% of Oncor, a transmission and distribution business in Texas. SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric distribute gas to more than 20 million customers, while Oncor serves more than 10 million Texas customers. Sempra Infrastructure partners, of which Sempra holds a controlling ownership, owns and operates liquefied natural gas facilities in North America and infrastructure in Mexico.

Is Sempra Energy (SRE) Modestly Undervalued?

Understanding GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line on our summary page 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.

We believe the GF Value Line is the fair value that the stock should be traded at. 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.

Sempra Energy Valuation

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) stock shows every sign of being modestly undervalued based on the GuruFocus Value calculation. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. If the price of a stock 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 $71.03 per share, Sempra Energy has a market cap of $44.70 billion and the stock shows every sign of being modestly undervalued.

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Because Sempra Energy is relatively undervalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth.

Is Sempra Energy (SRE) Modestly Undervalued?

Link: These companies may deliver higher future returns at reduced risk.

Financial Strength of Sempra Energy

It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. Sempra Energy has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.04, which is worse than 83.26% of 478 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. The overall financial strength of Sempra Energy is 4 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Sempra Energy is poor.

Is Sempra Energy (SRE) Modestly Undervalued?

Profitability and Growth of Sempra Energy

Investing in profitable companies carries less risk, especially in companies that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. Typically, a company with high profit margins offers better performance potential than a company with low profit margins. Sempra Energy has been profitable 10 years over the past 10 years. During the past 12 months, the company had revenues of $17 billion and Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $3.95. Its operating margin of 19.9% better than 70.92% of 502 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks Sempra Energy's profitability as fair.

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 performance of a company's stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of Sempra Energy is 5.9%, which ranks worse than 58.97% of 485 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -3.5%, which ranks worse than 74.13% of 460 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry.

ROIC vs WACC of Sempra Energy

Another way to evaluate a company's profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). 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. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Sempra Energy's ROIC was 2.9, while its WACC came in at 5.92.

Is Sempra Energy (SRE) Modestly Undervalued?

Conclusion

In short, the stock of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) shows every sign of being modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 74.13% of 460 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. To learn more about Sempra Energy 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.


Over 80 tyre models now available online.

SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sgcarmart, Singapore's #1 car platform for buying & selling cars, has just launched its new online marketplace, Sgcarmart e-Shop. Available as a new feature on the platform today, automotive suppliers and distributors can now list, price and sell their inventory of car tyres to consumers online. It offers a convenient way for car owners to purchase car tyres while providing suppliers with an easy way to reach them online.

Through this new online marketplace, Sgcarmart users can browse & compare prices between a wide range of car tyres before making a purchase from suppliers directly online. Upon checking out, customers can arrange an installation appointment with a workshop of their choice. During the appointment, they will simply need to present their prepaid digital invoice.

This fuss-free experience provides added convenience and price transparency for users with the ability to compare prices and deals on a single platform. Suppliers and workshops will work with Sgcarmart to maintain accurate prices, stock-keeping, and professional installation services, providing further assurance to customers.

"We are very excited to launch Sgcarmart e-Shop and to enter the e-commerce space. As the #1 car platform in Singapore and in collaboration with our automotive partners, we will be able to bring a wide range of products and services to our large user community", said Mr Vinod Cherumadathil  MD & CEO of Sgcarmart. "As a first step, with an extensive network of installation workshops, it is our commitment to provide customers a state of the art online-to-offline experience when it comes to selecting the best tyre for their car. We believe that e-Shop is predestined to become the go-to destination for car owners looking for quality tyres and soon for a wider range of automotive products and services."

e-Shop is now available on Sgcarmart with over 80 tyre models on sale, from major brands such as Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli and Yokohama. The product offering is set to grow with more tyres and accessories in the pipeline, and serves as a new opportunity for suppliers, workshops, and installers to connect with car owners online.

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For more information about Sgcarmart e-Shop, visit https://sgcarmart.com/shop

About Sgcarmart

Sgcarmart is Singapore's #1 car platform. With over 30,000 listings, it offers the largest database of new and used cars, with an average of 10 cars sold every hour, helping to drive approximately 70% of all second-hand car transactions in Singapore. The platform receives more than 1.6 million users every month, offering the highest level of support for drivers with its suite of value-added car ownership & transactional services.

Cision

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SOURCE Sgcarmart
Simple Online Healthcare offers a free online NHS England prescription delivery service, an online pharmacy store, and online doctor services

During the year, the company expanded operations across UK, Germany, and Australia while near doubling headcount to 99

Simple Online is planning to launch weight care drug Wegovy in the German and UK markets, and recently launched a new weight care app called renu

GLASGOW, Scotland, August 22, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Simple Online Healthcare, trading as Simple Online Pharmacy in the UK, has increased revenue by 56 per cent to 24.3 million in the year to 28th February 2023 (2022: 15.6m), while near doubling headcount to 99. During the year, the company expanded operations across the UK, Germany, and Australia, and is set to expand further into Europe.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822367292/en/

Left to right are Rebecca Moore and Addy Mohammed of Simple Online Healthcare (Photo: Business Wire)

Simple Online Healthcare Co-founder Addy Mohammed said: "Last year saw us significantly scale and invest across the business, in terms of geography, supply chain, technology, and our team. Overall, we are one step closer to realising our ambition to be a truly global provider of patient-centric care."

Founded by Addy Mohammed and Karim Nassar in Glasgow in 2015, Simple Online Healthcare offers a free online NHS England prescription delivery service, an online pharmacy store, and online doctor services in the UK, Australia, and Germany.

The company has invested 1 million in next generation AI powered BD Rowa robotics, one of the first in the UK to do so. This will boost capacity and reduce unit costs for NHS dispensing.

With weight care medication being a fast-growth segment, and Simple Online Healthcare having diagnosed, prescribed and dispensed anti-obesity medication to over 130,000 patients worldwide, the company is planning to launch latest generation weight care drug Wegovy, manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, in the German and UK markets.

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The company is augmenting its weight care offering with a new weight care app called renu to support patients with their entire end-to-end weight care journey. The app has launched in the UK, with plans to roll out globally. In the UK, Simple Online is one of the main providers of weight care medication, alongside Boots and LloydsPharmacy.

Former Skyscanner and TravelNest senior executive Rebecca Moore joined the business as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2022, and the company has a number of further senior hires in the pipeline.

During 2022, Simple Online Healthcare acquired the Kapsel and Dr Felix brands from Stark Healthcare. Now integrated into the group, Kapsel provides primary care services to patients across Germany, while Dr Felix is an online doctor clinic service serving patients UK-wide.

Rebecca Moore, Simple Online Healthcares COO, said: "The acquisitions have proven to be a great success, they have enabled us to extend our reach in the UK and Europe, and were adding strong triple-digit revenue growth in these units."

Addy Mohammed added: "Our mission is to build the most patient-centric online healthcare service in the world, simplifying healthcare for patients everywhere. We want to make treatments more accessible and affordable, whilst giving the highest standard of care and we continue to see considerable growth prospects going forward."

To date, Simple Online Healthcare has served over 700,000 patients across all regions and brands.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230822367292/en/

Contacts

Nick Freer

nick@freerconsultancy.com
Liubomyr Vorona / Getty Images/iStockphoto

It happens all the time to even the most careful Americans, and yet so many of us dont know what to do should it happen to us. Were talking about having your Social Security number stolen. Identity thieves snatch these precious digits through a variety of ways, including by hacking us online or scamming us by posing as a legit agency such as the IRS or Social Security Administration.

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Once they obtain this most sensitive information, criminals can sell it on the dark web or use it to open a new credit card among other benefits. Though this happens often (the Federal Trade Commission estimates that some 9 million Americans are victims of identity theft on a yearly basis), dealing with it is a headache. Its important to stay calm and go about the situation promptly and with diligence.

To clarify and streamline the process of what to do if your Social Security number is stolen, GOBankingRates consulted with personal finance experts. Heres what we learned you should do.

Alert Any of the 3 Major Credit-Reporting Agencies

It is critical to act swiftly and alert either Equifax, TransUnion or Experian, said David Clark, lawyer and partner at The Clark Law Office. Doing so significantly limits the perpetrators use of your SSN, giving you enough time to settle the issue legally.

Note that this fraud alert must be renewed every 90 days until its established that the theft is resolved.

Social Security: No Matter Your Age, Do Not Claim Benefits Until You Reach This Milestone

Run Credit Reports

After realizing your SSN has been stolen, run your three credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, said Dr. Chris Pierson, CEO of the cybersecurity solutions firm BlackCloak. You can do this for free and do not need to pay or join any subscription service under a prior federal law. Once you do that, review each for any issues and immediately dispute any credit cards or accounts that are not yours.

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You can get the three credit reports for free here.

Request a Fraud Alert or Credit Freeze

Fraudsters may want to use your identity to scam others. They may want to make purchases under your name, rent a car or an apartment, open a new credit card or apply for a loan, said Francis Locknear, founder of The Cost Guys. This is why its ideal to request a credit freeze if somebody has stolen your social security number. A credit freeze will restrict access to your credit report.

You will need to freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.

If somebody has your SSN but doesnt have any proof of the incident, you can still prevent the fraudster from using your identity, Locknear said. You can have a fraud alert placed. It will not restrict access to your credit report, but it will prevent anyone from using your information without verifying your identity first.

Report the Theft to the IRS

This next step is crucial as access to your SSN provides the thief means to file tax returns in your name and collect your tax refund, Clark said. The fact of the matter is that, unlike credit card accounts, stolen SSNs cant be closed so your only course of action is to report the incident to the IRS. Doing so will help absolve your name from any possible tax fraud committed using your stolen SSN within the duration of the issue.

You should specifically file a Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit with the IRS to notify them of the SSN theft, Pierson specified.

File an Identity Theft Report

A stolen valid SSN carrying the bearers name and address is valued at a high price and most likely sold to undocumented workers or people trying to hide their identities, Clark said. Ensuring there is a police record affirming you are not in use of your SSN at the time of a crime involving your identity will help clear your records and your name. This is also a prerequisite to applying for a new SSN.

Check Your Banking Relationships

You will also want to check your major banking relationships because a stolen SSN could be just the beginning of a larger identity theft scheme aimed at your financial accounts, Pierson said. At a minimum, be sure to change your password and access to each of your bank accounts. Make sure your financial accounts also have dual-factor authentication turned on so that no one else can gain access to the account.

Watch for Unusual Activity

Criminals typically use SSN theft as the starting point for financial theft, insurance and tax refund scams, so you need to go down the list and contact all of those organizations to make sure your account information (especially your contact information) has not been changed, to look for any unusual activity and to add any additional protections you can to these accounts, Pierson said. These should include (in addition to your banking) your email, health insurance, and any local, state or federal accounts you might have. You need to talk to each of those organizations to find out what additional anti-fraud protections can be added to your account.

Up the Security With Your Mobile Carrier

Last, but not least: Call your mobile carrier and increase the security on your mobile account, Pierson said. Most of the carriers will allow you to add a PIN to the account which will prevent an impostor from trying to gain control of your account. This is extremely important for you to do because SIM swapping is very common for people who have been the victims of identity theft.

Pierson explained that SIM swapping is when a criminal is able to trick the mobile carrier into switching out the SIM card associated with your phone number, which effectively gives the criminal control over that phone number.

Typically, they do this in order to steal your dual-factor authentication codes for a bank account or some other important account, Pierson said. However, SIM swapping also allows the criminal to receive all your calls and text messages and to impersonate you in making calls or texts to others.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Social Security Number Stolen? What To Do
New milestones part of momentum and growth strategy for global supply chain service provider

MIAMI, Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sourceability , a global distributor of electronic components and supply chain service provider, today announced its latest global expansion plans, signaling steady growth under a newly appointed Chief Financial Officer. Amid volatile fluctuations in supply and demand for electronic components worldwide, the company will open its fourth global distribution warehouse in Budapest, Hungary this summer to shorten supply chains and support manufacturing customers in the European Union (EU) region.

By combining the expertise of global distribution with Sourcengine, the leading e-commerce marketplace in the industry, the company works with the largest catalog of suppliers to provide the transparency, robust data, and speed that customers need for procurement. As a hub for storage, logistics and inspection, the addition of the Hungary warehouse is expected to have a global impact  relieving strain on supply chains supported by pre-existing distribution centers in Asia and North America. It will also allow the company to shorten lead times and simplify customs processes for customers shipping within the EU. Likewise, the new warehouse will help balance workflows from other regions as needed.

In addition to the new regional warehouse, Sourceability has welcomed Karl Pichler as the company's new Chief Financial Officer. An industry veteran with over twenty years of experience, Pichler will pull from his past experience in the technology and academic realms to realign Sourceability's financial infrastructure and steer the company in this next phase of its expansion. Prior to his role at Sourceability, Karl served as the Chief Financial Officer for Rackspace Technology for twelve years and led its initial public offering before taking on a new challenge as a professor of finance, where he worked to reinvigorate curriculums guiding a new generation of financial professionals.

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These announcements come on the heels of the company's recent launch of its Excess Inventory Estimator. The free self-service tool allows customers the opportunity to quickly estimate the value of unused electronic components to recover their value and free up warehouse space in a time where volatile market conditions are increasing planning complexity.

"The addition of our new warehouse in Hungary gives us the ability to better serve our global customers and streamline efficiencies across the entire electronic components supply chain," said Jens Gamperl, CEO and Founder of Sourceability. "As the company navigates the current environment and adapts to the needs of our customers, Karl Pichler's experience with scaling and growing effective businesses makes him the perfect candidate to help us move into our next chapter."

"The semiconductor industry is prone to cyclical swings, and we are dedicated to ensuring our customers are given the tools and resources they need to adapt, regardless of market conditions," said Pichler. "It was impressive to see what Sourceability was able to do in the 2021/2022 shortage market, and we are excited to equally sharpen and apply our down-market strategies going into Q3 and Q4."

For the second half of 2023, Sourceability's sights as a true supply chain service provider are set on continuing to create a seamless procurement process for manufacturers from part search to product delivery including QC testing, logistics, and inventory management. The company was recently recognized as a Fastest Growing Private Company in America by Inc. and will continue to present innovation as the foundation on which it scales.

For more information, please visit https://www.sourceability.com/.

About Sourceability:

Sourceability a global distributor of electronic components and supply chain service provider offering digital tools, services, and data to meet customers' evolving demands. Sourceability combines the expertise of global distribution with the leading e-commerce marketplace in the industry, and works with the largest catalog of suppliers to provide the transparency, robust data and speed that customers need to create a seamless procurement process. The company's global distribution centers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Hungary, and Miami are supported by regional offices to maintain a holistic understanding of customer supply chain needs. Sourceability continues to invest in new capabilities, building upon its initial success since the company was founded in 2015 by harnessing innovation, customer empowerment, and integrity.

Media Contact

Cassie Gonzalez

Account Manager

Team LEWIS

sourceability@teamlewis.com

Cision

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SOURCE Sourceability
Taiwan has withdrawn from the Central American Parliament after the six-member body voted to oust Taipei so that Beijing can take its place as a permanent observer.

The parliament, known as Parlacen, voted on the proposal to revoke Taiwan's observer status - which it had held since 1999 - during a meeting in the Nicaraguan capital Managua on Monday.

There were 73 in favour, 32 against and nine abstained from the vote. Parlacen comprises Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The vote took place during a meeting in the Nicaraguan capital Managua on Monday. Photo: Facebook/Parlacen alt=The vote took place during a meeting in the Nicaraguan capital Managua on Monday. Photo: Facebook/Parlacen>

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega - also a deputy speaker of the parliament - put forward the proposal in June. It called for Taipei to be expelled and replaced with Beijing, citing a 1971 UN resolution that regarded Taiwan as a province of China with no right to participate as "an independent country".

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory and has not renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. Most countries do not see Taiwan as an independent state, but many are opposed to a change of the status quo by force.

With just 13 official allies remaining, the Parlacen vote is the latest setback for Taiwan in a long diplomatic tussle with Beijing.

It prompted Taiwan on Tuesday to announce its withdrawal from Parlacen "with immediate effect" to "uphold our national sovereignty and dignity".

"Nicaraguan parliamentary caucus and some pro-[Beijing] deputies bow to the conspiracy of China in expelling us, ignoring our long-time contributions to the parliament and the integration and development of the Central American region," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

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It accused Ortega of "degenerating himself as China's pawn and erroneously using the so-called one-China principle in the UN resolution ... to seize our rights in Parlacen".

The ministry also said Beijing's "barbarian and unreasonable" acts would not stop Taiwan from expanding its international presence.

Tsai Shih-ying, a lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, called it a "ridiculous" move for Parlacen to replace Taipei with Beijing.

Analysts said the outcome of the vote was not surprising.

"Guatemala is the only member which maintains official ties with Taiwan ... the rest all recognise Beijing instead of Taipei," said Wang Kung-yi, head of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei think tank.

Huang Kwei-bo, a professor of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei, warned of a possible domino effect.

"The next battleground will be the Central American Integration System as Taiwan only has two allies in that regional body - Belize and Guatemala," he said.

Known as Sica, it is the economic and political body for Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Huang said that as Beijing's influence expands in Central America, Taiwan should also be wary about its status at the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

"Though Taiwan is a big shareholder in CABEI, who knows if its status in the banking system will be affected," Huang said.

He was referring to Taiwan being forced to change its official title at the Asian Development Bank to "Taipei, China" after Beijing joined in 1986. Taiwan was a founding member of the ADB when it was established in 1966.

Taiwanese foreign ministry spokesman Jeff Liu said the island's withdrawal from Parlacen would not affect its status in Sica or CABEI.

The finance ministry also said CABEI was not related to Parlacen and it would not have any influence on Taiwan's rights and membership at CABEI.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Yuri Gripas/UPI/Shutterstock / Yuri Gripas/UPI/Shutterstock

This month, President Joe Biden issued an executive order restricting certain U.S. high-tech investments into China. The stated impetus behind the order was to prevent the Chinese from funneling investment money into military technology and weaponry.

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But whatever geopolitical reasons the Biden Administration had for making the move, there are two main questions for average Americans: Will this affect the prices of things like electronics, and will this potentially harm investor portfolios?

Heres a look at the specifics of the order and how it may or may not affect your personal finances.

What the Executive Order Says

Bidens executive order doesnt prevent individual investors from buying Chinese stocks or other investments. Rather, it restricts venture capital firms, private equity and certain partnerships from investing and/or sharing technology with China. Specific transactions that may be restricted include:

Mergers and acquisitions, venture capital or private equity investments that result in the acquisition of equity

Greenfield investments

Joint ventures

Some debt financing transactions

Not all areas are off limits, however. Currently, the executive order applies only to transactions in the semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence industries.

See: 10 Stocks That Could Be the Next Apple or Amazon

Types of transactions that are specifically still allowed under the executive order include:

University-to-university research collaborations

Stock research

Contracts to buy raw materials

Global custody

Intellectual property licensing

Bank lending and payment processing

Underwriting

Debt rating

Prime brokerage

How Could This Affect Individual Investors?

In the broadest sense, this wont affect individual investors at all. The executive order applies only to institutions and professional investors like venture capital funds, not individuals buying or selling Chinese stocks or ETFs. In fact, the executive order isnt even officially yet in place, as the government is still accepting written comments about it until Sept. 28.

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But as sentiment, expectation and emotion often drive stock prices even before events may actually occur, the fact that this executive order is already in the public sphere means it could indeed affect Chinese stock prices.

Fear of what this order could mean already has been reflected in the main Chinese stock market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which has fallen about 5% since the beginning of August. While not a crash, or even a correction, its an indication of what may happen if the executive order gets teeth  or perhaps gets even more far-reaching, as some politicians are calling for.

At the present time, however, the small selloff in Chinese stocks seems to be more a reaction to the uncertainty and negative press of the announcement, rather than any wholesale belief that Chinese companies will collapse. As currently laid out, the executive order seems as if it will cause more problems for U.S. venture capital firms and investment houses looking to do business with China rather than any specific individual stocks.

How Could This Affect American Consumers?

One way that Americans might be affected by the order is if the cost of Chinese products rises. The restrictions primarily target technology, so a shortage of financing in this industry could result in product shortages or possibly even retaliatory pricing strategies from the Chinese.

Either of these could potentially translate to higher prices for various technological products for Americans, such as electronics. However, its impossible to specify exactly what the ramifications of the Biden Administrations actions will be in terms of the pricing of Chinese goods.

How Should You Respond?

Generally speaking, its not a great idea to alter your long-term investment strategy over geopolitical headlines. While there may be some pressure on Chinese shares over the short run, if youre a believer in the long-term prospects of Chinese investments as a whole or specific Chinese companies, then you probably should stick with your investment plan.

However, it always pays to be vigilant about your investments, so keep an eye on how things are developing and make adjustments as necessary. Depending on your own personal interpretation of events, a selloff might actually offer a buying opportunity. But, if youre concerned about how this will all play out, you might consider taking some money off the table, at least over the short run. Always evaluate your investments in light of your personal financial objectives and your tolerance for risk.

As a consumer, theres not much you can do to control the pricing of various goods you may purchase. However, knowing whats going on with Bidens executive order could prepare you for price increases on certain Chinese goods  or encourage you to look at products sold by other countries instead.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Time To Rethink Your Stock Portfolio? Bidens Executive Order Limits US Investments
Associated Press/Carolyn Kaster

A US government shutdown is more likely than not to happen in 2023, Goldman Sachs warned.

Lawmakers have been sparring over government spending and are unlikely to agree on a budget in time.

That could be a headwind to stocks and economic growth, the bank said.

The US government looks on track to shut down at the end of next month, and that's set to weigh on stocks and the economy, according to Goldman Sachs.

"The federal government looks more likely than not to temporarily shut down later this year," the bank's team of strategists warned in a note Sunday evening. "This has looked fairly likely since the debt limit deal, in light of the thin House majority and a lack of consensus on spending levels."

Politicians have been sparring over government spending constraints and the US's rising debt load for months, leading markets to fret over a potential US debt default earlier this year.

Those fears were soothed after President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck an agreement in June to suspend the national debt limit through 2025, but lingering disagreements have still raised the odds that Congress will fail to agree on a budget for the coming fiscal year. That's been exacerbated by Fitch's recent downgrade of the US credit rating, the bank said, which has stoked even more concerns on the government's growing debt balance.

Still, a government shutdown wouldn't be as catastrophic as a debt default. A shutdownwhich has happened around 20 times since 1976, with previous shutdowns lasting as little as a few hourswould be "manageable" for the US economy, Goldman said, though that in itself spells bad news:

"Compared to the debt limit, the less severe economic effect of a shutdown also makes it more likely that Congress fails to act in time," strategists added.

A shutdown could usher in a small headwind to economic growth and to stocks. Including the private sector, growth could be lowered by 0.2 percentage points a week, the bank estimated.

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Meanwhile, stocks have also always traded lower in the days following a government shutdown, the bank said, meaning near-term downside for equities is likely this time around. In 2018, for instance, the S&P 500 slumped around 8% in the week following the government shutdown, though the index rebounded within the next month.

Government shutdowns have had a small and brief impact on the S&P 500 in the past. Goldman Sachs

Lawmakers are currently on recess and will be back to hash out the terms of the government budget in early September. At that point, they'll have less than a month to settle on a budget before the government could potentially run out of money to fund itself.

McCarthy told other House members that Congress may need to pass a short-term government funding bill to buy policymakers some more time, two people familiar with the matter told NBC last week. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he is open to exploring such a deal in talks with McCarthy.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Key Insights

Venture's estimated fair value is S$17.78 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Venture's S$13.25 share price signals that it might be 25% undervalued

The S$16.06 analyst price target for V03 is 9.7% less than our estimate of fair value

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Venture Corporation Limited (SGX:V03) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. 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 want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Venture

The Method

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (SGD, Millions) S$298.6m S$297.0m S$297.7m S$300.0m S$303.4m S$307.6m S$312.4m S$317.7m S$323.3m S$329.3m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Est @ 0.24% Est @ 0.76% Est @ 1.13% Est @ 1.38% Est @ 1.56% Est @ 1.69% Est @ 1.78% Est @ 1.84% Present Value (SGD, Millions) Discounted @ 7.4% S$278 S$258 S$241 S$226 S$213 S$201 S$190 S$180 S$170 S$162

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = S$2.1b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.0%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.4%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = S$329m (1 + 2.0%)  (7.4% 2.0%) = S$6.2b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= S$6.2b ( 1 + 7.4%)10= S$3.1b

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 S$5.2b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of S$13.3, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 25% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

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. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Venture as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.079. 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 Venture

Strength

Currently debt free.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Electronic market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Singaporean market.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Venture, we've put together three relevant aspects you should consider:

Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Venture you should know about. Future Earnings: How does V03'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 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.
A Juniper-powered network will serve as the foundation for Viettels nationwide offering, fueling Vietnams digital transformation amidst surging demand for digital services

HANOI, Vietnam, August 22, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, today announced that the Viettel Group, Vietnams largest telecommunications group with a growing international footprint, has selected Junipers MX960 Universal Routing Platform for its network refresh. The upgrades will help Viettel better scale its consumer mobile and fixed broadband services, especially as networking demands from its increasingly digitally-savvy populace increase, aligning with the governments push to drive economic growth through technology.

Vietnam is home to over 77 million internet users and is the fastest growing digital economy in Southeast Asia, owing to its booming e-commerce sector and increased adoption of digital services. Ranked as Vietnams most valuable brand and one of the Top 500 Most Valuable Brands in the World in 2022, Viettel has grown to become a global leader in telecommunications with over 70 million mobile subscribers worldwide. In Vietnam, the telco recently announced record growth, maintaining its market leader position with a 54% share of the mobile market and a 40% share of the fiber internet market.

As the country advances its digital transformation program aimed at enhancing connectivity among its population, Viettel embarked on a transformative journey to foster the growth of Vietnams digital society. For more than a decade, Viettel has relied on Juniper routing and security solutions for their core, edge and metro access networks. Viettel further deepened this partnership by selecting Juniper's MX960 Universal Routing Platform and MX-SPC3 Services Cards to enhance its carrier-grade network address translation (CGNAT) capacity to meet increasing traffic growth and leverage the additional processing power required for seamless network address translation.

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To efficiently meet the growing demand for mobile and broadband services across urban and rural areas while maximizing its public IPv4 addresses, Viettel chose to upgrade its CGNAT capabilities. Among other key service capabilities, it allows IPv4 and IPv6 to seamlessly coexist in Viettels network. These upgrades have empowered Viettel to efficiently expand its consumer mobile and fixed broadband services, providing unparalleled experiences for their subscribers across a wide range of services, including gaming, streaming and work applications.

With Junipers high performance, reliable and scalable networking, Viettel has a solid foundation for growth as it maintains its position as a leading service provider in Vietnam while expanding its operations across Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Supporting Quotes:

"Three decades later, our goal remains simple: to integrate digital technology into all aspects of social life, ultimately serving the people and building a thriving digital society in Vietnam. This long-standing relationship with Juniper has enabled us to enhance our capacity and effectively handle the increasing traffic growth of our services. We look forward to working together to support Vietnams digital transformation goals and contribute to the development of a vibrant, connected society."

- Viettel Group

"Viettel has long been recognized as a major pillar in Vietnams economic transformation, and it is an honor to join them on this next stage of their journey. With our experience-first solutions, we are confident that Viettel will continue to be able to seamlessly scale its network and meet the growing demands for digital services. Being a part of a nation's digital growth is always a fulfilling endeavor, and we look forward to supporting Viettel in their mission to connect more people in Vietnam and beyond."

- Perry Sui, Area Vice President, ASEAN & Taiwan, Juniper Networks

Additional Resources:

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks is dedicated to dramatically simplifying network operations and driving superior experiences for end users. Our solutions deliver industry-leading insight, automation, security, and AI to drive real business results. We believe that powering connections will bring us closer together while empowering us all to solve the worlds greatest challenges of well-being, sustainability, and equality. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net) or connect with Juniper on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo, Juniper, Junos, and other trademarks listed here are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821050213/en/

Contacts

Media Relations:

Satheeson Paramason

Juniper Networks

+65 6959 0580

satheeson@juniper.net
(Reuters) - VinFast's shares more than doubled on Tuesday to the highest since Vietnamese electric vehicle maker's blowout Wall Street debut after Reuters reported that South Korea's Star Group Industrial plans to open factory in Vietnam.

In the latest volatile session since its backdoor listing last week, VinFast's stock was last up 127% at $40.24, giving it a market capitalization of $95 billion. The stock traded as high as $46.98 earlier in the session.

Last Tuesday, the cash-burning company soared as it started trading on the U.S. stock market with an opening price of $22 following its tie-up with SPAC partner Black Spade Acquisition.

With 99% of the EV firm controlled by founder Pham Nhat Vuong, the tiny amount of publicly available shares has made the stock prone to volatility. It has jumped or slumped 14% or more every day over the past six sessions.

The stock was the second highest on trading website Stocktwits "Trending" list on Tuesday, suggesting it has attracted the interest of individual investors.

About $428 million worth of VinFast's shares had been traded as of mid-day, compared to Tesla's turnover of over $17 billion.

Reuters reported late on Monday that South Korea's Star Group Industrial, which supplies magnets to VinFast and Korea's Hyundai Motor, is investing $80 million in a new factory in Vietnam, with production starting in 2024.

SGI described the investment as part of "countermeasures" against possible Chinese trade restrictions.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by David Evans)
A former illegal marijuana grow farm in Johnston County will go on the auction block next month.

The Johnston County Sheriffs Office announced Tuesday that a 19.24-acre lot near Coleman will be available from Sept. 11 to Sept. 13 at an online auction.

An opening bid of $755,006 will start the auction.

Were looking to find buyers who will take ownership of this property and use it responsibly, which was certainly not happening under the previous owners, Johnston County Sheriff Gary Dodd said in a statement. Let it be known throughout the county that if you use your farm to grow illegally, we will seize it and we will sell it.

More: Recent spate of violent crimes in Oklahoma leaves marijuana business concerned

Recent history of illegal marijuana farms seized in Oklahoma

Five years after Oklahoma voters approved a measure to legalize the licensed cultivation, use and possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the state is home to a thriving cannabis black market that grows and ships large amounts of marijuana throughout the country.

The black market cannabis economy has led to labor trafficking, prostitution and, in one case, the killing of four people.

Wu Chen, a 46-year-old former worker at an Oklahoma marijuana farm near Hennessey  a small town about 68 miles northwest of Oklahoma City  is accused of killing four other workers on Nov. 20 after demanding $300,000 be returned to him for his "investment" in the illegal enterprise.

Local and state agencies routinely raid illegal grow operations and seize millions of dollars in illegally produced marijuana.

At the farm near Coleman, authorities reported the seizure of roughly 20,000 illegally grown marijuana plants worth more than $30 million in street value.

The farm was among several grow operations raided within a span of weeks two summers ago.

Other government real estate contracts pending in Oklahoma

The Johnston County Sheriffs Office selected Maryland-based Bid4Assets  which describes itself as a leading online marketplace for the sale of distressed real estate property sold by governments, county tax collectors, financial institutions, and real estate funds  to conduct next months online auction.

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In a news release, Bid4Assets said it collaborated with sheriffs and foreclosure attorneys to pass legislation allowing foreclosure auctions to be conducted online. On May 25, 2022, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law Senate Bill 976, which was authored by Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt.

In a statement, Bid4Assets President Jesse Loomis the company has several other contracts pending in Oklahoma and it expects virtual sales to quickly become the new normal.

Potential bidders on the farm near Coleman must register a free Bid4Assets account and fund a $25,000 refundable bid deposit in order to participate.

Deposits are due by Sept. 6.

'All 77 counties': Authorities say Oklahoma now a source state for black market cannabis

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma sheriff to sell seized marijuana farm in an online auction
When FTX fell apart last year, the repercussions were devastating. The contagion not only caused crypto assets to tumble and damaged the portfolios of professional traders, but it also eliminated a prominent investment pool for blockchain startups. Countless individual investors witnessed their life savings evaporate, and I sympathize with all the victims.

While acknowledging past mistakes and repercussions, there is a silver lining that cannot be ignored. Although unpopular in some quarters, the news of a potential FTX relaunch under a new name has sparked a wave of optimism in the crypto community, and with good reason. A relaunch could bring about a range of positive outcomes for the industry, investors and customers alike.

Relaunching FTX has its merits

One of the most significant advantages of a successful FTX relaunch would be the potential to attract more investors back into the crypto space. Should the exchange re-emerge with a new management team and a realized commitment to rectify past issues, it may garner renewed interest from the wider investing community. And the positive effects would compound. Increased investor participation would infuse the exchange with additional funds, which could then be used to repay users who have experienced losses in the past, again instilling trust in centralized crypto exchanges.

While the crypto community is rightly skeptical of the motives behind launching FTX 2.0, there is precedent showing that it is in fact possible to make creditors whole through restructuring. The Bitfinex incident is a great example. In 2016, crypto exchange Bitfinex was hacked, and 120,000 Bitcoins were subsequently stolen. In response to the hack, Bitfinex released the recovery rights tokens (RRT), designed to serve as an IOU to affected customers. These tokens promised a share of future profits to compensate for the losses. Within a year, all the tokens were redeemed and customers were repaid.

True, Bitfinexs troubles stemmed from external parties, not internal criminal activity as was the case with FTX. On that point, another popular comparison for the FTX scandal is Bernie Madoffs record-breaking fraud. But the comparison to Madoff is weak because Madoff ran a simple Ponzi scheme, whereas FTX did have a viable business model, despite the additional criminal activities running alongside. Thus, despite the differences in the origin of their downfall, Bitfinex sets a precedent for a large-scale crypto comeback despite a major dent in credibility and trust. A similar comeback on FTXs part could compensate affected users with its potential future profit, for instance, offering them a stake in the exchanges success and a path to recouping their funds over time.

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That being said, revitalizing the tarnished name of FTX requires careful recalibration of governance and internal structures. The exchange must undergo strategic and tangible changes to set itself apart from the now-infamous name of Sam Bankman-Fried, who is in jail. For instance, the new management team could voluntarily provide evidence to the prosecution to maximize their distance from the former management. Furthermore, FTX 2.0 may also consider setting up a compensation fund, with profits from new business to top it up, providing restitution to customers in case of unforeseen issues or losses.

In order to prevent illegal activities, the new FTX must implement stricter compliance measures and enhance its efforts to improve transparency, including clear guidelines for the separation of powers between the board of directors, executive management and operational teams. This would rectify the mistakes made possible by the inexperienced original team behind FTX and the illegal transfer of funds to Alameda Research.

Of course, restructuring isnt the only way to recover customers funds. There is also the option of going through traditional proceedings, such as the rehabilitation plan proposed for Mt. Gox. The Japanese exchange filed for bankruptcy shortly after it was hacked in 2014. However, not until late 2021 were the creditors and the government able to reach an agreement on a rehabilitation plan. The lesson drawn here is that a restructuring plan akin to Bitfinexs could potentially compensate creditors much faster.

No ones a fan of bailouts. Thats especially true knowing the failures of the management can oftentimes go unpunished while using taxpayer money to return misused funds. But restructuring is different. New management teams are appointed to revitalize existing businesses, while the bad actors suffer the consequences of their crimes. In this format, a business recovery can return value to the market.

Even though there are already plenty of centralized and decentralized alternatives available, FTX does have an established presence in the market. Instead of abandoning their solid platforms and systems that have built up a large customer base, a relaunch utilizing these strengths could bring tremendous market value, especially if there is a chance of recovering lost funds for users.

Taking a page from DeFis playbook

Centralized exchanges undeniably have their purposes, as they are often a trusted gateway for people to enter the crypto space, which is crucial to driving greater Web3 adoption.

Yet, that trust was undermined when FTXs clear lack of risk management and transparency emerged. Clearly, revamped risk management features will play a pivotal role in its relaunch. And for this, there are valuable lessons to be learned from decentralized finance platforms.

While DeFi is not flawless in its current form, it does offer higher transparency compared to centralized control. DeFi allows transactions to be executed via a public blockchain network without reliance on central service providers. A truly decentralized protocol would have prevented the FTX disaster thanks to its immutable, decentralized, transparent and permissionless nature. Theres no way to siphon off funds into an alternative company without anyone noticing, as we saw with FTX.

As it becomes increasingly clear that DeFi has advantages, there are cases where centralized exchanges are increasingly incorporating DeFi elements such as the implementation of cold wallets or verifiable proof-of-solvency. It would be interesting to see whether the FTX reboot plans to integrate any such approaches.

To wrap up, supporting the FTX relaunch provides an opportunity for the crypto industry to learn from past mistakes, rebuild trust and foster greater adoption. While relaunching FTX holds tremendous potential, it is essential to couple it with significant improvements and continued innovation. Emulating DeFis transparency, security and risk management will be crucial for the long-term success of the relaunched exchange. By combining the strengths of centralized exchanges with the transparency and innovation of DeFi, we can pave the way for a more resilient and trustworthy future in the crypto financial landscape.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called Brics a "constructive force" that contributes to global economic growth while lauding Beijing's ties with Johannesburg, ahead of the bloc's annual summit that begins on Tuesday.

Xi made the remarks after arriving in Johannesburg on Monday night for the meeting of emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He said China's relations with South Africa would inject greater stability into a "turbulent world".

"As an important cooperation platform for emerging market countries and major developing countries, the Brics cooperation mechanism has become a constructive force for promoting world economic growth, improving global governance, and promoting the democratisation of international relations," Xi said, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"It is believed that this meeting of Brics leaders will become an important milestone in the development of the Brics cooperation mechanism, and will elevate the solidarity and cooperation of developing countries to a higher level."

Xi - who is on his second overseas trip this year - is among a slew of world leaders in Johannesburg for the three-day Brics meeting.

Xi Jinping will meet South African officials and co-chair a separate dialogue with African leaders during his visit. Photo: Xinhua alt=Xi Jinping will meet South African officials and co-chair a separate dialogue with African leaders during his visit. Photo: Xinhua>

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will host the forum as Brics chairman, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attending.

Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with President Vladimir Putin expected to take part virtually.

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Officials from China and South Africa are set to hold talks on Tuesday, according to the website of Ramaphosa's office. Xi will also co-chair a separate dialogue with African leaders on the sidelines of the summit to discuss cooperation and development with the region, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The Brics summit - in its 15th edition this year - will kick off on Tuesday evening, with the leaders of the five countries expected to deliver 10-minute statements.

Chen Xiaodong, China's ambassador to South Africa, said earlier that Brics was "an important platform for cooperation among emerging and developing nations" and "the backbone of international fairness and justice".

Observers have suggested that Xi will continue Beijing's post-Covid charm offensive during the South Africa trip, with developing nations and emerging markets a big part of the campaign.

They expected the Brics leaders to discuss issues including African debt sustainability, the war in Ukraine, and the expansion of the grouping's membership.

According to South African officials, more than 40 countries - from Iran and Saudi Arabia to Argentina and Indonesia - have expressed interest in joining the forum. In Africa, Brics members are viewed as important trade partners and sources of foreign investment.

The bloc - which together accounts for a quarter of the global economy - was founded in 2009 to provide a platform for members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its allies in the West.

The summit, while not expected to yield any concrete results, is expected to be closely watched by developing countries looking to the Brics group as a counterweight to Western influence in global governance.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
A man was found dead Tuesday morning on U.S. 1 in Caroline County, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run driver, police said.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Jessica Shehan said the victim was discovered about 6:30 a.m. about a half-mile south of State Route 207. He had been struck by a vehicle sometime during the night.

Shehan said troopers Tuesday were in the process of identifying the victim and notifying next-of-kin. No potential suspect or vehicle has been identified.

Police are asking anyone with any information to call state police at 804/609-5656. Citizens can also reach police by dialing #77 on their cellphones or emailing questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

 Staff reports
Tuesday

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Keene Memorial Librarys Storytime, 10-10:30 a.m., Metropolitan Community College, Room 207, 835 N. Broad St., Fremont. Storytime is open to kids of all ages and their caregivers. Stories, songs and crafts are included. This weeks storytime is about making friends.

Letters to the Churches of Revelation, 10 a.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Business Improvement District 1 Committee meeting, noon, second floor meeting room, 152 E. Sixth St., Fremont. The meeting is open to the public.

Narcotics Anonymous Steps of Freedom meeting, 1 p.m., LifeHouse, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont. The hotline number is 402-459-9511.

Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. Pitch will be played at 6:30 p.m.

Special Fremont City Council meeting, 5 p.m., Fremont Municipal Building, second floor, 400 E. Military Ave., Fremont. The meeting is open to the public. The 2023-25 budget will be presented. The meeting is open to the public.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Mens and Womens Bible Study, 6 p.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Family Support Group, 6 p.m., Salem Lutheran Church, 401 E. Military Ave., Fremont. For more information, contact Tammy Flittie at 402-9814-0140 or Marlene Mullally at 402-727-9139.

Wednesday

Dodge County Board of Supervisors, Dodge County Board of Equalization and Dodge County Board of Corrections meetings, 9 a.m., third floor, board room, Dodge County Courthouse, 435 N. Park Ave., Fremont. The meetings are open to the public.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Mens Bible Study, 1 p.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early on business. Eagles Aerie 200 and Eagles Auxiliary 200 meetings begin at 7 p.m.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Fremont Community Breastfeeding Support Group, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Three Rivers Health Department conference room, 2400 N. Lincoln Ave., Fremont. This support group is for mothers and their babies. Siblings are welcome.

Narcotics Anonymous, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. The hotline number is 402-459-9511.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Thursday

Mens Bible Study, 8 a.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous big book study, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Big Red Luncheon, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fremont Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. Lunch will served from 11 a.m. to noon. Sean Callahan will be the speaker at noon. Cost is $25 which covers the meal, one non-alcoholic drink and the speaker.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. The kitchen will be open from 5:30-7 p.m. The menu will include hamburgers, cheeseburgers, tacos and soup. Pitch will be played at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Keene Memorial Library Lego Club, 4-5 p.m., Gallery 92 West, 92 W. Sixth St., Fremont. Lego bricks will be supplied.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Fremont Area Car Club Cruise-In, 6-8 p.m., John C. Fremont Park, Eighth and Broad streets, Fremont. Anyone with an antique, classic, muscle car, street rod or hot rod  auto, motorcycle or truck  is welcome. Drivers attending the cruise-in should enter from the north at 10th Street and Park Avenue, and drive between the buildings to the park.

Pioneer Amateur Radio Club, 6 p.m. doors open, 7 p.m. meeting, Dodge County Building, 935 Schneider Street, Fremont.

Civil Air Patrol, 7 p.m., 1201 W. 23rd St., in yellow hangar at Fremont Airport.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave.

Tally Ho Toastmasters, 7-8 p.m., Midland Universitys Anderson Building, Ninth and Clarkson streets, Fremont. Everyone is welcome to learn skills in communication, self-confidence and leadership. For more information, call 402-936-3479.

Narcotics Anonymous Back to Basics meeting, 7:30 p.m., First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 201 N. Davis St., Oakland.

Alcoholics Anonymous big book study, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Classics with a Cause featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), dusk (about 8:20 p.m.), Quasar Drive-In Theater, 13427 N. 300th St., near Valley. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Free admission is being provided by P&L Automotive. Donations will be collected for Transplant Games  Team Nebraska.
North Bend residents are being told to continue to boil their drinking water after test samples tested positive for coliform on Thursday and Friday.

Over the weekend, we increased our chlorination and flushed the system more on Friday and we took another round (of samples) on Sunday, said Mike Adair, Nebraska region manager for PeopleService Inc., which services North Bends water and sewer plants.

Adair said another round of samples was taken again on Monday. Adair is awaiting the results from Sunday and Monday's tests, which he hoped obtain Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 22.

Residents were instructed to boil their water last week after the towns water plant was affected by a power surge believed to have been caused by a lightning strike on Sunday, Aug. 13, or early Monday, Aug. 14.

Adair said residents can still shower and wash dishes and clothes with the water, but not drink it before boiling it.

Coliform is a family of bacteria that can indicate harmful bacteria.
THURSDAY

How about this for a lunch break. "Burgers & Bags" free In-N-Out burgers from the food truck and competitive cornhole at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Bank of Colorado parking lot, 421 N. Tejon St. Lots of fun and donations go to Pikes Peak United Way. ppunitedway.org

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

Motorcycles by the hundreds will arrive in Woodland Park this weekend for The Salute to American Veterans Rally & Festival. A highlight, the AVTT Traveling Memorial Wall replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and the Cost of Freedom Display with tributes to veterans of wars, conflicts and 9/11 victims. Then the large 36th POW/MIA Recognition Ride from the high school to Cripple Creek, returning to Woodland Park for music and activities. tinyurl.com/2z6mydv5, theveteransrally.org

FRIDAY

Is your pet's microchip info up-to-date? Here's an opportunity to find out for certain. It's National Check the Chip Day Friday and the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region and Phil Long Ford of Motor City are teaming to scan microchips so lost dogs and cats would be able to find their owners. The HSPPR Wellness Waggin will have cat and dog vaccinations for $20 each, microchips $40 each. The event is first come, first served, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., 1212 Motor City Drive. Information: hsppr.org/events/check-the-chip-day

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

It's time for those juicy, wonderful peaches right where they grow. Peach Festival weekend in Palisade and a celebration of the farmers and the peach businesses. Tour the farms and then, in Riverbend Park, all sorts of peachy activities, food and products followed by live music. On Saturday, a pancake breakfast, Just Peachy 5K, Peach Fest Parade, food demos, BBQ throw down and peach eating contests. palisadecoc.com/events/palisadepeachfest

SATURDAY

The Switchbacks share their stadium with a Health & Wellness Festival from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Weidner Field, 111 W. Cimarron. Ride on in, there's a bike valet at the stadium. Open to the community. A 5K Fun Run and stair climb require registration (tinyurl.com/5n6dk4mz). Then there's a Kids Zone, yoga on the field and health and wellness vendors. tinyurl.com/48m8jkzv

SATURDAY

Manitou Springs Heritage Center Brew Festival fills Memorial Park with tastings from 20 breweries, food and music. Early entry tickets $57 for noon, general admission at 1 p.m. $37. manitousprings.org

SATURDAY

See Torpedo Bombers from Midway and the first test of the Avenger at National Museum of World War II Aviation, 775 Aviation Way. Museum opens at 8 a.m., presentation at 9 a.m. and the flight of the TBM at 10 a.m. You'll hear the full story of the first combat. $15, children $11, seniors and military $13, WWII veterans free. worldwariiaviation.org

SATURDAY

See what downtown living is like at eight of the new apartment complexes during the self-guided Urban Living Tour, presented by Downtown Partnership, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets $15 at DowntownCS.com/ULT or $20 at the site. Locations: 333 ECO. 333 E. Colorado Ave.; Casa Mundi, 418 S. Tejon St.; Fiona, 455 E. Pikes Peak Ave.; The Mae on Cascade, 609 S. Cascade Ave.; The Plaza at Pikes Peak, 710 E. Pikes Peak Ave.; The Village at New South End, 311 E. Rio Grande St.; VIM, 322 E. Vermijo St.; and Working Fusion tiny home village.

SATURDAY

A 20-year anniversary Shopping, Sweets & Style Showcase awaits at The Promenade Shops at Briargate with a fashion show, giveaways and an open-air French Brocante Market, an event hosted by Paris Market Vintage and featuring 30 businesses. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. thepromenadeshopsatbriargate.com
The Colorado Springs Police Department announced Monday its selection of an independent consultant to audit its use of force and deescalation tactics, a next step toward implementing a series of reforms backed by a city law enforcement advisory commission.

The Police Executive Research Forum, a policing policy and research organization based in Washington, D.C., will begin the audit of CSPD's use of force and de-escalation tactics and "procedural justice," or communication and interaction with the public during calls for service, said CSPD Commander John Koch.

The audit comes in response to an April 2022 study by Pennsylvania-based Transparency Matters that examined racial disparities in police tactics and that resulted in eight broad recommendations, such as enhancing a culture within the department that rewards deescalation, improving the timely release of information, reducing racial and ethnic disparities in use of force and improving oversight of instances when people are held at gunpoint.

Conducting the independent audit of use-of-force training is a "small component" of the study's recommendations, Koch said.

"There are a lot of things we think we are doing well, but we also know that you're never great at assessing yourself," Koch said. "(An independent audit will) see if there are other things that we can do that would be better for our community, police officers and department. When we hear what those things are, we'll go to the public with them."

Officials said PERF was selected by a group of community members, CSPD staff and officers and the city's Law Enforcement Transparency and Advisory Commission (LETAC), which in September formally backed all changes surrounding use of force called for in the Transparency Matters report.

Koch said PERF was chosen though a "competitive process" because of the vendor's history of developing a number of national best practices in policing, including the Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) law enforcement decision-making model.

According to CSPD finance administrator Nancy McCauley, the contract work is "not-to-exceed" $244,780 and will be paid for with funding from the Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Program.

According to Koch, PERF will largely audit the Police Department from Washington, analyzing the quality and effectiveness of training and instructional materials given to officers, as well as during "a few" trips to Colorado Springs to conduct focus group meetings with CSPD staff and community members.

The audit is strictly a review of existing practices, not an implementation of new training programs. But the review, which is expected to take up to nine months, could yield new recommendations based on findings, Koch said.

Koch addressed concern over the perceived delays in the audit's timing, which comes roughly 16 months after the Transparency Matters report was released.

"Over that year and a half, we held several meetings with police officers, police supervisors, community groups and community members," including LETAC, Koch said.

"The process for obtaining a vendor through city procurement and finance is a lengthy one, (including) reviewing proposals and ensuring that all the people that are affected by the decision we're making have a voice in that process."

The 2022 Transparency Matters report examined how 5,933 individuals had force used against them over four years, according to previous reporting by The Gazette. The police force left 73% of people involved in those instances injured, although only 1.5% were seriously injured, the report said.

The study, which also surveyed 300 CSPD members and held focus groups for officers, found that "multiple officers were very critical about the amount and quality of the training provided regarding the use of force." The feeling that officers were undertrained to use hands-on force also was "pervasive," the report said.

A survey confirmed these feelings were widespread, with more than 80% of officers saying they needed more training on nonlethal weapons, defensive tactics, crisis intervention and de-escalation. More than 90% said they wanted training using shoot-dont-shoot scenarios.

Koch said PERF will host a public presentation of the findings at the end of the nine-month process, and the findings will also be published on CSPD's website.
While Canadian Keanu Reeves is best-known for his career as an actor thanks to major films like John Wick and The Matrix, he's also has a passion for creating and performing music.

Reeves has long been a member of alternative rock group Dogstar as a bass player and a vocalist, which has made its return after a two-decade hiatus. While the band was started in 1991, they put their music on pause in 2002. It wouldn't be until July of 2022 when they announced "We're Back" on Instagram.

Fun fact about the band  popular rock band Weezer played their first-ever gig on a line-up with Dogstar in 1992.

Dogstar is currently in the middle of a multi-country tour and Coloradans who love rock music or Keanu Reeves are in luck, with Dogstar set to perform three shows in the Centennial State.

The first Colorado Dogstar show takes place on August 17 at Denver's Marquis Theater. This show is followed by a performance at Fox Theatre in Boulder on August 18 and a show at Aspen's popular Belly Up venue on August 19.

Ticket prices vary for each venue and range from $73 to around $500.

Find tickets here and check out Dogstar music on Youtube.
Following President Joe Biden's decision last month to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs, a powerful Alabama lawmaker is calling for a hearing on Space Command that would feature high-level military leaders.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., is calling on Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, U.S. Space Command leader Gen. James Dickinson and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman to testify in front of the House Armed Services Committee on the decision to leave Space Command in Colorado Springs rather than move it to Huntsville. Rogers chairs the committee.

It's unclear when a Space Command hearing might happen. Congress is in recess for the month of August. Space Command could reach full operational capacity by the end of the month.

Biden picked Colorado Springs as the permanent home for Space Command after dueling arguments from Dickinson and Kendall were presented to him. Dickinson wanted to see it stay in place to reach full operational capacity sooner and Kendall argued the command should move to Huntsville, several national outlets including The Associated Press reported.

Rogers said in a news release Tuesday he wanted Kendall, Dickinson and Saltzman to testify on Biden's decision because it usurped Kendall's selection.

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"We will get answers on President Bidens political manipulation of the selection process, he said in the news release.

President Donald Trump previously selected Huntsville in 2021 as the home of Space Command headquarters, which deters aggression in space and would make the call to defend it if necessary. The command is separate from Space Force, the youngest military branch.

Rogers' announcement follows an article published by AL.com, the state's largest news site, that pointed out Dickinson's ties to Colorado. The story cited Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, who released public documents to the press showing that Dickinson bought a ranch in Colorado earlier this year before the decision on Space Command.

The story did not point out that Dickinson is soon slated to leave his post as the head of Space Command. His replacement, Space Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, has already had his nomination hearing in the Senate and he is awaiting confirmation. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala, is holding up that confirmation as part of his effort to block all Senate confirmations over the Department of Defense's abortion policies.

At the same time, space is heating up with China planning to launch thousands of new satellites and the war in Ukraine and Russia demonstrating how critical satellites are in communication.
The city of Colorado Springs will represent a police officer in a civil lawsuit filed by a man who claims the officer used "excessive force" that ultimately hospitalized him during an arrest in January.

The City council agreed informally Monday to represent Colorado Springs Police Officer Daniel Mork in the pro se lawsuit filed July 3 in El Paso County District Court, as required by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act and the Peace Officer's Liability Act.

Mork "was acting in the course and scope of his employment and not in a willful and wanton manner," states a brief memorandum from the City Attorney's Office to the City Council, dated Aug. 2.

The Colorado Springs Police Department is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit.

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Michael Foster said in his five-page complaint members of the Police Department, including Mork, "assaulted" him on Jan. 31 at the King Soopers grocery store located at 3620 Austin Bluffs Parkway. Foster claimed in the lawsuit he was "hospitalized with a broken orbital," that he lost feeling in the right side of his face, that he suffered a traumatic brain injury and also has "severe" memory loss because of "police brutality and excessive force" exercised in the incident.

The Colorado Springs Police Department declined to comment on the case, citing the pending litigation.

The city attorney's memo states on Jan. 31 police officers were searching for Foster, "who was wanted for several serious felony crimes." When police attempted to arrest Foster in the King Soopers parking lot, he fled and led them on a foot chase, but "a uniformed officer" was able to take Foster to the ground, according to the memo.

Foster does not seek specific monetary damages, according to the lawsuit. He asks "for justice to be served and the participants of this to be held accountable."
Letecia Stauch, the convicted killer of her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch, has been moved to an out-of-state prison facility after being found guilty of first-degree murder earlier this year, according to the Department of Corrections.

Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Annie Skinner confirmed to The Gazette that Stauch had been taken out of state to a Kansas prison facility this week. Stauch had previously been incarcerated at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility.

"CDOC regularly utilizes interstate transfers to manage our population and to best protect the safety and security of our facilities," Skinner wrote in a statement when asked why Stauch had been moved out of Colorado.

Skinner did not respond to a question from The Gazette regarding if there was a specific incident that led to Stauch's transfer to Kansas, or to which Kansas prison facility Stauch had been transferred to.

Stauch's attorney at trial Josh Tolini told The Gazette that he did not know why the Department of Corrections opted to move Stauch out of state, but said that his guess was that Stauch was moved for safety concerns due to the high-profile nature of her case.

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Fourth Judicial District Attorney Spokesperson Howard Black told The Gazette that the District Attorney's Office has no information regarding Stauch's transfer.

Stauch was sentenced to life in prison by an El Paso County judge in May of this year after the jury in the six-week-long trial found Stauch guilty of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch.
Lewis-Palmer School District 38 revisited the idea of a four-day school week schedule at Mondays Board of Education meeting.

The change is not yet certain, as it must first survive additional research and several rounds of stakeholder feedback.

A four-day week would require both longer school days and school years at every level, according to Assistant Superintendent Amber Whetstine. Students and teachers weekends would extend through Monday in hopes of improving work-life balance and, ideally, staff retention rates.

There is no set timeline for when a calendar change could be implemented.

Its not a sure thing, district spokesperson Mark Belcher said. We need to gather additional insights before we move forward, but this is the next step.

The high-achieving district has struggled in recent years with turnover. About a quarter of its employees left between the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, and 69% of employees have been with the district for five years or fewer.

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In a survey, several staff members urged district leaders to explore the feasibility of a four-day workweek, according to Belcher. The calendar task force was established to investigate how such a major change to daily operations could work and whether students, parents and staff would be interested.

The task force met throughout the summer to determine how staff training and workdays, holiday breaks, school start and end times, and length of school days and academic years might change.

Law requires districts operating on a reduced schedule to receive previous approval from the state education commissioner. Schools must still meet the established minimum requirements for instructional hours in an academic year.

Of Colorados 178 school districts, 128, or 72%, use a reduced academic calendar of four-day weeks that amount to fewer than 160 days, according to the Colorado Department of Education. Most of those districts  101 of them  are considered small rural districts that serve less than 1,000 students, and another 18 are considered rural, which serve between 1,000 and 6,500.

Pikes Peak region districts on CDEs approved reduced calendar list include Calhan RJ-1, Edison 54 JT, Ellicott 22, Hanover 28, Miami Yoder 60 JT and Peyton 23 JT. With a first-day student count of just over 6,500 students, Lewis-Palmer would become the largest school district in the region to switch to a four-day week.

The task force will conduct a staff survey with a mock-up school-week calendar in October and will reconvene to analyze the results. Depending on staff feedback and additional research into academic outcomes at districts currently using a four-day week, the task force will either disband without further action or begin the parent and student input process later this fall.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday released the name of a man fatally shot during a confrontation with law enforcement in southeast Colorado Springs on Thursday.

Benjamin Annaboli, 37, was shot at least once by Colorado Springs police after he brandished a gun while officers tried to arrest him in the 1700 block of Aeroplaza Drive, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Annaboli, a violent felon, was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service and parole officers with the Colorado Department of Corrections, according to a news release. He had a warrant for his arrest in Jefferson County and faced charges related to felony menacing, court records show.

Police found Annaboli sitting in a vehicle parked in a Super 8 parking lot.

As officers tried to arrest Annaboli, he fled in his vehicle before trying to escape on foot by running toward the front door of the hotel.

When officers deployed a police dog, Annaboli brandished a handgun, according to the release. At least one city police officer fired at Annaboli, who died after being rushed to a hospital.

The El Paso County Coroner's Office has yet to release Annaboli's cause and manner of death.
Its hard for some people to imagine life without a computer, but the digital divide remains wide for many in the Pikes Peak region who dont have a computer or internet service, dont know how to use a device or just arent sure they want to venture into the murky domain of technology.

A new Digital Equity Program thats launching next week aims to link low-income people in the community who want to become computer savvy for personal or business applications with an opportunity to learn.

Digital inclusion is the work of Maria Mendez, who was hired in June for a new position, digital equity program manager, at the Hanifen Employment Center at Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, which is based in Colorado Springs.

There is a lot of interest, she said. A lot of people are really excited that it will be helpful and benefit many in the community, so everyone has what they need for participation in the economy and society.

The Digital Equity Program kicks off with a presentation at 6 p.m. on Aug. 31 at Hillside Community Center, 925 S. Institute St.

Anyone can learn about the free courses being offered, get introduced to the budget laptop Chromebook and find out if their household income qualifies them for discounted access to high-speed internet service and electronic devices through the Community Economic Defense Fund Affordable Connectivity Program of the Federal Communications Commission.

As the Digital Equity Program rolls out, a traveling lab with 10 Google Chromebooks and four hot spots for internet access will provide public courses and workshops at community centers and organizations primarily in southeast Colorado Springs, where the need is the greatest, Mendez said.

Classes also will be offered at the Hanifen Employment Center at the Marian House campus, which serves homeless and low-income people.

The trainings will be available in Spanish and English, and volunteers are needed for digital literacy instruction, technical support and other work. If interested, email Mendez at digitalequity@ccharitiescc.org. People can also sign up for workshops and courses at that email or by calling 719-866-6285.

Each course consists of seven classes covering computer basics  from how to turn on a device to proficiency with emails and internet searches to privacy issues and word processing.

Participants will receive one-on-one technical support with tasks such as resume writing, searching for jobs or other information, downloading and uploading forms, and filling out applications for housing, financial assistance and food supplements.

Things that require more (than) our phones can provide, Mendez said.

Participants who finish all four courses of Northstar Digital Literacy will receive a free Chromebook and certification of completion.

This is going to be a pretty robust, individualized and in-depth program that will help people get those skills they need for their own personal use or to get a new job, said Rochelle Schlortt, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.

A community survey at https://forms.office.com/r/3aSUcsnEtX will help further identify the needs, Mendez said.

Digital diversity has been a concern since the turn of this century, but glaring consequences became obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools scrambled to equip all students with electronic devices and internet connectivity so they could do lessons and assignments online at home.

Still, some students, parents and even teachers had to use parking lots at schools or public places, such as coffee shops with free wireless connection, to complete schoolwork.

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Higher rates of not being able to afford or not having access to computers or the internet appear nationwide among low-income families; Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and multilingual households; rural residents; older adults; and people with disabilities, Mendez said during a recent presentation.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 10 million American households had no computer of any kind in 2020, and 17.7 million American households had no internet subscription.

Part of the problem is access. Data technology company BroadbandNow estimates that 42 million Americans have no access to broadband services, with rural America having the largest amount of no-service zones where connectivity isnt available.

Legislation Colorados General Assembly passed this year enables local governments to advance broadband internet services without voter approval to reach a goal of connecting 99% of Colorado households to high-speed broadband by the end of 2027.

Of the states 200,000 unemployed adults, an estimated 66,000 lack foundational digital skills, Mendez said, and 77% of jobs in Colorado require computer capabilities.

Catholic Charities received just over $194,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding distributed by the city of Colorado Springs four months ago to improve digital equity to underserved residents. Other grant recipients of the $800,000 fund are:

 Boys and Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region, to teach youths online safety, typing skills, web searching, coding and gaming.

 CommunityWorks, for basic computer literacy and using technology for employment.

 Centro de la Familia, to help clients develop English language skills, access government and social resources, and participate in the workforce, education and civic life.

 Solid Rock Community Development Corp., to start a Digital Community Hub.

 Pikes Peak Library District Foundation, to extend Wi-Fi signals and install outdoor remote lockers to boost circulation of Chromebooks and internet access after-hours.

 Silver Key Senior Services, to assist seniors in breaking through the technology barrier and use electronic devices to enrich their lives.

Three of the organizations, Silver Key, Solid Rock and Centro, are working on collaborating to cross-refer people and share program materials once their efforts are underway, said Silver Key President and CEO Jason DeaBueno.

Offerings at Silver Keys new computer lab, which has obtained hardware and trainers, will debut in early October with classes at its Connections Cafe at 1625 S. Murray Blvd., he said.

Computer acumen helps seniors complete Medicare paperwork, for example, and broadens their horizons, DeaBueno said.

One of the most pressing and tangible issues we're addressing is the digital equity initiative's potential to mitigate the competitive challenges faced by older adults seeking rental apartments, he said.

Traditional paper-based applications are difficult for seniors who lack transportation to fill them out in person, DeaBueno said.

By offering technology training, were helping level the playing field, he said.
It looks like Colorado voters wont know for sure until after the Nov. 7 election whether the ballots Proposition HH  the Legislatures massive money grab, masquerading as property tax relief  is constitutional. And even then, the determination will be made only if the measure passes. Thats the upshot of a ruling this week by the Colorado Supreme Court.

Meaning, come Election Day, well all have to make a call on a ballot question that might not even hold up in court.

Its all the more reason to vote no on Prop. HH  as if voters needed another reason to turn down the misleading and fiscally reckless proposal.

The Colorado Constitution requires ballot proposals to limit their scope to a single subject. Citizens opposed to Prop. HH challenged the proposal in court earlier this year, contending it attempted to address several distinct policy areas, in violation of the state constitution.

But as The Gazette reported Monday, the states highest court ruled that when a proposal like Prop. HH comes from the Legislature  rather than via a citizens initiative, which is petitioned onto the ballot by rank-and-file voters  the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to assess its constitutionality until and unless it is enacted by voters. Justice Richard L. Gabriel, writing for the court, noted that if voters were to enact Proposition HH in November, courts could then review the law for its constitutionality and void any non-compliant features.

Whether or not it squares with the state constitution, HH is just plain bad policy.

The entire proposal is really about growing government. It seeks to piggyback on the publics rightful outrage over skyrocketing property tax bills, but its purported property-tax relief  which is only a part of the dizzyingly complicated scheme  is a decoy.

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The measures real agenda is to hoodwink Colorado voters into letting the state keep and spend billions of dollars in surplus tax revenue that otherwise would have to be returned to the public by law. Make no mistake, the property-tax relief in Prop. HH is a con. The proposal actually would make voters pay for the relief out of their own pockets  using some of the excess tax collections theyre supposed to get back. And the state would keep the rest.

Prop. HHs nominal tax relief involves lowering the statewide assessment rate slightly for residential and commercial property for 10 years. That would only marginally reduce what will still be increasing property-tax revenue flowing to local governments. HH would pay for that modest reduction with the surplus revenue collected by the state above constitutional spending limits.

If Prop. HH passes, itll be a windfall for the state government. It likely will be hauling in an additional $2.2 billion that otherwise would go back to taxpayers over the coming decade.

For taxpayers, on the other hand, Prop. HH is a raw deal. They will lose far more over time by giving up their refunds than theyll gain in modest property tax relief.

Indeed, any tax relief wont come close to offsetting the soaring tax bills that are expected to rise up to 50% for some homeowners when tax bills go out next spring. In short, Prop. HH wouldnt just force taxpayers to pay for their own property-tax relief, it would overcharge them  to grow government.

Unconstitutional? Its unconscionable.

The Gazette Editorial Board
Why are we not horrified

The Gazette put this headline on the front page on top of the fold Aug. 18: Area students test scores trail state averages. Overall, our area schools are trailing miserable state averages. In round numbers, statewide only 43% are performing to expectation in English, and 32% in math. Note: we are talking about performing to expectations; no mention of what percentage performs better than expectations. Only 38% of our students in Colorado average a C or better in English and math. Why are we not horrified? Why is fixing this not priority No. 1?

Specifically, Mitchell High was recently honored for a 50% increase in its graduation rate, 2022 over 2021, yet Niche.com reports that Mitchell increased its test results by only 1.2%  this on top of a 22% proficiency rating in English, and a 5% proficiency in Math (also Niche.com).

Mitchell, and other schools, are obviously reducing the graduation standards so they can take a bow while reporting increases in graduation rates. It is impossible to achieve a 50% increase in graduation rates with only a 1.2% increase in learning without simply, and callously, lowering the graduation standards.

When grads who have not learned what is needed to justify a high school degree are not hired for an entry level job because they can not do the work--or are fired from one for the same reason--they will blame racism or some other form of cheating. They were cheated  by the education system. When they were handed that diploma, they were lied to.

The fix? 1. Graduate only those who can perform to 12th grade level. 2. Accelerate getting there by fully and equally funding traditional public schools, public charters and private schools via vouchers.

Will Luden

Colorado Springs

Stop the insanity

The proposed energy mandate is cost prohibitive, unrealistic, unfair, and not doable. Energy options should be by choice, not mandated. Proposed mandate will impact us all in ways known and unknown. Trickle down effect includes huge increases in cost of living, extreme hardship in many cases, commercial failures, loss of revenue. Its not either/or; all forms of energy, old and new can be utilized in tandem, as circumstances change.

If a mandate is enacted, its likely the electric grid could fail, with disastrous consequences. Solar and wind are subject to natures whims. If it is unfortunately implemented, a mandate should be from this point forward, not for existing structures. Stop the insanity!

Cindy Cowlishaw

Falcon

Lets use common sense

Now Ive heard everything.

Someone is proposing feeding school children breakfast and lunch.

Why in hell would we propose paying to feed school children breakfast and lunch? Children have normally eaten breakfast at home!

Thats where my children ate and they became successful adults. (We also taught them to wash their hands and brush their teeth after eating). Whos going to do that? Are we going to supply tooth brushes and paste as well? And supervise their use? Lets use common sense. Children should eat at home.

If they cant afford to buy a lunch they should bring something from homethat was also normal practice for generations? What changed? Besides a government who wants to control our lives from as early as possible.

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Dennis ONeil

Colorado Springs

When is a rose a rose?

Remember the self-serving response, That depends on what is is.? Well now its got a variation in real estate, as is. It seems that when a home seller strikes a deal to sell his/her house as is, the term doesnt really mean that.

Thats because in the present process of buying, despite having agreed to buy the house as is, the buyer really means he/she will buy the house as is only after he/she has ordered and had completed a thorough and rigid inspection of the house being bought, and had detected deficiencies cured (paid for and documented) by the seller. Because of the suspicion that a seller might know of some significant house defect hes trying to sell off to an unsuspecting buyer, the seller cant even be physically present in the house during the inspection (we went for breakfast in Manitou).

Its after the inspection results are presented to the seller that a negotiation takes place: what items must be cured by the seller before the buyer then will buy as is, and even at that there are caveats that jeopardize the seller after closing on the sale.

This whole disturbing process automatically sets up an antagonistic relationship between buyer and seller, each one guarding him or herself from the others potential ill will.

No handshake and an honest smile anymore these days. How sad.

Tuck Aikin

Colorado Springs

Taking taxpayers TABOR money

I see that Yemi Mobolade is jumping right in were John Suthers left off  asking to take more of our TABOR money. Seems like City Council is also in on the plan as is our illustrious Governor Jared Polis. As a taxpayer, I will never vote for anything that takes away my TABOR money.

If there is an excess of money, it means that there is sufficient tax payers contributing to the coffers!

What the City Council, mayor and governor should be asking if they want additional funding for a project is, where can we take from any existing funding to support this project!

We all know that the finances of any government are nothing more than a shell game to support whatever pet project is on the list.

I encourage all Colorado taxpayer to reject any and all proposals to take our TABOR money. I say to all of the elected officials go fish!

Bonnie Staton

Colorado Springs
The federal appeals court based in Denver has declined to consider an incarcerated man's allegations that a prison official tampered with his food by placing "light brown matter," "red matter" and saliva on his meals, causing illness.

On Aug. 16, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order explaining that, due to Eric Adams' status as a federal prisoner, he could not sue for monetary damages over the alleged food contamination.

Lawsuits seeking money against federal officials are known as a "Bivens remedy," named after the 1971 Supreme Court decision Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents. The Supreme Court initially authorized Bivens remedies in three specific circumstances: unreasonable searches and seizures, sex discrimination and deliberate indifference to an inmate's serious medical needs.

However, the Supreme Court has since broadcast that it is largely unwilling to allow Bivens remedies in other types of cases. In contrast, a federal law known as Section 1983 facilitates lawsuits against state officials for constitutional violations. While state employees may still be subject to immunity depending on the nature of their conduct, there is no blanket prohibition on bringing such claims in the first place.

That disparity in treatment recently prompted a federal judge in Colorado to take the extraordinary step of calling on Congress to roll back the Supreme Court's limitations on Bivens lawsuits. He labeled the situation a "fundamentally unjust legal state of affairs."

In Adams' case, the 10th Circuit nonetheless found itself obligated to dismiss his lawsuit.

Case: Adams v. Martinez Decided: August 16, 2023 Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for Colorado Ruling: 3-0 Judges: Jerome A. Holmes (author) Harris L Hartz Gregory A. Phillips Background: Federal judge to Congress: Roll back Supreme Court's limitations on suing federal officials

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Adams alleged the defendant, identified as "Officer Martinez," would touch his food with bare hands that were "contaminated with body waste." On three separate occasions in November 2015, Adams accused Martinez of putting "light brown matter," "unknown red matter," and "green and white saliva" on his tray or meals.

Adams, who was housed at the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence, said that as a result of the "poisonous matter" placed in his food, he sustained internal injuries. Adams filed grievances with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which informed him the allegations would be "thoroughly reviewed" but that prisoners "are not entitled to receive information regarding the outcome of the investigation."

Claiming a violation of his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, Adams filed a federal lawsuit. He sought $160,000 in damages.

The government moved to dismiss his lawsuit, pointing out Adams experienced various medical ailments before the alleged food tampering, that he already had "three strikes" for filing frivolous complaints and that there was no Bivens remedy.

After several years of procedural disputes and revelations that the government provided inaccurate information about Adams' litigation history, U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter acknowledged last year that the Supreme Court's precedent definitively barred Adams' lawsuit against Martinez.

The 10th Circuit panel agreed Adams' lawsuit did not fall into the limited categories of claims permitted against federal officials.

"Mr. Adams claim seeks to expand Bivens to a new context," wrote Chief Judge Jerome A. Holmes. Instead, Adams needed to seek relief through the prison grievance system  which had already informed Adams he was not entitled to know the outcome of any investigation into food tampering.
The federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Tuesday that Colorado's rules governing paid advertising along highways do not violate the First Amendment, as they do not discriminate based on the content of the billboards.

Two outdoor advertising companies challenged the state's recently enacted regulations that require billboard owners to obtain a permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation if they receive compensation to display highway-adjacent advertising.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the First Amendment allowed CDOT to treat paid signage differently, and that the state had good reason to do so.

"Rather than targeting the content of the advertisement, the regulatory scheme regulates the posting of billboards based on whether the speaker compensated the owner of the billboard," wrote Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich in the Aug. 22 opinion. "Regardless of the message or content on the sign, only for-compensation signs visible from a state highway trigger the regulation."

The Colorado Outdoor Advertising Act is linked to a 1965 federal law, the Highway Beautification Act, that requires states to maintain "effective control" of outdoor advertising visible from highways. The purpose of the mandate was to "protect the public investment" in the new interstate highway system, as well as to enhance safety and "preserve natural beauty."

Colorado, like other states, categorized billboards as "on-premise" or "off-premise" signage, based on whether the billboard advertised for products or services that were available at the specific location of the sign. Only off-premise signs required a CDOT permit.

In 2020, StreetMediaGroup, LLC and Turnpike Media, LLC filed a federal lawsuit alleging Colorado's restrictions were based on the content of the signage and, therefore, were unconstitutional. They cited a 2015 Supreme Court decision, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, in which the justices struck down an Arizona town's differing rules for signage depending on the message.

In response, Colorado lawmakers amended the Outdoor Advertising Act in 2021. They replaced the off-premise, on-premise distinction with a new dividing line: whether billboard owners received compensation, "directly or indirectly," for putting up an advertisement. If so, a CDOT permit was required.

Shortly afterward, U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson considered whether StreetMedia and Turnpike Media had credibly shown the regulations amounted to a First Amendment violation. He believed the rules did not single out specific messages for unfavorable treatment, but instead asked whether compensation was involved. Moreover, Jackson rejected the argument that the regulations were so vague that CDOT employees could not tell whether signage was paid or unpaid simply by looking at it.

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"For example, automotive experts cannot, by studying a picture of a car, determine whether it meets emissions standards. But that does not mean that emissions standards are incomprehensibly vague," Jackson wrote in December 2021, dismissing the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs appealed to the 10th Circuit. A few months before oral arguments, the Supreme Court clarified in a decision out of Texas that government regulations treating off-premise signs differently from on-premise signs are constitutional. The plaintiffs argued the decision should not affect their lawsuit, but the appellate judges pressed them to explain why Colorado's new regulations discriminated against content.

"In this case, if a CDOT enforcement official is driving down the street and they see a 'Michael Bennet is good' or 'Michael Bennet is bad' billboard," said attorney Todd G. Messenger, referring to Colorado's senior U.S. senator, "that CDOT enforcement official, if he disagrees with that message, can say, 'My understanding is these billboards are usually paid for.'"

Then, Messenger said, CDOT could undertake an invasive investigation into the billboard's status.

Tymkovich countered that Colorado's law would not necessarily lead to content discrimination. If there were two "Bennet is good" signs, he said, but one is paid for and unpermitted, CDOT would treat that billboard differently.

"One's licensed and one's not. Its not because of the Bennet message. Its the fact of compensation," he added.

The panel agreed that the Supreme Court's recent rulings led to the conclusion that Colorado's regulations were not content-based. Tymkovich wrote that Colorado had a legitimate interest in "highway safety and reducing visual clutter" by controlling the proliferation of paid billboard advertising.

Still, he cautioned, the law was not a "model of clarity."

"Ultimately, every sign is erected by someone in the sign business, no matter whether the sign is advertising a commercial product, a church, or a business," Tymkovich wrote. "Colorado seems to suggest this is not so, but the plain text of the Act says otherwise."
When Melissa Hemphill became pregnant as a cadet at the Air Force Academy with her son in 2009, she faced a harsh set of options: Leave the academy, get an abortion, or give up her parental rights in court.

"It was very scary and very stressful," she said. "We were so young and we had all these other hopes and dreams."

Hemphill and her boyfriend, now husband, Anthony Hemphill found a way to stay on the right side of the law and keep their son, Oliver, by taking turns formally giving up their parental rights and then later adopting their son so they could finish their degrees at the academy.

It's a story Melissa Hemphill, now an Air Force reservist, has told over and over again as she advocated through the Air Force and in national media for Congress to change the policy that forced students at all military academies into the same tough set of choices if they became pregnant.

"I think people thought it wasnt happening. It wasnt a problem," she said.

As she shared her story, others told her about their decisions  to have abortions, to quietly leaving school without saying why and to give up their parental rights. In some cases those who gave their parental rights struggled to get them back when family members laid down ultimatums, with statements like, 'I'll give your parental rights back once you are in a stable relationship.' Some former cadets did not get their parental rights back, she said.

Following a 2021 change in the law, known as the Candidates Afforded Dignity, Equality and Training Act, or CADET Act, sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., cadets can now retain their parental rights.

Although the Department of Defense has not issued final guidance on how to implement the law, the Air Force Academy is operating under the spirit of the law and has worked with four cadets to remain at the academy while they have children by signing family care plans that describe who will care for their children while they are in school, academy spokesman Dean Miller said.

Cadet Sarah Swan and recently commissioned 2nd Lt. Zenen "Z" Cardenas were the first to have a child at the academy under the new law and while they did not have the stress of the old policy, their experience opened up practical questions about health care and leave. Their experiences are likely to set precedent for future cadets who have children.

Swan and Cardenas found out they were expecting their son, Mateo, now 9 months, while they were traveling separately during spring break their junior year at the academy. Swan recalled taking about seven tests, not believing she was pregnant because she was using an IUD. Her birth control also made the pregnancy high risk and so for the first few months they kept the news quiet.

But there was not a question in their minds that they wanted to keep their baby, the couple said. They would also have to be the main caregivers because their families couldn't take on their child.

"We had both talked about having kids and getting married  We knew that was going to be a part of our future. But we didn't expect it to be this soon," she said.

The reception they received was mixed.

The medical team at the academy assumed that Swan wouldn't keep the pregnancy, which was tough for her to hear.

"It was just such a shock to all of the medical professionals that I was deciding to keep the pregnancy. The norm is to get an abortion," she said.

But Swan's commander, Cardenas' commander and many others in leadership supported the couple and helped them navigate the process at high levels as they started taking steps no one else had before. For example, Swan had to apply for medical leave to have her baby and navigate insurance.

"A lot of my personal case was commanders coming to me and being like, 'Well, we could do this route, which will probably be easier. Or we can do this route, which is the correct route, but we're gonna have to fight for it really hard. And that way, in the future, when people go through this, they don't have to fight super-hard for it because we have already done it,'" she said.

Health insurance proved to be one of the most stressful parts of the process.

Before Mateo was born, she was told he would have Tricare coverage, but shortly after his birth, she was told that wouldn't be the case.

So the couple had to enroll Mateo in Medicaid for several months before Cardenas commissioned as an officer and could provide insurance. Now, cadets can provide insurance for their children, following guidance from the DOD, said Dom Angiollo, the attorney adviser for the academy.

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The amount of time Cardenas was going to be able to spend with his family was also a bit of a question mark.

Hemphill and her husband were essentially away on deployment while finishing their degrees at the academy and she missed Oliver's first birthday and his first steps, she said.

Cardenas was granted four floating days of leave for Mateo's birth, which paired up with Thanksgiving break equaled almost two weeks, the amount of time he would like to see the academy grant new fathers, he said. Then, leading up to finals, he had to spend many nights at the academy studying and finishing projects.

When he returned to the academy for his last semester, he was allowed to go home at night to help support his fiance with their newborn.

Now Swan is back at the academy this fall to finish her senior year, she will also be allowed to spend nights at home, unless none of the cadets are allowed to leave because they are participating in a military exercise or they have fallen short of standards.

Now an officer, Cardenas can keep working because he qualifies for childcare, an option that was not available while Swan was on leave because they could not afford outside day care.

When it comes to acceptance of the new law, officers and enlisted leaders have embraced the change, Swan said, but there still needs to be a shift among the cadets.

For Cardenas the experience showed him the stark difference between the two routes to commission as an officer. Students in ROTC can get married and have children, something he witnessed while part of an ROTC program at University of Alabama. He would like to see the academy reach parity with ROTC programs.

"I think right now, the academy is moving in the correct direction towards that, and they're moving quickly," he said.

Before the new law, a male cadet who declined to be identified, found out his girlfriend, now fiance, was pregnant the October of his freshman year. So he decided to keep it private and attended summer parachute jump training, instead of his daughter's birth.

Later, he found out the leadership would have allowed him to leave.

"There is a lot more support here than I thought there was," he said.

Still to stay on the right side of school policy, he decided not to sign her birth certificate, a step he can reverse before graduation because of the change in the law and that carried deep meaning for him.

"The CADET Act is a huge step forward in helping cadets be who they are," he said.

Still his responsibilities at school have kept him away from his 2-year-old and he has seen many moments of his daughter learning to crawl, walk and talk through Snapchat, a social media platform largely for sending private videos.

Even before his fiance moved back to Texas this past Thanksgiving to be closer to both their families for support while she goes to nursing school, she was largely a single mom, which weighs on him all the time.

The senior said he is holding on to graduation day and moving in with both of the loves of his life.

Now the mother of four, Hemphill has mentored numerous cadet parents and would never recommend starting a family while at the academy. She sees the new law as protection for cadets from the emotional, financial and legal stresses of perhaps never regaining parental rights if they do have a child.

A logical next step for the academies could be allowing parents to apply if they can execute a family-care plan, she said. The academies allow enlisted service members who are older than their recent high school graduate counterparts to apply.

As the DOD finishes the policy for military academies, she expects the Air Force Academy's influence will be apparent since the staff was a part of working groups and has really leaned into the policy change that will let cadets pursue their careers and the services to keep qualified people, she said.

"We need to see the person first," she said.

Cadets and midshipmen having children and in need of help can reach out to a nonprofit Hemphill founded called MAPS: Military Academy Pregnancy Support.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday announced it will hear a criminal appeal out of Arapahoe County that asks whether police failed to give a road rage suspect his Miranda warning, and if that failure requires a new trial.

At least three of the court's seven members must agree to review a case.

The justices also signaled they may intervene in two matters currently in the trial courts. One case questions whether the terms and conditions of a ski pass render Vail Resorts not liable for a girl's fall from a chair lift. The other involves the potential obligation defendants have to hand over evidence of alternate suspects to the prosecution.

Finally, the court ordered further review of two property tax challenges in light of its own recent rulings.

In custody or not in custody?

Aurora police arrived at the apartment building of Terrence Kenneth Eugene, wanting to ask him about a road rage encounter from March 2018. Although it was unclear whether Eugene or the other motorist started the fight, Eugene fled the scene and the other driver called authorities.

Police interrogated Eugene within a 27-minute window. Near the end, Eugene admitted to hitting the other driver, but denied being the instigator. An Arapahoe County jury convicted him of assault and he received eight years in prison.

Eugene attempted to have his incriminating statements excluded from trial, arguing he was interrogated in custody and, consequently, needed a Miranda warning. A trial judge disagreed with Eugene, but a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals reversed Eugene's convictions last fall.

The panel's majority saw Eugene's interrogation in three phases. First, Officer Christopher Thivierge questioned Eugene outside the building. Second, Thieverge left Eugene alone with other officers while he spoke to Eugene's wife inside. Finally, Thieverge reengaged Eugene outside, which is when Eugene admitted to hitting the victim.

Judge Neeti V. Pawar, writing for the majority, believed that during the final portion of the interrogation, Eugene was effectively in custody and required a warning about his constitutional rights to silence and to an attorney. Eugene, Pawar explained, had his freedom curtailed similar to an arrest because officers separated him from his wife, ordered him to stay outside, lied to him about the existence of video evidence, and stood between Eugene and the building's door.

"We emphasize that officers are free to use confrontational and coercive techniques that amount to custodial interrogation," she wrote, "as long as they advise the suspect of his Fifth Amendment rights before doing so."

Judge Steve Bernard disagreed. The officers did not point their weapons, they did not handcuff Eugene, they questioned him at his home and they never explicitly told Eugene he was prevented from leaving. Bernard acknowledged Eugene's interrogation was neither a formal arrest nor a consensual interaction, but "for me, this case is closer to the not-in-custody end of the spectrum than the in-custody end."

The government appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing the panel's majority focused too much on the confrontational tone of the interrogation, and ignored the other evidence at Eugene's trial suggesting he was the one who threw the first punch.

The Supreme Court will analyze whether the majority correctly determined Eugene was in custody, and that the lack of a Miranda warning required his convictions to be reversed.

The ski lift fall

Michael D. Miller and his teenage daughter, Annalea Jane Miller, traveled from their home in Oklahoma to Crested Butte Mountain Resort in March 2022. While trying to board the chair lift, Annalea Miller missed the bench and was swept onto the moving lift, hanging onto the chair. Multiple people allegedly yelled for an operator to stop the lift, but it continued up the mountain until Annalea Miller could not hold on any longer. She fell 30 feet and suffered permanent paralysis.

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The Millers sued Vail Resorts, which owns the facility, for negligence and related claims. Vail moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing, among other things, the Millers' passes contained a waiver of liability. The passholders assumed "all risks and dangers" and the "possibility of personal injury." Among the specific risks mentioned were "misloading, entanglements, or falls from ski lifts."

In April, Broomfield District Court Judge Sean Finn dismissed most of the Millers' claims. In part, he relied on the waiver language.

"The parties do not dispute that Plaintiff voluntarily entered into these agreements in order to participate in a recreational activity," he wrote. "The court finds that they were entered into fairly and that Plaintiff was advised of the relevant risks."

The Millers turned to the Supreme Court, arguing state laws exist to hold resort operators responsible for safe operations. Therefore, resorts and customers cannot agree in a contract to sidestep that obligation.

"Allowing ski area operators to immunize themselves, through liability waivers, from civil liability for ski lift malfunctions would essentially allow ski area operators to disregard each and every provision of the (law) and defeat the legislatures pronounced public policy," wrote the Millers' attorneys.

The Supreme Court ordered the resort to explain why Finn was correct to rule in its favor.

Alternate suspect

Mark Burns faces a jury trial in early 2024 for allegedly murdering Michael Arnold and Donna Gallegos in Delta County. Burns intends to dispute that he was the killer, and that an alternate suspect was really responsible.

In July, District Court Judge Steven L. Schultz ordered the defense, prior to trial, to disclose the identity of the alternate suspect, the facts applicable to the suspect and the "evidentiary hypothesis" supporting the suspect's guilt.

To allow the defense to keep such information to themselves until trial "would literally turn the established pre-trial process into the wild west, and reinstate a system based on trial by ambush," Schultz wrote.

Burns immediately sought the Supreme Court's intervention. Procedural rules require disclosure of the "nature" of a defense, but he argued Schultz's order went far beyond that. It would violate Burns' due process rights, his lawyers explained, to force him to assist the government in proving its case.

The Supreme Court directed the prosecution and Schultz to respond. The justices are currently evaluating a similar case out of Weld County, where a trial judge ordered the defense to disclose its alternate suspect evidence to the government.

Property valuations and COVID

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court addressed a subset of virtually identical lawsuits  out of 11 total  claiming county assessors should have considered commercial property owners' requests for lower property valuations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under their theory, property owners could not fully use their commercial spaces because of public health restrictions on capacity and operations, and their 2020 tax bills should have been reduced as a result.

The Supreme Court disagreed and ordered the cases dismissed in May.

However, by that point the Court of Appeals had already decided two cases in favor of the property owners. The Supreme Court has now returned those decisions, out of Weld and Eagle counties, to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration.
Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed an executive order that he says will speed up the process for getting more affordable housing into the market.

Key to the effort is ordering the Division of Housing to reduce its timeline for awarding housing grants and loans from its current 240-day turnaround to 90 days.

By Jan. 1, 2024, the division should have its timeline for drafting and executing grants and loans down to 120 days, and then down to 90 days by July 1, 2024.

In addition, the division can use existing state and federal funds to provide "deeper subsidies to maximize unit production, including development in high-need, difficult to develop areas" tied to Proposition 123 funding.

That ballot measure, approved by voters last November, could direct up to $300 million to affordable housing development grants and loans, using 1% of state income tax revenue.

The Polis administration did not provide an estimate on how much this new effort would cost.

Polis told reporters at a Monday news conference the state will prioritize existing resources to get those grants out the door faster.

"We want to show what we are doing as a state to move forward and remove barriers from housing," Polis said.

The executive order directs coordination among state agencies, some which have never before been involved with housing, to evaluate everything they do that touches housing grants and policies, including utilization of state land.

That would help take into account transit, traffic considerations, water efficiency and open space, the governor said.

"It's very important that the state has that moral authority and says, 'We're moving faster because housing is such a crisis,'" Polis said.

He called Monday's executive order a "major step towards affordability," with quicker turnaround and more housing now, "but also a thoughtful approach to how we grow as a state."

His order means the state is doing its part to support "strategic, sustainable affordability," Polis said. Coloradans expect the state to deliver more housing choices that fits within their budgets, whether for rent or purchase, he said.

When asked about the cost to implement the aims of the governor's order, Polis spokesman Conor Cahill said the new executive action "exercises his existing authority as it relates to the housing crisis and ensures the administration leads by example."

"It directs state agencies to turn around approvals quicker to facilitate more housing being built, gets the government out of the way, cuts red tape and streamlines the processes while aligning existing funds (for example existing ARPA funds and funds from Proposition 123), with the strategic goals outlined by the order," Cahill said.

The order, he added, "instructs agencies to inventory their own grant and loan programs that provide support to local governments, for housing development, transportation, economic development, and water infrastructure and conservation and develop recommendations to further the strategic growth goals outlined in the Order."

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"Given those directives outlined above, there is not an appropriation at this time as the order prioritizes the use of existing resources to achieve these goals," Cahill said.

Rick Garcia, executive director at Department of Local Affairs, said the effort to reduce turnaround time on grants is already underway.

"We've been working on this for several months," he told Colorado Politics.

Some of those tactics include better staffing, better technology, reducing some of the overburdensome aspects of contracting required by the state, and working with borrowers to get them in a better position to get their documentation ready so the agency can move the contracts faster.

Surrounded by several House Democrats, Democratic county and city officials and housing supporters, Polls said no executive order will solve the state's housing crisis, but that the state should lead by example.

The agencies involved in the executive order included Department of Local Affairs, the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the governor's Energy Office, and the departments of Personnel and Administration, Natural Resources, Transportation, and Public Health and Environment.

Each agency would be charged with looking at each own grant and local programs and additional funding that provide support to local government partners and others, with a report due to the governor's office by Dec. 15, 2023 detailing the results of that inventory.

Colorado Counties, Inc., which has been at loggerheads with the governor over his previous plans to strip local governments of zoning authority, said in a statement it appreciates the governor's effort to look internally at how state agencies and policies might affect delivery of affordable housing.

"Likewise, local governments are also examining their planning process and policies to identify and address obstacles to affordable housing," CCI President Steve O'Dorisio said. "We are confident that state and local governments can work together to address issues that impact time, costs, accessibility, choice or procedure."

O'Dorisio said the group looks forward to working with the governor and others throughout the fall to find collaborative solutions to the housing crisis.

One agency not included in the mix is the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), which, among its divisions, regulates occupations and professions.

State Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, believes leaving out DORA is a misstep, given that it regulates plumbers, electricians and other professions that are also part of the housing industry.

Pelton, who attended the press conference, said he is happy the governor wants to cut more regulations, but he said it should also include some of the regulations it takes to be an electrician or plumber. That move, he said, would get more people into the workforce that builds houses.

Pelton also said the governor ought to do more to support the local governments, which know how to implement housing solutions.

"If he can find a way to just support them on the way they do land use authority, that's all he needs to do," Pelton told Colorado Politics.
Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert trails her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch by 2 percentage points, according to a new internal poll of likely voters released Tuesday by a Democratic firm.

Frisch, the former Aspen City Council member who came within fewer than 600 votes of unseating Boebert last year, leads the incumbent 50% to 48% in Colorado's Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District, pollster Keating Research found. Fewer than 2% of likely voters said they didn't know or were undecided.

Chris Keating, founder of the Colorado-based polling firm, told reporters that he's never seen so few undecided voters this far out from an election.

The difference between Frisch and Boebert is within the poll's 3.5 percentage point margin of error. The telephone survey of 801 likely voters was conducted Aug. 8-15, Keating said in a polling memo.

It's the first publicly released poll this cycle to show Frisch in the lead in the district, which covers most of the Western Slope and parts of southern Colorado, including Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley.

Another poll released by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group in April showed the race tied, with Boebert and Frisch each receiving 45% support.

The new poll found Frisch leading Boebert among the district's unaffiliated voters by 17 percentage points and holding a 32-point lead among Latino voters. Unaffiliated voters will make up 42% of the district's electorate next year, and Latino voters will make up 15%, according to Keating's projections.

Keating said Frisch leads among nearly every demographic group except registered Republicans, who made up 33% of the sample.

Republicans hold an 8 percentage point lead in registration in the district. In recent elections, the seat's electorate has tipped toward major Republican nominees by 9 percentage points.

The pollster found that the district's voters still lean Republican in the presidential race. Former President Donald Trump polled 5 percentage points ahead of President Joe Biden in the same survey, 49% to 44%, with 4% saying they wanted someone else and 3% undecided.

Keating, whose firm was the only pollster to predict that Boebert's reelection bid would be close last year, said the new survey found the incumbent's favorability rating is upside down, with 53% of voters saying they hold an unfavorable view of her and 42% with a favorable view.

That compares to 34% with a favorable view of Frisch and 26% saying they view the challenger unfavorably.

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"She's already starting down," Keating said. "She's paying the price for her extreme rhetoric, across the board."

He added that it's unusual that 60% of the voters surveyed had an opinion about Frisch since voters aren't usually that familiar with congressional challengers.

Frisch, one of five Democrats seeking the 2024 nomination, launched his bid for a rematch in February and has since set off-year fundraising records for a Colorado congressional candidate, including raising more than three times as much in contributions as Boebert reported in the last fundraising period.

Election forecasters at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report list the seat as a toss-up, citing Frisch's fundraising haul and Boebert's confrontational approach to politics.

With this new poll showing us ahead of Lauren Boebert, I am more confident than ever that we are on track to win in 2024, Frisch said in a statement.

He added that the results tell him that "voters in this district are tired of Boeberts extremism and want a representative who delivers common sense solutions for their families, their businesses, and their communities.

Boebert campaign manager Drew Sexton told Colorado Politics in a text message: For the poll to have any relevance Aspen Adam needs to secure the Democrat nomination, which he only won by a couple hundred votes last time.

This primary hell have to explain whether hes lying to liberals or lying to conservatives about his policies," Sexton added. "So far, Adam has proven hes lying to both.

Other Democrats running include Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout, Gunnison veterinarian Debby Burnett and first-time candidates David Karpas and Adam Withrow.

Boebert drew a primary challenge last week from Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd, a former chairman of the local chamber of commerce and first-time candidate.

Editor's note: This developing story has been updated.
Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi speaks during a press conference in Tripoli, Libya, on Aug. 21, 2023. Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi announced Monday that 486 illegal migrants have been deported to their countries of origin. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi announced Monday that 486 illegal migrants have been deported to their countries of origin.

In a press conference following the announcement, the minister said that 294 of them are from Egypt, while the others from different African countries.

Al-Tarabelsi said that the deportees include those recently left stranded near the Tunisian border after being expelled by Tunisian authorities.

"The international community and the European Union must help Libya to reduce this phenomenon, which has burdened the country with the presence of large numbers of migrants," al-Tarabelsi said.

"The Ministry of the Interior has launched an expanded security campaign ... to arrest human traffickers and refer them to court. These efforts will be intensified in the future," he said.

Since the fall of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the unrest-hit country has become a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores. 
Clear Lake-based telecommunications company and internet provider CL Tel is collaborating with the North Iowa community to help parents safeguard their children online with the "Bark" app.

In a statement, the Clear Lake telecommunications company said it is aware of the dangers children can encounter online.

"We recognize the need for parents, guardians, and schools to have access to comprehensive online safety solutions," CL Tel COO Chris Lovell said. "Our commitment to protecting our youngest neighbors extends beyond Internet, phone, and cable services. We proudly introduce the Bark app as a safe and convenient tool to safeguard our children's digital well-being."

Bark is a content monitoring and parental control application that works anywhere devices travel. Award-winning parental controls detect and alert parents about potential online threats children may face, including cyberbullying, online predators, suicidal ideation, sexting, and more.

Machine learning and natural language processing software scan for signs of risk, alerting parents and guardians in real time. The app offers real-time location tracking and can monitor children's online activity on various platforms, including social media, messaging, email, and more.

"Cybercrimes are on the rise, and many predators hide behind their computer screens and target children online. Parents can take immediate action to protect kids with the Bark app," said Lovell.

Statistics shared in the news release by CL Tel point to what they say are "alarming trends" emerging in the post-COVID digital landscape:

According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 59% of U.S. teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying or online harassment.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that 1 in 7 children have received unwanted sexual solicitations online.

A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found a significant correlation between social media use and symptoms of depression among teenagers.

The company argues Bark's approach is different from conventional parental control tools. Instead of focusing solely on restricting and monitoring, Bark aims to foster meaningful connections, encouraging parents to engage in open conversations with their children, fostering trust, empathy, and understanding. By leveraging Bark's comprehensive coverage and timely alerts, parents can identify potential concerns and initiate conversations that promote learning, growth, and resilience.

"The Internet can be a wonderful tool for children to learn, connect with friends, and expand their horizons," said Lovell. "Collaborating with our families, organizations, schools and teachers can help create a safer digital world for our students and give parents the peace of mind that their children are safer."

To learn more about Bark and the CL Tel initiative to keep kids safe online, visit www.cltel.com/barkcltel or call 641-357-2111.
The Clear Lake Arts Center last week hosted three authors for the second rendition of Waldorf University's "Poetry at the Lake" event.

With Waldorf University recently returning to nonprofit status, Joe Milan, an assistant professor of creative writing at the college, said that "one of their big missions is to get really involved in the community; not just in Forest City but for the greater North Iowa area."

Waldorf first hosted Poetry on the Lake in April with authors Ryan Clark, Lydia Knudtson and Oscar Oswald.

Wednesday's event featured authors Josh Martin, Korey Hurni and Debra Marquart reading works of poetry and prose.

Milan said the event was designed to highlight authors of all stripes and skill levels. He asked his student Martin to read, because "any time we can get our students to practice the skills that they've been training, it's a great win. I love how honest his work is, and he's getting better each time I see him perform."

Martin, a senior and creative writing major at Waldorf, read a poem titled "I Am," a journey through the universe which sees an atom at the beginning of time and space forming a building block for life as we know it.

"I am the homo sapiens conquering a ball of rock and water, crafting huts of dried mud that turn to buildings of stone and wonder. I am the humans banding together to create society. I am the humans, building empires."

Korey Hurni is a newly hired professor of creative writing at Waldorf. He recently began this semester in earnest, teaching composition classes exploring rhetoric through comedy, introduction to creative writing, and an advanced poetry workshop which Hurni says will delve into poetic serialization exploring "how we can put poems in conversation with one another, and how putting poems next to each other can create new meaning and new poignancy."

Hurni was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, and is an assistant professor of English and creative writing at Waldorf. He earned his M.F.A. from Western Michigan University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Previously he served as a poetry editor for Cream City Review and Third Coast. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in West Branch, RHINO, Quarterly West, and elsewhere.

Hurni introduced himself by sharing works from his upcoming manuscript "Another Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" which he describes as an example of "contemporary myth-retelling."

By framing the story of Icarus and his father Daedalus using modern literary devices and meter, Hurni reconstructs the father-son dynamic behind the famous idiom that cautions us not to "fly too close to the sun."

Debra Marquardt has served as Iowa's Poet Laureate since 2019, and shared an essay in which she recollects and laments the days when she, as a college freshman with a new checkbook, found out the hard way that writing checks with eventually could catch up to her.

"Once at college," Marquart writes, "I took to writing checks like a natural; like a real pro. I learned that there were more things in the world to want than I had previously imagined."

Titled "Carte Blanche" and published in her essay collection "The Night we Landed on the Moon," Marquart writes, "My monthly bank statements must have read like an ethnographic study of the odd habits and proclivities of this new creature my parents were discovering me to be, a female college freshman. It would have been better than satellite tracking or inserting a computer chip under my skin, because once I went paper, I went paper. I don't think I ever learned how to get cash out of my checking account."

Joy Newcom of Forest City said she finds Marquart's writing "nostalgic," carrying a "bittersweet memory of what it was like to be young and innocent, to come of age. ... Yet she ties it to a bigger theme of life from the perspective as an adult, looking back."

"Everything I think and write about home these days makes me feel like crying, because so much of it is gone, pushed out of the way through the natural forces of time, erased through death. ... The world my father trained me to live in is not the world I live in now. So I must shed some of his training. To talk about money, about checks and balances, and who's going to pay for all this is not low or rude. To ask a second question, or a third question, or even a fourth or fifth is not impertinent. Because we have so many questions that need asking," Marquart writes.

Clear Lake Arts Center Executive Director Jessi Myers said such events are important for highlighting local arts and culture: "Its a great chance and opportunity for the community to connect with the artists and their art; wherever we can find opportunities in the three pillars of visual, performative and literary arts, we try to jump at the opportunity to bring them to the community."

Beaming with pride, Milan offers the highest praise a writer could receive to his student Martin, saying that "He has the courage to share what lies in our hearts."

Pomade by Korey Hurni Even from watching his father, Icarus never knew how much was enough: tin nearly emptied, hair pomade stiff, waxed brittle and shining down his nape. Tattered feather boy, boy in the mirror, stage on top a stool for the man he will never become, his fingers and fathers comb thick with ocean skim, slicking back every loose stubborn strand, breaking the breaking waves curled around his ears. Careless Icarus wild with product, swallowing air like a billowing sail pushing out his chest, admiring the idea of pecs  little boy peacocking with no one to watch him  fearful of staining the towels, smearing grease and excess all over his body, the body ready to slip away into viridian How easy it is to disregard the boy, to excuse the boy for dual snapping finger guns with a high-pitched eyyy. Like a dawn first set on the horizon, hell echo past the curtains and throughout the home. When he hears his father above stir for his shift, the boy can play man no longer, and will stick his head under a cold shower. This could be the last time he hopes no one will hear him. A boy is never too young to know shame.

Video of Marquart's performance can be viewed on the Globe Gazette website.
ASHEBORO  The North Carolina Zoo is transferring its flock of 15 Chilean flamingos to the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina next month, according to a zoo news release.

The flamingos, which have been a part of the zoo for 41 years, have to go because the N.C. Zoo is demolishing its aviary. The aging aviary building closed in 2022 and is located beside the flamingo habitat.

The flamingos, several of which are from the original flock that arrived in 1982, will join 19 other flamingos at the Greenville Zoo. Flamingos can live up to 50 years under human care, compared to 25 to 30 years in the wild, according to the release.

Zoo officials say flamingos are social birds and the chance to be part of a larger flock will enrich them. This will also make the transition easier because flamingos follow the flock to find food and get in and out of the pool. The Greenville Zoo has a large spring-fed natural lagoon for the flamingos, the release said.

Flamingos can grow up to 51 inches in height. Chilean flamingos are considered near threatened, according to the news release

The N.C. Zoo is hoping to get funding to rebuild a new aviary, but officials said it is too soon to know if flamingos will be included in those plans.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, flamingo keepers will host a special Farewell Flamingos, event at the habitat. Guests are encouraged to wear pink to honor the iconic birds.
There will be a series of community conversations regarding issues involving the unsheltered in Tracy Kidders book Rough Sleepers.

Plymouth Church - UCC, in partnership with the Lewis and Clark Library, United Way, the Montana Jewish Project, Good Samaritan and the Helena United Methodist churches, invite the public to participate in the reading and five-week discussion of the 2023 book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

According to the New York Times, Rough Sleepers follows Dr. Jim OConnell, a Harvard-trained physician who, since 1985, has been treating Bostons most vulnerable unhoused population: the citys rough sleepers, men and women who dwell mostly out of doors, in parks, in subway tunnels and on sidewalks. OConnell helps create a program to care for Bostons unsheltered community.

The origins of housing shortages, education, medical care and substance abuse are a few of the topics featured each week and explored by community leaders during the five-week discussion.

The series runs from Wednesday, Aug. 30, through Wednesday, Sept. 27. All discussions will be held at 12 p.m. (noon). Sack lunches are encouraged.

The Lewis and Clark Library hosts the first gathering in the meeting room, though each week the discussion will move to other locations. No reservations are required; all are invited whether or not you have read the book.

Aug. 30 at Lewis & Clark Library: Why Now? Historical Origins of the Housing Crisis (a discussion about why homelessness seems like a national crisis now), facilitated by Dr. Pat Christian, Carroll College.

Sept. 6 at Our Place: Who Is My Neighbor? (stories of people living on the streets), facilitated by Theresa Ortega, Good Samaritan, and the Rev. Jeff Buscher of United Way.

Sept. 13 at Temple Emanu-El: Whats Education Got to Do With It? (information from school counselors and administrators about the role of education in addressing homelessness), facilitated by Helena Public Schools staff.

Sept. 20: Covenant United Methodist Church: Did you Hear Me? Not in My Backyard, Please (a perspective from local government regarding low-income housing), facilitated by city/county administrators including Commissioner Andy Hunthausen and Mayor Wilmot Collins.

Sept. 27 at Plymouth Church  UCC (lunch provided): What About Drugs, Addictions, Mental Health and Other Life Threatening Concerns on the Streets, facilitated by PureView Health Center case workers.

The Point In Time survey in January found that there were 164 unsheltered people officially documented in the Helena area. That is about a 13% increase from the year before. The survey is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the survey from communities receiving federal funds from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program.

For more information, contact Jennifer Jeffries Thompson at 406-442-2642.
CHARLESTON  A man charged with the 2021 death of his housemate is awaiting his sentencing after a jury found him guilty of murder.

Joshua Fairchild, 28, of Charleston is set to be sentenced on Nov. 3 in Coles County Circuit Court in connection with the fatal stabbing of Cheleta Branch, 50. He will remain in the county jail's custody in the meantime.

Judge Mitchell Shick scheduled this sentencing hearing after a jury returned a guilty verdict against Fairchild late Friday afternoon at the conclusion of a weeklong trial.

"It was a long case but a hard-fought case," Coles County State's Attorney Jesse Danley said Monday of court proceedings that began after Fairchild's arrest on June 25, 2021. Danley thanked Charleston police for their investigative work on this case.

Fairchild had pleaded not guilty on July 28, 2022 after the judge found him mentally fit to stand trial following treatment through the Illinois Department of Human Services and psychiatric evaluations. The jury affirmed this mental fitness finding on Aug. 2, 2023.

Danley said insanity was not claimed by Fairchild in court, but mental illness was described by his defense. Danley said he contended that it was hatred, not mental illness, that motivated Fairchild to kill Branch.

According to court documents, Fairchild told police Branch wanted him to kill her while the two were involved in the heated argument that occurred as many as two months before her body was discovered.

"Fairchild said it was clear to him that she wanted him to kill her because she had a look in her her eyes like he has seen in the movies of someone wanting to die," Charleston police wrote in a sworn affidavit.

Branch's body was discovered by police on June 25 during a well-being check prompted by a call from her mother stating the two hadn't spoken in over a month.

The affidavit said that during a search of the home, police discovered Branchs body after they noticed a pile of clothes swarmed by several insects. The officers removed layers of clothing, sleeping bags, towels, sheets, and a tarp before discovering the body of the victim.

The affidavit said Fairchild confessed to killing Branch by stabbing her repeatedly in the throat, head and neck. Fairchild reportedly told police she had attacked him with a knife first as a verbal argument between the two of them escalated.

Defense motions filed in August 2022 stated that Fairchild has a "severe chronic mental illness that since adolescence has increased in both its chronicity and severity" and that the illness cannot be cured and was not controlled at the time of the police interview.

Public Defender Duane Deters, who led Fairchild's defense team, was not available for comment. Fairchild has been advised in court that he could face a sentence of 20-60 years in prison on the murder charge, followed by three years of mandatory supervised release.
DECATUR  The Decatur City Council has council approved more than $2.4 million in local street improvements funded via state and local motor fuel tax revenue.

The work is expected to be complete by May.

Here's some of the work that will be done:

Mill and overlays of Franklin Street between Eighth Drive and Franklin Frontage Road; Airport Plaza Drive between Maryland Street and U.S. 36; Maryland Street between Airport Plaza Drive and Mount Zion Road; 27th Street between Garfield Avenue and Kile Street; Northland Drive between Ohio Drive and Main Street; Garfield Avenue between 22nd Street and 27th Street; Forest Avenue between Dennis Avenue and Fairview Avenue; Decatur Street between Union Street and Main Street; Faries Parkway between the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and just north of city limits.

Crack filing on Fitzgerald Road between Lost Bridge Road and 3597 E. Fitzgerald Road; Airport Road between the U.S. 36 and Illinois 105; First Drive between Main Street and Franklin Street Road; and Mound Road between Woodford Street and Illinois 48.

The history of how roads are built, and what future construction may look like The history of how roads are built, and what future construction may look like Past: The foundation of the road systems Present: An enormous investment in resources Future: Toward more innovative infrastructure
Science Alert reports about 20% of all vehicle crashes are caused by fatigue. A new study published in Nature and Science of Sleep found if you had less than five hours of sleep the night before, you are just as likely to have a crash as if you were over the alcohol limit. Veuer's Elizabet
DECATUR  Janet Crisup takes her dog Lulu to Fido Fields almost every day.

There Crisup and Lulu meet up with human and canine friends alike and enjoy some time outdoors at the off-leash dog park located in Decaturs Fairview Park.

This week, Crisup expects to be at their beloved park less than usual.

I dont think we stay as long when its hot like this, she said Tuesday.

Crisup is one of many Decatur residents and workers adjusting their regular routines in anticipation of the hottest temperatures of the summer.

"Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all look to be brutally hot across Central Illinois as the worst heat so far this summer moves in, Herald & Review Meteorologist Matt Holiner said.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln on Tuesday afternoon extended its excessive heat warning for much of Central Illinois another day, through 10 p.m. Friday. Heat index values reaching near 115 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, especially for anyone working outside, the service said in a news release this week.

Such high temperatures mean most of Crisups fellow park-goers expect to be inside for much of the week.

Sometimes Ill stay out here about two to three hours (a day), said James Jaspers.

Jaspers lasted around two hours on Tuesday morning but said he didnt expect to return to the park until Friday.

Dennis Martin woke up early on Tuesday to take his dog for a walk around 7 a.m. By mid-morning, he said, it was already too hot to play outside.

Crisup, Jaspers and Martin agreed that the best and safest option for caring for pets in the high heat and humidity is to just let them remain inside in the air conditioning until the weather cools down again.

LIKE A SAUNA

For some people, just staying inside isnt an option.

Bobby Aminsalehi said that while his dog will spend the latter half of the week relaxing in the air conditioning, Aminsalehi will be outside working in the heat.

It gets really hot, said Aminsalehi, a forklift driver, of his workplace.

They are doing one thing nice for us on these really hot days, he said. Every hour they allow us to come inside the office in the air conditioning. They have cold water for us, and electrolyte popsicles. So every hour, you got to come in and cool off for 10 minutes, and then you can go back out again.

Aminsalehi said hes working with smaller forklifts this week, meaning hell be inside a building with fans and shade instead of out in the yard working with larger, diesel forklifts.

Behind me I have this giant diesel engine, he said of the large forklifts. And its just like a sauna. Ill come out there, make a few moves, and then Ill have to come inside. It gets kind of tough.

Dangers posed by the heat wave were also on the minds of city leaders. Councilman David Horn suggested at Mondays city council meeting that the city adopt a policy of halting water shutoffs when an excessive heat warning has been issued by the National Weather Service.

Under Illinois law, public utilities cannot shut off electricity or gas service if it is the main source of cooling in a residential unit when the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures to be more than 95 degrees within the following 24 hours. No such provision exists for water.

Excessive heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related deaths, Horn said. And heat-related deaths are preventable and our city can do more to mitigate heat-related impacts.

Council members seemed open to the suggestion, with Councilman Ed Culp calling it a pretty good idea. However, Horn made the suggestion without first consulting the body.

Councilwoman Lisa Gregory told him that she would prefer that you share your ideas with the city manager and that this council see a fully-fleshed out proposal before making any commitment.

STAYING SAFE

Central Illinois residents should avoid outdoor activity during the afternoon hours as much as possible until Friday, Holiner said.

Those who have to be out for work or other necessary purposes should wear light-colored, lightweight and loose-fitting clothing to help stay cool. If possible, strenuous activities should be rescheduled to the early morning or the evening.

All people should be drinking plenty of fluids, staying out of the sun and spending the hottest hours of the day  10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  in air conditioning, the weather service said. Additionally, people should check up on relatives and neighbors and be sure to never leave young children or pets unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.

For employees and workers alike, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shade and/or air conditioning.

Any person overcome by heat should move to a cool and shaded location, the weather service said.

People should also know the sounds of heat stroke and when to call 911, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Exposure to extreme heat can cause serious health complications, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke, said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra in a news release. With dangerously high temperatures and humidity in the forecast, I urge everyone to take precautions and protect themselves and their families from overheating and heat related illnesses. This is especially important for very young children, people who are pregnant and those who are older or have chronic health conditions.

Symptoms of heatstroke to look out for include:

Body temperature over 103 degrees Fahrenheit;

Difficulty breathing;

An elevated heart rate;

Skin hot to the touch; and

Feeling dizziness, nausea or disorientation.

If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, IDPH said, call 911 immediately. Anyone awaiting medical assistance should use ice packs on the neck and underarms and drink cool water to lower their body temperature.

Other helpful heatstroke and heat exhaustion prevention tips from IDPH include drinking water often and not waiting until you feel thirsty, avoiding dehydrating beverages like those that contain caffeine or alcohol, wearing wide-brimmed hats in the sun and simply slowing down.

For any individuals whose air conditioners are having trouble cooling down their homes in the excessive heat, Ameren recommends the following:

Turn off incandescent lights;

Save heat-producing tasks for the evening;

Avoid setting your thermostat lower than your target temperature;

Seal windows and doors with weatherstripping and caulk; and

Close blinds and curtains.

Amerens energy grid is strong and reliable, the power company said in a news release Tuesday. If extreme heat leads to power outages, Ameren said it has crews ready to safely restore service.

The weather will start to cool down after Thursday, Holiner said.

A cold front will finally arrive in the late afternoon Friday, but high temperatures will likely still reach the low 90s with feels like temperatures near 100 degrees, he said. High temperatures will return to normal for this time of year (low to mid 80s) for Saturday and Sunday.

Staff writer Brenden Moore contributed to this report.
Public arguments in favor of removing books

A total of 33 people came to speak at the public hearing and public comments. Here are some quotes in favor of removing the books.

"I am not here on the behalf on an author ... I'm here to be a voice for the children because they don't have a voice. Why I'm here tonight is because there are explicit materials that are disturbing for me, a 50-year-old woman, to read. And when you read this book, you have to remember that you're a mature adult. Our children are young, immature, and they do not even have the maturity level to understand what sex is, much less some of this material in some of these books."

Speaker Kelli Moore

"I want us to get the terminology correct. This is not about banning books, censorship (or) restricting someone's rights. This is about taxpayer-funded ideologies and taxpayer-funded pornography in the school system. The idea, somehow, that banning books is what this about, that's a false narrative. ... (The concern should be that) with these books in the school system, there is going to be a sexual assault. And some smart, savvy parent is going to sue the school board for not removing the books (depicting sexual assault) from the school system. There's a whole lot more chance of that than somebody coming against the board for doing what is right (removing the explicit books)."

Speaker Mark Ivey

"(My adult children) didn't have to deal with the issue of these books like my 5-year-old granddaughter and my 18-month-old grandson will have to deal with. I'm here fighting for them today, for the moral obligation that is due to these two children."

Speaker David Goforth
As she settles into her new position as Hickorys school superintendent, Jennifer Griffin is also settling into a new office. The freshly painted, off-white walls are not yet decorated but bookshelves and end tables are gradually filling with Griffins things.

On a bookshelf, two unopened Funko Pop figures act as bookends. On the left is a figure of Tupac Shakur, a popular rapper in the 90s. On the right is another popular 90s rapper, Biggie Smalls. Griffin said there is debate in her family about which rapper is the best.

Theyre conversation starters, Griffin said. I had them in my office (when I was a principal). The kids liked those Pop figures, so it would start a conversation at least. And sometimes if somebody is upset and they see something like that in your office, they calm down and have a different kind of conversation. Then you can talk about why theyre really there.

Sitting among photos of school events and family is a canvas painted royal blue. Black Kanji text is painted in the center. The painting is a gift from Griffins son, 20-year-old Waker Griffin, who is fluent in Japanese and lived in the country for a short time. Griffin said the text means kind person.

Griffin beamed as she spoke of her sons. The youngest, 16-year-old Sam Griffin, is a gifted musician, Griffin said. Sam has played cello since third grade, Griffin said. He also picked up guitar and most recently taught himself to play the keyboard.

Griffin took the oath of office at a work session held by Hickory Public Schools earlier this month. She has a $150,000 base salary. Griffin has a long history with the district, having worked as a principal for 14 years, first at Oakwood Elementary School and then at Grandview Middle School, according to a July news release from the district. The news release said she also served Hickory Public Schools as a K-12 curriculum specialist.

For the last two years, Griffin worked as the middle school and fine arts director at Catawba County Schools, according to the news release. The night the board of education announced her as the new superintendent, Griffin said returning to Hickory Public Schools felt like coming home.

Griffin has an extensive background in education and earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Western Carolina University, according to the news release.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why did you choose a career in education?

Ive always wanted to make a difference in the world, and I felt like these are my talents. God gave me gifts in this area, so I want to use those. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was 3 or 4 years old. I was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. Its just a passion of mine.

A meteorologist?

If it was free, I would still take classes because I love learning from other people and hearing their thoughts about things. I think it helps me grow as a person to hear other peoples perspectives, and I just find joy in all of that. I enjoy learning. I love to learn about education, leadership and change leadership. I think those are passions of mine. If I were not in the education field, I would probably like to be a meteorologist. I would like to take some classes in that area. Thats a little-known fact.

What values did your parents instill in you?

My mother worked for the department of social services, and as a child I spent a lot of time in her office. She taught me that we cant always help people, but if we can, we should. So that is one of the things I keep in mind all the time. I want to be a helper. My grandparents were Depression-era folks, and they taught me that an education is something that cannot be taken away from you. So, when you put those two things together, you can see how my life path was influenced heavily by them.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Union County, in Monroe.

When did you come to Hickory, and why did you stay?

We moved to this area in 2004. It was a relocation for work. This is such a great place to raise children. There are so many great things in the community. Youve got the YMCA, with all kinds of programs for your children, great youth groups and all the things that families need to support them. When youre raising children, its not easy. And so we just found what we needed. It felt like home, so we didnt want to leave.

What is your family makeup now?

Its me and my boys, and we have two dogs. Bentley is a boxer and then we have a rescue named Katie.

What motivates you?

From a work perspective, when you have a relationship with the people that you work with and relationships with students and families, it motivates me to see when theyre growing. When theyre having joy and learning and when they get connected to the school. When you can tell that youre making a positive difference in their lives. That is exciting. And coming back here and seeing students Ive had who have matured. Its great to see that those students have persevered and theyre seeing success, so those things keep me going.

Do you have hobbies?

I love to run, and I love to go to the gym. I get up at 4 in the morning, three days a week, and go to the gym. That is, for me, a way that I can take care of myself. These jobs are stressful. I encourage my employees to do whatever it is that is a stress-relief for them.

What is the best advice you have received, and who gave it?

I got some advice recently that I think is great for me and my new role. I had a colleague meet with me, and, you know, Im busy and I like to get things done, and Ive come here at this time of the school year. So, he looked at me and he said, Breathe. And I thought, Yes, I need to breathe. That was advice from Jeff Hodakowski. He was a principal a long time and now hes the director of testing and accountability.

How do you want to be remembered?

As somebody who made a difference and somebody who cares. Somebody who tried.
" " Rosa Parks is fingerprinted by police. Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images

The Supreme Court had struck down the "separate but equal" precedent of Plessy v. Ferguson with their decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, making segregation illegal. But were states actually following orders?

Many people know the story of Rosa Parks. On Thursday, Dec. 1, 1955, after a long day at work as a seamstress, Mrs. Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery to go home. She sat in the fifth row with three other Blacks, the farthest row forward Blacks could legally occupy. As the bus filled up along the route, however, more whites entered the bus. Eventually, one white was left standing. According to Alabama law during the '50s, Blacks and whites couldn't occupy the same row. When told by the bus driver to give up the row to the white man, three of the Blacks left for the back of the bus, but Mrs. Parks simply refused. She was quickly arrested and sent to jail.

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Rosa Parks remains one of the most iconic figures of the civil rights movement, and the steps she took changed American life. But her story isn't as improvised as it sounds. In fact, Mrs. Parks' arrest, which led to the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott, was planned from the beginning. Parks was an NAACP member with interest in the segregation situation, and she had completed a workshop on civil disobedience before she was arrested. After hearing of the Supreme Court's decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, Jo Ann Robinson, a Black woman and professor at the all-Black Alabama State College, had decided the time was right to test the law.

After the arrest, Robinson and other prominent ministers and civil rights activists, including E.D. Nixon and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., gathered to discuss a boycott. Handouts were made urging Blacks to stay off of buses the following Monday.

The first day of the boycott was a huge success, with empty buses rolling through the streets of Montgomery. The group met again that night and quickly formed an organization, calling themselves the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and electing King as president. After some discussion, the MIA agreed to continue the boycott, which would last for a little more than a year.

" " Rosa Parks, center, one of the most famous figures from the civil rights movement, helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Don Cravens/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Whites tried every way possible to break up the boycott. First they tried nonviolent means. When Black cab services began undercharging other Blacks with a 10-cent fare, the city announced that any cab charging less than 45 cents would be stopped. Companies began canceling insurance polices on cars used for carpooling. Mrs. Parks was arrested for not paying her fine, and King was arrested several times, usually for minor trafficoffenses. When these tactics didn't work, whites then turned to violence. Bombs went off in Black homes, King's house was shot at and the Ku Klux Klan marched around to protest.

The city was beginning to suffer financially from the boycott, and news of the case made its way to the Supreme Court, which had recently declared segregation illegal in Brown v. Board of Education. The Court ordered full integration in November 1956, and by Dec. 21 of that year, Blacks ended the boycott and started riding the buses again.

The boycott marked the first important involvement of the public in the civil rights movement and the emergence of Martin Luther King Jr. After success in Montgomery and gaining national attention, King soon became a major leader of the movement, moving to Atlanta and starting the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
" " "Bitter Memory of Childhood," by Ukrainian sculptor Petro Drozdovsky, stands in front of the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv. It is a tribute to the memory of the 3.5 million children killed by starvation during the Holodomor genocide of 19321933, as well as of those who survived, but had no childhood. Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

As the world watches Russian leader Vladimir Putin's barbaric attempt to conquer Ukraine, a roughly Texas-sized nation along the Black Sea to the west of Russia, many are not aware of another brutal crime against Ukraine that happened roughly 90 years ago. Known as the Holodomor, a term derived from the Ukrainian words for hunger ("holod") and extermination ("mor"), it was a time from 1932 to 1933 when millions of Ukrainians were starved to death by the regime of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, a figure for whom Putin has expressed admiration.

"The Holodomor was a consequence of Stalin's forced collectivization policy, which was launched in 1929 with the aim of revolutionizing the countryside to convert it to what was perceived to be a better form of agriculture," according to Stephen Norris, a professor of history and director of the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Ukraine was seen as a place where that goal could be accomplished quickly. And to further communist ideology, Stalin's policy also aimed to eliminate "kulaks," the class of well-to-do peasant farmers that the Soviet regime saw as enemies of the people.

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But collective farming didn't work out well, and combined with bad weather, harvests suffered and famine began spreading across the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. But the Ukrainians, who had sought unsuccessfully to become independent after the collapse of the Russian empire before being taken over by the Bolsheviks and absorbed into the USSR in 1922, bore the brunt of the resulting famine. Stalin's regime used the famine as an opportunity to punish them. In December 1932, the regime ordered Communist party officials in Ukraine to produce more food for the rest of the USSR, even if they had to take it by force from farmers.

Teams of crop-confiscating thugs were sent to roam through Ukraine and take all the grain, vegetables, and even farm animals they could find, as this report on the Holodomor compiled by a U.S. congressional commission in 1988 lays out in grisly detail. They went into farmers' homes and tore apart their stoves and even dug into the floors and surrounding outside grounds to make sure they weren't holding back anything. Anyone who was caught hiding food, or stealing it, was severely punished. Even taking a few beets from a collective farm could earn a person a seven-year prison sentence. Two young boys were beaten and suffocated for the crime of hiding fish and frogs they had caught. At the same time, Ukraine's borders were sealed to keep Ukrainians from fleeing in search of food.

" " Peasants lie starving on the streets of Kharkiv, Ukraine in 1933. Library of Congress

As survivors recalled in testimony to the commission, people grew so desperate that they ate leaves, weeds, old potato and beet peelings, and even killed and ate dogs and cats. Emaciated people who had grown too weak to move died in their homes and collapsed in the streets.

The commission report concluded that Stalin and his inner circle knew the suffering that his government's policies were causing. It didn't matter. "Crushing the Ukrainian peasantry made it possible for Stalin to curtail Ukrainian national self-assertion," the commission report noted.

According to Norris, the Stalin regime's decree also contained other measures to subjugate Ukraine, such as ordering local officials to stop using the Ukrainian language, so that "the crisis of collectivization became specifically directed at Ukrainians and at Ukrainian nationhood."
More than 90pc of STEM roles in Australia ask for a degree. Photo: Shutterstock

Employers bias towards degree-qualified workers is choking Australias ICT skills pipeline, according to a new report that found embracing workers trained through non-degree pathways would boost productivity and unlock 31,000 workers from diverse backgrounds.

Lingering barriers to tech jobs are preventing women, those with disabilities and First Nations Australians from moving into technology roles, Accentures Break Down the Barriers report found.

Just 1 in 3 university students in STEM courses are women, the report notes, with 1 in 20 having a disability and 1 in 100 identifying as First Nations Australians  leaving a total pool of around 1.18 million workers  including 420,000 unemployed and 760,000 underemployed workers  whose skills are being ignored by outdated hiring policies.

Australias recruitment market is fostering antiquated ideas about what skills make candidates suitable, the report says, noting that 90 per cent of currently advertised Australian STEM roles require university qualifications  well behind the US and Canada, where just 60 per cent of jobs require degrees.

Lets catch up to other economies and focus on skills, not pedigree, the report recommends, by expanding talent supply.

Employers could recruit 31,000 workers from diverse backgrounds by 2030 if they embraced a policy of hiring at least 20 per cent of early career hires from such pathways, Accenture predicted, while advising companies to implement inclusive skill-based hiring, creating inclusive places to land, making skills-based hiring business as usual, and piloting alternative pathway recruitment for in-demand roles.

We have a real opportunity to make a difference, Accenture Australia managing director Tenielle Colussi said as the report was released.

By removing barriers and ensuring job opportunities are open to those who have alternate pathway experience, or offering programs that include alternate pathways, were not only solving for a talent gap  but creating exciting and fulfilling opportunities for amazing individuals who would have remained hidden in the workforce.

Parents, teachers are helping drag the chain

The report is the latest addition to a growing body of research that continues to find ICT and STEM recruiters are struggling to bulk up the future workforce, with gender diversity still lopsided and poor training creating a shortfall of digital workers.

Even as graduates explore new avenues for career development  for example, fast-tracking their careers in well-resourced global US firms  government bodies have been tweaking policies to help, for example by pushing the university sector to engage disadvantaged students, extending the period international IT graduates can stay in Australia, and boosting the number of fee-free TAFE and VET places from 180,000 to 480,000 next year.

A more flexible recruitment strategy can deliver a host of benefits for underrepresented groups, including speed to competency, tailored support, practical integrated learning, flexible experience, industry connections, and courses that pay students to learn.

Truly opening up the skills pipeline in ICT and other industries, the report notes, will require the ICT and other sectors to embrace alternative career development pathways  including vocational training through VET courses, microcredentials, intensive pre-work bootcamps, upskilling programs that lead to placement, traineeships, apprenticeships, cadetships, and adjacent roles that provide opportunities for workers to consolidate and progress their skills.

This isnt just about corporate responsibility, said Steven Worrall, managing director of report sponsor Microsoft Australia, noting the incredible opportunity that remains untapped in our diverse workforce.

Its a strategy proven to yield significant economic and social returns.

For all the industry and government efforts to date, however, schools, teachers, and parents also bear blame for pushing talented students towards university when they might be happier pursuing highly sought-after vocational training.

Almost half of the jobs of the future will come from the VET sector, Minister for Skills and Training Brendan OConnor recently told ABC News Breakfast, [but] historically, theres been a somewhat wrong view that its the lesser pathway to employment.

We need to make sure that people understand there are great opportunities to have a great job, secure employment, and good wages. We really do need to elevate the status of non-university training pathways such as VET.

Yet doing so will, among other things, require teachers and parents to allow young people to focus on what theyd like to do, OConnor said  warning that arbitrarily pushing students towards university because they got good Year 12 results really is not helpful to the student, the worker, [or] our economy, which equally relies on the VET sector as it does with higher education.

The best work you can possibly do is something that is in demand and something youre passionate about.
In recent weeks, North Carolina has experienced a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, highlighting the ongoing presence of the virus and the need for sustained preventative actions.

Rowan County is also seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases reminding us all that we must continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of this virus to others, especially to vulnerable populations.

The mission of public health is to promote prevention efforts before large portions of the population become sick. Communities often see a pattern of increased illness during the first weeks back to school, the fall, and winter as we see more time spent indoors.

Instead of relying on test results to track COVID-19, we are now able to monitor the virus through wastewater monitoring systems. These systems analyze sewage samples for traces of the viruss genetic material providing valuable insights into the prevalence of the virus at a population level. Rowan County continues to have two sites for reviewing wastewater information as a way to monitor COVID-19. Wastewater surveillance has emerged as a powerful and innovative tool in the fight against COVID-19, providing critical insights into the prevalence and spread of the virus within communities.

Recommended preventive measures

Residents are urged to remain vigilant and continue practicing recommended preventive measures:

Monitor your health: Pay attention to any symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, and body aches. Seek medical attention if you experience severe symptoms.

Hand hygiene: Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after being in public places, touching surfaces, or coughing/sneezing. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Avoid close contact: Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you are feeling unwell, stay at home to prevent spreading the virus to others.

Respiratory etiquette: Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your elbow when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of tissues properly and wash your hands immediately.

Mask-wearing: Wear a mask, especially in crowded or indoor settings. Masks help prevent the spread of respiratory droplets that may contain the virus.

Quarantine and isolation: If you test positive for COVID-19, follow the recommended quarantine and isolation guidelines to prevent further spread of the virus. Isolate for five days and then continuing wearing a mask when around other for an additional five days.

Vaccination: COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Call the Rowan County Public Health Department or your primary care provider to receive your COVID-19 vaccine.

In this critical juncture, Rowan County Public Health is committed to using innovative approaches to combat the challenges posed by COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. Our goal is to keep the community up to date so that you can make informed decisions for your health.
ALBEMARLE  Kinsleigh Elizabeth Troutman of Mt. Pleasant competed in the Americas United States National Pageant and won the title of Little Miss Americas United States. She also garnered multiple side awards: interview, runway, black and white photogenic and Little Miss Best All Around.

Kinsleigh will be representing the National Title over the course of the next year. Her responsibilities will include making appearances and promoting the organizations core value of Pearls and Wisdom.

The Pearls of Wisdom are Passionate, Pivotal, Personable, Positive, and Powerful. All of these values align with Kinsleighs platform  Color Magic Into Healing where she collects coloring books and crayons and donates them to Childrens Hospitals around the state.

Kinsleighs goal is to make the hospital not such a scary place for children. She wants to put a smile on their faces and give them something fun and bright to think about.

The perfect partnership between Kinsleigh and Americas United States will certainly bring the opportunity to donate to more hospitals all over the Country. Americas United States has developed the belief of crowns with opportunities and encourages their title holders to be an active, positive role model not only within their communities but across the United States.

Americas United States and TMC Productions is committed to helping their title holders support organizations and charities close to their heart as they give back to their community. With this prestigious title, Kinsleigh will be given access to build on her public speaking skills, poise, and cultural appreciation.

Any business, organization, or private individual that is interested in becoming a sponsor of the Americas United States pageant should contact TMC Productions at TMCProduction1@yahoo.com.
SALISBURY  Students enrolled in art and graphic design programs of study at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College have had their work recognized and displayed locally, statewide and nationally.

We are extremely proud of our students and are excited to see their excellent work recognized by those outside the College, said Dr. Carol Spalding, president at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

Throughout the fall 2022 semester and into the spring 2023 semester, students have racked up several awards and recognition, including:

Two Advertising & Graphic Design students, Bethany Moore and Khettie Chanthaheuang, had their designs selected as the front and back covers for the North Carolina Community College System Conference program booklet in October 2022.

Advertising & Graphic Design student Gary Hoyt was selected to create work for a traveling public art exhibition through the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

Associate in Fine Arts student Celena Amburgey was awarded multiple residencies this academic year, most recently was a residency at The Truro Center of the Arts at Edgewood Farm. Amburgey also had work selected for the Cabarrus Art Guild Fall Juried Exhibition at Clearwater Arts Center and Studios. Her work also has been included in several online exhibitions throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The Colleges Department of Art and Design invited Salisbury residents to participate in the creation of a community abstract mural project in December. Participants created an abstract mural with their hands rather than brushes. Since each persons handprint is unique, the project acknowledged individuals and their identities. Visual arts instructor Nieko McDaniel spearheaded the project, which was funded by a Student Government Association project grant. The artwork and documentation is being displayed at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

Associate in Fine Arts student Tyler Wagoner had two photographs selected for the Emerging Vision: Student Exhibition at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center and won the Best in Show Award.

Art & Design students Isaiah Neal and David Duran-Romero had work on display in A Fighting Chance, an exhibition highlighting artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC+) in recognition of Black History Month. Associate in Arts student Ashley Briggs also had work in A Fighting Chance. BIPOC+ artists have traditionally been underrepresented in United States galleries and museums. This exhibitions intention is to share The Bridge Gallery space and elevate underrepresented voices and experiences in the community. For more information, visit www.rccc.edu/finearts/thebridgegallery.

Advertising and Graphic Design students Manuel Cuevas Nunez and Carolina Vergason were winners of Rowan-Cabarrus Community Colleges 2022 Voter Sticker Design Contest.

Art & Design Students Omolara Fodeke, Elizabeth Avalos, Dorothy Brady, Morgan Hesse, Jolie Culbreth and Briana Richer participated in an invitational exhibition titled Womens Work in The Bridge Gallery.

Additionally, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College hosted a juried Fall Art Exhibition in October 2022 at Rail Walk Studios and Gallery, and several students earned awards for outstanding work including:

Associate in Fine Arts student Lexi Cantor earned The Presidents Choice Award.

Advertising and Graphic Design students Bethany Moore and Aniya Williams received honorable mentions. Casey Earnhardt also received an honorable mention.

This list shows that there is no shortage of talent among the students enrolled in the art and design programs at Rowan-Cabarrus, said Jenn Gardner Selby, chair of the Rowan-Cabarrus Department of Art & Design. We know that our students are exceptional artists and designers. Were thrilled that so many others are recognizing it, too!

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Associate in Fine Arts graduates have a high success rate, with past graduates transferring to top art and design universities in North Carolina and across the United States.
Despite national conversations around preventing sexual harassment, it remains too pervasive in our workplaces.

A recent lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Arkansas restaurant Simply Slims provides allegations that, if true, expose a textbook example of failing to prevent and stop sexual harassment.

According to the federal lawsuit, the restaurant hired a female employee, Ms. Jackson, in February 2022. Two months later, manager Cameron Wiley allegedly told her using a vulgarity that breasts were his favorite part of a womans body, and that her backside looked good in leggings. She asked him not to talk to her in that manner, and he responded to that request, referring to women as the b-word, and he also made a sexual reference about her lips.

The employee immediately reported these comments to the general manager and told him she did not want to work on the same shift as Wiley.

The general manager failed to report the complaint to the district manager or human resources, and allegedly did nothing about the complaint. When Ms. Jackson elevated the complaint to the general manager, she was placed on leave and removed from the schedule, which the company contended later was a miscommunication. When it invited her to return to work, the company shared that it could not substantiate that the comments were made and could not assure the employee she would not work with Wiley.

While the companys investigation concluded that the comments were not made to Ms. Jackson, the company required Wiley to sign a statement titled Documentation of Unprofessional Conduct.

Ms. Jackson also learned that the manager allegedly assaulted another employee. The lawsuit alleges, As a result of the sexual harassment from Wiley and because Defendant would continue to require Jackson to work with Wiley, the harasser, and allow Wiley to continue to supervise Jackson, her working conditions became so intolerable, Defendant forced Jackson to resign.

The allegations by other women regarding Wileys conduct are equally egregious.

According to the EEOC, The shift manager would brush up against the girls intentionally, rub their shoulders and poke them in inappropriate places. He fondled the breast of one young female, touched one on her bottom and placed his hand on the inner thigh of another. Eventually, the sexual harassment forced several of the employees to resign.

The employees made complaints, and Wiley was simply told by management that he could not touch employees even if he thought it was innocent. The employees were also told more men would be hired and their hours would be cut.

As evidence of a recipe for harassment to flourish, the company, according to the lawsuit:

 did not review the harassment policy with the employees;

 used a computer-based system to train new employees (and does not provide any one-on-one training of its policies);

 did not provide the employees with any sexual harassment training during their employment;

 failed to maintain an effective sexual harassment policy; and

 failed to take appropriate remedial action to protect employees from sexual harassment.

Employers must actively take steps to prevent harassment with effective and well-communicated policies and training. Managers must be trained to know their obligations upon being made aware of allegations of harassment.

Once made aware of harassment allegations, employers must take steps to stop the harassment, and, in most cases, the employee engaging in the harassment should be terminated. Conduct such as sexual remarks and touching cannot be tolerated in the slightest. This case is particularly egregious since it involves harassment toward a worker as young as 16. Nothing should be more important than protecting workers and making sure they have a safe, civil and respectful workplace.
A book about the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence published in April has raised again the question of whether on May 20, 1775, a group of county residents adopted such a resolution more than a year before the American Declaration.

Whos Your Founding Father? One Mans Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence was written by David Fleming, a writer and commentator for ESPN. He lives in Davidson.

The publishers notes for Flemings book assert, A centuries-old secret document might unravel the origin story of America and reveal the intellectual crime of the millennia in this epic dive into our countrys history to discover the first, true Declaration of Independence ... Composed during a clandestine all-night session inside the Charlotte courthouse, the Mecklenburg Declaration was signed on May 20, 1775  a date thats still featured on the state flag of North Carolina. A year later, in 1776, Jefferson is believed to have plagiarized the MecDec [a shorthand term for the Mecklenburg Declaration], while composing his own, slightly more famous, Declaration and then, as he was wont to do, covered the whole thing up.

A book about the MecDec, The First American Declaration of Independence? The Disputed History of the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775, written by Charlotte attorney Scott Syfert and published in 2014, takes an evenhanded approach to the question of the genuineness of the MecDec. Fleming, on the other hand, is an unambiguous advocate.

The controversy about the MecDecs genuineness has a long history. Not much was said or written about it and there was little argument until 1819 when a Raleigh newspaper and then newspapers throughout the country published a story with the recollected text of the MecDec. This launched a nationwide firestorm of interest and argument about the Mecklenburg Declaration. Former President John Adams wrote former President Thomas Jefferson suggesting that the Mecklenburg Declaration had been the source for Jeffersons words in the American Declaration. Jefferson responded that the Mecklenburg version was spurious.

Fleming argues that the Mecklenburg version was a genuine declaration of independence and that Jefferson copied parts of it for use in the version that he drafted and which became the American Declaration of Independence.

A big problem for Fleming, maybe an insurmountable one, is that no early copies of the Mecklenburg Declaration are available, the original and early copies having been burned or lost over the years. The copies available are largely reconstructions based on memories.

However, as he points out, there is general agreement that a complete text of the Mecklenburg document was published in an edition of a contemporary newspaper, the Cape Fear Mercury. That copy would show, according to Fleming, the complete text of the original 1775 Mecklenburg Declaration and thus prove that similar language in Jeffersons 1776 declaration was plagiarized.

Records show that colonial Governor Josiah Martin sent a copy of the newspaper to authorities in Britain to show how far the colonists rebellion had progressed. Martins message and the newspaper had been placed in the British archives.

In a gripping part of his book, Fleming describes his efforts to see that copy. He tells about his recent visit to the British Archives where he found a file that contained copies of the Cape Fear Mercury. But there was a note that the edition containing the text of the Mecklenburg document had been taken in 1837 by the American ambassador, Andrew Stevenson, and was never returned to the archives.

Stevenson, a Virginian and admirer of Thomas Jefferson, had served as speaker of the House of Representatives. Fleming thinks that Stevenson, believing that MecDecs true text in the newspaper would harm Jeffersons reputation, disposed of it.

Disappointed, of course, that his key evidence was missing, Fleming is undaunted. In conclusion, he writes about plans for the celebration of MecDecs semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary in 2025.

NOTE TO READERS:

In working with the MecDec again I have come to two conclusions:

First: There were no actual signers of MecDec. After the resolutions were passed, I doubt they had time to collect signatures. It took more than a month after the American Declaration of Independence was adopted to prepare a formal signing document and collect signatures. The list of signatures on modern copies of MecDec was probably based on the notes and memories of those preparing the copies.

Second: The term Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was not originally a part of the resolutions adopted on May 20. The identifying heading or caption was added later to the various copies. The working title of the American Declaration was A Declaration of the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress assembled. I think that the term Declaration of Independence was first used in the final of the American Declaration.
The new VMware Private AI Foundation With NVIDIA enables enterprises to prepare their Businesses for Generative AI.

Speaking at the opening keynote of VMwares Explore conference in Las Vegas today, Vmware CEO Raghu Raghuram and NVIDIAs CEO Jensen Huang jointly announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to ready the hundreds of thousands of enterprises that run on VMwares cloud infrastructure for the era of generative AI.

Generative AI and multi-cloud are the perfect match, said Raghu Raghuram, CEO, VMware. Customer data is everywhere  in their data centers, at the edge, and in their clouds. Together with NVIDIA, well empower enterprises to run their generative AI workloads adjacent to their data with confidence while addressing their corporate data privacy, security and control concerns.

Enterprises everywhere are racing to integrate generative AI into their businesses, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA added. Our expanded collaboration with VMware will offer hundreds of thousands of customers  across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and more  the full-stack software and computing they need to unlock the potential of generative AI using custom applications built with their own data.

McKinsey estimates that generative AI could add up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy.

VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA will enable enterprises to harness this capability, customizing large language models; producing more secure and private models for their internal usage; and offering generative AI as a service to their users; and, more securely running inference workloads at scale.

The platform is expected to include integrated AI tools to empower enterprises to run proven models trained on their private data in a cost-efficient manner. To be built on VMware Cloud Foundation and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, according to the two companies, the platforms expected benefits will include:

 Privacy  Will enable customers to easily run AI services adjacent to wherever they have data with an architecture that preserves data privacy and enable secure access.

 Choice  Enterprises will have a wide choice in where to build and run their models  from NVIDIA NeMo to Llama 2 and beyond  including leading OEM hardware configurations and, in the future, on public cloud and service provider offerings.

 Performance  Running on NVIDIA accelerated infrastructure will deliver performance equal to and even exceeding bare metal in some use cases, as proven in recent industry benchmarks.

 Data-Center Scale  GPU scaling optimizations in virtualized environments will enable AI workloads to scale across up to 16 vGPUs/GPUs in a single virtual machine and across multiple nodes to speed generative AI model fine-tuning and deployment.

 Lower Cost  Will maximize usage of all compute resources across, GPUs, DPUs and CPUs to lower overall costs, and create a pooled resource environment that can be shared efficiently across teams.

 Accelerated Storage  VMware vSAN Express Storage Architecture will provide performance-optimized NVMe storage and supports GPUDirect storage over RDMA, allowing for direct I/O transfer from storage to GPUs without CPU involvement.

 Accelerated Networking  Deep integration between vSphere and NVIDIA NVSwitch technology will further enable multi-GPU models to execute without inter-GPU bottlenecks.

 Rapid Deployment and Time to Value  vSphere Deep Learning VM images and image repository will enable fast prototyping capabilities by offering a stable turnkey solution image that includes frameworks and performance-optimized libraries pre-installed.

VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA will be supported by Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo  which will be among the first to offer systems that supercharge enterprise LLM customization and inference workloads with NVIDIA L40S GPUs, NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs and NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNICs.

The NVIDIA L40S GPU enables up to 1.2x more generative AI inference performance and up to 1.7x more training performance compared with the NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU.

Also announced was the availability of fully tested reference architectures with either two, four or eight GPU models ready for customer test projects.

It would still seem however that most business applications for this kind of AI are little more than souped-up help desk systems where the AI is used to distil and extract from existing knowledge bases within the organisation.

At an event pre-briefing, we asked about this and an NVIDIA representative said, I think that there's all of these use cases across industries and the possibilities are pretty endless. I'll be honest, like when we look at this, we're looking at generative AI to help software developers write code. We're looking at generative AI to help security teams almost write policy as code where they don't need to understand the low level programming of regex and other languages. We're using it as co-pilots to help people ask questions in the business systems. So I think, the uses will range across industry, and there's quite a broad number that we're going to see coming out as this new technology and new research is being applied to businesses in practice.

Unfortunately, that still sounds a lot like help desk to us. Perhaps we well see new and exciting uses, but not for a while.

The author is attending VMware Explore as a guest of VMware.
A new version of the free office suite, LibreOffice 7.6 Community, has been released and can be downloaded right away.

A statement from The Document Foundation, the body that oversees the project, said there were versions for Windows (Intel/AMD and ARM processors), macOS (Apple and Intel processors), and Linux.

This release is the last to use traditional version numbering: first digit for release cycle, second digit for major release.

From next year, TDF will adopt calendar-based release numbering: the next major release will be LibreOffice 2024.02 in February 2024.

The statement said new features had been developed by 148 contributors. A total of 61% of code commits were from the 52 developers employed by three companies sitting on TDFs advisory board  Collabora, Red Hat and allotropia  or other organisations.

Of the remaining, 15% were from seven developers at TDF, and 24% from 89 individual volunteers.

Apart from these contributors, another 202 volunteers  representing hundreds of other people providing translations  had committed localisations in 160 languages.

LibreOffice 7.6 Community supports 120 languages, the most of any software, and can be used by more than 5.4 billion people in their native languages.

In addition, more than 2.3 billion people speak one of those 120 languages as their second language.

The new release has many improvements and features meant for users sharing documents with Microsoft Office or migrating from Microsoft Office. Such users have been advised to check new LibreOffice releases regularly, as each new version improved dramatically over the previous one.

Some significant improvements:

Writer: several fixes for frames in DOCX files, for lost frames, combined frames that should be separate, split frames that should be combined, overlapping frames, ignored parent styles, lost relative positioning, wrong absolute positioning, and lost rotation.

Writer: character properties of DOCX paragraph markers are now also stored in ODT files.

Writer: significant handling improvements for multi-page floating tables, especially when importing/exporting files from/to DOCX/DOC/RTF.

Calc: fixed export of conditionally formatted cell border colours to XLSX.
Victims of the ransomware group Cl0p, attacked using vulnerabilities in the secure managed file transfer software MOVEit Transfer, now number 730, according to a count kept by the New Zealand-headquartered security firm Emsisoft.

The number of individuals affected by these breaches has been estimated to be in excess of 47 million, according to data which Emsisoft says in a blog post is sourced from US state breach notifications, SEC filings, other public disclosures and also Cl0ps website.

Organisations in the US account for 79.4% of known victims, with 4.8% being in Germany, 3.3% in Canada and 2.7% in the UK.

Industries that are in the finance and professional services and education are the worst affected, with 24.3% and 26.0% of the incidents in these two sectors.

The number of organisations affectedwas close to 400, which means almost a doubling of victim organisations in a month.

The organisations most affected in terms of numbers are given in the graphic below:

In mid-June, a report said a number of US Federal Government agencies had been breached through the same vulnerabilities in MOVEit.\

According to the Emsisoft blog, "On 31 May, Progress Software issued an advisory for a vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-34362 which the company stated 'could lead to escalated privileges and potential unauthorised access to the environment.

"In other words, it was a vulnerability which could enable attackers to access MOVEit and steal data  something which had already been happening since at least 27 May.

"On 9 June, Progress issued a patch for a second vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-35036. On 15 June, a patch was issued for a third vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-35708. Both these vulnerabilities were critical and could have enabled the MOVEit platform to be further exploited."
A hitherto unknown group of attackers has used legitimate certificates signed by Microsoft to attack companies in Asia, the security firm Symantec claims.

Most of the victims were from Hong Kong and the attack group, given the name Carderbee, used a backdoor known as Korplug aka PlugX, the firm's Threat Hunter Team said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The software which was used as transport for the attack was a legitimate application, known as Cobra DocGuard, sold by a Chinese company known as EsafeNet and used to protect, encrypt and decrypt software.

The Symantec research cited a report from Slovakian security firm ESET that claimed a malicious update to EsafeNet enabled the compromise of a gambling company in Hong Kong in 2022.

This was the second attack on this gambling firm, with the technique used also being similar. On the earlier occasion, a group known as Budworm, aka LuckyMouse or APT 27, was found to be behind the attack, leading ESET to attribute the 2022 attack to the same group.

The 2022 attack used a variant of the Korplug malware which had the word ESET in a header indicating that it may have been modified to bypass ESET products, the Symantec researchers noted.

The Symantec team said a signed version of Korplug was also used in the attack that it investigated, ann intrusion that began in April 2023.

"However, we did not find any other evidence to indicate that this attack was carried out by Budworm," the team noted. "Korplug is a backdoor that is known to be used by multiple APTs, including APT41 and Budworm.

"We do not have any indication of the industry sectors of the companies targeted in this recent activity, just their geographic location.

"Accordingly, it was not possible to link this activity definitively to a known group, which is why we attributed it to a new group, Carderbee."

While the Symantec researchers found the Cobra DocGuard software installed on about 2000 computers in the targeted companies, only about 100 displayed malicious activity.

The researchers pointed out that the use of Microsoft-signed malware was common, pointing to a December 2022 post from the Google-owned security outfit Mandiant which found a driver sample signed with a Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Authenticode signature.

"It seems clear the attackers... are patient and skilled actors. They leverage both a supply chain attack and signed malware to carry out their activity in an attempt to stay under the radar," the researchers concluded.

"The fact that they appear to only deploy their payload on a handful of the computers they gain access to also points to a certain amount of planning and reconnaissance on behalf of the attackers behind this activity.

"Software supply chain attacks remain a major issue for organisations in all sectors, with multiple high-profile supply chain attacks occurring in the last 12 months, including the MOVEit, X_Trader, and 3CX attacks."
Victorian education technology supplier Compass has won a tender to supply more than 800 Western Australian public schools with management software, a deal it will fulfill along with Brisbane firm TechnologyOne.

A statement from Compass said the deal was worth about $9 million a year over seven years and could be extended. The WA Department of Education tender was in four categories over several years and was broken up into four categories: school administration, student administration, timetabling and finance.

The first three were awarded to Compass while the finance component will be handled jointly by Compass and TechnologyOne.

Were thrilled Western Australias Department of Education has chosen local technology providers to power its public schools," Compass co-founder and chief executive John de la Motte said.

"After running one of the most stringent tender processes weve ever been involved in, including detailed analysis from independent subject matter experts, Compass has been awarded the contract for all four school management categories.

Supporting local technology jobs is a key tenement of Compass, an ed-tech company that is built in Australia in consultation with teachers from right across the country.

Compass started operations in WA in 2019; its software is used by 150 schools in the state and more than 3000 schools country-wide. The company recently expanded into Ireland and the UK.

TechnologyOne chief executive Ed Chung said: Our solution empowers more than 1.4 million students globally across K-12 and higher education, partnering with Catholic Education, and some of the worlds leading universities.

"TechnologyOne is also trusted by one in four public sector organisations across Australia and New Zealand. This deep sector expertise, honed over the last 36 years, means we understand our customers priorities: simplifying business processes to deliver outstanding results for their users and the community.
TOLEDO  A Robinson man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he killed the Lerna man who had raised him as a father figure and then attempted to dispose of the body.

Lance Newcomb, 24, entered the plea Monday during a preliminary hearing in Cumberland County Circuit Court where he is charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide in the shooting death of Ryan Waggoner, 55.

After the hearing, Cumberland State's Attorney Bryan Robbins said that Waggoner is not the biological father of Newcomb but raised him and was referred to by others who knew him as Newcomb's father.

Illinois State Police special agent Rex Roberts testified the investigation began as a missing person's case in early June and then uncovered evidence that Waggoner was fatally shot on June 2 at his home in rural Lerna, where Newcomb also was living at the time.

Based on the evidence from this investigation, Robbins also filed a charge that states Newcomb transported the remains to Crawford County with his mother's help and attempted to dispose of this body on the rural property of a family friend there.

The Crawford County State's Attorney's Office has charged his mother, Angela Newcomb, 58, of Robinson, with concealment of a homicidal death and obstruction of justice.

Roberts said Angela Newcomb told investigators that she met her son on June 3 at Waggoner's residence and then followed him in her car as he drove a dump truck for an hour and a half through the countryside.

After the dump truck ran out of gas, Roberts said Newcomb moved Waggoner's body from this truck to the back seat of her vehicle.

"(Angela Newcomb) drove straight home and put her vehicle in her garage and shut the door," Roberts said. The special agent said she told investigators that Newcomb later arrived at her home and took her vehicle with the remains still in the back seat.

Roberts said family friend Hiley Schulte, 52, of Oblong told investigators that Newcomb subsequently brought Waggoner's body to her rural property and hid it under a tarp for a few days before attempting to dispose of the remains.

"(Schulte) represented that Lance burned the body," Roberts said, adding that she later took investigators to a location where remains were found. Schulte is charged in Crawford County with concealment of a homicidal death.

Roberts said other evidence includes a suicide note purportedly from Waggoner that Newcomb presented to police looking into the missing person's case, a note that did not match other samples of Waggoner's handwriting in the home.

In addition, Roberts said investigators found two spent 22-caliber shells in Waggoner's yard.

During the hearing, public defender Shon Park said he took issue with investigators not providing physical evidence at this stage linking the two shells to Newcomb or confirming that an examination of the remains has found that gunshots were the cause of death.

Park also questioned some conflicting statements in the investigation report from Newcomb's girlfriend and from her friend, who had contacted the Mattoon Police Department on June 3 with her concerns that Newcomb had murdered Waggoner.

Regarding possible motive, Roberts stated that Angela Newcomb reported to investigators that her son said a neighbor told him that Waggoner would be tortured if Newcomb did not kill him.

Robbins said investigators are still trying to determine if this claim is valid and, if it is, which neighbor made this statement to Newcomb and why.

"We are looking at all possibilities," Robbins said.

Newcomb, who remains in the custody of the Cumberland County jail, has a status hearing scheduled for Sept. 11.

Angela Newcomb, who is free on bond, has pleaded not guilty and has a pre-trial conference set for Wednesday. Schulte, also free on bond, has not entered a plea as she awaits a Wednesday court appearance and Sept. 18 preliminary hearing.

Who are they? IL children reported missing as of August 12 These are recent reports of missing children made to local law enforcement. If you think you have seen a missing child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
100 years ago,

August 22, 1923

MATTOON  The tract of land known as the Hogue lots, located east of South Fourteenth street and south of Marshall avenue, and which is to be known henceforth as Lawson park, is now legally city property, to be supported as one of the city's parks by taxation levied for that purpose. The tract of land was formally accepted by the city on Tuesday evening when the city council adopted an ordinance specifying, among other things, that the tract of land should be known as Lawson Park...CHARLESTON  Bruce Weeman, admitted slayer of his wife Laura Weeman, was held without bond by the coroner's jury, which heard the evidence of a number of witnesses at an inquest conducted by Coroner Schilling on Tuesday evening. Ray Watts, a resident of Mattoon, was the most important witness, his testimony showing that he was the "affinity" of Mrs. Weeman, and that he had held innumerable clandestine meetings with her during the twelve or more years that he had been intimately acquainted with her. Watts is about forty years of age and married. Watts said Mrs. Weeman had told him Weeman had threatened to kill both his wife and Watts if he ever caught them together. Watts has been crippled for years, making his way about on crutches, as he has no use of his legs. He is said to earn a livelihood as a peddler. Weeman, while occupying a cell in the county jail, told Coroner Schilling that he had "chased his wife to Decatur," although there was nothing in the evidence to show that either the dead woman or the husband had been in that city on Sunday or Monday. Weeman later told the officers that he killed his wife while she was standing in the road behind the automobile, and that he placed her body in the car, where it was found by the officers. He said he also intended to kill himself, but his "nerve" failed him.
CHARLESTON  The juvenile suspect in a shooting that injured a man last week across from Eastern Illinois University's Old Main has turned himself in to police as adult charges are pursued against him.

The Charleston Police Department reported at approximately 5:30 p.m. Monday that this subject was safety apprehended at the police station, 614 Sixth St., and is in custody.

Police had been seeking the suspect since the shooting occurred late afternoon Aug. 15 in the parking lot of Domino's Pizza, 667 Lincoln Ave., across from Eastern's Old Main administration and classroom building. The adult victim of the shooting is recovering.

Charleston Police Chief Heath Thornton said last week that they intended to arrest the suspect as an adult on a preliminary charge of aggravated battery with a firearm, a class X felony.

Coles County State's Attorney Jesse Danley confirmed late Monday afternoon, before he was aware of the juvenile's arrest, that he planned to pursue adult charges against him due to the aggravated nature of this firearm offense.

Danley declined to discuss the case further because of the suspect being a juvenile and because he believed he was still at large at the time, meaning a court hearing for him had not been possible yet.

The state's attorney said he does not want to jump to conclusions about the case, adding that many of the comments on social media about the shooting have been incorrect.

The Charleston Police Department has said the shooting was an isolated incident stemming from an argument between two male acquaintances, one of whom allegedly shot the other in the arm and then fled the scene.

After securing an arrest warrant for the juvenile suspect on Thursday, the police department reported that it had been working with his family for a peaceful surrender.

Who are they? IL children reported missing as of August 12 These are recent reports of missing children made to local law enforcement. If you think you have seen a missing child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
SHELBYVILLE  The stage is set for a possible 2024 Republican primary battle for Shelby County states attorney.

Republican Ruth Woolery, an associate attorney at Rincker Law in Shelbyville, kicked off her campaign for states attorney at the county courthouse on Monday. The position is currently held by Robert Hanlon, who is also a Republican.

As state's attorney, I will represent Shelby County to the best of my ability by maintaining regular office hours and building a support staff that is ready, willing and able to timely respond to law enforcement officials, victims and defense attorneys, Woolery said at her announcement on Monday.

Ultimately, my goal is to bring integrity, respect, decorum and civility back to the state's attorney's office. Other than that, I have no agenda, she continued. I want a fair and transparent court system that I can be proud of. I want to work with local law enforcement and prosecute criminal offenders as needed. And I want to create and encourage a healthy and supportive work environment for all county employees.

Hanlon has not yet publicly announced his 2024 campaign. If he does, the 2024 primary will also be his first time on the ballot in Shelby County. Hanlon, a McHenry County native, was appointed to his role in February of this year following the December 2022 resignation of former States Attorney Nichole Kroncke.

I certainly wish her well, and if I am her opponent in the election, I certainly wish myself well, Hanlon told the Herald & Review on Monday.

Woolery, her husband and their four children moved to Shelbyville four years ago. Woolery has practiced law privately since graduating with honors from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 2017.

Woolery told the Herald & Review she decided to run after becoming frustrated by recent controversies in the courthouse and county government.

I have been practicing in Shelby County for four years now. And for the first time, I am actually kind of embarrassed at what's been going on in the courthouse, she said. I'll travel to other counties and theyll talk about it, and I just felt like it was something, I just felt called to step up and really serve my community.

Shelby County has faced a string of controversies since the start of the year.

Speaking at a Shelby County Board meeting in May, some courthouse employees complained of a toxic workplace environment at the courthouse and said they were afraid they may face retaliation from the county for their complaints.

More recently, Hanlon took a county board member to court over an alleged violation of the Public Officers Prohibited Activities Act, accusing her of a felonious criminal offense.

There are some who complain that I took action and others who complain I did not advance the felony charge, Hanlon previously wrote to the Herald & Review about the incident. To those who side with either of these positions, Im doing the difficult task of seeking a just result consistent with my obligations as a states attorney; and I really dont care if my doing the right thing offends anyone.

Hanlon was then subjected to some criticism during the public comment portion of the Aug. 10 county board meeting.

My suggestion is you outsource HR. Get it out of Shelby County. Give us a channel. Give us someone to go to when we feel threatened, when we feel harassed, said courthouse employee Anna Bright, asking the board to reconsider a new county whistleblower policy. Give me an HR group Give me someone to pick up the phone that I feel comfortable talking to. Not the states attorney, not someone internal. Theres no trust there.

Illinois primary elections will be held on March 19.
MATTOON  Weather conditions look to be brutally hot across Coles County and the rest of central Illinois during the worst heat so far this summer.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln on Tuesday afternoon extended its excessive heat warning for much of Central Illinois another day, through 10 p.m. Friday. Heat index values reaching near 115 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, especially for anyone working outside, the service said in a news release this week.

The Mattoon school district has been contending with this hot weather while repairing the malfunctioning air conditioning system at Williams Elementary School.

Both the Mattoon and Charleston districts have canceled outdoor sporting events through Thursday due to the heat.

Mattoon district officials have reported that the malfunctioning compressor in the Williams Elementary air conditioning system is set to be fully operational by mid-day Wednesday after breaking down on Monday.

The district reported that it will keep families informed on the status of the repairs. Teachers with affected classrooms have been encouraged to change location if they felt their space began to get too warm, the district reported. Fans also have been utilized.

"Due to the current circumstances, if you feel it necessary to keep your students at home, please call the school and it will be recorded as an excused absence," the district reported to families. It also advised them to have in plan in the event of an early dismissal due to heat.

Williams Elementary parent Tom Miller, whose daughter Millie is in the second grade, said on Tuesday that the school has been doing a good job of keeping parents informed as it makes repairs and tries to keep down interior temperatures.

Miller said his daughter has been a little pink cheeked, but that's not unusual during the summer. He said she has been enjoying the start of the school year despite the warmer than usual conditions in the school.

"She loves her teacher and has several friends in her class, so she is excited to be back in school," Miller said.

Regarding the excessive heat warning, JG-TC meteorologist Matt Holiner said Wednesday may end up feeling the worst. He explained highs will reach around 96 with 'feels like' temperatures peaking around 111.

Thursday will see humidity levels dip slightly, but Holiner said said high temperatures will climb even higher. High temperatures Thursday afternoon will top out around 98 with 'feels like' temperatures around 109.

"Daily record high temperatures could be tied or broken in the area on Thursday," Holiner said.

The meteorologist said a cold front will finally arrive in the late afternoon Friday, but high temperatures will likely still reach the low 90s with 'feels like' temperatures near 100 degrees.

Holiner said high temperatures will return to normal for this time of year (low to mid 80s) for Saturday and Sunday.

Holiner advised that central Illinois residents should try to avoid outdoor activity during the afternoon hours as much as possible and take other safety measure.

Drinking water is a must for anyone who will be out in the afternoon. People can quickly become dehydrated in these conditions. Frequent breaks should be taken from any outdoor activities, at least in the shade, but better yet indoors in an air-conditioned building.

Health officials urges everyone to take the following precautions to protect themselves from heatstroke and heat exhaustion:

 Stay in an air-conditioned area during the hottest hours of the day. If you don't have air conditioning in your home, go to a public place such as a shopping mall or a library to stay cool.

 Wear light, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing, as it reflects heat and sunlight. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water often and don't wait until you are thirsty. Avoid beverages that can dehydrate you like those that contain caffeine or alcohol.

 Avoid unnecessary hard work or activities if you are outside or in a building without air-conditioning, especially during times of peak heat from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Avoid unnecessary sun exposure. When in the sun, wear a hat, preferably with a wide brim.

 Slow down. Strenuous activities should be reduced, eliminated, or rescheduled to the coolest time of the day. Those at risk should stay in the coolest available place, not necessarily indoors.

"Finally, outdoor pets should not be forgotten either. Make sure they have access to water and shade during the afternoon hours each day," Holiner said.

Photos: Hot weather has US, world sweltering
DETROIT  Just five years ago, a price-conscious auto shopper in the United States could choose from among a dozen new small cars selling for under $20,000. Now, there's just one: The Mitsubishi Mirage. And even the Mirage appears headed for the scrap yard.

At a time when Americans increasingly want pricey SUVs and trucks rather than small cars, the Mirage remains the lone new vehicle whose average sale price is under 20 grand  a figure that once marked a kind of unofficial threshold of affordability. With prices  new and used  having soared since the pandemic, $20,000 is no longer much of a starting point for a new car.

This current version of the Mirage, which reached U.S. dealerships a decade ago, sold for an average of $19,205 last month, according to data from Cox Automotive. (Though a few other new models have starting prices under $20,000, their actual purchase prices, with options and shipping, exceed that figure.)

The Mirage, with hatchback and sedan versions, costs less than half of what the average U.S. new vehicle does. That average is now just above $48,000  25% more than before the pandemic struck three years ago.

"I just won't pay that kind of price," said Karen Schaeppi of suburban Minneapolis, who bought a red Mirage sedan last month for around $19,000. Schaeppi, who is 78, said she could have afforded an average-priced new vehicle. But because she's only 5 feet tall, she wanted a small car so she could see easily over the hood.

When she set out to replace her 2008 Ford Focus, Schaeppi was surprised to find no small cars available at the dealers she visited  at any price.

"There was nothing that existed," she said. "Not even close."

The scarcity of small cars at dealerships helps explain why the average new vehicle costs so much: Detroit's Big Three automakers  General Motors, Stellantis and Ford  began to jettison the compact and subcompact car business about five years ago. Low profit margins for small cars and consumers' increasing shift to SUVs and trucks made the decision an easy one. Likewise, Toyota and Honda later halted U.S. sales of their subcompacts.

Then a pandemic-related computer-chip shortage slashed global auto production. Vehicles were suddenly in short supply at a time of high demand. Prices shot up.

Another factor that has swollen average prices is that 32 models in the United States now have selling prices above $100,000, according to Cox. As recently as 2018, only 12 models sold for over 100 grand. At an average sale price of $29,000, even most used vehicles cost more than a new Mirage.

People like Andrew Lang of Flint, Michigan, feel priced out of the market entirely. Lang, 26, said there's no way he could afford a new car right now, not even a Mirage.

"I don't make enough money," he said,

Lang spoke after stepping out of his 2009 Chevrolet Impala in a grocery store parking lot near Ypsilanti. The Impala, with cloudy headlights, a crack in the front bumper and a dent in right side of the trunk, has 150,000 miles on it. Lang, an information technology coordinator, said he doesn't know what he'd do if he had to replace it. He would have to buy a used car  if he could find something affordable.

At White Bear Mitsubishi near St. Paul, Minnesota, where Schaeppi bought her vehicle, used cars are the main competition for the Mirage, according to Richard Herod III, the dealership's managing partner. But because so few new small cars were sold in recent years, he said, the used-vehicle selection is low and prices are high.

A new Mirage, which costs about the same as a 4-year-old Chevrolet Cruze or Mazda 3, has a five-year, 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Most used cars that age, Herod said, no longer include such warranties. The Mirage gets roughly 39 miles to the gallon, among the highest of any vehicle in the United States that isn't hybrid or electric.

Still, the horsepower in its three-cylinder engine amounts to a tepid 76.

"It's not going to win any drag races," Herod said. "It's not going to make you more popular at school. It's the last honest affordable car in America."

Despite the low price, U.S. sales of the Mirage have been sluggish. Mitsubishi sold only 5,316 in the first half of the year  44% below the same period in 2022.

And it might not be available at all in a couple of years. The trade publication Automotive News reported last week that Mitsubishi will stop selling the Mirage by mid-decade. Mitsubishi, part of the Nissan-Renault alliance, declined to comment. But its website says production of the Mirage in Thailand, where it is built, is ending.

Once the Mirage disappears, Mitsubishi's least expensive vehicle would be the Outlander Sport small SUV. It starts around $24,600, which includes shipping.

Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Cox Automotive, said she thinks sales of the Mirage would be stronger if more customers knew about it.

"There aren't that many Mitsubishi dealers, and they don't have a very loud voice in the advertising world," she said.

In addition, Krebs said, Mitsubishi buyers tend to have lower-than-average credit scores, and many of them have been priced out of the auto market entirely because higher loan rates have sent monthly payments surging.

A buyer who put down a 10% payment at the average Mirage sales price of $19,205 would owe roughly $365 each month for 60 months at a 7% loan rate.

The latest data suggests that Mitsubishi's decision to phase out the Mirage might be premature. Overall sales of small cars, after having dropped in seven of the past 10 years, are up 11.7% in the first half of the year. Some of that gain may reflect more interest from consumers concerned about higher gas prices, Krebs said, but most of it represents fleet sales to rental car companies.

"It's not going to be where it used to be," she said of small-car purchases.

Mitsubishi can afford to sell the Mirage for less than its competitors do for similar vehicles because it's such an old model that money to develop it has long since been spent, said Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst for Guidehouse Insights.

Low-wage labor is another factor: Factory workers in Thailand make only about $16 a day  far less than unionized automakers earn in the United States and slightly less than in Mexico.

Even as the Mirage appears likely to be phased out, some other cars and SUVs have average sales prices only slightly above $20,000. They include the Kia Rio, the Nissan Versa, the Hyundai Venue and the Nissan Sentra. According to Cox, their prices range from $20,157 for the Rio to $23,994 for the Sentra.

As the sub-$20,000 new car disappears, Krebs suggests that buyers who need affordable transportation consider certified pre-owned small cars, which can be reasonably priced and include at least a year's warranty.

Krebs said she expects new-auto prices to drop slightly as factories produce more vehicles, likely forcing automakers to offer discounts. Price declines among electric vehicles, led by Tesla, have helped lower overall auto prices, too.

But don't expect the return of the $20,000 new car.

"I can't imagine that unless a Chinese automaker came in and sold cheap," Krebs said. "Politically, that doesn't seem likely."

The most popular used cars in the US The most popular used cars in the US #25. Chevrolet Traverse #24. Jeep Compass #23. Toyota Highlander #22. Chevrolet Malibu #21. Hyundai Elantra #20. Nissan Sentra #19. Jeep Cherokee #18. GMC Sierra 1500 #17. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited #16. Honda Accord #15. Honda CR-V #14. Toyota Tacoma #13. Toyota Corolla #12. Nissan Altima #11. Ford Explorer #10. Jeep Grand Cherokee #9. Ford Escape #8. Nissan Rogue #7. Toyota RAV4 #6. Toyota Camry #5. Honda Civic #4. Chevrolet Equinox #3. Ram 1500 #2. Chevrolet Silverado 1500 #1. Ford F-150
An Illinois woman was arrested Monday on federal charges alleging she threatened to kill former President Donald Trump and his 17-year-old son Barron.

Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, of Chicago was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed in Florida last week. She was arrested here Monday morning and is scheduled to have an initial appearance at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse at 3 p.m.

The charges were first reported by the online newsletter CourtWatch.

The five-page complaint alleged that on May 21, Fiorenza emailed the headmaster of a Palm Beach County school and wrote, I will state that I will shoot Donald Trump Sr. AND Baron Trump (sic) straight in the face at any opportunity that I get!

She allegedly sent a similar email to the same headmaster threatening the younger Trumps life two weeks later, according to the complaint.

Barron Trump has attended a private school in Palm Beach since his family left the White House, though the charges do not identify the school where the messages were allegedly sent.

In June, a U.S. Secret Service agent reached out to Fiorenza and arranged a meeting at the agencys Chicago headquarters, where Fiorenza was shown copies of the emails, according to the complaint.

Fiorenza confirmed that she intentionally wrote them and sent them via email from her then-residence in southwest suburban Plainfield, the complaint stated.

A Facebook page linked to Fiorenza and still publicly viewable stated she is a former social studies teacher and attended Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park.

The profile contains numerous violent and anti-Trump images and claims, as well as references to the elite organization of the Illuminati.
The family that has owned Taqueria El Paisano on the Southside for about 20 years has a new restaurant on the other side of town.

Luna Playa Taqueria & Bar opened Aug. 4 at 2021 Griffith Road just off Hanes Mall Boulevard and next to Lucha Libre Ice Cream & Churros.

Matriach Silfida Morales had a food truck in the 1990s  long before trucks were trendy  and then started El Paisano at 2742 Waughtown St., where she still presides over the kitchen.

At Luna Playa, Morales is sharing the same recipes that have made El Paisano popular but letting a younger generation helm the restaurant.

She kind of let us do our thing (in developing the restaurant concept), but when it comes to the food, we take her advice, said daughter Herandy Bowers, who is running the day-to-day operations at Luna Playa.

Bowers is one of Morales four children. Growing up, all four of us would work on the food truck or at the restaurant, Bowers said.

Bowers said that her mother plans to focus on El Paisano while other family members  including Bowers husband, Julien  help out with the new restaurant.

Luna Playa  moon beach  pays homage to the familys home region of Costa Chica and the coastal states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. The restaurants interior is light and airy, decorated in white and tan with lots of tile. The front features tall bifold windows that can be opened onto the sidewalk patio.

The restaurant seats about 55 inside and 25 outside. A long table in the middle of the dining room easily seats 12 for parties. Its a casual restaurant that offers counter service. When customers order, they get a card from the Mexican Loteria game, which servers then use when delivering dishes to the table.

The menu at Luna Playa, Bowers said, is lifted from El Paisano  but its smaller, more concise. But El Paisano customers can still find some of their favorite foods here, prepared the same way. My mom is very picky about the food, Bowers said with a laugh. The food is what she really cares about.

The restaurant offers a handful of traditional tacos ($3.50 to $4), including lengua (beef tongue), chorizo, carne asada, carnitas and al pastor. There also are chicken, fish and vegetarian options.

I think we also will add tripa (beef tripe) later, Bowers said.

Luna Playa also serves Morales signature mole enchiladas. These are the traditional way we eat enchiladas in Costa Chica, Bowers said, usually with chicken or sometimes no meat at all, just cheese, but here we do them with steak, too.

The restaurant also does the Costa Chica style of fried quesadilla ($11 for three), made with its homemade masa dough. Its like an empanada, deep-fried, made with corn dough, Bowers said.

House-made sopes, or fried corn cakes ($11 for three), are available with steak or chicken.

The menu also has tortas, burritos and salads.

Sides include rice, beans, salsa, guacamole and tortillas.

Luna Playa also features a self-serve salsa bar with about eight different homemade salsas, from raw tomatillo green sauces to roasted, spicy red sauces made with puya or arbol sauces. The arbol sauce, which also contains sesame seeds, is pretty hot, Bowers said. I dont even know how people eat that one, Bowers said with a laugh.

Luna Playa does have one thing that El Paisano doesnt: a bar. Luna Playa, serves beer, sangria and cocktails.

Margaritas, starting at $12, are available the classic way, as well as spicy with jalapeno, or flavored with pineapple, coconut, mango or pomegranate. A Cadillac margarita is made with Don Julio Reposado, Gran Marnier, Cointreau, agave and fresh lime.

Other cocktails include a mexcal mule, Oaxacan old-fashioned and Jarritos floater (choice of Jarritos soda, Lunazul tequila and lime).

Customers also can get the Jarritos sodas on their own, as well as Mexican-style coffee and agua frescas made in-house. The latter include horchata and jicama, plus one seasonal drink  currently, watermelon.
Electronic-cigarette manufacturer NJoy said Tuesday it has filed a patent-infringement complaint against Juul Labs Inc. with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The complaint comes about six weeks after NJoy was purchased for $2.75 billion in cash by Altria Group Inc., as well as about five months after Altria exited its 35% ownership stake in Juul Labs.

NJoy, with a 2.8% market share, significantly trails top-selling Vuse from R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (41.9% market share) and No. 2 Juul (25.4% market share).

NJoys complaint against Juul alleges trade violations associated with the sale of imported products that infringe U.S. Patent No. 11,497,864 and U.S. Patent No. 10,334,881.

NJoy said it acquired the patents from Fuma International LLC as part of a settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Fuma against NJoy.

NJoy wants the commission to impose a ban on the importation and sale of certain Juul e-vapor products, including its currently marketed e-cigarette device and Juul pods.

Protecting our intellectual property is critical to achieving our Vision, said Murray Garnick, Altrias general counsel. Juul has infringed upon our patents through the sale of its imported products, and we ask the ITC to impose appropriate remedies in response to these trade violations.

Juul said in a statement that we stand behind our intellectual property and will continue to pursue our infringement claims.

NJOY has also filed a complaint against Juul in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware based on the same patent infringement.

In April, the Food and Drug Administration authorized NJoy Ace styles through its premarket tobacco-product application pathway: its closed e-cigarette device and three accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods  Classic Tobacco 2.4%, Classic Tobacco 5% and Rich Tobacco 5%.

Altria said Ace styles represent 85% of NJoys 2022 total retail shipments.

NJoy products are available in Altrias national distribution network of more than 200,000 retail stores alongside top-selling traditional cigarette brand Marlboro, as well as increasing tobacco consumers awareness of NJoy through marketing.

We believe we can responsibly accelerate U.S. adult smoker and competitive adult vaper adoption of NJoy Ace in ways that NJoy could not as a standalone company, Billy Gifford, Altrias chief executive, said in a May statement.

Our research indicates that once adult smokers and adult vapers try Ace, it performs on par with the leading e-vapor brand.

Other legal disputes

In April, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. was ordered by a federal judge to pay a modest patent royalty to a subsidiary of rival Philip Morris International.

However, Judge Leonie Brinkeina of the Eastern District of Virginia denied in a March 30 ruling Philip Morris Products SAs request for a permanent injunction and a significant higher patent royalty.

Reynolds Vapor is required to pay a royalty of 1.8% of net sales for infringing on a patent used in Vuse Alto cartridges, and a 2.2% royalty for infringing on a patent used in Vuse Solo G2 cartridges.

The royalties will be enforced for the remaining life of the patents and paid quarterly.

The royalties are on top of jury awards in 2022 that totaled $10.91 million for the Alto infringement and $3.16 million for the Solo G2 infringement.

Reynolds Vapor said in a statement that while we welcome the decision to reject an injunction, we are disappointed with the underlying verdict regarding patent validity and infringement.

In November 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative affirmed the pivotal legal victory for British American Tobacco Plc involving its patent-infringement lawsuit against rival Philip Morris International Inc.

On Sept. 29, 2021, the International Trade Commission issued a final determination of a violation of the Tariff Act of 1930 by Philip Morris USA Inc. and Altria Client Services LLC as it related to two BAT product patents.

As a result of the ITC ruling, PM USA is barred from importing PMIs IQOS 2.4, IQOS 3, IQOS 3 Duo heat-not-burn cigarette products. It also was ordered to halt future sales of those products  marketed as Marlboro HeatSticks  already in the U.S.
A Thomasville man was shot and wounded Monday in the city's western section, authorities said Tuesday.

Anton Covington, 28, was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he is critical but stable condition, Thomasville police said.

Officers were dispatched at 3:50 p.m. Monday to the 800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on a reported shooting, police said.

When officers arrived, they found Covington with gunshot wounds as he laid in the grass near an apartment complex, police said.

Two officers provided life-saving aid to Covington until Davidson County emergency medical technicians arrived on the scene, police said.

Witnesses told police that a white Mercedes SUV pulled into the parking lot in the 800 block of King Drive, police said.

Two men then got out of the vehicle and fired shots at Covington who was near the sidewalk of the apartments, police said.

After the gunfire, the two suspects got back into the vehicle, which traveled toward U.S. 29-70/Interstate 85 Business, police said.

Detectives found video surveillance that showed the suspects' vehicle leaving the scene.

Anyone with information about this shooting can call Crime Stoppers at 336-476-8477 or Thomasville police at 336-475-4260.
A Winston-Salem man was charged Tuesday with robbing two banks over the past week.

Jason Allen Mabe, 40, who has no permanent address, is charged with two counts of common law robbery, Winston-Salem police said.

Mabe is accused of robbing the Piedmont Federal Savings Bank in the 5000 block of Northern Quarters Drive on Tuesday, and the State Employees Credit Union in the 3300 block of Sides Branch Road on Aug. 15, police said.

Officers responded at 10:19 a.m. Tuesday to a reported robbery at the branch of Piedmont Federal Savings Bank in the citys northern section, police said. Investigators determined that a suspect entered the bank and demanded money from a teller with a note.

No weapon was displayed, police said.

The suspect then stole an undisclosed amount of money and ran from the scene, police said.

Officers chased Mabe and caught him, police said.

Investigators linked Mabe to Tuesdays robbery and to the robbery Aug. 15 of the State Employees Credit Union on Sides Branch Road, police said.

At 9:28 a.m. Aug. 15, a man entered the credit union and gave a teller a note demanding money, police said. The man stole an undisclosed amount of money and ran from the bank, police said.

No weapon was displayed.

Mabe was being held Tuesday in the Forsyth County Jail with his bond set at $100,000, police said. He is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Forsyth District Court.

Police are still searching for a woman who robbed the State Employees Credit Union in the 2900 block of Waughtown Street on Aug, 14.

A woman walked into the credit union about 9:05 a.m. and gave a teller a note demanding money, police said. After stealing an undisclosed amount of money, she ran from the bank.

No weapon was displayed in that robbery, either, police said.
A community-wide call for more bus drivers for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools last week has resulted in 27 applicants.

But because of the time-consuming process to become a licensed bus driver, none of the applicants will be available when 54,000 students return to school on Monday.

At a transportation update on Tuesday, Tisha Davidson, the executive director of transportation for the school district, said that the district has combined some routes so that there are now 52 buses without drivers compared with 59 last week.

Does that make us perfect? It does not, she said. We are going to have speed bumps in the road as we open this year.

Combining routes will result in later pick up and drop off times for some students, Davidson said.

Last week, school leaders asked students and their families to be patient as the district deals with a bus driver shortage, an issue that is impacting school districts across the country.

About 17,000 students ride a school bus. Thousands of them are expected to be at least 15 minutes late arriving to school and returning home because of the shortage, Superintendent Tricia McManus said last week.

The school district announced last week a round of signing bonuses for qualified bus drivers and mechanics and bonuses for current bus drivers and mechanics who recruit them.

Potential drivers and mechanics are eligible a $1,000 bonus once they begin work and another $1,000 on Jan. 25. Employees who recruit them are eligible for the same amount.

In addition to a bus-driver shortage, the district has 20 bus mechanics, 11 short of what it needs.

The announcement of the bonuses has stirred interest among qualified bus drivers and mechanics, Davidson said. However, none of the 27 new applicants has a current commercial drivers license, one step in the long process to begin driving a school bus in North Carolina. In some cases, it can take three months for a new applicant to start driving.

Ronald Slade, a bus driver for eight years, said that pay is one reason for the shortage of drivers both locally and across the nation. But there are other reasons as well.

A lot of people arent used to the kids that are growing up today, Slade said. Theyre not the same as back when I graduated. But dealing with them is the main thing. A lot of them just dont have that love. It starts at home. If the parent teaches the child how to act when they get on the bus it makes getting to and from school a whole lot easier.

In the coming weeks, school district leaders plan to present to the school board a proposal to increase the salary of its classified employees, which includes bus drivers and cafeteria workers. The starting salary for someone in a classified position is $15 an hour. The Forsyth County Board of Commission gave $1 million to the school district in its most current budget to address the pay of classified employees. The school also has a few million dollars saved that it plans to put toward the salary adjustment.
The history of economic development is littered with gimmicks. Then-Mayor Pat McCrory breathlessly plumped for the NASCAR Hall of Fame when it rolled into Charlotte, bringing with it little but a hefty cost for the subsidizing city. Stadiums have been built across America, no matter how many studies debunk the bogus promises of sports-team profiteers.

But, for all this legacy of failure, few dubious growth strategies threaten as many social repercussions as Phil Bergers push to plant casinos in rural North Carolina.

The crisis that this gambit claims to address is undeniable in severity and scope. In most measures of social welfare, rural North Carolina badly lags the states urban cores and most of the exurbs. Fifty-one of the states 100 counties are losing population even as North Carolina gains about a million people a decade overall. Distributionally, the inequity is even starker: Fifty percent of the states GDP growth over the last decade took place in Wake and Mecklenburg counties alone.

So Berger is correct to believe that rural North Carolina deserves urgent attention. He errs, however, in seeking this remedy in the form of casinos. Thats because the economic benefit casinos purportedly bring to a state is in fact a mirage, and the pernicious side effects of commercialized gambling are manifold. Casino advocates are succumbing to the lure of easy solutions.

Most studies of the casino economy confirm the futility of relying on gambling for economic development. Casinos, they demonstrate, tend to suck in revenue without kicking it back out to the larger regional economy. They do not anchor an economy like a factory or a mine. But they do make the surrounding community a less desirable place to live. This squares with an intuitive inspection: Imagine thousands of tourists, mostly men, in a loose and drunken mood, and ask yourself how such a milieu is likely to affect quality of life.

Its unrealistic, as Thomas Mills of Politics NC suggested, to believe that casinos will bring thousands of consumers into areas that have few other tourist attractions. To the extent that cities such as Atlantic City and Las Vegas have built an economy around gambling, theyve done so by molding their entire communities into tourist traps, with casinos the central attraction.

I suppose Lumberton or Rockingham County could, over generations, be reinvented as Vegas-style gambling meccas, but the more likely outcome would seem to be a kitschy, South of the Border disappointment. Regardless, the evidence remains that casinos will not redevelop the economy on their own, or even be an unalloyed good.

Rural North Carolina already suffers from more than enough social difficulty in the form of addiction, violence and despair to justify leaving the fools gold of the casino economy on the table. The economic boon casinos would bring is thoroughly illusory. They are unlikely to attract enough customers to generate consequential consumption, and the transactions those people make at casinos will leave only a transient economic imprint in any case.

Casinos are economic snake oil with nasty side effects, not the miracle drug their many champions in the legislature are marketing to people who desperately need help.
PAPILLION  Google on Tuesday formally confirmed what many in Lincoln have known for years: The search engine giant is planning to build a data center in Lincoln.

The company made the announcement Tuesday at its data center in Papillion, saying it will expand into Lincoln as part of $1.2 billion in additional investment in Nebraska this year.

And with the announcement, one of the worst-kept secrets in recent years no longer has to be whispered.

It is finally a reality.

I can stop winking at the chamber and saying, We think it rhymes with Schmoogle,' Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said during her remarks to about 100 people in attendance on Tuesday. What do you think it is?

Most people have known for years that Google has had an interest in a 600-acre parcel of land on the northwest corner of 56th Street just north of Interstate 80.

On Tuesday, it became official.

That's my favorite part about the day, said Jason Ball, president and CEO of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. It's out there in the open now.

Ball, who returned to lead the Lincoln Chamber last year, remembers the Google project in its infant stage more than six years ago. It made Tuesdays news even sweeter, he said.

This is an incredible day for Lincoln, Ball said. The addition of Googles data center to our business landscape marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to foster economic growth and transformative development within our community.

Project Agate, as it has been known, includes a phased buildout that could eventually consist of 2 million square feet of space.

Google, through a subsidiary, paid about $18.6 million for the land. Another subsidiary applied for $600 million in state tax incentives in 2020.

The project has been shrouded in secrecy since it was revealed more than four years ago. And while Tuesday shined some light on what is to come, specific details have yet to be disclosed.

Some dirt work has begun, but construction might not begin until the spring and it is unknown how long it will take to build the Lincoln facility.

It will employ a minimum of 30 people, said Allie Hopkins, Google Head of Data Centers for Iowa and Nebraska.

The arrival of Googles data center is a true testament to the collective efforts of the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development and the city of Lincoln to cultivate innovation and create new employment opportunities within our community, said Luke Peltz, Lincoln Partnership for Economic Developments vice president.

In 2022, Google helped provide $4.34 billion of economic activity for thousands of Nebraska businesses, including publishers, nonprofits, creatives and developers. More than 112,000 Nebraska businesses used Googles free tools to receive phone calls, bookings, reviews, requests for directions and other customer interactions.

When the Lincoln facility is completed, it will join the Papillion center and one in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In addition, Google also is building a new data center on the northwest side of Omaha, near State Street and Blair High Road. The company has invested $5 billion in the Omaha metro area to date.

It all fits nicely into Nebraskas emergence into technology and the Silicon Prairie moniker it has taken on over the last decade.

I think (the nickname) is so appropriate, said U.S. Senator Deb Fischer. A lot of people think it's the middle of the country, that it's the middle of nowhere.

I prefer to think that Nebraska is the center of the cosmos and I am really happy that Google does as well.

Hopkins said the tech giant was committed to further expansion in Nebraska.

Its all to support these digital services that everyone is so used to using every day  Gmail, cloud, Maps, YouTube, you name it, Hopkins said. It's also true to really increase that advancement of AI that's really important not just for the state of Nebraska, but across the world.

Gaylor Baird said Lincoln has become the cradle for a flourishing tech scene. Large companies like Hudl and small startups, she said, recognize what the city has to offer.

"With today's announcement, we expand our economic vitality, workforce and stature of our city in a really big way," she said. "We know that Lincoln is already on Google's map, but I'm thrilled to say Google is now officially on Lincoln's map."

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
A Lincoln manufacturer that celebrated its 70th year in business this year has been sold.

ShoreView, a Minneapolis-based private equity firm, announced in a news release that it has purchased Lincoln-based Garner Industries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In a separate news release, Garner, which is a leading manufacturer and supplier of level-measurement sensors, said the sale to ShoreView will allow it to enter the next phase of its growth strategy through both creating new products and entering into new markets.

Scott McLain, president of Garner Industries, said the company worked with Bridgepoint Investment Banking to find a partner after Phil Mullin, the majority owner of Garner and leader of the company for decades, decided to retire.

Mullin had been at Garner Industries since 1968 and served as the CEO for decades before transitioning out of the role in 2014. He had remained majority owner of the company that makes the BinMaster suite of monitoring and inventory-management products for bins, tanks and silos, and also does custom manufacturing of injection-molded plastics.

Under Mullin's leadership, Garner grew from a small tool and die maker to a leading manufacturer that built a new 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 98th Street and Cornhusker Highway in 2001, which it expanded by more than 50% in 2017.
Mothers, day care employees and even a high school student made up a group of 11 students who spent the last six weeks training to become better and more knowledgeable child care providers.

Now, each will set off to care for Lincolns smallest citizens.

The nonprofit Lincoln Littles celebrated its first-ever class of graduates from its Childcare Teacher Foundation Class, which started in mid-July, at a small ceremony Monday evening at the Lincoln Community Foundation with families, instructors and owners of local day care centers.

The class was created to attract more people to the workforce and help those interested in joining the field have a smooth transition into child care. The course is completely free and teaches participants the basics of child care and allows them to become CPR certified.

So far, the program has done exactly what it was intended for, said Lameakia Collier, wellness workforce navigator at Lincoln Littles who was hired to create the program.

I'm feeling really hopeful for the future of early childhood here in Lincoln, Collier said. I think this class helps restore the joy back into it.

Collier will lead the next group of students starting in early October, with applications closing Sept. 15. Classes will run in the evenings on Mondays and Wednesdays until Nov. 15.

The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act through the Nebraska Department of Labor, which in part provides funding to organizations and programs that help recruit more teachers and nurses to the state. Nebraska received a total of $1.04 billion in Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds from the act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One thing Collier was especially proud of about the program was the diversity of the students. Mondays 11 graduates included nine people who were Hispanic or Latino and one who was Arabic, Collier said.

Six weeks ago, these beautiful, incredible individuals walked into the class from diverse cultures with beautiful languages, bringing in an array of professional and rich life experiences, Collier said. Some were nervous, unsure about what the class would entail, yet they were extremely eager to learn.

Jumana Al Ebraheim originally taught kindergarten in Yemen. Now, she is using this program as her first step to later receiving a bachelor's degree in some form of early childhood education. First, she plans to pursue an associate's degree.

A majority of the students were part of five child care centers that sent employees to participate in the program, including Las Abejitas Bilingual Education Center and Abuelititas Daycare.

Melanie Vega, a 20-year-old student in the class, started working at Las Abejitas in June and joined the class because she wanted to expand her child care capabilities quickly.

Vega, who has a young daughter herself, was also attracted to the program because of a $5,000 stipend provided to parents of young children for child care tuition at the completion of the class. The program will also help pay for child care during class time if needed.

I think it was super beneficial, Vega said. It really motivated me and got me excited to come to class every week.

Veronica Artiaga owns Abuelititas Daycare and had two employees in the graduating class. Because she found the program to be so beneficial, shes planning to have six more staff members join the next class this fall.

I believe an employee can always have better knowledge and sharpen more of their skills, especially if they already have life skills integrated naturally, like if they have children and theyre mothers, Artiaga said. It's always good to learn more and more.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
PARADISE, Calif.  California residents driven from their homes by one of the deadliest wildfires in recent history had one request before they would rebuild in the small mountain town of Paradise: warning sirens to bolster town emergency systems that failed some people before the fast-moving inferno that killed 85.

Town officials started testing the new sirens this summer after installation began in spring and as the five-year anniversary of the wildfire that wiped out much of the community approaches this November. There will eventually be 21 sirens erected throughout town that will emit one minute of loud, Hi-Lo warning sounds followed by evacuation instructions.

If youre going to come back to town, if youre going to be part of Paradise again, what would make you feel secure and happy and wanting to come back? What do you need? Paradise Mayor Greg Bolin recalled asking residents after the fire. Number one on that list was a warning system.

Tests of the sirens began in July and are run on the first Saturday of every month. Twelve sirens were ready for testing in early August, at locations ranging from Town Hall to police headquarters to remote intersections. The towns protocol says the sirens and messaging will sound for 10 minutes, followed by intervals of five minutes of silence and five minutes of warnings until the emergency has subsided.

Reliable, audible warning systems are becoming more critical during wildfires of increasing speed and ferocity, especially as power lines and cell towers fail, knocking out communications critical to keeping people informed.

After 2017 fires that ripped through California's wine country, killing dozens, residents complained they got little to no warning from officials, who used phone calls and other alert systems but did not deploy a widespread cellphone alert. Many residents of Paradise had the same complaint.

Even when siren systems are in place, officials must make the choice to activate them.

Officials in Hawaii failed to activate sirens earlier this month, raising questions about whether everything was done to alert the public in a state that devised an elaborate emergency warning system for potential dangers that include war, volcanoes, hurricanes and wildfires. On Maui, a fast-moving wildfire has killed more than 100.

As in Paradise, some people tried to flee Lahaina but perished in their cars after getting stuck in traffic gridlock.

In Paradise, the Camp Fire broke out in the early morning of Nov. 8, 2018, amid dry, gusty weather. It tore through the town of 28,000 people, incinerating roughly 19,000 homes, businesses and other buildings. An investigation determined Pacific Gas & Electric's aging equipment started the blaze and the utility pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Many residents said they received no warning on their cellphones or landlines as the fire quickly spread their way. They jumped in their vehicles to escape only after seeing smoke and flames, or after relatives or neighbors knocked on their doors.

If that fire would have happened just a few hours earlier than what it did, we would have had hundreds of people die from that because theyd have been in bed, Bolin said.

The new sirens, similar to a tsunami warning system, are being incorporated into the citys emergency services, which include mass cell notifications, an emergency call center for people to call, and an AM radio station to broadcast public safety information.

Paradise's siren system can be controlled manually, over the internet, or by satellite. The towers' power is hard-wired underground, but each siren also has a solar panel that can store two weeks worth of power.

University of California forest expert Yana Valachovic said the redundancy in emergency services is needed to address different scenarios.

Authorities also need to consider designating temporary refuge areas and practice evacuating their communities at different times of the day, she added.

As part of rebuilding Paradise, crews have removed thousands of trees, cleared defensible space around homes to slow down fires, buried power cables underground, and widened evacuation routes to handle more traffic, Bolin said.

Like Paradise, communities across California are coming up with systems to notify people in case of an emergency, from sirens to police patrol cars and other emergency vehicles to cellphone notification systems. In May, officials in Santa Rosa, where the wine country fires broke out, tested a new cellphone alert system. In March, Beverly Hills began installing 12 outdoor sirens. Sonoma County has installed a sophisticated fire camera system to detect blazes early.

The California Office of Emergency Services in 2019 issued alert and warning guidelines for counties. It warns sirens can have limited effectiveness because people inside well-insulated homes and buildings may not hear them well.

Jen Goodlin, a Paradise native and director of Rebuild Paradise who moved back after the fire to help with the reconstruction, said she supports the sirens because many in the community dont have easy access to the internet or media.

Having the sirens is a way to help them escape sooner. It makes me feel safer, Goodlin said.

How wildfires have worsened in recent decades How wildfires have worsened in recent decades The number of wildfires is decreasing, but more acres are burning Wildfire seasons are getting longer Wildfire suppression costs have risen by billions of dollars Lightning fires are causing more damage in the West California's wildfires continue to set records
Two women who died last week when their minivan rear-ended a tractor in northeast Nebraska have been identified.

Jamie Norton, 37, of Craig, and Elizabeth Thomsen, 42, of Rosalie, died Wednesday as a result of their injuries, according to the Cuming County Sheriff's Office. Both women were pronounced dead at a West Point hospital.

A third occupant of the minivan, Rachel Robbins, 27, of Lyons, was taken to a hospital in Pender for treatment. The driver of the tractor, Gregory Haase, 37, of Bancroft, was also taken to the West Point hospital, where he was treated and released.

Investigators determined that Norton was driving a 2019 Dodge Caravan westbound on Nebraska Highway 51 just west of Bancroft at about 8:15 a.m. The minivan collided with the rear of a John Deere tractor that was pulling a feed wagon.

The Nebraska State Patrol assisted deputies at the scene. First responders from West Point, Bancroft and Beemer also responded to the crash.

These are the highways in Nebraska with the most fatalities. These are the highways in Nebraska with the most fatalities.
John Murante appears to be on his way out after five years as state treasurer for Nebraska.

The Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems Board voted Monday to name the 41-year-old Republican as the next director for the state retirement agency. The choice won support from all but one board member, who abstained from voting.

Murante will replace Randy Gerke, who has announced plans to retire this year. Gerke has worked for the Public Employees Retirement Systems for nearly 20 years and has been director for six.

The board was negotiating Murante's salary and start date Monday afternoon. As treasurer, his salary is set by state law at $85,000 a year. Gerke is paid more than $185,000. Gerke said he has offered to stay on the job into September to help the new director get started.

Murante's selection must be approved by Gov. Jim Pillen and by the Nebraska Legislature. Pillen also would have to appoint a replacement state treasurer.

Earlier this year, lawmakers balked at approving the board's previous choice for retirement systems director. The choice, Jason Hayes, is a lobbyist for the Nebraska State Education Association. He initially won approval with 29 votes.

But a week later, the Legislature voted to reconsider that approval. Those advocating for reconsideration questioned Hayes' qualifications for the job and argued that they did not have enough time to examine his credentials. On reconsideration, his confirmation failed.

Hayes, who previously worked as legal counsel for the retirement agency and chief deputy for the State Treasurers Office, was one of the three candidates interviewed by the board Monday.

State law requires that retirement systems directors have supervisory or management experience and have training, knowledge or experience of administering qualified public employee retirement plans.

The state retirement systems agency administers "defined benefit," or pension, plans for school employees, judges and State Patrol employees across the state. The agency also oversees cash balance and defined contribution plans for state and county employees and a deferred compensation plan that is optional for state employees, judges and State Patrol employees.

Murante has spent most of his career in state government. He was elected state treasurer in 2018 and was reelected last year. The State Constitution limits treasurers to two consecutive terms. Before being elected treasurer, he served six years as a state senator.

Murante previously worked as a legislative aide. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is also the CEO of Big Fred's Pizza.

State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who is a member of the Legislature's Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee, said she hopes to have discussions with Murante and other interested parties about how well he meets the legal requirements for the position.

She also wants to talk about his selection fits with the agency's mission. She said she wants to be sure that he can put aside partisan politics and thinking to focus on the best interests of plan participants.

Murante is the past national chairman of the State Financial Officers Foundation, a conservative group linked to a push for state policies restricting or punishing companies that reduce their support for fossil fuel businesses.

Murante told Omaha World-Herald last year that companies supporting Environmental, Social and Governance," or ESG, practices have a devastating impact on Nebraskans and the states economy. ESG is a set of criteria used by companies to make environmentally smart investments.

Photos: Last day of the 108th Nebraska Legislature
RACINE  Tamekia Shaw watched as the students personality shone through. The introverted middle schooler initially kept to himself, but he gradually became more talkative and made friendships during the Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program.

Thats what this is about: giving those kids the opportunity to blossom and to grow and to be who they truly are, and to share with other classmates and other adults their true self, said Shaw, Teen Outreach Program coordinator.

The after-school program for sixth through eighth graders will start its fourth year in October through RUSD Extended Learning.

The program is intended to help middle schoolers improve academically, socially and become more invested in their community, thereby reducing behaviors like dropping out of school, teen pregnancy and crime.

It is our position that when students are able to meaningfully engage with people in the community in which they live, they take on more of a sense of a social responsibility to the community, said Antonio Crane, RUSD director of extended learning. Ultimately, were going to deter vandalism and youth crime and delinquency because students are building enduring connections with different people around the community.

The Teen Outreach Program is a partnership between Racine Unified, the City of Racine Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, and Focus on Community.

In the upcoming school year, the program will be at five schools  Gilmore Fine Arts, Jerstad-Agerholm, Mitchell, Starbuck and Walden  and four community centers  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Caesar Chavez, Humble Park and Tyler Domer.

The program runs through the end of the 2023-24 school year, and this year is expected to be its largest with around 250 students.

The expansion is funded by a $980,000 grant from the state Department of Public Instruction, according to Crane.

Students will meet with facilitators Monday through Thursday after school for an hour-and-a-half to two hours.

Adult facilitators are from RUSD, the City of Racine and Focus on Community.

This year also will feature high school facilitators, which Crane is excited about.

There is just something different about kids gravitating to and listening to other kids and feeling a sense of connection, Crane said.

Crane and Shaw believe the program has numerous benefits. It provides a relaxed, smaller group setting where facilitators can help students with questions and is a structured environment for students after school, a time when many of their parents are at work.

This gives working-class families an opportunity to ensure safe supervision of their students beyond the school day, Crane said.

Students also can learn about the community. As part of the program, they must do at least 20 hours of community service learning, which is usually based on something they are interested in.

Crane said connecting with students is the best part of the program.

When we break through to them and we help to slowly tear down some of the walls that they have built up because of so many different negative experiences that theyve had, and you watch them smiling when you almost never saw them smile, or theyre increasingly engaging in curriculum and discussion  or you find them actually seeking you out and coming to you asking for assistance, you know that the club is working its magic, Crane said.

Monthly family meetings at community centers are another aspect planned this year. Parents and guardians can receive information about progress reports, upcoming events and access helpful resources.

Shaw remembers a family engagement session last year when young people talked about what family means. She said parents told her they learned about their children.

Were giving them a voice and allowing a safe space for the child and for the parent to have those communications with one another, Shaw said. We had some a-ha moments.

The program organizers aim to provide a nurturing, familial environment.

If youre part of TOP, youre our family, Shaw said.

RUSD hopes more people join the family this year.

To register for the Teen Outreach Program , call the RUSD Extended Learning office at 262-664-6990, visit the Extended Learning website, ask at any of the four community centers, inquire with Focus on Community, or email extended.learning@rusd.org or prcs@cityofracine.org.

There also will be a kickoff event Aug. 30 at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave., where attendees can register, learn more about the program, receive food and play games.

10 beloved public television shows that entertained and educated 10 beloved public television shows that entertained and educated Dragon Tales Cyberchase Sesame Street Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat Clifford the Big Red Dog Arthur Mister Rogers' Neighborhood The Magic School Bus Zoboomafoo Reading Rainbow
RACINE  Racine County is under an excessive heat warning Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and immediately following, the county will be under an excessive heat watch until Thursday evening.

This comes as heat indices are expected to rise above 100 degrees.

According to the National Weather Service, heat indices are expected to reach 114 degrees in Racine and Kenosha by 3 p.m. Wednesday. Racine city and county officials are urging residents to take precautions to stay safe from the temperatures.

NWS issues an excessive heat watch when dangerous heat is possible, according to a recent Tweet from the group. NWS will issue an excessive heat warning when dangerous heat is happening or about to happen.

Ben Miller, a NWS meteorologist, said Southern Wisconsin last had an excessive heat watch on July 18, 2016, and an excessive heat warning on July 20, 2019.

These kind of conditions dont come around every year, Miller said. Its definitely the hottest conditions  the worst conditions  as far as heat index values weve had all summer, so the bodies arent accustomed to this kind of combination of heat and humidity.

Miller urged residents to take it easy over the next couple of days.

According to Ready Wisconsin, a state emergency and disaster preparedness resource, heat indices between 103 and 124 degrees can cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion or, with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity, heat stroke.

County officials also urged residents to be cautious of car temperatures, warning that people should not leave kids or pets unattended in cars in a Ready Racine County Facebook post.

With an outside temperature of 80 degrees, the temperature inside a car can reach 99 degrees after 10 minutes and 109 degrees after 20 minutes.

Residents can stay safe by limiting their outdoor activities from late morning to the mid-afternoon.

If someone has to be outside, they should drink non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated fluids, take breaks and wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing.

The Racine Public Library and community centers around the county will be open for residents seeking relief from the temperatures.

For help finding a cooling center, residents can call 2-1-1.
The battle for the 2024 presidential election has already begun, and the first showdown of the Republican primary will be happening Wednesday in Milwaukee.

Heres what you need to know about the Republican primary debate.

How can I watch?

The debate will be broadcast live on the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and foxnews.com from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fox hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate the debate.

Whats the debate format?

The candidates will have one minute to answer questions and 30 more seconds for follow-up questions, according to Semafor. There wont be any time for opening statements, but candidates will each have 45 seconds for closing remarks, Semafor reported.

Read more:

Which candidates are attending the debate?

To qualify for the GOP debate, presidential candidates need a minimum of 40,000 donors and to register 1% of support in national polls or a combination of national and state polls between July 1 and Aug. 21.

Eight candidates have met that threshold, The Associated Press reported on Friday.

But perhaps the biggest news about the debate so far is that former President Donald Trump said he wont be participating. He has long said that as the clear Republican frontrunner, he doesnt need to debate the many candidates that lag behind him. He appeared to confirm his non-attendance in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

Trump confirms he wont be doing any debates. (Plural.) pic.twitter.com/buTDl3fCni  Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 20, 2023

So, who is attending?

Those expected to be on the stage are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

How much will the debate matter?

Many voters arent tuned in to the presidential race yet. Many voters who are paying attention already know who they support. Nationally, Trump is leading the GOP field by a large margin, and its unlikely a debate alone can alter that dynamic.

But Trumps nonattendance can allow some of his opponents to capture the spotlight and appeal to voters. It also can prove politically fatal if any of the candidates have embarrassing gaffes.

Perhaps most of all, the debate highlights Wisconsins importance on the national stage. Between Wednesdays debate and next years Republican National Convention, also in Milwaukee, the GOP is focusing on laying the groundwork in Wisconsin to capture more votes in the battleground state.
Hallelujah! The legacy media has finally started covering ATF's unconstitutional war on the country's gun dealers, which the pro-gun media has been denouncing and warning the public about for more than two years.

The Wall Street Journal published a story Friday morning titled: "Hundreds of Gun Dealers Lose Licenses Under Biden Administration Crackdown." Nine hours later, FOX News posted their take of the WSJ story titled: "Gun industry cries foul after hundreds of gun dealers lose licenses amid Biden administration crackdown."

This, friends, could be a very good thing.

The more scrutiny the ATF receives, the more difficult it will be for them to continue violating our constitutional rights. But keep in mind that ATF officials are masters of hoodwinking and gaslighting the media and the public. Their responses to the WSJ and FOX show that ATF's leadership are up to their old tricks. Clearly, they're trying to downplay the significance of what they've already done, and what they continue to do every single day.

Everchanging rules

In an emailed statement to Fox News, ATF said it is merely following the law:

"Federal Firearms Licensees are often our first line of defense against gun crime and are often a source of critical enforcement information that helps law enforcement identify straw purchasers and disrupt firearms trafficking schemes," ATF Spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said. .....
Copperas Cove, TX (76522)

Today

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 37F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 37F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Rain showers this evening with a steady, soaking rain overnight. Increasing winds. Low 37F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with a steady, soaking rain overnight. Increasing winds. Low 37F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
1. Yes. If KHA cant continue to run it, the city should step in. Its a necessary asset to the area.

2. Yes. The city already uses it as a warming and cooling center. It would be a smart move.

3. No. It may be in the citys interest to help subsidize insurance for the center, but nothing more.

4. No. The city doesnt need the added burden of staffing and insuring the center. Its a bad idea.

5. Unsure. It may be seem like a good idea, but other options should be explored as well.

Vote

View Results
A 62-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death after a 1-year-old girl was left in a van Monday outside an Omaha day care center.

Ryan Williams was booked into the Douglas County Jail about 8 p.m. Monday. He is accused of causing the death of Ra'Miyah Worthington, who was found unresponsive in a van outside of Kidz of the Future II day care at 5001 Leavenworth St.

An Omaha police spokesman said Tuesday that the van belonged to the day care center. Omaha Fire Department medics were called to the scene shortly after 3 p.m. and transported the child to the Nebraska Medical Center where she was declared dead.

According to a social media post seeking money to help with funeral expenses, Ra'Miyah has five siblings. Her mother and father were identified as Sina Johnson and Rianna Worthington, respectively.

Lt. Neal Bonacci said the investigation into the incident is ongoing. Phone messages seeking comment that were left on the day care center's voice mail service were not immediately returned.

The air temperature measured 96 degrees shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday, according to National Weather Service data recorded at Eppley Airfield. The heat index was measured at 113 degrees.
Charlotte Ann Lemke, 72, passed away of natural causes on August 15, 2023, at her home in rural Arcadia, Wisconsin. Char was born to William and Hulda (Ann) Lemke of La Crescent, Minnesota on May 29, 1951, at St. Annes Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

A 1969 graduate of La Crescent High School, Char studied at Mankato State University in Mankato, Minnesota, earning a Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education and Library Science. She later obtained her Masters Degree in Professional Development in Administration at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse.

Char worked as a librarian for Grand Meadow (MN) Schools before a change in professions brought her to manage a series of different stores for Northwest Fabrics, taking her back to Mankato, then to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Yet another switch in careers brought her back to La Crescent where she managed the restaurant at the Nodine Truck Stop along I-90. This led to her being named a General Manager for DIDD Inc. Restaurants, where she traveled between Fargo, North Dakota and La Crescent, overseeing the operation of five different restaurants.

Her original roots in library science continued to tug at her and in 1986 she moved to Arcadia, Wisconsin, where she became the librarian at Arcadia High School. Her excellent work there led to her being granted the 1995 Teacher Fellowship Award from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation in a ceremony at Madison, Wisconsin.

The final years of her career in education were spent in teacher licensing for CESA and, ultimately, as a curriculum director for the school districts of Cochrane-Fountain City, Cashton, and Melrose-Mindoro, from where she ultimately retired in 2014.

Her retirement years were spent tending to her yard, attending family gatherings, being active in the Church of the Nazarene in Winona, and serving on the public library board in Arcadia. An inveterate shopper, Char could not resist a value and trips to La Crosse or Winona often wound up with her vehicle full of new treasures.

Char is survived by her four younger siblings; Joan (Mark) Abraham, LaVonne (Rick) Beach, Lyle (Darcey) Lemke, and Roy (Brenda) Lemke, all of La Crescent. She also treasured her nieces and nephews; Erin Abraham, Nate (Danielle) Abraham, Les Beach, Tammy (Rodney) Miller, Bill (Missy) Beach, Amanda Beach(Mike Zabel), Gina (Ryan) Stark, and Nicole and Ryan Lemke, along with six great-nieces and great-nephews.

The family would like to extend their thanks to the Arcadia Police Department, Trempealeau Country Sheriffs Department, Arcadia First Responders, and Dr. Cunningham and the Mayo Clinic Health Care Team.

Services for Char will be held at Hoff Funeral Home in Goodview, Minnesota, on Sunday, August 27, at 1:00 pm, with visitation before the service from noon1:00 pm.

As per Chars request, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to either the La Crescent Animal Rescue or to the Melrose-Mindoro Educational Foundation.
A memorial service will be held on August 25, 2023, at English Lutheran Church, 1509 King Street, La Crosse, with visitation from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service.
The Bob Welch Aquatic Center in Winona will give people more time to cool off from this weeks high temperatures by opening up for some off-season hours.

Although the pools season ended Sunday, the Winona facility will open from 4-8 p.m. daily Aug. 22-24 with limited staff and sections of the pool available.

With triple digit temperatures forecast through the week, city manager Chad Ubl said city staff asked to have the pool available.

The Bob Welch Aquatic Center can offer these postseason hours during some of the hottest days of the year because of the dedicated and amazing part-time staff we have at the pool, Ubl said. We not only want to let the community know about these extended hours but also want to thank the aquatic center team for making it possible.

With a lot of pool staff leaving for fall classes or sports, the outdoor pool season is coming to an end.

Winona Director of Recreation Services Laura Hoberg said the available sections of the pool will be reflected by who shows up to the pool.

If a lot of swimmers are enjoying the deep end, itll stay open and maybe the slide will close and vice versa, she said.

Its the last days of summer and people still want to go to the pool when its 107 degrees, Hoberg said. Its hard to not be open, so were very appreciative of our staff who are willing to rally and get those last few hours.

All summer memberships will be honored. The daily fee of $5 for adults and $4 for youth is still the same.

We just hope people use it to come and cool off, Hoberg said.
On 21 August the 10Federal Court of Brasilia sentenced the hackerto 20 years in prison for his activities in 2019 in the  Vaza Jato scandal, when he hacked into the private messages of the judge and prosecutors leading the now-discredited Lava Jato corruption probe.

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On 21 August a committee of Panamas national assembly began discussing a new 20-year mining contract with Minera Panama S.A. (MPSA), a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals (FQM) of Canada, regarding the Cobre Panama copper mine.

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On 21 August the results of two referendums held in Ecuador the previous day, which saw voters approve a ban on oil drilling in the Yasuni national park and on mining in the Choco Andino forest, provoked polarised reactions.

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On 21 August Argentinas economy minister,, the presidential candidate for the ruling left-of-centre Union por la Patria (UP) coalition, flew to Washington for talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and members of US Presidents administration.

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Japans Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, signed off Tuesday on his countrys plan to release treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant later this week.

If weather and sea conditions are good, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, or TEPCO, will start to release the water into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.

The water release is an important part of the process of cleaning up the plant, which was damaged by a disastrous earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. A tsunami is a large ocean wave created by the movement of the land under the ocean.

The wave destroyed the power centers cooling systems and caused three of the plants nuclear reactors to overheat, or meltdown. The result was contaminated cooling water that has been treated and stored for over 10 years.

The prime minister said everything has been done to ensure the plans safety and to protect Japans fishing industry. He said the government will continue to explain the plans science until the cleanup is completed many decades from now. A decade is a period of 10 years.

Kishida said, The government will take responsibility until the disposal of thetreated water is completed.

The government of South Korea said it understands the plan and it will hold Japan to its promises to supervise the safety of the water. South Korea agreed to support Japans plan even with protests by lawmakers and activists.

Other East Asian nations, however, are not pleased with the plan to release the water. Hong Kong and Macau both said they would ban products from Fukushima and nine other parts of Japan. China said it will increase radiation testing on fish imported from Japan.

Japanese fishing organizations protested the plan partly because they are worried about being able to sell their catch.

But TEPCO says about 1,000 storage tanks which have held the contaminated water since the disaster of 2011 are now almost full. The company is also concerned about possible leaks. So, the treated water must be released.

Junichi Matsumoto is the TEPCO leader in charge of the water release. In an interview with the Associated Press last month, he said the release is a milestone but there is still a lot of work to do to close down the plant.

TEPCO will start by releasing 7,800 tons of water over the first 17 days. All of it will be diluted with seawater to reach safe levels of radiation. By March 2024, TEPCO plans to release over 31,000 tons of water. However, that equals only 10 of the 1,000 storage tanks. The speed of the release will increase over time.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in July that Japans release plan will have almost no effect on human health or the environment.

Rafael Grossi is the director general of the IAEA. He said the United Nations office at the plant will remain open to monitor the water as it is released.

Most scientists agree with the IAEA, but they said the slow release of radioactive water, even at very low levels, needs attention.

Japans government is continuing to explain the plan in nearby countries so that the release does not damage diplomatic communication. TEPCO is also considering accepting responsibility for the financial losses of the Japanese seafood industry because of restrictions placed on its products by other countries and extra testing requirements by China.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

diluted adj. reduced in strength or concentration

contaminated adj. containing something that isnt supposed to be there

milestone n. an important point in the development of a project

monitor v. to observe carefully over a period of time

We want to hear from you. Where do you live? Are people worried about water coming from Japan or eating fish from the area?
Srettha Thavisin is Thailands new prime minister after winning a parliamentary vote Tuesday.

He is the wealthy leader of one of Thailands best-known property companies. He was elected prime minister just nine months after joining Pheu Thai, a political party known for supporting the poor.

Parliament confirmed the 61-year-old Srettha, ending months of political uncertainty following May elections. He will lead the Pheu Thai party's push to improve the economy and lessen inequality.

Pheu Thai finished second to the Move Forward Party in the May elections. But the party was able to group together an 11-party coalition, including two pro-military parties, to approve Srettha.

"I will perform my duties to the best of my ability. I will work tirelessly to improve the livelihood of all Thais," Srettha told reporters at Pheu Thai's headquarters.

Hours before Tuesday's parliamentary vote, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former Prime Minister and founder of Pheu Thai, returned to Thailand after 15 years in exile. Supporters greeted Thaksin who then began serving an eight-year prison sentence on corruption charges.

Thaksin, who was ousted by the military in 2006, dismissed the charges as being influenced by politics. Observers believe that Sretthas appointment was related to Thaksin's return and that it might help shorten his jail time.

Political newcomer

Earlier this year, Srettha stepped down as head of his familys company, Sansiri. Sansiri is one of Thailands largest developers with property worth over $2.9 billion.

Srettha was born into a wealthy family. And some thought he would not be able to connect with Pheu Thais main voters in the country's poorer, rural north. But after joining the party, he appeared at many campaign events targeting the working class.

Before starting his political career, Srettha was a major critic of the outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Prayuth was an army leader who led the coup against another Pheu Thai government led by Thaksins sister Yingluck in 2014.

Srettha was among many opposition politicians, thought leaders and activists questioned by Prayuths military government shortly after the coup.

He wrote many online posts accusing Prayuth and his government of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic. Srettha earned support during student-led protests demanding democratic reforms in 2020.

Srettha became an adviser for Pheu Thais economic team to promote the partys policies. That includes a plan to give 10,000 baht, about $290, in digital money to all Thais age 16 and above.

Thaskins controversial return

Thaksin is still loved and hated in equal measure in Thailand. Hundreds of his supporters gathered at the airport, the court and outside the prison to greet his return. They wore red shirts, carried signs and chanted "PM Thaksin.

Thaksin was a former policeman who started a successful business selling computers. As prime minister, he won the hearts and votes of millions of Thais in rural areas with giveaways like money, loans, farm support and healthcare.

But his huge popularity and support for new capitalism put him in conflict with the military, businesses, and royal supporters. It started a political battle that is still being played out today.

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters.

______________________________________________________

Words in This Story

livelihood  n. a way of earning money in order to live

exile  n. a situation in which you are forced to leave your country or home and go to live in a foreign country

coup  n. a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence

mishandle  v. to deal with or manage badly or incorrectly

capitalism  n. a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government
Teenagers are being recruited to be "money mules" as part of a scheme to sell customers links to child sexual abuse material, according to the Omaha office of the FBI.

The office sent a press release on Thursday warning parents and young people.

In this scheme, teens are recruited on social media and online gaming platforms by producers of child sex abuse material, who pose as IT or gaming companies, according to the FBI.

The fake companies ask individuals to accept digital payments and in return they can keep a percentage of the money. They are then instructed to change the rest of the payment into cryptocurrency and send it to the company.

What these criminals are really selling to their customers are links to child sexual abuse material, the FBI said in a media release.

A money mule is someone who wittingly or unwittingly transfers illegally acquired money on behalf of, or at the direction of, another person.

The FBI said those targeted might have received an unsolicited email or contact over social media promising easy money for little to no effort. The agency recommended not responding or clicking any links related to such a contact.

Parents who believe their child is being used as a money mule can call the FBI Omaha office at 402-493-8688.
Kenyas president, Jomo Kenyatta, has died at his home in Mombasa.

An official announcement on Voice of Kenya radio said Mr Kenyatta died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday morning.

Shops and offices in the capital, Nairobi, and other cities have closed for the day as a mark of respect.

In public appearances yesterday, Mr Kenyatta, 89, appeared to be in good health so news of his death has come as a shock to most Kenyans.

However, last week he called a family conference in Mombasa leading to speculation about his health.

Mr Kenyatta was widely seen as the founding father of his nation which he had led since its independence in 1963.

A member of Kenyas largest tribe, the Kikuyu, he was one of the first and best-known African nationalist leaders.

Baptised Johnstone Kamau, he changed his name to Kenyatta  Swahili for light of Kenya in the 1920s.

After spending 15 years in London promoting the cause of Kenyans independence from Britain, he returned to his homeland in 1946.

In 1952 he was imprisoned by the British and spent the next nine years in captivity.

In spite of his time in prison, Mr Kenyatta was regarded as the most pro-British of African presidents and under his leadership the Kenyan economy prospered.

But he was intolerant of dissent in Kenya and outlawed some opposition parties in 1969.

The Queen has sent a message of sympathy to Mr Kenyattas wife and the Kenyan people.

The Commonwealth Secretary General, Shridath Ramphal, said Mr Kenyattas death had deprived Kenya of a great leader.

We have lost a major figure of our time, Mr Ramphal said.

Mr Kenyattas deputy, Daniel arap Moi, has assumed the office of president for 90 days during which time new elections must be held.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

Jomo Kenyatta is still revered in Kenya and has a public holiday in October named in his honour.

Daniel arap Moi took over as president after Jomo Kenyattas death. A one-party state was created in 1982.

External pressure led to elections in 1992 and 1997 but they were marred by widespread violence and fraud and President Moi remained in power.

Under President Moi, Kenyas economic situation deteriorated and was exacerbated by the worst drought in 30 years.

In December 2002 Mwai Kibaki and his National Rainbow Coalition party swept to victory in Kenyas elections.

Mr Kibaki defeated Daniel arap Mois chosen successor, Jomo Kenyattas son, Uhuru.
A central Kansas police chief was not only on legally shaky ground when he ordered the raid of a weekly newspaper, experts said, but it may have been a criminal violation of civil rights, a former federal prosecutor added, saying: Id probably have the FBI starting to look.

Some legal experts believe the Aug. 11 raid on the Marion County Records offices and the home of its publisher violated a federal privacy law that protects journalists from having their newsrooms searched.

Some believe it violated a Kansas law that makes it more difficult to force reporters and editors to disclose their sources or unpublished material.

Part of the debate centers around Marion Police Chief Gideon Codys reasons for the raid. A warrant suggested that police were looking for evidence that the Records staff broke state laws against identity theft and computer crimes while verifying information about a local restaurant owner. But the police also seized the computer tower and personal cellphone belonging to a reporter who had investigated Codys background.

The raid brought international attention to the newspaper and the small town of 1,900  foisted to the center of a debate over press freedoms. Recent events have exposed roiling divisions over local politics and the newspapers aggressive coverage. But it also focused an intense spotlight on Cody in only his third month on the job.

The investigation into whether the newspaper broke state laws continues, now led by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. State Attorney General Kris Kobach has said he doesnt see the KBIs role as investigating the polices conduct, and that prompted some to question whether the federal government would get involved. Spokespersons for the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.

Stephen McAllister, a U.S. attorney for Kansas during former President Donald Trumps administration, said the raid opened Cody, the city and others to lawsuits for alleged civil right violations. And, he added, We also have some exposure to federal criminal prosecution.

The five-member Marion City Council was scheduled to have its first meeting since the raid [a week ago].

The agenda says, in red: COUNCIL WILL NOT COMMENT ON THE ONGOING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AT THIS MEETING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Record is known for its aggressive coverage of local politics and its community about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri. It received an outpouring of support from other news organizations and media groups after the raid, and Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer said that it had picked up 4,000 additional subscribers, enough to double the size of its press run, though many of the new subscriptions are digital.

But the raids did have some backers in town. Jared Smith blames the newspapers coverage for the demise of his wifes day spa business and believes the newspaper is too negative.

I would love to see the paper go down, he said.

Meyer rejects criticism of his newspapers reporting and said critics are upset because its attempting to hold local officials accountable.

We get confidential things from people all the time and we check them out, said Doug Anstaett, a retired Kansas Press Association executive director. And sometimes we know theyre silly, but most of the time we get a tip, we check it out. And thats exactly what theyre doing.

Anstaett said he believes the states shield law for journalists, enacted in 2010 by the Republican-controlled Legislature, should have protected the paper.

[Abridged]
The Clinton Global Initiative 2023 will convene leaders, innovators and dreamers  ranging from World Bank President Ajay Banga and The Bahamas Prime Minister Philip E. Davis to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres and Ford Foundation CEO Darren Walker, as well as A-list actors Orlando Bloom, Matt Damon, and Ashley Judd  in New York on Sept. 18 and 19 to keep up the momentum addressing global issues generated by the conference when it returned last year after a six-year hiatus.

Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton announced Monday that the conference would seek more commitments to address climate change, health care issues, gender-based violence, the war in Ukraine and other issues.

Every day, billions of people around the world, even in the face of the most dire circumstances, make a profound decision to choose hope and keep going, former President Bill Clinton told The Associated Press in an emailed statement. At CGI, were focusing on how to move forward in the face of daunting challengesto act now, find new partners, and stick with it to make a positive difference in peoples lives.

At the Clinton Global Initiative, or CGI, in 2022, more than 140 commitments were announced, including the $1 billion plan from Water.org, co-founded by Damon, to help 100 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America get lasting access to water and sanitation. Damon is set to return to CGI in September to further discuss the issue.

Carolina Garcia Jayaram, CEO of the Elevate Prize Foundation, told The Associated Press that she is also set to return to the conference to announce the nonprofits next winner of The Elevate Prize Catalyst Award. Last year, the foundation presented the award to Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at CGI.

One very important thing I love about CGI  and I think Malala really embodied it so powerfully  is the idea of making a real-time commitment on the stage and challenging the people in the audience, both in person and remotely, to do the same, Jayaram said. And I think being in the room with so many changemakers and leaders who are making those commitments in real time is almost infectious. It catalyzes more and more people to do the same. Thats unique to the CGI formula.

Bringing together leaders in politics, business and philanthropy in one place can help bring new solutions to light, said Jayaram, whose foundation is one of the conference sponsors this year, alongside corporations like Cisco, JetBlue and Pfizer, as well as other nonprofits, including The EKTA Foundation, Fondation Botnar, and Global Education Foundation.

Though CGI maintains an international focus, it will include appearances from governors Maura Healey, from Massachusetts, Kathy Hochul, from New York, Wes Moore, from Maryland, and J.B. Pritzker, from Illinois, as well as Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Oscar-winning directors The Daniels, artist Ai Weiwei, supermodel Karlie Kloss, and television host and author Padma Lakshmi will also be on hand, along with David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee, and Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF.

GLENN GAMBOA, NEW YORK, MDT/AP
An AI-assisted speech therapy system owned by the Health Bureau (SSM) has seen over 13,000 users, with 1,200 children having used it between March 2022 and June 2023.

The data was released by director of SSM Alvis Lo in response to lawmaker Pereira Coutinhos written inquiry on the availability of speech therapy in Macau. The official added that in 2016 and 2017, the government set up a childrens comprehensive assessment center and a childrens rehabilitation and therapy center. They have catered to the screening, assessment, therapy and rehabilitation needs of children with developmental disorders aged between 0 and six years.

In addition, Lo said that SSM has introduced an AI-assisted speech therapy system, to allow needy children to receive constant online rehabilitation training.

In terms of training speech therapists, the official said that Macao Polytechnic University started offering a topical Bachelor degree program in the 2017/2018 academic year. A total of 58 students have graduated from the program. In the imminent academic year, 20 new students are expected in the program.

Lo also assured that with electronic methodologies, his bureau guarantees that the first consultation and the conclusion of assessment will not happen later than four weeks and eight weeks after the first intervention.

In another inquiry, lawmaker Nick Lei asked the government about its decision on the parking lot at the new Central Library. Earlier, director of Culture Leong Wai Man said no public parking lot will be built at the new facility, given the small size of the land plot.

In response, citing the Transport Bureau, acting director for Culture Cheang Kai Meng explained said the land plot of the future library is L shaped and the elevation means that a slope as long as 60 meters is needed for traffic. The slope will also take up 200 square meters.

He added that the design team has trialed several plans and even with the best plan, a two-story parking lot will only hold a maximum of 33 light vehicles, not taking into account the compliance with traffic regulations that may pose further challenges.

In contrast to previous disclosures, Cheang said that analysis is still being conducted and no decision has been made yet.

Another inquiry by lawmaker Leong Sun Iok investigated the governments expenditure on office rentals. The director of Finance, Iong Kong Leong, said the government has recorded dropping rental expenditures for four years in a row. In fact, the spending on rental for December of each year from 2019 to 2022 has fallen from MOP70 million to MOP57 million. For May this year, the government has spent MOP54 million on rental of office and storage spaces. Iong expects the amount will continue to fall as the government is set to gradually relocate its offices and storage to self-owned premises.

In addition, Iong said the government has or will have office or mixed-use premises in New Urban Zone A, ZAPE, NAPE and Cotai. All of them will equate to a total space of 130,000 square meters.
The government has established the minimum and maximum limits for the income of those aiming to apply for the so-called sandwich-class housing.

The governments official gazette contains details about the new law regulating this new type of acquisition of public-built housing.

To be eligible for this type of housing unit, the candidate (if single) or the candidates household (in the case of marriage or a de facto relationship) cannot possess a monthly income lower than 50% of the maximum ceiling established for the acquisition of this housing. To establish the upper limit the maximum ceiling established for the acquisition of this housing is used as a reference, plus 10%.

In practical terms, and considering the currently established ceilings, a single candidate needs a monthly income between 19,175 and 42,185 patacas, while a couple (or larger household) will need a minimum income of 38,345 and a maximum of 84,359 patacas to be eligible.

An amendment to these limits can happen at any time via an order from the Chief Executive, without the necessity of changing the law.

The candidates assets before an application also play a role with 20% to be added to the maximum limit in use for the economic acquisition housing.

In this sense, a single candidate can have assets with a net worth of 1,505,880 patacas, while this amount rises to 3,011,760 patacas in the case of a couple or larger household.

Also, one of the requirements is related to the age of the applicant, with single candidates needing to have a minimum age of 23 years, while in the case of those married, the requirement falls to 18 years.

In both cases, applicants need to be permanent residents of Macau and will need to effectively live in the housing unit acquired under this system for a minimum of 183 days per year.

After purchase these housing units cannot be resold before 16 years have passed. Even after this selling period has expired, the house unit owner can only resell the unit to the government, in this case represented by the Housing Bureau (IH).

The IH will reacquire the unit for the same price as the initial sale, deducting from that amount the price of any renovation works necessary to reestablish the units livability conditions.

When the law (Law 17/2023) was passed at the Legislative Assembly, the major concern raised by the lawmakers was the fact that there is no forecast from the government side on the selling price of the units to be built under this scheme.

The government currently expects to build some 4,000 units under this scheme, which are to be located at the Avenida de Wai Long in the former land of the La Scala development.

The government is said to be considering building up to 10,000 sandwich-class housing units depending on the real needs and acquisitive power of the residents.

This new regime comes into force on April 1, 2024.